Persona EG LTE | Mythril Moth Creations

Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Beware of rats in the corn.

Daytime

Today is graduation for CHS seniors. Cadance and Shining Armor are at the ceremony. The rest of us spend the day doing chores around the dorm; with the stress of exams and last night's late party, laundry and housekeeping have been sorely neglected lately.

After we're through cleaning up on our floor, Twilight says, "You know...we haven't gone out on a real date in a long time."

"You're right," I say. "How about tonight?"

Twilight smiles. "Sounds good."

"Dinner at a fancy restaurant and maybe a movie?"

Twilight's smile turns into a Cheshire grin. "I was thinking dinner at a fancy Neighponese place, followed by..." She reaches into her pocket and pulls out two tickets, waving them at me.

I take one and read it, staring. "Is this..."

"Mm-hmm."

"But it's—"

"Surprise!" Twilight smiles. "I bought these tickets a month ago."

"Wow." I frown. "But Twi, this concert's in—"

"Yeah."

"But that means—"

"It means," she says with a smirk, "you'd better go get ready, because we need to get to the train station."

"But the laundry—"

"Pinkie's finishing up for us," Twilight says. "Of course, that means I owe her a favor." She pokes me. "Hurry up!"

"Right!" I rush off to get freshened up and changed, then meet Twilight in the lounge.

Evening

It's nearly six-thirty by the time the train arrives in Cloudsdale, leaving us just two hours to have dinner and get to the concert venue. The place Twilight made reservations at is much better than anything Canterlot has by way of Neighponese food; Twilight packs away an entire sushi platter, two bowls of gyoza soup, two bowls of white rice, and a double order of teriyaki beef strips with vegetables. For my part, I order curry udon, a tempura shrimp roll, and the hibachi salmon.

Over dinner, we make light conversation, steering away from any topics related to Zodiac, Sunset Shimmer, or Red Flag. After dinner, we catch a cab to the arena, arriving just in time; we've barely gotten inside when Rebel Scum starts their set. They're one of four bands performing tonight; the second band on stage is Platypus In A Fedora, followed by tribute band Allston. The main act of the night, Ghost Pepper, rocks a mix of their classic stuff from before I was even born and their more recent stuff—and surprises everyone with an unannounced guest appearance by Neighponese idol singer Rise Kujikawa. Her energy is infectuous, and her skimpy outfit and sexy moves irritate more than a few girlfriends in the crowd (including Twilight).

After the concert, we catch a late train back to Canterlot.

When we return to the dorm, Cadance is sitting in the lounge. She raises an eyebrow.

"You two are way past curfew, you know," she says.

Twilight rolls her eyes. "Cadance! You knew where we were going and what we were doing!"

Cadance laughs. "Actually, I'm just wondering why you didn't reserve a hotel room and stay overnight." She winks. "So, did you have a good time?"

"Yeah, we did," Twilight says, taking my hand and squeezing it.

"Well, I'm glad you did," Cadance says. Her tone and expression suddenly change. "Because we have a problem."

"Hey Twilight. Hey Flash."

I tense up. Beside me, Twilight stiffens.

We both turn slowly around.

Standing just inside the entrance to the lounge from the kitchen, wearing loose magenta pajamas that are slipping off one shoulder and holding a bottle of water, is Sunset Shimmer.