Blueblood Posted January 23, 2016 Report Share Posted January 23, 2016 All of Dunder's daily duties were completed, the kitchen was cleaned and all the food was cooked. Enough food to feed an army. At least, an army of workers that kept the wheels of the house turning. Now was Dunder's time to do whatever he wanted and he wanted to feel like a guard again. Out back he strung up a sack filled with cotton on a tree, a good analogue to test accuracy with his rapier. Currently he was taking his stance, thrusting with the sword, and recovering from each strike. ~ Blueblood, too, was headed out to the back. The autumn was passing through, soon to herald Hearth's Warming, and with it a planned visit to Fet Loch. As this visit was going to involve a planned match between him and the Duchess Star Breezer for the right to officially court her daughter Star Crusader... he was taking every opportunity to practice. This led him to the same training ground Dunder was in. He nodded at his cook, seeing him there, while brining out his own weapon. It was a dueling cane, essentially a slim rod of strong metal encased in ebony. He gripped it in his hoof, warming up with a few practice strikes of his own before speaking. "Out here regularly?" ~ Dunder was too absorbed in combat to catch sight of the approaching stallion. Each strike had to be precision, and each strike brought a bigger hole in the center of the target, and moe cotten strewn on the dirt. When Blueblood spoke, Dunder jumped. Normally he would have pointed the sword at Blueblood, but the voice of the stallion Dunder recognized in an instant. "Yes, yes." Dunder said, "Are you out here ever? I've never seen you use that cane." He said, the brown eyes tracking the path of the metal rod as it was swung, "I thought it was just for show." ~ "Hm, we seem to miss each other, then. You're usually cooking at the times I regularly practice." The Prince did a flurry of five strikes at the dummy, before planting the end of the cane in the ground and leaning on it. "And yes, I've been taking lessons from Star. I haven't been able to practice on any pony else though." He began to eye the rapier speculatively as Dunder held it. "I wonder... have you got time for a match before dinner?" ~ Dunder's eyes kept on the cane as it was planted to the ground, but when the stallion offered a match, Dunder grinned. "I've always got time for a duel." He said and brought his eyes to lock with Blueblood's for a second. Excited, Dunder's wings flared out, and he did a loop to land by the tree, pulling out two masks and a cap to make the rapier point dull. With a wing, Dunder tossed Blueblood one of the masks, "Wuldn't want to punch out your teeth!" Dunder commented, putting on his own mask and securing the cap on the rapier tip. "How hard do you want me to go, by the way?" ~ Blueblood smiled as Dunder looked into his eyes. It was good to have a friend willing to spar on short notice like this. Of course, there was the complicating factor of the fact that they were technically Master/Servant, but it was hard for Blueblood to feel that way, even when giving him orders. He caught the mask in his magic, fixing it on as he replied, in a somewhat serious tone. "I'm prepping for a match with Star Breezer. If I'm not good enough yet, I need to know now, and not later." ~ "Alright. I'll fight you like how I would fight Star Breezer." The mention of her name, it sent a shiver down Dunder's spine. "Of course, I'll try not to break any bones. Don't worry about me, act as if you were trying to kill me." Dunder took his stance on his hindlegs, one hoof behind the other, his torsofacing away from Blueblood. Rapier point trained on Blueblood's face, and free hoof right under the pony's chin. "En garde." ~ Blueblood took his own stance, gripping the cane slightly above the pommel, to balance out strike leverage with security of grip. Getting disarmed wasn't going to be a fun experience, but he wasn't sure he could win a fight of endurance yet either. When he struck, it would have to be hard. He kept on all three hooves, ready to move. Rapiers thrusted rather than slashed, so that would affect his footwork. Right, here we go... "En Garde." The first movements were fast, an opening thrust, a quick sidestep to the right, cane held ready to parry the next thrust. ~ Dunder was sizing up Blueblood. The thrust was good, enough to make Dunder catch the foible of the cane between the blade and the cup of the rapier, knocking the thrust