The Tournament Of Friendship

Chapters

Chapter 2: New Day Of School!
Chapter 3: Crystal Prep Academy
Chapter 4: Yesterday Tryouts
Chapter 5: Detention
Chapter 6: Bronze Weld And Obsessions
Chapter 7: The Tryouts
Chapter 8: Metal And Meetings
Chapter 9: Arrival of the Weekend
Chapter 10: Just An Illusion
Chapter 11: Pre-Party Setup
Chapter 12: Meshing Of Schools
Chapter 13: Rainbows And Shadows
Chapter 14: Old Routes, Old Friends
Chapter 15: The Academic Decathalon!
Chapter 16: Apology Brownies
Chapter 17: Payback time
Chapter 18: The Real Problem With Powers
Chapter 20: Wild Thing
Chapter 21: Battle!
Chapter 22: Detox
Chapter 23: Turn Of Events
Chapter 24: One Confectionary To Go
Chapter 25: The Rise And Fall Of Octavia
Chapter 26: Reveals
Chapter 27: Less Than Stellar
Chapter 28: The Truth
Chapter 29: Midnight's Reign Part 1
Chapter 30: Midnight's Reign Part 2
Chapter 31: Welcome Home
Chapter 32: What More Is Out There
Bloopers!
Authors Notes
Chapter 1: Good Morning Canterlot!
Chapter 19: The Rebirth Of Rarity

Chapter 2: New Day Of School!

The morning light shined its way through the window of Trixie Lulamoon. The room was a bit messy, some figurines on the floor, some old pieces of magic tricks and acts scattered about. The desk that had her computer was cluttered with games and some action figures and other stuff. Some posters on the walls, some open trunks of magic kits, and so much more. Trixie's body was sprawled on the bed like a spider, with some of the sheets and blankets having fallen off the side.

As the light from the morning sun was reaching inside her room, a soft sound went off on her phone. The sound playing back was an old tune from the 90s that always woke Trixie up and out of bed. But once she picked up the phone, she could see it wasn't the ringtone. It was an incoming video call.

With her eyes slowly blinking into nothing but eye-bags, she answered the call.

"H-Hello?"

On the other end of the phone, there appeared to be the same happy face she knew. The same face who helped save Canterlot High from total annihilation; Adagio Dazzle. Or at least part of her face, the phone kept being bounced around like if someone was juggling.

"Oh geez, how do I do this, um... okay where was it, where was it... oh! Oh! There! Okay! Good morning, Trixie!" Adagio smiled.

Trixie couldn't help but smile back.

"Good morning, Adagio," Trixie yawned. "W-What's up? Is everything okay?"

"Oh, everything's fine. Well, except for still trying to figure out how this video messaging works," Adagio said as she kept fiddling with the phone on her end. "Thankfully, the cab driver figured it out. Anyways, I just wanted to let you know, my sisters and I are about to get onto our plane to head off for California. I wanted to say good morning before I left."

Trixie smiled to the beautiful woman. "Aww, well that's sweet of you."

Adagio giggled.

"I'm still sad you're not gonna be here for the Friendship Games. It would be a lot of fun to have you here for that."

"I know, but right now, it's the only time we can come in. This will be enough to get the rest of the cash we need to help pay for the damages to CHS, and to get the Rainbooms sisters back into good health again. Tell you what, maybe take some videos for us, can you? I'd like to see how the games are while we're away."

Trixie smiled. "I will. And if you can... maybe, get a souvenir from Hollywood?" Trixie asked with some anxiety.

"We'll get you all some souvenirs. Maybe even sneak some movie props home with us," Adagio gave a cheeky wink. "Now just have some fun, and pig out! We'll call you once we've landed."

"Okay, sounds good! Oh, and Adagio?"

"Yes?"

Trixie gave a heart-felt smile, "Stay safe, okay?"

Adagio smiled back and gave a little kiss on the phone screen. "We will. Oh! Gotta go, see you soon!"

Adagio hung up on her end of the phone, letting Trixie hang up on her side as well. And so, with a struggle, she pulled herself out of bed and got herself ready to begin the day.

After devouring most of her breakfast, accompanied by a few burps, she rushed back upstairs, brushed her teeth, fixed her hair, and adjusted her vest. Skipping down the stairs, she quickly zipped up her backpack.

"Alright mom, I'm gonna get going!" Trixie called.

"Okay," Trixie's mother, Sunflower said, rushing to the door real quick. She gave her daughter a quick kiss and hug before letting her head off. "Have a great day, kiddo."

Trixie smiled. "I will. Thanks Mom."

Trixie walked outside her house, her mother then locking the door behind her. Turning ahead, she saw a car sitting there waiting for her. And she could figure out instantly who's car it was, from the music bleeding through.

In the midnight hour she cried, more, more, more
With a rebel yell she cried, more, more, more

Amethyst threw her head back and forth, listening to the high rock and roll, imitating playing a guitar in the process. Eventually the sound of a knock on the window got her attention and turned down the music. She opened up the door, and Trixie got in the shotgun seat. When Trixie opened up, she picked up on Amethyst's new attire, sporting a denim vest, white t-shirt, and black track pants.

"Hey, what's up Trixie?" Amethyst chirped.

"Morning Amethyst."

She put on her seatbelt, and Amethyst started to drive. "So, anything new to report? Any drama, bad mornings? Nothing?"

Trixie smiled. "Nothing, really. Adagio and her sisters are on their way to the airport, straight for California."

"Nice! Though I have to ask, did they really need to leave? I mean, come on, the Friendship Games are next week, it would have been fun to have them there," Amethyst complained.

"I know, but they said half of this week and the next would be the only time they could work and get the money," Trixie explained.

Amethyst shook her head as she drove. "I still think that's overkill. I mean, leaving Canterlot for a week and a half, that's a little insane. Just calls up cause she saw an ad, even though she's required to go all the way to California for it."

"People go on business trips when working in certain jobs, I don't think it's that weird," Trixie replied.

"Yes, but the Dazzlings have tons of gold and treasures that I'm sure they can cash in to help pay for the damages to the school, it's not like it's been long lost or stolen--oh wait, taxes, I forgot... But wait, wait, wait, come on, the Dazzlings for sure can't be that recognized--no never mind. ... and that treasure would probably be claimed for study..."

"Yep," Trixie said flatly.

"Nevermind...", Amethyst deadpanned, shaking her head. "Sorry. For a second, I thought I saw a golden opportunity."

"It's okay," Trixie patted her shoulder. "So any word from our friends, did anyone make it in to the games?"

"Well I did hear from Lyra and Bon Bon, both of them made it in!"

"Really, that's great!"

"Yeah! Although..."

"Although, what?" Trixie asked with some fear.

"Their tryouts were a bit... weird."

"Define weird."

"I think you better hear it from them, they can explain it, I've tried and I just can't do it," Amethyst said, rubbing at her eyes.

Amethyst's car pulled up into the student parking lot, and both girls got out of the car. Once the car was locked, the two girls rushed over to the front of the school. The outside of the school was looking like the front of a construction site, scaffolds everywhere. some safety cones and construction signs about. There were even some tools lying around.

Amethyst shook her head. "We're never getting this school fixed."

"Not with that attitude," Trixie said with some sass. "Look, the Rainbooms are working on repairs every day, construction doesn't get done in a day."

"Yeah, I know..."

Not looking for another second, the girls rushed inside, trying to make it in time so they could get to class. It took a few hallways and wings to pass, but eventually they arrived just in time and took some seats. Once Trixie and Amethyst got settled in their seats in the classroom, the TV hanging from the ceiling flipped on from the teacher's remote. A poppy upbeat theme song played on the TV, accompanied by a logo with the name 'Canterlot High TV'.

Just then, two students were seen sitting at a desk, much like ones news anchors would sit at. The two students in particular were none other than friend/guitarist Flash Sentry, and heavy metal rocker Octavia Melody.

"Good morning, CHS!" Flash Sentry waved. "I am your host, Flash Sentry."

"And I am Octavia, filling in for Drama Letter. She'll be back tomorrow, don't any of you worry. Now Flash, what's on the agenda for today?"

Flash cleared his throat. "Well as you all know, the Friendship Games are coming next week, and if you still want to sign up, tryouts are this afternoon and tomorrow is the deadline! If you want to take part in the competition, please audition as soon as you can! And it looks as if the weather will be a cool breeze, so if you haven't, get yourself a jacket and stay warm!"

"And a special news I must point out, we have a new student joining us, so I hope everyone gives a warm welcome to Miss Rara, everyone!"

Just then, a new theme began to play on the scene. lash and Octavia glanced up, hearing the music.

"Oh there's the theme music, you all know what that time is," Octavia smirked, dashing off to the side.

"It's time for see what our students have invented to try and make our world a better place!"

Both students skipped off in front of a new set piece, a blank white backdrop behind them and on the floor. A single table was in the middle of the set, with an array of magnets all on the table.

"That's right! Today's gadget is from none other than our techie friends here," Octavia began, "... and their new inventions they want to pitch, is a new industrial line of magnets, magnets more powerful than your average one!"

"The Mini-Mag," Flash continued, picking up the magnet from the table, "made by Bright Idea, is said can be used to help pick up screws, nails, and even fallen tools that you might have dropped."

"But the biggest one here, is the Mega-Mag created by Micro Chips..." Octavia smirked, picking it up. "Don't let it's small size fool you, mates. It's small, but powerful. This small little thing, could fire a bullet shell through a keyhole without having to be loaded in a gun!"

Flash shrugged but kept speaking. "It's intent was to essentially pick up sheet metal, so--"

But the magnet in Octavia's hands, unintentionally began to magnetize to Flash Sentry. Particularly at Flash's pocket, almost sticking instantly. Probably from the keys tucked away.

"--... Octavia."

"Sorry, it's a bit stuck, hold on..." Octavia grunted as she tried to yank it off of Flash. Flash just groaned and moved his hands down to the magnet, trying to push it off as well.

"Just... slide it straight down!"

Octavia thankfully managed to get it off of Flash, but one swing of it in the other direction turned out to be a big mistake. At that very moment, a metal lid for a trashcan came flying right at them, and stuck itself to the magnet like glue.

"Oh!"

Octavia pushed her hand in between the lid and the magnet base, trying to separate the two apart. With a little bit of nudging, the magnet eventually was pushed away and the trash can lid hit the ground. She chuckled a little bit before looking back to the camera, unintentionally hoisting the magnet up.

"Powerful little beast, isn't it?"

But then the microphone flew down and slammed into the magnet, creating a loud feedback whine that hurt everyone's ears. Octavia fought with the microphone, trying to get it away from the magnet, while poor Flash could only stand back and watch as Octavia comically and poorly tried to get the microphone away.

Once again, Octavia got the magnet freed, but she knew it wasn't going to end. Without even noticing it, she held it up in front of her, pointed to the main camera that the students were using to film the morning news. Octavia looked up just in time and her face drooped.

"Scribble, get the camera. Scribble get the camera, PULL IT BACK, PULL IT BACK, SCRIB--"

The magnet jerked the camera forward, slamming the lenses right into Octavia's face, hard. The force was so strong it sent the camera and Octavia falling to the ground, right on her back.

"OW!"

Octavia winced from the pain, and her eyes wearily looked into the lenses.

"We'll be right back... someone get me to the nurse..." Octavia moaned.

After a rough morning, and some classes later, it was now time for lunch! Octavia thankfully wasn't hurt in the slightest, outside of the small mark on her face from the smushed lenses against her face.

"So, are you sure you're okay?" Bon Bon asked with some concern.

"Bon Bon, I'm fine. Not the first time I've had something slammed against my face," Octavia replied, taking a big bite out of her burger. "I've had my face slammed against doors, cupboards, my own guitar, and one instance when someone was carrying some plywood to build a shelf."

"Ow," Bon Bon hissed sharply.

"Don't worry yourself over it, I'll be fine. By the way, congradulations on the tryout for the Friendship Games, I heard you and Lyra made the team." Octavia winked.

The baker giggled. "Yeah, we did!"

Just then, the rest of their friends arrived at their table; Trixie, Vinyl, Amethyst, and Lyra.

"Sorry we're late guys," Vinyl replied, obviously distracted.

Bon Bon and Octavia looked at Vinyl with a smirk. "Someone's sure glued, aren't they?"

"No, I'm just trying to see if this stupid phone will work... Ugh, I swear, the new technology stinks," Vinyl groaned, flipping her phone around so the screen wasn't facing her. "Stupid electronics, I swear..."

"Phone problems?" Lyra asked.

"Yes. I bought a new phone to try and replace the one that got run over by the ice-cream truck--"

"--Still don't understand how you managed to let that happen--" Amethyst interrupted.

"--But even with the new model, it doesn't work. Its like every time I touch it, it just dies."

"Maybe you have the magic touch?" Lyra giggled. "Sometimes my cat just runs away from my mom but comes running straight to me and Dad."

"Not exactly the same thing," Vinyl shook her head.

"Yeah..."

"Oh I wanted to say, congrats to you both on the tryouts!" Vinyl smiled.

"Thanks!" Lyra squeaked.

"What exactly did you two do to audition?" Trixie asked with some interest.

"Oh, that! Well... um," Lyra rubbed the back of her head.

"That's, um... well," Bon Bon blushed.

"Kind of a long story..."

"And when you say that, you mean...?" Trixie asked.

Bon Bon coughed, "Long story short; It took a strange turn and Lyra and I wore bird costumes and started squawking at each other."

A vow of silence fell on the table, and everyone was left befuddled. Not a word was spoken. Until Vinyl coughed to try and break the fold.

"Anyways, sooo... how are the Dazzlings, any word on how their flight goes?"

"I only got a video call from Adagio this morning, she said she and her sisters were about to be driven to the airport, so I think they're already off on their flight," Trixie said.

"That's good," Octavia nodded.

"I do hope their flight goes okay. Are they boarding a passenger plane, or do they secretly have a jet we don't know about?" Amethyst asked.

"I think they might have bought or rented a private jet for themselves," Trixie nodded.

"They know how to fly?" Lyra raised a brow.

"Maybe! For all I know, they could be expert fliers and they're finally there by now.

Meanwhile

A few hours went by since the call from early in the morning to Trixie. The Dazzlings did arrive in California, for sure. But their flight didn't go as they anticipated. They didn't land in airport or an airfield, nothing. Instead, their plane ended up catching on fire and crashed into the side of a beach that was closed (thankfully) and all three Dazzlings were standing on said beach, quivering in fear, covered in cinders and ashes. Bodies covered in black dust, with only their eyes providing cover. A soft patch of steam was emitting from Adagio's like, like it was about to catch fire very soon.

"Well. Survive a plane crash you do indeed become helpless..." Adagio began, with a cough.

"Languid..." Aria continued.

"And you murmur a lot," Sonata finished.

Chapter 3: Crystal Prep Academy

Before the school day had even begun for Rainbow, she was struggling to get herself moving. She really didn't want to go to school ever since she and her Rainboom associates got their comeuppance. But she knew one way or another it wasn't something she could avoid, and she would have to get out there.

Still dressed in her normal gothish/punky clothes, bookbag slung over her back, she tramped down the stairs heavily. The day had barely begun and already she wished it was over.

Quickly, she stopped by the kitchen. Her parents were there – her mother was making some breakfast over the stove, and her dad was seated at the table with the paper.

Her father looked up, noting Rainbow was moving into the room. “Oh! Uh, morning Rainbow!”

Windy was a bit concerned, and turned to look back at her daughter with a slightly awkward expression. “Did, did you sleep well?”

Rainbow's face didn't change. “I slept fine.”

Bow cleared his throat. “You uh, sure about that?”

“I’m fine, dad.” Rainbow Dash grabbed a bagel and an apple, a quick breakfast to eat on the go. After grabbing what she wanted she adjusted her backpack before she started to head out. “I’ll see you guys later…” She stopped for a moment, sighing, and remembering the reality. “After detention…”

“Dashie? Honey?”

Rainbow's shoulders tensed up, expecting something negative to come out of her parents mouths.

“…Yes?”

“…You know that you can talk to us, right? About anything?” Rainbow's mother said.

Rainbow didn't look back at her. “…Right.”

Windy could feel the frustration and sadness blending in Rainbow's voice. Knowing that she wasn't going to get Rainbow Dash to open up any further this morning, she just sighed. “Be good today, sweetie.”

“Right, right…”

And with that, Rainbow Dash stepped out the door and is on her way to school. While she’d normally take the direct route, she goes a different way, favoring a street away from the main road. As she walked, Dash quickly munched on her bagel and starts on her apple.

Rainbow hummed slightly as she walked along. In spite of everything happening, she did appreciate the quiet morning and the pleasant solitude of her walk, school was nowhere in sight yet. This meant she had all the time in the world to enjoy the peace while it lasted.

“Hey Rainbow Dash!!”

Rainbow turned in surprise as she heard the hum of an approaching car, followed by screams and flinching. She prepared to cover herself, immediately pelted by incoming projectiles. Students drove by, pelting her with water balloons that drenched her entire body. She looked back to see there were classmates of hers who were the source of the attack, all of them cheering and whooping for victory. Rainbow looked back down and frowned, her food was dropped in the assault and were now into the street, worthless.

“Rot in jail with Sunset Shimmer, you freak!! You've got it coming!”

As soon as the car was out of sight, she was left alone, clothing soiled and icky. Rainbow's fists clenched up and she raged futilely.

“GAH!!”

Rainbow growled, her teeth clenched hard.

But suddenly, her angry expression crumbled and she cried in shame, misery, and helpless frustration. She cried for a moment, a minute, trying to suck it up, and forcing herself to slog onward. She wouldn't turn around and go home, no matter how much she wanted to. She didn't want to give them the satisfaction. Miserable and angry, Rainbow Dash kept marching.

“W-well, at least I packed a change of clothes this time…”

The school wasn't too far now, just up ahead.

As she pushed through the front doors of the school, she felt daggers pointed at her neck as all eyes watched her move past them, still soaking. She listened to some of them whisper, some out loud, but she knew all words were directed at her. Some of them were demanding she shouldn't have come, some were saying she should just leave and never return, and others were filled with a lot of profanity that she dared not to say out loud.

Not wanting to draw more attention, she just kept walking forward, avoiding all eye contact at least until she could make it to the change room. When she made it inside, quickly she changed out of her soaked clothing and into a fresh set. Clear of her wet clothes, she made it back into the hall. She suffered through stares, snickers and taunts to get to the bathroom and wash up, having a change of clothes and a towel to help wipe off with.

It stunk and she’s upset just as she was when she lost the Battle Of The Bands, but all she could do was keep trying to just power through it all. Ignore them, ignore them, she told herself again and again.

“Rainbow?”

That was a voice she recognized, one she didn't mind hearing. That high pitched voice came from none other than Pinkie Pie, still maintaining some of the gothic and mean looking attire.

Rainbow looked down, not even looking to the party animal. “Hey, Pinkie.”

“I saw you come in… I’m sorry," Pinkie sympathized.

“Feh. Whatever…”

“…Do you want to talk about it?”

Rainbow shook her head and sighed. “No. I just wanna get this over with…”

“Mmhm…”

Without another word, the two girls headed off to class.

Later That Day

Crystal Prep Academy. The most prestigious school in all of Canterlot. Almost everything about it was just amazing. The students were social and friendly, it's staff and principal helped when students needed them to, food was divine, there was no way to describe it.

But one of the things that stood out, at least for the students was they had the option of wearing casual wear. Some of the students did wear the uniforms, but most of them wore what they wanted to their heart's content.

One student in particular took as much advantage of that rule as she could. Dressed with a white shirt and skirt, and a black jacket over top. Her skin was light blue, with long purple hair that flowed behind her back. She also wore some light pink bracelets on her wrists, and a graphic of a sun trying to peer through a cloud on her skirt.

The lunch hour was drawing near, and she was heading to her locker to get her things. After putting all her belongings away, she pulled out her phone, flipping it around. She pressed the record button and focused the lenses so she was in the center.

"Dear Future Sunny Flare." She flipped the phone to face her locker. "This is your locker." Then back to her face. "It's where you used to keep your belongings when you were in class. If anyone tried to break into it, it would probably be either a friend who left something of hers to you, a thief wanting to steal your belongings, or probably the crazy ex-boyfriend. Main reason why locks exist, but yet people still complain about their stuff being taken from them."

She turned her head away from the camera, looking down the hallway. She smiled before turning the phone around and recording the girl going to her locker. A girl with a yellow t-shirt, jeans, pale skin and indigo colored hair (obviously). The other pieces that stood out were the fingerless gloves on her hands and the aviator goggles resting on her forehead.

"This is Indigo Zap. She is your best friend in the world."

Indigo Zap turned her head and paused. She saw Sunny Flare holding her phone, obviously recording her.

"Ah, oh, um... hi?" She stuttered, nervously waving hello. "S-Sunny, what is this?

"Video diary." Once again, she flipped the phone around so it was facing herself, talking to the screen. "If Indigo offers you help, it's okay to accept it. You can trust her with your life, and she does a lot more for you than I can even begin to imagine."

Indigo's forced smile changed into a genuine smile.

"That was... pretty nice of you. Thanks."

Sunny winked back to Indigo.

"I'll meet you down in the cafeteria."

"Okay."

When Indigo Zap got her things and left the hallway, Sunny Flare leaned in closer to the camera to speak a little more quietly, and whispered, just in case Indigo would be listening.

"But between you and me... never leave her alone in your house." She shook her head with a deadpan expression. "An hour of my life I can't turn back to fix."

Just then, she heard a locker open up behind her. She looked back and smiled, seeing another friend of hers. A girl with cherry hair and a mint streak, wrapped up in a ponytail. Yellow skin with a few freckles, dressed in a pink tank top and green skirt, and green heels.

"This is Sour Sweet. She's another one of your friends. Extremely sweet but if you turn her the wrong way--"

"--okay what the heck, I'm gonna crimp your face!" She growled turning to look at who talked. But her anger was wiped in a mili-second seeing that it was Sunny Flare recording her. A sharp blush of embarrassment washed over her face and she chuckled nervously. "Oh, hey, Sunny, um... I didn't see you there. S-Sorry..."

"Hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm starving!"

"Okay, well, Indigo is already heading down to get food. I'll meet you there."

"Okay, see you soon!" Sour chirped.

Sunny Flare turned to her locker and closed it before grabbing her lunch in a small lunch box. And just before she flipped off the camera, she looked back to it again.

"Sour can get a bit cranky. Mostly if she's sleep deprived, hungry, or some drama going on at home. But she can punch, don't mess with her," Sunny shivered. "Just remembering what happened when she lost that tournament match against Celery Stalk... ooh."

She turned off her phone and made her way down to the cafeteria. Once inside, she saw one of her friends wave to her, urging her to sit with them. She sat herself down, sitting in front of a girl with dark pale blue skin and snow white hair. A pair of glasses were hanging from her yellow t-shirt,

"Hey Sugarcoat," Sunny smiled.

"Hey Sunny. Were you making another video diary again?"

"Um... yeah. How do you know?"

"Because the last few times you came in last was either because teacher held you in class til everyone was gone, or you were making another video diary for yourself in the future." She said with a deadpan tone.

Sunny chuckled, "Yeah..."

"Hey girls!"

The last friend in their social circle finally came in; Lemon Zest. Lemon Zest was not like the others, more energetic and wild. The resident party girl in their group, loving rock and roll. Her hair was spiked up and all over the place, skin was pink, she wore yellow short shorts, a pink tank top with a black sleeveless hoodie and fingerless gloves.

"What's up dudes? I've got some good news!"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I just checked the big board in the main hall... we have made it onto the team for the Friendship Games!"

"Really?"

"Awesome!" Indigo cheered. "Anyone else, who else is on there?"

"Well all I know is Neon, Suri, and Jet have made it on. There's still a few more days for tryouts."

"Well, obviously, but the question is, who's going to make it on the team?" Sugarcoat pondered.

"You think Twilight will make it on there?"

Everyone at the table just stopped eating and looked at Sour awkwardly.

"What?"

"I wouldn't exactly put it past her to be a part of the games," Sugarcoat nodded, sipping her drink. "She's too quiet and jaded."

"Yeah...", everyone nodded.

Sugarcoat sneezed a brief moment before speaking. "You heard the rumor right, about Sunset Shimmer?

"What?"

"Remind me again?" Lemon asked.

Indigo's head tilted. "Who is she again?"

"The mean girl all over the news, from Canterlot High."

"What happened to her?" Sour asked.

"Jail time." Sugarcoat's face turned to gaze off at the distance with a flat looking expression. " Locked up for assault, battery, thievery, you name it."

"Ooh..."

"Oh boy."

"Tough."

"Well when you commit crimes and make everyone fear you... bad things happen," Sugarcoat shrugged.

"That's putting it mildly," Sour replied.

"Still though, if that's what's been going on at CHS, I'm almost curious as to how they've been keeping stable these past few weeks," Sunny thought.

"My question is what did they do to finally get rid of the mean girl," Indigo stated. "I mean, it's not like you can just get rid of a bully just like that," she said snapping her fingers.

"Maybe they just found enough evidence from the outside world that proved she finally did it," Sunny nodded.

"Yeah but I'm more curious about those awesome monsters seen roaming around the city! Come on, just look at them, they were so cool!"

"You sure they were real? I'm still trying to wrap my head around them," Sour rolled her eyes.

"I'm telling you, these. Were. Real. You can't just digitally make a bunch of explosions in the front of the school or take on a she-demon can you?"

Indigo blinked. "Unless you are a wizard at computer animation, I am going to say no."

An awkward fall of silence hushed over the table. Everyone was trying to think of what to say, unsure of how to even continue the conversation even further. Not really much was going on at CPA currently, and the news with the monsters was a few weeks old at this point.

"... You think those girls who were fighting that she-demon are superheroes?" Lemon pondered out loud.

Chapter 4: Yesterday Tryouts

"So, how exactly did the audition go, again?" Trixie asked with a raised brow.

Lyra and Bon Bon looked at each other with blank faces, and then back to Trixie.

"It started strong, but after a while... it got really weird." Bon Bon nodded.

"Define weird."

"Well... maybe we should start at the beginning. So yesterday, Bon Bon and I were just done with school..."

The school bell had rung, the last bell for the day. Students were walking out of the main doors of the school, about to head home or to some other local hangouts. Some of them had to pass around some of the debris or construction zones, but it didn't bother them. As long as the Rainbooms were no where in their vicinity, they were happy. And coming out those doors in an equally happy mood was Lyra and Bon Bon.

"... Okay, so she's coming down the hall," Bon Bon said, continuing her conversation.

"Right."

"She goes to her locker, and then as soon as she closes it... And the minute she heard word about Countess Coloratura possibly coming to our school... she fainted."

Lyra blinked. "On the floor?"

"Straight down, face first on the concrete."

"Ow..."

"Yeah..."

"Not the prettiest thing," Bon Bon shook her head. "Oh I remember, are you okay to study at my place tonight?"

"Yeah, I should. Trixie's probably gonna get some early time in to hang with the Dazzlings before they have to leave for Hollywood, and Amethyst is hanging out with Vinyl and Octavia."

"Fair enough. Let's go!" Bon Bon smiled.

They made it down the stairs, but then...

"Dudes! The tryouts for the Friendship Games are about to start!" Sandalwood shouted, pointing to the poster with enthusiasm.

A few students turned their heads at the announcement.

"Friendship Games?" Lyra squeaked.

"Friendship Games?" Bon Bon squeaked as well.

"There are limited spots on the CHS team, so come in and bring your A-game!" Sandalwood cheered before heading off to the tryouts.

Lyra and Bon Bon turned heads and looked at each other with smirks.

"Friendship Games?"

Bon Bon nodded.

Ten Minutes Later

The tryouts were already beginning, and it looked as if there was some competition before the games had even started. So many students turned up to show off their talent, the talent they wished to share to participate in the games. After Sandalwood finished his trick, a round of applause was given and Sandalwood went to go take his seat while Vice Principal Celestia took her notes.

"Okay, up next is Lyra Heartstrings."

A small round of greeting applause came to the field, as Lyra dashed over into the center, ready to show off her talent.

"My friends, you all know I've been bouncing everywhere like a ninja... Now I wish to show you all the powers of a true ninja warrior." Lyra said, trying to create some amazement. She drew her katana out and gripped the handle, holding it up in front of her, creating an illusion her face was split up in half.

Her foot slammed into a plank, launching several fruits up into the air. With a jump aided by a trampoline, she swung her sword at an obscene rate. She moved so fast that no one could tell how she had the stamina to do so, it was almost impossible even! When she landed back down, the fruit that had been sliced all landed into several plates, all nice and neatly.

But just then, all the crowd's attention turned to Bon Bon. Suddenly she was attracting everyone's attention with a new trick she had in mind. A fish laid about on another table, dead of course. Bon Bon raised a knife up and shanked the fish right in the middle, throwing her knife all around trying to cut up the fish as fast as she could.

"Think you can cut like a master ninja? Well so can I!"

Lyra snarled, but at the same time smirked. A challenge? Well then, she was going to meet it!

Bon Bon's knife sliced and diced the fish with equal speed, if not, faster! And when the final cut was made, the fish was reduced to nothing but sliced up sushi. The crowd oooh and awwed at the display, amazed by the performance. But the crowd went into a straight deep oooh... and Bon Bon saw why. Lyra jammed her katana straight through the plastic plate that held the cut up sushi, and she had a deep glare on her face.

Bon Bon glared back, equally smirking as her.

"And just like that, our battle begun."

Lyra held up a bow and arrow, aiming at a target. Locked on, and release! The arrow hit the target, dead center, bullseye. Bon Bon however had something different to use as a target. With the bow in her hands, she raised it up like a spear and threw as hard as she could, hard enough for it to bash right through the hay target beam, decimating it into straw.

Shurikens flew out of Lyra's hands into a board, hitting it with perfect strength and accuracy; only for Bon Bon to run up and smash the board from her own bare hands and rage. She screamed as she chopped it in half, letting the beast within wake up inside.

Lyra roundhouse kicked a football helmet off a dummy. Bon Bon broke several boards in half. Lyra lifted barbels as high as she could over her head despite how heavy they were. Bon Bon threw a caber toss. Lyra dashed across a tightrope without looking down, like the rope meant nothing! Bon Bon tossed several baked pies at a target, launching a random stranger into a dunk tank! Lyra clay around on a turntable, forming the Wondercolt statue with perfect accuracy! Bon Bon smashed a giant boulder, creating a stone face of herself making the same angry expression she was making currently.

"You two actually managed to do all of that?" Trixie asked with some disbelief.

"Yes, we did, we were killing it out there!" Bon Bon said, trying to sound as convincing as she could.

They weren't. In fact, the crowd watching her performance was mostly just disturbed, shocked, and a little confused. One of the students who auditioned, took out his phone to record the scene.

He leaned over the girl next to him, whispering. "Is it just me, or did this take a turn for Weirdsville?"

"No, this is getting really silly now," Muffins nodded.

But it only got even more ridiculous. Now Lyra was juggling, while keeping balance on a big rubber ball like at a circus act. Bon Bon performed a high dive into an inflated pool like it was nothing. Lyra engaged herself in a hot dog eating contest, scarfing down as much as she could. Bon Bon arm wrestled the gym teacher Bulk Biceps, practically beating him!

The final battle was drawing close. Lyra had rushed off during a portion of the contest and was dressed... like a peacock. But Bon Bon, oh no, she came back dressed... like an owl. And she was making hooting noises to complete the image. As she faced her opponent, she flapped her arms under the wings of the costume, continuing to hoot violently. Lyra screeched as well, behaving like a peacock.

The two birds arched up, locking onto each other. They were ready to begin the fight. Lyra started to charge, and Bon Bon charged too. Lyra screeched as loud as the call of the Amazon, Bon Bon hooting as loud as the fear of the night! They were drawing closer, and as they got ready to get into battle positions--

"Dudes! The first half of the Friendship Games roster has been posted! Hope more people will get on it!" Sandalwood called out.

Bon Bon and Lyra immediately froze, and dropped down to their feet. They turned their heads, finding that most of their crowd was now gone. Only Micro Chips and Muffins were in the bleachers and they just looked at them blankly until they waved at them with awkward expressions.

"So you two made the team, yet you two went to war with each other," Amethyst finished.

"Yeah."

"Eeyup," Bon Bon replied, imitating Applejack's brother.

The girls looked at them with so much confusion, trying to comprehend the entire story.

"... Well okay then. I'm not even sure where to go with that," Octavia said.

"Don't, it's only going to get worse," Lyra said, shaking her head.

With nothing else to say, they went back to their meals. Just then, Flash Sentry, a classmate of theirs came running into the cafeteria. His feet slid across the floor, panting all the while. He looked at the girls with a terrified expression.

"Oh you girls... now before anyone jumps to a conclusion, no it wasn't me."

"Why would we come to that conclusion?" Lyra asked.

"Well... I only heard for a second, but Sweet Leaf freaked out about a snake in the girls restroom."

"What?"

"Are you serious?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah! I mean, I think, but come on, I'm not going to go into the ladies room."

"Okay, I've got to see this," Vinyl said, getting out of her seat.

"Me too, maybe this isn't anything," Bon Bon nodded.

Curiously, the two friends got out of their seats and followed Flash out of the cafeteria. This was something they had to see. Their food was left on the table, and they walked out of the lunchroom. The entire room was still filled with the sounds of people eating, chatting, talking to one another. Nothing too out of the ordinary. The remaining girls at the table looked at each other with a little bit of confusion, unsure of what was going on.

But their lunchtime was quickly interrupted by the sound of three girls screaming in fear and running up onto one of the tables, standing in surfer poses.

And at that very moment, Principal Luna came walking into the doors of the cafeteria. And by her side was a student. The newest student in fact. Rara was her name. Sparkling skin-tight pants, bare shoulders over her tucked in sleeveless shirt, pale skin, and a mix of purple and blue hair in a curly ponytail, hanging over her shoulder. A small little choker was also seen around her neck, and a graphic of rainbow musical notes over a yellow star were placed on a side of her pants.

"... and here's the cafeteria, this is where you and a majority of our students like to eat. Of course, the option to eat off of school grounds is permitted if you..." Principal Luna continued. She stopped as soon as she turned her head to the right. Vinyl, Bon Bon, and Flash were huddled close, quaking in fear. But with the positions they were standing in, it was like they were surfing together.

Still maintaining a straight face, she kept talking.

"... Ladies and gentlemen, meet our picnic-table surfing team!" Octavia cheered like she was an announcer. Sarcasm detected, of course.

Vinyl quivered. "We happen to be up here because there's a snake!"

"A big one," Flash nodded.

"I think we might have a Black Mamba on the grounds!" Bon Bon shouted.

Rara and Principal Luna blinked.

"Technically speaking, the black mamba, called Dendroaspis polylepis in its true Latain, is native to parts of Sub-Saharan Africa," Micro Chips said as he wandered by.

The girls looked back to Bon Bon with a snort of derision.

"... IT'S STILL A BIG SNAKE!"

"Okay, calm down, I'm sure it's not venomous," Sandalwood said before walking out into the hall.

"Wait, no, Sandalwood, no, it could--"

A loud gasp was heard from Sandalwood.

"NO! SANDALWOOD!" Bon Bon panicked.

The doors opened up again, and to their surprise, Sandalwood wasn't harmed. When he stepped back out, he was holding the snake. And it wasn't deadly at all, it was just a plain ole green snake.

"It's just Reggie!"

Trixie blinked. "Reggie?"

"Yeah, he's my pet. I think Fluttershy forgot to feed him. Eh, no worries. This little guy eats a lot, he should be okay," Sandalwood chuckled, petting the snake's head.

"Sandalwood, if you could please get rid of that snake, I have nothing against them, but it's really starting to scare me," Vinyl whispered. Her body was visibly shaking.

"Please..."

"Hey don't worry dudes, I'll get him out," Sandalwood chuckled before walking out of the cafeteria. "Come on little guy, we'll play when we get home."

As soon as he was gone, the students went straight back to their food, acting as if that scene had never happened. Both Rara and Principal Luna blinked at the confusion.

"... Well alright then. Shall I show you the rest of the grounds, or would you prefer to continue after lunch?"

"I think I'll just go and have my lunch," Rara nodded.

"Very well then," Principal Luna said before allowing Rara to get her food. Everyone else got back to their own business, back to normal it was.

Except for Flash, Bon Bon, and Vinyl who were still in surfing poses on the table. They were glad the snake was gone, but they did not dare step off the table, out of fear the snake would strike.

"Sooo, um... Flash, you made it into the Friendship Games?" Bon Bon asked, not looking back.

"Yeah, I did."

"Nice job."

"Thanks! And congrats to you and Lyra for making it in as well. I have a feeling we might win this year," Flash said with some optimism.

"Yeah, maybe we will," Bon Bon nodded.

Another pause of silence fell.

"... Anyone else not want to get off this table?"

"Nope!"

"I hardly think so!"

Chapter 5: Detention

The school day is over, the majority of the student body was clearing out their stuff, getting ready to get out and go home. All except for five particular students, of course. Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie – all of them weary, tired after another long day – reluctantly reported to detention. This was something that has varied over the weeks since sentencing. For the first few weeks it had been something simple like community service – namely, assisting in the repairs to damages done at school. Other days included picking up trash by the freeway, or planting new bushes and trees at the park; all done under police supervision.

Though the police supervision stung them hard. It sent the message, as much as everything else, to the Rainbooms, that they’re being treated like criminals. Like scum. The lowest of the lows.

Pinkie Pie suddenly spoke up, with some forced cheer in her voice. “Well, look at it this way – at least we’re not doing Sunset’s dirty work anymore, right?”

Silence. Just pure, awkward, silence. Fluttershy gave her a particularly nasty look.

Pinkie Pie drooped. “Just trying to lighten the mood a bit…”

The five girls filed into the room. Principal Luna and her sister, Vice-Principal Celestia, were waiting already.

“Ah, girls. Glad to see you’re here.

“Like we had a choice," Fluttershy muttered with some angst.

Vice-Principal Celestia gave her a piercing look, one that got her to shut up. Luna did audibly hear the backtalk, but she chose not to reply to it.

“Now then. Today you’ll be sorting through old records. Although we have electronic backups, the original paper system is important, and there has been something of a lapse in organization in previous years."

Celestia arched an eyebrow slightly. For their part, the Rainbooms look – and gape in shock or horror as they see, on the tables in the room, several large filing boxes, jammed to overflowing with folders and papers. It’s a nightmare of paperwork gone amok.

“You gotta be kidding…”

“No, Miss Dash, my sister is most certainly not joking. You and your friends are to organize and sort each and every one of those boxes, for however long it may take. And don’t think about doing a rush job either. Unless you’d all like to be put to straightening out the basement instead," Celestia replied with some stern.

There’s a flurry of assurances from the Rainbooms, that they WOULD do a good job and that there would be NO need to go anywhere near the basement.

“Well then, I’m glad to hear it.” The principal looked to her sister. "Sister, I think you can take over from here?”

“Of course, Luna.”

Luna nodded to her, and then departs. The Rainbooms look in despair at the boxes of files, and then, dejectedly, go over and begin the boring and arduous process of having to remove and reorganize all that paperwork. So much paper, so much to do.

The Rainbooms initially work in silence, for several minutes. Eventually, as the tedium of the work became familiar and the sorting turned into natural habit, a conversation finally begun to struck.

“How’re you comin’ along, Dash?”

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Ugh… slow. What’d you expect?”

Pinkie nodded. “Yeah! This is so BORING…”

“Detention isn’t a party, Miss Pie.” Vice-Principal Celestia replied.

“You can say that again…” Pinkie acknowledged, failing to detect the obvious sarcasm in Celestia's voice. Fluttershy rolled her eyes with a dark sigh.

The work continued for a bit in silence. No one talked. No one said a word, not that anyone really wanted to, with them under the conditions. Or at least anything that wouldn't get Celestia to intervene. Then finally, another conversation starts up again.

“So, um, did you hear about the tryouts for the Friendship Games?" Rainbow Dash asked, trying to break the silence.

Rarity scoffed. "No offense, Rainbow Dash, but I really don't follow that sporty nonsense the way you do."

"Ooh! I heard something! Apparently Lyra and Bon-Bon went crazy at their tryouts and they were in these bird costumes and screeching at each other!"

There was a pause as everyone, even Celestia who stepped out after their tryouts kept dragging on, processed this information.

"...Well now. That's somethin' all right."

Fluttershy bitterly mumbled. "That's one way of putting it."

Silence again, as the work continues. Then Pinkie Pie speaks up again.

"Hey..."

Rarity sighed slightly. "What is it, Pinkie?"

"...Did, uh, did any of you think about trying out for the Friendship Games?"

Silence greeted this news for a moment. Then, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy suddenly started to crack up laughing.

“That’s great, Pinkie! Really great! Us, trying out for the Games!”

Pinkie Pie wilted. Applejack glared at Dash and Shy, before deciding not to get involved in what would be an inevitable argument. Rarity however, decided to take up the slack, trying to be a little bit more diplomatic.

“Pinkie Pie. I’m sorry, but that idea is just completely not feasible. Not now, not ever…”

Pinkie's hair suddenly turned from light and poofy, suddenly deflating like a balloon. Her hair now wore limp and flat. When suddenly, to their surprise, Vice-Principal Celestia suddenly spoke up.

“It might not be that ridiculous an idea, Rainbow Dash.”

Surprised, the Rainbooms look at their strict vice-principal for saying such a thing. Then Rainbow Dash cracks up again.

“Oh man, that’s a good one, Vice-Principal Celestia! I can’t believe I thought you didn’t have a sense of humor!!”

There’s a shocked silence that falls, especially when Rainbow realizes what she just said to the strictest faculty member in the school. AJ facepalmed. Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped to the floor. Fluttershy had an evil smirk, just waiting for what kind of punishment that Rainbow was about to have. And Rarity cupped her jaw, realizing what she had just done.

Celestia gave Dash the evil eye for a moment, before she composed herself.

"Pinkie Pie may have an idea. You see, I've taken a look at the roster for those trying out for the games, only seven students have made it in. The rules require twelve students for each team. And seeing as how you five aren't doing anything else with your time..."

"Aw, come on, really? If we enter the games, the crowds are going to throw arrows at us!" Rainbow complained.

"Or pies," Rarity quivered.

"Or attack us even further," Fluttershy scowled.

"Maybe so, but think about this. You five don't want to stay on Sunset Shimmer's path anymore, do you?"

All five of them shook their heads vigorously.

"Then perhaps you can approach the games with the idea that maybe you can be better people. It will take some time, but at least, maybe, just maybe, you five will finally make some real friendships here. Maybe even some new friends from Crystal Prep Academy."

Rainbow Dash was skeptical. "Uh, no offense, but are you sure this is going to make us better?"

"Maybe it will. Maybe it won't. But you should at least try. All of you. And I know you five are skilled enough for it." Celestia paused for a moment, a small devious thought entered her head. "That is... if you five think you can actually win."

Rainbow's head jolted up. "You don't think we can win, do you?"

"Oh no," Applejack shook her head.

"She's going there..."

"Well think about this, Vice-Principal Celestia! We will do good at the games, and I know we will win!"

Vice-Principal Celestia smirked. "That's what I thought, Rainbow Dash. My thoughts exactly. Now I'm going to step out for a brief moment, but you girls better not be thinking about leaving."

Soon as she stepped out, Rainbow Dash smirked. A little bit of pride beamed for once in that dark and gray skies.

"You realize what you just said, right?" Fluttershy raised a brow.

"Yeah, I know! We're going to enter the Friendship Games and be the most awesome competitors ever! ... She tricked me, didn't she?" Rainbow drooped.

"Yep."

"Hook, line, and sinker."

After another day’s detention, Pinkie Pie is at her house. Between homework and chores, it’s not until after dinner that she gets up to her room. Her pink hair, drooping, perks up as she comes inside. Very colorful and childish, albeit little schizophrenic with some of the “tough band” stuff from her Rainboom villain days. A blend of both worlds together.

"Gummyyy! I’m hooome!”

She went over to a good-sized terrarium on the desk, her prior sadness and exhaustion melting away as she looks at the contents of said tank. Inside, resting on a rock, is a small little alligator. A small baby alligator completely green, but what stood out the most was the strange purple eyes that just stared blankly out into space.

“Did you miss me?” Pinkie squeaked.

The gator’s large eyes blinked once.

"Aww! I missed you too!”

Carefully, she reached into the terrarium and scooped up the reptile, who was oddly sedate about it. Holding him on the palm of one hand, Pinkie strokes his back with the finger of her other hand.

Pinkie sighed as she stroked his back. “You know, Gummy, some days I just don’t know… I’m happy that Sunset’s in jail, and that she’s not in charge anymore. But… I don’t know… I thought that things would be better than they are now.”

The gator wiggled in her grip. Pinkie, apparently reading this gesture, gently turns him over in her grip and began to stroke his belly. The gator’s jaws open slightly and he chirps in contentment.

“I don’t know. I just thought that things might get better. That once we said sorry, and that we didn’t want to do all those awful things, that we might be able to be happy again… but that’s not what happened at all…”

Her face fells into a frown. “Everybody hates us, Gummy. Everybody. I mean, I don’t blame them for being mad at us, but – but it just hurts, seeing it. How people look at us, look at me. They think we’re as bad as Sunset was… and, and that can’t be right!”

Her belly-rubbing has stopped, and she held up the baby gator to her face, to look him in the eyes. “Am I a bad person, Gummy?”

The gator, of course, said nothing. Water dripped from his tail onto the floor, and he blinked again.

“I just don’t know… I’m just glad that I have you.”

She hugs the reptile to her, gently. Gummy doesn’t move, this is something he’s familiar with in the time of being her pet. Pinkie takes him and puts him back in his terrarium on his rock.

“Thanks, Gummy.”

The gator blinks.

“I’ll get ya some food now. Got some nice crickets from the bait shop that Fluttershy told me about…”

She bustled off to get the box of bait. All the while, Gummy the gator sat peacefully on his rock, at ease with the world.

Chapter 6: Bronze Weld And Obsessions

The school day was over, and everyone was heading home. While the Rainbooms were serving their afternoon school detention, Trixie and her friends were happy as clams to be going home to calm down, relax, and head home.

"So, girls, anyone want--"

"Can't hang, Bon Bon and I got to practice our skills for the games. Maybe tomorrow we could hang out?" Lyra interrupted.

"Oh, well, sure! Of course!" Trixie nodded. "Stay strong!"

"We will!" Bon Bon called as the two of them began to walk down the street.

"So I guess--"

"--Actually, Trixie? Octavia and I have our own music practices today, I'm afraid we won't be able to make it."

And before Trixie could even respond, Vinyl and Octavia soared off in a cloud of dust. Now it was just Trixie and Amethyst left alone. The bespectacled geek turned around and chuckled a bit, rubbing the back of her head with a bit of embarrassment. "So I guess it's just you and me then?"

Amethyst smiled. "Yep! And actually, if you want, we could study at my place? I know we've still got that science assignment to work on."

"Sure! I love to!"

Amethyst grinned, happily. "Come on!"

She led Trixie over to her car and opened up the passenger door for her before getting in on her own side. As soon as the car was started, Amethyst pulled the car out of the student parking lot, and out into the streets, turning it around so she could head home.

The two of them were making very good time, thankfully no traffic or accidents on the road that delayed them. But the silence was a little awkward. Trixie wasn't the best when it came to social situations and trying to figure out what to talk about with her wasn't always found instantly.

"Soooo... I know I keep meaning to ask, but um, how is life with you, now that you're back to school?" Trixie asked, out of pure curiosity.

"Oh! Um, well... it's... actually pretty good," Amethyst caught herself, keeping her eye on the road.

"Is it?"

Amethyst gave a brief look back to Trixie and gave a nod and smile. "It is, I promise."

"Oh, that's a relief," Trixie sighed. "I wasn't sure, it's just... I don't know, I would have thought it would have been stressful with you trying to adjust to everything."

"Well, truthfully, it was a bit stressful when I started, but after awhile, everything started to become familiar to me, and well, I think I'm back into it again," Amethyst nodded.

"Ah, okay, okay. How come you never signed up for the Friendship Games?"

"Well, to be honest Trixie, I just got back to this school, and I'm not sure how much I wanna participate in the games. Also and I can't stress this enough, it's because I don't want to," Amethyst replied with a hint of deadpan.

Trixie blinked. "Oh. Well, alright then."

"Don't get me wrong, I am happy that Lyra and Bon Bon are participating, it's just I'm not really looking forward to competing in a competition that will only rile everyone up."

"... I think you and I have different interpretations of what the Friendship Games are supposed to be," Trixie said, not even sure how to respond.

Amethyst pulled the car up in the driveway, and turned off the engine. Both Trixie and Amethyst grabbed their things and exited the vehicle, finally arriving. She turned her key in the door, unlocking it, allowing them both to walk inside the main foyer. When they walked in, Trixie felt like she was entering a new world. The floors were stainless concrete, a wall of glass block was on the side which was hard to see into the other room, and a spiral staircase leading upstairs.

"Um..."

"This is just the foyer, the rest of this house doesn't look like royalty. And that's perfectly fine with me," Amethyst hummed."Hey Dad! I'm home!"

"Hey sweetheart, be there in a second!" Her father shouted from the other room.

A clattering thud echoed from the other room, accompanied by a grunt. Amethyst cringed at the sound.

"Dad? You okay?"

"Sorry, I'm making a mess in the kitchen," he shouted. When he stepped out of the room, entering the main foyer, Amethyst hissed at what she saw. Her father was blazed in some black dust, like something had exploded in his face.

"Are you okay?"

Her father, Bronze Weld, chuckled. "Sorry, I blowing up a late lunch. How was school?" He gave her daughter a brief hug, welcoming her home.

"Pretty alright. Lyra and Bon Bon made it into the Friendship Games!"

"Nice job. Tell them I said congrats." He then turned his attention to Trixie. "Oh, Trixie, nice to see you again."

"Hello sir," Trixie smiled.

"Good to see you again Trixie," Bronze smiled back, shaking her hand. "What brings you here?"

"Oh, we need to finish an assignment for science class."

"I see. Well if you need to use the dining room table, go right ahead," Bronze said, gesturing to the dining room.

"Perfect! Thanks!"

The two girls set their bookbags down on the ground against a wall, just behind their chairs. And while Trixie was settling down, Amethyst rushed up stairs to wash up.

"Sooo... I guess you might have heard about Sunset Shimmer?"

Bronze nodded. "I have, and frankly, I'm glad that she's locked up. Such an awful person... the things she and her friends did to my little girl..." Anger creeped from his tone. "If I'd known, believe me, I would have thrown them in a cell myself."

Trixie gulped, admittedly a little unnerved. "I see."

Bronze quickly caught himself, embarrassed that he scared her. "Oh! Sorry... I just - that doesn't mean that I would do that now, you know? Amy told me about those girls, how much trouble they're in."

Trixie nodded. "Yeah, I know. Detention, community service... they're even assisting with repairs to the school too."

"Good," he bluntly said.

Just then, Amethyst came back downstairs.

"Hey guys! Whatcha talking about?"

"Nothing!" The two simultaneously said.

"So, what did you run up for?" Trixie asked.

"I needed to wash up. Also I'm not sure, buuut..." She put a stack of records on the table. "While I may not be competeing in the games, I thought maybe I could provide some motivational entertainment. And also something for the party next week. I think we have more in the garage, I'mma go check."

She walked out of the dining room and through the kitchen, on her way to the garage.

"Try not to get distracted by your AMPs, will you?"

"I won't!" Amethyst shouted, getting a rolling eye out of her father.

Trixie, looking over some of Amethyst's prized records, glanced over to Bronze Weld. "Sooo… anyway, um... if you don't mind me asking, where exactly, does Amethyst's retro love come from?"

Bronze blinked. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just curious." The geek looked down at one of the record covers. "I've just never known anyone who likes the 1980's that much..." She blushed slightly, a little embarrassed by saying that about one of her friends.

Bronze chuckled. "I see. Well, I think that one's probably on me."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Since she was a kid, I kind of showed her some of the things that I liked from when I was a kid. Y'know, stuff like cassette tapes, dance videos, cartoons. Amy really liked it, and wanted to know more, so as she got older I showed her some other movies too. And of course, the music..." He shook his head slightly, bemused. "Some of the fashion, though... I still can't get over the parachute pants and shoulder pads."

"I think they're cool, Dad!"

"Sure, sure..." he rolled his eyes, chuckling. This was a familiar exchange between the two of them, something that never ended. As happy as he was with her daughter having fun, the shoulder pads and parachute pants was the one thing he wished didn't get brought back.

"She doesn't really wear those as much these days, actually. Most of the time, she's just denim vests and track pants."

"Oh, well that's good," Bronze nodded before going up to get some drinks for her and her daughter.

"... you know she made smoke bombs out of her Rubiks cubes?"

"Huh?"

"Nothing!" Trixie immediately said, realizing what she just said to her friend's father.

Bronze immediately shrugged it off. But he was in thought as he went to the fridge. So THAT'S why she's getting all the Rubik's cubes. Heh, so my little girl is turning them into smoke bombs? First synthesizer music, then computers, and now smoke bombs. Either she's going to be a technician, or really good taking things apart.

Amethyst grabbed the things she needed, but before she went back out, she stopped for a second. She caught glimpse of the set of speakers in the garage. She remembered having that display out whenever she and her friends practiced music. If there was anything she loved more than music, it was playing it really loud for all to hear. Of course, neighbor complaints didn't help, but she didn't care.

Maybe just one little play wouldn't hurt. She adjusted the knobs on the stereos, turning the knobs to go all the way up to the maximum level. No holding back, she was hitting it hard. The first stereo was raised to the max, and then so was the second one. And with her keytar plugged in, she was ready to try it out.

"Alright boys and girls... time to crank it up," Amethyst clicked. She flipped on a pair of black sunglasses stood in front of the speakers. With a single hand ready, she slammed her fingers onto the keys. The resulting sound threw her from her stance, sending her flying across the garage.

She crashed right into a shelf, smashing it to bits, and sending everything on it off and falling down. The floor was now covered in junk and dust, creating a soft cloud. And the cloud slowly evaporated as soon as the door to the kitchen opened up.

"Oh my gosh, Amethyst, are you okay?" Trixie cried.

Amethyst rolled herself around and raised her head up, looking back at Trixie and her father. A small cardboard box bounced off her head before she spoke. But all she did after was give them most stupid grin she ever had on her face.

"That... was... AWESOME!!!"

Chapter 7: The Tryouts

The next day came. The time was now 12:00 PM, the time for students to go get food or take a break from classes. Most of them would spend break time either hanging out on the school grounds, either in the grass or in the halls, maybe even off school grounds if it was permitted. Indigo Zap and her Shadowbolt friends were taking their food out into one of the halls, taking a break from the cafeteria so they could have a little bit of some quiet time.

But for Twilight Sparkle; this time meant perfect peace and quiet to continue her research. Private research. Research that she wanted to do alone and with no one over her shoulder. Her cramped tight room housing only herself, with nothing more than graphs, charts,

She used a small soldering gun on a circuit board, connecting some wires together to their proper places. A few screws in place, and one side of a piece of tech was done. She had been working on it almost all morning until it was time to go to school. But now with her break, she was able to get it finished. Until--

"Twilight Sparkle, please come to the principal's office, Twilight Sparkle, please come to the principal's office, thank you," was said over the PA system.

Twilight rolled her eyes. Not now of all times!

But she knew she couldn't stay holed up in there and ignore it. Hesitantly, she closed her laptop and concealed it away, hiding it from anyone who might go into the room or come in to try and steal it. She trusted no one with her possessions, and it wasn't a risk she was willing to take. With everything put away, she stepped outside of the cramped basement, walking up the stairs and into the hallways of the prestigious Crystal Prep.

Twilight walked through the halls, passing by other students who were busy giggling, talking, happy with one another that they've got each other's company. She just rolled her eyes, focusing on continuously walking. All of these people were happy to have one another for sure, but company just wasn't something Twilight could find the joy in. But Twilight stops for a brief moment, hearing her name in the wind. Her head turns, noticing Indigo and her friends who all stood and froze, like a policeman about to strike. Nothing. Twilight then turned her head and keeps walking.

Sugarcoat watched her leave and looked at her friends.

"Y-You heard the rumor, right, about Twilight?"

"No." Sunny shook her head.

"About Twilight? No."

"What happened to her?" Indigo asked.

"Apparently something bad happened between her and Cadence."

The girls hissed sharply. A few 'oohs' were uttered in there.

"Who's Cadence again?" Lemon asked.

After she walked up to the front stairs, she turned down a wing and approached a single door. The Principal's office. Opening it up, she saw nothing but a poorly lit room that was mostly dark, like Dracula's castle. A single light was lit in the room, only over the desk and chair who's back was turned. She sat down in the one chair in front of the desk, waiting for someone to talk. She turned her back and her eyes bulged out of her head. Shining Armor was here?

“Principal Cinch. You told me to come here?” Twilight asked. “And why is my brother here?”

“Well, Twily, as an alumni, I thought it would be best to offer a unique perspective.”

Twilight blinked. “Perspective on what?”

“Why the Friendship Games, of course.”

The chair that was turned back against Twilight spun around, revealing a slightly older woman who looked like she was in her late 50s or early 60s. Her skin was blue as ice, her hair neatly curled with a dark shade of purple and indigo, and dressed in a buttoned up and sleeveless vest.

“You competed in the games did you—“ The woman stopped. She looked up, seeing the only source of light shine down on her. “Oh good heavens, I’m sorry, Shining could you please turn on the light switch, I keep forgetting to turn them all on.”

All of the lights flipped on, providing enough light for the wincing eyes.

“Thank you. Anyways, you competed in the games, did you not, Shining Armor?”

“I did.”

“And do you happen to recall who won?”

Shining Armor chuckled a bit. "Crystal Prep did, just like always."

Principal Cinch nodded. "Exactly, just like always... though it's starting to get old after awhile..."

Twilight cleared her throat. "Why am I here, exactly?"

Principal Cinch got up out of her seat, walking past the student. “Twilight, I’ll be honest,” The principal said, looking at old pictures on a shelf, mostly containing memories of previous victories at the Friendship Games and old memories. “It doesn’t matter or not whether Crystal Prep wins or loses.” She wiped off a smudge on one of the photos. “The important thing is that everyone at Crystal Prep enjoys the games for the sake of having fun and creating new friendships among Canterlot High.”

