Unshackled Charge

Tincture frowned as she overlooked the sleeping earth pony. Bottle had been gently tucked in, her wounds healed with salve. "She's been asleep for a day and a half," Tincture observed, tone choked.
Angel gently put a hoof on Tincture's shoulder. "I think… It might be time soon. To check her into the hospital, so they can take care of her.
Tincture winced, "No, I… I need to watch over her. It's my fault this happened. She's comatose because I brought my past to-" She was hushed by Angel suddenly gripping her face.
Angel shook her head, "Tincture. Bottle fought tooth and hoof to give you your freedom. I won't stand here and watch you beat yourself down," She said sternly, before pulling Tincture into a hug, "We'll give her one more day to wake up. Then, we let the hospital take care of her."
Tincture hugs back, sighing. "Alright," She says, fighting back some tears.
The two would head downstairs after some time; it was really coming along. The adjustments to the front room were done, the fireplace now opening to two sides, and the outer 2 rooms were almost done.

Angel would look up at Tincture, "Do you want to play a game?" She asked softly.
Tincture sighed a little, "It wouldn't be the same without Bottle…" She replied.
Angel huffs a little. "Well… Let's go get something to eat. I think you need some time out of the house," She insisted.
"I need to stay here in case Bottle wakes u- Hey!" She squeaked as she was suddenly pushed out the door.
"I wasn't asking," Angel huffed with a soft grunt, closing the door behind them.
Tincture huffed softly, "I never took you for the pushy type…" She murmured.
"I'm not, but standing over a sleeping mare constantly for a day and a half is doing things to your head," Angel said, "C'mon, let's go find somewhere we can sit down and eat."
Tincture just sighed softly, knowing she wouldn't be able to convince the pegasus otherwise.

Angel took Tincture out to a nice, quiet restaurant out in the suburbs. It was quaint, but not too quiet, with a local singer singing a soft melody to set an ambient mood.
Tincture would look around as Angel lead her to a table. The interior was… Oddly decorated; the walls were painted garish colours, and were plastered with posters, some of which seemed to be old pinups.
Angel's Kiss smiled as she sat down, "This is one of my favourite places in town; it's so… Different!" She explained with a grin.
Tincture nodded. "It's certainly different compared to most of the town," She observed.
A waitress would come to the table, setting down a pair of menus.
"Well, hey Angel! Been a while since your last mare's night out; who's the new fillyfriend?" The waitress asked.
Angel giggles, "This is Tincture! She's living with Bottle right now," She introduced.
The waitress nods, "Well, let me welcome you to the Sloshing Stallion," She says with a smile, "My name's Hazy Stupor, I'll be your server," She says.

Tincture would smile softly, "It's nice to meet you," She says. Tincture couldn't help but gaze over Hazy. The waitress was a plum earth pony; a bit on the short side like Angel, but she was also a fair bit plumper, and had a round-styled mane that looked black, but iridesced blue and green in the light. Her cutie mark was a soft pink swirl over a translucent white star.
Hazy would look at the unicorn, "Can I get you something to drink, hun?" She asks, smiling at the unicorn.
Angel blinked and looked over at Tincture, giving her transfixed friend a little nudge with a hoof.
"Um- yes- ah- Just water, please," Tincture stammers.
Angel smiles, "A soft cider for me tonight! I need to be a good filly," She giggles.
Hazy smiles. "I'll bring those right out for you, girls," She says, giving Tincture a wink as she walked away.

The unicorn blinked. "I have… So many questions," She expresses.
Angel's Kiss giggles, "Waitress culture is a mystery to all outsiders, and her special talent is breaking up fights by calming people with a tap on the head," She answers.
Tincture sits still for a minute. "I have… Substantially fewer questions," She concedes, before fumbling with her hooves, "She was very pretty."
Angel giggles and wraps a leg around Tincture, "She really does rock her low-maintenance look, huh?" She supposes.
Tincture nods quietly, her face going a light pink.
Angel would giggle softly at her friend's apparent awkwardness, "Guess that big meanie didn't let you out to live a little, huh?" She supposes.
Tincture blinks. "I… Well, to be frank, you and Bottle were among the first ponies I'd ever met, aside from… Her," Tincture shudders.
Angel nods a little, "Well, now you're able to meet a bunch of other ponies!" She promises, "No more big meanie teacher to keep you out of sight!"
Tincture smiles a little, "I guess so…" She supposes, "I just don't know how to talk to ponies; I can barely sell my wares."
Angel smiles, "You'll learn! We were all bad talkers at some point," She insists.

