Friday, June 17, 2016

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Today's Horoscope (Virgo): You will endure a trial of willpower, restraint, and fortitude.

Morning

Today's going to be a busy day. My parents are coming in on a flight that arrives later this morning; Twilight's parents' train is arriving around the same time. Shining Armor and Twilight are going to the train station to pick up Night Light and Velvet. I'm taking Cadance's SUV out to the airport to pick up Mom and Dad.

Daytime

The airport parking is terrible, but after twenty minutes, I manage to find a parking place that isn't five miles from the terminal. By the time I get to the gate, it's fifteen minutes until Mom and Dad's flight is supposed to land.

I end up waiting forty minutes, during which time I eat two bacon and cheddar filled soft pretzels and drink two large sodas.

Twilight's starting to be a bad influence on me...

While I'm waiting, I get a message from Zecora informing me that the next battle in the Velvet Room is tomorrow.

When the flight finally lands and the passengers begin disembarking, I watch for my parents. They're somewhere in the middle of the queue; Mom rushes up to me as soon as she sees me. "FLASH!" She throws her arms around me and pulls me into a hug. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

Dad walks up with a smile. "Hey, son. How's it going?"

I shrug. "It's alright. Come on, let's get your bags and get back to the dorm."

"Isn't Twilight with you?" Mom asks.

I shake my head. "Her parents' train got in..." I check my phone. "About a half hour ago. She went with her brother to pick them up." While I have my phone out, I text Twilight to let her know my parents are with me and we're headed back.

"Guess we'll need to get a cab then," Dad says.

"Nope, I'm parked in the short-term lot."

"Since when do you have a car?" Mom asks.

"Since when do you have a license?" Dad adds.

I roll my eyes. I guess I can let that one slide; it's not a subject that's ever come up... "I got my license back in September, and I'm just borrowing Nurse Cadance's SUV."

"They let you borrow...?"

I shrug. "We're always going here, there, and everywhere and there's too many of us for one car. I always end up having to drive one of the SUVs."

We collect their luggage and make the trek out to the SUV. Getting back out of the airport is almost as big a pain in the ass as getting in; it takes almost forty minutes to get back to the dorm.

The very first thing we hear when I unlock and open the front door is:

"Sunset Shimmer, will you PLEASE stop rubbing your pussy all over the couch?!"

That was Fluttershy.

I tense up. Mom draws to a stop next to me, blinking. Dad's jaw drops.

"What...?" Mom says.

If my hands weren't full of luggage, I'd facepalm. I settle for a heavy, tired sigh. "Mom, Dad...wait here for a minute. I'll see what's going on before...yeah."

"Should you really be—" Mom begins.

"Mom, at this point, there is nothing she could possibly be doing that I haven't already seen." Without waiting for a reply, I walk into the lounge...

...just in time to see Velvet drag a butt-naked Sunset Shimmer out of the room by the breast.

Twilight is standing nearby, face red with embarrassment and mouth hanging open. She sees me, then points to what just went past.

"It's gonna be one of those days, isn't it?" I ask.

Twilight nods mutely.

I sigh. "Mom and Dad are waiting outside." I turn back to the door and open it, letting them in.

"Is...is it safe?" Mom asks.

"Abandon hope, all ye who enter here," I quip. "You just missed a hell of a show."

"I don't think that's the kind of show your parents would appreciate," Twilight says. "Umm...hi again," she adds, waving sheepishly at my Mom and Dad.

"Hello, Twilight," Mom says with a smile. "So, how are you?"

"Oh, you know..."

"Twi, what the hell did she do now?"

Twilight shakes her head. "I honestly don't know," she says. "I was in the kitchen with Mom, we heard Fluttershy yelling, we ran into the lounge, Sunset was naked, Mom dragged her off—" Twilight's eyes widen. "THE KITCHEN! LUNCH!" She runs off to the kitchen.

"Crap," I grumble. "Mom, Dad, can you wait in the lounge?"

"Is it safe to sit down in there?" Mom asks.

I shake my head, mutter something I'd rather them not hear, then follow Twilight to the kitchen. From upstairs, I can faintly hear Velvet yelling her head off, as well as Spike and Zoe barking like crazy.

A minute later, Cadance walks in. "Sorry I left you and Vel to...oh, hi Flash." She pauses. "Who's Vel yelling at?"

