Benny flipped his first card. "Boom! King! Right off the bat."

Cerb already feared the worst.

"We got a bunch of newbies, Benny. Be nice with the first rule."

"Fine, we'll keep the first rule simple." Benny drummed his finger on the table for a moment before setting on something stupid, but also simple enough to follow. "The little man rule."

Kelly groaned, "Gah... I hate the little man rule."

Cerb laughed, "Yeah, because you suck at it."

Luna looked back and forth between Kelly and Benny. "What is the little man rule?"

"So," Benny placed his glass out in front of him. "—from here on out, until the rule is removed. There is a tiny invisible man that lives on the edge of your drink. You have to take your hand or hoof, and remove him before you drink."

He demonstrated by pinching his finger above the rim of the glass, moving his hand over the table, and dropping the invisible man.

"If you don't, you just swallowed him, and you'll have to wash him down with another drink... Because you broke the rule, I mean."

Chris had to ask about a possible follow-up action with the rule, "We have to put him back on?"

Benny shrugged.

"Ugh, fuck'em. He always finds his way back."

Pinkie Pie sat her glass down and squinted at the rim.

"I don't see a tiny man on my glass."

Benny snorted.

"It's a game, Ballon Butt. You just have tuh pretend."

Pinkie leaned back in her seat, starting to understand.

"Ohhhhhhh... Can I name him?"

Benny groaned, "Fine, yes. God. Kelly, your go."

Then, with little shock and surprise in her voice, Kelly announced her first card.

"Oh, looks like I just Jacked myself," Kelly raised her glass for a self-toast and took a sip.

Benny tapped the edge of his glass.

"Little man, Kelly."

Kelly slammed her palm on the table, laughing over her mistake.

"Damn it! Why do I screw that up?"

Instead of gently picking up the little man, she instead flicked the rim of her glass, sending his invisible ass to only god knows where. She raised her glass with a bitter smile to Benny and took her drink.

Luna pointed to Kelly.

"Thow must drinketh again! The little man was not removed!"

"Nah, she's good, Princess," Cerb answered on her behalf. "None of us like the little man. So we usually flip him off the glass."

Sniff sloshed his drink around a little.

"Yeah. Flip him off, blow him off, or set him down gently. So long as he's removed. And Twiggels—" He set his drink down in front of her. "Mind chilling my drink for me?"

Twilight rolled her eyes but smiled. Doing her most coveted party trick, she used her magic to chill Sniff's drink.

Big Mac looked over the table and picked the card closest to him.

"Okay... I Jack myself, I guess."

Cerb snorted as Big Mac reached for his drink.

"Damn, Kel. If you and Big Mac would have drawn at the same time, you could have Jacked each other."

A mix of groans and laughs rose from his six friends.

Becky failed to control her laughing as she mockingly corrected the bad joke.

"No, bad Cerb. Bad!"

Big Mac, sadly, was not getting the reference.

"We can do that?"

Kelly laughed at knowing how true that suggestion almost was earlier that day.

"Just take your drink, Big Mac."

Big Mac brushed off the little man and sipped his drink.

Shining let his horn glow and flipped the card farthest away from him.

"Well, looky there. From a prince to a King."

Sniff leaned forward with fake excitement.

"Oh, my god. Guys. This is going to be the first horse-made rule in the history of Kings. Shiny... you gotta make this epic."

The pressure was on, and Shining had to think of something good.

"Okay... You can't look at whoever you're talking to. You always have to look away from them."

It took a moment, but slowly, everyone started to nod their head.

Sniff gave his approval.

"Yeah, I don't know about epic... but yeah. That's good. And starting now?"

Shining sat proudly in his seat.

"Yep."

Becky leaned over the table and, in a convincing sad voice, asked, "Does that rule apply to me too, Shining?"

Shinning looked over to Kelly, oblivious to why she was looking away from him.

"Well, yeah. It applies to-awe, crap."

The table erupted all at once, "Drink!"

Shining brought his glass up and took a sip.

"I can't believe I was the first one to break my own—"

Luna shielded her eyes and looked down at the table.

"Drink again! Thou hath swallowed thee little man."

Shining was off to a rough start but remembered to remove the little man this time.

"Dang it!"

Cadence searched the table for any card she thought could be good.

"Okay, my turn," She flipped a Queen. "Now, we all drink."

Cerb turned to Twilight.

"What was that, Cadence?"

Cadence quickly searched out Cerb, hoping she hadn't misremembered the value of the card.

"Oh? Did I get that wrong? I thought the-aweeeeee, dang it!" Cadence hung her head. "I looked."

While looking at the ceiling, Sniff called out, "Everyone. A proper social involves a tap of your drink—" He tapped the bottom of his glass once on the table before raising it. "—and a gentle cheers to those around you."

Everyone tapped their glasses to the table and raised them for a toast with those closest to them, but after the toast, only the ponies drank.

Sniff, however, held the front of his glass to his face before blowing along the rim.

"And if you didn't remove the little man, drink again."

Rainbow Dash about spat up her drink before slamming a hoof on the table and shouted, "Awe, come on! You tricked us!" She stared down Sniff as he gleefully grinned and then gave her a wink. "Fuck, I looked!"

Applejack pointed a hoof at Rainbow Dash and gloated, "Ha! Serves ya right fer using that curse-Shhhhhhit! I looked, too."

After the drinks were sorted out and the laughs died down, Chris drew the third Jack.

"Well, what do ya know? Jacking myself again tonight. What a shocker."

Again, the humans laughed. However, Rainbow Dash and Big Mac both seemed to do their damnedest not to snicker.

Kelly pointed to Chris while staring and looking at Lumberman.

"Chris. Keep that up, and your cut off."

Starlight ignored the banter and flipped a card in the center, pulling up an Ace.

"Dang it. Why'd I have to get a topic card?' Umm—"

Becky looked down at the table.

"Try to keep it to something we all might know."

Starlight rolled her eyes up to the ceiling.

"Well, that really narrows it down. Uhh... Let's do titles of books by-no... Sorry... Uh... Types of magic? And I start it off... So... Harmony-based magic?"

Sniff quickly gave his answer.

"Spells."

Twilight tapped Sniff's hand while keeping her eyes forward.

"Take a drink, Smelly. Spells are the conjuring of magic, not a type of magic."

Sniff flipped the rim of his glass with a huff.

"Well, then. Color me stupid."

As he took his drink, he flipped another card near the center.

"Holy hell, the first ten. Starlight, take a drink."

Starlight brushed off the rim of her glass and took a drink as Twilight flipped a king.

Cerb couldn't believe the odds.

"Jesus. Seriously? Three kings and not even a full round yet?"

Twilight perched herself proudly in her chair.

