Stay Young

At Knapford Secondary School, they had School. Yes, today our focus moves away from the railway and towards the social lives of the characters. As the Young Six, as people had taken to calling the crews of the Skarloey Railway, walked down the corridor to their form rooms, Silverstream suddenly spotted something that hadn't been there before. "SEE?" she cried. "NEW POSTERS!" She ran over to the display cabinet, and pointed to a new one that showed two people awkwardly dancing with one another. "We don't see many new posters around here!"

"That's because the printer has been a bit dodgy lately," said Cheerilee. "But never fear. This year, we have decided to revive an old school tradition that got axed due to budget cuts."

"Namely?" asked Gallus.

"It was called the Fetlock Fete for some baffling reason."

"A fetlock is part of a horse's foot," Smoulder said. "Why are so many things in this school horse references?"

"I remember my uncle talking about this!" Sandbar smiled. "He's Sudrian born and bred, and apparently this event was a hit with students for decades! It's like a giant dance party!"

"Well," Cheerilee continued, "given the dramatic increase in both the student body and the island's population, we've decided to revive it and give it a fresh coat of paint. We're calling it the Amity Ball!"

"After the town in Jaws?" Gallus asked, confused.

"Nope!" Ocellus interrupted. "Amity derives from the French amitie, which in turn derives from the Latin word Amicus, meaning friend."

"So it's called the friend ball," Smoulder finished. "Wow. Sometimes foreign words do make things sound more profound."

"Yona ask what catering arrangements are," Yona said.

"We're using the old tradition of lucky pots," Cheerilee explained. "And we'll combine it with the best couple award. But the spirit of the night is to have fun, so remember that girls!"

"I'm a boy!" Gallus said, exsasperated at the fact people still referred to him and his friends collectively as girls. But Cheerilee was well out of earshot. He suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. "Hey Silverstream."

"Wanna go?" his hyperactive friend asked. "It's gonna be great!"

"Anything for you, darling," Gallus smiled, and off they went.

Smoulder rolled her eyes. "I'll see if Spike wants to go," she grumbled, and walked off. This left Yona, Sandbar, and Ocellus in the school lobby.

Yona was fully expecting Sandbar to go to her, but instead he went over to Ocellus, who was minding her own business staring at a wall. "Ocellus?"

"Ahh!" the girl cried, and jumped. "Oh, hey Sandbar. Was there something you needed?"

"Yes, actually." Sandbar paused. "Would you like to go to the dance with me?"

Ocellus looked up, a little confused. "Sorry?"

"Ocellus, I was wondering if you'd be my dance partner at the Amity Ball."

It took Ocellus about two seconds to decide. "Yes! I'd love to!"

"That's settled then." The school bell suddenly went. "There's the locker bell! Time to go!"

As all the students headed their separate ways, Yona was stunned. "Yona want to ask Sandbar to dance!" she said, dejected. She had something of a crush on him. "Yona need to win Sandbar over any way she can!"

After completing work at the Skarloey Railway for the day, Ocellus caught a train to Knapford and went to see Rarity at her home. She knocked on the door, and Sweetie Belle got it. "Hi Ocellus!" she said. "Wanna see Rarity?"

"Yeah," Ocellus replied. "It's for the upcoming ball, and I don't have anything to wear. Can you help me, please?"

Sweetie Belle vanished into the distance. "Rarity, there's a customer for you!"

"Tell her to come up to my study!" another voice replied.

"She's ready!" Sweetie Belle smiled, and so Ocellus walked in, her shoes squeaking on the perfectly kept carpet. She stepped up the stairs and opened the door to a vast workshop filled with clothing and fabric.

"Welcome to Carousel Boutique, where everything is chic, unique, and manifique." Rarity turned her chair to face the new arrival. "Good afternoon Ocellus. How can I help you?"

"Why do you have a signalling manual open on your desk?" Ocellus asked.

"I'm doing a refresher course on railway semaphore signalling. You see, I accidentally ran a red light whilst driving James and it nearly caused an accident. So, to ensure it cannot happen again, I decided to take the signalling course again."

"That's good thinking," Ocellus replied. "I often read the Skarloey Railway Operations Manual to ensure I know what I'm doing."

"You're very smart and wise for your age," Rarity smiled. "But I hardly imagine you came all the way here to talk about signals."

"Yeah." Ocellus figeted nervously. "I was wondering if I could have some advice on a dress for the Amity Ball?"

