Greyscale

by Zoom zoom

Chapter 5 (Extended)

Splashing water on your face in an attempt at a least look cleaned up you thank Celestia that wearing your sunglasses was normal. It would keep your bloodshot eyes out of notice from most who didn’t already had a suspicion. You had forgotten what it was like to wake up in the middle of the effects of this stuff. Usually you were sleeping through it or away the entire time so that it was a gradual change you wouldn’t notice. Now you could feel your sluggish muscles and unresponsive compared to just an hour ago.

“Okay,” you state into the mirror. Your own reflection looks like crap even with the shades on. Then again your good eye, even with the dulling from your glasses was always good with detail. “It’s okay, you can do this. Just keep them from looking into the living room closet and your safe.” With a deep sigh you shake yourself away and straighten your glasses as you leave.

“SURPRISE!” cried the crowd as you trotted out of the bathroom. Whether it be by your own power or that your medicine was still running, you didn’t jump when that came. Putting on what felt like the fakest smile in existence you wave at your unwelcome guests that this Pinkie Pie had let in along with herself.

Music played enough to not be too loud for conversation and the front door was open. You could see some other pegasi fooling around out there so you figured that was where most of the stuff you’d need to avoid was happening. You could give this Pinkie Pie credit, she knew how to stage a proper party to suit everypony.

“Doya like?” came a voice in your ear. It must be the medicine because normally that was jump worthy in you. She blinks perhaps more times that you can keep up with ever. Your own slow blink and nod taking about twenty of the ones she just gave you. “Good, the name is Pinkie Pie…” that led into a ramble that you were unable to keep up with so you just ignored it.

A quick scan of the party showed that somehow in the five minutes you were in the bathroom the entire thing had been set up. Noteworthy standing near the guilty closet door being vigilant, well maybe the better term was paranoid. Thankfully aside from a greeting most of the ponies seemed to leave you be as you did your best to maneuver over to the earth pony without opening your wings, not that they would work correctly anyway.

“What are you doing,” Noteworthy whispered once you sat next to him. “You’ll get everyone curious about the closet if you sit here.” He looked past you and you followed his gaze. Pinkie was somehow still blabbing about something. “Could you excuse us please?” She nodded and bid you farewell as you turned your attention back to the Stallion.

“Not as much as you will if you keep this up,” you state slowly pulling out your bottle of medicine that you still had with you. You were able to undo the cap with ease as you hoofed over just one pill near the stallion’s mouth. “If you’re not able to act casual at least take one. It will keep you mellow and stop you from doing something stupid.”

“Okay I know access to the stuff was supposed to be half your rent pay,” countered Noteworthy. “But I’m pretty sure that isn’t the safest bet right now.” You were about to argue again that he would need it when a young filly came over to ask something. Before she could even open her mouth, Noteworthy made a mighty bellow. “Nothing interesting here! Go on, shoo shoo.”

You didn’t even acknowledge this despite the shout being in point blank range of your right ear. The girl looked a bit scared so you smiled again and nodded. “Did you need something little miss?”

“I just wanted to say hello to you Mister,” she barely squeaked shaking. With that a mare, you guessed her mother or older sister, scooped the child up and stared daggers at Noteworthy. She took the filly away and back to the center of the party.

“You were saying?” you stated rolling the little pill in your hoof near his mouth. Noteworthy took the pill without any argument after that. “There, since you’re an earth pony it shouldn’t do more than take the tension out of you but that should be enough to help you mingle.” He seemed dumbfounded at first as to what to do so you pushed him. “Go on.”

You watched him dissolve into the crowd and almost like clockwork, a mare you were all too familiar with came out of the crowd to talk to you. You swallowed as you tried to hold back those feelings that were trying to surface from seeing her; those lingering feelings that had been the death of so many of your relationships when you first left Ponyville.

“So,” came the voice of this amazing pony, “care to talk about what you’re doing back?”

This was the downside of your medicine. The lack of all your mental capacity meant that while you were fine talking to Cheerilee before, right now you wings would have popped up in a ploom if that wasn’t beyond you right now either. “Not really. Sort of ran out of options is all. Plus I couldn’t miss seeing my old friends again right?”

“I suppose,” she said skeptically. “But more importantly. I was going to ask what you were doing hanging around Rainbow Dash.” Before you could answer she looked at you with a judging eye and asked, “Are you high?”

“As a kite,” was the first thing out of your mouth before you shook your head. “Well more like a a butterfly, but you get the point. But don’t worry, I’m in totally control and it’s my medication. It’ll wear off in a bit anyway.”

