The Truth About Girls (Vol. 2)

by TheMareWhoSaysNi

Behind the Shelter of Hate (part 1)

“Stop it, Soarin! Can’t you be serious for two minutes?!”

Coming from Rainbow Dash, the interjection held hints of bath faith. Indeed, seriousness was in no way the first adjective coming into mind when thinking about her. In fact, at the beginning of their little session, she was the one who couldn’t stop playing with her pencils and doing stupid faces at Pinkie Pie from her table.

At the start of the week, she had received a call from her father, who had received one from school. Rainbow Dash’s grades in science had been plummeting ever since the beginning of the semester. If they didn’t get at least a bit better, her going to College would happen to become a little complicated.

In her opinion, it didn’t really matter. She’d go to College anyway, thanks to a sporting scholarship. Having the average grade in chemistry and physics wouldn’t change this fact.

But Mr. Rainbow Blaze hadn’t agreed with his daughter. He hadn’t reared a dunce. She had to get better grades or she wouldn’t be able to celebrate her birthday this year. Plus, her mother, naturally gifted in maths and physics, just like him, wouldn’t have liked her to let down those courses.

It was this argument that had decided her. When hearing about it, of course, Twilight had volunteered to help her, except Rainbow Dash still had in mind the way she aided her to catch up her hold-up of missed courses during her stay at Green Haven. For nothing in the world did she want to go through this again.

First, her mind was made up on Sunset Shimmer. She also had excellent grades in mathematics and sciences, since she seemed to want to focus her studies on molecular biology research.

If, in the end, it happened to be Soarin helping her, it was because she had spoken to him about it, and he had volunteered, arguing it would be perfect to make them spend some time together – although she stayed so often at his place to sleep that she had started to leave a few of her personal belongings.

Their main problem was that when one was motivated to work, the other one wasn’t. Now it was Soarin playing up. And in a way that made Rainbow Dash blush, as she didn’t want the persons at Sugarcube Corner today to take her for a ditz who liked to be cuddled in the corners, like in these stupid novels for girls that she hated.

As if the whole world was focusing on her…

Yet, there truly were a few persons captivated by the couple. More precisely one person. Pinkie Pie. Busy behind the counter, as soon as she had a moment, she would look at their table, hands under her chin, a tender smile plastered on her face.

Even if they didn’t do anything for it, they were so cute. She knew Rainbow Dash tried hard to keep her image of a tough cookie, but that in secrets of eyes and ears, she was full of small attentions for Soarin, and she liked when he took good care of her. Love between those two was obvious.

They were the stuff dreams are made for, since she didn’t have a boyfriend yet. Self-proclaimed their number one fan, thanks to them Pinkie Pie was living a love affair by proxy, as if they were the latest trendy TV show. What they had was perfect, according to her own definition, since they first were friends before being lovers. And it made their chemistry even more obvious.

As far as she was concerned, she didn’t think she had ever felt something like this for anyone. It might be so pleasant… Yet, she was aware such a complicity was rare. As probable as unearthing a black diamond. Seeing one from up close is the chance of a lifetime.

Of course, she was getting along fine with a boy she was chatting with on the internet since long ago, and whom she finally had seen a picture of, however she was far from having deep feelings for him. Undoubtedly, it would be easier if he were living in Canterlot and not in the “boondocks” of Hooftington.

Four teenage girls stepped into Sugarcube Corner, and Pinkie Pie snapped out of her fantasies. She displayed her widest professional smile, but saw three of them directly going to Rainbow Dash and Soarin’s table. The fourth girl seemed to have disappear. Yet she was sure there was a fourth one.

They stood in front of the couple with stars in their eyes.

“Oh my God, Rainbow Dash!”

“What?”

The young woman looked up from her chemistry book. Right when she finally focused on her studies, someone had to come over and bother them. The three girls in front of them seemed to be slightly younger than her, and were standing in front of her like they would in front of an international celebrity.

“What is it for?”

