Friday, January 1, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): With the end of the holidays comes the return of a more chaotic pace. Steel yourself—the party's over.

Morning

I wake up next to Twilight. I feel warm and tingly. I'm naked.

Twilight's also naked.

That's right...

After midnight, we came upstairs together...

I hear giggling. I sit up.

Pinkie and Sonata are sitting next to the bed, watching us with silly smiles.

I pull the blankets up to cover myself. "GAH!"

"Good morning, Flashie!" Pinkie coos.

Sonata gives me a sheepish wave. Her face is shining with mirth.

Twilight groans and opens her eyes. "Mmmnnnh..."

"Morning, Twi-Twi!" Pinkie sings.

Twilight sits up, running a hand through her hair. She looks down at herself and eeps, then pulls the blankets over her chest just like I did. "Pinkie!" she cries.

"How the hell long have you two been in here?" I ask.

Sonata holds up her tablet.

Long enough.

"We couldn't sleep," Pinkie says. "We decided you two were more fun to watch than TV."

I throw a pillow at Pinkie. She high-fives Sonata and the two of them beat a hasty retreat.

Twilight's face is burning red. "Oh my God..."

"Twilight...I don't think they were really in here when we were...you know." I point at the door. "Don't you think we'd have noticed if the door suddenly opened?"

"Oh...right." Twilight ducks her head and giggles. "Still..."

"Yeah." I shake my head. "So, you want first shower, or...?"

"You go ahead," Twilight says. "I'm not ready to get up yet."

"Okay." I kiss her forehead, then get out of bed. All in all, there are worse ways to start a new year...

Daytime

After I shower, I head back to my room to get dressed. Twilight has already changed the bed by the time I'm done. As she heads to the bathroom, I check Canterbook.

I reply to everyone, then note the time. It's already almost noon!

I head downstairs to find Velvet and Cadance just walking in from the apartment. Neither of them look like they slept well, and both have bags under their eyes and are pretty rumpled. "Happy New Year," I say.

"Happy New Year," they reply.

"Were you guys up late, or...?"

They look at each other, then back at me. "Pretty late, yeah," Cadance says.

"Only because Night Light was snoring and Cadance and my son were...you know," Velvet says crossly. "And I drank a little too much champagne."

"So did I," Cadance says. "The boys are still asleep."

"Well, we'd better get started on brunch..." Velvet frowns and glances at her phone. "Or lunch, I guess. Rainbow Dash and her dad are already on the way over—"

The doorbell rings.

"Scratch that. Already here," Cadance says. She and Velvet head for the kitchen. I head for the door and unlock it.

"Hey Flash! Happy New Year!" Rainbow is all smiles and full of pep. Her dad looks like roadkill.

"You okay?" I ask.

Blaze shakes his head. "First time in sixteen years I've gotten drunk," he says. "Now I remember why I quit."

I point at Rainbow. "I thought that was why you quit."

"Hey!" Rainbow cries. "I'm not a 'that'!" Rainbow grins. "Anyway, I got to drive over here. Pretty cool, huh?"

Cadance walks in. "Everybody make yourselves comfortable, we'll have some lunch out in a little bit...holy crap, how hung over ARE you, Mr. Blaze?"

"Grenade in my skull."

Cadance sighs. "I may have some hangover medicine, give me a minute to check..." She bustles off to the apartment.

"Anyway, Flash! You gotta check out the AWESOME thing Dad gave me for Christmas!" Rainbow says. "Oh, and can you help me unload the car?"

"Sure."

Blaze gives us a half-hearted wave, then shambles into the lounge and sinks into a recliner.

"So what's this awesome thing?" I ask.

Rainbow grins. "You'll see..."

As we reach the car, Rainbow pops the trunk. The trunk has Rainbow's suitcase, two large gift bags, and a fairly large cardboard box. I lift out the suitcase and the cardboard box, which turns out to be pretty heavy. Rainbow reaches into the back seat and pulls out a gig bag the color of her eyes. She slings it over her shoulder, then grabs the other stuff out of the trunk. With some difficulty, I manage to carry both the suitcase and the cardboard box and follow her inside. I leave the box at the foot of the stairs and head up behind her with just the suitcase.

Rainbow rushes over to her bed and sets down the gig bag, then opens it. Inside is a shiny blue electric guitar. "Isn't it awesome?" she asks.

"Oh, sweet!" I look it over; it's just as good as mine.

"Now we can really jam!" Rainbow says.

