Phoenix

8:26AM

“I still say it’s too damn early!” came yet another repeated complaint by Lemon Zest, the girl flopping around on her seat as the bus continued to make its way to CHS. All twelve members of the team had been to school on time, earlier than they would during the week so as to make sure not to annoy Cinch.

“Especially for a Saturday!” groaned Indigo, the girl banging her head against the back of her own seat. The twelve students all had their own bus, safe for Dean Cadance and Principal Cinch who sat at the front of the bus, and Shining Armour who was driving the vehicle.

“Stop complaining you irritable sow!” came Sour Sweet’s caustic tones, the girl also obviously not a morning person given the ire her voice was carrying. “We all have to deal with being up this early and I don’t want to have to deal with you bitching about it!”

“Why couldn’t the school agree to start this at a reasonable time, though?” came the audiophiles remark as she turned around to look over the back of her seat. “This is ridiculous!”

“For someone complaining about being tired you sure are lively.” Sugarcoat mentioned, her eyes closed as she returned to resting in her seat.

“If you don’t stop complaining, Lemon, I will strangle you with the uncountable number of earbuds I know you have with you.” Sunny Flare growled as she turned around in her seat to face her friend.

“Okay, girls, calm down.” Fireside said between yawns, apologizing before continuing. “I know we are all tired, and would rather be at home sleeping in given it’s the weekend, but there’s no need to be so mean to one another! We are all here to compete in the Friendship Games!”

“Not much of a Game, considering they never give us much of a challenge.” came Sugarcoat’s response, the girl unmoving from her resting posture.

“Still, you can at least be civil with each other, right?” Fireside smiled warmly, hoping to calm everyone down before they arrived at the school. No need for the other school to see the CPA team fighting with one another like this.

“Haaa…” Sunny Flare let out an elongated sigh as she composed herself, turning to look at Lemon Zest once she was ready. “My apologies, Lemon, for my outburst. I-”

“Hey, now worries, Sunny! We’re all exhausted here! Just look at Fireside there! The girl can’t stop yawning!” and true to the girl’s comment, Fireside let out yet another loud yawn, stretching as she did so and earning some laughter from the five girl sitting around her at the front of the bus, while the other six team members sat in annoyed silence in the back of the moving vehicle.

“So how much longer until we get there?” came a question from one of the students in the back, boredom dripping from their every syllable.

“We shall be there shortly.” came Cinch’s response as the woman stood up and turned to face all the youths behind her. “And I expect you all to be prepared to win. No lazing around or we will have words.”

“Eh-hem.” Cadance stood up, looking over at Cinch before continuing on. “Once we arrive, we shall wait at the bus for the rest of the senior year students to arrive. Once they have, we shall all be heading to the CHS gym for a quick greeting by the CHS students as well as an assembly about the games. Make sure to not wander off beforehand, and to follow me when it is time to go to the gym.”

The two women watched as the students nodded before they returned to their seats, allowing the youths to look out of the windows of the bus and comment on the passing scenery, causing Fireside to start tuning out those around her, her thoughts focusing on the games and what she could do to make sure that her friends and family still had their chances for higher education.

“That’s an apartment?”

“This area look pitiful…”

“Look! A homeless person!”

“Look!”

“There’s the school!”

“That horse is so corny!”

“The building is so drab.”

“That’s supposed to be a parking lot?”

“At least we don’t have to walk far…”

Fireside instantly snapped back to reality when the bus shuddered to a stop, the various student voices quieting down as Cadance stood up and held a cerise hand towards them.

“Now team, I know you all have your dispositions about this school, but I want you all on your best behaviour. You are the representatives of Crystal Prep Academy, so I expect no hostility towards the students and staff of CHS, and please, no pranks.” the educator face palmed as she shook her head. “It is not cheap cleaning that horse statue.”

Light laughter filtered through the bus as the students stood up and followed the two heads of their academy off the bus, only top stop when Cadance paused and looked back at the crowd, picking out Fireside.

“Any words you’d like to share before we exit, Captain?” the woman winked as a smile shone from her face. Fireside looked around at the students, Indigo chanting “Speech! Speech!” as the other students either giggled lightly or rolled their eyes.

