//------------------------------// // Drowning Sorrows // Story: My Little Pony: The Brothers of Discord // by mr.myxsiple //------------------------------// CHAPTER 34 DROWNING SORROWS Teleporting all the way from the library, Solstice was the first among his brothers to arrive at their meeting place in front of Ponyville's town hall. As he stood there waiting patiently, he wondered how Scar and Ironhead were doing with their apologies. Hopefully, things would've just as smoothly as it did with him. It was just past sunset when he arrived. He had spent the entire afternoon helping Twilight out with the re-shelving. It was a time-consuming process he didn't mind since he was spending it with her. Her parting words to her were: "See you at the Gala...". Her nervous chuckle was music to his ears. Speaking of his ears, they perked up upon hearing trotting heading in his direction. Looking to his right, he smiled as one of his brothers approached. "Ironhead, how were things with Applejack?" The earth pony looked up at his brother and sighed before turning away. "It...seriously could've gone better..." Hearing that made Solstice let out a small gasp. "But..." Ironhead looked up at him again. "I'm not gonna give up...I'm...I'm still in this..." A gentle smile returned to his brother's face. "Good to see that you haven't lost hope. I do hope Scar is doing splendidly with his apology as well." Ironhead looked over his brother's shoulder and spotted something. "Uh oh. You're not gonna like this bro..." Confused, Solstice turned around. Slowly coming into view was Scar, his body looking unusually heavy as she trotted up to his brothers head bowed; it didn't take a genius to figure out how things with him went. Gloomy as ever, Scar halted in front of his brothers and let out a sigh. "Oh dear..." Solstice trotted up yo the depressed Scar and patted him comfortably on his shoulder. The latter looked up at his brother with sorrowful eyes, eyes that earlier had been filled with determination. Solstice opened his mouth but didn't know what to say. "S-So um...H-how did things go with you guys?" Scar asked trying not to think about the pain inside him. "Uh..." Ironhead scratched the back of his head. "Applejack and I are still kinda rocky. Things between us still aren't that good to be honest." "Oh...I'm sorry," Scar's ears drooped even lower. "What about you Solstice?" The latter blinked. "What?" He looked from Scar to Ironhead and then back to Scar while shuffling around nervously. How could he tell them them that only he ended up getting truly forgiven. "Me? Well, things went...er...How do I put this?" "She still mad at you?" Ironhead asked. The unicorn tapped his hooves nervously against each other. "Actually...Things went...well between us..." "Really?" Ironhead asked raising his eyebrows and earning a nervous nod in reply. "Th-That's great; good for you bro." Scar managed to give him a weak smile. "Scar, Ironhead, please, I-" "Seriously bro, don't." Ironhead interrupted. "Even though things with us aren't doing so good, we're happy for you." "Yeah. We're glad at least you got what you wanted." Despite his gloom, Scar did feel happy for his eldest brother. Solstice was genuinely touched by his brothers words. He adjusted his glasses pulled his brothers into a tight hug. Both of them were surprised at first, but they eventually rolled their eyes and just went with it. Ever so grateful for their support, Solstice released both of them after a few moments with a sigh. "Now then, I believe it is time we head on home." he said prepping up his horn for a quick telepotation spell. "Uh...actually Solstice, I think I wanna stay here for a while." a nervous Scar said before the spell could be completed. Both of his brothers turned to him. "I...really got a lot on my mind right now, and...I kinda want some alone time...I need to clear my head a little..." "Are you certain?" Solstice asked. "Scar, I know that you are hurting; if you have any worries at all, you need only ask me or-" "Let his go Solstice. He needs this." Ironhead interrupted. "But Ironhead-" "Look, Rainbow was more than some girl Scar liked OK?" Ironhead explained. "She was his idol. Being rejected by her...crap, even I'd wanna take some time off after something like that. Just give him some time, he'll be back on his hooves before you know it." Solstice considered it for a