The Party

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6

Chapter 1

Chapter 1

-----

The party is raging.

Music pounds throughout the building, making your heart race and your ears ring. The bass echoes in your chest and you felt slightly short of breath, but that only adds to your excitement. You can’t remember the last time you had been to a party this good with this many ponies. In fact, you are beginning to think you have never been to a party this good.

You wander through the enormous mansion, weaving expertly around the clumps of ponies all talking and drinking, careful to avoid any spills. Considering the lavish nature of the house, you assume it belongs to a wealthy family who are most likely on vacation while their son or daughter throws the party. You chuckle to yourself as you imagine the reaction of the parents when they find out that over a hundred ponies had been pounding down these halls. Well, probably over a hundred. You have no idea, but there sure are a lot.

Like a moth to a flame, you’re drawn to the source of the music. A complex mixing table (at least, that’s what you think it’s called) has been set up in a small antechamber leading to the main entrance hall with cables taped to the floor leading all over the house, pumping music into every room. A dozen ponies are chatting or watching the DJ, who you are surprised to see is quite a famous figure. With the maroon goggles and electric blue hair, the unmistakeable visage of Vinyl Scratch fills your eyes as you join the ponies watching her work. She moves like lightning, hooves deftly turning knobs and flipping records and you truly begin to appreciate why she got so famous. It’s easy enough to dismiss famous artists as hacks or tryhards, so seeing one up close and having undeniable proof that she has the skills to back up her image serves to consolidate your love for her music.

As you happily watch her, though, you begin to notice that every now and then she will quickly glance over your shoulder at the other side of the room. Curious, you nonchalantly trot over to an unoccupied chair in the corner to better observe the entire chamber. As expected, it was not one of the priceless paintings adorning the walls that kept distracting Vinyl Scratch, but a grey-coloured earth pony with long dark hair and long eyelashes, which kept batting in the direction of the DJ. Eyes darting between the two, your lips give way to a devious smirk as you realise what’s going on.

The grey pony sips delicately from a wine glass and you look at your plastic red cup with shame. Even at a crazy-ass party you have no more style than anyone else. Shrugging, you decide that’s not such a bad thing as you drink the last of your whatever-it-was. The mare who handed it to you with a wink hadn’t specified exactly what it was, but who are you to question a stranger’s generosity?

Feeling relaxed yet mischievous, you lean back in the chair and rest your head on your left hoof, continuing your undetected surveillance of the worst kept secret in the world. It’s almost like seeing a conversation take place without words. Vinyl would flip a record and toss a sly wink at the grey pony, who would then lick her lips sensually with her eyes half closed and those angelic lashes fluttering, which in turn would elicit a further suggestive motion from the DJ, and so on and so forth.

Their show is interrupted briefly as a purple unicorn blocks your vision and sits on a chair beside you. Ignoring her, you continue your sorta-kinda-almost voyeurism until you receive a light tap on your right hoof. Annoyed at being interrupted again, you turn to the unicorn mare and prepare to teach her why she shouldn’t disturb drunken lesbian enthusiasts when she whispers, “Are you watching them too? They’re being so obvious!” She giggles and your irritation vanishes. You reply with a quiet laugh of your own and the two of you continue to stifle your mutual mirth as you watch. What was arousing and sexy moments ago is now hilarious, you find out.

The grey pony dribbles a bit of wine down her chin and tilts her head back with wide, imploring eyes as if looking up at Vinyl, apparently meant to imply some sort of situation where her mouth had been somewhere low on Vinyl’s body. The DJ responds with a confused frown, not getting it. Miss dark hair and long lashes pouts, trying to add to the effect. Instead, Vinyl raises one eyebrow and lowers the other in a hilariously uncertain look. You find yourself gripping onto the unicorn beside you as she holds tightly onto you, both wheezing and struggling not to laugh.

“Oh god...I can’t...take this anymore!” you whisper hoarsely. Your new purple friend can’t stop shaking and has her face screwed up in an adorable attempt to withhold her giggling. You bury your head in her mane in an attempt to hide your face and by extension the aching grin you’re sporting. She tries to achieve the same goal by pressing her face into your chest.

You know you must look like an odd sight, but you couldn’t care less. Together, you slowly come down from the apex of hilarity as she stops shaking with internal laughter while you stop grinning like a madman, instead opting for a casual smile.

Suppressing the urge to relapse into laughter, which you know would bring the unicorn down with you, you lift your head out of her mane and she does the same with your chest.

In a single, horrifying movement, you both look up at the grey pony.

Who looks right back.

With murder in her eyes.

Your smile freezes on your face like the laughter of a pony who has been killed and took a moment to realise. The purple unicorn tightens her grip on you, indicating she had the same reaction. You don’t need to look at the mixer table to know there are two windows into the eternal suffering of hell staring at you from behind maroon goggles.

Slowly, you and your new friend stand up, still holding onto each other, and shuffle towards the open door. For some reason, you hear your old biology teacher’s voice in the back of your mind.

“...threat of immediate danger will initiate the fight-or-flight response, a primal reaction that...”

You almost chuckle at the memory before remembering the two very angry mares watching you leave. When you finally make it out the doorway, you both heave a sigh of relief and share a smile.

After a moment, you awkwardly say, “Er...I think we can stop holding each other now. Um, if you want.” You wish death upon yourself for adding the second sentence. The sweet embrace of eternity is the only thing that you deserve for saying something that awkward.

Luckily, your friend either didn’t notice or is extremely tactful. Either way, you are grateful. She untangles her hooves from yours and you do the same, dropping back down to all fours.

“My name is Twilight,” she says happily, blowing some hair out of her eyes in a way that makes your chest hurt. Surely this pony is a cherub, the physical embodiment of cuteness. You manage to stammer out your own name, still enthralled by the effortless charm she emits. She notices you’re staring and her eyes widen.

“Oh no, do I have something on my face?” she paws at her countenance in an effort remove the phantom imperfection. You grin and shake your head and it takes all your effort to resist making the corniest joke in existence by leaning in and saying “Yeah, me!” like a regular Casaneighva.

Thankfully, self control prevails, but knowing you could have done it makes your heart beat faster.

“Don’t worry, your face is perfect,” you say without thinking. It seems doing that is becoming a common occurrence around Twilight. She reddens and you wish you still had your drink, just so you could avoid looking at her and furthering her embarrassment.

Still blushing, she cocks her head to the side thoughtfully, and then takes your hoof and starts leading you down one of the halls. You splutter out a noise that might have been a question and she looks back at you with a devious smile much like the one you wore not too long ago. “If you enjoyed watching those two, wait until you see my friend. She’s hopeless at flirting,” she says merrily. You can only manage a strangled laugh, cursing your vocal cords for failing you at a time like this.

Together, you enter a larger, very crowded room. Twilight deftly pulls you to a vantage point that gives you a view of two couches in the centre of the room. They are situated on opposite sides of a coffee table covered entirely in little red cups.

Clearly trying to be casual and smooth, Twilight leans over to whisper in your ear and gestures at one of the couches. “See that pegasus with the rainbow mane?” Indeed you do, it’s quite hard not to. “Observe how she looks everywhere except the couch opposite her,” she whispers with a smile. You look closer, noticing the pegasus appears to be very uncomfortable, cheeks dark red with blush and eyes flitting about the room.

In unison, probably exactly when Twilight expected, you both turn your attention to the other couch, where four ponies are crammed together. Three of them are laughing together as most of the other ponies are, but one of them has their eyes unwaveringly set on Twilight’s friend. She’s a bright orange beauty, that’s for certain, and you feel like you’ve seen her before. Almost as if she read your mind, Twilight answers your unspoken question.

“That’s Spitfire, from the Wonderbolts. There are celebrities everywhere at this party!” The piece fits the puzzle in your mind, connecting the orange pegasus with a poster you saw earlier.

“Wait a second...” You realise what Twilight was trying to show you. In a similar but much more subtle manner, Spitfire was ‘conversing’ with the rainbow pony like Vinyl Scratch had been with the grey pony.

Her eyes saying so much more than words ever could and her smirk saying even more, Spitfire is completely focused on the opposite couch. In contrast to the DJ earlier, Twilight’s friend isn’t returning the attention, yet is obviously aware of it.

“See what I mean?” whispers Twilight. You nod absently. “Rainbow Dash can’t even look at her! It’s ridiculous.” So that’s the name of the unique pegasus. It certainly suits her.

You nudge Twilight, saying “I’ve got an idea. Watch this.”

You stroll casually around to the back of Rainbow Dash’s couch until you are standing right behind her. This brings Spitfire’s attention upon you, a curious stare from across the room, so you wink in a manner that you hope is ‘knowingly’. Leaning your head down, you whisper in the flustered pony’s ear.

“She’s into you, Rainbow. Go for it!” You quickly slip away into a crowd so when Rainbow Dash turns around, she has no idea who spoke.

Twilight raises an eyebrow in question when you make your way back to her.

“What did you tell her?”

“Nothing she didn’t already know. If my amazing character judgement skills are still good, this should tip things over the edge,” you reply, settling your gaze back on the two mares and ignoring the even more confused look on Twilights face.

