Of Luck and Booze (FINISHED)

'Stoic?' Cross thought, 'Nopony has ever called me stoic before, then again, they've never really wanted me around before.'

Cross let out a sigh of relief, glad that he didn't have to revert back to old habits here.

"Thanks....just try to watch yourself next time Ark, don't become the wasteland" Cross turned over to the mare.

"Umm I'm sorry if I shouldn't have done that, I just like having order around here and it looked like he was really bothering you...." Cross tried to say with a stern face, but really his eyes kept trying to absolve him of embarrassment.

"Cross flip!!" Oh right, he was still playing, Cross flipped his card revealing an Ace to his 9, he stayed.

Winter Bell smiled and shook her head, "Well I'm grateful. I haven't had any pony stand up for me before. It was... sweet of you" she said after noticing he seemed a little embarrassed. Hopefully this would put him at ease for it. She looked to her cards before flipping them over when asked. She had a seven, a four and a king which brought her total to twenty two. She smirked and shook her head, 'close but not close enough' she thought to herself. She looked back to the hooded stallion and realised she had impolitely forgotten to ask his name, "Excuse me, sir. I didn't get your name ?" she asked politely.

Well, I wasn't that far off. Right about Cross and Lucky. I didn't expect that from Winter. Atriark looked at his card. Well Luna buck my head off. I had a feeling that would happen.

Atriark flipped over his two of hearts and slid the cards to Lucky. "Twenty-two, bust." He sighed heavily. "At least my judgement in this game *hic* isn't affected by my lack of playing."

Blazen got out of his seat, intent on doing something more then just sulk. He wanted to have fun, not sit around having drugs in front of everyone. He forcefully pushed himself over to where the group was playing Black-Jack, and he looked at Lucky. "I have a challenge for you." He said to him, and he looked serious. "Drink to until one of us drops." He said.

Sawdust turned her card over as well, a total of 19, between the up turned 10 and the face down 9. She smiled at Winter's victory, though mostly because it was for fun and not caps. She pushed her cards toward Lucky, then turned on Cross. Ark wasn't acting educated at all after the drinks, so perhaps the unicorn with another different unicorn's cutie mark emblazoned upon him might answer.

"Why do you have Twilight Sparkle's cutiemark all over your stuff? Are you part of a cult or something or do you just really like her? What do you know about her?" She quickly spat out her questions with vigor, eager to find the answer and because she knew if she slowed down for even a moment as she spoke she'd start stuttering or she'd loose her nerve and fall into near silence. It was then that she realized that she had both hooves on the table to be that much closer to the Unicorn in question.

Lucky's ears shot straight up.

"So, you think you can drink me under the table, eh?" He said, loud enough for most of the bar to hear. It got suddenly dead quiet as everybody in the bar turned to look at what was surely going to be the next victim of alcohol poisoning.

Cocktail called out, "The usual, Lucky?"

"Go for it mate," the tan stallion said with a mischievous grin. He left the card game and walked to a nearby table. The earth pony sitting at it hurriedly grabbed his drink and left it, and Lucky took a seat on the far side. Cocktail then trotted over, carrying a large tray covered in shot glasses filled with a clear liquid that closely resembled what was in Lucky's bottle.

The green bartender set the tray down on the table and said what sounded like a rehearsed line. "Alright, this's how this's gonna be. You each have 50 shots of my purest and best moonshine, three hundred proof. You will each take one shot at a time. You have to drink the entire glass without setting it down to count. Last one to fall unconscious wins." He then looked at Blazen. "And may the Goddesses have mercy on your soul."

Cross blushed, he had forgotten to mention his name...

"My name is umm...Cross R-" Suddenly the table shook and Cross nearly fell over, the lanky, and most likely crazy mare was bombarding him with questions! He balanced himself and tried to answer as many of the questions as he could actually pick up....

"Um yea...I'm a huge fan of Twilight, no...no cults...I know about her life, you could say I studied that alot....Are you okay?"

