//------------------------------// // Drop Dead Gorgeous (part 4) // Story: The Truth About Girls (Vol. 3) // by TheMareWhoSaysNi //------------------------------// All those who had survived the first selection were gathered on the stage, for the last sorting of the night. Whoever would be chosen for the ultimate parade would be likely to become the representative for Canterlot on the national pageant of Miss Teen Equestria. Despite Lily Lace’s dreadful disappearance and her mother’s decision to call the police, the organizers had decided to keep everything going. The audience didn’t have the slightest clue about it, but behind each of the remaining girls’ smiles, there was a dormant discomfort. Though they kept any comments to themselves, each of them were aware something strange was going on, something unordinary. If some of them looked tensed, it wasn’t because of stress, or because of the fear of seeing their dream crashing down. As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, she had to face two stressful situations. The first one was the same than the others, even if at a different degree, but here anyway, and the second one was that the announcement of the five lasting contestants was going to happen while the girls were wearing a swimsuit. Parading while wearing a dress was something, to be so exposed in front of everyone was something else. Alright, it wasn’t the first time she wore a swimsuit in front of others, however, it wasn’t at all the same thing than doing it on a stage, under spotlights, with five strangers ogling her from every angle. Thanks to sports practice, Rainbow Dash had always felt good in her body, but from now on, when compared to the others, she thought she was too muscled, not curvy enough. If she had her chances before, she was sure it was over now. Maybe it wasn’t that bad, anyway… Indeed, this way, perhaps she would be able to look for Lily Lace out of the auditorium. And perhaps also she could finally understand what on earth was going on here. In the absence of the two favorites, Lily Lace and Fleur Dis Lee, other contestants had been chosen, among them Berry Preppy. Rainbow Dash looked at each of them reacting cheerfully to their selection, imagining one of them was behind all this, and thinking she’d have to keep them under surveillance. When it was time to announce the name of the last selected competitor and she heard her name, she first thought she’d misheard. They couldn’t be thinking she possessed the slightest hint of potential as a future beauty queen. If she wasn’t ugly to look at, she’d always thought she didn’t have the style of a pretty girl, but her own style, and what she wore made her feel good. Yet, all eyes were conveying toward her and the hands these eyes belonged to were applauding her. In the audience where Soarin and her friends were sitting, she saw Pinkie Pie bouncing cheerfully, even higher than usually, and Fluttershy who was encouraging her on top of her lungs, though she usually was of the greatest reserve. She was obliged to face the facts: she was amongst the five finalists. Rarity had been kind enough not to make her wear high-heel shoes with her swimsuit, but let her be bare-footed, making it obviously simpler to walk. With a surprisingly shy gait for whoever knew her a little, she took a few steps forward in order to join the other winners. The disbelief on her face was rather fun to watch. In backstage, her friend was chuckling, at the same time happy and experiencing some kind of jubilation. The bit was a bit on the other boot now. She wanted to keep going… And now she was obliged to stay until the end of the contest, whether she wanted it or not. It was so ironic Rarity forgot the dangers for a few minutes. All the girls left the stage at the same time, and as soon as they crossed the curtain, the unlucky ones who had been ejected let their deception speak. It often was very discreet tears, and when it wasn’t, their smiling faces had lost any hints of positivity. Mothers and sisters still here immediately gathered their supplies and started to undo the makeup on faces, before applying new layers. Once they’d lost, the girls could choose to stay and watch the show from the audience, or they could get home immediately. It wasn’t mandatory to come back one last time on the stage for the coronation, since it was preliminary selections, not the real grand finale. “Can you believe they chose me, among all these girls?” Rainbow Dash asked Rarity while going to her makeup table – which also was her dressing room since they got undressed in front of each other. “If I told you I do, I bet you won’t believe me anyway.” “That’s right!” she announced with an odd pride. “Yet, you’re wrong. I never doubted you