//------------------------------// // Chapter 25 // Story: Torn Between Two Worlds // by Alex Barkhorn //------------------------------// After Pinkie's Dilemma, the next few days went by rather smoothly. I even got a phone call from my mother on Friday. Things were still tense, and rather sad, but I could tell she was coping. And she noticed changes with me- said I sounded happier, less tired. Even that my voice was less gruff. Ha! Unfortunately, there were many issues concerning grandma's death. On top of funeral arrangements for the weekend, there was also the issue of her house and belongings. She hadn't made a will, which left his mother to deal with everything practically leaving everything to my mother. So, mom would be stuck down there longer than usual. She was moving into a temp office down near Vegas and wasn’t going to be home till summer. It's sad, yeah. I mean, my mother and I don't always see eye to eye, but, hey, she's still my mother. I love the woman to death. So, after the phone call, I stared blankly at my algebra homework. "...Yeah, this isn't getting done." I muttered with a snicker, pushing my book aside. "Yo, who has the laptop? I need some wubs." "I have it." Rarity spoke up, standing up from her position on my recliner. I took it from her, going to my music application, when I noticed something odd about Rarity. "Rarity, are... are you wearing blush?" I asked carefully, noticing the faint, rosy makeup on her face. "Wh-why, yes, I suppose I am." She replied carefully. I raised an eyebrow in suspicion. "You suppose?" I repeated. She only gave me a quick nod in response, before turning around. "Well, I must shower, so, I'll return soon! Ta-ta!" She said quickly, walking off before I got a chance to question her. "...Anyone else know what the hell that was about?" I asked aloud. Twilight and the girls all shook their heads, or shrugged. "She's probably just trying out new things." Twilight guessed, averting her attention back to her English book. "I gotta agree with Twi. Rarity's always lookin' for fashion tips and other junk like that." AJ added. "Yeah, but..." I trailed off for a moment, thinking of how to word this. "She usually just wears that eyeshadow, and a small amount of it at that. Plus, the mascara...Or, whatever it's called... Anyway, remember how a couple weeks ago, she asked about a makeup store?" "Alex, I'm sure it's nothing. Quit your worrying, you're gonna get grey hairs." Rainbow joked. "Actually, I think I'm beginning to see one now." "Har har. Very funny, Rainbow." I snarked back. "Nope, she's right! See, look!" Pinkie said from behind me - How she got there, I've no ruttin' idea. She placed a hand in my mop of hair, and I was about to question her, when she plucked a hair out of my head. I hissed in a breath, and glared at her. "Pinkie, what the-... Oh, frak." I mumbled, staring at the grey hair Pinkie plucked out of my hair. "See? Grey hair!" She announced, waving it around to show the girls. They all chuckled, but I yelped, heading to my room and observing my head in the mirror. "She wasn't lying!" I cried, hearing laughter from the living room. I found myself chuckling too and shook my head. Suddenly a thought entered my brain. Stress must have been the cause of my grey hair. Stress about what? The thoughts of my girls leaving me had been ever present, that day especially. All day it was on my mind, and I thought of the different ways it'd go down. Would Celestia find the girls? Spike? Or would Twilight suddenly gain her magical abilities back, leaving in the middle of the night so as to avoid a tearful goodbye? I knew these thoughts were no good for me, so I figured I would head back out to the living room. Rarity took quite the long shower, and when she emerged, looked just like herself. No makeup, still beautiful. The next day only added to my worries. I made breakfast for the girls - just oatmeal, apple cinnamon spice. But, Rarity barely even had a spoonful. I raised a brow, but didn't question her. Maybe she didn't have a taste for oatmeal. Also, her choice of clothing concerned me. She wore a halter top that bared her midriff and chest, along with short shorts. "Uh... Rarity, that's an... interesting choice of clothing." I commented. She only scoffed in reply, and I grumbled a string of obscenities. School only pressed my worries. Sitting in English, I noticed that the amount of makeup she had on was insane. She had the blush, lipstick, mascara, eye shadow- the whole shebang. But I remembered what Twilight said; I told myself she was only trying new things. But, seeing as how she was mostly talking to the rather less ladylike of girls in class, it was easy to believe my skepticism. We found Grayson as we approached our usual spot. I smiled and bumped fists with him, questioning his absence the previous day. "Yeah, man, sorry. I just got sick for whatever reason. I was enjoying a drink outside, and got a