Tincture's train of thought was interrupted as Hazy came back, setting a tray of waters and ciders on the table, "A water and cider for each of you; drink up, huns," She says kindly, "Didja figure out what you want to eat?" She asks.
Angel giggles, "My usual!" She says.
Tincture hesitated a little. "Is there… Something you recommend?" She asks softly.
Hazy Stupor smiled, "Me? Well, I gotta be honest, the desserts here are more of my forte," She says with a giggle, "But, I'd suggest the dump lasagna. Terrible name, but trust me, the boys the back know what they're doing," She promises.
Tincture simply nods in approval, and Hazy takes both the mares' menus. "I'll get those cooking for you; just holler if you need anything, okay?" She says as she walks away.

Angel giggles a little, grabbing the two mugs of cider and handing one to Tincture. "To your freedom," She says, raising her mug.
Tincture looks at her own mug, lifting it from the table with a confused look.
Angel giggles and clinks her mug against the unicorn, "We really need to get you out more," She teases, before taking a long swig of her cider.
Tincture would follow suit; the strong flavour of the spiced apple juice nearly made her gag at first. "This town and their strong flavours…" She thinks to herself, though she found herself coming back for another sip.
Angel giggles at the flicker of emotions on the unicorn's face. "First time, huh?" She teases.

Tincture nodded quietly, taking another sip of her drink.
Angel smiles, "Well, enjoy our night out, okay? Bottle wouldn't want you moping around at home," She insists.
Tincture nodded a little, sighing gently. She didn't like it, but the pegasus was right. "I… Okay," She says gently, offering a conflicted smile.
Angel and Tincture would banter as they waited for their food to arrive, passing the time. Tincture had to admit, this was nice; thoughts about Bottle still clawed at the back of her mind, but she was able to at least relax some, enjoying the atmosphere of the restaurant and Angel's company.

Eventually, Hazy would come back with their food, smiling. "Here y'are huns, sorry 'bout the wait," She says, unloading her tray on the table.
Angel smiles, "Thanks Haze!" She says, before deciding to sow a little chaos, "Say, you wanna come over tonight? A certain someone wouldn't mind some company," She says.
Tincture blinks, flushing in surprise. Angel wore an innocent smile on her face, but Tincture knew she knew exactly what she was doing.
Hazy smiles. "I've got an hour or two left on my shift, but I can swing by after that," She says, "Though, a certain someone shouldn't be afraid to ask for themselves," She adds, winking at Tincture before turning and walking back to the counter.

Tincture looked at Angel, who was still giving her a smile. "You have none of the malice, nor delusional grandeur that she did," Tincture begins, "But you are more conniving than she could ever know. Were she to gaze upon you, even she would tremble upon the depths of which you can scheme."
Angel giggles a little, "Aw, don't be like that. You said you wanted to get better at talking to other ponies!" She says, "Sometimes you have to throw someone in the deep end to teach them how to swim."
Tincture would smile a bit and roll her eyes, beginning to eat. The pegasus' invitation would certainly lead to an interesting night.
"I'll tell you what," Angel says, "You have a nice relaxing evening with Haze, and I'll keep watch over Bottle, okay?" She offers.
Tincture bit her lip, "Well… If you're sure," She supposes, "Thank you for taking my priority into consideration," She expresses.
Angel giggles and nuzzles Tincture a bit, "We are friends, silly. I only 'connive' for your benefit; I don't just want to see you clam up," She explains.
Tincture just smiled a little, and the two would eat.

