1. One Little Slip
She always brought cider, just as she had from the very beginning. Life was meant to be well-lived, and if that didn’t include a capital bottle of aged apple cider from the cellars, keenly fermented and ready to be properly consumed, then she wanted no part of life. Sure, there might be a great deal of it that would be kept for her own consumption, but there would always be other takers about her; it was just a matter of who and how much. And considering what had transpired in recent weeks, there might just be a little more kept in glass for herself alone.
Applejack traipsed through the quiet village under the cover of serene shadow, the last tinges of sunlight still available upon the upper corners of nearby houses as she walked along. They always started Fridays a bit early just to be safe, allowing plenty of time for all to return home safely and not be seen in an act of indiscretion. They were friends, not sluts, after all; Twilight loved them dearly enough to see their honor kept intact. But tonight was also meant to be enjoyed, and that meant everyone brought something worth drinking. As always, the young farmgirl saw her hand filled with a quality bottle of alcoholic cider straight from the farm, albeit this cask more special than her usual offering. Twilight would likely have aged cognac that had been gifted to her from Princess Celestia, and also capable of knocking out a healthy ox with just one wiff- the powers of being a princess, it would seem. Rarity would have wine, Pinkie some manner of vodka-
Actually, come to think of it, how on earth did Pinkie manage vodka? The girl would get drunk after a few sips, yet always seemed eager to down a few bottles’ worth. Heaven knew how one so lightweight yet not lightweight would also be the one most deliriously drunk with the least amount of effort. And she would have some of Fluttershy’s sweet honeyed mead, a pinch of Rainbow’s disgusting tequila… so perhaps the mystery was not so mysterious as she’d once thought. Pinkie also seemed to enjoy getting sloshed more than anyone else in their number, so perhaps that was the reason why.
Applejack gave a sigh and forced herself to grin. They were her friends, dearly beloved and ever-willing to care for her wellbeing. If only anyone should be so lucky; and it was only one night any of them ever dared to act the fool: a night when they were all safely together and kept in one place so as to be at peace.
It was not uncommon for souls to still be moving about in the evening hours, but the sound of footsteps nearby was something of a unique thing. To her right did Applejack turn and find the colors of sky and earth there in the young woman’s hair, Rainbow Dash trotting along down the lane towards their united destination- and at the moment their eyes found one another, recognition set in and saw to the birth of bitterness.
“Hello, Applejack,” Rainbow called, and though she wore a smile the sight of it was as hostile as the fire in her eyes. It had been well over a month already and still no sign of forgiveness yet, even if it had been the most sensible decision; as if this warrior woman would not accept any other answer beyond the one she preferred! “What’cha got this time?”
“Cider,” Applejack answered, no more novel than any answer she’d given for the past several years since their weekly meetups had come to life. “An old bottle. Should be good.”
“Awesome. You gonna share?”
“Probably.” Just not with you, however, were the words that did not come to life upon her tongue no matter how true. Applejack had nothing to apologize for, nothing to feel sorry about, nor would she even consider an alternative. If Rainbow wished to be immature then she would remain that way without provocation from another. “Dunno how good it’s gonna be, though.”
“It’s cider, right? It should be perfect! Like, the most awesome thing in the world- like drinking an apple dry!” This sudden change from coldness to something almost gregarious was rather a shock; was Rainbow trying a new tactic, meant to dig in and let teeth tear at flesh. If it weren’t too obvious, it might have worked.
But Applejack knew better. “Guess I’ll find out,” she said flatly, offering about as much emotional reaction as a stone. “More tequila?”
“Eh, went with whiskey this time,” the lovely prism answered, hefting the bottle in hand and allowing its dark liquid to shine in the dying light of the evening. “Felt like shaking it up. Kinda gets old having the same old thing over and over, you know what I mean?”
It could have been a dig at her person, and it likely was, but Applejack was better than to bother reacting. The night was long and there would be plenty more barbs to be flung before the night was over; how poor it would be of her to throw so many so quickly. “Guess s- hey, Pinkie!”
