Azalea and Rebecca met back up the rest of Fragment Hunter at CHS and talked about what the former two found out. "Are you sure that she looked like Twilight," Lapis asked.

"We took pictures of what we could in what looked like her own private lab in a prep school," Rebecca stated as she showed the group her Scroll. The teenagers saw notes about the Battle of the Bands from their first visit, a photo of the Twilight doppelganger while she was working, and even saw some blurred pictures of their fight with the Dazzlings.

"Why is she researching us and the school," Silver asked.

"I don't know, maybe seeing a rainbow explosion in the middle of the night made the little nerd curious," Rua dryly stated.

"That's not the only thing we saw," Azalea mentioned as she found the picture they took before they left. "What are the 'Friendship Games'? Especially if it says that it's two days away."

"That sounds so much worse than 'Princess of Friendship'," Rua said with a snicker.

"Perhaps we should ask someone from around here what the Friendship Games are," Terracotta suggested. "Let's talk to the Principal." Agreeing with Terracotta, Fragment Hunter and the others went towards Principal Celestia's office and saw her exiting it. "Principal Celestia," Terra called out before she could lock her door for the night.

Principal Celestia turned to see that Fragment Hunter returned to Canterlot High and brought guests with them. Getting a better look at the newcomers, she was surprised to see the man who called out to her was 7 feet tall, had scars covering a good portion of his body, and had large horns on his head. "Can I help you," she asked with slight hesitance.

"I'm sure you know my daughter and her friends," Terra said as he gestured to Azalea. "My name is Terracotta Gaia and this is my wife, Ivy," he said as he looked at Ivy. As Aurora and Nocturne stepped forward, Terra introduced them as well. "These are my old friends from Beacon Academy, Aurora and Nocturne Celeste."

"It's nice to meet you all. Why have you decided to come here today," Celestia greeted and asked.

"Someone we didn't recognize from the school was messing with the statue in the courtyard and we followed them to a prep school," Rebecca explained. "Before we left, we saw a note that something called 'The Friendship Games' was happening the day after tomorrow. Do you have any idea what that means?"

Principal Celestia looked slightly concerned before she asked something. "Did the school look like it was lined with crystals?" Azalea and Rebecca nodded and Principal Celestia sighed in response. "It seems that Crystal Prep might have been continuing one of their traditions for the competition," she said to herself before explaining about the event. "You see, the Friendship Games are a competition of goodwill between the Canterlot High School Wondercolts and the Crystal Prep Academy Shadowbolts that happens every four years. Crystal Prep has a reputation of winning the games and they-"

"Became annoying jerks who gloat about all their constant victories and rub it in your faces," Silver and Rua said abruptly.

"Have some tact, you two," Celadon scolded.

"Have you been to prep schools in Atlas," Nocturne asked, remembering her days over traveling Remnant as a Huntress. "The attitudes of the students can be pretty bad."

"Teachers, too," Celestia muttered to herself before talking to the visitors again. "You probably won't be able to do much with the Friendship Games happening. And I'm sure that Principal Cinch will look down on you for showing up."

Before anyone could say anything else, Ivy stepped forward and said something. "Why not let the kids compete," she said and caught everyone's attention. "If this is 'The Friendship Games', then you should allow another school to compete alongside you and Crystal Prep. It would showcase what the event would be about. Goodwill, camaraderie, growth of character, teamwork, and how much you changed from the previous competition."

"It would be just like the Vytal Festival back home," Aurora compared.

As Principal Celestia thought over what Ivy said, it began to make more sense. "You're absolutely right, Mrs. Holstein. The twelve of you will be in the Friendship Games," she said as she faced Fragment Hunter. "Now we just need to discuss these last minute additions to what we have planned," Celestia said as she entered her office with Ivy, Aurora, Nocturne and Terracotta.

"I'm sure that we can figure something out for the event," Terracotta said before turning back to Fragment Hunter. "Go and find out some more information about your friend's double. We're going to probably be a while," he advised before closing the door.

"Are you sure we should be here," Slate asked as Fragment Hunter stood outside of Crystal Prep Academy. "Maybe we should've been at the pep rally Rainbow Dash had planned for CHS."

"Look, we have to find out about this girl and why she was near the portal yesterday," Sunset Blaze explained. "And she also had pictures of us, so she'll wants answers about Remnant eventually. It's best to just explain it when she does ask."

