Half-Baked

by Half-Baked

Chapter 7

Half sat there quietly, his brain going ten to the dozen in a feeble attempt to understand what Ditzy had done and why she had done it.

“Does she like me?”
“What does this mean?”
“What do I do now?”
“Why did she kiss me?”

There were so many questions going through his mind.

“Evenin’”

Half looked up, Big Mac stood there holding two glasses of bright pink punch, the punch smelling extremely sweet and fruity, it reminded Half of Pinkie in a weird and strange sort of way.

“Hey Mac” Half mumbled to Big Mac.

“Somethin’ on your mind?” Big Mac questioned Half, sitting down next to him and handing him one of the glasses of punch.

Half took a sip of the pink liquid, it was extremely sweet, a bit too sweet for his liking despite his love of all things sweet, then came the hit of alcohol, not being a big drinker; the punch was like somepony had slapped him once across the muzzle quite hard.

“Blimey..” Half croaked, his throat torn between burning from the alcohol and doing cartwheels from all the sugar.

“Not a drinker eh?”

“Not really” Half managed to say as the Vodka seared his throat.

Mac gave Half a smirk before taking a swig of his drink, his facial expression unchanging as always, the large percentage of alcohol not fazing him one bit. Half had experienced alcohol in the past; champagne at parties and social gatherings, wine once or twice at dinner parties his parents had thrown in the past, even vodka on one or two occasions though he detested and regretted it soon after, the harsh taste burning his mouth.

“It’s a bit.. Strong” Half managed to choke out, his eyes watering a little as the burning sensation remained in his throat.

“‘tisn’t that strong, at least, not compared to some of th’ stuff am’ used to” Big Mac said, shrugging as he took another swig of the fruity concoction.
“Anyway, noticed you looked a little sad, what’s got ya down Half?”

Half swirled his drink a few times before answering Big Mac,
“Just.. a mare..”

“Aah” Mac downed the rest of his drink in one “Just tell ‘er how ya feel, what’s th’ worst tha’ can happen?”

“Hm..” Half took a sip of his drink, the burn not hurting as much now, probably from where it had already numbed all feeling in his throat he thought.

“Give it some thought Half, anyway, I’ll catch ya around sometime” Mac got up and gave Half a pat on the back before wandering off into the myriad of ponies in the room.

Half sat there staring into his glass, having the occasional swig and muffin, the odd glance at the crowd from time to time. Eventually Half decided that he had better get back home before it was too late, the Dj now drawing her set to a close signalling the near-end of the party.

Half downed the rest of his drink and placed the glass down on the nearest table before he made his way over to the door where Pinkie stood, thanking everypony for coming to the party. Pinkie still looked looked like she had a mountain of energy remaining despite partying and dancing for most of the party, once or twice Half was sure Pinkie was crowd surfing.

“Leaving Halfy?” Pinkie asked as Half approached the door.

“Yeah, it’s getting late and I’ve got plans for tomorrow” He replied, loosening his bowtie a little. “Oh, by the way, are there any places to eat out in Ponyville, you know, like cafes and such?”

“Ooooo, who’s the lucky mare? nono lemme guess, is it.. Uh.. Fluttershy? Nowait, Lyra! or.. Bonbon! Wait they’re dating aren’t they? Silly me”

“Pinkie, it’s just a lunch date, well.. I wouldn’t call it a date as such, more like two friends meeting up for something to eat, that’s all” Half explained to Pinkie, lying to himself a little.

“But you like her, rightttttt?” Pinkie said, teasing Half a little, knowing that Half was lying a little thanks to her Pinkie-sense.

“Well, yeah.. But only as a friend! it’s not like I fancy her or anything” Half blurted out, trying his best to hide what was an obvious lie.

Pinkie just stared at Half with a look that just said “I know you’re lying”, Half tried his best to not look straight at Pinkie, to avoid her soul-piercing gaze but it wasn’t working, wherever he looked Pinkie moved to follow his eyes.

“Fine.. Yeah, I like her..” Half finally admitted, knowing that the game was up and that Pinke had bested him.

“Aaw, don’t worry, we all get crushes from time to time” Pinkie said, giving Half a little hug which he returned.

“I don’t want to screw things up though Pinkie” Nervously admitted Half.

“You wont, trust me” Pinkie assured him with a pat on the back and a friendly smile.

