//------------------------------// // A confession is made! // Story: Life on the Frontier // by Starwind Dood //------------------------------// Chapter 6: A confession is made! Chief Thunderhooves paced back and forth as he waited for news from another tribe-buffalo. He was so furious he could stampede over the next buffalo to give him bad news. "Pour fire-water in the punch bowl... I'll have their hooves for this the moment they are brought to me!" he roared, his threat carried by the wind and across the tribal lands. No buffalo wanted to be in his line of sight now, but one dared to and brought with him two young bulls. The two bulls wore expressions of fear, scampering closer to each other as the Chief edged closer. "Hey, chiefy," one of them responded. "So, you wanted to talk to us about something?" "You two are the ones who introduced fire-water to the pony's 'fruit-punch'!?" he bellowed, shaking the two buffalos into fits of fear. "What were you two thinking? Do your fathers even know about this? I bet they don't, because you still have horns!" "Well, no," the other buffalo responded. "I mean, not yet! We'll tell them, and make forgiveness and... stuff..." "Stuff? Stuff is going to make-up for the atrocities you have committed! Stuff is going to earn you forgiveness from not just your fathers, but your forefathers too!" Chief Thunderhooves was beyond his last nerves. He began kicking at the ground, lowering his head and now ready to run the two cowering masses of fur into the dirt. "We're sorry!" the two of them pleaded in tears. "We heard it was supposed to be a party, so we thought we could liven it up! We didn't mean to cause any trouble." "Sorry isn't good enough!" Chief Thunderhooves paused, trying to get a reign on his emotions before he would go further. "I hope you two are prepared to make amends, but later. For now, get out of my sight!" He pointed a hoof, and the two bulls ran off. He sighed, worrying about the future of his tribe if such indiscretions could be committed without pause. His mind wandered back to his own charge. "Has anybuffalo seen Little Strongheart?" No one responded. Carrot Top stirred in bed as the first light of dawn crept in through an open window. Her first reaction was to fall out of bed and hide in the shadows of her mattress. "Oh Celestia, can't you hold the sun off for just a few minutes longer?" She held her throbbing head in her forehooves, trying to recall the events that lead to the worst morning of her life. "I went to the event, and got to dance with Braeburn... that was nice. Then... then?" The memories came slowly back to her: the punch, the bonfire, and then the kiss, at which point she screamed at the top of her lungs. Her door popped off its hinges, and Derpy flew in through the opening, flying straight past Carrot Top and imbedding herself in the wall. "Hey, Carrot," she responded weakly, "did you, uhhh, scream?" "Oh Celestia what have I done!" Carrot Top frantically cried, ignoring the pain building up in her head. "I got, I got, I got drunk! And then I... I... I..." "You whispered softly?" Derpy almost begged. "I kissed Braeburn! What will he think of me? Will he even talk to me! Oh, Derpy, what do I do!" Carrot Top prostrated herself before her wall-bound friend, ready to break down in a fit of tears. "This is the worst thing ever!" "Well, for starters, you can talk a little quieter," Derpy groaned as she slid down the wall. "A cup of water wouldn't hurt either..." A half hour later, Carrot Top and Derpy were holding their heads over a bowl of stovetop oatmeal. Derpy ate slowly as Carrot Top continued to frantically go over every little detail of the preceding night. When all was said and done, Derpy turned to Carrot Top and said, "So, you kissed him?" "W-well, yes, I did," Carrot Top replied giddily, "but we were drunk! What will he think of me? I mean..." She almost fell into her bowl, ready to drown her worries away amongst a sea of milk and honey. "I just... wasn't ready, I guess. What do I do now? What will he do now? I'm in uncharted territory." "What if you tried asking him out now?" Derpy replied with renewed vigor. "Like, you can bring up the kiss casually, and slowly steer the conversation to asking him out. It's the perfect plan if I do say so myself!" "You really think I can?" Carrot Top felt the smallest hope forming in herself, a feeling that left her just