Friendship is Complicated
"But, I've never been to a party before." Twilight gulped slightly as she gazed at the house that had bright lights radiating from it and loud music blaring through the air.
Rainbow rolled her eyes as she leaned against her car. "Surprise. Surprise," she mumbled under her breath.
Sunset jumped out of the driver's seat as she put her lanyard around her neck, the keys hanging from the end of it jingled as she did so. "Don't worry, Twilight. It's just a bunch of same weirdos from school we see every day."
"But we aren't normally meeting under these kind of circumstances." Twilight twirled her hair nervously.
Sunset pushed the cars door closed with her foot, examining the young girl as she did so. She seemed really on edge tonight, even for Twilight. She knew that they didn't force her to come at all, but maybe she did feel a little forced considering the fact that this was one of the first times they had asked her to hang out with them after meeting the other Twilight.
Sunset grumbled under her breathe. She didn't want to think about that. That was one of the most awkward situations she had ever been in in her life. Sure she had overcome her own past long ago and was having a much better outlook on life now, but still. Imagine having your own savior meet the person you yourself saved, and that person happens to also look like your savior. Strange.
Sunset glanced up, shifting her gaze directly at Twilight. Twilight seemed to almost leap out of her skin when she met eyes with her, because she quickly looked away and seemed to be rubbing her arms in an awkward kind of way.
Hmph. She's awfully jumpy. Maybe it's just nerves? Weird.
"Just chill," Sunset said as she shrugged off her leather jacket and threw it into Rainbow's backseat, revealing that her t-shirt was in fact sleeveless.
Wait, did Twilight just move away from me? Did I make her uncomfortable?
"Ugh. I have no idea how you convinced me to come with you, Applejack," Rarity said, walking alongside the southern girl.
Applejack pressed a button on her keys’ remote, locking the doors to her truck, then shoved them into her pocket. "Ya know you’re going to love it. We haven't decently been to ah party toget'er. Might as well start now."
Rarity sighed as she allowed herself to be dragged along by her girlfriend. She figured she might as well try to enjoy herself, if this made Applejack happy, then she would be happy.
AJ noticed that Twilight was not following Sunset or Rainbow as they walked to the house. She simply stayed frozen next to Rainbow's car, twisting her hands nervously.
Applejack huffed then let go of Rarity and grabbed Twilight's arm, dragging her towards the house, ignoring her slight resistance.
"Come on, sugarcube. Let's have a bit of fun," she said as she burst into the house.
"Hahaha!" Twilight laughed a hearty laugh as she downed yet another shot then threw the glass over her shoulder.
Sunset shook her head at the scene that laid before her. The bright lights in the house were flashing, making everything ten times more confusing, and the bass of the sound system shook the floor. But none of this seemed to affect Twilight as she reached for another Jell-O shot.
She walked towards Twilight, honestly wondering if she would even be able to comprehend who was talking to her anymore. She was taken by surprise when Twilight suddenly turned to face her and leaned her entire weight against her, causing Sunset to stumble against the wall, quickly having to brace herself so she wouldn't fall along with the girl.
"Whoa, Twilight. Tone it down a bit maybe? I doubt that you've ever drank this much before," she said, as she tried to push her upright. Damn it. She made me spill beer on my jeans.
Twilight’s hair was a complete mess and her breath reeked of alcohol as she wrapped her arm around her, giving her a half awkward hug before waving her hand dismissively. "Don't worry. I'm great! Just great!"
Sunset watched her as she pushed off of her and walked away, whooping loudly as she did so, dancing to the blaring techno music that was playing. Twilight seemed to be having the greatest time of her life, but all of this worried Sunset. Sure, she had told Twilight to have fun and loosen up, which she supposed was all right since she still hadn't gotten over the unfortunate events that had occurred during the Friendship Games, but still. All of this was going way far. This was definitely not a healthy way to deal with the obvious pain she had gone through at Crystal Prep.
"Hey!" A voice called causing Sunset to look over her shoulder and see that it was Rainbow, who was pushing a few people out of the way in order to reach her friend. She clapped Sunset on the shoulder and grinned. "How's it going?"
Sunset shrugged as she took a sip from her beer. "Fine, I guess."
