Canterlot High's Sports Challenge

by LiQuiD

31.- Her Feelings

Your phone's alarm goes off...and thanks to it you've finally woken up after having a horrible nightmare. Today's Monday. You don't even know what to do now. How can you even explain to Rarity that Nelly is only a good friend? There's no way Rarity could ever forgive you after last night's events...although it wasn't your fault, was it?

"Oh who am I kidding? I totally blew it..." you mutter before letting out a defeated sigh. You then start to prepare for today's routine. You try to stretch your body, only to wail in pain shortly afterwards, your muscles are still sore from the beating you took yesterday.

["It's better to take things easy for now"], you think to yourself as you grab your left elbow with your hand and start stretching your arm slowly, the pain increases every second you keep holding onto it and you are eventually forced to release the grip you have on your arm, you do the same to the right one but you can't even stretch as far as you did with the left one since it was the one you used it a lot to block your opponent's high kicks.

You don't care much for the pain right now, your mind is busy with the events that have clouded your mind for the last hours, you couldn't even sleep well last night...

["Perhaps I went a bit too far this time by gifting Nelly that pendant,"] you think to yourself once more before you begin to shake your head as you recall the moment you gifted Nelly the nice golden locket you managed to buy with a chunk of your savings and even picture it in your mind.

However...you just pictured that exact moment which caused you to feel a strange sensation towards Nelly, at the time it just felt like the right thing to do. That poor girl has suffered a lot thanks to you, she got injured thanks to Zephyr's antics, she got suspended from school just because she had to stand up for you...and she even kicked Artic Thunder's butt as well which only caused her mother to punish her too, and even though she was suspended she came back to school just to see you one more time, she even came all the way to Canterlot yesterday just to watch you fight against Crimson Fire and the others and she also brought her sisters to give your team a morale boost and some much needed advice.

Your team would've been disqualified already if it wasn't for her and her sisters...as soon as you realize that you just place a pillow on your face. How could you be so insensitve?! You've done nothing than ghost her for the past few hours! Even after she humiliated herself with that cheerleader act and wearing that ridiculously short skirt just to cheer for you! All you've done past the repechage event is all her doing, you're not sure if your teammates would agree with that but you were all doomed if The Llamas hadn't taught your team how to fight and trained you all as well in the other events...

"Dang it..." you say to yourself as you try your best to stand up, however you can feel a sharp pain coming from the same area that Crimson Fire jerk hit following Zephyr's advice which forces you to sit down once again. You reflect a bit more on the events that happened yesterday, firstly about Rainbow Dash and how her face went from despair to absolute joy thanks to your efforts despite feeling you could pass out at any moment you got hit once again, secondly about Zephyr Breeze and how you wanted to kick his butt, but no...Fluttershy already feels guilty over what keeps happening to you thanks to her wacky brother, and lastly...your thoughts quickly drift towards Rarity.

"And all for what honestly?" You say out loud this time.

You look at the blood-stained Gi Rarity made for you, the one she worked so hard on using the finest materials she had at hand. Looking at it makes you feel like a terrible person, it was obvious she put all of her love in it, and it certainly felt as if the fabric she used for it embraced your body, mind and heart. If it weren't for Nelly who decided to burst in the middle of your confession...

What were you supposed to do? Yell at the girl who helped you the most when you needed it to leave you alone? To yell at her face that you didn't have a date? Goodness knows your heart would break if you did that, perhaps Nelly would've ran away from you with tears running down her face, her sisters would definitely murder you in that moment, and Rarity would STILL be mad at you for lashing out like that at poor Nelly.

Well, it's not like you didn't enjoy Nelly's gentle touch and hug...she smelled real good, despite blood running down your nose you could still catch a whiff of that marvelous lavender perfume she was wearing, and how about that neat lipstick as well? It made her lips look so soft and kissable, and the way she cheered for you? Just incredible...it made you feel warm and fuzzy inside, although Bauxite Ore managed to get a couple of blows to your face in the same moment you were trying to check out Nelly's cheers...and thighs, with the back of your eye, the way her chest kept bounc-

"W-what am I thinking?!" You say out loud once again as you shake off the dirty thoughts that were going through your mind, then you look at yourself in the mirror, "you're not falling for Nelly, are you Anon?! Especially after what she did yesterday?! What about Rarity?"

