8: Not Grain, Grain Alcohol
Chapter 8: Not Grain, Grain Alcohol
“It’s my birthday,” I said to Rainbow.
“Oh! I didn’t get you anything,” she said, looking apologetic.
“I didn’t expect you to,” I told her. “I do want you to come to the bars with me tonight, though.”
“Is that a good idea?” she asked. We’d both seen rowdy drunks around campus. Ponies seemed to be naturally suspicious of alcohol anyway.
“You don’t have to drink,” I said. “I’d just feel better with someone there to keep me out of trouble.”
“Are you planning on getting in trouble?” Rainbow asked accusingly.
“No, nothing like that. It’s my first time, and I just want to play it safe.” I admit to having some prior drinking experience, but I didn’t know what would happen when I felt obligated to imbibe because it was legal.
“Will there be any others going?” asked Rainbow.
“I also invited Nathan and Carol,” I said. “It’ll give you a chance to get to know them.”
“All right,” said Rainbow. “I get off work at eight.”
“Sounds good. See you,” I said. Rainbow put on her Jimmy John’s uniform and left. I picked through my closet looking for something to wear that evening. I was reasonably sure that I was going to get stinking drunk, and so decided that I could dress down just a little. No need to risk ruining my nicest outfits. Also, high heels would probably be a bad idea.
Carol and Nathan were both old enough to drink. Since my revelation that Rainbow was older than most of the other freshman, I had wondered how exactly human years compared to pony years. Regardless, the law said she was legal.
Carol showed up first, disappointed me slightly. I had hoped to have a few minutes alone with Nathan. However, when he showed up he gave me a kiss anyway. That would have to do for now.
Rainbow arrived when she said she would. She’d briefly met my two guests before, and said hello. Carol turned away as the pony began to take her clothing off. Nudity laws didn’t apply to Equestrians for cultural reasons, but seeing anyone stripping down made most humans glance away instinctively.
Rainbow’s mane was a little matted from being under her hat. She mussed it with a hoof and let it fall into whatever position it wanted. She had never shown much interest in fancy styling.
“I’ve got my ID and money,” said the pony. “Let’s go.”
The four of us headed off towards Chauncey Hill and the bars there. The closest one to campus was the oddly-named Chocolate Shop. Further down was Jake’s, Where Else, and Brother’s. If we wanted to walk quite a bit further, we could go to the Neon Cactus club or across the river to one of a multitude of other places.
Since it was my birthday, I decided that maybe we should just stay close. After all, we’d have to walk back at the end of the night.
Rainbow wore the dexterity enhancers on her forehooves. I still called them claws because that was easier. She’d been working with the professor that had invented them, and various attachments had sprouted from the bands that encircled her hooves.
“Is that new?” I asked, pointing.
Rainbow glanced down. Split between the two enhancers, there was a clear plastic sleeve to keep her ID, some small loops, and a pocket or two. All those things were beginning to spread up her ankles, almost taking on the look of boots.
She nodded. “Yeah, since I started working, I needed a place to keep money and pens because I don’t have pockets.”
“Makes sense,” I said.
She shot me a look. “Cash is really difficult to deal with. I can barely remember how to make change, and those little coins are hard to sort out.”
Nathan chuckled and squeezed my hand. “Well, birthday girl, at least you didn’t need to bring money tonight. I’m buying for you.”
“Well, in that case…” I happily pulled him towards the Chocolate Shop. The guy at the door examined my driver’s license, wishing me happy birthday. He checked Nathan and Carol. I thought he looked kind of surprised to see a pony trying to get into the bar, but her ID checked out, so he waved her through the door.
The building the Chocolate Shop is housed in is probably a hundred years old, and it looks like it. None of the décor matches. They don’t mind if drunken customers write on the walls with a marker, either. Still, it’s kind of a local legend and I didn’t want my first legal drink to be from anyplace else. It was still early, so the crowd wasn’t too heavy. The bartender took our order almost immediately.
