Take My Heart, But Not My Studded Bracelets

by Xutiepops

Don't Open Up, Even If They Try Their Hardest

The day at the mall was surprisingly fun for each of the participants. Sunset snorted as Rainbow and Applejack only got higher and higher high scores to beat the other. The two decided to put their money together so they'd get equal tries. Sunset ended up using the last of it to get a big slushie for the three to share.

Rainbow Crash growled and took it, only leaving Applejack and Sunset to laugh. Soon, she was chuckling too. So, since their part was over, they were forced to follow Sunset around for the remainder of the time. Only then did they realize how loaded she actually was.

Applejack knew the girl lived in a big house, had a nice car, a chef, and maybe two maids. But she had no idea how rich the girl really was. Even if Sunset's parents both worked, she still didn't think the girl was that rich. Or well, she wasn't that rich, her family was.

Rainbow just begged her for more arcade money. Sunset always said 'no' with a cheap smirk that said she had something planned. Soon, they were in a store looking at clothes. Sunset kept offering the two clothes, but the two denied them.

"Please! For me?" Sunset begged. Applejack didn't over think it, but Crash did. She was surprised when Applejack didn't. But she didn't question that part.

So, she rolled her eyes. Her arms crossed, "Okay. But pick out something twenty percent cooler than anything you just picked." Sunset seemed ecstatic to dress up the brute. She jumped and ran back to the clothes with a huge smile.

"Hey, Jackie," Crash prompted. Applejack groaned at the nickname, she had always hated nicknames anyways. She walked over to Rainbow and waited to hear the rest of what she wanted. "You think you would ever like Sunset?"

The cowgirls cheeks flared red at the question. She stomped her foot, then, she took a deep breath and sighed. She actually thought over the question and took a look at the girl as she desperately looked for clothes Crash would like. Applejack sighed again. "Nah, ah mean... sure she's girly and pretty... but she's also annoyin'."

Crash smirked smugly. "Oh really? I thought annoying, pretty, and girly was your thing, AJ," Crash shoved her hands in her pockets. Her smirk only grew at the sight of Applejack glowering at her.

"Rarity ain't annoyin', she's irritatin'. Besides..." she started strong and ended weak. She sighed and looked to the ground, remembering the events from earlier. "Ah don't feel this guilty when ah make Sunset sad." She didn't want anything like a sweet reaction or a sorrowful hug. She just wanted it to be there. That awkward silence that would break sooner or later.

"Don't worry, my plan'll work," Crash too another sip of the slushie. Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"X'cuse me, partner? Rarity ain't never gonna like me, she hates me and she'd rather have a knight in shining armor," Applejack fought. She took another look at Sunset, trying to find some attraction to anyone but Rarity. She sighed and looked away. Not even a taking-friendship-up-a-knotch feel.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Exactly! Sweetheart in a punk clothing," Rainbow cooed sweetly. Then, she went smug again. "Please! No girl could resist a bad guy, they love 'em!"

Applejack ignored it. It was the most logical way of stopping it indifferently and assumed hurt. But she'd have that over figuring it out logically. That just meant talking to a teenage fuck up. No way was she going to let her secrets or feelings out just yet.

But it seemed she didn't have to. Sunset showed Crash a pretty adorable outfit if anything. It was a black tank top with ripped, black jeans. The smile Crash had on her face told Sunset she liked it. So, Sunset went smug.

"Ya like? I don't know if you can wear it at school without a jacket, but," Sunset started with a smirk. Crash wasn't thinking and simply nodded. So, Sunset lunged the outfit forward. "Try it on, I'm not going to let you have it unless."

Crash was shocked as she grabbed it from Sunset's forceful hands. "Wait, I thought you just wanted me to put something on." Sunset stared at her for a bit before laughing, which on its own pissed Crash off.

Sunset smiled, "Of course not! You and AJ need cute outfits for when we go to the movies!" She clasped her hands together and smiled. She took a look at Applejack and nodded with determination, she raced back to the racks. Now Applejack stood confused right next to Crash.

"Movies?" Crash asked.

"Y'all making me wear somethin' too?" Applejack asked.

