The Burning Bridle - (Berry Punch x Anon) (UNFINISHED)

>How do you even get yourself into these situations
>You're happy, you've got a place to sleep, some decent friends, nice clothes
>You even have a nice job, screw what everyone says, nine to five has its perks
>You have fulfilling hobbies
>Well, none are coming to mind at the moment but you're sure they're there
>Yeah, you're happy
>Anyone could see that
>...Duh
>"Hello? Equestria to Anon, come in, Anon!"
>Rainbow Dash had not stopped pestering you since you agreed to go to the bar with her
>At least Applejack was being a bit more understanding about the whole situation
>Admittedly though, she had caught you deep in thought, might as well make yourself more amiable
>Time to snap out of it, you had nothing to worry about anyway
>Afterall, you've got a lot going for you right?
"I'm fine Rainbow, just wondering if this could go as bad as last time, that's all."
>You may have been joking, but there certainly was a bit of truth in your words
>You're friends sucked at "getting you out there"
>"Hey come on! At least me and Applejack are still trying! And you gotta admit, this is already a way better idea than that blind date Twilight had set up for you last week!"
>Applejack seem to chuckle at that
>"Hehe, ah reckon things will go a tad bit smoother this time around, let the ladies come to you, ya know? Besides, Lemon Hearts never was really all that excitin'"
"No shit, have you heard the story of how she got her head stuck in a beaker? How is that even possible?"
>You all laughed, the night having its silence disturbed for a brief moment
>Finally, you asked
"Where are we going anyway?"
>Rainbow Dash swooped in front of you, the grin on her face as wide as could be
>"Only the coolest, most awesome, bar in all of Equestria! Not to mention a place with only the cutest of mares"
>Her eyebrows bounced up and down with the last sentence
>As much as you appreciated the support, you couldn't help but be skeptical
"If this place is so awesome, then how come we haven't gone to it during any of our nights spent bar crawling?"
>It was Applejack who answered for her
>"Consider it a secret weapon, sugarcube. We just wanted to save the best for last, that's all."
>They're so full of shit
>Then again, they have tried very hard to find you somebody, even if you really never wanted the help
>Truth be told, you were lucky to have such good friends
>"Well, here we are!"
>Your eyes followed Applejack's extended hoof to a wooden sign, a sign that was far more vibrant than that of the bars the three of you normally frequented.
"The... Burning Bridle?"
>You barely finished before Rainbow Dash rushed towards you, pressing her face against yours before backing away, hovering in the air
>"Yup! Go on inside! We'll follow you! We wouldn't want any of the available mares to think you were taken now would we?
>You rolled your eyes, failing to fight back a grin
>Well what the hell did you have to lose?
>Who knows, maybe there was someone in there for you
>A girl who, perhaps, had less of a tendency to get her head stuck in beakers
>You made your way towards the door, looking back at Rainbow and Applejack for reassurance
>As always, the reassurance was there, Applejack making a "go on in" motion with one of her hooves, smiling her encouragement
>Taking a deep breath, you pushed open the door, a cascade of stimuli hitting you all at once
>This was definitetly something else entirely
>The place had 3 separate stories, each crowded with different groups of ponies
>Some dancing
>Some drinking
>Some yelling incoherently
>The place smelled of smoke and alcohol and the air was filled with lively music, laughter, and general good feelings
>It was a lot to take in at once
"Applejack, is this a bar or a nightclub?"
>She laughed "You don't worry your pretty little head about all of that, all you need to know is that the girls are single and the drinks are cheap! At least for us ladies, anyway."
>The most alluring sight was the staircase that lead to the third floor
>it was barely visible from down where you were
>Bright colors of beautiful displays poured out of the doorway at hypnotic rhythms
>Applejack steered your gaze away from the door
>Easy there, Anon, that there is for later tonight. More of a club up there than a humble ole bar."
>Before you could even ponder what that meant, she shoved you onto a bar stool, with a young stallion bartender awaiting your order
>You gathered yourself and began to speak
"I'll have a glass of-"
>Without warning, Rainbow zoomed to the stool next to you
>"He'll have vodka! 2 shots! Chop Chop barkeep!"
>You glared daggers into Rainbow Dash, what the hell was her gambit?
>She drugged, deflecting your accusations
>"What? You wanna have a good time don't you? You're always so uptight anyway."
>You couldn't help but be offended
"The hell's that supposed to mean?"
>Applejack gently elbowed Rainbow, laughing
>"Until you get him a tad liquored up! Then he's a riot!"
>You laughed, afterall you did kind of get out of hand when you drank
>...Nowadays anyway
>Your drinks were placed in front of you, followed by Rainbow sliding a few bits to the bartender
>"Don't worry Anon," She winked "We gotcha covered"
>Applejack mirrored the statement
>"Honest. We just want ya to have a good time"
>You really didn't deserve friends this good
"Thanks, really, but I can-"
>Rainbow started snickering
>Does she really have to keep cutting you off like that?
"What? What is it now?"
>She pointed a hoof to an area behind you, the other covering her grin
>"Speaking of a good time, looks like you may have found you one if you play your cards right!"
>You turned in the direction of her gesture, and your eyes fell upon a purple mare whose gaze was bouncing back and forth between her drink and you
>Once she made eye contact, her face flushed red and she returned to staring at her glass, alone at the end of the bar
>Poor thing
>...How can someone who is purple blush anyway?