phone call. I came back for my drink, and I guess I left it in the sun or something, because it didn't taste right. Next thing I knew, I was on the toilet." He said unashamedly. "Whoa, man. Too much info." I chuckled. "...Raine, what's with the makeup?" He questioned Rarity, who looked surprised at the sudden question. The girls and I looked at her, wondering the same. "...What? A girl can't partake in the beauty products at her disposal? What's wrong with the makeup?" She said in defense, crossing her arms and scowling. Gray and I winced. "Sheesh, I was just wondering..." Gray muttered. "Raine, calm down. He was just curious." I said, folding my arms. She didn't reply, though. Only scoffed and shook her head, crossing her arms and remaining silent, an angry pout prominently displayed on her face. I rolled my eyes, walking off with Twilight when the bell rang moments later. "She seems... defiant." I commented to Twilight. She looked up from her notecards at me. "Who? Raine?" She asked, setting down her pen. I nodded lazily, still looking forward with my arms folded across my chest. "Yeah. See how defensive she got with Gray?" I asked, tapping my chin in thought. "And what about her eating habits? She hadn't eaten at all during breakfast, and didn't even have a snack during break. Usually, she'll have a fruit or a bag of almonds, or something, but today... nothing." I explained. "Maybe she's sick, too? You heard how Grayson just got sick- maybe a bug's going around." Twilight guessed. "I dunno..." I mumbled with a shake of the head. "Tell ya what," Twilight began, sitting upright. "If she doesn't eat much the rest of the day, then you have reason to be concerned. Otherwise, it's best to leave her alone." She suggested. After a thinking for a moment, I nodded my head. "Yeah. That's probably a good idea." I said with a sigh. When the bell rang to signal the end of the period, we headed to our spot. As predicted, Rarity ate naught but a half of an apple at lunch. I gave Twilight a questioning look, and she returned it with a look that just whispered, 'Leave it.' Fortunately, Grayson isn't so good with tact. "Raine, aren't you gonna eat? All you've had was half of a little apple. Alex forget to pack your lunch?" He jested with a small laugh. "No, he didn't. I'm just not hungry." She snapped, causing both Grayson and I to blink in surprise. "Well, then." Was all Gray said, obviously stung by Rarity's outburst. "Just ignore it, man. I'll deal with it later." I told Gray. Without looking at me, he nodded in understanding, going back to his sandwich. Third period finally rolled around, with an especially chatty Matt. "Well, guess who's goin' to nationals for the video he made? This guy!" He boasted, a confident smirk adorning his face. I rolled my eyes, ignoring the pissant by making conversation with my classmates. That is, until I heard a familiar voice lash out. "Matt, for goodness sake, no one cares about any of that!" Rarity hissed, catching him off guard. "Well, someone could use a dose of midol..." Matt scoffed. Thankfully, Rarity didn't entirely know what that meant. Unfortunately, she knew that it still counted as an insult. "Please! For more than two seconds, shut your mouth, you little worm!" She shouted. "Hey, Raine, c'mon. We all know he's unbearable, but try and calm down." Mr. Donnovan said. Rarity huffed and crossed her arms, looking out the window. Again, I gave Twilight a questioning look, who returned it with a sheepish smile. "Okay, maybe you should question her sooner." She admitted. After school was an even worse story. Rarity was very irritable, and I knew why. The lack of food in her system was making her cranky, so, I decided to make her favorite meal- it's a pasta made in white sauce with angel wing noodles. Unfortunately, all that hard work was for nothing. She barely had two bites, before she excused herself. "I'm sorry, I'm not all that hungry. I think I'm going to do... homework in my room." She said, standing and grabbing her bag, walking to her room. "Alright, enough's enough." I said, standing up as she left the room. "Alex, what are you doing?" Fluttershy asked me. "Rarity's been acting up the past few days. She's irritable, she isn't eating, and have you seen all the makeup she's been wearing? I'm gonna go see what the deal is." I replied. With that, I headed to Rarity's room. Though, I had the thought to knock first. "Who's there?" Rarity asked quickly. "It's me, Rarity. I'm coming in." I announced, opening the door. I heard shuffling, and she stuffed something inside her bag. "Rarity, is everything alright?" I asked. "Fine, why do you ask?" She replied quickly, most likely trying to drive me away. "You haven't entirely been acting like yourself recently. I just figured something was up." I replied. She shook her head at me. "No, no. Everything's going swimmingly." She insisted. I crossed my arms, and quirked a brow. "Uh... huh." I