//------------------------------// // Silver Spoon Is What?! // Story: The NLAC Has To Deal With What?! // by Odeinoichus //------------------------------// Chapter 14 While Sunny and the girls prepared themselves for Scarlet Scribe’s plan proving pre-photo Silver Spoon was nervously watching her old friend. She was unsure of everything, even trusting that he was on their side. She knew Scribe wasn’t as mean spirited as Diamond Tiara, or as dense as Snips and Snails or even as seemingly forgotten as Lily Breeze. What she didn’t know was how far to trust him within the context of certain things. They’d grown distant over the years. He seemed obsessed with his career goals and spent a lot of time by himself. Silver just didn’t know him as well as she’d used to. And yet he’d surprised her by openly stripping down in front of her earlier that same day just to make her feel more comfortable around the CMC. A pair of arms wrapped around her and she let out a nervous shout at the sudden embrace. Glancing behind her she found her recent and very beautiful girlfriend Mirror Gem standing with a smile. “Hi, thinking a lot I see.” “Yes.” Silver Spoon smiled briefly and turned to give Mirror Gem a kiss. When the two parted Mirror Gem frowned. “What’s wrong?” “It’s Scarlet Scribe.” Silver Spoon sighed. “The four of us grew up as friends for a while. When it was just Diamond Tiara, Lily Breeze, me and Scribey. We were in the same social circle after all so it was expected of us. But after Diamond started desiring more and more power, to be like her mother…” Silver Spoon trailed off with a helpless shrug. “You don’t know what to make of him anymore.” Mirror Gem nodded sagely. “He wants to trick Diamond Tiara into losing the paper. It was his idea, but I can’t help feeling he could betray us all.” Silver Spoon glanced over at the shirtless male with a fearful expression. “It isn’t easy. Breaking away from Diamond Tiara.” Mirror Gem pouted. “You sound as if you two were something special,” she accused. “I wanted it to be. So many times.” Silver Spoon sighed. “I was blind to her ways, drawn to her because she was so powerful. So beautiful. I thought I wanted to be like her. It took all of this to make me see just how wrong I was.” Mirror Gem hid her smile at those words. So she wouldn’t appear to be rude. “So. Go talk to him,” she suggested. “About what?” Silver Spoon turned and glanced briefly at Mirror Gem. Mirror Gem took her hand and squeezed it. “Why not introduce me?” Silver Spoon’s eyes widened. “I can’t just…I mean Scarlet Scribe is…He’s still with Diamond Tiara!” “And you won’t know his true mindset if you don’t go up to him and talk,” Mirror Gem pointed out. “Come on, I’ll be there to help you every step of the way.” Squeezing Silver’s hand again she shot her an encouraging smile. Silver Spoon took a calming breath and gave a brief silent nod. Mirror Gem was right, she had to know where things stood now. Friendship was an important thing at Canterlot High. It helped save the school a lot. Scarlet Scribe paced a little as he glanced at his phone. Everything felt as though it were happening too suddenly. Too easily as well. And he wasn’t sure if Ms. Cheerilee would buy into his idea to throw Diamond Tiara off for good. It did require doing something that went against a very big rule. No pictures. Privacy was important. Pictures existed simply because naturist organizations couldn’t exactly force vacationers from taking them. Hell, naturists loved social media just as much as anyone else… even if they chose not to wear clothing. The fact remained that certain types of people did, in fact, do unsavory things with the aforementioned pictures—Scribe preferred not to think about, but it was just an unavoidable aspect of the human psyche. Sex and nudity were inseparable to some close minded perspectives. Nudism was not just about that though. Sex is the act of reproduction, an act practiced by a loving couple who cherished each other very much and chose to express that love in the most natural way possible. Intimacy didn’t always involve taking clothes off or mixed couple pairings. Naturism was about the health and well-being of the body and the celebration of the beauty of the human form. Scribe had figured all of that out from a very early age. When your mother exploits her body for a living because she wants to stick it to her rich daddy and has to support a son by herself you tend to be a little curious. He’d researched everything he could find about the human body. Trying to understand the rowdy customers who continued to ogle his mother. He’d wanted to protect her. After he found out what it was all about he just filed it away like everything else and didn’t think about it again. Not until now at any rate. Was he a naturist? Well he was standing in a naturist club about to see his friends naked and prove a point. Maybe he should get undressed too, it was only fair. He’d already seen Lemon and Sugarcoat was family. But the others, aside from Indigo Zap who seemed to be afraid about this for some reason. Well it would be the courteous thing to do