“I’m Sky Skimmer, and this is Moon Shadow and Hip Holly. We’re in eleventh grade and we admire you since we’ve arrived at CHS. We attend each of your games and competitions. We’re your most fervent fans.”

“You’re the best athlete of all Canterlot.”

“Hey, it’s true I’m rocking it! But the job of my most fervent fan is already taken by Scootaloo.”

What else could she answer? She knew she was good, only equaled by Applejack, but Applejack took part in no school competitions. Plus, long before those three, Scootaloo had displayed a great devotion to her, and conversely to them, she knew and liked the young girl.

It didn’t stop her from enjoying the compliment, of course. She was Rainbow Dash, after all, and although her ego wasn’t as huge as she tried hard to make believe, it took room anyhow.

“Well, of course, we don’t want to steal anybody’s place”, the third girl finally said, now she had stopped to stay dumbstruck like in front of a swarm of chocolate-flavored ice-creams. “We only wanted you to know how much we admire you.”

“It’s the first time we dare talking to you. Until now we were way too impressed.”

“Just don’t be. I only bite if I’m bitten first”, she claimed with a wink.

This little insignificant gesture from her launched a wave of high-pitched yelps from them. It was too much, even for Rainbow Dash. Alright, she was an excellent athlete, alright, she was cool, but she wasn’t Countess Coloratura. It didn’t deserve such a frenzy.

Remained silent until now, Saorin cleared his throat in order to show he was here as well, and explained the three teenage girls that although their attention was sweet, and Rainbow Dash was flattered, it was about time for them to resume working.

Their first reaction was to bounce on the spot.

“Wow, Soarin talked to us!” Moon Shadow claimed.

“We love your couple”, Hip Holly went on.

“Yes. We think you’re the perfect match for each other.”

“That’s because Soarin is as awesome as I am.”

Her boyfriend tried to glance annoyingly at her, frowning, and she understood that by taking part of the three teenage girl’s enthusiasm, there were risks for the conversation to last longer than expected. They had a lot to do, and since she seemed to be their idol and role model, it was her duty to show them a good example.

“He’s right. We have to work, sorry, girls. It’s important.”

“Oh yes, sorry. We won’t bother you anymore. It was so great to be able to speak with you, even a little.”

“Since we’re at CHS, don’t hesitate to come and speak with me more often. Only right now, I’m busy.”

“We really can do this? So awesome! It’s a dream come true.”

“We’ll do it, then. Have nice reviews!”

A few seconds later, they crossed Sugarcube Corner’s door, without even ordering something to eat or drink.

This encounter had been a bit strange, however Rainbow Dash was always happy to be complimented. Though she knew she’d never be friends with them – they were too extreme for her tastes – she’d found them sweet and rather awesome… since they were her fans!

Right before focusing back on those boring chemistry lessons, another person drew her attention. Someone it seemed she’d already seen in Canterlot High School’s corridors, but who had been absent for a long while. In fact, she even was convinced the young woman was in her class last year.

But when she wanted to see her again, she had disappeared.

The young woman in question went to that empty street near Sugarcube Corner, the same where Pinkie Pie had been framed by Lightning Dust.

There, Sky Skimmer, Moon Shadow and Hip Holly were expecting her. Like they often did, they were talking about Rainbow Dash but the difference was that this time, they had been able to speak with her. Their palpable excitation made them even more bouncy than they’d been in front of their idol.

“Have you heard the way she speaks? If we want to be as awesome as she is, we’d better start boasting a little.”

“Yes, but you also need to be serious when it’s necessary.”

“What about her hair? And her outfit? The jacket she was wearing is very expensive, it was satin…”

“That’s because her father’s very rich. To be awesome is a high price to pay. And let’s not forget about her organic low-fat diet, which gives her a firm body. It’s really expensive too.”

All three at the same time, they turned to their other friend, the one that had been in the background all the time.

In reality, she wasn’t their real friend. They had accepted this retaking student by their side only because she had been in the same class than Rainbow Dash, was in the same athletics club, and she was also from her neighborhood – which meant her parents had money. With the reputation preceding her, and her lopsided eyes, she could count herself lucky that they’d taken her in their group.

