Sunday, October 18, 2015

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Today is a day for forgiveness. Come clean with the people around you. You'll feel better if you do.

Early Morning

When I wake up, it takes me a few minutes to realize I'm not in my own room.

It takes a few more minutes to remember why I'm where I am. Once I do, I'm wide awake and panicking.

There's a timid knock on the door. My heart is pounding in my chest.

The door opens. Cadance steps in. She's wearing loose jeans and a baggy sweater. Her hair is in disarray, and she looks miserable.

"Flash...I'm sorry," she says. "I shouldn't..." She looks down. "What I did last night..." Her eyes are bloodshot, and there are tear tracks on her face. "I'm so stupid..."

I sigh. "So am I," I say. I run my hands through my hair. Even though I took a shower, I'm still pretty sweaty and nasty. "Umm...look...last night..." I swallow. "If...if anybody figures out what happened...I'm pretty sure Twilight's never speaking to me again."

Cadance laughs weakly. "Or me," she says. "And Shining Armor would kill both of us." She sighs. "We can't...pretend that never happened." She grimaces. "But you're right...absolutely nobody needs to know what happened last night."

"I agree completely," I say.

Cadance picks at the hem of her sweater. "I'm...I'm going to call Shining Armor in a little while," she says. "I'm still mad at him for the way he's been acting, but..." She sighs. "I think...I think I should make up with him. Try to get things back to normal." She rubs her arms. "I haven't been talking to him lately so much as screaming at him..." She shakes her head. "After...after I woke up, and remembered what...what happened last night..." She flushes scarlet. "I realized...I'm doing exactly the same thing he's doing. I'm self-destructing, just like he's self-destructing." She looks up. "Maybe...maybe it's time to just..."

"Yeah," I say.

"Flash?" Cadance asks. "Last night...was that your first time?"

I look down. "Yeah."

"Oh God," Cadance says, burying her face in her palms. "I'm so sorry, Flash. Your first time should've been special, not...not that."

I stand up. "I, uh...I'm gonna grab a shower now, so..."

"Yeah," Cadance says, heading back to her own room.

Morning

When I go downstairs, I find Twilight, Rarity, and Fluttershy sitting in the dining room. I don't know if I'm imagining it, but I feel like Rarity and Fluttershy are staring at me, judging me. Cadance comes downstairs a few minutes after me.

Twilight studies Cadance. "Rough night?" she asks.

"Huh? What...why do you ask?"

"You do look rather as though you've been crying, darling," Rarity says.

Cadance sighs. "Yeah. I just...did a lot of thinking, is all."

Twilight gives her an odd look. "Well...anyway. I just got a call from Mom. Mom, Dad, and Shining Armor are coming in a few hours. They want us to meet them over at the apartment." She looks at me. "They want you there, too."

"Me?"

"Yeah. Mom says...she says Shining Armor wants to clear the air. With all of us."

Cadance sighs. "That's...that's good," she says. "Because...because I want to...I need to apologize to him, and...I want things to go back to normal."

Twilight smiles. "I'm glad to hear that." She tilts her head. "What happened? What made you decide to...?"

"Just...a lot of thinking." She sighs. "Well...I guess we'll just have to postpone our other plans for the time being."

"Other plans?" Rarity asks.

"Shopping," Twilight says quickly. "For Pinkie's birthday."

Daytime

Since I'm actually meeting Twilight's parents today, I decide to head upstairs, put on nicer clothes, and make myself a little more presentable. Once I'm satisfied, I head back downstairs.

I'm nervous enough about meeting Twilight's parents. The fact that I'm still wrestling with guilt over last night and that this is likely to be a rather tense meeting because of the whole Shining Armor thing isn't helping.

Downstairs, Twilight is waiting for me. She must be picking up on how nervous I am, because she squeezes my arm and smiles.

Oh God...I am the worst boyfriend ever.

"Just relax," she says. "Don't tense up...don't stress out. I...I know things will work out today. I can feel it."

I swallow heavily. "Y-yeah."

