Chapter 18: Resolving WHAT?!
The dawn came late on Thursday for Sweetie Belle, as it stormed outside. She watched the rain as it pelted against her window, feeling just as dreary as it appeared outside. She had managed to get some semblance of sleep the night prior, but she spent most of it huddled in a ball, crying into her pillow. She hadn’t even bothered to get changed out of her clothes from yesterday. Now, she was just lying in her bed, eyes bloodshot and puffy. She had no more tears left to shed.
She stirred only when Rarity knocked gently on her door. “Sweetie Belle, may I come in?”
Unable to muster any emotion, Sweetie responded laconically, “Yeah.”
Rarity came in and quietly took a seat at the foot of the bed. The duo was silent for a moment as Rarity pondered on what exactly to say next. “I’m not mad at you, shocked maybe, but not mad. And after speaking with Sunset about everything, I believe I understand why you hid it.” Rarity said.
Sweetie didn’t answer; she just shifted under the covers.
“This whole naturist business was completely out of left field, especially for you.” Rarity added.
“Why would you say that?” Sweetie asked softly.
“When you were little, you wouldn’t dare come out of your room without wearing something, even if that something happened to be a crinkly, old diaper.” Rarity giggled.
In a strange way, that made Sweetie chuckle softly too.
“Sweetie, I have to ask: did you become a naturist just to test my patience?” Rarity asked.
Sweetie didn’t answer at first, she wasn’t honestly sure if what Rarity asked had any ring of truth to it. But after gathering her thoughts, she sighed, “Yeah… it started out that way.”
“Why, dearest sister,” Rarity asked, “Whatever did I do to make you so upset?”
“You’ve been ignoring me!” Sweetie snapped, her voice still hoarse from crying, “You’ve been pushing me away; you’ve been focusing so much on your work that I feel like—like I don’t even matter to you at all!”
“Oh, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity soothed as she scooted up so that she could rub her sister’s back, “You do matter to me. Yes, I will admit that I have been focusing on my career a lot over these past few months.
“But that’s only because people are starting to recognize the quality of my work. There’s a very real chance that I’ll finally make a career out of this! It’s not that I don’t want to spend time with you or have you around in my life. I just…. don’t know how to manage everything properly.
“I know it hurts you, I really do. And it hurts me as well. You can’t imagine how difficult it is to maintain a professional demeanor when clients arrive right after I had to cancel on you. I’m not perfect, Sweetie.” Rarity continued, “But you must know that I do love you. and I would give anything and everything to make you happy. You’re my sister, and I never will forget that.”
Sweetie coughed, “And how about now? Especially when you know that I’m a nudist.”
“I will admit that I had no idea how to process it, at first. But Sunset set me straight on all the details. And to be honest, I really don’t care.” Rarity smiled.
“But it’s so out of the ordinary, so weird, so uncouth! Wouldn’t something like that—?” Sweetie started, her voice having genuine concern.
“Do you enjoy it?” Rarity asked.
Sweetie stopped and was slightly taken back, “I-I do, really I do.”
“Then that’s all that matters. Yes, it is a bit …odd. But as long as you enjoy it, that’s fine by me. No matter if you’re a naturist, gay, or even thinking about changing your sex I will never abandon you and I will never judge you for what you really are.
“And don’t worry about all those high society types. It might actually surprise you that some up there may consider this a… quirky lifestyle.” Rarity winked.
Sweetie actually sat up and looked at her sister. A feeling of warmth and happiness bubbled inside her chest. Unbelievably, Rarity had actually accepted her lifestyle as a matter of course. It was then that Sweetie felt an invisible wall crumble, and it wasn’t Rarity’s…. it was hers.
All the emotions she had felt Rarity conveying over the past month was conjured up in her own mind. She had pushed Rarity away, she became a nudist to snub Rarity’s rules, and she was allowing her misguided emotions to cloud her better judgement.
While she was a nudist, and enjoyed every minute of it, she had done so, initially, for the wrong reason. The thought made Sweetie break down again, but this time it was tears of remorse instead of grief and guilt. She buried her face into her sister’s chest and embraced her while she wept. Rarity happily returned the embrace, while rubbing Sweetie’s back.
