"I am... champion of... woo!" Rainbow yells as she topples off her stool, landing on the floor with a thud. After just barely beating Applejack in a drinking contest, she looks like she just my die. No joke.

"Is she okay?" Twilight asks as she pushes her way through the crowd of laughing ponies. They all find this hilarious, I don't know what to think, and Twilight seems straight up concerned for her friend.

"Well... she's been better." Rarity says, nudging the now knocked out Rainbow Dash.

"Well great, what the fuck are we going to do with two unconscious ponies drunk off their balls?" I ask as I cross my arms, eyeing the two with an annoyed look.

"Take them home. It's the right thing to do, right?" Twilight says as she walks over to Applejack. She picks her up in her magic, and trots over to the door. "Zack, can you get Rainbow for me?" She asks over her shoulder. I roll my eyes, and look down at the colorful pony at me feet.

"Do I have to? I don't even know where she lives."

"Yes! You're the only other one here that is completely sober, so I'm trusting you to get her home safe. She lives in a cloud on the edge of town, you can't miss it." She says as she walks out the door, vanishing around the corner.

"Lives in a cloud?" I mumble to myself.

"What's that darling?" Rarity asks, stumbling into me. Great, gotta take HER home too.

"Rainbow lives in a cloud?" I ask again.

"Yes, though I don't think she'll be getting there tonight." She says, poking her unconscious friend with a hoof.

"Ya don't say?" I say sarcastically. "I'm too tired to even fucking question it. C'mon, lets take her back to your place." I say as I get down on my knees. I slowly slide my arms under Rainbow, and lift her up with more force than I needed to. I forgot just how light these ponies are.

"Why my place?" Rarity asks, her words slightly slurred. Not wasted, but definitely getting tipsy. Better keep that in mind just in case.

"Because that's where I live, and is literally the only place I can take shelter right now. So, unless you want me to dump her off at the park, which I would be fine with, you're gonna let her stay at your place." Rarity and I wave to the remaining guests, and make our way out of the room. The music is so loud downstairs, that I'm surprised that Rainbow doesn't shoot up in my arms while we walk towards the exit. Once we're outside, Rarity breaks the awkward silence between us.

"You wouldn't actually leave her in the park, would you?"

"Fuck no, I was being sarcastic... kind of. Look, I know I'm an asshole, but only to a certain degree. Also, I'm tired, so you can't take everything I say right now seriously."

"A-Alright then. As long as you don't just dump her off."

"I promise... for now." I say with a sigh followed by a chuckle.

We walk in silence for a good two or three minutes, my arms starting to feel a little weary from carrying Rainbow. Luckily, we come up on Rarity's place pretty quickly. The door unlocks from the inside, and I assume Rarity did it with her magic.

"Do try to be quiet Zack. Sweetie is probably already asleep, and I'd hate to wake her."

"Got it... Where do I put this thing?" I ask with a silent chuckle as I bounce Rainbow up in my arms.

"That 'thing' can stay with you in my office." Rarity says with a yawn. "Goodnight Zack."

"Wait, what?" I hiss at her as she walks up the stairs. Her only response is a wave as she vanishes to the second floor. "Ah, fuck me..." I mumble as I walk over to the office. I nudge the door open with my shoulder, and close it behind me with my foot. The only light in the room is the moonlight coming in through the window, giving the room a weird blue hue.

"Now, where do I put you?" I mumble to myself, seeing if there is any other furniture in the room. There's a desk with an office chair behind it, but that's about it. "Guess who's sleeping in the chair tonight?" I whisper down to Rainbow. I start walking towards the desk, fully intending to place her in the chair, until she starts stirring in my arms.

She lets out a quick, shrill yawn, and wraps one of her legs around my arm in her sleep. Damn. It. Rainbow.

This is why I can never get what I want, I'm too nice!

I sigh as I shuffle over towards the couch, and place Rainbow down on it. I crack my back and stretch my arms, and let myself fall down onto the office chair. A little small, but comfy none the less. If I wasn't so tired, I'd probably be up all night trying to get comfortable.

"Better than the floor..." I sigh as I slowly drift off to sleep.

Sunlight, great. Gotta love mornings!

I groan as I try to cover my eyes from the sunlight, forgetting where exactly I am. I crack my eyes open to see myself sitting in an office, and let out a sigh. I was hoping maybe all of this had been some weird nightmare, but nope! Life doesn't work like that for me.

I try to stand up, but my neck forces me back down. It feels like I slept on a sheet of rock last night. Every muscle in my back and neck hurts like hell from sleeping upright in a chair. Cracking my back helps just enough to allow me to stand, though very uncomfortably.

I look over to the white couch to see a snoring Rainbow Dash sprawled out over it's surface.

"Well someone slept well..." I say as I walk over to her, my joints popping as I do so. "Wake up Skittles, time to start your day!"

"Wha?" She mumbles, just barely opening her eyes. "Ah... my head." She whispers as she rubs her face with a hoof.

"Welcome to the fabulous world of hangovers!" I say rather loudly. Rainbow places her hoof over the ear that isn't pressed against the couch, and groans as she squeezes her eyes shut. I walk over to the window, fully opening the curtains to let in the sunlight. Let this be a lesson, take my couch, you get a rude awakening.