After dinner, the two would bid a short farewell to Hazy, and return home to straighten things out before the waitress got there.
Angel looked at Tincture, "You don't have to be nervous, Haze is like, super chill," She promises, "She probably won't even notice the front room's gotten expanded like 8 feet out," She giggles.
Tincture blinks, "Thank you for the reassurance, but I doubt I'll calm down until she leaves," She replies, looking at the floor.
Angel gave Tincture a hug and giggled, "You're funny, you know that? You're all grown up, but up here," She lightly taps Tincture on the head, "You still have a lot to learn," Angel giggles.
Tincture blushes faintly, but frowns and turn away. "I… Hah… I guess so," She says.

Angel frowned a little; that little joke backfired spectacularly. "It's not your fault, Tincture. Just, you know… Let things happen. The heart knows things from birth that the mind could never hope to learn," Angel expresses.
Tincture nodded, slowly hugging back. "I… I guess you're right," She replies hesitantly, "Thank you, Angel. I'll try and trust your judgement a little more."
Angel smiles a little, "Alright, Tincture. Remember, just let instinct and manners guide you," She says, "Like I said, Haze's about as low-maintenance as a mare gets. She puts me and Bottle to shame," She giggles.
Tincture nodded. Angel would give her a tight squeeze, before darting up the stairs to keep watch over Bottle, who was still asleep.

Not more than 10 minutes later, Tincture heard a knock at the door. She took a deep breath, walked over, and opened it.
On the other side was Hazy Stupor, smiling gently, "Hey hun," She greets, "May I come in?" She asks.
Tincture nodded, and Hazy would walk in as Tincture gently closed the door behind her. "It's been a good while since I was out in this neck of town last," Hazy admits, "Looks like Bottle's been doing some redecorating."
Tincture nods a bit, "She has," The unicorn offers, "Would you like something to drink?" She asks.
Hazy shakes her head, "I'm alright, hun; I drink enough to drown a mule whenever I'm on shift," She says with a soft chuckle.
Tincture nodded, walking to one of the couches around the newly expanded fireplace and taking a seat. The unicorn blushed faintly as Hazy followed suit, sitting next to her.

"Where's Angel gone off to?" Hazy asks, looking around briefly.
Tincture smiles awkwardly, "She's… Keeping watch," She admits, "We're both waiting for Bottle to wake up."
Hazy nodded slowly, "Wake up?" She asks, "Like, from a nap or from a coma?"
Tincture's smile dropped into a small frown. "It's… Looking like the latter," She explains, "If you remember the ruckus from a couple days ago, well… That was Bottle pushing herself harder than any of us thought possible. And now, she’s-” Tincture’s voice caught in her throat, “She’s not waking up.”
Hazy stared at the unicorn for a minute, gently caressing Tincture’s muzzle with a hoof, “Hun, I… I don’t know what to say,” She expresses, “I’d only heard tales; I thought it was just fish stories.”
Tincture shrank against the side of the couch, “I just… It’s my fault that I came here, it’s my fault that I brought that… That witch to this town, and now it’s my fault the Bottle’s not-” Tincture’s cut off by a small squeak as Hazy lightly plants a hoof on her forehead. She felt an otherworldly sense of comfort wash over her; all of a sudden, everything seemed… Just a little less unmanageable.

Hazy sighed softly, “There, there, hun… Bottle’s a strong pony; I’m sure she’ll wake up feeling right as rain soon.”
Tincture shook herself off a bit. “I… I guess you’re right,” She says, trying to figure out why she felt so relaxed all of a sudden. The fire seemed warmer, the couch softer… She felt her head rest on the cushions, as Hazy rubbed her back gently.
“Now then, what do you do for fun around here?” Hazy Stupor asked, wanting to get the unicorn’s mind off of her distress.
“Well… I usually play games with Angel and Bottle,” Tincture says, her voice soft; not a whisper, just… Quiet. Eased.
Hazy nods, “Ahh… I see,” She says, “You and Angel had a nice time out tonight, didn’tcha?” She asks gently.
Tincture nods, “We did,” She says, “The food was lovely, as was your service.”
It was Hazy’s turn to blush a bit, “Well, I’m glad you liked it, hun,” She replies, “Those colts at the back know what they’re doing with food, that’s for sure; worked with ‘em since before most folks’d call me a grown mare.”