had what it takes to seduce the judges. OH MY GOD!” Rarity stopped in the middle of her progression, then ran to the hanger on which was the last dress Rainbow Dash had to wear for her last appearance on the stage. It was a mauve cocktail dress with a delicate V low-cut, sprinkled with discreet white sequins, with embroidered edges which looked a bit torn off, all this with long kimono-inspired sleeves. Now, the sleeves had been completely ripped off, like the center of the dress, which was now impossible to wear. And without a dress to wear, just like the twins, there was no participation imaginable. Of course, it probably meant Rainbow Dash had now become a contestant to get rid of, but also that Rarity’s work had been ruined, and this was unbearable for the young fashion designer. She put so much of herself in each of her creations… Her hand pinned against her mouth, Rarity was about to cry, and one of her closest friend crying, or almost, was more than Rainbow Dash could tolerate. Too bad if it brought her more problems… The others could bury their head in the sand as much as they want, she could never let anyone get away with these attacks and act as if nothing was happening. She closed the bathrobe she’d worn when stepping out of the stage, and climbed on a chair. All the girls looked away from the dress to look at her instead. “Do you really think I don’t know what’s going on here? It’s clear someone’s trying to get rid of each of the entrants in order to win! Don’t think I’m scared… I’ve been through far more dangerous things in my life. So, I’d better warn you: we won’t be pushed around. Here is Rarity, the most talented fashion designer in Canterlot and I won’t let anyone ruin her dream. I’m here for her and not for a stupid plastic crown!” “Hum… It’s made out of white gold and Brazilian aquamarine”, Rarity clarified. “Yeah, whatever… You’re wrong to lash out on me, because the only thing I love more than winning is my friends… and my boyfriend! That’s why I’m going to stay in this pageant, and walk in this dress!” Once her speech was done, and she was back on the ground, Rarity made her notice there were little chances she could keep her promise and that she had better give up. What she ignored was that while she was speaking, Rainbow Dash had had an idea which could help them to separate fact from fiction. For this, she needed to climb on the stage for the announcement of the results. She absolutely need it. -------------------------------------------- In order to save the dress, Rarity took a piece of fabric from the previous outfit, a kind of muslin embroidered with flowers, more or less of the same color. Helping herself with the model of the remaining sleeve, she was able to craft another one, and she patched the hole in the middle with the same fabric. While the girls were called one last time to climb on the stage, she hardly made the last stitch on her creation. She hadn’t been able to put on the second sleeve, in fact, but Rarity almost thought the dress looked even more stunning with the new alterations. She thought this might be the fatal blow for Hoity Toity, if the rest hadn’t convinced him completely yet. It wasn’t self-importance that made her thought this way, but self-confidence. Now, what would happen would no longer be her will. It was Rainbow Dash fronting her responsibilities. Though she knew she didn't really want to win – for once – she couldn’t help but crossing her fingers, from her spot at the backstage. There was a certain restlessness about the contestants, as they were parading one last time in front of the judges and audience. The last vote happened this way: each member had to agree, and wrote the name and the order of the finalists on a piece of paper. It was really stressful, for the help waiting backstage as much as for the girls on the stage. During every of the selections, the choice had already been determined by the judges when they appeared, and the waiting time thus was reduced. Not this time. The reason behind this wasn’t because it had to last until midnight but also because it generated a lot of suspense. Among those attending the show, there no longer were applauses and encouragements. Everybody was staring at the judges, while the guest band was playing another song, preventing the entrants from hearing what they were saying about each of them. Rainbow Dash feared it would oppose her plans. She needed to hear everything… When the music stopped, she couldn’t help a relieved smile. Everything would be over soon, finally! All she had to do was to wait… It wasn’t the announcement of the names that set her in such a state. It was what she had planned in order to trap the person who was behind all the schemes of these crazy two