//------------------------------// // That's what happened // Story: Celestiphilia // by Dr Atlas //------------------------------// “And then I dropped you off at the hospital, walked out without you, and went home. That’s all I know.” Stan continued sitting on Carl’s couch with his mouth hung open. His mind was having a tough time understanding everything Carl told him. “A….all the-” “Yep.” Carl nodded. “A...and El Disco-” “Uh hu…” “And the fight-” “Did happen.” “And...that poster-” “Ripped to shreds. You can thank me for that.” “...thank you?….” Stan slowly turned his gaze to Carl. “THANK YOU?! Carl, you basically left me for dead almost three times that night!” Carl held his blanket and back up to the foot of his couch. “Hey! Don’t look at me Stan, you’re the one who wanted to go on a drinking spree, and all I wanted to do was show you a good time.” “By almost getting me killed!” Stan yelled and hovered over Carl. “No, by showing you that getting drunk is...well...a good thing to...experience.” Stan grinded his teeth. “A good experience?…Carl….from what you’ve told me. It was the worst night that we-” “Look, I’ll admit, it was…pretty bad,” Carl said without any reassurance. “but It could’ve been worse.” “How...How could it of been worse?” Stan got off the couch and tapped his hoof, waiting for Carl to answer. “Well...you could’ve died.” Carl shrugged. Stan didn’t know whether to punch him in the face or the stomach when he said that, but he decided to do neither. He simply sighed and ask another question. “So you don’t know what happened once you left the hospital?” Carl shook his head. “Nope, I just went straight home, not wanting to bother with whatever you would do next.” Stan groaned and sat on the floor, this story was too much for him to take. “There is no way all of this could of happened.” “Well it did, one way, or another, it did.” Carl stretched, still keeping the blanket on him. “I just...wow…” Stan got up and sat next to Carl again. “All that happened over me getting drunk?” “Beer does that,” Carl answered. “but I have never seen anyone act as crazy as you did.” Stan shook his head and stared off. “Yeah, I mean, to just drink so much and...face another fear of yours and, beat up several ponies...it kinda makes me feel like...like a...a…” “Hero?” Carl nudged him, but Stan shoved him away. “No, like a crazy changeling who goes around and...just..acts like an idiot.” Carl patted his back. “Well, you didn’t do that much, all you did was beat a drinking game, face El Discordtalantilo, beat up a bunch of ponies, and go to a hospital. Not much to be ashamed of.” Stan shrugged him off. “I’m not...ashamed...I’m just...I just feel like an idiot for letting some weird drink get to me.” Carl put his hooves behind his head. “Yeah, all it takes is one drink and then you’re off, or at least, that’s what it takes for a princess.” Carl clamped his mouth shut. Hoping that wouldn’t bring up the note. “A princess?” Carl shifted his eyes back and fourth. “Um...yeah, don’t you remember.” “Very funny Carl.” Carl panicked. “Um..what I meant was that...you had beer goggles for the mare.” “So I found goggles too?” Stan continued having a deadpan face. Carl facehoofed. “It’s an expression, meaning that you fell in love with her while you were drunk.”  “I know that Carl, and it still freaks me out,” Stan lifted his hoof and looked at the dangling cuff. “but that still doesn’t explain this though, or the collar.” “Maybe you went to jail that night. I did that once.” Carl sat up on his couch with his blanket still covering his lower body. “That’s the weird part Carl, I didn’t wake up in jail, I woke up in...well...” “Where, a dumpster? I remembers doing that once too.” “No…” “In your apartment?” Stan glared at him. “I don’t have one Carl.” Carl tapped his chin. “Oh yeah, well, where did you wake up?” Stan rubbed his arm. “I woke up...in...in...you wouldn’t believe me...” “Stan, from what we’ve been through last night. I’ll believe whatever you-” “I beat up Celestia.” Stan said quickly Carl raised an eye. “Heheh...what?” “You heard me.” Stan walked up to him. “I woke up in her room, with me being tied upside down, with all of this on me,” He pointed at his collar and cuffs while Carl’s lower jaw continued to drop. “and right on the floor, next to the bed with rope on it, laid the princess herself, with a blindfold on and some...weird collar with a red ball on it, and like...more rope, and bruise marks on her flank-” “Stan.” Carl started breathing heavily. “What?” “D-do you really think you just...beat her up…?” Carl leaned up to his friend. “Well, with the bruises and everything, it looks like I-” “Stan, you didn’t hurt her...well, you did...but not in a bad way.” Stan crossed his hooves. “How is hurting someone not a bad thing?” “Because it...she was...you...it...how do I explain this…” Carl had a rough idea with what happened to Stan, he heard about this kind of stuff