Chapter 7
Diamond Tiara arrived bright and early on Friday morning. The next week was going to be mostly studying leading up to exams for the week after that. Then there would be nothing left but summer club meetings and the like. The newspaper didn’t have much to report during the summer, just the usual social stuff. Nothing really juicy, but there would be the summer trip to Camp Everfree at some point.
Seething at all of the happy students talking around her she marched up to her locker. Her locker which was close to Silver Spoon’s. Shooting her a frosty glance she thrust her nose in the air with an expression of haughty disdain. Then she slammed the door open wide enough to hit the closed door next to hers. Smirking at the petty action, Diamond fumed internally.
“If you just-”
Diamond ignored Silver Spoon’s attempt to talk to her and let out a shriek of pure rage. She heard Silver Spoon sigh beside her and start to leave. Grinning at her minor triumph she glanced through the contents of her locker, not truly paying much attention to it.
Her goal was to prove that she had what it took to run both sides of the Rich Empire. Her plan required that she attain all the power she could at CHS. Run the school paper. Achieve honors status. Become Student Body President… maybe even the Queen of the Fall Formal.
Although, if a certain pony princess chose to come back next year she’d have a hard time besting her. And unlike Sunset, she wasn’t willing to cheat to do it. That would defeat the purpose and only prove to her mother that she was incapable of attaining power the legitimate way.
And yet here she was, being bested by a foolish little club with a name that made no sense. What the hell was Career Minded Compatriots even supposed to mean? Probably some dumb thing they cooked up when they were four years old and becoming besties.
“Exhibitionist freaks,” Diamond muttered to herself. It wasn’t that she failed to understand the concepts of Naturism or its principals. It was the pure and simple fact that she could care less about it. Also, she had had a grudge against that trio for as long as she could remember, but for the life of her she couldn’t recall what had started it all.
Running her fingers down the spines of her text books, she smiled at the happy thought that soon Scarlet Scribe would witness first-hand the depravities of the NLAC. And once she had her witness she could begin gathering proper proof to show to Vice Principal Luna to expose them all to the rest of the student body.
“Or at least the part of the student body that isn’t already a member and embracing this Naturist Club like it was the best thing ever.” Diamond grabbed her textbooks and slammed the locker shut. “What the hell is up with everybody? Ever since this started it’s been the oddest thing. I wouldn’t put it past Sweetie Belle to have gotten some of that Equestrian Magic and used it to brainwash everybody.”
“Magic doesn’t work that way.”
“What the hell?” Diamond whirled to find Pinkie Pie standing not too far away.
“What?” Pinkie smiled. “You were kind of ranting about stuff and even though you aren’t a member yet, you do know about the true nature of the club. We kind of don’t like to advertise, for obvious reasons.”
Diamond shrugged aside the odd pink girl and started to head for class. “After this weekend I’ll be sure to nip your little club’s activities in the bud.”
Pinkie giggled. “Don’t you think that would end the conflict a little too soon?” she wondered.
Diamond ignored the question and picked up her pace to leave.
“Ok. By the way, you’re going to have a big surprise waiting for you when you get home!” Waving goodbye to the younger girl she started off to her own classes.
Diamond frowned in confusion. “What could she possibly be talking about?” Her phone suddenly vibrated and played a small chime. She’d just received a text. Juggling her books, she reached into her bag to pull it out. Reading the text her eyes widened in sudden horror. “No! No! Anything but that!” Visibly trembling, Diamond let out a fearful whimper. “Damn! Why can’t Grandmother just leave well enough alone? Now we’re going to be visiting.” Diamond sighed dejectedly and marched into class.
The week had seemed to dash by quicker than usual for Scarlet Scribe. This was, perhaps, because he was doing his best to ignore the drama between Diamond and Silver, which was in itself relatively easy since he had his own problems to worry about. Crashing the party wasn’t his idea of a good time.
He preferred to keep to himself and avoid the big issues. He’d barely realized what was going on during the Fall Formal when Sunset turned into a Demon. And if he hadn’t been home after his wisdom tooth operation when the Sirens showed up, he would have recognized Aria when he met her at the mall.
Snapping himself from his musings he glanced down at his watch as he stood outside CHS. It was still a little early; Sweetie Belle and the others had already gotten here and gone inside. And as he’d believed they would, they didn’t recognize him as being Diamond’s lackey.
Considering he hardly spoke up in class or drew attention to himself it wasn’t that big of a surprise. When Dinky showed up, though, he’d been afraid he’d fail his mission before even getting a chance to start. Fortunately she was too busy texting someone on her phone to glance up at the few students waiting around outside.
Scarlet took note that a lot of them appeared as equally nervous as he did, though some of them looked full of giddy anticipation. Whatever this club was about and whatever kind of parties it threw, it definitely seemed to excite a lot of students.
Frowning as he glanced at his watch for the twelfth time in so many seconds he let out a frustrated sigh. “Lemon Zest and Zecora are going to be late, how do we blend in with the crowd if they aren’t here on time to go in with everybody else?”
“Will you chill, Scribe,” Lemon said as she popped up beside him without warning. “Honestly, you and Sugarcoat are always so deadline centric, it’s ridiculous.”
“Gah!” Scribe jumped in shock and batted at the air in Lemon’s general direction. “Are you trying to get me caught?” he hissed. “Also, you try living in the same family as Cherry Brisque and not become stuck on strict scheduling.”
Lemon laughed brightly at the comment and draped her arm over his shoulder. “Your aunt isn’t that bad,” she stated.
“Whatever.” Scribe glanced around curiously. “Where’s Zecora?”
“No need to fear or feel derision I am quite here, within your vision.” Zecora smiled as she emerged from behind Lemon.
Scribe let out a breath and eyed the dark-skinned girl, obviously impressed. She was dressed in the same style of clothing as she’d been in at the mall, only this time she had a belt around her waist and some fancy bracelets on her wrists. The best part was that she didn’t look out of place for being someone who didn’t attend CHS, unlike Lemon who, despite wearing ordinary party clothes, still had her Crystal Prep pin on her blouse.
Without thinking Scribe reached over and removed the pin and moved to put it in his pocket. Lemon slapped his hand and caused him to drop it. “Ow! What was that for?”
“Don’t mess with my look, Scribey, I chose it to be perfect for this party scene. You dig?” Lemon bent down to retrieve her pin.
“Everyone who sees that is going to know who you are, even with that atrocious dye job.” Scribe indicated Lemon’s hair which had been dyed in a dark auburn colour with dayglow streaks of seafoam green.
Lemon stuck her tongue out at the younger boy and returned the pin to her blouse. “Unlike you I’m proud of where I go to school, even if we were totally a bunch of jerks before the Friendship Games.”
Scribe sighed and ran his hand through his hair; it had been slicked back by Sunny Flare and styled differently than his normal look. It added to his discomfort and nervous apprehension at being the lamb among the lions, as it were. “This is never going to work.”
“Patience, Scribe of Scarlet you must have. In Zecora trust, thus require no salve.”
“What’s with the Yodaisms?” Scribe asked.
