> The Truth About Girls (Vol. 3)
>  by TheMareWhoSaysNi
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Drop Dead Gorgeous (part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

	Glancing at her calendar, Rarity realized today was the first day of the last school holidays before summer. Time had spent so fast…

It undoubtedly meant she could expect to see her little sister Sweetie Belle accompanied by her two lovely friends, and that the young teenage girl would be under her feet all week long. Until she would decide to do her homework. Rarity liked to spend time with the young girl but she hoped the latter wouldn’t come and mess her fabrics up or steal her sewing scissors for her latest artistic creation.

Anyway, she was going to be very busy for days and Sassy was ordered not to let Sweetie Belle enter into her workshop in her absence.

She fit the black muslin, laces and taffeta dress one last time on the foam mannequin and took one step back in order to admire her latest creation. Perfect. She was sure Hoity Toity wouldn’t believe his eyes. If he didn’t, then Rarity swore she wasn’t Rarity anymore!

This preliminary phase for the election of Miss Teen Equestria was a chance the young fashion designer didn’t want to miss for anything in the world. With the famous couturier as a member of the jury, it could only benefit her career. Of course, she was going to have competition but Rarity trusted her talent.

After all, Vogue Equestria already wrote an article about her, and the local fashion bloggers swore only by her. She even been elected “newcomer with the greatest potential” by the magazine and in the editorial that matched pictures of some of her finest creations, it was written that if one day she decided to do prêt-à-porter, she would probably become a fashion icon.

Rarity couldn’t dream of anything than starting an international business, but it demanded a lot of money, and although she earned a satisfying living, it wasn’t enough to start something this big.

When this young woman named Bell Perin had entered the boutique, asking her whether she could become her personal stylist for the Canterlot preliminary phase of Miss Teen Equestria, Rarity had immediately identified the potential and said yes, since she’d read a bit earlier that the famous couturier Hoity Toity would be there.

For the occasion, she had created a total of four dresses plus one swimming suit demanded by the Organization Committee, though she thought this order was a little immoral since this was a beauty pageant for teenage girls.

Rarity was satisfied of her work. Each of her creations had a different style, from chic to modern, and, she was sure, they would highlight the young woman’s physical characteristics, like her gorgeous curly hair and her beautiful blue eyes.

She lifted her dress’s sleeve, and looked at her watch. Bell Perin would soon arrive to give her opinion on the outfits she’d wear during the contest which would take place in three days. She still had a little bit of time left to prepare tea and biscuits…

While she was in the stairs going to her apartment above her workshop, Rarity heard her landline phone ring and dashed upstairs to pick it up. Two days before she’d ordered pearls and she didn’t want to miss any call, in case there would be a problem with her delivery.

“Hello?” she said, almost breathless.

“Miss Rarity?” a female voice questioned at the end of the line.

She was calling home, who else did she think would pick up the phone?

“Oh, hello, Bell Perin! I was just starting to prepare everything for your arrival.”

“That’s why I’m calling…”

“Is there a problem?” Rarity asked, thinking she’d heard the young woman coughing in a muffled way.

“I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to compete for the pageant!”

A short moment of silence floated between them, so that Rarity, her hands clenched around the receiver, could take into accounts all the parameters of what it meant for her… Well, Bell Perin probably had a good reason. Or at least, she hoped she did or the young designer wouldn’t take it graciously.

“What’s wrong?”

Rarity hoped her voice didn’t sound too upset. She might not since her correspondent went on with a voice that was disarming of sincerity and regrets.

“I’ve caught chickenpox while babysitting! There are spots all over my body and my face and I’m feeling sore. It was the last occasion for me to take part in the pageant, that’s so unfair!”

Yes, unfair… Or a bit stupid. When you knew you didn’t get chickenpox in your childhood, you didn’t babysit children without cautious, especially a few weeks before such an important event.

Of course Rarity, who barely knew Bell Perin, kept her opinion to herself. She only sympathized with her and gave away words of comfort, although she thought she was the one who needed them the most right now. The teenage girl could still take part in pageants as an adult, but she would get no other opportunities like this one.

And what was she going to do with the dresses she had created especially for the occasion? Sell them in her boutique? Even if it was a possibility, it also was a very little comfort. She had chosen the design of these dresses for the purpose matching the stakes. It almost felt like trying to sell outfits for figure skaters mainstream. Possible, but somewhat strange.

When hanging up, Rarity took a glimpse around her, a bit beaten by this disappointment. It was a knock, and if she’ll probably get over it, she also knew it would take a much longer road to get what the pageant could have brought her in a couple of hours.

As her eyes fell on a picture of her and her friends that was pinned above her TV set, her eyes brightened up. Everything wasn’t lost… Bell Perin couldn’t participate and so, what? This city was full of teenage girls as pretty as pictures who wouldn’t refuse her such a favor, in exchange of free outfits.

That was a piece of luck, since she knew six of them personally. They all were pretty their own way, and by fitting her outfits to the size and style of one of them, Rarity didn’t doubt she could take part in the contest of the Canterlot preliminary phase of Miss Teen Equestria.

All she had to do was to ask them and see which one of them will be OK to try. They could do that for her, after all, they were her friends and they loved her and wanted her to succeed. Didn’t they?

--------------------------------------------

It was rather unusual for Rarity to invite them to come by after school. Especially without warning. Basically, they would see each other on weekends, or they had an appointment at least one week in advance. Even if, technically, Friday evening could count as the weekend.

She’d prepared Earl Grey tea and cucumber sandwiches; the way she did when she wanted to cause a sensation. From this, the six friends draw the conclusion that something important was going on.

Maybe she wanted to tell them Sapphire Shore had once again asked for her assistance. It would undoubtedly be a great step for Rarity. It could mean she’d been able to keep her famous patron’s faithfulness and that her creations would gain even more visibility.

If it was the case, Pinkie Pie was thinking this was too nice of a party. This event should have been celebrated in pomp and circumstance. So, either it was something else, either Rarity was acting humble. In either way, she’d do her best to fix this.

“Well… I’d like to display patience but I think it’s better to get to the heart of the matter. I summoned you because I need your help.”

They immediately all thought their hunch about Sapphire Shore was confirmed. They bet the singer had ordered new outfits for a new tour, or maybe for some music video, or for televised awards, and Rarity thought she could ask them to assist her the way they did last winter. Though they weren’t professionals of sewing, the young woman had been satisfied with their work.

And, she knows they were on holidays and that, technically speaking, they had time.

“In three days, will be held the Canterlot preliminaries of Miss Teen Equestria beauty pageant in which the famous couturier Hoity Toity will take part as a member of the jury. I was supposed to be this young girl, Bell Perin, stylist, but she had to withdraw from the competition, and here I am in a dead-end. It would have been a golden opportunity for me to finally get noticed.”

Alright.

The six friends looked at each other, unsure of what their friend was exactly expecting from them. They wouldn’t force Hoity Toity to come and check out Rarity’s creations, and he would probably not give a single care about what a bunch of teenage girls had to say to him.

“Oh, I know!” Pinkie Pie claimed, putting her hand up as if she were being questioned in school. “You want us to plan a fashion show for this Sir!”

“How could it even be possible? Mr. Hoity Toity is a very busy man, it’s already very nice of him to come and be here for the preliminary phase of such a pageant.”

“Then I have no idea of what you want.”

Rarity took a glimpse at Twilight who answered by shrugging. Really… Where their reasoning was? Was it homework that made them unable to decipher her? Yet, it seemed the young woman the favor she wanted to ask them was clear.

But since, in all likelihood, it wasn’t the case, then too bad. She would just tell them.

“I need one of you to take part in the pageant and so, I could show my creations the way I should have. All it would take are a few little changes. What do you think?”

Amazement let way to surprise. It was so simple none of them had guessed. And most importantly, if Rarity thought this favor was nothing at all, they all realized what it implied.

In front of this lack of enthusiastic answer, Rarity bridled her excitement and displayed an upset face, clearing her throat while fingering her blouse’s collar.

“Well, I know you girls are on holidays but I was expecting something else. You don’t want to help me to make my dream come true, that’s fine, I take note.”

“Oh, don’t think that, Rarity”, Fluttershy started. “I’d love to do this favor for you but… a pageant, in front of people, I could never do that.”

“Yes, obviously”, the woman in question answered, now a bit less upset. “That’s a pity since I’m sure you would be dazzling in such a contest.”

“Same for me here, I’d have participated with pleasure to help you, but during holidays I have to be at the tattoo workshop every day and I can’t allow myself not to come. I save this money for College.”

“Don’t worry, I understand. Thanks, Sunset Shimmer… Twilight, maybe it could be interesting for you? This would be a good way to perfect your talents as a speaker.”

“It’s nice of you but I don’t think I have the researched “profile” for such a contest. Plus, I have tons of reviewing to do. You know this is almost homestretch and I have to maintain my level if I want to get this Royal Scholarship.”

There were only three persons left, among which two hadn’t said anything yet. Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy and Twilight all had really good reasons, and she couldn’t oblige them to cast aside what was the most important for them in order to help her. It was their future, after all… Although in Fluttershy’s case, the problem rather was Fluttershy herself.

A wide smile on her face, Rarity turned to the three winners, curious to see which one would sacrifice on behalf of their friendship. For each, she could already envision what changes to do to the dresses. They all represented a different kind of charm which, undoubtedly, would let no judge indifferent. Especially if highlighted by her care.

“Oh, easy now! Am already the image of my family’s products, Ah can’t be a Miss. My sponsors won’t like it.”

“Please, your sponsors will hit the roof once they’ll learn and see all the money it would give them. You should do it, AJ.”

“And why wouldn’t it be ya instead, Dash? Would do good to yar image.”

“Because… Because… Because… I haven’t grown big enough boobs! Pinkie Pie is better equipped than me.”

“It’s true! Hey, wait a minute! No. Beauty pageants aren’t fun, you have to stay for a looong while without moving and I’m unable to do this. Applejack knows this by heart.”

“Staying to hear the announcement of the winners in rodeo contests doesn’t count, Pinkie. Dash, on the other hand, really love to strut and swagger.”

“I love winning; it isn’t strutting at all! Can you picture me smiling like a dimwit for two hours? Ugh!”

“So ya see me best at it, then?”

“Yeah. Just sacrifice yourself in the name of friendship.”

“We could say the same thing about you, AJ.”

“ENOUGH!” Rarity yelled, tired of hearing them argue about who wouldn’t go. “None of you want to help me, I got it. Drink up your tea and shut up, for Heaven’s sake.”

The three friends looked at each other, aware that this time, their argument had been no fun to watch and hear, especially not for the person it concerned. Maybe they had shown their reluctance too vehemently and now, they had upset Rarity who yet was always there to help them.

Guilt took over them and at first, they only drank up their cups of tea like ordered, without a word or a glance at anyone.

Well, after all, this was only a beauty pageant, nothing harmful. They weren’t even asked to win but only to participate. And it wasn’t a favor asked by anyone… They had to find a solution in order to help her.

“Since we don’t seem to agree, Ah offer that we draw straws to decide who’d go.”

“Oh yeah, it’s a really good idea, AJ, I love this game.”

“No kidding? It’s just taking things in the middle of other things…”

“I just love things.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes then, still reluctant, agreed with Applejack. Rarity’s displayed expression was much cheerier than a few minutes before, and it’s almost bouncing around she went and picked up the wooden chopsticks she kept in her drawers in order to eat her favorite tofu noodles from Minako’s, the Silk Street’s Japanese restaurant.

None really were of the same length, although it was sometimes subtle. It didn’t matter… This would do the trick.

To guarantee the game’s impartiality, Twilight was chosen to hold the chopsticks together while the girls were drawing theirs all at the same time. And so, the risks of cheating were limited, especially coming from one of them who, sometimes, didn’t hesitate to manipulate the rules.

Although usually, she would do it in order to win, not to lose.

Unfortunately for this person in question, when the three girls compared their chopstick, she was the one who had drew the shortest.

Her friends looked at Rainbow Dash in a devilish way that immediately had her panic.

“Oh no. No, no, no, no, no, no. No! I’m sorry, Rarity, I love you but this… is too much, I just can’t.”

“You can’t help it”, Pinkie Pie giggled. “These are the rules of the game.”

“Have mercy. Not this. Beauty pageants are… a ninny type of thing! All the girls doing them are… Like, they can only talk about nail polish and trendy actors. I can’t do that, it’s beyond me.”

She was only half-joking. These kind of things were the complete antithesis of awesomeness, the opposite of what she regarded as fascinating. And, she wasn’t good-looking enough for that. She was small, she couldn’t put eyeliner on, she couldn’t walk with high-heel shoes. In reality, she could, but the more she avoided to do it, the better she was feeling.

“So, you don’t want to help me, do you?”

“I do, but… not this, Rarity, I beg of you.”

Applejack saw the fashion designer was about to give in. She probably didn’t want to make her friend suffer from something that unbearable, the same way she didn’t insist when Fluttershy explained her the prospect of taking part in a beauty pageant scared her to death.

It would be such a pity. Rainbow Dash was full of prejudices about some representative of the female gender and maybe it would do her good to move out of her preconceived opinions. And most importantly, it would prevent herself from being oblige to draw straw again, this time against Pinkie Pie alone.

“Ah though ya weren’t scare of nothin’?”

“You mean except planes… and switchblades?”

As far as planes were concerned, she wasn’t often confronted to the big machines, except when taking into account all her viewings of the silent movie “Wings” (and she couldn’t help looking away during some of the scenes).

On the other hand, when it came to switchblades, her fears often were counterbalanced by her pride and her ego, and most of the time she acted as if it didn’t make her do nightmares, even grabbing some from her fingertips in order to get rid of them.

And that precisely was to her cumbersome ego Applejack wanted to appeal.

“Well, except planes and switchblades, Ah thought ya weren’t afraid of anythin’! Since when did ya turn into such a chicken?”

“I’m no chicken! It’s opposite to my social values and Mommy always taught me integrity.”

“What is opposite to yar social values? Struttin’ with a smile on? Or helpin’ yar best friend to make her dream come true? All your lovely lil’ speeches about friendship were all show!”

“It wasn’t all show, OK? I’d do anything for my friends, even strutting like a ninny for a ninny crown! The others are the ones that should be afraid, because I’m going to crush them all. Rainbow Dash never refuses a good challenge.”

Applejack displayed a satisfied smile, and even before she realized which trap she’d just fallen into, Rainbow Dash was grabbed by Rarity, holding her so tight she almost felt like choking and wondered whether she didn’t have a secret familial connection with Pinkie Pie.

Mentally, she wanted to put her palm on her face. Like the stupid girl she was, she had just agreed to take part in one of the stupidest form of contest that existed, only based on physical traits. For her, there was nothing more superficial than this kind of competition… Yet, she’d willingly walk into the lion’s den, without weighing the consequences of her words.

Now it was too late to turn back, risking to disappoint Rarity. And this was something Rainbow Dash refused to do.
> Drop Dead Gorgeous (part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"How is it possible they agreed so easily to enroll me instead of this girl?” Rainbow Dash asked, following Rarity through the long corridor which led to the backstage. “Aren’t there runner-ups or something?”

How charming this complete ignorance about the topic, from someone yet so used to competition…

Since they’d arrived, Rarity couldn’t stop smiling. In fact, she even was like this since her friend had agreed to participate, despite her certain aversion for what she considered frivolous and unimportant. Her will to cast aside her prejudices in order to help her was touching, although the teenage girl was complaining all the time. It didn’t matter for Rarity. Nothing could ruin her sunny mood.

“Voyons, it’s a local contest, which means these are spontaneous applications. All that matters to them is that you’re pretty.”

“Pretty…” Rainbow Dash muttered.

Her friend maybe was behind her, but she could picture her as if she were right in front of her. Arms crossed and mouth twisted, while staring at the walls. How crazy a girl so self-confident about her own abilities and about the strength of her charisma could be filled with doubts as soon as it was about her beauty.

Alright, the outside wasn’t the main attraction about someone, and it was simplistic to reduce women to their appearances only, but all the same, a bit of consideration about outside qualities couldn’t do any harm. Especially as other type of insecurities could take shape out of physical complexes, and even Miss Awesome wasn’t out of harm’s way.

Finally, they reached the backstage where each contestant was to get prepared for the pageant and its rehearsals. The very first one was going to be dressed in everyday outfits, with non-mandatory makeup, but they’d have to go on after that with the whole gears out, in the same conditions than during the contest, playing each of the possible scenarios. Everything was explained to them inside the pamphlet which had been given to them at the same time than the number they’d have to wear to be identified by the members of the jury.

Most of the girls had already arrived, and they all were aided by an adult, most often the mothers or big sisters, busy dispensing all kinds of advice.

Rarity led Rainbow Dash to the table which had been assigned to them, while the young woman was looking all around her. Her opponents seemed to be used to these kind of pageants… She could tell everything about sports competition, speeches of motivation, and game strategies, but what was under her eyes seemed to be as foreign to her as a language in a different alphabet.

She didn’t even know what most of the items and beauty products in front of the other girls were and what they did with it.

She knew that, traditionally, mothers were supposed to transmit to their female offsprings a few tricks about those “girlie” things, and that it helped to create a special bond between them two. But Firefly herself had never really been feminine and from her youngest age had taught her that appearance mattered less than being brave and tough.

Although her opinion about what was going on hadn’t changed at all, to be honest, she was envious of them, because they at least still shared a bond with the most important woman of their lives, while hers would never be back.

Rarity felt the way she stared at the other entrants had nothing left of the contempt she felt at the beginning, and hurried to reassure her and make her think about something else.

“Don’t worry, darling, I’ll be here to help you… Everything’s going to be just fine.”

“I’m not worried. It’s just a beauty pageant! All I’ll have to do will be to smile like a mindless idiot and to say how much I loooove critters and baby dolphins”, she said crossing her both hands in front of her face, her eyelashes fluttering.

The imitation was rather pathetic and nothing advantageous or nice but it probably wasn’t the right moment to upset her. Instead of taking offense, Rarity shook her head and spread out her whole gear for hair and makeup on the table, like a haute cuisine head chef trying to show off with freshly sharpened knives.

Pressing on Rainbow Dash’s shoulders, she forced her to sit down, then turned on the small lights all around the mirror of the table.

“You’ll feel more comfortable when you move with a lovely ponytail… And a hint of blush can’t harm you neither.”

“I thought you didn’t need the whole stuff for the first rehearsal.”

“Tsk! Don’t contradict the expert, please.”

She really had to keep quiet. If one of the girls heard her speaking in such a disdainful way, she could get enemies and it would be too much of a risk for the rest of the contest.

Rarity hadn’t told her friend yet, but she hoped she could at least reach the talent show, so she could show Hoity Toity most of her own talents. She would never be able to display the whole range of her abilities with only one dress!

For this, she would have to work on her character a little. Oh, it wasn’t forever… just for the pageant. It would help her out a lot. The judges wouldn’t only pay attention to her features and her body, but also to her capacity to garner sympathies. And it would never work if she antagonized the others.

Rarity was busy brushing the young woman’s hair, trying her best not to mix up the colors, when the entrants of the nearby table leaned over to ask her whether she could borrow her lipstick, hers being almost over.

Before she could even answer, the teenage girl’s eyes opened wide and she started to stare at Rainbow Dash with insistence. Then, her mouth opened the same way.

“I just can’t believe it… Aren’t you Rainbow Dash, from the Blazing Angels?”

“Well… I am.”

“My goodness! I’ve seen all your games, you’re the best jammer, like, ever! I know Misty Fly’s the captain and everything, but I think she lacks aggressiveness. You’re smaller but twice faster than she is. I’d love to do Roller Derby so much, but Mom refuses… because of the bruises. It’s not a good thing for beauty pageants. My name’s Berry Preppy, by the way…”

This time, it was Rainbow Dash’s turn to have her mouth wide-opened. A fan of Roller Derby, of the Blazing Angels… here, in a beauty pageant? Well, here she was as well, after all, and she was more than a mere fan, but her reasons were special, and she was forcing herself for the sake of her best friend.

What brought a question from Berry Preppy which seemed positively reasonable to her.

“How’d you get here?”

Now was her turn to surprise her. Just because she was fond of something that wasn’t superficial didn’t mean she had helped to change her opinion about the girls who entered what she regarded as a cattle fair.

“Influence.”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t help a sardonic smirk when Berry Preppy stared at her, blinking, completely lost. Of course, she didn’t understand the reference and this was the main purpose of it. If her favorite movies were only stupid romantic comedies for teenagers, she could never get it.

“That’s a quote from a movie”, Rarity added, to cut the game short.

She saw Berry Preppy thanking her with a gentle smile, but she jolted when another of the contestants came closer, with hair curlers on.

“Isn’t this a quote from “Bringing Up Baby”?”

“It is”, Rainbow Dash answered, flabbergasted.

“I love this movie so much! Katharine Hepburn’s one of my idols. She was such an awesome actress!”

“She’s… also one of my favorites…”

“What a shame she’s so neglected nowadays! Everybody prefers Audrey Hepburn because she embodies “chic” but I think Katharine Hepburn to be more inspiring. She was more nonconformist.”

“Non… conformist…”

The more this conversation went on, the more Rainbow Dash’s answers were monosyllabic. She’d thought it was nothing but sheer chance for Roller Derby, the exception to the rule, but for another girl from a beauty pageant to be fond of great classic movies, it almost felt supernatural to her.

It was rather fun, in Rarity’s opinion. A good life lesson for the young woman. Just because a girl liked beauty and fashion didn’t mean she was shallow and didn’t care about anything else. She knew Rainbow Dash never considered her as stupid, since she thought she was an artist, but today, she could see there were not a lot of superficial persons, the way she used to think.

Soon, a whole gathering was surrounding them, before Rainbow Dash could even understand how they got there. Well, maybe she could understand… It had started when the Katharine Hepburn’s fan, Lily Lace, claimed she thought her hair was gorgeous.

This was a compliment she was pretty used to. It was really rare to see that range of colors on a single head, and even rare to get the rainbow layout – a family feature which could appear and disappear depending on generations. However, she didn’t take extra care about it, only washing it with a shampoo and a conditioner, cutting tips when it was necessary, and brushing it by separating the colors.

The compliments she got after this one, on the other hand, she felt as if they were told in the same foreign language than the names of the beauty products the girls said they were using. When it happened, she felt lost… what made her start to understand what Soarin or the girls felt when she was talking about technical breakdowns or Roller Derby’s specificities.

“Your skin’s as soft as peach”, one of them declared, stroking her arm as if it were the fabric of an evening gown. “I’m so envious!”

“It’s easy to see you got a healthy living. It’s so hard for me to be on a diet out of the pageants. I always end up giving in. Especially when there’s chocolate.”

“I’m intolerant to chocolate.”

“Oh yeah, it might help a lot”, another of the girl answered, laughing.

She was no one else than one part of CHS’ legendary chatterbox pair, Sweetie Drops.

“Wait, girls… You haven’t seen her strong abs yet.”

Without further ado, one of them lifted Rainbow Dash’s tee-shirt, and she jumped from surprise. She had to clench at the chair under her not to tell them all to step back, while all the girls next to her were staring at her stomach and also allowed themselves to test how hard her muscles were.

“Wow, it’s incredible! You’re a real athlete. How do you maintain them?”

“Push-ups every morning?”

“Oh, I’ll never be brave enough!” another entrant, Fleur Dis Lee, added.

Rainbow Dash looked up at Rarity, who hadn’t ceased prepping her during all this time, not in the least bothered by the commotion around them. She displayed a cheerful smile that her friend, blushing from the embarrassment to be scrutinized by those who were supposed to be nothing but a bunch of bitter bitches ready to do anything to win, that her friend wasn’t sure how to interpret.

What was for sure was that this experience would shake a lot of the prejudices of the young woman. And it wasn’t a bad thing. Her ego might have saved her from a lot of situations, and from the nightmares of the past, but it didn’t mean it couldn’t be mangled.

Even if only to make sure she would discover many things about herself. And about the others.

---------------------------------------------------

The very first rehearsal had taken all morning long. If a lot of the entrants were accustomed to it, it wasn’t the case for everyone. Some of them had never put a foot on the catwalk, and Rainbow Dash was a part of this number.

In all honesty, it was much harder than she thought. It wasn’t only about marching in a straight line, they had to look sophisticated and self-confident while doing it, and never forget to smile. It didn’t make her enjoy the challenge more. On her own, without anyone to rely on but herself, she kept on thinking nothing was worth all those sacrifices, especially not some stupid crown.

She was glad when lunch time arrived, although it was only a small break among the craziness of the two days to come.

Among the dishes offered by the Organization Committee, there was a salad made of exotic fruits, which was rather successful.

But Rarity didn’t recommend it to her. Redcurrants, blackcurrants and slices of guava which were inside were too rich in fibers, and with her weakened stomach, it could be a rather bad idea.

At first, seeing the other girls relishing, she regretted a bit to be contented with the apples that Applejack had picked for her lunch. It was so unfair! These were fruits, nothing unhealthy.

And… Everyone was busy getting prepared for the second rehearsals, this time with the outfits, hair and makeup done, when the first girl started to complain about nauseas and abdominal pains. Quickly, another girl followed, and soon all those who had eaten the fruit salad were throwing up in the toilets.

“I’ve told you to always listen to experts”, Rarity told her while applying black pencil level with her eyelashes.

In front of this accident, the coordinator of the show had to call the Organization Committee. It wasn’t to know whether or not the pageant should be maintained… Of course, it would be maintained but rather to know whether they had to make an announcement in order to find new contestants to train at the last minute.

The supervisors claimed, as long as it remained around ten entrants, it wouldn’t be necessary. Especially as such a trick could make them lose money.

Four girls were sick and thus compulsory eliminated. It was a great disappointment for them, and their tears had Rainbow Dash wondered what was so vital in taking part in such a frivolous thing… It wouldn’t change the world.

She couldn’t realize it could change the course of a life. And Rarity quickly reminded her of this truth.

“For a lot of these girls, pageants are an excellent way to get a better life. It’s not only for a crown, or even for the pleasure to win… It’s also for money, and the power that comes with money. A power to take control of your life.”

“Take control of your life? Most of the judges are men! Posing, dressed in a swimsuit for male magazines, it isn’t what I call taking control of your life.”

“And how do you call it, then? No one forces them, they choose it themselves.”

Rainbow Dash shrugged.

“Although I think I understand what you mean, I still think it’s a false freedom to become an object to be looked at.”

“Well, that’s a point of view I can grant you…”

In a strange way, Rainbow Dash thought it was pleasant to have a conversation of this kind, quiet, with someone adult. It made her realize that Rarity, though she saw her less, hadn’t lost the importance she had for her.

They both shared a unique bond, that the others maybe didn’t get at first, because of how different they seemed to be. Rarity was fond of fashion, enjoyed beauty in all its shapes, refined things, she had very good manners. On the other hand, Rainbow Dash enjoyed sports and very old movies, she didn’t like to spend too much time in the bathroom to get prepared, and completely rejected the sophisticated education her father had tried so hard to give her.

Yet, one day, they both got closer, sheltered from prying eyes. Rainbow Dash was at the hospital after Night Angel had stabbed her, and Rarity had arrived, as she had heard what had happened to her from Applejack and Twilight. She had brought a gift for her friend: a yoga mat, along with an initiation book. Although she had stayed to talk with her for a short time, the way she had comforted her had changed their lukewarm relationship forever.

That was how they each discovered the hidden face of the other: sensitivity and strength. And from it started a deep respect and a discreet yet strong bond.

Rarity took a step back in order to take a look at the result of her hard work. She outlined a smile. This girl really ignored her potential! Already, without big efforts, she was a teenage girl everyone noticed, although most of the times it was because of her mischiefs.

“So… What is it like?” Rainbow Dash asks with hints of anxiety in her voice.

Her friend stepped aside so she could see her face in the mirror. The teenage girl gasped. She could hardly recognize herself… Her hair in a bun with large strands overflowing while still very elegant, and dressed with a 50s style puffy blue dress chosen by Rarity, her eyes smoky and her lips painted in a light pink, Rainbow Dash almost thought she looked refined.

It was intoxicating and uncomfortable. As if she had been transferred into somebody else’s body. Yet, it was her polychromatic hair, her almond-shaped magenta eyes and her oval-shaped face…

A clasp of hands got her out of this odd trance. The show coordinator told them it was about time to start the second rehearsals of the day, which were not going to be the last ones.

From now on, she was back on her own. From now on, hell bared a new name. The choreographer’s, Suri Polomare. She was particularly after Rainbow Dash, who she thought wasn’t graceful enough, and she walked too much splay-footed… but generally, she was tough with everyone.

If there was an aspect that deeply bored Rainbow Dash in all this beauty pageant matter, it was the endless marches, which Rarity called “shows”. They represented more than half of the contest and was nothing but walking to the front of the stage and doing ridiculous small waves of arms while the other entrants were strutting along the podium.

In those moments, she really felt like being a brainless idiot. How this farce could mean they had what was expected of them to represent their hometown?

As she was doing her routine unenthusiastically, she had a glimpse at Sweetie Drops sighing, and when their eyes met, both teenage girls couldn’t help but laugh.

Of course, Suri caught them in the act and forced them, along with the others, to start everything from the beginning. It didn’t make them win the favors of the other contestants, yet Rainbow Dash didn’t want to take offend. They would get over it eventually… It wasn’t as if she was a threat, anyway. She didn’t want to be Miss of Anything.

They were all going back to their positions in order to resume the rehearsals when Rainbow Dash heard a sound that drew her attention. Like a door which hinges were not oiled… On phobic instinct, she looked up. There surely wasn’t no plane inside but she couldn’t control herself…

Her heart skipped a beat when she saw one of the small spotlights coming off straight toward her head. She could only plunge against the floor and roll on the side, and the item crashed against the stage with a heavy noise of metal.

The gasps of shock which followed were very understandable. Immediately, mothers and sisters rushed on the stage, as well as Suri, and Rarity.

The stage management would get a serious scolding, since the coordinator was redder than a roasted lobster.

"What happened?” Rarity asked her friend.

“I have no idea… I heard that strange noise and bang!”

“Who’s Fleur Dis Lee?” a voice behind everyone said.

They all turned around and saw the Oganization Committee supervisor, his hands on his waist, frowning. Was it because the young woman had anything to do with the accident that had just happened?

No, it was impossible. Fleur Dis Lee hadn’t moved at all, even to go to the restroom. A real mean machine.

She stepped on the front stage, obviously as lost as the others were, still shocked.

“Get off right now and leave the place.”

“What? But why?”

“We’ve received an anonymous call to tell us you’re part of the Canterlot University. After we checked out this information, it happened that this wasn’t a deception at all. The contest is for high school girls less than nineteen. You have to leave. Right now.”

Fleur Dis Lee, her eyes teary, wanted to say something to defend herself, then gave up. Head low, without a look at her fellow contestants, she left the stage running and disappeared in the backstage. Immediately, Suri forbade the other girls to follow her, and demanded the rehearsals to resume. This was the harsh reality of beauty pageants, and if they weren’t able to cope with the departures of the other entrants, it even wasn’t worth participating at all.

Though shaken, the other girls went back to their positions without further questions. But when Rainbow Dash glimpsed at Rarity, she knew her friend felt the same way than she did. Something smoky was hatching, something that was nothing nice or harmless.

Firefly was used to recite a military maxim, that said that once was happenstance, twice was coincidence, and thrice was sabotage. Obviously, the saying also applied to the world of beauty pageants.
> Drop Dead Gorgeous (part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

During the previous night, Rainbow Dash had gone to bed around two. The rehearsals had lasted until around midnight, and after the road back home and her shower, night already wasn’t that young.

This morning, waking up for those finale rehearsals with a run-through, felt quite tough. She took her breakfast in an automatic mode and didn’t really get embarrassed not to pamper herself even a little. It would give a lot of work to Rarity in order to make sure she could win anything, but she willingly let her legendary laziness catch her back.

Like foreseen, when her friend saw the bags under her eyes, the knots inside her hair, and her pallid complexion, she almost fainted. It was lucky she had the greatest range of day creams available in her possession, along with a primer known to make miracles.

All the same, to give her the fresh complexion of a starlet, she would have to work hard.

Her tongue stuck between her lips, Rarity was focused when screams of anger alarmed her and all the other girls around. It came from twin sisters who competed together like a single entity, though they knew well there could be only one winner. They were beautiful, used to competitions, and the rumor was that they could be the finale ones.

“Who stole our things?”

A stunned silence went through the room. If one of the girls were to blame for this disappearance, they were good at acting.

Clothes and makeup had not to leave the backstage, precisely in order to avoid one of them to intentionally take away the belongings of the others. The Organization Committee was looking for every possible way to limit cheating or plagiarism.

“Of course, that’s no one! What a great display of courage… You should be ashamed.”

“Don’t blame us without proofs!” Berry Preppy intervened.

“What if it was you who did that in order to get rid of one of us by accusing us of cheating?”

“What? Don’t be ridiculous!”

Before the argument to get worse, the coordinator intervened and decided to search the place completely, hoping they would find the twins’ lost things. Meanwhile, floated a scent of suspicion and wariness that didn’t particularly put everybody at ease, or set them in the perfect conditions to get prepared to participate to a stressful competition in front of a public.

Twenty minutes later, while the preparation of each went well despite the tension, the twins and the coordinator returned empty-handed. They had searched each and every corner of the Royal Auditorium where the pageant would take place, and they hadn’t found the single hint of the young women’s things.

Without makeup and hair supplies, and most importantly without outfits to display, their participation was over. The rules forbade to participate without the dresses and swimsuit demanded by the Organization Committee. And once the place left, it also was forbidden to come back for the contest. This precaution was made to avoid any attempt for the mothers and entrants at corrupting the judges.

The twins left making sure they displayed the maximum of their disagreement, even threatening to press charges. It wouldn’t make them be back in the game, but it seemed like a good way for them to release their frustration.

Because of this matter, Rainbow Dash realized how unforgiving the world of beauty pageant was, as well as requiring very strict rules that she would never have suspected.

However, there were other things she suspected… She took the opportunity of a break between the end of her prepping and the beginning of rehearsals to tell it to Rarity. Well, if Rarity would stop congratulating herself for the excellent job she had done to her face in order to make her look “competitive”.

“Come with me to the restroom, please…”

“What for? I’ve known you for five years and it’s the first time you want me to come with you to the restroom.”

“Red alert”, she said grabbing her wrist and dragging her to the place she wanted to go to.

Alright, it was a lie but it was necessary. She had to talk to her about something, and for this, she needed to make sure no one would try to spy their conversation. It seemed crazy, because of the place, but it could put her in danger.

When she had arrived here yesterday, Rainbow Dash would have never thought to be in the situation in which she was. But the coincidence was a little bit too many to just shrug and pass it by.

She was in it too now, anyway, it was too late to go back.

When they arrived at the restroom, Rainbow Dash let go her friend’s arm and started to search the place. She examined each cab to make sure it was empty, checked out whether there were mikes or cameras.

Once certain they would not risk to get spied or eavesdropped, she led Rarity in a corner of the room and talked to her on the tone of secret. One could never know…

“There’s something fishy.”

“Where? In the toilets?” Rarity claimed with a horrified face.

“No!”, Rainbow Dash sighed. “In the contest. Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed it too…”

“Well, to be honest…”

No, she couldn’t say that. Of course, she had noticed. And she didn’t think she was the only one. If the contestants kept silence, it undoubtedly was because in case of the threat to be real, the pageant would be cancelled. It was nothing but a contest for teenage girls, after all, and nothing forbade the Miss Teen Equestria Committee not to have a representative of the capital. It had already happened…

“I must admit there seem to be something going on.”

“Something? A great deal of the entrants had been food-poisoned, one of us could have been killed yesterday! I can’t get why they want to maintain the contest in spite of this.”

“Well, unless one of you gets seriously hurt…”

“It almost happened, Rarity, wake up!”

“Yes, but as long as it doesn’t really happen, the contest won’t be cancelled.”

“It makes me so sick!”

In all likelihood, Rainbow Dash took all this very seriously. It was rather unexpected, with her opinion about the persons who took part to this kind of competitions.

Rarity immediately regretted her thoughts. The young woman may have flaws and a lot of prejudices, but she also was a person with a real awareness of life’s value. Because of her past experiences, she knew what it felt like to see someone you love in danger. She wasn’t lacking empathy, conversely.

It felt as if someone had stabbed her into the nape. Finally, she fully realized the consequences of such a situation. Yesterday, when this spotlight came off and almost broke her neck, she really had been worried for her friend. If someone was ready to go that far to make sure the amount of entrants would drastically decrease, there was no doubt that this person could go even farther.

It had already happened, after all. Some even were stabbed for less than that.

A strong anxiety clasped her throat, and she even thought she lacked oxygen for a second. They had already almost lost Rainbow Dash forever, and there was no way she was going to take the risk to lose her again, no matter how much she wanted her work to be discovered by a famous designer.

“You’re right. It’s starting to become too dangerous. You must retire from the contest.”

Rarity saw Rainbow Dash opening her mouth, and she lifted her hand in front of her to prevent her from talking.

“I don’t want to know. I’ll find another way to show Hoity Toity my creations. All that matters is that you’re safe and sound.”

“I can’t retire.”

“But…”

Just like Rarity had done before, Rainbow Dash lifted her hand in front of her friend’s face.

“Listen… Let’s admit I retire. So what? I’ll be safe but what about the other girls?”

She hadn’t thought about it. Indeed, Rainbow Dash wasn’t the only one to take part to this contest. There were young women in danger as well in this place. And if they didn’t do anything, they could be hurt or worse.

It could seem to be disproportionate, yet, the spotlight accident wasn’t the only one. The causes of the food poisoning weren’t known yet and if it seemed the targeted girls weren’t in a serious state; it could have consequences more tragic.

“What’s on your mind?” Rarity questioned, still a bit worried.

“I’m going to stay and try to discreetly investigate. You have to act naturally, so when we’ll be back, you’re going to have to look worried because I’m on my periods and oh, it’s such a bad timing. Got it?”

The fashion designer nodded without a word. Her hands were shaking. But she had to look convincing, although she was scared. Rainbow Dash was right, after all: they couldn’t let the others down.

It was risky, but they had to take that risk.

Her only hope was that her investigation would be quick, so that finally, she could breath.

---------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash took a glimpse behind the curtain, and quickly spotted her friends, as well as Soarin, around the first rows. They all were here and Twilight even came with Flash Sentry. Though she felt happy for the young woman, she hoped her on-again off-again boyfriend would not make fun of her once back at school.

It wouldn’t help to make her like him, and it would ruin a reputation she had spent several years to elaborate and cultivate.

She heard a female voice clearing her throat behind her, and saw Suri Polomare, arms crossed, staring at her with her most threatening look.

“You have nothing to do here, Rainbow Dash! Go with the others, quick! The show’s about to start.”

In the audience, the gang was really excited to see the pageant start. It felt very strange to envision their friend all pampered and ready to do the catwalk like a supermodel, as she often wore shorts under her skirts, avoided high-heel shoes when she knew she’d have to walk for a long while, and only had the minimum of makeup on.

It was the ultimate proof that she was ready to do anything for her friends, though at first she’d been very reluctant to do this favor for Rarity. The general consensus was that, once again, the blame was on her tenacious pride. She was aware of a societal reality that regarded things said to be “feminine” as inferior and lacking of importance, and the idea itself to be associated to such adjectives was enough to make her worried about her dearest reputation.

True there also was a large part of her real character behind her hesitation, but no one ignored she was hiding some of her faces, especially the softer ones.

