Friday, May 6, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Make sure you do right by your mother this weekend. She gave you life, so you should give her more than just flowers.

Early Morning

After breakfast, Twilight and I walk Spike.

"Three Hunter Shadows left," Twilight says. "Well, four, but we won't need to worry about Aquarius for a long time now."

"Gemini, Cancer, and Leo," I say, nodding. I watch Spike for a minute. "The question is, do we deal with Sunset Shimmer before or after?"

"I've been thinking about that myself," Twilight says. She shakes her head. "I just don't know. I think I'd like to discuss that with Fluttershy before we sit down and plan." She stretches and yawns. "Hey, Sunday is Mother's Day."

"Oh CRAP!"

"What?" Twilight looks at me askance.

I facepalm. "I forgot! I usually ignore Mother's Day and Father's Day. I need to pick something out for Mom and have it overnighted..."

"You need to call her on Sunday too," Twilight says.

"How about you?" I ask.

"Mom and Dad are coming down this afternoon and staying the weekend."

"That's good."

Twilight sighs. "I hope this weekend isn't too hard on Pinkie Pie..."

"Yeah..."

Lunch

I spend most of lunch shopping online for something for Mom. I notice that the others, especially Rainbow and Fluttershy, are tense and angry. They keep looking around the cafeteria, as though expecting to see demons crawling out from under the tables.

After what went down yesterday, I can hardly blame them...

After School

Tennis practice...

Tomorrow, the girls are competing in the Regionals. Crystal Prep is hosting.

After practice, Coach Chrysalis walks over to me. "I think our chances look pretty good," she says.

I nod. "With Coco leading the charge, there's no way the girls won't go to Nationals."

"She's one of the best I've ever seen," Chrysalis says. She tilts her head at me. "I wondered, when I first took over here, how a sophomore with such a quiet disposition ended up as team captain. I've heard some...wild stories about that."

"She challenged the previous captain to a loser-quits tennis match," I say. "She won, Suri quit, we made Coco captain."

Chrysalis laughs. "You mean that really did happen?"

I nod. "It's...a long story. Short version, Suri was an arrogant, bullying bitch, Coco used to be her doormat, things changed, Coco stood up for herself, it escalated..." I shrug.

Chrysalis snickers. "It certainly sounds like things are very Law of the Old West around here sometimes."

"You have no idea."

Chrysalis smiles and shakes her head. "I guess...working here will be a lot more interesting and less stressful than working for Saeki Group." She wrings her hands in her lap. "There are...other companies out there I could work for, of course, but..." She sighs. "I realized something after my little run-in with Sombra." She looks at me. "I'm tired, Flash. I didn't realize how tired I was, but..." She looks out at the court. "I don't think...I can ever set foot in an office again."

"Maybe that's a good thing," I say. "Ever since you've been here, you've been happy. Haven't you?"

She laughs. "I have," she admits. "I just...don't know if that's because I'm really happier working here, or if I've just been treating this whole thing like a vacation." She shrugs. "In any case...I haven't told the kids yet, and I'm dreading that, but...after Mother's Day, I'll tell them."

I nod.

"So what about you?" she asks. "Any big plans for Mother's Day?"

"My folks are in Seaddle," I say. "Up until recently, we weren't what you'd call close. Things...changed a few weeks ago. So I'll be talking to Mom, and I sent her something for Mother's Day." I shrug. "Other than that? I'm spending this weekend with Twilight's family."

"Ooh, a weekend with the in-laws," Chrysalis says in a teasing tone.

I roll my eyes at her. "Actually, I really like Twilight's parents. We really get along. They're good people." I stand up. "They're coming in this evening, so I'd better get back to the dorm."

Chrysalis nods. "You're coming out to the matches tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah." I gather up my stuff and head back to the dorm.

Evening

When I arrive, I find Twilight and her parents in the lounge. I set my stuff down and walk in. "Hey."

"Why, hello, Flash!" Velvet says, standing up and rushing over to sweep me up in a hug. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good," I say. "Umm...my folks and I are patching things up. Talking a lot more."

"He almost forgot Mother's Day," Twilight says with an impish smirk.

Velvet frowns. "Well...I can't say I blame you. But you did send your mother something, right?"

I nod.

"Good." Velvet looks around. "Where's Pinkie Pie? Shouldn't she be with you?"

"The girls went to Sugarcube Corner after practice," I say. "Kind of a mini-pep rally to psyche themselves up for tomorrow."

"Mom, Dad, you're coming to the Regionals matches with us, right?" Twilight asks.

"Of course we are!" Velvet says. "I'm looking forward to it." After a moment, she quietly asks, "How's Applejack holding up?"

"The best she can," Twilight says. "I have a feeling things are gonna be pretty hard for the Apples for a while."

"Oh dear," Velvet says. "She's not...going to be dropping out of school, I hope?"

I shake my head. "No, they're counting on her to go to college to learn how to run the business. They've been managing on their own without...without her dad for a while now."

"It's more that they have to sort out all the legal stuff," Twilight says. "From what Applejack's told me, they were right in the middle of legally transferring ownership of Sweet Apple Acres to Big Macintosh when...when Mr. Apple died."

"Plus they'll have to deal with his will, and whatever debts..." Night Light trails off. "Sorry."

"Anyway, she'll be back sometime Sunday," Twilight says. She looks at me. "I think after school lets out in June, we should probably all spend a week up on the farm helping out."

I nod. "I'm sure the others will agree."

I sit and talk with Twilight's parents for a while until dinner. Rainbow, Pinkie, and Sweetie Belle join us when they get in. Rarity and Sonata are the last to return, carrying several large bags of take-out tacos.

