Sunday, June 5, 2016
Sunday, June 5, 2016
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.
Midnight
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.
Twilight and I both stare at her in absolute shock and confusion.
Sunset looks at both of us. She smiles and gives a little wave. "Well...nite!"
We watch, stunned, as she pads up the stairs.
What the FUCK...?
Five seconds after we hear a door close upstairs, Twilight turns to Cadance, head bowed and fists clenched. She's trembling in anger. Before I can open my mouth to ask what's going on...
"WHAT THE FUCK IS SHE DOING HERE?!"
Twilight's scream is so loud and shrill my ears immediately start to ring. I can hear Spike and Zoe both raising hell upstairs.
Cadance winces. "Yyyyeah...it...kinda happened while you two were out..."
"No SHIT, REALLY?" I ask hotly. "Because I'm pretty fucking sure we'd have noticed her hanging around the dorm before."
"I take it they heard," Rainbow Dash says from the entrance. She walks in, followed by a furious-looking Fluttershy. Pinkie isn't far behind them, and her hair has gone completely flat and limp.
"WHAT is GOING ON HERE?!" Twilight screams, waving her arms. "Why is SUNSET SHIMMER here in our dorm?!"
Cadance sighs. "It's...complicated," she says. "Hell, I don't even completely understand it. All I know is...we're stuck with her."
"For how long?" I ask.
Cadance gives me a hopeless look. "For good."
"...fuck that," I snarl. "She isn't spending one night here."
"There's nothing we can do about this," Cadance says. "Everything is riding on this. Not just the blackmail stuff she has on all of us, but Luna's prison record, some...skeletons in Celestia's closet..." She sighs and shakes her head. "And it wasn't even Sunset Shimmer that blackmailed them. It was her father." She frowns. "At least, it looks like it was her father. I don't think it really was."
"Do you think it was Red Flag?" Twilight asks.
"No, we're pretty sure it was Sunset Shimmer," Fluttershy says. "Because the laundry list of shit she dug up on Celestia includes Red Flag."
"So that's that," Cadance says, flapping her arms helplessly. "We're stuck with her." She sighs. "The only good thing about this is, well..." She looks around at the girls.
Pinkie frowns. "She's...been nice," Pinkie says. "Like, really, unnaturally nice. Ever since she got here."
I snort. "Sunset Shimmer, nice? Yeah right."
"She...was acting really out of character for her at dinner," Fluttershy says. "I kept waiting for her to do something mean and bitchy, and it never happened. Not even..." She blushes.
"Not even when Fluttershy tried to strangle her," Rainbow says with a smirk.
"She didn't even fight back," Pinkie says. "We had to pull Fluttershy off her, and it took forever."
I stare at her incredulously. "Why didn't you let her do it?" I ask.
Twilight gives me a horrified look.
"Umm, because if Sunset Shimmer dies, those blackmail servers she has set up will ruin all of us and we'll be totally screwed? Especially you, Cadance, Fluttershy, Luna, and Celestia," Pinkie points out.
"Why is she doing this?" Twilight asks quietly.
Fluttershy shrugs. "It's just one of her sick games," she says. Shaking her head, she sighs. "I'm going back to bed. Unless anybody else wants to scream?"
With that, Fluttershy goes back upstairs. The other girls soon join her, except for Twilight, who sits down next to Cadance and covers the back of her head with her hands.
"Why?" Twilight moans.
I sit down on the other side of her and pull her into a one-armed embrace. Cadance sighs and rubs her back awkwardly.
"We'll find out what she's up to," I say. I sigh. "Cadance, could you put on a pot of coffee? I don't think I want to sleep tonight."
Cadance nods grimly and heads to the kitchen.
"Flash, don't," Twilight murmurs. "We can—"
"Shh," I say. "Just..."
We stay like that for some time. After a while, Cadance returns with a coffee service for three and a bag of chocolate chip cookies. We each take a cup of coffee and sit in silence, sipping it and eating cookies. At just past two in the morning, Shining Armor walks in and gives Cadance a stern, reproachful look. Cadance meekly shuffles off to their apartment, bags under her eyes.
