The Mysterious Forum - Anon-a-miss

by Leo Luce

Chapter 18 - Dance Magic (Edited by: Moonriseoversunset)

"So, I gathered all of you here today for a very important reason," Sunset began sitting on the head seat of the table with her elbows on the table and fingers touching each other while everyone else sat around the table. The classes for the day had just ended, and Sunset gathered everyone in the club room for an emergency meeting.

"What day is today?" Sunset asked seriously. The girls, too afraid to speak, fearing they had forgotten about something important like a birthday or something, just looked at each other before Rarity decided to bite the bullet.

"It's... Friday?"

"And in a week, it will be?"

"Friday 23rd?" Aiko asked.

"And...?"

"And what?" Rainbow asked.

"What comes after 23?"

"24th."

"And it's important because...?"

"Sunset, what ar-"

"THE DEADLINE!!" Twilight shouted, interrupting Rainbow.

"Deadline? What- oh no! I completely forgot!" Rainbow shouted as everyone else quickly caught onto what was going on.

"Yes! Because of this bucking forum, we completely forgot about the fundraiser. And we need to find money in a week. We need ideas, people, and fast!" Sunset said as everyone went into brainstorming ideas. It's been some time since camp Everfree, and with everything going on, they all forgot about the fundraiser, and now they are out of time.

"Why can't you ask your-"

"No, I'm not pulling the mom card, Rainbow. We need to find them ourselves," Sunset said.

"What if we have a doggie daycare?" Twilight suggested, and Sunset looked at Fluttershy.

"W-well... maybe, but... not many p-people have d-dogs. So we wouldn't get e-enough money from just that," Fluttershy said.

"Hm. And we'd have to commit to that the whole week, which we can't do."

"Oooh, ooh, we can have a bake sale. Everyone loves sweets," Pinkie said.

"That's a good idea, but where are you gonna find the resources?"

"Oh, the Cakes can help us out."

"If you are sure. But that won't be enough."

"We can try washing cars," Rainbow said.

"That might take every one of us. So let's hold onto that for now. Anything else?"

The girls were all silent as they thought of anything else to earn more money.

"It's hard to think of anything to do. If you give me some time, I'll be sure to think of something," Rarity said.

"Time is what we don't have right now."

"I know, but give me a day, and I will think of something. You know I never back down from a promise."

"Okay fine. Pinkie check-up with the Cakes and updated me. Everyone else, if you think of something, tell us as soon as possible."

The day slowly ended as the girls returned home and thought of a way to find more money. Applejack suggested helping Pinkie with the bake sale with their very own apple products, which will surely get a lot of attention. The only problem was that Mr. and Mrs. Cake were out of ingredients for a bake sale, so they'd have to wait a while to get them. Aiko suggested holding a concert which was a solid idea with all their original songs. The only downside, other than the school, which is actually a lot by itself, no one really knew about them. However, all they get from Rarity is to meet them tomorrow at the school. And so the girls found themselves the next day in the music room while everyone waited for Rarity.

"Sorry, girls, I lost track of time," Rarity said as she rushed into the room, looking like her usual self if a bit frazzled.

"It's okay, Rarity. What've you got?" Sunset asked.

"Chance to Prance," Rarity said, making a rainbow with her hands like it was the most obvious thing. Everyone looked at her, confused.

"It's a competition. All we gotta do is write some lyrics and make up some dance moves, and we can win the prize money."

"You make it sound simple as pie," Applejack said.

"Because it is. Even the girls at Crystal Prep agree."

"They do?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"Is that a problem, darling?"

"N-no, it's just... haven't really heard from them since I left the school."

"Although, there's a very little problem," Rarity said.

"What's that?" Fluttershy asked.

"I... don't have money to buy supplies for the clothes," Rarity said in one breath.

"Oh... well, I have the money I got from the restaurant. I can give you that," Sunset said.

"What happened to we are not gonna use our money thing?" Rainbow asked, crossing her hands.

"I'm not just straight up giving the money, and I'm just... contributing some to earn them for the fundraiser. That's completely different," Sunset said.

