Wednesday, January 27, 2016 / Early Morning
Today's Horoscope (Virgo): Be firm but forgiving with people that have done you and your loved ones harm. You never know what might happen as a result.

The day starts off wet, and the forecast says it'll stay wet all day.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 / After School

By the time school lets out, over an inch of rain has fallen. Tennis practice is cancelled...

There's nothing to do except head home early with everyone else.

Wednesday, January 27, 2016 / Evening

After dinner, Apple Bloom asks me to help with her homework. We're in the lounge; I already did my own homework when I got home, and everybody else is upstairs doing their own thing.

"How are you feeling?" I ask.

"Better," she says. "Applejack said I should go ahead and stay home tomorrow since it looks like they might be closing school early anyway."

"Ugh, yeah..." The weather is getting worse...the faculty chat board on Canterbook has been full of discussion about school closings all day.

There's a knock at the front door to the dorm. Frowning, I get up and answer it.

To my surprise, Sterling Silver and Silver Spoon are standing outside in rain slickers; Sterling is holding a large golf umbrella.

"Is...is Apple Bloom here?" Silver Spoon asks in a small, contrite voice.

"Yeah."

Silver Spoon looks down. "I...I came to apologize to her..."

I fold my arms and step out of her way. She walks in; her father remains outside. He gives me an awkward but respectful nod. "So...I hope, given time, you'll consider remaining a customer..."

I sigh. "Yeah. That wasn't very fair of me. I...I just wanted to make a point."

He snorts. "You made a pretty effective point alright."

"Still, I don't think I'll be back before Valentine's Day. It's not because of...this. It's because, well..." I give him a sheepish laugh. "My girlfriend doesn't really wear much jewelry in the first place. Heck, that locket is pretty much the only piece she ever wears."

"Ah." Sterling nods. "I know a few women like that."

I scratch my chin. "I might pick something up for another friend of mine, though. I'll think about it and let you know..." I look past him and grimace. "Whenever the weather settles down."

I turn to find Silver Spoon still standing behind me, looking sick to her stomach. Sterling frowns at her. "Sil," he says.

"I know," she says. "I just...wanted to wait for this guy. I...can't face her alone."

I lead Silver Spoon into the lounge. Apple Bloom never got up to follow me to the door, but she clearly knows who was there, because she looks pretty upset. She glares at Silver Spoon when we walk in.

Silver Spoon flinches and looks away. "Umm...Apple Bloom..." She takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry, okay? I...I shouldn't have laughed at all the mean things Diamond Tiara said about you. I just..." She sighs. "I never thought about...about how much she was hurting you. About how wrong the stuff she was saying was." She looks at her feet. "Diamond Tiara's been my best friend since we were little," she says in a small voice. "I—"

"Don't make excuses for her," I interrupt. "She's a worthless bully, and defending her isn't scoring points here."

Silver Spoon looks up at Apple Bloom. "I just never stopped to think about how wrong it was...how awful it is to make fun of somebody because their parents..." She looks away again. "I'm sorry."

Apple Bloom sighs. "Do you really mean it, or are you jes' sayin' it 'cuz you're in trouble?"

Silver Spoon flinches. "I...I really do mean it," she says. "Daddy sat me down and had a really long talk with me, and...and I'm going to try to stop Diamond Tiara from...from being as mean to you as she is." Her shoulders slump. "I don't think it'll really help, but...I'll try."

Apple Bloom smiles slightly. "Alright," she says. "Ah accept your apology."

Silver Spoon lets out a sigh of relief.

Apple Bloom smirks. "Jes' one thing," she says. "How long're you grounded for?"

Silver Spoon rolls her eyes. "Three weeks," she says. "No phone, no computer."

"Good," Apple Bloom says.

"Apple Bloom, be nice," I say.

"No, it's okay. I deserved that," Silver Spoon says. "Umm...see you at school..." She turns and heads back to the entrance. I follow behind her to lock the front doors, then head back to the lounge.

Apple Bloom's shoulders are shaking. She looks up at me. "You had somethin' t' do with that, didn't you?" she asks.

I nod. "I ran into Diamond Tiara at Silver Spoon's dad's shop yesterday. I told her dad what those girls were saying to you."

Apple Bloom sighs. "Thanks," she says. "Ah jes' hope...Ah hope she really meant all that...an' she can get Diamond Tiara off mah case."

"I wouldn't hold my breath," I say. "I hated that little brat the second I laid eyes on her." I shake my head. "I think Silver Spoon's different, though. She seemed really nice the first time I met her."

"Well...she does only follow in behind Diamond Tiara," Apple Bloom says. "She never actually starts anything." She shrugs. "We'll see. Anyway...thanks. That means a lot to me." She looks down. "Ah gotta be honest...th' reason Ah got sick in th' first place? Ah think...Ah think Ah jes' got so upset over them two pickin' on me, Ah..."

"Stress lowers immunity," I say, nodding. "That's something Twilight told me when I came down with the flu back in November."

Apple Bloom looks at her computer. "Ah'm jes' about done here," she says. "Think Ah'm gonna go on t' bed now."

A particularly loud rumble of thunder shakes the dorm. We both jump. "Dang that was scary," Apple Bloom says, eyes wide.

I head up to my room. I find Twilight reading in my bed. She sees me, smiles, and sits up, letting the covers fall away.

She's naked.

I have exactly two seconds to register this fact before the power goes out.

Author's Notes:

Social Link Status:

0. FOOL (Zodiac Investigation Team): rank 5
I. MAGICIAN (Twilight Sparkle): MAX!
III. EMPRESS (Rarity): rank 2
IV. EMPEROR (Coach Shining Armor): rank 8
V. HIEROPHANT (Vice-Principal Luna): rank 5
VI. LOVERS (Nurse Cadance): rank 7
VII. CHARIOT (Rainbow Dash): rank 8
VIII. JUSTICE (Principal Celestia): rank 6
IX. HERMIT (Coco Pommel): MAX!
X. FORTUNE (Apple Bloom): rank 3 (Rank UP!)
XI. STRENGTH (Applejack): rank 3
XII. HANGED MAN (Octavia Melody): rank 4
XIII. DEATH (Sonata Dusk): rank 4
XV. DEVIL (Juan the Janitor): rank 5
XVI. TOWER (Chrysalis): rank 2
XVII. STAR (Pinkie Pie): MAX!
XVIII. MOON (Trixie Lulamoon): MAX!
XIX. SUN (Vinyl Scratch): rank 7

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The LTE version of this chapter has additional unrated content and can be found on my website.