Zecora smiled. “Enjoy life is what I say, and as for how I speak, well, it seems to have worked in calming your nerves this day.”
Scribe blinked briefly as he tried to figure out how Zecora could rhyme the way she had; it didn’t work in any conventional scheme he could think of from Lit class. But she was right, it had gotten his mind off the impending break in.
“So. Are we going to head in or what?” Lemon wondered as she took both of them by hand and headed for the front entrance to the school.
“Right. Head in.” Scribe chuckled nervously.
“Dwell not on your reasons for being here. This path of thinking will only lead you to fear.” Zecora moved ahead of them both and started to walk with a confidence that defied description. Her heels clacked on the marble floors of the hallway and the sway of her hips was almost hypnotic. She flashed others a warm smile as she headed in the general direction they all seemed to be going.
Lemon smirked and matched her companion in stride, her hips having a bit less bounce to them as she started to groove to the faint beat that could be heard coming from down the hall.
Scarlet hesitantly stepped up to join them, his hands finding themselves involuntarily moving into his pockets. His slouch straightened up and he began to feel as if he could actually pull this off. He’d get in, socialize for as long as was polite, and get out again so he could report it all to Luna as Di’s witness. Not even the threat of Dinky possibly recognizing him could damper his spirits.
Managing to pass the others as they walked smoothly down the stairs, Scribe smiled happily as he reached the door which was vibrating with the loud wubs that could only be ascribed to DJ Pon-3. “Girls, let’s get this party…” pushing open the door Scribe marched into the room fully intending to blend in and simply have fun.
What he saw when he finally entered the room, however, caused him to falter briefly in shock, and his brain fought to register what his eyes were seeing. "Started..." The last word squeaked out, and he fought the urge to suddenly swear loud enough to drown out Vinyl’s music.
As the three of them ventured into the room, Zecora was equally surprised by the sight that greeted her, but for a vastly different reason than her male companion. Long had she been raised in a free-thinking household, so to see a club of this sort didn’t faze her in the least.
Finding it on the campus of a school, a public building on public land that held a vast number of legal ramifications, which she, being the daughter of a police chief were very aware of, well, let’s just say she was beginning to think that perhaps she’d made a mistake in agreeing to come here. After seeing this there was no way the law of plausible deniability applied to her anymore.
Lemon was the least traumatised by the sight. Her eyes shone with absolute delight and she was practically vibrating with her excitement. “This. Party. Is. AWESOME!” she declared loudly, drawing a few startled looks as well as a couple of bemused ones.
“Yes, it is.” Ms. Cheerilee stepped forward with a soft smile. “I can see this is your first time attending. The rules are clearly indicated,” she said passing out a small pamphlet. “If you’d care to join the festivities, please use the dressing rooms over there.” She indicated the separate entrances to the male and female dressing rooms before moving off to mingle once more and ensure that no rules were being broken.
“Come on, Z! I want to join that mosh pit!” Lemon declared. She grabbed her friend by the wrist and dashed off to the girls’ dressing room, completely ignoring the still shell-shocked Scribe who was standing with his mouth hanging open like a fish.
People moved around the frozen Scribe, eager to get started themselves. Some of them were just as surprised as he was, but after taking a pamphlet concerning the rules they began to study them as they moved to the dressing rooms.
Scribe blinked rapidly and began to breathe equally rapidly. He was on the verge of a full blown panic attack, he could feel it. Everywhere he looked there were nude students. Fluttershy and Tree Hugger were playing pool with members of the Wondercolts. The sounds of bowling balls knocking down pins could be heard in the background along with lively conversation. A massive pile of bodies gleaming and glistening with sweat were gyrating to the beat as provided by Vinyl Scratch who was grinning madly behind her turntables absent of even her customary shades.
Scribe glanced down at the pamphlet in his hands. Natural Living Appreciation Club were written in bold letters at the top. Underneath that as a little joke to break the ice was written ‘the first rule about naturist club, is that you don’t talk about naturist club’.
Scribe found himself rolling his eyes at the obvious clichéd attempt at humour. He continued to scan the document, every moment bringing up the image of Diamond’s face when she got her hands on this piece of paper.
Scribe wasn’t sure when it happened or even how, but he started laughing. It started naturally at first, but soon developed into an almost painful high-pitched tone reminiscent of a certain villain from that movie he’d seen earlier in the week. He wasn’t even aware that someone had joined in with him until he finally managed to stop and catch a breath and noticed the extreme closeness of a very naked pink party girl.
“Oh, are we all done now?” she asked innocently.
“Pinkie!” Scribe jolted away from the girl out of habit. He didn’t like her being so close, especially when she was just… doing his level best not to check the girl out and keep firmly gazing into those deep blue eyes full of mirth and wonder and perhaps the teensiest hint of madness, Scribe brought the pamphlet up. “I can’t have this!”
Pinkie laughed. “Well of course you can, silly.” She reached out and patted him on the shoulder. “How would you know what’s against the rules if you just tossed it away?”
Scribe shook his head. “NO! I mean, I really can’t have this. I mean…Do you even know who I am?”
“You’re Scarlet Scribe, member of the School Paper and Loner McLoneryson of Diamond Tiara’s minions.”
Scribe’s eyes widened at Pinkie’s casual tone. Fortunately the music was so loud nobody else could hear them.
“You’re also kind of blocking the way, and the only one still wearing any clothes, silly.” Pinkie booped Scribe on the nose with her finger and took the pamphlet out of his hand. “Come on, I can’t go with you to help, but once you get out of all those stifling clothes and relax you’ll feel worlds better.”
“Wait, what?” Scribe found himself moving without really meaning to and the next thing he knew he was inside of a regular-looking changing room much like the ones found in the school gym. “But I don’t want to take my clothes off,” he finished lamely as he realized he was the only one there. Sighing he slumped down on one of the benches near the lockers and covered his face in his hands. “This couldn’t possibly get any worse.”
“Woo hoo! Ready or not CHS, here I come!” Lemon’s shout came from the other room, somehow managing to be louder than even the music.
“I stand corrected.”
Adagio and her sisters stood at the top of the stairs leading down to where the naturist club was holding their weekly bash. Her hands were on her hips in that certain way she loved so much and a shark-like grin spread across her face.
“This is it, girls,” she stated. “Now that we know exactly where it is we can lead the cops down here and once that’s done, this school will rue the day they destroyed our plans.”
Aria sighed and rolled her eyes, but didn’t say a thing.
Sonata acted boldly and without warning; a loud clang reverberated through the hall.
Adagio slowly turned to face her. Her eyes narrowed in sudden rage. Before she could ask why Sonata had just beaned her with the frying pan from their apartment, her eyes rolled into the back of her head and she collapsed. Bouncing down the stairs, she wound up falling into a heap at the bottom of them, her massive head of hair cushioning her fall.
Aria quirked a brow and glanced to the side at her sibling.
Sonata stood breathing hard the frying pan in one hand, a bottle of chloroform in the other hand and a wild gleam in her eyes. “It worked! I didn’t think it would! I just didn’t want to get anybody in trouble, not like that, I mean what’s wrong with a Naturist Club anyway? And that pink girl isn’t the worst person out there. She’s my girlfriend! I’m sorry, ‘Dagi, but I couldn’t let you do it!” she screamed down at her unconscious sister.