since they were bearing their all for him. To help him. He could just take his pants and that off, take the picture, and then put them back on for the fake pictures. He would need to be in at least a few shots himself otherwise Diamond wouldn’t buy them. She wasn’t stupid after all. “Scribe.” Turning at the sound of his name he was surprised to find Silver Spoon standing nervously nearby. An aqua skinned girl he didn’t recognize with neon purple and red hair was next to her, holding her hand. Scribe quirked his brow at this sudden revelation. “Yeah?” “I have something to say, I mean something new to say. And…” Silver trailed off nervously twirling her braid. Scribe nodded. “Yeah. This morning we didn’t get to talk much.” “It’s been a while,” Silver agreed. “Well I blame Di for that, she was keeping us apart on purpose so I wouldn’t find out about the club’s actual activities. I wouldn’t put it past her to have Snips and Snails spying. On. You?” Scribe’s eyes widened in sudden fright and he quickly rushed to the nearest window. But he didn’t see anyone that shouldn’t be there. “Those two. I ditched them before I even went to the Sweet Shoppe.” Silver smirked briefly. “It wasn’t hard.” “You can never tell with those two.” Scribe came back to the girls with a shake of his head. “There’s a reason Sunset Shimmer trusted them after all.” “Yeah.” Silver Spoon sighed. The mysterious girl coughed and nudged her. “Oh right! Scribe, this is Mirror Gem.” Silver Spoon indicated the girl beside her with a beaming smile. “We’re dating!” Scribe’s eyes widened in surprise. “Huh? When did this happen?” “The day after I ditched Di and went to my first naturist party.” Silver smiled happily and squeezed her girlfriend’s hand. “So you finally lose your big crush on Diamond and not more than a day goes by you find this new girl to fall for.” Scribe eyed the pair of them. “Seems rather sudden.” “What?” Silver Spoon took a step back. “It w-wasn’t like that!” “You’d better be careful what you say,” Mirror Gem warned. “I can be just as blunt as my cousin, though I do not have her knack for it,” Scribe admitted. “I just called it as I saw it.” “Well, so what?” Silver shouted in frustration. “I can find happiness can’t I? I mean, Diamond was never going to look at me like that.” “Diamond knew you wanted her and used it to her advantage.” Scribe blinked rapidly as he realized what he’d just said. “What are you saying?” Silver Spoon demanded. Her eyes were shiny as she was on the verge of tears. Scribe sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. “I didn’t realize it at first. But after I found out she was stealing your stories I started to wonder. She claimed you told her you wanted her name on it. I just figured. Maybe she did, but then… I guess sometime while Lemon was pounding party etiquette into my head at the mall later that night I started to zone out and had a sort of. Epiphany.” “D-D-Diamond admitted to plagiarism!” Silver Spoon was crying now and if Mirror Gem hadn’t been there she might have run off. “Diamond Tiara is the classic manipulator. Just like her parents.” Scribe curled his lip in disgust. “I pretend I don’t care because all I want is a career that lets me do what I want and avoid social problems like the plague. I’m the perfect follower in that respects: I don’t ask questions.” Scribe turned his face to the side and closed his eyes. “I’m starting to think I don’t like what I want anymore.” “S-So, Diamond Tiara knew all along? And she just…” Silver Spoon couldn’t finish that thought. She just couldn’t. Shaking her head she turned to run away. Mirror Gem stopped her by taking her hand and keeping her from fleeing. She shot a glare at Scarlet Scribe. “Then why don’t you go to Vice-Principal Luna and just tell her about what Diamond said?” she demanded. “Why put everybody through this. All it seems to be helping is Diamond Tiara.” Scarlet Scribe clenched his hand and spun back to face the pair of them. “I don’t know you!” he snapped angrily. “And you don’t know me. I’m being manipulated just as much as Silver was. Diamond is important and powerful and if I want to work for her mom’s paper I have to do what she says. And then there’s that other matter she has over me.” Scribe paled and flinched. “We were all young and stupid once. Brought together because of our social standing, our parents approved, so we got together as a small group of friends. It took me eight months to open up to Silver and Lily Breeze. Diamond was easier, she’s a powerful person and knows it, she doesn’t care how the rest of us see her, as long as we adore her and obey her we’re ok in her books. “The CMC won’t fall for that load of bull, the rest of us. We were damaged in some way or another before Diamond pulled us in. Ensnared us like little dolls to be toyed with and discarded once she got bored.” Scribe stopped ranting breathing heavily. Silver Spoon approached him suddenly and took his free hand. “But you don’t have to play her game anymore, Scribey!” Scribe shook her off and turned away. “I’ll always have to play her game,” he said softly. His tone full