//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Paying the Tab // by NoteSoup //------------------------------// Berry Punch woke from her dream only to find her head throbbing from a hangover. Not much of the past night remained in her memory, but she did recall that a mysterious stallion helped her home. There weren't many details about him though that she could remember; only that his fur was a very dark shade of blue with a blonde mane, and some orange somewhere in it. Another thing that she remembered was his soothing, calm voice. It was almost like one of her teachers back in school that would put you to sleep just by talking long enough. She turned over to see if the stallion was still there only to discover the impression in the bed he had left after a night of sleeping. Berry felt like crying; he was perfect and made her feel like she would be alright, but like all the others he left. After a choked sob escaped her through she resorted to just sigh and feel the still warm spot on the other side of the bed. Unfortunately, she also didn't hear the hoofsteps echo from behind the bedroom door. Only when the door opened and she could smell the familiar scent of oatmeal did she notice the other pony at the door. "Looks like you're awake, I made you some breakfast." came a vaguely familiar, deep voice. "There wasn't much, but I still found some oatmeal and cinnamon for you." Rather than turn over, Berry felt a need to satisfy another need of hers. "Why'd ya leave lover boy, I'm still tired." Berry uttered without turning to face the stallion at her door. "I know you need rest, but you still need to eat something." the stallion paused to search for more words to convey his point. "I know for a fact that you weren't in the best of shape when I found you last night." Berry new her attempt had failed and she decided to sit up instead of protesting further. Her head still low she began to tilt her head up and examine her savior. She began by noticing how big his hooves were as her eyes traced up his torso. Also noted, he was very tall, he must be even taller than most of the royal guards. Finally, she found his broad chin and traced it up to his mane where she finally saw the streak of orange. However, what caught her off-guard the most were his eyes. Behind a pair of rectangular glasses, his eyes had slitted pupils and a teal or turquoise coloration to them. They looked like those creepy nightmare night decorations that ponies hung from lamp and sign posts. Caught off guard and not knowing how to react she pulled herself back into the head board of the bed and gazed at him with wide eyes. Apparently he saw this and let his head down with a sigh, "Yeah that's what most do when they really see my eyes." He put his head up but kept his neck low and looked back at the surprised earth pony. Berry catching herself stuck out a hoof to stop the stallion before he continued, "Sorry, it's just... I've never seen somepony like you before and you caught me off guard." She had known exactly when he arrived that it was the same stallion that had helped her home and bathed her, and even kissed her. "If you were a bad pony like you appear to be then you probably wouldn't have helped me home." Berry now saw what esactly he had done for her. "Sorry, but if you want me gone I'll understan-" "NO!!" Berry's outburst came as a surprise to the stallion and his head jolted up to fully face the mare he had helped. When Berry had shouted she immedietly realized she shouldn't have been so loud when pain began to pulse through her head at great speeds. She caught her head in her forehooves and began to press them into her temples. No sooner after that did she hear a loaded tray get put onto her bedside table and she felt the stallion climb into the bed and hold her in his hooves. When Berry looked back up she saw the concerned look on the stallions face. Her eyes began to tear up and she felt herself finally let go of her pride and she began to cry. "P-Please don't go... they always do and leave me with my h-hang-over a-and I don't want that any mo'." Berry now let the sobs flow freely. "It's okay, I'm not goin' anywhere, I'll be here as long as you need." The stallion began to pick her up and put her head into his shoulder. Her head being stroked, she felt herself feel more at ease. All of her tension was being pulled from her and she felt the familiar blanket like item stretch over her back. At that moment she realized that the blanket-like items were his bat-like wings reaching around her and hugging her. It made her feel even more at ease and she finally looked back up and into her savior's eyes. Now no longer afraid, she saw the real beauty behind those eyes and she began to slowly push herself closer to him. When she finally met his lips she noticed that he didn't hold back nearly as much as last night. When their kiss ended she broke from the hug and fell back into the bed. "Sorry but, I don't think I got your name last night?" "It's Sound Ray." "Well my name's Berry Punch if you were wondering." It intrigued Berry enough to see exactly why he was named that and looked down at his cutie mark. It was a saxophone