Tincture’s eyes were fixed on the slowly dancing fire; it had taken a bit of time to get it started without Bottle’s help, but the warmth and comfort it radiated still helped relax the unicorn.
“Angel wouldn’t want me to tell you this, but she invited you over because I thought you were pretty,” Tincture admits, her brain still fogged over with the strange comfort that had enveloped her.
Hazy chuckles softly, her face’s redness brightening. “Well, shucks, hun. Angel’s just a little schemer like that, ain’t she?” She supposes.
Tincture smiled. “I called her conniving,” She adds.
The two mares shared a laugh, with Hazy nodding in agreement, “That’s a fine word for it,” She says.
Tincture smiled gently, “This is nice,” She expresses, “Usually I’d go to bed right after dinner…”
Hazy smiles, “You don’t need to stay up just for my sake, hun,” She says, “You look mighty comfy,” She expresses.
Tincture shakes her head, “I’m not sleepy,” She promises, “Just comfortable.”
Tincture felt Hazy lie down next to her, and she shifted a bit to accommodate.

Hazy didn't seem to notice much, smiling gently at the unicorn. “Hah… I live in one of the longhouses, so I don’t get to relax in front of a fire like this at home,” She admits.
Tincture nodded absentmindedly, only have paying attention to the earth pony. The warm light of the flames refracted as oranges and purples in Hazy’s hair, and the unicorn found herself a bit dumbstruck at the sight. “Fire was my only light before I ran away,” Tincture says, “I’d awaken to darkness if I slept long enough for the fire to burn down.”
Hazy nods gently, “Well, the whole world’s yours for the taking now, hun,” She says with a small smile. Hazy thought she saw Tincture’s eyelids droop for a moment, but the unicorn blinked back awake.

“I don’t think I’m going to make it very far into the night if I just sit here next to the fire,” She admits, her horn briefly lighting as she settles a new log in the fireplace, “Would you like to play a game?” She asks gently.
Hazy nodded a bit, “Sure, what do you have?” She asks.
“Coltan is what we usually play, but it’s a bit uneventful with only two players,” Tincture says, yawning a bit as she sits up, “We have cards, though,” She says.
Hazy would gently slide off the couch, and the two mares would walk to the table, “Cards is fine; do you have a favourite game?” She asks.
Tincture blinked, “The only card game I’ve played is blackjack,” She admits, sitting at the table.
Hazy would sit across from her, pondering for a moment. “Hmm… When Angel was younger, she used to play this… Sort of fight game, with a plain deck of cards. Do you have a piece of paper?” She asks.
Tincture nodded, grabbing a piece of paper from a small stack she had purchased, making sure it didn’t have notes on it, before grabbing a quill.

“Let me see if I can remember all the rules…” Hazy began, “First you remove the Jokers, and set up a score sheet where every player starts with 30 ‘health’. Then, every card is given a value; numbered cards do 2-10 damage based on their number. An Ace can block any amount of damage in one turn. Playing a Jack lets you throw - and subsequently draw - two cards in one turn. Playing a Queen heals you for 7 ‘health’, even if that would put you over 30 total. The King reflects half your opponent’s damage back at them, but you still take the other half; the player who throws the card takes the lesser half, when an odd number comes up,” She recites from memory, “Both players get a hand of 6 cards to start, and you always draw back to 6 at the end of each turn. Both players throw at the same time. The game ends when either player hits 0 or less health, or when the draw deck is run dry; in that case, the player with less health loses.”

Tincture looked at the rather detailed rulesheet before her. “I’m surprised you remembered all that, if you played the game as fillies,” She comments, eyes slightly widened.
Hazy chuckled, “To be honest, I am too. I guess it makes sense, considering how often Angel asked me to play it with her,” She admits.
Tincture nodded, unboxing the deck and quickly sorting out the Jokers and setting them aside, shuffling it. “Well, it seems fairly well-thought out. I’d be happy to try at least one round,” She says.
Hazy grins, “You’re on,” She says with a small smirk.

