• Published 21st Dec 2016
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The Truth About Girls (Vol. 1) - TheMareWhoSaysNi



Think you really know how's life in Canterlot? Sure you really know what girls dream and want? You might be surprised!

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Friendship For Dummies (part 1)

Rarity arranged her glasses on her nose, and settled the end of her measuring tape at the indicated spot. All smiles on the podium in the middle of Carrousel Boutique’s backroom, Pinkie Pie kept her arms opened and didn’t seem embarrassed the least in the world that she was standing in underwear in front of her other friends.

It hadn’t been the same for each of them. If Applejack didn’t really have complexes, and Rainbow Dash was used to see girls in undergarments if not naked in the lacrosse, basketball and roller derby’s locker rooms and it didn’t have any particular effect on her, both Fluttershy and Twilight had displayed an incredible modesty.

As for the young fashion designer, there was nothing to be ashamed of. They weren’t here to be judgmental, and they were between themselves, sheltered from the public’s eye. And, for her to be able to measure each of them up, there were no other solutions.

Of course, she had already taken their measurements in the past, in order to tailor them outfits and dresses as she pleased, however, she was aware that bodies of the teenagers are changing all the time and didn’t want to take risks.

The annual CHS Spring Ball was coming, and in this instance, Rarity had proposed her friends to make them all new dresses.

Unlike Prom Ball, Winter and Spring Ball was opened to the students of any grade, and it was free, students from other schools being forbidden. Girls who had no boyfriend inside Canterlot High would come alone, which made of these events more an occasion to have fun with friends.

It was years now since Rarity had left High School, and sometimes, when they told her their stories from CHS, she felt nostalgic of this time.
She had been elected Queen of the Ball, the most beautiful girl of Canterlot High three years in a row, a member from the Students Board, captain of the cheerleaders, and even the model of her first creations, that she had worn at any given occasion and which caught the attention of many.

If she had only one regret it was that she had not met her friends earlier. The five years gap that separated them made that they never went to school together… All the pals she could have had in the past had left her behind little by little when she had integrated her fashion school – of which she had graduated last year major of her promotion.

The first time they met, Rarity remembered as if it was yesterday…

It was a winter night. Shining Armor had brought her home, where he thought they would be alone. In reality, his little sister had also come home, a little earlier because a teacher was absent, and she had invited the whole bunch. Because of wind and snow, she had preferred them to stay for the night – with her parents’ consent, since Twilight never did anything without her parents’ consent. Instead of spending her time with the one who still was her boyfriend, she had chatted all night long with the teenagers who were in the same school as her former one.

One thing leading to another, a solid friendship had started between them, and they never parted ever since.

Even when Shining Armor and her decided to go their separate way, she had warned – she would still be friends with Twilight and the other girls.

Fortunately, their breakup had been calm. They both agreed to stay on good terms with each other, and were even able to be in the same room with no shame or embarrassment.

Back in the present, she wrote 37,10 inches on her little notebook, a bit jealous of the more than generous measurements of her friend, her who always had thought she had nothing to be envious of. In comparison with the small 32,77 inches of Rainbow Dash, of course, what she had wasn’t that bad, but even so…

With such a body of superstar, it was surprising that Pinkie Pie didn’t have a boyfriend, or at least some boys who were fond of her.

“We’re done, Pinkie Pie, you can redress”, she told her with a smile.

“Hooray! That was fun.”

The pretty teenage girl bounced off the podium and went gamboling to the dressing room where she had undressed.

“It’s really nice of you, Rarity, to create these dresses for nothing… Especially since we could have handled it on our own.”

“Yeah, might not be very good for yar business to make us dis favor and to give us frills gratis.”

“I’m very embarrassed by this gift”, Fluttershy said blushing. “It’s a lot of work.”

“Girls, come on, don’t you worry. It’s a pleasure.”

“Yeah, our Rarity is generosity incarnated”, Rainbow Dash claimed wrapping one arm around her neck.