latest days. The mayor climbed on the stage again, along with the CEO of the Miss Teen Equestria Committee, and the current Miss Teen Equestria, in order to give the ranking of the runner-ups, then the name of the winner. She stepped closer to the mic. “Fine. It’s about time to discover who’s going to be our fourth runner-up. This is…” *TOOOOOOT* A sound like the one from a foghorn resounded from the backstage. It was loud and long enough to alarm the persons on the stage, as well as people in the audience, starting to whisper things between them. Immediately, Rainbow Dash took off her shoes and, the bottom of her dress in her hands, ran on the stage, then hurtled down the stairs to go to the place where the sound came from: the restroom. Just like she hoped, everybody had followed her, including contestants, CEO and managers from the Organization Committee. It was now or never, the great curtain rise… The restroom’s door was wide opened, and when they crossed it, they discovered Rarity, hair messy and her outfit crumpled, holding in her hands something that looked like a tear gas canister, but with some kind of klaxon instead of the button. She looked completely breathless, and her finger was still pressing against the button with all her strength. On the floor, with a hand against her ears, and visibly suffering, lied the mother of one of the contestants, Berry Preppy. “What the hell happened here?” the CEO asked, passing by Rainbow Dash. “Mrs. Rosedust attacked me when I went here to powder my nose! She tried to anesthetize me with chloroform!” Indeed, close to the housewife lied a soaked tissue. Obviously, that was how she had been able to make Lily Lace disappear without anyone to notice. This revelation left all the contestants dumbfounded, including Berry Preppy, the culprit’s own daughter. She took a step forward and spoke to her mother, in all likelihood shaken by this discovery. “But why on earth did you do something like that?” Rosedust looked up at her daughter, her hand still against her ear. Was it because she was eyes to eyes with this familiar look, dumbfounded, or was it sheer regret, no one knew, but her eyes filled with tears, and she sat on the tiled floor, crying. “That girl… That girl”, she said, pointing at Rainbow Dash. “She has no right to win this competition, she’s only here to help her friend. So I thought if I got rid of her friend…” “You’ve turned crazy!!” “Why can’t you understand? I’m doing this all for you. You deserve to win a beauty pageant. You’ve never won any first prize since you’ve been five and I wanted to make your dream come true…” “My dream? My dream is to be a professional Roller Derby player. I’m only participating in these beauty pageants to make you happy, so that YOUR childhood dream could come true. I have no intention of doing another contest after Miss Teen Equestria…” A thunderbolt went through Berry Preppy’s eyes, as if hitting the swinging branch in the middle of a storm. “Mommy, what did you do with Lily Lace?” “She’s in my car! She was going to win! Everybody said she was going to win! I couldn’t let that happen!” There was no need for Rosedust to admit the rest of her crimes. It appeared obvious for all the present protagonists she was the one who tried to poison the girls, who unhooked the spotlight, who denounced Fleur Dis Lee, who stole the twins’ stuff and who ruined Rarity’s creation. All this so her daughter could win a competition which she took part to only in order to please her… Miss Teen Equestria’s Committee CEO warned she had to consider Berry Preppy was automatically excluded for cheating, yet, since her mother had planned everything on her own, and the winner’s name had already been chosen, and most of the other girls were gone now, she decided she could go on the stage and discover her position in the ranking. That was how, under the worried eyes of the audience, every of the entrants went back to parade in front of them, for the long-awaited announcement. They’d been warned that a slight technical mishap had postponed the deadline, but now was about time to put an end to this suspense. For good. And without any further ado, the fourth runner-up was called. It was a young girl named Posey, which resemblance with Fluttershy was striking. In all honesty, it was the ranking Rainbow Dash had expected to get, and now the threat was over, she was starting to be scared of something else… That her name was the ultimate one to be called, obliging her to participate to another one of these torturing pageants! The third runner-up’s name was Sunny Daze, a young woman with pink and yellow hair and lovely purple eyes no one had expected to see go this far… which meant she was expected to go further than Rainbow