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// Grab The Closest Nerd Because You're A Jerk 
// Story: Take My Heart, But Not My Studded Bracelets 
// by Xutiepops 
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Rarity was so giddy that she skipped her way back to the bleachers. "That was so sweet darling! Please tell me you'll convince your parents to take you back to Crystal Prep so you two can go to the dance? Or please tell me you'll come to our dance with her?!"
Twilight smiled and pushed up her glasses. "Sorry to disappoint you Rarity, but I don't like her... like that anyways." She rubbed her arm as her mind ran with reasons to like-like Indigo Zap. She had never felt a romantic attraction towards any of her friends... maybe once or twice, but never enough to want to date them. 
She was so confused, she always thought Indigo Zap was an awful actor. Maybe Indigo was and she was just too oblivious and worrying to notice. Even if she ever thought about it, she knew she'd apply an inferiority complex to the situation and dismiss it as nothing. 
She sighed as she waited by the bleachers for Rarity and Pinkie Pie to get their things. Rarity needed to get her drink and Pinkie Pie was going to get the many, many snacks she had bought and take them home. 
Suddenly, a hand wrapped around her wrist and pulled her underneath the bleachers. She screamed, but a hand covered her mouth. 
"Shut up, it's just me, loser," She heard the rough, high pitched voice and her eyes peaked open. She saw the annoyed expression of Rainbow Crash and sighed in relief. Rainbow pulled her hand away from Twilight's mouth, but still had a hold on her wrist. 
Suddenly, panic set in to Twilight. She did hear that Rainbow had beat up kids for cheering for Crystal Prep, and that's all she did! She was terrified and her legs started shaking. 
Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Look, nerd, don't come to another one of my games again," she demanded. Now, Twilight's fear started draining away to have place for the confusion. 
"Huh? Why?" She asked and readjusted her glasses. "I only came to cheer for my friend." 
Rainbow rolled her eyes again and snarled. "It's your damn fault Canterlot High lost. So stop coming, and we can play straight."
Before Twilight could ask, she continued. "I don't give a shit that your little girlfriend is playing, don't come to another one of my games." 
She seemed so serious and her grip was getting harder and harder on Twilight's wrist. But now confusion completely masked the fear. So, she started her questions that would lead to more as vague answers were given. 
"Why would I affect how your team plays?" She asked. 
Suddenly, Rainbows anger set in and went off without control or thought. "If Pinkie wasn't so close to you, I would have seen the ball! Idiot."
Twilight's question wasn't answered, and she was too annoyed with unanswered questions with this girl, so she continued. "That doesn't answer anything... and how would that have made you miss the ball?" 
Rainbow Crash rolled her eyes and started off. She froze once Twilight grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving. "Rainbow?" For some reason, her voice sounded so hurt. As if she was best friends with this girl and they just had the biggest argument of their relationship and she wanted to know if they would still be friends in the morning. 
"What?" Rainbow's voice was harsh and her eyes and expression wasn't any nicer. The frown, the furrowed eyebrows, the narrowed stare. Twilight cowered under her stare. Rainbow ignored her and pulled her hand out of Twilight's grasp. 
"Just don't come to another one of my games, dork. I don't really allow kids as nerdy as you around someone as awesome as me," she gloated, expecting to be on top of the situation. 
"Then why'd you talk to me in private?" Twilight asked, knocking down the building blocks of Rainbow's confidence. Rainbow went red. 
"Uh," she rubbed the back of her neck, looking at the ground. As if she was looking for words on it. Twilight was so interested in this brute. It was obvious her emotional state wasn't at it's greatest, but it was way too obvious. As if she didn't know it was. 
But if it was so obvious, why didn't anyone help her? 
"Gotta go," Crash said so fast that Twilight didn't have time to react. The girl ran so fast, as if her life depended on getting away from Twilight. Twilight felt so bad, she guess she knew why no one helped her. 
She never let them. 
But Twilight was still interested. She knew Rainbow never let anyone help since she either scared them off, or she was too proud to let them. It was so utterly cliché. 



She didn't see Crash much more, the girl even started skipping second period. Twilight felt so guilty. She just had to go and meddle in something that kept a girl away from her. Now, it was going to be her fault her grades were too low to play soccer. 
Since Pinkie Pie had yearbook, Fluttershy had gardening, and Rarity had art, they all wanted to do something after school together. Leaving Twilight to wonder the halls, get her homework done, text her friends who were busy with their own things, and barge in on her friends work. 