“Derpy, here you are! You took your time”, Moon Shadow said, putting her hands on her hips.

“We told you to be discreet, not to play sluggard.”

“Sorry, I wanted to drink a milkshake. It’s wrong to waste food.”

“Moron! Who told you to order anything?”

“But Pinkie Pie actually spotted me and asked me what I wanted to drink…”

“We should have told her to wait here.”

“Well, let’s go straight to the point”, Sky Skimmer claimed while walking to her. “How much money do you have?”

“Err… Fifty dollars.”

“What? Only fifty dollars? You really are no help! What the f*ck do you want us to do with fifty miserable dollars?”

“Maybe I could get fifty more by tomorrow morning…”

“We don’t need money tomorrow morning; we need money now! I want to buy the same energy drinks than Rainbow Dash.”

“But that’s all I have and Mom asked me to run errands for her.”

“What, do you refuse to give it to us? I thought we were your friends, Derpy!”

“Muffin… My name’s not Derpy, but Muffin.”

“And you answer back, with that. B*tch!”

On these words, Sky Skimmer made one more step in her direction, and slapped her under the silly giggles of her three associates. When she tried to defend herself, she received another slap, and Hip Holly and Moon Shadow took an advantage from it to steal her handbag.

Without even a single care about her protestations, the three teenage girls had fun sending her bag from hands to hands, and when it landed inside those of their “leader”, she ordered the other two to hold Muffin while she was stealing the money in her wallet.

“You don’t even have fifty dollars but forty dollars and forty bits! You said you had fifty!”

“But I had a milkshake.”

“And you want us not to call you Derpy? You really are retarded! You’d better bring us fifty more dollars tomorrow morning or we’ll no longer be your friends. You don’t want not to have friends, do you?”

Tears in her eyes, the young woman with golden hair nodded. All she got was a push and an interdiction to follow them at the mall.

When the three young women had left the street, Muffin, who couldn’t take it anymore, let herself fall on the ground, her head against her knees. Her sobs were resounding in the narrow street, but no one came to comfort her.

What had she done to deserve all this contempt? She had always been nice with her classmates, she had never looked for trouble. Because what had happened to her had resulted in the firing of her former science teacher, whom she appreciated a lot, everybody had let her down. And it wasn’t her fault if she was born cross-eyed. The surgery to get them a bit straighter was very expensive, and hadn’t better their position a lot…

Muffin wanted to find someone to blame for what was happening to her, in order not to end up believing she was the real problem. Being nice probably wasn’t fashionable enough. It was better to be “awesome”, whatever this was supposed to mean.

If only this kind of persons didn’t exist… She was sure she would feel better, and all her problems would disappear.

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

Hearing the screams from the bleachers, Cloud Kicker looked up. She was expecting to see Rainbow Dash’s friends, though normally they never interfered this way during practice. Instead there were three teenage girls with rainbow wigs on their head, shaking a small CHS flag.

“Do you know them?” she asked her partner, in the middle of her warm-up.

“More or less. They said they’re my fans…”

She tried her best to ignore them in order to stay focused on her stretching exercises and practice. Didn’t they know how crucial this year was for her on a sporting level? She really wanted to get this scholarship thanks to sports so she could go to College, though she wasn’t sure yet of what she wanted to learn there.

It could remain this way if only they weren’t disturbing the whole team with their strange encouragements. They already had enough of the cheerleaders! Both their tumbles and slogans were frequently polluting the atmosphere, to the extent that Rainbow Dash knew their litanies by heart.

Of course, she really enjoyed being a source of inspiration for the three young girls. However, there was a kind of attention which pleased, and a kind of attention which was a little too intrusive. And they actually were more likely to be part of the second category.

Something told her that if she wanted it to calm down, she’d have to go and talk to them. A few days ago, when she first met them at Sugarcube Corner, it hadn’t taken a lot of time to convince them that they’d better retreat and let her study.