Dash, still in contention for the finale title! But no. No one could reasonably choose her as the winner. She had nothing of a beauty queen. She could scarcely stand on her high-heels without fidgeting, and she unceasingly had to hold herself from rubbing her eyes not to make her eyeliner and mascara drip everywhere, nor staining with eye shadow the dress created by Rarity. Yet, her named hadn’t been called yet… They couldn’t do that to her. They couldn’t let her win this pageant. It would be a height, for a once that she ABSOLUTELY didn’t want to win. In her head, she begged for her torture to stop as soon as possible. Please have mercy, please have mercy, please have mercy… “And the second runner-up is…” Please have mercy, please have mercy, please have mercy… “Rainbow Dash!” A sigh of relief escaped her chest, without restraint. Seeing her, she could be mistaking for someone radiating because she came at a very honorable ranking. In reality, it especially was because she would never have to go through such an experience again, as enriching as it had been. She walked to the front stage, where she was given a sash and a bunch of flowers she hurried to refuse explaining she was allergic to pollen. They also gave her a check for one year of free spa care, along with a basket full of various gifts. Meanwhile, her friends made a hell of a noise from their seats, bouncing, hollering, whistling, and far from feeling embarrassed, it made her laugh. She had no reason to now she was certain not to become Miss Anything – except awesomeness, but she decided it was a natural part of her. Only two girls were now left, Berry Preppy and the only remaining favorite, Star Song. The winner was going to be called… The mayor intentionally let suspense go on a little but had to put an end to it when the police passed by the audience with a relative discretion to pick up Rosedust in the backstage, in order to make them look away. “And the one who wins the prestigious title of representative of our beautiful city to Miss Teen Equestria in Las Pegasus is… Berry Preppy!” Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist putting her hand over her eyes, and too bad for her makeup… Either her mother had done all this for nothing since her daughter had won anyway, either her efforts had finally paid off and made Berry Preppy the beauty queen she wanted her to be. No one would never know. The only thing certain was that she could never really get the chance to rejoice with her daughter, since she was taken away by Timber and other police agents right when the winner was receiving her crown. ------------------------------------------- A tiny can of night cream, a tiny can of day cream, bath salts, a sleep mask from a very famous Parisian brand, a thin fake diamonds and silver bracelet, pepper mint candies, a thermos flask with the name of Miss Teen Equestria, a can of bergamot-flavored tea along with its tin infuser… All this could be found in the basket of gifts which had been given to Rainbow Dash. Pro forma, the Committee CEO came and explained her what would be her role as second runner-up of Miss Teen Equestria. It appeared clear for everyone she would never have to travel instead of Star Song or Berry Preppy but she understood it was a mandatory procedure. She wasn’t sad to know it was all over. Beauty pageants were way harder and tiresome than she’d thought. All it took wasn’t simply walking, smiling while pretending to be a very nice person. Contestants were asked to learn a lot of things at the same time, not to crack up under pressure, even when they lost, to reveal determination and perseverance. Despite this, in her opinion nothing felt as good as the fever of a real competition, the strategies, the direct confrontation with the rivals, going beyond your limits the way races asked you to. She didn’t regret she had made it… but couldn’t wait to be able to wear back her casual clothes and to satisfy herself with a thin layer of BB Cream in the morning, along with a swift mascara stroke on her eyelashes and her own way of brushing her hair. As soon as she saw Rarity coming her way, she begged of her to take off her makeup, which was starting to make her skin irritated. Her friend, hands against her hips, told her she was old enough to take her makeup off on her own, but despite this, she grabbed her bottle of micellar water and some pads of cotton. Behind Rarity, the complete gang minus Flash Sentry but still with Soarin, appeared in front of her eyes. How happy she was to see them again! It had been only two days she’d been locked up in this auditorium yet Rainbow Dash felt as if she hadn’t seen them for months. She already had taken off her high-heels, and her feet were swinging at a few inches