Wednesday, December 2, 2015

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Someone close to you needs help. Find this person—fast.

After School

At tennis practice, Coach is in a serious mood.

"Okay, listen up!" she calls. "This weekend's match is the last regular match. We're in good standing for regionals, but we need to give it everything we've got on Saturday to lock it up!" She pauses. "Oh, and Pie's back. Welcome back, Pie."

Everybody applauds Pinkie Pie.

Practice runs late...

Evening

The sun is already setting by the time practice ends. I come out of the shower, breath frosting in front of me. It looks like it's about to start raining...

Pinkie walks up to me, rubbing her hands together. "Hey. Let's go on a date. Right now."

"Huh?" I stare at her. "Uhh...Pinkie..."

"I wanna go somewhere tonight, but I don't wanna go alone," she says. "Please?"

Pinkie hasn't been as cheerful as usual since Thanksgiving...

"Okay."

I follow Pinkie to the park. Upon arrival, we're joined by Maud Pie.

"Hello again," Maud says.

"Uh...hi," I say.

Maud is studying me with interest...I think. It's making me uncomfortable.

"Flash..." Pinkie takes a deep breath. "Things are...bad for me. Really...really bad."

Pinkie's hair has been flat all evening. I thought it was just from showering after practice, but now...

Her eyes are dark and sad.

"Pinkie's moving to Vanhoover with me after exams," Maud says.

...what?!

"What...? I don't...understand..."

Pinkie buries her face in her hands. Her shoulders start shaking.

Maud shows the first emotion I've actually seen from her: Anger.

"Papa disowned Pinkie," she says. "He's cut her off completely."

"What the fuck?" I stare at Pinkie. "But...you just joined the tennis team again..."

"I wanted to have...one last good time at Canterlot High," Pinkie says.

"No..." I shake my head in disbelief. "This isn't...!" I look between the two of them. "Why?!"

Pinkie's eyes are cast down and away. "Remember the Halloween party?" She sighs. "My family...they saw the videos of me..." She turns away. "They said...they're ashamed of me. That I've disgraced the family. That...that no child of theirs...would ever..."

Maud wraps an arm around Pinkie's shoulders as Pinkie begins sobbing.

I feel my eyes tightening with anger, and a dull throb in the back of my skull. "How could...how could they...?"

"Our parents are very strict," Maud says.

"But...this isn't even legal! Is it?"

Maud sighs. "It doesn't matter if it's legal," she says. "They're not paying for her to stay in Canterlot and they don't want her back home. That's...all there is to it."

No...

Pinkie is my friend. Mine and Twilight's...and everyone's...

This isn't right...

And also...we need Pinkie Pie...

"You're not going anywhere," I say.

"But...Flash..." Pinkie looks up at me. "I can't...even if I quit tennis again and spent every spare minute working, I couldn't...afford to stay..."

"And I can't afford her tuition and boarding," Maud says. "Or even her incidentals. It'll be tight enough having her with me in Vanhoover as it is..."

"Let's go to the dorm," I say. "I'm fixing this. I don't know how, but I'm fixing this."

I already have a half dozen scenarios in mind. I'm not about to ask my parents for this...it's a bit much to ask of them...

But I know who can help...

When we arrive at the dorm, we find everyone except Fluttershy in the living room watching television. Twilight looks up. "Wow, you guys are back late," she says. She sees Pinkie, and her eyes widen. "Pinkie? What...?"

Vice-Principal Luna looks up with a frown. "Pinkie Pie? What's happened?"

"Twilight? Would you get Cadance, please? And Vice-Principal Luna, can you call Principal Celestia? We've got a major problem."

"What's goin' on?" Rainbow asks. "And who's this?"

"This is Pinkie's older sister Maud," I say. Maud blinks once.

"I'll...go get Cadance," Twilight says shakily. "Be right back."

Luna pulls out her phone, shooting worried glances at Pinkie.

A couple minutes later, Twilight and Cadance return to the lounge. In the meantime, Rainbow Dash has turned off the television, and Rarity has gone to the kitchen to make tea for everyone.

Five minutes later, Celestia arrives. "What's going on?" she asks. "Has there been another incident?"

"Not exactly, but there's a real problem," I say. "In fact...Twilight? Would you get your laptop and get your parents on a video call with all of us? I think we might need them to be part of this too."

"My parents?" Twilight asks, confused.

"Hurry, please," I say.

"Okay..." Twilight rushes upstairs, then comes back a minute later with her computer. It only takes her a couple of minutes to get her parents on the screen.

"So is anybody gonna tell us what's goin' on?" Rainbow asks.

Maud takes the initiative. "My sister has been disowned by our parents," she says. "She's going to have to leave Canterlot because nobody's paying her tuition or board anymore."

A collective gasp escapes everyone present.

Celestia blinks. "This is the first I've heard of this..."

"Papa didn't decide until today," Maud says. "I've been fighting with him since Sunday about this."

"Disowned?" Velvet shrieks from Twilight's laptop. "Why? How? What parent would do such a horrible thing?!"

Luna narrows her eyes. "This is an outrage!"

"This is bullshit!" Rainbow cries.

"Pinkie..." Twilight whispers. She moves to hug Pinkie, who leans into her, shaking.

"I didn't know such a thing was still done..." Rarity says quietly.