of despair and defeat. “Why? What does she have on you that’s so important? Why can’t you just leave her alone now that you’ve started this entire convoluted plan to get her in trouble?” Silver wiped angrily at her tears wanting to understand. Needing to understand. “Because!” Scribe stopped himself and fought to get back control. Speaking softer he looked at Silver Spoon with a very pained expression. “Because I’m the reason Lily Breeze is in a wheelchair now.” Silver Spoon recoiled in shock, bringing her hand up to cover her mouth. Her eyes widened and she gasped. Mirror Gem blinked briefly staring between them in complete confusion. “No.” Silver Spoon shook her head. “Yes!” Scribe was openly crying now and his expression was filled with bitter anger. “I agreed to do her a favor. Before she had Snips or Snails. Back before Canterlot High. I agreed to do her a fucking favor. You know how jealous she was over Lily Breeze’s beauty. So she got me to play a trick on her, and then… The accident.” Scribe looked away ashamed. Silver Spoon ran up to her old friend and slapped him across the cheek. “That was an accident! You couldn’t have known what was going to happen! And because of that guilt you just let her do what she wants to you! To control you!” Her accusation stung, but if he was being completely honest with himself he deserved every bit of it. Scarlet Scribe sighed. “Like I said. Damaged. Diamond Tiara is my penance for what I did to Lily Breeze.” “Wow this is messed up,” Mirror Gem blurted. Scribe laughed bitterly. “Welcome to the world that is Diamond Tiara’s close knit circle of friends.” “Did she ever care about any of us?” Silver Spoon asked. Scribe shrugged. “Maybe once, long ago, when she was just Diamond Tiara the happy little girl who wanted actual friends to play with. Now. Now she’s just Diamond Dazzle Tiara Rich, daughter of Filthy and Spoiled Rich. Master manipulator, follower in her mommy dearests’ footsteps: acquirer of damaged and lost souls.” Wiping at his eyes he shot Silver Spoon a smile and moved to embrace her. “I’m glad at least one of us got away from her. You’re stronger than I could be, Spoony.” Silver Spoon shook her head. “No, Scribey. You’re stronger. You’re willing to stay with the beast to make amends for something you couldn’t even control if you’d wanted to.” Smiling she returned his hug tightly and nuzzled her cheek against his bare chest. Scribe smiled gratefully. “Yeah. Well if this plan works and doesn’t turn into one big cluster-fuck before it even starts maybe we’ll all be better off for it.” Chuckling a little he shook his head. “Even Diamond Tiara.” Silver Spoon giggled. “I think that’s a lost cause, Scribey.” “I think I’ll call Lily to hang with her tomorrow. I could use some happy to get rid of all the suck going on of late.” Scribe turned around. “Now I’d better go take off these pants and things so my friends won’t be the only ones naked for this photo shoot.” Silver sighed. “I think I’ll go talk to Ms. Cheerilee about this. Help plead our case. The picture thing is really dangerous for a lot of people, but I understand what you’re trying to do.” “Thanks, Spoony.” Scribe paused. “Oh and it was nice meeting you, Mirror Gem. Take good care of Silver Spoon for me.” Mirror Gem shook her head, but smiled. “I will.” Hugging her girlfriend she gave her a quick supportive kiss. Zecora sighed happily as she sat in the park and sipped her cool lemonade. Today was remarkably hot; fortunately her white sundress helped to keep the heat off. She enjoyed the sight of nature all around and was pleased that she didn’t need to concern herself with any tasks for her father. The arrangement she had with him was one of questionable morals. She understood the necessity for having someone of proper age to spy on parties. Especially if it helped cut down on the illegal drug trade. Not that there were very many of those sorts in the city. Deputy Mayor Scorpan’s legal acumen was quite renowned. Zecora shook her head. She knew all of this. She didn’t want to mull over such things again. Instead it would be best to simply take her time enjoying the day. And contemplating a return to CHS next Friday to discuss further ideas with Sandalwood. Such as the possibility of enjoying each other’s company on a date. Indigo Zap ground her teeth as she hopped out of her car and slammed the door. She really didn’t know what to make of her friends right now. They were all gung ho for stripping down in front of somebody and didn’t care one way or the other about it. She couldn’t understand why. Personally she thought they should be way more upset and disturbed over it. Then again Indigo realized that she wasn’t a typical girl. She was a little bit more. And she hadn’t ever had to explain it away to the others. She rarely spent the night anywhere where she’d be seen and she was always so careful. Grumbling under her breath she stalked away from the car and walked into the Sweet Shoppe. Sliding into a booth in the corner nearest the windows she slumped down and fidgeted briefly with her goggles. “Can I get you anything?” Mrs. Cake