with a curved neck surrounded by a gray tracing of a shield. That would make an interesting conversation later if she could get him to stay around for longer. "I think you should eat. From my experiences with others it usually helps with hangovers." Sound Ray held out the bowl of oatmeal on a try to Berry Punch. Berry gladly accepted and ate the oatmeal in a matter of a few seconds. Turns ot she was pretty hungry after she had gone to sleep with little more than liquor to sit in her stomach. When she was done he took the tray and bowl and took them downstairs, coming back without anything else. "I closed all the binds downstairs. Would you like to sit on the couch with me down there?" Sound Ray held ot a hoof to help Berry out of her bed. Berry took his hoof and braced herself against him as he took her down stairs and into the living room. While on their way she thought of several questions. Why was he so kind to a drunk mare he didn't even know? Why did I have to get a house that was truly meant for a family and not just me? However, one question was looming over her that she thought she knew the answer to, but she wanted to make sure. As they sat down together on the couch, she finally let her curiosity get to her. "Hey uh, last night did we... you know?" Berry ended her question by lightly bumping her hooves together and leaving him to imply what she meant. "Sorry to dissapoint but no." Sound Ray broke eye contact and began rubbing a hoof on the back of his neck. "I kind of have a problem with doing that to drunk mares." Berry now felt guilty, but above all she felt a little curious and just a little bit... horny. "Well, if you stick around... maybe I'll let you get a real taste of my punch." Berry let the last part of her statement into his ear by a whisper. At about that point Sound Ray felt an urge to find a way to stay. Oh well, maybe if he was lucky. He did need a place to sleep while he was in Ponyville. Ray then noticed how Berry was looking towards the door to a large and oddly shaped case that sat in the doorway of the house. He had already heard the question enough to answer it for her already. "It's my saxophone, I usually play wherever I'm staying at and it just so happens that now I'm staying in Ponyville." Berry looked up to Ray with a smile but it faded soon to give way to a frown when she remembered why she was drinking so much. As her questions were contaigious though, so was her feeling of dread upon her realization. Sound Ray soon caught on to that. "Is there something wrong Berry?" He asked after several long and tense seconds. "Well... it's just that I'm having a few troubles now and I'd offer you a place to stay while you're in Ponyville." Berry paused while she let out a sigh "But I don't think I'll have the place much longer after this week." Sound Ray had sensed this coming and was now playing the options in his head. Of the few options that he had he chose one that he thought sounded slightly more cliched than he would have liked. "Oh Berry... I couldn't let a mare like you go onto the streets like that." Sound Ray now felt he was overplaying it, but he felt it was worth it. "How about I take it upon myself to pay for the next little while to help you, and in exchange, I'll get a nice place to stay and a warm bed to sleep in at night." Berry now felt a little guilty at how this all sounded. "Oh don't do that. I didn't mean to come across as though I was begging for money." Berry was the silenced by one of Sound Ray's hooves. "Hey, I need a place to stay, and I also feel that I can at least help somepony while I'm here." He now felt like he had accomplished something. "I don't know, I'm not-" She was cut off when Sound Ray put a hoof to her lips. He now had a smirk upon his face. "Berry, just let me do this, it isn't often that mares will let me do something for them... let alone take me home with them." He paused to let her take it all in before continuing. "I would just like to make a mare happy for once." "Ohthankyouthankyouthankyou." Berry leaped into his torso and began to crush him with a hug. Ray let his smile now fully take over and pulled his front legs free from Berry's grasp. He apparently only did that however to return the hug from behind her back. Kissing the top of her head, he felt glad that he had agreed to chase down the drunken mare who the bartender was worried for. His thoughts however then drifted back to the mare who was forcing her way up his torso to meet his lips again. For a while they just stayed there until Sound Ray began to lean her back and felt his way on top of the mare. When he realized what he was doing he paused and looked at the mare under him. She just looked back and leaned up into his ear. "I think you should at least try my punch before you have to live with it." With that sly remark said she began to nibble on his ear. All was said and done for that moment and the both allowed themselves to take part in each others intimacies at that moment. Berry thought to herself, I think I'm gonna like this stallion; and by then all of her thoughts drowned out into the act that she was involved in and for once in a long while, she felt happy.