Saturday, December 12, 2015

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Ice is not your friend today.

Morning

It started snowing just after daybreak. It's not a heavy snow, just light flurries.

Twilight comes downstairs for breakfast wearing jeans and a thick sweater. "Hey," she says.

I stand up and hug her, giving her a quick kiss. "Hey," I say.

"So, figured out what we're doing today?" she asks.

"Yep. We're going ice skating."

She draws back, eyes wide. "Ice ska—" She tilts her head. "So you're just copying Rarity?"

I shrug. "Well...yeah. But I've always seen couples having fun skating on dates, and, well..."

Twilight giggles. "Okay. I've never done it before, but...it could be fun." She sits down.

Pinkie walks in with a tray bearing a half dozen mugs of hot chocolate. "Brr!" she says. "This'll warm you up. I'll have breakfast out in a bit."

"Thank you, Pinkie," Twilight says. We each take a mug of hot chocolate.

I frown as I look outside. The window is frosted with snow. "I know we need to walk Spike before we go, but..." A particularly horrifying image enters my mind involving yellow icicles, and I shudder.

"Oh, I've got some puppy pads for weather like this," Twilight says. "It's...a little messier than the usual, but..."

Pinkie shows up again, serving us each a ham and cheese omelette and hash browns. "Oh wow," Twilight says. "Thanks!"

"I need to go get the others up so I can make theirs," she says. "Can't let omelettes sit!" She heads upstairs.

When the others all arrive and Pinkie returns to the kitchen, Twilight turns to Rarity. "Well, looks like you and your sister are getting a little company at the ice rink today," she says.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I decided to take Twilight ice skating," I say. "You were talking about it, it sounded like fun..."

Rarity smiles. "Now that is a perfectly lovely date activity, and I'm certain my darling little sister would be delighted to meet you both." Her eyes suddenly sparkle. "Twilight! You should wear the outfit I gave you for your birthday! It would be wonderful for ice skating!"

"Really?" Twilight asks. "It wouldn't be too, umm...cold?"

"Oh nonsense," Rarity says. "I've got the perfect tights to go with it, I'll lend them to you...oh! And a scarf! Yes, a fabulous scarf!"

Twilight looks like she just got hit by a bus. "Um. Okay. After breakfast and after I deal with Spike, umm...I'll get changed, and you can...accessorize me..." She blushes. "Just...no measuring, okay?"

Rarity giggles. "It's a deal."

After breakfast, Rarity and Twilight head back upstairs.

Pinkie leans over the table and smirks. "Sooooo..." she says. "Have you and Twilight done it yet?"

"Pinkie Pie!" Applejack cries. "Land sakes, girl!"

There's a bag of marshmallows on the table. I throw one at Pinkie.

"What IS it with you?" Rainbow asks, staring at Pinkie. "You're like, obsessed!"

Pinkie shrugs. "I'm pink."

"I knew it!" I yell.

Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow stare at one another. "Uhh...what?"

"I'll explain later," I say. "Gotta finish getting ready." I head upstairs, grinning.

Behind me, I hear Rainbow ask, "What's bein' pink got to do with anything?"

Daytime

I'm waiting in the lounge when Twilight and Rarity come downstairs. Twilight is wearing the pink knit top and layered violet skirt Rarity gave her for her birthday, along with dark pink tights and a cute pair of white winter boots. She has a navy blue scarf spangled with gold glitter wrapped around her neck. She poses coquettishly. "How do I look?" she asks.

"Really cute," I say.

Twilight smiles and wraps her arm around mine. "So, are you ready?"

I nod. I look to Rarity.

"I need to pick up my sister," she says. "My family lives in the opposite direction of the ice rink, so I'll meet the two of you there."

"Alright." I'm glad I bought new heavy winter wear at the mall yesterday; Twilight and I collect our coats from the dorm's coat closet by the entrance, as well as our gloves and wool hats. Once we're geared up, we step out into the cold, white morning.

"So...we've got some time to kill if we're gonna meet Rarity and her sister at the rink," I say. "Anything in particular you wanna do?"

"Hmm..." Twilight taps her chin. "Ah! Why don't we stop by the park on the way to the rink? They always have amazing decorations up this time of year!"

We walk to the nearest bus stop, then catch a bus to the park. The Neighponese walkway has snow built up in the crevices of the roof. "I don't see any decorations."

"They don't put them on the walkway," Twilight says. "They're all inside the park."