moment; he had no idea of Scar's pain, so who was he to say what he could or couldn't do. "Very well Scar; please take care of yourself." The latter nodded. "Relax; I will. I'm just gonna stay here in Ponyville and..." He gave another big sigh. "Clear my head a little..." Both his brothers looked at him worriedly. Sighing, Solstice lit up his horn with teal magic. "See ya later bro. Keep your head up." Ironhead told him as the spell enveloped him. Scar had just enough time to give his brothers a small salute before they vanished in a teal flash. As much as he wanted to be alone at that moment, he was glad to see how much they cared about him. It almost made him forget about what happened earlier. Then again, it still didn't change what he did. He still betrayed Rainbow. Unbeknownst to his brothers, he had a feeling that something bad would happen and prepared himself for it in case it came. Now that he was alone, he lifted his uninjured wing and took out a large pouch of bits, just enough to get him through the night. Putting the pouch back in its usual place, Scar left the meeting place to "clear his head a little". And he knew just the kind of place to do that. The building was located along the outskirts of Ponyville. It was a small, rectangular , three-story structure covered in dark brown paint and with a small garden in the front. Scar could faintly hear music being played through the windows. Right above the doorway was a large neon sign that said in bright green letters: "Scotch's Place". Good enough for me. The interior of the building was well lit and filled will rather upbeat music. Scattered across the floor were several tables where ponies sat, ate, drank and chatted with one another. Directly across the entrance was a bar manned by a light tan earth pony with a sand-colored mane and dark brown eyes wearing a red vest with a white collar. His cutie mark consisted of a pair of mugs filled with frothing liquid clanking against each other. A little reluctant, Scar entered headed for the bar hoping not to draw too much attention to himself. Unfortunately, just entering the room caused a few ponies to turn in his direction. They stared at him briefly before resuming their business making him wonder if it was him they were talking about. He made it to the bar and sat on one of the stools there without incident. The bartender noticed this trotted up to him. "Hey, you're one of those weird ponies with freaky powers are you?" Scar blinked twice in surprise. "The whole town knows about you guys. Trust me when I say there's always something new happening here in Ponyville every week or two." He sighed. "Anyway, welcome to Scotch's Place. I'm Scotch. What can I get you?" His customer pulled out his money pouch and counted his bits. "Uh...Just-just get me some cider." he replied a little tensely. Scotched left for a moment and returned with a frothing mug of cider in his mouth. "Everything OK with you?" he asked putting it down. Scar took the mug and drank down its contents. After lowered it, he closed his eyes letting the alcohol get into his system for a few moments. "Huh? What?" he asked almost forgetting the bartender's question. "I was asking if you were OK." Scotch replied. "You look like you got a lot on your mind." "You really wanna know?" Scar asked taking a sip. "Only if you're willing. Part of the job is listening to everypony rant and bitch about how their lives suck. Because of that, I'm the only stallion in town who knows just as much gossip the mares do. I know who's having trouble with their job, who's sleeping with him or her, whoever the real dad of that foal is, y'know, that kind of crap. So what's your story?" Scar tapped his hoof against the stool. "Um...It's kinda a long story to be honest." "Work trouble?" Scotch questioned; Scar shook his head. "Family issues?" Again, a no from the pegasus who drank once again from his mug. "Money things? Friend quarrels? Mare problems?" Scar finished the last of his cider and half-slammed the mug on the table. "She more than just a mare; she was my inspiration!" he cried out burying his face his his hooves. "She was my idol, my hero, and I ruined everything!" "Alright, I get it." Scotch said comfortingly though several other customers turned in their direction at Scar's outburst. "Anything else you wanna say?" "Yeah; can you fill this up again please?" Scar pushed