Smirking slightly Aria gently took the frying pan away. “Hey, no need to yell. I don’t think she can hear you anyway.” A faint aroma wafted off the metal implement and she eyed it in confusion. “Did you soak this with the chloroform?”
“Well, duh!” Sonata shouted. “How else was I going to make sure she conked out? You know how thick that hair of hers is.”
Frowning briefly, Aria nodded reluctantly. “Fair point. But couldn’t you have hit her before we got to the top of the stairs? I really don’t feel like having to haul her ass back up here.”
Sonata sighed briefly and then perked up when she heard the strange sounds of a pulley operating behind the wall. “They’ve got that fancy food moving dealie; we could just dump her on that and drag her up that way.”
Aria’s smirk widened at the thought of Adagio being unceremoniously dragged up on a dumbwaiter. “Come on, let’s go talk to your pink girlfriend.” Her eyes widened as it finally registered that her sister had admitted to being in love with the enemy. Turning, she glared at Sonata.
“I know! I don’t know how to explain it, Aria!” Sonata deflated slightly nervously. “We don’t do ‘friend’. Or play nice. And I remember she was responsible for the loss of our voices, but she’s a girl who likes to hang out with me and maybe sort of pities me too and tries to cheer me up by making me delicious sweets and all the tacos I could ever want. And humans say the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. I’m like not a man, but, endless tacos! And she’s hot. And…Please don’t make me dump her, Aria, please!”
“Whatever. Let’s just do it before she wakes up. I want to be long gone from here when that happens.” Aria started walking down the stairs. “I don’t care why you fell in love with her or anything like that. I mean, we haven’t had any action for at least a decade. Dagi is going to kill you though.”
Sonata flinched briefly, but then smiled with relief. “I’ll deal with that when it comes up. As for worrying about ‘Dagi waking up, why do you think I brought the bottle with me?” she said as she skipped happily down the stairs.
“I wasted good money on that new outfit.” Scribe’s complaint was more to take his mind off of the large crowd of fellow students currently mingling without a stitch of clothing on. The rules said a towel could be used to stave off nervousness and maintain modesty, but he hadn’t bothered to look too hard for those. Plus, most of the students here weren’t walking around with one on. Meaning that he’d stick out like a sore thumb if he did put one on. In an effort to better blend in, he marched steadily and determinedly towards the dance floor. “Need to get to Lemon before she makes a huge scene.”
Scarlet Scribe was no stranger to discomfort on this level. When your mother used to take her clothes off for a living, you tended to not be as unnerved by naked bodies as you might expect. Half the women his mom knew as friends were still exotic dancers, and some of them had a tendency to be less than discreet about it in mixed company.
None of them would be caught dead here, though. This was a lawsuit just waiting to happen, and probably worse. If Spoiled Rich ever found out about this it would allow that stuck-up prude to finally oust Celestia as Principal of CHS. They never could agree on school policies, and from what little he’d overheard from Diamond during her venting sessions with Silver Spoon at the school paper. Spoiled was the least of his problems if anyone outside of this found out.
He happened to like Ms. Cheerilee and would hate to see her lose her job and have to go to jail over this: impressionable young students walking around without a stitch of clothing on in front of an equally nude female teacher? The press would have a field day with that.
Naturists were allowed to mingle just fine on private property, but in public? Unless it was a nude beach, forget about it, and even those were more private areas of the world where Naturalists could express themselves as they truly were.
Anybody with the right connections could blow a huge whistle on this, and get students expelled, maybe even permanently. A teacher fired and arrested for ‘harming the fragile psyches of impressionable young minds’ or however the local press writers would spin the yarn. Trust a journalist to see the truly bigger picture here.
“Oh sure, let’s start up our own naturist club as a school club to get course credit for it, it’ll be fun and perfectly harmless. Nothing could possibly go wrong. Until Diamond Dazzle Tiara, the head of the school paper, finds out about it… It occurs to me I should be pissed at her. She fucking knew I had to take my clothes off for this, but because she wanted an impartial witness she didn’t tell me what to expect!” Scribe paused as he fought down the very Sour Sweet-like reaction he wanted to say.
“Sour Sweet would just love, love, love to say something about this. And Sunny… actually, she might be ok with this. Sugarcoat too, in her own odd way, but Indigo would be out of here so fast the sirens would already be wailing in the distance due to her forgetting her clothes behind and drawing unwanted attention.” Scribe was talking to himself about familiar faces in order to remain perfectly calm. It wasn’t easy. “Abacus Cinch, Abacus Cinch,” he recited as he felt himself getting a bit too excited for his own good.
He’d spent a full thirty-two minutes and six seconds in the locker room debating over how to handle Lemon’s enthusiasm. After twelve minutes he realized he’d have to take his clothes off. Another two minutes after that he realized his little soldier had firmly decided it was now time to stand at attention.
The only way he could get himself to calm down enough and ignore the hormonal responses fueling his body was to think of the worst possible person imaginable being here and embracing the naturist lifestyle. Crystal Prep’s stern and imposing dean was the first thing to pop into mind. It was amazing what it did to his hormonal drive.
“This isn’t so bad.” Scribe paused and let his words sink in. “I have no idea what the fuck I’m supposed to do when Diamond calls me tomorrow and wants to start on the next phase of her little plan. At least I managed to ditch that rule pamphlet so I can honestly say I don’t have physical proof for Luna.”
“Stage Dive!” Lemon shouted somewhere to his left.
“Where did they even get a stage that could fit in here?” Scribe asked himself as he realized he had to tackle one problem at a time. Then he noticed one of the stunning older students standing off to one side in the crowded room. It was Trixie, and a few students had gathered and were watching her performing some stage tricks. “Abacus Cinch, Abacus Cinch.”
“What about her?” Pinkie asked from beside him.
“She’s the worst person I could think of to avoid getting stiff at every girl here.” Scribe blinked as he realized who was now next to him and what he’d said. “Ok, now I see why everybody doesn’t always like Sugarcoat being so blunt.”
Pinkie giggled and slapped him across the shoulders. “Good one, Scribey. But why are you even talking about those Crystal Prep girls anyway?”
“Uh.” Scribe tried to think of a reason quickly. “It’s a secret to everyone,” he quoted without meaning to.
“You’re a secret gamer too?” Pinkie asked with excited eyes. “I think you messed up the quote though,” she added almost as an afterthought. “By the way, it’s dangerous to go alone. So take this.” Pinkie passed him a cupcake and disappeared without another word.
Scribe blinked in confusion. “I still think someone could make a very large grant studying how that girl does what she does.” Shrugging briefly he turned once more to his left to retrieve Lemon and took a bite of the cupcake. “Mm mm, boy can she bake though.”
Zecora sat perfectly still as one of the male students painted her body, mindful not to go anywhere that would be considered inappropriate. She was much calmer now that she was in the thick of things, and she was confident that her father wouldn’t be a problem. She’d simply let him know that she’d had a good time, as usual; there were no pushers or other shady characters present and ‘no’ she had not met a boy.
