The sun shined high as the recess for CHS students continued. In less than 30 minutes Austin managed to help Applejack makeup with Rainbow Dash, which in turn left an hour and a half to plan out how the group was gonna convince the whole school to vote for Twilight. After the football game the group left for Sugarcube Corner for a bite, and along the way, Rainbow could not stop asking questions about Austin. From where did he come from to who trained him. Of course, he didn’t know what to respond but he managed to keep her from suspecting the worst. They were all seated in a circular formation on a couch and a few metal chairs, though Austin stayed standing as there was not enough room for all of them. Twilight went to get her smoothie from the reception desk and recognized the workers as the Cupcakes. She still had to get accustomed to this, but slowly it would happen.
“So… Austin” Rainbow began as she moved closer to him “You did some pretty cool moves back there, it’s as if you copied my playstyle as a whole. First, a quick move with the right foot to distract the opponent, then move the ball with the left so that he gets confused and you can have a positional advantage!”
“Yeah… I- I learned from the best” he said without looking at her. He was too fixated on Twilight to pay complete attention.
It didn't bother Rainbow Dash though, on the contrary, she was very proud. She interpreted it as if it were her who showed him the moves he knows. Twilight started to walk back towards the group but as soon as she turned around with the drinks she stumbled into Flash Sentry which in turn made the drinks fall from her hands and splash on the floor. Flash was surprised but not mad at the fact that his favorite shirt was now stained with a white smoothie.
“We gotta stop bumping into each other like this,” he said with a chuckle after cleaning himself up a little.
Twilight saw he was alright, but her full attention switched to the drinks on the floor. She leaned down to help clean up but Flash met her hand when she was grabbing one of the many cups. Their hands were holding the same cup as they looked at each other for a second. Flash started to blush and began to feel awkward about the situation. But on the other hand, Twilight didn't show any physical sign of awkwardness. She didn't even blush.
“Oh no…” Austin thought while Rainbow Dash was still bugging him “That’s not supposed to happen”
Flash helped Twilight up and offered to pay for a refill.
“Thank you, I would really appreciate it,” she said with a smile.
As Flash went to retrieve new drinks Twilight just stared at him.
“She isn't showing any type of affection towards him…”Austin thought as Rainbow asked another question “Maybe she is blushing but it's harder to tell in real life?”
Twilight noticed Austin was looking at her, so she turned towards him and smiled. It was noticeable that after seeing him she started to blush.
“OH NO!” He thought as Rainbow snapped her fingers multiple times in front of his eyes.
“Yo? Rainbow to Major Tom!” she exclaimed, trying to get his attention “I've been asking you what type of sports shoes you use”
Austin turned towards her and smiled as naturally as he could.
“Sorry about that, I was just thinking about how we could help Twilight. Oh, and I use Nike”
“Nike?” she asks with a confused expression.
“It's a small company from Equestria City. They sell some pretty good shoes overall, not just sport-wise” he responded.
“Oh, nice! Maybe one day I can go there and see what they've got! I've got “Breezy’s” by the way” she whispers in his ear “Don't tell anyone though, it's a top-secret shop only known by some specific people”
“I'll keep that in mind” he chuckled.
Just as Austin finished saying that his view turned back towards Twilight, who was carrying all the drinks to the table.
“You know…” she said while putting some drinks down “This is… really heavy”
“That's what happens when you lose a game of rock, paper, scissors darling. We used to do this every day when we were younger” Rarity said with a smile as she picked her Latte up.
“Next time we’ll take turns, it’s only fair that everyone goes at least once, right?” Fluttershy said while picking up a water bottle Twilight brought.
All the girls picked up what they ordered, from Pinkie with her smoothie to Rainbow Dash with her energy drink.
“You know, this one has fewer calories and more overall protein,” Rainbow said while shoving the drink on his face.
“I see…”
Twilight got closer to Austin and gave him a drink that resembled a “Sprite” from his world.
