Chapter 10: You can't un-ring a Belle
The bathtub was taking forever to fill up. Sweetie Belle took the opportunity to snoop around the house to ease the suspicion she held against both Pierce and Inkie. Before leaving, she slowed the running water a bit to buy some more time.
Poking her head out the door, she made sure the place was clear of anypony who might spot her. They're probably downstairs, seeing as that's where all the materials are I suppose...Sweetie Belle assumed as she kept light on her hooves. She maneuvered though the hallway, checking the last room down the hall. Her hoof shook with indecision, she knew it was wrong to snoop...
Well it's not like I'm stealing anything, Sweetie Belle convinced herself that her intentions meant well. The unicorn turned the knob cautiously, unsure what was awaiting her on the other side. A soft creak gave from the door as she slowly guided the door open.
Her nose scrunched up as she inhaled some new scents that were unknown to her before. Dear Celestia, what's been going on here? She thought as she eyed up the bedroom with squinted eyes. The bed was slightly unkempt and some stains were visible if you examined it long enough. The dressers were ridden with packs and cartons of cigarettes, an assortment of different alcohols, and even a glass tube for smoking-
Sweetie Belle shut the door swiftly, pretending she didn't see anything. Her heart raced, that stuff's illegal, I just hope Cloudchaser doesn't find out... I know she's no snitch, but I know she's going to want that stuff. And we've already had arguments about her abusing the stuff before...
In a rush, Sweetie Belle paced frantically back into the bathroom. Unfortunately for her, the water was already past it's limit, the excess pouring off to the side, creating a puddle that was growing out of proportion.
"Oh buck!" Sweetie Belle cussed, galloping towards the tub. Her approach was foiled as her hooves weren't ready for the puddles below. The unicorn took a one way trip into the tub, splashing more water across the room. After emerging from the tub, Sweetie Belle hacked up the water that was accidentally sucked into her lungs.
"Buckin' hay..." The unicorn sat in the tub, wondering how she was gonna explain this one. The sound of hoof steps trailed up the stairs, Sweetie Belle knew she didn't have much time to think up an excuse to this one.
"Is everything okay up there?" Inkie Pie's voice echoed into the bathroom. Sweetie Belle decided to stay silent, still using the time to figure out a way out of this.
The hoof steps grew closer until Inkie and Cloudchaser stood at the door.
"Well what happened here?" Inkie tried to speak between suppressed chortles. Cloudchaser scowled instead, not seeing what could be so funny about this.
"Come on Sweetie Belle! I called dibs first, what is this?" She drew closer to Sweetie Belle, only to turn off the running water.
"I... I was a little tired," Sweetie Belle replied between a few fake coughs, "the sound of the bathtub filling up was a little too hypnotic for me I guess," the unicorn's whole head was practically glowing red from embarrassment.
"How about we get you dried off and you can take a nap on the couch?" Inkie Pie held out a hoof towards Sweetie Belle.
"Sure," even though the unicorn wasn't tired at all, she played along. She let Inkie help her out of the tub without too much hassle. Water dripped from her sleek coat, adding to the massive puddle below.
"Grab some towels for me," Inkie Pie directed Cloudchaser to the cabinet nearby, "the more hooves I got helping me, the faster this gets done."
"Alright..." Cloudchaser sighed, not content with the delay. The pegasus passed a hoof full of folded towels to the earth pony, who in turn started flinging them across the soaking unicorn. Instinctively, Sweetie Belle began to dry herself off with the towels given to her. She started with her mane and ended with her tail. Some unicorn magic made quick work of the task.
Cloudchaser and Inkie worked tirelessly with the mess on the floor. Seeing them hard at work, Sweetie Belle offered her unicorn assistance, speeding up the process.
"Thanks, Sweetie," Inkie Pie nodded as she rolled up all the towels into one big pile.
"...I'm really sorry about the mess," Sweetie Belle couldn't apologize enough.
"Don't be, as long as it happened before the dye was put in... Otherwise there would be a problem," the earth pony explained, giving a slight glare at the unicorn, giving her a taste of what would happen if such a situation took place.
"Okay..." Sweetie Belle faked a yawn as Inkie guided her out of the bathroom with a hoof. Inkie led the unicorn to the couch, offering her a seat.
"Both of you will be sleeping here for the night, I know it's not much but you'll have to make the best of it with Cloudchaser," the earth pony dug out some pillows and blankets from the side of the couch, tossing them to Sweetie Belle, "don't worry, they're clean!" The earth pony assured.