The trippy body art she’d just explain away in her usual way and everything would be fine. Taking a deep breath to center her chakras, as well as to ignore the cold wet tickling sensation of the brush on her thigh, she felt more at peace than she’d ever felt before. A nagging sensation tried to worm its way into her thoughts from the back of her mind, but she wasn’t concerned enough to care, and so willed it away. Whatever it was could wait until she wasn’t getting painted.
Dinky enjoyed every party the club threw. She would have enjoyed herself more if she didn’t constantly find herself thinking about problems. Being a member of the inner circle meant that she knew all of the issues that were cropping up, and while Vice Principal Luna seemed to have nipped Diamond Tiara’s story in the bud, that wouldn’t stop her from trying to infiltrate them. Silver Spoon was converted, but they couldn’t count on every minion in Diamond’s network to be swayed over to their side. Snips and Snails were too simple minded to ever think of betraying her: they were too good at being followers and needed someone like Di to tell them what to do.
Whatever happened next, though, was Sweetie Belle’s problem not hers. Or at least it was until she spotted one of her informants rapidly approaching from the direction of the dance area. Frowning briefly she wondered what could possibly make him so pale, almost as if he’d seen Diamond Tiara herself.
“Code red!” he blurted once he was within hearing distance.
Dinky’s gaze narrowed. “Where?”
“Seven-thirty.”
Dinky turned in that direction and spotted him immediately. He was moving through the crowd with a determined expression on his face, a pale green covered cupcake half-eaten in one hand. Once she knew who it was she started to calculate weaknesses. “Don’t panic, and round up the girls. Also, find out where Fluttershy is, we may need her. Same with Silver Spoon.”
Offering a quick salute her informant quickly made his way around the periphery of the room searching for any signs of Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom.
Dinky stared at the male figure as he finally reached the dance floor. Biting down hard she suddenly felt a flavor invasion in her mouth as the lollipop she knew she hadn’t put there crunched. Reaching up, she popped the stick out of her mouth in confusion. “Huh?”
“Serious thinking film noir detectives always have something in their mouths,” Pinkie informed as she danced briefly in front of her before vanishing back into the crowd.
Shaking her head to ignore the oddity that was Pinkie Pie, especially more so than usual since she got that Equestrian magic, Dinky tried to remember if there was any place secure enough for a confrontation. She had a mole to stop.
Aria and Sonata struggled to lift Adagio out of the dumbwaiter. Managing to get her to fit in there had been a real trick. Unfortunately, now they were having a hell of a time finding anything to grab her by to pull her out. Aria was about to swear out loud and damn her vow of silence when the dumbwaiter suddenly started falling back down at a rapid pace. Sonata screamed as she was pulled down with her sister back down to the basement.
Aria had managed to let go barely in time. Now she was concerned; Sonata could have been seriously hurt. Which meant she’d have to go down and make sure nothing had happened to her. Resisting the urge to swear again she scowled and quickly made her way back down stairs.
“Lemon!” Scribe tried to get her attention over the din of the music for the fifth time. She was pretty much oblivious to him as she jived and juked around, swaying to the beat. Oddly enough, Scribe wasn’t feeling any reactions in his body due to his hormones while watching her. That could be because he was getting used to everything, or, more than likely, because he’d grown up with her and considered her someone he’d be comfortable with naked. And wasn’t that an odd thought?
“This girl loves to party,” he complained.
“You know that chick?” a voice asked from his left.
Turning, he saw one of Flash’s bandmates nearby. Scribe nodded briefly. “Yeah, she’s my… guest.”
“Dude, she’s got more energy than Pinkie Pie.” The guy nodded appreciatively at that.
“I wouldn’t let her hear you saying that, she might take that as a challenge,” Scribe said, really wishing he knew the other student’s name, if only so he could refer to him as other than Flash’s Band Mate.
“You’re never going to get her attention by shouting though.”
“I believe I figured that out already,” Scribe muttered.
“Here.”
“Woah!” Scribe had not been expecting to get grabbed by someone. The other male took his arm and spun him around so they were facing one another, then he knelt down.
“Just relax, dude! Put your feet on my shoulders.” Smiling encouragingly up at him the band member - was it Drive or something? - managed to coax Scribe to move.
Awkwardly climbing onto the older boy’s shoulders, he nearly lost it when the dude stood up. Now that he found himself at eye level with Vinyl’s stage, Scribe waved at Lemon to try and get her attention. “Lemon!” This looked considerably odd since both boys were roughly equal in height. One of them was far more muscular than the other though, Scribe had a lanky physique after all.
“Hey, Scribey!” Lemon smiled when she caught sight of him. “You gotta try this!” she added before diving off the stage again. A large number of students managed to catch her. “Surf me over, party peeps!” she requested.
Balanced awkwardly on his fellow CHS student’s shoulder Scribe watched in utter bemused fascination as the dancers steered Lemon over to him.
“Thanks!” Lemon told the crowd as she climbed up onto another girl’s shoulders. “I see you came out to enjoy the fun!”
“Do we have to chat on top of somebody’s shoulders?” Scribe wondered.
“What?” Lemon cupped one of her ears. “Speak louder!”
“WHY ARE WE TALKING ON TOP OF PEOPLE?” Scribe hollered over the loud beats of Vinyl Scratch.
“Because it’s fun!” Lemon responded as she tried to dance while on top of the other girl.
Scribe shook his head. “I can’t take you anywhere.”
“You don’t take me anywhere anyway, we take you!” Lemon reminded with a playful smirk as she pushed Scribe playfully.
“Young lady! Get down from there, there will be no playing of chicken while raving!” Cheerilee ordered as she marched onto the scene with a stern expression on her face and her arms crossed over her chest.
“Thank you sanity,” Scribe praised.
“Spoilsport old bag!” Lemon grumbled perhaps a bit too loudly, but she climbed down from her perch.
“Thanks for the assist, uh…” Scribe glanced down at the boy he was standing on.
“Just call me Beats, dude,” the boy said with a grin. “Need a hand gettin’ down?”
“Maybe just a little.” Scribe admitted.
Beats helped him maneuver off his shoulders and back to the floor, making it a lot less awkward than it would be if Scribe had thought about it too closely. “Scarlet Scribe.” He reached out politely and shook hands with Beats.
“Pleased to meet you, dude. Brawly Beats.”
“Come on, Scribey! Let’s dance!” Lemon grabbed her friend by the shoulder and hauled him into the middle of the gyrating masses before he had a chance to retort. She spun him around and bumped hips with him causing him to bump hips with another girl dancing nearby.
“I didn’t come over here to cut the rug, Lemon,” Scribe hissed as his cheeks turned as red as his name implied.
“Oh, ya wanna shoot some pool?” she asked with a chuckle.
“No, I do not want to shoot some pool!” Scribe snapped. “Nor do I wish to play arcade games or bowl or whatever that freaky body paint thing is all about in the other corner!”
“Body paint?” Lemon’s head whipped around, an eager gleam in her eyes.
