One Last Shot

Years ago, he used to wake up to the sound of her voice: sweet and soft, gently prodding him out of his slumber. In recent weeks, that custom had returned, but it was always preceded by the harsh ringing of the telephone. He had to reach across her side of the bed, across that cold expanse, to hear her voice, which seemed to become more bitter and accusing every morning. He was usually too tired to fully understand what she was upset about, and his slowness to respond just irritated her further. "What is it this time, Lyrica?"

"Don't give me that, Caesar. I don't know how you think I'm supposed to get all my things if you aren't willing to work with me."

Caesar covered the receiver with his hoof and yawned. "Just come over and get it. It doesn't matter when."

In a contemporary mansion on the other side of town, a lilac pony scoffed. "Of course it matters. This is exactly what is wrong with you. You can't make any decisions for yourself. Take someone like Herald..."

"Uggghhhhh..." he groaned, and slammed down the receiver. He flopped back down on the bed and ran his hooves through his gray mane. Caesar had always viewed his silver locks as a look of distinction, that gave him an appearance of dignified seniority. Now it just made him feel old. Herald was only a little bit younger than him, but he had a curly mane of brown cream, a deep rich brown coat that put his to shame. And of course, Herald had Lyrica now.

• • •

The weatherpony had predicting sunny skies for days now, but the second Caesar stepped out of his empty terraced brownstone, it was clear just how far off their predictions were. The winds whipped around his body, and he tugged his top hat further down onto his head. In front of his apartment, busy ponies walked hunched, trying to keep themselves protected from the cold air. A curiously striped pony with a short green mane and a tacky jacket was attempting to pass out fliers to anypony who would take one.

"Come to the Blind Griffin and try Manehattan's newest spirit! A sophisticated taste for the sophisticated customer! Free shot with this flier!" Before Caesar had the chance to refuse, the jacketed pony had shoved a piece of paper into his hoof and that of a blue unicorn, who grumbled in response. "Thank you very much, sirs! I look forward to seeing you there!" He gave them both a big smile.

The blue unicorn gave a nasty smile back as his horn began to glow. The flier crumbled itself into a little ball, and went flying away in the wind. The young pony gaped as the unicorn resumed his walk down the street, but eventually gathered himself enough to yell incredulously, "Are you serious? What is your problem, buddy?" He sighed heavily and looked at Caesar, defeated. "If you don't want it, just give it back to me. Maybe somepony can use it for toilet paper or something." Caesar looked at the sheet in his hand, which promised a combination of sophistication and adventure in the form of a new drink. He flashed back to what Lyrica had said to him about making decisions.

He stuffed the flier under his hat. "Maybe I'll stop by later."

The pony lifted his head to reveal a pair of orange eyes that were practically sparkling with happiness. "Really?" he said with excitement, before quickly coughing and adopting a more serious demeanor. "Um...thank you very much, sir. We look forward to your business."

As Caesar walked away in the direction of his art gallery, he felt the first smile of the morning slowly appear on his face.

Hours later, Caesar pushed in the heavy doors of The Blind Griffin to find himself in a sparsely occupied pub given an old-world style by a wooden interior. He hadn't been to this part of town in years, and he was impressed with how much things had changed since he was younger. When he had gone out with his buddies for a drink, the only places they could get to serve them were sketchy looking dives where it seemed as if all the air had been replaced by smoke. This bar was tastefully decorated, and the pony behind the counter was dressed in a well-pressed striped vest and white shirt. Certainly a step up from the oily ponies who gave him skunky beer in dirty glasses when he was hardly older than a colt.

As he approached the bartender, he recognized the braid in his mane. It was the same pony who had been passing out the fliers, but this time he was dressed to the nines, with his unruly mane swept backwards. His serious demeanor was somewhat belied, however, by the goofy grin that appeared on his face as he recognized Caesar. "Glad that you could make it, sir!"

Caesar plopped himself down on one of the bar stools. "I honestly didn't know the first thing about this place. How long has it been here?"

"Oh, The Blind Griffin has been one of downtown's most popular establishments." When Caesar looked around at the lack of crowd, the bartender was quick to interject. "It's a little early for the real crowds, just yet."

"Ahh," Caesar said. "And have you been here the whole time?"

The young pony shook his head. "Oh no, sir. I'm actually only here for the duration of the promotion. Speaking of which, do you still have that flier?"

Caesar reached up into his hat and unfolded the paper on the bar with his hooves. ONE FREE SHOT, it announced in big, bold letters. "So what's next?" A blue bottle and a shot glass appeared on the bar as if by magic. The older pony adjusted his monocle to look at the label. "Coco Loco...what exactly is this?"

"Well, sir...are you familiar with rum?"

"Of course."

"This is rum, but with extract of coconut."

Caesar raised his brow. "And this is your product?"

