Chapter 3: Wading In
“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity called, “I’m off!”
Sweetie closed her book and sat up from her bed, “To where?”
“Band practice, I’ll be back by eight!” Rarity shouted and walked out of the house.
“Kay,” Sweetie shouted though she knew Rarity hadn’t heard it. She then got off her bed and made her way over to the window. She watched as Rarity jumped onto her bike and pedaled off towards Canterlot High. For the first time in nearly three days, Sweetie was home alone. She smiled and walked back over to the bed. It had been four days since her impromptu get-together with Sunset, and she was itching to get her feet wet in trying the nudist lifestyle.
And she wasn’t going to do this unprepared like before. Last time, her need to shed her clothing was driven by the extreme heat and thoughts of Rarity’s naughty magazines. This time, it was simply an urge driven by Sunset's good word and the research Sweetie was conducting. The day after her little swim, she headed over to the local library and managed to check-out a book detailing nudist culture. Actually doing that was not as embarrassing as she thought, since she just easily passed that off as a class project about “Unique Lifestyles.”
Getting it by Rarity was just as easy, as Sweetie just stuffed the book into her backpack and carried it upstairs when she got home. Since that day, her nose had been buried in it. And she learned quite a lot about naturism, which is what nudists call their lifestyle. Now she arrived at her first big hurdle, trying it out for herself. While it was true that she had attempted it back at Sunset’s place, her mind wasn’t exactly in the right place. Plus, Sunset was right. Sweetie would’ve died of embarrassment if she had decided to strip in front of and/or with Sunset on that day. No, that last attempt was just arriving at the pool.
Now was her time to dive in. Sweetie Belle stood next to the foot of her bed. She took a deep breath, “Okay, first step is to…well…get naked, sounds simple enough.”
Simple didn’t exactly mean easy. As Sweetie prepped herself, a touch of anxiety washed over her. The fact that she was going to get naked wasn’t the cause; she had prepped herself for this for three days now. No, the cause was if Rarity happened to barge into the house. Granted, it was highly unlikely that Rarity would come barging into Sweetie’s room. Yet, the feeling was still there. So Sweetie scampered over to the window. To her relief, she was still home alone.
Once again, she was back at the foot of her bed. Taking another deep breath, Sweetie looked down at herself. Getting naked should be relatively easy. She only had on a blue tank top and pink shorts, no undies. So in two quick moves she would be sporting her birthday suit.
“Alright Sweetie, let’s get this done.” She said. “Time to try this out.”
Sweetie closed her eyes and grabbed the hem of her tank top. All the while she kept listening to hear if anyone was coming. When she was sure that no one was coming, she pulled off her shirt. Next, came the shorts. In a flash, she was standing in her room, near her bed, in the nude. And…nothing happened. It was as if the universe didn’t even notice, there was no fanfare, no applause, not even her emotions going haywire. The world around Sweetie Belle was still completely normal.
Popping one eye open, Sweetie noticed just how banal everything was around her. “Huh, well that’s interesting.” She said. After opening her other eye, she looked down at herself. She was indeed naked, “I’m really doing this, yep…okay…” Then she looked around her room, “Well now what?”
She honestly felt a little underwhelmed, but then again her research did mention that being nude should be no different than wearing clothes. But that did leave her with a bit of problem. There was still nothing to do. Despite her recent adventure, the universe still wasn’t keen on granting her any fun time. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were still busy, at least until Friday. And today was Wednesday.
“Urgh this is gonna be sooo boring!”
Sweetie flopped back onto her bed and looked up at the ceiling. There was literally nothing to do. Well she was wrong, nothing productive to do at least. If she had something productive to do, she might actually enjoy trying out in the nude. But since she was home alone, she had nothing to do and therefore was whittling away the hours. Sweetie rolled over to her nightstand and picked up her phone. Thumbing through the list of contacts, she looked for anyone who might be available. But then she thought better of it.
Just because she was okay with being naked didn’t mean others would be. Worse yet, it didn’t mean that she’d be comfortable being nude around others yet. She still wanted to try that out with someone more open minded, like Sunset. However, Sunset was at band practice. Which meant Sweetie Belle was back to square one. The girl then put her phone down and moaned again.
“Alright, so I’m naked, now what do I do?” she asked.
Just do the things you normally do, she thought.
“Like what?” Sweetie asked aloud.
I don’t know, watch TV, play video games, or something! was the response.
“But what if Rarity comes home?” Sweetie asked.
Rarity’s better than that, she’d let you know. Her mind responded.
Sweetie nodded, “That’s a good point.” But before she could figure out exactly what to do, her stomach grumbled. “Time to eat,” she sighed. “Alright, I guess I found something to do.”
Sweetie got out of bed and made her way out of her room. But before she opened the door, the thought of Rarity coming over struck her again. She was going to need something to cover up if she got discovered. Then she got an idea. Nudists usually brought towels around while they were at parties, beaches, or resorts. So it would make sense for her to bring a towel around as well. Plus, it’d be easier to explain: she just got out of the shower. And Rarity wouldn’t get mad since she had already done that a few times when she was in a hurry.
Sweetie opened the door to her room and made her way to the bathroom. She quickly grabbed a towel and placed it over her shoulders before walking downstairs. At first, it did feel a little weird walking around her home in the buff. But the feeling passed as soon as she went into the kitchen to make something to eat. Walking up to the fridge, she heard a soft purring sound coming from the kitchen table.
“Oh, hey Opal.” Sweetie said to Rarity’s cat.