“Er, well…” Fireside started, looking back to Cadence as she nodded encouragingly, “I know that I may not have been the Captain some of you wanted, but I promise that I will lead us through this day. To the victory that awaits us in these halls.”

Fireside blushed as she scratched her head, an uneasy smile complimented the similar silence that echoed throughout the bus.

“You suck at speeches.” laughter broke out amongst the teens as Sugarcoat gave one of her patented blunt responses, even causing Cadence to giggle.

“I love you too, Sugarcoat.” Fireside responded before she strode to the front of the bus, thanking the driver before she vaulted to the worn pavement of the CHS parking lot. She stared over the school, tension building in her core as she took in the view.

“Ah, perfect timing.” came Cinch’s bored sounding voice as the other two busses pulled up behind theirs, disgorging students onto the grounds, their CPA uniforms appearing out of place even before they entered the CHS halls. Fireside waved to her sisters, Sonata seeing and waving back as she rushed over, tackling her sister with a loving embrace.

“Ready to win!?” she cheered, beaming as she swung around Fireside, the girl chuckling as she nodded, watching her other two sisters approach with Twilight Sparkle in tow.

“I thought cheerleaders were supposed to be at the event ahead of the team.” Sugarcoat mentioned with her usual lack of emotion.

“Cheerleaders would actually cheer, unlike those ingrates.” came Sour Sweet’s response as she flipped her ponytail back over her shoulder.

“I’m sure Sonata would cheer if you asked nicely enough, Sour.” Lemon jested, poking the teen in the cheek. “Though I doubt you have it in yourself to be so nice.”

Slowly the other bus disgorged more Crystal Prep students, the poor souls who were conscripted by Principal Cinch to form the student delegation of the Academy’s visit. Cinch left first, walking over to Dean Cadence and talking to the other woman in hushed tones.

“What’s that beeping sound?” Fireside asked as she looked around, trying to pinpoint its location, only to have Twilight step forward and hold out a small, oval shaped device.

“That would be Ethyl Mark Two!” the girl beamed as she flipped it open, the LCD screens flickering to life and showing off strange wave looking patterns. “Its been getting noisier and noisier as we got closer to the school for some reason. I hope it’s not a false lead…”

“Students! This way, please!” Dean Cadance called out, motioning for all the students to follow her as Principal Cinch started walking a different direction with a taller, snow white skinned woman with a rainbow of pastel toned hair. A shorter woman, dark as night with deep blue hair stood beside Cadance, nodding as the pair made their way towards the front of the school.

“Well, shall we?” Fireside asked, smirking as she looked around at her closest friends, each of the four nodding and smiling back. The quintet shared small talk as they started to make their way to the school, Fireside joking at some comment before freezing, a chill running down her spine. Everything seemed to slow down around her, before freezing entirely, her sisters in mid play fight as Twilight giggled. Fireside looked around, wondering what was going on, before all of a sudden the scenery vanished, replaced with night.

A single, dark red and humanoid looking shape with wings hovered in the air just in front of her, a group of six humanoids of various colours standing a fair distance away, floating themselves in a heart shaped formation. Without warning a large, rainbow coloured beam erupted from them, high up into the sky and down on the dark red humanoid, causing it to-

“Gaia to Fireside! Where are you going, girl?”

Fireside shook her head as she looked back at her sisters, each of them looking at her weirdly. Fireside took the moment to look around, realizing that she had started to walk towards the horse statue, and once she laid eyes on it, something compelled her towards it.

“Just, um… Just give me a second…” she said as she walked towards the side facing the entrance of the school, the horses tail standing high above her. She paused, looking intently at the panel, before reaching a hand out. The stone was solid, and of fair craftsmanship, and incredibly cool to the touch. Almost… unnaturally cool. Maybe it was a particularly cold night last night?

“Are you okay there?” Twilight Sparkle came to stand beside the girl, scanning her device which had started to quiet down.

“Yeah… Yeah, I’m fine… just…” Fireside looked at her sisters, who had come to stand beside the pair. “I… I think I’m having… flashbacks? Maybe I’m just tired, but…”

“Come on, girls!” Cadance called, drawing Fireside’s attention to the fact that they five of them were the only students still outside.

“Coming, Dean Cadance!” Fireside called out, before looking back at the other four girls. “Come on, can’t be late.”