Rainbow peered over to where Sunset’s eyes laid and found Twilight peeking out in the crowd. She smirked a little when she saw that Twilight was dancing with group of guys now, swaying back and forth way off beat to the music. Not like they cared. She seemed way too far out there to care.
"Twilight seems to be having fun," she observed.
Sunset glanced at her, noticing how enthusiastic she was to be dancing with those guys. She bit her lip a bit, not really liking what she saw. The boys were really close to Twilight and they were obviously flirting, which Twilight didn't seemed opposed to, which annoyed her even more. One of them was pretty tall and had dark brown hair, seemed to be a jock of some sort, which was confirmed when she saw that he was wearing a blue jersey. The other didn't seem like a jock, but what did Sunset know about stereotypes, he was more Twilight's height and had light blue hair.
She continued to watch them, curious to see what Twilight would do. Normally Twilight would be a bit friendly with practically everyone, but this was a whole different side of her. Not that being intoxicated helped the situation at all, but she knew that alcohol doesn't just bring out totally different sides of people, there has to be at least a little bit of that personality in a person already. Alcohol simply intensifies it.
The brown haired one surprisingly leaned down and pecked Twilight on the cheek. Sunset expected her to snap her head away from him, or at least shy away from them, but she did the exact opposite. She brushed her body closer to him, winking in almost a suggestive kind of way. They seemed to like her reaction as another wrapped an arm around her, pulling her closer to him.
Sunset grit her teeth and clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
Seriously Twilight? Why are you doing this to yourself? And those guys too! How dare they even touch her?
Rainbow tilted her head to the side, observing her friend. She noticed how angry Sunset seemed to be getting. Concern drove her to stand a bit closer to her then grabbed her arm, despite the twang of worry that ran through her as she did so.
"Heya, Sunset. I get jealously and all, believe me I absolutely hate it when guys even look at Fluttershy but-"
Sunset tore her eyes away from Twilight before she shook Rainbow's hand away from her then took a swig from her beer as she walked towards the back door.
"I'm not jealous. Besides, if she wants to get laid tonight, I guess that's really none of my business," she spat, a hint of venom in her voice.
Rainbow was a bit taken aback by this response. She was tempted to say something, but she dismissed it and quickly followed her. While following her friend she noticed that the crowd of people surrounding them parted the way for the two, leaving them a straight path wherever they went. This concerned Rainbow a bit. I mean if Sunset’s presence was becoming more intimidating to other people that normally wasn't very good.
Rainbow then stretched out her hand and placed it on Sunset's shoulder.
"Wanna talk bout it?" She asked.
Sunset glanced at her from the corner of her eye and wrinkled her brow. "Why?"
Rainbow shrugged. "I da' know. Girls talk 'bout stuff when they're upset. So, I figured it might help."
She shoved her free hand in her jacket's pocket, cautiously moving past people as they danced along the floor.
"I don't know. Twilight's just such a pushover."
Rainbow nodded as she continued.
"It's just frustrating to see it. I know how stupid and manipulative guys are, but she refuses to see it sometimes. I don't know why, but I feel so possessive of her for some reason. If someone comes near her I get this whole 'back the hell off' kind of attitude."
Rainbow seemed to understand as she put her hand on Sunset's shoulder again.
"You care about her, so of course you don't want her to be hurt."
She scoffed. "I don't care about her. I just... I'm just trying to keep her safe that's all."
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Translation; I do care, that's why I'm lookin' out for her."
Sunset silently decided to let that one go. They finally got away from the crowd and were now standing next to the backdoor leading to the back deck. She sighed as she gazed outside appreciating the nice night that laid before them. "How do you do it?" Sunset asked, abruptly.
Rainbow raised an eyebrow, confused. "Whatcha mean?"
"How can you let Fluttershy out of your sight and not go absolutely mad? Doesn't it worry you?"
Rainbow scoffed softly as she ran her hand through her hair, pushing her bangs away from her eyes. "Course it does. I hate being away from her, but I know my limits Sunny. You can't become your lover’s stalker, you've gotta still have your own life even when you're in a relationship."
Sunset shook her head.
"Are you tryin’ to admit something maybe?" Rainbow asked, elbowing Sunset’s side whilst raising her eyebrows in a teasing way.