“It’s nothing at all, I assure you… By the way, where is your new classmate? Why hadn’t she come? I’m sure I could have created something very interesting for her.”

“Dya mean Sunset Shimmer? She’s sloggin’ on weekends, in a tattoo workshop so she wasn’t free before a certain hour.”

“Oh, that’s too bad. Maybe you could bring her next time. It would be stupid if she couldn’t have a nice new dress as well.”

“We could bring her after class”, Pinkie Pie said getting out of her dressing room.

She sat beside Twilight who seemed preoccupied and hadn’t take a lot of part in the conversation today, and made a series of funny faces in order to make her smile. The expected effect was reached, but was cut short, since as soon as Pinkie Pie had stopped, joining Fluttershy who was looking at Rarity’s sketches, she plunged in her thoughts again, her heart clenched and knots in her stomach.

“I don’t want to sound paranoid”, Rainbow Dash suddenly claimed, catching each of her friends’ attention. “But since we arrived I have this strange sensation of being observed.”

Rarity burst out laughing. Was it Applejack’s admirer’s memory, who became Rarity’s then, and disappeared as soon as he had appeared, who made her feel this way? She had undressed in front of everyone with no modesty, completely at ease with her own body and deprived of any kind of ulterior motive, and now the measures were all taken and there had nothing left to watch at, she was feeling spied on. Her mind probably was tricking her.

“I had that feeling as well”, Fluttershy said. “But I was scared to tell and sound stupid.”

“Come on, girls, you’re like home here. There’s nothing to be afraid of. Who could be spying on you? Unless…”

Suddenly, it was as if she had been hit by a lightning bold. There were, indeed, persons likely to watch her friends in secret. She didn’t know why she hadn’t thought about it before, but it was an eventuality more than probable.

On her tiptoes, Rarity walked to the closet where she placed her cleaning items, which doors looked like wooden shutters. All she had to do was to yank on the handle, and from the piece of furniture fell three young Middle School pupils, whom two of them were particularly known from the group.

“Sweetie Belle!”, Rarity cried with a scolding voice.

“Apple Bloom!”, Applejack said the same way.

The three guilty girls stood back up, red from embarrassment, hair messy and clothes rumply. One of them had made fall a disposable camera and another one a notebook. Drawn faces, they stepped to the older girls, their hands behind their backs.

“Still snooping for your school newspaper, eh? I really wonder how what’s happening here can be interesting for the Kid Free Press?”

Lately, Sweetie Belle, Rarity’s little sister who happened to be friend with Applejack’s, Apple Bloom, along with their fellow Scootaloo, had decided to find their special talents, and had fun trying all kind of different things, in which journalism.

That was how they had started to follow their elders all around, with a very special kind of temperance. Until then, the other friends hadn’t felt bothered by this lack of discretion but it seemed the reprieve period had just came to an end today.

“You’re all former famous students… Our readers love gossips.”

“It seems I haven’t given you my authorization for you to divulge gossips about us. Girls neither.”

“Sorry, big sister”, Sweetie Belle answered lowering her head.

“Me neither, Apple Bloom.”

“Sorry too, big sister”, the young girl replied with the same face of penitence than her friend.

Sweetie Belle was a lovely preteen with a porcelain skin, the face of an angelic doll with wide green eyes and a pug nose, surrounded by curls falling like a waterfall on her shoulders.

As for Apple Bloom, it was easy to recognize which family she was a part of just by hearing her speak. Her and her siblings shared the same Southern accent that some found irresistible and other ridiculous. But unlike Applejack and Big Macintosh, on her slightly tanned complexion, there was no freckles. The most stunning about her were her golden and coral eyes which, for sure, would hypnotize more than one boy in the future.

It was necessary not to trust the adorable voice and the angel faces of the school girls. Not that they were little demons, far from it, but they did a lot of asininities by trying to experiment many things. There was some kind of innocence inside of them that made them different than what their eldest had been when they were their age, less restless, less tortured even, what didn’t stop some damages to be done by these white geese.