"Sunset," Twilight says.

"Apparently she was marking territory in the lounge," I say. "At least, that's what it sounded like when my folks and I walked in."

Cadance looks like she's about to ask, then shakes her head. "Forget it, I don't want to know." She sighs and looks around. "Okay, what do you need me to do?"

"We need you to sit down and rest, dear," Velvet suddenly says. None of us heard her enter the kitchen. She's scrubbing her hands furiously with a hand towel. "Flash, will you help me and Twiley finish making lunch?"

"Of course." I turn to Cadance. "My folks are in the lounge, how about taking out some drinks and keeping them company?"

Cadance smiles. "I'd love to." She grabs a few bottled sodas from the fridge and heads for the lounge.

Once she's gone, Twilight turns to her mom. "Mom, did you really have to grab her...there?"

"It got the little whore's attention, didn't it?" Velvet sighs. "There's a demon in that girl. She isn't normal."

"You don't know the half of it," I mutter.

"I don't understand why..." Velvet shakes her head. "Behavior like that should have her thrown out."

"She's got blackmail material on Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna," Twilight says. "Among others. There's...not really much we can do to get rid of her."

"All she really wants is to get a reaction out of everyone here," I say. "We just need to ignore her bullshit. You know, like we ignore Pinkie and Rainbow occasionally wandering around naked or Applejack scratching herself at the dinner table."

"Flash!" Twilight hisses.

Velvet groans. "God, it's as bad as my old college dorm." She glances at Twilight. "You're not walking around naked, I hope?"

"Umm, no?" Twilight says. Velvet places her hands on her hips. Twilight ducks her head. "Sometimes, a little...but only when I'm going from my room to the bathroom to take a shower..."

Velvet glances from Twilight to me, then smirks. "I see." Shaking her head, she goes back to cooking. Twilight's face looks like an eggplant...

It takes us a little while to get lunch ready. Everybody who's here gathers in the dining room; Pinkie and Rainbow are out, as are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. Sunset's wearing jeans and a baggy shirt and giving Velvet a glare that could melt steel. Velvet is pointedly ignoring her.

"So, Twilight, your charming parents are in town until Monday, huh?" Sunset asks.

"That's right," Twilight says.

"Greeeat," Sunset says. "You know, there's so much I'd just love to tell your mom."

"I'm sure there is, but I'm afraid I won't have the time to listen," Velvet says. "Not when I'll be busy with my daughter-in-law and my son and the grandchild they're giving us!"

"Mooooom," Shining Armor whines.

"If it's even his," Sunset says.

Velvet shoots her a sharp glare. "What was that?"

"Ignore her," Cadance says.

"Yeah, just ignore me. I'm the unstable, deranged lunatic that wants to kill everybody in this room. Or, you know, just a girl who doesn't have any friends that everybody hates for no particular reason." She smiles brightly at me. "Right, Flash?"

"So, Dad! I was thinking you, me, Mr. Night Light, and Coach should do something tomorrow. Just us guys. What do you say?"

"That sounds good," Dad says.

Night Light grins. "Just the guys, huh? Haven't done that in a while."

"I'm in," Shining Armor says. "It'll give Mom time to fawn over Cadance and the baby without making me want to throw up." We all laugh.

I spend the rest of the afternoon catching up with my parents and helping them settle in upstairs. Every time Mom tries to bring up the subject of Sunset Shimmer, I carefully skirt around it...

Evening

When dinnertime rolls around, Velvet and Cadance are over in the apartment; Velvet is tired and Cadance has a headache. Sunset Shimmer takes advantage of the situation. She comes downstairs in shorts and a tank top, the kind of outfit that screams "look at my sexy body" without being overtly skanky. She spends the entire evening teasing me, Shining Armor, Night Light, and my dad.

After about forty minutes of this, I've had just about enough, and I excuse myself from the dinner table. I head outside to get some air.

About five minutes after I leave the dorm, I hear footsteps. I brace myself for more of Sunset's shit, but it's just Sweetie Belle.

"Hey," she says. "Wow, Sunset's laying it on really thick tonight, isn't she?"

"I guess Velvet dragging her off by the tit this afternoon didn't get the message across."

Sweetie Belle boggles. "She did what?!"

"You had to be there."