Making sure, Sweetie Belle put the blanket to her nose and took in the scent. Flowers and sugary spice invaded her nostrils as she registered the fresh scent of fabric fresh out of the laundry. This exceeded her expectations, assuming it would be a single step up from the smells the bedroom horded.
"This smells amazing! What detergent do you guys use?" Sweetie Belle asked, her nose still buried in the blanket.
"Oh, we change it up each time. I think we're using a home made brand now. Piercey bought it during a street market a few weeks ago," Inkie did her best to recall.
"That's a first that I heard of a stallion buying detergent before..." Then again I haven't lived with a stallion in awhile now... Sweetie Belle tried to fathom the image.
"Oh, Piercey does most of the shopping for the house and shop... Speaking of the shop, I better get back to Cloudchaser before she falls asleep too!" Inkie joked, laughing lightly as she trotted back to the bathroom.
The unicorn readied the bed, splitting the pillows between her and Cloudchaser. Covering up with the blanket and resting her head, Sweetie Belle checked the length of the couch to see if there would be leg room. Her hind hooves were almost touching Cloudchaser's pillows, this set up wouldn't work at all. Having somepony's hind hooves in her face would make the poor unicorn gag.
Crawling out from the blankets and sheets, Sweetie Belle pulled the table in front of the couch closer, she had no idea if Inkie or Pierce would be okay with it, but she didn't care.
This table doesn't have anything on it, plus it's seen better days, I'm sure they won't mind. Sweetie Belle assured herself, placing one of her pillows where her hind hooves would be laying on the table. After setting her bed up, Sweetie Belle struggled to get comfortable. A few moments of fidgeting around, the unicorn found the perfect groove to sleep in.
Another yawn escaped Sweetie Belle's mouth, however this one was real. Maybe I am pretty tired... The unicorn didn't fight it as she dug her head deeper into her pillow, thankful she didn't have to sleep on her backpack anymore. The unicorn peeked an eye open, making sure her backpack was still by the stairs were she left it.
Yep still there... And Cloudchaser's too... Sweetie Belle rested assured that nopony messed with their belongings. Closing her eyes, the unicorn let sleep slowly over take her.
Within minutes, Sweetie Belle found herself back in middle school. The class' homeroom teacher was passing out fliers for the annual talent show. As the unicorn got one, she stared off into the sheet of paper.
I haven't done one of these since... Since I was still friends with Scootaloo and Applebloom, Sweetie sighed, placing her head down on her fore-hooves. What was the point of entering the talent show alone? Being the only one on stage would kill her, especially with all those ponies watching. Maybe she could convince Rarity to perform with her?
Nah, all she wants to do anymore is make dresses and date stallions, there's no more time for 'silly, uncouth stuff', the unicorn needed to rethink her plan. There had to be somepony... Pinkie Pie?
No... She'd end up stealing the show all for herself... Probably with some stupid song too to boot, Sweetie became frustrated, None of Rarity's friends could help her.
Fluttershy? Too quiet. Twilight, Too boring. Applejack, also boring. And Rainbow Dash is a limelight hog... Her options were running out. Maybe a reunion with the Cutie Mark Crusaders was in store?
Pffft, like they'd have time for a talent show... Applebloom's been working day and night on the farm when she's not in school, and Scootaloo uses all her freetime for practicing more on her scooter. Sweetie Belle crossed her arms with a grunt, drawing brief attention to herself.
"Maybe I should just forget the talent show..." She mumbled to herself, crumpling up the piece of paper.
During lunchtime Sweetie Belle sat by herself, as always. Her dull eyes were fixated on her lunch tray as her magic gripped onto the plastic fork, stirring up her food needlessly. It seemed like another ordinary lunch day until she was greeted by a young silver coated pegasus.
"Hey, my sister told me you sing pretty good," he took a seat right across from the unicorn, stroking a hoof across his already slicked back, gray mane.
"Huh?" Was the first reaction Sweetie Belle could muster up.
"You're Sweetie Belle right?" The colt began to have some doubts, wondering if he was talking to the wrong filly. Nodding hesitantly, Sweetie Belle didn't know what this colt was trying to get at. "Great! Me and my sister are looking for a singer for the talent show, aaand... We were kinda wondering if you'd like to help us out?"
The unicorn was speechless for a moment, the idea of an opportunity coming out of nowhere stunned the filly.
"...You okay?" The colt asked again, wondering why Sweetie Belle was unresponsive.
"Y-yes!" She snapped back into the conversation, "I-, I wouldn't mind... I was kind of looking for somepony to help me out with the talent show too..." The filly blushed with a small guilty smile.
"That works for both of us then! I guess we have a deal," The young colt leaned over the lunch table to shake Sweetie's hoof in agreement. Once again she was surprised by how direct this colt was.
