Thursday, September 10, 2015

2015
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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Today you will feel a disturbance in the Force.

Early Morning

Music club is today. After walking Spike with Twilight, I pack my guitar up in my gig bag and head for school.

After School

Trixie is about as much fun during music club today as she was Tuesday. As everyone is leaving, I pack up my guitar.

Trixie walks over to me. "Trixie is...actually somewhat impressed. Don't misunderstand...you are still far from a match for Trixie." She sits on a desk. "But...Trixie would like to know where you learned to play."

"I taught myself," I say. "I grew up in Seaddle. It's hard not to learn how to play something."

"Seaddle...that explains your taste in music." Trixie shakes her head. "Trixie prefers glam rock and power ballads. They have more...style." She tosses her hair. "Still...Trixie might consider jamming with you sometime."

"Uh-huh. Well, I gotta go."

"Wait...!" Trixie calls. "Ahem. A moment, please."

I stop and turn.

Trixie looks away. "Trixie has noticed...you have been in this school for only a short time...and yet you have several friends."

"Yeah, and a lot of enemies. Or at least people who can't mind their own business."

"Trixie...has not always been successful in convincing others to admire her greatness," Trixie says. "Trixie was wondering...if perhaps..."

"You want to learn how to make friends?" I ask. "Here's a tip: drop the attitude." I walk out.

"Trixie WILL learn the secrets of influencing others from you!" Trixie yells behind me. "Trixie will see you Tuesday!"

---

...oh you have got to be kidding me.

Evening

When I walk into the dorm, Twilight looks up from her book and gasps. "Flash? But...I thought you were already home!"

"Huh?"

"W-well...I was getting a book from my room earlier and I heard...guitar playing from your room..." Twilight trails off, a perplexed frown on her face.

How's that even possible? Did I leave something on? I have my guitar in my hand, so...

I head upstairs. As I hit the second floor landing, I hear it, faintly. Someone is haltingly strumming the major chords for the song "Re: A Girl" on my old acoustic. Curious, I head up to my floor and down the hall to my room. I open the door...

Rainbow Dash is sitting on my bed in a tank top and panties, tossing her hair around wildly as she plays the same few chords over and over again.

She looks up and waves. "Hey." Even from here, I can see how jacked up her fingers are.

I facepalm. "Seriously?"

I set down my laptop and guitar. I calmly take the acoustic from Rainbow, lean it against the bed, then pick Rainbow herself up by the back of her shirt.

"H-hey!" she squawks, flailing her arms.

I carry the squirming, flailing Rainbow all the way downstairs. I walk into the lounge. Twilight stares, wide-eyed.

"Look what I found in my room," I say dryly as I set Rainbow down on her feet.

Rainbow turns to me, face flaming, and slugs me in the shoulder. "Jerk!" she cries.

I hold up a hand, extending a finger as I cover each point I need to make. "One: ask before you mess with my stuff. Two: Don't hang out in my room in your underwear. Or naked. Or anything else I'd probably get kicked in the nuts for. Three: Get Cadance to bandage up your fingers, they're a mess. Four: Don't play guitar for more than an hour at a time until you get used to it. Five..." I pause. "You can borrow my acoustic. Just...play it in your own room."

"I can? Sweet!" Rainbow says. "Did you see how I was rockin'?"

"I saw how you were playing the same three chords over and over again. Which...actually isn't bad for a beginner. I'm surprised your fingers aren't bleeding, though."

Rainbow looks down at her hands and realizes how messed up her fingers are. "Gah!" She sighs. "Yeah, okay, I'll go get Nurse Cadance to fix me up." She starts to walk to the connecting hall leading to Cadance's apartment.

Twilight clears her throat. "Maybe put some clothes on first?"

Rainbow blinks, then looks down at herself. "Oh. Yeah. Clothes. Heh." She heads upstairs.

I shake my head and flop down next to Twilight. "That girl. Sheesh."

Twilight arches an eyebrow at me. "That's not how I'd expect a guy to react to finding a half-naked girl in his room."

I sigh. "I guess I'm just so used to Rainbow wandering around like that I don't even care anymore." I look over at Twilight. "Now if it was y—"

"Don't even go there," Twilight says flatly, turning a page in her book.

