> A Summer To Remember > by TwiPON3 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > A Summer to Remember > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- As CHS let out for the last time until August, Seth was talking to Vice-Principal Luna, Autumn was in a closet having an extra-long goodbye, and Sunset, Sci-Twi, and the Rainbooms were next to the portal. "Last chance, Lu," Seth said as Autumn came down the hall from her hour-long goodbye. "Will you hurry up!?" she said to him. "You know my number, Discord, and player handles," Seth said, running to meet Autumn in the front hall. Autumn was rather perturbed. "You're wound awfully tight for a girl who just had sexual intercourse," she snapped her head to him, "You... don't want to talk about it?" "He pulled this new move and I had trouble standing up for at least ten minutes. Maybe I'll call him tomorrow." "Ah," he said as they went out, Autumn heading angrily toward her 1999 Honda Civic DX, not to far from the statue, with Seth heading toward Sunset and her other friends, who each had their bags. "Hey," Sunset said, "So-" Autumn slammed her car door with enough force to startle everyone around her. "Uh, is she okay?" Rainbow Dash asked as Seth stared at the car. They heard it not start a few times, then start hard before going back to their conversation. Seth, however, kept an eye on it. "So, what time ar-" BOOM!!! Something sounded like a bomb was dropped, then several shotgun blasts accompanying it. "Jesus Harold Fucking Christ!" Seth said, hearing her rev the car as it backfired even more, fire shooting out of the exhaust, "Sunset, help me!" he said, running over to the troublesome Civic. "Open up!" Seth said, pounding on the glass as the Rainbooms came over Eventually, she took her foot off of the throttle, shut off the car, and rolled down the window, "What." "Pop the hood." Opening the hood of the car they were all greeted with a mushroom cloud of steam, which had to settle first. "Start it up," Seth said as Sunset propped the hood. After several failed attempts, all of which were accompanied by smoke, it finally started, loudly backfiring again. "No throttle input," he said over the popping noises, "Let it idle." "Came up with anything? I need to get hammered." "Rev it a little." The popping turned into blasting. "So?" she yelled, prompting him to hold up his fist, telling her to kill the engine. "This is a 1999 automatic Honda Civic DX with a 4S/I4 that outputs 106 horsepower at 3976 RPMs," he said, stepping back, "My guess is that it's running on two, maybe three cylinders, combustion is happening in a place that it shouldn't be happening, your idling speed is hovering in the 4500 range, and 65%, at least, of the 106 horsepower is actively being converted into smoke." "So?" "It's essentially a twin-engine that idles way too fucking high by at least four times, combustion is happening in your exhaust, your power out is under 37 hp, and you probably won't be able to do faster than 50, if that. Also, your starter is bad," Sunset put the hood down. "I'll be home -GRUNT- later tonight," she said, trying to start the thing back up. "I don't think it's gonna-" Sci-Twi said. POW!!! "Or maybe it will," she muttered when the backfiring was out of earshot a few minutes later. "Well," Seth said, "Guess we're going to the house in my station wagon," he said, going to the dark midnight vehicle, Rainbooms following. As soon as everyone was in (and Rainbow was beginning to drift off to sleep on the bed), Seth started the Soviet car. "Holy fuck!" Rainbow said, jolting up. The rest of the Rainbooms sans Sunset, were startled at the engines roar as it was revved a few times. "You should have this looked at, too, Darling!" "Nope!" Seth said, "It's a 1983 Soviet 2S/I3 engine with 50 horses. They just run louder because of no dedicated exhaust cycle and being air-cooled versus water-cooled," Sci-Twi and Rarity looked at him with confusion at his, even if they did know what he was talking about, logic. Assuming there was any. "It's a 3-2-1 engine," he said, pulling out on the road. "What?" Sci-Twi said, now completely lost. "Three cylinders, two