Blazen smirked. "I dont need any mercy. He'd probably need it." He said, but he knew he'd probably lose. No sense in mentioning it, though. Even if he did, this was only for fun, and only because it was a good challenge. He looked at Lucky, and then back at the large amount of shots. He sat opposite of Lucky, sure that it would fit in to the whole challenge thing. He looked at Lucky, and then back at a shot. He grabbed it, and put it near his mouth. "You ready?" He said, and without letting him reply, he put his head back and downed the shot. It felt odd, but Shield ignored the taste and looked back at Lucky. He looked like nothing had actually happened, and inside his head, Shield himself was surprised. He never really had much resistances to these things, actually he thought he didn't, but still.

All the patrons had gathered round to watch the competition, and a loud "Oooooh" echoed as soon as Blazen set down his shot.Lucky was nearly taken aback by how well The buck responded to the drink.

"Damn, looks like we've got a pro here," He said in an impressed voice. "I might have my reputation handed to me tonight!"

With that, Lucky grabbed a glass and downed it like it was just water, set down the cup, and smiled. He had drunk enough of the stuff that it barely even burned anymore, and he wasn't one to lose at his own game.

Sawdust backed off a bit, carefully getting dismounting her fore hooves from the table, "Ermm, sorry. I-I'm fine. Just... No pony ever knows anything about Miss Sparkle!" And since the doll seemed to like to remain Mum on her past, well Sawdust had to depend on others. To wit, said doll found its way to a pocket from which it could 'watch' Cross Roads.

Dust looked at the table as she thought, there were so many questions she wanted to ask, but what would somepony who wasn't Twilight herself know? Moreover could she trust this stallion to tell the truth? ... She agreed, probably not, but any information he gave could eventually be cross referenced at some point.

The yellow mare ignored the little drinking game, she didn't even want to get started with the problems that they were both about to endure. She knew more than her fair share about alcohol, it was why she never touched the stuff. Totally not because she was paranoid that any drink that was delivered to her unsealed might be poisoned or drugged. Certainly not. ... Silence you.

'The Rusty Cowbell'...Of all the establishments Mona had been to in the wastes, this hardly looked like the worst...but still, something made the Unicorn double-check her 9mm before she even considered stepping through the door. While she had zero intention of starting any trouble, nearly everyone in the wastes walked around with some form of defense at their side, and it would have been foolish to not make sure hers was in proper shape when walking into a den of armed and probably drunk wastelanders...

Assured that the pistol was in working condition, Mona levitated the weapon back into it's holster and secured it tight, and somewhat out of direct sight, before she stepped over to the door, and opened it.

Stepping in the building, it was clear something interesting was going on, as everyone's attention was on two Earth Ponies, and a large tray of shots...so Mona made her way to the bar, while she wasn't the center of attention for being the newcomer. She took a seat at one of the few free stools, and waited for when the bartender would come back, giving a rather neutral glance over at the ponies who nearly everyone else's attention was apparantly focused on, watching as they took their first shots.

Blazen's only response was him smiling. He grabbed another shot, looking a little unsure of himself. He put his head back and downed another one, a few seconds after tasting some slight bile in his mouth. He roughly swallowed it, trying to keep his cool, and the fact that he actually did take another shot. He wasn't going to crumble here, anyways. He had over thirty more shots to go. He guessed probably at, like, twenty he's going to throw up.

The game obviously was over and Atriark had no more want to stay. He didn't want to talk to anypony right now, he felt terrible, because of his earlier comment and the fact he felt like puking.

"Again, I am sorry." Atriark said as he slinked from the table.

He passed by Cross, who seemed to be in the middle of being verbally assaulted by the yellow mare. "I feel like I should apologize to you as well and to say that I appreciate you jumping to aid a mare that quickly. It's a rare sight to see in the wasteland. So is a stallion that keeps his coat that nice looking."

With that, Atriark slowly trotted to closer to the stage where the griffin was playing. He sat down on the floor, his back to the wall and pulled out his scotch. He felt terrible for not being able to keep a hold of his tongue and ruining any chance he had with the mare. There probably wasn't much of a chance with Winter, she probably didn't want a stallion who couldn't stay in one spot for more than a week.

He took a long pull of his scotch and contemplated ordering a whiskey or vodka probably some Wild Pegasus. The zebra thought about it while listening to the griffin play his soft song. Ultimately, he decided to stay put and finish his bottle, see where that got him.

