Author's Note

So, I've decided to break this story up into two types of chapter. Slice of life ones and story ones. Story ones have important shit, while the Slice of life ones have less story important shit but focus on relationships and side plots that develop on the side while I figure out what the main story chapter will be instead of leaving out good writing ideas like I had for this chapter. Either way, its a bit short, but it gets pretty good toward the end!

(also, please leave some more comments! I love to read them and always will! Plus I wanna see some of the reaction to the stuff in the chapters like this!"

Matchmaker

Shining Armor and I casually walked up to the Canterlot bar. We decided to go get some drinks a few days after my test flight. He thinks we're gonna do it responsibly; I plan on getting fucking Shit-faced wasted. Going up to the stars brought up a lot of shit in my head that needed to be put back into the box I hid it away in.

The door chimed with a small ding of a bell as we entered. The Unicorn bartender looked up from the glass he was polishing to see who came in, and a smile spread across his face.

"Ah! Two of my best drinkers! Please come in and take whatever seat you'd like." He greeted, setting the glass down.

Shining and I nodded and said hello as we sat at the bar.

"So, what'll it be, gents? The usuals?" He asked, propping himself on the counter using his front arm as he leaned towards us.

"Yup, I'll be having the usual," Shining responded.

"Same here, but they're gonna be triple shots tonight," I responded, getting a look from Shining Armor.

The bartender whistled as he began pouring our drinks. "Someone wants to get really messed up tonight."

"You got that right," I said as I took the glass of apple whisky and downed it in one gulp. Over the course of the last three months, I became quite a heavy drinker. Romulus says I'm overdoing it; I personally think I'm fine.

"I thought you said we were gonna do some casual social drinking tonight?" Shining asked as he sipped on his drink.

"Yeah, but tonight's form of casual for me is gonna hit just a tad bit harder." I laughed. Shining was still giving me that look and was not laughing. In fact, he raised an eyebrow.

"Alright, I'm not gonna bullshit you. When I went up to the stars the other day, it brought up some rather unhappy memories I wanna keep suppressed. I am planning on getting blackout drunk tonight. That's all I'll say," I said quickly and briefly.

Shining's face softened, and his stare eased off me. "You know you can talk about it if you need to."

"NO!" I Snapped. I quickly took a few deep breaths as I realized I shouted in the middle of the bar. "Not, not yet," I said hesitantly, taking a second freshly poured glass, sipping on it this time. Shining gave me a look of confusion for looking away from me and went back to sipping on his drink.

"So, you're planning on going to the Dragon lands tomorrow, right?" Shining asked casually.

"Yup, I need to. I promised the Princesses I'd talk with the dragon and get this whole killing and eating ponies thing stopped. Dragons don't do that like they have been without probable cause or some unknown factor. They hunt and eat meat, yes. But they usually don't eat sentient creatures." I responded.

"I wish you'd let somepony go with you. These are the dragons we're talking about here. Despite what you know or what you think you might know, these guys are still very dangerous." Shining stated.

I shook my head no. "Bringing a pony with me could ruin whatever chance I have of smoothing things over between the dragons and Equestria. My goal is to solve the problem, not risk making it worse."

"Still, it sounds way too risky to go alone." Shining re-stated.

"God, you sound like Romulus during my military days," I said, taking a long sip of my glass of apple whiskey. "I've done worse missions by myself before. Now, shush, I can feel my buzz coming on."

Three hours later

My head was resting on the side of the counter as I could barely stay in my seat from the amount of swaying I would do if I sat up. Around two dozen glasses sat around me on the counter. I was beyond fucked up.

"Another *HIC* one, mister!" I demeaned, my speech slurred beyond belief.

"I think you've had enough, son." The bartender said, looking down at me from behind the counter.

"Naaaah, I swear *HIC* this is the last one I *HIC* promise."

"That's what you said the last three times, son. Sorry, but I'm cutting you off." The bartender said as he walked away from me with the bottle of Apple whiskey I desperately craved.

"No youuuuuu sonofabitch!' I said, trying to pick myself up only to flop back onto the counter. Shining was sitting next to me with a disappointed expression, drinking a bottle of water. He stopped drinking booze over an hour and a half ago. But he stayed to keep an eye on me.

"This is bullshit!" I shouted, throwing one of the empty glasses across the bar in a drunken, childish fit of rage.

"Riley, for the love of Celestia, just stop. Let's just get you home already." Shining said, getting up from his chair and grabbing me with his magic.