“Come on, AJ, Rarity… It’s not that bad…”

“Yes, it’s kind of fun, even”, Pinkie Pie assured bouncing their way. “You’re all so cute. You’ve grown up so much since kindergarten.”

“Err… They were in elementary school when we met her, Pinkie…”

Beside their two little sisters, the third schoolgirl opened her mouth wide, as well as her mauve eyes which color was a bit clearer than the one of her short hair, and she seemed to be like paralyzed in this overjoyed state.

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends, so she could understand what she had said that sounded so extraordinary. Of course, she knew she was awesome in any kind of circumstances, but didn’t think she was to the extent of stunning preteens.

“You’re—You’re Rain—Rainbow Dash”, she asked from her voice a bit hoarse.

“The one and only”, she replied proudly.

“Wow, you’re my idol! I saw you playing lacrosse last year and I’m your biggest fan. No one shoots stronger and faster than you.”

“This kid’s great.”

General burst of laughter. When Rainbow Dash reacted this way, it meant she was in a good mood. The boastful side was a part of the character, and if she really enjoyed praises and compliments, it was half in order to satisfy her well-developed ego, and half in order to comfort herself about her worth.

It wasn’t provided that Rarity and Applejack were going to accept their little sisters to spy on them, and to tell their personal stories in Middle Canterlot’s gazette, and this although no one or almost no one was reading it.

They gave them each a bill asking them to go out and to eat an ice cream, or another thing which wouldn’t include to stay under their feet. Backwards, the young teenagers agreed to leave Rarity’s boutique.

“Fine. And what if now, we have a tea upstairs? Sassy can take care of the boutique on her own for fifteen more minutes.”

They all nodded, and followed their friend in the stairs leading to the apartment above.

Rarity’s family wasn’t as wealthy as Applejack’s or Rainbow Dash’s, but her parents stood as guarantors for the loan she had taken in order to buy Carrousel Boutique. She didn’t design prêt-à-porter, and didn’t sell as would a brand in the huge Department Store, but she had a few faithful costumers who helped her to do well without being chocked by debts.

In a few months would be held Canterlot’s Fashion Week where Rarity had succeeded to get a date to display her latest collection. Her friends had already promised to catwalk for her – which helped her save money by not hiring professional models.

The apartment upstairs was under the roof, and round-shaped. It wasn’t as large as the boutique but its owner had done her best to make sure it was cozy despite the lack of space.

Many mirrors hanging on the walls made the whole look bigger. In the room where she entertained guests and which served as both bedroom and living-room, she had settled a beautiful twin bed with red canopies all around. Her dressing table in real ebony with elegant moldings stood nearby, along with a vintage chair she had found at a small antiquity shop. A big long-haired carpet which meddled with her white cat Opalescence almost covered the whole living-room part where she had installed two beige silk velvet couches in perpendicular angle, with a little glassy low table in the middle.

This mixture of old and modern gave the whole a cachet to what Rarity called her small cocoon. Each time the group came here, they were feeling so good it was rather difficult to go home. Twilight in particular was more than at ease in this ordered and clean place where a jasmine fragrance was always floating.

Yet, this afternoon, she could focus long enough to really enter into her friends’ conversations. Her eyes lost somewhere, she always requested to be repeated the questions asked to her, and spent all her time fingering her friendship bracelet, making bounce against her forefinger the items supposed to represent each of them.

If until then they had been focused on other matters now they were gathered around the low table for hot tea cups and small cucumber sandwiches, they all finally noticed that really, something was wrong about her. When they asked Twilight what it was, she sighed deeply, thinking it probably was for the better to tell them the truth.

“It’s my Monday appointment with Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna…. I’m scared of what they’re going to tell me, especially in front of my parents.”

For a few seconds, everyone put their actions on hold, and the five young women started to laugh at the same time. It was as if Applejack had told she was scared someone else in Canterlot was more skilled than her to gather of cattle of beefs… Ridiculous. Everybody knew Twilight Sparkle was Canterlot High’s pride, envied even by the most prestigious private schools of the country.

