Call
A GAME OF SKILL AND CHANCE
By: Einhander and Skeeter The Lurker
2: CALL
Club Moonlight was, without a doubt, a personal favorite of Sunny Skies. Boasting the widest range of alcoholic beverages and “crown-certified” bartenders and drink mixers, there was no drink they couldn’t make.
And the music wasn’t bad either. From funk, to pop, to dubstep, to classical, to ballroom dancing, to break dancing, they had it all. To be fair, it was considered a lofty honor on par with the Grand Galloping Gala to perform there. In fact, they even boasted a plaque stating that on such and such a day, Celestia herself came and decreed this 'the best bar/club in all of Canterlot!'
The anecdote was false, and yet, in a way, also true.
The two ponies walked through the entrance, cold wind blowing until the door was shut behind them by the minotaur bouncer. They gave their coats to the coat mare (who gave them each a claim ticket and a candy cane) and made their way to the dance floor. The strobe light colors matched the Hearth's Warming Eve decorations. As for the music, a blue haired white unicorn was pumping her hoof atop the DJ tower in the middle of the club. it was clear that there was a singular theme for the evening: loud.
Sunny leaned close into Star’s ear. “Isn’t this place amazing?”
“WHAT?!” Star shouted.
Sunny rolled her eyes. “I said ‘isn’t this better than Stargazing’?”
“NO, I’M NOT HUNGRY!”
It was hard not to snicker. Shaking her head, Sunny sauntered off to one of the bars, a U-shaped light up counter towards the back wall. With a quick look over her shoulder, Sunny signaled for her ‘friend’ to follow. Then she was off, melting into the crowd on the dance floor as if it was second nature.
Star blinked at the way Sunny was acting, surprised at how quickly her dear sister could change her personality. How many times has she done this?
Navigating the seething mass of bodies moving and gyrating to the throbbing beat, which was a dance in itself. She ran into a stallion with a mohawk, who grinned at her.
“Hey babe! Lookin’ hot tonight!”
Star squinted. “My internal temperature is level, I assure you!”
The stallion’s smile sagged a bit. “I mean you’re smokin’.”
Pulling herself up to her full height she declared, “Shouting ‘fire’ in a crowded building is a crime, citiz—”
“Star!” Sunny was waving. “Over here!”
Star ducked and spun away from the confused-looking stallion and found herself next to Sunny, who had managed to wave down the bartender. Somehow, perhaps by magic, the overwhelming sound managed to quiet as she sat at the bar. It underscored the conversations without overwhelming them.
“Well, well, Sunny Skies!” He was a grey pegasus, and his voice had a pleasant, familiar ring as he spoke to her. “I haven’t seen you in, what? A month?”
Sunny smiled broadly toward the stallion. “Perfect Pour! I didn’t think you’d be working tonight. It's Hearts Warming Day!"
“Hah, are you kidding? It's one of the biggest nights of the year." He grinned. "After a week of pageants and family meals, every young pony wants to get away from their family for a bit and dance the night away."
"That hardly seems in the spirit of the holiday." Star said.
Pour turned and blinked at her.
Sunny giggled. "Don't worry, Pour, she's with me."
"Anyway," he shrugged and turned back to Sunny, "I was supposed to just work the day, but they begged and begged until I agreed to pull a double shift. It's a rough life, being the best bartender in a bar." With a flourish and not even looking at the tap, he pulled out a glass and filled it, spinning it in a full circle before coming to a rest in front of Sunny. “The usual, milady.” he said, with a mock bow earning a laugh from Sunny.
Sunny took a long pull from the glass, pausing for a few seconds to savor the taste of the brew. “Mmm, perfect, as usual.”
“I am the king of lagers!” he crowed, grinning like a Jack O'Lantern. "Now that you have your beer, what else can I get you? I bet I don’t even need to ask, do I? You’re on the prowl tonight!”
"Not for me. This," she grabbed Star by the hoof and held her close, "is Star, and she is my best friend in the whole world."