his empty mug towards the bartender who took it away. He then uncovered his face and sighed heavily unable to wait to get another drink. His waiting however was suddenly interrupted by a loud clanking sound coming from his right followed by the sound of liquid being poured. Not too long afterwards, he felt cold liquid pour on his lap causing him to cry out and jump back in fright. He landed on his hind legs and stood up taking in his soaked stomach. "Oops!" A pony came up to him probably to help him out. Startled, Scar backed up and stepped on some of the drink that had spilled onto the floor. With a loud cry, he hoof slipped, and he fell backwards. The pony helping him grabbing his right outstretched hoof to pull him up, but Scar only ended up swinging and slamming into the back of an empty chair on his right. He slowly slid to the floor groaning in pain. "I-I'm sorry mister; I only wanted to help..." the pony sad sadly. Scar shook the stars out of his vision and looked up at the pony who had caused all of this. To his surprise, it was a mare, a pegasus like him. She had a grey coat, a blonde mane, a bunch of bubbles of a cutie mark and...Scar was drawn to her eyes. Both were yellowish in color, but while one of them staring apologetically at him, the other was turned away slightly towards the ceiling. "Um...Don't worry about it." he assured her. As she let out a relieved sigh, he took in her strange eyes again. Those eyes stirred something in his memory. "Hey...you crashed into me that day the storm cloud came into town." he realized. "Really? Oh. Sorry about that too; we were all in a hurry." the mare replied. "What? Oh it's OK really." Scar replied standing up. "That cloud was gonna mess Ponyville up; it had to be taken out ASAP." "You're the one who did it right?" she asked. "I saw it when you made your wings grow big and make that wind and make yourself into a tornado-" "Y-yeah; I can do a lot of things." Scar said with a nervous chuckle. The mare smiled gently at him and extended a hoof. "Sorry for not introducing myself first. Name's Derpy Hooves." "Scarlet Blur, but everypony just calls me Scar." the latter replied with a smile of his own while shaking her hoof. He heard a whistle and looked ahead. Scotch waved at him and pointed at a fresh mug of cider. "Hang on, my drink's here." "Yeah. I need a new one too." Derpy said walking along with Scar and taking a seat next to Scar. "Another one please Scotch." As Scotch fetch her another drink, Scar downed his own. After finishing half of it, he put the mug down and sighed. "Ugh...Sweet Celestia, I needed that..." As he drank some more, Scotch returned with Derpy's drink. "Hey Scotch." Scar said pointing at his now empty mug; Scotch understood and left to fetch a new one. "Um...Are you OK Scar?" Derpy asked reluctantly. Her fellow pegasus got his drink back and took a few gulps before lowering it already feeling buzzed. "Huh? Oh...Did you hear me a while ago?" "Sorry, but you were really loud." Derpy took a drink. "That mare meant a lot to you huh?" Scar sighed and took another drink. "She did...And-And I ended up betraying her!" With a loud cry, he buried his face in his hooves and started sobbing. Alarmed, Scotch approached, but Derpy got to him first. She gently rubbed the sobbing pony's back. "There there. C'mon, don't cry Scar." she said in a caring motherly way. Scar looked up at her with slightly damp eyes and hiccuped. "It's OK. Why don't you tell me what happened?" "R-Really?" Scar wiped his nose. "It's kinda a long story Derpy." She just continued to give him that same caring look. "Don't worry; I'm all ears." Several drinks later... "And then! She-she told me to stay away from her and her friends!" *Glug*Glug*Glug* "She flew off, and-and I went after, but-" *Glug*Glug*Glug* "B-but-but she did a Sonic Rainboom thing and flew away! I didn't mean to hurt her, and I said I was sorry!" *Glug* "Why?!" *Glug* "I didn't mean it! *Glug* "Why?! Why?! Why?!" *Glug*Glug*Glug*Glug*Glug* "Ugh, Scotch!" Scar cried out giving his empty mug away before slumping on the counter top miserably. "Aww..." Derpy said feeling sorry for him. "You don't have to worry about Rainbow. She said she was your friend right? She just needs to cool off for a while before she comes around." Scar lifted his face now soaked with tears and looked at her. "R-*hic*-really?" "Uh huh. But it might