"I replace all rules with a no bad language rule."

Cerb reached for his drink.

"Really? Starting now?"

Twilight smirked with her head held high.

"Yep."

Becky reached for her glass and tapped it to Rainbow Dash's.

"That's a damn shame, right Rainbow?"

Lumberman joined in with, "What a shitty rule."

Kelly reached for her drink.

"Son of a bitch."

Becky took a preemptive drink.

"Hearing that rule is like a swift kick to the asshole.

Cerb raised his glass.

"That rule fucking sucks."

Fluttershy reached for her glass.

"Heck..."

A mix of snickers and odd stairs were directed to Fluttershy.

Cerb leaned over and pulled Fluttershy in for a quick hug and proudly declared, "That's my girl. You make me so proud, Flutters."

Rarity harrumphed, "No fair. You used all of them already."

With an aggravated glare, Twilight lectured the lot of them.

"I can't believe all of you. What's the point of even making a rule if you want to break it."

Kelly answered sweetly before taking her drink.

"Cuz it's funny and lets us drink whenever we want to."

Luna rubbed her chin and looked down into her glass.

"Hmm. We see the tactics you employ in this game are ones that let each player enjoy the spoils of your winnings while losing if more of these drinks are the punishment. If that be the case, then while we do not know what this fucking is, we will gladly partake if we are to be rewarded with more of this... Oh... I guess we do get our drink after all, now. Huzzah!"

Cerb took his drink, a larger one at that, and set his glass down with a loud thunk before standing up with a beat red face.

"Bathroom break. Gimme a minute."

Lumberman started to remove himself from the table as he called out, "Oh, yeah. Need to break the seal."

Big Mac announced before standing up.

"I gotta go, too."

Luna, with her back legs crossed together, impatiently asked, "Twilight? Please say that there is another bathroom open for use. If the time for going is now, then... we know not of how many Mojito's thy hath consumed... but they are ready to leave us."

Pinkie Pie stood up on her chair.

"Everyone! Bathroom break! Ten minutes and be back here! I still need to flip a card and get my little guy back!"

A few minutes later, all had returned, though the laughter had not left all of their systems after emptying their blatters.

Now that they were all ready to continue, Luna eyed the cards carefully.

"We desire a card that shall reward us with a drink... Thy hath chosen thee!" She flipped a Queen. "Success! Now all shall share in the drinks! Cheers, friends!"

Rarity eyed the cards after the table finished their drinks.

"Alright then, you look like a fine choice." She flipped her card. "Nine... To the left, was it?"

Cerb reached for his drink as he praised her.

"Awe. Some pony that cares. Thank you, Rarity. I was getting kinda thirsty."

Putting no thought into his selection, Cerb flipped over a Jack.

"Wow. I must be thirsty. Your turn, Flutters."

Cerb took a long sip from his cup and watched Fluttershy flip an Ace.

Fluttershy looked down at her drink.

"Oh... Umm... I'm really no good at this."

Cerb looked around the table and bobbed his fingers like he was counting the bodies that were lined up, then moved in to whisper something into Fluttershy's ear.

"What?... Uh-hu... Okay," Fluttershy looked to second guess herself before stating her topic. "The topic is... types of ponies in Equestria? Umm... Pegasus ponies."

Becky looked at Cerb and then to her left.

"Cerb, you're a dick... Zebras."

Rainbow Dash answered without missing a beat, "Earth Ponies,"

It took Lumberman a second to realize what was going on.

"Oh, Unicorn... ponies."

Applejack was already laughing so hard she almost let her time run out.

"Alicorn ponies."

Pinkie Pie's eyes lit up.

"Yay! My turn! Okay, another kind of pony in Equestria is—" She sat up, anxious and excited, only for the cruel reality to settle in. "Hey! No fair!

Cerb held up a hand and finished counting down.

"Three, two, one. Times up, take a drink. And you should have called foul on Fluttershy for starting a topic with fewer options than there are players."

Pinkie cast her accusations to the table, "That's cheating!"

Benny had to be the one to break the bad news.

"Yeah, but If someone goes on with their turn or flips a new card before the player is called out for cheating or breaking a rule... it's too late. So... sorry. Take a drink. And here—" He fished out a cherry from his cup. "—have a cherry."

Pinkie had his whole hand in her mouth before he could toss it to her. Once in her mouth, she licked the cherry out from between his fingers and pulled his hand from her mouth, sucking on the fingertips as they were pulled free.

Impressed by the display, Kelly shouted from her side of the table, giving him a nod.

"Damn, Benny. She's a keeper."

Sniff scoffed, but couldn't help but laugh a little himself.

"Take a drink and flip a card, ya jealous hater."

After Kelly took her 'no cursing rule' violation drink, Becky hovered her hand over the table as she searched for the perfect card.

"Alright. I'm thinking it's gonna be a queen." She flipped her card. "Called it!"

Rainbow Dash congratulated Becky on her sudden psychic powers before tapping her glass and toasting every glass around her.

"Ha! Good call, Becks."

After a round of glasses tapping the table and everyone toasting each other, Rainbow Dash looked over the cards.

"Hmm. I think I'll keep Becky well-hydrated and pull a ten." She pulled a queen. "Or keep everyone hydrated."

Another social.

Lumberman reached for his card.

"Betcha it's another face card." He pulled a ten. "Fucking really?"

Twilight barked, "Hey. Take a drink, Mr. Potty mouth."

Lumberman pointed back at her. "Oop! Twilight said the 'P' word."

Taken back by the proclamation, Twilight protested, "That doesn't... ugh." And gave up very quickly. "Whatever."

She floated her drink up for a sip.

"Not that I mind taking a drink."

Rainbow Dash and Lumberman took their drinks, toasting each other before doing so.

Applejack looked over and pointed at a card just out of reach.

"Can ya grab that one for me there, partner?"

Lumberman reached out and flipped a Queen.

"Yeah, now I flip a face card."

Applejack laid a foreleg around his shoulder.

"Oh, don't feel bad, Woody. Look on the bright side. Free drinks, right?"

Another social.

Pinkie looked to be as happy as a fat kid in a cake factory as she reached across the table.

"My turn! My turn!" She flipped a nine. "Yes!... What does a nine do again?"

Benny set down his glass, having already taken his drink.

"Nine's to the left. That's literally the first card I explained, Balloon Butt." He flipped another nine. "See Pinkie? What does this card mean?"

Pinkie giggled.

"That means Kelly gets to drink, silly."

Kelly took a drink and, in utter amazement, flipped a nine.

"What the fuck! How?"

"Drink!" Shouted half the table.

Kelly took her drink, toasting Big Mac as he took his.

"I know... but... come on. Three in a row?"

