"The name's Gallen, Princess. Close to the the warr'd 'gallon', but a little 'funner' in my case."
"Alcohol is a very patient drug. It will wait for the alcoholic to pick it up one more time."
-Mercedes McCambridge
Princess Luna's Far-Out Casks And Clovers Day
by Surry
~ kisses!
Princess Luna stared intently at the glass mug held in front of her face, half full with a dark, amber-colored liquid that frothed around the circumference of the lip.
It was only her second drink of the light cider, yet admittedly, she was enjoying it. Celestia had been fully determined to help her have a good time, and there was no better way she knew than to take her to a real 'Casks and Clovers Day' celebration, in Ponyville of all places. There was nothing more splendid than being outside, listening to festive music, sitting at an outdoor bar, and watching a large multitude of ponies dance.
Celestia leaned over from her stool beside her sister and gave her a quick tap on the shoulder. Luna eyed up the mug one more time before taking another deep swig.
"You know, Luna," her sister said, "You don't have to do this if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion."
Luna pulled the mug away from her lips, still lightly frothy.
"Nonsense," she replied, "I haven't done this in centuries, Celestia. It was about time I got out of the castle for another holiday than just Nightmare Night. Besides, we've been terribly busy all this week with our royal duties, and I think we both deserve a little time to ourselves."
Celestia signaled the barkeep, whom had set up shop in Town square, for another round of drinks, and without hesitation, he quickly complied. He filled and slid another two mugs filled with the frothy liquid directly over to them, though Luna looked a little puzzled.
"But, Tia," she pleaded, "I haven't even finished this one yet."
Her sister shot a sly glance, something unusual for her. "Again, you don't have to drink it, Luna. I'll leave that up to you."
Luna rolled her eyes and downed the last of the mug she already had, taking a peek around at the rest of the bar. It was quite dark outside, as it had been for the last few hours, and Celestia was ready to go greet Twilight and the rest of her friends. The sisters had barely been approached by anypony, possibly because of the large number of royal guards heavily clad in armor, just within a stone's throw. Celestia had specifically ordered them all to give her sister some breathing room to enjoy herself.
Just as she was about to get up and leave Luna by her lonesome, her sister attempted to pick up her new mug and casually spilled a few drops on accident.
"Are you going to be alright if I meet up with you in a little bit, Luna?" she asked.
"Yes, yes," Luna hastily replied, "I'll join in the festivities after one more round."
"Great," said Celestia.
She nodded, stood up from her stool, and calmly walked away, leaving her sister now searching for somepony else to drink with. Luna glanced around one more time, but no one else seemed interested in sitting by her. She just wanted to finish off the mug as quickly as possible and get a good buzz going, hoping that might make things more fun when she did finally meet up with everypony. She raised her full mug, and was only a second away from taking a sip... when she suddenly noticed a stallion quickly take a seat beside her.
She pulled away the glass for a split-second when he spoke.
"Barrkeep!" he yelled; his voice was delicate, yet mature and assertive.
Tap! Tap!
The bartender flashed him a smile and quickly filled him another mug with amber liquid. The glass was promptly slid across the counter over to him, and he snatched it up without so much as spilling a bubble of foam. Almost as swiftly as he had picked it up, he used his hoof to lift it to his mouth and downed the drink within a matter of a few seconds. He pulled away the empty glass and licked his lips, then looked curiously over to see the awestruck princess at his side.
"Princess Luna," he noted with a smile, "Are ya' well 'tis evenin'? Been drinkin' a few pai'nts, have we?"
Luna nervously lowered her mug back to the counter and gave him a quick once-over.
His sharp, yet smooth, green eyes were friendly and inviting. His short, shaggy mane, colored that of a light tangerine with a small amount of brown highlights thrown in, ended succinctly in a few, tight curls just over his forehead. His tail was styled in a similar fashion, but what caught her attention most of all was his whitish, nearly luminescent coat, which appeared to almost take on a silvery sheen in the light of her own moon. His jaw was firm, chiseled; his neck was strong, yet relaxed, and overall, he seemed very approachable to her. However, she couldn't stop staring at him for some reason.
"How long are ya' gonna' keep lookin' at me like that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. "The lasses usually don't start gawkin' at the lads till after their faurth pai'nt."
"Oh-" Luna snapped her head to the side, looking at her mug sheepishly, "-I'm sorry. Please don't mind me."
"Nonsense, Princess," he quickly signaled the barkeep for another round, "I suppose I was intrudin' on ya, but I meant no harm in it, I swear. Let me buy ya' another drink, whaddya' say?"