You mentally high-five yourself when you see that Rainbow, while still blushing like mad, is looking Spitfire dead in the eyes. As a result, the small smirk that the Wonderbolt was sporting had grown into a full on grin.

“Something tells me they’re gonna have a good night,” you say quietly, making Twilight giggle.

That giggle makes your chest ache. Why does this unicorn have such control over you? Deciding to act like the assertive and attractive stallion you are not, you take Twilight’s hoof and lead her back out into one of the endless corridors.

“Where are we going?” she laughs as you pull her along. Without even thinking, you push open a door and find exactly what you’re looking for. A bedroom.

Her laughter abates quickly. Not a good sign. You let go of her hoof an turn to face her, seeing the confused expression you were expecting. All you can do is pray she’s even slightly attracted to you in the way that you are to her.

The confused look vanishes in a dawn of realisation when you step closer, your faces only inches apart. Your heart threatens to break out of your chest when she blushes, yet you are acutely aware of how quickly this could all come crashing down. Moments later, this all comes crashing down.

“Wait a second,” she says, and you freeze your slow lean forward. Caught red handed. Attempted kiss. You’re going away for a long time, buddy.

“I’m not sure if I...” Twilight says awkwardly. You quickly lean back into a normal-ish pose and scratch the back of your head. If there is a god of awkwardness, you are his disciple.

Mumbling an apology, you push past Twilight and out the door, almost galloping down the hall. Twilight calls out behind you, but you slip into the maze of rooms and emerge somewhere on the other side of the mansion.

Operation: Avoid Twilight For The Rest Of Your Stupid Celestia-Damned Life receives the green light, and you take refuge in one of the many smaller entertainment rooms. There are only four other ponies in this one, thankfully, and two of which are making out in the corner in a mess of entangled limbs. One pony is passed out cold in an armchair upside-down, leaving a bored-looking mare with a light red coat standing next to a table stocked with drinks.

Her face brightens considerably when she notices you, so you wander over to the table.

“Hello, I’m an idiot,” you announce cheerfully, snatching a wine bottle from the table and taking three big swallows.

“I take it you just did something stupid, am I right?” she asks with a snicker. You nod gravely.

“Very stupid. So stupid, in fact, that if I begin to choke on this wine I don’t want you to help me.”

The mare laughs at that and you crack a smile.

“What are you doing in here alone? Well,” you glance at the moaning couple in the corner, “relatively speaking, that is.”

She shrugged. “My marefriend left to go get wasted with her ex, so I’ve just been standing here imagining ways to murder her.”

“I can respect that. Hey,” you add thoughtfully, “Is it just me, or are there a lot of lesbians at this party?”

“I know right?! It’s awesome!” she replies happily.

“Maybe for you it is, but it’s making my life kinda difficult.”

“Hah! Oh, is that what happened? Did you hit on one of them?”

You shake your head. “I’m pretty sure she’s straight, but I still messed it up.”

She places a hoof on your shoulder. “Finish too soon?” she asks sagely.

“What? No! We didn’t get that far!” you splutter in response.

“Wow. Finish way too soon?”

“No! I mean we didn’t even start kissing!”

“Holy shit dude.”

“No! I didn’t finish at all! There was no finishing! I led her into a bedroom and she got cold feet or something so I bailed!”

Her face turns to one of understanding. “Ahhh. Mixed messages, eh?”

“Something like that.” Your voice is still hoarse from desperately defending your manliness so you take another swig of wine. The mare flicks her long blue mane out of her face and offers a hoof.

“Name’s Shock.” You shake her hoof and tell her your name.

“That’s a weird name you have there,” she says, taking the wine bottle from you and swallowing three mouthfuls.

“Blame my parents. You wanna get out of here? Those two are getting serious.” You wave a hoof at the two ponies in the corner who seem to be attempting some form of symbiosis. Shock shrugs.

“Sure, I was getting sick of this room anyway.” With a cheerful shout, she tosses the wine bottle in the air and dives for the door. “First one out doesn’t get horribly injured by glass!” You barely have time to think before the wine bottle thuds to the ground. Shock sticks her head back in the room.

“Aw. I like it when they shatter,” she mutters disappointedly before turning to you. “Coming?”

You can’t stop the grin from forming. This mare might be crazy, but damn she was fun to be around.

Chapter 2

Chapter 2

-----

Together, you wander down the hall. You pass an open door leading into the biggest room you’ve seen so far. A truly astonishing amount of ponies are dancing to the massive speakers placed in every corner. You’re tempted to enter when you notice a familiar purple unicorn on the far side of the room standing in another doorway like you are. Luckily, she doesn’t seem to notice you, instead scanning the crowds. You thank your lucky stars and continue down the hall, pulling Shock with you.

“Hey, easy up. What’s the rush?” she asks, pulling free of your grip.

“I saw that mare I told you about in there. That’s an encounter I would rather avoid.”

“Oh. Should’ve just said so, dude. I know all about those kind of things. Hell, I saw at least three of my exes in that room alone,” she said with a smirk. “Heh, that reminds me of this one time, I was at a party, and somehow ended up in a room with two of my exes, who had actually just broken up with each other. That might have been the first recorded instance of a hate triangle.”

You snort with laughter. “How did you get out of that one?”

Shock’s green eyes glaze over and she smiles at the memory. “Oh, we managed to sort out our differences. All three of us.”

“Wow. Okay,” you reply with your usual subtlety and grace. Shock glances at your shocked expression and blushes lightly, the first time you’ve seen her display any form of modesty.

“Sorry. I must sound like a total slut. I’m not, really!”

You nod furiously. “Of course. I didn’t say you were.”

Her blush deepens. “It’s just, I try to live in the moment, and more often than not I make bad decisions. Celestia, I don’t even know why I’m telling you this.”

“Because handsome guys are easier to talk to?” you suggest helpfully.

She gives you a stern look. “Don’t start flirting with me, pretty boy. That way lies madness.” You laugh, and a moment later she joins in. She nudges you when you’ve calmed down a bit. “Come on, let’s go check out the DJ. I heard she’s the Vinyl Scratch.”

Starting to sweat, you reply, “Yeah, she is. And I’m pretty sure the Vinyl Scratch will murder me if I see her again.”

Shock glances at you, surprised. “Seriously? Don’t tell me she’s the one you-“

“No! I was watching her work earlier, and she and this other mare kept making googly eyes at each other. Twilight saw me watching and made me realise how funny they were being. Then we cracked up laughing and they noticed,” you explain.

“Smooth manoeuvre. Twilight, eh? The mystery mare is named at last.”

“Shit. Just try and forget it,” you mutter, oblivious to the suddenly thoughtful expression being held by Shock.

“Hang on, Twilight? Was she a unicorn with, like, three different shades of purple in her hair?”

“Yes...” you reply warily.

“And her cutie mark is stars or something?”

You don’t reply, enthralled by the memory of Twilight’s flank.

“I’ll take that as a yes. In that case, my friend, you are well and truly fucked.”

“Unfortunately, no, though that was my intention.”

Shock grabs your shoulders, looking into your eyes. “Dude, Twilight is the favourite student of Princess Celestia. And you,” she pokes your chest, “tried to bang her.”

“What?” you whisper hoarsely.

“You.” Poke. “Tried.” Poke. “To.” Poke. “Fuck.” Poke. “Her.”

It sinks in.

“Oh shit!” you yell, catching the attention of some passing ponies.

“Now he gets it,” Shock mutters.

“What the hell am I going to do?! Besides be executed, that is.”

You trot quickly down the hall, coming to a large staircase leading down to some double doors. Ponies are milling about chatting, but your eyes are trained on the doors. If you can get outside, you can scale a wall and make for the forest. It will be a harsh life of constant fear and hunger, but it’s still preferable to death. Shock catches up to you and sees you eyeing the door.

“Hold up, dude. Look before you leap,” she advises. “It feels weird being the one saying that for once.”

You look around for what Shock is referring to, and it doesn’t take long. Twilight is on the lower floor, somehow managing to get there before you, and is chatting to a bright pink mare not far from the door. Twilight raises a hoof, describing height to her friend... the height of a pony... your height.

“Oh sweet Celestia she’s gathering a death party!” you hiss to Shock. Your body tenses when Twilight turns away but she trots out of sight into another lower level room. The pink pony sidles over to the door and stands there, looking at the ponies coming in and out. You grab Shock by the shoulders.

“She posted a fucking guard!” you say quietly but forcefully, your voice cracking. Shock pulls you away from the top of the stairs, out of the pink pony’s sight.

“Calm down. I’ve run from the cops before. Just stick with me, and we’ll both get out of here.”

“Why would you help me? They’re not after you.”

“We’ve probably been seen together already. If you get taken, they’ll find out about me. No offence, but you don’t seem like the kind of guy who can withstand interrogation.”

You pause.

“...Fair enough. Let’s go.”

Shock walks briskly ahead of you and you quickly catch up.

“Why aren’t we running?” you whisper as you pass a big red stallion.

Shock sticks out her tongue. “Hmm, I dunno. Name something that criminals do.”

“Oh. Right.” You slow down and try to look casual, strolling alongside Shock with exaggerated swagger.

She glances at you and stifles a laugh. “Seriously dude?”