Big Mac flipped his card and looked at it for a moment.

"Oh... Looks like I'm returning the favor there, Kel." He laid down his ten.

As Kelly was taking her drink, Shining reached out with his magic and brought his card up.

"Okay! Everyone... before I show this card. I just want to say that while I did rig one event today—"

Twilight preemptively whined, "Aw, come on. Really?"

Shining laid down another King.

Lumberman flatly stated what everyone was thinking.

"I think it's pony magic."

Shining declared with a laugh, "I'm not cheating!"

Kelly rubbed the rim of her glass.

"Probably bribed all the little men we got rid of."

After a good laugh, Shining settled on his rule.

"Okay, hoof or hand on the head rule."

Cadence couldn't have been any happier for her husband.

"Wonderful, dear." She used her magic to flip a ten over. "To the right. That's you, Shiny."

Shining gasped, sounding shocked.

"I have to drink?" He brought his hoof to his head, feigning surprise. "I can't believe it.

Somehow, Cadence was the last to notice what he had actually done.

"Luna's moon! I watched you do it."

While Cadence and Shining toasted each other and fed each other their drinks, Chris flipped an Ace.

Chris traced his eyes around the table.

"Okay... The topic is... curse words."

Twilight shouted, "What!" And sent everyone else busting up laughing.

Chris quickly pulled back his topic to offer the real one.

"Kidding! Let's make this one fun and last more than four answers... Nicknames for each other that we don't currently have. So, names like Flutters, Diamond Thighs, or Twiggels can't be used. And I'll start with... Mackie O'Mallet."

Starlight again felt a strange sense of Déjà vu.

"Moon Butt?" She answered blankly, though it was stated it more as a question.

Luna stood up and turned her cutie mark to the table.

"Mwahaha! That was in reference to my flank!"

Lumberman was cracking up about as much as everyone else, but turned to Luna and asked, "My flank? Do you get more coherent the drunker you get?"

Luna took her seat, flashing a devious grin.

"Perhaps I still enjoy the royal we's and thy's more than I and me?"

Lumberman reached over Twilight to give Luna a fist bump.

"Ooo, sneaky little Princess. I like it... But okay... Um... Lever Action is out, so how about Foal-drobe?"

Chris asked and shook his head, "Foal-drobe? The nickname has to make sense."

Lumberman forced a smile as he explained, "It does. Foal-drobe... Like a wardrobe, but made out of foals because Cerb was covered in them during the dance."

Benny looked around the table to gauge everyone's reaction but leaned back in his chair with his hand on his head when he noticed Shining doing the same.

"Lame, but I'll take it."

A series of claps and thunks echoed through the room as everyone raced not to be the last to cover their head.

Rarity spoke sweetly while batting her eyes at Big Mac.

"Sorry, Mac, Seems like you were the—" She watched him quickly bring his hoof to his head again. "Ass buckets!"

Shining smirked, proud of himself for getting her on such a quick repeat of evoking his rule.

"Less gloating more drinking, Rarity."

Rarity and Mac took their drinks.

Twilight chirped proudly, "Two drinks for bad language, Rarity."

The belligerent gloater gave a gurgled snarl.

Getting back on track, Twilight looked to Cerb to announce his nickname, "Okay. Cerberus. I mean! ...Fuck!"

Over half the table yelped, pleasantly surprised.

"Woah!"

Sniff reached for his glass.

"Bringing out the big boys. F-bombs. Come-eer." He leaned over and obnoxiously laid his arm around Twilight and toasted her glass before she could even raise it. "I'll drink with ya. This is your crowning achievement for the night."

Rarity mocking lectured her friend, "Tisk, Tisk, Twilight Sparkle. Breaking your own rule in the most flamboyant of ways."

After that moment of chaos settled down, and Twilight lost her scowl, Starlight flipped over her card.

"Shining! Seriously! How are you not rigging this game?"

Shining looked over the table, confused.

"What? Also, I need another drink. I got thirsty and drank all of mine already. Also—"

Another flurry of hands and hooves raced to their heads at Shining abusing his power.

Cerb admitted his failure.

"Crap! That's me." He down the rest of his drink. "Alright. Switching to beer. Anyone else want one?"

Shining followed Cerb with his eyes and asked, "What's that like?"

Benny sat up straight in his chair.

"Oh, Shiny. It's only man's greatest invention. It's like liquid bread. But only... it tastes better."

Twilight asked out loud, "Liquid bread? Is that what you were drinking when I slept on your couch?"

It took Sniff a moment for that to process.

"What?... Oh, yeah. I had a few that night."

Twilight levitated her glass up before smirking and flicked a feather over the rim of her glass.

"Well, then. I don't want to be the only asshole sitting this one out."

Again to the awarding roar of the room, Twilight downed her drink. She had more than half a glass left, and the stronger taste of the Moonshine that had settled near the bottom gave her a slight shutter.

Luna spoke up as she raised her glass.

"Twilight has the right idea. Not having a beer is the product of bitches!"

As Luna down the remainder of her drink, Pinkie stood on her chair, one leg on the seat, the other one on the armrest, her glass raised high, and her goods on display.

"Fuuuuuuck, yeah!"

Benny was about to ask the question he was almost afraid to learn the answer of.

"Pinkie, do you even know what that means?"

Pinkie finished guzzling the rest of her drink.

"Not a clue!" She dropped back down to her seat, a nice belch being released upon impact."... is it bad?"

Benny patted her on the shoulder.

"Depends on when and where you say it. We'll have to teach you how to gauge the time and place when we're all sober again."

Shortly after all the glasses were emptied and the beers were passed around, freshly chilled by Twilight, the game could continue.

Starlight eyed her second Ace in a row.

"So... Topics."

Again, the strangest feeling of Déjà vu crept over her mind, and she said the first words that echoed like a distant memory.

"What is it that makes you happy?"

A mix of smiles and questionable looks circled the table before Starlight opted to start it off.

"Umm... Second chances?"

Sniff bobbed his head agreeably.

"Alright. Alight. A little sappy and vague, but I'll bite. Uh... Welcome Welcome to Ponyville parties."

Pinkie couldn't help but shout out of turn.

"Ooo! Me too!"

Twilight laughed and did her best to hush Pinkie but was looking forward to seeing this topic make its way around the table.

"Wait your turn, Pinkie. But for me... I'd say making new friends."

Luna answered firm and proudly, "Moonshine, of course. And can we name off all the drinks I had tonight? All of them were wonderful." She raised her new bottle and looked over the label. "Even this Yuengling is tasty."

Rarity looked over her bottle as well with a similar opinion of, "The beer isn't terrible. But I'll be sappy as well and say finally having not one, but two dances with our new friends tonight."

Cerb snickered for a moment before answering.

