Shadowbolts Adventures: Independence Day (Edited Version)

Chapters

Chapter 01: Road Tripping
Chapter 02: My Normal
Chapter 03: Acceptance is Magic

Chapter 01: Road Tripping

Road Tripping

An otherwise quiet day brimming with excitement was enough to get Indigo Zap's heart pumping. She couldn't keep the grin off of her face as her five friends gathered on her driveway around the covered vehicle she had parked in front of the garage. All of her work, all of her effort, had been building towards this moment.

"Thank you for coming, ladies." Indigo Zap grinned and gave a slight bow for her audience. "It's been a long time coming. There's been a lot of blood, sweat, and sandwiches poured into this project, and I want you all to know that we wouldn't be standing here today without your help. It probably would've taken an extra month or two." Her hand snaked over to grip the tarp. "But all of our work paid off! Behold!" She yanked the tarp grandly off the shining, freshly waxed ruby red convertible. "Lightning Zap is ready to hit the road!"

The girls' oooh's and aaaah's were suitably pleasing, and Indigo was beaming as she dropped the tarp and turned back to them. "And I'm not done there! To reward us all for our hard work, mom and dad have given me the money to take us all on our first road trip to Las Pegasus!"

"Seriously!?" Lemon Zest squealed. "I've always wanted to go there!"

"Wow! That's so generous!" Twilight Sparkle gulped. "And a long way from here..."

Indigo waved off the concern. "It's only a few hours on the road. We can chill, listen to some tunes, and take in some munchies! And when we get there stay at the world-famous Lost Pegasus Resort!"

"That sounds amazing, Indigo. I'm absolutely in." Sunny Flare turned to glance around at the group. "How about the rest of you?"

"I'm there!" Lemon Zest bounced up and down.

"This has disaster written all over it." Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses. "Naturally I'm in."

"Oh yes, this sounds like a dream come true!" Sour Sweet giggled. "I mean, we're going in a car put together by a teenager in her parents' garage, what could possibly go wrong?"

"This is a really long trip over a long distance." Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat nervously. "Are you sure we shouldn't make better preparations or find a more reliable mode of transport, like plane tickets? You're far more likely to die in a car accident than a plane crash, statistically speaking."

"Relax!" Indigo insisted with a grin. "I've double-checked and triple-checked everything on this baby. Professional racers don't get their cars checked this thoroughly. We'll be fine."

"And it'll be a good experience, Twilight." Sunny smiled down at the smaller girl. "Get out on our own for a few days, just the six of us. No parents, just us and unlimited freedom."

"Sounds... terrifying." Twilight forced a smile.

Sour Sweet slapped her forehead. "Of course it does! Who wants to be free anyway?"

"Come on, Twi!" Indigo Zap slapped her on the shoulder. "Loosen up a bit! I promise we'll take care of you! What could go wrong as long as we're together?"

"Famous last words," Sugarcoat noted.

"Okay..." Twilight nodded with a deep, steadying breath. "Let's do it. I want to come with you."

"Hah! Yeah!" Indigo grinned her approval and gave her friends a thumbs up. "I promise none of you will regret this! We'll have the weekend of our lives!"

"Also famous last words," Sugarcoat noted.

And like that it was set. Indigo Zap was going to show her friends the best time she could, in exchange for giving her so much help working on her car. And it was going to be the best time of their entire lives, she was sure of it.

***

"Razzle dazzle! Glitz and glam! Turn it all up! It's a spectacle!" Five voices joined in somewhat-harmony as the ruby red convertible flew down the interstate. Even the car's driver was bobbing to the strong bass beat that soared from the car into the surrounding forest. Indigo Zap had the wheel, with Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest up front with her. Meanwhile Sunny Flare was in the back, flanked by Twilight Sparkle and Sour Sweet. Twilight was the only one who wasn't singing, though whether it was because she didn't know the words or she was terrified out of her wits, Indigo couldn't tell.

"Hear the applause! Here to impress! Not just a woman!" The next line was practically screamed at the top of their lungs. "I am the countess!"

They dissolved into joyous laughter as the song's beat faded out, and Sugarcoat reached forward to turn the radio down. "I love Countess Coloratura!" Lemon Zest squealed from the passenger's seat. "Her songs always give me tingles!"

Even Sour Sweet couldn't contain the excitement of being out on the road by themselves, with a broad grin lighting up her usually sour features. "I know! She just gets my blood pumping every time!" She pumped her arms into the air. "I am the countess!"

"Are you holding up okay there, Twilight?" Sunny Flare placed a gentle hand on her friend's shoulder. "You've been quiet since we left the house."

"F-fine..." Twilight spoke in a voice that was clearly not fine. "Just... nearly out of town on my own for the first time ever without anybody I love and trust here to make sure I don't do anything stupid... er... n-not that I don't trust you girls..."

"Hey, no offense taken. I understand." Sunny slipped a comforting arm around her shoulders. "This is my first time out of town on my own, too. I won't say I'm not nervous, but just try to be optimistic about it. It'll be a wonderful experience we're all going to share."

"And we've made all the right preparations!" Indigo called back from the front seat. "We have all the food and tunes we could ask for! Lemon, pass the lady something to calm her down."

"Right! Just call me Miss Munchy!" Lemon leaned down to rifle through the bags she had tucked by her feet. "What do you want? Something chocolate flavored? Strawberry flavored? Hehe... Lemon-flavored?" She wiggled her eyebrows over the back of her seat.

"Uuhhhh..." Twilight blushed deeply.

"Lemon, please control yourself at least a little." Sunny scolded her softly.

"Sorry... here, have a Snacky Cake. It's my personal favorite." Lemon held a small candy bar out over the back of her seat.

"Thank you." Twilight took the candy bar in one hand, though she didn't move to open it.

The ride continued on in energetic music until all signs of civilization had faded behind them, and they were screaming down the interstate surrounded by lush vegetation at first, which soon gave way to grassy plains. Indigo had her left elbow propped up on the door while her right hand kept them going in the proper direction, her mood bolstered by the laughter and general sense of happiness coming from her friends.

Her mood was still high hours later. Riding down the interstate with her friends by her side and the top down on her fully restored convertible? Yeah, this was the best idea she had ever had.

"I can't deny it, Indigo Zap," Sugarcoat spoke from beside her as they sped through the rolling grasslands. "You did a fantastic job restoring this car. I don't know if I've ever had such a smooth ride before."

"Thanks, I meant it when I said I couldn't have done it without you girls. We all earned this trip." Indigo couldn't keep the grin off of her face.

"And it is going to be amazing! Heeeehehehehe!" Lemon Zest giggled like a madwoman.

They rolled onward until, suddenly, the car began to falter and slow down. "Wh-what the? No! No freaking way! I checked everything! Four times!" Indigo slammed her hand on the wheel for a few moments, then carefully moved to guide the vehicle onto the shoulder of the road as it slowed almost to a stop.

"Hmmm..." Sugarcoat leaned her cheek over Indigo's shoulder to peer at the dashboard curiously. "I think you failed to check the gas tank."

"What?" Indigo's eyes flitted across the dashboard, suddenly spotting the telltale red bar pointed to the giant letter E. She could only stare for a few moments before slamming her forehead into the steering wheel. "Somebody shoot me now..."

"Oh yay! I was right!" Sour Sweet's song echoed across the plains. "This had to end badly!"

"Man, I knew this was too good to be true..." Lemon Zest grumped.

"See? This is why we need adults! This kind of stuff always happens!" Twilight's breath came in deep, panicked gasps.

"Okay, nobody start freaking out! This isn't that bad, and it's not the end of anything." Indigo hefted herself out of the car, marching toward the trunk to pull out a large plastic container. "We passed a service station not too far back. I'll just take a walk, get enough gas to get us to the next station, and we'll be on our way. At worst we'll have to find a hotel for a night, it's not a big deal. You girls chill, listen to some tunes, and I'll be right back."

Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses. "Famous last-"

"Oh shut up!" Sour Sweet snapped

"Excuse me." Sunny flipped herself over the back of the car to slide down the trunk, landing on her feet beside Indigo. "You are not marching down an empty highway alone. There's calm and then there's just plain stupid."

"We can't just ditch the car, someone could steal it!" Indigo complained.

"I'll go with her!" Lemon volunteered as she leapt over the passenger's side door. "My legs could use a good stretch about now anyway."

"I'll go too." Sour Sweet climbed over her door as well, moving to join the others.

"You will?" Indigo looked at her in surprise.

"I love protecting my friends! I also might get to punch someone! It's a win-win!"

"Okay..." Sunny Flare nodded in accepted. "Splitting into two groups of three sounds like the most sensible course of action, under the circumstances. But keep your phones on, in case something bad happens."

"Yeah, yeah, we'll be fine. And we'll be back on the road in a jiffy, just you wait." Indigo turned to march back the way they came, her hand waving back behind her. "We'll get this party back on track! You'll see!"

Sugarcoat remained silent until the other three girls were out of earshot before speaking. "Famous last words." Twilight squeaked and shrunk down in the back seat of the car, while Sunny sighed and rubbed her forehead.

