One Stormy Afternoon

3
"Close Friends"

The two mares had gulped down so many ciders they were beginning to lose count. Rainbow's throat burned yet again, as she wasn't even used to soda... let alone so many hard drinks back-to-back. This cider was, in fact, quite strong.

“Beat ya again, Dashie!” Pinkie exclaimed, with a hiccup.

The defeated mare finished her drink slowly, wiping the froth away from her mouth. She frowned, now fully regretting ever accepting this challenge. She watched Pinkie clumsily refill her own mug.

“That you did, Pinkie,” Rainbow finally said, passing her mug to her friend, who promptly filled it. “That you di- HEY! I just wanted you to put it away.”

“Opps, sorry!” Pinkie giggled. “Hope you don't mind another one! I can always drink it, if you don't want-”

Rainbow quickly took it:

“No, no. Maybe one more... but only one, okay?”

“Okee!”

By this time almost half the keg was gone, both ponies having drunk their fair share.

Rainbow Dash was grinning ear-to-ear. Maybe it was the cider, maybe it was Pinkie... she felt calm ever since her trip back from Cloudsdale. Her reasons for being mad, which had felt so intense not even an hour before, had melted away. Thunderlane? He was way too far away to care about now. Not going pranking? She might have admitted she was feeling a tiny bit disappointed about that... but it was a certain pink pony she really wanted to spend time with. She was with Pinkie now, so what did it matter? They could always go out some other time.

Though she wouldn't have admitted it... Rainbow Dash was feeling a tiny bit intoxicated. She would definitely have said Pinkie was drunk, if some pony was there to ask. Had Twilight been there, she would have shaken her head and said something along the lines of “alcohol dulls even the most alert pony's senses!”

That Unicorn would have been so right...

Outside it had been pouring for a while, yet despite cool breeze coming through the opened window, neither pony stirred. Thunder rumbled and crashed off in the distance, jarring both ponies out of their warm haze. Now finally hearing the rain, Dash slipped off the bed.

“It's about time!" She said, staring out the window. "I'm surprised it wasn't raining earlier.”

Pinkie Pie nodded, having not heard it up to that point either.

* * *

Other than drinking, the two had been joking and playing games the whole time. The more they drank, the funnier everything seemed... to a point.

Rainbow Dash was feeling a little bit too fuzzy-headed to come up with any jokes on her own, so as she stared out at the falling rain Pinkie Pie resumed telling jokes. Even though Dash wasn't in the mood anymore she pretended to listen. Pinkie told a few knock-knock jokes that she had made up herself a few weeks earlier:

“Hey Dashie?"

"What?"

"Knock-knock!”

“... who's there?”

“Daring.”

Rainbow rolled her eyes, continuing to stare out the window:

“... daring who?”

“It's Daring Do, silly!”

The Pegasus had heard them all before, especially that one. She laughed and humored her friend, though... knowing that Pinkie had probably just forgotten.

Rainbow Dash slipped back on the bed. Both ponies realized they had somehow ended up with another full mug waiting for them.... Pinkie had filled them both without even thinking. At least this time it was mostly froth. The drunk Pegasus swore this would be her last one, while Pinkie downed what little cider was in hers with one gulp.

Appreciating the sweet tang of her drink, Pinkie let out a happy sigh. She felt an odd sensation on her chest and chin, so she looked down and giggled. She was wearing a cider beard big enough to make even her own, yee olde rock farming Papa quite proud. Rainbow took one look and burst into laughter:

“You look just like my grand father!” She exclaimed. Barely able to control herself, Dash looked over at Pinkie... squishing her face with both hooves into a wrinkly shape resembling something not that far off from Granny Smith. “Darling Pegasai of ninety-seven years,” she began slowly, a slight quaver in her voice. “It's raining again. Should'en we batten down the hatches and take count of th' youngin's?”

In response Pinkie stuck her tongue out, licking away the cider mustache. She thought hard, searching for something meaningful to say...

”I dunno!”