To tell the truth, Nelly looked so vigorous when she was cheering for you, she was almost like a star altough she wasn't like that when you both first met, she looked like she dreaded to be a part of this competition and did everything she could to hide from everyone's gaze, but nowadays she's just a cheerful spirit despite having to suffer the same bullying you had to endure back in the day, nowadays she doesn't care and has stated that in the phonecalls the two of you have every night. You usually ask her how her day was, and she replies with the warmest tone of voice despite telling you how her classmates' bullying has been getting tougher every day, not only the girls call her names such as macho chick, chicken legs and worse, they also mess with her stuff, such as snapping her pencils and pens, throwing books at her, drawing mean comments on her locker and her desk, petty things like that, and that's most of the things she has been willing to tell you.

You let out a sigh and rub your temples, you can't help but feel responsible for the misfortune Nelly has been going through. You toss your pillow across the room and look at the corner you tossed your phone yesterday, with some effort you manage to stand up and walk cautiously to grab your phone, hoping the screen didn't crack, after confirming your phone was okay and letting out a relieved sigh you look at the screen, with a lone message on the screen.

Nelly: ["Oh...I get it Anon, sorry for not being as pretty as Rarity. 😢"]

"Oh crud!" You say to yourself as you quickly realize how your indifference made her feel as if she wasn't good enough, and you know it's a lie, you're gonna make things right as you quickly dial Nelly's number.

["yawn...Hellooo?"] A drowsy Nelly answers the phone.

"H-hi N-Nelly...uhh, sorry...I didn't think you were still sleeping," you say as you pinch the bridge of your nose after you suddenly realize you called Nelly at 5:40 A.M. Idiot.

["ANON?!"] Her voice cracks after realizing it was you who was calling her.

"S-Sorry Nelly! I-I didn't mean to call this early..." you fail to find the words to explain what was going through your mind, "I guess I wasn't feelin' right...that's all."

["Oh? Is there something on your mind Anon?"] Nelly says with a warm tone of voice.

"Yeah...lots actually," you reply.

["Is this about what happened yesterday?"] Nelly says on the phone, a hint of sadness can be heard from her voice ["did I do something wrong?"]

You take a few seconds to think as you look at the blood-stained Gi once again and refrain yourself from lashing out at your pretty friend, you're supposed to make things right, not worse.

"No Nelly, I was just calling to tell you how much I appreciate what you and your sisters have done for my team," you say with a smile on your face, "and I also wanted to say how much that meant for me as well...thank you."

"Oh. OH! I uhh...gee umm, I-I guess Anon, it was n-nothing really," Nelly stutters a lot, she probably feels flattered, how cute.

"What do you mean by nothing?" You chuckle, "Seriously Nelly...it weren't for you we would've been done for. None of us knew a thing about Karate in the first place! Thank you so much."

["It was mostly my sisters the ones who taught you and the others Karate Anon...I quit the team remember?"] Nelly says as you can catch a hint of shame coming from her voice, ["i-it helps a lot that you are a fast learner as well."]

"Yeah, but that's what I was thinking about in the middle of the night, you were the key in our success. Neither Rainbow or Sandy would've imagined their teams facing off in a bunch of friendly matches just to help each other, Rainbow can be a bit stubborn and childish you know..."

["So is Sandy, but don't let her know I feel that way about her,"] Nelly chuckles.

"Ha ha, yeah...so anyways Nelly, you've been pretty nice to me these past few weeks, gathering the team, Artic, the neat visit yesterday...even the cheerleader act."

["AaAaAahHhHh!" Nelly freaks out on the phone from the embarrassment after hearing that last part, ["I'm so sorry about that!"]

"Sorry for what? You were amazing! I know you don't like being the center of attention; and believe me, neither do I...but I think you were fantastic, no wonder the girls at your school keep harassing you, they want to make you feel bad about yourself because they know they can't compete against a beautiful girl like you..."

["D-do you really think so Anon?"] Nelly says, feeling a bit more confident this time on herself and her looks.

"Yeah...I do Nelly. Looking at the pic you sent me last night makes me wonder if there's something wrong with the guys at your school for not asking you to be their girlfriend already."

