Monday, March 14, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): You'll never be as cool or as popular as you think you are. You're a loser.

Early Morning

As I'm headed downstairs for breakfast, I hear Applejack and Apple Bloom in the kitchen.

"—tcha think it's weird? Dang near th' whole dorm jes' wanderin' off t' do God-knows-whut on a Sunday mornin'? An' all them times they all sneak off t' Nurse Cadance's place?"

"Now, Apple Bloom, it ain't our place t' pry inta other folks' business."

"But you do think it's weird, right?"

"Yeah, it's mighty suspicious. There's somethin' goin' on around here, Ah jes' can't quite figger out whut. Whutever it is, that whole durn group's havin' some kinda fussin' with Fluttershy."

"Yeah, even me an' Sweetie Belle noticed that...how could anybody be mad at Fluttershy?"

"Ah dunno, sugarcube...Ah jes' dunno."

There are only three people left in the dorm who are completely in the dark about Zodiac...and then there's Shining Armor...

I head to the dining room, thinking about this.

As everybody starts gathering for breakfast, Principal Celestia arrives at the dorm.

"Good morning, Principal Celestia!" Twilight says. "We weren't expecting to see you here until this evening!"

"I just wanted to drop by for a minute on my way to the school," Celestia says. "I'm getting an early start today." She sighs. "This is already shaping up to be one of those weeks and it hasn't even started yet."

Applejack starts serving breakfast; Celestia sits down, and Applejack serves her as well. She smiles gratefully and sips her coffee. "The first thing I have to deal with this week is getting you kids a new tennis coach." She frowns. "That might be a problem this late in the year."

Pinkie shrugs. "Well if it's just to fill in for the rest of the school year, pretty much anybody will do. I mean, we really just need somebody to blow the whistle and stuff...Coco's got everything else under control."

"If only it were that simple," Celestia says with a sigh.

"Actually, isn't it that simple?" Twilight asks. "I mean, my brother doesn't even have a teaching certificate..."

Celestia purses her lips. "Well, that's true..." She shakes her head. "Still, I want to find somebody who at least knows what they're doing." She shrugs. "Anyway, that's my problem, not yours." She smiles. "So, you've all got plans for Spring Break, I hear?"

"We're going to Haytona!" Pinkie says brightly.

"Ahh, Haytona...that brings back memories..." Celestia blushes. "Some of them are pretty embarrassing." She finishes eating quickly and stands. "Well, thanks for breakfast, I hope you all have a good day at school, and I'll see you all this evening." She leaves.

The rest of us finish breakfast; Twilight and I walk Spike, and then we head to school.

Morning

While heading to my third period class, I catch a glimpse of Papillon walking down the hall. Seeing her reminds me of the last time I met Chrysalis...

A very weird idea pops into my head.

Lunch

At lunch, I spot Papillon and the twins sitting by themselves at the end of a table. Instead of joining my friends, I head off in their direction.

As I approach, Papillon looks up at me. "Yeah?"

"Mind if I sit here?"

Papillon shrugs. "Sure."

I sit down. "I wanted to ask you something about your mom," I say.

Papillon groans. "Ugh. Look...we don't want to talk about Mom losing her job, or any of that stuff, so just go—"

"I bumped into your mom a couple weeks ago at Sugar Cube Corner," I say. "She mentioned enjoying tennis?"

Papillon blinks at that. "Wait. You know our mom? You like, talked to her and junk?"

I shrug. "I keep bumping into her around town. We talk sometimes."

"Mom always plays tennis on the weekends if she's not busy," one of the younger girls says. "It's how she unwinds, right Kate?"

"Yeah, what Cricket said," her twin sister says, nodding. She tilts her head at me. "Sorry, we haven't met?"

"Oh! My bad. I'm Flash Sentry."

"I'm Katydid. This is Cricket, and our older sister Papillon." Katydid gives Papillon a smirk. "And you didn't think there'd be any cute boys at this school."

Papillon rolls her eyes. I hold up a hand. "Let me derail that right now. I'm super taken."

"Aww."

I cough. "Anyway, so...tennis?"

"Yeah, Mom plays," Papillon says with a shrug. "Why?"

"Is she still..." I gesture with my fork. "I mean, has she found—" I sigh. "Last time I bumped into her, she was trying to figure out what to do with herself."

The girls look at each other uncomfortably. "Mom...is taking her time, weighing her options," Papillon says. "That's what Skeeter says anyway. Oh, he's our big brother." She frowns at me. "What's this all about?"

I take a sip of my drink. "I'm on the school tennis team. Our coach just quit last week."

"Oh yeah," Katydid says. "I heard about that little meltdown she had."

"Anyway, Principal Celestia's looking for a replacement. I just happened to remember your mom saying something about tennis the last time I ran into her..."

The girls look at each other. "Huh," Cricket says.

"But...Mom's not a teacher," Katydid says.

"I don't think that's a problem," I say. "Anyway...can you bring it up with your mom? I'll talk to Principal Celestia about it."