***

Lemon Zest seemed strangely bouncy as she, Indigo Zap, and Sour Sweet marched dutifully onward down the side of the interstate with the empty gas canister. Indigo tried to ignore her, but thankfully, or perhaps not, Sour Sweet had a lot less self-control than her.

"What in the world are you so bouncy about?" Sour Sweet demanded.

"It's just... something else!" Lemon Zest giggled. "Here we are, in a hazardous situation, handling it like real full-grown adults! No principals or parents to bail us out, and we're doing it!"

Sour Sweet gasped. "Oh my gosh I didn't think of it like that! You're so right! We're totally responsible women marching down the street for over an hour like idiots because someone didn't keep an eye on the gas tank!"

Indigo grumbled under her breath. "I think I prefer Lemon's take on the situation."

"And besides," Lemon Zest continued. "We can use this time to get to know each other better! I don't think we've ever sat down and had a heart-to-heart before, Sour Sweet. Just us."

Sour Sweet raised her eyebrow. "Are you flirting with me?"

"No! I mean, not that you're not cute, but I try not to flirt with straight girls." Lemon blushed. "It... does slip out occasionally, but I'm working on it!"

"I never said I was straight."

"Really?" Lemon gasped. "I... guess that's true. I just kind of assumed since you used to talk about Braeburn so much..."

"I didn't say I'm not either." Sour Sweet shoved her hands into her pockets with a low grumble. "Nobody's ever wanted to get close enough for me to find out..."

Lemon smiled. "Is that all? Well that's okay! There are ways to tell! Do you ever think about girls when you're-"

"Let's not go there, please!" Indigo Zap raised her hands in protest. "I don't need to hear about my friends' masturbation habits."

"Oh come on Indigo, it's girl-talk."

"Is it? I've never seen that on the approved list of girl-talk topics."

Sour Sweet interrupted. "I'm not telling you who I get off to anyway!"

"Okay, okay." Lemon Zest moved slightly further away from Sour Sweet. "I won't make you do anything you don't want to." The three girls fell silent, with Lemon's shoes kicking some rocks from the pavement off into the grass beyond.

***

Sugarcoat was sitting comfortably on the trunk of the car, her elbows wrapped around one knee as she stared out across the grassy plains beside them. "I feel like I should be puffing a cigarette and staring wistfully off into the distance."

"How very cinematic of you," Sunny Flare quipped. "Don't smoke, though, or you'll be puffing a lot more often than just when you're staring dramatically into the distance."

"Yes mom." Sugarcoat saluted.

Sunny rolled her eyes and moved around the car to Twilight's seat, where the meek girl was still sitting in the same place she had while the car was moving. "Hey, Twi, how about we take a walk? I'm sure your legs must be pretty stiff just sitting there."

Twilight glanced up at her, then hunkered down slightly in embarrassment. "I can't even feel them anymore."

"Come on." Sunny pulled the door open and took Twilight's hand, helping the smaller girl climb out and rise to her feet. Twilight leaned against her side as she closed the door and they moved to walk slowly to the other side of the car. "So what do you want to do first when we get to Las Pegasus?"

"Right now? Get a shower. Ewe..." Twilight looked down at herself.

Sunny giggled. "Well, yeah, I mean after that."

"I don't know. I guess I've always wanted to see a magic show. I know it's all smoke and mirrors, but I've always been fascinated with the psychological aspect of it. How they can convince you that something physiologically impossible is actually happening even when you know it's not possible."

"That sounds like a lot of fun, actually. I bet we could convince the others to go to one too, as long as we're there."

"That would be amazing." Twilight smiled. "How about you? Do you have anything you'd like to do while we're there?"

"The hotel we're staying at has a pool, so I was thinking of doing some swimming. Or floating, depending on my mood."

"That sounds like fun too." Twilight nodded. "I didn't think to pack my swimsuit, though."

"It's Las Pegasus. Shopping was just going to come with the territory." Sunny Flare winked. Twilight giggled.

Sunny's gaze was pulled away from her friend when she heard the sound of a roaring engine from the direction of Las Pegasus. A wide midnight-blue truck was coming down the interstate towards them. The two girls moved off to the side to get out of its way, but as it neared the truck slowed to a stop and a rather thick-looking man poked his head out the window.

"You ladies having a little trouble?"

Sunny Flare gently pushed away from Twilight to approach the truck with as bright a smile as she could manage. "We were a little too eager to get to our vacation and ran out of gas, it looks like."

"Yeah? Don't really have much of that myself, I'm afraid." The man smiled sympathetically. "Would you like me to call a service for you?" Sunny frowned, but Sugarcoat suddenly stepped between them with her glasses shoved into one pocket.

"There's a service station not too far down the road." Sugarcoat leaned forward, her elbow resting on the top of the truck's car door, and letting her shirt hang visibly down by accident. "I'm sure you can spare us just enough gas to get there and still get there yourself."

"W-well..." the man stammered. "My mom always told me to take care of ladies who need me."

"She was a wise woman." Sugarcoat's smile was as creepy as it was compelling. "Thank you so much."

"I'll just, uh, get into position for the siphon." The man pulled back into his car.

Sugarcoat turned away to walk back toward her friends, who were both staring at her with wide-eyed expressions of shock. "What?"

"I... didn't know you could flirt," Sunny quipped.

"I'm kind of scared..." Twilight clung to Sunny's arm like she was about to run from a ghost.

Sugarcoat smirked as she slipped her glasses comfortably onto her nose. "Hey, a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do."

***

Even Lemon Zest's energy was starting to wane as they marched onward, the three girls just plodding along the pavement. Even the sound of their shoes was starting to get old. "I've changed my mind," Lemon Zest quipped. "Being a responsible adult sucks."

"We're making progress, at least." Indigo put a hand over her eyes to block the light while she squinted ahead. "I can just make out a sign up ahead. I think we're almost there."

"Oh yay!" Sour Sweet cheered. "Our journey is almost half over! Lugging the gas back to the car is definitely going to be the fun part!"

"Nobody asked you to come, Sour Sweet." Indigo Zap growled back.

"Well I'm sorry for giving a crap," Sour Sweet countered. "Next time you can walk off alone and get pulled into an unmarked white van or something."

"What white van? We literally haven't seen any other cars." Indigo threw her arms out. "I'd almost like someone to try to kidnap me! At least something would be happening!"

Lemon Zest slipped smoothly between them before the conflict could escalate any further. "Hey, come on girls, we're all a little cranky and sore, but we're doing good! We're helping our friends! And once we're done, we can get on to Las Pegasus, and spend the next few days doing nothing but relaxing and partying! Isn't that worth a long walk and a heavy load?"

"Maybe..." Sour Sweet grumbled.

"Yeah, I guess..." Indigo looked down, her thick boot kicking roughly at some loose pavement. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to yell I just... I can't believe I got us into this. I had it all planned, I checked every detail, and I managed to screw up the smallest thing."

Lemon gave her friend a comforting smile. "Mistakes happen, Indigo."

"And when I pay for them, that's one thing, but getting you guys sucked into it just because you trusted me to do my thing right?" Indigo growled and looked away from them. "I... I'm sorry, okay? I did my best and I still managed to screw up. Now you're only out here because you trusted me."

There was an awkward silence that settled over them for several minutes before Sour Sweet broke it. "The way I remember it, we're out here because we volunteered." Indigo gave her a curious sidelong glance. "Yeah, you screwed up, but we're the ones who wanted to take this walk and help you out. You didn't make us do that."

"Yeah, that's right!" Lemon beamed and threw an arm around each of her friends. "We're out here because we're a team! The Crystal Prep Shadowbolts! And we're not gonna just ditch each other when things get messy, no matter how they got that way!"

"Heh..." A smile spread slowly across Indigo Zap's lips, as if her cheeks were being tugged from each side. "Thanks... I just hope we can leave this all behind us and get our vacation back on track."

"We'll get there! We just gotta keep a positive attitude and work on those biceps, because this thing is going to be heavy once we fill it up."

Indigo Zap chuckled. "We just need a few gallons to get us to the next rest stop. Then we'll be home free."

***

"That should about do ya." The man plugged the end of the hose with his thumb for a moment after pulling it out of Indigo's car. "Plenty to get you back to the rest stop."

"We really appreciate this." Sugarcoat pulled a ten dollar bill out of her pocket and held it out to him. "Here, for the gas."

"Keep it, like I said, mother always told me to look out for ladies in need."

Sunny grumbled. "There's a line between chivalry and condescension..."

Sugarcoat stepped in front of Sunny. "What she means to say is thank you. You've been a real life saver for us."

"You ladies take care of yourselves now." The man smiled and gave them a wave before climbing into his truck and continuing on his way down the interstate.

"If I hear the word 'ladies' one more time today..." Sunny grumbled.

"I don't think I've heard you get so bitter since before the Friendship Games, Sunny," Sugarcoat mused curiously. "Have we finally found one of your elusive buttons?"

"We have names is all I'm saying."

"Names we didn't tell him."