“Lemon, I am here for one reason and one reason only, to make sure you don’t do or say anything in your zest for fun that could compromise our delicate situation any further.”
“Geeze, Scribey, you need to lighten up more. You’re really starting to sound like Sugarcoat, and not in the good way; more like when it’s close to exam times and she shuts herself in her room for three days straight studying.”
Scribe brought his hand up to rub the bridge of his nose in an attempt to stave off the headache slowly forming in the back of his mind. “I would have taken Indigo over her, I really would have,” he grumbled to himself. “Listen closely, Lemon, because I am only going to say this once. We are not here to party.”
“Speak for yourself!” Lemon shoved against Scribe again, causing him to stumble briefly.
“At least Zecora isn’t causing as big a scene as you,” Scribe retorted frustratedly.
Lemon’s expression changed, and she shot her friend a dirty look. “You have a stick so far up your—” she started to tell him off.
“Of course I do!” Scribe interrupted with a growl. “I’m in a very uncomfortable situation, faced with a serious problem that you don’t seem to care all that much about, and on top of that my hormone levels are dangerously out of balance due to the very nature of said uncomfortable situation! I mean, seriously, Lemon, aside from you and Sugarcoat’s other friends when’s the last time you saw me in any kind of social situation that wasn’t family related?”
Lemon sighed. “That’s why you need to get out more, lighten up a little, I’m not trying to make your life a living hell. I’m trying to help break you out of your shell a little. This is a naturist party, and even though you’re standing in the middle of the dance floor without a stitch of clothes on you’ve got so many layers over you it’s not even funny.
"It’s really more pathetic, honestly.” Lemon eyed Scribe with a sad expression and settled down enough to help walk him to the fringes of the dance floor. “Maybe we should take this a little bit slower. Unwind a bit without the loud and booming music. Sure, it’s awesome tuneage, but you need a different approach from the usual.”
Scribe stared at Lemon Zest in utter shock. “Who are you and what have you done with my friend?” he demanded, half in jest.
“Hey.” Lemon lightly shoved Scribe. “I’m getting better at this friend thing; we’re still figuring it out you know,” she reminded.
“Well that makes two of us,” Scribe admitted, blushing suddenly.
Lemon spotted a small group of students sitting around lotus style and chanting. “That’s what you need, a healthy bit of relaxation and meditation.”
Scribe glanced over and instantly regretted it. “Abacus Cinch, Abacus Cinch.”
“What? Where?” Lemon demanded glancing around with genuine fear.
Scribe sighed and finally felt more in control. “Nowhere, she’s my mantra so I can avoid any embarrassing situations, you know, more so than just being here.”
Lemon shot Scribe a disbelieving look, and then she broke down laughing. “Scribe, you are too much sometimes. Come on, let’s go cleanse our auras and whatnot. It’ll make you feel better, trust me.”
“Anything’s better than being in that mosh pit,” Scribe said with a relieved sigh. “Seriously I don’t know if I should be aroused, concerned about personal boundaries, or trying to keep those CHS guys from ogling you while you get your groove on.”
Lemon giggled as she mussed Scribe’s hair. “Awwww, that’s kind of sweet.” Leaning in, she gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek and then lead the pair of them to the meditation circle. “Also ogling is strictly forbidden, any of those boys try it and they get booted out, didn’t you read the rules?”
Scribe shot Lemon a sheepish grin. “Er, I was kind of more worried about what was going on with you out here… and seriously, where did they get that stage from and how did they get it in here?” he asked in a mystified tone of voice.
“That pink haired Wondercolt rented it for the night.” Lemon shrugged. “That’s what Vinyl said, anyway.” Grabbing a pair of towels from a basket nearby Lemon held one in each hand and unrolled them simultaneously, placing them on the floor near the meditating group. “Now let’s get our ohhhhm on.”
Scribe nodded and swiftly lowered himself to the floor. “I could use a bit of ohmmming.”
“Sonata, why are you hiding in the dumbwaiter with Adagio?” Pinkie wondered, mystified.
“I wasn’t hiding.” Sonata grunted as she finally popped out. Tumbling to the floor with Adagio in her lap she shoved her sister aside, rather roughly, and instantly hopped to her feet. “I was trying to get her out of here before she woke up and brought the cops down here. Boy, that dude with the talking mutt makes it look so easy to use these things.” Sonata frowned briefly as she studied the dumbwaiter and her sister’s prone form.
“What boy with a talking dog?” Pinkie questioned with a giggle.
“You know, the one with the groovy van who goes around solving mysteries.” Sonata laughed briefly and then stuck her tongue out in an attempt at thinking.
“Did you want some help?”
“Nah, Aria and I should be able to get her out of here.”
Adagio started to groan.
Sonata swung the frying pan again and slammed it into her hair, which once again cushioned the blow.
Pinkie gasped in surprise. “Sonata! You shouldn’t hit people with frying pans,” she said.
“Well I couldn’t soak a rag and cover her face with it. Adagio would have squirmed out of my grip before the chloroform took effect.” Shrugging, she returned the frying pan where it had been and smiled. “That should hold her until we can get her out of here.” Turning to Pinkie she broke into a happier smile than the more manic one of moments ago and rushed over to give her a great big hug and a long kiss.
Aria stepped into the loading area while they were making out.
Pinkie shook her head when the kiss ended and let out a funny sigh. “Sonata, we really need to talk about this whole girlfriends thing.”
“Later, silly,” Sonata returned with a contented sigh. “Hey, Aria, ready to try again?”
Aria just leaned forward and grabbed Adagio’s ankles.
“Why don’t you… put her somewhere for safekeeping and come join the party?” Pinkie suggested. “Adagio won’t be able to get any cops here anyway. They patrol more downtown.”
Aria quirked a brow. “I didn’t come here to party.”
“Are you sure?” Pinkie asked with a giggle. “You sirens must be as big on naturism as Sunset since you’re from Equestria. And we’ve got some great stuff in here.” Pinkie pointed to the door she’d used to see what all the ruckus was, plus she needed more snacks for the party guests.
Aria scowled and crossed her arms over her chest.
Sonata giggled. “Aria hates her monkey body,” she said.
Pinkie gasped. “No way!”
Sonata’s head bobbed up and down in a frantic nod. “Yeppers. She totes can’t stand the thing. Right, Aria, you once told me that you felt it was an awkward mess with bits that served no proper function.” Sonata grinned and poked Aria in the chest. “Boobies are sooooo much fun though, I mean totally sensitive. Kinda wish we had them in our old bodies; it would have made mating season so much more fun.” Sonata giggled.
Aria slapped her hand away. “Look, I don’t care if you want to make out with her, but stop blabbing everything about us. She’s still the enemy, Sonata.”
Sonata sighed and averted her eyes. “Ok. Yeah. I’m sorry, Ari.”
Pinkie needed to salvage the situation; this was the most any of the sirens had interacted with her since the Battle of the Bands. And while she seemed to be in a relationship now with Sonata, which was going to need a serious discussion soon, she wanted to try and cheer up the other sirens too. Spread the joy of Friendship, just like Princess Twilight would. “Sure I can’t tempt you to join the party?” she asked with a sly grin. “We’ve got loads of treats. Dancing, party games, pool, an arcade.”