"Vixen, we'll need a disguise," Rebecca said to the Fox Faunus. Nodding, Vixen used her illusions to cloak all of Fragment Hunter and they walked through the doors to see the hallway was filled with students in uniform. "Come on. It's this way," Rebecca said with her mind and Sunset Blaze's Semblance providing telepathic communication.

While they managed to maneuver their way through the crowd, Fragment Hunter heard a familiar voice and saw the doppelganger of Twilight Sparkle. "Excuse me. Sorry. Pardon me," the girl said as she was being bumped by other Crystal Prep students. Azalea, Silver, and Rua all growled at how Twilight was being treated by the other kids attending Crystal Prep. As they followed her silently, Fragment Hunter managed to reach the girl's private room and saw her open the door. "Spike? Spike," she called out before a puppy popped out of a trash can and barked happily as Twilight came back. "There you are," she giggled before the dog started to lick her.

"At least she has one friend," Silver noted to the others through their telepathic link.

As Twilight spoke to her dog, Fragment Hunter managed to hear that she was studying strange energy readings from Canterlot High to figure out where they came from and that it would get her into a prestigious study program. "Looks like she doesn't have any friends besides Spike if she just wants to study all the time," Cereza observed.

Soon, Rebecca heard something as Twilight fell from her chair and signaled for Fragment Hunter to get away from the door. The door opened and a pink-skinned woman with yellow, pink, and purple hair peered inside to see Twilight on the ground with Spike licking her again. "Twilight, you know the rules against pets," she said before helping Twilight off the floor.

"Well, Spike isn't a pet, Dean Cadance. He's the focus of my research project. Human-Canine Cohabitation: Effects and Implications," Twilight stated to the woman.

"I have another name for the project," Azalea said with the telepathic link. "It's called 'Having a puppy friend'. A lot more research goes into it than you think." Everyone had to make sure not to laugh out loud, otherwise their cover was blown.

"If you say so. But Principal Cinch is highly allergic, so I suggest you put on a clean shirt," Cadance suggested as she picked a dog hair off of Twilight's shoulder.

As everyone continued to eavesdrop, they also turned their attention to Silver and one look from the Wolf Faunus had them immediately turn back to the two females talking with each other. Cadance was concerned about Twilight being isolated from other people because of her studies, but Twilight was excited about the advanced math and science projects that she would be able to do. "Must. Resist urge. To call her. Nerd," Rua mentally said to herself and the rest of Fragment Hunter.

"I just don't want you to miss out on anything. That's all. Being around other people isn't a bad thing. Sometimes it's how you learn the most about yourself," Cadance said to Twilight. "I used to be your babysitter and I still see you like a little sister. I just want to make sure you have a happy life."

"That explains why they seem to get along better than a typical student/teacher relationship," Cereza noted to the others.

As Cadance left the room, Twilight sighed before talking to Spike again. "What's she so worried about? Everton is exactly what I need right now," Twilight told her puppy. "It's not like I have anything left to learn at Crystal Prep," she said before exiting the room with Fragment Hunter following. Before Spike could follow any of them, Silver saw a chew toy on the floor and tossed to the puppy. As the canine started to play with the rope, Silver quickly closed the door and caught up with the others.

As Fragment Hunter followed Twilight, she began to sing as she wandered through the halls to her destination.

I've walked through all these halls before
I've been in and out of every door, oh-whoa-oh
There's nothin' in this school that I don't know
In every class, my grade's the best
The highest score on every test
I think that means it's time for me to go

I know there's more that's out there
And I just haven't found it yet
I know there's more that's out there
Another me I haven't met

This school is full of people
But still I don't belong
They only dream of winning
Look at me like something's wrong
Maybe I'm better off alone
Will I find what I'm lookin' for
If I just do it on my own?

I know there's more that's out there
Something to fill this hole inside
I know there's more that's out there
And I'm not afraid to try

There's only so much this school can offer
And I'm not saying that it's wrong
But I know there's more that's out there
'Cause I've been searching all along

Beyond these rooms, beyond these walls
So much to learn, I can't see it all
There's somethin' out there callin' me
And it's a mystery that I can't wait to see

'Cause I know there's more that's out there
Another place, another way
And I know there's more that's out there
And I'll find out someday!

I'll find out someday...

