Ch 6. Demigods, dinner and intoxication
Chapter 6 Demigods, dinner and intoxication
Break up in a smile, it’s okay to go wild.
You don’t have to stay in your line.
You can’t see the sun,
You’re afraid to go out.
You don’t dare to question your place.
Trust, it’s such a fickle thing. It has to be earned, sometimes by going extraordinary lengths. Only to be lost in a matter of seconds, should you make a blunder. Even when you have someone’s trust you can never be a hundred percent sure of their true intention. One would think it strange that we exist in a society where we strive to gain each other’s trust only to be told to never trust anyone completely. We are a paranoid race to say the least.
*~*
As soon as I stepped outside the door to the apartment complex I regretted not bringing my cellphone/mp3 player. In the weeks spent in Equestria I had survived without it, but returning home had quickly brought back old habits. As I have mentioned before I rarely went anywhere without music in my ears.
Letting out a small sigh I started my short walk toward the convenience store that was close by. The proximity to the store was one of the reasons I lived here. The distance to the campus was manageable, when the weather wasn’t too bad, and I got a lot of living space for a relatively low sum.
Around me I could see the dulled colors of the late autumn bordering on winter. The only thing missing was the temperature dropping below zero degrees Celsius. There wasn’t much activity between the many buildings around me, just the occasional passerby. But then again nobody really liked the current weather, well I didn’t at least.
Yawning loudly I continued in my set pace and eventually the familiar store could be seen. As I walked toward my destination I idly wondered what the time was. Usually I would’ve used my phone as a watch, but as I mentioned I had not in my infinite wisdom brought it. I have always had problems when it comes to gauging time during the darker months of the year. Now that I think about it I may have problems gauging time no matter the what.
My short walk eventually came to a halt as I reached the stores automatic doors. Only now did I realize that I came here without any real plan on what to buy. Well am I not the smartest idiot ever? I mentally kicked myself. Well what’s done is done. I guess I’ll have to improvise with what I find inside. Shaking my head at my own blunder I reached for one of the plastic shopping baskets by the entrance and headed inside.
After a while I had lost myself in thought as wandered the aisles of the store. If I was going to tell Celestia about the new theory I may have to tell her about me having seen her past. I don’t think she herself realizes exactly what I saw. Otherwise she would have brought it up, right?
I had mentioned my resonance theory and what I had felt during the two spells she had cast on me. But I never said anything about me seeing her past. There hadn’t been a point in doing so. If everything had worked out as they should’ve, we would’ve never seen each other again. What can I even do in this situation? Should I not just bend the truth as I normally would? I absentmindedly asked myself as I added some olives to the growing amount of edibles in the basket.
Soon enough I had filled the basket with a wide variety of items. Well, I should definitely be able to do something with these ingredients. I was currently debating whether I should buy some beer for myself or not. In the end I just gave a shrug and added the alcohol to the other items in the basket and headed toward the check out.
The way back was even more, if possible, uneventful than my walk to the store. Eventually I found myself outside my door once again. Opening the door I called out.
"Aight, I’m back ."
Only to be met with no response. I removed my jacket and gloves after setting down the plastic bag containing my groceries. A quick peek into the living room revealed Celestia who sat staring out into space, seemingly lost in thought.
Wow, been awhile since I saw someone beside myself get that lost in thought. My mind supplied as walked over to the sun princess. I bent down in front of her so that my eyes met hers.
"You okay Celestia?"
A small blush started to spread across her cheeks but she didn’t respond. So I did what I felt was natural by putting one hand on my forehead and the other on hers, after gently moving a few strands of hair to the side, to check if she had a fever.
*<>*
For a few seconds she was at a loss for words. She just stared at the door that Cloud had left through just moments before. How could anypony be so caring and kind and in the next second become so infuriating? Stallions! She thought angrily to herself. No matter the species it was like they were programmed to make mares angry. I swear if somepony ever figures out how stallions work they will be renown throughout all of Equestria.
With a sigh she pushed her thoughts aside for the time being. Reaching for another one of the books provided by Cloud she quickly scanned the synopsis before proceeding to the next book. All of the books seemed to share some similarities, they were for example all based on adventures and twisting schemes. It wasn’t her preferred genre when it came to reading but she didn’t really have the luxury of being picky at the moment.
