Tuesday, March 1, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Don't breathe a word about what happened this weekend to anyone. Don't forget, I can still kick your ass.

Early Morning

"Well, she's still doing the horoscope thing," I say with a sigh, showing my phone to Twilight. "And she's still being a bitch."

"I'm still having a hard time processing everything that happened with her," Twilight says, shaking her head. "And how the heck is Fluttershy of all people some kind of crazy ninja?"

"I have no idea, but I think we need to be really careful not to piss her off. Just because we won this time, doesn't mean we should push our luck." I frown. "Especially since we're going to want her on our side when..."

"When we deal with Sunset Shimmer, yeah." Twilight shudders. "Maybe I...maybe I should just fail a couple of tests on purpose. If I let her overtake me as valedictorian, maybe she'll—"

"You do that and I'll use Pinkie's whip on you," I say. "You are NOT screwing up your own future, and you are NOT giving that bitch ANYTHING."

Twilight sighs. "You're right," she says. "I'm just...I'm just thinking out loud." She shrugs.

"Anyway, even if you did that, there's no guarantee she'd stop doing what she's doing, or that Zodiac would go away. We don't even know for sure if she's controlling it, and...well...you heard Fluttershy. Sunset's crazy."

"Yeah..." Twilight hangs her head. "I'm just...tired of all this," she says. "I just want to, you know...study, go to school, spend time with my friends, go out with you..." she blushes. "Sleep together...without worrying about who's watching us or listening to us or planning to kill us or...or whatever..."

I pull Twilight into a hug. "We'll get through this," I tell her. "Whatever happens, we'll...we'll make it. We've gotten this far, haven't we?"

Twilight sighs. "Yeah," she says. "But...we need to...we need to stop doing things so...so..."

"Half-assed?" I suggest.

"Yeah," she says. She looks up at me. "Like, for instance, not bothering to tell us you were about to trap Fluttershy. What if we hadn't been able to get there in time? What if she'd killed you before any of us could find you? It's stuff like that that's gonna get us ALL killed." She stands up. "I need to get ready for school..."

Looks like I get the bathroom last this morning...

I watch some television while I make my bed and pick out what to wear today.

After School

Vinyl Scratch returned to school today. All day long, people have been cheering her on and helping her out.

At Music Club, we throw a little welcome back party for her. As the party is winding down, Vinyl and Octavia pull me off to the side.

"So, how are you coping?" I ask Vinyl.

Vinyl sighs and shrugs. "Okay, I guess. Still getting used to it. My tech helps." She reaches for Octavia's hand and gives it a squeeze. "Tavi really helps."

Octavia smiles. "I...I'm doing the best I can," she says. She slips an arm around Vinyl and hugs her. "I've...I've started setting some boundaries with my mother."

"Really?" I ask.

Vinyl snorts. "Setting boundaries, is that what you call it? Did you forget we were on a voice chat that day?"

Octavia blushes furiously.

Vinyl grins. "I've never heard a screaming match like that before."

Octavia ducks her head. "Yes. Well. Ahem. My mother is...obstinate."

"Hey Vinyl, over here!" Lyra calls. "You gotta come listen to this!" Lyra rushes over, grabs Vinyl's arm, and drags her off.

Octavia watches her and sighs.

"So, how are you holding up?" I ask.

Octavia shakes her head. "I'm..." She sighs again. "I...think I want to make it work with Vinyl," she says. "And...if my mother doesn't like it, she can...she can...get over it. But..." She frowns. "I'm still adjusting to the idea of, well...being with another girl. And then there's...well..."

"Her being handicapped?"

"That, yes." Octavia scratches her arm. "It...it isn't easy," she admits. "Helping her this past month whenever I could, watching her get frustrated trying to do the most simple things...it's quite difficult. I..." She glances over at Vinyl. "I think about...what it would be like to spend years with her, adjusting to her handicap...and if I'm going to be completely honest with myself, it...it frightens me."