The two mares nearly fell over laughing. When Rainbow Dash finally looked over again, she found Pinkie staring at her... motionless as a staute, still wearing that cider beard. She ruffled Pinkie's mane and looked back into her eyes, grinning. Pinkie grinned right back. Both ponies narrowed their eyes, neither having to say "staring contest" for it to begin. Pinkie would almost always win, but how it would pan out now in their drunken state was a mystery to them both.

Dash opened the contest by adding some flare, pulling back the corners of her mouth to reveal her flat teeth and gums. She let her tongue fall loosely to the side, making making slurred nomming sounds as if she was a foal eating something soft and mushy. Pinkie responded by squishing her own face with her hooves, managing somehow to keep the entire beard intact. She looked like she had no mouth and a massive brow.

Given the cider coursing through their veins, it was almost certain one of them would crack... they held still, keeping their silly faces for what felt like eons, but actually was less than a minute.

Pinkie Pie found she couldn't control herself anymore. It started with a tiny twitch and went from there. Much like a mirror, she cracked, then shattered... exploding into laughter, literally laughing her beard off.

Dash may have lost the drinking contest, but she won the staring contest. The score was now 1 to 1. The cyan mare floated up into the air, basking in the cheers of an imaginary audience. She couldn't keep her composure either... and settled back on the bed, laughing.

The room felt like it was spinning. The drunken mares fell off the bed at the same time, their heads colliding with a soft thunk on the way down. Leaning up against the mattress for support, they giggled. It took a moment for their heads to throb, but they were perfectly fine... at least fine enough to laughed about it.

Even though almost nothing had gone to plan the entire morning, it was turning out to be a pretty awesome day. It also turning out to be a pretty fuzzy day, but neither pony minded that.

* * *

Pinkie stretched out beside her cyan gal pal:

“I'm not sad we didn't go pranking today, Dashie,” she said, beaming a grin, while rubbing her head. “I'm just happy to be here with you!”

In response Rainbow put a foreleg around Pinkie's shoulders and sighed:

“Well, the day's not over yet, Pinkie! By mid-afternoon there won't be a cloud in the sky... maybe by that time Thunderlane will be getting chewed out by both AJ and the Weather Station.”

The drunken pink pony looked into her friend's eyes sadly:

“It's really not nice to be happy when your co-worker is in trouble, Dashie. It's actually kind of mean...”

“Hey, he asked for it,” Rainbow replied, without a lick of remorse in her voice. “Twilight would say its 'schada-fraud'... 'shata-freed' ... 'shire-frodo' ... Oh, you know what I mean! No pony up there's going to vouch for him, anyway. Not even Derpy! He sealed his own fate.”

Pinkie giggled, turning towards the window:

“Well, when you put it that way... it does sounds like he made a pretty silly mistake.”

“Did he ever!” Rainbow chuckled as Pinkie fell into her foreleg and sighed. “He ruined the best day of the year!”

Now it was Rainbow's turn to not be entirely understood by Pinkie. She just didn't have the energy or desire to continue this conversation, so she just giggled. Dash rolled her eyes... typical, random Pinkie Pie.

They were content for the time being with just listening to the rain, anyway. It was soothing, the clouds adding an almost bluish cast to the otherwise bright and vibrant room. Even with almost a gallon of cider between them, the weather made the spring morning seem somewhat cold... huddled together they could keep warm.

Pinkie snugged tight into Dash, enjoying her friend's body heat. Both mares looked into each other's eyes and giggled. As thunder rumbled off in the distance, Pinkie Pie got a little more comfortable. Her head was now resting down by Rainbow's heart. The Pegasus patted her tenderly.

Pinkie Pie then nuzzled in and upwards, towards the sensitive nape of Rainbow's neck. Though it tickled her only slightly, Dash received a pretty clear message. Her eyes, which had been previously drawn into relaxed slits, went wide. As Pinkie snuggled in even tighter and let out a sigh, Dash froze...

Did Pinkie just come on to me? She thought. She just nuzzled me like I nuzzle Apple Jack when we have our special, just the two of us sleepovers!

Rainbow wasn't entirely sure what had just happened, and naturally couldn't think straight in her current state.

End of Part 1