Tincture would set out 6 cards for each of them, setting the rest of the deck facedown. The two mares smiled at each other before picking up their cards to “duel”, as it were. The first few rounds would go slowly as the two mares spent some time getting familiar with the rules and throwing on a count, but the games would quickly accelerate in speed as they each got comfier, and eventually the mares would be laughing, completing entire games in just a few minutes as they got good at throwing on a count of three. It was fairly close, but after no less than 20 the games over the course of a few hours, they got to the final hand. Tincture had 6 health. Hazy had 4.
The two mares leered playfully at each other, selecting their cards. They spoke in unison, “One. Two. Three. Throw!” They cheered, practically slamming their cards on the table. It felt much more dramatic than it actually was, of course.
The two mares stared blankly at the table. Tincture’s 5 to Hazy’s King.
They each chuckled, setting the cards in the discard pile as Tincture wrote both of their healths down as 2. “Okay, last hand for real,” She says with a soft chuckle.
Hazy giggles, “And here you were so confident,” She says.
Tincture smirks, “Game’s not over 'till it’s over,” She says, peering through her hand for another card.
Hazy giggles, “Ready?” She asks.
Tincture nods.

“One, two, three, throw!” They’d both cheer, throwing down their cards.
Tincture played a 10. Hazy played a Jack, a Queen, and a 4. The mares giggled as they looked over the card.
“Even with a handful of face cards, you still only managed to tie up the game,” Tincture laughs.
Hazy smiles and giggles along; she didn’t mind losing. Just seeing Tincture unabashedly happy was… Really nice. “Yup. That means it’s 12.5 to 10.5, right?” She asks.
Tincture giggles as she looks over her scoresheet, nodding.
After taking a moment to laugh out their excitement, the two mares would smile at each other. “I think I’m done for the night,” Hazy Stupor said, “I’m gonna throw up if I laugh any harder from your gaming theatrics.”
Tincture smiles, “Hehehe… Alright, alright, that’s game for tonight. You’ll kick my flank eventually,” She giggles, packing up all the cards and resting the box neatly on the scoresheet.

The two mares laughed, retiring back to the couch. Tincture sat down, but her residual giggling was cut short as she felt Hazy sit next to her, the earth pony leaning her weight on the unicorn, still giggling.
“You’re so cute when you get into a game, you know that?’ Hazy asks.
Tincture couldn’t help but feel a little awkward at the sudden cuddliness. “Yeah, haha… I had a lot of fun,” She says gently.
The two mares would quip back and forth a bit as Tincture stoked the flames with some fresh wood. The heat could be felt from the couch; it wasn’t hot, just… Cozy. Tincture felt her eyelids get heavy; so did Hazy. The two mares slowly spoke less and less, both of them steadily succumbing to sleep.
Tincture barely registered that Hazy had fallen asleep on her, and in turn, the sleeping Hazy didn’t even notice the unicorn roll to the side, dozing off.

Angel would come down the stairs sometime after; she had assumed Hazy had gone home, by the sudden lull in noise. What she didn’t expect was to see the two mares passed out on the couch, Hazy lazily clinging to Tincture’s side. Angel smiled widely and brought a blanket over, draping it over the two slumbering ponies, carefully lifting Hazy up to Tincture’s shoulder so they could share the blanket better. Angel giggles softly, laying down on the chair opposite to the two, lowering her head to sleep. “And here she didn’t want to leave the house,” Angel says, satisfied with her own handiwork.

Angel stirred awake to the sound of hoofsteps. She slowly slid off of her perch on the chair, walking to the stairs and quickly slunk up them. She saw a dazed earth pony reaching out stiffly to grab a glass of water on the beside table.
“Bottle!” Angel chirps, darting over to the earth pony’s side and hugging her tightly, “Oh, we were so worried about you! I mean, you slept for like, two days!” She expresses, burying her snout in Bottled Lightning’s neck.
Bottle coughed softly, weakly hugging back, “C-can I have a drink of water first?” She groans softly, her voice a dry rasp.
Angel nodded, “Oh, sorry,” She stumbles, grabbing the glass of water and putting it to the aching pony’s lips, “Here…”
Bottle would drink quite fervently, gasping a bit as she finished the entire cup. “Much better,” She she huffs softly, attempting to shake the sleep out of her head. For all the power of her outburst, Bottle’s body had visibly taken it well; the only scar was the stripe of her mane, now a ghostly, fiber-optic white, as if it had been glassed.

