Chapter 2: My Normal
Their first day in Las Pegasus began with a less than enthusiastic start. They had two bathrooms between the six of them in this luxury suite, so showers were somewhat slow to finish, and Sour Sweet refused to open her door until Sunny coaxed her out. The fatigue from the long drive coupled with the emotional sting from the night before took its toll on their excitement, but once they were freshly showered and ready to face the day, things started to look up again as they convened in the center living room.
"So, we're here! What are our plans for the day?" Twilight asked.
The others exchanged a blank glance before Indigo spoke. "Plans?"
"Um, yes." Twilight looked back and forth between the blank faces before her. "We drove hundreds of miles just to get here, surely we know how we're going to experience this place, right? I mean, driving this far and just winging it would be kookytown... right?"
There was silence until Indigo Zap spoke up. "Well, if it helps I wanna check out the strip! There's supposed to be some killer food there! I mean literally, this stuff will stop your heart if you so much as look at it, it's so bad for you."
"And you want to eat it." Sugarcoat mused.
"What? I'm adventurous."
Lemon Zest chimed in. "I'll go with Indigo. I totally wanna see what this place is all about."
"I believe Twilight and I already made a date to check out the hotel's indoor swimming pool after some shopping." Sunny turned to her bespectacled friend. "If you're still up for it."
"Oh, yes, that sounds nice." Twilight nodded, looking relieved to have a plan after all.
"I think I'll tour the rest of the hotel," Sugarcoat chimed in. "This place is supposed to have the biggest video arcade left in the country. It's practically a museum."
"I do like museums..." Twilight mused.
"How about you, Sour Sweet?" Sunny turned to her last friend with a warm smile. "You're welcome to join Twilight and I at the pool."
"No thanks." Sour Sweet shook her head vehemently. "I think I'll order breakfast and see what they have playing on the TV."
"The TV?" Indigo recoiled. "We drove all the way out here, you can't just sit cooped up in here in front of the TV."
"Excuse me, I can do whatever the fuck I want!" Sour Sweet glared at her sharply, then shook her head and marched toward her room. "You guys go have fun, I'm staying here, end of story." She slipped inside and slammed the door behind her, making everyone else wince.
Lemon Zest's voice was tinged with worry when she broke the silence. "Has anybody else noticed that Sour Sweet is getting way more sour than sweet lately? I mean way more than she used to."
"Definitely." Sugarcoat nodded. "She has always been sarcastic and moody, but she's been flipping out at the drop of a hat lately. She managed to get one of the gentlest girls at Crystal Prep to chase her off with an axe, and I'm still surprised Aloe and Lotus didn't ban us from the Love Spa."
"Maybe..." Indigo hesitated. "Do you think she needs stronger meds?"
"I think she needs good friends who accept her for who she is and let her deal with her own struggles until she asks for help." Sunny Flare turned her gaze on the group. "In the meantime, let's plan to meet back here at six PM tonight. We can order in dinner and chow down in our PJ's while we chill and share the gossip of the day."
"That sounds great, Sunny! We'll be here!" Lemon Zest nodded eagerly.
"Six PM sharp it is," Sugarcoat agreed.
"Then let's do this. Let's see what this town has to offer." Sunny turned to lead the way out the front door, which closed authoritatively behind them.
***
Sour Sweet sat on the needlessly extravagant sofa in the middle of the suite's living room, her head lying numbly on the back as she stared blankly at the massive 70 inch screen that was showing some movie whose name she forgot the instant she picked it. It felt strange. Even she couldn't quite pinpoint why she felt so down and tired. She just didn't want to leave the room. In fact she kind of wished she'd just stayed home where she wouldn't make her friends nervous just by being around.
She rubbed her forehead lightly with two fingers. No, they had invited her for a reason. They wanted her here, even if they didn't want to spend time with her. Well, she was here. Hopefully they were happy with that, because she sure wasn't.
She wished she could be happy about it, though...
Her eyes darted up from the TV screen when the suite door opened and Sunny Flare made her way inside, trailed closely by Twilight Sparkle. Sunny gave her a warm smile the instant she saw her. "Hey, did you have a nice time?"
"Meh," Sour Sweet grunted. A glance at the clock showed that it was about six PM now. "How about you two?"
"The pool was nice. Ran into one creep, but that was to be expected I guess." Sunny approached the couch to drop onto it beside her. "You had anything to eat yet today?" Sour Sweet stopping to think about it was all the answer she needed. "I'll go ahead and call in room service. It should hopefully be here by the time the others arrive."
