Striving for Perfection

"Why are we here? " Asked Rising while we were sitting at the bar. After buying a new alarm clock at a flea market, we stayed in the room and slept until midnight. Waking up at midnight, I went in search of a bar and found this place. Unfortunately, the Thestrals didn't leave me alone.

"You? I have no idea. I'm taking Overclocking. " I said before taking a sip from a mug of beer that the bartender provided me. The beer tasted just ordinary. I don't want to spit it out, but it's impossible to call it something tasty. Although I've tried beer three times in my whole life. Perhaps less.

"What are you doing?" Rising asked again without understanding my answer. Despite the fact that I was ready to buy everything the thestrals asked for, he didn't order anything. But Flying readily agreed and ordered white wine. He had already drunk two bottles and started on the third.

"I'm taking Overclocking. I need time to get drunk and start hunting." I said, not caring if anyone understood me and taking another sip from a mug of beer.

"Hunting?" Rising asked, not understanding anything and starting to annoy me with his questions.

"Today is the thirty-first of December. On this day, my grandfather and I were hunting in the forest. We called it the last hunt. I believe that hunting is not just about running through the forest and killing animals. This is the process when the first one strengthens its dominance over all the others. Of course I'll be the first. " I said reluctantly answering his questions and finishing my beer.

"I get it. " Said Rising, catching my annoyance and stopping asking questions. I'm sure he's lying.

"Hey, bartender! Pour me some red wine. " I said, tapping the mug on the table to attract attention.

"Are you and your company going to pay, drunk? Your company already owes the institution fifty bits." The bartender asked with pronounced irritation and dissatisfaction. The bartender is a unicorn in a white shirt with a bow tie. He has green eyes, yellow fur and a brown mane. The mane looks as if its owner tried to style his hair without having anything at hand. Although it turned out well.

"I already told you. I'll pay for everything when I'm done drinking." I said for the third time repeating the same phrase.

"I shouldn't be doing this." The bartender muttered softly to himself while looking for a bottle of red wine. He grabbed a bottle of wine with his magic grip and put it next to me after opening it with a corkscrew. He already realized that I was going to drink the bottle completely. I grabbed a bottle of red wine with my left hand and started pouring the drink into the mug.

"That's how it would be right away, nerd!" Said Flying before hiccuping from intoxication.

"Calm down. I'm not a drunk, unlike you." I said before taking a sip from a huge mug filled with wine. Taking big gulps, I could barely resist spitting it out. Swallowing hard, I realized that I would have to drink at least what was poured into the mug. Why did I think I would like red wine? Or any wine at all?

I sighed and, taking a break, began to look around the bar. In front of me were various cabinets, paintings and vases, among which various drinks were randomly placed. It's like someone just yesterday decided to turn their house into a bar. A single light bulb hung above me, without lampshades. In the rest of the bar, the light bulbs had gray lampshade. After looking around the bar, I noticed that it is probably the most crowded place I have seen in this city. Every second table was occupied by at least one pony, which in general created the effect of population. Seeing that most of the ponies in the bar have tassels on their ears and a specific shape of wings, I made a simple conclusion.

Thestrals.

I took a breath to gather my strength and made another volley of several sips of red wine. With difficulty, I swallowed the disgusting liquid and looked into the mug to check the amount of wine left. There's not much left. Literally a couple of sips.

"R-Rising, our drunk mentioned that he came to the city for free. D-Do you know something about this?" I asked, already starting to talk a little.

"It was called somehow difficult. Something like a program re something there. All interested thestrals have the right to travel to the nearest major city for free. In my case, it's Manhattan." Rising replied with the awkwardness caused by my condition.

"Understood, taken note." I said, returning to the mug with the disgusting drink. I took a deep breath and gulped down the rest of the drink. For a second it seemed to me that I would not be able to keep the liquid inside, but fortunately I managed. After putting the already empty mug on the table, I turned around to look at the wall clock. Judging by them, I'm stuck in this bar and taking overclocking for fifteen minutes.

Long. It's time to move on to decisive action.

"Bartender, pour me the strongest you have. So high-grade that the plastic world melted and I became perfection." I said, having completely stopped caring about being understood.

"You're already delirious, drunk." The bartender said before he started actively looking for something. Soon he found a glass and a small, low jar of green liquid. He just put a tiny glass in front of me and filled it with green liquid.

"What is it?" I asked, looking at the slightly spicy-smelling green liquid.

"The most powerful thing here is. Chilled absinthe in its pure form, that is, it is not diluted with anything. I want to warn you in advance. If you, a drunkard, die after that, then I am not responsible." The bartender said before turning away.

I don't feel apprehensive about it.

I grabbed a tiny glass and stared at it for a while. I took a breath and with a sharp movement tipped all the absinthe into my mouth. It tasted disgustingly bitter, but it was quickly eclipsed by a hellish burning sensation in the throat. With the second blow, I saw that my vision began to blur a little. With the third blow, I felt like my body wanted to throw absinthe out of my body with all its might. I covered my mouth with my left hand to stop possible vomiting and with all my might began to try to restrain vomiting. After a few thrusts, I miraculously managed to contain everything inside and leaned my right hand on the table. After the blows from the absinthe, I could only breathe evenly in an attempt to calm down. Consciousness is clouded.

POV Rising Moon

The captain looked terrible. He always kept in his back straight and proud and his eyes wide open. But now he is bent over and barely keeps his eyes open, which is why large bags under his eyes appear. He made a disgusting sound several times, as if he was going to vomit, but somehow, incredibly, he was able to restrain himself. I looked sympathetically at the captain for a few seconds and then looked angrily at the bartender.