She then set the picture down as she started to circle around Twilight until she went back to her seat. “And it is that constant variable, the one variable that doesn’t change, that the games' full intents and purposes are to have fun, even at my most competitive I never stooped to petty rivalry. And it is that image in mind, my job mind you, that is responsible for everything we have here and everything you’ve done. And you’ve done quite a lot, haven’t you?”

Twilight rolled her eyes, trying not to snort. “I suppose so.”

“Don’t be so modest,” Principal Cinch said, sitting back down in her chair. “You’re one of the best students I’ve seen here, arguably the best. But what I don’t understand is why my best student doesn’t want to talk or socialize with anyone.”

The bespectacled girl’s eyes glared. “Because I have more important things to do and I’m not going to waste my time?”

“Twily, Principal Cinch has a point. A little social interaction isn’t a bad thing. And representing the school is kind of a big deal, they could really use your help."

"Yes. And it seems Canterlot High is having some very interesting news on their end. With all of the reports about giant monsters and demons about, they've been getting quite a lot of attention."

"Principal Cinch, with all due respect, I cannot participate in the games," Twilight said, looking her in the eye. "Besides, I've got too much research to do--"

"--Ah, yes, your research," Principal Cinch said, leaning back in her chair. "Shining Armor, may I please have a moment with Twilight?"

Shining nodded and he stepped out of the room to give them a moment of privacy.

"I understand you're doing research, but I hardly see you around in the school. Spending your time alone, focusing on your research, lackluster performances in group projects..."

Twilight scoffed.

"Twilight." Principal Cinch said, sternly a bit. Twilight eventually looked Principal Cinch in the eye again, seeing a worried expression across the head principal's face. "I know what it's like to be in your place. I do. But quite frankly, this is concerning me more than ever. I want you to do well in this school, and you are. But you need friends, you need people outside of your family that you can talk to. You need to have a social life, just every other student here. That is why I am making this suggestion; contributing in the Friendship Games will not only show your wits and intelligence... but I believe there may be some students at that very school you might be able to make friends with."

"No offense, but how can I do that?" Twilight rolled her eyes.

Principal Cinch smiled. "The best way to start any friendship, is always finding common ground."

Canterlot High

Some time after school, at the school's soccer pitch/sports track, the two Principals and the Rainbooms had gathered. There were a mixed bunch of moods among the five students: Rainbow Dash is cautiously interested, Applejack was kind of the fence, Pinkie Pie was jittery and nearly bouncing in place, Fluttershy looked sour and like she'd rather be doing anything else, and Rarity is standing with her arms folded and her nose upturned a bit - her type of defense mechanism, trying to look disaffected.

"All right girls, just show us what you can do. Give it your best shot," Principal Luna announced.

Rainbow Dash puffed up at the words. Her old ego flared at the idea of showing off. This was her chance. "Best shot? I can do that! I can do a dozen of 'em!"

And just like that, Rainbow Dash was the first one to begin her tryout. First of all, she began into a soccer routine, kicking several goals from a set of lined up soccer balls. From there, she performed a few other tricks with one soccer ball, bouncing it from knee to knee and off of her head at one point. Quite rapidly, she perked up from the challenge - and just the fun - of doing something she likes, just because she liked it.

Her last performance ended with a track sprint. Running around the distance of the pitch, timed by Luna. Soon as she was done, the principal checked her time score, and smiled in pride.

"Excellent work, Miss Dash!"

Rainbow nearly tripped in surprise at that. But, after a moment's consideration, she couldn't help but smile at the compliment. It was a nice feeling! First nice feeling she felt in a long time. "Hehe. Uh, thanks!"

Vice-Principal Celestia turned her gaze to Applejack. "Applejack? Would you like to go next?"

Applejack, who had been watching Dash's tryout with growing interest, shrugged and stepped forward.

"Ah, heck, why not?"

And so Applejack's tryout begun. She did a bit more physical kind of stuff - lifting various sets of weights, rather impressive ones, thanks to her growing up on a farm. And just to show off even more, she lifted a barbell while juggling a few apples up into the air that would make clowns jealous.

To finish it all off, Applejack performed a track run of her own, quite comparable to Rainbow Dash's own. Though Rainbow Dash couldn't see it. In strength, yes, but in speed? Never.

Principal Luna was very surprised. "Oh my. Quite impressive, Miss Applejack!"

Applejack couldn't help but smirk. "What's mah score? Did I beat Dash?"

Vice-Principal Celestia examined the results "It's an exact tie."

"WHAT?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash yelped in unison.

"I didn't beat her?"

"She tied with me?!"

"Are you kidding me! Come on, let's get a do-over!"

Celestia gave a warning glare at the two. "Girls."

Knowing now was not the time to start something now, Dash and AJ subsided.

Principal Luna cleared her throat. "All right... who would like to go next?"

Pinkie Pie zipped up out of nowhere, waving her hand up in the air and acting like a little kid. "Ooh! Me, pick me, pick me!!"

Fluttershy scoffed. Luna was just trying her hardest not to smile at how child-like Pinkie Pie was acting, but she was failing badly. "Miss Pie? If you would then?"

Pinkie, with astonishing speed, rapidly spun around until she stopped, revealing that she had put on a set of roller-skating gear. Helmet, knee-pads and elbow-pads and of course the skates. She spun so fast that it even caused Fluttershy to stumble only to be caught by Rarity.

"Whoo! Watch me, girls!"

Like a shot, she went off, skating around the jogging track like a pro. She moved with impressive speed, even Dash found herself approving of the pink girl's movement. After one circuit of the track, she skated another, throwing some tricks into her routine: going on just one foot, then the other. She jumped up with her legs spread like she was jumping over a beam. She performed a leap and twirl, like an ice-skater!

The other Rainbooms, and the Principals too, watched in amazement.

"Whoo! Go, Pinkie Pie!!" Rainbow genuinely cheered.

"Yeah!" Applejack applauded.

Finally, Pinkie concluded her routine, skidding to a halt back at the starting line. Huffing slightly for breath, she did a little bow at the end.

Fluttershy scoffed again. "Showoff."

Rainbow Dash elbowed her to shut up.

After Pinkie's trial was over, that left Rarity and Fluttershy.

Principal Luna wrote down her results on the clipboard. "All right. Now which one of you would like to go next?"

Rarity hemmed and hawed. "Oh, Principal Luna, I'm flattered, but really, I don't think that I'd be of much usefulness to the Friendship Games. I'm not one for sports, not anything like what Pinkie or Rainbow are capable of--"

Fluttershy shoved her aside, cutting off her explanation. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

A few minutes passed and Fluttershy was ready to show off her skills. With archery. Just up ahead she was facing a target. A bow in hand, she took an arrow, locked it, and took aim...

The arrow went Whoosh and then Thunk!

The first shot hit the target, but it wasn't really impressive. Not close to the bullseye. Fluttershy grit her teeth. She may not have wanted to do this, but she hated that she's not doing this well either. Humiliation burned, red hot in her face as she glared at the target, hating it...

Then, drawing another arrow, she narrowed her eyes, and focused on that target, with every bit of anger she had. Anger at Sunset, anger at the other Rainbooms, the other students, the therapist she's had to see since her ordeal with a psychopath who threatened her life weeks ago, the list of people she was angry at was continuing on!

Another Whoosh and THUNK.

This time, she hit much closer to the bullseye, right on the edge of it.

THUNK. THUNK.

Two more shots, both hitting inside the bullseye. Then--

THUNK!

Bullseye. Dead center.

Fluttershy let out a breath, lowering the bow for a moment. Then, suddenly, she lifts it up again--

Thunk-crack!!

She fired another shot, one that split the previous bullseye, right down the middle. Then, without another glance back, Fluttershy turned and stalked away from the target, back to the rest of the Rainbooms. An amazed silence hung over the scene.

Then finally, there was applause, from the principals and from the other Rainbooms - Dash in particular.

"That! Was! AWESOME!!"

Fluttershy's deadpan expression didn't change. "Meh." But when she sat back down on the bleachers with the other Rainbooms, she couldn't help but smirk a bit.

When the applause dies down finally, Vice-Principal Celestia spoke.

"Miss Rarity, it's your turn."

The other four Rainbooms look expectantly at the fashionista, who balked at the words.

"Me? Oh, no, no no no, thank you, but I really couldn't..."

Pinkie piped up. "Come on, Rarity! You can do it!"

"Come on! We all did something, you can too!" Rainbow Dash quipped.

Rarity hawed. "I am NOT suited to sports, all right? I never bothered to play any of those games growing up - fashion and beauty was much more to thing - especially after the time Father tried to teach me baseball..." Suddenly, she looked away with a thousand-yard stare and a haunted tone in her voice. "I really don't want to talk about it..."

There was a brief pause. Until Applejack interrupted the scene.

"Look here, Rarity. All's ya gotta do is just score a goal at soccer. How about that? Just kick that ball right there, and get it into the net. You can do that!"

"Yeah! It's not that hard!" Pinkie Pie nodded.

"Give it a shot!"

Rarity, reluctant, stepped over to the soccer balls from before, lined up again facing the goal. Tentatively, she gave a kick to the first one... way too softly, rolling it only a few feet down the pitch.

Awkward silence blanked on the field.

"You gotta be kidding me." Fluttershy said, unamused.

Rarity, embarrassed, kicked the next one. She did deliver more force, kicking it much farther, but was too far off the goalpost.

"Keep trying, Rarity!"

Now scowling, Rarity kicked the next one - hard. It flew through the air... and bounced off the side of the goal, spinning away.

"Ooh! So close!"

Rarity, by now puffing and fuming with barely-suppressed rage, rounded on the very last ball in the lineup.
She snarled, before shouting in full rage mode"WRETCHED INFERNAL BALL!! TAKE THIS!!"

WHAM!

She kicked it, so hard and with such force that it punched right through the netting of the soccer goal and soaring further away. A distant shattering of glass followed by a car alarm could be heard. The two sisters exchange a look. Then they gazed back at where the soccer ball had crashed. Vice-Principal Celestia gave a deadpan look. "Well at least my car alarm works."

The other Rainbooms just kinda stared at Rarity. Even Fluttershy was at a bit of loss. Finally, Luna stood up.

"...Okay then. I'd call that impressive. Just... try to control that anger when the Games come around, all right?"

Rarity blushed a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "Right... sorry..."

What none of them knew was that someone was outside the front entrance of the school. Dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, she wanted to make sure no one could recognize her. The only thing brought with her was a small device in her hand, a tracker which was beeping.

Her hand swayed the tracker around, trying to find the source she was searching for. Something here had to have been the beacon for the magic, something must have caused it! But wait!

As she swung it passed the Wondercolt statue it started to beep a bit more rapidly. She turned it back around and it only increased in noises. She walked towards the statue, placing her hand on it's side. She gasped, seeing some soft waves flash before her eyes as she touched it, like her hand touching the water and creating a soft splash. She glanced down at the tracker, watching it continue to beep, creating more noise than ever.

"Hey!"

She hunched up and quickly looked back. The Rainbooms had spotted her.

"What are you doing?"

Without any other plan, she instantly started to run for it.

"Hey, stop!"

Rainbow Dash charged after, trying to chase her. The hooded girl ran across the street, just before a car raced behind her. Rainbow tried to cross but the car speeding by caused her to slow down. The last sight she saw was her racing onto the bus across the street. She was about to run, but it was too late. The bus took off before they could even stop her. And the bus just vanished.

"Rainbow Dash, who on Earth was that?" Rarity asked.

"Why are you asking me, I don't know who she was!" She looked back to the empty spot where she had run off to. "What I want to know is, what was she doing near the Wondercolt statue?"

No one knew. No one even knew what she was doing here. There was only one question remained on their minds.

Who was she...?

Chapter 8: Metal And Meetings

Friday came. And close to the end of the day. The entire student faculty as well as the students of the school gathered in the gymnasium for a special announcement. Some of them sat in chairs that displayed in the middle of the gym, while others would sit up high in the bleachers. Regardless of where they stood, Principal Luna's voice echoed throughout thanks to the microphone mounted on the stage.

"Good afternoon students. As I'm sure you're all aware, the final results for the CHS team to compete in the Friendship Games has been completed!"

Everyone let out a cheer at that announcement, and then stopped so she could speak.

"And now, here is the official competitors who have made it for the CHS roster," Principal Luna said, holding the clipboard. She cleared her throat and spoke. "In the first half, we have Flash Sentry. Micro Chips. Sandalwood. Muffins. Lyra Heartstrings, and Bon Bon Drops."

A massive outbreak of applause echoed through the auditorium, with smiles all around. Lyra and Bon Bon blushed a bit, feeling like all the attention was suddenly on them, a bit of embarrassment included.

"Great job girls!" Curly Winds shouted from down below. "And rock on guys!"

"And in our second half, we have Normal Norman, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie."

An awkward silence hushed over the crowd. If a record could scratch, it'd be the moment that announcement was made. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. And all glaring eyes turned around to the Rainbooms who sunk in their spots on the bleachers.

"Why are they here again?" Cherry Crash asked, rolling her eyes.

"I thought they weren't participating in the Friendship Games," Curly Winds huffed.

"Someday I swear, someone's gotta put em in their places," Cherry muttered, looking back to the principals on the stage.

"Anyways," Principal Luna said, interrupting the awkward silence. "As I'm sure you all know, the Friendship Games are starting next week. Which is why I called you all here. With it being Friday, I thought maybe we could spend the last hours of the school day preparing for the games by setting up a party for the arriving Crystal Prep students. Some of you may not be able to stay after school and that's fine. But I believe if we begin now we can get as much done as possible! So with that said, lets get to work!"

Right away, students started to prepare. Packages of streamers and balloons were deployed and opened up. Students began working on some banner, combining their creative ideas and techniques together. Some stood up to go get some food while others just kept working. The Rainbooms went to work as well, but immediately felt dread. Every time one of them stood up, left the room, got food, grabbed different supplies, they were constantly glared at. They didn't need help reading the room.

"You ever feel like they're a bunch of tigers waitin' to pounce ya?" Applejack whispered.

"Exactly how I'm feeling right now," Rarity shivered.

"It's not that bad," Pinkie Pie said with some optimism. That is until the Rainbooms eyes glared at her. "Okay, never mind, it's worse!"

"Wait, what about Fluttershy?" Rainbow nudged, looking to the punk girl who was wandering to another group.

One of the students was busy painting over a letter until a shadow covered their work. Looking up, they saw ole Fluttershy, hovering over them like a vampire.

With as much effort as she could, she cleared her throat and forced herself to put up a friendly smile. "You... want... some... help?" She asked, trying not to sound mean.

The girl blanked. "Yeah, no thanks, I think we're good."

"Oh. ... okay."

Shrugging, she just turned away walking back to her own group. She sat back down with the others, her face still sullen in her permanent deadpan expression.

"What?"

Back with Trixie and friends, they were busy working on a banner. All the while, Octavia and some others were setting up some band equipment on the stage for the next week.

"Oh, Trixie, have you heard back from Adagio or her sisters yet?"

"Mmm? Oh yes, I did. Though it was a little odd," Trixie said with some worry.

"Why's that?" Amethyst asked. "... her job doesn't require doing something illegal, does it?"

Trixie's face expressed massive disturbance. "Nooo... what do you think she's doing?"

"Um... what was so odd?" Amethyst asked trying to get back to the subject at hand, clearly embarrassed.

"Well apparently the studio she and her sisters are interning for, apparently there have been a lot of weird things going on set. Mostly seems like accidents," Trixie nodded.

"Accidents?"

"I'm just repeating what she told me. Stuff like scaffoldings' collapsing, prop malfunctions, stuff like that. I'm hoping it's just minor accidents, that's all," Trixie smiled.

"Oooh, did she ever meet Chestnut Magnifico?" Vinyl asked with some excitement, hands up like a little girl.

"She did, said she was kind of... huh. I don't know, she described her as nice but also a bit nuts. And apparently some girl who's the niece of the film's director apparently has keys to every door in the studios."

Bon Bon's head slowly raised up and looked at her friends with a deadpan expression. "I see nothing bad or horrible giving someone that much power whatsoever."

"Someone's in a bad mood, aren't they?" Octavia asked.

"... No. I was being sarcastic," Bon Bon rubbed her head.

Octavia giggled. "Eh, nothin' to worry, luv. Though I wish I was with them, I've always wanted to see what it's like to work in the Hollywood studio set."

The girls were so focused on their chat, no one noticed the guitar sitting on the stand on the stage was shaking and clattering. It started to shake even more, rattling against it's place, all on it's own.

"Oh, Octavia, can you get my paint bucket, it's just sitting right there, I meant to carry it over for the project," Lyra asked.

"Of course," Octavia smiled, walking over to get it. As she walked over, the guitar rattled and shook some more, sending the entire stage in a rattling state. Octavia ducked down to pick up the bucket, not even hearing the whoosh above her head and the loud slam against the ground. Confused, she looked to what was thrown; a guitar was laying on the ground, broken.

"What the heck?"

And before she could even act, it was too late. A pan that was resting on the catering table flew off from it's stand and started flying right towards Octavia. The moment she spun around, she was met with hard metal slamming against her face.

"OW!"

And down she went like a sack of potatoes. She grabbed her face, feeling the hard pain she felt from the out of nowhere assault.

"Oh my gosh, Octavia are you okay?" Trixie asked.

"No, someone threw kitchenware at my face! I swear, if one of those Rainbooms threw it at me, I'll--" She glanced over and to her surprise, the Rainbooms were found still in their own cluster. All of them were standing in shock, but there wasn't any clue as to why that was. Even everyone around them was standing with some confusion.

"What are you lot staring at?" Octavia barked.

"Octavia? They didn't throw anything at you," Flash said.

Octavia blinked. The rocker turned to the guitarist with a confused look.

"What?"

"I'm serious. None of them threw that pot at you."

"Pan."

"Look, I saw what happened, they didn't throw it at you. And I'm not sure if I'm going crazy, but I think that just moved on it's own," Flash said.

Octavia wanted to say he was crazy. But his face, his serious tone, his borderline straight demeanor did not give her any indication that he was joking.

Her eyes narrowed on the fallen pan, focusing. With 100%, she kept her gaze at the kitchen instrument, trying to see if she could get it rising just like before. Everyone gathered around, and waited. Now their curiosity had been piqued. They watched carefully, and sure enough, something was happening. The pan started to rattle and shake again, but this time, it started to slowly rise up into the air as if it was levitating.

Octavia's jaw dropped at the sight, eyes widened. And without even expecting it, the metal necklace around one the students necks floated up, removing itself from the students neck and stuck to Octavia's jacket like a magnet. And then a loose screw came up and attached itself too! Soon metal forks and knifes flew up and stuck to her body, a phone, a set of keys, paperclips, scissors, and last of them all... the dreaded hard pan.

The pan came flying up again and smacked Octavia in the face again, jabbing her back to the ground. Everyone hissed at the sudden attack from the inanimate object, surrounding the girl. Trixie and her friends looked with a complete amount of shock, but also some excitement.

"Octavia, I don't know how to say this but... I think... I think you have superpowers!"

"I need a doctor!" Octavia cried.

After a day at work, Shining Armor had returned home. He had plenty of time to himself, mostly to get some mundane tasks done like sorting out the laundry or starting up the dishwasher. But as he was about to check the news on the couch, he could hear his cellphone buzzing. He picked it up, looking at caller ID. A familiar-looking number, even if he hadn't called it, or been called by it - in a while.

"Hello?"

A feminine voice came on the other line. "Hello? Shining Armor?"

Shining stopped. "Cadence?"

"Yes! Yes, it's me..."

Shining Armor could sense something in her voice. He frowned, feeling a bit concerned.

"Uh, hi, Cadence. How's it going?"

"I'm all right... thanks for asking. I wanted to ask -- I know this is sudden, but..."

"What is it?"

Cadence paused for a moment. "I want to talk to you. A-about Twilight."

Shining frowned again, only this time more in thought. "...Oh." He glanced over to an old picture of Twilight and him, memories resurfacing again.

"Please?"

Shining sighed. "All right. Sure. Uh... how about we meet at the diner in town? That work?"

Cadence's voice was filled with relief. "That's great. Thanks."

"Okay, I'll see you then." He was about to swipe his finger to hit 'end call'--

"Wait! Shining?"

"Yeah?"

Cadence hesitated. "...It's nice to talk to you again."

Shining smiled wistfully. "Yeah. You too."

Shining arrived at the diner he and Cadence intended to meet at. The place was at a comfortable level of business - not too crowded, not too empty, and it felt just right. Cadence was already present when Shining Armor arrived, with drinks on the table. Dressed in casual business clothing, and Shining can't help but briefly stare, before composing himself.

"Hi."

Cadence smiled faintly. "Hello, Shiny."

Shining blanked. "You haven't called me that in a while."

Cadence's smile faded. "Well, we haven't talked in a while." Shaking the thought off, she then said, "How are you?"

Shining sat down across from her, taking a quick sip of the drink in front of him. "I'm all right, thanks. But you also wanted to know about Twilight."

Cadence's face fell at the mention of her name. But gently speaking, she asked, "How is she, Shining Armor?"

Shining went silent for a minute, before shaking his head and sighing. "She's not okay. Not at all."

Cadence looked at him, sadly, as he continued to talk.

"She's just... distant. All the time. And she doesn't do anything outside of her research. And even that doesn't seem to make her happy. It's just... work to her. All she does is work. She doesn't talk to anyone at school, she barely talks to me... and I'm really afraid. Twily's my little sister, I'd do anything for her... and I feel like she doesn't even trust me."

Cadence, sorrowful, put a hand to her mouth. "Oh, Shiny... I'm so sorry. This is all my fault..."

To her surprise, Shining Armor reached over and gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.

"Don't say that. I don't blame you for what happened."

Cadence looked up at him, trying to smile but failing. "But Twilight does. And after what happened..."

Cadence's mind slowly started to wander. The memories of so long ago flashed in her head, remembering the times that Twilight was bullied. Sounds of yelling, anger, sadness, frustration, pain, all echoed, leaving her in a blank state. She remembered trying to step in, trying to help in some way, wanting desperately to help her but with no success. The anger from the little girl hit her right in her heart.

"Cadence?"

Cadence blinked rapidly, waking up from her blank-out. "Oh, sorry."

"Well, there is some form of good news I can honestly say. I talked with Principal Cinch, and she said Twilight's going to help the Crystal Prep team in the Friendship Games."

"What's the good news?"

"Well, Cinch talked to me about it, she thinks maybe Twilight might actually make a friend by being part of the games. Maybe it won't be from Crystal Prep, but maybe someone from CHS might be her friend. Or friends."

Cadence wasn't so sure. "You think it will work?"

"Well... I don't know. But we can only hope for the best. Maybe this will get Twilight to open up. And maybe she'll have a real friend. She needs one."

Chapter 9: Arrival of the Weekend

Nighttime came quickly in Canterlot City. Friday was coming to a close, and the weekend was well on it's way. Rainbow Dash was already asleep in bed. Much to the relief of her mother, Windy Whistles.

She peered cautiously into her daughter’s bedroom, Windy looked at the sleeping Dash, and smiled sadly, but with relief.

“Sleep well, Dashie," Windy whispered.

She quietly walked back to her own room. Her husband Bow was still up too, sitting on the side of the bed. He glanced over at Windy as she stepped into their bedroom.

“How is she?”

"She’s asleep. Thank goodness," Windy said.

"Yeah… I was starting to get worried.” Windy looked at him with a mild reproach. “Well, you know… more than before.”

Windy couldn't help but smile briefly at her husband as she climbed onto the bed, settling beneath the covers. Though the moment passes, and she turned sad again.

“Honey?”

Bow turned around to face her, speaking softly. “Yeah?”

“Do you think… that we could have done something different?”

Bow was confused. “Huh?”

“Y-you know… with Rainbow Dash?”

Bow didn't have a ready answer. He could only frown, listening to his wife as she went on.

“I mean, we’re her parents – why didn’t she tell us about any of what was happening? W-with that Sunset girl, with what she was being forced to do… w-what she did…”

Bow got up and set himself down by his wife, putting an arm around her comfortingly.

Windy was practically miserable. “Shouldn’t we have noticed something?” She sniffed, and Bow pulled her into a gentle hug, rubbing her back in reassurance.

Bow sighed. "I know. We should’ve – but we didn’t.” He patted her on the back. “I, I just thought she was going through a phase. A, a bad phase, b-but a phase…” he sighed. Both he and Windy hugged for the longest time.

“We need to talk to Rainbow. Really, really talk to her…”

Bow sighed again, but nodding, steeling himself. “Right. We’ll do it tomorrow.”

The two of them exchanged a quick kiss goodnight, and then tried to settle in for the night, and the morning ahead of them…

Morning came. The weekend had finally arrived, and Rainbow Dash slowly, reluctantly, managed to drag herself out of bed to face the day. She got up and faced herself in the mirror. Her hair was messy and sticking out on all ends.

She sighed, with a grudging relief. “Well, ‘least it’s Saturday…”

After changing out of her PJs and into regular clothes, she headed downstairs. Right now, the only thing on her mind was breakfast. But that soon changed when she arrived in the kitchen, and saw her parents waiting at the table, both of them looking quite serious.

“Uh, Mom? Dad?”

Bow looked at his daughter, dead in the eye. “Rainbow Dash… we need to talk. All of us.”

Rainbow Dash sighed again, a very weary and frustrated sound emitted. Like before, the day had only just started and she just wanted it to end. “Can’t it wait until after breakfast?” She pleaded.

Bow and Windy were taken aback.

“Oh! Uh, of course!”

“I think that’s a good idea… do you want me to fix you anything?”

Dash was noncommittal. “Mmhm.” She shrugged as she just picked out some cereal. “I dunno… I kinda feel like I’m gonna be read the riot act, so not really in the mood for a big breakfast.”

Bow frowned, as Windy looked hurt. “Rainbow, that’s not what this is about.”

“It’s not?”

“No, it’s not.” Bow firmly said. He got up and put an arm around Windy. “Eat up and then come on to the living room. We’ll talk there.”

Dash sat there for a moment, alone, as they leave. Then, listlessly, she eats her breakfast. The thought of what was to come killed the flavor of her cereal – it tasted bland, almost like cardboard.

Once she had finished her breakfast, Rainbow got up, bracing herself for the worst, as she paced into the living room where her parents were waiting. Seated on the couch at first but they stood up as she came out. Bow gestured to her daughter to sit down. Rainbow was a bit surprised – no ‘would you please’ or anything from her father, just the gesture to take a seat.

“So… what’s this about?”

Windy sat down beside her. Bow sighed, and started to talk. “Rainbow Dash… your mother and I are worried. About you.”

Dash looked away. “I know, I know…”

“Rainbow Dash. We’ve been worried for a good while now… but we just didn’t know how to say it. Or what to say.”

Dash blinked. This wasn't what she had originally expected.

Windy's voice was gentle. “Rainbow Dash, you know that we love you. So very much.”

Dash's face clenched up, thinking about the guilt. “I – I know…”

Bow frowned. “So much, that we didn’t do anything when you needed it.”

Dash looked up at him, then to her mother, in surprise. Windy again, used a gentle tone of voice. “Why didn’t you tell us about Sunset? About any of--of what happened?”

Rainbow Dash could practically feel her stomach churning. Sick, with fear and regret.

“We’re your parents, honey. We would have been there for you," Bow said.

Rainbow shook her head rapidly.

"Rainbow?”

“No… it wouldn’t have helped.”

“Dashie…” Windy took her daughter into a hug.

Dash sniffled, trying her hardest not to cry. “I’m sorry Mom… I’m so, so sorry, you guys…”

Bow sighed as he sat down by her too. “I’m sorry too. That we didn’t do something before… that you didn’t trust us to help you with this…”

Rainbow at this point was crying her eyes out. “It wouldn’t have helped, Dad! Sunset was… she w-was evil, she told us what she was going to do, and what we were g-gonna do, and if we didn’t help her…”, she made a miserable noise, and her father put an arm around her.

“We’re still your parents, Rainbow. We would have done something, anything…”

Dash whimpered, her father joining the hug fully. They sit there for a while, until finally Dash’s tears slowed down and came to a halt.

Dash: “I’m sorry…”

“It’s… all right, Dashie. Let’s just… keep trying, all right?”

Windy patted her back. “Keep on, sweetie. I know that you can beat this.”

Rainbow tried to smile. “T-thanks.” She gave her mom a quick, but loving, hug.

Bow smiled, playfully ruffling up her hair. “And I promise you, Rainbow, we’ll be better too. We’ll all try to fix this, together, got it?”

“Right…” For once, she managed more of a real smile now, a determined one. “And I promise, I’ll be better. I’m working on it, m-me and the girls. We’re gonna be in the Friendship Games, and we’re gonna do great! We’ll show everyone, that we’re better than…” her expression dropped a little, and said seriously, “Than what we were.”

Windy smiled. “I know you will.”

Rainbow looks at her mother, and smiling at her.

Bow, smiling tenderly, said “Hey… that’s my Rainbow Dash.”

And once more, they all shared a family hug.

Octavia stood outside over in a public park, somewhere over in a small picnic area, waiting for the rest of her friends. She could barely sleep through the night, with everything that was metal sticking to her. The piercings on her body were pretty much permanently glued to her, and she couldn't remove them. She now had her phone tucked inside of her jacket pocket which she had a heck of a time trying to dial for her friends.

Sulking on the wooden bench, she waited impatiently for her friends. Her foot kept tapping, but it turned into more furious tapping by the minute. Until--

"Hey Octavia!" Amethyst waved. She walked over to the bench with a small picnic basket, ready for the day and dressed in casual clothes and not her over the top 80s garb.

"Hey Amy," Octavia said, still sulking.

"Aww, what's wrong?"

"I didn't sleep. Everything is still sticking to my body, I'm a human magnet," Octavia frowned. "Also for your own safety, I would recommend if you have anything on you; earrings, piercings, jewelry, rings, remove it at once."

"Well I don't wear any jewelry, so I think I'm okay," Amethyst winked. "But if you're okay, I brought you a little somethin' to make you feel better."

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Well I got some rock and roll tracks that I thought you might like to listen to, to keep you motivated while we practice. I've got the Saddle Bush tracks, I've got Jade Jets, I've got the Top Guns, I've got it all!"

"And us!"

"AH!" Octavia almost fell back.

Literally right next to her was Lyra and Bon Bon with eager expressions.

"Don't do that, jeez," Octavia said, feeling her heart pounce.

"Ooh, sorry," Lyra blushed. "I always have a habit of showing up out of nowhere. Well, sometimes. Anyways! Amethyst called us over cause we thought we could help you. And being a partial ninja, I think I can help you learn your powers. If you wanna control your powers, we need to see the full extend of what you can do," Lyra chirped.

"How do we do that?"

"We test your abilities, find your strengths, weaknesses, etc era," Lyra said, raising her fingers up. "We need to tap into anything we can."

"And how do you propose we do that?"

Lyra grinned. In a cloud of smoke she vanished and came back with a small box of metallic items. Screws, nuts, bolts, you name it.

"Lets start with something simple," Lyra said. "So yesterday we found out you were incredibly metallic. And that meant almost anything with metal came at you. But how far does one have to be in order to attract?"

Lyra went running away from the picnic area holding the box of metal with her. She put the box down and held up a single bolt, waiting. But then suddenly, it started to wiggle and flew right out of her hand, sticking to Octavia's leggings. Then just to check, she backed away even farther, hiding under some trees. She lifted up a lug-nut, ready to test again.

No visible reaction occurred. She took a step closer. No visible reaction. Then another. And another, and another and another until the lug-nut escaped her fingers and attached itself to Octavia. Quickly she ran back to her, noticing Octavia's very deadpan expression.

"Well there's some good news. Apparently, the magnetic field has a limited range, so thankfully you won't be attracting everything in Canterlot," Lyra said, putting the box down and covering it up.

"Well it still doesn't help my case," Octavia shook her head.

"Not with that attitude," Bon Bon replied. "Now come on, I want you to try something. See that chair over that I mounted?" Bon Bon pointed in front of her.

"Yes."

"I want you to try levitating it. Force it to lift up and come to you," Bon Bon suggested.

"You realize I just figured out I had powers yesterday, right?" Octavia questioned. "I'm still attracting things at random, I'm not going to just magically learn it in a micro-second."

"Maybe not, but you can at least practice," Bon Bon said. "It took me years to become a master baker. If I can do it, then you can master metal bending."

Octavia looked back at the chair with an unsure expression, but shrugged. "Well, I suppose I should try." She stood back up, and stared at the chair. "I just need to focus."

"Exactly. Harness all of your brain-power on that chair. Close everything out around you, and just focus on that chair," Lyra said.

Taking her advice, Octavia's eyes slowly squinted and focused on the chair. She raised her hand up, trying to see if it could be manipulated by a simple hand trick. Locking on, she watched as the chair started to wobble and shake, slowly rattling on the cinder block path. Until it lifted itself up into the air, coming at her like a cannonball.

"Oh no," Octavia whimpered just before the wind was knocked out of her by the chair.

She fell on her back again, and the chair was laying on top of her body. Lyra and Amethyst managed to pry the chair off of her, and got the poor rocker back on her feet.

"Maybe we should try methods that don't involve trying to hurt me," Octavia said, plucking another bolt off her jacket.

"Wait, I've got an idea. What if we used a bag of nails?" Bon Bon asked.

"NO!" Everyone shouted.

The baker flinched and held her hands up in protest. "I was just kidding! Besides, I thought it was just stick to her, that's all. What, did you think I was going to release them all at once?"

Everyone was staring at Bon Bon with horrified expressions.

"There are no words to describe how horrific that scenario is," Amethyst shivered. But at that very moment she could feel a strange buzzing inside her pants pocket. "Oh wait, hold on," Amethyst said, reaching into her pants pocket. "Oh, it's Trixie." With a single touch she hit answer. "Hey, Trixie, what's up?"

"Please get over here, now!" Trixie shouted.

"Whoa, whoa, hey," Amethyst said, moving the phone away from her ear. Her voice was incredibly loud and it wasn't the volume she had anticipated. "Trixie, what's wrong?"

"Look, it's hard to explain, please, just get over here, now!" Trixie cried.

"Trixie, come on, what's so wrong? What is the problem?"

Trixie paused for a long period of time. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

Trixie waited a moment or two, until she finally spoke.

"There is an alligator in my bedroom."

Chapter 10: Just An Illusion

The girls rushed over to Trixie's home as soon as she called them. Trampling up the stairs like elephants, Lyra and Bon Bon ran as fast as they could, finding her bedroom door open.

"Okay Trixie, what could-- AH!"

Everyone dropped cold in silence at what they were seeing. Trixie was not joking at all. She was shaking in fear on her bed, curled up on a mountain of pillows and blankets. And there on the floor, was in fact, an alligator. A big one. They could hear growling sounds coming from the alligator, who was staring up at Trixie with curiosity. Either it was angry, or curious, or hungry, they could not understand.

Lyra and Bon Bon were expecting the alligator to turn around and focus on them since they were on the floor with him. But the alligator acted like they weren't even there!

"So. You were not kidding."

Trixie shivered and nodded rapidly.

"Here's my question; where did it come from?"

"I-I don't know!" Trixie stammered. "I got up, I got breakfast, I was ready to come out to meet you guys, and then the next thing I know, there's an alligator near my foot!"

Lyra and Bon Bon stared back down, looking at the curious alligator eyes.

"I see... Trixie. Where are your mom and dad?"

"They went out for brunch," Trixie nodded.

"Uh...huh," Lyra said.

The three friends stared back down at the alligator, who stood still like he was preying on her.

"Okay, so how are we going to get rid of it?" Bon Bon asked.

"Well we're not just going to poke it with a stick," Lyra said. "My cousin went golfing down in Florida, he learned that the hard way."

Bon Bon and Trixie glanced over to Lyra with equally frightened faces.

"I don't think I should ask," Bon Bon deadpanned. "Look, Trixie, just stay calm, we're going to find a way to deal with this. Hmm... did you call animal control?"

"No! You really think they're going to believe there's an alligator in a teenage geek's bedroom?"

Now Bon Bon and Lyra were glaring at Trixie with deadpan expressions.

"Okay, well at the most, we can at least find a way to get you out of here. Hmm..." She looked at the situation in front of her. Trixie, a scared bespectacled geek wandered out of her bedroom, and when she returned, there was the alligator. Too many questions were raised about the reptile; how did it get in the house? Where did it come from? Why did it take so long for Trixie to notice such a massive reptile wandering around in her dwelling? The more she thought, the more curious she became. Until Bon Bon had an epiphany...

"Okay, Trixie, a question," Bon Bon asked. "What were you doing before you saw the alligator?"

"I was just going to get myself ready for the day."

"--No, no, no, I mean, what were you thinking about? What was going on inside your head before the alligator appeared?"

"Well... I was thinking about Pinkie Pie's pet alligator, you know Gummy?"

Bon Bon nodded.

"And I was thinking he would be kind of scary when he gets older into a more mature... reptile."

Bon Bon thought. Then she looked down at the alligator again. Curiously, she went straight for Trixie's window. She closed the blinds, blocking the light from the outside. And in a second, the alligator vanished. The girls all gasped, seeing the animal vanish.

"B-B-But where did he go!?" Trixie panicked. "He was just there!"

Bon Bon looked again, and a light bulb flickered in her head. "Hold on..." She grabbed the pulley for the shades, pulling them up to let in the light. The alligator manifested itself in front of them like it had never left the room. Then dropping them back down, it vanished. Pull up, and down, pull up, and down, up and down, up and down, up and down--

"Okay, okay, stop!" Trixie begged.

Bon Bon snickered. "Sorry."

"You don't sound sorry," Lyra crossed her arms.

Bon Bon shook her head, stifling a snicker. "Okay, look. Trixie, it's not real. Clearly we're all seeing illusions, as for how it's there, I don't..." Bon Bon pondered for a moment. She raised her head up and looked at Trixie with a revelation. "Trixie."

The bespectacled girl looked to the baker.

"You... you made that illusion. Trixie, you..." Bon Bon's face was now slowly grinning with excitement. "You. Have. POWERS!!!"

She yanked Trixie off the bed, almost swinging her around the room with the most childish excitement she let out.

"This is amazing! First Octavia and her metal bending and now... you have the power to control illusions!" Bon Bon said, holding Trixie's shoulders. Trixie was blushing furiously.

"Ah, um... I'm not sure I..."

"Come on, Trixie, that's amazing!" Bon Bon grinned. She held her friend in a hug, both with excitement and comfort meshing together in a warm feeling. Lyra couldn't help but giggle at how child-like Bon Bon was acting right now.

"Girls? You uh... you might wanna come down." Amethyst called from downstairs.

Lyra blinked. "Wait, why?"

"I... can't put it in words, please, just come down."

Shrugging, the girls went downstairs. But before walking into the kitchen, Trixie stopped to notice something.

"Wait..." She looked at a small table that was against a wall. "... where's the telephone?"

But once they went into the kitchen, Trixie felt like everything inside of her body, both physically and mentally, just fallen apart. The kitchen looked like a tornado had gone through! Drawers were out, utensils and kitchenware was everywhere, the table was flipped, the entire place was a pigsty.

"... What just happened? This kitchen was fine, I didn't... oh gosh, Mom and Dad are going to be furious! No, they're going to kill me! I can't..." She turned her head, and her arms dropped, her eyes bulging out of her head. "... Where's the fridge!? How can it... be... gone..."

It didn't take long for them to find the refrigerator. It had been yanked out it's wall on it's own, and was now smushed against a British rocker who was pinned against the closet. All they could see from behind the fridge were a pair of arms sticking out, but they didn't need any other confirmation who those were.

"Ah... um... Octavia? Are you okay?" Trixie asked, cringing a little bit.

"I feel like I was run over by a steamroller..." Octavia moaned in despair.

The fridge slowly fell down, slamming onto the ground, showing a pained Octavia who slumped down on the ground as well.

"Oh my gosh, Octavia, what's---" Trixie froze in place and hissed. What she just saw in front of her made her face tighten up. "ooh... oh, ow...um..."

"Oh, oh dear..." Lyra rubbed at her collar.

Bon Bon looked at the scene in front of her, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath to relax. "Okay. This is, um... Octavia. There's, um-- somethin', uh... somethin on, or... in... uh..."

"I KNOW, JUST GET IT OFF, OR OUT, PLEASE!" Octavia screamed with extreme pain.

A few moments later, Amethyst and Trixie were ducking behind the living room couch with soldier helmets on their heads. Lyra and Bon Bon now wore ear-muffs that you would often see men wear at construction sites when operating a jackhammer.

Bon Bon gulped. "Okay. Lyra, grab on." Lyra joined her friend. "Trixie, Amy, cover your ears. Octavia, you might want to bite into something because this is going to probably hurt. This is gonna be like pulling a porcupine quill."

"What are you talking about--"

With one hard tug, Lyra and Bon Bon yanked out the piece of metal that was stuck. And Octavia's heart sank. Her eyes grew watery, as a giant wave of pain spread through her system.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!"

Octavia screamed so loud and so hard, the windows in the house all shattered into glass. In fact, it wasn't just there, her scream echoed out of the house and all over town! Birds fled their trees, dogs were now barking to scare off the sound, and car alarms were set off within the next county!

Some teenagers walking by froze when they heard Octavia screaming. Some looked disturbed, some looked terrified.

"What the heck was that!?" Lemon Zest shouted.

“I dunno… but man, was that loud. And painful too,” Indigo Zap replied.

The other girls nodded in agreement, as they resumed their walk. After a moment, one of them broached the topic again.

“What on earth do you think could have made that sound?” Sunny Flare asked.

Indigo shrugged. “Who knows? Frankly I’m not sure I want to know…”

Sour Sweet shivered. “It sounded almost like Sugarcoat when Sunny talked her into getting a waxing.”

Both Sunny and Sugarcoat – but especially Sugarcoat – gave her dirty looks for that. Lemon and Indigo however had a laugh at the memory, even as Lemon gave the glasses-wearing girl an apology pat on the back.

Sugarcoat accepted the apology non-verbally, and the five friends continue on their day out in the town. Walking down the sidewalk of midtown, the group of girls turn a corner, and Sunny Flare bumped into a certain girl with purple hair--

Rarity shrieked and flailed her arms in panic. “AHH!! Don’t throw trash at me!!”

Sunny was taken aback. “I’m sorry?”

“Dude, what the heck?”

Rarity's eyes having been shut in panic, opened up to see who they are, and relaxed. “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry dear. Just a, a bit of a nervous reaction on my part.”

Sour gave a little snark. “Nervous is one way of putting it.”

Rarity tittered, a forced kind of ‘a-ha-ha’ escaping her breath.

“Well, that’s all right. No harm done.” The purple haired girl opened up her hand to greet her. “Sunny Flare.”

Rarity tentatively accepted the handshake, then, more confidently spoke. “Rarity. Rarity Belle at your service.”

“Hey, what’s up, I’m Indigo Zap.”

“Lemon Zest, put ‘er there, sister!” Lemon shook her hand more erratically, almost the same energy as Pinkie Pie.

“I’m Sour Sweet. And no smart remarks about the name, got it?”

“Sugarcoat.”

“Pleasure to meet you all!” Rarity said. For once in her life, she actually meant it. It was a real treat to talk to some other teenagers who didn't have a grudge against her. She looked at Sunny Flare, contently, “And let me say, darling, that I’m sorry about before. It’s been a – shall we say – unusual time for me, and I wasn’t paying attention like I should have been.”

Sunny was curious, but she choose not to pry. “That’s all right. No hard feelings.”

“Hey, are you from Canterlot High?” Lemon asked.

Rarity stiffed up. “Why yeeees, yes I am… why do you ask?”

Sugarcoat arched an eyebrow at her.

Lemon grinned. “Sweet! So, you know who’s gonna be in the Friendship Games?”

Rarity felt herself sweating and forcing a laugh. “Yes! Yes, of course! My friends and I are among those competing…”

Sunny was surprised. “Really?”

Indigo however was dubious. “Really?”

Rarity noticed Indigo's tone right away. But with some politeness, she kept going, but was a little tense. “Pardon?”

Indigo shrugged it off, hands up in a ‘no offense’ gesture. “Uh, nothing by it, but you don’t really seem like the sporting type…”

Rarity sighed. “Don’t I know it… but all my friends tried out, and I felt I had to give it a try… and then I kicked a soccer ball right through the vice-principal’s car.”

There was a pause, as everyone digests this. Then--

Lemon zoomed up to Rarity, almost in her face. “Dude! Really?! That’s awesome!!”

Sour huffed and rolled her eyes mildly at Lemon for this, Sugarcoat frowned slightly as she tried to signal Lemon to tone it down.

“Y-you think so?”

I“Heck to the yeah! Now I really wanna see you guys compete in the Games!” Indigo smirked.

“Really?”

“Of course! Why wouldn’t we?” Sunny Flare asked.

Rarity considered it, and then said, “I suppose you’re right. I’ve just never been the sporty type, and – well, I just wasn’t sure about the Games, or other things…”

Concerned, Sunny Flare put a hand on Rarity’s shoulder. “Don’t worry too much, dearie. If your friends are with you in this, then that’s something you can count on. And remember, the Friendship Games are supposed to be fun. It’s not all about winning, it’s about both schools coming together. You can have fun during this week, I’m sure of it.”

“Friends…” Rarity said to herself. It’s an odd feeling to think about, the idea of her and the Rainbooms, being friends, having fun in these Games… was it possible? “I, I appreciate that, Sunny."

Sunny smiled, gently squeezing Rarity’s shoulder. “No problem, dear.”

Indigo puffed with a smirk. “But don’t expect me to go easy on ya! We’re in the Games too!”

“Yeah! It’s gonna be great!”

“R-right…” the fashionista replied, forcing a smile, with a bit less effort than before, admittedly.

Sugarcoat stared at Rarity a bit, thinking about something, but she doesn’t press the matter. But the girls had to be on their merry way, they had things to do.

“Hope to see you tomorrow, dearie!” Sunny cheered.

Rarity waved goodbye politely, then, to herself, “Tomorrow…” sighing as she looked back at them. "What on earth have I gotten myself into?” She didn't know. But to be honest, even if she knew nothing else, she did appreciate that chat with those girls.

Chapter 11: Pre-Party Setup

The weekend passed, and Monday came. The week of the Friendship Games had arrived. While they wouldn't be starting today, it was going to be a welcoming party for all of the Crystal Prep students. Everyone was gathering their belongings and were starting to head their way to the buses. Some had already gotten on, while others waited. Mostly to check in with teachers and or other friends.

Twilight Sparkle was still reluctant to take part in the Friendship Games, but she couldn't find any way to get out of participating or joining either way. No way anyone would buy any excuse or lie she could have whipped up. But there was one more thing she wanted to do before she headed off.

Looking down on the table, she picked up the pieces of a small pendent, circular and small in shape, but metallic in feel. It was nearly complete, she just needed to make one final adjustment. With a screwdriver, she screwed in the final bolts, and closed the hatch. For once, a proud smile was on her face as the device began to hum and glow, purple lights radiating, hinting it's energy. She carefully held the device and strung it around her neck like a necklace. Now she had what she needed.

Outside where the buses were parked, an impatient Sour Sweet tapped her foot. Where was she? But very soon she found her friend running over to her, joining her with the rest of the students in line.

"Sorry I'm late, hit a little traffic," Sunny apologized. "Did the others make it on already?"

"Well, yeah," Sour replied with some snark. "But I don't know, the teacher's counting us, making sure we'll all fit. Even though there's plenty of us to squeeze in that giant bus!"

"Be patient, I'm sure we'll be on in no time."

"Yeah, maybe if we just--oh no, look away, look away!"

"What, what?"

"Twilight..." Sour whispered with some nervousness.

Both Sunny and Sour turned their bodies away to face the small line of students behind them who were eager to get on the bus. They didn't want to be face to face with her.

The bespectacled girl turned her head at them with an unamused face, but looked back up. Just as she was getting up the first few steps--

"ARE WE GONNA WIN!?"

She nearly fell back by the indigo-haired athlete who came charging right up in her face. Trying her best not to reply with snark, she shrugged.

"I... I don't know."

Indigo frowned but she gave another confident grin back at her. "Nope! Wrong answer, try again! Are. We gonna. Win!?"

Twilight looked at her with a deadpan expression. "I don't know, and I don't care." She just brushed past her and walked towards the back of the bus, looking for an empty seat. Eventually she just parked herself in the middle of the row, parked in between Sugarcoat and an empty seat beside Lemon Zest.

Sugarcoat who had seen the entire display looked at Twilight with a raised brow. "Don't be too mad. Indigo has been like that with everyone who came on the bus. She grows on you."

Twilight looked at Sugarcoat, but only for a second. She didn't even care to respond. She just laid herself back against the seat, keeping her bag close by, dismissing Sugarcoat's attempt to be polite. But she could visibly hear the sounds of rock and roll bleeding from a pair of headsets that could barely contain the sound.

Lemon Zest rocked her head as she listened to the sounds of heavy metal, grinning and raising her fingers up like a punk.

"Rock on! WHOO!!!" Lemon cheered. She lifted an earphone up with a happy grin on her face. "Twilight, dude! You gotta hear this!"

Without warning, Twilight's ears were filled with the loud sound of rock and roll.

All the time
Running in and out of time
Hear the ticking on the countdown clocks tonight

Her face tightened up hearing the sound, and immediately she yanked them off her head. She looked at Lemon Zest with a scowl and plopped her headset back on her lap. Already she wanted to get off this bus and get out of here so the day would be over.

Lemon Zest blushed a bit, chuckling nervously as she put her headset back on her head. "Not a fan of music, I guess?"

No response. Other than Twilight getting up and just moving two seats in front of Lemon, taking the empty one she found. Sour and Sunny could see Twilight moving away as they finally got on the bus, both receiving looks from the rest of their classmates on the bus.

The two girls took their seats behind Indigo Zap, carefully putting their belongings down.

"So..." Sour began. "Indigo, did you try that cheer of encouragement?"

"Yeah, I don't think it worked," Indigo sank in her chair.

There was an awkward pause between them.

"Well this is going to be a fun trip," Sour chuckled nervously. "She is going to murder us before the games even start!"

Meanwhile at Canterlot High, some of the students were in the auditorium finalizing the decorations and preparations for Crystal Prep's arrival. A big banner hung from the ceiling which was labeled 'Welcome Crystal Prep'. Some students were instantly recognized; Flash Sentry, Micro Chips, Sandalwood, just to name a few. Even Derpy (who preferred to be dubbed Muffins) was there as well.

Some of the Rainbooms were there as well, although mostly everyone was trying to avoid them at all costs. The Rainbooms could feel the hateful stench the minute they walked in.

"This is so humiliating," Fluttershy muttered with some disgust.

"Look, lets just get everything set up, and then you can stay outside away from everyone else? Fair enough?" Applejack huffed.

"Whatever..." Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

Pinkie Pie gave a hopeful smile, trying again to inject some cheer into her. "Aw, come on, Fluttershy. We'll never get better if we don't try!"

Fluttershy just rolled her eyes and hissed at this. But she did stop complaining for now.

The pre-party setup continued, and while the Rainbooms did do some stuff towards aiding with the get-together, the five girls still tended to remain gathered in their own little group by one of the tables. Besides the aforementioned tension in regard to the other students there was also a strong sense of awkwardness here. Finally, of all the girls in the Rainbooms, Rarity was the one to speak up.

"Girls, I can't believe I'm the one to be saying this... but we can't just stand here forever. We tried out for the Games because we were going to prove that we were going to PROVE that we're not Sunset's thugs anymore--"

"--And because Rainbow can't turn down a challenge..." Fluttershy said under hear breath, still audibly heard.

"AHEM. As I was saying - we need to be proactive. We can't just wait for acceptance to come to us." She paused. "And so, I'm going to try and reach out to some of our classmates. I - I can only hope that some of you will be willing to try, as well."

Silence. Applejack, and Rainbow, both exchange dubious looks. Pinkie Pie spoke up though.

"Rarity's right! Vice-Principal Celestia said we had to try, and darn it, I'm gonna try!" She paused before eyeing her target. "Dibs on talking to Flash!" And then vanished leaving a trail of smoke behind her.

Rarity was going to say something but drooped in disappointment. "...I wanted to talk to Flash..."

Applejack tentatively patted her on the shoulder. "Ah'm sure that there'll be other people willin' to talk nice... somewhere."

And so, the Rainbooms eventually, cautiously split up - Rainbow accompanying Rarity to try and talk to some other girls. Applejack wanderd around the fringe of the tables, looking around at some of the other students. Pinkie Pie was talking to Flash Sentry, and Flash for his part was talking to her politely. Fluttershy, though, was staying put... though by herself, she did genuinely look a lot less "mean" and actually a bit vulnerable...

"Excuse me!"

AJ halted, seeing that she's standing by the gym door, and Trixie is on the other side, her arms laded with a couple cases of soda. Applejack quickly opens the door, and the grateful geeky girl half-stumbled through.

"Thank you!!"

"You, uh, want a hand?"

Trixie rights herself, perhaps for the first time realizing she's talking to one of the Rainbooms. A look of concern did cross her face, but...

"Please?"

Applejack promptly took half of Trixie's load, much to the nerdy girl's relief. They take the cases over to the table.

"So, who went and stuck you with the heavy liftin'?"

Trixie flushed slightly. Realizing the putdown, AJ did try to rectify it. "Wait, wait... just makin' small talk. I meant nothin' by it, I swear."

Trixie gulped. "Um, right... well, Lyra was supposed to help me carry these, but I guess she was running late."

"Ah."

A bit of an awkward silence between them, as they unload the cases of their drinks, setting them out to serve for the guests and rest of the students who would eventually show up.

"So, uh, Trixie. How've ya been?" Applejack asked, smiling awkwardly.

Trixie stares at her, and, just as awkwardly asked, "Why?"

"...Just asking..." Applejack sighed. "Never mind."

Silence again. Then, Trixie, making up her mind--

"I'm doing pretty good, thanks for asking."

"Huh?"

"I said I'm doing pretty good."

Pause. Then, AJ smiled at her, gratefully. "Yeah?"

Trixie nodded. "Mm-hm. But I do miss Adagio."

AJ was confused, until it clicked in her head. "Oh yeah... Adagio. You two, you're datin' now, right?"

Trixie blushed. Hard. "Yeah..."

Applejack whistled. "Whoo-wee! Well now, you sure got a fine catch!"

Trixie couldn't help but stare awkwardly at Applejack for that statement.

Applejack tilted her head. "What? Look, I mighta been a bully an' she and her sisters took us down, but I can still appreciate a fine-lookin' gal and all."

Trixie blushed deeply at that statement - and, to her AND Applejack's surprise, a little giggle broke out of her mouth.

AJ was a little surprised. "What?"

Trixie, trying not to titter too much, said, "J-just... just try not to steal her from me!"

Applejack blinks, but she couldn't help but chuckle with Trixie at that. Although it's a wee bit wistful on AJ's part.

"Yeah..."

"Thanks for that, Applejack," Trixie sincerely replied.

Applejack blinks a little at the "thanks" but she relaxed. "Thank you... sugarcube…"

She and Trixie smiled at each other, the ice starting to melt away, until--

Lyra came dashing through the doors. "Trixie! Ohmygosh, I am SO sorry, I left you to carry all those cases by yourself!! I--" She stared to see her friend so close to a Rainboom. "...Huh."

However, any further inquiry from the ninja girl was interrupted, as an announcement came on over the loudspeaker.

"Attention everyone! The students from Crystal Prep have just arrived! Let's all give them a warm welcome, and make the beginning of this Friendship Games a good one!"

Outside the main entrance of CHS, Principal Luna and Vice-Principal Celestia stood, awaiting the arrival of the Crystal Prep buses. The first person they were greeted to when they arrived was none other than Principal Cinch herself.

"Principal Luna, Vice-Principal Celestia, it's so good to see you both again," Cinch greeted, shaking both of their hands.

"It's good to see you again, Principal Cinch. How have things been?" Principal Luna asked.

"Very good, thank you. Though nothing has really changed," the principal replied, rubbing her chin and pondering. "But what about you? I hope things here at Canterlot High have been successful?"

Principal Luna chuckled. "In more ways than one. Although we have had quite a few surprises these past couple of weeks..."

Principal Cinch looked up, almost flabbergasted at the construction zone equipment in front of the school.

"I assume that was one of them? What even happened here?"

"Oh, this?" Luna gestured. "Oh, this is a long and very complicated story. I think I tried to explain it you would think I'm crazy."

"We have an entire week ahead of us, I think that should give enough to question whether or not you truly have gone insane," Principal Cinch chuckled.

Twilight was one of the last few students to get off her bus, waiting for the crowded people to finally clear out. When she saw her chance to finally get off--

"Comin' through!" Indigo warned before bumping past Twilight. Actually, 'bumping' was a loose term. Indigo flat out shoved her aside, not even recognizing who it was she shoved. Twilight was shoved hard enough to push against Sunny Flare and fell on her back.

"Seriously?" Twilight scowled. She could hear the nervous chuckle from Sunny Flare.

"It's okay Twilight, Indigo never does it to be mean. I'll talk to her, maybe I can..." Twilight had already walked away from her. "... get her to... apologize..." Her hand fell back down, until she saw Sour offering her a helping hand.

"Don't feel too bad. I offered her to help with a project, and she just pretended I didn't exist. Rude," Sour replied.

Twilight kept herself near the group, but she didn't look or talk to anyone. Her eyes were glued to her pendent, looking at is continued to hum with energy. She turned her head towards the Wondercolt statue, remembering almost being caught by some students the last time she came there. She held up the tracker, watching as it beeped a few times, detecting the residual energy from the concrete.

"Hmm... same as the last time I came here," Twilight said to herself. "But what is it?"

Chapter 12: Meshing Of Schools

After all of the Crystal Prep students were accounted for, they started to head towards the gymnasium where the rest of the students were assembled. Almost instantly students began to mingle with one another, and for the most part, it was rather friendly. There were a few mixed in that were lookin' forward to winning, but thankfully there was some balance to keep everyone from being mad or riled up.

