//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 part 2 // Story: Ocean Blues // by TalkingToMyself //------------------------------// They stayed for three more hours. From before the Fall Formal up to after the Battle of the Bands, every girl had a lot to tell and Blue had many questions. It still didn’t make any sense, but against evidence like that, she couldn’t deny it any more. Sunset had shown her the large tome and some of the conversations she had with someone. She even scribbled a short note, and about two minutes later, the book glowed and an answer appeared out of nowhere. Sunset had a magic chatroom book that connected her to another world. Blue still tried to wrap her head around things and barely even reacted when the girls dragged her to their favourite hangout. Pinkie Pie placed a large milkshake in front of her, vanilla of course. Pinkie Pie always knew everyone’s favourites somehow. Blue thought Pinkie was a stalker, but now it might as well be magic. “So, how about you keep up with your part of the bargain now?” “Huh?” Blue looked up at Applejack, who smirked in team with Rainbow Dash “Remember our bet? You said you’d spill the beans once we convinced you, and now it’s time to pay up.” The girls nodded with some conviction, but Fluttershy quickly took the pressure from her by adding in her almost-whisper-voice “Um, if that’s okay for you.” Blue groaned and rested her head on her right hand, elbow propped on the table to keep her half-upright, but in a way she didn’t have to look at anyone “I don’t know what you think had happened, but it’s actually really boring. They caught me shoplifting.” “That’s it?” Rainbow looked disappointed, and Sunset didn’t look convinced “They don’t send you to juvenile hall just for shoplifting.” “They will if you keep doing it.” Sunset’s frown didn’t fade, and now Rarity joined in “And why did you keep doing it?” “What kind of question is that? I wanted stuff I couldn’t afford, so I took it.” “Like what?” Blue just shrugged “Stuff. Why do you care?” Applejack crossed her arms in front of her chest “How many people actually believe that hooey you tell them?” “More than you might think.” Blue took a deep breath. She knew it would be hard to convince all six of them, but she hadn’t expected that Applejack called her out on her fake stories right from the get-go “Look, I’ve been switching schools a lot. When you’re always the new girl, you stop caring what others think about you, because, why bother? I’ll be gone in a few months anyway.” All the girls looked at each other, clearly none of them could relate but Blue kept going “So you talk without thinking too much about consequences. Teachers think you’re a truant, some people think you’re a rebel. Some get other ideas.” Blue shrugged “I got into a lot of fights, almost every day. Most people stayed away, some took it as a challenge and ganged up on me. Teachers weren’t much help either. Other troublemakers tried to get on my good side. I got mixed with the wrong crowds a lot. At first, it was just the usual, hanging out picking on people, pranks on the nerds, maybe cashing in someone’s lunch money every now and then.” Rainbow Dash glared at her “So you were a bully.” “Not more than anyone else. I never dunked someone in a toilet or anything like that, but I made sure everybody knew not to pick on me.” Rainbow didn’t look appeased at all, neither did Rarity or Pinkie Pie. Sunset Shimmer seemed conflicted on how to react to this, which Blue could understand now that she knew about her backstory. Out of all, only Fluttershy managed to stay calm “That doesn’t sound like a good way to make friends.” “Didn’t care. Didn’t help that we never stayed anywhere longer than a few months. After a while, you just don’t bother trying anymore. On my last school, I got into a serious fight with a senior and we beat each other up badly. We ended up in detention and I thought she would try to kill me after school. She didn’t, obviously. Instead, she asked if I wanted to hang out.” Blue laughed at the six girls who stared at her in shock “Yeah, that’s about what my sister looked like as well when I told her.” “So, you beat each other up, and she wanted to be friends with you?” “Kinda? It wasn’t really friendship like you think of it. More like, mutual respect. We hung out, with some of her friends who were all older, either bullies as well or dropouts. None of us had much money, so sometimes we’d go to the mall and, you know. It all started with a candy bar. I mean, what’s wrong with snagging a candy bar? The shop won’t go bankrupt from it and I wasn’t going to get rich from it, so who cares, right? It’s just a fucking candy bar.” The girls remained silent when Blue stopped, trying to keep herself from yelling and swearing. She took a swig from her milkshake and Rarity took that as her clue to say something “I don’t think your parents were too happy if you explained it like that.” “Probably not. But it’s not like they could do anything about it when they’re gone.” Applejack choked on her drink “What do you mean, gone?” “I mean gone. It’s me and my sister.” Blue refused to say more and her apathetic expression made sure none of