It was mid-afternoon Tuesday at Canterlot High School. By now the after school rush had died down, with most of the students and faculty either gone left for the day, or attending to their after school activities and sports. Although the sun was shining and the wind not blowing, Misty Swirl still wore her favorite dark blue hooded sweatshirt as she left campus.
As she walked past of the base of where the Wondercolt statue once stood, she did her best not to look at her reflection. All the same, she still caught a glimpse of her sad violet eyes on her pale freckled face framed by her long icy blue hair. Hers was not the sort of face that could grace a magazine cover - she was just not a photogenic person. At least, she did not think so.
Most days after her classes, she busied herself at home playing video games. Today, she was on her way to the animal shelter where she sometimes volunteered with her friend and classmate Fluttershy - one of the few people she fully trusted. She also enjoyed the animals, since they could never judge her.
Walking past a bus stop, she eyed a poster for the latest blockbuster video game, which prominently featured an attractive, well-endowed female character in a revealing outfit fighting off a motley assortment of ugly, bestial monsters. As much as she enjoyed video games, she long ago learned to tune out the over-the-top visuals so often used in their advertisements.
Still...just once, she wished that she could feel beautiful. Just once.
Misty pulled back her hood as she entered through the front doors of the animal shelter. To her surprise, the lobby was completely empty - nobody was even behind the front counter.
"Hello?" she called out. "Fluttershy? Sugarcoat?"
Her ears picked up a faint melody coming from the office behind the counter. Curious, she walked up and put her ear to the door where she could make out an exotic tribal sounding tune. Quietly, she turned the knob and eased the door open.
She found Fluttershy and Sugarcoat inside the office. Dancing. Both girls had their shirts hiked up to bare their midriffs and seemed completely engrossed in the exotic tribal sounding tune playing from one of their smartphones.
Misty blinked her eyes. Beyond her favorite tank top and skirt combination, Fluttershy was not one to show much skin and Sugarcoat always dressed conservatively - even by Crystal Prep standards. To see them both like this was surprising to say the least, but even more so was the way they moved. The way they fluidly circled their hips and rolled their bellies. They had clearly practiced long and hard at this! It was nothing Misty like had ever seen before.
Suddenly, Fluttershy and Sugarcoat noticed Misty. They both yelped as they hastily pulled their shirts back down.
"Uh...hi Misty," said Fluttershy.
"You're here early," said Sugarcoat as she silenced her smartphone.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," apologized Misty. "What was that you were both doing just now?"
"Oh you mean, uh, Danse Du Ventre?" said Fluttershy coyly.
"Commonly referred to as 'Belly Dance'?" quipped Sugarcoat.
Misty paused for a moment before murmuring "So beautiful..."
"Hmm?" Fluttershy and Sugarcoat both gave her a curious look.
"You both looked so beautiful. I mean, you both are beautiful, but were even more so when you were dancing just now. I...I wish that I could too..."
Fluttershy and Sugarcoat looked at each other for a moment before breaking into smiles.
"Would you like to learn?" asked Fluttershy.
Misty's violet eyes widened as she nodded her head.
"How's your schedule on Mondays and Wednesdays?" asked Sugarcoat.
***
The next day, Wednesday, Misty met up with Fluttershy after classes. As her friend had instructed, she packed a sports bra, workout pants, towel and water bottle. Together they headed over to Whitetail Gardens, where Sugarcoat was waiting for them in the courtyard. The three headed to the second floor, then proceeded all the way to the end of the walkway, where they arrived at Chiffon Veil's dance studio. The receptionist, a sweet little old lady, was just finishing up a phone call.
"Hello Fluttershy, Sugarcoat," she said before turning to Misty. "You must be Misty Swirl. Welcome! Let me get Chiffon Veil."
The receptionist disappeared through the beaded doorway. Less than a minute later, another woman with long dark brown hair emerged clad in form-fitting black dress that flattered her curvaceous figure. She appeared to be in her late forties or early fifties, but still looked stunningly beautiful and carried herself with the energy of a lady half her age. The woman regarded Misty with a warm smile as she took her hand.
"Welcome to my studio, Misty. I am Chiffon Veil."
"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," replied Misty.
"As am I, dear. No doubt Fluttershy and Sugarcoat have already told you a little bit about what we do here. Here we accept all levels of experience and all body types, because each dancer is beautiful in her own way."
"Yes," said Misty. "And the dance itself is so beautiful. That's why I want to learn."
"And you shall have your chance to show what you've learned at our quarterly recital. But we'll discuss that in further detail later on. Please, go ahead and get changed and we'll begin class in a just little bit."
"Right this way," said Fluttershy.
Misty felt an icy pit form in her stomach as Fluttershy and Sugarcoat led her to the changing room. Recital? They never mentioned performing in front of others! She began to wonder if this was really such a good idea.