Aria blinked in surprise. “Arcade?” she repeated a slow smile spreading.
Sonata nodded. “Ooooo, oooo, yeah, Ari! Totes forgot about that, it’s like the eighties in there! They have some real gems.” Snickering at what she thought was a clever joke, Sonata beaned Adagio in the head a third time when she started to stir once more. “I think I need more chloroform.”
Pinkie snatched the frying pan away from her and shook her head. “No more hitting!”
Adagio moved again and Pinkie was the one to hit her this time. Staring mortified at the leader of the Dazzlings she dropped the cooking implement on the floor, embarrassed at her reaction.
Sonata laughed without a care and suddenly hefted Adagio up. “Show me where to stash her and we’ll get undressed!” she said with a gleam in her eyes.
Aria debated the idea for a little while longer, but the thought of actually playing arcade games again after the last arcade had closed down years ago made her barriers weaken. Just slightly.
“Ok, girls. Follow me!” Pinkie smiled nervously and lead the trio off somewhere.
“What are we gonna do?!” Apple Bloom exclaimed as she paced in front of the others. “Ah can’t believe he got in. How did Diamond Tiara know when we were meetin’?”
“Well it’s not like it’s a secret. I mean, the school paper has to post a schedule for all the clubs every week so everyone knows which days to set aside for club business,” Dinky reminded.
“Well who let him in?” Scootaloo demanded. “I mean if he’s one of her minions he shouldn’t even have gotten an invite.”
“We can’t stand guard by the door to the school indefinitely,” Sweetie Belle said. “It was bound to happen. I’m kind of surprised she didn’t try with Snips or Snails.”
“They’re too well known,” Dinky stated. “I’m afraid Scarlet Scribe is just one of those generic faces, he blends in so well that knowing where his allegiances lie can be a bit tricky.”
“But you’re sure he’s loyal to Diamond?” Sweetie questioned.
Dinky nodded and let out a brief sigh of frustration. “Unfortunately. But I do know his weakness. We have to convince him not to help Diamond Tiara, and the best way to do that is to get him alone for a little bit to grill him.”
“Ah don’t know, that seems kind of mean.” Apple Bloom rubbed her arm nervously. “And kinda against the rules of the club.”
“You don’t have to be present,” Dinky said. “Sweetie and I could handle this alone, with Fluttershy’s help of course.”
“Why Fluttershy?” Scootaloo frowned in confusion.
“She’s got the longest hair here right now, Scribe’s student file indicates he needs to be seated away from any girls with really long hair in any class, by orders of his doctor and mom.” Dinky smirked knowingly and flicked the lollipop stick in her hand at the garbage can nearby.
“I thought those were confidential?” Sweetie glanced curiously at her friend.
Dinky rose one brow at the comment.
“Yeah, silly question,” Sweetie said with a shake of her head.
“Why don’t we just talk to him?” Apple Bloom said. “Ah mean he can’t be that bad. Diamond’s never used him for any dirty work before.”
“This is the enemy we’re talking about, Apple Bloom!” Scootaloo argued. “He could be taking secret pictures right now.”
“Kind of hard to do that without any clothes on,” Sweetie pointed out.
“What about his eyes, I mean, what if he’s got cameras in his contact lenses?”
“He has 20/20 vision, Scootaloo,” Dinky said with a sigh. “Apple Bloom has a point though, maybe someone should just talk to him.”
“Fluttershy still?” Scootaloo wondered.
Dinky shook her head and moved over to see what Scribe was up to right now. She spotted him sitting on a towel and meditating with Tree Hugger’s group, his friend beside him. “In this instance I believe the direct approach might prove better. I’ll keep Fluttershy in reserve though.”
Sweetie frowned. “You’re going to interrogate him?”
Dinky shook her head. “We’re going to ask Silver Spoon to talk to him.”
“We are?” Apple Bloom took a step back in concern.
“She’s the only one who has ever interacted with him before. She should be able to convince him not to side with Diamond Tiara.”
The others stared at Dinky in disbelief.
“Yah can’t be serious.”
“It’s the only hope we have of making sure he doesn’t get Diamond anything that could compromise us,” Sweetie pointed out.
“Dinky!” Her informant rushed up suddenly. “Um, about Fluttershy.”
“Uh oh.” Dinky sighed as she caught sight of a familiar head of pink hair making her way over to Tree Hugger’s group.
“What?” Scootaloo glanced between Dinky, Scribe and Fluttershy. “We were going to ask Fluttershy to help get the dirt on him anyway.”
“Yeah, but I think we’re about to learn why Scarlet Scribe isn’t supposed to be next to any girls with long hair.” Dinky shook her head in silent resignation.
Lemon felt something breeze past her while she was doing her best to keep from jumping back to the dance floor for Scribe’s sake. It tickled her nose and she cracked her eye curiously. The sight that greeted her instantly sobered her up. A pale buttercream-yellow girl had approached the leader of the meditation crowd. A pale buttercream-yellow girl with a head of light pink hair that reached down past her butt.
At first she didn’t think this was much of a concern, until she recalled the incident at the mall with Scarlet Scribe. If he opened his eyes and saw her, there might be grounds for a ruling from that Cheerilee teacher. Glancing around frantically she tried to find something she could use as a distraction.
“Hi, Tree Hugger.” Fluttershy’s greeting was soft, barely loud enough to attract the other girl’s attention.
Scarlet Scribe, however, was intimately aware of the soft dulcet tones of the one girl in all of CHS that could trigger his instinctual response ingrained since youth. Clamping his eyes shut firmly tight he began to hum a soft tune as music started playing in the back of his mind. A song his mother had introduced him to that helped him keep control of his baser instincts.
Lemon, unaware of this, leapt up from her sitting place and rushed over to the body paint group. Grabbing an almost empty bucket she dashed back; she figured Scribe could forgive her for messing up his hair and face if it meant cutting him off from seeing anything.
“Hey!” Sandalwood shouted after her.
“No running!” Cheerilee reprimanded.
“Hang on, Scribey, I’m coming!” Lemon shouted.
Blinking in confusion Scribe turned to the source of his friend’s outburst, knowing it would be fine since Fluttershy wasn’t in that direction.
Lemon forgot about the towel on the floor and stumbled as she caught the edge of it with her foot. She flew forward with a cry of surprise.
Scribe saw her coming, as by now he’d opened his eyes. “Lemon?” Scribe instinctively moved to catch his friend so she wouldn’t hurt herself by falling on the floor.
The body paint went flying splashing against Scribe’s skin and face blinding him.
Lemon crashed into him and brought them both down in a tangle of limbs and various body parts covered in sticky body paint that had dried a little bit in the heat of the room.
The bucket slammed onto Scribe’s head cutting off his vision from the world. He refused to panic however, instead he did his best to remain calm, which wasn’t easy with Lemon now lying on him and the sudden pain stabbing through his shoulder blade where he’d collided with the floor.