"B-but I haven't even finished—"
She was cut off by another two pints sliding across the counter, coming to a calm stop directly in front of her. Without any hesitation, the stallion quickly took up one of them and slapped a few bits on the counter, which visibly irritated the princess.
"Oh no, no-no-no," she shook her head, meeting with his green eyes once again, "I can't let you pay for a drink of mine. It's against my 'code' if you will. I won't allow you to—"
"How 'bout a challenge then?" he quickly interrupted.
"W-what? A challenge? For what, may I ask?"
"It's simple, really," he said with a warm smile. "I can tell ya' came here to drink, as did I. So, why don't we make this a little marr' interestin'?" He placed a friendly hoof on her shoulder. "We'll drink and drink, and be merry. Sound good, lass? Whoever can stomach the most cider won't have to pay the tab when we're through. Agreed?"
His infectious smile worked its magic on the princess, and she used her magic to raise her glass. Her drinking partner took the hint, and raised his mug as well.
"I have never lost a drinking challenge before," she said smugly, "And I don't plan on starting now, Mister... I'm sorry, but, pray tell, what is your name? I don't believe I ever caught that piece of information."
They toasted, clinking their glass mugs together before he could even answer, and then quickly downed what remained of their pints. After they set their mugs down and ordered another round, their eyes met again.
"Where're my manners?" he asked himself rhetorically. "The name's Gallen, Princess. Close to the warr'd 'gallon', but a little 'funner' in my case."
"Charmed," the princess replied lightly.
For the life of her, she could not stop giggling as the night wore on.
Drink after drink, they sat and conversed, drank some more, then talked some more. Even Celestia could see, from off in the distance, that her sister was having a great time. As the hours went by, Luna had to keep a leg on the counter to keep herself from falling over, but she was managing to sit well considering the sheer volume of alcohol she had consumed.
She took one last, hearty gulp of the amber liquid, before setting it down along with her eight other glasses. Her consistent laughs carried off for a little ways before dying down.
"So then I told'em," Gallen continued, raising his mug for emphasis, "If you don't put down the whiskey, lad-- you're gonna' be kissin' your own mum befarr' y'know it! And none of us want to see that!"
Luna began belly-laughing as he finished, clearly unable to hold her sides in. She was spilling drops of her drink everywhere, messing up the counter-top every which way. Finally setting her glass down, she tried to calm herself, but still, the silliest grin remained plastered over her features.
"Hahaha," she took another few moments to breathe, "Oh my.... oh my.... haha, that's too funny, Mister Gallen."
"Ya don't have'ta' call me 'misterr', Princess," he implored, "I've said that three times already. Are ya' sure the drinks arr'nt gettin' to ya'?"
Though her vision was spinning, she was able to meet his eyes with a wobbly gaze. "I'm fiiiiine... really, Gallen. No need to worry about me. I assure you, I hold my alcohol much, much better than most mares."
"I'll say," he agreed; his eyesight wasn't faring much better. "I don't think I've ev'har' met a lass who could keep up wit' me like this."
Luna smiled wearily, shrugging her shoulders. "I dunno' why that could be... Maybe it's just becuz'... I'm a princess, or something." Her speech was much more slurred and inarticulate than when they had started.
"I t'ink you need some water," he suggested, "Don't want ta' be hurtin' in the mornin', do we?"
"Hmm," she pondered, holding an unsteady hood to her chin, "Alrighty... If you say so, Gallen."
The stallion signaled the barkeep, received a glass of water for the princess, and allowed her a moment to drink it up. Taking this as an opportunity to blow off some steam, he stood up from the bar with Luna in tow, and they made their way to the dance-grounds. It was essentially a large, grass field, cleared of any obstructions. There was a live band playing off to the side, composed of a fiddler, classical guitarist, cellist, and one percussionist who held only one bass drum at his front. The music was quite lively, inspired by the countryside, and the crowd of roughly thirty or so ponies was tightly packed together, enjoying a raucously good time.
"Oh, I'm not a very good dancer," Luna struggled to speak over the music, "I can't possibly go in there."
Gallen nudged her along. "Yar'r drunk, arr'nt ya'?"
She accidentally leaned her weight into him for support, but he showed no signs of embarrassment. With the alcohol making her feel warm inside, she lazily nodded her head to answer him. That was all the encouragement she needed to hear.
"Then you'll be a fa'ine dancer, I'm sur're," he said with a smile.
With the giggling, unstable princess at his side, they quickly joined the grand mix of ponies, taking each other as dancing partners. Her magic was almost useless now that she was inebriated, and she had to rely solely on Gallen to keep her balance. However, she finally came out of her shell, getting happily lost in the crowd with him.
