Chapter One: Facts and Fictions
Fact number one: Ponyville was Twilight’s favorite place in all of Equestria. She and her friends had travelled many a time to all corners of the country, but the little village at the edge of the Everfree simply struck home.
Manehattan was bold and brilliant, its dazzling city lights shining like a thousand diamonds nestled beneath Luna’s stars, they had spent some incredible weekends in Las Pegasus as well; the likes of which still lingered as some of her most endearing memories - the nights she actually could remember, that is.
And sure, Canterlot was home to all the books and knowledge she could ever dream of, and it was where she had grown up to become the protege of Princess Celestia.
Still though, Twilight wouldn’t trade Ponyville for any of them.
Neither would any of her friends, as they all gathered at the Castle of Friendship for a special celebration, leading to fact number two: Somepony - er… some dragon had a very special birthday today.
It was Spike’s eighteenth birthday, and as to be expected of such an occasion, a huge party was being thrown in his honor. After all, it wasn’t every day that somepony reached adulthood.
Spike scanned the room in awe. In truth, he really shouldn’t have been that surprised, though. It would be an admittance of insanity to believe that Pinkie Pie wouldn’t be throwing a party for such an occasion.
She would move the sun and moon to make sure his special day was topped off with nothing short of the best party of his life on such a special day if she had to.
Which of course was a feat that defied all logic and reason, yet somehow, given the pink party pony’s perpetual energy and unparalleled passion -- not to mention her unexplainable methods to all but ignore the laws of physics or else bend them to suit her needs -- it was an impossibility that still firmly stood within the realm of reason.
Because Pinkie Pie.
That being said, he still made sure to seem genuinely surprised when he and Twilight had arrived. With Pinkie’s sporadic nature of springing parties for even the simplest things over the years it was safe to say Spike’s feigned surprise face was well practiced.
The main room of the castle was completely decked out in full party mode. There were countless streamers and strings crawling up the walls like vines that blossomed into balloons of every color and shape imaginable, though purple and green seemed to be a reoccurring theme.
Further confirmation of this was made clear by the matching plates and napkins that lined the tables in the room as well as the tablecloths. Even the icing on all the sweets seemed to pay homage to the guest of honor.
Okay, maybe not all the sweets.
There was an outrageous amount of them, but surely the vast majority of anything and everything consumable in the room was coordinated to match the livery of Spikes scales and spines. This also included the gems that were set out specifically for him.
Amethysts and emeralds were in no short abundance this evening. Spike was already at war with the urge to drool. He wasn’t certain whether it would be socially acceptable or not. Nor did he care.
To top it off, almost every pony in Ponyville had shown up to celebrate their favorite dragon’s birthday.
Vinyl Scratch had even done the honor of coming in her stage persona, DJ-Pon3 to provide the music for the festivities, and the beat was positively pumping.
Wave upon wave crashed upon the partying ponies as they sang and danced along, letting the sensation of the deejay’s tune take control of the night.
Even the the princesses and some of their royal staff had made sure to make their appearances tonight.
And nopony partied like the princesses -- Pinkie Pie excluded.
Although, to keep their fellow ponies at ease and to ensure that nopony lost their desire to have a great time while in the presence of royalty, Celestia and Luna had donned disguises.
Twilight and Spike were able to recognize them easily enough, having seen both the diarchs going incognito in the past, but to the average pony they looked, well, like an average pony.
Celestia (this night known as Sundancer) had cast an illusion, hiding her wings and shortening her horn to match the more average stature she had assumed.
Her coat was still brilliant white and shimmering with a vibrant sheen that glistened with an amethystine luster in the light.
No doubt it was a result of Celestia’s magic seeping through the otherwise flawless illusion. Her mane no longer had its ethereal appearance.
Instead it was the color of pink roses and cascaded elegantly down her neck and withers like a petals in the wind.
Her cutie mark had also changed to match her current persona; a depiction of an orb that was half sun and half rose petals.
Her effortless beauty had earned her a thorough -- and invasive -- examination from the Element of Generosity who was all but too eager to learn all of Sundancer’s beauty secrets.
Spike and Twilight were hiding their fits of laughter behind mugs of cider. Watching the usually stoic ruler of the sun shrink and visibly fluster under Rarity’s existential invasion of personal space was something they both agreed they would have happily paid good bits to see.
Luna’s persona, Milkyway was much harder to see through. She had forgone her horn at the expense as masquerading as pegasus this evening.
Her coat still payed homage to her true identity; deep indigo in color and soft as silk. Her mane no longer resembled her glorious night, however, having become periwinkle with light curls that danced playfully as she made her rounds through the night.
Her cutie mark had become a crescent moon formed by an assortment of stars. To complete her new identity, Luna had adorned a pair of thin, half moon spectacles.
Every stallion -- and more than a few mares -- were becoming more than a little hot and bothered by the disguised princess’ appearance.
Luna didn’t mind. After all, why bother to look so stunning if not to be ogled. Even a princess had desires after all.
The gifts the diarchs had given the newly adult dragon had been as incredible as their illusionary personas.
Celestia had given him an entire box full of rare fire rubies, a delectable gem that Spike was all but addicted to.
Twilight’s expression when she saw Celestia’s gift was a conflict of concern and happiness for him, but the latter won out as she saw his eyes light up with unrestrained jubilance.
Luna’s gift had been a crate full of mason jars each containing a clear liquid, and each had her cutie mark emblazoned on their lids.