"Oh... that... is a good point, actually." Sunny blushed.

"Yes, it is." Sugarcoat shoved her bill back in her pocket and turned to march back to the car. "I'll drive us back to the station if you'll help me keep an eye out for the others on the way... ladies."

Sunny sighed. "You're not going to let that go, are you?"

"I'll probably get bored of it soon enough." Sugarcoat hopped into the driver's seat and clasped her seatbelt around her. "Now come on, we're burning daylight."

"Right." Sunny shook her head and she climbed over the door into the back seat. Twilight took her own seat more slowly, opening the door for herself. Once they were all seated, Sugarcoat turned them around to take off back the way they had come.

They made their way back, and Sunny was surprised to find that they made it all the way to the gas station before they spotted their three friends kneeling in front of one of the pumps with their gas canister in hand. They really must have been moving to make it this distance, it had taken them almost ten minutes at over sixty to get here.

"Hey, girls!" Sunny waved her hands as Sugarcoat pulled up in front of the station. "We got a quick fill-up! You don't have to carry the gas back!"

"Huh?" Sour Sweet looked up. "What!? Are you fucking kidding me!? We walked for two hours straight to get here and you turn up at the same time we do in the car!?" She leapt to her feet, marching toward the car.

Sunny patted the back of Sugarcoat's seat. "Drive." The car lurched forward as Sour Sweet broke into a run.

Sour Sweet gave furious chase. "You get the fuck back here! I'm not going to let you get away with this! You have to stop some time or you'll run out of gas again! And when you do I'm gonna make you regret letting us walk halfway across the fucking country for no reason! Do you hear me, motherfuckers!?"

Twilight Sparkle turned forward in her seat once the yelling faded into the distance. "We're going back for them, right?"

"As soon as it's safe..." Sunny blushed.

Thankfully, that time didn't take too long to come. Sour Sweet tired herself out after five minutes of screaming and collapsed to her knees on the street, panting for air. Sunny made sure to bring her friend back into the car to return her to the station, where Indigo and Lemon were looking just as annoyed, but far more grateful.

"I'm just glad we don't have to walk all the way back with this thing. Even just a few gallons is pretty heavy." Indigo explained as she and Lemon dumped what they had purchased into the tank from their canister.

"Over long distances, I'm sure." Sunny spoke from the back seat, where she was holding a bottle of water up to an exhausted Sour Sweet's lips. "I'm actually impressed you made it all the way here."

"Heh, we managed to keep each other motivated." Indigo grinned. "Besides, like I said, I'm going to get us to Las Pegasus to have a great time if it kills me."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Sugarcoat pulled the gas pump from the car after filling it the rest of the way and placed it back on the pump. "Let's get this show on the road already. I'd rather spend the night in an actual resort than some fly-infested interstate motel."

"Yeah!" Lemon pumped her fist into the air. "I've gotten my legs all stretched, now let's hit the home stretch to vacation land!"

"Yes, please..." Twilight settled into her seat with a relieved sigh.

"Then let's get this show on the road, ladies." Sugarcoat reclaimed her middle front seat as Sunny rolled her eyes with a soft blush.

"Everybody make sure you're buckled in," Indigo spoke as she pulled out of the station and turned them back down the interstate again. "We're not stopping until we hit Las Pegasus..."

***

The sun was long gone by the time Lightning Zap rolled into Las Pegasus, but the neon lights that lit up the horizon and the palpable energy still coming off of the dozens of people wandering the streets kept the six Crystal Prep friends awake as they moved through the streets towards their destination. The going was slow, but there was so much to see that they didn't even mind. Advertisements for food, dancing, gambling, magic shows, comedy shows, even some that made Twilight blush and put her hand between herself and them.

Traffic was still terrible even this late, but at last they rolled into the massive parking garage of Las Pegasus' biggest and oldest resort casino, the Lost Pegasus. Stiff, creaking legs protested as the friends climbed out of the car and pulled their luggage from the trunk, limited to one big bag apiece. Indigo put the top up on her convertible, locked it up, and they made their way into the lobby.

"Geeze, this place is like something out of a movie." Lemon Zest gaped as they entered the massive entrance lobby, which was lined with soft bulbs in the shape of candles with the warm scent of incense greeting them at the door.

"Actually, a lot of movies have been filmed here," Sugarcoat pointed out. "So it's more like the movies are something out of this place."

"Whatever, awe, awe, awe, blah, blah blah..." Sour Sweet yawned into one hand. "Can we get to sleep some time tonight?"

"Relax, we're almost there! We even have reservations!" Indigo swept up to the main desk and set her bag down as she leaned against it. "Three room luxury suite under Indigo Zap."

"Three rooms?" Sunny asked as the others moved to keep up with her. "Isn't that a little excessive? We could make do with one or two."

"We're here to relax, and being crowded ain't relaxing." Indigo winked as she passed her credit card to the clerk.

The clerk tapped at his computer keyboard for a moment before getting back to them. "You have the fourth luxury suite up on the sixth floor, ma'am. Three bedrooms."

"Great news my good man." Indigo grinned, then took three sets of keys and turned back to her friends. "The beds are plenty big enough for two people, but more than that and things will just get weird."

"That depends on how much you enjoy sleeping with other girls," Sugarcoat quipped. "We should decide who is going to be sleeping together, then."

"I'll stay with Sunny." Twilight was instantly clinging to Sunny's arm.

Sunny just gave her a comforting smile. "That sounds fine to me." Twilight returned her smile as Sunny took one of the keys from Indigo.

"I'll stay with Indigo," Lemon Zest and Sugarcoat spoke at the same time, giving each other a sharp, challenging glare afterwards.

"Heh, come on girls, I know I'm kind of cool, but we can't all sleep with me." Indigo chuckled. "How about I stay with Lemon and Sugarcoat can stay with Sour Sweet?"

"Or you can stay with me and Lemon Zest can stay with Sour Sweet," Sugarcoat suggested.

"She already said I'm staying with her." Lemon insisted.

"She's not in charge, we have to agree," Sugarcoat countered.

"And she and I agreed, you're the one being a butt." Lemon glared.

"Well I don't agree with you two, we're going to have to figure out something-"

Sour Sweet suddenly snapped one of the keys out of Indigo's hand, giving all three of them a sharp glare of rage mixed with sadness from twitching eyes. When she spoke it was a sharp tone through gritted teeth. "I'll sleep alone." She whirled to march toward the elevator by herself, pushing aside two other patrons who were waiting to get in.

Sunny Flare gave her other friends a sharp glare. "Nice going, you three, trying to push her off on each other. Way to make her feel wanted and appreciated."

"Sorry, Sunny..." Lemon rubbed one arm. "It's just... could you imagine sharing a bed with her? Who knows what could happen in the middle of the night?"

"It is something of a risk," Sugarcoat agreed.

Sunny just shook her head and moved past the three girls, pulling Twilight with her towards the next elevator. "Then I hope you three enjoy sharing one bed."

Indigo, Lemon, and Sugarcoat exchanged guilty glances for a moment before Indigo moved to follow Sunny towards the elevator. It was going to be a long vacation, but at least they could begin with a nice night of sleep.

To Be Continued

Chapter 02: My Normal

Chapter 2: My Normal

Their first day in Las Pegasus began with a less than enthusiastic start. They had two bathrooms between the six of them in this luxury suite, so showers were somewhat slow to finish, and Sour Sweet refused to open her door until Sunny coaxed her out. The fatigue from the long drive coupled with the emotional sting from the night before took its toll on their excitement, but once they were freshly showered and ready to face the day, things started to look up again as they convened in the center living room.

"So, we're here! What are our plans for the day?" Twilight asked.

The others exchanged a blank glance before Indigo spoke. "Plans?"

"Um, yes." Twilight looked back and forth between the blank faces before her. "We drove hundreds of miles just to get here, surely we know how we're going to experience this place, right? I mean, driving this far and just winging it would be kookytown... right?"

There was silence until Indigo Zap spoke up. "Well, if it helps I wanna check out the strip! There's supposed to be some killer food there! I mean literally, this stuff will stop your heart if you so much as look at it, it's so bad for you."

"And you want to eat it." Sugarcoat mused.

"What? I'm adventurous."

Lemon Zest chimed in. "I'll go with Indigo. I totally wanna see what this place is all about."

"I believe Twilight and I already made a date to check out the hotel's indoor swimming pool after some shopping." Sunny turned to her bespectacled friend. "If you're still up for it."

"Oh, yes, that sounds nice." Twilight nodded, looking relieved to have a plan after all.

"I think I'll tour the rest of the hotel," Sugarcoat chimed in. "This place is supposed to have the biggest video arcade left in the country. It's practically a museum."

"I do like museums..." Twilight mused.

"How about you, Sour Sweet?" Sunny turned to her last friend with a warm smile. "You're welcome to join Twilight and I at the pool."

"No thanks." Sour Sweet shook her head vehemently. "I think I'll order breakfast and see what they have playing on the TV."

"The TV?" Indigo recoiled. "We drove all the way out here, you can't just sit cooped up in here in front of the TV."