We enter through the east gate. Inside the park, it seems like every single tree is covered in gold or silver tinsel and twinkling lights. Dotted here and there along the walkways are various standees: reindeer, elves, Santa Claus, sleighs and so forth.

"How long does it take them to do all this?" I wonder.

"They've been setting it up all week," Twilight says. "I don't know if they have the big tree up yet, though..."

Twilight leads me through the park, past the pond, to the activity center. About fifteen feet from the main doors, there's a twenty-foot-tall Christmas tree with hundreds of lights and ornaments and a huge star on top that changes colors every five seconds.

"That's a pretty big tree."

"I love the big tree," Twilight says. "I've come to see it every year since I came to Canterlot." She grabs my hand and tugs me toward the tree. "Come on! You haven't seen the best part yet!"

We circle around the base of the tree. There's a kiosk set up where a woman in a white fur-trimmed dress and a hat that's about fifty years out of style is greeting passersby and giving out candy canes.

I look at Twilight and raise an eyebrow. "The best part, huh?"

She blushes. "It's...it's not the candy canes," she says. "Well, not just the candy canes...just...come see!"

Rolling my eyes and chuckling, I follow Twilight to the kiosk. The woman smiles warmly at us. "Hello!" she says. "Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas," Twilight says.

"Care to try your luck at the Lucky Santa?" the woman asks.

"Yes, please!" Twilight says, reaching into her purse and pulling out a five dollar bill. "Two tickets."

The woman accepts her money and stuffs it into a brass kettle beside her, then tears two gold foil tickets off a roll and hands them to Twilight. She then reaches into a big bag next to her and pulls out a candy cane for each of us. "Here you go," she says. "Scan your ticket with your phone on Christmas morning to see if you win. Good luck!"

Twilight puts her ticket in her purse, hands me the other one, and unwraps her candy cane. "Mmm, cotton candy flavor," she says.

"What's the Lucky Santa?" I ask as I put the ticket in my pocket. I unwrap my own candy cane and take a lick. It's butterscotch flavor...not bad.

"It's a charity raffle," Twilight says. "They give away about fifty prizes. Some of them are pretty cheap, some of them are pretty nice. I didn't win anything the first time, but last year I won this cute little plushie of a baby dragon." She giggles. "I didn't have it very long. Spike got hold of it. He sure loved playing with it...he tore it to shreds." She smiles. "I was pretty mad, but...it was so cute watching him play with it, I couldn't stay mad. Besides, it's not about the prizes, it's about...giving, you know?"

"Yeah." I smirk. "And gourmet candy canes, right?"

Twilight blushes. "Don't make fun," she says, pouting.

I shake my head and laugh, and we continue our slow tour of the park. Near the northwest corner, there's a table set up, staffed by three cute young girls in adorable little fur-trimmed red versions of the Outdoors Girls' famous uniform, with troop number patches and sashes and all the trimmings. The table has a cash box and piles of boxes of cookies; there are large boxes behind the table.

I look at Twilight. I know where this is going.

...Who am I kidding, I want the cookies too.

We walk up to the table. One of the girls smiles broadly. "Wanna buy thome cookieth, Mithter?"

I can't help but wonder if the lisp is real, or just an act.

"Ooh, the holiday assortment," Twilight says. "I've never actually had any of these..."

I pull out my wallet. "Pick three you like," I say. "And I'll take one each of the white chocolate fudge crunch, the mocha mint, and...hmm..." I tap my chin. "What do you recommend?"

"The coconut marshmallow wreaths are pretty good," one of the girls says.

"Okay, one of those then," I say. Twilight picks out the three she wants, and I hand over several bills to the girl at the cash box.

"Wow, thankth, Mithter!" She pulls out a plastic bag; one of the girls helps her put all the cookies I just bought in it, then hands it over to me.

"Merry Christmas, girls," Twilight says with a smile.

"Merry Christmas!" the girls chorus back.

I check the time. "We should probably head for the ice rink now."

We make our way for the park exit and the north bus station. Once we're through the walkway gates, Twilight holds out a hand. "Gimme."

I shake my head. "When we get home."

"Meanie!"

I laugh. "Patience is a virtue, Twi."

She pouts. "You bought a lot of cookies," she says. "You're not going to try to snack me under the table, are you?"

I shake my head. "I only bought one box for myself. The others are gifts for Rarity and her sister."