Star blushed. "Sunny, really now..."
Glancing to the side, he seemed to notice Star for the first time. “Best friend, eh?” He paused, “She's a looker.”
“I assure you, I am a mare.” Star deadpanned.
Pour snorted. “And she’s funny!”
Sunny laughed, a little too loudly. “Isn’t she, though?” She took another healthy sip. “A cider for her, please. And, why not, one for me. I’ll be done with this soon. Please and thank you.”
Pour grinned, his hooves going to work effortlessly. He leered at Star. “Any friend of Miss Skies is a friend of mine.”
Star balked and leaned back. "I...see."
"Pour, please. Manners. She just got out of a... long term situation." Sunny adopted a business-like tone, draining her glass. “Now. Anypony—well. Any creature look interesting tonight? We want to start Star out slow, nothing too intense, but no pushovers either.”
Mouth agape, Star stared at Sunny in horror. Sunny kept her muzzle straight ahead, but her right eye looked at Star. And winked.
“No gryphons or dragons, if that’s what you mean. However…” Pour smirked as he placed two bottles of cider in front of them, then leaned over the bar and whispered “As it happens, I got two ponies for ya.” He pointed toward the DJ booth, where a pony was hugging the blue-haired maestro of the party. “See the white unicorn hugging DJ-PON3? Purple hair, elegant air about her? Word is, that’s Rarity, one of the Elements themselves! Seems she’s been showing a friend of a friend around Canterlot.” A knowing grin soon found a lascivious eye waggle, “Also, rumor has it, she just got burned by some travel writer and she's looking for a… rebound. IF you know what I mean.”
Sunny eyed the far off unicorn critically. All ponies are fair game, except for Twilight’s friends… that’s just asking for trouble. She produced the candy cane the coat check mare had given her earlier, and gave it a long lick as she scanned the room. A friend of Twilight’s friend however...
“You said there was a second pony?”
Pour pointed toward the opposite end of the bar. “See the hat? On the horribly out-of-place stallion?” Sunny leaned back to get a good look at him. Sure enough, there was a yellow pony with a Stetson perched atop their head. A real cowpony by the look of him, smiling politely in this decidedly urban setting. “Seems he’s a farmer from out in Appleoosa. Not sure what, exactly, brings him here, but he’s been with Rarity all night.” He reached down and began cleaning a glass, giving a shrug. “One thing’s clear, he’s not WITH her, IF you know what I mean.”
Star frowned. “You have said that twice now, and twice we have had no idea what y— Ow!”
Sunny removed her hoof from her ‘friend’. “What was that, Star?”
Grumbling and rubbing her hoof, Star shook her head and picked up her bottle of cider. "Nothing."
“Oh, I forgot. One more thing." Pour leaned closer again. "Those two did mention they were meeting another pony here.”
“And who would that be?”
You could pour Pour's smile over a stack of pancakes. “That bookish, purple alicorn, oh, what's her name.... That's right. Princess Sparkle?"
Star and Sunny froze, bottles halfway to their muzzles.
"You know.” Pour grinned.
Sunny put her drink downstopped middrink to glare at Pour. “No. I don’t.”
“Yeah, you know, that one who orders only the fruitiest of drinks, the one you get all tongue tied around, the one who makes you just seem to fr—”
Pour found himself silenced, as suddenly two hooves were squeezing his muzzle shut.
“Pour, I love you, but say another word about that purple alicorn and I will end you.”
The bartender gulped (as much as his throat would let him) and nodded slowly. Sunny released him, and sipped her drink as if nothing had happened.
But something definitely had. She glanced at Star out of the corner of her eye, and detected the presence of a smirk.
“That's enough out of you, ‘Star’.” Sunny said with the barest touch of venom. “Now, drink up. It's far too late for me to be this sober.”
Star whispered into her ear: “I swear, sister, had those cards come down the other way…”
“But they didn’t,” Sunny poked Star with her hoof. “So quit stalling, drink your cider, then pick a pony, any pony. Let’s get busy.”