"Excuse me, I can do whatever the fuck I want!" Sour Sweet glared at her sharply, then shook her head and marched toward her room. "You guys go have fun, I'm staying here, end of story." She slipped inside and slammed the door behind her, making everyone else wince.

Lemon Zest's voice was tinged with worry when she broke the silence. "Has anybody else noticed that Sour Sweet is getting way more sour than sweet lately? I mean way more than she used to."

"Definitely." Sugarcoat nodded. "She has always been sarcastic and moody, but she's been flipping out at the drop of a hat lately. She managed to get one of the gentlest girls at Crystal Prep to chase her off with an axe, and I'm still surprised Aloe and Lotus didn't ban us from the Love Spa."

"Maybe..." Indigo hesitated. "Do you think she needs stronger meds?"

"I think she needs good friends who accept her for who she is and let her deal with her own struggles until she asks for help." Sunny Flare turned her gaze on the group. "In the meantime, let's plan to meet back here at six PM tonight. We can order in dinner and chow down in our PJ's while we chill and share the gossip of the day."

"That sounds great, Sunny! We'll be here!" Lemon Zest nodded eagerly.

"Six PM sharp it is," Sugarcoat agreed.

"Then let's do this. Let's see what this town has to offer." Sunny turned to lead the way out the front door, which closed authoritatively behind them.

***

Sour Sweet sat on the needlessly extravagant sofa in the middle of the suite's living room, her head lying numbly on the back as she stared blankly at the massive 70 inch screen that was showing some movie whose name she forgot the instant she picked it. It felt strange. Even she couldn't quite pinpoint why she felt so down and tired. She just didn't want to leave the room. In fact she kind of wished she'd just stayed home where she wouldn't make her friends nervous just by being around.

She rubbed her forehead lightly with two fingers. No, they had invited her for a reason. They wanted her here, even if they didn't want to spend time with her. Well, she was here. Hopefully they were happy with that, because she sure wasn't.

She wished she could be happy about it, though...

Her eyes darted up from the TV screen when the suite door opened and Sunny Flare made her way inside, trailed closely by Twilight Sparkle. Sunny gave her a warm smile the instant she saw her. "Hey, did you have a nice time?"

"Meh," Sour Sweet grunted. A glance at the clock showed that it was about six PM now. "How about you two?"

"The pool was nice. Ran into one creep, but that was to be expected I guess." Sunny approached the couch to drop onto it beside her. "You had anything to eat yet today?" Sour Sweet stopping to think about it was all the answer she needed. "I'll go ahead and call in room service. It should hopefully be here by the time the others arrive."

"Meh," Sour Sweet grunted again, but Sunny just patted her knee and reached for the phone beside the couch.

She tried to hone in on the movie and drown out Sunny on the phone, and then the arrival of her other friends. She could hear Lemon Zest chattering excitedly about the shops down along the strip, and Sugarcoat grumbling something about some jerk trying to challenge her down in the gaming arcade. Sour Sweet really didn't care, though. She was too busy trying to watch a crappy movie, and then another crappy movie after that one ended. Just tune out the world, drown it out, she didn't need to be a part of it right now.

"Food's here!" That enticing call drew her back into the world. Well, the world wasn't so bad in small doses, after all.

She climbed up from the couch to join the others near the door, where a large trolley was just being wheeled in for them, with several silver platters lining the top of it, and two bottles of soda sitting in ice-buckets.

"Thanks." Sunny slipped their waiter a few bills. "Keep the change."

"Thank you, ma'am." The waiter bowed gratefully before he left, the door closing quickly behind him.

"Mmmmh, it actually smells amazing." Lemon Zest licked her lips and sniffed deeply at one of the platters. "Smells like shrimp!"

"You're good." Sunny whipped the top of the platter off the tray, revealing a plate full of shrimp and lettuce.

"Hehe, I have an awesome nose." Lemon grinned.

"And what do we have here?" Indigo Zap plucked one of the bottles out of a bucket curiously, her eyes scanning the label. "Hey, this ain't soda..."

"No? What is it?" Sugarcoat asked curiously.

A wicked grin spread across Indigo's lips. "Complimentary wine."

"Whoa! Seriously!?" Lemon gasped.

"Must have been a mixup in the kitchen." Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses.

"Certainly!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "I'll give them a call and let them know!" Twilight reached for the phone, but Indigo intercepted her wrist before she could touch it.

"Hold on there, Twi. We were just given our own bottles of wine to try out! It would be ridiculous not to give them a little taste, don't you think?"

Twilight protested immediately. "But we're too young to drink. You have to be twenty-one!"

"What could a couple of sips hurt?" Indigo waved off her concern. "We don't need to get smashed or anything! Maybe just a little feel-good buzz."

"But it's wrong!" Twilight insisted more vehemently than Sour Sweet had ever seen her argue before. "It's against the rules for a reason! It's dangerous and irresponsible!"

"Sure is," Sugarcoat agreed as she poured some of the rose-colored liquid into several glasses. She held one out to Sunny Flare. "Here, you get the first, lady."

Sunny took the glass between her fingers with a smirk. "You're so chivalrous."

"Sunny, not you too!" Twilight backed away from the group. "Please, we can't just throw away the rules! They're the foundation of society! If we just disregard the rules then we're no better than the criminals who roam the streets!"

"Criminals?" Sugarcoat raised her eyebrow.

"Okay, Twilight, I think we need to have a little talk in private." Sunny moved toward her and reached for her hand, taking it gently in her palm.

"But they're just going to start getting drunk!" Twilight protested even as she was pulled towards the door.

"We'll deal with that later." Sunny slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Sugarcoat poured her last glass of wine with a wry smirk on her lips. "Remember. Every sip you drink is a dagger through Twilight Sparkle's heart. So enjoy."

***

Twilight whirled on Sunny Flare once they were in the privacy of the bedroom, her fists balling up beside her. "I-I'm sorry, Sunny, but I have to stand up for what's right! I-I mean, we're not old enough to drink! The laws exist for a very clear reason! It's irresponsible, and completely immature for us to just ignore laws that are inconvenient for us!"

"You're right, mostly," Sunny replied.

"I..." Twilight trailed off, as if not expecting an agreement. "Well, yeah, thank you! So you'll help me convince them to stop, right? It's not too late to return the bottle."

"No, I won't." Sunny leaned against the door with her arms folded over her chest, her wine glass still clutched between two fingers in her right hand. "I'm not saying that drinking the wine would be a good thing, or a smart thing, but it's something we've chosen to do."

"What are you talking about? Why would you choose to do something that's not good or smart? That doesn't even make sense..."

Sunny chuckled, swirling the wine around her glass with one hand. "We're not robots, Twilight, we're allowed to make bad decisions."

"Children make bad decisions, adults follow the rules." Twilight glared.

"Do they?" Sunny countered with a raised eyebrow. "So you've never seen someone decide to do something rash?"

"Well... of course I have, but those people aren't role-models."

"Neither are we." Sunny took a deep breath. "Twilight, being a mature adult isn't just about following the rules or calculating what the best course of action is. Being a mature adult is about making decisions and taking responsibility for them." Sunny took a slow, thoughtful sip from her glass. "Sometimes those decisions might explode in your face... and sometimes nothing will happen at all. Calculated risks are just a part of life."

"I just don't see what good could come out of this to justify the risk." Twilight shook her head. "What do you stand to gain from throwing out the rules and getting drunk?"

Sunny just smiled. "Memories." Twilight's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she remained silent at that. "Besides, it's not like we're slamming shots in a bar surrounded by strange men. We're locked in a hotel room with friends we trust. I can't think of a safer place to get a little wild and stupid than right here and right now."

Twilight looked away from her for several long moments, as if scanning the carpet for new information. When she looked up her eyes were much softer. "Okay, Sunny. But I still don't want to drink."

"We'll respect that decision, as long as you'll respect ours."

"Okay." Twilight nodded. "Just promise nobody will get drunk enough to break anything."

"You know my stance on unkeepable promises." Sunny winked and clapped her hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get changed and go get some grub with our friends."

***

In the main suite, the laughter was bubbling out of the four nightie-clad girls as they sat around the sofa and TV with their plates in their laps and their glasses of wine beside them. Even Sour Sweet finally seemed to be relaxing somewhat after half a glass, a fact that made Lemon Zest smile. It would be great to finally get her in a good mood again. Not that Lemon herself was in a bad mood. She couldn't stop giggling as Sugarcoat shared her Las Pegasus experience.

"So this Button Mash punk just won't leave me alone." Sugarcoat put her hands behind her head. "Until I beat him at Triple Dragon with double his score. That shut him up in a hurry."

"I did not know you were so good at video games, Sugarcoat." Lemon giggled. "You're usually so focused I didn't think you ever just relaxed and had fun."

"Being observant doesn't mean I can't cut loose," Sugarcoat pointed out. "How about you two? Anything exciting happen while you were out on the streets?"

"I met a guy while we were out." Indigo shrugged. "He seemed cool for a while, but well... things didn't go so well in the end."

