//------------------------------// // Saturday At CHS Involves What?! // Story: The NLAC Has To Deal With What?! // by Odeinoichus //------------------------------// Chapter 12 Canterlot High had never seen this much activity on a Saturday that didn’t involve some kind of sporting event. Half a dozen students were milling around the front entrance or off to one side trying to stay cool in the shade under the trees. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were amongst the ones in the shade fanning themselves as best as they could. “What is it, like eighty degrees today?” Apple Bloom wondered. “And all the guys get to walk around without shirts,” Sweetie noted with a brief hint of jealousy. “Apple Bloom smirked. “Ah notice ya aren’t complainin’ when Button Mash is around.” Sweetie blushed and slapped her friend half-heartedly in the shoulder. “Apple Bloom!” “I’ve gotten as many students here as I could,” Dinky said, walking up to the duo. “Where’s Scootaloo?” “Keepin’ tabs on Scarlet Scribe,” Apple Bloom explained. “She still doesn’t trust him.” “Was that really a good idea?” Sweetie glanced between her friends. “She seemed to be more interested in him than she should have been. Is there a problem with her and Rumble she hasn’t told us about?” She turned and eyed Dinky. Dinky shook her head. “She’s as tight with Rumble as always.” “Then why’d she wanna sit in Scribe’s lap and kiss him?” Apple Bloom wondered. “You’d have to ask her about that. Maybe she and Rumble have an open relationship. I’ve heard some of the older girls admit that threesomes are in this year.” Dinky shrugged. “Gross!” Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ah’d never do that, it’d be weird.” Sweetie’s cheeks flushed slightly and she averted her eyes. “I think one or two of Rarity’s romance novels have really detailed chapters on that… But, you’re right, Apple Bloom, I couldn’t imagine giving myself to anyone other than Button Mash.” “If we’re through discussing Scootaloo’s love life, can we go back over this plan of Scribe’s?” Dinky requested with a polite smile. “This plan is crazy,” Sweetie announced. “Letting him take pictures of us.” Apple Bloom suddenly realized a potential flaw in the plan. “Wait, won’t we need Ms. Cheerilee in some of those pictures?” “I’ll have Sunset call her up,” Sweetie said. “This emergency Saturday meeting of the NLAC needs all its members. That includes Ms. Cheerilee.” Dinky eyed the duo curiously and seemed quite unnerved by the comment about pictures. “What exactly did Scarlet Scribe suggest?” Silver Spoon approached. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt the need to be there to support her old friend, especially as he was actively working behind Diamond Tiara’s back to get her in trouble. He must have been feeling just awful about the treachery. She had regretted her own acts of betrayal until her epiphany. “We’re going to be taking pictures of the club activities today in a controlled environment. One shot with clothes on, the other without, so next Friday after he ‘sneaks a camera in’ Diamond will believe she has photographic proof and take it to Vice-Principal Luna, thus giving her a third strike and taking the paper away from her.” Dinky crossed her arms over her chest and smirked. “Clever and devious: a plan worthy of Diamond Tiara. But why is Scarlet Scribe of all people helping orchestrate this little ploy?” Silver sighed. “He’s not outright joining us as a naturist, but he can’t in good conscience let anybody get into serious legal trouble because of our super-secret club.” Smiling briefly, Silver Spoon adjusted her glasses and fidgeted with a lock of her hair. “Ummm, not that I’d ever consider calling it ‘our’ club, since I wasn’t really that open to the ideas behind it and all.” “You came around to being open and understanding, Silver Spoon,” Sweetie said. “That’s more than we can say about Diamond Tiara. She’s the worst, so full of negativity. Are we sure she isn’t secretly a Siren?” The girls burst into laughter at that. “Here comes Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom alerted. “And she doesn’t look like she tried to jump Scribe and make out with him,” Sweetie commented with a smirk. Silver Spoon frowned. “Why would she do that?” Then she recalled Scootaloo’s actions in the clubhouse. “Oh right, I remember Diamond saying something about her and Rumble not getting as involved as she wanted. She’s probably just a bit tense since she’s hanging around him so often without clothes on, it’s known to happen with certain couples; when Di and I changed to swim and stuff I—” Silver Spoon trailed off with a gasp. “I mean, I never