The More Things Change

by The Crane

Liquid Courage

The celebration continues in full swing as Twilight and her friends officially welcome Bobbi, Kat, Tonya, Casie, and Amanda into Ponyville. The music is thumping throughout the new barn that they all chipped in to build. Twilight has launched a ball of light in the air that changes frequently. Hard Cider is flowing like rivers. Nopony is expected to remember much...

While the residents are quite comfortable with all this, Bobbi and her group have encountered some difficulties since they first came here. To start off with, there has been some hesitation among the group regarding rampant nudity. But, as time progresses and nopony seems to making a fuss of it, the situation has mostly died out. Yet, some lingering thoughts may persist....

During all this, the little dragon seems intent on following around Rarity. He's always had a soft spot for her, and perhaps the liquid courage will help him towards his goal.

"Say, Bobbi," Kat wonders from her confetti silhouette, "where do you think we are, anyway?"

"Equestria!!" Pinkie Pie blurts out happily.

"And where is that?" Kat continues.

"Here!!" Pinkie answers.

"And where is HERE?!"

"Equestria!!!"

There is a long silence as Kat no doubt rolls her eyes. Somewhere, someone has likely brainwashed her into never giving a clear answer. That is the only logical explanation.

During all this, Fluttershy twirls by happily with her mane and tail spinning all around her like a yellow and pink spiral. Her wings stretch out instinctively. Even if her equilibrium is shot due to alchy-hol, her feathered limbs may keep her standing like an acrobat on a highwire. Of course, more cider may even get that plan to fail. Even the most introverted pony will cut loose with enough liquid courage.

"The Horsehead Nebula," Twilight says nonchallantly.

"Anypony know how far away from Earth that is?" Kat wonders.

Pinkie puts a mug between Kat's hooves, which for her is not amazing that she knows exactly where to put it. "Too many questions!! CHUG CHUG CHUG!!!"

"Little pink wonder is right," Amanda comments. "We can figure this out later."

"YES!!" Pinkie beams. "Later!! And now--" she announces as she rolls in a massive multi-level cake from Lord knows where. Each layer of the cake is a different color (and flavor) dedicated to each of the five. Going up is gold, red, blue, beige, and seemingly unfrosted.

"I don't get frosting?" Kat whines.

"Oh, no!! It's frosted!!" The pink terror slips a hoof across the side and shows a disturbance in the for--cake. "Clear frosting!!"

Applejack looks at it for a moment. "How in the hay did you do that?"

But, Pinkie literally zips her mouth shut and walks away.

Elsewhere, Tonya sits behind a mug of her own. Beside her is a collection of bravely sacrificed beverages. She reaches for the next, but can't seem to grasp it as well as the last few. Every time her hooves reach for the stein, it slips from her grasp.

"LEEEAAAVVVIIINNNGGG!!" a high pitched squeal shouts. "How ARE you?!"

Tonya glances at her mug, then back to Pinkie's oncoming mug. Back and forth she changes her glance to decide whether saving herself is worth not taking a drink. But, before she can decide, the tornado of glee that is Pinkie zips to her side and has a foreleg around Tonya's body. She tries to escape the chuckling clutches, but to no avail. "Pinkie."

"You ran away from me the other day!!!!"

"Ssoundss log-ical..." Tonya notes in a drunken voice. Her breath smells quite fruity after the many drinks she's pounded back already. Many more than any of her friends. "YOU... ssscarree the SSIT out of... me..." "Sssuggarr coat-ed wubber ball..." She lets out a belch to punctuate her thoughts.

"Aaaawww...." Pinkie coos as she hugs tighter. "You LIKE me!!!"

"Buck it..." she groans. Despite what anyone may think, Tonya decides to 'cheat' a little. Remarkably in her beyond buzzed state, she uses a strange power within her and watches her hoof grow a few fingers on the end of it. With her newly formed hand, she grasps the mug and finishes her enemy (not Pinkie).

"That was so cool!!!" Pinkie grins. "How'd you do that?!"

But, her transformation is short lived as her fingers shrivel quickly back into her hoof and return back to normal. She was able to hold it long enough to slug back her cider. "P-pink... mennaccce? I g-gotta peeee..."

"Well, you are in a barn!!" Pinkie says happily.