"Meh," Sour Sweet grunted again, but Sunny just patted her knee and reached for the phone beside the couch.
She tried to hone in on the movie and drown out Sunny on the phone, and then the arrival of her other friends. She could hear Lemon Zest chattering excitedly about the shops down along the strip, and Sugarcoat grumbling something about some jerk trying to challenge her down in the gaming arcade. Sour Sweet really didn't care, though. She was too busy trying to watch a crappy movie, and then another crappy movie after that one ended. Just tune out the world, drown it out, she didn't need to be a part of it right now.
"Food's here!" That enticing call drew her back into the world. Well, the world wasn't so bad in small doses, after all.
She climbed up from the couch to join the others near the door, where a large trolley was just being wheeled in for them, with several silver platters lining the top of it, and two bottles of soda sitting in ice-buckets.
"Thanks." Sunny slipped their waiter a few bills. "Keep the change."
"Thank you, ma'am." The waiter bowed gratefully before he left, the door closing quickly behind him.
"Mmmmh, it actually smells amazing." Lemon Zest licked her lips and sniffed deeply at one of the platters. "Smells like shrimp!"
"You're good." Sunny whipped the top of the platter off the tray, revealing a plate full of shrimp and lettuce.
"Hehe, I have an awesome nose." Lemon grinned.
"And what do we have here?" Indigo Zap plucked one of the bottles out of a bucket curiously, her eyes scanning the label. "Hey, this ain't soda..."
"No? What is it?" Sugarcoat asked curiously.
A wicked grin spread across Indigo's lips. "Complimentary wine."
"Whoa! Seriously!?" Lemon gasped.
"Must have been a mixup in the kitchen." Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses.
"Certainly!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. "I'll give them a call and let them know!" Twilight reached for the phone, but Indigo intercepted her wrist before she could touch it.
"Hold on there, Twi. We were just given our own bottles of wine to try out! It would be ridiculous not to give them a little taste, don't you think?"
Twilight protested immediately. "But we're too young to drink. You have to be twenty-one!"
"What could a couple of sips hurt?" Indigo waved off her concern. "We don't need to get smashed or anything! Maybe just a little feel-good buzz."
"But it's wrong!" Twilight insisted more vehemently than Sour Sweet had ever seen her argue before. "It's against the rules for a reason! It's dangerous and irresponsible!"
"Sure is," Sugarcoat agreed as she poured some of the rose-colored liquid into several glasses. She held one out to Sunny Flare. "Here, you get the first, lady."
Sunny took the glass between her fingers with a smirk. "You're so chivalrous."
"Sunny, not you too!" Twilight backed away from the group. "Please, we can't just throw away the rules! They're the foundation of society! If we just disregard the rules then we're no better than the criminals who roam the streets!"
"Criminals?" Sugarcoat raised her eyebrow.
"Okay, Twilight, I think we need to have a little talk in private." Sunny moved toward her and reached for her hand, taking it gently in her palm.
"But they're just going to start getting drunk!" Twilight protested even as she was pulled towards the door.
"We'll deal with that later." Sunny slipped into the bedroom, closing the door behind her.
Sugarcoat poured her last glass of wine with a wry smirk on her lips. "Remember. Every sip you drink is a dagger through Twilight Sparkle's heart. So enjoy."
***
Twilight whirled on Sunny Flare once they were in the privacy of the bedroom, her fists balling up beside her. "I-I'm sorry, Sunny, but I have to stand up for what's right! I-I mean, we're not old enough to drink! The laws exist for a very clear reason! It's irresponsible, and completely immature for us to just ignore laws that are inconvenient for us!"
"You're right, mostly," Sunny replied.
"I..." Twilight trailed off, as if not expecting an agreement. "Well, yeah, thank you! So you'll help me convince them to stop, right? It's not too late to return the bottle."
"No, I won't." Sunny leaned against the door with her arms folded over her chest, her wine glass still clutched between two fingers in her right hand. "I'm not saying that drinking the wine would be a good thing, or a smart thing, but it's something we've chosen to do."
"What are you talking about? Why would you choose to do something that's not good or smart? That doesn't even make sense..."
Sunny chuckled, swirling the wine around her glass with one hand. "We're not robots, Twilight, we're allowed to make bad decisions."
"Children make bad decisions, adults follow the rules." Twilight glared.
"Do they?" Sunny countered with a raised eyebrow. "So you've never seen someone decide to do something rash?"