"What are you doing!?" I said, both worried for the captain and angry to the bartender.

"Calm down. He asked for the strongest and I fulfilled the order. It's not my fault that he's so susceptible to alcohol. " The bartender replied in a calm voice.

I gritted my teeth and tried to think of some kind of answer. What would the captain say if he were in my place?

"R-Rising, pay the bill." The captain said with titanic difficulty pronouncing each letter and holding out a bag of gold coins with a shaking hand. I took a breath to protest, but the captain immediately looked at me with incredible aggression. I swallowed and took the bag with my wings, after which the captain abruptly lowered his hand as if he could no longer hold it outstretched.

"How much do we owe?" I asked, turning to the bartender and trying to cope with the aggressive look of the captain.

"Eighty bits if he stops drinking right now." Said the bartender, waving his head towards the still-drinking Flying.

"Stop!" I shouted to Flying.

"Hmm?" Asked Flying stopping drinking wine and raising an eyebrow.

"We're leaving. Stop drinking wine." I said, trying to be a leader as a captain. If he trusted me to pay the bill, then he trusts me, right?

"Nah, I think I'll stay. " Answered Flying away before continuing to drink wine.

As if the captain had heard my mental call for help, he raised himself on his elbows and straightened up, with a sharp movement took away a bottle of white wine from Flying. He got up from the bar stool and on shaky legs began to leave the bar on the way pouring the selected wine into himself.

"Hey!" Flying said indignantly before jumping off the chair and running after the captain.

"That'll be eighty-five bits." The bartender said, not surprised by what he saw.

"Yes, of course." I said after an awkward silence. I opened the bag of gold coins and quickly began to put them on the table. Having laid out the required amount, I quickly jumped off the chair and went after the captain. I quickly rushed through the bar trying to ignore the looks of other people. I got close to a wooden double door that did not touch the floor, which is why the wind calmly opened and closed it. I used the second wing to push the door open and went outside to find the captain.

I looked at the snow and saw how the captain's footprints were interrupted by hoofprints, as if someone was chasing him. Raising my eyes higher, I saw Flying in the distance trying to take the bottle away from the captain by climbing on the body like a mountain. Using the height difference, the captain raised his hand with wine high, thus giving nothing Flying. Due to the fact that my wing was occupied by a bag of money, I had to cover the distance on foot. When I ran most of the way, the captain's and Flying's speech became audible.

"Give it back! There's still some left." Said Flying while trying to climb on the captain and pick up a bottle of white wine.

"I pay, so I have the right to use." The captain replied with an unusual simplicity and pettiness for him. The captain, despite the lack of balance, was able to push Flying aside and proudly raised the bottle over his head. As if in mockery, he slowly turned the bottle over and drank all its contents.

"Nerd, it doesn't go through any gates anymore." Said Flying protesting.

"Nerd? You can't even imagine what brilliant little thoughts and little world wars I have! I have a whole twenty-four hours to implement all this! I went to do hara-kiri and you stay the same." The captain said utter nonsense before turning around and going to an unknown direction. Flying after a couple of seconds of sitting in the snow got up and started chasing the captain. Without stopping, I continued to run on the captain's trail. Soon I caught up with Flying and together we began to chase the captain, who moved surprisingly quickly on shaky legs.

"We have to catch him." I said to Flying when I caught up with him.

"Yes. He must answer for what he has done." Said Flying hinting at revenge. I opened my mouth to protest Flying, but a sudden realization stopped me.

If I don't tell him anything, he'll think I'm on his side. It's brilliant!

I swallowed the words coming up and just kept running after the captain along with Flying. Fortunately, he walks in a straight line and does not go out of sight. Oh, he turned the corner. We started running as fast as our hooves would allow and were able to get to the alley the captain turned into. At the same time, we turned sharply into an alley, which is why we collided and fell against the wall of some house.

I shook my head from side to side to clear the snow from my head and come to my senses. I saw how the captain caught in the balcony of some building and began to pull himself up with incredible ease. Flying had already recovered and continued to pursue the captain, but found himself at a dead end. The captain has almost climbed onto the balcony and is out of reach. Wait, he has wings and unlike mine, they are not busy with anything.

"Flying, wings!" I shouted while trying to get up on my hooves.

Flying didn't do anything and just stayed to watch the captain. The captain finally climbed onto the balcony and began climbing up the stairs to the roof. I finally managed to get up and ran up to Flying who was standing like an idol.

"Why were you standing!?" I asked, experiencing a spectrum of negative emotions. Starting from anger at Flying and ending excitement for the captain.

"I kind of. Well this. You know. . ." Flying began to mumble, abruptly losing his self-confidence.

"Just keep the money." I said, cutting off Flying and handing him a bag of coins. He timidly grabbed a bag of money with his wing, thanks to which I was able to free both of my own wings. I jumped up and flapped my wings in such a frostbite in the air. After a few flaps of my wings, I jumped onto the balcony. The balcony creaked under my weight, but after making sure that everything was fine, I started running up the stairs to catch up with the captain. After each step, the stairs made a thundering sound, but I gave priority to chasing the captain. When I was already beginning to suffocate from physical exertion, I heard the captain's voice.

"People, you're a dick on a platter!" Said the captain standing on the edge of the roof and staggering.

