CRISIS: Equestria - Divergence

by GanonFLCL

Chapter Twenty-Five: Celebration

The party was already underway at Lockwood's apartment, and according to Pinkie and Velvet, it had essentially started as soon as they finished setting things up, which meant, as far as Twilight was concerned, she'd arrived right on time with Winter and Dawn in tow. Fluttershy and Gray were already there as well and had helped set things up, and Rarity and Insipid had arrived just before Twilight did.

It was amusing to see her old friends interact with Dawn, who had never hung out with Twilight or Winter outside of the library—the library coffee shop notwithstanding—and so had never met any of them before.

"Hi there, Dawn, it's super nice to meet you!" Pinkie greeted. "I sure hope you enjoy the party!"

Dawn, in her typical stuffiness, gave a polite smile and a nod. "Indeed, as do I. I have never attended such an impromptu soiree before, so this unfamiliar experience should prove enlightening as to how a roisterer such as yourself functions in such an environment."

Pinkie blinked and remained silent for a good moment, then grabbed Velvet and too-loudly whispered. "Red, did your sister just call me an oyster?"

"A 'roisterer', darling," Rarity explained; Twilight had been about to jump in but didn't mind that Rarity beat her to it, and was actually rather impressed. "It's another word for someone who likes to party, although a bit archaic." She offered her hoof to Dawn. "A pleasure to meet you, dear. I'm Rarity."

Dawn took it and gave it a shake, but maintained her aloofness; against somepony like Rarity it was hardly effective, as the latter was used to dealing with such ponies in the fashion industry. "Charmed. You are the couturier, if I am not mistaken?"

"I prefer 'seamstress' if we're using more complicated terms than 'dressmaker'," Rarity said with a grin. "But yes, you would be correct."

Dawn then greeted Fluttershy. "And this is Fluttershy, the reticent one?"

Fluttershy just tilted her head. "Um… hi. Yes, I'm Fluttershy. Pleased to meet you, Dawn. Twilight says you've been helping her with her research?"

"Indeed, and Twilight claims that my collaboration on her undertaking has been particularly serendipitous."

Pinkie put her hooves on her head. "Augh! So many big words!"

Dawn then addressed Rainbow. "And this must be Rainbow Dash. Twilight intimated that you were the most expeditious pegasus in all of Equestria?"

"Uh, if that means 'fast', then yeah, that's me," Rainbow said with a nod.

"Indeed. And quite a preternatural skyball athlete as well. I shall scrutinize your career with abundant interest."

"Huh?" She turned to Havoc. "What's up with your sister, dude? I can't understand a word she says."

Havoc shrugged. "What are you asking me for? I don't understand her any better than you do. She's a walking thesaurus."

"A 'walking thesaurus'?" Dawn snarled, eye twitching. "How dare you, you… you… scatalogical, diminutive ignoramus! You… absolutely contemptible pilgarlic! You… you… jerk!”

"Hey! Who're you calling a jerk?!”

Twilight wisely just watched the entire conversation from afar.

The "party", which was really underway now that a large enough group was here, started to move along at a relatively decent pace. Pinkie kept the music calm for now, serving as essentially just background noise. Most of the group was just partaking in a few snacks here and there, but not enough for anypony to spoil their appetites; Velvet had ordered pizza—real pizza—for dinner. Applejack was slated to arrive just before they were to be delivered, so everypony just had to be patient.

One thing Twilight noticed now that she was actually in Lockwood's apartment instead of just looking in from the outside as she would when picking up Winter every morning, is how large it was. The living room was big enough that when Gray had moved the couch, Teevee, and some other furniture aside—by herself—the floor space was such that it could contain a snack table, a drink table, a table for Pinkie's boombox, and a vinyl dance floor that had been rented so that everypony could dance without worrying about the carpet.

Pinkie and Velvet had also gone all-out on the decorations. There were streamers, banners, and balloons, just like any typical, patented Pinkie Pie party, and that made Twilight feel a bit nostalgic. She hadn't had a good Pinkie party in weeks, and if the intention of this get-together was to put everypony in a good mood, it certainly worked. It was the closest she'd felt to home since, well… since leaving.

For the most part, as with any party, most of the ponies present sort of divided themselves up into their tightest-knit groups of friends, though Twilight was surprised that her group of friends from home didn't naturally gravitate towards one another, at least not immediately.

She herself stuck with Winter as the party carried on, talking about magic that they'd yet to discuss, the party itself, how Winter was looking forward to Pinkie bringing out the "harder stuff" to drink later, and how the snacks—all made of real ingredients—were absolutely delightful. This had apparently been the first time Winter had ever been to a party, either, but she didn't treat it like a bizarre learning experience like Dawn did.

Speaking of Dawn, she seemed content to remain by the snack table the entire time just trying out different treats and appetizers, practicing a prim and proper etiquette that Twilight expected more from Rarity but not from her library companion. She'd always known Dawn was of a higher social class than most, but then she'd usually interacted with Dawn in a more casual environment.

"Hey Dawn, how are you enjoying the snacks?" Twilight asked at one point while she and Winter were grabbing some themselves—she liked the selection of cheeses and crackers, Winter liked the pretzel sticks.

Dawn carefully and elegantly dabbed her lips with a napkin. "I have found the chocolate chip cookies to be preferable to the other cookie varieties thus far, and am rather fond of these miniature avocado sandwiches. I would eschew the jalapeño poppers unless you are predisposed to spicier offerings, however, as they are quite potent."

"Have you tried the donuts yet?" asked Winter, gesturing at the miniature donuts that Pinkie had made—full donuts would be too much, and these were all bite-sized and actually quite adorable.

"I am making an attempt to sample one of each of the offerings, but have not yet arrived at that particular morsel, no."

Velvet, who had come over to put another set of various cookies on her plate, nudged Dawn gently in the side. "Ooh, you oughta give 'em a try. Pinkie makes some amazing donuts. Start with the classic glazed ones and work your way up."

Dawn huffed. "Doughnuts seem rather pedestrian, if I might be blunt." Twilight could literally hear her use the proper full spelling of donut; only Golden Dawn could do something like that. "But if you insist."

She grabbed up one of the simple glazed ones in her magic and took a perfectly etiquette-following bite rather than eating the whole thing as most ponies would. Her eyes widened almost immediately, and for half a second Twilight was certain that Dawn wasn't chewing with the proper etiquette at all. She took a second bite—bigger than the first—and chewed that one just as quickly so that she could take the third and final bite.

"Well?" Velvet asked.

Dawn, without dabbing her lips first, grabbed her sister by the shoulders. "Why has nopony informed me of how gratifyingly delectable these doughnuts were?! How dare you keep secrets from me!"

"Whoa, whoa, take it easy, Dawn," Winter chuckled, pulling the other unicorn off of Velvet. "You're gonna blow a bloody gasket, eh?"

Dawn took a deep breath and dabbed her mouth with her napkin. "I would never succumb to such barbaric tendencies. This was merely a… reflex."

Velvet's grin was positively immense as she leaned over and nudged Dawn in the side again. "Sooo? Did you like it? Huh? You like donuts, don't you sis? Not so ‘pedestrian’ now, huh?"