“Thanks,” he said while grabbing it.
“N-no problem,” she responded, a bit nervous.
This confirmed his suspicions. He was getting too attached to her, and this was getting in the way of the scenes in the movie. Twilight WAS supposed to have a crush on Flash.
“B-but does it really impact the overall story? Their relationship was never explored more than just a tiny bit” he murmured to himself.
“Ahm, sorry Austin I couldn't hear you,” Fluttershy said with an apologetic voice.
“Oh, it's nothing. I was just talking to myself”
“You too? Sometimes I do that as well!” Pinkie said while taking a big sip of her smoothie “Just don't pay attention to the crazy voices in the back... they are TROUBLE”
Applejack pushed Pinkie back gently as she stepped in front of everyone.
“All right y'all, dance is tomorrow night and we still don't know how to get Twilight the votes she needs to be named princess. Right now the school only knows Twilight from the videos Sunset posted on the web. We need to help them see her differently” She said while walking up to her and patting her on the shoulder.
The girls started to think but they didn't have any idea. Austin, on the other hand, knew exactly what to do, he just didn't want to say it himself.
“I just gotta wait until Rarity gives the basis of the idea, then I can come in and help them with the song lyrics and the dance choreography,” he thought while faking confusion.
“I'VE GOT IT!” Rarity screamed as an idea generated spontaneously inside her head.
Everyone in the cafe turned towards her in confusion and a little bit of fear just as she felt a little awkward and began to blush. She coughed a couple of times to cover her nervousness and began talking.
“Perhaps I have a solution,” she said while walking towards her bag, grabbing a few items “Now this may be a horrible idea, but what if we all wore THIS as a sign of unity?!”
She showed the items to the group. It was a tiara with pony ears attached to it and a belt with a ponytail.
Everyone looked in confusion and were a little weirded out, but they knew it was one of the only ideas they had that may work.
“In freshman year they were very, VERY popular. You know? a way for everybody to show their school spirit! GO CANTERLOT WONDERCOLTS!” she pointed out with a wide smile.
Everyone still looked at her confused, but they understood her a little better now.
“I haven't sold any in ages” she whispered while getting more tiaras and belts from her bag and giving it to each member of the group “I mean, we are obviously very different but deep down we are all Canterlot Wandercots! Sunset Shimmer is the one who DIVIDED us and Twilight Sparkle is the one who UNITED us! And we are gonna let everyone know it!”
Everyone was now wearing a tiara except for Austin. He just couldn't put it on even if he forced himself to. To him, he didn't deserve such a privilege. None of the girls seemed to care about it though as they all greenlighted the idea.
“I think it's a good idea” Austin finally said “And I know how to help you guys out”
He may not know exactly how they set up the whole dance or song, but he can help them with everything they need.
“I think we should do dance choreography in the cafeteria before recess is over. Maybe dance to a song that talks about unity” he continued.
“That's a pretty interesting idea, we could also make the song instead of using one that already exists!” Rarity responded “A way to make a splash and be unique”
“That sounds really fun!” Pinkie joined.
“I… don't… I...” Rainbow said before backing off “I think that's a good idea… I guess”
The others didn't mind Rainbow’s choice of words, but Austin knew a lie when he heard it. And Rainbow Dash WAS lying.
“I.. don't know” Fluttershy whispered “You know I'm not the type of person that likes the spotlight… and singing in front of others, that may be a little too much for me”
“Aww, come on Fluttershy!” Applejack said “I've heard you sing before and you have a wonderful voice”
“I have to agree with Applejack,” Twilight said with a smile before remembering she isn't supposed to know her “I mean, everyone’s voice is beautiful you know?”
Their words gave her more confidence, enough to change her mind.
“But if this is for Twilight then I'll do it,” she said with confident words.
