Brains and Brawlers

by Hopeful_Ink_Hoof

Playing Blue

"Are you okay?" Twilight Sparkle asked, looking up at Gilda curiously.

The taller girl stood there, shoulders hunched and head low. Her arms were crossed under her breasts, hands gripping the elbows of her dress shirt. She was near one of the walls, back to it as she stared at a framed poster off to the side. Occasionally, her gaze would flick around the room, looking at all the other people around them in dresses and dress shirts.

"I don't belong here," Gilda mumbled. Turning to Twilight, she spoke up. "Aren't plays supposed by for like snobby upper class people or something?" She huffed. "Not exactly, the 'classy' type."

Stepping closer to her, Twilight reached out to place a hand on top of Gilda's.

"Do you know what Lonely Planets is about?"

"No," Gilda answered. She had never even heard of the play before Twilight had invited her along. Really, Gilda had not cared much about theaters and plays since... elementary school? Middle School? Definitely some time before high school.

"AIDS," Twilight stated. "The main character is basically trying to hide out in his shop, in denial about how many people he knows are dying from AIDS."

"Really?" Gilda asked, raising an eyebrow.

Twilight nodded.

"Really. Besides, plays may not be as common now, but they were written and performed for everyone. Even Shakespeare."

"Okay," Gilda said as she turned to face Twilight fully. "Now I know you're pulling my leg."

"No, it really is," Twilight insisted. "Take Romeo and Juliet. While some interpret it as a romantic tragedy where two young loves fail to find happiness, others interpret it as a comedy about the stupidity of teenagers. In either case, it does start with two guys talking about sex and taking women's virginity. Much Ado About Nothing is pretty much a romantic-comedy about a bunch of people trying to get two friends together because they were single. In more modern version, they would basically be trying to get the pair... 'laid.'"

That got a snicker from Gilda. That did make it sound a lot more interesting to her. She was not very much into romantic comedies since they often could be easily handled if the two main characters just talked to each other about how they felt, but the interpretation made the idea of the play less intimidating. Really, if something as supposedly "sophisticated" as Shakespeare could be seen in such a light, it kind of made plays as a whole seem a bit more relatable.

"Well, when you put it like that, I guess it can't too bad."

"I know you'll like it if you just give it a chance," Twilight insisted.

"Hardly," a masculine voice said. "The likes of Miss Goldwing would prefer something such as monster trucks, wrestling, or the like."

Twilight Sparkle watched as her effort to help relax Gilda suddenly became wasted. Once more, Gilda's entire body tensed, hands clenching into a fists. Eyes narrowing, her jaw clenched. Gilda's cheeks even took on a pinker tone.

The man who had spoken was tall and broad shoulder, with creamy white skin and long, blond hair. His head was tilted back slightly, his pale blue eyes narrowed as he looked down his nose at Gilda.

"Vlad!" Gilda growled between clenched teeth, not bothering to turn around. "What are you doing here?"

"Yes," Vlad sighed, running a hand along one of his lapels. "I will admit that a play like this is not exactly to my taste. However, some times it is necessary to perform certain tasks which are less than preferred for various reasons. Such as seeing a more pedestrian play to socialize with the more common folk."

Moving closer, Twilight Sparkle took a hold of Gilda's hand and moved closer, looking at the man in front of her.

"Gilda, are you going to introduce us?" she asked.

Gilda glared at her a moment, but Twilight did not flinch. She was pretty sure the anger in it was not actually directed at her. Instead she put on her friendliest, most comforting smile as she gave Gilda's hand a gentle squeeze. Twilight did her best to look as kind and friendly as possible while looking into those anger filled golden eyes.

With a sigh, Gilda looked away.

"Twilight, this is Vladimir Blueblood. Vlad, this is Twilight Sparkle."

Blueblood turned his full attention to Twilight, eyes narrowing. His gaze turned cold as it met Twilight's, then started moving down her body. It made Twilight clench her teeth to keep from squirming. Her grip on Gilda's hand tightened, and a small part of her was relieved when she felt Gilda squeeze back.

