Sunday, September 13, 2015
Sunday, September 13, 2015
2015
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Secrets—yours and others'—will come out today.
Early Morning
I wake to the sound of quiet giggles and whispers.
"Aww...I've never seen anything so adorable!"
"Shh! You're gonna wake 'em up!"
"Did you get the picture?"
"I certainly did, darling!"
"Oh crap, he's wakin' up!"
There's a warm, soft pressure on my left side. It takes me a minute to realize I'm on the couch in the lounge. Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity are crowded together in the middle of the room, giggling. Rarity has her phone out and pointed at me.
I look to my left and see Twilight's hair.
It takes a few seconds for my brain to catch up. "Uhh..."
Cadance walks in. She looks like she's about to ask the girls something, but then she catches sight of me and Twilight. She covers her mouth with her hands and giggles. "Please tell me one of you girls got a picture of this," she says.
Rarity raises a hand and giggles.
I roll my eyes, then brush Twilight's bangs aside with my right hand and kiss her on the forehead. "Hey. Twilight. Wake up."
Twilight stirs. "Uhh...? Wha..." She blinks awake, groaning a little as she tries to stretch. She frowns, then looks over at me. Her eyes fly open.
The girls explode in giggles. Twilight whips her head around and stares at them, wide-eyed. "What...what?!"
"You uhh...fell asleep on me last night," I say. "I didn't want to wake you up, so..."
"Oh," Twilight says softly, blushing.
"You two looked soooo cute like that," Pinkie coos, giggling.
"You really did," Fluttershy says with a silly smile.
"And I captured the perfect picture of the moment for posterity!" Rarity adds.
"Gah!" Twilight scoots away from me and flails around. "Don't—!"
"Relax, darling," Rarity says with a smile. "We just wanted to commemorate such an adorable moment, didn't we girls?"
The others nod agreement.
Cadance smiles. "So I take it you two are official now?"
Twilight blushes and nods. "Y-yeah..."
"You should totally share that on Canterbook, Rarity!" Pinkie says. "There's no way anybody could spread bad rumors about two people who look so adorable together!"
"HEY!" Twilight protests.
"Can I see the picture?" Cadance asks Rarity. Rarity hands Cadance her phone. Cadance covers her mouth and giggles again. "Oh, that's a very cute picture." She walks over to us and shows it to Twilight.
Twilight looks at it and blushes, ducking her head. She's also smiling. "Oh...we...we do look...pretty cute together, I guess..."
I take a look too. Twilight asleep is even cuter than Twilight awake.
Cadance gets an impish, teasing smile on her face. "And...send!"
"Wahh!" Twilight flails. "You didn't...!"
Cadance pokes Twilight in the nose. "Silly Twilight."
Twilight lets out a sigh of relief.
"Of course I did!"
"Gaaah!"
Cadance giggles. "Come on, you two, I'm sure Applejack has breakfast ready."
Twilight starts muttering under her breath as she stands up and follows the other girls into the dining room. I get up and walk behind her. Applejack is just setting out plates as we all sit down; there's several serving platters, bowls, and pots on the table.
"Welp, dig in y'all!" Applejack says. "We got apple cinnamon oatmeal, apple pancakes, applewood smoked bacon, crescent rolls with apple butter, an' apple juice!"
"So appley!" Pinkie says as she sits down.
"Applejack, sweetness...do you suppose perhaps...sometimes you go overboard with the apples?"
"Ah don't even know whut that means," Applejack says smugly.
After breakfast, during which the girls mercilessly but good-naturedly tease me and Twilight, Cadance says, "Flash, I need to borrow you for some errands in town."
"Sure," I say.
"I can go too, if you need help," Twilight says.
"No, I think we can handle it. Meet me outside in five minutes, okay Flash?"
"Okay."
Morning
We get in Cadance's SUV and drive for a while. "We're not going to the school?" I ask.
Cadance shakes her head. "I thought we'd enter from somewhere else today." She smiles. "I told you Twilight would come around."
I blush. "Yeah."
"I found an axe with a little more heft to it," Cadance says. "It's in the back."
"But it's still an axe?" I ask. "It's not like, a chainsaw, or a gun or something?"
"You seemed to handle the fire axe alright, I thought it'd be best to stick with what works."
After driving for almost half an hour, we pull into the parking lot of a boarded-up building. "This is the old roller rink," Cadance says. "It went out of business years ago. It used to be popular when I was in junior high." She sighs. "It's sad to see it all boarded up like this."