strokes, one helluva time mixing oil and gas at the fuel station." She slapped her face at the incredible amount of stupidity thrown at her. Why? Some time later, they all arrived at his house, glad to get away from that roaring thing. "Isn't Alex, the one from East-Berlin a mechanic?" "Yeah," Seth replied, unlocking the door, "They should be here later tonight," he threw the door open, "Make yourselves at home." "Ah gotta bad feelin' 'bout all this," Applejack said. "It's okay," Seth said, digging around in the oven for a toolbox, "I'll just have Alex work on her Civic when he gets here." "Hey, you got cable?" Rainbow said, plopping on the couch, putting her feet on the coffee table, grabbing the remote, and switching on the TV. "Rainbow Dash! That's no way for a lady to act!" Rarity scolded. "He said 'make yourself at home', right?" "Yeah," he said, putting the junk back so he could close the oven, "Get comfy. Just don't strip. Please, for the love of Christ, don't." "Autumn and Speedy are shameless sometimes, so I've started getting a lot of bleach. He hasn't been over in a month and everything's clean. Sunset and I did it last night," he closed the oven, grabbed a couple of glass bottles from the refrigerator with the word ВОДКА over a Kremlin Star, "Drink, anyone?" "What is it?" Applejack said. "What are the Soviets famous for?" "Communism," Sci-Twi replied. "Bears?" Fluttershy guessed. "Ballet?" Rarity tried. "HARD VODKA!" Pinkie said over everyone. "Score, Pinkie Pie," Seth replied, getting a few glasses from the cabinet. "Yeah, I could go for some," Rainbow Dash said, going through the Crunchyroll app, "Don't hold back." "You got it," he said, pouring three glasses and carrying two to the couch and sitting next to Rainbow, "Sunset, you have one, too." "Thanks." "Dashie this stuff is hard as shit," he said as she picked out something. "Good practice for Equestrian Apple Cider," Sunset said, downing her glass in a matter of seconds before finishing off the bottle and setting it in the sink, "This stuff is water compared to home." "I'll keep that in mind," the prismatic girl said, drinking a little herself as the phone rang. "I got it," Sunset said, answering the phone, "Hey." "Sunset!" Liz said, "Is Autumn there?" "She's out drinking right now. I'd leave her alone for a while if I were you." "I 'ope it wasn't too Sorry and Sad this nickle and dime. Anyway, we're gonna board the plane from London in an 'our or so. Everyone's 'ere at the airport na." "See you in a while, Liz!" "Ya too, Sunset!" Elizabeth said as Sunset hung up the phone. This would be a summer to remember. > The Party Shows Up > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- After enjoying themselves for a few hours, someone called. The sudden ringing of the phone startled Fluttershy, Sci-Twi was too caught up in their junk to notice anything, Applejack had been fixing things for a few hours (under the claim that it bothered her), Rarity was redecorating the house for obvious reasons, Pinkie was using what parts of the kitchen that worked to bake something, and Seth and Rainbow Dash were drunk, so Sunset answered the phone "Hello?" "Es ist Mitzi, Sunset!" "Mitzi, hey!" Sunset said, quickly getting a smile on her face, "How ya doing?" "We are gut." "So, where are you at now?" "We are at die airport now." Sunset looked over her shoulder to see Seth and Rainbow enjoying each other. "Give us a bit." "Okay. Bye!" Sunset took a glass of water, ran over to the two drunken teens on the couch, and emptied the glass on Seth. "Will you two break it up!? Seth, they're here!" "Awuh?" "UGH!" she said, running and grabbing two sets of keys and throwing one to Seth, "I don't know which one I'm more scared of! Your driving, your family, or Mom, Dad, and Twilight and her friends!" "Le's flippakopek. HeadsIwin tailsyoulose," Seth slurred, laughing. "Oh for Celestia's," Sunset muttered, running and getting some Red Bull from the refrigerator, "Drink this!" It took a few minutes for the drink to kick in, but soon enough he was able to think and act with some amount of reason. "You go grab the ponies, I'll go in my station wagon to get the