"Nooooo I want more!" I contested, grabbing the counter and refusing to move.

"You can't. The bartender cut you off. Now stop being so difficult, and let's get out here and get you home." Shining's magic wrapped around me and began pulling on me, and still, I resisted. Gripping the counter even harder. Until, with a final strong yank, he broke my grip and pulled me off my chair. I flew backward and knocked into him. Sending us backward to a table with three stallions drinking Stallion. Their beers went flying, spilling all over them as the table fell over. They were not happy.

The three large stallions got up from their seats, wiping the still-dripping booze from their faces as they surrounded us.

"Now, now, fellows," Shining said, getting in between them and me in a protective stance. "It was an honest mistake. I'll pay to replace your drinks, no issue. We don't want any trouble. Plus, I don't think assaulting the commander of the royal guard would be a smart idea now, would it?"

The stallions looked at each other for a few minutes and back to Shining. They all snorted and nodded as they picked the table back up and went back to their seats. Shining quickly went, got a new set of drinks for them, and was right back on my side, heaving my arm over his shoulder.

"If you weren't acting like a child, we could have avoided that." He muttered under his breath as he carried me to the door.

I turned and looked at the bartender for a second. I then realized, even in my drunken state, that I hadn't paid yet for my drinks. I reached down and grabbed my bit pouch off my belt, and tossed it at him. "For the drinks, my good man!" I said as Shining hauled me out the door.

The second we walked outside, the cold midnight wind hit me in the face. And I was immediately struck with a wave of drowsiness that made me drop to my knees.

"Op, don't you pass out on me now, you little turd!" Shining grunted as he raised me back to my feet.

"It's fucking cold, dude! When it get cold, I get tired." I grumbled as I steadied myself with Shining's aid as we slowly kept walking. We walked for about ten minutes before we saw another pony walking towards us. We were in the middle of a four-way crossroads with a lamp post shining light down upon it. However, Shining noticed something I didn't about the random pony in front of us.

"Guardsmen, stand aside; we just want the two legger." The Stallion said in a deep voice. I looked to my left and right and saw two more ponies seemingly emerge from the late-night darkness.

"C'mon guys, Seriously?! I paid for the drinks and apologized!" Shining said, also noticing the ponies approaching from the sides.

"He didn't." The Stallion said, pointing to me. "Plus, this isn't his first offense with events like this at the bar."

Shining looked at me with confusion. "What?"

"Yeah, he's gotten into more than a few situations like this over the past few months. He drinks himself stupid, gets into something with another pony, and always worms his way out of it. Well, not this time. We were here to teach him a lesson on respect."

I started chuckling like a crazy man, which gave me a look from all the ponies around me. "Oh, you guys are SO fuckin funny! The fact you all could quote 'teach' me anything is hilarious!"

Shining elbowed me in the gut and whispered. "Shut up, man!" While gritting his teeth.

"You think we're joking, punk?!" One of the other stallions said.

"Oh, no. I know you guys are serious, and you intend to try and hurt me. It's just with my extensive military background, I doubt you all could do anything." I said, earning another elbow from Shining. "Motherfucker I'll hurt you if you elbow me again!"

"That's it, times up! Rush 'em, boys!" The lead Stallion said as all three of the ponies charged us.

I took a deep breath, lifted myself off of Shining, and steadied myself. This was gonna be rough.

The lead Stallion was tackled away by Shining armor, leaving me open to the two guys rushing me from the left and right. I turned and clenched my fist as I decked the one to my right in the side of the jaw. His face turned to one of surprise as my hit sent him down to the ground. I guess he didn't expect me to hit so hard. I felt the hooves of the other go under my arms, spread my arms, and pull me back. He had me in a lock. The other pony got up and started wailing on me. Face, face, chest, face, chest chest, face.

"Alright, fuckers!" I said as I pushed off the ground with my legs and wrapped them around the neck of the pony in front of my head. "You asked for this!" I forcibly twisted my body and spiraled it. Sending all of us in this mess to the ground using what would have looked like a double-man takedown move from a spy movie. I rolled away and got to my feet, two ponies standing in front of me, ready to continue.

In my head, though. I felt something switch. I was still drunk for sure, but I felt like I had help. My vision wasn't as blurry, and my thoughts actually had a train to ride. And my movements didn't feel as slow and sluggish. But it also felt strange. Like a second set of hands were on the controls guiding me. When the two ponies rushed me again, I jumped up and spun my body into a double kick, hitting both ponies in the face as it sent them stumbling back a few steps.