"Well, in any case, I'd be able to give you some, too," Applejack said. "Though from the sound of it, you already have an idea for the song."

"I certainly do. I'm thinking about a music video that combines different genres and styles. I mean, we have a pretty diverse cast of singers, from alicorn princesses to samurai warriors. This should be an easy win."

"Well, she does have a point," Applejack said.

"Hm... it is a risk but...okay then. So what are we waiting for? Let's get down to business," Sunset said.

And so, the girls started to make a rough draft for their song for the music video. They decide on a lot of genres like country, hip-hop, and rap, among others.

"Who's gonna do the rap?" Sunset asked. "We never had any rap parts in our songs."

"Oh, oh, Aiko can do it!" Pinkie suggested shoving the Japanese girl forward.

"W-what!"

"You! You can rap."

"H-how do you-"

"You know how to rap?" Twilight asked, surprised.

"W-well... I can't make them up on the spot... but I can definitely do that if I get enough time. B-but I'm not that good."

"Don't say that. I'm sure you'll do great," Rainbow said.

"Oh, definitely," Rarity said. "So, are we certain this is what we wanna do?"

"Yeah, I guess," Applejack said.

"Great. I'll go back and start designing our clothes then. Aiko, can I speak to your mom, maybe grandma?"

"Why do you wanna talk to them?"

"To get some help with your dress, of course. I'd ask you, but you need to practice."

"Oh, okay then. They'll be at home. Just give me a call."

As Rarity left, the other girls kept working on the song. Knowing Rarity, they knew she'd finish all the dresses before tomorrow. So they can start practicing tomorrow with no problems.

The song came out perfect. Aiko was able to finish her part perfectly, proving that she didn't give enough credit to herself. However, the dance... well...

"Ow! Careful!" Sunset shouted as her feet got stomped for the 3rd time.

"Sorry," Twilight said. Just before Rainbow jumped in front of them, completely missing her cue.

"No, no cut!" Rarity shouted as the girls stopped what they were doing. Twilight, who was in an awkward position, tried to stand normally when her heel caught a part of Sunset's dress and ripped it.

"AHHH!!! No!!" Rarity shouted, running at Sunset before gripping her dress. "I-it's okay, darling. I can fix t-this. Take it off."

Sunset quickly took her dress off before handing it over to Rarity.

"Keep practicing, everyone. I'll get this fixed right away," She said before running out of the auditorium.

"Sorry!" Twilight shouted at the running girl, looking apologetic.

"It's okay, Twi, this is clearly not working," Applejack said.

"Hm... the song came out perfect, but the dance... well?" Fluttershy said.

"It's a disaster. How did you guys even make that dance at the cafeteria with Princess Twi?" Sunset asked.

"I don't know. It just... worked?" Rainbow said.

"Okay, okay, let's go over the dance again. Let's see if we can change anything," Sunset said.

They tried to go over the dance and fix any issues, but no matter what they tried, it didn't seem to work at all. With so little experience with dancing, the girls were stuck and couldn't think of anything to do. This went on for well over an hour when they received a message from Rarity asking to meet her as soon as possible. And so, the girls stopped what they were doing and went to Rarity's house. Sunset knocked on the door to her workshop and entered with the rest of the girls.

"Rarity! We got your message. What happened? Is everything okay?" Twilight asked. Rarity, who was in the middle of fixing Sunset's dress, stopped what she was doing and walked over to a couch. She sat on it silently and fixed her clothes. And all of a sudden-

"AAHHHHHHH!! It's not okay!!" She started to wail, mascaras running down her eyes. "I-it's the... Crystal Prep students. They- they stole my ideahahaaaa!!"

"They did what!?" Rainbow shouted in anger.

"Didn't they learn anything from the last friendship games?" Sunset asked.

"Wouldn't surprise me. Even under Principal Cadence, all they care about is winning," Twilight said.

"Well, we have to do something. Can't we try and talk to them? They were your classmates, right?" Aiko asked Twilight.