She didn’t look convinced, but before anything else was said you felt yourself pulled by the arm into the crowd from the side. “Oh thank Celestia,” was your first thought. You may dance like an idiot even without the medicine goofing you up but obviously conversation was not going to be your strong point tonight. That was until you saw who had pulled you aside, and out of the house into the group that was partying harder outside.

“Guys,” called Raindow Dash still holding on to your arm to the group of other pegasi, “Meet our newest weather pony.”

Your glasses dangled off a bit as you straighten yourself and them with the small group doing the usual introductions. Each one of this team was actually pretty friendly. Though you were sure something was up with the look the twins on this team gave you, like they had eyes of a carnivore or something. You pushed that out of your mind though since Rainbow continued to pull you outside and was staring to indicate you should fly with her. You for the most part kept your wings shut tight and tried to pull away.

“Something wrong?” she asked. She didn’t look confused. She must have thought you were embarrassed about the entire thing. “Come on, how is anypony going to like you if you stay cooped up inside just lounging around. I could tell from how you fly that you can really show these ponies some fun so come on up.”

“I’d actually like to stay on the ground thank you,” you replied quickly.

“Oh come on,” said Rainbow not getting it at all and winking, “I don’t bite.”

You could feel your wings open slightly at that. The drug could only stop so much is seems as this was the first time such a thing happened. But luckily the sound of your medicine bottle falling out of one of your wings gets Rainbow’s attention. She scoops it up and you hope she can’t tell a few are missing though with only four left it wouldn’t be that hard to tell if she was paying that much attention.

“Hey,” Rainbow started to say looking at you, “Did you-”

That line is cut off as the music outside suddenly stops with a loud notice. Both you and Rainbow snap your heads back to the DJ who was holding something out of one of your moving boxes. Said box was in Pinkie’s hooves and she was laughing like crazy along with the DJ.

“They couldn’t have found-“ you started. But the music starting to play and the starting scream in song’s start confirmed it. “Ah buck they did.”

“Wait wait wait,” said Rainbow recognizing the song before the full lyrics stated. “You have a Buckstreet boys album?”

Truth be told you were not exactly a fan of the colt band itself, but since when you were a colt it was one of the bigger waves among the fillies you couldn’t avoid hearing it. And you’d be remised if you didn’t admit that you actually enjoyed EVERY one of their songs in some way or another. Even if they constantly used you instead of specifics just to have the girls insert themselves better on a mediocre song overall. It was just so dang catchy.

Still, Celestia was shining even more luck down on you it seemed. You used the chance to pull Rainbow down and start dancing to the song as the lyrics did finally kick in. You couldn’t control your dancing, but it wasn’t much different without a drug slowing down how much your brain ran things.

That was it. You heard the group cheer you two on at this as Rainbow joined in. Granted she actually knew what she was doing but she seem to know how to dodge your near hoof launched at the face moments and matched you perfectly. At the end of the song everyone was clapping though you could tell from a few snickers that some of your future co-workers were not going to let this go lightly.

“Oh I’m going to get miles out of this tomorrow,” laughed Rainbow. “But since you’re so ‘hung up’ at the moment…” You were not sure what was going on till the next song started and you could taste something spicy in your mouth, Rainbow having met your lips if only for a moment and sliding off your glasses. You couldn’t care less it was to get a look at your eye. It was her goal all along after all. And this mare knew how to kiss because when she released you with your glasses well over in the distance you didn’t even bother trying to shut your eye.

The world could have stopped for all you knew at that moment, as this mare stared into your eye that you could never tell what it looked like open. All you had ever seen were scars on your eyelids, and you could only guess based on reactions. Some winced, some gasping. Rainbow Dash however, just looked at it in wonder through that blur. At least that was what you could get before you were forced to close the eye to the world again so that you could see properly again.

“That,” she stated, “is cool.”

Author's Note:

Woke up in the middle of the night and finished what I wanted to with this. At least barring polish that all the chapters need anyway.

I was bouncing around the idea of Cheerilee being there at the end to blab, but that wouldn't be Cheerilee very much. Next chapter however is very much going to have her in it so look forward to that.

FInal Note: Yes, This is the song you dance to. in the thing.

Comments

[ArkNoMane]

That's cool.

[Sky Charmer]

Yep, this one is waaay better. I like the ending.

[Darknight293]

Hm. It will be very dramatic when Rainbow learns she caused our eye problem.

[OrchestraOfRuin]

2515503 ...Is Pinky... eating Hermes brain?... I'm in that part of the internet again.