"More than my product, sir. Its also my name. Coconut Rum, at your service." The pony made a small bow, which caused some of his mane to fall out of place and into his eyes.

Caesar chuckled at the display. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Coconut Rum, but I don't know about this. Can I be honest with you?"

"Absolutely, mister...."

"You can just call me Caesar. Honestly, it sounds like a drink for mares." He cringed as Coconut returned a very annoyed glare. "I...I'm sorry, Coconut," he said, sheepishly. "I don't mean to be such a pain in the flank. If its any consolation, I don't really know spit about alcohol. It probably tastes great."

Coconut responded by filling the shot glass and pushing it closer to Caesar. "I don't do probably."

Caesar looked at the shot glass and narrowed his eyes. He nodded with determination, picked it up, and downed the shot. The liquid was cold, and it felt a little thicker than most spirits he had tried, almost a syrup. The first thing that hit him was the sweetness, the tropical flavor of coconut flesh. Then the alcohol hit the back of his throat, and he felt the warmth spread down into his stomach. He sat for a moment, stunned, before talking to Coconut again. "That was delicious."

The green-maned pony smiled. "Give it another moment." And as if he had just given it his permission, the rum began to do its work. Caesar felt the lightness in his head and in his limbs, and the smile on his face grew along with Coconut's. He reached into his coinpurse and pulled out some coins.

"Give me another."

• • •

There was a stereo "clink" as both ponies added another glass to their stack of empties. Coconut had caught up to Caesar's total on the older pony's request, but it was clearly not affecting them in the same way. Coconut seemed just as relaxed as ever, the only change being a loosening of his red bowtie. Caesar, on the other hand was animatedly telling Coconut about his experiences at the last Grand Galloping Gala, and was doing it with grand hoof gestures and sound effects that irked some of the more sensitive patrons of the establishment.

"...so next thing I know I'm FLYING IN THE AIR and I land on the back of this pegasus who ended up destroying THE WHOLE CASTLE. I mean BOOM! BOOM! I swear, I'm almost positive that she was the one who knocked me into the air IN THE FIRST PLACE I MEAN WHO DOES THAT??" Caesar ended his story with a grand shrugging gesture, looking to Coconut Rum as if he could answer the question.

Coconut laughed and held his hoof up to mouth in a "shhhh" gesture, before laughing again and grabbing another glass. "Don't forget we're not the only ones here." He poured himself another shot. "So what did Lyrica say about the whole affair?"

"Ugh, somehow in spite of those other ponies ruining the palace, my little flight managed to be the embarrassing moment of her night."

"With all due respect to your wife, Caesar, she sounds like a real witch."

"Well, you know how mares are."

Coconut's orange eyes darted around the room. He made a face, then said a little quieter. "Not really."

"What? Are you telling me you've never been with a mare, Coconut??"

Frantically, Coconut raised his hooves in front of Caesar. "Keep it down, please. That's not what I mean at all. It's just that I'm..."

Suddenly it clicked in Caesar's mind. "Ohhhhhhh..."

"Yeah."

"Well..." Caesar paused. "There was a time in my life where I might actually have something to say about that. But nowadays I'm thinking live and let live. I guess I'm becoming a softie in my old age."

"You still seem pretty young to me."

He laughed scornfully and grabbed Coconut's shot. "You got that right, brother."

Coconut cocked his head to the side. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"Its good you're not me, then!" Caesar said as he knocked it back. As Coconut rolled his eyes, Caesar searched for a clever retort to put the younger pony in his place. After all, he was the one whoooooooo-

Coconut put his hooves out in time to catch Caesar's head before it slammed into the table. He lowered it to the surface of the bar, and turned his head to the side. "You're right. Its definitely good I'm not you." Coconut put the empties in the basin, and signaled the other bartender. "You got it from here?"

• • •

The first thing that went through Caesar's mind when he came to was "when did this barstool get so comfortable?" The answer became obvious when he found himself not on a wooden stool in The Blind Griffin, but on a sofa in somepony's studio apartment. "Hello?" he called out, still very much feeling the effects of the liquor.

A green maned head poked itself out from another room. "Ah! You're back in our dimension! Glad to see you!" Coconut Rum had taken off his vest and tie, but still had on his white dress shirt. His braid was still in, but his mane was thoroughly mussed. Caesar had to admit that he was a very handsome pony.

"Am I at your apartment?"

"Yep! We're right over the bar, actually."

Caesar scratched the back of his head. "Why didn't you just call a carriage for me?"

Coconut chuckled to himself. "Well, first of all, I couldn't pry the address out of you. You just kept saying you didn't want to go to that empty tomb. THEN you started talking about Lyrica and next thing I know you're swearing up a storm in front of the carriage driver." Caesar blushed. "I wasn't about to put him through that. Besides, my shift was pretty much over anyway."

"I'm really sorry about that, Coconut."