Now I know what that cardboard box is. I head back down and grab it, carrying it upstairs. Rainbow digs into it and pulls out her own compact amp, which she plugs in. She hooks up her new guitar and plays the one riff every guitar player knows, fiddling with the knobs on her guitar until it sounds just like she wants it to.

Pinkie wanders in. "Hey Dashie! Wow, sweet guitar!"

"Thanks, Pinkie!" Rainbow leans back and shreds aimlessly for a few seconds.

I turn to Pinkie. "Hey, Pinkie?"

"Yeeeees?" Pinkie asks sweetly.

"You do know I'm about to kill you, right?"

"Eep!GottarunHappyNewYearDashie!" Pinkie zooms down the hall.

Rainbow blinks. "The heck was that about?"

"Nevermind. Come on, you've gotta meet the new girl." I recall that although Sonata has already friended everyone in the dorm on Canterbook, she said she didn't want to share the details of her condition until she met them in person.

Sonata's wheelchair wasn't parked by the stairs when I brought up Rainbow's stuff, which means she's already downstairs. We find Sonata in the lounge watching TV. "Hey, Sonata!"

Sonata turns and waves. She writes on her tablet.

It was all Pinkie's idea, not mine, I swear!

"Nevermind that. I want you to meet one of the other girls here. This is Rainbow Dash. Rainbow, this is Sonata Dusk."

"Hey!" Rainbow calls cheerfully. "Nice to meetcha!"

Nice to meet you too!

Rainbow shakes her head. "Must suck bein' in a wheelchair, huh? I had to sit around with a busted leg for weeks a while back...drove me crazy!"

Sonata giggles.

It's the worst, isn't it?

"Sonata can walk, but she's still pretty banged up from the accident, so they don't want her to overdo it just yet," I say. "And her throat got torn apart in the crash, so...she can't talk."

Rainbow winces. "Yowch. That sucks."

Yeah.

"Is it...is it ever gonna heal?"

Sonata wilts.

No, it's...they say it's probably permanent.

"Oh man. That...that's just..." Rainbow trails off.

Twilight walks into the lounge. "Hey Rainbow! Welcome back!"

"Hey Twilight!"

Cadance walks back in with a cup of coffee and some pills, which she hands to Blaze. "Here," she says.

"Thanks," he says gratefully, taking the pills and swallowing them with a sip of coffee.

Velvet pops in from the kitchen. "Hello, Rainbow Dash! Hello, Blaze."

"Hey Velvet," Blaze says.

Velvet looks at him. "I thought you quit drinking?"

"I did," Blaze says. "Last night was the first and last time since Dash was born."

Velvet rolls her eyes. "Cadance, could you come back and help me, please?"

"Of course." Cadance stretches, yawning. "Twiley, can you go wake up your dad and Shining Armor?"

"Sure thing." Twilight ambles off to the apartment while Cadance heads for the kitchen. Rainbow and I sit down in the lounge. Pinkie walks in a few minutes later. I give her the evil eye for a minute, then decide it's not worth it and turn my attention to the television.

I roll my eyes.

Twilight returns, joining me on the sofa. A little while later, Shining Armor and Night Light walk in. "Hey, Blaze!" Night Light says.

"Hey," Blaze replies. He's looking a little less zombified.

The front doors open. Fluttershy walks in, carrying her luggage. Her white rabbit, Angel, is perched on her shoulder.

"Hey Fluttershy!" Rainbow calls out. "Welcome back! Happy New Year!"

Fluttershy jumps as if startled. "O-oh...Happy New Year, everybody," she says softly. She looks around at all the people present and seems bewildered.

"Hey, come meet my dad!" Rainbow says.

"And mine!" Twilight adds. "And our new dormmate!"

"Oh...a-alright," Fluttershy says. "Just let me take my things upstairs..."

"Eh, you can take 'em up later," Rainbow says. "Come join us!"

"I'll take your stuff," I offer.

"No, that's alright," Fluttershy says. "I need to get Angel Bunny settled in anyway. I'll be right back down." She heads upstairs with her things. It's almost five minutes before she returns. We introduce her to everybody. When we explain Sonata's problems, she seems upset.

"That's awful," Fluttershy says. "You poor thing..."

"Something's sure smelling good," Blaze says suddenly.

"Heck yeah!" Rainbow agrees.

Now that they mention it...whatever Cadance and Velvet are cooking up in the kitchen, it's making me pretty hungry...