"We're not about to break in or anything, are we?"
"We don't have to," Cadance says. "The back door to this place has been busted down for years. Squatters come and go from here all the time. A bunch of skaters have it staked out now, but nobody'll be here this early on a Sunday."
We get out, and Cadance opens the back of the SUV, pulling out the knapsack of first aid supplies and a huge, two-handed axe that takes some obvious effort for her to lift.
"Here, let me get that," I say. I reach past her and grab the axe. It's heavy! I take several steps back from the car and lift the axe, giving it a few test swings.
"Can you handle it alright?" Cadance asks.
"Yeah, I think so."
We walk around to the back of the building. The entire thing is covered in layers of graffiti. In the back, there's a rusted old steel door. It was padlocked shut at some point, but the lock has long since been cut off. The door hangs slightly ajar.
We head inside; Cadance leads me down to the skating area. "Since a skating rink is a wide open space, I thought it'd be a good place for you to practice fighting Shadows," Cadance says. "Also, since we'll be able to see anything coming before it attacks, and you're here to protect me, I can sit out on the floor and watch."
"Are you sure that's safe?"
"Not really, but I don't mind taking the risk. Besides, I trust you. You won't let anything happen to me, right?"
"Right." Holding the axe between my knees, I pull out my phone. Cadance also pulls out her phone. Nodding to each other, we tap the Zodiac app...
Zodiac
The already-dark skating rink is nearly pitch-black, save for the glowing texts which start crawling around almost immediately upon entering Zodiac. Cadance summons Aphrodite, and the area around us brightens considerably.
I look up at her Persona. "Hey, Nurse Cadance? Question."
//Yes?//
"Why is your Persona a naked chick?"
//I guess it's because I like being naked.//
And now I'm picturing Cadance naked...
//You know I can tell you've got a hard-on, right? Not that I mind, but don't you have more important things to worry about than my Persona's tits?//
I look away from Aphrodite and ready my axe, looking around.
Dude's got weird taste in girls
Wonder if she's ever done porno
"And here we go," I mutter.
I like him, but...he's hiding something...
This one floats right in my face.
Another one appears right under it.
Something weird's going on with him and Cadance.
I jump away from this message. "Nurse Cadance...this one..."
//Flash, just ignore them and stay focused...//
"No. You NEED to see this."
I hear Cadance gasp. //What?!//
I turn to look at Cadance. "That...that's Twilight..."
//Why would Twilight be texting somebody about something like that?//
I frown. "Is...is Pinkie working at Sugar Cube Corner today?"
//She is! I remember her saying she'd be working all weekend!//
"Damn..."
//Worry about it later. Shadows incoming!//
Two Shadows emerge from the floor of the rink. These are different from anything I've seen: they're disembodied gloved hands, "walking" on their fingertips, with masks bolted to their "wrists".
//I'll scan for weaknesses,// Cadance says.
One of the hands "runs" toward me and leaps into the air, rearing back to slap me.
Strike Attack
I twist out of the way, then slam my axe into it as it passes. The blade cleanly splits it in half; it dissipates into boiling black vapor.
The other Shadow snaps its fingers; I feel frost forming on my arms.
Bufu
I tap the Persona app; something's changed about it. Instead of the usual display, it's showing the Fool card, as well as a smaller icon of the Magician card. "Persona!"
Agi
Chiron appears and shoots a fireball at the Shadow, which burns away to nothing.
//Nevermind.//
"Bring it on!" I yell. I don't know why, but suddenly I'm really in the mood to kill Shadows.
Two more hand Shadows appear, as well as three of those blob-and-mask things. Now that I know how to fight them, it's easy; I summon Chiron, who cuts down a hand and a blob with one swing while I cleave another blob with my own axe. The remaining blob claws at me, but misses. I stomp on its mask, cracking it; it seeps into the floor.
Strike Attack
The other hand slaps me upside the head, staggering me.
Single Shot
Chiron shoots it with an arrow, killing it. Chiron disappears.
//Are you alright?//
"Yeah." I lean on the handle of the axe, taking a deep breath.
Two blob Shadows burble up out of the floor. I'm just getting ready to attack when they float up off the floor and change shape, becoming black-and-white striped balls. They turn their masks away from me; huge, red-lipped mouths open, long black tongues dangling out of them.
Strike Attack
One of them divebombs me; I get a solid hit in with my axe, but all it does is wobble slightly before floating up out of reach.