"Well... of course I have, but those people aren't role-models."
"Neither are we." Sunny took a deep breath. "Twilight, being a mature adult isn't just about following the rules or calculating what the best course of action is. Being a mature adult is about making decisions and taking responsibility for them." Sunny took a slow, thoughtful sip from her glass. "Sometimes those decisions might explode in your face... and sometimes nothing will happen at all. Calculated risks are just a part of life."
"I just don't see what good could come out of this to justify the risk." Twilight shook her head. "What do you stand to gain from throwing out the rules and getting drunk?"
Sunny just smiled. "Memories." Twilight's eyes widened slightly in surprise, but she remained silent at that. "Besides, it's not like we're slamming shots in a bar surrounded by strange men. We're locked in a hotel room with friends we trust. I can't think of a safer place to get a little wild and stupid than right here and right now."
Twilight looked away from her for several long moments, as if scanning the carpet for new information. When she looked up her eyes were much softer. "Okay, Sunny. But I still don't want to drink."
"We'll respect that decision, as long as you'll respect ours."
"Okay." Twilight nodded. "Just promise nobody will get drunk enough to break anything."
"You know my stance on unkeepable promises." Sunny winked and clapped her hand on her shoulder. "Come on, let's get changed and go get some grub with our friends."
***
In the main suite, the laughter was bubbling out of the four nightie-clad girls as they sat around the sofa and TV with their plates in their laps and their glasses of wine beside them. Even Sour Sweet finally seemed to be relaxing somewhat after half a glass, a fact that made Lemon Zest smile. It would be great to finally get her in a good mood again. Not that Lemon herself was in a bad mood. She couldn't stop giggling as Sugarcoat shared her Las Pegasus experience.
"So this Button Mash punk just won't leave me alone." Sugarcoat put her hands behind her head. "Until I beat him at Triple Dragon with double his score. That shut him up in a hurry."
"I did not know you were so good at video games, Sugarcoat." Lemon giggled. "You're usually so focused I didn't think you ever just relaxed and had fun."
"Being observant doesn't mean I can't cut loose," Sugarcoat pointed out. "How about you two? Anything exciting happen while you were out on the streets?"
"I met a guy while we were out." Indigo shrugged. "He seemed cool for a while, but well... things didn't go so well in the end."
Sugarcoat pondered for a moment. "He was a bigot, wasn't he?"
"Wow... how can you tell that just from what I said?" Indigo blinked.
"I know you. Being overly critical of your friends is the only reason you would dismiss someone outright."
"Heh... well, you're right. He got all up in Lemon's face about checking out some of the chicks. We walked out the door right after."
"I still think you could've given him another chance..." Lemon insisted.
"Not a chance. You're way more important to me than some boy."
"But you can't miss out on some boy just because of me!"
"Save it, I already made my choice." Indigo shrugged, then turned to Sour Sweet. "So what did you do today? Did you find anything cool on the TV?"
"Nah, this place just has weird channels." Sour Sweet smirked. "I think I saw more interesting car commercials than I did TV shows."
"Oh yeah? Like what?" Lemon Zest asked curiously.
"There was one where some douchebag pretended to be riding a giant rubber spider."
"And... that related to cars, how?" Sugarcoat asked curiously.
"Proving that their cars are smoother rides than the giant spider, I guess."
"Ah, of course." Sugarcoat nodded. "A key comparison if ever there was one."
"It was a hoot... just not as much of one as flirting with some boy out on the streets." Sour Sweet huffed.
"Hey, nobody said you couldn't come," Indigo retorted. "You could've joined any of us, you chose to sit here and do nothing."
"I know," Sour Sweet growled under her breath. "It's not like it would have mattered if I had gone. Nobody flirts with me."
"I think I could tell you why." Sugarcoat opened her mouth to continue, but was immediately interrupted.
"Why? Because I scare everybody off? Because nobody wants to risk being close to a fucking psychopath!?" Sour Sweet rose to her feet with her fists clenched. "Because my brain isn't wired right and nobody in their right mind will ever want to get close enough to me to so much as fucking kiss me!? Is that why!? Of course it is! It's always been why! It's why I'll be fucking alone forever!" Sour Sweet whirled away from the other girls, marched to her room, and slammed the door so hard they swore they could hear the doorframe crack.
Lemon Zest and Indigo just stared after her with jaws agape, then lowered their gaze to Sugarcoat, who looked back with wide, stunned eyes.
"Don't give me that look..." Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses. "I was just going to tease her about her freckles..."