asked as she approached the booth. Shaking her head Indigo let out a sigh. “Not at the moment.” “Just let me know if you want anything, dear,” Mrs. Cake said with a smile. Indigo sighed yet again and leaned forward covering her face in her hands as she began to consider everything again. Even Sour Sweet didn’t feel unnerved or upset about this naturist thing. Honestly she didn’t know what about naturism unnerved her to the point where she just took off; or even if it was about naturism entirely. There was something else that concerned her. Something that had to do with her body. It wasn’t common knowledge but Indigo Zap lived with her grandparents. Whenever she mentioned anything she just called them her folks, it wasn’t her problem that they thought she was referring to her parents. Her parents. There was an entire different kettle of fish and she didn’t know if she’d ever explain it to the others. They’d never stayed at her place. They had never seen her parents at all. So she hadn’t felt the need to explain just why it was she was living with her grandparents. They had taken custody of her because of something that was getting harder and harder to keep secret. Mostly because the others were getting closer now and suddenly they were sharing things again. Why did this have to happen? Why did the group have to be so disinterested about Scribe being into this Naturist thing? Was he even into it? Well he was trying to keep it a secret from that Diamond Tiara bitch. Going to a lot of effort to it too. Indigo wiped at her eyes angrily. She was in a public place and she wasn’t going to be accused of being a damn wimp or crybaby. She was strong. Independent. She was definitely not going to lose it all because of some stupid naturist club thing. She thought, no, she knew that she’d gotten over her body issues. So why was this making her so uncomfortable? Grabbing a napkin off the table she balled it up in her fist and tossed it at the closest trash bin. “Fuck!” she cursed under her breath. Yanking her phone out of her pocket she hit speed dial. “Indigo, is everything alright?” “Gran, can I come down to talk?” Indigo felt miserable and her tone reflected this. “What happened?” “Nothing.” Indigo fidgeted slightly. “Nothing I want to say over the phone.” “Very well, dear. It isn’t too terribly busy at the moment. Come on down to the office and we’ll have a cup of tea and discuss what’s troubling you.” Her tone indicated she was smiling warmly. Indigo nodded and managed a weak smile. “Thanks, Gran. I’ll be right there.” “Scribe! Why the hell are you buck naked?” Sour Sweet demanded as she stepped out of the change room. Of all the girls to come out first Scribe had not been expecting her. His cheeks flushed as he fiddled with the camera he’d gotten out of the school paper room. “I just thought-“ “I don’t care what you thought!” Sour marched up to Scribe and got into his personal space. “I didn’t need to see your junk, Scribey!” “Sour, sweetie,” Sunny Flare called out to calm her friend down as she joined them outside. “Sunny!” Sour Sweet whirled to face her friend after shouting; her hair whipping by so fast she struck Scribe across the face. “He’s naked!” “In case you’ve forgotten so are we.” Sunny smirked playfully as she walked up to them both. “It is perfectly natural that he would wish to put us at ease by also removing his clothing.” Sugarcoat stepped out of the dressing room next and adjusted her glasses. Scribe sighed in some relief at the voice of reason. And also the fact that it was his cousin. The sudden mental jolt that caused eliminated the typical male response his body wanted to have after witnessing Sour and Sunny emerging in the raw. Why did hormones have to be so damn aggravating? Lemon emerged last with a broad smile and she approached the group. “So how do you wanna do this, girls?” “I’m not entirely certain.” Sunny pursed her lips in thought. “Any ideas, dearie?” Her eyes twinkled with mirth as she took in the sight of Scarlet’s body. “Stop eyeing him up!” Lemon protested. “He’s my, um, boyfriend. I think.” Scribe shook his head and instantly turned around to examine the room. “We need to stage a simple shot. It has to be an exact match up for the image we take afterwards with you in your uniforms. Why are you wearing those on the weekend anyway?” “Functional instead of fashionable,” Sugarcoat reminded. “We don’t own much else,” Sunny added with a brief sigh. “Although, some days I wish we did have a bit more variety. Making a fashion statement out of Crystal Prep uniforms can be exhausting and frustrating after a while.” “Oh, but it’s so you~” Rarity’s sudden appearance resulted in several things at once. Sunny Flare turned to the Canterlot High fashionista with a quirked brow. Sugarcoat folded her arms underneath her breasts and shot her a bored glare. Sour Sweet’s eyes widened and she looked about ready to start tearing into Rarity verbally. Lemon Zest blinked once and tilted her head to the side curiously. “I didn’t expect you of all people to be here.” Scarlet Scribe instantly lowered the camera to cover himself. “What