When the lights turned off and the music started, they gave a thunder applause, while Soarin was a little more hesitant, still unable to envision the fact he would see his girlfriend and childhood best friend in such a light.

He remembered clearly that, younger, she hated when her father decided she had to wear a dress, or when her mother tried to style her hair pretty. Not to stain her clothes was the most difficult thing for her back then. It meant she wouldn’t be able to play soccer or basketball the way she wanted, and she’d have to pay attention when eating. And it also prevented her from hanging upside down at the jungle gym, or the boys would see her panties and then made fun of her.

Sometimes, he even registered a small shock when he remembered she had breasts… And yet he really enjoyed watching them – and more if they got on.

All the same, spotting immediately her among the other girls was easy as pie. Her multicolored hair made her being noticed, even when you didn’t want to pay attention.

Also, the way she walked wasn’t that graceful and it appeared clearly that walking with high-heels was nothing she was used to.

If these details were set apart, Soarin already had his winner.

When her turn to strike a pose in front of the judges arrived during this first parade, instead of trying to copy the way models walked during fashion shows, like all the other entrants, Rainbow Dash moved pretending to have the greatest of fun, as if on the dancefloor of a nightclub.

It looked surprising, but it wasn’t such a bad idea. She always been told to stay herself and not to play a role, even when she didn’t like it, and it seemed she’d chosen not to betray this motto. She was herself, and too bad for the rest.

It undoubtedly was the reason why she’d asked Fluttershy, second of the girl to be fond of fashion after Rarity, where she could find videos of a former French supermodel* who was very famous for the way she moved on the catwalks, different, cheerful and loosen up.

She even dared winking at them when she heard the gang calling out her name, under the dumbfounded looks of most part of the audience.

However, the whole gang agreed to say that with this hairstyle, makeup and clothes, she looked really pretty. Maybe it wasn’t really objective, since they all loved her, but they didn’t care. They weren’t the ones voting, after all…

Also, they had to admit the blue dress created by Rarity was dazzling, and in no way looked similar to anything that could be found in boutiques for low incomes. It seemed to be straight out of a fashion show.

So, it wouldn’t matter if they didn’t make it to the second part of the competition. They all were sure Hoity Toity had noticed the dress and just couldn’t believe it.

After this first parade, the emcee, who was no one else but Canterlot’s female mayor, asked the competitors to introduce themselves orally, and asked a question to each of the girls.

No one could doubt Rainbow Dash felt at ease speaking in front of a public. Presentations and various speeches never scared her. Her friends didn’t fear to see her panicking, but rather to see her legendary lack of modesty showing up and ruin her chances. Humility was appreciated in this kind of contest, they all knew it.

It probably was difficult for her to wait without a word, motionless with her smile on all the time while the other girls spoke each their turn, but she kept going.

Nevertheless, her pose looked a little too nonchalant.

When it was her turn to introduce herself, Rainbow Dash kept it to the minimum: her name, the fact that she was a student at CHS, her extracurricular activities, and her hobbies which in fact often were the same.

But the hardest still was about to come around – the question she was going to be asked.

“What’s the greatest inspiration in your life?”

Alright, if she answered herself because she was way too awesome, she would never access to the rest of the contest, and Hoity Toity would never have another chance to admire another one of Rarity’s creations.

Now the pageant had started for good, everyone was too involved to say that it didn’t matter if they wouldn’t go any further, and that the most important was to participate.

“It’s easy”, she started. “My mother. She’s the one who taught me to be myself no matter what, and also how important it was to be brave, to be self-confident, and to always count on your friends. Even today, when I’m feeling lost, I wonder what she would have done in my shoes, and I draw strength from her words.”

“How lovely! What’s your mother doing for a living?”

“She was a pilot. In the Royal Aerobatics Float.”

“Oh.”

For a few seconds, this last detail caused a small shock to the audience. From it, it was easy to deduce who her mother was, and Canterlot inhabitants who never had seen footages of the crash on television, there weren’t any.

Her intention had never been to move the judges or the audience. She’d been asked a question, and she had answered in all honesty. Her group of friends and Soarin could testify it: her mother was the greatest inspiration in her life.

But if it could make her gain points and allow Rarity to show more of her creations to Hoity Toity, then it was good to take. In fact, she was rather satisfied of her performance during this first part of the pageant.

A local band had been invited to play songs between each parades. It let the entrants a very short amount of time to get changed, including new makeup and hairstyles. They had to work with a sense of urgency and not to crack under pressure.

Rainbow Dash had to admit her habits of interschool championships and Roller Derby competitions helped her being used to this kind of frenzy. She had nerves of steel when it came to this kind of stress.

She had to admit girls who wanted to be famous in the field of beauty pageants had not to be poor frail young creatures. In the middle of the frenzy, the urgency, the pressure, the most fragile ones who never keep going. Once again, it was a good lesson for the teenage girl.

The way Suri and the coordinator urged them and yelled at them didn’t let them much time to think things through. They had to keep coming without further questions.

In the middle of the pandemonium, the mother of one of the competitors stepped into the backstage, tears in her eyes, which called each of the girls’ attention, focused or not.

“Lily! Lily, are you there?”

Lily, in reality Lily Lace, was one of the entrants the others thought to be a favorite. With her elegant curls of a mauve so pale it looked almost white, her beautiful blue eyes and her benevolent smile, she had the typical profile of a winner. For most of the girls here, it was clear she could win the competition.

Maybe a little too much, judging by her lack of answer.

It was impossible that she had disappeared, like by magic, when all they had to do was to walk from the stage to the backstage. All the girls were pushed by the coordinator, and couldn’t stop at all. It had been the same with her.

Yet, the young woman seemed to be nowhere around, and her mother, in tears, threatened to call the police, in order to cancel the pageant until her daughter was to be found.

A security manager was sent to her, to look for her extensively, yet she was warned, there was no way the show could be cancelled now. The contest would go on, with Lily or not. The coordinator thought that, caught up by pressure, she went and hid somewhere.

Her mother didn’t believe in this at all, but out of desperation, she agreed to follow the security manager.

Meanwhile, show had to go on. The contestants went back on the stage, and the name of the first ones to be selected were called. Lily Lace was part of the chosen girls, but in her absence, another of the contestants was saved in order to replace her.

Much to her surprise, Rainbow Dash was called among the first selected girls. Though she thought she was convincing when she talked about her mother, because of her style, too eccentric for the old-fashioned judges, she really had thought the adventure to stop here for her – which would have allowed her to investigate on Lily Lace’s disappearance, which really worried her.

It was now about time to start the trial called the talents contest, some kind of show inside the show, where each of the remaining girls showed the judges their artistic gifts, as long as it was a field prominently featuring entertainment.

Rarity took advantages of the girls busy to change clothes and to rehearse their performance to talk with Rainbow Dash about the latest events. Not her selection for the next step of the competition, but what had happened to Lily Lace, in the complete indifference of the Organization Committee, which seemed to care about money more than they cared about the lives of their fillies.

“For now, your “investigation” is ineffective, and another girl had just been excluded. Seems like she completely vanished away! It’s way too dangerous now. I want you to retire from the competition.”

At first, Rainbow Dash had assured her it was rather unlikely anything to happen to her, since she could in no way win this thing. It no longer was enough to comfort her friend. Especially now that she was about to compete for another part of the show. It meant she was now more likely to win, although it would be a general surprise.

It was too dangerous… Who knew what happened to Lily Lace? It was about twenty minutes now that she had disappeared, and still no news from her.

Rainbow Dash put her hands on both sides of Rarity’s shoulders, and looked straight into her eyes. Of course, she knew what she feared. And it would be false to certify that she was a hundred percent reassured as well. However, it was nothing like her to turn around and leave as soon as it started to smell like rot.

And, she hadn’t agreed to take part in this pageant for her own sake.

“You’re scared and I can understand, but we can’t go back now. I won’t chicken out, it’s nothing like me, and you know it. Hoity Toity must see the dresses you created.”

“But what if something happened to you?”

“You forget I did boxing for several years and I can pin any of these chicks against the ground if I want to. Trust me.”

“Rainbow Dash, hurry up! It’s your turn!”

Behind her, the coordinator was clapping her hands as always, while stomping her feet at the same time.

Even if she wanted to, Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop everything now. Not only because she was too far in the competition now, but also because now that she was that far, she absolutely wanted to make sure the goal of her participation to be achieved. Also, she had to admit she was starting to get caught up in the game, and let the competitive side of her speak.

With a comforting smile, she hurried back on the stage, armed of her electric guitar. Before she started, she made sure the technicians had installed her soundtrack for the second song, as well as her model amplifier for the first song. Once everything was okay, she settled on the stool which had been put in the center of the stage.

Usually, girls who competed with singing only performed one song, most of the time a cover. She had planned two songs, two shorter versions, to make sure the judges could see the two main faces of Rainbow Dash.

In the audience, her friends like Soarin were expecting her to compete with a rock track, or that she would try something urban. Thus, when the firsts chords resounded with an acoustic sound, they all glanced at each other, surprised.

As her first song, she had chosen a piece of “Over The Rainbow”, Judy Garland’s version in “The Wizard of Oz”. Those knowing her well also knew the meaning of this song for her.

The movie was one of Firefly’s favorites, who quickly ignited her daughter’s interest for great classics. She often sang “Over The Rainbow” to her before she fell asleep, and always explained her all the essential lessons of life were in “The Wizard of Oz”, and the character of Dorothy. It also was the origins of her name, chosen by her parents based on the lyrics of the song.

Soarin couldn’t help but shedding a few quiet and calm tears. Her to dare bringing herself to light this way in front of complete strangers, it was a huge step ahead. She probably didn’t realize, but it proved she no longer was this teenage girl, affected midair and who could never face anything related to her mother’s death.

It was a beautiful moment for him and the girls. A moment they wouldn’t forget.

However, after this moving break, what characterized Rainbow Dash the most resurfaced when she started her second song, “Awesome as I Wanna Be”, this time a title she’d written herself for the Rainbooms and that was… Well, everything they feared she would show in the first place.

Was it a cold shower or had she just confirmed her status of outsider, no one could tell for now. And Rarity, watching from backstage, was no longer sure of what she wanted. Yes, her dream was important, but her best friends’ lives were even more precious.
> Drop Dead Gorgeous (part 4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

All those who had survived the first selection were gathered on the stage, for the last sorting of the night. Whoever would be chosen for the ultimate parade would be likely to become the representative for Canterlot on the national pageant of Miss Teen Equestria.

Despite Lily Lace’s dreadful disappearance and her mother’s decision to call the police, the organizers had decided to keep everything going. The audience didn’t have the slightest clue about it, but behind each of the remaining girls’ smiles, there was a dormant discomfort.

Though they kept any comments to themselves, each of them were aware something strange was going on, something unordinary. If some of them looked tensed, it wasn’t because of stress, or because of the fear of seeing their dream crashing down.

As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, she had to face two stressful situations. The first one was the same than the others, even if at a different degree, but here anyway, and the second one was that the announcement of the five lasting contestants was going to happen while the girls were wearing a swimsuit.

Parading while wearing a dress was something, to be so exposed in front of everyone was something else. Alright, it wasn’t the first time she wore a swimsuit in front of others, however, it wasn’t at all the same thing than doing it on a stage, under spotlights, with five strangers ogling her from every angle.

Thanks to sports practice, Rainbow Dash had always felt good in her body, but from now on, when compared to the others, she thought she was too muscled, not curvy enough. If she had her chances before, she was sure it was over now.

Maybe it wasn’t that bad, anyway…

Indeed, this way, perhaps she would be able to look for Lily Lace out of the auditorium. And perhaps also she could finally understand what on earth was going on here.

In the absence of the two favorites, Lily Lace and Fleur Dis Lee, other contestants had been chosen, among them Berry Preppy. Rainbow Dash looked at each of them reacting cheerfully to their selection, imagining one of them was behind all this, and thinking she’d have to keep them under surveillance.

When it was time to announce the name of the last selected competitor and she heard her name, she first thought she’d misheard. They couldn’t be thinking she possessed the slightest hint of potential as a future beauty queen. If she wasn’t ugly to look at, she’d always thought she didn’t have the style of a pretty girl, but her own style, and what she wore made her feel good.

Yet, all eyes were conveying toward her and the hands these eyes belonged to were applauding her. In the audience where Soarin and her friends were sitting, she saw Pinkie Pie bouncing cheerfully, even higher than usually, and Fluttershy who was encouraging her on top of her lungs, though she usually was of the greatest reserve. She was obliged to face the facts: she was amongst the five finalists.

Rarity had been kind enough not to make her wear high-heel shoes with her swimsuit, but let her be bare-footed, making it obviously simpler to walk. With a surprisingly shy gait for whoever knew her a little, she took a few steps forward in order to join the other winners.

The disbelief on her face was rather fun to watch.

In backstage, her friend was chuckling, at the same time happy and experiencing some kind of jubilation. The bit was a bit on the other boot now. She wanted to keep going… And now she was obliged to stay until the end of the contest, whether she wanted it or not.

It was so ironic Rarity forgot the dangers for a few minutes.

All the girls left the stage at the same time, and as soon as they crossed the curtain, the unlucky ones who had been ejected let their deception speak. It often was very discreet tears, and when it wasn’t, their smiling faces had lost any hints of positivity.

Mothers and sisters still here immediately gathered their supplies and started to undo the makeup on faces, before applying new layers.

Once they’d lost, the girls could choose to stay and watch the show from the audience, or they could get home immediately. It wasn’t mandatory to come back one last time on the stage for the coronation, since it was preliminary selections, not the real grand finale.

“Can you believe they chose me, among all these girls?” Rainbow Dash asked Rarity while going to her makeup table – which also was her dressing room since they got undressed in front of each other.

“If I told you I do, I bet you won’t believe me anyway.”

“That’s right!” she announced with an odd pride.

“Yet, you’re wrong. I never doubted you had what it takes to seduce the judges. OH MY GOD!”

Rarity stopped in the middle of her progression, then ran to the hanger on which was the last dress Rainbow Dash had to wear for her last appearance on the stage. It was a mauve cocktail dress with a delicate V low-cut, sprinkled with discreet white sequins, with embroidered edges which looked a bit torn off, all this with long kimono-inspired sleeves.

Now, the sleeves had been completely ripped off, like the center of the dress, which was now impossible to wear. And without a dress to wear, just like the twins, there was no participation imaginable.

Of course, it probably meant Rainbow Dash had now become a contestant to get rid of, but also that Rarity’s work had been ruined, and this was unbearable for the young fashion designer. She put so much of herself in each of her creations…

Her hand pinned against her mouth, Rarity was about to cry, and one of her closest friend crying, or almost, was more than Rainbow Dash could tolerate. Too bad if it brought her more problems… The others could bury their head in the sand as much as they want, she could never let anyone get away with these attacks and act as if nothing was happening.

She closed the bathrobe she’d worn when stepping out of the stage, and climbed on a chair. All the girls looked away from the dress to look at her instead.

“Do you really think I don’t know what’s going on here? It’s clear someone’s trying to get rid of each of the entrants in order to win! Don’t think I’m scared… I’ve been through far more dangerous things in my life. So, I’d better warn you: we won’t be pushed around. Here is Rarity, the most talented fashion designer in Canterlot and I won’t let anyone ruin her dream. I’m here for her and not for a stupid plastic crown!”

“Hum… It’s made out of white gold and Brazilian aquamarine”, Rarity clarified.

“Yeah, whatever… You’re wrong to lash out on me, because the only thing I love more than winning is my friends… and my boyfriend! That’s why I’m going to stay in this pageant, and walk in this dress!”

Once her speech was done, and she was back on the ground, Rarity made her notice there were little chances she could keep her promise and that she had better give up.

What she ignored was that while she was speaking, Rainbow Dash had had an idea which could help them to separate fact from fiction. For this, she needed to climb on the stage for the announcement of the results. She absolutely need it.

--------------------------------------------

In order to save the dress, Rarity took a piece of fabric from the previous outfit, a kind of muslin embroidered with flowers, more or less of the same color. Helping herself with the model of the remaining sleeve, she was able to craft another one, and she patched the hole in the middle with the same fabric.

While the girls were called one last time to climb on the stage, she hardly made the last stitch on her creation. She hadn’t been able to put on the second sleeve, in fact, but Rarity almost thought the dress looked even more stunning with the new alterations. She thought this might be the fatal blow for Hoity Toity, if the rest hadn’t convinced him completely yet.

It wasn’t self-importance that made her thought this way, but self-confidence.

Now, what would happen would no longer be her will. It was Rainbow Dash fronting her responsibilities. Though she knew she didn't really want to win – for once – she couldn’t help but crossing her fingers, from her spot at the backstage.

There was a certain restlessness about the contestants, as they were parading one last time in front of the judges and audience. The last vote happened this way: each member had to agree, and wrote the name and the order of the finalists on a piece of paper.

It was really stressful, for the help waiting backstage as much as for the girls on the stage. During every of the selections, the choice had already been determined by the judges when they appeared, and the waiting time thus was reduced. Not this time. The reason behind this wasn’t because it had to last until midnight but also because it generated a lot of suspense.

Among those attending the show, there no longer were applauses and encouragements. Everybody was staring at the judges, while the guest band was playing another song, preventing the entrants from hearing what they were saying about each of them.

Rainbow Dash feared it would oppose her plans. She needed to hear everything…

When the music stopped, she couldn’t help a relieved smile. Everything would be over soon, finally! All she had to do was to wait…

It wasn’t the announcement of the names that set her in such a state. It was what she had planned in order to trap the person who was behind all the schemes of these crazy two latest days.

The mayor climbed on the stage again, along with the CEO of the Miss Teen Equestria Committee, and the current Miss Teen Equestria, in order to give the ranking of the runner-ups, then the name of the winner.

She stepped closer to the mic.

“Fine. It’s about time to discover who’s going to be our fourth runner-up. This is…”

*TOOOOOOT*

A sound like the one from a foghorn resounded from the backstage. It was loud and long enough to alarm the persons on the stage, as well as people in the audience, starting to whisper things between them.

Immediately, Rainbow Dash took off her shoes and, the bottom of her dress in her hands, ran on the stage, then hurtled down the stairs to go to the place where the sound came from: the restroom.

Just like she hoped, everybody had followed her, including contestants, CEO and managers from the Organization Committee.

It was now or never, the great curtain rise…

The restroom’s door was wide opened, and when they crossed it, they discovered Rarity, hair messy and her outfit crumpled, holding in her hands something that looked like a tear gas canister, but with some kind of klaxon instead of the button. She looked completely breathless, and her finger was still pressing against the button with all her strength.

On the floor, with a hand against her ears, and visibly suffering, lied the mother of one of the contestants, Berry Preppy.

“What the hell happened here?” the CEO asked, passing by Rainbow Dash.

“Mrs. Rosedust attacked me when I went here to powder my nose! She tried to anesthetize me with chloroform!”

Indeed, close to the housewife lied a soaked tissue. Obviously, that was how she had been able to make Lily Lace disappear without anyone to notice.

This revelation left all the contestants dumbfounded, including Berry Preppy, the culprit’s own daughter. She took a step forward and spoke to her mother, in all likelihood shaken by this discovery.

“But why on earth did you do something like that?”

Rosedust looked up at her daughter, her hand still against her ear. Was it because she was eyes to eyes with this familiar look, dumbfounded, or was it sheer regret, no one knew, but her eyes filled with tears, and she sat on the tiled floor, crying.

“That girl… That girl”, she said, pointing at Rainbow Dash. “She has no right to win this competition, she’s only here to help her friend. So I thought if I got rid of her friend…”

“You’ve turned crazy!!”

“Why can’t you understand? I’m doing this all for you. You deserve to win a beauty pageant. You’ve never won any first prize since you’ve been five and I wanted to make your dream come true…”

“My dream? My dream is to be a professional Roller Derby player. I’m only participating in these beauty pageants to make you happy, so that YOUR childhood dream could come true. I have no intention of doing another contest after Miss Teen Equestria…”

A thunderbolt went through Berry Preppy’s eyes, as if hitting the swinging branch in the middle of a storm.

“Mommy, what did you do with Lily Lace?”

“She’s in my car! She was going to win! Everybody said she was going to win! I couldn’t let that happen!”

There was no need for Rosedust to admit the rest of her crimes. It appeared obvious for all the present protagonists she was the one who tried to poison the girls, who unhooked the spotlight, who denounced Fleur Dis Lee, who stole the twins’ stuff and who ruined Rarity’s creation. All this so her daughter could win a competition which she took part to only in order to please her…

Miss Teen Equestria’s Committee CEO warned she had to consider Berry Preppy was automatically excluded for cheating, yet, since her mother had planned everything on her own, and the winner’s name had already been chosen, and most of the other girls were gone now, she decided she could go on the stage and discover her position in the ranking.

That was how, under the worried eyes of the audience, every of the entrants went back to parade in front of them, for the long-awaited announcement. They’d been warned that a slight technical mishap had postponed the deadline, but now was about time to put an end to this suspense. For good.

And without any further ado, the fourth runner-up was called. It was a young girl named Posey, which resemblance with Fluttershy was striking.

In all honesty, it was the ranking Rainbow Dash had expected to get, and now the threat was over, she was starting to be scared of something else… That her name was the ultimate one to be called, obliging her to participate to another one of these torturing pageants!

The third runner-up’s name was Sunny Daze, a young woman with pink and yellow hair and lovely purple eyes no one had expected to see go this far… which meant she was expected to go further than Rainbow Dash, still in contention for the finale title!

But no. No one could reasonably choose her as the winner. She had nothing of a beauty queen. She could scarcely stand on her high-heels without fidgeting, and she unceasingly had to hold herself from rubbing her eyes not to make her eyeliner and mascara drip everywhere, nor staining with eye shadow the dress created by Rarity. Yet, her named hadn’t been called yet…

They couldn’t do that to her. They couldn’t let her win this pageant. It would be a height, for a once that she ABSOLUTELY didn’t want to win.

In her head, she begged for her torture to stop as soon as possible. Please have mercy, please have mercy, please have mercy…

“And the second runner-up is…”

Please have mercy, please have mercy, please have mercy…

“Rainbow Dash!”

A sigh of relief escaped her chest, without restraint. Seeing her, she could be mistaking for someone radiating because she came at a very honorable ranking. In reality, it especially was because she would never have to go through such an experience again, as enriching as it had been.

She walked to the front stage, where she was given a sash and a bunch of flowers she hurried to refuse explaining she was allergic to pollen. They also gave her a check for one year of free spa care, along with a basket full of various gifts.

Meanwhile, her friends made a hell of a noise from their seats, bouncing, hollering, whistling, and far from feeling embarrassed, it made her laugh. She had no reason to now she was certain not to become Miss Anything – except awesomeness, but she decided it was a natural part of her.

Only two girls were now left, Berry Preppy and the only remaining favorite, Star Song. The winner was going to be called… The mayor intentionally let suspense go on a little but had to put an end to it when the police passed by the audience with a relative discretion to pick up Rosedust in the backstage, in order to make them look away.

“And the one who wins the prestigious title of representative of our beautiful city to Miss Teen Equestria in Las Pegasus is… Berry Preppy!”

Rainbow Dash couldn’t resist putting her hand over her eyes, and too bad for her makeup… Either her mother had done all this for nothing since her daughter had won anyway, either her efforts had finally paid off and made Berry Preppy the beauty queen she wanted her to be. No one would never know.

The only thing certain was that she could never really get the chance to rejoice with her daughter, since she was taken away by Timber and other police agents right when the winner was receiving her crown.

-------------------------------------------

A tiny can of night cream, a tiny can of day cream, bath salts, a sleep mask from a very famous Parisian brand, a thin fake diamonds and silver bracelet, pepper mint candies, a thermos flask with the name of Miss Teen Equestria, a can of bergamot-flavored tea along with its tin infuser… All this could be found in the basket of gifts which had been given to Rainbow Dash.

Pro forma, the Committee CEO came and explained her what would be her role as second runner-up of Miss Teen Equestria. It appeared clear for everyone she would never have to travel instead of Star Song or Berry Preppy but she understood it was a mandatory procedure.

She wasn’t sad to know it was all over. Beauty pageants were way harder and tiresome than she’d thought. All it took wasn’t simply walking, smiling while pretending to be a very nice person. Contestants were asked to learn a lot of things at the same time, not to crack up under pressure, even when they lost, to reveal determination and perseverance.

Despite this, in her opinion nothing felt as good as the fever of a real competition, the strategies, the direct confrontation with the rivals, going beyond your limits the way races asked you to. She didn’t regret she had made it… but couldn’t wait to be able to wear back her casual clothes and to satisfy herself with a thin layer of BB Cream in the morning, along with a swift mascara stroke on her eyelashes and her own way of brushing her hair.

As soon as she saw Rarity coming her way, she begged of her to take off her makeup, which was starting to make her skin irritated. Her friend, hands against her hips, told her she was old enough to take her makeup off on her own, but despite this, she grabbed her bottle of micellar water and some pads of cotton.

Behind Rarity, the complete gang minus Flash Sentry but still with Soarin, appeared in front of her eyes. How happy she was to see them again! It had been only two days she’d been locked up in this auditorium yet Rainbow Dash felt as if she hadn’t seen them for months.

She already had taken off her high-heels, and her feet were swinging at a few inches above the floor, which irrefutably reminded her of an awful truth… She was small!

Each of them congratulated her, telling her how awesome she’d been and how they couldn’t believe she’d actually had gone this far in the competition.

“Bah, in fact that’s thanks to the gorgeous dresses Rarity had created for me as well as her expertise in hair and makeup.”

“Since when are you being modest, Dashie”? Pinkie Pie giggled.

“Since I’ve been asked to walk with these”, she replied as she shown the high-heel shoes lying over the floor, before she stuck her tongue out of her mouth at her. “Seriously, that’s a modern equivalent of medieval torture. Oh no, wait… This is wax hair removal!”

Her reply hit the bull’s-eye, and the whole gang started to laugh, except Soarin who obviously couldn’t understand what she meant.

What he could understand, on the other hand, was that this beauty pageant hadn’t unfolded in an ordinary way.

Only someone blind wouldn’t have noticed a girl had disappared in the middle of the show, and that during the winner announcement, a small group of policemen had arrested some woman – and that Twilight kept a low profile seeing Timber among them, but this was another story. Same for the foghorn sound at the start of the finale announcement, which had interrupted everything for almost ten minutes.

“Hey! It had been a bit chaotic at some point, hadn’t it?”

“Yes”, Twilight built on the idea. “We all noticed there were weird things going on.”

Rarity and Rainbow Dash both exchanged a conniving look. Maybe it wasn’t worth it to explain them everything in details, especially as now there was nothing to worry about anymore. None of them wanted to worry them pointlessly if they realized the two girls had been in danger.

“It was a bit eventful, indeed”, Rarity answered with a smile. “It’s always a bit like that when you gather something like thirty teenage girls in the same place, and that they’re competing against each other.”

“Cops landin’ at the end is always a bit like that too?” Applejack dared asking.

“What about the foghorn?” Sunset Shimmer outbid.

“In fact, weren’t you the one with a thingamajig sounding like a foghorn in your bag, Rarity?”

The young fashion designer obtained this item when she had been pursued by the same student who stalked Applejack, going as far as trying to kidnap her, then when Twilight had almost been forcefully brought to a karaoke by a bunch of boys. She couldn’t fight, conversely to Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash or even Sunset Shimmer and had thought it was a reasonable alternative to stun guns or tear gas canisters.

And she probably had been right, since this thing had saved her life.

“Ha, ha, ha, ha, you remember this, Pinkie? Ha, ha, ha, ha, that’s funny!”

Obviously, the two young women were hiding them something. And for this to happen, it probably meant the sensed restlessness hadn’t been the pleasant and nice kind at all.

“One of the contestants’ mother could have… slightly blew a fuse” is all Rainbow Dash answered with clenched teeth.

“Like, she was convulsing while screaming obscenities and throwing up everywhere and after that, she peed while standing and rotated her head 360°?”

“No, Pinkie, she didn’t blow this type of fuse, like I think I’m Linda Blair. And I’ve already told you this kind of things never happened in real life.”

“That’s what you say, but the disgusting DVD cover says “based on a true story”.”

“Hey, cinema theoreticians, can we please get back to our ducks? How did she blow a fuse?”

“Trust me, Applejack, you don’t want to know”, Rarity affirmed.

“This means we’ll never know”, Soarin concluded.

Upon these words of wisdom, Rainbow Dash had to close her mouth so that Rarity could erase her lipstick. She already had used four cotton pads… Seeing them piling up in the trashcan, and comparing them with what the teenage girl usually put on her face, it could be easily understood how large was the gap between her personal aspirations and what she had been brought to do in order to help her.

Maybe there was some part of truth in the prejudices her friend had demonstrated before the pageant started. Even for those acting the closest to who they really were inside, it was a rather superficial universe. First of all, it was about appearances, pretty illusions planned for months, and sold under the “dream” label. All that could result from it was a representation, something a bit artificial, and not the reality of what true beauty was: an indescribable je-ne-sais-quoi coming from the inside as much as from the outside.

However, Rainbow Dash had also been wrong about some things, and these, Rarity couldn’t change her mind about them. In fact, it rather regarded those who were peopling them than the pageant universe itself – quite superficial as well.

While taking off the pins in her friend’s hair, she asked her the question, hoping she had learned a few lessons from this experience.

“So… Are all girls competing in beauty pageants nothing but a bunch brainless ninnies?”

“Not all of them, I confess. Most of them are just like us. Even if none of them could be as awesome as I am!”

“Obviously”, Twilight answered with a blasé face.

Well, it was impossible to hope she would turn out humble all of a sudden, and no one really wanted her to change, anyway. In fact, it was kind of worrisome when she wasn’t behaving this way.

It was about time for her to tell them what she had decided from the moment she had understood, although there were very few chances for it to happen, that the fact of being second runner-up demanded of her that she tempered her behavior, because even if she might never appear in public with the title again, she represented the Miss Teen Equestria brand for the whole year.

Plus, it wasn’t as if she was indispensable…

“Despite this, I’ll call the Committee tomorrow first thing in the morning and I’ll tell them I resign of my position. I let it to someone who really wanted it.”

“But why?” Fluttershy asked, more in shock than the others. “You won it thanks to your hard work.”

“I’m not meant for this kind of stuff. And imagine Berry Preppy turns sick and Star Song gets a gastroenteritis and I’d be obliged to compete instead of them”, she added, suppressing a chain of thrills down her spine.

Her completely desperate face, a bit tinted with disgust, when she pronounced this sentence was so full of honesty everybody laughed again. Rainbow Dash laughed as well, but a bit embarrassingly. Alright, it had been a new experience, but she wasn’t about to renew it… Too bad if she just couldn’t say it in another way.

They were cut short by Hoity Toity’s arrival with great fanfare. The man, always wearing some kind of white wig, with back sunglasses, his chin up and haughty, never moved along without his two young men dressed in black suits, shaking peacock feathers fans all around him.

These small details said a lot about his character: in Equestria, the law forbade to gather peacock feathers for fashion accessories.

However, he also was known to be a fashion genius, at the extent that he could even get away with his illegal eccentricities. Like many men of power.

“Which one of you is Miss Rarity?” he questioned with posh accents.

“It’s me”, the person in question answered, taking a step forward, her heart thumping in her chest.

Never in her life had she felt so anxious, not even on the night she lost her virginity. This man in front of her, not tall of height but huge of celebrity and power, could, in a gap of a few seconds, crush her life between his hands, like some frail eggshell. Or he could send her to reach the highest peaks of her existence.

What was about to happen was all she ever dreamed of… If not her worst nightmares.

The couturier lowered his sunglasses, and looked at her from top to bottom. Just in case she would eventually meet him for real, she had made sure to dress with taste. Lather pencil skirt, black stockings, white shirt with a classical Chanel jacket, and pearl string. Yes, this great fashion artist came here to judge her creations and not her gift to match her own wardrobe, but keeping appearances clean was essential in this art.

She had to hold back tears of happiness when he rose his black-gloved hands and applauded her.

“Bravo! Bravo! Amazing! I want to see more of this. I want a fashion show for next spring-summer haute couture collection. I finance.”

Rarity had been warned by Sapphire Shore, and she also read it in every fashion magazine, when Hoity Toity offered something, even if this something seemed impossible to achieve, there was no way to say no, because he never gave second chances.

The next spring-summer haute couture season would take place in September, which let her a bit less than six months to imagine and create a whole collection of at least thirty models. It made her feel dizzy just to think about it, but it was what she always wanted, after all, and she accepted this generous offer with pleasure.

Hoity Toity left immediately after, as swiftly as he’d arrived, letting Rarity dumbstruck. This time it was real. It happened. She was about to play with the big guns, because with this show she would leave the world of the promising revelations to become a real fashion designer, looked at and analyzed by Equestria in entire, and even by the whole world.

It meant what Rainbow Dash had done for her hadn’t been in vain at all. Not only they both had learned something, but her biggest dream was going to be her life now. It was here, within her reach.
> Live Up to Her (part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soarin still remembered clearly the first time he had seen Rainbow Dash performing her odd beauty routine. It was in Fillydelphia, when he joined her at the Apples’ secondary house, and they shared the same bedroom for a whole week.

The oddest thing about it was the way she brushed her hair. She separated each color with the precision of some medical expert, going as far as moving it strand by strand, then she kept them in place with small barrettes so that none could mix up during the operation. Then only did she brushed the colors, that she loosed only once it was comb out.

It was particularly interesting with the green of her hair since the infamous strands were in front of her face. The whole was some kind of sexy antithesis, and Soarin also remembered clearly what he said back then:

“I don’t know whether this is adorable or hilarious.”

What she replied to by sticking her tongue out of her mouth at him.

After this, all was left to do was to put a thin layer of BB Cream on her face, a bit of mascara to both her eyes, and a cocoa butter lip balm on her mouth. And she was ready! The hair ritual was what took most of her time in the end, but she refused to change, because it seemed of the hight importance to her not to mix the colors.

This all, she said, because she really enjoyed the fact her hair was matching her name so much, just like Pinkie, although Pinkie’s name wasn’t really “Pinkie”. Her parents had chosen her name for a very precise reason though it had been revealed to her that Dorothy was her mother’s first choice but her father encouraged her not to pay such an obvious tribute to her childhood favorite movie.

It was because of this routine that Soarin decided to find an accessory which would help her to sort out her colors without the use of her strange small barrettes. But he hadn’t found anything at all… And to say her birthday was in only one week!

All morning long he had wandered in downtown Canterlot in order to find something else as a substitute. Rainbow Dash liked many, many different things, he wasn’t lacking ideas. His problem precisely was that he had too much ideas and none seemed to be good enough. Because she wasn’t going to celebrate one ordinary birthday… But her eighteen years-old.

Equestrian law was a bit complicated about it. Majority wasn’t complete when eighteen was reached since it was considered too heavy a burden to be responsible on every aspect so suddenly. Thus, when reached this age, it gave the right to vote, to purchase alcohol, to create your own enterprise, and to leave the territory without permission, but accession to real estate could only be reached one year later, like entering in politics, or be a stockholder at the markets or subscribing your own life insurance.

Despite this, it was an important age. A step toward adult life. Which meant he couldn’t give her any type of present. He needed to find something meaningful, something up to the step.

It was lunch time, and Soarin still was empty-handed. Aggrieved, he decided to have a well-deserved break… and had the idea that could save him.

Sugarcube Corner was really close. Rainbow Dash had a Roller Derby competition, then she had to visit Mr. Habeas in order to rehearse for the first time her testimony for the Royal Riff’s case, which trial was going to be around the end of summer, before going to her weekly appointment at Green Haven to see Dr. Horse. This way, he was sure she couldn’t be at the tearoom with her best friends.

Unfortunately, none of the girls was here neither. He had hoped that, maybe, they would give him pieces of advice and a few tricks.

He heavily let himself fall on one of the stools in front of the counter.

The place was rather empty for a Saturday. Out of him, there only were two students from CHS, the Crusaders, some guy reading a newspaper whom he could only see his hands, and a couple busy billing and cooing in a corner.

“Oh, you don’t look very good”, a high-pitched familiar voice told him.

Soarin looked up and felt his eyes filling with stars as he saw Pinkie Pie in front of him with a coffee pot in her hands.

Because he sometimes was a bit absent-minded, he had forgotten that now, the teenage girl was working here. Maybe he was saved after all. Though sometimes she was reasoning in a way he couldn’t quite understand, she was very close to Rainbow Dash and knew her by heart.

“Huh. I’m looking for a gift for Dashie… and I can’t find anything!”

“How pity. I already have her gift since ages.”

“What is it?”

“A huge copy of a picture with us six at last Winter Ball. And since Rarity wasn’t on the picture, I added her with my computer. You don’t notice a thing! And do you know what’s super-duper hyper awesome?”

“No”, he answered, unsure whether or not he wanted to know.

“My internet pen friend is going to come and help me with Dashie’s birthday party. It’s going to be even more amazing than last year’s one. She’s going to be so happy!”

“She will for sure.”

Even if the young woman baked her a small cake in a dirty dive in the middle of the poorest areas, he was convinced Rainbow Dash would be happy, as long as it came from her heart and she was surrounded by her friends. Although to celebrate her majority, she was probably expecting something spectacular, up to her “awesomeness”.

Which, one more time, sent him back to his problem. He hadn’t found THE gift yet.

“Pinkie Pie, you have to help me!”

“Here, have a cup of coffee”, she said pouring a generous draft in a Sugarcube Corner branded cup.

“I don’t need coffee; I need your help…”

“For Dashie’s present, you mean? Heehee, I can’t do that, silly! You have to choose a gift that comes from the bottom of your heart, not from mine. There’s sweet pepper and cumin cake, cheese shortbreads with a lemon cupcake on today’s lunch menu.”

“Pft… I’ll take one, thanks. With sparkling water, please.”

“And one lunch menu, let’s go!”

Pinkie Pie hadn’t really helped him in any way, in the end… And Soarin felt her other friends were going to tell him the same thing. He knew it. It was what Rainbow Dash meant for him that he needed to display through this gift.

Suddenly, he remembered he also had to find something to celebrate their first year as a couple, especially as Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, already had her gift for him. And it was supposedly so awesome she couldn’t help boasting about it.

Doomed, he was doomed.

However, there was someone in this very tearoom who thought his chance to be back in the game had finally arrived.

The person hiding behind a newspaper lowered his periodical, a devious half-smile plastered on his face.

Zephyr had heard the whole conversation between Soarin and Pinkie Pie. It wasn’t his intention at first. He only hid so that Soarin wouldn’t notice him and thought he was obliged to greet him just because they often met on the campus and they had a girlfriend in common. Well, although Rainbow Dash never been Zephyr’s girlfriend anywhere else than in his dreams!

All this time, he had kept a low profile, waiting for the perfect moment to strike and take back the lead. And this moment had finally arrived. Even if Rainbow Dash had invited him to her birthday party out of sheer politeness, he was going to be there, and he was going to give her a gift as well. This year, this won’t be flowers or chocolates. This year, he was going to strike harder.

This year, he was going to dethrone this damn basketball player, of the simplest way ever. The gift he would give to the subject of his heart would be so dazzling it would completely eclipse all of his rivals.

-----------------------------------------------

Each year at this period, twelfth grade students from CHS multiplied school outings like this one. The goal was to awaken a vocation for those who didn’t know what to choose after High School yet. Thus, each day all week long, buses brought students to various places where a job was explained to them in a concrete way by those already doing it.

