It was early morning when Sunset and her friends trudged back through the Everfree Forest. It had been an uneasy night, even with Harbinger standing guard. But between sleeping huddled together in the haunted house and walking two miles through the forest at night, staying in the house won out only because they had a guardian now.
Packing up had been a quick and subdued affair, done as soon as the sun had risen over the trees. The second everyone had their stuff together, they hurried down the hill and into the forest, none of them sparing the old chateau a second glance.
Even with the subdued conversations and groggy attitudes everyone kept as they marched back home, Twilight’s withdrawn nature was palpable. Head bowed and hand fidgeting against her sword, Twilight looked removed from the world. Her brow occasionally creased and her mouth moved wordlessly, but she made no interactions with the group.
Sunset wanted to reach out to her, even if it was just a gentle tap on the shoulder. But, the aura Twilight let off told Sunset she didn’t even want the usual touches of affection. So, Sunset kept her peace but remained close to Twilight’s side, hoping her storm cloud would evaporate soon.
They took up the front of the procession while Fluttershy volunteered to remain near the back, Jörmungandr draped over her shoulders again. The snake was still asleep, having not stirred all night.
Applejack cleared her throat. “So, uhh, should we talk about what happened?”
“A magic snake tried to eat us, and you girls plus a spirit wolf stopped it,” Adagio deadpanned. “There, recap over. Now, I personally never want to talk about last night ever again.”
“Actually, that reminds me…” Sunset looked over her shoulder. “Mind explaining that wailing from last night?”
“Oh look, we’re still talking about it.” Adagio crossed her arms. “Well, since you broke our gemstones and destroyed our voices, we can’t sing. However, we found our natural Siren abilities still have some use, even with our damaged vocal cords. We can make quite the racket when we scream.”
“It’s even worse if we do it at the same time,” Aria said, doubling back to help Rarity, struggling again with her suitcase. “Seriously though, I don’t wanna talk about last night for like, a week.”
“Aww, it wasn’t that bad,” Sonata said. “We were like the stars in a horror movie! And none of us died! Oh, oh, we should like, totally tell Hollywood about what happened so they make a movie about us!”
Pinkie gasped. “That sounds super awesome! Sonnie, you’re a genius!”
“For realsies?”
“Not by any stretch of the imagination,” Adagio said under her breath.
Just behind her, Soarin and Rainbow were engrossed in conversation. Despite last night’s exhausting events and marginal amount of sleep, Rainbow was full of energy.
“So, like, if you have an awesome spirit wolf that fights for you, why don’t you go like, fight crime and stuff?”
Soarin shrugged. “I mean, she already patrols the mountain and has helped save people there. That counts right?”
“I mean, yeah, but like, go stop bank robbers or serial killers. Cool things like that!”
“I didn’t even know Harbinger would follow me down here. She kinda does whatever she wants. I mean…” Soarin spread his arms and looked around. “I don’t even know where she went.”
While Harbinger had prowled the grounds while they slept, come morning, the white wolf had vanished. Soarin continued, “Besides, why don’t you use your powers to stop crime.”
Rainbow grinned and ran her knuckles against her chest. “Well, not to brag but, me and my friends have already saved the world twice.”
Soarin grinned in interest. “Oh? Do tell.”
“Don’t,” Sunset, Twilight, and Adagio all said in unison.
They finally reached the edge of the forest, their cars waiting for them just off the road. Everyone paused for a quick breather before packing their things. Living only a mile away, Applejack bid everyone farewell and trudged down the dirt road, bag slung over her shoulder.
Aria tossed her bag into the back of Rainbow’s car. “Well, Rainbooms—”
“Spectacular Seven,” Pinkie corrected.
Aria rolled her eyes. “Like it matters. Despite nearly dying, this trip wasn’t awful.”
“I had fun!” Sonata chirped.
This time, Adagio rolled her eyes but said nothing.