Sunset simply giggled at the two. "After this, I thought we could get dinner and watch some awesome action movie. And you two are not going to be seen in those when you're walking with me." Crash gave her an annoyed look while Applejack was still confused.

"We ain't even that good of friends, why we seein' a movie together?... And gettin' dinner?" Applejack asked. Sunset walked over to Applejack with an outfit in hand. She smiled as Applejack went red.

The outfit consisted of a look alike to Sunset's shirt and some short jean shorts. Applejack shook her head. "Uh-uh! Ah ain't wearin' that!" She exclaimed.

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Fine, but it's just a little skin. You're keeping the shirt, I'll just get longer shorts," she walked off after leaving the shirt with Applejack. Once Applejack realized Crash was gone, she continued to fret over the circumstance.

"I thought y'all didn't like Crash," Applejack said and walked over to Sunset Shimmer who was looking over a shelf. Sunset rolled her eyes.

"One, Crash offered the day. I just made it a night. Two, I've spent a year and a quarter with her. Might as well spend as much time as possible with her," Sunset deadpanned, looking through shorts. She finally pulled a pair of capris-like shorts and held the waist-band up to Applejack's hips.

Applejack went red and backed away as fast as she could. Sunset just laughed at her and smirked, "Perfect. Plus, you're really gay, AJ." Suddenly, a light bulb went off in her head as she smiled brightly. She started laughing, "Gay... AJ! It rhymes!" She continued to laugh while Applejack rolled her eyes.

Suddenly, Crash walked up with a huge smirk. Sunset practically screamed her girlish squeal at the sight of Crash wearing the outfit. She clapped her hands. "You look so good! And badass too... love it!" she spun happily.

Crash smirked. "I do look pretty awesome in it," she gloated.

Sunset turned to Applejack. "Alright. Take that off so I can pay for it and make Applejack put that on," she pointed to the clothes in Applejack's arms. Rainbow smirked.

"Playing as twins?" Crash asked with a smirk as she tilted her head to stare at them. Sunset started laughing, but never answered the question. Rainbow grabbed Applejack's wrist and led her to the changing rooms.

Applejack sighed as she was pushed into one. She hated changing rooms anyways. She always felt like someone would burst in or that someone was watching her. But, she ignored it and started undressing.

The second she walked out she heard a squeal. Sunset and Rainbow stood right there with their respective smile and smirk. "You look so cute!" Sunset gushed happily. She was such a brat. But then again, brats liked dressing up Barbie dolls.

Applejack looked down at the outfit. It was one she could work in, well she could work in the capris. Not the shirt. But she was almost happy to see Sunset so happy. Sunset clapped her hands, "And you could wear a cowgirl hat and boots with it! You'd look so cute!"

Rainbow smirked at her. "How could Rarity resist you now?" she asked smugly. While her and Sunset laughed, Applejack turned back to the dressing room. She had no want to talk about Rarity. She didn't even want to hear the name much less think about the girl.

But all she could think about was Rarity. And she hated it. She had always thought about Rarity until she got distracted. The girl boiled her blood, irritated her to no end, made her so jealous she'd explode! So why couldn't Applejack stop thinking about her? It was obvious she had hateful feelings towards her... so why did her mind only show her the sweetness and desire?

Her mind played images of the two talking over a fancy dinner. While Applejack questioned the class, Rarity would be infuriated with the cowgirls manners. Then the two would ride home in the blissful silence of a nice night.

Applejack groaned as she mentally made an 'x' on the picture multiple times until it faded away. She sighed and started taking off the stupid outfit, putting her other one on to replace it. She would never get used to showing skin like Rainbow or Sunset. The only reason she wore a tank top so much was because she worked on a farm. And most of the time she'd slip a jacket over it anyways!

But Rainbows favorite things were tank tops, and Sunsets were mini skirts. She sighed and walked out, handing the outfit to Sunset who was going to willingly buy it along with the rest of her stuff. Sunset smiled as she walked up to the cashier and dropped her clothing load in front of him. She gave a wink and flirtacios talk and got an once-a-day discount.

She smiled as she dropped bag after bag on the two strong girls. Even so, both had weak arms compared to the fabric they held up. They weren't even out the door and the two were struggling to keep going. Sunset rolled her eyes and took a bit off of the two reluctantly. The two smiled in relief and started to walk normally.