You redden and decide to just walk normally. It’s not long until you both arrive at another staircase, almost an exact copy of the first one. The only difference is that there is no pink mare beside the door and Twilight is nowhere in sight.

“Did we unwittingly travel back in time or something? This looks exactly the same,” you say.

Shock doesn’t reply, looking purposefully down at the crowd. There are a significantly less amount of ponies at this entrance, so she doesn’t take long.

“I know this looks clear, but check out that purple-maned white-furred beauty standing with those stallions near the door. It looks like she’s busy flirting with them and hot damn she is sexy!”

You wave a hoof over Shock’s eyes to distract her. “Equestria to Shock? Kinda got bigger things to worry about.”

“Oh right. Ahem. So anyway, that sex goddess keeps looking over at the door whenever somepony approaches it. I don’t know how Twilight did it, but I’m gonna take a wild guess and say that all the exits will be like this.”

You slump and sit on the floor. “So I’m trapped then. Game over, Shock. Game over.”

She rolls her eyes and bops you on the nose. “Stand up. It’s not over yet.”

After you heave yourself back to standing position, you look down at the guard mare. She looks back at you with a little smile and says something to the stallions around her while pointing at you.

Shock notices as well and you share a glance.

“Is it okay to run now?” you ask as the stallions approach the stairs.

“Yes. Yes it is.”

Together, you bolt back into the maze of rooms that make up the second floor. Barging through groups of ponies and almost tripping over discarded bottles and cups, you and Shock desperately try to put as much distance between the pursuing colts as possible. Your sense of direction is shot to hell after making so many turns and you have no idea if you’re making any progress. Shock leads you onward, deeper and deeper into the labyrinth that echoes with the tones of music.

Eventually she pulls you into a side room and stops, panting. You’re breathing quite heavily as well, walking over to a couch and falling on it in an exhausted heap.

“Why is it,” you puff, “that whenever I get drunk, I find myself in a room I have never seen before with an insane mare?”

Shock flops down onto the carpet beside the couch. “Dude, I know exactly what you mean. It’s like, what the fuck?”

“What the fuck,” you agree tiredly.

A mare’s voice chimes in.

“What the fuck?!”

Both of your heads snap up to look at the source. The room is small, with two couches and a massive beanbag in the corner. The couch opposite yours is stacked with cartons of beer, but it’s the beanbag that holds your attention. Upon it, entwined in a not-so-kid-friendly embrace, an angry Spitfire and an embarrassed Rainbow Dash are staring at you and Shock.

“Hey kids!” you say with a weak smile, too tired to try and prevent the inevitable beat-down.

“I know your voice!” Dash exclaims as she points at you, “You’re the one who told me...” She stops mid sentence and blushes deeply.

“I’m glad to see you took my advice to heart.” You give her a half-hearted salute.

Spitfire is somewhat less accommodating. “That’s great and everything but if you would kindly fuck off, that would be fantastic.”

Shock drags herself to a standing position. “Room for one more?” she asks with drunken optimism.

You roll off the couch and land on her, forcing her back to the ground. “Easy, tiger. Let’s just leave these ladies in peace,” you say as you climb off her.

With a disappointed sigh, Shock stands up and follows you back out the door. Rainbow Dash calls out just as you close it. “Thank you!”

Continuing down one of the infinite halls, Shock gives you a smile. “Looks like you’re a regular matchmaker. Think you can hook me up with somepony?”

You snort. “I think we’re both too drunk to be hooking up with anypony. Plus I’m going to be executed at some point.”

“Oh yeah, I forgot about that. Those two pretties were kinda distracting, don’t you think? I mean, did you see how far Spitfire’s hoof was-“

“Ahem. Yes, I did. Now let’s focus on either getting out of here or finding a place to sleep.”

Through silence you walk together. In your intoxicated stupor the mansion really does seem to be infinite. Every room you pass is new with different ponies in it. You wouldn’t know the first direction to go in if you wanted an exit. Shock seems remarkably less worried than you, prancing merrily beside you and giggling every now and then. Eventually, you realise you’re getting nowhere and pull Shock aside.

“Listen, either this place is a different dimension or I’m too wasted to figure out where to go. Let’s find an empty room and hole up for the night. What do you think?”

“Sure. I’m getting tired of walking anyway.”

You search half the doors in a corridor before happening upon an empty bedroom. Sighing in relief, you lock the door behind you to prevent unwanted visitors in the night. The last thing you want is to wake up covered in vomit. Not again. Never again.

The room is a suite with a little bathroom and only has a double bed, but neither you nor Shock voice any abhorrence to sharing it. That’s the beauty of being drunken buddies. Together, you unceremoniously collapse on top of the covers. The last thing you hear before unconsciousness takes you is her slurred and sleepy threat.

“You try to touch me while I’m asleep and I’ll fucking cut you bitch...”

Chapter 3

Chapter 3

-----

There’s always that pause just after waking up when you realise what you did the night before. If it’s a normal day, you will think nothing of it and slowly begin your routine. If it’s the day after a party, you can only brace yourself, eyes jammed shut and teeth clenched, and pray to the gods of alcohol for mercy. Once that instant passes, two things can happen. The first is the most common. A world of pain will crash into you and the suffering of a thousand galaxies will permeate your very being.

The second, less common, is nothing. Your eyes don’t ache and your head doesn’t pound, and you remember everything you did the night before.

As you lie there thinking this in that moment after waking, you beg for the latter.

Thankfully, and despite all the times your prayers were ignored, you receive this blessed mercy.

You open your eyes and see a familiar dark blue mane inches away. Shock is facing the other way, still sleeping. Her chest rises and falls slowly with each deep breath. Taking a moment to ogle her as only the most respectable of friends can, you imagine a situation that will never be. Her light red almost-pink fur is messy and dishevelled like her mane, but that only serves to reinforce the image of wild beauty lying before you. It’s strange seeing the energetic pony looking so peaceful and at ease.

She rolls over slowly and faces you, bright green eyes blinking slowly. Recognizing you, she smiles warmly and pulls you into a sleepy hug.

“How’s it going, dude?” she whispers, voice hoarse from lack of use. You return the hug with confused happiness.

“I’m still alive, so not bad.” She laughs at your response, vibrating against your chest.

“Don’t get any weird ideas about this hug. I’m just saying thank you.”

You raise an eyebrow. “For what?”

“I had a dream about all the shit we got up to last night. You turned a pretty bad night into one of the best I’ve ever had.”

She sounds so earnest and sincere you begin to wonder if somepony replaced her brain while she slept.

“Really? You count getting chased by cops as a good night?” you ask, incredulous. She laughs again, with a bit more volume. You can almost feel the energy building as she wakes up entirely.

“Hell yeah I do!” She lets go of you and stands up on the bed, bucking the air, “Running from cops, chilling with sexy mares, drinking with my new best friend and listening to sick beats is my kind of night!”

You laugh and stand up as well. “Well, when you put it that way...”

She starts jumping on the bed and you join in, not even trying to hold back your giggles at the childish fun.

“And the best part is,” she begins as you hit the bed together and fly back into the air, “We’ve still got,” once more you bounce from the covers, “A whole week left!” she screams joyfully.

You stop jumping. “Wait, what?”

Shock lands, the force sending you straight off the bed and crashing to the floor. She snorts and chuckles at your demise, hopping off the bed and standing over you.

“You alright?” She helps you up.

“Yeah, I – What did you mean when you said a whole week left? The party’s over.”

There is a pause and she frowns at you, as if not sure whether you are joking. “Um, dude, that was the prep party. This is Day One.”

You just stare at her in a complete lack of understanding.

She pokes your chest. “You do remember what this is, right? You weren’t that drunk.” When you don’t reply her eyes widen and she motions for you to sit down on the bed. You do so, as confused as a pegasus without wings.

“Okay, this might be a bit of a shock. I’m guessing you got the invite but didn’t actually read it, right?”

You nod sheepishly.

“There’s no easy way to say this, but whether you like it or not you are at the greatest party event of the year.”

“A party that goes for a week?”

“Not just any party, dude. The greatest one. It actually goes for ten days, but most ponies just call it a week.”

You frown, thinking she’s lying. “I think you’re lying.”

She rolls her eyes. “I knew it would be too awesome for you to wrap your head around. I helped you out of a jam last night, didn’t I?” You nod grudgingly. “Then trust me again and know I’m not lying.”

It’s a good point and you sigh. “Alright, tell me what’s going down.”

“The Lunar Gladiatorial Feast Revival Festival, otherwise known as The Best Fucking Party You Will Ever Go To, is an old tradition that’s been updated and restored since Princess Luna came back. She came up with this idea to have an insanely big mansion built in which she could play games with us little ponies. Instead of making us fight and kill each other though, she decided to make it into a survival-party. A thousand ponies are invited from all over Equestria, commoners like you and me as well as celebrities, and we all have to live through the ten days with unlimited booze and music.”

You spot a flaw. “What’s to stop us from leaving? That’s what we were gonna do last night.”

“They lock us in, dumbass. We could have left last night because that was the prep party. Now we’re stuck here.” Shock didn’t seem the least bit bothered by this development.

“What if somepony gets injured or drinks too much?”

“Then they might die. That’s what makes this party so hardcore.” She grabs your shoulders, sporting a huge grin. “Ponies die at this party, dude! It’s awesome!”

