//------------------------------// // Hotel Talk 2 // Story: Too Many Everything // by Daemon McRae //------------------------------// The first morning of the group vacation was off to a slow start. Despite many of the girls wanting to get on the road early, it was 8 o’clock and none of them were awake yet. Well, almost none of them. Adagio Dazzle was wrapped in a fluffy, flattering bathrobe as she lay across the now slightly-less disastrous bed, drinking a surprisingly fine cup of coffee as she waited for her not-girlfriend to get back. Sunset, for some reason, had taken it upon herself to get up at 6 A.M., despite Adagio’s best efforts last night to leave her more than exausted. Adagio had wanted to go back to sleep, but Sunset had made the rather excellent point of having an entire hour to herself in which to take a luxurious bath and wake up slowly and properly in style, something the Siren had a hard time turning down. Of course, once Shimmer had revealed exactly why she was getting up perfectly early and what she intended to do, Adagio was too busy basking in the near-evil tendencies of her ‘partner’ to really offer any argument against it. -------------------------- To her credit, Sunset had gotten up at six because she, too, wanted a nice, luxurious bath to wash out all of the… evidence of last night, before they all had to hit the road. Giving Adagio some time alone while she went about her particularly ruthless business was a pleasant side effect. She was more than willing to let her friends have at least a little bit of rest, but she also knew that if they all slept in till noon and spent only half as much time on the road that they’d all regret it. Also, she may have spent just a little too much time around Adagio. After she’d gotten a nice long bath, freshened up, and gotten dressed (a familiar sleeveless red top that tied at a ring on her neck and a flowing yellow skirt that was respectably long and flirtatiously billowy), her next stop was the front desk. The gentleman behind the counter raised an eyebrow as she practically skipped up to the counter, invigorated by the night’s efforts and refreshed by the hotel’s accommodations, and gave her a polite smile as she leaned on the desk. “Hello!” she said cheerfully. “Can I help you?” the desk manager asked politely. He gave all the impressions of not wanting to deal with someone’s bratty teenage kid this early in the morning. “Yes, you can. I believe you have something for me? Under the name Sunset Shimmer?” He tore his appraising gaze away and typed away at the computer for a few moments, before his other eyebrow raised at the account notes. “Yes, I believe we do. But… seriously?” he asked, giving her some side-eye. “I promised the hotel manager that I wouldn’t use it until after 8 a.m. And it is now?” The clerk looked at the clock and sighed. “Eight-oh-five. Very well,” he sighed, pulling a small box out from under the counter and handing it to her. Sunset inspected the contents, smiled, and slid a twenty across the counter. “Much obliged.” “You too, kid,” the clerk smiled, pocketing the tip. ---------------------- The next stop was Limestone’s room. Firstly, because two of her three other car mates were in this room, and secondly, because she’d rather just get it over with. She knocked solidly on the door, and was surprised when a female voice on the other side called back, “What?!” “Oh, hey Limestone, just seeing if you guys are up yet,” Sunset said through the door. “Yeah, we’re fine. Been up for a couple hours. Now go make sure the others are awake!” “Oh, I intend to.” --------------------------- Twilight and the Sirens’ were also wide-awake, although Sunset expected this. Regardless of what side of the portal she was on, Twilight Sparkle was always an early riser, and she knew from experience that the two younger Sirens, despite their differences when they were awake, slept like rocks together and rose with the sun. Apparently, Indigo Zap was the only one who hadn’t wanted to get up. “Next time we get hotel rooms, please god let me sleep next to someone several decibels quieter,” Zap whined, looking somewhat miserable with bags under her eyes. Sunset nodded consolingly. “Ok. Sorry,” she added, and moved on to the next room. ----------------------- The Shadowbolt’s room was quiet. Too quiet. At least, it had been, until Sunset showed up. “Seriously, Sunset, not cool,” Sour growled. Sunny nodded vigorously. “Agreed. Mucho uncool.” Sugarcoat gave Flare a flat stare for her troubles. “Seriously? At least say the entire sentence in Spanish.” “Oh, like that’s the biggest complaint right now,” Sour Sweet huffed. Sugarcoat shrugged. “I saw it coming. Also, I was already awake.” Lemon Zest just lifted a headphone as she brushed her teeth. “Whadda mith?” ------------------------- The next room was rather lively as Sunset knocked on the door, Applejack barking orders as the girls all packed with varying degrees of enthusiasm. Sunset peeked her head in to wave good morning, and noticed the entire room come to a halt. “Uh… good morning?” she asked. There was a lot of blushing, and not a lot of words. Eventually Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Uh, morning Sunset. What’s up?” “Well, you guys, for one. Although I shouldn’t be surprised. AJ’s always been an early riser,” Sunset said with a smile. AJ returned it, if only half-heartedly. “Yeah, uh, that’s me. Up an attem’.” Sunset looked around at the obviously uncomfortable girls, and sighed. “Ok, what is it?” Before anyone else could say anything, Pinkie jumped in. “Girl, you are LOOOOOUUUUUUUD!” It was Sunset’s turn to blush. “Oh! Uh… yeah. Sorry about that. I thought the walls here were, um… thicker than that.” Fluttershy had taken to packing quietly in the corner the entire time, only choosing to speak up now. “So… um… I have a question. And if you don’t… you know… want to answer, that’s ok, I mean...” “It’s fine, Fluttershy, what’s up?” Sunset asked. “Well,” Fluttershy said slowly, trying to hide behind her hair. “There was one… um… at one point you were especially… um… loud, and I was just wondering if maybe you could tell me what… what you two were doing?” she shrank back into herself as she finished her question. “Oh, that,” Sunset said smugly, through a different kind of blush. “Well, Adagio does this thing with a bathrobe belt and a nightstand where-” “Okthat’senoughwe’llseeyouinthelobby!” AJ said quickly and loudly, pushing Sunset out of the room. The door clicked behind her, and Sunset made a mental note to take Flutters aside later and give her some tips for the ‘Festival’ Treehugger had invited her to. ---------------------------- Sunset had one room left. Rarity’s. The queen of beauty sleep. She of course knocked politely on the door, and waited for a response, only to get none. The drone of the AC machine could be heard in the hallway, and only grew louder as Sunset opened the door with her copy of the hotel room key (something the manager had supplied her with, as she was the one paying for all of the rooms). Rarity’s hotel suite was almost ice cold, and Rarity herself was buried under a bunch of blankets, wearing her almost trademark sleep mask. Shimmer tiptoed into the room, and quietly shut the AC off. Rarity barely stirred. Sunset reached into the box the concierge had provided her, and pulled out her ‘special order item’, which she’d already used once. “HEY RARITY WANNA HEAR MY NEW AIRHORN?!” BWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA. “WAAAAAAAAAAAAUGH!”