as scared. "What if he says no though? What if he never wants to speak to me again?" "Then to hay with him!" Derpy pounded the table, causing the entire hovel to shake. "You're a good mare, and if he doesn't see it than you don't need him, because we'll always have each other! Two single mares against the world!" Carrot Top stared at Derpy inquisitively. "And what was that about?" "I don't know," Derpy relied, returning to her oatmeal. "Need more nutrients to make head work right." Carrot Top burst out in a consuming fit of laughter, earning her a bitter look from the opposite end of the table. "I probably need the same thing," she sighed between a few tears of laughter. "He won't be mad, it was both our faults, right?" Her mind returned back to the foggy haze of the previous night. Even if it was against the backdrop of a liquor-induced stupor, she got one step closer to confessing to him. "So," Derpy piped up, now next to Carrot Top and nudging her in the side, "did he taste like apples?" "A-apples!" Carrot Top began to burn up as her blood rushed to her face. She froze, stiff as a board. "I don't recall!" she lied, but all she could remember was the spicy drinks with the slightest twinge of apples. Not a wholly bad taste. "M-mommy," a tiny and pained voice groaned from across the room, "my head hurts." "Mine does too, Dinky," Derpy sighed back. Nonetheless she carried herself across the air and over to her daughter to comfort her over her first hangover. "Mommy's here." "Oh my aching head," Braeburn whined, stretched out unabashedly over the sofa of his home. "Did I get kicked by a mule last night, because I can't remember a darn thing." "Somepony must have spiked the bowl," Apple Bumpkin sighed, head first into a comfortable groove in the dining room table. "Oh, Celestia. Those ponies better be able to go a day without apples, because I'm out." "Now don't be like that, Bumpkin," Braeburn groaned as he rolled off the couch, reaching over to a table to slide his hat haphazardly onto his head. "Just got to power through it. Now c'mon! We have a full day ahead of us." "I hate you, Braeburn," was all she could muster as Braeburn flew out the door, ready to challenge the day ahead of him with inhuman vigor. "I hate you, so much." Even with his mind pounding away against the side of his skull, Braeburn put on his best and most confident smile as he made his way through the streets of Appleloosa. His first destination was Silverstar's office. "Good morning, Silverstar!" he called out as he approached, Silverstar idly by one of the building's beams in the shade of an overhang. "Avoided the punch bowl, I take it?" "Nope," Silverstar replied with breath sour enough to kill of the plants around him. "I'm just kind of used to it, but what about you. Goodness knows I almost never see you with the bottle unless you really want to forget something." "I'd prefer it if you didn't talk about my bad habits so openly." "Then break them," Silverstar idly shot back. "I don't have much for you odd-job wise. Most of the town is out of commission after some cruddy little colt spiked the bowl. Honestly, acting like that in this day and age. My pappy would have given me a lashing for that level of stupidity." "I would rather ask what he put in the bowl," Braeburn groaned as he took a seat next to Silverstar and held his head. "I only had a few cups, but I feel like a drank your entire stash. You remember anything about what happened last night, because it's all a complete blur to me." Silverstar coked an eyebrow and stared at Braeburn for a few seconds, making him feel uncomfortable, before shrugging. "I found you passed out on the dirt behind the dance-hall next to Carrot Top—" "What!" Braeburn completely lost balance and fell flat on his face, a feat that had managed to astonish Silverstar quite well. "What do you mean passed out next to Miss Top!" "Exactly what I mean," Silverstar sighed. "You two were in the dirt in a puddle of the juice." "Oh crud, Miss Top is going to be furious with me!" Braeburn howled in agony. "She'll never want to talk to me again! She'll hate me! Dang it, Braeburn, how could you make a complete fool of yourself!" He banged his head against the dirt hard enough to leave a Braeburn shaped indentation on the ground. "Stupid, stupid, stupid!" "Well, this is new," Silverstar remarked as he pulled Braeburn out of the dirt. "I don't ever see you this frazzled. Is this Carrot Top mare something special to you?" Braeburn nearly jumped through the overhang as the accusation. "It's nothing like that!" "You're pretty quick to deny it though," he pointed out, catching Braeburn off-guard who had suddenly gone silent. Silverstar wasn't too happy about it though. All he could think about was someone else who would be very hurt at the sudden revelation. "So, Braeburn, what's your answer." "Do you have work for me, yes or no. 