You feel the blood draining from your face. “So what you’re saying is that I’m trapped in this mansion with insane, drunken ponies while being hunted by a roving death squad led by the third most powerful unicorn in Equestria?”

“Yup! For ten days!”

“Oh sweet Celestia what have I gotten myself into.”

Shock puts her hoof around you and rests her head against yours. “Don’t worry, dude. I’ve been to one of these before so I’ll keep you alive.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“No problem. Now, since it looks like it’s before noon, this is a good time to go and raid for supplies. We’ve already got a base room, so that’s not an issue.”

Removing her hoof, Shock walks over to a small set of drawers and opens the bottom one, retrieving a small silver key.

“Locking the door last night was a good move on your part, but we’ll need this if we ever want to keep hold of this room.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are a thousand ponies, but not a thousand rooms. Trust me, later on this place becomes a battlefield.”

You gulp and follow her as she leaves the room, carefully locking the door behind her. The music is playing well known songs at only half the volume it was at last night, which probably means Vinyl is off sleeping somewhere covered in mares and had set up her machines to just roll a playlist. In any case you are grateful, since loud music isn’t really desirable this early.

With your mind no longer clouded by alcohol, some of the halls and doors start to look different from each other, no longer stretching to infinity as they did last night. You try as hard as you can to memorise the path to you room so you can make it back later. Shock keeps stopping to peer into open rooms or test closed ones. Very few ponies seem to have locked theirs like you did, meaning there were quite a few angry, hungover shouts from sleeping partiers.

After about half an hour of searching, Shock bursts through a door into a store room with crates stacked up filled with every sort of food imaginable.

“Jackpot!” she squeals, balancing three smaller crates on her back. “You grab some too. No starving to death for us!”

You grudgingly pick up and balance four crates, determined to outdo Shock and preserve your masculinity. She just rolls her eyes and leads you back through the hall. Together, it doesn’t take long to find the correct corridor and room. You silently praise your memory for doing its job for once.

When all the crates have been unloaded in your room, Shock looks over them in approval. “This is good. I don’t think we even need any more than this.”

You don’t reply, kicking the lid off one of your crates and tearing open a packet of chips. Never has there been a sweeter breakfast. Shock joins in, stuffing her mouth with marshmallows from one of her crates. Together, you absolutely demolish a quarter of a crate each. She gives you a big sticky grin and you return it, wiping the crumbs from your mouth.

“Breakfast of champions, am I right?” she laughs. You nod, having attained a satisfactory level of fullness.

For some reason, watching Shock adorably trying to get pieces of marshmallow out from between her teeth makes you think of Twilight. Now that you can think clearly, you can’t believe how you acted. You met her, and then less than half an hour later you tried to sleep with her. Having always thought of yourself as a somewhat good-natured stallion made it even worse, with your opinion of yourself dropping to dangerously low levels. You felt disgusted with yourself. A pony like you doesn’t deserve to even talk to Twilight.

Shock bops your nose softly. “You alright dude? Your face went from amused to heartbroken in like one second.”

You snap out of it and force a smile. “Don’t worry about it. What should we do now?”

She looks concerned but doesn’t press the issue. “Well, nothing much happens on the first day. We establish our base room and get some food to last us a few days. Normally I would spend the rest of the day partying my ass off, but since somepony tried to fuck Princess Celestia’s student I can’t do that without being caught.”

Wincing, you mumble an apology. Shock just sighs and smiles. “I’m only messing with you, lighten up. Hey,” her face brightens as she gets an idea, “I’ve got an idea! This place usually has a control room of some sort for emergencies. Like, building-is-on-fire emergencies. But I think it also has controls to all the little tricks and traps Princess Luna loves putting around here. If we found it and started messing with the controls, we could force an early end.”

You frown. “How does that help our situation? That’s just a quick path to the cops.”

She bops your nose yet again. “Think outside the box, dude. If we totally fucking wreck this place they’ll be too focused on cleaning up and saving everypony to notice us slip away.”

“Wreck this place, eh? I kinda like the sound of that.” A slow, evil grin parts your lips, one that Shock mimics.

“I bring out the worst in you,” she says cheerfully.

You can’t help but agree.

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

-----

Sticking close and staying smart, the two of you leave the room and begin to search. It’s a fairly casual affair, knowing you have a safe place to retreat to makes you feel a lot better about your predicament.

Other ponies are beginning to rise from their slumber and over the next hour the halls gradually become more crowded as the dishevelled masses migrate from room to room. Many are hungry and the next couple of store rooms you pass are completely cleaned out. You silently praise your early rising habits.

As you trot down a purple themed corridor that reminds you of a certain unicorn, a voice calls out from behind.

“Hey Shock! Wait up!” Together, you turn to see a green-furred mare galloping your way. You glance at Shock, who is wearing a very forced smile.

“Oh, hey Lavender! It’s… good to see you,” she says with gritted teeth. The pony called Lavender stops in front of you and beams at Shock.

“I was wondering where you went off to while I was chatting to Tulip.”

Shock’s expression breaks into one of rage. “Chatting? There are many words to describe what you were doing with Tulip, and none of them are chatting!”

“Actually,” you chime in without thinking, “My parents used ‘chatting’ as a euphemism for their... alone... time...” your voice trails off under the fiery gaze of your blue-maned friend.

Lavender quickly loses her cheerful expression. “Really, Shock? You’re one to talk. Have you ever met a mare and not fucked her?” She glances at you, finding more ammunition. “And who is this? Did you ‘forget’ you’re a lesbian again?”

You can tell Shock is struggling to reply, so you step in. “Take it easy, Lavender. This isn’t gonna solve anything. Clearly you two are done with each other, so why not just walk away and let it rest?”

Blowing a strand of brown hair from her face, she looks at you, then at the still-speechless Shock, then back to you. “Yeah. Yeah, fine. Just remember when you’re fucking her that she’s already thinking of her next target.”

Lavender spins and marches away, pushing through the small crowd that gathered in the corridor to watch. You step in front of Shock, shielding her from their eyes. “Clear off, you lot! Nothing to see here.” With the drama dissipating, the ponies disperse, muttering and laughing to each other. Some even look back at you with amused smirks.

Sighing, you turn around to face Shock, only to gasp in surprise at her watering eyes. You rush forward to hug her but she steps back. “Don’t,” she says quietly, scrubbing at her eyes. “Just... let’s move on.”

She continues walking the way you were originally going and you follow her silently. It takes a few minutes before she looks your way again, and when she does her eyes have cleared. “Sorry about that,” she says with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to,” you reply.

“Thanks. I suppose we should keep looking for the control room, yeah?”

You give her what you hope is a reassuring grin. “Hell yeah. Let’s tear this place apart.”

Shock returns the grin and seems to regain some of her energy.

“Um,” you add awkwardly, “Any idea where it is? Or are we just gonna wander aimlessly?”

“I figured we’d know it when we saw it,” she replies casually.

“Did it occur to you that the room is probably hidden really well?”

“Duh. So I’m looking for a really good hiding place.”

You open your mouth to point out all the things that are wrong with her plan when you accidentally bump into another pony. Mumbling an apology, you step around them and try to continue, but are stopped by a hoof on your chest. Turning, you look properly at the pony you bumped into and meet the eyes of Twilight Sparkle.

Your brain shuts down. Time seems to stop completely, sounds fading into the background. There, standing in front of you with her hoof on your chest, is the unicorn you tried to proposition the previous day. The very same unicorn as Princess Celestia’s student. The same unicorn as the one who is widely acknowledged as the most powerful non-alicorn magic user.

And she’s looking straight at you.

“Hey...” she says softly.

“Hi,” you squeak.

Shock noticed you weren’t following her and came trotting up. “What’s the hold up?”

Twilight looks from you to Shock and back. You see something flicker across her face but in a split second it’s gone. “So... why did you run off yesterday?”

You avert your eyes. “Because I acted like an idiot. You’ve caught me now, alright? I won’t put up a fight.”

She looks confused. “What are you talking about?”

“Yesterday, when I led you into that room without thinking... I figure that’s probably grounds for an execution, or banishment at least.”

Surprisingly, Shock steps between you and Twilight. “Hey, don’t you dare try to steal my new best friend!” she growls in a show of loyalty you find oddly endearing.

“Best friend? I’m sorry; I thought you two were...” Twilight trails off as you grin at Shock.

“Somehow,” you say slyly, “I don’t see that happening.”

“Well that’s a rude thing to say, especially straight to her face,” says Twilight disapprovingly.

“No, um, we’re both fans of the fairer sex is what I mean,” you explain.

“Huh?”

Shock interrupts your half-formed response. “He’s trying to tell you that I’m gay.”

“Oh.” Twilight reddens considerably.

For some reason, the way Shock spoke sticks in your mind. There was something strange about it, like a tone of annoyance... or disappointment?

“Well,” the purple unicorn continues, pushing past her embarrassment, “Why do you think I want to get you executed or banished?”

You lose your patience with her oblivious manner. “Well shit, I don’t know, maybe because I led you into a bedroom with the intention of fucking your brains out?”

