Sunday, February 14, 2016
Sunday, February 14, 2016
Just Past Midnight
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Sunset Shimmer no longer has control of your horoscope. I do. I'm the best friend you've got right now if you want to keep everyone you love alive. You'd better stop ignoring this app. I'm trying to save your life.
I stare at my phone, mind reeling.
I button my pants back up, grab my phone, and run across the hall to Twilight's room. "Twilight!"
Twilight yelps and turns around, covering herself; her bra is on the floor and she's in the middle of peeling off those crazy tights. "FLASH!" she cries, blushing. "I thought we agreed not to...you know...tonight..."
"That's not it," I say. "Look." I hand her my phone.
She looks at the screen. Her eyes widen. She forgets about her half-undressed state and sits on the edge of her bed. "What...?"
I run my hands through my hair. "I...I haven't even been checking my horoscope in weeks," I say. "A few minutes ago, this system message popped up telling me to check it. Then...this."
Twilight frowns. "Huh." She fiddles with my phone for a few minutes. I sit down next to her, looking at the screen. She's gone into the horoscopes archive for the past week...
2/7 (Virgo): Taking rash action before you have all the facts could be a costly mistake.
2/8 (Virgo): You're better off paying attention to the people and things that matter the most to you today instead of obsessing over chasing shadows and rumors.
2/9 (Virgo): Beware the lioness today. She is hunting, and you are the prey.
2/10 (Virgo): Swallow your pride. Justice needs to be served.
2/11 (Virgo): Returning to your normal routine after a terrible ordeal is the best way you can help yourself heal.
2/12 (Virgo): Are you reading your horoscope every day? Because you really should.
2/13 (Virgo): The horoscope app is trying to tell you something important. Ignoring it is a really, really bad idea.
Twilight's face is pale. "Oh my God..." She runs her finger down the list. "Sunday's horoscope...that's a warning about the bear trap in the park. About...about us getting the target wrong. Tuesday, that...that's a warning about Sunset Shimmer, isn't it?" She looks up at me. "How long has this been going on?"
"I don't know," I reply with a shrug. "I haven't been checking it. But now that you mention it, some of the horoscopes I've gotten in the past have been oddly specific and...eerily accurate."
"Let's see..." Twilight tries to go further back in the archives, but the app won't load anything older than last Sunday. She sighs and returns to today's horoscope.
Which has changed:
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): You can relax and take a breather today. Cadance won't be attacked. They can only hunt once a year. You already know who Aquarius killed. Also, don't tell anybody about the hacked horoscopes. I'm deleting all traces of this, and if you talk, I'll have to stop helping you.
Twilight and I stare at each other.
Numbly, I take my phone back from her. "Umm. I...I'm gonna go...bed..."
"Yeah..."
Morning
Shortly after nine, we have a huge breakfast with the whole dorm present, as well as Cadance and Shining Armor. Pinkie Pie and Applejack lay out a nice, obviously Valentine's-themed spread—there's heart-shaped pancakes with strawberry syrup and whipped cream, heart-shaped sausage patties, heaps of scrambled eggs, spiced apples, and passion fruit juice.
Rarity picks up a heart-shaped sausage patty with her fork and raises an eyebrow. "Really, Pinkie Pie?" she asks dryly.
"Awww, but it's Valentine's Day!" Pinkie says as she cuts through her stack of pancakes with her fork.
Rarity rolls her eyes.
Applejack looks over at Rainbow Dash as she mixes spiced apples with her eggs. "So...you an' Cloudy Kicks, huh?" she says with a smirk.
Rainbow blushes. "We just danced together, okay? It's not...I mean..." She stabs a sausage patty with her fork. "I don't..." She lets out a frustrated groan and shoves sausage into her mouth, glaring at Applejack and chewing furiously. Everyone laughs.
Well...most everyone. Fluttershy is sitting at the very end of the table, eating mechanically, her eyes clouded.
"I didn't see Octavia at the dance," Pinkie says. "Aren't she and Vinyl Scratch a thing now?"
"They're...kind of a thing. I think." I shrug. "I think Octavia's still trying to figure out if she wants that kind of relationship, and...well, even if she does," I take a sip of juice and grimace. It has an afterbite... "Vinyl being blind...complicates things."
"It won't be easy for them," Cadance agrees.