off course. And with the step, Dunder stepped forward and to the left to stay lined up with his opponent. He was silent as he worked, pulling the cup hilt of the rapier to the middle of the cane, and dropping the point to make a thust for the thigh of Blueblood. ~ Blueblood reared to avoid the downward thrust, coming down to deliver a powerful strike at Dunder's withers, with another coming from the backswing. A potentially damaging move, but it did cut his mobility down to almost nothing for the duration, which could leave an opening to the quick and clever... ~ The cane point dropping and the pony rearing back was enough to telegraph to Dunder that Blueblood was countering. The point strike missed, but a quick trasnition from his hoof from low to high allowed the pegasus to protect his withers from the brunt of the strike. And the backswing was a terrible idea. To punish Blueblood, Dunder dropped his sword, and used his wings to get chest-to-chest with the royal pone. with one hoof blocking the unicorn's tied up forelegs, and his free hoof going for a punch at the ribs ~ There was no dodging this one. Blueblood had made an amateur mistake, and got socked on the ribs for it. A little late, he realized neither had put on pads, so he took the full, lung-emptying brunt of the blow. But he wasn't done. Being a unicorn, he was able to shift the grip of his cane from his hoof to his magic, ramming the pommel into the side of Dunder's head, trying to break out and retreat. ~ All the pommel strike do was make Dunder mad, mad enough to step his hindleg behind Blueblood's and grip the unicorn's barrel, twisting and falling to bring the two down, Dunder on top. But from there, Dunder tapped out on Blueblood and stood up, "Remember, don't ever put your body between your weapon and the enemy's weapon. And a good idea when closing distances is to grab and push the horn of the opponent, it's usually enough to counter a magic strike." Dunder trotted back to retreive his rapier ~ And the whole affair ended just as any pony would expect it to, with the amateur being quickly dispatched by the professional. Which, Blueblood supposed, was probably a good thing. Dunder had been hired partially upon the strength of his combat abilities, so it would be a troubling sign if he could be defeated by the pony he was supposed to guard. The thought, however, brought little consolation through the immediate pain and humiliation of being thrown and pinned. Still, the Prince got up quickly enough after, and the mask meant he didn't even have to spin dirt. "First point to you, I suppose." And second, third, and fourth according to the technical rules, but who was counting? ~ Dunder grinned behind his mask as Blueblood counted off the point. "Here, I'll make it a tad more interesting." He said while trotting back to his bag, he laid the rapier back in it's scabbard and pulled out his buckler, with a golden inlay depicting the sun. "I'll use only my buckler, you can use whatever weapon you wish. I only have a rapier, longsword, and parrying dagger, though." ~ Oh, boy. Was this a handicap? Or did Dunder know fiendish weapon tricks that could turn a buckler into a deadly offensive force? Heck, he probably did, but would he use them? Probably, actually. "I'll stick with what I've got." Blueblood said, eying the pegasus warily. "Have more practice with it than bladed weapons." ~ "You should attach a point to it. That way it becomes more effective of a weapon." Dunder said and held the buckler in his right forehoof, facing it towards blueblood as he assumed the same stance as before. "En Garde, when you are." ~ "It's a tool of self-defense. I'm not trying to kill any pony with it." Blueblood readied himself again, this time in a posture with a lower center of gravity. He wasn't being thrown again this time. "Besides, the point is not to make it look like a weapon." Practical education would be best for demonstrating what a heavy blunt object was worth in a physical contest, but first the Prince had to score a hit. "En Garde." His tactics were more cautious this time, feeling out how Dunder would use the buckler with a feint to the left, before a strike to his right leg. ~ The buckler stayed facing the cane. The feint to the left would have been disasterous, but a step back with the leg proved enough to void the strike completely. "Try not to drop your weapon too much while going for the legs." Dunder said, keeping his eyes on the unicorn. "If you want to know