I frown. "Yeah, I think I get it. So...what'll you do?"

"For now? I'm just going to...maintain the status quo," Octavia says. "At least, until I can figure out exactly how I feel about all this."

Vinyl walks back over, with Lyra's help, and drags Octavia off. I watch them go, shaking my head.

After another half hour, the party winds down, and I head back to the dorm.

Evening

At dinner, Principal Celestia taps her fork on her glass to get everyone's attention.

"I have a huge announcement, and I wanted to share it with you all first, since it affects some of you." She smiles broadly. "During Spring Break, we're integrating Canterlot Junior High School into Canterbook. There'll be some access restrictions and limitations and so forth, and some areas of the service will be set up that are for middle schoolers only, but it's the first step in a larger plan for the entire district." She pauses for a sip of water, then adds, "More importantly, it means CJHS students, such as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, will be able to use the social media functions and some of the most popular apps of Canterbook. Won't that be fun?"

"That does sound fun!" Sweetie Belle says.

"So we're gonna have a bunch of immature kids runnin' loose on Canterbook?" Rainbow asks.

Celestia raises an eyebrow. "As opposed to what Canterbook is like already?"

"Heh...point taken..."

Twilight frowns. "So...CJHS won't be getting its own Canterbook? They'll just be using ours?"

"As I said, it's an integration," Celestia says. "Don't tell anyone this, but...there's a ten-year plan in place to expand CHS, incorporate the junior high school, and build more dorms. We're even looking into setting up a shuttle service since some of the new dorms will be...well...farther out from campus."

"So...a seven-year school?" Fluttershy asks.

"That's right. Of course, all of you will have long since graduated by then, but...integrating Canterbook is the first phase." Celestia smiles. "Doesn't that sound exciting?"

Twilight shoots me a worried look.

After dinner, Twilight and Rarity come to my room. "Am I the only one severely concerned by what Principal Celestia said at dinner?" Rarity asks.

"No, you're not," Twilight says. "Does...does this mean that junior high students could be targeted now?"

"It does."

We all turn to the door to see Fluttershy standing there, arms folded. She's frowning.

We all look at each other awkwardly. I cough. "Uhh...come on in. Have a seat."

Fluttershy's nose wrinkles. "No thank you," she says. "I'd rather not sit on anything in this room without checking it out with a UV light first."

Twilight turns red. Rarity gets a nauseated look on her face.

"I know you already know that anyone with a Canterbook account can be drawn into Zodiac," Fluttershy says. "I don't need to tell you that this means Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle could be in danger too."

"Well, Sweetie Belle should be safe," Rarity says. "Her birthday is in September, and as I understand it, Virgo has already been dispatched."

"What about Apple Bloom?" I ask.

"I think hers is in May," Twilight says. "I seem to remember it being after Applejack's, anyway."

"Let's not forget the hundreds of other kids that could be in danger now," I point out. I glance at Fluttershy. "Unless you want to save us the trouble and give us a list of Sunset Shimmer's targets?"

Fluttershy shakes her head. "I don't know," she says. "I'm not even entirely sure Sonata Dusk is a target, but if you're determined to fight Pisces, you'd better make plans." She frowns. "You idiots do know how to make plans, right? Because LEEEEEROY JENKINS isn't a plan, and that's what you always seem to do." She turns and walks out.

We stare after her for a long time.

Twilight shudders. "Okay, now I wish we hadn't unmasked her, because this Fluttershy gives me the creeps."

"You and me both, darling," Rarity says. She stands to leave. "I, umm...have things to do..."

Once Rarity's gone, Twilight sighs. "Fluttershy's right, though. We really do need to get better organized..."

Twilight heads back to her room to study. I get ready for bed, thinking about what Fluttershy said, and about the nightmare we'll be facing after Canterbook integration.

What if...what if it gets harder to identify targets beforehand? We're already barely getting by as it is...

It's past midnight before I finally manage to get to sleep.