She also gave him a box full of tiny magical crystals with which to flavor the jars with individually.
Spike wasn’t sure what the beverages were that Luna had given him, but if the twitch in Twilight’s eye and her slack jawed expression were anything to go by, he was going to enjoy it. Thoroughly.
The party went on well into the night. Games were played, the rug was cut, laughs were shared, cake was eaten, dragon fire was extinguished (more times than Twilight cared to recount), and everypony was merry.
After all, what’s a party without a little bit of chaos? Upon that erant thought, Twilight imagined it was probably reasonable to assume Discord was probably capable of giving a Pinkie Pie party a run for its money, but that was probably just the alcohol talking. She was buzzing like a bee in a clover field at this point.
Over time ponies slowly dispersed, giving their last birthday wishes and saying their farewells before turning in for the night. Before too long the spacious, enormous was host to just Spike, Twilight, Sundancer, Milkyway, and their closest friends.
They sat in a loose representation of a circle in the middle of the room talking and enjoying their cake and beverages as they laughed and talked - albeit most of the conversing was done through heavy slurs, hiccups, and giggling.
All except the birthday dragon himself, that is.
He had easily kept up with Twilight for a while in alcohol consumption, but she slowed down after she really started to feel it.
At this point Spike was soon going to surpass Applejack and Rainbow Dash. He just wasn’t feeling it, and let out a somewhat exasperated sigh.
Applejack quirked an eyebrow, “Wha -- Wha’s wrong, S-sugarcube?”
Spike furrowed his eyebrow ridges, “Nothing’s wrong, I guess. I’m just not feeling anything from the booze.” He lazily rolled his mug around in his clawed hand.
Rainbow clumsily took to the air from beside Applejack, bumping the farmpony’s shoulder and making her spill a splash of her cider, eliciting a disgruntled whickering of annoyance and a few choice words from the rustic mare.
Rainbow paid her no mind.
“Maybe if you - hic - stop babysitting your drink you might s-start to feel it - hic” Rainbow taunted, pointing an unsteady hoof at the mug of cider in Spike’s hand as if it’s contents offended her. Or rather the fact that the mug still had contents at all she found offensive.
Spike raised an eyebrow, “I’m up two whole drinks on you, ya know?” He deadpanned.
“Wha-?! No way!”
“Way.”
Rainbow narrowed her eyes, sizing up the young dragon through an admittedly thick cloud of intoxication.
Spike responded by merely pointing to the three tiered pyramid of empty cups that sat just in front of his most recent bowl of gems.
Rainbow’s jaw dropped and her eyes grew to the size of dinner plates. Applejack and Pinkie Pie became hysterical with laughter at Rainbow’s reaction.
“Dang, S-sugarcube, Ah guess y’all can really hang with the big ponies now. Hay, with a s-stomach like yerss, Ah bet y’all might even be able to hang with Big Mac!” AJ proposed as Dash carefully touched back down beside her.
“Yeah, Dashie! Guess Spike is a natural Apple when it comes to cider - hic” Pinkie added before taking her own mug between both hooves and downing the entirety of its apple-ly goodness.
Everypony had a good laugh at that, and Twilight smirked, “It is pretty impressive, Spike, but I think under the circumstances you have an unfair advantage over everypony.”
“Whataya mean, Twi?” Spike asked.
“You’re a dragon, silly,” emphasizing her point by levitating his bowl of gems, “your anatomy lets you digest just about anything. I’m sure the alcohol in a mild beverage like this gets burned off before it even has a chance to have an effect on you.”
Sundancer chuckled lightly, nodding in confirmation, “Yes, I’m afraid Twilight is right. A dragon’s stomach makes short work of most varieties of alcohol.” She punctuated her statement with a sly smirk at her sister, who in turn nudged Twilight playfully.
Rainbow was airborne once again and hovering somewhat unsteadily with her nose just inches from Spike’s own, prodding his chest triumphantly with an extended hoof. “Yeah -hic - See! I knew there to be ssomething goin’ on here! There’s no, no way you could outdrink me the first time you’ve had a sip!”
It was Spike’s turn to cast a glare in Rainbow’s direction as he crossed his arms begrudgingly with a snort. “Yeah, well, I can still totally outdrink you!”
Rainbow patted the young dragon on the head, although likely a little harder than she intended to in her current state, “Ssureeeee, keep tellin’ yoursself that, champ.” Laughing as she drifted back over to Applejack’s side.
Spike was getting ready to retort when Twilight interrupted him, “Well, you know, we could find out right here and now if you really want to know.”
Everypony - and dragon - looked at Twilight, who was smiling knavishly as she floated over the crate containing Luna’s gift in her shimmering violet aura.
Rainbow, for her part, was fairly confident in her ability to hold her liquor, but she knew that starting a competition like that in her current condition would be a severe handicap in Spike’s favor.
Her conclusion: Still unfair.
“Nice try - hic - Twilight! I got no problem takin’ on Sscales the Magnificent over here, but we all know I’m already three sstars to the moon already, sso it sstill wouldn’t be a fair fight.”
Spike growled at that, narrowing his eyes at the polychromatic mare across from him. But before he could voice a witty comeback everypony in the room was surrounded by Milkyway’s midnight luminescence.
“Problem solved.” she smirked as her horn flickered and faded.
“Hey, what gives, Milky?! I don’t feel the cider anymore!” Rainbow protested, already making her way to the keg for a refill before Twilight snatched her mug away with her telekinesis, “Hey!”