Oh crap. Did I just push too far?

"So are we going out on Saturday?" Twilight asks, not looking up from her reading.

...huh?

"Uhh...huh?"

She glances up at me. "Last Saturday...that was kind of a date, wasn't it?" she asks hesitantly. "I mean we never said it was a date, but..." She blushes. "I was just...wondering if we're spending time together on Saturday."

"Sure...I'd love to."

Rainbow comes back down in shorts and a T-shirt and heads for Cadance's apartment. She comes back a little while later with her fingers wrapped in gauze. I go upstairs and grab my acoustic, then bring it down and give it to Rainbow. Her reaction is...adorable, and almost kitten-like. I can't help but smile.

Cadance joins us for dinner.

"So, Flash...you're teaching Rainbow to play guitar?"

Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie turn to me with interest.

"Eh...more like she's trying to teach herself," I say. "But I am letting her borrow my old acoustic. And...I guess I might show her a thing or two, when I'm not busy."

"Learning an instrument sounds like fun!" Pinkie says. "Maybe I should think about trying to learn something."

Rarity clears her throat daintily. "I took piano lessons for four years," she says. "Pity I haven't really had a chance to keep my skills sharp."

"Ah wouldn't mind pickin' out some country, maybe on th' guitar or banjo..." Applejack muses.

I glance at Applejack's hands and frown. "No offense, AJ, but...you don't really have the hands for guitar." At her confused, slightly offended look, I add, "You've got bass player hands."

"Bass? That's...kinda like a guitar, right?"

Cadance smiles. "Maybe you could all learn to play something! You could start a band!"

We all laugh.

After dinner, I help wash the dishes. When I go upstairs, I find Cadance sitting on my bed.

I can feel an eye twitch coming on.

At least she isn't half-naked.

...now there's a mental image...

"We should go to Zodiac this weekend," Cadance says. "I was thinking...Saturday night?"

"Saturday's no good for me," I say. "I have a date with Twilight."

Cadance gasps happily and claps. "Yay! Congratulations!"

"It's weird," I say. "She seems like she doesn't want to be a couple, and then she goes and asks me out. She even says last Saturday was a date. I tried not to think of it as a date."

Cadance giggles. "Want some advice? Just...don't worry about things like that. Twilight likes to rationalize things. She goes a little overboard sometimes. Regardless of what she says? She's your girlfriend." She stands up and pats me on the shoulder. "We'll worry about Zodiac later."

"Maybe on Sunday? Like, after breakfast? Depending on how Saturday goes." I frown. "You did say it works any time of day, right?"

"Yes, it works any time of day. In fact, it might be a good idea to go at a time other than night." She smiles and saunters out. "Goodnight, Flash!"

A minute later...

"Am I ever going to come up here and NOT find my sister-in-law in your room?"

"Oh, hey Twilight." I look up from turning down the bed to see Twilight standing in the door, arms crossed. "Come on in. Apparently my room's Canterlot Central Station today."

"What was she doing here this time?"

Need a good lie. Need a good lie... "We were talking about your birthday."

"Oh," Twilight says in a small voice. Her face turns beet red.

I walk over and take hold of her hands. "You don't really think I'd cheat on you with a married woman, do you?"

"Of course not! I just don't—" Twilight breaks off abruptly.

I raise an eyebrow at her.

She looks down. "I wish you'd stop doing that," she says. "I...I can't even figure out if...if I want to have a relationship with you yet. Teasing me like that just...makes it harder."

I wrap my arms around her. "I'm sorry," I say. "I can't help it. I've only known you for a few weeks, but you're already the most important person in my life."

Twilight looks up at me. "Flash..."

Our eyes meet. I can feel her trembling. I think she's actually expecting me to kiss her!

Instead, I poke her in the nose. "Boop!"

"Uwaah!" Twilight wobbles on her feet, pinwheeling her arms. "Hey!"

I can't help but laugh. "Man, you're so cute." I help her steady herself, then give her hand a squeeze. "We'll talk in the morning, alright? Maybe figure out what we want to do together on Saturday."

Twilight rubs her nose and sticks her tongue out at me, but smiles. "Alright. Goodnight, Flash."