"Uh, sure," the unicorn scratched her mane with the hoof that was shaken, unable to say anything else.
"Anyways," the colt sat back down, "my name's Rumble, and my sister's name is Tornado. We were going to have band practice right after school... I know this is short notice for you, but your parents won't mind right?"
Rumble wasn't informed of the bad news. It's already been a couple of years since both her parent's passing. And with both of them gone, Rarity's been overly protective of her little sister. Sweetie Belle was sure Rarity wouldn't let her do this.
"N-no, not at all," The unicorn gave a cheesy grin, trying to hide the guilt growing inside her.
"Sounds good! we'll meet at this table after school, alright?" Rumble suggested.
"Yeah, I can do that..."
As students were released at the end of the day, Sweetie Belle had been sitting patiently at the same lunch table. She sighed as she thought the pegasus colt stood her up.
He couldn't forget about me already? I mean we spent the whole time in lunch together... Maybe his mom or dad didn't let him have a friend over... Or maybe he's just in detention for Celestia knows what... Maybe...
"Hey! Sweetie Belle!" Rumbles voice called out from across the lunchroom, "...sorry about the wait," Sweetie Belle looked up to see Rumble approaching with a young pegasus filly. "I had to wait for Tornado to pack up..." He gave the equally silver coated filly a nudge in the ribs.
"Oh stop it!" She scowled, "I've got more homework than you cause I'm a grade higher than you!" she fought back with bragging.
"Anyways..."Rumble began to change the topic, "this is Tornado, I'm sure you met right?"
"N-...No," the unicorn tried to remember who the pegasus filly was, but her mind was drawing a blank.
"Uh... Oh, okay," Rumble was speechless, wondering if he was informed of the wrong information.
"Rumble!" Tornado began, "I never said I knew her personally! I told you I've heard her sing before!" Rumble wanted to retaliate, but had second thoughts. It wasn't the appropriate time to start an argument, especially in front of their new friend.
"R-really?" Sweetie Belle wondered how Tornado could have overheard her singing. She recalled joining the school choir once she hit middle school, only because Rarity had pushed her into it. Even being in the choir, Sweetie Belle didn't allow herself to shine. Standing in clear view of the crowd, the unicorn's voice became consumed by the mass synchronization of her classmates' singing. It just wasn't the same as singing with the rest of the crusaders. There wasn't any passion, excitement, or friendship. If it wasn't for Rarity showing up at all the choir shows, Sweetie Belle would have certainly quit.
"Yeah!" Tornado replied with a grin on her face, "it was one day after school, when mostly everypony had left. I was walking down the hall when I heard somepony singing, from inside one of the classrooms. My curiosity got the better of me and I peeked in, only for a little bit! And I saw it was you!"
"Y-you sure it was me?" The unicorn kept the idea that the duo had the wrong pony in mind.
"Of course!" Tornado nodded with much enthusiasm, "curly mane and white coat! That's Sweetie Belle alright!" It looked like there was no unconvincing Sweetie Belle could do to elude her way out of this one, Tornado's description had fit the bill close enough.
"I guess it was me..." The unicorn presented an awkward grin.
"Anyways," Rumble popped back into the conversation, "our mom's probably waiting for us, we should get going!" The colt trotted for the exit, looking back to see the two fillies following in pursuit.
Sweetie Belle felt awkward watching both Rumble and Tornado set up their instruments in the garage, knowing she didn't have any singing equipment.
"So... I don't have a microphone..." The unicorn was nervous, knowing it was well to late to bring that up now.
"No problem!" Rumble replied, "we got one stuck away somewhere around here..." the pegasus colt set his guitar down and went to find a microphone and stand.
"Seriously?" Sweetie was in disbelief, seemed like whatever force of nature dragged her into this really wanted her to stick with it. "I thought you only had a guitar and drum kit?" The unicorn scratched at her mane.
"Yeah," Tornado nodded, "but we fooled around with a microphone for awhile too, found out both of us can't really sing that well anyways... So it just collects dust somewhere now," she shrugged, not fond of the story behind the microphone.
"Oh, alright," Sweetie Belle acknowledged, not questioning their answer.
The unicorn's gaze bounced back and forth between Rumble, who was searching for the microphone, and Tornado, who was setting up the drum stands and making sure each tom and snare were in tune. It seemed like the moment was stuck in time as Sweetie Belle let out a long yawn.
"Found it!" Rumble tugged on some cables, hoping the microphone would pull itself loose from the mass chaos that was piled on the shelves. The pegasus colt grunted as he tugged with all strength he had.
