Monday, September 21, 2015

2015
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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Today could be your lucky day.

After School

After school, I search for the shop Cadance told me about.

There's a girl behind the counter who looks like she's in middle school. She has light grey skin, silvery hair in a long braid, and blue-framed glasses. She looks up from her phone as I walk in. "Hi, can I help you?" she asks boredly.

"I'm looking for something for my girlfriend," I say. "A pendant or a locket, something like that."

The girl points at a display case. "Try there, if you don't see what you want, there's another case at the back."

As I'm browsing, a man comes out of the back room. There are acid burns all over his hands and arms. "Sil, where's the—oh, a customer! Finding what you're looking for?"

Honestly, none of the stuff in the first case I'm looking at makes me think of Twilight. "Everything here is nice, I'm just...not sure it's really..."

"He's shopping for something for his girlfriend," the girl at the counter says.

"Oh?" The man tilts his head. "We don't really get many high schoolers in here. Everything in this shop is high quality, hand-made silver."

"Daddy, do you want to make a sale or not?"

I look at the prices on the items in the case. They are expensive, but... "I can afford it."

The man rubs his chin, which has a scraggly growth of silver-white stubble. "Hmm."

"But I just...don't really see anything here that makes me think of her."

"You could ask for a custom order," the girl at the counter suggests. "Daddy loves doing custom orders."

I frown. "That'd be great, but...I don't know if it'd be ready in time. Her birthday is Thursday."

The man nods thoughtfully. "I can do that, but it'll cost extra. Rush fees, hours over..."

I think it over for a minute. There's a very nice locket in the display case.

A locket...but one that'd be perfect for Twilight...

I pull my phone out and pull up her Canterbook profile. "Could you do a locket like that one, but shaped like this?" I ask, pointing to Twilight's six-pointed star emblem.

The man's brow furrows. He pulls a notepad out of his smock and sketches the shape. "It's an unusual shape for a locket, but..."

His daughter walks over and takes a look. "Maybe with a swivel cover instead of a hinge, Daddy?"

"That'd work, that'd work," the silversmith says. He nods, then quotes me a price.

Ouch. My parents might not be happy with me, but...

"Alright," I say.

"I can have it ready by...Wednesday evening," he says. "I'll call you when it's ready or if there's a problem. If I can't deliver on time, I'll let you pick anything in the shop, half price."

I give him my number, then head back to the dorm.

Evening

After dinner, Rainbow Dash asks me to help her with guitar practice. She's made a lot of progress in a short time, but still has trouble with speed.

While we're working on a few easy riffs, Rainbow asks, "What did you get Twilight for her birthday?"

"A locket," I say. "I'm having it custom made."

"Sweet," Rainbow says. "I still gotta get her somethin'...and it's gotta be somethin' good after last night." She tilts her head. "Maybe I could get her a new razor?"

"I think that'd probably insult her."

"Oh. Yeah. Huh." Rainbow frowns. "Maybe a book?"

"You don't wanna go there," I warn. "There's no telling what she's read and what she hasn't."

"You're right," Rainbow agrees.

"Just get her a gift card for the book store," I say. "She'll appreciate that."

"Yeah, but I don't wanna feel like...I'm the only one who didn't put any effort into her present. I mean..."

"Look...even Cadance says Twilight is hard to shop for," I say. "Don't worry about it. Just get her a gift card, maybe something to snack on, and that'll do it." I grin. "You've seen Twilight eat, right?"

Rainbow snorts. "Who hasn't?" She shakes her head. "Okay, gift card and snacks it is."

We continue practicing quietly for a little while longer before Rainbow speaks up. "Hey, Flash?"

"Yeah?"

"I..." She seems like she wants to say something important, but falters. "Thanks," she says.

"No problem."

"Not just...this," she says. "Thanks...just..." She trails off. "Thanks," she finishes lamely.