"You bourgeois class are rare bitches. You sit on your means of production, you play on your status and you, bitch get huge money every day at the expense of other labor. And if only everything was limited to that! You still arrange all sorts of nonsense with your threads. Starting from democracy and ending with something worse. Every fucking day a new culture or subculture or microcult is created, which people join and fuck my brains with all possible images. My brains! " Said the captain pointing his finger at the outwardly rich apartment building.

"And you, two, do not try to deny it, the petty bourgeoisie, also known as the middle class. You with your medium-high incomes, small businesses and other rubbish are no better! While the big bourgeoisie is fucking the working class and the working class is sitting with clenched teeth, you are not doing shit! You only talk about how everything in this world is bad, but at the same time, in fact, you are rolling like cheese in butter. In bad butter, but still butter! You create an island of communism for yourself and still go to the fucking elections from year to year to vote for the damn animals! " The captain continued to speak, this time focusing on the outwardly average apartment building.

"What do you think you are such saints if you are at the bottom of the pyramid? Nothing like that! You sit with clenched teeth and whine that you need a new liberator. Well done, great job! Some of you have stooped to glorify DEMOCRACY. This is absurd, this is nonsense, this is a circus tent. Why the hell, instead of demanding all the power for yourself and organizing mass strikes, do you agree to COMPROMISES? Compromise is nonsense for those who are afraid to take what they need and for those who are too stupid to plan well. Let's go forward to certain death! To the world revolution! " The captain said abruptly waving his hand forward in the direction of a very poor and shaky-looking house. This movement knocked him off balance and made him stagger.

"I'm catching!" I shouted as I shortened the remaining yards to the captain. He staggered back and forth standing on one leg and using his hands to balance. When I got to the captain, I stood up on my hind hooves, grabbed him by the waist with my front hooves and fell back. I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth, waiting for the captain to fall on me.

But nothing happened. I slowly opened my eyes and saw the night sky with the moon raised high. I rolled over on my stomach and got up on four legs to find the captain. He couldn't have fallen, could he? Fortunately, when I got up on my hooves, I saw the captain walking a little less unsteadily and with his right hand he gives me the thumbs up.

Is he praising me?

The moment I came to my senses, the captain had already gone somewhere. I abruptly ran up to the ladder, but seeing its length and the fact that the captain had already descended to the ground, I had to act. I jumped off the roof and spread my wings to achieve a slow hover. I did it with a little difficulty and I calmly landed on the ground. Looking at where the captain was passing, I saw Flying, which almost turned the corner. Starting to feel pain in my hooves, I started running again to catch up with the captain.

Turning to where Flying was, I was able to see the captain again, but something has changed. A surprisingly fast, shaky gait was replaced by a hopping gait. For each such small jump, the captain overcomes the distance that I cover on foot in a dozen steps. By some miracle, he had not completely disappeared from sight yet and I was able to continue the pursuit. Out of the corner of my eye I looked at Flying trying to figure out why it wasn't flying. So that I don't try to come up with all this sounds stupid.

I saw a bright sign that reads "Only with us! Live music every night!". The captain abruptly turned into an institution with a sign hanging over it and entered it. Learning from my mistakes, I slowed down so as not to run into Flying. He ran past me and entered the same establishment as the captain. I shook the snow off my head and trotted into the establishment.

I went down the stairs and saw a spacious room in front of me. There were a lot of lights on the ceiling, but most of them were turned off. All the tables were occupied by ponies and even other creatures who looked at one point with a mixture of disappointment and boredom. I looked where the others were looking and saw unique musicians. A duo of a centaur with a guitar and a Minotaur with drums performed on a well-lit stage. The music was really good. A loud, roaring but at the same time calm guitar, together with the rhythmic pounding of the drums, created a pleasant mix. But there was one critical problem. A centaur with a guitar, tried to sing into the microphone and play music at the same time. In the end, the music turned out great, but the singing was terrible. Emotionless, quiet, and generally judging by the constant stammering, the guitarist did not bother to memorize the text.

"Where's the nerd?" Flying asked loudly, suddenly appearing nearby.

"Don't scare me like that!" I said, jumping up from the suddenness.

"Is that the answer?" asked Flying sincerely, tilting his head to the side.

"Attention! An unrealistically important announcement! " The familiar voice of the captain said into the microphone. I turned my head in his direction and saw that he began to stagger again and even more than before. In addition, he unbuttoned his coat, exposing his chest and stomach. I noticed that on the captain's neck hung some kind of medallion made of black stone and something green and spherical seemed to glow from under the skin. No, I must have imagined it. At this time, the centaur looks at the captain in shock and does not understand anything.

"In short, can you imagine what happened? The vocalist was lost and "barely suppressed laughter" was forgotten! But I have returned from oblivion and am ready to give a sick concert. Thank you, proletarian, for the safety net, but I will take on the task on myself. It's going to be a cool, sick concert right now! Start a hurdy-gurdy, proletarian. " The captain said, communicating with the centaur as if they had known each other for a long time. After finishing his speech, the captain took the microphone off the stand and turned to the stage. After the shock passed, the centaur and the Minotaur slowly began to play another song.

It all started with a long drum roll after which the centaur began to play a calm, slightly sad song and the Minotaur beats the drum rhythmically. The captain seemed to feel the composition at all levels. He grabbed the microphone by the wire and began to rotate it at the same time performing something similar to a very strange dance. The head swung perfectly synchronously with the sounds of the drums and the rest of the body synchronized with the guitar. The captain was moving sideways and skipping along the front of the stage as if he wanted everyone to see him. Along with the guitar roar, the captain bent back strongly while leaving his legs in place. When the guitar roar ended and there was a second of guitar lull, the captain stopped in a position where his back was perpendicular to the floor. When the guitar returned, the captain returned to his former position with a sharp movement like a risen from the dead and continued to walk around the stage. There was something about this scene of perfect synchronization of the music and the captain . . . fascinating.