“Cranberry juice, Southern Comfort, and lime,” I said.
“Uh, I guess I’ll have one of those too,” said Rainbow.
“What are you getting?” I asked Nathan.
He laughed. “Nothing girly like that. I want a beer.”
“Girly?” asked Rainbow, looking at me.
“As opposed to something that burns your throat and makes your eyes water,” I said. Rainbow shrugged. The bartender came back with our drinks. He helpfully offered Rainbow a straw so she wouldn’t have to figure out how to pick the glass up.
I took a sip. While I wasn’t a “party every weekend” kind of girl, I did know a little about what I liked and what I didn’t. There was no point in ordering something that you wouldn’t enjoy.
Rainbow sampled her drink. “This tastes like candy.”
I nodded. “That’s a ‘girly’ drink for you.”
The pony shrugged and drained the rest of her glass. I was just about to warn her about getting buzzed despite the fruity taste, but Nathan pulled me aside. “Where do you want to go next?”
“Just head down the street, I guess.” As soon as I was finished with my drink, we left.
It took a moment to explain to Rainbow the concept of a bar crawl. “If you’re just trying to get drunk, the easiest way is to stay in one place,” I said. “This, however, is a social experience.”
“You always get more wordy when you’ve got some liquor in you,” laughed Carol.
Rainbow had a glass of beer at the next place, and announced that she was feeling somewhat tipsy. I wondered if she was really that lightweight, or just playing it safe. Nathan bought a couple of shots of some vodka with a fancy name and had me drink one.
I had a margarita at the third bar just for a change of pace. Rainbow declined another drink. At this point, I was feeling pretty good, and decided that maybe we should go dancing after all. It was still early.
We all made the trek down the hill to the Neon Cactus. The drinks there were a little different. The beer was served in giant plastic mugs referred to as cactus cups. Of course, I had to get one. Carol ordered something on the rocks. Rainbow appeared to be done drinking for the night.
“Hey, where are you going?” I asked, pulling at Nathan’s sleeve.
“Just the restroom,” he said. “Be back soon.”
I decided to have a seat while I waited for him to come back. Rainbow and Carol joined me.
“So, we’ve got time to talk,” said Carol. “What’s the weirdest thing about coming to Earth, Rainbow?”
“There’s a whole lot of things,” the pony replied.
“Name just one,” I said.
“Ice,” said Rainbow, gesturing to Carol’s drink. “As a species, you all have this weird obsession with cold beverages. Every soda fountain I’ve ever seen here has an ice maker attached to it.”
“I don’t think it’s quite species-wide,” said Carol. “In other parts of the world they aren’t so big on ice.”
Rainbow shrugged. “Maybe I’ll have to visit there someday.”
I drained my cactus cup and told the two of them I was going to get a refill. On the way to the bar, I noticed my feet wandering from my intended path just a bit. I giggled a little. I could feel myself moving from a heavy buzz to truly drunk.
I returned to the table a few minutes later with a full cup, minus what I’d drank along the way. Rainbow and Carol were looking at me seriously. As intoxicated as I may have been, I noticed.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
“Nathan’s cheating on you,” said Rainbow.
“We don’t know that!” said Carol, giving her a look. She turned back to me. “From across the room, we saw him talking to some girl. The two of them went somewhere.”
“No, that’s impossible,” I said angrily. “Why would you say that?”
Rainbow shrugged. “We saw it.”
“You’re lying,” I shot back. “I don’t believe this. He wouldn’t do that.”
“Calm down,” said Carol.
“Where is he?” I demanded, my voice a little louder than necessary.
“Don’t do something you’re going to regret.” Carol put a hand on my arm.
“Is everything all right?” asked a burly guy wearing a shirt with the logo of the bar on it.
“Boyfriend issues,” explained Carol quickly.
“You don’t want to cause any trouble,” said the man.
“I’m not!” I shouted.
“Why don’t you get out of here before someone calls the cops?” the bar guy suggested.