Dawn didn't respond, just gave her sister a hard look, added another donut—a maple bar—to her plate, stuck her nose in the air, and walked away. Then came back, levitated one more—chocolate sprinkles—and walked away again, all without a word.

Velvet nodded. "Yeah, she liked it."

And thus the party continued.

The hostesses, Pinkie and Velvet, occupied themselves by bouncing—literally, in Pinkie's case—around the partygoers to see how everypony was enjoying the party. They'd refill drinks, take empty plates, join in conversations, and just generally mingle. It was really, really nice to see Pinkie back to her old, energetic self again; after the attack, well, Twilight was worried that Pinkie would be a nervous wreck for the remainder of their stay here.

Fluttershy and Gray had sort of sequestered themselves over on the couch to watch the others, which was something Twilight could see either of them doing individually at a party. She was glad that the two of them had one another to share that with, because otherwise she'd feel bad that they were alone. Gray would occasionally get up to grab new snacks or drinks for the pair, and Twilight could swear that Fluttershy was always blushing when she did.

She was surprised that Flathoof had gravitated towards the pair after he arrived at the party, having apparently bonded somewhat with them fairly recently, though Twilight wasn't sure when. When Applejack arrived, she also joined them, forming a nice little quartet that wouldn't seem at all out of place at even a larger party.

"Say, when's dinner gonna be?" Applejack asked shortly after she'd arrived. "I'm starvin' after that bus ride over."

Almost on queue, there was a knock at the door, and outside there was a young unicorn stallion hauling a staggering tower of pizzas. "Pizza delivery for a… Red Velvet?"

Velvet walked over to deal with the payment while Twilight and Winter helped Pinkie bring the pizzas in and set them on the table.

"Oh dear, I can't seem to find my credit card," she said, putting her hooves on her cheeks in embarrassment. "Is there… another way that I can pay for all these hot…" She licked her lips and stepped towards the young stallion, who was sweating profusely. "Tasty—"

Insipid walked over and handed the delivery colt her own credit card. "Don't worry, sis! I've got you covered! Cha!"

The delivery colt scanned the card, got Insipid's signature, and left in only a few seconds, seeming to be in an awful hurry. Twilight wasn't even sure if he'd been given a proper tip.

Insipid reassuringly pat Velvet on the shoulder as she closed the door. "You, like, really oughta keep track of where your card is, sis! What if somepony else finds it?! They could totally steal your identity and junk! Major un-fresh?"

Velvet just slowly turned, glared at her sister for a moment, snorted loudly enough that everypony could hear, then walked off to grab some pizza without saying a word.

Twilight had no idea what that was all about, but hey, dinner was served!

Rarity naturally remained with Insipid throughout the party thus far, showing her how a lady properly enjoyed herself at such an event: how to use a napkin properly and how to dispose of the paper ones; how to take small bites of the snacks and especially how to neatly eat pizza; how to pay compliments to the host or hostess; and how to properly imbibe in a drink, alcoholic or not. She and Dawn would probably get along pretty well, Twilight figured.

As for Rainbow and Havoc, they seemed to be busy "talking shop" about an upcoming game and the things they wanted to try in their next practice. Twilight also caught a short snippet of their conversation pertaining to a certain event that had occurred the other day, and how it had been all over the news, and how the two pegasi were very naughty ponies that deserved to get a talking to about what they did because of how irresponsible it was. At least that was what Twilight hoped they were talking about, because it was true.

Once dinner had been served and some of the pizzas had been cleared out—Twilight found herself gravitating mostly to the olive and mushroom—Pinkie and Velvet brought out "the hard stuff", which basically amounted to a bowl of spiked punch, which they'd made sure was a different color from the regular punch so nopony grabbed the wrong drink, which was very thoughtful of them.

Twilight elected to stay away from the stuff, and to her surprise, so did Pinkie and Flathoof.

"Yeah, I'm not much of a social drinker," Pinkie said, waving her hoof when questioned about it. "When there's no alcohol involved, I have to be the wild and crazy one at a party. When there is alcohol involved, usually somepony else is the wild and crazy one. Sometimes it's more fun, sometimes less, but hey, at least it's not me wearing a lampshade for a hat for once."

Flathoof's explanation made much more sense. "I'm a teetotaller." Nopony seemed to mind or care, really.

Shortly after the drinks were brought out, Pinkie started playing different music on her boombox, music that was more upbeat and suitable for dancing to rather than the mood music that had been playing thus far. And, just to make sure everypony got the hint, she also grabbed Rainbow and started vigorously dancing across the dance floor; everypony moved out of the way so that they didn't get their food and drinks spilled by Pinkie's gyrating tush.

But not everypony was about to let Pinkie and Rainbow be the only ones dancing the night away. Velvet took to the floor soon after, but instead of dancing with anypony she seemed to be more focused on dancing by herself in the general vicinity of Flathoof, and Twilight was pretty sure those particular dance moves were considered rather… provocative. Definitely not something Twilight thought was appropriate for this sort of party.

Judging by the death glare that Gray was giving her sister, she didn't approve of it either. The poor cup she'd been using for her punch crumbled up like an accordion; luckily it seemed to be empty.

"So hey, you wanna dance with me, stud?" Velvet asked him, biting her lip and swishing her tail along his chin. "You're the hottest guy here.”

"I'm the only guy here," he pointed out.

She gyrated her flanks and flipped her mane. "Ipso facto."

Flathoof took a drink of his non-alcoholic punch; he seemed more nervous than Twilight had ever seen him. "I've, uh… never been much of a dancer, Miss Velvet."

"It's okay, you can just stand there and let me do allll the work," she said with a wink. "I don't mind."

"Er, nnnope, I think I'm good," Flathoof gulped as she gyrated closer.

Velvet took it in stride, though, and just sashayed away, flanks bobbing to and fro. "That's okay, maybe you'll change your mind later, big guy." The way she was practically flagging her tail made even Twilight blush.

Despite all that, the music was upbeat and exciting enough that Twilight was getting the urge to dance as well, and so she started her way onto the dance floor after finishing up her punch. She threw a quick glance at Winter while she was at it. "Hey, I feel like dancing for a bit. How about you?"

Winter tilted her head. "I've never really danced before to be honest with ya."

"Oh, then you've got to come try it! Since this is your first party and all, you really should try everything out at least once."

"I'm not even sure I know how."

Twilight grabbed Winter's hoof and pulled her onto the dance floor. "It's easy! This isn't like some kind of fancy ball or anything, so there's nothing to it. You just gotta listen to the music and move yourself around to the beat."

Winter sipped from her own punch—hers was spiked not just by Pinkie and Velvet but by a bit of her own stuff—then shrugged and set her cup down. "Sure, why not? First time for everythin', eh?"

Twilight smiled, brought Winter out to a spot where they'd have plenty of room, then stood and waited, listening to the music to try and figure out the beat so she could move along to it. Then, she started moving, shaking her legs and body about wildly to best match with the beat of the song, closing her eyes so she could focus for a moment.

When she opened her eyes after figuring out her groove, she saw that Winter was watching her with a cheeky grin. "What?"