In the endless wilderness of space
Endless freedom of sorties
There is a black and white place
The plastic world is called this huge collection of fairy tales

I really didn't expect this. I could never have imagined that the captain is so. . . terrible singer. His voice didn't sound pleasant for a second. He was constantly almost tearing up his voice and just my ears hurt from his voice. But there was something else. There was pure sincerity and soul in his singing. It's as if he puts all his strength into this song, into every word, every letter.

The captain quickly adapted to the musicians. He was able to pick up such a rhythm that the end of each line ended with a drum beat. The captain stopped singing again and returned to his strange dance. By this point, the audience in the hall began to experience a huge range of emotions. In any case, they were no longer bored. The captain again began to bend in the opposite direction along with the roar of the guitar and straightened up and continued to sing into the microphone.

Everything is IS IS
The Plastic World
In an infinitely conditional herd
In an outdated, rotten word
In the pierced through the bird!

The captain has reached a new level of expression. On the last line, he sang so loudly and hysterically that he almost broke his voice. Hearing the last line, a shiver went through everyone's body in the hall. Maybe someone was scared, but I was in awe. The captain did not hesitate for a second while he sang despite his terrible singing voice. The captain returned to his dance and waited for something. At some point, the song moved on to the final part, in which the tempo significantly accelerated. The captain felt it and started singing the final part.

Plastic has aged, tarnished, gone limp and turned into oil
It's time for sick, stupid, funny and turned into soil
It's time to return to your intergalactic wilderness
It's time to return the endless freedom of sorties and cheap LOSSESS!

Along with a long and loud guitar riff, the captain pulled the last word until all the music died down. I remained looking at the captain with genuine admiration and surprise. How can you sing so badly and so well at the same time? Out of the corner of my eye, looking around the audience in the hall, I saw that they were experiencing a mixture of shock and surprise. In a good or bad way? I don't know.

"So that's it, proletarian. Let's do the next song." The captain said energetically raising the microphone and addressing the centaur with the guitar.

"It was like the last song." The centaur said with awkwardly in his voice. He is still trying to understand this situation.

"Well, if that's the case, I'm off." Said the captain, putting the microphone on the stand and jumping off the stage. Landing on two legs, he quickly began to walk to the exit under the accompanying glances of everyone in the room. Together with the distant slam of the door, Flying came to his senses and started chasing the captain again. I blinked a few times, shook my head from side to side to come to my senses and started running after Flying.

I found myself on a cold street again and started looking for the captain. Next to me was Flying, who was also looking around, but unlike me, he was also listening intently. Suddenly he chuckled softly to himself and slowly walked somewhere in the direction of the alley.

"Where are you going?" I asked, bowing my head in a sign of misunderstanding.

"I hear him." Said Flying with a malicious smile while walking to some distant alley.

I cautiously started following Flying but kept my distance. After taking a couple dozen steps, I began to hear terrible sounds. It seems that someone is coughing up all the insides. The terrible sound was repeated several times, then turned into spitting and by the time I got to the alley it had already subsided. In the alleys, I saw the captain kneeling next to an open trash can.

"What happened? Just retribution?" Flying asked mockingly.

"Fuck you, toy soldier." The captain said slowly between breaths while wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Okay, okay, don't get all worked up." Flying said without hiding his smile and gloating.

"By the way, Flying where's the bag of money?" I asked, turning to him.

"I have the bag." The captain said, pulling a bag out of his coat pocket and showing it to me.

"How are you?" I asked, but I was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Hey, man." A male, tense voice said from behind.

I turned back and saw the musicians who were performing on stage. I took a second to look at them more closely. The centaur with the guitar was blond with long hair just below the shoulders and square sunglasses with white frames. Behind him stood a minotaur with red, tangled hair much shorter length, a black almost square little hat on his head and round glasses with a red frame. How can they see anything through these glasses?

"Dude, you kind of really helped us out, you know?" The centaur said with a hint of gratitude.

"No need to thank me. Your situation was saved, and I was able to realize my little thought. This is a fair exchange. " Said the captain getting up from his knees. It looks like the alcohol hasn't worn off yet.

"Dude, it's all cool and all business, but I'm kind of here on a mega cool case, do you know? It's like we don't have a soloist at all, you know? " The centaur said with a hint.

"I'll tell you more. We don't have any band names. . . no aliases. . . no lyrics." The drummer added, shifting from foot to foot and making long pauses between phrases.

"Do you need both a soloist and an ever-blooming creative flower at once?" The captain asked, continuing to carry utter nonsense.

Or do these words make sense?

"Well, like yes. Agree, this is a good offer, you know. Let's make history together, you know?" Said centaur constantly says the same words. For him, it's like a manner of speech.

"I'm not in a position to negotiate right now. Coming to the hotel tomorrow at two o'clock in the afternoon and then we will discuss everything." The captain said, returning to his standard behavior for a second.

"Okay, man." Said the centaur smiling before turning around. He pushed his friend with his hand, giving him the signal to go.

The captain turned around and started walking quickly in the opposite direction from the musicians. This time I was able to follow him calmly and not waste my energy on catching up. I opened my mouth to say something, but the captain shushed me sharply, hinting that I should be silent. By the time we were almost out of the alley, a question from a centaur was heard in the distance.