Since Pinkie Pie didn't let anyone not on the yearbook see their progress, the door was slammed in Twilight's face. She sighed, turning to the front door of the school. She stopped, letting her mind contemplate things. 
Did she really want to go outside with her stuff? And did she want to go outside in general? She didn't dislike mud, or dirt, or anything with the outside. She just didn't know Fluttershy that well, so wouldn't it be weird to barge in on her friends gardening? A friend she barley knew?
She sighed, letting her anxiety and awkwardness take over. Sure, she knew Fluttershy would accept her no matter what. But, she didn't want to feel like a bother, then an outcast, then just have to go back inside after three minutes of being outside. She turned away towards the school foyer. 
She liked the school more than Crystal Prep. The halls weren't as... blue or purple. A good aura usually filled the air. Not everything was worrying if you bumped into people. And the halls were so much wider. 
She smiled as she walked her way to the art room. She'd assumed she'd be pushed out, but at least she counted Rarity as a good friend. 
She passed a lot of rooms. The music room had Coloratura, Octavia, and Vinyl playing their instruments with some other people. She passed a theater room, seeing Trixie -an annoying girl- on stage with Starlight Glimmer -a cool girl- standing behind her with a smile. 
She passed a computer lab, seeing Snips and Snails -two annoying kids- playing games on a huge monitor which Moondancer -an adorable prototype of Twilight- obviously built, saying as she was leaning against it with pride. She passed a research room. Seeing Bon Bon, Lyra, and Maud Pie all doing their own thing in the study hall. 
She passed by the cheerleaders, they all seemed happy, except for Sunset Shimmer. She noticed Ditzy smiling at the center of a crowd, boasting about something. Twilight ignored it, in high school clichés, cheerleaders were bad news. So, better safe than sorry. 
She passed an open classroom. She watched for a bit, it was apparently, from what she could tell, a literature club. There were four girls, each had peach skin, each with a different tone. One had long, purple hair. Another had short, pink hair. One had a long, ginger ponytail. The last one had pink short hair, but a lighter hue than the other girls. 
She was almost interested to join, until the ginger smirked at her and flashed her emerald green eyes. She got a huge chill, as if she'd be selling her soul the second she took a step in the room. And, the chill was always there. Even stranger,  they all wore Japanese school girl uniforms. 
So, she raced off. Heading to the art room happily. She knew Fluttershy would be waiting by the school soon, and if the gardening students were almost done, then so would Rarity. And the sooner they were finished, the sooner she'd feel more comfortable waiting.
Once she got to the art room, they gladly let her in to watch. She was surprised most were doing their own thing. A few girls were huddled up around a painting. A few others were drawing at the desks in the classroom, but there was an amount of small chatter that spread over the whole room. 
She was surprised to see Rarity in a corner with a mannequin and a sketchbook. She walked over to the fashionista, interested in what she was doing. The mannequin had a basic yellow colored dress with a white ribbon tied around the waist. 
Twilight thought it was gorgeous, though she assumed it was a work in progress to something even prettier. Rarity looked over her sketchbook while Twilight admired the dress. Both seemingly lost knowledge the other was there, well, Rarity never knew Twilight was there from the start. 
"Rarity," Twilight started, worried she would startle the girl. Once Rarity jumped a little, she assumed it was safe to speak again. "The dress is turning out beautifully." 
Rarity instantly started giggling. She smiled as she flipped through pages in her sketchbook. She shoved the sketch of a lovely magenta dress with yellow accents. There was a whole piece of fabric around the waist that hung over the dress marked 'sequins' in an astounding cursive handwriting. 
Twilight was in awe at the simple sketch. "Rarity! This would be gorgeous!" She grabbed the book and started looking through it, seeing the scraps, seeing the outfits she'd seen Rarity wear before. She loved every idea, no matter how silly or bombastic. 
Rarity giggled, "I know! It's going to be lovely!" She clasped her hands together and looked up at the work in progress in awe. Twilight assumed her eyes were creating the dress in just the simple stare, so she smiled and started flipping further through the book. 
She turned to a page marked 'Fluttershy' at the top. It was a person wearing a yellow party dress with white gloves. The heels were yellow and Rarity even wrote down all the makeup. Hair up, black eyeshadow, red lips. Twilight smiled, the shy girl would look lovely as a party-20's girl. 
"What's this? Are you going to make it for her?" Twilight asked, clearly being distracted by the drawing. She heard Rarity giggle, but she was too busy reading the page. 
She had the idea that Rarity nodded since she just started talking without an answer. "I hope to make it for her for prom! I know most girls are going to be wearing... well... more revealing things." She smiled nervously at that.