'Cause if you don't, I'm going to the orchard to buck some apples," he shot back sourly, breaking away from Silverstar's hold. "Nope." "Then I'll see you later." Braeburn turned and began to gallop off. "Are you sure you want to push yourself in your condition?" "I'll pull through," Braeburn replied back before disappearing, leaving a rather sullen Silverstar. Derpy smiled to herself as she stretched her wings and embraced her now clear mind. "Mommy is now back to a hundred percent! Meaning it's time for little filly exercises!" she cooed as she picked up Dinky. "Do we have to do this now?" Dinky whined. "My head still hurts." "Does it!" Derpy hugged her daughter close to her chest, rubbing her head with a hoof in hopes to sooth the pain. "M-mom!" Dinky gasped. "This is embarrassing." "Horse-sticks it is," Derpy giggled as she continued to dote on her. "Hey, Carrot Top, how are you feeling?" Carrot Top had had her head against the dining table since breakfast. She kept repeating last night over and over again right before her eyes. "Carrot Top!" Derpy called again as loud as she could, knocking the mare out of her chair. "Carrot Top, how are you feeling?" "I'm fine," Carrot Top groaned. "I am perfectly fine." She was perfectly not fine. She pulled herself back onto her chair and tried to push her hair back into its natural curls. A knock came at the door, startling her back to the floor. "What is it now!" Derpy answered the door and found Chief Thunderhooves with a sour expression on his face. "Hi, Chief! What brings you to Appleloosa?" "Hello, Derpy. I am here because I was hoping you might know where Little Strongheart is. I fear she may be... missing." His voice carried his worried feelings heavily, a feeling that stirred Derpy's maternal instincts into a fervor. "I haven't seen her at all!" "I see, thank you." He turned around, ready to get back to the plains and resume his search, but he was stopped by gray hooves. "Don't worry, Mr. Thunderhooves!" she declared. "We'll find your daughter no problem! Carrot Top, let's go!" "W-what!" Carrot Top bleated. "What do you need me for? I can't fly or cast a finder spell! I'm useless here." "Every little bit counts," Derpy shot back as she grabbed Carrot Top, "and Little Strongheart is your friend too!" "She is..." Carrot Top sighed. I guess we're on friendly terms, but we're rivals for Braeburn... "What if something bad happens!" Derpy yelled as loud as she could. "What if she gets attacked by coyotes or hyenas or worse!" "Okay, okay, just lower your voice," Carrot Top sighed. "I'm in, just lead the way or something." "Thank you, from the bottom of my heart," Chief Thunderhooves replied with gratitude. "Although, I should correct you in that she is not my daughter, but more—" "You love her and that's enough," Derpy interrupted him, placing Dinky safely on her back. "Search all around town, Carrot! We'll find Little Strongheart in no time!" "Impulsive as ever," Carrot Top sighed as she grabbed her hat. "Well, I did say I would help. I'm sure that, if she's in the city, we'll have found her by the end of the day, Chief Thunderhooves." She bowed to the elder bison before squeezing between him and the doorway. Carrot Top groaned as she drifted through the dusty streets. "She just had to go and get herself lost while my head is still hazy," she groaned. The town was uncomfortably quiet and empty, something she attributed to the party mishap. She turned a corner, and ran smack-dab into Braeburn. "Huh, oh! Braeburn! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there!" Braeburn barely caught himself before hitting the ground. "Oh, Miss Top." He turned away from her, avoiding her gaze. "G-good morning." "H-how are you doing, this morning. I'm sure you realized when you woke up that the punch we had was loaded with liquor. It was... quite a morning for me. Derpy ran right into my wall, even made a hole." She laughed uncomfortably. Braeburn's uncharacteristically stoic behavior made it worse. "I'm just fine, Miss Top," Braeburn replied sourly. He was strapped to a cart that had just been emptied of apples and was on his way back to the orchard just outside of town. "I'm sure Silverstar will find the miscreants and give 'em a good takin', but I got to get to work." "Uh, Braeburn, if you don't mind, I could help you." Carrot Top eagerly waited for his response. I'm sure Derpy will find her. I mean, its not like I can do anything without a horn or wings. I'm just a normal pony. I would never find her... "Uh, sure, I guess," Braeburn answered her back. He stopped, just long enough for Carrot Top to trot up to his side. He put on hoof forward and almost lost balance, seeing two of everything for a second. "Are you okay, Braeburn?" He was silent. Carrot Top took his hoof and hung it over her neck, helping to support him. She got so close to him that she could hear her own heartbeat. "Er, if you don't mind, I could help you. You still look sick from last night." "I'm fine," he replied adamantly, turning away from her. "Miss Top, it's fine. I don't need any help getting to the orchard. I'm fine now." He pulled away from her, almost throwing his body off-kilter, and continued on the dusty road to the orchard. Carrot Top straggled behind, a heavy air clutching at the back of her mind. She kept close to him, but in her mind she kept returning to the kiss from before. Does he remember? Did he like it? She kept herself bogged down in worry, never noticing the sight of the orchard trees getting closer. "We're here now," Braeburn announced. He unbuckled himself from the rickety cart and had to drag himself over to a tree and banged his backhooves against the bark in vain. "Dang it," he cursed as he went at it again. "Maybe I can try?" Carrot Top brought herself over to the tree, inspected it closely, turned and bucked it with all her might. Two apples fell to the ground. "I did it, Braeburn," she cheered happily. "Two isn't good enough," Braeburn groaned as he awkwardly picked up the apples and threw them in the cart. "Just, go sit by the cart or something." Feeling her triumphs crushed into the dirt, Carrot Top did as she was told. Her head just inches away from the dirt, she strode over to the cart, and sat herself as she watched Braeburn go at the tree again. He resembled a puppet in his jerky and unsteady movements, nothing like his usual stream of energy. "Braeburn, are you alright?" "I'm fine." He bucked the tree again. Three apples fell. "You look sick. Maybe you should sit down here... with me..." "I'm fine." He bucked the tree again. One apple fell. Carrot Top closed her eyes, breathing deeply into all the courage she could muster for this single moment. Here goes nothing. She turned back to Braeburn. "Last Night's party was... pretty fun." Braeburn missed the tree and fell on his stomach. "Y-you don't say," he stuttered, unable to call the strength to pick himself up. "I-It's mostly a huge blur to me." "Is it?" Carrot Top sighed. She fought the urge to stay silent, but in the back of her mind she could hear a goofy voice trying to cheer her on. "It was very eventful." Her insides slowly turned to sand as she kept talking. "I mean, after the dance, we got really drunk and even kissed." Braeburn's bloodshot eyes shot open and he had to resist the urge to vomit. Dang it, she remembers. He forced himself back onto his hooves, a feat he would later regard as a miracle sent from Celestia herself. He clumsily started for another tree in the distance, praying Carrot Top would not follow him. "Sorry," he said quickly. "N-nothing you need to apologies about!" Carrot Top answered back, following after him. "I-I mean we were both intoxicated, far from the right frame of mind. Just a tiny little mistake, right?" Her gut twisted to refer to the incident as a simple mistake. She longingly stared at Braeburn's back, getting smaller as he sped up his pace. "Caaaaaaaaaaaaroooooooooot!" Derpy called out from the sky. "Carot! Braeburn!" she called out again as she hovered over the trees of the orchard, the gentle breeze kicked up by her wings calling down leaves. "Have either of you found Little Strongheart?" "W-what?" Braeburn replied with his foggy voice. "What happened?" "Little Strongheart is missing! Didn't Carrot Top tell you!?" "N-no," Braeburn