Tuesday, July 19, 2016

Today's Horoscope (Libra): Never turn your back on your friends. They're the most important treasure you'll ever have.

Morning

I barely slept last night. I tossed and turned, and my eyes are crusty this morning. My back hurts, my neck hurts...

About an hour after sunrise, I'm debating whether or not to get up and take a shower when there's a knock on my door. I drag myself out of bed and unlock the door.

It's Pinkie Pie. She doesn't look happy.

"Twilight," she says softly, "I...I understand you're still trying to...y'know, figure everything out..." She shakes her head. "But what you did last night? Wasn't cool. You just ran out on all your friends. On me." Tears gather in her eyes.

I sit down on the bed, covering my head with my hands. "I know," I say with a sigh. "I just...seeing him, it...it hurt...I couldn't—"

Pinkie groans. "Okay, stop this," she snaps. "You need to talk to him. I know you're still upset, but come on! It's been long enough, don't you think?"

I frown. "No, I don't think." I glare defiantly at Pinkie. "He hasn't even tried to talk to me about it even once! What—"

Pinkie puts a hand over my mouth. "Yyyeah...assuming for the moment he hasn't been trying to call or text you, which I'm pretty sure he probably has, you'd just screen his calls and texts and ignore him, right?"

That gives me pause. She's right...

Flash actually hasn't called or texted me, but even if he had, would I bother listening to him?

Pinkie lets go, then sits down next to me. "You've gotta talk to him," she says. "You need to work this out."

"I know," I say with a sigh. "It's just...I..." I kick my feet in the air. "Can I trust him, Pinkie? Can I ever trust him again after...?"

Pinkie rolls her eyes. "He's not the only one who messed up here, you know," she says. "Look...just think real hard about all the good things Flash has done since he came here, alright? Think about...think about how important he is to you, to me, to all of us." She lowers her voice, pleading with me. "I know what he did is awful, and believe me, he's not off the hook for it with anyone, but you know what kind of person he is. I mean, that's why you fell in love with him in the first place, right?" With that, she stands up and leaves.

I sit there thinking about what she just said for a long time.

She's right...

I'm drawn out of my thoughts by a sudden sharp pain in my nose. Lights dance in my eyes. I look up to see Fluttershy's furious blue-green eyes glowering down at me.

"Don't ever pull a stunt like that again," she says coldly. "I don't care how pissed you are at Flash, that's no excuse for leaving your friends hanging."

I rub my nose, wincing.

"Last night was an easy fight, but what if it hadn't been? What if we needed you and you weren't there? What if we'd all died and it was your fault?" With that, she turns and leaves, slamming my door.

Oh God...

I just...I just bailed on my friends...

I draw my knees up to my chest, hot tears stinging my eyes.

Some time later, I hear a timid knock. I look up to see Sonata standing in the doorway. I sniffle and nod to her. She walks in and sits down next to me, drawing her knees up to her chin.

"Gonna yell at me too?" I ask. As soon as I process what I just said, I wince. "Err, so to speak?"

Sonata shrugs.

I sigh. "Okay, yes, I shouldn't have bailed on last night. Umm...was it bad?"

She makes a 'so-so' gesture. "More annoying than bad," she says. Her voice is a little stronger. "Might've gone faster with you, the—" She coughs a few times, then clears her throat. "Mooks were weak...lightning," she rasps hoarsely.

"Oh." I sigh. "I won't skip the next one," I promise.

Sonata nods, but says nothing. She just looks at me expectantly.

"I shouldn't have skipped this one," I add quietly, looking away. I take a deep breath. I nearly start crying.

Sonata puts an arm around me and hugs me. "Fix this," she whispers insistently. "You still love him, he still loves you. Fix this."

She gets up and leaves.

I flop back on my bed, ignoring the throbbing of my nose and the stinging in my eyes.

Forgive Flash...

Is it really that simple?

I keep having nightmares about...

About him running around behind my back with every girl in Canterlot.

Trixie, Octavia, Silver Spoon, Sunset Shimmer...

I just don't know if I can really trust him...

Elsewhere...