"Nnnoo.." Tonya tells her. "Ifff I dooo, I willl pissss onn you..."

"Hey!! That rhymes!! Have you met Zecora?"

Tonya just shakes her head a little and forcibly removes Pinkie's hold on her. She 'walks' away while swinging to either side. Lord knows how she can even stay standing, let alone locomotion. Perhaps the drive to escape the cotton candy flavored minion had something to do with it.

She walks by the supply of hard cider and notes a mulberry colored pony drinking almost directly from the tap. She has a dark pink mane with matching tail. Tonya doesn't remember seeing her before, but that's not unexpected in her state. Before long though, Applejack has lassoed the stranger's rear legs. With a mighty tug, she is separated from the booze.

"I hope," Amanda says, "that this doesn't turn into another 'Hangover' movie."

"Why?" Bobbi asks. "Afraid to wake up next to a tiger? We already got the chimp," she notes while motioning towards Pinkie who at the time was swinging Tarzan-style across the room.

"CAKE DIVE!!!" she bellows before cannon-balling into her multi-colored creation. Her balled up body slams into the cake and serves it up to her friends forcibly by splattering them all with frosted pastry.

==-==-==

Outside, Tonya shuffles her way from the barn that will be her new home for the time being. She can still hear the raging music and is a little happy that everyone is enjoying themselves. Even though she may not seem to be enjoying it herself, she does smile a little.

"Where'sss the friggin' bathroommm around herrrre?" she groans. "Ah welll..." She finds a tall sturdy tree and looks up at it. "Let'sss nott killl thiss one..." She plants a rear hoof to the tree, or at least tries. Another two attempts pass before she finally makes contact. When the coast is clear, (and who really knows with her blurry vision?) she lets loose for a moment. Her eyes close for a moment. Her eyelids flutter.

And she walks away. "Fffeeelll llike a dogggg nowww..."

She stops in her walk and looks up at the stars. She looks away from the barn and the lightshow therein. She can see a glittering tapestry above her. None of the stars are in any kind of order. Small ones. Large ones. Clustered ones. Loners. To the untrained, it's all random. Stargazers can point out multitudes of constellations to take up the entire night sky.

"Arrre yoou up therre, noww?" Tonya asks quietly. "M-Make it okaay? I'm really sssorrryy... I'mmm ssucchh a ffaillurre..."

==-==-==

DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM

"Pinkie...." Twilight sleepily whines. "No more party cannon...."

DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM

"Pinkie..!" she says again. The lavender princess forces open her eyes from the barn floor. She only slightly raises her head above the dirt and hay. Everypony in the room is lying around and smelling of various boozes. Even DJ Pon3 is slumped over her table.

DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM

"Door?" she grouches. "Who the hay could it be....?" She manages to get to her hooves and starts to stumble over to the door. Her condition is so weak that she can't even fold her wings up onto her sides. She just lets them slide across the ground. They pass over her friends new and old as she motions herself towards it.

DOOOM DOOOM DOOOM

Sunlight has started to creep in through the cracks and partially illuminate the room. She can see Pinkie twirling around in a circle. Out cold, yet so much kinetic engery has built up inside of her that she'll never be still, even in rest. As she passes, she may have thought of tipping her over for a laugh. But, she'd probably just bounce around on the floor like a fish.

DOOOM DOOOM

"Yes!!" Twilight replies before the third knock. She remains the pony in red from the incident earlier in the day--or actually yesterday. She grasps the handle of the door and uses what strength she has to force it open. Ordinarily, she might 'magic' it open with her horn, but she's far too hungover to concentrate.

She finally gets the door open wide enough to receive who is on the other side, and is unsubtly blinded by a tall blazingly white alicorn on the other side. The sun directly behind her doesn't help, either. "Princess.... Celestia?" she asks. "Wh...what are you doing here?"

"Did you not receive my letter?"

"Yeah...." Twilight groans. "The mirror won't work right now..."

"I sent another later in..." The regal white alicorn with golden adornments looks over her prized student for a long moment. Twilight is disheveled. Covered in red. Bleary eyed. Her gaze turns towards the interior and finds many ponies laying around, not moving (except for Pinkie). The Princess of the Sun's eyes grow wide as she sees the scene before her. "TWILIGHT SPARKLE!!! WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!"