They soon made a bet of who could get to Sunset's car and Rainbow Crash's motorcycle the quickest. They were almost hit by a car and forgot about it.

They decided against dinner. Applejack thought it was too personal, Rainbow said they'd get enough popcorn to make up for it, and Sunset thought the waiting and eating at a restaurant would take up too much time. Rainbow and Applejack were excited at the idea at fast food, but Sunset firmly told them no.

So, just as the sun set, they walked into the movie theater. They saw what was playing a decided a highly reviewed horror movie. The movie was good to say the least. Of course, Sunset clutched Crash with all her might as the monster jumped to the front of the screen, which simply led the girls to laugh and pick at her.

So she started simply hiding behind her hands. Which still didn't help her from getting picked on. Her reaction was to, of course, yell at them and be a jerk. Which she did. It didn't do anything but fuel the laughter of the two more.

Once they left, it was only eight. Applejack and Sunset took the latters car home while Rainbow took her motorcycle. She said bye to the two and dashed off. She loved riding her bike, so of course she would take the chance to ride it as fast as possible.

She loved the adrenaline, the wind in her hair, the blurred surroundings. It felt as if she was going too fast for the world to catch up. She adored the feeling, especially at night with the dark sky beaming down and falling victim to the lights of todays buildings, signs, vehicles, and street lights.

But Canterlot was one of the safest places in the whole country. She despised it. She could almost imagine racing past an alleyway and seeing some thugs. She itched to hear police sirens ring all night, she savored any time any crime happened.

It only made her rides that much more safe. When she didn't want them to be safe. She wanted to feel dangerous and fear mixed with adrenaline. She would've loved to get stuck in a serious street fight and defend herself all on her own. Then, she'd walk out with bruises and cuts covering her, barely able to walk. She'd look up and see a face she adored, a worried expression that was so mixed with relief, fear, and anger.

But, of course, that only happened in movies. If she was caught in a situation like that, she'd be too terrified to make any effective movements. She might've get a punch in and a broken nose, but nothing more. She'd be the one laying in at alleyway after a dangerous encounter. She'd also be alone when her body decided to function.

And once she went home, she'd be too cowardly to ask for help. So, she'd cry in her room and live with her awful condition, expecting to get up the next morning with no one at all. That's why it was so nice to imagine things, you didn't have the hard truth to hold you back. Too bad no one can run away from something that's fact.

She turned into the nice, nice neighborhood that was hers. Well, more the one she lived in. She didn't own it. She chuckled to herself as she thought something similar, thinking she was stupid for playing specifics and corrections. She slowed down near a house close to the entrance and drove into the driveway.

Her house was nice, it wasn't run down or not taken care of. The yard was cut, there was the picket fence, there was the red minivan in the garage. She sighed as she dismounted from her bike as it was placed leaning against the side of the house.

She really didn't feel like talking to her parents (parent? She didn't know who was home, so she stopped caring), so she went to the back of the house and saw the lovely back porch set up like it was ready for a family barbecue. She saw the usual black beach chair in the corner. A black blanket covered the entirety, but a blue one sat in an ugly pile at the end.

She smiled in relief at it. It was her seat. Where no one could mess with her or talk to her. No one would bother her if she sat there, she could be free of constant annoyance if she just sat down. So, she did. She sat down on the chair and pulled the blue blanket out of its tangled ball and cuddled up into it.

The night was nice, a slight breeze was overall countered by the nice heat of the night. The blanket was freezing, as it usually was, so it was perfect to counter the heat. She was so happy to just relax and to end up falling asleep outside. She doubted the night was going to get that much colder.

She fell asleep. But it was one of the best sleeps of her life, with the worst nightmare she had ever had.

---

While she had good sleeps all weekend, it didn't help with what she knew she had to do. And she could've gotten away with not doing it if it wasn't for Spitfire and Lightning Dust coming up to her and reminding her. Sure, she was forgetful, but they knew she couldn't forget this.

She groaned and stomped her way to first period. All she did was try to pay attention, but she was too pissed off to focus. After that class, she realized she didn't learn anything and just got depressed. It only set in the feeling more. And seeing the egghead didn't help.