harbored any desires for Diamond Tiara’s body while we changed. Ever,” she insisted. Two cars suddenly came to a stop outside the school, preventing the group from continuing the conversation further, and a large number of familiar people emerged. Sweetie’s eyes widened in shock. “Rarity!” “Sweetie, darling!” Rarity waved and headed over, Pinkie Pie and Sunset in tow while Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Twilight moved off to start talking with the other car’s occupants. “What are you doing here, sis?” Sweetie asked. “It’s rather complicated,” Rarity admitted. “However, I am here to offer my support.” Smiling briefly she pulled Sweetie into a hug. “I agree. Can you fill us in on what’s going on?” Sunset asked. “Hey, Pinkie!” Sonata walked up to her girlfriend and gave her butt a squeeze. “Sonata!” Pinkie blushed furiously at the inappropriate public touching. “Not now; this is the important exposition exchange time.” “Oh, sure.” Sonata’s expression fell slightly, but she broke into a happy smile quickly. “So, what’s the sitch?” “Uhhhh.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle shared confused looks. “Trust me, Sweetie, it’s far too complicated to concern yourself with right now.” Rarity grimaced slightly. “Now, explain about this picture thing Pinkie commented on. You can’t honestly be thinking of taking pictures to expose yourself in the altogether.” Rarity shuddered briefly after saying that. “Well, you see…” Sweetie began to explain Scarlet Scribe’s plan to them all. Scarlet Scribe and Scootaloo pulled to a stop outside of Canterlot High with equal looks of awe on their faces. A ton of students were already there and even more were arriving by car as they pulled up. Scootaloo was once again in awe of the power Dinky seemed to possess. That the young information gatherer somehow used her power for good instead of evil, like Diamond Tiara, was a real blessing. Scarlet Scribe felt the stirrings of nervous tension once again. “All of this just to get Diamond Tiara to back down. I kind of wish we could just go to Vice-Principal Luna about this, but it wouldn’t stop Diamond. She’s tenacious when she feels cornered.” “That’s an understatement,” Scootaloo admitted. “Scarlet Carnelian Scribe!” Jerking at the volume of the shout as well as the use of his full name, which nobody outside of his close family knew, Scarlet Scribe spotted a group of girls he’d never expected to see at Canterlot High voluntarily. Lemon Zest was standing off to the side with a nervous expression. Indigo Zap stood fully upright at almost military attention and rocked on the balls of her feet with nervous tension. Her eyes darted around the group of students from Canterlot High wide and uncertain. Sour Sweet was having the biggest giggle fit he’d ever seen. Every time she looked to Lemon Zest she would just break down laughing. Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat were the two most dangerous looking members of the group, however. His cousin had a frosty expression and stood with her arms crossed, one brow raised, reminding him so much of their mothers’ disappointed expressions that it filled Scarlet Scribe with dread. Sunny was no less nerve-inducing. Her face was as hard as stone with the amount of livid anger she expressed, and her eyes glistened with some kind of glow that might have been confused with magical abilities, especially if she were floating off the ground with her skirt moving in a non-existent breeze - but she was not. Scribe hopped off his bike and instantly deflated. “Ummm. Hello, girls.” “Don’t you hello us, dearie!” Sunny snapped. “March: we have something to discuss. Now!” Scarlet shot Scootaloo a helpless look. “Uh, I’ll be right back.” “Yeah, ok.” Scootaloo watched with an uncertain look on her face as the group marched off around one side of the building where other students weren’t gathered. She had no idea what that was all about, but she didn’t envy Scarlet Scribe in the least. Sunny Flare paced in silent fury. Lemon Zest and Scarlet Scribe stood before her, silently awaiting the imminent explosion. Indigo fidgeted even more now that she was out of sight of the CHS students. Sour Sweet was still laughing, only much quieter now after being glared at by Sunny and Sugarcoat. Sunny finally stopped moving and pivoted on the balls of her feet to shoot both of them a glare. “Do you have any idea what you have done?” Lemon Zest shrugged. “Enjoyed a rockin’ party with a friend.” “Experienced ultimate mortification in front of almost two hundred fellow Students of Canterlot High. Kept Lemon from making a complete mess of things in her excitement about the