After she stopped singing, she saw that she was in front of Principal Cinch's office and slowly entered. Silver and Vixen stayed outside while the rest of Fragment Hunter snuck inside while the door was still open. "I can understand the singing with the Sirens and the Battle of the Bands. Heck, they probably sang during that pep rally back at CHS. But, why was Twilight singing as she was walking here," Rua exclaimed through the telepathic connection. "I swear, if I hear anyone singing during the Games later without there being a music event, I'm going to punch someone."

"They probably won't have a music thing because of the Battle of the Bands when we were here the first time," Slate told Rua before the door closed and everyone saw a man standing next to Cadance.

"Shining Armor? Why is my brother here," Twilight asked as she turned to see who closed the door.

"As an alumni, Principal Cinch thought that he would be able to provide some unique perspective," Cadance explained to Twilight.

"Perspective on what," Twilight asked before a chair behind a large desk spun around.

"Why, the Friendship Games, of course," a woman said as she stood up from the chair. Fragment Hunter easily came to the conclusion that this was Principal Cinch. "You competed in the games, did you not, Shining Armor," she asked the man. However, he and Cadance were looking at each other like a pair of lovestruck teenagers and Shining Armor was a little embarrassed before answering.

Fragment Hunter sat through the principal of the prep school talking about the academy's reputation and how they claim to always win. The Hunters all rolled their eyes because they know that Beacon Academy never won every Vytal Festival Tournament, but neither did the other Huntsman Academies. As the conversation turned toward CHS, Cinch showed disdain toward the rival school because it would get in the way of Crystal Prep's reputation. "I hate this woman already," Layla stated to Fragment Hunter.

"Principal Cinch, I can't possibly participate in the games," Twilight tried to argue. "My work here is very-" The aforementioned woman interrupted Twilight and asked for Shining Armor and Cadance to retrieve some contact information for her. Feeling like something was up, Slate snuck out of the room with Rebecca and Vinyl to follow them.

As they left the room, only Twilight, Principal Cinch, and the hidden members of Fragment Hunter were in the office. "I understand you've applied," Cinch mentioned to the young girl in front of her. "You see, one of the advantages of having a reputation is a certain amount of influence in such things. So, let me offer you a deal. In return for contributing your agile mind to these games, I will use my influence to guarantee your application is approved. Though, I suppose I could also have it... denied. What do you think I should do," she said to Twilight.

As Twilight squirmed in her seat, Azalea and Rua began to grind their teeth in anger. "Blackmail?! Is she seriously that worried about losing a game," Celadon exclaimed in frustration to everyone with Blaze's telepathic link.

"Looks like it," Blaze stated in annoyance. "Rua, get us out of here," she said before all of them exited the room with Rua's teleportation.

As Shining Armor and Cadance began to return to Principal Cinch's office with the contact sheet they were asked to retrieve, they saw somebody leaning against one of the lockers. They saw that because he wasn't wearing the Crystal Prep uniform, he obviously didn't go to the school. "You know she's just using Twilight, right," the boy said to them.

"Why do you say that," Shining Armor said as he glared at the boy.

"Why would she send both of you to get one thing outside of the room," the stranger asked. "She's probably just using Twilight to make sure that Crystal Prep keeps they're so-called 'reputation'. If she fails to do it, then why should Cinch let Twilight do what she wants?"

"If you don't stop talking about my little sister, I'll kick you out of this building," Shining Armor exclaimed as he walked toward the boy. Before he could get closer, the boy quickly grabbed at Shining Armor's wrist and twisted it to keep him back. Cadance tried to intervene, but the stranger spoke up once again.

"I know you're protective of your sister. I have one, too. If you don't believe me, you should come to the Friendship Games at Canterlot High. If you do, you should still go there to make sure Twilight's okay. I have the feeling that she's a pariah in this school because she doesn't have the same mind-rotting competitive streak as the other students. She would be the only sane student in this building, but she doesn't have friends that believe the same way," the boy said to Shining Armor before he released him.

As Shining rubbed his wrist, he and Cadance looked at the boy before he started to walk toward the exit. "Who are you," Cadance asked.

"Name's Slate. I'll see you guys at the Games," he replied before opening the door to show eleven other teenagers waiting for him outside.

Author's Note

And with that, we have Fragment Hunter learning of Twilight's situation and how all of them are going to participate in the Friendship Games. Next chapter, we'll have everyone at Canterlot High for just before the competition begins and have Sci-Twi meet Fragment Hunter in person.