"I could try, but-"

"YES! Come on, Twi, we need to talk to them," Rarity said, wiping her makeup using a tissue Pinkie gave her.

"M-me?!"

"Yes, I need you to take me there. And since they are your old classmates, they might listen to you."

"Uh... o-okay."

And so, the waiting game began. The girls returned to the CHS music room for Rarity and Twilight to return and start practicing the song. Before long, Rarity and Twilight came back from Crystal Prep, and from the looks of it, the confrontation didn't go too well.

"So I get it they didn't listen?" Sunset asked.

"No, they didn't! And you know what the worst part is? They are about to submit the video. So if we go through with the idea, we're going to look like the ones that stole the idea," Rarity cried as her eyes watered. "I'm so sorry for convincing you that we will be able to do this in so little time. All we did so far was waste money and time."

"Don't think like that. Maybe we can come up with a new idea," Applejack said.

"Yeah, we are so good at doing things fast. Just look at Pinkie. While we were talking, she made a whole castle out of chocolate," Rainbow said as everyone looked at Pinkie to see her standing on top of the piano, placing the last piece of a huge chocolate castle. Everyone just hoped that some Indian Prince doesn't hear about Pinkie.

"No, we can't just give up like that. Not to mention what about everything we have done so far. The song? The costumes? All just wasted," Aiko said.

"She's right. As much as I hate to do this, it looks like I'll have to talk to mom," Sunset said.

"Oh, it's all my fault. If I didn't-"

"Don't say that Rarity, it's okay. It's that Crystal-"

"But it's NOT okay! I- I we- urgh! I'm sorry, I need some time," Rarity said before she left the room. Rainbow tried to talk to her, only for Applejack to stop her.

After leaving CHS, Rarity made her way to the Sugar Cube Corner before ordering a huge cup of ice cream to comfort herself while she cried in a booth. This was when she heard an interesting conversation coming from behind her with a certain group of girls. After listening in for a while, Rarity knew exactly what needed to be done.

After her talk with the Shadowbolts and getting them on her plan, they all went back to CHS and started working on their plan. After everything was done, Rarity called the girls and asked them to get to the auditorium.

When the girls finally arrived at the auditorium, they saw that everything was changed. The scene was completely different from what they were initially working with. After the initial shock wore off, the girls all looked at Rarity.

"Aren't Crystal Prep gonna use this video idea?" Sunset asked.

"They are, yes. And so are we! You can come out now, girls," Rarity said when the Shadowbolts walked out from behind a prop.

"What are they doing here?' Rainbow asked.

"Well, you see, we met at the Sugar Cube Corner and had a little talk. After that, we realized fighting against each other wasn't going to take us anywhere. So instead, I proposed we work together."

"You guys are great singers, and we got all the dancing covered. So combining our talents is the most logical thing to do," Sugarcoat said matter-of-factly.

"So... what do you guys think?" Rarity asked as the girls started to think about this.

"Well... I like this idea," Twilight said.

"Me too," Applejack said.

"Hai," "Yepperoni," Aiko and Pinkie said.

"Okay then, I guess we can do it," Sunset said, approving the idea.

"Yes! We are gonna make the best music video ever!" Lemon Zest said in joy. "Just one more question. Who's the new girl?" She asked, pointing at Aiko.

"Aiko Whiskers, Hajimemashite," Aiko said, bowing.

"Oh, sweet. I'm Lemon Zest, and this is Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare," Lemon introduced the rest of the girls.

"Okay then, let's get to work. One of you go with Fluttershy and make changes to the lyrics. We can't just sing about us," Sunset said.

"I got it," Sunny Flare said.

"Great. Until they are done, we can get over the dance moves," Sour Sweet said. "Let's do this."

"Lights! Camera! ACTION!!"

Music starts playing as the song starts.

Sunset and Twilight sang as they danced to the beat.

As everyone sang, the video transitioned through each one of the groups.

Aiko rapped while Pinkie and Rainbow danced to the rap in the background before transitioning into a shot with everyone.