replied, trying to kick himself out of his half-dazed state. He twitched his head in every direction, scanning the landscape with half-dead eyes that strained against the arid air. "I-is she alright? What happened?" "I just don't know," Derpy replied mournfully. "Chief Thunderhooves appeared and was really worried! We've been searching all day!" "R-right! I'll get right in on the search." Braeburn turned towards the expansive frontier and took off like a train ready to tip off its tracks. Derpy slowly descended to the ground, taking a spot right next to Carrot Top and allowing Dinky to climb off her back. "So, you spent the morning with Braeburn? But, what about looking for Little Strongheart?" Carrot Top couldn't look her friend in the eye. She turned away. "C'mon, Derpy. I'm just an earth pony. I can't do anything compared to you and your flying. I can't help a single bit." "But isn't just helping helping a single bit?" she replied, placing a hoof on Carrot Top. "Easy for you to say," Carrot Top sighed. Braeburn mentally cursed himself, finally stopping to let go of the content of his lunch in one fowl pool of stomach acid. "What am I doin'?" he asked himself as he stepped away from the disgusting puddle. "I can't look Miss Top in the eye, and now I'm going to kill myself looking for Lil' Strongheart? Am I just that stupid?" "B-Braeburn?" a soft voice answered him from behind. The soft voice belonged to Little Strongheart, stepping out of the shadow of a large rock. "Braeburn!? Are you okay? What are you doing out here?" "Oh, thank Celestia. You're... alright," was the last words Braeburn could say before he collapsed to the floor, eyes shut and nearly motionless save for his slowly heaving chest. "Braeburn? Braeburn!" she rushed over to him, placing a hoof on his cest to feel his heartbeat. He was alive. "What happened to you?" Braeburn was far from the clean and unkempt look she knew him for. Now, he smelled terrible, like a rancid combination of sweat and acid, but the stench didn't detract her as she sat herself next to him. "This is the closest I can bring myself to you," she lamented as she placed a hoof on his back, feeling the comforting warmth emanate from his body. "You will be all right," she whispered. "This is the closest I can ever get to you, I suppose." Braeburn did nothing. He lied there, feeling his world melt away with his numb skull and turning stomach. He couldn't stand to move or talk, but Little Strongheart's words started to get through the fog in his mind. What is she... "Though, you are eventually going to wake up, and when you do we will be back to being friends, right? You like me as a friend. You seem to like everyone as a friend, but I wish I could be something more to you." Her blood felt like fire on her face. All it would take was the right spark and she would have ignited into a pile of ashes. "But, I guess you'll never like me. Not the way I like you... because I like you a lot, Braeburn." Silence hung in the air as Little Strongheart rested her hoof on Braeburn's soft back. "Sleep well, Braeburn." "Little Strongheart!" Derpy's giggly voice cut across the sky, calling Little Strongheart to attention as she snapped away from Braeburn. "Little Strongheart! We found you!" "F-found me!?" She stumbled over her words as she stumbled over her hooves, craning her small neck to the sky to find Derpy. "I was lost?" Derpy shot straight past Little Strongheart. "Nopony or buffalo knew where you went! We've been looking for you all day!" "Oh! I-I am sorry to have worried you," she answered Derpy, flustered and embarrassed. "I did not mean for this to happen." "I sure hope not." Carrot Top appeared behind Little Strongheart. Her mane was a tangled mess. "The Chief, Thunderhooves, showed up at our house worried and looking for you. You know, I thought you were all about family." "I-I..." Little Strongheart sighed, defeated. "I have much to apologies for, it seems." "Not until you're cleaned up and eaten something," Derpy dotted, examining Little Strongheart's face slowly. "You're face looks especially dirty." Little Strongheart backed off, trying to hide herself. "I-is that so? I suppose it has been awhile since I bathed. How about we start heading back to Appleloosa. I really could use something to eat." "Alrighty then!" Derpy happily chirped as she flew over Braeburn. "What are we going to do about him?" Carrot