When Worlds Collideby DecmasterChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 4Chapter 1Chapter 1 A noise snapped the purple mare out of her spell. “Something so simple, yet something that holds the power to tear even the most focused pony away from anything.” She finally found the meaning of this passage, the forgotten words of a book too old to remember. It had probably been lost to time. Twilight Sparkle glanced up. Nothing had changed. The fortress of books still encased her; Twilight’s way of escaping into wonderlands filled with adventure, mystery, and wonder. The subtle sound of Spike’s slow breathing in his basket hadn’t broken its relentless pattern, it had been her metronome for– how long had it been now? Twilight could have sworn that she’d only lain down on the comfortable library rug a few minutes ago… Twilight shook her head. “How long” was not important at the moment. What was, however, was finding what had awoken her from her slumber of waking dreams. She stood up and stretched. Her muscles were a lot more sore than she thought they would have been, considering that she’d only been laying down for a couple of minutes. The purple pony wandered around the library, looking for what might have been out of place. Every book was perfectly aligned on the shelf, alphabetical by title and author. Twilight smiled. Just the way she’d left them. Well, except for the huge pile on the floor, with bookmarks sticking out of them like weeds. Deciding that the tales of old must have gotten to her, she shrugged off the noise that had startled her as just a remnant of the stories that filled her head; nothing but the wishful thinking of the mind to just know a little more than the pages allow. Ever intent on finishing the story on the pages of the book she left open, she laid back down on the rug and tried to arrange herself in such a way that it was comfortable, as one may find it hard to do on a floor. Just as she found a comfortable position, she heard a distinct voice from behind the front door: “C’mon, everypony, Twilight must not be here. We’ll just have to go without her.” Go without me? Twilight thought in alarm. The room flashed with the soft purple glow of Twilight’s magic, and the door opened, it itself surrounded in the same purple glow. Twilight’s vision was instantly graced with the sight of her friends. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack. The Elements of Harmony. Her very best friends. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought we’d have to go without her!” Pinkie Pie burst out quite loudly. Twilight cringed; this was a library. She forced herself to change her demeanor, as she didn’t want her friends knowing how eager she was to return to her books. After all, they were her friends. She couldn’t let them down like that, could she? “Hi, Girls!” Twilight said, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Whatever would bring you here?” “Well,” Applejack began; her southern drawl thickening her voice, “We were jus’ goin’ to a party–“ “It was my idea! You know how I LOVE parties!” Pinkie Pie interjected, and, in Pinkie Pie fashion, started bouncing around the room, scattering books in every direction. Twilight cringed again. Those were her organized piles Pinkie was messing with. Rainbow Dash made sure to get her voice heard. “Yeah, I heard the DJ play some radical music. Some of the best stuff around!” “You will accompany us, won’t you, darling?” Rarity added. “Of course, if you want to, that is…” Fluttershy’s quiet voice was barely audible. “Pwetty PWWWEEEAASSSEEE!” Pinkie Pie fell to her stomach and looked up at Twilight with bloated eyes. She started whimpering in only the way Pinkie Pie can. “I… I just can’t. Twilight looked away. Her tone changed dramatically, and she spoke again. “And besides, who goes to parties this early–“ “Early? Are you loco in the coco?” Pinkie Pie said, shifting away from her adorable whimpering to adopt a quizzical frown on her face. “It’s nearly sundown!” Twilight looked past her friends and out the door. Sure enough, Ponyville was shaded in a dark orange, signaling that the sun had almost sunk behind the mountains. “But… how’d it get so late? I just started reading a few minutes ago!” Twilight exclaimed in frustration. “Daring, I think you’ve been too absorbed in your books. I know how you feel, sometimes I just fall into my work, too.” Rarity gave a sympathetic smile. Twilight turned around. Her “I’ve read” pile, kept in a neat stack, minus the few Pinkie had scattered, had most definitely increased since she’d walked downstairs this morning. A good six, maybe ten books. How did that happen? Have I really been reading for that long? Twilight wondered. “Listen, you’ve turned us down six times in the past month, claiming you’ve been too busy with this and that to tag along with us to various occasions. Take a break, relax! Enjoy time off to have fun.” Applejack put extra emphasis on the last two words. “I’ve already said I can’t,” Twilight’s words were sharp and staccato, hinting at a tinge of something else in her voice other than a desire to return to her books. “Alright, but it’s going to be a HELL of a party!” Pinkie was obviously hyped up for the party, as her language showed. “Just… just leave.” With this, Twilight hurriedly used her magic to shove her friends out of the library and slammed the door. Can’t they tell that I just want to be left alone? Twilight wondered. Her magic making the task easy, she placed the scattered books, courtesy of Pinkie, back in their careful place. Slinking back into her fortress of books, she lay down and settled herself. Hooves delicately tugging on the silk bookmark, the book fell open to a page, and Twilight’s eyes scanned the page until she found where she had left off before she had been so rudely interrupted. Preparing herself with the proper mindset, Twilight immersed herself in her own universe of worlds. –––––––––––––––––– All right, here you go, FIMFiction. The first thing I've put out for people to read other than English papers in well over two years. I'm sure that there are a lot of mistakes. Please, point them out to me, and I'll make changes. On that topic, I'd love constructive criticism. That's how I'll get better, so any advice you have to give me is appreciated. All in all, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I plan to update this every chance I get. (Yes yes, I know this is a little short for a chapter. This was just all I had to write for this particular part.) Chapter 2Chapter 2 Twilight looked up of her own will this time. The light of day that Twilight read by had faded considerably, leaving the black text to blend in with the dark page until the only visible thing was a dark mass only slightly darker than the rest of the page. Obviously, it was time for Twilight to head to bed. She carefully placed a bookmark in her book, and closed it delicately. Something caught her eye, and she noticed that her “read” pile had increased again. She had no idea how long she had been reading for. She looked at the fortress of books around her and yawned. She realized that she was too tired to put all these books away tonight. Besides, nopony would mind if she closed the library tomorrow… As usual, the first thing Twilight did was use her magic to pick up the library key on the table, and bring it to her. Then, key in mouth, she trotted over to the door to lock it. She knew she could have just used her magic, but she liked to tug on the door herself, just to make sure it really was locked. Accidents were the last thing Twilight needed. Recently, there had been an increase in crime around Ponyville, and Twilight wouldn’t have anypony stealing her books. (Ponies in Ponyville had told her time and time again that no pony would take the time to steal books, but Twilight would have none of it). She had just reached the door when an unexpected blow to the face knocked her into the wall. Or, more accurately, a blow to the body. The door slammed open with a force that rocked its hinges, and in walked Twilight’s friends. However, even from behind a door, Twilight could tell that something was amiss. She managed to shove the door away from her to find a strange sight. She never would have expected the sight that her eyes beheld. Fluttershy was riding on top of Applejack, holding a bottle half-full of a dark, murky liquid. The label had been burned off. Rarity’s mane was all messed up, with strands of hair sticking out every which way. Her dress seemed all out of place. This was odd, as normally she would have been freaking out over the imperfections of her askew dress. Rainbow Dash seemed lively as ever, however, there was a dangerous edge to her movements that surprised Twilight. And when her eyes fell upon Pinkie, she nearly did a double take. Pinkie’s head hung low, and her steps were sluggish, like she had recently been robbed of sleep. Her mouth wasn’t spewing nonsense, or anything, at all, and she wasn’t bouncing around. She genuinely looked tired. “Girls,” Twilight began innocently, “What happened to you?” If Twilight was expecting an answer, she was to be disappointed. “YAY, WOO-HOO!” Fluttershy yelled, and took another swig of the liquid. “That can’t be good for ya’…” Applejack muttered quietly. Applejack was the only one who seemed all right. Rainbow Dash was flying in circles around Pinkie, clearly agitated about something. “Aww, come on, Pinkie. You