party. Protected her when she injured herself in a foolish attempt to prevent me from reacting to long luxurious hair. Made sure she got home alright. Might be developing feelings for her because of it which is quite scary because of our particular group dynamic… and just blurted that last one out loud.” Scribe blushed nervously after he managed to stop talking. “You too?” Lemon exclaimed in surprise. “Me too what?” Scribe asked confused. “Oh. Nothing!” Lemon averted her eyes as her cheeks flushed slightly. Sunny glanced between them with a slightly confused look as she struggled to process Scribe’s info dump. Years of having to deal with Sugarcoat allowed her to figure it out fully eventually. “That is all very good, dearie, but that’s not why I’m angry with you.” “It’s not?” Scribe blurted. He didn’t understand what could possibly have upset Sunny Flare so badly if it wasn’t what had happened at the party yesterday evening. Had it only been thirteen hours ago? “Dean Cinch is still in charge of Crystal Prep. While she hasn’t outright said anything to any of us, we are definitely on a short watch list because of our exposure to Canterlot High’s magic. Reputation is still everything to Dean Cinch. Any hint of a scandal, no matter how minor, and anything that could be linked with Canterlot High and we would be expelled. “We would also suffer legal ramifications on top of all the headaches that would happen going forward for our personal educational goals.” Sunny Flare waved her arms wildly as she spoke, pointing at Scribe sharply each time she said something poignant for emphasis. “Lemon Zest is far too laid back to even care about that sort of thing, but I care about her well-being as much as I care about all of you!” Sugarcoat stepped forward then taking over for Sunny Flare. “And I am angry because you didn’t tell me the truth about your activities last night.” Scribe flinched. Sugarcoat prided herself on honesty. She was blunt and less subtle than most other people who believed firmly in absolute honesty, but she was still a good person at heart. To be accused of lying to her made Scribe’s shoulders sag in defeat. “I’m sorry about that. But in my defense I was still trying to come to grips with everything. Especially the tenuous position I now find myself in with Diamond Tiara and everyone else who practices naturism at this club.” “You mean neither of you are creeped out by the naturism thing?” Indigo blurted. “Naturism is a lifestyle choice many people practice in one way or another. The statistics of naturists in Canterlot itself is actually quite high. Twelve percent of the populace are aware of naturism and abhor it completely. “The other eighty-eight percent are spread out between: active participants; those who are content to let others live their lives as they see fit; those who experimented in their youth, but no longer actively share the beliefs of naturism; and those who don’t give a damn one way or the other so long as it isn’t hurting anybody.” Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses after stating this and turned to face Indigo. “Are you part of the twelve percent then?” “What? No!” Indigo took a step back defensively. “I mean. It’s just. They were dancing and junk together with their junk all hanging out and all that.” Her pupils shrunk as she spoke and her eyes darted around nervously. “There’s nothing unnatural about the natural body,” Sugarcoat informed. “Indigo.” Sunny stepped closer to her friend and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. “We all have our individual quirks. If there’s something you find unsettling about the thought of a group of people expressing their lifestyle choice openly in mixed company we won’t hold it against you. But please try to keep an open mind. Scarlet Scribe is our friend, and should he choose to pursue this lifestyle, well, we should be there to offer our support to him, dearie.” Offering a smile Sunny Flare reached out and smoothed Indigo’s hair. “Hey!” Indigo brushed her off. “I did not tell you to enter my personal space, Sunny Flare!” “You seem to be on the verge of a panic attack,” Sugarcoat noted. “Am not!” Indigo took a step back from the others. “Screw this! I’m out of here, I’ll be back with the ride to pick you up later! Maybe.” She stormed off back to the car leaving the others clearly surprised at her outburst. “Wow.” Sour Sweet turned to the others. “I thought I was the one with mood swings?” “That one is hiding something.” Sunny Flare tapped her lips with a forefinger briefly in thought before turning back to Lemon and Scribe. “Do you understand the gravity of the situation now?” she demanded. “Stupid