"Octavia's overbearing mother isn't helping," I say. "That's probably why she wasn't even at the dance."
"Ouch."
Shining Armor sighs. "You know...I can't get used to this," he says.
"What?" Twilight asks.
"All this...open gayness," Shining Armor says. "It's like...to you kids, it's no big thing, and—"
"Shiny," Cadance says with a stern frown, "we're not that much older than them."
"I know, but...it wasn't like this when we were in high school!" Shining Armor rants. "You know what I'm talking about! I mean sure, there were kids who were...y'know...but they didn't advertise it, and...and people didn't just sit around talking about it like it was completely normal." He chugs half his juice in one gulp.
Cadance sighs. "Yeah...a lot's changed in just a few years." She shrugs. "But it's good that it's changed. And...there's still kids who, well..." She looks at Rainbow.
Rainbow sighs. "Who act like it's a bad thing. Who make fun of you for it. Even if you're not. And I'm still not! I don't think." She looks around at all of us, then blushes again. "I'll just shut up and eat now."
Rarity frowns at Shining Armor. "You're not homophobic, are you Coach?"
Shining Armor starts sweating. "Me? No! I mean...I don't have an opinion, I just..." He looks around the table. "I'm just...not used to everybody thinking it's...you know, normal..."
Twilight arches an eyebrow. "You are aware I'm technically bisexual," she says flatly.
"Gah!" Shining Armor scoots away from the table. "Twiley! I don't—! Just—! GAH!"
Cadance raises an eyebrow of her own. "Funny, I never expected you to be so comfortable even admitting that," she says to Twilight.
Twilight blushes. "Well...it's not like it's a secret," she says.
"Boy, I'll say!" Rainbow says with a snicker. "Good grief, you and Pinkie...sheesh..."
"Now the whole boyfriend-girlfriend-girlfriend thing, that's not normal," Sweetie Belle says.
"No kiddin'," Apple Bloom agrees. "Ah spent most'a mah life on a farm an' even Ah know y'all are...kinda off."
Pinkie shrugs. "The heart wants what the heart wants. My heart wants Flashie-pants AND Twi-Twi!" She pours some more strawberry syrup on her remaining pancakes.
"Well mah heart wonders why we're havin' this conversation with children at th' table," Applejack says.
"Oh gosh...I'm sorry," Twilight says. "I didn't think—"
"Hey! We're old enough to talk about this kind of stuff!" Sweetie Belle says.
"It's my fault," Shining Armor says. "I'm sorry..."
"Actually, Ah think it's th' fruit juice's fault," Apple Bloom says, frowning at her glass. "Why'd y'all go an' put hard cider in this?"
THAT'S what that afterbite is...!
Everybody stares at Pinkie and Applejack.
Applejack gives Pinkie a hard glare. "Okay now. Fess up."
Pinkie giggles nervously. "I just thought...maybe it'd help everybody...loosen up?"
"Pinkiiiiiiiiie," Rainbow growls. "I'll loosen YOU up!" She shoots out of her chair and dives at Pinkie. Pinkie bolts like a scared rabbit; Rainbow chases her. We hear them running all over the dorm, Pinkie gasping and yelping and laughing, and Rainbow shouting some...very inventive profanity.
Everybody, even Fluttershy, is sitting around blinking in the ensuing silence. Everybody, that is, except Applejack and Rarity, who have bolted out of their seats and clasped their hands firmly over their little sisters' ears.
Sonata's tablet beeps at us, drawing our attention.
Well...that escalated quickly.
By the time Pinkie and Rainbow reappear, the rest of us have finished breakfast. Rarity insists on taking Cadance to the spa for some pampering while the rest of us clean up the kitchen and dining room and set things up for the birthday party. Fluttershy helps us set things up, but doesn't say much to anyone, and won't look anyone in the eye...except for one brief moment when our eyes meet. For an instant, I see defensiveness and resentment in her eyes...then guilt as she turns away.
Daytime
While we're getting things ready for the party, Twilight and I pull Rainbow and Pinkie aside. We quietly tell them what we know, and swear them to secrecy about the horoscope thing.
"So no big fights today?" Rainbow asks.
"At least...we can enjoy Cadance's birthday without constantly being on edge?" Pinkie suggests hesitantly. "I mean...since someone else already..." Her shoulders sag. "Yeah..."
