Friday, January 22, 2016
Friday, January 22, 2016
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): You will experience significant growth in your personal relationships over the next couple of days.
After School
Tennis practice is pretty much the same today as it was on Wednesday, except we worked on doubles instead of singles.
After practice, I'm packing up to head back to the dorm when Pinkie walks over. "Hey, Flash?"
"Yeah?"
Pinkie fidgets. "Can we go somewhere together?" She blushes. "Alone? I...I wanna talk to you...alone..."
Pinkie seems unusually subdued...
I'm reminded of the last time Pinkie suddenly wanted me to go somewhere alone with her, and my heart races.
"Of course."
I follow Pinkie to a small playground several blocks from the school. There's nobody else around. Pinkie sits on a bench and motions for me to sit down next to her.
Once I'm seated, Pinkie begins fidgeting, shuffling her hands in her lap nervously.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
Pinkie turns red. "N-nothing," she says. "It's just...I have something really important to say..." She ducks her head. "And...I've got to have this same talk with Twilight later..." She looks up at me, a small, nervous smile on her face.
"Flash...I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for me. You've...you've really made a difference in my life...more than anybody else ever has.
"Since I was little, all I ever wanted was to make people happy, to see people smile. But...coming from the kind of family I have, that...it was so hard. The only one who ever understood me was Maud, and...and I was okay with that, but then my parents started getting all nasty and stuff, and...and I saw less and less of Maud...
"I really kinda hit bottom this year, but...you saved me. You saved me from having to leave all my friends, you saved my life..." Pinkie looks up at me. "You and Twilight...you're the most special, most important friends I've ever had. No...you're more than friends. You and Twilight...you're my new family."
"Pinkie..."
Pinkie pulls something out of her pocket. "I wanted you to have this," she said. She hands me an old photograph. In it, Pinkie is sitting in a room decorated (a bit clumsily) for a party; two younger, straight-haired girls are sitting to either side of her, looking awkward and uncomfortable. A younger Maud is sitting off to the side, the barest hint of a smile on her face.
"That's the first party I ever threw," Pinkie says. "For my sisters. It wasn't a special occasion or anything...I just wanted to have a party." She looks down. "Maud understood. My other sisters...they didn't.
"But that day, I had so much fun, just putting everything together...even if my no-fun sisters didn't get into it, that didn't stop me from wanting to make people happy.
"The past several months, I've been so..." Pinkie sighs. "I've had a hard time really being happy. But now...with you and Twilight..." She looks at me and smiles. "For the first time in a long time, I'm really, truly happy. I really feel like I can be my real self now, and that it's okay for me to be myself.
"And..." Pinkie ducks her head and blushes. "There's one other thing..."
She takes hold of my chin, leans in, and kisses me.
"I love you, Flash," she says. "I love you...and I love Twilight." She folds her hands in her lap and looks down at them. "As long as you and Twilight are in my life...as long as I know I can count on both of you...I'll never be sad again." She looks back up at me. "Thank you, Flash. Thank you for everything."
The bond thou hast nurtured hath finally matured.
The innermost power of the Star Arcana hath been set free.
We bestow upon thee the ability to summon Kuma, the ultimate form of the Star Arcana...
The Pinkie Pie Social Link of the Star Arcana has reached its maximum level!
Flash Sentry has mastered the Pinkie Pie Social Link!
The power to create Personas of the Star Arcana has reached its maximum!
Flash Sentry has forged a bond that cannot be broken!
Flash Sentry can now summon Kuma, the bear-er of clawful puns!
Pinkie Pie's realization of true happiness has awakened her true potential!
Euphrosyne has been reborn as Euphoria!
"We should probably get back to the dorm," Pinkie says. She lets out a shaky, nervous laugh. "I've gotta talk to Twilight too."
We walk back to the dorm together.
Evening
Applejack and Apple Bloom aren't at dinner tonight; they're out spending time together.
After dinner, Twilight and Pinkie disappear upstairs. I decide to hang out in the lounge with Luna, Rainbow Dash, and Sonata, playing video games late into the night.
When I go upstairs to go to bed, Twilight catches me at the door. "Did...did you talk to Pinkie earlier today?" she asks.
"Yeah."
"We need to do something really special for her soon," she says.
"That's a good idea..."
Tomorrow night is Trixie's concert...
I don't have any other plans for tomorrow, but I'll worry about that in the morning.