Lemon wasn’t moving and Scribe began to worry that she might have hit her head against the bucket stuck on his head. “Lemon? Lemon? Are you ok?” Shifting, he managed to push her slightly to one side so he could remove the bucket from his head. A small concerned crowd of onlookers had surrounded them both. Sandalwood took the bucket from him.
Cheerilee hovered over them both with a concerned expression, and Tree Hugger and Fluttershy had rushed over to try and help.
Scribe couldn’t let that bother him now though, glancing down at Lemon he hoped she wasn’t seriously hurt. Lemon was out cold, a large welt on one side of her head, but she was still breathing. “Lemon, damn it! What were you thinking?”
“Give her some air, everybody!” Cheerilee instructed. “And someone get the first aid kit.”
Scribe quickly got to his feet and picked Lemon up in his arms. “Where can I take her?” he asked Cheerilee.
“My personal dressing area will do.” Cheerilee clapped her hands together. “Ok, show’s over folks, please try to remain calm.”
Scribe ignored the teacher and started heading over to what must have been her private dressing area; it was close to the girl’s room, but had a door that could be locked. Scribe wondered how they’d managed to build all of this additional stuff in such a space, but he kind of figured it was just one of those things best not to ask.
“The girls are going to never forgive me if you seriously hurt yourself, Lemon Zest,” he mumbled under his breath. “And we can’t exactly tell them how it happened either.” Scarlet Scribe barely noticed the sudden tightness in his chest as he glanced down at Lemon; he had little idea what was going on, but he felt a strange stirring in the back of his mind at the sight of her injury.
Silver Spoon watched in amazement. She couldn’t believe anyone would have invited Scarlet Scribe. He was still working for Diamond Tiara and wouldn’t see her for what she really was. A total user. She needed to talk to him, right now, but it would probably have to wait until he saw to his friend.
Her eyes widened as she recalled the previous day’s conversation – no, argument - that she’d had with Diamond. “So that’s what she meant about corrupting. Di must have been intending to get Scribe in here all week,” Silver Spoon muttered to herself thoughtfully.
“Is something wrong?”
Silver Spoon turned to Mirror Gem with a strained smile. “No, not really. I’ve got to talk to somebody in private for a few minutes, is that ok?”
Mirror Gem nodded. “Sure, you go do what you have to do. What was all that commotion about anyway?” She glanced curiously towards the meditation area.
Silver Spoon shook her head. “I have no idea, but that’s what I’m going to find out.” Hesitantly giving her girlfriend a brief kiss on the cheek she rushed off to confront Scribe. This was not going to be pleasant.
Cheerilee followed the two students into the room after unlocking the door. A small bench had been put in there for her and Scarlet Scribe was quick to put his friend gently onto the towel that Fluttershy brought with her.
“Will she be ok?” the shy girl asked.
“It doesn’t look too serious, but I’m afraid we’ll have to consider this an infraction for disobeying the rules,” Cheerilee stated. “I told her there was no running allowed.”
“Here’s the first aid kit, Ms. Cheerilee,” Apple Bloom said as she and her friends brought it into the room.
“I don’t get it, why’d she want to hit you with that bucket anyway?” Scootaloo asked. “I mean, one minute you were both meditating, and the next she just tosses a bucket on you.”
Scarlet Scribe was gently stroking Lemon’s hair while he watched over her. She was breathing fine and didn’t seem to be hurt too badly; he’d barely heard what was being said by the others, but he caught the last of it and glanced up with a brief sigh. “It’s because of Fluttershy I’d wager,” he said.
Cheerilee frowned briefly and then she realized who was in the room with them from the student roster. “Oh, Scarlet Scribe! I’m so sorry for not recognizing you sooner, I would have suggested you might prefer to avoid certain activities.”
“What’s wrong with me?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly.
“Nothing.” Scribe swallowed nervously and indicated her long luxurious hair. “I just have this strong instinctive reaction to girls with long hair, I can keep it in check mostly. If I’m in a high stressful environment usually I sing a song to myself in my head to help keep me from doing something stupid. But Lemon didn’t know that about me, so I guess she wanted to make sure I couldn’t see you, in case I tried to start braiding it or something.”
“You’d want to braid my hair?” Fluttershy blushed slightly.
“Any long hair really, mom used it to calm me down when I was younger, and I kind of developed a tick.”
“F-Fetish,” Lemon groaned as she started to regain consciousness.
Scribe’s cheeks burned as he glared at his friend. “It is not a fetish!” Scribe blinked as he realized Lemon was coming out of it. “Oh my gosh! You’re ok!” He moved in closer and stared intently at Lemon. “You are ok, right?”
“Head still hurts; not my brightest idea. Sorry Scribey, I kind of spaz out in a crisis.” Lemon smiled up at her friend.
Scribe smoothed her hair down while Cheerilee finished wrapping her head with the bandage in the first aid kit. “That’s ok, we spazzes need to stick together.”
“Awwwww.”
“Huh?” Scribe and Lemon glanced over at the CMC as they stared at them with looks of adoration.
“You are so cute together,” Sweetie Belle said with a grin.
“Woah! We are not together, Lemon’s my friend a-and I could never...” Scribe began to deny vehemently. He stopped himself when he realized it might hurt Lemon’s feelings. The thought brought crummy feelings via the churning in his stomach, which in turn brought more unbidden words.
“I mean, yeah, she’s totally awesome and stuff. I mean, come to think of it, she’s the first one of my friends not blood related whose uh… help me end this before I stick my foot in it, Lemon?”
Lemon just smirked at him and squeezed his hand. “I get what you’re trying to say.” Her cheeks flushed and she shook her head to try and get rid of the ringing, and potentially something more.
“Sure ya do,” Apple Bloom said with a wink.
Scribe groaned in frustration.
“I think you two have had enough fun for one night. I suggest you go get dressed in your respective change rooms and go home. I want Lemon Zest to see someone about that nasty fall she took, too.” Cheerilee’s tone was very insistent.
Scribe frowned briefly. “Er, right. I’m still kind of sticky with body paint; where exactly do I go to wash it off?”
“There’s a cleaning station in each of the change rooms for that,” Cheerilee explained with a brief smile.
“Wait!” Scootaloo blurted. “Ummm, I mean there’s still a problem.”
“Oh, what?” Cheerilee asked with a brief glance at the students. “I do need to get back outside, girls.”
“It’s ok, how about we meet at the Sweet Shoppe tomorrow afternoon and discuss this, calmly, and rationally.” Scribe smiled at the CMC.
“Ok.” Sweetie shot him a wary look.
“Great! If that’s all done, I want to go home, I’ve got a terrible headache.” Lemon Zest slowly and shakily climbed to her feet.
Scribe rushed over and lent her his arm. “Take it easy, my cousin is going to kill me when she finds out.”
“Who’s gonna tell her?” Lemon asked chuckling briefly. “Ow.” She massaged her head to assuage the sudden flaring of pain.
“She’ll find out, that ugly lump on your head will be a dead giveaway,” Scribe pointed out as he started helping her out of the room.
Once they were sure he was gone the CMC turned to one another.