"Sour Sweet..." Lemon grunted and leapt to her feet, rushing to her friend's door.
She found it unlocked, pushing it open slowly, but she squeaked and pulled back slightly when she saw Sour Sweet sitting on her bed, digging through her suitcase. She was grunting and Lemon could see her shoulders shaking in the fading orange light filtering in through the window behind her, until she found what she was looking for, a small pill bottle. Sour Sweet popped it open, shoved a pill into her mouth, then took a long, deep swig of water from a bottle she also pulled from her bag.
Lemon waited in the doorframe just out of sight where she could peek through, watching Sour Sweet sit on the edge of her bed with her head down, one hand over her chest. After a few minutes Sour Sweet's shaking began to calm, and the sound of her breathing became more regular. Once she was sure the room was calm, Lemon Zest slipped into the room as if she had just opened the door.
"Hey." Lemon Zest closed the door gently behind her. "Are you okay?"
"No." Sour Sweet's voice was strangely calm and flat. "No I'm not okay."
"Do you want to talk about it?" Lemon approached the bed cautiously. She didn't want to leave her friend feeling bad, but she was still unpredictable. "Why are you feeling so bad? You never got this way before..."
"Maybe I didn't realize it before..." Sour Sweet wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. "How doomed to being alone I was."
"Doomed?" Lemon shook her head. "You're not doomed to being alone, why would you think that?"
"Because of you," Sour Sweet grunted.
"Me?" Lemon blinked in surprise. "Why me?"
"Because I always figured I just needed to grow up some more. Get older, learn how to deal with people, and let people learn how to deal with me. When I was grown up, I'd be able to get good friends or a boyfriend or whatever..." Sour Sweet glanced up at Lemon under her eyebrows. "Then you told us you were with Vinyl Scratch and I realized... holy crap, we're eighteen now! Eighteen years old, and I haven't done anything! No dating, no sex, no kissing, not even any googly eyed puppy love bullshit!" She groaned and clutched at her head with both hands, her fists pressing into her temple. "I always scared everybody away! Even you guys are scared of me! Why do I have to fucking terrify everybody!? Why can't I just be normal!?"
Her all-too-familiar words sent a cold chill racing through Lemon Zest's heart. Despite knowing about Sour Sweet's issues and knowing that she was medicated, it had never occurred to Lemon what it all meant. What it meant to feel so different to everyone else, to feel like she was on a dead end course through life just because her body wasn't wired the way it was supposed to be. Maybe their issues weren't the same, but it was a feeling Lemon knew all too well.
Lemon just stared down at her friend as she rocked back and forth on the bed with her head in her hands, her shoulders beginning to shake again. Suddenly Sour Sweet reached for her bag, but her hand was stopped when Lemon plopped down on the bed beside her and threw her arms around her, bringing her into a tight, close hug. Sour Sweet grunted in surprise, her head lifting from Lemon's shoulder to look at the side of her head.
"No more medicine..." Lemon shook her head. "I don't want it to hurt you."
"Lemon..." Sour Sweet blushed. "It doesn't hurt me, I just... need it to calm down..."
Lemon shook her head. "Well not right now..." Lemon Zest stroked her back softly. "I don't want you to take it."
Sour Sweet was silent for a few moments before, slowly, her arms lifted from the bed to wrap around Lemon as well. "O-okay... if you say so..."
"I'm so sorry we made you feel bad yesterday." Lemon Zest gulped. "We just... take for granted that you're our friend. We thought nothing we said could hurt you. You yell a lot, but you always let everything slide right off of you. And someday, Sour Sweet, you will find someone you can love. You will kiss them, you will make googly eyes, you will make love to them. I know you can do that."
"No you don't..." Sour Sweet muttered close to her ear, though her hug only tightened around her. "You don't know any of that."
"Of course I do..." Lemon Zest released the hug only slightly so she could pull back, looking into Sour Sweet's eyes. Her tears reflected orange in the fiery light from the window. "If you scared us away, Sour Sweet, we wouldn't be here. We don't need to hang out with you, we do it because it's worth it." Lemon blushed. "Yeah... you can be scary and difficult, sometimes... but you're also a great friend when we get past all of that. We love you."
Sour Sweet sniffled and reached up to wipe a tear away with one hand, taking a deep, trembling breath. "Th-thank you..." She blinked and shook her head quickly for a moment, then looked back into Lemon's eyes, her gaze a bit more calm, though still moist. "I'm sorry, this is just ridiculous... I feel so stupid after I wig out..."