One of the advantages of this outing was the element of surprise: they never knew exactly where they were going.

Yet Rainbow Dash couldn’t care less. While on the road, all that mattered to her was her birthday party.

It had been days already that the topic never was off her lips, very excited at the idea of finally being of legal majority. Of course, it didn’t mean she would finally be able to leave her family house in order to live alone (or with Soarin) just like she dreamed of, but at least, she would be regarded as master of her own decisions and wouldn’t have to yield to her father’s every whim.

In fact, it also meant she wouldn’t need his permission to testify at Royal Riff’s trial, nor to go on a cruise with Twilight’s family during summer holidays and she would be able to sell her car and buy the motorbike of her dreams, and Mr. Rainbow Blaze wouldn’t have anything to say.

All this, with the prospect of the huge party to come set her in the sunniest of moods which could almost rival Pinkie Pie’s inexhaustible energy. Those who didn’t like her voluble side would bang for the buck today.

“I want something phenomenal so that in ten years, during school reunion, everybody would still remember this bash. Got to surpass yourself, Pinkie!”

“It’s at least the ten times yar repeatin’ it today”, Applejack complained.

“And I’m going to repeat it again. I just can’t wait.”

“I must confess that I can’t wait too”, Sunset Shimmer said with a smile. “Last year it was really sweet.”

“Forget about last year”, Pinkie Pie intervened, sitting in the opposite direction of travel, her stomach leaning against the back of her seat. “It was nothing but a small amateur party compared to what I’m planning.”

“Oh boy, it’s going to be SO awesome!”

The sound of a throat clearing interrupted them and the five girls looked up to discover Vice-Principal Luna standing beside the group, frowning slightly, her fists against her hips.

“I’m sure what you’re planning is going to be fantastic, but could you please sit correctly? It’s dangerous.”

Luna almost added “and noisy” but it would have been useless. Because from the moment they would sat correctly and thus be separated into groups of two, she knew quietness would be back into the bus and the other students could finally think with a clear head.

Much as she liked this bunch of solid friends, she recognized some of the things students said about them was absolutely true. Particularly when it came to their sound volume. Yet they were only five, six with Twilight Sparkle, and as noisy as if they were twenty.

A slight smile appeared on her face when she thought this was what made them so endearing and without them, CHS would never be the same.

As Luna predicted, when she reached her seat in the front, quietness had fallen back on the bus with each forced to sit correctly on their seats. All that came from their positions now were whispers among others.

If Sunset Shimmer and Rainbow Dash were still on the topics of the birthday party, as far as Fluttershy and Applejack were concerned, their conversation, though related, was completely different.

In fact, something bothered a little the pink-haired teenage girl and she knew the young woman sitting beside her was the best person to ask her question to.

“Do you… think Big Mac would come to the party?”

“Well Rainbow Dash invited him, sure but for the rest Ah don’t really know. Ah don’t want to get carried away…”

“Ah. Alright.”

To tell the truth, Fluttershy was a bit afraid to meet him again. Since he had confessed he was in love with Pinkie Pie, she hadn’t seen him again, and carefully avoided to speak to him or to be on his way.

Yet, they both had to talk. Officially, they still were a couple on a break, and despite the fact this confession brought about a major change, for her it was impossible to put their story behind if they hadn’t set things straight.

On Fluttershy’s side, she still was in love. Although he made her suffer like no one else did, if he told her he wanted to start over again, she would start over again. She wouldn’t be able to help it. Nevertheless, she preferred not to imagine things. Since he loved another girl, there was no chance they would be back together.

This shady and indecisive situation didn’t feel pleasant. And though it probably meant her love story with Big Macintosh was over, she couldn’t wait to know. So she could go forward.

A few minutes later, the school bus stopped on an esplanade, in front of a white-painted huge wall. In theory, this place reminded nothing to anyone… The wall in question didn’t display anything about the type of place that was hiding behind.

And when getting of the vehicle, a large portion of the band didn’t know much more than the others… until a deafening sound of engine set them on the right path. Immediately, each student looked up and had the time to see a small plane, fighter aircraft style, passing them by at full throttle, up in the sky.

Not far, a huge black wrought iron gate opened and quickly, the school group was joined by a man wearing camouflage clothes. It looked impressive but in reality, Equestria had no army properly speaking and intervened in international conflicts only by bringing humanitarian aids, whether it was material or human.

“Welcome to Canterlot airbase! I’m Major Fast Clip and I’m going to be your guide during this visit. If you have questions, don’t hesitate to ask, I’ll attempt to answer them as best as I can, as long as you don’t call me Mister but Major.”

“Yes, Major”, the students repeated all at the same time.

“Perfect. We can start now. Please, follow me…”

And in a wave of excited whispers, students all started to walk in the direction of the gates. All… except one of them.

When Applejack turned her head, sensing something was wrong, she noticed Rainbow Dash was keeping her distance and frozen, in all likelihood unable to move. Her overwhelming sunny mood seemed to have deserted her, and instead, her face was tensed and her knees were shaking.

Applejack took a few steps back in order to meet her friend.

“Ah know it’s a bit hard for ya to come back here after all those years… but Ah also think that would be a good idea for ya to put your fears behind ya.”

“I can’t, AJ. It’s… I just can’t.”

“Am sure ya can. Ya did great advances already, like… Yar able to go back to Green Haven in order to see your shrink… Put a little faith in yarself.”

Rainbow Dash knew that if, really, she was unable to do it, Applejack wouldn’t force her to go on. All she was trying to do was to help her. Plus, if she didn’t come, since it was a school outing, she could be considered absent and have problems.

If there was something she didn’t feel like, it was that her father would decide to cancel her birthday party because she would have skipped an afternoon of “class”. Especially as she’d been able to get better grades in science – although it wasn’t much better.

She grabbed Applejack’s hand, exhaled… The sound of another plane passing them by in the sky made her shut her eyes and she almost turned around to run away but she kept going. All she had to do was to walk straight in front of her, without a look around. It would be alright. For now.

The large main yard hadn’t changed much. The large depots on the sides neither. And neither did the take-off runway. And the bleachers where spectators could watch the various demonstrations still was at the same spot as well. In many respects, the base was the same than four years before – almost five.

It was so unsettling that Rainbow Dash felt as if Firefly could appear any time in front of her, dressed in her pilot clothes, or in her civil clothes for the end of the working day.

Even without flying planes, walking in this so familiar yet so strange place was very hard. Yet she kept going, holding Applejack’s hand beyond reason, the latter not complaining the least in the world.

While Major Fast Clip explained the other students what were the various trades that could be found in an airbase, she kept her head low, not really listening to what he could say. Breathing in and out and thinking this also was the place where Soarin worked was what she was hanging to.

“First, we’re going to go to the hangars where are stored our acrobatics planes. They’re the most famous of all Equestria and do the honors at each public holidays and official events of Our Royal Family. Our most famous show is the one which is given every year for the creation of our float anniversary.”

Rainbow Dash hardly swallowed, a lump of fiberglass hurting her throat. Equestria’s float creation anniversary. It was the very last show she had attended to. The one which had screwed up her life.

The more she was going forward; the more she was feeling bad. An icing cold sweat had started to roll all over her spine. Her vocal chords felt damaged. Her heart felt like crushed by a steamroller. The world around her was wobbling. Her stomach was attacked by acid flows, which set her whole body on flames.

As soon as she had a glimpse at the fighter aircrafts from the wide-opened hangar, she let go Applejack’s hand, petrified. Her breathing had accelerated, and she felt that if she took another step, her heart would give up on her.

Unable to do otherwise, Rainbow Dash turned her back on her friend and on the rest of the group, and ran towards the way out, as fast as her state allowed her to. If her memories were good, the monitory station was in this direction. At the first floor was the restroom…

She wasn’t able to reach it and had to lean against a post to keep going with the violence of her disgorgement.

It was impossible. She could never make it. She could never heal from her phobia… Because the events of this doomed day would haunt her forever.
> Live Up to Her (part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sky was blue, devoid of clouds. The weather was splendid for October, the kind of ideal weather for a show such as this one.

Stunt flying’s lovers came with their binoculars and spyglasses, in order to observe under the best of angles the amazing show they were about to witness. Each year, Canterlot’s Royal Aerobatics Float surpassed itself at the occasion of their creation’s anniversary.

Her father wasn’t here. He had come with her, but had to pick up his phone. An urgent call from work. Like always. She was on her own to watch, but she didn’t care much since her mother was with her in her thoughts. She had told her so right before, when she had come to check up on her. Today she would fly for her, the way she always did.

Her mother. Her heroe. The light of her life. The only person she had only said “I love you” to and who could tousle her hair while calling her “my sweet little Dashie” without her to be ashamed.

Since she was a little girl, she had liked seeing her fly. Like her, she wanted to be a pilot, and to impress Equestria’s citizens with her stunning stunts.

It started so well. The first stunts were breathtaking, and the audience gaped in “oh”s and “ah”s with admiration. Her eyes were staring at the sky, fascinated by the grace which these iron monsters were able of. Here again, as always.

Her mother’s plane had to break through the drawing of a four-leafed clover created by the white and blue smoke the other machines had spit, which was to give the sensation that wind had come and swept away the luck represented by this rare plant.

It was high in the sky and did a trajectory towards the drawing… at an incredible speed. A little too incredible.

“Is it… taking a nosedive?” a person sitting by her side claimed.

No, it was too dangerous to try a climb up after having done such a plunge towards the ground. Her mother was an excellent pilot; she had crossed the oceans many times, she couldn’t attempt something that perilous just to show off, although she had the skills for it.

A scream resounded a little farther above her in the bleachers.

“Oh my God, it’s going to crash!!”

Another scream, more like a shriek, climbed from the crowd, soon followed by many others when the engine caught fire. A panic reaction also followed. Quickly, people from the audience were running around, children were sheltered, bleachers were left as fast as possible. The plane wasn’t far enough to preserve the audience if a sheet of corrugated iron came off.

But she, mouth wide opened, breathing heavily and fast, her vision blurred by tears, was unable to take her eyes off this dreadful scene. It wasn’t anyone inside this plane. Why wasn’t there someone to do something?

It seemed to her it had last eternally, when in reality, it was a matter of seconds. Like a thunder strike.

She couldn’t see the plane crashing against the asphalt yet it seemed the images were really clear in her mind.

Someone suddenly grabbed her by her shoulders, and got her out of the bleachers, while she was gesticulating as much as she could, stretching out her arms while screaming, calling her mother.

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes. A part of her knew she wasn’t stuck four years ago, but lying on a bed, somewhere else, but another part of her still felt as if blocked in this horrible past, and it was the part making her shriek and move wildly.

Someone was leaning over her, eyes filled with worries. She felt two hands trying to control her and a deep male voice calling her in a whisper, asking her to calm down, saying everything was okay. Everything was okay.

When the hands softly were able to take her wrist, finally Rainbow Dash relaxed, though her breathing was still heavy and fast and she could feel her forehead and pajamas top soaked with sweat.

That was when she recognized Soarin’s face in the half-darkness at last. Since he knew she couldn’t fall asleep in complete obscurity, he had plugged a small cute ghost-shaped night-light, bought just for her, close to the bed.

After her school outing, instead of going home, Rainbow Dash had gone at her boyfriend’s, where they had planned to order tomato-flavored falafels while watching a Screwball Comedy movie – her favorite one, “Bringing Up Baby” – Soarin had rented for the occasion. Since it was rather late when their little movie screening was over, she had decided to stay here to sleep.

All this time, Rainbow Dash hadn’t told him about what had happened previously today. She didn’t want him to worry, because he had a lot of things on his mind with his mid-terms exams and his basketball final. And, even if it had been unfortunate, she had thought everything to be beyond her after this very good evening with him.

Gross miscalculation.

As soon as she was fully aware to be back in present days, she snapped out of her trance and fell on Soarin’s arms without further thinking. In such moments, it no longer was about her self-image or her reputation. She didn’t care if she appeared vulnerable in front of him… because she knew it would never affect what he thought of her.

On many occasions had he told her how brave and strong he thought she was, though she could crack completely sometimes, for the reason that she was still standing, still moving forward, and he also often told her if he would have been through a quarter of what she had been through, he was sure he wouldn’t be here today.

Patient, Soarin waited her breathing was back to normal before he lied her soaked body again against the sheets. From his thumbs, he wiped away tears still hanging at her eyelashes.

“Sorry”, she whispered in a quavering voice. “I didn’t want to scare you.”

“I know… Don’t worry. Tell me what happened… I could feel you weren’t completely like yourself tonight. Do you want a glass of water?”

Not taking no for an answer, he left the bed, turned on his bedside lamp, and walked to his kitchenette’s sink in order to offer his girlfriend a glass of ice-cold water.

Rainbow Dash, sitting on the bed, looked at him doing it, glad she had decided to sleep here. If she had been all alone in her own bedroom tonight, she didn’t know how she would have recovered from the shock of another nightmare of her mother’s death after all this time.

He went back to the bed, gave her the glass, and while she was drinking, he took advantage of the opportunity to grab one of his tee-shirts, so she could change her pajamas’ top, since hers was still soaked with sweat.

She drank her glass in one gulp, then put it back on the bedside table, before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. Soarin was sitting beside her, waiting for her to get changed, silently.

Finally, once the clean tee-shirt was on, they both lied back under the blanket. Immediately, Rainbow Dash snuggled against him and buried her face against his chest. Not because she felt ashamed… Because the warmth of his body had something soothing, helping her to put things into perspective while she told him everything.

“You know, this week, with CHS, we’re visiting places to discover jobs. We already been to an art gallery, in the kitchens of a three-stared restaurant, in a factory… Today, the visit was at the air base.”

“You mean… My air base?” he asked, knowing perfectly it also was the place where her mother had died.

“Yes…”, she agreed.

Soarin only had the charge of mechanics. Making sure there were no problems before and after the take-offs, fixing up planes which needed to be fixed, but also taking care of everything related to the instrument panel.

Aged eighteen, he obtained his pilot license after many intensive hours of apprenticeship. Of course, he could only put himself behind the bar of small planes of the CAP10 or Acrobin type, but it was a beginning…

Since always, he had been fascinated by the aviation field, and Rainbow Dash and him had this in common. Together, they built scale model planes he had kept in his bedrooms, at his mother’s and at his father’s. They even made a promise they would get their pilot license at the same time… among many other things.

Life had separated them, but he kept this passion. When he found back the girl who now was his girlfriend, one year ago, Soarin had thought they could share this again but as soon as he had spoken about her mother, at the Bellehorse Bar, he understood something was broken inside of her and she would never try to get that license.

It allowed him to stop feeling guilty about the fact he hadn’t kept this childhood promise.

Tenderly, he put a damp red strand of hair behind her ear, his green eyes stuck to her magenta eyes.

“What happened?”

Deep inside, he knew very well what surely have happened, but he wanted her to tell it out loud. It was the best way for her to get rid of the tension still weighing on her shoulders.

“I just couldn’t complete the visit… I was too sick for this. I think that’s why I had this nightmare…”

Once again, she buried her face against his chest, and Soarin put a hand on her hair, in order to do the strokes which usually were helping to calm her down.

“I’ll never be able to recover. Each time I think I’ve finally made it, I discover that I’m still out of my mind. This year, it’s going to be the fifth anniversary… I don’t even know how I’m able to breath without her.”

“You do it because she would have wanted you to… Hey, listen to me.”

He cupped her face and made her look up so their eyes could communicate as well.

“You’re not out of your mind. Stop believing it because it’s wrong. You did huge progresses; don’t you ever doubt this. It’s normal if you feel as if you’ll never get better, these things take time, even more so in your case. There’s nothing tragic about the fact that, sometimes, like tonight, you’re snapping. You’re a human being, not a machine deprived of feelings. Everybody had weaknesses. Even you.”

“You say this because you never doubt of anything.”

“Please, I always doubt every little thing I do! I don’t talk about that much because then I would have to talk about it all the time! But there’s one thing I have no doubts about: you’re up to great things, Miss Rainbow Dash. And this troubled past makes you the person you are today. Instead of seeing it like a curse, embrace it like your chance, like the revenge you want to have on the world.”

“I hate you”, she said while trying not to cry, her voice oddly soft compared to the words escaping her lips.

Soarin couldn’t help smiling while taking her in his arms, so she could get back to sleep. Her pride prevented her from saying things clearly, but he knew what was the meaning of her words. She was moved, but more importantly, she knew he was right. At least, that was what he hoped. Because he meant everything he told her, with a disarming sincerity.

They had met again only one year ago, but she had quickly took back her full importance in his life. He could do anything for her. If she wanted him to get moon and stars, he would immediately go for it. There was no way he could envision his future without her.

That was why he absolutely wanted to make her an incredible gift for this double anniversary. He wanted to testify everything she meant for him.

However, an idea had started to bloom in his mind. It wasn’t anything material, it wasn’t even something that could be bought, but he was sure that if he achieved his aims, it would become something she could never forget. Something which would help her to move even more forward.

---------------------------------------------

Thrown out. With no possibility of having her say about it.

Wearing her helmet decorated with two puffy clouds connected by a rainbow, at full throttle on her scooter, Rainbow Dash thought about last night. Once again, her father brought her into a three-star restaurant downtown. Once again, he barely talked to her during their dinner and drove her directly home after that.

This morning, like every year since her mother’s death – except for when she was obliged to “celebrate” her birthday at Green Haven – he had put on her bedside table an envelope filled with banknotes for her “party”, not suspecting the details of her party had been settled a long time ago already.

The fact that she was now officially eighteen didn’t seem to change anything between them. This problem of communication, deep and dating back to even before the tragic accident, they would have to sort it out eventually, once and for all. They couldn’t stay forever stuck in a mutual distrust and incomprehension, pondering over regrets and reproaches.

Rainbow Dash shook her head, and restarted at the green light, determined to focus on something else. Like the way Pinkie Pie had sent her off of her own house.

She’d arrived right after lunch, accompanied by a boy Rainbow Dash had never seen before, whom her friend told her he came from Hoofington. His hair brown, with a curly haircut oddly similar to this of the teenage girl he was with, the boy in question was as bouncy and noisy as the young woman could be.

They both promised her she’ll have the party of the century, if only she could leave them alone to work, since they would do nothing good with her in the way.

Well, it was in fact perfect since she had a date with Soarin this afternoon. Though in reality they only became a couple by the end of last year’s party, they had been so for one whole year, and they’d decided to have a small tête-à-tête in order to celebrate this.

All that she knew was that she had to meet her boyfriend on the mall’s parking lot, but she didn’t know what he wanted them to do for the occasion. At first, when she had interrogated him, she had thought about a lot of different things, like the climbing facility, since it was the place where they found each other back, however, according to Soarin this wouldn’t be memorable enough.

Rainbow Dash parked her scooter at the two-wheeled vehicles section, took off her helmet that she put back into her trunk, from which she got out a paper bag from the Silk Street’s gifts shop.

It hadn’t been that easy for her to find a gift Soarin would like and that would mark the occasion. All she had found was horribly cliché and inadequate – he didn’t drink whisky, didn’t care about barbecues, didn’t have a tablet, wasn’t a tinkerer and didn’t wear leather luxury shoes.

And, just when she was about to give up, she had seen this gorgeous wooden chess set, on which wrapping box it was written the pieces to be hand-carved. He loved calculations, and everything demanding a lot of reflection, such as brain-teasers. She was sure this was the perfect gift for him.

At the last moment, she had also chosen a cookie-shaped cup-warmer, so he could put down his coffee cups without ruining his glass desk, like each time he was focused on reviewing.

If her father knew a part of the money he had given her for the party had been used in order to buy her boyfriend gifts, she was betting on the fact that he wouldn’t like it at all!

Too bad for him. Soarin was one of the most important persons of her life, with all due respect to Mr. Rainbow Blaze and his spurts of paternalism each time he could feel she was slipping off his fingers – which meant almost all the time.

As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, she was very impatient to discover what Soarin was going to give her, for her eighteenth birthday as well as for their one-year anniversary. When it came to the first gift, she was sure, knowing him well, that she would discover it before the party, but he wouldn’t have any excuse not to give her the one for the anniversary as soon as they’d see each other.

Although… He was able to tell her to wait until they reached their destination.

She met him beside his car, the black vintage Ford, that his father had offered him on his own eighteenth birthday.

Back when they were kids and had the chance to be able to play in the car dealer shop his parents then possessed – his father had purchased his mother’s share after their divorce – they loved sitting behind the wheels of the vintage cars and imagine they were living thrilling adventures as spies or thieves.

Rainbow Dash was fond of Bonnie and Clyde after she had seen a documentary about them, unbeknown to her parents… She even wrote a short story inspired by their lives, and Soarin and she particularly liked to pretend they were them, not fully aware of the consequences of such violent behaviors, only because, in their children’s eyes, it was “awesome” to play.

Time had gone by since then. From two kids with slightly improbable games, they had turned into lovers in a stable relationship, based on a sense of sharing and communication that was their own, although the way they did it perhaps wasn’t ideal.

She loved what they had become.

When they joined, they briefly kissed, Rainbow Dash wrapping her arms around his neck while he held her in his arms. Her paper bag was hanging on her arm.

“Are you ready?” Soarin asked her, gently patting her bottom, getting not even a frown as a reaction.

“Where are we going?”

“It’s a surprise. Get in.”

Obviously, just like she suspected, their exchange of gifts would have to wait until they reached their mysterious destination. So, she didn’t need to be asked twice to get in the car by his side, and she lowered the window just to make sure everybody would see her going through town with such a car. A small wipe over her reputation would do no harm.

Although it was sometimes unbearable for the other drivers, Rainbow Dash asked whether she could put some music on, and turned on his radio on her favorite station, specialized in urban music – old and new. From the moment it played a song by Eighteen+, she couldn’t help but putting the volume up, singing the lyrics along.

Soarin didn’t complain, conversely, he smiled to see her so cheerful and enthusiastic. Far be it from him to upset her, especially as he knew where they were heading to. He needed her to be in the sunniest of moods, since as soon as she would understand, there were chances she would change her behavior, and even that she would hold a grudge against him.

If that happened, he would do his best to gain back her trust, yet, he knew she had to at least try. It wasn’t for him… He wasn’t bothered by scenes like the one of the previous night, when he had to comfort her after a nightmare, since taking good care of her never was a problem in itself. If he had decided to drive her here and to offer her what he was about to offer her – such a session normally was highly expensive – it was for her own good.

So that, finally, she could move forward, though she had already made huge steps since she had decided to resume her therapy.

Soarin didn’t need to take the main entrance, the one with the tall black gate. As an employee, he could get in by a very small door, right behind the base. It probably was there Firefly used to go in as well, in the past. If it was the case, then Rainbow Dash would immediately recognize the place.

Her mother was a real legend in the Canterlot’s Royal Aerobatics Float. Youngest graduate from their Academy since its creation, she had quickly climbed the ladder, while pursuing studies of economy and bringing up her daughter at the same time, accomplishing each tasks with strength, courage and determination, never apologizing or complaining. She had done more humanitarian missions than any of her male counterparts, and still today, was the bearer of speed records.

In the corridors, many pictures of her were hanging on the walls, and her portrait also decorated a kind of “hall of fame” that tourists could visit.

Each time, before going to work, he passed by one of these pictures and did the appropriate military salute in front of a superior rank.

Without her death, Firefly would probably have recognized Soarin from the second he would have put one foot in the base, and would have done her best to make sure he would get to see her daughter again.

More than once, his father told him how she always said they were meant for each other and would eventually get married together (though Rainbow Dash was strongly against marriage).

In a way, Soarin liked to think Firefly would want them to be together, even sometimes that she was the one who had reunited them.

When he stopped in front of the small door, and Rainbow Dash recognized the place, she retreated into herself, such as her tortoise each time he felt threatened. She no longer sang along the music, had closed her window, and stared at the paper bag on her laps.

“Do we stop here so you could get something back?” she finally dared asking, quietly.

“Not exactly… In fact, that’s where I wanted us to go. Your gift’s here.”

In all honesty, she had suspected it. As soon as they had come closer to the base, an indescribable sensation had taken over her, an intuition, and she had thought he would bring her here, while refusing to believe it.

He undoubtedly meant well, but whatever was on his mind, that was beyond her. Three days ago, she had tried and the following failure had been total. She was maybe going in the right direction, but it still was too soon. Her mother had died here, and despite time had gone by, the memory still was fresh in her mind.

Rainbow Dash had the sensation that if she closed her eyes and opened them back, she would be back in front of the plane heading to the ground, with its frightened screams, and this smell of kerosene and burned iron and flesh.

“I’m sorry, Soarin”, she said, head low, clenching her fists against her jeans. “I… I can’t do that.”

“You don’t even know what we’re here for.”

“I don’t need to! I know I won’t be able to do it. I’m not strong enough yet. You’ve seen it the other night, I… I’m too scared.”

Soarin had expected her to react this way. It was the sensitive topic about which she lowered her guard without a care about the rest, no matter who she talked to, or the impression she wanted to make.

He put a reassuring hand on hers, and made her face turn so she could look into his eyes. It was difficult for her… Her eyes seemed to be drowning in a kind of mist, making them sparkling.

“But you trust me, don’t you?”

Without a word, Rainbow Dash nodded. Yes, she trusted him. She didn’t know whether that would be enough to convince her, but it was a fact.

“Then, trust me when I tell you that you’re strong enough. I know you’re afraid, but think about how far you went. You can do it. I believe in you. And I’ll be with you all the time.”

Her breathing was heavier and invaded the whole inside of the car. Soarin could feel her hand shaking against his, and he tightened his embrace. She looked on the verge of staggering, and he quickly thought he could see her eyes rolling upwards, but she got together on time, and with a nod, she made him understand she was ready.

It made no doubt she still was terrified, so he hurried to get out of the car and meet her, to make sure she wouldn’t pass out or let fear paralyzing her.

Their progression was slow until the aerodrome where a two-seater plane he had commandeered for the occasion was waiting for them. One of the advantages of working on the air base while taking his pilot license at the same place was that he always could borrow a plane after work, for a while of ten to fifteen minutes.

This time, he had asked a permission two days earlier, after Rainbow Dash’s nightmare, and his superior agreed to have him a good deal on the aerobatics forfeits often offered to fans of thrills. Usually, those interested would sit beside a licensed pilot, driving for them. Since he had the abilities to take off with such a vehicle, he didn’t need any supervision.

Many times, he felt Rainbow Dash on the verge of beating in retreat or falling, yet each time, she held on, although now her whole body was taken over by shakes, and even her face was tensed.

Brave despite it all, she was able to get near the plane, which she hadn’t done for almost five years. Even hearing them or seeing them in the sky, meters and meters away above, was making her feel dizzy and scream from terror. Each time planes were in question in movies, even more so planes crashing down, even those she loved the most and speaking about aviation, like “Wings” or “Christopher Strong”, she looked away and blocked her ears.

Just before climbing into the machine, however, she doubted. She trusted Soarin, but being so near already was a titanic effort for her. Was he really sure there were no problems, that the engine wouldn’t catch fire or the instrument panel wouldn’t cease to function all of a sudden?

And, she could still picture Firefly putting her helmet on and climbing on her seat, a few minutes before crashing against the ground. She was far from suspecting, then, that she would never see her daughter’s face again…

Rainbow Dash could feel her heart about to explode.

Despite this, she eventually climbed into the plane, sitting next to Soarin. Alright, her mother, an experimented pilot, had perished all the same, but her father had flown on board of a hundred, if not a thousand airliners since his career began, and he was still alive – leastways, it wasn’t this that was killing him slowly. And most importantly, she trusted her boyfriend when he told her she was strong enough to take this incredible step forward.

The evidence was that again yesterday, she would never have thought she was brave enough to be able to come so close to a plane, let alone climbing inside one.

Soarin showed her how to fasten herself, and while she was doing so, he was doing the various manipulations necessary for a take-off.

In any other circumstances, she would have had a lot of fun seeing him so focused and professional, his headphones on, pressing buttons as if he knew exactly what he was doing – which he did, or she’d never accept to put her life between his hands. But she was too preoccupied by her own breathing that she was trying to keep normal, and by the tears of fears she did her best to suppress.

When, the engine purring, she felt the take-off coming, Rainbow Dash grabbed the fastens, and shut her eyes like inside a rollercoaster. Her teeth were crushing the bubblegum Soarin had given her before starting this phase, so that her ears wouldn’t block, and most importantly, so she would be focused on something else than the feeling of the wheels getting off the ground.

“Is everything okay?” she could hear her boyfriend yelling above the engine noise. “I’m with you.”

And so, Rainbow Dash opened up her eyes, only to notice they were above the air base. The sight from those heights made her feel dizzy at first, and she thought she was going to pass out, but after she observed Soarin’s peaceful profile, focused on his flying, when she looked down again, she felt a bit more peaceful as well.

Down there, everything seemed so small, so insignificant… Like driving on a giant Earth model.

And she realized that despite her heart beating fast, despite her shaky hands and her knees still slamming together, she had made it. She was in a plane, in full flight, and fear, still here, hadn’t been able to win the game. She was the one who had won, this time.
> Live Up to Her (part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ordinarily, this wide garden wasn’t very useful… Except giving a pleasant view on the morning when she opened her shutters, or when she read at her favorite spot, or when she thought about calling the swimming-pool cleaner because she wanted to do lengths in the summer. It was highly expensive to maintain with its hectares of flowers and plants, arranged in the Japanese fashion, as demanded by her mother when they moved in.

So, seeing it crowded with people, full of life and laughter, it always felt really strange to Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie had made the most of so much room and optimized it at its max. Around the back, a veggie sausages barbecue was crackling and a good smell spread all over the place. She had settled a huge trampoline and sun loungers all around the swimming-pool, cleaned, opened and warm.

Like the previous year, Vinyl Scratch agreed to take care of the music, and this time, the pink-haired teenage girl and her assistant du jour, strangely named Cheese Sandwich, didn’t have to lure her with free food and drinks as a payment. She proposed herself to mix for free, to thank the gang for helping Octavia.

The young woman also was here, in fact, for the first time since Royal Riff arrest, though she still was a bit timid and hadn’t completely found back her past energy – it would take time.

The inside of the house wasn’t outdone. This year, Pinkie Pie had asked the Cakes to help her baking all sorts of sweets, and she also called a caterer in order to supply the house with enough food to feed a hundred of hungry teenagers. Same thing with the alcohol and beverages, with many big buckets of beer and other drinks all over the huge house.

And it wasn’t over. She had prepared a lot of games, to which everyone could take part if they wanted to, with no obligations, like darts, pool (borrowed for the occasion), dance video-games and ping-pong.

The guests, students from CHS or members of the Roller Derby team, plus a few of the contestants at Miss Teen Equestria, like Berry Preppy or Fleur Dis Lee, couldn’t believe it when they crossed the threshold of the house. It wasn’t how huge the house was that stunned them so much, but everything that had been planned.

“This party’s so HOT!” one of the boys of the athletics team shouted to Rainbow Dash.

“Yeah, it’s logic, since I got the best party planners of all Equestria!”

She hadn’t said this to show off, like she liked to. She really meant it. Even by asking this service to a professional, the way her father probably thought she did, she would never get such perfection. Because Pinkie Pie wasn’t working in order to increase the thickness of her contact list, nor for money or fame. She was doing it because she liked to make people happy and see a smile on their faces.

The fact they were best friends, knew Rainbow Dash very well and knew exactly what she liked and expected, of course, contributed a lot to the success of tonight’s celebration.

She had promised one unforgettable party: she hadn’t lied. For sure, the guests would remember it for a long time, and so would she.

The six of them were busy dancing together, chatting and laughing, while Soarin had gone to take something in his belongings. Pinkie Pie was busy taking food out of the fridge to bring them on the large table where the buffet was… Or at least, that was what she said she had gone to do.

Because suddenly music stopped, under the whistles of the crowd of dancers, and the young woman emerged above them, standing on a chair put on one of Vinyl Scratch’s amplifiers. She was holding a mic between her hands worn with hot pink fingerless stitch gloves, of pure 80s fashion.

“What the hay are ya doin’, Pinkie?” Applejack asked out loud, and it made the crowd laugh.

“I’d like to wish Rainbow Dash a good eighteenth birthday by offering her an exceptional gift… It’s time, Soar’!”

Obviously, Soarin hadn’t gone to take anything in his belongings, since he was coming from the basement where the gym room and Mr. Rainbow Blaze’s wine cellar were, when he went between the crowd, along with three young women dressed like popstars. And for a good reason: they were popstars.

Immediately, resounded notes of a song all those following trends knew well, and partiers around moved aside to make room for the singers, while Soarin hurried up to meet the gang.

How on Earth was Pinkie Pie able of such a miracle?

“I know you, you’re a special one/Some see crazy where I see love/You fall so low but shoot so high/Big dreamers shoot for open sky”

Eighteen+. In person. In her living-room. Singing one of her favorite song. She might as well be who she was, she couldn’t control the stars shining in her eyes, and she couldn’t either do the least of moves or say the least of words.

When the lead singer of the band, and also one of her greatest idols (she was a mysterious person known for her “cool” persona) stepped closer to her, and stroked her chin, Rainbow Dash felt like she was eight years-old again, when she attended the concert of her then favorite singer and she waved at her through the crowd.

Soarin also remembered this episode, and couldn’t help a tender smile seeing his girlfriend, usually so boastful, letting her child at heart speak again. It also was a part of her… She wasn’t only made of iron and coal, but also of silk and clay. Just like him.

That, more and more, she was able to accept it and not always hiding behind the aggressive part of her was a really good thing.

“I can see a rainbow/In your tears as they fall on down/I can see your soul grow/Through the pain as they hit the ground”

Once the song was over, everybody gave a roaring applause. It was the small detail turning this birthday party into a spectacular event, and making it even more unforgettable as it already was. It was obvious that the various Marebooks of the present students were soon going to be invaded with pictures and videos of this exceptional performance.

The young women signed a few autographs before being brought out of the house, this time by bodyguards who had discreetly hid all over the house.

Time for her to realize what had just happened, Rainbow Dash grabbed Pinkie Pie’s arm to ask her the question on her lips.

“How did you do that? Eighteen+ only perform at private parties if they’re paid a lot of money, and I mean A LOT. I know the budget I gave you was substantial, but even so…”

Pinkie Pie giggled in her usual manner, before she answered.

“It’s simple… By chance, I’ve discovered Canterlot Airlines and Sweet Apple Acres were among the most important sponsors of their next Equestria Tour.”

“What?” Applejack claimed, in all likelihood also ignorant of this fact.

“Granny Smith confirmed it to me. And Cheese Sandwich got an aunt working in a record company, not their record company but a record company anyway, so we called her so she would get in touch with Eighteen+ manager, but she’s changed last year and his aunt didn’t know how to get in touch with the new one, so we had to call the record company directly, but the record company didn’t want to believe us when we said we called for Canterlot Airlines CEO’s daughter, so we had to call your father, except your father was flying, which means not in touch so in the end, we asked Granny Smith and it’s Granny Smith who called the record company and they agreed for the band to sing for free at your birthday party since your father has given a lot of many to the record company to finance their next tour. Voilà.”

“Thank goodness, you said it was simple”, Rarity pointed out.

After which everyone burst out laughing, and the party resumed.

All the same, each time she thought about it while dancing or when someone told her how awesome her party was – to which she always answered it was logic, since it was supposed to be like her awesome personality – Rainbow Dash thought about the fact her father’s company was amongst the financers of her favorite band’s tour. Was it an accident or one of her father’s many indirect and devious attempts to get back in her good books?

Maybe it was a decision taken by his directorate in which he had played no part whatsoever. Though less satisfying, according to Rainbow Dash it was the most coherent explanation.

Nevertheless, whatever had been Mr. Rainbow Blaze’s role in this investment, it was Pinkie Pie’s idea to have the band in person for a one-song private performance in her living-room, and nobody else.

All the efforts and steps she had made during the last four years; she knew who she owed them to and it wasn’t her father. If she could move in the right direction, it particularly was thanks to those seven marvelous persons she had the chance to meet in six years – and also thanks to Soarin, but she had thanked him enough for his contribution this afternoon.

Important declarations never been her forte. She was good at motivating crowds, to lead troops toward glory, to inject self-confidence into others, even when she obviously lacked it, but for everything about expressing her feelings, she still had a lot to learn.

Yet, she wanted to thank them, with words and not only actions, the girls who were so dear to her heart. It probably would be a bit clumsy and wobbly, but too bad.

She went to Vinyl Scratch’s mixing table, and whispered something in her ear. The young woman nodded, and lowered her music’s volume, while this time, Rainbow Dash took the mic and climbed not on an amplifier, but on a table, in order to make an announcement.

A part of the guests, obviously expected new superstars to come and sing. They surely were going to be disappointed. They would only get her, Rainbow Dash, supposed to be this party’s superstar.

“Please, let me toast”, she said, putting up her bottle of alcohol-free beer. “To the six women of my life.”

Immediately, all eyes and heads conveyed in the direction of her small group of friends. Fluttershy, Twilight and Sunset Shimmer were a bit embarrassed from all the attention, but the three other girls only looked proud to have been called this way, no matter if they were observed.

“Each of you is dear to me, and each of you represents something unique and beautiful to me. I’m probably not worth of your flawless friendship but I want you to know that each and every day, I’m trying my best to deserve you. I don’t know where I’ll be now without you… And I wish we’ll never part. I’m very lucky to have you by my side, and I hope you girls know it.”

“Yes, we know it, darling”, Rarity said, with tears in her voice.

“So, tonight… Let’s put up our drinks to the best friends ever, the most awesome girls you could ever meet. I love you.”

Following her example, the other guests put their glasses or bottles up, and drank in the honor of the six young women, who all were now blushing from embarrassment, and moved to tears, some of them expressing them more soundly than others.

As soon as Rainbow Dash met them, Pinkie Pie fell on her neck, crying theatrically, like she often did. She was quickly imitated by the rest of the group who gathered around their friend, for a group hug that was in some kind of way their trademark.

It felt as if no one else existed outside of their small circle. They all knew it, deep inside their souls… They could be in different classes next year, finding jobs that wouldn’t allow them to see each other as often as now, they could start their own family, nothing would ever break the connection between them. This unique connection they had made little by little, by dint of patience and sometimes arguments.

Although one of them really hoped this intuition also applied to herself…

Sunset Shimmer was aware to be the last one to integrate the gang, after Fluttershy. Since she already knew there were chances that next year, she wouldn’t be a part of Canterlot University’s students, she prayed she could still be a part of this gang, despite the bracelet around her wrist, despite the fact she no longer was described as a simple “awesome buddy”, but like a best friend, a soulmate, just like the others.

Despite distance. Despite life.

--------------------------------------------

The moment to distribute gifts and to eat the cake was coming around. It undoubtedly was the moment Pinkie Pie was waiting for the most. She couldn’t wait to see Rainbow Dash’s face when she’d discover her present, and above all, when she was going to see the giant layer cake she’d baked especially for her by the Cakes.

They needed it to satisfy all those guests, although a lot of them couldn’t care less about pastries and were here for beers and flirts.

She’d decided Fluttershy would be her assistant to help her bringing everything to the living-room. The young woman didn’t think this to be a particularly bright idea, especially as she was really scare to do a blunder and that the cake would crush against the floor because of her. If that happened, she would die from shame, for sure. The raspberry-flavored cream was so thick she also feared to splash it against Mr. Rainbow Blaze’s expensive furniture – though it was covered with plastic to avoid accidents of the kind.

