Friday, October 2, 2015

2015
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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Changes are in store for you and those around you today.

Early Morning

A few minutes after I wake up, there's a knock on my door. It's Cadance.

"Hey, Flash," she says. "Go ahead and use the bathroom before me, okay? It...it takes me a while."

I get myself ready to face the day, then grab my bag and my tennis racket and head downstairs. Applejack is still making breakfast. Rainbow Dash is in the lounge already, her laptop in her lap.

"Hey Rainbow," I say.

"Hey Flash," she greets.

"Working on schoolwork?" I ask.

"Yeah," Rainbow says. "The teachers say I can go at my own pace, but...I wanna keep up." She rolls her eyes. "If I don't, I'll have Twilight ridin' my ass...you know how she is."

I laugh. "Yeah." I sit down. "How's therapy going?"

Rainbow pulls a face. "Don't ask." She sighs. "Still...they say everything's going really well, so..."

After breakfast, Twilight and I walk Spike. He's stopped trying to pee on me all the time, so I don't have to wear different shoes in the morning.

"We're still going to Zodiac tomorrow, right?" Twilight asks quietly.

"I think so, yeah," I say. "It depends on whether or not Nurse Cadance..."

Twilight looks down miserably. "Yeah..."

"Did...did you try talking to your brother?" I ask.

Twilight's cheeks puff up. "He wouldn't even talk to me," she says. "I don't know what's gotten into him, but he's being a real idiot."

"I've been thinking about that," I say. "I think...there's more than just you and me bothering him."

"Well, yeah, there's gotta be," Twilight says. "Cadance said they started having problems before you even got here."

"She said she's been investigating Zodiac ever since she was attacked back in February," I say. "I can't help but wonder..."

Twilight looks at me expectantly.

"Well...from what she's told me, this whole Zodiac thing has been really stressful on her. She hasn't had anybody to talk to about it." I shrug. "Maybe he saw how stressed she was, tried to get her to talk, and..."

"And when she wouldn't, he got upset," Twilight nods. "Yeah, that sounds about like him." She sighs. "Maybe that's it, maybe not..."

"That's not all of it," I say. "There's a lot more to this than just one secret she's keeping from him. I mean, he's still been a pretty okay guy up until now. He's only started turning into a real jerk since...since..."

"Since what?"

I swallow. "Uhh..."

Twilight glares at me. "Flash..."

I sigh. "I don't want to say. It'll...it'll just make things worse."

"He tried to pressure you into breaking up with me, didn't he?"

I stare at Twilight.

She stares right back at me. "He's my brother," she says. "You think I don't know how he thinks?"

I sigh again. "Yeah. He...he wants me to break up with you. I told him no."

Twilight hugs me. "Good for you."

"I just...I don't want to be the cause of..."

"You're not," Twilight says firmly. "Don't think that for a second. None of this is your fault. My brother's being an idiot."

We head back inside and get ready to leave.

After School

Pinkie isn't at tennis practice this afternoon. She's working a shift at Sugar Cube Corner.

The coach looks us over, frowning. "I had planned to have doubles practice today, but...we're short one, with Pie out today." She taps her clipboard thoughtfully. "I suppose we can do trade-offs, but..."

"Coach? I have an idea," I say.

"What is it, Sentry?"

"Coco can fill in for Pinkie."

The coach tilts her head. "Seriously?"

Coco rushes up, looking nervous. "Flash...that...that isn't...I mean..."

I look right at her. "I know you can do this. Besides, it's just practice, right? Just...just enjoy yourself."

"Well..." Coco frowns. "I...I guess..." She looks at the coach. "Alright, I-I'll fill in."

The coach nods. "Okay, grab a racket."

After practice, there's a considerable level of noise from the rest of the team. The coach walks up to us. "Pommel, why didn't you try out for the team?" she asks. "You're better than Polomare."

Coco looks down sheepishly. "I...I'm not very good with...with people paying attention to me."

"Really? Because most of the team was watching you today."

"Th-they were?" Coco shrinks into herself.

I put a hand on her shoulder. "Coco...you were amazing. You should be proud."

Coco flushes. "I...!"

"Pommel," the coach asks suddenly, "did Polomare know you could play like that?"

"W-well..." Coco stammers. "I-in junior high, I was...I used to play a little. Just...for fun. I don't know if...if she ever saw me play, but..."

The coach frowns. "Hmm." She shakes her head. "Pommel...next year, I expect you to try out for the team."

Coco ducks her head. "A...alright..."

As the coach walks away, several members of the team rush up. "Coco, you're amazing!"

"We didn't know you could play!"

"You should've been on the team, not me!"

"Why are you on the sidelines? You should've been on the court this whole time!"

Coco looks like she's about to faint. Her face is glowing. And yet...

She does seem to be...happy.

I leave Coco to her adoring fans and head for the showers.

Evening

After dinner, Cadance texts me and Twilight, telling us to meet in one of the unused rooms on the third floor.

We find Cadance inside, as well as the axe I used when we went to the roller rink, a shiny basket-hilted rapier, and two backpacks, each of which have our individual emblems on them.

"From now on, this room is our secret base," Cadance says. "I'll be keeping our equipment here, and we'll meet to discuss Zodiac stuff here."

"A secret headquarters?" Twilight asks. "What, are we superheroes now?"

"It's a good idea," I say.

Twilight picks up the rapier and turns it over in her hands. "This is a nice piece," she says. "I hope I can remember how to fight with this."

"Can't be that hard," I say. "The pointy end goes in the monster, right?"

Twilight sticks her tongue out at me. Cadance giggles.

"So, are we still going tomorrow?" I ask.

Cadance nods. "You two go out on a date tomorrow," she says. "Take as long as you want, do whatever you want...time doesn't pass when we're in Zodiac, so there's no hurry. When you're done, meet me in the park. I'll have your stuff, and...we'll go in from there."

"So...we're going on a date as a pretext?" Twilight asks, frowning.

"No, you're going on a date because you would've gone on a date anyway," Cadance says with a smirk. "We're just doing this after because we can meet up in the park without attracting attention."

"Sounds good to me," I say. I check to make sure the coast is clear, and we all leave, headed for our respective rooms.