“Great, now we just have to create the lyrics and brainstorm the dance choreography,” Austin said while still looking at Rainbow Dash’s unconfident face “Let's start by choosing a beat”
After a few minutes of searching through Pinkie Pie's phone album in “Spoti” they all finally decided on a base beat they would dance on and sing, but something wasn't right. Austin had been keeping an eye on Rainbow and she was acting strange, not like her usual self. From the fact that it started after he gave the idea of a dance and song, he figured what was the matter.
“She danced as if she liked it when I saw the movie… what happened here?” he thought while helping make up the lyrics.
Austin’s question still wasn't answered as they finished the lyrics and started with the dance choreography. He knew it was a big task to do this in less than an hour… maybe the pressure was getting to her. Rainbow grew a little bit more distant from the group, especially when the practice choreography started.
“You guys keep going, I'll be right back,” Austin said while the rest of the girls continued to practice.
He walked towards Rainbow Dash, who was seated in one of the metal chairs of the cafe. She seemed to be nervous but tried her best to hide it. As Austin got closer she panicked a little. Rainbow didn't want him to suspect anything about what she was thinking. He walked past her and sat where Twilight was before, their bodies were now facing each other, but she tried to avoid eye contact.
“For her to act like this... “ he thought “It's completely opposite to her character”
“So… how is everything looking?” Rainbow finally asked while turning to look at him “You seem to be having fun”
“Yeah, everything will be ready by the time we get back to school. If we don't rush a little, Twilight might fail in making her dream a reality”
“Her dream?!” She asked worriedly “What do you mean by HER DREAM?”
“Well, she came to me with the mission of becoming a Fall Formal Princess. So I’m gonna say it’s at least her goal”
After hearing his words Rainbow became even more nervous. Austin noticed this and decided to get it over with, they had no time for this.
“You don’t like to dance don't you?” He asked with a serious tone.
“I… well… It's not EXACTLY dancing… I just don't like to… I DON'T LIKE TO SING IN PUBLIC ALRIGHT!” She exclaimed, “It's just embarrassing for me, okay?”
“Oh, I understand. I don't like to sing either” He responded with a smile.
“You don't?” she asked with a surprised tone, “I thought you did… you had a great idea of what the lyrics were gonna be… and you just seemed so comfortable with all this”
“Why don't you like to sing though? I would’ve thought you did from the first time I met you”
“Wait… You did?” She asked, confused.
“Of course. The first time I saw you I could tell things from your tone and mannerisms. You were confident, competitive, loyal…” he said while looking at the roof “You are one of a kind Rainbow Dash. A person who wouldn't leave her friends no matter what”
He was imagining her movie counterpart, noticing details he didn't before.
Rainbow looked surprised. She had heard other people praise her before… but not like this.
“You've faced Soccer games before. You've faced a stadium full of people looking at you, cheering and booing"
"That's different! I've been practicing my whole life to play sports, but this…" she said while looking at the roof.
Austin took a deep breath and prepared for his next few words.
“I know you act tough on the outside Dash, you act brave when in reality you are scared. So I'll tell you this: forget about everything. Even if you don't like dancing or singing, even if you are worried that other people might see that not-so-tough inside, even if you are embarrassed… it's all worth it for the smile of your friends, right? So forget about what other people think and let's get embarrassed together alright?” he said with a smile.
She looked at him amazed at what he just said. It made her reflect not just about her relationships but about her self-image. She had always been so fixated on what other people thought of her that she forgot about what really mattered. Herself.
“You’re right…” she said with a smile “You are completely right! I'm not gonna coward behind and let my friends do this alone!”
“That's the spirit,” Austin said while getting up from his chair “Now let's get to work”.
Both Austin and Rainbow walked towards the other girls as they continued.
“Let's do this!” She said with an excited voice.
Even if she didn't notice, Austin felt bad for what he just did. Knowing how to manipulate someone was easy for him. He's been doing that for a long time, false personalities, lies, he's a master at it. Though, that doesn't make it any easier to do it, especially to the people he admires. But even still, he continues his path, a path that now requires his help to make right.