["Ha ha ha, well...there was Artic Thunder, but then he got really bitter and angry after I rejected him the first time, and then he grew more hostile towards me...right after I met you."]

Here it goes...you're dying to know.

"Umm...why did you do it Nelly? Is there a specific reason why you went through all that?" You say after looking at a selfie of you two she took at Pleasantview's GYM.

["W-wHA-what?!"] Nelly freaks out at first, then she takes some time to think what she's gonna say next, and lastly she takes a deep breath.

["You really want to know why...?"] Nelly asks.

Your eyes go wide, your heart starts beating faster, and it became all clear...Nelly just wanted to be with you rather than helping your team out, why? Because she likes you...

["And I mean...how could I not like you after how kind and gentle you were to me from the very beginning? Right at the beginning of our practice race...but I fell for you immediately after Zephyr tripped me..."] Nelly adds.

You recall that moment as if it was yesterday...then it hits you, you didn't do it because you felt sorry for her...you actually cared for Nelly, not only you found her cute in that state, you just wanted to see her smile, and you wanted to tell her it was going to be okay...

["EEEEK! "Y-you meanie!] Nelly freaks out and lashes out at you once she realizes how you tricked her into spilling the beans, ["How dare you make a girl confess like that?!"

"So that kiss..." you say with disbelief.

["AaAaAhHhHh!]" Nelly freaks out once again then speaks with a muffled voice, she's probably holding her pillow closer to her mouth. ["How embarrassing! Why did I do that?! I'm so sorry Anon!"

"C-calm down Nelly! It's okay! It's okay..." you say with a reassuring tone of voice, "I I actually liked that kiss...maybe because it was yours. I'm sorry for making you say that. I-uhh...I'm just kinda surprised you'd actually fall for an unremarkable, bland and boring guy like me though."

["Oh Anon, you're none of those things..."] Nelly lets out a giggle, ["besides...it wouldn't matter if you were, because I said earlier that I felt attracted to you right at the beginning, remember when you and your team got out of our school's bushes?"]

"Really? From that very moment?"

["Uh huh..."] Nelly says with a naughty tone of voice, ["at that time I felt embarrassed and worried you had seen me run away from a non-existing spider Artic Thunder kept teasing me about. But then you showed your true self to me, a girl people at my school couldn't care less about...only you could truly appreciate me, and I'm so thankful for that Anon...I tried my best to repay you by inviting your team to train with us despite my sisters and the others protests but in the end...I did it because I wanted you to notice me. Was it selfish from me to do so?"]

You ponder for a few seconds while you look at your messages...scrolling through Rarity's texts, you notice how she hasn't replied to any of the messages you sent a few hours ago, then you look at Nelly's pictures she sent you and the photos you took over the course of the training sessions.

"Anon?"

"No Nelly...it was actually sweet, I'm also realizing something you said earlier and that I agree on. That I must be quite a dummy for not realizing that you liked me sooner, and an even bigger idiot for not telling you before that I like you too...a lot actually."

"W-what?...I-I uhh...AH...AhaHhah AHHHHH!" Nelly freaks out once again, ["do you really mean it Anon?!"]

"Yep, I mean it Nelly."

"I...I-I'm so...h-happy to hear that Anon" Nelly begins to sob on the phone, "for a moment I thought you'd end up rejecting my feelings, I was very afraid you'd said no..."

You look at the Gi Rarity made for you, but then you shake your head.

"I'm so happy right now...oh Anon, I really wished to hear that, I'm not dreaming am I?" Nelly cries once again.

"Oh Nelly..."

An hour passes, and now you're finally ready for the day, you're having breakfast by yourself once again, your parents are still asleep, all of a sudden you receive a message.

Dashie: "Mornin' Anon! There won't be any training for today's morning! We're still very tired from the celebration party we threw in your honor, shame you couldn't come tho...😅 hope you recover soon so you can join us for the next one!"

You just reply with: "...are you serious?"

Ponka: "Goodness Nonny! What you did yesterday was incredible! I still can't believe you beat their entire team by yourself! Everyone I know is talking about it, word is already spreading to other schools as well! I even told my friends at Crystal Prep High that you could beat their Karate team with a hand tied behind your back! LOL they even said they wanted to see if that's true!"