"Why?" Celestia asks. "Why would your parents do something so horrific?"

"Because they didn't like what Pinkie wore for Halloween," I say.

"It's a little more complicated than that, but...more or less," Maud says. "They were embarrassed by the videos from the Halloween party."

Twilight gasps. "What?!" She shakes her head. "Okay, I admit, Pinkie's costume was way over the top, but...that's no reason to..."

"You don't know my folks," Pinkie says, sniffling.

"Why didn't you say anything sooner?" Cadance asks.

"I...didn't want you all to worry..." Pinkie whimpers.

"Worry? Of course we're worried!" Twilight says. "You're my best friend, Pinkie Pie! How could you not tell me?"

"Because...I knew I'd have to leave..." Pinkie sniffles. "I wanted...everything to stay just the same...just for a little while longer..."

"You poor dear..." Velvet says.

"We're not letting Pinkie leave," I say firmly. "It isn't right."

"Damn straight it isn't right!" Rainbow cries. "I say we all go to Pinkie's place and beat some sense into her dad!"

"That won't do any good," Maud says. "Papa's mind is made up. He isn't paying for Pinkie to stay in Canterlot, and that's his legal right."

"And that's why I wanted Twilight to call her parents," I say. "Mrs. Velvet? Can you and Mr. Night Light front half of Pinkie's tuition and board?"

"We can front all of it," Velvet says.

"Half will be fine," I say. "Cadance? You can cover the other half, right?"

"Of course," Cadance says.

Pinkie sniffles and looks up. "Wh-what?"

"And her pay from Sugar Cube Corner will take care of her incidentals," I say. "And whatever else she needs, I can help with."

Pinkie looks around. "N-no...I couldn't..."

"Pinkie," Cadance says with a smile, "we don't want you to go away."

"We care about you," Twilight says. "I can't imagine this place without you!"

"It just wouldn't be the same," I say.

Pinkie's face transmutes from sadness to hopeful, tearful joy.

"Don't worry about a thing, dear," Velvet says. "You'll be taken care of. All you need to do is concentrate on your studies, and...whatever else it is you do."

"Yes, just calm down and let us handle it," Cadance says. "We...we can't do anything much for the emotional trauma of all this, but keeping you in Canterlot? That's easy enough."

Pinkie's eyes are wide and shining, and her hair isn't quite as dark and limp. "Thank you...thank you so much..."

Celestia frowns. "This...is a very complicated situation," she says. "I'm going to need to have a very long talk with Mr. Pie tomorrow. In person." She looks around the room. "But...under the circumstances, if this is what everybody wants to do, I'm certain the arrangements can be made...whether they're entirely legal or not doesn't particularly matter to me at the moment." She looks at the laptop. "Mrs. Velvet? Can you come down to Canterlot to iron out the details?"

"I can be there by tomorrow afternoon," Velvet says.

"Good. I'll meet with you and Cadance in my office as soon as I'm back from Salt Lick City." She stands. "I'll need to get home and get to bed early, that's not a short drive and I want to catch Mr. Pie unawares. Goodnight, everyone."

"I should go," Maud says. "I have a long drive ahead of me."

"Maud? Could...could you stay the night?" Pinkie asks. "Please?"

Maud smiles slightly. "Alright."

Pinkie takes Maud upstairs. Cadance turns to me, smiling. "That was a wonderful thing you did," she says.

"I didn't do anything except think up a way to keep Pinkie around," I say. "It's you and Mrs. Velvet who have to do the hard part."

"But you're the one who thought of it," Velvet says. "And took the initiative." She smirks. "And you remembered that neglectful parents are a pet peeve of mine. Very sharp."

"Mom! Flash would never—"

"I'm teasing," Velvet says, laughing. "Mostly, anyway. You've really found yourself a special young man, dear," she says. "I'll be seeing you tomorrow."

"G'nite, Mom."

Cadance yawns. "I'd better get to bed as well. Shiny's going to be wondering what's going on." She waves, then leaves.

I feel like every nerve ending in my body is burning up and freezing cold at the same time...I think I'm in shock over everything that's happened tonight. "I...I'm going to bed now too," I say.

I head up to my room and sit on my bed, wrapping my arms around my knees.

We nearly lost Pinkie...

Her dad must be the biggest asshole in the entire world...

"Flash? Are you okay?"

I look up to see Twilight standing over me. I stand up and pull her into a hug.

Pinkie walks in. "Flash? Can I borrow a shirt? Maud needs something to sleep in and none of my pajamas fit her..."

I look over to Pinkie. "Sure," I say. I grab a random T-shirt out of my closet and hand it to her.

Pinkie looks at me. Her eyes are still wet. "Flash...thank you," she says softly.

Suddenly, she throws her arms around me and kisses me.

Twilight clears her throat.

Pinkie lets go of me, then rushes over to Twilight and kisses her too. Twilight flails around, eyes wide. When Pinkie lets go, Twilight's hyperventilating and patting her chest wildly.

Pinkie looks at the two of us. "I...I wouldn't have known what to do with myself...if I had to leave..." She swallows. "I don't know if I could make it without the two of you..."

She turns to leave.

Twilight's face is burning. "Umm...I'm going to bed too," she says. "Goodnight..."

I'm exhausted...