As soon as they understood they were the ones she was coming to, all three teenage girls bounced at the same time, tight in each other’s arms. It was a bit ridiculous, to be honest. They’d already talked and met a several times at school.

“We’re here for support”, Hip Holly started as soon as the greetings ended.

“It’s so cool to attend athletics practice… I didn’t imagine it to be this way. There are so many various disciplines”, Moon Shadow went on.

“You’re very supple”, Sky Skimmer finished.

“Well… Certainly…”

For once, Rainbow Dash wasn’t really sure what to answer. Indeed, athletics offered a very large choice of disciplines and wasn’t limited to races and pole vaulting. Indeed, she was very supple, at least as much as the other athletes on the field and tracks, since it was one of the essential quality for this kind of sport.

She wasn’t going to reel off her life story to them, that at four, her father had forced her to have ballet dancing lessons and her teacher used to say she was “as straight as a wooden broom” – and she was in no way interested by leaps and pointes, anyway.

In fact, if she had come to them, it wasn’t in order to have a conversation with them. Each second spent chatting with them made her lose some muscular flexibility.

“I’m sorry, girls, but you can’t stay… Or if you really want to stay, you’ll have to do it quietly. You’re distracting the other athletes. And to be honest, you embarrass me a bit.”

“Oh, sorry, Rainbow Dash! We’ll only look at the show, we promise.”

“The show…? It’s just practice”, she answered, raising an eyebrow.

“That’s because you really are our model. So every time we see you, it’s feels like attending a real show.”

It was rather flattering, and Rainbow Dash liked flattery a lot. The only concern was that when it came to these three, she couldn’t help but being slightly ashamed and she thought as much fondness held a noxious side, something over the top that she didn’t enjoy. It probably came from the fact they were really effusive and that overflow of fervor made her feel awkward.

She had the impression that they weren’t impressed by the real Rainbow Dash, but by an image they had of her, like the one from a distorting mirror.

“It’s a good thing to have a source of inspiration… Myself, I have someone who inspires me every day but I know this person’s unique and I’ll never be her in any way.”

Once again, they didn’t need to know that she was talking about her mother. If there was a topic she didn’t want to discuss with those almost strangers, it was this one.

“It’s best to be yourself. Plus, I’m so awesome I’m truly inimitable!”

Well, show-off in small dose couldn’t do any harm. This was about being yourself, wasn’t it? So be it, she was herself! Something told her, seeing how enthusiastic they reacted after her punchline, that she wouldn’t get rid of them this way.

The best was to cut short immediately.

“I go back there or I’ll have to start my warm-up all over again. You’ll stay quiet, won’t you?”

“We promise, Dash!”

It was enough for her, and Rainbow Dash jogged down to Cloud Kicker, who hadn’t wait for her to start the first phase of practice without her.

She had to start over a part of her warm-up, as suspected, before joining her partner on the track, for a little endurance and preparation jogging.

Yet, though she was on the right track, passing by the bleachers, Rainbow Dash spotted Muffin, dressed for sport, sitting on the lowest rank of seats, looking at the runners with envy.

When she’d gotten home after Sugarcube Corner, she had to rack her brains in order to find who was the teenage girl she had had a glimpse of at the back table. When she had found, a few days later, as she was starting to fall asleep, she had jumped so abruptly in the bed that she’d woken up Soarin in the process.

In ninth and tenth grade, Rainbow Dash and her were in the same class. She was a very demure yet smiling young woman, who had her small bunch of friends and was part of both the chemistry and athletics clubs (though she never saw her running or throwing anything). The fact she had a slight disability because of her eyes never seemed to bother anyone.

Sometimes, when Rainbow Dash did her morning run all around her neighborhood, she could meet her walking her dog.

And, a bit like it happened for Octavia, suddenly, she vanished away. Disappeared. No one really knew what had happened to her… But the sure thing was that one of the science teacher had been fired at the same time than her disappearance. From here, rumors had started to go round, stating as truth that they both probably had lived a forbidden love story which had led to their expulsion. This rumor also said that Muffin had gotten pregnant and had to abort.