Top nudged Braeburn, and she received no response. "Out like a rock," she sighed, muttering a curse under her breath. "I can't believe this. Say, Derpy, do you think you could carry him back to town?" "No problem, Carrot!" she saluted and hauled Braeburn over her back. Dinky amused herself by poking at his body. "Let's go!" "Actually, do you think you can go ahead?" Little Strongheart asked. "I have some questions for Carrot Top." "Huh?" Derpy stared at the two for a moment. Carrot Top had no idea what she was talking about either. "Okay then." She zipped into the sky and took off in the direction of Appleloosa. Carrot Top felt uncomfortable standing out in the middle of nowhere with just Little Strongheart. "So, uh, should we get going then?" "Yeah, we probably should," Carrot Top replied, taking the first steps on the long dusty trail back to town. Little Strongheart followed after her. At first, silence fell between the two as they traced their steps back to the town. Carrot Top's tail kept twitching from side to side as she waited for Little Strongheart to assault her with questions. Does she know about the kiss? She felt something land on her back, and jumped, yelping. "Agh, don't hurt me!" "Are you okay?" Little Strongheart asked her, as she swiped a tumbleweed off of her back. "You seem tense." "Weren't you going to ask me something," Carrot Top sighed as she tried to regain her composure. "That kiss," she blurted, causing Carrot Top to freeze up. "I saw you kissing Braeburn, so... you two are married now?" "W-what!?" Carrot Top had to catch herself again, almost finding herself buried face deep in the dirt. "What!? No, no, no! Whatever would give you that idea!? We were drunk! Someone spiked the punch bowl! I had no idea what I was doing! It was nothing like that! I'm not cheap!" she wailed in agony as she broke down to her belly and hid her face in shame. "Then you two are not yet married?" Little Strongheart trotted up to Carrot Top and dragged her up. "Then, I still have my chance," she said, smiling sincerely to herself. "W-what's that supposed to mean!" Carrot Top shot back in her flustered state of mind. "I'm not going to let one drunken mishap set me back. Besides, it's not like... he remembers." Once again the mood became tense. "I guess the alcohol hit him a little too hard." "Do you wish he did?" Little Strongheart took the lead back to Appleloosa. "Do I?" Carrot Top followed after her. "I guess I do. It would be nice, because then he might know how I feel. Instead, I got thickness with a side of crankiness. Can't say I'm fond of this side of him." Carrot Top furrowed her eyes in frustration. "Like a cruel cycle in a plot-less love comedy. Yeah, that's my life now." "A love comedy?" Little Strongheart stopped and stared at her questionably. "What are you talking about?" Carrot Top fell over again, holding her sides as she laughed her lungs out. "What!?" "It's nothing, nothing at all!" Carrot Top said between fits of giggles and tears. "I overestimated you, Little Strongheart." She dragged herself out of the dirt and turned back in the direction of Appleloosa, just coming into view. "So, you ran off here when you say Braeburn and I... kissing?" "Yes. When I saw the both of you like that, I thought that I had lost him, and that I would never get to see him again. I was so sad I ran away without looking where I was going." She paused before bowing her head in shame. "I am truly sorry. I didn't want anybuffalo to worry about me and instead I have gone and caused distress for Chief Thunderhooves. I have cause you all to spend all day looking for me. I am so sorry." "Hey, c'mon don't get all mopey on me." Carrot Top grabbed her head and pulled it up. "I mean, I doubt I would have acted any better if I found you and Braeburn... kissing." Little Strongheart shot straight up, her legs stiff as a tree trunk and eyes bugged out. Carrot Top had to suppress the urge to laugh and bury herself in the dirt again. "Well, you're at attention now." "Carrot Top! Little Strongheart!" Derpy called out from the sky. "You're home!" she shouted gleefully as she shot past them, crashing into the dirt and tumbling into a tree, but even covered in dust and dirt she smiled back at them. "You're back!" "Well, it's not like we were going anywhere else." Carrot Top pulled Derpy out of the tree, sending the two of them tumbling back into the