Star tilted her head to the side. "Sunny..."
Sighing and closing her eyes, Sunny whispered, “Just... drop it, please. I'm asking you." She nudged Star's shoulder with her muzzle. "As a friend? Your BPFF?”
Rolling her eyes, Star shrugged. "Fine." She took a swig of her cider bottle. It happened very quickly. First, her eyes bulged, then she coughed and sent specks of cider flying, then she screamed, "Treachery!"
Sunny winced as the bar counter crowd turned and stared at Star. She half-expected the music to stop with a record scratch.
"Bartender!" Star roared. "What is this swill?"
Pour turned towards her. "Uhh... It's called FlimFlam Hard Cider? Says so right on the label."
Star slammed the bottle on the bar top. "And you have the hooves to call this cider?!"
"The FlimFlam brothers do, apparently." Sunny muttered, staring at the bottle critically. She took a sip and instantly regretted it. "Pour, she's right, this tastes like powdered apple juice with moonshine. What happened to the Sweet Apple Brand?"
He shrugged. "We sold out of the Appleloosan stuff an hour ago. Is there a problem? FlimFlam IS cheaper."
Star reared up her head. "Because it tastes like horsefeathers"
Sunny stared at her.
"What? We have been studying the modern day vernacular." A pause. Star faltered. "Do... Do ponies no longer say something is horsefeathers'?"
Rubbing her head, Sunny sighed. "The swear isn't the issue, it's... Oh, buck it. You don't drink beer, right?"
Star cringed. "Barley and malted oats? No thank you."
"Pity," Pour shrugged, "we have just got in some excellent cask porter."
Star made a face. Sunny sighed. "We're going to need something different, Pour."
"Ahh yes," he chuckled. "Bourbon or Rye?"
Why Sunny meant to say was 'two Foalmakers.'
A Foalmaker was schnapps and carbonated lemon juice with a drop of vodka. It was perfect beginner's drink, sweet and bubbly and sounding naughty without any of the actual sting. Mares ordered them (or had other ponies pay for them) on spring break, giggling all the way. You'd have to have ten or so to get a real buzz going. Any foals accidentally conceived after the consumption of a Foalmaker was purely coincidental, unless the parents-to-be had something stronger in the interim.
But then Sunny heard her.
"Hi, Rarity! You look great!"
That friendly, chirpy voice. That enthusiasm. She could always pick out her voice in a crowd, even in a club like this.
"And Braeburn! So good to see you, it's been too long!"
Sunny dared to turn her head.
Purple coat, blended hair that inspired her first name. Wide smile. Infectious laugh.
"Howdy Twilight!"
"Darling, you look marvelous. Please, join us! Can you stay long?"
"I had Spike clear my schedule tomorrow morning, so I'm all yours!"
Oh, Tartarus.
"Sunny?"
She turned and saw the bartender looking at her expectantly.
“Two Wing Island Iced Teas."
Pour blinked several times, ears standing straight up. "Sunny, your wish is command, you know that, but..."
"Two Wing Island Iced Teas." She repeated, leaning over the bar counter. "Please."
"Wing Islands are for amateurs," he whispered, "and they don't like us serving them. The clean up alone..."
"Sis— I mean Sunny, why are you trying to order tea?" Star frowned. "We thought alcohol is how you fit in at the party club."
Sunny looked at Pour. Pour looked at Sunny. Communication happened without words, until Pour said, "Two Wing Islands, right away."
Mouthing, thank you, Sunny turned back to her friend. "Relax. I've got you covered."
Star fidgeted. "I feel off, 'Tia. This was a mistake."
Sunny flicked her eyes towards the other end of the U shaped bar. Twilight was laughing with the cowpony while Rarity was collecting their drinks from the mare bartender, which appeared to be a glass of champagne, a cider and—yes—a Foalmaker. Logic predicted the future as the cowpony reached for the cider, Rarity took her champagne and Twilight magically floated the orange and lemon colored concoction into the air. A small clink of glass, and the ponies brought their respective poisons to their lips.