Abacus Cinch,” Scribe grumbled. “Why couldn’t they just sack her after the Friendship Games?” “Because she excels at her job, in spite of being a blackmailing witch.” Sugarcoat finally unfolded her arms and turned to Lemon. “You’ve begun to have feelings for my cousin?” Lemon suddenly felt on the spot. “I don’t know. Maybe.” Her eyes kept flicking back and forth as she was unable to look Sugarcoat directly in the eye. “Talk!” Sugarcoat ordered. “If you hurt him I will take away all of your headphones,” she promised. Sunny Flare blinked and shook her head. “Right, dearies. We’ll leave you to deal with whatever it is you’re dealing with. Then we shall offer our support for whatever you decide or are doing here,” she stated, glancing between them both with a soft smile. “Darn.” Sour Sweet grimaced. “I thought there’d be a better show than that.” Marching off with the others she left the two alone. Lemon twirled a lock of hair nervously as she averted her gaze from Scribe. She still felt naked without headphones on and, because Scribe was so used to seeing her that way, she thought he would call her out on it. “I guess something more happened last night.” Scribe rubbed his elbow with a nervous tick. “I guess.” Lemon chuckled hollowly, lacking any emotion behind it. “You kind of took charge during a pretty wild situation. And you made sure I was ok. And maybe I had more fun than I usually do when I’m at one of these types of parties.” Lemon frowned. “You’re still uptight in large crowds and nowhere near ready for any kind of social situation on that scale, though!” “Yeah.” Scribe flinched. “You’re pretty ‘chill’ though, Lemon. And not unappealing to look at, with or without clothing.” Scribe’s cheeks flushed. Lemon grinned. “You too.” “What?” Scribe took a step back in surprise. “No! I’m… I’m not attractive.” Lemon glared angrily at him. “Don’t you dare talk yourself down, Scarlet Scribe! You’re awesome, really cute, and handsome. Got a great personality. Like chivalrous, you know. And… Well you’re pretty stacked down there, I mean, it’s certainly nothing to be ashamed about.” It was Lemon’s turn to blush as she trailed off and once again couldn’t look Scribe in the eyes. “So we’re both attracted to one another. And it may or may not be strictly hormonal in nature.” Scribe nodded briefly. “How do we approach this?” Lemon rolled her eyes. “Well, first we deal with whatever plan you cooked up for those Canterlot High kids.” Reaching over she pulled Scribe closer to her to give him a friendly hug. “Then we can worry about figuring us out. Whatever that us might be.” Smiling openly at him she looked up into his eyes and waited for Scribe to smile back at her. “Your logic seems sound.” Scribe’s lips quirked up slightly. “Now comes the hard part.” “What’s that?” Lemon tilted her head curiously at his comment. “Convincing three dozen students, both boy and girl, to let me take pictures of them without clothing on for the express purpose of usurping a power-mad dictatress with delusions of grandeur,” Scribe sighed, “who also happens to still be one of my small group of ‘friends’ as it were.” Lemon offered a nod of understanding. “Yep. That’s totally harder than figuring out weirdly growing emotional attractions between two friends who grew up together.” Giggling, she slapped Scribe playfully in the chest. “Come on, Scribey, let’s go rock their world view.” Scribe nodded and took Lemon’s arm in his to lead her back to the group. “Do you think Sugarcoat actually has evidence to back up her statement on naturism in Canterlot? It sounds a bit too convenient.” Lemon shrugged. “This place is linked to another dimension of magical talking ponies. I wouldn’t put it past Canterlot residents from being that open minded. Not sure why though, but it’s probably not important anyway. Now, I really need some headphones.” Scribe sighed and plucked a pair out of his back pants pocket. “Here.” Lemon’s eyes widened in joy and snatched the Headphones up quickly. “Why are you carrying these around?” she asked. Scribe just shrugged. “Headphone Emergencies.” Lemon kissed the Headphones before throwing them on and pulling out her phone to get to her playlist. She also took a moment to lean in and kiss Scribe on the cheek. “Good friend.” Scribe grinned from ear to ear as his stomach did flip-flops and tried to exchange places with his heart. A pretty older girl had just kissed him. And maybe liked him liked him. Yeah. That was one for the history books. “This plan is convoluted. Overly complicated. And has the potential of leading to genuine problems.” Sugarcoat glared briefly at her cousin as she spoke. “All it would