Twilight had decided to leisurely fly back to Sunset’s estate rather than take the car, as it would give her a little over an hour to think about what had happened at the Labs. Sunset had called that woman Lyra. She certainly had the look about her, so then she was this world’s version. It was fortunate that Equestria’s Lyra was still in, well, Equestria. Equestria's Lyra was a virtuous and noble mare and would have never stood for her counterpart acting in such a despicable manner. Sunset had also taken her necklace, which the Professor had called evidence. Why was the necklace so important?

It was then that Twilight spotted a head full of blond hair and teal skin. “Lightning Dust!” she hollered, prompting the woman to look up and wave. Twilight lighted down beside her, fluttering her wings briefly for a moment before folding them. “Hello, Councilwoman Dust.”

“Oh please, Princess! Outside the chambers, I’m just Lightning. What brings you to Earth?”

Twilight frowned. “Political tensions. I came this morning to speak with Sunset about the tensions among the world governments. Particularly the Vatican.”

“And?” Lightning asked, and leaned against a nearby wall, before lighting up a cigarette. “What did she say?”

“Trying to alleviate the tensions, losing ground. So on, so forth. Faust, it’s just such a pain… I never liked politics, Lightning. I loved being a librarian in Ponyville, it was such a simple life. Maybe I would have to fight a villain here and there, but it was a good life. Then, I get these damned wings, and everything goes…”

“Bat shit crazy?”

“YES! Ugh, I… Lightning, I’m just so tired of it all. The Court of Harmony is spread so thin in Equestria, save for the Applejacks and the Fluttershies, that I can’t even reach them.” Twilight stomped her hoof in frustration. “How do you cope with stress?”

“Weed.”

“Of course. Unfortunately, I can’t get involved with the stuff. I should get going. It was nice seeing you again!” Twilight said before taking off at a brisk trot.

“You too, Princess.”

It really wasn’t too far to the estate now. A few minutes more, and she’d be there. But naturally, Twilight found herself lost in thought again. When had Sunset started drinking? What exactly was JD? Was it strong? How much was Sunset drinking? It was frustrating; it seemed like her position was wearing her thin, like an old dish rag, and there was little to nothing Twilight could do to help her. It hurt to see her love suffering so much. She was approaching the gates of the estate now. They were tall, and extremely imposing, so much so that it wouldn’t be odd to see them in front of a castle. As Twilight approached, they swung open for her and Coco’s voice sounded over the intercom.

“Just a warning, Princess, she’s in a state.”

“How bad?” Twilight cringed as she waited for an answer.

“She just threw a whiskey bottle at my head, and that was before she even started drinking,” Coco’s disembodied voice said with a chuckle.

“Oh my gosh, are you okay?!”

“Yeah don’t worry, her aim is terrible. Come on up.” The speaker went silent.

When Twilight reached the front door, she found that it had been left open and there was shouting coming from inside. Panic started to take hold as she galloped up the stairs towards Sunset’s study, only to find her wearing only her shirt and underwear, slouched down in the leather desk chair with a brown bottle in one hand and a remote in the other.

“Oh, hey babe. What took ya so long? Hey, come here and check this out. It’s called anime. Look at this fucker! Why the fuck does he need three swords? And the other guy’s made of fuckin rubber! Like, what the fuck?” she slurred, and attempted to sit up, only to fall forward and hit head against the desk. “Damn God desk! Wait…”

“Sunset, how much have you had?”

“I dunno… I kinda lost count… Shit, like… three bottles? I dunnooooh god!” she managed, before raising a hand over her mouth. “Mm!”

Twilight sighed and levitated the garbage can over to the drunkard and was thoroughly disgusted at the retching sound that ensued. She’d dealt with drunk ponies before, mostly Pinkie Pie and Applejack after their drinking contests, but the retching never failed to make her stomach churn. Like butter on a hot day.

“Aw man, my hair…” Twilight looked up to see the politician holding a handful of hair away from her head, as said hair now dripped with a pinkish brown vomit.

“Ugh, come on, let’s get you in the tub.” Twilight’s aura surrounded her girlfriend’s entire body, and the trash can, and she carried them both to the upstairs bathroom, as it had the largest bath tub in the house.

“Alright, babe! Let’s get it ON!”

“NO!” Twilight said sternly. “I refuse to have relations with you when you’re like this. You know how I feel about alcohol. For Faust’s sake, Sunset, there’s twelve bottles in the damn trash can!”

“In my offense, I don’t empty that can very little, so those aren’t from all today.” the floating drunk said, with a very serious expression, and a finger pointed at Twilight for good measure. “Like, only a few are.”

“I got that, thanks.” Twilight’s expression softened a bit. “Sunset, how long has this been going on?”

“Like, a couple of months. It just… it helps, ya know?”

“I do know. Remember, I had my own problems not too long ago" Sylph… it nearly brought a tear to Twilight's eyes to remember what she was willing to do for the stuff. She had never gone through with any of it, though. Her friends had been their to kick some sense into her. Literally; she still had the scar under her right ear from where Fluttershy had dropkicked her from sixty feet.