Now, feeling the warmth of her sister’s love and acceptance, Sweetie managed to understand that all was forgiven. Once she finished crying, she let go of Rarity and leaned back in her bed.
“Are you feeling better now?” Rarity asked.
Sweetie Belle nodded, “Yeah, I think I got all of that out of me.”
“Good, now come have breakfast, school’s starting late today.” Rarity told her.
“Is it because of the storm?” Sweetie asked.
“Yes, most of the morning classes have been postponed.” Rarity told her as she reached the door.
Sweetie nodded, “Umm… about me being a nudist: are you ok with me walking around the house naked?”
Rarity turned around and smiled, “Just as long as you have a robe handy whenever we have company, or our parents stop by, I don’t mind.”
“What if it’s just the two of us?” Sweetie asked.
Rarity seemed to realize the ramifications of the question and paused. Then she sighed with a smile, “Oh, what the hell! I’m sure I’ll get used to it… eventually.”
Sweetie climbed out of bed, “I don’t suppose I could persuade you to try it too?”
“Oh no darling, as much as I respect your life choices, I don’t think I’m capable of casually strutting about in the nude.” Rarity answered while rubbing the back of her neck.
Sweetie nodded, “O-okay. You can’t blame a girl for trying, right?”
“Breakfast will be ready soon. I hope that you’ll be able to join me.”
“I’ll be down in a bit.” Sweetie Belle answered.
Rarity nodded and left. Sweetie’s heart filled with joy when she realized that if nothing else, she always had a home to come back to. She walked over to her phone, which was resting on the other side of the bed, having been thrown there the night before. Unsurprisingly, it was loaded with text messages.
Most of the messages were her friends freaking out about Silver Spoon. Then, Sunset came into the picture and spent what seemed the better part of an hour calming everyone down. By the morning, it seemed to have calmed to the point of : “We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.” What really caught Sweetie’s attention was a voice mail message left by Button Mash.
Sweetie, please come over. I’m… so, so sorry. Do you think we could, ya know, maybe talk?
Sweetie frowned at her phone for a moment, but realized that Button had made a mistake just like she had and simply wanted to rectify it. With new found composure, she peeled off her clothes and responded to the group chat with a message to Sunset:
You were right, I was pushing Rarity away. We’re fine now. Thank you, Sunset.
The storm had passed by just after eight in the morning, but school was set to begin at eleven. Sweetie, after having a rather interesting breakfast with Rarity, got dressed and headed out. She made a note to herself to head over to Button Mash’s house first before actually going to school. When she arrived, she found Button’s Mother using a squeegee to push off the excess water that had accumulated on the porch.
“Ah, Sweetie Belle,” She smiled warmly, “How are you doing?”
“I’m alright, Mrs. Mash,” Sweetie answered just as warmly, “Where’s Button?”
“He’s in the garage; I think he’s working on an old arcade game he found in the trash.” She responded.
Sweetie nodded and made her way up the driveway. She opened the garage and found Button hard at work on the game Space Race. When he heard the garage open, he got out from behind the console and looked at Sweetie.
His hands were covered with dust from working inside the console, and his face looked like it had gotten singed from a slight electrical burn. But it was his expression that Sweetie focused on: it was one of regret.
He grabbed a cloth and whipped his hands as Sweetie closed the garage door behind her, “I didn’t think you’d want to see me again after what happened yesterday.”
Sweetie sighed, “I’m not that cold-hearted, Button.”
Button rubbed the back of his neck, “I spent most of last night doing some research. I realized that I completely jumped the gun before I really knew what a nudist was . Sweetie, I’m so sorry about what I said yesterday. I just assumed that you were—”
“I know,” Sweetie answered, “I should’ve told you sooner, but I was afraid that you wouldn’t want to be my boyfriend anymore if I did.”
“Yeah well, I kinda proved you right there didn’t I?” he chuckled awkwardly while he walked in front of the console.
Sweetie moved towards him, now feeling slightly sorry for her boyfriend, “Look Button, I think we both screwed up about this. Why don’t we try again, from stage one?”
“You still want to be with me,” he asked a little stunned, “After what I did?”
Sweetie Belle didn’t answer; she simply walked up to Button Mash, shoved him onto the console, and pressed her lips against his. Surprisingly, this was their first kiss. And it felt amazing. Sweetie felt Button wrap his arms around her waist as he pulled her closer to him. She wrapped her own arms around his shoulders and giggled.