She continued, "So! I decided to make something for Fluttershy that had relatively a lot of fabric. She'll look like a classic 20's beauty with feeling comfortable!" She smiled happily and took the book from Twilight, flipping to the page she was on before. 
Twilight got to thinking and prompted a question. "Isn't there like... a fashion club? Why are you working on a dress in an art room?" Suddenly, all the other girls in the room silenced to whispers. Rarity turned red and giggled nervously. She turned away nervously as Twilight awaited an answer.
Twilight felt so guilty. Of course this was because of what she asked, there is no way this was a coincidence. The whole situation told her that. "S-sorry," she mumbled once the conversation started back up. Rarity glowered at her. She cowered and nodded, turning away and leaving the room. 
Why did she always get into bad situations with Rarity? Why did she always have to offend her or make her feel bad? She knew Rarity was dramatic, but she started getting some ideas as to why. 
Maybe she grew up in one of the nicest homes, so something mean made her over react to it. Maybe she grew up in an unfair household where all she got was criticism, so whenever something bad happened to her, she'd over react.	She turned a corner with a sigh. 
Now, she started thinking about what happened in the room. The girls there clearly didn't like Rarity. That was for certain. But why?
She passed an empty music room. 
But why would they hate her? Maybe they were annoyed she wasn't making what they'd call art? Artists were kind of meaningful about what was 'art' and what was not. 
She passed the gym, seeing the volleyball team practice beside the cheerleaders. An argument started brewing. 
Maybe they were jealous of her. She was really good at dress making. But if they didn't like her, then why did she work there? That leads her to the idea that her parents were more criticizing than kind. 
She walked by the music room with Octavia and Vinyl playing the beat while Coloratura sang. She stopped and listened for a second. 
She continued walking to the other wing of the school. She passed by teachers grading papers, tutoring, or simply taking a break. She was shocked to see some teachers playing stupid games on their computers, saying as most teachers despised it when students did it. 
She heard some chatter and inched closer to the door it was coming from. About a foot from the door, she froze. "What?! You can't kick me off the team!" There it was. Rainbow Crash's voice yelling to a teacher. Twilight looked to the name on the door and saw it was Mrs. Cheerilee's.
"Alright, Dash," She heard the gruff voice of a male. She assumed it was the coach, saying as Cheerilee would have no jurisdiction over the soccer team. "Tests are next Friday, in every one of your classes. So, if you get an eighty-five or higher, I'll keep you, but otherwise, get ready to pack your stuff." 
The male walked out of the classroom angrily, she could see where the soccer team got it from. Then, she heard Crash's pleas. "Please Cheers! I pay attention! It's just, none of the stuff sticks with me! If I can't pass that test, I'll be kicked off, you have to help me!" 
She heard a sigh. "Rainbow, I recommend getting a tutor, and if you want to be so secretive about it, just tell your tutor," Mrs. Cheerilee's voice stated. She heard a high pitched, rough groan. "Dash! You can't expect to pass my test if you don't put in the effort."
"But your lessons stick with every student but me! Why should I have to put in extra effort and they don't? Because I have a dream I want to fulfill? I can't get tutoring and do soccer practice!" Rainbow's voice cut and sent chills down Twilight's spine. The whimper behind it, the cutting edge in front of it. She could only imagine the stabbing, piercing red eyes. 
"I'm sure you can. One, you're the captain, the top player! And two, your coach wants a package, not bronze," Cheerilee stated. Twilight could only guess she balanced herself on one leg and crossed her arms. "Just find a tutor, Dash. Your coach would certainly appreciate you more for this, and you will appreciate yourself more."
She wanted to go in there and offer to help her, she'd be returned with a nod and a smile and getting to work right away. She'd teach Crash about flashcards and all her favorite study methods. The two would become best friends, and Rainbow Crash would come up to her after her games and thank her. 
She sighed in bliss and leaned against the wall, hugging the one book she had with her. A smile formed its way on her face. The bliss would've lasted, as long as Crash didn't crash into her. 
"Hey!"  The voice shot rudely. She peaked open her eyes and her body froze. The rudest, meanest girl in school was talking to her... again! And she'd already made the girl mad so many times before! She was so screwed. She smiled nervously as Crash was already glowering. 
Cheerilee poked her head out of the door of the classroom and smiled. "Oh yes! Twilight would be perfect to tutor you!" She smiled brightly and walked over to help the two girls up. She extended a hand to both and pulled them up, smiling at the appalled faces. 