“Well, I’m glad someone enjoyed themselves,” Rarity said. “Oh, and I’ll call you about the dresses, Aria!”
“I don’t have a phone.”
“Oh. Well, we’ll work something out!”
Adagio raised an eyebrow at Aria, who gave a bored shrug before climbing into her seat. Pinkie and Sonata hugged it out like they weren’t going to see each other for months. Soarin jumped into the front seat while Rainbow cautiously approached Fluttershy, Jörmungandr still snoozing around her.
“So, arts and crafts fair tomorrow, yeah?” Rainbow barely kept a lid on her lack of enthusiasm.
Fluttershy, however, looked the happiest Sunset had seen her days. She eagerly nodded her head. “One o’clock! I’m even participating in the yarn-off this year!”
Rainbow at least managed a genuine encouraging smile. “Awesome. See ya then.”
She drove off with Soarin and the Sirens, while the remaining girls shoved their things around Rarity’s suitcase and filed themselves into the car.
“Uhh, why don’t you take the front seat, Twilight,” Sunset said.
Twilight gave an unreadable look to Fluttershy and the snake but gave Sunset a glance that said, ‘thank you,’ before taking her seat. From her spot in the back, Sunset could see Twilight sitting rigid as stone the entire way home.
Rarity pulled up to Sunset’s house first. Sunset got out, carefully taking Jörmungandr from Fluttershy and praying he stayed asleep for five more minutes. Twilight also got out of the car, murmuring a thank you to Rarity before grabbing hers and Sunset’s bags.
“Uhh, are you sure you want to come inside right now?” Sunset asked, keeping Jörmungandr’s head up.
Twilight only nodded before walking up to the front porch. Her demeanor wasn’t cold, but it made Sunset shiver all the same. She bade the girls farewell and hurried to the front door.
“Selena, I’m home!” Sunset stepped into the living room and deposited Jörmungandr onto the couch. “Shimmer, I’ve got something that belongs to you!”
Selena came downstairs first, still dressed in her pajamas and robe with Spot trotting behind her. She paused on the landing and raised an eyebrow at the snake on her sofa before finishing her descent and standing in front of Sunset and Twilight with her hands on her hips.
“You’re home earlier than I expected. And I see you’ve brought a guest.”
“Yeah, so, crazy story about what happened yesterday,” Sunset began. “See—”
“Jorgey!”
Shimmer hustled down the stairs and dived next to the couch. She stared slack-jawed at Jörmungandr who finally lifted his head up. He flicked his tongue at Shimmer and slid forward, coiling himself around her shoulders.
“How—when—why?” Shimmer shook her head, and Sunset caught a tear fly away from her eyes. “I don’t care! Look at you, my wittle baby! Did that creepy bitch hurt you?”
“Hiissss.”
Selena looked from the oddly heartwarming scene of a woman and her snake back to Sunset. “You brought the snake here?”
“I mean, it’s hers.”
“You brought the venomous snake here, to the thief living in my house,” she deadpanned.
Sunset paused and frowned. “Okay, when you say it like that…”
“Oh, relax,” Shimmer said, wearing her pet like a scarf. “We’re not gonna do anything. To you guys, anyway. Now that I have my partner in crime back, we might go steal something to put money back in my account.”
Selena gave Sunset a withering ‘look-what-you’ve-done’ glare. “You won’t be stealing anything while you’re under my roof.”
Shimmer gave a noncommittal grunt, focusing more on scratching Jörmungandr under the chin. “How the heck did you even find him?” she asked Sunset.
“Again, crazy story about our trip yesterday.” Sunset sat down on the couch, joined by Twilight who had Spot curled in her arms. “So, good news first, the Sirens didn’t try to kill us!”
“They did try to scare us half to death,” Twilight muttered under her breath.
Sunset acknowledged her with a pause before continuing. “Bad news… we found a magically corrupted half-snake man that tried to kill us and may have been sent by Tempest Shadow.”