"Wait, which hotel and where?" He asked, after which the captain began to run away with a muffled laugh.

Not again.

I sighed and, despite the hellish pain in my hooves, started running after the captain. Every step is difficult, but I keep running. I can only console myself with the fact that serving in the Guard has made me more resilient. But I'm still a long way from being a captain. While I was running after the captain, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Flying continued to chase the captain. What for?

"Why do you keep running?" I asked between breaths.

"The nerd got his, but I still want to see what he does." Said Flying as if it was just an attraction.

I didn't say anything to that and focused on running. This time the captain was staggering even more so he could not develop normal speed. After each step, the captain staggered, balanced with his hands and took the next step. It's amazing that he can walk at all and even so fast in such a state.

After running an impressive distance, the captain slowed down and moved to a step. I was sweating all over and with difficulty continued to follow the captain, simultaneously trying to catch my breath. Flying in turn doesn't seem to be a bit tired. While the captain was walking, he looked around in search of something.

"Mr. Sir Boss, where are we going?" I asked without restraining my curiosity.

"We? Don't know. I'm looking for a bar somewhere. I have another day of brilliant little thoughts and little world wars ahead of me, and alcohol is already wearing off. It looks like my metabolism is too fast." The captain said without paying much attention to me.

I didn't find the words to answer, so I just nodded and continued to follow the captain. He continued to look around in search of the bar and stagger, but it seemed that every step he took was a little steadier than the last one. The captain looked to the right and continued walking as if there was nothing there. But there was a wooden sign with an uncomplicated inscription "bar".

"Mr. Sir Boss, there." I said, pointing with my hoof at the sign.

"What's there?" The captain asked in a dissatisfied voice.

"I'm sorry. Ahem, I wanted to say that there is a bar there." I said correcting myself.

The captain looked where I was pointing and narrowed his eyes. It seemed that he was thinking about something but with great difficulty. He breathed in a sign of understanding and went where I pointed. Passing by me, he put his hand on my head and stroked me like a dog. I heard Flying laughing softly, but I didn't pay attention to it. The captain, after a little praise in my direction, went where I was pointing. I shook my head from side to side to concentrate and followed the captain, despite the pain in my hooves. The captain's gait has already managed to recover to a perfectly smooth and seemingly planned walk. The captain, guided by touch, was able to find the door to the bar and I followed him.

We found ourselves in a very strange bar. Every table, chair, and lamp was different. For example, there were two chairs around one of the wooden tables. One is wooden and the other is metal. This approach was observed throughout, as if the furniture was randomly purchased. The captain did not pay attention to this and quickly got to the bartender. She was a Thestral with dull lilac hair and gray fur. Looking closer at her, I noticed a strange detail. Her fur was thicker than mine or anyone else's. I've heard that Thestrals have more fur in the north, maybe she's from the north? The captain sat down on the only bar stool with a square seat. The rest were round of varying degrees of quality.

"Bartender, I need alcohol. Powerful so that I could barely stand on his feet." The captain said, seemingly oblivious to the fact that there was a girl in front of him.

"Um, of course." The girl behind the counter replied awkwardly before turning to the bar shelf. It seems that she is working for the first time.

The captain sits nervously and taps his fingers on the table while waiting for the order. With his other hand, he holds his head as if it is splitting. I wanted to come and sit next to the captain, but Flying was abruptly ahead of me, taking the seat closest to the captain. For a second I thought he stuck his tongue out at me. I clumsily, briefly repeated the gesture and sat down to the right of Flying.

"White wine on the table!" Said Flying with a smile. Probably because he won't have to pay.

"Yeah." The girl said with barely concealed stress. Yes, she's definitely working for the first time.

Flying's ear twitched and he turned to the captain. I raised an eyebrow and tried to look at the captain from behind Flying. I could only see that the captain was breathing with his mouth open and looking very irritated at the girl who could not find the right products. It's like he's holding something back, but it's ready to break out.

The girl turned around sharply holding two glasses in one wing and two bottles in the second. She quickly but elegantly placed two glasses on the table. One glass had a very thin stem and a wide bowl. The second glass, in turn, was small in height and about square. The girl using her wings slowly and carefully filled each glass. Flying immediately grabbed his glass and started drinking. The captain slowly took the glass and began to drink in large gulps. After the first sip, he started coughing and banging his fist on his chest.

"What is it?" The captain asked, clearing his throat.

"Beer made according to a family recipe. Stronger than any whiskey." The girl said with bragging and pride in her voice.

"Oh." The captain said wearily, taking a few breaths. Gathering his strength, he gulped down the entire contents of the glass and started coughing again. He put the glass down on the table with a bang and began tapping the glass with his index finger, hinting that an additive was needed. The girl had already started to navigate in the new environment and quickly poured the captain a beer.

"You know, you are my first clients." The girl said, addressing all of us with a desire to just chat. Maybe.

"The petty bourgeoisie." The captain said before drinking another glass and coughed. Oh no, not again.

"Who?" the girl asked sweetly, tilting her head to the side.

Captain, she doesn't understand you. Just like me.

"Forget it. I don't have the right weight on my back to explain." The captain said, backing up and putting the glass on the table to be refilled.

"Oh, I get it! You're a poet, aren't you?" The girl asked good-naturedly. How could this be considered poetry?

"Rather a small ultra-radical who loves his swamp more than a common city." The captain replied, slowly returning to the utter nonsense.