The girl seemed like she barely needed to pay attention, as if she already knew it all. Even Fluttershy seemed like she knew it all, but she still took notes. And Pinkie Pie smiled as she answered all the questions correctly. All the while Rainbow was confused the whole time. Which was probably because she hadn't been to the class in a few days and didn't pay attention even when she was there.

Rainbow hated the sight of it. Everyone around her was so much smarter than her. And it came so easy to them, it was like she just got the bad end of life. And she couldn't focus for anything since she was trying to come up with a way to even ask the egghead in a way to where she would say yes. She doubted the girl would say yes, but it was worth a shot.

If she got a good sleep, she could at least do this for herself. So, she sighed as her stomach churned during lunch. She couldn't possibly ask Twilight then in front of all her friends. Her best option was at the end of the day, but that led to so many things that could screw it up.

She could leave early, she could be riding home with someone else, and she could be staying after and Crash had no idea. There were so many things that could screw her over. And she couldn't wait until the end of the day! Her stomach couldn't take it. And she did awful under pressure. How could she focus in class when she was like this? She couldn't, which was just another day of missing work.

It was weird to walk into fourth period. The teacher gave her a weird look as she took her seat, she was surprised she remembered it, and that it hadn't changed. She ignored the weird stares and faces that looked on the verge of laughing. Of course, she'd shoot them a glower and make them stop, but that didn't stop them from starting.

She was actually able to focus in that class. She understood some of the stuff, and she wrote down what she didn't understand so she could try and figure it out herself if things went south with Twilight. Even the teacher was surprised when he called on her and she gave the right answer. Of course, he had to give a smart comment. She usually would've glowered at him or give him the finger. But she felt proud, proud that she could surprise Mr. Cranky, the worse teacher in school. She snorted happily and looked out the window.

Of course, with the last ten minutes of class, her stomach churned and her palms got sweaty. But she soon calmed herself, the nerd should be graced with her presence, the nerd might as well had needed her. She smirked, feeling empowered like usual when she got cocky.

The bell rung and she stood up and raced out of the classroom, eager to get to her motorcycle so she was there before Twilight. She smiled as she slammed her locker shut and slung her backpack over her shoulder. She almost skipped blissfully to the front doors.

As she approached the doors, she wished she had a skateboard and she could just glide through the halls and skate off of the railings onto the ground. Though it was really middle-schoolish, she still thought it was a cool idea. She jumped through the doors and looked back cockily.

Fear struck her down again, she saw Twilight walking through the doors. Alone, with a book in hand while her purple backpack was put over both shoulders. She smiled as she looked around blissfully, she pushed one of her bangs behind her ear and Rainbow was speechless. The sun on the girl as she walked through the doors made her almost... pretty? No, she couldn't think that. It was an egghead.

She took a deep breath and puffed out her chest. This was her chance, she could just get it over with now and be fine. She breathed out and walked towards Twilight.

Twilight wasn't looking, she was too busy looking at the pretty fall. The leaves were starting to go orange and fall to the ground. She loved fall, it was the only time leaves changed, then again, she loved it for a lot of things. Like the fact that school started in fall and that leaves changing color is science.

So, her face imploded into red once a cyan hand was place above her chest. She squeaked and jumped away, holding her book up in front of her face. She instantly heard that annoying laughter and grimaced behind the book, but her face only seemed to get redder, and it wasn't from embarrassment.

"Bahahaha! You should've seen your face!" The voice called. Twilight groaned as she dropped the book from her face and could look at the brute. Such a carefree soul, she was so lucky.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Well, most people don't just touch others chests with no good reason!" Twilight grimaced further at the small chuckle that emitted from Rainbow.

"Alright, first off," Rainbow started. "I had a reason, and two, it's not like I touched your tit." She laughed again as Twilight's face turned red once again. Twilight easily let the shock off for it to boil into anger.

"Well?" she said loudly to cut off the laughter. "What do you want?" Rainbow became noticeably nervous again. Her hand reached to the back of her neck, her gaze adverted, her other hand shoved into her pocket, she kicked the ground near her. Twilight simply waited.

