//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Greyscale // by Zoom zoom //------------------------------// “So you start tomorrow,” Rainbow Dash said trying to keep up a good bravdo even after what just happened. You stared at the ground to avoid her embarrassment over the entire thing. You would normally use such an event as a decent way to work in dating a mare. This mare however was the only one you couldn’t use your normal luck and charms on. Not because you thought she’d see through them, every girl did eventually. It was because unlike the others you knew she’d be hurt by it the most if she found out about why your condition existed while dating. Even just this long with her made you care about her enough not to want to do that, even if spite was one of your qualities you lost track of often. Funny, here you were only here a day and your first new pony you could consider a friend enough to enjoy time with turns out to be the one pony you’d never think you’d get along with so well. But she was fun, and aside from being a little less serious she seemed nearly identical to your last girlfriend. This was another reason you rationalized not trying to ask Rainbow out, you’ve been down this road and girls like her don’t roll well with you. “Oh and one more thing,” chimed the Rainbow mare. You lift your head up again and find your sunglasses placed back on your face. “I know you don’t wanna tell me now,” she chuckled, “but sometime you gotta tell me what’s up with that eye of yours. Mean time, I think you look way cooler with these on than the patch.” You found yourself flushing and a small pain in the back of your head begins out of nowhere. You reach out instinctively to take her hoof in yours, but suddenly you feel something on your face. Said hoof goes to your glasses instead which somehow got covered in a gooey paste. A paste that ran down your face and came to your nostrils making you huff them out. How did she do this? When did she even go back for your glasses? Just that last thought alone made you feel pretty bad even if you did lose track of her for a moment or two at first. However it was done, it didn’t stop this mare from laughing and rolling on the floor again. “Man you need to pay more attention,” she spat laughing. “I can’t believe that one worked too. You’re way too easy to prank.” Was this her way of coping with what just happened without being embarrassed? Or did she really plan this all from the start? After taking the time to collect herself she finally said. “Anyway, I’d better get going. That goop should come off in some water so no worries.” Quick as thunder rolling out of a cloud she was off, zooming fast through the air and waving you off. That dull throb in your head growing the further she got from you. You needed to get rid of this pain, but first you had to get this goop off. The problem was actually finding a decent place to wash the stuff off without alerting anypony or asking straight out. Only after some curly maned pony gasped and then zoomed back with a bucket of water to then zoom off again. That thankfully was enough to allow you to clean up and make sure you had everything before heading home. You’d have to thank the curly haired pony later for that. Noteworthy would not be home yet since it was the middle of the day so you let yourself in before finally uncorking your bottle of pain meds. The dull throb in your left eye was started to really get to you, and with the rest of the day clear it should be fine to zone out on the stuff. Two of the little angels should to the trick. Part of you considered just not taking them, but you had no reason not to. A quick gulp and it was off to the races. Soon the throb in your head from your tumble and the rising pain in the back of your left eye dulled to nothing and you felt that familiar tinge of relaxation the pills came with as their only good side effect. Why did you have to wait so long? That question clawed at your mind as you felt the effects completely kick in. It felt like an old friend you loved to be around that you were avoiding for no reason suddenly paying a surprise visit. It was incredible. What were you doing again? There was somepony you were going to talk to about something. Somepony you forgot about in all the excitement to get the goo of and get home. The name and reason completely eluded your mind though. It couldn’t have been that important anyway. You just laid back and let the best and worst of your little friend got to work while you took a nap to sleep off the backlash you knew as going to come if you didn’t fall under soon. “Hey wake up,” came a dull tone in your ear. You shrugged it off, and closed your good eye back to rest. This was followed by a huge shout in the same ear, “I said WAKE UP STUPID!” “Huh wa,” was all you could bring yourself to say as you jump awake at this. Your body was still numb from your trip to dreamland, but you could tell somepony was shaking you violently. “Noteworthy?” you questioned looking out. Indeed it was the earth pony, who had dropped you from the couch you were on and was proceeding to put various things away and shoving your moving boxes into a nearby closet, and trying to board up the thing along with what appeared to be spar wallpaper on his side. “Didn’t I tell you to tell me if you ran into Pinkie Pie?” “Not sure I follow,” you said slipping on your shades with a yawn. “Pinkie Pie,” repeated Noteworthy. “She’s basically the village idiot of Ponyville. But she also loves throwing the wildest parties in town too. I warned you if she saw you she’d figure out where you live and then try to surprise you with a welcome party.” “That,” you say thinking about it and answering honestly, “doesn’t seem like a bad idea. So I’m still not seeing the problem.” “Quick question,” said Noteworthy. “About how high are you right now?” “I’m cognitive,” you answer stretching. “So I’m sober enough to work. Still not getting it.” “Pinkie invites everypony she can to these things,” Noteworthy tried to plead to you. “I mean everypony. And while legal, I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to only have one bottle of your medicine at any given time right?” Oh right, you had a box of the stuff in that closet now, a box of a drug that if the wrong pony found out could get you in some serious trouble. Not to mention now you remembered what you were supposed to do. You didn’t talk to Cheerilee so she’d likely wanna get everything out in the open, meaning you’d have to entertain her or Rainbow all night and you couldn’t fly or think completely straight to do your usual persuading to keep things from getting out of hoof. “Ah Crud.”