Rainbow Crash's confusion and horror turned to disgust. Twilight's confusion turned to worry and shame as she looked away and readjusted her glasses, a red of shame covered her face. 
Rainbow crossed her arms and huffed, "Uh, sure." Twilight's heart jumped and the red on her face was now for a different reason. She glanced over and saw the boredom on Rainbow's face, she glanced at Cheerilee and saw the excitement on her face. "Yeah, no way." Twilight's heart dropped and the red turned back to shame. 
Cheerilee placed her hands on her hips, her face morphed into what seemed to be ready for a scolding. "Why not? Twilight's one of the perfect candidates! She isn't mean, she's nice, and the top in mine and Cranky's classes, your worst classes."
"I don't care! It's kinda personal as to why I ... dislike her," Rainbow Crash said. Now, Twilight's shame was turned to curiosity, as usual. Why was is so hard for Rainbow to say she disliked her? Well, it was less hard and more... strange? As if she thought it was so strange coming off her tongue.
"Fine," Cheerilee sighed and shook her head in disappointment. Twilight saw the slight slouch from Rainbow at the sight, but she still stood tall with disobedience. "But get a tutor, I want you to be successful as much as your coach does," she put a hand on Rainbow's shoulder. 
Rainbow's eyes cut into her. She deadpanned, "I already am successful." She shoved Cheerilee's hand off of her. Cheerilee sighed and walked back to her classroom. Rainbow didn't leave, and Twilight was too scared to. So, Twilight spoke.
"Y-you know.." she got the attention of Crash and cowered under the gaze. "Um, you - I mean... uh..." She glanced at Rainbow and saw the harsh stare, she assumed she was already fed up with things, she didn't need a stuttering nerd on top of it. "I'll always tutor you if you want me to!" She finished fast and anything but sweet. 
Silence ensued, then laughter struck. She whirled to Crash to see the girl basically in tears of laughter. Her face turned so red and she was so angry. But, before she could tell her to stop, Rainbow spoke, "You'll still tutor me now? Bahahahaha!" 
Twilight sighed, she kept her word with everything else, so of course she would now. She nodded hesitantly, "But it's obvious you don't want my help, so I'll just leave." She huffed and turned to leave. 
"Don't expect seeing me at your doorstep asking for a math problem, egghead! Bahahahahah!" Crash laughed. So, Twilight stomped off rudely and fueled on anger. 



Rainbow Crash was still chuckling about getting tutoring from the egghead Twilight. And it only got worse as she thought of all the stupid expressions the nerd made. Scared, happy, nervous, and the one Crash learned to laugh the most at, was the frustrated one. Mostly because she knew she was the reason for it. 
So, as she walked to practice, she fell into pits of laughter or simply kept giggling to herself as she walked down the halls. And of course, she passed Applejack, the cowgirl was too busy to study, so the teachers asked for her to stay after too.
Applejack chuckled at the sight of Rainbow Crash. The girl had never looked happier, meaning someone got hurt in the process. And the girl held her stomach as if it hurt. This should be good. "Gosh, Rainbow, what's got ya so riled up?"
Rainbow kept laughing as she heard Applejack. Once she cooled down, she spoke, "One, don't say 'riled up'." Applejack immediately went a light red as she crossed her arms, already irritated. "And two, just a little egghead. She's hilarious to mess with!"
Applejack rolled her eyes, "Well, what'd ya do? Trip her? Make her cry?" Rainbow shook her head, confusing Applejack further. "Huh? Then what'd ya do?"
"Well, it's kinda a long story, I'll tell ya later," Rainbow said with a smirk. Applejack was honestly surprised, the girl had really never looked happier. Well, at least now she had a way to cheer Rainbow up. 
She sighed with a smirk. "'Kay then, well, where're ya headin'? Soccer practice?" Rainbow nodded. She smiled, "Hey, don't y'all need tutorin' or somethin'? Will the coach really let ya play?"
Rainbow rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. "Pft, of course he would! I'm his top player! He wouldn't throw me out for some grades!" 
"Really?" Applejack's arms dropped to her side and she raised an eyebrow. "Cause, Grandpa Pear says that he got kicked off the football team when he had a sixty nine in a class, and he was the captain." Rainbow just started laughing and Applejack really wanted to strangle her. "Look! Stop being stupid and just get a damn tutor! Besides, maybe you could get some more laughs from that dork if you let her do it."
Rainbow's laughter stopped abruptly. "What? Really?! I'm laughing because she tried to tutor me!" Rainbow said loudly. "There's no way she could tutor me! She's too... eggheadish, boring, and she's probably in love with math and science! She's gonna make me sick." 
