Persona EG LTE | Mythril Moth Creations

Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Happiness is fleeting. Life is misery and pain. The sooner you accept that, the better off you'll be.

Daytime

Shortly after sunrise, a sudden, unexpected storm system moved into Canterlot and stalled out over the area, dumping a steady, soaking rain. It won't let up until evening, so we're all stuck inside today; we're all either doing chores or watching TV in the lounge. There's a Daring Do movie marathon on cable.

During a commercial, Pinkie says, "So! Spring Break is in three weeks. Anybody have any plans yet?"

"Hadn't really thought about it," Rainbow says.

Applejack shrugs. "Ah reckon Ah'd better take ever'body's advice an' get away a spell. Been workin' mahself too hard." She stretches. "Figgered Ah'd wait'n see whut y'all might get up to."

"Well I for one would simply love to get away from Canterlot for a while," Rarity says. "A little time away would do my complexion wonders."

Sonata suddenly doubles over, snickering.

Rarity raises an eyebrow. "Is something amusing?"

Sonata writes on her tablet.

If you spent a week on the beach somewhere, you'd be a toasted marshmallow!

Rarity blinks.

Rainbow starts snickering. Pinkie giggles.

Twilight frowns. "Hey! That's not..." She blinks, and starts fighting a giggle herself. "No, it's...heheh...come on, you guys, that's not nice at all...!" She buries her face in her hands, trying to fight back the giggles.

"HEY!" Sweetie Belle cries, pouting. "We're NOT marshmallows!"

"You kind of are," Rainbow says with a cheeky grin.

"Well!" Rarity huffs, tossing her hair and sniffing.

"Oh, come on, Rarity," Applejack says, grinning. "You gotta admit it's...kinda funny...toasted marshmallow...heh..."

Rarity's carefully composed expression of disdain holds for all of thirty seconds, before she too lets out a dainty, ladylike titter, covering her mouth with her hand. "Alright, yes," she says, rolling her eyes. "It...is mildly amusing..." She coughs delicately. "Ahem. Be that as it may...Sonata's suggestion is quite appropriate. It is, after all Spring Break we're talking about. We should definitely consider a trip to the beach."

The girls look around at each other.

Rainbow shrugs. "I haven't been to the beach in a long time," she says. "Could be fun."

"I've never been to the beach," Twilight says.

I haven't been since summer!

"The beach sounds super fun!" Pinkie cheers. "And we can all buy new bathing suits!" She grins. "I know I look good in a bikini..."

The girls all look at me. I shrug. "Yeah, the beach sounds nice."

Rainbow smirks. "'Nice', he says."

"So what beach do we wanna go to?" Pinkie asks. "Canterlittle?"

"Heavens no," Rarity says. "Canterlittle is so last season. Besides, we want to get away. It hardly counts if we're a two hour train ride from home."

"Okay, so what do you have in mind?" Twilight asks.

"How about Haytona?" Rarity suggests.

The others look at each other.

"Umm, Rarity?" Pinkie says. "That's...that'd be really expensive."

"And can we really, well..." Twilight hedges, glancing at Applejack and the younger girls. "Can we really, you know...be that far from home?"

"Whyever not, darling?"

"You know...stuff might come up..."

Rarity frowns. "Twilight, that's precisely why I want to go to Haytona. To get away from it all."

We all look at each other. Rainbow frowns. "Well yeah, but...that's still an awfully expensive trip..."

"Yeah, plane tickets and hotel rooms alone," I say.

Rarity rolls her eyes. "Hotels? Please! That's how amateur Spring Breakers do it." She glances at Twilight. "Do text your sister-in-law and ask her to come in here, Twilight."

Twilight frowns, but pulls out her phone and texts Cadance. About a minute later, Cadance walks in. "What's up?"

"Nurse Cadance, we've been discussing Spring Break plans," Rarity says.

"Oh?" Cadance tilts her head.

"We were thinking...a trip to Haytona would be in order."

Cadance grins. "Haytona? I'm so in! I'll start looking into renting us a beach house." Her brow furrows. "Wow, I hope there'll be one available...it's kind of short notice..." She pulls out her phone and wanders off distractedly.

Rarity gives us all a smug smirk.

Twilight blinks. "How did you—"

"Her father is a doctor, darling," Rarity explains in that tone you use when something should be obvious.

"Well, anyway," Rainbow says, "I guess we'd better start making plans, calling our parents, getting the okay..."

We should invite Fluttershy to come with us.

We all stare at Sonata.

"Uhh...I don't think she'll want to," Rainbow says.

Twilight frowns. "No, Sonata's right. We...we should invite Fluttershy."

Apple Bloom blinks at us. "Why...wouldn't y'all invite Fluttershy?"