the hell?!” Rarity flinched at the male teen’s outburst. “Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be caught dead interfering, dears. Unfortunately, I drew the short straw, as it were, and the others are still arguing with Ms. Cheerilee about allowing this plan to go forward. I was not expecting your cameraman to be… nude as well.” Scribe curled his lip and snarled. “Whatever! Why are you even here? I thought you didn’t— you know….” Scribe waved his hands at his friends. “You’ll find that I am quite used to seeing people in the nude, darling. As a professional seamstress, I am required to take measurements from prospective customers from time to time.” Rarity shot Scribe a brief condescending look. “And while I may not appear to be as supportive as the others are to dear Sunset and Sweetie Belle, I can assure you that I am grateful that my sister has decided to adopt such an interesting lifestyle.” “I apologize on behalf of my cousin," Sugarcoat informed. She turned briefly to shoot him a glare. “He wasn’t expecting another girl to be here, and gets stressed out when something unexpected occurs.” “Oh it’s quite alright, my dear.” Rarity waved her hand dismissively in turn. “With my eye for detail, it was also decided that I should help in staging the images for you.” “We’ve got two or three of us here with loads of eye for details,” Sour snapped; she was grinding her teeth in frustration and looked about ready to bolt. “I don’t doubt that.” Rarity smiled briefly in nervous apprehension; the longer she spoke to the group, the harder it became for her to ignore the pink elephant in the room, so to speak. Her cheeks were slightly flushed, and she was doing her level best to maintain eye contact with everyone in the room. “However, an outsider’s perspective can be very helpful when dealing with such things. And as Photo Finish is not a member of this club, as far as I know at the moment, I’m afraid I’m the next best thing.” “Fuck!” Scribe hissed. “Something wrong, Scribey?” Sunny grinned and leaned forward. Scribe’s eyes widened and his face became drenched in sweat. “For Goddess’s sake, Sunny, don’t tease me right now!” he pleaded. Lemon stepped up to him and embraced him from behind. “Stop it.” The words were simple and direct; not like Lemon’s usual requests. Scribe sighed briefly at the sudden physical embrace and instantly seemed to mellow out. Sugarcoat observed this silently smiling so briefly as to practically be missed. Sour Sweet grabbed her hair and pulled it. “Ok! Let’s just get this over with!” Rarity nodded and turned to face the room. Considering that this was her first time in the student union building, she was naturally surprised at everything that had been done to it. Tapping one finger against her lips thoughtfully, she began to circle the large area. The designated dance floor was much too open to stage any kind of shot and the lighting was atrocious. The arcade and game room was definitely out. Too much chance of something going wrong and messing up the shot; especially if they used any of the billiard tables. Which just left the bowling alley. “Might I suggest we adjourn to the bowling alley?” Rarity requested. “I believe that would suit our purposes quite well.” “Our purposes,” Scribe repeated. “This was my idea!” “Try not to get too defensive, Scribe.” Sugarcoat’s statement was flat and yet somehow managed to carry a hint of warning to it. “I know, but I still don’t like having someone here that…” Scribe trailed off when he saw three fifths of the girls staring at him. “Lemon, keep pawing your boy toy so he loses all that stress!” Sour commanded harshly. “And let’s get this over with before any more CHS students show up!” Lemon and Scribe blushed furiously at the comment and instantly Lemon let go of him. “I wasn’t-” “She was just-” “We get it, you feel comfortable next to Lemon because you were with her last night. She helps keep you calm and you trust her.” Sugarcoat walked up to Scribe’s other side and gently embraced him. “We are cousins. Calm down and relax, there is nothing abnormal about what we are doing.” “Unless… you consider taking pictures of naked teenagers abnormal,” Sour chimed in viciously. “Sour Sweet!” Sunny Flare reached out and grabbed her friend’s arm. “I thought that tea was helping.” “It was, until I saw Scribe’s dangly bits. That sobered me up real quick.” Sour shot Sunny a glare before she shook her loose and practically ran into the bowling area. “She had tears in her eyes,” Rarity noted in surprise. Scribe slapped his forehead. “I’m an idiot! Sunny, I think I owe Sour Sweet a major apology for this.” “I agree, dearie,” Sunny noted with a brief scowl. “I understand what you were trying to do, but you should have realized what seeing you without clothing on would do to her.” “Yeah. Dating is really hard for her and even thinking about going far enough for sex.” Scribe sighed. “Kind of inadvertently gave her a taste of something she feels she’s never going to have.” Sugarcoat turned to Rarity. “Speak of this to anyone else and I will personally send you to the hospital.” Rarity