When she tried to suggest her friend to cut parts for everyone rather than transferring it in the other room, Pinkie Pie scarcely listened to her, arguing Rainbow Dash would need to climb on a chair in order to blow all the candles, which would probably me much fun. Especially if she got cream on her face and it ended up in a giant cake battle.

So be it. They both didn’t have the same definition of fun, but she was the expert in laughter, after all.

Before she decided it was about time to move the huge layer cake to the living-room, Fluttershy didn’t really know how to help. Pinkie Pie was busy putting down the candles, and already had brought plates and spoons out there.

“Will it still be long, Pinkie?” Twilight came to ask, standing on the step of the door.

“Ten little minutes and it’ll be perfect.”

“Ok. I’ll confirm Vinyl to play the birthday song in ten minutes, then…”

“Oki doki loki!”

Ten minutes?! What would she do else during ten minutes? If her role was only to help bringing the cake, Fluttershy wondered for what obscure reason her friend wanted so much that she came that early with her in the kitchen, especially if it was to watch her thrashing about.

“EEEEWW!!!” she suddenly gasped, a candle in her hand, and her right cheek already decorated with pinkish cream.

Fluttershy jumped, though she started to be used to the young woman’s sudden yelps.

“I’ve forgotten the champagne bottles in the basement! There’s no birthday cake without champagne!”

“I got this”, her friend immediately replied, very glad to be suddenly useful.

Mr. Rainbow Blaze’s wine cellar was in the basement, which was accessible from the kitchen, this, she knew. On the other hand, what Fluttershy ignored, was the exact location of said-wine cellar.

It wasn’t a place she’d gone very often, if not at all. And the basement was almost as large as the house itself. It wasn’t a cold and damp place, with a concrete floor like in her own house… The walls were painted white and the floor was a parquet.

On those walls hung pictures of Rainbow Dash surrounded by her two parents, in various occasions. No pictures of the kind were to be found upstairs, to the extent that Fluttershy had often wondered whether it existed family portraits under this roof. It seemed like they all had been put down there, as if it was something to be ashamed of, and that seeing them on a daily basis was way too embarrassing.

It was so sad. In her house, family was at the center of everything and although Zephyr took a lot of room with his exuberant character, unity was the most important of all things.

Many closed doors were in front of her, but she didn’t know which of them was the right one.

Getting closer, she noticed one of them was ajar. Fluttershy then drew the conclusion that this might be the wine cellar. Earlier, Pinkie Pie and her “assistant” had got back up from here with new bottles of beer. They probably had forgotten to close the door.

When she pushed it, however, she was surprised to see the light was on, and that it wasn’t at all a place where wines and alcohols were gathered. In fact, it was a real complete gym, and immediately, Fluttershy guessed this was the place Rainbow Dash trained every morning, and sometimes at night, the place her mother had converted.

She probably would have turned off the lights, closed the door and gone away in the opposite way provided the place had been empty. But it wasn’t empty. And the person here wasn’t just anybody.

Big Macintosh was standing next to a device called a pec-deck, which was a small leather seat with a large leather backrest and two iron arms with cushions to reunited together. He looked absorbed by his device’s contemplation, and didn’t immediately reacted when he had a glimpse at Fluttershy in his field of vision.

“I’m… I’m looking for the wine cellar”, she finally whispered.

“It’s the door of the back.”

She wavered for a few seconds, then listened to the coward side of her while hating herself for doing so, and turned around in order to get to the cellar. Though she’d told herself a thousand times Big Macintosh and her needed to have this conversation about their flickering love affair, now that she was in front of him, she was too scared of what he might say.

“Wait, Fluttershy! Don’t leave…”

On the threshold, the young woman froze. His voice was soft and quiet, and even if deep inside she wasn’t sure whether she wanted to talk with him, she decided not to behave selfishly and turned around again, before taking a few steps in his direction.

“Ya look very pretty in this dress. Well, ya always look very pretty…”

“Thanks”, she answered quietly, unsure of what he was expecting from her.

His compliments still pleased her, although they shouldn’t do so. Each time he complimented her, and this although they had kissed more than once since then and had held each other hands through the streets of Canterlot, she couldn’t help blushing like a naïve young flower.

The positive thing about it was that she had stop tormenting herself about it. That was what she was made of, simple as that. If he couldn’t accept her the way she was, then it probably meant they weren’t at all made for each other.

“Can we talk?”

Fluttershy nodded and took three more steps forward, while he sat on a bench press. She joined him timidly, both a hand between their two bodies.

“So?”

“So…”

Together, they never been of a great eloquence, it was a fact. Fluttershy even still couldn’t believe Applejack when she said that, as a younger boy, Big Macintosh used to be a real chatterbox, never listening to what she had to say.

“Ah really screwed it up, uh?” he started. “Ah mean… We were not so bad together.”

She shrugged. What did he want her to reply?

“If yar mad at me, I’d understand. Ah think if Ah was in yar shoes, Ah think Ad been a real scumbag.”

“That’s what I thought so… for a while. Then, I eventually got over it.”

Just like him being fond of her, she thought without control. It probably was what was making her the saddest in all this, the fact she hadn’t been able to keep him interested long enough to make him fall in love.

But was it completely her fault?

“Ah don’t deserve yar kindness. But Ah hope ya’ll be able to forgive me one day. Ah didn’t mean no harm. Ah really thought it would eventually work…. Ah mean… Ah still mean what Ah told ya. Yar beautiful with many beautiful qualities, but Ah don’t have the stomach.”

“I know”, she whispered. “I know you didn’t want to hurt me, but you hurt me, anyway. I was in love with you and I’m still in love with you today…”

This was difficult for her to admit. Not because of her pride, but because she was always, no matter what she started, scared of anything she could say or do. It wasn’t something she could control. It was her deep nature.

And in a sense, she understood what Big Macintosh meant when he said he didn’t have the stomach. He was struggling too hard with his own issues to be able to look after hers. Of course, he didn’t look as if he lacked self-confidence, yet Fluttershy was convinced that if he hadn’t confessed to Pinkie Pie yet, it was because he didn’t believe he had his chances.

To be honest, they were slim. Nothing in the young woman’s behavior seemed to indicate that she was fond of him, but appearances were to be not trusted when it came to Pinkie Pie.

And as simple as that, she realized she actually didn’t want to go back to Big Macintosh as his girlfriend. She wanted him to be happy and it seemed clear he wouldn’t be happy by her side, just like she wouldn’t be with him.

They were perfect as friends but as lovers, both their demure and shy characters didn’t match very well, unable as they were to motivate each other towards the right direction. Every love stories weren’t meant to be successful, after all, it was a reality of life, perhaps terrible but also terribly common.

“But I could never be with a boy whose heart is set on another girl. Sometimes, feelings aren’t enough. It hurts a little but I know the best for us to do is to call it quits.”

“Eeyup. Ah also think that’s the best for us.”

“Hey, Fluttershy! Are you lost or something? Pinkie Pie freaks out because there’s no champagne yet!” Sunset Shimmer’s voice suddenly resounded from the corridor.

“Coming!” she claimed with a self-confident voice that surprised even herself.

She got up and dusted the bottom of her dress. Big Macintosh was still on the bench, watching her from his seat, a smile she didn’t know how to interpret on his face.

It seemed clear for Fluttershy that she wasn’t ready to forget their story. He had been her very first love, and although it hadn’t ended in the best of ways, when she looked back, she thought, for the most part, it hadn’t been so bad. However, now, she was ready to keep this story as a bittersweet memory, and to stop crying over everything she supposedly had lost. Both had agreed that things were much better this way.

But right before she told him goodbye in order to meet with Sunset Shimmer, and also before she finally got the champagne for Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy felt Big Macintosh catching her wrist.

“One final kiss? For good ole times.”

This request was a bit odd and colored her cheeks pink, however she didn’t see why she couldn’t grant him this one last wish. It probably was a softest way to part, in his opinion. It could also be a way to make sure she would keep a pleasant memory of their separation, so it would replace tears and allow them both to start afresh.

So, she slightly leaned over and let her lips fall against his lips.
> Live Up to Her (part 4)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now that most of the guests were gone, the big house looked very empty. Some would never forget this party, and some had probably forgotten most of it, thanks to their advances state of inebriation. What was sure was that the party had been a success.

Rainbow Dash couldn’t be happier. Everything had been just the way she hoped and dreamed. Especially as this time, Pinkie Pie hadn’t finished the night with her head in the toilet bowl and Rarity hadn’t spent more time flirting with one of her beaux than having fun with her friends. The pictures and videos they made would fill their accounts on SNS for quite some time.

What happened now was the lesser fun part of it: cleaning up the mess. The amount of empy bottles of beer to pick up caused vertigo, but there also were plastic champagne flutes, paper plates, streamers and traces of footsteps everywhere against the marble floor…

Thankfully she wasn’t alone to do this titanic of a task. Her friends were still here, for the traditional after-party slumber party, but were also here Soarin, Cheese Sandwich, Big Macintosh and Zephyr, backups until everything was back into place.

Before cleaning the floor, they had to pick everything up, inside and outside, all around the swimming-pool. Armed with gloves and wide trash bags, the bunch was busy at their respective roles. Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich were in charge of streamers, which were many, Rarity was taking off the decorations, Twilight and Sunset Shimmer worked together at getting rid of disposable dishes and bottles, Applejack would put the furniture back into place, and Fluttershy would be the mop responsible.

As far as Zephyr and Big Macintosh were concerned, they were in charge of the swimming-pool. Not only did they pick up what had been left around it, but also clean it the best they could. Soarin, finally, was the one who had to clean the garden.

Or at least, this was the official version. Because, though he really took care of that task, there was a reason why he had been the one chosen for this, and nobody else.

Rainbow Dash was examining the many floors, making sure nothing had been moved or worse, damaged. Like she suspected, some had entered into the guest bedrooms, and even in hers, in order to flirt or to have privacy. That was why, this year again, she had locked up the master bedroom, as well as her father’s office.

When she got down after cleaning up her part, she could only note how hard the girls had worked. This house, detestable as it was, was huge and even with seven girls and four boys, she doubted they would reach such a result in so short an amount of time. Evidence indeed that they were able to accomplish great things when they were together.

But now, Rainbow Dash was left with nothing else to do. She might be a first-class lazybones, all the same it bothered her to see her friends busy putting the place she lived in in order while she was watching them, standing idly.

“Isn’t there one little thing I can do with you?”

“Darling… Of course, there isn’t. Let us take care of everything.”

“But…”

“Rar’ is right” Applejack cut her short. “Go and ask yar bae instead.”

“The boys are with him, and…”

This time, it was Pinkie Pie who cut her short by bouncing in front of her. In a few expert handlings, she made Rainbow Dash turn around, then shoved her back to the exit. And she locked her up outside – so did she lock up Big Macintosh and Zephyr at the same time but that was a necessary evil.

The message was clear. Her pals didn’t want her to be inside. Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but wonder what they had in mind, this time. Maybe Pinkie Pie and her curly-haired sidekick had another idea to mark the occasion.

Yet, when she looked inside through the huge picture window, she saw everyone was busy doing their thing, cleaning.

Shrugging, she skirted the swimming-pool where Big Macintosh was collecting leaves (among other things) floating at the surface of the water, while Zephyr complained because he wanted to be the one doing this small midnight dip, and she went to the back of the garden, where Soarin was. Obviously, since he was nowhere else to be found.

Rainbow Dash jolted from surprise when she felt a hand grabbing hers, but quickly discovered it was no one else than her boyfriend.

“Come on, I have to show you something…”

Without another word, she followed him, though she didn’t really have the choice.

They passed by hays of purple and pink rhododendrons, behind which her mother had settled a small wooden terrace, in the shades of a huge peach tree, in bloom at this period of the year, where lied an outside lounger.

It used to be Firefly’s favorite place of the garden, and even in the whole house, as well as Rainbow Dash’s. Already gorgeous in broad daylight, it became enchanting at nightfall. Especially as tonight, a cloud of tiny lights bathed the whole with an aura of waking dream.

When Soarin let go her hand, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help herself and stepped forward, trying to catch one of the small insects. Her marveled face, he hadn’t seen it that often since they reunited, and the fact of being able to witness it twice the same night was an amazing gift for him.

“What’s the name of these creatures, already?” she asked innocently, her eyes staring at the sky.

She had asked. There was no way he couldn’t answer. And it was a bit related with the reason why he had brought her here.

“Fireflies…”

Immediately, he saw Rainbow Dash closing her eyes, her hand entrapping one of the insects that landed upon her palm. It was clasped around it, the way she did each time something was too much to handle for her, which let Soarin think maybe he had been so wrong to say the name, although it had been a question from her.

“You really miss her a lot, don’t you?”

“You don’t even know how much… Each day, something happens that I’d like to tell her about. I always think about what she would have said, what she would have done… I’ve wasted too much time, on too many things. Today, I’d like her to be proud of me, although I know she can’t see me, and she can’t hear me, but even if only for that everything she taught me hadn’t been taught in vain.”

She opened up her palm, and the firefly captured inside flew away under their eyes. Soarin took a step in her direction, after he had picked up what had been hidden under the lounger – his gift for her, that he promised to give her once they’ll be all alone.

But when he heard her speaking again, he stopped right behind her.

“I’m going to stop saying the future doesn’t matter to me. Life’s too precious. I want to do something with mine. For me, and for her. I’m ready”, she finally stated, turning her face.

“Yes, you are”, he answered in a whisper.

Rainbow Dash completely turned around in front of Soarin, and spotted the wrapped gift in his hands. She outlined a smirk, tempted to put an end to this moving episode with a touch of her usual sarcasm.

“What’s in the box? Is it my gift or only a clue about when exactly I’ll get it?”

“Uh, uh, very funny. What d’you think?”

Like often, she burst out laughing in front of the blasé look on his face. In reality, he surely loved when she teased him this way. She couldn’t see any other reasons, since he was still with her. Unless he was completely masochist, but she would have noticed by now.

They both sat on the lounger so that, finally, she could discover which was the gift her boyfriend had for her eighteenth birthday. The gift for their one-year anniversary had been the plane trip, which had been full of lessons to learn for Rainbow Dash, about what she was able to accomplish… If she had been capable of overcoming her worst phobia during fifteen minutes, she was capable of many other things.

That was why she thought that Soarin had plenty of reasons for staying with her, and that masochism wasn’t a part of it – or maybe just a little bit. They had complementary characters, balancing one another. He was able to channel her, and she pushed him to optimize his abilities.

Rainbow Dash admired the way he was in peace with everything he was, his honesty towards himself and the others, his kindness, his open-mindedness, his altruism and had a lot of fun with the way he had of always putting his foot in it.

He surely was right, although it sounded a bit sappy: they were meant to be.

“Happy birthday, my Dashie. This time it isn’t a hairclip!”

“Oh no. I’m so disappointed. How will I ever recover?”

“Come on, open it, instead of being a smartass. Like usually.”

“You really want to sleep on the floor tonight.”

“When I think that I also wanted to offer you my body”, he said, laughing, when she finally decided to untie the knot of blue silk on top of the box.

She could have made their exchange last for a long while… Especially as, if it was really planned they would sleep together, first she had her slumber party with the girls and he’d be forbidden to come in her room or even to come around it during all the time it would last. Which made her think, while she was opening the box coming from a gift shop from downtown, that her boyfriend really was the most patient and adorable of all boyfriends of the world.

Not that she had so many boyfriends before or that her stories of the past had particularly shone by their beauty…

A gasp of admiration escaped her lips when she discovered what was inside the box. It was a notebook, but not any notebook. Its leather cover was engraved with patterns representing the nine muses of Greek mythology, and it could be closed thanks to a suede link and a small key matching a silver padlock.

With it, there was a beautiful fountain pen which brown shaft reminded her of the notebook’s cover.

Her fingers slipped along the leather, as if it was a piece of silk.

“It’s gorgeous…”

“Conversely to what it seems, this isn’t a private journal. Well, in fact, it is, but… I thought that instead of only thinking about all those things you’d like to tell your mother; you could write them to her.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t in the mood of teasing him anymore. This gift was one of the most beautiful she ever got, and yet her father always bought her very expensive things, like famous designers’ dresses, the latest fashion in technological gadgets, and even speedsters.

It only confirmed what she had always thought… Money helped being comfortable, but comfort was only a tiny part of what composed happiness. The real presents, the meaningful ones, in the end, they always were those coming from the heart. Those who were unforgettable, deep, and not only exclusive.

She looked up to Soarin, her eyes teary, and rewarded him with a tender smile. Their hands intertwined between their two bodies on the lounger, and she felt that here, sheltered from prying eyes and ears, for this perfect occasion, it was about time to tell him.

Since she had faced everything else, she could face this as well.

“I love you.”

Only three little words. But meaning so much. Every day, she tried hard to show it to him through her actions, yet she knew that these three little words meant a lot to Soarin, even if only to make him stop doubting, at least when it came to her feelings.

As an answer, he leaned over and put a tender kiss on her lips.

One year ago, it also was how everything had begun. Sitting on her bed, they had kissed, their hands intertwined. One year ago, she had discovered one person could never get enough love.

----------------------------------

“So, did ya give it to her?” Big Macintosh asked Zephyr, who was back from the back of the garden.

His plan had been to give his heart’s desire her gift after or before the boyfriend did so, and then, beating him hollow thanks to a jewel mounted with a real diamond.

When he’d seen Rainbow Dash going to meet Soarin, the young man had thought this was going to be his chance at last to get rid of his opponent once and for all.

He was sure of it: whatever might be the present the other boy had decided to give to Rainbow Dash, it would never be as meaningful and powerful as his, a real declaration of love.

Following them hadn’t been that simple, because of all the plants. But he did it, and, hidden behind those useful rhododendrons, he had waited for the perfect timing to give the final stroke. This moment never happened.

“I didn’t”, he answered, staring at the box in his hands. “And I’ll never give it to her.”

Zephyr sighed and threw himself into one of the rattan chaise longue around the swimming-pool, right beside his coworker and now best friend.

While he was watching them, as their conversation went on, he had realized something he was trying so hard not to notice during all this time. The way they looked at each other, their displays of tenderness, even their little verbal fencings… Everything was sweating with love and devotion.

Finally, he could see what was obvious to everyone else. Rainbow Dash would never fall in love with him. Soarin was the one she loved and her feelings didn’t seem to be about to change, no matter what jewel he could offer her, no matter what amazing outing he could propose, no matter who had been the first with a crush on her, once blot out the fact that they were childhood best friends.

“She’s not in love with me”, he confessed to his friend, shrugging. “Too bad. She doesn’t know what she’s missing! I’ll give this diamond ring to the girl who’ll love me for real, and she’ll probably regret it, but it would be too late.”

Big Macintosh had doubts Rainbow Dash would regret anything about Zephyr, except maybe not punching him in the face for playing pippin’ toms as she was alone with her boyfriend. Yet, he kept this to himself. If lying to himself this way could help Zephyr to suffer less, then it was best not to add anything.

The most important thing was that he had learned that feelings weren’t to be forced and couldn’t always be shared. 
Something Big Macintosh had prepared himself as well, aware that Pinkie Pie didn’t seem to see him as anything else than a good friend.

It wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was for the one you loved to be the closer possible to happiness. Wasn’t that the thing everyone should wish for the persons that were dear to them?
> The Most Stupid (Yet Useful) Bet Ever! (part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

One month and a half. One month and a half and high school would be definitely over. It was hard to realize. Yet, the moment for sending applications to the various universities had come, and the lessons in classes now looked more like general reviewing than a chance to learn new things.

Within two weeks would happen exams for all the students from twelfth grade, and the other lasting weeks would be dedicated to get prepared for college.

The most serious ones already had started reviewing at least one week ago. Although colleges selected their students based on the marks and credits of their whole high school years, these end of cycle exams could call a lot of things into question. Those who, for example, didn’t have enough credits could aim for going to college anyway. As far as the others were concerned, the grade obtained at the exams could help getting additional scholarships or determine whether or not they could subscribe to some of the options.

This particular system often was criticized by some peers of the government, wanting to abolish it for years, at the profit of a way to do simpler and more classic, only taking credits into account. Also because it was about a ranking of the students according to their grades, which intensified the competition.

Indeed, each school published a list of the best students, based on the grades of this exam, which didn’t always reflect the reality of the past years.

Canterlot High School wasn’t any different, and each year, first ranks were taken over by students from the Guiding Class, giving in to a tough competition in order to reach the highest spots of the list. It was a golden occasion for outsiders to beat the big favorites.

Twilight knew she would be accepted at the Canterlot University, in Astrophysics. Despite everything that had happened lately, she had been able to keep up a good pace, and even gained back the infamous lost half-point of last year. She could have not worry at all, and be satisfied with her accomplishments.

However, she hadn’t yet received the agreement for her scholarship request. In order to stack all the odds in her favor, she knew the best thing to do was to be excellent at the exam, but also to get her spot on the firmament of the ranking. It was out of question for her to have Trixie, Thunderlane or Moondancer be valedictorian instead of her…

This was the reason why she had started to review with an unprecedented fervor, right after Rainbow Dash’s birthday party. Each seconds of her free time was spent reviewing her lessons, and she never parted from her precious flash cards. She also deprived herself of the afterschool outings with her friends, who knew what was at stakes for her in these exams.

Well… It depended when, in reality. Right now, they could hardly take seeing Twilight reading her History flash cards on board, a tray in her hand, in the waiting queue at the cafeteria.

Even the most hardworking students made the most of this time off to relax. They were reviewing while eating, yes, but not when still standing, and in good company.

It had to be said that among the girls, except Fluttershy and Sunset Shimmer, none of them had started their own reviewing. Applejack didn’t care at all about scholarships and rankings, and knew she had enough credits to be accepted at the Canterlot University in Business Management. Pinkie Pie could think of nothing but planning the Prom Ball and said if she wasn’t accepted at university, it wouldn’t bother her to keep on working at Sugarcube Corner (which always upset Twilight, in fact). As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned, she still was convinced she would get a scholarship thanks to sports, and if there was a field where being number one didn’t get her enthusiastic, it was studies.

“Couldn’t ya put this down for at least five minutes?” Applejack asked, since she was next to her in the queue. “Am pretty sure Equestria History will be the same until then.”

“No, I can’t. If I can’t get the first rank, I’ll be a shame for my parents!”

“And we always say Pinkie’s the one exaggerating things…” Rainbow Dash replied, rolling her eyes.

“It’s easy for you to say that, Rainbow! You’re almost certain you’ll get a merit scholarship in sports, no matter what’s your final grade.”

“You’ll get a merit scholarship in EVERYTHING, Twilight. You’re the best of all Canterlot.”

“Don’t you know exams could mess it all up? In my class, the others are feverishly reviewing.”

Obviously, no matter what the group would say, she would find an argument to contradict it. It was a pity she couldn’t relieve the pressure off for at least five minutes, especially as it did no good to her body, but stubborn as she was, it would be useless to upset her. The risk was to have her panic even more…

The young woman didn’t even look which dish she chose, so focused on her cards she scarcely said hello to anyone, and always almost bumped into one of her friends, if not to step on their feet.

To get to their table, however, she couldn’t do anything else then looking straight in front of her. She had barely took a few steps that, most to everyone’s surprise, she fell down, as sudden as a thunderbolt in the sky, her tray falling with her, and her dishes and drinks crushing against the floor in a roar.

Immediately, all her friends ran to her. It wasn’t a plain fall because she had tripped over, unable to see some danger in front of her… No. She had fainted in the middle of the crowded cafeteria!

----------------------------------

“Oh… Look, she opens her eyes…”

It took Twilight a few seconds to realize she was lying on a bed that wasn’t hers, then a few additional seconds to understand she still was at school, in the sickroom.

Her five friends were gathered around her, their faces tensed.

She never wanted to have them so worried. In reality, she had never suspected what happened to her would happen to her. Though there had been some forerunners, she had been so focused on her flash cards she had chosen to think it was her mind trying to trick her.

Obviously, it wasn’t.

She tried to sit, despite Fluttershy’s panicked pleads, telling her it probably was best for her to lie again for a few minutes. Where was her bag? And most importantly… where were her flash cards?

"I have to review…”

“Gee, easy now, Einstein! The nurse said ya couldn’t leave this bed ‘til she’ll tell ya to.”

“But I can’t allow myself to lie in bed! I have to review…”

“Don’t you think you should spare yourself a little?” Sunset Shimmer intervened, holding her hand. “I mean… You passed out, and according to the nurse, it’s because your body can’t tolerate so much fatigue anymore.”

This wasn’t a detail unknown to Twilight. She knew very well she had pushed her luck too far lately. The way of life she had adopted since she had started reviewing her lessons, panicked by the fact she hadn’t received any answers for her scholarship yet, it wasn’t a sound one, and even her parents warned her it wasn’t the right choice for her health.

Maybe she had put too much pressure on her own shoulders. After all, although the stakes weren’t quite the same for her, Sunset Shimmer also wanted to obtain a very good rank, and yet she could manage herself some time to breath.

She tightened her hand, glad she was by her side. Even if she was glad to have all of her friends by her side too, of course.

“I’m sorry I scared you, girls. It’s so distressing not to have this answer that I go to bed very late and I even neglect eating so I could make time.”

“And what are you going to do if you pass out on D-Day?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“It would be so… horrible”, Fluttershy added, almost crying.

Twilight wanted to comfort her, but she couldn’t get enough time to add anything else, since her curly-haired friend was already thrown in a speech.

“It’s important to eat well. Especially sugar. I eat a lot of sugar, that’s why I’m so smart.”

“In reality, there’s no real correlation between sugar intake and intellectual performances.”

“But there’s a link with anemia and a low energy”, Rainbow Dash clarified.

“Sure.”

Twilight looked down, like a little girl in the middle of a lecture. She was aware of how stupid her behavior had been, and how it hadn’t served her cause. There even wasn’t anything to debate about.

Her goal was so close, yet still so far, she would hate missing it at the eleventh hour because she wouldn’t have been attentive enough about each of the essential details, which also meant making sure she was at the best in everything, not only in her knowledge.

Thankfully, her friends were here to support her, and it was more than probable that, now they knew, they wouldn’t hesitate to put her on notice if she forced herself too much again.

“Well, I suppose you girls are right and I should spare myself a bit.”

“Very wise decision”, Sunset Shimmer said with a smile.

“Especially as I’m sure even if you don’t review anything, you’re going to beat the sh*t out of this ranking! You’re the best!”

“Since you’re probably the worst, I’m sure you’ll be at the very bottom”, a female voice from another bed snickered.

The six girls all turned their heads to the bed in question, and saw the separating curtain now opened and, lying with a bag of ice cubes against her cheek, there was Gilda, another twelfth grade student.

The young girl was known of the gang, though Sunset Shimmer and Fluttershy never met her until today. She was at Middle Canterlot with the first part of the group. In ninth grade, she even befriended with Rainbow Dash, before she turned to Applejack instead. Gilda never really forgave her what she considered like treason and never hesitated to display her scorn about her – for example by letting derogatory messages on the girls’ toilet’s doors.

It had to be said that with her punkish look, and her peppery character, more often convicted at Principal Celestia’s office than she was in class, it even was a small miracle she hadn’t doubled her grades because of her lack of work. She wasn’t a teenage girl known to be benevolent to others, and she was noticeable by nothing more than how often she was expelled, and how disrespectful she was with adults, and people in general.

“Are you sure it won’t be you instead at the very bottom of this ranking? Only with my credits in sports, I’m smashing you!”

“But there’s no sports evaluation at the end of the cycle exams. How are you going to do it, you little bird-brained?”

Indeed, the only absent evaluation were sports, despite how important physical education was in the Equestrian educational system. The students’ knowledge was the only thing that mattered in this case. It didn’t scare Rainbow Dash, who felt self-confident enough… until then.

Though she thought she wasn’t bird-brained, she knew very well she hadn’t been exactly hard-working this year, not much than during the previous years. Only when her father lectured her hard about her grades in scientific matters had she made an effort. If she had obtained enough credits, it was narrowly and especially thanks to her excellent grades in sports – it helped that Mr. Caballeron hadn’t stayed.

However, if there was someone hardly in a position to remind her of her lack of discipline, it was Gilda. She wasn’t in her class, but Vinyl Scratch was, and once told her the teenage girl almost always came to class without notebooks or pencils, or even without a bag. Which probably didn’t help her to take notes.

“And you think you are going to pass? Don’t make me laugh!”

“I don’t think so, I know so! Because I have my own personal method.”

Gilda leaned over and took a phone out of her apparently empty bag. It was put inside a white leather case with which it was impossible to know whether or not the phone was here.

“In front of the teachers, I make sure they can see me putting this case into my bag, but in reality, my phone is hidden in my uniform skirt’s pocket. I never fail at any test because I look at the answers on Internet and no one notices anything!”

So, this was why she never doubled any of her grades? Very clever. And very stupid as well. Didn’t she know that if caught in the act, she would be forbidden to exams for five whole years, and that all the exams she would have been to until then, including her driving license, would be considered void?

She could boast as much as she wanted. It was an unfaithful way to win. Alright, Rainbow Dash liked to bend the rules a bit when she was in a bad position, but always when the stakes weren’t highly important, like a video game, a board game or a friendly race. During exams of sports evaluations, she tried to be as fair-play as possible – though she tended to be a little bit individualist.

She didn’t need any gadgets, anyway. She was much better than Gilda. Period.

“You know what? Let’s make a bet!”

“What kind of bet?”

“Like, if I get a better grade than you at this exam, and without cheating, you’ll have to climb on a table at the cafeteria and tell everyone I am your master.”

Behind her, the girls tried to dissuade her of doing such a crazy thing, but she chose not to listen to them. Rainbow Dash knew it was a bit stupid, childish, even, but she couldn’t stand this first-class dunce dared insinuating she had no common sense while she did nothing but cheating all this time!

“Fine. It means if I get a better grade than you thanks to my little trick, you’ll be the one who should call me master.”

“You got yourself a deal!” she hurled, stretching her hand towards her brand new rival.

With a strange smirk, Gilda held her hand, and shook it, thus finalizing the deal between them.

If, at first, just like the rest of the gang, Twilight thought the idea was a disaster and a very bad reason for plunging into the bliss of learning, once thought through, she saw in this decision the perfect way to review while relieving the pressure off like suggested. It was obvious she was the best choice to help Rainbow Dash winning her bet. It meant that by making her review, she would review at the same time, without putting her health in danger the way she did.

In reality, this stupid bet was a stroke of genius!
> The Most Stupid (Yet Useful) Bet Ever! (part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight had spent the whole night drafting a work program. Although what the Guiding Class learned was a little more sophisticated than the classes given to other students, she had made sure to find a good compromise between what Rainbow Dash needed to remember and what herself needed to see in more depth.

The impression it gave was that she was really more involved than the one person who decided to start on those intense reviews. All day long, her friend had been just like herself and Sunset Shimmer even reported she had seen her snoring during her mathematics class, which led to a tough lecture from their teacher.

Fun as it had been, it was now over. If she wanted her chance in front of this Gilda lazybones and her cheating techniques, she had to show willing, and seriously.

And so, as soon as her athletics club was over, Rainbow Dash was seized by Twilight to go to CHS’ library. She repeated how much she needed a tonic before getting it started, but it didn’t change anything.

The others were going to Sugarcube Corner and offered they started their reviews there, but the dark blue-haired teenage girl refused. It was too noisy and she was sure her friend wouldn’t be focused enough.

“Have mercy! Just let me have a pomegranate and blueberry ice tea first!” she begged as the rest of the gang was already getting away.

“You can have a can at the vending machine.”

“Twilight… Vending machines only sell hyper-caloric stuffs!”

“Not only. They also sell water and plain cookies.”

What could she answer? If she really was hungry and thirsty, she could be satisfied by the offer. Of course, it was a bit stern but as an athlete, she was used to it, wasn’t she?

Dragging her feet, Rainbow Dash resolved to follow Twilight to the library where, she had to admit, she rarely went. When she dared venture it, it was because the other girls were already here, and each time she had to do researches for a presentation or homework, she preferred the comfort of her bedroom and information hunting on the Internet.

Her friend was in her element here. Each time books and studies were at issue, anyway, her eyes went starry, and she could spend her whole days searching through the shelves, or leaning over her lessons.

She settled herself at a table in the center of the room, where there was no way they could not been glimpsed or seen. As if she wanted everyone to see Rainbow Dash being serious, busy reviewing. Obviously, she couldn’t care less about what it could do to her reputation. And the year was almost over, so her reputation no longer really mattered. Didn’t it?

“Fine”, Twilight claimed, taking her possessions with a big smile. “What do you want to start with? I have a program for each topic.”

“I don’t know”, Rainbow Dash answered, grumpy and shrugging.

“Come on, there must be a topic you need to review more than the others… For example, I can remember you’re rather good at literary and History analysis, but you’re weaker in mathematics and sciences.”

“Try straight out bad, instead!”

“Alright. Let’s say we’ll start by mathematics.”

“Awesome! My favorite topic!”

“And please, enough with sarcasm.”

Looking away, Rainbow Dash mimicked her friend’s words with a grimace. She wanted to pass her exams and to win her bet, but what didn’t put her in the best of dispositions was the fact she had to satisfy herself with fizzy water and plain cookies when, right now, she could have been devouring a linseed muffin, drinking a good fresh ice tea at Sugarcube Corner, and relax a little before get it started.

Twilight’s favorite technique was of course writing flash cards with which she would review afterwards. She had retranscripted something like fifty for Rainbow Dash, covering everything they had learned since the beginning of high school. And yet, she thought it wasn’t enough.

It wasn’t her friend’s opinion, as she opened her eyes wide seeing the cards in question.

“You want me to remember all those formulas in two weeks? Are you out of your mind?”

“No, of course, not. You also got all these”, Twilight claimed proudly, showing her the cards she had already written for the other topics.

Rainbow Dash looked at her, raising her eyebrow. She didn’t want to hear about sarcasm but she was a good preacher for the cause of bad faith.

Reluctantly, she started to read the first card with perplexity. Right under her eyes, there was nothing but things she already knew yet she felt like they were written in Russian or in another language which alphabet was impossible to decipher.

Meanwhile, Twilight was reviewing her own flash cards with a wide smile, focused, and convinced her friend was as well.

So, this was her idea of amazing reviews together? Reading those damn flash cards in Cyrillic and nothing else? She could as well have done it home!

Back when she needed help to catch on her backlog after her stay in Green Haven, Twilight already had made her review but the method was completely different. It always hadn’t been easy but she had eventually caught up, despite her temporary disability to run because of her thigh’s injury, which meant she couldn’t rely on sports to help her compensate her gap in some topics.

Rainbow Dash sighed and made her pencil roll over the table. At first, it only was out of despair, until she realized she could copy a melody this way, and decided to try to play one of her favorite song. At the same time, she was shaking her head and thumping her feet, and quickly, completely forgot why she was here exactly.

It was her friend clearing her throat which got her out of her little fantasy.

Arms and face crossed, Twilight was staring at her. Immediately, Rainbow Dash tried to put things right, placing her hands behind her back, a clumsy smile plastered on her face. But obviously, from the face of her friend as upset as before, it probably wasn’t that convincing.

“What on Earth are you doing?”

“Nothing at all.”

“Well, that’s the problem. You shouldn’t be doing “nothing at all”, but be busy reviewing. Do you really want to have to say Gilda she’s your master?”

No, she didn’t. But she couldn’t help it. She needed something to keep her stimulated, and reading stupid flash cards had her more bored than interested. And she felt as if nothing would print into her mind with this method. In general, she liked to review with the music on, and the melody, some lyrics or musical parts were like guiding posts to her.

Of course, this method didn’t convince Twilight at all when she told her about it. In her opinion, it was impossible to remember anything if the mind wasn’t a hundred percent focused on what there was to learn. The rest were nothing but distractions and distractions were what came after reviewing.

--------------------------------------------------

Hopeless. It had been a week now she had started to review for the exams, and each and every of Twilight’s dearest methods had revealed to be useless with her. Reading her lessons out loud? She would fall asleep or get so restless her friend would lose patience. Flash cards? The worst – she could never focus. Underlining what was the most important and copying it afterwards? She never could sort out what was important and what wasn’t.

The young woman had insisted: listening to music while reviewing wasn’t a working method. As soon as she would have passed the exam, she would forget everything. Rainbow Dash didn’t know what was the problem until Twilight explained her she would never be good at university if it happened.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath, and looked at how much she still had to review, disheartened. She knew she had to do it, that she couldn’t give up, for herself and because of her bet with Gilda. There was no way she could call her “my master” in front of the whole school! Just to think about it made her want to scream and kick something.

So, she was shaping balls with the leaves she had taken out of her notebook and threw them against the wall. The floor surrounding her desk was filled with balls of crumpled papers that Tank could hardly avoid. Her immediate frustration really was the only thing this could satisfy.

It came to a point where she was starting to think Gilda was right about her, and she was nothing but a featherbrained idiot. What else could explain the fact she could never remember anything she wrote down?

This got a wriggle on her legendary proud! To be awesome yet stupid wasn’t really an amazing thing. Not that she wanted to be an egghead just like Twilight… But a bare minimum would already be a good start!

When Rainbow Dash checked at the time and realized it was more than nine, she understood it was no use insisting for tonight – again. She would never win her bet with such a lazy brain!

She pressed her head against her desk, arms dangling, and sighed again. Living the life of a hardworking person was harder than she thought. How could Twilight, Sunset Shimmer, Soarin and all the others spend so much time reviewing topics? She always wanted to do something else, like watching a movie or a game on TV, reading a Daring Doo novel, going for a run, playing basket, doing a split, snuggling Tank, eating… In short, anything except reviewing.

She had to get it together. If she was so stupid, then why did she have so many friends who were so smart? She knew she was unstoppable once determined. When she was in front of a crowd of people she had to motivate, she knew what were the words which would stimulate them all. And she was smart in the strategies of team sports, which proved she was able to think. Even if not in an academic way.

Except it was this kind of knowledge that was required to win her bet. No matter which angles she looked at the problem, she always came back to her disability to remember anything with the traditional learning methods.

In desperation, she decided to seek some comfort with someone who’d be able to understand her.

Rainbow Dash took her smartphone, and went on her bed to call, far from all those nasty books and notebooks which tortured her since last week.

“Hey, Dash, how are ya doin’?” Applejack’s voice asked through the receiver.

It seemed to her that her best friend, just like Pinkie Pie, had her own method when it came to reviewing. She often confessed her she neither could remember anything the traditional learning way. She had to do related exercises, in the field, but she never outlined anything nor did stupid flash cards.

“I’m a bird!”

“What?”

“I’m a bird. With a very small brain and very little neurons. And I’ll have to call Gilda “my master”, like in a very bad epic movie!”

On the other side, she heard her friend sneer in that very particular way of hers – deep and smelling like straw in a barn. If even her best buddies made fun of her, she could never make it…

“It’s not funny, AJ!”

“’Scuze me, but… Yar no bird, Dash! Sure, yar not smart in the Twilight kinda smart, which doesn’t mean ya don’t have a brain. It just means ya don’t learn this way.”

“That’s the problem… I don’t have the slightest idea about how I learn. According to Twilight, if I play music to have guiding posts, it would work but not for long enough and it’s nonsense to learn anything you’re going to forget afterwards. It means I’ll have to learn it all over again and I don’t want to do that!”

“Ah can’t help ya for that. Yar the only one that can find yar own method and how to remember stuff appropriately. Sorry, Dash…”

“Tsk, don’t apologize! I know you’re right.”

