//------------------------------// // The know-it-all's // Story: Phantom Paradise // by ManaMinori //------------------------------// Sweetie Belle scrunched her muzzle, a deep crease forming along her brow as the gears turned in her head. Bright pools of emerald were now glazed as the young filly trained her gaze at invisible object in front of her. The look on her face was one that mirrored Rarity's, only when a rather puzzling predicament was set before her. Pointy ears pointed backward along her skull, but hadn't missed a single word of what had been spoken in an unusually hushed tone- well, unusual for a pony who deliberately spoke in such a way so as to always project her voice above others, perhaps in imitation of how Princess Luna had spoken in the "Royal Canterlot Voice". Perhaps she couldn't expect Diamond Tiara to drop the snooty princess facade at the drop of a hat. Change in a pony did take time, after all. But as Sweetie Belle contemplated, her opinion was slowly being swayed by an inkling of truth weaved within those mean-spirited and hurtful words. "Hmmm." she hummed, her bottom lip poking out ever so slightly in an adorable Rarity inspired pout. A yellow ear swiveled in the direction of the low-toned hum. "What'cha thinkin' about, Sweetie Belle?" Apple Bloom asked, hooves pressing down fresh, springy blades of grass as her body turned in the direction of friend. "You look constipated." Scootaloo chimed in, upon observing the features of the unicorn's face. Though not entirely sure what it meant, she had overheard Rainbow Dash saying it to Princess Twilight, when she had a similar scrunchy face serious look on her face. Apple Bloom's cheeks quickly took on a rosy hue beneath lemon-colored fur. Her eyes widened, pupils narrowing as she shot a look at Scootaloo, which went unseen by the oblivious orange pegasus. "Huh?" Sweetie Belle's curls bounced and bobbed as she turned her attention to her two best friends. "Oh, I was just wondering...it's weird." she paused, glancing to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo's curious gazes. "We've talked to Star Dreams and hung out with her...I guess...if being tutored by her sometimes qualifies as "hanging out"..." she trailed off, having lost her original train of thought. A quick shake of her head switched tracks, putting her thoughts on the right course. "I hung out with her at Sugarcube Corner last month." Scootaloo interrupted. "Buuuuut..." she sighed, eyes rolling. "She agreed to relocate there because Twilight was reshelving books in her library that day, which is where she usually agrees to tutor me." A hoof was raised to scratch at the back of her magenta mane. "What are you getting help with?" Apple Bloom inquired. Scootaloo's wings fanned out from her sides, rising slightly, then falling in a gesture that resembled a shrug, before the appendages were tucked at their original station. "Math. I'm kinda falling behind, and Miss Cheerilee suggested that I get tutored. Star Dreams is the smartest pony in class, so-" It was Apple Bloom's turn to interrupt. "But she rarely comes to class." she noted. "But she's always studying.....something. And just because she's not in our class doesn't mean she's not in one of Miss Cheerilee's other classes." Sweetie Belle interjected. "But what I was trying to say was that even though we've "hung out" with her before, it's weird that in all this time, we don't really know anything about her." Much as she hated to admit to Diamond Tiara being right, maybe Star Dreams was weird...but only because they knew next to nothing about her! On second though....they hadn't taken much initiative to really get to know her outside of study groups...were they actually the weird ones? The mystery was making Sweetie dizzy. Apple Bloom lifted a hoof to rub at her chin as she thought. "We know that she doesn't have her cutie mark yet." she said, tossing her observation into the discussion. "I know that she likes strawberry shortcake!" the over-enthuiastic orange pegasi chirped. "Star agreed to let me treat her, in exchange for her lessons, while we were at Sugarcube Corner. She orderd a slice of strawberry shortcake, so I know that she must like it, then." she reasoned. Lickety Split kept both ears open as the Cutie Mark Crusaders went down the list of what they knew about their mysterious classmate, while he bopped and bounced his favorite ball on his muzzle. He had been practicing so much that he considered himself an expert at keeping the toy in the air, without it hitting the groud even once. Unbeknownst to the Crusaders, however, he had also gotten pretty good at just-so-happenning-to-overhear-conversations-without-appearring-suspicious. Some might call it 'eavesdropping', but Lickety Split much preferred the former description, rather than the latter. "Sweet scoop, Scootaloo!" smiled Apple Bloom, giggling at her own unintended pun. "What else do we know?" An awkward silence fell around trio, each filly racking their brains for information. After some hoof shuffling and thoughtful hums, the three came to the conclusion that they had come up short. Their extent of knowledge on Star Dreams, in spite of them each being tutored by her in one subject or another, and seeing her in class- was pitifully lacking. Six ears drooped, and all eyes focused at the grass beneath their hooves. It was at that moment, Lickety Split decided to take action, which came easier without the filly in question being around, for some reason. With a perfectly timed bounce of his ball, he sent it through the air, travelling in an angled arc toward his stationary targets. He didn't even have to look to know where it would fall. "You think we'd learn more if we asked- WHAT THE?!" Apple Bloom hollered, eyes widening in surprise as something grazed her backside. Spooked by the unseen attacker, she kicked her hind legs out, bucking hard. Her small hooves connected only with empty air. "What the hay was that?!" she demanded, though her voice held notes of panic and confuion. Hooves treaded lightly as she spun her body around so that her hindquarters faced her friends, rather than go unprotected. "Did somethin' bite me? Was it a bee?" she continued to shriek. "Was it a snake?!" "Relax," Scootaloo huffed, glancing around the jittery filly's behind through half-lidded eyes. "It's only Lickety Split's ball." the brave pegasi reported as she spotted the spherical object in the grass. She couldn't help but toss a smug gaze to the crimson-haired scaredy-cat, lips curling into a coy smirk. "Who's the chicken, now?" she teased, innocently. Embarrasssed that she had made such a scene after getting spooked, the southern sapling's canary yellow cheeks blushed, turning redder than her mane. "Sorry, girls." the brown colored colt chimed as he cantered up to them. "I guess my ball got away from me that time." he winked at Sweetie Belle, hoping that she didn't feel too bad for her accident with the ball, earlier. "You ok, Bloomy?" he asked, cocking his head at the one he had startled. "Y- ya'" she said, timidly at first, before she borrowed Scootaloo's confident facade. "Wha'y wouldn't ah' be?" reddened cheeks and chest puffed out in a show of bravery and indignation. Both habits she had seen performed by both Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, though never simultaneously. "It was just a ball..." Behind her, an entertained unicorn and pegasus stifled their gleeful, girlish giggles to the best of their ability. "Heh." Gleaming blonde tresses blew in a warm wind as a brief laugh spilled ftom Lickety's lips, in a more open display of amusement. "If you say so." he retrieved his ball from its resting place, spinning it on his hoof, as an idea began to form in his head. "I'm getting hungry. You guys want to grab a bite at Sugarcube Corner?"