//------------------------------// // I'll do my daily routine // Story: My Little Pony: Friendship is Fate // by Kujo Blaze //------------------------------// “Yeah, I guess I can train a bit if I have this much time.” The morning exercises are my daily routine, so I’ll go and move my body a bit. The Whooves household has a splendid gym. It was built for pleasure when the house was built, so there’s no particular purpose of it. “Well, Pinkie Pie is using it for herself, though.” I hear that this place was Pinkie Pie’s playground even before I came here. But I became Doctor’s student and started using this place a lot, so Pinkie Pie hated me back then. “…Well.” There’s only one thing to do now that I’m here. Even a mage cannot neglect to train their body. One of the requirements for a mage is to have excellent physical abilities. While Doctor was alive, we had many matches here. Well, it was pretty much him beating on me, so I didn’t learn anything about how to win in a fight. …But I think I learned the difference between a fight and a battle. In other words, I was taught the difference between killing your opponent and beating your opponent. Knowledge and experience are different. Unless I know in advance, it’s hard to tell whether I’m involved in a fight or a murder. …It’s a simple story. As long as you learn magic, you might destroy yourself, and times will come when you have to fight. For a mage, a fight means killing each other. So I think what Doctor wanted to teach me was to prepare my mind for the prospect of death. But it’s been a while since my teacher passed away. On my own, all I can do are simple exercises. Things like push-ups, sit-ups, and stretching. Not too different from the morning practices I did in the archery club. The only difference is if I’m training lightly or heavily. “Good morning, Storm. Have you finished preparing already?” “Yeah, breakfast is done. All that’s left is setting up the table and cooking the radish.” “Oh, I’ll help then. I’ll prepare the dishes.” Sweetie is cheerful. And behind that admirable junior… “Oh, this is the smell of Storm’s omelet. I see, you’re making breakfast this morning.” Pinkie moves slowly to the table. “…Well, that aside…” First, I have to cook the radish I’ve prepared. “Sweetie, can you use the dishes in the middle? That will make it look better.” “Huh…? Um, this one with bumps?” “Yeah, that. You have to think about the plates too or you’ll be too one-sided. Oh, and the radish is already grated.” Sweetie takes out a dish from the back. “……” I think I saw a faint bruise on her shoulder when she leaned forward. “Hold on, Sweetie.” “Yes, what is it Storm?” “What’s that mark on your shoulder?” “Oh…” She looks away awkwardly. And that tells me who caused that bruise. “Trixie again, huh? What does she think she’s doing, beating on her sister...!?” “T-That’s not it, Storm…! Um, well… I fell and hurt myself. I’m a bit slow, you know? So I fall and get hurt a lot.” “Don’t be stupid. How can you get a bruise like that from falling over? It seems Trixie isn’t tired of getting beat up yet…!” “N-No, Storm…! This doesn’t have anything to do with Trixie. I really did this myself, so you can’t get mad.” “……” Sweetie falls silent. …Sweetie looks calm, but she is pretty obstinate. It’s useless to say anything to her now. “…All right. If you say so, I’ll leave it at that. But if I see it again, I won’t be able to hold back.” “…Yes. I’m sorry, Storm.” “Why are you apologizing? It’s Trixie’s fault.” “……” At the mention of Trixie’s name, Sweetie looks away awkwardly. In other words, she is the cause of that bruise. Trixie Belle has a bad habit of being hard on her sister, Sweetie. I first noticed it about a year ago. Sweetie was injured sometimes, and she just evaded my question when I asked about it. When I asked Trixie about it, of all things, she said she was the one who hit Sweetie. When I asked her why she hit her, she said that she just hit her because she felt like it. After that, I got pissed and did to Trixie what she did too Sweetie. Since then, we’ve been estranged. I still don’t regret punching her. But I think it’s my fault that Sweetie is being treated worse. “…Storm, did you… um, work things out with Trixie?” “Huh? Yeah, I did. We didn’t have a fight or anything, so it’s not like there was anything to work out.” “…Uh, it might be like that for you, but thinks you guys got in a fight. So… Well, please be careful.” “Hm?” Sweetie says strange things sometimes. “Be careful… you mean, of Trixie?” “…Yes. I think Trixie thinks of you as an enemy… um, and she thinks that you quit the club because of her…” “That’s not true. Me quitting the club had nothing to do with Trixie. Well, maybe a bit, but it’s still not something you should worry about. Like Trixie says, this is certainly indecent.” I point at my right shoulder. There’s a scar there. It happened a year and a half ago. A shipment collapsed on me during work and I hurt my right shoulder. I got out with just a broken bone, but the shipment was a hazardous one and I got a burn on my skin. After that accident, I quit the archery club. My school archery club emphasizes formalities as they let us shoot formally even as students. The men expose their right shoulder when they shoot. Trixie commented that it might be indecent for someone shooting formally to have a scar on their shoulder. Since I was getting busy with work, I quit the archery club right then. “Um, Storm? I might be persistent, but are you really not shooting anymore? Pinkie said your injury shouldn’t be a problem.” “What are you saying? Pinkie wouldn’t think it’s a problem even if I broke every bone in my body.” “Storm, I’m being serious.” Sweetie glances up at me, like she wants to say something. “…Hmm.” I should answer seriously too, but I can’t give her the answer she wants. “I don’t have time to do club activities for now. I like Archery, but it’s not something I prioritize, so I’m taking some time off from it.” “…How long is ‘some time’?” “I guess until I feel like it. Well, I’ll try to make it back before you graduate. Welcome me then, Sweetie.” I pat Sweetie’s shoulder. Sweetie stares blankly for a while, and then… “Oh, yes…! I’ll be waiting, Storm!” And she nods so powerfully that it seems she might drop the plates she’s holding.