“It was a sobering spell, Rainbow,” she explained as she retrieved nine of the mason jars from the crate and set one down in front of each of her friends as well as her and the rulers, “now the playing field is perfectly even.”
Spike popped the lid off of his mason jar and took a deep whiff of its contents. The strength of the clear liquid felt like it had singed nose hairs and made his eyes water slightly. He shook his head and set the jar back down.
“What is this stuff, Twilight?” he asked while prodding the offending jar with a claw.
“It’s called Moonshine, and it’s a bit of a signature recipe of Luna’s, hence the name.” She explained as she rummaged through the assortment of enchanted flavor crystals that the princess of the night had also given Spike.
Rainbow’s thoughts got caught up on that. “Wait a minute! If it’s supposed to be Princess Luna’s secret recipe, how come you have it?” She pointed a hoof at the incognito mare who responded with a playful waggle of her eyebrows.
“Wait… What?”
On that cue, Luna’s multiple layers of dissimulation began peeling away in plumes of indigo mist revealing the flawless regality of the moon that hid beneath.
Rainbow couldn’t stop the onslaught of heat building up in her cheeks. Having been one of the mares hitting on Milkyway throughout the night wasn’t helping to that accord.
Luna couldn’t help but tease the flustered pegasus, “So Miss Dash, am I still welcome to ‘taste the rainbow’?” she said with her best bedroom voice, half-lidded eyes, and a suggestive wink.
Rainbows wings shot up with a pomf.
“Lulu!”
Everypony froze. Then, as one, slowly turned their heads to look at the source that had called out Luna’s nickname.
Sundancer glanced around nervously at the eight pairs of eyes that suddenly had been drawn to her as if by some exponential force of gravity for their attention. Whistling softly and clopping her forehooves together she laughed nervously.
“Oh, buck me....” Rainbow spewed.
Everypony, Sundancer included as her own illusions began flashing away one at a time or in pairs with brilliant bursts of polychromatic light, broke out into laughter. Even Rainbow Dash joined in after the embarrassment began to subside.
Spike casually walked up to his mother and gave her a deep hug, thanking her for the gift as she responded in kind and told the king to be nothing but the best for her son.
Fact number three: The princesses were a hoot. Luna had even offered to let Dash saunter up beside her, insisting it was her new seat for the night.
The heat in Dash’s cheeks was still apparent, and Luna suggestively calling the pegasus her little ‘Rainbow in the Dark’ was certainly not helping her settle down.
But it amused the princess of the night, and after a while Dash seemed to get used to it.
Twilight wondered if there was something more going on there, but opted to simply file the errant thought in the back of her mind under ‘interesting’ for the time being.
~~~
“Is it strong?” Spike realized it was a bit of a redundant question having already gotten a whiff of the lunar liquid, and as such was currently regarding the jar in question with tentative concern.
“Oh-ho, yeah! Really strong. Alicorn strong.” She smiled at Luna who nodded her approval.
Twilight had found a combination of flavors she liked and dropped a pair of the crystals into her jar which began to glow with a swirl of bright red and cream colored light as it infused the drink with its flavoring enchantments; strawberry and cream.
“Alicorns have the same problem you’re experiencing, Spike, although for a slightly different reason. The intensity of our magic tends to burn off alcohol the same as any other intoxicating substances that enter our bodies. Although, probably not as quick as your stomach does.” Luna finished with a chuckle.
“But Twilight, doesn't that still leave leave Spike with an advantage seeing as how his body is still naturally resistant to the alcohol?” Rarity queried turning to the former unicorn.
Twilight shook her head, “No, it will just level the playing field. Luna’s moonshine, real moonshine,” Luna nodded and smiled, “isn’t any higher in alcohol content than a strong vodka or whiskey. The process she uses to make it, however, infuses it with a powerful negation cantrip that prevents any naturally occurring resistance; magical or otherwise, from warding off the effects.”
Spike was beaming. Up until now he had been a bit frustrated with his first experience with the assorted adult beverages, but his eagerness was returning in full stride with the revelation of what the princess of the night had given him. He’d show Rainbow he could hold his own.
Rarity glanced at Rainbow, who was puffing out her chest, already boasting about her superior tolerance of ‘the creature’ when a thought occurred to her. She whispered something into Fluttershy’s ear, eliciting a small eep from the butter coated pegasus.
She flashed a coy smile, “Well, if we’re going to be increasing the reward, how about we up the ante as well?”
Rainbow didn’t flinch, “Oh yeah? Whatcha got in mind Rare’s?”
“How about a little ‘truth or dare’?” she suggested, giving Spike a wink, “after all, it was how we all christened our first time drinking together. I think our dear friend, Spike deserves the same warm welcome into adulthood.”
Celestia laughed radiantly, “Well this night just got a whole lot more interesting, didn’t it?”
Spike was blushing furiously, wondering what his former love interest had meant by that. And if Celestia’s reaction was any tell, maybe he had reason to be a little nervous and could only chuckle at his mother’s statement.
Still though, he was determined not to be bested by Equestria’s fastest flyer. He’d show her!
Everypony and dragon looked at the alabaster unicorn with some form of perturbation. Rainbow was found speechless - quite an impressive feat if Rarity did say so herself - Applejack hid her nervous chuckle beneath the brim of her stetson.
Fluttershy’s cheeks were on the verge of actually catching on fire, and Twilight wasn’t far behind, chuckling nervously. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof had a wild look in her eye.
