//------------------------------// // Somewhat Unfriendly Talk // Story: H2O: Just Add Friendship // by Burning Sunset //------------------------------// She wasn’t sure what she was looking for as Emma stared in her half empty juice glass, idly stirring the contents with her straw. Cleo was a little upset about her getting into another argument with Rikki, and Emma didn’t blame Cleo for it in the least. Emma hated the tension that had come between them recently, but she was hurt over what she believed was betrayal by one of her friends. She wanted to look past it and move forward, she really did, but since that day things just seemed off between the. “Can I sit down here?” An unfamiliar girl asked as she put her hand on the back of the chair across from Emma. “I’d rather be alone.” Emma said giving the girl a bit of a glare. She really wasn’t in the mood to deal with a stranger right now, especially one who was giving her dirty looks and asking to sit with her. “Well, that’s just too bad, isn’t it?” The new girl said as she pulled the chair out and dropped into it without taking her eyes from Emma’s own. “Then I’ll leave.” Emma snorted as she started to get up, freezing when she saw a flash of anger in the stranger’s eyes. “Sit or I swear to Celestia I’ll make your ass sit.” The girl hissed out angrily, something in her eyes making Emma obey while wondering what she was going on about and who or what Celestia was. After trying several times, Emma was finally able to bring herself to ask, “What do you want?” “My name is Sunset Shimmer, and I won’t take up much of your time. I owe somebody something, and I want to make sure I repay her.” Sunset had said confusing Emma even more. “First off though, I want to know what you think about the people living in the trailer park close to here.” “Are you serious?” Emma asked, giving Sunset a confused look before deciding the girl must live there. Probably ran into Miriam and her lapdogs. “What am I supposed to think about them? They’re people just like you and me.” “So you don’t think that you are better than them?” Sunset asked, her demeanor becoming less angry. “I don’t know what Miriam told you, but as far as I’m concerned they’re just people.” Emma said, shaking her head and debating trying to slip away again before the girl pinned her with another harsh look. “I’ve never met this Miriam, but I know somebody who is kind of hurt over hearing you laugh at some girls who were making fun of the people who lived there.” Sunset said, waving away the waitress who came over to try and take her order. Emma sat there and stared at the girl, unsure just what she was taking about. She’d never laugh at them like that, but the girl in front of her was being serious. Apparently there was some kind of misunderstanding somewhere, but she just wasn’t sure what. The only time she could remember lately about hearing anyone making fun of them was awhile back. She remembered heading to the beach with Cleo and Rikki when Miriam and her lapdogs was passing by. It was close to the trailer park and Miriam was saying how worthless those people were before freaking out because of a bird flew overhead and dropped a surprise for the stuck-up girl. She couldn’t help laughing at what happened, but refused to let her friends in on what was so funny because she didn’t want to sound crass. What was she supposed to say, she was laughing because the bird used Miriam’s face as a bathroom? “The only time I can remember overhearing anyone making fun of them and I laughed was when Miriam and her friends were making fun of them and a bird that was flying overhead kind of…” Emma said, finding it hard to hold back a snicker as she kept trying to explain. “The bird shit on her, didn’t it?” Sunset asked with a soft laugh. “Serves her right.” “What’s this all about anyways?” Emma asked, relaxing a little as the girl before her seemed to change from an avenging angel to a somewhat likeable girl. “I know about the problems you are having with one of your friends, but have you ever thought that maybe your friend had her reasons for what she did?” Sunset asked, her voice getting softer as she grabbed Emma’s drink and took a long sip from the straw. “Wow this is really good.” “You know you could have ordered your own.” Emma growled, crossing her arms even though she really wasn’t angry. It actually reminded her of Rikki, her friend doing the same thing on more than one occasion. “I would if I had the money, but I don’t. Just like your friend, she doesn’t have much money either. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why your friend always finds excuses to get out of doing anything with you that costs money?” Sunset asked, making Emma think. Emma knew something was weird about Rikki, and she was sure that was who this girl was talking about. At first Emma had brushed it off as one coincidence after another, but lately she was starting to worry that maybe Rikki just didn’t want to hang out with them. “Well yeah, if you are talking about Rikki, I know she doesn’t really like the things Cleo and I do or she just doesn’t want to hang out with us that much.” Emma said, though she had a feeling she was missing something big with the way Sunset kept staring at her. “There could be another reason you know. Rikki might not have the means to join you girls in doing stuff that costs money.” Sunset said, draining the last of the juice in the glass and licked her lips. If she ever got a hold of some extra money, she would have to make sure she came here. “Okay, I can see that up until she lied to us about that reward.” Emma said, for the first time actually feeling some anger bubble up. “She’s your friend, don’t you think that she must have had a very important reason for it? She doesn’t seem like the type of person to manipulate someone just for the fun of it.” Sunset asked before the waitress returned with two glasses and set them down in front of Sunset and Emma. “On the house.” The waitress said when Sunset tried to protest, earning a shy thank you from the girl before the waitress headed off. “I know Rikki isn’t that type of person!” Emma huffed out, grabbing her drink and taking a sip from it. “Every time I try to bring it up though she gets defensive and we argue about it.” “What if I told you she almost died when Cleo and you left her there?” Sunset asked, taking a drink of her own juice