And as Twilight took a sip, she looked up and and locked eyes with Sunny.
Sunny blinked.
Twilight smiled, blushed and waved a hoof.
Sunny blinked.
The moment came to a crashing halt as the cowpony coughed and let out a groan. "Y'all call this cider?"
Twilight turned towards the earth pony and examined his bottle. "'Flimflam brothers??' Well no wonder."
Sunny shook her head.
Pour re-appeared in her field of vision with the two Wing Islands, placing them on the bar with a skeptical eyebrow. "As ordered..." before sprinting off to his next order.
Sunny stared at her drink. Green and fizzy and sporting two tiny umbrellas, it was a tropical drink designed by a pony that had never seen the ocean.
"This is not actually iced tea, is it?" Star asked.
"Sure it is." Sunny held up her drink to the bar lamp. "Look, there's a lemon in it."
Star frowned. "Mine appears to have dissolved.”
“That just adds flavor.”
The music switched gears, and the DJ was shouting something into her microphone. Every pony seemed to hear it and cheer, save the two mares staring at their green fizzy drinks.
"I want to go home, 'Tia." Star muttered.
"I’m not 'Tia. " She snapped, turning on Star with fire in her eyes. "I’m Sunny Skies, your best friend and wingmare. And you are Star, single mare at a dance club. We're here to have fun, damn it." Sunny bit her lip and held out her glass. “So raise your glass, take out the umbrella and bottoms up.”
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Looking strong.
I don't know it seems Luna Really doesn't have a sex drive and just wanted to make her sister happy but now is regretting taking the bet either way it is a good story just seems to be missing something but I don't know what.
Yeah, Celestia's being way over-pushy and demandy right now; can't say I like her or this story very much because of her odd desperation and casual disregard for Luna's wants.
Hmm... I really didn't have any idea what to expect going into this, but I am finding it amusing so far.
I'll be patiently waiting for the next chapter.
Thanks for writing!
This is a rather enjoyable story. Please continue. Have a
and a fav.
4834360
I'd like to point out that she is recovering from a millennium of insanity and exile, and should probably get that sorted out before getting involved with anyone.
4834548 I agree and in the end she may not even want a lover because of the issues. So it seems that Celestia is being insensitive.
4834717
Gah. Fixed. Thanks.
Hehe...I like this - great fun.
Hope we'll see the next chapter(s) soon
This can only end horribly.
And away we go...!
~Skeeter The Lurker
The general atmosphere is very Macbethish.
Ohoho, yes! Bring it on! I almost didn't pick this story up. Was afraid it was going to be shallow. You guys are going that extra mile to do it right.
Same outcome: purple pone pairing
The chips are down and I'm all in.
4835528 explain thyself
I really like this. Tia and Luna feel like real sisters who happen to be princesses/absolute monarchs who happen to be Physical Gods. Too many stories really miss that authentic sister feeling. The bet is totally something real human sisters would do, and the booze. It's all just taken up to 11 because they're alicorns. The poker scene also shows a loving, playfulness to their teasing.
Which makes this a bit worrying:
Okay, yikes. Celestia just jumped off the slippery slope here. Luna is not having fun. That's not really the attitude of someone who's trying to ease someone into having a good time, either. It's almost bully-like.
And I'm pretty sure I can guess why. Celestia is sublimating her attraction to Twilight. Alone, that's fine: denial is harmless. But now she's jealous because Twi is at the bar with a potential mate who is NOT Sunny Skies. And now I'm wondering if Twi has had any dates/almost-dates with Sunny Skies at the bar, because if so, wow, Tia, you have a problem and you need to get in front of it. We all love you, Princess, but pretending to be somepony else to romance your student is injecting some serious creepy into the problem.
(Braeburn really does get himself roped into some terrible situations without even realizing it in fics.)