others from the airport." "Done," Sunset said as they swapped keys and hurried out. "Darling," Rarity said, following them (Seth, more specifically) outside, "You simply must show me who made Sunset that stunning dress!" "Rarity, you sure that's a good idea?" Sunset said, "They did seem pretty mad at you guys." "They've gotten over it, I'm sure," Seth replied as Rarity got in the station wagon with him. Before he could get his foot on the clutch, though, his phone began to ring. It was Autumn. "...Autumn...?" he put the phone on speaker. "Imsorsorrimsorry," she cried before having a drink. "Darling, is she okay?" Rarity asked Seth quietly, to which he held a finger in response. "Dobreauwimeitwufun," she sobbed even more before forcing some level of sobriety into her speech, "Imstuck." "Autumn-" "Ijudingorigh!" "Christ' sakes," Seth muttered to himself, unsure of how to get her out of this mess, then remembering Rarity in the car, "Talk her down, gimmie your phone, I need to make a few calls." "Sure," she said, swapping phones and trying, albeit with no noticible success, to calm her down as Seth called Speedy. "Pick u-" he muttered, grabbing the steering wheel with one hand before quickly being cut off. "Hello?" "Speedy, it's Seth." "This isn't your phone." "It's Rarity's, beside the point," he said, sounding a little high-strung, "Is it okay if Autumn spends the night at your place? She's drunk, called me instead of you, and is crying for you to-" "Sure." "Wait, like that?" "Yeah." "She told me what happened, I think, but she has been tense all week, so I'm guessing she hid it from you." "I'll go with that." "Thanks. It'll be a while before we get there, so don't wait up. Don't know if you heard her car, but it sounded like it almost blew up. Maybe you could take a look at it if my East-German cousin can't." "Okay. I'll see you when you get here." "Bye," Seth said, ending the call and noticing Rarity going through his texts, "What the literal fuck are you doing‽" "Your cousin said they'll be fine to wait. Sunset already called them." "Oh," he said, starting the car and backing out, "Just try to keep her calm. We'll have to go to the airport first because I'm pretty sure you can't drive an '80s soviet station wagon." She nodded her head, still trying to keep Autumn calm, so Seth took this cue to shut up for a while. The whole way to the airport, Seth kept quiet as Rarity kept talking with a crying Autumn until Sunset called fifteen minutes in. Rarity quickly swiped IGNORE, then her phone showed Sunset's name, so Seth answered it. "Sunset, this had better be important because I'm fighting traffic, Autumn is on the phone drunk-crying her eyes out over guilt, I'm having to shift gears on the steering column, and you're snuggled between my shoulder and face." "Okay... well, we won't all fit in your Yugo. You're gonna have to come by and get some of us." "Making another stop, then," Seth said, dropping the phone into his lap and ending the call the first chance he got. "Rarity, we're going to the school, first. My Yugo's tiny." She nodded her head in agreement as he started looking for the school. A few minutes later saw him turning into the school's parking lot. He had trouble comprehending things for a minute. Rarity, on the other hand, was still trying to work with Autumn. "Sunset, your mom and dad I can understand, but clones of Twilight and the Rainboo-" "You look famileere fam-ih-lee-uhr!" the Equestrian clone of his drunken cousin said, albeit with a hyperactivity-dial cranked to eleven. "I'm no-" "I'm Autumn Blaze!" she said. "I k-" "I really wanted to meet you for a wheel, while, now! Sorry, it's been SOOOOO long since I've said some words!" He put his hand over her mouth before she could start back up, "I knooowww," he said as she licked her hand, "If I take my hand off, will you please shut up?" he said as nicely as he could. "Mhm!" she said, nodding her head madly. "Good," he replied, wiping his hand on his pants, "Gross." A few minutes later, everyone was crammed into both cars. "Where to next," Sunset said to Seth. "The hell you wanna go, just don't total the car. I'm going to the airport