“What?” Selena asked, her face caught between incredulous and dumbfounded.
Shimmer snorted. “Seriously, a half-snake man? Now you’re just making shit up.”
“I wish it was made up,” Twilight said bitterly. “It attacked us and paralyzed Aria and Soarin.”
Selena gave a concerned frown. “How did you beat it?”
“We had help from a wolf spirit.”
Shimmer threw her hands up. “Seriously?”
Sunset ignored her. “Our magic also kicked in, so that helped. Fluttershy healed everyone, including the monster and, well, it reverted back to…” She gestured to Jörmungandr.
Shimmer looked from her pet to Sunset and made a derisive snort. “You’re telling me the supposed monster you fought was actually my Jorgey?”
Sunset crossed her arms. “You’ve seen magic before; why are you being so skeptical?”
“Half-snake man and spirit wolf,” Shimmer enunciated slowly. “That’s ridiculous, even by your standards.”
“Believe me, I know. But, that’s what happened. Give me a reason why I would make it up.”
Shimmer pursed her lips, at a loss for words. She turned on her heel and marched upstairs. “I hate magic.”
Selena steepled her fingers in front of her mouth. “I’m glad you’re both all right, and… I’m glad I was wrong about the Sirens. However, this disturbs me even more. Tempest Shadow has enough magic to corrupt normal creatures, and either she knew you would be in the forest, or just released it there for simple chaos. Odds are, it’s the first idea.”
Sunset nodded. “She’s spying on us.”
“And until we figure out how, you all need to be more careful. No more unnecessary risks like forest expeditions just to make friends with the Sirens.”
“Understood.”
“Good.” Selena’s expression softened. “Now, are you sure you’re both okay? You look unharmed, but I can’t imagine running into a monster in the middle of a dark forest was pleasant.”
Sunset looked over to Twilight. Her shoulders had loosened up when Jörmungandr left the room, but her face remained forlorn. Sunset opened her mouth, ready to speak for her, but Twilight set Spot to the side and stood up, removing her sword from her belt loop.
Twilight spoke in a soft, reserved tone. “When we faced the monster… I froze up. I just stood there stammering. And the second time we found it... it disarmed me. I forgot everything you taught me.” She wiped the tears from her eyes and held her sword out.
“I’m sorry, Miss Selena. I’m not ready to use this sword. I let you down.”
Sunset stood up and put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder. “Sparky, you’re oversimplifying it. It only disarmed you because you saved Sonata. And you were staring down your worst nightmare; it’s not your fault.”
But Twilight kept her eyes forward and her arm extended. Selena looked back at her with a neutral gaze. She raised her hand and pressed her palm against the hilt of the sword, gently pushing it back toward Twilight and giving a small shake of her head.
“You haven’t let me down, Twilight. If what Sunset said is true, then you’ve done the noblest thing a sword wielder can do: protect someone else. And you did it while facing a great fear. If anything, I’m proud of you, my student.”
Twilight looked down at her sword. “But… I was still—”
“You’ve been practicing for less than a month, Twilight. No one is expecting you to be a master and start cutting off monster heads. You will keep that sword, and we’ll keep practicing.” Selena gave a wise smile Sunset knew all too well.
Gripping her sword tight, Twilight looked up into Selena’s eyes. “Can we continue right now?”
“You’re not tired?”
“No.”
Sunset knew that was a lie, but Twilight had that burning look in her eyes whenever she was dead set on an objective. She watched Selena turn for the kitchen, gesturing at Twilight to follow. She took two steps, then turned back to Sunset.
“I’m sorry.” Her determined gaze was replaced by desperation, and she fidgeted with her sword. “I just… that snake made me feel so… useless. I thought I was finally contributing something to the group, and then that thing shows up, and I just froze and start having flashbacks, and I didn’t know what to do—”
Sunset closed the short gap between them and kissed Twilight on the lips, shutting her up. She held them together until Twilight’s quick breathing slowed. Sunset pulled away and cupped a hand to Twilight’s cheek. “I’ll keep saying it until you believe me: you’re not useless. You helped save someone’s life. So please, stop thinking you don’t contribute anything to this group.”