She sighed. Well, it hadn’t helped much but at least she was feeling a bit better about herself and her abilities. And it already was a great thing.

“Thanks, AJ. You probably don’t realize, but you did me good…”

“Yar welcome. What friends are for, uh?”

When she hung up, Rainbow Dash put her phone on her bedside table, next to the picture of her and her mother.

She remembered… Firefly used to spread out huge white leaves on the living-room table, and armed with nothing but a pencil, she calculated from memory trajectories for planes. The leaf, quickly, was filled out with mathematic signs which Rainbow Dash couldn’t decipher at all. Sometimes she asked her husband to correct her calculations, and most of the time, they already were correct.

Rainbow Blaze used to do the same, but on a black board which was in his office.

Her parents hadn’t received the same type of education at all, since one had always done things on her own and the other went in the best schools of the country, but both had in common their love for physics and mathematics that probably drew them together when they were younger.

Instead of inheriting their knowledge and methods, she had inherited from her two parents of their audacity, their toughness in business and in sports. If she was proud of it until then, today she was thinking that maybe she hadn’t been that lucky.

Her phone vibrated, and Rainbow Dash took it slowly. Soarin. He wanted to know how well she was doing with her reviews.

She was tempted to lie. He might not look like this at first – especially when an apple pie was put under his nose – but he also was rather smart. In the academic way (but not only). Just like her mother and her father, he was fond of these long complicated calculations… What a shame he had to get lumbered with a girlfriend such as herself!

And, eventually, she told herself it was best to tell him the truth.

Instead of answering his message, she pressed against the small green phone beside his name. A few tones rang before he picked it up.

“Dashie? Is everything alright?”

“I’m a bird.”

“Got issues with your reviews, don’t you?”

It always was with a sense of awe she welcomed his way of understanding her innuendoes with ease. If there was someone knowing her well, this someone was Soarin! The girls also knew her by heart, of course, but she wasn’t going to call them one by one – especially not Twilight.

“I bet you! I can’t remember anything. No method is working for me, and AJ said I had to find mine, but I don’t have time to find one, the exam’s next week and I NEED to pass. Without cheating.”

“But if you can’t seem to remember anything, the issue’s still here… Don’t you think you might as well find your own learning method?”

One of the good thing about Soarin was that he knew how to stick her nose into what was wrong, but with enough diplomacy for it not to burst out into conflicts – like it often happened with her father, for example.

“There’s so many different ways to learn… First, is your memory rather visual or hearing?”

“I don’t f**king know that! But I’m able to remember the very details of some shots from movies just by watching them once, does that count?”

Silence. Rainbow Dash sighed. Of course, it didn’t count. It was fun, but could in nothing help her with her reviews. Unless maybe she would film her formulas of mathematics in black and white and low-angle, in the Welles fashion.

“Don’t you want to come?”

Once again, silence. It was rather unexpected, undoubtedly. But by realizing she would surely lose her bet and humiliate herself, she had thought that now things were bad, she might as well ruin them completely. And it was best to be in a pleasant manner. What would be better for that than spending some time with her boyfriend?

“At your place? Now?”

“Well, yeah. It’s too late to hope I’ll learn how to learn anything tonight… Ah, but maybe you’re already in your jammies and everything. And you have  exams as well… Forget about it. That was a terrible idea.”

In reality, she was really aggrieved. It had been a week since she hadn’t seen him at all and had thought it would have been a much pleasanter way to waste time than by depressing on her supposed stupidity while staring at her mother’s picture. She hadn’t taken into account every parameter. What a smart person would probably have done.

Argh, she hated her thoughts tonight!

“In fact, I’ve just finished my own reviews. I wanted to order a pizza and watch TV. Have you eaten yet?”

“Nope”, she answered with a smile in her voice.

“In this case… Don’t move. I’m coming with something to sustain you.”

“Don’t forget your jammies!”

“I won’t. This pizza… Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese with sweet peppers, as always?”

“Yes, sir.”

“I’ll be here in half an hour.”

When Rainbow Dash hung up, she was smiling again. It didn’t make her smarter, for sure, but at least she would spend a real moment of sheer relaxation, the first one since she had run this stupid bet with Gilda.

Tomorrow was another day, and just like Scarlett, she thought she could think about finding her own method tomorrow. With a clear head. Between the comfortable arms of the sweetest boyfriend of the world.

--------------------------------------------

Last night was the best moments of her entire week. With Soarin by her side, she’d been able to forget about all her troubles under his kisses and between their giggles. They did nothing reprehensible, but Rainbow Dash didn’t need this in order to relax and forget everything. Just sharing a bit of tenderness with him was enough. Tenderness and a delicious pizza from Intermezzo, the best pizzeria of Canterlot.

When she opened her eyes in the morning, she was feeling good, as if she had slept on a cloud. It was rare enough to be noted.

On her alarm clock was written nine and a half, not that late for such a professional of lie-ins on weekends. Yet her smile widened into a larger one. It meant she still had time to be with Soarin.

She turned around in her bed, while stretching out, ready to nestle herself against her boyfriend’s comfortable back, and instead, met face to face with the emptiness of the nearby pillow, with only the printing of his face and a few strands of hair. She hadn’t dreamed that night…

Sitting up straight to look around her, Rainbow Dash then realized that, right beside the pillow, was a small blue Post-it which hand-writing she immediately recognized, along with a fake flower he surely had picked from the bunch on the living-room table.

“You were sleeping so blissfully I couldn’t wake you up. I’m gone to review my own  exams as well before going to work. Keep it going with your work! I’m certain you’ll win that bet. PS: if you’re a bird, then you’re a phoenix. I love you. Soarin.”

Rainbow Dash smiled again. Sometimes, he was able of an adorable candor which could seem surprising coming from an athletic big fellow like him. She knew that was the way he had always been, even back when he was only a skinny kid the other boys used to make fun of. What probably would exasperate her coming from another, with him it could make her heart melt down in a way she wasn’t sure she liked, all while knowing well she didn’t hate it at all.

Since she was alone, she was tempted to go back to bed. A glimpse at her opened shutters and the bright sunshine convinced her otherwise. She would go and run around the neighborhood, and then she would start to find a useful way to review, and too bad if it wasn’t a conventional one!

She stretched out lengthily then got out of her bed, putting her feet into her slippers. Not really caring about her surroundings, she walked out of her room, and climbed the stairs towards the second-floor bathroom in order to wash her teeth.

It could be surprising that she had such a habit even before breakfast. But one of the things she could scarcely bear was the sensation her mouth wasn’t clean after eating. The girls made fun of her because she even brought her toothbrush and her toothpaste at school.

She filled her glass, put on the paste… Her lids half-closed, it was a bit difficult for her to surface from what was waking up early for her.

Only when she leaned over to spit out her toothpaste did she notice the Post-it on her medicine cabinet. An historical event was written on it, along with its date. The handwriting, once again, was Soarin’s.

Frowning, she finished rinsing her mouth, before realizing the whole bathroom was filled with Post-its like this one.

Rainbow Dash raced out of the bathroom, hurtled down the stairs and went back in her bedroom. Each corner of the place was decorated with Post-its, with different notions she had to learn on them, straight out of her school program.

It went the same way in her living-room, the wide family room, the kitchen… And she was ready to bet it also was the same in every other room.

Since she couldn’t wait to be back up in her room, she grabbed the wall landline phone which was in the kitchen, and made Soarin’s number.

He picked it up almost immediately, as if her call was expected.

“Oh… Looks like you’ve found my “surprise””, he said in an amused tone.

“Well… I did… What is this?”

She wasn’t so stupid she wasn’t aware this was related with her reviews, but what she didn’t really understand was the approach of all this. It was nice to decorate her whole house with Post-its – thankfully her father wouldn’t be back home after the end of her exams – but she didn’t know what it would change to her situation.

“It’s very simple. You’ll see… This is called a Memory Palace. Last night, on the phone, you told me you could remember the least details of a movie shot even though you’ve only seen it once.”

“Yes”, she answered while nodding at the same time.

“It means your memory’s photographic. It’s a really rare gift, you know… It’s even contested.”

“What’s the connection with your “Memory Palace”?”

“It’s a very effective way to remember many things, especially when your memory’s photographic. You have to plan the way you move through your palace, then associate a notion to an item or a placement in said palace. Then, when you’ll retain this plan it well, all you’ll have to do will be to mentally walk along inside by following your itinerary and you’ll remember everything.”

Soarin could feel that, on the other side of the line, his girlfriend was skeptical. He had been too when he’d been told about this unconventional mnemonic way, and quickly, he’d realized these associations made sense and really worked.

“I’ve organized everything for it to be simple and as optimum as possible. Each floor represents a module and each room a specific topic from this module. This way, you won’t get muddled up and when you’ll have to use your Memory Palace, you’ll be able to go from one floor to another without doing the whole itinerary from the beginning. I can promise you it works. And you have nothing to lose, anyway, haven’t you?”

No. Indeed, she had nothing to lose. Every other method had failed and it was out of question she would get trapped by Gilda and her smartphone cheat. She knew one needed to take risk in order to succeed. It was the same during an important game. Caution wasn’t always a synonym for victory.
> The Most Stupid (Yet Useful) Bet Ever! (part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This new week of reviews had been different from the last one. Instead of wasting time trying to write down boring flash cards, or worse, of reading them out loud for hours, Rainbow Dash had spent more time than she ever did since her mother’s death, circulating into her house.

The cleaning lady was very surprised to see all these Post-its stuck everywhere possible, but after some time complaining it didn’t help her much to dust things properly, she finally got used to it.

To be honest, Rainbow Dash herself wasn’t convinced that on D-day, Soarin’s peculiar method would actually work. But anyway, she had bet everything on it, aware that the rest didn’t work any better. Twilight even told her that, though she never experienced it herself, this way to do was known as efficient.

All she hoped now was that it really was the case.

Nonetheless, she was rather self-confident this morning, going through the school’s corridor in order to go to her first exam, starting with her favorite topics of all – mathematics. It would be the real test, the one setting the tone of the rest of the two forthcoming days… If she made a success of this one, then what would come next would probably be a walk in the park.

Though their bet happened in the secrecy of the sickroom, it occurred that, in a way none could really grasp, all CHS had slowly got to know about that. Quickly, three clans had shaped: neutrals, those rooting for Rainbow Dash, and those rooting for Gilda, composed, a few exceptions apart, of the most disturbing elements of school.

When the two main clans met in the corridor, each behind their chosen victor, those who didn’t take part in this “competition” were expecting things to go awry. But because she was even more self-confident than Rainbow Dash could be – yes, it existed – Gilda decided not to display her superiority right away, and to act a bit sportsmanlike.

She stopped in front of her rival, and stretched out her hand with a mischievous smirk.

“May the best girl win!” she told her, as if spitting in her face.

“Look no further… It’s going to be me!” Rainbow Dash answered, crushing her phalanxes.

A demonstration of power that Gilda didn’t really appreciate, since she had restrained herself in order to give her at least one chance. She could have reviewed as much as she wanted… She had an encyclopedic knowledge at hand in her pocket of her uniform’s skirt. She couldn’t compete with that.

In order to show her who the real boss was, Gilda pulled the young woman’s arm towards her, her golden eyes suddenly toughened by the insult.

“I’m going to crush you, Rainbow Dash”, she mocked in her ears. “You won’t even understand what’s happening to you!”

Frowning, Rainbow Dash pulled out her hands, unceremoniously and easily. Even her knew working was always more rewarded than laziness. Yet, lazing was one of her favorite pastime.

“We’ll see that.”

She restrained herself from kicking her in the shins, since it wasn’t a very sportsmanship attitude, then went through the rest of the corridor up to her room.

Quickly, “clans” scattered and each and everyone got into their classrooms in order to get prepared for the baptism of fire. It wasn’t by chance if students always had to take mathematics as their first exam. This way, teachers were quickly able to evaluate the students’ level. If this test was a catastrophe, then there were chances the rest wouldn’t get any better.

Papers were distributed and silence was demanded. Anxiety argued with apparent laidback attitudes, but it was easy to guess that no one was really feeling at ease. Except maybe Twilight, and Gilda, of course, who had planned her little trick.

When she discovered the topic, and most importantly when she started to try to remember the formulas she had so much problems remembering, Rainbow Dash was surprised of how easy to was for her to recall them all.

Sciences were on the first floor, and mathematics were in her father’s office. Mentally walking through the room, she could find back anything she wanted. As far as sheer calculations were concerned, on the other hand, she could only rely on her own abilities. But then again, she was pleasantly surprised to discover that, once the formula in mind, it wasn’t as complicated and boring as she always thought.

And it went along the same way during the rest of the day. At the end of each session, she was feeling rather good and felt as if she hadn’t written too many nonsenses. Soarin’s Memory Palace, though she had her doubts at first, happened to really be the learning method that fit her best, and she would never thank enough the circumstances which had led her to ask her boyfriend to spend the night with her.

Things were a little bit more complex for Gilda. Of course, she could find back the formulas easily thanks to her phone, but it was difficult to stay discreet with the teachers going between the rows of tables, which they never did during traditional written tests.

In fact, the more the tests went around; the more her face seemed to be about to crumble down, despite her chin up and her behavior which looked like trying to defy any kind of institutions of power. Some were maybe trapped by her over-the-top self-confidence, but not Rainbow Dash. She knew that she lacked assertiveness under her condescending attitude. She knew it since she also hid behind her huge ego each time she was feeling in difficulty.

Morning of the second day. History test. Second floor of the Memory Palace. Her bathroom. Easy as pie.

Rainbow Dash would never have thought she could feel so at ease during exams. It wasn’t something that she usually liked that much, yet, today just like the previous day, she was feeling good. Especially as she’d always been rather good at essays, although this specialty had surprised a lot of persons, herself included.

Everybody was focused when a background noise resounded from a nearby class. At first it was a bit difficult to identify. It sounded like whispers, but only not whispered… It was a restless discussion, anyway. And soon, this background noise increased, turned into screams, sounds of a creaking chair, of tables being thrown.

Students had all looked up from their essays and looked at each other, puzzled. The gang’s class was no exception.

Supervised by Vice-Principal Luna herself, she ordered them to keep quiet when someone knock on the room’s door, and asked her to come as soon as possible at Room 23.

Of course, it didn’t take long before, as soon as she was behind the door, they all dashed on the threshold in order to have a glimpse at what was going on.

It didn’t take any longer before they heard louder screams, while two of the sports teacher, known for being built like football players, were escorting a restless white-haired teenage girl, berating everyone.

Seeing her pass her by without noticing her, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hide an ironic smirk. She threw a glimpse at Applejack behind her, and her eyes also caught the other’s. They all understood.

It was Gilda, and obviously, she had been caught in the act of cheating, and hadn’t liked much what happened next.

This settled the matter of the bet, won by default. Rainbow Dash’s final grade wouldn’t matter since her rival of the day hadn’t been smart enough to understand how dangerous was the game she played, in the sense that it could ruin her future, or in the least slow down its progresses.

In a way, Rainbow Dash could learn a lesson from that as well. Studies weren’t that different from sports. Everything was a question of strategy. The more thoughtful they were, adapted to the skills of the one practicing it, the better they worked. And lack of sportsmanship, cheating, always led the person giving in to it to its loss, since it would never go unpunished.

--------------------------------------------

This feared period was finally over! Although it was a new leaf from High School years which had been turned, it was restful to think there would be no pressures such as this one until the next semester would begin.

Though the various sports club still had competitions to play…

But as far as their future was concerned, it seemed like things no longer were theirs to decide. From now to soon, they would receive their answers from their chosen universities, and after the exams’ result in a few weeks, their Prom Ball would mark the definite end of their CHS years.

Yet none of them wanted to think about this now. All that mattered to them was that they were done with reviews and tests, and they finally could chill out a bit.

On the whole, things hadn’t been so bad for them. They all had topics in which they were feeling more at ease and confident, and others where they had their weaknesses, which didn’t stop the general impression to be good.

Because Pinkie Pie had to help Mrs. Cake in something like an hour, for the baking of an engagement cake, they had decided not to depart from the rule and to celebrate the end of the exam period at Sugarcube Corner.

Exceptionally, because it was an event in itself, even those who watched what they ate closely let themselves go to a bit more of gluttony.

The ice cream Rainbow Dash had chosen was overflowing with whipped cream, and even both contrite voices of her nutritionist and gastroenterologist couldn’t dissuade her to plunge her spoon into it with delight. No doubt, this was the best thing on Earth! Along with winning a bet.

“Girls… There’s something I need to tell you”, Twilight suddenly claimed, in the middle of conversations about this or that topic, or specific questions about one test in particular.

“Gasp, you’re moving far, far, far, far, far and soon, we’ll never see you AGAIN!! Am I right?” Pinkie Pie immediately yelled.

“Surely it ain’t this, Pinkie”, Applejack went on.

“And why not? That’s the kind of things that happens, like, all the time.”

“Maybe that would be a good idea to let Twilight speak, don’t you think so?” Sunset Shimmer tempered.

Twilight smiled at her, once again glad to have her by her side. When she first met her, she would never think the young woman and her would become so close, or that they had so much in common. It even was incredible for her to think it existed someone on Earth whom she was so in phase with.

Even with Flash Sentry, that she kept on dating from time to time to go to the movies or have a drink, she wasn’t feeling that good, or on the exact same wavelength.

Thanks to her, she didn’t have to try to focus the conversation back on the essential, like it usually was the way once you let her bunch of friends bounce back and forth at each new sentences.

“It’s nothing grave. The opposite. I’ve taken a decision. It’s not dramatic if I’m not number one of the ranking. Neither it is for Trixie to beat me.”

Silent until then, taken into the tasting of her succulent ice cream, Rainbow Dash let her long spoon fall into the bowl, with a shocked face. For someone like her, who liked being the best and winning competitions so much, it wasn’t something easy to hear.

“How can you say such a thing? You’ve always been number one! You’re the smartest person of CHS!”

“Maybe, maybe not”, Twilight answered with a shrug. “I don’t care. I’ve given everything I had inside, I’ve done my very best and I think that’s what’s the most important. If it isn’t enough to get that Royal Scholarship, then too bad! I’ll study Astrophysics at Canterlot University with or without it.”

“We’ll be in the same building”, Fluttershy softly said. “Life and Traditional Sciences are gathered together.”

“No one’ll be with me at the Business and Management Department? I’m gonna feel as lonely as a forgotten apple after apple buckin’ season.”

“I’ve asked to be taken for the Communication Department… That’s what you need to plan parties as a professional.”

“Oh, so you finally made up your mind, Pinkie?”

She nodded enthusiastically. Her decision shocked no one, but the young woman had wavered a lot about her future, since she also really liked baking and had thought about not going to University at all but to do an apprenticeship instead in order to make it her job for good.

The only one who didn’t know yet what course choice to make, though her father harassed her to choose Business and Management, in order to take the head of the Airline Company once he’d retire, was Rainbow Dash. It had not been a month yet since she had started to think beyond the merit scholarship in sports she absolutely wanted to get. She had only postulated to many different specialties. Canterlot University’s administration had specified her she had to choose before the end of the school year.

This choice was difficult to make because she knew it would be definite. And the rest of her life was at stakes. So, between Psychology, Gender Studies, Criminology or even Audiovisual Medias, she couldn’t decide.

“What about you, Dashie? Do you know what to choose, now?”

She shook her head no, before smiling reassuringly to them.

“But don’t worry about me. I’ll come to a decision. It’s something I do a lot, lately… It’s like this bet with Gilda…”

“What a decision, gee!” Applejack claim. “More idiot, there ain’t…”

“This bet was just an excuse, in fact. I’ve realized Mommy would’ve been mad to see I couldn’t envision anything for my future. She’d done everything to reach her goals and she always told me to shoot for the stars. So, I made a promise to myself to think about my future and to do my best to be successful.”

“Why didn’t you tell us anything?” Sunset Shimmer questioned.

“Bah! Because it was way much funnier if you thought I did it all for a stupid reason!”

Arms crossed, Pinkie Pie nodded, and after her, the rest of the group finally burst out laughing. It was just like Rainbow Dash. Too proud to show that her motivations came from the bottom of her heart. Now they all were convinced that she would never change, despite all the efforts she had done in order to show her hidden sensitivity a little more.

And it wasn’t a bad thing, in a way. A lot of changes would happen with the year to come, in University. It was comfortable to know there were always places, attitudes which, despite it all, wouldn’t change, where each of them could nestled during doubts and powerful jolts along their path in life.
> Prepare Yourself For What's Next (part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

This last action was going to be determining. It only left a few seconds to the game, and if the Crystal Prep’s Shadowbolts scored this basket, victory would not be for the Wonderbolts for the first time since she was on the team.

Her problem was that the player in front of her was a real giant. Noticeably, she could bet she was even taller than Soarin.

Rainbow Dash knew all her friends were here, supporting her from the bleachers. She didn’t want to disappoint them. She also wanted to prove those college’s sport selectors that a small player barely 5’’01 tall could be good be as good as all these “Beanpoles”.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to get the ball off the other girl’s hands, who was running straight towards the basket, in conquered territory. Where the hell were the other backcourts?

In desperation, Rainbow Dash positioned herself in front of the player to obstruct her and prevent her from shooting the three-point basket that would make her team win… It didn’t really work well, since the rival gave her a hit in the shoulder that made her stumble down like a plain ragdoll, and shot.

From the floor where she could hardly sit straight, the rainbow-haired teenage girl looked with horror, as the ball lingered on the basket’s rim for a few seconds which seemed like forever, and going into the net right when the end of the game was whistled.

She opened her eyes wide, and could already see all those years spent with CHS’ basketball team, all her victories which now didn’t seem to have a meaning.

But another whistle from the referee cut short any displays of joy from the rival team.

“Non-accepted! Foul!”

She opened her eyes wider, and her heart started to dance inside her chest. If these three-points weren’t taken into account, then it meant they were for the Wondercolts, who had just won the finals.

Immediately regenerated, Rainbow Dash got up and yelled a “yes!” of victory that came from deep inside her guts. She’d never been so happy to win. Quickly, the other girls of the team met her and surrounded her, bouncing and screaming from joy as well.

After they were given the cup of the interschool championships, they had to wait for the round of fans, High School’s newspaper’s journalists and congratulations from the teachers to be over. And finally, her whole bunch of friends, plus Soarin and Scootaloo, could come and greet today’s heroine.

“It. Was. So. AWESOME!” her young admirer claimed.

“Without yar last second counterattack, Crystal Prep would’ve win this thang”, Applejack nodded.

“I know. It’s so cool, right? But she smashed my shoulders!”

“Yeah, no doubt”, Sunset Shimmer laughed. “Did you see how tall this chick was?”

“I’ll give you a soothing cream for your shoulder”, Soarin said, pecking her temple. “Congratulations. It was an amazing game, and I know what I’m talking about…”

Rainbow Dash answered him with a smile, before her eyes caught those of another person, in the back of the room, discussing with their coach.

Immediately, all the other eyes conveyed towards the person in question. She was sport selector from the Canterlot University’s Wondercolts team. Soarin recognized her easily, since she also was the coach of the female team, who trained both Spitfire and Fleetfoot.

“Do you think you got your chance?” Rarity asked – she had closed her boutique earlier just to be able to attend this game.

In fact, when Rainbow Dash had seen her, she’d been so happy she turned even more stressed. If her friend came in here just for her, she needed to witness a game that would be stunningly great.

It had also led her to a much more bitter realization… Even her friend, whose work asked for a lot of time and devotion, was able to spare herself some time to attend something she didn’t care about at all , only to support her, when her own father wasn’t.

She shouldn’t have been disappointed, since it had always been this way, nevertheless, she was disappointed…

“I don’t”, she answered to Rarity with a slight smile. “And I’ve always known. I’m too small and college basketball is too serious to allow a player of my size on the floor. But you know what? That’s OK. In two days, there will be lacrosse finals and my attention is to get selected in this sport, and then get my merit scholarship.”

“Oh, yes, lacrosse finals!” Pinkie Pie claimed. “I can’t wait!”

“You also want a merit scholarship in sports, Pinkie?” Twilight questioned, surprised.

“I don’t, but I love lacrosse and I want to keep playing next year.”

“Haven’t there already been selectors during the semi-finals?”

“Indeed, Sunset Shimmer… But they weren’t from Canterlot University and that’s the university which accepted me so that’s the university I want to play sports in.”

“Dashie wants to be with me”, Soarin said, proudly.

“Yeah, but I also want to be with my best friends. We all chose the same college; you see…”

“We don’t want to be parted.”

Something then appeared clearly for the fiery-haired teenage girl, for the first time. Something she hadn’t thought about too hard before and which, now, was bursting into her face.

All her friends would go to Canterlot University, where they all sent their applications and received a favorable recommendation – the rest of the details were to be negotiated before the end of the school year.

They never seemed to be interested by any other universities, yet this realization felt a bit bitter to Sunset Shimmer. She had made up her mind a few months ago already, and her choice had stopped on a program of art and design which was only given in Fillydelphia.

What it meant made no doubt, and suddenly, she felt embarrassed to think that, for her friends, it had seemed evident she would follow them on their city’s campus, when she had other plans.

Now she had to find a way to tell them the truth. She couldn’t let them be ignorant of this. Even if it hurt. Because it was a safe bet that, if things were going to be a bit difficult for the five friends with different schedules and the new friendships they would make, for her who would be a hundred miles away, everything would turn out to be even more fragile.

---------------------------------------

Twilight’s knees were slamming together as she was walking towards Principal Celestia’s office. She was trying to stop it, but her anxiety seemed to be bigger when she got focused.

Last time she had been summoned this way by the sisters, what had been announced to her hadn’t filled her with cheerfulness, conversely.

In theory, the lost half-point was history, and she thought she had given everything she had during the last exams. It never stopped her from being scared.

What if, in reality, she had tripped over and her results were catastrophic? What if she wasn’t even among the Top 10 Students? She hadn’t received an answered about her scholarship, after all…

Her friend did her best to reassure her. Of course. They weren’t the kind to say things like “it’s sure that you’ve failed”. Although… Sometimes, Pinkie Pie was likely to jumped to disastrous scenarios which had opposite results than the expected effect. It hadn’t been the case this time, but that could have happened.

Each of them insisted she was the best student of CHS, and even of all Canterlot – if not of all Equestria, which meant Pinkie Pie’s sense of exaggeration didn’t always have bad sides.

Twilight was confident about her intellectual abilities, but everyone had their bad days and she knew that an excess of self-confidence didn’t always mean victory.

Studies and knowledge were her life, so it sounded logical for her to have doubts from time to time. The sole idea of being deprived of a future she regarded as decent had her heart beating the drums and she felt weak.

In front of the office door, the teenage girl took a deep breath. She wouldn’t be able to avoid it forever. Especially as classes weren’t over yet.

Fear kept on wringing her stomach, for all that, Twilight didn’t let it win, and lifted her fist in order to knock twice on Principal Celestia’s office door.

A voice summoned her to come in, and Twilight jumped in. Celestia and her sister Luna were waiting for her behind the desk. The first was sitting on a chair, a paper in her hands, and the second one was standing next to her, leaning over the same paper.

Lowering her eyes towards the desk, she saw a lot of other papers were spread out here, and thought she could recognize the name of another student of her acquaintance.

Vice-Principal Luna gathered all those leaves in a pile that she put behind her, on the filing cabinet. Meanwhile, Twilight, her hands clasped together on her lap, her knees still slamming together, watched them without a word. She was unable to smile, though she wanted to. As if her face refused to obey her mind.

“Well, Twilight Sparkle. You must doubt why we asked you to come here”, the Principal started.

The young woman shook her head no, still unable the say the least of words.

“There are a few things we want to say with you”, the younger sister went on.

Twilight swallowed. In her opinion, it wasn’t the kind of things people said to someone who did something well. Obviously, this meant she had failed somewhere. Although she told her friend she didn’t care about her position in the ranking, in reality, she knew that if she couldn’t make it to the Top 10, she would never get what she wanted.

This prospect didn’t only worry her, but it saddened her as well. She wasn’t the only one who had built hopes up about her. If she failed, she would also disappoint her family and her friends, and this thought made her eyes teary. She wanted everyone to be proud of her so much.

“The first thing is about your application to Canterlot University’s Summer Classes in astrophysics.”

Twilight hung on to her Principal’s every word, and felt as if each of them were getting out of her mouth in slow motion, like many daggers directed straight at her heart.

Summer Classes were reserved for the best of the best students, the cream of budding scientists. To be accepted meant being a part of this elite, but also a beginning like a rocket for the years to come. Her profile would then get more chances to be noticed by future employers. Especially as her target was a job at the Equestrian Royal Agency of Space and Aeronautics, in the Research Sector, very coveted and very hard to get.

Five applications only were selected for the whole country, as well as for the potential exchange students.

“All your teachers and ourselves have written recommendation letters on your behalf, giving details of your many school and extracurricular successes in CHS. It appeared that the team in charge of selecting the applications had been truly impressed… So, this is a pleasure for me to announce you officially that you’ve been chosen among the five lucky students. Congratulations.”

The sensation felt even more violent than being stabbed by a hundred daggers. It felt as if she had also been knocked on the head and tied to a chair. Strange. She rather expected an excessive cheerfulness, worthy of Pinkie Pie’s madness…

“I’ve… I’ve been accepted”, Twilight dared to whisper.

“Well, yes, you’ve been. You sound really surprised.”

“I’m not. Well, I am but I’m not, well I mean… There were only five chances and…”

Celestia and Luna exchange a confused glance. They both also had expected to see the young woman scream from joy. It was a recognition for a student of her kind, to be accepted in such a program of high caliber. A student like Trixie wouldn’t have hesitated of boasting she always knew it was where she belonged…

But Twilight was too in shock to be able to react any differently. Her dream was within her reach and it torn her between many contradictory feelings. Joy meddled up with fear, meddling up with pride, meddling up with doubts about what allowed her to get this far.

And it was only the first of the announcements the two sisters had to make.

“What are the other things you wanted to tell me about?” she asked with a quavering voice.

The two sisters shared another glance, before Principal Celestia cleared her throat and asked her sister Luna to give her one of the papers piled behind them.

“We’re in the making of this year’s ranking of the best students. It isn’t over yet, but we’ve analyzed all the results of the pupils from the Guiding Class, and unless there’s an unexpected surprise, which would be… well, really, surprising… I think we can tell you that you’ve kept your position as number one. In fact, there’s even chances you’re also number one of the national ranking…”

This time, Twilight opened her mouth so wide she thought her jaw would fall down. She felt glad and relieved to know she had kept her position in the school ranking, but she would never think her results to be the best of the whole country. In fact, she didn’t even know there was a national ranking for this exam!

It could only mean good things, nevertheless, she couldn’t feel completely happy for a reason she still ignored.

“We’ve communicated this result to the Department of Education, and… They sent us this letter. It says you’ve done a request for the Royal Scholarship which, as you know, is only granted to the best students of the Kingdom.”

“You mean that I… I got… the… Royal Scholarship as well?”

Obviously. If she was at the top of the national ranking, although there still could be last minute plot twists, it also meant she’d been granted the coveted scholarship as well.

Her parents had saved money to allow her to go to university but the programs she wanted to apply to, like those famous Summer Classes, represented huge additional fees. She knew her mother and her father ready to big sacrifices for her future, but she didn’t want them to keep on depriving themselves for her. Especially as her brother, Shining Armor, got the Royal Scholarship at the end of High School.

Since it seemed like it was the case for her too, then she didn’t have to worry about it anymore. Each program would be paid by the Scholarship. Each experience she would like to attempt. Her meals, her supplies, her housing, even, if she wanted to leave her family house (which she didn’t want), everything would be paid by the Scholarship.

Only once she left Principal Celestia’s office, with a loads of administrative papers to fill, was she able to pinpoint the reason why she wasn’t able to rejoice as much as expected.

To be accepted by the college of your choice didn’t mean you’d be able to accede to your selected course, since some of them had a limited number of accepted students. Among her friends, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were the only ones who were sure to be accepted in their chosen options.

Fluttershy didn’t know yet whether she could get to the Life Science course, since they were many each year to want to try this. Sunset Shimmer had been particularly vague about her choices and Canterlot University’s decisions about these, no matter how much she had harassed her to know.

As far as Rainbow Dash was concerned… Well, it appeared that before she chose, she was waiting to see whether she could be chosen herself by a sport selector and thus get her coveted merit scholarship.

What if one of them was accepted in no course? She would feel so bad to display her own victory before her. That was what made her feel so uneasy. Even when it was someone you loved, seeing the others be successful when you have failed was a frustration and a sorrow bigger than what Twilight could imagine.

So, while walking in the corridor to go to her class, she promised to herself she wouldn’t say anything to her friends before she was sure they all could celebrate their success together.
> Prepare Yourself For What's Next (part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash put on her gum guard and looked behind her back. All the players were at their position, and Pinkie Pie was ready by the goal. In the bleachers, just like two days before, the rest of her friends, plus Soarin, was.

Here she was. At her very last interschool championship competition. Female lacrosse. This sport she had discovered once out of Green Haven, when she was looking for something into which she could pour all her aggressiveness, as advised by Dr. Horse. And with which she hoped she would transform her future.

Not that the stakes were important. No, they were crucial. She had to win this, and not only because it would allow Wondercolts to get an All-Kill of four successive victories. Also because she expected a lot from it for the rest of her life.

If she were selected, she wouldn’t only obtain a scholarship, but she would also be almost assured to continue as a professional player. And to become a professional athlete was one of the goals she wanted to achieve. Anyway, she was convinced it was the only possible choice of career for her.

Alright, lacrosse wasn’t her favorite sport. Yet, it had been a while now since she no longer had illusions about basketball. And things were more complicated when they came to Roller Derby. She liked to play it for fun, and most importantly to unwind a bit more, but not so much she would envision herself as professional.

Positioned at the center of the field with the captain of the rival team in front of her, Rainbow Dash offered her legendary wink to the young woman. Even in sports, she had a reputation, and each of the players knew that, if she did the wink, it always was to let the player in front of her know that she wouldn’t do her any favors. In fact, she even thought she saw the girl swallowing when the referee whistled the beginning of the game.

It no longer was the right time for existential questionings. Now, Rainbow Dash’s mind was entirely focused on the game and the action. She was going to be merciless. Beware those who would try to get HER ball!

Intoxicated by screams of support, she gave everything she had and was able to trick her opponents without even using her famous aggressive bumps, one of her specialties. It wasn’t made in order to spare the rival team… In reality, it was because she was still suffering from the shoulder stroke of the basketball finals.

After one quarter of the game, the Wondercolts already had scored two goals, against only one from the opponents. Rainbow Dash intended to score another one, if not two, before the end of the first mandatory half-hour, thus making sure her team would get a comfortable advance.

For now, she was going after a player who was herself running straight towards the goal, where Pinkie Pie was waiting to stop the orange ball. She trusted her friend completely to stop the rival’s action, which didn’t prevent her from trying her best to stop the other girl from getting there. If the two teams happened to be tied, it would be harder to outdistance them during the next quarter-hour, and worse in the half-hour to come.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t swift enough, and the young athlete threw the ball towards the net. But instead of landing in the goals, or even between Pinkie Pie’s hands, it hit her left eye full force.

Immediately, the referee whistled for a break, and the whole Wondercolt team froze in horror. Pinkie Pie was crouched, hand on her eye and shrieking like Rainbow Dash never heard her before. Obviously, it wasn’t a harmless stroke.

The sports doctor of CHS arrived at full throttle on the field and examined the teenager’s eye. All the players had come closer to the goal, after they had put down their crosse at the exact spot where they were when the referee whistled the break. They weren’t allowed to come any closer and their tension was palpable up to the bleachers.

Up there, the whole gang was trembling from fear. Fluttershy even covered her eyes, scared to see it if something really awful did happened to her friend. The others were holding hands as a comfort, and Soarin had his hands dug into his hair. He couldn’t clearly see Rainbow Dash’s face from where he sat, but he knew how important Pinkie Pie was to her, and how protective they were toward each other.

The doctor claimed Pinkie Pie couldn’t stay in the game, since it was too great a danger for her eye, that he had to examine more deeply at the sickroom.

Considering how long the girls had begged their team coach to get them googles, just like American players! If she hadn’t postponed it all the time, choosing the purchase of other supplies instead, maybe this was an accident that could have been avoided. Of course, they had a substitute goal keeper, but she didn’t have Pinkie Pie’s agility to stop balls.

It was a disoriented Rainbow Dash who went back to her position on the field in order to resume the game, while Pinkie Pie was brought to the sickroom by the medical team. It was going to be a lot harder for her to focus on the game now. She could never help herself from thinking about her friend, from worrying about her eye. Especially as now, it seemed to her that victory wasn’t as obvious as she previously thought.

To the hell with cautions! She would have her whole holidays to care after that shoulder, and anyway, it wasn’t even dislocated or twisted. Her muscles were just a bit inflamed, nothing too grave. This time, she was going to be merciless. For good.

The match resumed and Rainbow Dash put on her mask of determination. Quickly, she was able to get the ball back from one of the rival player’s crosse, and to send it to Lemon Drops. All she’d have to do would be to get rid of a few defenders blocking her path to get to the goal and to take the advantage back.

And so, she was really surprised when the referee whistled at her attention, as she had just knocked over the first girl. And she was even more surprised when he got out a yellow card… Yet, she had made no fouls…

“Foul! No contact!”

“What? No!”

That was the way she’d always done things, and never got into troubles before, even less a yellow card for foul. In theory, female lacrosse prohibited physical contacts, but it was impossible to escape it fully and everyone knew it. All the referees she had to deal with until then knew as well and none had ever punished her for her signature bumps.

Rainbow Dash tried to explain this to the man, but he appeared to be uncompromising. In his opinion, no contacts meant no contacts at all. This explained why no girls from the other team had tried to bump into anyone, even when they had the chance. They probably had already played a game with this referee and knew he punished it harshly.

Without her best friend in front of the net, and without her favorite disorientation tactic, she felt as if obliged to play while walking on a thread up above the audience. All her marks were erased. And she didn’t like it. She needed things to happen in a special kind of way, or she had the sensation that something horrible would occur. It probably was one of the most unpleasant residues of her disorder.

Her goal was simple: to score in the last five minutes. After this, she would decide of another strategy for the second mandatory half-hour, but for now, she had to get rid of this damn equalization.

She went back to her position and dashed towards the goal, making sure she would bump into nobody, even if it was a bit complicated because of her game habits. Unfortunately, her shoot was stopped by the rival team’s goal keeper.

An unintentional discouraged sigh escaped from her lips, and she slipped her gloved hands into her hair dressed in a ponytail. It was even harder now to be focused on the game. Her mind wouldn’t stop wandering from the field to Pinkie Pie, for who she could do nothing else but worry.

To keep going for the last two minutes would be complicated, yet Rainbow Dash kept her eye on the price. With the right passes and the right strategy, everything was still possible.

The young woman was once again running towards the goal, while her teammates were passing the balls to each other at the center of the field. Waiting here while avoiding the other players was feasible… She saw the ball coming her way, and didn’t wavered before going to get it from the tip of her crosse.

Once again, the whistle resounded and, once again, the referee got out a yellow card.

In the heat of the moment, Rainbow Dash didn’t understand, before realizing that, quite unintentionally, taken into the fever of the game, she had bumped into one of the rival players. It was what she was doing all the time, and normally, it would have led her to victory. But not this time.

“Foul! Contact! Number 123, Rainbow Dash, sent off!”