Despite the warm welcome she had just received from Chiffon Veil, Misty felt a little self-conscious as she changed into her workout clothes. She scrutinized her reflection in the mirror. Despite her sedentary lifestyle, she had a fairly slim figure. Still, she had never bared her midriff before, and found herself wishing that her breasts and hips were just a little bigger.
Misty's reverie was suddenly shattered when Sugarcoat poked her in the navel without warning. Misty yelped as she glanced down to find Sugarcoat holding a sizable piece of lint between her thumb and forefinger.
"Would've been embarrassing if you went out with that," said Sugarcoat flatly.
Misty actually giggled, as did Fluttershy.
"Good looking out," said Misty.
The three girls proceeded on their bare feet to the dance floor. As they stretched and warmed up, the rest of their dance class arrived one by one. Misty was surprised to see Rarity and Pinkie Pie, who immediately recognized her and welcomed her enthusiastically. Next came Twilight Sparkle - the girl who transferred from Crystal Prep following the Friendship Games. While Misty had not known her as long as the other Canterlot High students, she had always been kind the few times their paths crossed.
The last student to arrive was girl with long green hair. Misty did not recognize her at first, but then remembered seeing her on Crystal Prep's team during the Friendship Games. Sugarcoat brought the green-haired girl over to Misty.
"Misty, allow me to introduce my Crystal Prep classmate Lemon Zest."
"Nice to meet you!" said Lemon as she took Misty's hand.
"Likewise," said Misty, who immediately noticed Lemon's curvy figure.
But the greatest surprise came when Vice Principal Luna of Canterlot High arrived alongside Dean Cadance of Crystal Prep. Misty could not believe the Number Two faculty members of each of their schools were Chiffon Veil's assistant instructors.
"Good evening ladies!" called Chiffon Veil. "I would like to introduce our newest student, Misty Swirl!"
Misty gave a bashful wave as her classmates greeted her enthusiastically. As her first belly dance class got underway, her worries about the recital soon faded away. She would cross that bridge when she came to it. For the first time in her life, she felt like she was part of an exclusive all girls club!
***
The next three weeks seemed to just fly by. While Misty had never been fond of physical education, she always looked forward to Monday and Wednesday evenings at Chiffon Veil's dance studio. She left every class feeling a little bit more sure of herself.
Chiffon Veil proved to be an enthusiastic and inspiring instructor. Under her guidance, Misty learned all the basic moves - lifts and drops, slides, shimmies, hip circles, and the most challenging of all, undulations. It was also fun getting to know Vice Principal Luna outside of CHS, as well as Miss Cadance. Misty could easily see why the Crystal Prep students held their dean in such high regard.
In her spare time, Misty found herself researching all that she could about Mediterranean culture and cuisine. It would have been cool to go on a "field trip" with the girls in her dance class to the local Mediterranean restaurant and watch the dancer perform, but that place was extremely expensive. A drink and appetizer alone would have cost her an entire week's lunch budget! Still, she was especially curious about those hookahs (water pipes) she saw some of the patrons smoking.
Unfortunately, she could not just walk into the local vapor shop and buy one, so she looked up instructions for building one online. Over the course of a week, she would assemble her own homemade hookah from a water jug, a couple of fish tank hoses (courtesy of Fluttershy), a small ceramic bowl and a length of pipe. Obtaining the shisha (flavored tobacco) and quick light coals, however, proved beyond her means.
Yet even as she honed her dance skills and appreciation of all things Mediterranean, her doubts resurfaced when she was reminded of the recital. In addition to performing two group routines with her class mates, she would also have to perform her own solo routine. Whenever she was at the studio, she found herself constantly stealing glances at her classmates - especially Lemon Zest, whose figure she had come to admire. Although she had a good grasp of all the basic dance moves, how could she possibly hold a candle to any of them?
One day, Misty was walking home from the animal shelter with Fluttershy.
"Do you know what you want to do for your solo?" asked Fluttershy.
"I...can't really decide," replied Misty.
"Do you know what song you want to dance to?"
"There is this one song I really like."
"Why don't you work around that?
"That does make sense. How about you?"
"I'm going to try dancing with my tambourine."
"You don't seem nervous."
"I am. A little. But then I remember to just dance like nobody is watching."
When they arrived at Misty's house, they went to Misty's room do go over their homework. Fluttershy was amazed at the homemade hookah Misty had assembled, although she did caution against using it. When they finished with their homework, they went over their recital routines. Heeding Fluttershy's advice, Misty began to choreograph her solo based on the music she selected.
***
It now was the Friday afternoon before the recital. Despite knowing her solo routine and the group routines forwards and backwards, Misty still felt anxious. Her usual therapy of beating up hordes of minions in one of her games - in perfect chains exceeding 200 hits - was just not working for her. She needed to put her mind at ease.