On one of the lockers, there was a notebook that the girl took with one wing and grabbed a pencil with the other. Having prepared herself, she politely asked the captain, "I myself like to write poetry in my free time. Do you mind if I write down your phrases? I think they can be a source of inspiration."

"Hit and don't regret it." The captain replied tapping his finger on the glass, hinting that it was still not filled. Was it a yes or no?

"So what kind of heaviness on back were you talking about?" The girl asked, taking it as yes, having previously put the right bottle next to the captain so that he poured everything for himself.

"This is another incomprehensible, funny and sick metaphor." The captain said before drinking the third glass in one gulp and coughed again. Why is he doing this? Isn't it easier just not to drink?

"Can we play a game? I try unravel the metaphor and you give me hints. How do you like the idea?" The girl said it as if she was really looking for meaning in the captain's words.

It's just drunken nonsense that doesn't make sense, right? Right?

"Good. The first clue. The metaphor about heaviness on the back sounds completely like this: Unbearable lightness or tolerable heaviness? Note that this is exactly the question. Tell me when you need another hint." The captain said as if he was sure that nothing would work out for the girl.

"Unbearable lightness, unbearable lightness, tolerable heaviness, tolerable heaviness. It's something about the types of people, right? " The girl asked, holding a pencil in her mouth.

The captain nodded affirmatively and poured himself another beer. He raised his glass and drank. He no longer coughs, but still winces after every glass. I noticed a clock that hung high on the wall. It's four o'clock in the morning. I sighed realizing the terrible fact.

It's going to be a very long day.

"Unbearable lightness is wealth that has nowhere to go and heaviness on the contrary?" The girl asked as if she was sure that she had answered correctly.

"No. It's about world views." Said the captain, pouring the remaining beer into a glass. The girl frowned, thinking harder.

"Unbearable lightness is pessimism and tolerable heaviness is optimism. Is it that simple? " The girl asked again, being sure that she had answered correctly.

"No. I suggest you surrender. " Said the captain before drinking his beer.

The girl puts a pencil in her mouth and stood with a thoughtful look. After a few minutes of reflection, she sighed ruefully, "I give up. What does that mean?"

"I came up with this a few minutes ago. Unbearable lightness is to live like an ordinary person and obey the laws of the majority. I understand that it's lightness, but it seems unbearable to me. In a certain sense, I envy people who can live like this. Tolerable heaviness is to live like me, in constant mental and physical conflict with the outside world. Its heaviness, but it's tolerable for me. " The captain said while gesturing for another beer.

No, it can't be. He's probably joking.

"An interesting thought." The girl said, writing something down in her notebook and giving the captain another bottle of beer.

"Brilliant little thoughts and little world wars." The captain replied before opening the bottle and starting to drink carefully right from the throat. After each sip, he stopped for a couple of seconds and took a few breaths.

"World wars? How can something worldly be small?" The girl asked, preparing a notebook to write down further.

"Small is often called something insignificant. If two billion people live on the planet, for example, then the death of a hundred million is insignificant. The world wars are so small and far away. They need to be repeated regularly and examined with a magnifying glass to remember. " The captain said, having already completely stopped caring about the intelligibility of his words.

"It's very. . . an interesting way of looking at things." The girl said, trying not to offend the captain and again writing something down in her notebook.

"Interesting, funny, sick. Call it whatever you want." The captain said before taking another cautious sip of beer.

"Funny, sick. Is it about the attitude of the majority towards the weirdos? " The girl asked once again being sure of her rightness.

"Bull's-eye. " The captain said before taking a last, big sip from a bottle of beer. The captain began to squint his eyes hard and blink slowly, which made his bags under his eyes visible.

How does she do it?

The girl smiled and wrote it down at a fast pace. Suddenly, her eyes widened with realization, and she put the notebook on the table. After that, she stretched her wing forward in greeting. "I completely forgot to introduce myself. My name is Home Fermentation. Nice to meet you"

The captain looked at the wing for a few seconds and thought. As a result, he slowly stretched out his hand, shook the wing and reluctantly introduced himself "Daniel Ctumer."

After a brief acquaintance, the captain sat on the spot for a while and covered his mouth with his hand. Nothing happened and after a couple of seconds the captain abruptly stood up, which made him stagger. He leaned on the table so as not to fall. Slowly straightening up, the captain pulled out a bag of money and hit Flying on the back telling him to stop drinking. Flying's eyes widened sharply, and he turned to the captain while hissing in pain.

"I understand everything, but did you have to hit so hard!?" Flying asked angrily.

"Must I? No. Nice? Quite." Said the captain before turning to Home Fermentation.

"How much?" The captain asked briefly, ready to pay the required amount.

Home took another notebook and started writing things down in it. After writing something down and after a few seconds of tapping the pencil on the notebook, she replied with a regretful smile. "Two bottles of the strongest beer is eighty bits. One bottle of wine is twenty bits. A total of one hundred. "

"Oh. " Said the captain reluctantly laying out the required amount. Home continued to smile regretfully as if consolingly saying "I can't do less than the price."

While the captain was laying out the money, I got up from my chair so as not to run after the captain. The hooves still hurt, but it has already become a little easier. Just a little bit. The captain finished putting the money on the table and carefully turned around so as not to fall. Turning towards the exit, the captain began to walk unsteadily to the exit of the bar. But Home Fermentation hailed the captain.

"Wait , Daniel." Said she softly.

"What do you need?" the captain asked, turning his head towards Home and barely keeping himself on his feet.