After awkwardly wrestling with each other’s tongues, they parted with a gasp and looked at each other. Their faces were red, but they were both wearing wide smiles.
“Does that answer your question, commander?” Sweetie purred.
“You know,” Button hummed , “I think I might need another one, just to be sure.”
Laughing, the two kissed once again.
Soon enough, the moment ended. They both needed to get to school. Once they got there, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were waiting. None of the CMC said anything as they went to school and to their first class with Miss Cheerilee. But before class could begin, the PA system crackled to life.
“Attention, please! Will Miss Diamond Tiara and Miss Sweetie Belle please report to Vice Principal Luna’s office?” it said.
Sweetie Belle took a deep breath and walked out of the classroom. Miss Cheerilee watched her go, giving Sweetie a kind smile and a nod of support. Sweetie Belle steeled herself and headed off towards the vice principal’s office. It didn’t take long for her to arrive, but she was surprised to see Diamond Tiara sitting there as well.
Diamond scowled at Sweetie when she walked in. It was equal parts disgust and pride. That told Sweetie all she needed to know; Silver had shown Diamond the image. Perhaps it was an attempt to try and appeal to her human side? It probably just was a waste of time.
“You exhibitionist freak,” Diamond said as she got up to join Sweetie Belle, “I’ll see your club destroyed if it’s the last thing I do.”
Sweetie didn’t respond verbally. She kept her emotions in check for her inevitable defeat.
“What arrogance! Did you honestly think you could beat me?” Diamond cackled as she opened the door.
The two then walked into Vice Principal Luna’s office. As usual, the blinds were closed and the lights were off, leaving the room almost completely dark. There was barely enough light to see where they were going. Vice Principal Luna sat behind her desk working on some paperwork, but stopped when she noticed the two arrive.
“Miss Tiara. Miss Belle. Please, have a seat,” She greeted.
They both sat down in the two chairs in front of the Vice Principal’s desk.
“I just finished reading the article you submitted to me for approval, Ms. Tiara. The accusations you made in it are very serious in nature.” The Vice Principal opened.
“Yes, vice Principal. I too was shocked! Shocked, that something so perverse was going on within this very school! As editor-in-chief of the school’s newspaper, I felt that it was my sworn duty to report this—this filth to the entire student body.” Diamond explained, overselling her role.
Sweetie rolled her eyes and was about to begin talking when Vice Principal Luna nodded, “I see. And what evidence do you have to support your accusation?”
Diamond raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean? My associate, Silver Spoon, handed you the USB drive containing all the pertinent information just this morning.”
“Ah, I see,” Vice Principal Luna nodded, “Yet, the USB drive that was submitted was empty.”
“THAT’S IMPOSSIBLE!” Diamond shrieked.
Sweetie’s eyes went wide with shock; she couldn’t believe this was happening.
“There is no need to shout, Miss Tiara,” Vice Principal Luna reprimanded.
“But I-I saw the image…” Diamond stuttered, looking completely confused. Then she shifted her focus to Sweetie Belle, and what was once confusion and fear, suddenly turned to rage, “YOU! I know you had something to do with this!”
“Miss Tiara, please contain your anger.”
“Their club has been conducting unspeakably perverse acts that are a disgrace to this very establishment!” Diamond said, her pride faltering because of her rage, “The evidence has clearly been tampered with! So help me, I will make them PAY for what they’ve done!”
She began to stomp out of the room, but Vice Principal Luna stood up, “Miss Tiara, I’m sure you’re aware that all of the articles that go into the school newspaper have to meet my approval. Furthermore, printing articles without concrete evidence is strictly against your club’s charter. Need I remind you that your club already has two strikes against it in that regard? I wonder, are you aware of what happens if I issue a third?”
Diamond froze, and she spun on her heels to look back at the Vice Principal with a look Sweetie never thought she’d see: pure fear.
“You w-wouldn’t…” Diamond whispered.
“I assure you, Ms. Tiara. This is no idle threat.” Vice Principal Luna answered sternly.