"You're not stupid..." Lemon brought a hand up to stroke her cheek tenderly, wiping a tear from her skin with one palm. "You're just Sour Sweet. We're okay with it... and there are others who will be too. Because Sour Sweet's pretty awesome. And hot."
"Heh..." Sour Sweet's lips broke into an almost involuntary smile. "Now you're just kissing my butt to make me feel better..."
Lemon Zest giggled, a light, seemingly insignificant sound that nonetheless chased the tension right out of the room. "Maybe a little... but I'm glad it's working."
"Mmm..." Sour Sweet's breath was calm now, as she stared into Lemon's eyes again, their arms still wrapped around one-another in a fluid embrace. Her eyes flicked downward, then back up again. "You know, you're kind of hot too..."
"Yeah? Thanks." Lemon grinned.
"I know nobody wanted to sleep in the same bed with me, but..." Sour Sweet took a deep breath, as if steeling herself. "Do you want to sleep with me tonight?"
Lemon Zest stared at her for a moment, then blushed slowly. "Heh... I-I know you didn't mean to make that sound like more than just sleeping."
Sour Sweet looked down for a moment, then back up at her eyes. "What if I did?"
"Why would you...?" Lemon asked curiously. "You said you don't know if you're even into girls."
"One way to find out..." Sour Sweet shrugged softly. "And I think it sounds nice... to be closer to you."
Lemon bit her lip, her eyes flicking downward. She had to admit, as much as she tried not to think of her friends sexually, sitting like this with her arms around Sour Sweet in that nightgown... it gave a girl thoughts. Especially now that the freakout had passed, and the mood had been lightened up a bit. The crisis was over, leaving her with a great friend who was barely dressed, hot as Tartarus, and giving her a look that begged for attention.
"As long as this isn't just because... you know..." Lemon Zest coughed. "I don't want to... take advantage of things..."
"I'm totally lucid, I promise." Sour Sweet nodded in assurance. "Especially right after I take my medicine. I mean, I guess I can't account for the wine, but I want to do it. But you can say no. I won't flip out, I promise."
Lemon Zest couldn't help but believe her, on both counts. She wasn't sure she had ever seen the girl this serious before. She had always been moody, oftentimes angry, but this was the first time she had ever seen that calm, calculating look in her eye. Her brain was firing on all cylinders, and she wanted Lemon Zest. And boy, did Lemon Zest have to admit, maybe it was partly the wine talking, but she really wanted Sour Sweet now too.
Lemon Zest slowly slid her hand around Sour Sweet's body, her hands sliding up to grip her shoulders in a more passionate embrace. Sour Sweet's breath caught in her throat as Lemon moved forward to softly press her lips against her own. When Sour Sweet showed no signs of resistance or retreat, Lemon leaned forward all the way, slowly pushing her onto her back with her head on the pillow.
***
The march of time left the two girls lying side by side on top of the bedsheets in the fallen darkness, letting themselves come down from their excitement while the cool air from the AC swept the sweat from their skin. At last it was Sour Sweet who broke the silence. "Lemon Zest?"
"Hm?"
"I think I'm bisexual," Sour Sweet confirmed in a calm tone.
Lemon couldn't help but chuckle. "Yeah, I believe you..."
"Hehe..." Sour Sweet giggled a bit herself. "Thanks, Lemon... I don't know if it was the talk, the wine, the medicine, the sex or... everything, but I feel a lot better now."
Lemon reached across the bed to grip her friend's hand. "If you need anything, just tell us. You don't gotta keep it inside."
"I'll keep that in mind..." Sour Sweet nodded, then raised her other hand to her lips to contain a yawn. "Mmmh, I think I'm ready for bed. You're staying here, right?"
"Yeah, I'd love to." Lemon smiled.
"Cool. Just stay over there. I won't be responsible for what I do if you try to cuddle me in my sleep."
"Yes ma'am." Lemon Zest gave her a silly salute. Sour Sweet released Lemon's hand and shifted to bring the blanket up to her chest, rolling to turn away from Lemon Zest and settle down in a calm slumber.
Lemon watched her back for a while, lifting one finger to trace small lines between the freckles near her shoulders until she too finally grew tired and rolled onto her back, bringing the blanket up over her own chest. She stared up at the ceiling, feeling relaxed, but there was still a nagging worry tugging at the back of her mind. No matter how she tried to fight it off, it kept coming back to her, stronger and more intense.
What would Vinyl Scratch think?
To Be Continued