Winter just shook her head and smiled. "Nothin'. You're just… a real party animal, Twilight. I never thought ya had it in ya."

Twilight giggled. "Well, come on! Don't just stand there, shake a leg!"

Winter just watched Twilight for a moment, then rolled her eyes and joined in the dancing, matching Twilight's moves with respectable accuracy. Twilight knew she looked a bit goofy while dancing, if only because she'd never really learned any proper moves or techniques while growing up, and in fact because she'd never really been to any parties either until she met Pinkie. Typically her friends gave her space when she decided to "bust a move".

So, it was kind of nice having somepony to dance with, even if neither of them knew what they were doing and they probably looked silly doing it. That part didn't matter; what mattered was that she was enjoying herself, and Winter seemed to be enjoying herself too, and they were enjoying it together.

Then, there was a knock on the door, which Twilight figured was Lockwood, since he'd said he'd be late to the party because of a charity event he'd needed to make an appearance at. Dawn, who was closest to the door—because it was closest to the snack table where she'd been steadily sampling more and more donuts—answered it, and sure enough, there was Lockwood, dressed in that snappy tux of his with the mask that Rarity had made him for the ball.

Lockwood had also brought two mares along with him. One was a blue-coated earth pony with a red mane that was impeccably styled, wearing a dress that Twilight figured could almost rival anything she'd seen Rarity put out before; like Lockwood, she was wearing a mask to obscure her face. The other was a pink unicorn mare with a red mane, also impeccably styled, wearing a white-and-green gown that was quite fetching, as well as a matching mask.

"Hello, everypony!" Lockwood greeted as he entered the room. He marveled at the sights he beheld. "Say, this is quite a little soiree you guys hooked up here." He turned to Velvet. "How'd you manage to rent a dance floor on such short notice?"

Velvet scuffed her hoof on her chest. "Oh, y'know, nothing special. I just had to ask the rental guy really nicely. And pay lots of bits, of course. Nice, huh?" She glanced at the two guests, and her eyes widened in shock. "Oh wow, no way. Curaçao? Is that you?"

The blue-coated mare—Curaçao, apparently—removed her mask, a broad smile on her face. "Bonjour, mes soeurs! It is so good to see you!" She approached Velvet first and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "My dear Velvet, it has been so long, non? Are you doing well?"

"Yeah, just fine, sis," Velvet replied, still in the midst of genuine surprise. "Uh, what are you doing here?"

Curaçao gestured towards Lockwood. "This wonderful gentlecolt invited me and my date to this party when the charity ball turned out not to be as fun as we would have liked, so to say."

"Your 'date'?" Dawn asked as she closed the door, raising an eyebrow, almost as if she recognized the other mare that had arrived with Curaçao and Lockwood.

"Oui, my date." Curaçao pulled the other mare closer and gestured to her. "This is Shroud. Shroud, these are mes soeurs, Golden Dawn, and Red Velvet." She pointed out into the room at her other sisters in turn, who all nodded or smiled in greeting. "As well as Gray Skies, Insipid, and Havoc."

Shroud gave a little wave. "Um, hello."

Twilight stepped forward as well and offered her hoof to Curaçao. "Hi there! I'm Twilight Sparkle. It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Curaçao. So, you're Dawn's sister, huh? She's never mentioned you before."

Curaçao took Twilight's hoof and gave it a gentle shake. "Ah, the pleasure is mine, Mademoiselle Sparkle. And oui, I am Dawn's sister, though I am not surprised that she has never mentioned me before. Or that any of mes soeurs haven't, for that matter. We do not speak often as I am often wrapped up in my work."

Twilight couldn't help but smile. "Heh, I can't really blame them. I have an older brother myself, and I never mentioned him to my friends for an entire year. I guess I just sort of forgot about it," she added with a sheepish smile; it was still a sore spot for her that she'd completely forgotten to ever mention her BBBFF to her friends until that wedding invitation arrived.

More introductions went around the room and as far as Twilight could tell, this Curaçao was the sort of mare that definitely belonged at the ball where she'd met Lockwood. She was very beautiful, and she carried herself with an air of elegance and refinement that reminded her of Rarity, only a smidge more so if that were at all possible. She seemed glad to see her sisters, and likewise they were glad to see her, but it was an awkward sort of family reunion.

The sisters were mostly surprised by this Shroud that had arrived with her, who Twilight noticed was both anxious and excited to be here, or perhaps more accurately to be here with Curaçao. She could tell from looking at how Shroud carried herself that the mare wasn't used to social engagements—she could relate—but seemed eager to try; she still kept herself near her date to ease into the transition.

Eventually, the music started up again and ponies got back onto the dance floor to enjoy themselves as the party got back into full swing. Twilight noticed Lockwood greeting Rarity warmly, with the latter ensuring that his mask was on properly and that his tuxedo was straight. Other than Fluttershy, only Rarity had really gotten close with Lockwood over all this time, as far as Twilight knew; the two acted around one another like they were best friends, in fact, rather like how she herself and Winter got along.

Once Twilight was a little pooped out from dancing, she took a seat off to the side of the dance floor and took a big drink from her new cup of non-alcoholic punch. Winter joined her, bringing over some small treats to snack on, and the pair sat quietly and watched the party continue on. It was easier to do when not focused on swinging one's body around dancing.

Pinkie and Rainbow still grooved about together on the dance floor, though Twilight felt they were more dancing together than just dancing in proximity to one another; Velvet still made an attempt to coerce Flathoof into a dance, unsuccessfully, with Gray's fierce look visible across the room; Havoc at one point downed an entire cup of alcoholic punch in one go and walked over to Lockwood to ask him to dance, though he politely declined.

"Sorry, but dancing is a bit out of my comfort zone these days," Lockwood said with a little grin. "I'm so out of practice that I'm sure I'd probably just embarrass you."

Havoc brushed that off with a hoof; it was hard to tell in the lighting of the room and since Havoc was already red in color, but Twilight swore she saw a blush there. "Oh, hey, don't worry about it dude. Dancing isn't for everypony, y'know? I don't even dance. Heh."

Shortly after that, though, and after Pinkie and Rainbow took a short break from dancing to sit together—were they holding hooves?—Twilight noticed Lockwood approach them and whisper something to Pinkie, giving a little glance over towards Curaçao and Shroud, who had gathered near the catering table to have some snacks and drinks themselves.

Whatever had been whispered made Pinkie really excited, because she bounded across the room to the boombox and immediately changed the music. "This one is a special request, everypony," she announced. "So hold onto your butts, 'cause this party's about to get fancy!"

The new song that played was not more of the same upbeat party music that Pinkie typically provided and had been pumping into the room for the entirety of the party, but a legitimate waltz, and a rather pleasant one at that. Compared to what had been playing all night so far and what Twilight was used to from Pinkie, it came as a total shock. It seemed as though several others agreed, though they were less reserved about showing distaste.

"Yo, what the hell is this?" Havoc blurted, eyes wide and hooves over her ears as though the music was painful to her. "I thought this was a party, not a snoozefest ballet."

"Yeah, Pinks, what gives?" Rainbow asked, nudging the party pony gently.