above the floor, which irrefutably reminded her of an awful truth… She was small! Each of them congratulated her, telling her how awesome she’d been and how they couldn’t believe she’d actually had gone this far in the competition. “Bah, in fact that’s thanks to the gorgeous dresses Rarity had created for me as well as her expertise in hair and makeup.” “Since when are you being modest, Dashie”? Pinkie Pie giggled. “Since I’ve been asked to walk with these”, she replied as she shown the high-heel shoes lying over the floor, before she stuck her tongue out of her mouth at her. “Seriously, that’s a modern equivalent of medieval torture. Oh no, wait… This is wax hair removal!” Her reply hit the bull’s-eye, and the whole gang started to laugh, except Soarin who obviously couldn’t understand what she meant. What he could understand, on the other hand, was that this beauty pageant hadn’t unfolded in an ordinary way. Only someone blind wouldn’t have noticed a girl had disappared in the middle of the show, and that during the winner announcement, a small group of policemen had arrested some woman – and that Twilight kept a low profile seeing Timber among them, but this was another story. Same for the foghorn sound at the start of the finale announcement, which had interrupted everything for almost ten minutes. “Hey! It had been a bit chaotic at some point, hadn’t it?” “Yes”, Twilight built on the idea. “We all noticed there were weird things going on.” Rarity and Rainbow Dash both exchanged a conniving look. Maybe it wasn’t worth it to explain them everything in details, especially as now there was nothing to worry about anymore. None of them wanted to worry them pointlessly if they realized the two girls had been in danger. “It was a bit eventful, indeed”, Rarity answered with a smile. “It’s always a bit like that when you gather something like thirty teenage girls in the same place, and that they’re competing against each other.” “Cops landin’ at the end is always a bit like that too?” Applejack dared asking. “What about the foghorn?” Sunset Shimmer outbid. “In fact, weren’t you the one with a thingamajig sounding like a foghorn in your bag, Rarity?” The young fashion designer obtained this item when she had been pursued by the same student who stalked Applejack, going as far as trying to kidnap her, then when Twilight had almost been forcefully brought to a karaoke by a bunch of boys. She couldn’t fight, conversely to Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash or even Sunset Shimmer and had thought it was a reasonable alternative to stun guns or tear gas canisters. And she probably had been right, since this thing had saved her life. “Ha, ha, ha, ha, you remember this, Pinkie? Ha, ha, ha, ha, that’s funny!” Obviously, the two young women were hiding them something. And for this to happen, it probably meant the sensed restlessness hadn’t been the pleasant and nice kind at all. “One of the contestants’ mother could have… slightly blew a fuse” is all Rainbow Dash answered with clenched teeth. “Like, she was convulsing while screaming obscenities and throwing up everywhere and after that, she peed while standing and rotated her head 360°?” “No, Pinkie, she didn’t blow this type of fuse, like I think I’m Linda Blair. And I’ve already told you this kind of things never happened in real life.” “That’s what you say, but the disgusting DVD cover says “based on a true story”.” “Hey, cinema theoreticians, can we please get back to our ducks? How did she blow a fuse?” “Trust me, Applejack, you don’t want to know”, Rarity affirmed. “This means we’ll never know”, Soarin concluded. Upon these words of wisdom, Rainbow Dash had to close her mouth so that Rarity could erase her lipstick. She already had used four cotton pads… Seeing them piling up in the trashcan, and comparing them with what the teenage girl usually put on her face, it could be easily understood how large was the gap between her personal aspirations and what she had been brought to do in order to help her. Maybe there was some part of truth in the prejudices her friend had demonstrated before the pageant started. Even for those acting the closest to who they really were inside, it was a rather superficial universe. First of all, it was about appearances, pretty illusions planned for months, and sold under the “dream” label. All that could result from it was a representation, something a bit artificial, and not the reality of what true beauty was: an indescribable je-ne-sais-quoi coming from the inside as much as from the outside. However, Rainbow Dash had also been wrong about some things, and these, Rarity couldn’t change her mind about them. In fact, it rather regarded those who were peopling them than the pageant