• Published 10th Feb 2014
  • 4,082 Views, 44 Comments

Whiskey Lullaby - Smitty91



The Mane Six struggle to cope when a tragedy hits too close to home.

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Chapter 9

Chapter 9

“Don't worry, Rarity,” Fluttershy said, smiling. “A trip to the spa is just what you need to make you feel better.”

Rarity sighed sadly and attempted a smile. “I hope you're right, Fluttershy.”

They spent over two hours at the spa, simply talking and being pampered. It was after they were leaving that Rarity suggested that they go out to eat for lunch. Seeing as how she was hungry herself, Fluttershy didn't hesitate.

They decided to go to a fancy restaurant that Rarity was fond of called Horseshoe's. She was good friends with the owner, so they were seated almost immediately.

“Just take your time, ladies,” their waiter said. “What can I get you to drink?”

“Um, I'll have, uh,” Fluttershy scanned the list of drinks, “a soda, please, i-if you wouldn't mind?”

The waiter copied down her order and turned to Rarity. “And for you, miss?” drin

“Anything with alcohol, please,” Rarity stated, smiling.

“Does it matter?” the waiter asked.

Rarity shook her head. “No. Wine, whiskey, beer, whatever you have.”

“Very well. I'll be back.” Tucking the notepad and pen underneath his wing, their waiter trotted off.

Fluttershy fixed Rarity with a concerned look. “Rarity, um, are you . . . okay?”

Rarity smiled and brushed back part of her mane with a hoof. “Of course, darling. Why do you ask?”

“Well, it's just,” she looked down for a moment before tentaively making eye contact with Rarity again, “you've been drinking an awful lot lately, and I was just wondering if there was anything wrong.”

Rarity chuckled. “Oh, Fluttershy, don't worry your pretty little head about that. I'm fine. Everything's fine.”

“O-okay.”

They fell silent after that, waiting for their drinks. Once their drinks did arrive, Rarity practically grabbed hers and began drinking, while Fluttershy drank hers in small sips. The cream-colored Pegasus watched in awe as Rarity downed her entire bottle of wine in less than a few minutes, then immediately ordered a second one. Throughout the whole ordeal, Fluttershy said nothing, afraid that she would upst Rarity and ruin their date. That was the last thing she wanted to do.

By the time they ordered their food and it had arrived, Rarity had drunk a total of five bottles of wine, and she was noticeably starting to get drunk. She began swaying back and forth, clumsily knocking over the empty bottles of wine. Her eyes became bloodshot and her speech became so slurred that Fluttershy had a hard time understanding her. Other customers within the restaurant were starting to look at them strangely, much to Fluttershy's chagrin, and she suspected that maybe it was time for the two of them to leave. The only problem was the fact that they had already ordered and Fluttershy was still quite hungry. She supposed that they could always get a couple of boxes and take their food home with them.

When their waiter arrived back at their table, Fluttershy requested that he bring them two Styrofoam boxes to take their lunch in. The waiter, probably noticing how uncomfortable Fluttershy was, quickly agreed and brought the boxes back to her in less than a minute. She scooped both her food and Rarity's food into their respective boxes then, glaring at Rarity, ordered, “Let's go!”

Rarity could barely walk right due to how drunk she was. She was constantly bumping into Fluttershy, causing the latter to push her away with an annoyed, angry look on her face. It took them over twenty minutes to get from the restaurant to Fluttershy's cottage, mainly because Rarity kept falling over and Fluttershy having to pick her up again. They could have flown had Fluttershy not had a fear of heights.

It was a little while after they arrived back at Fluttershy's cottage that Rarity fell asleep. Fluttershy gently put her on the couch and paced the room back and forth, wondering what she should do. She knew Rarity had a problem with alcohol, but she couldn't just leave Rarity alone to go alert her friends regarding Rarity's problem. She'd known better than to go back to the Carousel Boutique, especially with the unicorn in her current state. Who knows what could have happened to her? She could have gotten hurt or worse. She could have gotten herself killed if she weren't careful.

She stopped and turned to look at Rarity as the unicorn mumbled and stirred in her sleep, turning back to Fluttershy.

Her stomach growled, reminding her of her own hunger. She heated up her food in the microwave and ate in the living room to keep an eye on Rarity. For the most part, the unicorn stayed put, not moving an inch as she slept. Even if she was asleep, Fluttershy just wanted to make sure that she didn't wake up and hurt herself. Thankfully, Rarity didn't move while Fluttershy ate her lunch.