promised…” “Dashie, I’m really tired, alright?” Pinkie slurred, using Rainbow’s pet name that usually ended with Rainbow’s hoof to the offending mouth. Hard. However, Rainbow didn't seem to mind it this time. “Please?” Rainbow Dash asked rather disappointedly. “No.” Then, in a louder voice, Pinkie said, “Twi, I’m crashing in your room, okay?” Without even hearing from Twilight, she slowly dragged her hooves up to Twilight’s room, and shut the door. Rainbow Dash followed, nagging, “But Pinkie!” She quickly opened the door again, flew into the room and slammed the door behind her. Rarity turned to Twilight. “Where’s Spike, dear?” She said in a sickly sweet voice. Twilight turned her head and gestured a hoof towards a door. Rarity trotted off in that direction, and entered the room. A blue glow surrounded the door as it closed, and a small click signaled that she had locked the door. A thump from the left followed by a glance in that direction told Twilight that Fluttershy had passed out on Applejack’s back and fallen to the ground. The liquid started to spill onto the floor. Twilight used her magic to restore the contents to the bottle, and she set it gently down on the table. Finally, Twilight turned to Applejack. Lacking any form of self-restraint in her voice, she asked the question on her mind as soon as she realized that something was amiss. “What the hay is going on here?” Startled by Twilight’s use of colorful language that was usually absent from her wide vocabulary, Applejack took a second before she was able to answer. Regaining he composure, she spoke. “Well, ya’ see,” Applejack started, “There was too much of that alcohol-stuff at that party. Looks like the girls had their fair share and–” Twilight cut her off. “But what about you?” “I’ve had tastes before. Foul stuff; I’d take my apple cider any day,” Applejack stated plainly. “Le’me tell ya’, lonely night at that counter.” Twilight nodded in sympathy. “Well, what now?” “There’s not much to it: they wake up in the morning with no recollection of what happened tonight. That’s how it goes for all of them.” Applejack finished. “But– what about my bed?” Twilight asked in alarm. “No use tryin’ to get it back from them two,” Applejack’s words significantly fell in pitch and tempo, expressing no more interest to speak on that subject from her part. Twilight let it be. “All right, then.” Twilight proceeded to gesture to the floor. “Looks like we’ll be sleeping in the guest beds tonight.” Twilight chuckled cheekily at her own joke. She lay down, and motioned to Applejack to do the same. “Much ‘ppreciated.” Applejack drawled. She slowly trotted over to her “makeshift bed” and lay down. Twilight’s purple glow surrounded the lightswitch, and the lights in the room flickered off. She closed her eyes. Once she calmed herself down after the day’s events, her senses heightened, and her surroundings came into a clear focus. She could faintly hear Rainbow Dash saying something upstairs, and Pinkie replying back sleepily. She heard a thump from her bed, and Pinkie yelling something in an interesting tone of voice. It was harsh and angry, but it had a tint of fear in it… Remembering Applejack’s hesitation to talk on the subject, Twilight shook her head to get it off her mind. She heard Rarity’s slow breathing from the other room. Twilight figured she must have fallen asleep. Fluttershy stirred on the ground, whispered a soft, “Woo-hoo…” and fell silent. Twilight figured she’d hit the alcohol hard. Applejack interrupted her thoughts. “Wonder why they do it, y’know, party so much.” “Like you don’t!” Twilight responded cheekily. “Ha ha. Very funny.” Applejack said in a flat tone, sarcasm all but absent from her voice. “ Seriously, though. They hit clubs more than I’d like them to.” “Maybe it’s just fun.” Twilight pondered sleepily, half to herself. “Now that’s just a fact.” Applejack chuckled. “There is no denying that it’s fun.” “I suppose I wouldn’t know too much about that.” Twilight responded, her voice falling away on the last few words. “You’ve never been to a club?” Applejack replied, sounding rather alarmed at Twilight’s statement. Applejack’s tone woke up Twilight up a little bit, and her voice sounded more alert. “I’ve been to Pinkie’s parties.” Twilight said defensively. “Don’t ev’r tell Pinkie I said this,” Applejack continued in a whisper, “But six ponies dancing to music as old as Granny Smith hardly counts as anything at all.” Twilight chuckled. “I guess so.” “You really need to tag ‘long w’th us next time,” Applejack continued, “I’mean, how much can one evening hurt? Long as you stay away from that alcohol counter, Celestia knows what that’ll do to you…” Applejack caught herself, and fell quiet. “I suppose,” Twilight voice slowed down as she considered her options. “How soon would that be?” “Knowin’ them, it could be a week or two,” Applejack said flatly. Twilight sighed. “Fine. You’re right, how much could one evening hurt.” With that, Twilight’s head hit the floor, and her snoring immediately echoed through the dark, quiet library. Applejack soon followed suit. It is a curious thing, that of sleep. Filled with so many dreams, it can seem like days may go by in mere seconds. So many events can happen, when, in reality, they just are figments of the imagination, or, as some say, the longings of the mind… * * * A week often comes quickly to those who do not realize that it is passing. As was the case for Twilight Sparkle, whose stack of books was her week. She wouldn’t have had it any other way. Twilight found found the spell broken in the same manner as before, awoken from her vivid tales of many great adventures by a loud knock on the door. “Applejack told us everything! You aren’t backing down on this one!” Pinkie’s voice cut through the wood door, filling Twilight’s ears with the thousand sharp daggers of her words. Twilight grunted. There was no backing out of this one. “Oh, c’mon,” Applejack’s voice sounded sympathetic. “It’ll be fun, and it won’t take much time away from your fancy books.” Reluctantly, Twilight placed the nearest bookmark into her book. Then, turning towards the door, she did her best to put on a smile. After all, she didn’t want to disappoint her friends. “Coming,” Twilight said in a sweet voice. She opened the door to face her friends. They looked all hyped up: they were ready to party. “Ready?” Pinkie asked, her enthusiasm bursting out the seams. “Oh yes.” Twilight smiled. Chapter 3Chapter 3 The first thing that Twilight noticed as she and her friends approached the “party block” of Ponyville was how much she had missed it in her day to day travels. Since Twilight had never been much of a party pony herself, she found the district unfamiliar to her eyes. It did, however, seem rather typical for these kind of places, as far as her books told her. Flashing lights came zooming out of the tiny entrances, illuminating the backs of large guards standing next to the red carpet leading inside, who kept out unwanted riff-raff. The ground was visibly pounding with the obnoxiously loud bass pumping from inside all the clubs, one bass line conflicting with another until it became a melting pot of thumping, pounding, and wobbling. It was exactly like her books told her it should be. Pinkie energetically hopped towards one of the entrances. Her friends followed suit, except for Twilight, who stood steady. Noticing something amiss, Applejack turned back to face Twilight. “Whatsa matter, sugarcube?” Twilight looked down at herself in disgust. “Shouldn’t I be wearing something a little more, um, concealing?” Indeed, what Twilight was wearing was quite off from what she expected should be worn to a typical dance. The tight dress certainly wasn’t made to be concealing, having artful cuts in it wherever possible, as if it was a contest to see who could show the most fur. She did have to admit its color complimented her own, however. Rainbow looked at Twilight quizzically. “It’s not like we wear clothes normally, you know.” The others nodded in agreement. “Sure, but wouldn't something more similar to my Gala dress be more–“ “I’m going to cut you off right there, darling,” Rarity cut in. “This is a club, not a ballroom dance! You need to learn to give in a little, and try some modern styles every once in a while.” “But I–“ “No buts!” Pinkie interrupted Twilight once again. “You need to stop being a stucker-upper-boring pants and have some fun! That’s why we dragged you out here in the first place.” Realizing that it was pointless to argue, Twilight sighed. Sensing that she had given in, Pinkie Pie continued hopping towards her favorite club. Twilight reluctantly followed. The music. If it were even to be called music, that is. As soon as Twilight entered the club, noted “Redux” by the sign hanging over the door before entering, her ears were assaulted by a blaring noise at a level far too uncomfortable for her sensitive ears. The ground was shaking with the power of the bass in the song, only “enhancing” the music experience for her. She shuddered. How could this be fun? And this was only the beginning! At once, four of her five friends bolted off into the mass of churning bodies. Rainbow Dash flew off towards the DJ, obviously wanting to request a couple of songs. Or at least Twilight assumed, considering the books she’d read on the subject. Rarity immediately darted off to the left, probably hoping to find a group of stallions, knowing her. Twilight had no idea where Fluttershy went, and Pinkie Pie could be seen every so often, her frilly pink mane peaking over the heads of dancing ponies as she hopped off into the crowd. But she too soon disappeared into the masses. However, Applejack remained, looking back at Twilight. “Since yer new to this clubbing stuff, ‘ah figure ah’ll help ya out. Follah me.” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Applejack. You’ve been a real friend throughout all this.” “Ah figure ah might as well. But be wahrned, no books gunna prepare ya for this.” Twilight nodded as Applejack took off into the crowd. Not wanting to lose her to the mass of bodies, she hastily followed Applejack. When Twilight finally broke free of the shifting mass, she caught sight of Applejack standing in front of two counters, each one with many unrecognizable bottles lining the wall behind it. “Welcom’ to the refreshments.” She nodded towards one of the counters. “This is tha non-alcoholic counter, for tha ponies that don’t wanna get wasted. They make sure ta keep ‘em separate, for that reason. Stick ta this side, like me, and ya’ll be all right. Just remember ta pay tha bartender.” A light grey pony waved his hoof from behind the counter. Twilight nodded. “What about the other side?” “Stay ahway fram that ‘un. That’s the alcohol. That stuff’ll mess ya up real bad, real quick.” The bartender there gave Applejack a glare, as if daring her to say any more about his side of the business. Applejack took the hint. Twilight nodded again. “Noted.” “Well, ah guess that’s about all ah got ta’ teach ya. Real quick though, don’t worry about dancin’ all fancy. These ponies here don’t care about that. Just follah the crowd you’re in. That should get ya started. I have’ta go meeta couple other friends. Just remember what ah told ya.” “Alright, I will.” Twilight replied. With that, Applejack motioned to the bartender. “The usual,” she said casually. The bartender poured her a cup of some liquid from a bottle marked “Cider”. She dropped some bits on the counter, and chugged the cider. With that, she took off into the crowd. The bartender waved, bringing Twilight out of her mind. “You want anything?” Twilight shook her head. “I’m not thirsty. But maybe later.” The bartender simply turned away and tended to some other pony that walked up. Realizing that she had no place here anymore, she decided to do the next thing on her agenda: fix that Celestia-awful music. She set off on her self-assigned quest. Emerging from the crowd, Twilight found herself at her destination: the DJ table. The volume of the music was near unbearable, and that combined with the intolerability of the music under usual circumstances made Twilight want to rip her ears off. However, knowing that that would do no good, she continued on her mission. Twilight cleared her throat, trying to get the DJ’s attention. Noticing no change, she closed her eyes (for an added dramatic effect) and tried again, louder this time. Opening her eyes, she saw that the DJ had an earbud sticking out of one ear, rendering the DJ’s hearing useless. Waiting patiently, she stuck around until the DJ removed it, and then yelled “HEY!” at the opportune moment. It worked, and the DJ looked down at her. “Oh hey, you wanna request?” The DJ’s voice was a mish-mash of many different tones, masculine, feminine, and many more that Twilight couldn’t place. It had hints of a teenage vocabulary, and a sophisticated edge that Twilight couldn’t place. All this gave Twilight a hard time giving the DJ any sort of identity. In the moment that Twilight took to compose herself, she let herself have a good look at the DJ in question, remembering Rainbow Dash spewing compliments about her. A pair of purple shades, which contrasted quite astonishingly with her frizzy electric blue mane and tail, masked the white unicorn’s eyes. Noticing that staring would do no good, Twilight replied. “Yes, I was wondering if you could play some Beethooven, perhaps Symphony–“ The DJ cut her off by putting her shades over her horn and staring at Twilight with a rather amused look. Her magenta eyes bore into Twilight. “Is this some kind of joke? This is a club, you know, and I can’t go spinning a classical track, no matter how famous it is.” Twilight was shocked by the DJ’s words. “Are you kidding me? You think you know more about music and clubs than me? I’ve read every book in my library in the past week preparing for this event, and I’d think that I have a little more knowledge than you about this.” “Filly please, I’ve been doing this all my life, and I know for a fact that if I play anything from over ten years ago, I’ll get booed out of this club. And I’ll say, this one pays quite well…” The DJ trailed off, rambling on about something unintelligible, although Twilight could have sworn that she’d heard the word “bits” in there… A burst of magic snapped the DJ to attention as Twilight appeared right next to her on stage. Twilight looked the DJ in the eye and said, “Let me handle these for a while. Like I’ve said, I’ve read every book there is to be found on this subject, so I’ll know what I’m doing.” With those words, Twilight took a step towards the turntables, shoving the DJ out of the way. “Hey, what the hell are you doing? Get offa my stage!” The white unicorn shoved Twilight away and continued tending to the music, turning a knob. Twilight noticed an increase in the volume of the bass. The churning bodies below cheered wildly in response. Twilight moved a hoof towards the tables, but a flash of rainbow interrupted her movements. Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight, a hoof on her foreleg, tugging her away from the stage. “Twilight, what do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow hissed through clenched teeth. It was lost through the noise of the bass. “What?” Twilight yelled. “I said, what do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow yelled. Her question was loud enough to reach the DJ’s ears, too. “Listen to your friend.” The DJ said, her tone a little less hostile. “Friend? Uh, more like, uh, acquaintance.” Rainbow replied with a nervous laugh. “Rainbow?” Twilight questioned, wondering why she was avoiding their friendship. “Twilight, why don’t you just apologize to DJ P0N-3 here and go get a drink or something.” Rainbow Dash giggled at the name a little. DJ pone three? What kind of a name is that? However, sensing that arguing over a name would get her nowhere, she gritted her teeth. “I’m sorry for what I did. I shouldn’t have challenged something that isn’t my profession.” “Nah man, it’s all cool. Just go have a drink and chill out. Have some fun.” The DJ looked at her sympathetically. With those big magenta eyes, Twilight found it hard to keep her grudge. Have fun. Ponies kept telling her that all night. Maybe she should just go and grab a cup of punch and relax a bit. After all, that’s what she was here for. With all the commotion, she had lost sight of her ultimate goal. “Alright, I will. Thanks.” Twilight replied, and gave a genuine smile. Before the DJ could reply, Rainbow broke in. “Alright, Twilight, let’s go.” She then turned to the DJ. “Big fan.” She smiled sheepishly, and then flew off, her flight slightly lopsided. Thinking nothing of it, Twilight thanked the DJ, stepped off the stage, and headed back into the crowd, off to find the bar. Looking out upon the ponies dancing to her music, the DJ readjusted her shades on her eyes and turned her attention back to the music. The ponies she met, sometimes… While searching for the bar, Twilight ran headfirst into a couple of stallions. Apologizing profusely, she attempted to back away, but the two stallions quickly ushered her into their dancing circle, trying to get her to dance, for whatever reason. As she apologized again, she did take note of the dancing going on, just like Applejack had said to. It was nothing like she had ever read before, it seemed that the ponies were just flailing to the music. There weren’t any real steps involved; it was just a free for all of limbs. Every so often, a pony that looked like they knew what they were doing would show up, and everypony else would try to copy them. It was in vain, though, and all ponies just ended up looking foolish. All in all, it was just a giant mess. Is that really all this is? Twilight asked herself. Knowing more than ever that she needed a drink, she set off once again towards the bar. Emerging from the mass of bodies once again, Twilight found herself at the bar. Perfect! However, a problem became apparent to her. She had forgotten which bar was non-alcoholic! And the many bottles lined up against the wall didn’t help, either; they all looked foreign to Twilight. Realizing that she wasn’t going to remember which side was which, she chose one randomly and made a bee-line for it. Twilight sat down on one of the many mahogany stools set up around the bar. The bartender walked up to her. “So, waddya want?” As much reading as she had done, Twilight was unprepared for that question. “Um…” She closed her eyes, and flailed her hoof around in front of her, eventually laying it to rest, pointing it at the back wall. She opened her eyes, and found her hoof pointing at an obscure bottle on the shelf; it’s murky contents glaring back at her, daring her to drink it. “You sure you want that one? It’s a bit strong, didn’t you–“ The bartender stopped himself. It wasn’t any of