The kind of look that screamed with a lavish amount of excitement. The princesses had simply locked eyes with one another in an even gaze, wordlessly agreeing to terms of a little competition.
This was confirmed when the cotton candy colored mare began bouncing around the room with her typical hyperactive energy. “Oh! Oh! Me first! Me first!” She proclaimed.
Rarity smirkd, “But of course, Pinkie Pie. That is, if nopony has any objections to this proposition?” Her elation became adequately sated as her friends began returning the smile on her lips.
Fluttershy nervously rubbed a hoof against her fetlock, her face still showing her blush through her coat. “Yes, but um, s-shouldn’t Spike get to go first? Y-you know, because he’s the birthday dragon and all.”
Rarity gasped, covering her muzzle with both hooves, “Oh my! Fluttershy, you’re quite right. What was I thinking?” She turned in regards to Spike with a warm smile who could only gulp visibly, very much afraid for what everypony had in mind.
Fact number four: This night was about to get out of hoof.
Author's Note
Rewritten by my author brother DaNumbahZer0 and myself. We wanted to make the few first chapters light hearted before we got into the much darker and more serious side of the story, we hope you still enjoy friends, it's going to be a wild ride.
Chapter Two: Truth is a Scourge
Everypony was awestruck.
Never. Never in all her years had Twilight seen this side of the princesses. They were both pretty gussied up on Luna’s lunar liquor, having opted to drink the potent beverage rather than revealing a truth queried by the other on several occasions. Twilight thought that either the truthful answers to these questions were not for mortal ears, or they simply did not want their party mates to see them in such a lewd light. Twilight had a sneaking suspicion it was probably both.
Luna had made it a rule fairly early in the game that if a pony (or dragon) had chosen to take a question of interest over the fun of a playful dare that they were to either concede and take a swig of their shine -- per the usual rules of the game -- or take a phial of truth serum before answering. This was to ensure that nopony (namely her dearest sister) didn’t fake an honest answer or cheat the spirit of the game by leaving out any juicy details. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Spike seemed to relish the rule, and had helped the princess of the night conquer her sister, her pupil, and the other two element bearers during the vote to induct the new rule into play.
Her sister’s playful coup had left Celestia with a nervous smile and a steady twitch in her left eye.
It was Fluttershy’s turn to spin the bottle to see who would make their next life choice. She, herself was probably even more fargone than the princesses. She had found nearly every question asked of her that evening to be either too embarrassing to reveal or just really liked the flavor and warmth of her apple pie moonshine; having backed out of revealing anything substantial and opting to throw back swig after swig of the creature. Rainbow had made her opinion on this matter crystal clear. She had promised her butter-colored companion a full serving of cake the next time she took the easy way out.
And that serving would be arriving quickly via airmail. No plate or fork required.
Fluttershy had appeared frightened by Rainbow’s cake bombing threat, but had steeled her nerves and promised that next time the bottle pointed to her she wouldn’t back down. What she had not mentioned was that she had already formulated a plot for revenge against her polychromatic friend. Just like her natural ability to sew and stitch clothing that nearly rivaled the alabaster fashionista seated beside her, Fluttershy had a few other hidden talents as well; case in point, she knew exactly how much effort was required to get the bottle to point directly at her intended target without making it seem like she was cheating the system. Sure, it was a talent essentially useless outside of the game they were playing, but in this moment it would prove to be her greatest asset.
She didn’t bother hiding her sadistic smile when it stopped spinning with the open end facing the would-be cake bomber.
Rainbow, for her part looked unafraid, puffing out her chest to mirror her ego.
Fluttershy’s smile grew wider.
“Alright, Rainbow, Truth or-”
“DARE!” The polychromatic mare hollered, “As, if I would pick anything else!
Interrupting me is going to cost you extra, Dashie. Fluttershy mentally noted, making sure to also look surprised at the outburst.
“There’s only two, two options, Rainbow.” Luna stated, her tongue stumbling with drunken stupor.
Oh, Princess, you want some too? Fine by me. There’s plenty of it to go around. Fluttershy flashed a wicked smile at the alicorn of the night..
Luna did not seem to notice Fluttershy’s venomous grin. She was too busy making faces at Rainbow and giggling like a school filly.
Fluttershy was quiet for a few moments, her eyes closed in concentration, drawing in her audience of eight. Rainbow opened her mouth to taunt her further when the yellow pegasus opened her eyes half-lidded and smirked. Those were the eyes of a predator. The look went unnoticed by her liquored up quarry, but not to the other seven in the room, who began slightly distancing themselves and prepared themselves for Fluttershy’s sadistic vengeance.
Fluttershy only smiled and slowly shifted her eyes between her target and the two mares who had the potential of being collateral damage in the wake of her sweet vengeance. Applejack had been standing up to Rainbow for her, so she wasn’t going to bring her into this. Luna, she suspected, would probably enjoy Dash’s punishment, but she thought it might be worth letting her have that pleasure. With all of Luna’s gussied up, seductively suggestive remarks this night, she would undoubtedly put the rainbow-maned pegasus in her place with what she had in mind.
Fluttershy grinned.
“Alright, Rainbow. I, I dare you to kiss Luna.” Her gaze resumed its predatory nature, “And I do mean on the lips.”
Luna bit her lip and played along to Fluttershy’s tune, “Oh, I like the sound of that.”
Rainbow’s cheeks became as scarlet as the hairs of her polychromatic namesake. “Heh, heh, okay, Flutters, enough playing around.”