Sugarcoat pondered for a moment. "He was a bigot, wasn't he?"

"Wow... how can you tell that just from what I said?" Indigo blinked.

"I know you. Being overly critical of your friends is the only reason you would dismiss someone outright."

"Heh... well, you're right. He got all up in Lemon's face about checking out some of the chicks. We walked out the door right after."

"I still think you could've given him another chance..." Lemon insisted.

"Not a chance. You're way more important to me than some boy."

"But you can't miss out on some boy just because of me!"

"Save it, I already made my choice." Indigo shrugged, then turned to Sour Sweet. "So what did you do today? Did you find anything cool on the TV?"

"Nah, this place just has weird channels." Sour Sweet smirked. "I think I saw more interesting car commercials than I did TV shows."

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Lemon Zest asked curiously.

"There was one where some douchebag pretended to be riding a giant rubber spider."

"And... that related to cars, how?" Sugarcoat asked curiously.

"Proving that their cars are smoother rides than the giant spider, I guess."

"Ah, of course." Sugarcoat nodded. "A key comparison if ever there was one."

"It was a hoot... just not as much of one as flirting with some boy out on the streets." Sour Sweet huffed.

"Hey, nobody said you couldn't come," Indigo retorted. "You could've joined any of us, you chose to sit here and do nothing."

"I know," Sour Sweet growled under her breath. "It's not like it would have mattered if I had gone. Nobody flirts with me."

"I think I could tell you why." Sugarcoat opened her mouth to continue, but was immediately interrupted.

"Why? Because I scare everybody off? Because nobody wants to risk being close to a fucking psychopath!?" Sour Sweet rose to her feet with her fists clenched. "Because my brain isn't wired right and nobody in their right mind will ever want to get close enough to me to so much as fucking kiss me!? Is that why!? Of course it is! It's always been why! It's why I'll be fucking alone forever!" Sour Sweet whirled away from the other girls, marched to her room, and slammed the door so hard they swore they could hear the doorframe crack.

Lemon Zest and Indigo just stared after her with jaws agape, then lowered their gaze to Sugarcoat, who looked back with wide, stunned eyes.

"Don't give me that look..." Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses. "I was just going to tease her about her freckles..."

"Sour Sweet..." Lemon grunted and leapt to her feet, rushing to her friend's door.

She found it unlocked, pushing it open slowly, but she squeaked and pulled back slightly when she saw Sour Sweet sitting on her bed, digging through her suitcase. She was grunting and Lemon could see her shoulders shaking in the fading orange light filtering in through the window behind her, until she found what she was looking for, a small pill bottle. Sour Sweet popped it open, shoved a pill into her mouth, then took a long, deep swig of water from a bottle she also pulled from her bag.

Lemon waited in the doorframe just out of sight where she could peek through, watching Sour Sweet sit on the edge of her bed with her head down, one hand over her chest. After a few minutes Sour Sweet's shaking began to calm, and the sound of her breathing became more regular. Once she was sure the room was calm, Lemon Zest slipped into the room as if she had just opened the door.

"Hey." Lemon Zest closed the door gently behind her. "Are you okay?"

"No." Sour Sweet's voice was strangely calm and flat. "No I'm not okay."

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lemon approached the bed cautiously. She didn't want to leave her friend feeling bad, but she was still unpredictable. "Why are you feeling so bad? You never got this way before..."

"Maybe I didn't realize it before..." Sour Sweet wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "How doomed to being alone I was."

"Doomed?" Lemon shook her head. "You're not doomed to being alone, why would you think that?"

"Because of you," Sour Sweet grunted.

"Me?" Lemon blinked in surprise. "Why me?"

"Because I always figured I just needed to grow up some more. Get older, learn how to deal with people, and let people learn how to deal with me. When I was grown up, I'd be able to get good friends or a boyfriend or whatever..." Sour Sweet glanced up at Lemon under her eyebrows. "Then you told us you were with Vinyl Scratch and I realized... holy crap, we're eighteen now! Eighteen years old, and I haven't done anything! No dating, no sex, no kissing, not even any googly eyed puppy love bullshit!" She groaned and clutched at her head with both hands, her fists pressing into her temple. "I always scared everybody away! Even you guys are scared of me! Why do I have to fucking terrify everybody!? Why can't I just be normal!?"

Her all-too-familiar words sent a cold chill racing through Lemon Zest's heart. Despite knowing about Sour Sweet's issues and knowing that she was medicated, it had never occurred to Lemon what it all meant. What it meant to feel so different to everyone else, to feel like she was on a dead end course through life just because her body wasn't wired the way it was supposed to be. Maybe their issues weren't the same, but it was a feeling Lemon knew all too well.

Lemon just stared down at her friend as she rocked back and forth on the bed with her head in her hands, her shoulders beginning to shake again. Suddenly Sour Sweet reached for her bag, but her hand was stopped when Lemon plopped down on the bed beside her and threw her arms around her, bringing her into a tight, close hug. Sour Sweet grunted in surprise, her head lifting from Lemon's shoulder to look at the side of her head.

"No more medicine..." Lemon shook her head. "I don't want it to hurt you."

"Lemon..." Sour Sweet blushed. "It doesn't hurt me, I just... need it to calm down..."

Lemon shook her head. "Well not right now..." Lemon Zest stroked her back softly. "I don't want you to take it."

Sour Sweet was silent for a few moments before, slowly, her arms lifted from the bed to wrap around Lemon as well. "O-okay... if you say so..."

"I'm so sorry we made you feel bad yesterday." Lemon Zest gulped. "We just... take for granted that you're our friend. We thought nothing we said could hurt you. You yell a lot, but you always let everything slide right off of you. And someday, Sour Sweet, you will find someone you can love. You will kiss them, you will make googly eyes, you will make love to them. I know you can do that."

"No you don't..." Sour Sweet muttered close to her ear, though her hug only tightened around her. "You don't know any of that."

"Of course I do..." Lemon Zest released the hug only slightly so she could pull back, looking into Sour Sweet's eyes. Her tears reflected orange in the fiery light from the window. "If you scared us away, Sour Sweet, we wouldn't be here. We don't need to hang out with you, we do it because it's worth it." Lemon blushed. "Yeah... you can be scary and difficult, sometimes... but you're also a great friend when we get past all of that. We love you."

Sour Sweet sniffled and reached up to wipe a tear away with one hand, taking a deep, trembling breath. "Th-thank you..." She blinked and shook her head quickly for a moment, then looked back into Lemon's eyes, her gaze a bit more calm, though still moist. "I'm sorry, this is just ridiculous... I feel so stupid after I wig out..."

"You're not stupid..." Lemon brought a hand up to stroke her cheek tenderly, wiping a tear from her skin with one palm. "You're just Sour Sweet. We're okay with it... and there are others who will be too. Because Sour Sweet's pretty awesome. And hot."

"Heh..." Sour Sweet's lips broke into an almost involuntary smile. "Now you're just kissing my butt to make me feel better..."

Lemon Zest giggled, a light, seemingly insignificant sound that nonetheless chased the tension right out of the room. "Maybe a little... but I'm glad it's working."

"Mmm..." Sour Sweet's breath was calm now, as she stared into Lemon's eyes again, their arms still wrapped around one-another in a fluid embrace. Her eyes flicked downward, then back up again. "You know, you're kind of hot too..."

"Yeah? Thanks." Lemon grinned.

"I know nobody wanted to sleep in the same bed with me, but..." Sour Sweet took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"

Lemon Zest stared at her for a moment, then blushed slowly. "Heh... I-I know you didn't mean to make that sound like more than just sleeping."

Sour Sweet looked down for a moment, then back up at her eyes. "What if I did?"

"Why would you...?" Lemon asked curiously. "You said you don't know if you're even into girls."

"One way to find out..." Sour Sweet shrugged softly. "And I think it sounds nice... to be closer to you."

Lemon bit her lip, her eyes flicking downward. She had to admit, as much as she tried not to think of her friends sexually, sitting like this with her arms around Sour Sweet in that nightgown... it gave a girl thoughts. Especially now that the freakout had passed, and the mood had been lightened up a bit. The crisis was over, leaving her with a great friend who was barely dressed, hot as Tartarus, and giving her a look that begged for attention.

"As long as this isn't just because... you know..." Lemon Zest coughed. "I don't want to... take advantage of things..."

"I'm totally lucid, I promise." Sour Sweet nodded in assurance. "Especially right after I take my medicine. I mean, I guess I can't account for the wine, but I want to do it. But you can say no. I won't flip out, I promise."

Lemon Zest couldn't help but believe her, on both counts. She wasn't sure she had ever seen the girl this serious before. She had always been moody, oftentimes angry, but this was the first time she had ever seen that calm, calculating look in her eye. Her brain was firing on all cylinders, and she wanted Lemon Zest. And boy, did Lemon Zest have to admit, maybe it was partly the wine talking, but she really wanted Sour Sweet now too.

