Saturday, May 14, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Let them fight.

Morning

A good night's sleep and a hot shower really does wonders for the body and soul. Despite how fucked up yesterday was, I feel like today might be better than yesterday.

We meet up with the others down in the hotel lobby and head out for breakfast, then drive over to the school for today's tennis matches.

"Good luck, Pinkie," I say.

"Yeah, get out there and show 'em CHS is the top dog!" Rainbow cheers.

Pinkie giggles. "Thanks."

"Good luck, Pinkie," Shining Armor says. "Sorry I can't stay to watch the matches, but I need to be over at the dorm."

Pinkie nods. "Yeah, no worries." She smiles. "I really hope everything's back to normal over there by the time we're ready to head home."

"So do I," Shining Armor grumbles. Cadance gives him the master key to the security system, and he jogs off to the dorm. Everyone else heads for the bleachers; I join Pinkie in walking down to the practice courts. Half the team has already arrived and are going through stretches. Coco is over by the benches with Coach Chrysalis. I walk over to them.

"Hey Coco, how's the head?"

Coco has a noticeable bandage peeking out from under her headband. She smiles weakly. "I'm okay," she says. "I got a couple of stitches, but it's not as bad as it looked yesterday."

"I'm glad you're here, Flash," Chrysalis says. "I might need some help on the benches. We're down a girl after yesterday's food poisoning incident, so we're putting the team manager in as a last-minute substitute."

Derpy walks up, wearing tennis gear, and waves happily.

"Sure, no problem," I say. I quickly text Twilight to let her know I won't be joining the others in the stands. Pinkie, Coco, and Derpy join the others in warming up as the rest of the team arrives.

Daytime

The girls' qualifiers are on a whole other level than what I faced so many months ago. The competition is fierce and intense.

As expected, Coco ends up facing off against Suri in a singles match, and Suri is out for blood. However, Coco manages to stay calm, collected, and focused, and Suri only scores two points on her throughout their entire match. During the last game, Coco delivers such a fierce backhand it rips Suri's racket right out of her hand...

The unexpected surprise is Derpy. Her visual handicap leads to some...interesting accidental aces. She so thoroughly confuses her competition that she wins two matches purely by accident. Of course, she also manages to get tangled up in one of the nets, which suspends play for fifteen minutes.

At the end of the day, Canterlot High makes it through! The girls are going to Nationals!

As the girls gather together at the benches to celebrate, Pinkie pulls a megaphone out of nowhere. "Listen up everybody! I reserved Sugar Cube Corner for a big victory party! Let's all head over and celebrate!"

Everybody cheers.

Pinkie grabs Chrysalis by the arm. "You're coming too!" she says.

Chrysalis smiles. "I wouldn't miss it."

The rest of the dorm rushes down from the bleachers to congratulate Pinkie and Coco as the rest of the teams start packing up to go back where they came from. After Chrysalis has a quick meeting with the officials and the girls all clean up and change, we all head over to Sugar Cube Corner in one big group.

Evening

The celebration at Sugar Cube Corner is big, with lots of food and drinks and music. Mr. and Mrs. Cake are in good spirits and happily keeping the refreshments coming.

As the party starts to wind down, I spot Chrysalis sitting alone in the corner, slowly eating a huge piece of cake and watching everyone with a smile. I excuse myself from Pinkie and Twilight and walk over to her, sitting down.

"Everything okay?" I ask.

She smiles more widely. "Yes, actually," she says. "Everything's perfect." She sips her coffee. "I was just thinking about the Nationals. We've got two weeks to get ready, and one of those weeks is an exam prep week. I might have to ask Celestia if I can borrow the girls during last period that week for practice."

"I'm sure she'll arrange that," I say.

"I'm also thinking...I might want to see about a schedule of summer practices. For the guys who are going to be around, I mean." She shrugs. "I'd like it if the boys make it all the way to Nationals next year." She purses her lips. "I don't know if that's...I mean, I'm new to all this teaching and being a coach thing."

"You'll figure it out." I take a sip of my own drink. "So...you're staying then?"

"Of course I'm staying," Chrysalis says. "But not because I can't go back to my old life. I'm staying because..." She pauses. "Because seeing all this, being part of all this? I've never felt as...connected to what's going on around me as I do now. When you're in a corporate office, dealing with paperwork and negotiations and meetings and all that dreadful, dreary stuff, everyone around you is just...just another drone in a hive." She chuckles. "Even me. I was the queen bee, and look how easily I was replaced when the hive no longer needed me." She looks over at Pinkie Pie, who's saying something that's apparently completely embarrassing Coco. "But this...this is something special. The last couple of months have been the most fun I've had in a long time, and...and I think my children are happier now too." She smiles. "Our new house feels more like a home than our lavish, expensive old place ever did. I think...this is what I've needed for a long time." She looks at me. "And I owe all of this to you."

I shrug. "I just—"

"No," she says, holding up a hand. "I've realized now that meeting you was no accident. It was fate. Right when my life was starting to fall apart and I had no idea what the future held, right when I'd lost everything I'd ever worked for, you were there. You helped me find a new direction for my life." She chuckles. "If you hadn't come along, I might be spending the rest of my life getting fat on the couch, or working some boring job I hate. Instead, I get to be part of all this, and I feel..." Her eyes twinkle. "I feel young again."

She reaches into her purse and pulls out a key card. "I want to give this to you," she says. "It's my old security key from my old company. It's deactivated, but I held onto it as...as a memento." She smiles and holds it out. "I don't need it anymore, because I've moved on. I've put the past behind me." She takes another sip of her coffee. "I thought I'd lost everything. But now...now I've gained something so much better. And it's all thanks to you."

---

Everyone is starting to leave. Chrysalis finishes her cake, gathers her things, and leaves. I rejoin the others from the dorm, who are all looking pretty tired. We say goodbye to the Cakes and head home.

When we arrive, everything looks completely normal. Shining Armor is in the lounge watching a movie. "Hey everyone," he says. "The water's fixed. Vice-Principal Luna is bringing all your pets back tomorrow morning. Everything's back to normal."

"Whew, that's a relief," Rainbow says. "I'm gonna go crash."

"Me too," Pinkie says. "I'm beat."

We all head to our rooms. I have some shopping to do tomorrow. For starters, I need a new tennis racket.

We probably should also train in Zodiac...