Sunset glared at her, mentally holding herself back so she wouldn't slap the girl in front of everyone. Rainbow laughed as she threw her hands in the air.
"Just kidding! Never mind!" She laughed.
Sunset rolled her eyes, smiling a bit fondly at her. The crap I put up with sometimes.
"Come on. We can all bail if you wanna. We'll head to my place and play some video games or something."
Sunset sighed as she leaned against the patios doorframe and took another look around outside. Crickets could be faintly heard chirping, once you overcame the music from the house, and lights from around the neighborhood slowly began turning on as disturbed neighbors woke from the excessive noise.
The party was pretty lame, so maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to leave. Besides those guys were pissing her off.
Sunset then took a final swig of the beer before she put the bottle down.
"Alright. I'll get Casanova," Sunset said and was about to head to where she last saw Twilight, but was surprised to see she wasn't there.
Sunset was confused as she roamed through the room, peering over the large crowd of people, trying to find her.
Now where could the little Clover have gone to?
The music roared loudly while Sunset called for Twilight, asking a few people if they had seen her. Rainbow returned from gathering the other girls and saw that Sunset was still madly looking for Twilight. When she saw Rainbow she jogged over to her and grabbed her shoulders.
"I can't find her. Did you see where she went?" she asked.
Rainbow shook her head. "I'll help you look. She couldn't have gone far."
They both searched madly around the house trying to find her. Rainbow looked outside while Sunset checked upstairs. She ran down the hallways and dashed into the bathroom, hoping to find her sitting in a pool of vomit or something.
When she didn't see her there she began to think of the worst. She ran her hand through her hair as she thought madly of what may have become of Twilight. There has to be a rational reason to why she was not there, right?
She thought back to when Twilight was dancing. What about the guys that had been with her? She hadn't run into any of them. Could they still be with her? Her heart picked up its pace as she continued her thought. Could they...
A soft thump almost immediately was heard against the wall when the thought ran through her head.
Sunset ran as quickly as she could to the bedroom that was next to the bathroom and burst into the room.
Six pairs of eyes met her own, filled with shock, when the door opened. Sunset saw one guy straddling himself on top of someone on the bed, while another was on the head of the bed holding their arms down, and the last one was leaning against the wall, holding a camera in his hand.
Sunset took one look at who was lying on the bed and all hell broke loose.
She ran to the bed and put the jersey guy that was on top of Twilight into a choke hold then ripped him off of her. The blue haired one tried to grab her, but she punched him in the face before he could grab her. Blood spilled from his nose and he cradled his face in his hand as the one that was holding the camera grabbed her from behind. She elbowed his stomach then grabbed ahold of his arm then pushed his weight against him sending him flying overtop her head.
Jersey boy tried to grab her feet, but she jumped, avoiding his hands then kicked him right in the face. She missed his nose, but she did get him square in the jaw which caused him to tuck his head between his knees, howling in pain.
She kicked and punched him mercilessly, yelling profanities at him as Rainbow quickly ran into the bedroom, hearing the commotion down the hallway. She absorbed the situation in an instant then wrapped her arms around Sunset pulling her away from him. The other two guys picked their fallen comrade up then backed away from them with fear in their eyes, while Sunset glared at them with flaming eyes.
"You sick bastards ever even look at her again, I will kill you!" she yelled.
"Sunny. Sunny." Rainbow tried her best to grab her friends attention, but the more she spoke the angrier Sunset became.
"What?" Sunset's voice sounded like razor blades.
"Twilight."
Sunset's anger suddenly extinguished a bit as she glanced over at Twilight, who was half naked and practically unconscious on the bed. She shook free from Rainbow's grasp and ran over to her, kneeling by the bed as she gently put her hand under Twilight's head.
"Hey. Can you hear me?" she asked softly.
Twilight moaned as she tried to open her eyes.
Sunset spared no time as she grabbed the blanket from the bed, wrapping it around her, then she put her arms under Twilight's body and lifted her off the bed. Twilight moaned in protest to moving, but once Sunset shifted her position, she leaned her head against the crook of Sunset's neck and passed out once again. The fact that Twilight was now simply dead weight made her a bit heavier but she had to hold on to her. Sunset simply refused to be weak, especially in this situation.