Lemon Zest slowly slid her hand around Sour Sweet's body, her hands sliding up to grip her shoulders in a more passionate embrace. Sour Sweet's breath caught in her throat as Lemon moved forward to softly press her lips against her own. When Sour Sweet showed no signs of resistance or retreat, Lemon leaned forward all the way, slowly pushing her onto her back with her head on the pillow.

***

The march of time left the two girls lying side by side on top of the bedsheets in the fallen darkness, letting themselves come down from their excitement while the cool air from the AC swept the sweat from their skin. At last it was Sour Sweet who broke the silence. "Lemon Zest?"

"Hm?"

"I think I'm bisexual," Sour Sweet confirmed in a calm tone.

Lemon couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I believe you..."

"Hehe..." Sour Sweet giggled a bit herself. "Thanks, Lemon... I don't know if it was the talk, the wine, the medicine, the sex or... everything, but I feel a lot better now."

Lemon reached across the bed to grip her friend's hand. "If you need anything, just tell us. You don't gotta keep it inside."

"I'll keep that in mind..." Sour Sweet nodded, then raised her other hand to her lips to contain a yawn. "Mmmh, I think I'm ready for bed. You're staying here, right?"

"Yeah, I'd love to." Lemon smiled.

"Cool. Just stay over there. I won't be responsible for what I do if you try to cuddle me in my sleep."

"Yes ma'am." Lemon Zest gave her a silly salute. Sour Sweet released Lemon's hand and shifted to bring the blanket up to her chest, rolling to turn away from Lemon Zest and settle down in a calm slumber.

Lemon watched her back for a while, lifting one finger to trace small lines between the freckles near her shoulders until she too finally grew tired and rolled onto her back, bringing the blanket up over her own chest. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling relaxed, but there was still a nagging worry tugging at the back of her mind. No matter how she tried to fight it off, it kept coming back to her, stronger and more intense.

What would Vinyl Scratch think?

To Be Continued

Chapter 03: Acceptance is Magic

Chapter 3: Acceptance is Magic

It felt like a pall had been cast over what should have been the vacation of a lifetime. The sun had risen, but it didn't bring much cheer as Sunny Flare, Twilight Sparkle, Indigo Zap, and Sugarcoat gathered on the living room sofa of their resort suite around a box of donuts they had ordered from room service. They spoke in hushed tones, as if afraid they would awaken the girls who were still locked in the far bedroom near the window.

"I can't believe I never noticed..." Sunny shook her head with a glazed donut dangling limply in her hand. "Freaking out at seeing Braeburn with Little Strongheart, flipping out at the Love Spa... the signs were there, I just didn't connect the dots." She took a forceful bite.

"What would you have done if you did?" Sugarcoat asked simply. "You were onto something when you said we needed to let her come to us for help. This doesn't change that."

"Still, I feel really bad about making her feel so crappy." Indigo put one finger to her forehead. "There's got to be something we can do to make it up to her."

"Maybe a gift-basket?" Twilight smiled helpfully, but her smile faded after a moment. "I don't know..."

"Hey." A voice made all four girls jump and whirl to look behind the couch, where Sour Sweet was standing in her nightgown with a strangely serene look on her face. "Ooh, donuts!" She leaned over the couch to snap up a chocolate glaze and take a casual bite, speaking with her mouth full. "So what's the plan for the day?"

"Uh..." Indigo shook her head. "Twilight suggested a magic show tonight. We figure it's not a bad way to close out our vacation."

"Killer, I'm coming with! I call dibs on the shower!" Sour Sweet was almost bouncy as she turned to make her way to the bathroom, shoving the rest of her donut into her mouth before slipping in and closing the door behind her.

The four girls stared after her, almost in shock. None of them said anything until they noticed the far bedroom door open, and Lemon Zest stepped out in her own nightgown, stretching and leaving the door partly open behind her.

"There's the girl with the magic tongue," Sugarcoat greeted her.

"E-excuse me?" Lemon Zest whirled on them with a start.

"You actually managed to talk Sour Sweet into a good mood."

"Oh! Ahahaha! Haha! Hahahahaha! Yeah, I sure did a lot of talking!" Lemon Zest rubbed the back of her neck nervously as she approached the couch. Her eyes lit up. "Ooh, donuts!" She snapped one out of the box and began nibbling on it.

Sunny's smile was wide and genuine. "Thank you for being a good friend to her, Lemon Zest. That sure takes a load off of all our minds. We might actually be able to enjoy the day now."

"Are you gonna tell us what was bothering her so much?" Indigo asked curiously. "She was lonely, wasn't she? That's what it sounded like."

Lemon looked away nervously. "Eh, sort of... I don't know if it's my place to go into details."

"Of course not. She'll come to us if she needs us." Sunny waved away the question. "The rest of us have already showered. Why don't you go ahead and use the free one? Then we can see what mischief we can get into before the magic show tonight."

"Yeah, you smell like you could really use the shower..." Indigo pulled her head away with a grimace.

"Psh, rude..." Lemon Zest pulled away from her with a deep blush on her cheeks. "Yeah, just lemme get cleaned up and we can take off!" She turned to rush toward the second bathroom, leaving the four other girls staring after her.

"Does anybody else feel like she was hiding something?" Indigo Zap scrunched her face up in thought.

"I don't even care. I'm just glad everybody's okay now." Sunny grinned. "Let's get dressed and get ready to hit the town."

It wasn't long before the six friends were smelling fresh and fully dressed to hit the town of Las Pegasus together, with Sour Sweet joining them this time. It was almost amazing what a difference a night had made for her disposition. The reign of snide comments and glares continued, but the smiles flowed far more readily than they had in recent weeks, and the others couldn't help but notice that she stayed just a little bit closer to Lemon Zest than the rest. As Sunny had said, though, it didn't matter why she was happy or what made her happy. Only that they could actually have fun now.

And fun they did have. Las Pegasus was a big place with a lot to see, and they had hours to kill before the scheduled Silverfield show. Sugarcoat showed the others the arcade in the lower section of the Lost Pegasus, which truly was the biggest they had ever laid eyes on, even if it was only three rooms deep.

"The art of standing up while you play games has truly been lost," Sugarcoat grumped.

"Uh, Sugarcoat? You can't be nostalgic for a time you weren't alive for." Indigo snickered.

"I can imagine what it was like. Standing at a cabinet and trying to focus while you're surrounded by noisy, impatient people who want their turn and other machines making screeching noises to try to get customer attention..." She put a hand to her chin. "Actually, screw it. That sounds absolutely terrible."

Next the girls went just a few streets over where there was a row of clothing stores, jewelry stores, and all kinds of different things. They even found their way into a small gift shop on the corner that sold Las Pegasus memorabilia. Little miniatures of the Las Pegasus flags, porcelain Pegasus statues, maps of the town, and an entire wall of cheesy greeting cards themed around shopping, gambling, and being generally lazy... or lascivious, in some cases.

Sour Sweet crept toward each other with her hands behind her back, only to whip them out once she got close. In her hands was a little porcelain Pegasus figure, which she held out to Lemon. They united in a little squeal and rushed to the counter to pay, with Lemon taking the figurine afterwards with an ecstatic grin. They looked happy, but Lemon's eyes were slightly clouded when Sour Sweet looked away. Sunny Flare couldn't help but notice this, but she still didn't care that much. Rocking this boat wasn't high on her priority list.

Once they had filled up on useless knicknacks they had time left to fill on up food, which they found at a nearby burger place, Humpin Buns, which specialized in burgers and hot dogs. Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, and Indigo Zap couldn't stop giggling at the name as they ordered and sat down at one of the outdoor tables to eat, taking in the ambience of Las Pegasus' bustling crowds who were all just as eager to see everything as they were.

"I almost wanna skip the show and just keep wandering around town." Lemon Zest giggled. "This is way too much fun."

Sunny smiled. "I know how you feel, but we've already ordered the tickets, and we should leave this place with something big in our minds."

"Yeah, and what's bigger than magic?" Sour Sweet asked in a sing-song voice. "Nothing says big like scam artists tricking idiots!"

"It's just a show," Sunny reminded her bemusedly.

"It's still a trick."

"She's not wrong." Sugarcoat took a big bite of her burger with a low moan coming from her throat. "Just like these hamburgers. They're probably about ten percent meat."

"What's the rest of it?" Lemon raised her eyebrow.

"I have no idea, and I don't want to know." Sugarcoat swallowed. "Ignorance is bliss in magic and food."

Once they were delightfully full, the girls went sightseeing back to their hotel room to drop off their purchased goodies on their way towards the massive Las Pegasus theater. Evening was beginning to fall, but the crowds weren't getting any thinner as they approached along the sidewalk up to the doors. Thankfully, since Indigo had the foresight to get their tickets online earlier in the day with her phone, they didn't have to wait in the ridiculously long line that wound halfway around the building.

Sour Sweet smirked as they passed the crowd. "You'd think people would know how to use technology by now."

"There's a lot of things you'd think people would know that they don't." Sugarcoat shrugged. "Maybe they just enjoy waiting in lines. Like going to stores at midnight instead of ordering online. Maybe it's an 'experience'."

