Aftermath

I groaned and lifted my face off the cold floor. Where the hay am, I wondered. As I took in my surroundings, I knew where I was after being here so many times. Sitting on the bench was a passed out unicorn and I could smell the alcohol on his breath. On the other side of the cell was a vomiting Pegasus. I sighed and shakily stood up.

"Ayo, Safe Space!" I called out. "Let me out of here".

A few moments later a guard came around the corner sighing.

"You're lucky you were put here for only twenty four hours and not your typical forty eight. You gotta stop drinking. And fighting ponies who say anything you disagree with". She opened the cell and stepped back, gesturing for me to follow her.

What even happened last night? I wondered. Then it slowly came back to me. Me getting passed out wasted at a small bar near my house and me getting into a bar fight with another equally drunk patron who suggested they should use Twilights photo for the dart board.

Before you lecture me on my drinking, don't. Everypony else has. It's my body and I can put in whatever I want in it. We all have our coping mechanisms. Even if mine ends up with me being in a guard stations drunk tank and throwing up all morning.

I didn't always use to be this way. I remember being a semi happy mare who loved spending time with her friends and studying. Now I can't go near Joe's donut shop. I don't go to that side of Canterlot anymore. Too many memories. Of her. The whole friend group. I used to drink socially with friends back then now I just get drunk everywhere: bar, my house, public. I have countless arrests on my record for public intoxication but I always only get stuck in jail for a week at most. I remember the one time me and Minuette got Twilight drunk. Now that was a show. Never forget the Drunk Twilight Incident of Canterlot. Where she stumbled all over town looking for her stuffed animal, grabbing a random cardboard cutout of Fleetfoot and stumble running down the street. Good times.

Probably the last good time we had. After Twilight introduced her ideas to get a feel for them, I wasn't a big fan. I'm not a fan of change, I like things to stay the same. Part of my anxiety. Me and Twilight always got into debates about it. What surprised me is she actually took what I said in our often heated debates and tweaked her ideas. I didn't anticipate that. Just made me appreciate her so much more.

I never wanted her to get hurt. Even though we disagreed politically sometimes, we were still really good friends. The fact that some that jumping to violence was a good decision still baffles me. Then again, I suppose I'm no better than they were, with me getting in bar fights and all.

I still kinda wonder what the other world is like. What the other me is like. Is the other Twilight there dead too? A small, awful part of me hopes that worlds Twilight is dead too. Why should it be fair ours is dead and theirs isn't?

Wow, Moondancer, I thought to myself as I trotted home. That was dark, even for you. I pushed open my door and gazed at the mess. Beer and whiskey bottles scattered across the floor, empty pizza boxes on the coffee table. The broken picture of my friends and i shattered on the floor. A random hole in the wall and a bunch of bloody bandages on the floor.

What in Equestria happened here? I wondered. Oh yeah that's right. When those two guards ponies told me the news, I got really drunk after they left, ordered a bunch of pizzas, threw the picture off the wall and punched a hole in the wall in a drunken depressed rage snd cut my hoof on some shattered and tried to bandage myself up. A noise upstairs startled me and I instantly started to head up them. I'd be the first to die in a horror movie I decided. Everypony else would run away and I'd just walk up to the killer and be like "whats up".

The hallway looked surprisingly cleaner than I last remembered. I caught a flash of blue along with a white and pink flash and then a yellow one. I rubbed my eyes with my hoof. Maybe I am going crazy holy shit.

"I got a knife and I ain't afraid to use it", I called out. Yeah, I'd definitely be the first to die in a horror movie. What the hell am I thinking? Maybe I'm still slightly intoxicated. I pushed the door open and rolled my eyes. Huddled in a corner with trash bags was Minuette, Lemonhearts and Twinkleshine.

"What is going on in here?" I demanded.

Lemonhearts looked at her hooves nervously. "Well, we're worried about you. We haven't seen you in months".

"Where were you at?" Minuette piped in.

I rolled my eyes again. "I was at the local guard station".

"Uh why?"

"I got detained for twenty four hours for public intoxication and disorderly conduct. I was just hanging out in the drunk tank. Great fun time, you three should really try it sometime". I sat down on my haunches.

"Why the fuck do you think thats fun?" Twinkleshine demanded and I blinked in surprise. I wasn't expecting her of all ponies to be cussing at me. It wasn't her nature. I'd expect that from Lyra or Minuette. Judging from the looks on my other two friends, they were just as shocked as I was.

"I don't know. Waking up surrounded by a bunch of other drunk ponies vomiting their guts up is such a lovely experience". I replied sarcastically. "My favorite is when you wake up on the bench and you're in the middle of two drunk mares smelling like a fine Las Pegasus wine".

Twinkleshine looked like she was about to explode. I internally chuckled at that. And then prayed to Celestia that didn't happen. Cleaning up Twinkleshine off my walls didn't sound like a fun afternoon.

Thankfully, Minuette saved her and put a hoof on her shoulder. She seemed to calm down a lot at that.

"Thanks Minuette", I said as I collapsed on my bed and stretched out. "She looked like she was gonna explode and cleaning her off my walls would be a pretty shitty way of spending the afternoon".

Lemon Hearts rolled her eyes and cleared a spot on the bed and sat next to me.

"You need help girl. We cleaned up your entire upstairs. Twenty trash bags of alcohol bottles alone. How you're not dead is beyond me honestly", she said. "We haven't even got to the downstairs yet. We were gonna head down there next when you came in. Since you're here, you can help us".

I sighed loudly. "I quite honestly don't have enough energy to. At least I didn't spend my usual forty hours in the tank".

"Seriously? You've spent that long in there before?" Twinkleshine glared at me.

"How many times have you been there?" Minuette asked sharing the same frustrated look.

I waved a hoof casually in the air. "About half a dozen times. No biggie".

"Uh, yes biggie. You need some help. Cleaning up this house and getting fresh light in here will help you a lot". Lemon Hearts scrunched up her nose. "It smells like moldy pizza, beer and aftersmell of sex in this house".

I saw a perfect opportunity to tease her. "And how do you know what that last one smells like?"

She turned a bright shade of red. "Don't ask. Well be downstairs, you need to make a decision. Keep getting drunk and pushing everypony away or let your friends help you". She stood up off the bed and walked downstairs. After a second my two other friends followed her.

I let the words sink in for a few moments while I mulled them over. Maybe it was time to quit drinking and open myself up. Maybe a little, I hate talking about my emotions. You never know if ponies are gonna use the secrets you tell them against you. I made up my mind as I got up and walked downstairs. Lemon Hearts was using her magic to levitate a few old pizza boxes into a trash bag and smiled when she saw me.

"Glad to see you made a right choice. Here's a trashbag". She levitated one over to me and I internally groaned. I was gonna be here for awhile but at least things were starting to look up.