Bouncing on down the lane from Sugarcube Corner and every bit of her usually jovial self, the bright and vivacious spirit of Pinkie Pie intruded upon a measure of hostilities and saw them dispelled by the fiery happiness of her consistent demeanor; she was the life of the party and then some, the everlong joy that came with sweet moments in life. Who was she to be bothered by another’s sorrow, when there were seeds of happiness to sow instead? When the frizzy-haired girl came in between the two friends, her presence dispelled the aura of discontent and saw that it would wither away. There was no room of unhappiness when Pinkie was present.
“Hi, Applejack! Hi, Rainbow!” Pinkie cried, ensuring to give both women a fierce squeeze and make her affections known. Ever the physically tender, she allowed no moment to go by without seeing her cherished loves valued. “Ooh, what have you got tonight? Is it tasty this time? That looks like a really old bottle of cider, Applejack- and your bottle looks really pricey, Rainbow! I bet they taste great!”
“I hope so,” Applejack admitted; this particular cask had aged longer than most, its contents a bit more mysterious than what she usually anticipated. “I’ll let you know before I pour you any, OK?”
“Or you can be bold like me, Pinks,” Rainbow said, giving her pricey whiskey a good shake so as to grab attention. “Come on, let’s crack this open right now- get a good taste before we let anyone else have some!”
“Nah. Everyone should have a chance!” Pinkie exclaimed, and the sight of Twilight’s miniaturized palace before her only cemented those thoughts. Upon her face did the bright grin grow, wild happiness at this simple union with friends that continuously brought so much joy. “Ooh, this is going to be so much fun! Come on, you guys! Let’s get inside, I even brought cookies this time!”
Nights together had become a rarer thing. How horrid was it that friends –longtime friends, no less- who had endured horrors and tragedy and violence beyond measure would suddenly find their worlds so engrossing that a moment in friendly company would become a difficult thing to achieve! For ones who had faced against titans and gods, those who called Twilight their close companion now found the wearisome ways of time trickling through and seeing their own personal worlds beginning to possess more and more of their attentions. The times they spent separate were growing longer.
Twilight had seen it coming; like a prophetess with eyes set towards the future, she had seen the days coming when their individual worlds would begin to fracture and sever, like skin breaking apart and letting blood spill through. So she had seen to it that every Friday, like clockwork and without fail, their duties and private lives would be abandoned in favor of one another so that old friendships would not die of age. Even if only a moment spent together would pass them by, then it would be a moment well spent. So an evening would always be set aside to assure that they had joys to share amongst friends and silver-forged within a new memory, forever held happily in the minds of those they cherished.
The palace had been the ready-built excuse for such a thing, and Twilight’s study proved to be the place to which they would shelter themselves away from the prying eyes of a world that understood them not. Here would they laugh and joke and cry and live in each other’s company, façade and barrier and any of their similar kind laid to rest with the hope of a better day tomorrow. Alcohol would loosen tongue, relieve the pressure and allow stories to flow. Within this secretive, reclusive place, they would have shelter from the outside world and enjoy their friendship in peace.
Or, considering how their world consistently involved plots of domination, violence, and monsters… it often meant just getting hammered.
There were plenty of barroom foods to go around, even if one of their number found the fare a bit vulgar for her liking. Pretzels on the table, a pot of steaming chili keeping warm over on the miniature stovetop that sat in the corner, a heavy vat of ice if anyone needed it, and an entire shelf of supplements that would make alcohol taste all the better. Twilight had come to know her friends’ preferences, but allowing them to potentially experiment when they wanted to slow their inebriation wasn’t a bad idea. She’d found herself enjoying a pleasant cocktail mix more often than she’d used to, deeming it wise that at least one of them remained somewhat sober, lest they themselves cause a ruckus amongst the village. Considering that an overlarge flock of bees had decided to roam from their nest in Everfree and take up residence across half the town, any more damage wouldn’t be helpful- that, and Fluttershy was often the mildest of their number, less prone to full-blown drunkenness. A fellow keeping in similar vein helped to alleviate any sense of peer pressure.