Rainbow looked as if she wanted to help, but the look of anger and determination in Sunset's eyes changed her mind rather quickly. With a new set of mind, Sunset carried Twilight through the house and to Rainbow's car.
Rainbow ran ahead and opened the back door for Sunset. She went to the seat then as gently as she could laid Twilight in the backseat of the car. Twilight moaned and rolled over onto her side as Sunset freed her arms from the girl. Once she was inside, Rainbow shut the door then Sunset tossed the keys to her car, which she caught reflexively.
"All right let's take her home. Or wherever you're gonna go."
Sunset nodded. "Thanks, Rainbow."
Rainbow shrugged. "No biggie."
"Sure."
Rainbow ran back to where AJ had parked her truck, where they probably were waiting for a whole explanation.
Sunset then jumped in the car, carefully cranking up the heater waiting for her designated driver to come back. Rainbow ran back to the car then drove out of the dull parking area.
"Thank Celestia I drove with Rainbow, and I didn't take my bike," Sunset mumbled to herself as Rainbow parked in a spot near her apartment complex.
She had decided that it was probably not the best of ideas to take Twilight home in the state she was in. So she decided to bring her home with her and let her recover in a bit of a safer environment. She of all people knew that yelling at a hungover Twilight wouldn't really help anything, it would just upset her greatly.
"I guess I should call her parents." Sunset glanced back at Twilight who was still wrapped in the blanket she now realize she practically stole. Oh well. They can buy another.
Rainbow nodded.
She stepped out of the car and leaned against the door as she picked up Twilight’s phone that she had taken from her pocket earlier and searched for her parents house number. She dialed them quickly then waited for her mom to answer.
The phone rang for barely two seconds till someone answered.
"Hello?" Shit! Why did Shining Armor have to be closest to the phone? Overprotective prick.
"Hey, its Sunset Shimmer. I've-"
"Where the hell is my sister?!" Sunset pulled the phone away from her ear, sparing them the yelling that was coming their way.
Oh Celestia, give me the strength to not rip his head off and handle this calmly…
She breathed deeply as she put her ear back to the phone, ready to deal with the situation.
"-she should've been home hours ago!"
"Hey, hey. Calm down, fusspot." Sunset spoke in a cool demeanor. "I'm sorry for the lack of communication. Twilight fell asleep at my house, and I was just calling to let you know that she's okay."
Shining Armor didn't answer right away. He stayed silent on the other end of the line.
"Why didn't she call me?" he asked.
"She didn't feel the need to. But I should have stepped up and informed you at an earlier time, and for that I apologize." Sunset was making sure to sugarcoat every bit of this so maybe she could get Twilight out of some of the trouble she was in.
Shining didn't answer her again, which was a good sign. He must be thinking over his own behavior and attempting to control himself as well.
"Alright. Alright, just make sure she gets to school okay?" he said.
"Um…tomorrow’s Sunday."
"Oh! Right. Yeah, okay. Um…then drop her off home tomorrow would you?"
"Sure."
"Alright." Shining didn't even bother saying anything else, he just hung up the phone.
"Well, goodbye to you too. Prick," Sunset mumbled as she locked her phone and shoved it in her pocket.
Sunset sighed softly as she opened the back door to the car, taking a moment to analyze the situation that literally lay before her.
She leaned her head in the car and shook her lightly, hoping to wake her.
"Twilight. Hey, Twilight," she loudly whispered.
No response.
"Twilight."
"Mmmmm," Twilight mumbled and rolled over on her stomach.
"Shit."
Sunset glanced at the stairs that lead to her apartment, feeling dread fill her stomach.
Rainbow chuckled. "Well this is gonna be fun."
She grabbed Twilight’s feet and pulled her halfway out of the car. Once she had her out, Sunset wrapped her arm around the girl steadying her. She moaned, protesting against the movement, but soon nestled in Sunset’s arms as she did before.
"Want a hand?" Rainbow asked.
Sunset shrugged. "Lemme just grab her and you can grab her feet okay?"
"Sure."
Sunset grunted and lifted her out of the car, forcing herself to not think about whether she was heavy or not then let Rainbow grab her feet.
