Sunday night saw Lemon working behind the bar again, he was two hours into his shift and the end of the night seemed like a distant dream in an unreachable futer. The club was beyond busy and he found himself moving behind the bar from spot to spot at such a rate he was sure he was sweating. Two of the passed four nights were spent in the company of his first and only friend listening to music and attepting but failing to teach her to cook.
On her first try at boiling an egg she had somehow managed to not only scold the bottom of the pot but also cause the egg to spontainously cumbust and redecorate the stove and wall. She faired better on her seconed attempt though. She managed to boil the egg in the water successfuly, of course then it boiled over but it was still progress even if the egg was cooked to a state of tasing like rubber.
In turn she had been helping him unwind by them dancing togeather or sitting on the couch and watching TV into the wee hours of the morning. One of those nights they fell asleep on the couch togeather and woke up with the great pain only one who has slept on an old couch can know. It was becoming all to familar to Lemon as she stayed over the next night as well and he slept on the couch while she once again got the bed. She'd tried to convince him to take it but the stubborn stallion had none of it.
Lemon Tart sighed with frustration as he placed a set of glasses in the freezer to frost them. "I just want to go home and take a nap right now. This is the first night for two days Glowy isn't comming over so I'll get my bed back. Alas I'm stuck here another ten hours." The stallion closed his eye's for a moment and listened to the music that Pon3 was playing. She was going to be in town for the next month so she had signed a temperay contract with the owners of CPPP to work three nights a week as a celebrity guest DJ.
When he lifted his head back up from the freezer he saw in front of him a white Unicorn pony with purple lensed glasses and an electric blue mane. Looking at the stage he saw that she had put a record on loop to keep the croud moving. It was a temporary fix but if she just wanted a drink than it would do for a minute. She waved him over and as quick as he could Lemon obliged.
"Good evening miss Pon3! What can I get you tonight? Whatever it is it's on the house."
The mare pulled out a small notepad and scribbled on it breifly before showing it to him.
"Vodca Tonic please."
"Right away."
Setting about mixing her drink he moved his whooves with the fluid motion of a practiced though not expert drink maker. Luckily Vodca Tonics were't that hard to make for him. His father had been partial to them before he passed and he had learned how to make them by observation and even made them for his dad from time to time when he was too tired to do so himself. Completeing the drink he passed it to the white mare accross the bar with his best attempt at a smile.
"There you are miss Pon3. Anything else I can get you?"
She shook her head before taking a sip. Pointing at the drink she smiled before giving him a hooves up and going back to her post to continue the set leaving him to continue to serve the other patrons in the increasingly extending line. It was going to be a long night.
/l\---)O(---/l\
Glowy awoke to the sound of her alarm going off marking the time as 6:00 PM. With a yawn and a resentfull groan she arose and began her mornig (Or in other ponies minds) Evening routine. While brushing her teeth she got a look at her mane in the mirror and had somepony else been in the room she would have been mortified. Her mane at the moment looked as if somepony had tried to make some sort of traditional style manedo with no training. It was at that moment a pink Alicorn in the Crystal Empire felt an itch behind her left ear.
A quick shower and a good brushing of her hair later saw a more presentible twin ponytailed mare stepping out into one of the many halls of her home. With the goal of obtaining some food in the forefront of her mind Glowy made her way towards the dinning room expecting that given the time her mother would have retreated to her study leaving what remained in the hot tins for her as she usualy did.
No sooner had the buffet like setting appeared in her vision then one of the many buttlers in her mothers employ stepped forward holding a small plush bag that ginggled.
"Maddam Scenic Glow has asked me to give you this purse of bits so you may eat at one of the establishments you come accross on your nightly outings."
"What? Why?"
"The lady of the house had to take dinner later this evening do to a long running meeting so the dinning room is currently occupied."
A glance over the stallions shoulder told her that the room was empty save her mother. With a sigh and a lowered head Glowy took the bag and made her way out towards the front doors. She wouldn't be taking one of her mother's carridges downtown tonight she wanted to walk so she could be alone.
"My own mother couldn't be bothered to even eat in the same room as me. The worst thing is I should be used to it by now but no! No matter how many times my own mother treats me like a pestilence it still hurts! It still upsets me! It still infuriates me!
With an audible pout she stomped her forehooves on the pavement in frustraition before falling on her haunches and entering a fit of angry tears.
"If she hates me so much we can hardly be in the same room then why am I here! She could have dumped me in an orphanage or something but instead she kept me around! Why? Why didn't she just get rid of me?"
Glowy continued her weeping as she sat there alone in the street of the private drive that connected her home to the city. Normaly when something like this happened she at least made it through the gates before she broke down in tears but today she hadn't even made it that far. When she was in her teens she had told herself the comforting lie that her mother did love her and she kept her because of that but as she got older that lie became less and less believible to her and the truth became more apparent.
The reason her mother hadn't thrown her in an orphanage or kicked her out was for her own shallow superficial reasons. As the CEO of the Manehattan O&H Import services abandoning her daughter would have caused her loss of face among many of the upperclass ponies. The one night stand that had resulted in Glowy's existance had already done enough damage so to save face she had kept her daughter and spent five years running damage control. As far as Pacific could tell her mother just wanted to pretend she didn't exist, to pretend that night had never happened.
Getting back to her hooves with a shudder from stess she continued out the gates towards the corner where she could hail a cab. The sooner she got away from her house the sooner she could put the painfull memories of neglect out of her mind for a little while. Rumaging around in her purse for Bits so she could pay the cabbie when he came her hoof grazed against a plastic bottle. Hesitantly she pulled it out before undoing the cap. With a quick glance to either side she popped two pills and swallowed, right now all she cared about was making it through the night so to her the ends justified the means.