"Hearing Twilight drop an F-bomb."

Fluttershy, in her slightly inebriated state, said the first thing that came to mind.

"A Wonder Rush."

Becky, being the closest MLP expert in proximity to Fluttershy, had to ask, "What's a Wonder Rush?"

Rarity to the rescue.

"It's a little inside joke, darling."

Becky replied with an approving nod.

"Inside jokes. Yeah. I always enjoy those. That's my answer."

Rainbow Dash unfolded her wings and cracked her feathers much like a human would crack their knuckles.

"Easy. Being the fastest living thing in all of Equestria."

Chris shouted across the table, "Bragger!"

Lumberman picked up his beer and tilted it a few times.

"I'm only drinking because I'm thirsty right now. But..." He raised his glass to everyone around the table.

"Family."

Cerb responded proudly before tapping his bottle on the table and raising it up for a toast.

"I'll drink to that, brother."

Benny joined in.

"Here-Here."

Big Mac spoke up, raising his bottle in both hooves.

"Brothers."

Eventually, everyone raised their drinks and toasted, sharing the moment.

Pinkie cringed and pushed the beer bottle away.

"Eck. I like the cherry drink better. Can I have that?"

Cerb pointed to her bottle.

"Hey. Don't waste that. That's alcohol abuse."

"But I—"

"Got it," Benny cut off her excuse only to nab the beer and down in one go, smacking his lips as he finished. "Not abuse."

He belched about as loudly as Pinkie had.

"It was a donation to a worthy cause."

Cadence giggled.

"You two are made for each other."

Applejack, getting the game back on track, answered, "Having a friend who ain't afraid to make an ass of himself just to see ya smile."

Before she could be called on it, she tapped her bottle on the table and took her drink.

"I know whud uh said."

Lumberman playfully flicked her ear.

"Softy."

Applejack swatted him with her hat.

"Quiet, you."

"Hmm," Pinkie thought for a moment before leaning over and latching onto Benny's arm. "My little BenBen. He gives me cookies, has great taste in music, is a really fun dancer, drinks my icky beer when I don't want it, and is just the best thing ever."

Benny felt a little touched.

"Awe. Pinkie."

Pinkie let go of his arm and grabbed her new drink Kelly had poured her.

"No, wait! Can I change my answer to sugar?"

The entire table lost it.

Cerb, who was laughing the hardest, shared his thoughts.

"Oh, my god! Benny... She just traded your ass up for diabetus."

Benny just shook his head before making a gesture that mimicked giving up.

"The high before the fall. Apparently, that's something that makes me happy."

Kelly shot a quick glance at Pinkie before laying a hand on Big Mac's shoulder.

"Well, unlike some heartless ponies—" she looked deep into his eyes. "—Big Mac... carried my funnel cake for me today. That was so nice of him. It really made me happy."

Lumberman pointed at the stupefied stallion and slapped Cerb on the back as he shouted, "Oh! Burn! Cerb! Cerb! Go help ya boy! Kelly just set'em on fiya!"

Kelly pulled Big Mac's chin down closer and kissed him on the side of the muzzle.

"I'm just joking, Mackie. You know you're the best thing to happen to me since I got here."

Kelly took a drink, knowing full well she looked at Big Mac while talking to him.

Across the table, Cerb couldn't help but throw a jab her way.

"Aww! Get a room you two."

"They already have a room," Twilight corrected him. "I gave them a room together in case she needed help with anything in the middle of the night."

Big Mac abandoned his answer and opted to drink instead.

"Y'all are taking too long,"

Sniff started to search for his next card.

"No worries, Mac. You did us all a favor. And now... I pull a... King!" Another queen was now face-up. "Eh. One-off. Social!"

After another round of drinks were had, Twilight looked over her cards.

"I think I see where I'll find a nice card to start my topic with riiiiiight here!" She flipped a King instead and pondered while the sound of padded slaps and muffled thuds came up around her. "Okay, well, first of all-Ass!"

The table laughed at Twilight, not catching Shining grabbing his head again.

"Okay," Twilight glared at her smirking brother while she gulped down her required two drinks. "I replace all rules with a new one."

She gave a devilish grin toward her brother.

"If you pull a card that's a jack or higher, you have to give Shining a word to rhyme with. If he does, you drink. If he can't, he drinks."

Sniff eyed Twilight with a new sense of amazement.

"Oou. That... is a badass rule. Plus ten cool points to purple Princes."

There was one pony who wasn't down with this, and he was going to challenge his sister's new rule.

"Hold on, I thought there was a rule about... you know... singling somepony out?"

Kelly shook her head.

"Nah. You can make rules to single someone out. You just can't use the rule to make them mad or intentionally try to embarrass them to the point it's gonna hurt'em. Besides, all you have to do is think of a rhyme. How hard is that?"

Shining bounced that idea around his head for a second.

"Okay. I'll play this little game of yours, sis. Just remember who wears the crown."

Chris looked between the two siblings and then pointed to Twilight.

"She does."

Shining shook his head.

"No, I have a crown our mom gave us that's made of tin foil."

"What!" Becky laughed harder than she should have. "Twilight has a crown made of gold and gemstones that saves the world... And saved my life! You're gonna brag about a tinfoil hat your mom made?"

Twilight suddenly felt conflicted.

"Well, growing up, we were really competitive over it. We both—"

Becky was suddenly losing her mind over this.

"Twi! I don't think you're hearing me on this... You're crown... Gold... His..." She pointed with great enthusiasm. "—is thrown away after you cook food in it... Yours... is a gift from a supernatural force that helps you stop the world from being destroyed... What does his do?"

Twilight finally realized the stark differences between their crowns and started to chuckle, but it quickly grew into a boisterous laugh. She was laughing so hard she had tears in her eyes.

"It! It's... just a crown he gets to wear when he's been a good boy!"

Shining wasn't pleased and crossed his forelegs in a huff while everyone, his wife included, had their biggest laugh of the night.

Luna couldn't believe how amazing this night had become.

"Oh! By my starry night. Celestia must hear of this tomorrow." She flipped a queen. "Social! Everypony! Cheers!"

Everyone around the table gave a hardy toast to those around them. Except Shining. He tried his best to maneuver Mac and Cadence's beer bottles from toasting his, with little success.

Luna had to stop and think of a good word.

"Now then, the word to rhyme for our dear Princes is... prism."

"..." Shining had nothing. "Bucking hot garbage," He scoffed before he took his drink.

Rarity was having a much better time now that more of the alcohol was taking effect.

"How about... you." She flipped an Ace. "Blasted... I don't like these cards. Well, this one should be nice and easy. Worst dancers at the welcome party tonight. A majority of the table must agree."

Lumberman nodded.

