Scotch left the coffee shop and turned to start walking home. It was rather chilly so she picked up her pace a bit, looking forward to lighting a nice big fire. Sunny inviting her to the concert was rather unexpected and kind of caused her to lose her focus. ‘Why did he invite me to hang out with his friends? Who are these ponies anyway?’ Scotch thought to herself as she trotted along the street absentmindedly. As she started to turn the corner, she suddenly found herself face-down in a pit.

“Son of a BITCH! Ember! You better pray to Celestia I don’t get my damn hooves on you you feathered twat! Arrrgh!” Scotch didn’t know how Ember pulled off digging these pits all over town just where she was going to be walking, but she knew she must be behind it somehow. She just had to be. The frequency in which she found herself at the bottom of a conveniently-placed pit was just too much to be mere coincidence.

Mumbling numerous obscenities, Scotch pulled herself out of the pit, brushed the mud off her coat the best she could and continued home. After what felt like forever, she finally made the turn onto her street and started for her driveway. Several slip-and-falls later she scrambled onto the porch and pushed the front door open. There were only two things in this world that could make Scotch smile; one was feeling the warmth of the house wash over her and the other can’t be mentioned in good company.

Trotting to the kitchen to make some hot cocoa, she slumped her saddlebags off in a heap by the door. “Eh, fuck it. I’ll pick em up later” Scotch said as she stepped over them. While filling the kettle up with water and placing it on the stove, she pulled a cup off the shelf and floated it over to the table with the hot cocoa mix. Glancing out her kitchen window, her eyes narrowed as she observed the numerous filled-in holes scattering the yard. She never actually saw Ember dig them, but it still urked her to no end because in the back of her mind she knew she was behind it somehow. Someday she’d get to the bottom of it. The kettle began to whistle, drawing her attention back from the window.

Pouring the boiling water into the cup with some mix, Scotch sat down with a thud at her kitchen table and sighed heavily. Plopping her head down on her crossed forehooves on the table in front of her, she glanced at the clock on the wall and watched the seconds tick by, waiting for the cocoa to cool down some. She wasn’t the most social pony by any stretch of the imagination, but that didn’t mean she was exempt from loneliness. She thought about how there was nopony that lived anywhere near her besides Ember. She honestly couldn't remember why they fought like they did; some days she wished she could just go over and hang out or something but it just never seemed to happen that way. Sighing, she took a sip off the steaming cup.

“Maybe this music thing Sunny mentioned will be fun. Celestia knows I could use some fun in my life” she muttered to herself as she poked at a marshmallow bobbing in the cocoa. “It’s been forever since I’ve seen some live music. I wonder who these friends are he mentioned. Wonder if they’re anypony I know from school.” She shrugged as she took the last sip from the mug and floated it over to the sink and returned to the living room.

Between schoolwork and sleeping, Scotch rarely had time to just sit and think, and maybe that was for the best. So long as she kept moving it distracted her from the piercing loneliness she found herself in. She wasn’t mean to anypony at school, but she was never the type to just strike up a conversation with somepony she came across and possibly make friends. For her at school, the focus was the work and getting wherever on time, not stopping and chatting. With her full load of classes, she simply didn’t have the time to stop and chat. When she got home she had reports to write, and of course she had to eat still, although her frequenting the coffee shop lessened that burden to an extent. She couldn’t live off of muffins; only one mare in Ponyville appeared to be able to pull that off.

The more she sat and thought about it the more the dark thoughts of depression wore at her, and that was certainly not a path she wanted to go down at the moment, or anytime really. She trotted over to where her saddlebags laid on the ground where she slumped them off before and placed them on the table, books and paper spilling out. Sifting through the pile, Scotch organized the various books and assignments into their respective piles before stepping back and giving them an overview.

“You know what? Fuck it. I’m not doing anything else tonight” she said with a hint of a smile. “I’m getting a nice hot shower and going the hell to bed. This crap can wait.” It felt good to brush off her responsibilities for a change, a smile crossing her muzzle as she trotted upstairs. Not long after, the sounds of humming and running water filled the small home.

Scotch woke up the next day to the acrid smell of diesel and the ear-destroying noise of a lawn tractor, but not just any lawn tractor. This was an oversized, oil-guzzling monster, and it just so happened to also be the the one Ember had in her shed to mow her large backyard, or plow her driveway given the weather, no doubt to spite Scotch. Her frown expanded.