Diamond stood there, eyes wide as saucers, face dripping with sweat as she looked at Vice Principal Luna. For the first time in her life, Diamond Tiara was thoroughly beaten. Not defeated, but beaten. Gasping for air, she straightened up and muttered, “I understand, Vice Principal Luna.”
“Good, you’re dismissed.” Vice Principal Luna answered.
Sweetie gaped like a fish while Diamond stumbled her way out of the office. She looked back to watch Diamond go, completely surprised by what just happened. She won. She beat Diamond. Her club was safe and her social life was safe. By some bizarre twist of fate, she had managed to pull off a miracle. Yet, she didn’t know how she won. Sweetie was completely at a loss, so she decided to take a risk.
She turned to look back at the Vice Principal, “You do know she’s partially correct, right?”
Vice Principal Luna waved her hand dismissively, “Oh, don’t worry about her, Ms. Belle. I doubt she’ll be able to rebound after that threat.”
“But…” Sweetie started, “Wait, I’m confused here. Does that mean you don’t know about the NLAC?”
“I know all about your club. Who do you think approved it in the first place? I must admit, had this information made its way to my sister, the conversation you’d be having would be far different. Please try to be more careful with your club’s activities in the future.” Vice Principal Luna answered.
She knows? All this time and she knows! Sweetie screamed to herself, “Then wait… how do you know?”
Vice Principal Luna smiled, “Thoreau. It’s not how you look that matters, it’s what you are, Sweetie.”
Sweetie went quiet for a moment and then silently nodded, “I see now. Thank you, Vice Principal Luna.”
Sweetie then got to her feet and made her way towards the door. But then she turned back to look at Vice Principal Luna, “So… you did lie?”
“Actually, no I didn’t. The drive I was given was, in fact, blank.” The Vice Principal answered sincerely, “Here, check it out for yourself.”
Sweetie walked over and looked at the computer screen. And indeed, the file was completely blank. Somehow, Silver’s information had been erased. Sweetie couldn’t believe it, but she knew that she had to get going. Once again, she made her way to the door. And once again Vice Principal Luna stopped, but this time to ask a question.
“Oh, before I forget,” Vice Principal Luna asked, “When is the next party?”
Sweetie turned and smiled, “This Friday at eight.”
“Wonderful,” Vice Principal Luna answered.
Sweetie walked out of Vice Principal Luna’s office with a smile on her face. And much to her surprise, Sunset, Pinkie, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Button Mash, Rumble, Tender Taps, and Dinky were all there waiting for her in the lobby. They all stood up to greet her as she came out with concerned looks on their faces. Button was the first to greet her, giving Sweetie a loving embrace.
“Don’t worry,” Sweetie said, “It’s over. We’re safe.”
Friday came at last, and it was time for the NLAC’s third party. Sweetie had remained at school to finish up some homework assignments and her final project of the summer. Button had also stuck around to help her out, but had already decided to not join the party. However, he did stick around and walk her over to the Student Union Center.
“Are you sure you don’t wanna come to tonight’s party, Button?” Sweetie asked.
“Nah, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t think I’m… confident enough to strut around with my junk hanging out just yet. Maybe I’ll do it some other time.” Button admitted.
“Aww, that’s really too bad.” Sweetie whispered into his ear, “If it makes you feel more comfortable, I'll wait to see you naked when it’s just the two of us, all alone, in bed~”
Button’s voice cracked. “I-I uhhhh… guess we’ll have to SEE how this SUMMER turns out f-first!”
Sweetie gave Button a playful peck on the cheek and said her goodbye. It was a bit of a shame too; even Rarity had to decline attending the party. Not because of work, she actually had a previous engagement with Coco Pommel, so Sweetie didn’t mind. And finally after all that drama, things were looking up for Sweetie Belle.
Yet, she still wondered exactly how the information got erased. Sweetie descended the steps, unlocked the door to the Student Union Center, and walked in to find her answer. There standing in the lobby was none other than Silver Spoon. Her back was initially towards Sweetie Belle, but when she heard the door open, she turned around to face the club president.
Sweetie stepped through the threshold and waved. “Hi.”
“Hi,” Silver said turning around, “I take it everything’s okay now?”
“Yeah…” Sweetie answered, “Diamond’s evidence was mysteriously erased. You wouldn’t happen to know who it was, do you?”
Silver nodded, “I did it.”