"Why are you in my house?" She groans into the couch, pressing her face into the fabric.

"More like why are you in my house? This is MY house now little horse thingy, so that means we go by my rules."

"What?" She asks looking up to finally get a glance at the room. "But this is Rarity's hou-"

"No but's! You're my responsibility, and that means we gotta get rid of that hangover, so hop to it!" I say, clapping my hands right next to her ears.

"Agh! Why are you such a jerk this morning?"

"Because you did something really stupid last night, and now I can use it against you. Call us even or whatever, but I'm sure getting a kick out of this. Now c'mon, get up and do whatever you need to do."

"I feel sick..."

"Then off to the bathroom we go." I say as I basically drag Rainbow off the couch.

"Noooooooooooo" She half cries, half moans out, eventually giving up as I fully lift her off the ground.

"I'm guessing you're not much of a morning person huh?" I ask her as I toss her over my shoulder like a rug.

"Not when I'm so... hungover..." She says pitifully, almost enough so to make me stop messing with her. Almost.

"Rarity! Open the damn door!" I yell as I bang my fist against the bedroom door. The handle glows a faint blue, and opens on it's own, allowing me to walk inside.

"Was that really necessary?" Rarity asks, already working on her hair in the mirror.

"Yeah, I need to use the bathroom. Old Crayon Box over here had a few too many drinks last night, and needs to throw up. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd let to get to said bathroom before my only good shirt is covered in pony vomit and cider." I say as I stumble into Rarity's bathroom. She gives me a disgusted look before stating something that just makes me feel like a flat out idiot.

"You could have just used the restroom downstairs darling instead of barging in like you did."

"I didn't barge, you let me in." I say as I use my free arm to flip Rarity off. These ponies have no idea what it means, but it's still fun to do. Call me an asshole, but wouldn't everyone do it if they had the chance?

"Toilet, now!" Rainbow suddenly blurts out. I don't even hesitate to literally throw her towards the toilet. She grabs the sides with her hooves, and releases into it.

"Oh God, that's the most horrifying thing I've ever seen." I whisper to myself as I watch from across the room. "...This would totally go viral on YouTube."

"Shut up Za- BLAH" She cuts herself off by coughing into the toilet. Disgusting? Yes. Funny? Hell yes. Alright, probably time to stop messing with her and actually help out, even if it means being nice to her.

"Fine, here." I say as I shuffle over to her on my knees, and grab the hair hanging down in front of her face.

"W-What are you d-doing?" She asks between heavy breaths.

"My girlfriend got sick once, and she would ask me to hold her hair back whenever she was doing... well, this. Keeps it from collecting anything you wouldn't want to get stuck in it."

"Oh, uh, thanks then." She says as she turns back to the toilet, letting out another round of last night's cider.

"Holy shit, this is the worst thing I've ever done." I say, straining my voice as I try not to look into the toilet. "I didn't think I'd be spending my morning with you of all people." I mumble. This gets me a punch to the gut with a hoof, which makes me lose my breath for a minute.

"Alright, I deserved that." I groan as I grab my stomach with my free hand. I know she'd be laughing her ass off is she wasn't head deep into the toilet.

"I-I think I'm good." She says, wiping her mouth with her foreleg.

"God, you smell like Satan's asshole. Take a shower." I say as I push her over towards the shower, causing her her groan and grab her head again. "Cold water only." I say as I turn it on for her.

I stand up and leave the room, closing the bathroom door behind me.

"So, how did it go in there?" Rarity asks, never looking up from her mirror.

"Could've been better." I huff as I lean against a wall.

"Did something happen in there?"

"No, I just feel weird helping her still."

"And why's that?"

"Because I still don't really know how I feel about her. She seems nice enough, but she's also immature, cocky, and self-centered, three things I don't really like in people or ponies alike."

"I agree with you on some of those things, but honestly darling, you have to give her a chance. She's one of the greatest friends you could have."

"I don't want friends though. I've learned to live without them, and I don't want them back."

"Then what am I?" She asks, spinning around on the stool she is sitting on.

"My friend. My only friend." I say sternly. "I'm not just gonna be completely alone, but that doesn't mean I want to just collect friends like they're some card game." Rarity sighs and spins back around to face her mirror.

"You're impossible Zack. Look, I'll make you a deal."

"Alright, shoot."

"Today is Rainbow's day off. Spend the entire day with her, and I'll stop bugging you to try to make more friends." I stare at Rarity with an eyebrow raised, not saying anything for a solid minute or two.

"Do I have to get along with her?"

"Not at all. Just be with her for the day, and make sure she doesn't hate you by the end of it."

"But I have a meeting with Twilight at noon."

"Then take her with you. Why is this so hard for you to wrap your mind around?"

"Fine, alright, stop pushing my buttons already. I accept your little deal. I'm calling it now, that by the end of the day, I'm not going to be any closer to her than I am now."

With that, I head downstairs to get my shoes and bag.

This is going to be one hell of a day.

Author's Note

Again, sorry for the kinda short chapter, I'm just really busy right now. Trust me, once summer comes along, chapters will get longer.

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