Twilight leaned into her hand. “I’m trying, really.”
“I know. If training with Selena makes you feel better in any way then go do it. Just, try not to push yourself too hard right now.”
“Okay.” Twilight leaned up and kissed Sunset again. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“Just being you.”
Sunset snorted and softly pushed Twilight away. “Get going, you sappy, sword-wielding dork.”
Twilight smiled, the first genuine one in the last twenty-four hours. She hurried after Selena, leaving Sunset alone in the living room until Spot reminded her he was still on the couch. She scooped him into her arms and headed upstairs, eager to take a long shower.
Sunset had her hand on her bedroom door when Shimmer coughed behind her. She still had Jörmungandr draped around her neck.
“Listen…” Shimmer sucked her teeth. “Magical weirdness aside… I guess I owe you a thanks. You brought back my Jorgey.” She held her hands up. “And I don’t wanna know any more details about what happened last night! Don’t care how you did it, I’m just glad you did. So, you know… thanks.”
Once again, Sunset resisted the urge to make a sarcastic remark about Shimmer showing compassion, and instead just smiled and nodded. “No problem. Just… promise you’ll keep him away from my dog.”
Shimmer scratched her snake under his chin. “Oh don’t worry, Jorgey only eats bugs and rodents, don’t you, sweet boy?” she cooed. “You don’t have any rats around here, do you?”
“You’re on your own for that.”
*******
Twilight flinched from the force and the sound of Selena’s sword clashing against hers. Despite switching to dulled practice blades, the metal still rang sharply against Twilight’s eardrums. She eased a foot back and disengaged her attack before bringing her blade up on the other side of Selena’s. She pushed against Twilight with superior force, knocking her sword back before striking.
Block! Backstep! Counter! Keep your eyes on her! Remember your foot placement!
Fifty thoughts and instructions simultaneously ran through Twilight’s head as she dueled her mentor. She parried Selena’s next attack and extended her arm for a lunge, but Selena sidestepped with grace and slapped the flat side of her sword against Twilight’s waist.
“Ow!” Twilight scrambled back into a defensive stance, ignoring the sting of metal. She wiped the sweat from her brow and tightened the grip on her sword.
“You’re thinking too hard, Twilight,” Selena said, circling her. “Let your moves flow together.”
Easy for you to say, she snarked inwardly. Twilight took a deep breath to relax her shoulders then advanced. She struck high, extending her blade near Selena’s shoulder, but was quickly parried and countered by Selena moving under her guard and lunging. Twilight stepped back and blocked the strike, flinching again at the collision of their swords.
Parry! Go around her guard! Thrust! Back up! Foot placement! Wrist placement!
“Still thinking too hard, Twilight.” Selena gracefully out stepped another of Twilight’s thrusts then moved to catch Twilight on her right side. Twilight snapped her wrist down and caught the blade just before the blunted tip nicked her.
Selena smiled. “Better.” She stepped back, allowing Twilight to press her attack.
Twilight squinted her eyes, trying to move on instinct instead of following the instructions of her hyper-focused thoughts. Yet the second she eased off her focus, Sunset would wander into her thoughts and she would fumble, or worse, the snake would slither in and she would tremble. Twilight didn’t know how to not think about something. The best she could do was streamline her thoughts into quick commands and make desperate, improvised actions when she fell into a vulnerable position.
She and Selena danced back and forth across the backyard, Selena scoring hit after hit every time Twilight thought too hard or moved on the wrong instinct. With every hit from Selena, Twilight swung her sword a little harder, moving as fast as her sword would let her.