But of course, even when everyone was getting along, Twilight kept on wandering by herself, avoiding everyone at all costs. She wasn't going to allow anyone to interrupt her when she was in the zone. But she stopped in her tracks when she felt her body bump into something. Or someone--

"Oh, hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" She greeted, offering to shake her hand.

Twilight almost freaked out, realizing who she was. One of the girls who was associated with Sunset Shimmer was standing before her! But wait, she was trying to be nice to her. Well, if she wasn't going to get any focus now, she might as well get it over with.

"Hi."

"... Sooo whats your name?" Pinkie asked, tilting her head.

"Twilight. And if you don't mind, I'm a little busy--"

"What's that?" Pinkie Pie asked, pointing at the pendent around her neck.

Twilight was surprised. This girl who she just met was interested in learning about her? But wait, what if she had something planned, what if she was just talking to get information out of her? What if she had a revenge plan and she was just talking her up? What if she was still--

"You okay there? Your head's kinda sweaty."

"I'm not sweaty! Maybe you're sweaty!"

"Whoa, hey, it's okay!" Pinkie Pie raised her hands up, trying to calm her down. "I'm not trying to stress you out, I'm sorry."

Twilight stopped for a moment. She didn't know whether or not to trust her, but she could hear some genuine sincerity from her tone of voice. Taking a moment to breathe in and out, she finally calmed herself down so she could talk.

"Well, to answer your question... it's a spectrometer. I built it to track EM frequencies, but it can also contain anomalies."

Pinkie Pie just had that same grin on her face when she met. She only blinked as a response, but deep down she had no idea what Twilight had just told her.

"... it measures things."

"Like what?"

"I can't say."

"Aww, why not?"

Twilght had a deadpan expression. "If I did, you would think I'm crazy."

Just then, they heard an adult woman speaking on the stage.

"Hello everyone, I like to take this opportunity to welcome our visitors from Crystal Prep Academy and welcome them to CHS!" Principal Luna said into the microphone. "And lastly, I like to recognize the 12 students that CHS has elected to compete..."

A few heads turned to look at Derpy who gave a happy smile and waved at them. Some of them giggled, mostly from the silly face she was giving them. Even Micro Chips and Sandalwood who stood near her giggled a bit. And when heads looked to Lyra and Bon Bon, they could hear a few whistles and cheers of delight as they were focused on. Both of them blushed harshly, but still waved. Even a few shout-outs to Flash were given, he just simply played it cool, even waving some back.

But when they looked at the Rainbooms? Oh no. Everyone went dead silent as they glared at those five individuals, but they still let Principal Luna's voice come loud and clear.

"... I don't think we could have chosen a better group to represent the excellence, sportsmanship, and friendship that the games stand for."

Ignoring the crowds as best as they could, Rainbow Dash and Rarity walked through the gathering. It was awkward to say the least. But Rainbow found someone she felt bold enough to approach.

"Oh, uh, Cherry Crash, hey!"

The green-haired rocker gave Rarity and Rainbow a pretty flat scowl.

"So, um... h-how are you? You enjoying the party?" Rainbow asked awkwardly.

"I was. Until you two showed up," Cherry snarked.

Nervous silence. Rainbow and Rarity exchange a very quick glance between them - the former wanting to just go. But Rarity, recalling her earlier speech about trying, still tried to give it her all.

"I'm... sorry to hear that, dear." She swallowed, searching for the words. "Cherry, please, I know that we've had - our share of problems - and that you don't want anything to do with us--"

"Yeah. I don't," Cherry deadpanned, glancing flatly down at the cup in her hand.

Rarity winced, but tried to press on. "But, please, please know that I am sorry. For whatever I, or the others, may have done to you. I don't want to be that person anymore. I want to change, I really do." She sighs, and smiles tentatively. "So please, darling, whatever might have been in the past, can we start over again?"

There was a pause. Until Cherry looked at Rarity with an unforgiving sneer and dashed her drink in Rarity's face, soaking the former bully.

"Hey! What was that for!?" Rainbow exclaimed.

Rarity, shocked and sputtered let out a gasp/shriek as the contents of the cup drip down her face and front, her hair soaked.

"You think a pretty little apology is gonna make up for everything you all pulled? Get out of here. You and your 'friends' deserve everything you get."

Rainbow was just about to make a furious move towards her. But--

"Hey!"

Indigo Zap pushed between the two, keeping them back away from each other. "What the heck? Cool it you two, jeez!"

Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest were with her too, both of them taken aback by the near-fight.

"Whoa whoa whoa, seriously girls, chillax! We're here to have fun, not try to kill each other!" Lemon said, keeping her hands up.

Rainbow and Cherry, after a tense moment, with a lot of people's eyes on them, back down.

"Sorry." Cherry said, flatly and insincerely. She walked away, Dash glaring after her.

"Oh... l-let it go, Rainbow Dash." Rarity frowned miserably down at her wet front and tried to wipe the juice off her face.

Sunny took a small container of wet wipes out of her purse, offering it to the drenched girl."Here..."

Rarity gratefully starts to clean up. "Thank you, darling. I really appreciate it..."

"It's no trouble at all - Rarity?"

"Sunny Flare!" Rarity gasped. "You're here!"

Rainbow looked to Rarity. "Wait. You know this girl?"

"Why of course! I met her Saturday while I was out in town. Sunny, this is a friend of mine, Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash, this is Sunny Flare."

The girl smiled. "Pleasure to meet you, dearie."

Rainbow wasn't sure how to react. But nonetheless, she did shake her hand.

"Hi! I'm Lemon Zest!" The green-haired girl smiled, shaking her hand with a great amount of enthusiasm.

"Yo, wassup?" Indigo grinned. "I'm Indigo Zap. Nice to meet you."

Rainbow shook her hand. "Nice to meet you too... nice goggles."

Indigo chuckled. "Thanks. And nice studs back there."

Rainbow blushed a bit, feeling the studs she had on her ears. "Thanks."

"Now if you don't mind explaining, who was that girl that soaked you in juice?" Lemon asked.

Rarity sighed. "Cherry Crash. I'm afraid she and I are not on good terms..."

"That's putting it lightly," Rainbow deadpanned. "Just like everyone else here..."

"What?" Indigo asked, confused.

"Nothing!" Rainbow panicked, realizing what she just said.

"Sooo, Rarity, maybe if you want, since this party's going to be for a little while, maybe you and your friend here want to hang outside with us later? Eventually we hit a point where we kinda, have to... you know, leave the room."

Rarity was a little surprised by her offer, but at the same time she was happy. It would be nice to talk to them a little more, maybe get some time away from CHS. Better with people who had never met her.

"I... I love to, Sunny!" Rarity squeaked.

Just then, they saw Vice-Principal Celestia step up on stage. "Hello everyone. Now I know you're all excited for this party to begin, but before we invite the musicians and bands on stage, I believe Principal Cinch has a few words..."

Principal Cinch stepped on stage, adjusting the microphone a bit, albeit cringing at the feedback noise. "I..." She tapped the microphone for a second. "Sorry, malfunction for a second. I'd like to thank Principal Luna for her unconventional welcome. It's been quite some time since the last Friendship Games, but it feels as if nothing has truly changed. Canterlot High and Crystal Prep Academy's relationship seems to have remained strong as ever, and as far as I can see, there is plenty of healthy friendships starting to form before my eyes," Principal Cinch smiled. "I remember when I was a student among you all when the Friendship Games were first made. However, the rules of the games have no changed. We will play through these games with good sportsmanship, strong wills, and a healthy attitude. I believe you all are mature enough to keep that in mind, but I thought it was worth noting. Thank you, and I wish you all the best of luck."

She stepped off stage, allowing Principal Luna to come back and speak. "Thank you, Principal Cinch. And our first musician to start us off is an old face who has returned back to our school. She's well known around her for her dancing, her upbeat attitude, and fascination with retro and vintage history and pop culture. So without further ado, here playing a song she put together, the retro-loving, keytar swinging, pop-culture referencing styling of; Amethyst!!!"

As she got off the stage, the curtains began to slowly rise up, allowing some smoke start to flow from the stage. A smoke machine was set off to the side to create the effect, and some neon colored lights flickered. She was revealed to be back in her neon blue outfit she wore the first time she met the Dazzlings; shoulder-pads, parachute pants, white tennis shoes, and a blue 'futuristic' set of glasses to complete the look.

Her fingers tapped on the first key, and she tapped her foot on the stage. When the music kicked up, she began to sing.

Magic is rising
Powers inside us
Maybe it's a sign that we're the chosen ones

A monster is rising
A villain in disguise
Enacting an evil plan and ready to go ca-razy

Amethyst's fingers slammed on the keys, playing each chord and note with a great amount of intensity, getting into the spirit of the song.

We’re the ones
The strongest and the bold
We’re the only ones to take 'em on, tonight!
Come lets take em, come lets start this

Battle!
If we’re gonna save our world like a superhero!
We’ll need some allies!
If we're gonna survive and win this war!
We need a stronger will to overcome them
Fists of steel and a brand new name for
Battle!
If we’re gonna save our world like a superhero!

By now, a few students were now starting to dance along to the song, all enjoying the rhythm she was stringing for them all. Though tucked away along the side-lines were the Rainbooms who could only sit and watch as Amethyst performed for them all. The same girl that they bullied, the same girl that they hurt to the point where she was booted out of school, was playing on stage with a great amount of energy and charisma.

Wo-oh
Building up our calling
The heroes take a stand
Fighting for good
Fighting for all that we believe in

Come lets take em, come lets start this
Battle!
If we’re gonna save our world like a superhero!
We’ll need some allies!
If we're gonna survive and win this war!
We need a stronger will to overcome them
Fists of steel and a brand new name for
Battle!
If we’re gonna save our world like a superhero!

As she kept playing, everyone kept dancing. Even Vinyl and Trixie who stood behind the stage couldn't help but dance a little bit to her beat.

"Amethyst is really killing it, isn't she?" Vinyl smiled.

"I know! I'm surprised her equipment is handling all the pressure, this is almost concert level of sound!" Trixie shouted over the rock and roll.

Vinyl looked behind them, and looked back at Amethyst who kept the performance up. But her eyes widened, she noticed something was off. She looked back behind them, and then back to Amethyst on stage.

"Um, Trixie? Shouldn't equipment be plugged in, in order to work?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well..."

Trixie looked back to where Vinyl was staring at, and her face bulged in shock. The cords and plugs that were supposed to help power Amethyst's equipment were not plugged in.

"How is anything working!?" Vinyl exclaimed.

"I don't know!" Trixie cried. "Unless..."

They looked back on the stage, and they could not believe their eyes. Amethyst was glowing! And it wasn't any special effects equipment or devices they plugged on stage or on her outfit. She was radiating with energy! It was like she was gaining power from some obscure source!

Twilight Sparkle watched everything that went down. Her eyes were practically bulging out of her head when she saw her glowing. The pendent around her chest also began to beep erratically, finding the source in mind. As much as she'd love to have a closer look, if she was found, all eyes would be on her. No way she was going to risk it now.

"Amethyst... you don't think--" Trixie began.

"--I think she does," Vinyl nodded.

When the final piece of the song came, she jumped up, and hit back down like a guitarist would in a rock and roll concert, raising her key-tar up in the air as she hit the final notes. And out of nowhere, when she strung the final key, a giant soundwave burst from her instrument, blowing the crowd from off their feet and pummeled them all to the ground like a giant hurricane wind had swept through the room.

When the song ended, Amethyst looked up and her mouth dropped, seeing the fallen crowds.

"... Uh oh."

Trixie chuckled nervously. "Well, at least nothing was destroyed, and everyone is okay--"

All of the glass windows along the walls of the gymnasium shattered into broken glass, thankfully most of it falling outside the gym and not inside to where the shards could jab into some poor students.

"... oops." Amethyst gulped.

Out of all of the people in the room, there was only one person cackling. Falling to the floor and cackling like a hyena, was Fluttershy. She was holding onto her sides, laughing so hard that she was crying. Looking up, she was given the unamused glares of the Rainbooms.

"What?" Fluttershy shrugged. "I didn't think she blow the crowd away!"

Now Pinkie Pie was laughing at the stupid pun. But the other three were not so amused.

"You're a child," Applejack deadpanned.

"Mmm. Uh-huh," Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

While everyone was slowly struggling to get themselves back on their feet, Rainbow Dash felt a buzzing in her pocket. Picking it up, she read the number and immediately answered it. "Hello? Yes this is Rainbow Dash," Rainbow began. She then put her hand over the speaker. "It's the hospital."

The Rainbooms were now drawn to Rainbow.

"What's that? Okay... give me a second." Rainbow cupped the phone again and looked to her associates with a shocked face. "You're not going to believe this..."

Aria Blaze scrunched her face and groaned on the screen. Somehow she managed to figure out how the touch-screen technology worked but it was a pain to understand. But regardless, she was able to get clear communication with Rainbow Dash on the other side.

"Explain this to me again, one more time." Aria asked with a bored/confused face.

"The doctors called us, and they said the CMC are physically fine, but they were in some paralytic state."

Aria rubbed her chin. "When you say paralytic, what do you mean?"

"As if they're Sleepin' Beauty who's takin' an extensive amount of time for a nap," Applejack replied.

"Uh-huh," Aria nodded. She set the phone down on something that kept it standing and backed away, pacing back and forth. It looked like she was standing near a bed and small table, often what you would see in hotel rooms.

"Where are you, anyway?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Are you in a hotel?"

"No, I'm not," Aria deadpanned. "The hotels around here are expensive, and we can only afford to stay in a motel room. To be fair, Adagio did find the nicest one around but... that's not saying much."

"It can't be that bad, can it?"

Aria scowled as she looked at the camera. "I didn't get any sleep last night." Her hand pointed to the beds. "I have two sisters. One of them talks in her sleep, and the other snores."

"My brother snores, so what?" Fluttershy rolled her eyes.

"Does your brother's snoring sound like a lawnmower running over a cat?" Aria glared.

Fluttershy stopped talking.

"Though, if I can be honest, her snoring is the least of my problems," She pointed to the right. "The neighbors keep trying to kill each other. And when I went over to deal with them, you know what they did?"

"What?"

"They threw a lamp at me," Aria growled. "Trust me, if I would, I would have snapped it in half, but we're trying to keep our identities a secret."

The Rainbooms looked at each other, nodding understandably.

"Though there's a bigger problem..." Aria groaned, pointing to the left. "On this side. College kids. All 47 of them..." Her nostrils flared up. "And they have a subwoofer..."

The Rainbooms couldn't help but stifle a giggle.

Aria only scowled some more. "Oh you laugh now, but that's not funny." She stomped towards the phone and picked it up, bringing her face uncomfortably close with rage. "When you're the person who has to listen to this, it's not funny."

Rarity even giggled. "Yes, that is bad... but, maybe if we can, can we get back to what we were--"

"Oh, and look at this!" Aria flipped the camera around towards the table, and the next thing that came on screen made all of the Rainbooms shiver and cringe.

"OH SWEET MERCY, GET THAT WRETCHED THING OFF THE SCREEN!" Rarity shrieked.

"If you don't mind, Aria, maybe we can just talk to one of your sisters instead?"

Aria stopped. She flipped the phone back around, sighing heavily. She took a deep breath, trying to relax her mind. "Sorry. Anyways, you were saying?"

"They were in a deep sleep?"

"Oh, right, right!" Aria remembered. "Hmm... hold on. Out of curiosity, you said that Sunset was the one responsible for them being in these states?"

"Yes."

"Eeyup."

"Mmmhmm."

Aria was puzzled. "Okay, follow-up question. How exactly did she do it? What did she do exactly?"

"Aria, we don't know!" Rainbow said.

"Rainbow Dash," Aria said, sternly. "If you want me to help, I need to know exactly what happened. What was the last thing you remember with them before they were like this?"

Rarity sighed. "All I remember was tucking Sweetie Belle in for the night, and then when I woke up... she wasn't waking up! And... and..." Rarity felt her stomach churning. "Sunset left a note... she said if I didn't continue to help... whatever happened to her... would happen to my mother and father!"

Rainbow frowned and patted her shoulder. "She's not the only one. Scoot just wanted to spend the night with me, and then the next morning... I found her like that, with the same note from Sunset."

"And with Applebloom," Applejack somberly replied, looking away from the camera.

"Hmm..." Aria scratched her chin. "So they're physically fine?"

"Yes."

"But in a paralytic state of sleeping..." Aria thought. "But if they're fine then..." her head went straight up and her face quickly turned from curious to terrified. "Oh no..."

"Why so scared all of the sudden?" Applejack quivered.

"Girls. I don't know how to say this... but I have a feeling Sunset must have used some form of Equestrian Magic to put them all in a paralyzed trance!"

"WHAT!?" All three sisters yelled.

"If Sunset didn't beat them up or assault them, then she must have done something that would make sure you girls stayed with her no matter what," Aria said, putting the pieces of the puzzle together. "And the only way this can be figured out is..."

She halted as she was in direct thought. The Rainbooms were a little confused.

"What?" Pinkie asked. "Figured out what!?" She grabbed the phone and started shaking it violently. "What did you figure out!?"

"Pinkie!" Aria shouted.

Pinkie stopped shaking the phone. "Please do not do that again, I think I'm going to throw up."

Pinkie giggled. "Oops! Sorry Ari!" She set the phone back down, showing an Aria who was cupping her mouth, trying her hardest not to spit out any of the contents in her stomach.

"Okay..." She let out a burp, finally feeling well again. "We're coming back. We need to come back, and we have to go to Equestria."

"Wait, what!?"

"You mean the place where Sunset came from actually... exists?" Rarity asked.

"You're talking to an immortal siren who merged into a three-headed sea monster," Fluttershy deadpanned. "I think we can believe anything they tell us."

"Look, the point is, I have an idea. If she put them under a spell, there must be a counterspell for this. We go to Equestria, find someone who knows a thing or two about magic spells, find what we need to undo the spell, they should wake up again."

Now the three sisters were liking this news.

"You mean... Applebloom might finally... wake up again?" Applejack said, her eyes becoming watery with joy.

"I can't promise anything, but if there's a chance it can be undone, we'll do what we can to find a way." A soft timer beep went off in the motel room, Aria looking off to the side. "Oh crud, I gotta go. Look, I'll tell Adagio and Sonata everything, this is big, this is real big. We'll let you know if we come across anything. Just do your best and keep on pushing."

"We will," Rainbow said, pumping her fist.

"Just go out there and find that cure!"

"And get them back! Oh, one more thing darling?"

"Yeah?" Aria said, looking at Rarity.

Pause. Then with some courage, she looked at Aria Blaze, dead in the eye. "I know we're not on equal terms with each other but... thank you."

For once, Aria couldn't find herself able to scowl at those she called enemy. She actually gave a genuine, sincere smile and nodded. "You're welcome."

Chapter 13: Rainbows And Shadows

Sometime after their phone chat with Aria, the Rainbooms all regrouped and started to head outside. The party was still going on (even after the little incident regarding Amethyst's stage performance) but they did want to get some fresh air just as much as the Shadowbolts. Though to be honest, it was mostly just an excuse to get away from their classmates who were still bitter with them for the most part.

"Why are we even talking to them?" Fluttershy scowled.

"Because, they don't know us, and this can give us a chance to finally make some real friends."

"Yer heart's in the right place, Rarity, but, are ya sure they're, um... not gonna judge us?"

"Applejack, they barely know us. If the whole school isn't going to talk to us, then maybe we should at least try with some people who don't a thing about us. This could very much give us the chance to start over and become better."

"Or create more enemies," Fluttershy snarked.

"Oh come on, don't be such a grumpy-pants. They'll love us!" Pinkie Pie smiled with some optimism.

Rainbow shrugged. "Well, better than nothing. Come on..."

The girls stepped outside, finally feeling the cool air outside. And right there, underneath a tree protected from the shade, with a fresh blanket set up were the Shadowbolts.

"Oh there you are dearie! Please, come on over!" Sunny Flare waved, inviting them all over to come join. As they sat down they could hear some soft music playing, the source being the boombox that was sitting next to Lemon Zest.

"Hey, nice to meet ya guys!" Lemon smiled.

"We already met you and Rainbow. And you three are?"

"I'm Applejack," Applejack smiled, tipping her hat at her.

"I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Fluttershy," Fluttershy deadpanned.

Sunny Flare smiled. "I'm Sunny Flare."

"Indigo Zap, what's up?"

"Hi dudes, Lemon Zest!"

"Sugarcoat."

"Sour Sweet. And as I've told Rarity, no smart remarks about my name, capiece?"

"Please, come, sit, sit!" Sunny offered, inviting the Rainbooms in.

Still unsure, but not willing to disregard their offer, the girls accepted and sat around the picnic blanket with the others. There was a little bit of some awkwardness between the two groups. None of which knew what to say or even begin the topic.

"Sooo... what do you girls do?" Applejack asked. "I-In yer freetime, I mean."

Sugarcoat blinked before speaking. "I help work on the school's newspaper. I'm in charge of the writing committee and making sure whatever information we say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. ... Also I do online movie reviews."

"Oh, well, that's cool," Applejack rubbed her head, feeling a bit on edge just from asking. "Sooo... by whole truth, you mean... all of it?"

Sugarcoat nodded. "I have the responsibility of the Crystal Prep Headline to be completely honest, 100% in full. Of course, if there are those that do wish to keep anonymity to maintain some shred of integrity regarding what rumor or situation gets pulled into the main center of attention, it's my journalistic integrity to protect said individuals."

All of the Rainbooms blinked, trying to comprehend all the words that were thrown at them.

"... She's true to her word," Indigo summed up.

"Ohh..." The Rainbooms nodded, now getting the picture.

"I'm team captain of Crystal Prep's volleyball team," Indigo said, failing to hide a prideful smirk. "Don't wanna brag or anything but... I've got fists of steel."

"You're not the only one," Rainbow winked. For once, she felt like showing off a bit of her old self.

Indigo giggled. "Maybe you and I will face off against each other in the games at somepoint?"

Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe."

"What about you, Lemon?" Applejack asked.

"Eh, I don't really have much to say. Honestly, you say the word, and I will turn a boring night into the most epic night you can have."

Sunny Flare rolled her eyes, chuckling. "She's exaggerating."

"But I'm always around if ya need someone to help turn that frown upside!" Lemon grinned, flipping herself on her back, looking at the Rainbooms from an upside down view. Rarity couldn't help but giggle a bit. Pinkie Pie would definitely get along with this girl for sure.

"Oooh! Do you like parties?" Pinkie asked. She received a glare from Fluttershy. "Whaaat? I'm just curious!"

"You kidding me? I'm this group's resident party animal," Lemon giggled.

"Though don't let her have too much sugar, or else she turns into super-hyper mode," Sour warned.

"Aww, Sour..."

"You know we're doing this because we love you, right?"

"Come on, you can't deny me sweets!"

Sour Sweet rolled her eyes. Applejack nudged Fluttershy's shoulder, getting her to glare at the applefarmer. Applejack tilted her head towards the Shadowbolts, hinting at them.

"No," Fluttershy deadpanned.

"Come on, do you wanna be stuck in the same place?"

Fluttershy glared, but ultimately turned her head to look at Sour Sweet and tried her best to give a friendly face, although her attempt was very clearly forced. "Sooo... what do you do?"

Sour felt like this girl was almost about to pounce on her like a tiger. There's an image I will never get out of my head. "Well first of all... can you please not look at me like that, you're kinda creeping me out a bit?"

Fluttershy felt a bit of relief, finally going back to her usual deadpan expression. She felt the pain from her cheeks clenching, just trying to smile at her.

"Second... I don't really have much to say either. I mean, I volunteer from time to time, but nothing really much to me. Just don't make me mad, you get me? I'm good with a bow and arrow, and trust me, I'm not afraid to use them."

Fluttershy was a little shocked from her sudden swing into sour disposition. But at the same time, she couldn't help but smirk a little bit. "I like this one."

Sour smirked back at her.

"Anyways... while I know no one asked, my talents mostly fall into the artistic fields. Arts and crafts, acting, performing arts, that kind of thing," Sunny nodded.

"Oooh! You're into fine arts?"

"Mmmhmm!"

"Any plays you put on?"

"Well, while I can't name any off the top of my head, I did have to perform a number of Marehouse County," Sunny shrugged, head tilting side to side. "Though not the best performance I put on."

A moment of silence was between the two groups.

"Well, um, I do want to say thanks again for inviting us out here. It is rather calmer out here than being in there."

"Oh, it's no problem at all, dearie," Sunny smiled. "Though I'm still confused, why was that girl trying to attack you?"

All five of the Rainbooms heads lurched up. It was quiet, you could hear a pin drop. They almost looked like meerkats, just from the way they looked at them.

"Well... um..." Rarity tittered. "It's kind of a long story..."

"You can say that again," Pinkie agreed.

Sugarcoat raised a brow. "Sounds to me like there's some kind of history going on that you don't want us to know."

Now everyone looked terrified.

"Uh... w-what do you mean?"

"T-There's nothing going on, really!" Rainbow shook her head, clearly lying.

"Rainbow Dash, is it? I can tell when someone lies. Stammering in their speech, constant void of eye-contact, visible sweat, fidgeting in place... when someone acts like that, it's always an indication of something not wanting to be heard or be known."

"Okay, okay! Look, we did something bad, okay? And now because of that, she's mad, and wants revenge." Rainbow's lips curled, looking away. "Happy now?"

The pig-tailed girl blinked. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you upset. That wasn't my intention."

Rainbow halted. Looking back, she could see Sugarcoat was actually a little sincere. Her words may not have sounded truthful (thanks to her monotonous tone of voice) but her face spoke for her.

"It's... it's alright," Rainbow said softly. "Sorry, we've... we've been having some rough couple of days."

"I can tell," Sunny Flare.

Some more silence was in between them.

"... You know, girls, if that... Cherry Crash, was it?" Sunny asked, before getting confirmation on her name. "Don't let her put you down. You just gotta chin up, and keep on. You five are competing in the games, right?"

The Rainbooms all nodded.

"Then I think you should look at it from a different perspective. You all are participating in one of the most important events of your school, you're up there, ready to take a stand, participate in the games. Don't think about her, don't think about anyone in the crowds, just focus on the task you're doing. Who knows? Maybe because of you five, Canterlot might win."

No one was really sure. Practically, the entire school was against them, and with all of their eyes watching, and knowing what they did to them all, it was something that was putting a damper on their spirits. But no one knew for sure; there was a small boost of good feeling inside. It wasn't much, but it was at least something. Maybe it was because they were talking with people who didn't instantly hate them, maybe it was because they were away from their classmates. But one thing was for sure; for the first time in a long time, the Rainbooms were starting to feel very, genuinely happy.

Some hours much later in the day, the party came to an end and everyone went home. Tomorrow they would have to get up earlier so they could prepare themselves for the games. Well, those participating would have to get up earlier.

While she wasn't participating, Vinyl found a way to help out. With Bon Bon and herself in the living room, Vinyl had a set of flash cards put together with some knowledge-based information in case she would succeed. So far, Bon Bon was doing remarkably well, though there was a few misses here and there.

"Alright, common knowledge in the field of science... what are the main parts of an atom?" Vinyl asked.

"Protons, neutrons, and electrons."

"Perfect! Father of electricity, name is?"

"William Gilbert, not Benjamin Franklin; Franklin's experiments helped make the connection between lightning and electricity," Bon Bon answered.

"Good! Okay, now here's the last one; this is a tool that is used to help divert lightning into the ground in a harmless way. What is it?"

"Uh... um..." Bon Bon paused. Now she was starting to get stuck. "Lightning... rod?"

"Yes, there you go! See, you do remember these."

Bon Bon wiped the fake sweat off her head. "Well it's hard to memorize every science fact in the world just for a school competition."

"But yet you can memorize every kind of recipe you've ever made?"

"Hey! Food's my calling card," Bon Bon huffed.

Vinyl chuckled, putting the deck down on the coffee table. "How about we take a break?"

"Fine with me. I need one."

"Oh, Vinyl! Can you come here for a second?" Vinyl's mom called from the other room.

"What is it?"

"I know now's not the best time, but your grandmother would like to speak to you real quick."

Vinyl looked back over to Bon Bon. "Mind if I...?"

"Oh, uh, sure, of course."

Vinyl stepped out of the room and took the phone passed by her mother. "Hi Grandma. How are you?" But as she held the phone she could hear a very soft buzzing coming from the phone. "Um, Grandma, is there... is there something in the house?"

But the buzzing only got louder. She hit the bottom of the phone a few times, trying to see if maybe that would work.

"Hello? Grandma?"

But unfortunately, the signal was dropped, hinted by the dial tone sound from the other end. She hit the phone a few times, but nothing happened. It wasn't until the light flickered in the ceiling a few times that she noticed something was off.

"Um, Mom? Any chance we have a power surge going on?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"The line just dropped!"

There was no response. Until a few moments later.

"No, you're right, the line's dead!"

"Uh, Vinyl?" Bon Bon called from the living room. "You might wanna see this?"

Vinyl rushed back into the living room and her eyes came glued to the TV. The TV was malfunctioning too! No channel, no video, nothing but tons of flashing images that flickered back into their eyes. It was like someone was trying to hack into a computer only through their TV. The light was so bright that it was almost about to give them epilepsy!

"Turn it off!"

Their heads looked up, hearing the strange sounds of electricity buzzing. And like a power overload, the lightbulb in the ceiling began to emit a few electric sparks until all of the power in the house was lost and left everyone in nothing but pitch black darkness.

A moment of silence passed.

"Well at least the TV isn't giving us epilepsy," Vinyl chuckled nervously, trying to remain calm.

"Okay, Vinyl, Bon Bon, if you two have lights on your phones, pull them out! Vinyl, your father's going down into the basement and turn the power grid back on. If nothing works, we'll set up some candles and call an electrician!" Vinyl's mom called from the other room.

"Okay Mom!" Vinyl yelled.

A moment of silence was between the two friends.

"Let me guess, now you have powers, huh?" Bon Bon deadpanned.

"... yeah."

"Shocker."

Chapter 14: Old Routes, Old Friends

Tuesday had arrived. The official first day of the Friendship Games. Yesterday was nothing but partying and getting to know the competition, but now the games were beginning for real. Everyone was moving themselves to get up and runnin' for the games, eager to get there on time.

Applejack was up, has been for a couple of hours already, having done chores and such before having to leave for school.
Bag slung over her shoulder, she was on the way to school - unlike Rainbow Dash, who lived the closest to the school. AJ, being on a farm far from school meant that she had a lot more opportunity to figure out a route to school that wasn't easily found by her fellow classmates--

"AJ!"

--For about two seconds. Applejack jumped in surprise, hearing a voice that ticked an old memory.

"What in--?"

She looks over, and sees a familiar-looking girl running towards her, waving. Same sparkling skin-tight pants, shoulder-less blue shirt, and indigo colored hair that was woven beautifully to match her pale-blue skin.

AJ was astounded. "Rara?"

Rara smiled. "Hi! I've been looking all over for you!" The former pop star came up by her, smiling, a little out-of-breath.

"How did ya..."

"I remembered one of your old letters. Back road by the creek. You liked the flowers on the trees in spring, thought I'd check there," Rara answered, panting heavily.

AJ had nothing else to say. "Oh."

The two of them, after some lingering on Applejack's part, continued the hike to school. AJ glances at Rara once or twice, trying to be discreet. This was just a big shock to her. She knew this girl from years ago. They'd been best pals at camp, but had fallen out of touch. But now here she is again - Rara, formerly 'Countess Coloratura,' teen pop sensation - and AJ herself, a lonely ex-bully.

Applejack had no idea what to say to her. How do you talk to someone from so long ago, after so very much has gone wrong with your life?

Trying to think of something, she said, "So... uh. You were famous."

Rara laughed. "I don't think I've ever heard anyone say it like that before." She smiled, thoughtfully. "It was... it was nice, but I'm glad to take a break from it all for a while."

Applejack was confused. "Really?"

"Yeah... I mean, don't get me wrong, I love singing. And I'm grateful that my music made a lot of people really happy. Doing meet-and-greets with fans was always so nice... but it just feels good to get out of the spotlight for a while."

The apple farmer frowned as Rara continued.

"It's just... there were times when it felt like I was always being watched. Like, that there was nobody who really knew me, well, for me. And that if I goofed up, or did something wrong, that I'd never live it down." She kicked a small rock in her path into a bush. "So I decided to take a break. My manager calls it a sabbatical, but whatever. I want some time to be just Rara again."

AJ's response was wistful, sad. "That must be nice..."

Rara broke out of her reverie, and noticed her friend's gloom. Very softly, she spoke, "Oh, AJ... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's alright. I know ya didn't mean anythin' by it." She looked away. "Not like other folks..."

Rara frowned at her. They've stopped walking and stood in silence, in the morning beauty by the creek. Tentatively she said, "I'd heard about some things, from some of the other students at school. Nobody believed me when I said that you and I were friends..."

AJ was almost startled. "You went an' told 'em that?!"

Rara put her hands up, defensively. "I didn't know, AJ! I had no idea that people hated my old camp friend because she'd... she'd..."

The rest of her words trailed off. But the implication of them hang thick in the air.

"Is it true, AJ? The things you and those other girls did?" Rara softly spoke.

Guilty, Applejack looked away from her. Bad enough that she had to endure this from others... but from an old friend she knew from one of the happiest times of her life?

AJ just replied with a miserable tone. "It don't matter, Rara."

"Yes it does, AJ. It does matter."

AJ looked down at her boots. Her vision is blurry, desperately trying not to cry.

Gently, she spoke "AJ? Applejack, look at me."

AJ finally brings herself to look at her. Rara is looking at her, sadly... but with compassion too?

"You do want to change, right? You don't want to be that person anymore. Be honest..."

AJ stares at first, then nodded rapidly "Yeah - I do! That's all I wanna do, Rara! I want to be better! That's why I tried out for the Games in the first dang place!"

Rara smiled. "Good. That's just what I wanted to hear."

And she wrapped her arms around Applejack, giving her a hug.

The farmer was startled, but very faintly returned the hug. "Rara…"

"Shush. You needed this, silly." She pulled back just a bit, so she can look her friend in the eye. "And you need a friend. As many as you can get."

Applejack smiled at her, grateful. It was at this point she was crying but it was tears of joy. "Oh, Rara…"

The two shared one more quick hug, and then were back to head on to school. The rest of the walk passed in happy silence, Applejack noting for the first time in a long time, just how pretty the creek and the natural scenery were...

When they get near to the school, Applejack could see some of her classmates, some of the people who've given her a hard time before. And she also saw the two Crystal Prep buses parked out front, dropping the students off. She almost forgot that the competition was starting early today. She faltered a little.... but then Rara gaves her hand a comforting squeeze.

And the two of them walked to school, hand-in-hand. By now, almost everyone was at school, all brushed up, ready to begin the day's events! Of course Applejack and Rara still kept marching through the school.

"Excuse me, coming through!" A familiar girl shouted, brushing past Rara and Applejack, clenching her hands around a cup of coffee. She stopped, realizing that she almost ran some people over. "Oof, sorry! You okay?"

"I'm fine," Rara replied.

Amethyst stopped. "Wait a minute... Countess Coloratura? Oh my gosh, hi! I almost forgot you were even here!"

Rara giggled. "Hi. You are?"

"Amethyst, nice to meet you Countess!"

"Please, just call me Rara, I don't need to be called Countess Coloratura," Rara blushed.

Amethyst giggled. "I'll keep that in mind. See ya around, maybe!" And she dashed away. She walked past a few more students, trying her hardest not to get trampled by the rest of the rushing classmates and to not drop her coffee. She found a perfect spot to camp until the halls died down, near the set of stairs that led to the second floor. Trixie was sitting on one of the steps, completely oblivious to her surroundings.

"Morning Trixie!"

“Hey,” Trixie said, distracted.

“Something got you down?” Amethyst asked. She moved herself over and sat herself down next to her friend.

“Not really. Apparently Adagio called me last night.”

“Really? What for?”

“Well…”

Trixie’s finger tapped the message button, playing back what she had heard.

First New Message.

“Trickstaaaa!” Hollered a slurring Adagio. “It’s your old buddy, Admiral Dazzlepants! Why didn’t you pick up the phone, it’s only 3 AM! Oh! Right! My bad."

Trixie looked up at Amethyst with a deadpan expression. “Trust me, it only gets worse.” She pressed another button and set her phone down, allowing all the messages to play.

Next Message.

“It’s me again… I gave up being a siren. You should give up high school, and we can totally solve crimes together!”

Next Message.

“You know something Trixie? … I see clowwwns! I don’t know where Aria and Sonata are, but I think I might have brought two clowns home with me! They look so scary though… nuuuu, they have popcorn guns…."

Next Message.

“Hey guess who I am! The Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie will not be denied! I’m YOU, get it?”

Next Message.

“Are you mad at me? … Oh no, you’re mad at me, I’m so sorry… The Great And Powerful Trrrrrixxie!!! ... needs a trashcan, be right back!”

Next Message.

“… Heeeyyyy… Trixie. I got a surprise from you. Can you guess? … I’m actually really drunk right now… but you know… I really miss you… I just wanna snuggle you and pet you, and rub your belly, and boop your nose!"

An awkward pause was in the message. Trixie thought the message was over until--

“Hey did you see the Shatter and Dropkick movie?”

Next Message.

"I’m sorry!! I’m so sorry Al Capone!! I’m the one who got you arrested!! I didn’t mean it!! The IRS wrote me a letter asking about your taxes!!! I didn’t know you go to jail for not paying taxes!!!! It’s all my fault!!! I’m the bad guy!!!"

The next few seconds following was Adagio bawling her eyes out in mass hysteria before Trixie stopped playing the messages.

"And that's not even half of what she sent me last night," Trixie said, continuing to fill the conversation with deadpan. Amethyst couldn't even speak, she was practically speechless. She only mouthed 'wow'.

"Anyways, that's that," Trixie said, putting her phone away. "Though the only other thing that happened was when I was getting breakfast... I swear, I saw Al Capone sitting right across from me."

"... isn't he dead--oh, wait, never mind," Amethyst nodded. "Forgot the alligator incident."

"But if you don't mind me asking... what happened up there on that stage?" Trixie asked. "None of your equipment was plugged in, and you sent everyone flying across the auditorium."

Amethyst shot her head back up, remembering the night before. "Oh... I... I don't know. I just played into my instrument, and suddenly I felt as if I could throw my music to an incredibly long range. I don't know about you but... I think I can amplify sound!"

Trixie took another bite of her food. "That would explain why you shot everybody. And also all the shattered glass."

Amethyst frowned. "Cleaning up broken glass is not fun."

"Yeah, I bet," Trixie nodded. "But thinking about it... hmm... so just from Saturday and from this morning, whatever I pictured in my head manifested itself before us. The alligator, and Al Capone being things that were in my head... wait a minute..." Trixie stopped. "Hold on... let me try something."

Amethyst was confused. Looking at Trixie, she saw the little dork close her eyes, face expressing heavy focus and concentration.

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Amethyst asked, completely oblivious to what she was attempting.

"I'm experimenting, hold on..."

Amethyst just chuckled, rolling her eyes and took another sip of her coffee. But when she looked back up, she almost snorted the coffee through her nose.

"Okay... Trixie, two questions. 1, how did you change your clothes so quickly. 2, why are you wearing a sailor outfit?"

Trixie opened up her eyes, and to her surprise, Amethyst was right. Her entire body was now dressed in a Navy sailor outfit; white hat and all.

"Oh hey, it worked!" Trixie giggled. She tilted her head up a bit, trying to see if she could see the fake hat above her head. "Oooh... hold on!"

Trixie waited for a second, and just like magic, her clothes changed again; now she appeared before Amethyst as a pirate, eye-patch, hat, swashbuckling sword and all.

"Ahoy, matey," Amethyst deadpanned with some confusion.

Trixie giggled. But she stopped mid-giggle as a light bulb flickered over her head. "Amethyst... I have an idea!"

"Good morning students! I'm sure you're all thrilled to start the first day of the Friendship Games! Our competitors will face off in every aspect of the CHS curriculum, in the elimination equation finale! The first event; the Academic Decathalon!" Principal Luna announced over the loudspeaker.

On two different sides, stood the Crystal Prep and Canterlot High teams. Indigo Zap and her friends stood at the front alongside a deadpanned and uninterested Twilight Sparkle while the rest of the team stood in the back. On the CHS team, the Rainbooms were parked in the front which none of them wanted, they could feel a million eyes turning into daggers pointing at them.

"You will be scored on chemistry, home ec, and everything in between. But remember, only the six students from each team with the most points will move onto event number 2. Good luck!"

As everyone was getting ready to head to the chemistry room for the first round, the Rainbooms stood around, waiting for everyone to depart. That is until one of them was bumped intentionally by a passing student.

"Look, Rainbooms, do yourselves a favor and stay out of our way," Norman snarked with a scowl.

Rainbow grumbled a bit, brushing the bump.

"I don't know about you, but I think everyone's going to kill us before these games are over," Fluttershy said.

"I think we're already dead..." Pinkie gulped, sweating visibly as she walked with her team.

And in seconds; the games had begun.

Chapter 15: The Academic Decathalon!

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 16: Apology Brownies

Author's Note

A little bit of experimentation in this chapter. Not a big one, but it's something that was brought up to me, and I thought I should take that into consideration for future chapters.

However, I will warn thee, next chapter things are gonna be a little bit... dark. I won't say why, but I do think a warning should be provided.

Thanks for reading, have a great day.

Chapter 16: Apology Brownies

With the declared victory for CPA, all of Crystal Prep's students were slowly starting to go home for the day. Everyone else at CHS remained of course, but this meant that they could start going home for the day, or go hang out still so they oculd try and get any remaining work they needed done.

Flash Sentry, while still feeling a little down that he lost for CHS, did feel a little better being surrounded by some of his friends who gave him nothing but compliments and hopeful remarks.

"Don't beat yourself up, Flash. You did fine," Cherry Crash said.

"You got us closer to winning than anyone else at Canterlot High's ever been," Teddy Touchdown nodded.

"Well, thanks guys," Flash said, a little bashful.

"Dude, you gotta chillax, man. Just go with the flow, bro. You made it, that's a great thing," Sandalwood said with lots of relaxation in his voice. The hippie was always looking for the most positive angle of any situation he was in; always looking for peace, not war. As if his dreadlocks and beanie needed any more indication that he was a hippie.

"I guess so, yeah. Still though, sorry none of you guys made it in. Sandalwood, Micro Chips."

"It wasn't your fault," Micro Chips answered. "Sandalwood and I failed to do the proper measurements and calculations required to make a proper birdhouse."

"I admit, I wasn't on my best," Sandalwood said. "Those two Crystal Prep girls really made a cool house."

"Oh yeah..." Everyone said, remembering the end result. Indigo and Sugarcoat's final house was a two-story birdhouse, painted in dark blue and purple, and varnished with fiery patterns on the doorways.

"But at least the Rainbooms did well," Flash said.

All everyone responded with was awkward silence.

"... I said--"

"--We know what you said, Flash," Sweet Leaf interrupted, putting her hand up. "Sorry, it's just... still kinda awkward though."

"But come on, you can't deny their success. They actually did pretty good in some of those rounds. Did you see Pinkie Pie's cake?" Flash emphasized. "I don't even know how she got the Mona Lisa in that cake, but I'm not going to question it!"

"You can't really question Pinkie Pie anyway," Sweet Leaf shrugged.

"Still though, she won for us in that round, you gotta give her that."

As much as they didn't want to admit it, they knew it was true. Pinkie Pie did pull through for them on that challenge. And even then, the Rainbooms had succeeded the most in all of the events that they were doing today. Even more so than their efforts.

But their conversation was cut short when suddenly a bubbly and cheerful voice interrupted.

"Hi Flashie!"

The group turned their heads looking at a attempting-to-be-positive Pinkie Pie.

"You know what, I've gotta bounce, just call me later," Cherry said, ignoring the pink girl and walking to her locker to leave.

"Um, hi, Pinkie. What'cha doing?" Sandalwood asked, curiously.

"Well, uh, I made a liiiiittttle somethin' that I thought you boys might like!" She extended her arms out, revealing a set of freshly baked brownies. "I know you and everyone else don't trust me, but I wanted to give you guys something. Also my way of saying, 'I'm sorry'."

Hesitantly Sandalwood reached out and picked up a brownie. Looked perfectly normal, didn't seem too out of the ordinary. He took a bite into it, munching on the sweet chocolately goodness. And to a complete surprise; it actually wasn't that bad! It was... good!

"This is... pretty good. ... It's crunchy, very chocolatey... love the chocolate chips, those are soooo good..."

"You like it?" Pinkie perked up.

"I love it! Dudes, come on, you gotta try this!"

Shrugging, Flash and Micro Chips took a brownie as well, giving them a try. Even Sweet Leaf and Teddy reached to try one. They too shared the same reactions as Sandalwood.

"Dang, these are good!" Teddy said, munching down on them.

Pinkie's heart started to melt, hearing those words. And hearing those remarks coming from her classmates was making her feel happy as well.

"You... you really like em?"

"Pinkie, these are delicious! Did you make these?"

"Yep!" Pinkie nodded. "Not to brag or anything, but I am ze Queen when it comes to baking!"

"Seriously these are amazing!" Flash smiled. "You thinking about making some of these for tomorrow?"

"Well, I don't know... I mean, aren't we going to be participating in the games tomorrow?"

"Aww, come on, please? At least a little something?"

"Weeelllll... okay!" Pinkie grinned. "I'd be happy to!"

This made the rest of the group really happy.

"Thanks Pinkie!" Sweet Leaf smiled.

And just as the group was gonna go on and mind their own business--

"Uh, wait, guys?"

They stopped.

"Yeah, Pinkie?"

Pinkie waited for a moment, a little unsure of how she should respond. "Thank you. I know I'm still trying to earn all of your trust but... thanks for trying my brownies. And, giving me a chance."

Flash just smiled. Nodding back at the party animal, he turned around still keeping that happy smile on his face, walking with his friends. Pinkie really did try there. Maybe there was a chance that they were going to get better. But as they walked out, Cherry Crash leaned against a locker door, watching them leave. A scowl hit her face, knowing who they were just talking to. She had the audacity to try and talk to her friends after all the crud she pulled on her and them? Oh no, there was something that needed to be done, and it needed to be done now!

After a long day of games and fun, the time to go home had come. Lyra and Bon Bon still struggled to walk down the halls after their encounters, but still were able to walk.

"Lyra, how did you even vanish like that?" Bon Bon said, provided with a helping hand by her friend.

"I don't know. I just walked down into the hall where Rainbow Dash was, and then suddenly I vanished. I don't even know how," Lyra said, trying her best not to drop Bon Bon. "Next thing I know, I'm trying to walk back to school all the way from the city. Well, at least until I tried to take a shortcut down some dark alleyway, and then the next thing I know, I'm back here at school again!"

Bon Bon moaned. "We really need to figure out what's going on here."

"Agreed. Don't worry, lets just get the girls and we'll go home." She opened up the door to the music room, the practice room where their group of friends were hanging out. "Okay Trixie, do you wanna head home tooooo... uhhhhhh..." Lyra droned, looking at what was in front of her.

Bon Bon held her head, but even with the headache and drowsiness, her eyes bulged to see the image in front of her. Trixie was looking towards her friends with a deadpan expression, very unamused. Behind her was several mariachi players playing fiesta music, created by the light coming from inside the window. A few sparks were fizzing from the light fixtures in the ceiling underneath poor Vinyl who looked very embarrassed. A stereo used for playing music was now in pieces, next to an upset Amethyst who had her arms folded up in disappointment.

"Um--"

"Don't. Ask," Trixie deadpanned.

"So it looks like all of us have superpowers then, huh?" Vinyl frowned, laying against a wall.

"Yep."

"Seems like it."

"Octavia threw her head back, rubbing at her eyes. "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to call it quits for the day and head on home. Anyone want to hang out at my place?"

"Sure, yeah," Trixie nodded.

"I'd love to," Bon Bon said. "As long as I can sit still..." she said, holding her head.

"That's fine," Octavia said, sitting up. "Look, just wait, I'm going to go to my locker and get my things, I'll be right back," Octavia said, starting to walk out of the music room. But little did she know that just like before, something metallic was starting to become attracted to her.

"Oh, um, Octavia, one of the cymbals, is uh..."

Too late. The cymbal came zipping out of it's place and flew through the air like a flaming arrow and slammed against Octavia as she got out into the hallway.

"OW!"

They heard her body fall to the floor with a thud, accompanied by more groaning.

"I hate superpowers..."

Chapter 17: Payback time

Afternoon in the city was pretty busy. Everyone was running around, doing jobs, running errands, or just doing whatever. And one former bully was wandering the streets on her way home. Her associates were busy otherwise, and she had nothing else to do. All that came to mind was just to go home and get some work done. Maybe get some more dresses done for her boutique? But then again, would anyone really come to her place considering her past?

Doubting herself by the second, she stopped when someone familiar called her name.

"Rarity?"

Rarity's skin was cold. That familiar green spiked hairstyle, cherry red lips, punk outfit, it all came back to her.

"Oh! C-Cherry Crash, um, uh... w-what's going on?" Rarity tittered. She was anticipating another small form of attack, more trash, or another drink to her face.

"Rarity, let me talk," Cherry said, stopping her. "Look... as much as I loathe you and the rest of your Rainbooms, part of me has come to realize that neither one of us are going to be happy at the rate this is going. So..." She said, biting her tongue. "I was wondering if maybe... you... would... want... to talk?"

"That looked painful," Rarity observed. "But really though, darling, I'm not sure... I mean--"

"Rarity, look, I'm trying to be nice, please, just let me--" Cherry paused, realizing how rude she was starting to sound. "Look. I don't know if I'll like you or not, but I did think of something that we could do. There's a diner just on the other side, it's got good food, how about we just sit and talk?"

All alarms went off inside of Rarity's head, telling her to turn the other way. She didn't want to go, but she did hear some form of sincerity from Cherry's voice. At least, she hoped it was sincere.

"Um, I suppose we could," Rarity said, raising her shields a little bit. "Where is this diner?"

"Oh, it's down on the other side, behind this set of buildings. I know a shortcut though, we just gotta go through this alleyway, make a right turn, and then turn left, and that will take us to the small diner on the other side. Come on!"

Hesitantly, Rarity started to follow after. Cherry Crash turned to the right, vanishing from her eyes. But as Rarity turned around, a hand yanked her from off the side and slammed her against the granite brick wall.

"It's payback time, Rarity," Cherry snarled, no longer looking happy.

"W-What are you doing? Unhand me, please!" Rarity said, trying to get herself free from Cherry's grasp.

"Ohohoho, no. You're not going anywhere. You['re not getting off the hook that easy." Months of torment and rage were seething through her breath as she held her down. "Do you honestly think I would just forgive you like that!?" Cherry said, holding her against the wall. "You and your so called 'friends' are nothing but the biggest bullies in this city. Oh, well now it's time you see how it feels when you're the one who suffers!"

Rarity gulped. "W-What do you mean..."

Cherry sneered. "You remember when you sabotaged our stage performance, humiliating us in front of the entire audience? Well, do you?"

Rarity quivered but nodded.

"You got me and my band disqualified, and my guitar smashed! Well now it's time you have a taste of your own medicine..." Reaching behind her back, Rarity was fearing what she was pulling out. She was hoping it wasn't going to be what she hoped, but it was much worse. Scissors, trimmers, clippers... everything needed to cut away hair.

"Now hold still!"

"No, no!"

Rarity tried to fight back, but Cherry had a tight grip on her shoulders. And it was too late. Cherry started going psycho with the scissors making random cuts and snips into her hair. It was clear she had no barber skills based on her lunging like a wacko.

"Agh! No! Please! Stop!"

"We're not done!"

Before Rarity could react, a cold splash of water hit her face, making her cough a bit. And she got sprayed again like one would do to a cat.

"There we go, now we can begin the trim!"

Rarity tried to resist as hard as she could, but once again, she had no luck. The trimmer came to her head, and she started to see big clumps of her once beautiful flowing indigo hair fall into the damp puddles in the alleyway. She cried and begged as loud as she could, but no one could hear her. She wasn't sure if anyone could see what was going on, and she felt as if the entire world had gone completely silent.

"And this... is for everything!" Cherry snarled, ready to make her final marks.

Rarity however decided that enough was enough. Remembering an old trick that Rainbow Dash had taught her when she was still a bully, she swung her knee up and hit Cherry in the stomach temporarily pushing her away.

"OW!"

Cherry immediately went to hold onto her stomach, almost getting the wind knocked out of her. Taking her chance, Rarity dashed as fast as she could, making her run. But when she ran out of the alleyway, her heels came to a grinding halt. The reality of the situation hit her like a bomb. She was going to have to run home with her hair now in shreds. But Cherry Crash was going to be chasing after her very soon!

Knowing she had no other option, she high-heeled her way down the sidewalk and sprinted like a marathon runner. She blew by everyone in a flash, trying to avoid being caught as soon as possible. Only a few bystanders saw, some were confused. Some were pretty shocked. And a few fainted from the mere sight. But a good percentage of eyes were focusing on her and her messed up hair.

The poor ex-bully threw herself over a bench, high-tailing it through a park and ran past a few kids who were playing on the playground. Tears were flying off her face as she ran, trying not to break down in the middle of the park. No one could even say hi or ask if anything was wrong because by the time they did, Rarity was long gone, out of their sights.

Some time had passed since Rarity ran from the alleyway. Now she had made it to her home, quickly unlocking the door and rushing inside before slamming it hard. She quickly locked it back up and ran upstairs to hide in her room.

Flipping the lock to her room, back against the door, she felt her heart about to jump out of her chest. Her legs became wobbly, and she slowly slid against the door all the way down onto the carpeted floor. She didn't have the strength to try and stand back up. Her arm steadily reached to the desk that was nearby, her fingers managing to wrap around the handle of a small hand-held mirror.

Her mouth became dry and her eyes watered as she looked back at herself in the reflection. A good portion of her hair had been ripped, sheered, or cut straight out. It was a miracle that any hair was remaining at all, she could practically see her bald spots. Her hand felt the top of her head, feeling the loss of her hair follicles.

She dropped the mirror onto the floor, her eyes watering up even more. Lips began to quiver, until she buried her face in her arms. Soft whimpering emitted before she started to ball her eyes out. She threw herself straight onto her 'drama couch', burying her face into the fuzzy cover.

How could she have been so blind? How did she not see her true intentions? The small splash at the Welcome Crystal Prep party should have been an indication, but she was so sure she wanted to open up!

But everything stopped when she heard a knock on the door.

"Um, Rarity? Is everything alright in there?"

"Everything is fine, mother!" Rarity called out, trying her hardest not to show her true state.

"Are you sure, because you just--"

"JUST LEAVE ME ALONE, PLEASE!"

"... well, alright. Just come down if you need anything. I know things are hard for you, but... you know your father and I are always there for you, right?"

Rarity stopped. She almost took her own parents for granted. But she wasn't in any shape or desire to show them what had happened. Instead she just let out a soft 'yes', hoping that her mother would leave her alone. Eventually she did leave, allowing Rarity to be by herself. She tossed herself onto her bed, crying and clenching her knees.

Meow.

Looking down, she saw a small white kitten bounce up onto her bed and walk towards her. It sat up, looking towards her owner. A purple color was around it's neck, accompanied by a single diamond in the middle, showing this cat belonged to something of royalty. The kitten's tail swished side to side, focusing on the disheveled girl.

"Oh, Opal..." Rarity sobbed, picking up the small kitten. The kitten meowed as it got picked up by Rarity's tender arms. Another soft meow came out of it's mouth before Rarity held it close to her body, hugging it. Opal was a gift from Fluttershy, a pet that she offered to take from the animal shelter. But over the course of time, Rarity found that owning a cat was one of the best decisions she ever made. The cat always greeting her to say hi when she got home, or rubbing up against her wanting to be close, or even on her most gloomy of days the cat always came to her to snuggle up and be greeted by Rarity's attention.

"What is wrong with me, Opal? How could I have been so stupid!?" Rarity wailed, hugging her cat.

Opal could feel Rarity's sadness and started to snuzzle Rarity's cheek, purring contently.

"How can I go back to school like this? I'm a laughingstock!" Rarity bawled. "My friends can't see me like this!"

Rarity had no idea what to do. All she did know was to hold the kitty close, hugging it with as much comfort as she could while it purred, rubbing against her.

Cherry gave up on trying to pursue Rarity the moment she cut through the park. Part of her was still seething with rage, albeit thankful she got some form of revenge on that fashion caring bully. She cut back through to the main streets of the city, wandering around for a moment or two. But she stopped when she looked to her left and her skin went cold.

Flash Sentry, Brawly Beats, Sandalwood, Micro Chips, Sweet Leaf, Teddy Touchdown. All of them were sitting together at the cafe she was in front of, sitting in the outside area underneath an umbrella, sipping drinks and sharing a few laughs. Now was not the time to be talking to them. Slowly turning around, she started to tip-toe away--

"Cherry?"

Cherry's shoulders tensed up. Slowly spinning around, all eyes from the table were on her.

"Cherry? What are you doing here, I thought you were hanging with someone else," Brawly Beats asked.

"And why do you look like you ran a marathon?" Sweet Leaf asked.

Cherry blinked. "I ended up playing in traffic just trying to make it across the street. ... Okay, I had to do that seven times in a row, truthfully speaking--"

"--What's that on your boot?" Sandalwood asked, looking down.

Cherry's eyes sunk as she looked down. Clumps of Rarity's hair had stuck to her boots, still in small hairballs. There was no way she was going to hide it. If there was anything she wasn't, it was a good liar. But maybe she could twist the truth?

"Okay. I'm going to level with you. I... I ran into Rarity as I was walking through town."

"Uh-huh," Sandalwood said, not convinced by her tone.

"And while I was hesitant, I gave her some help when she needed it, that was it, and I really need to--"

"Wait one second..." Flash said, stopping her. "What were you doing with Rarity?"

"Oh she needed my help--"

"--With what?" Flash continued.

Cherry was a little startled by his interruption, but she kept talking. "She had something stuck in her hair, and as much as I hated doing it, she asked me to help get it out of her hair, and I did."