Two yellow cards for the same player meant a red card, which led to the immediate sending-off of said player and this, until the end of the game. Technically, she wouldn’t be sent-off of the matches to come… The problem was that this was the Wondercolts’ female lacrosse team’s ultimate game, and thus, Rainbow Dash’s as well.

She followed the referee, tried to explain her point of view, as she did earlier, but he didn’t want to know. No choice. Her participation to the finals stopped here. And her chances to be recruited by the Canterlot University team and to obtain the scholarship that came with it were gone.

Unable to restrain herself, she chucked in the bottle of water her coach gave to her, which burst against the stone bench close to her. From the bleachers, could be clearly heard the voices of her friends, as well as Soarin’s, telling her it wasn’t a big deal and she had played very well, but she chose not to listen.

Rainbow Dash let herself fall on the ground, and hid her face inside her tee-shirt in order to cry sheltered from the eyes. It felt as if she could see all her efforts crumbling down before her eyes. Of course, she could still go to college, but she would be in no sports team. Which meant she would never get any merit scholarship. Her father would pay her tuition fees, and she’d been dreaded this scenario for years.

The consequences were many, and from her own point of view, it was a real disaster. Until her studies would be over, she would under her father’s and his money’s control. She wouldn’t be able to leave her family house, even after her nineteenth birthday, when her mother’s life insurance would be unblocked. Thus, he would decide it was up to him to determine which course she would take, and she was sure he wouldn’t approve of what she’d already chosen, and would force her to choose Business and Management instead.

Why did he save her if it was to lead her here? It wasn’t the future she wanted, to be at the mercy of Mr. Rainbow Blaze’s decisions and outbursts of anger.

She felt like imprisoned, sentenced to death. Of course, the bars built around her were made of gold and diamonds, but it wouldn’t change anything to the final result – she would be someone else’s puppet and this for at least the four next years to come.

---------------------------------

Rainbow Dash knocked three discreet times against the nurse’s office door, but no voice answered. She looked around in order to check whether Nurse Fauna wouldn’t be around, and since she couldn’t see her, she decided to come in before her return.

The office was empty, and when she pulled the curtain of the sickroom, she met face to face with Pinkie Pie, sitting on one of them, with a bandage on the left side of her face, hiding her injured eye.

Immediately expecting the worst, she had to restrain herself from gasping in fear.

When she saw her, her friend smiled her the way she always did, but her enthusiasm decreased a bit when she saw Rainbow Dash’s defeated look.

“Are you alright?” she asked as the girl stepped closer to her bed.

“I should be the one asking this to you…”

“Uh? You say this because of my bandage? It’s just a protection! In reality, I could take it off but it’s a very good excuse to stay here longer and ask anything I want to the nurse.”

Fine. At least, it was reassuring to see that her injury wasn’t that bad, and it surely explained why Nurse Fauna wasn’t here. Pinkie Pie had probably sent her getting whatever eccentricities that could ease her pain.

“I’m going to have a shiner for something like two weeks, so I’ll still look like this during Prom Ball, which is really sad, but thank the Queen we got Rarity as our friend and she’s almost a professional make-up artist, so she’s going to rectify this because I can’t look pretty in my pretty prom dress if I look like I’ve been fighting against Mikaela Mayer.”

“You know who Mikaela Mayer is?”

“I was bored, so I looked on Internet…”

There was no doubt about the fact that Pinkie Pie was in great shape. Her eye had prevented her from playing but it hadn’t ruined her natural sunny mood, and in all honesty, Rainbow Dash liked it best, though she also dreaded it. It was going to be easier for her to announce her friend the final score of the game, and at the same time, she knew it would probably get a wriggle on her cheerfulness.

Yet she didn’t have the choice – she had to tell her. She was going to know it, anyway, so it better came from her own mouth. Although it wasn’t going to be gladly.

The next thing her friend did, of course, was to ask her how the Wondercolts had been doing after she’d been obliged to leave the field.

Pinkie Pie saw Rainbow Dash lowering her head, and she understood even before she said the words.

“I’m sorry. We’ve lost six against eight. The referee wanted no contact at all between the players and I’ve been sent-off before the end of the mandatory first half-hour.”

“So… No All-Kill?”

“No All-Kill. I know that’s because of me.”

The other players of the team weren’t bad, far from it, and they still had good elements, such as Lemon Drops or Berry Cherry, however, without their titular goal keeper and captain, it had been difficult for them to manage well in front of a rival team suddenly fired up by these two departures in a row.

From her spot on the lawn, hidden from eyes, Rainbow Dash had watched the end of the game with a lump in her throat. They hadn’t been able to be aggressive without demonstrations of strength, like the opponents, and many times, they had missed good opportunities to score.

If she had been on the field with them, she would have gathered the girls more often in order to change the strategy, which had never been done by CHS, when the rivals hadn’t deprived themselves of these short ninety-two seconds breaks. Because of bad game tactics, victory had slipped through their fingers.

“I’m sure it wasn’t your fault”, Pinkie Pie comforted her, putting a hand on hers.

The curtains separating the office and the sickroom were pulled again, surprising them both. They were expecting to see the school’s nurse and instead, they saw their whole gang.

And their first reaction was to let out this gasp Rainbow Dash had swallowed back when they saw the bandage wrapped around Pinkie Pie’s face.

“I told you she was disfigured!” Fluttershy cried, hiding her face against Applejack’s shoulder.

“Hush, hush… Am sure it’s not that bad”, the latter answered, patting her head.

“Oh, it’s not that bad”, Pinkie Pie said with a smile, taking off her bandage. “I only got a bloodshot red eye and a shiner, look…”

Fluttershy finally dared looking up, but kind of slowly, until she jumped when Rarity gasped again when she discovered the injury.

“You can’t stay like this, darling. Thankfully, I’m here.”

She searched inside her handbag, got out a beauty case and sat on the bed next to Pinkie Pie, starting an emergency camouflage makeup, not asking for her opinion. Since she let her, it probably meant she agreed with that, didn’t she?

“I’m glad it’s nothing serious”, Twilight said. “We all were so worried when we saw the ball landing into your eye.”

“Yes”, Sunset Shimmer went on with a smirk. “She crushed my hand from the tension.”

“Did I do this?”

The young woman nodded, amused by her friend’s embarrassment. There was nothing to be embarrassed of. She could understand the stress she felt, since they all felt it too. In fact, Twilight probably hadn’t realized, but she crushed her fingers the same way.

It seemed to her then, just like everybody else in the room, that the person who needed comfort the most wasn’t Pinkie Pie, who kept on smiling despite the pain she probably was feeling.

A bit in retreat in a corner, Rainbow Dash kept a low profile, and took part to no conversation, not even with Soarin, next to her, but who didn’t know what to do. The moment when she had been sent off the field had broken their hearts, since they all knew how hard she wanted to win this last game under the CHS’ colors, thus getting to be chosen in the female lacrosse University team.

The coveted merit scholarship slipped through her fingers and with this, it felt as if she had witnessed a plane’s engine catching fire once again. All the wishes she had for her future, that she had started to think through very seriously, had vanished away at the same time than her chance to win the game.

Comforting her would be rather complicated. And it didn’t really convince Twilight to tell everyone the good news about her. She even wondered how she was going to make it, since they’ll have to know, one day.

A sudden racket distracted the whole bunch of friends, Rainbow Dash included. When they turned around to see where it came from, they saw Scootaloo, cheeks red and breath short, who had just bumped into the medicine cupboard of the nurse’s office.

“Oh my Goodness, are you okay?” Fluttershy asked her, stepping closer slowly.

Scootaloo only rubbed her forehead without answering, and planted herself in front of the group.

“Rainbow… Dash… There’s… There’s… a lady at the… stadium. She’s… looking for… you…”

“What does she look like?” she asked, getting closer.

“She’s wearing… a pant suit. Lilac hair… She says her name is… Miss Blue Cutie and she’s… from… Canterlot University.”

Rainbow Dash wasn’t sure, but the description sounded a bit like the female lacrosse team selector’s. If she was looking for her, did it mean she still stood a chance? She didn’t dare believing it. Her game hadn’t been that bad, but no one would choose a player who didn’t play by the rules and who received red cards, especially when it was the team’s captain, the very one supposed to be an example.

She turned to her friends and to Soarin, her eyes drowning with doubts.

“What do I do?”

“You have to go”, Soarin answered, stepping closer. “It could be important. You have not to neglect any details.”

“He’s right”, Applejack went on. “We can come with ya if yar frettin’ too much.”

“Yes, we all come with you.”

“Even me”, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy said at the same time.

Of course, Pinkie Pie was forbid to go since she couldn’t leave the sickroom without the nurse’s authorization. Because it stressed her a bit too much in fact, Fluttershy offered to be the one staying to keep her company. It let the group think that the residues of animosity in the young woman toward her friend were gone, and reassured, they all dashed towards the stadium.

It wasn’t easy for them to keep Rainbow Dash’s pace, running as fast as her legs could to the spot indicated by Scootaloo, hoping the lady hadn’t gone now.

Thankfully, she saw her on the field, checking her wrist watch. She was standing alone on the lawn, without anyone beside her except a young woman with bob hair and glasses.

When she saw Rainbow Dash coming her way, Miss Blue Cutie’s face brightened. She immediately asked her if she was who she was and stretched out a hand with a perfect manicure.

There was no way this elegant and apparently benevolent woman was Canterlot University’s female lacrosse selector. The woman’s reputation wasn’t the one of someone caring and well-groomed.

“I’m Miss Blue Cutie, Selector of the Athletics Team of CU.”

Athletics? Athletics! How could she forget the fact Canterlot University also was famous for the quality of their solo athtletes? How could she forget she was not only part of the basketball and female lacrosse teams? It felt as if she had denied her true self. Running. This was the sports discipline she liked the most.

The reason she had forgotten about this detail probably came from the fact the athletics competitions had happened much earlier. This, and the fact she had no answer for a scholarship until now, while she already had run for CHS and won many prizes months ago.

“Very nice to meet you”, Rainbow Dash answered, shaking her hand, unable to hide her excitement.

“So am I. Well, I don’t have much time, so I’m going to be quick. I’ve attended each of your competitions, from long-distance races to 500 meters’ relay races, by way of hurdles, as well as your basketball and lacrosse finals. I rarely had the chance to admire a runner of your kind. Canterlot University just can’t go without an athlete of your quality. Have you already received an offer from another team of the university, or of any other universities of the country?”

“I haven’t.”

Which wasn’t completely true, but Canterlot University was her only target.

“Unbelievable! How could this be? Well, that’s good news for us, right, Coco?”

“Yes, ma’m”, her young secretary nodded.

Rainbow Dash’s heart thumped into her chest, and she wondered how on Earth was she still standing. She wasn’t feeling overconfident in front of this important woman, and her boasting nature kept low profile, all curled up in a corner of her soul. All those compliments hit her at her sensitive spots and gave her hope again.

“If you want to be part of the athletics team, we’ll welcome you with great pleasure. The merit scholarship we give is a tiny bit less than the one of collective sports teams, but I swear on my life you’ll get access to the best of supplies and it would allow you to follow your studies very comfortably.”

What could she do, except accepting? And it wasn’t even through spite! She didn’t care if the scholarship was a few dollars less, it wasn’t the most important thing for her.

What mattered the most was that she would be able to keep on practicing sports at a high level, and even envision a professional career in this field, and above all the rest, she would finally be able to get off her father’s financial take over her.

Because of this, he kept on being able to lay down the law, to let his anger explode each time she didn’t meet his expectations, or, conversely, despise her and acting as if she weren’t even here, never looking into her eyes or face.

Soon, this would be over and she would be able to spread her wings and fly. Thus, becoming independent. For real.

-------------------------------------

“Miss Sunset Shimmer,

The whole Teaching Staff from the Art Department of Fillydelphia’s Private University is honored to notify you a favorable approval for your application for our program of Art and Design for Undergraduates.

Please join to your application file the following documents: grades for the latest exams, grades for your end-of-the-year evaluations, your application for a merit scholarship in art as well as your application for a room in one of our student accomodations here enclosed, before the mandatory date of 02/06/20XX.

Best regards,

Mr. Brick Stone, Dean of Fillydelphia’s Private University.”

This was the content of the letter she had found in her box mail, last night when she came home. Like very often, her mother and father were working late and she was the one in charge of picking up the mail and getting out the garbages, as well as of cooking the dinner.

Because of it, she hadn’t slept all night. Of course, this was a very good news. The University she had chosen notified her she was selected in the course she had chosen, and her parents even decided that tonight, they would celebrate this in her favorite restaurant, what hadn’t happened since ages.

What tormented her was the same fact that made her stay silent during lunch, in front of the girls’ restless conversations. She had to tell them about it all. And she could feel it wouldn’t be welcomed only by cheers and congratulations.

Sunset Shimmer thought she was prepared for it. In her mind, she had envisioned a thousand possible scenarios a hundred times already. But now she was in front of the fait accompli, everything she envisioned had vanished away from her mind. It was even harder because Twilight was sitting right in front of her…

She took a deep breath and decided to take the plunge. Too bad if she didn’t really know what to say. She would improvise, and que sera sera…

“Girls…” she said softly.

“Those damn movies they make just for the special effets, anyway, won’t pass the test of time, I’m telling you. They're not about art, they're about money! Just like that “Star Wars” thing which Lucas created only to get profits from selling toys! Shouldn’t be in lists of Best Movies of All Time next to “The Godfather” and stuff…”

Unfortunately for her, Rainbow Dash was plunged into a movie fan debate with Applejack, and for a once, both seemed to agree. One of them regretted the absence of good old Westerns, while the other ranted about the trend of the years, though it could seem surprising coming from her – this wasn’t the case for her friends, who knew her well, and knew she always preferred very old movies to new ones, except if they came from critically acclaimed directors, and thrillers and film noirs over action movies.

To meddle with such a conversation wasn’t going to be easy for Sunset Shimmer, yet she tried again, aware of how important her announcement was.

“Girls!”, she repeated, this time louder and with more conviction. “I have to tell you about something.”

This little sentence was enough to cut short all debates. Each knew, like many other persons, that it was rare those words were pronounced to tell something cheerful or pleasant.

The concern she could read in their eyes wasn’t going to make things easier for her.

She swallowed, gulped down water, and started again.

“In fact… Yesterday, I’ve received my university’s admission letter. Well, a letter telling me I was selected for my chosen course.”

Immediately, she saw comfort springing on everyone’s faces. Their shoulders even looked more relaxed.

“You scared us”, Twilight said with a smile.

“Yes”, Fluttershy went on. “We all thought you wanted to tell us something very shoking.”

They all nodded and answered at the same time, in a small racket of relieved voices, displaying liberation. It definitely didn’t make it easier for Sunset Shimmer, whose lump in the stomach went bigger at each passing seconds, to the extent it gave her heartburn.

“The thing is that this letter doesn’t come from Canterlot University, but from Fillydelphia’s Private University. CU doesn’t have any Art and Design program…”

Fluttershy turned as white as the paper napkins on the table, and almost gasped in horror. The other girls lowered their heads, staring at their trays, any hint of relief swept off their faces like trees under a tropical storm.

Twilight in particular seemed to be on the verge of crying. Sunset Shimmer suspected the young woman was asking herself a million questions, notably why she hadn’t told her anything about her intentions to apply to another college than the same as them.

They both were really close and had regularly spent nights and slumber parties at each other’s, unceasingly talking about their dreams for the future and their love for sciences - and drawing.

The others didn’t know at all. Though they all knew how close they were, they didn’t suspect those tête-à-têtes they had been very careful not to disclose.

The best thing to do remained to anticipate the questions her friends would ask her.

“I’m sorry I haven’t told you before… I was naïve, I guess, but I haven’t realized you were all staying at Canterlot. And, I really want to try to become a comic artist later, and nothing of what CU offered fit.”

A deep silence floated over the group after this announcement. From the very beginning, they all promised they would go together at the same university, if applicable, according to the courses they would choose. It was lucky for them that Canterlot University offered the country’s largest choice of disciplines… However, none had envisioned the fact there could be one of them to choose something that wasn’t available within the realm of possibilities.

They were happy for Sunset Shimmer, of course, nevertheless, a part of them couldn’t help but feeling saddened to think they wouldn’t be all together next year, especially as their various choices wouldn’t allow them to spend as much time together as they’d liked to. It was a bit hard to swallow.

Rainbow Dash was the first who decided to break the embarrassing silence. Her mother always taught her to see what’s positive even when everything seems to be negative. A new life lesson she had ignored for so long, but which took on its full meaning today.

Sunset Shimmer wasn’t going in another country, after all. Fillydelphia wasn’t that far by car, or even by train. And, nowadays, there always was ways to keep in touch, thanks to SNS, Skype and videophone.

“You know what? Big deal! We can resist long distances. You won’t be that far away from us, and you’ll be back on holidays. And we’ll come and visit you sometimes too.”

“That’s true”, Applejack went on. “There’s my family’s secondary house there.”

“Yes”, Pinkie Pie replied. “We’ll have big parties, just like last year! We’ll celebrate the end of mid-term exams, and birthdays, anniversaries of when we met!”

“See? Nothing’s over. And, I don’t know what you guys are thinking, but I say it takes so much more to break our friendship. With everything we’ve been through, I think we can say our bond is rock-solid. No, it’s a diamond, even. It can’t be broken. I trust ourselves.”

Twilight glimpsed at Sunset Shimmer, who answered with a comforting smile. Then, she looked at the smash carots on her plate and sighed. Rainbow Dash was right. It took more to break them apart. She had to keep faith in their feelings.

It probably was the best moment for her to tell the girls what she had to say. It wasn’t as shocking as Sunset Shimmer’s declaration, but she had to confess. Nothing could oppose it now. Fluttershy had also received a positive answer for her Life Science application, and Rainbow Dash now had her merit scholarship in sports.

And so, she grabbed her juice briquette and put it up.

“Congratulations, Sunset!”

Her friends smiled and put their briquettes up as well, in order to bump them together, congratulating the young woman.

That was when Twilight finally made up her mind.

“I have a good news too. Not only do I have the Royal Scholarship and I’m accepted in the Astrophysics program, but I’m also taken for the Summer Classes!”

“What?! That’s SOOOOO AMAZING!!” Pinkie Pie yelled. “Let’s put up our glasses… or rather, our briquettes for you too.”

Once again, they did the little routine, this time in order to congratulate Twilight. To be honest, none of them doubted even for a second that she would make it. She already was brillant, and her hardworking couldn’t go unrewarded. The opposite would have been surprising, if not scandalous.

What was certain was that the future seemed to be rather bright for all of them. Their path had been dented and layered with tree trunks, they had to deviate a bit from the chosen outlines, but in the end, each had been able to achieve the goals they imposed on themselves. Although, they all knew it, everything wasn’t won yet. And it was a good thing.
> This Is Our Big Night (part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Soon, the big day. The one all twelve graders had been waiting for months, if not from the very beginning of High School years. This day which was the blessing of years of hard work, marking the end of a period, and the beginning of a brand new life.

The excitement was palpable in the whole school, and even students from nine grade could feel it. It wasn’t only the fact holidays were getting closer that made CHS so feverish, but this very day, or rather this very night.

The whole school was vibrating at the even’ts rhythm. Each announcement from the Principal’s office were made in view of the night, and the school’s corridors were decorated in circumstance, while the inner gymnasium, where basketball finals happened only a week ago, was now forbidden to anyone who wasn’t a part of the Event Committee.

As the head of said Committee, Pinkie Pie was requested from all sides. Her inhexaustible energy was redundant and allowed her to tackle everything at the same time without anything suffering from it.

Since she also was in charge of the coveted title of Prom Queen’s election, the young woman had the bright idea to enroll each of her friends, and they all registered the news about all of them being taken on with surprise. It was impossible they would be chosen… Especially as others, more reserved and involved, like Octavia, Lyra or Sweetie Drops were part of the names.

While waiting for D-Day, the moment had finally arrived to buy the tickets for the Prom Ball – the event in question, of course. The price was a bit more expensive than those of Winter Ball or Spring Ball, accessible to the students of any grade. It had to be said that this was another kind of party. It had to be a climax, a lifelong memory. Thus, the means which the Event Committee disposed of also were of another kind.

Pinkie Pie had settled a table in front of the Committee’s room door – which also was forbidden to students so no one would have a glimpse of what they prepared. Helped by Muffin, in charge of noting everything in the account notebook, she was waiting here between each class, confronted to an almost unceasing flow of students queuing in front of her.

As Head of the Event Committee, she was now the most powerful and respected person of the school. She took no advantage from it, what Rainbow Dash hadn’t helped but pinpointing to her, outraged she didn’t make the most of her position, even if just a little.

The young woman, precisely, was the person who was now in front of her, right behind Trixie who was boasting about the fact that at least four boys from the Guiding Class were fighting to be her dance partner and how she hadn’t made up her mind yet.

“Hello, Dashie! Finally decided?”

“Yeah”, the latter answered, taking out her wallet. “Two tickets, please.”

“So, does this mean Soarin said yes?”

“I haven’t asked him yet, in fact… But there’s no reason for him to say no. Right?” she asked, suddenly a bit more serious.

She had her reasons which made her postpone her request for such a long time. It wasn’t that she feared her boyfriend didn’t want to be with her. It came from something different, a fact which kept on nagging her but she hadn’t clarified yet.

It was rare to see Rainbow Dash self-doubting, especially when it was about Soarin, that they all knew was head over heels for her. It surprised Muffin a lot, since she didn’t know the couple that well, but whom it seemed to be a very solid one.

“Of course there’s no reason for him to refuse!”

“Yeah, of course… No reason. Well, err… How much is it?”

“Eighty dollars, please.”

The teenage girl counted her banknotes, and paid her friend with bills of ten dollars.

This money came from the envelop her father left each week on her bedside table along with a credit card, thinking a bit more money would make up for all the rest.

She often gave parts of it as a donation to orphanages, and kept the rest for occasions such as these, or for times when the house employees asked for an advance payment, generally in order to purchase things their children needed. These persons were working hard at their service, so they deserved a few extras.

No doubt, they would be disappointed when she would leave the house, and they would be left alone with Mr. Rainbow Blaze.

Moments after Rainbow Dash’s departure, it was Fluttershy’s turn to come and buy her tickets. She took two of them as well, but didn’t tell Pinkie Pie who was coming with her. The same thing happened with Applejack.

As far as the rodeo celebrity was concerned, it was even more mysterious than with the baby pink-haired teenage girl. Since her harassment and assault by a stalker last year, she turned very wary towards boys, and even those not intimidated by her small celebrity status or by her incredible strength didn’t dare approaching her too closely, scared to confront with a wall of stone. Some boys had nicknamed her “Iced apple princess” …

Who could be that mysterious dance partner? Except Rainbow Dash and her Soarin, and yet – it wasn’t her favorite topic of discussion – none of them had really seemed to be preoccupied by boys. Even Sunset Shimmer, who in the beginning used to flirt a lot and often talked about her extracurricular activities with representatives of the male kind, had finally put a little water in the wine.

Actually, she was the one person who appeared in front of Pinkie Pie and Muffin’s table shortly after, accompanied by Twilight.

Usually, the others queued in line, and even the closest of friends, like Lyra and Sweetie Drops, took their tickets separately.

Were they too scared? And if they were, of what? It seemed odd, but Pinkie Pie couldn’t find another explanation.

“One ticket, please, Pinkie”, Sunset Shimmer said first.

“For me as well”, Twilight went on.

The young woman raised a puzzled eyebrow.

“You haven’t found partners yet?”

“The person who comes with me buys only one too”, they both said at the same time.

They glanced at each other shily, and Pinkie Pie thought she saw Twilight’s cheeks slightly blushing.

This was even more mysterious, the young woman thought while watching them getting away. She questioned Muffin about it, but the latter answered by a shrug. Nothing was weird in all that.

They probably had talked together, and realized both their dance partners were too poor to buy two tickets, then decided to go together in order to avoid a feeling of humiliation. Unless it was a good example of progressivism in the very traditional and “old-fashioned” ways of Prom Balls.

These were the conclusions Pinkie Pie drew. Nevertheless, despite those satisfying deductions, she kept on thinking it was strange that, except Rainbow Dash, none of their friends had wanted to tell her who they were coming to the ball with.

And, she realized that she neither had told them about it…

------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash looked up from her cinema magazine and took a glimpse at Soarin, sitting a few inches away from her on his bed. He was plunged into the reading of a roman noir. Like often, talking was unnecessary between them, and they fed from the simple presence of each other.

It had something comforting and mellow for the young woman, which was completely different from the sometimes electric, sometimes ice-cold mood in her own house. When she was with him, she felt safe and had the impression that nothing wrong could ever happen to her. It was soft and cozy, but never boring. Because despite it all, they worked with no predefined patterns and didn’t obey to a repetitive and monotonous routine.

Conversely, improvision held a special place in their way of life.

She closed her magazine, that she put by her side and slid closer to him, in order to read above his shoulder. The novel he was reading was a story of double and subterfuges, very “Vertigo” like, but which would have collided with “Psycho” as well, and Soarin already told her it was one of the most thrilling stories he ever read.

Wrapped up in the story, he only moved when she took one of his arms and placed it around her shoulders, letting her head rest against his chest.

It was something she often did, slipping herself between his arms, and embracing him from behind when he was busy doing something else. To be honest, he thought this to be pleasant, and even adorable, but kept from telling her, in order not to end up getting the opposite effect.

He answered her with a smile, furtively stroke her cheek, before resuming his reading. It was short, yet, since Rainbow Dash expressed herself again by trying to tickle his sides.

It meant she not only wanted to be closer to him, but that there was something she was expecting from him.

He took time to read the end of his paragraph, before marking his page and ask her whether there was something she wanted to do.

“In fact… I wanted to tell you about something.”

“I’m listening.”

Because he knew her, Soarin also knew what she had to say was nothing of a high importance. If it had been the case, he would have noticed some awkwardness just as soon as she would haven entered the room. She could try to hide her worries to the others, but it never escaped his notice. He knew her too well, and since too long to pass by a detail when she was nagged by an existential problem.

But that wasn’t a reason for him to cut the matter short. If his attention was requested, his whole attention was given. His parents had educated him this way, telling him there was nothing that didn’t deserve him to involve a bit, especially when it came from persons he loved.

“As you probably don’t know, my Prom Ball is this weekend. I was thinking that, maybe, you could come with me… Of course, nothing obliges you to.”

“I’d be delighted to come with you.”

“But?”

“There’s no “but”, Dashie. What made you believe that?”

“Well… You’re a college student. Which means you probably already went to a Prom Ball with Spitfire, your ex-girlfriend, and that maybe you don’t want to do this again. I mean… It’s not cheap, and everything, and it’s supposed to be an unforgettable memory and not two unforgettable memories.”

She would probably not understand, but Soarin couldn’t help displaying a small forced laughter. Indeed, he already been through the “Prom Ball” thing, yet there were a few details about that that Rainbow Dash ignored. The story hadn’t quite happened the way he planned, to be honest.

The young woman opened her eyes wide when she saw him laughing, and crossed her arms, almost upset by his reaction.

It deserved a little explanation, that he was quick to give before it turned into a misunderstanding.

“Do you remember when I told you I came upon Spitfire with my cousin Fleetfoot and that’s what marked the end of our story?”

Rainbow Dash nodded, more relaxed thanks to this question.

Many times, she had wondered how Soarin might have felt when he discovered he had been betrayed by two of the persons he trusted the most. How broken his heart probably had been, and how he probably had lost his faith in the world… In such a situation, she didn’t know how she would react.

The sure thing was he had needed a lot of time before speaking to the two young women again, and he had held a severe grudge against them for more than a year. In fact, he even confessed he had done a few things he wasn’t particularly proud of, just to have his revenge. It was the darker side of him, which only appeared when he considered he had been dragged through the mud.

“Well, it happened two days before Prom Ball. So, they went together there as a couple and I spent this night with a whisky bottle, on the high hill above Cloudsdale.”

“Oh. I’m sorry for you”, Rainbow Dash replied.

Now, she even felt guilty she had brought it up. She should have only asked her question, not trying to know more, it would have prevented her from bringing painful memories up to the surface.

“It’s not a big deal, you know. Especially as now, I have a chance to make up for the injustice”, he said, intertwining their fingers.

“Yes. It’s going to be awesome, you’ll see. And you’ll forget about the other one. But… I want to warn you I want all the cool stuff, like the limo and everything!”

“Received loud and clear.”

He pecked her lips, and she took back her magazine, while he resumed the reading of his novel, but not parting from their embrace.

Although she seemed like reading, in reality Rainbow Dash now just couldn’t get her mind off of the Prom Ball. With the boy she loved and her dearest friends, she was sure to spend one of the most fantastic night of her life. Even if she felt a bit sad to bid High School goodbye, she knew the future was announced under the best auspices.

It couldn’t be otherwise, since Dr. Horse had assured her the efforts she had made to be huge and that within a few additional months, one year at the max, she would be able to stop her therapy definitely.
> This Is Our Big Night (part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rainbow Dash’s bedroom was in an unprecedented mess. The seven girls were positioned at each corner, on the bed, sitting at the desk, on the floor, even. There were makeup supplies, hair supplies, and it even floated a sweetish scent of perfume, powdered, fruity, floral, according to each of their preferences.

It was the big night and the excitement was even more palpable than before. After the ball, it was planned they all went to a house that had been rented for the occasion by the Event Committee, who had collected money from donators, for another celebration, less formal. Thus, the night was going to last until very late.

Of course, Rarity was the one in charge of everyone’s hair and makeup. If Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy could do this on their own, it wasn’t the case for the other girls, especially Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who were the ones with the hardest work. They both were likely to neglect themselves, even if not in the same areas.

As far as the blond cowgirl was concerned, Rarity had spent a lot of time on her hair. Not because of colors that shouldn’t be mixed up, conversely to Rainbow Dash, but because her thick mop was dry and tangled. Thankfully, she wasn’t sensitive there, since she had to pull hard on the knots.

As for Rainbow Dash, the problem came from a real ignorance of the art of makeup and her complete indifference to hands and nails care. She didn’t care after them at all, and it was hell on Earth to make something with them. It had reminded the young fashion designer of all the work she had to do on this part of her body during the Miss Teen Equestria beauty pageant.

“Actually”, the young woman said as Rarity was insisting on doing her a manicure. “Soarin doesn’t care that my nails are cut unequally and that I don’t wear nail polish. You know, it’s already my boyfriend, right?”

“So what? Darling, seduction is to be looked after!”

“Which seduction? He already saw me many times puking my snack and with snot hanging at my nose. I think at Summer Camp, I even peed in the woods with him…”

“Yes, back when you were five. But not since you two are dating.”

“I was eight. And I don’t see what’s the difference.”

In order to cut this conversation short, Rarity clucked her tongue in her mouth, before adding a last layer of transparent nail polish on her friend’s nails. Once done, she took a step back, and examined her finished look.

No doubt. With her hair done like this, a beautiful makeup, and a decent manicure, she was prettier than she thought. A perfect complexion, silky hair, with these original natural hues… And what a waste to have such long lashes and to satisfy herself with one layer of mascara! Especially as she could afford to buy the best makeup brands!

Soarin was going to fall head over heels. With the loosen curls at the tip of her hair, her subtle makeup, she was delightful, but Rarity had to admit it, the most dazzling thing about her was the dress she had designed especially for her. White, sleeveless and tight around her waist, to outline the thinness of it, it stopped above the knee and was puffy, embellished with rainbow-colored petticoats, perfectly matching her hair.

She had created and sewn herself each of the dresses for her friends. Although she was very busy with the preparations of her very first professional fashion show, she insisted to the seamstresses she had hired for this occasion that she had to do these ones personally.

For her own Ball, Rarity had done the same, and having a unique dress, that no one else could have, was the little bonus, she was sure, which had allowed her to become Queen of the Prom Ball. It was a memory as imperishable as what people said, and her wish was that her friends would feel the same way about this magical night.

Time was passing by, and the moment when Soarin would arrive with the limo to drive the girls to CHS, where the other girls’ dance partners were probably waiting for her, was coming closer. In order to make sure everything was perfect, she reviewed her work on each of them.

Sunset Shimmer and her red ruffled bustier dress, her loosen hair falling in a natural yet very calculated way on her shoulders. Fluttershy, her bun tight above her head, her long thin-strapped dress, with its muslin skirt embellished with subtle sequin which brought a touch of color to the whole. Applejack, her hair loose – it was impossible to make a sophisticated haircut without her saying it was nothing like herself – and her dress which top seemed to be a plain shirt but which was in fact long at the botton, slit in order to let appear her beautiful muscled thighs and legs. And Pinkie Pie, whose hair had been impossible to straighten but that Rarity had been able to dress with a bun, with her dress decorated with lacy flowers, with its plunging neckline and a skirt falling into cascades from mid-thigh to the back of her knees.

If she had to be completely objective, she would admit Twilight was the one who had got the most extraordinary make-over. Her hair, ordinarily as straight as wooden fences, now formed gorgeous curls where the three hues of purple and lavender met. Her bustier dress, dark blue, touched the floor and were sewn with golden threads which dashed towards the bottom to form stars.

She simply was stunning. Just like a dream. Rarity didn’t know who the boy with her would be, but she was certain that this lucky fellow wouldn’t regret it.

In fact, the other girls all agreed with her, since Applejack couldn’t help making a comment that was very close from what Rarity had just thought.

“Twilight, Ah don’t know who yar partner is, but Ah bet ya he won’t believe his peepers when he’ll see that!”

“You truly are gorgeous!” Fluttershy added.

The young woman slightly blushed, not really used to compliments which weren’t about her extraordinary intelligence, and took a glimpse at Sunset Shimmer, who rewarded her with her thumbs up.

No one except Rainbow Dash had yet revealed who the person they were going with was. Twilight wanted to know, but she knew that if she asked this question, the girls would want to know who’d be at her arms as well, and she and this person had agreed to tell them at the right moment. Though she had been comforted, she kept on being scared of their friends’ reactions when they would learn about it.

To make sure the conversation wouldn’t come to this topic, she asked Rarity to tell them about her Prom Ball with Shining Armor.

In reality, Twilight knew this story by heart, but as the young woman started to tell, she told herself this idea was really good. All the girls seemed to be captivated by her words…

Mentally, she looked all around the room, trying to figure out who would be with who. It wasn’t an easy guess. Yes, they were rather popular, but except Rarity herself, her friends hadn’t meddled up with a lot of boys, and they even were really rare in their conversations. It made no doubt they all would have a partner, but there was no way she could tell who would be hanging at their arms.

This was very exciting… and a little scary, as well.

A ring downstairs cut Rarity’s story short, and all the girls dashed out of the bedroom, while she was quickly gathering all of her supplies, throwing them in a mess in her vanity case, not to miss anything of Soarin’s surprise when he was going to see his girlfriend all pampered for him.

When she reached the top of the stairs, Rainbow Dash had just opened the door. Her boyfriend was wearing a very sober tuxedo, black, with a white shirt. His hair wasn’t done in a particularly different way than usually, but the tuxedo was enough to make him look elegent, if not sexy.

Anyway, Rarity thought, every man is sexy when wearing a tuxedo.

His eyes widened a bit from the shock, then a large smile appeared on his face, from ear to ear. Even from where she stood, she could guess his starry eyes. She even thought she saw him swallowing.

In his hands was a small plastic box inside of which there was a red fake flower. Traditionally, it had to be a real rose, but it was impossible with Rainbow Dash’s allergy to pollen. If she was standing here with no red nose, not unceasingly sneezing, it was already thanks to the antihistamine pills she was taking with zeal since the beginning of the week.

“Wow! You’re… wow! I’m speechless.”

“Then, don’t say anything before you’ll sprawl into the world of sappiness.”

Soarin muffled an embarrassed laugh. Shortly after she told him about the ball, she had thought about specifying him through text messages that she didn’t want him to act too “sappy” when he’ll see her wearing her dress. When they were together, it was fine. In front of her friends, this was something else.

Her ego, again and again. Inseperable from the real person. Bah, it didn’t matter much, that was the way he loved her, after all.

As if suddenly noticing their presence, Soarin looked above Rainbow Dash’s shoulders and finally saw her six friends, in a bunch on top of the stairs, all eyes on the couple, watching each of their moves.

He greeted them with a small wave, and they answered with a “hello” said at the same time.

Suddenly feeling a bit outgrown for his tuxedo, Soarin started to open the plastic box, and took his fake rose. In fact, it was stuck to a satin bracelet, and it had taken a whole investigation to make sure the size of it would be right, not risking to feel like a tourniquet, or to float like ill-fitted clothes.

After clearing his throat, he slipped the bracelet around his girlfriend’s thin wrist, who rewarded him with a radiant smile. No doubt, she truly was pretty! Even more when she wasn’t aware of it, which happened quite often and even once pampered in the most gorgeous dress.

Once this little tradition was done, playfully, Rainbow Dash asked him one question, as if to specify there was nothing of their conversation she could forget.

“Did you get all the cool stuff?”

“I did! Limo and everything.”

“You’re the best”, she claimed, pecking his cheek.

“Ready for the big night?” he asked her and the girls gathered behind them.

They all answered yes and hurtled down the stairs, while Rainbow Dash was waiting in order to lock the door behind them. Burglaries were rare in the neighborhood, where everyone had very reliable alarms and security systems, but a girl was never too cautious.

None of the girls – except Rarity, of course – needed to be asked twice to climb into the huge black limo Soarin had rented for the occasion. The young woman thought he probably got this for a very reasonable price, thanks to his father’s connections.

Right before joining everyone, Rainbow Dash took one last look at the house, lights turned off and now silent. She used to hate this place so much she even wished to see it burn to ashes, and had forgotten it hadn’t only been a place of misery, arguments and deep loneliness. Sometimes, there had been precious memories here, and even small breaks full of tenderness and happiness.

Seeing what’s positive in everything. A lesson she swore she would never forget again.

-------------------------------------

Rarity looked at the limo getting away from the house, a sweet smile upon her face. The event her friends were about to live was an indelible memory. For some, it marked the end of troubles, or the extension of humiliations, but whatever, nothing would never be the same after that.

She knew each of the girls were aware of it.

It didn’t mean the rest of the adventure wouldn’t be beautiful and delicious. It only meant the flavor would be a bit different. If she took stock of everything that had happened to her since she had left CHS, Rarity couldn’t say things didn’t go well.

Alright, her love story with Shining Armor hadn’t resisted the difficult test of time, but in exchange, she’d been able to save a friendship with six young girls she loved with all her heart, at least as much as she loved her little sister, Sweetie Belle, even if her very ingenuous youth sometimes tended to irritate her.

And, from a professional perspective, she wasn’t to feel sorry about. Her time at the Fashion Design School had proved to be conclusive, she owned her own boutique, she started to get a name for herself, and even drew Hoity Toity’s attention, who acted like a mentor.

It didn’t stop her from feeling a hint of nostalgia when she was thinking about the girls on their way for the Ball.

His delight of a fiancée wasn’t the vehement type, so Rarity was sure she would get upset if she called Shining Armor to talk about the past. It wasn’t as if feelings of love remained between them. All they felt for each other now was a tender affection, deprived of any sexual tension.

She looked through her bag, and once her phone unearthed, looked for the young policeman’s name in her directory. After a few rings, he picked it up, probably surprised to see the name of Rarity written on his screen.

“Is everything alright?” he asked, a bit worried.

“Yes, everything’s fine, don’t worry. I’ve just let your little sister and her friends leave for the Ball and I was wondering… Do you remember our Prom Ball together?”