"Geez, Twi. Why did you have to do this?" Sunset grumbled.
She was pretty surprised that she hadn't waken up. With all this movement and fresh air, Sunset had been worried than Twilight might suddenly wake up and throw up while they were carrying her. Thank Celestia that hasn't happened.
Sunset then gathered her bearings and forced herself to make it the whole way. It took a bit more time on her part, but they did make it without dropping her. Once they reached Sunset’s apartment she quickly unlocked her door and pushed it open with her foot, turning on the lights with her foot as well.
Once inside her apartment, Sunset and Rainbow walked to her bedroom and slowly set Twilight down on her bed.
"Welp. That was fun," Rainbow said with a small smile.
Sunset rolled her eyes as she took off her jacket.
"Better change her clothes. They look pretty uncomfortable."
Rainbow stared at her, her cheeks practically glowing as she slowly stepped towards the door.
"Oh eh. Look at the time! Better get home before Fluttershy starts to worry. Heh heh."
Sunset raised a brow at her friend. "Wait you don't live with-"
"Bye!" Rainbow bolted out the door like the speed of light leaving Sunset with Twilight.
Sunset sighed as went to her drawers and pulled out a blue t-shirt and a pair of sweatpants out of them. She knew that it would be harder to put them on, but she didn't want Twilight to wake up feeling uncomfortable, so this was the better idea.
She walked back to the bed then examined the passed out girl. She knew that she was too drunk to really wake up, but she was worried that she might freak out if she felt Sunset taking her clothes off. I mean with all that happened tonight…
Sunset shook her head, riding those thoughts from her head.
I guess it was a good thing Rainbow left. Don't need her making this worse than it is with that mouth of hers.
She took a deep breathe, hoping and praying for the best as she started to take off her shoes then gently began to slip her skirt off.
Twilight stirred a bit in her sleep, but didn't do anything other than that. Sunset sighed in relief, slipping on the sweatpants onto her. She then moved up to change her shirt.
Sunset grabbed the hem of Twilights shirt and was about to pull it off when suddenly Twilight started thrashing, throwing her arms around madly. Sunset tried to dodge her arm, but Twilight socked her right in the face.
"No! No! No!" Twilight moaned in a very scared voice startling Sunset at the sound of how scared she was.
Sunset recovered quickly from the blow and grabbed Twilight's hands.
"Shhh. Twilight, it's just me! It's me!" Sunset said, hoping to calm her.
Twilight kept trying to fight her, pulling away from her touch. But Sunset kept a firm hold on her, waiting for Twilight to pass out again.
Twilight moaned in protest again, tossing her head back and forth. It took a minute but she finally passed out.
Sunset huffed in relief, letting go of the girl.
Ow. Sunset wiped her hand across her face, pulling it back to see blood dripping down her fingers.
“Ugh. Really Twi?”
She quickly grabbed a tissue then shoved it up her nose to clog the bleeding temporarily so she could finish changing Twilight's shirt.
Once she was changed, Sunset tucked her in and left a small trash can next to her side of the bed, along with a glass of water.
Alright. She should be okay for the night.
Sunset grabbed herself her own set of PJs, checking her nose in the mirror to see how it was real quick. It wasn't bleeding anymore, surprisingly, so she threw away the tissues.
Being beat up by a drunk girl. Sunset smirked. Thank Celestia no one else will ever know
She was about to head toward the living room when she heard a soft voice speak.
"Mmm. Sunset."
Sunset looked over her shoulder, staring at the girl sleeping in her bed. Twilight’s eyes were barely open as she rolled over as if to look at where Sunset was standing.
"M-m-my l-l-ove, is you."
She stood, frozen at the door, her cyan eyes locked on Twilight as she mumbled something intelligible, rolled over once again and just passed out.
Sunset wasn't sure what to do at first, she just stared at the girl lying on her bed. She forced herself to snap out of it then closed the door slowly, walking to her kitchen in a daze.
"What in Celestia’s name?"
She leaned against the counter, then ran her hand through her hair.
There's no way she meant that. I mean she's drunk. So that could've just been some random drunken slur of some sort. But…
A soft moan coming from her room and the sound of the bed shifting caused her to look over her shoulder, staring at the closed door.
"But…what if it wasn't random?"