/l\---)O(---/l\
Azure sat on her couch with her gaze scrutinizing the written words in the book between her hooves. However despite her best efforts The History of Medieval Equestria was a book that used words she was none too familiar with and she was having trouble making heads or tails of it. On her date with Show Stopper last night the history of Equestria came up when she asked about one of the plays she was auditioning for. Turns out Show Stopper wasn't just a mare with looks that could kill. She was a nerdy mare with looks that could kill. So in an attempt to get into her marefriends interests she had asked for a book recommendation which led her to her current predicament.
Sighing she sat the book down on her coffee table and rubbed her eyes. She was not making much progress with the book. Maybe if she studied it with Show Stopper she'd do better? After all that mare could make the phone book interesting in her mind. Shaking her head Azure did a double take. Smiling at the invading thoughts.
"Wow if I didn't know better I'd say I'm falling for her."
She chuckled at her thoughts though only half as a joke. Before reaching for her phone to make a call. The phone rang a few times before she heard Show Stopper pick up on the other end.
"Hey sweety how are you doing or should I ask what your doing...to yourself."
"Baby why do you think I'm calling you?"
"Hahaha! I see. Sorry Azzy but I can't come over tonight I'm busy with some research for the play I'm auditioning for. Maybe the day after tomorrow?"
"Oh that kinda sucks but I'll take you up on meeting in a couple days. I was thinking we would go to this nice Prench place I know, I'd buy of course."
"Sounds great Azzy. Is it just me or are you trying to impress?"
"Maybe."
"Ha! Well it's working. Trust me when I see you next your gonna need a new bed by the morning."
"Between that and the Prench dinner you might have to pay for the next few dates."
"Hmmmm...It'll be worth it."
Azure was about to follow up with further teasing sexy talk when she noticed another call waiting from an unknown number.
"Hey babe I'm getting another call I got to let you go."
"Parting is such sweet sorrow. I'll talk to you tomorrow to set up the date ok?"
"Gotcha bye."
With that Azure answered the next call to see who would be brave or stupid enough to interrupt a call with her marefriend.
"Hello?"
"Is this miss Azure Velour?"
"Ya who am I talking to?"
"I'm nurse Tender Care from the Manehattan regional hospital. We have a miss Pacific Glow here who I'm afraid is a little rather the worse for wear. You were her emergency contact.
"What happened? Is she ok?" Azure exclaimed sitting bolt upright on her couch."
"She's not awake right now but she should be ok. She's lucky though she was so dehydrated and ill she passed out at a dance club. We have her on an I.V. right now to get some fluids in her system."
"I'll be right down! Thank you for calling me."
"Of course miss-"
Azure hung up as she bolted for the door down to the sidewalk to dial a cab. If her suspicions were correct things were a lot worse than just a sick Glowy.
"Oh Celestia please tell me she didn't OD! She promised she had it under control! She promised she'd quit as soon as she could!"
By the time the cab arrived she was hopping from hoof to hoof from anxiety. She wasted no time in climbing in and giving a destination.
"If her mother finds out there will be the Cerberus to pay!"
/l\---)O(---/l\
Show Stopper sat in her dimly lit room looking at a computer screen laughing at the sight of some of the insane theory's that conspiracy nuts had come up with. While researching details to better act the part of the lead roll of Luna in an upcoming play she had found a link that led to one of the nutter sites and was now enjoying a good laugh at their expense.
according to the history books 43 B.L.B. was when the mage known as Meadow Brook was born in the now ruined city of Everfree which now in the year 2 A.L.R. is surrounded in the forest of the same name. 21 B.L.B. seems to be when Meadow Brook became Luna's personal advisor and shortly after Luna turns on her sister. Coincidence? I think not!-
Show Stopper closed out of the page laughing but feeling guilty about it. Sure it was funny but there was somepony out there crazy enough to believe that. Shaking her head free of the thought and giving a few last laughs she returned to her research. Being the nerd she was she spent the next several hours reading through public historical documents describing the battle between the two sisters from the perspectives of the city ponies and of course mention of the now famous Elements of Harmony. Much to her surprise she even found a newspaper article detailing the celebration of her return with a number of pictures of a small light blue Alicorn. Show Stopper couldn't help but sqwee.
"Dawwww she looks like a little Alicorn filly! She's so cute! "I wonder if me and Azure will ever adopt a sweet little filly like that?"
She laughed out loud before taking a deep breath.
"Whoa there Show your getting a bit ahead of yourself I think...
Shaking her head free of that idea (Or at least as much as she could) She resumed her studies. Still though in the back of her mind she had to admit she would be lying if she said she hated the Idea.
/l\---)O(---/l\
Lemon Tart gave a sigh of relief as he sipped his cup of whiskey outside of CPPP. He'd made it to his break and had snagged himself a small bit of his preferred drink under the table to cool off. If he was gonna make it through the night he was gonna need something to take the edge off. He watched the cabs go by likely on they're last runs of the night as they came to the four way stop. Then he did a double take to make sure he saw what he thought he did.
"Azure is that you?" He called out to the anxious looking mare on the cab seat.
"Lemon? Lemon! Come here quick before the light changes and get your flank in here now!"
"Why what's wrong I've still got several hours left on-"
"Glowys in the hospital get the buck in!"
Dropping his beverage on the ground Lemon hurried over to the carriage just after hoofing the cabbie some bits for the fair before he could complain. No sooner had he gotten in his seat than the light changed and they were off down the road.
"What happened is she ok?" He asked.
"I-I don't know!"
Lemon gave her a skeptical gaze and she began to wither beneath it.
"Azure what's wrong with Glowy."
"I-I..."
His gaze hardened.
"I honestly don't know...for sure."
"What do you think?"
"I think... I think she might have overdosed on Joy."