why, do it again." ~ Now was a decision point; learn a lesson in defeat, or try trickery for a chance at a sneaky victory. There was a slight pause as Blue thought this through, but he chose the lesson now, and victory later. Besides, whatever move Dunder used against him was a move he would then know, right? So, the Prince did it again ~ Dunder brought both of his hindlegs together to void the attack, and at the same moment, he threw the buckler right at Blueblood's mask, the shield colliding with the horn and the skull. Normally Dunder would have stopped there, but Star Brrezer was no pushover. In the temporary daze of Blueblood, the pegasus grabbed the cane weilding foreleg and the cane. "When you lower your body to make a low stike, it exposes your head more. If I had a sword, and a will to gurt you, I'd have broken your horn off." ~ "I... had a sort of feeling, you know..." Blueblood muttered through the pain and stars in his vision, "That you were going to do something like that... I'll take the lesson to heart, thank you." He wasn't quite so quick to call for a round two this time. Two points out of three was surely good enough for a before-dinner match, right? And showing up to the table with visible injuries would do no pony any good... ~ Dunder took off his mask, looking genuinely concerned, "Are you okay? I tried not to throw it that hard." On the side of Dunder's head, red liquid was creasing down the sid of his head, probably from the earlier pommel strike. ~ Blueblood winced under his mask at the blood, though the sight revealed under his own as he removed it was hardly prettier. His right eye was blackened from the impact to the eye socket that he'd taken, and the skin around the base of his horn was raw and bleeding itself. "I... think we both hit a little harder than is usual for a spar." ~ Drunder grinned, "Well, this is why we wear masks, am I right?" Dunder said and grinned, trotting back over to his sword bag and putting everything inside. "Sometimes you get hit. If it's a self defense situation, they might not be so easy on you. If it's any consolation, I made you your favorite food for dinner." [what is Blueblood's favorite dish?] ~ (Stuffed mushrooms and strawberry salad) "Mm, and also why more sensible ponies wear helmets, I suppose." The ringing in his ears hadn't yet gone away as he put away the mask and cane. "And thank you, by the way; I can certainly say I've worked up an appetite!" As the smell of the mushrooms wafted out of the kitchen and to the pair of ponies, Blueblood smiled. He'd certainly made the right decision in hiring Dunder as the household cook, but that brought with it another question. "Dunder... I have to ask. Are you happy in your position?" ~ The question seemed out of left field, but Dunder didn't think about it. "Well, yeah. You let me do all my food stuff and hardly tell me what to do more than what you want to have for breakfast." He stood up after tieing the bag closed. "And everyone teels me that my food tastes good. Also I get to cook whatever I want. Which taco night is coming up, by the way." Dunder said, tapping his hoof on the chin, "And telling mares I am a prince's head chef is pretty sweet." ~ "Hm." It was true, that the Prince had a rather lazies-faire attitude towards his servants, once they were hired. They largely trained themselves, handing down the skills amongst themselves from generation to generation. It was a whole different culture below stairs, one that recruited outside of those familiar with it about as often as the nobility took in commoners. And yet... here was Dunder. "I ask, because the last thing I imagined you finding attractive was the prospect of being a rich pony's servant." ~ Dunder suddenly stopped burying into his sword bag, then turned around to look at Blueblood. "Don't call me a servant again. I'm here because ponies need to eat, and should eat good food. Regardless of their upbringing." Dunder said, and began to get back into his bag, pulling out a dark green glass bottle and some bandages. ~ Right. So, apparently, Dunder dealt with matters in his situation incompatible with his character by ignoring them. He didn't like to be thought of as a servant, so he asked no pony to call him that. It didn't change the fact that his life was pretty much dedicated to the service of others, and a particular other at that, on a permanent basis. "Is that anti-septic?" The Prince asked, changing the subject while gesturing at the bottle. "I