"Don't give yourself a stroke now..." Tornado snickered as she poked fun at her brother.
"Oh shut up! I bet you couldn't get it out either if you tried!" Rumble scowled back, giving in to his sister's provoking.
"Stop it! Both of you!" Sweetie Belle played the mediator as she trotted up to the mess of cords on the shelves.
The pegasus duo stood in silence as they watched the unicorn work her magic. In a matter of seconds the knotted mess of cords were untangled and wrapped neatly into a spiral pile.
"How did you..." Rumble was stunned in awe.
"I've cleaned up my sister's designing room a few times before, so dealing with knots comes with the experience," Sweetie Belle was grinning ear to ear, feeling accomplished.
"Heh heh, hey Rumble, maybe you should pay her to clean your room!" Tornado took another stab at her brother.
"Oh shut up," he muttered, rolling his eyes.
"So... What do I hook this up into?" The unicorn lifted the microphone and cord with her magic.
"Oh!" Rumbled snapped back from his anger, "I've got a spare amp right here!" He bit into the handle of a small amp, dragging it over towards Sweetie Belle.
"Thanks," the unicorn smiled, soon wondering which input the microphone was supposed to go into. Rumble made things easier for Sweetie Belle as he snagged the cord from her magical grip and stuck the output into one of the holes.
"You're welcome!" The pegasus colt finished, tossing over the microphone with his mouth. Sweetie Belle cleared her throat before speaking into the microphone.
"Check, one-two, one-two," Her voice wasn't amplified one bit.
"You forgot to turn it on," Rumble pointed out as he flicked the switch to the amp, causing it to click audibly. "Try it now," the pegasus picked up his guitar, waiting for Sweetie Belle to test out the microphone.
"Check-check, Oh!" The sound was much more boisterous now.
"Don't worry about it, it's gonna get loud," Rumble played a short riff on his guitar. "You ready?" He asked the unicorn.
"I... I guess," Sweetie Belle felt a little out of place with how distorted the guitar sounded.
"You might remember this one, me and my sis covered this one by ear pretty much," the pegasus colt grinned from ear to ear, "give us a beat!" Rumbled nodded at Tornado who clacked her drumsticks together four times before they both jumped into the song.
Sweetie Belle had to try hard to keep her composure from how loud their sound was. Listening closer to the melody, she eventually figured out what the song was.
"...That was our song..." The unicorn mumbled under her breath. It was the crusader's theme song. She felt violated that the duo would go as far as to steal that song. The fact that the guitar work was a bit sloppy didn't help either.
The two pegasi kept playing, waiting for their friend to jump in with the vocals. However they stopped when they realized Sweetie Belle was taking too long to play her part.
"You alright?" Rumble asked "...Don't tell me you forgot what song this is!"
"N-no, it's not that..." The unicorn sighed, not looking either of the pegasi in the eye, "It's just personal, that's all."
"Oh..." The pegasus colt was speechless, unable to relate with his friend.
"Y'know," Tornado started, "maybe it's time for a break," she waited until Rumbled faced her before she nudged her head towards Sweetie Belle.
"Uh yeah! A break would be nice right about now! We got snacks inside if you're hungry!" Rumble placed his guitar down by his amp and headed for the door.
"Sure..." Sweetie Belle set the microphone down and followed the two inside the house
The dream ended as soon as she entered the door. Sweetie Belle blinked her eyes open, it felt nice to wake up naturally as well as comfortably. Indoor lights replaced the brightness of the sun, which had set about an hour ago.
"Boo!" Out of no where a random mare pounced on Sweetie Belle who nearly wet herself from the surprise.
"Dear Celestia!" She almost buried herself in the cushions from the red, curly maned pegasus. Was this another relative or friend of Pierce's or Inkie's that she hadn't heard about?
"Calm down Sweetie Belle," The voice of the white coated mare sounded familiar, "it's just me, Cloudchaser!"
"C-Cloudchaser?" The unicorn squinted her eyes, wondering if she was still half asleep.
"Yeah, I got everything dyed, remember?" She stepped off of the couch.
"...Oh... My dreams kinda made me forget," Sweetie Belle sat up.
"Hm? What were you dreaming about?" Cloudchaser asked, curious of what Sweetie Belle's mind conjured up.
"N-nothing important," the unicorn tried to brush it off as no big deal.
"Well, okay then..." Cloudchaser tried not to look disappointed, "anyways, Inkie is waiting for you in the bathroom," she pointed towards the hallway.
"Okay, thanks," Sweetie scooted off of the couch and onto her hooves.
"Good luck!" The pegasus cheered as she watched her friend trot towards the bathroom.