This lifted Halfs’ spirit a little and made him feel slightly at ease, Pinkie had faith in him, someone believed that he wasn’t going to make a right fool of himself and that gave him all the confidence he needed.

“Thanks Pinkie” Half said, returning the smile “I best be off, thanks for the party, really appreciate it”

“No problemo, cya soon!” Pinkie chirped, waving as she watched Half leave Sugarcube Corner.

Half waved back as he left the dying party and headed off into the dark streets of Ponyville, the stars and moon dimly lighting the way for him. The silence of the night put Half slightly on edge but also at ease, knowing that he’d easily here the movement of any would be assailants.

Tonight had been a weird but enjoyable night for Half, the day had also been rather weird too but then again, when was anything normal in Equestria?. As Half made his way back to his new home his mind wandered, thoughts of his new and hopefully warm and comfy bed swam through his mind, along with thoughts of things to come, Ditzy and their “date” also entering his mind. Tomorrow was a new day and full of promise for Half and he couldn’t wait for it to come.

With that thought, he upped his pace slightly to a silent yet brisk trot, his bed and a nice cup of Cocoa calling to him.

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Dear Diary,

Today I saw Half again! I was right, he’s moved here! to Ponyville that is, not into this house of course, not that I wouldn’t mind of course, he seems a nice enough pony to be honest and oh my Luna I’m rambling on again aren’t I. Silly me.

Anyway. Half looked really nice tonight, he had this dashing little bow tie on, it was so cute. Pinkie threw him this really cool party today to welcome him, she’s such a nice pony, but yeah, I went to it to go see who it was who had just moved here and like I said, It was Half!.

I kinda scared him a little when I saw him and he started choking but he’s ok now, he smelt of Blueberries Diary, you know how much I LOVE Blueberries. He’d gone and taken the tray of Muffins (<3) for himself and had sat in the corner all on his lonesome. (aaaaw)

We chatted for a bit and caught up, shared a muffin or two, then guess what Diary! He asked ME on a date!! Nopony’s asked me out on a date in agesss, well, not since Dinkys’ father but I don’t like to think about that anymore...

But yeah, I’m SO excited!!

Dinky got her homework back today, she got an A! my little Muffin is so clever, much more than I am, I was never a smart foal, except for baking, mum always said I had a knack for that. Mum did always know best. I miss her.

I promised Dinky that I’d take her out tomorrow for ice cream to celebrate her A, I wonder if Half would mind if I brought Dinky along on our date...

Talk to ya soon Diary,

Ditzy xx

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Half stirred in his bed, the light shining through the window from Celestias’ sun hurting his unadjusted morning eyes. Pulling his pillow over his head Half tried to fall back to sleep but sadly, it was of no use, he was already awake now.

Half rolled out of bed slowly, taking his bed cover with him, his morning hair all matted and bedraggled from his night of deep slumber and dreaming. Pulling open his door with one weary hoof, he shuffled his way out of the bedroom and over to the bathroom, before entering he dropped his cover in a heap and stepped into the cold, dark bathroom.

Half fumbled around for the light-switch in his half awake state, eventually finding it and illuminating the room. The light momentarily blinding him and making him recoil. Once his eyes adjusted to the light level, Half turned his attention to the shower itself; Half turned the water on and slowly adjusted it to a suitable temperature for himself.

Entering it, Half immediately felt at ease. His worries and tiredness flowed down the plughole along with any dust, dirt and overlooked sugar from yesterday.

“Ahhhh.... Buck me that feels good..”

Half plopped down onto his rump and looked up with his eyes shut, letting the water run down his face and through his mane. Half sat like that for a good 5 minutes, the warm water flowing over his body, wetting his coat as it traveled over it.

Lowering his head and opening his eyes, Half got to his hooves and stepped out of the shower, turning the water off as he did so. Grabbing a towel that he’d placed by the sink the day before he started drying himself.

In just a few hours he’d be having lunch with Ditzy. That thought alone scared the heck out of him, he’d never been on a date.
“Stay calm man, you’ve just got to stay calm”

Walking from the bathroom back into his room, towel wrapped round his body, dragging his cover with him, Half threw it back onto his bed. Looking at the little alarm clock on the clock he’d unpacked and placed on the bedside table yesterday, it read 11:35am. Ditzy was meeting him at One. He had more than enough time to have a light breakfast and get ready before she arrived at his.

