There are only a few things a lady regards higher than her own personal hygiene. Two of these things was peace and quiet.
Fluttershy understood this, but Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were oblivious to this concept. Who wouldn’t want to sit in a comfortable chair, a nice drink in hand, in a room to contemplate the very miracle of life?
Admittedly, it is quite boring.
Nevertheless, I sat in my room, half clean, half messy. My eyes were comfortably closed as to not drive myself insane from the very sight of disorganization. Honestly, I swear that my comments fly right over Pinkie’s head.
I twirled the hilt of my weapons that lay crossed and upright on the ground next to me. I absentmindedly continued until I could take it no longer.
“I need to do something,” I said. “Productivity is a sign of life.” I rose from the fluffy chair and onto my feet. I stretched out my tall, slender body and let out a small yawn. The sun, barely risen, had seeped into my eyes, bringing my attention to the outside.
Beacon Academy: the place I’d called home for a while now. Its grand campus and colorful people attracted me right away. As of late, I was thinking about going out and seeing the sights of Vale myself. Despite my refined tastes, the allure of the city called, and I intended to answer.
Quickly, I picked up the long sewing needles and strapped them to my sides. Having already been clothed in a white blouse and a pair of tight black leggings up to my thighs under a small skirt. After doing a quick check in the mirror, confirming that I looked fabulous, I proceeded out of my dorm room and into the hallway.
“Sup, Rares?” said a voice I’d easily recognized. I turned to the voice and found myself speaking to our one and only Rainbow Dash. She looked as if she’d just risen from bed, her hair an uncombed mess, and her clothes rumpled. “What are you doing up so early?”
“Please, Rainbow,” I said slowly. “Please go fix your clothes. Just, a little ironing will be fine.”
“Nah, you’re good,” she said scratching the area around her chin. “So, why are you up?”
“I was thinking of going out to Vale and enjoying myself,” I said overlooking her choice of attire. “Taking in the sights, one might say.”
“But you’re from Atlas, right?” she asked. “Haven’t you had enough of the big city?”
“I guess being born in the city, I’m destined to return to it.” I took a moment to remember all the things I’d done back home in Atlas. Back when I’d been part of an actual family.
I remember despising it.
“Okay then,” she said with a yawn. “I’ll see you later, right?” With a nod, I quickly scuttled past her and made my way to the courtyard. After taking a deep breath of fresh air, I made my way into the city.
Compared to Atlas, Vale seemed like a quaint town. I enjoyed it, however, because of the people here. Everyone in Atlas was quite rude and stuck up. It was much better to see a more comforting array of people.
This was much better, in fact. I was getting a bit peckish exploring the town, though. I thought maybe one of these cafes could sate my appetite. A small shop caught my ever curious eye. I smiled and gleefully made my way inside.
The inside resonated a strong aroma of coffee. I looked around, finding no other patrons in the establishment. My eyes finally rested on the small woman behind the counter in the back of the shop. Her eyes met with mine, a small smile painting her face as they did.
“Good morning, ma’am,” she said. She wore a kind of classy uniform with a clean white shirt under a brown sleeveless vest. Her face was covered with a pair of glasses and freckles. “So, can I do anything for you?”
“You can tell me where you got that outfit,” I said looking her up and down. “I must say, you have a spectacular taste in fashion.”
“Oh, this old thing?” she said with a blush. “It’s just standard issue.”
“Then it must be you,” I said. “I expect you’d look great in anything I make.”
“I suppose that’s why you carry around those needles then?” she asked looking at my hip where my long needles lie. “Are you a Huntress?”
“Yes, however, I pride great fashion over most.” I leaned on the glass and brought myself closer to her, studying her face. “I suppose I should order something lest I become a bother. A frappe would be nice.”
“Y-yes,” she backed up and turned to prepare the drink. As I sat there, waiting for the exceptional barista, the door swung open, the small creaking breaking through the silence of the cafe.
“God don’t make no junk,” said a strong accent. A familiar voice that made my stomach lurch in surprise. “Y’all just a little down after the flight, is all.”
“Yeah, Belle,” said another, less recognizable voice. “You’re a little young, which means you don’t have as much experience as, say, I do.”
“Really, all you need is some time to learn,” said a third voice. I was starting to feel anger beyond the point of just a messy room. “It took me forever to get my scooter skills down. Give yourself a couple of years and you’ll be just as good as anyone.”
“Thank you all, really.” There. The voice that I hated to no end. She sounded like a copy of my own self, yet we could not be more different. “I’m glad that I…”
The cafe fell silent except for the quiet sound of heels clicking on the tiles of the floor. The barista placed the coffee on the glass surface before meeting eyes with the other people in the store.
“I’ll be with you in a second,” she said. “That will be 7 Lien.” I calmly reached for my pouch, unclipping it from my hip. I popped it open and removed two cards from it, placing them both on the table.
“Keep the change,” I said, turning to meet the others in the shop. “I’ve got someplace I need to be.”
“You…” she said, with an ever growing stare of hatred. “Why are you here?”
“I don’t know what you mean, sister dearest,” I scoffed. “I live here. I needn’t a reason to be here.”My sister Sweetie Belle, the very bane of my existence.
“You ‘needn’t’ a reason to be so jealous either,” she snapped back.
“The little one has a mouth on her, does she now?”
“You’d know if you hadn’t left, Rarity.”