"I just want you to know. The bar is open from eight o'clock in the evening until ten in the morning. " Said Home as if she was offering to come in again.

"Maybe someday I'll come in. I won't promise anything." The captain said before turning around and heading for the exit.

While he was walking, I noticed his gait. His gait has reached some new level of shakiness. Literally, after each step, the captain begins to lose his balance, fall forward and is forced to connect the whole body to stabilize.

Why, why do you need to drink alcohol? And in such quantities?

I looked at Flying who drank a lot of white wine. He doesn't stagger, doesn't talk nonsense, and generally feels great. He walks smoothly and calmly. And he says. However, as usual. Nothing changes.

What is the difference between them?

No matter how I looked at these two, nothing came to my mind. There is nothing that could explain why the captain reacts so strongly to alcohol. Maybe it's the dosage? The captain, after all, drank a lot today and judging by the description of something heavy for the body. Yes, it sounds logical.

The captain continued to walk along the street with a very shaky gait and turned around. He's looking for something again. After what seemed like a hundred years of searching, a bright building appeared on the horizon, on which there were many bright signs as if enticing moths. One of the signs said "casino". The captain began to walk unsteadily towards the casino while I was walking and looking at the sky. The moon has already begun to set below the horizon and the sun has slowly begun to rise up. Today I was able to understand one thing about the captain's behavior.

He always has a "brilliant little thought".

The captain together with me and Flying got to the casino. I saw two earth ponies in dark, formal suits standing in front of the casino entrance. The captain shakily tried to ignore them and go into the casino, but the guards defiantly stood in front of him. A decent amount of gold coins fell out of the captain's pocket and landed in front of the guards.

"Highly respected citizens, you dropped it." The captain said with a mixture of mockery and pretense while pointing his hand at the gold coins.

The guards seemed to recognize this version and parted to collect "their" money. The captain took a shaky step forward and opened the door to the casino. Flying, unlike me, did not pay much attention to this. But while I was walking, I carefully looked at the guards. Aren't they supposed to be, like, guards? The captain obviously did not fit into the rules of the casino in any way, but a certain amount of money forced the guards to do their duty. It feels like that. . .wrong.

I shook my head from side to side and followed the captain into the casino. So I was greeted by an incredibly luxurious-looking room. There were four gold chandeliers hanging on the ceiling. The ceiling was decorated with various, incredibly detailed drawings. To the right of the entrance there was a cash register behind which there was a girl with a friendly smile. There were a lot of ponies walking around the room, but the vast majority were sitting on chairs made of dark wood. In the casino I counted more than a dozen tables, each of which had a lot of ponies. The captain, it seemed, did not look at the casino for a second and boldly but shakily began to walk to the cash register. The girl didn't seem to react to the captain's condition in any way and started talking.

"Hello, sir. Do you want to get chips? " The girl behind the cash register asked kindly and politely.

"Yes." The captain could hardly pronounce as he took out one of the bags of money. In the bag, judging by the appearance, there is still decent money left, but not as much as before. He put it on the table, the girl seemed to calculate the entire amount in an instant and gave out a few chips. Two black, four blue and two white. The captain did not check anything and took his chips. He abruptly turned away from the cash register and turned towards the hall. His eyes moved quickly, almost imperceptibly, in search of something unknown to me. Suddenly, he fixed his gaze on something specific and started walking towards one of the tables.

After a few steps, I was able to determine where the captain went. He went to the table on which it was written "Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17s". It would be great if I understood this fully. The captain seemed to know perfectly well what to do and sat down at this table. There were about half a dozen ponies nearby who did not react to the new player. Opposite the captain sat a unicorn who was currently examining everyone present and shuffling cards from different decks. The rest of the players began to put chips in special fields that were highlighted on the table with a white outline. The captain made a bet of two white chips. For some reason, the other players chuckled softly when they saw this.

What's so funny about that?

The unicorn in front of the captain began to deal out two cards to everyone and finished with it, gave himself two cards, but one of them was turned over. The captain got two cards, each of which had a deuce written on it. That's good, right? To the right of everyone, sat a girl who, in her soft, elegant voice, asked for another card. Then the man who was sitting to the left of the girl said in a stern voice that he did not need additional cards. It was the captain's turn.

"Give me the cards." The captain said confidently sitting in a chair, spreading his legs apart and beckoning to him with his hand. The unicorn on the opposite side of the table gave the captain a card. The captain got a map with the letter A written on it.

"Don't be greedy." The captain said, continuing to beckon with his hand. The unicorn issued a second card. The second card showed a drawing of a knight and in the corner was written the letter J. The captain sighed in disappointment and leaned back in his chair. The unicorn used the horn to attract the chips that the captain had placed. What happened?

"Mr. Sir Boss?" I asked uncertainly after a few seconds of gathering my strength.

"What do you need?" the captain asked in an angry, almost irritated voice. Usually the captain was just impressive, but now he's. . . scary.

I swallowed, trying to recover from such a reaction of the captain, but I could only squeeze out a short phrase "Nothing, absolutely nothing."

The captain abruptly turned back to the table, and I quietly sighed to calm down. Flying was standing to the left of the captain and didn't seem to be paying attention to the situation. I cautiously looked at the captain again, as if even looking at him could cause something terrible. The captain has already made a new bet and received a new set of cards. The captain puts all his four blue chips and got two nines. He has only two black chips left. The girl again asked for another card and after receiving it, she laughed sweetly. I looked at her cards out of the corner of my eye. She had a seven, an eight, and one knight. She lost and reacts so calmly? The man to her left did not demand a card. It was the captain's turn again.