"It's a special request, Dashie," Pinkie said, nuzzling Rainbow's cheek. "Some ponies didn't get to enjoy their date night earlier, and I'm fixing it! Look look look!"

She pointed towards Curaçao and Shroud, who had taken to the dance floor almost as soon as the music had started playing, with the former clearly leading the latter. Without hesitation, Curaçao took Shroud up in what Twilight recognized as a traditional sort of waltz position, and took the lead in moving Shroud through the steps, her eyes locked on Shroud while Shroud's were more carefully watching her own hooves so she didn't trip over them.

It took a few moments as the rest of the room watched the pair moving across the dance floor, all of them quiet, before anypony else moved to join them out there. It didn't surprise Twilight one bit that Rarity was one of those who took the floor next, dragging Insipid along with her and, like Curaçao was doing for Shroud, took the lead with a very clear instructional intent.

"Think of this just like learning your runway strut, darling," Rarity said as she slowly and carefully showed Insipid the waltz steps. "Whereas a model needs to know how to move on the runway and how to strike a pose, a lady must know how to properly dance with a partner."

"Okay," Insipid said, biting her tongue and carefully following along. "This is, like, a lot harder, though. The runway is just, like, one-two-three-four, straight lines, little twirls. I learned that! But we're moving a lot more than that right now, so it's, like super hard and junk? Cha!"

"It's alright, dear, it's just a little bit more complicated, but I know you can do it. Follow along with me, alright?" Rarity cleared her throat and started counting out the motions as she moved. "Left hoof one, right hoof two, left hoof three…"

It looked like it was going to be a slow learning process, but Rarity's determined look, as well as Insipid's, indicated that they were going to keep at it until the latter learned how to waltz like a proper lady. Lockwood gave the pair encouraging looks all the while, which Rarity returned with a little smile of her own.

Even Pinkie got into the act, dragging Rainbow onto the dance floor. "Come on, Dashie, let's tango!"

"Whoa!" Rainbow blurted as Pinkie drew her up into a surprisingly accurate proper waltz starting position. "P-Pinkie?"

"Er… mambo! Rumba? Cha cha?" Pinkie looked to Lockwood. "What kind of dance is this again?"

"A waltz," Lockwood said with a smile.

"Right! Let's waltz, Dashie!"

"Pinkie, you know I'm not good at frou-frou dancing," Rainbow stammered, red in the face as Pinkie's hoof slid down her back.

"Me neither, but when are we ever gonna get another chance to try?" Pinkie then pulled a rose with a long stem out of her mane, stuck it sideways between her teeth, and growled like a cat. "I know you usually lead, Dashie, but for now, let me do it."

Then, Pinkie twirled Rainbow around as they began their own little waltz, which Twilight had to admit wasn't all that bad considering that neither of them had a clue what they were doing.

Neither of the other two pairs, though, compared to the way that Curaçao and Shroud moved across the floor. Shroud seemed to have gotten the hang of waltzing relatively quickly, which was clearly because Curaçao wasn't just a good teacher, but practically a professional at the technique. She moved with a sort of serene grace that Twilight had never seen before, even back home when some of the stuffier parties involved this kind of dancing amongst practiced individuals.

It wasn't just the movement, either, but the look the two shared. Though it was hard to see their expressions clearly behind the masks they wore, it was clear that the two were looking right into one another's souls with what Twilight could only describe as a deep focus. It rather reminded her of the way that her brother and Cadence looked at one another when they'd danced at their wedding.

The waltzing music came to a triumphant close, and as it did so, Curaçao dipped Shroud close to the floor, but the two kept their eyes locked the entire way. Twilight leaned forward in her seat a little when she saw their faces pressing close. She felt her own face getting a little hot just watching the display, not sure what to expect next. It was like something right out of a movie.

Then, without warning, the two rose back into proper upright positions, though Shroud was breathing heavily. And as the music died down, the pair shuffled briefly off of the dance floor, shared a brief, impassioned, but mostly quiet exchange of words.

Curaçao then turned to the group, all smiles. "Pardonnez-moi, everypony, but Shroud and I are going to take our leave for the evening. This has been a wonderful soiree; merci beaucoup, for inviting us."

"No problem at all!" Pinkie said with a grin and a wave. "Thanks for coming. It was nice meeting you two."

"See you around, sis," Velvet said with a wide, toothy grin. "Enjoy the rest of your evening." She winked.

More goodbyes were said, and then the two departed out the door without looking back.

Then the upbeat music returned, and the party got back to the way it had been for the remainder of the evening.

Twilight sat content in her seat and looked out over the crowd again, glad to see that everypony—new friends and old—were having a good time. She knew that she and her older friends needed to get home, absolutely, and she wanted nothing more than to be able to return and put things right and get back to normalcy. But a part of her was glad that they were all here right now, and that they had all made such good friends with ponies despite their initial trepidations about this alien world.

Rarity, having finished teaching Insipid to dance, took up a seat next to Lockwood and chatted quietly with him, both of them smiling and laughing at whatever they were talking about like they had been friends for years rather than weeks.

Insipid, meanwhile, had grabbed Havoc and dragged her out onto the dance floor to attempt to show off her newfound waltz, despite the music not at all matching. Havoc, naturally, fought with Insipid to keep herself off the dance floor in the first place, then fought with her over who was going to be the lead, and now the two were aggressively waltzing against one another like it was a contest.

Pinkie and Rainbow joined in the fun, of course, this time dancing a tango—the music didn't match that either—with Rainbow in the lead. Where Pinkie had suddenly acquired a flamenco hat, Twilight didn't know, but she had learned not to question where Pinkie got things sometimes no matter how little sense it made. Twilight did blush, of course, when Rainbow rather brusquely took the rose out of Pinkie's teeth with her own, making full lip contact in the process. When did those two get together?

The quartet of Applejack, Flathoof, Gray, and Fluttershy observed the dancing and entertained themselves just by watching the others, whether it was laughing at the antics between Insipid and Havoc or applauding as Pinkie and Rainbow showed that they knew how to dance with the best of them, at least in their own special way.

And her good friend Dawn, who seemed content to stay by herself throughout the evening, was still at the snack table, and though she had slowed down considerably by this point she was still sneaking donuts onto her plate and eating them when she thought nopony would notice. But Twilight noticed. So did Velvet, actually, who came over and without a hint of snark, scooped all of the donuts into a box so that Dawn could take them home. Dawn seemed puzzled by the gesture.

And most of all, Twilight was able to sit content in her seat as she watched it all unfold with Winter at her side for company. The two shared a laugh together when Insipid nearly threw Havoc off the dance floor with an ambitious twirl; they tapped cups together before sharing a drink, though Twilight's was still non-alcoholic; they leaned against one another as the evening drew on. Twilight was content right where she was.

Of all the ideas Pinkie and Velvet had ever come up with together, Twilight felt that this one would be hard to top.

*****

The following morning was just another day at the CDH library for Twilight, as far as she was concerned. Just another day of helping assorted ponies with research projects, legal matters, documentation references, and other matters. By now she'd gotten quite good at using the computers here in the library, to the point that she could assist multiple patrons in rapid succession. As such, Archimedes had expanded her work area to cover more of the library floor, and even given her a raise; she was apparently the best librarian he'd had in years.