was taken aback by the vicious sounding threat. “Darling, you have my word.” “Rarity, you’re notorious as one of the biggest gossips at CHS,” Scribe pointedly reminded. “I have never-“ “Anon-A-Miss.” Scribe’s expression was practically lifeless as he stated that one little word. Rarity’s cheeks flushed again this time for an entirely different reason. “My yes, I did get a bit carried away.” “Carried away?” Scribe chuckled humourlessly. “The entire school wanted to crucify Sunset because your sister and her friends got jealous of her. Plus what they did on MyStable. Vice-Principal Luna wanted to suspend them for two weeks and keep them over Christmas Vacation for the first ever Holiday Detention.” Rarity sighed. “Yes. The one time I allowed myself to be somewhat taken in by the vicious gossip mongering. I apologized wholeheartedly to Sunset, as did Sweetie Belle and her friends. I also learned not to be so quick to share secrets.” Rarity readjusted the hem of her skirt and offered a tight smile to the group. “You have the word of the Embodiment of Generosity in this world that I shall not repeat a word of what was said here to anyone. I can’t imagine living through life with such a burden.” “We don’t consider it a burden.” Sunny Flare smiled briefly. “Merely another reason why our circle of friends is so much different from yours. We have suffered greater flaws due to our choices. But we are attempting to do better.” They finally rejoined Sour Sweet; the bipolar girl was grinding her teeth and throwing balls at the pins lined up down each of the alleys. She had slightly red puffy eyes and it was obvious she was still somewhat upset. Scribe approached her and quickly placed a hand on her shoulder. Whirling around, she lost her grip on the ball and caused it to crash noisily to the floor marring the wood. She opened her mouth to scream at him. Scribe leaned in and embraced her unashamedly. Sour Sweet closed her eyes and dug into his back with her nails. Returning his embrace, reflexively she didn’t even care that they were completely naked while they did this. Or that Scribe’s camera was digging into her stomach. “You are a fun, brilliant person and you will find someone who loves you for who you are.” His whispered statement was for her ears only. “And if they ever dare to hurt you I’ll help you cut off their dicks so you can force them to choke on it.” Sour Sweet felt the lump in her throat subside and she laughed. “You say the sweetest things, Scribey.” Her eyes lit up with a brief idea. “But what if I’m into girls?” She waggled her eyebrows at him. Scribe shook his head. “I have no idea, but I’ll make sure they suffer if they dare to hurt you emotionally.” “Can we get on with this?” Sunny requested tapping her fingers against her arm impatiently. “While I appreciate the veritable buffet of manliness before me, Scribey, I do have other things I need to get done this weekend. Exams are rapidly approaching, after all.” Scribe groaned and cut off his embrace of Sour Sweet. Lemon grinned and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek. “Galant and heroic, hey Scribey?” “Whatever.” Scribe grinned as he briefly touched his cheek. “Um. Rarity, did you have something in mind?” Rarity had been examining the room and pointedly ignoring the emotional display between the two friends. Now she clapped her hands together with a large smile. “Would you four please stand right here?” She indicated one of the score keeping areas with the long circular benches for two teams. Lemon and Sunny Flare moved there first. Sugarcoat trailed behind them. Sour Sweet managed to fight down the need to start cussing and came up to the area last. “Perfect. Now, Sunny, darling, I believe you should stand in the center.” Rarity nodded. “And Sugarcoat and Sour Sweet should be on either side of you. Lemon I’d like you to go behind them up on the bench, but do be careful.” The girls jockeyed around for a moment or two and got into position. “Hmmm.” Rarity studied them closely. “Can we just take the damn picture?” Sour glared at the CHS girl frustratedly. “It needs a splash more colour.” Rarity glanced at Scribe. “Aha! Scribey, would you be a dear and go stand next to your cousin?” Scribe blinked. “Wait what?” Rarity rolled her eyes. “I know you’re just doing this to prove a point about that program, but your friends are all rather cool colours. A bit more subdued. I feel a splash of heat is appropriate and you are cherry red.” Rarity grasped Scribe by the shoulder and pushed him towards the group while simultaneously snatching the camera from his hands. “What the hell do colours have to do with this?” Scribe demanded. Sunny shook her head. “She raises a valid point, dearie.” “Just get over here.” Sugarcoat snatched Scribe by the arm and tugged him around to face Rarity. “You’ll have to be in these shots too if you want to fool Diamond Tiara.” “Oh my, yes! That’s much better, darlings.” Rarity smiled and raised the camera. Her cheeks flushed slightly as she realized what precisely she was doing, but then she frowned. “Couldn’t you at least attempt to smile?” “I