I sat back in my car, grinning to myself. For the first time in weeks, something went right. No catches, no worst-case-scenarios. We did go overtime by about twenty minutes, but what did it matter? Ten minutes is plenty of time. Not to mention it was the easiest interview I've ever been through. All I did was go in and be myself. The boss was awesome, too. He was lax and informal, which was the last thing I expected. Also found out we both watch Red vs. Blue every Monday. He's even gone to RTX 2011 and showed me his pictures with the Burnie Burns.
Did I say he was an awesome boss?
I still couldn't believe it myself. And starting tomorrow, of all days! Fuckin' sweeeeet! First job nailed! It's all downhill from here.
I beamed a huge smile as I depressed the power button on the dashboard, shifting into reverse and backing out of the parking spot. Just had to get over to the Melting Pot and wrap up a rather successful evening.
"Hey, Twilight!"
"Oh, hello, Rainbow Dash. Don't you have work in the morning?"
"We got the day off. The rain isn't for another week, and we've already corralled all of the clouds near Ponyville over to Cloudsdale. Nothing for us to do anyways."
"Ah, that's great, Rainbow!"
"Yeah. Just came over to see what you were doin'."
"Nothing much, really. Just have to send this nether dust to the Princesses."
"Huh?" Rainbow stopped hovering, taking a seat near the door. "Nether what?"
"Nether dust," Twilight corrected. "Magical essence. Usually used with teleportation."
"Oh. But everypony told me you were leaving for Canterlot."
"I'm not, though."
Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "...But didn't you just say you've got to give the Princesses that nether stuff?"
"Well, yes, but I'm going to teleport it to them."
The pegasus frowned. "I don't think Spike's flame can send that-"
"No, I meant with magic."
Rainbow scratched her head. "But... doesn't that only work for yourself and other ponies?"
"Not according to Starswirl the Bearded!" Twilight flourished a particular book proudly, the ancient tome dancing in her telekinesis. "The entire process is in this book. I can send them anything I want, just like Spike sends letters to the Princess! It's just a bit more complex in what it requires, but it's totally going to be worth it! Instead of being away for a few days, I don't even have to leave my library!" She turned to face the bookshelves that lined the far wall. "Catch up on some of my reading; those John Whinnythrop texts aren't going to read themselves!"
Rainbow Dash frowned. "Uh... I don't know, Twi. Doesn't it sound a little... sketchy?"
Twilight whirled on the pegasus. "Wha? Sketchy...?"
"Y'know... Unsound?"
Twilight shook her head. Not only was Rainbow Dash becoming more cautious than usual, she had expanded her vocabulary. And with a real word, this time. "Ugh. You're the third pony to tell me that this week."
Rainbow lowered her head. "Sorry, Twilight. Just saying."
"Look, I've planned ahead! I've made triple sure that nothing could possibly go wrong! Why does everypony still doubt me?!"
"Whoa, whoa! It's not that I doubt you!" Rainbow shrugged her wings. "Just... a feeling. A hunch. I just wanted to let you know I'm not feeling 100% about this one. Teleporting 'teleporting dust?' Something just doesn't click."
Twilight sighed. "I appreciate your concern, Rainbow. I really do! It's just... frustrating to hear ponies tell me this over and over again."
Rainbow laughed halfheartedly. "Don't I know that feeling. Well, I'd better head out. Missing out on some quality naptime."
Twilight nodded. "Afternoon nap, I presume. See you around, Dash."
The unicorn waved as the pegasus took off, zooming off into the horizon. Shutting the door, she returned to the library, biting her lip unconsciously. What was with everypony...? Even Rainbow Dash, the complete opposite of tentative, voiced caution! She kicked at the wood floor, suddenly overcome with overwhelming doubts. Maybe I shouldn't...
She shook her head, her jaw set in grim determination. No. I can do this. I've already completed the hard part: Preparation. Now, all that's left is the easy part: execution. It should be all downhill from here!
The Prius inched forward with its usual slow acceleration. Pedal to the metal, my ass. I frantically checked the clock. 9:12. You've gotta be shitting me.
Well, what do you freakin' know? Damn fuzz pulled me over for going 75 in a 65 zone. Another $300 I don't have. The engine whined as I pushed the pitiful acceleration to its limit. If Bryan got a hold of this... Prime blackmail substance. He'll use it in every goddamn argument from now. Leverage to every single conflict. The entire car lurched as I cornered a left turn a little too fast. I couldn't afford to screw this one up. Not with her. Not now.