Sweetie Belle shrugs. "If you say so." She sighs and shuffles her feet. "So, I uhh...I went to visit Button Mash today."

"I thought you weren't going to."

"I thought I was too," she says. She looks up at the darkening sky. "The last time I went, he was...just so disconnected. But today, he said hi, he smiled, he asked me how school is." She pauses. "He...he apologized to me for taking those pictures of me. I guess they taught him why that was wrong." She digs at the grass with a toe. "He..."

She sniffles.

"He wasn't...he wasn't Button Mash. He was a stranger. He's so doped up he can't feel anything." She sags forward. "I actually miss the old nervous, tense Button who freaked out and made controller hands all the time."

"But he's better off this way, right?"

"Is he?" Sweetie Belle shakes her head. "Is losing what made him special worth making him halfway normal? And he's still never getting out of that hospital." She shakes her head. "Anyway...I talked to his mom for a long time, and she agrees. What they're doing for Button is in his best interests, but...he isn't really Button anymore." She bows her head. "He isn't the same boy I had a crush on anymore, and he never will be. But that's okay. I'm ready...I'm ready to let him go."

Tears fall from her eyes.

"I know...I know I'll have other crushes, other boyfriends. I know they won't all be like this. I know Button was...different. I'm just sad that I couldn't really help him. The way I wanted to, I mean. But..." She sniffles and looks up. "But that's okay. Because...I tried."

I nod. "Sometimes, that's all we can do."

She reaches into her pocket and pulls out a microSD card. "This...this is the memory card from Button's phone. His mom got it back last week, and she decided I should have the memory card, since..." She shakes her head and sighs. "Anyway, I don't want to throw it away because it's all that's really left of the real Button Mash, but if I keep it, I'll be tempted to look at it, and...and it'll hurt too much. Would you...would you keep it safe for me?"

"Are you sure?"

Sweetie Belle nods. I take the card from her and slip it into my pocket. She flushes. "Don't...don't look at the pictures," she says.

I already saw it anyway, not that I was ever interested. "I won't."

She hugs me fiercely. "Thank you," she says. "You've...you've always been around when I needed somebody to talk to. You're like a big brother. I feel safe with you around, like you're looking out for me. Is...is that weird?"

I smile. "I'm looking out for everyone," I say.

---

Sweetie Belle lets go. "Well, I'm going back inside," she says. "Are...are you okay?"

I nod. "Yeah. I just needed to get away from Sunset Shimmer for a little bit."

Sweetie Belle grimaces. "If anyone needs to be pumped full of pills, it's her." She shakes her head. "Well...later. And...thanks again."

"FLASH!" Twilight yells from the door. She rushes up to us. "Get back in here and help!"

I groan. "What's she doing now?"

Twilight's face is furiously red. "She's...eating things. Bananas, popsicles, things like that. Really, really suggestively. With my dad and your dad and Shiny."

I facepalm. "Just leave it," I say. "If we're lucky, they'll gangbang the shit out of her."

"FLASH!"

"What? I've kinda run out of fucks to give at this point. Besides, your mom's here. She's better equipped to deal with it than I am."

Twilight throws back her head and lets out a frustrated groan. "Just get your ass back in here," she growls.

"Okay, fine..."

The three of us head back inside...

Sunset is wrapped rather suggestively around Rainbow Dash. "Hey guys."

"Uhh...Rainbow? What are you...?"

"Rainbow!" Twilight snaps. "What the hell?"

"You do realize that's Sunset Shimmer, right?" I ask.

Rainbow swallows. "H-hey guys," she says. "Look, I know this looks...umm...bad. But, uhh...really, it's...it's not that...bad..."

Her hand is on Sunset's thigh. I don't think she even realizes it.

Fluttershy stands up. "I think it's getting rather late and everybody needs to go to bed," she declares, aiming fierce scowls at my dad, Night Light, Shining Armor, and Rainbow.

"Uhh...I'm good," Rainbow says.

Fluttershy walks over to Rainbow and squeezes her nose. "Put. The bacon. Down."

"OW! Shit, Fluttershy! Sheesh!"

Sunset laughs and stands up, stretching. "Shy's right, I'm pretty tired." She waves at the dads. "See you later, boys." She winks and saunters off to the stairs.

"Gang-bang," Sweetie Belle whispers in a singsong tone.

This is going to be a long weekend...