"Or maybe they're just really old and don't know how phones work." Indigo snickered as the six of them made their way into the main lobby, here a wide concession stand was serving its usual fare of sweets at very unusual jaw-dropping prices.

"Twelve dollars for a popcorn. I would rather eat my own kidneys," Sugarcoat noted.

Twilight agreed. "I'm glad we filled up before we came."

Sour Sweet slipped subtly closer to Lemon Zest while the others talked, leaning toward her. "Hey, uh... do you wanna come to the bathroom with me for a few minutes?"

"Huh?" Lemon glanced at her, then smiled. "Oh, uh, sure." She turned toward the others. "Hey, we're gonna go use the girls' room. We'll just be a minute."

"Sure, we'll find our seats and come out to get you," Sunny agreed offhandedly.

"Cool!" Lemon turned to Sour Sweet. "Come on, I think it's over here." The two girls made their way through the theater until they found the telltale sign hanging on the wall above one of the doors. They pushed their way in, where Lemon Zest gave her friend a worried look. "Is everything alr-" She didn't even get to finish before Sour Sweet's lips cut her off. Lemon blushed deeply until Sour Sweet pulled back, rubbing the back of her neck.

"Sorry, just felt like I needed to get that out of my system." Sour Sweet cackled.

"Heh, no big deal." Lemon smiled. "It was nice."

"Yeah? Do you wanna... like..." Sour Sweet moved closer again, running a finger up Lemon's chest.

"Here? Now?" Lemon Zest blushed. "We're in the bathroom."

"The cleanest bathroom in the world." Sour Sweet corrected her. Indeed, Lemon glanced around and didn't see a single speck of dirt or mold anywhere in the pearly white tiles. Presentation really was everything in magic.

"Nnngh..." Lemon grunted, putting her hands on Sour Sweet's shoulders. "Yes, I kind of want to... but I feel like we need to talk first."

"Sure, what is it?"

"Sour Sweet... you know I have a girlfriend, right?" Lemon Zest asked helplessly.

"Um, yeah, that was kind of what caused this whole thing in the first place."

"Right... so... I mean, you and I... as a couple..."

Sour Sweet raised her hands to stop her. "Wait, who said anything about being a couple?"

"Uh..." Lemon blushed. "Well, no one I guess, but you're..."

"I'm not trying to steal you from your girlfriend. Frankly I'd rather eat the rotten asshole of a road killed skunk and then down it with beer."

Lemon Zest blinked. "You don't have to be that against the idea..."

"Guh..." Sour Sweet shook her head. "Sorry, yeah, being with you doesn't sound bad, I'm just not gonna do that to you, you know? If you weren't involved I'd totally go for you."

Lemon Zest smiled slightly. "Yeah, I'd go for you too... but then what are we doing in here?"

"The same thing we were doing last night?" Sour Sweet danced her fingers across the tip of her chest. "Relaxing, bonding, having fun."

"That does sound nice..." The fingers on her chest were starting to make Lemon shiver. "But what does this... m-make us?"

"I dunno... I mean, do we have to label it?" Sour Sweet smiled and stared into her eyes. "You can add on whatever you want, we're still gonna be friends, right?"

"Heh..." Lemon's smile broke into a wide grin. "Yeah, totally."

"Now commere..." Sour Sweet grabbed her friend's shoulder and pulled her into a powerful, dominating kiss. Lemon's arms flung around her, her self-restraint melting away as she pulled Sour Sweet up against her as the furiously sloppy kiss resulted in a furious sloppy makeout. She felt herself being pushed up against the bathroom counter, Sour's arms gripping her shoulders and clutching at them tightly, refusing to let go.

They both froze when they heard the bathroom door open with a slight squeak, and Sugarcoat stared into the bathroom with a blank expression on her face. Her eyes bore into the two girls until they slipped away from the counter, straightening their clothes.

"You know, most girls who sneak off for sex at least make it the extra ten feet to the stall." Sugarcoat pointed toward one of the open stalls.

"It wasn't sex, it's not what you think!" Lemon Zest blushed deeply.

"Yeah, it wasn't that, it was..." Sour Sweet trailed off at the sight of Sugarcoat's glare.

"Please don't insult my intelligence," Sugarcoat insisted.

"Sorry..." Sour Sweet and Lemon echoed in unison.

"Why are you even hiding this, anyway?" Sugarcoat stepped into the bathroom, letting the door swing closed behind her. "Nobody's going to care that you're hooking up. We're your friends, we're not going to ostracize you for having fun together."

"I don't know, it just feels... naughty." Lemon blushed. "I'm totally cheating right now, and we're not going to become a couple or anything, it's just... sex. Friend sex. That's wrong, right?"

"I can't speak for the rest of the world, but from my point of view, it's as wrong as you two and Vinyl make it." Sugarcoat shook her head. "Vinyl's the girl who told you to go make a dating service video, as long as you tell her what's going on ASAP I doubt she's going to fly into full drama mode. As for you two, having sex with good friends is as wrong as you think it is. You can't get pregnant, and you know each other is clean. What's the worst that can happen? I've had sexual experiences before without dating and it didn't end badly."

"What!?" Lemon and Sour Sweet both exclaimed in unison.

"How have we not heard this story!?" Lemon demanded.

Sour Sweet nodded in agreement. "You've been holding out on us! Spill it! Spill it now!"

Sugarcoat laughed and held up her hands. "Hey, if you wanna know, I don't mind telling. I did it once, way back when I was twelve. With hormones just flooding through my adolescent body and my nethers aching for attention on a constant basis. We didn't go all the way, mechanically, but it was definitely sexy..."

***

Sugarcoat approached a boy who was on a swing, his bleached blond hair waving through the air as he went up and down and up and down. His eyes locked onto hers as she approached, and he brought himself to a slow stop.

"Hey, Sugarcoat!" He greeted her with a bright smile. "Do you want to swing with me?"

Sugarcoat just smiled cutely and said, "I want to take your pants off."

***

"And so I did." Sugarcoat sighed wistfully. "It was fun and educational."

Sour Sweet snickered and folded her arms over her chest. "I wouldn't believe that from anyone else, Sugarcoat."

"Thank you. Now, I understand the whirlwind nature of sex and attraction and all, but everyone else is actually just sitting out there waiting for you. So can this wait until tonight?"

"Yeah, you're right, sorry." Lemon Zest cleared her throat. "We should go."

Sour Sweet grinned. "Oh of course! We can just drop everything and go!" She grumped suddenly, "Didn't even make it to second base..."

"The bases can wait, now if you'll excuse me, unlike you two, I actually need to do what this room was designed for." Sugarcoat rushed past the two girls to one of the empty stalls and slipped inside, almost slamming the door behind her.

"Heh, come on." Lemon took her friend's hand. "We have one more night before we make the drive home tomorrow. I think we can wait until then."

"I'm not so sure but I'll do my best." Sour Sweet squeezed her hand as the two of them left the bathroom to rejoin their friends.

The magic show was actually one of the most spectacular things any of the girls had seen. Twilight in particular was thrilled to see it in action. Her analytical mind was examining every motion that was performed, but even her high speed processer couldn't keep up with it all, and some of the more extravagant tricks left even her reeling. All in all it was a great show that left the girls in high spirits as they left the theater out into the final rays of sunlight that met them on the street.

"Wow, I feel like my mind has been completely blown!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "I mean of course my rational mind knows that none of that was real, it's all sleight of hand and carefully planned trickery, but the atmosphere, the showmanship, it was like it made me believe in the impossible!"

Sugarcoat smirked. "That's called 'having fun', I think."

"I like it!" Twilight squealed.

"Well, we do still have a little time before we should turn in for our return trip tomorrow." Sunny Flare turned back to the others. "What do you girls say to seeing what this place looks like at night?"

Indigo Zap grinned and exchanged a silent glance with the others before responding. "You actually thought you had to ask?"

Las Pegasus was a bustling place during the day, but somehow it was even more busy at night, and it was easy to see why now that they weren't rolling into town after several hours of driving. The flashing neon signs were almost mesmerizing in their brilliance and extravagance, and even stopping into a small diner for some late-night ice-cream dessert yielded a strangely elaborate song and dance show on the diner's small stage. It seemed like everything about this city was geared towards entertainment, which made sense, but was so utterly different from their home town of Canterlot.

"Hey, a dance club!" Indigo Zap gasped on their way down the sidewalk with bowls of ice-cream in hand. She had a delighted grin on her face, and she was staring up at a giant blinking neon sign depicting a woman doing what were either the most flexible poses imaginable with alien body parts or some kind of pole dancing. "I could go for a dance right now!"

"Are we sure this isn't a strip club?" Sugarcoat asked. "You already made that mistake once in Grand Theft Auto."

"It looks kind of stripper-ish to me too," Sunny agreed. "It's getting pretty late anyway, we should probably start heading back."

"We can't come all the way out to Las Pegasus and not dance!" Indigo complained. "It's like blasphemy!"

"Sure we can. Like this." Sugarcoat turned to stride swiftly down the sidewalk away from the club.

"Augh! I hate you, Sugarcoat." Indigo growled and turned to march after her.