Her mind went blank, somewhat, as she let the music lead her on, allowing Gallen to show her how to pony-square dance with three other couples, going back and forth between three other stallions before finally coming to rejoin with her familiar friend.
They danced for several full songs, and the alcohol continued to weaken her legs, but she kept smiling every step of the way. She had reached the perfect level of intoxication to fully enjoy herself, thanks solely to Gallen and his somewhat mysterious ways. It was about the middle of one hectic, pony-square dance that she decided she needed to take a break, wandering slowly away from the crowd.
Coming upon a low tree, she took a seat by its roots and pressed her back against its slightly rough bark. She inhaled deeply, taking in the scent of a smoky bonfire not too far off, and all became still around her. The alcohol in her tummy kept her blissfully numb, letting the music gently set her adrift into her own dreamland, where she held free domain over all.
But then, she heard another pony come and sit beside her under the tree. It didn't sound like Gallen to her.
"Hello, Princess Luna," said a happy Twilight Sparkle. "Your sister asked me to come and check up on you. Are you having fun?"
Luna only giggled even more, glancing warily at the unicorn with one droopy eye.
"Oh yes, Twilight," she said almost breathlessly, "I'm having soooo much fun. I rarely ever get to go out on special occasions like this one, but my friend, Gallen, has been showing me a great time tonight. He's such a gentlecolt." She leaned over in a lame attempt to whisper something. "And I think he's kinda cute, too..."
"Well," Twilight chirped, "I'm glad to see you're enjoying yourself. I know that must be a pretty hard thing to do sometimes in your position, Princess."
Luna heaved forth a deep sigh, letting her breath flow completely unhindered.
"It's true, Twilight," she said bluntly, "Not often do I get to enjoy myself, and I appreciate yours and my sister's concern, but I must go find Gallen one more time before I leave. I lost him in the crowd, somewhere."
Twilight stood up and gave a quick nod. "While I don't usually stay up this late, I'm glad I had an opportunity to talk with you, Luna. I'll be sure to let Celestia know you won't be too much longer. Rainbow Dash challenged me to a cider drinking contest anyway, so I have that on my plate too. Wish me luck!"
And just like that, the lavender unicorn was off just as quickly as she had come, barely noticing the princess wave to her as she left.
It took Luna a moment to stand up, for her legs still felt uneven, but she suddenly realized she had to go to one more destination before returning to the bar area.
"I-I need... to find a restroom...
right now!"
Her stool at the outdoor bar remained empty, obviously waiting for her eminent return.
She took her seat once more and signaled the barkeep for a quick round, her eyes gleaming bright in the light of a hanging lantern. Still a bit wobbly, she continued to search around for someone.
When at last she had another mug in front of her, so too did she hear the sound of somepony familiar plopping down in the seat beside her.
"Gallen!" she cried happily, turning to him with a slight blush filling her cheeks. "I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"As was I, lass," he noted, "I tink' I lost ya' somewhere in all that ruckus."
"I'll say," she said, raising her glass; she proceeded to take a heavy gulp of her drink and set it back down. "Ready for a few more rounds?"
He let out a small chuckle, lightly shaking his head. "Oh no, Princess. I couldn't possibly do that. As an O'cider, I have to know my limits. I think I've had my fill farr' one evenin'."
Luna lazily shrugged her shoulders. "Oh well, more for meeee."
She leaned her head back and downed the last of her pint, while her friend only watched with concern. A tiny burp escaped her lips as she brought the empty mug down, and her smile grew even wider. The warmth was returning to her body once again.
"Sorry," she cupped a hoof over her muzzle. "I must not sound like a very good princess at all, right now."
"I just tink' you've had yer' fill as well," he divulged. "Perhaps, it's just time ya' took another 'shot' of water."
On the stallion's signal, another glass was swiftly placed at Luna's side. She eyed it for a moment, almost disappointed that she was about to cut her fun short, but realized again that Gallen only had her best interests in mind.
"Alrighty," she sleepily relented, taking up the clear glass. "Down the hatch."
"Trust me," he said as she started drinking, "You'll thank me later."
It took a moment, but she finally set her glass down and removed herself from her stool. Immediately, she felt her legs go stiff, as if a surge of lightning had suddenly tore through them. Gallen quickly came to her aid, catching her at the last second and keeping her from falling to the floor.
"Woah," she said, shaking her head. "I guess I didn't realize just how drunk I am."
Gallen let out another chuckle. "Yeah, it won't really make ya' weak in the knees 'til after you take another seat at the bar."
Her gaze fell to the floor, almost somberly, and she continued to use his body as support. Her eyes began to droop also, and she quietly nudged him on, still displaying the same, warm smile.
"I think I'm ready to go home now, Gallen," she spoke quietly.