could use some when you're done." ~ "And It's not like I don't want my friend looking down on me. A friend who I want to work for because living alone in Cloudsdale non-stop working drives a pony a little crazy." Dunder started to shiver, rubing his hoof against the side of his head, smearing the red liquid on the side of his face. "Here, you can use it." Dunder said and tossed the glass bottle to the pony. ~ Ah, there it was! Blueblood smiled as he thought he finally got at the real reason, though it stretched into a grimace as the sting of the rubbing alcohol hit his broken skin. "That I can understand, I suppose. And you are a part of the house now, as much as any pony else. I know you've had... trouble, filling your own." The Prince wasn't sure if he ought to have said that, but... it was something he'd observed in his friend. Not that they'd really talked about it seriously, just in passing. ~ Dunder wasn't sure to be upset or not. Hiding it until later was probably the best option. So he just smiled at Blueblood, "Yes. And thank you. I do my work." He said, lowering his head. "Don't get any in your eye. You should also pat it down with something incase you want to cover up the bruise." Dunder said. ~ Subject broached... no explosion yet. Truth be told, this was something the Prince wanted to discuss eventually, but his own aversion to uncomfortable conversations held him back. Taking a kerchief from his pocket, he dabbed the wound, keeping his eyes shut. "There. The table's open for you, as usual. Unless you prefer the company of the common pony in the kitchen, a lot of the maids do." And Celestia knew, he'd never known Dunder to resist the charms of pretty ponies... ~ "Why can't we eat with you in the main dining hall? Are you just going to eat alone?" Dunder asked. Truth that Dunder didn't want to say, but he wanted things to change around the house. It'd have to be slow though, knowing how stubborn the unicorn could be. ~ "...Not everypony likes to eat with the m- well, me." Blueblood admitted, shrugging. "Besides, the big table isn't brought out except for guests; the house-maid and butler sometimes eat with me, along with a few of the honor guards." ~ "Why don't we all eat together? Like, if you don't want to then it's your call, but I don't see why not. We all live in the same house after all." ~ "Well..." He tried to picture exactly how many servants there actually were in the whole manor. The thought of hosting that many, who would either behave stiffly and awkwardly, or else descent into loud chattering... the prospect overwhelmed him, and Dunder could see that in his eyes. "Uh... perhaps later. Though I would like to talk to you over dinner." ~ Dunder could tell Blueblood wasn't open to the idea, so he shook his head, "Well, it's up to you. I prefer not to be alone constantly. I will eat with you. As long as there is wine involved." Dunder said, "I made sure that there was a portion of the budget cut out specifically for drinks." ~ Large changes should be taken a little bit at a time. It probably wouldn't have surprised any pony that Blueblood's philosophy tended towards the conservative in life, and to a certain extent in politics. Hence his relative unwillingness to discuss it over dinner. Though that might be less awkward than what he has planned... "Wine? Of course, old chap. Always have wine with dinner." It was good tradition and good sense, as far as he was concerned, although his grandfather's trick of downing 3 bottles of champagne in a sitting was unlikely to be repeated ~ "Good. If you don't mind, I'm going to go get my food, put my stuff away. I'll meet you in the dining hall." With that, Dunder spun around and trotted off. He wasn't sure why Blueblood invited Dunder to dinner. And in about 10 minutes, Dunder trotted into the dining hall. On one wing was a bowl of something steaming, and delicious smelling. On the other wing was a carrying-case filled with jugs of the deep red liquid. ~ Blueblood nodded, and took himself off to clean off the rest of the blood (and put a little something over his eye to cover the bruise and blackening). His salad and mushrooms were waiting for him at the dining table; courses would be served together this evening. He took his seat, waiting for Dunder. Seeing him, he nodded approvingly. "Properly decanted. Not that I should have ever doubted you." ~ "Yeah, I brought plenty." Dunder said as he took the seat next to Blueblood. If there was no seat there, he'd make