"Oh." Twilight smiles. "That's nice of you."

It's several minutes before the bus arrives. On the entire ride to the stop nearest the ice rink, Twilight keeps pestering me for a cookie. Her pouting and whining is too adorable, but I refuse to let her have one until we get back to the dorm.

When we arrive at the rink entrance, it's only a few minutes before Rarity approaches, along with a girl of about twelve or thirteen, whose skin is a similar shade to hers. She has bright green eyes and curly pink and lavender hair. "Flash, Twilight, this is my sister Sweetie Belle," Rarity says.

Twilight smiles. "It's nice to meet you, Sweetie Belle."

"Hi!" Sweetie Belle says in a very high, squeaky voice.

"Have we kept you waiting long?" Rarity asks.

"We just got here," I say. "We decided to go by the park on the way."

"Ooh, the park!" Sweetie Belle says. "Did you get tickets for the Lucky Santa?"

"We sure did!" Twilight says.

"We also picked up something for the two of you," I say. I open the bag and pull out the box of mocha mint cookies and the box of coconut marshmallow wreaths. I hand the former to Rarity and the latter to her sister.

"Oooh, thank you!" Sweetie Belle says.

"I didn't know the Outdoors Girls were selling cookies today," Rarity says, tucking the cookies into her bag. Sweetie Belle hands hers to Rarity as well, and she puts them away. Rarity tilts her head. "I'm guessing the rest of those must be for Twilight," she says.

"Most of them," I say.

"And he won't let me have one," Twilight whines.

"You wouldn't stop at one, you'd eat all three boxes. You don't handle sugar the way Pinkie Pie does," I point out. "I don't want to have to drag you home."

Sweetie Belle giggles at the face Twilight makes.

Rarity coughs to cover a smirk. "Well...shall we be going in, then?"

The four of us enter the rink. There's a broad entrance foyer which branches to the snack bar on our right and the cashier's counter and skate rental on our left. A catchy K-pop piece is playing, and groups of people—couples on dates, families, friends, and even what appear to be some professionals in training—are gliding, twirling, slipping, stumbling, and falling from one end of the rink to the other.

Once we've paid admission and rented skates, we stake out a table near the rink to stash our stuff. Sweetie Belle quickly exchanges her shoes for her skates, while Rarity shows me and Twilight the proper way to put on ice skates. Twilight shivers a little. "I should've worn that sweater," she says.

"You'll be fine," Rarity says. I can't help but notice that she IS wearing a sweater...

With my skates laced up, I try to stand on the ice. It's not anywhere near as easy as it looks on television, but with a little experimentation, I'm at least able to stay upright.

"Come on, Rarity!" Sweetie Belle yells, whizzing past me backwards on her skates.

"Coming, Sweetie Belle!" Rarity calls. She steps out onto the ice and skates gracefully past me. Sweetie Belle spins around, and once Rarity catches up to her, they skate down the length of the rink hand-in-hand.

Twilight steps out onto the ice, her knees wobbling. "Oh...oh, I don't know if I can..."

Down she goes...

I help her to her feet. "Ow," she says, rubbing her butt.

"Let's...use the wall," I say. "Hold onto me...we'll see if I we can get the hang of this..."

For the next half hour, Twilight and I try our best to stay on our feet while moving in a generally forward direction, never straying far from the wall. Twilight falls down four more times, and drags me down with her twice.

"Let's take a break," I suggest after her fourth fall.

"Good call," she says, wincing.

We change back into our shoes, then head over to the snack bar, where we each buy a piping hot Luau roll and a cup of warm spiced cider. We head to our table and sit, enjoying the warm, sweet snack, and watch Rarity and her sister skate effortlessly.

"We suck at ice skating," Twilight says.

"Yeah..." I look at her. "It's fun trying, though."

Twilight giggles. "Yeah." She blushes. "Sorry I kept pulling you down..."

"It's okay," I say.

We go back for another roll and more cider. By the time we're back at the table, Rarity and Sweetie Belle are there resting. "Oh, hello," Sweetie Belle says.

"Those look quite delicious," Rarity says. "I believe I'll go get us one." She heads over to the snack bar.

"You're an awfully good skater, Sweetie Belle," Twilight says.

"Thanks," Sweetie Belle says. "Rarity taught me when I was eight. She says it's something all elegant, graceful ladies need to be able to do." She rolls her eyes.

"Don't you enjoy it?" I ask.