Cadance peeks in. "Lunch will be ready in about fifteen minutes or so," she announces. "Oh, hello Fluttershy! Welcome back!"

"Thank you."

"So, Fluttershy, did you have a good Christmas?" Twilight asks.

"Oh, yes," Fluttershy says. "By the way, thank you for that book." She looks at me. "Oh, and thank you for that poster. I love it."

"You're welcome."

"I'm surprised you're already back," Twilight says.

"Oh, well...I needed to come back early so I can go shopping for a birthday present for Rarity tomorrow," Fluttershy says.

We spend the next while making idle conversation, catching up on what we did over winter break. Velvet and Cadance announce lunch, and we all head to the dining room.

The ladies went to a lot of trouble; lunch is fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn on the cob, cole slaw, macaroni and cheese, and green beans. We're all starving, so we all dig in.

"Do you eat like this all the time around here?" Blaze wonders.

"Not all the time, but pretty often," Rainbow says. "Applejack and Pinkie Pie do most of the cooking, and they're not bad at it."

"Say, when's Applejack coming back?" Twilight wonders.

"Not until Sunday," Pinkie says. "Oh, but she'll be at the party tomorrow."

"Speaking of which," Velvet says, "Twilight? Don't worry about seeing your father and I off at the train station tomorrow. You need to go shopping for a new dress for the party, right?"

"Mom!" Twilight shakes her head. "I couldn't—"

"Nonsense," Velvet says. "Your brother and Cadance can handle getting us to the train station just fine. You and Flash can go shopping."

"Man, Rarity...jeez," Rainbow mutters. "What's up with that 'formal attire' crap?"

"It's Rarity," Pinkie says with a shrug. "You know how she is..."

"I think it's good for you to dress more like a girl once in a while," Blaze says to Rainbow. "You look pretty when you dress up."

Rainbow blushes. "Dad!"

The rest of lunch passes with light conversation about various topics, such as school, with Blaze and Twilight's parents catching up and reminiscing. After lunch, we migrate into the lounge to watch the bowl games.

Evening

We loaded up on so much junk food watching football that nobody really has an appetite for dinner.

After the last game ends, Blaze stands and stretches. "Well, I'd better get on home," he says. "I've gotta get up early for my flight."

Rainbow jumps up and hugs him. "Bye Dad," she says. "Have a safe trip."

Blaze musses her hair. "You be good, you hear? Night Light, Vel, it was great seeing you again."

"You too, Blaze."

"You kids take care of Dash, alright?"

"You can count on us," Twilight says with a smile.

"I'll call you on Sunday!" Rainbow says.

"Got it!" Blaze waves, then heads out.

Velvet sighs. "Well, I'd better get started on the last of our laundry so we can get packed," she says.

Night Light scratches his head. "Yeah, I'd better start packing what's already ready to pack," he says. They stand up and head for the apartment.

Shining Armor looks around the lounge. "Well...guess I'd better go help Dad," he says. "Besides, now that everybody's coming back, I guess I'm back to being banned from the dorm..."

Twilight winces. "Sorry, BBBFF."

Shining Armor shakes his head. "I did it to myself," he says with a chuckle. "And I don't really need to have free run of a girls-only—" He glances at me and coughs. "—girls-mostly dorm anyway." He stands up and follows his parents to the apartment.

Sonata lets out a loud yawn.

I'm pretty tired...can someone help me upstairs?

"I'll help you," Fluttershy offers. Sonata smiles gratefully at her and wheels herself over to the stairs, then stands up. Fluttershy walks right behind her as she gingerly climbs the stairs.

Twilight lets out a sigh. "Well...I guess that's it then. The holidays are really over..."

"Yeah..."

Cadance looks around at us. "Get plenty of rest tonight," she says. "Rarity's going to be attacked tomorrow...we need to be ready for anything."

We all nod seriously. Twilight turns to Rainbow. "Rainbow, Pinkie's going to stick close to Rarity all day tomorrow. Will you go with her?"

"Of course," Rainbow says, pumping a fist.

I frown. "There's a problem with that," I point out. "If they're tailing Rarity all day, at some point they have to change for the party..."

"Yeah, the rest of us will too," Twilight says, shifting uncomfortably. "That's...that's gonna leave an ugly window where Rarity is defenseless..."

Cadance sighs. "We'll just have to deal with whatever happens," she says. "For now, we should all get to bed."

If Rarity's attacked when we're all getting ready for the party...

Tomorrow's going to be tense.