"Relax, Indigo." Sunny reassured her as the group turned to sweep their way along in Sugarcoat's wake. "It's not like your ride is going to spontaneously combust on the way home. We can come back some time and get some dancing in."

Sugarcoat smirked over her shoulder. "Of course, now that you said that, it's almost guaranteed to fall apart the second we get home."

Indigo recoiled in horror. "Don't even say that!"

"Awwww don't worry, you did an amazing job putting it together." Sour Sweet patted her comfortingly on the shoulder. "It'll be at least two weeks before it falls apart."

"Why did I invite you all?" Indigo growled.

"Because we're besties!" Lemon Zest threw her arms around Indigo from the other side. "We tease because we love."

Sugarcoat quipped from the front again. "Besides, we helped you build that car. You owe us."

"Do you know much I spent in sandwich supplies during that whole thing? I don't owe you anything." Indigo wasn't frowning as she spoke, however.

The six friends finished up their sightseeing expedition shortly, and made their way up to their suite in the Lost Pegasus hotel and casino. Exhausted and satisfied, each pair of girls decided to retire to their room. Sunny Flare and Twilight Sparkle to theirs, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat to theirs, and then Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest to theirs.

"Goodnight, all." Sunny gave her other friends a bright smile as she opened the door for Twilight to head through. "I'm glad we all ended up having a good time this weekend."

"Some of us more than others." Sugarcoat cast a wry smirk at the third door, where Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest were crowded together into the doorframe. "After all, we didn't all end up getting laid."

Sour Sweet giggled girlishly. "Awwww, I'm sorry you're jealous, Sugarcoat! Maybe someday someone will deal with an asshole like you too!" She zipped into the bedroom, yanked Lemon Zest behind her by her shirt collar with a light squeak, and slammed the door behind them.

Sunny blinked and looked at Sugarcoat. "Laid?"

"I think the word is self-explanatory." Sugarcoat smirked and turned to head inside her bedroom. "Goodnight."

"Whoa..." Indigo chuckled. "No wonder she was in such a good mood this morning." She followed Sugarcoat into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

"Should... should we be concerned?" Twilight asked.

"Hmmm..." Sunny stroked her chin, then waved it off. "Nah, I don't think so. As I said, we're allowed to be a little young, wild, and stupid, as long as we're smart about it." Sunny winked and nudged Twilight's shoulder with a smile. "Come on, let's get some sleep. We have a long car ride tomorrow." the two turned to head inside and close the door behind them.

***

The following morning brought an end to their vacation, but nobody was really sad about it. As Indigo Zap packed the suitcases into the trunk of her car, the others sat with breakfast sandwiches in the lobby and spoke lightly of their weekend. Sour Sweet was back to her old self, before the random explosions had begun, and Lemon Zest seemed truly happy, if somewhat pensive. They were all a bit more relaxed, actually, Sunny Flare noted as she leaned back against the comfy bench with her egg sandwich in hand. She hadn't realized how much they needed this.

But then, Crystal Prep Academy had a way of laying on the stress, especially when the principal had it out for you.

"Alright, I think we're all packed up. We can go any time." Indigo marched up to the others with a broad grin on her lips. She took the egg sandwich Sunny held out to her with a nod. "Thanks."

"We should plan to come back some time," Sugarcoat mused around her hot cocoa. "This could be good for our mental health as a regular thing."

"Totally!" Lemon Zest agreed. "I think this even beat the spa!"

"It should. It sure cost a whole lot more." Indigo took a big bite of her sandwich with a satisfied sigh. "Does anybody else kind of not want to go back to school?"

Everybody except Twilight raised their hands, then chuckled.

"Well, we're not going to get out of going back to school by dallying around here any longer." Sunny shoved the rest of her sandwich into her mouth and stood up. "Let's get this show on the road. I may not want to see school, but I would definitely like to see home."

"Now that I can agree with." Sugarcoat stood with her.

In a line the girls made their way back out to Indigo's convertible, where they all took the same seats they had occupied on the way into town. Indigo cranked up the car, but Sugarcoat raised her hand suddenly. "Wait one second!" She leaned over Indigo to peer at the dashboard, then leaned back with a nod. "Okay, we have gas. You may proceed."

Indigo smirked. "You really are a jerk, you know that?" She pulled out of the parking lot, turning to make her way towards the interstate.

"Yes. Yes I am. Yet you all hang out with me anyway." Sugarcoat smirked back.

"Heh..." Sour Sweet slipped her hand between the seats from the back, finding Lemon's fingers and giving them a squeeze. "Guess it's more about finding people who accept you than being perfect."

Lemon squeezed back with a grin over her shoulder. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

***

Lemon Zest had been dreading this the entire ride back home, and though she hadn't had a chance to go home and rest, she wanted to get this out of the way as quickly as possible. Indigo Zap gave her a worried look after they came to a stop in front of Vinyl Scratch's house, the two of them the only ones left in the car after dropping the others off at home.

"You sure you wanna do this now?" Indigo asked. "I'm sure she'd understand taking a night to settle in."

"I'm sure... I wouldn't be able to sleep anyway." Lemon Zest flashed her friend a half-felt smile and climbed out of the convertible, landing on her feet. "I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"You sure you don't want me to stick around just in case?" Indigo asked.

"No thanks, you go get some sleep. I can take the bus back."

"Alright... good luck." Indigo gave her friend an encouraging smile before pulling away from the curb, leaving Lemon alone to approach the door at the end of the driveway.

She wanted to hesitate, but she didn't let herself take time to think before rapping on the door. Her stomach felt like it was doing flips as she sat back to wait. This could be it. If Vinyl Scratch left her for cheating... well, she would deserve it. At least she would have Sour Sweet there, but... even the idea of hooking up with her made her feel bad. Not because it didn't sound awesome, but she didn't want it to start that way. Just because Lemon was left without a choice, thrown out by the girl she loved for being unfaithful...

It felt like hours later when the door opened, and Vinyl gave her a wise, surprised grin. "Hey! You're back in town!" She swept out of the door and pulled Lemon into a tight hug. "What, did you just get in or something? Why didn't you go home? You could've texted me."

"I... needed to talk to you." Lemon forced a smile. "It's kind of important."

When she saw the look on Lemon's face, Vinyl took her hand and pulled her inside, closing the door behind her. "Yeah, of course. What's up? Did something happen while you were in Las Pegasus?"

"Yes... yes it did." Lemon gripped one arm to stop herself from shaking. She had to chill out and say it, and whatever consequences would come, she would accept them. She would deserve them. "I had sex with someone else... twice... and I don't know if it's going to happen again... it might..."

Lemon was sickened by the silence that fell over the living room as Vinyl's eyes widened in surprise behind her shades. She felt like she wanted to die, she had betrayed her girl friend, the person who placed absolute trust in her. She tried to steel herself for the inevitable screaming, and being kicked out of the house.

But Vinyl's lips curled into a surprising smile as she spoke.

"Niiiiiiiiice."

"I... muh... wh... wha?" Lemon's eyes almost bugged out of her head. "What?"

"How was it? Was it good or was it one of those 'ugh, I got it out of the way!' first times you hear about?"

"It... it was good..." Lemon shook her head. "You're seriously not mad?"

"I'd be mad if you did it behind my back. But I always thought you wouldn't lie to me, and it looks like I was right." When Lemon didn't respond, Vinyl slung a casual arm around her shoulders. "Look, we're still young. Got some oats to sow, y'know? But when it comes time to get super serious and tie the knot... I know we can make that work."

Lemon squealed. "Do you... think we'll tie the knot someday?"

Vinyl waved off the question with her free hand. "I don't like to look that far ahead. Does nothing but get you all worked up about it. But I sure haven't ruled it out."

"Oh..." Lemon thought for a moment. "Have you slept with someone?"

"If I did, you'd know about it." Vinyl winked.

"Oh..." Lemon felt so blindsided that she couldn't even make herself relax or feel relieved by all of this. "Are you sure you're not mad at me?"

Vinyl laughed and slapped her shoulder. "Come on, stop trying to force the drama. Why don't you go hop your cute butt in the shower and stay the night here? It's a bit late to be bussing it back home."

"O-okay..." At last Lemon felt her shoulders beginning to loosen and a genuine smile spread across her lips. "And if you... if you wanna try it..."

"Nah. We'll get there eventually. What we've got here between you and me? It's worth more than just jumping into bed." Vinyl winked. "We'll do it when the time is right."

"Okay, that sounds amazing." Lemon broke into a full grin. "But we can still make out, right?"

"Anytime, anywhere." Vinyl clicked her tongue suggestively.

"Heh, alright, cool. I'll be back in a few minutes." Lemon turned to make her way to the bathroom, her weak knees almost failing her the instant she got the door closed. She could barely believe that her girlfriend was so awesome. Any thought she had of getting together with Sour Sweet was swept away by the shower spray. Vinyl Scratch was the ultimate girlfriend... and maybe someday wife. The thought made her giddy... but for now, as Vinyl had said, they had some time to kill and fun to have.

They were only gonna be young once.