//------------------------------// // A Plan For Sneaking Off // Story: Dancing Through Life // by MiraculousDragonMaster //------------------------------// Dancing Through Life Chapter 7 A Plan For Sneaking Off That afternoon, in her house kitchen, Pinkie was baking some cookies with the other Rainbooms when her phone began ringing on the counter. Sunset wiped her hands and answered it. "Pinkie Pie's phone. This is Sunset Shimmer." She said. "Hey, Sunset." A familiar voice spoke up. "Hey there, Rainbow Dash." Sunset said. "Hang on a second." She pressed the button for speaker as the other Rainbooms gathered around her. "Okay. You're on speaker." "Thanks." Rainbow said. "Girls, I can't come to the dance tonight. Adagio Demon is making me clean her bedroom." Pinkie gasped dramatically. "You're in her lair?!" She exclaimed. "There are species of bugs in here are still unknown to science." Dash remarked. "Really?" Twilight asked, suspicious of her remark. "Figure of speech, Twilight." Rainbow clarified with a roll of her eyes from the other side of the line. "But still, there's no way I'll finish in time." Pinkie began thinking. "Unless we probably could-" She was cut off by another phone line joining in the conversation. "I believe that what I meant by no phone privileges, I also meant the land line." Adagio's voice said from the separate line. Rainbow flinched at being caught. "Sorry, gals. I gotta go." She then quickly hung up the phone. From in Pinkie's kitchen, Applejack looked ready to take on a raging bull. "Oh, I really hate that girl. She and her sisters treat Rainbow Dash lower than dirt." "But, you were thinking something, Pinkie Pie." Twilight said, turning over to the party girl. "Do you have something in mind?" "Absolutely." Pinkie replied with a smile as she began to tell the others of her plan. Back at the Dazzling house, Rainbow Dash hauled in a cart of cleaning supplies into Adagio's room, wearing a baggy cleaning suit and face mask. She began to sweep, dust, freshen up, and throw away spoiled food into the trash. After an hour of working, and resisting the urge to gag at least seven times, Rainbow saw something rumbling around in a pile of clothes. She grabbed her broom and defensively held out in front of her as she cautiously walked over to the heap of gawdy clothing. When she softly poked the pile, it slightly moved again. Dash then swung the clothes away with the broom, and underneath them was a very familiar tortoise. "Tank?" Rainbow was surprised to find her pet tortoise in this nightmarish room. She put away her broom and picked up the reptile. "What are you doing in here, you goofy turtle?" Tank only gave her a slow lick on her cheek, making her giggle and wiping her cheek. Then, the doorbell rang. Dash kept her tortoise in her arms as she went downstairs and answered the door. On the front steps were her friends. "Girls!" She said with a smile. "Look, I found Tank and I was about to put him back in my room-" Rainbow stopped when she saw Rarity and Fluttershy each holding at least three black carrying bags in their hands. "Please tell me those aren't our dresses?" She asked, giving them an exasperated glare. "We can't, then." Pinkie said. "Because they are. We are going to the dance." Dash frowned. "Uh, what part of 'Adagio Demon is making me clean her bedroom' did you not understand?" She asked. "Well, Dashie." Pinkie said, using Rainbow's "cute" nickname, making Rainbow look at her dryly. "What if we said that you won't have to do this by yourself, sneak off with us, and Adagio would never know?" Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "I'd say you guys are my heroes, but who would help me?" Pinkie brought the other girls closer to her. "Us, of course!" She then released them as Sunset and Twilight showed her some extra cleaning supplies that they brought. Dash felt a grateful smile on her face. "Really?" She asked. "You girls would do this for me?" "Of course we would." Applejack said as she came inside and wrapped an arm over Rainbow's shoulder. "As your BFFs, we wouldn't leave ya hanging. Just like you would do for us." Rainbow, for once, let some tears come to her eyes. "You guys are the best!" She cried as she brought her friends into a tight hug. "Yeah, we know." Pinkie said, then after Dash released them and let them into the house, she quickly put on a janitor's clothes; all in pink of course. "So, when do we start?" Rainbow took a couple of the dresses from Fluttershy and handed her Tank. "Flutters, can you put Tank back in my room, in his terrarium?" She asked. "Of course." Fluttershy took the tortoise from Dash's arms and went over to her section of the house. "And what about the rest of us?" Twilight asked. Rainbow reached into a pocket of her cleaning suit and pulled out a box of rubber gloves. "First off, you girls definitely need something to protect your hands." A couple of minutes later, Dash lead everyone else, including Fluttershy who came back from her "chambers", to Adagio's bedroom. They all were appalled by the horrific conditions, especially Rarity. "Oh, ewww!" She exclaimed, holding her nose. "Darling, I can't see how you work in a place like this." "Welcome to my world, Rare." Rainbow said. "Dash, if I ever said something about how hard my work is compared to yours, I take it back." Applejack said. "You didn't, but thanks anyways." Dash said dryly. "But, if you girls want to get to the Spring Fling on time, let's get going." "If we must." Rarity said as she began to spray the room with a can of disinfectant. Twilight, AJ, and Sunset each grabbed a broom, while Fluttershy and Pinkie helped Rainbow began organizing the piles of clothes. While they did, Rarity would make a critique about some of Adagio's wardrobe choices. And none of them were good. Thankfully for everyone, soon the room was spic and span. It smelled much better, and the clothes were clean and hung in the closet. Dash wiped her forehead. "Whew! You gals still hanging in there?" "I think so." Fluttershy replied, removing her rubber gloves, relieved that the air was now much more fresh. "Come on, ladies!" Rarity said excitedly. "We only have 30 minutes until the dance, and we need to look fabulous!" Everyone quickly ran downstairs to get ready for their big night.