his business. Shaking his head a little, he turned around and fetched the bottle off the wall. He poured it into a small glass and put it onto the counter. “That’ll be ten bits.” Ten bits? Wasn’t that a bit much? The more she thought about it, the bar was only around to make a profit, so it’d make sense they’d knock it up a bit from what it would normally cost. Hesitantly, Twilight placed ten bits on the counter. The bartender handed Twilight her drink. A purple glow enveloped the glass and brought it to Twilight’s lips. She took a sip. The taste she received was not what she expected. As the liquid slid it’s way down Twilight’s throat, she quickly realized that something was off. The liquid burnt her throat on the way down, but not completely unwantedly. Catching her off-guard, she coughed violently, trying to clear her throat of the sensation. As the last of the burning died down and the liquid reached her stomach, she realized that it left her feeling a certain warmth that she enjoyed quite a lot. And, she felt better instantly. She quickly chugged the last of the liquid, savoring the burning sensation that she had already drawn quite accustomed to. She quickly slammed another ten bits on the table. “Another, please.” The bartender shook his head, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Swiping the money off the counter, he refilled the glass, all the while muttering to himself about something. Twilight eagerly finished the glass, and hopped off the stool. “Thanks a bunch!” Twilight called back. The bartender nodded, a look of amazement still struck on his face. Her nerves feeling better already, Twilight marched off into the sea of bodies. ––––––––––––––––––––––– I feel like there are a lot of errors in this, so I apologize in advance. Also, I'm not sure if I have to ask or anything, but I'm now accepting pre-readers. Also, awkward dialogue is awkward. Chapter 4Chapter 4 Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound pierced her ears, and her eyelids fluttered while remaining closed, like some kind of half-asleep blink. Beep. Beep. Beep. A groan emanated from the purple mare. Had she really set an alarm clock? It was a Sunday, after all. The library didn’t open. Cursing her assistant under her breath for pulling such a stunt, she pulled the covers up over her head and tried to fall asleep again. She had a wicked headache, and she just wanted to curl up and sleep it off. Her books could wait. Beep. Beep. Beep. Twilight cursed again, audibly this time. Why can’t that alarm leave me alone? She swung a hoof over at the alarm to shut if off. It was certainly a surprise for Twilight when her hoof met nothing but air, and her momentum carried her out of the bed and onto the floor. The impact snapped Twilight’s eyelids to attention. The sight she was expecting was not the sight that she was greeted by. She sat in a simple room with painted white walls. There was a dresser across the room from the ornately done bed that she had just taken a tumble from. The table with the alarm clock that she was expecting was on the other side of the bed. A window hid behind cyan curtains. Beep. Beep. Beep. In her shock, the only thing that Twilight could think to do was jump back on the bed and use her hoof to hit the snooze button. After the irritating beeps were gone, Twilight buried herself under the covers and did the only thing that she thought logical: think. “Think, Twilight, think!” Twilight said to herself angrily. “I’ve only read books on this, but if I’ve been ponynapped, why am I not tied up in a basement, or with a–“ Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by rap at the doorframe to the open room. She pulled the covers off of her head quickly, wanting to see what new shock awaited her, while keeping as much of the blankets on her for comfort, as little as they could provide if Twilight really were attacked. Her eyes were greeted not by the sight of some horribly twisted old stallion like she expected, but rather an attractive light brown pegasus pony with a jet black mane falling to his shoulders. In her shocked silence, he spoke. “Good morning. I see you’re awake. Do you want anything to eat or drink?” Twilight, with some coherent thought returning to her head, finally spoke. “What… what am I doing here? Who are you?” Her words clearly shocked the pegasus. “What do you mean, ‘who am I?’ Don’t you remember anything that happened last night? You know, last night last night…” His speech trailed off into an incoherent mutter and he blushed slightly. “What do you mean, last night–“ Twilight’s eyes widened as some scenes rom the previous evening came flashing back to her. The club. The obnoxious music. The drinks. How much else have I forgotten? Twilight wondered to herself with horror. The pegasus looked down. He obviously knew where Twilight’s thoughts were. “Well, uh, sorry to have, you know, bothered you…” his words trailed off. He was clearly disappointed. “Um, like I said, do you want any food or drink?” Twilight fumbled for an answer. “No, I’m still feeling a little strange.” A knowing smile, despite how much he wanted to remain somber, crept onto the pegasus’s face. “Ah, yes. Sometimes that’ll happen.” Twilight, all too eager to make a beeline for the door, quietly stepped out of the bed and trotted over to the door, nodding to the pegasus as she passed. He flashed her a genuine smile that filled Twilight with a jolt of warmth that passed from her head to her toes. Realizing what she had forgotten, Twilight turned back as she reached the door. “You know, I never got a name.” The pegasus smiled charmingly. “Daerion.” * * * Twilight Sparkle raced back to the library. Her brain was quite foggy, and her head was pounding, but she forced herself to think. What could have happened? All I can remember is that club we went to… The very thought of the previous night’s events brought a fresh wave of pain to Twilight’s head, so she eventually gave up trying. She figured that someone would fill her in eventually. Only now did she regret not questioning Daerion further than pleasantries. Time passing much faster with her thoughts preoccupied, Twilight reached the library in what couldn’t have been more than a minute. For a second, Twilight debated whether that was really the amount of time it took, but she deemed the question irrelevant as she gently swung the library door inwards. For a brief second, Twilight Sparkle saw her friends’ eyes trained on her. Then, as soon as the purple mare registered in their minds, they jumped up from their sitting position on the floor and knocked Twilight over in embrace. Of course, it was Pinkie Pie who spoke first. “Oh goodness Twilight we were so worried about you after Applejack filled us in on what happened and so we all came here and decided to wait for you until you got back because we figured you would eventually and–“ Pinkie’s mindless jabbering was cut short by a clawed purple hand. “Whoa whoa whoa everypony, give Twilight some room to breath,” came the voice of the small purple dragon. “Let’s let her explain what happened first." Getting comfortable, Twilight led the ponies to the table and began to explain everything that she could remember. The club, the DJ incident (of which Rainbow Dash seemed strangely vague about), and that was about as far as she could remember. She cut to the morning’s events, and ended her tale at the present. When the ponies listening noted the cadence signifying the end of her story, they stood up and stretched, allowing their minds to wrap up any thoughts they had before they told Twilight what they thought. After their final reflections, Twilight’s friends spoke. “Well, listen dear, we’re afraid we don’t remember much either, so we’re afraid we can’t help you much.” Rarity offered, but her lack of confidence showed through, and her rambling statement did little to calm Twilight’s nerves. “Look man, it kinda sucks, right? But, you’ll get over it. Heck, we do every coupla’ days.” Rainbow Dash added, chuckling to herself under her breath. “Um, if it helps, I don’t remember much, either…” Fluttershy’s words trailed off as she realized that she wasn’t helping much. She recoiled and let out a tiny “eep.” Pinkie cut in, sensing the need to cheer up her friend was important at that moment. “Twilight, I know that we can’t do much right now for you but we all know that you’re a good pony and that you didn’t do this on purpose, right? Let’s just hope that nopony spiked your drink with–“ Pinkie’s rambling thoughts were cut off as the color drained from Applejack’s face. Everypony could sense that something was horribly wrong, and they all turned to face her, the concern shining through their worried eyes. Applejack tried to speak, but words failed her as the levity of the situation only known to her dug its heels into her mind. “Applejack, surely you’re not blowing this out of proportion, right?” Rarity gave a nervous laugh. Applejack opened her mouth once more, and her friends leaned in, eager. “The… the…” She began, but the final word was inaudible. “The what?!” The girls cried in unison. “Twilight, she… she must have had alcohol!” Author's Note I want to apologize to you all for being absent for a while. I lost track of where my priorities lay in my life, and this project fell into disrepair. I forgot about it. I now, however, have full intention to keep this going and finish it at some point. NO, Daerion is not my OC. Thank you for asking. Sorry for the cheesy ending; it'll make more sense with the next chapter.