in his magazines. Stan didn’t want to hear about this, it was bad enough that Carl knew about his antics, maybe he could ask something to make him even. His eyes spotted the note. “Well, why don’t you explain to me what all those marks on your face are supposed to be?” “What?...Oh!” Carl blushed. “Um...I put them there.” “All twelve of them...and even more trailing town your chest?” “My chest?!” Carl looked down to see even more marks tailing down from his neck to his chest to his belly to his- “Uh-Uh-Um I-I-I put those there too.” Carl smiled nervously. Stan tilted his head. “Really? You expect me to believe that, especially with this note?” Stan picked up the note with his magic and shoved it in Carl’s face. “For all I know, you probably made up that part about leaving me at a hospital.” “I-I didn’t-” Stan walked up to him and narrowed his eyes. “You left me at the bar for some mare, didn’t you?” “Yes...I mean! No. I...I…mean” Carl groaned. Knowing Stan would find out sooner or later. Since Carl knew something embarrassing about Stan, then maybe Stan should know as well “Look...do you promise to keep this between us? Stan rolled his eyes. “Sure, since me, you, and anyone who saw us last night know about what happened.” “Take it easy Stan. Look, what happened was that, when I was at the bar, I...I...you hear that?” “Stop stalling and just…” Stan’s ear stem twitched. “Wait...yeah...I do,” He turned around. “sounds like somelings clopping their hooves out there.” Carl snicked, making Stan turn around. “What?” Stan asked. Carl coughed “Oh...um...nothing. So, uh, what’s out there?” He pointed out his broken window. Stan turned around and walked up to the glass, Carl was about to do the same, but when he took his blanket off, he gasped and quickly sat back down, still keeping the blanket around his waist. Stan turned around and raised an eye. “Carl, come on, look at this.” Carl blushed. “Um...h-how about you go outside and look while I…clean up.” He grinned. Stan raised an eye, then he shrugged. “Guess you’re right, no one likes seeing kiss marks like that.” He smiled and made his way out the door. “Well it’s not like others like seeing your collar and cuffs!” Carl yelled as Stan walked out. Carl groaned and lifted the covers again. He blushed. “Great, now I need to wash my face, and this blanket…” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “Because I’m happy!” Shift and Lift continued to walk down the street and clop their hooves, unable to comprehend anything that was currently happening behind them. Almost half the town was singing and dancing behind them, following the same dance they were doing, ponies were flying and others were waling out of their own homes just to join them. Normally, they would stop, but it was as if the music was getting to them, and the song itself was becoming too much to control Lift continued “Guess you’re right Shift...they do go into song very easily, and this is a pretty nice song you picked out.” Shift tapped Lift on the shoulder and spun him around. “Hold on, let me try something else, this’ll prove they know.” Shift stopped walking and started tapping his hooves in a different rhythm. Tapping on the street and his own body, he then sung a new verse. “Bring me down, Can’t nothin’....bring me down” Lift strangely started understanding and did the same actions as Shift was. He even added to the verse “My levels to high!” “Bring me down. Can’t nothin’...bring me down.” “Let me tell you now!” The two changelings continued to repeat the same sentence, all the while, ponies, and some changelings as well, started doing the same actions as them while repeating “Happy.” Shift and Lift would of stopped at that point and run, but with the rhythm of the song flowing through them, and their eyes starting to vibrate, causing their wubeyetis to kick in, They were no longer wanting to stop. “Can’t nothin’ bring me down.” “I said.” “BECAUSE I”M-” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ “CARL! What’s taken’ ya?” Stan tapped his hoof on the ground impatiently as he stood outside Carl’s apartment, waiting for his friend to get out. “J-Just a sec...It’s really hard to rub these things out for some reason!” Carl looked back at his somehow non-cracked mirror and continued trying to rub out the kiss marks, each one of them continued to shine, no matter how hard he scrubbed with his rag. “What...did she use glue in her lipstick or somthin’ ?” Carl mumbled. “Look, if you don’t wanna come out, then...then…” Stan trailed off, and his constant tapping turned into one of rhythm. “What in queen’s name…” Immediately his wings took control of him and he flew off into the distance, leaving Carl alone in his bathroom. “GrrrrrrAH! What will it take to...get...this...off?!” Carl threw the rag on the ground and plunged his head in the sink, just as his bathroom door quietly closed and pair of white eyes opened behind him. “Another helping~”