The girls exchange another glance, then shrug. "Sure, we'll tell Mom," Papillon says.

"Cool." I look around the cafeteria. "Hey, tomorrow, why don't you girls eat lunch with me and my friends?"

"We'll think about it," Papillon says.

After School

After my last class, I head straight for the faculty office. Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna are standing outside, watching kids leave or head to clubs.

"Principal Celestia!"

Celestia looks at me. "What is it, Flash?"

"I think I might have found us a tennis coach!"

Celestia blinks. "How—?" She shakes her head. "Nevermind. Come into my office."

Luna watches me with a raised eyebrow as I follow Celestia into her office. She sits on the edge of her desk and folds her arms. "Well?"

"Ms. Chrysalis," I say. "You know who she is, right?"

Celestia purses her lips. "I'm familiar with her, yes," she says. "Her daughters just enrolled here two weeks ago. I...know about what happened to her. She's kind of, well...infamous."

"And she plays tennis every weekend to unwind," I say. "And she's looking for something to do with herself."

Celestia tilts her head and taps a finger against a forearm. "How do you know—?"

"I've run into her around town a few times." I shrug. "Anyway, seeing Papillon in the halls this morning reminded me about the tennis thing, I talked to her and the twins at lunch...anyway, she needs a job, she's...more or less qualified, and some of her kids go to CHS now..."

Celestia nods. "I do see your logic." Her brow furrows. "I'll give it some thought, maybe call her and see if she's interested. I mean, it's probably as good an option as any at this point."

"Cool." I shift. "Well, I've got homework and stuff. I'm headed back to the dorm now."

"I'll see you later, then."

I head back to the dorm and start on my homework.

Evening

I'm just finishing up the last of my homework when Twilight walks in. "We missed you at lunch today," she says.

"I had to take care of something."

"You weren't..." She frowns. "I mean, I saw you with those new girls..."

"Their mom is Chrysalis. You know, THAT Chrysalis."

Twilight purses her lips. "Yeah, I'd heard that."

I raise an eyebrow. "Twi. You know I wasn't hitting on those girls."

Twilight blushes. "Well..."

I laugh. "I'm trying to get their mom to be our new tennis coach," I say. "I was just asking them to talk to her about it."

"Oh!" Twilight blinks. "Really? Why would she be—"

I explain to Twilight how I keep bumping into Chrysalis around town, and what I've learned about her. When I'm finished, she nods. "Okay, that makes sense." She shakes her head. "Except for you randomly bumping into somebody famous all over town like that. That's a little...bizarre."

I shrug. "Since when is anything about life in Canterlot normal these days?"

Twilight giggles. "This is true."

I scoot closer to Twilight. "Twi...you don't have anything to be jealous about. You know that, right? I only have eyes for you. And Pinkie."

Twilight smirks. "Bull," she says. "You're a pervert."

I shrug. "Okay, so I'm a pervert. I can't help it, it's this dorm."

Twilight snorts. "Riiiiight."

I stand up and stretch. "And right now, I'm a hungry pervert. Dinner should just about be ready."

We head downstairs to dinner.

After dinner, Celestia pulls me aside. "I called Chrysalis," she says. "She was intrigued by the offer. We're meeting tomorrow to discuss it."

"Good," I say.

"You know," Celestia says, "I'm impressed by the way you take charge and help solve problems. I've watched you all year long, since you came to Canterlot. There aren't a lot of kids your age that would get so involved in other peoples' lives and do so much to help others."

I shrug. "I guess...I've just found my place. Until I came here, I wasn't interested in anybody or anything. I've...I've changed a lot this past year too."

Celestia smiles. "Well, I'm proud of the man you're changing into. Even if you do let your temper run away with you sometimes."

I wince. "About that..."

She chuckles. "Just between us, Mrs. Melody needed a chewing out. I've...I've spent some time with her and Octavia this weekend." She sighs. "I wish solving that mess was half as easy as finding a new tennis coach."

"Yeah..."

"Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that...that you've helped. Once again. And to thank you." Celestia smiles. "Now, if you'll excuse me..." She ducks her head and blushes. "I, umm...I've got an e-mail to write and I'm a little nervous."

"Oh?"

"My sister and Rainbow Dash are trying to set me up with Rainbow's dad." She raises an eyebrow. "Of course, I'm sure you already know about that, since you seem to know everything that goes on around here."

I nod. "Yeah. So...you're going for it?"

Celestia blushes again. "Rainbow Blaze is...very handsome. And a nice man, what little I've had a chance to speak to him. And, well..." She shrugs. "I'd be a fool to pass on a man like that when I've got the inside track. We'll...we'll just have to see where this goes."

I smile. "Good luck."

Celestia heads upstairs. I turn around...

Fluttershy is standing nearby, watching me with an unreadable expression. Our eyes lock; she silently turns and walks away.

I decide to watch TV in the lounge with some of the others until bedtime.