Rainbow downed her glass as though the contents were all that kept her alive, what droplets that could be found within slowly trickling down across the contours of crystal until they fell upon her tongue and were met by a sigh. “Oh god,” the wearied athlete muttered, “whiskey kicks ass when you’re tired. Tequila just makes you mad, or like- really energized. But this? This hits the spot.”
I wish you hadn’t been so mean to that queen bee at first.” Lovely as ever, Fluttershy’s gentle reproach fit her nature and her desires for continued peace with all of nature’s beasts. “If you’d just asked me, I could have tried to talk to her and get them to build their nest elsewhere.”
“Ah-ah! I am not talking about work when I can drink,” Rainbow snapped, sudden energy in her exhaustion as she fought against the memories of the afternoon. “Less talking, more alcohol. You know the drill.”
“But nobody had to get hurt,” Fluttershy continued. “She was just a bee trying to build a new nest for her babies.”
“And she chose a place that had her guards stinging everyone in sight,” Twilight interjected, adding her voice to the mix as what could easily be the final word. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy, but we didn’t really have a chance.”
“Yeah, and we’re supposed to have some fun! Not be miserable, so no more about work!”
The splendid royal gave her multi-colored friend a sideways glance; Rainbow had become rather rough as of late, words holding a barbed edge to them that hadn’t been present before. But despite her wishes otherwise… “And yeah, we agreed to not talk about work. So maybe another time, Fluttershy… sorry.”
Though not beaten down, the lovely woman acquiesced so as to not cause further trouble, her eyes on her childhood friend and frown not disappearing just yet. She knew full well why Rainbow was in a poor mood, even if she wouldn’t say why.
“Say, Fluttershy…” Applejack rose from her somewhat stupor in front of the couch and turned to her nature-inclined companion, a gleam of thought glowing in her emerald eyes. “Would you be able to help me start up a hive on the farm? You know, help keep pollination going, or get honey for mead? I’ve been thinking maybe some honey cider or honey with apples might be something worth investing a little money in.”
“I could do that. They require a lot of care, though, Applejack, wouldn’t that be difficult?”
“I think we’ve got enough time to spare. Or we can hire a few hands to help around the place if we need it. Besides, it’ll be healthy for the farm, right? Bees help keep an ecosystem healthy.”
“Well, yes, they do. But they’re very fragile if you don’t care for them properly. For example-”
There had been something foul in the air from the beginning of their weekend reunion, a static charge made to burst ever since foot had crossed the threshold of door. Inebriated and already in a foul mood, Rainbow Dash was found to be a stickler for rules and eager to see the world of effort and exertion left at the doorstep and not to be seen when mugs were made full- and just as swiftly emptied. “Oh for shit’s sake, will you two knock it off? We’re supposed to relax, not go on about a bunch of bullshit work and crap! Shut up already!”
The hot-blooded remark was not taken kindly or well-received by its recipients. Fluttershy retreated back into her usual shell leaving it a mystery whether it was horror or shame that abashed her into silence, while a foul fury rose on Applejack’s face as though it were a long-dormant thing needing only the slightest cue to come to life. Yet not alone were they in their ill greeting, for the sounds of displeasure came to life all around the prismatic woman until she found herself upon an island of discontent.
“Darling, really, just because we come here to loosen up does not mean we must be crude,” Rarity chided, and in her eyes was the tinge of knowledge found to be unwelcome. “Besides, you are speaking to Fluttershy, you have no reason to be anything but kind.”
“Oh, piss off, Miss Prissy,” Rainbow grumbled, taking another swig of liquor- only to find that her cup was absent from her hands, now levitating a few feet beyond her grasp in the midst of a colored aura that belonged to only one person on earth. From across the room came Twilight’s scowl, her strength as leader coming to life and seeing this downward spiral halt sooner rather than later.
“I though you said whiskey makes you relaxed and not angry,” she remarked, tone forcibly even so as to belay escalation. “You don’t seem very relaxed to me, Rainbow.”
“Hey, I’m not the one trying to be all business all day long like Blondie here,” Rainbow protested. “Why are you not getting on her for breaking the rules? We’re supposed to be coming here to relax and you know it!”