the girls asked anything in that direction. Eventually, Sunset Shimmer steered back towards the main reason they were here “I guess that it didn’t stay by that one candy bar.” “Candy bars don’t get you anywhere. When you managed to get something from an electronics store, you were lucky. That stuff always sold well.” “You sold it?” “Yeah. I couldn’t just show up with a new stereo at home, but nobody ever asked where I got a few dollars extra suddenly. A friend of my friend, he knew a guy who would buy stuff from you without questions so he could resell it.” “So you were part of a criminal organization? I don’t know what to think about that.” “I wasn’t. Yeah I fucked up big time but I wasn’t part of a gang or anything. Very close, though.” Blue sighed deeply and closed her eyes “Too close in fact.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack leaned forward, sensing that they were reaching the juicy part of the story now. Pinkie Pie was still smiling, but it looked very strained now. She sat completely still and didn’t fidget around like usual. Rarity had scooted her chair around so she sat as far away from Blue as possible without just leaving. Sunset hadn’t moved at all and just kept staring at Blue. Fluttershy was the one who not only stayed on her seat next to Blue, but who also found the courage to say something “You don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, Ocean.” “I’m almost finished anyways.” Blue leaned back in her chair and took a deep breath, trying to look like she didn’t care but all the girls saw little signs of how stressed she really ways “There was a big theft at the mall. My friends and I had been caught pickpocketing once or twice, so we were easy suspects. That guy who bought our stuff? He had pictures from all of us. And my friends” Blue mimed some quotation marks for extra emphasis, “they convinced him to give mine to the police. They all made up some alibi or excuse for the cops, but I didn’t, so they cashed me in.” “But, you didn’t do it, right?” Blue glared at Rainbow Dash “What do you think, short stack?” “They obviously threw you in jail for it.” Sunset Shimmer put her hand on Rainbow’s shoulder to make her stop “Juvenile hall and jail are not the same, Dash. And just because the police thought she did it, doesn’t mean she’s guilty.” Blue frowned, but not at any of them “People are idiots. Nobody even asked how I could have done a break like that all alone. Nobody cared that there was no evidence. They wanted an easy solution and they didn’t even look further once they were given one.” “I find it hard to believe that. Nobody can be so narrow-minded.” Applejack shook her head sombrely “Rarity, remember those text messages you thought you got from Pinkie Pie back then? They didn’t make much sense at first, but once you had that thought in your head, things kept just adding up. And you even shut off one of your best friends over it. Just like me or Dash.” Applejack held her hat in her hands and was fiddling around with it, just to keep her hands occupied. She looked angry, as did Rainbow Dash. Rarity and Sunset Shimmer turned pale instead. A few minutes passed in which Blue was only glaring at the table. The girls exchanged some hushed whispers, but Blue didn’t hear her name so she didn’t care. “How long did you…?” “Ten weeks. During fall.” She didn’t care who had asked the question, it didn’t matter anyways “There was another theft in another store and this time, they had no easy suspects anymore. Those jerks who did it got caught and confessed both breaks, so I got out again. By then, my so-called friends had spread rumours and bullshit at school, so the principal-asshole protested to take me back, not that I would ever want to go back to my old school ever again. The judge had something different in mind for me, even though I didn’t do it. ‘Re-socialization’ they called it. Made my sister and me move here.” Rainbow Dash looked at her and asked “So, you’re proven innocent. Just tell everybody and it’ll be fine, right?” “But I’m not innocent. Maybe I didn’t commit the crime they cashed me in for, but I royally fucked up more than enough before. That’s why now I have a dick of a social worker who’s supposed to ‘keep me in line’ and I have to take counselling sessions with the principals. Besides, it doesn’t change the fact that I was still in juvie for more than two months.” "So what? You’re not doing it anymore so everything should be okay.” “Dash, honestly, how do you manage to tie your own shoes in the morning?” Blue turned towards Applejack when the farm girl came to her defence out of nowhere “People know she’s been there and so there are rumours.” “And people are idiots. Who would really believe when I said I’m innocent?” “I would!” Pinkie Pie chimed in and Rarity shook her head “I am also inclined to believe now, but if we hadn’t talked beforehand, I’m afraid I most likely would not.” “And that’s just school. While I was in there, my sister had to fight to keep custody over me and when we moved, she had to find a new job.” “Sheesh, talk about a double-whammy.” “So what happens now?” Blue shook her head and sighed “Nothing. You stay away from me like