//------------------------------// // Summertime, while the cat's away... (part 3) // Story: The Truth About Girls (Vol. 1) // by TheMareWhoSaysNi //------------------------------// There was a song by the band Eighteen+ called “Hate You”. Each morning when Rainbow Dash was playing it loud under her shower, Zephyr had the strange impression that it was aimed at him. He was having surfing lessons with her and Rarity. He prepared hot water with lemon and Cayenne pepper for her every morning. He brought her beers during parties. He even promised her if she felt like throwing up, he would gladly hold her hair. She had looked at him with a raised eyebrow and had answered something like: “Well… No thanks. It’s fine.” Each time he did something for her, she had some kind of jump back. And even when she thanked him, it always was lip service, as if it burned her tongue to say those words to him. She refused him to massage her shoulders, or worse, her feet, that he would smear her back with total sunblock. She never wanted him to dance with her, or to come with her to the washroom, and didn’t accept neither him to lend her his jacket when the weather was too cold on the beach. Whatever he did, Rainbow Dash remained unyielding. Meanwhile, she smiled and laughed with her friends, and displayed a lot of sympathy toward Big Macintosh. Most importantly, when she got a message on her cellphone, she dashed to read it, and often, a very soft smile appeared on her face. Zephyr didn’t need to think hard to understand. It was her boyfriend. Even absent, he was able to defeat him. It was so unfair. Alright, he knew her since childhood, but Zephyr had confessed first. Didn’t he? He would have given anything to know what they were talking about, but it happened to be impossible to read above Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. How could his mission be a success if he didn’t know the enemy’s flaws? Oh, he’d tried to ask questions to his little sister, but Fluttershy wasn’t shy at all with him, and she hadn’t hesitated much to tell him he annoyed her, always wanting to know things about Rainbow Dash, and that she had other bunnies to brush. Aggrieved, he had no other choice than looking at her from afar, wondering what he could do to prove her that he was more than a nuisance. Zephyr squinted, and saw Rainbow Dash running in his direction, a ball under her arm. Not really sure of why, he stretched out his own arms, as if she was about to fall into his embrace… Instead, she passed him by and settled in front of her friends, relaxing under their sunshades. “Hey, there are Brazilians or something like that over there, looking for a bunch of girls to play beach soccer with them. Would you like that?” “I’d like that”, Zephyr said, raising his hand. “They said a bunch of girls”, Rainbow Dash pointed, throwing thunderstruck at him with her eyes. “Count me in”, Applejack answered, already getting up and joining. “Me too”, Pinkie Pie replied. Sunset Shimmer accepted the challenge as well, and stood back up to go with the others. Rarity was having a drink around the beach’s bar, where famous people were basking under huge monogramed sunshades, lying on rattan sun lounger padded with quills mattresses, hoping she would find new patrons for her boutique, if not two or three investors. As far as she was concerned, Fluttershy spent a lot of time with Big Macintosh, who still taught her how to swim. Twilight was the only one left, devouring her third novel of the week. Except to bath, she never left her towel and spent most of her time with her nose in the books. She had prepared a list of books to read by the ocean that she’d found in her favorite literature magazine, and she wanted to stick to it. She thought it was logical for Rainbow Dash not to offer her to take part in this activity. Each knew sports weren’t her field of expertize, and that, when school was off, she refrained herself from doing anything else than bicycle and walking. Her surprise was big when her friend stepped closer to ask her whether or not she also was interested. “Oh no, I’ll slow you down. I’m staying here, keeping an eye on Fluttershy.” “Keepin’ an eye on Fluttershy, uh? Ah think she’s in good hands, ya know.” Of course, she didn’t ignore what Applejack, often helped by another girl except maybe Pinkie Pie, was trying to do with her big brother and the young girl. It probably was a good idea if she wanted these two shy persons to come closer, and she had no intention of thwarting the plans of the whole gang. If they felt they were observed, they would start to feel something. Well… Fluttershy knew perfectly what they were scheming. The problem was about Big Macintosh’s suspicions. But nevertheless, it was soccer. As long as she needed