Tales of the Lunar Consort: Volume X

She pulled him inside and shut the door, locked it magically. Next, she lifted the bottle with her hoof, grasped the withered cork with her teeth, yanked it out, and tilted her head back, sending a mouthful of the contents burning down her throat.[1]"Oh... Yummy. You, uh, you sure know how to... brew a drink, don'tcha?" She said, tilting her back again to take another swig. She grinned down at the shorter Pegasus in between her arms. "Why do you stay alive? Why do you come when I call you? I know you don't wanna. I know you're afraid of me."

She made ready to send another dose of the liquor back, but thought better of it and offered Enoch the bottle. It wasn't exactly an offer to drink with her so much as a command. "Ya know, ya could stay away if you wanted to. " She said, slurring slightly. "Lissten... Can I, um... Can I tell you somethin'? Nonono, don't talk. Even though, I like your, uh, your... voice, whaddayacallit? Somethin' with "ax" innit, yeah? Yeah, that."

"My accent?" The only-somewhat surprised Pegasus said, forgetting the Alicorn's "no-talking" rule. Her horn illuminated and a golden glow appeared around Enoch's snout, effectively muzzling him. "No! Stop talkin'. My turn ta talk now." She raised her hoof to take another drink, forgetting the bottle had mysteriously disappeared. She didn't even notice. Her hoof completed it's pointless journey to her mouth, holding up a non-existent bottle so it's contents could drain out of it. "Mmm. Good stuff, colt. Now, for dessert." Using her magic, she bodily lifted Enoch into the air, so she was snout-to-snout with him and kissed him, full and hard, pressing her snout against his and pinning her prey to the wall.

When she finished, she licked her lips and laid him on the bed, then flopped on the bed beside him, and promptly fell off, all the while holding him immobile. "Mmm. You taste goooood." she slurred, getting up and smiling hugely. The golden glow restricting his movements faded, then re-concentrated on his belt buckle and the buttons on his waistcoat and shirt. "What else is there to taste, I wonder?" She said. She began to undo everything, then she froze, seemingly having an attack of sobriety. She let the glow fade completely.

"Ohhh..." She uttered, starting to sway on her hooves. In a flash, Enoch was under one of her forehooves- "Supporting me. You're supporting me, like you always have done." She said, slur vanished. She was still clearly drunk, but her speech capabilities seemed fine. "Why do you do that?" She asked.

"Do what, 'Tia?" Enoch asked.

"Oh! You called me 'Tia!" She squealed happily.

"Hmm. You're right. I did. Why do I do what?" He returned, keeping her on the subject. [2]

"...S-support me. Not- not physically, but, in everything else. Why?" She pleaded, giving him confused eyes.

"I'm supposed to, Tia. I'm your friend. Aren't I your friend?" he answered.

She stopped swaying for a moment, then the big Pegasus was scooped into a into a bigger hug from the massive Alicorn, squeezing him tight. Several vertebrae cracked, and a strangled gasp escaped the blue pony. "My friend! Are you really?! My... friend. Friend."

"Hrrkk!" Enoch managed. The Alicorn's arms were crushing him. "'Tia..." He squeaked. "I can't breathe."

She released him then, and he slid down her front like so much water down a waterfall, and she quickly followed, crouching. "Can we talk? That's why I found you, cause I needed to talk to you and I didn't wanna wait and-" The Pegasus shushed her with a hoof to the lips. "No, no. None of that. Come. Lay down. You can talk to me whenever you need, about whatever you want." he said, getting up and leading her over to the bed. He hopped on the mattress, bouncing, and patted the spread beside him with his hoof. "Come."

Celestia sat on the bed and leaned against him. "What do you want to talk about, 'Tia?" He asked, using the nickname she had tried to get him to use for so long in an attempt to cheer her up. It didnt work.

"It... It's nothing. My problems, they're so silly..." she said, trying to suppress them again, as usual.

"It's not healthy to bottle your feelings up inside, Celestia. Please. You can tell me anything. Anything." Enoch said, covering their bodies with his left wing, extending it to it's full eight-and-a-half foot span.

She snorted at his statement and snuggled up close to him, a task made only too difficult and awkward because of the difference in their sizes.  "You're one to talk, bottling up. In all the years I've known you, how many times have you come to me for assistance that I could have easily provided? How many times have you ever opened up? Once. Just once, no more. And that was when Luna was here!"

When Celestia said Luna's name, she felt Enoch shake, and his wing fluttered, then withdrew. Concerned, she turned to him. Every muscle in his body was tensed up, and his eyes were wide as dinner plates, one of the few times she had ever seen him legitimately shocked or stunned.

His mouth worked for a few moments, totally silent, then: "I...I haven't really... needed to..."

"Liar." Celestia said, poking him in the chest with a hoof accusingly. She was right, of course, but he wouldn't say it.

He took a deep breath. "What is it, 'Tia? What did you want to talk about? What's wrong?"

She snorted. "Everything. Everything political, the nobles, our peace talks with the Gryphons, my own personal problems, the Summer Sun Celebration, these damned suitors, they're all just the tip of the haystack. For example, most of the demands of the Gryphons are completely unreasonable! For instance, in the third section of the treaty, they demand a tithe of ten stallions and and fifteen mares be given a month! Ten stallions! Even if we had enough stallions, I would not ever do that! Ten stallions a month for breeding and as fodder for their Coliseum games. Why did you leave the political field? You were so useful to me. You'd probably have this settled in twelve hours..."

She began to rattle off a long list of things that troubled her about the Gryphons and their demands, and Enoch settled down for a long night. Celestia was leaning on him heavily, so she lay on her side, facing her friend, who was on his back, listening to her. They talked long into the morning, until she fell asleep on him.