We all shift awkwardly. "No reason," Twilight says. "She just...may not want to be in a crowded place with, you know...all the partying..."

Sweetie Belle bounces in her seat. "Oh boy, I can't wait! Haytona!"

Rarity arches an eyebrow. "You, dear sister, are staying home with Mother and Father."

Sweetie Belle blinks. "But..."

"Hey! That ain't fair!" Apple Bloom cries.

"Yer gonna go home fer Spring Break too, Apple Bloom," Applejack says firmly.

"But why?"

We all look at each other. I shrug. Twilight shifts in her seat.

Rarity clears her throat. "A beach full of high school and college students determined to let loose...is not a suitable environment for girls your age."

"She's right," Pinkie says, nodding sagely. "There's gonna be lots of sex and alcohol and stuff. We can't expose you girls to that."

Apple Bloom arches an eyebrow. "Seriously? Y'all expose us t' sex ALL TH' DANG TIME."

"Y'all ain't goin' with us, an' that's final!" Applejack insists. "Besides, ain't no way in hell Granny'd let ya."

"And I must insist you remain with our parents, Sweetie Belle," Rarity says firmly.

"Awww," the girls whine.

Hey, maybe you can get Rarity's parents to take you girls to Hasbroland! I think you'd probably have more fun there than watching a bunch of half-drunk teenagers in skimpy bathing suits pawing at each other on the beach!

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle look at each other.

"That does sound more fun," Sweetie Belle admits.

"An' we can invite Scootaloo!"

Rarity smiles and claps her hands. "See? Compromise!"

Looks like we might be going to Haytona for Spring Break...

Hopefully, we won't be risking getting somebody killed while we're not around...

I'm overdue for a call to my parents anyway, so I head upstairs to call them and tell them my Spring Break plans.

"Haytona?" Mom says. "That sounds like fun! Maybe you'll meet a nice girl, huh?"

I sigh. "I already have a nice girl, Mom, she's going with me?"

"Oh, right, that Sunlight Sprinkle girl..."

"Twilight Sparkle," I say, gritting my teeth.

"Oh, you broke up with the other girl? Well...I hope you didn't hurt her feelings..."

I fight the urge to slam my face into the desk. "I gotta go, Mom. I've got a buttload of laundry to do."

"Okay, sweetie. Have fun!"

I close the call, shake my head, and round up my dirty laundry.

Evening

It's still raining at dinnertime.

Cadance walks in, all smiles. "We're all set!" she says. "I found a five-bedroom beach house that's available to rent. I'm making the arrangements with the owner tomorrow when he's in his office."

"That's great!" Twilight says. "I called Mom a little while ago, she's all for it!"

"Dad's cool with it too," Rainbow says.

"I pretty much have to go wherever Nurse Cadance and Twilight go!" Pinkie chimes in cheerfully.

Mommy was happy I'm feeling up to a trip to the beach!

"Pa an' Granny are okay with it," Applejack says. "Heck, they're glad Ah'm takin' a week fer mahself."

"Mother and Father are looking forward to taking the younger girls to Hasbroland," Rarity says. "Oh, and I have their permission to go to Haytona, of course."

"I'm good to go," I say. "It's not like my folks care where I am. I mean, Mom was glad I'm gonna go somewhere for Spring Break, but this time next week she won't even remember us talking about it."

Everybody falls silent at that.

"Sorry," I say. "Didn't mean to kill the mood. I'm just a little pissed right now."

Cadance frowns. "Understandable," she says.

We all look at Fluttershy.

"Well?" Twilight asks. "Are you coming with us?"

"Oh..." Fluttershy ducks her head and plays with her hair. "I...I don't know," she says. "I...I'll need some time to think about it..."

Cadance frowns. "Well...don't take too long," she says. "I'll need to make our plane reservations by the end of the week at the latest, and I hate cancellation fees."

After dinner, the girls sit around in the lounge, excitedly chatting about Spring Break plans. I sit and listen for a while before heading upstairs to put away my laundry and practice my guitar until bedtime.

I'm just putting my guitar away when Twilight walks in. She sits down and wraps her arms around me. "I'm sorry about your mom," she says.

I sigh. "I'm used to it. I just...I guess I get aggravated with them sometimes..."

"Well, at least they care enough to put you in a good school like CHS and make sure you have everything you could ever need and then some," Twilight says.

"Yeah..." I shrug. "I mean, yeah...I'm glad about that. I just...I just wish they were more...involved, you know?"

Twilight sighs. "Yeah..."

Twilight decides to spend the night with me. She changes into her favorite pajamas and snuggles up with me under the sheets.

I listen to the rain outside as I lie still in bed. It reminds me of Seaddle.

I only have five more months in Canterlot...

The thought of going back to Seaddle in August fills me with disgust and dread.