Flash and his friends still weren't buying it. "Now hang on, just a few hours ago, I saw you splashing punch in her face. Now suddenly you're helping her with her hair?" Flash asked suspiciously.

"Flash, is it wrong to help when someone is in need?"

"No. But I've known you for a long time, and you don't warm up to just anyone in a few hours," Flash said with a glare. "And I know how much you despise Rarity, more than any of the others."

"So what if I do?" Cherry asked, trying to play it off calm.

"You keep talking about wanting to exact revenge on her when you had the chance," Brawly pointed out. "I can't recall a single day that went by without you muttering something the moment someone has one mention of those girls."

Cherry gulped. "Okay, so maybe I do, but..."

"I think there's something that you're not telling us," Teddy huffed, getting up from the table, looking tough. Now Cherry wanted to run; Teddy Touchdown was a pretty tough athlete, he could tackle you down without getting a scratch on his skin. Linebackers were always the ones you never wanted to make mad.

"Or not wanting us to know," Micro Chips added, crossing his arms.

"Cherry, tell us the truth. What did you actually do?" Flash asked, insistently.

Cherry's brows furled and she groaned louder than before. And without thinking, she blurted out the grim truth, making all of Flash and his friends gasp in shock. "Okay, I shaved her head!"

A solemn row of silence hushed over the group of friends.

"You did WHAT!?" Teddy exclaimed.

"Why would you do that!?" Brawly asked, trying not to explode.

"How could you?" Sweet Leaf pleaded, trying not to believe.

"Rarity is just so... argh! She got me and my band disqualified at the Battle of the Bands, she always keep trying to push me down, she keeps making me look like a fool! I'm sick of being stepped on, and I was doing all of you a favor!" Cherry thrust her arms down straight.

Flash's glare grew bigger.

"And you thought assaulting her in an alleyway was the right thing to do!?" Flash yelled, not caring how many witnesses would be around.

"You would have done the same thing, Flash!"

Flash's teeth were grit. "No, I wouldn't. Those girls have done many things, but does assaulting them make us any better than they were? They're trying to be better people, and shaving their heads off isn't going to make them want to get better!"

"I can't believe you, dude!" Sandalwood threw his arms up. "Walking away without saying a word is one thing. Being passive-aggressive is one thing! Assaulting them in an alleyway? ... That's... that's not cool, dude."

"That's an understatement," Sweet Leaf shook her head.

"And if this is just how she is with one of them, who's to say she won't try similar actions with the rest of the group?" Micro Chips inquired, making everyone else look with some concern.

"I'm not going to do that to the others! It was just one, that's it! Besides, she'll grow her hair back, it'll be okay," Cherry huffed.

Now Flash was even more disgusted. Someone he knew, someone he trusted, acted as if assaulting someone meant completely nothing. He was still trying to warm up to them being nice, but after this? If he hadn't been a lot nice before, oh he was going to be nicer to them for sure!

Upset, no longer hungry, he pushed himself out of his chair and stood up looking at her with a disappointed/dismayed face. "No, Cherry. It's not. It was never okay, and it's not okay now. And you know what? If you think that taking petty revenge into your own hands is okay, then... I don't want to hang out with you anymore."

Cherry was aghast. "What?"

"Get out of here Cherry, I don't want to talk to you anymore, I don't want to hang out with you anymore, and you should go before I say or do something I'll regret!"

"Fine! I will! But come on guys, you can't possibly tell me you all are on his side?"

No one responded. Well, for a few moments. For a little bit, all of them just gave her harsh glares with folded up arms and disapproving faces.

"You know something, Cherry Crash? I may not have liked the Rainbooms, but after what you did? I hope Rarity isn't so emotionally broken that she decides to change schools because of you!" Sweet Leaf barked.

"Maybe I might want to start talking to her from now on. Does that mean you're going to try and shave my head the next time I'm alone with you?" Teddy asked, starting to back her up. Taller, more muscular, and a linebacker. A combination that Cherry knew she would not last against.

With no choice, Cherry ran as fast as she could. Defeated, she ran for dear life, not looking back to see if an angry linebacker was going to chase her. But once she was gone, Flash slumped back in his chair, a heavy sigh escaping his lungs. His hands held his face as he tried to comprehend what he had just heard. Part of him was hoping that it wasn't true, he hoped it wasn't true.

"I knew she wanted back but... I didn't think she would actually do it," Flash said, trying to process this new information.

A soft hand patted his shoulder. Looking up, Flash saw Sweet Leaf offering a small heart-warming smile.

"So... what do we do now?" Brawly asked. "It's not like we can just ignore this."

"I don't know. I... I don't know." Flash's head raised. "I want to tell the principals, but... I don't know. But I know what I can do."

Flash reached into his pocket, pulling out his cellphone. His fingers tapped on the digits, and then he held the phone to his ear, hoping the number he dialed would work. He waited a few seconds until the number he called finally picked up.

"Hi, Rainbow Dash, this is Flash. I know it's weird I'm calling you out of nowhere but, there's something you and the rest of the girls need to know..."

Chapter 18: The Real Problem With Powers

The afternoon hours were continuing to draw. There was still plenty of daylight outside, but that didn't help the demeanor of Trixie and her friends. Everyone was sitting at a dining table in Octavia's home, all with unamused faces, borderline deadpan included.

Trixie took a drink from her glass before putting it back down. "Superpowers."

Amethyst did too. "Superpowers," she spat.

"Superpowers," Octavia deadpanned.

Trixie took another swig of her drink and slammed it back down on the table. "People complain that they don't have superpowers, thinking that can make their lives so much easier. But you know something? If anything, it makes life even harder. I couldn't walk into a single room without making a single illusion."

Lyra nodded. "Here, here! You’re telling me. I couldn’t set one foot in the dark without teleporting to some random location in Canterlot."

Vinyl snorted with derision. "You think you have problems? I can’t touch a single piece of my technology without even frying it. I had to wear these!" She raised her hands up, showing the pair of electrical gloves she was wearing. "And that's just to make sure I didn’t zap myself while eating lunch.

Bon Bon moaned loudly in pain. "Please… please lets just have a quiet afternoon…" The poor baker held her head, trying to keep her head from pounding. Ever since that experience in the games, she had a massive headache, almost to the point where she had to lie down for a few hours.

"Well at least you didn’t send people flying across the room just by playing music. Every sound I make amplifies to an explosion! I can't even get my voice to be loud and clear now," Amethyst whispered, fearing for the others safety.

"I think it's completely fair to say it," Trixie said.

"SUPERPOWERS SUCK!!!" Everyone shouted.

Their clamor of anger was high enough that Bon Bon felt out of her chair and was just holding onto her head some more.

"I'm going to help get Bonnie onto the couch, you mind if...?" Lyra asked.

"No, go right ahead," Octavia said, nodding.

Carefully, Lyra got Bon Bon back onto her feet and slowly carried her over to the living room so she could lie down on the couch. Bon Bon slowly drifted asleep after a few moments, curling up to get nice and comfy. Lyra couldn't help but smile at how adorable she looked. She grabbed a blanket from off the side and placed it over the baker, who happily got herself comfortable underneath.

The geeky magician shook her head. "This is getting out of hand. We have to call the girls, maybe they’ll know what to do.

"They just got settled into their job, we can’t just call them and tell them to quit because of our problems!" Amethyst said.

Octavia pointed out, "But if we don’t, then whatever happening to us will only spiral out of control."

Trixie snapped her fingers. "Unless… unless, no wait. What if we tried to work with them?"

"What?" Octavia asked.

"Huh?" Vinyl's head tilted.

"Look, the Dazzlings are off in Applewood with their job, and I know we should call them, but we need the money! Lets try and figure these powers out on our own. Since Lyra and Bon Bon aren’t in the games anymore, then that can give us a chance to try and figure them out without bringing anyone in serious danger. Tomorrow, while the games are going on, we practice. Agreed?"

Everyone waited a moment or two before all simultaneously nodding in agreement.

"We can still check out the games, right?" Lyra asked.

"Of course!" Trixie said, smiling.

Octavia took a sip of her soda. "I know our powers are insane, but I think these are awesome. How many people can you say have superpowers, besides, if I can be honest, I think these could be useful." She said, grinning. "And imagine the surprise on the Sirens faces when they see our new powers. And with enough time, I think we can turn these curses into perks."

Vinyl looked at Octavia with a deadpan expression. "Why are there office supplies stuck to your head?"

Octavia turned her head around showing the right side of her head. Covered in staples, a pen, a pair of scissors, some metal paperclips, etc. Even her own cellphone was shown to be stuck on her head. "That’s just where I keep them."

Just then, they heard the sound of a phone ringing. Their heads turned to Vinyl.

"Don't look at me, my phone's fried," Vinyl pouted.

"I don't have mine on me at the moment," Amethyst said, holding her hands up.

But the sound of the source was becoming very clear. Right in front of them the entire time. All heads slowly looked at Octavia, seeing the phone on the side of her head ringing. The rocker looked up and rolled her eyes. "It's me, isn't it?"

They nodded.

Groaning, she reached her hand to try and hit the answer button. "I'll get it."

"Wait, let me," Lyra said. "Just tilt your head to the side."

Octavia did just that, although it felt quite strenuous as she kept it at that angle. And with a quick tap, Lyra swiped the button to the answer call, and pressed it to speaker phone.

"Hello?" Lyra asked, sitting back down.

"Oh, uh, Lyra, hey! Is Octavia here?" Flash asked.

"Yes, she is," Octavia said with a bored face.

"Oh, uh. Are you on speakerphone?"

"We are, Flash. Now what's up?" Trixie asked.

"Well... you might want to know something, and it's not gonna be pretty."

"You're already dating someone?" Amethyst asked, teasingly.

"... No. And it's not personal, this is serious."

"Oh. Well, okay, what's up?"

A heavy sighing was heard from the phone. "This isn't going to sound good... but it's Rarity. Cherry, she... she assaulted Rarity, okay?"

Everyone dropped dead silent.

"... Oh. Is... is she okay?"

"I don't know. I don't have her number, I was only able to call Rainbow Dash because Pinkie Pie accidentally gave me her number and not hers, do not ask why, you just don't question Pinkie!" A pause. "Look, just... I don't know. I thought you girls should know. I've already ended my friendship with her, but I didn't know what else to do. ... Girls?"

There was a moment of silence among the group. To be honest, none of them knew what to do in a situation like this. They reported the Rainbooms bullying acts before to no avail, but now that one of the bullies was the one suffering? And worse, from one of their own classmates no less?

"Anyone there?"

Trixie blinked. "Oh, we're still here Flash. Sorry, it's just... I can't believe she'd do that."

"You and me both," Flash sighed. "Look, I'll be frank. I don't know what to do. I want to call the principals, but I'm not sure if that will do more good or worse. I just thought you girls should know."

"Well, okay, we appreciate it Flash," Trixie replied. "Just take care of yourself, okay?"

"Okay. See you girls tomorrow!"

And in a click, the phone hung up.

"Great, just great..." Trixie's head hit the table. "Okay, so not only do we have superpowers, but now we have to worry about our own classmates physically assaulting the Rainbooms?"

Octavia's head tilted up. A malicious grin formed on her face. "You know--"

"NO!" Trixie barked. "If you're thinking about using your powers to assault Cherry back, I would think twice unless you want to be Canterlot Enemy Number 1?"

"Well, what should we do?"

Trixie threw her head back, eyes rolling in the back of her head.

"How about you call Principal Luna?" A bubbly voice asked.

Trixie's head went straight up. Leaning against a wall, numming on some ice cream, was Sonata Dusk.

"Sonata! Hey, you're back!" Lyra squeaked. "When did you--"

"--Illusion, Lyra. Just an illusion," Trixie deadpanned.

Lyra frowned. "Wait, hold on..."

Reaching from out of nowhere, she pulled out a katana blade. Reaching over, she hoped to tap the side of Sonata's shoulder, which went straight through her as if she wasn't even there.

"Just making sure, that's all," Lyra said, tucking the weapon away. "Also, Octavia, please do not tell your mom I had brought a weapon into your home."

Octavia gave her a wink.

"But still, just call the principals, tell them what happened," the illusion of Sonata said.

"What if they don't believe us?"

"They're the school principals, if something happens with their students, I think it's their responsibility, isn't it?" Sonata asked. "If something like this happens, the principals and staff should be notified about it."

Everyone had blanked.

"Huh. So Sonata in your head is a wise one?" Vinyl smirked.

Trixie giggled. "I uh... I might have also thought about what it'd be like if Sonata was wise like a wizard. But you know, she kinda does have a point, we should call them."

"See? Exactly. Sometimes if you don't know what to do, just ask the adults," Sonata said, before walking away.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Oh, I'm leaving the room because Trixie's trying to get a grasp on every illusion that pops into her head," Sonata waved before vanishing before their eyes.

Everyone blinked.

"So that happened."

"Uh, excuse me?" Lyra interrupted. "Anyone else still wondering what are we going to do about Cherry? Shouldn't we talk to the principals?"

"Yeah..." A few voices droned.

"No, we should," Lyra said. "I may not like Rarity, but assault is still assault."

Everyone gave a few nods.

"I'll call them," Amethyst said, getting all eyes onto her.

"You?" Vinyl asked.

"Mmmhmm," Amethyst said with a straight face. "Before I was let back in this school, the principals made a decree that if there was any problem, they would hear my side of the story. And while I may not be Rarity's biggest fan, I'm not going to stand by and let her get assaulted like that."

She grabbed her cellphone on the table and hit the dial button. She held the phone up to her ear, waiting for the call. And soon enough, she heard someone on the other end answer her.

"Hi, Principal Luna?" Amethyst answered. "I need to talk to you about something. There's something you should know, and it's not going to be pretty..."

Chapter 20: Wild Thing

Crystal Prep arrived on time, on schedule as they were supposed to be. And the events for the day had all been set up, and were outside of the school. Of course some people who walked inside the school could see it (and questioned whether or not having a motocross course would be overkill).

While the CPA team was given their own area to chill out and hang til the events, the competitors were all together. Before anyone was allowed into the fields, the teams needed to have discussion on who would be participating in which. Which was exactly what Principal Cinch was addressing to her six finalists currently.

"After a quick study of all of your skills and attributes, I have calculated the events each of you will participate in. Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat, your focus, strength, and decision making will be harnessed on the motocross rally," Principal Cinch instructed.

"Yes!" Indigo pumped her fist, excited for the race.

"Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare. You two are quick on your feet, and perhaps some of the best dancers I've seen. You two will take the skate-track."

The two smiled, giving each other high-fives.

"And last of all; archery. It's a sport that requires careful eye contact, coordination, and above all; a strong understanding of rudimentary physics. Twilight and Sour Sweet, you two will start us off."

"Not to be rude, but that is the worst idea you've given us," Twilight deadpanned. "I'm good with science, but if you put me out in the field, I'm only going to make Crystal Prep lose."

"Twilight, relax. Look, it's just for fun," Sour said, patting her shoulder. "Just do your best and try to keep up. And don't hurt yourself or us again."

"Again?" Twilight blanked.

"The adjustments you were trying to make on the soccer ball launcher? You knocked the wind out of poor Lemon Zest," Sour said. But she realized how she was sounding. "Not to, make you feel guilty or anything, it's just... just don't muck up."

"Sour, you're stressing her out." Sugarcoat stated.

"What do you mean I--Ohh..." Sour drooped.

Now Twilight's body was shaking, looking like she was on the verge of super-freakout mode.

"Okay, Twilight, stay calm, it's going to be okay--"

"--It's not going to be okay!" Twilight exclaimed, making everyone flinch. "All of you are depending on me, and if I fail? Then Crystal Prep's reputation is going to look bad, and then everyone's going to be mad at me, and then you're all going to hate me and--"

"Twilight!" Lemon shouted. "Pull yourself together, man!"

"Girls. May I?" Principal Cinch asked.

The five Shadowbolts nodded, going off on their own to let Cinch speak with Twilight.

"Twilight, don't worry. If you don't do well, that's fine. It's just for fun," Cinch smiled. "And the only reputation that Crystal Prep will have is that not everyone who attends is perfect at everything, and that's a good thing. Perfection does not exist. Just remember, you're here to have fun. Alright?"

Twilight took a deep breath, trying to calm down from the anxiety. "Alright."

Cinch smiled. "Good. Now since we won't head out to the fields for a little bit, maybe you can take this time to talk to your fellow team, maybe start a new bond between them. I need to go discuss with Principal Luna and Vice-Principal Celestia."

Twilight watched as Cinch walked away. And then she looked at Indigo Zap and her friends all gathered together. They were heading over to the locker area to slip on their uniforms. While they had plenty of freetime before the games were gonna begin, they at least wanted to be ready. And that was the first thing that Twilight herself could agree upon, and started to follow them to the locker room.

The CHS team was all gathered in a small room, patiently waiting for Principal Luna to come. But all of them were still worried about Rarity.

"I dunno about ya'll but... I don't think Rarity's gonna be comin' back."

"Can't really blame her after what Cherry did," Flash said, feeling a little salty.

And moments later, Principal Luna came into the room. "Thank you all for coming here. Sorry to keep you all waiting, but I was in the middle of a meeting with Principal Cinch. Now, here are your teams. Rainbow Dash, Flash Sentry. You two got your biking licenses, and your coordination skills are on par. You two will handle the motocross--"

"--Am I the only concerned that the course may not be entirely safe?" Flash interrupted.

"--Pinkie Pie... you and Rarity were both intended to take on the skate track. Well, you were, until we found out about the... ahem, incident, yesterday."

"But we can't do this without Rarity!" Pinkie yelped.

"Who says you won't?"

The CHS team looked through the door, looking at Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest standing with smirks.

"Look, we heard about that Cherry Crash girl, but just from what we were told, it sounds like she's not going to be an issue anymore. And I am very happy to say that we somehow got Rarity out of her room, and she's ready to come back to the games!" Sunny grinned.

"Okay, how?' Rainbow questioned.

"She needed time to herself, and well... she just needed to let it all out. But I think it's safe to say she's good as new. Rarity?"

Hesitantly, Rarity finally stepped out from the empty hallway. And she walked into the room, looking confident as ever, just like her old self again. The girls and Flash gasped seeing the new her, but out of amazement and not disturbed shock.

"Whoa, Rarity..."

"You're back!" Pinkie Pie squeed. "Yes yes yes yes yes!"

"And I'll admit... I'm like your new look," Fluttershy winked.

"How'd you even get all your hair to shape like that?" Applejack asked.

Rarity stood before them, in a new punk out-look. A black studded vest over a tank top, black skinny jeans, boots, fingerless gloves and studded bracelets to finish the look. And her hair? The remains of her shredded hair were all woven to create a punk mohawk, with streaks of grass green, sunny yellow, and her preexisting indigo hair all together to create a new style.

"Thanks," Rarity said, blushing a little bit. "But I owe these two girls the appreciation. Without them, I wouldn't be back on my feet. And Sunny Flare is the one who returned my hair to me."

Sunny was now blushing. "Well, um... it's, it's just something I'm good at. That's all."

"I am happy to see you back on your feet, Rarity. Rest assured that the student who assaulted you will not be showing up to this school ever again. And I have a feeling her parents have quite a few options as to how they'll be dealing with her. But regardless, Rarity. You and Pinkie Pie will be handling the skate track portion of the events."

Rarity nodded, understanding. "You can count on me, Principal Luna!"

Principal Luna smiled. "I know I can. And lastly, for the archery. Fluttershy, Applejack, I believe your coordination and strength can get you two some bullseyes."

The two nodded.

"Okay then, I think that's it. Does anyone have any further questions before we move on?"

"I have one--" Flash interrupted.

"--If you're asking about the safety of the motocross track, do not worry, we made sure the equipment is 100% safe, and uniforms you all will be wearing will be fitted with padding to keep you all safe. Understood?"

Flash immediately lowered his hand, having gotten his question answered.

"Okay great. In the meantime, you all can relax, but get dressed in about 25 minutes, okay?"

Everyone nodded, and so the principals left the room.

"So... Rarity," Fluttershy asked. "You're back. I thought after what Cherry had done, you wouldn't want to come back here."

"Not that any of us would blame you," Flash added.

"Well, truthfully I was thinking of not coming back... but I thought long and hard, and, well... I'm not giving up so easily. Cherry crossed the line, but I refuse to stop now. I made a vow to be a better person, and as the gods are my witness, I will never stand down!" Rarity yelled triumphantly.

Flash smiled. "Glad to hear it, Rarity." He got up on his feet, walking out of the door. "I'll leave you girls alone."

"Oh wait Flash you don't need to--"

"--I was gonna leave you girls to catch up," Flash called back, already out of the room.

And Rarity's hand went back down. "Oh. Well then, girls, I--"

Rarity didn't finish her sentence. Out of nowhere she was embraced in a big hug. And it was from the last person she expected to be delivering one.

"F-Fluttershy? Darling?" Rarity asked.

Fluttershy was quiet for a second, until she responded with a whisper. "I'm so sorry about Cherry... I can't imagine what that must have been like."

Rarity blanked. Fluttershy was showing... compassion? Compassion wasn't a foreign concept, but it coming from Fluttershy of all people?

"Darling, I'm fine. Really, I am," Rarity said, giving a soft pat on her back.

Fluttershy pulled out of the embrace and to add on another surprise, Fluttershy looked genuinely fearful, but there was a hint of some joy in there, somewhere.

"I... I know I don't show it. But... when I found out about Cherry, I... I just... I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Rarity's eyes were now starting to water up. "You... you care about me?"

Fluttershy didn't respond with words. But a simple nod was all she needed.

"Oh, darling..." Rarity pulled Fluttershy in for another hug, this time more bigger than before.

"Agh, Rarity, you're squeezing my lungs..."

"Oh I want in on that."

"Group hug!"

And soon Applejack and Pinkie Pie joined in, forming a massive group hug. There was only one other person who didn't join in, and she was trying her hardest not to get emotional, but failing miserably.

"Darn it! Now you got me all sappy," Rainbow said, failing to hide the tear that stained her face.

"Come on..." Applejack gestured, finally getting Rainbow Dash to join.

For a while, they were all together in one massive group hug. And just like Fluttershy's interaction with Tennis Match, they were all feeling the same thing. Everyone couldn't help but feel a bit... happy. An emotional wave of joy was spreading, and there was no denying it felt really good.

Everyone had a few minutes just before the competitors would need to go out into the fields for the games. Competitors were getting dressed, students were rushing out over to the bleachers. And concession stands were setting up as well! Every dollar spent on snacks to watch the games would be sent to a local charity.

But Twilight Sparkle didn't immediately run towards the fields to get a head start. Instead, she wandered around the school to get whatever bit of time of her research she could. With a tracking device in hand, dressed in her uniform for the games, and a focused look, she was ready to get some new developments made. She wanted to find the girl who performed at the Welcome CPA party on Monday, but she had terrible luck finding her. Problem one was she didn't know her name. Problem two was she had a few minutes before she needed to be out at the field. That wasn't enough time to track down one person.

The tracker picked up something different however. Something that wasn't a human or creature. She followed the signature, leading her right back to the source she studied before; The Wondercolt statue. Of course, the last time she was here she was chased out by the girls who she now knew were competing in the games. But since there was no else out here... maybe it wouldn't hurt to give another peak?

Curiosity enticing her to come closer, she walked towards the statue again. Like before, there was nothing out of the ordinary. Just a plain ole statue of a galloping stallion on top. But she remembered one vital thing; the tracker went wild the last time she was near it. And the moment she stepped closer, everything suddenly stopped.

The pendent around her neck opened up on it's own, like somehow it knew what was near it. And in complete shock, Twilight stepped back. The statue was glowing! A bright purple glow emanated from the statue, and was all coming together in a stream of light! The stream drew close to her, locked onto a single path, right into her pendent. More and more came out until eventually, the statue stopped glowing and the pendent snapped shut. She looked down upon the pendent, watching it continue to glow, still signifying that it was functional. Her hand reached out to touch the statue, but she felt nothing. It didn't feel as if anything out of the ordinary had been done to it, and it felt normal.

"Attention all students, it is at this time we would like all of our competitors to come down to the fields, the second event of the games will be starting in two minutes. I repeat, the second event will be starting in two minutes. Thank you."

The amateur scientist looked around, hoping that no saw her actions. And in a split-second, she began to dash out of the courtyard, running to the field. Completely unaware she was of the security cams that were rigged on the sides of the walls...

When the time had come, the entire set of bleachers had been taken up by students from CPA and CHS alike. Some had a few popcorn buckets and soda drinks, some had some minor snacks like chips or nachos, and some just had big foam fingers or small flags for their teams.

Both CHS and CPA teams were completely dressed in their uniforms, heading out into the fields. The first ones who were out were Indigo Zap, Sugarcoat, Rainbow Dash, and Flash Sentry who all climbed up and took to the motocross bikes. They sat still, and gave a few waves to the crowds as they cheered.

Sour Sweet and Fluttershy had already walked out to the fields, going to their positions. But before Applejack went out to the arena...

"AJ?"

Applejack turned around, seeing her childhood friend standing close.

"Rara?"

"I wanted to wish you good luck. You're going to need it," Rara said, smiling at her.

Applejack smiled. "Thanks."

And just before she could walk out to the arena, she was nearly tackled by a surprise hug from Rara. But she graciously accepted, embracing her back.

"Now go out there and hit a bullseye!" Rara encouraged.

Applejack chuckled. "I got this." The farmer walked into the field, and joined with the goth girl in position. But Sour Sweet was left confused.

"Wait, where's Twilight?"

The scientist wasn't seen until she brushed right past Rarity trying to run as fast as she could to the field. She rushed to her standing post, panting heavily from the run. Sour just raised an eyebrow seeing how hard she was panting.

"You really need to work out some more," Sour commented.

Twilight's eyes furled as she looked up at her competing partner. The sounds of the crowds cheering as the competitors hit the field echoed like crowds in a baseballs stadium. Sure there was very few people in the crowds, but it still felt a little nerve-wracking.

"Well... it's time," Rarity gulped. "What if they all still hate me out there?"

"You won't know unless you try," Sunny said, giving a comforting pat on her shoulder. "Come on. You're with us. Just go out there, don't think about the negatives. Just have some fun."

Rarity took a deep breath, calming herself down. "You're right. It's just for fun... just for fun."

Slowly and surely, the girls walked out into the field. Lemon Zest and Pinkie Pie walked out first, and then soon, Rarity joined up with them. At first, the entire crowd went dead silent. They couldn't believe their eyes. Rarity, after what had happened yesterday, was back. She was back here. She was coming back to participate in the games.

It was silent for a few more moments. But then, someone started to clap their hands. And then another person joined in. And two more. Then it was five more. And in seconds, the entire bleachers of the CHS team were all applauding.

And to her surprise, to the surprise of everyone around them... the entire crowd cheered, seeing Rarity's face again. They didn't yell boo, they didn't look mad. Everyone in that crowd was happy to see her again. And Rarity, seeing all the applause, smiled with a proud look as she stepped out into the field. She spun herself around, feeling a little bit giddy.

"Like I said, you wouldn't know if they would cheer or not unless you came back out here," Sunny Flare smiled. "Though now I feel sad..."

"Why?"

"Because we're in a skating track, and now all the work I put into making that mohawk is going to be ruined..." Sunny pouted.

"Oh, don't worry, I got that covered!" Rarity grinned. She strapped a helmet to her head, but this helmet seemed to have a little feature added. A small opening was made on the top of the head which was just big enough for her mohawk to stick on through, but still secure enough to protect her hair. "I had inspiration from some anti-villain character called... hmm. I don't remember his name, but he had a helmet that kept his hair out but provided enough protection to keep his skull from cracking."

"Huh. Handy," Lemon Zest blanked.

"Ladies and gentlemen! Welcome everyone to the Friendship Games Tricross Relay!"

Everyone cheered.

"In this event, our qualifying competitors will face off in archery, speed skating, and motocross! And so if our competitors are ready... on your mark! Get set! GO!!!"

A loud blare of a horn was pressed, signalling the start. Fluttershy and Sour Sweet were first to begin. The two charged down their paths, skipping over a few bales of hay. And with quick grips, they grappled the quivers from off to the sides, taking them with them as they ran up the stairs to the first platform.

The two swung across moats of mud, leaping over to the next platform. As Sour Sweet made that leap, she performed a single roll, and with the bow and arrows already equipped, she fired the first three arrows straight at the target. And one of the arrows hit the bullseye, just what they needed to hit.

The crowd cheered on Sour when she hit that mark, and she couldn't help but smirk. She looked back at Twilight, raising her arm up in the air for her to begin. Fluttershy however was futzing a bit, trying to get her bow and arrow set straight. Closing her eyes, she pictured the bullseye she hit during the audition for the games. Remembering that solid shot from before put a determined grin on her face, and so when she was lined up...

THWACK!

Her eyes clamped shut, afraid to see the result of her shot. But when she opened up, she gasped in surprise. She had a direct bullseye.

"Whoo-hoo! Alright Fluttershy!" Sour cheered.

And at once, Applejack began to run. She leapt, swung, rolled her way to reach the second platform (years of working out on the farm paying off) and held up her bow and arrow. She slowed down, focusing her eyes on the target. And with 100% focus, she let go of the band, sending the arrow flying through the air and striking the bullseye, right at the center.

When she hit her mark, a number flipped for Canterlot High on the big scoreboard. And when it changed, a green light flipped on next to Rarity and Pinkie Pie on the skate track.

"Wait, is that us?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, yes, that's you, go!" Sunny cheered on.

Throwing themselves out there, Pinkie and Rarity began to skate. The two needed to take whatever advantage they could, and this was that moment.

"And Canterlot is off to an early lead!"

Now seeing it was her turn, Twilight began to run. She leapt over a single bale of hale, thankfully not tripping. But as she tried to jump over the next one... she ended up tripping on the bale, sending her entire body face first into hard asphalt.

"Ow!"

"Oooh," Sour and Fluttershy hissed.

"That's gotta hurt," Fluttershy shivered.

That was until she lifted herself back up, trying to run up the stairs, only to trip and smack her head against the wooden staircase.

"Not as much as that," Sour commented, cupping her mouth, imagining how it would have felt on the jaw.

Up in the principal's booth, Principal Cinch watched below, cringing at the sight of poor Twilight tripping. Maybe I shouldn't have chosen her for this after all. I did not realize just out of shape she was...

Twilight lifted her head, and stumbled, getting back up on her feet again. She leapt over some bales of hay, and ran up the stairs. She grabbed ahold of the rope and swung across to the other platform. Her feet almost touched it, but they slipped and Twilight went swinging back again. And when she came back again, her feet reached the platform, almost slipping. That is until Sour grabbed one of Twilight's arms, keeping her from falling backwards.

"I gotcha! It's okay," Sour reassured.

Twilight got pulled right up, and she reached for her bow and quiver. Raising it up, she tried to point it towards the target. But her hands weren't keeping a steel grip on the arrow, making her hands shake and jitter a bit.

"Twilight, relax your hands, it's okay," Sour comforted.

Her hands kept shaking, and on the first shot--

TWHUNK!

--She missed. She pulled out another one, loaded it up again, and--

TWHUNK!

--Missed again.

She cursed herself, failing to miss the target. And worse, when she saw Rarity and Pinkie skating, they had already gone through another lap.

"If CPA can't hit another bullseye soon, they'll be out of this race!"

Her legs began to shake even more, and she felt tears forming in her eyes. She felt as if humiliation was just around the corner.

"Twilight?"

She didn't hear.

"Twilight?"

Sour Sweet walked up to her with a soft smile.

"Look at where you're aiming. You cannot aim at the target. You have to aim at where it's going to be," Sour said. "Trust me. You think I was a pro the first time I tried archery?"

She shook her head.

"Then give it a try. Trust me," Sour smiled, patting her shoulder.

As much as she didn't want to be stuck out here any longer, it looked like she had no choice. She looked at the target as it kept on swiveling around in it's ring. She pointed the arrow at the right side, knowing that the target would keep on circling around.

"Good. Okay, release the arrow in... 3... 2..." Sour counted down. "I..."

Twilight's head was becoming sweaty, the anticipation for the call was coming. Please, please, just say it already...

"Now!"

She released the arrow. Time slowed down as all eyes watched the arrow go through the air. Principal Cinch leaned over to get a closer look, equally surprised at what was happening. And then...

THWUNK!

The arrow... had hit the bullseye. And the crowds went wild.

"Whoo-whee! Nice shot!" Applejack complimented.

Twilight sighed heavily, relieved that her part was done. She threw the quiver off her back and dropped the bow down. And out of nowhere, she was given a brief hug from Sour Sweet.

"See? You can do it," Sour said, patting her. And she pulled out, leaving a confused Twilight.

Once the CPA team was given the go, they began to skate away. Twilight, knowing that she wasn't needed for the rest of the event, leapt off the platform. If there was any chance she was gonna take to try and escape the course, it'd have to be now while she had some space.

She waited as Pinkie Pie and Rarity skated right by. She dashed out onto the track, but seeing Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare made her jump onto her belly like a penguin onto the other side.

The two skated on past her, completely oblivious to the pair of legs that were sticking out onto the side of the track. Raising her head up (and spitting out a chunk of grass in the process) she pulled herself back up again. But something felt... off. Something wasn't right. And when she turned around, her eyes sunk in her head.

The pendent had fallen around her neck. And now it was in the middle of the skate track. And the skaters were still racing. She watched as Pinkie Pie and Rarity zipped on past her, missing the device. Seeing that she had her chance, she tried to run out to get it, but Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest were coming down their way.

She jumped out of the way, just in time, but their skates kicked the pendent all around like a hockey puck. And without any grip, the pendent was tossed, bounced, until it hit against a beam, bouncing again. But this time, something happened. The pendent had enough force hit to the point where it had opened itself up.

A small spark zipped out of the pendent's glowing orb, and radiating purple light began to open up in a circle like formation. And another one opened up next to it. And another one coming from the support beam of the motocross track. Twilight gasped, seeing these random gateways spawn from out of existence.

The skating teams were making their way around the track, passing by for a third ring. Now that they had passed, the motocross teams were given the go. And so, leaping down the course was Indigo Zap in the lead, followed close by Rainbow Dash, Flash, and Sugarcoat.

"Yeahaw!" Indigo shouted as she raced down the hill.

"WHOO!!!" Flash cheered.

They raced by so fast that they didn't even notice the portals that had started to open up behind them.

Twilight quickly snatched the pendent, but her skin turned cold. The portal grew bigger, but all she could see within it was darkness. She quickly got up on her feet, now scared. She couldn't see, but she felt as if something was on the other side of that portal and staring down on her.

It wasn't until the loud growling sound she heard on the other side that she finally got the message. A gust of green steam pushed through the portal, making Twilight gag and cough, covering her nose. Whatever was breathing out of that portal smelled awful. But the smell was the least of her worries, as the loud sound of pounding stomps echoed in her ears.

But worst was yet to come. More portals began to open up outside, growing bigger and bigger than before. And worse, a head of a scaled red dragon poked through. Long dorsal spikes prodding out it's head and back, teeth sharp enough to cut through steel swords, massive claws that dug into the ground creating a footprint the size of Nessie.

The crowds were first to notice. A few heads had glanced, and shrugged like it was nothing. But upon realizing what they had seen, more and more people were gestured and pointed to look, realizing what had entered. Most of them either screamed or gasped, but there was no denying they were shocked.

The competitors were the last ones to notice, and it was right at the moment that the skaters were making their turn when they saw.

"WHAT THE HECK IS THAT!?" Lemon Zest shrieked.

Her heels screeched along the path, halting Sunny Flare and eventually Pinkie Pie and Rarity.

"That's, uh... well. I think that's a dragon," Pinkie said, trying to find an answer. "Looks like one at least."

The creature let out a loud hurling cry into the skies, roaring in fury. It's tail raised up and smashed against the track support beams, thankfully the racers were already off of it by that point. But Pinkie Pie and the skating competitors all felt like running away and screaming when the dragon turn it's gaze upon the four of them. All of them were now shaking in their skates.

"Don't. Move. Maybe it won't see us!" Lemon suggested, clearly terrified.

"No offense, but standing still is worse! We're not in front of a T-Rex!" Pinkie panicked.

The dragon snorted smoke, steam puffing at the girls and blowing their hair back. And with a snarling jaw, he made a step towards them, crawling like a lizard. His long neck raised, showing off his incredible height. He flashed his teeth, chuckling slightly, seeing his prey down below. But as he was about to slam his face down to try and take a bite--

BOOOM!

A powerful wave of sound slammed the back of the dragon's head, almost knocking him out. His body was hurling towards them like a falling tree, and acting with instinct, the girls dashed out of the way while the dragon fell, slamming into the ground and creating tremors all around.

That blast came from the keytar, gripped in a familiar retro-loving girl's hands. And a sharp grin was on her face, admiring the shot.

"I think I hit something!" Amethyst cheered.

"Now hit it again, only harder," Vinyl suggested.

"Are we seriously about to do this?" Bon Bon asked, honestly scared.

"Yes, yes we are," Lyra smirked, reaching behind her back and extending a katana. "Very glad I brought these to school. ... Also please, do not do I what I just did," she said realizing how bad she sounded right now.

"Am I the only one concerned we didn't get enough practice with our powers?" Bon Bon said, realizing the risk they were about to take.

"I'm concerned too, but right now, they need our help and we're the only ones with magic who can help. Now... girls. CHARGE!!!" Trixie cheered, raising a wand up in the air.

"These powers are going to be the end of me, I know it..." Bon Bon gulped.

The six girls yelled at the top of their lungs, charging out into the field ready to face the giant monsters that were in sight. With a spring to the air, they all leaped up with intent of attack. The time was now, and the fate of their friends depended on them. There was nothing that could go wrong!

At least, they hoped...

Chapter 21: Battle!

"ATTACK!!!" Trixie shouted.

"Ninja... GO!!!" Lyra yelled, jumping up into the air and performing a ninja jump. But as the dragon turned itself around, it's tail came swinging around and slammed against Lyra, tossing her into the pits of mud set out on the field.

Octavia stared at the beast with a courageous look. If now was the time to finally get a grip on her magnetisim, now would have to be the time. But would it work? It had to. She was done being a magnet, she needed control, now! But what to manipulate, there had to be something!

She looked just up ahead, and saw a few of the metal beams that had held the track up were loose. Maybe one of those could do the trick? But would she be strong enough to levitate it? Well it would be now or never.

"Okay Octavia... now's your time. Focus... concentrate... Do not attract anything else..." She raised both of her hands up, with her hands open in grabbing motions. She locked onto the beam, and was ready to yank it. She kept her focus on the beam, waiting for it to move. Nothing.

But just then, she saw it jiggle. It began to shake and rattle. She was getting it to move! Just needed it to get out of it's socket, just a little more... She got it loose just enough, but then it suddenly dropped to the ground, freed from it's spot. It may not have been going straight to her, but she at least got it freed.

Octavia grunted as she saw it fell. "Come on... come to me... please..." She pleaded quietly. "They need me, and I can't fail now..."

She focused on the beam once more. She watched it shake and rattle on the ground. But something was happening! It slowly began to slide across the ground. It was moving towards her! And it moved another few inches, and then a few ft, until it slowly flew up into the air and flew right towards her.

"Scrap."

She braced for the beam to come and shoot her like a baseball. Octavia felt some hard metal clutch into her hands, but nothing else happened. When she opened her eyes, she found she was now holding the massive support beam in her phalanges.

"Yes... YES! Thank you, Equestrian Gods!"

The dragon roar finally got her attention, and now she had to take her chance. She lifted up the beam, but to her surprise, it felt more like a paperweight material! She still felt it's hard, sturdy steel, but at least it wasn't going to crush her. She levitated it up into the air, and focused it on the dragon. She wanted to try and pound it like a wooden mallet, but now was not the time to test out cartoon logic. Besides, that beam wasn't going to last long, she was sure of it. But maybe she could still give him a little pain?

"For Queen and Country and all beams who sacrificed themselves to be slammed against giant fairytale creatures!"

The beam flew right out of her grip and right towards the dragon's skull. And when he turned around, the beam slammed him right in the side of the head, delivering the first blow. He groaned and felt the hard slam against his head, but quickly turned his attention to the little rocker girl who tossed it at her.

"You want me? Come and get me you lizard freak!"

The dragon spit fire out of it's mouth, which Octavia managed to avoid. Now she just had to keep it on her and not on the students.

"Hey!" Vinyl shouted, trying to get the dragon's attention. Her scream didn't work. But maybe her newfound lightning would do the trick! But wait, how was she gonna shoot any?

"Shock it!" Vinyl shouted, trying to snap her fingers.

Nothing happened.

"Electrofy!" She swatted her arm around like trying to splash all water off of her.

Still nothing.

"Oh come on! What do I gotta do!? I can make the power in a house short out, but I can't create a simple bolt!?" Vinyl whined. She stretched her arms as far as she could into the air, hoping that would work while screaming like a banshee.

"UNLIMITED POWER!!!"

Once again, she created nothing. In frustration, she extended her hand out without knowing it, and a bolt of lightning was sent shooting the ground, sending a few sparks into the air. And just like that, an idea formed in her head, accompanied by a slowly building grin.

She extended a single palm of her hand out again, hoping something would happen. And as she focused on the dragon and thought long and hard, a small bolt of lightning flashed out of her hand and just lightly tapped the side of the dragon, barely making a mark on the beast. The violinist growled with anger, and this time without even realizing it, both of her hands raised up to fight, and two massive streams of lightning surged into the air and zapped the dragon's head, making it hurl and moan out in pain.

"YES!" Vinyl cheered. "Whoo-hoo!"

But she stopped cheering when the dragon's movements halted. It's head slowly swiveled around with a sharp scowl. Vinyl's arms dropped to her sides she looked at the dragon with an embarrassed look on her face.

"Um... it wasn't me?"

But the dragon's body spun itself around, followed by it's tail taking out several support beams underneath ledges holding pieces of the motocross track. He growled as he stomped towards her, and lowered his head down to get up right in her face.

Vinyl was now shaking in her dress shoes.

"I'm... s-s-sorry?" Vinyl quaked.

The dragon puffed black smoke through his nostrils, blowing it in Vinyl's face and making her hair fly back and stick up. Only one thing was on his mind now. But before he made his next move, something else hit the dragon, something pounding against his side. His head turned to look at someone else, now facing Amethyst who had a steel grip on her keytar.

"Why don't you pick on someone your own size, firebreath?" Amethyst shouted.

The dragon let out a grumble as it stared at Amethyst.

"Oh yeah, well guess what?" She flipped her keytar around and pointed it at the dragon. "Your mother was a salamander, and your father was a pig!"

She played a powerful chord on her instrument, sending a powerful blast of sound waves towards the dragon. Unfortunately, it also sent her flying off her feet and shooting into the air and right through a piece of bale.

"I'm okay! I'll walk it off!"

Students were all gasping in shock and horror from the sight of the giant monster, some of them were now in hysterics. Bon Bon, heart racing at a mile a minute, looked at the frightened students. And back to the dragon. There was no way they could survive being out here. Now there was only one choice.

Get them out of danger, fast.

But wait; how? What was she going to do to get them to escape? She had to do something to cover them... wait a minute. Cover! Something to hide their escape! Clouds. Mist. Fog. Smog. Smoke... Smoke... Smoke! That was her ticket!

She extended her hands out, and all her mind focused on creating smoke. Fire that created the smoke. And soon, clouds of black smoke began to blow from her hands. She raised them into the air and started flailing her hands all around, trying to create a big enough cloud to hide all of the students.

"Everyone, go! I'll cover your escape!"

With the smoke all up in the air, everyone took their chance without a second thought. People ran down the bleachers and out through an opening to where Principal Cinch and Luna were calling for them. They all ran out of the field, as fast as they could like a pack of wild horses. Even Sunny Flare and a few other competitors were already fleeing for their lives.

The bikers, still on the race track all quickly took notice of the monster.

"Okay, getting off the road!" Rainbow shouted.

She swerved her bike to the right, busting through an already destroyed fence and with Flash and Indigo right behind her.

"Where are we going!?" Indigo shouted.

"Anywhere but here!"

Sugarcoat didn't follow the group. Actually, she was going to, that is until some fire breath blocked off that path, preventing her move. Instead she kept running along the track and consistently thrashed her motorbike all around, trying to avoid everything that was being thrown at her. But her swerving came to an end when her bike started to drive right down into a pit created by one of the monsters. The dip threw her right off her bike, and she was tossed onto some dirt. Thankfully, she wasn't hurt. But when she looked up, she saw a large 3-ton beam being tossed in the air and hurling right towards her like a caber.

She screamed at the top of her lungs and tried to get up to run, but the sound of a large metal clank made her eyes shut tight. She had expected the beam to have hit her right there on the spot, lights going black just like that. But when she opened up her eye, she saw the beam was being held in place, still sticking up in the air as if someone was holding it.

And she could see who was holding it right up. A girl in metal gray skin with a black mohawk in punk clothing. She looked back at the biker with a small but friendly smile.

"Hello luv," Octavia flashed a grin. "You alright?"

Sugarcoat nodded, but still showed a little bit of unease. "Y-Yeah... who are you?"

"Name's Octavia, luv! Now I hate to put you on edge some more, but could you please get off the track so you're out of the danger zone?"

"Don't have to tell me twice," Sugarcoat said, rushing to get up on her feet and running out of the pit, trying to get herself as far away from danger as she could. And when she was out, Octavia carefully with all the attraction she could, set the beam on the ground nice and easy. She would have loved to fling it against the dragon, but if another incident like a flying beam occurred again? Oh, it wouldn't be good.

But in all the midst of the chaos, Sugarcoat had completely missed one vital thing.

"Wait. Where's the other three?"

Elsewhere

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Flash screamed as another wooden plank of a fence smashed into his face. And a few of those fencing pieces flew back and smacked Indigo and Rainbow Dash in the faces as well. And then the three smashed through another yard, scaring the living daylights out of a few people who were barbecuing.

"Sorry!" Rainbow yelled.

And they smashed through another yard, this time of a birthday party and right past a couple of kids in a bouncy house.

"My fault!" Indigo bellowed.

And then through another yard where a few adults were drinking, enjoying a few laughs, etc.

"Hi Fancypants, bye Fancypants!" Flash shouted as they sped on by.

The well dressed man who nearly had a heart attack from the sudden bikers just watched as they raced on by without another word, sound of motorcycle engines revving loud and ringing in his ears. And a few seconds later, the three motocross riders burst through yet another fence.

"SORRY!!!" The three girls yelled simultaneously.

The neighbor who watched them race on by just stayed laid back in a beach chair with a tanning screen, looking peaceful, acting as if nothing was wrong.

"Heidi-ho, speedy neighbor."

Sugarcoat slowly stepped back, trying to get as much distance from the battle as she could. But as she watched the ensuing struggle unfolded before her. Her entire life she always believed in pure science fact, but now the most incomprehensible and illogical picture was in front of her. Dragons. Superpowers. What was happening!?

The dragon’s roar was deafening, and the quake of its footsteps as it emerges fully from the portal sent Twilight to the ground. The poor girl scraped her hands as she struggled to get back to her feet, and despite the chaos, the screaming, everything, she couldn't move. She can only stare in stunned horror at the thing before her. A dragon. A real, honest to God dragon. From the pages of fairy tales to vivid, roaring, earthshaking life. Twilight’s brain whirred with this realization, this discovery. All of this – the portals that her device opened, the fact that dragons exist, that there’s one right here and—

The earth shook again, and a massive tail covered in red scales came whipping by her, with such force that it knocked her down again. Twilight, sprawled on her back, dazed, suddenly came to a newfound realization…

I’m going to die here.

“Hold on! I’ve got you!”

Someone grabbed her arms, and hauled her to her feet. Another earthshaking footstep from the dragon nearly caused them to stumble, but Twilight’s rescuer manages to find their feet and keep them from falling again. It’s Sour Sweet. Stunned, kind of dazed, Twilight can only kind of gape.

“You – saved me…”

“What, did you think I’d just leave you? Come on, Twilight, there’s no way I’d let someone get squashed like that!”

Sour half-led, half-dragged Twilight with her, away from the dragon, towards the other students and faculty, who are trying to evacuate the scene. Twilight, still dazed, let herself be led along. Her hands were clutching the pendant, holding on in a death grip, and the same set of thoughts keep running through her head.

Dragons exist. They’re real. Does that mean – magic is real too?

“Twilight, come on, we gotta get out of here!!”

Sour’s voice, fierce with anger and worry, pierced Twilight’s understanding. They’re further away from the dragon, and something seemed to be distracting the giant red beast from them… what it is Twilight didn't know, nor can she care.

From the side-lines, Lemon Zest skid over to them, still on her skates. “You’ve got Twilight! Great, let’s get out of here!”

“Wait a minute, where’s Sunny?”

"With Principal Cinch and Rarity! Which is where WE should be too, before—”

The green-haired girl’s words were drowned out by a loud, rattling growl; a noise that sent shivers down Twilight’s spine. There is a noise like a great puffing of breath, and a burst of foul greenish air hit the three girls – and it STINKS, like swamp matter mixed with rotten eggs. Coughing, against her better judgment, Twilight turned around… And, so close she could reach out and touch it, was a gigantic wolf. Not just that, but a wolf made of dark green and black wood, like part of a forest had come to awful life in the shape of an animal. The giant wolf’s glowing green eyes burn into Twilight’s, as it slowly opens its jaws to snarl. Its teeth are like thick wooden stakes.

"T-that’s a... T-that’s a…”

“Monster…” Sour quaked in a small voice.

Twilight, paralyzed with fright, couldn't move, even though every instinct screamed at her to move, to run, to do something. As the wolf opens wide and made to lunge, Lemon and Sour’s words register in her mind, and Twilight cannot help but amend her earlier thought:

Monsters exist.

But, just before the wooden wolf’s teeth, there’s another deafening sound – and one that hit the wolf, knocking it away from Twilight!

“Are you okay?”

It takes a minute for Twilight’s ears to stop ringing long enough to hear the question. But she can see the speaker, a girl she doesn’t recognize, carrying a keytar and dressed in retro 80s clothes for some bizarre reason. Parachute pants, shoulder pads, hair spiked up into a bad mullet.

“WHAT?” Sour yelled. Apparently, Twilight wasn't the only one deafened by the sonic blast.

“I said, are you okay?” Amethyst repeated, a little louder.

Lemon grinned. “Yeah, thanks for the save!”

“TANKS ARE ON THE GRAVE? WHAT DOES THAT EVEN MEAN!?” Sour yelled. Her ears were ringing with Twilight's as well.

Amethyst hissed, realizing how close they were to her music. "Ooh. Sorry... just get clear, I'll try to stop this thing! Go, now! I'll cover you!"

Lemon grimaced, and started to lead Sour and Twilight away as the giant wolf starts to get back to its feet.

"Hey wolfie? You wanna take on someone? Well how about you take. On. Me!"

Twilight glanced back in time to see Amethyst hit a power chord on her keytar – and blow the timber-wolf into matchwood, with a surge of noise so forceful that Twilight could feel her teeth rattle. Twilight, shaken in more ways than one, kept staring as she’s led away, feeling just as frightened by that display of sheer power just as much by the monster that had nearly eaten her…

How did that girl do that? Where on earth did that power come from?

The dragon roars again, and suddenly Twilight realizes that there are other monsters still out there. And as she, Lemon and Sour join the rest of the students evacuating from the battle zone, she looks back again at the dragon. The dragon is looming over the school, long neck stretching high up, like a construction crane, as he towers above the people…

And then, out of nowhere, Twilight sees two bolts of lightning slam into the back of the dragon’s head, making the monster roar in pain. Following the trajectory of the bolts, realizing that they had come from somewhere close to the ground, Twilight is flabbergasted to see another girl, with blue hair and a nice dress, shooting electricity out of her fists.

How is this possible!? Twilight’s brain practically screams. Dragons and monsters made of wood and now teenagers with superpowers! None of this was possible. It violated every law of science and logic. It was – it was--

And, just like that, the answer comes to her.

“Magic…”

“Twilight!! We gotta get out of here!” Lemon shouted, trying to get her mind back and focus.

As the other girl takes her hand and tugs her along, Twilight again let herself be led. Once more her brain is afire with this realization.

Magic exists. Monsters exist. Twilight felt lightheaded at the thought. And then, she realized something else… Magic exists… and it is a very dangerous thing. Too dangerous.

I have to do something about this…

But her thought ended fast, and she joined the others to take refuge from danger. As the battle continued, Trixie stood off to the side of the bleachers, watching the action. She wanted to create an illusion to help, but she needed something big enough to scare them away. If those beasts found out her tricks were fake, they would be dead! But what to scare them with?

"Okay Trixie... come on, think. Something big, something bigger than that dragon. What could..." A light-bulb flickered in her head. "Ohhhh... Maybe this could work. Oh, but what if it doesn't?"

The sound of the dragon roar made her skin crawl some more.

"Well. Nothing else is working, might as well give it a shot..." Trixie gulped. "Amethyst! Shoot some sound waves into the ground!"

"What!?" Amethyst shouted over the noise.

"Point your sound waves at the ground!"

"I hope you know what you're doing!" Amethyst yelled.

She spun herself around and strummed a powerful slam of keys on her keytar, sending some tremors into the ground which shook everything around them.

"Okay, do it again!"

Amethyst repeated her action again.

"Okay, just do it five more times, I'll have something whipped up for this!"

As Amethyst kept up the same pace and beat, Trixie slammed her eyes shut, trying to picture the illusion in her head. It had to be something big, something truly big and powerful. Something that these creatures would be scared of. As Trixie thought long and hard, a single picture flew into her brain. And before she knew, a projection of what she was desiring was starting to take it's shape onto the grounds.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" Sunny Flare shrieked.

A new form towered over the school, bigger than the dragon. But this new form was one that was recognized as a close friend to the school. How it returned, no one knew except for Trixie.

Standing on two massive legs with a ton of fish scales over it's skin. A red gem blazed in the middle of it's heart. Giant fingers strong enough to grab anything with a tight grip. Three massive heads. Three massive long necks. And all three of these heads were horse-like, with fish-like features; fins and scales mostly. One head was purple, the other one was blue, but the one in the middle was radiating with bright yellow and orange.

A giant tail with fish fins swayed behind, and the three heads were snarling and growling.

"She's back!" Amethyst gasped.

"The Queen has returned!" Octavia cheered.

A loud screeching roar pierced the skies, forcing all the girls to cover their ears from the loud sounds. The three heads looked down at the dragon, with a dominant eyes and narrow grins. One by one their eyes began to light up, and the dorsal fins on the backs of their necks, reaching all the way down the back and tail began to light up.

The dragon quickly realized what was about to happen. And worse, the giant was far bigger than him, no way he could last against it! Not taking a second moment, the dragon scurried right back through the portal which vanished out of existence just before a visual display of laser breath blasted onto the spot.

Octavia and Amethyst looked at each other with shared grins.

"Now that's what I'm talkin' about," Bon Bon smiled.

The dragon scurried as it's feet trampled on the ground, but without another thought, he jumped right through the open portal, escaping back to the cave that he emerged from. When it's tail made it through, the portal vanished into thin air. As for the Timberwolves? Well just seeing the beast alone gave them the signal to run as far as possible. The wolf leader let out a howl into the air, and led his pack right back through the portal.

Trixie, realizing that they were gone, let her arms drop. And so the illusion began to fade away into the light, vanishing just like the portals. Any damage that the Siren monster made vanished as well, as those were illusions as well. But everything else was still there from before. But the girls were happy that the beasts were finally gone and out, no longer inflicting any more harm or possible damage to the game grounds.

"Alright, Trixie, way to go!" Vinyl cheered. "How did you even think of that, Trixie? Trixie?"

Vinyl looked to where Trixie stood, and only saw her start to flail and wobble

"Trixie?"

"Oh, I don't feel so good..." Trixie moaned. "Honey... where are my pants?"

And just like that, she fainted and collapsed onto the concrete.

"Oh my gosh, Trixie!" Vinyl panicked.

"Come on, come on, get her into the shade!" Bon Bon ordered. Both Bon Bon and Amethyst helped carry Trixie over to some shade underneath a tree.

"Is she even alive?" Octavia asked, shaking with fear.

Bon Bon leaned her head over to her chest, listening carefully. She sighed in relief. "She's fine. Heart's still beating, and she's still breathing. We better get her water though."

"Already on top of you," Lyra said, reappearing from out of thin air with a water bottle in hand.

"Wait, how did you... never mind. Look, just help her up, try and get her some water without drowning her," Bon Bon said.

Lyra carefully lifted Trixie just enough to hold her up straight. And with the water available, Bon Bon slowly raised the cup up to Trixie's lips, hoping she would slowly sip some.

"Dah, I'm awake!" Trixie shot up. But that high energy only lasted for a second when she slowly went back down like she was tired. Her eyes were sleepy, and she could barely keep them awake. "Are the monsters gone?" Trixie yawned.

"Yes, they're gone. Thanks to your trick," Vinyl smiled.

"Way to go, Trixie," Lyra complimented.

"Thanks." Trixie yawned again before laying her head back. "Where are my pants?"

The five girls all drew a blank.

"Trixie, you still have your pants, why are you asking--she's not realizing what she's saying, isn't she?" Octavia said halfway before realizing the truth.

"I think Trixie may need some rest after pulling a stunt like that," Lyra commented, tucking her swords away.

"You feel alright Trix?" Amethyst asked.

Her reply was once again, another yawn.

"I guess trying to create an illusion that's bigger than anything she could imagine took a lot of juice outta her," the keytar player stated.

"Girls, I don't feel so good, I think I need to lie down," Trixie pleaded.

"But you're already lying down, silly!" Pinkie chirped from the background.

"Don't worry, look, we'll get you home. You should get some rest," Bon Bon said, moving to help her friend up. Lyra moved over and helped her as well, and the two friends carefully moved Trixie out, on their way to the principal's office to sign her out.

The Rainbooms and gathered Shadowbolts all felt their hearts pounding against their chests. They knew the commotion had died down now, but all of that? No one was ready for anything that just came out of left field there. Luckily none of them or anyone else was hurt, but they were frightened nonetheless.

"Girls... I've always believe in pure science fact, followed by logic, and creating conclusions through the scientific method. PLEASE tell me you all saw that," Sugarcoat said, trying her hardest not to hyperventilate.