"That's enough." The captain said with annoyance. Not too strong yet, but still audible.

The captain remained sitting and waiting for developments. After the remaining players made decisions about the cards, the unicorn opened his second card to everyone. As a result, he got a ten and a nine. The unicorn calmly took their chips from the captain and several other players. The captain put his hand to his forehead and looked at the unicorn with a murderous look.

It's just a game, isn't it? Why worry so much?

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Flying took a step away from the captain and with a wave of his head hinted to do the same to me. I shook my head negatively and stayed where I was. The captain placed one black chip. He had one more in reserve. There's nothing else. The unicorn began to deal the cards to the players and the captain got two fives. Both the girl and the man sitting to the right of the captain refused new cards. The captain's turn came again.

"Double! " The captain loudly declared, adding another black chip to his bet. There is no more stock left. The unicorn gave the captain another card. It depicted the letter A. The captain nervously tapped his fingers on the table while waiting for something. I still don't understand the rules. Flying still wants to keep its distance. In the end, the unicorn showed the second card. He has a seven and a five. The unicorn gave himself the next card. An eight was added to the previous cards. The unicorn took the chips from some players, but returned the chips to the captain in double size. As a result, the captain now has four black chips.

"Who where and I went." Said the captain abruptly taking his chips and got up from his seat. I followed the captain who, instead of going to the exit, began to walk slowly to another table. On another table there was a strange wheel on which there were numbers sequentially repainted in red and black colors. The numbers were separated by low golden partitions. But the green field with the number zero was knocked out of the rules, which was the only one of this color and was separated from other numbers by a low silver-plated partition.

The captain walked very slowly and seemed to stumble. But the shakiness couldn't get stronger just like that, right? Suddenly, the captain staggered violently and fell to one knee literally before reaching a couple of steps to the roulette table. The captain tilted his head to the side for a second as if studying something and then got back to his feet. He continued walking towards the table in the same manner as before. When he got to the roulette table, the captain sat down on a chair, leaned back as much as possible on the ebony back and began waiting for the ball to fall on the right number. The ball fell on a black field with the number twenty-six. Several players sighed in disappointment when the unicorn started taking their chips. After taking the chips from the unsuccessful players, the unicorn examined all those present and made a barely noticeable nod. The players began to quickly bet their chips. The captain took all his four chips and put them on zero.

Is he playing for all the money!?

I looked at the captain with a cocktail of various emotions. He smiles at the other players. But his smile is not happy. She looks like that. . . animal-like, probably? In any case, the unicorn took a ball with his magic and threw it into roulette. The roulette began to spin and the ball rolled on it. The ball knocks loudly on the numbers as it slows down. The roulette began to slow down its rotation and almost stopped. The ball began to slow down and almost landed on the red number twelve. The captain took a sharp breath. Suddenly, something indescribable happened. The air seemed to heat up for a moment and hit the ball. The ball moved forward and fell exactly on zero. I looked at the captain who continued to keep his beastly smile. He moves his eyebrows and sweats as if trying to contain unbearable pain. Taking a closer look at the ball, I saw that a number of barely noticeable cracks had passed through it.

What happened? Does the captain have anything to do with this? How did the cracks appear?

The unicorn took the captain's black chips and after a little digging under the table gave him twenty-eight purple chips. The captain grabbed them with both hands and carefully got up from his seat. He started walking very slowly and cautiously towards the cash register. Every step seemed to cause him unbearable pain. Having barely reached the cash register, the captain puts all twenty-eight chips. The girl at the cash register blinked in surprise for a few seconds, but still took these chips. After a few minutes of digging under the table, the girl gave the captain a huge bag full of gold coins. The captain slung the bag over his shoulder and began to walk unsteadily to the exit. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed that Flying was looking at the captain in shock. At least we don't disagree with it.

The captain pushed the door open with difficulty and went outside. I followed him as close as I could to support him in case of another fall. The flying one still keeps a distance of a few steps. The captain carefully, slowly reached the nearest alley and then fell next to one of the walls. He was sweating all over and trying to catch his breath. In addition to this, he clutches his head with his hands and moans softly in pain.

"Mr. Sir Boss?" I asked with excitement in my voice.

"What do you need?" the captain asked in response between breaths. There was anger in his voice, but it wasn't directed at me.

"What happened there?" I asked continuing this series of questions and counter-questions.

"In short? I wanted to win at the casino and hoped that a crowd of security guards would come up to me. Well, you know, the casino always wins and stuff like that. Unfortunately, nothing happened and I was left with a bag of money." The captain said after catching his breath a little and patting a huge bag of gold coins with his hand.

Why would the captain get into a fight? Why is he not happy with the win? What happened to roulette at the casino? Why is the captain such a captain?

I took a breath to ask all these questions, but nothing happened. Thoughts are blurred even before they have fully formed. The captain's gaze only presses harder. There are disturbances. What if it's a secret? What if the captain gets angry from such questions? What if?

"Okay, I still have time left." The captain said, slowly getting to his feet and grabbing a huge bag of money.

"For what?" I asked, mentally praying that the captain would give an understandable answer.

"The passive phase of brilliant little thoughts is over. The active phase of the little world wars is beginning." Said the captain with a terrible smile baring all his teeth. I mentally cringed when I saw it, but I didn't show it. After these words, the captain began to walk out of the alley, still staggering. Before following the captain, I looked wearily at the sky. The moon has already disappeared and the sun has begun to illuminate everything around.

It's going to be an awfully long day.