Selena smacked Twilight’s left arm, and Twilight brought her sword across for a horizontal slash. Selena moved under her arm and stopped the strike before extending her wrist and poking Twilight in the chest. Twilight jumped back and prepared herself for another round, but Selena sheathed her sword and dusted her hands.
“That’s enough for today.”
Twilight’s sword arm went limp, a relief for her aching shoulder. She shook it out and said, “I can keep going.”
“That wasn’t a suggestion,” Selena said, calm but firm. “You’re tired and you’re growing frustrated, which both make for sloppy form and further irritation. Despite what you may tell yourself, you’ve reached your limit for today.”
Before Twilight could argue a counterpoint, her biology betrayed her and a yawn forced its way out of her mouth. She followed up with a grumble and a curt sheathing of her sword. “Yes, Ma’am.”
Selena handed her a water bottle. “As I said before, your resolve is admirable, but you need to learn to bend or else you’ll break.”
Twilight took a long drink instead of answering. She needed to get better as fast as possible. If Tempest could just make monsters now, who knew when they would be attacked again? Still, the burn in her muscles and the calluses forming on her palms told her a break would be wise.
“May I come back tomorrow?”
“Only if you promise to get some rest tonight,” Selena said with a stern wag of her finger. “And make sure to do some meditation before bed.”
Twilight bowed. “Yes, Ma’am. Thank you.” She gathered her schiavona and headed inside, both relieved and disappointed Sunset hadn’t been watching from the kitchen. Instead, Sunset lay strewn out on the couch, fast asleep with Spot curled on her stomach.
Biting down on her thumb, Twilight stifled a giggle. Even with a lock of hair over her face and her mouth slightly open, Sunset looked like an angel. Twilight wanted to wake her up, still feeling like she had more to say about last night, but Sunset looked at peace.
I have to get stronger. For you. So you won’t have to keep protecting me.
Twilight gently brushed Sunset’s hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. “See you tomorrow, Sunnykins,” she whispered. She let herself out the door, closing it slowly and quietly.
Sword clutched at her side, Twilight made her way home. She could feel her arms stiffening and sore spots forming all over from being struck by Selena. A hot bath, then back at it tomorrow. She would train all summer if she had to. The next time she stared down a monster, she would not flinch!
It was only a twenty-minute walk home, but in that short span of time, the exhaustion from yesterday crept up and tackled her, adding to the weight of her weariness from practice. Her feet and knees ached from walking, and she yawned every other minute.
Instead of entering through the front door, Twilight opened the side gate and used her key to unlock the door to her lab. She carefully waded through the dark until she found the light switch, stinging her eyes with the quick transition. Twilight stowed her sword behind her workbench, where her fully completed selfie gyro-drone sat. She had finished up her video for the project yesterday morning and e-mailed it to the scholarship committee.
One down, a bunch to go! Twilight still had a full list of possible scholarships to apply to. She needed all the money she could get if she wanted her three master's degrees and doctorate.
Sword hidden away, Twilight retreated out the side door and circled back around to the front. Until she found a way to explain she was taking sword lessons to her parents, Twilight tried to keep any trace of it a secret, and no one but her ventured into the lab.
“I’m home!” she called as she stepped into the entryway. She had just enough time to slip her shoes off before Spike ran around the corner and jumped at her legs.
“Hi, buddy!” Twilight picked him up and held him close to her face, some of her weariness melting away as he licked her nose. “Hehehe! Were you good while I was gone?”
Spike wagged his tail and moved on to licking Twilight’s cheek.
“There you are!” Velvet stuck her head out from the kitchen. “I was starting to get a little worried.”
“Hi, Mom.” Twilight set Spike down. “Sorry, I stopped by Sunset’s house and, um, relaxed for a little bit.”
Her mom dried her hands on a towel as she approached. “You could have called, you know. Ugh, you smell like the forest, too. I’m guessing you had a good time.”
“It was… an experience,” Twilight said, keeping her face as straight as she could. “But you’re right, I could really use a wash.” She scooted around her mother, eager to get upstairs before any more questions were asked.