with a bit of a moan. Emma could have sworn she said something like, “So good!” “Wait, WHAT?” Emma cried out in shock. “If you care, ask her about it. I won’t say anymore about it. I will tell you several things though.” Sunset said before taking the straw out and just downing the juice in one long drink before slamming the glass back down on the table. “One, maybe you should ask yourself why Rikki would be so upset about thinking you would make fun of people in that trailer park. Two, Cleo and you are her first friends and she might mess up sometimes, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you two. And third, where do you think the money for their rent is coming from if her dad is hurt and they were in danger of being evicted.” “What are you saying?” Emma asked as Sunset got up, looking down at her. “If you want anymore answers then find Rikki and ask her. Word of advice though, stay calm and don’t let her push you away. If you care for Rikki at all, look past her fear and make sure she knows you care about her. If you don’t care for her, then I pity you because you are missing out on the opportunity of having a wonderful friend.” “Hey wait!” Emma called after Sunset as she turned and hurried from the Juicy Bar with Emma following. She lost sight of the new girl when turning around a corner and by the time she caught up and rounded the corner Sunset was gone leaving Emma with a lot of questions and only once source to get the answers. It sounded as if Sunset was saying that Rikki lived in the trailer park. Within minutes Emma was walking through the small park looking at the trailers closer than she ever did. The few people she passed were really nice offering her warm greetings and smiles that she returned. She never really thought much about them before really, she really had nothing against them and thought they were people just like her. Walking through here though she began to wonder if she did have some preconceptions of them. She thought they would be unhappy or something, yet they seemed just as happy as anyone else. Most of them did except for a man sitting on the ground with a cast on his leg working on a motorcycle. He seemed kind of sad. "Dad! What the hell are you doing out here?” Rikki cried out running out of the trailer with a worried yet angry look on her face. “I might not be able to work honey, but I can at least sit here and work on this. If I can get it running I can at least sell it to get back some of that money you wasted on the rent and bills.” The man said sadly, unable to look up at Rikki. “The hell you are, you love that bike and the rent and bill are paid up for several months after the cast is supposed to come off. We’re fine, but I expect you to stop doing this shit! Seriously dad, your back is hurt to and if you keep doing stuff like this you will never get better.” Rikki said as she knelt down to him and started packing the tools back into the toolbox. “Language young lady.” The man said, though he really didn’t sound too angry. “It isn’t right that you spend all of that money on bills. I’m supposed to be taking care of you, not the other way around.” “You took care of me for sixteen years, I can take care of you for a few months daddy!” Rikki said as she leaned over to hug the man. “You aren’t sixteen until next month.” The man laughed, though it made Emma feel like crap. She never knew Rikki’s birthday, yet they were supposed to be friends. Did they miss Rikki’s birthday last year? No, they couldn’t of since if it was next month summer vacation would still be going on and they didn’t meet Rikki until a couple weeks into the school year. “Close enough Daddy.” Rikki laughed as she went back to gathering the tools. Emma swallowed the lump in her throat and walked over to the pair. “Need help?” Emma asked, kneeling down to pick up a silver long piece of metal that she thought was a wrench and handed it to Rikki who froze for a moment as she locked eyes with Emma nervously. “If you’re sure.” Rikki said, looking as if she was both happy and on the verge of tears. “I’m sure, that’s what friends are for. Right?” Emma asked before Rikki actually tackled her in a hug which was very uncharacteristic of the girl, but Emma didn’t care. She just wanted her friend back and this time there would be no secrets between them. Sunset walked out toward the beach hoping that she did the right thing. If her gamble paid off then Rikki would have her friends back and she was sure that would pay the girl back for her kindness. If not, she would find another way of paying the girl back as it would prove that Emma didn’t care about Rikki. She was praying that things worked out well though as she found herself on a secluded part of the beach near a bunch of rock outcroppings. “Help!” A young girl’s voice cried out making Sunset look up to see a young girl on a surfboard out on the water and nobody was close enough to help her as a fin was sticking up out of the water going around her in circles. "Oh shit!” Sunset gasped seeing a large thing surge out of the water towards the girl with rows of sharp teeth. Applejack felt sorry for her little sister who would have to repeat a year in school after the stunt that Apple Bloom and her friends pulled. It wasn’t that she didn’t care that her sister had done what she did, but she knew it was going to be extra rough on Apple Bloom next year as many of the students already made fun of the sisters for being “country hicks.” Having to repeat a year was going to make the harassment on Apple Bloom even worse on top of the anger at the girl’s involvement in the incident. While Applejack didn’t want her little sister to go through with that, it didn’t mean she wasn’t pissed off at the girl either. Apple Bloom deserved every ounce of punishment Granny Smith dished out and then some. Having to work all summer on the farm taking over some of both Big Mac and Applejack’s chores left the elder siblings with more time on their hands. Time that made Apple Jack realize just how badly they all messed up. Not just the CMC. She prided herself on telling when people were telling the truth ever since Twilight first came to this world. Yet when Sunset was telling them the truth and crying her eyes out they all turned their backs on the girl. In Apple Jack’s opinion, the CMC wasn’t the only ones who deserved punishment for the things that they did.