Sunday, February 21, 2016
Sunday, February 21, 2016
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Tread carefully today.
Early Morning
Everyone seems to be feeling much better this morning.
While Applejack is making breakfast, Pinkie pulls me and Twilight aside. "I need to work a shift at Sugar Cube Corner until two this afternoon," she says. "I've kinda been...not working much lately. Can we do Zodiac after I'm done?"
"Sure," I say. "Let's let the others know."
Pinkie Pie heads out before Applejack even has breakfast on the table.
Breakfast is light, hearty, and goes down easy. "Hey, Apple Bloom," Applejack says, "Ah gotta go buy a couple things for Papa. Wanna go with me, maybe spend a few hours visitin'?"
"Sure," Apple Bloom says. She sighs. "Ah don't like seein' Papa th' way he is now, but...Ah do wanna see him."
"We'll take care of the dishes, darling," Rarity says.
Applejack smiles gratefully to Rarity, then heads upstairs to get ready. Apple Bloom follows behind her at a more sedate pace.
"Poor girls," Rarity says sadly.
"Yeah," Twilight agrees. "I can't even imagine what they're going through."
I can.
Sonata looks miserable.
It's gotta be even worse for them. I lost my sisters in an instant.
"And they gotta watch their dad waste away," Rainbow says softly. "I...I don't even wanna think about that..."
"We should do something nice for those girls," Twilight says.
"That's an excellent idea," Rarity agrees. "Perhaps next weekend?"
"A surprise party!" Sweetie Belle squeaks.
"Mmm, that might be a bit much," Rarity says.
"I have an idea!" Rainbow says suddenly. "We could all go out to Applejack's farm next weekend and help out around the farm! There's bound to be a ton of junk we can do!"
"That's not a bad idea," Twilight says. "I mean, it's pretty much just her brother taking care of the farm right now, right? I'm sure he wouldn't mind the help."
Rarity frowns. "Well, I was hoping for something that involved less...getting dirty, but..." She sighs. "It's probably the best thing we could do for Applejack and her family right now."
"Then it's settled," Rainbow says. "Next weekend, we go to Sweet Apple Acres!"
Once everyone is finished eating, we work together to clean up the kitchen. Twilight and I pull Rainbow and Rarity aside to tell them we're going to Zodiac this afternoon; Twilight texts Cadance about it. Rarity decides to spend the morning at the ice skating rink with Sweetie Belle. Twilight and I head out to see a movie and maybe grab some lunch somewhere.
Through text messages, we all agree to meet up at the park this afternoon to train.
Daytime
At a quarter of three, the entire group gathers near the north gate at the park. "Is everybody ready?" Cadance asks.
We all prepare our gear and take out our phones. "Ready," we all say.
"Okay..."
Zodiac
//I'm sensing mostly weak Shadows.//
"Do you sense Eris?" Twilight asks.
//Just a minute...yes, I'm sensing her. She's several blocks east of the park.//
Twilight frowns. "Hmm. Isn't the animal shelter east of the park?"
"Yeah, it is," Pinkie says sadly.
Well well...look at this. Another one of your little "training" sessions? You guys are a rI can stop that psychopath from taunting you or sending Shadows after you for a little while, but don't push your luck. I can give you maybe an hour.
"The hell?" Rainbow asks, blinking.
You're making a big mistake, you little biDo what you came here for and GTFO!
We all look at one another in confusion.
//Worry about it later. Shadows incoming!//
We spend the next hour fighting Shadows. They grow progressively stronger the longer we fight; every so often, one of those red text messages starts to show up, but the blue texts (from Eris?) corrupt them.
After an hour, Cadance calls a halt. //I'm sensing some really strong Shadows starting to gather...we should get out of here.//
"Man, that was freaky," Rainbow says once we're back in the real world. "What the heck was goin' on there?"
"Been a while since we saw the red texts last," Pinkie says.
"The last time we saw those, Eris was fighting with whoever was sending them," Twilight says. "Maybe...maybe they're not working together?"
"I'm more convinced now than ever that it's Eris hacking my horoscope," I say.
"Yeah...after today, I think you might be right," Twilight says.
We head back to the dorm to rest.
Evening
At dinner, we tell Applejack what we have in mind.
She smiles. "Y'all don't hafta go an' do all that, now..."
"We want to," Twilight says. "And...maybe I can help you figure out a system for doing the farm's books."
"We can fix anything that needs fixing," I say.
"I can help your granny with her baking and jamming and stuff!" Pinkie exclaims.
We can make a video to put online to promote the farm!
"It's only one weekend, but I'm certain we can at least help your brother get ahead of some of the work," Rarity says.
Applejack's eyes mist over. "Y'all," she says thickly.
"It's the least we can do," Twilight says with a smile.
"Well...heck, sure," Applejack says. "Ah'll let Big Mac know we're comin' an' when."
"And I'll tell Cadance to make arrangements," Twilight says. "She can charter a bus or something...get some supplies..." She stands up from the table, muttering to herself as she makes a mental checklist and wanders over to Cadance's apartment.
I've never been to a real farm before. It should be fun!
Sonata seems excited...
"Speaking of fun," Pinkie says, "do you wannna have your birthday party at that pizza place, Sonata? I'm pretty sure it won't make us all sicky-sick again."
Sure. The food was really good and I liked Trixie's music. Besides, I'm used to explosive diarrhea. Didn't even bother me!
"That's...good to know?" Rainbow says.
After dinner, we sit around the lounge and watch those two shows everybody wants to watch on Sunday.
When I head to bed, I think about what happened in Zodiac today. Is Eris...on our side now...?
