It was a truth universally acknowledged, even after the world changed, that no one liked Mondays. Even Twilight had to admit that she'd rather plan out her own curriculum for improved socialization, understanding of magic, and general study than go through the motions in classes she'd already mastered.
But this Monday seemed especially noisome to some members of the Lunch Table of the Pantheon. (Sunset had all but commanded her worshipers to stop calling it that. It hadn't helped.) Three scowled down at their lunches like they'd insulted their mothers.
Pinkie Pie skipped her way there, tray in hand. "Hiya, girls! How were your weekends?"
Fluttershy, Twilight, and Sunset all gave her looks of varying levels of nervousness. The others just grunted.
"Yeesh, tough crowd. What hit you guys with the the grumpy stick? I thought you were all excited about the Ultra Bowl!"
Twilight blinked. "Oh. That was this weekend?"
"You wouldn't think it," spat Dash. "That game was a freaking nothing-burger!"
Applejack nodded. "Double nothin'-burger with a side o' hooey is what it was."
Rarity set down the fork she'd been using to mutilate her salad and sat up. "Darlings, you're being far too kind. That absolute travesty of a football game was a painstakingly prepared nothing étouffée served on a bed of wilted competitive balance, liberally seasoned with overblown production values, and tainted with the bitter aftertaste of hypocritical overofficiation. And as if to add insult to injury, the Loyalists won again." After a moment of everyone else at the table staring at her, she cleared her throat and said, "Er, not that I—"
Applejack shook her head, a faint smile on her lips. "Rares, that was our date last night. Y'ain't foolin' no one by sayin' y' don't care about football."
"With your dad, it's in your blood," added Dash.
Pinkie raised a finger. "So are we just going to ignore Rarity's crown of plastic forks, or..."
"I was going to bring up the halo of cutlery if no one else was," said Twilight.
"Hmm?" Rarity blinked and noticed something pass by in the top of her vision. She whipped out her compact a moment later to see half a dozen forks orbiting her head, along with the occasional bluish crystal, all wrapped in her magic. The tableware went back to the table and the crystals evaporated into nothing even as she watched. "Oh. Goodness. I hadn't realized I felt quite that strongly about the whole debacle."
"Hey, I'm right there with you," said Dash. Applejack nodded.
"That would explain the wave of dissatisfaction that swept the nation last night," said Sunset. "Still, it's not like there were riots like last year."
"Yeah," Applejack said with a shrug, "well, it helped that—"
Rarity elbowed her in the ribs. "We found a different and unspecified outlet for any and all frustration we might have felt at the time." A few forks began to orbit her head again. "Which we needn't elaborate upon."
Applejack dragged her hat over her face. "I was jus' gonna say it helped that we wasn't expectin' much."
"Oh." Rarity took the looks the others were giving her and felt herself flush. "Oh dear."