"That I can provide," Rarity smiled, and walked over, quickly taking the younger girl's measurements. "You're in luck! I got a new shipment of items in your size only yesterday, and I'm yet to process them for sale. You have your pick of all the garments."

So, Ocellus took one dress and went into the fitting room. A few minutes later, she emerged, wearing a red, sleeveless, knee length dress with a band of fabric running over her shoulders and connecting to the front and back, as well as another one around her waist. She also wore a pair of brown platform boots with white bases.

Rarity took one look, and frowned. "I'm not too sure that works. The boots clash with the rest of the outfit."

Ocellus nodded. "The skirt's a bit short for my taste. Do you have any others?"

"Yes, there are plenty for you to try on!" Rarity smiled, and the pair got to work. About an hour of trying on different outfits elapsed, until Ocellus finally had one she was happy with. She was now wearing a dress with short, dark red sleeves, a full collar around her neck, and a lighter red bodice. The skirt was in two separe colours; the waist down to about her knees was dark red, same as the sleeves, and the rest of the skirt, which fell to her ankles, was the same light red as the bodice. She complemented the entire thing with a pair of black shoes.

"My, my!" Rarity exclaimed. "Ocellus, you look marvellous! Are you happy with that?"

"Yes!" Ocellus grinned. "I can't wait to see how Sandbar reacts!"

"Sandbar?" asked Rarity. "Yona was through earlier and claimed she was going with him."

"That's not what I heard," Ocellus said, confused. "I thought she was going with Star Tracker."

"Weird. Oh well. I'll see you there as well. What will you be bringing for the pot luck?"

"Probably the family chili," Ocellus replied. "Mom does a seriously good one. I bet Smoulder will bring something spicy! She really likes South American food."

"Well, I'm glad you're happy with it," Rarity smiled. "As a friend, I'll put a 50% discount on that item. Have a nice day!"

Now all Ocellus needed to do was get ready for the dance.

The night of the dance came, and everything was ready. Instead of a DJ, the Knapford Secondary School Marching Band was on hand to provide music, and the room was set up with lights, colours, and many stands with food and drink on them (mostly potluck, although drinks were provided by the school). Most of the Young Six were already in place by the doors, with smiles on their faces.

Sandbar and Gallus were both attired in suits (and looked completely ridiculous), whereas Silverstream wore a sky blue dress with wave patterns on it, and Smoulder had been pursuaded- with great difficulty- to wear a dress, one of a very light blue colour. You could see she couldn't wait to take it off.

"So, party looks pretty good," Gallus said. "You ready to bust it on the dance floor, Silvs?"

"You bet, Gally!" Silverstream squealed in excitement. "We'll be the best couple before the night is out!"

"Where's Yona?" Smoulder asked. "She should be here by now."

"Probably fixing Rheneas," Gallus answered. "Well, I heard Rarity got some good business from all the dresses she's sold."

"Yeah," Sandbar nodded, sadly. His mind wandered, and he was worried. "I just hope she get-"

"Sorry I'm late!"

Ocellus suddenly sped through the door, turned to the table, and put her lucky pot down on it, before sprinting over to Sandbar. "The train was late, and Skarloey needed oiling, and I didn't want to get the dress dirty so I put it on here, and-"

"Calm down Ocellus!" Smoulder interrupted. "We haven't even formally started yet."

"Ladies and gentlemen!" called a voice. They glanced up to see a woman with dark grey skin and green hair on the stage, dressed in a business suit. This was Chrysalis, or Christine, the headmistress of the school. "Thank you for turning out for tonight's occassion. The Amity Ball is one of the school's old traditions, or rather its old incarnation of the Fetlock Fete was, and it is an honour to revive this institution. Is everybody ready? It's time for the party to begin! Take it away, Ringo!"

With that, the band launched into Everybody Dance Now. The brass sounded loud and clear, and the beat echoed through the hall as pairs of students took to the dance floor.

"You're good!" Sandbar complemented Ocellus. "How do you know where to put your feet in that?"

"I've been taking lessons!" Ocellus replied. "I know we've been friends for a while, but this is our first event as a couple, so I didn't want to make a fool of myself."

"Nothing that happens would make me think you a fool," Sandbar replied, unaware of the somewhat jumbled syntax.

After several minutes of classic tunes and toe tapping antics, it was time for a rest. Sandbar retired to one side of the floor, next to the food stands, as Ocellus excused herself to go to the bathroom. Sandbar was minding his own business, when suddenly Yona appeared from nowhere. "Yona found Sandbar!" she exclaimed.