I glanced at the car's clock. 9:14. It was too close; Jen would probably already be at the restaurant by now. If I called her saying I was going to be late... I shook my head. I wasn't going to let her down again.
I slammed on the brakes, nearly ramming into a line of bumper-to-bumper traffic. I leaned out of the driver-side window, eyeing a spectacular wreck several miles up the road. An 18-wheeler on its side.
My fingers drummed on the steering wheel.
God.
Dammit.
"I swear! This is the last straw!"
"Twi, please!"
"Of all ponies, I thought I could rely on you to give me some support!"
"Ah'm sorry, but-!"
"Can't anypony see that I'm perfectly capable of doing a little tidbit of advanced magic?!"
Applejack sighed. "Look, sugarcube. It's not that Ah don't trust you! Ah just don't trust this mumbo-jumbo that Starswirl the Bearded is spewin'. It just doesn't sound right."
"You think that the biggest contributor to unicorn magic is just spewing a bunch of mumbo-jumbo?" the unicorn's voice lowered dangerously.
"Er... Look, Twi. Ah'm just-"
Twilight cut her off with a sigh of her own. "Concerned. I know."
The Earth pony removed her Stetson. "Exactly."
The two stared at each other for a few seconds. "It's just a new concept; Ah'm sure everythin' will go perfectly fine, Twi."
Twilight shook her head. "Honestly, at this point, I don't know what I should think. Everypony's just been going crazy about this whole thing, even just with the preparation. I mean, the prep was just fine, actually, but even now, I'm starting to have my doubts in myself."
Applejack patted the unicorn on the shoulder. "Look, it don't matter what anypony else tells you. As long as you listen to their opinions instead of ignorin' them. Ah mean, maybe they could have some helpful stuff." The farmpony winced under Twilight's icy gaze. "But Ah'm not gonna stop you. If you really believe you know what yer doin', maybe I should believe in you, too."
Twilight couldn't help a small smile. "Thanks."
The earth pony replaced her Stetson. "That's what Ah'm here for. Don't let anypony else tell ya different. Even me."
The unicorn's smile widened. "Thank you. Really. That's just what I needed."
Applejack made a beeline for the door. "Ah'll be over at Pinkie's; picking up a few baking supplies. Give me a holler if ya need anythin'."
The earth pony nudged the door open, gently bucking it closed as she left. Twilight glanced back at the jar of nether dust sitting on the end table, her eyes narrowed. There was no way she was going to give up now. Applejack is right. Nopony can tell her that she's incapable of setting this up correctly. Like before, all that was left was to execute. And nothing was going to stop her now.
Abandoning the haphazardly-parked Prius, I pulled out my phone to check the time. 10:03PM. I gritted my teeth, doubling my speed. This is unbelievable. This isn't happening, right? Just a dream; just a realistic, unbelievably fucked-up dream.
Rounding the corner, I stopped cold at the sight of my girlfriend wrapped in a jacket that obviously wasn't hers. Next to her was a familiar face, although I couldn't recall his name.
We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds. I tried to break the silence. "Er... Hey."
Jen sighed. "Jay... meet Gus. Gus Hurley."
Something clicked. Gus Hurley. 7th grade. Had something of a jewfro.
"Oh, dude! Gus! What's up?"
Gus nodded back to me. "Hey, Jay. Long time no see."
My gaze drifted between the two back and forth. "So... What's going on?"
"Look, there's no easy way to say this, so I'll just say it. I'm ending it."
My jaw dropped. "You're WHAT?!"
"I'm... I'm ending it."
"Jen, listen-!"
"No. No, Jay. For once, you need to listen. You need to listen to people around you for once. All you do now is simply brush off everybody with, 'I know, I know,' instead of listening to them. You just keep side-stepping your responsibilities and ignoring all advice that all of us try to give you." She looked at her feet. "You've been so busy brushing everybody off, that you ended up brushing me off, too."
My fists clenched and unclenched, but she was right. "And... Gus, here, helped me pick up the pieces. We started off as just friends, but after tonight, I don't know what to think of it any more. At this point... I can't tell if you're even taking me seriously anymore. You're always busy, or you've always got more important things."
"Jen..."
"You need to figure out what your priorities are, Jay."
She turned away, leaving me and Gus alone.
My eyes were fixed on her retreating figure. I felt a presence to my right. Gus.
"Dude, hey, I'm sorry. She never told me about... you two. She... she told me she was single."
"Gus. Just leave."
"...Alright, then."
And with that, Gus walked off with the most important person in my life. I turned away, letting loose a shaky breath.