//------------------------------// // Sunset's Soda Situation // Story: Pinkie's Pepsi Predilection // by RhetCon //------------------------------// “Tsk, tsk,” said Pinkie. “To think I could’ve called you a friend.” Pinkie is a fan of Pepsi. To her, Pepsi is superior to every other soft drink. Disagree? I don’t think she could care less. Her love for the drink had become something of an addiction. A few words of disagreement won’t throw her off. “So, because I don’t like Pepsi, we can’t be friends anymore?” “That’s how it works,” she said, gulping down another can. “Are you serious?” “Look at me.” Pinkie looked straight into my confused eyes. “Do these look like the eyes of mercy?” “Are we still talking about soft drinks?” I asked. “Listen, don’t you think everyone is entitled to their own opinion?” “Sure I do!” she said with a grin. “Just not when it comes to Pepsi.” “Coca-Cola came first, you know,” I stated condescendingly. “Pepsi is just a follow-up.” “Mt. Dew is much better than Mellow Yellow,” said Pinkie. “W-Well, Sprite has fewer grams of sugar.” “Heh. Only 2 grams,” said Pinkie. “Besides, sugar is what I live on.” “That’s not healthy.” “Neither is consuming filth,” said Pinkie. “You seem to be fine, though.” “Wow, Pinkie,” I said. “They don’t even really taste that different.” At that, Pinkie Pie burst into genuine laughter. She didn’t stop until she was hanging upside from the chair she was sitting on prior. “Man, Sunset,” she said through her laughter. “You’re such a crack-up.” At that, I threw my hands up into the air and turned around. “Okay, Pinkie Pie,” I said, storming out of the music room. “Whatever.” I continued storming until I ran into Canterlot Twilight, who was sitting outside, reading a book. I walked right up to her and sat on the bench. She looked over at me with a skeptical look before taking a deep breath and closing her book. “Are you okay?” she asked. “You seem… agitated.” “It’s Pinkie Pie,” I said. “She keeps talking crap.” “Well, what did she say?” “She keeps saying that Pepsi is better than Coke,” I said. “That’s fine but-” “Oh,” said Twilight with a smile. “That’s because it is.” “Are you serious?” I asked. “So you think I can’t have an opinion either?” “Oh, no. I’m not saying that at all.” She adjusted her glasses. “You can have an opinion...even if it is wrong.” “But it’s an opinion!” I yelled. “I can like whatever I wanna like!” “Again, I’m not saying you can’t,” she said. “I’m just saying you are slowly becoming inferior with every sip.” “Enough of this,” I said, getting up to continue my march away. “Why is everyone being so difficult today?” While asking myself this question, she stumbled upon a game in Canterlot High’s field. Rainbow Dash seemed to be going up against four other guys, which was impressive. She crossed two over and shot the ball, bypassing the next two and scoring her the goal. “That’s game, kids,” she said, retrieving the ball. “Better luck next time.” “That was pretty sick, Dash,”I said, fist bumping her. “Where’d you learn to play soccer?” “I’ve been playing this game since I was a kid, barely able to walk,” said Rainbow, balancing the ball on her head. “Uncle’s the one who showed me how.” “That’s pretty cool,” I said. “You mind if I chill out here for a while?” “Sure,” said Rainbow Dash, dropping the ball to the ground. “If you’re thirsty, I got a cooler over there.” I eyed the cooler. “What’s in it?” “Sport’s drinks and the like,” she said. “What, were you expecting soda?” “Not really, actually,” I said. “You don’t seem like a soda type of gal.” I walked over and opened the cooler, finding only one type of bottle in there. “H-Hey Rainbow?” “Yo?” she called. “All you have is Gatorade…” “Yeah?” she asked. “I drink it when I practice.” “Would you, uh… happen to like Powerade?” “That traitor?” asked Rainbow Dash. “Traitor?” “Yeah, traitor,” she said. “Powerade was under Pepsi, but it wasn’t good enough. It just had to go over to Coke, didn’t it?” “That’s not how business works-” “It’s basically just a copy, anyways,” she continued. “They bought a copy made by the original. How far can they sink?” “W-well, have you tried Powerade?” I asked. “It can’t be that bad…” “Why would I do that?” “Well, they are similar, you know?” I persuaded. “Maybe Powerade would work better than Gatorade-” “Ha!” said Rainbow Dash, breaking into laughter. “Ahahahahah! Yeah right! Like I’d go over to Coke’s side.” “Seriously!” I yelled. “Is there not a single person in the entire school who prefers Coke over Pepsi!?” “Nope!” yelled Big Mac, who just happened to be passing with a crate of apple cider. “God!” I yelled, walking off. I had enough of school for one day. Walking home, I saw a lot of people drinking different types of drinks, most of them Coke. I was hit with a wave of relief. “At least not everyone is so one-sided,” I said. Reaching my small house, I fumbled in my pockets for a few seconds before pulling out keys. I stuck them in the keyhole and turned. There I stood, watching as a wave of Pepsi poured out of my door and drenched me. I had no option but to stand with mouth agape as I watched my possessions flow out of my house, drenched in the sticky, black liquid. A loud laugh could be heard from my roof, making me back up to see who had done this. It wasn’t hard to deduce. “So. How did you like your present?” asked Pinkie Pie, a large, goofy grin on her face. “Pinkie, you flooded my house.” “Yeah I did,” she said. “With Pepsi, no less.” “You flooded my house!” I yelled. “And there are exactly zero things you can do about it,” said Pinkie. “I… I can’t deal with this right now,” I said, walking into my small house. “I’m done with soda. I’d really like a nice glass of mil-” Inside of my fridge was nothing but Pepsi. “Maybe I went a little too far,” said Pinkie. “Sorry about that.” “Well,” I said, straightened out and sighed. “Looks like Pepsi is all I’ll be drinking.” “Yep,” said Pinkie. “You’ve got yourself a… Pepsi Predicament…” “Pinkie?” I asked. “Yeah?” she replied innocently. “Go home.” “Okay.”