everyone else. Trixie will keep spreading rumours and that’s that. You best not tell anyone you even know me.” The girls exchanged a series of looks with each other, then Rainbow Dash crossed her arms in front of her chest “Yeah, that’s not gonna happen.” “Are you all daft?” Applejack shook her head and leaned towards Blue over the table “Listen here, Sugarcube. I know you might not like the idea, but I think you could really use a friend or few right now.” “Real friends this time. Friends who won’t demand things from you or make fun of you.” “Friends who can help you and won’t abandon you when things don’t work out.” “Friends like us!” Pinkie Pie bounced up and down in her chair, more excited that Blue had seen her before. “This is even better than the surprise party I had planned for you! Because, like this you have friends right away and I can throw you an even more surprising surprise party on top of it!" "Um, Pinkie? Pretty sure it doesn't count as a surprise party when you tell her about it." "Oh, silly Dashie. I just have to be extra surprising now!" Blue shook her head and shoved her empty glass away from her as an outlet for her frustration "Are you even listening? I don't need you to get dragged into Trixie's bullshit. And I definitely don't need a fucking party." "Such rude language, Darling. You always start to swear when you're in denial, don't you Miss Shore?" Blue glared at Rarity "What do you care?" "I've been watching you, Ocean Shore. Whenever you suddenly act rudely, you actually mean to opposite of what you say. Which means, you really want friends, even if you're afraid to admit it." Blue looked from girl to girl, but they all had an expression similar to Rarity's. They can't be serious about this, can they? "Why would you want to be friends with someone like me? You have nothing to gain from this." Pinkie Pie just grinned and answered without even thinking "Duh! We'd get a brand new friend out of it!" The girls nodded, but Fluttershy had another point she wanted to bring through "And, um, if you don't mind, it's not just about us. It's more about what you need right now. I think you really, really could use at least one good friend right now." Blue shook her head and crossed her arms in front of her chest "I've been doing well without friends so far." "Ya think? Cause, usually, people don't get in detention during their first week." "And they don't get into fights after school." "Or, um, get nasty rumours about them spread around school." Blue gritted her teeth and glared at each of them and her voice dripped with venom “Yeah, you’re right, let’s be friends! And everything will only be butterflies and sunshine from now on. People will just ignore everything that ever happened before and stop giving me shit about it. We can just all play-pretend nothing ever happened and if we wish really, really hard, it will all be true. Because at least I have some bloody fucking friends.” Blue was just screaming in blind rage by now, so she didn’t notice Fluttershy’s fearful expression or Rarity backing away from her. She also didn’t see Sunset and Applejack exchanging some worried glances What got her attention was Pinkie Pie reaching out for her hand “But, it can all happen if you’d just try. Don’t you want to give us a chance?” “FUCK YOU!” Blue jumped up from her chair and shoved Pinkie Pie away from her “YOU THINK NOBODY TRIED THIS BULLSHIT BEFORE? They tell you it’s all okay, but when you let them come too close, they just hurt you more. Everyone promises you a new chance, but at the very first fucking thing that goes wrong, they just stop giving any shit about me. People will always betray you! I don’t want any friends! I don’t need any friends! I don’t need anyone! I don’t need everyone pretending like they would care. I don’t need Principal Celestia or Luna and their fake sympathy. Do they really think I believe that they are the fucking one-in-a-bazillion people who actually mean it? Why can’t you all just FUCK OFF AND LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE?” Blue’s screams grew louder and her voice was dry and raspy in the end. She barely even saw them any more and breathed hard, slamming her fists on the table “LASST MICH DOCH EINFACH ALLE VERDAMMT NOCHMAL IN RUHE! HAUT EINFACH ALLE AB AUS MEINEM BESCHISSENEN LEBEN! VERSCHWINDET EINFACH, SO WIE ALLE ANDEREN AUCH!“ Blue spun around and threw over her chair as she just ran out of the café and down the street, bumping into people as she pushed towards, somewhere. Wer braucht die schon? Ich nicht! Ich brauch gar keinen! Blue ran for a while, until her legs almost gave out under her and she had to stop. She ended up in some alley, leaning against a wall and panting, all out of breath. Her sides burnt from running and her eyes brunt along. It took her a while to notice that some people were approaching and she yelled out all her remaining anger “JUST LEAVE ME THE FUCK ALONE!” “What? After all the trouble we had finding you?” Blue flinched back at the male voice that talked to her. Pressed against the wall, she finally realized that she hadn’t been followed by the Rainbooms, but five guys instead. She recognized the two goons from