Twilight frowns. "Has anybody seen Fluttershy?"

"Didn't she come in around the same time we did?" Velvet wonders.

"She's probably up in her room," I say. "Want me to go get her?"

"Please do," Rarity says. "We'll get all this laid out in the dining room."

I head upstairs and knock on Fluttershy's door. There's no answer.

Hesitantly, I open the door a crack and peek inside. Fluttershy is sitting at her desk, typing away rapidly on her laptop. She's wearing headphones.

I walk up behind her and tap her on the shoulder. She lets out a yelp, springs to her feet, and spin-kicks me in the face, sending me crashing into her bed.

"Oh! Flash! I'm sorry!" Fluttershy rushes over, tossing her headphones aside. "Are...are you alright?"

I pick myself up woozily. "I'll live," I say.

"I'm so, so sorry," Fluttershy says, grabbing some wet wipes off her nightstand and cleaning my face.

"It's okay," I say. "What were you working on?"

Fluttershy hesitates, a frown on her face. "I..." She sighs. "You know all that awful stuff from yesterday? Those terrible things about Applejack?"

"Yeah," I say, grimacing.

"I...I was just putting together a list of who said what," Fluttershy says. "Especially the ones who were joking around about...about raping her." She narrows her eyes. "The next few weeks are going to be pure hell for those bastards."

"Uhh...Fluttershy?" I cough. "Isn't...isn't doing things like that how you got in that whole mess with Sunset Shimmer in the first place?"

Fluttershy frowns. "Yeah, but this is different. They deserve it."

"Well yeah, they do, but..." I put my hands on her shoulders. "Do you really want to go back to doing...that?"

Fluttershy looks away. "I..." She swallows. "I just...I want to help Applejack..."

"Is revenge really going to help her?" I ask.

"Oh, don't give me that," Fluttershy snaps. "I've seen AND heard you fly off the handle way worse than this!"

"So watching me lose my temper and do the wrong thing gives you the right to make the same mistake?" I take Fluttershy's chin and turn her to face me. "Look...the assholes that said all that shit? They're not worth it. They're punks talking shit. They don't have the balls to try anything like that. And if they did? You know Applejack would kick their balls off."

Fluttershy's brow furrows. She nods. "Yeah..."

"You've changed a lot in the last month, Fluttershy. Don't do this. Don't go back to being Eris."

Fluttershy winces.

"Come on, it's dinnertime. Everyone's waiting." I reach down to pull her to her feet.

She shifts her weight to stand up at just the wrong moment, and I end up putting my hand on her breast.

She freezes. I freeze.

Her face turns red as she looks up at me.

"Umm..." I say. "Sorry. Really!"

Fluttershy growls...

"What kept you guys?" Rainbow complains when we finally go downstairs several minutes later. "What, did you sneak in a fu—whoa, dude! Your face is all jacked up!"

"Flash!" Twilight cries, rushing over. "What happened?"

"Umm, it's my fault," Fluttershy says sheepishly. "Flash startled me while I was changing, and...and I sort of kicked him in the face..." She waves her hands placatingly with an embarrassed smile. "I didn't mean to! Really!"

"Oh my," Velvet says.

Twilight frowns. "Okay, so why does it look like you kicked him twice?"

"Erm..."

Rarity coughs. "Come on, everybody. Fast-food tacos are only marginally better warm than they are cold."

Twilight gives Fluttershy a suspicious look, but goes back to her seat. I sit down next to her; Fluttershy sits next to Sonata, who looks like she's about to die if she doesn't get a taco soon.

During dinner, Velvet tries to steer the conversation toward light and pleasant topics, catching up with everyone. "So, what are your Mother's Day plans?" she asks with a bright smile.

"Sweetie Belle and I will be spending the day with Mother, of course," Rarity says.

"Umm...my mom doesn't really like to make a fuss," Fluttershy says. "We'll be meeting up in town for lunch and I bought her a new dress, but that's...that's about it."

Pinkie shrugs. "Whatever Twi-Twi's doing for you, I'm in on that," she says.

Velvet winces. "I'm sorry, dear..."

"It's okay," Pinkie says with a smile.

"No, it's not," Velvet says sadly. She glances at Rainbow. "For either of you."

Rainbow smiles. "Eh, I got a feelin' Mother's Day won't suck so hard for me before long." She grins. "Dad's been gettin' plain goofy about Principal Celestia lately."

Velvet smiles. "That's wonderful!" She looks over to Sonata. "And you, dear?"

I'm spending the day with Mommy. We haven't had a day together for a while now.

"I guess...technically this will be my first Mother's Day too," Cadance says, rubbing her tummy. She blinks. "Does...does it count? It counts, right?"

Everybody laughs. "Of course it does, dear!" Velvet says. "Oh, and we need to start planning your baby shower!"

"Gah!"

After dinner, Cadance comes up to my room to treat my face, Twilight in tow. "So, what really happened?" Cadance asks with a smirk.

"Exactly what Fluttershy said," I say. "I startled her and she kicked me in the face."

"Twice?"

I flinch. "The second time was when I accidentally grabbed her boob," I admit.

Cadance and Twilight both give me the evil eye.

"I was trying to help her up!"

"By the boob?" Twilight asks, raising an eyebrow.

"That's...generally not a good idea," Cadance says. She shakes her head and laughs as she finishes up. "Get some rest," she says. "We've got a busy day tomorrow!"

"I think I'll give Pinkie some encouragement for tomorrow," Twilight says. With a long, frosty stare at me, she adds, "Some very, very LOUD encouragement. Across the hall. With my door locked."

After they leave, I put on my flannel pajamas. I have a feeling it's going to be a cold night...