“Yar frettin’ ‘bout nuthin’”, Applejack announced giving her an elbow blow.

“I’m sure you’re going to get nothing but compliments”, Fluttershy replied softly.

“But… Students aren’t called out for such reasons…”

“Except for you, Twilie. You’re the smartest girl of all Canterlot… Maybe even of all Equestria.”

Pinkie Pie’s sense of exaggeration made her smile and even relax a little, however it wasn’t enough to make her lose this lump which kept on squeezing her stomach inside out. She couldn’t even enjoy her tea because of this.

“Pinkie’s too much as always but I kind of agree with AJ and Fluttershy. You’re our best students, with only A grades… And both Celestia and Luna are fond of you. You don’t have to worry”, Rainbow Dash finished.

“I’m more than certain they’re right and this appointment is only a manner to congratulate you. The end of school year is close and maybe they only want to talk about the Top Students’ class for next year”, Rarity finally comforted her.

“Yes, you’re probably right.”

In the end, she was glad she had been able to voice out what was bothering her since yesterday, when Vice-Principal Luna had given her the convocation. Immediately, she had envisioned the worse, since this was the way she was. When it came to studies and friendship, she quickly was anxious.

Twilight wasn’t the kind to think as herself as the best and in order to achieve this result, she was working really hard, spending most of her free time reviewing in order to leverage each minute. Even when she hung around in town with the band, she tried to keep on studying in her mind.

Nevertheless, all these encouragements had been able to comfort her enough so she could enjoy the time she spent with those who were so important for her. Before she met them, she remembered clearly what her days looked like… They followed up and centered on books, stars and calculating machines, and if she never was bored, she had to admit now, it lacked the spice of being alive…

--------------------------------------------------

Right after lunch, Twilight had gone to her appointment with a smile, under her friends’ encouragements. The bunch had let Sunset Shimmer going back in her class, and had settled around Pinkie Pie’s table, as always in charge of the Spring Ball organization, that would happen a little before Rainbow Dash’s seventeen birthday.

To draw from this conclusion that this event had become the main conversation topic, only one step was needed. Of course, they still liked to talk about many various subjects, far from well-trodden paths and stereotypes around teenage girls, but this fact was so much expected it took precedence.

That would be the first time Fluttershy would attend a High School ball. In Cloudsdale where she lived before arriving in Canterlot, there were only the students from the last year of school that were allowed such an honor, and because of her huge shyness, she had thought no guy would ever invite her.

Although she didn’t show, she really couldn’t wait to be there. The whole bunch would go there with Applejack’s SUV, the only car that could handle a pack of six young women. They would get prepared at Rarity’s, and would thanks to her have unique dresses, matching their personalities. And that would be the perfect night for her to get this friendship bracelet she longed for so much.

Since she had met them all, she was feeling as happy as ever. To have friends on whom she could relied, as close as them, it was a gift from above, and sometimes she wondered if she deserved it.

Fluttershy couldn’t have said which one she loved the most. Rarity fascinated her by her elegance and experience of life, she thought Twilight always said smart and relevant things, Applejack was the most down to earth and honest person she’d ever met, Pinkie Pie never missed to make her smile or laugh, and Rainbow Dash represented strength and courage she was envious of… Even Sunset Shimmer happened to be a trustworthy girl with who she enjoyed spending time.

In reality, she would never be able to choose one over the others. They all were precious in her heart.

“Hey, Pinkie Pie, do you think you could ask The Eighteen+ to come and sing at our Spring Ball? That would be so sweet!”

The Eighteen+ was a girlsband who sang a mix of electro and hip-hop, along with feminist lyrics on topics both light and serious, the whole dressed with a look half-smart and half-punk. Rainbow Dash was a fan since eighth grade and never missed any of their concerts.

“That would be great, Dashie but they’re too famous and it would be too expensive for our school.”