We head over to the apartment, where Cadance is already waiting. She's cleaned herself up some more, but it's still obvious she's been crying. Cadance blows her nose on a tissue, throws it away, and sniffles. "So...umm...will you two be free to go to Zodiac tomorrow evening? I mean...we really do need to get ready for...for the next..."

"Only if you're up for it," Twilight says.

"Alright," Cadance says. She tries to settle herself, folding her hands. "So...have you two been thinking about what to get Pinkie for her birthday?"

"I've already ordered her present," I say. "It should be coming tomorrow."

"Good," Cadance says. "Twilight?"

"Still thinking it over," she says. "I'll probably go shopping after school tomorrow." She looks at me. "Will you go with me?"

"Of course," I say.

We try to talk about inconsequential things as we wait, but it's a bit awkward. Fortunately, it doesn't seem as though Twilight has picked up on the real reason for the awkwardness.

The front door opens. Shining Armor walks in. He's wearing slacks, a pressed white dress shirt, a black tie, and a navy blazer that looks like it's been altered a few times; it has a patch sewn onto the left breast. He looks pretty miserable.

Cadance bursts out laughing. "Your old chess club blazer, Shiny? Really?"

"Oh, but he looks so handsome in it," a woman's voice says from behind him. Shining Armor steps aside to allow two older people, who I assume must be Twilight's parents, into the room. Twilight's father is a bit on the short side, with a thin face, cornflower blue skin, and parted royal blue hair. He's wearing a black suit and square, black-rimmed glasses; all in all, he's giving off a Neighponese salaryman vibe.

Twilight's mother has very light grey skin, light blue eyes, and hair in broad alternating stripes of lavender and white; in the front, it's in exactly the same style as Twilight's, but in the back, it's shorter and curled. She's wearing a somewhat frumpy pink dress and a pearl choker.

I can't help but notice that Twilight and her mother look a lot alike. It's almost scary how similar they are.

Twilight jumps up and runs over to her mother, flinging her arms around her. "Mom!" she says. Then she hugs her father. "Dad!" She steps back, smiling. "It's so good to see both of you."

Cadance stands up and walks over. "Vel," she says, taking the older woman's hands and squeezing them.

"Cadance, dear," Twilight's mother says. "Have you been crying?"

Cadance sniffles. "Y-yeah," she says. She looks over at Shining Armor, who shifts uncomfortably.

Twilight's father gives his son a stern look. "Now, son...what have I told you about—"

"Dad," Cadance says abruptly. "It's...it's alright." She looks around. "Umm...listen...I need to have a word in private with my husband. I..." She looks at Shining Armor. "We have things to talk about."

Shining Armor swallows. "Y-yeah," he says.

"Do you want us to leave?" Twilight asks.

"N-no...we'll talk in the bedroom," Cadance says. "You four stay out here..." She smiles. "I do believe some introductions are in order."

"Yes, yes they are," Twilight's mother says with an amused smile, looking at me with a raised eyebrow.

Cadance takes Shining Armor's hand and leads him to the bedroom. Once the door is closed behind them, Twilight takes a deep breath. "Mom, Dad," she says, "this is my boyfriend, Flash Sentry."

I stand up. "Ma'am," I say. "Sir."

Twilight's mother laughs. "Don't be so stiff, Flash." She smiles. "I'm Twilight Velvet, and this is Night Light. We've heard a lot about you. All good things."

Night Light grins. "I was honestly expecting a leather jacket and...I dunno, a mohawk or something, the way she goes on and on about you playing rock music."

"Daaaaad," Twilight groans, blushing. "He's joking, Flash," she says.

"Night Light does like his jokes," Velvet says. "He's the only one that likes his jokes..."

I can't help but laugh at that.

"You seem to be a nice boy," Velvet says. "We're so happy Twilight has a boyfriend. Or friends at all, for that matter." She shakes her head. "Growing up, all she ever wanted to do was hole up in her room with her books...never wanted to go out and play with the other children..."

"Moooom!" Twilight whines.

"Well, it's true, dear," Velvet says.

"Oh, she's still got that whole holed-up-with-books problem," I say. "But we all make sure she gets out to play from time to time."