am smiling!” Sour snapped. “No, dearie, I believe that’s gritting your teeth painfully.” Sunny Flare smiled at her observation. “I have relatively few facial expressions.” Sugarcoat stared impassively forward. Rarity shook her head. “Now, ladies, I understand that you may feel uncomfortable having your photo taken without clothing on. That being said: it is still a photo. I strongly suggest you cast aside your inhibitions and do your best to at least pretend that you’re enjoying yourselves.” “Fine!” Sour blinked her eyes rapidly and then adopted a slightly eerie looking contented smile. “How’s this?” “Much better, darling.” Rarity smiled with uncertain hesitation. Raising the camera up again she noted each of them was looking much better now. Depressing the switch she took the photo. “No one move!” she instructed. “Three should do it,” Scribe stated. “That way if one is out of focus or has red eye we’ll have two backups just in case.” Rarity shook her head. “Whatever would you need a backup for? Either way, please smile one more time.” Sour Sweet grit her teeth, but complied with the request. Lemon broke into a broad smile. Sunny smiled openly and without needing to force it. Scribe and Sugarcoat barely raised their lips up, but they did manage to smile. Rarity depressed the switch on the camera twice more in rapid succession. And then a third time for good measure. “Perfect!” Grinning from ear to ear, she indicated to the girls that they could relax. “Now go get dressed so we can take the exact same shot with your clothes on.” “But I left my shirt at Apple Bloom’s...” Scribe grimaced slightly. “I believe I have one you can borrow. I’ll just go to the music room and fetch it.” Rarity smiled and handed Scribe back the camera. After she was gone they all crowded around Scribe. “Let me see!” Sour Sweet commanded. “Hey, don’t grab!” Scribe shot back as he pulled the camera out of her reach. “This is important equipment and I am not using my allowance to replace it if you break it.” “I must admit that I’m a bit curious about them too,” Sugarcoat noted. “Yes, let’s make sure we look stunning in this light,” Sunny Flare agreed. Scribe fiddled with the camera for a moment and brought up a digital display. “Ok. So here we all are and—huh—I didn’t know you waxed, Sugarcoat.” “I hate having to deal with pubes, too messy.” Sugarcoat studied the picture closely. “Geez Scribey, what’s with the 70’s porn star bush? Haven’t you ever heard of man-scaping?” Sour Sweet quipped. “Guys are supposed to be hairy down there… right?” Scribe fidgeted briefly before he took another look at the shot. “Lemon, that’s not funny!” Lemon whistled innocently and smirked. “Totally worth it.” “Please tell me you only did that in one image,” Sunny said. Scribe flipped through the three other images and sighed in relief. “Just the last one.” “Good, if we want to keep this one than we can,” Sunny said with a teasing smile. “Oh come on!” Scribe shot Sunny a frustrated look. “So, aren’t we supposed to go get dressed?” Sour wondered curiously. “I dunno about you guys, but I’m feeling pretty chill right now.” Lemon shrugged. “We have to put our clothes back on to take the other picture to prove my program works. We can resume expressing our support of your new lifestyle choice after we get to one of our homes. Preferably Scribe’s as Aunt Angel Mist has weekend classes today.” Sugarcoat unfolded her arms and turned to head back to the dressing rooms. “Who said anything about strutting around Scribe’s place without clothes?” Sour grit her teeth again and looked ready to slap someone. “Well, we do support this new choice,” Sunny noted. “And it wouldn’t be fair not to at least allow for all levels of comfort.” “Indigo might not like that,” Lemon reminded. “Wait a second! Who ever said I was ok with being a naturist?” Scribe interjected before anymore arguing could commence. Sugarcoat turned around and poked his chest with her finger. “You removed your clothing to make us feel more at ease about taking this picture and you comforted Sour Sweet about her self-destructive self-loathing tendencies. “You also left your shirt on somebody else’s property and you have always been easy to read, dear cousin. I suspect you already sub-consciously decided you enjoyed spending time outside in your birthday suit or just in general.” “Why do we have to take our clothes off too? Is it just to make him feel less self-conscious?” Sour looked between the others with a dangerous gleam in her eyes. “Lemon has already decided to try this lifestyle out for herself. She’s free-thinking enough that she wouldn’t care. Sunny is willing to do anything we decide to do if it makes her feel appreciated. I am his cousin, so I must show my support as a family member. “Furthermore, I’m not opposed to people living in the nude if it improves their mental and physical health. Besides, I think it’ll help you feel more confident about your body.” Sugarcoat once again folded her arms, which only served to accentuate her already ample bosom. “Sounds to me like you’re just forcing us to become naturists!” Sour stomped