take a while 'cause...well...she's the Element of Loyalty...I dunno a lot about Rainbow, but thing's are gonna be fine. I'll even Pinkie Promise that." She did the actions of said promise before taking a drink. Scar sniffed feeling a little better and drew a hoof across his nose. "Careful with that. If things don't get any better, you'll lose me-" "Forever." Derpy finished dramatically before laughing a little. As she did, Scar narrowed his eyes and stared at her intently. "Um...Scar?" "Wow. Your eyes look normal now..." he said amazed. "OK. You must really be drunk." "I am not drunk." He reached for his cider and downed his..."Crap. Lost count after eight." "Told you so." "Hey, you're looking pretty tipsy too Derpy." "Am not." She lightly pushed him. "Are too." "Am not." "Are too." "Am...Am...Pfft..." Derpy just suddenly burst out laughing, clutching her sides in mirth. Scar found her laughter contagious as he joined her, pounding the counter top as he did. Scar never imagined he could feel this happy again considering that he had completely destroyed his idol's trust in him. "OK." Derpy said holding out her hoof as her laughter finally died down. "OK. I guess I'm pretty drunk, but not as much as you!" she joked as Scar finally stopped and sighed. "So...why're you here Derpy? Trying to drown your problems like me?" Scar said swirling his drink around before drinking. Derpy turned and rested her forelegs on the counter top. "No. I come here sometimes when want some alone time. Scotch's really nice and make any bad pony trying to talk to me go away." "So protecting us's part of the job too Scotch?" Scar joked to the bartender who just rolled his eyes as he handed another customer his drink. He chuckled and felt a tap on his shoulder. "Yeah Derpy?" "Don't look now but...There's a mare here with her eye on you..." she answered giggling. "Huh?" Scar craned his neck and scanned the crowed bar. "Really? Which one?" "That pegasus alone in the corner with the blonde mane and the spade Cutie Mark. I just saw her staring at you a while ago." Scar found the aforementioned pegasus. They briefly locked eyes before she turned away quickly munching on her plate of hay fries innocently. Scar groaned miserably and faced forward. "Aww what's the use? I-I'll just end up betraying everypony else anyway. My brother's right; I'm a horrible pony..." His shoulders began heaving as his he was sobbing once again. "No you're not." Derpy said causing him to raise his head and whimper. "I dunno why your brother said that, but I don't think you're a bad pony Scar." Scar sniffed trying hard to believe her. "E-Even though I...I..." Derpy just nodded before Scar could finish. The latter finally smiled and wiped his eyes definitely feeling better than before. "Th-thanks Derpy. You're a good pony too." Derpy back at him also feeling happy. "Hey Scotch, another round for me and my friend over here!" "I'm gonna have to say no to that." Scotch replied surprising the pegasus. "I think you two have had enough." "Aww...Please Scotch?' Derpy asked nicely. "Look, other customers are starting to complain around here." Scotch gestured around the bar where a few ponies where complaining about the noise they made. "Any more alcohol in you won't make them quiet down." "Yeah; get a room you two!" one of them shouted angrily causing Derpy to shrink and turned red. "Hey!" Scar shouted back getting out of his seat. "You wanna-Oof!" He had fallen face first onto the bar's floor. Surprised, Derpy jumped off her seat and dug her head under his body to help him up. Now on his feet, Scar shook his head and made for the pony who shouted. "That's my friend you're-Oof!" He took one step forward, wobbled and fell down once again. "Yep. I'm drunk. Let's get outta here Derpy." "Ahem." Scotch coused and got their attention. The two of them saw him holding up their bill. Derpy approached him and took a look. Immediately, her spirits plummeted. "B-But-I wasn't really planning on drinking that much." she said surprised by the number of drinks she had while hearing Scar out. She worriedly pulled out her pouch of bits and poured out its contents . Her heart fell upon realizing that it wasn't enough to cover her bill. "H-Hang on a minute..." Scotch sighed. "Derpy..." "J-Just wait." Derpy desperately searched herself looking for any spare change on her. "Hang on. I just know I got