"Well," Applejack started. "It may be your only chance at a tutor, she's the only one that'd help ya willingly and make sure she's teachin' ya the right stuff."
Rainbow started off. "Yeah whatever. Pfffft, that egghead? Teaching me? Honestly the best joke ever!" She laughed as she walked off. Applejack sighed and started her way out of the school. 
Rainbow started in and out of her laughing fits as she made her way to the football field. She always said they should just make it a soccer field, but the school never wanted to waste the money. Not even a measly fundraiser that'd waste more than it would gain. So sad. 
But, she made her way onto the soccer field. She saw the coach yelling at the girls in discouragement as they ran across the field in practice. "Alright! Good job! Have a break! Back on the field in five!" The coach yelled and turned to face Rainbow, he sighed. 
"You planning on bringing your grades up?" He asked, knowing she would give him an honest answer when she would to no other teacher. She rolled her eyes. 
"Why should I? You wouldn't kick me off!" She gloated, already feeling the eyes on her to boost her ego. "I'm the best player you got! The only one that is even close to my skills are Lightning Dust and Spitfire and I'm better than them combined!" Now, as she looked at the faces, she saw disgust. But she did see the respect of the only three that liked her. 
The coach sighed. "Look, I'm helping these girls do something with their lives here and now. You aren't going to have the 'nice-guy' coach in college. But guess what," he stated. His gaze narrowed on her, expecting her to cower. She didn't. In fact, she looked even more empowered. 
He rolled his eyes, "You aren't going to get to college if you fail high school." As expected, her confidence deflated and she fell to a slouch. Her pink eyes stared up at him with confusion and hurt. Sadly. it was something he saw right next to her determination. 
"Look, Dash," he started. But, as the girl she was, she shoved past him. He sighed and let her walk off. He hated doing this, to be honest, he didn't even want her off the team at all. Not even a risk of it. But it needed to be a threat if he wanted her to end up something. And that's all he wanted for his whole team. 
Rainbow growled as she approached the three who actually respected her. Fleetfoot, Spitfire, and Lightning Dust. She saw the cheeky smirk on Lightning Dusts face, and the worried expressions on Fleetfoots and Spitfires.
"Wow, the captain who skips class can get kicked off!" Lightning Dust exclaimed sarcastically. "Who would've guessed." She yelped as Spitfire jabbed her with an elbow. That didn't take the edge off of Rainbow's anger. 
"Fuck what I said," Rainbow spat rudely. "Fleetfoot's a better player than you. Cause she doesn't want me off the damn team," she fought. Lightning Dust smirked cheekily. Rainbow almost felt happy at the shocked, hopeful expression on Fleetfoot's face. 
"Wow!" Lightning Dust said happily and sarcastically. "Captain's picking favorites! Totally not stereotypical!" Lightning Dust and her touched foreheads with anger as they let the tension build up. Fleetfoot and Spitfire watched with their respective expressions, annoyance and worry. 
"Quit it!" Spitfire shouted, causing the two to disgruntledly separate and turn their attention to her. "Leave Crash alone about this, besides, she's captain and you aren't. She earned her place." 
Lightning Dust rolled her eyes and huffed while Rainbow only got a tiny bit less mad. "Look, Crash. Coach seems serious about this, is trying to get your grades up that bad of an idea?"
Now, Rainbow's anger reignited. "Like I'm going to get a tutor, I have a reputation to uphold, remember?" She asked rudely. The second Lightning Dust started the laugh, she kicked the girl in the shin. 
Fleetfoot sighed, "You know, it shouldn't matter that much if we're the only ones who know." Rainbow Crash's mood didn't lighten. So, Fleetfoot continued, "What matters more anyways? A reputation, or at least college?"
Spitfire stepped in, "I agree with her. We won't tell anyways." 
Finally, Lightning Dust sighed and agreed. "I won't tell anyone if that's what you're worried about." She looked Crash in the eyes, "You taught me how to get over myself and work as a team. So get over yourself for your team."
Rainbow Crash looked at each of them and finally sighed. The idea of working with Twilight disgusted her, but Applejack was right. She's the only one who seemed to not care about how mean she was. She should just man up and do it. 
She knew the three had no idea who Twilight was, or why Rainbow was so determined not to work with her. But it was fine, just because she would get tutoring, doesn't mean it'd be with Twilight, right? She could just bully a kid into it.
So, she sighed and said, "Yeah, fine."