“This isn’t—” I was cut off as Carol jerked on my arm and Rainbow pushed on my back. I had to start walking to keep from losing my balance, and they kept me moving all the way out the door.
“This is bullshit!” I shouted. “What are you doing? I have to get back in there!”
“Take a few breaths,” suggested Carol. “You don’t want to be a mean drunk.”
I started to protest again, but she interrupted me. “We’ll take you home. Let’s go.”
I shook myself out of her grip. “Leave me alone. Fine, I’ll go. I don’t need any help from you.”
I turned on my heel and walked away. I was having trouble going in a straight line, and that infuriated me. On the plus side, my decision not to wear heels was looking pretty smart.
Pulling out my cell, I tried to call Nathan. It went straight to voicemail. I thought that Carol and Rainbow might be back at the bar trying to frame him for something and he couldn’t answer his phone.
I stabbed my hand into my purse and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. I dropped the lighter twice before I managed to get one lit up.
Making my way back up the hill towards the dorm, I passed a couple of groups of happy people either going to or coming from some bar. They all looked glad to be with their friends. Some friends that I turned out to have.
I made it back to my room and fell into bed without taking my clothes off. I was in no mood. A few minutes passed, and my phone beeped with an incoming text message. I glanced at it. It was from Carol. I hope you’re all right. Are you back to the dorm? Did you see Rainbow?
I sent her a rather rude reply and shut the phone off.
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"Nathan pulled me aside. 'Where do you want to go next?”
'Just head down the street, I guess.”
Wow, this girl's got a real festive sprit, doesn't she?
Jeez. "It's my birthday, but whatever. We could go somewhere else I GUESS."
And the mediocre love side story reaches the halfway mark. Now for her to get with that other guy she said she didn't like.
GASP!!! Nathan is cheating on her!!! How could he!?!?
Rarity: You are such a drama queen.
Am I the only one that thinks bar crawling is boring as shit? Also, I really wonder how a drunken rainbow dash would be supposed to open a human door
You go to bar for 21st B-Day, I buy Taurus Model 66 for my 21st B-Day.
744068
Nice to see that I'm not the only one that can read between the storylines.
“Ice,” said Rainbow, gesturing to Carol’s drink. “As a species, you all have this weird obsession with cold beverages. Every soda fountain I’ve ever seen here has an ice maker attached to it.”
Huh??? I'm pretty sure they served cold drinks on the show. Ice cream floats, for one.
don't know why but my heart drop'ed after dashie said
"Nathans cheating on you"
i felt real sad for her
744629 now that's a buckin' party!
Kind of expected.. Knew he'd be cheating on her since the Facebook 'incident'
746418
Only if I buy some ammo and go to the range.
for dash's explaing of "ice"
media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m4r6siYXSE1qf9798.jpg
One thing HOW DOES PONYIES DO'NT GASP IDEA OF GIRLY.
IF THIS REAL UNIVERSE I WILL END IT
So yeah, that wasn't hard to figure out. Also I like that Rainbow is the one to come out and say it- she's usually good with hard truths.
752307
3.media.tumblr.com/4p9526O82lh0bgqmCSyBp8DQo1_400.jpg
;)
here, have a drunk RD static.fjcdn.com/comments/lol+drunk+discord.+how+bout+drunk+rainbow+dash+_9fba61bcc73030278b9405587f60a58a.jpg
Is the element of Loyalty about to throw down???
749782im pretty sure you meant this...fimfiction-static.net/images/story_images/60428.png?1351659719
So, unfortunately, I saw this chapter's "reveal" a few chapters back. Oh well. Onward!
i KNEW IT
I don't know if it's because if how little we actually know about the characters or how their dialogue is written or just the writing in general, but they just all seem so emotionless and robotic. Even when she's supposed to feel angry the mc still reminds me of Kristen Stewart at her most emotionless. All these chapters in and I haven't been given a single reason to care for her besides being Rainbow's roommate.
10097192
Fair criticism. Though, given the choice between her and Rainbow, who do you want to care about?