“This is just how I wanted to spend my Sunday, yelling at a cooing bitch” she sighed, calculating how much study time would be wasted by this. She had made a rough mental chart in her head detailing the frequency and length of her confrontations with the orange-feathered nuisance. Their record length was a full afternoon. She recalled that particular fight being about the eternally-burning tire she threw over the fence into Ember’s backyard after a failed arcane experiment. The problem wasn’t its eternal burning, it was it setting the sun-dried grass on fire. In fact, most of the argument took place while they were busy dousing the flames. And after they were done, Ember was kind enough to toss the offending tire back into Scotch’s own backyard. Much appreciated, Ember...

She got out of bed, and once again had an epiphany. “You know what bitch? I’m not even going to give you the pleasure of seeing me pissed, ‘cause I’m staying right here.” She smiled at her evil plan. ‘That should teach the pigeon. Heh… pigeon’ Scotch smirked to herself as she pulled the sheets back over herself and curled up in a ball again. She wondered if Sunny’s friends would be ponies she would get along with, perhaps even become friends with. The thought of finally having some friends brought a smile to her face as she rolled over to face the nightstand and grab a pair of earplugs to block out the mower. Not long thereafter sleep found her once again.

Scotch awoke again several hours later not to the smell of fuel but rather the pangs of hunger coming from her stomach. She recalled that she only had the cup of cocoa the night before and was now seriously hungry for some actual food. Throwing the cover off and rolling to her hooves, she trotted over to the mirror hanging on the wall behind her dresser and began to untangle the absolute disarray that was her mane. Why she chose such a complicated manestyle she never knew but what she did know is it looked damn good on her and made other mares jealous, so that alone was reason enough to keep it. After about five minutes and one broken brush handle, Scotch gave herself a once-over in the mirror before nodding primly and trotting into the hallway and down the stairs en route to the kitchen.

As she entered the kitchen, the cocoa mug sitting by the sink caught her eye and made her frown. “Must be nice having Blue do all the dishes you damn fowl” Scotch mumbled under her breath as she turned towards the fridge, her stomach growling with increased frequency. Levitating a plate from the cabinet and onto the table, she opened the fridge and immediately her eyes became big and watery. Nothing was in there except the light bulb. It was then that she remembered that she was supposed to stop at the store before coming home last night, but talking to Sunny and falling in the pit had distracted her and she forgot. “Damn it… Now what the fuck am I gonna do” she muttered, searching the cabinets for something edible. “Celestia, I’m not that poor. What the hell happened to all my food? Has it really been that long since I was shopping? I really need to cut back on this crazy school load.”

After confirming that there was indeed no food in the house at all, the only option left was to go shopping, but seeing how hungry she was right this moment, she had to stop at the coffee shop first and at least get a muffin in her. Throwing on her boots and scarf, and grabbing a bag of bits that looked to be enough for something at the coffee shop and the store afterwards, Scotch opened her front door and stepped out into the gentle snowfall. Taking a moment to clear her walkway, Scotch dusted off her doormat and rolled her eyes at what it read, ‘Life’s a bitch and so am I’. “Hm, and I wonder why ponies are put off by me…” Scotch sighed. “I’m gonna get rid of this thing. Seems much more appropriate for Little Miss Snow Plow over there” she said as she glanced over at Ember finishing up plowing her driveway and walk. Putting the mat to the side, she turned and headed towards town.

Scotch could smell the sweet aroma of freshly baked muffins wafting out the door of the coffee shop as a pony pushed it open to leave as she approached. ‘There better not be a line or I’m gonna murder somepony’ she thought to herself as she went in. No line, just Sunny and another pony she was surprised to see behind the counter. “Apricot? You work here?” she asked with a confused look on her face as she walked up to the counter.

“Oh hey Scotch! Wow I never see you outside of school. What brings you in?” Apricot asked as she mixed up a few drinks.

“I’m always in here, just ask Sunny” Scotch said, gesturing towards Sunny who smiled and nodded as he started making her drink, not even waiting for her to say she actually wanted it. He knew.

“Huh. Guess I always miss you since our class schedules are a bit different” Apricot said.

“How do you two know each other exactly?” Sunny asked as he ground some beans.

“We’re in a history class together. Used to be in a creative writing class together too but I dropped it after the first week” Scotch replied.

Apricot smiled. “You should’ve hung in there, it was a lot of fun.”

“I’m already buried up to my damn horn in reports and shit so I don’t need a class that’s nothing but writing thank you” Scotch replied, rolling her eyes. “Bad enough I have to deal with my damn neighbor that decides to plow her driveway at 6 a.m.…”

“Who’s your neighbor?” Apricot asked, wiping her hooves off and coming around the counter to sit with Scotch at one of the tables.