In the end she picked one of the books at random before leaning back into the couch.
"Okay let’s see now, prologue Dragonmount…" she muttered to herself as she began to read.
She did not get far however as she soon found her thoughts drawn back to her worries, or so she perceived it at least.
I just can’t seem to understand how I could have ended up in Cloud’s world like this. It shouldn’t be possible to begin with. *Sigh* I suppose I should be grateful that it was Cloud that I ended up with him and not at some random place in this world. If it weren’t for him I would be helplessly lost right now. Well perhaps not helpless I’m a demigod after all. She quickly amended. But Cloud certainly helped me a lot, and his eyes are actually rather nice when you get used to them and he’s quite strong too and…
Her eyes widened in shock as she realized what she was doing.
"No No No, I can’t possibly have developed a crush on this human that I met literally days ago." she whispered to herself.
But you’ve seen most of his memories, you know him better than most of your subjects. A small voice whispered in her mind.
Yes that’s it! He’s far too young to even begin to make me feel this way! She reasoned with the voice.
But you yourself said that he has seen far more than any of your ponies. He’s probably the one male you’ve met in over a thousand years that can begin to understand you. The voice taunted.
This can't be happening! It’s not possible! I haven’t had a close relationship with a stallion since before Luna’s banishment, let alone felt any kind of attraction towards one. He’s not even a pony to begin with, this doesn’t even make sense!
Since when has love ever made sense? He’s not even afraid to call you by your name without hiding it away with titles. The voice pressed on.
At this point she was refusing to listen to the voice, passing it off as silly. But no matter how hard she denied it her thoughts kept wandering back to a pair of golden eyes.
She was so lost in thought that she didn’t realize that Cloud had returned until his face appeared inches from her own. Had he just asked her something? She felt a light blush start creeping up along her cheeks. The blush only intensified when he gently placed a hand on her brow and the other on his own.
"Well, you don’t seem to have a fever at least. Is there something ailing you Celestia?" He asked once more.
"Yes!’ she blurted out before she could stop herself. I mean no! I’m fine Cloud, thank you for asking." she quickly amended.
What the hay was going on? She was acting like a filly on her first date!
*<>*
I raised an eyebrow at Celestia’s somewhat stressed reply but in the end I chalked it off as nerves. It couldn’t be easy for her to be here. Compared to my situation I had at least had prior knowledge of what was going on. Had I been dumped in another world beside Equestria, I too would probably have acted more like Celestia was now.
"Well as long as you’re alright. Give me a sec to put the groceries away and we’ll resume the discussion where I left off."
She nodded a reply as I stalked back toward my door to pick up the bag, before heading into the kitchen to deposit it all in the fridge. I headed back out to living room and sat down in front of the alicorn turned human once more.
"Okay, so I mentioned I had new theory…" I began as I filled her in on my latest discovery.
Celestia’s facial features went through a wide array of emotions, which she seemed to try very hard to hide, as I explained. I’m guessing she had an excellent poker face as a pony but she had clearly not mastered this form. I could easily read desperation from her in the beginning, going to surprise and finally settling on hope as I explained how there must be some sort of connection between the realities in the forest.
"Okay now that this is out of the way, let’s get you walking." I declared to the pony princess.
"I… what? Why?"
I grin split my face, I couldn’t pass this opportunity up.
"Well despite what you may think I can’t possibly carry you all the way to the forest."
Celestia’s eye started to twitch nervously.
"Sorry but did… did you just call me fat Cloud?" she asked in a dangerously low voice.
"What if I did?" I said with barely contained mirth.
"You… you inconsiderate, hopeless…" she didn’t get any further than that as my apartment was booming with my laughter.
"Relax Tia, I’m only yanking your chain." I said still chuckling.
When I didn’t get an answer I looked back at the princess to find her blushing deeply once again.
"Oh, sorry. Was Tia a bit too personal?" I asked and she nodded in reply.
"Okay, I understand. It won’t happen again. Anyhow back to the matter at hand. Although I could carry you to the forest, it would probably be more convenient for both of us if you learned to walk in this form. Don’t worry I’m probably one of the best teachers you could hope to have when it comes to balance."