one. The pegasus set down his food, chilli beans with sour cream and cheese. Next to that he slid the jugs of wine. "So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Dunder asked, politely waiting for Blueblood to commence the beginning of dinner. ~ Blueblood poured out a glass of wine for the both of them. They'd probably be needing it by the end of the night. "Well, a few things." He took a sip of his wine, trying to figure out how to best approach the matter. "You remember when I came to visit you, as Bluebelle, back in Cloudsdale, right?" ~ At first, Dunder was just going to take a sip of the wine. But after hearing what Blueblood brought up, Dunder downed the rest of his glass and moved on to pouring himself another. "Oh, how could I forget?" Dunder said, letting out a weak chuckle as he filled his glass with more wine. ~ "Right... not our proudest moment." Nor, perhaps, was starting the conversation out on this hoof. Blueblood decided to drain his own glass, to keep the keel even, before he continued. "See, here's the thing. You've always been on call, you know, for whenever I needed you to help keep my neck out of trouble, you know? But thinking over it, I mean, I realized then that you've been through a lot that I never offered any help to you for. And... that's not fair to a friend, really." ~ *Just one more drink.*Dunder thought, finishing off his second glass. "Sure you've offered me help. I mean, you gave me jobs that paid well and I did them. I got a share, that led to more work in the royal realm, you know?" Truly, Dunder prided himself on not needing much help himself. ~ "That's... not quite what I mean..." The Prince sighed, before biting into his salad. Dunder wasn't going to meet him half-way for this one, and truth be told, Blueblood couldn't blame him. "Because, you know... that's a business relationship. Any pony could have given you a lucrative contract! A friend's who you turn to for personal business." Another drink of wine. "You were there... for when I was learning how to not be a jerk. That couldn't have been easy." ~ "You're right. When you first hired me, you were a royal pain whose reputation preceded him and it was very difficult to work with you. I'd have probably punched your teeth out if Fire wasn't there to calm me down." Dunder said it how it was. "But I stuck around, because I liked pushing your buttons, then slowly grew to like you as a friend." Dunder went to diving into his food, silently pulling mouthfulls of the beans and tomato and hay mixture into his mouth. ~ Ooh, Blueblood could remember that almost-punch. Fire had not calmed Dunder as much as physically restrained him. At least, that's how the Prince remembered it after two glasses of red wine. "Glad to hear..." Another bite of salad. "Here's the thing, though... I know, back in Cloudsdale, I shouldn't have looked at all that. I know. But... I can't un-see it, you know what I'm saying?" ~ Dunder kept digging into his beans, picking up his pace. "What are you saying? You saw what you saw, and I know what you saw. You know what you did was wrong." Dunder said, his words slow and deliberate. ~ "I saw..." Blueblood opened his mouth, and then closed it. How could he go farther than this? Obviously, Dunder didn't want to talk about the things he kept secret, that was why he kept them secret! "Well, you're right. But it just occurred to me, that I'm probably the only one you could talk to now about any of that stuff without giving it away. More than it is, I mean." He was aware of how lame that finished, and so began inroads into a third glass, along with the mushrooms. ~ Before Blueblood could snatch up more wine, Dunder grabbed one of the jugs and began to drink from it directly. "Oh yeah? Sure, talk about my secrets, everything is on the fffff---" Dunder cut himself off, "Everything is on the table now." His words were getting more and more jaded. ~ The Prince now had a creeping sensation that he had wandered into a conversational minefield, and was now so far in that going back held just as much a risk of an explosion as going forward. "I've... you understand, I've gone through much of my life ignoring the pain of others. Well, that's not on, and you've helped to show me that. I can't just... leave it alone when I see it now. It keeps me up at night, wondering just what I can do." ~ Dunder felt some empathy when Blueblood mentioned staying up at night haunted by thoughts, but the pegasus didn't show it. "Ey. Don't worry about