There was a short silence, and Rarity even thought he had hung up without her noticing it, before he answered.

“Of course, I remember. How could I forget?”

They had met at his place, since back then, she still was a bit ashamed of her parents. Like the girls a bit earlier, Twilight and her parents were gathered on top of the stairs, watching the two lovebirds complimenting each other, and Shining Armor slipping the flower bracelet around Rarity’s wrist.

The young man hadn’t rented a limo, but his father had lent him his gorgeous sedan and had asked a friend from his work to be their driver. They had spent the whole ride devouring each other with their eyes.

The whole night had been gorgeous. Back then, they were at the very beginning of their relationship, the honeymoon phase where everything about the other is just perfect. Rarity thought Shining Armor to be the most handsome boy of the whole party, as she was the most beautiful girl in his eyes. They had spent a lot of time dancing cheek to cheek, not really caring about the buffet nor the punch.

Then had come the ultimate recognition. Rarity had been elected Queen of the Ball. Of course, since he wasn’t in high school anymore, Shining Armor couldn’t be chosen to be the King by her side, but it didn’t really matter. This crown was also crowning her years spent in CHS, and recognized her not only as the prettiest girl in the room, but as a friend liked by everyone, the person students thought to be the best representative of their school.

Then, they had gone to another party, organized by the football team. That was where, for the first time, they had gone beyond nice flirts and gentle kisses, just like many of the other students.

This last part, of course, Shining Armor never told Twilight but Rarity thought it was clear the young woman knew. She wasn’t naïve and knew how to see beyond appearances…

And she wasn’t the only one!

After they shared their memories about this wonderful night, the conversation went to the ex-boyfriend’s little sister. She promised to send Shining Armor the picture she had takend after the hair and makeup was done, then “cut to the chase”.

“I think Twilight is hiding something…"

“What do you mean?” he answered, surprised.

“I don’t really know, actually. But I’ve been noticing something for some time now… between her and Sunset Shimmer.”

“Yes, they both are really close! But Twilight more or less has a boyfriend.”

“Oh, Flash Sentry? Certainly, yes…”

Rarity squinted, thinking she saw someone parking in front of Rainbow Dash’s house. It drew her attention away from the conversation she started herself. Who was that?

Her heart started to beat wildly at the thought it could be a thief. If it was the case, she wouldn’t stay here, in the warm of the car, looking and not reacting. It was lucky she was on a phone with Shining Armor, a policeman, making her task easier.

When she informed him about it, he ordered her to do nothing and to say nothing, and to warn him as soon as she saw something suspicious.

That was when she recognized who the man was. He was staggering, yes, a bottle of champagne in his hand, but he wasn’t an intruder. It simply was Rainbow Dash’s father.

And judging by his general state and the way he was looking for his keys in the pockets of his crumpled suit, he hadn’t spent his evening drinking soda.
> This Is Our Big Night (part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

From where he sat, Soarin was in the perfect angle to gaze upon what was happening near the buffet. The CHS’ principals were in the middle of a conversation with a teacher, waiting to give the verdict. They couldn’t see what was going on around there, with that tall man in front of them.

Rainbow Dash was in charge of standing guard, while Pinkie Pie opened the hip flask and poured drops of it into the punch bowl.

Though he already knew, he couldn’t help rolling his eyes. These two together always led to chaos!

Dressed in a tuxedo straight out of the 70s, with a frilly shirt but thankfully no flared pants, Cheese Sandwich came closer to the table and sat beside Soarin, who he nudged with his elbow a little too abruptly when trying to be friendly.

“I think our girls are doing something fishy…”

Again, Soarin glanced at the table of the buffet, where he glimpsed at Rainbow Dash clapping Pinkie Pie’s hand discreetly. In all likelihood, they were pleased of their little trick. They had no High School classes after this, anyway, so what were the risks?

They both came to sit beside their dance partner, very proud of themselves.

“I think the rest of this ball’s going to be a way lot funnier!”

“As if it wasn’t enough that it started surprisingly already…”

The two boys knew what Rainbow Dash was alluding to. Surprising it had been for some of them, but for others, it explained a lot.

When the limo had arrived in front of the school and each of the girls had got down, their dance partners were waiting for them nearby. Cheese Sandwich’s presence was no surprise, since the bunch had already knew him and Pinkie Pie were joking about partying always together at Rainbow Dash's party. The fact Fluttershy had chosen to come with her brother had got the same type of reaction. Except Thunderlane, whom she could never forgive for what he had said about her friends, she had known only Big Macintosh and their story was over… However, he was also there to accompany his sister Applejack. Once again, this hadn’t been a big upheaval. And yet…

“Ah had a partner, Caramel, but this moron found a way to come down with sumethin’ two days before the ball!”

“So, she made do with me”, the tall freckled blond boy went on, between pride and exasperation.

So, Applejack had finally accepted a boy to step into her comfort zone? It was a rather good news, which meant she was now able to overcome the trauma of her assault. What a shame the young man wasn’t here, her friends would have loved to meet him – and tease him.

But the true revelation hadn’t been this one. Indeed, two partners were missing to complete the gang. Sunset Shimmer’s and Twilight’s… When Pinkie Pie had asked whether they were late, and had noticed Flash Sentry from afar, here with Muffin, the two young women had finally confessed.

They were each other’s partners. Zephyr almost had his jaw getting off his mouth, already fantasizing about the two girls naked in the same bed, until they explained it “wasn’t exactly what they thought.”

Indeed, they were closer since almost a year, and if they regarded themselves as a bit more than just friends (but not like soul sisters, neither), they weren’t a couple strictly speaking. In fact, they had a relationship which was at the cross-road of these two things.

No one had understand anything, until Rainbow Dash’s eyes lit up like Christmas decorations in the dark.

“You’re queer platonic!”

“Queer-what now?” Applejack asked.

“Queer platonic. Here, the word “queer” doesn’t mean “gay”, but “strange” because most of the people can’t get to understand the notion. Although it’s more or less part of the Asexual Spectrum, anybody can be queer platonic, which means also true blue heterosexuals. Apart from that, it’s exactly what they said it was: stronger than friendship but not exactly love. And it’s non-exclusive.”

“It’s… exactly what it is”, Twilight had said, blushing.

The young woman had hardly been able to hide her feeling of awkwardness. Not that she wasn’t comfortable with her particular relationship with Sunset Shimmer, but she was scared her friend would see her in a different light after they learned about that.

Everything Rainbow Dash had said was true, and explained why she had chosen to come with Sunset Shimmer instead of Flash Sentry – who had invited her first before asking Muffin. They both had agreed this would be the perfect moment to let their friends know about this new context.

Which never stopped her relationship with the young guitar player to stay “on-again, off-again”.

As if trying to inform the news had been digested and hadn’t disturbed anyone, Pinkie Pie had asked whether they were ready to party or they preferred playing wax statues on the parking lot and everybody had gone for the Ball.

Yet, there was someone this “new context” disturbed a bit… Zephyr. The latter, healed from his unconditional love for Rainbow Dash, had now his heart set on Sunset Shimmer, who couldn’t care less about him. Since he hadn’t understood completely the principles of a queer platonic relationship, he was still dwelling on, staring at the young woman laughing with Twilight, like a child which toy had just been taken away.

Because of this, he couldn’t stop crushing his little sister’s feet, and she was slightly upset.

“Stop it, Zephyr! If you keep doing this, I’ll leave you to your own devices… You promised you’d behave well!”

“Yeah, yeah, I know”, he complained, trying to focus back on the dance.

Around them, except the two young women, all the couples were moving at the rhythm of a romantic ballad, and he couldn’t help being envious of Soarin, who had the chance to be with his girlfriend, and not with a little sister ruling him with an iron fist!

Even when seeing Big Macintosh, he couldn’t be comforted, since he and his sister Applejack were dancing and chatting in a way which seemed to be pleasant… Although in reality, he didn’t have the slightest idea of what they could be talking about.

“Ah hope Caramel’s goin’ to recover soon.”

“Yar kiddin’, bro? Ah hope he’ll still be ill for days or Ah’ll kill him!”

“Ah, lil’ sis, yar still so delicate with boys… It’s not a surprise they’re all runnin’ away from ya!”

“They’re not the ones runnin’ away, Ah am! Am not ready to date any moron.”

“Yar not even datin’ with Cara, yar just buddies.”

“So what? Things can change. Like ya, Casanova, at the Prom Ball with yar lil’ sis when ya could have been with Pinkie if ya’d move yarself.”

It was “nice” of her to try to chewing him out, yet Big Macintosh wasn’t a fool. He knew his heart’s desire wasn’t looking at him the way a girl looks at a boy she likes. And he was scared she had found what she was looking for with that curly frilly-shirt thingy.

“Pinkie Pie doesn’t care for me.”

“Why? Because she's dancin' with Cheese Sandwich? They're just friends, ya know... And, maybe she doesn’t but ya didn’t even try! Even Fluttershy who’s the shiest and easiest to scare person Ah know had the guts to ask ya out. Pinkie will perhaps send ya packing but at least she’ll know.”

Big Macintosh wavered for a moment. His eyes put on Pinkie Pie dancing with Cheese Sandwich – what a ridiculous name – laughing out loud at his jokes, obviously more than happy she had found someone who understood her love for parties and crazy stuff.

It would be easy to take an advantage from the dimmed and romantic atmosphere to walk to her and tell her how cute he thought she was, how he couldn’t help but smile at each of her eccentricities, and how he was touched by the deep benevolent nature of her heart.

“Yar right. But Ah’ll do it another day.”

The music stopped, and the couples parted to look at the stage where the sisters Celestia and Luna, wearing evening dresses as well, were standing in front of a mic, each with an envelop in their hands.

They claimed the moment everyone was impatiently waiting for had finally arrived, the one moment which launched the party for good: the announcement of the King and Queen of the Prom Ball.

The students clapped their hands while, unceremoniously, Vice-Principal Luna was tearing off the first envelop. Like in every ball of the name, the announcement of the King only was the introduction of everyone’s favorite part, when the Queen was announced – this girl chosen among all the others to represent CHS and the Wondercolts for the four last years.

It wasn’t a big surprise that Flash Sentry was chosen among all the other students. Although he was part of no sport teams and no sport clubs, he was a very popular boy thanks to his semblance of bad boy image – though he was as gentle as a lamb.

He climbed on the stage to get his title under the applauds, and didn’t embarrass himself with a speech longer than a general thank you.

Immediately, it was Principal Celestia’s turn to stand in front of the mic, with the envelop containing the name of the winner who would get, along with her crown, a token for the boutique of her like.

Sweetie Drops and Octavia both were big favorites. The first one, used to beauty pageants, had some kind of fame, as much for this reason as for her strong bond with Lyra, one of the school’s best students. As for the second girl… She came back from the dead and was slowly starting to be comfortable again with life in society, which had touched many students’ heart…

“And our Queen of this year’s Prom Ball is…”

Fake drum roll in the background.

“Twilight Sparkle!”

Everyone turned to the young woman who was among the crowd and had clapped her hands too without thinking. She suspended her action once she realized it was her name that had just been called.

What? How could that be? The other girls in competition were prettier, more popular… All her best friends were on that list, and she regarded a girl such as Fluttershy as having more chances than she, the gang’s egghead.

Twilight heard Sunset Shimmer tell her she had to get on the stage, and shaking, came forward than climbed beside Flash Sentry and the sisters, all shaken up by this announcement.

For a change, she hadn’t prepared anything, and didn’t know what to say…

But from where she was standing, she saw Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash knowingly winking at her, as if they knew she would be chosen, right from the start…

Maybe she wasn’t as pretty as other girls and even this remained to be proved, but what was sure was that she had everything expected from a Prom Queen. All the required qualities of the perfect representative. Not only because of her huge intelligence and great sense of friendship… She also had an intelligence which came from the heart, empathy, a little something more…

-----------------------------------------------

The limo had been sent back to the garage for a while now. To go to the Ball’s after-party, Soarin had taken his car while Big Macintosh had driven the rest of the group with his pickup.

On the way back, he had dropped off Sunset Shimmer and Twilight, sleeping at the young woman’s place, and who had been welcomed by their parents and a teary Shining Armor.

Both hadn’t spoken much but the atmosphere wasn’t heavy. While Soarin was peacefully driving, Rainbow Dash, who had turned the radio on at a reasonable volume, had stared at the nightly landscapes of Canterlot with a sweet smile on her face. She seemed to be serene like she never been before, her hair floating in the wind, although shivering in her ballgown.

The night had been going on perfectly. Each of the girls had partied until they couldn’t move anymore, laughing, dancing together, more united than ever. Just like planned, the subtle addition of rum in the banquet punch had spiced up the Ball.

It was especially during the second party that the hormones had started to race up. A bit everywhere in the rented house couples had been flirting, dancing in a close embrace, relaxed from the strict frame of school where they shouldn’t behave in a way that was considered as “indecent”. The girls even had sung a few songs from the Rainbooms’ repertoire, although Rarity’s absence deprived them from the sound of a piano.

Soarin parked his car in front of Rainbow Dash’s house. It looked plunged in darkness and silence.

Yet, the young woman didn’t get off right away. She kept an arm leaning against the car’s door, staring at the main door with a funny face, like some kind of newfound nostalgia. Then she sighed, and her eyes still in the same direction, softly said, almost as if whispering:

“I’m going to leave, Soarin…”

“What do you mean?”

This statement surprised the young man, who knew she had been accepted at Canterlot University and thus had no intention of leaving town anytime soon now. A lump appeared in the back of this throat… If only she didn’t mean disappearing from Earth, although it was hard to imagine, because of that great calmness she displayed since they had left the party.

“From this house. Next year, my mother’s life insurance money would be available for me and I’ll be completely free from my father’s grip.”

Soarin couldn’t help a sigh of relief. Her face was so enigmatic he was scared he would have missed signs of despair. It wasn’t about that, in reality. She seemed to have realized her life was going to change dramatically, but in a different way. In a way which offered a thousand and more possibilities, instead of just one narrow hallway.

He unfastened her seatbelt and got closer, then put his hand on hers, between them on the passenger side.

“Is that why you haven’t chosen another campus? I know you’ve received a positive answer and maybe even a scholarship offer from Cloudsdale, shortly after the one from Canterlot.”

Rainbow Dash didn’t turn around, not very surprised he had discovered her little secret and instead displayed a quick smirk.

“How did you guess?”

“I’ve seen the envelop poking out of your bag, the other day, when you asked me to drive you home… I must admit I don’t understand why you refused the offer. You could have been free immediately.”

“Yes. Free but on my own. I couldn’t have made it without my friends. It was out of question for me to leave them. They’re the closest I have from a family. And there’s you…” she said, finally turning to him.

He shifted his hand from her fingers to her face, and gently stroke her cheek.

“We would have found a way. It wouldn’t have separated us and I know you know it. All I want is your happiness.”

“And I’m happy when I’m with you and my friends. I only have one year left here. It’s going to be just fine.”

“Yes”, he answered, yet still worried.

He leaned over and they both tenderly kissed, slowly and meticulously. It probably was irrational, but all along Soarin wasn’t able to get rid of a strange sensation, that if he let her go tonight, something terrible would be happening.

Rainbow Dash should have noticed it, since when their lips parted, she slightly frowned.

“Is there something wrong?”

“No… Just, are you sure you want to sleep here tonight? We could… I don’t know, pick up some clothes and go to my apartment. I’ll cook you a breakfast tomorrow morning.”

“It’s nice to offer but my father’s going to be home in the morning and if he sees my bedroom in such a huge mess, I’m going to get it! Plus, we have a brunch tomorrow morning at Sugarcube Corner with the gang, did you forget?”

Indeed, he had forgotten. Probably because on the day after his own Ball, he had avoided the traditional brunch between friends, wanting to have nothing to do with Spitfire and Fleetfoot, who certainly had one.

He didn’t have the choice. He had to let her go home. Without him. It was out of question for him to sleep there if her father was back in the morning, the latter not pleased of his relationship with his daughter, under the excuse that he was two year older than she.

Since always, he had that feeling that, anyway, Mr. Rainbow Blaze didn’t really like him. If he relied on what he knew about the character, it was, in all likelihood, because he “only” was the son of a luxury vintage cars’ dealer, and not one of these big wheels’ son he wished his daughter would meddle with.

Even with all the efforts of the world, that would be impossible to turn Rainbow Dash into a perfect well-born young girl. This wasn’t her world. And it would never be her world. The best way to love her remained to accept her the way she was, with her many flaws and well-hidden insecurities which, once put at the background, were concealing someone of high morals, big-hearted, and very brave.

“I’ll walk you to the door.”

Soarin went around the car, while Rainbow Dash was unfastening her seatbelt and opening her door. As soon as he was near her, she took off her high-heeled shoes and jumped on his back. They both almost tipped over on the side, and the short path from the car to the door was interspersed with laughs from the young woman and small high-pitched shrieks from him which doubled her hilarity.

On her own, she jumped off her perch, her shoes still in her hands. Thanks to their walk, her serene face was now lit up with lovely colors of a bright red.

She shook the heels in front of the young man’s face, who had to take a step back, in order not to get hit inadvertently.

“Tell me how can they walk all day long with these thingamajig? My feet are killing me! I say this: long live sneakers!”

“I could hardly contradict you.”

“C’mon, I go inside now or I’ll never get the courage to clean anything up.”

“Yeah…”

Soarin’s voice had ended up in a discreet whisper. He should not let her see the anguish still afflicting the pit of his stomach, or she would worry about it. She needed to have a good night of rest, without the risk of going through one of those horrible nightmares which kept on tormenting her, sometimes.

In order to hide his state of mind, he planted his lips on hers in a bit possessive way, and instead of getting off him like he expected, Rainbow Dash wrapped her arms around his neck and answered his kiss, on her tiptoes, leaning against the door.

He made their exchange last as much as he could, holding her tight as if she could melt down at any moment.

When she finally parted from him, her lips were swollen, and her cheeks seemed to be even redder.

“Goodnight”, she whispered slowly. “And don’t forget the brunch.”

“I promise.”

Despite his deep will, Soarin undid his embrace and turned around to get to his car. If he didn’t look at her, everything would be just fine. Here she was, staring at his back, and he knew she wouldn’t move from here until he was inside his car and away. As if he were the person who needed to be protected.

Only once he had started his engine, did he take a glimpse at her direction. A smile upon her face, she was waving her hand goodbye, and his stomach clenched again. Back when she had left Cloudsdale from Canterlot, he had looked at her getting away in her parents’ car, and she had waved her hand the same way, but there were tears on her cheeks instead of that smile.

Ill omen.

Especially as, when he got away, he noticed that a feeble light, which they hadn’t noticed before, was shining through one of the windows downstairs, probably where was the opened kitchen – the house had two kitchens, strangely really close from one another.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, hadn’t noticed anything and she was surprised when she wanted to unlock the door and realized it actually wasn’t locked at all! Yet she was sure she had closed it with her key once Soarin and the girls all were in the limo.

Was it possible that, despite the sophisticated security system, a thief was now inside her house? There were many very expensive things here, after all – their home cinema supplies and the huge television screen, although no one used them, the sports devices, the money in her secret box, champagne and rare wine bottles, her mother’s collection of China plates, her grandmother’s jewels…

She discreetly pushed the door open, hoping not to be spotted if there really were an intruder, but determined not to hide, shaking and scared, as long as the thieves didn’t own knives…

Instead of a thief, she met face to face with her father, towering her with his 6’’23 feet. And the first thing she felt was the shock of his palm crushing the top of her cheek. It felt as if her right eye would get off their sockets…
> The Truth Unleashed (part 1)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In shock, Rainbow Dash slipped and fell on her bottom. She brought her hand to her temple and felt like it was pulsating, saturated with blood. Unable to move during the seconds which followed the hit, she didn’t have any other choice than looking up to see her father, which fury distorted his features.

“You’ve promised you’d never slap me again!”

“Do you know how late is it? It’s three in the morning! Where were you?”

She didn’t answer and only walked to the living-room’s wide table, against which she leaned, shaky. Her lack of reply didn’t alter her father’s bad mood.

“Answer me, Rainbow Dash!”

“It was my Prom Ball, got it?! F*ck, you’re insane, you’ve hit my right eye!”

“Couldn’t you have warned me?”

“I’ve warned you a thousand times! I’ve left a message on your smartphone, on the Company’s landline number, to your secretary, I even sent one to your office! She’s the one who told me you would be home in the morning.”

“All flights are cancelled because of that damn hurricane.”

Now she had found back a bit of strength and her head was spinning less, Rainbow Dash took a few steps in direction of the kitchen. On the counter was an empty whisky bottle, but also, as she discovered by moving barefooted on the wooden floor, there laid splinters of a champagne bottle.

She could easily guess what had happened here. Like often, her father had gone home and emptied his personal wine cellar a bit more, on his own, until he was drunk enough not to have a clear mind but not enough to fall asleep. And like often, all the anger accumulated was going to crumble upon her.

Most of the time, he only screamed things at her, sometimes horrible things, according to his mood, but it also happened he would lay a hand on her. Oh, he never gave her anything more than a good slap in the face, but when they fell, they rarely were merciful.

Immediately, she beat in retreat and too bad for the ice. If she took part in it, she knew the argument wasn’t about to be over.

Her problem was that, in order to double back, she was obliged to pass her father by, and he was following her closely.

“Where the hell are you going now?”

“In my room. I’m tired.”

“You won’t go anywhere; we need to talk!”

Walking the walk, he tried to grab her wrist but skipped it and instead, gripped a piece of her white dress. He pulled it so hard the fabric got torn, and Rainbow Dash was obliged to go backwards, her back bumping into the wall near the stairs.

She couldn’t help the shriek of ache that went through her lips. It felt as if the pain was traveling from her small of the back to her eye, linked by a swollen thread beating at the messy rhythm of her own heart.

“You’re completely nuts!”

“Don’t talk to me like that!”

“Did you see how you pulled me? You’ve ruined the dress Rarity created for me!”

“How many times did I tell you to stop acting to insolently with me?! You’d better not forget about something… I AM the adult here! It’s thanks to me there’s a roof over your head, you’re eating your fill, thanks to me you can buy gadgets, your stupid pairs of sneakers and all that food for that f*cking tortoise of yours! You owe me everything you have, Rainbow Dash! And as long as you’ll be living in my house, you’ll do what I want you to!”

Although she was in pain, the rage of his words gave her a renewal of vehement energy. She leaped on her feet, her eyes burning with anger, nostrils dilated.

“I’m not your doll and I’m not your puppet. Do you take me for one of your high-class hookers? Just look at yourself… You’re stinking alcohol, and cheap female perfume, you didn’t even bother to shave. What’s the use of your dough, uh? Not to help you behaving as a decent human being, that’s for sure. You can make a bonfire out of it and dance around it if you like, but it won’t change anything to your reality: you’re alone. All alone.”

She knew the repercussions of her words wouldn’t leave her father indifferent, and decided this was her chance. While he registered the shock of what she had just said, the coarse reality, which hurt, which was ugly and hard to look in the eyes, she had enough time to reach the stairs next to her, and maybe even her bedroom, where she would lock herself until he would have calmed down his fury.

Like often, he would probably apologize in the morning, buying her a very expensive gift. It always was his method, no matter what. The reason why he accepted her to buy a pet, the reason why she finally got that scooter, but also her favorite 35 mm camera, her guitar, and many other things.

But this time, it wouldn’t work. She didn’t need his approval anymore if she wanted a job, and thanks to her scholarship, she already didn’t depend on him anymore for college. Tomorrow, she would take her tortoise, would pack her most necessary things and some clothes, and would go at Soarin’s apartment, or at Applejack’s, until she could get the money she was expecting.

Not really seeing him, Rainbow Dash heard her father turn his anger against some item made of glass or of China which was close to him, and she decided not to turn around to check out whether it was her mother’s precious collection of plates, although it broke her heart just to think about it.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to draw Mr. Rainbow Blaze’s attention away long enough. When he saw her climbing the stairs, he yelled at her to come back, since he wasn’t done with her yet. Usually, these were threats working their magic on her, but not this time.

He was losing his ascendancy on her, and tonight, for a reason he couldn’t completely grasp, it put him into a blinding rage. Although, in fact, he could grasp that. It was what she had said to him. If she left, he would be alone. For good. If she left, he would have nothing left to remind him of his deceased wife. Though remembering who she was through his arguments with Rainbow Dash had a little something quite self-destructive.

And so, before he could even control his own thoughts, he said those words, which he was sure they would have the right impact.

“I swear if your mother hadn’t choked on smoke and died, things wouldn’t happen this way!”

As he had planned, Rainbow Dash immediately stopped climbing the stairs, her hand grabbing the banister with all her strength. There was no way she would take refuge in her bedroom after such a revelation.

Suddenly, he regretted the words which had just crossed his lips, and at the same time, when the teenage girl slowly turned around to face him, he lifted his chin and displayed his proudest face.

“What did you… what did you just say?”

Her voice was quavering, breathing short, wheezing. She had risen to the bait. Now all he had to do was to get her out of the lake.

Rainbow Blaze shortened the gap between him and the stairs and started to slowly climb her way.

“Mommy hadn’t choked on smoke, her plane crashed, right under my eyes. She died instantly.”

In the way she shut her eyes, shook her head, he knew the images of the accident were trying to find a way through her brain, and that she was trying to push them back in order to keep control over her emotions.

It was perfect. Exactly what he needed.

“This is what you’ve always thought. With your PTSD, your memories had been distorted and Dr. Horse knew that restoring them had the risk to impact your mental health, so we lied to you. During all those years. Everyone lied to you. Even your precious best friends.”

Now, he was right in front of her, on the same step than her, once again towering her like when she arrived home. It was impossible not to see her magenta eyes filled with tears, the way she was trying to keep her hold on the banister, how her pulse had accelerated and how she couldn’t stop shaking her head, whispering a litany which started with her name, her age, her address…

“In reality, the crash didn’t kill her, but paralyzed her backbone. Since she couldn’t move at all, she started to swallow the toxic smoke coming from the burning engine. The doctors did their best trying to save her, but she had swallowed too much smoke and eventually died in the ambulance…”

Now, Rainbow Dash’s breathing was extremely jerky, wheezing, and she had no choice but to let go of the banister. Her hand gripped her father’s crumpled shirt in front of her, her legs trembling like never. Her eyes widened when a piercing sound escaped from her throat, on which she wrapped her other hand around, as if it would be enough to help the attack calm down.

Hyperventilation. One of the first signs of a seizure. It was time to stop this massacre, before things would go too far…

Yet, Rainbow Blaze, his mind clouded by alcohol, added one last thing. The only thing able to catch fire on an erupting volcano.

He had to live with this horror weighing on his conscious for years, after all, there was no reason why he would be the only one to suffer from it. He also had lost someone dear: the love of his life, the one woman for who he even went against his own family so he could marry her, and who also had given up on him during this October afternoon.

“Dying instantly? It wasn’t tragic enough, heroic enough for the great Firefly. No, she died agonizing. For a very long time. Horribly.”

He saw Rainbow Dash opening her mouth, but no words crossed her lips, only a quavering sob, right before the attack started. The attack he had provoked.

All her limbs started to shake as well, and in barely a few seconds, the convulsions were so powerful she couldn’t even stand on her legs.

As if not fully realizing what was happening, Rainbow Blaze looked at his daughter, which look now seemed to be vacant, falling backwards, the spasms making her body hurtle down the stairs barrel-roll, like a car in a ravine. But these spasms didn’t stop when she reached the floor, conversely, they doubled their force.

There were no more screams, no more sound resounding, except these her limbs hitting the wooden floor. It was a nightmarish vision, an angel dressed in white convulsating against the floor, her head thrown back, and her back suddenly bending to form a perfect arch. It always was impressive and scary.

It was only when this happened that the man completely realized what he had just done. His daughter. His own flesh and blood. Everything he had left in the world. He had seized her greatest weakness and had crushed it between his fingers to smash it into pieces. He had tried to destroy her just like he was destroying himself, and why? Because he couldn’t stand the fact she had learned how to live with her loss while he was unable of such a thing.

So, he dashed down the stairs. The distinctive sound of a deglutition let him understand he was right on time, and he less or more was able to make Rainbow Dash lie on the side so she wouldn’t choke by swallowing her own tongue.

After minutes long like an eternity, her convulsions finally stopped. But his daughter didn’t regain consciousness for all that. Her eyes open but her look still vacant, her arms, her hands and her legs, injured because of the fall and spams, collapsed along her body.

The only sign that she still was alive was her breathing, wheezing through her throat.

------------------------------------------

It was the middle of the night. He was back from a ten-hours flight and only wanted one thing, a good glass of whisky before going to bed. The house was silent and apparently plunged in darkness.

With slow and tired steps, he climbed on top of the first set of stairs, towards his office, which was the first door on the right. It surprised him to see it ajar, light turned on. When he stepped inside, his eyes widened. His office was in disarray, as if a storm had come along and devastated everything. And his wall safe, where he hid some of his bottles, was wide open.

Something told him he knew exactly who was to blame for this mess. Surprise let way to anger. Enough was enough! She couldn’t keep on being out of control like this just because she was traumatized.

With now determined steps, he rushed in Rainbow Dash’s bedroom, which door he opened by slamming it. But when he turned on the light, he discovered her bed undone yet empty.

Then only did he realize he also had a glimpse at a beam of light from under the bathroom’s door, a few inches away. His feet were going there before he could even understand what he was doing.

The door seemed to be blocked by something, and he had to struggle to open it. Immediately, he noticed the blood, from her shoulder to the tiled floor, and under her head, then Rainbow Dash’s body, lying on the floor, unconscious. Broken glass was spread everywhere, mixing to brownish and crimson liquids, and the whole medicine chest, spilled all over the floor.

What might have happened was clear.

He leaned over his daughter, called out her name, but she didn’t react. To make sure she was still alive, he had to stick his ear against her chest. The beating was really slow, but a beating there was. It wasn’t too late.

The scene that lied under his eyes during this dark December night maybe was more terrifying than what he was seeing now, for all that, Mr. Rainbow Blaze couldn’t help the images to come in superposition on those. She wasn’t bleeding, and her eyes were wide opened, but in the same way, she wasn’t reacting when her name was called out, and she wasn’t moving neither.

State of sideration. It would probably not last, but he was unable to handle such a state on his own. It was a safe bet that, as long as she would be in front of him, she wouldn’t get out of her unconsciousness.

His eyes scaned the room, and fell on the small black velvet drawstring pouch she wore around one of her wrists when she had stepped through the door, and which had fell on the floor when he slapped her. It had partially opened and Rainbow Dash’s smartphone poked out of it.

As quickly as his legs and feet brought him, he ran towards the item, despite his vision distorted by alcohol. Then, his hands shaking, her pulled the phone of the pouch and made the emergency number.

Just like a few years before, a female voice answered him, and just like a few years before, all he was able to do was to yell in a panicked way:

“My daughter! It’s my daughter! You got to help me!”

“Please, calm down, sir and explain what’s your emergency…”

“I don’t know, she… There are pills everywhere around, and blood… She doesn’t answer! She doesn’t answer!”

“Sir? Sir? Are you there, sir?”

Rainbow Blaze shook his head, and went back to the present. Behind him, Rainbow Dash was still lying in front of the stairs, such as an abandoned ragdoll. The weight of guilt suddenly leaned heavily upon his shoulders. He was scared she would leave him, scared to lose the little he still had, and just like he always did, had chosen instead to make her stay by pressing against her healing wounds in order to make them bleed again. Except he had pressed them too hard this time and the scar had reopened.

She would never put up with another passage in psychiatry. And this wound he inflicted her, he knew it would never heal.

“Yes, I’m sorry. She… She fell off the stairs and now she doesn’t move anymore. You got to help me, I beg of you.”

“Is she still breathing?”

“Yes, but… She’s unconscious! Help me.”

“Give me your address, sir, I’m sending you an ambulance in the shortest delays.”

Unable to let go of the phone, which he kept studden with all his strength between his fingers, he once again rushed towards Rainbow Dash, and although he knew the emergencies staff would want to have a whole view of the scene such as it had happened, he sat in front of her and slipped a part of her body on his laps, her head against his chest.

He stayed this way, rocking her against him, telling her how sorry he was, without her state changing at all, until the ambulance rang at his door.

Almost five years ago, the emergency staff had immediately sidelined him in order to make a quick diagnosis of his daughter’s general state. He had stayed in the background, unsure of what exactly they were doing though he had seen a lot of restlessness.

This time, the scene was a little less tragic, but the restlessness subsided. Several nurses asked him to step back, while they were going around her, trying to determine what had happened to her. Because they drew the conclusion this was the responsibility of hospital’s psychiatric service, they decided to drive them there quickly.

When he climbed into the ambulance with the stretcher, just like a few years ago, Mr. Rainbow Blaze could do nothing else than being a spectator. The staff hooked up a drip to her, and linked her to a cardiograph. Her pulses were still high.

Once again, in his mind images from the past were added to these ones. An ambulance. A nurse staff. Except back then, her pulses were low, very low. Too low. The defibrillator even been envisioned for a short while. After that, they had put a pipe into her throat, thus launching uncontrolled spasms, and a whitish liquid had come out of it.

Although this kind of things weren’t happening tonight, the sensation was unbearable, if not worse. Because she hadn’t been the one who had chosen this to happen to her. It was him. He had insisted, and insisted again. Even when he saw the first signs of the seizure appear, he had insisted.

The closest hospital with a psychiatric department wasn’t the same she had been sent after she tried to kill herself, which never stopped memories from straddling reality.

While he was running behind the stretcher towards the entrance, then inside, where the team was completed with other doctors, the phone he kept studded in his hands started to vibrate and the first notes of a pop song resounded.

He was told he couldn’t follow the medical team any further, especially not with this phone, and he looked down the illuminated screen, with a name written on it. Applejack.

He picked up the phone.

“Rainbow? Ya said ya’d beep me as soon as ya’d get home and ya haven’t yet! Ah can’t get to sleep because of it, Holy Apples!”

“Rainbow Dash cannot answer, Applejack. She has fallen. She’s in the hospital right now.”
> The Truth Unleashed (part 2)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sun hadn’t completely risen when his phone vibrated on his bedside table. With a groan, Soarin turned towards the piece of furniture and grabbed the smartphone. Had he forgotten, one more time, to disable his alarm clock for six a.m? He was surprised to see that, instead, Applejack’s name was written on his screen.

It was rare when he got a phone call by the young fair woman, and even rarer when said call was that early, though he was not even with Rainbow Dash… Rainbow Dash! He didn’t need to think any farther to know. He knew it because he had sensed it. Something had happened.

It was because of this foreboding sensation it had been so hard for him to fall asleep. Once back home, he had taken his suit off, and had fallen into his bed in undergarments, thinking the tiredness from this eventful party, full of emotions, would be enough to knock him out.

After more than one hour tossing and turning in his bed, Soarin had to state the obvious: it wouldn’t be that easy. The blame was this weird foreboding he had each time he had kissed Rainbow Dash tonight and thought he didn’t want to leave her home alone.

He picked up the phone, and turned on the lamp on his bedside table, while sitting up on his bed. On the clock in front of him, a quarter past five in the morning was written. His heart was thumping so loud in his chest he would have bet Applejack could hear it on the other side of the line.

She didn’t let him answer anything, and immediately gave him a deluge of news, each more horrible than the last.

“Soarin, ya have to come to the Royal Park’s Hospital’s psychiatric service. Dash seriously argued with her father, and fell in the stairs. Dr. Horse has just arrived. Hurry up!”

With this, she hung up. The young man wouldn’t have let her holding forth, anyway. He threw his phone on the floor, quickly took a shirt and a pair of jeans, his car keys, before leaving his apartment in a rush.

It was pouring down outside, and the wind was blowing hard. Remains of a hurricane in the Pacific Ocean had an impact of the small island of Equestria, under a Level 2 Alert on the whole territory. It didn’t matter.

Without further thinking, he dashed in the almost desert streets, sometimes even running red lights when that wasn’t too dangerous. His radio wasn’t working very well, and if he started the MP3 player, the on-going playlist was the one selected by Rainbow Dash.

And so, although it was painful to be alone with the thoughts that were bumping together in his mind, Soarin decided he wouldn’t listen to anything entertaining, his hands clenched around his wheel.

Royal Park’s hospital’s psychiatric service was on the very last floor of the huge building. Waiting until he got there seemed to be endless. He couldn’t stop thumping his feet and milling.

When he reached the waiting room, he saw the complete gang leaping off their chairs when seeing him, their faces haggard and pale. Pinkie Pie rushed towards him to hold him in her arms, but in the end, he was the one holding her tight, trying to comfort her… although he didn’t know what he was saying since he only had small notions about the situation.

A bit further was Rainbow Dash’s father. His arms behind his back, he couldn’t stop pacing up and down and seemed to be whispering things to himself. Just when Soarin reached the other girls, who welcomed him with open arms, their eyes met.

What would be the point of doing a scene here? It wouldn’t be very productive and would in no way help Rainbow Dash. Especially as he knew no details of the whole plot. All he knew was that there had been an argument. Maybe because of her bedroom’s mess, just as she had feared… But how could that had gone that far?

He soon would know since Shining Armor was the last one to arrive. He had huge bags under his eyes, he was a bit disheveled, and his uniform hadn’t been ironed. With calm and professional steps, he came closer to Rainbow Dash’s father, after he exchanged a look with Twilight.

She was the one who had called him and told him about the accident. Her big brother had to make a few phone calls to his superiors, in order to make sure he would be the one in charge of setting the whole matter clear. The details given by Mr. Rainbow Blaze to the nurses still were a bit vague, and after such a fall, an investigation was always started, although they generally waited for the victim to wake up before.

The two men shook hands, and after Shining Armor asked Rainbow Dash’s father whether he wanted to be questioned immediately or to wait for his lawyer, he immediately cut to the chase:

“Tell me exactly what has happened…”

“Well, um… Rainbow Dash has come home late and I hadn’t seen her messages so I was really angry. We argued and it worsened a bit too much, so…”

He took a glimpse at his left, where the whole group of her daughter’s best friends, plus her boyfriend, were staring at him, hanging to his every word.

These people, that he had always looked down on, with a hint of disdain, just because they didn’t fit with the companies he would have liked for his daughter – whose choice of going to CHS instead of Crystal Prep he had also always complained about – now he realized, they were the essential cornerstones of the young woman’s life. She loved them from the bottom of her heart, had even chosen to stay here in Canterlot just to be with them, and they loved her the same way. Despite how early in the morning it was, despite their tiredness and the storm outside, each hadn’t hesitated much to get on cars, cabs, in order to come to this hospital and be with her as a support, although she ignored they were here.

The feeling of guilt which kept on gnawing on him took another level, and he clenched his fists.

“I… I pushed her.”

A gasp of stupor went through the group of friends, some even bringing their hands over their mouths, or taking refuge into another’s arms.

Even if he hadn’t pressed his hands against her back to make her fall, it was his words which had her stumbling. The final result was the same. He deserved to pay for that. He deserved the flames of anger which caught fire in her boyfriend’s eyes, who started to step in his direction, until Applejack stopped him by grabbing his forearm.

Shining Armor took a new glimpse at Twilight, hidden into Sunset Shimmer’s embrace, and sighed. It was going to be really hard for everyone but he didn’t have the choice. This statement, even if said under emotional shock, he had to take it as a confession. Playing favorites was against his own principles.

“I’m obliged to put you under arrest, Mr. Blaze.”

“Do so”, he answered, lowering his head.