Chapter 1Chapter 1 A noise snapped the purple mare out of her spell. “Something so simple, yet something that holds the power to tear even the most focused pony away from anything.” She finally found the meaning of this passage, the forgotten words of a book too old to remember. It had probably been lost to time. Twilight Sparkle glanced up. Nothing had changed. The fortress of books still encased her; Twilight’s way of escaping into wonderlands filled with adventure, mystery, and wonder. The subtle sound of Spike’s slow breathing in his basket hadn’t broken its relentless pattern, it had been her metronome for– how long had it been now? Twilight could have sworn that she’d only lain down on the comfortable library rug a few minutes ago… Twilight shook her head. “How long” was not important at the moment. What was, however, was finding what had awoken her from her slumber of waking dreams. She stood up and stretched. Her muscles were a lot more sore than she thought they would have been, considering that she’d only been laying down for a couple of minutes. The purple pony wandered around the library, looking for what might have been out of place. Every book was perfectly aligned on the shelf, alphabetical by title and author. Twilight smiled. Just the way she’d left them. Well, except for the huge pile on the floor, with bookmarks sticking out of them like weeds. Deciding that the tales of old must have gotten to her, she shrugged off the noise that had startled her as just a remnant of the stories that filled her head; nothing but the wishful thinking of the mind to just know a little more than the pages allow. Ever intent on finishing the story on the pages of the book she left open, she laid back down on the rug and tried to arrange herself in such a way that it was comfortable, as one may find it hard to do on a floor. Just as she found a comfortable position, she heard a distinct voice from behind the front door: “C’mon, everypony, Twilight must not be here. We’ll just have to go without her.” Go without me? Twilight thought in alarm. The room flashed with the soft purple glow of Twilight’s magic, and the door opened, it itself surrounded in the same purple glow. Twilight’s vision was instantly graced with the sight of her friends. Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Applejack. The Elements of Harmony. Her very best friends. “Oh, thank goodness! I thought we’d have to go without her!” Pinkie Pie burst out quite loudly. Twilight cringed; this was a library. She forced herself to change her demeanor, as she didn’t want her friends knowing how eager she was to return to her books. After all, they were her friends. She couldn’t let them down like that, could she? “Hi, Girls!” Twilight said, her voice dripping with sweetness. “Whatever would bring you here?” “Well,” Applejack began; her southern drawl thickening her voice, “We were jus’ goin’ to a party–“ “It was my idea! You know how I LOVE parties!” Pinkie Pie interjected, and, in Pinkie Pie fashion, started bouncing around the room, scattering books in every direction. Twilight cringed again. Those were her organized piles Pinkie was messing with. Rainbow Dash made sure to get her voice heard. “Yeah, I heard the DJ play some radical music. Some of the best stuff around!” “You will accompany us, won’t you, darling?” Rarity added. “Of course, if you want to, that is…” Fluttershy’s quiet voice was barely audible. “Pwetty PWWWEEEAASSSEEE!” Pinkie Pie fell to her stomach and looked up at Twilight with bloated eyes. She started whimpering in only the way Pinkie Pie can. “I… I just can’t. Twilight looked away. Her tone changed dramatically, and she spoke again. “And besides, who goes to parties this early–“ “Early? Are you loco in the coco?” Pinkie Pie said, shifting away from her adorable whimpering to adopt a quizzical frown on her face. “It’s nearly sundown!” Twilight looked past her friends and out the door. Sure enough, Ponyville was shaded in a dark orange, signaling that the sun had almost sunk behind the mountains. “But… how’d it get so late? I just started reading a few minutes ago!” Twilight exclaimed in frustration. “Daring, I think you’ve been too absorbed in your books. I know how you feel, sometimes I just fall into my work, too.” Rarity gave a sympathetic smile. Twilight turned around. Her “I’ve read” pile, kept in a neat stack, minus the few Pinkie had scattered, had most definitely increased since she’d walked downstairs this morning. A good six, maybe ten books. How did that happen? Have I really been reading for that long? Twilight wondered. “Listen, you’ve turned us down six times in the past month, claiming you’ve been too busy with this and that to tag along with us to various occasions. Take a break, relax! Enjoy time off to have fun.” Applejack put extra emphasis on the last two words. “I’ve already said I can’t,” Twilight’s words were sharp and staccato, hinting at a tinge of something else in her voice other than a desire to return to her books. “Alright, but it’s going to be a HELL of a party!” Pinkie was obviously hyped up for the party, as her language showed. “Just… just leave.” With this, Twilight hurriedly used her magic to shove her friends out of the library and slammed the door. Can’t they tell that I just want to be left alone? Twilight wondered. Her magic making the task easy, she placed the scattered books, courtesy of Pinkie, back in their careful place. Slinking back into her fortress of books, she lay down and settled herself. Hooves delicately tugging on the silk bookmark, the book fell open to a page, and Twilight’s eyes scanned the page until she found where she had left off before she had been so rudely interrupted. Preparing herself with the proper mindset, Twilight immersed herself in her own universe of worlds. –––––––––––––––––– All right, here you go, FIMFiction. The first thing I've put out for people to read other than English papers in well over two years. I'm sure that there are a lot of mistakes. Please, point them out to me, and I'll make changes. On that topic, I'd love constructive criticism. That's how I'll get better, so any advice you have to give me is appreciated. All in all, thanks for taking the time to read this, and I plan to update this every chance I get. (Yes yes, I know this is a little short for a chapter. This was just all I had to write for this particular part.)
Chapter 2Chapter 2 Twilight looked up of her own will this time. The light of day that Twilight read by had faded considerably, leaving the black text to blend in with the dark page until the only visible thing was a dark mass only slightly darker than the rest of the page. Obviously, it was time for Twilight to head to bed. She carefully placed a bookmark in her book, and closed it delicately. Something caught her eye, and she noticed that her “read” pile had increased again. She had no idea how long she had been reading for. She looked at the fortress of books around her and yawned. She realized that she was too tired to put all these books away tonight. Besides, nopony would mind if she closed the library tomorrow… As usual, the first thing Twilight did was use her magic to pick up the library key on the table, and bring it to her. Then, key in mouth, she trotted over to the door to lock it. She knew she could have just used her magic, but she liked to tug on the door herself, just to make sure it really was locked. Accidents were the last thing Twilight needed. Recently, there had been an increase in crime around Ponyville, and Twilight wouldn’t have anypony stealing her books. (Ponies in Ponyville had told her time and time again that no pony would take the time to steal books, but Twilight would have none of it). She had just reached the door when an unexpected blow to the face knocked her into the wall. Or, more accurately, a blow to the body. The door slammed open with a force that rocked its hinges, and in walked Twilight’s friends. However, even from behind a door, Twilight could tell that something was amiss. She managed to shove the door away from her to find a strange sight. She never would have expected the sight that her eyes beheld. Fluttershy was riding on top of Applejack, holding a bottle half-full of a dark, murky liquid. The label had been burned off. Rarity’s mane was all messed up, with strands of hair sticking out every which way. Her dress seemed all out of place. This was odd, as normally she would have been freaking out over the imperfections of her askew dress. Rainbow Dash seemed lively as ever, however, there was a dangerous edge to her movements that surprised Twilight. And when her eyes fell upon Pinkie, she nearly did a double take. Pinkie’s head hung low, and her steps were sluggish, like she had recently been robbed of sleep. Her mouth wasn’t spewing nonsense, or anything, at all, and she wasn’t bouncing around. She genuinely looked tired. “Girls,” Twilight began innocently, “What happened to you?” If Twilight was expecting an answer, she was to be disappointed. “YAY, WOO-HOO!” Fluttershy yelled, and took another swig of the liquid. “That can’t be good for ya’…” Applejack muttered quietly. Applejack was the only one who seemed all right. Rainbow Dash was flying in circles around Pinkie, clearly agitated about something. “Aww, come on, Pinkie. You promised…” “Dashie, I’m really