to use her legs or her arms in a sports team, she was even clumsier that when she was trying these on her own. “I’ll really slow you down, girls. I’m bad.” “Heehee, Twilie. We’re playing to have fun, not to win.” “Speak for yourself, Pinkie Pie! I want to thrash those Brazilians!” Seeing her natural reaction wouldn’t help their friends to go with them, Rainbow Dash held herself back and assured it wasn’t important, since team effort and mutual assistance were the most crucial things for her. And to say she was a captain… “Come on, Twilight”, Sunset Shimmer said with a comforting smile. “It won’t be the same without you. We’ll have a lot of fun.” “Well, alright”, she sighed, before marking her book and getting up to join them. They entrusted Zephyr with everyone’s stuff, not really letting him choose. The latter looked at them getting away with a bit heartache. It wasn’t exactly the fact he was left on his own to keep an eye on the bags and all that bothered him, but rather the fact Rainbow Dash would play against boys. On the other hand… He would have full leisure to look inside her own bag, in order to learn even more about her and her tastes. With a bit of luck, if his little sister and his coworker stayed in the water during the whole soccer game, he could even try to read the mysterious messages from her boyfriend. Zephyr got closer, as if nothing, to Rainbow Dash’s towel and sunshade, and slowly lifted the top part of her shoulder bag, put there flippantly. A bottle of total sunblock, the pocketbook version of a Daring Doo novel, the latest MP3 player, raspberry glossy lipstick, a cloud-shaped hair clip, a motorcycle magazine, extra-strong pepper mint candies, a black hessian Longchamp wallet, and her phone… After he’d checked out the girls really were in the middle of their soccer game, he grabbed her phone, with its purple, grey and black stripped shell, hoping she didn’t have a code to grant access to the content. His mouth stretched out into an uncontrollable smile when he realized he could get to her list of messages. The first one was meant for a house employee, probably a cleaning lady, and was talking about someone named Tank… who ate green lettuce, chicory and blueberries, among others. Quickly, Zephyr understood this was nothing but her tortoise, and not another boy. On the list, he saw the message above came from her father, but he didn’t dare opening this one. Something told him this was a bit too personal. On the other hand, the name right under this one grabbed all his attention: Soar’ followed by an emoticon with a pair of wings. “What the hay are ya doin’, Zephyr?” a masculine voice suddenly asked, and a large shadow appeared in front of him. He rose his head and discovered Big Macintosh, standing in front of his towel, a not really happy expression plastered on his face peppered with freckles. Right behind him, Fluttershy was going in his direction. If his sister realized he was looking inside her best friend’s phone, he had no doubt she would consider it her duty to tell her about it. It was a violation of private life, after all. With his eyes, he did his best to beg his coworker not to tell, but he remained puzzled, his arms crossed in front of his chest. “Is there a problem?” Fluttershy asked behind him, at only a few inches away. “No problem. I’ve mistaken”, Big Macintosh reassured her with a smile. Zephyr only had the time to throw the phone on the next towel, its owner’s, and he displayed a smile he thought looked innocent, to his sister. Frowning, a bewildered grin outlined at the upper corner of her mouth, and she gave it up once she realized all her friends were gone. When they came back, the first thing Rainbow Dash noticed was that her smartphone had stayed under the sun, and no longer was where she had put it away before leaving. Big Macintosh pretended not to know what could have happened, and Zephyr felt a cold sweat rolling down his spine. Thankfully, Pinkie Pie made everyone turn away from this discovery, explaining they’d been able to beat the boys team, with a score of five to two. “And Twilie didn’t slow us down at all, thanks to Sunny and her great patience.” “Don’t be too much, I actually didn’t do anything special”, she answered, shaking her hands. “Don’t listen to her, Big Mac. She’d been awesome.” “Yeah. She’d made one hell of a coach”, Rainbow Dash confirmed, while checking out whether she had new messages. Though Sunset Shimmer was humble, Twilight knew how precious her help had been. Too bumbling, she didn’t know how to keep the balls to her feet, nor how to aim at a teammate strong enough. And, hitting a ball with her bare-feet on the sand wasn’t the same than doing it on a field made for that purpose, and she’d fell more often than she did