Twilight sticks her tongue out at me.

Night Light studies me with concern. "Wow. Shiny really did a number on your face, huh?"

Velvet eyes my still-bandaged cheek with concern. "Oh...I'm so, so sorry for that, Flash," she says. "My Shining Armor isn't usually...I mean..." She sighs. "He's never been violent before. He...did explain to us that he's been very stressed out for a while now, and...well..."

"As long as he apologizes to Flash, that's all that matters," Twilight says. "Well, that and getting off Flash's case about dating me."

"Oh, we had a long talk with him about that," Velvet says. Her tone of voice is suddenly very sharp. "You needn't worry about that ever again." She sighs. "We do need to have a word with Cadance, though. Some of the things Shiny told us about her behavior over the last several months worries us. We...we really do want to know her side of things."

The four of us talk for almost an hour before Cadance and Shining Armor come out of the bedroom. Cadance is actually smiling, and looks genuinely happy. Shining Armor looks relieved...he looks more like the man I met when I first moved to Canterlot than the hostile jackass he's been lately.

"I'll be moving back in with Shining Armor this afternoon," Cadance says. "I'm...still going to keep that one room on the third floor ready for use, though, but...but not to get away from my husband. It'll just be for..." She shrugs. "You know, just having girl time with Twilight or the others." She giggles. "I may be twenty-six, but I'm still a teenager at heart. I like spending time with my girls."

Twilight giggles.

Shining clears his throat. "Uhh...Flash," he says. "I, uh...I need to have a talk with you. Man to man. In private." He twiddles his thumbs awkwardly. "I'm not gonna threaten you or hit you again or anything, I just, uh..."

Twilight rolls her eyes. "Shiny..."

I stand up. "It's cool," I say. I follow Shining Armor into the bedroom.

Once he closes the door, he walks over and stands next to the bed. He has his arms at his sides and doesn't quite seem to want to look me in the eye. "Look, first of all...I should never have hit you," he says. "And...I'm sorry. That was a real dick move on my part. You...you're an okay kid, and I've just been projecting a lot of crap..." He sighs. "I'm sorry."

"Okay," I say.

"The other thing..." Shining Armor frowns. "Cadance told me what happened last night."

Oh crap.

"I'm not...well, yeah, okay, I'm a little mad, but..." He sighs. "I kinda expected it."

...what?

"Back when...when we started dating, any time she got mad at me, she'd...she'd usually do something like that. Then the next day she'd feel all guilty and tell me about it and apologize. And I forgave her. The first couple times I was really pissed, but then I realized something." He shrugs helplessly. "That's...that's just who she is. That's what she does." He shakes his head. "I've been so worried about...about why she's been freaking out so much the last several months, I forgot that for a while." He chuckles. "Hell, she even did it once while we were engaged."

Whoa.

"But the point is...that's just how she deals with stress. And...and if I hadn't been so wrapped up in my own stress, I'd have remembered that, and I'd...I'd have taken care of my wife the right way. Done...done what I should've done." He chuckles. "Man, I'm the lamest dork in the world. What kind of idiot do I have to be to have a hot wife like that and not...you know?"

"Yeah."

"So yeah...I'm bothered by what happened, but..." He sighs. "It's not your fault. So...I'm gonna try not to hold it against you."

I let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks. That...that means a lot to me. I've been freaking out all day about that whole thing."

Shining Armor laughs. "Yeah, I'll bet. And that's good. You've learned a lesson from all this, right?"

"More than one," I say.

He snorts. "Yeah." He shakes his head. "The one person who never needs to know about what happened last night is Twilight. She would never understand, and..." He sighs. "She really, really likes you. Don't screw it up. If you break her heart, I will have to really hurt you." He smiles. "But...I'm not gonna try to stand between the two of you anymore."

"Thanks," I say. I hesitate, then ask, "So, uhh...did she tell you exactly why she's been...you know...so stressed out and stuff?"