"We all did!" Sour cried. "What even was that!?"

"You mean the dragon, or the pack of wolves that were definitely not cute?" Lemon asked, trying to ease the tension with a joke.

"Girls... Those were all real. It's no joke," Fluttershy nodded.

"B-But... HOW!?" Sour exclaimed.

"Even if we tried to explain, I don't think you'd believe us," Applejack shook her head.

The Shadowbolts looked at Applejack.

"You think... we wouldn't?" Lemon asked. "Dude, I got my butt saved by a chick in 1980s clothes swinging a sonic keytar, who blew up a giant wolf made of TIMBER! If you told me you an ALIEN, I'd believe you!" She exclaimed, constantly gesturing her hands at her with some derision.

"Well it's gonna be a doozy of an explanation," Pinkie said, admittedly.

"We've got all the time in the world right now. Wait a minute... where did our motocross riders go?" Sunny Flare asked, the realization finally kicking in.

Off in the distance they could hear the sounds of the motocross bikes racing down the streets. And it wasn't for long until they saw the three bikes racing towards their way, busting right through the already destroyed fence, until--

CRASH!

Principal Luna and the few bystanders winced, hearing the crashes. From what they saw, the three riders had jumped off the bikes, resulting the bikes all crashing right into the pothole created by the dragon. Luckily no one was hurt.

"Oh my gosh, are you guys okay?" Lemon Zest asked, worried out of her mind.

Flash moaned from the fall.

"I don't know how many fences I destroyed... but yet I have a sudden urge to do it again," Indigo said, laying on her back, limbs spread like an eagle.

"What!?" Rainbow shouted. All the loud noises made her ears start ringing.

"This is why I just stay with cars and not bikes," Flash moaned into the ground.

Chapter 22: Detox

After an hour or so, everything had started to calm down. Of course, trying to calm down Principal Cinch was the biggest problem, who still had a hard time trying to comprehend everything that happened out in the playing field. Everything was going well as she had seen, until the giant dragon and wolves made of timber just shattered her reality. Principal Luna wanted to explain, but she didn't have any logical or sensible way to explain outside of 'magic'.

And at that point, everyone was given the release to go home early. There was nothing else to do for the day, and everyone needed to try and calm down from all the action. So with nothing else to do, this meant only one thing; goof-off time!

The Shadowbolts (after getting Indigo Zap and Rainbow Dash to recover from the crash) all pulled themselves together and started to go towards the Canterlot Mall. I mean there was nothing else to do, so why not a little bit of some freetime? Although it was going to be a little awkward considering how big of an impact they put on the city.

Upon walking inside, the Rainbooms all slowly started becoming paranoid. There was a ton of people in the mall today, and half of them knew exactly who they were, judging by the looks on their faces. The Rainbooms felt like there were invisible daggers all ready to jab at them, a thousand pitchforks and torches already prepped.

"Why so tense?"

The Rainbooms broke out of their paranoia of a trance.

"Huh?"

"What?"

"Why do you girls look tense, you look like you just saw a ghost," Indigo asked with a raised brow.

"Oh, it's... it's nothing," Rainbow quickly said, trying to avoid the obvious and just keep moving.

Rainbow quicky skipped ahead, once again, avoiding the question. Indigo could tell something was up, she just knew something wasn't right. And she didn't need to have Sugarcoat's honesty goggles to see it.

"Hey, anyone want a smoothie or milkshake, or anything?" Sour Sweet asked.

"No thanks, darling!" Rarity replied.

"I'm good!" Fluttershy answered.

"Oooh, me! Me me me!" Pinkie Pie jumped like a little girl.

"Okay, that's one for Pinkie Pie," Sour giggled. "Indigo?"

"Yes please."

"Me too!" Lemon yelped, equal to Pinkie Pie's energy.

"Anyone else?"

No one answered.

"Okay," Sour said, accepting the answer from her surroundings. The group stood by, waiting for Sour to finish the order.
As they waited, a few more people from the sidelines (mostly from every day passerbys) gave the Rainbooms some glares and sneers. They weren't gonna do anything to them, but they didn't have interest to talk to them. But they broke free from their glares when Sour Sweet came around with their shakes.

"Alright girls, so where do we go? We've still got half a day left!" Indigo grinned.

"Hmm, anyone wanna hit the arcade later?" Lemon asked.

"I'm in!" Pinkie Pie smiled.

"Count us in!" Rainbow nodded.

"And I know there's a video store up on the next level, I think they released some new stuff up there!"

"Not to mention the cool Geek'N'Shop just across the tattoo parlor?" Lemon winked.

"Maybe even stop by for a little beautification over at the hair salon?" Sunny Flare asked.

"Why pay hordes amount of money when you do it to us for free?" Sour asked.

"Come on, lets just head upstairs! Race you to the top?" Rainbow Dash smirked, letting her competitive side unleash a little.

"Wouldn't try it, not in a crowded place like this," Indigo said, completely ignoring the challenge she was offered. And she led everyone up the escalators to the second floor, letting Rainbow and her shoulders droop.

"Party pooper."

She followed after the group, going upstairs with the rest of them. As they walked, their heads went back and forth as they ogled some of the shops in the vicinity of the wing. A store that held work clothes, eh, bland and boring. Tattoo parlor? Eh, no one was willing to get one and even then, they could figure their parents wouldn't be so happy if they went and did that. Cute little plushie shop on the right, lots of kids went in to build stuffed animals.

"Wait, what's that?" Rarity asked.

Sunny Flare turned her head, looking in Rarity's direction. "Oh that's the karaoke bar, it just got finished a few weeks ago."

"Oh. I guess I never noticed it."

But it wasn't just the bar she noticed. Inside, she could also see someone was performing! Someone with a calm, relaxed but still classy sounding voice! There was only one girl she knew who could sing like that... and she had a familiar cyan and blue hairstyle...

"Wait, is that that Vinyl girl you were talking about? Wasn't she the chick who shot all that electricity at that dragon?" Lemon Zest asked.

"Yep!" Pinkie chirped.

"... I gotta meet her."

"She's not a celebrity, Lemon," Sour pointed.

"Yeah, but she's one of the girls who saved our butts!" Lemon rolled her eyes.

"Touche'."

"What is she singing anyway?" Indigo asked, sipping her milkshake.

"Ohhhh, I think I know! I passed by the practice room a few times, our, friend, err, acquaintance from school was practicing this song!" Pinkie explained. "Though it's weird hearing her sing about guys from Cloudsdale, she hates Cloudsdale."

The Shadowbolts hissed.

"Cloudsdale? Oof," Lemon hissed sharply. "My cousin attended that school, he dropped out after two weeks."

"My sister's boyfriend tried going there as well. She hated it," Sugarcoat replied, as blunt as ever.

"Sounds about right," Rainbow nodded.

"Why was that acquaintance of yours even singing about that to begin with?"

"Well apparently she went to that school, until she and her sisters got picked on for too long, and then one day, boom! They snapped and ran like heck."

"Can't say I blame them," Indigo shook her head.

"Shhh! Listen!" Sour shushed, trying to hear the song that the violinist was singing on the stage.

I’m just not into Cloudsdale City guys
I’m just not into guys who go start fights
I’m lookin’ for a boyfriend, someone who shares my pain
And Cloudsdale men are playboys who never use their brain
Unlike other handsome men who are strong and not afraid
Of commitment or relationships, I won’t name any names

"Huh. Ooookaaay then," Sunny Flare said, unsure how to respond.

"I'll give her credit for her singing, but I have to take points off for her lyrics. Kinda forgettable, and unoriginal," Sugarcoat said, delivering the same dry tone as always.

Applejack turned her head at her. "Wow, you really don't sugarcoat things, do you?"

"I don't," Sugarcoat said, bluntly.

"We're still trying to get her to understand the concept of when it's okay to be blunt and when to be nice," Indigo said, patting her friend's shoulder.

"I know I sound hurtful when I speak. But I don't intend on hurting anyone's feelings," Sugarcoat said. "And I know you can't tell either, but it's the truth."

As the girls all continued talking, Rainbow Dash could see Vinyl was walking out of the club after accepting her applause and bowing to the crowd. She walked out of the karaoke bar, phone pulled out of her pocket. She hit a few buttons, texting to one of her friends, or was it her mom? Rainbow didn't know, she didn't see her phone screen. Even then, she didn't really care what was on there.

"Uh, hi," Rainbow faintly stammered, trying to be polite and wave 'hello'.

"Ah! Oh, Rainbow Dash," Vinyl jumped. She paused for a moment to fix her hair, feeling some of it fly out of place from the startle, and adjusted her dressy clothes. "What, uh... what are you doing here?"

"I'm just hangin' out, t-that's all," Rainbow brushed her arm. "I, uh... I think I made some new friends with the Shadowbolts."

Vinyl, for once, smiled at the athlete. "Really? That's great!"

"Heh, t-thanks," Rainbow blushed. "So, um... at CHS, um... do you, have, superpowers now?"

Vinyl nodded with a straight face. There was no denying it at this point. She had been gifted superpowers, and there was no better way to say it.

"Wow, that's... that's pretty cool. I'll admit, I'm jealous."

"Don't be. Trying to get full grasp on them is a pain in the behind. I only just figured out how to shoot lightning bolts earlier today, I'm still trying to find out how to not shut down all the power in a single building."

The rainbow-haired girl looked around the wing of the mall. The shops marques were still well lit and the interiors of the stores (the ones that were open) were still showing plenty of power."There's plenty of power now, isn't there? So obviously you have some grasp of it."

"True, but it happens out of nowhere," Vinyl complained. "Be thankful you don't have to deal with this..."

Rainbow Dash's head and shoulders sagged as she looked away. "Yeah, I guess so."

Vinyl heard the pain in her voice. "Oh, Rainbow, I... I'm sorry, I didn't mean like--"

"--No, no, it's okay," Rainbow interrupted. "I guess... I guess it just hit me of how big a jerk I was. I..." She tried to look the musician in the eye, but she could barely do it. "I'm... I know there's no way you'll be able to forgive me, but... I'm sorry."

Vinyl smiled, walking over to the former captain of all of CHS's teams. "Look, Rainbow Dash. It's clear you are sorry for what you did, and you're obviously making some efforts to try and become a better person. That's really good. Just remember," she put a finger under her chin to raise her head up. "Chin up, everything will be okay."

"You say that, but... how do you know?"

The violinist beamed. "I just do."

Rainbow chuckled a little. "I wish I had your confidence."

"It's not confidence. It's just hope," Vinyl winked. She began to walk away, keeping that classy walk as she always did. Up straight, good posture, looking confident and positive as ever. Something she picked up from her mom and dad which helped her make some good friends.

But as she walked away, a thought had just occurred to the rainbow haired girl.

"Hey, uh, Vinyl?"

The violinist stopped. She turned her head back to stare. "Yes?"

"Um... t-thanks," Rainbow replied, genuinely trying to be nice.

Vinyl smiled back. "You're welcome, Rainbow."

And so she set off on her way. And as she did, Rainbow quickly picked up the pace and followed her group of friends again. The group wandered down the wing some more and stopped in front of a small shoe store. Some of the girls went inside to get some, while the others just chose to sat outside with the benches. As they waited, Applejack reared her head around and stood up with a smile on her face. Her childhood friend had shown up again, and was shopping in the same mall as everyone else.

"Rara!"

Her celebrity of a friend gave her an embracing hug, though this one longer than the others.

"Rara, you okay?"

"I am, I'm just... I'm so happy you and everyone else is okay. When those things showed up, I... I don't know. I was scared."

Applejack smiled and patted her friend's shoulders and gave her another hug. "It's okay. We're all alright, Rara."

Rara smiled. "I'm happy. So, what are you doing here?"

"Oh, just, hangin' out, that's all," Applejack shrugged.

Just then a loud gasp interrupted the silence, followed up by a fashionista zipped up in the space between AJ and Rara. How she got there in that quick of time was still a surprise, they almost didn't see where she came from!

"You... you're... she's... what... how..." Rarity hyperventilated, trying to accept the reality around her. The famous Countess Coloratura was right here, with Applejack of all people! She was here!? A famous celebrity like Countess Coloratura... was here? She had to repeat this several times in her brain just to see if this was just an illusion.

"Um, hi," Rara smiled.

"Rarity, this is Rara. She's my childhood friend. She's the new girl at CHS we heard about," Applejack explained.

Rarity squealed and giggled in delight like a little girl. "Oh my goodness, darling it's such an honor to meet you! I am one of your biggest fans!"

Rara giggled. "Thanks. Nice mohawk by the way."

Rarity squeaked. "Y-You like... you like my mohawk?"

"Yeah, it looks pretty cool."

And Rarity fainted right on the spot, smack on the ground. Sugarcoat just sipped her drink with a neutral face.

"Great. Another fainter."

Sometime later, the girls were now all hanging out in Lemon Zest's home. They offered a variety of places to go, but they chose to go there mostly because Lemon's home was more fun. She had tons of music, video games, food, she had it all! She was like the perfect party queen you could go to if you needed a good time.

And that's exactly what everyone was having; a good time. No longer feeling the stress from the games a few hours ago, but just chatting, laughing, enjoying each other's company. Right now, they were all hanging out in the living room. Indigo Zap, Rainbow Dash, Sugarcoat, and Applejack were trying to take on each other in a co-op battle in the video game Lemon put in. Needless to say, it was intense. Not intense as an actual war, but in their mind, it was very intense.

"Indigo, you got her in your sights, fire, she's charging the plasma rifle!"

"Can't, I'm invisible!" Indigo said, gritting her teeth.

"Okay, AJ, get Rainbow Dash," Sugarcoat ordered.

"I can't see 'er!"

"That's why they call it cloaking, cowgirl," Rainbow quipped.

"Alright hold on, I'm going to get the tank!"

"We said no tanks!"

"There are no rules in Tartarus!!!" Indigo grunted.

Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie just stared in awkward silence as the four girls butted heads with each other in the game. Of course playing a game like this would have brought out Rainbow and AJ's competitive nature. It was bound to happen. And of course no one else in the room was just as competitive as the four nutjobs in front of them, but they just kept any comments away and giggled a little bit.

"Really competitive, aren't they?" Sunny asked.

"Yes, yes they are," Rarity shook her head, watching them go crazy.

"Hey you girls wanna go upstairs to my room?" Lemon Zest asked.

"Better than down here!"

And they all zipped upstairs to Lemon Zest's room in a cloud of smoke. And just in time too, because Rainbow was starting to get really ragey.

"Ergh, come on!"

"Hey, chill, it's fine!" Indigo replied. "We're gonna get them, just gotta--"

"Game Over."

And just like that, Rainbow screamed into a pillow, and tossed the game controller onto the couch. And walked right out of the living room and into the kitchen.

"Hey, come on! It's just a game!" Indigo called, getting up. "You two just play each other for a while, I'm gonna talk to her."

"Good luck. Yer' gonna need it. When Rainbow Dash loses, it's never a pretty thing," Applejack advised. The Shadowbolt captain nodded, and followed Rainbow Dash into the kitchen where she was still seething. "Why are you so competitive, you know it's just a game, right?"

Rainbow groaned, rubbing at her forehead. "I... I know it's a game."

"And?"

Rainbow shook her head. "I... I don't know."

Indigo folded her arms. "Rainbow, you know games are only meant for having fun, right?"

"I know, but... ugh, I don't know what's wrong with me! Every time I play one, either a videogame, or when I'm out in sports, I keep having this... this, compulsion, like everything's on the line. Like if I fail, then I fail everyone around me, I... you know what I mean?"

Indigo waited for Rainbow to finish, and gave her a soft and warm smile. "To tell you the truth... I do. I know how that feels."

"Wait, really?"

"Mmmhmm. Look, you just got to remember, it's all intended for fun," Indigo said as she wandered around, draping an arm over Rainbow's shoulder. "And even if you don't win, you shouldn't push yourself so hard. Nobody's perfect. Not even me! This just means you know you've got stuff to work on. You understand what I mean?"

Rainbow Dash ceased movement, thinking about Indigo Zap's little advice. "Yeah, I guess so." Indigo smiled. "Good. Now just remember, it's all in good fun." She stalled for a minute, thinking of what else to do now. But a grin slowly came back. "When AJ and Sugarcoat have their match, wanna play winners?"

Rainbow Dash perked up. "Oh you're on!"

"Sunny, I don't know about this," Pinkie Pie said with uncertainty.

"Oh relax dearie," Sunny rubbed her shoulders. "I can turn your hair into beauty!"

"I like my hair!"

"Oh come on, pleasssseeee? Let Sunny Fware do your hair, pweaaasee?" Sunny begged like a little kid.

"She's not gonna stop begging until you say yes. So just say yes for the love of all that is sacred!" Sour enticed.

"Ohhh, okay," Pinkie Pie gave in, making Sunny Flare 'squee' like a little girl. "Yes! Trust me, I am a professional! I take my hairstyle work very seriously!"

"But why are we your guinea pigs?" Fluttershy asked.

Sour patted Fluttershy's shoulders. "Because we need practice, silly. Also Indigo gets bent out of shape when we touch her hair, Lemon wants to keep hers in a 'butch' hairstyle as she likes to call it, and Sugarcoat refuses to let anyone touch her pigtails."

"And yet you're touching my hair, because...?"

"Oh come on, boo. You trust me, don't you?" Sour asked with an innocent smile.

"Um... yes?"

Sour squeaked. "Hehe. Now let me see..." She kneeled down so her head was on the same level as Fluttershy's. "I don't know about you, but I was thinking about maybe making your hair a little more... how do we say, vibrant? Lively? I don't know, your hair's a bit..." Sour ran her fingers through some of Fluttershy's hair, making her face scrunch up. "Your hair's pretty greasy."

"Gee, thanks for that," Fluttershy deadpanned.

"Look, I can still salvage this! With anything, it can be salvaged. I mean Sunny, you and Lemon managed to salvage the remains of Rarity's hair, correct?"

"Yep!" Lemon grinned.

"So this means, we can probably make something brand new out of this hair as well," Sour smiled. "Now what kind of style do you want, maybe something more lively, something radiant... something that looks more open and inviting, but still allowing you to keep that goth vibe you've got set?"

Fluttershy pouted, blowing a small strand of her hair that blew in her eyes.

"Hey, how I put some soft braids in? I won't tamper with your hair too much, I can just get some soft ones in there, maybe some beads... maybe something to fit your gothic nature?" Sour asked, giving a little wink in the mirror.

Fluttershy smiled at the idea. "Um, sure, I guess that could be okay."

"First thing's first, we gotta wash that rat's nest," Sour ordered.

"Wait, what?"

And two seconds later, she didn't know when, but suddenly she found herself soaked with tons of water and shampoo, hands running through her hair, lots of dashing around with snips and blows from the hairdryer, all sorts of noises she couldn't even make out anymore. And then a few seconds later, she found herself back in the chair she was before, with a fresh new look. Her hair looked the same, she didn't even know why she went through all of that to begin.

"Hang on..." Sour Sweet pulled up a mirror, turning it to the back of Fluttershy's hair. "What do you think?"

Fluttershy looked behind and gasped. Her hand moved back and she could feel the braids that were pulled into place, all nice and woven together like a bow. Of course, there was no bow, but she could see the braids were held by a few black beads and one of which was in the shape of a bat.

"... I like it!"

Sour fist pumped the air. "YES! I didn't screw up!"

"I think this could really work," Fluttershy said, feeling her hair.

"You've got the looks for it, hun," Sour giggled.

"Hey girls!" Sugarcoat called from downstairs. "Anyone want to order pizza? I'm gonna call the pizza guy!"

"Ooh, wait!" Lemon Zest and everyone zipped out of the room in a cloud of smoke, leaving Fluttershy behind. She turned herself around and looked back to her reflection in a mirror. She smiled briefly, but frowned at another thought. She may have a new look... but what would the rest of her friends think? Why did she even like this new look? Did some part of her want to look more outgoing and friendly? Did she really not want to look as scary as ever?

Or was there a deeper reason underneath? Did she just not want to be like this? Was it to impress someone? Nothing in the realm of common sense could conjure up such an idea in her head. At least, she thought so. Maybe there was...

"Hey Flutters! you want pizza?"

Fluttershy perked up. "Uh, be right down!"

She skipped out of the room, but stopped to look at herself in the mirror one last time. She felt the back of her hair again, still unsure of how she felt. But regardless, she went downstairs to join the others who were eager to order some delicious pizza.

Night came and everyone was falling asleep. Well, mostly everyone. Most of them were comfy in the sleeping bags and cots and air mattresses that were all set up, but Fluttershy couldn't sleep. Not just because she could hear Sugarcoat and Rainbow Dash snore like pigs, but there was much thought rampant in her head.

Carefully, she got up on her feet and slowly slipped past the girls, trying not to make a creak to wake them up frmo their slumber. She wound up going downstairs to Lemon Zest's kitchen, parking herself at the island countertop in the middle of the kitchen, on one of the stools. Her eyes just locking down at the drink she had gotten for herself, staring at the small splashes it made as she kept moving her cup side to side.

"Fluttershy?" A voice called.

The girl nearly jumped, until she saw the source of who was awake. Sour Sweet, wandering into the kitchen in her tank top and pajama shorts.

"You're up late. Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"Can't," Fluttershy said, sounding unconvinced.

"Aww, I'm sorry. Bad dream?"

She shook her head.

"Queasiness?"

Shook her head again.

"Hungry?"

Same reply.

"Well then what's wrong, dang it!"

Fluttershy flinched, making Sour Sweet blush. "S-Sorry sweetie, I have that effect on people," Sour apologized while going to the fridge.

"You seem to have a lot of that... um. 'Sour' in your attitude, don't you?"

Sour raised a brow at Fluttershy's question, but giggled. "Yes, I suppose I do."

"Why are you even called that anyway?"

"Well," Sour began as she yanked out some chocolate syrup from one of the fridge shelves. "I have my 'sour' part from my dad's side, he taught me a thing or two on being able to stand up for myself and help stand up for others. And I got my 'sweet' side from my mom. She basically taught me how to be nice and, well, be sweet. I always believed it's how you get friends."

Fluttershy wilted. "I bet it's nice to have a lot of friends."

"Yeah, it is," Sour said, not looking at her and digging into the freezer for some ice cream. But when she closed the door, she saw the frown on Fluttershy's face. "Flutters?"

The goth girl looked up, seeing the hopeful smile on Sour's face.

"You know, if you want to talk about something, I'm more than willing to listen."

"I don't know," Fluttershy said, straightening her hair. "Last time I tried talking, I only end up scaring people away."

Sour pouted. If she wasn't going to talk, then she certainly would! "Hey, can I ask you something? How come you always seem so... oh, what's the word? Grumpy and angry?" Sour asked, trying her hardest to not be sour or sarcastic.

"O-Oh, um... well it's, uh..." Fluttershy stuttered.

Sour shut the fridge door behind her. "Yes?"

"Well... you promise you won't say a word?"

"Cross my heart, hope to die, hope a torque wrench hits my eye," Sour said, assuring her word.

"Well... okay. Truth be told... I think I like spending most of my time alone," Fluttershy admitted. "I don't know why, but sometimes when I'm near them I just... I... I just need to be alone. I don't hate them to the bone, but... ugh, what am I saying? I probably sound like the meanest person on the planet."

"No you don't," Sour shook her head, eating a spoonful of ice cream.

The goth girl blinked. "I don't?"

"No. To tell you the truth, I have a lot of days like that. Which is why for half an hour a day at my school, I like to move down to a small room I've got hidden for myself. I have a lot of trouble trying to talk to people or just maintaining myself in general, so every day I go down to that room so I can do what I need to do to recharge and get myself together."

"And your friends don't think it's mean?"

Sour shook her head. "No, of course not." She took another bite of her ice cream, but halted in between. "Needs sprinkles." She walked over to another cabinet, once again raiding Lemon Zest's sugar and sweets. She really needed to put a lock on that cabinet, and that was just to keep herself from inhaling that much sugar! "Look, Flutters. I told my friends. They know I need my alone time. Lets face it, everyone needs to have those moments where they just need time to be by themselves and detox for a period. Like I know Lemon Zest does, she seems energetic and giddy, but she's had a fair moment of very anxious episodes."

The goth girl raised a brow. "I'm sorry, Lemon Zest?"

"Mmmhmm. But that girl doesn't go to a secret room; instead, all she does is pace around to get her legs moving, listen to some of her favorite tunes, and then she's able to get herself right back in the game."

"Oh. I see. Well... it's not just that."

"Yeah?" Sour asked as she added a dash of sprinkles onto her midnight snack.

"Well, I... okay. Look. All my life, I've always managed to do things on my own. Rainbow Dash was the only real friend I made before I met any of the other girls. She... she defended me even when I could defend myself. I don't know why, but... when she did, I felt like I was... weak. But then when I started hanging out with Rainbow Dash and the other girls, I... I don't know. I felt like these girls were just like me. People who were all alone like me, though more depressing than me, but alone nonetheless. But these past few days, I... I don't know. Ever since we've been trying to be better people, I keep trying to force myself away from them but... I can't. I keep feeling like... I can talk to these girls, like it's okay to.... ugh! What am I saying? Every time I keep thinking about it, I'm just getting weak and soft!"

"Fluttershy?"

She looked at Sour who stroked her hand.

"Listen. You're not weak. You're a tough girl, from what I've seen. We're not so different, you and I. But afraid of letting people into your life and into your heart? No. It's not weak. You let them in, you show them that you really care about them. That'll be a sign to them that you actually do care for them, even in spite of how you act around them. And being afraid of seen as 'weak'? Closing yourself off from everyone and feeling... that's weak. But to open up and let them in... that's one of the toughest things you can do. So many of us have difficulties trying to figure out who to trust and who we can't. But it's those people that we get really close to and know for a really long time that are the ones we know we can open up to."

Fluttershy looked away, feeling embarrassed. "But... how will I know they won't make fun of me?"

"How do you know they won't? You'll never know if you don't try," Sour said, walking over and patting her shoulder. "Sometimes you just have to have faith."

She leaned over and pulled Fluttershy close, giving her a hug. Fluttershy didn't react, but slowly she pulled her arms around her and hugged her back. And even though Sour didn't see it, Fluttershy slowly smiled and a small tear leaked down her face.

"Sour?"

"Yes?"

Fluttershy pulled her closer, hugging her tighter, and whispered.

"Thank you..."

Thunder and lightning clapped outside, the beginning of a storm to come. Canterlot was no stranger to stormy weather, so everyone just accepted it as a usual thing.

At the Sparkle home, the wind blew hard outside, making all the trees and bushes rustle. Lightning and thunder clapped outside, and a few branches of the tree banged against the roof of the laboratory shed. Inside, Twilight Sparkle was steaming in anger and frustration as she looked at the work before her. If her face could turn any red, she'd turn into a volcano and burst.

Twilight snarled and stared at the machines she was surrounded by. Was she crazy? No! She knew what she saw, magic, pure and simple. It may be difficult to explain, but once she had contained it, it wouldn't have just made a scientific discovery of the century. No, this would save the planet, keep it from spinning into more chaos and destruction. Magic released before had a giant raging she-demon running around, a five-headed Hydra monster, and a three-headed monster the size of a Titan!

She wasn't going to let any of this slide. And those girls with superpowers? Oh no. She had seen enough. Someone had to do something, and dang it, if no one would... then she would. It was time to take action. But first; she would need to do a little modification on her capture device. There were six girls; six girls, six pieces of magic to contain. If she needed to contain it all... she would need to make the containment unit in her pendent stronger and maybe a little bigger...

She gripped a drill in her hand, holding the trigger to hear its bit spin around as she faced her technology with a grimaced glare.

"This time... I'm doing things myself."

Chapter 23: Turn Of Events

Thursday. The day for the final event of the Friendship Games was here. Unfortunately it seemed as if the games would have to be delayed for later on in the day. Heavy rains were coming down hard, and the events that they had planned for the day involved outdoor activities; none of which was going to be possible with this weather.

But it didn't mean that CPA wasn't gonna come over to CHS. When the bad weather left, that was when they were going to get themselves back in the game again. But until then? Goof-off time! Now there was some who were still trying to get moving and get on their very way to school, as not everyone took the bus or got driven to school. Some who lived closeby could just simply walk and they'd be there just like that.

In Canterlot City, Lyra Heartstrings stood on one of the buildings. The soft cloud of thunder boomed in the skies above, and lightning flashed before Lyra's eyes. She lifted up her hood, covering her hair from the rain. A mask lifted up over her nose, leaving only her eyes exposed to the world.

Focus. Focus, hard work, and determination, is always the true key to success, the quote echoed in the back of Lyra's head. It was a quote she heard from her mother over and over again, and it was a quote she was going to need to keep in mind for what she was about to do. Having learned of her teleportation abilities, she figured now would be perfect time to try them out.

Looking ahead, she could see another building just as tall as the one she stood on. Just a simple dash, jump, teleport. Should be easy, right?

She backed up her feet, getting ready to make that dash. She had stretched her legs, stretched her neck, made sure her weapons were secure on her body with no chance of falling off, she was all ready to go. She took one foot up after the other, and she began to run. She felt the adrenaline start to coerce through her veins. She was really going for it, she was really going to give this a shot! She dashed and then jumped, arms in an spread eagle like formation. And with a single flash, her body vanished from the air she was on.

And in a matter of seconds she was falling straight down and landed flat on her stomach and face, spread like a spider on top of another building complex. She moaned into the hard stones which were now mushed against her face. As she lifted herself up, she felt some of the stones pop off like they were bubbles.

"Okay... bad idea," Lyra moaned, pulling herself back up. And the first thing she saw was the man with the tool-belt giving her an awkward expression as she got up.

"What the heck are you doing, kid?"

Lyra blanked. "Um... astronaut exercises?"

"Well be careful, would ya? Not all of us can get straight to the hospital right away," the man said before getting back to work. Lyra took his advice with a grain of salt and decided to try again. But it seemed as if her luck would be changing for the good. The next couple of buildings she had chance to dash across were all on level-height, shouldn't be too much of a problem!

She backed up her steps, getting ready to run again. Just a simple dash and jump into the air. Arms spread like an eagle once again, flash, but this time, she was only a few inches from off the next building, and landed on her feet, knees and legs bent for landing.

The ninja looked back, realizing where she had dashed, no longer on the building where the construction worker was. She had made her successful jump! But wait, she had more buildings just up ahead, now was her chance! She ran again, jump, and teleported onto the next building. Another lap of running, jump, and teleport. By the time she had gotten to the sixth building, she was already grasping her teleportation ability. All she had to do now was focus on where she wanted to land, and boom! She was there!

And her move continued to work for the next few series of jumps. She teleported her way across the city, until there was no more buildings for her to jump across and was starting to enter suburb territory. School would be real close by, and it would be just in time.

As she started to run, she saw one of her friends already walking there; Vinyl, walking underneath the protection of an umbrella.

"Hey Vinyl!"

Vinyl looked back and smiled, waving to her friend as she dashed towards her with another teleport. And Vinyl offered a little bit of her umbrella as cover which Lyra appreciated. She lifted her hood up, showing some of her hair and face still a bit wet from the weather.

"I see you're finally getting your teleportation ability under control," Vinyl complimented.

"Yeah, I am! What about you, you got any grip on your electricity?"

"Mmmhmm," Vinyl squeaked. "I don't know how, but after a bit of practice, I managed to reel in the spark to get power back into our house. Now none of us were cold the night before."

"Well that's good."

Vinyl shrugged. "I guess so. But there is still the issue of having a few... overloads," she blushed. "I may have controlled it for the most part, but there are some major and minor slip ups here and there."

"All a part of learning to keep it under control," her ninja friend smiled.

The two had finally made it to the front of CHS, just outside there were some CPA buses already parked.

"Huh, so Crystal Prep's finally here," Vinyl said.

"Yeah, but apparently the games are being put on hold until this storm clears. Don't know when that'll be though," she said, keeping herself dry under the umbrella.

"Oh, have you heard from the Dazzlings, yet?"

"No, I'm afraid not. I tried calling them, but it keeps going straight to voicemail," Vinyl shook her head. "I really hope nothing bad has happened to them."

"I'm sure they're fine, maybe they're in a place where cellphones aren't permitted," Lyra shrugged off, feeling hopeful.

The violinist sighed. "I hope you're right..." The two walked inside, and walked through the main foyer down the hall to find their lockers, and hopefully their friends.

The three heads currently in charge; Principal Luna, Vice-Principal Celestia, and Principal Cinch were staring outside into the open world, watching the rain continue to fall. They were happy as clams just being inside, enjoying the nice boost of hot coffee to wake them up.

"To tell you the truth, I don't think I was expecting the heavy rains today," Principal Luna commented. "I knew it would be gloomy and cloudy, but this?"

"Not the worst thing in the world, sister," Vice-Principal Celestia replied.

"Well I hope this clears up soon, I'd hate for us to play the final event in this dreadful mess," Principal Cinch replied. "Though, I must question; after what happened yesterday, is it really the best idea for us to be trying this again?"

Cinch did raise a good point. The dragon and timber-wolves came out of nowhere, and no one was prepared for them. When the first event of the games began, everything was going so well. But then day number 2, and suddenly it all spiraled into chaos. They didn't know if it would repeat, but one thing was for sure; the games would continue, but if something did go wrong; they'd cancel it early, bringing it all to a tie.

Twilight Sparkle gazed at some of the Crystal Prep students. Some of them were just staring off into their own world, some engaged in their phones either playing a game, or looking at something random or pointless for laughs. And some were seen interacting with a few of the CHS students, either doing the same or just talking and relaxing. And down another wing, she could see Indigo Zap and company yet again. They looked towards a familiar group of girls who were expressing themselves with happy faces and hugs. She didn't hear what they were talking about, but it sounded rather cheerful and upbeat.

Ignoring their joy, she just kept on walking. Right now she had only one target in mind, and she was going to get it done no matter what he said...

The Night Before...

It was evening at the Sparkle house. Shining Armor was watching TV in the living room, while Twilight is – again – up in her bedroom, doing more of her research. Twilight Velvet and Night Light have gone out for the evening, Velvet had an opening for a new book being published and Night Light wanted to be there for his wife, to record this special occasion.

Shining is alone, and while part of him wished that his little sister was with him here, he’s not uncomfortable on the couch watching some old reruns.

DING-DONG.

Shining looked up in surprise as the doorbell rings. It’s after dark, but still far too early for his parents to be home. Curious, he goes to answer the door.

“Hello...?”

To his surprise, it’s Cadence. She’s dressed simply, but nicely; and she smiled at him, both nervous and hopeful all at once.

“Hi, Shining…” She gathered herself. “I was wondering if I could talk to Twilight?”

Shining blinked, processing this, even though he knew, soon as he saw her, that this was what she was going to ask. Worried, he glances back behind him, towards the stairs and Twilight’s bedroom.

“Shiny…”, she begged, calling him by an old pet name from when they were dating. “Please… I need to do this.”

“Cady…” he replied back, calling her by an old pet name, out of reflex. “I don’t know… I don’t think this is a good idea.”

"Please?"

Shining wanted to resist, but he couldn't just kick her out right now. Failing to resist, he allowed her to come on inside, and walked upstairs with her following her. The two made it to the top and stood outside of Twilight's room, where she was still typing away at her computer, filing more of her research.

"Twilight?

A pause of silence. Twilight refused to look her in the eye, and so, she still kept her face glued to the screen.

".... what do you want?"

It would be now or never. So why not now?

"Twilight, I know you and I have some history, but... Twilight, it's been a really long time. I know you don't forget, but... I just wanna talk. Maybe you and I could--"

"Cadence. Look, I don't care. What happened years ago, is nothing now. I don't want to talk to you, I don't want to see you, just leave me alone to do my research," Twilight said, almost robotic in her tone.

Some awkward silence was between all three of them. Cadence, for one, was just as silent. But she felt her eyes slowly start to water, realizing how far Twilight had fallen from her younger days.

"I... I understand." She looked away, trying not to let herself be seen, tearing up.

"Cady, hey...", he looks her in the eye. "W-Why don't you go downstairs, I'll talk to her."

Cadence holds back a whimper, but sniffles a bit, and walks back downstairs. Disappointed, a little upset, Shining looked back at Twilight with his eyebrows furled.

"Twily... I think you owe her an apology."

Twilight finally stopped looking at her screen and spun around to look at her brother. She looked at him with disbelief, staring at her brother who was glaring and had his arms folded. "Me?"

"Yes, you do. She came here to apologize to you, and you just shut her out! You can't just shut out those around you like that."

Twilight was cross. "Did you completely forget what happened the last time I was with her?"

"What happened was a mistake, Twilight. People make mistakes, everyone makes mistakes, it's human nature! You can't just hold her accountable for ONE mistake!"

Twilight stood up. "You know what she did!"

"Yes, I do!" Shining was heaving quite visibly. "Twilight. I am not saying this to upset you. I want you to be happy, if you keep living in this same cycle over and over, you're never going to grow, you're never going to be happy."

"Well maybe I would if you just let me do my research!"

Shining scoffed. "Research? I've seen what you're trying to research, Twilight. It's NOT. REAL."

"Yes... yes it is. And I know it's real," she snarled, getting right into her older brother's face with some insistence.

Shining could see he wasn't going to get much more out of Twilight by now. There was no arguing with her tonight, besides there was a woman downstairs probably in need of some comfort.

"I don't think you know what's real, Twilight. When you're ready to apologize, we'll be downstairs."

"Fine!"

Shining stomped out of her room, leaving Twilight alone. She brought everything to a halt for a moment, breathing heavily. Her hands were shaking up, and she looked away from the door, still trying to keep herself composed. For once, for the first time in a long time... a genuine tear of sadness fell from her eye, and she looked back at her open door with some more shame. Was she really that hurtful? Did she take it too far...?

Twilight slowly crept down the stairs, looking down into the living room. There she could see Shining was holding Cadence close on the couch, some soft crying from the other woman, Shining keeping her close for comfort*
Cadence's voice was shaky. "I... I just... I just wanted to say I'm sorry... I just wanted to make things right again."

"Shh... I know. I know," Shining comforted, hugging her. "I don't know what to do with her... she's been like this for a really long time. I'm not sure if she'll ever get out of it."

Twilight once again, felt a sting in her heart, the guilt coming back. But as she went back upstairs, she looked back into her hand, the pendent that she had built. Her face of sadness and guilt slowly snapped back into blank, neutral, but determined. No. She wasn't standing down. Shining didn't believe her? Fine. But she was going to deliver proof... one way or another. And even if she wasn't... someone had to step in and contain that magic, someway, somehow. And if no one else would... then she would.

All the memories flashed back in her head like a spontaneous trip through time. Her determined expression not changing as she thought. But when she continued to walk, she stopped when she realized something. The girls; those girls with the magic... they were right in front of her.

Scared of being caught, she threw her body in between a set of two locker sets, out of sight. Now all she had to do was listen.

"... So okay, Mom tells me to go get the fish, and then two seconds later, I'm already back with them!" Lyra finished, eliciting some giggles from the rest of the girls.

"Oh how about this? Yesterday, after the games, I scrounged up some metal from some junkyards... and I built, this," Octavia lifted up two chunks of metal that were meshed together, looking like jagged shoulder pads with spikes on the end.

"Oooh..." the girls said in awe.

"Built this for my rocker persona, if we decide to perform again," Octavia levitated the metal pieces to mount on her shoulders, smirking at them like the eccentric rocker she was, while making a punk sign with her fingers. "Then Metallica is ready to rock and roll, ladies."

Trixie and Vinyl giggled.

"Very well, Metallica," Trixie giggled.

"Heh, yes. Now, luv, are you feeling any better?" Octavia asked.

"I am, Octavia. After you took me home, I wound up falling asleep, slept like a baby for 5 hours," Trixie explained. "After that, and a little bit of some energy boosts, I started playing with my illusions and let me tell you, I came up with some pretty goofy stuff."

"Like what?"

Trixie snickered. "I don't know if I should say. It's," she snickered again. "Too weird. Buttttt... I think I have mastered the illusion of contained environment."

"... That doesn't make any sense," Bon Bon scratched her head.

"Hehe. Look, how about this; I'll show you what I mean. I remember seeing a movie last night, and something from that film gave me a little idea..."

"Oooh, color me intrigued," Vinyl said with interest.

"Count me in, I wanna see what you came up with!" Amethyst nodded.

"Me too!"

"Well, great, come on!" Trixie said, leading the way.

"Oh go ahead, I just need to grab something real quick," Lyra said.

"Okay," Trixie acknowledged.

Lyra wandered down the hallway, happily skipping to her locker. She reached in and grabbed a small plastic container, popping the lid off. A little snack before going back to practice. And snack for today was a little something sweet to lighten up her mood; a confectionery cookie with mini-candies as chocolate chips. She nibbled on the cookie, pacing back and forth while deep in thought. Reaching for another one, she closed her locker and stepped away. She opened up the main entrance doors of the school, staying underneath the main entrance doors. She watched the rain fall outside, thankfully protected by the small roof above the double doors.

The thunder echoed in her ears, but that didn't bother her. She knew the inside was safe, she knew she would be alright. Besides, even if the power went out, there was plenty of cover out there.

As her body leaned against the doorway, a single person walked into the open foyer. She stayed hidden in the shadows, only a flash of lightning revealed her blank purple face. She slowly walked towards the ninja, almost... menacingly. No one was around but the two of them... and nothing was going to stop them.

She opened up the pendent, focusing it on the ninja. And soon enough; it began to work it's magic. Lyra's body began to glow a bright golden yellow. And she felt it. She looked down, quickly catching onto her body radiating. But she felt a burn, a burn that started to pitch through her body, as pain swept. Streams of yellow was being absorbed from her body and were slowly being pulled into the pendent.

The last remnants were contained, and so the pendent snapped shut. Lyra felt as if all of her energy had been exhausted, and she began to feel dizzy. Her head felt like it was pounding against her, and she just didn't have the energy to go anywhere or anything. Her legs wobbled and wiggled, and she tried to hold onto something to stop her fall, but it was too late. Her entire body fell forward and she collapsed onto the ground, blacking out.

Twilight looked down at the fallen student, her expression still not having any change.

"One down. Five to go."

She turned around, and walked away from the scene. It wouldn't do good if she had been caught on the spot, but she certainly wasn't going to attract too much attention towards her. And the front doors that she stood in front of, slowly closed. As if her body was not holding weight against them anymore.

Just down the hallway, another girl was coming through. Bon Bon, who was wandering around looking confused.

"Lyra? Lyra? You there?" Bon Bon asked, looking around. She looked down the left hall. And then down the right hall. Nowhere. Where could she have been? Well, no where else to look, she started to wander down the left wing of the school, she'd have to look for her one way or another.

Lyra's eyes jolted open. A cold chill hit her skin as she woke up. What happened? She felt something draining the life from her body, and then suddenly; blackout. What even happened? But wait; what happened around here!?

She looked up, gasping out of fear and shock. When she pulled herself up, she found herself in front of the school, like where she was standing before. But something wasn't right. The entire land she was in was... darkened. Cold. Creepy. Every movement she made echoed; her breathing, her feet slapping against the concrete, the wiggling of her body, everything. The entire walls of the school were covered in vines and plants, as if it had been abandoned for a long time. Dark clouds loomed over the skies, creating illusion of storms yet to come.

"H-Hello?" Lyra quaked. "Is anyone here?"

Her voice echoed throughout. No one replied. Her legs began to feel wobbly, and she folded up her arms, hugging herself out of fear.

"I really hope I'm not alone..."

Chapter 24: One Confectionary To Go

The rain continued to drizzle on the grounds. A few drops of rain tapped against the windows of the school, but no one minded. And Trixie's friends certainly didn't mind this at all as well!

"Okay Trixie, show us your grand illusion, what have you mastered?" Octavia said, pulling up a chair in excitement.

"Show us what you've got," Amethyst smirked.

Trixie squeaked. "Okay, okay, let me think, okay... How about something spoookyyyy? Ooooohhhh," Trixie said in her best spooky voice.

"Oh, I don't know, how spooky are you talking about?" Vinyl asked.

"Not too spooky, I promise. If you want me to stop, just say the word, and the illusion will die," Trixie said, assuring her friend.

"Well... okay," Vinyl said, nodding.

"Okay, first thing's first. Can you girls just huddle together right here?" Trixie gestured over to the steps she was standing on, just nearby the rested keyboard. "Great! Okay, now..." Trixie closed her eyes, imagining her new illusion. "Let us create something dark and misty..."

Slowly, the room began to change around the girls. A misty thick fog began to roll in out of nowhere. And the light in the room began to dimmer down becoming darker, as dark as the night sky. The sounds of the sea crashing against rocks echoed in the girls ears, and the soft dinging of a bell. Looking down at their feet, they were no longer sitting on steps in a practice room. Why it looked like they were teleported out of the room and onto some dark rocks near a lighthouse.

The walls were gone, there was nothing there that looked like the practice room. But as the fog rolled in some more, three glowing red lights cut through like knives. And pairs of glowing purple eyes made themselves present.

My heart is pierced by Cupid
I disdain all glittering gold
There is nothing can console me
But my jolly sailor bold

Their bodies pushed through the waters, now walking on stones towards the group of friends, ever so ominously...

Come all you pretty fair maids
wherever you may be
Who love a jolly sailor bold
that ploughs the raging sea

The three Dazzlings approached the trio of friends, hips swaying with every step they took. Their eyes locked onto the girls as they walked towards them in hypnotizing manners.

My heart is pierced by Cupid...
I disdain all glittering gold...

Adagio bent forward to gaze deep into their eyes, almost hypnotic were the pupils in her eyes.

There is nothing can console me... but my Jolly Sailor Bold...

"Impressive, isn't it?" Trixie asked, feeling a little bit of pride.

"It's like they're right in front of me... and I don't know if she wants to kiss me or feed on my organs," Amethyst shivered.

Trixie giggled a bit.

"Don't worry, it's not real," Trixie said, nonchalantly waving her hands. "In fact... oh, check this out!"

Trixie looked at the three Dazzlings standing, and in a flash of light, they were miraculously changed into different looking forms. Their demeanor wasn't ominous, but their outfits were completely different. Suddenly they were dressed in various outfits; Aria was now a biker, Sonata was dressed in an Indian attire, and Adagio was sporting a construction worker outfit.

"Cool huh?" Trixie grinned.

"Wonder what they'd say if they were here right now..." Vinyl said, rubbing her chin.

"Oh I got that covered," Trixie winked.

"I haven't worn something like this since the 90s," Aria said, looking down at her jacket. "Put me in a biker bar, I'll blend right in."

"Oh reeaallly?" Octavia said, coyly.

"Mmmhmm," Aria winked.

"Say uh, Sonata," Vinyl asked, just for fun. "When did you wear that?"

"Well in the Old West, somewhere in 1882, my sisters and I were planning on staying in a small town to lay low, but I got tossed off the train by some outlaws. Next thing I knew, I was being taken care of by some Native Americans who nursed me back to health and got me back on my feet!" Sonata grinned.

"Mmmhmm," Vinyl said, folding her arms, deep in thought.

"Again girls, I don't really know if this is anything they'd say, but this is all from my imagination," Trixie shrugged.

"Oh, well, I think it's rather adorable," Adagio giggled, 'patting' the top of Trixie's head.

Trixie blushed a little bit, looking at her friends who smirked. "... Okay I know Adagio would say that. She always calls me adorable."

Octavia rolled her eyes, chuckling. "Well you keep on going with the illusions, I think I'm going to help Bon Bon find Lyra," Octavia said, walking to the doors.

"Okay," three chimed.

"Let us know if you need help, okay?" Trixie offered. "I'm sure she's fine, but if there is something wrong..."

"I'll know who to holler. I know," Octavia winked.

The door slammed shut.

"So, okay, anything else you can do?" Amethyst asked, excited like a little girl.

"Well... that was honestly all that came to my brain at the time," Trixie blushed, rubbing her scalp.

"Wait...", Amethyst stopped, thinking for a moment. The thought started to make her grin, and snicker a bit. "Oh-oh, this is gonna be good," she snickered again.

"What, what?" Trixie asked.

"Well... I wasn't sure if I should ask, but there was a funny idea I had for a prank rolling around in the back of my head," Amethyst grinned, cheekily.

"What is it?"

"Oh, it's a good one, and Trixie? I think your illusions are the key..."

While Trixie dazzled her friends with her newest tricks, the Rainbooms and their new friends took refuge over in the home economics room. It was mostly used as a hangout by CHS during break hours, since the place included a few couches along with plenty of outlets for students to plug in their equipment if they needed a charge. And a small TV was in there as well. Sugarcoat and Applejack were curled up on the couch while Pinkie Pie and Lemon Zest were over in one of the kitchens. The rest of their friends just sat at a table playing a game with sets of cards that they brought along with them.

"Sugarcoat? Mind if I ask you somethin'?"

Sugarcoat nodded. "Of course".

"How come you're so blunt and honest with everyone? ... Uh, not to be rude or anything, I just... I was just askin'."

The bespectacled girl smiled. "I understand, Applejack. But there's a reason I'm blunt. Ever since I was 6, my dad always told me to be honest with everyone, no lie, no nothing. Now, I understand telling the truth can hurt... but lying to your friends can be just as hurtful. But you know what helps when you're being honest?"

"What?" Applejack intrigued.

Sugarcoat stood up and grabbed a soda from the fridge. "One thing that helps me, in most cases, at least, is adding a bit of positivity or constructive criticism. You put those elements in with a hurtful truth, it could help you be a better person. It helped me with my friends at least."

Applejack giggled. "When did you learn to use that?"

"4 years ago. I uh... I might have... I might have made Lemon Zest cry by accident," Sugarcoat blushed, clearly ashamed.

"Well, what did you say?"

Sugarcoat popped the tab on the soda can. "I gave her my opinions on one of her favorite cartoons. ... it made her cry. But after a talk with Indigo, she managed to reel me in, and I was able to get Lemon to understand that it was just my opinion and she shouldn't take it straight to heart. As I say, if you like something, you go ahead and enjoy it, don't let someone like me stand in the way." Sugarcoat took a sip of her drink and immediately performed a spit take, splattering the wall with impeccable accuracy. ... "This is not soda."

The home ec door opened up, and entered a frantic looking Bon Bon.

"Bon Bon? You okay?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"No, I'm not," Bon Bon shook her head. "I don't suppose any of you two saw Lyra?"

They shook their heads in response, making the baker groan.

"Great... Look, if you see her, let me know, okay?"

"Well, what happened, darling?" Rarity asked.

"Okay, one... it's weird to hear you call me that when you're wearing the rock and roll mohawk," Bon Bon pointed out. "Second, she went off to get a snack, but she didn't come back. I know she gets side-tracked from time to time, but I don't know, something doesn't feel right," Bon Bon said, holding onto her arm.

"I'm sure she's fine, she's got teleporting powers, she probably just boomed somewhere else," Rainbow Dash shrugged.

Bon Bon sighed. "I hope so. Just let me know if you see her, okay?"

"Okie-doki-loki!" Pinkie chirped.

Bon Bon just chuckled, rolling her eyes as she stepped out of the room. Lemon and Pinkie Pie, completely oblivious to Bon Bon's entry, just focused on their own activity; cookies!

"Salt?"

Lemon was handed the salt which she tossed into the batter.

"Baking soda?"

And the baking soda was handed.

"Baking powder?"

And the baking powder was given.

"Chocolate milk?"

The cup was passed to her and she took a quick sip. "Okay I'm good! Pinkie, you think you can finish the rest?"

"You got it! Done!"

Lemon was frozen. Not even a few seconds had passed, and Pinkie Pie had gotten all of the ingredients mixed up in the bowl nice and evenly. "How??? How did you even mix all of that up so fast?"

"It's Pinkie Pie! Don't question it!" Applejack called from the couch.

Lemon's finger drooped. "Oh. Well okay then. You did this before?"

"Yep! I am a master of baking! I do wish I could do it more often though," Pinkie frowned.

"Why can't you?"

"Well... I kinnnnndda made some guys mad these last couple of months. And I'm kinda known as a party killer here now," Pinkie slumped, her hair slowly deflating into limp and flat.

"Aww, Pinkie... need a hug?" lemon asked.

"... Yes."

Lemon pulled Pinkie into a hug. "Hey, it's okay... it's okay, Zesty's here..." she rubbed her back, holding Pinkie close in a warm embrace. "Hey. Tell you what. I got something that could cheer you up."

"What?"

Lemon reached over into the bowl with a small spoon, scooping up some dough. "Cookie dough?"

Pinkie clutched the spoon and took a bite of the dough. After the third bite, she stopped. A smile grew on her face and her hair poofed back into it's lively and bouncy nature.

"This is the best. Cookie dough. Ever!!!!"

Lemon squealed a little.

"You made all of this?'

"Well, duh! You were right next to me for the past 10 minutes!" Lemon giggled. "Besides, this is family recipe, I've got this on lock down!" She grinned as she tried a spoonful herself. "The trick is... sometimes you have to know the person. If you want to get them to smile, you need to know what their problem is, you have to know what emotions they're going through. Depending on their problems... that's when you can find out how to make them smile again. It's how I got Indigo to deal with losing at a soccer game, it's how I got Sugarcoat to deal with not landing her first date, Sunny and her ex-boyfriend, Sour and..." She looked back to the table and whispered to Pinkie. "Sour Sweet when she lost her mom--"

"--HOW DARE YOU--"

"I'm sorry, I needed an example!" Lemon cried. "Anyways... look. The key to get people to smile again, is just knowing what's bugging them or getting them down, and that's when you can fix it. Just a little willpower."

Pinkie smiled before hugging Lemon again. "Thanks Zesty."

"Aww, no problem Pinkie," Lemon cooed, hugging her again. "Now come on, lets get the cookies onto the sheet! But don't let me have too much of that batter, or else I'm just going to eat the whole thing," Lemon giggled.

Just then, a single hand was heard knocking on the door, almost erratically. Rarity walked up to answer it, and opened it, revealing an out of breath Trixie.

"Trixie? What on earth happened to you?"

Trixie raised a hand up, silently asking her to wait. "First... whew, I need to hit the gym some more... there's, uh, there's an angry mob down the hall," she said nonchalantly.

"What?" Rarity asked, confused.

"There's--"

"Hey! Isn't that the chick who hated on that Daring Do Movie!?" An angry voice called.

Trixie froze. Her eyes looked down the other direction out of fear.

"GET HER!" Another angry voice shrieked before an entire crowd shouted with fury. Trixie immediately ran away from the door, and to Rarity's shock, an entire angry mob was seen running down the hallway. But what made this disturbing was the amount of people that were running with pitchforks and torches! Their screams were like banshees, and a few voices shouting 'Burn her!' were among them.

And as they ran, Sour Sweet stood up, watching the pack dash through like a stampede, all the while just casually munching on a tortilla chip.

"This reminds me of one of my family reunions. Though we do this mostly if there's no more steak and we need to run to the store!" She yelled over the crowds. When the running mob died down, there was only Amethyst and Vinyl running down the hall.

"Hey, you girls see any angry mobs anywhere?" Vinyl asked casually. A speechless Rarity slowly pointed down the hallway where the mob had run down. "Okay, great, thanks!" And so Vinyl and Amethyst dashed down the hallway. Rarity blankly looked at Sour who didn't seem fazed by the random event.

"... That's why I don't use the internet that much," Sour shrugged, taking another bite of a chip.

Bon Bon did complete sweeps of the hallways upstairs, she wasn't anywhere to be seen. She stopped by nurse's office, science lab, gymnasium, everywhere! Where was she?

She slammed a door shut just as she wandered back downstairs again. Lyra wouldn't just vanish like that, would she? No, she didn't. She was her best friend, she'd never do that. But where had she gone? Little did she realize that someone had been following her close by...

As she looked down the empty corridor with the faulty light fixture, her hands slapped her sides. She was at a loss. Something wasn't right.

A soft click of a device echoed in the hall. Not having enough time to react, Bon Bon froze as her body glowed with radiating dark blue energy. She felt a burn in her heart and she collapsed onto her hands and knees, yelling in agony. Twilight's face showed no emotion as she did her work, absorbing every last ounce of magic from Bon Bon. The last remnants of magic were taken, making Bon Bon slowly fall and black out.

Octavia turned around a corner, and froze. Worried about being seen, she threw herself in an empty locker, hiding inside to avoid being caught. Luckily her body managed to squeeze herself in there enough to not be seen. When Twilight was done, she closed the pendent and turned around. Octavia squeaked slightly, realizing the girl was standing only a few inches RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER. Twilight didn't look up at the locker where Octavia had shoved herself into, as she was more focused on the pendent.

The poor rocker tried desperately not to move a muscle until one turn of her shoulder made a bump into the wall. The girl's head bolted up, hearing the sound. Octavia could feel her heart pound against her chest, ready to burst out. Twilight slowly walked up to the locker, standing right in front of Octavia. She heard the dent again, hearing it come from within.

Oh no, I'm dead, I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead I'm dead...

Twilight looked at the locker and with one hand, she yanked the unlocked locker open, making Octavia close her eyes in fear. But then she heard the locker door slam shut. One eye dared to peek, realizing that she had opened the locker next to her. She shrugged at the noise, and looked down at the pendant, sighing.

"What am I doing... this isn't right. Those girls, they... no. No, no, no. This is for the world. I'm not letting this planet get destroyed..." And she looked right up at the locker in front of her. Octavia could feel her staring down into her soul. "Annnd I'm talking to myself in the middle of a hallway. That's not awkward or anything..."

Twilight walked down the hall, turning around a corner and leaving the scene as soon as possible. When she was gone, Octavia kicked the locker door open and squeezed out with a POP, trying to stretch her body from the tight space. Her mohawk poofed up after being compressed underneath a shelf.

But when she looked to where Bon Bon had fallen... she was gone! Where did she go? She passed out, and then... gone! How? How was that possible?Octavia panted heavily, trying to calm down. Now wasn't going to be a time to panic, she had to stay calm. .... Oh who was she kidding, there was a madwoman out there sucking energy out of her friends!

In the bathroom, she splashed several handfuls of water into her face, trying to snap back to her senses. She breathed and panted, trying to catch her breath. Rubbing at the spaces underneath her eyes and her forehead, she looked at her own reflection. It took all of her will to not throw up.