“How much in Equestrian dollars?”

“Rainbow Dash yar not the only one dat will go to this ball. Maybe the others don’t like Eighteen+. And maybe Fluttershy don’t like Eighteen+!”

“Oh, I get along with anything”, the young woman answered shaking her hands, her cheeks pinkish.

“It’s too expensive, anyway.”

“Well, then… Let’s reunite The Rainbooms, singing Eighteen+ songs our own way. Wouldn’t cost a dime.”

“Who’s The Rainbooms?”, Fluttershy asked again.

“That’s our band… But since this year, we abandoned it a little because we’re too busy, especially Rarity.”

“You girls have a band? That’s amazing!”

“Yeah, really amazing… I play drums! I looooooooooove drumming!”

It was by a hair’s breadth for them to argue again, because of non-serious disagreements, fortunately, the conversation had bounced before reaching this eventuality. Though in reality they never quarreled for more than twenty-four hours in a row, and even this scenario was something rare.

The two hours of break for lunch were almost over, and Twilight still wasn’t back from her interview with Principal and Vice-Principal Celestia and Luna. None worried, all as convinced that there was nothing to worry about, quite the reverse, they thought it was nothing but a formality for the young woman, a little reminder of how her academic excellency was a pride for Canterlot High.

It couldn’t be otherwise. Even in Middle School, Twilight had been the smartest of all students, buzzing with ideas, distinctive tastes in literature as well as mathematics, History, geography, physics and chemistry. The only subject in which she was more than average was sports, but her grades anywhere else loosely compensated for this only learning gap, and this even if sports were very important in the Equestrian educational system.

When she finally appeared on the doorstep of her classroom, the girls welcomed her with big smiles, and a rain of “so?” which received no echo from her. Eyes lowered and face gloomy, Twilight only walked to her desk next to Rainbow Dash’s.

Seeing she wasn’t ready to speak to them, the four girls looked at each other, worried. Something seemed to be wrong, since the sunny mood their friend displayed in the morning had melt down like the last snow of March. It was hard to believe yet they had evidences right in front of them.

They gathered around Twilight’s table, her head still low and her eyes lost somewhere, so they would get more information.

“What’s happening, Twilie? Did you have words with them?”, Pinkie Pie questioned first.

“Eeyup, ya look like yar bum’s been bite by some coyote.”

“Tell us what’s wrong”, Fluttershy said softly rubbing her back. “We’re all worried for you.”

As soon as she had left Principal Celestia’s office, Twilight had sworn to herself not to tell them anything, and to do her best to avoid any kind of contact with them until she would be able to put her ideas back into order. This way, things would be for the best. In front of their insistence, however, she was forced to change her plans.

They were the ones who asked, after all. Too bad if they didn’t like what she was about to say.

“In fact… Compared with my grades and credits of last year at the same period, I’ve lost points… 0,5 points to be precise.”

At the same time, the four girls sighed in relief. They had expected something horrible or irreversible, like a relocation or a real comedown in her grades, although this last part sounded improbable.

This was just like Twilight… Always worrying about nothing, envisioning the worst scenarios. They should have been used to it by now, yet they were still surprised when something of this kind happened.

“You scared the crap out of us!”, Rainbow Dash replied. “We were thinking it was something hyper serious.”

“Ah, because you think this isn’t hyper serious? You haven’t seen my parents’ eyes… I’ve never saw them so much confused.”

“Well, yes, I do. You still got a couple of months to make it up.”

“I’m not like you, Rainbow Dash. I think about my future, not just to do anything I want whenever I want. Some have to work hard to do well, we don’t all have a father who’s in charge of his own company, with millions of stocks at the Bourse.”

“What does this mean?”

“You know what it means.”

Because Twilight was a precious friend in her heart, she stopped herself from replying anything she would regret later. Rainbow Dash swallowed her pride and hid her damp hands in the pockets of her uniform’s skirt, but deep inside, it didn’t stop her from thinking.