Rainbow sighed and finally looked up at Twilight, only to look away again. "Uh..." she started and looked up again. She held the gaze a bit longer before letting her cowardice show. She finally took a deep breath again and spoke. "Your, uh, offer still... up?"

Twilight stared in confusion for a second, then realization hit her fast as she stared at the nervous brute. She was almost touched, the brute dropping a proud façade to let way for her true fear through a person like her. Of course, that wasn't it, but Twilight thought it was. She smiled, then decided she actually had to contemplate this.

If she did it, she'd get a few hours out of her week. She'd get a few hours away from her old friends and her new friends. Could she really do that for a brute? But she did say she would, could she really break her word? She looked at Rainbow and saw the forced smirk on her face as she rubbed her hands together through the sweaty palms.

So, she smiled and spoke. "Sure," she said happily. Rainbow let out a sigh of relief and turned away with a cocky smirk. Twilight rolled her eyes and pushed up her glasses. She held her book to her chest and tapped Rainbow on the shoulder before the brute could leave. Crash turned to her with confusion, even if it was met with a kind smile.

"Uh, want to start now? I mean... your deadline is Friday..." Twilight said, finally understanding how awkward this really was. Rainbow went red and nodded sheepishly. She smirked up nervously at Twilight's nervous smile. Twilight looked around and saw no one around. She turned back to Rainbow, "Wanna work here? I mean, no ones around."

Rainbow seemed indecisive, but nodded anyways. Twilight smiled giddily as she took a seat, putting her book down next to her and slinging her book bag over her shoulders to look through it. Rainbow took a seat next to her and peered over Twilight's shoulder to get a better look at what she was looking for. "So, what's your lowest grade?" Twilight asked happily as she continued to look.

Rainbow stood quiet as she tried to remember. It should've been in Cranky's class, but she could understand that easier than she could any other class. "Uh, Cheerilee's," she responded short and harsh. Which was obviously taken badly by Twilight since she seemed to tense up and look through her stuff a lot faster. Rainbow got bored and reached behind her to find the book on the other side of Twilight. She found it with a cheeky smirk and grabbed, careful not to let it hit Twilight's back.

Her cheeky smirk grew as she turned to see the cover. Her smirk faded at the sight of the cover, wonder and astonishment covered her face. Suddenly, the book was snatched from her with a growl. "Hey! You could at least be considerate!" Twilight shouted.

Rainbow was too shocked to respond. Twilight pouted as her cheeks went red, she clutched the book to her chest tighter. "Go ahead, laugh. I know it's a stupid book series."

Rainbow shook her head and coughed. "Uh, yeah, stupid book series."

Twilight found immediate offense. "Hey! Do you even know it!?" She scoffed, "Of course not, I'd be surprised if you'd found any book appealing."

Twilight whirled to Rainbow, her anger at it's peak. "Just so you know, it's an amazing book series! The characters have so much life and the adventures are so fun and realistic! It's so descriptive and leaves the reader with such an inquiry for more!" Now she was just complimenting it.

She continued. "Each one has a twist, a cool ending line, a cliff-hanger which leaves the reader begging for the next one!" Rainbow covered the girls mouth with annoyance.

"Cool, sounds great," Rainbow said, annoyance covered her face. She flinched as she felt her hand get hotter and took it away from Twilight. She almost seemed nervous, and she kept glancing at the book in Twilight's arms. And all her answers since she found it seemed half-hearted, as if she didn't mean it. Twilight smiled brightly in wonder as she put two and two together

Twilight smiled in astonishment, "Wait. You like Daring Do? Unbelievable!" She seemed so giddy about it. Rainbow went red and shook her head.

"No way! Books are for eggheads!" Rainbow asked, annoyance still covered everything she did while fake-anger and offense sat over her shoulder. But even her annoyance didn't cool Twilight off, the nerd was so damn happy.

"I've never met anyone who liked Daring Do!" Twilight smiled and looked down at the book lovingly. She saw the face of denial on Rainbow, but her smile didn't shift. "C'mon! It's not bad to like a book! It is one of the cooler ones anyways." Rainbow leaned forward and scooted closer to Twilight so that their shoulders touched. Twilight tensed and went red while Rainbow looked angrily at the book. "I don't like any stupid book made for eggheads," she said coldly. Suddenly, Twilight went sorrowful.