Sweetie’s eyes went wide, “Really?”
“After I ran away from the door I was… I was so proud of myself. I had finally done it, I beat you guys. Although, I couldn’t stop hearing what you’d said to me. I managed to make it all the way back to Diamond’s place where I presented it to her.
Silver explained, “And as usual, Diamond began to gloat about how this would finally ‘bring you down’ and ‘cement her status.’ Usually, I’d have hung on her every word, but this time they felt… hollow.
“When I looked around, I noticed, for once, that Diamond had a ton of Gazette headlines plastered on her wall. I wrote so many of them, yet none of them had my name printed on the bottom. It was then I realized the type of person Diamond really was.
Silver paused for a moment, “Plus, when I got home I did a little research just to see if more of your…words rang true and it turns out I gravely misjudged you guys. You were right, Sweetie Belle; I was a merely a pawn in Diamond’s schemes.
“I just thought that if I hung out with her, and did the things she asked, it’d make me just as happy as she was. I’d be the talk of the town! And with a powerful woman like Diamond by my side, no one would ever look down on me! Now, I realize that all I was doing was making myself into a doormat.”
Sweetie stood there in silence listening to this story. Silver was confessing her sins, trying to dismantle the façade she’d spent years building up. Part of Sweetie wanted to give Silver a hug, and part of her wanted to tell Silver: “I told you so.” Yet she did neither, she simply stood there.
Silver sighed, “Anyway, I guess I better get going. I don’t belong here.”
She made her way past Sweetie Belle and towards the exit. But just as she reached the door, Sweetie turned to face Silver, “Silver, wait!”
Silver did so and looked at Sweetie Belle.
Sweetie wrung her hands nervously, “Hey, umm… the party’s about to begin soon. You’re welcome to join in. Why don’t you have some fun with us, and make some real friends?”
Silver shuffled her feet, “If I stay, do I have to… take my c-clothes off?”
Sweetie nodded, “You never know until you try. Heck, you might actually end up liking it.”
Silver stood for a moment, stewing in her own thoughts. Then it happened. Sweetie saw Silver’s expression brighten up as her hesitation melted away. Silver took a deep breath and said, “Well, I’ve got nothing better to do tonight.”
“That’s the spirit! The ladies changing room is over there.”
Silver nodded her head in thanks while she headed off towards the changing room. Sweetie smiled warmly as she watched Silver Spoon go. If nothing else, at least tonight would be the perfect first step to building a new future. A moment or so later, a knock came at the door.
Outside the door stood the CMC with Pinkie and Sunset all holding party supplies.
“Man, you guys really don’t know the meaning of the term pack lightly, do you?” Sweetie asked.
“I blame Pinkie Pie,” Sunset responded.
“Hey! If you guys want an absolutely perfect party, then you can’t hold anything back!” Pinkie said proudly as she lowered seven boxes full of pastries onto the food table.
Sweetie rolled her eyes and turned back to her friends, “How’s the turn out?”
“Great, everyone’s coming!” Scootaloo answered, “Even Rainbow Dash and Applejack.”
“Wait… you told them?” Sweetie gasped.
Apple Bloom nodded, “We both thought everything was tanked, so we panicked…”
“How’d they take it?” Sweetie asked.
“Rainbow Dash is actually really excited to try this out! She was still kinda shocked when I told her about me, but everything’s okay.” Scootaloo answered.
“Applejack, however, lectured me for hours on end about the standards of Apple family etiquette and the like, but after a good, long talk we got everything settled and she’s gonna see if everything’s on the up and up.” Apple Bloom answered.
Sweetie smiled and sighed, “Well, that’s good. Rarity knows too. However, Coco called her out to Manehattan, so she’ll miss tonight’s party.”
“Speaking of which,” Sunset asked, “How come we aren’t in deep shit right now?”
Before Sweetie could answer, Silver Spoon shuffled into the lobby wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around her body. When everyone saw her, they gasped and looked at her with shocked expressions. Instantly, Silver became uncomfortable but Sweetie quickly ran over and draped an arm across her shoulder.
“It’s okay guys, she’s cool now.” Sweetie answered.
That instantly killed the mood and Pinkie cheered, “YAY! THE NLAC HAS A NEW MEMBER!”