//------------------------------// // Chapter V // Story: Being A Parent Is Hard // by TheKing2001 //------------------------------// “Girls? It’s one pm,” I pushed open the door and gave a faint smile. Lyra, Derpy and Sunset were asleep in a pile surrounded by empty two liter pop bottles and three empty boxes of pizza. I honestly didn’t know anyone could go through three large pizzas. At least I ordered five last night. I stepped into the room and shut the TV off. They were so loud last night. How I got any form of sleep, I have no idea. I was also kinda surprised Derpy and Lyra’s parents agreed to letting them stay over, considering Christmas is next week and all. When I was a kid, my parents wanted us at home to spend time with family. Christmas was one of the few times our parents were decent. “Wake up Sunset,” I knelt down and gently shook her. She gave a groan and rubbed her eyes. “What time is it? And what is on me?” Sunset grumbled. I was in dangerous territory right here. Sunset without her coffee is dangerous. I’ve learned to just be quiet in the mornings and wait until she decides she’s had enough coffee to talk to me. Typically requires at least three to four cups. Luckily, I made enough for everyone in the house. “It’s one pm. Lyra and Derpy are on you in response to your second question,” I grinned. Sunset grumbled incoherent words. “Get off me. Now please,” Sunset mumbled as gave Lyra’s head a gentle shove off her lap. “I want my coffee.” Lyra fell backwards onto Derpy and snored. The ptsd that sound brought was insane. I’ve heard her snoring in other teachers classes so many times. The walls were somewhat thin between classrooms so we could sometimes hear the other class. Let’s just say, Lyra can snore very loud. She does pretty much everything loud to be honest. Talks loud and sleeps loud. “She can sleep anywhere, can’t she?” Derpy giggled as she cracked open her eyes and yawned. “I’m a very light sleeper.” I smirked and watched Lyra’s leg twitch as she let out another loud snore. “How Bon Bon can sleep next to that whenever we have sleepovers, I’ll never know.” “I have breakfast made. And plenty of coffee for Sunset. She can’t start her day without at least four cups,” I smirked at Sunset. She gave a groan as she stood up. “I hate Canterlot winters. So bipolar. It’s not even like this back in Equestria. At least back home can control the weather back home. Here you can’t.” I gave a low chuckle at that. “Only in Canterlot can it go from being warm to snowing to rain and back in a month during the winter,” I agreed. “We have pancakes and sausages for breakfast.” Sunset eagerly shot out of the room. She surprised me by how much she loved my cooking. Mom and Dad certainly didn’t. “I’ll be here,” Derpy waved and grunted as Lyra moved in her sleep, pinning her down. “I didn’t know Lyra weighed this much. I should get her a gym membership for Christmas.” I have a chuckle and patted her on the shoulder. “I’ll bring you a plate and save Lyra some breakfast. I really need to get to the kitchen before Sunset eats all of it herself.” Where she put all of that food, I don’t know. She literally never gains weight. She’s as thin as a toothpick. At first I thought she had been making herself throw up after wards as a depression related issue or throwing it away but after investigating, I found out she had been doing none of that. She had been surprisingly giving it to the homeless people around the corner so we started making extra and I’ve been helping her give food out. I was pretty proud of her for that. “Thanks Cheerilee. I’ll try to wake up Lyra, the goddess of sleep and snoring.” ------------------------------------------------------------- “So my parents texted me and said I can stay another night. So did Derpy’s. Is it okay?” Lyra asked hopefully and I rubbed my chin. “Pleaseeee,” Sunset begged and I looked at her. Now I was even more inclined to say yes. She was finally coming out of her shell a bit and making friends, why should I cut it short? Especially if she was getting along with Lyra this well. I glanced at the clock. Seven pm. Not too late. “I’m fine with it. What do you all wanna do?” I asked. The three girls gave excited grins and highfived each other. “Movies?” Lyra offered. “Video games?” Sunset added. “Pillow fights and building a fort?” Derpy suggested. The two girls looked at her with raised eyebrows. “What? I like having fun.” Lyra gave a shrug. “I’m down. Hopefully you’re fine with losing you two.” Sunset gave a scoff at that. “I’m trained in battle magic back home. A pillow fight may not have magic, but it is still a form of combat. You both will lose,” Sunset smirked. I was slightly nervous now. I didn’t want have to replace any pillows. Just because I had the money and could afford it doesn’t mean I wanted to replace them. “Have fun you three. Don’t break anything please. And be careful to not hurt each other,” I nodded as I sat down in my favorite chair. This chair was my favorite place to nap. Me and Sunset stole it from each other often. The girls nodded before running upstairs and I closed my eyes, drifting off to sleep. “Cheerilee? Cheerilee, wake up please.” I opened my eyes and stared into Lyra’s worried eyes. I rubbed my eyes and sat up. “Hmm what’s up Lyra?” I mumbled as I stretched out a bit. “You’ve been sleeping for three or four hours now. We hate to wake you, but Sunset just left and didn’t tell us where she was going. We asked but she was very evasive. Said she needed to get some money,” Lyra said worriedly and my eyes shot open even more. Now I was awake and listening. “Did either of you see which was she was going?” I asked as I got to my feet hurriedly. “She went left. She just left five minutes ago so she can’t be too far away,” Derpy answered with an equally worried expression. I slipped my boots on and grabbed my keys and purse. “Let’s go girls.” Derpy and Lyra looked between each other before following me out the door and to the car. “Where are we going?” Lyra asked as she got in the backseat. “We’re gonna follow her and get answers,” I answered determinedly. I put the car in reverse and backed out onto the street before driving forward. “She’s right there,” Derpy pointed from the driver seat. Sure enough, Sunset was walking down the street with a heavy coat and boots. “I don’t like how quickly we got into a bad area. Vinyl lives around here and it’s pretty rough,” Lyra muttered. “Crazy how much of a difference several blocks can make.” We watched Sunset stop near a sign and broken light. I shut my cars lights off and pulled in behind a parked car and shut it off. Sunset unzipped her coat and dropped it to the ground. “Well that’s uhm revealing,” Lyra spoke after a moment. Derpy blushed before nodding her agreement. I just stared in shock at Sunset’s very revealing skirt and top. “What’s she doing here?” Derpy finally found her voice, blushing even harder as Sunset struck a pose. I had a bad feeling I knew exactly what was happening as a car stopped next to her. I quietly turned the car on and rolled down a window to listen. “Hey there,” Sunset purred in a sultry voice as she leaned over the car. “What can I do for you?” “How much?” A gruff voice asked. Sunset gave a faint laugh. “You know my prices. Fifty for oral, one hundred for fingering and toys. I don’t do sex so don’t ask like you did the past few times,” Sunset smirked. “Though I could be convinced to change my mind for such a loyal customer. It would cost you a lot though.” “No way is this happening. Not a word about this to anyone you two” I grumbled as I stepped out of the car. Lyra and Derpy gave me worried nods. “Sunset Shimmer!” She flinched and stood up, covering herself with a blush. I stormed up to her and the car. “Woah who the hell is that?” The evidently older man demanded. I'd guess he's in his thirties with his blue and grey hair. “I’m her mom and she’s a minor. Get the fuck out of here!” I growled. He gave a hasty nod and sped off. “What are you doing here?” Sunset asked as she grabbed her coat and wrapped herself with it. I glared at her and she shrunk back. “What am I doing here? What the hell are you doing here?” I demanded. “What does it look like? Making money,” Sunset answered with an ashamed look. I was too angry to care right now. “Get in the car now. You are in so much trouble young lady.”