tired, alright?” Pinkie slurred, using Rainbow’s pet name that usually ended with Rainbow’s hoof to the offending mouth. Hard. However, Rainbow didn't seem to mind it this time. “Please?” Rainbow Dash asked rather disappointedly. “No.” Then, in a louder voice, Pinkie said, “Twi, I’m crashing in your room, okay?” Without even hearing from Twilight, she slowly dragged her hooves up to Twilight’s room, and shut the door. Rainbow Dash followed, nagging, “But Pinkie!” She quickly opened the door again, flew into the room and slammed the door behind her. Rarity turned to Twilight. “Where’s Spike, dear?” She said in a sickly sweet voice. Twilight turned her head and gestured a hoof towards a door. Rarity trotted off in that direction, and entered the room. A blue glow surrounded the door as it closed, and a small click signaled that she had locked the door. A thump from the left followed by a glance in that direction told Twilight that Fluttershy had passed out on Applejack’s back and fallen to the ground. The liquid started to spill onto the floor. Twilight used her magic to restore the contents to the bottle, and she set it gently down on the table. Finally, Twilight turned to Applejack. Lacking any form of self-restraint in her voice, she asked the question on her mind as soon as she realized that something was amiss. “What the hay is going on here?” Startled by Twilight’s use of colorful language that was usually absent from her wide vocabulary, Applejack took a second before she was able to answer. Regaining he composure, she spoke. “Well, ya’ see,” Applejack started, “There was too much of that alcohol-stuff at that party. Looks like the girls had their fair share and–” Twilight cut her off. “But what about you?” “I’ve had tastes before. Foul stuff; I’d take my apple cider any day,” Applejack stated plainly. “Le’me tell ya’, lonely night at that counter.” Twilight nodded in sympathy. “Well, what now?” “There’s not much to it: they wake up in the morning with no recollection of what happened tonight. That’s how it goes for all of them.” Applejack finished. “But– what about my bed?” Twilight asked in alarm. “No use tryin’ to get it back from them two,” Applejack’s words significantly fell in pitch and tempo, expressing no more interest to speak on that subject from her part. Twilight let it be. “All right, then.” Twilight proceeded to gesture to the floor. “Looks like we’ll be sleeping in the guest beds tonight.” Twilight chuckled cheekily at her own joke. She lay down, and motioned to Applejack to do the same. “Much ‘ppreciated.” Applejack drawled. She slowly trotted over to her “makeshift bed” and lay down. Twilight’s purple glow surrounded the lightswitch, and the lights in the room flickered off. She closed her eyes. Once she calmed herself down after the day’s events, her senses heightened, and her surroundings came into a clear focus. She could faintly hear Rainbow Dash saying something upstairs, and Pinkie replying back sleepily. She heard a thump from her bed, and Pinkie yelling something in an interesting tone of voice. It was harsh and angry, but it had a tint of fear in it… Remembering Applejack’s hesitation to talk on the subject, Twilight shook her head to get it off her mind. She heard Rarity’s slow breathing from the other room. Twilight figured she must have fallen asleep. Fluttershy stirred on the ground, whispered a soft, “Woo-hoo…” and fell silent. Twilight figured she’d hit the alcohol hard. Applejack interrupted her thoughts. “Wonder why they do it, y’know, party so much.” “Like you don’t!” Twilight responded cheekily. “Ha ha. Very funny.” Applejack said in a flat tone, sarcasm all but absent from her voice. “ Seriously, though. They hit clubs more than I’d like them to.” “Maybe it’s just fun.” Twilight pondered sleepily, half to herself. “Now that’s just a fact.” Applejack chuckled. “There is no denying that it’s fun.” “I suppose I wouldn’t know too much about that.” Twilight responded, her voice falling away on the last few words. “You’ve never been to a club?” Applejack replied, sounding rather alarmed at Twilight’s statement. Applejack’s tone woke up Twilight up a little bit, and her voice sounded more alert. “I’ve been to Pinkie’s parties.” Twilight said defensively. “Don’t ev’r tell Pinkie I said this,” Applejack continued in a whisper, “But six ponies dancing to music as old as Granny Smith hardly counts as anything at all.” Twilight chuckled. “I guess so.” “You really need to tag ‘long w’th us next time,” Applejack continued, “I’mean, how much can one evening hurt? Long as you stay away from that alcohol counter, Celestia knows what that’ll do to you…” Applejack caught herself, and fell quiet. “I suppose,” Twilight voice slowed down as she considered her options. “How soon would that be?” “Knowin’ them, it could be a week or two,” Applejack said flatly. Twilight sighed. “Fine. You’re right, how much could one evening hurt.” With that, Twilight’s head hit the floor, and her snoring immediately echoed through the dark, quiet library. Applejack soon followed suit. It is a curious thing, that of sleep. Filled with so many dreams, it can seem like days may go by in mere seconds. So many events can happen, when, in reality, they just are figments of the imagination, or, as some say, the longings of the mind… * * * A week often comes quickly to those who do not realize that it is passing. As was the case for Twilight Sparkle, whose stack of books was her week. She wouldn’t have had it any other way. Twilight found found the spell broken in the same manner as before, awoken from her vivid tales of many great adventures by a loud knock on the door. “Applejack told us everything! You aren’t backing down on this one!” Pinkie’s voice cut through the wood door, filling Twilight’s ears with the thousand sharp daggers of her words. Twilight grunted. There was no backing out of this one. “Oh, c’mon,” Applejack’s voice sounded sympathetic. “It’ll be fun, and it won’t take much time away from your fancy books.” Reluctantly, Twilight placed the nearest bookmark into her book. Then, turning towards the door, she did her best to put on a smile. After all, she didn’t want to disappoint her friends. “Coming,” Twilight said in a sweet voice. She opened the door to face her friends. They looked all hyped up: they were ready to party. “Ready?” Pinkie asked, her enthusiasm bursting out the seams. “Oh yes.” Twilight smiled.
Chapter 3Chapter 3 The first thing that Twilight noticed as she and her friends approached the “party block” of Ponyville was how much she had missed it in her day to day travels. Since Twilight had never been much of a party pony herself, she found the district unfamiliar to her eyes. It did, however, seem rather typical for these kind of places, as far as her books told her. Flashing lights came zooming out of the tiny entrances, illuminating the backs of large guards standing next to the red carpet leading inside, who kept out unwanted riff-raff. The ground was visibly pounding with the obnoxiously loud bass pumping from inside all the clubs, one bass line conflicting with another until it became a melting pot of thumping, pounding, and wobbling. It was exactly like her books told her it should be. Pinkie energetically hopped towards one of the entrances. Her friends followed suit, except for Twilight, who stood steady. Noticing something amiss, Applejack turned back to face Twilight. “Whatsa matter, sugarcube?” Twilight looked down at herself in disgust. “Shouldn’t I be wearing something a little more, um, concealing?” Indeed, what Twilight was wearing was quite off from what she expected should be worn to a typical dance. The tight dress certainly wasn’t made to be concealing, having artful cuts in it wherever possible, as if it was a contest to see who could show the most fur. She did have to admit its color complimented her own, however. Rainbow looked at Twilight quizzically. “It’s not like we wear clothes normally, you know.” The others nodded in agreement. “Sure, but wouldn't something more similar to my Gala dress be more–“ “I’m going to cut you off right there, darling,” Rarity cut in. “This is a club, not a ballroom dance! You need to learn to give in a little, and try some modern styles every once in a while.” “But I–“ “No buts!” Pinkie interrupted Twilight once again. “You need to stop being a stucker-upper-boring pants and have some fun! That’s why we dragged you out here in the first place.” Realizing that it was pointless to argue, Twilight sighed. Sensing that she had given in, Pinkie Pie continued hopping towards her favorite club. Twilight reluctantly followed. The music. If it were even to be called music, that is. As soon as Twilight entered the club, noted “Redux” by the sign hanging over the door before entering, her ears were assaulted by a blaring noise at a level far too uncomfortable for her sensitive ears. The ground was shaking with the power of the bass in the song, only “enhancing” the music experience for her. She shuddered. How could this be fun? And this was only the beginning! At once, four of her five friends bolted off into the mass of churning bodies. Rainbow Dash flew off towards the DJ, obviously wanting to request a couple of songs. Or at least Twilight assumed, considering the books she’d read on the subject. Rarity immediately darted off to the left, probably hoping to find a group of stallions, knowing her. Twilight had no idea where Fluttershy went, and Pinkie Pie could be seen every so often, her frilly pink mane peaking over the heads of dancing ponies as she hopped off into the crowd. But she too soon disappeared into the masses. However, Applejack remained, looking back at Twilight. “Since yer new to this clubbing stuff, ‘ah figure ah’ll help ya out. Follah me.” Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Thanks, Applejack. You’ve been a real friend throughout all this.” “Ah figure ah might as well. But be wahrned, no books gunna prepare ya for this.” Twilight nodded as Applejack took off into the crowd. Not wanting to lose her to the mass of bodies, she hastily followed Applejack. When Twilight finally broke free of the shifting mass, she caught sight of Applejack standing in front of two counters, each one with many unrecognizable bottles lining the wall behind it. “Welcom’ to the refreshments.” She nodded towards one of the counters. “This is tha non-alcoholic counter, for tha ponies that don’t wanna get wasted. They make sure ta keep ‘em separate, for that reason. Stick ta this side, like me, and ya’ll be all right. Just remember ta pay tha bartender.” A light grey pony waved his hoof from behind the counter. Twilight nodded. “What about the other side?” “Stay ahway fram that ‘un. That’s the alcohol. That stuff’ll mess ya up real bad, real quick.” The bartender there gave Applejack a glare, as if daring her to say any more about his side of the business. Applejack took the hint. Twilight nodded again. “Noted.” “Well, ah guess that’s about all ah got ta’ teach ya. Real quick though, don’t worry about dancin’ all fancy. These ponies here don’t care about that. Just follah the crowd you’re in. That should get ya started. I have’ta go meeta couple other friends. Just remember what ah told ya.” “Alright, I will.” Twilight replied. With that, Applejack motioned to the bartender. “The usual,” she said casually. The bartender poured her a cup of some liquid from a bottle marked “Cider”. She dropped some bits on the counter, and chugged the cider. With that, she took off into the crowd. The bartender waved, bringing Twilight out of her mind. “You want anything?” Twilight shook her head. “I’m not thirsty. But maybe later.” The bartender simply turned away and tended to some other pony that walked up. Realizing that she had no place here anymore, she decided to do the next thing on her agenda: fix that Celestia-awful music. She set off on her self-assigned quest. Emerging from the crowd, Twilight found herself at her destination: the DJ table. The volume of the music was near unbearable, and that combined with the intolerability of the music under usual circumstances made Twilight want to rip her ears off. However, knowing that that would do no good, she continued on her mission. Twilight cleared her throat, trying to get the DJ’s attention. Noticing no change, she closed her eyes (for an added dramatic effect) and tried again, louder this time. Opening her eyes, she saw that the DJ had an earbud sticking out of one ear, rendering the DJ’s hearing useless. Waiting patiently, she stuck around until the DJ removed it, and then yelled “HEY!” at the opportune moment. It worked, and the DJ looked down at her. “Oh hey, you wanna request?” The DJ’s voice was a mish-mash of many different tones, masculine, feminine, and many more that Twilight couldn’t place. It had hints of a teenage vocabulary, and a sophisticated edge that Twilight couldn’t place. All this gave Twilight a hard time giving the DJ any sort of identity. In the moment that Twilight took to compose herself, she let herself have a good look at the DJ in question, remembering Rainbow Dash spewing compliments about her. A pair of purple shades, which contrasted quite astonishingly with her frizzy electric blue mane and tail, masked the white unicorn’s eyes. Noticing that staring would do no good, Twilight replied. “Yes, I was wondering if you could play some Beethooven, perhaps Symphony–“ The DJ cut her off by putting her shades over her horn and staring at Twilight with a rather amused look. Her magenta eyes bore into Twilight. “Is this some kind of joke? This is a club, you know, and I can’t go spinning a classical track, no matter how famous it is.” Twilight was shocked by the DJ’s words. “Are you kidding me? You think you know more about music and clubs than me? I’ve read every book in my library in the past week preparing for this event, and I’d think that I have a little more knowledge than you about this.” “Filly please, I’ve been doing this all my life, and I know for a fact that if I play anything from over ten years ago, I’ll get booed out of this club. And I’ll say, this one pays quite well…” The DJ trailed off, rambling on about something unintelligible, although Twilight could have sworn that she’d heard the word “bits” in there… A burst of magic snapped the DJ to attention as Twilight appeared right next to her on stage. Twilight looked the DJ in the eye and said, “Let me handle these for a while. Like I’ve said, I’ve read every book there is to be found on this subject, so I’ll know what I’m doing.” With those words, Twilight took a step towards the turntables, shoving the DJ out of the way. “Hey, what the hell are you doing? Get offa my stage!” The white unicorn shoved Twilight away and continued tending to the music, turning a knob. Twilight noticed an increase in the volume of the bass. The churning bodies below cheered wildly in response. Twilight moved a hoof towards the tables, but a flash of rainbow interrupted her movements. Rainbow Dash landed next to Twilight, a hoof on her foreleg, tugging her away from the stage. “Twilight, what do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow hissed through clenched teeth. It was lost through the noise of the bass. “What?” Twilight yelled. “I said, what do you think you’re doing?” Rainbow yelled. Her question was loud enough to reach the DJ’s ears, too. “Listen to your friend.” The DJ said, her tone a little less hostile. “Friend? Uh, more like, uh, acquaintance.” Rainbow replied with a nervous laugh. “Rainbow?” Twilight questioned, wondering why she was avoiding their friendship. “Twilight, why don’t you just apologize to DJ P0N-3 here and go get a drink or something.” Rainbow Dash giggled at the name a little. DJ pone three? What kind of a name is that? However, sensing that arguing over a name would get her nowhere, she gritted her teeth. “I’m sorry for what I did. I shouldn’t have challenged something that isn’t my profession.” “Nah man, it’s all cool. Just go have a drink and chill out. Have some fun.” The DJ looked at her sympathetically. With those big magenta eyes, Twilight found it hard to keep her grudge. Have fun. Ponies kept telling her that all night. Maybe she should just go and grab a cup of punch and relax a bit. After all, that’s what she was here for. With all the commotion, she had lost sight of her ultimate goal. “Alright, I will. Thanks.” Twilight replied, and gave a genuine smile. Before the DJ could reply, Rainbow broke in. “Alright, Twilight, let’s go.” She then turned to the DJ. “Big fan.” She smiled sheepishly, and then flew off, her flight slightly lopsided. Thinking nothing of it, Twilight thanked the DJ, stepped off the stage, and headed back into the crowd, off to find the bar. Looking out upon the ponies dancing to her music, the DJ readjusted her shades on her eyes and turned her attention back to the music. The ponies she met, sometimes… While searching for the bar, Twilight ran headfirst into a couple of stallions. Apologizing profusely, she attempted to back away, but the two stallions quickly ushered her into their dancing circle, trying to get her to dance, for whatever reason. As she apologized again, she did take note of the dancing going on, just like Applejack had said to. It was nothing like she had ever read before, it seemed that the ponies were just flailing to the music. There weren’t any real steps involved; it was just a free for all of limbs. Every so often, a pony that looked like they knew what they were doing would show up, and everypony else would try to copy them. It was in vain, though, and all ponies just ended up looking foolish. All in all, it was just a giant mess. Is that really all this is? Twilight asked herself. Knowing more than ever that she needed a drink, she set off once again towards the bar. Emerging from the mass of bodies once again, Twilight found herself at the bar. Perfect! However, a problem became apparent to her. She had forgotten which bar was non-alcoholic! And the many bottles lined up against the wall didn’t help, either; they all looked foreign to Twilight. Realizing that she wasn’t going to remember which side was which, she chose one randomly and made a bee-line for it. Twilight sat down on one of the many mahogany stools set up around the bar. The bartender walked up to her. “So, waddya want?” As much reading as she had done, Twilight was unprepared for that question. “Um…” She closed her eyes, and flailed her hoof around in front of her, eventually laying it to rest, pointing it at the back wall. She opened her eyes, and found her hoof pointing at an obscure bottle on the shelf; it’s murky contents glaring back at her, daring her to drink it. “You sure you want that one? It’s a bit strong, didn’t you–“ The bartender stopped himself. It wasn’t any of his business. Shaking his head a little, he turned around and fetched