Rainbow Dash didn’t believe one bit of this story but the fact remained that her young classmate seemed to be no longer a part of the school.

Now, she fully realized she had been back for quite a while now but that her forced absence had obliged her to repeat a year.

Obviously, she identified with her a little. After all, she also had to desert the school’s corridors for quite some time and personal reasons, and the only thing that had prevented bad rumors about her was that a lot of pupils were scared of her and of Applejack.

She let Cloud Kicker know she could go on without her, and trotted in direction of her team coach, supervising everyone’s performances, a chronometer in his hands.

“Mr. Fire Streak… Why isn’t Muffin practicing with all the others? I never see her on the track.”

“And you won’t see her any time soon. She’s supposed to do hurdles race, but she is incapable of jumping without stumbling in her own feet!”

Rainbow Dash looked behind her at the bleachers where Muffin still sat – as well as her three fans who were waving at her but whom she chose not to answer. The young woman was staring enviously at the athletes, and even from afar, the look on her face made her understand how eager she was to run. It was something she could spot for miles around…

Jogging down, she caught back Fire Streak again, who had gotten away in order to supervise the practice of shot puts.

“If I may, I don’t think she’s going to get any better if she stays sitting around looking at the others.”

“Sorry, but she’s too much of a bother for ‘the others’, like you said, and I can’t spend the whole hour helping a student who will never be at any competitions.”

“What if someone from the team takes her under her wing? I’m OK to do this.”

“You?! Rainbow Dash, are you aware that you’re our best runner? You can’t waste your precious time helping another person. You have to practice.”

“My speed won’t lower just because I’ve helped her a bit, and you know it. It’ll be just for fifteen or twenty minutes, so she could at least participate a little.”

“Fine… Take fifteen minutes to explain her a thing or two. You’ll lose patience before it’s over, anyway. But after this, you go back to practice and make sure Cloud Kicker wouldn’t be partnerless for the whole practice time.”

“Thanks a lot, coach! You won’t regret it!”

At no moment had she stopped to jog in order not to lose tonus. Thanks to this, all it took were a few strides to be face to face with Muffin, who she waved at so she would go down and meet her.

The teenage girl was surprised and first thought Rainbow Dash was waving at someone else. Since she had returned to CHS, they hadn’t talked with each other at all. Before that, they said hello to each other and sometimes spoke a bit together… Everything was different before, anyway.

“What’s wrong? Do you need me to get something for you in the locker room?”

“Not at all. What made you believe I did? I’m here to help you practicing.”

Muffin widely opened her golden bright eyes. She’d expected anything but this. It was impossible that, among all the athletics club members, the largest one of CHS, the number one student came and offered her help. To her. The one girl rumors said to be a hidden lolita, a demon in a disguise of innocence, but also a lost cause of clumsiness.

Just because they used to speak together didn’t change the facts.

A doubt assailed her. What if it was a trap? Rainbow Dash was her three “friends”’ idol and she always feared the worst from them. She would never recover if this popular student humiliated her in front of everyone…

Yet, something special pushed her to give her a try. Although she often boasted a lot, Muffin also knew Rainbow Dash had a solid group of friends and she had never seen her lashing out at someone weaker. Conversely, she rather seemed to be the kind who liked challenges, and to choose to tie-break with persons as tough as her, if not who thought nothing of her.

That was what made her accept this aid. Without a care about the consequences. Nor about the eyes on her. Just spending time with someone who would treat her nicely, for a change. It couldn’t do her any harm, couldn’t it?

Comments

[Midday Giggle]

Oh these little f*cking rats! I can't believe out of all persons, Derpy! I like that name for her, but I'm not trying to insult her, I think it's adorable just like her.

Oh, and 6:25 p.m

Great chapter!

[Dusk_Writer]

When you said 'a famous character' Derpy never even came to my mind, lol! It was literally right in front of me!

Those frickin little shits…I can't wait to see their reaction when they see Dash helping Derpy 😏