A knock at her front door snapped her out of her funk. Misty opened the door and was greeted by Lemon Zest.
"Hey, how you doing Misty?"
"Hey Lemon," Misty replied in surprise. It was the first time someone other than Fluttershy ever visited her at home!
"I've got something for you." Lemon reached into a pocket and produced a small canister and tossed it to Misty. Misty could not believe her eyes - it was a canister of apple-flavored hookah shisha!
"It wasn't easy to get these," said Lemon as she then pulled out a pack of quick light coals. "But when I heard you'd built your own hookah, I figured you'd appreciate it."
"Thank you so much," said Misty. "Wanna join me?"
"Sure, why not?"
Misty fetched her hookah from her room and led Lemon out to the garage. After filling the lower part of the hookah with water and the upper part with shisha, they lit a few coals and set them atop the shisha. They each took one of the hoses and proceeded to puff and savor the sweet apple flavor.
"Nervous about tomorrow?" asked Lemon
"A little," replied Misty. "I mean, I've got my routine down, but..."
"I'll let you in on something," said Lemon in a conspiratorial tone. "It's my first recital too."
"You've got nothing to worry about. You dance so beautifully!"
"Thanks, but I'm still a bull in China shop compared to Twilight and Sugarcoat."
"At least you have a nice body..."
Lemon raised an eyebrow. "Is that why you kept stealing looks at me in class?"
The blood drained from Misty's face. "N-no! I-I mean...I'm not..."
Lemon suddenly burst out laughing. "Hey, no sweat! I think I know what you mean!"
Misty wasn't sure if it was the shisha or Lemon's contagious laughter, but she found herself laughing as well. They would spend another hour chatting about their schools and their friends before Lemon had to take off. As much as she enjoyed finally getting use her hookah, she enjoyed her talk with Lemon even more. Now she did not feel quite as anxious about their recital.
***
The next morning, the girls arrived early at the studio to change into their recital costumes. Misty donned the purple costume she had picked out the week before. Although she was ready to perform, she still wondered whether she would keep her composure as she did. Looking through a basket of various accessories, she found a diaphanous face veil that closely matched her costume's color.
Sugarcoat gave Misty a puzzled look. "You realize that we can still see your face under that."
"I know," said Misty nervously. "Just...to capture that classic Arabian Nights feel!"
"Hey, whatever floats your boat, right?" said Lemon.
With their costumes and makeup done, each of the girls draped a larger veil over her shoulders like a cloak. Quietly, they filed out of the dressing room on their bare feet, moving along the row of room dividers obscuring them from their audience. As Chiffon Veil went to welcome their guests, Misty peeked between the divider screens. She recognized the students from Canterlot High - Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, DJ Pon3, Octavia and Trixie, all of whom sat alongside Vice Principal Luna. The other four sitting next to Miss Cadance had to be Sunny Flare, Sour Sweet, Indigo Zap and Fleur Dis Lee from Crystal Prep.
Once Chiffon Veil finished her introduction, the girls took their places on the dance floor. Some in the audience cast curious looks at Misty with her face veil, but those quickly faded as the opening song began to play. The entire class moved as one - twirling their veils as they shimmied and spun about the floor.
Now it was time for their solos. Rarity performed an elegant routine in the Egyptian style. Pinkie Pie gave an energetic demonstration of the Turkish style. Twilight Sparkle danced with a pair of goddess wings. Fluttershy performed with her tambourine. Sugarcoat demonstrated her focus and control. Lemon Zest's wild performance rivaled the sheer energy of Pinkie's. Then at last, it was Misty's turn.
As Lemon returned from the dance floor, she whispered to Misty. "Knock 'em dead!"
Misty adjusted her face veil one more time. Just dance like nobody is watching. Fluttershy's words echoed in her mind as she took her place on the dance floor. Her song selection, a haunting wind and percussion piece, began to play. Despite a second or two of hesitation, she released her anxieties and threw herself into her dance - circling, shimmying, and undulating throughout the entire song. Misty ended her number on her knees, hands together overhead.
The audience was silent for a second. Two seconds. Misty suddenly realized that she was no longer wearing her face veil. Oh no! She was so into her dance that she did not even notice that it had fallen off! She could feel the eyes of all her classmates on her as she remained frozen in place. What now?
Then the audience suddenly erupted in cheers and applause, banishing the last of her fear.
The other girls rejoined Misty on the dance floor for their closing group number. With one swift kick, Misty sent the face veil flying off to the side. In that moment, she realized that she did not need it - she had never needed it! It was the greatest feeling she had ever experienced, dancing there with her friends to the cheers of their classmates. For the first time in her life, she truly felt beautiful.