and then taking Autumn, our Autumn, to Speedy's house for the night. Not only did she have a crisis today, but I don't want both Autumns near each other right now." "Okay... then," Sunset said, leaving the schoolyard and going to the house with Princess Celestia, Discord, Princess Luna, Princess Twilight and Starlight Glimmer. Seth was left to put up with everyone else. At least I'll have something else to drive in a little bit, I think, he thought, continuing to the airport. When they made it to the airport, Seth's family from Eurasia was waiting just inside. "Sunset said there ist something faulty auf Autumn's car?" "Yeah," Seth said, thinking of a few minutes from that point, "But that's the least of what you'll have to wrap your head around." "What is it?" Sofia asked, irritated. When he took them to the car, they wondered exactly what he was talking about, but when they saw two Raritys, they all began to question things. "Wait till Monday. Then you can shit a brick." "Scheiße einen Ziegelstein?" Mitzi said as they all crammed into the car. "I'll let you think on it," he said, starting the station wagon and going to Autumn's favorite bar. "Rarity, hang up. We're getting her now," Seth said as Sofia reached forward over the seat and turned on the A/C. She hung up the phone and gave it back to Seth, "I don't know if she's any better." Soon enough, they found the bar she was at. Not a hard task, seeing as how a few of them didn't survive. "Why... does her car look like das?" "Long story," Seth replied, "But it probably has less than 30 horsepower when it does start now." Alex, Mitzi, and Sofia went inside to get Autumn, but they saw her downing YET ANOTHER glass of alcohol. "Blyad'," Sofia said. She was crying and bleeding a little, mumbling something incoherent. "You said it once, so I'll say it again, Sofia," Seth said, "Fuck." Sighing, Mitzi and Sofia went to get Autumn while Seth tried to show Alex what was wrong with the Civic, but it wouldn't start. "Before you say anything, of course it needs a new starter." After about twenty minutes, it finally started with its now-trademark explosion-like noises. Unsurprisingly for those that knew, Autumn was still inside, crying her eyes out. "What now?" Sofia said, looking at Mitzi, who was going over to the depressed Autumn. "Sore wa kare no seide wa nakatta!" Autumn cried. "Just watch," Mitzi said as she sat down to Autumn and pulled her in a hug. This could end badly, Sofia thought to herself. "Was happened, Autumn meine Tochter?" "Watashitachiha kurōzetto no naka de sekkusu o shite ita, soshite watashi wa koronde okotte kare o kōgeki shita!" "Ich kann nicht understand Kirin," Mitzi replied, attempting to keep her lunch down because drinking like this made Autumn's breath turn almost to a lethal bio-weapon. "We were having sex in the closet, and I fell and got angry and attacked him!" she repeated in English, breaking down again immediately after. "Ich bin for sure he will listen to you," Mitzi said. "Kitto?" "Ja," Mitzi said, helping Autumn up, "Now, we need zu go if Sie want zu talk zu ihm." "Nikakogo ublyudochnogo puti, kotoryy tol'ko chto sluchilsya," Sofia said to Mitzi as they were leaving the bar and to Autumn's half-destroyed Civic. > And Everyone's All Settled In > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Starting in three... two... one..." Seth said, trying to start the damn thing back up, but it wouldn't go. "Und es hat been running like diese alles Woche?" Alex asked as the backfire roared to life and Autumn's CD player started up. "It works!" Seth said as Sofia leaned a now-out Autumn against one of the windows in the back seat then fell asleep, leaving Mitzi to drive the others home at Rarity's direction. Adjusting the mirrors and locking the doors, Seth looked at Alex, "Earlier, at the school, I gave Autumn what I think her engine is at right now." "Was?" "That her '99 Civic DX has went from an inline-four that could produce 106 horsepower to most likely a twin under about 35 horsepower. Her idle is way too high, clocking in at 4500, with most of what it is doing being turned into smoke." "Was did she do zu es?" he asked as