the bottle off the wall. He poured it into a small glass and put it onto the counter. “That’ll be ten bits.” Ten bits? Wasn’t that a bit much? The more she thought about it, the bar was only around to make a profit, so it’d make sense they’d knock it up a bit from what it would normally cost. Hesitantly, Twilight placed ten bits on the counter. The bartender handed Twilight her drink. A purple glow enveloped the glass and brought it to Twilight’s lips. She took a sip. The taste she received was not what she expected. As the liquid slid it’s way down Twilight’s throat, she quickly realized that something was off. The liquid burnt her throat on the way down, but not completely unwantedly. Catching her off-guard, she coughed violently, trying to clear her throat of the sensation. As the last of the burning died down and the liquid reached her stomach, she realized that it left her feeling a certain warmth that she enjoyed quite a lot. And, she felt better instantly. She quickly chugged the last of the liquid, savoring the burning sensation that she had already drawn quite accustomed to. She quickly slammed another ten bits on the table. “Another, please.” The bartender shook his head, like he couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Swiping the money off the counter, he refilled the glass, all the while muttering to himself about something. Twilight eagerly finished the glass, and hopped off the stool. “Thanks a bunch!” Twilight called back. The bartender nodded, a look of amazement still struck on his face. Her nerves feeling better already, Twilight marched off into the sea of bodies. ––––––––––––––––––––––– I feel like there are a lot of errors in this, so I apologize in advance. Also, I'm not sure if I have to ask or anything, but I'm now accepting pre-readers. Also, awkward dialogue is awkward.
Chapter 4Chapter 4 Beep. Beep. Beep. The sound pierced her ears, and her eyelids fluttered while remaining closed, like some kind of half-asleep blink. Beep. Beep. Beep. A groan emanated from the purple mare. Had she really set an alarm clock? It was a Sunday, after all. The library didn’t open. Cursing her assistant under her breath for pulling such a stunt, she pulled the covers up over her head and tried to fall asleep again. She had a wicked headache, and she just wanted to curl up and sleep it off. Her books could wait. Beep. Beep. Beep. Twilight cursed again, audibly this time. Why can’t that alarm leave me alone? She swung a hoof over at the alarm to shut if off. It was certainly a surprise for Twilight when her hoof met nothing but air, and her momentum carried her out of the bed and onto the floor. The impact snapped Twilight’s eyelids to attention. The sight she was expecting was not the sight that she was greeted by. She sat in a simple room with painted white walls. There was a dresser across the room from the ornately done bed that she had just taken a tumble from. The table with the alarm clock that she was expecting was on the other side of the bed. A window hid behind cyan curtains. Beep. Beep. Beep. In her shock, the only thing that Twilight could think to do was jump back on the bed and use her hoof to hit the snooze button. After the irritating beeps were gone, Twilight buried herself under the covers and did the only thing that she thought logical: think. “Think, Twilight, think!” Twilight said to herself angrily. “I’ve only read books on this, but if I’ve been ponynapped, why am I not tied up in a basement, or with a–“ Twilight’s thoughts were interrupted by rap at the doorframe to the open room. She pulled the covers off of her head quickly, wanting to see what new shock awaited her, while keeping as much of the blankets on her for comfort, as little as they could provide if Twilight really were attacked. Her eyes were greeted not by the sight of some horribly twisted old stallion like she expected, but rather an attractive light brown pegasus pony with a jet black mane falling to his shoulders. In her shocked silence, he spoke. “Good morning. I see you’re awake. Do you want anything to eat or drink?” Twilight, with some coherent thought returning to her head, finally spoke. “What… what am I doing here? Who are you?” Her words clearly shocked the pegasus. “What do you mean, ‘who am I?’ Don’t you remember anything that happened last night? You know, last night last night…” His speech trailed off into an incoherent mutter and he blushed slightly. “What do you mean, last night–“ Twilight’s eyes widened as some scenes rom the previous evening came flashing back to her. The club. The obnoxious music. The drinks. How much else have I forgotten? Twilight wondered to herself with horror. The pegasus looked down. He obviously knew where Twilight’s thoughts were. “Well, uh, sorry to have, you know, bothered you…” his words trailed off. He was clearly disappointed. “Um, like I said, do you want any food or drink?” Twilight fumbled for an answer. “No, I’m still feeling a little strange.” A knowing smile, despite how much he wanted to remain somber, crept onto the pegasus’s face. “Ah, yes. Sometimes that’ll happen.” Twilight, all too eager to make a beeline for the door, quietly stepped out of the bed and trotted over to the door, nodding to the pegasus as she passed. He flashed her a genuine smile that filled Twilight with a jolt of warmth that passed from her head to her toes. Realizing what she had forgotten, Twilight turned back as she reached the door. “You know, I never got a name.” The pegasus smiled charmingly. “Daerion.” * * * Twilight Sparkle raced back to the library. Her brain was quite foggy, and her head was pounding, but she forced herself to think. What could have happened? All I can remember is that club we went to… The very thought of the previous night’s events brought a fresh wave of pain to Twilight’s head, so she eventually gave up trying. She figured that someone would fill her in eventually. Only now did she regret not questioning Daerion further than pleasantries. Time passing much faster with her thoughts preoccupied, Twilight reached the library in what couldn’t have been more than a minute. For a second, Twilight debated whether that was really the amount of time it took, but she deemed the question irrelevant as she gently swung the library door inwards. For a brief second, Twilight Sparkle saw her friends’ eyes trained on her. Then, as soon as the purple mare registered in their minds, they jumped up from their sitting position on the floor and knocked Twilight over in embrace. Of course, it was Pinkie Pie who spoke first. “Oh goodness Twilight we were so worried about you after Applejack filled us in on what happened and so we all came here and decided to wait for you until you got back because we figured you would eventually and–“ Pinkie’s mindless jabbering was cut short by a clawed purple hand. “Whoa whoa whoa everypony, give Twilight some room to breath,” came the voice of the small purple dragon. “Let’s let her explain what happened first." Getting comfortable, Twilight led the ponies to the table and began to explain everything that she could remember. The club, the DJ incident (of which Rainbow Dash seemed strangely vague about), and that was about as far as she could remember. She cut to the morning’s events, and ended her tale at the present. When the ponies listening noted the cadence signifying the end of her story, they stood up and stretched, allowing their minds to wrap up any thoughts they had before they told Twilight what they thought. After their final reflections, Twilight’s friends spoke. “Well, listen dear, we’re afraid we don’t remember much either, so we’re afraid we can’t help you much.” Rarity offered, but her lack of confidence showed through, and her rambling statement did little to calm Twilight’s nerves. “Look man, it kinda sucks, right? But, you’ll get over it. Heck, we do every coupla’ days.” Rainbow Dash added, chuckling to herself under her breath. “Um, if it helps, I don’t remember much, either…” Fluttershy’s words trailed off as she realized that she wasn’t helping much. She recoiled and let out a tiny “eep.” Pinkie cut in, sensing the need to cheer up her friend was important at that moment. “Twilight, I know that we can’t do much right now for you but we all know that you’re a good pony and that you didn’t do this on purpose, right? Let’s just hope that nopony spiked your drink with–“ Pinkie’s rambling thoughts were cut off as the color drained from Applejack’s face. Everypony could sense that something was horribly wrong, and they all turned to face her, the concern shining through their worried eyes. Applejack tried to speak, but words failed her as the levity of the situation only known to her dug its heels into her mind. “Applejack, surely you’re not blowing this out of proportion, right?” Rarity gave a nervous laugh. Applejack opened her mouth once more, and her friends leaned in, eager. “The… the…” She began, but the final word was inaudible. “The what?!” The girls cried in unison. “Twilight, she… she must have had alcohol!” Author's Note I want to apologize to you all for being absent for a while. I lost track of where my priorities lay in my life, and this project fell into disrepair. I forgot about it. I now, however, have full intention to keep this going and finish it at some point. NO, Daerion is not my OC. Thank you for asking. Sorry for the cheesy ending; it'll make more sense with the next chapter.