“I wonder what she’s up to right now?” Half thought as he proceeded to dry his wet mane. “I wonder if she’s as nervous as I am?... Ah who knows..”

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“Dinky! it’s quarter to one, we don’t want to be late now do we?” Ditzy called up the stairs of her house. Ditzy had made sure that her daughter had gotten up with more than enough time to get ready, Dinky had the habit of taking far longer than she should when doing anything. Ditzy on the other hoof, had made sure she was ready an hour in advance; A simple silver locket adorned her neck and a small white bow in her mane.

“Coming mummy!” Dinky replied, bounding down the stairs, nearly tripping down the last few but thankfully Ditzy was there to catch her.

“Careful Muffin, now, are you ready?” Ditzy asked her daughter, her most loved and cherished ‘possession’.

“Mhm. Brushed my teeth and mane like you said.” The little purple unicorn replied to her mother.

“Good girl, now Dinky, remember to be on your best behaviour today.” Ditzy reminded her daughter who sometimes, like most foals her age, got herself into trouble whenever they went out, even if it was round a friends house. Like Half, Ditzy was a tad bit nervous, she hadn’t been on a date herself in a long time, not since she’d had her daughter.

“I promise.” Dinky chirped, knowing that if she wasn’t she wouldn’t get her ice cream later.

Ditzy grinned at her daughters response and ruffled her hair. She was so precious, Dinky was only 5 years old but for her age she was very grown up, soon she’d be going to school and, eventually, getting her cutie mark.

Ditzy opened the front door of her house and let her daughter out first before exiting and closing the door behind her. Today there wasn’t a cloud in the sky and the sun was shining down on Equestria, providing a gloriously warm, late summers day.

“Who’re we going to see mummy? We going to see Carrot Top?” Dinky asked innocently, Dinky loved going to Carrot Tops, she was like an aunt to Dinky and Ditzy was grateful to her for that. Carrot Top offered to help Ditzy wherever and whenever she could and that was a great help to Ditzy, after all, she was only a single mum.

“Not today Muffin, we’re going to go to a new friend of Mummies.” Ditzy replied, picking up her daughter and placing her on her back.

“Oh. Are they nice?” Dinky asked, holding on to her mum’s neck tightly, she liked meeting new ponies even though it was a bit scary.

“Mhm.” Ditzy said, blushing a little, hoping that Dinky wouldn’t notice as she opened her wings and took off, with Dinky on her back she didn’t want to fly too high or too fast, Dinky wasn’t used to that sort of flying, so she remained fairly close to the ground.

“Are they the same pony that you talked about last night mummy?”

“You’re full of questions today Dinky, yes, they’re the same pony” Ditzy laughed as she flew on towards Halfs’ house, flying over the heads of a few ponies as she worked her way through the maze that was Ponyvilles’ streets.

A few minutes later and Ditzy was nearly at Halfs’ house, it was just before one and they were just turning into Whitetail Wood Road.

“Mummy?” Dinky said, trying to get her mums’ attention.

“Yes Muffin?” Ditzy responded as she slowed down, preparing to land.

“Do you like him? as in like like him?” Dinky asked.

Her question knocking Ditzy back mentally, she didn’t know how to answer that, she hadn’t given it much thought really. Yes, Half seemed nice, he was cute, funny and he liked muffins but truth be told, she didn’t know how she felt about Half right now. She didn’t know him that well but it wasn’t like she wouldn’t want to get to know him better.

“I..I don’t know Dinky.. Sorry” Ditzy said as she landed on Whitetail Wood Road, a few doors down from Halfs’ house. She lifted Dinky off her back and gently placed her down onto the cobbled street.

“It’s ok Mummy” Dinky said, hugging her mums’ leg.

“Aaw” Ditzy thought, her daughter had a heart of gold sometimes.

Ditzy stroked her daughter's head and ushered Dinky on towards Halfs’ house.

“We’ll just have to wait and see how today goes Dinky..” Ditzy thought as they approached the front door of number 32.

Comments

[Midge]

~yay~ Glad to see an update for this, and I hope you have fun in your cooking course.

[Shattubatu]

Not a bad return! You seem to be improving! I'm actually pretty interested as to where this is going! Keep it up!