Fluttershy smiled cheerily, “Oh, but I’m not -hic- playing around.”
Rainbow swallowed hard, her eyes darting between her tormentor and her victim. Her cheeks looked as though they could catch fire.
“Of course you could always take the,” she paused for dramatic effect (or possibly because she was drunk), “easy way out.” Her teal tigress eyes locking onto the half empty jar of liquor at the cyan mare’s hooves.
Luna’s seductive smile danced playfully on her muzzle.
Fluttershy’s taunt had struck the nerve that she aimed for. Some ponies were happy drunks, others were sad or angry drunks. Fluttershy was a ruthless drunk when provoked. It simply drowned out her morals once she had enough of it. Rainbow would be the first of many victims of her ambiguous reprimands this evening if the game continued long into the night.
And it would.
Rainbow nervously looked to Luna who was starting to lean towards her. “I’m sorry, Princess….” She steeled her nerves and flared her wings, ready to make her assault.
Luna’s wings ruffled slightly, “You have nothing to apologize for.”
The pegasus chuckled coldly, “Yeah, I kinda do....”
Before Luna could get another word in edgewise the cyan mare pounced, quickly pressing her lips against those of the indigo moon shephard, and retreating back to her original position just as quickly, skidding unceremoniously across the floor on her back.
She leaned up, pointing an accusing hoof at her fellow pegasus, “HA! You didn’t think I had it in me! You thought I’d, I’d give in and back down! But Rainbow Dash never backs -hic- down!”
Luna was rendered speechless, a goofy look plastered on her reddened face.
Fluttershy stared at the offending hoof. She was unamused, and turned her attention to her quarry’s eyes. Rainbow flinched. “Now, Rainbow, you know you aren’t getting off that easily, don’t you -hic-” She mused.
Rainbow’s cheeks were burning hot again, “Hey! I did exactly what you s-said! I completed your dare!”
“Oh please, darling, that was no more than a friendly peck,” Rarity chimed in, seemingly amused with the entire situation.
And this is why we’re friends. Fluttershy thought, flashing an endearing smile at the unicorn.
“Butt out, Rares! It totally counts!” Rainbow argued, her wings twitching and ruffling as she grew more flustered with the situation.
Rarity feigned a pouty and offensive posture and slumped back onto her rump. “Fine then, but ask yourself this: ‘Are you trying to convince us or yourself?’”
Rainbow’s cheeks puffed with anger, but before she could come back with something crude and unwitty, Fluttershy steered the debate to the more official members of their group.
“What do you think, Princess Luna?”
Luna ran her hoof along the underside of her chin, apparently in deep thought, “I’d say that Rainbow most certainly cheated, if you ask me.” She nodded sagely and snuck a wink at Fluttershy.
Rainbow’s jaw dropped, “But-but!”
“How about you, Tia? What do you make of Miss Dash’s attempts at this apparent chicanery?” Luna asked in as serious a tone as she could muster.
Celestia nodded sagely as well, she too seeming to take the topic into deep consideration before passing her solemn judgement against Loyalty, “I would have to agree with my sister, Rainbow, but how about you tell her how you really feel, yourself, Lulu. You’ve been dropping quite a few not-so-subtle hints about your intentions all night.”
Rainbow swallowed a lump in her throat, turning back to the regal mare beside her. Her body quivered with a healthy concoction of fear and anticipation as Luna smiled coyly back at her. Rainbow had turned her attention to Luna so quickly after Celestia had spoken that she never saw the brief illumination of the alicorn’s horn.
Rainbow shifted nervously. She had little hope left that she was going to get away with her weak attempt at the dare, but was still desperately praying to Luna’s stars for a miracle; a fact that if it had occurred to her would have seemed as counterproductive as it literally was, considering the mare in question. She turned to look Luna pleadingly in the eyes, with her forehooves on either of the purple mare’s shoulders she asked the fateful question, “So, um, that, that totally counted as k-kissing you, right -hic- right, Princess?” She was biting her lip so hard she could almost taste blood.
Luna closed her eyes and took a deep, even breath. Celestia was grinning mischievously at her student. Luna cocked an eyebrow, not understanding since she too had missed Celestia’s spell. The currently drunken ruler of the sun rolled her eyes hyperbolically, and nodded subtly towards the phial of truth serum in front of her sister. The empty phial of truth serum, that was. Twilight’s eyes widened and she had to quickly cover her mouth with both hooves to keep herself from becoming hysterical with laughter.
Poor Rainbow also missed Twilight’s mischievous snickering at her teacher’s tactics. The flexibility of Celestia’s morality with a little liquor in her was beautiful. It brought back fond memories, and she made a mental note that she would have to remember how much fun her normally stoic mentor could be.
“No. No, it did not count as a kiss.” Luna stated matter of factly.
Rainbow’s eye twitched.
“It doesn’t count, because technically our lips never touched. You came really close, really fast, and made it LOOK like you kissed me, but I never felt our lips touch. Furthermore, I have to agree with the others in that for it to have qualified as an actual kiss as the dare intended, it would have to be much more passionate than the frivolous, featherweight excuse for a kiss you just feigned to protect your ego. Such a kiss would also likely involve use of the tongue as well.”
Rainbow deadpanned. Her eyes were wide with terror and she couldn’t control the shivers shooting through her body causing her wings to stand at attention.
“S-so now, what?”
“Either kiss me like you mean it or finish the rest of your moonshine. Either or suits me just fine. But you’ve already come this far to shield your pride, why not finish what you started?” Luna stated flatly, although there was a edgy hint of desire betraying her deadpan delivery of her statement.