"Not bad, Diamonds. You start."

Rarity smiled brightly.

"Well, no contest at all, darling. Filthy Rich, of course."

A round of applause and cheers sprung up from the table, and Becky took a bow.

Cerb took a look around the table to gauge his audience.

"I know three of you won't agree, but me. By far the worst of the seven of us."

Of course, all three of the mares he danced with came to his defense. Even Luna didn't want to agree. However, every human and just enough ponies agreed to let his answer slide.

Fluttershy fiddled with her beer bottle, thinking on how to best answer this topic.

"Umm... Not to sound mean or anything, but... What was Shoeshine even doing out there?"

Lumberman about tipped back in his chair with his reaction.

"Oh, my god! Right! I swear she was the only one who did a solo dance with a partner."

Becky had to give some conversation to try and think of an answer.

"Well, clearly not Derpy, because she killed it out there. Uh... Crap... No! The four chicks at the end that were smothering Chris. That was... I'm so sorry, Chris. Did they hurt you?"

Chris chuckled.

"I think three of 'em stepped on my feet at least once."

Starlight nudged Chris with her elbow.

"Could have been a lot worse, though."

Kelly joked, "Could have been your lucky night, Cowboy."

Benny pointed to the exit.

"Shit. I doubt they live that far away. You still got time."

After the jokes died off, it was back to Rainbow Dash, still trying to think.

"Uh... do any of the foals count?"

"No." Seemed to be the consensus around the table.

Rainbow Dash surrendered and took her bottle.

"Fine, I'll drink."

Cerb went to reach for his card, only to have Rarity's hoof stop him.

"Hold on a moment, now. Shining's word is... miraculous."

Cerb pulled back his hand.

"Oh, shit. Almost forgot. Good catch."

Shining was struggling again.

"Miraculous-Maraculious-Miraculous... Uh... Spectac... ulious?"

Twilight gloated from across the table, "Take a drink, Twinkle Hooves."

While Shining fermented in his spite, Cerb went for his card, flipping a ten.

"That's you, Rarity."

Fluttershy reached out and flipped another ten.

"I hope you're thirsty, Justin."

Cerb answered before taking a good chug.

"Always."

Becky flipped the first card should reach and held it out for everyone to see.

"Okay. New rule added. Since no one likes topics, and we all suck at them. An Ace will now be a jack, and every drink is a partner drink. Pick someone to take a drink with you, but no ganging up on someone. Give'em at least one drink between."

"Lame!" Kelly joked.

Rainbow Dash called out over the table, "Alight, gimme something good, lucky feathers. - " Her wing flipped a Jack " - Yeah. That'll do. And... AJ, partner up."

Applejack joined Rainbow Dash in a drink without complaint.

Rainbow Dash licked her lips.

"And Shining, your word is... orange."

Shining complained as he brought up his drink.

"Twilight! I hate your rule!"

Lumberman chuckled and reached out to flip a King.

"Oh, snap... Hmm... We could do something freaky like spin the bottle-"

"No!" Kelly quickly shouted. "Don't be an ass."

"Crybaby," Lumberman joked, never intending such a rule in the first place. "Okay, I abolish Twilight's rhyming rule after I give him one last chance to make a rhyme."

Shining groaned.

"Thank you."

Lumberman gave a friendly smile. "No problem, man. Oh, and in honor of your sister setting you up like that with her rule, your word is purple."

The proud Prince rose up from his seat, and mocked,

"Ha! You hear that, Twi? It's—" Shining realized at that moment that Lumberman set him free only to have him fail " - Twilight... you have terrible taste in friends."

Lumberman wanted to laugh so badly, but Shining still seemed a little put-off.

"Oh, come on, man. Hey, if you have to drink, you have to pick a partner. Now's your chance."

Hearing that at least brought a slight smile to his face.

"Oh, yeah. Twilight... Drink up."

Twilight raised her bottle.

"Cheers to the Tinfoil Prince."

Shining choked on his beer, foam coming out of his nose, making him cough and hack. "You're just jealous that I still have it."

Twilight glared.

"You never gave me a chance to win it back. But you can keep it. I won a better good girl crown that everypony can be proud of me for."

Cerb interjected into their bickering.

"Wait... Shining would only pick a drinking partner if he missed the topic. Having to drink from rule violations with picking a partner would mean an everlasting loop of the partner having to pick another partner. It would never end."

Applejack aired her grievances to the table.

"Good grief, you're both good ponies, but can't follow the rules. An y'all 'r holding the game up." She flipped her card "Nine."

Pinkie took a large gulp of her drink and flipped a Jack as she shouted, "My drink and my turn! Double drink! I win! I choose Benny and Starlight."

Benny shook his head and started to laugh before taking his drink. "You're one crazy goofball, Pinkie." He flipped a nine. "You, Kel."

Kelly took her drink and flipped over her first Ace.

"Cerb, you and me. And the topic is—Wait... Uh... Luna. You look thirsty. Care to join me in a drink?"

Luna replied with a bit of a drunken smile.

"Love to, my dear."

Big Mac looked over the table and pointed to one that was too far away for him to reach.

"That one."

Cerb flipped it for him.

"Nine. To your left."

Shining raised his drink.

"Fluttershy, you're too quiet. Have a drink." As Fluttershy took her drink he flipped a card with his magic. "If I didn't know any better, I'd swear you all had it out for me... Nine! See! Didn't rig this card."

Chris couldn't help but chuckle as he threw a jab Shining's way, "Emphasis on this card."

At least now Shining didn't seem so put off from the game and was laughing again.

Cadence looked at her card.

"Hey, everypony get thirsty. Queen, social."

Another round of drinks and Chris pulled a Jack.

"Jack myself again. Sniff, will you Jack with me?"

Sniff snickered and raised his glass.

"Yes, but only in protest."

Cerb raised his beer.

"Hey. Friends don't let friends Jack alone."

Lumberman scoffed at the gesture.

"Y'all on yer own."

The guys shared their drinks, and Starlight moved on to flip and Ace.

"Okay, one for me and... Cadence. We need to hang out more. Have a drink with me."

Sniff was looking for one particular card.

"Come on, King." He flipped a Jack instead. "Dang it. Too much Jack'n. Fluttershy, have a sip with me."

Twilight didn't get the reference still and moved on to look for the elusive King.

"Oh." She lamented on her Ace she flipped. "Who's thirsty?"

Everyone raised their hand or hoof.

Still a stickler for the rules, Twilight groaned, "Well, we're not doing a social. Benny, you and me."

Luna looked over the last three cards.

"Two Queens have come and gone under our rule. Now for the King to fall." She grinned deviously and flipped a ten. "Drats. Tis your drink again, Twilight."