"You know you won't be judged for liking it around me... so why hide the fact that you like it?" Twilight asked sadly. Once she didn't get an answer, she continued. "I won't think any less of you."

Rainbow's stare cut into Twilight, "I didn't ask to be buddies, I asked for you to help me."

"And letting you open up from your high and mighty shell isn't helping?" Twilight asked angrily, already feeling like she was in a high school romance drama. She seemed so infuriated by Rainbow, and she looked like she was going to cry. But Rainbow didn't care, she was still going to be a jerk.

"This isn't some intricate high-school drama story, nerd," Rainbow flicked Twilight's forehead. "I'm not hiding anything and I don't need help 'opening up' because of everyone else who hurt me in the goddamn past. Now, you gonna help me or not?" She seemed just as mad as Twilight. Though she smirked slightly at the look on Twilight's face when she flicked her.

Twilight growled, "No! I'm not gonna help a jerk!" She stood to her feet and fumed. She grabbed her stuff and her book. She huffed, "And I'm definitely not going to help someone who calls me names!" She stomped down a few steps.

Rainbow's eyes widened as she was physically losing her chance. She mentally slapped herself for being a jerk and fumbled for something to do. She sighed and reached forward for Twilight's wrist, she grabbed it and felt it tense up under her hand. She almost liked it. And hated it.

Twilight looked back at her and she seemed so hurt. Rainbow suddenly sighed and spoke, "Please? ... Twilight." Even if she seemed pissed at herself for doing it, she still did it. Twilight smiled happily and clutched her book to her chest tightly as Rainbow let go of her hand.

"Sure!" She smiled and plopped down next to Rainbow. Crash stared at the girl in awe as she looked happily through her stuff again. She suddenly pulled a big binder out of her bag and flipped through some of the contents. "So, today in class... did you understand any of it?"

Rainbow was so confused. How did she act as if they didn't have a moment there? Oh whatever, it didn't matter to her, and it obviously didn't to Twilight. "Uh, not really."

"I expected that," Twilight said happily as she pulled out some papers covered in notes and blank pieces. "You weren't there when we started learning it. You're lucky we only have a test over this stuff and not a comprehensive one like usual."

Of course the egghead's words confused her. "Huh? Comprehensive?" She took it upon herself to take a look through some of the notes so she could have a brief understanding. She maybe got five percent of hundred.

Twilight turned to Rainbow and started organizing her stuff. "Yeah, it means everything we've learned over the year. That's why she gives them once every month." Now Rainbow was freaking out, but she didn't let it show. She'd just get everything else over the year for herself, she wouldn't need the egghead for the rest of the year.

"So! I'll give you a sort of pretest like thing. Then we can get through half of the material today, half tomorrow, and work on your other classes the rest of the week!" Twilight said happily.

Rainbow was stunned, "Wait, wait, wait.... you want me to do this every day?" Twilight nodded.

"You have three more days until you have three tests. I doubt your coach will let you play if you get anything below a B." Twilight explained as if there was nothing wrong with it. Once she saw Rainbow's shock, she softened up and smiled motherly. "You'll catch on pretty quickly, it isn't that hard."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow in annoyance. "Says the egghead that gets everything easy," she rolled her eyes. Twilight laughed and smiled.

"Trust me, I know what's difficult for others to understand and what's not. I mean, if Pinkie can understand it, you can too," Twilight said soothingly. "An hour after school every day isn't going to hurt, right?"

Rainbow sighed and looked over some of the notes again, determination covering her face. "Uh, yeah... gets me home later anyways." Before Twilight could even guess, she stopped her with a somewhat nice smirk. "I just like riding at night, 'kay? I don't have the worse parents or anything."

Before she knew it, a melodious tone filled her ears as Twilight laughed in bliss. Her cheeks turned red as she looked over the notes again, trying to focus on something else. Why was this egghead so pretty? Was she pretty? No, no she wasn't. It just reminded her of Sunset, and she didn't find Sunset pretty at all.

But how could a nerd who has a heart and a sweet smile remind her of a heartless cheerleader?

Author's Note:

Tell me what you think! Hope you enjoyed a nice, long chapter!