>You felt an elbow in your back
>Oh boy, here it comes
>"What 'er ya waitin' for, Anon? Go talk to her!"
>Rainbow chimed in, pushing the shot glasses towards you
>"Don't forget your liquid courage, huh?
>Well what if you didn't wanna talk to her?
>You could have any damn mare you wanted
>I mean look at you! Who would wanna pass you up?
>...
>Maybe you should talk to her
>Man, you can be a pushover some times
>You stood up to walk over, but you found yourself hesitating
>You had been off the dating scene a while
>What if you make a fool of yourself?
>What if this ends up like every other attempt at a relationship you have had so far?
>You heard Applejack and Rainbow saying something behind you
>Probably more words of support
>You weren't entirely sure what they said, honestly it probably didn't matter
>You were focused on the two shots next to you
>You muttered to yourself
"...Liquid courage."
>Well, this is how you solved most problems in life, who's to say it couldn't fix this one?
>Without responding to your friends, you slammed the two shots
>Whatever it was, it was strong
>This music seemed a lot better all of a sudden
>"Haha! Look at him! Doesn't even need a chaser!"
>God damnit, Rainbow
>"We'll leave you to it, hotshot. Put whatever drinks you order on our tab, just don't get too crazy all right?"
>With that, your 2 friends wandered off to mingle, leaving you to whatever trouble you could find yourself in
>You flagged the bartender
"Another round for me please, I'll be at the end of the bar
>The bartender mumbled his confirmation and you made your way over, bumping into various ponies on your way
>Are you really losing your footing at 2 shots?
>Either you got really light all of a sudden, or you drank the alcoholic equivalent of a freight train
>Fuck it, you'll be fine
>You were close to her now
>You got your first good look at her
>She sure was a mess
>How long had she been here?
>Her head was down, with her hair obscuring most of her face
>Well she probably wasn't the most pretty thing in Equestria, but hey, she could make a good practice run for some of the better looking girls
>She clearly didn't know you were there
>Alright, time to make your move, she won't see you coming!
>You sat down next to her and put on your best smile
"Hey! My name's-"
>"Eep!"
>She shot up, spilling her drink
>Ohfuckohfuck
>She really DIDN'T see you coming
>Oh thank God none of the drink got on her
>Come on, Anon, salvage the situation! You can do this!
"I'm so sorry! Here, I'll get you another drink."
>She brought her head up, her mane falling to either side of her
>A group of stray strands was tossed to one side of her head as she blew it away, revealing her face
>Oh fuck, she's hot
>So much for the practice run
>She giggled, her eyes making contact with yours
>"Oh don't worry about it, I uh..."
>She swayed before catching herself as her hoof snapped to the counter
>"...have probably had too much to drink"
>Your eyes followed the legion of empty glasses she had acquired
>This mare was clearly the master of her craft
>If you could call it a craft, that is
>She seemed fine, considering the amount of drinks she had torn through
-"As I was saying um... my name is Anon! I saw you alone over here a bit earlier and thought you could use some company. What's your name?"
>She leaned forward, her two forehooves on the bar stool for support
>Her eyes took on a seductive tone as she slurred her next words
>"Berry Punch! But it's just Berry to you. You uh..."
>She hiccuped
>..."Said your name was Anon right? Well Anon, aren't you just the cutest thing I have ever seen!"
>Well... this was easy
>Her movements were heavily animated as she continued talking
>Is she even going to remember this in the morning?
>...
>Oh man, this isn't rape right?
>"So tell me good sir..."
>She put a hoof over her heart and extended the other towards you in a mock gesture of a 'fair lady'
>"...Why should you be the one to take me home tonight? There are plenty of fine stallions here!"
>She was leaning on one elbow now, the other hoof tracing circles on the wooden counter
>She laughed playfully, she really was enjoying herself
>"Yes, what makes you the guy to sweep me off my hooves?"
>Is this really the same girl who was too shy to make eye contact with you earlier?
>Maybe the liquor was starting to sink in
>Either that, or she was faking, which wouldn't be surprising
>Putting on that whole 'look at me I'm confident and happy' display
>Who would fake their own happiness to get a date at a bar?
>Haha, yeah
>You looked around
>You were pretty sure literally nobody else was interested in Berry, but hey, why not play along?
>You took your next shot
>Liquid courage
"Well, Ms. Punch I am sure that the stallions are practically falling at your hooves..."
>"They are, my sweet Anon!"
>You began mimicing her theatrical movements
"...But you would surely be making a mistake to not go home with me! Look around, I am the only one bold to approach you, my fair lady!"
>She covered her mouth with a hoof, doing her best to hide her laughter
>"That you are, dear!"
>Another shot arrived, one you promptly drank
>Berry followed suit
"Either that, or I am too drunk to be scared"
>She laughed
>You laughed
>Two more shots were poured
>
>An hour had passed now, and many shots
>Maybe two hours, you weren't sure
>Who cares anyway?
>"So wait wait wait... She got her head stuck in a beaker? Are you fuckin' serious?"
"Dead serious. Can you believe that?
>"How do you even do that?"
"That's exactly what I said!"
>Once again the two of you shared a laugh
>Berry leaned in close, almost whispering in your ear
>Her breath sent chills down your spine
>"Hey, I got an idea, whatta ya say we take this up to the third floor? Come on, it'll be fun!"