Wednesday, September 9, 2015

2015
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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Let your worries take a back seat today. Stress is bad for your health.

Early Morning

Rainbow Dash's suspension officially begins today. I've learned that at Canterlot High, suspension also means being locked out of Canterbook for the duration. Additionally, Rainbow isn't allowed to leave the dorm until her suspension ends.

I have a feeling she's gonna be climbing the walls by the weekend.

At least given the circumstances, she isn't having any priveleges revoked. Twilight's pretty sure Rainbow's planning to spend the week parked in front of the television.

After breakfast and walking Spike with Twilight, I grab my laptop and my tennis racket and head for school.

After School

Tennis practice is today.

Practice is exhausting but fun. I pair off with Pinkie as my practice partner.

All throughout practice, I notice how Suri berates and bullies Coco.

After practice, I hang around to help Coco clean up. She looks flustered.

"Oh...h-hello again..." she says timidly.

"You've really gotta stand up to Suri," I say.

"I...I want to. She's just..." Coco sighs. "Oh! By the way, I noticed you have a new racket."

"Yeah, I went shopping over the weekend," I say. "A friend helped me pick it out."

"Can I see it for a second?" she asks.

"Sure." I hand Coco my racket. She examines it, turning it this way and that and testing the grip. She picks up a ball, bounces it a couple of times, then walks over to the practice wall and serves.

Her serve leaves a visible mark on the wall.

She walks back over to me. "I think you picked a pretty good racket," she says. "You might need to change out the wrapping on the grip, though. It feels a little too grabby." She ducks her head. "I can help you with that if you want."

I know I'm staring at her, but I can't help it. "That...how did you..." I point at the wall. "That was some serve!"

She frowns. "Oh, that?" She blushes. "I...I guess..."

"Why aren't you on the team?" I ask. "You should be on the court!"

She looks down again. "I...I don't mind being on the sidelines." She idly kicks at the ground. "Really, it's fine. I'm happy to help everybody else..." She turns away. "I have to go...see you at practice on Friday..."

She leaves.

Pinkie comes out of the locker rooms, her wet hair hanging straight. "What's up?" she asks.

"Pinkie, why isn't Coco on the team?"

Pinkie frowns. "I don't know. I mean, she tried out last year as a freshman, but..." She tilts her head. "Why?"

"I just...think she might be really good, and I don't know why she's the manager and not..." I shrug. "Nevermind."

Evening

I'm working on my homework when Cadance visits my room.

"I've been putting together a list of Libras at CHS," she says. "There's seventeen students and two teachers."

"Libra..." I frown. "You're sure there's going to be an attack?"

"Absolutely," Cadance says. "There's been one attack during each sign since...since at least February." She looks hesitant. "The...the first Libra on the list is—"

"Twilight," I say. "I know."

Cadance raises an eyebrow. "You already know when her birthday is?"

"I checked everyone's birthdays after...after what you told me," I say. "I...I just need to know that...if my friends are in danger, I can be ready for it."

Cadance sighs. "Aww, and here I hoped I could tease you a little bit about Twilight."

I roll my eyes. "Why bother? Everybody knows how I feel about her. Hell, I told her straight up how I feel."

Cadance smiles. "Give her time. She's just shy, and...just be patient with her." She stretches. "So, has living in a dorm full of girls driven you crazy yet?"

I laugh. "Nah, it's cool. I mean, there's been a few...weird moments..."

"Oh?" Cadance tilts her head curiously. "What kind of weird moments?"

I blush. "Oh, just...you know...girls...not used to a guy being in the dorm...forgetting there's a guy in the dorm..."

Cadance raises that eyebrow again. There's a teasing smirk on her face. "So you're basically saying you're really enjoying yourself."

"I'm behaving myself! Honest!"

Cadance laughs. "So, do you think you'll want to visit Zodiac again sometime soon?"

"Yeah," I say. "There's a lot of questions I need answered, and I have a feeling the only way I'm gonna find answers is...is there."

"Speaking of questions that need answering..." Cadance trails off. "Something about the other night has been bothering me. How did you destroy that Shadow? My data on your Persona and that Shadow...it just doesn't add up."

I wonder if I should explain what happened that night. As I'm trying to decide how to approach the subject, Twilight walks in.

"Flash, could you—oh. Hey, Cadance."

Cadance smiles. "I'll just leave you two alone." She gives me a wink. "Behave yourself!"

As she leaves, Twilight frowns at her back.

"What's up, Twilight?"

"Oh. Um." Twilight fidgets. "I was just going to ask you to walk Spike with me. But if you're busy..."

"No, it's fine."

It's chilly out tonight, so I wear the jacket Twilight gave me for my birthday. Spike frolics happily in the grass.

Twilight gives me a measuring look. "So what was Cadance doing in your room?" she asks.

"She was just checking in on me," I say. "And teasing me a little."

"Teasing you?"

"About you," I say. "I mean, about..."

Twilight sighs. "Yeah, I get it."

I know I'm playing with fire here, but I can't resist. "Why, you're not jealous, are you?" I ask with a playful smirk.

"Wh-what?!" Twilight stares at me. "Of course not! We're not...and she's married to my big brother!"

"I was just joking."

Twilight sighs. "I'm sorry," she says. "It's just...Cadance has been acting a little odd lately. I think..." She looks down. "I'm wondering if maybe...something's not okay with their marriage."

"What makes you think that?" I ask.

"Well, Shining Armor's been really tense since school started."

"With all the crap going on? Who could blame him?"

"It's not that," Twilight says. "It's..." She sighs. "Cadance...she's a natural flirt. She can't help it. Flirting and teasing...it's just who she is. I know she loves my brother, and I know she'd never hurt him, but..." She trails off, looking up at me. "Just...don't egg her on, okay?"

She doesn't seriously think...?

"You're worrying over nothing," I tell her. "Trust me, she's totally shipping me with you."

Twilight blushes. "Oh," she says quietly. "Well...that's...good. I guess..." She looks away. "Oh, look! Spike's done his business. I guess I'll clean up here and...head up...I'll see you in the morning, okay?"

I head up to my room and get ready for bed.