A very sudden pause follows your words. Twilight is bright red and wide-eyed at your confession, and Shock is speechless. It doesn’t last long. “Dude. You have balls of steel.” She smacks you on the shoulder. “Well not literal steel. At least I think not.” She ducks her head for a moment. “Nope, definitely not. Still, you have guts.”

You move your back legs closer together, slightly abashed at the sudden attention your genitals received. “Ahem. I, uh, shouldn’t have been so blunt. I’ll understand if you decide to execute me where I stand.”

Shock rolls her eyes and stands beside you. “Stop being so defeatist. Come on, let’s go down fighting.”

“Let’s?” you ask.

“What better reason to die than defending a friend?” she whispers, looking you straight in the eyes. You see something in those green eyes you never noticed before. Resolve. Unshakeable loyalty with a side of badass. But most of all, you see the greatest drunken decision you’ve ever made.

“Will you two calm down?” an exasperated Twilight says, snapping your attention back. “I’m not going to execute either of you.”

“You’re not?” you and Shock reply in unison.

“No! Though I was a little surprised by how... forward you were, I’ve since learned that sort of thing is rather common at this event.” Twilight looks a bit embarrassed. “I... I don’t go to many parties like this, you see.”

“No kidding,” mutters Shock.

“So what are you gonna do then?” you ask.

Twilight shrugs. “I wanted to spend time with my friends, but they’ve all wandered off.”

Shock looks at you. You look at Shock. You feel the knowledge of a thousand parent-taught lessons in manners come flooding back. You pout and Shock gives in. “Fine, but I’m not carrying her if she passes out.”

With a grin, you address Twilight. “You can hang out with us if you want.”

She perks up. “Really? You two don’t mind?”

Shock snorts with a burst of laughter. “You’re asking us if we mind? The stallion who openly admitted not thirty seconds ago that he wants to bang you and a mare you’ve never met before who probably shares the same desire?”

You wonder how Twilight remains standing as large quantities of blood rush to her cheeks. Her eyes flit around quickly, looking at everything except you. Being the merciful, benevolent pony that you are you take the spotlight off her.

“Stop torturing her, Shock. Let’s keep moving. We have to find... that... control ...hmm. There’s no point now, is there?”

Twilight smiles gratefully at your intervention, and Shock looks into your eyes. “I gotta level with you, dude. Escaping the long purple arm of the law was just gonna be a bonus.”

“What do you mean?”

“I want to see this place burn. I want to rip it apart brick by brick, pony by pony,” she replies, eyes blazing with deadly intent. But somewhere in those eyes you see a trickle of sadness, like raindrops upon a forest canopy.

“What’s wrong?” you say quietly. Twilight can probably still hear, but you make the effort anyway to show you know something is up.

Her eyes dim and she lowers them. “Lavender hasn’t left me in the best of moods,” she mumbles. You put a hoof around her neck and she leans against you, vision still downcast.

Twilight, oblivious as ever, abruptly interrupts your comforting session. “Oh, you’re looking for the control room? I know where that is.”

You instantly forgive her interruption, and apparently so does Shock. “You do? Where?!” she says excitedly.

“Behind one of the mirrors in this place. I didn’t have much time to go over the blueprints,” Twilight states matter-of-factly.

“You saw the blueprints? But they’re locked up somewhere in Canterlot!”

“Well, being the Princess’s student gives me many opportunities to peruse information stored in Canterlot... or in this case, Princess Luna’s bedroom,” the unicorn admits with a sheepish smile.

Shock greets it with a genuine grin. “You’re slyer than I thought you were. We’ll make a badass out of you yet.”

Twilight beams at the praise and you roll your eyes.

“Alright,” you say, “What do you mean it’s behind a mirror?”

Shock bops you on the nose. “Gee, I dunno. Maybe she means it’s behind a mirror?”

“Shut up.” You shove her away playfully. “I mean, which mirror is it? Do we just have to go around breaking them until we find it?”

“I don’t know.” The unicorn says simply. “Although if we did do that we would rack up a lot of bad luck.” She gasps in sudden realization. “What if bad luck compounds? We would end up with more bad luck than we could ever live through!”

You exchange a worrisome glance with Shock before responding. “You don’t strike me as the superstitious type.”

“Oh. Yeah... my friend made me think about things in a whole new way. It’s a long story-“

“-That we don’t need to hear right now,” Shock pertly asserts. You wince at the rudeness even though you aren’t exactly eager to sit through what would probably be a long, dull tale. “Look, we know it’s behind a mirror. That’s a better starting point than we could’ve hoped for, dude.”

You concede. “Alright. Let’s get going then.”

As the alpha male, you take charge and proudly march down the hallway. Shock snickers but follows, Twilight not far behind. Moving through a pink themed hallway with streamers everywhere, you can’t help but feel proud of how you’re handling yourself. Your very first time at this event and you’ve got a room, food, two lovely female companions with whom you may stand a chance, and you don’t even have a hangover.

There are still issues that need to be dealt with, of course. Twilight probably doesn’t trust you as far as she can throw you, and Shock clearly has some things to work out with herself, but all in all you believe it has gotten off to a relatively good start. Your cheerful mood abates when you pass an open door, through which two stallions are very vocally enjoying each other’s company. Swallowing the bile at the back of your throat, you pick up the pace.

“Hey, wait up dude!” Shock calls out. You turn back to see both she and Twilight are very slowly moving past the open door.

“Seriously?” you shout back. Shock just gives you a shameless grin and trots to catch up. Twilight does the same, only her grin is more of a blushing smile. She makes no excuses, falling into line on your right, with Shock on your left. “You two catch a good eyeful?” you say, slightly angry for reasons you can’t quite pinpoint.

“Damn right we did. And don’t you dare act like that’s a bad thing,” Shock slugs you in the shoulder. Twilight just giggles to herself.

“Whatever. Come on; let’s see what’s in there.” You point at a random dark blue door, the same shade as Shock’s hair.

Twilight opens it with a pulse of her horn as you all approach. Stepping inside the room, the first thing you notice is that it’s very dark. The only light is from the open door. The second thing you notice is how empty it is. Not a single pony is in the room, and the room itself is a featureless box with the only irregularity being a shadowed lump in the corner.

Shock, being arguably the bravest of your trio, approaches it carefully. She bends over it for a moment, and then stiffens considerably, backing up to the doorway where you and Twilight stand waiting. Her eyes are wide and she speaks quickly and quietly. “We’ve gotta go. Come on, back out.”

Twilight looks over Shock’s shoulder. “Why, what is it?”

“Nothing, let’s go.”

The unicorn floats Shock out of her way and walks curiously towards the lump. You feel sick to your stomach, imagination providing examples of all the possibilities. Pushing past Shock, you trot the short distance to Twilight, who is inspecting it. She goes rigid and recoils with a gasp. You lean over the lump and get a closer look.

There, lying before you crumpled and broken, a little filly sleeps. Only, you know she’s not sleeping. Broken glass has torn into her right foreleg and the blood no longer drips. Her little blue eyes are glazed and staring. Dried vomit crusts the edge of her mouth. Twilight gallops out the doorway and you hear her retch. The same compulsion enters your mind, but you hold it back, swallowing constantly.

Your body feels very hot all of a sudden, and voices take on a twisted sound like listening through a bad radio. Somewhere, a pony is leading you by the hoof into a bright corridor. Those little blue eyes. Those little eyes. She was so small. She was cute, too. She would have been beautiful. You’re moving quickly through multicoloured places now. A purple shape and a light red shape seem to be the only parts that stay the same

She had such pretty eyes. What did those eyes see before they stopped seeing?

Walls close in around you again, familiar but not comforting. You feel too sick to even vomit.

Your legs are weak and somepony pushes you onto a cool, soft place. The purple shape is beside you, and you can feel it shaking and heaving with sobs. Your ears slowly begin to function again, and words make themselves apparent.

“It’s alright, it’s alright, calm down, please calm down,” Shock whispers, whether to you or to Twilight or to herself you’re not sure.

“She had beautiful eyes,” your voice says, sounding high pitched. Twilight shakes even harder.

Climbing onto the bed, Shock pulls you both into a hug that you return quickly. Tears slide down your face and into Shock’s mane. She just squeezes you both harder and harder.

Those little blue eyes.

Chapter 5

Chapter 5

-----

For a time, you sleep. Twisted visions spiral through your mind, nightmare after nightmare, pain upon pain. Like gathering clouds, they compound on each other and strengthen. You’re crying, but you don’t know whether it’s in the dreams or not. The noise and fury of the mental terrors amasses and reaches its crescendo, building toward a pinnacle of fear.

As a final crack of thunder breaks the storm, so too does your dream disintegrate. The mist clears and your eyes slowly open. Twilight’s tear-stained face is inches away. She is asleep, breathing softly into your face. You raise your head and see Shock on the other side of Twilight, holding the unicorn tight.

There is a moment of disorientation when you slide carefully off the bed. You stumble and look around. It’s your base room, with the little bathroom, crates of food and black carpet you remember.

Glancing around for a clock, you want to know how long you had been asleep. It feels like it’s the next day, but there’s no way to tell. The events from before you fell asleep seem like a nightmare, even though you know it was very real. Out in the mansion somewhere, in a lonely room, that little filly is still lying there and she is still dead.