yesterday and another one with the same jacket. Next to them stood Score, with murder in his eyes and another guy whole looked like him, but a few years older and on steroids. While Score glared at her with burning rage, he had a cold, calculating stare for her “So you are the bitch who attacked my brother? You’re just a little girl who’s crying for mommy.” Blue just glared right back at them “If I’m just a girl, why do you need five dudes to go after me? Scared I’ll fuck you over like I did your brother?” “Shut it, cunt. You were lucky yesterday, but now you’re gonna pay.” The three goons grabbed her and held her in place. Blue tried to kick at them, even bite them, but they barely gave her any room to move. Score walked up with a manic grin and without a word, he punched her in the guts. Blue groaned but she didn’t give him the satisfaction to scream. Angry as he was, he punched again, harder this time. Blue bit her tongue so she wouldn’t cry and smirked “That all you got, meatface?” A fist hit her face this time and pain exploded in her head. Score’s big brother grunted and punched again and again. His huge fist hit Blue like a jack-hammer and this time, she felt the tears as her eye swelled up “What’s wrong, cunt? Had enough already? We’re just getting started.” He looked around and picked up something from the ground. Blue tried to focus her eyes and blanched when she realized he had found an iron pipe somewhere “Time to pay up, bitch.” Blue watched as he raised the pipe over his head ready to strike and struggled even harder to break free, but the others wouldn’t let go. “Are you seriously trying to kill someone because you lost your spot in the football team?” Blue almost laughed when she heard Rainbow Dash from behind them. She looked like she was ready to jump right in and Applejack next to her seemed ready to intervene as well. Score growled at them “Stay out of this, Dash. Bitch had it coming.” Applejack narrowed her eyes “And you obviously made your point already. Now drop that pipe before you do something you regret.” Score’s brother just grunted and struck. Blue closed her eyes and waited for an impact that never came. Instead, she heard a shout and something clutter on the ground. When she looked again, she could only guess what had happened. Rainbow Dash and Applejack were pushing Score out of the way to get to her. Score’s brother had dropped the pipe and now glared at Sunset Shimmer. By the looks of it, she had charged right at him from behind, enough to make him lose his footing. Just like Applejack, Sunset Shimmer looked pissed “The cops are on their way. You won’t get away with this.” “Fuck you, Shimmer. You’re next. I’ll break every single bone in your body.” He reached out for the pipe again, but more voices approached from the street “Officer, this way!” The goons finally let Blue go and ran for it. Blue dropped down on her knees, her head was spinning from the punches. Score tried to run as well, but Applejack and Rainbow held him in place. His brother stared as two police officers ran into the alley, followed by Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. One of the cops noticed him holding the iron pipe like a weapon “Drop that, son. Don’t make this worse for you.” Just like Score, his brother didn’t think twice about lying his way out “She attacked me first. It was self-defence.” “Like hell it was! We saw everything, you had her five against one. You punched her.” “Shut up, cunt, or you’ll get what you deserve.” The cops didn’t need more and went to one brother each “You’re under arrest, both of you.” Blue heard yelling and screaming, but she couldn’t make out any words because her headache was killing her. Then, silence. Blue groaned and tried to push herself up from the ground. To her surprise, two pairs of arms helped her sit up and lean against somebody. Unlike the arms that had held her before, these ones were gentle. She felt something soft and wet dab against her swollen eye and she winced from the pain. “I’m sorry Ocean. Does it hurt very much?” “Fluttershy, I only saw the hit and even I feel the pain.” “Should we take her to the hospital?” At the mention of hospital, Blue jerked her head away from Fluttershy and took a few steps away from the group “I’m fine. Just forget it.” “Ocean, I think you…” “I said FORGET IT!” She yelled at them, but winced from the pain it caused. She could barely see through her left eye and her headache was making her feel nauseous. Blue stumbled on a few more steps, but almost fell over. Almost, because suddenly Fluttershy and Rainbow were next to her and helping her stand “The only thing you can forget about is that we would leave you like this.” Blue groaned and tried to pull away, but she could barely hold herself on her feet even with their help. She moaned out frustrated “Why are you even here?” “Duh, we ran after you of course. But when we saw Score, we knew he meant trouble, so we had to do something. Rarity and Pinkie saw the police car, but AJ and I thought we’d better be there in case they do something stupid. Guess we were right on that one.” Blue wanted to say something, yell at them for being stupid, chew them out for treating