"DAMN IT PINKIE!" You angrily mutter to yourself.

Flutters: "ANON I'M SO SRY 😭😭😭😭 MY BROTHER'S IS A JERK!!! PLS DON'T HATE ME OR MY FAMILY BECAUSE OF HIM! I SWEAR I'LL MAKE HIM APOLOGIZE TO YOU! BUT IF YOU HAPPEN TO RUN INTO HIM PLEASE OH PLEASE DON'T HURT HIM! HE HASN'T RECOVERED YET FROM THE BEATING HE GOT YESTERDAY FROM OUR CLASSMATES..."

They got him? Dang it, and you missed it...must've been right after you beat Crimson Fire, he totally deserved it though. You just shake your head and type: "Why would I hate you Flutters? You didn't do anything wrong! About that last part I'm not making any promises 😆"

Flutters is typing...

Flutters: 😨😨😨😨😨😱😱😱😱😱

Whoops, perhaps you went a bit too far? You think to yourself as you type your reply: "Relax Flutters, I'm just kidding 😅. I would never hurt your brother knowing it'd hurt your feelings. Family's still family right?"

Flutters is typing...

Flutters: "Phew, thank you Anon...yep, I still have to discuss a few things with him 'cuz mom won't try to reason with him anymore 🙄 I'm still apologizing to you over the pain he's making you go through Anon 😔."

"Don't be so hard on yourself Flutters," you type, "...it'd be a shame to see you all nervous or sad at school because of Zeph's antics, I'd rather see you smile since it makes my day brighter!"

Flutters is typing...

Flutters: "Aww...how sweet! 😊😊😊 thank you Anon. See you at school then!"

BULK BICEPS: "HELLO ANON! HOW ARE YOU FEELING TODAY?"

Jeez, that guy even shouts when typing a message...all caps and everything.

"Hey Bulk, I'm okay."

BULK BICEPS is typing...

BULK BICEPS: "I'M SORRY FOR FAILING YOU ALL! BUT I PROMISED TO MYSELF THAT I'D NEVER HURT ANYONE WITH MY PHYSIQUE! BESIDES...WHEN I SAW YOU WITH ALL THAT BLOOD RUNNING DOWN YOUR FACE I ALMOST FAINTED...I CAN'T STAND BLOOD! IT MAKES ME PUKE!"

"Huh...guess everyone has a weakness," you think to yourself, "even somebody as huge and intimidating as Bulk Biceps."

BULK BICEPS: "TOO BAD SWEETIE DROPS IS ANGRY AT ME NOW..."

"What? Why?" You ask.

BULK BICEPS: "BECAUSE I PUKED ON HER GI WHEN YOU WERE SPITTING BLOOD BEFORE FIGHTING AGAINST CRIMSON FIRE, DIDN'T I TELL YOU THAT BLOOD MAKES ME PUKE?"

"...too much info man," you type as you make a disgusted face, you feel quite sorry for Sweetie Drops, poor girl must be traumatized.

You get another text message, this time from Jackie's brother Big Mac.

Big Macintosh: "u ok?"

"I think so...everything hurts a lot though," you reply, "but I think I'm gonna be okay."

Big Macintosh is typing...
Big Macintosh is typing...
Big Macintosh is typing...

Big Macintosh: "K."

"K?" You say to yourself, "that's it?"

You get another message, this one is from Cloudy Kicks.

Cloudy: "Hey Anon! How are you holdin' up?"

"Hey Cloudy...everything still hurts, but I'm okay."

Cloudy: "Really? Aww Anon, I'm sorry to know that. Look, it's a shame what happened last night, but I can tell that Rarity's still really interested in you. Just be honest about your feelings and you will conquer her heart! I believe in you!"

"I was talking about my body..." you reply, feeling even worse especially after what happened earlier, "but thanks for the advice though..."

Cloudy is typing...

Cloudy: "...oh, lmao. Silly me! Alright, see you at school then!"

Another message pops up.

Thunderbass: "How are you holdin' up Anon? I'm fine but I'm kinda ashamed you had to carry our sorry butts yesterday. That dude could've freakin' killed you!"