me, I'm good." Dunder's voice went calm and he even smiled at Blueblood. "What is it you want to talk about? Helping me? Why do you need to help me?" Dunder's voice was just beginning to get slurred. ~ "You're... part of the House." Blueblood's own voice wasn't slurred, but it was obvious by the care he put into not being slurred that he was drunk. "I'm... responsible for those in my House. Legally, I mean. If you're sued, the lawyer's on me. Part of... the contract. Law, y'see, the one you signed when you joined on. I have responsibilities... to my own..." ~ Dunder started to bust up laughing, the fit carrying on for a few seconds, and ended with Dunder burying his face in his hoof. "Is that what this is about? Some sort of legal concern? I'm not going to sue you, I'm not going to get sued. You just need to calm down." Dunder went back to eating from his bowl, which was started to get empty by now. ~ Uh... Well, that was something of an explosion, but caused by a squirrel that had suddenly run onto the minefield. "No, no, I mean... not legal... just... well, I just care for you, alright? And I feel responsible, now that you're part of the house, is all." There. He'd said what he had to say, and it would very likely have turned out fine if his drunk mind didn't let his mouth go on to say, "And I'll admit to being curious if that list at the end was what I thought it was." ~ Dunder was surprised. "You care about me? I never thought I would hear you say that." Dunder chuckled again, holding off on wine for a moment. "And you feel responsible? I can assure you, I'm not a lost kitten." The pegasus said and wiped a hoof across his snout. "And that list at the end of the journal? What do you think it is about?" ~ Blueblood nodded. "Strange as it may sound." He chuckled himself, hoping the humor of the situation would help it go smoother. "That's not a list of the ponies you slept with?" ~ Dunder busted up laughing again, this time even longer. The pegasus grabbed the wine, still chuckling, and poured the liquid onto his hoof, until it dripped down his foreleg, matting his coat. "Red hoofed." ~ Blueblood wasn't quite drunk enough to take his friend spilling wine over himself in stride. He looked at Dunder oddly, though he refrained from comment on the gesture. "Quite the list, then." ~ Dunder stared at his hoof, flexing his hoof and watching the trapped wine squeeze out of his coat. "Yeeeeeeah. Is that what's bothering you?" "I've always thought... promiscuity a dangerous thing." Blueblood resisted the urge to pontificate, and that was no easy task while under the influence. He could be a chatty drunk. "Particularly when it leads to some of the places it must have been. I mean, Duchess Star Breezer? that's not safe, man." ~ "Yeah, go through your whole life scared of everything. Are you just mad because it's Crusader's mom? I have hardly even gotten a hug out of Crusader." It was a reasonable concern, as much as Blueblood found Dunder unattractive. ~ "Not... mad, just..." He'd noticed, and remembered, that the list included Java and Star Breezer, but not Crusader. If he had to put it into words, it was just... weird. "I mean, I'm sort of friends with you, Duchess, and Java. Kind of weird to find out this sort of thing was going on without me knowing about it. What signs did I miss?" ~ "It's not that big of a deal. Java, his mom, and his dad are all giant pervs. It started with Java and just moved on the more I became friends with Java." dunder legitimately saw nothing swrong with the whole situation, and didn't understand Blueblood's concern. ~ Blueblood sat back, almost stunned at this level of casualness. "Should I have seen this coming?" From the angle of his head, he was talking to the ceiling, rather than Dunder. "Really, should I have? Does it matter? Well, I should think so! I know them well enough myself, do they do this to everypony, or is it just you who takes it so easily?" His head fell back down to look at Dunder. "Enjoy yourself, did you?" ~ Dunder leaned back in his seat, taken aback by the outburst of Blueblood. "It's just something that happened. From what I gathered, it's not a common thing that happens. I mean, Star Breezer is crazy, but she isn't going to make you do anything you don't want to do." Dunder started to feel more self concious. "Now I'm second guessing if I liked it." ~ Not a common thing... well, that made sense. Canterlot society was pretty quick to fix the label of pervert on the Duchess (though it rarely said so without circumlocution), but if it was as easy as all that to get into her bed... well, there would have been much worse labels being thrown around, sans verbal screening. "I guess... It's just... is that how you really want to live your life? With these things just coming and going like that?" ~ Dunder shook his head, "there's nothing better for me." He let the words hang for a moment, then downed some more wine from the jug. "I already have a plan laid out, so don't you worry." ~ Did he really mean that? Blueblood himself was in no position to judge whether this was a case of in vino veritas, or just the drink talking, but taking it all together with what he'd observed about his friend... that was probably what Dunder really felt in his heart of hearts. And for Blueblood, who really felt himself to be on the verge of something better... it was a little heartbreaking to think he'd be leaving a friend behind. "What happened to you, that made you think you were the unsolvable problem? I mean, in terms of sheer superficial hopelessness, I had you beat any day of the week!" The wine had loosened the Prince's own tongue, it seemed. His humility was becoming quite uncharacteristic. "There's a lot going right in my life right now because other ponies didn't take my opinion of myself at face value; and you were one of them! It's only fair that I ressy-reci- ahem re-ci-pro-cate." Words were becoming harder now. Was that, what, the fourth glass now? ~ Such was the way of wine. Everything became hazy and distant. Dunder's mind was only able to make out some shapes and forms from his memories. Why did he think himself the unsolvable problem? there was wine, after all. the pegasus finished his first jug and moved onto his second, having to supress another chuckle while Blueblood struggled with his enunciation. "You knoooooooow. I didn't take you at face value, that just lets you know that you should trust me. Maybe it's true that some ponies can't feel right unless they got a lot going for them. I think I am one of those ponies." ~ "Well... well, you've got me going for you." Blueblood nodded sagely at this observation, repeating it to allow it's wisdom to roll over his tongue once more. "You've got me going for you, and that's a lot. Anything that you've been willing to do for me, well, all you have to do is ask, old chap, and I'll do it and... and more. What is a Prince, if not generous to his friends?" ~ "Uhhhhh... A prince that isn't nice to his friends is a butt. so I guess you aren't a butt...anymore." Dunder looked a little confused, "And why would you be nice to me like this? There's no reason for you to do this, other than you being my friend." ~ It was the Prince's turn to look confused. "So... I need another reason?" His brows furrowed in the effort of drunken thought. Said effort eventually proved too much, which prompted a snort and the draining of his glass. "Pah, well, I don't know. I just want to, is all. I'm a happy pony, and I don't like thinking that others aren't as happy as I am." The Prince took a long, contemplative look at the jug, before shaking his head decisively. Enough for him. "Explain this... plan of yours, to me." ~ Dunder was having some trouble rememboring. "What plan? I have a bunch of plans. Not all of them you can be involved in, though." Dunder said, he was begining to look in the later stages of tipsiness, almost getting to where the wine would overcome him. ~ Yes... they were just about getting to the point where rational conversation was nearing impossibility. Soon, the butler would circulate the brandy and cart them off to bed. But before that... "Well, if you've got schemes to cure your loneliness... hic let a friend vet 'em first." ~ Dunder shook his head, swaying side to side as if he was weighted down, "Sorry, but I'd have to do that one alone. And telling somepony doesn't let me do that alone, right?" ~ Blueblood felt deflated, but at least he could rest his conscience in the fact that he tried. "Alright. Just... keep me updated on how it turns out, alright? And don't do anything stupid." ~ Dunder began to chuckle, "Noooooo promises." He said, a big smile on his face ~ Well, that was about all he could expect. Blueblood turned away from his friend, to stare at a snifter of brown, aromatic liquid that had somehow gotten there on the table. Brandy, of course. Right. He lifted the glass, in a silent toast to Dunder, and then slowly drained it. "I think... dinner is