"I'd have ta' agree, lass." he concurred. "Sometimes, I tink' it's bett'har to quit while you're ahead. I speak from experience."
She slumped her head into his shoulder and allowed him to lead her back across the way. They walked slowly, giving her ample time to focus on every wobbly step. Peering one eye open, she saw the familiar, golden plating of the royal guards, and came to a brief stop. She casually placed an unsteady hoof over his shoulder and pulled him in, giving him a quick, fleeting peck on the cheek. He blushed for an instant, but it dispersed rather swiftly.
"I'll bid you a good evening, Gallen," she whispered.
"I'll bid ya the same, Princess," he said a little louder. "I hope you had fun tonight, as that's all I was really here for. Not so much the drinkin'."
With another lazy nod, she stepped away from her friend and returned to the care of her waiting guards, barely remembering anything after that point.
"Take good care of her, lads," was the last thing she heard from him.
The sunlight glanced over her rested eyes, causing her to shift under the covers of her luxurious bed. It was apparent that Celestia had come in to her personal chambers to wake her up, as she had spent the better portion of ten hours sleeping. Luna was deeply snuggled under layer upon layer of warm, fuzzy blankets, and she could hear the quiet tinkling of porcelain brushing against itself.
"How are you this morning, Luna?" her sister asked, carefully placing the hot kettle and cups upon her bed stand. "I saw you were having fun last night."
Her sister stuck one of her long ears above the covers, twitching sporadically at the sound of Celestia pouring tea. She stuck her forelegs out and pulled down the covers slightly, just before giving a lengthy stretch of her body and a deep, restful yawn.
"I was having fun," she said, cupping a hoof over her muzzle to contain her yawning. "I've never drank so much before, or danced so much either, Tia. And I feel great this morning."
"I could see that," said Celestia, taking a sip of her tea. "That was probably the most fun I've ever seen you have by yourself."
Luna sat up from her covers, sitting warily by the side of her bed. With a look of puzzlement, she took a filled cup her sister had prepared and took a few sips herself.
"By myself?" she asked.
Celestia appeared just as perplexed. "Why, yes," she explained, "You were sitting at the bar for a decent time, drinking by yourself. Don't you remember that?"
Luna's bewilderment only intensified.
"And then you joined that crowd of dancing ponies," Celestia asserted, "You took a break underneath that tree, and I asked Twilight to check up on you. Although, she said nothing seemed out of the ordinary, so I decided I'd let you be. I saw you return to the bar, have a few more drinks, and then the guards brought you to the chariot. You were sleeping like a foal the whole way back to Canterlot."
"I wasn't by myself though, Tia," she quickly defended. "I met somepony there, and he spent the whole night with me. His name was Gallen, and he had the brightest green eyes I have ever seen."
Celestia set her cup down uneasily, turning her head at a slight angle. Her cheek curled upward in skeptical disbelief.
"I'm sorry, Luna, but did you just say Gallen?" she inquired.
"I did," Luna replied matter-of-factly. "He was quite nice to me, too. I honestly don't think I would've had as much fun if he had not attended."
"B-but... how?" Celestia mumbled to herself. "Did you happen to catch his full name?"
Luna took another sip. "Gallen O'cider, I believe is what he said."
There hung an uneasy minute of silence between them; Celestia didn't know what to say. It was clear she was searching for words she could never find.
"That's impossible, Luna," she whispered.
"And why is that?" her sister asked.
"Because, Luna... I knew Gallen O'cider. He was one of my close friends...
... centuries ago.
He died of alcohol poisoning... on a Casks and Clovers day."
Luna's heart began to race; she was barely able to contain herself.
"He's been deceased," Celestia continued, "For over seven hundred years, Luna..."
Her sister's cup fell to the floor in that instant, shattering upon impact, and sent bits of porcelain far-flung across its surface in many directions.
Though her memory of the night was hazy, she remembered the last few statements he said clearly and vividly in her mind.
Sometimes, I tink' it's bett'har to quit while you're ahead. I speak from experience.
I hope you had fun tonight, as that's all I was really here farr'. Not so much the drinkin'.
"D-did I just... imagine it all?" she weakly whimpered to herself. "None of it... makes any sense..."
Luna broke down upon her bed and began to cry heavily.
Both princesses were just as equally confused, but it was clear to Celestia that her sister would need some comforting and love to move past the situation. She desperately tried to to come up with an explanation for Luna, yet nothing seemed to quell her spirit nor soothe her mind.
It was only when Celestia reminded her of what a great time she had, that her soul began to find peace, and calm.
Though he might have been long dead, Gallen had made her night one of the most fun she would ever have.
fin.
