Finding Your Family

After their short break at the jazz club, things started to wind down. Apple Bloom was the next to bow out, and Pinkie Pie after that, leaving the last stop of the night to be just Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo. Neither one was at peak condition anymore, as the night's events had taken a lot out of them.

When they walked in, they were immediately spotted by Alto, who was already there, for some reason. Rather than waving them over, he approached. "Didn't expect to see you again tonight. Your friends ditch you?"

"They drank too much," said Rainbow. "Real lightweights."

"Yeah, not like us," smirked Scootaloo. She'd had a lot to drink by this point, enough that, were she a pony, she'd probably have bowed out ages ago, or would have been passed out in the carriage before Apple Bloom. Or, if she had just kept going at the same pace to this point, she'd be needing a new liver and kidneys. Even Rainbow had told her to slow down after having an entire quart.

"Well, I hope they find their way home alright."

"Oh, don't worry about them," waved Scootaloo. "We have a deservated driver." After realizing what she'd said, she sputtered into laughter and almost fell over. "Desiccated driver..."

"You sure she hasn't had one too many?" asked Alto. "How much can dragons drink safely?"

"More than a pony," snorted Rainbow. "I'm keeping an eye on her, and our desperated driver said she seemed okay."

The driver had said no such thing. It was Rarity that had said she was fine for one more stop, but this was it. Sweetie Belle had already vomited in her lap, but the protective suit Rarity had brought had protected her and was easily cleaned up with a hose, provided by the driver.

"If you say so," shrugged Alto. "I was just about to look for a dart game to join once my nachos arrive. Would you ladies care to join me?"

"We actually had reserved a dartboard," said Rainbow, "but I'd love some nachos right now..."

They all returned to Alto's table. It was a two-seater, but stealing a chair from another table rounded them out. It wasn't long before the waitress brought out a large platter of nachos.

"Wow," chuckled Rainbow. "You were going to eat all of this yourself?"

"Nah, I was gonna leverage it to convince somepony to let me join their game. And look, it worked!"

"Damn right, it did!" laughed Rainbow, grabbing a hoofful of chips and shoving them in her face.

Scootaloo made a grab for some of her own, missed twice, and when she grabbed some, her claws were covered in cheese. As she started to lick it off with her forked tongue, Alto watched intently. He was still very into the idea of bedding a dragon, and even though Scootaloo was spoken for, he still thought she was hot, and watching her lick her claws was going to provide a visual for his fantasies for the next month.

After a few minutes of the girls eating nachos, Scootaloo pushed the plate towards Alto. He'd paid for the food, after all, and hadn't eaten any of it. He refused with a blush, just letting them gorge themselves while he tried to hold down his erection. While Rainbow saw it, she didn't process what or why it was. Even if she had, she wasn't the type to make fun of him for his taste any further than playful ribbing. Plus, she didn't want to insult him because he might retract his offer of nachos.

"Alright," Rainbow said after a loud burp. "Where's that dartboard?"

"I'll show you," offered Alto. He squirmed in his seat for a bit, then stood up. His tail was between his legs, and as he led them to the other side of the room, Scootaloo could swear he'd hidden something inside of it.

There were four dart boards and an open space in front of them that was fenced off to keep ponies from walking in the path of the flying darts. It had reduced the injuries by twelve percent in the last six months, making this the safest bar in the city.

Alto went first, but just as he was readying his throw, he turned to Scootaloo. "Hey, which game are we playing?"

"Darts?" shrugged Scootaloo. "It's not throwing knives or axes, and I can't recall the rules."

"Just count up," answered Rainbow. "I thunk we're too drink to keep an even count for three-oh-one."

"Good enough for me," answered Alto. As he launched his darts, he scored a sixteen, a double ten, and a four.

Scootaloo was next, with a triple twenty, a double nineteen, and a bullseye.

Rainbow missed the first throw, sticking the dart in the wall as her throw was interrupted with a burp, but the next two were triple twenties.

"Wow," chuckled Alto. "Didn't realize I was playing with two pros..."

"I've actually never played before," said Scootaloo. "We threw axes. We didn't play darts. But I still won because no one else hit the bullseye!"

"I scored a forty," said Alto. "Your friend scored a hundred and twenty, and you made one hundred and forty-eight. So yeah, you're winning."

Seven rounds later, Rainbow had played an almost perfect game at one thousand, three hundred and eighty points. If she hadn't flubbed the first throw, she'd have played it perfect. Scootaloo was trailing at six hundred and eighty-two, and Alto had nearly caught her at six hundred and seventy-six.

Scootaloo had fallen over twice, the second time right into Alto's hooves. It was after her score was tallied, and she had passed out before she heard Rainbow's final score.

"I think it's time we took the little Squirt home," said Rainbow. "Carry her out for me, would ya?"

"With pleasure," blushed Alto. He managed to keep his hooves to himself for the most part, but when she started to slip, he was all too happy to adjust her position to be more comfortable, resting her chin on his shoulder. Still, he didn't want any issue with her soon-to-be-husband, not knowing how big and strong Spike was. It was enough just to feel her claws on his shoulders... for now...