“Her name’s Ember. She’s that griffin that owns that shipping company on the other side of town. She thinks just cuz she owns her house she can do whatever the fuck she wants, when she wants, and it’s infuriating” Scotch said as she levitated her completed drink over to herself from Sunny. “Oh yea, gimme like three muffins too. Haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”

“Oh I’ve seen her around. Was just talking to Sunny about her the other day actually. She’s hot,” Apricot said with a grin. Scotch nearly choked on her drink and Sunny started to snicker before ducking behind the counter to avoid the projectile muffin aimed at his head.

“What the hell did you just say?!” Scotch exclaimed, looking at Apricot in disbelief.

“What? I think griffins are hot. You don’t? I mean, come on, her feathers look pretty sick” Apricot argued. “Plus they got talons so they can actually pick things up, unlike with these damn hooves. If you’re not a unicorn then it’s pretty much just too bad.”

“Ok, I’m convinced you’ve lost your damn mind. She’s a crazy pidgeon who perpetually digs holes around town just to make me fall in them” Scotch said. Apricot and Sunny both gave her a look with raised brows of doubt. “I’m not crazy I swear! I know it’s her! I just haven’t actually seen her do it yet…” she trailed off.

“Just cuz you hate her doesn’t mean somepony else can’t make a pass at her. Is she seeing anypony?” Apricot asked with a hint of hope in her voice that made Scotch want to regurgitate her muffin.

“How the fuck should I know? The only time we talk is when we’re yelling at each other over the fence” Scotch said. “If you wanna be a bird fucker then you go find her and ask.”

“I don’t want to fuck her. Well, not yet anyway. I’d wanna get to know her first” Apricot said as she got up from the table and started to walk behind the counter again. “Maybe you should try to get to know her better too, or at least some other ponies. I never see you at any of the school events.”

Scotch sighed. “I know… Part of me wants to go, but another part of me just hates those big social gatherings. I like solitude, but hate it when it turns to loneliness.”

“That’s why I invited you to join me and my friends at the concert later. I figured you’d get to know them better and maybe you could start hanging out with us some. By the way, Ember will be there” Sunny said.

“Ooo! She will?” Apricot said with a big smile. “Can I come too? I wanna meet her.” Scotch let out a loud groan and plopped her head on the table in front of her. Sunny just smiled and turned to Apricot.

“Sure, I’m sure the others won’t mind.” He handed her a flyer with the information that Apple had left. “We’re planning on meeting at the bar a few blocks away and then going from there.”

“That sounds awesome. Can’t wait!” Apricot said, her huge smile never leaving her face. “Anyway, I got some prep work to finish downstairs. Yell if you need me Sunny.”

“Will do” Sunny said as he checked the stock in the bakery case.

“Ugh, there’s no way I’m getting out of this music thing is there” Scotch muttered, her head still lying on the table.

“Why would you want to? I thought you’d be excited to finally meet some new ponies and maybe make some real friends finally” Sunny said. “No offense, but you really need it Scotch.”

“I know I know… Doesn’t make it any easier though, especially now that I know the pigeon will be there” Scotch said, putting a little more disdain on ‘pigeon’.

“Look, just give it, and her, a chance. I bet you two have never tried just talking. And other ponies will be around so I doubt either of you would want to cause a scene, so perfect opportunity to just put your stupid feuds to rest” Sunny said reasonably. Scotch hated to admit it but he had a point. Plus she was tired of all the yelling and tension. Since they were the only two that lived where they did, it would help her stress if she didn’t get an aneurysm every time she thought of Ember next door.

“Fine. I’ll give it a fair chance if she does. And if this backfires, it’s all on your arse” Scotch said, finally picking her head off the table. “I gotta get to the store and stock up on food. I got nothing but dust in the fridge at home.”

“If I don’t see you again soon, I’ll call you with the time we’re gonna be meeting, sound good?” Sunny asked as Scotch opened the door to leave.

“Yeah, sure, that’ll work. And tell Apricot to keep her bizarre sexual interests to herself will you?” Scotch said over her shoulder. A pony passing by outside caught that part of the conversation out of context and immediately got a puzzled look on his face as he continued walking, trying to figure out what the hell was just being discussed.

Sunny chucked. “I’ll see what I can do. Take care.” Scotch waved as she walked around the corner, checking this time for magically materializing pits waiting to claim her as their next victim, but found none. She continued towards the store, her head filled with what she might possibly have to say to Ember that wasn’t considered improper when amongst company. This was going to be interesting.