her like an invalid. Maybe she even wanted to thank them for trying anyways, but she simply had no strength left at the moment. It took almost all she had to not drop to the ground and throw up from her headache. Did they give me a concussion? Blue was so focused on just standing, she didn’t notice that Fluttershy was watching her very closely. Blue looked so much like one of her hurt animals right now, she just had to help. More importantly, she reminded Fluttershy of Sunset Shimmer and how the fiery girl had been in so much denial right after the Fall Formal. Fluttershy knew she had to help, but she also knew she had to be cautious so she wouldn’t have Blue pull away for good. “If you don’t want to go to the hospital, we’ll take you to my place instead.” She glanced at Fluttershy. The usually timid girl had a serious look on her face, one she had seen before on a different face. Blue knew she had no chance arguing with her right now “Fine…” “Don’t you see we just want to… wait, what?” Rainbow Dash looked surprised at how easily Blue caved in, as was Rarity. Only Sunset Shimmer had a small smile on her face and waved to Applejack who was still talking to the police, telling them what happened. Sunset pointed at Fluttershy and waved a sign to her, for which she got a thumps up from Applejack. Pinkie Pie stayed behind with her. Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Blue made their way to Fluttershy’s van and they helped Blue climb in. Sunset Shimmer took the seat next to her after sending out a message on her phone. Blue still felt too dazed to ask what it was, but she noticed Dash and Sunset watching her “Maybe you should send a message home, just in case?” Blue frowned and nodded. Sitting down helped her feel less nauseous, but she still needed a couple of minutes. Once she had gathered enough strength, she pulled a phone out of her pocket. As soon as she did, Rainbow Dash laughed out loud and nearly fell out of her seat “Hey guys, does any of you have some change? I didn’t even know they had coin-ops still running these days.” Blue flipped her off while she was trying to get her phone to work. It was an old model, very bulky and with only a tiny screen, probably ten years or more out of date. Sunset tried to not laugh and hide her snickering behind a cough while Rarity only had a sad smile for Blue “Perhaps you would like to borrow mine, instead?” She offered her smartphone but Blue just ignored it “Seriously, in which museum did you get that?” “Fuck you, Dash. I can make calls, I can send texts and it’s cheap. What more do I need from a fucking phone?” Rainbow only laughed louder and Blue thought her head might explode, but thankfully, Fluttershy noticed her pained expression and asked her to stop. Blue managed to send a text and few moments later, she got a call. The girls looked at each other, wondering how they could give her some privacy while driving, but Blue was totally unconcerned. As soon as she answered the call, Sunset realized why, even if she only heard half of the call “Hi Schwesterherz.” “Nein, mach dir mal keinen Kopf. Alles halb so wild.” “Ich hab ein paar aufs Maul bekommen, das war alles. Ehrlich.” “Nein hör zu. Ich bin mit ein paar… Freunden unterwegs. Nein, nicht wie du denkst.” “Wir fahren grade zu einer nach Hause. Ich komm schon klar.” “Ich komm schon irgendwie heim. Alles klar, du auch.” Blue turned off her phone and blinked when she noticed the other all staring at her “What?” Sunset Shimmer and Rarity seemed more curious than anything, but Rainbow Dash failed to stay serious, again “I didn’t know you could speak Martian.” “And I didn’t know you could talk at all with less IQ than toast, but here you are.” “Hey!” Fluttershy and Sunset giggled, but Rarity was intrigued “Darling, that sounded very European, I must say. I would have never expected this from you.” “What, I’ve been in juvie, so I’m not allowed to know German?” “No, that’s not all what I meant. It’s just…” Blue frowned and stared out of the window “Just because I fuck up stuff doesn’t mean I’m stupid.” “That’s really not what I meant, Darling. I’m merely surprised.” Blue snorted and rolled her eyes. She mumbled out a few lines from an old song that came to her mind at that. And maybe, she wanted to show off just a little “Wenn der Vorhang fällt, Sieh hinter die Kulissen. Die Bösen sind oft gut Und die Guten sind gerissen. Geblendet vom Szenario erkennt man nicht, Die wahren Dramen spielen nicht im Rampenlicht.