The Pegasus seemed to think that might get cold later on, so she grabbed a spare blanket from the closet and covered her up with it, smiling down at her. She leaned down and pecked Rarity on the head and whispered, “Sleep tight, Rarity,” before she trotted upstairs to her bedroom for a nap.

***

Fluttershy awoke with a start upon hearing a loud clanging from downstairs. She sat bolt upright in bed and sprinted down the stairs and to the source of the sound. She stopped, seeing Rarity standing in the middle of the kitchen surrounded by various pots and pans and cooking utensils. She stepped forward, a confused look on her face. “Rarity, what are you doing?”

“Making breakfast,” Rarity announced. “I was hungry.”

“Oh.” Had she and Rarity been sleeping that long? She nodded towards the microwave. “Your lunch from yesterday is still in there.”

Rarity looked over at the microwave and nodded. “Thank you for letting me, darling.” She suddenly wobbled back and forth and she put a hoof to her head. “Oh, my head . . .”

Fluttershy went upstairs to the bathroom and looked through the medicine cabinet until she found some medicine for headaches. Giving them to Rarity, along with a glass of water, she smiled when Rarity thanked her and downed the pills with half a glass of water. “Why don't you go lie down while I cook breakfast? Then I'll take you home.”

“Well, all right,” Rarity agreed reluctantly, awkwardly walking out of the kitchen to the living room.

Fluttershy watched her go before turning and observing the mess in front of her. “Oh, dear,” she moaned. This was going to take quite a while to get cleaned up. Carefully, she stacked the pots and pans according to size, then placed them in the cabinet.

The smell of cooking seemed to do nothing but aggravate Rarity's headache. Obviously, the medicine hadn't kicked in yet, and she hated it. She had expected the medicine to take effect no sooner than fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, it was taking longer than that, much to Rarity's irritation. It was such an irritation that she couldn't get to sleep, and she really would have liked to get a couple hours' more sleep.

Breakfast was done an hour and a half later. Silently, Fluttershy called Rarity into the kitchen and the unicorn obeyed. She was still a bit wobbly on her legs, but she managed to get to the kitchen without incident. Gently, Fluttershy guided Rarity over to the table and took her place opposite the unicorn. They fixed their plates without much conversation. Fluttershy poured Rarity some orange juice while she poured some milk for herself. Rarity buttered her toast while Fluttershy slapped some raspberry jam on her toast.

Once breakfast was over and done with, Fluttershy, as promised, walked Rarity home.

“You'll be okay, won't you?” Fluttershy asked.

Rarity nodded. “Of course, Fluttershy. I just need to lie down for a few hours, that's all, and I should be okay for the rest of the day.”

“Okay. Well, I'll be seeing you, I guess.”

Rarity nodded. “See you around.”

As soon as the entrance to the Carousel Boutique was closed, Fluttershy turned and started towards Golden Oak Library.

***

“You're sure about this?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy nodded. “I really think she has a problem, Twilight. Last night she was so drunk that I was afraid to leave her at home alone.”

“How much did she have to drink?”

“I don't know. Maybe five, six bottles of wine. Why? Is that a problem?”

“I'd say it is. She really needs to get help. We may need to do an intervention.”

“Is that really necessary?”

“If her drinking is as bad as you say it is.”

“But what if she gets mad? What if she gets mad at me and never talks to me again?”

“That's not going to happen, Fluttershy. You're did the right thing by coming to me for help. Yes, she may be mad at first, but she'll eventually learn that you're just doing it for her own good. Don't worry. I'll be with you, and so will the others.”

“O-okay, Twilight.”

“Relax, it's going to be all right, I promise.”

Fluttershy's face brightened. “When should we do it?”

“It'd have to be at a time that's convenient for everypony. Hmm . . .” She tapped her chin with her hoof. “I'll have to schedule a meeting with everypony, minus Rarity, of course. I'm sure she'll be busy with filling orders, so there's no risk in her coming to the meeting.”

“When should the meeting take place?”

“How does Sunday sound? Everypony should be free that day.”

Fluttershy thought about it for a moment or two before nodding her in agreement. “Okay. Sounds good to me.”

Twilight beamed. “Then it's settled! We'll meet on Sunday at lunch to discuss Rarity's problem. I'll let the others know. You just go back to your cottage and act like nothing is going on.”

Fluttershy nodded. “Can do!”

“Great! If everything goes well, then by this time next week, Rarity should be getting the help she needs.”