"Charmed, I'm sure," he stated. "So, I assume this is something akin to My Fair Lady? Trying to prove that even a woman of such... background as Miss Goldwing could fit in even among the more sophisticated as the upper classes?"

Gilda's hand suddenly ripped itself from Twilight Sparkle's grip. For a moment, Twilight froze with fear.

"I need a smokebreak," Gilda said as she moved away from the two and out the door.

"Excuse me," Twilight said as she moved to follow. "It was... interesting to meet you." It was as close to the truth as she could get. Saying "nice" would have been an out and out lie, but she was certainly not going to forget him any time soon.

Outside, Gilda stood against the wall at one of the corners. Her arms were crossed over her chest and head held low. As Twilight got closer, she got sight of wet streaks running down Gilda's cheek. Catching sight of Twilight approaching, Gilda quickly wiped at her face and straightened up.

"What are you doing out here?"

"You don't smoke," Twilight answered. "What's wrong?"

"I don't want to talk about it," Gilda said. "And you don't want to hear it."

Moving in front of Gilda, Twilight took a hold of her hands and gently pulled them toward her.

"If you don't want to talk to me, that's fine," Twilight said. "I'm not going to force you. But don't think for one minute that I don't want to know what's wrong. It's clear something's bothering you, and I want to help if I can. Even if not me, though, you should talk to someone about it."

Gilda looked at Twilight a long moment. Slowly, the look in those gold eyes softened until she looked away with a sigh.

"Vlad is one of those snobby upper class old money types," she explained. "The kind born with a silver stick up their ass, look down on you if you weren't rich since The American Revolution or something." Pulling her hands out of Twilight's grasp, she slipped them behind her head as she looked up at the sky.

"We... dated for a while."

"What?" Twilight cried out. "Why? I mean... he didn't exactly seem... pleasant... and he's not really the stereotypical 'bad boy,' either."

"Because he was a good actor," Gilda answered. "Because I was younger and stupider." She gave a shrug. "He knew what to say. How to act. All charm and wit." She smiled. "He made me feel wanted, liked, like I was some proper lady."

"...what happened?"

The smile turned bitter as Gilda looked down.

"He changed," she answered. "As soon as... he got what he wanted, he was done with me. Threw some cash at me, said a lot of mean things, and kicked me out." She let out a bitter laugh. "Turns out that I was just some lowly commoner for him to have fun with. That I was just there for him 'slumming it.'"

"Gilda," Twilight said softly. "I'm sorry."

Gilda shrugged, but did not say anything more on the matter. Although, Twilight could not blame her. Really, what more was there to say on the matter. Well, on Gilda's end at least. There was something that Twilight could say about it.

"Listen. The play hasn't actually started yet. How about I exchange our tickets for tomorrow's performance, and go do something else?"

Gilda started to nod, but stopped and stood up.

"No," she said. "This is important to you. I'm not letting you miss out of it because of someone like him." Standing up, she reached a hand out to Twilight. "Come on. Let's go enjoy the play. And the Tartarus with that snob."

Grinning, Twilight took Gilda's hand and let herself be led back inside. As they entered, she noticed that Blueblood was holding a glass of red wine and chatting with another couple.

Strange how the glass seemed to jump on its own, suddenly spilling that dark red wine all over his jacket and pristine white shirt.

Why, it was almost like magic...

Comments

[Purple-Smart Heart]

Vladimir is a proud and storied Slavic name. Bluebitch doesn't deserve it!

[ShadowLDrago]

Really, if something as supposedly "sophisticated" as Shakespeare could be seen in such a light, it kind of made plays as a whole seem a bit more relatable.

Trust me, Shakespeare is NOT sophisticated, certainly wasn't considered that at the time.

[CrossoverFanficReader]

7704740
That name's been ruined since 2009, so you're a little late on that.

[PhycoKrusk]

7704740
He probably can’t even squat.