Shining Armor looks at the two of us. He sighs. "I'm sorry," he says roughly. "This is the last thing any of us needed." He shakes his head and follows Cadance.
A half hour later, Twilight nods off on me. I finish the last of the stone-cold coffee and sit back, holding her as she sleeps. She's whimpering and murmuring; she must be having nightmares...
As the night wears on, with Twilight sleeping fitfully in my arms, I feel myself succumbing to exhaustion...
This place...did I fall asleep?
"Your soul is agitated. The sea of your soul is churning and turbulent."
I fold my arms. "Considering what just happened? Yeah. I'm a fucking typhoon right now."
Igor chuckles. "Indeed. Forgive me, but you are the most...aggressive guest the Velvet Room has ever seen. Your aggression is generally channeled in a positive direction, but it can also be your greatest weakness. You must calm your soul, for the last leg of your journey is a turbulent path with many crossroads. Only with a calm, focused mind will you find the path that leads to the outcome which is best for you and all those close to you.
"You should use the time we have in this place to reflect on everything you have seen and done over these past, long months. The people you've met. The challenges you've faced. The truths which have been revealed to you, and the answers you have yet to find."
I can hear the voices of my friends all around me...
"You're...the best thing that's ever happened to me, you know? The best thing that's ever happened to my whole family. I love you, Flash. I really love you..."
"Thanks for taking care of Twilight, for making her happy...for helping me see how much of an asshole I've been since last summer, and...and for helping Cadance. And helping both of us. We're in a much happier place now."
"I'm putting a lot of faith and trust in you and your friends. That isn't easy for me, but...I've accepted that it's the right thing to do."
"I'm not perfect, and...and I still want to share my body and my heart with the people I love the most, even the ones that aren't my husband, but... I'm a wife, and sister, and soon to be a mother, and...and that's all. The slut I used to be...she's gone now. And I owe that to you."
"You've been an awesome friend, helpin' me practice, teachin' me guitar, pickin' me up when I was down, and... Thanks. Really."
"I've never seen one kid stick up for so many different people the way you do. You're an inspiration, and it's for precisely that reason I'm trusting you and your friends to deal with Sunset Shimmer. I do hope that one day, you'll confide everything in me."
"You believed in me, even though I didn't believe in myself. I can stand up and face the world. Nobody can walk all over me unless I let them. And I'm not going to let people walk all over me ever again."
"I don't think I'd have had the courage to stand up to my mother were it not for you. I just wanted you to know how much your friendship and support has meant to me. My life has changed so much in these past few months, and...and I really owe it all to you."
"I think they wouldn't want me to waste my life crying over them. I think they'd want me to remember the good times, and remember the love, and find something to live for and someone to love. I think they'd want me to be happy. So that's what I'm gonna do. I'm gonna be happy. Thank you. Thank you for being my friend."
"I thought I'd lost everything. But now...now I've gained something so much better. And it's all thanks to you."
"As long as you and Twilight are in my life...as long as I know I can count on both of you...I'll never be sad again."
"You gave me a wake-up call and helped me learn how to make friends, and reminded me why I started learning music and magic in the first place. It wasn't so I could prove how much better I am than everyone else. It was so I could reach out to people..."
"You've helped both of us so much. I can't imagine what goin' through all this would be like if I hadn't met you...if you hadn't helped me."
One by one, I see their faces swim by: Twilight, Shining Armor, Luna, Cadance, Rainbow Dash, Celestia, Coco, Octavia, Sonata, Chrysalis, Pinkie, Trixie, Vinyl...
I think about Fluttershy, who's still coming to terms with what she's done and her struggle to atone; Rarity, who's struggling with reconciling the image she wants to project with her love for her family; Apple Bloom, who's been through more in the past year than any kid her age should; Applejack, who's trying to shoulder all the burdens of her family with little regard for her own health and happiness; Sweetie Belle, who's beating herself up over failing to help Button Mash...
My parents, who are doing their best to heal the rift that's separated us for most of my life.