Shining Armor sighs. "Yeah, she did. And I know she's told you all about it. Probably told you more than she told me, but...but that's okay. I'd rather she not keep secrets from me, but as long as she has somebody she can trust..." He frowns. "I can...kinda see why she didn't tell me, though." He shakes his head.

"What exactly did she tell you?" I ask.

"She told me about overhearing two asshole kids talking about wanting to rape her," Shining Armor says with a scowl. "That the 'stomach flu' she had was just her not wanting to be anywhere near those kids. And that she's been chasing around a lot of gossip and rumors and finding out just how sick the kids at CHS can be." He shakes his head. "Man, I really need to pay more attention to the gossip at school." He sighs. "Anyway...I know why she never told me about that. She was probably afraid I'd kill those little shits. And...I probably would have. But...she asked me to trust her to take care of herself and handle...whatever, and that if she needs me to back her up, she'll ask. She's...she's always been like that, you know?" He shrugs. "So anyway...we're cool." He pauses. "One thing, though."

"Yes?"

"What happened last night...has anything like that happened with you and Twiley?"

I shake my head. "No, not...not yet," I say. "But if it does, well...that's our business. Hers and mine. And it'll be her decision."

Shining Armor takes a deep, shaky breath. "Fair enough." He sighs. "Sorry, I'm...just having a hard time realizing my sister is...is..."

"Dude...we've barely even kissed. I mean, yeah, she spent that one night in my room, but we just cuddled and watched TV."

"Well, if you ever do anything more than that...I don't want to know about it."

I laugh. "Deal."

We head back out into the living room, where Cadance, Twilight, and Twilight's parents are apparently deep in an intense discussion. They look up when we come out; Twilight seems to be searching my face for any new bruises.

"Everything okay, guys?" Cadance asks.

"Yeah," I say. "We're cool."

"We cleared the air," Shining Armor says. "I'll stop being a jerk to Flash and start trusting him and my sister." He walks over and wraps his arms around Cadance. "And my wife."

After that, the six of us go out to lunch together. I get to know Twilight's parents a little better. I'm still feeling pretty guilty about what happened last night, but...

Every time I look at Twilight, I think about what Shining Armor told me.

If Twilight ever does find out what happened, I hope...I hope it won't be the end of us. Because I don't want to lose her.

Afternoon

After lunch, we take Twilight's parents to the train station, then head back for the dorm. Twilight and I help Cadance move most of her stuff back into the apartment, leaving behind just a few touches for her "girl time" room. After that, we head up to my room to rest and watch television for a little while before dinner.

As I'm flipping through the channels, Twilight asks, "Flash...did you have sex with Cadance last night?"

I tense up. I feel like my blood has turned to ice.

I turn to see Twilight looking at me, her brow furrowed. "You did, didn't you?"

I swallow heavily. "Uhh..."

She sighs. "Yeah, I thought so." She gives me an intense look. "Be honest with me...how many times have you and Cadance had sex?"

"Just...just last night," I say.

Twilight nods thoughtfully. "Okay."

I blink. "Okay?!"

Twilight shrugs. "What, you want me to scream and hit you and storm out of here?"

"Well...no, but..."

"I know Cadance," Twilight says. "She cheated on Shining Armor three times while they were engaged. She can't help it. She's kind of a slut. But she's faithful...more or less...I mean, she really loves my brother. And me. And my parents. Ever since they got engaged, she only does stuff like that when she's really mad at him or really stressed out." She sighs. "Ever since...well...the whole Zodiac thing explained a lot, but...I still pretty much figured something was going on between you. If it only happened once, and she was drunk when it happened, then..." She shrugs.

Wow.

"But yeah, I am mad at you for doing something like that with my sister-in-law," Twilight says. "So you're on thin ice."

I sigh. "Yeah..."

"So just...watch yourself, okay? I really, really like you and...and I don't want to have to break up with you because I can't trust you." Twilight wraps her arms around me and starts silently crying. "Don't make me break up with you."

I wrap my arms around her and kiss her hair. "I promise," I say. "All day long, I've felt horrible about what I did last night. I...I was sure I'd lose you...I don't think I could take that."

Twilight cries herself out and falls asleep in my arms.