forward and raised her right hand, balling it into a fist as she did so. “She’s speaking from logic and her typical calculating mindset, dearie,” Sunny Flare said. She reached over and gently squeezed Sour’s shoulder. “She is presuming that we shall all just go with the flow.” Sugarcoat blinked in genuine surprise. “Wouldn’t you? That’s how we’ve always been.” Sunny shook her head. “Not always.” Turning she started walking towards the dressing room. Sour stared between them with her mouth hanging open in shock. Scribe visibly flinched. “I don’t think Sunny is as happy about your reasoning as you thought she’d be,” he observed. “Also, you are kind of moving a bit fast and pushing things. Everything I read about naturism states you shouldn’t try to force others to accept it if they aren’t comfortable.” Sugarcoat sighed. “A minor error in my calculations. It has been known to happen. I’ll apologize to her and we’ll discuss it. However, I’m confident we’ll all adapt to this. Even Indigo will come around eventually. At this point, Canterlot is pretty much one big naturist loving community with very few outliers left.” After she finished speaking her mind, she followed Sunny to the dressing room. Sour Sweet spun to face Lemon. “One more hug?” “Knock yourself out.” Lemon grinned. “Huh?” Scribe turned partially to the remaining two girls in confusion. Sour Sweet grabbed the camera and passed it to Lemon. Then she pulled Scribe in close and pressed her body against his. “Tell anyone about this and… well just remember, I know where you live!” Storming off back to the dressing rooms with slightly flushed cheeks Sour left the two uncertain budding lovebirds alone. Scribe retrieved the camera from Lemon. “Well, that was awkward.” “When is she ever going to get that close to a guy again?” Lemon asked with a smirk. “She basically just copped a feel and you were ok with that?!” Scribe’s cheeks flushed with anger this time. “It’s Sour Sweet!” Lemon reminded. “Tell me you don’t at least feel some empathy towards her social issues.” Scribe deflated at the accusation in Lemon’s eyes and briefly nodded. Then he approached her and leaned in to give her a chaste kiss on the lips. “Ok. I forgive you. And her too. Now you’d better hurry up and get your clothes back on, the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get back to my place so we can just unwind. I definitely need another meditation session in the backyard after the day I’ve been having.” Lemon grinned broadly and pulled Scribe in for a longer kiss. “On it, loverboy.” Scribe stood there for a moment with a goofy expression on his face after Lemon left. Rarity returned at that moment holding a few shirts in her hand. All of them various shades of black. “Would you… kindly redress please,” she asked hesitantly. “It’s taking an effort of will just to remain civil about this nudity business.” Scribe sighed and turned to leave. “I hate black, just so you know. And I’m sorry if we made you uncomfortable. I still think anybody else could have taken the picture.” Rarity frowned. “Ah, well, I was merely trying to be generous. And to be quite honest, the less time I have to spend around Sonata and Pinkie right now, the better off I’ll feel. I don’t necessarily disapprove of their relationship, mind you, but I’d rather feel slightly uncomfortable amongst a small group of naturists than witness their… shenanigans.” Scribe shuddered. “Um, you don’t have to justify yourself to me. And sorry about the black thing, I just don’t like how cliché the colour combination is.” “Oh, of course. Most red skinned fellows your age generally do, unless they embrace the gothic evil villain stereotype cliché. Unfortunately, my clothing selection for male body types at school is rather limited. Trust me though, once you see yourself in this you’ll feel much better.” Rarity smiled briefly and held up one of the shirts which had a nice pattern of silver highlighted sapphires on the shoulders running down the chest in a V pattern and ending just above the stomach. “It’s quite fetching and will bring out your eye and hair colouring quite complimentary.” “Right.” Scribe hastened his departure. “I’ll just get the rest of my stuff on before anything else goes crazy.” “Sonata! Bad Sonata! Pinkie does not like, Pinkie does not like!” Rarity and Scribe shared a brief look and then both of them quickly turned away. Rarity was doing her best to ignore what her senses were telling her. That is, until she realized something rather important. Sweetie Belle had been bearing her body in front of many young men, and it was quite apparent that she had feelings just like any healthy girl would have at her age for a particular member of the opposite sex. A particular member she recalled seeing briefly amongst the other assembled students waiting in the cool air conditioned CHS library upstairs. “Sweetie Belle!” Rarity put the camera and shirts down for a moment and went off to have a talk with her younger sister. A talk that their parents no doubt already had with her, but that she felt it most improper of her to ignore at this moment.