That didn't mean she was ignoring her friends, of course, which in this case meant just Winter and Dawn; her other friends were all busy doing their own things over the course of the day that she'd actually be astonished if any of them waltzed into the library for any reason. The pair of fellow unicorns were here working on Winter's goal of making contact with Nihila's Warden, as always, and they'd made substantial progress thus far.

The most important thing that they learned was that the Warden immediately after Blood Beryl, possibly in an attempt to better ingratiate themselves with Nihila, had unleashed a horrible plague known as the Red Death upon the griffin—this world spelled it "gryphon"—civilization that lived here in the north, and that it had apparently wiped them out to the last. Twilight was horrified to learn that she was looking to ask for help from a goddess that would condone—no, encourage—such an act, but at this point they were out of alternatives.

Other than that, thanks to Dawn's own information detailing the history of the city itself, they learned that the city's current government body, a council of ponies known as the Committee, had been formed hundreds of years ago and that it had a special seat known as the "Shadow Associate", which was somepony on said council that proposed bills but did not vote, and was not elected but rather chose its own successor. The identity of whomever was holding this seat was typically always considered a secret, but Winter considered it to be the most obvious candidate to be their Warden target.

"Think about it," Winter said as they looked over the information. "If Nihila's Warden is supposed to be manipulatin' ponies so that they give off the sort of energy that empowers her, then naturally they'd have to be in an influential position, eh?"

"And it makes sense that they'd keep their identities a secret and select their own successors," Twilight added. "We've already theorized that Nihila and her Warden operate from the shadows, and there's nothing more shadowy than somepony by the title 'Shadow Associate', right? It's just a little on the nose."

"Now it's just a question of how we even get in touch with the bloke, or shiela, or whatever," Winter said, scratching her chin. "Even the Committee members don't know this pony's identity, they just know what the position's responsible for. So we can't ask them, can we?"

"I suppose not. And I doubt we'd even be able to get in touch with them anyway," Twilight sighed. "Urgh! We're so close, I can feel it."

Dawn, who was conducting her own research separately—they'd felt it would be faster if they split duties and reviewed different documents—approached with a proud grin on her face. "Comrades, I have uncovered a potential solution to your issues."

Twilight smiled, her ears perking up in excitement. "Really? Well, don't let us stop you: go ahead."

They followed Dawn over to her computer, which was displaying pictures of Pandora Tower. Upon further investigation, it was apparent that the tower, which reached all the way up into the sky above the city, was generating some sort of fiery orange energy from its top that spread across the sky all the way to the horizon. Twilight had noticed it before, but it was a subtle effect from a long distance, and these images were taken from up close.

"I am certain that the two of you are cognizant of information regarding Pandora Tower, at least to some degree, yes?" Dawn asked, her eyes alight with excitement, the sort Twilight often got when she discovered something new. "I believe that we have discussed the tower's mysterious reputation?"

"Yup, nopony goes in, nopony comes out," Winter confirmed.

"Well, that is not the only enigmatic fact about the tower. Most ponies are conscious of the fact that Pandora Tower is the source of the magical aura that permeates the sky above, the one that obscures the sun and the moon from the northern skies. However, none are quite so informed of why that is the case."

Dawn flipped through the document to another picture, this one of a similar structure made of white metal that generated a white glow into the heavens. "This edifice stands on the world's southern polar cap, much as Pandora Tower resides on the world's northern polar cap. It was erected hundreds of years ago by the zebras of Zeb'ra'den, and they call it a 'Beacon'."

"A beacon for what?" asked Twilight.

"For Light magics," Dawn replied. "Upon its construction, the structure was infused with phenomenal magical power of the single-most prolific source of Light in the world: that of the southern goddess Harmonia. At least, according to chronicles that detail its construction."

Winter tapped a graph on the screen. "These measurements show that this Beacon emits Light energies that are completely off the bloody charts. I've heard about this structure before but I've never really taken the chance to examine it."

Twilight rubbed her chin. "So, what does this mean, exactly? That Harmonia lives inside the Beacon or something?"

"I mean, that's a possibility," Winter said with a shrug. "It'd be in a completely non-material form, of course, but I mean, it could be the case." She turned to Dawn. "I'm gonna assume that this city's Pandora Tower functions identically to this Beacon down south?"

Dawn nodded. "More than that. Pandora Tower was erected around another Beacon, a counterpart of sorts to the southern Beacon, and records indicate that they were constructed at approximately the same time. Furthermore, the northern Beacon generates Dark magical energy, to further the consideration of it being a counterpart."

"And that means that Nihila is related to Pandora Tower…" Winter mused. Her mouth curled into a big grin. "And that means I can track Nihila's energy."

Twilight's eyes widened. "You can? How?"

"I have a few theories on how to do it, but suffice to say, I think it'll work."

"And what, exactly, would this endeavor of yours accomplish?" Dawn asked.

"Nihila's Warden is a bridge between her and the mortal realm, yeah? At least accordin' to all of our research so far, most of which is also based on Harmonia's Wardens, who have all operated similarly."

"We haven't been given reason to doubt it yet," Twilight noted.

"So, if this Warden serves as a physical bridge, it necessarily follows that he or she would have… 'residue', let's call it, from the connection to Nihila. If I can track Nihila's magical energy signature by usin' the Beacon as a base, then I should be able to locate the Warden by findin' this residue."

Dawn blinked. "That… is actually quite ingenious. How long would it take you to locate this Warden?"

"One or two days, at most. Maybe three if they're not in the city itself, but given what we know about Pandora Tower, my bet is that there's some connection there as well."

Dawn seemed a bit perturbed by this. "That theory also has some modicum of merit."

"This is fantastic!" Twilight said, barely able to keep herself from bouncing in place like Pinkie would. "We're almost—" She paused, managing to contain herself before she revealed too much information to Dawn. "We're almost done with this project. It's taken us weeks of research, but we're so close to finishing it." She turned to Winter. "Are you as excited as I am?"

Winter smiled and nodded. "Yup. But not so excited that I'm goin' to miss my lunch break," she said, gesturing at the clock on the wall.

Twilight gasped, and hastily made her way to her station to punch out for lunch. When she returned to Winter and Dawn, she said, "Would you guys like to join me for coffee and lunch?"

"Always do," Winter said, rising from her seat.

"It has been an exorbitant period of time since I last shared lunchtime refreshments with you, Twilight, so I would very much enjoy being included," Dawn agreed.

*****

In the CDH's coffee shop, Twilight watched with eager anticipation as Dawn took a sip from her coffee cup, which Twilight had filled from her own thermos. "Well?" she asked.

Dawn's eyes widened as the coffee ran past her tongue, and she looked to Twilight as though she'd just been told that Hearth's Warming Eve had come early. "Twilight, this is the most exquisite coffee that I have ever tasted. Where did you say you procured this from?"

"This little coffee shop that's only a short trip from here, Café Estrella. This blend comes from the southern city of Seaside," Twilight explained. "It's easily in my top five coffees ever, and believe me, I've tried a lot of different types of coffee."