You violently shake your head to dislodge the awful thought. Stepping into the bathroom, you drink from the tap in the sink and rinse your mouth out a few times. Once quenched, your body alerts you to the lack of food residing in your stomach. As quietly as you can, you snatch up some more chips and dig in, flinching at ever crackle of the bag. Not the healthiest meal you’ve ever had, but far from the worst. With your stomach full of liquids and solids, your mood lightens enough to actually feel optimistic about the rest of the party. It will be tough, probably tougher than anything you’ve ever done, but if you stick with your two attractive buddies there shouldn’t be an issue. After all, who would fuck with Princess Celestia’s student?

Well, besides you.

Speaking of which, you find yourself standing over the bed looking at the two mares. Shock is still gripping Twilight closely, and you try to burn the image into your mind for later. But as much as you ogle, the only stirrings are in your heart. This is no sexual situation. This is a friend comforting another friend. You mentally berate your dirty mind for even trying to see things in a less-than-pure light. Jamming your undeserving eyes shut, you turn and lean against the featureless cream coloured wall. They are truly too good for you. It’s a miracle they haven’t gotten tired of your perverted, selfish nature and dumped your ass outside the room. Twilight can do that if she wants to, of that you are certain, and you aren’t confident about your chances against Shock. Being a stallion doesn’t count for much when you have never been in a fight.

Well done, you’ve moved on from thinking about fucking them to thinking about fighting them. You are just the epitome of gender stereotypes. ‘Oh look, mares. I better fight or fuck them.’

“Try either with me and I’ll bust your head in,” mumbles a sleepy Shock. Apparently you vocalised that last thought.

“Heh. Don’t mind that.” You observe Shock reposition herself slightly, still drifting between the waking world and the dream one.

“Nah... I’m jus’ meshin’ with ya...” she whispers almost incoherently, “I guess... I would prob’ly... fuck ya...” With that, Shock drops back into her doze, sighing deeply as she does so.

You peer curiously down at the blue-maned pony. First there was that thing Lavender said, and now this? Either you are reading too much into everything or Shock didn’t tell you the whole truth when you met at the prep party.

“What are you playing at, filly?” you mutter uneasily. The unknown is always cause for fear.

“Are you talking to me?” Twilight says as she rolls free of Shock’s hooves and forces herself off the bed with the determination of somepony who sticks to a routine. You can only marvel as she quickly assesses the room and wakes up entirely, all in a matter of seconds.

“No, I was... talking to myself.”

She smirks adorably. “You call yourself a filly? If you have gender issues, I’d be happy to talk through them with-“

“Har-dee-har-har. Go get a drink and some food, you must be starving.”

She takes your advice and does just that, mimicking your earlier actions by getting a drink first. Your eyes follow her across the room. Your lecherous, one-track eyes. You hastily look away before she notices. A muffled laugh draws your gaze back to the bed. Shock has pulled covers over her head so only one eye is visible. She evidently just watched your voyeuristic observation of the unicorn. When she sees you looking, the sheet quickly covers the one eye.

“Oh no you don’t,” you growl, leaping onto the pony-shaped lump and digging your hooves into where you think her ribs are. She breaks into hysterical laughter, violently kicking and flailing her limbs beneath the sheets. You smile with grim satisfaction and tickle harder. It’s not long before the sheets are kicked off the bed entirely and Shock lies beneath you, writhing in uncontrollable spasms... of laughter. Finally she manages to coordinate herself enough to catch both your hooves in both of hers. A contest of strength ensues and you keep smiling to make it look like you’re not even trying. In truth, Shock is a lot stronger than she looks.

“Need a hoof?” Twilight asks, leaning against the bathroom doorway with a smile.

“Ngh... This... is between... me... and him...” Shock grits her teeth as she speaks and pushes at the same time.

You hesitate for a split second as you wonder if there was a second meaning behind Shock’s words. A split second is all the light-red pony needs. She brings her hind legs up to her chest and kicks you in the gut, sending you flying off the bed.

Before you hit the ground, a tingling sensation encompasses your body and you are deposited gently on the floor. A glance at Twilight confirmed the culprit.

“Aw, I like it when they shatter,” Shock mutters disappointedly before flashing a toothy grin at you.

“Since you two have so much energy, how about we play a game?” Twilight suggests. You find no reason to object, trotting over to the bed and lying on it beside Shock. Twilight joins you and the three of you face inwards at each other in a dilapidated circle.

“What did you have in mind?” purrs Shock. Twilight reddens considerably less than when she first met her, which you decide is good progress.

“Well... how about Truth or Dare?”

You all agree, Shock perhaps a little too enthusiastically, and Twilight decides to start it off.

“Alright then. Truth or Dare, Shock?”

“Dare. Only the most badass ponies choose dare,” she declares. You wonder if it’s because all the badass ponies are afraid of the truth.

“I dare you to... hmm... there’s not really much we can do here.”

“You could make her perform a sensual dance?” you suggest helpfully, earning a slug in the shoulder.

Twilight’s face turns a deeper shade of purple. “I... I think the dirtier dares and questions are supposed to happen later on in the game.”

Shock’s expression shows what she thinks of that. “Screw that, let’s get right to the fun stuff. Go on, dare me. I’m not afraid.”

The unicorn looks nervous but excited, and you can’t help but like where this is going.

“Alright... I dare you... to... kiss his cutie mark!” she blurts out, looking surprised at her own words.

The most badass pony is unfazed. “Pfft, that’s all?” She crawls over to where you lay on your stomach and moves past your head. Soon your face is uncomfortably close to her own flank as she plants a firm kiss on both of your marks. Scooting backwards, she resumes her place in the circle with barely the faintest hint of a blush.

“I guess we’ll go clockwise?” Twilight says faintly. You realise that makes it your turn. A smile so devious you think Casaneighva himself would be proud forms with your lips.

“So Twilight, Truth or Dare?”

“Truth,” she says confidently. Your plan falters.

“Darn... okay, let’s see... Have you ever... hmm.... Have you ever had sex?” you ask lamely. If only she had picked dare!

Her reaction almost makes the missed opportunity worth it. She averts her eyes and you watch her blush for the millionth time. “No...” she says quietly.

You awkwardly try to comfort her for some reason. “Ah, don’t worry about it. These things happen eventually. It’s not really that great anyway.”

Shock snorts. “Speak for yourself, dude.” That makes Twilight giggle and you join in, as does Shock moments later.

Since it’s now her turn, Shock wastes no time in choosing you. Naturally, you pick truth. Not even Celestia herself knows what would happen if you chose dare.

“Have you ever made a mare orgasm?” asks the blue-maned pony conversationally. Your breath hitches in your throat and Twilight’s jaw drops. Though, after a few moments, she does turn to see your answer. Both mares are staring at you intently. Truth or not, there is only one answer to give in this situation.

“I – Yes, of course I have.”

“You hesitated.” Shock jabs a hoof accusingly.

“I was surprised.”

“Or you were thinking up a lie.”

“I wouldn’t need to ‘think up’ a lie; it’s a friggin’ yes-or-no question!”

“I want details then. I want to cross-examine your story.” Her eyes narrow and Twilight leans forward, interested.

“Hey, this isn’t Fully Explained Truth or Dare. You got your answer. Now it’s Twilight’s turn.”

Grudgingly, Shock releases you from her gaze. Twilight looks at you without saying a word.

“Dare,” you sigh. At least Twilight won’t come up with anything too bad.

“I dare you to lick all the way from Shock’s thighs to her lips.” Your mouth gapes in surprise and you look at Twilight. She’s still blushing like mad, but now she’s got this little smile. Every few seconds she bites her lower lip softly. Hot damn!

Wordlessly, you crawl on over to Shock, who lies back to make it easier. Your arousal must look very obvious from where Twilight is lying but considering where this could be going you don’t mind in the slightest.

Your drinking partner turned best friend turned you-don’t-even-know-anymore spreads her hind legs apart for you.

Everything is on display and you feast your eyes for as long as you dare before lowering your mouth and sticking out your tongue. Slowly, and avoiding any important parts despite your desire, you drag your tongue up from her inner thigh, slowly gliding it up her belly and over her chest. Finally, you slide up her chin and end with your tongue on her closed lips. Like a snake, her tongue reflexively darts out for the briefest of seconds and meets yours. You recoil backwards, anticipating an attack or just some anger. Instead, Shock rolls onto her stomach once more and looks not even the tiniest bit different.

Perhaps that’s the key though... Before, she was grinning and laughing. Now, her face was carefully wiped of all emotion. She doesn’t meet your eyes, instead staring at a place between you and Twilight.

You quickly return to lying on your belly, erection pressing almost painfully into the mattress. Twilight is eyeing you through half closed lids, eyelashes lowered sensually. You’re not sure if she knows she’s doing it. A thought occurs: what if she just used you and Shock to experience something she’s too scared to ask for? Your heart is beating extremely fast now, the endless possibilities flashing through your mind with giddying speed.

Your mind is so busy, in fact, that when they look to you for your decision you reply quickly, “Pass.” Shrugging, Shock accepts this but apparently decides to deliver punishment by choosing you.

“Dare.” You really, really like where this could go.

“Stand up.”

What did she say? Oh. Oh dear.

