Between Two Worlds

He braked and stopped his light grey and blue Skyline in front of the building.

The Bowl was the only place still open at this hour. In a way, it was completely normal for a bar. The only bar in Ponyville. Rectangular, made of wood, dusty windows, an old wooden door...there were the words which came in Ethan's mind to describe what was in front of him. But, in all honesty, he didn't care about what the building looked like, he was here to drink, nothing else.

Stopping the engine and closing the door of his car, he walked inside.

The musky and sweat smell hit his nose and forced him to frown. The bar was almost empty, except for a few ponies, maybe all half-drunken at the moment he stepped inside. No country/rock/metal music, the only sounds he could hear was the whispers for some groups of two/three ponies between them. The young man even saw a dark pink mare at a table, Berry Punch, but this didn't surprise him. She was one of the biggest customers of this place after all. Walking to a table, without a care for the ponies who watched him enter, the ex-soldier sat on a chair, his back against the wall and the front door in view. He took his black Glock 17 from its holster, on his right thigh and put it on the table. He waited less than a minute before the waiter came to him.

"What can I do for you sir?"

Ethan took something from his pocket and put it on the table. It was a small gem, a ruby precisely.

"Well, I’d like to know if you accept this as payment? To tell you the truth, I don't have any bits."

The Earth Pony with brown eyes and dark red coat nodded vigorously. His cutie mark was a picture of a few alcohols like wine, cider or even whiskey.

"It's more than enough."

Hearing this, the human felt relieved and allowed himself to smile.

"Perfect, I'll take one beer and a double vodka-martini."

"Yes sir. I'll be back soon."

Looking outside, the human sighed as the memories of the argument between the two mares came back in his mind. For Pete's sake, he was twenty-seven years old, not sixteen! He didn't need somepony who decide for him and do things in his back without tell him first. He even began to regret accepting his promise to be Luna's husband. Unfortunately, the young man only knew one thing which could help him forgot all of this, even if it was for the night: drinking.

In all honesty, if the Night Goddess had asked Applejack if she was okay with the wedding, everything could have be fine tonight but no... she decided to play alone. And now, she had to pay the price. The orange pony was also a victim but shouldn't have reacted this way. She was better than that. AJ was a little younger than him and Luna a thousand years older, more or less... but they were old enough to act as adults and not childrens, like after the contest.

Despite his cold attitude towards the others, the ex-mercenary had a good heart...maybe too good and forgiving sometimes. But tonight was not one of those times.

The waiter came back, holding the two drinks in a plate, on his back, before putting them on the table.

"Thanks." said Ethan, drinking the vodka-martini in one-gulp, soon followed by the beer.

The bartender and owner of The Bowl, a white and grey Unicorn, was drying a few glasses at his counter. He turned his head towards the human in curiosity and his eyes widened when he saw what Ethan just did. This creature was really something if he was able to drink at this speed…or maybe crazy. He wondered how much glasses the alien could hold before passing out or throw up.

"Could I have the same thing, please?"

The pony with dark red coat was hesitant, unsure.

"Are you sure?"

Ethan put another gem, an emerald this time, in front of the equine. "Of course" Without a word, he took the small object with his hoof and left the table before coming back, beer and vodka-martini on his hips.

"Is that all?"

“Well…not really. I have to ask you a favor: Give me something to drink until I lay on the floor unconscious or when I’ll throw up. If the payment is not enough, tell me and I'll give you another gem."

Again, the waiter nodded before trotting away.

"I never knew you were a drinker." said a familiar voice.

His brain quickly recognized who it was. Still looking around him and at the entrance, he replied.

"We all have our little dirty secrets Miss Ditzy."

"Why don't you call me Derpy, just like everypony else?"

"I'm not everypony 'Derpy'."

"I figured but still...."

Ethan chuckled. He heard her sat on the chair at his left.

"If you want me to call you by your nickname, I can do it."

Even if she was not in front of him, he knew she was blushing. The human had to suppress a groan of annoyance.