mumbled. "Rarity, are you feeling sick?" I then asked. "What? no, of course not. Don't be silly. Why do you ask?" She questioned. "Why haven't you been eating, then?" "Oh, that, um, I've been feeling under the-" She began, but stopped when she realized she would have contradicted the answer to my previous question. "I'm just not all that hungry, Alex. Now if you'd please leave me alone, I'd greatly appreciate that." She then said, much more angrily. I noticed she had a protective hand over her bag, and I looked at it curiously. "What's in your bag?" I asked. "Nothing." She replied hastily. "Rarity, come on. What? Is it, like, our upcoming test answers?" I said, trying to ease the tension. "It's nothing!" She persisted angrily. "Rarity, come on! What's your deal, you've been acting rude all day!" I barked. My outburst was returned by a magazine smacking me in the face, remaining there for a moment, before it fell down into my hands. The magazine was a fashion mag, the one a lot of the... less than appropriate girls read. I looked through at all of the twig-thin models, the horrible mess they called 'style' and 'beauty', before looking back at Rarity. "Rarity, what...? Is this why you haven't been eating?" I asked, holding up the model magazine that had been flung at me - all of the models were very thin. "No! Well, not entirely, no." She replied hesitantly. "Rarity, please. Tell me what's going on." I said, on the verge of fear. "Alex, it's nothing. All the girls are doing it nowadays. At least, that's what I've been hearing in class..." She muttered nervously. "...What?" I cried, standing upright. "Rarity, this isn't beauty! This is sick! These girls think they're beautiful just because of their makeup, and because they think eating will make them unattractive! Rarity, beauty is more than just how you look!" I exclaimed, approaching her. "Don't be ridiculous, Alex. If this is beauty, I want to be beautiful. I must." She said defiantly. "Beauty is more than just that!" I whispered in shock. "How so, Alex?" She retorted, near tears. "Rarity, true beauty is in the eye of the beholder. It's more than skin deep. True beauty is marked by who you are as a person. And, Rarity, you're one of the most beautiful people I know." I said as I clasped her shoulders. "You're kind, generous, and true. You're the kind of person everyone should know. The kind of person no one should be afraid to trust." I said, smiling at her. "Listen, beauty is what makes you attractive to others. It's what makes people want to be your friend. Looking like this," I said, pointing at the magazine. "Will only get you friends based on your looks. You gain true friends by acting with this." I pointed at her heart to show her what I meant. "Beauty is what's in there, Rarity." When I finished, Rarity burst into tears, crying into my shoulder. I sighed and shushed her, sitting her down. She spewed an infinite amount of apologies my way, and by the time she managed to calm down, she had smeared makeup around her eyes. "I'm terribly sorry, Alex... I just... I got so wrapped up in this drab... I thought this... I thought this was what I wanted." She said shakily. I patted her back and replied. "It's alright, Rarity. Sometimes, we all need that kick in life to get us back on the right track." I pulled away again to get a better look at her. "I want you to promise me that you'll always be beautiful because of who you are- not because of what you look like." I said, and she nodded. "I promise, Alex." She said with a quivering lip. "Besides. You're beautiful as it is. You don't need any of that garbage." I assured her. "Now, come on. Let's get you something to eat." I suggested, standing her up and leading her back into the kitchen. The girls erupted with numerous questions. She replied with a simple yes or no to each question. As I was serving her a plate, she looked over at me with a smile, mouthing the words, 'Thank you.' I shook my head, as there were no thanks really necessary. I only did what I felt was right, and what I felt a true friend should do in that situation. These girls seemed really vulnerable to the corruption of my world. I mean, in theirs, it was all love, tolerance, acceptance, and friendliness. I made a mental note to watch out for this in the future. But for now, I made a decision to enjoy the present. ( New update, finally. First off, I'd like to apologize. Apologize for the long hiatus. Apologize for the lame parts in the story. Sorry I'm not the greatest author. But ya know what, I also wanna say thank you. Thank you to everyone reading this, and supporting me, and being there for me. That's why I'm up at one in the morning for you all :P So thank you all for your support, and a big thanks to Pissfer for editing my chapters! Remember to check out my blog for more info and support, and to ask me some questions! alexbarkhorn.tumblr.com Thanks, everyone. Have a great night. )