"But it does raise the question...who's hacking the horoscope app? Who's helping us?" Twilight shakes her head. "I'm completely confused by this."
"Maybe...we shouldn't be discussing this," I say quietly. "I'd rather not scare this person off, even if the whole thing is a little creepy."
While we're setting up for the party, I give Pinkie her Valentine's present: a pair of silver earrings shaped like balloons. I also give Twilight her first present: two boxes of chocolates. The other little cards and candies I have for the other girls, I hand out in passing.
Everything is set up by the time Cadance and Rarity return. Cadance is absolutely glowing from her spa treatment. The dining room table has a huge spread of finger foods and other light, grab-and-go fare: plenty of fried, greasy items such as buckets of popcorn chicken, fried shrimp, tater tots, fries, and steak fingers, as well as trays of carrot sticks, celery with peanut butter, sliced apples, and more. There are dipping cups of cocktail sauce, ketchup, ranch dressing, barbecue sauce, and so forth, as well as baskets of croissants and stacks of country toast.
"Good lord," Cadance says when she sees the buffet. "Are you kids trying to get me fat?"
Twilight laughs. "We thought it'd be a good idea to have a little of everything," she says.
"You certainly managed that!"
Everybody grabs a heavy-duty styrofoam tray and loads up what they want, then heads to the lounge. One of Cadance's favorite movies is queued up and ready to play—it's about an engaged couple from Manehattan going on vacation in the tropics, and the woman having to make a quick flight to another island, and she gets stranded on a deserted island with this salty, older pilot who's still a badass despite being old enough to be her father. It's funny, it's got action, there's pirates...
I'm not a big fan of romance flicks, but this movie...wow. I can't turn away from it. It's just...wow.
After the movie, Cadance starts opening presents. She tells us that Shining Armor gave her her "first" birthday present back in their apartment earlier, but won't tell any of us what it is. Rainbow got her a new jogging suit, Rarity got her some expensive makeup and perfume, Applejack presented her with the usual assortment of apple products, and Pinkie got her a very, very pink lava lamp. Fluttershy got her a little electronic snowglobe with a tiny cheeping bird in it; it turns out to be a battery-operated digital alarm clock. Sonata got her a gift card; Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle went in together to get her a digital music download card. Twilight bought her a new handbag, and I got her a box set of one of her favorite TV shows.
"Thank you, everyone!" Cadance says with a smile. "Really, you didn't need to go to all this trouble for me."
"But of course we did, darling!" Rarity says.
I wish I could've gotten you something more personal, but I didn't really know what you might need.
"That's alright, Sonata," Cadance says with a smile. She blushes as she looks at the value on her gift card. "I...can pretty much get anything I can think of with this. And then some."
After that, we watch a couple more movies as we demolish the rest of the buffet. At around four, Twilight and Cadance start getting ready for tonight.
Tonight, Twilight and I are going on a double date with Shining Armor and Cadance. Cadance got us reservations for four at the best steakhouse in Canterlot...
She also reserved two suites at the Canterlot Palace Hotel.
Evening
It's already dark when the four of us get into Shining Armor's car. Cadance and Twilight have gotten all dolled up and look fantastic; Coach and I are wearing nice suits. All four of us have a small suitcase stashed in the trunk with a change of clothes and stuff.
"I really shouldn't be condoning my sister spending the night at a hotel alone with a boy," Shining Armor says as we drive off.
"Shiny," Cadance says with a roll of her eyes, "it's Valentine's Day. You know they're gonna do it regardless of where they are. I just thought they might like, y'know, some privacy...a change of scenery..." She looks back at us and smirks. "Sheets neither of them have to actually wash afterwards..."
"Cadance!" Twilight cries with a furious blush. Cadance giggles.
At the steakhouse, Shining Armor and I both order a huge steak and a baked potato, while Cadance orders a garden salad with grilled chicken strips. Twilight orders the biggest Angus burger they have: two half-pound patties, grilled onions, onion straws, pickles, smoked cheddar, and steak sauce, with a pile of thick-cut steak fries on the side. It's excellent food, and we make light conversation about inconsequential things over dinner. Shining Armor has a draft beer with his meal, and Cadance orders wine, so I have to drive us to the hotel.
