//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: Our Principal Is A Belly Dancer // by mayorlight //------------------------------// It was Wednesday night and the last class before the recital. Celestia spent the first half of class running through the opening and closing group choreography with her classmates. Afterward, they were turned loose to work on their solos. Chiffon Veil made her rounds across the dance floor, offering guidance to each and every one of her students on their individual routines. Celestia's routine was a simple one, focusing mainly on hip drops, circles, and shimmies. While some of her classmates were performing with props such as wooden canes, and curved swords, she had wisely chosen to stick to the basics for her first performance. After all, it was not a matter of how much you know, but how well you actually presented it. With time and practice, she might eventually take up a prop. The shimmering pleated "goddess" wings, in particular, fascinated her. Luna was fond of using veils in her routines while Cadance favored the zills, or finger cymbals. Much to her surprise, however, neither of them were using props in their routines. Celestia made a chiming gesture with her thumb and middle finger to Cadance. "You're awfully quiet." "I decided to try something new," said Cadance, shimmying her shoulders. Luna meanwhile quietly worked on her undulations. It never ceased to amaze Celestia how smoothly and effortlessly her sister and Cadance could isolate their core muscles. She still had quite a ways to go before she was anywhere near their skill level. As the class came to an end, Chiffon Veil called for everyone's attention. "Before we conclude this evening, I would like to give a hearty thanks to Celestia and Luna." At that, Cadance led the women of the class in applauding the sisters. "Were it not for them, we may not be having our recital this weekend. I'll see you all at Canterlot High Saturday!" Celestia and Luna smiled warmly. The excitement in the air was palpable. Less than two weeks ago, it seemed like their recital would end up being postponed. Despite some initial misgivings, whether by luck or by fate (magic perhaps?), everything had fallen into place. With their spirits restored, every woman in the class was ready to give her best performance to date. The wave had gathered momentum. All that was left for them to do now was to ride it! *** Principal Abacus Cinch sat behind her desk at Crystal Prep Academy. In recent weeks, the inquiries from concerned parents, nosy journalists, and delusional cranks into the Friendship Games incident had finally subsided, allowing her to get back to her normal routine - or at least, what remained of it. Staring at her personal notebook computer's screen, she quietly nursed a bottle of alkaline water. She had never abused caffeine or any other other stimulants, and even now, at the lowest point she had ever been in her career, she was not about to start. In the wake of the Games, she had been forced to take a less visible role in running the Academy. It was only by her connections among the Academy's Board of Directors that she managed to avoid blackmail and endangerment charges. Although she had managed to hold onto her position as principal, her grip was tenuous at best. On some days, the trophies and plaques lining her office were her only company. As she withdrew from the limelight, Dean Cadance became the respectable "face" of the Academy. There was no question as to who really held the hearts and minds of the students and faculty. Since then, Cinch had been discreetly keeping tabs on Canterlot High School, hoping to find some way of tilting the playing field back toward Crystal Prep's advantage, and ultimately, her own. To that end, the principal even called on a few of her trusted "eyes and ears" to dig into her rival school's recent history. She was surprised to learn of two very unusual occurrences coinciding with school events: (1) reports of a winged demon destroying the school's front entrance during the Fall Formal, and (2) sightings of what many described as a giant winged unicorn in the sky during the CHS Musical Showcase. As with the Friendship Games incident, wherein her erstwhile prized pupil Twilight Sparkle transformed into a winged monster before her eyes, both of these events were ultimately chalked up to mass hysteria by the authorities. After all, who would believe stories of magical students with wings, portals to different dimensions and a talking dog? As such, she had nothing which she could bring to the School Board's attention. Until now. Her most recent Internet query of 'Canterlot High School' had returned a most intriguing search result - a MyStable post by a local dance studio dated less than a week ago: Belly Dance Recital Canterlot High School Gymnasium Saturday, 10 AM This was certainly a surprise. Never in a million years would she have imagined Principal Celestia allowing such a tawdry event to be hosted at her school. Perhaps CHS's recent chain of successes has made her careless. Cinch navigated to the studio's MyStable page. The cover photo featured a mature woman, perhaps a few years older than she, dressed in a surprisingly modest, albeit form-fitting dress. The woman, one Chiffon Veil, was clearly the studio owner and its chief instructor. Cinch scrolled down to the Photos section. Between numerous motivational images (often featuring photos of natural landscapes and cute animals), were several photos of Chiffon Veil and several women who appeared to be her students. As expected, most of their outfits were revealing, although a few dressed like their teacher in dresses that covered their bodies from their necks to their ankles. Further down were four videos. The first of them featured Chiffon Veil giving a brief introduction to the provocative dance form and its supposed health benefits. The chief instructor's slightly wizened face belied the woman's youthful enthusiasm. Cinch could not help but admire her verve; a shame that it was wasted on such a gaudy form of entertainment. Halfway through the video, the camera shifted to Chiffon Veil instructing a group of women, all clad in exercise wear of varying degrees of modesty, in front of a large mirrored wall. As the camera panned across the dance floor, Cinch suddenly paused the video. Off to one side of the video frame, she noticed in the mirror the reflection of a woman in a black crop top and exercise pants. Although she could not clearly discern the woman's facial features, there was no mistaking that long sapphire blue hair. It was none other than Canterlot High's vice principal and Celestia's sister Luna! Could this be the reason that Celestia agreed to rent their school's gymnasium to this so-called dance studio? Perhaps she was a nepotist after all. Cinch patiently watched the remainder of the video, but CHS's vice principal never actually appeared on camera. The other three videos turned out to be only demonstration "performances" by the studio owner and a few other unfamiliar women. She returned to the first video and queued it back to where she originally paused it. Cinch stood up from her desk and paced about her office as she contemplated her next move. The video alone was hardly proof of anything. Even if it truly was Vice Principal Luna in the mirror on camera, it only indicated that she was present in the class when it was shot, not that she was actually...performing. Still, if Canterlot High School was hosting this recital, something clearly one step above a burlesque show, was is not her duty as a concerned citizen to bring it to the School Board's attention? To do so, however, she was going to need solid evidence of what transpired during the event. Returning to her desk, she followed the reservation hyperlink to an event management site and was about to purchase a ticket when she suddenly stopped. Better that she did not risk tipping her hand. Instead, she made a mental note of the event's date and time. The at-the-door ticket price was slightly higher, but it was a small price to pay to maintain the element of surprise. Cinch smiled to herself as she closed her computer. The scales were about to tip in her favor once more.