“Um...” you stall, looking everywhere for a distraction

“I could tell you to dance, if that’s easier.” She knows she has you. That little smirk infuriates you.

“Fine. Fucking... fine.” You stand up on the bed, head held high and unashamed. Well, maybe a little ashamed.

They don’t even try to hide their ogling. Twilight is mimicking Shock’s smirk now, which makes your cheeks heat up. Celestia damn them, there is nothing funny about your cock!

“Enjoying yourself?” you ask, trying to funnel all that anger into your tone. It’s a futile effort; she can see how much you’re enjoying her attention.

“Eh. I suppose.” Her nonchalant response is almost cardiac arrest inducing.

“What kind of lesbian are you, anyway?”

Her reply is cut short by three heavy pounds on the door and an angry yet familiar voice.

“I know you’re in there! If you’ve done something to Twilight I’m going to kill you!” the slightly muffled Rainbow Dash declares.

No! Damn her! It was going so well! You drop to your belly once more, hiding your shame. Twilight shakes her head a little, as if clearing her mind, and hops off the bed. Shock just sighs and bops you tiredly on the nose for no discernable reason.

As soon as Twilight unlocks the door, it bursts open in a flurry of colours. Rainbow Dash flies in, tackling the first pony she sees to the ground, in this case Twilight. A bored looking Spitfire steps in after her, sparing an uninterested glance towards you and Shock on the bed. You push yourself down into the mattress, making sure your underside is out of sight.

“Twilight! Are you okay?” Dash asks worriedly, looking at the mare pinned beneath her.

“Ow! Yes, I’m fine, why wouldn’t I be?”

The pegasus looks up at you and Shock with a scowl. “Somepony told me you got dragged into this room while crying.”

It crashes back down on you, the entire reason you were even playing Truth or Dare, to distract yourselves from the reality that a little filly had died yesterday. You can see it in the other’s eyes as well, the slight dimming of Shock’s and the widening of Twilight’s.

“It’s okay, Rainbow. I was upset... we all were. But they were helping me, not hurting me,” she explains softly.

“Oh.” Dash looks at you curiously. “Helping ponies is kinda your thing, huh?”

You’re not sure what to say so you just try to smile and nod. Shock hops off the bed, trotting over to Spitfire. “Hey there, sugar. Care to join us?” the blue-maned pony coos.

“Not even slightly interested.” The Wonderbolt’s jarring reply clearly surprises Shock, but she shakes it off quickly.

“I was talking to the wall. It’s not as thick as you and far better looking.”

You almost choke on your own tongue at that, and Spitfire bristles.

“Sure you were. You want me so badly I can smell it.” She glances at the bed. “And see it.” You look at the sheets next to you, where sure enough you see a tiny wet patch where Shock had been laying. “Did that happen as soon as I walked in the room?” Spitfire smirks.

Shock is at a loss for words, something that is becoming a scarily frequent occurrence, and you can see why. If she says yes, Spitfire wins and she gets crushed. If she answers in the far more likely negative, she will be admitting she was turned on before the interruption, possibly by you and definitely by the game. Your shrinking desire reignites with renewed vigour. Being unable to physically get between the two, you interrupt from afar.

“Ladies, let’s calm down a bit. Rainbow Dash just came to check on her friend. There’s no need to start arguing over silly things.”

At the mention of her name, Dash looks up from Twilight, with whom she had been holding a hushed conversation. “I guess if Twilight’s okay, we should leave you to... Hey, what were you guys doing?”

“Nothing!” the three of you simultaneously reply.

“...Right.” With that, Spitfire and Rainbow Dash exit the room and Twilight closes and relocks the door.

Your eyes are inexorably drawn once more to the dampness not far from where you are laying. Oh, please let it be you she was turned on by! Shock sees you looking and turns away so you can’t see her face. Twilight sits on the floor, clearly with her mind back on the filly.

“Where was her Rainbow Dash? Her friend?” she says quietly. “Somepony to check up on her and make sure she was okay.” Tears roll slowly down her cheeks.

Your boner screams as it dies and you feel sick. You are an absolutely horrible pony, scum of the earth. All you can do is utilise your newfound freedom of movement and slip off the bed to hug Twilight. She buries her head in your chest and sobs quietly. Perhaps sensing the change in mood, Shock silently slides her arms around the both of you. Together, you let Twilight cry.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6

-----

It is with grudging agreement that you accompany the two mares through the mansion. None of you are feeling particularly jovial, but Shock is determined to change that. Only an hour or two after Rainbow Dash’s intrusion, Shock suggested going out and getting drunk. A simple idea that she endorsed heartily. On some level, you agree with her. When all you have is alcohol and bad memories, you have to make do. And nothing washes away memories quite as effectively as ridiculous amounts of booze.

So it’s fortunate that, upon entering a decent sized ballroom, you discover that the mansion is certainly not suffering from any shortages. Crates of beers and wines of every kind are stacked literally to the ceiling and encompass half the room.

“Holy shit...” you breathe. Some other ponies have made a start on the lower crates, with several unconscious pioneers piled up in the corners, apparently swept aside to make room for more ponies to pass out.

“This is what I’m talking about!” Shock screams excitedly, snatching a bottle of the nearest who-gives-a-shit. You follow her example, taking a cautious drink of some wine. It’s sweet, with a cool minty aftertaste. You take another swallow or two and offer it to Twilight. She accepts graciously and sips at it timidly, surprising you.

“I figured you for the non-drinking type,” you state.

She looks into your eyes carefully, lowering the bottle from her lips. “On any other day, I would be.”

It occurs that you aren’t the only one who wants to forget. An understanding nod is your only response.

The low hum of music suddenly cuts out with a record scratch before being replaced by a much louder song. Vinyl Scratch is back on the track. Bass pounds through the mansion as the filthiest dubstep you have ever heard tries to pulverise your internal organs. You cheer along with Shock and the other thirty-ish ponies in the room. Twilight looks like her internal organs were pulverised, staring at the speakers in surprise. You nudge her and smile, motioning for her to have another drink.

“It gets easier, don’t worry!” you shout over the music. She doesn’t look like she believes you, but takes another sip anyway.

The torrential waves of unfiltered power that are blasting from the speakers suddenly cut to a chorus of synthetic strings before changing back. The music deviates between the two quickly before merging in a perfect harmony, the bass complementing the strings in a flaring crescendo. It reaches its pinnacle and holds, all but a single artificial note falling silent. You’re holding your breath and nopony is moving. Even Twilight can sense something is about to happen, her wide purple eyes watching a speaker as if it would provide warning. The final note softly fades away, only to be replaced a second later by an absolutely apocalyptic roar as Vinyl unleashes the bass once more. It floods your entire body and you leap in the air, pumping your hooves just like the other ponies in the room. You yell as loud as you can, voice lost underneath the audio tsunami that occurs when the Vinyl Scratch is on the track.

In some distant corner of your mind, you register Shock dancing beside you and Twilight trying to get into it. That’s about all you can register with the sheer energy imbued in your limbs from the music. You anticipate a one second sudden silence in the song, launching yourself into the air. It feels like you’re hovering during those hundred milliseconds and your breath hitches in your throat. Your hooves slam back to the ground the exact moment the music picks up again. Shock is grinning at you from ear to ear, an expression you return whole-heartedly. Twilight seems to be letting go, her eyes jammed shut and her extremities flailing. Your heart twinges when you notice her tongue is sticking out as if concentrating. This mare doesn’t seem to have any idea how adorable she is. And how bad at dancing she is.

Ponies are starting to stare and chuckle with their friends now, Twilight’s ‘dancing’ is attracting a fair amount of attention. You take a moment to weigh your options, eventually deciding that friends come before dignity, even friends you’ve only know for a day. Hoping Shock agrees with you, you stand beside Twilight and mimic her moves, even the tongue. You feel the heat of embarrassment roll over your skin but manage to push past it until you stop caring about the looks they are giving you. To your relief, Shock catches on and joins it, sacrificing all her party cred for the sake of a friend.

Something amazing happens. Other ponies in the room start to copy you, laughing with their friends. Within moments the entire room is doing it. Those who enter late and don’t realise the joke join in too, going with the flow.

Twilight just invented a new dance.

---

Songs blend into songs and sweat rolls down your face. You have absolutely no idea how long you’ve been dancing, but you do know your body is close to giving up. Even the steady intake of alcohol you maintained during the dancing can’t keep you moving anymore. Your companions seem to be feeling much the same way, Shock swaying slightly on her feet and Twilight drenched in sweat. The purple unicorn hasn’t drunk very much at all for a while, so she is probably sober. The thought is comforting because you aren’t sure if you can make it all the way back to the room.

“Maybe we should get back to the room!” you yell at Shock. It hurts your throat and suddenly the loud music is no longer enjoyable. It’s like drowning in a sea of noise.

She nods in agreement and begins wandering towards the exit. You nudge Twilight and motion towards the door. She understands and follows Shock. You take a moment to steady yourself against one of the crates, shaking your head.

The music stops abruptly.

A chime rings through the air, high and clear.

Everypony stops dancing.

Nothing much happens on the first day. Shock’s words echo in your mind.

Oh fuck.

What time is it?