What was freaking Rainbow out more than the utter disbelief that Luna really wanted her to kiss her was the pure emotionless disposition she had when she had explained it.
Rainbow was biting down on her lip again, this time actually drawing a little blood, but she quickly licked it away as she made up her mind. Tentatively, almost timidly, she began inching toward the indigo mare, intending to make good on the dare.
Her breath hitched in her chest, her wings would not respond, heat pooled hot in her cheeks, but the young pegasus inched forward. With every move, Luna began to somehow look more and more inviting without ever once changing her blank expression. But somehow in Rainbow’s mind, The princess began looking like she really wanted Rainbow to succeed in pulling off this dare. Her eyes stared back half-lidded. Her little smile drew her closer. As Rainbow reached the point of no return in her mind she found herself and Luna mirroring one another’s motions; their heads lulled slightly as their eyes cast their gaze from each other’s eyes, to their lips, and back again. A simultaneous deep breath filled the daring couple’s lungs and their lips met.
As their lips began to touch, the princess wrapped her forelegs around the pegasus’ neck and withers, pulling her closer. Rainbow responded in earnest. Their lips met several times. It was slow, it was passionate, and before long Luna couldn’t help herself. She slipped her tongue between their lips as they met again. Rainbow was taken aback at first, startled and nearly breaking away, but she quickly settled herself and returned the gesture. Their tongues danced and battled playfully for supremacy; a title Rainbow proudly won as the night submitted to her with a faint moan.
Before too long though, the passionate kiss came to an end, a thin trail of saliva bridging the slight distance between their lips. Their breathing was shallow, their cheeks were burning, and they slowly let their eyes flutter open to gaze upon one another. Luna brought a hoof slowly to her mouth, uttering a wordless ‘Wow’. Rainbow smiled sheepishly and tentatively settled back down to her seat beside the princess. Luna smiled sweetly and draped a silky wing over Rainbows shoulders, causing the polychromatic mare to flush slightly brighter, but nevertheless scooted closer to the princess.
Everypony was floored. Whether or not Rainbow Dash had done that just for the sake of her bloated ego or not, there was no denying the sheer radiance of the passion she and Luna had just displayed.
Applejack and Spike had averted their eyes after the first second or so; the former with the brim of her stetson and the latter with his claws; Applejack out of respect and Spike out of embarrassment. It wasn’t exactly a birthday wish to watch his aunt make out with one of his closest friends. It was just.... awkward. If she had been grossed out by the act, it would’ve just been funny to the drake, but this just felt weird to him.
Twilight held the spectacle in a similar light. She had all but grown up with Princess Luna around too, and felt a similar family-like connection to her that Spike felt. Combined with the fact that she was just making out with a close friend just seemed a little odd. At least it had in the moment. Watching their chemistry bubble a little in the wake of Rainbow’s courageous effort was making her look at the situation more logically, and her heart conceded that if anything were to ever happen between them that she would fully support it.
Rarity had covered her mouth with her hooves, taking in the scene like she was reading one of those raunchy historical romances she swore she never read. But everypony knew that was a Celestia damned lie. Her cheeks had turned fifty shades of red watching her friend make good on her dare.
Luna had enjoyed the act, and she knew it had taken Dash a great deal of courage to make good on Fluttershy’s dare. She had lavished the moment of ecstasy that still lingered on her lips. In the back of her mind stirred an errant thought: I may need to consider actually taking this mare up on her offer… there is still much fun we could have.
Celestia was a handling it little different. She had been the one who had teleported the truth serum from the tiny glass phial directly into her sister’s stomach. She had been expecting her to call Rainbow out on the fake kiss, but when Rainbow had fully committed, the gravity of what Celestia had done weighed on her. She had made her sister coax an element of harmony into a make out session, and judging by the way they were taking turns touching one another with their wings in ways that would be considered intimate for a pegasus, the night was probably far from over for the two of them. Celestia reminded herself that this was why she rarely drank….
Pinkie Pie had gasped loudly the second their lips touched and was currently still bouncing all around the room singing, “Dashie and Luna sittin’ in a tree, K-I-S-S-hic-I-N-G!” Twilight had to admire how legitimately literal that song was right now…. she had kissed Rainbow Dash in a hollowed out tree. True, said tree was the castle she called home, but still….
Fluttershy had a victorious grin upon her muzzle. She hadn’t expected their kiss to be anything like the way it was, but she knew Celestia had beamed the truth serum into her belly at the last second, ultimately making Luna react a bit differently that she would have traditionally. However, if the intense blushing in the two mares’ cheeks was any indication, Fluttershy was fairly certain it still counted for sweet revenge. Until next time.
With Rainbow Dash involved, there would always a next time.
~~~
The atmosphere of the party never lost its luster. The final party game was lasting into the wee hours of the morning. Laughter and mischief were in no small abundance.
After Fluttershy’s payback, some of the dares took on a more risque nature. Rarity had chosen to accept such a dare from Rainbow to make out with Applejack. She did it simply to spite the rainbow-maned pegasus, not because any part of her truly desired it. Applejack shared the mentality, but had seriously wished it had been somepony else Rainbow had chosen for the fashionista to kiss. On a side note though, the farm pony found that her lips tasted like strawberries and whipped cream, no doubt from her moonshine, of course, but it was pleasant nonetheless.