“Just hold on a minute, I’ll get you some more water,” Angel says gently, darting downstairs before coming back up with a jug of water.
Bottle barely had time to process the pegasus leaving and coming back, smiling gently, “Thanks, Angel,” She murmurs, before asking, “Where’s Tincture?”
The earth pony would shakily take the jug and guzzle straight from it; her body was agonizingly thirsty.
“She’s…” Angel smiles a bit, “She’s downstairs… She was so worried about you; I made her leave the house, and… May or may not have introduced her to Haze,” She explains with a faux-innocent smile.
Bottle blinked once or twice. “Hazy Stupor?” She asked, before chuckling softly as Angel nods, “Oh dear,” Bottle comments.
“I’m surprised they didn’t wake you up. They were having the greatest time playing cards last night,” Angel explains with a giggle.
Bottle smiles, “It’s good to hear she’s loosening up a bit,” She expresses.

Angel nodded, sitting on the bed next to Bottle as she drank; the contents of the jug were now almost completely gone. “How are you feeling?” She asks gently.
“Still tired,” Bottle answers, “You said I was out for 2 days?”
Angel nods, “You really put your all into it… You looked ready to kill Miasma,” She recounts.
Bottle nods. “I was. All I could see with rage. Everything I hated in a pony was standing before me, taunting me… When she fired that beam at Tincture, I snapped,” She recalls, groaning slightly as she holds her head.
Angel nodded a little, “Well, she’s gone now. Tincture’s safe and comfy at home, the house is almost done… Oh, and, look at your flank,” Angel says, voice turning slightly giddy towards the end.
Bottle stiffly turned, looking at her flank. She smiled a little, “About time it showed up,” She remarks.

“I think your magic is your special talent,” Angel expresses, “You just needed to let it all out.”
Bottle nodded, “Certainly seems like it,” She says softly, putting the now-empty jug down and groaning in discontent as she steps onto the floor, her body trembling as she stretches.
“B-Bottle!” Angel squeaks, diving out of the bed to keep her friend upright, “Please, don’t strain yourself…” She says gently.
Bottle huffs softly, “I need to stretch some; let’s go for a walk,” She groans stubbornly, taking a few careful paces forward, assorted joints letting out irate snaps and pops.
Angel nodded a bit, helping Bottle down the stairs, slowly.
“I’m not crippled, I’m just tired,” Bottle huffs.
“You were in a coma for 2 days,” Angel retorts.
Bottle just sighs softly, smiling a bit as she sees Tincture and Hazy cuddled on the couch downstairs. “Heh… Well, they definitely hit it off,” She whispers.

Angel just giggles gently and nods, helping Bottle out the door. Bottle took a deep breath of the cool, early morning air; the sun had only just begun to creep out into view, the sky a deep pink.
“Mmm… Feels good to get some fresh air,” Bottle expresses, stretching a bit, much to her body’s chagrin.
“I bet it does,” Angel says with a soft giggle, “Folks have been asking about you, you know; Tincture’s been a little… Protective with letting people visit,” She admits.
Bottle nodded, letting out more huffs and snorts of pain as she stretched further. “Heh… That checks out, I guess. She probably put it all on herself after the fight, right?” She supposes.
Angel nods a little, “Mhm… Really hard. I couldn’t just watch her sit around and mope, so that’s why I took her out last night,” She says, sitting down with a soft huff, “I’m still not sure if it was the right thing to do, to be honest… You always seemed to figure out ponies better than I did.”
Bottle would hug the pegasus gently, “Well then, let me be confident for you,” She says, “Judging by the fact she’s sleeping without nightmares, and you managed to get her out of the house without hurting anyone, I think you did just fine,” Bottle says gently.