"I will take you at your word," Dawn said as she took another sip. "Would you estimate that this pairs well with… doughnuts? It has come to my attention that doughnuts and coffee are considered an ideal partnership."

"Hmm… I believe it should," Twilight said with a shrug. "I won't say that I'm familiar with Flamencian traditions regarding coffee."

"They'd advise churros," Winter noted, raising her own cup of coffee—no alcohol in it this time, to Twilight's surprise. "But ya don't always have to follow traditions, y'know? Sometimes ya just have to buck the trends a bit. Dunk donuts in your fancy coffee; eat cheese or chocolate with vodka instead of wine; put mustard on your pizza. Whatever!"

"I was with you until 'mustard on pizza', Winter," Twilight said, eyes half-lidded. "That sounds like it should be illegal."

"Oh, c'mon now, mate, live a little!" Winter chuckled. She glanced at Dawn. "How about you, Dawn? Mustard on pizza too crazy for ya?"

Dawn sipped her coffee again. "If it were my jurisdiction I would outlaw such a thing immediately, on pain of death. I will not claim to be an enthusiast of pizza, but it seems profane to taint the dish with such a contradictory condiment."

"I couldn't have said it better myself," Twilight agreed with a grin.

She and Dawn shared a brief laugh.

"Dawn, I want to thank you again for all the help you've given us over the past couple of weeks," Twilight said with a sincere smile. "I don't know if we would've been able to discover all of this information so quickly without your help."

"Surely not," Dawn said with a cocky grin. "I would estimate that approximately seventy percent of the information that has been uncovered in regards to this Warden project of yours has been due to my own inquiries."

"Hey, try not to sound too humble there," Winter scoffed. "It's not like ya did everything yourself, y'know?

"It's alright, Winter, she means well," Twilight chuckled, giving Dawn a look. "Dawn's just the sort of pony that feels a certain pride in her accomplishments and isn't afraid to let anypony else know about it, isn't that right?"

Dawn stuck her nose in the air. "Far be it from me to repudiate your perspicacity into my psyche."

Twilight set her hoof on Dawn's. "Listen, Dawn, I mean it. You've been a big help to Winter and me over the last couple of weeks, and I don't know if we could've done it without you, but that's beside the point. It's not just the help you've given us, it's… it's just you that I appreciate."

Dawn raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"You've been a good friend to us beyond just being helpful. Winter and I enjoy your company, even when you put your… pretentiousness on display," Twilight said, carefully choosing her words. "I know somepony back home just like that, only she's not quite so willing to use the skills she does have to help others, not from what I've seen."

"I have endeavored to be of assistance in every way possible," Dawn said calmly. "And I do consider both of you close companions. However, I do not understand the purpose of this particular conversation—"

"Just come right out and say what you mean, Twilight," Winter said, nudging Twilight gently.

"Right." Twilight nodded, then smiled. "Dawn, you're like the sister I never had. I mean, I have a brother, sure, but he and I have had different interests all our lives, and until you and Winter came around, there was never anypony that I could have an honest discussion with about the things that interest me the most."

"I am capable of relating to this sensation," Dawn said matter-of-factly. "If it was not apparent at the soiree last night, my sisters and I do not engage much in familial conversations. I do not consider it arrogance to state that I possess a higher intelligence than all but perhaps Curaçao, and she and I rarely converse face-to-face either. You, on the other hoof…"

Twilight grinned. "See? So, I just wanted to say… thank you. Not just for being helpful to us for our little research project, but for being a good friend to us as well. I wish we could hang out more outside of the library, but I understand that you're busy. I'm glad you were able to make it to the party last night."

"As am I," Dawn said with a nod. With a slight bit of red in her cheeks, she added, "I… do not suppose that I could perchance requisition more doughnuts from Pinkie Pie? I seem to have devoured the contents of the leftovers that I was provided."

Twilight paused, glancing over at Winter, and the three of them shared a good laugh.

*****

About an hour or so after her shift was up, Twilight and Winter arrived at Lockwood's apartment. As promised, Twilight had agreed to celebrate with Winter following their discovery of the last bit of information they needed, and as such the pair had picked up some takeout for dinner—there was a sandwich place nearby that made fantastic real sandwiches, even if they were a bit expensive—and Winter had bought some light beers. The two were set to celebrate the evening, just the two of them.

They'd informed Pinkie and Fluttershy first, of course—the latter was always home and the former got home earlier than Twilight did—so that they could inform the others as well: within a couple of days, they'd be going home. It was so close they could almost taste it. They'd be using the next couple of days to make all the preparations they'd need to properly disengage from this world, which mostly meant quitting jobs, but more importantly saying goodbye to the new friends they'd made along the way.

Tonight, though, was just for Twilight and Winter; they'd earned this. Dawn had been invited as well, though she'd declined, claiming that she didn't enjoy drinking and that she had some work of her own to do tonight, but she'd offered to celebrate with them another time. Lockwood, meanwhile, had plans tonight with some associates and wouldn't be home until well after dinner, so Winter said they'd have the apartment to themselves.

The first thing Twilight and Winter did when they arrived at the apartment was to crack open their sandwiches and enjoy a celebratory dinner. Twilight had ordered the roasted eggplant and tomato sandwich; Winter had ordered a simple lettuce and tomato sandwich, but had a jar of spread that she kept at home that she slathered all over hers.

"What in the world is that stuff?" Twilight asked, giving the stuff a sniff; it smelled like some kind of broth, hard to really describe.

"It's a spread made from leftover brewers' yeast extract, mixed up with some veg and spice extracts," Winter said with a grin, putting on her best expository tone. "They make this stuff down in the south, specifically in Sunnydale. It's not what you'd call a delicacy, more like… a staple. Go on, try some."

Twilight took a little bit onto a butter knife and gave it a lick. It tasted salty and a little bitter, and was unlike anything she had ever tasted before. "Wow, that's got quite a flavor to it. And it's just made of yeast extract and spices?"

"Pretty much."

"Does it have a name?"

"Ponimite." Winter closed up her sandwich and took a big bite, moaning a little as she did. "Mhmm, that's the good stuff," she said with her mouth full.

Dinner moved along relatively quickly, the two briefly reasserting Winter's plan over the next couple of days to try and locate Nihila's Warden. Everything was pretty much in place, so far as Winter was concerned; she made the process sound easy to Twilight, despite how complicated it seemed it should be, but Twilight didn't have a device like Winter's Timekeeper to simplify the process.

"You're really sure this is going to work?" she asked as she helped Winter clean up the table from their food, except for the order of hay fries that they were still eating. "Let me rephrase that: you're sure this is going to work so quickly?"

"Yup," Winter said as she put dishes into the kitchen's dishwasher, another technological wonder that Twilight found fascinating but hadn't had a chance to study. "My Timekeeper's range is pretty wide, and unless the Warden is out of the city, locatin' them won't take long at all. Just a matter of pinpointin' the same signature that's comin' off of the Beacon."

"And I suppose with the measurements of the energy levels, you'd be able to tell even if they were near the Beacon as well, right?"

"Should be able to, unless the energy levels changed significantly since the last measurement was taken. Even then, it's fair to assume they'll be connected to Pandora Tower. I might ask Lockwood if he knows anypony that might be able to get me in."