Rarity was successful in foiling Rainbow’s attempt to spread her own misfortune, as she made a point to make it look as real as she possibly could. Being a pony who constantly dealt with customers and critics came with the innate ability to portray feelings that were not particularly true to an occasion. And just like the smile she plastered on her muzzle when faced with a poor criticism, her portrayal of a passionate kiss was perfectly executed with all the poise and practice of a professional actress.
Rainbow pouted a little. Rarity hadn’t reacted at all like she had imagined she would. She thought for sure that the idea of kissing AJ would make her stomach turn, and immediately back out. Applejack on the other hoof had been so intoxicated that she was giggling like a school filly when Rarity’s dare was implemented. The aftermath had resulted on her remaining on her back where the fashionista had pushed her over in the rebellion of Rainbow’s outlash of pride. She had covered her incredibly red face with her stetson and was still lightly giggling.
It would soon be time for the princess of the sun to bring the glowing orb into the sky. As such, Celestia had asked that one final turn was to be had and that it belonged to the birthday boy. Spike obliged and spun the bottle as hard as he could. After a moment the bottle came to land on Twilight, and the dragon had a fairly good idea on what he would say no matter what choice the unicorn made.
He looked her in the eyes, trying his best to look a little intimidating, although he must have failed spectacularly seeing as it just caused Twilight to start laughing. She had a sweet laugh, normally. It was almost like a catchy melody. In her current state, it was just funny. It had nuances of the light and adorable nature that it normally had, but it was being punctuated with heavy bouts of snorting, which seemed to only cause the intellectual mare to burst into a bigger fit of laughter. All in attendance joined in her raucous boistering.
Spike shook his head, immediately regretting doing so as it made the room begin to spin. Every pony in this room is crazy. He thought as he chuckled inwardly, waiting for Twilight to calm herself so she could decide how she wanted to respond. After what seemed like an incredibly long time, the purple mare was finally calm again to continue.
Spike took a deep breath and asked her, “Alright Twilight, truth or dare?”
Twilight took a moment to deicide. On one hoof, picking truth would mean either another possibly awkward moment upon drinking a phial of truth serum, but given the nature of the dares that had been doled out around this group of friends tonight, it still seemed like an acceptable option rather than having to kiss another one of her friends against their will. At least all her friends were attractive though, right? Wait….what?
Twilight shook her head clear, “Truth. I choose -hic- truth, Spike.”
Spike sighed lightly, having really hoped to end the night on a dare instead, but it was Twilight’s choice. “Alright, let me see….”
He closed his eyes and thought out what he would ask. A basic, but interesting question came to mind, “Alright, do you have feelings for anyone in this circle tonight? Real feelings, actual feelings. Not just friends.”
Twilight’s voice hitched in her throat as she looked down at her choices. On one hoof, she could back out and down the remainder of her moonshine. On the other, there was the phial of truth serum that would force her answer his question, and with brutal, undeniable honesty. In the spirit of the game, she couldn’t rightly think it was okay to end the game by bowing out of the final question like that, but at the same time, drinking that tiny bottle of truth serum could be potentially devastating.
Well, it could be if the target of her secret admirations did not return her affection. Even if they did, it could still royally complicate things, though not in the literal sense of the phrase. Sure, she had a little bit of a crush on the princess of the night, she was gorgeous, but whether she found somepony attractive wasn’t what she had been asked. She had been asked if there was anyone around this circle for whom she had greater feelings for than just mere friendship.
She knew the truth. She knew the risk. She also knew it was foolish to make a decision like this based on the premise of a party game.
She still chose that tiny bottle.
She downed the truth serum and bravely awaited her fate, steeling her nerves as best she could as Spike repeated his question.
“Yes. I do have feelings for someone here in this circle.” She stated, watching the reactions from the circle around her.
This dose of the serum felt different to Twilight. It still felt warm and fuzzy in her stomach, and she could feel her mind unravel scrolls of truths that she would not likely reveal (at least not in their entirety) to anypony. This was normal. She was finding it hard to focus, though, and blackness was creeping into the edges of her vision.
Still her confession prevailed, her mind essentially set on autopilot or perpetual truth.
“I have felt very close to one of you for a very long time. It’s amongst the strongest of friendships, but in my heart I truly want there to be more. He’s sweet, he’s funny, he’s kind…. He’s the best friend anypony could ever dream of.” Her sight was failing, only pinpricks of light were fighting against the coming darkness.
Twilight tried to continue, but this time the darkness won, and she collapsed into a purple heap, where her friends quickly rushed to her side.
“Oh my gosh! Is she alright?” Spike asked, having been the first one to the mare, and was cradling her head in his arms.
“She’ll be alright, Spike,” Celestia assured him, “She just ingested too much of the serum. It’s quite powerful, and takes its toll on the mind.” Spike’s reaction was bordering panic.
“Do not worry, Spike. It simply means that Twilight will sleep well for a little while. She’s in no danger at all, I promise.”
Spike nodded and hugged Twilight firmly, absentmindedly stroking her mane.
“And on that bombshell, I think it is best that we all get some rest.” Luna said as she took hold of the moon and sank it beyond the horizon.
Everypony agreed, and began taking to their bunks and sleeping bags throughout the library. Spike carried Twilight carefully up the stairs to her bed, gently laid her down, and pulled her covers over her, making sure she was tucked in nice and tight. He did not immediately make his way to his own bed. Instead he sat beside Twilight’s bed, leaning with his back against the mattress, and sighed heavily, thinking about her reply to the final truth of the night. She had not said any names, but what she had said several times was “he”.
