It was a bright and sunny day in the town of Canterlot, and all around there were the smiles of happy people going about their days. Nowhere was this more evident than in the town's main school, Canterlot High, where excitement was in the air. And it wasn't hard to see why, for these were the weeks running up to one of the most anticipated events on the school calendar; the Friendship Games. These sporting events took place between the rival schools of CHS and the neighbouring Crystal Prep, and it was a source of much enthusiasm for the students to try their best and represent their school as best they could. Everywhere you went in this place, there could be seen students exercising or practicing their various talents and chosen activities in preparation for the upcoming competition. The training was fierce, and all of them knew that only the best of the best would be chosen to see the school through when their rivals arrived to take part. However, not all of the students were worried about such things at this point, as there were a pair of them, a boy and a girl, who were currently sitting quietly on one of the school's wooden stands, just minding their own business. The boy had a stereotypically "nerdy" look, complete with thick glasses, while the girls bore a straw hat and long green hair. He was looking at his pocket computer while she was reading a book, but, after much silence between them, the boy spoke up to her.
"Um...Sweet Leaf?"
The girl, Sweet Leaf, look up from her book to the boy.
"Yes, Micro Chips?"
The boy thought long and hard about how he should word his next sentence, before finally sighing and just coming out with it.
"Do you...do you ever wonder why we're here?"
Sweet Leaf, upon hearing that, looked incredibly thoughtful all of a sudden, turning away from him and looking up to the clouds in the sky instead.
"Well, that is one of the great questions, isn't it? Why are we here? Is it destiny? Some kind of long-plan by forces we cannot comprehend? Or are we here simply because of a series of random events all leading to this end point by chance? You just never know."
However, Micro, rather than looking impressed or equally thoughtful on those words, instead looked to her as if he had no idea what she was talking about.
"N...no. I mean, why are we here? At this school?"
At that, Sweet turned to him, showing clear confusion on her face. It was something that was also evident in her tone of voice.
"Why wouldn't we be here? It's a great school, with lots of friends for us and the teachers are all awesome!"
Micro turned from her and looked to the nearest school building, the gym, and sighed.
"Yeah, I know, but...do you ever stop to think about all the weird stuff that goes on around here?"
Sweet let out a brief giggle before answering him.
"Oh come on! We don't get that many weird things!"
Micro's head snapped in her direction, plastered with a look that made it clear that he was shocked that she'd say such a thing.
"What?! We get loads of weird stuff! I mean...remember the fall formal? Sunset Shimmer transforming into a raging she-demon?"
Upon hearing that, Sweet narrowed her eyes a little.
"Hey! Sunset has more than made up for that!"
Micro slumped his shoulders and looked a little guilty for a moment.
"Yeah, I know...but the fact of the matter was that she still did it, and I don't think I'm wrong when I say that’s just not the kind of thing that's supposed to happen in a place like this."
Looking away from her, he appeared deep in thought over something, before speaking up a second time.
"And then there were those Siren girls. The whole school mind-controlled to do their bidding and stuff. By my counting, that's two attempts at world domination happening at this school within the same year! Shouldn't that be sending alarm bells ringing for everyone?"
But Sweet simply shrugged her shoulders.
"Well, maybe everyone feels like the danger has passed or something? I mean, things have been pretty calm around here since then, right?"
Micro raised an eyebrow as he looked to her.
"Sure, for now. But you mark my words, some big apocalyptic thing is going to be happening here again soon, I just know it."
Sweet let out another giggle before speaking to him.
"Oh, you're just being paranoid. What makes you think something bad is going to happen again?"
Micro looked to her with confidence in his expression.
"The Friendship Games."
Naturally, this caused Sweet to look confused again, prompting Micro to explain himself further.
"Every time some major event happens at this school, something monumentally bad happens. The Fall Formal? Raging she-demon trying to take over the world. Music competition? Turns into an all-out battle-of-the-bands for a trio of Sirens to, you guessed it, take over the world. And now the Friendship Games are coming along. Hear me well. Something weird and freaky is going to happen."
Sweet thought hard on those words for a moment before looking to Micro again.
"Well...maybe those first two were just flukes? I mean...there's no guarantee that the Games will have strange stuff."
Yet again, Micro raised an eyebrow.
"Oh no? Then how do you explain..."
He raised a hand, gesturing to what lay in the field beside them.
"...whatever it is that's going on there?"
Sweet turned to look where he was glancing, and immediately saw what he was talking about. There, in the field beside where they were sitting, were two of their fellow students, Lyra and Bon-Bon. The two best friends had, for the last few minutes, been doing everything under the sun to try and prove themselves worthy for membership of this year's team. But now, at this moment, they were currently wat past any normal activity, and had instead dressed up as some kind of strange birds, cawing and squawking at each other in increasingly loud and insane-looking manners. As this bizarre display went on before them, Sweet looked to Micro, who, understandably, had an "I told you so" look about him.
"And this is before the Games have started!" he commented.
In all fairness, Sweet knew the boy had a point, and appeared deep in thought as a result. After a few moments of silence, during which time Lyra and Bon-Bon had, thankfully, moved on, Sweet spoke up again, a look of concern crossing her eyes.
"Huh...I guess you're right. This school is pretty much a magnet for weird and crazy stuff, isn't it?"
Micro nodded his head in agreement before gesturing to her and speaking.
"So I ask again...why are we still here? You, me, the other students, why don't we all just run as fast as we can away from this place and to somewhere where it's safer?"
Sweet, yet again, though hard on that question. But, this time, she didn't think on it for long, for she seemed to have a good idea on what to say to him pretty soon afterwards.
"Well...for one thing, I can't really think of anywhere else where you can be friends with so many of your fellow students. Think about it. We've both been to other schools before, and in all those times, have you ever known a school community that was as friendly, accepting and easy to get along with as this one?"
Micro opened his mouth to give some sort of counter point, but, after carefully considering that, he realised that she had a point. No other school he'd known had such a sense of unity and camaraderie as this one. Indeed, in spite of all the strange things that had occurred here, he'd had more happy memories here than any other place he'd been to. Naturally, it was a thought that brought a smile to his face. But, he had no chance to speak about it, as Sweet then spoke up further, a look of happiness upon her face.
"Plus...all those weird things you talked about...they're just fun!"
Micro looked to her with surprise in his expression.
"Fun?"
Sweet smiled and nodded.
"Yeah, fun! Sure it's all gloomy and dangerous, but...have you ever had a more exciting time than when all that weird stuff was going on? It's probably the liveliest this school has been in ages, and all of us had a great time with each other when it was all over, right?"
Again, Micro thought on that point, and once more, he smiled when he realised that his companion was right. They looked to each other, smiling to each other in the silent knowledge that they'd come to an agreement. However, in that instant, the school bell rang, signalling the end of the lunch break. Upon hearing it, the two youths put their things away and began to make their way off the stand, walking onto the grass beside it in readiness for them heading back to class. Micro looked to Sweet for a few moments, thinking on something, before finally breaking out into a smile.
"Miss Leaf? Would you consent to being escorted back to our crazy, weird, and oh-so-loveable school?"
Sweet looked to him, seeing the way he had his elbow out slightly, creating a loop in his arm, and stifled a giggle briefly before giving him a smile and a nod.
"Mr Chips, I'd be honoured!"
With that, she wrapped her arm around his and, together, walked back to their school. Their odd, occasionally dangerous, and just unforgettable school that they all loved and cherished so much.