“And you’re not relaxed. You are angry and unhappy- in fact, you’ve been both of those things for way too long now,” Twilight assessed, the correct response causing the athletic woman to turn her head away from a scrutinizing gaze. “Just what has been up with you lately, Rainbow? I know you’re aggressive and everything, but this isn’t like you. Is… are you OK? Is something wrong?”
The scowl remained, but eyes darted elsewhere as though seeking out a target for her displeasure. Never one for spoken word, Rainbow was found to be more content with silence on the matter than any sort of explanation. Yet strange was it that her willful silence was felt to not be solitary, a palpability in the air as though more than one kept their tongue from flowing free and turning the fiery night into something awkward.
“Are… are we OK, everyone?” Twilight asked. Knowing she would get nothing else from her friend, she instead summoned the rest of her company and saw to their care, worried that there might be a fracture in their midst. “Is there something I don’t know about? Anything I can help with?” Considering how tense their evening had been, she hoped that there would be an actual answer to her query even if it meant one of her friends had concealed difficulty outside of her knowledge. Better to be shown a wound before it caused one to succumb than to go visit at the foot of a grave.
Yet Twilight’s caring plea was met with silence for a time, Rainbow’s displeasure –and whomever shared it, who it was she could not see- falling away into a strained silence. Fluttershy shook her head and seemed to be recovered from her wounding, Rarity remaining prim and proper despite her former heat.
“Nope! Thanks for asking, though Twilight! Everything is great as always!” Pinkie replied, ever the cheerful and unabated by the tension of those around her. Though drunk she was, her inebriation only inspired her to more cheerfulness and further vigor, eager to be the antithesis to whatever negative chaos their friendships might form.
“Yeah… Umm, sorry.” Rainbow’s words were mildly slurred, but she was reacting quickly despite her current intoxication, gazing around the room and seeming to be truly morose. “Sorry. Ifuckedup- I mean, fuck, I mean- yeah. Sorry. Sorry.”
Exasperation and laughter intertwined as friends combined to provide a response. “You are forgiven, dear Rainbow,” Rarity replied. “But perhaps you should try to drink less. I believe it does you no favors.”
“Yeah. Yeah, maybe,” she said, and promptly downed the contents of her mug without a moment’s hesitation. The room returned to silence once beyond her words, the heat of the drunk clamor seemingly battering their group into silence. Perhaps feeling guilty at having seen to such strain, the athletic woman looked about and cried, “Well… has someone got something to say? You know… conversation ssstarter?”
But she was met with silence. Perhaps it had been a long night, a long day, a long week, for the evening hour had seen fit to badger them into a dismal, quiet mood; try as she might to resurrect the sense of good cheer that had been present from the beginning of their time together, what comfort could be found was clearly spent and not intent upon returning.
“OK, yeah, so- cool, yeah,” Rainbow said. She reached for her mug and found it empty, not recalling that she had drained its contents only a moment before. When recollection came to life, she instead flung a wobbly arm out for the bottle and failed to connect, only achieving the sight of her whiskey falling down against the rug below the coffee table and not shattering, well out of reach for one so wondrously smashed. “Hell.”
Perhaps this was their key to go elsewhere. That their unified lives might need some measure of time and peace to heal before reuniting again, for tonight had been closer to an unmitigated disaster than it had been anything comforting. They were meant to be friends and spend an evening in camaraderie, yet what had transpired instead was clearly misery. Twilight, most sober of their number, actually began to push herself up from her resting position so that she might –politely- tell her guests to return home when she saw Rainbow give a sigh that came from somewhere deep within her belly.
“Twi?”
“Yes, Rainbow?” She couldn’t help but be curious as to what sort of thing was about to be said now…
“Have I ever told you that I think your mom’s a smokeshow? Like, totally smokin’.”