Yet as the five started to rush towards the door, Fireside couldn’t help but look back, and for the briefest of moments, she saw a figure. It was amber hued, and it stood beside the statue, leaning on what looked like a sledgehammer, before it picked it up and swung it back, only to disappear just as suddenly as it appeared.

The five followed the Dean of students into the school, following intently as the woman lead her through the halls, yet as they made their way into a large, circular section, Fireside paused as she heard talking, growing louder and louder around her. She watched as the other five continued down the halls, and decided to step to the side, to see if she could track down the source of the voices. She softly called out as she followed the hallway, before pausing, as the world once again warped around her.

“..do ya… Have ya lost yer phone recently?”

“Um… No? It’s right here, why?”

“Then Ah think ya need ta explain this!”

Fireside listened intently, the first voice sounded incredibly unsure at first, then angry at the second, while the second sounded confused at the situation. More voices added in, mixing and interweaving, harshly criticizing the second voice which seemed worried and desperate, unsure of why it was being attacked.

“It was you all along!” said the first voice again, betrayal and fury filling the air. “Yer Anon-A-Miss!”

“We trusted you, ******!” came one of the other voices, suddenly glitching out and spazzing, before verbally consolidating. “We thought that you had changed, that you were our friend!”

“How could you do this, ******?” another voice, discombobulating without warning and then suddenly returning to normal. “After all that we’ve been through together?”

“W-wait, you guys!” the second voice, becoming pure desperation as it called out. “I didn’t do this! I could never hurt any of you!”

More and more voices started to build on, distracting Fireside from what was being said, deafening her as she fell to her knees, hands covering her ears as she tried to silence them and-

They were gone. Fireside was alone, kneeling in the hallway with her hands over her ears. She was alone, again, wondering what was going on. She believed her sisters and her friends from this school that she was gone from here before the start of the year, and yet…

What was up with these memories?

She got up, shaking slightly as she struggled to start walking back down the hall. She was starting to remember things about the school, the layout, where the various classrooms were. Flashes of faces passed through her mind, but they were distorted, hidden by a black mist almost, and she didn’t know their names.

She pressed a hand against the wall as she returned to the circular section, turning and heading towards the gym, the halls silent as she made her way, her mind racing as she tried to calm down, praying that it was just lack of sleep that was making her groggy and hallucinating.

“Ah! There you are, Fireside! You had me worried!” Dean Cadance appeared from around a corner, her face melting into joy at seeing the amber skinned girl. “I thought you were right behind us?”

“Oh, sorry about that. I just had to tie my shoe.” Fireside gave a weak smile, hoping that it was enough to convince the woman.

“Well… As long as you weren’t pulling a prank on the school, I think we should be fine.” the woman winked as she gave a friendly smile, Fireside chuckling as she scratched at her cheek.

“Oh, you caught me. I was just about to pull the fire alarm.”

“Well good thing you didn’t, because everyone in the gym would get soaked if you’d had.” Cadance chuckled before motioning for Fireside to follow her. The pair made their way through the halls at a steady pace, and paused in front of the large door that lead into the gym, Cadance going through and holding it open for Fireside. “Come along, dear.”

Fireside nodded, following diligently behind the woman into the strangely quiet room. She opened her eyes as she crossed the threshold, freezing and letting out a soft groan. Once again she was in another world, and all around her in the gym were decorations. Streamers hung from everywhere, and pumpkins and other fall seasonal items were plaster against the wall. The Fall Formal, that’s what this was.

“You two! Get to work!” came a harsh sounding voice, followed by the decorations starting to fall of the wall in chunks or pieces, the pumpkins exploding as if something hit them. The destruction continued all around the room, and-

“Welcome, students of Crystal Prep Academy, to Canterlot High School, and the Friendship Games!” Fireside turned to the stage, where the dark skinned woman that had been with Cadance earlier stood up behind the podium, addressing everyone below her. “While I am sure that you are all interested in what is coming up for our two teams, We think instead it would be best if we all took some time to mingle. We have a warm welcome for our comrades from Crystal Prep to present, so please enjoy yourselves before the first event.