Winter Bell tilted her head to the side a little as he said his name before being distracted by the other mare who nearly knocked the table over. 'So that's his name' she said mentally as she looked curiously at the buck. He wore an attire different to the usual theme of the wasteland. And the hood was certainly a unique feature to see. As she noticed the marks on his attire she was distracted by another apology from the Zebra. She nodded with as smile before he walked away. She was still kinda surprised that she had received the apology AND had a buck stand up for her. That was two rare occasions in one moment. She looked back to the hooded buck as he said he studied into Twilight Sparkles life. She wasn't entirely sure but she thought that sounded like one of the ministry mares. Well.. she could only ask, "Twilight Sparkle ? isn't that one of the ministry mares ?" she asked, aiming the question at the yellow mare and the hooded buck.

Arc Weld, knowing how these evening at Cowbell went, finished his drink and allowed the glass to gently descend on the bar.

"Fourth one... well,i guess that's enough to let the melancholy stay quiet for a while."

He lifted his head and look around the establishment. Yes, it must have been four drinks, given the fact that Lucky has already decided to dare another fool to a drinking contest, which the said person accepted. Arc remembered when he naively though that he can outpace Lucky, respectively those two days that followed. Painfull, painfull days.

"Godesses, what i dumbass was i back then."

Next thing that sparked his interest was a Zebra at the back of the bar. The guy seemed to have enough of booze for the evening. After that, Cross Roads and that strange mare... eh, nothing of interest in that direction. And lastly, there was that snow-white mare.
Darn, that thing managed to almost litteraly sap every photon of light in the vicinty, only so the particle could say about itself that in its infinte existence, it once reflected her colour...

Arc's train of thoughts was derailed by the sound of the doors opening. The newcomer appeared new, at least he didn't recognized her.

"Well... all and all, i'll be suprised if this evening will end without some violence. Intersting times ahead."

Another shot went down Lucky's gullet, and he set the glass back down on the tray.

In a slightly wobbly voice, he said to the brown buck, "Didn't think you were a heavy drinker. What made you change your mind?"

Back at the bar, Cocktail had resumed his position, having seen Lucky drink many a customer under before. He started refilling glasses that belonged to the other regulars, and took a look at Arc's empty glass. "Need another?"

"Never thought i was a heavy drinker, just realized now that i can have this much. What changed my mind was a challenge and to make a new friend." He said, and he downed yet another shot. He tasted bile, yet again, and swallowed it. He'd have to do this quite a few times, because this drinking match was just beginning.

Lucky downed his third glass, and set it down.

"Well, you better buckle up, cause this's gonna be a LONG night."

He noticed the look on Blaze's face. "Jus' between you and me, pukin' ain't against the rules. Just call for a bucket, and Tail'l get you one right quick."

Lucky chuckled. "He started doing that after this one unicorn made a mess all over the damn place. Took him all day to get the stink out."

"No, thanks Cocktail, i think had enough."

Lucky's mention of that horrible evening managed to kill any additional craving for whiskey, so Arc decided that a walk in fresh evening air might be a more wise choice. So far, the buck Lucky was having a contest with apperead to be fine, and even made a remark how he never was a heavy drinker.

"Boy, is he for a nasty suprise."

On his way out of the bar, Arc walked past the newcomer.
"Evening, ma'am"

"Thanks for telling me that." He managed to say, his voice a little off, and with knowing that, he looked at the bartender. "Im going to need a bucket." He said to the bartender from the shot-table in the tavern, and he quietly whispered something along his breath of a package of a sorts. But that didn't discourage him, as he took another shot, this time slowly and with a little more courage that he'd actually be able to throw up and not lose.

Mona gave little more then a nod to the leaving Stallion, as she turned towards the bartender, ready to order.

"Absinthe."

She said blankly, her order clear, before she gave another glance back to the drinking contest not too far from their stool. She wasn't sure if the bar would have the slightly rarer alcohol, but it was worth checking to see if they did...simply for nostalgia's sake...