"Just so long as you're careful, Winter," Twilight said as she retook her seat. "These Wardens sound dangerous. Remember all the stories we've already read? Genocide, war, slavery… these aren't exactly things that good ponies are known for."

"Maybe so, but I can handle myself," Winter said with a smile as she brought a couple of bottles of beer and glasses of water over. "You trust me, right?"

Twilight paused and watched Winter for a moment before nodding. "I do. With my life."

"Then trust me on this: I'll be fine." Winter set down a light beer in front of Twilight and popped off the cap, and took a darker beer for herself. "Alright then, so, ya said that you've had a lil' bit of alcohol before, eh?"

"Just a sip of wine at a party once, and a sip of champagne at my brother's wedding," Twilight said as she eyed her bottle of beer warily. "But I was told that they weren't particularly strong, so I'm a little nervous about trying anything else. The last thing I want is to get… what's the word, 'wasted'?"

"Relax, Twilight, I wouldn't do that to ya. That's just a light beer, eh? Lower alcohol content than an average beer and certainly much less than your run of the mill wines and champagnes. If ya could handle a sip of those, ya can handle a sip of that."

Twilight levitated the bottle in her magic and brought it to her lips, then took a brief swig. It tasted almost like bitter, flavored water, with a mild aftertaste that stung her tongue a little. She pulled it away and grimaced slightly. "Oof, ponies drink this stuff?"

"Only those that are on diets or are tryin' not to get drunk too fast, eh?" Winter said, taking a big swig from her darker beer. "I'm not a fan of the lighter stuff, myself. It's a bit like makin' love in a canoe."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I don't get the metaphor."

"It's fuckin' close to water," Winter clarified with a cheeky grin.

Twilight's cheeks reddened. "Oh. W-well, it's not terrible, exactly. The beer, I mean. Now that the aftertaste is gone, I can still kind of feel this… warmth on my tongue, like when I tried the wine and the champagne before. It's not as strong as what I remember, though, you're right."

"Well, if you're feelin' brave, mate, take another sip. Ya don't have to if ya don't want—"

Twilight smiled and took another drink, more this time than before, smacking her lips a little as she did. "No, I want to give it a try. I'm just a little nervous, that's all. I know some of my friends drink, and I think it might be good for me to learn if I like it or not, so that I'm not so anxious about it if I'm ever offered alcohol at a party."

"So, you've really never been drinkin' with your friends, eh?" Winter asked, taking another swig. "None of them ever invited ya out for some coldies after a long day?"

"No," Twilight said, shaking her head. "I know that Rarity only drinks socially, or at least I think she does, and that's always wines. Pinkie's the opposite; she refuses to drink socially because she finds it more fun to watch other ponies drink when together."

"Ah yeah, she said that last night," Winter observed, finishing off her bottle and setting it aside before grabbing another. "Fluttershy barely touched anythin' last night either."

"I don't know if she really ever drinks or not, to be honest," Twilight said with a shrug. "But she seems like she's not the type to do so unless she has a good reason. I guess if it turns out it's not my thing, at least I can share that with her, right?"

"I suppose so."

"Rainbow and Applejack are the drinkers in the group from what I know, Applejack especially. I've heard that they go drinking together sometimes after a long day of work, just the two of them."

Winter nodded. "Yeah, Applejack seems like the sort that can really handle her booze, especially nowadays. I tell ya, I did not expect any of ya to change that much over the last couple of weeks, but your friend put on a shitload of muscle. And good for her, I say."

"She's said she's really looking forward to getting back on the farm," Twilight laughed. "I bet she can outhaul Big Macintosh by now."

"Yeah, I bet the whole lot of ya are lookin' forward to gettin' home, eh? Glad to be back to a bit of the ol' normalcy?" Winter shook her head and took a long swig. "I suppose we all are, right?"

"I'll just be glad that we're able to put things right back home, and keep our world safe," Twilight said, taking another sip of her own beer. "That's what I'm looking forward to more than anything. I've been so worried about my friends and family…"

"I can't even imagine what that's like," Winter sighed.

Twilight waved her hoof in front of her face. "Oh. S-sorry, I didn't mean—"

"Hey, I told ya, don't worry about it," Winter said with a sincere smile. "That's all behind me, alright? You've got a family and friends to return to. You all do. It's my job to make sure ya get back safe and sound, and that's what I'm gonna do."

Twilight paused, then smiled back. "Thanks, Winter. Really. I'm probably sounding like a broken record by now, but you've really done a lot for me and my friends, and we can never thank you enough."

Winter lifted her bottle a bit. "And you're very welcome, Twilight."

The evening rolled along, minute after minute, hour after hour, and Twilight and Winter whiled away the time talking about funny stories while they imbibed from their beers. By now, Twilight had finished two whole bottles and was working on her third, and starting to feel just a little bit fuzzy in the head because of it. It was a good kind of fuzzy, a happy kind. Winter, meanwhile, had finished her entire case of bottles and moved on to some more that were in the fridge.

Twilight, in a fit of laughter, took another drink from her beer. "And then, she got caught breaking into the hospital just so she could finish the last chapter! Can you believe it?"

Winter chuckled. "This is the same Rainbow Dash that's been spendin' the last couple of weeks bein' a world-class athlete, right?"

"I know! She couldn't believe it either!" Twilight set her now-empty bottle down. "I told her before that I owned every book in the series, y'know? She could've just come to me, but oh nooo, she couldn't let anypony know that she was an 'egghead'. Ha!"

"She was that desperate, huh?"

"Yeah! I mean, I know the Daring Do books are good, but I didn't think they could drive somepony to petty theft."

Winter took another drink of her beer, then shook her head. "Y'know, I've gotten to know you and all your friends over the past couple of weeks, and I have to say, ya really are an odd bunch."

Twilight brushed that off her hoof. "Pshaw. We're not that odd. Are we?"

"Compared to ponies around here? Yeah, a little." Winter grinned and leaned forward in her seat a bit. "But ya know what? It's not a bad thing. It's felt kind of… nice, knowin' you all and spendin' time with ya."

"I think I can speak for all of my friends when I say, 'likewise'," Twilight replied with a grin of her own.

"I'll be honest, Twilight… I think I'm actually gonna miss you guys," Winter admitted, hanging her head a little. "I've been at this job for years, but… I've never met anypony like you and your friends. I've never had anypony to really call a friend before… and now that I've got all of you, a part of me really doesn't want it to end."

Twilight frowned and put her hoof on Winter's. "I know what you mean. You've been a great friend to all of us, and we're gonna be sad to leave you."

Winter stared at Twilight's hoof for a moment. "To be more honest… I think I'll miss you the most. You're the best friend I've ever had…" She gulped.

"I think I'll miss you the most too, Winter," Twilight said with a smile. "I consider Lockwood and Flathoof and Dawn and her sisters all my friends now, but I definitely think I'll miss you most of all."

"Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do. I really like spending time with you, and talking about magic and other things, and I've enjoyed learning so much from you about this world and the things in it that I don't understand. You're just… a lot of fun to be with."