Hearing the voices of all my friends, being reminded of all the good times and the bad times I've shared with everyone close to me since I came to Canterlot, I realize that as pissed off as I am about Sunset Shimmer's latest stunt, giving in to rage is not the answer. My friends are counting on me, and I can't help or protect anyone unless I keep a clear head.
"And now, it is time for us to part yet again. Soon, you will awake in the real world, ready to face the latest obstacle in your journey. But know this: we WILL meet again soon..."
Daytime
When I wake up, I'm alone on the couch. My head is fuzzy and numb; it takes me a minute to remember Twilight was asleep in my arms before. Panic seizes me, but quickly subsides when I hear Twilight and Cadance talking nearby.
"Deep, calming breaths, Twiley. In, out...in, out..."
"Fuck your Lamaze crap, Cadance!" Twilight says angrily. "I don't wanna be calm right now!"
"It's not Lamaze, Twilight. It's...nevermind. Flash, DO something about this, she's having fits over here..."
I glance over at Twilight and Cadance, who are sitting on the other sofa. Cadance looks supremely put-upon, and Twilight is having an anxiety attack. At some point, she must have showered and changed, because she's not wearing the same clothes she had on last night. I roll my eyes and scrub my hands through my hair. "Poke her in the clit," I say. "It's her reset button."
"FLASH!" Twilight squeaks, blushing furiously. Cadance loses it and starts laughing.
I stand up, groaning and wincing; lack of sufficient sleep, poor sleep posture, too much caffeine, a full bladder, and general stress and anxiety have left me aching all over. I walk over to the girls and put a hand on Twilight's shoulder. "Twi, seriously, chill," I say. "You're starting to sound like Rainbow Dash. I know you're upset about Sunset Shimmer being here, but you need to keep it together."
Twilight stares incredulously at me. "You...you're kidding, right? Last night, you wanted Fluttershy to kill her."
I sigh. "Yeah, and if she stepped in front of a bus and died I'd dance on her grave, but we need to calm down and focus. We can't let this...mess get the better of us. You've got a better brain than anyone else in this dorm. Use it for a minute."
Twilight holds my gaze for a long time...then looks away and lets out a long, weary sigh. "You're right," she says. "I need to calm down and..." She shakes her head. "But I can't, because after what she did to you—"
"Yeah, that was pretty messed up, wasn't it?"
We all look up to see Sunset standing just inside the lounge, wearing jeans and a T-shirt. She looks at the three of us, then looks away. "Yeah, so me breaking in here and screwing Flash and trying to get pregnant just to piss you off, that was petty and stupid," she says.
What the hell...?
Twilight folds her arms. "If you're trying to apologize, save it. I'm never forgiving you. For anything. But especially not that."
Sunset shrugs. "Yeah, okay."
"Why are you here?" I ask. "What's your game, Sunset?"
Sunset gives me a long, measuring look. After a moment, she sits down. "I want to understand you all," she says. "I don't get you. I've tried everything to hurt you all, to make you hate each other, to break you and Twilight up, but nothing works. I don't get it. And since I can't rely on Fluttershy to spy on you guys anymore, I decided it was time for the direct approach."
"So you've moved into our dorm to try to find our weakness?"
"No, I'm trying to understand how you guys function," Sunset counters. "After that, then yeah, I'll know how to destroy you." She pauses, then looks away. "Or, you know, I'll just give up and leave you alone. I mean, you've pretty much won. There are only three Hunters left, and it's not like I expect any of them to actually kill you. You guys are just too strong. And let's face it, if I try to kill all of you myself—and I could, easily, in either world—I'm the number one suspect. Anything happens to any of you, that bitch Celestia will drop the hammer on me so fast I'll be in jail before I can even think of a way out." She shrugs. "So there's no point in me fighting you all anymore. We're at a stalemate. You'll finish off the Hunters and I won't be able to do anywhere close to as much damage through Zodiac anymore. I'm not even sure Zodiac will still exist when the Hunters are all gone. I can't stop you from killing the Hunters without killing you, I can't kill you and get away with it, and I've still got enough blackmail material to make all your lives a living hell, so..." She looks around at us. "That's that. It's a stalemate." She shakes her head. "All that's left is for me to figure out how you did it. And that's why I'm here."