dirt with one heart yank that dislodged Derpy. "I'm going to need one long bath to get all this grime off me." "Ooh, you can join me and Dinky!" Derpy suggested gleefully as she rose into the air. "We haven't had a good old family bath in years! Oh, but first Carrot should cook something, and we can all eat together as one big happy family." "Fine, as long as that bath is hotter than dragon fire," Carrot Top sighed before turning to Little Strongheart. "So, what do you want to eat?" "What? No, I do not want to impose." Little Strongheart was hoisted into the air by Derpy, who lazily flew her in the direction of her's and Carrot Top's little hovel. "But I need to tell the Chief! I cannot worry him a minute longer." "I can fly over and tell him lickety split fast," Derpy answered her, keeping her tight hold on the flailing buffalo. "Don't fight her," Carrot Top told her knowingly. "So, what's on the menu, guest of honor?" "You do not need to be so nice to me, but..." Little Strongheart smiled to herself. She turned between Derpy and Carrot Top, and was reminded that, somehow, she had made friends. "Your strange milky grass sounds nice." "Milky grass?" Carrot Top repeated. "Pasta it is!" Derpy yelled as loud as she could. "Me, you, Carrot, and Dinky." "Where's Braeburn?" Carrot Top and Little Strongheart asked in unison. "I don't know. Got up and left shortly after I dropped him off." Silverstar stared into the neck opening of his empty canteen. He shook it, listening to the last few drops sloshing around in the empty darkness. "Tomorrow," he whispered to himself. "I'll finally ask her tomorrow." He turned to the clear moon in the sky, taking in a deep breath of the night air. He turned back to his town and saw a familiar figure approaching him. "Hm, Braeburn?" he called out to him. "What brings you to my hovel at this time of night?" "I've just had one hay of a day, and I would rather forget about it," Braeburn sighed back to him, falling onto his stomach the moment all four of his hooves touched the wooden panels of the porch. "So, are you goin' to send some of that whiskey my way?" Silverstar dropped the canteen to the floor and returned to the confines of his home and office. In the corner was his safe full of cheap and disgusting drinks. "What are you trying to forget this time?" Silverstar took out a crystalline cup and began to empty a bottle of whiskey into it. "Got in another fight with your sister or something?" "No, nothin' like that," Braeburn sighed. "Well, it's a long story." "I've got nothing better to do," Silverstar chuckled as he returned to the outside air, balancing the cup at the end of a hoof flawlessly. He saw Braeburn reach for the cup and moved it away. "No, story first." "You're some kind of terrible, Silverstar." "I have to be if I'm letting you drink like this. You're still a foal from my point of view." "You're gonna start lecturin' me now?" Braeburn sighed, but Silverstar remained silent, waiting on him to continue with the cup of whiskey balanced on his hoof. "Well, today Little Strongheart went and got lost and... well I found her and all, and then I collapsed. Thing is, she thought I was out cold and, well, she said that she... likes me... a lot." "So you're going to drink to forget an innocent filly's heartfelt confession?" he scowled. "She's not a filly. She's a calf." "That doesn't matter and you know it." Silverstar's words were stern and hit Braeburn in his gut, cutting deep into his psyche. "You drink and forget, then what? That doesn't change how she feels about you. You're more likely to cause her more grief if you drink yourself stupid again." Braeburn sighed and held his head in his forehooves, his hat falling to the floor forgotten. "So what do you want me to do? She's kind of younger than me, you know." "You're both babies to me," Silverstar joked back. "Why don't just stew on it for awhile. Get your head straight, and, if you choose Carrot Top, let Little Strongheart down easy." "I guess, that makes sense," Braeburn sighed. "Dang it, Star, why are you doing this to me." "You gotta grow up sometime, kid." "I am a stallion," Braeburn snorted. "Wait, what did you mean by that? if I choose Carrot Top!? You make it sound like I'm mixed in with both of them." "Of course not," Silverstar sighed as he downed the cup of whiskey he had poured for Braeburn. "Whatever could I have been thinking..."