Of all the possible topics of conversation that could be suggested, the thought that one would remark upon her biological mother’s attractiveness, especially in such a manner, hadn’t even been the tiniest blip on her mental radar. Buzzed though she was, the regal hostess saw her frame rise from its resting place atop her usual chair and stiffen as she stared at her friend in complete disbelief. Rainbow held a grin on her face, bleary eyes all the more dim as they recalled pleasant memory and brought lustful thoughts to life within her mind. She seemed to not notice that the whole room’s attentions were upon her in full, five pairs of eyes held wide and boring into her so fiercely that they may well drill a hole right into her heart.
Or at least for a good few moments, for Rainbow’s addled senses at last registered that she was held as a focal point for many attentions and she caught the gawking face of Twilight. “What?”
“Did you just actually say that about my mother?” Twilight’s inquiry came with a trace of a giggle, she not at all sure of how to properly respond. It had been strange, yes, but completely uncouth; was this just drunken rambling or something far weirder?
“Say what? Oh, yeah- yeah, definitely! Your mom’s a total hottie,” Rainbow assured her, seemingly believing that Twilight Velvet’s child might have doubts as to what regards in which she was held by current company; she held a grin and faced the royal, though her gaze seemed to fall elsewhere. “Like damn, she’s got it going on! I bet I could eat that pussy until she screamed, you know what I mean? Like, if she was actually around more often than you might have a new step-mom!”
So she actually hadn’t been joking- or was so impressively drunk that lack of inhibiton was driving her to say the wildest things imaginable and Twilight couldn’t tell which. But the fact that one of her closest friends was speaking about her mother in such a vulgar manner, especially when her father had unexpectedly passed away little more than a year ago, was galling. Infuriating, even; she might have to put a stop to this.
“Rainbow Dash, Velvet is my mother,” Twilight said hotly. “I am her daughter. Why would you say any of this?”
“I dunno, just was thinking about it. Like, she’s just got that bod, you know? What would you call her- MILF? Cougar? Would both work?” Rainbow was not clueing in that her proclamations were ill-received, taking every query as incentive to continue with her diatribe rather than a pressure to be silent.
“Rainbow- stop talking, goodness,” Rarity said, eyeing her royal friend and noting that Twilight might actually be just about to burst. “What you’ve said is extremely inappropriate and not at all polite! You need to apologize to Twilight and I believe you know it.”
“What for? It’s a compliment!” Rainbow protested. “She’s hot, I wanna-”
“It’s crass and unnecessary!” Rarity interjected. “You do not tell your friends that you wish to have relations with their mother, especially in such a blundering manner!”
“Umm- I’m sorry, Rainbow. I mean…” Fluttershy unexpectedly lent her voice to the mix, the softened tone a good measure that kept the more fiery personalities at bay- and potentially preventing Twilight from actually giving life to her rage. “Miss Velvet is very lovely, and she’s a lovely person, too. But there are much nicer ways of saying so than that, especially in front of Twilight. It’s not polite.”
“Thank you, Fluttershy,” Rarity bearing a look of bemusement at the quiet woman’s strange entry into the topic. “You see, Rainbow? Learn to say things more appropriately, even if you are drunk. Goodness, I’m never letting you have a bottle again.”
“Yeah, yeah…” Rainbow seemed rather put out by the admonishing, suddenly turning glum and sinking back into her seat in defeat- only to spring to her feet and take on a new life in fire, body quivering as she roared, “But come on, moms are hot, right? Y’all aren’t saying they’re old and ugly, are you?”
Four faces could hardly believe this conversation was happening, much less that Rainbow was becoming rather vehement about the subject matter. Why there was such a defensiveness all of a sudden- or this anger within her, for that matter? She had been cantankerous before, but not to this degree; whatever had befallen her in recent weeks had done wonders in inciting a foul mood within her that had done nothing but fester.
“Well- I mean, Moms are hot.” Every head turned from the prismatic athlete and to that of the frizzy-haired girl who sat closest to the fireplace, Pinkie adding her assent and giving a double-take at the shock she was currently witnessing. “What? Moms are hot, right? Like, all that experience and everything, so many stay so pretty- and I think being a little older and having kids just makes them seem softer and sweeter. Who cares if they’ve got a little more pudge, I think that makes it more fun!”