"Very well, I’m in your hooves, err hands Cloud. How do I do this?" she said as she faced me as the latest blush died down.
"Well to begin with we need to get you standing." I said offering her my hand.
I pulled the sun regent up to her feet where she stood wobbling back and forth before I offered and arm to support her.
"Good you’re not collapsing instantly like the first time. I’m guessing your mind is starting to accept the new center of gravity. Now try to bend your knees slightly." I started to instruct.
*<>*
She was still feeling very out of place standing in this form, even with Cloud’s support. But as soon as she started to bend the knees she experienced an instantaneous improvement in balance. She smiled at the accomplishment, as she no longer wobbled, much. She turned to Cloud to ask what was next only to see that he had already let her go.
"See, standing isn’t all that hard as a human. There’s a trick to everything." He said returning her smile.
"Yes, I can’t believe it wasn’t harder than this." she replied genuinely surprised.
"Okay, good you mastered your balance somewhat. Now let’s try some steps."
Cloud continued to add instructions and carefully observe her as she slowly started to grasp the concept on how to walk as a human. It did however annoy her beyond normal levels when he started to perform balance exercises while giving the instructions. Argh, does he have to show off like that? I swear it’s like he’s doing it on purpose. The final straw was drawn when she just had managed to walk across the room with a single wobble. She had turned with a victorious smile only to find Cloud standing on his hands watching her with a grin.
She had calmed down somewhat after her small bout of anger that had followed. It had sent Cloud chuckling into his kitchen area while he said something about preparing dinner. Now she was certain he had done it just to push her buttons. He was exceedingly good at it too, which only served to frustrate her further. There was also still the part where he had taunted her about her weight weak spot earlier, knowing how she would react. No pony would have dared to do that, well except Luna, so at first she hadn’t even known how to react. But as soon as she had heard his laugh and him casually calling her Tia all her previous thoughts had been obliterated and her heart had fluttered.
Is he flirting with me? I can’t even tell anymore, it’s been too long since I did this kind of thing. Well if she was perfectly honest with herself, she hadn’t really allowed herself to be truly happy during her sister’s imprisonment in the moon. So this entire scenario was beyond a doubt confusing for her. But she was also grateful towards Cloud for doing this, no matter how strange that might sound. His antics helped her to not focus on all the worries that threatened to consume her thoughts.
From the kitchen she could hear Cloud humming to himself as he was cooking. Under different circumstances, she would have relished this far more. He was one of the weirdest individuals she had ever run across during all of her years. And if you overlooked his ability to anger her, he was very pleasant to be around. Not mention that he got that serious look when he was explaining something. Was he aware that he did that?
She failed to notice that she was pacing around the living room without even a hint of an unsteady step. She just couldn’t decide whether he was the most frustrating or pleasant stallion she had ever met.
"Oh yeah, I forgot to mention this. Try not to focus on the walking after a while. It should come natural to you if you don’t." Cloud’s voice called out from the kitchen causing her to stumble.
Yep definitely the most frustrating…
*<>*
I chuckled to myself as I heard Celestia’s irritated groan from my living room. She was really easy to read when she dropped her mask. Or should I say that she wasn’t able to utilize her masks as a human. Interestingly enough I didn’t feel a need to use one of my own around her either. It was refreshing that for once I could just be myself without worrying about upholding an image.
With a smile I returned my attention to the frying pan on the stove where a plethora of vegetables were sizzling. I had opted to go for something not to fancy, mostly because all the fancy cooking I knew involved meat. So in the end I had resorted to fry some paprika, a few slices of aubergine, carrot slices, diced potatoes, I could go on but I think you get the picture. There was also rice being cooked in a rice cooker I had procured during a trip to Japan roughly a year and a half ago. Not because it was simpler, I just preferred rice to be prepared that way.
Humming a tune I stirred the pan adding some light seasoning consisting of salt and pepper. After a quick contemplation with myself I threw together a light sauce as well consisting of cream, soy sauce, crushed juniper berries, a dash of thyme and blackcurrant lemonade. Still humming I poured it into the pan, allowing the mixture to simmer for a while. I threw a quick glance through the window in the kitchen only to find the sun long gone. Well not that I was surprised about it, it is to be expected during the autumn. Not to mention that it was already past six pm.