"Okay Octavia... get it together, it's okay," Octavia heaved. "So first Lyra goes missing, and now Bon Bon. And now we know who's responsible for this heinous act," She said. "But if she's taking their magic, then what happens to them?"

She splashed more water into her eyes, trying to think some more and more.

"Magic theft, resulting in them vanishing," she said out loud. "Think, think... okay. What could have happened to them, where could they have gone?"

Octavia really didn't know the answer. But what she did know was this; That girl did something to her friends. Whatever she did, it needed to be undone. She straightened her pose, and growled in the mirror. She wasn't going to let them vanish just like that. She was getting them back, no matter what.

"Hold on, Bon Bon. I'm coming," Octavia said as she marched out of the bathroom.

Bon Bon's eyes opened up wide like someone had slammed a steel door down. Pulling herself up, she found herself in a new environment. Cold and dark, and spooky. She realized she was on the ground in front of the school. But it looked wrong, something looked incredibly wrong. The school was enraptured in vines and plants, like it had been abandoned for a really long time. What happened? Where did she go? How did she end up here in front of the school?

Just when she was about to cry for help--

"Bon Bon!"

Her spun around faster than sound. "Lyra?"

And nearly tackling her to the ground was her best friend, scared out of her life.

"Dah, Lyra!"

Bon Bon felt Lyra's arms wrap around her chest out of fear, trembling and shaking.

"Hey, hey, it's okay Lyra," Bon Bon said, embracing her friend, rubbing her back. "It's okay... shh..."

Lyra's voice shakily breathed as she tried to find the strength in her to speak.

"Bonnie, thank goodness you're okay..." she whimpered.

"Lyra, what happened?"

"I... I don't know. I was just eating a snack, and then all the sudden, I felt like energy just... drained, right out of me! And everything went black, and the next thing I knew, I was... here!"

Bon Bon's eyes widened. "That just happened to me..."

"What!?"

"Lyra, easy! Look, I wasn't sure what happened to you, so I went to go find you, and then I felt like a ton of energy was drained from me as well, and then I blacked out. And just like you said, suddenly I'm... here."

Lyra quivered. "you don't think this is something going wrong with the magic, do you? Or some curse that was put upon us from the horse-gods to torment us--"

"Lyra."

The ninja stopped, as her friend gripped her shoulders.

"Look at me," Bon Bon said, holding Lyra's shoulders. "Look, I don't know what happened to us. But I don't think we died. Whatever happened, we probably just got stuck in some void or alternate dimension or something. Our friends are still out there, and they'll know something is wrong, I'm sure of it. But right now, we just need to stay calm. Okay?"

Lyra slowly nodded, making Bon Bon smile lightly.

"Good." She ruffled up Lyra's hair a bit, making her giggle. "We'll be okay. I'm sure of it."

"But what do we do?"

Bon Bon gazed up at the storms up in the air, looking at them with great interest. "Well. I don't know about you, but we should at least take cover underneath the main entrance."

The two of them dashed over to the main entrance, just underneath the cover above the doors.

"We'll wait out here. Hopefully the girls will find out what happened to us... I hope."

Chapter 25: The Rise And Fall Of Octavia

"Oi!"

The door kicked open, revealing an infuriated Octavia. The Rainbooms and Shadowbolts all looked at her with shocked expressions as she walked in, fuming. She took two steps before her shoulders slumped and sighed heavily. "Okay. Question. Which one of you are Shadowbolts?"

The five Shadowbolts all raised their hands.

"Here's my second question. Do you by any chance have a classmate who's... weird?" Octavia asked.

"How weird are we talking?" Sunny Flare asked, taking a sip of her drink. "Are we talking... dork weird, or weird weird?"

Octavia scrunched her face. "Are any of your classmates extremely intelligent with technology?"

The Shadowbolts gave it some thought.

"Hmm... maybe Twilight Sparkle, but--"

"Twilight? Does she have glasses, purple skin, messy dark lavender hair like a mad scientist?"

"... Well I wouldn't say mad, but... actually, scratch that, yeah she's pretty mad most of the time," Indigo shrugged.

"I still haven't forgiven her for that stunt with the Soccer Launcher," Sour grumbled.

Octavia raised a brow. Sour looked at her and huffed. "Twilight made a machine that would launch soccer balls which was supposed to be used for practice. Unfortunately all it did was give me, Lemon, and Sunny Flare concussions. It's any wonder how she didn't get into trouble for that," she slapped her magazine on the table.

Octavia had a thought. "So... this, Twilight Sparkle. Is she intelligent?"

"Yeah, I guess," Sour shrugged. "I mean if she can make a machine to load and reload soccer balls, who knows?"

"Hmm... interesting," Octavia nodded before spinning around and leaving the room. "Very interesting indeed..."

Rarity didn't like the look on Octavia's face when she left. Curious, she got up from her chair and walked out of the home ec room, managing to stop Octavia just before she went anywhere else.

"Octavia?" Rarity asked.

Octavia stopped walking. Her face tightened up, hearing the fashionista call to her.

"Darling, is everything okay?"

Octavia's nose flared. "Yes. Everything is fine..."

"Octavia, I know something isn't right. Talk to me, there has to be something wrong--"

"--Rarity, listen to me," Octavia interrupted, yanking Rarity close.

"Um, this is really uncomfortable--"

"--Listen to me," Octavia said, genuinely concerned. "We have a woman on these grounds who zapped two of my friends, and I don't know what's become of them. Whatever their fates are, she needs to be stopped!"

Rarity blanked. "Um... alright?"

"Look. I'll keep it simple for you, luv. If you see Twilight Sparkle, tell us immediately," Octavia said before letting her go, moving along her way.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Me? I've got to prepare myself. She wants to zap my friends, she has to go through me first..."

Rarity watched as the angry rocker stomped away to conceive her plan. And the only one who stepped out was Sunny Flare, curious.

"Soo... what's the heck was that all about?"

"I... I don't know," Rarity admitted.

"Did she get upset over your hairstyle?" Sugarcoat asked from the room.

"No, though I must admit, I thought she would have called some attention to it. For heaven's sake, I'm practically stealing her look," Rarity said, realizing how she was dressed.

"At least she can't sue you!" Sour said. "I've been sued. ... It is not fun."

Twilight walked briskly through the hallway of CHS. It was quiet inside the school, eerily so. Twilight’s shoes click loudly, sharply against the floor as she strides along; a harsh noise that almost echoes across the hall.

Twilight was thinking, hard and furiously. Her hands were clasped around the pendant, almost as if she’s scared to expose it to the open air. For, despite everything, how hard she’s worked for this, how far her research has progressed these past few days… Twilight Sparkle is still having doubts.

“Am I doing the right thing?”

The question keeps worming its way into her mind, bringing with it a horde of doubts, worries… and also too, a kind of desperation. She had to be right about this. This energy – this magic – those girls and their powers… the dragon… she has to be right about this. Because if she wasn’t…

“Hey.”

The bespectacled girl stops, in spite of herself, at the voice interrupting her thoughts. Twilight turns, tensing as she sees the gray-skinned girl with punk clothes and mohawk. Immediately, Twilight knows that this person is ready for a confrontation.

“You’re a hard person to track down, Twilight Sparkle.” She stood tall, her arms folded, her eyes glancing at Twilight’s clasped hands. Twilight, now composed, gave her a cold look. Her hands tighten on the pendant; part of her is wondering if this tough-looking girl just wants to take the device, thinking it a simple piece of jewelry.

Twilight coldly asked, “What do you want?”

“Want?" Octavia said, sarcastically. "Oh luv, there’s quite a few things that I’d like. But I think I’ll start with you, bringing back my friends.”

Twilight flinched at the venom in those last words, even as she gets defensive.

“What are you talking about? I didn’t—"

“Don’t give me any of that tripe," Octavia cut over, cold but clearly very angry. "I saw you do it. You just went up to one of my best mates and zapped her with that!” She pointed accusingly at the pendant; Twilight pulled back from her instinctively. “You sucked the magic out of her and left her like she was nothing!”

Twilight heard this, and while she did feel a twist of guilt at the accusation, something else in that sentence is what really got her attention.

“You said magic? So it’s true? Magic does exist?”

Octavia balked for a moment, her face going pale with shock and then a fresh wave of anger. “Is that all that matters to you? Magic? You zapped Bon-Bon and made her disappear, and all you care about is magic!”

Twilight, stung, glared fiercely at the rocker girl.

“It does matter, because it confirms what I’ve been trying to prove all along. Magic is real…”, she matched Tavi’s glare with a determined stare of her own. “And it’s dangerous.”

Octavia scoffed, disbelieving her. “Dangerous? ... Dangerous? Are you mental? The only way they would be dangerous is if there was nothing here to take control or handle it! My friends and I have stepped in to handle the magic problems here at this school, and we will continue to do so for the safety of all our friends. We’re not evil, luv! And we’re not the menace here, Twilight, you are!”

Twilight’s glare drops for a moment, as she is just taken aback by Octavia’s statement. For a moment, she can’t say anything, before she fires back with rising fury.

“Not the menace? Not the menace!? Your friends can control sound! One of them can teleport! I saw one of them shoot lightning at a dragon – a real live dragon, that probably wouldn’t exist without this magic! And you’re telling me that = I’m the danger?!” The two of them glare daggers at each as Twilight finishes. “I’m not the villain. But this magic of yours is the real threat here.”

The two of them stare each other down, refusing to budge.

Octavia had an icy glare. “I'll give you one final warning. Give my friends back, Sparkle. Right now.”

Twilight still stayed cold and defensive. “I don’t have them.”

"So that's how you want to play it? Then give me that thing.”

“I told you, I don’t have them! I don’t know what you meant, they didn’t—”

Octavia suddenly lunged for the pendant in Twilight’s fist. The two girls grappled for it, but Octavia was stronger than Twilight, and she was determined to pry it out of Twilight’s grip. Twilight, frantic at the thought of losing the device, having all her work undone, frantically struggles, and in the chaos of the moment… so very quick, it happens…

The device opened up, accidentally activated by one of them during the scuffle. Octavia gasped in horror as she saw it happened, as the pendant automatically emits its ray, striking her.

Octavia screamed in agony as the energy was slowly starting to suck out of her, into the device, which clattered to the floor from Twilight’s fumbling hands. Startled, momentarily overwhelmed by the fight, by everything, Twilight can only watch.

Octavia slowly began to stumble, her legs feeling wobbly. "Oh... I don't feel so good... why is everything suddenly fuzzy?"

Moaning, she collapsed to the floor. Twilight stared at the fallen, and then gasps in horror as she sees confirmation of the rocker’s statement – as Octavia’s body vanishes, sucked into the pendant, which finally clicks shut. The rocker was no longer in sight, she had completely vanished from the hallway.

Twilight can’t move. She can barely breathe, her mouth dry as she repeats--

“That’s impossible…”

Anxious, terrified, desperate, she grabs up the pendant, clutching it to her chest. Her eyes dart around rapidly, looking for anyone who might have seen the incident.

Out of stress, Twilight fled the scene, darting down a flight of stairs and out the door, to finally take shelter beneath one of the trees on the school grounds. There, almost huddled against the trunk, she looks at the device in her cupped hands.

“What have I done?" Twilight said to herself, terrified. "What have I done, what do I do, whatdoIdo?”

Nearly overcome with panic and desperation, Twilight murmurs to herself, trying to sound out a plan, any plan.

"I have to fix this. I have to make it right. This wasn’t supposed to happen, I didn’t think that anything like this could happen! Who could have predicted it! Magic’s not supposed to be real, people aren’t supposed to just – just, disintegrate like that!”

She tried to breathe a few times, slowly to help think some more. “I have to tell someone. Principal Cinch, maybe? Mom or Dad, Shining Armor! I – I…”

But that thought brings with it other ones, that sent a new wave of cold fear surging through her.

“I can’t… oh my gosh, I can’t. They’ll think I’m crazy, Shining already thinks I’m crazy for researching magic. And if I prove what happened…” She folded her hands around the pendant. “Oh, they’ll think I’m the threat. They’ll take my research, they’ll take everything away… what if I end up going to jail?”

Shuddering, she whimpers, rocking back against the tree trunk.

“I have to figure this out. I’ll figure it out. S-somehow. I’ll deal with the rest of this magic, a-and then I’ll figure out a way to cure those girls. That has to be it. The magic must have done something to them, that’s why they disappeared. But I’ll make it right…”

Twilight opens her hands, for a moment, to look down at the device. She swallowed, her throat dry, even as she felt a new kind of resolve: on born of sheer desperation.

“I have to…”

"AGH!" Octavia shouted before falling face first onto hard solid ground. Looking up, she saw Bon Bon and Lyra hiding underneath the main entrance of the school. "Oh come on! Let me guess, we're all trapped in this device, aren't we?"

Bon Bon nodded.

"Wonderful."

Octavia buried her face back into the hard ground, screaming into the cinder-block. After 30 seconds of screaming that sounded like someone was about to be strangled, she raised her head back up, her chin resting on the ground.

"I don't suppose any of you have any candies?"

Chapter 26: Reveals

Principal Luna was busily typing away at her keyboard, filing some reports, trying to get anything done she could until the weather cleared up. Principal Cinch took this time to wander around the school to get re-acquainted again (since she didn't really get the chance to last time) and Vice-Principal Celestia was doing her own work as well. But as Principal Luna finished filing away her notes, she opened up a file on her computer, turning on the security cameras to her monitor.

She flipped through several cameras, making sure everything was still normal as it should have been. But as she looked, she stopped. On one of the cams was Octavia, yelling at someone. But who was it? Zooming in, she got a quick closeup at the girl she was ranting and raving at.

"Wait a minute... that's Twilight Sparkle. But why is Octavia yelling at her?"

Within a few seconds, she dropped dead silent. The two girls were fighting over the pendent until it burst open and began to absorb the magic from Octavia's body. The Crystal Prep girl was seen clearly in full panic, trying to stop the device from anymore, but then, something else happened. As if fading into the winds, Octavia's body slowly began to disintegrate and turn to dust as she was absorbed into the pendent. And then, it ended. A panicked and terrified Twilight Sparkle was left on the cameras, showing clear remorse and regret for her actions just before she ran.

"Oh my gosh..."

In any scenario involving a student suddenly vanishing, she would have stepped in right away. But the activity she saw was more of a magic-based problem, something completely out of her jurisdiction. So, who else to talk to but to Trixie and her friends. She just had to find them first.

Principal Luna opened up the first door she came across, and a burst of music exploded in her face as it finally escaped. And like fighting a blizzard, she tried hard to shut the door, not wanting any more of it to leak into the halls.

I really need to talk to these students about how loud they can adjust their music.

And so she checked another door--

I'm invisible! Invisible!
I try to so hard to resist!
Invisible! Invisible!
Sometimes I wish I don't exist...

--And immediately slammed the door on that room, her face just wide with disturbance and equal fear. That student didn't sound quite okay, she might need to have a talk with her later. The next room she checked was the home ec room, and the first thing she received was an explosion of confetti blasted in her face, almost flooding the entire hallway.

"Oops! Sorry!" Pinkie called from the room.

"So that's why you told me not to touch the party bomb," Lemon answered.

Principal Luna sighed as she wiped the confetti off of her. "Pinkie Pie, could you please get a dustpan and brush and clean this up?"

"Yes Principal Luna!" She chirped.

"Thank you," Principal Luna replied, flicking a few pieces out of her hair. "Now before the explosion, I was going to ask if any of you had seen Trixie or her friends."

"Oh, I saw them run down the hall a few minutes ago. I think Trixie was chased by an angry mob... but then again, I don't think it was really there," Rainbow replied, unsure.

"Okay. Thank you," Principal Luna said, struggling to understand. She put her focus back onto finding the girls. And as luck would have it, they were just around the corner... fighting? A strange man in black clothes, taller than Amethyst herself was engaged in a sword duel, in the poorly lit hallway. She could still clearly see them, thanks to the laser swords that they were both holding. And off to the sides were Vinyl and Trixie, giggling at the scene before them.

"My teacher's gonna--I'm gonna tell my teacher about you!" Amethyst shouted.

"I am your teacher!"

"Nooooo!"

And Amethyst threw another swing with the sword, creating another clash of sparks and bolts. The two battled hard, and even Principal Luna had to admit; there was some joy in seeing her returned student doing something silly and fun. But the fun quickly ended the minute the retro-loving girl spun around and caught the principal.

"Dah, oh, hey!" Amethyst said. "Uh... how much of that did you hear?"

"Oh, Principal Luna, hey!" Trixie squeaked. "Um, hi... uh... we were... just... um... I swear we weren't doing anything wrong!"

"Girls, I wish to speak to you three alone, in my office. Now."

Trixie nervously tapped her legs against the floor. Getting called down to the principal's office was never a good sign

"Um... are we in trouble?" Trixie asked, twiddling her fingers.

"No, girls. You're not in trouble. But I believe something rather disturbing is happening you might need to be wary of," Principal Luna said.

"What? What happened? Are the Dazzlings back and under mind control?" Trixie gasped.

"Did Sunset escape from jail for revenge?" Vinyl gulped.

"Did someone raid the vending machine for the imported Bon Mot Praline Peanut Butter Crunch Bars again?" Amethyst asked. All her question received was awkward glances from the rest of the people in the room. "What? It happens... more often than you realize."

"... Anyways. A few moments ago, I was surveying the security footage from yesterday when I found something I think you three need to see."

She flipped the computer monitor around to show them the security from the day before.

The three girls zoomed in to take a closer look. Their eyes widened and they gasped when they saw her following her little hand-held device to the statue just before it absorbed all of the magic from the portal with a big blast. The footage ended with her looking around, trying to make sure she wasn't followed or seen before running away.

"Oh my goodness... who was that?" Trixie asked.

"I believe I know who. Her name is Twilight Sparkle, you know, one of the competitors for the Crystal Prep team?"

"Y-Yeah, a bit," Vinyl nodded.

"She... she did that?" Amethyst pointed. "She took out all of that... by herself!? How did she do that!?"

"I'm afraid I don't know," Principal Luna shook her head. "And, I don't wish to distress you girls, but there is a chance that one of your friends has gone... missing."

Trixie swore she heard glass shatter. "Could you uh... excuse me for a moment?" She stepped out of the room, and let the door shut behind her. No one heard her, as their next assumption was she was going to scream at the top of her lungs in panic.

"Is she okay?"

"Hold on," Amethyst held a hand up.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Trixie's scream was so loud it sent soft tremors into Principal Luna's office and it shattered the glass in the front door, leading to her office. Books and other items fell off of shelves, hung picture frames fell off their hooks, breaking on the floor! The door slowly creaked open like the person on the other end was walking right into a haunted house. And on the other side was an embarrassed Trixie looking very full of shame.

"Um... s-sorry I broke your window," Trixie twiddled her thumbs. "If you'll excuse me again, I... I think I need some peanut butter crackers."

And with a walk of shame, she stepped away from Principal Luna's office, leaving her two friends and the school's principal staring in awkward silence.

"Well," Vinyl broke the silence. "Principal Luna, I don't know where this Twilight Sparkle is, but I do know this. If we just talk to her, I'm sure we can get her to undo what she's done. We'll just talk to her."

"We're not gonna kick her butt?"

"Amy!"

"What, I'm just saying!" She put her hands innocently. "Someone steals Equestrian Magic from the statue and we're not gonna stop her?"

Vinyl rolled her eyes as she walked towards the door. "Look, we will. But we're not using violence."

"Aww... so no rainbow smoke bomb?" Amy whined as she followed her.

"No!" Vinyl shouted.

"But Vinyl... she took the magic..." she continued whine, and the talk was dragged into the hallway where Principal Luna could still hear them. And all the while she just sat idly and listened while sipping coffee.

"I don't care!"

"No, that's not fair!"

Luna just chuckled at the conversation. She could swear Vinyl would make a good parent when she grew up.

"Ohhhhh..." Trixie moaned as she paced back and forth. "This is bad, this is bad, this is really really bad..."

Vinyl and Amethyst sat on the steps as a panicked Trixie continued pacing.

"Trixie, look, stay calm--"

"--Don't talk to me about staying calm, Vinyl!" Trixie barked. She sighed, realizing how loud she was being. "I'm sorry, I'm just really scared. I mean, are they dead? Did she kill them!? What if they're gone and we can't get them back, I don't want to lose them now! Not when the Dazzlings are gone, I can't handle this!"

"Trixie!" Amethyst shouted. She gripped Trixie's shoulders. "Get a grip on yourself!"

Trixie gulped and nodded quickly, afraid that Amethyst was going to do something else, maybe even slap her.

"Look. I don't know what happened to them. I hope they're not dead as well, but we can't jump to that conclusion right now. All we know is that Twilight zapped them. For all we know they're probably just stuck in a void somewhere and won't get out unless we stop this girl. Lets just try to keep that hope, okay?"

Trixie nodded. "O-Okay..." The girl took a deep breath, inhaling and exhaling a few times. She remembered going to see a psychiatrist and using this trick to help her whenever she was in high stress. "Alright, lets think about this."

She snapped her fingers and an illusion of a holographic like grid appeared before the three friends.

"So this is Twilight," showing a shadowy image of Twilight Sparkle, "this is us," six images of the girls flashed on the grid, "and here's the portal."

With every statement that followed, she created the illusion, or at least, cartoony versions of what they knew on the grid board.

"So this girl took the magic from the Wondercolt statue. The very next day, each of our friends start to go missing. First Lyra, then Bon Bon, and now Octavia. This is no coincidence."

"Which means it's only a matter of time before she gets us," Vinyl concluded.

"Girls, you're forgetting something," Amethyst pointed out.

"What?"

"Illusion..." She pointed to Trixie. "Sound." She pointed to herself. "Electricity." She finished off with Vinyl. "We still have powers... meaning maybe... maybe we could stop her before she does anything else."

"If you're suggesting we beat her--"

"Whoa, whoa! No! I'm not saying we should do that, that's a terrible idea!" Amethyst said. "... We'd have to clean up the body first!"

"Amethyst that's not even a little bit funny!" Vinyl snapped.

"Humor is my coping mechanism!" Amethyst whined.

"Ladies!" A new voice shouted.

The two girls jutted their heads into the direction of the voice, finding Adagio Dazzle holding two Tommyguns in her arms with a mad grin on her face.

"If you two are done with your bickering, we need to find a way to put an end to her stealing the magic!!!"

And like a madwoman, she shot them wildly into the ceiling before dashing through the door, quite literally, phasing through it without opening it. The resulting reaction left Vinyl and Amethyst staring at Trixie with faces that screamed 'what was running through your head?'

"I have a weird brain sometimes," Trixie blushed.

But just then, they heard a knock on the door.

"Who's there?"

"Hey, uh, it's Rainbow Dash. Alright if I can come in?"

"Depends," Amethyst shouted.

"Just come in, Rainbow," Vinyl replied.

"Uh, hey guys," Rainbow said, stepping inside. "Oh, this is Indigo Zap, she's my new friend."

"Oh, nice to meet you," Trixie smiled, shaking her hand.

"Nice to meet ya, mistress of magic," Indigo winked.

"Oh, and these are my friends, Vinyl and Amethyst."

"Hey."

"Wazzup?"

Indigo nodded with a smile. "Nice to meet you two. Nice mullet head." Amethyst giggled. "So I guess correctly, you're the gal who was swinging the keytar on Monday?"

"Yep, that's me!"

Indigo chuckled. "I think Lemon Zest would get along with you very well. She was squeeing like a fan girl over your hairstyle, I swear."

"So what's up?" Vinyl asked.

"What... oh! Right! Did Octavia swing by here a few minutes ago?"

"No. Why?" Trixie asked.

"Well she barged into the home ec room looking like she was ready to kick someone's butt," Rainbow explained.

"And judging by how she acted when she learned about Twilight, I have a bad feeling she either already has done something, or is about to," Indigo added.

"What do you mean?"

"She acted like she had some personal vendetta against Twilight, and I don't know if there's something I'm missing here or--"

"Wait a minute," Trixie interrupted. The two athletes came quiet, allowing the magician to speak. "You said Octavia was acting like she had a grudge against Twilight. Did Octavia mention something or a hint of anything as to why she was wanting to find her?"

"She said something about Twilight having done something to her friends, I think? I don't know, she came in and out real quickly," Rainbow admitted.

"But this I do know. For the last few weeks in school, most of us who ran or bumped into her, kept getting some nonsense about magic and how it's 'too dangerous' and all that. I guess seeing that giant monster from a few weeks ago spooked her badly," Indigo shrugged.

"By giant monster you mean--?"

"The three-headed sea looking thing that I swear looks like the Aquadon monster from those old Japanese monster movies," Indigo finished.

Amethyst, Vinyl, and Trixie's faces were completely fearful. Bad enough seeing Octavia getting zapped by that weird device, but now this girl had been keeping close tabs on them for a while now? Oh this was a deeper hole than what they were hoping.

"Girls?" Rainbow asked. "Are you okay?"

"... can you give us a moment alone, please?"

Rainbow and Indigo nodded, backing out of the room and closing it shut. Trixie flipped herself around and nearly squealed in fear. "She's the reason they're missing!?"

"Apparently," Vinyl crossed her arms, deep in thought. "So this girl's been hunting us all down one by one, and now she thinks we're evil because we're the ones holding the magic?"

"More like terrorists," Amethyst spat.

"Ohhh..." Trixie moaned, pulling at her hair. "I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm starting to miss the days where the only things I had to worry about was the Rainbooms! I don't need this in my life!" She yanked on her hair some more, until she stopped. A light bulb flickered over her head. "Wait... I have an idea," Trixie snapped her fingers.

"What is it?"

"Well, it's a little unorthodox... but what if we find this, Twilight. We show her that our magic and everything we've done so far hasn't been for evil, and never will be?"

Vinyl was undetermined. "I don't know, what makes you think this girl will believe us?"

Trixie scratched her chin until a slowly building smile grew on her face. "I have an idea... All we have to do is show her, right? So why not put on an actual show?"

"... I'm not sure I'm liking where you're going with this," Amethyst agreed.

"Girls, look. I can make illusions, right? So what if I created an illusion of a new monster, or threat... but we act as if it's really there, and fight it? If Twilight is there to witness, we could go into this situation being superheroes, 'saving' her from the threat, and showing everything is not so bad after all!"

"... or we could just, you know, talk to her? You know, handle this rationally, like mature adults?"

Trixie blinked. "That works too. But you know, if we do talk to her, we're going to need to be careful, one wrong slip and..."

"We know," Amethyst nodded. "But I know we can save our friends."

"Then ladies," Trixie stood up, creating a soft illusion of a performance outfit around her body with a wizard hat. "Lets show Twilight Sparkle we're not here for evil. And just for the heck of it..."

She pointed two fingers at Vinyl and Amethyst, and illusions of new outfits swarmed over their bodies. Amethyst was back in her over the top 80s garb, and Vinyl had her classy penguin suit back again.

"Classing things up are we?" Vinyl smirked with duck lips.

Trixie giggled. "Come on, lets go talk to her."

The three girls left the practice room and went down the hallway. Now it was time to find Twilight Sparkle...

What they failed to see though was that the Rainbooms and their Shadowbolt friends were on the sidelines, waiting for them to come out, or at least, trying to listen in. But they heard enough to understand what they were doing. At least, some of the Rainbooms did...

"Okay, so they're going to go have a chat with Twilight. I'm thinkin' maybe we should tag along just so.. we... um. Sugarcoat?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"... are you even paying attention?"

"I am, I'm just checking on the local news, I want to see if this bad weather will clear up," Sugarcoat said, not paying attention to them and swiping tabs on her phone.

"Anyways... any idea what that was all about?" Applejack asked.

"I don't know, but I think whatever it is is probably not going to be good," Pinkie said, watching them leave.

"Anyone else think maybe we should, you know, keep a close eye on them? Just for safety, of course. Bigger in numbers, provided that the Dazzlings will finally show up," Rarity inquired.

"Fine by me, lets go!"

And so the Rainbooms quickly dashed away, running after the girls. They may not have earned their trust yet, but if Twilight knew anything or was capable of anything involving magic, they would at least need to step in. They were the only ones who had any encounter with it outside of the Dazzlings friends of course.

"So should we follow 'em?" Lemon Zest asked.

"Maybe?" Sour asked. "Or we could just sit on our butts and not worry about a thing!"

"Hang on, I just want to check out this news report real quickly," Sugarcoat said, still glued to her phone.

"And here we are with breaking news here on Canterlot News Today, apparently a private jet has been reported to have gone missing after taking off from California airport a few days ago..."

Chapter 27: Less Than Stellar

The dark clouds continued to pass over Canterlot High. While it didn't look ideal to go outside and participate in the final events of the games quite yet, it still looked rather atmospheric. For some, it was a good thing, it meant they could get some work done. Others, simply relax, have a drink or two, and read in solitude.

Yes indeed, the scene would be pretty idyllic on the grounds of CHS…

All except for one certain girl.

Twilight Sparkle, still curled up against the trunk of a tree, sat there, in a state of just-controlled terror. Holding the magic-scanning device close in her hands, as though it’s a bomb about to go off… which it very well might be, for all that she knows. Twilight had been looking at the device. Looking at it, and then looking around, afraid that someone might be watching her, and then back to the machine in her hands. Such an innocent-looking device, and yet the cause of so much chaos…

I have to make this right.

The thought runs through Twilight’s head. She has to fix this mess. A low, desperate moan slips out of her mouth, and she nearly thumps her head against the tree trunk in frustration

“But how do I fix this?”

She felt almost sick with fear, and desperation, and frustration. Everything has gone so wrong. This was never what she had thought could happen. Magic, monsters, people vanishing into her device? It was all so crazy, how could she ever have had any clue that this was what would come of her investigation?

Where on earth could she even BEGIN to make this right?

”Breathe, Twilight. Just breathe. In, and out. Like this, see?”

The sudden memory made her stomach lurch. It was a genuinely good piece of advice… one that had helped her before... but thinking of Cadence still made her insides feel like they were going to twist up in a knot.

Forcing herself to shake off the thought, Twilight digs in her backpack. There are a few tools inside from her lab, in a small case. Taking out a specialized screwdriver, Twilight steels herself – feeling like she’s about to crack open a bomb – and puts the tip of the screwdriver to the pendant to open it up and see what can be gleaned from examining its storage. Perhaps there’s some kind of flaw in its capacitors that can be corrected--

“Gahh!”

The moment the screwdriver’s head started to poke into the device, the device shocked her – a crackle of violet electrical energy jumping up the tool! Dropping the screwdriver, Twilight’s heart began to race once again.

“Ohh no… now what do I do?”

One thing’s for sure, she knows that she doesn’t have the equipment on hand to even begin doing anything to fix this. Most of her real equipment is back at her home in her lab…

But wait. A tentative plan came to mind. She could go to ask Principal Cinch to be excused, saying that she was feeling too nervous and worked-up – which would be true, a guilty part of her thought – and then when she was home she could get to her lab and begin work in earnest. Yes. This could work. She could still make this right. She could still figure this all out. She could still get those girls free!

Twilight got to her feet, looking one more time at the pendant in her hands. A faint purple gleaming can be seen, shining out between her fingers.

Soon, Twilight thinks, Soon I’ll have those girls free and cured of this magic. I promise.

Scooping up her bag, clutching the pendant to her belly, trying not to run or be obvious, Twilight starts across the grounds towards the school entrance…

“Hello? Twilight Sparkle?”

The voice saying her name made her jump, and she very nearly fumbled the pendant device in her hands. Freezing in place, Twilight stared in terror as she saw three girls by the Wondercolt statue. One of them, dressed like a magician, smiling at her. Another in more fancy clothes, her expression aloof. And the third, dressed in some old fashion, didn’t look happy at ALL. They’d been waiting there for her. Twilight just knew it.

How do they know my name? What do they want?…Oh no.

Realization hit her.

The other magic-users.

"Um.. hi..." Twilight gulped, shivering.

"Come on over," Trixie nudged, trying to look cool leaned back against the statue, but failing miserably. "... Come on, don't be shy. We're not gonna bite, just come here, we want to talk."

Twilight still didn't move.

"I-If I come over... you promise not to hurt me?"

"Promise," Trixie nodded, crossing her heart.

Hesitantly, Twilight walked to the three girls. And the four didn't notice, but the front entrance doors opened up, and walking through were the five Rainbooms who wanted to see what was going on.

"This could get interesting..." Fluttershy muttered.

"Shhh," Rarity whispered.

Twilight's entire body was shaking in fear. Were they going to attack her? Were they going to transform into terrible beasts and make off with what they wanted?

"First off, hi," Trixie smiled, doing a soft bow. "I'm Trixie, and these are my friends Vinyl and Amethyst. Now, as I'm sure I can guess, you saw us using magic at the Friendship Games, right?"

Twilight slowly nodded. "Y-Yes..." Swallowing, she spoke up. Her throat felt dry, and her stomach hurts. “What, what do you want from me?”

“You say that like we want to hurt you, dear.” Gently, Vinyl added, “It’s just what Trixie said, we only want to talk.”

“O-okay.”

Vinyl frowned, noting Twilight's continued fear of them. Trixie’s smile became a little forced; this isn’t going quite as well as she’d hoped.

Twilight clenched her hands, wringing them slightly. The pendant in her grip shined out from between her fingers, visible despite herself. It felt warm to the touch, almost hot even, and she can’t ignore the matter any more.

“I… I guess you want to know about – about my device.”

Amethyst spoke up before Trixie or Vinyl could; a little harshly, in fact. “Yeah, that’d be nice.”

“Amy!” Vinyl whispered, scolding her. Nearby, Applejack winced. Fluttershy frowned too, muttering “Careful”.

“I… I know how this must look to you all. B-but, I swear to you, I had nothing but the best intentions when I started.”

Vinyl cautiously, but evenly said, “And, what were those intentions, Twilight?”

“It’s okay. You can tell us.”

Twilight stares at them for a long, tense moment. She looks like a deer in the headlights.

“…Twilight?”

And then, suddenly, the words all come spilling out of Twilight’s mouth. “I’m sorry, I thought I knew what I was doing, but I didn’t expect any of this to happen!! I thought I was investigating energy signatures, I didn’t PLAN for any of this!! I didn’t know that magic was REAL! I didn't know this thing would absorb your friends!”

The rant stopped just as suddenly as it started. Twilight panted in the aftermath, shaken by her own outburst. Trixie and Vinyl and Amy, and the Rainbooms watching surreptitiously, were all taken aback. In a small, feeble voice, Twilight said-- “I didn’t think that, that monsters were real…”

"We believe you, honestly," Trixie put her hands up to try and keep her calm. "Last month, I didn't believe that was real until... well, you know..."

Twilight blinked.

"... Sunset Shimmer?"

"Ohhh... yeah. Her."

"Yeah."

"Look, Twilight, we... we know what you saw was scary. Believe me, it was scary for us too. And I don't know if this is a sign of the universe, or destiny, or utter contrived convenience but... I think there's a reason why we all have magic," Vinyl said softly. "I think... I think we were chosen to protect this school, and ergo... protect you and your classmates.

Twilight stayed quiet, drinking in Vinyl's... erm... idea.

"That was the dumbest thing I ever heard," Rainbow said, quietly.

"Hush you," Applejack elbowed her.

"Look, Twilight the point is, we're not here to harm or scare you. We just want, well. That." Vinyl pointed.

Twilight looked down. "My spectrometer?"

"Mmmhmm. Look, we don't want to break it. We just want all of our friends back," Trixie begged. "Please, Twilight."

Trixie looked up, and then suddenly, she didn't know what, her gaze slowly melted as she stared into those puppy-dog eyes that Trixie was giving off, looking so innocent and pure...

"Please... we just want our friends back," Trixie pleaded.

Twilight was at a crossroads. To give up the magic she had been trying to contain, or to give it back. She wanted the girls freed just as bad as their friends did, no doubt about it. But there were so many other concerns that began to cloud her mind. What if they didn't get freed? What if the girls stayed trapped in there forever? What if the rest of their friends got absorbed too with no means of getting out? What if--

"The device." Amethyst said bluntly before extending her arm out with an open palm and face that clearly said 'I am so done with this'. "Hand it over."

"Wait, I-I can't just hand it over!"

"Why not?" Amethyst tilted her head, before Vinyl elbowed her.

"W-Well what if I hand it over and it explodes? What if something goes wrong and it just... I don't know! I'm just not sure it's such a good idea," Twilight said.

"Twilight, please, I promise you, we're not going to let anything bad happen. As long as we stand, nothing bad is going to happen, I promise," Trixie begged. "Please, just let us try, we can get them back!"

"Uh, girls? Is it supposed to be blinking this rapidly?" Vinyl interrupted.

"What do you mean--oh oh no," Twilight realized. "I... I think it's overheating! All of you are making it go insane!"

"Hit the deck!"

Everyone jumped out of the way and held their hands over their ears, their faces scrunched up as their eyes shut, bracing for impact.

Twilight was panicking for a second, and even tried to back away from them, hoping it would slowly stop going insane. It flashed for a few more seconds and then suddenly... no more light. The device acted as if it had lost power, and lost the light on the outside.

Twilight truthfully felt some relief, glad to see it didn't engulf them all in one giant magic explosion.

"Did it blow up the courtyard yet!?" Amethyst yelled.

"No! It... It stopped!"

"Nothin'?"

Amethyst and Vinyl poked their heads up. And eventually so did Trixie. All of them slowly gathered close to Twilight, still taking some precaution and kept some distance from her.

"Maybe it ran out of power." Vinyl asked.

"Uhhh--"

A loud sound hit everyone's eardrums as a huge burst of light flashed in the eyes of everyone in the courtyard. Even the Rainbooms were temporarily blinded by the light. When the light died down, they swore they could see nothing but spots flickering in their pupils.

"Ah, my eyes!" Rainbow yelped.

"What the heck was that!?" Pinkie exclaimed.

“Uh, G-Girls…” Fluttershy gulped and pointed.

They turned their heads around and gasped. One minute, they saw Vinyl passed out. But now? There was only half of her left, while more and more of her began to fade, flying away into the device. And just like that; she vanished.

“No… Vinyl…” Trixie moaned, watching as she vanished before her eyes.

“T-Trixie?"

Trixie turned back, gazing back at Amethyst. The magic device began to absorb her now. Twilight put all her might and struggle to close it shut, but to no avail. She grunted loud trying to keep it from taking her whole, realizing she had gone too far. But she couldn't stop it!

"Amethyst! It's gonna be okay!"

"I can't close it!" Twilight cried, trying to press her entire hand against the device. "It won't stop! Just get away from it!"

But it was too late. Vinyl in seconds, had already been absorbed, and her body faded into the pendent. But Amethyst wasn't going to let her other friend be taken away.

"Aghhhh..." Amethyst nearly collapsed. "S-S-Sorry Trix... can't let you... be... taken... too..." With the last bit of strength she had remaining, she strummed a key on her keytar, sending a soundwave to hit Trixie far away from the pendent's radius of absorption. Trixie nearly fell back, but was at a safe distance from Twilight.

The bespectacled girl looked up, watching Amethyst slowly become absorbed into the pendent.

"Amy... noooo..." Trixie whimpered.

Amethyst slowly breathed, knowing in full what was about to happen. "I know she'll find a way to get us free... Eventually..." And soon, the rest of her body vanished into thin air, completely taken by the pendent. When the last bits of her were gone, the pendent snapped shut with a single clap that sent echoes throughout the courtyard.

The silence was deafening. No one talked. No one moved. Only the sounds of the soft thunder in the skies, and their shoes scraping against the concrete. Until Trixie broke the silence.

"What did you do... What'd you do!?" Trixie howled.

Twilight's legs began to wobble and shake again, a similar chill running down her spine in fear.

"I... I don't know... I don't know!"

"How do you not know!?"

"This wasn't supposed to happen! I just wanted the magic, I didn't think I would hurt them!" Twilight cried.

Trixie could swear glass had shattered. "You didn't... think?"

Twilight gulped.

"So not only did you create a device to absorb every ounce of magic from our school, but you took it upon yourself to suck the magic out of all of my friends who did absolutely nothing wrong!? ... Do you even realize what you've done!?"

"No!" Twilight cried. "I just wanted the contain the magic, I never wanted to hurt them or anyone! I just wanted the magic so no else here at Canterlot or my school would be hurt!"

"Hold on." Trixie stopped her. "... who said the magic was hurting them?"

Twilight wasn't sure what to say. Not even the Rainbooms could figure out what could be said now.

"... So let me see if I got this straight. This entire time... you thought me, and all of my friends were using this magic... were infected? That the magic was a disease?"

"N-N-No--"

"--Then tell me... what is your perception on all of this right now?" Trixie snorted, her nostrils flared up.

Twilight tried her best to stay calm. "I came here to find out what was the source of the magic. Ever since the news of Sunset Shimmer's arrest and all the crazy monsters, I've been trying to find out what's been causing it! And when I saw you girls using it, I... I... I thought it had done something to you! Taken over your minds and was using you to scare and terrorize everyone!"

Trixie was beyond appalled.

"And then when I approached your friends, I was just trying to get the magic out of them! I was trying to save them, I didn't think this thing would just... just suck them in!" Twilight cried.

“I don’t think you know what’s real, Twilight…”

Trixie snapped her fingers. Like a specter in the night, a harsh glowing red figure emerged before Twilight and Trixie; It was Sunset Shimmer; Canterlot High's own monster, now fully transformed into a literal she-demon the night she took her step to take control. "This demon, was real! She made the lives of my friends and family miserable, and it was because of her, I was afraid to come to school! And when she got what she wanted, that's when she had all the power!"

She snapped her fingers again, revealing another figure above them. Five Hydra-heads all swiveling and swaying above her, snarling and growling as if they were really there. Just seeing them made Twilight quiver. "This monster, was real. This was made after Sunset got the power and was ready to put together her world domination plan! ... Which now that I think of it, it was a really poorly conceived plan, but that's besides the point!"

She snapped her fingers again, and another beast was created before them; Queen Aquadon, the three-headed monster that the Sirens formed to try and fend off Sunset in a desperate attempt. "But this one? No. This one, this three-headed one here? She's our friend. She was made to help us stop Sunset from terrorizing everyone, and to put an end to this battle once and for all. And she's my friends," Trixie continued.

"I... I don't understand, how can you..." Twilight paused. "Wait, did you say friends?"

Trixie snapped her fingers again. The illusion of Aquadon vanished, and three figures showed up next to her, all looking incredibly sassy/flirty; hands on hips, smirking, the 'come hither' looks, everything.

"Them. They are my friends. Now I want to ask you something; what do you see?" Trixie crossed her arms.

"Um... I see three normal girls who look like they're on the cusp of being in their twenties," Twilight rubbed the back of her head.

"You don't see anything on them that looks like they could be monsters, do you?" Trixie asked again.

"N-No..."

Trixie snapped her fingers again, making them vanish. "And just to get my point across..."

A holographic illusion of Aquadon and the demon Sunset Shimmer was in front of the two of them. Both creatures snarled and yelled at each other, until they both began to engage each other in a battle. Sunset raced and dashed all over Aquadon, even making some slashes at the necks and skin, which made the Queen angry and yell in pain. She slashed again, cutting some skin on the middle head's face, which made her wriggle and writhe in agony, until she looked back up... And then a giant burst of light shot at her and the other heads, and they all fell down like a stack of bricks.

"And you know something else Twilight..."

Twilight spun around and gazed back at Trixie who was slowly walked towards her. And Trixie's face? Anger was slowly fading away, and genuine concern and sympathy was on expressed. All of that fear slowly began to calm down as she approached Twilight. If she was to have any chance of saving them, she needed to approach this situation as carefully as possible.

"I just want my friends back. I just want them here, with me, safe and sound. They're the only friends I have."

Twilight was trying her best not to break down. "Y-You think I don't want that? When I started taking their magic, I thought all that would happen was they would just black out. I didn't realize they would just... vanish!" Twilight cried, looking away. She held her eyes shut carefully, a soft tear escaping and leaking down her face. "I made myself a personal vow that when I find out how this all works, I would bring them back."

Trixie slowly stepped forward, the swishing of water echoing in the empty void of a place. A hand placed itself on her shoulder, patting with some comfort.

"Then let me help you. I may not be a scientist, but I'm the closest thing here to understanding magic, and they're my friends. Just let me help, and we can finally put this to an end. We can talk."

Twilight's eyes slowly opened as she looked down on the ground. A single tear leaked from her face as it splattered onto the concrete.

"... I'm sorry. You can't help me."

Trixie blinked. "What do you mean I can't help you?"

"I mean, you can't help me!" Twilight snapped. She jerked back, swatting Trixie's hand away. "Everyone says they want to help me, but they never really mean it! I've been picked on for all my life, and more, and no one ever offers any help!"

Trixie backed away as Twilight started yelling. But something else was wrong, and it didn't take her long to see it.

"U-U-Um, Twilight?"

"You think you've got problems? Well you aren't the only ones who have problems you know!

"T-Twilight?" Trixie tried again.

"It's all her fault! If she never... agh!" Twilight clawed at her own face. "I wish she never came into my life!"

"Twilight?"

"What!?"

"The pendant!"

Twilight's pupils shrunk. "WHAT!?"

The pendant opened up on it's own and was now acting on it's own, beginning to absorb Trixie. Trixie screamed in agony as it began its work on her, all the while Twilight desperately tried to clamp it shut.

"I can't close it!" Twilight cried.

"I... I think... I'm about to collapse... Oh, I'm feeling... I'm feeling lightheaded..."

Twilight looked up. She knew what was about to come. Slowly, it looked as if parts of Trixie's body were fading, as if she was beginning to be erased from existence entirely, and become absorbed slowly into the machine.

"It's okay.. You're gonna be okay!" Twilight panicked. She knew the reality of the situation, but she wanted the poor girl to stay calm.

"I-I-I don't know what's happening!" Trixie stammered just before tripping into Twilight's arms. Twilight held her close, unsure of how to even respond. "Please... please just stop this..."

"I'm going to fix this, I promise!"

And with her last ounce of strength, Trixie pulled herself away to look her in the eyes. Those sweet purple innocent eyes that could melt anyone's heart.

"Promise... you'll fix it..."

Trixie's arms slowly went onto Twilight's shoulders, trying to hold on as best as she could. Twilight didn't even fight against this person being so close. One of Twilight's hands slowly wrapped around Trixie's hands, trying to give some final comfort just before the rest of her began to fade.

"I... I'll fix it. I promise..." Twilight whimpered.

"I know you will..." Trixie had one last smile just before the rest of her was absorbed deep into the pendant, following by the device closing shut.

And the courtyard was met with absolute silence once again. Twilight's work had been completed. She got the magic as she had hoped, but it came with a price she didn't want coming. Six girls, six innocent girls she didn't want to harm in any way or fashion, and were all taken into her device. She didn't want this, she never wanted this...

She collapsed onto her knees, face full of fear and sadness. And as her head slowly went down, so did the tears on her face. She cried softly, letting them fall. Twilight breathed hard, like someone had just punched her in the gut. And with her head slowly raised, she looked right up into the faces of the five concerned Rainbooms. Tears fell down her face, knowing full that everything she had risked was now over.

And her head slowly fell down, letting more tears fall. Until--

"SOMEBODY GET ME A GINORMOUS PILE OF CLOTHES TO SCREAM INTO!" Rarity shrieked just before vanishing in a cloud of smoke inside the building.

"Well, it's been fun, gotta go!" Rainbow said before zipping away as well.

"RUN FOR IT!" Pinkie Pie finished, yanking Fluttershy and Applejack inside with her.

Twilight's head slumped back down as she was left there on all fours, crying. The device around her neck continued to glow softly. But then it started to blink. Faster. Faster and faster and faster!

Her head slowly raised, no longer crying. But when she opened her eyes, they glowed bright turquoise blue with small hints of purple...

The five Rainbooms all slammed themselves against a set of lockers, hearts pounding against their chests like they were about to burst.

"What was that!?" Pinkie screamed.

"I think it's fair to say it but... we're doomed!" Fluttershy whimpered.

"Wait, wait, wait! Hold on! Look, let's just calm down, I know what we saw was bad, but we cannot do anything if we're just panicking," Applejack said, trying to calm them down.

All heads turned to Applejack as if she was the crazy one.

"... You do realize that Adagio's friends were just sucked into a magic device, right!?" Rainbow yelled.

"Now cool it, Rainbow!" Applejack snapped back. "I am fully aware we are in some deep mud right now, but the best we can do is call for help."

"Right. Anyone have the Dazzlings cell number?"

"Nope."

"Not me."

"I don't."

"Wait, I do! It's how I was able to call them about Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo's conditions!" Rainbow called, before racing to her locker. After struggling with the lock to the point where she had forced it out of it's place, she opened up her backpack and pulled out her phone, quickly dialing the cell number.

"Come on, come on..." Rainbow panicked. She waited for a few seconds while shifting side to side out of sheer panic, until the line went to voicemail. "Voicemail!? Ugh, okay! Look, girls, please! If you get this message, get back here fast! We're all in danger and I don't know if we're going to survive out here for whatever crazy demon monster is coming! Someone zapped your friends, all of them! We need help, please!"

She was going to talk some more until she heard an odd fuzzy noise coming from the other end of her phone. She hit a button on speakerphone, allowing the rest of the girls to hear the sounds. Until the line suddenly just dropped dead.

"... hello?"

The phone was dead silent.

Rainbow, feeling a little frustrated, rolled her eyes. "Ha. Ha. Very funny. Adagio, come on, quit joking, you told us not to joke anymore."

But what she didn't realize was something had happened outside. On the roof, the satellite dish that was the main source for all the students wifi connections had been completely demolished, destroyed, with some visible flames and ashes surrounding it. Something big and powerful had struck it, and now it was left in a smoldering remains of ash. And a shadowy figure was hovering over the remains...

"Adagio? Aria? Sonata? .... Guys? Please, someone pick up, please! GUYS!"

Chapter 28: The Truth

"Okay, everyone stay calm, it's fine... it's gonna be fine," Applejack said, trying to keep her cool.

"How is this going to be fine, Applejack!?" Pinkie screeched. "This is really bad! How are we going to get them back if they've been trapped in a super magic device!? It's not like we can just open a portal out of nowhere and bring them back!"

Everyone blinked.

"... You scare me sometimes, Pinkie."

"You know I say random things when I'm scared, woman!" Pinkie rattled Rainbow by the shoulders.

"Look, we can't just stand here and panic, we gotta come up with some kind of plan here," Applejack broke them apart.

"Plan? Oh sure, let's confront a crazed lunatic who just captured Trixie and her friends in some magic device! Like that's not going to go wrong at all!" Rainbow snapped.

"We don't know if she's crazed, you saw what happened out there! Did you not see her crying her eyes out?" Fluttershy intervened.

"I know I did! But how can we approach her after something like that? I don't even think I can!" Rarity quivered. "This is just like everyone here after Sunset Shimmer's reign of terror again!"

Rainbow sneered. "Seriously? You're bringing her up now of all times?"

"Don't tell me you're not seeing a similarity here!"

"I'm not saying that, but I'd like to keep that monster out of this as much as we can!"

"Can you go one day without barking your head at off at someone?" Fluttershy growled. "Oh look at me, I'm awesome, I'm the best athlete ever, well boo-hoo! You have any idea what it's like not being able to talk to anyone? They take one look at me and all they see is someone who wants to hurt them! You know what that's like!?"

Now the Rainbooms went silent. And Fluttershy's seething tone slowly died, realizing how much her friends were reacting to this. They looked scared, and not in the right way.

"O-Oh... I'm... I'm sorry," Fluttershy quivered, turning her head away to avoid eye contact. "I... I don't want you all to fight. I know we're scared, but we can't just sit back and do nothing."

"What was that?"

All of the Rainbooms froze. Slowly they turned their heads around, and saw their Shadowbolt friends standing there with confused faces.

"Uhhh... how much of that did ya hear?"

"Enough to know there's something you're not telling us. What was that about Sunset Shimmer?" Sugarcoat asked.

"Um, uh... we didn't say that," Rainbow lied.

"I'm not dense, Rainbow, I heard it. What are you hiding?"

"I... I'm not sure you want to know," Rainbow gulped.

"Even I have to agree, you really shouldn't--"

"--Oh, out with it," Sour spat. "You can tell us, it's fine."

"... Can we at least talk in private?" Fluttershy asked.

"Of course," Indigo nodded, gesturing the group to follow.

Everyone went back to the home-ec room, thankfully still empty and still occupied only by the ten students who went in. But now the Rainbooms could feel their spines crawling all over, like a million tiny bugs racing across their skin.

"So, what was all that about?" Lemon asked.

"Oh boy, this is going to break our friendship for sure..." Pinkie whimpered.

"Just spit it out!"

"We worked for Sunset Shimmer, okay!?" Rainbow barked.

The five Bolts flinched.

"What? What are you talking about?"

"Okay, those five girls that the news were covering about being associates of her, it was us! We are the former associates! We're the ones who were always with her and making everyone's lives miserable!"

The Shadowbolts were confused, until the puzzle pieces slowly were put together.

"Wait, it was you five?" Lemon pointed.

The Rainbooms shamefully nodded.

"But... why?"

"The five of us were nobodies in this school. No one cared who were were, until Sunset Shimmer found us. She said she could make us popular and promised us 'unlimited power'. And over the course of the past months, we started makin' this entire school a livin' Tartarus for everyone," Applejack explained.

"And the worst part... we loved it!" Pinkie bawled her eyes out.

"We enjoyed every sick twisted minute of making everyone miserable," Fluttershy said with gloom before turning herself to look away.

"But as time went on, we realized it wasn't what we wanted. It wasn't fun anymore. Nobody liked us. And we wanted to end our partnership with Sunset right there and then."

"Only for her to blackmail us by putting our sisters in the hospital under some stupid magic spell, and then threatening to put more of our families in their place!" Rainbow screamed, tears now starting to leak from sheer anger. But Indigo came over and gave her a tissue, allowing her to clear her face.

"Well, why didn't you tell us from the start?" Sunny Flare asked.

"Sunny, would you really have wanted to befriend us after you heard of all the horrid things we did with Sunset Shimmer?"

Sunny was going to speak, but she was stumped. She rubbed her chin and tapped her heel on the ground. "Okay, you got me there... that's a good question..."

"Sooo... what did she have you guys do?" Sour asked. "If you don't mind me asking...?"

"I set animals to scare students to get out of my way!" Fluttershy said.

"I used party items that were for fun and turned them into mean nasty pranks!" Pinkie cried.

"I lied and destroyed friendships between people," Applejack shamefully admitted.

"I upset everyone during soccer practice and boast about how awesome I am and constantly trip them whenever they make a tiny mistake!"

"I sabotaged a qualifying band for a competition out of petty revennnngeeeeee!" Rarity wailed.

The Shadowbolts stared at them in awkward silence with a few blinks here and there.

"... I'll admit, I don't think I was ready for an overload of, well, that," Sour admitted.

"Why are you telling this only now?" Indigo asked.

"Because you five are the first real friends we had and we didn't want you to turn on us just like everyone else did!"

Sugarcoat blinked for a second. "So... you five did really nasty things. You feel guilt and shame for said nasty things, and you were afraid of what we all thought?"

The five Rainbooms nodded.

"Okay, well here's my question. Is that what you girls really are now?" Sugarcoat asked.

The five of them stopped.

"Well, uh--"

"-- Is it?" Sugarcoat asked again.

"Well, no--"

"--Then quit beating yourselves up," Sugarcoat bluntly stated.

"Ow! Hey," Rainbow whined. "Your words can hurt you know."

"I know, but this time, I need to say this. I'm not saying this to hurt you; I'm saying this because we're your friends, and you need to hear this. You've done bad things, very very bad things, no doubt about it. And yes, I completely understand that it's hard trying to push through when everyone won't let you live it down," Sugarcoat said, addressing all of them. "But you cannot let them get to you, and you absolutely cannot let fear control your life. If you're going to let them have the power and continue to stay put down, then you might as well not even come to school."

The Rainbooms were quiet, as they looked at one another and then back at Sugarcoat.

"I had gone through something like you have. All of us," Sugarcoat said more calmly. "My constant monotone sounding voice? Kids in school made fun of me for sounding like a robot."

Indigo stepped up as well. "When I was in 7th grade, the boys and girls picked on me because I didn't act like their definition of a girl. They kept calling me a boy."

"My rage issues got me into fights with other girls," Sour admitted, looking down, guiltily.

"I was made a laughing stock when I tried out drama class in 8th grade," Sunny Flare added. "My classmates said drama was only for losers and nerds."

"I uh... I made an insensitive joke when a new kid showed up to school. And I wish I could have taken that back," Lemon said too.

"But you know why we're still standing?"

"Cause you have to attend the Friendship Games regardless?" Applejack asked.

"No," Sugarcoat said, not changing her voice (not that she could). "The reason we're still standing is because we get a chance to start over with every new day; it's called living life. I know you girls got hit hard, I do. And I don't expect things to be 100% perfect for you all. But if the day is always the same... maybe you're all the ones who need to change."

The Rainbooms had never thought of that before. All of those days, they had expected nothing more than continuous (but understandable) hate from everyone, everywhere they go. Always reminded of the horrible deeds they had done over the course of the past few weeks at school. But ever since the games began... it didn't seem so bad.

"You know what? Maybe yer right. I mean look at us, we're always expectin' the worst every day," Applejack said, standing up.

"But we totally deserved it!" Pinkie piped.

"True, but look at what's happened in the past few days. I reunited with Rara, Rarity's found herself reborn in a new style, and Rainbow, I saw you talk to Vinyl at the mall yesterday," Applejack said putting her hands on her hips.

"Well... it was nice talking to her without feeling hated," Rainbow admitted. "I don't know what it was, but I think part of me was just happy that day.

"Trixie could talk to me without running away. And Fluttershy, what about Tennis Match, she said was hoping you and Rarity were okay, right?"

"Mmmhmm," Fluttershy nodded with a soft smile. "That did feel good."

"And lets not forget," Applejack continued, looking over at the Shadowbolts. "Fer the first time, we made real friends."

The Shadowbolts all shared collective smiles back at the Rainbooms. And the Rainbooms were all sharing similar faces. For once, they were all in sync with one another.

"Come on. Lets go talk to her. For all we know the poor girl's cryin' her eyes out and needing a friend," Applejack suggested.