I'm still deeply loving this because of how well it's written and the world-building going on. But Luna and Celestia are about to get sloshed, and Celestia's so wrapped up in her own self-imposed romance angst she hasn't realized how actually dangerous this is for Luna. Luna--and it's so far been shown for laughs--is barely functional in modern society without supervision. She could hardly interact with the stallion who was trying to flirt with her. She actually NEEDS Celestia there to watch her back. If they both get hammered and reality ensues, this could go seriously bad. As in, Luna-wakes-up-in-a-motel-bed-with-a-pony-she-doesn't-recognize bad.
Or fire. Or explosions. Of Celestia getting drunk enough to cause a scene with Twilight and Braeburn out of jealousy and possibly reveal her real identity.
So, yeah, this could easily be some doom.
Continue.
4837398
Family names don't have to be last names.
4835528 4836578
Presumably everyone will be dead by the end of the story.
Wait, what?
4835468
WE GO!
i.imgur.com/Vprfh.gif
Here I thought they were gonna be playing MLP CCG but with actual ponies instead of cards,
Why aren't the Flim Flam brothers selling good cider? We know the Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000 is capable of producing cider better than Sweet Apple Acres'. It would be a waste to use it to produce anything less.
nice story so far
That wasn't tea, that was a Pan-galaxian gargle blaster.
You can not convence me otherwise
4837538 They aren't using Sweet Apple Acres apples, I guess. Applejack doesn't brag about the quality of 'dem apples for nothing.
Ugh, and now it's poor Rarity! Why are all the good mares missing out?! Okay, Twilight might not as it seems she and 'Sunny' may actually talk soon. Also, why did Twilight blush when she saw Sunny, perhaps she has a crush yes?
Really liking this story, so far. Everything resonates with me. The humor, the romance (or what little we've seen), and the plot in general. I can't wait for subsequent instalments!
I have to agree with the other commenters. Celestia risks becoming unsympathetic with her behaviour thus far, but I'm liking the comedy and the tone is pitch-perfect.
Your story meets all the qualifications thus far, and it looks like a strong contender, so I have to ask. Would you like to be part of one of the Twilestia group's official contests?
If you wouldn't, I completely understand, but it could be fun and you have a solid chance of winning.
4838923
Celestia is the manipulator of manipulators.
IT BEGINS!
I assume
should be aren't
Looking forward to more.
Nearly passed this up until John spoiled the outcome of the card game for me, but now Twilight has shown up anyway with an increasingly drunk Sunny Skies on the prowl. Just not feeling the Twilestia these days, but I'll follow along in the hopes of seeing Luna get a little Apple family action.
Favoriting to track, but Celestia's behavior is just the slightest bit
static.giantbomb.com/uploads/original/14/147065/2584173-2222274651-tumbl.gif
unacceptable.
4834548
Just think of it as physical therapy.
*snrksnrksnrk*
4837457 okay, that explains much more than i would have thought
Aww yeah! I already like where this is going.
Things are about to get interesting for the Princesses, methinks. I hope Luna's situation improves. She is my favorite Princess.
Luna simply must find a way to finagle Celestia into admitting her feelings. It would be such sweet revenge.
Please let Luna get the language
hmm...
something tells me...
that someones plans just flipped...
and I'm not sure on where this is going...
but one things for certain...
and one thing only...
Fuck playing Texas hold 'em with dares it's the reason of events of mine that should never be talked about again EVER!
word to the wise...poet with money...not dares
4842180 GLORY TO ARSTOTZKA!
Poor Luna
4855893 i need to keep a runnig tally of people who yell that, papers please was an awesome game
4860176 Ha ha, I know.
Is there going to be chapter 3 ? :)
I can Not wait for the next chapter
are or aren't for amateurs?
4898681
Amateur bartenders, I imagine. Because a good bartender can whip up 5 of them at once in 90 seconds or less. It's basically 'here, have a fuckload of alcohol, and also some coke'