Twilight took a quick look around the table.

"Okay, Shining, you played a good game. And you're the best BBBFF I could hope for."

Shining gripped his bottle with his magic.

"Thanks, Twilly."

"Yep," Twilight smiled sweetly and turned to another part of the table. "Big Mac, drink with me."

Again, the table busted out laughing, even Shining.

Sniff managed to speak through his laughs, "Damn, Twiggels. That's cold-blooded. Plus another hundred cool points."

Rarity hesitated on which card to flip.

"It's such a shame only two cards are left. How about... you."

She flipped another ten.

Cerb reached for the last card.

"A ten, Luna, that's you, which means—" He flipped the last King. "—my card is useless. Good game."

Pinkie shouted, "That was fun! Can we play again?"

Cerb grabbed his beer and stood up.

"Y'all can play, but I'm out."

A mix of whines and request to come back called out from the table.

Cerb pushed in his chair.

"Nah, believe me, I'd love to, but I'm beat."

Becky started to gather the cards to shuffle them.

"Come on. Sit down and play another round with us. You barely even danced today."

The dance wasn't the only reason he was tired, and was about to explain it to them.

"Yeah, I didn't dance a lot because I was already feeling it. Walking around in the whole mini-carnival outside. Playing with the local kids, plus the workout and training session... on top of all I've been drinking... Sorry, I think I'm done for the day."

There was a visible sway and lean to Cerb's stance as he stood in front of the table. To those who knew him, they could tell he shouldn't be walking home.

Thinking fast, Benny tried to get Twilight involved.

"Hey, Twilight. You don't mind if we all crash here tonight, do ya?"

Twilight had been rolling some thoughts around in her mind before the question was fully processed.

"Hm? Oh! Of course not. You're all more than welcome to stay."

Cerb was fighting the fact that he was too drunk to manage a walk home in this state.

"Princess, I appre-see-ate the offer. But I should head home."

Kelly tried to reason with him. "Justin, you're too drunk to go off, wandering around, in the dark."

Lumberman thought of some middle ground to offer.

"Yo, dude, we can get you a room off to yourself. You'll be fine in, so just chill here for the night... We got you, man."

It was a tempting offer, and he didn't feel himself sobering up at the moment.

"Screw it. I'm in for another round."

They played one more game of Kings with much better results. One of the highlights of the game was Pinkie having the bright idea to make all of the nines into Kings. That opened up Chris to invoke the Rarity Rule, where every sentence had to end with 'darling.' Shining got his hoof on head rule again, which he abused religiously. Needless to say, it was a good thing that the point of the game was only to take a drink, not a shot. Everyone left the second game with a wonderful drunken glow.

Postgame, Sniff looked around the room with his empty glasses.

"Heh... Where's all the bread? I could use something to help obzorb the alcohol. And werz Spike?"

Twilight was walking with a slight sway behind him.

"Bread is in tha kitchen and Spike iz width the Little Cuties Marks Saders at Rare-tees."

Chris held his head.

"Jesus. The hell was I thinking? Two days in a row."

Lumberman held up two finger guns.

"Just stay away from any and all cakes, Cowboy."

Cerb felt like living it up a bit more.

"Hey... Is there a hot tub up in dis bitch?"

Cadence giggled.

"No, but I'm sure we could make one." She turned to Sniff and Twilight heading down the hallway to the kitchen. "Twilly! Let's make-um ah hawt tub."

"What?!"

"On ur roof!"

"What on tha roof?"

"A hawt... tub... Let's make one."

Twilight could have sworn she heard a question being asked, only for her to finally remember in her drunken recall.

"Okay! That's great idea! I'll get the bread!"

After a quick beer run to the dining hall and a long walk up to the roof, they were there in all the midnight glory the night sky had to offer.

Twilight took a wide stance next to the other royals and Starlight.

"Okay, everypony, stand back." She turned her eyes to the sky. "Never done this before."

Magic gathered in the horns of the drunken mares and stallion, focusing on what they wanted to create. An aura started to form and swirled in a circle. The crystal roof began to glow as the aura raised itself along the edges, and the center sunk further in. Then, finishing in a flash of light, their monstrosity emerged.

Applejack, without remorse, asked, "Di y'all mean tu-do that?"

Before them, raised from the crystal rooftop, by definition, was a hot tub. However, the edges were all slanted at different angles, and different sections were raised or lowered to different heights. Even more amusing was that each mismatched section was decorated in the style of the unicorns and alicorns who helped to make it. None of them rose more than a few inches from the base, making them more of a trip hazard than anything else.

Rainbow Dash asked, cocking her head to the side, "Does it even work?"

A series of water jets started to spray the inside of the tube, each with different pressures. One jet even managed to spray so hard it overshot the tub and went off the side of the castle.

Twilight downplayed its laughable appearance.

"It's fine. I can fix it tomorrow."

As the party was making small talk and sharing music, the water was nearing its fill level. That's when Chris realized something.

"Who has any swimming trunks?"

Every human looked down to their clothes.

It started with Cerb pulling off his shirt.

"Fuck it."

Becky cringed.

"No way! I'm not skinny dipping."

Cerb was already undoing his pants and started to slide out of them.

"No. Calm down. " He lost balance and fell to his side. "Just down to underwear. Jesus."

Becky looked down her shirt to make sure she was still wearing a bra.

"Oh... Hey, Rarity? Are my new panties gonna shrink when they get wet?"

Rarity wasn't as intoxicated as she had been just after the last game but still had a slight slur.

"No, dear. You fine to wear 'em en the hot 'ub.

Now, everyone should know that there's a certain amount of bravery and boldness that comes with alcohol. Standing with more confidence in just your underwear is one such example.

So, there in the soft glow of a starlit night and nearly moonless sky, seven human figures in nothing but their skivvies could only faintly have the normally hidden curves, and sculpted portions of their bodies, tease the ponies eyes. But with so little light, and alcohol affecting their focus, it was hard to make out much of anything. Even still, every unabashed glance the many ponies could take was one they couldn't avoid sneaking in.

After a bit longer, Lumberman ran his hand through the water.

"Waters, good. How do we heat it up?"

No answer came from the ponies.

Sniff had to call out to them.

"Yo! Twiggels, Starpower, Dancing Queen, Bro-Shield, Moonbutt... Y'all with us?"

"Huh?"

"What?"

And other confused voices spoke up.

Lumberman reiterated the status of this venture.

"The water in the hot tub... it's not hot... What do?"

Starlight announced as she moved up to the water's edge.

"I got this one."

A glow from her horn created a flash of violet light that sparkled in the water. It made the water start to steam ever so slightly, with trails of white vapor funneling up off the water's surface.

Cadence swayed her hips out in front of the others.