universe itself – quite superficial as well. While taking off the pins in her friend’s hair, she asked her the question, hoping she had learned a few lessons from this experience. “So… Are all girls competing in beauty pageants nothing but a bunch brainless ninnies?” “Not all of them, I confess. Most of them are just like us. Even if none of them could be as awesome as I am!” “Obviously”, Twilight answered with a blasé face. Well, it was impossible to hope she would turn out humble all of a sudden, and no one really wanted her to change, anyway. In fact, it was kind of worrisome when she wasn’t behaving this way. It was about time for her to tell them what she had decided from the moment she had understood, although there were very few chances for it to happen, that the fact of being second runner-up demanded of her that she tempered her behavior, because even if she might never appear in public with the title again, she represented the Miss Teen Equestria brand for the whole year. Plus, it wasn’t as if she was indispensable… “Despite this, I’ll call the Committee tomorrow first thing in the morning and I’ll tell them I resign of my position. I let it to someone who really wanted it.” “But why?” Fluttershy asked, more in shock than the others. “You won it thanks to your hard work.” “I’m not meant for this kind of stuff. And imagine Berry Preppy turns sick and Star Song gets a gastroenteritis and I’d be obliged to compete instead of them”, she added, suppressing a chain of thrills down her spine. Her completely desperate face, a bit tinted with disgust, when she pronounced this sentence was so full of honesty everybody laughed again. Rainbow Dash laughed as well, but a bit embarrassingly. Alright, it had been a new experience, but she wasn’t about to renew it… Too bad if she just couldn’t say it in another way. They were cut short by Hoity Toity’s arrival with great fanfare. The man, always wearing some kind of white wig, with back sunglasses, his chin up and haughty, never moved along without his two young men dressed in black suits, shaking peacock feathers fans all around him. These small details said a lot about his character: in Equestria, the law forbade to gather peacock feathers for fashion accessories. However, he also was known to be a fashion genius, at the extent that he could even get away with his illegal eccentricities. Like many men of power. “Which one of you is Miss Rarity?” he questioned with posh accents. “It’s me”, the person in question answered, taking a step forward, her heart thumping in her chest. Never in her life had she felt so anxious, not even on the night she lost her virginity. This man in front of her, not tall of height but huge of celebrity and power, could, in a gap of a few seconds, crush her life between his hands, like some frail eggshell. Or he could send her to reach the highest peaks of her existence. What was about to happen was all she ever dreamed of… If not her worst nightmares. The couturier lowered his sunglasses, and looked at her from top to bottom. Just in case she would eventually meet him for real, she had made sure to dress with taste. Lather pencil skirt, black stockings, white shirt with a classical Chanel jacket, and pearl string. Yes, this great fashion artist came here to judge her creations and not her gift to match her own wardrobe, but keeping appearances clean was essential in this art. She had to hold back tears of happiness when he rose his black-gloved hands and applauded her. “Bravo! Bravo! Amazing! I want to see more of this. I want a fashion show for next spring-summer haute couture collection. I finance.” Rarity had been warned by Sapphire Shore, and she also read it in every fashion magazine, when Hoity Toity offered something, even if this something seemed impossible to achieve, there was no way to say no, because he never gave second chances. The next spring-summer haute couture season would take place in September, which let her a bit less than six months to imagine and create a whole collection of at least thirty models. It made her feel dizzy just to think about it, but it was what she always wanted, after all, and she accepted this generous offer with pleasure. Hoity Toity left immediately after, as swiftly as he’d arrived, letting Rarity dumbstruck. This time it was real. It happened. She was about to play with the big guns, because with this show she would leave the world of the promising revelations to become a real fashion designer, looked at and analyzed by Equestria in entire, and even by the whole world. It meant what Rainbow Dash had done for her hadn’t been in vain at all. Not only they both had learned something, but her biggest dream was going to be her life now. It was here, within her reach.