Once we arrive and check in, the clerk gives Shining Armor and I the keys to one room and Cadance and Twilight the keys to the other room. We wait until we're in the elevator before swapping around the keys. Twilight and I say goodnight to Cadance and Shining Armor at the door to their room, then head to our room.
The room is very nice. Twilight and I take a few minutes to just enjoy the fanciness of it. Then I turn down the lights as Twilight turns down the bed (after eating the little mint on the pillow).
I take Twilight into my arms. "Happy Valentine's Day," I say. I reach into my pocket and pull out a wrapped box, which I hand to her.
"Oh, Flash," she says. She opens it and gasps. It's a white gold and sapphire tennis bracelet. "It's...it's beautiful!"
I pull Twilight into a deep kiss, letting all my love for her flow into her. She kisses me back passionately, her hands roaming all over my back.
Our lips part. I look deep into her eyes. I take the bracelet from her and clasp it around her wrist...
...then I unzip her dress, letting it fall from her shoulders, revealing the lacy black bra she's wearing.
She giggles as she starts unbuttoning my shirt, running her hands over my bare chest. "Mmm," she says. "I know we..." She blushes. "I know we've...made love already. Umm...kind of a lot." She ducks her head. "But...somehow, this is...kind of exciting."
I kiss her as I unhook her bra, letting it fall away from her pert breasts. I lower my lips from hers, kissing her neck, then tracing kisses down to her chest, lingering on her left nipple as I gently cup and knead her breasts.
Twilight moans and cranes her neck back, her arms laced around my neck as I attend to her body. After a few minutes, she pulls back slightly. She slips off her shoes and lets her dress pool around her ankles, then steps out of it. She kneels down on the floor in front of me and undoes my belt, then unzips my pants, letting them fall around my knees. She pulls down my boxers, then wraps her slender fingers around my dick. She spends several seconds stroking it, looking up at me with a sultry, smoking gaze, before she...
Oh holy shit...
Twilight leans forward and takes me into her mouth. Her tongue flicks around my tip as she goes down on me, fondling my balls with one hand and stroking my hip with the other. "Oh god..." I gasp.
For what feels like forever, Twilight sucks my dick. It's incredible...
I grab the back of her head and blow my load in her mouth. She gags, pulling back, and coughs. "Oh shit, Twi, I'm sorry..."
"I'm okay," she says wetly. She grabs her purse and pulls out a packet of kleenex, then spits what's left in her mouth into one before wiping her mouth with another. She looks up at me and blushes. "S-sorry," she says sheepishly. "I...I thought I did enough research..."
"Research?" I ask.
"Umm..." She looks down, playing with her hair. "I...looked up a lot of, umm...videos of...of women giving oral..." Her face is completely crimson. "To learn how, so I could..."
I can't help but laugh. "Only you, Twi." I take her hand and help her up, then lead her over to the bed.
"So...did I...did I do okay?" she asks.
"Yes," I say. "That was amazing."
"Oh. Well...I'm glad." Twilight peels off her panties and lies on the bed, spreading her legs. I crouch down between her legs and spend several minutes pleasuring Twilight with my fingers and tongue. She gasps and moans as I go down on her. She's getting wetter and wetter...her smell is making me want her so much...
I crawl further up the bed, straddling her, and rub my cock against her slit. She looks up at me and smiles. She cries out as I thrust inside her, moaning, panting, and gasping as I slowly make love to her.
It's just as exciting as the first time, back on Christmas Eve; far from the lustful, naughty fucking we've been doing lately, this is the ultimate expression of our love for one another, and I don't want it to end.
It does, however, end after I don't know how long, with a loud cry of rapture from Twilight as we come at the same time. I lie beside her on the bed and pull her into my arms, facing me. We kiss tenderly as we hold each other.
"Happy Valentine's Day," she says.
I smile. "Happy Valentine's Day. I love you, Twilight."
"I love you too, Flash."
Not for the first time, I think to myself that as long as I have this amazing girl to hold in my arms, everything will be alright...
No matter what hardships we face, we'll survive. We have to. We have a long future to look forward to together.
...well, and there's Pinkie, but none of us are really sure where that's going yet.
As if Twilight senses my thoughts, she asks, "Do you think Pinkie's okay? Alone, by herself, tonight?"
