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They were out of sugar again. Mooncake sighed. She was in supposed to bring treats to dance class tomorrow. They were having a party for another student's birthday. It was really important to her that she made a batch of cookies tonight.

With no parents around to take her to the store to buy sugar, she was going to have to find someone to give it to her. There were a few bakers and cooks she was related to, but none of them were phonies she felt like talking to right now. She needed to go to someone's house who would just give her the sugar and then send her on her way.

After some debate, she decided that Shrill X would be her best bet. She tended to not stay focused on one thing for too long. There would be something more exciting than Mooncake asking for sugar to catch her eye. Then, the filly would be free to leave and finish her baking.

She went over to Shrill's house, and knocked on her door.

Oh no. This was not looking promising.

"Aunt Shrill? I was hoping you would have some sugar that I could have? It's really important. I'm bringing cookies to dance class tomorrow and....." Moondance noticed her unfocused stare. The smell was also horrible. She reeked of sweat and booze. "...um."

She wasn't sure Shrill heard a single word she said.

She was confused, but she followed. Moondance watched as Shrill almost struggled to make it to the kitchen. She went from wall to wall, gripping each one for desperate support. Whatever had happened to her, Moondance hoped whoever did it got their butt kicked as punishment. She hoped that Shrill would recover and feel better soon.

Geez, Shrill was really looking rough.

Moondance grabbed a chair and pushed it up to under the cupboard. She stood on it, and reached up to be able to grab the sugar out. Now she could make a break for it. "Thank you, now if you'll excuse me....." But she couldn't leave yet.

A twinge of guilt hit her. She didn't want to pry, but she had to know. "Who did this to you?" she asked as she walked toward the coffee maker. She wasn't sure how to use it, but she had to give it a try. It was the least she could do to help.

Ohhhh.... it made sense now. Shrill X had partied too hard and did this to herself. Moondance glared at her, and then turned around and angerly began making coffee. She thew in the grounds, and slammed down the coffee maker. She pressed the button and spun to face the mare who looked like she was about to pass out right there on the kitchen floor.

No wonder everything smelled like booze. Shrill X was a walking distillery.

Mooncake glared accusingly.

She didn't want to say it. It wasn't polite to attack someone in their own home. But she had do.

"What do you mean, 'what'?!" she said a little louder than she would have liked. "Look at yourself! You're a mess. Not even a hot mess. Just a mess. You need to get your act together, and quick."

Moondance stood on the chair again, and got a coffee mug out of the cupboard. She was quiet for a moment while she poured coffee into the mug. It was still brewing, and coffee splashed and made hissing noises on the warming plate.

"Here." she said as she forced the mug into Shrill's hooves.

"It's okay to have fun, but it's not fun to end up like this."

Moondance let out the breath she didn't even know she was holding. She was worried her honesty would have been received poorly, and she didn't even know it. It seemed like that might have been the wake-up call that Shrill X needed.

"You're welcome." It felt wrong to just leave her now, but maybe her Aunt needed some space to think. She took the hint to go. "I'll come back tomorrow with the cookies, and I'll check up on you then, okay? Be sure to call someone if you need something. You can even call me if you like."

Moondance waved at Shrill, but she wasn't sure if her eyes were open enough to see it. Then she left. She had a long night of baking ahead of her.

On top of learning it was important to be honest, even when what you had to say wasn't nice, she learned that being hungover was the worst thing ever. Moondance was likely going to avoid binge drinking the rest of her life. Geez. That sure looked like a terrible way to spend the night.