"Erm, yes you have," Sandbar replied, confused. "What's up, Yona? I thought you were with Star Tracker!"

"Star Tracker over there, but Yona want dance with Sandbar."

Sandbar shuffled nervously. "I can't really do that. Ocellus is my partner for the night, and I don't want to-"

Yona seemingly lost her patience. "Yona love you, Sandbar!" Without a second's pause, she closed the distance and kissed him.

It was the worst possible timing. Ocellus came back in to see it all. "What?" she asked. She hadn't expected this at all.

Sandbar finally pushed Yona off of him. "Ocellus, this isn't what it looks like!"

"You two have been... dating this whole time?" Ocellus asked. "Under my nose the entire time?" Her eyes were brimming with tears at the shock of this betrayal.

"Yona and I aren't doing anything!"

"I THOUGHT YOU LOVED ME!" Ocellus screamed. "CLEARLY I WAS WRONG!" She then ran towards the doors, crying as she did so.

Sandbar looked back at Yona. He was absolutely furious. "What is wrong with you?" he demanded.

"Yona wanted to go to dance with Sandbar. Yona jealous that Sandbar spending all his time with Ocellus, so Yona only wanted one dance with Sandbar. Surely Sandbar can share?"

Sandbar stared in disbelief. "Firstly, I have no romantic inclination for you. Second, what makes you think I'd go against my promise to Ocellus to be her dance partner? And third, you can not only forget about having a dance, but about being my friend for how you've acted. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go comfort my date." And he stormed out, heading for the doors, leaving a miserable and very ashamed Yona behind.

Ocellus sat on the school steps and sobbed quietly to herself. How could she have been such a fool? She'd given Sandbar her heart, and he'd seemingly given it away to somebody else. How he could be so brazen in kissing Yona right in front of her-

"Ocellus?"

Ocellus looked up to see Sandbar standing there. "Go away," she replied.

"Ocellus, I can't help if you don't tell me what wrong."

"You like Yona, don't you?" Ocellus replied, blinking through her tears. "I'm not surprised. I look hideous."

Sandbar put his arm around her shoulder. "I don't like Yona," he said simply. "She forced herself onto me and kissed me without consent. There's nobody for me but you."

Ocellus sighed as she stood up, leaning on a wall as the last train to Vicarstown departed in the distance. "I must be the worst date ever- make that the worst person on the island."

"Woah, don't put yourself in that boat."

"Name two people or engines worse then."

Sandbar nodded. "Storm King and Diesel 10. I'll always love you, Ocellus, no matter what. That's what love is; pure, unconditional, and lifelong. Now, how about we go back indoors instead of getting cold out here?"

Safe to say, Silverstream, Gallus, and Smoulder were not happy with Yona for having wrecked the night of a friend. When Sandbar and Ocellus re-entered, Yona looked even more ashamed than before.

"Yona has a few words to say to you," Gallus said swiftly. "Come on Silverstream. Let's leave these three to sort it out."

Silverstream and Smoulder went with him. Yona hung her head. "Yona sorry for way she behaved. Can Sandbar find it in his heart to forgive Yona?"

"Of course I can," Sandbar replied. "Those were simply misplaced feelings."

"Yona knows," Yona sighed. "Yona wish Sandbar and Ocellus the best of luck."

"Thank you," Ocellus said. "Can we stay friends?"

"Of course," Sandbar smiled.

"Nice to see you made up," said Headmistress Chrysalis, joining the group.

Ocellus jumped. "Mo- Miss Chrysalis, you were listening the entire time?"

Sandbar's jaw dropped in disbelief. "She's your mom?"

"Indeed she is," Chrysalis smiled. "Thorax drives an electric engine. But I'm so proud of you for making up and staying together, as friends should. Strike up the band!"

Much merriment was had that night, as the band launched into a specially composed rendition of a Mike Perry song. And none were happier than Sandbar and Ocellus. Although they didn't win best couple, neither of them cared. They had each other, and that was all that mattered.

Author's Note

This story is an adaptation of She's all Yak, with Ocellus taking Yona's place.

The first dress Ocellus tries on looks like this;

This piece was done by Lhenao, over on DeviantArt. Check them out at the link!

https://www.deviantart.com/lhenao

The dress she wears to the Dance is based on this image;

Music for the Amity Ball;