over... goodnight." The Prince was visibly swaying, trying to get down from the chair ~ The pegasus didn't have a chance to drink his brandy. Dunder shot up to his hooves, grabing Blueblood with a wing, helping the unicorn get down from his chair. "How about I take you to your room?" ~ 'Sloshed' was a pretty good word to describe the Prince's state, given how it felt as if a tidal sea were going up and down in his skull. It wasn't a bad sensation, except that it gave him sea legs on land, for some reason. "Lead the way! I feel almost up to running... but I don't think so... no, bad idea. No running in the halls." ~ While Blueblood was catching his footing, Dunder was casually flying overhead. "No running? You never said anything about flying.~" Dunder's forehooves behind his head, his hindlegs crossed as if lounging on an invisible couch. ~ "Hm..." A few steps later, and blueblood felt that he had found a pace that would not end with him tumbling face-first into a piece of furniture. "you... should be good, if... you're not too fasht." The Prince had by now given up the fight against slurs and stumbles, his only thought was to make it upstairs intact. "Needsh... I needsh to shtop drinkin sho muchsh. Heh.. yer a.. bad influenchsh" ~ "I am the worst influence!" Dunder laughed, his reckless flying seemed not to bother the stallion as he glided along, above and in front of the unicorn. "Are you s-sure I don't buurp have to c-carry your butt?" ~ "Shtop goin back and forth... you're confushing me." Blueblood set his face in a determined expression, and braced himself against an end table. "I... shpeshifically forbid you to carry my butt." And with this firm resolve, he set off... and managed to actually get to the staircase without incident. Attempting to actually get up the stairs, however, was a much more laborious process... ~ "I'm not going back and forth, ya fookin' ingot." Dunder said while doing just that, unaware of his own constantly changing flight path. In his mind he was just having fun. When Dunder reached the stairs, he bumped his head into it. "Oh, frig who put a staircase here? This wasn;'t here last time I cheched." The pegasus turned to face it, "But it's a nice staircase." He said while gliding his hoof over it, "So cool and relaxing~" Dunder said as he pressed his cheek to it ~ Blueblood was hardly finding the staircase relaxing. "Frustrating" would be a better word. If those bloody steps would just stay steady for five minutes...! Gripping the railing, he raised himself upon his hind hooves and began a sort of shuffling climb. "Hah, take that..." He muttered. One step at a time, he ascended, passing Dunder on the way. Or rather, he would have passed him had the Prince not stepped on the pegasus' wing, tripped, and sent them both tumbling back down. "Oww...." ~ Dunder was enjoying snuggling the staircase when something fell on his wing, the ensuing pain and panic sent him tumbling down the staircase with what felt like a large sack of potatoes. The two taking turns on which step they hit. At the bottom, in the pony pile, Dunder groaned loudly, his eyes going derp. "Cherry chimmy...changa...." The pegasus's head was swimming, and his stomach was churning, "That was one hlepphh of a flail. Please get off of me, potato-pone." ~ The storm of pain and confusion inside Blueblood's mind took a while to settle, much like a disturbed snow globe. When it finally snowed out, it left the conviction that trying again was not worth the effort. Also, lying on top of something warm and soft meant that it was safe to fall asleep. "Ah... don't thinksh sho. Nnniiight..." ~ Meanwhile Dunder was getting crushed by the weight of the pone, but in his inebriated state the pegasus didn't do much else other than breath laboreously on account of the extra stallion's weight. When Blueblood wished Dunder goodnight, Dunder only grunted out his displeasure, "Guuh." Was all he said before passing out too. [blueblood's gonna get spooned] ~ [Wonder what Star Crusader would say if she found them there.] And so, the two of them slept at the foot of the stairs. The maids consulted briefly on whether they should disentangle the Master of the house and send him to bed, but on further consideration, they concluded that one uncomfortable night would discourage heavy imbibing on his part for the future. [Makes a suitably comedic ending, I think] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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