when in school. By herself, Sunset Shimmer had devoted in order to help her to do better. Her patience had been rewarded in the end, when Twilight had made a nice pass that had allowed Rainbow Dash to score the fifth goal of the game. The two friends had already found many similarities, like a fondness for science and complicated equations. During the journey to Fillydelphia, they had talked free flowing about Daring Doo, a conversation shared with Rainbow Dash, that Twilight had initiated a few years ago – back when she was in Green Haven, in fact. Thanks to this improved soccer game, they’d been able to strengthen their bond. Patience and teaching skills Sunset Shimmer had displayed towards her had made her realize they had even more in common. They also had the same thirst for learning and for teaching the others. On the way back to their towels, they’d talked together, while the three other girls cheered about their victory, starting chants and bouncing on the sand to bang their hips together. Zephyr went to swim on his own, hoping to drown into the vast of the ocean his fear of being denounced to Rainbow Dash. He was mad at himself… It had been far too dangerous. If she'd realized, she would never speak to him again, not even to say mean things. Everyone was getting prepared to rest under their own sunshades, when shouts resounded behind them on the beach. Quickly, they realized it was a costumer busy lecturing the Crusaders about a pastry that supposedly was rotten. The man was talking so loud every towels around were hearing, maybe even some of the patrons of the luxury bar where Rarity still was. The preteenagers were trying to justify themselves, yet he never let them time to say anything. Applejack and Big Macintosh both knew it was better to let their little sister handle things on her own. She had wanted this holiday job after all, despite the warnings of her eldest. They’d told her if she had the least problem, she would have to learn how to fix it all alone. However, hearing how violent some of the words were, they both exchanged a knowing look. And Apple Bloom wasn’t alone, plus young Scootaloo was under the older ones’ responsibility. While Big Macintosh was already standing and Applejack was about to do so, she was pipped at the post by Pinkie Pie, who leaped off her towel, swearing she had an extraordinary gift for negotiations. Her brother showed with a gesture that he could take care of it with the other teenage girl, and the youngest stayed under her sunshade, ready to take part in it if the shouts wouldn’t decrease. Making the most of this absence, Applejack got closer to Fluttershy. She and her brother had spent a lot of time face to face since the beginning of holidays and it was partly due to her constant efforts. It permitted her to watch closely what her brother’s reactions were when with the young woman. Of course, she didn’t consider herself to be an expert, yet she thought she was able to notice two or three signs. Big Macintosh often looked in Fluttershy’s direction. She knew he observed her manners, the way she smiled, talked, blushed. When they were in the water, he often brushed her forearms, her neck, and sometimes even her thighs. He took the swimming lessons as an excuse, but Applejack was no fool – it wasn’t something he made with the other girls. For her, it could only mean one thing. He wasn’t insensitive to the delicate and subtle charm of their friend. Now, they only had to dare. “Ya know… Ah think ya should talk to Big Mac tonight”, she whispered to Fluttershy. “About what?” she answered with a shaking voice. “Yar feelings. Ya gotta tell him. He can’t guess on his own.” “Oh, I would never dare.” “Ya can do it, Ah know ya can. Ah can help ya to get prepared if ya want to.” Applejack saw the young woman hesitating. She seemed to be as terrified as when Rarity had this superb idea to show everyone a gay porn movie, on Rainbow Dash’s birthday slumber party. Yet it was the only solution. She was convinced that Big Macintosh would never take the first step. It was his librarian that had hit on him and who had invited him to date. He had confessed it to her the other night. She also knew that, the moment when he had a sexual relationship with her best friend, things had happened naturally, without the least of calculation, and that if that had been aforethought, he probably would have never been able to start it on his own. Fluttershy took a glimpse at the young man, busy negotiating by Pinkie Pie’s side. He seemed to be at ease in this context about his family. No one knew him better than Applejack. If she was the one telling her what to say, it could work. Maybe. She sighed, hands on her heart. It thumped just to think she would tell Big Macintosh how she