I let out and an audible yawn. I had been active for quite some time now, keeping myself awake by pure stubbornness and caffeine. Well, I suppose the situation I’m in is quite special too. I thought to myself as I start setting the small table in the kitchen. Will be interesting to see how this dinner turns out. Hah, I’m too tired to even care that I’m about to serve “the Celestia” dinner. I shook my head slightly before moving the rice from the cooker to a bowl. Turning the stove off, I moved everything over to the table.
I returned to the living room to find Celestia sitting on my couch once more.
"Hey, dinner’s ready if you’re hungry."
"That would be lovely Cloud. Could you help me to stand again? I can’t quite seem to get the hang of that." she replied, with a serene look on her face.
"Certainly madame." I complied with a small chuckle, before walking over to her. I offer her my hand and use it to pull her to her feet.
"Right this way." I said offering her a smile before motioning for her to follow me into the kitchen. Once she was seated I walked over to the fridge taking a quick look to see what kind of beverages I had in stock.
"Aight Celestia, what would you like to drink for the meal? By looks of things I’ve got water, orange juice, white wine, beer and milk." I said my back turned to her as I looked through the shelves in the fridge.
"Oh, I don’t know. What would you recommend for this food?" she asked.
I turned around and found her studying me, as she waited for my response.
"Well personally I’m going to have a glass of wine for dinner then have a beer or two, the choice is still yours though."
She looked contemplative for a few seconds before answering.
"I’ll have the same as you then Cloud, but now tell me what is this food called? It smells divine."
Pouring two wine into glasses from a bag in box I have on the top shelf on the fridge I turned to Celestia once more, setting one of the glasses in front of her.
"It’s not really called anything. I just went with what felt like it would taste good. Err, hopefully it will do just that." I answered the princess with an amused smile.
"Well then let’s put your culinary skills to the test shall we?" Celestia replied raising an eyebrow. I would assume she doubted my claim.
*~*
I found myself roughly an hour later, sitting on my couch beside Celestia. While I myself thought that the sauce would’ve gone better with some kind of meat, perhaps chicken, Celestia had loved it. She had eaten with gusto, so I suppose that counted for something when it came to my cooking skills. I had just opened a beer while Celestia was enjoying her second glass of wine for the evening and we were making small talk. I was mostly relieved that she had managed to calm down to this point.
"So you see Luna and I decided that our dear prince Blueblood could need to cool down a bit. So we may have covered his room in snow and filled it with penguins during the first day of Hearths warming." Celestia finished a retelling of a prank pulled a few years back, giggling a bit at the memory.
"Sounds like a blast, can’t say I’ve managed to pull pranks of that caliber. But I’ve done some weird stuff in my life." I said still chuckling from her story. "But I believe you’ve seen it all already, haven’t you?"
"Oh the memory spell doesn’t work quite like that. I can’t recall anything perfectly from that anymore. So please go ahead." she said. A pleasant smile on her lips as she waited.
"Hmm, is that so? Well there was this one time…" I began taking a thoughtful sip from my beer. "Naa, you wouldn’t want to hear that story anyway." I said with a teasing grin.
Celestia pouted slightly, she knew I was playing a game with her.
"Oh but I do want to know mr. Cloud." she replied with her own smirk, knowing that I hated the title.
Well if that’s how she wants to play. I thought as an evil plan began to take form.
"Well there was this one time, when I had a girl over." I began, seeing that she hooked already I continued.
"She was incredibly beautiful but had a bit of a soft spot about her weight."
Celestia was now gripping her wine glass listening intently.
"So I may have teased her about that a bit. But here’s the funny part, turns out she was a princess." I could see the cogs turning in her head before she came to the realization that I talked about her the whole time.
"Hey! That wasn’t funny!" she exclaimed blushing as I could barely contain my laughter.
"Sorry Celestia but you walked right into that one. Now do you want something else to drink?" I said motioning toward her now empty glass.
"Well could I try one of those you’re currently drinking?"
I was a bit taken aback at first.
"A beer? Sure, I don’t see why not. One question though is there beer in Equestria?"
She shook her head
"No, why do you ask?"