Shining Armor didn’t make him wear handcuffs but brought him a little further. It was impossible to go to the police station with such a weather, it would make Cadance worry. There was a small room the hospital was ready to put at his disposal for a questioning. It was where he brought him.

The group needed to take a few seconds in order to cushion the shock of the revelation… Soarin, no longer standing, let himself fall on one of the plastic chairs, while the unavoidable question went through Sunset Shimmer’s lips, since she was one of the girls who could bear the pressure the most with Applejack.

“Do you think he really pushed her?”

“Ah don’t know”, the young cowgirl answered. “In fact, we don’t really know him, not even us. We hadn’t seen him a lot…”

“He probably hasn’t pushed her”, Soarin suddenly said, his eyes staring at the white tiles of the floor. “Not really. But… He can be very hurtful. With his words.”

Out of all the persons here, he probably was the one who had been the more in touch with Mr. Rainbow Blaze. He knew he was an authoritarian man, and that he never accepted the fact his daughter didn’t fit in her “social rank”. He never hesitated to affirm his disagreement, even in presence of strangers, even in presence of his wife, who refused his educational principles, regarding them as narrow-minded and old-fashioned.

Soarin let out another sigh.

“She was doing so well lately…”

“It’s true she was on the right path since her birthday party”, Fluttershy, who had regained a bit of composure, pointed.

“And there’s no reason for it to change!”

“But, AJ…” Pinkie Pie started.

“No, Pinkie. Ah know what Am sayin’. It’s not a lack of sensitivity. She’ll keep on doin’ well because guess what? We’re gonna be here for her and we’re all gonna help her. We’re all gonna make sure she wouldn’t go back into depression, that she’ll keep on bein’ strong. Am sure that’s what she’s expectin’ from us!”

“Applejack… I couldn’t have say it better”, Rarity claimed, wiping off a tear hanging at her eyelashes.

So, they all did what they could do the best: supporting each other, comforting each other, and rely on the power of their friendship to go through this ordeal with their heads up, together. And with Soarin.

-------------------------------------

Her first reaction is to try curling up under the blankets. Who had pulled the curtains? Daylight was dazzling.

It was impossible for her to roll on her side, or even to put her leg in another position. Why couldn’t they let her sleep with the horrendous night she had been through? Her memories were blurred but she knew Dr. Horse had been here, and had talked to her, and that she had come back to consciousness many times, taken over by fears and buried terrors.

There was someone else in her room. Eyes shut, Rainbow Dash struggled to remain motionless, in order not to face reality. She was at the hospital, in pain… The next step would be Green Haven. The white corridors, the impersonal bedrooms, medicines giving days its tempo, forbiden to get out, except in groups surrounded by nurses. And The Room. Darkness. Screams. Tercian. Daze. Straitjacket.

When, finally, after endless seconds, she heard the sound of a door being opened and shut, she dared opening her eyes. White walls and a scent of antiseptic. A needle in her arm. And the pain.

Sitting up, she brought her hand to her right temple, where the pulses were the strongest. No dressers, no gauzes, only her suffering skin, even worse when pressed against. It stung in her eye, and she realized that there was a down corner where her vision remained a bit blurred.

Her bedroom’s door was opened again, and seeing the female nurse on the threshold, Rainbow Dash couldn’t help a jolt. Fear was going up like bubbles at the surface of water and she had to grab the frame of her bed.

“Am I… thirteen?” she was able to mutter.

The nurse smile softly at her, and walked to the drip, which pouch was empty.

“How old do you think you are?”

“I’m eighteen…”

“Here’s the answer to your question”, she said, replacing the empty pouch by a full new one. “What else do you remember?”

“I live in 289 Rosary Street. I’m a CHS student, and a Wondercolt. Yesterday was my Prom Ball… I’m under athletic diet since the age of ten, and it especially consists in eating a lot of pastas and cereals. Shall I go on?”

“Wouldn’t be necessary. On a scale from one to ten, how much does your ankle hurt?”

“My ankle?” she repeated stupidly, before lowering her eyes towards her left leg.

Down there, between her calf and foot, a cast as white as the walls around her had been put, and only then Rainbow Dash did realize what was the reason why she hadn’t been able to shift the position of a part of her body.

When she asked the nurse what had happened to her, she answered her fall in the stairs was the blame for the injury, a sprain fracture. She was lucky this wasn’t serious to the extent of needing physiotherapy, although she would be forced to walk with crutches for some time. It would probably be healed towards the end of Summer Holidays, which comforted her a little.

If this injury had prevented her from running, and thus of justifying a scholarship, it made no doubt she would have felt as if the sky was falling on her head.

Rainbow Dash answered her ankle wasn’t aching, and after the nurse had taken her temperature, she claimed she would be back to bring her a light meal – it was the beginning of the afternoon – and that visitors wanted to see her.

The first thing she saw when her door was pushed open, was a huge bunch of balloons, each for every color of her hair. Behind it, finally appeared Pinkie Pie’s face, and she was followed by the complete gang, and Soarin.

Of course, she was happy to see them but the main feeling inside her was shame. Because of her, they all probably had a very short and restless night. Better than anyone else, she knew the impact it had on each of them when even only one of them had troubles. It wasn’t pleasant to be, once again, the roots of their fear.

However, like often, they all made sure they wouldn’t let awkwardness getting too much room. Each their turn, they went in front of her and held her in their arms, whispering supportive words or pecking her forehead.

“How are you, darling?” Rarity asked while everyone tried to find somewhere to settle in the room.

“Not that bad, despite the circumstances…”

“Since you’re allergic to flowers, Pinkie had this idea of buying you a bunch of balloons.”

“Where do you want me to put this, Dashie?”

“Honestly? Where that could be hang.”

“Oki doki loki.”

And with this, the young woman got down to try each of the bedroom’s pieces of furniture in order to find a spot for her cumberstone gift. She acted as cheerful as usually, and like everyone else around, seemed to have gone home to take a shower and change clothes, but she couldn’t conceal the bags under her eyes and the pallid complexion of someone who obviously lacked sleep.

Soarin had sat on a corner of the bed, right next to her. He put on her laps a paper bag with the name of one of the hospital’s boutique on it. Inside were the latest Daring Doo Magazine edition, a novel called “The Misconception of Lolita”, as well as a movie magazine… and a small box of raspberry-flavored macaroons.

Her favorite cakes. One of the few pastries for which she was ready to ignore her athletic diet and her low tolerance to sugar. She didn’t wait any longer before opening the box, taking one of the pinkish little cakes out and biting into it.

The nurse had said she would bring her a light meal, but whatever it would be, she knew this would never compete with this little pleasure.

“Yum… It feels like heaven”, she claimed enthusiastically, her mouth still full.

Since she didn’t seem to be in a too pitiful state, Applejack decided it probably was the perfect moment to cut to the upsetting chase. Shining Armor had called Twilight a bit earlier… Mr. Rainbow Blaze kept on refusing his lawyer to be called, and maintained his version: he had pushed her to make her fall.

Yet, the medical conclusions were rather different. Of course, she had sprained her ankle in the fall, but nothing proved she had been pushed from the top of stairs in order to hurt her, or to kill her. Most importantly, the psychiatrist was formal about her sideration… It was the result of a psychological and not a physical shock.

Rainbow Dash was the only one able to set the record straight, and to avoid a scandal to tarnish her family and her father’s company. If he was arrested for child abuse, every newspaper of the country, if not of the world, would put this to good use and the pressure which would ensued would be too much to handle.

“What about ya tell us what happened last night?”

Applejack saw her friend swallowing a piece of macaroon, then putting the rest of the cake on the bedside table. The moment before, she almost looked like herself again, except for the hospital gown, the bruise on her temple, the cast and her disheveled hair, colors all mixed up, and suddenly, her face transformed, as if hidden from the light by a huge anthracite cloud.

“Your father… He said Shining Armor that he pushed you.”

Rainbow Dash looked at her friends one by one, before putting her eyes on Soarin. He nodded, as if to confirm what the saddened faces of her friends were telling her. Suddenly, it felt like the pain from her temple had doubled.

She thought she knew why he confessed such a thing. It really was stupid from him. Especially if he thought she would forgive him because of this. The only result of it would be sullying his reputation, and nothing else.

“He hasn’t pushed me. Not physically, at least. We argued… a bit more violently than usually, and when I’ve tried to go to my room in order to cut this thing short, he confessed something… about my mother… I had a seizure, and I think that’s where I fell in the stairs.”

“But what could he have said to you to launch a seizure, Dashie?” Soarin asked, while stroking strands of her hair on her forehead.

She lowered her head, and tried to focus on everything she knew. The way she had done a bit earlier with the nurse, the way she had tried to do with her father last night.

It was Dr. Horse who had taught her this trick during one of the mandatory Green Haven’s weekly appointment. If she was feeling like she was losing grip with reality, she had to whisper to herself these pieces of information, going from the most obvious to the less obvious, just like in a literary essay.

“The way Katniss does in “The Hunger Games”?” she had asked him then, which had made him smile.

“I suppose so, yes.”

None of the persons in the room tried to rush her confession. They all were waiting without a word, without a sound, even, until she would be able to tell them the unsayable. She needed a few minutes of focus and breathing to finally let the words out.

“Mommy… hasn’t died instantly, as I always thought. He had confessed it were the toxic smokes which had killed her, and that it had been long. And painful.”

Even by struggling with all her might, Rainbow Dash was unable to restrain and burst out crying. No matter how the problem was taken, it remained horrible to say out loud, even more horrible to imagine. A part of what she had rebuilt had crumbled down because of this revelation, and she knew, deep inside herself, that it had changed something forever.

“It wasn’t much but I clung to the fact that at least, she hasn’t suffered. It had always comforted me a little and now… I don’t know if I’ll be able to live with this… I don’t want to be sick again.”

Everyone knew what she meant by this. The events of the previous night had proved what she always suspected, the fact this past would keep on following her and that she would forever keep a blemish, whatever she would do and wherever she would be.

It didn’t mean she couldn’t learn how to live with it. This, everyone around also knew and had not intention of doing nothing to help. All the efforts she had accomplished hadn’t been in vain, and she no longer was this broken and disillusioned preteen girl.

Soarin, still sitting by her side, pressed his two palms against her cheeks, and lifted up her face. It was a bit painful seeing her with the bruise on her temple, but he and the girls had agreed not to talk about the topic which they all suspected… that it wasn’t the first time.

And yet they didn’t know, conversely to Soarin, about the conversation she had when her father had picked her up, after she had been assaulted by the teacher. When she had spoken out her statistics, and had seen her father’s hands clenching his wheel. Because although he never beat her up, or even punched her, the few slaps she had gotten from him hadn’t always been justified.

This was a conversation they would eventually have, this they all knew, but for now there was no need to add dramas to Rainbow Dash’s distress.

From his thumb, Soarin wiped tears off his girlfriend’s face.

“Listen to me… You’re going to do just fine. You’re going to do just fine, because you’re not alone. We’re here with you, we’ll do everything we can to make sure you’ll never go back there, I promise. We’ll be with you no matter what.”

“But you have to talk to us, Rainbow Dash”, Twilight went on. “Don’t keep everything inside, just because you think we’re going to worry. We’re your friends, we won’t judge you.”

“She’s right”, the others finished all at the same time.

Then, they all got up, and the best they could, took Soarin’s relay for a well-deserved group hug.

Rainbow Dash was still afraid. This fear would never completely leave her alone. Deep inside herself, she would always feel as if someone was trying to bury pieces of glass into her throat each time she thought about her mother, and about the way she died. But with both the girls and Soarin by her side, there would always be somebody willing to take her in their arms, just like now, holding her tight and supporting her.
> The Truth Unleashed (part 3)
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

They all had insisted: they ignored the truth about her mother’s death and they ignored why her father told her they all knew about it. They had the exact same story than her. Pinkie Promise and everything. So, Rainbow Dash put this down to alcohol… like so many other things.

The ratio of power between father and daughter now seemed to have shifted.

It apparead clearly that although she wasn’t a model of stability, at least, she was trying to do something to battle over her trauma, while her father drowned his grief in alcohol. At first, taken in her own pain and struggle with PTSD, she hadn’t fully realized it. It was only once back from Green Haven that it became clear for her.

Little by little, she had witnessed the degradation of this man, yet always very clean-cut during days but who let his vices get the best of him once the suit of the respectable CEO was taken off. Because they were in permanent strives, and that whatever she could say, it seemed like her opinions and point of views were never worth anything for him, she hadn’t been able to reach out a hand to him.

And yet, she could remember many phone calls in the middle of the night, coming from these luxurious bars he liked so much, asking her with restraint, to find a solution to drive Mr. Rainbow Blaze back home… Pretty often, he wasn’t even in Canterlot but she somehow had to find a way to get him back to his hotel safe and sound.

There had been times when she had been obliged to come and pick him up, going through the city with a cab, at an hour when her classmates all were sound asleep. Sometimes, even, the effects of the sleeping pills she had taken before made her head spin and she herself wasn’t in a state where it’s recommended to get out.

This was the reality of her daily life. When she wasn’t left out to the deepest sort of loneliness, she had to struggle against that broken man trying to look contented by watering her of reproaches.

After the girls were gone, she had stayed a whole hour alone with Soarin. They both agreed it wouldn’t be a good idea that she would go back home with her father, at least for now. The best to do was to settle at Applejack’s during holidays, since the young man’s apartment couldn’t take her tortoise Tank in, that she refused to leave behind for such a long period.

Then, it was Shining Armor’s turn to visit her. He wanted her to confirm her father’s side of the story. In order to make sure things were clear once and for all, she once again certified that no, he hadn’t pushed her in the stairs. She had a seizure and her convulsions had made her fall. Nothing else.

As far as her bruise on the temple was concerned… Well, that was something else.

What she aspired now was to find back this peace of mind she had been able to aquire in months, although she knew it would be a little more complicated now that she was aware of some details. Dramas, screams and tears were the opposite of what she wanted now.

Blaming her father of assault and battery would have been easy, but what would it have brought to her in the end? A revenge? It was childish and useless; she didn’t need to take her revenge to feel better. In fact, it wouldn’t make her feel better at all. In order to get back to this peace of mind, she could only rely on herself. And on her friends as well as Soarin’s support.

The night was falling, and Rainbow Dash didn’t feel like watching TV or reading. Being pinned to this hospital bed for days to make sure she was psychologically ready to go back home wasn’t easy for her, used to see people, to go to town, to do sports… but it wasn’t as if she could do anything about it.

The effects of the storm that had attacked the city last night had disappeared. Now, nature seemed to be quieter, like after a long and perilous crossing. The colors of the setting sun, with its sky of pastel hues, looked like a living painting, and she regretted not to have a camera within her reach, so she could capture the beauty of what was under her eyes.

A slight knock resounded against her door, but Rainbow Dash didn’t really pay attention, until she heard the steps against the tiled floor. Out of a thousand gaits, she would always be able to recognize this one, just by hearing it.

When she turned her head, her suspicions got confirmed. It was her father, indeed, sober and obviously freshly showered. Between his hands laid a box, and on his face, a sheepish air that he often displayed when he knew he had done something wrong but had no intention of saying it out loud.

Immediately, she could feel all her muscles, as well as her jaw, getting tensed. She turned her head again, hoping she would find back the sweet sensation she had felt when looking at the sunset. But now the horizon had lost its charms, since it suddenly turned black and orange, as if a fire was catching into space.

“I don’t want to see you. Go away!”

Despite her order, said with enough bile to make anyone a bit wise get away, he kept on walking her way, and sat on the chair beside her bed. Rainbow Dash kept on staring at the horizon, while she could feel something was put on her laps – probably the box her father had in his hands.

“The lady of the cashier told me it was perfect for someone stuck on a hospital bed with a cast…”

Seeing his face gave rise again to an aggressiveness she thought she had buried inside, which Dr. Horse had told him in fact wasn’t targeted at her father, but at her mother, which death she felt like an abandonment. And, she really wanted him to understand that this time, it wouldn’t be so easy and would take more than a simple gift to arrange everything… if things have ever been arranged…

Off his own bat, Rainbow Blaze opened the box and took the items which were inside, trying to create a reaction from his daughter.

“There’s a hairgrip, a soft tartan rug, a neck-warming cushion, fruity candies, a leather bookmark, scented candles and a Shadow Spade novel. You like detective stories, don’t you?”

No answer. No look in his direction, or even towards the gifts.

“It’s the boutique’s most expensive box…”

All he got was a jerk of her shoulders, some kind of muffled and short chuckle, tinged with irony.

He closed the box, pushed it at the feet of the bed. His eyes slipped along Rainbow Dash’s cast, on which Pinkie Pie had fun drawing all kind of things with a pink felt pen, taking the advantage of her friend couldn’t do nothing much about it.

This, as well as the book, the magazines and the macaroon box on the bedside table let him know that, out of Soarin, her bunch of friends had also visited her. He suspected it a little, but noting that, he had been slow to catch on, once again, was something rather unpleasant.

A heavy silence weighed above their heads for a few minutes, before Rainbow Blaze, who couldn’t stand it, opened his mouth again.

On the other hand, Rainbow Dash kept on staring at the horizon, getting dark every minute…

“Rainbow Dash… Speak to me…”

Oh, he wanted her to speak to him? Yet he was the one visiting her, and insisting for staying here though she had notified she didn’t want to see him. But if he wanted her to say things so much, well then, fine. He would have only himself to blame.

“How does it feel?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“I said: how does it feel? Speaking to someone who doesn’t answer you, who doesn’t even look at you? Do you feel like you’re worth something for that person?”

They both knew what it was going to cause. This conversation, the necessary evil to say everything thad had been concealed under the carpet, they were going to have it. Whether he was ready or not didn’t matter much to Rainbow Dash. He wanted her to speak, she was going to speak. This time, he couldn’t get out of it with a trick.

At least, that was what she hoped.

“You’re being unfair!”

She had to bite her bottom lip not to scream. It was always this way… He had a gift to make things turn his way. There was no doubt this behavior had good results with his stockholders and employees, but she was no part of his damn company… She was his family. The only family had had left.

And so, she turned around finally, clenching her fists around the sheets to make sure she wouldn’t explode.

“I am being unfair? How amazing!”

“Listen… I’m sorry about last night. I really am. I’m going to treat myself and it won’t ever happen again. I promise.”

“Your promises have no weight with me. You always promise the earth but that’s all you can do. And… Do you really think this is all about last night?”

In front of the obviously confused face of her father, she once again let out a short ironic chuckle, and clenched her fists a bit tighter, this time to make sure the tears coming up into her eyes wouldn’t let her speech sound incomprehensible.

“Do you know what one of my oldest memory is? I should have been something like five… I drew something for Mommy and you on Parents’ Day. Not very beautifully handled, of course, I’ve never really been gifted plus I was in kindergarten. Mommy thanked me and encouraged me to do better, but you said something like: “if she’s as smart as she can draw, she’ll never do anything good with her life!”. And you thought that was hilarious… The truth is... I’ve never been good enough for you. I probably have played a hundred of sports competition since I’m a little girl and I can’t even remember seeing you even once. Instead, you’ve forced me to take ballet lessons, though I hated it and was as graceful as a goat, in exchange of the right to play all the sports I really enjoyed, but even this, once you’ve understood you wouldn’t be able to boast in ambassy balls about your daughter’s ballet exploits, you instantly stopped giving me a ride there or attending any shows. All I get from you since I was born are reproaches. You never support me, you never care about what I can do, what I’m good at, because you only feel disdain for these kind of things. I know you’ve always been ashamed of me.”

“No, it’s wrong!”

“Oh, please! I don’t even remember how many times you’ve told me you were ashamed. In person, face to face. And not always because you were drunk… Do you want to know something? When, in Green Haven, I started group therapies with other persons who had PTSD, I realized each of the participants went home at night but I was forced to stay, because you didn’t want to help me, you didn’t want to support me. Instead, you chose to stash me in an institute!”

“It was for your own good, Rainbow Dash. You would never have healed, otherwise.”

“Tell this to your “friends” if you want to be believed but don’t tell that to me. In the hospital, right after my suicide attempt, you said you refused me to “turn into a wreck who can’t fight” although I was calling you for help. But you… You gave up on me.”

She sneezed in an ungraceful way, and realized the tears she hadn’t been able to keep inside were blurring her vision, preventing her from seeing her father’s face clearly, overwhelmed by the blames. Only when she wiped them off with the back of her hand did she notice his cheeks also were damp.

Her words had hit him where it hurt. Good! It had to get out, from each side, the pus had to be drenched in order to heal the wounds.

“I just couldn’t, Rainbow Dash… I couldn’t handle this. I didn’t have to stomach for it, can you understand?”

“Of course, I understand you were suffering as well. You loved Mommy, although you both were rarely on the same wavelength. But we both were in the same hell and do you know what families usually do in moments like this? They support each other! Look at Applejack’s… They all stuck together and been able to do well, much quicker than we did. I’m not saying it would’ve been easy, I’m not saying we wouldn’t have had difficulties to overcome, but at least, we would’ve been together. We would’ve been a family. But this couldn’t happen. Because you don’t love me.”

“This isn’t true, Rainbow Dash… I love you, but…”

“But what? Why should there be a “but” after those words?”

“It’s just that… your mother and you were so close, so symbiotic… You always regarded her as your heroe and I could never find where I belonged between you two.”

“So what? You’ve decided the best to belong was to keep telling me how mediocre I was and how different I should have been to be worth something in your eyes? If I did saw Mommy as my heroe, it was because she was always trying to make me do my best, because she considered who I was to be a good start to become a better person, that we could always be a better person. Because she could lecture me if I behaved in the wrong way but then cuddle me to say goodnight. While you were complaining, screaming at me and buying me fancy stuff thinking it would mean you loved me. This isn’t how things are supposed to be.”

“Why haven’t you told me this earlier, Rainbow Dash?”

“Because you never wanted to listen to me. You were fleeing me…”

“But I’m listening to you now. And I will listen to you again. I’m going to be cured, and we’ll rebuild our bond. What happened last night made me realize something was wrong… Well, I knew something was wrong but I wasn’t able to take actions. I’m lost without your mother, Rainbow Dash. I’m nothing but the shadow of who I used to be. She used to… to exalt me.”

When Rainbow Blaze and Firefly had met, they both were barely twenty years-old. He was studying in a prestigious university, while she was doing all kind of casual works in order to pay for her pilot lessons and get the flying license. The son of an already very rich businessman, he had no other aspirations than being a specialist in tourism, preferably in aviation, while she had a head full of dreams.

By falling in love with her and deciding to get married at a young age, against his parents’ will, especially his father’s, who was very conservative, she had turned him into some romantic heroe, ready to break the social barriers for love, ready to turn his back with the world which had built his character and fed him.

They both had to overcome many ordeals in order to be together. Almost bankrupted, but very inventive, they had been able to hiss themselves above all those trials, until they had become one of the wealthiest families of the country, with the Canterlot Airlines purchase and Firefly’s integration into the Royal Aerobatics Float.

If he never had met her, Rainbow Blaze knew he would never have become who he was today. She had always encouraged him to think big, to target high, while taking into account his own abilities and skills, without trying to be who he wasn’t. This she had tried to do with her daughter as well, successfully, but he had failed to it. Pathetically.

Yet, it was how similar they both were which had partly encouraged him to act this way with his daughter. Because in the way she talked, in the way she behaved, she reminded him too much of his late wife, he eventually hadn’t been able to bear seeing her becoming a woman, right under his eyes, and to confront himself with her face, until tonight, had been too hard for him. Unless she was in pain and her magenta eyes were filled with looks he had never seen Firefly display.

Today, he was realizing that, despite the resemblance, Rainbow Dash was Rainbow Dash, another person, her own person, and not the painful reminder of his lost love. He wanted to get to know her again, to make up for wasted time. She was so young… It couldn’t be too late.

“I also feel lost without her. But I’ve learned how to make do with it, because there’s no other choice. She will never come back. It hurts, yet it’s the truth.”

“I know… I know…”

Silence fell back into Rainbow Dash’s room, but this time, it went along some kind of peace, the same than the sky now tinted with the Prussian blue which came after a storm.

It seemed that all that had to be said has been said. Except maybe the most important detail, for Mr. Rainbow Blaze. This answer from his daughter which would tell him everything wasn’t in ruins and deprived of redemption.

“The candies from the box… Are they dried fruits coated with salted caramel?”

These words surprised the man a little, and he looked up, before understanding this probably was her manner to make peace with him. Great displays and tender words wouldn’t be for anytime soon.

He nodded, and brought the box back to Rainbow Dash, who opened it to grab a few brownish small balls. Until she had swallowed her handful, she didn’t tell him whether or not she had understood how her father who, when it wasn’t something she explicitly asked him, always missed the target with his gifts, had this time hit the nail on the head.

“You’ve met Soarin, uh?”

“I have, indeed… He was leaving when I was arriving. I’ve paid him a coffee and we’ve talked. He’s good people.”

“Although he’s only the son of a car dealer?”

“It doesn’t matter as long as he’s nice with you and he makes you happy.”

“You know I would never have stopped seeing him even if you had begged of me, anyway.”

“Yes, I know.”

He knew it because she also was his daughter and although, in theory, their hair color seemed to be their only common feature, she also had inherited of some of his personality traits. His persistence, his determination, his gift to galvanized crowds, to unite the others around him…

“Let’s be crystal clear about something”, Rainbow Dash said while closing the box. “I’m willing us to start again on a sound basis, but I’m going to need time. Don’t think we’re going to be closer overnight. There still are many things to sort out.”

“I’m aware of this…”

It probably was the right moment for him to make a move that would prove his good faith.

He searched through his bag and took out a bunch of keys on Rainbow Dash’s laps – or, more precisely, on the box which still was on her laps.

“What is this? Please, don’t tell me you’ve bought me a horse because you’d be five years late, then…”

Indeed, toward the end of her Green Haven stay, she had gone horseback-riding for a few weeks, as a part of her “reintegration into society” – although the unofficial reasons were a bit different – and had begged him to pursue the thouroughbred she was riding then, whom she had created a very deep bond with. He never said yes, arguing this was too dangerous, and that if he had been told, she would never had been allowed to ride a horse.

“No, it’s not that. Back when we moved here in Canterlot, your mother bought an apartment. It was supposed to be your eighteenth birthday’s present but I thought I could wait one more year before I gave it to you… because I was scared to be on my own. It was stupid. I knew, deep inside, you would eventually leave. Maybe to settle with Soarin or to share an apartement with your girl friends. So… It’s yours, now.”

“Like… For real?”

She knew what it meant. Nothing obliged her anymore to go back to this house she hated, and which she had wished many times it would blow up. She was free. Independence was opening its arms for her.

Her father nodded, before he added:

“You have to know something… First, it’s nothing like a huge loft, it’s more like an efficiency. And, the works she had begun had never been over and I never went back to this apartment ever since she died. Which means it’s probably falling apart and you’ll have to renovate it from A to Z.”

She couldn’t care less. Doing works didn’t scare her at all. Conversely, she would be able to transform her place to live according to her tastes. And she was sure Soarin, Applejack, Big Macintosh and Sunset Shimmer would be happy to help, and Rarity would be glad to help her decorating it.

She could see nothing but the hundreds of opportunities it offered. Only yesterday, she was feeling bundled up in choices which weren’t completely her own, and tonight, she had a glimpse at a future, if not beaming, at least a little clearer and cloudless than she had expected.

Everything wasn’t settled, everything wasn’t perfect, but the leap forward that had been made tonight was meaningful.
> And The Beat Goes On...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Everybody told her she deserved to be where she was. And deep inside, Twilight knew they were right. She had worked really hard to get there, and not only this year, or any of her High School years, but indeed since her very first day at Primary School. As far as she could remember, she had always been ambitious.

Her parents were only employees at Canterlot’s Administrative Office. Conversely to some of her friends, no one in her family had a huge capital at their disposal. They were simple people with simple tastes, who had tried their best to give their children a will to learn.

As Shining Armor had, very early in his life, showed a desire to be a part of law and order, fascinated by the investigation procedures and fond of human relationships, Twilight had spread herself too thin.

Everything enthralled her. Literature, science, mathematics, history, even art and music… She was happy as long as she could learn something. And she had learned a lot. She had read everything she had been in touch with, had taken a glimpse at each possible field. It had been a long road before she found what enthralled her the most.

It probably was when her parents bought her a telescope that her interest for astrophysics had eventually started to supplant everything else. Ever since, she had found the path which she wanted to take and had given everything she had to achieve her goal.

However, in the plans she had envisioned for her future, some things she hadn’t planned at all had happened, and had changed her vision of the world.

Loneliness had never been an issue for her. Conversely, she liked being on her own, in order to focus entirely on what she regarded as absolutely necessary. The others seemed to be just many obstacles trying to slow down her success. They were too noisy, not ambitious enough, with their birthday afternoon teas and their games during playtime.

Before Middle School, she would never had thought about having her group of friends, especially as big as hers. Even when her parents thought she spent too much time locked up in her room to read and forced her to go out at the park or to the zoo, so she could meet other children, she couldn’t understand why they insisted on trying to make her socialize. The others wouldn’t teach her anything!

Now, after all these years being with these six girls she loved more than words could say, she realized how stupid she had been to think this way. If she was here today, it also was because they had always supported her and because their friendship had taught her many wonderful things, that she would never had found in books.

Maybe it was over-the-top to say she owed them everything, but she owed them a lot.

On the dais in front of her, Principale Celestia was saying the last words of her graduation ceremony speech. Soon, it was going to be Twilight’s turn to climb on this dais… As valedictorian, it was incumbent upon her to speak in the name of every student.

It felt so strange to tell herself that she would never go back to Canterlot High School again. She would never have another chance to speak with the girls in the corridors, to eat at the cafeteria where there always was a moment when one of them was being noticed for something. They would never again wait behind the bleachers for Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer to finish their afterschool clubs.

CHS had been more than just a school. It had been a second home.

Emotion was palpable among the crowd of students sitting in front of the dais. She could feel none of them would ever forget these years in High School. It had created both happiness and distress, and would mark each of them with a particular print.

A leaf was turned over, of course, but Twilight was convinced that many other wonderful things were in store for them. The already present nostalgia shouldn’t serve as an excuse not to move on.

Principale Celestia invited her to climb on the stage for her speech, under the general applause of the crowd.

Her knees a bit cottony, and her mouth dry, Twilight got up from her chair, and walked as if she was dreaming. Despite it all, it was a bit complicated to take into account what this speech, and the piece of paper they would get after it, implied.

A focused silence fell back on the crowd of familiar faces in front of her. Twilight swallowed, cleared her throat and put her cards in front of her. They all were expecting her to represent their experience, their connection with CHS, thanks to the right and truest words. A glance at each of her friends had har doubting. They were silently encouraging her, each in their own way, and it made her think what she had prepared was too impersonal, and didn’t do the justice to all these extraordinary people.

Quite unexpectedly, she decided to put her cards back into her uniform jacket’s pocket and to improvise.

“Some things are unalterable… To resolve a very complex mathematical problem remains something easy for me and every student from the Guiding Class. For them, just like for me, reading classical literature, learning new chemical formulas, recounting the periodic table of elements is in no way a labor. For others, it’s being good at any types of sports, for some others, it’s music, drawing, baking pastries, or even rodeos. Yet, as sure as this would never change, other things have to evolve, to transform. I was a solitary with contempt only about friendship. I could learn, yes… But too prosaic, I couldn’t love and feel connected with the others. I was blind, mute and deaf to the others. Then, one day, six extraordinary girls stepped into my life, and helped my heart to bloom. I’ve learned that you could also learn to love. Horizon had opened in front of me, my field of vision had widened. I’ve tried to get back to my solitary bubble, but the harm was done. I’ve already recovered my eyesight, hearing and speaking and I could try my best to block my ears, shut my eyes and seal my lips, the “others” had already burst the bubble. Since then, nothing had been the same anymore, all while not being that different. Is it thanks to CHS this magic had operated? One could think the answer is no since it had already started before I’ve arrived here. Yet I’m convinced this school, unlike any other school, had made me who I am today. And I’m also convinced it goes the same way for each of the faces in front of me. It’s in CHS that Fluttershy landed, one sunny morning. It’s in CHS that Sunset Shimmer has discovered that being feared wouldn’t make her happy, it’s in CHS all my dearest friends have decided to go. Principale Celestia doesn’t work anywhere else, same thing with her sister, Vice-Principale Luna. I think I’m not saying something wrong by saying that today, we all are very proud we had been Wondercolts and deep inside our hearts, no matter what time would put on our ways, we’ll always be Wondercolts. The greatest lessons of life are to be found here: never trust appeareances, give your trust, try your best to atone for your past mistakes, get out of your chrysalis and become the person you are deep inside. Learn something each time you fall. Being tested only makes you stronger. We’re stronger now.”

As soon as she had said the last words, Twilight realized, dumbfounded, that not only did students applaud her but they had all got up to do so, as well as both Celestia and Luna, and parents, and even the teachers. Of course, she had expected to be applauded, just like after any official speeches, but she had never thought what she would say would be welcome this way.

It was a reward that was better than any words of congratulation. Realizing what she had just said from the bottom of her heart had moved all those these words were destined for. In her eyes, it was the ultimate proof that they all shared her feelings for this school which had made them all grow up.

Because their friendship hadn’t been the only thing blooming in CHS. The school had also marked the existence of many of them, with its flaws and its many qualities. What they had lived there was a fantastic human advanture, and she was more than convinced that there was no place in the world like this one.
Because there never was a place like home sweet home.

--------------------------------------------

Twilight's mother had proposed to the girls to get them in town. A party in the honor of High School graduates was organized at Sugarcube Corner and no one would want to miss it.

It's been days Pinkie Pie was getting it prepared, on Cheese Sandwich's telephone advice. Of course, since it was a day party, under the adults' surveillance, what she's planned was nothing like the nights with alcohol peppered with a great deal of flirts they all were used to. Yet they just couldn't wait to be there.

Because the pink-haired teenage girl had forgotten to buy com-pul-sory purple streamers, the gang had to go shopping a bit before going to the cafe.

Their problem was that now they no longer were in a vehicle, they had to go on foot. And they were slowed down. By the only person who, usually, was always begging of them to walker faster than a bunch of snails on a dry road.

"Please, have sympathy for the crippled ones! That's totally unawesome to walk with these", Rainbow Dash complained while shaking one of her crutches.

"It's been a week now and Ah thought ya'd know how to race with 'em already!"

"This isn't the case, get it?"

"She can't learn, AJ, since you're her transportation", Pinkie Pie pointed out, always bouncing ahead.

"Tell me about it. She's always tryin' to play with mah radio."

"Come on, hurry up or we'll miss the beginning."

Once more, it was Sunset Shimmer who had been able to put an end to the debate which, without her intervention, would have been endless. There was no doubt about what she brought to this bunch. When it was Twilight trying to calm down things this way, sometimes the result was the opposite what her expectations.

Everybody acted as if her departure for Fillydelphia wouldn't transform their gang's dynamics. Yet, deep inside, they could sense it would take some time before they would get used to her sporadical presence. Not because they didn't want to think about it, but because they wanted to make the most of the presence as much as they could, without a care about the future.

On the sunny Grand Rue, walkers were passing by without a care about their surroundings. Did this heterogeneous crowd know about what this day meant for thousands of teenagers? The end of High School was also the end of an era. Of course, many other important things would be on their paths, however how this short period of time	impacted on their future was a mystery for no one.

This was why, when she saw Big Macintosh and Zephyr busy taking pictures of a bunch of friends for Canterlot Street Style, the way they always did at this time of the day, Rainbow Dash had the idea to keep an unerasable trace of this very special moments.

Seeing them coming their way, Zephyr's eyes brightened up. The fact he had gave up on Rainbow Dash didn't mean he had learned from his mistakes. Now his heart was set on Sunset Shimmer, he was doing exactly the same things than what he did with her friend, and neither her relationship with Twilight, neither her coming departure could stop him. He was convinced he was able to make her stay, for "his love". Well, he had to confess before she could...

And so, when Rainbow Dash asked his coworker whther he could take a picture of them, though they were all dressed in their CHS uniform, he obviously answered that it would be a pleasure, not even checking with Big Macintosh. In his mind, it would finally get Sunset Shimmer to notice him.

He hadn't planned that some self-proclaimed bodyguards would stick their noses into his business.

"Hep, you token crippled! Do you think we don't know what you're trying to do?" Lily started.

"Yeah, you already have a hot boyfriend, so let the other good-looking guys to the single girls", Rose went on.

"I already told you a hundred times I don't care about your... Breezie. I only want one last memory of my days as a High School student."

"That's what you want us to believe but we do know the truth", outbid Daisy. "You want to steal our Big Mac!

Yes, because during the on-going year, the very famous Flower Trio had changed their target. In reality, it was really new, dating back to Rainbow Dash's birthday party where, despite their dislike of the young woman, they got themselves invited anyway. All three had realized Applejack's brother had a softer and more demure character, was full of sweet attentions for her little sister's friends, and had proved to be obliging. And, conversely to Zephyr, he had something mysterious and broad shoulders which had convinced them eventually. The fact he wasn't much of a speaker could make their fantasies about him take whatever paths they wanted.

Because they had a secret web of informers, they knew Rainbow Dash had settled at the Apples for some time - especially because she could stay at an annex of the house where there were no stairs - and were sure she'd done all this just to be closer to Big Macintosh.

"Just because you're his sister's best friend and you're living in their house does it mean you've got all the rights."

"What? Are you off your heads?! As you've said, I already have a boyfriend and he's hot."

"Yeah but you're really sleazy, you demi-I-don't-know-what-now..."

This speech was so stupid most of the girls were in the background, simply waiting for the storm to be over. Among them, there wasn't Pinkie Pie, always ready to intervene and defend Rainbow Dash's honor, as if she could do it on her own.

"It's demisexual and if you guys have done some researches, you'll know it's the opposite of being sleazy."

"What's it got to do with you? It's between us and the hot guys stealer."

"I told you I only want a picture!"

"Yes, Dashie doesn't give a damn, she has Soarin and with it... She already has slept with Big Mac!"

Her friends and Soarin were the only ones who knew what had happened between Rainbow Dash and Big Macintosh and they all knew it would never happen again. Not that the young woman was ashamed of it, but it was something extremely private, and she didn't like to talk about it in front of... well, everyone judging by the sudden silence weighing on the Grand Rue since Pinkie Pie had said the words.	

Shocked, Rainbow Dash turned red from shame, while after an additional wavering second, the Flower Trio fell on their knees in front of Big Macintosh, pretending they were crying like cartoons characters.

"No! It can't be true!"

"Not with her!"

"How could you? She doesn't even have real boobs!"

"Hey, I'm right beside you, you know!"

Red from embarrassment as well, Big Macintosh tried the best he could to get rid of the three young girls, especially as the passersby didn't miss a thing and were staring at this funny show with eyes full of surprise and curiosity.

Applejack was looking at the same with a funny smile tinted with nostalgia. At first sight, of course, she had been ashamed as well, but once thought through, she had realized this kind of commotions also was a part of the many memories High School years had given them.

CHS  would probably had its loads of eccentric and popular personalities, yet she liked to think that, more than ever, there was no bunch of friends like her bunch of friends, one of the kind, like there was only one Flower Trio, or Trixie or Muffin or Sunset Shimmer's former three friends.

Now it was Canterlot University's turn to deal with all these colorful characters. In all honesty, she wasn't sure the campus was ready for such a madness, but what was sure was that Equestrian institutions would probably be shaken by this strength in the years to come.


THE END...

OR IS IT REALLY?