more...Oh..." He search was interrupted by the sound of something heavy falling. Curious, Derpy looked down and saw a pouch lying on the floor a few feet away. She reached for it and opened it, letting out a small gasp at the number of bits inside. "Did I get it on the counter top?" Scar, still on the floor, asked craning his neck. "Crap. Note to self: no throwing stuff when you're drunk. Anyway, is that enough Scotch?" The bartender took the pouch and counted the bits inside. "There's enough for you and for Derpy." "Good. I'll pay for her too then." Scar said craning his neck to look at them. Scotch looked satisfied while Derpy looked reluctant. "B-But Scar, you don't have to." she said embarrassed by being unable to pay for herself. "Sorry. Too late for that." he replied as Scotch trotted away with the money. "It's 'cause of me going on about my life you drank more than you wanted, so...this's me saying sorry." Despite still feeling a little embarrassed, Derpy smiled, touched by the stallion's gesture. "Now then, think you can help me up?" Still smiling, Derpy packed away her bits and helped Scar up. He shook his head and glared at the doorway right in front of him. "OK...I can do this." He took a step forward and steeled himself as he felt his entire body wobble. Derpy darted forward to help, but Scar planted another hoof in front of him straining himself to not fall. That was followed by another hoof forward. And then another. And then another. "Finally!" After that treacherous journey through the swirling bar, Scar made his way out. Glad to be outdoors again and feeling fresh evening air on his face, he grinned triumphantly. "C'mon Derpy, let's-Oof!" When Derpy emerged from Scotch's Place, she found Scar lying on the ground not to far away. The sight made her giggle and take a step forward feeling her legs wobble a little. Giggling at the discovery, she carefully made her way towards him until- "Oof!" She collapsed right next to him. Groanaing a little, she looked to her right and saw Scar doing the same. The two pegasi locked gazes for a moment before bursting into laughter at their own condition. "Wow...I'm really drunk." she remarked giggling a little. "Hey Scar, how're my eyes?" "Normal." Both ponies laughed again until Scar rose. "C'mon Derpy, let's hang out somewhere else." "Ooh. Let's fly over to Sugar Cube Corner. I think Pinkie's doing a taste testing thing for some brownies tonight." Derpy suggested eager to hang out with her new friend. "Good enough for me. Let's-OW!" Scar cried out as he spread his wings and felt a sharp pain coming from one of them. "What's wrong?" Derpy asked worriedly. "Ah...I hurt my wing chasing Rainbow earlier." He winced as he folded his wings back. "Sorry Derpy; I'm not doing any flying tonight." "I know." Derpy said cheerily. "Wanna come over to my place? We can hang out there instead." "But...my wing..." Scar flexed it again and winced. "I can help. I know a little about giving massages. If we can get to my house, I can help you feel way better." Derpy offered with a cheery grin. "Seriously?" Scar's drunken mind considered the offer of a relaxing massage at Derpy's house. "Whoa...I dunno if it's 'cause I'm drunk, but there's like an alarm thing going off in my head." He blinked a few times. "Now it kinda sounds like one of my brothers, but I can tell what's he's saying. Something about music I think; he plays a saxophone..." "We can drink more cider at my home." The alarm and his brother's voice vanished upon hearing that. "Massage and alcohol? Sweet! Your place it is Derpy." What could go wrong? "So where's-Oof!" Derpy laughed again seeing him fail at walking. "C'mon, lemme help." She helped him up and draped his right foreleg over her. "Think this'll work?" "Let's find out." Both ponies took a step but in opposite directions. They laughed again, before Scar took a step in the right direction. "There you go Scar. It's easy, just a hop, skip and...jump!" "Gyah! Whoa! Whoa! Don't jump without me!" "Sorry. OK; let's try again. Say it with me...hop...skip..." "Jump!" "Ahh! Hey, you were too early!" "Was not!" "Was too! C'mon...Hop...Skip...Jump!" *bonk!* "Ow my head...You OK Scar?" "Uh huh, but let's just try walking now OK?" "OK...There. That was kinda easy. C'mon, just a few more blocks away!" The journey was slow, tiresome and noisy, but boy did they have the time of their lives.