Spike was the only “he” in the circle right now. But Twilight couldn’t possibly have feelings for him, could she? Not like that. It didn’t make sense.
Downstairs Spike could faintly hear the princesses loudly whispering in dispute over who would raise the sun this morning. Apparently Celestia had had entirely too much to drink that night if she didn’t even want to raise the sun. Spike heard her say something along the lines of “I don’t want to grab it too hard and destroy it.” Luna refuted this claim, saying it wasn’t possible, but begrudgingly agreed to take over her sister’s duties for the morning. She knew her sister was just trying to impede her progress with Rainbow, and arguing about it wasn’t going to get her alone with the lightning fast mare any quicker.
Spike sighed a little, happy to hear that they wouldn’t have to worry about Celestia accidentally popping the sun. That sounded ridiculous, Spike thought, but it was still something to be thankful for he supposed. A light moan from behind him made his ear fin twitch, and the drake turned to its source. Twilight had shifted herself slowly and was now facing the dragon and looking at him with heavily lidded eyes.
“Thank you.” She whispered softly, weakly reaching towards him for a hug in thanks.
Spike spun around and returned the embrace in earnest, nuzzling her gently.
“No prob, Twi. Anytime.” He replied tenderly.
As he went to untangle himself from the quick embrace, Twilight grabbed him tighter, and with surprising strength. She kissed him on the lips. It was not an open mouthed kiss. No tongue. No lust. But there was desire on her lips. There was a wanting. There was passion.
Then it was over, and Spike was left with his mouth agape in shock as his suspicions were clearly proven. He didn’t know what to do.
“Goodnight…. Spike.” Twilight whispered as she faded into slumber, leaving the young drake with piling thoughts and rampant emotions.
“Goodnight, Twilight….”
He made his way back downstairs, making his way through the minefield of sleeping mares to the kitchen. He turned on the faucet and proceeded to gulp down mouthfuls of water from the tap to combat the case of cottonmouth he had acquired from the liquor. When he was finally done, he turned off the water, grabbed a nearby towel, and proceeded to dry his mouth and chin. When he pulled the now-damp cloth from his face he was startled by the princesses, who had both taken seats at the kitchen table.
“Oh, uh, hi mom and Aunt Luna.” He said awkwardly as they stared at him.
Celestia was the first to speak, “Spike, Twilight didn’t pass out from the truth serum.”
Panic once again began coursing through the young drake’s mind as he tried to process what he was hearing, but before it got out of his control, he felt a soothing sensation pass over him, settling his jarred nerves.
“I cast a sleeping spell on her to save her from having to reveal that sort of truth during the game. I apologize, but it was not the proper way for her to come forth with her feelings.” Luna said softly as Celestia nodded, picking up where her sister left off, “Don’t worry, you did nothing wrong and Twilight is still going to be just fine.”
Spike nodded slowly, his head was beginning to suddenly feel heavy, and the room was starting to come in and out of focus.
“If you want Twilight to truly answer your question, I would suggest doing it when the two of you are alone. It would be better for both of you, I think, if you found out the truth that way with that particular inquiry.” Celestia added her horn glowing ever so faintly in the dark room.
“Twilight is… in love with me…” Spike yawned as the blackness took hold of his senses. He faintly felt his body leave the ground and began levitating through the air, presumably to his bed a he had done for Twilight.
Twilight….
She was his final thought as he was persuaded into a deep slumber by Luna’s magic.
Celestia and Luna decided to stay there in the castle with the element bearers that night, having both become much too intoxicated to even attempt the jump to Canterlot. But in a final moment of distinct clarity, they spoke in hushed voices over what had just occurred.
“I hate being so formal with him, Lulu. He’s my son.” Celestia said, a frown tugging at the corners of her mouth as she looked up the staircase where they had just laid the dragon to rest for the morning.
“I know, Tia, but truly it is better to be upfront about it given the circumstances.” Luna paused as they cantered through the kitchen and back to the main room where the others were sleeping, “Did you know?”
Celestia sighed deeply, “I had my suspicions, “ she admitted, “but I never thought to dig any deeper on the matter. She isn’t one to express those kinds of feelings in this sort of situation under normal circumstances.”
“Yes, that is true,” Luna concurred, yawning slightly as they made their way into the room, “You don’t suppose this will cause any trouble do you?”
Celestia bit her lip, “It is hard to say. Spike is kindhearted and he will do anything in his power not to hurt Twilight, but I fear for her sake that he will not feel the same. Their bond up until this evening has been more similar to the bond between siblings, not lovers.”
Luna nodded solemnly, “Well we were right to halt that bit of news before it got too out of hoof. It certainly was not a conversation to have while they were so terribly intoxicated. It would have only further complicated the scenario.”
“Agreed. Thank you for your help too, Little Sister.” Celestia smiled.
Luna chuckled lightly, “Tis no trouble at all, my dearest sister.” Celestia laughed at the hint of old Equestrian and hugged her sister tightly before retreating to her bed on the far side of the room. Luna meanwhile made her way to Rainbow’s bunk, where the polychromatic mare was waiting as patiently as she could for the princess of the night. Luna nuzzled her gently and with a mischievous look glinting in her eyes, the pair made their way to a more private part of the castle to find out just how far Rainbow dared to go….
Author's Note
Here is chapter two, we'll be working on three and four at the same time so be ready everyone, things about about to get serious soon.
