//------------------------------// // Act II // Story: The Worst Night Ever // by The Blue EM2 //------------------------------// The Fall Formal was just as busy as it had been the previous year. Students were piling off the streetcars and heading indoors, looking wonderful in either smart suits with bow ties or beautiful dresses, depending on the subjects gender. Except Scootaloo, who was dressed in her usual ensemble of turquoise shirt, grey hoodie, green shorts, and grey boots. Cheerilee was sat next to her, also dressed normally. Like last year, she was helping with security, and as the streetcar rolled to a stop, they got off. Truth be told, they waited for the streetcar to stop before they got off, as otherwise it could hurt a lot. "A pity that it didn't work out with Rarity," Scootaloo sighed. "At least Rumble won't judge me over how I'm dressed." "Don't worry dear," Cheerilee smiled. "I'm certain everything will be just fine, and nobody will mind how you're dressed." Scootaloo laughed at that. "Yeah. You'd need to be pretty shallow to judge somebody only on their clothes." Just then, as they entered the corridor and Cheerilee went on ahead of her to the hall, Scootaloo saw her friends Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, wearing the dresses they wore last year (which miraculously still fitted them); a purple dress with a ribbon around the waist for Apple Bloom, and a pink sleeveless dress with a ruffled skirt for Sweetie Belle. "Howdy Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom called, waving to her friend. "What's up with the clothin'?" Scootaloo sighed. "I tried to request something from Rarity, but what she came up with was too girly for my taste." "Yeah, I saw that," Sweetie Belle sighed. "Sheesh, she doesn't seem to appreciate some people like to be able to see their feet." "Why not wear what you wore last year?" Apple Bloom asked. "It no longer fitted me," Scootaloo sighed. "Oh," Apple Bloom replied. "That musta sucked. Ya looked great in that skirt." Scootaloo nodded. "You know guys, go on ahead. I'll follow you up soon." "OK Scootaloo, see you in a bit," Sweetie Belle replied, and she and Apple Bloom headed off in the direction of the school hall, where the party was currently ongoing. Scootaloo shrugged her shoulders. "See you guys," she answered, looking around her as other people bustled into the hall. Eventually she was left in the hallway on her own. With a sigh, she started to step forward, when suddenly in the distance she heard a quiet, yet familiar, voice. "Life is a runway, When you see it my way; Take all the good inside Make it beautiful! Fashion is a way to start, Showing what's in your heart; Call it superficial I call it irrefutable!" The voice was slowly getting closer and closer. Scootaloo then recognised it as that of Rarity, who was somewhat late, and she was in a rush. She continued with her song, apparently oblivious to the freshman standing near her as she rushed past. The entire thing turned into a dance number, magic shooting from her fingers and crashing into objects. Lockers gained dents, padlocks were blown off, and the lights flickered like faulty bulbs in a horror movie. "You can be the girl That you want to be; With a little love And some accessories! Don't be scared to show you have Personal style; Just go do your thing You'll make everyone smile!" With that last line, another blast of magic flew from Rarity's fingers. And Scootaloo had been standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. The blast of magic collided with the freshman like a meteor, leaving her stunned and confused. As Rarity headed off into the distance, apparently unaware of what had just transpired as the words of her song continued, Scootaloo started to change... Firstly, her hair began growing, until it had at least reached down to her shoulders, and then it suddenly curled back on itself, piling up upon the top of her head in what resembled a French twist. The girl had felt all of this, and was confused and shocked. "Wh-what's happening to me?" she asked. She had no idea what was coming. The next thing to occur happened to her hoodie, which merged with her turquoise shirt to create a single garment. The zip vanished and the gap sewed itself up, followed by her sleeves shrinking back until they sat on the side of her shoulders. The hood shrank back into the material, and the back of the jacket dropped, exposing her upper back. At the same time, the neckline dropped to just above her breasts whilst the front round to the back of the shoulders began to ruffle up, forming a sort of zigzag of material across it. Then the chest area started to tighten a bit, giving Scootaloo an hourglass shape, as well as leaving the girl gasping for breath. "What... the... hell... is... happening?" she gasped, heaving air into her constrained lungs. The garment that had once been her favourite hoodie sudenly began to change more, the material changing from cotton to something much softer, something Scootaloo couldn't identify, but was definitely girly. She was sure of it. Shortly after, her shorts merged with her former hoodie, which now looked like some sort of bodice, before the legs of the shorts stiched themselves together. The material separating the legs shrank back into them, turning it into a mini-skirt of some description, leading to an incredibly strange mismatch of fashion. But that was not to be the case for much longer, as the skirt suddenly began growing longer, proceeding toward the floor until Scootaloo could no longer see her feet. It seemed to gain volume, layer after layer of petticoats appearing underneath the outer skirt, before something else appeared underneath them, which felt like some sort of cage, based on how it brushed against her legs. Then it seemed as if somebody had attached an air hose to this skirt and the other garments, as the skirt began to inflate, growing wider and wider at great speed, the fabric creeping across the floor and making a rustling