Persona EG LTE | Mythril Moth Creations

Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Honesty is not always the best policy.

Early Morning

There's a change in the atmosphere at school today. Where yesterday was scornful stares and a tense atmosphere, today nobody is looking at me. I look around the room, and faces turn away from me. Most of the class looks...afraid.

Mr. Turner is late to class. When he arrives, there's a grave expression on his face.

"Everyone, sign into Canterbook," he says.

We all do so. There's a countdown.

When it hits zero, a streaming video window opens. Principal Celestia appears, seated behind her desk.

"Good morning," she says. "It has come to my attention that there are a number of disturbing and frankly disgusting rumors going around about several students. The severity of these rumors led to a confrontation on school grounds which ended, I am sad to say, in violence.

"Vice-Principal Luna has investigated the situation, and determined that the instigators of yesterday's incident are entirely at fault. One student has been suspended for three days. Three others have a week's detention.

"I want to make it clear to everyone: rumors of the kind that have been going around lately will not be tolerated. This is a school, and every student and teacher in this school deserves, and will be treated with, respect and dignity. If either myself or my sister catches wind of this kind of malicious gossip circulating again, the perpetrators will be dealt with severely."

The stream ends. A faint ripple of noise fills the room.

"Right then," Mr. Turner says. "Now that that's out of the way, let's try to learn some history..."

Lunch

The girls seem to be happier today. We're all sitting together at the same table, just like before, but none of us are getting the ugly looks from yesterday. In fact, nobody seems to want to look at them. Or me. There's an aura of shame in the cafeteria.

The only person glaring daggers at us is Sunset Shimmer.

"A lot of people have been coming up to me and apologizing in the halls," Twilight says.

"Me too," Pinkie says. The others nod agreement.

"They've all just been avoiding me," I say.

"Well of course, darling," Rarity says. "The entire school knows about your little scuffle in the boys' restroom. I'm certain more than half of them knew about it before they even went to bed last night."

I sigh. "Wonderful."

"Eh...it just means they'll leave you alone for a while," Rainbow says. "It'll blow over." She frowns at her lunch. "After those rumors about me bein' a lesbian started goin' around, people didn't wanna talk to me. They got over it." She looks over at the jocks' table and sighs. "They'll get over this one too."

"Wait a second," Pinkie says suddenly. "If everybody thinks you're gay, why is this whole thing even..." She scratches her head. "I mean, I get why it landed on me and Twilight, but aren't you kinda...immune?"

Twilight groans, massaging the bridge of her nose. "Pinkiiiiiiiiie..."

"But you know," Rarity says somewhat loudly, "it would go a long way towards killing these ugly rumors once and for all if the whole school knew why you were in the hospital." She gives me a pointed look. "You haven't even told us that yet. And don't say you don't know."

They're all looking at me expectantly. This isn't good. "Uhh...can it wait until after school?" I ask.

Rarity and Twilight frown. "I suppose so," Rarity says.

Crisis averted for the moment.

After School

Before I leave school, I swing by the nurse's office.

"Hello, Flash!" Cadance says, smiling. "How was your day?"

"Better," I say. "Listen...I have a little problem."

"Oh?"

"The girls want to know why I was in the hospital, and I don't think they're gonna let me off the hook. I told them I'd tell them after school, but I can't tell them the truth. So..." I shrug helplessly. "I thought maybe you'd have some idea."

Cadance sighs. "I was afraid of this," she says.

"I hate to lie to the girls, but...I can't tell them I had the crap kicked out of me by some freaky shadow monster."

"The best excuse I can come up with is anemia," Cadance says. "It probably wouldn't hold up to scrutiny, but I think you can sell it."

"Thanks," I say.

Remembering that I wanted to stock some food in my room, I decide to go by the small grocery store a couple blocks from the dorm before heading home.

Evening

I'm sitting in the lounge practicing my guitar. One by one, the girls have been coming home. Applejack is the last to get in, carrying two big bags of groceries.

"Okay, Flash, spill it right quick," she says. "Ah gotta put this stuff up an' get dinner started, an' we've waited long enough."

"Right," I say, setting my guitar down. I tell them the story I've been rehearsing in my head since I left school:

"Turns out I was anemic and didn't know it," I say. "I was working myself too hard the week before I left Seaddle and wasn't eating right. I've been pretty busy ever since I got here too, so..." I shrug. "I was pushing myself too hard, wasn't eating right, and didn't know I had an iron deficiency. That's pretty much it."

"Well shucks, why didn't ya just say somethin' sooner?" Applejack asks. "T'ain't nothin' t' be embarrassed about." She rolls her eyes, then heads for the kitchen.

Rainbow, Pinkie, Rarity, and Fluttershy seem to accept my explanation without question, and go about their business. Twilight, however, is watching me, and has that little crinkle to her forehead. I still haven't known her very long, but I do know one thing:

She's not buying it.