Angel leaned into the earth pony, sniffling a little, “Th-thank you,” She says softly.
Bottled Lightning gently brushed a hoof through the pegasus’ mane. “Angel, hey…” She says gently, looking the smaller pony in the eyes, “It’s okay. It’s all okay. I’m up and mobile, Tincture’s happy, things’ll go back to normal… And, we’ll have extra space for you to come stay in by the winter season,” She assures.
Angel just nodded, hugging the earth pony tightly, letting herself get all the pent-up emotions off of her chest.
Bottle smiled softly, gently rubbing Angel’s back. She had been sleeping for a few days, she could spare her friend the time.

Tincture would awaken with a soft murmur, shuffling as bit. She found it hard to move; there was a substantial amount of weight on her. As her eyes flitted open, she blushed vibrantly as she saw a plum-coloured earth pony resting on her chest, snout nuzzled into her shoulder. Tincture didn’t want to move; disturbing the sleeping pony would no doubt make both of them less happy. She did, however, carefully creep her front legs around Hazy, pulling the blanket up just a little higher.
Tincture closed her eyes and breathed slowly, trying to ease her now racing heart. Despite how flustering this situation was, Tincture felt… Surprisingly good. Comfortable, even! Maybe this was among the “things” she had been missing with her stunted foalhood. Tincture smiled gently, relaxing a bit.

Eventually, she felt Hazy Stupor slowly stir awake on top of her. The groggy pony lifted her muzzle in a soft yawn, and looked around. “Mmm… Where’d I end up now?” She murmurs.
Tincture’s eyes opened, and she smiled gently, “Good morning, hah…” She says gently.
Hazy’s gaze snapped to the mare beneath her. “Why are we…?” She questions, face quickly reddening.
Tincture shrugged a little, “I’m… Not sure how we ended up like this. The last thing I remember was sitting back on the couch,” She says, tensing up a bit, “And… I didn’t want to wake you up,” She expresses bashfully.
Hazy smiled a little at the timid unicorn. “Well… I can’t say I had a bad sleep,” She says, with a softer voice, trying not to irritate Tincture. She had seen firsthand just how quickly the unicorn could lose control of a situation.
Tincture nodded slowly, “Nor can I…” She expresses gently, “This is a little ‘fast’, though, isn’t it?” She asks.
Hazy’s smile would widen slightly, into a warm grin. “Fast is about our comfort, and no one else’s,” She says with a soft giggle, “Obviously, we made a good first impression if we ended up like this,” She adds.
Tincture smiles sheepishly at the other mare’s supposed acceptance of the whole ordeal. “I… I guess so,” She supposes.

“Looks like the lovebirds are finally up!” Angel would call from just outside the door with a giggle, walking in.
Hazy would blush, sliding off of the unicorn so they could both sit up.
“Who are you talking to, Angel?” Tincture asked as she sat up.
Her eyes went wide as a familiar blue and gray earth pony walked in. “Just a creaky old mare,” Bottle joked, giving a small smile and a giggle.
Tincture practically jumped over the couch to hug the mare tightly, “You’re awake!” She exclaims gratefully, tears welling up in her eyes.
Hazy smiled a little, walking over to the reunion sight, “About time you woke up; I was wondering when I’d get to see you again, hun,” She says, smiling warmly at Bottle.
Bottle hugged Tincture back, smiling a little, “It’s nice to see you too, Hazy. I take it you took good care of Tincture for me while I was having my nap?” Bottle jokes, laughing gently as she rubs Tincture’s back.
Bottle, Hazy, and Angel all laughed at the remark, but Tincture took a moment before she pulled back, blinking away some tears.

Tincture huffed gently, “Do you still have your magic, or did it finally evaporate?” She asks softly, voice now a bit more analytical, though still slightly croaky from almost crying.
Bottle thought for a moment, making her way over to the fireplace, “Well, let’s see,” She says, taking a piece of wood in her hooves.
Closing her eyes, and taking a deep breath, the group watched in anticipation, before the wood burst into flames.
“Yeah, I think it’s here to stay for real now,” Bottle giggles, placing the freshly lit wood in the fireplace.
The group would file into the furniture around the fire; Bottle, Tincture, Hazy would take the three seats on the couch, and Angel would perch atop it.
The group would begin bantering over the slowly warming blaze. And thus, all was peaceful.