“ Rainbow Dash just shrugged since she didn’t get a word, but Sunset seemed more impressed “Was that a song? What does it mean?” “Eh, in essence, it means looks can be deceiving.” “Well, that is quite true, Darling. How did you learn to speak it so fluently?” “I picked it up from my sister. She was born in Germany and we still talk German at home, most of the time.” “Ah, so you grew up bilingual. How fortunate for you.” Blue just shrugged “Didn’t help me much so far.” At this point, Fluttershy slowed down the van and pulled into a driveway “Um, I’m sorry to interrupt, but we’re here.” Blue looked out the window and found herself deep in the middle of suburbia. A neat little family home with a neat little garden in front, just the same the ones next to it and probably the entire street. Blue was glad her nausea had mostly passed by then. She climbed out of the van, but she wasn’t as strong as she had hoped, since her knees gave in under her weight again. This time, Sunset Shimmer was there to catch her. Blue felt Sunset’s arm around her shoulders and together, they made the short way towards the house. The home was made up for comfort and looked more like it would belong to Fluttershy, not only because of the number of dogs and cats that immediately jumped up on her. The other girls just smiled and giggled, but Blue was rather nervous. Sunset quietly led her to an armchair while Fluttershy herded her pets out of the living room, with the exception of a single white bunny that stayed around her. Rarity and the others seemed used to this, since they just plopped down on the couch and some other chairs. Fluttershy excused herself into the kitchen. After a few minutes of sitting and recovering, Blue felt strong enough to glare at the other three “Why are you doing all this?” “Shouldn’t it be obvious by now, even to you? We are taking care of our friend.” Blue fixed Rarity with the full force of her anger, which had to be rather pathetic right now since the fashion fanatic didn’t react to it at all “What makes you think I even want to be your fucking friend?” “You’re swearing again, Darling.” “So what? I can fucking talk the way I fucking want.” “I’ve told you before, I figured it out. You always swear when you are in denial, Ocean Shore. So the simple fact that you’re doing it right now tells stories on how you truly feel about the matter.” Blue was startled for a minute and just stared at them. The others looked like they very much agreed with Rarity’s conclusions. Am I really that easy to figure out? She shook her head "You don’t know squat about me.” “We know enough.” This time Rainbow Dash took the lead and the others nodded “We know you’ve been through some hard stuff. You messed up a couple of times, probably. But behind that, you’re not so bad. So yeah, you lash out sometimes, but I’ve never seen you pick on anyone. You’re not a bully, you just don’t take shit from anyone.” “You’re brave.” Sunset Shimmer followed up when Rainbow was finished, not giving Blue to chance to say anything “You talked so openly about everything that happened, even to the principals. It took me weeks to do so. And you don’t let yourself get intimidated, even if it’s five against one.” Rarity had been waiting for her turn and now took her chance “You have a very uncompromising personality, Ocean Shore. And I mean that as a compliment. You are very honest and clear with how you think and feel, but you don’t force yourself on others. But right now, I feel like this might be a little in your way as it makes it hard for you to accept how others might feel differently about you than you would expect.” Rainbow rolled her eyes and tried to tie it together “Fact is: You really need some friends. But you’re not just a pity case to us. We really see someone who we’d like to have for a friend, all of us.” Blue just stared at them without saying anything. When she finally talked, her words made her feel bitter “Why? What’s in it for you? What could you possibly have to gain from this?” “Absolutely nothing, Darling. That’s not what friendship is about. It’s not a contract of goods and services we offer and expect from you in return. We want to be your friend. There is nothing more to it.” Sunset nodded after Rarity’s explanation “I guess the only think we ask for is that you give this a chance. Give us a chance to prove that friendship can be more and that it can help you get through all this.” Blue stared at Sunset and tried to find something. Just anything that would be hidden in such an offer. But she saw nothing but honesty. A glance to Rarity and Rainbow Dash gave her nothing more but the same. She could still remember Fluttershy’s eyes from earlier as well. And she knew for a fact that Pinkie Pie would not look much different, as would Applejack. Maybe… “And what if you get to know me and you find out that you don’t like me at all? What will happen then?” “That’s not some kind of test you can fail, Ocean. We won’t beat you up or punish you if you don’t reach our friendship standard.” Rarity nodded along “Indeed, Darling. We simply want to spend some time with you and get to know you better. We don’t have to become instant best friends. Maybe you won’t like joining us during band practice. Maybe you’re not the type for slumber parties. But that doesn’t mean you can’t sit with us during lunch or take trips to the mall with us.” “All we ask is that you give it a try.” Blue shook her head again. She ignored the dull pain on the left side of her face and the throbbing headache “But why? There’s nothing in it for you. Why can’t I find the catch?” “You can’t ‘cause there ain’t none.” Blue’s head snapped around and she suddenly felt dizzy again. At some point, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had arrived, with bags from a supermarket. “Maybe it’s different than what you know of, but that’s just how we roll.” Blue stared at