"Agreed. Operation; Cheer Up is a go!" Rarity chirped, leading the girls away.

"But we still got to get them out of that thing you know," Rainbow pointed out as she followed them.

"Of course silly! We'll just cheer her up, smash the device for good setting them all free, and we can play the final around of the Friendship Games!"

"That sounds too easy," Fluttershy mumbled as she followed her friends, who she was honestly thinking were walking into certain death just talking to her.

The room was quiet. And so the Shadowbolts were left alone, pondering in their thoughts

"You heard the rumor, right, about the newest students in this school?" Sugarcoat asked.

"No."

"Mmm mmm."

"What is it?"

"Apparently, three of their newest classmates are actually seaponies from another dimension where everybody is a horse," Sugarcoat explained.

"Ahhh..."

"Of course..."

"That sounds weird..."

"Where do you get all these rumors, I mean, who tells them to you?" Indigo asked.

"I dunno," Sugarcoat shrugged. "Anyone talks, I listen. Always have, I guess I love gossip."

The five Shadowbolts were quiet for a second. It was quiet, so quiet the only sound you could hear was the electricity buzzing in the ceiling, or the sound of the radiator.

"Well this is boring," Sour said, walking out into the hallway.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"I want to see if they're going to fight some magic demon! Come on, it beats being in here, I wanna see a showdown!"

"Okay, now you're scaring me Sour," Sugarcoat remarked as she followed.

"Magic fight? I'm in!"

"Girls, I'm not sure if there's even going to be a... magic fight..." Indigo put her finger down. She exchanged looks with Sunny Flare before shrugging and following after the rest of their friends.

"You have any clue what they're talking about?"

"May the gods help if I know," Sunny shook her head. And soon she was the last to leave to room. And when she stepped out, she didn't see the lights in the ceilings buzzing a bit, flickering. Very unusually...

Unbeknownst to Rainbow Dash and the others, Trixie and her friends were completely okay. All six of them now were trapped inside Twilight's device, and so far, had no means of escape. But right now, they were content to see that they were still okay.

"Can't believe this, first we get powers, now we're trapped in some magic prison," Trixie scrunched her face.

"At least we're still alive," Vinyl softly smiled, trying to stay optimistic.

"Me too. For a second there, I'll admit, I... I thought I saw a bright light," Amethyst shivered, holding onto her arms. Octavia patted her shoulder in sympathy.

"But what do we do now? We can't just wait around, we have to find a way out of here," Bon Bon said, pacing back and forth.

"We all fell out of the sky, I'm pretty sure we can't just jump up and go right through again," Octavia rolled her eyes. "But we'll figure something out."

"You know something else?" Trixie said, sliding down on her butt against the Wondercolt statue. "I... I wish I could undo what I did."

"What did you do?" Lyra asked.

"When Amethyst and Vinyl were taken, I... I lashed out at her," Trixie said, shamefully. "I didn't want to, but I was just so upset, I thought something had happened to you guys, and I... if something did happen, I... I don't know. I couldn't live with myself knowing that something bad had happened."

Lyra frowned as she walked over to Trixie, kneeling down to her face. She wiped a tear from her face and smiled.

"It's okay. We're all here," Lyra said, pulling Trixie for a hug. "There, there."

"At least the Dazzlings are still... wait a minute," Bon Bon snapped her fingers. "Adagio, Aria, and Sonata are still safe. They're supposed to be coming home today! I don't know where they are, but if they come back here and find out what happened..."

"Then there's a good chance they could get sucked up and trapped just like us," Octavia scowled.

"I was going to say there's a chance they could find a way to set us free. Is there anyone else who saw us get trapped?"

"Well... I dunno, I think I might have seen some of the Rainbooms when I let my anger take control of me," Trixie thought.

"And I did explain to them about Twilight's actions and to take caution," Octavia added.

"Then there's a good chance someway, somehow, we're going to get out of here. I know it."

Vinyl and Lyra looked back up, and their eyes shrunk.

"Um, girls?" Lyra interrupted. "What's that?"

Everyone looked up. Red clouds were now forming over them, some soft bolts of lightning flashing above their heads.

"That's not good..."

The Rainbooms pushed themselves out the doors and down the steps. The thunderclouds continued to hover over their school, although a bit more darker than they remembered. And some lightning flashes appeared as well.

"Uhhh, shouldn't we go back inside? I mean being outside during a lightning storm is not such a good idea," Rainbow Dash suggested.

"And leave Twilight all alone out here?" Rarity inquired. "I think not!"

"Besides, somethin' ain't right. I know I'm no weather expert, but that doesn't look too natural. Sides, the weather report this mornin' said we'd only get a side of thunderclouds and rain, but that's it."

"The weather service is unreliable. Besides, it's the only job in the world where you could be entirely wrong and still get paid," Fluttershy snarked.

"Lets just focus on finding Twilight," Pinkie Pie insisted, patting her friend's shoulder.

The courtyard was quiet. Too quiet, in fact. They could hear the thunderclouds in the skies, and the sounds of the wind. But nothing else out of the ordinary. No trace of Twilight Sparkle, for sure.

"Twilight? You here?" Applejack asked. "C'mon now, don't be shy, we just wanna talk to ya! We just wanna... talk..." Applejack froze. She saw something. "What in the world... lands sake, what is that?" The apple farmer pointed.

Just up ahead they could see metal poles arched on the road, just in front of their school. They didn't look like they were always there. And even though it wasn't huge, they could see small sparks of lightning pulsating at the top of the poles, connected together like a line. Even in between they were visible.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Pinkie admitted.

"Me too," Fluttershy nodded.

Everyone stopped talking. They heard a strange sound aflutter in the air. Almost like a whoosh, like someone or something had flown right past them.

"W-What was that?" Rainbow zipped, turning to the direction of the whoosh.

"Am I the only one who thinks something happened when we went back inside?" Pinkie quivered. "I mean just looking at those poles..." She vanished in a cloud of smoke to take a closer look. Ahead, they could see her slightly touching it before she yelped and came back in another smoke cloud, her hair now all frizzy and sticking straight up. "... That doesn't look like it belongs there."

"Come on, Twilight! We know you're out here! We just want to talk!" Rainbow called. But she was nowhere to be seen.

"Y-Yes! Bring it on you ruffian!"

"Rarity, she's not a supervillain," Applejack deadpanned.

Rainbow's head looked up and her eyes sunk in her head. "Um... are you sure about that?"

The girls looked up, and all of them shrunk down.

"Uh oh..." they all said in unison.

"What?" Pinkie said until Rarity got her to look up. "Oh... no..."

The Shadowbolts busted out the door and took notice as well.

"Oh..."

"My..."

"Goodness..."

And the Principals exited the building with everyone else, all of them taking in the horrific sight before them.

"Girls, there's strange metal poles sticking out the back of... the school..." Principal Luna was about to begin, until she looked up and noticed.

"No..." Principal Cinch was breathless. "It cannot be..."

A pair of glowing steel boots were the first in sight. A purple sash hung in the middle of the girl's waist, held from her hips. Dark steel covered her chest, and spiked shoulder pads rested on her shoulders, giving off an apocalyptic vibe. A samurai-esque looking helmet sat on her head, with a horn in the middle, and two on the sides. Spiked gauntlets covered her arms, but left hands exposed. Her skin was a darker shade of purple, and her eyes were radiating like two bright stars. A mask was over her eyes; a glowing one at that.

Out of her back were metal coils that were bent into what could be the skeletal structure of wings, with short beams of electricity zapping and forming the full wings.

"Well... I thought demon Sunset's getup was severe," Rarity quivered.

"T-T-Twilight?" Rainbow gulped.

"I am not Twilight Sparkle. Now I am Midnight Sparkle." She looked down at her gauntlet covered hands, her face staying completely blank. "I never imagined having magic. But now that I can control the magic from the girls, I can finally protect our planet from the demons like Sunset Shimmer. Illusion, lightning, metal, sound, creation, teleportation, all within my fingertips."

"But what about Trixie and the others!?" Rarity shouted.

Midnight looked down. "They're very close. Always have been. They will stay safe until I can decontaminate the magic from their systems. And soon they will finally be freed from the curse that this, Equestrian Magic, has brought upon them. And they will be freed from my device. For now... it is time I protect you all, until I can purge the magic's infestation!"

And she hovered up in the air, bending more metal to connect to the already standing poles, trying to make sure everything stayed in place. The metal groaned throughout the yard, making everyone cringe.

"Girls, I think we may be in over our heads... waaay over our heads..."

Chapter 29: Midnight's Reign Part 1

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Chapter 30: Midnight's Reign Part 2

"Well, we're stuck in here, now what?" Cadence asked, looking at the bolts of electricity that surrounded them.

"Well we won't be busting out of here so easily, that's for sure," Shining said, looking at the prison they were placed in.

"Hey!"

Shining Armor and Cadence looked back to the courtyard. Someone was calling them. And they were quickly drawn to the girl in the punk blue jacket and rainbow hair.

"Hey, you two!" Rainbow Dash yelled. She and the rest of the Rainbooms scurried across the courtyard, standing inches away from the barrier, still able to talk to them on the other side. "You guys okay?" Rainbow asked, afraid to reach out, thanks to the visible glowing blue bolts of lightning that kept fizzing in between the poles.

"We're fine. What about all of you guys, is anyone hurt?" Shining asked.

"No, we're all fine. Wait, who are you?"

"My name's Shining Armor, I saw a burst of light hit the skies and I wanted to come here to see if everyone was okay. Until well, I saw that!" Shining pointed. "Oh, Twily..."

"Twily?" Applejack raised a brow. "Wait. You know her?"

"She's my sister!"

The five Rainbooms blinked.

"Uh oh..." Pinkie squeaked.

"That's uh, oh boy..."

"What?"

"Well, you're right, it's her. But uh, we know why she got turned into that... thing."

"What, why, how, what happened?"

"Darling, you're going to believe us, because what we're about to tell you is crazy!"

"If you're going to tell me magic exists, I believe you!" Shining acknowledged.

Rarity drooped her finger. "Oh. Would you also believe that we were turned into a five-headed monster thanks to a controlling witch who had taken over the school and was actually a pony from another dimension and sent our sisters to the hospital?"

Shining was speechless. "Um... Sure. Anything else I'm missing?"

"Other than three new students at this school are actually 1,000 year-old Sirens who we bullied until they kicked our butts, made new friends, and haven't returned our calls for some unknown reason and their friends now have superpowers and are with trapped inside some teeny tiny tracking device?" Pinkie explained.

Once again, rendered speechless.

"Uhh..."

"Don't ask, just don't question Pinkie Pie," Applejack shook her head.

"Look, what happened, how did she get turned into that... that, thing!?"

"Well, darling, from what we could see, the poor dear was freaking out over something she had done which she confessed to, and from what we can tell, um... the magic took control of her and now she thinks we're all contaminated!" Rarity explained.

"It's pretty complicated," Applejack summed up.

"Great..." Shining rubbed at his face. "I wish I was there, I should have made sure she was okay."

"Wow. Sounds like she was rough to live with," Fluttershy said bluntly.

"Not always," Shining said, shook his head.

"Wait, really?"

Shining Armor tried to think of what to say. Where to begin? ”What you need to understand, more than anything,” he finally started, “is that Twilight wasn’t always like this. Please believe me when I say that.”

“She wasn’t?” Pinkie asked, innocently.

“No, she wasn’t.” Cadence said, softly, and sadly.

Shining Armor squeezed her hand in his. “Once, Twilight Sparkle was just a little girl. My baby sister, who loved to read, and to learn…”

“And Cadence was her favorite babysitter.”

”Twily! Guess who’s here?” A younger, teenage Shining Armor called, as he opened the door to his little sister’s room.
Twilight looked up from her books, and her face lit up with delight.

“Cadence!” she squeaked happily, jumping to her feet and scurrying across the room to leap into a hug with the pink-skinned girl who had just entered.

“There’s my Twilight!” Cadence laughed, as Twilight cuddled her.

“You two will be okay, right?” Shining asked, while Cadence gently set Twilight back on the ground.

“Of course, we’ll be fine,” Cadence reassured him. “Right, Twilight?”

“Uh-huh!” the little girl nodded rapidly, her eyes bright and eager.

“All right,” Shining laughed. “Have fun, Twily.” He and Cadence exchanged a quick kiss (Twilight looked away) and then Shining Armor was off, leaving the little girl alone with her babysitter.

Cadence smiled at Twilight. “What would you like to do tonight?” she asked.

“Ooh!” Twilight immediately knew what she wanted. “Can you teach me about fractions?"

Cadence laughed, but it was kind. She was always amazed by just how much Twilight wanted to learn. “Of course.” She unslung her backpack from her shoulder, and took out the math book within. “It’ll make good practice for when I’m a teacher,” Cadence remarked as she sat down and Twilight plopped down next to her.

"Do you think I’ll be in your class some day?” Twilight asked, curious and hopeful.

“I sure hope so!” Cadence answered. “I’d be the luckiest teacher ever to have someone like you, Twilight.”

”She was so happy back then…” Cadence, the one in the present, said sadly. Shining Armor gently put an arm around her, and she leaned against him for support. The Rainbooms were silent at first. They were thinking over what they’d just heard.

Finally, Fluttershy was the one who spoke up. “So… what happened to her?” she asked. Shining Armor looked up from Cadence, his face wistful. And he began to tell them more.

"Cadence was her favorite babysitter, and, well, she was my girlfriend," Shining said. "Cadence was studying to be a teacher, and Twily wanted to learn from her in class when she got older."

"When Twilight was old enough to go to school, she unfortunately became a target for some bullies. Not at the start mind you, but some of them thought she was a weirdo for loving to learn new things."

"Sounds weird," Rainbow shrugged.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack shushed.

"... Sorry. Y-You were saying?"

"Right. Anyways... So Twilight did have some rough patches here and there, but she made it through alright. That is until middle school came around. Cadence was teaching now, and Twilight was delighted to be learning from her. But things went south fast."

"How bad?"

"Some of the kids, they found that she was close to Cady. And of course, nicknames began to fly, 'nerd', 'teacher's pet' all of those. But it got worse from some certain bullies. This one girl, I don't know her name, but she made Twilight miserable the most."

"I tried to help, in-class and out, but I'm afraid my efforts only encouraged the bullies," Cadence interjected.

"Now, no one bullied her... physically. But they started spreading rumors, really nasty ones."

"What kind of rumors?" Rarity asked, inquisitively.

"I rather not say. It's... not something I want to repeat," Shining said.

"I understand. But please, darling, continue," Rarity nodded. "What ended up happening?"

"Well..."

Twilight walked to her locker, dreading this day already. Rumors had already fled all over the school; she could tell based on the students whispering and staring at her like she was walking inside naked. All Twilight wanted was to get her stuff and go to her next class without incident. But then--

"Well, well, well. Hello again, Sparky."

Not again...

"Whatcha doing?"

Twilight didn't answer, and just averted her gaze. The girl gave a glare.

"I said, whatcha doing?"

"Just leave me alone," she said, slamming her locker shut.

"It's always like you Sparky, you're so quiet. Guess that's why you don't people to know you're going out with Cadence. Won't they be surprised when they learn that?"

Twilight's fists clenched, but she tried to keep her composure. "I am not going out with anyone."

"Don't lie to me, I've seen the way you look at her!" The girl snarled. "And if you know what's good for you, you'll stop. And you know what happens when people cross me..."

Twilight froze in place. That was upsetting alone, but she swore she could hear more and more students talking. Some of them snickering as they walked past her, and she swore more taunts were flown at her.

"Look out, Cadence's girlfriend's here!"

"Surprised they allowed it here, I thought there was rules about this thing."

"Make way for the Teacher's Pet on Aisle 7, we got royalty here!"

Twilight's eyebrows furled and her teeth were now grit. This girl went out of her way to pick on her for something that wasn't even happening, and she didn't stop. And now everyone was making fun of her, mocking her feelings, not giving a single thought to their actions. She had enough!

She dropped her things on the floor, letting them fall with a slam. And her hands clenched into fists.

"Oh what's the matter? You going to cry now? You going to cry like the little--"

BAM!

The bully fell to the ground and groaned in pain. She looked up and gasped, Twilight stood there with clenched fists, grit teeth, and tears leaking from all of her pain; anger, sadness, and soon pure unbridled rage.

"What did I ever do to you!? I don't even know you! What did I do to you to deserve any of this!?"

The bully was at a loss for words. She didn't even have an answer. But it was too late. Twilight pounced on her like a panther, grabbing her by the shirt and slamming her down against the floor. Luckily the slams were less than enough to break anything (added with Twilight's lackluster physical strength, having spent most of her time indoors and studying) but it still hurt.

"Is this fun!? Is this fun for you!? Now you know how it feels to be bullied every day!" Twilight cried.

She was about to move again, when she looked up. Everyone was now staring at Twilight, afraid, worried, and now scared. Some of them were whispering, some were thinking about calling home, among other things. And everyone was now against her. She threw the first punch; there was no winning.

Realizing she was already done for, she got up on her feet and just ran for it. She did not look back, she didn't want to look back, and tears flew off her face even more. She had already went there, and there was no undoing her actions. And she could already see her future ahead of her...

"The bully who picked on Twilight was eventually found after a trip to the nurses office, and he did get punishment for spreading the rumors and picking on her. But Twilight was suspended, and because of the rumor, even in spite of everything I tried to do... I had to change jobs, and Twilight ended up signing up to Crystal Prep Academy," Cadence explained.

"I hoped a change of schools would help her, but it didn't. I thought going to Crystal Prep would help her; the students were nicer, and the teachers cracked down on any incidents regarding bullying and rumors. But after that day, Twilight just wasn't herself anymore. She was left angry at everyone for being so cruel and petty, and she even ended her friendship with a girl I thought she was starting to like. Twilight believed the only person she could rely on was herself, and no one else."

Everyone in the hallways watched as she just walked through without looking at any of them, completely ignoring their greetings or calls.

"Hey, Twilight, you uh... uh never mind," a student said, letting her pass by.

"Hey, don't feel bad. She's been through a lot," a girl said, patting him on the shoulder and gesturing him to follow.

"Our parents and I tried to give her help. We tried giving her space, and later taking her to a therapist. Neither of those worked. Twilight didn't want our help, and with her being so pulled into her shell..."

"... She just closed herself off from feeling and even us," Shining finished.

The girls stood in complete awkward silence as Shining Armor finished the story. None of them were sure what to say, or how to comprehend it. And only silence remained; until finally Rainbow broke it.

"That's... harsh. Dude, that's not even cool..."

"Middle school is brutal," Applejack shook her head.

"She's not wrong," Pinkie agreed, frowning.

"And now she's become that," Rarity looked back up at Midnight Sparkle who was continuing to survey the perimeter high above them, making sure everything was perfect. Nothing going in or out.

"Well I don't know about all ya'll, but someone's gotta put a stop to her," Applejack said, looking up.

"Are you crazy?" Rainbow asked. "The Dazzlings aren't here, Trixie and her friends are trapped in her device, we're literally dead!"

"Well we can't just sit here and do nothing!"

"I'd like to add to Rainbow Dash's point, none of us can do anything," Rarity quivered. "And I know for a fact none of us can turn back into a five-headed monster."

"But we can't just sit here!" Pinkie said, taking Applejack's side.

"Well if you two want to stop her, how are we going to take her down?" Fluttershy asked.

"I'm sorry, what?" Shining blinked.

"This isn't the first time we dealt with magic. We just need to find a weakness and stop her! Come on guys! Lets get some plans together!" Pinkie called, taking all of her friends in a cloud of smoke.

"Wait, you can't just--and they're gone," Shining drooped. "This just went from bad to catastrophic..." Cadence could only rub Shining's shoulder.

Midnight Sparkle hovered back all of the panicking students again with a sympathetic face, all the while the metal coils and pipes that formed her wings stretched out, the lightning bolts still keeping the wings connected together. Occasionally some lightning bolts from the sky would come down and travel down to the coils, spiraling around.

"Everyone, young and old... heed my words."

Everyone went silent as her voice boomed across the courtyard.

"I am not here to harm, nor to attack, or terrorize. I am here to protect you all. This cursed Equestrian Magic that leaked into this world plagued your students; rest assured they are fine," Midnight addressed. "But you all must remain calm. I will have you all freed soon if you just cooperate."

"Cooperate in what? Stealing the very life away from our friends?" Pinkie snapped, grabbing her attention.

"Um, they're not really our friends per say, but--"

"--The point still stands woman!"

"I would advise you take a step back. Anger, often leads to choices. Choices that lead to actions, and actions that cannot be undone."

"--Yeah yeah, big evil bad guy speech I know. Take this, dark steel!" Pinkie Pie yelled before tossing a water balloon up into the air. The balloon went up, and splashed into Midnight's face. The flames in Midnight's mask was doused... for about a few seconds until they reignited again. She just stared down with a deadpan face, clearly not amused or fazed.

"... What was that?"

"... Um. I thought you would melt?" Pinkie shrunk.

Rolling her eyes, she just turned around and looked at her work in front of her. The gate needed to be precisely held together, no one could go now. And even though Rainbow wasn't sure, she suddenly had an idea.

"Hang on, I got an idea! Applejack, you got a crowbar?"

"Uh, yeah, but--"

"--Great, be right back!"

Rainbow Dash disappeared in a cloud of smoke back inside the school.

Using a crowbar she took from AJ's locker, she banged at the lock on the locker, hard enough for it to snap off, allowing it to open up. Rainbow stopped to gaze at the interior for a second, lots of purple and blue in there, meshing to create vaporwave looking neon. A few pictures attached, some showing friends, some with personal heroes and another including her father.

And luckily just on the top shelf there were the items she needed. She pulled a few of the Rubiks Cubes out, clutching them tightly.

"Sorry Amethyst, I'll get you a new lock, I promise," Rainbow said before dashing away to the outside.

One minute she opened the door, the next she was ducking as a soccer ball came flying over her head and smashed through the glass pane of the door.

"Dah!" Rainbow yelped as she dropped to the ground.

"As I told your friend, I am asking you all to stop this. You're only going to make this much more difficult than it needs to be," Midnight repeated.

"Oh yeah? Well as my... uh... acquaintance would say, time for a taste of the 1980s!" Rainbow bantered, throwing the explosive up into the air.

The Rubiks cube flew up and spun all around, clicking and whirring as it got ready to explode. And when the final click was made, it exploded a vat of colorful neon paint all over the back of Midnight. Her head tensed up from the explosion and she slowly spun around to look at who made the attack.

Rainbow's pupils shrunk. "Oh no..."

"You thought that was the smoke bomb, didn't you?" Fluttershy asked.

"Eeyup," Rainbow admitted, impersonating Applejack.

"Am I the only one who wants to know how she can even make those into bombs?"

"PINKIE!"

"What, come on, I can't be the only one--ohhhh..." Pinkie realized.

Midnight was getting closer to them, and her tone was sharp. She hovered above their faces, glaring at them with no fear."Your efforts are, less than stellar. If you're trying to stop me, I would suggest you stop first. I'm not going to hurt anyone, but I am not above containment..." Midnight threatened, raising her fist up which began to glow.

"You've already got us cornered, why not just finish us off then?" Fluttershy barked.

Midnight's glare focused on her.

"Fluttershy, what are you doing!?" Rainbow yelped.

"If she wanted to do something to us she would have done it already. You wouldn't put a finger on us, and I know it."

Midnight's fists clenched tighter. "Watch your words. I will use extreme force if I have to."

"All talk, no shock," Fluttershy stood her ground.

Everyone was silent. Was Midnight going to pull a move, or was Fluttershy? Was someone going to be dying today in this courtyard? Would the inevitable soon come?

In fact, no. Nothing happened. Midnight put her fiery fist away and focused back on her task at hand. She hovered above everyone, going much higher than ever to try and look at her handiwork. Everything had to be perfect and ready.

Rainbow punched Fluttershy's shoulder. "Great idea, tick off a she-demon who has multiple powers!"

"Rainbow, don't you get it? Midnight's not going to hurt us."

"What are you talking about, she took our friends and trapped us in here!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"That was Twilight, remember? Besides, she didn't seem like she wanted to anyway. I think there might be some part of her still inside," she said looking back up. "She could have blasted me right there right now, but she didn't. I don't think she wants to harm any of us."

"Or maybe she has other plans," Rainbow shivered.

"No. Listen to me. If Midnight doesn't want to hurt us, maybe we can reason with her. Twilight has to be inside of her, we just need to talk her out. ... U-Unless anyone else has a better idea?" Fluttershy asked.

Applejack looked at the sea of panicked and frightened students. Some of them holding each other close for protection, a few hiding in some nearby bushes, others pushing against the wall... she found her new Shadowbolt friends all huddled and hugging each other, clearly scared for their life. And nearby... Rara. Her childhood best friend petrified and alone. She needed her. They needed them. And they had to do something.

"At this point, I'd like to give it a shot. Nothin's gonna stop her, unless we try and talk to her. If she was a nice girl once, well maybe we can bring that back. It's not too late to turn her around," Applejack said.

The farmer took a few steps forward, and picked up a small rock. With all her strength and focus, she threw it up into the air, making a thud on the back of Midnight's helmet. That was enough to grab her attention and look down.

"Twilight Sparkle if you don't end this right now, I'm releasin' mah ultimate weapon!" Applejack announced.

Midnight halted. She glared down at Applejack who was trying her best to keep her brave face on in the face of a scary she-demon.

"Your ultimate weapon?"

"... Yes. You've forced me to do somethin' I've never thought I had to do, but you've given me no choice! I'm pullin' it out!" Applejack exclaimed. She was about to move and the Rainbooms were bracing for something stupid or for Midnight to freeze her where she stood. But nothing happened; except for what they saw next. Applejack didn't move from her stance, but she slowly opened up her palm, extended out at the hovering she-demon.

"... I don't understand."

"I know. I'm offerin' you a hand.."

Midnight raised a brow. "You're offering me your hand?"

"No. I want you to join me, and my friends," Applejack reaffirmed.

"Friends? You five are associates of a she-demon who tried to tear the fabric of our world apart. You terrorized your very classmates. Why would I join you?"

"That's not who we are anymore. But you have to stop!"

Midnight's hands slowly stopped glowing, but she didn't stop focusing on them.

"And why should I stop?"

Applejack looked up again, taking a deep breath to sigh. And then focused. But just then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Rarity step up with her, a proud smile on her face, winking to Applejack. And out the other, she saw Rainbow Dash step up too.

"If we survive this, I want to say I stood beside you all the way," Rainbow nodded.

"Me too," Fluttershy nodded. "Friends are forever."

"Me three!" Pinkie chirped.

Applejack smiled. "Girls... I love ya'll."

None of them cracked a joke, or a snide remark. They just simply smiled and stood their ground with her. Applejack looked back up and continued to talk. "Twilight. I can't say I had an experience like you had when you were a kid. But it was a long time ago. Things change, people change, the times change!"

"You can't go through your life hating everyone around you. Don't you want to see what it's like to have people who make you happy? People who you want to see every day? Don't you want people to see you as someone good other than... something scary?" Rainbow asked.

Midnight was still hovering, but her blank neutral face was slowly changing. Her face was starting to... frown. She slowly spun, looking at the classmates who were all holding themselves against the school walls. They were looking afraid of her; just like they had been every day since she attended school. And when she spun around again, she could see Shining Armor and Cadence looking at her with worry. Shining Armor; the older brother who never stopped caring or protecting her since the day she was born. Cadence; the one babysitter she loved who always respected her needs.

Back around, she saw Principal Cinch; the same principal who just wanted her to finally have some friends and come out of her shell.

"It's easy to blacken and close your heart, but to open it? That's probably the toughest thing you can do," Pinkie Pie added. "And look at us. For us, it was easy to just make everyone's lives miserable and sad."

"But we know that's not what we want. Not anymore."

"We chose to push everyone away from our lives; but it didn't do anything to help us. We changed because we let people come back in, we finally made friends, we found people who made us happy. And as big of a groaner as this is going to sound, we found a better way!"

"You can't let darkness control you Twilight. I know you don't want to, and I know you're afraid. It's okay. You don't have to be afraid anymore. We can help you. We just want you to be happy again. Don't you think you deserve some form of happiness?"

That word; happiness. It was a subject that had mostly been gone to her, but wait. Something triggered in her brain. Memories played on rewind in her head; remembering back to some days when she was a little kid...

That time she fell off a swing and cut her knee, Cadence was there to help put a bandage on her boo-boo and make her better again. And a little hug helped made her feel better too. And one particular day when she was at kindergarten and she had no one to play with; Cadence gave a warm smile and an offering hand for someone to hang with her. Or the day Shining Armor had graduated, and Cadence held her up on her shoulders so she could wave to him as he received his diploma. Such joy on her face that it melted the heart of her brother...

"We know you're scared. It's okay. Let us help you," Fluttershy asked.

Midnight slowly turned her head back, finally snapping out of the flashbacks. Her eyes locked onto the Rainbooms, and that cold, emotionless face began to slip further and further away inside. Just then, a flash of light hit all of their eyes, blinding them temporarily.

When they looked back, Midnight was no longer standing above them, hovering like a god. Now she was simply standing before them, down to their size with the most heartbroken face. She looked at everyone around her, who while still cautious, were slowly moving out of their hiding spaces. Midnight took a single step forward, and then proceed with the next foot, one foot after the other until she was standing right in front of the girls.

It was silent for a moment or two, until out of the corner of Midnight's eye, a small glowing blue flame leaked down her face and touched the ground, sizzling. And some more began to leak.

"Hey, hey, it's okay..." Fluttershy softly said, bringing her in for a hug. Midnight's hands wrapped around her, softly crying, her voice becoming more and more quiet than it was before. The rest of the girls soon stepped up, and they all joined in one giant group hug, calming the girl down.

And then, it happened. The metal coils sticking out of Midnight's back which made the wings began to fall apart. Electricity bolts no longer sizzled, and the poles slowly popped off her back as if she was shedding an old skin. The metal gauntlets on her arms fell apart too, and so did the metal shoulder armor which slipped off as well.

And like magic, another bright blinding hot light flashed itself all around the courtyard for 10 seconds. When the flash of light stopped, everything was still. The lightning storm above had slowly died, and more of the light began to come through. There was still dark clouds up in the sky, normal ones of course, but there was no thunder and lightning to be seen. It was just a gloomy looking atmosphere. Twilight Sparkle from earlier had been returned back to the girl she was before. Hair was a little frizzled, and the ground around her was showing black marks as if an explosion hat hit the ground. The Rainbooms also had their hair all sticking up on ends, frizzled all over. But nether-less, they were all okay and alive.

The electricity that surged in the metal fence slowly stopped, and the barriers began to fall apart all by themselves. Random sheets and pieces of metal just falling apart into their individual parts. Shining, Cadence, and the police officers were all freed from the shield cages around them.

Twilight gripped her arm, looking away, heavy with guilt and shame. "I'm... I'm so sorry. I know that's not going to make up for anything I've done."

Fluttershy lifted up Twilight's chin, getting her to look back in her eyes. She pulled Twilight close and gave her a soft hug, embracing her. The two were quiet, well except for the sounds of Twilight's heavy breathing. But for the most part, no one really said anything.

"They... they saved us," Sandalwood finally said.

"Not all of us..." Drama Letter shivered. "Where's Trixie? What about the others? Where are they?"

The girls broke free from the hug and looked at the pendant still around Twilight's neck. She lifted it up, gazing into it as her reflection shined back into her eyes. “I… I have to free them,” Twilight said, holding it in her hands. “B-But… what if destroying it, doesn’t save them? What if they don’t get out? What if I trapped them all in this thing with no—”

Applejack put a finger over her lips, silencing her. “Twilight. We won’t know, if you don’t try. Just toss it down and smash it into rubble.”

Twilight looked back down at the device, and then back to the Rainbooms. She gave them affirming nods, and the Rainbooms backed away.

“If this doesn’t free them… nothing will.”

She gripped the pendent as hard as she could and raised it up high, and with as much strength as she could she threw it down towards the ground hoping her own strength would smash it into smithereens— But it bounced on the ground like a protected phone.

“… Okay, I’m not trying to be mean, but you have the strength of a Daring Do doll.”

Twilight scowled at Sugarcoat with a deadpan expression.

“How about I try?” Applejack suggested.

“I couldn’t smash it, what makes you think you can?”

“Applejack’s been working on the farm for all her life,” Rainbow Dash boasted, leaning her shoulder on Applejack’s. “She is the only girl who can compete against me, trust me, she’s pretty strong.”

“Well I tried, if you want to, go ahead.”

“Alright, now ya’ll step back a bit,” Applejack insisted. She set the pendent down in front of her. With a smirk on her face she raised up her heel. “Now it’s time for you to go into the scrapyard where you belong!”

She slammed her heel down, and the pendent shattered into pieces, completely smashed from the weight of her strength. A burst of light flashed as she made the smash, and glowing colorful orbs began to fly out from the pendent.

Instinctively, they all stepped back in case the orbs were going to go spiraling into their direction. The first beam, flew straight past everyone and hit the Wondercolt statue, phasing and meshing right inside as if it passed on through. The next beam, glowing in a nice bright yellow flashed in everyone’s eyes before dying down, revealing Lyra Heartstrings safe and alive, with a set of pony-ears and a long pony-tail hanging down her back.

“What the, I…” she looked around. “Yes! I’m back!”

Another flash of light hit the courtyard.

“I’m… I’m free, I’m free!” Bon Bon squeaked. She tried looking behind herself, but she was able to see a bit of the long ponytail that hung down her back as well.

Another flash of light.

“YEAH!!!” Octavia shouted like a rock star into the heavens.

Two more bright flashes hit everyone’s eyes.

“Vinyl?”

“Amy?”

“We’re alive!” The two said in unison, excited as ever.

One more flash shined in the courtyard, as Trixie was the last to come back. Alicorn wings were sprouting on her back, pony-ears and pony-tail all showing just like everyone else.

By now, everyone was cheering in pure joy, seeing the girls finally back safe and sound. Of course the six of them had no idea what had been going on in their absence but they just simply smiled, happy to see their friends again too.

Trixie looked around, until she was approached by the Rainbooms.

“Girls, I… I don’t, uh… what happened?”

“Long story short, Twilight found the way,” Rainbow winked, looking to the bespectacled scientist. Twilight didn’t look at Trixie, mostly out of guilt and shame. But she still worked up the energy to apologize.

“I’m… I’m so sorry. I just… ever since I saw the news, I was so scared. I didn’t want another magic-infested monster coming here with the chance that someone could have been killed. I didn’t want to hurt any of you, and if I did, I’m… I am so so sorry.”

Trixie’s heart stung a bit. But she smiled and patted Twilight’s shoulder, getting her to look her up in the eye.

“I still think you should have come to us from the start. But right now, I’m just happy you did the right thing. I do hope this means you won’t be planning any out of nowhere field tests, correct?”

Twilight nodded quickly. “I promise.”

Trixie smiled and she gave Twilight a brief hug. “So how did you even work up the courage to change?”

Twilight looked back at the five Rainbooms, who were full of grinning faces. No words were exchanged as to who did it, but Trixie still smiled.

“You got her to change... great job girls,” Trixie complimented.

“I just hope we don’t do that again, that was really scary,” Pinkie Pie admitted. “I thought we were the ones who were going to die and then we’d all be dead!”

“But we’re not, are we?” Fluttershy smirked.

“Nope!”

“But I think I’m already dead,” Twilight’s lips trembled. “I know what I did was wrong. And I’m ready to face any punishments that come. I more than deserved it,” she said, feeling stung.

“You know Twilight?” Rarity raised her chin. “I know in time, someday, someway and somehow… they’ll forgive you. It may not be today, it may not be tomorrow... but one day, they'll forgive you.”

And the girls shared a collective hug with Twilight. And coming close was Shining Armor and Cadence.

"Shiny!" Twilight nearly tackled her brother in a surprise hug, holding him tight. Tears still fell from her face. "I'm so sorry..."

Shining softly smiled and he embraced her back. "It's okay. You're safe now."

"Twilight?"

Twilight turned her head and saw Cadence was standing there. "Cadence..." Twilight whimpered before nearly attacking her in the hug this time. "I am so sorry... I am so so so sorry!"

Cadence hugged her more. "Shhhh... it's okay. It's okay."

The two stayed, quietly hugging it out. And eventually Shining Armor joined as well, a group hug to let the fear and stress and years of anger melt away. And even though she was still full of tears, Twilight's frown slowly turned into a smile.

“Well I don’t know about all of you, but I think after all that has happened today, we all have won these games,” Principal Luna announced. “Principal Cinch, your thoughts?”

“I couldn’t agree more, Principal Luna,” Principal Cinch smiled.

“That is why these games are officially, a tie!”

And with that single remark, everyone out in the courtyard let out one big cheer. And the two officers from behind the crowd just stood in awe as they watched the scene before them.

"Sooo... you think we should call this in?" Officer Groove asked.

"Hmm... I dunno. Looks to me like those kids took care of the problem, so we're not really needed," Streetwise shrugged. Until he turned his gaze to the satellite dish on the roof. "Okay, except for that. We'll make a note that the storm knocked out some of the satellites at the school, no one harmed from the looks of things. Fair enough?"

"Hmm... alright. Lets get out of here, I need something normal to look at, this is too weird for me," Groove rubbed his face, walking back to the car.

Chapter 31: Welcome Home

The gray skies began to clear, along with the storms from earlier. Bright sunshine and warm weather came back, making the land so bright and full of life.

The games had been declared a tie for sure, but they were still planning on hanging out at school for a little more. And besides, this meant the Shadowbolts and Wondercolts got to talk some more. Especially after whatever the heck they had just been a part of hours ago! And while both schools had decided upon a tie, everybody got gold medals in the end. And to make the moment more special, both teams from both schools got together for one giant group picture.

Twilight was still hugging her brother and Cadence, sharing one of the biggest family hugs ever. She hadn't felt so good or so happy in a long time, and this was something she wanted to last even longer. And even the Rainbooms were feeling just as happy as her. The five girls were nothing but smiling in pure unbridled joy around each other, with the sweet pleasures of nice cold soda drinks in hand. And the students that came by passing here and there were offering nothing but thank yous and compliments.

"I'd say that went better than I thought it would," Applejack grinned.

"Very much so," Rarity nodded.

Everyone took a few sips of their drinks.

"How about a toast? To new friendships, and turning a new leaf," Fluttershy offered. "... Unless, you rather not, then, um... sorry I asked."

"Actually... that's not a bad idea," Rarity nodded. She raised her cup. "To new friendships."

"To friendship!"

Everyone toasted their drinks, and all took one large sip of their cups. And off to the side, they could see Principal Cinch and Principal Luna approaching the group with a proud smile.

"Girls. I'm proud of you five. Even though what you did was incredibly risky and dangerous... I am glad you were able to calm her down and bring her back," Principal Luna smiled.

The group looked back to Twilight who was still enjoying a nice hug from her brother. "I feel like she'll be much more happier now."

"Maybe get some color..." Applejack joked.

"Maybe change her hair," Rarity teased.

"Maybe she'll invite us over for sleepovers!" Pinkie squeaked, bouncing up in the air like a balloon.

"Lets just wait til we can get there...." Rainbow said, pulling Pinkie back down to the ground. "So is Twilight going to that Everton school?" Rainbow asked.

"I'm afraid not. I hate to revoke her application, but after what happened today, I don't believe she should go. Besides..." Cinch looked back with a soft smile. "I think Twilight would be much happier and healthier if she stays at Crystal Prep and continues to bond with you five. Having real friends."

Applejack tipped her hat at the principal. "Well, we'd be more than happy to hang with her. Sides, get her some color and all."

"And I know you five are just the perfect friends she needs," Cinch winked, before walking away to talk to the principals. They saw Twilight come around the corner, still looking a little guilty, but accompanied by Shining Armor and Cadence.

"Hey, Twilight. You okay?" Applejack asked, putting her hands on her shoulders.

Twilight looked and nodded, wiping a soft tear from her face. "Y-Yeah. I'll be okay now."

Pinkie Pie smiled, yanking her close for a hug. "We're all here for you Twilight."

The young girl sniffled, but out of pure happiness. "Thanks guys."

"Aww, come here!" Pinkie Pie yanked everyone close for a big group hug. Shining Armor chuckled a bit, watching Twilight be this happy with all these wonderful friends with her.

"Oh, Twilight?" Fluttershy interrupted, finally breaking from the hug.

"Y-Yeah?"

"I-I don't know how you feel about this, but, um... I kinda have a gift for you," Fluttershy said, a little shyly. She picked up the backpack she had brought out from earlier, carefully moving it around so she could open it.

"O-Oh, you do? But... why? I don't deserve one after all I did," Twilight said. To be honest, she had no idea how to feel about that.

"Y-Yeah, I know," Fluttershy nodded. She reached behind her, and opened up a zipper on her backpack. "But I've been trying to work on being kind to others. N-Now, I don't know how your brother feels, but, um... I got you this."

Coming back around, she held a small purple and green dog in her arms.

"Oh my goodness!" Twilight cupped her mouth.

"This is Spike. He's a rescue at the animal shelter. We found the poor guy without a mom, and we thought he should be taken into a lovely and caring home. I um... I don't suppose you can... um.. or want to adopt him?"

Twilight wasn't sure what to say. Truthfully told, she didn't know what was coming over her. She didn't know what to think of this new sensation inside of her, this feeling of just wanting to hold that little dog.

"C-Can I... can I hold him?"

"Of course!"

Fluttershy carefully gave Twilight the dog, allowing her to holding him up and look him in the eyes.

"Hey there little guy," She cooed.

The dog gave a soft bark, tail wagging in excitement. And she didn't know why, but she didn't care; she carefully cradled the dog like a mother holding her baby. She scratched Spike's belly, making the dog's leg twitch in happiness, making her giggle.

"He's so adorable..." Twilight gushed.

Shining couldn't help but smile at the scene. This was too cute. But Twilight remembered; the family never took any pets into their house before, mostly cause of her.

"Oh, Shining, pleaseeeeee???? Can I keep him???"

Shining chuckled. "Twily, dogs are a big responsibility, you know."

"I know, but I can take care of him, pleaseeeee????"

Shining rolled his eyes, still chuckling. "Lets talk with Mom and Dad first, but because I'm your brother, I'll say yes."

And Twilight squeed like a little girl, hugging the dog with so much joy. And it was enough to make the Rainbooms giggle a bit.

Trixie and her friends just hung out close by the revived Wondercolt Statue. They did exchange a few words from some passing friends but they just wanted to sit alone for a little bit. And from time to time they showed off their powers for those who just wanted to see them in action again.

“Any word on whether the Dazzlings are coming back?” Octavia asked, laying on top of the statue, making a piece of metal hover above her.

“I’m afraid I don’t know. But you know something? I think we’ll be okay for a bit,” Trixie smiled. “I mean, we’ll still need to work on how to use our powers, but… in the end, we survived this ordeal. And without their help.”

The others had never thought of it that way before. Sure they were saved by girls they were still warming up to, but still, they were saved in the end.

“I guess maybe those Rainbooms aren’t so bad after all,” Amethyst admitted. “Granted, I still need to figure out when I can trust them again… but I suppose in a way they aren’t entirely awful.”

“They’re not Sunset Shimmer; let's put it at that,” Bon Bon deadpanned.

Just then, they heard a strange sound coming from the Wondercolt statue. The center started to glow, and looked a little liquidy, like water. And forms were coming through! Human, in fact! And their voices were starting to ring a bell…

"--Look, Sonata, I know but… it’s not up to us," Aria said, walking out of the portal first.

“But… she’s just going to…” Sonata asked, looking disappointed.

Aria sighed. “She’s an adult. If she wants to spend her life there, then… it’s her choice.”

Sonata’s eyes looked a little watery, like she was about to cry right there on the spot. But the hugging embrace from her older sister calmed her down, making her only breathe heavily.

“Aria! Sonata!”

The two broke from the hug, looking at their friends who came rushing up to them with happy smiles.

“You’re back!” Octavia grinned, nearly tackling Aria in a big hug.

Aria chuckled, hugging her back.

“Yeah, we’re home.”

“Sonata!” Vinyl squeaked, hugging the siren. The youngest of the trio hugged her back, albeit a little tighter than her usual hugs.

“Wait… didn’t you girls get on a plane, why did you come through there? How did you even come from there?” Bon Bon asked.

“Well, it’s kind of a long story.”

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!” The three sisters screamed.

The plane kept hurling down.

“AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Adagio screamed, arms no longer gaining control of the steering controls and were now flailing like the inflatable arm tube men you see outside of car dealerships.

And the plane kept hurling.

“AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!” Aria and Sonata screamed in unison.

And the plane kept hurling.

If you were to watch from a far away view, you could see a giant inferno of an explosion be found on a small island somewhere out at sea, almost like someone had just blown up an oil tanker.

“… maybe not that long,” Aria admitted.

“… you didn’t tell us what happened.”

“Yeah, I did. We crashed the plane. No, Adagio crashed the plane. Once again, that ramen-haired idiot doesn’t know why I keep offering to fly, but nooooooo, she just HAS to be the one to fly!” Aria said, almost hateful. “But… in the process, we were able to get this.” She reached behind her back and pulled out a small jar that was sealed tight, with glowing liquid within. “Whatever spell those three girls were put under by Sunset Shimmer, is about to be undone.”

“Alright!” The group cheered.

But one of them, looking at the two who were back, started to frown.

“Wait… where’s Adagio?” Trixie asked.

Sonata and Aria’s faces drooped, immediately dropping the joyful looks they had to see their friends. And they looked at the magician with disappointed expressions.

“Trixie… I’m not sure you want to know,” Sonata frowned.

“Wait… is she—”

“—No, she’s not dead!” Sonata yelled. “… sorry. I feel salty today,” She huffed.

“But… Okay. Trixie, I… this is gonna hurt, but… Adagio, she—”

“—Is staying home.”

The two Sirens heads went up and looked back, now they were the ones in shock. Standing there was Adagio Dazzle. There was some guilt mixed with a little bit of joy on the siren's face, but she was beaming with more joy to see one particular girl.

“A-Adagio?” Trixie gasped, cupping her mouth.

Adagio smiled. “Hi sweetie. I’m home.”

Trixie couldn’t hold it back anymore. She leapt up in pure joy, embracing her girlfriend with the most adorable squee. Adagio’s smile just grew bigger as she was hugged by her girlfriend, and immediately wrapped arms around her partner.

“I missed you so much,” Trixie cooed.

Adagio’s heart melted. She couldn’t keep herself from smiling at how adorable and sweet her girlfriend could be at times. “I missed you too.”

“Welcome home, Dagi.”

Aria and Sonata looked at Adagio, still confused as ever. Aria’s hands reached her hips, and Sonata had her arms crossed.

“I thought you wanted to stay over in ‘perfect’ Equestria,” Aria said with a dry tone.

“Wait, what?” Trixie said with confusion. “W-What are they talking about?”

Adagio took a deep breath and sighed. “It’s a long story girls. I’ll be more than happy to explain. But right now…”she approached her siblings with a guilty face. “Girls… about what I said, I… I’m sorry. Look, I was just, I... I don’t want any opportunity to see our home again gone.”

Aria still kept her arms folded. “Well you know we can just pop over there anytime through that portal, right?”

“I know, I just… I guess I was homesick. But it’s not an excuse for how I behaved, and so I’m… I’m sorry. Forgive me?”

Sonata couldn’t resist it. “Oh, come here…” She pulled her older sister into a hug, rubbing her back in return. “Ari?”

“No, not happening,” she turned away.

“Ari… you know you wanted her back,” Sonata sing-songed.

“Don’t. Start. With me.”

“Come on…”

“… Dang it, I’m not cold,” she gave up and joined in the family group hug, finally welcoming her back home. “But the next time you get a STUPID IDEA LIKE THIS... I’mma slap you up the side of your head, you understand me, cowboy!?!?!”

Adagio rolled her eyes. “I get it. I promise. But why don’t we discuss this matter later? I’m rather eager to see how our friends have been up!” The eldest siren looked at the scene before her. The amount of happy faces all gathered, talking, laughing, enjoying some time together. Crystal Prep and Canterlot High all in perfect happy harmony. “What happened here? Please tell me something bad didn’t happen.”

“Well, something did kinda happen,” Trixie admitted, rubbing the ground with her feet. “But we do have it under control! … Sorta. … Okay not really.”

“Girls, what happened, just tell us, pleaaaaseee,” Sonata said, finally losing it.

“Well… okay, uh, so we’ve been kinda going through some weird… changes. Like, physical changes.”

“Oh…” Adagio said confused. But her face widened a little, thinking it was something else. “OH… uh… well, girls,” she cleared her throat, her face looking a little embarrassed. “You’ve, um… I don't think I really need to say this, but I think you've all hit that age where your body starts to change, and you uh, well… you may notice some areas, um—”

“—Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Octavia held her hands up, silencing her with a red face. “It’s… it’s not that. It’s definitely not that, Adagio. Besides, we already know about that.”

“Well, what is it then?”

“Well… maybe it’s… perhaps it best if we show you. Girls?”

“Wait, what are you—”

Adagio and her sisters were speechless. Metal support rods from the top of the construction supports were now floating above Octavia like daggers. They were floating around, bent to her will. She used her hands to twirl them around in the air like batons before letting one of them come to her hands.

“That’s… wow… Octavia, that’s amazing…” Aria gasped, surprised.

“Just wait, luv. You haven’t seen anything yet.”

Vinyl opened her hand up, making a grabby like notion, and electricity started to sizzle between her fingers, little lightning bolts fusing all around like a machine in a mad scientist’s lab. This notion made Sonata almost pass out from shock.

And it didn’t end. Bon Bon stepped up, creating soft smoke balls with her bare hands, holding them like she was ready to launch them at someone. Lyra teleported out of nowhere, appearing on the roof of the school, and then back again, only up in the air, held by the katana which held her body. Amethyst played a chord on her keytar, shooting several sound waves up into the sky which radiated in bright blue.

And last but not least—Trixie. She was found floating in the air, looking relaxed and at ease. The same alicorn wings from before spawned from her back and kept her hovering for the time. And of course, the same pony ears and tail sprouted from behind her as she hovered. And as she did, she kept her mind in focus, and created illusions; illusions of herself that were all created in a hexagon formation.

Adagio looked up in shock, but was impressed. She gasped with a soft chuckle, trying to process what she was seeing. Their friends… have superpowers! There was no other way to grasp it, they had superpowers!

“It’s… it’s pretty weird, isn’t it?” Trixie chuckled.

Trixie’s only answer was Adagio floating up in the air, her pendent glowing around her neck. Ponytail, wings, the whole deal all out as she got on the same eye level as her girlfriend.

“It’s not that weird,” Adagio smiled, feeling a bit of pride within.

Author's Note

Stay tuned for more, we're not done yet. We've got one more chapter left! :raritywink:

Chapter 32: What More Is Out There

One week had passed since the Dazzlings came back home. It was the beginning of a Friday morning, at the crack of dawn; the sun was still working it's way to get up over the horizon. And a few people were already up around at this time...

"Ugh, why did we have to get up early? School doesn't even start til eight..." Rainbow Dash whined.

Stumbling to Canterlot High like undead zombies were the five Rainbooms. Groggy, tired, and incredibly ticked off. The Dazzlings gave each of them a call, telling them all to come meet them over in the parking lot behind the school. Why they wanted them at the crack of dawn, they didn't know. Yet.

"I don't know, but whatever reason they called us better be good," Rarity grumbled.

"Would ya'll stow your complainin'?"

"Kinda hard considering you get up earlier than any of us do," Fluttershy pouted.

“Hello Rainbooms,” a voice said, making them all jump. The Rainbooms didn't even notice they had finally made it to the parking lot, and were now greeted by the oldest Dazzling.

The group turned their heads to look to see the eldest siren again, leaning against the brick wall of the school.

“Oh, Adagio. Whatcha’ doing here, it's too early in the mornin' for ya. And why did you call us here to begin with?” Applejack asked.

“I will be, in a few minutes, but there was something I needed to do first,” Adagio explained.

“And that is?”

Adagio nudged the girls to come over, giving them a flirtatious ‘come hither’ look. The same look she tried for years. Hesitantly, the Rainbooms all got up and joined them, following them over to the parking lot behind the school. And behind the school, there was also Aria and Sonata who were leaning against a parked limousine. How they managed to get it into the parking lot was beyond them.

“You brought us here to see a limo?” Pinkie tilted her head.

Rarity sighed, rubbing the greens in her mohawk. “Darling, I know you girls are immortal and have tons of money, but this is too much even for you.”

“Hey! It’s a rental!” Sonata pouted.

“And we’re not driving you anywhere. It’s just for show. For what we’re about to unveil to you girls,” Adagio grinned.

“You’re not going to shoot us with rainbow lasers are you? Because I don’t want any of us going through that like you did to Sunset,” Rainbow’s head sank.

“No, we’re not,” Adagio rubbed the temples on her head. “Listen. When we found out about your sisters being put under that spell from Sunset, I was thankful to hear that their condition wasn’t worse, something that we had to bounce over to Equestria to figure out how to get undone. Which brings us to this very moment.”

Aria and Sonata grinned at each other, ready to unveil their surprise.

“So without further ado… girls?” She stepped out of the way.

The limousine door opened, a little dark inside. The girls weren’t sure what it was they were trying to show, until a figure inside started to emerge. A yellow boot, stepped out, along with a small looking girl. A middle-school aged girl with red hair, tan skin, green shirt and blue jeans stepped out. The other addition this girl had on was a small red bow sticking out the back of her hair.

Applejack dropped frozen where she stood, the breakfast she was holding dropping to the ground with a clatter. She cupped her mouth, trying her hardest not to scream or burst out. But… she was there. She was right in front of her…

And it didn’t end there. Another girl stepped out of the limo as well, this time a pale-skinned girl matching Rarity’s skin-tone. Her hair was more curly, with puffs of pink and purple meshed with white. A cute little yellow and purple dress underneath a short-sleeved jacket completed her look.

Rarity felt like leaping into the air with the most over the top squee, but she didn’t. She was taken completely by surprise, and she let a soft squeak in joy.

And last of all, a girl with orange skin and messy purple hair. A dark gray zip up hoodie and short jeans completed her attire, along with the pair of running shoes.

Rainbow Dash was last one to be completely shocked. She didn’t know if this was some dream or some twisted reality that made her think differently. But the Dazzlings standing there proved it wasn’t. It really wasn’t.

“Rainbooms. We came, we resurrected, we destroyed Sunset Shimmer’s spell! And now, your sisters have been freed.”

“Apple Bloom…” AJ gasped.

“Applejack!”

The little girl came charging up and Applejack yanked her younger sister close in the biggest hug ever. AJ quietly sobbed, but only out of joy. Pure, happy, emotional joy.

“Sweetie Belle!”

Rarity scooped up her younger sister with an equally big hug, holding her close. She did not DARE break from this long over-due hug.

“Rarity? Did you get a mohawk?” Sweetie Belle asked out of confusion.

Rarity sniffled but giggled softly. “Yes. Yes I did.”

Sweetie Belle blinked, but smiled. “I like it.”

The fashionista just held her in another big hug, giggling and crying at the same time. And Rainbow Dash? She may not have been an overly-huggy type, but she got herself into a very big hug with Scootaloo.

“Squirt, you’re okay…” Rainbow sniffled.

“Rainbow Dash, are you okay?” Scootaloo asked, her lungs nearly collapsing under the pressure.

Rainbow pulled out of the embrace, wiping a tear off her eye. “I… I am. I’m just happy you’re okay.”

Scootaloo just smiled and hugged her again. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie couldn’t help but smile as well.

“W-What happened? I remember going to sleep, and then… black-out. When did we even get here? H-How long has it been?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I’m afraid that’s a rather long and difficult story to explain,” Rarity said, rubbing the back of her mohawk.

“Ooh! I can explain! Pick me, pick me!” Pinkie Pie bounced like a little girl.

“Wait, Pinkie—”

“—SunsetShimmerputamassivesleepingspellonyouSweetieBelleandScootaloowhichkeptyouthreeinareeeeaaalllylongsleepwhilewewereblackmailedtobecomebigbullieswhichweshamefullyenjoyedbutforonlyforashortperiodoftimeandthentheDazzlingscametoourschoolformedanewfriendshipwitheveryonehereandwefoundouttheywereallimmortalsfromaparallelworldwhereeveryoneisaponyincludingSunsetShimmer!”

Pinkie Pie took a big heavy breath, still trying to keep explaining everything.

“AndwesortasabotagedtheirattempttostopusbyshowingthemthetruthbutTrixiemanagedtogetthembackagainandbecomefriendsagainbyTrixieovercominghershynessandtheyfoundouttheDazzlingswereactuallyseaponiesfromthatworldIjustmentionedandtheyallagrredtotryandstopusbutwealsowantedtostabSunsetinthebackforwhatshedidtoyou!”

She took another heavy breath, panting a little bit. She was still gonna explain it all, but the three girls were left completely blank. They were mostly confused, and that was mostly from everything Pinkie was yelling at them.

“Thank goodness she doesn’t do audiobooks,” Sonata whispered over to Adagio who snickered a bit.

“—andsowetriedtobackstabSunsetbutsheturnedintoaragingshe-demonwhothenturnedRainbowDashFluttershyApplejackRarityandmeintoafiveheadedHydramonster!ButthentheDazzlingscameandAdagiosaid’We’rebiggerthanyou’andtheyallturnedintoaJapaneselookingthreeheadedmonsterwhodefeatedusbutgotitsbuttkickedbySunsetShimmeruntiltheyrisedupwithTrixieandtheirfriendsusingRainbowlasersandsavedus! Alsoeveryonehereinthisschoolisstilltryingtowarmuptousbecausewereallymadealotofthemmadandangry.”

Now everyone was looking at Pinkie Pie awkwardly.

“Buttttt we now have you three back and we made new friends!” She surprised Fluttershy by pulling her close in a small side-hug.

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were still blanking on Pinkie Pie’s story.

“Um… can you say that last part again?”

“Which last part?”

“Oh, everything after Sunset Shimmer and ‘sleepin’ spell’?”

Adagio giggled. She gestured to her sisters to come hither and the three girls stepped away.

“Just like that… who’d ever thought they’d see the day. Think we should dog pile them?” Aria snickered.