"I got the next part,"

She stepped alongside Starlight and started to gather her magic, creating an eerie wisp that grew to the size of a softball at the tip of her horn. Once large enough, it floated down to her lips and she blew it into the water.

The puff of magic fizzled into the surface, creating an eruption of bubbles that quickly spread through the entire tub.

Sniff looked at the spectacle with intrigue.

"I feel like someone should call out adult swim."

Pinkie's voice shouted as she jumped into the pool-sized hot tub, "Cannonball!" and splashed everyone.

Twilight cried out, "Pinkie! It's not that kind of pool."

Cerb's voice suddenly shot out from the side.

"Benny! Go deep!"

Benny yelped.

"Put me down, asshole!"

Everyone turned to see Cerb throwing Benny in next to Pinkie.

As the splashes and sputtering from Benny filled the ears of everyone, Rarity stood stupefied next to Cerb.

"Justin, what are you—" Chancing his luck with Rarity, Cerb had picked her up against his chest with both arms locked around her. "Woa!"

Before she could protest, Cerb fell backwards into the hot tub, taking her with him.

When they both emerged, Cerb floated up with an innocent smile.

"You were coming in, right?"

Rarity only grinned mischievously as she used her magic to funnel a torrent of water down over Cerb's head.

As everyone else started to jump in, Lumberman nudged Applejack's flank.

"Hey... bringing back fond memories?"

Applejack would play his game.

"You pouring drinks down my throat and throwing me in a tub of water just to get yer hands all over me. Yeah, I seem to recall you enjoying yourself."

Lumberman reached out to grab Applejack.

"Oh, you think you're so cute, don't cha?" He managed to get his hands around her waist before she could run away. "Maybe this time you'll behave yerself with yer friends around."

Applejack yelped, "Woody!" But was chucked into the water with everyone else.

The mood was playful and hyper as they all thrashed around and splashed each other for a good ten minutes before they grew tired and made their way to the edge to sit and relax.

Sniff twisted off the top to another bottle of beer and looked around the tub again.

"Ya know, it's more like a hot pool than a hot tub, but rather fitting for a Princess."

Twilight was lounging next to Sniff and was finally sobering up.

"I don't know why I never thought to put one in before. After a long stressful day of dealing with the issues in Canterlot or saving Equestria again, I could have really used this."

Sniff nudged his cold bottle against Twilight's shoulder.

"The sweet life of royalty stressing you out, Princess?"

Pinkie chimed in to clarify as she floated by in an inner tube, "Twilight's always stressing out over every little thing. Next thing she'll need to install is her own personal spa."

Lumberman laughed.

"Hey, that's right up your alley, Sniff."

Applejack downed another gulp of her beer before asking for clarification.

"What'd 'ya mean up his alley? He used tuh work at one or something?"

Cerb shouted from the other side of the water, "Not even close. Pretty boy is practically a Princess himself for all the time he spends getting pampered at one spa or the next."

Twilight asked, giving him a questionable look, "Really? Actually, I don't think I should be surprised anymore. You seem to enjoy the finer parts of everything."

Sniff shrugged.

"I'm a pleasure seeker. What can I say?"

Twilight chirped back, "That you're a glutton."

A groan of recoils and hisses lined the edges of the pool, all his friends getting a kick out of the burn.

Sniff countered the Princess.

"Hey, that's not fair to say. I give as good as I get."

Twilight snorted with a laugh.

"How is pampering yourself in any way connected to giving back to others."

Kelly warned, "Don't do it, Sniff."

Searching for a clue, Twilight asked, "Don't what?"

Even Chris had to give his two cents.

"Dude. Let this one go. Seriously."

Twilight snapped, "Don't what? What are you doing?"

Sniff raised his hands in self-defense.

"Nothing. Seriously."

The poor Princess was so lost.

"Then why are they telling you not to—" She turned to the others. "Not do what, exactly?"

Lumberman rolled his eyes and wiggled his fingers.

"Work his magic fingers."

Rainbow Dash gasped.

"Yes! Do it!"

Rarity had forgotten about the bet until just now.

"Sniff, darling. You simply must give Twilight an example. She needs to see what you can do, first hoof. As do I, actually."

Cerb asked abruptly, "Ya do?"

Rarity turned back to Cerb, who looked as if he was waiting for the request.

"Oh... well. I was referring to myself needing to see Twilight taken care of, but if you're willing, I would be accepting."

Sounding like he was trying to be overly cautious, Cerb asked, "Just like a back and shoulder rub?"

Rarity didn't understand the need for concern but didn't let that stop her.

"Well, certainly those spots. But whatever your hands can do, please feel free to show me."

Rainbow Dash cracked open another beer. She had stopped drinking earlier, but she wanted to have a cold one to enjoy this.

"Hey! Don't forget about Fluttershy there, puppy boy! Work those wing joints so she can fly easier." She took a quick swig of her beer. "Hey, mind given me a little rub down, Becks?"

Becky snorted before putting down her drink.

"God, Rainbow. You're so needy... Come here."

Rarity suddenly melted into Cerb's hands.

"Oh... dear me."

Rainbow Dash was being awarded the same treatment on her end.

"Ooooh, yeah... That's the stuff."

Applejack apologized as she moved over to sit between Lumberman's legs.

"I tried to warn ya, Twilight. But... Come on, Woody. Get to it. Thirty minutes. I'm calling it in."

Lumberman grunted, "Damn it. Should have just taken the W when you offered it."

Twilight groaned, "Fine... let's get this over with."

Sniff turned frantically about to the sight of the hot tub suddenly turning into an underwater massage parlor.

"Wait? What? What the fuck did I just miss? What the fuck is happening."

Starlight answered for her royal mentor.

"Twilight took a bet from Rainbow Dash without putting any thought into it."

Twilight turned to Sniff with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"It didn't have to be you. But like I told you earlier. The bet was that a human could give a better massage than a pony."

Sniff blanked out for a moment before raising his beer bottle and pour it over the edge.

"Alright. That's it. I'm going sober. Magic and alcohol do not mix. I'm done. Kelly, you drunk enough to take over?"

Kelly wasn't going to let him worm his way out.

"Ha! Recovering stab victim slash Magic exhaustion victim, recovering from a night of dancing and drinking. Besides, if my hands were up for the challenge, pretty sure I'd be working on Big Mac's back for lugging me around all this time."

Big Mac nodded.

"Euyup."

Sniff hoped for a savior from his most saintly friend.

"Benny?"

Pinkie answered, "Sorry, Smelly, but BenBen is currently knuckles deep in Balloon Butt."

Cerb called out, "Phrasing!" To no response "What? Seriously, guys? Are we not doing that anymore? Is Phrasing not a thing anymore?"