"I've enjoyed it too, Twilight. I've enjoyed it a lot. I've never really felt so… at ease with anypony before. Like this: sharin' a drink, just the two of us. I can't imagine doin' this with anypony else…" Winter paused, took a little breath. "I definitely think of you as more than a friend…"

Twilight tilted her head. "You do? What, like a sister?"

"Not… not quite like that…" Winter said, shaking her head. She paused again, then gulped. "Let me show you what I mean."

Twilight was caught completely off guard when Winter leaned forward and kissed her, not on the cheek like Rarity sometimes did or like her parents, not on the forehead like her brother often did when they were younger, but right on the lips. Right on the lips, like her parents did with one another, or like her brother did with Cadence, or like she'd seen other couples do on Hearts and Hooves Day every year.

She didn't really know what to do. A part of her mind was panicking and telling her to do something, to say something, to ask a question or at least try to figure out what was happening. But another part told her to just stop, to relax, and to enjoy it, and it was this part that was winning because the kiss was not an unpleasant feeling in the least.

She didn't mind the feeling of Winter's lips on hers. Nor the feeling of Winter's hoof gently caressing her cheek, nor her other hoof upon her own. She didn't mind the slight taste and smell of Winter's darker beer that lingered on her breath. She didn't mind the thumping sensation in her chest, though she didn't really understand it, nor did she understand the warmth spreading through her.

She found that she did mind, a little, when Winter pulled back, and she subconsciously leaned forward to keep the separation from happening. She started to feel like she was having trouble breathing; her heart was pounding so fast that she could feel it in her chest; her stomach felt like it was tingling.

Whatever was happening, it was a new sensation for her, and altogether it was quite pleasant.

Twilight opened her eyes slowly, looked at Winter's face, and a part of her was practically screaming at her to lean forward and kiss Winter back. She didn't know if that was the sensation in her chest talking, or the one in her gut, or if maybe it was the alcohol, and so she just sat there, perfectly still, not sure how to react.

Winter leaned forward and pressed her nose against Twilight's, and Twilight hesitated for an instant, unsure what she was supposed to do here. Was she supposed to kiss Winter back? Let Winter continue? What? She felt Winter's lips just barely graze hers again, and she leaned forward just enough to keep the contact intimate, not really sure if that was right or not to do.

"We shouldn't do this…" Winter whispered, her breath right on Twilight's chin.

"Why not?" Twilight whispered back, not sure what else to say; the words just came out of her on their own, like she was speaking from some half-forgotten memory.

"We've both been drinkin'," Winter said, pulling back; Twilight leaned forward just enough to keep their noses together for a brief moment. "I'm sorry. We shouldn't…"

Twilight paused and pulled back slightly. "You… you're right, we shouldn't. I read once that it's not a good idea to make decisions while under the influence."

"Exactly." Winter then abruptly stood up. "I… I think you should head back up to your apartment. It's gettin' late."

"Y-yeah. I should." Twilight rose from her seat as well, slowly so that she didn't stumble; she wasn't sure if she was wobbly because of the alcohol or the kiss anymore.

She walked over to the door, and Winter opened it for her. "C'mon, I'll walk ya home," Winter said.

"Thanks."

"Don't… don't mention it…"

*****

When Winter returned to Lockwood's apartment a few minutes later after making sure Twilight made it back to her own apartment safely, the first thing she did was go to the kitchen's liquor cabinet, grab the big bottle of bourbon within, pop off the cap, and take a long swig straight from the bottle.

She didn't bother grabbing a glass whatsoever as she moved to the table and took a seat, feeling more sober now than she had hours ago despite all her drinking. She took another drink, then gently slapped her face right onto the table once, twice, three times, before burying her head in her hooves. She didn't cry, though. She wanted to, but she didn't.

"What the fuck is wrong with me…" she whispered to herself.

Comments

[RoboRed]

Uh...well, uh...
1) Didn't see that one coming.
2) That certainly complicates things even more.

Other than that bombshell, it was nice to see everyone unwinding at the party. I think Pinkie's gonna be fine now.

"A 'walking thesaurus'?" Dawn snarled, eye twitching. "How dare you, you… you… scatalogical, diminutive ignoramus! You… absolutely contemptible pilgarlic! You… you… jerk!”

"Hey! Who're you calling a jerk?!”

Wouldn't put it past her that all Havoc understood of that was the word "jerk".

"Oh dear, I can't seem to find my credit card," she said, putting her hooves on her cheeks in embarrassment. "Is there… another way that I can pay for all these hot…" She licked her lips and stepped towards the young stallion, who was sweating profusely. "Tasty—"

Insipid walked over and handed the delivery colt her own credit card. "Don't worry, sis! I've got you covered! Cha!"

So much for getting that extra large sausage.

[hamster wizard]

It was nice to see Dawn more this chapter. I've felt like she hasn't gotten a chance to shine yet, beyond being the "smart one."

[Turquoise pony]

Twilight paused, glancing over at Winter, and the three of them shared a good laugh.

It was great seeing Dawn relaxed enough to laugh.

It's going to be hard to see the dark sixes hearts break, when their dad eventually gives them command to betray the light Sixes trust.

[kitsune119]

Didnt see the twinter ship coming

[Teraunce]

Well that's a ship I both saw as possible and didn't expect. Nice chapter.

[My name is R]

"And this must be Rainbow Dash. Twilight intimated that you were the most expeditious pegasus in all of Equestria?"
"Uh, if that means 'fast', then yeah, that's me,"

And here we have a great example of tha problem. Rainbow probably isn't tha most done with speed and efficiency pegasus in Equestria. Putting aside tha glaring grammatical error, she puts way too much effort into 'er words ta really be called efficient.
And no, I didn't have to look expeditious up. I watched Oscar this evening.
Golden Dawn shows preference to high syllabic words beyond the comprehension of those entities which permeate her coordinates, rather than simple words that mean what she wants to say.

"A 'walking thesaurus'?" Dawn snarled, eye twitching. "How dare you, you… you… scatalogical, diminutive ignoramus! You… absolutely contemptible pilgarlic! You… you… jerk!”

Well. Scatalogical, I should remember that one for next time I get upset about someone swearing.
Also, you are. Nyeh.

So, it was kind of nice having somepony to dance with, even if neither of them knew what they were doing and they probably looked silly doing it. That part didn't matter; what mattered was that she was enjoying herself, and Winter seemed to be enjoying herself too, and they were enjoying it together.

Exactly. I don't know tha first thing about dancing as an art form, but my little sister can attest that when I rouse myself for dancing I lack nothing of vigor. (This time I'm not doing the big words on purpose, I just thought they encompassed my meaning better than any common words did.) Most recently we held hands in a circle and bounced in a circle, like Ring Around the Rosey.

Twilight did blush, of course, when Rainbow rather brusquely took the rose out of Pinkie's teeth with her own, making full lip contact in the process. When did those two get together?

Ah, so you finally figured it out, did you?

"You've been a good friend to us beyond just being helpful. Winter and I enjoy your company, even when you put your… pretentiousness on display," Twilight said, carefully choosing her words. "I know somepony back home just like that, only she's not quite so willing to use the skills she does have to help others, not from what I've seen."

...Trixie?