The very next morning...

A vice on her head would have been less than what she felt. Shala managed to stumble from the home of wherever she had crashed at last night. Thoughts of numerous things she could have done filled her with dread. If only she could remember them. All she knew as she woke up in this crazy pony town and was on someone's couch. The sun was just rising and the glare gave her a huge headache.

She walked in no particular direction for what felt like hours. It wasn't until she realised she was circling the house until that she may still be a little under the influence.

So much for keeping that promise. I hope I didn't cause too much damage. I would hate to have to do more community service hours.

She pulled away a stand of dark mane that was not hers from her neck. is this that...? Indigo. He was the one that let me stay here. But...why is his mane on me? More worried thoughts surfaced in her mind. She couldn't have been that stupid or drunk. No way she even laid a hoof on him. Her thoughts didn't get much farther as her headache demanded more misery from her.

"I really need to get a better hobby..." She moaned to herself.

Indigo tiredly walks out of his bedroom into the living room, his hair not as bouncy or frizzy yet and lacking his monocle. He raises a hoof to block out the sun coming from the window blinds. Once his eyes adjusts... No... Why was his door open? Doing a quick look around he notices nothing is stolen then goes to shut it before noticing Shala pacing. "Hey Shala...? Why are you walking around my house?"

Shala reeled around to confront the noise. Indigo was at the door. How did I get back here so fast?....oh. She slowly treaded over to the door.

She looked absolutely terrible. Her eyes were bloodshot. Her mane a mess and she had an expression that just spoke misery. "...I just got lost." She said, sounding more like a weezing mule than herself.

She blinked a few times at Indigo. Something was different. Did she see braids?

Oh horseapples. Those are MY work...... Damage control took over and she became even more deshelved.

"We...didn't....do anything...did we?" She asked the question with a blush.

He slowly shakes his head, his eyes half closed and looking terrible, though nowhere near Shala's level and his voice much deeper than usual. "No... No I wasn't drunk enough for that. You fell asleep on me though when I carried you back from the bar."

Shala let out a huge sigh. Thank goodness...wait. He wasn't drunk enough? What was that support to mean? Either he think I'm ugly...or he is a gentlecolt. But he is kinda crazy...I think.

Shala groaned and just about pushed past Indigo. "Water." Was all she had to say.

He places a hoof on her chest and pushes her back outside and steps the the side toward a water pump with a quarter of a barrel sitting under the faucet(?). He manually pumps it until water gushes freely from it. "Over here."

Shala was rather startled by the simple push. Her hooves failed her as she stumbled back onto her flank. She sat and blinked for a few moments as she processed what happen. That was the first time anypony had been assertive with her. For some reason it intrigued her.

The sound of water caught her attention and she lumbered her way over. Without much a word she burried her head into the bucket of water and drank. Halfway through it she upturned it and soaked her head. She looked even worse as she returned the bucket but was somewhat fresher.

Indigo refills the bucket and takes a drink himself. When he finishes he looks over to his small patch of immature pepper plants nearby and decides that he can water them later while slowly walking back into the house, leaving the door open and plops down on the couch with a great sigh, resting his head on the armrest(?).

Shala put her head under the faucet and soaked herself for a few minutes. It was a wonderful feeling for her head to be freezing rather than pounding and searing. Once satisfied she shook her head dry to give her a mane comparable to Indigo. She was completely unaware of her looks as she came back in. She stared at her now occupied bed and grumbled. Complaints would usually follow but her head hurt so much she crashed on the floor instead, mumbling obscenities.

Indigo raises his head with a start, his voice halfway between his usual pitch and newly awakened Flutterguy voice. "Hey... Are you alright down there? You really had too much to drink last night."

"No..." She whined. The crash landing did havoc to her head. Though that voice. That deep voice made her grimmace. He would probably get more looks if he always talked like that.

Drank too much? She felt the faint ticking of time in her head past all the pain. And she knew that last night she did not have that...curse going on in her head. "No regrets."

She happily laid there waiting for the rest and water to kick in. At least she would be able to think.

With a grunt he forces himself from the couch and nudges her side with his head "Couch is free. No sense in letting you have a hangover on the floor. I need to do something about food... breakfast... something..."

Shala barely got the energy to get back up and move to the couch. She was silent but thankful for the couch and potential breakfast.

"That....sounds like a grand idea." She winced as she spoke. Conversing would be easier soon enough when the water settled.

Indigo stops nudging her once he realizes she's not getting up and turns away to walk to the kitchen, also not feeling like exerting himself by lifting her up with magic. He starts a fire in the hearth and goes outside to fill the pot with water and starts to remove vegetables from the pantry when he places the pot back over the developing fire.

Shala laid in place for a few moment, almost flailing a hoof at him to stop. In due time she did indeed get up and settle onto the couch. She just needed a few minutes and she would be fine enough.

"Lots of water..." she groaned.

Indigo turns his head toward her, his voice having returned to normal now that he's not as tired, pretty confident that he has misheard her. "What now about Shamrock Lager?"

"Its pretty good. But I need more water." She said with little delay. Her manners never were her best trait. Probably one of her last few right next to clocks and subtleness.

"Oh... Well feel free to get some more from the pump then."

Shala let out a very loud and irritated sigh. Guess my stunning charm didn't work this time. She waited a few moments before getting up and very grumpily made her way to the water pump. Moments later she grogilly returned and slumped back in the couch.

Indigo walks around in the kitchen, cutting up vegetables and adding spices into the pot. The bustling activity begins to awaken him more and his mane becomes more visibly poofier because of it.

Shala rested for a while and waited. She took guesses at when food might be done but gave up and just took a seat in the kitchenall slumped over. She simply stared out into nothing for a while before speaking. "...You morning voice...was interesting." Her attempt to socialize was not going over as well as her imagination told her. "Ever thought of fixing...that?" She said pointing to his mane.

Indigo slowly stirs the soup with a levitating spoon and opens up the pantry again to pull out two muffins. "My mane? Nope. I let it grow like this 'cause I didn't want to pay to have my mane cut." He lowers his voice back down with a smirk. "What about my voice do you find interesting?"

Shala realized it was probably a bad idea to get so personal. That usually led to sharing personal things. She liked keeping them private. "Oh...nothing....it was just...unique..." She distracted herself by trying and failing to fix her almost as messy mane.

Indigo continues on while pouring out the hearty stew into two bowls. "Yeah, I normally talk this low right when I get up or if I'm bored. Just at low states of arousal when nothing is going on like right after waking up or staying inside your own head for too long." He levitates a bowl over to her along with a muffin, his voice returned to normal. "And here's your breakfast.'

Shala couldn't help but grin a little at that voice. She tried to cover up her reaction but failed. It sounded rather dashing but she didn't dare say. She was quick to start eating to hide a blush.