I rushed the closer one, throwing a jab right at his nose to daze him even farther. Then, I hit him with a left hook followed by a quick right jab and then dropped low with a wide leg sweep to hit his front hooves.

The other one tackled me away right as the one I was assaulting fell forward. We tumbled each other until he stood atop me, with both hooves pinning me to the ground as they drilled into my shoulders. I could smell the sheer stench of apple cider coming from his mouth. I tucked my legs in and pressed the knees and shin against his belly and pushed with all my drunken might as I tried to roll backward onto my head. Which barely worked as I pushed him off me onto his back; I looked at him upside down for a second, then quickly got back to my feet. I looked over and saw the other Stallion had gotten up and was rushing me. I looked up and noticed the metal arm and light of the lamppost above me and the pole behind me. I had an idea.

I stepped to the side, dodging the Stallion's charge, and grabbed his Mane. I shoved him using all the momentum he built up and my additional force to ram him into the pole. The quiet night echoed with a metal clang as I heard his skull clash with the metal of the pole. The poor bastard went limp but was still breathing. I only knocked him out, which was good.

The other guy, though, was up and pinned me against the pole next to his fallen comrade. I interlocked my fingers and raised my arms as I slammed down onto the back of the Stallion's neck. He made a loud 'ack' as I unlaced my fingers and did a twin karate chop from both sides towards his neck. The hits made contact and he choked from it. I delivered a powerful uppercut under his chin, which made him turn his head up and ended with a downward overhead hook that sent him to the pavement, out cold.

I stood tall and found Myself breathing heavily and sweating. I rubbed my head to wipe the sweat and saw blood on my hand when I finished. I reached my hand up to my head again and found a cut on the upper right side of my head, just above the eye.

"Oh shit. Fuckers made me bleed. They gave me a run for my money, that's for sure. *HIC*" I said aloud.

"Tell me about it." I heard Shining say as he walked over, dragging the leader stallion behind him with his magic as he threw him with the rest of his buddies. Shining had a bruise on his face and a couple of scraps. Otherwise, he was fine. "I'm surprised you held up as well as you did, considering you THAT drunk." He added.

It was right then that whatever mental support I had faded, and I fell to my knees in my original drunken state. "I dunno, man. I just started fighting, and *HIC* I just started winning *HIC*" I said with Horribly slurred speech.

Shining shook his head as he walked over and threw my arm over his shoulder. "C'mon, let's get you home."

He carried me another few blocks as we approached the Canterlot gateway into the courtyard, the public access one anyway. Over to the fair left, I noticed a group of five or so ponies in a well-organized group. One in the middle with four heavily armored guards around her. I knew it was a mare in the middle because she was way less covered and had a more feminine hairstyle with pink, purple, and what I thought was yellow striped Mane.

"Shining, *HIC* what's goin' on over yonder THAT away?" I asked drunkenly, pointing over at the group of ponies approaching the main castle entrance.

Shining sighed and looked over where I was pointing. Suddenly, his eyes went wide. "That's Princess Cadence! Or Princess Mi Amore Cadeneza, as you heard from Celestia a few times. And She's back from her trip early! She's probably sneaking into the castle under nightfall to avoid the swarms of ponies welcoming her back after a stressful trip." He said, his expression softening as he admired her, as we started sauntering while he stared at her with a stupid-looking lovey-dovey expression.

"Do I spot a *HIC* hardcore royal crush from the Captain of the royal guard to a *HIC* Princess?" I said drunkenly and Jokingly.

"Yeah, honestly. I wish I could date her." He said as he still gazed upon her.

Suddenly, I had an idiotic drunk Idea.

"HEEEEEY! PRINCESS AMORGUS CANDYASS!" I shouted, totally butchering her name in my drunk state while putting my left hand close to my mouth for a better projection of my voice. Shining snapped out of his trance and looked at me with almost horror.

"Riley, for the love of Celestia and all that is good in the world. Please shut up!" He whispered and yelled. But it was too late.

The Princess turned to look at me, waving her down while the guards did the same. I Put my hand back to my mouth and yelled. "HE LIKES YOUR BUTT!" While following up with a very expressive pointing motion at Shining Armor. After which, I got a very painful elbow to my side. His face was bright red, blushing hard and telling me to shut up. However, that did not stop me.