More appropriate an explanation yet not at all the expected source for such a description, the four remaining holdouts not at all sure what to say in response just yet. Bemusement, maybe, but Pinkie seemed to not have a qualm with anything said just yet; was she adding her voice in just to throw fuel on the fire? What on earth was going on with them?
“Uh…” Hostess that she was, Twilight saw an opportunity to wrangle this conversation into control before things actually spiraled completely out of control. Sexual topics weren’t taboo during their time together, but this had begun in a weird area and past experiences suggested it would not get any better. “OK, so thank you, you two, can- I think it’s getting late. Maybe…. Pinkie, would you help Rainbow home? I think she might be-”
“Aw, what’s the matter, Twi? You think your mom’s ugly or something?” Rainbow teased. “Jeez, that’s kinda mean. From her own kid, too.”
“I am not going to say anything like what you did about my Mom, that- that would be beyond weird!” The angry princess shot back, now on her feet and all thoughts of control forgotten. “Stop being an ass, Rainbow, for two seconds. Just because you can say something doesn’t mean you should!”
“Quit being such a dud.”
“Twi’s right. You’re being a jackass,” Applejack said, her voice as cold as a stone and just as heavy. Remaining silent for quite a time, the farmgirl saw fit to bring matters to an end, she staring at the multicolored woman with a fierce anger in her gaze. “Now stop. For once in your life, learn to shuttup.”
If Rainbow’s expression had been fiery before, then the words of the blonde were enough to turn them sour; not enough being force-fed curdled milk could have managed to bring to life such a reaction. “Shuttup,” she sneered, “You’re just mad. You couldn’t seduce a two-bit hooker with a sex addiction even if she’d been starved for months.”
Fluttershy winced, Pinkie cringed, and Twilight was sure that Rarity actually swore under her breath; for if the past was any indication, Rainbow’s words had been a pile of sticks that had been granted their long-awaited spark, and now all that awaited was the fire that would see the rest of the world come ablaze- and Applejack, most willing of all creatures to fall for the athlete’s bait, would not hesitate.
“Me. Me. Me of all people- are you actually serious?” Applejack demanded, face so alive with emotions that it was difficult to tell which would outrule the other. She crumpled her Stetson in her grip, struggling to find a way to bring herself back into some manner of order. “In comparison to what, a dead slug? You? I remember you being pretty pitiful of a flirt unless you got someone completely desperate.”
“And what have you got to offer? A brunt appraisal of their looks?”
“Are we actually going to have this conversation?” Twilight murmured.
“Yes!” Rainbow roared. “Come on, like you’ve got the right, virgin! Come and talk to me when you know what it’s like to get laid- or be considered attractive for once in your life!”
“Rainbow, now that is enough,” Rarity said heatedly. “Twilight is perfectly lovely and just because she wants a more classical romance-”
“Twilight’s a nerd who couldn’t get laid to save her life and you know it," Rainbow snarled, still eye-to-eye with her straw-haired companion and not ceding the slightest inch of ground. “Quit trying to be a slut for two seconds.”
“We’re all going to hate each other after tonight,” Fluttershy whispered.
Rarity found a charge of electric fire in her bones, and out from her somewhat dazed stupor did she rise to fight against this insulting diatribe. Rainbow and Applejack egged one another on to greater heights more often than not- or, as they had in recent weeks, to deeper depths of awfulness. No matter what they might regret later, it was enough to see the fashionista set to life and her voice raised, for she cried out, “Oh, so a slut, am I?”
“What, what’s wrong with being a slut? Sluts are fun!” Pinkie clamored. “Haven’t any of you ever had fun with a slut?”
“Can I go home now?” Fluttershy whispered fearfully.
“Why are you calling yourself a slut, of all things?” Twilight gasped. “Pinkie, that’s so mean of you! Be nice to yourself!”
“I didn’t say I was a slut! But sluts are fun!” Pinkie protested.
“And I am most definitely not a slut, darling, but this slag-”
“You’re a desperate wannabe hooker and you know it.”
“Like you’re much better,” Rainbow added.