“You ain’t touchin that stuff, right?”

“Never again, love. You know, it’s a little ironic. Two years ago, we had this same discussion about the needles in my garbage can.” Twilight almost laughed, but as she had said, it was ironic, not funny. “You were so mad…”

They now entered the bathroom, which was likely to be the most used room in the house, save for the study. It may as well have had a Jacuzzi instead of a tub, for the thing’s size. It was easily big enough to fit both Twilight, Sunset and even a third person; a fact which they had happily exploited not so long ago, after a night of drinking. No matter, they had had all three moved on from—

“Hey remember when we had the Professor in here?” Well, they had moved past their escapade, but the memory now resurfaced with frightening clarity. She remembered feeling two sets of arms all over her, coming from every direction and going in just as many.

Twilight shook her head violently. “Yes, I remember. She was… proficient… Let‘s not talk about that. Ever.” Despite her reluctance to discuss the matter, she still felt her face burning red. “Alright, get undressed.”

Sunset fumbled for a few minutes with her shirt’s bottom button, and Twilight had to smile at the sheer adorableness of the face she was making. Her tongue was stuck out, and her brow was furrowed in concentration. Finally, with a soft pop, the first one came undone. “AHA! I did it!”

“Good job, only six more to go.” Twilight said as she turned on the cold water, and added only a little heat to it. The drunk woman’s face dropped like a lead weight, and tears started to pool in her eyes. “Here, I’ll get them.” Twilight would never admit it, but she did find some enjoyment in caring for Sunset like she was her child. Now Twilight’s face fell.

A child. Probably the one thing they could never have, even though they knew for certain that they both wanted one. It was a dark sentiment they shared: regret that they could not bear the other’s child, and despair that adopting a child into a political life was just foolish.

Sunset’s shirt was finally unbuttoned, and it slid off with ease, as did her bra and panties. She was still gorgeous, despite her drunken state and vomit soaked hair. Her body was well toned, but not overly muscular and there were only a few scars. One was from a fight back in high school, when the boy had stabbed her with a switchblade. There was another that she had gotten from their brawl over Twilight’s crown. She’d fallen on its jagged gem socket, and it had cut her chest open. Most of the rest were just little cuts and such that she’d accumulated over time.

“Babe, the tub's gonna overflow.”

“Huh? Oh shit!” Twilight frantically gripped at the knobs with her magic, and turned the water off just as it reached the edge of the tub.

“You said a baaaad wooooord! I’m telling!” Sunset said with a giggle.

“Oh? And who prey tell, would you tell?” Twilight could tell as she pulled the stopper out of the tub’s drain to empty it a bit that Sunset had gone from stupid drunk to flirty drunk. It was always best to just play along in these situations, but not give in to their flirting. Even if they were as adorable as Sunset was right then.

“Um…” To Twilight’s surprised amusement, Sunset actually seemed to be seriously contemplating the question. “Principal Celestia?”

“She has no authority on me. Keep trying.” Twilight said as she plugged the drain back up.

“PrinCESS Celestia!” she said, standing victoriously in a Captain Morgan pose, with her right leg propped up on rim of the tub. Twilight giggled at her enthusiasm.

“That could work, if Celestia herself didn’t curse once in a while. I’ll give you three more guesses.” Sunset flopped back down on the tub, and put a hand to her chin.

“Prince Solaris? Queen Chrysalis?” she asked, a tone of desperation leaking into her voice. “King Sombra?!”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Who is Prince Solaris?”

“I dun even know! Damn it who do I tell to get you in trouble!” she shouted, gabbing Twilight by the shoulders and holding her firmly… which was admirable, since they were kinda, ya know, flat.

“No one, Dear, You can’t get me in trouble, cuz I’m a princess!” she said playfully, before levitating sunset over the tub.

“Aw that’s no fair.”

“Life’s no fair. Err, not fair. Get ready, it’s cold,” She cautioned, before dunking Sunset into the chilly water, where she thrashed for a moment before gaining some bearing.

“Damn it Twilight, Why is it so fucking cold?!” Sunset yelled, as she sprang up from under the water, her hair plastered all over her face and shoulders.

“A cold dip helps shock you out of your stupor. Works all the time on Pinkie Pie and Applejack. I just pick them up, and throw them in the lake.”

“Wow, that’s… cold! I’m sorry, babe, I couldn’t resist. But I do feel a bit better, thanks.”

“You’re welcome, love. I would have just splashed your face, but you chunked in your hair. I’ll be right back. Get cleaned up, and maybe we’ll do something fun.” she said with a wink, before trotting out of the room to got get Sunset some drinking water.

Behind her, she heard Sunset yell, “I get to be Player One!”

“As if!” she called back, and promptly trotted downstairs with a smile on her face. Player one… Sunset hadn’t made that joke in a very long time, but it was a sign that she was truly feeling better. Why? Because Sunset knew damn well Twilight wasn’t talking about video games.

Author's Note

I meant to say this last chapter, but -obvious references are obvious.- confused about Sylph? we'll get to that. and yeah... human pony human threesome. I frickin went there, cha gone do bout it?!