"DID YOU HERE ME! I SAID, SHINING ARMOR LIKES YOUR BUTT-" I got another swift elbow, but this time to my stomach, which caused me to vomit violently. Then, Shining began to drag me away very quickly through the gate. "FUCKER, I TOLD YOU WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IF YOU ELBOWED ME AGAIN!" I yelled, socking him in the jaw.

After a small fight scuffle, which was ended by him floating me above him in the air with magic, when we arrived at the forge, Shining knocked a few times, and Romulus answered the door. He looked at Shining's pissed-off expression and then looked up at me, levitating in his magic with my arms crossed and pouting.

Romulus crossed his arms and facepalmed while shaking his head. "Bring him and toss him on the couch. By the Elements." Romulus said as he turned away and walked back inside. Shining walked in, and I floated in after him before getting unceremoniously dumped onto the couch. Upon contact, I made a grunt, followed by the relaxing feeling of the very comfortable couch. I could hear Romulus and Shining talking, but I couldn't care less and couldn't really understand it. After a few minutes, I heard a door shut. That's when my hearing kicked in, although I only recognized one of the voices briefly before the door closed.

"Oh! Princess Cadence! Fancy meeting you here-" That's when the door shut. Eager to hear the drama, I got rolled off the couch and quickly crawled towards the door. Only to be stopped by Romulus standing in front of me.

"Nuh-uh! You're not going anywhere like this, sir." He said, reaching down to grab me.

I swatted his hand away and said, "I'm not leaving. *HIC* I wanna listen in on that conversation."

"Oh, in that case." He lifted me up and laid me on the counter next to one of the opening service windows we used to take work orders. He grabbed a small rope and pulled it slightly. The window opened just enough for me to get a good view of the conversation. The guards were standing rough five yards away, and Shining Armor and Cadence were face to face.

"Yeah, I know. Look, I'm sorry about him a little bit ago. He is very drunk and needs to sleep it off." Shining said, rubbing the back of his head nervously.

Princess Cadence had one hell of a voice whenever she spoke. "Apology accepted. But I feel there was some truth to what he said."

Shining armor stepped back and blushed hard. "Huh!? I would never-" Shining tried to say but was hushed by the Princess's hoof pressing against his mouth.

"I'm not dumb, Captain, or shall I call you Shining? Either way, I am the Princess of love. I know the signs when I see it. And you hid them just as well as a yak in a palace. I've been just waiting for you to make the first move before I said anything."

Shining's eyes widened at her words as her hoof slowly drifted away. "Does that mean you're interested?" He asked slowly.

"Yes, if I'm gonna be blunt, VERY much so yes." She responded.

Shining's Expression shifted, and he cocked a slight smirk. "Well, in that case, Do you wanna go for dinner at the old grilled vegetable joint off South Vanderhoof? I heard you've been wanting to check it out."

Cadence gasped in both surprise and admiration. "Of course! How did you know?" She asked.

"I may or may not have been trading with the guards that chaperone you for tips on what you might be interested in," he answered with a nervous smile as he rubbed the back of his head again.

"How clever and sly of you, Shiny. Say we go tomorrow after I meet your friend in there when he's sober? I've been so excited to meet him based on the letters Princess Celestia sent me on my trip." Cadence asked.

"Sounds like a date! Although I will mention he does have a trip to the Dragon Lands planned tomorrow despite everyone's objections." He added.

Cadence's eyes widened at his remark. "What reason would he have to go THERE?" She asked, baffled.

"It's... a long story," Shining Responded.

Cadence resumed her royal posture before she spoke again. "Well, in that case, you can fill me in on all the details while you escort me to my room in the castle, Captain?" She said as she planted a kiss on Shining's cheek. Causing him to blush hard.

"Yes, Ma'am." He said in a dazed state from the kiss.

"AH-HAH! SUCCESS MOTHERFUCKERS!" I screamed, causing both their gazes to fall on me instantly. "SHIT, CLOSE THE WINDOW!" I whispered yelled as Romulus did so.

I could hear the muffled laughs of the two ponies through the wall. Causing me to giggle as well.

"Alright, that's enough, sir. It's time to go to bed." Romulus said as he picked me up like my dad used to when I would fall asleep in the carriage back home and put me in my bed.

"Hahaha, I have succeeded in getting another friend a date by being as stupid as possible!" I said triumphantly as Romulus tucked me in.

"Yes sir, that you did. Now go to sleep." He said, leaving the room.

"Sir, yes, sir!" I responded. Knocking out after a solid minute.