“Hello, my little ponies.” Princess Luna’s voice comes from everywhere at once, startling you. “Welcome to Day Two. Your playtime is over.” Her voice lowers and becomes sinister. “But mine has just begun.”

Plumes of smoke rush out of every wall, swirling into the room with frightening speed. In your drunken haze you think it might be poison and try to hold your breath, but when the smoke doesn’t harm you or burn as you breathe it you relax. It’s only mist.

Only seconds pass before the entire ballroom is filled with it. You can’t see your own hooves and become disoriented trying to remember which way the exit is. A mare rushes out of the mist and moves past you while hyperventilating.

“I need air! I need to get outside!” she wails, the noise fading into the fog along with her.

You walk forward carefully and slowly in the direction you think the exit is. Other ponies shuffle in the fog around you, calling out to friends and screaming in terror.

“Shock!” you yell desperately, “Twilight! Anypony!”

There is no reply.

You wander through the fog for an eternity until even the sounds of other ponies fade away. A chill runs down your spine. Has something happened to them? Is something in this fog?

No. No matter how evil Princess Luna acts, there is no way she would be allowed to just slaughter ponies on a whim by unleashing dangerous monsters. There’s probably a law against that, right?

That’s what makes this party so hardcore. Ponies die at this party, dude! It’s awesome!

Oh shit oh shit oh sh-

What’s that? A strange violet point glows in the darkness. Your first thought is alarm. Princess Luna herself is in here picking off ponies! And you’re next!

But that doesn’t make sense even to your alcohol-muddled brain. Gradually, the point increases in intensity and sound forces its way through the fog to your ears.

“Alright, I hate to be a show-off but I have no choice!” says a fantastically familiar voice.

The mist stops flowing as if paralysed, then in one rushing movement it floats to the top of the room. You can see your hooves again!

Twilight, your saviour, quickly ushers you over to the doorway where Shock is waiting, half encased in mist from outside the ballroom. So the fog is everywhere then. That makes things slightly more difficult. The unicorn charges out the doorway and you and Shock quickly follow. The mist retreats from Twilight as if she has a bubble around her.

“Hurry! I don’t know if I’m breaking any rules by doing this!” she calls over her shoulder. You quicken your pace.

A glance behind you reveals a very disturbing sight. The mist drops and reforms the second Twilight is out of range, so it appears to chase you down the halls like a sentient monster. Somepony is screaming. You hope it’s not you.

Wait, there are several screams. All around you, voices cry out in pain and confusion. Thousands of ponies, lost and blinded by the fog, falling to desperation. A chill runs down your spine as you wonder how many bodies there will be in the morning.

All you can do is follow the purple flank as it flows through the ocean of white. You’re not sure how Twilight knows which way to go, but you trust her. She seems to know what she’s doing.

After Celestia-knows-how-long she finally stops outside your door. You have never seen a more beautiful door in your entire life. Shock stumbles up to the lock, the silver key falling from her teeth. She curses but before she can pick it up it floats into the lock surrounded by a haze of purple. The fog closing behind you, you shove Shock forward into Twilight and together you push through the door and collapse just inside your room.

It’s full of fog. Naturally. Twilight picks herself up and looks exasperated. “Alright, that’s it!” she says determinedly. An invisible wave of heat passes through you, prickling at your fur. The mist inside the room seems to burn away in an expanding circle around Twilight’s horn. In less than ten seconds the way is clear.

You feel your muscles ache as you close and lock the door. Shock must be feeling the same way, as soon as she could see where the bed was she made a beeline for it and climbed up.

“That was some crazy shit,” you say hoarsely with a bit of laughter in your voice.

Twilight give you a worried smile. “I used my magic to counteract one of the traps. One of Princess Luna’s traps! I might be in so much trouble right now!”

You shake your head. “No way. I saw at least three other unicorns doing the same thing on our way here.” It’s a lie, but Twilight seems to calm down.

“I feel a little tired from running while keeping that spell going. Do you think we should go to bed?” she asks.

For a moment you wonder why she is asking you. Your mind answers your own question instantly: because from her perspective, she’s still a guest in your room. “Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. We’ll sleep off the booze and figure out what to do next in the morning.” She looks a lot more at ease knowing she has your consent to sleep. It’s ridiculous, really.

She climbs up onto the bed. Shock is sprawled across half of it, leaving barely any room. She lies down as close to Shock as she can get and you lie behind her, the closeness making it feel like you’re spooning.

That, along with the fact you haven’t had any release in the last few days only serves to make falling asleep impossible.

Twilight is breathing shallowly and you can feel her heart beating quickly. The alcohol must be playing havoc on her body, especially considering she never drinks.

Every time she exhales, she presses back against you ever-so-lightly. You pray to Celestia that Twilight can’t feel the response she’s incurring. It’s out of your hooves now. You have absolutely no control over the pressure below. Resigned to your fate, you jam your eyes shut and for the millionth time imagine having the power to make yourself sleep instantly without drugs. Oh, what a world that would be. You would be able to escape from awkward situations like this just by closing your eyes.

You think about trying to shift backwards, but two things make that a bad idea. One, if she’s awake she’ll basically feel you rubbing yourself against her and, frankly, the mare has been through enough of your shit. Two, if you move back any further you will fall off the bed and wake her up anyway. You are trapped in a state of perpetual embarrassment no matter what.

Your arousal is compressed almost painfully between your belly and Twilight’s back. There is no way she can’t feel it, and she is definitely awake. Hopefully, your death will be quick and painless. Twilight seems like a very efficient pony who will kill you in the most effective manner, probably by snapping your neck with her magic or stopping your heart.

Damn it, not even thinking about your imminent death is helping! If you make it through the party somehow, you can tell your grandkids that the penises in your family are proud, unyielding creatures that have absolutely no shame or sense of appropriateness. Perhaps that will be your legacy.

Twilight shifts slightly and you accidentally rub against her. You gasp at the sensation and she giggles. Yep, definitely awake.

“I am so sorry!” you whisper as you recoil, instead falling to the floor with a thud.

She rolls over and peeks down from the bed. “Don’t worry, it’s not your fault,” she says, but her mouth is hidden and you can see the smile in her eyes.

You push yourself to your hooves, hoping the angle is hiding your erection. “I... er... it’s the booze, always does this... heh...” It’s a very shaky excuse but thankfully she doesn’t question it. “I’ll just go sleep on the floor over there...”

Twilight sits up straight. “You can’t sleep on the floor! You’ll wake up aching.”

“I’m already aching, but alright. What should I do then?” You don’t meet her eyes, face heating up. “It’s... it’s not going to go away if we lie like we did before.”

“That’s okay, it’s perfectly natural.” She sounds sympathetic but there are two pools of red on her cheeks betraying her embarrassment. “Maybe... do you think you can... take care of it in the bathroom? Then it won’t bother you and you’ll be able to sleep.”

While not exactly the solution you want, it’s still a solution. With a stiff nod, you duck into the bathroom and close the door.

It’s completely silent and you know any noise you make will be heard with perfect clarity on the opposite side. You consider abandoning the plan and just sleeping on the floor and only the insistence of Twilight keeps you there.

Exciting images flash across your mind as you stand over the toilet, pictures of Twilight curled up on the bed, Shock lying on her back with her hind legs spread and those green eyes looking up at you expectantly, even the memory of Spitfire and Rainbow Dash getting intimate. They swirl around behind your eyes as you perform the task. Eventually those images become more intense as you reach your peak, pulsing in time with your heart and your erection as you spill your seed into the white bowl. You jam your eyes shut and the final image is of Twilight and Shock side by side, smiling at you.

They trust you. You’re their friend. And here you are, thinking about them in that way. What kind of sick pony are you? With disgust in your heart, you flush the toilet and clean up with water from the tap. You are so undeserving of their friendship it should be a crime for you to even look at them.

You look at the ground and exit the bathroom, making the walk of shame back to the bed. Twilight had curled up again, facing away from you but you hear her giggle quietly as you lie down beside her. “Better?” she whispers.

“In a manner of speaking,” you mutter. She turns over and looks at you questioningly. With a sigh, you elaborate. “I feel like I betrayed you and Shock by thinking about you while I did that.”

“You were thinking about us?”

Oh, fuck everything! You stupid bastard, why did you say that?!

“Feel free to snap my neck anytime now. No, really, snap my neck.”

“I’m not going to snap your neck. I’m just... surprised.” She certainly looks surprised, and her eyes never once leave yours. Weighed down by guilt, you look everywhere except her. Her next whisper shocks you to the core. “What did you imagine?”

“I... I don’t want to talk about this right now. I feel like shit already. Let’s just go to sleep.” Your tone is harsher than you intended and Twilight quickly rolls over to face away from you. Barely thirty seconds pass before your guilt compounds and you’re forced to apologise. “Hey... I’m sorry I was so blunt. I say a lot of stupid things these days.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she softly replies. “You know... I don’t mind... that you thought of me...”

You don’t know what to say. Your arousal died in the bathroom, but there is a different feeling in your chest now, similar but infinitely more... magical.

Shuffling forward, you silently wrap your hooves around Twilight and rest your head on the pillow. This is too much for your drunken brain to process right now. The last thing you see is Twilight sliding backwards into your embrace.