"Don't worry Thunderbass...I'm okay," you type, "we have to focus on the upcoming events now. What's done is done..."

Thunderbass is typing...

Thunderbass: "Shame about Rarity tho... u gonna bonk Nelly then?"

"...what are you tryin' to say?" You squint as you send that message.

Thunderbass is typing...

Thunderbass: "Just sayin...but if you want to keep on going with Rarity, lemme have Nelly and I'll get her annoying yet perfect rump off your back, c'mon...what do you say?"

"Nice try Thunderbass..." you reply, "I'd like to see you try though. I won't say anything or try to stop you, but I seriously doubt that either Rares or Nelly would be interested."

Thunderbass: "Oh so you think you're that good?! Man what do you know? I'm gonna do both! What do you think of that?!"

You just shake your head and keep eating your breakfast. As you're done a call comes in snapping you out of your usual routine. It's a call from Sunset Shimmer.

{"Good Mornin' Anon!"] Sunset Shimmer happily says, ["how are you feelin' today?"]

Ahh Sunset Shimmer, your best friend and the one with the perfect rump, her voice and attitude really warms your heart.

"Heya Sunny! Doin' well honestly! How about you?" you lie because of what happened earlier with Nelly, in fact you're freaking out internally about you having to deal with your beloved non-girlfriend Rarity and your potential new sweet girlfriend Nelly.

"Oh really? That's great Anon! Looks like the time we both spent together last night did manage to cheer you up..." Sunset Shimmer happily says. ["I'm feelin' well too, you wanna know why?"]

"Uhhh...why?" You reply.

["I sent you a link Anon, check it out!]" And as soon as Sunset finishes that sentence you hear a beep coming from your phone, ["you will not believe it!"]

You look at the screen and put Sunset on speaker, then you click on the link and watch something incredible. It's you! On the Lifeinvader page of Canterlot City's News! You then play the video and see the last few seconds of the match and the dramatic victory you and your team achieved, then you read the title.

"What?! There were journalists at our match?!" You say, feeling quite confused.

["So it seems! Featherweight's working as an intern for CCN's newspaper,]" Sunset Shimmer says, ["keep reading!"]

"Huh, let's see...the mysterious new student known as Anonymous secures their team a victory that defied all odds by beating the entire men's Karate team by himself, allowing the Wondercolts to advance to the Round of Eight where they will face off against The Polytechnic Vocational's White Donkeys..."

["Look at those pictures of you! I've never seen you like this before...you look incredible!"] Sunset Shimmer says and she prevents a squeal to escape her mouth, ["as if you were some sort of celebrity or a world class athlete!"]

You do as told, but all you see are pictures of you getting mauled by Bauxite Ore, Fizzle Pop and the others...at last Crimson Fire appears eyeing Rarity while you barely strugged to stand on your feet.

"Auuugggghhhh..." you let out an exasperated grunt, "are you seeing the same pictures I'm seeing Sunset? It kinda looks like I wasn't doing any other thing than getting punched and kicked by those dudes!"

["Yeah, but maybe that's the way I see them Anon..."]Sunset says with a cute giggle, ["you're gonna love the last one though!"]

Finally, a good shot of you in mid-air appears, kicking Crimson Fire on his ugly face.

["That's gotta be my favorite photo of you Anon...Rarity must be one hell of a lucky gal if a guy like you is willing to fight like that for her..."] Sunset Shimmer compliments you, unknowingly making you feel like a heel. ["kinda makes me wish it was me instead of her..."]

"...what was that Sunny?" You ask, because you weren't paying attention at the last thing Sunset murmured.

["HAHA about what?!"] Sunset Shimmer laughs in a very awkward way, ["I mean that Rarity is just a bit too lucky to have you! That's all I wanted to say! HAHA..."]

"Uhhh-"

["Oh gee! Look at the time Anon! It's time to go to school! Hurry up! Let's meet up at Sugarcube corner before! Whaddya think?"]

"Oh dang you are right!"You say as look at the time and realize you might be late to school today, "let's grab some coffee there and we dash to school okay?"

"Alright! See you there!" Sunset Shimmer says.

"Umm...Sunset?"

"Yes?"

"Can I tell you a secret as soon as I get there...?"