"Well it’s a bit of an acquired taste, so I’m quite sure you won’t like it." I said before standing up.
"I’ll be back with a beer and new glass in a second." I informed her before marching out into the kitchen.
A clock on the wall informed me that it was already eleven pm. No wonder I’m feeling tired. This had been a very long day already. Grabbing a beer from the fridge and a clean glass from one of the cupboards I walked back into living room and sat down beside Celestia once more. I cracked the can open, and poured the golden contents into the glass before passing it over to the sun princess.
"All yours Celestia."
I have a feeling that I know how this will turn out.
"Thank you Cloud." came her response as she eyed the liquid contemplatively before taking a test sip.
The effect was near instantaneous as she pursed her lips in response to the quite bitter liquid. It was obvious that she did not enjoy the taste.
"Wasn’t good huh? Now would you like a glass of water instead or something else?" I asked reaching for the glass.
"N… no I liked it, it was good." she started to protest. She had a defiant look about her as she moved the glass away from my reach.
"Celestia I could quite clearly see that you weren’t enjoying the taste. You don’t have to prove anything to me, so just give me the glass." I tried again.
In response she took another gulp and repeated the entire look of having bitten a lemon.
"No, I really like. It it’s the truth."
"Celestia, just give me the glass before you do something…" was all I had time to say before she once more raised the glass and drained it.
A light slap was heard as my palm hit my face.
"…like that." I finished with a sigh.
I turned towards her with the intent of asking why she would do that.
"Why did you do that Celest-" was all I had time to say though before I found myself kissing her.
For a second or two I was too stunned to act. But as soon as I regained function over my brain I broke the kiss, gently gripping her shoulders.
"Why Celestia?" I asked, fearing that I already knew the answer.
"Becaush you told me I wash beautiful.." she responded with a light slur.
Ah, I had said that, hadn’t I?
And, the one who guessed drunk is the winner. I thought with a sigh.
"I appreciate it Celestia, I really do but you’re drunk."
"Am not!" she declared with a whine.
"Yes you are, so let’s just call it a night here."
"But I’m not tired." she complained while adopting a pouting expression.
"Oh really? How about we do a small challenge then? Just close your eyes and count slowly to fifty."
"No! That shounds boring." Celestia complained loudly.
I rolled my eyes at her defiance.
"Well how about this, if you can manage to do the challenge I’ll let you kiss me again."
That got her attention as she quickly shut her eyes and started counting at a high pace.
"No, I said slowly. Start over." I reprimanded.
Beginning anew she started counting at slow pace, swaying slightly. When she reached 22 she slumped forward and was out like a light.
"Fuck my life…" I mumbled with a sigh.
Well, that certainly wasn’t what I had planned. I thought, feeling nothing but tired. Scooping up the solar princess from the couch I carried her into my room tucking her in once again within 24 hours.
"This had better not become a habit." I muttered to myself as I closed the door behind me. I would need to find some kind of substitute clothing for her tomorrow, as she had worn that gown while sleeping to days in a row now.
Moving the glasses to the kitchen I quickly stripped down to my boxers before making a makeshift bed in the couch again. This time I did not doubt that I would fall asleep without any problems.
True to my predictions I had barely closed my eyes before the world faded away in a long overdue sleep.
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Keep on the good work. So far you aren't letting me down.
lol drunk Tia
Drunk celestia is best celestia
Love cloud being a troll XD
First reaction: hhhhmmmmm my shipping senses are tingling
But then
It's confirmed
...I think
Celestia your drunk, go home.
6047753
Pretty sure that is the point.
6437745 I know its the point, its just more funny when you say it out loud.
6437925 chelestia go drunk, yo hoom
With her hooves pressing into the railing of her golden carriage, she closed in on the human in the simple wood and cloth flying device. Just as she's about to take him out with her automatic-pie-gun, she sees the suggestive diagram of her own, overblown posterior upon the tail of his craft. Narrowing her eyes she curses - perhaps with some repressed admiration; "The troll is strong with this one~"
Celestia's dreams, probably.
Continuity error spotted: how did Celestia use utensils or hold a glass easily when she was not used to even walking on two legs? Everything else seems alright, with the exception of her getting tipsy WAY too fast.