her, as her vision got blurry. Just give this a try. You don’t have anything to lose. “Girls, I think that’s enough for now. Can’t you see she’s hurt?” Fluttershy spoke quietly, but her voice still rang in Blue’s ears “Don’t worry, Ocean. You don’t have to answer right away. We’ll take it easy for now, but first we need to take care of those bruises.” Blue blinked and nodded. Fluttershy took her hand and helped her stand up. She and Sunset guided her to a big bathroom with a tub and everything. So got seated in front of the sink and saw her face in the mirror. The left side of her face was purple even through her dark blue skin. Her left eye was swollen shut by now. She had a few smallish cuts, probably when she had fallen down. All in all, she looked terrible. No wonder they act like this. I look like a pity case if I’ve ever seen one. Fluttershy began to dab her temple with a cold washcloth and Blue flinched in pain, but Fluttershy just held her hand and dabbed again, more gently. Or maybe, they really mean it. Blue closed her eyes and relaxed a little as the cold dulled the worst of the pain. Fluttershy carefully cleaned her face and put some salve on the cuts, taking utmost care to be as gentle as possible. Sunset only handed Fluttershy the things she needed, but Blue felt her standing behind her and it was okay. They didn’t tease her for how she looked. They didn’t blame her or berate her. In fact, they barely said anything at all and only focused on what needed to be done. With the cold taking care of the swelling, Blue could open her left eye again, even if it hurt a little. Fluttershy apologized that she couldn’t do anything more, but she had an ice pack for Blue at least. By now, the headache was bearable and the dizziness was gone, so they took Blue back into the living room. Obviously, Applejack and Pinkie Pie had been busy in the kitchen, because the coffee table was laden with all sorts of snacks. Rainbow Dash and Rarity seemed to be discussing about which movie to watch and at the door, Blue saw a couple of sleeping bags. Pinkie Pie beamed and proved her worst nightmare had come true “So Ocean Shore, are you ready for your ‘Get well quickly and yay you’re our friend now’ slumber party?” Blue gulped and pressed her icepack against her head “Would I even get the chance to say no?” The girls giggled and with that answered Blue’s question. With a defeated sigh, she slumped back into the armchair. Oh boy. Now I’m in for it. She absently took one of the cupcakes Pinkie was shoving under her nose and took a bite. Almost immediately, her lips curled up to a smile. Meh, could be worse. At least the food’s good. By now it was late enough for Fluttershy’s parents to return home. Blue felt more than a little anxious. She wasn’t used to being at someone else’s home, without any notice and looking like a beat-up tramp. She wasn’t even sure if they knew about the slumber party, but Fluttershy’s parents took the presence of the six additional girls in their living room in stride. Fluttershy’s mother, who was a doctor, only insisted on checking up on Blue’s eye herself. Blue was taken to an office room with better lights and Fluttershy’s mom carefully touched the bruises with as much care as Fluttershy earlier. She also had the same kind smile “It looks worse than it actually is. Keep it cool through the night and the swelling should be gone by tomorrow, though the black eye will stay for a few days.” Blue just nodded and sighed inwardly. At least now her sister wouldn’t make a fuss when she came home. The girls insisted she took the chair and made sure she had everything she might need in reach. Fluttershy’s mom had also called Blue’s home number and informed her sister that Blue would stay overnight and that she’d take her home tomorrow. Luckily, it was a Friday night and she wouldn’t have to go to school the next day. The girls chatted as some movie flickered in the background, and slowly they tried to include Blue into their conversation, but now that she was sitting still for a while, this whole crazy day crashed back on her. So, everyone in school knows I’ve been in juvie, even if only the girls know the whole story. I’ve got beaten up and nearly killed because some dude went crazy, but the girls saved me. Oh, and the same girls are magic pony-hybrids from a different dimension and can transform when they play girl pop. Sheesh, what a day. “So I got a question.” The girls went quiet for a moment and looked at Blue with open and friendly smiles, which confused her but also reassured her at the same time “If you all got magic powers, why don’t you use it? I mean, if I had wings, you’d never see me walk a mile again.” Sunset Shimmer facepalmed, but Rainbow grinned “That’s what I keep saying!” “No, you’re not going to fly around town!” Sunset looked at Blue, more serious now “I know practically the whole school has seen us when we transform, but they don’t know everything. Most of them don’t even know it’s magic. So far, only the principals, Princess Twilight in Equestria and we know the whole story. Including you now, I suppose.” Blue frowned at that “Why take such a risk when you barely even know me? Especially