"Well, sure, it's fun," Sweetie Belle says. "And it's something I enjoy doing with Rarity. We don't spend as much time together as we used to...not since she moved to the dorms."

Rarity returns, handing Sweetie Belle a roll and a cup of cider. Twilight's already finished her second roll, but she's drinking her cider slowly.

A very soft song plays, and Sweetie Belle starts swaying back and forth, eyes closed as she nibbles on her roll. Twilight smiles and leans into me. We sit for a while, listening in silence. When something more classical plays, I decide it's time we took another shot at skating. "Ready to try again, Twi?"

Twilight makes an 'ick' face. "I...guess so," she says. "Falling down so much is kind of embarrassing..."

"Why don't me and Rarity teach you how to skate?" Sweetie Belle pipes up.

"'Rarity and I', Sweetie Belle," Rarity corrects. "But yes, that is an excellent idea."

"Thanks, but we wouldn't want to cut in on your sister time," Twilight says.

"Oh, it's no trouble! After all, we're already horning in on your date," Rarity says.

After a half hour of their patient help and coaching, Twilight and I are able to skate in straight lines, if a bit on the slow side. By the time another half hour passes, we're both a lot more confident on skates.

We return to our table, exhausted. "I think that's enough skating for one day," Twilight says.

"Yeah, it wears you out fast," Sweetie Belle agrees.

"Well, Sweetie Belle and I need to go shopping once we've rested up," Rarity says. "I shall see you back at the dorm!"

"It was fun!" Sweetie Belle says. "Thanks again for the cookies!"

Twilight and I gather up our things, return our skates, and head off to find a place to eat lunch.

It's still snowing a little...

Twilight rubs her arms through her coat. "If we're going to train tonight, we should probably head back to the dorm to rest after we eat," she says.

We settle on a place that has hearty homestyle food for lunch. Interestingly, they have baked sweet potatoes. We each have one, and they're delicious.

After that, we head back to the dorm, where Twilight finally gets her cookies.

Evening

It's stopped snowing, but it's still cold.

After dinner, I meet up with Cadance, Twilight, Pinkie, and Rainbow.

"So where are we going to train?" Twilight asks. "I don't think we should go back to the school for now, just in case we run into that...thing again."

"The abandoned roller rink?" I suggest.

Cadance shakes her head. "Not this time of night," she says. "Drug dealers use it after dark. It isn't safe."

"How do you know something like that?" Twilight asks.

"After I found out about Zodiac, I started searching every nook and cranny of Canterlot," Cadance says. "I've seen a lot more of the seedy side of the city than I ever really wanted to."

"So where DO we go to train?" Rainbow asks.

Cadance thinks about it for a minute. "The hospital parking garage," she decides. "It's big, it's open, it's probably crawling with Shadows, and more importantly, even in winter it's hotter than hell in there."

"Sounds good to me," Twilight says. "I've had enough of the cold for one day."

Cadance already has our equipment stashed in her SUV, so we head downstairs.

"An' jes' where are you lot goin' this time of night?" Applejack calls from the lounge.

It's a bit hard to explain five of us leaving the dorm all at once...

"Orgy," Pinkie says in a flat, matter-of-fact tone.

"Big orgy," Cadance agrees quickly.

"Nasty orgy," Rainbow Dash adds.

"Secret orgy," I say. "Don't tell anybody."

Applejack has a disgusted look on her face, and her eyebrow is trying to become part of her hairline. "Uhh...okay then..."

We head out.

As soon as we're outside, Twilight slaps Pinkie upside the head. "Pinkie!" she shouts. "Honestly!"

"What? She totally bought it!"

Rainbow snickers. "That was kinda funny," she says.

Cadance rolls her eyes. "You are the strangest girls I've ever known..."

We drive to the hospital parking lot and park on the third floor, which is the lowest floor for visitor parking. Once we're all out of the SUV, we get out our phones...

The stifling air of the parking garage returns. We climb back into the SUV. Cadance, breathing heavily but seemingly alright, drives us back to the dorm.

"So..." Rainbow says. "When are we doing that again?"

"I'd rather not mess with Zodiac stuff during winter break," Twilight says.

"Yeah, same here," I say. "Besides, we already know when the next attack is, and it's not that far away."

"We can discuss it later," Cadance says.

Nobody is in the lounge when we get back. We all head back to our own rooms. I'm asleep before my head even hits the pillow...