Thursday, October 1, 2015

2015
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NOVEMBER
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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Difficult times are ahead for you and those you care about.

Early Morning

I set my alarm for just before sunrise; I want to have my shower and be off the third floor before the girls invade my bathroom.

The first thing I see when I open my bedroom door? Twilight wrapped in a towel.

She sees me and freezes, her face turning red. "Oh," she says meekly.

I step back into my room and close the door.

Five minutes later, I peek out. The coast is clear, I don't hear anything out of the bathroom, so I take my shower.

After I shower and dress, I round up my guitar and laptop bag and head down to the lounge. Twilight's already in the dining room, reading. When I walk in, she blushes furiously. "I...I wanted to be through with...before you got up..." she stammers.

"I set my alarm early so I could be finished and downstairs before any of you got up," I say.

Twilight looks away, playing with her hair. "Oh..." She laughs nervously. "Well...they'll fix the water heater on our floor today, so..."

"That's...good..."

Pinkie flounces in. "Morning, you two!" She tilts her head, a smirk on her face. "Twilight's blushing and playing with her hair...did Flash see you naaaaaaaked?"

"N-no!" Twilight stammers.

"She had on a towel," I say.

"Aww," Pinkie pouts. "Why'd you have a towel on, Twilight?"

"Because I was afraid exactly what happened might happen!" Twilight cries.

"You don't want your own boyfriend to see you naked?" Pinkie asks. "That's just silly talk!"

"We...we're not there yet, okay?" Twilight stammers. "Don't you have breakfast to make or something?"

Pinkie sighs and pats Twilight on the head. "I have so much to teach you," she says. She bounces off into the kitchen.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack join us a little while after Pinkie's embarrassing entrance. Rarity gives me a displeased look, wrinkling her nose. "Flash, your bathroom smells like stale corn chips," she informs me.

"I didn't notice anything," Fluttershy says.

"Neither did I," Twilight says. "And I was in there first..."

Applejack coughs. "Uhh...aheh...mah bad."

"You were eating corn chips in my bathroom?" I ask.

Applejack ducks her head. "Ah got, uhh...stinky feet...problems...boots..."

"Ewwww!" Rarity and Twilight chorus.

"Oh my," Fluttershy says. "You should really try a powder for that..."

I make a mental note to disinfect my bathroom when I get home. "Isn't Rainbow Dash coming down?" I ask.

"Oh, we're letting her sleep in," Fluttershy says. "I've made sure she has enough food in her room to last her today."

"And if she needs anything else, my brother'll be in today," Twilight says. "He's taking the day off to wait for the plumber."

After School

Today's Music Club meeting passes without any drama. Those of us with instruments jam; Trixie joins in without any showboating, simply playing in harmony with me to the best of her abilities.

Evening

Immediately upon returning to the dorm, I pick up on a tense vibe. Rainbow is on the sofa looking miserable. Twilight has her bookpad in her lap, but she isn't reading.

"What's going on?" I ask.

Twilight and Rainbow exchange miserable glances.

"Cadance and my brother just had a huge fight," Twilight says.

"She was throwing stuff at him and everything," Rainbow adds.

"She just ran upstairs crying," Twilight says. "I...I don't know what to do..."

"Go talk to your brother," I say. "Maybe he'll actually listen to you." I sigh. "Did you see which way she went?"

The girls look at one another.

"I think...she went up to the third floor," Rainbow says.

With a groan, I head upstairs. I don't want to be dragged into this...

I already know before I even open my door that I'm going to find Cadance on my bed. I'm right; she's there, crying and blowing her nose. "I...I didn't know I married such a—a je-heeerk!" Cadance wails.

I set down my things and sit beside her.

"It...it isn't even just the sex thing anymore," Cadance says, sniffling. "He...he's been so angry lately..."

"That may be my fault," I say. "He's...not happy with me and Twilight being together."

Cadance sniffles. "Yeah...he's told me that." She looks at me. "Has he...has he..."

It's probably going to do more harm than good, but...

"After...that night at the hospital...he tried to intimidate me into breaking up with Twilight."

Cadance covers her mouth. "And...?"

"I basically told him to shove it," I say. "Not in so many words, but..."

"Good for you," Cadance says. "He has no right to interfere with Twilight's love life." She grabs a fresh tissue and wipes her eyes.

"What do you even see in that jerk?"

Cadance sniffles again. "He...he wasn't always a jerk." She looks down. "He didn't...he didn't start acting like this until just before...well, I already told you about that. Before that, he was...he's always been kind of a dork, but..." She smiles. "He's always been a loving, adorable dork." She shakes her head. "I don't know what's gotten into him lately..." She takes a deep, shaky breath. "I can't even stand to look at him right now." She looks at me, wiping her eyes again. "I...I'm moving into the dorm. I'll...I'll be across the hall from you, since there's no more rooms on the second floor."

WHAT?!

"I just...I just need some space from my husband for a bit. Maybe...maybe this'll give him time to think about...what a jerk he's turned into." Cadance sniffles.

"Uhh...why are you the one moving into the dorm again?"

"Because if I kicked him out and made him live up here, he'd probably kill you," Cadance says.

She's got a point.

"Besides, I'm the dorm manager, not Shining Armor." Cadance scrubs her face with the hem of her shirt. "I'll get Twilight to help me bring some of my things up." She stands up and puts a hand on my shoulder. "I...I hope you don't mind..."

I think Cadance is making a big mistake, but...

She smooths out her shirt, then leaves.

I try to put all this out of my head and do my homework, then head down to dinner. Dinner is awkward, because Twilight looks upset, Cadance is still miserable, and everyone else is uncomfortable.

It's hard to get to sleep, because I can't stop thinking about how just my being here is tearing apart Twilight's family...