She was halfway up the stairs when her mom called up to her. “Remember, your grandma is flying in on Thursday.”
Twilight looked over her shoulder, eyebrow raised in concern. “Which one?”
Her mom’s sigh was all the answer she needed. Grandma Golden Light, her dad’s mother, was the most critical, judgemental person Twilight knew. Her default response to everything was, ‘you can do better.’ And Twilight would have to stand her for at least a week.
“Just remember,” Velvet said, “no matter what she says or even implies, we still love and support you, sweetheart. You’ve done a great job so far.”
Twilight smiled. “Thanks, Mom.” She finished her climb upstairs, Spike on her heels. No one outside her parents and brother knew she was a lesbian, and while they had been open and supportive of her relationship with Sunset, Twilight knew she wouldn’t be so lucky with her entire family. Her strategy was to subtly ease everyone into it. She was dead set on having Sunset attend the wedding with her, but wouldn’t draw attention to the fact that Sunset was her partner. And everyone would be too distracted by Shining and Cadence’s courtship, no one would ask too many questions anyway. The heteronormative standard could continue!
Twilight stepped into her room and closed the door. Was that too cowardly of a plan? Twilight didn’t want to make Sunset feel ashamed to be dating her. But she couldn’t just jump on a table and shout to the reception hall she was in love with another woman. One, her social anxiety would rather see her murdered before doing something like that. Announcing herself as a candidate for Princess of the Winter Ball had been nerve-wracking enough. And two, that would hog the spotlight from her brother and Cadence. It was their wedding day, not Twilight’s coming out day.
“Ugh, Spike, what do I do? I can’t just walk in there going, ‘hey, everyone, this is my girlfriend!’ But I don’t want to not do that in case Sunset thinks I’m trying to hide us! But I invited her to the wedding, so she wouldn’t think that anyway, right?” Twilight pulled on her collar, feeling her shirt constrict her breathing.
Spike rubbed his back on the carpet, pausing to listen to Twilight’s rant before resuming his roll.
“Okay, if anyone asks, I’ll tell them. And I’ll hold Sunset’s hand! We’ll just act like it’s a regular public date! Except it’s my family. Who will be silently judging me.” Twilight fanned her face. “It’ll be fine! Everything will be fine!”
Hundreds of eyes narrowed in her direction as she stood next to the altar. They continued to stare as she and her friends played during the reception. Whispers and pointed fingers followed her as she clung to Sunset’s arm.
Twilight desperately fanned her face, taking rapid, short breaths. “Deal with it later! Deal with it later! Everything will be fine! Science! Where’s my idea list?” She dropped down into her desk chair and flung a drawer open. Lying on top was one of the numerous notepads she had around her room.
Flipping it over, Twilight read her own tidy scribbles. “Motorcycle repair kit, magnetic chessboard…” She smacked the pad to her head. She still needed to get Sunset a birthday gift!
“Deal with it later!” She tossed the list aside and kept digging, throwing things out haphazardly. She needed something to distract her from her anxiety, not cause her more! Her hand finally brushed against another notebook, and she pulled it out in triumph. “How did you get buried so far down?”
It didn’t matter. Twilight flipped through it, looking at blueprints and simple blurbs of ideas, feeling her heart slow back to its normal bpm. So many potential ideas to work on! But where to start?
A rustling on the floor behind her pulled her out of her notes. Twilight turned around to see Spike chewing the corner of a neatly folded paper she had tossed away during her search.
“Spike, no, don’t eat that!” She grabbed the other end and tried to pull it out, but Spike gave a playful growl and pulled back, wagging his tail. Twilight reached over and scratched behind his ear, causing him to thump his leg and let go of the paper.
Twilight unfolded it, curious to see what Spike had decided to chew on. “...Oh.”
Just as her anxiety dipped, a new pain formed in her chest. Taking up sword practice with Selena had driven this letter from her mind. Twilight traced a finger around the heading and ran a thumb down the margin as she read her own words.