Thou hast established a new bond...
It brings thee closer to the truth...
Thou shalt be blessed when creating
Personas of the Jester Arcana...
You have created the Sunset Shimmer Social Link of the Jester Arcana!
Your power to create Personas of the Jester Arcana has grown!
A long silence falls as we all watch Sunset, waiting for some sign, anything. Nothing happens.
Twilight sighs. "I'm going out for breakfast," she says.
"I'm going with you," I say.
"No, I...I think I want Cadance to go with me," Twilight says. "You stay here and...and deal with this," she says, waving a hand at Sunset.
Cadance and Twilight leave. I sit down across from Sunset, watching her warily.
She rolls her eyes. "I'm not going to murder everyone," she says. "But I am going to make myself some breakfast. Is that okay with you?"
I shrug. "Do what you want." I get up and head upstairs; my bladder is about to explode. After I take care of business and freshen up, I change clothes and head back downstairs. I find most of the dorm in the dining room, eating and giving Sunset the evil eye. I sigh and microwave a breakfast bowl.
When Twilight gets back, she, Pinkie, and I go upstairs to my room to rest, comfort each other, and talk about this latest development.
"We need to get her out of here," Pinkie says. "This really sucks."
I wait for Twilight to say something. When nothing's forthcoming, I decide to say something I know the girls won't want to hear. "There's an old saying I've been thinking about all day. 'Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.'"
"You got that off your horoscope," Twilight accuses.
I roll my eyes. "Fine, yes, but it's true. As long as Sunset is under the same roof as us, we can keep an eye on her. We'll know what she's doing. If she goes into Zodiac, we'll be right on top of her."
"And if we go into Zodiac, she'll be right on top of us," Twilight points out.
I shrug. "It's true. And it's something we'll have to figure out." I sigh. "But my point is...something's off about her. She's...she's different."
"She's faking it," Twilight says immediately. "All that bullshit about wanting to understand us? It's just to buy time."
"Buy time for WHAT?" I ask. "You saw that thing that came out of her. She could kill us all in a heartbeat. She's always had the upper hand.
"So what's changed? Why would she suddenly decide to pull this new, calm Sunset out of her ass?" I shake my head. "Something doesn't add up here. But regardless of what any of us think about her, or her real reasons for being here, one thing's for sure: she's right about us being in a stalemate. She can't stop us from taking down the rest of the Hunters without killing us. She can't kill us without facing the consequences. We can't kill her without facing the consequences." I shrug helplessly. "We're all stuck in a no-win situation here."
The girls are silent for a long time, contemplative.
"So...what do we do?" Twilight asks.
Evening
At dinner, Twilight makes sure everybody in the dorm, her brother included, is gathered in the dining room.
Once everybody is seated, I stand up. "Everybody here understands the situation," I say. "We all know what Sunset Shimmer is. We all know what she's done, and what she's threatened to do."
I give Sunset Shimmer a long, measuring stare, which she returns with calm indifference.
After a moment, I look at all my friends. "So this is what we're going to do.
"We're going to go on with our lives. She's here, we can't do anything about it. Given the choice between doing what we always do and letting her presence disrupt us to the point where we can't do anything, I think it's better to just keep doing what we always do.
"That includes our summer plans. Nothing's changed. This weekend, we're going to the beach. Next week, my parents and Twi's are coming down for Father's Day. The week after that, we're going up to Sweet Apple Acres to work on the farm. And yes, she's coming with us. Wherever we go, we're taking Sunset Shimmer with us. She wants to keep an eye on us? She can do it while she's scooping up buckets of pig shit."
Rainbow smirks. "I'd really like to see that."
I ignore her and glare at Sunset. "Pull any shit, we're burying you on Applejack's farm," I say.
Sunset rolls her eyes. "No need for threats," she says. "We all know where we stand."
"Ah don't like this," Applejack says. "But...Ah guess we ain't got a choice."
"No," I say. "We really don't."
Things in the dorm remain tense throughout dinner. Everybody goes up to their own rooms as soon as they're done eating.
The last week of school starts tomorrow...