take was for one wrong image to get out. My special program hasn’t been a hundred percent tested for all potential variables that could result in unwanted developments.” “I know.” Scribe sighed as he stood surrounded by more girls than he’d interacted with in his entire young life. Powerful girls. Magical girls. Hot girls. Quite literally; they were all standing around in the shade and perspiring something awful. “But it was the first plan I could come up with that left my part in it completely uncompromised in the eyes of Diamond Tiara. She has the power to make or break my career and if she ever found out how far I was willing to go to destroy her for the sake of her sworn enemies…” Scribe trailed off with a sigh and stared with pleading eyes at the group. “This program of Sugarcoat’s, could it be made so it would only show the naked images on the most obscure operating system on the planet?” Twilight asked. “It could be programed to only show the images on a single computer with a single operating system with the right password. In theory,” Sugarcoat informed. “I haven’t taken it to its full potential yet, it is still in the experimental stages.” “There’s still too many variables there,” Sunset interjected. “All it takes is one shot to get out and the entire club would be exposed. Vice-Principal Luna can only go so far to protect us.” Sunny blinked. “Wait, she knows?” “Of course she knows.” Sunset eyed the group of Crystal Prep girls with a slight frown. “She’s the one keeping the information about the actual nature of the club away from Celestia.” “Ah wouldn’t have believed it if ah hadn’t seen it with mah own eyes, but our Vice-Principal is a full blown Naturist,” Apple Bloom admitted. “Your school has way cooler heads,” Lemon noted. “Can we get back to this plan that will keep Scribe from revealing physical proof to Diamond Tiara about our club?” Scootaloo rocked nervously on the balls of her feet. “And yet he would appear to still be attempting to expose you with physical proof,” Rarity noted. She shot Scribe with a concerned look. “How can we trust that this program of her’s will even work as advertised?” she demanded, indicating Sugarcoat briefly. Scribe swallowed nervously to try and moisten his tongue in the stifling heat. Honestly he didn’t have an answer for that one. Trust was earned, and he’d done nothing so far to earn that trust. “We’ll pose for an image.” Scribe blinked and turned to Sunny Flare. “What?” To say he was shocked was an understatement; he had not expected Sunny Flare of all people to propose a solution like that. “I second that,” Sour Sweet chimed in. “Why should we pose for an image? We’re not in danger of being exposed!” she snapped. “Precisely.” Sunny Flare smiled at her friend. “A naked picture of us wouldn’t benefit anybody. So, if we let Scribe take our picture and implement Sugarcoat’s program to the exact specifications he has suggested, and it works as advertised. Then this plan will succeed and it will place Scribe in good faith with the NLAC.” “That’s a terrible idea,” Sour grumbled. “Let’s do it!” “It would give me more data to ensure the program works properly,” Sugarcoat noted thoughtfully. “I’m in for anything that gets us out of this heat and out of these damp sweaty clothes,” Lemon said loudly. Her headphones were still blaring, but she could hear what everyone was saying. Scribe chuckled nervously. “Er. How does that sound?” he asked the others. “Sounds mighty reasonable to me,” Applejack noted. Rarity added her two cents. “As it harms nobody to try this scheme I can agree with it quite readily,” “Makes about as much sense as anything else that’s happened today,” Rainbow Dash said with a shrug. “I’m interested in seeing this program at work,” Twilight said. “And I agree with Lemon about getting out of this heat before we all collapse from dehydration,” Sunset stated. “Oh yes!” Fluttershy nodded in agreement. “Some of the students look like they want to leave.” “Yay!” Pinkie pulled a kazoo out of her hair and blew it. “Plan passes unanimously! Everybody into the school!” Scribe held up his hands to stop anybody from leaving. “Er, I need to deactivate the alarm first. As I was given the code in sacred trust for school paper business I’m going to have to ask you all to wait out here just a few minutes more while I go inside and do that,” he said. “We should probably run this plan by Ms. Cheerilee too,” Sweetie added. “We need her for some pictures at least otherwise Diamond won’t buy any of it. If we still go ahead with Scribe’s plans.” “Right.” Apple Bloom nodded. “Alright then!” Sunset clapped her hands to get everybody’s attention. “Scarlet