//These seem to be a little stronger than the others.//
"Chiron!"
Agi
Once again, Chiron appears, unleashing a fireball at the nearest Shadow. It opens its mouth wide and...eats it.
//Fire isn't working!//
"I noticed!"
Strike Attack
The first Shadow divebombs me again. I try to take another swing at it, but my foot slips and I go down in a heap. The Shadow snickers at me and floats up, bobbing in the air.
Single Shot
Chiron nails it with an arrow, and it bursts into black mist.
//Be careful!//
I stand up, watching the other Shadow warily. Chiron is tensing.
//It's weak against ice, but that isn't really helpful...sorry...//
"The hell it isn't." I look down at my phone.
I know what that icon is.
I tap it.
Chiron vanishes, and the Fool card is reduced to an icon, swapping place with the Magician card.
I glare up at the Shadow as I tap my phone.
"Jack Frost!"
Jack Frost appears, dancing in place.
//WHAT?!//
Strike Attack
The Shadow tries to divebomb me. I dive to the side.
Bufu
Jack Frost unleashes a blast of icy breath. The Shadow is encased in ice; it drops to the floor, twitching and struggling.
I walk over, dragging my axe. I lift it up and swing.
Strike Attack
The frozen Shadow is shattered; bits of black ice scatter all over the floor, vanishing into nothingness.
//Flash? What...what IS that? What...what's going on here?//
Jack Frost fades. I turn to face Cadance. Aphrodite disappears, and she stares at me, eyes wide.
"I have more than one Persona," I say. "I don't understand it, but...that's how I beat that table the other day. I couldn't do anything to it...I didn't have any way to hurt it. And then...and then a new Persona appeared. Jack Frost."
Cadance gasps. "That's even possible?!"
"It is for me." I show Cadance my phone. "Do you see this icon?"
She frowns. "What icon? Your alarm?"
I look down at my phone. There is no alarm icon. "So...you can't see it..." I think back to what she told me about Zodiac. "It's like other people and Zodiac...other people can't see the Zodiac app, you can't see this one..." I look back up at Cadance. "I don't suppose you know what the Velvet Room is, or a man named Igor?"
She shakes her head. "No, I don't..."
Either I'm going crazy, or this is all starting to make sense. I take a deep breath and explain everything: the room I keep seeing in my dreams, the man named Igor who made me sign a contract, and being told I have more than one Persona within me. At the end of my explanation, Cadance looks shaken. "This...okay, I can...I can deal with this. I can deal with an alternate world full of Shadows that hunt people, I can deal with having a Persona...I can deal with this."
"Look, I'm as confused as you are about all this. But...the important thing is, I have a power that can protect people from these Shadows. As long as I have this power, I'm going to use it. I don't have to understand it. I just have to trust in it."
Cadance nods. "I...I feel the same way...about my Persona..."
Three more Shadows surround us.
For the next hour, I fight off sporadic attacks by groups of weak Shadows, alternating between Chiron and Jack Frost. Cadance observes every battle, collecting data.
//Alright...I think that's enough for today. Let's get out of here.//
Sunday, September 13, 2015 / Daytime
I'm pretty tired, but it's not as bad as it was the last time. After we get in the SUV, Cadance says, "I actually do have some errands to run. It won't take too long."
We're driving back into a less run-down area of Canterlot. "You're definitely getting better at fighting Shadows," Cadance says. "And your Persona...both of them, I mean...seem to be getting stronger."
After we head to three different stores to do some shopping—some of which is resupplying laundry detergent, toilet paper, and so forth for the dorm—we stop at Hinny's for lunch. It's fairly empty and quiet.
As we wait for our meals, Cadance says, "Are you okay? You seem a little...bummed."
"It's...Twilight," I say. "She couldn't seriously think..."
"I don't know," Cadance says, frowning. "I'm sorry, Flash. Neither of you should be having to go through any of this. This stuff we're doing, the bullying Twilight's been suffering...none of it. You should just be two happy, carefree teenagers, going to school, going on dates...having safe sex..."
"I don't think THAT'S going to happen any time soon," I say after choking on a sip of iced tea.
Cadance smirks.
Our food arrives. Hinny's here is like Hinny's anywhere: a little overcooked, more than a little greasy, but edible.
As I'm drowning the fries that came with my club sandwich in ketchup, I say, "I wonder how and why something like Zodiac is connected to Canterbook."