Seth finally got up to 20 miles per hour, then time stopped and the scene turned gray. "Yes," TwiPON3 said, walking in front of the scene and looking directly at the reader, annoyed at the situation, "That is a notable achievement for it right now. Let that sink in." A minute later, he turned, left and the story started back again. "I have no idea!" Forever later, they were at Speedy's house, so Sofia ducked under the seat as Seth and Alex carried Autumn to the door. "Was hat Autumn been Essen?" Her breath wasn't as unbearable as earlier, but it was still pretty bad. "How much did she drink?" Alex said, wincing at the horrid smell coming from her wide-open mouth, and her snoring wasn't making it any better. "Probably a lot," Seth replied as they made it to the door, "Hold her." "Ja," Alex said as Seth started pounding on the door until Speedy opened it a minute later. "Hi-oh," Seth said, immediately looking at the large bandage on the side of Speedy's face, "I am officially worrying for my life right now, Speedy." "Don't. It was just a slap." "Well, we brought Autumn." "He your dad?" Speedy asked, seeing what looked like Autumn hugging Alex. "Cousin from the DDR." "What happened?" "She's shit-drunk. I mean, she's done this before, but not this bad and without a reason, so... not quite 'I've fucked the world over' drunk but still in the range of that when we go to the SSSR." "She can spend the weekend with me," Speedy said as Autumn's snoring began to reach record volume, "But how long will she be like this!?" "Best guess, all night at the worst," Seth replied, shaking Autumn awake. "Watashi o seikō suru," she slurred. "Uh, yeah," Seth replied, "Autumn, your breath is terrible and we're at Speedy's place." She looked around in a daze, then stumbled and fell onto Speedy and started crying again. "Gomen'nasai!" she sobbed, holding onto Speedy as he cringed at the smell of Christ-knows-what, "Watashi wa anata o kōgeki shite wa ikemasendeshita!" "What?" Speedy asked as Seth went over to the two. "Autumn, it's okay." "Īe, watashi wa hidoidesu!" "Autumn, you are not awful," Seth replied, comforting her, "Just give it to morning and everything will be better, I promise." "Soshite anata wa yakusoku shimasu ka?" "Yes, I promise," he said as she went back to snoring, though she was still crying in her sleep. "How did you understand what she was saying?" "Well, I was born in Byelorussia, so I learned Byelorussian and Russian growing up. Not too long after, I started learning Deutsche, German, so I could talk to my cousins from the DDR, and then English later because another one of my cousins is from London. By the time I met her, for the sake of how I grew up I already knew four languages, so it wasn't hard to pick up Kirin-Japanese." "Uh-huh." "Yeah, it's weird." "But sure, she can stay over the weekend." "Thanks," Seth said, "Oh, one more thing, Autumn's car has been, well it's essentially a piece of scrap-shit now. Do you have anything we could use?" He tossed Seth a set of keys, "My custom Chevelle. You wreck it, you'll wish you were in hell." "Yes!" Seth said, somewhat startled as he went over to the Civic and started getting stuff out of it when Speedy took Autumn inside and closed the door. "Can I come out now?" Sofia said. "Sure," Seth replied, "Follow us." A few minutes later, they were in Speedy's car, and on the way to Seth's house. "Sofia, humor me," Seth said, "Do you have issues?" "You are one dating Kirin." "No, she's my adoptive cousin, yours by blood. Speedy's the one dating her." "Good point." Conversation was kept to a minimum until they arrived at Seth's house and went in. "Wot 'appened ter Autumn's Jam Jar, ya guys?" Liz asked, looking up from Zecora when they made it in and closed the door. "It beats the literally motherfucking hell out of me," Seth said, going and getting a bottle of Vodka, "It is more dangerous to drive than a Trabant now." "What is on television?" Sofia said, plopping down on the couch and starting a random Crunchyroll playlist. What was left of the night was rather sleepless in the rather overcrowded house, even with all of the vodka they had to share with each other.