noise, until the skirt seemed to be almost as wide as the corridor. Thankfully, after a few seconds it slowed down and then, mercifully, stopped, floating as the largest hoop skirt Scootaloo had ever seen. Each layer seemed to have gained volume as they had grown in size, and to Scootaloo it felt as if somebody had put several 20 ton weights right onto her hips, as they suddenly began to change in appearance, the material softening and becoming more girly. The world seemed to grow shorter as Scootaloo's boots morphed into a pair of heels, shrinking down along her legs and pushing her up. It felt as if her feet had been put through a pencil sharpener. Finally, the entire ensemble changed colour, from their original mish mash of colours to a royal blue. Scootaloo looked around her at what had just happened. "Just my luck!" she exclaimed. "This looks so girly!" It was just then she realised that several people were looking at her... Apple Bloom looked around her on the dance floor in concern. "Where's Scoots?" she asked. Pip called over to her. "Why? I haven't seen her anywhere!" "It's been a few minutes since she said she'd be in here in a few minutes!" Sweetie Belle answered, as the beat continued to pound through the night and echo across the floor. "Should we ask Miss Cheerilee?" "Good call!" Button Mash shouted. "We'll hold the floor for you, you go and ask her!" "On mah way!" Apple Bloom called, as she and Sweetie Belle sprinted over to Cheerilee, who was propped against a wall with her hand on her forehead. "Miss Cheerilee!" called Sweetie Belle. The teacher instantly snapped to attention. "Hello girls!" she called. "How can I help you?" "We ain't seen Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom told her. "She said she be in here in a few minutes, and she ain't!" Cheerilee sighed. "She's probably a little embarassed she has nothing to wear," Cheerilee sighed. "I'll go find her, don't you worry. Now why don't you girls go and have fun?" Sweetie Belle sighed, as Rumble took the stage and began to sing some old Elvis numbers. "C'mon, let's go," she said to Apple Bloom. Both girls headed back to the dance floor, as Rarity brushed past them, energy surging from her hands... Cheerilee walked down the corridor, hearing clustered voices talking loudly. "Doesn't she look silly!" "I had no idea she was this girly!" "Ha ha! Scootaloo the Princess!" Cheerilee's blood ran cold as she saw a cluster of students merrily taking pictures. She raised her voice. "What are you all doing out here in the corridor?" she asked, looking at them. They all turned around and looked at her. "We-we were just complementing Scootaloo on her costume!" said one. "Yeah!" said another. "When I said she looked silly, I meant that she looks great!" "Go to the hall immediately, and hand your phones into security as you go in," Cheerilee sighed. "Your all late as it is, and mocking another student is never acceptable. GO!" Not wanting to face Cheerilee's wrath, which had been likened to facing a murderous swan, the student block scarpered and ran. Cheerilee stepped forward, and took a deep breath. "Scootaloo," she asked. "What in the world happened?" Far from the girl she had walked in with, Scootaloo looked like she'd stepped straight off the set of a period drama. Her hair was done up in a way that shouldn't have been possible with her short haircut, and her clothes had changed into the largest dress Cheerilee had ever seen, the skirt covering most of the corridor and Scootaloo's shoulders exposed, as well as increased cleavage. The girl's cheeks were red, fresh with complete and utter humiliation and embarrasment. "Thanks for the help mom," she muttered, before taking a deep breath. "God, it is hard to breath in this thing." Cheerilee shook her head. "How long have you been here?" Scootaloo looked to her wrist, only to see her watch had vanished. "This stupid dress swallowed up my phone and wallet," she said, tears in her eyes. "Can this night get any worse?" She tried to move forward, but there seemed to be some sort of resistance preventing her from moving. "It must be heavy, based on the difficulty you're having with moving," Cheerilee said. "Tilt forward slightly and try lifting the front of the skirt." Scootaloo gingerly reached forward, as if the fabric was a viper waiting to bite her, and lifted the skirt slightly. Then, leaning forward, she took a step. Everything fell over as she toppled forward, landing on her face. "Stupid heels! Who thought that these were a good idea?" Cheerilee reached down, and took Scootaloo's hand, lifting her up and straightening her skirts. "Follow me," she said. "I'll get you to the library and do some checks. And you need to tell me how this happened." Scootaloo, lacking the strength or will to aruge, simply nodded, and mother and daughter set off, one proceeding considerably slower than they would have liked to, the sound of fabric and skirt brushing along the floor becoming a recurring accompianament to their journey. Man, how she would give anything to have her old clothes back. Cheerilee unlocked the doors to the library, and stepped through, moving one of the tables as she stepped in to leave enough space for her daughter's dress. When she heard a voice. "Mom... I'm stuck." Cheerilee turned around, and sniggered. Scootaloo was wedged in the doorway, the skirt being slightly too wide for the space before it. "It's not funny!" Scootaloo cried. "I feel like a beached whale!" Cheerilee stepped forward, and took her daughter's hand, pulling as she did so. Scootaloo popped through, the frame of the skirt being slightly compressed and suddenly popping back into shape as she flew through. Both mother and daughter fell to the floor, Cheerilee being buried under Scootaloo and a mountain of fabric. Scootaloo got up uneasily, looking very silly indeed. "Sorry mom," she said. "Don't worry dear," Cheerilee said darkly. "I'll get a tape measure and other equipment. Whoever did this to you should be the one to worry."