“How do we know we can trust him, Sweetie?” Scootaloo demanded. “He’s one of Diamond’s minions!”
“Yes, he is,” Sweetie said. “And he spent a few hours here getting in touch with his naturist side, maybe there’s hope for him yet.”
Scribe stood in front of Silver Spoon while Lemon Zest was at his side and just stared. She was here. In front of him. Without any clothes on. Diamond Tiara’s bestie since grade three. His brain just couldn’t process what he was seeing.
Nervously rubbing her arm, Silver Spoon glanced to the side. “Di sent you.”
“Y-Yeah.” Scribe paled slightly.
“Scribe, you can’t help her! You just can’t!” she exclaimed.
Scarlet Scribe shook his head. “Do you have any concept as to the position I’m in?” he snapped. “Sil, I’m loyal not because I have much choice, but because Diamond has something I want.”
“But if you tell her.”
“I know!” Scribe snapped. “I figured it out the second I got here. Hard not to, seeing Cheerilee strutting around without a stitch of clothing on.”
“Then you know that if Diamond had her way-”
“Look, I’m not in the mood. I’m tired, stressed out, and my friend here needs to get home to recuperate.” Scribe paused and glanced over at Lemon, who was being remarkably quiet. “Tag along with the CMC tomorrow to the Sweet Shoppe if you need to, but I’m not discussing anything until tomorrow.
“I’m still pissed at Diamond right now for not even cluing me in on what to expect. I spent a hundred and eighty dollars, with tax, for a new party outfit that I didn’t even need because of it. And I have enough mental imagery of Dean Cinch from Crystal Prep to scare me off dating for the next three months. Lemon, please stop me again, I’m starting to channel Sugarcoat!” Scribe turned to his friend with a frustrated expression.
“You seem like a nice enough girl, but take off.” Lemon wobbled slightly as she tried to intimidate Silver Spoon.
“Actually, can you help Lemon back into the changing room?” Scribe suddenly requested. “I can’t go in there with her and I don’t want her to be alone. I can trust you that much, can’t I?”
Silver Spoon looked hurt at her old friend. “Do you even need to ask?”
Scribe sighed and shook his head.
Spoon nodded and offered a hesitant smile. “Ok, come on Lemon Zest.”
“I don’t need any help.”
“Lemon, for me? Please?” Scribe coaxed the older girl.
“Oh fine. But I’m getting dressed without her help!” Lemon declared as she allowed Silver Spoon to help take her weight and steer her towards the dressing room.
Silver Spoon glanced back only once with an uncertain expression.
Scribe sighed and rubbed the back of his shoulder. “I’m going to feel this in the morning.”
Pinkie smiled while she watched Sonata out of the corner of one eye. Despite everything going on in Tree Hugger’s area, the sirens both seemed to be ok. Pinkie was still nervous about an honest to goodness “siren thinking they were an item thing”.
She needed to talk to somebody, but Rarity still wasn’t coming to any of these parties. Not because she didn’t want to support Sweetie Belle, but after she heard that almost two hundred students were attending, well, Rarity always was a bit too delicate for her own good when it came to some things.
She could have gone over to Sunset to find out what she should do, but Sunset was enjoying her time and she didn’t want to ruin it by letting her know that there were two sirens back at CHS. Applejack was who knows where - Pinkie hadn’t seen her come in so she had no idea if she was even attending this time - and Rainbow Dash…
Glancing over to the bowling alley, Pinkie smiled fondly. “Always competing for something, aren’t you, Dashie?” Giggling briefly, she finished fixing up another taco platter for Sonata. They were the only thing that cheered her up and Pinkie didn’t understand the reason - all she knew was that she desperately needed to cheer her up. Part of her ached because of the way the Sirens acted.
Aria was the grumpiest of them all, and stubborn enough to refuse opening up and talking again without sign language. At least from what Pinkie could tell. Suddenly, she noticed Zecora out of the corner of one eye and she gasped. “Oh good! I’ll ask Zecora for advice; she always knows just what to do in any kind of emergency.” Pinkie now had a plan, but it would have to wait until tomorrow when Zecora wasn’t busy relaxing. So much to do, so little time to do it in.
Scarlet Scribe and Lemon Zest left the school together, Scribe doing his best to make sure that his friend didn’t suffer any relapses. Lemon was frustrated at his attitude, but chalked it up to him never seeing her wilder moments. This was nothing compared to some of the stuff she got into at the other parties she’d been to.
Scribe wanted to get home and get some sleep; he really needed it after tonight’s socializing. He also wondered if he could return the outfit he’d been forced to buy, since he hadn’t really needed it, though explaining that to anybody was going to be a real problem. He had a big enough problem with dealing with how to approach the Diamond Tiara thing. Fortunately she was busy this weekend visiting her grandmother so he knew he could relax.
Lemon glanced aside at Scribe and offered a tiny smile. “That was actually pretty fun. Thanks for letting me tag along, Scribe.”
“You’re welcome, Lemon.” Scribe smiled back. Then he frowned. “Do you get the feeling like we’re forgetting something?”
“Scribe, I got beaned by a heavy bucket holding body paint, you’re lucky I remembered how to put my bra on.”
Back in the basement of CHS, the teen known as the Party Ninja AKA Zecora, sighed to herself as she realized she’d been ditched. “I should return home since they have fled, but now I desire to remain instead.” She grinned over at Sandalwood as he continued painting other students with the body paint. “A handsome boy, gentle and carefree, I wonder what he thinks of me?”
Aria and Sonata were busy playing an old fighting game in the corner, unobserved and hidden from most of the students at CHS. Pinkie helped to sneak them in. Aria could care less about having to be naked; she was just pleased that some divine force of the human world had engineered it so that her favorite fighting game from the eighties was still accessible. Slapping the buttons rapidly she waited for Sonata to give in and admit defeat.
“Where’d you stow Dagi anyway?” she asked bluntly.
“Pinkie helped me stick her in one of the lockers,” Sonata said.
Aria raised a brow in surprise and then chuckled. “She’s going to kill us when she wakes up.”
Sonata nodded. “Yeah, but she’ll forgive us eventually like all the times before. Besides, maybe she’ll forget about that stupid revenge idea when she sees how much fun being a Naturalist is. I mean we can swim a lot better without all those stupid articles of clothing on anyway.”
Aria nodded briefly. “True.”
“K.O!” the game announced as Aria finally defeated Sonata’s character.
“No fair!” Sonata whined.
Aria smirked. “Best twenty out of thirty-six?”
“You’re on!” Sonata shouted. “Pinkie, taco me!”
A taco materialized from somewhere and connected with Sonata’s outstretched hand, and she bit into it with ravenous delight.
Aria frowned in confusion. “How does she always know when to do that?”
Sonata shrugged. “I don’t ask, all I know is I can have tacos whenever I want. Best girlfriend ever!”
Aria sighed, but decided not to tackle that particular problem. It wasn’t up to her to deal with Sonata’s oddly eccentric choice in mates. Instead; she took a quick sip of lemonade from her cup to cool off and then returned focus to the game.