Never until then, neither she or the others had spat in her face the fact that there was a difference of social status between them, all the more so she thought she did her best not to make them feel they didn’t come from the same milieu, though none of them were in precarious familial situations.

“Anyhow, I’ve taken an important decision”, Twilight followed up seamlessly. “I have to focus back in order to better my grades and I don’t have so much time. The best for me would be to distance myself from you all…”

“Distance yourself from us, like… quit hanging around with us?”, Pinkie Pie asked with a quiet voice and puppy eyes.

“Just for some time.”

“How long?”, Applejack said.

“I don’t know. There’s always one million things going on when I’m with you, it’s grueling and I think that’s what stops me from being as good as before. It would be better for me to be on my own, so I could focus on what really matters.”

“So all the blame is on us, uh? This I just can’t believe!”

This time, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hold back anymore what was boiling inside her veins. She hadn’t even looked in their eyes while hammering them with her heavy blow. She was feeling as if they had just been stabbed in the back… not her only, the whole bunch.

“As far as I know, we never forced you to follow. You have freedom of movement, it seems. Listening to you, that’s as if we were keeping you on a leash, or worse, as if you were in shackles. Maybe I don’t think a lot about my future but I don’t accuse the others when I do wrong. With all we’ve been through together, I thought our bond was stronger than this. We could’ve stand by you, helping you going through this crisis as we always do, but it seems like solidarity isn’t something that matters in this dear Twilight Sparkle’s life. Fine, but if that’s the way it is…”

Her hands trembling and her heart racing at speed of light, she lifted the sleeve of her uniform jacket, that she for a once wore correctly, and unclasped the fastener of the chain hanging around her wrist.

“Here is what I’m doing with your friendship bracelet!”, she cried throwing it so strongly against Twilight’s table it almost bounced back on her face.

Without a word, she picked up her bag on her desk, and left the room. Applejack tried to catch her up, horrified to think she was going to skip a class for the first time since High School begun, but she chose not to chase after her, scared she wouldn’t be able to be back before the History teacher arrived.

“Ya can’t stay angry like this, Twilight. Gotta talk to her.”

The latter remained dumbfounded, and chose to ignore her friend’s good advice. Things were clear… It was no use of insisting or hoping she would change her mind. She had made up her mind, and was determined to distance herself from the group.

“C’mon, girls, let’s sit before classes begin.”

“But… What about Dashie?”

“I think it’s better to leave her alone for now.”

“Yeah, like Fluttershy said. C’mon, Pinkie.”

The pink-haired teenager followed her two friends, unable to keep her eyes off Twilight still at her desk, who kept on staring at an invisible point in front of her as if they didn’t exist and never talked near her table. She noticed, yet, that she had taken back Rainbow Dash’s bracelet which silver chain stuck out of her pencil case. This twist had ruin everyone’s mood, and even Pinkie Pie didn’t really feel like thinking about the party she had to plan for Spring Ball.

The bell had rung since at least five minutes when Rainbow Dash reached the back of the bleachers. A class of twelfth grade was playing soccer on the school’s stadium lawn, yet she sat with her back on them. Her goal was for no one to see her and her to see no one neither.

It was a place where the girls and her liked to hide after lunch, or to wait for each other when they were busy with their extra-curriculum activities. The place was steeped in history and memories for her, but she hadn’t found any other place to take a refuge in order to get the stillness she sought.

Too many times had she cried in front of others since her mother had passed away, betraying the oath she had made to always shed her tears in secret and since her depression seemed to be over, she had promised herself to honor these words full of wisdom.

However, it wasn’t a river of tears she came here to hide. Although her sobs were quiet, silent, and rolled along her cheeks without the least of cries, it didn’t mean she wasn’t hurt.

Never had she thought one of hers would abandon her, especially not Twilight or Applejack. Her disillusions were high, and though she knew how studies and pride from her parents and adults were important for her friend, she couldn’t help but holding a grudge against her, to try to separate from them with so little remorse.

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