"I've been wondering that myself," Cadance says as she pours dressing over her salad. "It's...it doesn't make any sense."
I frown at my sandwich. "It sure does tell you just how nasty everyone around you can really be."
Cadance sighs. "Yeah..." She looks down at her plate. "I...had to learn to ignore it, and...you really should too..."
I look up at her. "What happened?" I ask. "I mean, I've seen some of the crap they say about you, so I can understand why it'd upset you, but...you always seem..."
Cadance picks at her salad. "I...guess it'll help if I finally talk about it," she says. "I mean...I haven't been able to talk to anyone about...any of this..." She looks up. "Back when...back when this all started..." She takes a deep, shaky breath. "I...I found out two guys were talking about..." She looks away. "About wanting to rape me."
Oh my God.
"They were...really graphic about it. Really elaborate." Cadance's eyes are filling with tears. "I was so horrified I left Zodiac before I finished scanning. I threw up all over everything." She's trembling. "After that...I faked a stomach flu for three days. I couldn't...I couldn't go to work. Not knowing...not knowing that somewhere in that school, there were two sick little bastards that wanted to do something like that to me."
"Oh God...Cadance..." I reach across the table and give her hand a squeeze.
She wipes at her eyes with her napkin and sniffles. "I...I put it behind me. It was hard, but..." She sighs. "I learned...I learned it was best to ignore the texts in Zodiac and focus on the Shadows and my scans. I...sometimes, I can't really ignore them, and I have to stop, but I try really hard." She smiles tearfully at me. "Thank you...for listening. And...I'm sorry to put something like that on you so suddenly."
"It's alright," I say. "I can't even begin to imagine how you felt..." I take a sip of my tea. "Any time you need to talk...I'm here."
"Thank you, Flash. That means a lot to me." She takes a bite of her salad. "And...you know you can talk to me too...right?"
"I know," I say. "And...thanks."
Thou hast established a new bond...
It brings thee closer to the truth...
Thou shalt be blessed when creating
Personas of the Lovers Arcana...
You have created the Mi Amore Cadenza Social Link of the Lovers Arcana!
Your power to create Personas of the Lovers Arcana has grown!
We finish up our lunches and head back to the dorm.
Evening
I'm practicing my guitar in my room when Twilight walks in. "Flash? Can I talk to you a minute?"
I put my guitar down and pat the bed beside me. "Sure."
Twilight sits down. She looks at her lap. "Flash...can I ask you something?"
I know what's coming. "Sure."
She looks up at me. "What's really going on with you and Cadance?" She wrings her hands. "Tell me the truth. Please. I need to know. Not...not just because of us, but because..."
I take Twilight's hand and squeeze it. "We're friends," I say. "She needs a guy friend she can talk to who isn't your brother. I need..." I pause to think about how to word this. "Cadance is a lot more...well...my mom's never really..." I can't find the words.
Twilight seems to understand, though. "Oh," she says quietly. "Oh, Flash...I'm sorry...I was thinking something...terrible..."
I hug Twilight. "It's okay," I say.
She wraps her arms around me and hugs me tightly, laying her head on my shoulder. After a moment, she lets go. She looks up at me. "What do you mean she needs a guy friend who isn't Shining Armor?"
Crap! I have to say something, but...
I decide I have to be as honest as I can without breaking Cadance's trust. "You know...those nasty things people were saying about you girls, and about me?" Twilight nods. "Well...they say nasty stuff about teachers too."
Twilight's hands fly to her mouth. "Really?"
"It's not...it's not the kind of evil crap Sunset Shimmer's been stirring up," I say. "But...well...Cadance is very pretty, and very..." I trail off. "And...a lot of the guys at school...they like to talk about how much they'd like to...you know..."
Twilight pales. "Oh my God!"
"It's...it's just locker room bullshit," I say. "Guys being dicks. The thing is, they say stuff like that and they think it doesn't get back to the people they're talking about, but...it does. So she has to put up with that all the time." I fold my hands in my lap. "If she told Coach, he'd go nuts and start kicking ass left and right."
"Yeah, he probably would..."
"And, well...she knows I'm not like that," I say. "She knows I'm not the kind of jerk that says crap like that. So...she decided to confide in me." I look Twilight in the eyes. "Don't tell her I told you any of this, okay? Don't even let on you know."
Twilight nods hesitantly. "A-alright..." She stands up. "I...I think I need to go take a shower now..."
I can't say as I blame her.
I put my guitar away and get ready for bed.