Scribe go in and turn off the security alarm. I’ll call Cheerilee and ask her to come down so we don’t get accused of breaking and entering. Dinky, please tell the rest of the students that we’ll be out of the heat very soon and to please just wait a few more moments. Does everybody else know what to do?” “Make out time!” Sonata blurted with a happy smile as she grabbed Pinkie and twirled her around so she could kiss her. “No, Sonata! Bad, Sonata!” Pinkie swung at Sonata with her kazoo. “Serious time now, fun time later, in private… Did I just say that?” Sonata winked at her girlfriend. “You sure did.” “Ok. I’m going to get the door open,” Scribe stated quickly retreating from the brain-breaking madness that was Pinkie and Sonata combined. “And I’ll make fruit punch for everybody to help cool off!” Sonata declared, following after Scribe without a second thought. “Sonata, wait!” Pinkie tried to grab her to stop her, but it was too late. “Drat. Operation Siren Girlfriend Distraction Alpha Charlie Tango is a Go!” Pinkie vanished without warning. “How did she do that?” Sour demanded, her eyes wide in disbelief. “Honestly, I have no idea,” Sunset said. “Anyway…” Pulling out her phone she quickly turned aside and dialed Cheerilee to get the teacher up to speed. “This has just been one of those days.” Rarity ran her hand through her hair. “When this is all over, remind me to schedule an appointment at the Canterlot Spa.” “You and me both, dearie.” Sunny Flare smiled. “Hey!” Sour Sweet marched up to Sunny Flare. “I didn’t agree to any peep shows! When we take the picture, Scarlet Scribe is the only one there, got it!” Sunny Flare nodded. “Of course, dearie. We wouldn’t have it any other way.” “Good. Those CHS boys probably couldn’t measure up to Scribey anyway.” Sour folded her arms over her chest and turned around to glare at the rest of the students in the area. “You’d be right about that.” Lemon banged her head up and down to the beat over her headphones. “You’re biased because you got the hots for him all of a sudden.” Sour stuck her tongue out at Lemon. “No, seriously, I saw most of the boys last night, remember? Some of the guys were pretty much the same size as Scribe - mostly the ones that were as tall as him - but the ones here today? Not a hope in Tartarus of matching up in length. I guess tall boys really do get all the perks.” Lemon broke into a happy grin as she danced off from the others. “Oh dear.” Rarity’s face was slightly flushed. “Definitely need that trip to the spa after today.” Sunny Flare nodded mutely in agreement a second time. “This club is about celebrating naturism, not ogling boys,” Sweetie stated with a frustrated glower aimed at the Crystal Prep students. “Every girl measures up the men in a naturist club, subconsciously or consciously they’ll take note of what their privates look like. My study on the naturist community of Canterlot was very thorough. As it was a discreet questionnaire with very precise questions and no wiggle room, I know precisely what I am talking about.” Sugarcoat’s coldly logical announcement caused the three Career-Minded Compatriots to blush in embarrassment. “Did your questionnaire answer why?” Rainbow Dash demanded. “Because I don’t buy that everyone just thinks about it for sex.” “I didn’t say it was about sex,” Sugarcoat noted. “The results were quite mixed, but most women or age-appropriate girls claimed it was based on pure curiosity. A rare few said it helped to relax them the first few times they started exploring naturism. Fifty-nine percent were probably lying about it, though. Get a bunch of women together around a bunch of naked men and the topics of discussion inevitably lead to penis size.” “Yeah. Still not buying it.” Rainbow Dash shook her head. “I didn’t even look once at most of the guys at the club to measure them up.” “Then you are lying to yourself or doing it subconsciously,” Sugarcoat informed. “Please!” Rarity interrupted them all rather loudly. “Can we end this topic of conversation? I have had my fill of lewd discussions today. It was bad enough when Sonata and Pinkie open-mouth kissed in front of all of us.” Rarity’s cheeks were quite flushed, though it was hard to tell if it was excitement, embarrassment or rage. Scribe waved from the front entrance of the school. “It’s ok to come in!” “Oh thank heavens!” Rarity rushed to the front door without as much as a glance back at the others. “Ten bucks says I can break her before the weeks’ up,” Sour stated. “Sour, do not even think about it,” Sunny said sternly. “Now let’s get out of this heat.” Everybody nodded agreeably and took off for the entrance as quickly as possible.