felt about him, but she also knew, intrinsically, that her friend was right. If she wanted a story to bloom between them, she had to take the first step. “Alright. But don’t tell anybody. You know how they are, especially Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash… They could spoil everything just by putting their foot in their mouths.” “Ah bet ya, Ah can picture it already. Ah won’t tell. Pinkie promise.” Applejack rubbed Fluttershy’s shoulders in order to comfort her, and could easily feel how tense she was. It was going to be a huge premiere for her, undoubtedly. Twilight and her were the only ones who never had dated boys. Although, in Applejack’s case, it was a while since she had forgotten how it felt like. “Excuse me, Rainbow Dash… Can I ask you something?” The young woman lifted her sunglasses and saw her surfing instructor standing in front of her. His muscular body was dripping with drops of salted water. All the girls around, including Sunset Shimmer and Applejack, were looking at him, unable to take their eyes off his body of an Apollo. Only the person in question seemed to be indifferent to this pleasant sight. Not that she didn’t think he was really attractive. She knew he had the kind of physic that made drool every girl, and even some of the boys. Even knowing it didn’t change the fact it sparked no particular emotions inside of her, except this cold assessment of his aesthetic qualities. There was only one body that ignited something in her guts and heart, and he was a thousand miles away in the South East. “What’s wrong?” “Well… It’s a bit personal, in fact.” “Alright.” She got up and went a few inches away. Shouts from the unhappy costumers had ceased, and from where she was, Rainbow Dash could see the duet made of Pinkie Pie and Big Macintosh busy parleying with him. The three Crusaders were hiding behind the tall blond guy. With his golden hair, his verdant eyes, his tanned skin and his body build by working on a farm, he too drawn feminine attentions. It wasn’t a surprise that Fluttershy had a crush on him… In fact, she hoped it wasn’t about a love affair her surfing instructor wanted to talk. He was really nice, and she appreciated his patience and encouragements, but her heart already belonged to someone. “Well, actually”, the young man said while staring at his feet shaking on the sand. “In fact, I was wondering… Is Rarity free?” Rarity? The teenage girl felt a weight leaving her chest when she heard this name. So, he too had given in to the spellbinding sirens of the fashion designer? He wasn’t the first… and probably wouldn’t be the last. When known she had wanted to learn surfing only because he was the one who taught, it was easy to get to the conclusion that, free or not, she wouldn’t refuse to spend some time with him. “Yes, Rarity’s free. Rarity’s always free…” “So, do you think you could tell her about me? Or, I don’t know… Something of the kind.” It was cute to see this big fellow blushing when it came to make the first step with a girl he liked. Of course, this behavior reminded her of another one, and for the first time since the beginning of the stay, she dared to admit it to herself, though she would never admit it in front of her friends… She missed Soarin. A lot. “I can do better than that! We’re having a party tonight, on the beach. Come over… You’ll invite her to dance. I think she’ll like it.” “Thank you, Rainbow Dash, really, thank you”, he said holding her close, before leaving cheerfully. “See you tonight.” She went back to her towel and lied down without a word, yet very much aware her friends were expecting an explanation from her. She was obliged to notice how Zephyr was staring at her, dumbstruck, as if he was trying to swallow something hanging in the air. “He wanted to know whether Rarity was free to date him”, she said in a detached way, before falling flat under her sunshade. None of the girls around, not even herself, missed Zephyr’s sigh of relief. He had thought that, despite her seemingly indifference to his charms, Rainbow Dash had decided to have a crush on another boy, who wasn’t her official boyfriend. When he had seen this cardboard seducer holding her close, agonies of jealousy had come to burn his innards. Since it was all about Rarity, he had not to worry anymore. For now, he suffered from no direct competition. So be it. Until now, all his attempts had failed. But he still had a whole week in front of him. Nothing was lost. There was a saying that was “out of sight, out of mind”, right? He should be able to get the sight out of his sweetheart’s mind from the one she thought had her. How, Zephyr didn’t know yet. But the intention was here, and intentions were the beginning of determination. Or something like that.