“Uh, if Ah may interject,” said the one to her left. “What is all this hubbub between you an’ the missus?”
“You don’t know, Applebloom?” said the one to her right. “That’s Rarity. You know, the one she’s got beef with.”
“Beef? With me?” I said innocently. “What possible reason would you have to hate me?”
“You know exactly what you did,” she said with venom. “I can’t believe you can say something like that.”
“Say, how’s your dad doing? Is he still sleeping around with all the women in Remnant?”
The pain came quickly across my cheek, the flared pain enough to jerk my head to the left. As I turned my head back, I found her hand had crossed my face. All the pain in the world couldn’t compare to the hatred I felt for this girl. I retorted with a harder slap than hers, making her body stumble to the side.
Quickly, she grabbed a small black pole in her hand. I reached for the needles at my side. In a matter of seconds, the tip of my needle was aimed at her neck. Similarly, I saw a small blade withdrawn from a mic stand. The top with the mic was in her left hand while the metal split into two, a short blade jutting out of a long handle.
“P-please take this outside!” exclaimed the barista who was cowering behind the counter. “My manager gets angry at me whenever I let Huntsmen and Huntresses fight in here.” My eyes met with hers and we both sheathed our weapons.
“I haven’t the time for this anyway,” I grabbed the cup from the counter and moved past the three others at the door. Once outside, I decided that retreating to my room and getting my mind off this meeting was the best course of action.
“So you’re just going to run, huh?!” Her words were starting to rattle me. “Run like you ran from Atlas, is that it?!”
“If anyone ran, it’d be that scum you call a father!” I retorted. “If your mother hadn’t been knocked up…” I felt tears running down my face. I stopped to wipe them away. “He… he left us all alone just so he could have you!”
“It’s not my fault Father liked me better!” she yelled back. I dropped my cup in a fit of shock and unsheathed my weapons once more, activating my semblance as well to aid me in the fight. She followed suit. “Can you blame me for our father’s actions?”
“Don’t you dare call that man my father.” I lifted the blades of my weapons until the tips were pointing straight upwards, revealing the gun that made up the hilt. I aimed one carefully before pulling the trigger, sending a nail gun shot into her leg. Although it was protected by Aura, she still buckled down. Using her weapon to get back up, she looked at me with the same eyes. Ones of hate.
I continued to shoot, each one hitting its target. No matter how she dodged, my Semblance would pick it up and adjust accordingly. Soon, she was reduced to an aching pile on the ground, weapon still forcibly clutched in hand.
“Would you like to continue?” I asked mockingly. “I’ve got better things to do than play with-” I shot an arrow out of the air. The one named Applebloom had her weapon aimed at me, another arrow primed to shoot. “-children.”
“Stay out of this, Applebloom,” she said gradually coming to her feet. “This is my fight,” she whispered something into her microphone, before pointing the tip at me. “I can handle myself.”
“Hmph,” I pointed my gun at her, but then stopped. My head was hit with a wave of dizziness and nausea. I couldn’t stay on my feet, let alone attack. I saw her running towards me, mic stand in hand. I was able to block her upwards strike but fell prey to a forward jab. She twirled it around and smacked the bottom to my face before whispering in her mic once more. This time, she jabbed the mic into my stomach, causing my entire field of vision to go black.
“Let’s see how you aim with no eyes!” She said. All I could do was smile.
“Idiot.” right swing, followed by a forward jab, then upwards strike. They were as plain to “see” as her odds of winning this fight. The first strike was blocked, allowing me to counter with a swipe across her face, stomach, and legs in a Z motion. A few seconds later, my vision returned to normal.
“I thought you couldn’t see…” she said backing away from me. She unsheathed her sword. “How could you see my attacks?”
“The more you know about your opponent, the more leverage you have over them.” I changed my clip, although I was sure I wouldn't need it. “If I keep you guessing, you’ll never be able to defeat me.” She whispered into her microphone, tapped her blade and wrapped it in a lime green aura.
“I will defeat you,” she said. “I’ll defeat you so that you can respect me.”
“From what I’ve witnessed, I don’t think you have a single chance.” I focused on her sword and how she held it. I studied and learned it. “In fact, I feel I’ve already gotten a read on your power.”
“N-no way…” I prided myself on a few things as a lady. My poker face was definitely one of them. I knew her power had something to do with the brain. It shut down things like sight and invoked things like nausea. She charged at me, and I got into my stance.
I threw the needle in my left hand up high, creating a blind spot. As her face changed from anger to joy, my face followed suit. I had caught her in the simplest of traps. As her blade got closer to my stomach, I parried her with my right needle and smiled.
“From winner to loser, I have only one thing to say.” The world seemed to slow down as I pulled on the string attached to the needle. “Catch you next Tuesday.” I pulled it from the top left of my back where the coil lay to the right side of my slipper. Bringing the needle hurtling down to the pavement.
Right into Sweetie Belle’s face.
Following along with the hilt, Sweetie Belle’s face hit the pavement with such ferocity, it cracked. She was sent rolling a few feet to the side until her body lay limp to my right.
“Sweetie Belle!” yelled her teammates. They all ran to her aid, ignoring me. I took a deep breath, flipped my swords towards myself and sheathed them. I left the scene as soon as possible, heading back towards the dorm rooms.
Yes, I consider myself a lady. However, every rose must have a few thorns. I was prideful in my ways. I won this fight. and it felt good to finally win.
She got exactly what she deserved.