He had made it this far... Absolutely galloping and flying for his bucking life. He had been flying due southeast, when he had heard what he had thought had been gunfire at him. Remembering what a single bullet had done to him on that fateful day, Dash didn't feel all that safe even in the armor he had received from his father as a symbol of his approval for his quest. He wasn't all that confident that the little pistol he had would serve him well either. He could shoot, and hit, but it was return fire that he was worried about. Dash had now found himself at a town. It lacked the luster of Friendship City, but how could he possibly complain? It seemed like paradise compared to the barren hills where the ponies who had stolen his brother hid in. First thing was first, get hydrated. He had no idea how long he had been on the road, but he had not been drinking nearly enough to keep up his strength for how long he had been in-transit. He looked up at the sign for what he had heard was the local saloon, 'The Rusty Cowbell... Huh...' Dash thought to himself. He trotted in, his wings aching, but his legs were perfectly fine since he had entered the city, just significantly drained of strength.

He couldn't say that he was particularly unfamiliar to the mood and patrons inside, in fact, one mare he could have sworn he had seen back home. Aside from that, loud, obnoxious and rambunctious. Not too bad, not too bad. He had been expecting skulls and pikes everywhere between himself and Leafrun. He trotted over to the counter, not particularly daring to take a seat due to strange rules these sorts of places had, "I'll have anything that's cheap, wet and won't kill me." he said. His money was rather tight at the moment, but now that he knew places like these existed, maybe his chances weren't all that bad.

Atriark listened to the griffin play his soft and sad song. No singing, no other instruments to accompany him, just the griffin and his guitar. He listened to the notes rise and fall in a solemn pace. The song sounded full of regret and a loss of happiness.

The song reminded Artiark all too well of himself. It brought forth a memory, just one single memory.

Back in Stable 113, Atriark lived happily with his mother. His father died when the zebra was young so he didn't have many memories of him. But that happiness came crashing down. Atriark didn't know how or why it happened, but some of the stable's inhabitants went crazy and started killing anypony they came across.

Atriark was working in the medical bay with his mother, the two working hoof in hoof working on a patient. They finished up and sent the patient on his way. Atrairk's mother then went about teaching her son the affects of Med-X and the dangers of addiction. The zebra's lesson was cut short by screams and the sound of combat. His mother got up, told her son to go into her office, and opened the door to the hallway.

Obeying his mother, Atriark sat patently in his mother's office. He was sitting there for no more than a few minutes when he heard the door hiss close.

Atriark shook his head, trying to clear the horrible memory. He took another swig of scotch from the nearly empty bottle. That was one memory that he didn't want to remember.

Dash gave a searching look to the cup that was eventually placed infront of him. He wasn't particularly a pony that was prissy about what he drank or ate, but he did hav only his best interests in mind. Becoming unwell to a drink was one of the lowest on his list of priorities. However, he scarcely had a choice so he sipped some of the liquid, which turned out to be fairly standard cheap booze. He sighed slightly and took another drink,it relieved him of at least some of the enormous stress he had been under through the past few months after he had awoken from the coma the slavers had put him into. He looked around and wondered how many other patrons here knew what it was like to get shot. Out here, those who did and were injured as badly as Dash had been probably didn't survive. He shook his head and brought himself back to the present, 'Alright, finding Leafrun... I gotta figure out how to get information about those slavers... How the hay do I start, though...'

He began looking around the room, not noticing that doing so made him seem like he was lost or something.

Cocktail Rushed over to the table carrying a bucket, and set it down next to Blaze. "Make sure y'don't miss, or you'll be cleaning it up yourself," He said in a slightly threatening tone. Then he ambled back to the bar, and continued serving customers. Lucky just laughed and swigged down his next drink, a burn starting to appear in his throat.

'I probably shouldn't have had that bourbon first...'He thought as he set the glass down next to the others.

Over at the stage, the gryphon musician had begun playing a sad song, for no discernible reason. He strummed and caressed the instrument, oblivious to the zebra listening to his music and reliving a memory from his past.

A pegasus buck had also wandered in to the bar, and taken a seat at one of the now-empty tables. The one waitress in the place, who had been sleeping in the back until Cocktail found her, had set a mug of the cheaper beer in front of the lone traveler, which he proceeded to drink automatically.



[If you're curious, the gryphon's playing a song kinda like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yADqBIWjCok&feature=related ]