after all the things you heard about me?” Sunset and the others exchanged a few looks, but in the end Rainbow Dash just shrugged “I don’t have any real explanation. It just felt right. I don’t think you’re going to spill our little secret.” “Me neither.” “Uh-huh.” “That wouldn’t be nice.” The others chimed in one by one and Blue gave a wry smirk “You guys are too trusting for your own good.” “That’s why we have Sunset Shimmer to keep us in line when it comes to magic.” Sunset rolled her eyes “Great girls, no pressure. But seriously, if anyone found out about a portal to another magic dimension, it could lead to terrible results. Even if the authorities only knew that we could do magic, they might want to experiment on us. That’s why we decided it’s best to keep a low profile about it outside of school. And that’s why we don’t pony up and fly around for no good reason.” “Hey! Not having to walk is a pretty good reason to me.” Sunset glared at Rainbow, but the smirk told her she was just teasing so she joined into the chuckles from the others, but Blue stayed serious for now “And what if this whole friendship stuff won’t work out? Then I’ll know all your secrets.” “So you do.” Applejack just shrugged with a smile “I think it’s clear we won’t be instant best friends like we did with Twilight, but as Rarity said we don’t have to. If we can just talk between classes or hang out, that’d be mighty fine by me already. Maybe you wanna join our lunch table every once in a while. If you want to take this further, we’ll be all for it.” “Wow. No pressure, huh?” Blue meant to be sarcastic, but instead she sounded honestly surprised. This was new to her in many ways, and she felt out of her depth and vulnerable. However, none of the girls picked her up on that. Instead, Fluttershy just smiled reassuringly “No pressure at all. We wouldn’t be good friends if we forced you into anything, Ocean Shore.” Blue looked at her and after a moment of thinking, she smiled. It was the first smile she didn’t have to force out all week. They really trust me. Either they are completely dumb, or they know something I don’t. Or… this friendship business can really work. She pondered for a moment, and the girls saw she was deep in thought. They waited patiently for her to look at them again, with that atypical shy smile once more “You know, only judges and parole officers call me Ocean Shore.” “Lame!” Pinkie Pie and Sunset Shimmer giggled when Rainbow rolled her eyes “You obviously used that phrase a billion times already.” “Shut up, Dash!” Rarity chimed into the next round of giggles, but Fluttershy stayed calm and asked “Then, what should we call you instead?” “Just call me Blue.” “Lame!” “Ruhe auf den billigen Plätzen!” Rainbows baffled expression had everyone laughing, even herself after a few seconds. Blue’s deep and sometimes hard voice sounded completely different when she talked German somehow, and the girls liked it. “So, now I have a question for you, Blue.” “Okay.” “How come you know German when you’re living here and moving around a lot?” Blue just shrugged “I still talk it at home with my sister, I guess. But mostly it’s through music.” “German music, huh? They’re all into that dark rock stuff, right?” Rainbow nodded and Blue just rolled her eyes “Sure Dash. Everyone in Germany only listens to rock, and everyone in the US is an obese gun-fanatic.” “Well, not really.” “What kind of music do you like then?” Pinkie Pie produced a pink laptop from somewhere and opened up a video platform “Here, show me, show me!” “Alright, sheesh, calm down.” Blue typed in a few words and loaded up a video. The girls gathered around as an upbeat tune sounded out, followed by four guys whistling along as they pretended to drive a car and bopped their heads to the beat. Pinkie’s head immediately bopped along, but Rainbow laughed as she watched the video “That looks so goofy.” “It’s from the 90s, Rainbow Dash. It’s supposed to look like that, and it’s more about the music anyway.” Then the song started and everyone chuckled as the listened, even if they didn’t understand a single word “What’s that supposed to be? German hip hop or what?” “Exactly. My sister showed it to me, it’s a classic.” “Wow. Now I’m almost sorry for you.” “Fuck you, Dash.” They laughed again and Pinkie Pie clicked through a couple of more videos, clearly intrigued by a form or music she didn’t even know existed. Blue sometimes had to explain something, but in the end, they just chatted about their favourite bands and songs. The conversation was rather shallow and easy-going, but Blue appreciated that. For once, she had enough stern talking-tos and serious meetings for a lifetime already and her headache got better as the evening passed. They turned in rather early this night, mostly because Blue felt incredibly exhausted after such a day and probably also looked like it. It surprised her how easily she fell asleep, away from home in a sleeping bag instead of a bed, but with her tummy full for a change, even if it was mostly party snacks. She heard the others whisper softly for a while longer, but she was out almost as soon as her head touched the pillow and slept to late morning.