“And what did you say to me when-”
But for Twilight, the cacophony of voices had become more than enough. She could hear it all, every word that had been said and every word that would come after. She saw her friends descend into a drunken, inane rambling and it wasn’t the first time- but this was something different, something far more visceral and raw that threatened to actually sever their bonds of friendship and see them become distinct yet again. They had been such a cohesive, united front for so long, yet this argument seemed to be the one that might end it all. Struggle, ferocity, angst and whatever else it was that had begun to turn their company inside out with fetid rot was about to win out, and damned would she be to let it finally transpire. So when she could withstand it no more, the incensed princess raised her hand and let loose a stream of spark from her hand that ricocheted across the ceiling and throughout their company, loud noise and bright color doing their work in seeing all words come to a deathly silence.
“That’s enough!” Twilight seethed, tired and inebriated and just sober enough to not want to deal with any of this nonsense any longer. “Rainbow, you think you’re that good? Then prove it. Fuck my mom- fuck all of our moms, if you can. But you’ve got to beat out all of us if you want to prove yourself all that high and mighty.”
The words had clearly been braggadocio, for the colorful warrior’s face turned wan and she was left –thankfully- struck dumb by the challenge for a few moments. “Beg pardon?” she finally managed.
“That’s right. You think you’re the best woman around? You’d better prove it,” Twilight said. “If moms are that great and you’re that perfect for them, then you’d better bed the most moms around. Because well end up with more? You lose.”
“Please, as if I’d lose,” Rainbow crowed. “So why don’t you tell me what’ll happen when I win, hmm? Got any idea, or are you just bluffing?”
Twilight, however, was not bluffing. “I’ll pay every mother you lay to service you for a week,” she said.
The world went cold; every eye was upon either color or royalty, wondering which one would give and accept the reality of this challenge first. It was impossible, unattainable, and ridiculous no matter which way one looked at it. But for one such as Rainbow Dash, who considered herself, the highest and mightiest of all women, the temptation was too irresistible to ignore for very long.
“Fine. Now, can it be any woman, or-?”
“Nah-ah! She’s gotta be a mom. So that means kids, of any age,” Twilight said. “And anything goes, too; married, widowed, divorced, the whole deal. So if you’re all that great, you’d better get to work, Cassanova.”
“As if I could lose!” Rainbow sneered, so confident in her victory that any thought of failure was impossible to be found- and the smug look an ire to the blonde farmgirl that still stood beside her. “And I’ve just got to beat you out? You may as well start getting money ready now! I could get more women in a weekend than you could in a lifetime-”
“Wrong again!” Twilight called. “Everyone else is against you on this. Me, Applejack, Fluttershy-”
“Umm, Twilight-”
“Pinkie-”
“Ooh, fun-”
“And Rarity,” Twilight finished.
“This is incredibly vulgar,” Rarity sniffed, not at all pleased with the current outcome and clearly wishing she could be anywhere else. This entire night had been crude beyond disbelief, and now such crassness demanded she take part as well in future endeavors; what could possibly be worse than to actually agree with this nonsense? “I- oh, this is miserable-”
“If you don’t agree she’ll never shut up,” Applejack entreated. Nobody seemed more desperate for Rainbow to be taken down than the hardworking blonde, an intensity upon her features that went beyond mere frustration.
“Fine, then! But one caveat- we go back to being friends once this is all done! No more snippy talk, no more backstabbing, no more cruelty! We behave like ladies and that will be the end of it, understood?”
“No problem!” Rainbow assented; entirely pleased with herself, the wild woman already felt utterly certain of her victory long before the competition had even begun. There would be the rest of the night that still needed to pass, not to mention whatever hours of recovery might be required to rise from this excess of alcohol that had seen them descend to this chaos in the first place. “Now, let’s go fuck some moms- because moms are hot!”
Hands united in agreement, and one proud grasp reached out for her lost bottle of liquor, bringing the bottleneck to her lips and seeing darkened color fade in a heartbeat- only for a violent, earth-shredding belch to soon echo after as Rainbow crashed into the ground and fell into unconsciousness.