The younger pony shook his head. "It's not a big deal." He grabbed an orange bottle off of the shelf and took a quick drink. "You get used to it after a while. Didn't Lyrica ever warn you about going to a fillyfooler's apartment?"

"She thinks you're all predators," he said laughing nervously. He continued to find himself looking at Coconut. What is going on, he thought. Is it the mane? Is it the stripes? Or is this all from the rum? He distracted himself from these thoughts by looking at the bottle. "What is that?"

Coconut looked at the bottle and laughed. "That stuff you were drinking down there is my father's brand." He tapped the label with his hoof. On it was a badly drawn caricature of Coconut. "This is mine."

"Your father? Who is he? If he runs in any of the fashionable circles..."

"He's not from here. We're from San Caballo. I'm actually due back there tomorrow."

Caesar looked around the room, noticing for the first time that everything seemed to be packed up in boxes. "So what's the purpose in you coming here?" he asked, puzzled.

"Dad says its so I can build experience as a bartender, but I've been doing it for years back home without any problems. He really just wants me to talk up our rum so that sophisticated ponies in the city start buying it." He scoffed. "Fat chance."

"Hey!" Caesar yelled. He felt genuinely upset that anypony would do something to hurt his new friend. Wait, is Coconut my friend now? "Your rum is great! Why wouldn't these ponies buy it?"

Coconut smiled and looked over at Caesar with a sly expression. "Because it sounds like a drink for mares." Caesar sank further into the sofa, but was quickly joined by Coconut. "Seriously, don't feel bad. You're the only one who has given it any kind of chance, and for that I'm completely grateful."

Caesar felt a dopey smile spread on his face and suddenly he felt a warmth inside of him that he had almost forgotten about. He was just sitting down and talking to this other pony, but inside his brain he was dancing. It thrilled him to be so close to Coconut for some reason, and yet he found himself wanting to get even closer. He nodded his head in the direction of the orange bottle. "So, can I try some?"

The younger pony furrowed his brow and stood up. "I don't know if that's a good idea. This is a lot stronger than what we were drinking in the bar, and I can read a pony's tolerance pretty well. If I give you another shot of this stuff, you won't be in control of your senses anymore." He paced around the room in a little circle and then turned around to face Caesar again. "Look, I know we've just met, but I like you a lot. But I don't want you to do anything that you're going to regret."

Caesar looked into the pony's orange eyes. "You're the expert. What if I don't do a full shot?"

Coconut gulped. "Well...I honestly believe you'd still be in control of your actions."

"That sounds fair to me."

He looked at the bottle. "So you really want this?"

Caesar looked at Coconut. "Yes, I do."

Flashing a devilish smile, Coconut took a small drink from his bottle and put it to the side. He approached Caesar from the front, and climbed into his lap, straddling his quarters. He put his hoof under Caesar's chin and tilted it up to meet his. They met in a close-mouthed kiss, and the older pony felt his body shiver as Coconut allowed the rum made warm in his mouth to spill into Caesar's. He swallowed it down and pushed his muzzle into Coconut's with greater passion.

Coconut tilted his head back and exhaled with satisfaction, eyes closed. Caesar unbuttoned another button on his dress shirt, exposing more of the stripes on the pony's chest. He kissed the middle of one of the stripes, illiciting a sharp gasp from Coconut, who looked down with a smile.

Caesar looked up warily. "Should I stop?"

Coconut shook his head, already a little out of breath. "Don't you dare."

• • •

The next evening, after spending the day packing, Caesar finally plugged his telephone back in. Immediately, the ringer went off, causing the pony to jump back with a start. He picked up the phone and answered with "You just don't quit, do you?"

"Where have you been? I've been trying to reach you all day!" came Lyrica's voice, angrier than usual.

"What a coincidence," Caesar said, laughing. "I've been avoiding you all day. So what's going on, sweetie?"

"Don't 'sweetie' me! Herald went by our apartment today to pick up the rest of my things and he said that he banged and banged on the door and that you didn't answer!"

"Well, maybe I wasn't there."

"He said you were singing!"

Caesar thought back. "Yeah, I probably was. Anyway, I already put your stuff out for him."

"What? Well, where is it now?"

"Well, it was in the dumpster out in the alley," Caesar paused as he heard the gasp at the other end. "...but that was a can of lighter fluid and a match ago, so there's no telling what it looks like now."

"YOU WHAT??"

"Anyway, I'd love to talk, but I have a balloon to catch. Give my regards to Gerald."

"ITS HERALD AND YOU KN-"

"See ya later!" And Caesar yanked the phone cord out of the wall.

• • •

Caesar was already in the carriage on his way to the balloon station when the adrenaline finally eased off. He shook his head and exhaled a massive breath. "I can't believe I just did that," he laughed. He reached into his pocket and looked at his ticket. San Caballo. "On the other hand, I can't believe a lot of the things I do lately." He smiled, closed his eyes, and licked his lips, still sweet from the night before.