Sniff turned to his one last hope.

"Hey, Chris. Come on, man. You're no—"

Chris apologized abruptly, "I kinda burnt that bridge, bro."

Now Sniff was just as confused as he was without hope.

"The fuck?"

Twilight grumbled, "He said no and ran off with his funnel cake."

Chris pulled Starlight in front of him for defense.

"She asked me out of the fucking blue. No warning, and in front of the whole town. It would have been weird."

For a moment, Sniff thought there could be no good excuse for his brony buddy turning down an offer like that.

"Chris! We're in a magic fucking hot tub, bigger than the kiddie pool at a Holiday Inn, with four magical talking ponies that rule over this world... After they just threw us a dance party with the entire town... What about this whole thing isn't weird?"

Somehow ignoring Sniff's speech, Luna posed a question, "Do we get a turn?"

Cadence whined, "Yeah! Quit being so stingy, girls."

Shining made an offer, "We can pay?" Causing a glare from his wife. "For both of us? How about it, Chris?"

"Mmm," Starlight moaned, having quickly convinced Chris to work on her to avoid a power struggle over him between the others. "Sorry, Chris is busy now. I'm getting my reward for fighting for his honor... or something."

Rainbow Dash brohoofed with Starlight.

"Oh, yeah."

All eyes from unrubbed ponies were now on Sniff, and it felt like the eyes were drilling into his very soul.

"No!... Stop looking at me. You're making this weird."

Chris didn't skip a beat.

"Sniff. We're sitting in a hot tub—"

"I will drop-kick your ass off this rooftop, Chris." Sniff stopped his brony buddy for turning his own logic against him.

After that exchange, Sniff had to weigh his options here carefully and decided to start with questions.

"Twilight... what did you bet?"

Twilight huffed, blowing bubbles underwater.

"Thebt Ib wear Rarigidies filbiedest frbrbru frbrbru drebbsss."

Clearly not the response Sniff was looking for.

"Oh, my god. Everyone out. Hot tubs and alcohol makes ponies retarded."

Twilight raised her muzzle out of the water and flared out her wings as she screamed her answer again.

"I said that I'd wear Rarity's frilliest frufru dress!"

Rainbow Dash added one more thing before Becky hit another sweet spot.

"Aaaaaaand be announced as Pretty Pretty Princess Twiggels Twinkles. Oou... Yes.. right there, but harder."

A lone royal stallion's voice answered the question left unasked.

"Yes. I will pay you one thousand bits to give my sister the best message ev-Ah!" - Shining was punched in the back of the head by his loving wife - "Cadence, please. You don't know how bad I want to see this."

Sniff paused for a moment, thinking about seeing Twilight like that.

"Oh, my god, that sounds hilarious... But I don't think so."

Twilight was suddenly at her wit's end, being turned down by literally every human.

"Do I stink! Is that it?! And no pony wants to tell me?"

Sniff was quick to put down her self-deprecating questions.

"No! No! Hey. Look. All jokes aside, Twilight, I actually like you. Okay? So I don't want to be the guy who screws you over on this bet. And honestly... I don't know you like that."

Twilight asked, a bit insulted, "Know me like what?"

Sniff gave her a moment to calm down before proceeding.

"Twilight, please... stop and think. If any of my friends came up to you and, or even if it were me asking you this, would you be comfortable with putting your hooves or wings on me and rubbing me up and down because I had a bet that ponies were better at humans for back rubs?"

Lumberman had an answer for that.

"They're pretty good actually,"

Sniff continued, "Ignore him, Twiggels. Alright?... Just tell me two things. One, would you be mad at me if I'm the reason you lost this bet? And two, do you even want me to put my hands on you like that? I mean... do you even trust me enough to think I wouldn't do something inappropriate?"

Those questions were reasonable but unwarranted for Twilight.

"Well, for one, no. I wouldn't be mad at you. I'd be mad at myself for accepting this stupid bet, and mad at Rainbow Dash for making it. And two... I trust you with Spike. He's more than a friend or an assistant. He's part of my family. Just like all of your friends are to you. And you trust they'll be safe with all of my friends. So why wouldn't I trust you?"

Twilight continued with a new tactic in mind.

"Honestly, as much of a jerk you can be at times... I think I trust you most of all." She leaned out from the edge to face the other humans. "No offense."

There were no complaints.

After that was said, Twilight didn't want to admit this next portion but couldn't think of a reason not to.

"And honestly, with all of the added stress that's been put on my shoulders since you all ended up here, I'd be willing to lose this bet if your hands are good enough to work out all the stress-tension I have in my back."

Sniff complained as he pulled Twilight over and sat her on his knees, "Swear ta god, these guilt trips and your puppy dog eyes will be the death of me. But, I'm new to this whole pony massage thing, so tell me if I do anything wrong."

Twilight felt a little strange sitting on his legs, but at least she was getting this taken care of, in a win-win sort of approach. Then finally, his hands came down on her shoulders. And they were perfectly... okay. Just... okay. Like a six outta ten.

Twilight relaxed.

"You can go a little harder. And thank you. This is nice."

A look of disappointment washed over Rainbow Dash's face. Now she had to find a way to get out of wearing a dress.

Sniff was worried he was putting her in a lose-lose situation and asked, "You feeling a little better, at least?"

After all that worrying, Twilight could taste sweet victory.

"Yep," She chirped, "Much better, in fact."

That was a relief Sniff was happy to hear.

"Good. I was worried for a moment there. You were super tense when I first started."

Sniff had a cute little laugh, Twilight thought to herself. And it was nice to know that he seemed to sincerely care about her. Even his hands felt better now. Like a seven outta ten.

Wait... Much better.

Why were his hands now exceeding the ten-out-of-ten model?

Bittersweet defeat is all Twilight could taste.

"Awe, fuck."

Sniff chuckled, thinking he just heard Twilight curse again.

"What was that?"

Twilight started to slump forward with an invisible glow about her.

"I said I'm Pretty Pretty Princess Twiggels Twinkles."

And now the night is mostly over. Too bad for Pretty Pretty Princess Twiggels Twinkles. So close.

And sorry if this chapter didn't do much, story-wise for you. One, I really wanted to have a big group event of just them having fun and relaxing around each other. Two, I wanted to show them around others while having their potential love interest and infatuations questioned or hinted at. And three... some ponies have some secrets to discover.

Regardless, drunk ponies. Glorious stuff.

Get ready for the end of the after-party. Chapter 39. Dreamers Insight: Tell Me Your Desires

Also, I tried a new focus on how I structure dialog. It's not entirely consistent, just to add some creative flair and break things up a bit, but let me know if the story reads better than previous chapters.

Questions, comments, and critiques always welcome.