“Moondancer…” Twilight looked at the letter as a whole, still on the fence as to send it or not.
She gasped and jumped over to her calendar, pressing a finger against the day’s date. She looked at the letter in a new light. Moondancer turned eighteen today. Twilight wondered how she was spending it. If things had been different, would they be spending it together?
In another universe, would she be having anxiety over taking Moondancer to the wedding instead of Sunset?
Twilight shook her head of what-ifs. Moondancer had made her choice. Twilight read her own letter again. Was that choice made completely of her own free will though? Perhaps Twilight would never know. But, if there was a chance…
She got up, scribbled an extra line onto the letter, and folded it up again before neatly placing it in an envelope.
Twilight had made her choice.
*******
Rainbow rolled the control stick and mashed the A button, grinning in satisfaction as High Heel flew across the stage. She bounced and punched a fist in the air when Zapp landed an aerial smash and knocked off High Heel’s last life.
“Ha! Suck on that!” Rainbow shook her hand out as she watched the victory screen. Since the Sirens seemed to be hanging around for the foreseeable future, a Power Ponies rematch with Aria was inevitable, and Rainbow was determined to put her in her place. Second place.
Rainbow set the CPU to its highest difficulty and started the next match. She had just electrocuted High Heel when her phone started buzzing. She paused the game long enough to slip the phone between her ear and shoulder. “Hello?”
“Hey, Dash,” Soarin said.
Rainbow’s stomach gave a small flip. “Yo, whaddup?” she said, trying to keep casual.
“Nothing much. Whatcha up to?”
“I’m kicking High Heel’s ass!” Rainbow grinned as said character flew across the screen.
“Power Ponies? Awesome! You’ll have to play me some time.”
“Sure, whenever you’re in the mood for a whuppin’.”
Soarin laughed. “We’ll see. Anyway, you like medieval stuff, right?”
Rainbow shrugged. “Only the cool stuff. Knights, mutton, those giant catapults.”
“What about jousting?”
“Oh yeah, that’s pretty cool too! Oh. come on, that totally missed!” Rainbow grumbled as she lost a life thanks to one of High Heel’s cheap stun moves.
Soarin laughed again. “Well, there’s a jousting tournament happening and I thought, maybe we could go. Maybe as a date?”
Rainbow could hear his stupid eyebrow wiggle. Still, a jousting tournament? “I’m listening.”
“It’ll be fun. There’s more than jousting there, too. They’ve got a blacksmith forging actual swords and lances, an archery range, and I’m pretty sure we can buy some turkey legs. It’s not mutton, but it’s the next best thing.”
Rainbow scrunched her face. Talking with Soarin was throwing off her game. She had one stock left while the CPU still had all three. She could see the tournament laid out in her head, watching guys in armor charge at each other on horseback with awesome lances at the ready. And Twilight wouldn’t be there to give some lecture about how any of it was ‘supposed’ to work.
“All right, I’m in! And fine, it can be a date.”
“Sweetness! Tomorrow at Rockhoof Field. See you around noon?”
Rainbow nodded. “Sounds good. Just don’t expect any mushy, couple-y stuff like holding hands.”
“You held my hand in the forest,” Soarin said, sounding supremely smug.
“Shut up, that didn’t count!”
“Didn’t it?”
“See you tomorrow!” Rainbow dropped the phone from her shoulder and quickly hit the ‘end call’ button before focusing on her game again.
Wait... Something itched in the back of Rainbow’s brain. Rockhoof Field is at Six Pillar Park… and didn’t I have something else—
“Fluttershy!” Rainbow was supposed to go to the arts and crafts fair at Meadowbrook Garden across from the field... tomorrow.
High Heel delivered a downward kick to Zapp and knocked her into the oblivion below the stage. Rainbow dropped her controller and pressed her hands to her eyes.
“Aw… crap…”