"N-no, it's perfect like this."

The duo stayed silent for a few seconds. There was no need for words. Then, the mailmare broke it.

"Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same question."

"You can’t answer a question by another one…today was not a good day, I needed to drink something before coming home."

"I see. Everyo…I mean pony can have a 'bad' day in their life. Even me."

"Really?"

He mentally facepalmed before slightly nodded to confirm her question.

"Yeah, really."

"Fortunately, I left my daughter under the care of a good friend."

His eyes blinked a few times before turning his head towards her.

"You have a daughter?" asked the young man, raising an eyebrow, surprised.

"Yep, she's my little muffin. She's all I have. Dinky Doo is her name."

At this moment, the waiter stopped in front of their table and gave the drinks to the human.

"Could I have something for the young lady? I’ll pay for her." he turned his head to the Pegasus. "What liquor would you like?"

"A glass of bourbon."

"Ah, French drink, good choice."

Derpy looked at him, confused. "French?"

The human waved his right hand. "Forget what I said. But, to simply put it in words, it's an old and strange country, from my world. They like to eat frogs." he explained, a gentle and playful look in his icy blue eyes.

"I see....so, what we were talking about?"

"Your daughter. You said you left her to a friend. Didn't she have a father to look after her?"

The eyes-crossed mare lowered and shook her head, sadly.

"Unfortunately, no. He left me alone when he learned about my pregnancy."

She heard something hit the table with some force, enough to cut her train of thoughts and make move the glasses and its contents. When the grey mare with bubbles as a cutie mark moved her head toward the young man, she saw his eyes, full of anger. His left arm was trembling…heck, his whole body trembled. How could he change his mood so quickly? Was he bipolar? Gentle and wise on one side and angry, mad on the other?

His breathing was fast, really fast but after ten seconds or less, he closed his eyes and it began to slow down.

"I-I'm sorry for my comportment but when I heard this...how could he abandon you, left you alone when you needed him?" He was about to throw up at this moment. "It makes me sick."

A sad smile appeared on her face.

"It's nothing. I survived until now, it's all that matter."

The heavy silence came back and stayed, even when the waiter gave her her drink. After a few minutes, Ditzy asked again.

"What is it?" she said, pointing at the Glock 17 with a hoof.

A sigh escaped his lips.

"A weapon, it belongs to me. It’s like a crossbow but quicker and deadlier."

"Oh, I see." was all she replied before taking a sip of her beer.

Now, the mailmare looked unsure. "Did you ever...killed?"

Again, he sighed.

"I can't say I didn't do it. So, it's clearly a yes. How much? I stopped to count after fifty. I never felt any pleasure in doing this, I was defending my world, nothing else. I prefer peace to war. But I also had some good moments in my life: the friends, the parties, school. It's not like I had a shitty life, bullied by some bastards every day after school because of my weight or something else."

She didn't say anything, the silence was his only response. Not like he cared. Strangely, Ethan felt like a weight disappeared from his chest and his shoulders.

Finally, the grey Pegasus left the human alone after a few more beers. While looking at his half-empty glass, a light laugh escaped his lips.

"Alone... as always. Why am I not surprised?"

The color of his cheeks had taken a red color, just like a tomato, because of the alcohol. He wasn't sure if he could think and walk straight now he had a few drinks in his blood. But if there was one thing the writer promised himself the day he had received his driving license, it was to not drive if he was drunken...because he didn't want to have a car accident and kill someone because of it.

"Don't you think you had enough drinks? In all honesty, the boss doesn’t want to clean the mess if you throw up."

Ethan looked at the waiter.

"Nah, don't worry buddy. I'm human, I'm tougher than you think."

"If you say so. If it happens, don't complain because I warned you."

He nodded.

"Count on me to leave this bar without spitting a single drop of vomit on the floor."

"I hope."

Then, the pony with brown mane walked away to take care of a few customers, leaving again the two-legged creature on his own. Until dawn.