The woman bowed before she departed the stage, an embarrassingly pitiful amount of applause echoing in the still air, though that may be due to half of the students in the room instead focussing on Fireside. She studied their looks, judging that they recognized her given that some of them started to point and whisper before the lights died out and a familiar style of music started blaring from the speakers.

“Wait… Is that…?” Fireside could hear Lemon Zest start to hyperventilate to her right, looking over as she noticed the teen looking around with frenzied eyes. “Where’s the person that chose this music!? This sounds like one of DJ Pon-3’s pieces!”

“Oh, I’m sure Vinyl is the one at the turntables.” Fireside said, smiling as she walked over to the girl. Her mind was still exploding at all the voices and visions, and she needed to tell someone, but she couldn’t see her sisters in the dim lights around her.

“Vinyl? Who’s that?” Lemon asked as she looked up at the Fireside.

“I’ll introduce ya, but I need to find my sisters first, have you seen them?”

“Yeah, they were over there-ish?” Indigo called out from over her barely visible red cup, her peach toned hand pointing over towards the change room entrances. Fireside still didn’t know how she was remembering this, but she didn’t want the others to see her mounting worry, so she instead smiled and made her way in that direction, doing her best to follow along the walls and hopefully stay out of sight.

“...and if you try anything-”

“Oh relax, you uncultured oaf.” came Adagio’s scornful voice, the girl obviously annoyed at whoever it was that was blocking her sisters from sight. Well, other than the top of Sonata’s ponytail. “And speak of the devil. Fireside, darling, there you are. You had us worried!”

“Hey, we aren’t done here, Siren!” came the savage tone from the sturdily built girl as she reached towards Adagio, who turned around, somehow causing the girl to take a step back in fear.

“Yes, we are. Come along, Aria, Sonata.” the other two stormed passed the small crowd that had surrounded them, Sonata sticking her tongue out before turning and smiling at her sister.

“Fiery! There you are! Come on, let’s get away from these meanies!” Sonata wrapped her arms around one of Fireside’s and started to forcibly drag the larger girl away.

“Um- how are you- nevermind, look, we need to talk. In private.” Fireside watched as her sisters each shared worried looks before Adagio turned to address the taller girl, nodding. The four made their way to one of the far corners of the gym, where nobody was, thankfully.

“Okay, so, you know that little scene at the statue?” Fireside said slowly, hopefully just loud enough that her sisters would hear her.

“Where you zoned out and walked over to it?” Aria asked, receiving a nod from the amber skinned girl.

“Yes, well, I think that was a flashback. Of something that happened while I was here.”

“You had said that, but we figured you were just babbling. You were up most of the night after all.” Adagio said, a smirk coming to her face.

“Well it happened again. Twice.” her sister’s smirk fell to a thinly drawn line, the girl nodding slightly to tell Fireside to continue on. “In the hallways, I… I heard voices. People talking about Anon-A-Miss.”

“So there were other students nearby.” Aria said, shrugging boredly.

“But I was alone. And there were times where the voices, like, glitched out, like when they were trying to say a specific word. And then when I came into the gym, it was empty! None of you were here! But there were all these decorations, and it was about the Fall Formal! And I don’t know how I know that name but it came back to me, just like the layout of the school!”

“Okay, so you're tired and hallucinating! You just need some sugar and-” Sonata started to giggle, only to freeze when Fireside grabbed both of her wrists, the girl’s aquamarine eyes frenzied pinpricks.

“I’m not tired and hallucinating! I’m not! And I’m seriously freaking out right now! I don’t know what’s happening!”

“Take a deep breath for me, Fireside.” Adagio’s voice was calm and collected, yet demanded compliance, and Fireside listened as a strange tingling running down her spine, before pausing and taking a deep breath and letting it out. Then another. And a third.

“How are you feeling now?” Adagio asked, resting a hand on the girl’s shoulder.

“Better. Thank you, Addy.” Fireside smiled, before faltering slightly. “I’m just worried is all. I don’t know what to expect with all these memories coming back. Some of them seemed not nice…”

“Well regardless, we are her for you, right, girls?” Adagio looked at the other two sisters, and both Aria and Sonata gave small nods and confirmation. “You can trust us, Fireside.”

“Thanks, Adagio…” Fireside reached forward and wrapped her arms around the shorter girl, practically crushing her in her embrace.