Wednesday, January 20, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Some books would rather be judged by their covers, even if the cover says nothing about the book itself.

After School

Tennis practice...

We have seven weeks to get the girls ready for their season. Today, I spend the entire afternoon practicing with Pinkie. Coco is occasionally moving around and giving everyone pointers and advice.

After practice, I sit down to rest and drink a sports drink before heading back. Pinkie sits down next to me, a towel slung around her neck. "Coco sure has changed since the start of the school year," she says. "She's so confident now..."

"Yeah," I agree. "I'm happy for her."

"It's because of you," Pinkie says. "You really do change people."

"Eh..." I shrug. "Sometimes all people need is a friend."

"Yeah..." Pinkie falls silent. After a few minutes, she eeps. "Oh crap! I've gotta go. I'm working the evening shift today...eep! In fifteen minutes! Bye!" She gathers up her stuff and zooms away.

I sit for a few more minutes before heading back to the dorm.

Evening

As soon as I walk through the door, Rarity runs up to me. "Flash, could I trouble you to help me in the kitchen?"

"Uhh..."

"It's my turn to make dinner, and I just need an extra set of hands," she says. "Applejack is busy, Pinkie is working, and...well, absolutely everybody else is busy. I just...need the teensiest bit of help, since there are so many to cook for."

I shrug. "Alright. I'll try."

Rarity's dinner menu for tonight is chicken cordon bleu, stuffing, seasoned green beans, and stewed tomatoes with herbs. "So...tomorrow we're going to Zodiac again," she says as we work.

"Yeah."

"I do so hope everything goes better than last time," she says.

"It will." I check the recipe to make sure I'm not messing up.

Rarity lets out a sigh. "The last time...I tried my hardest to ignore those horrible messages floating around, but..." She looks down at the chicken breast she's folding. "How do you stand it?" she asks. "How can you stand having everything horrible everyone says about you laid bare like that?"

"It's...not easy," I admit. "I mean...the only real way to deal with it is to remember that if you let yourself get distracted, the Shadows will kill you."

"I suppose that's sufficient motivation," Rarity says with a grimace. "It's just..." Her shoulders sag. "It's difficult to maintain one's poise and composure when one knows what one's peers really think of her."

"Why are you so hung up on this?"

"Because...image is very important to me," Rarity says. "My parents...I love them both dearly, but they're rather...well..." She frowns. "Embarrassing. Father has made a small fortune on investments, but chooses to behave like any blue-collar, bowling night once a week, beer and a basketball game—"

"Regular guy?"

Rarity looks at me. "Well, yes. He has no appreciation for the finer things in life. And mother, well...she comes from old money, but she acts, and forgive me, like those obnoxious women on that one reality show."

I frown. "So...you're embarrassed by your parents because they're rich and don't act like rich snobs?"

Rarity takes a step back. "Well...when you put it like that...it does sound..." She shrinks into herself. "It does sound rather small of me," she admits.

"Why are appearances so important to you?" I ask.

Rarity falls silent. "Let's...let's concentrate on cooking, shall we?"

From that point, the only thing we talk about is what we're cooking. Rarity is efficient and skilled; by dinnertime, we're ready to plate perfect food. Rarity insists on an artistic presentation; it takes a few minutes longer, but I guess it's worth it in the end.

The chicken cordon bleu is a big hit with everyone, even Rainbow Dash. Then again, despite the fancy name, it's pretty much just chicken, ham, and swiss cheese.

After dinner, I head to my room to practice guitar and do my homework. It's almost ten when Pinkie Pie returns from work; she drops in to give me a couple of cookies from Sugar Cube Corner. The cookies are a nice little bedtime snack; after I finish my homework, I spend about fifteen minutes or so reading in bed before going to sleep.