Opal didn’t notice Sweetie Belle; she just went back to resting. Well, that was someone in the house who didn’t mind. It was a small victory at any rate. Sweetie opened the fridge and pulled out some tuna fish salad and bread. Closing the door, she made her way over to the counter and put the bread into the toaster. While she made her sandwich, the teen couldn't help but marvel at how bold she had become. She was in her kitchen, naked. A great victory. Even better, she was comfortable. At least, for the most part.
A little while later…
The sandwich helped satisfy her stomach and eased her into doing some more things around the house. She swept up the floors, washed the dishes, and even did most of the laundry. Performing chores helped put her mind at ease, and her emotions to rest. But once again, Sweetie Belle found herself with nothing to do. However, this time she didn’t mind it, as she was far more comfortable being in her own skin. Sweetie even threw the towel in the wash, confident that Rarity wasn’t going to pop in on her.
In fact, by the time eight o' clock came around, Sweetie was all ready to accept Rarity coming home. She had, begrudgingly, put her clothing back on just minutes before Rarity pulled up. Sweetie jumped onto the living room couch and turned the TV on when Rarity walked through the door.
“Sweetie dear, I am home!” Rarity shouted.
“Hi sis,” Sweetie said popping over the couch, “How was band practice?”
Rarity turned to face Sweetie, “ It went quite well.Thankfully, Dashie didn’t have another pulled string. Don’t tell me you just watched TV all day.”
Sweetie shook her head, “No, I did some of my chores.”
Rarity smiled, “Good, that leaves me with less house work to do. Would you like me to prepare dinner, or you wish to order take out?”
“I don’t care, you pick,” Sweetie answered.
“Very well. I’ll cook something up, do you care what I make?” Rarity asked.
“Just as long as it’s good,” Sweetie giggled, “And not that super fancy stuff you keep gushing on about.”
“You might learn something from high society, Sweetie Belle; it could teach you some proper etiquette.”
“I’m proper,” Sweetie said indignantly. Though inside she was saying, if only you knew what I did today.
“For a fifteen year old girl, yes, but what about when you get older?”
“I’ll adjust.”
“I hope so.” Rarity said before pausing, “Goodness, I sound like a mother hen!” Rarity giggled.
Sweetie also giggled.
“Have you heard from any of your friends?” Rarity asked.
“Why, eager to get rid of me?” Sweetie asked.
“Nothing of the sort, I just dread having you here by your lonesome.” Rarity answered.
I think I could stand being by my lonesome, I'd be able to be nude that way, Sweetie thought. Then she responded with, “Scoots and AB will be available on Friday.”
“Oh dear,” Rarity said while walking back into the living room. “That’s still two days away. Have you made any plans for tomorrow?”
Sweetie shook her head. “I haven’t really thought about it. Why, are you bringing in a customer?”
Rarity nodded, “A few, actually. The recent Battle of the Bands has inspired a decent set of clothing lines I'd like to put together, and I was hoping to show them off to some potential…”
Sweetie got the gist of it. Rarity was going to be home and worse, she was going to have company. Sweetie couldn’t continue her quest to experience the clothes-free life. And even worse, she had nowhere else to go. “I understand,” she said.
Rarity sighed. “Well, I would love to have you around to keep me company.”
“I appreciate it Rarity, but I realize that I get in your way sometimes.” Sweetie lamented. “Don’t worry, I’ll think of something.”
“I don’t want you to think you’re a burden, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity said.
“I don’t, and I’m not.” Sweetie smiled.
Reassured, Rarity walked back into the kitchen. “Oh, by the way, I spoke to Sunset Shimmer; she says you were great company yesterday.”
Sweetie’s ears perked up. “Did she?”
Rarity nodded. “Indeed, she would like to have you over again sometime soon.”
“Now there’s an idea,” Sweetie said under her breath. Sunset was the one who introduced Sweetie Belle to nudism, and maybe Sweetie could kill two birds with one stone by hanging out at Sunset’s place. That is, if Sunset would allow it. Sweetie got up and walked into the kitchen. “Can I have Sunset’s number?”
“Oh sure. It’s in my phone.”
“Thanks.”
Sweetie retrieved Rarity’s phone, unlocked it, and found Sunset’s number. Hurrying upstairs with the number in her head, she plugged it into her own phone. Sweetie pressed the message button. “Hey Sunset, it's Sweetie Belle, are you doing anything right now?” she texted.
A moment later came the response. “Oh, hey Sweetie, nothing important just watching TV. What’s up?”
“Rarity’s gonna have guests over tomorrow, big important types, and I know she likes it better when I’m out of her hair. I was wondering if I could come over to hang out.”
“I see. Yeah I’m game. What time?”
“Around eleven sound good?”
“Great, we’ll make a day of it.”
“Actually I was wondering if we’d just stay at your place.”
“Why, up for another swim?☺”
“Kinda, mind if I explain when I get there?”
“Sure, see ya tomorrow.”
Sweetie put her phone down and headed downstairs to talk with Rarity, “Sunset says it’s cool for me to chill with her.”
“Splendid, let’s eat.” Rarity said finishing up dinner.
After dinner, Sweetie went straight to bed. It was rather late and she wanted to get up early tomorrow, as did Rarity. However, Sweetie also wanted to start sleeping naked too. Her research told her not only was it a good step toward embracing nudism, but it was also good for her health. Rarity wasn’t the type to throw Sweetie out of bed in the morning, so Sweetie could easily get away with it. Shedding her clothes, Sweetie Belle crawled into bed and closed her eyes. Within moments, she felt comfortable and began to drift off into sleep.