“Lets give them their moment. They earned it,” Adagio said, walking away with them.

“Aww, they're so happy... So now what? Our school’s still getting construction work done, they defeated a monster so we didn’t have to, and now we’re home. What do we do now?” Sonata asked.

“Well I think we should always check with each other before making decisions to stay anywhere, first, Adagio,” Aria said, smirking with a little bit of snark.

“I know, I know… I promise I won’t say anything about that again,” Adagio nodded, perching on a bench. “But what to do now… we’re still attending school of course, but… I don’t know. I feel like we deserve a nice relaxing break,” she stretched her arms out on the bench. The two sisters sat on the other ends, sitting aside from her while Adagio stayed in the middle. Off in the horizon they could see the sun beginning to raise, rising up for a brand new day.

“We’re going to school aren’t we? Isn’t that a break from danger as it is?”

“I suppose so. But you know, we’ve been gone for almost a week, we should do something relaxing. Ooh, maybe we can have another big sleepover at our penthouse!”

“Maybe see a new movie or two?”

“Maybe check to see if Sunset Shimmer escaped from jail?”

Aria and Adagio’s heads turned.

“Sonata, do you really think Sunset would be stupid enough to attempt a prison escape?"

“Hey, you know what prison does to you! We did our time in one, that was the worst 20 years ever!” Sonata cried.

“The prison is full of security and guards posted at every conceivable angle, no way that wretch is escaping,” Adagio said with a confident voice.

“Great, now she will escape,” Aria deadpanned.

“What are you talking about?”

“You jinxed it, Adagio! You jinxed it! First the plane crash, now Sunset’s going to bust her way out of jail with a revenge plan!”

“Aria, you’re overreacting, I only suggested we check on her just to be safe,” Sonata replied.

“I agree, you’re taking things completely out of proportion.”

“What’s next, is she going to try and take us down with evil counterparts of ourselves!?” Aria threw her head back.

“Okay now you’re just being a stupid head,” Sonata said bluntly.

“Says the one who thought she could trust Hitler,” Aria snarked.

“From the one who tried to date Napoleon!” Sonata barked back.

“Girls, enough! You’ve both been in strange relationships, just, stop,” Adagio said with a smug face, relaxing on the bench. "Unlike you girls, I didn't have any strange relationships at all."

A soft silence was among the group. For about five seconds.

“You’re the attention seeker who got Al Capone arrested.”

“I didn’t know you were supposed to pay your taxes!” Adagio shrieked.

Sonata and Aria were cackling like wild hyenas.

“You sound like someone put a whale in a blender!” Sonata burst out laughing.

“Um… hi?”

The three Dazzlings turned their heads. Standing there was another girl, who had gotten up early with the rest of the Rainbooms to come with them and see what the commotion was. And in her hands was the adorable pup; Spike. Now she had seen the excitement going down, but her attention was quickly turned towards the three Dazzlings. She had heard the stories about three students being immortal, but she starting to become curious; were these the three they were talking about?

“Oh, hey, you’re that girl from the Friendship Games. What was it… Two-lick Sparklefingers?” Aria asked, sounding like she just didn't care.

“Twilight Sparkle,” she corrected.

“Sorry, my sister can be a bit grumpy when she doesn’t have her morning coffee,” Adagio apologized. “You want a seat?”

Twilight smiled as the sisters made some space for her to have a seat.

"So... you three are the, um... Sirens? Right?"

"You're correct young lady," Adagio winked. "One thousand year-old queens of the ocean."

"You're over a thousand years old!?"

"Technically speaking... yes. Yes we are."

"H-How?"

"See these pendants?" Adagio asked, showing her the red jewel around her neck. "It's our life source. These were on our bodies since birth, and have kept us alive and young all these years. We may look like we're on the cusp of twenties, but we're much older than that. I know this may sound highly illogical, but--"

"The news reported about a giant three-headed monster roaming through downtown, a raging she-demon, and I just saw your friends use superpowers. ... At this point, I will believe anything."

The Sirens shared a collective chuckle. Until Sonata's attention finally went down to the animal in Twilight's lap.

"Awwww, a wittle puppy!" Sonata gushed. "Who's this cute wittle guy?"

Twilight giggled. "His name is Spike. He's my new dog."

"Does he know any tricks?"

"Sonata, she literally just said he was her new dog, I'm not sure she's really taught him anything yet," Aria deadpanned.

Adagio, completely ignoring the bickering, continued to speak. "He was a gift from Fluttershy, wasn't he?"

"He was."

"And? I hope you are enjoying having him as company?"

"Well... I'll admit, the first few days were a bit hectic having him. I can't explain it... he sheds, and jumps on my bed in the morning to lick my face, and he chewed up one of my books... and yet, he's always so happy to see me when I come home. And when I take him outside, he's eager to play - it just makes me smile! I just... I've never felt this way about anything before..."

Adagio smiled before patting Spike's head. "It's a good thing. It means you're letting this little one into your life. Opening up your heart to those around you; that's one of the toughest things you can do. But closing yourself off from them, and feeling... won't help anyone."

Twilight looked back down at Spike in her lap, petting his head and giggling as he kept leaning into her petting hand, demanding more affection.

"You're right about that," Twilight replied. "But if you don't mind, back to what I was saying before?"

"Of course."

"Okay, so I'm just trying to remember what Applejack described, you girls are creatures from a parallel universe where everybody is... a pony?"

"Earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, you bet. Even griffons, changelings, yaks, hippogriffs, kirins, dragons, etc," Adagio nodded.

"Or even us!" Sonata piped up.

"Exactly. Long story short, we were banished here due to a wizard who believed we were evil..." Adagio's smiling face faded, thinking back. "And, um... among other things. But enough about that."

"So, if you three are from a world where you're ponies... do you think there's a chance you actually have counterparts, human ones at that here on Earth?"

The Sirens had never really thought of that. In all their years of traveling, they hadn't met anyone who was 100% identical to them. Not a single one.

"I haven't seen one... but I'm not ruling out the possibility that it exists," Adagio nodded. "Maybe in another universe we might have human equivalents, I have yet to see if that's possible."

"And Ari did say there could be the possibility of evil counterparts of ourselves! Maybe there's even a really nice version of Sunset Shimmer!" Sonata added.

“Still though, it’s a good question… are there more universes out there? There’s bound to be a vast number of worlds out there, maybe worlds beyond Equestria and ours… maybe. Just maybe…”

One Week Later

Adagio walked to her locker back in Canterlot High. Lunchtime was coming very soon, and she just needed to grab her lunchbox. Though she needed to do something really quick. She pulled out the magic book that Sunset Shimmer hid in her locker, and opened it up to the current page.

Adagio clicked a pen and she began to write.

Dear Princess Trixie, wow that feels weird to write.

I hope things are going okay back in Equestria. I know things got heated the last time you saw my sisters, but we have resolved our issues. And I am very happy to tell you what's been going on these past few weeks. The Rainbooms have gotten remarkably better than ever.

In the hallway, Pinkie Pie caught sight of a girl who looked like she was on the verge of crying, tear-heavy as all get out. She frowned herself, until she walked up to her and gave her a soft smile, and wiped a tear from her face. Adagio watched as the two conversed for a second, and Pinkie Pie asked if she could walk with her, which the girl accepted. And she could even see a smile starting to grow on her face.

Standing outside of Crystal Prep was Twilight Sparkle, who was happily chatting with the five Shadowbolt girls. No fear, no hate, no worry. Just pure happiness as they exchanged words. And pulling up around the corner was Fluttershy in her car, ready to pick up Twilight. The former bully said hello and waved to her friends as Twilight got into the car with her. The two exchanged smiles, and they waved to the Shadowbolts as they set off to meet their friends over at Sugarcube Cafe for the afternoon.

Ever since the Friendship Games, the Rainbooms have gotten less hatred from the students around, even making some new friends. I must say Rarity looks fantastic with a mohawk. In fact, I say they're becoming more liked than they would have if you met them in September. And as for our friends...

Adagio, Aria, and Sonata all stood by as Vinyl started to send jolts of electricity into the ground. And as more and more were struck, she slowly and suddenly began to float off the ground. She looked down and was so shocked she let go of her control and fell back down on her back. She wasn't down for long, as Sonata helped pull her back up and brushed her off.

Adagio then reached for her bag and pulled out a small photo that was taken, and pasted it on the page. The photo displayed the Rainbooms along with Twilight Sparkle all grouped together in a nice group photo. Even Twilight managed to have a smile in there, so cute.

And just for more, she attached another photo, showing not just the Rainbooms and Twilight, but also the five Shadowbolt girls they had befriended during the games. And another photo was attached, now all of them grouped with Adagio and her band of friends.

I still find it odd to see that our friends have developed superpowers. It may be some time before they have fully controlled them, but I am going to do whatever it takes to make sure they can still adjust to normal life, and make sure they stay safe and happy. And I will continue to give your counterpart tons of hugs and kisses. ;)

I hope things in Equestria stay safe, and if you want help, please contact me. Any excuse to get me back in Equestria is good enough for me.

Your friend,

Adagio Dazzle

"Dagi, hey! You ready?"

Adagio turned her head and smiled at Trixie.

"I'll be right there."

She softly closed the book, smiling for a second and placed it back in her locker. Once it was sealed, she walked to where her girlfriend stood and intertwined her fingers in her hand.

"So, Trixie, about those phone messages I left you while I was in California...?"

"Yes?"

"Um... how much did you hear?"

Meanwhile In Another Universe...

The sun was shining, the birds were singing, the breeze was nice and warm, it was all the making of a perfect day. Perfect weather to just go out and enjoy the outside before the winter would settle in. And a few girls were hanging out over at a local park, with some nice hot food from some local food trucks.

At one of the tables, there were four girls sitting. One of them had rainbow hair with cyan skin, another with pink hair that was poofy and full of life, and a bespectacled lavender-haired girl with purple skin. The last girl coming to the table was an orange-skinned girl with a fiery hairdo and an adorable smile that would brighten anyone’s day.

"Thanks for taking us out, Sunset. Honestly, I needed this," Twilight smiled.

"It's no problem, Twilight," Sunset smiled back. She set the tray down on the table, and everyone grabbed their food from off the tray.

"So, Twilight, you said you wanted to ask something yesterday? Something about another magic-based incident that happened at CHS?"

Twilight blinked. "Oh! Right, I remember. Well, I don't know if I should ask or not, but um..."

"Twilight, it's okay, you can ask us anything," Sunset smiled, patting her shoulder.

"Well, I wasn't sure if I should, but okay... um. ... Who are the Dazzlings?"

The three of them stopped eating their food.

"Oh... oh boy," Rainbow rubbed the back of her head.

"Long story short; they were three magical sea sirens from Equestria who fed off of everyone's negative energy and decided to take themselves at our school and tried taking over our school by turning our musical showcase into a battle of a bands, and we kinda turned against each other until Sunset Shimmer set us all straight and so we kicked the sirens butts at the Battle Of The Bands!" Pinkie summarized. "Oh and we kinda destroyed the only thing giving them power and we have no idea what's become of them now."

"Um... well then," Twilight put her finger down.

"I know it sounds really complicated, but it's really not. They came a few months after the Fall Formal incident, when I was still trying to get everyone to warm up to me," Sunset rubbed her arm.

"Yeaaaaahhh...." Pinkie and Rainbow hissed.

"Wow. Sounds... difficult," Twilight hesitated.

"It's ok. It happened a long time ago," Sunset reassured.

"And that's not the Sunny we have now!" Pinkie squeaked, pulling her close for an adorable hug.

"Still though, that's a good question. Where are they now?" Twilight asked.

"We don't know, and I'd like it to stay that way. The last thing we need is another attack from power-crazed lunatics," Rainbow said, sipping her soda. "... Oh. No offense."

"None taken," Sunset rolled her eyes, chuckling a bit. "But that is a good question... where are they now?"

Elsewhere...

"Adagio, come on, we're live in a few minutes. Lets see if this works," Aria said.

"Give me a minute."

The former siren's eyes opened as she faced her reflection in the mirror. Her eyes diverted over to a small purple box. Opening it up, she looked at the contents inside; the shattered remains of the rubies that harnessed their powers for so many years... and how did they get destroyed? Those accursed Rainbooms destroyed them just when they were getting to their true power...

But it had been a long time since that event had gone down. Looking back into the reflection, she closed the box and slid it towards the wall underneath the mirror and lights.

"Let's find the magic... if there's any left inside of us."

She walked out of her dressing room and got onto the stage with her sisters. Green smoke filled up the area and she got into position on the chair, ready to perform. A few lights kicked in, and the song started to play. Quiet tones echoed in their ears as well as the audiences'. And so... they sang.

Where do we go
every day's the same
Did we lose the magic, magic, magic...

To Be Continued... ?

Author's Note

And so we end... with a tweest! Now before anyone goes, I do want to say, we do have two more pieces coming out with this, so do keep an eye out for those.

We're gonna have some bloopers, and Scholarly and I have a massive author's note section that we need to get down on paper to better explain things to you all, because, well... quite frankly, you guys deserve some explanations for some things.

Either way, I do hope you enjoy this story and stay tuned for more!

Bloopers!

Rainbow Dash flopped back onto her bed, a pillow over her face. Her voice muffled under the cotton. “I’m sorry, Scoots…”

She laid there for a minute, before listlessly pushing the pillow off her face. Curling up, pulling her tangled blanket over her sloppily, Rainbow Dash closed her eyes. A couple of tears slip down her face, to her shame, but she couldn't bring herself to wipe them from her cheeks.

For a few hours, she just laid there… and finally, due to sheer exhaustion, she slowly started to drift asleep...

I'm a Barbie girl, in a Barbie woorrrllddd

Rainbow Dash's eyes jolted and she looked down at her phone with a derranged face, while most of the actors and crew off-screen chuckled.

"Okay, really funny guys. Who changed my alarm?" Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes.

"Alright, let's try again!"

*Blep*

For a few hours, she just laid there… and finally, due to sheer exhaustion, she slowly started to drift asleep...

"WE'RE ON TOP OF THE WORLD!" Sunset Shimmer yelled, jumping out of nowhere.

"AHHH!" Rainbow Dash squealed, feeling her heart racing. "Okay, what the heck, Sunset!?"

Sunset laughed. "I'm sorry, it was too easy!"

"Okay, very funny Sunset, but could you please get off the set? We kinda need to shoot this scene," The director yelled off-screen.

"Oh, right, sorry!" Sunset giggled before walking away.

"Ugggghhhh..." Rainbow slammed her face into the pillow.

*Blep*

She slowly started to drift asleep... until a giant splash of icy cold water hit her body, making her jolt right out of bed.

"AGH! Okay, what was that for!?"

The crew just laughed out loud, leaving Rainbow Dash annoyed yet again.

"Okay, call me when you guys can do this seriously, I'm taking a hot shower," Rainbow Dash groaned, walking off set.

“Dragons? Monsters? Demons? It all seems impossible, but the footage has been studied and so far declared to be undoctored. So does this mean that the events here really did happen? That magic is real after all? We’ll have more on this story as it develops…”

The teenage girl who observed the footage frowned, irritated by the lack of concrete information. Her eyes were a hard shade of violet; piercing and intense in their gaze. Her light purple fingers flew over the keyboard as she did some quick searches on the internet…

“Twilight?”

She was too focused on the screen to even pay attention to the male voice calling for her.

"Twilight!"

She still didn't move.

"... Twilight, that's your cue, come on!"

Still nothing.

Shining Armor opened up her bedroom door and walked in, making Twilight yelp and spin around, trying desperately to cover the screen.

"Oh, Shining, hi! Um..." Twilight blushed.

Shining folded his arms with a smirk. "Were you looking at your email again?"

"N-No, I wasn't!"

Shining raised an eyebrow, looking right at the computer monitor. "Twilight, what are you looking at?"

"Nothing, it's nothing!"

"I hope it's nothing," Shining said suggestively.

"What!? You think I'm looking at... that!?"

Shining chuckled. "Twilight, look, if you want to look at that in your free time, fine, but we're shooting a movie right now, can we at least focus?"

"Ohhhh... okay," Twilight pouted.

Shining walked away, still chuckling. "Every time, I swear..."

Be the true, true, true original
Dare to be what you are meant to be
Working hard, that's our thing
All this way, we're perfect, perfectly true

"WHOOO!!!!!!!!!!!" Amethyst shouted at the top of her lungs.

"ROCK ON!!!" Trixie yelled, holding her fingers up in a punk sign, sticking her tongue out.

"Good morning, CHS!" Flash Sentry waved. "I am your host, Flash Sentry."

"And I am Octavia, filling in for Drama Letter. She'll be back today... wait, no she won't, I'm sorry," Octavia stammered.

She could hear some crew talking off set calling for a retake.

"Sorry, I'm not on my best today," Octavia apologized again.

*Blep*

"I am Octavia, filling in for Drama Letter. She'll be back tomorrow, don't any of you worry. Now Flash, what's on the agenda for today?"

"Well, it's certainly a handful, Octavia," Flash said, looking down at the papers in front of him. "Five years ago, half the population here on Earth just suddenly vanished and have been deceased, until about eight months ago when they--OKAY, hold up!" Flash stopped. He looked off-screen with a deadpan expression. "I haven't read much into the script, but I KNOW this didn't happen!"

And the only one giving any response was the joker who pranked Rainbow Dash on the first scene, cackling like a hyena.

"Sunset?"

"I'm sorry! I just wanted to see if you would notice!" Sunset laughed.

"Why are you even here, you're not even in this movie!" Flash questioned.

"I'm still a part of this world's story, aren't I? Besides, I wanted to see how this story would go," Sunset said.

"Ugh," Flash rolled his eyes. "Cut!"

"Hey guys, I'm gonna head down to lunch soon. Oh, do you have any cold beverages of Sup?"

"Hmm, I thought I did, they're all way in the back, hold on," Sunny Flare said as she walked right into her locker and closed the door behind her like it was a door.

Neon Lights just blanked and looked back at the camera with a confused expression. And just around the corner was Indigo Zap.

"Is she--"

"--Getting the Sup!"

"Oh, oh these take a long time, hold on," Indigo said before opening up the locker and walking right inside before closing it behind her.

Neon Lights was still left confused, until a few seconds later, Indigo came right out with a soda can.

"Okay, I found it! Cold ones were waaay in the back!"

Sunny Flare emerged as well. "How long has that jello been in there?

"A long time, I think we need to toss it," Indigo nodded.

After putting all her belongings away, Sunny Flare pulled out her phone, flipping it around. She pressed the record button and focused the lenses so she was in the center.

"Dear Crazy Future Sunny Flare." She flipped the phone to face her locker. "This is your locker. This is where, what?" She stopped for a second. "Oh, I'm not supposed to, ohhh. My bad! Let me try again."

*Blep*

And it was that moment that a student walking by decided to stop and make silly expressions as she was recording.

"... Neon, I can see you right there," Sunny said, failing to suppress a grin. "Ugh, let me try again."

*Blep*

Sunny Flare stared blankly into the camera. She was trying really hard not to smile, but her lips kept curling and uncurling, trying desperately not to snicker or giggle. Just thinking about the screwup earlier was making it hard.

"... can I just have a break please, I can't do this," Sunny shook her head.

Still maintaining a straight face, she kept talking. "And here I like to introduce our picnic table surfing team. Wait? That's not my line? ... Oh my bad, let's try again!"

Vinyl quivered. "We happen to be up here because there's a snek! ... Wait, snek? What?" Vinyl snickered. "Sorry, don't know where that came from. Let me try again!"

"Okay, and three, two, one... action!"

"We happen to be up here because there's a snek-snake! Snake! Snake dang it!"

Bon Bon and Flash chuckled, shaking their heads.

"Come on, let's do this again! And three, two, one... action!"

"We happen to be up here because there's a snake--" Vinyl finally said, until Bon Bon and Flash started laughing. "Oh come on!"

"Come on girls! That's the third take!"

"Aw, come on, really? If we enter the games, the crowds are going to throw arrows at us!" Rainbow complained.

"Or pies," Rarity quivered.

"Or demand that we kiss!" Pinkie said.

Everyone went silent for a moment.

"... What have you been smokin'?" Applejack deadpanned.

"Um..."

"This is just the foyer, the rest of this house doesn't look like royalty. And that's perfectly fine with me," Amethyst hummed."Hey Dad! I'm home!"

"Hey sweetheart, be there in a second!" Her father shouted from the other room.

A clattering thud echoed from the other room, accompanied by a grunt. Amethyst cringed at the sound.

"Dad? You okay?"

"Yep, just fine! Igor, let go of my leg!"

Trixie and Amethyst's faces scrunched up.

"What?"

*Blep*

"Dad, you okay?"

"Heeeyyy! You two should kiss!"

Trixie couldn't help but snicker.

*Blep*

"Dad, you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great, now that I know the writers can't find a way to bring us into a script without giving us pain!"

"Twilight Sparkle, please come to the principal's office, Twilight Sparkle, please come to the principal's office, thank you," was said over the PA system. "And whoever took the L from the Motor Pool sign, ha, ha, we are all soo amused. And where are my pants?"

Everyone just looked up at the PA system with confused faces.

"Also I like to say bravo to Cloudsdale, I applaud them for their stupidity!" The announcer said, clapping her hands. "Seriously, though have a good day."

And the PA shut off.

"But actually, one more thing--"

Actually no, it never did.

"Why don't I get a part in this movie? This is my only role? No character development? No backstory!? This is what I've been reduced to!?"

Everyone was now covering their ears.

"Oh I'm speaking to the director about this. Oh one last note; Let's do the time warp!"

Shining flipped the switch, but the light didn't flip on. He kept switching it up and down, but still nothing. Twilight just giggled.

"Come on guys, you really need to make sure the power works on everything, come on!" Shining said, still trying to flip the switch.

Still nothing.

"Come on!!!"

Nothing.

"Guess I am going to have to file a complaint later."

Awkward silence blanked on the field.

"You gotta be kidding me." Fluttershy said, unamused.

Rarity, embarrassed, kicked the next one. She did deliver more force, kicking it much farther, but was too far off the goalpost.

"Keep trying, Rarity!"

Now scowling, Rarity kicked the next one - hard. It flew through the air... and bounced off the side of the goal, spinning away.

"Ooh! So close!"

Rarity, by now puffing and fuming with barely-suppressed rage, rounded on the very last ball in the lineup.
She snarled, before shouting in full rage mode. "WRETCHED INFERNAL BALL!! TAKE THIS!!"

WHAM!

The soccer ball was hit hard... and it shattered some glass off set that made Rarity cup her mouth.

"Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry!" Rarity gasped. "Are you all alright!?"

*blep*

"WRETCHED INFERNAL BALL!! TAKE THIS!!"

WHAM!

"AGH!"

And the camera man fell off from where he stood onto the ground, dropping the camera with him.

"Sorry!"

*blep*

"WRETCHED INFERNAL BALL!! TAKE THIS!!"

WHAM!

She kicked the ball again and it went bouncing all over the place until it went back and smacked her in the face, knocking her down, making her yell.

"Ahhhh! My nose! Somebody!!! I need a mediiiiiiiicc!!!!"

Twilight glanced down at the tracker, watching it continue to beep, creating more noise than ever.

"Hey!"

She hunched up and quickly looked back. The Rainbooms had spotted her.

"What are you doing?"

Without any other plan, she instantly started to run for it.

"Hey, stop!"

Twilight was about to run but unfortunately tripped and fell on the ground. "Oof!"

"Oh my gosh, are you okay?"

Twilight giggled and rolled over, giving the Rainbooms a thumbs up. "I'm okay!"

"Oh, Trixie, have you heard back from Adagio or her sisters yet?"

"Mmm? Oh yes, I did. Though it was a little odd," Trixie said with some worry.

"Why's that?" Amethyst asked. "... her job doesn't require doing something illegal, does it?"

Trixie's face expressed massive disturbance. "Nooo... what do you think she's doing?"

"I dunno. Playing violent criminals in the streets like Road Rage 5," Amethyst shrugged.

"... you have a lot of free time on your hands, I swear."

*blep*

"Oh, Trixie, have you heard back from Adagio or her sisters yet?"

"Mmm? Oh yes, I did. Though it was a little odd," Trixie said with some worry.

"Why's that?" Amethyst asked. "... her job doesn't require doing something illegal, does it?"

Trixie's face expressed massive disturbance. "Nooo... what do you think she's doing?"

"Well apparently the studio she and her sisters are interning for, apparently there have been a lot of weird things going on set. Mostly seems like accidents," Trixie nodded.

"Accidents?"

"I'm just repeating what she told me. Stuff like scaffoldings' collapsing, prop malfunctions, people streaking around the studio sets, falling asleep, screwing up their lines... wearing toast in their pants..." Trixie explained, bouncing around from thought to thought.

"Look, it's hard to explain, please, just get over here, now!" Trixie cried.

"Trixie, come on, what's so wrong? What is the problem?"

Trixie paused for a long period of time. "Promise you won't laugh?"

"I promise."

Trixie waited a moment or two, until she finally spoke.

"There is an alligator in my bedroom. I successfully crushed it with a chair."

"... Well where did it come from?"

"I don't know. But regardless, it has been crushed. Now I need to bury the body. Get me some trash bags, a shovel, and lots of soap, made quite a mess."

Lemon Zest rocked her head as she listened to the sounds of heavy metal, grinning and raising her fingers up like a punk.

"Rock on! WHOO!!!" Lemon cheered. She lifted an earphone up with a happy grin on her face. "Twilight, dude! You gotta hear this!"

Without warning, Twilight's ears were filled with... nothing.

"Um, Lemon you forgot to turn on the headset," Twilight sheepishly said.

"Oh, shoot. My bad," Lemon shouted above her head. "My fault guys!"

"Cut! Alright Twilight, let's try that again."

Twilight giggled as she stood back up, ready to try again.

"So, um... h-how are you? You enjoying the party?" Rainbow asked awkwardly.

"I was. Until you two showed up," Cherry snarked.

Nervous silence. Rainbow and Rarity exchange a very quick glance between them - the former wanting to just go. But Rarity, recalling her earlier speech about trying, still tried to give it her all.

"I'm... sorry to hear that, dear." She swallowed, searching for the words. "Cherry, please, I know that we've had - our share of problems - and that you don't want anything to do with us--"

"Yeah. I don't," Cherry deadpanned, glancing flatly down at the cup in her hand.

There was a pause. Until--

"Hold!"

Too late. Cherry had doused her cup into Rarity's face and the two of them were in awkward silence.

"... he said hold, didn't he?"

"Yes, he did," Rarity nodded.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry," Cherry cupped her mouth, making Rainbow Dash chuckle a bit. "Can we get some towelettes please? Anyone?"

Principal Cinch stepped off stage, allowing Principal Luna to come back and speak. "Thank you, Principal Cinch. And our first musician to start us off is an old face who has returned back to our school. She's well known around here for her dancing..." The microphone stopped working. Luna tapped it a few times, but it wouldn't work. She adjusted the switch to turn it on and off and it still didn't work."It don't work! I'm waggling the waggle stick and it don't work!"

Rarity even giggled. "Yes, that is bad... but, maybe if we can, can we get back to what we were--"

"Oh, and look at this!" Aria flipped the camera around towards the table, and the next thing that came on screen made all of the Rainbooms shiver and cringe.

"What in the world is that!?" Rainbow cringed, cupping her mouth.

"Is that mold!?" Pinkie shrieked.

"Oh, it, oh gosh... I am never going to get a hotel room now," Fluttershy said, her face turning a soft shade of green.

"Oh well how about this!?"

Aria flipped the camera down on the floor which was in disgusting shades of color that didn't look natural at all. And then she showed the bathroom interior, and the ceiling above the shower... had no ceiling tiles.

"Oh my god..."

"Okay, hotels, you shouldn't let a customer go into a hotel if you don't have a ceiling!" Rarity snapped.

"Oh that's not the worst of it... I started looking around, because Sonata said... look over here," She flipped the phone around to the desk. And even though it was small, they could distinguish tiny little bugs scittering on the table. "And they're in the fridge. ... with dead roaches."

All of the Rainbooms were now cringing in horror, until Aria showed something else on the floor...

"... And with that image, I am not having lunch. Thank you so much!"

"Sooo... what do you girls do?" Applejack asked. "I-In yer freetime, I mean."

A few of the background staff chuckled a bit.

"I suppose so," Applejack nodded. "Good try, though!"

"Rara?"

Rara smiled. "Hi! I've been looking all over for you!" The former pop star came up by her, smiling, a little out-of-breath.

"How did ya..."

Rara held a hand up. "I... I think... oh no, I forgot my line, lemme try again."

*blep*

"How did ya..."

"I remembered one of your old letters. Back road by the creek. You liked the flowers in the winter, wait, what? No, not winter, spring, spring, dang it!

*blep*

"I remembered one of your old letters. Back road by the creek .You liked the flowers on the trees in spring, thought I'd check there," Rara answered, panting heavily. She held a hand up. "I... I'm really out of shape here, just give me a second."

AJ and some of the crew off-set snickered.

"You okay?"

"No, no, I'm okay, I think we can still keep going," Rara answered.

“Something got you down?” Amethyst asked. She moved herself over and sat herself down next to her friend.

“Not really. Apparently Adagio called me last night.”

“Really? What for?”

“Well…”

Trixie’s finger tapped the message button, playing back what she had heard.

First New Message.

“Trickstaaaa!” Hollered a slurring Adagio. “It’s your old buddy, Admiral Dazzlepants! Why didn’t you pick up the phone, it’s only 3 AM! Oh! Right! My bad."

Trixie looked up at Amethyst with a deadpan expression. “Trust me, it only gets worse.” She pressed another button and set her phone down, allowing all the messages to play.

Next Message.

"Hey, hey, heeeeeyy.... Trixie you may not know this, buuuuut... I think that lobster across the street wants to take me on a date!"

Next Message.

"Sooo um, funny story... there's a dead body in this motel room... okay, so it's not really funny. But, it's a story!"

Next Message.

Cause rainbows won't light up the sky unless you let it rain
And candles just won't glow until they burnnnn!
No you can't give up your laughter cause you're scared of a little pain
It's a lesson that my village never learned!

Next Message.

"Hey! What did I tell you!? Yelling up to someone all the way up in their room only works if you're holding a boombox playing Peter Gabriel songs over your head!"

"This competition is one I'm sure you're all familiar with, the second-to-last event before the final event for the day. And so without further ado, let us begin the spelling bee!"

The entire crowd of students applauded. But suddenly, Bon Bon with a look of over the top rage, jumped on her feet and started yelling at them.

"SHUT UP! Shut your freaking mouth! You think this is an award's ceremony, you think you can holler and hoot whenever you want!? Baba-freaking-whooey! We respect our alalalaaa!" Bon Bon messed up, sitting back down. "Let's do it again!"

"It's payback time, Rarity," Cherry snarled, no longer looking happy.

"W-What are you doing? Unhand me, please!" Rarity said, trying to get herself free from Cherry's grasp.

Rarity gulped. "W-What do you mean..."

"I... aw crap, I'm sorry," Cherry laughed, shaking her head. "I forgot!"

Now Rarity was laughing. "Quite anti-climatic, isn't it?"

"Yes, very much so," Cherry chuckled.

"Cherry, tell us the truth. What did you actually do?" Flash asked, insistently.

Cherry's brows furled and she groaned louder than before. And without thinking, she blurted out the truth. "Okay, I shaved her head, and I am proud of it! I'm also the one who steals the Nutter Butters out of the vending machine, I'm the one who streaking in Crystal Prep Academy, and I like wearing men's clothing!"

"... What?" Teddy asked, while the rest of his friends were snickering.

"I improvised," Cherry giggled. "Can I try again?"

"I knew she wanted back but... I didn't think she would actually do it," Flash said, trying to process this new information.

A soft hand patted his shoulder. Looking up, Flash saw Sweet Leaf offering a small heart-warming smile.

"So... what do we do now?" Brawly asked. "It's not like we can just ignore this."

"I don't know. I... I don't know." Flash's head raised. "I want to tell the principals, but... I don't know. But I know what I can do."

Just as he was reaching for his phone, they could hear loud people talking in the background. With accompaniment of hammers being bashed against nails.

"Uh, guys? We're shooting a scene here! Can we just save that for later, someone take a break?" Flash asked. "Please?" No reply. "Geez, someone's not getting paid enough."

"Why didn't you show us this stuff sooner? This is awesome!" Lemon Zest grinned.

"... I only met you a few days ago?" Rarity asked.

"Ohhhhh... yeahhhh," Lemon remembered, thinking about it. "But still, I think this can work with a little idea I got in mind... wear this," she tossed the punk vest onto a dresser. "And this." Two studded bracelets followed. And a pair of studded boots.

"Lemon, I don't think--"

And soon a pair of clown shoes flew out of the closet which landed on the floor making a honk sound.

"Okay, I really don't--"

And out of nowhere, a rubber ducky came flying out and bounced on Rarity's nose, making a cute little squeak sound.

"Lemon, could you please--"

And a mermaid costume was tossed to the floor.

"Will you stop throwing things out of my closet!?"

"This is how I look for things, Rarity!" Lemon said, deep within the closet.

"Can't you--she's not going to stop, is she?" Rarity shook her head.

"No, no she's not," Sunny shook her head.

"We're going to be here all day, aren't we? Someone get my agent, I need better schedule management," Rarity scrunched her eyes.

Vinyl stood outside in the school's courtyard, preparing for her scene. A few green-screen pieces were set up around her, as well as a few lights as well. She stood all gussied up in her classy penguin suit, and moved around a bit, stretching as well.

"Okay, we got this..."

"RAAAAAAAHHH!!!!!!!" Vinyl yelled at the top of her lungs as if her entire body was engulfed in lightning. "RAAAAHHHH!!!!! ... CANADA!!!!!!"

Looking at a random piece of equipment for practice, she curled up her face into the most over the top and evil expression she could muster.

"No, no, no, nooooo YOU WILL DIE!" And just for fun, she threw her arms out into the air as if she was throwing lightning bolts at whatever it is she was shooting. "UNLIMITED POWERRRR!!!!"

And she immediately stopped when she heard someone off-set cracking up.

"Oh, oh! Uhhh..." Vinyl blushed harshly, rubbing the back of her head. "Um... how long have you been standing there?"

"Oh for a while, great practice by the way!" A producer called. "Really getting into it!"

Vinyl giggled. "Sorry. Waiting for everyone else cause, well... I'm already ready."

"Professional!"

"Yes indeed, I am a professional," Vinyl said, straightforwardly, adjusting her suit.

For Queen Aquadon's very small cameo, they had an actor slowly walk in a rubber suit onto some miniature models prepped on set for the scene. Though they didn't account for it being really hot inside the suit and hard to see out of. And the actor one step forward, and sadly tripped straight down on the model of the Triathlon tournament.

"Hold!" The director yelled. "Someone give Roy a hand!"

"Oh my god, all of those students are dead!" Trixie yelled dramatically off-set. "The Queen cannot handle the power and has collapsed on all those students in the bleachers! We're doomed!!!"

"It has two different spoons--never mind, start over please," Indigo stopped. "There's, there's no spoons."

*Blep*

"It has two cork-screws, a toothpick, four blades, four gun sites--gun sites?" Indigo realized.

Rainbow Dash snickered.

*Blep*

"It has two cork-screws, a toothpick, one tiny scissors, 4 blades... this pocket-knife could scare an intruder and give him a pedicure," Indigo said with a straight face.

Rainbow Dash was trying her hardest not to grin or snicker, but she was failing badly. A soft snicker escaped before she started flat out laughing.

"Dang it, Rainbow!" Indigo laughed. "You're supposed to be professional!"

"I'm sorry," Rainbow chuckled, leaning on the counter. "Ohhh, I'm so sorry..."

"Can we take a break, I need a soda," Indigo said, spinning in a circle.

Lyra squinted her eyes as she got ready for the jump across the building. She backed up her feet, getting ready to make that dash. One foot up after the other, and she began to run... and then tripped and fell on her body.

"OOF!"

"Alright, let's go again!"

*Blep*

Lyra began to run again, and she jumped into the air, screaming like a maniac. This was it, this was her jump... except she was only halfway across the ledge when she made the jump and went straight down.

"Alright, come on, let's try this again, we're losing atmosphere here!" The director yelled.

*blep*

Lyra jumped again, still screaming like before. This time she was actually much closer to the building... and her body slammed right against the wall of the three-story building, and fell down.

"Alright, come on, someone get the medic."

"Owww..." Lyra whimpered.

"You know... I don't think you know what's real Twilight," Trixie sneered. She snapped her fingers--

"I bless the rains down in Affffricaaaaaa!" Amethyst screamed off-set.

Twilight and Trixie turned their heads at the camera with some deranged faces, but some snickers escaped.

"What?" Trixie asked.

"What was that?" Twilight giggled.

"I... I don't even know," Trixie shook her head, failing to supress a smile. "Let's, let's try again."

"Cut!"

As the crew were preparing Midnight Sparkle's equipment to be hanging in the air, Twilight had her entire body sprawled in a position to act as if she was floating in the cold void of space. She made over the top faces as they moved her from the harness and equipment and continued to make more silly faces as she did so.

"Okay, we just need to move her over there..."

"Oh that's funny," one of the crew members said, seeing Twilight acting silly.

And just for fun she straightened her body and did a superman pose, shooting one arm into the air.

"Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's.. Techno-Queen!" Twilight joked.

Later

"Okay, Twilight, so right now, you've become Midnight Sparkle. Before we shoot the next scene, we just need to see if you're able to move around in the costume," the director called.

Twilight tried shuffling her arms and legs around, but she had varying degrees of little success.

"This, this costume's a bit tight guys... I don't think you got my measurements," Twilight grunted, trying to move her shoulder around.

"Ugh, sorry, the costume designer was sick, we had the intern take over," the director replied.

And it didn't help that Twilight was dangling in the air thanks to some cranes and pully equipment.

"Yeah, I don't think this--" Twilight heard a cable snap. "... Oh no."

And Twilight dropped right to the floor with the cables snapping off her body. Luckily she was not hurt and had a mat to safely fall on.

"Ow."

"Ugh, come on! We gotta fix this! Let's take five guys."

"I'm okay!" Twilight raised a thumbs up.

Midnight stared down her brother with a pained but also evil look of terror.

"You... should have gone... for the heeeaaaadd..." Twilight slurred, sounding like she was about to just die on the spot while raising a hand up to snap her fingers. Shining couldn't keep it up, and he shook his head, snickering. "Oh come on, really?"

"You know that's not in the script, right?" Shining chuckled.

"I know, but I thought it called for it," Twilight pouted.

In another small model of miniatures, they showed a private jet model flying straight down on the island that had been written in the flashback sequence. But the ones controlling the model lost all control and the model went completely off-course.

"Control tower to Seeker 84, you are clear for landing, annnnndd.... you just crashed right into a hospital, good!" Adagio said.

“Ari… you know you wanted her back,” Sonata sing-songed.

“Don’t. Start. With me.”

“Come on…”

Adagio looked at her for a second, and she was trying her hardest not to smile, but she was failing badly, and made Aria laugh.

"Dang it, Adagio, come on!"

"I'm sorry, you turned into a cowgirl right there," Adagio giggled.

In one of the last scenes being shot for the movie, the three Dazzlings sat on a bench, watching the sun rise up in the distance. But the crew was still prepping for filming, so that meant they have a bit of time to kill.

"So... let me understand this correctly," Aria asked. "Just looking at the script for the next movie, the director wants us to meet the original versions of our characters?"

"Apparently. I must admit, I think execution will be tricky, but... I think it could be fun," Adagio shrugged, nodding. "Some interesting ideas, maybe some fun action here and there, plenty of character development could grow from this... This could be fun."

"I hope so, Dagi! This sounds really fun!" Sonata squeaked.

"But what about this other detail here, I... I don't know, I'm not sure that's a good idea," Aria asked, pointing at a small spot in the script.

"Well, it's a tricky one for sure, but I'm sure they'll find a way to make it work and not screw it up. I mean they haven't screwed so bad here, have they?"

"That's up for critics to decide, Adagio," Aria said, looking away, rolling her eyes.

"Look, let's just wait and see," Adagio replied. Turning her back around, her eyes widened. "Oh! Um, someone left the camera on."

Aria and Sonata turned their heads back at the camera which was showing the recording light.

"Well... what do we say?" Aria asked.

"Oh I know!" Sonata raised her hand. "First off, hi everyone! We're finally back, I know, it's been a while. But we're back in the main story again, we'll have to show you guys what happened on our journey when this story happened. Don't know when that will be, but we're gonna show you guys! And yeah, we got a new story idea! We've got a new movie coming! Whoo-hoo! So uh... yeah! Thanks for watching everyone, we'll see you in the next story!"

Awkward silence followed.

"Someone please turn off the camera."

End Tape

Author's Note

Don't leave just yet, we have one final chapter, a big author's note for all ya'll!

Authors Notes

Author's Note

And so here we are with the final chapter; the author's notes!

... To be honest, this is more of us talking about things from behind the scenes, but I do think checking it out would be good. Also have some explanations for a lot of the choices going on.

Authors Notes

First of all, hi everyone! I want to say thank you for reading all of Tournament of Friendship and even more so for bearing with me on the several month long hiatus, I know it had been quite a while since I had updated anything, and for that I apologize. But we have the story done now, which in my book is pretty solid. But, I have to be honest, for a good majority of this story, I couldn't move on or get anywhere, which is why I asked for help from, well, I like to call one of my best friends, Scholarly-Cimmerian. He has helped me phenomenally throughout working on this story, and without him, I don't think we'd have a complete sequel today. So all the thanks goes to him for that :twilightsmile:

Now onto the other thing, there was a lot of ideas and thoughts bouncing around on this story, and a lot of conflicting ideas, so for here, Scholarly and I are gonna talk to ya'll and explain some things or ideas that we had when working on this story. And to help you all distinguish us apart, I will highlight his text in red. So we good? Good! Now lets get in.

Doing a Sequel

If I can be totally honest... I wasn't sure if this would work or not. I wanted to do a sequel cause I thought I'd be fun, and there would need some definite continuation from the first story, but I think it kinda boiled down to; how? I didn't want to repeat the first story which as many could probably tell was like a hodgepodge of the first and second Equestria Girls movie. I think everyone knew going in that this story was gonna be Friendship Games focused, but the main thing was trying not to do all of Friendship Games beat by beat. Now I'll be honest, one of the things I absolutely did not like in Friendship Games was the lack of... what was it, oh yeah, Friendship. It felt very mean-spirited, at least in my opinion. So having a story where we could make the games a lot more fun and kind than the movie represented? ... Honestly I see that as kinda fun. But that's me. Scholarly, I'll let ya take it from here.

Thanks for the introduction, Four! To be honest I don’t have as much to say about the idea of doing a sequel to the original Shattered Rainbow Rock. Like Four already said, going into this we didn’t want to rehash the original Friendship Games beat-by-beat; we wanted to have a few surprises for the audience to keep them guessing on some matters. Though in some ways I suppose a little bit of Rainbow Rocks still leaks into this one, given that a big chunk of the story involved the Rainbooms – more on that in a bit. There’s also a little bit of Legend of Everfree in here too, given that Trixie and friends end up developing these powers, I suppose. Though that’s part of the fun to me, seeing what inspiration is taken from the original material, and then how we can put a twist on it. :pinkiesmile: Now as Four said previously, a big concern was making the Friendship Games themselves feel like… well, that they were a friendly competition. Which, I have to say, was fun. A big concern for me, in working on this story, was about characterization and growth, especially in regard to Twilight Sparkle and the Rainbooms. Something we’ll get into real soon…

The Rainbooms

Oooh boy, the Rainbooms. *hiss* Yeah... Now before we begin, YES, I am well aware of how poorly handled their characterization was in the first Shattered Rainbow Rock story, 100%. That is something that is pretty hard to forget... especially when in every story following after that has even the slightest mention you keep seeing them called the 'Rainb!$%hs'. :ajbemused:

Now some were for, some were not, but I think everyone knew that our Rainbooms were going to be put on the path to redemption a la canon Sunset Shimmer style, because, well, let's be honest. Sunset Shimmer in this Shattered universe is NOT getting redeemed, not after all the crap she did. Objectively, some characters in MLP in general have done far worse than what she's done, but that's up for debate and it's not the main point here. Of course, how to do it, is the question. Well as you all read, we had it so the Rainbooms would be on a path to redemption. And this may be just me, but I kinda see them as a bit like Rainbow Rocks Sunset Shimmer a bit; still need to warm up to, growing a bit more character, and not as intolerable as before.

Ah yes, the Rainbooms. This was actually the thing that first got me into correspondence with FourShadow and led into co-writing this story. I’d enjoyed the original Shattered Rainbow Rock a lot, and thought that there could be some interesting stuff done with those girls as villains trying to reform. I knew that there were… well, a couple of people naysaying the idea of the Rainbooms EVER reforming. That always sat ill with me – yeah, they were bullies, and were complicit in some nasty things, but even so, I dislike the idea of writing off some characters as beyond redemption.

That being said, I knew we had our work cut out for us, and so I really worked to give it my all in writing the scenes with the Rainbooms post-defeat. Two of my favorite scenes that I look back on were the very opening, with Rainbow Dash unable to sleep and eventually looking over pictures of happier times; and the scene with Pinkie Pie at home with Gummy. Those two were written with one thing in mind for the characters: regret. Admittedly kind of different forms of regret, but still.

One thing that was fun to work through in the story was where the different Rainbooms were throughout their development. You had Pinkie at one extreme, being very desperate and hopeful to make things right with the other students again. And at the other end was Fluttershy, who was just kind of stewing in this bitterness for a large chunk of the story. In the middle, you have Rainbow and Rarity, who I imagined as being more worn-down about their chances of actually changing for the better. Applejack I didn’t get to do as much with (in large part because I’d actually written this one big scene for her development, that sadly didn’t get to go into *this* particular story) but she’s guilty too – which I got to touch on a bit in the scene with her and Rara. AJ needed a friend to give her that hug… and Fluttershy needed that talk from Sour Sweet as well.

On another end of the spectrum was the matter of handling the Rainbooms’ reformation, and how their schoolmates reacted to them after their defeat. And yes, that meant, sadly, that there were gonna be people who treated them like crap as some kind of BS idea of “giving them what they deserve”. Now admittedly, while one of the first scenes I wrote involved Dash getting pelted with water balloons, I didn’t want to go *too* grimdark with the stuff. What we did with Cherry Crash was very much meant to be an extreme case – and one that would provide a bit of a wakeup call to a number of their classmates. (On a personal note, I really detest stories that depict Sunset’s reformation as loaded with bullying. It just feels tasteless and wrong, barely a step above Anon-a-Miss fics. You can write high-school drama without cramming in wanton and casual cruelty.) Ultimately, I think that we did a fairly good job handling the Rainbooms and their reformation in this story. Even if we didn’t get to use everything that I had in mind for them or their characters, I’m still very proud of the end result – especially the concept of the Rainbooms, former bullies themselves, stopping Midnight Sparkle just by reaching out to her and empathizing with her. It’s been done a LOT, but done right it can be really beautiful, and I like to think we did a fairly good job with what we came up with :twilightsmile:

The Shadowbolts and Crystal Prep

In my opinion, this I think was one of the elements I enjoyed the most. First off, the Shadow Five were heavily underused in Friendship Games (seriously, don't advertise characters if they're barely going to do much in the film) and since we got a bit more of them in the one EG special, Dance Magic, it gave us more than enough to work with. And seeing as how this is an AU and all? Well, I think making them nice people was fun; of course it didn't change a thing from the personalities they had (at least to fan interpretations), but it was fun!

And including that factor was Principal Cinch. I'm not gonna sugarcoat anything, I LOATHED this character in the Friendship Games, the amount of idiocy, irresponsibility, holier-than-thou attitude and the fact this character got off with barely any repercussions? Oooh that was so unsatisfying. So you can imagine my joy when I got to write Cinch as, well, a good principal. I'll be honest, I liked that. More fun than... the unpleasantness that the original one had.

I actually don’t have a lot to add here. FourShadow did the majority of the work in writing the Shadowbolts for this story, not me. But I will say that, yes, it was fun to see them with nicer personalities while still having some of their canon traits. :twilightsmile: (Plus, there’s a certain delicious irony in the fact that these characters – canonically darker counterparts to several of the heroes – are now being used to TEACH them a thing or two about friendship and goodness and all. XD) Actually, one of my favorite happy scenes in this story was the big sleepover between the Shadowbolts and the Rainbooms. It was just really nice to see all the girls together and bonding.

And then there’s Abacus Cinch as a genuinely nice, cool principal. That’s still something I have yet to fully wrap my head around :rainbowlaugh: I mean, wow. Talk about proof of this being an alternate universe!

Sci-Twi

Sci-Twi, our main antagonist of the story! Just like with the others, it was a wee bit hard getting her character down, and simultaneously making her not making her a repeat of Sunset Shimmer. I will admit, looking back on how we wrote her, part of me kinda was thinking of channeling Thanos from Avengers Infinity War with this character in which we know what she's doing is wrong, but we get a clear understanding as to why she's doing it, and what's driving her is something, I personally think we can all relate to. And the rest? Well, I think I'll let Scholarly take it from here. He pretty much knows what he's talkin' about. :twilightblush:

Ah, Twilight Sparkle of the human world. The major antagonist of our sequel story. This was a big challenge right out the gate – both FourShadow and I wanted very much to avoid repeating the first story’s characterization of Sunset Shimmer. The Shattered-verse Sunset is very much someone I’d consider a megalomaniac, one of those “power for me and screw everyone else” types. (That being said, I’d like to someday get more into Sunset’s character… but I digress.) With Twilight, Four and I wanted to go in a different direction, and have a character who, even if you didn’t like them, at least eventually had a position that could be somewhat understood, I suppose.

I don’t know how well it came off in the final product, but I really liked the idea of Twilight being both fascinated by the magic at CHS (even if it takes her a while to realize that it’s legitimately magic), and scared by it too. I mean, imagine if *you* were on the ground when that dragon came out in the motocross event! And seeing other teenagers being able to control metal, manipulate electricity to create lightning… there’s a lot to be scared of in that, if you don’t know the characters who have that power. (And by the way, I admit, it was also kind of fun in a dark way to give this Twilight the whole “infected by magic” rant, considering that Cinch used that in the original movie – though here Twi’s angle is legitimately well-intentioned and not something made up to cover her ass.) I think this Sci-Twi was a pretty interesting and tragic character in her own right – she was so fixated on proving herself, on relying on herself and not being able to trust or open up to other people, that she really became her own worst enemy – so many of her mistakes could have been averted if she’d just *talked* to someone or been willing to trust. It made for an interesting experience, writing that all out, and I rather enjoyed working out how this Twilight Sparkle would become Midnight Sparkle… and then ultimately what would make her turn back to normal again.

Figuring out Twilight’s motivation took a lot of work. I had a very clear picture of her personality, this workaholic asocial inventor who sees the Friendship Games as a waste of time compared to her independent research, but *why* she would be like that was something that took a lengthy amount of time to rationalize. Having it be family influence was something that *never* crossed my mind – I was always set on the idea of Shining being Twilight’s caring big brother who wishes that his sister would come out of her shell and open up to others – so I had to think up some other reason for why she was so jaded. Crystal Prep being a toxic environment was also a no-go, as we’d already established that in this universe CPA, the Shadowbolts and even Cinch were pretty cool. So… ultimately, I turned to the idea of playing on Twilight’s relationship with Cadence, and while I’ll save most of that for later, I will say that the concept went through a ton of revisions to get where it ultimately wound up. But I’m quite proud of it all the same!

Superpowers

Superpowers. It's a fun idea, it's a power fantasy I think almost everyone on the planet has thought about wanting superpowers. And just like the Mane 7 getting superpowers in Legend of Everfree, we thought maybe our Shattered Six girls should get superpowers as well; the Dazzlings already have enough power, so what about the Mane girls? Well, let's get into it.

Now some may know, some may not, but I was doing a one-shot at one point earlier in 2018 called the Misfit Six, which looking back on it, I think was mostly made just because I was loving Deadpool 2 a little too much. And I had ideas of turning the girls into superheroes... but it wasn't properly developed or made; so I thought having a proper introduction to them actually getting powers here, plus having an actual reason to be sorta semi-supers.

Of course planning on the choice of powers but making them different from the original girls is challenging on it's own. But as you all saw, it was found overtime; Trixie being a magician and as a master of illusions, it would only make sense that manipulating illusions would be her prime superpower. Octavia's came her love of heavy metal, so, of course, manipulation of metal and magnetism became her power. Lyra, seeing as how ninjas jump all over the place and poof and vanish out of nowhere, we figured teleportation would be her power. Amethyst I think was a bit more influenced by Balthazar Bratt, the main antagonist for Despicable Me 3 who was a massive influence and inspiration for Shattered Amethyst Star to begin with. So we chose to give her the power of sound; louder it is, the harder the target falls.

The last two being Vinyl and Bon Bon were the most tricky in my opinion, I felt like we didn't have enough character for Vinyl for something to stick, so eventually we just decided to go with electricity. And for Bon Bon? Well, all credit goes to Scholarly on that one.

This idea was pretty much entirely FourShadow’s. I didn’t have too much input in regard to the characters’ powers, except when it was with people like Bon-Bon who Four had no idea what to do with. (Fun fact, Bon-Bon’s powers were inspired a bit by DC Comics’ Firestorm, and just a little bit of Dr. Alchemy – both of them have the power of transmutation, although I significantly nerfed Bon-Bon’s power here to keep it from being a story-breaker.) I don’t really remember whose idea it was to give Vinyl electric powers, but I think it works in a fun way since she’s friends with Octavia, the metal-controlling punk. XD

It was fun to figure out how to use some of the superpowers in some scenes – or alternately, how some of the other characters might react to them. Occasionally we ran into a bit of a brick wall in regard to the learning curve; Four wrote a couple of skits with Trixie’s illusion/hologram powers that I thought made her a little too skilled with them, so we were constantly revising some of those moments. Still, the superpower moments were fun – it was a pretty unique set we came up with, which went a nice way towards distinguishing Trixie and co. from the canon Rainbooms’ abilities!

The Dark Turn of Cherry Crash

Well... this part. Yeah, this idea was quite an interesting one. But, I think I'll let Scholarly take it from here, he pretty much came up with everything on this part, and it was more than effective. :twilightsmile:

Ooh boy was I nervous over this idea. And it was actually MY idea too! But in all seriousness, Cherry Crash’s assault on Rarity was something that I pitched to FourShadow as a kind of in-universe breaking point for a lot of things – Rarity herself as one of the Rainbooms, the other students at CHS who’ve been passive-aggressively picking on the Rainbooms, and then the Shadowbolts themselves. That last one in particular was something to think about, given that up to this point the Shadow Five have been outsiders to the Rainbooms and have little to no idea of the bad blood they’ve accumulated with their classmates; that outsider’s perspective was something I wanted to get into a bit, them learning about this awful event and what secrets their new friends have been trying to keep hidden from them. Plus too, I talked to FourShadow and we thought that this might be a good catalyst for a symbolic “rebirth” of Rarity, her getting the makeover to become a mohawk-wearing lady punk. Kind of like her casting off her old reputation as a bully and really going forward with herself, or something like that.

I admit, I picked Cherry Crash more-or-less at random, and I actually feel rather guilty about that. Like I said before, I don’t enjoy EG fics that make the characters act like bullies or sociopaths, and that goes for minor/background characters like Cherry. Going into this idea, I was quite anxious as to the reception that it might get – would people drop the story? Would they think it TOO dark? Or worst-case scenario, would it lead to a return of the “punish the Rain*****s” jerks from earlier? Fortunately, to my eternal relief, the plot point went over exceptionally well with our readers, and for that I am forever relieved and grateful. :pinkiesmile:

Is this story the last we’ll ever see of Cherry Crash in the Shattered-verse? …We’ll see. I’ve had a few tentative ideas in mind for what might happen to her and what role she could potentially end up playing in the future. No spoilers for now!

Midnight Sparkle

Midnight Sparkle was bound to happen, avoiding her was gonna be inevitable. Magic comes out of control and BOOM! You got Midnight Sparkle. Now getting this out of the way, she of course, like everything else, was not going to be like the original Midnight Sparkle. Now the cackling witch that the original Midnight Sparkle was was very entertaining, but again, we weren't intending on repeating anything. Scholarly was the one who pitched the original idea for Midnight, and I myself loved it. Another rendition of Midnight Sparkle keeping true to the character that had been written up to this point. This cold, scary, armored she-demon who had intent to 'fix' things, if you will. As for the rest of her, well, I think Scholarly pretty much knows, he came up with everything on this character.

A very different Twilight Sparkle meant a very different Midnight Sparkle. Though that in of itself meant that were still plenty of options to go with for creating this story’s version of the magic-crazed Sci-Twi. One thing I did have in mind from the word “go” was that this Midnight would be a very icy, composed presence, to differ from her cackling canonical counterpart. (Yay for alliteration! XD) Nothing against canon Midnight – far from it, Tara Strong was superb in that performance – but still, I didn’t want to just rehash what had been done before. Especially with Twilight here being so different; instead of being pushed to the breaking point by her classmates and principal, she kind of put all the pressure on herself for a totally different goal, and then went in way over her head. (I briefly considered having Midnight be a more psychopathic, unhinged figure, like a darker version of her canonical self, but I nixed it, because most of my thoughts for how *that* went turned down some very dark roads :twilightoops: )

So with that, then came the problem of figuring out Midnight’s motivation. Canonically it was “understand the magic… no matter what.” Since this story’s Twilight had the fear of magic as this kind of danger to her world and to the other students, I hit on the motive of Midnight Sparkle planning to take all the magic for herself and seal Equestria off from her earth. There’s also a fair bit of Twilight’s “I know what I’m doing/I work alone” flaw in that too, exaggerated into this “Magic is dangerous and corrupting, but I can’t possibly be corrupt, I know what I’m doing” attitude. FourShadow compared Midnight a bit to Thanos from Infinity War, and I suppose I can see a little of that – both of them have something of a point, except that their ultimate methods are really about proving things to themselves (Thanos wants to show he was right to advocate genocide, Midnight wants to prove she can do all this herself) rather than truly altruistic motives. I might throw in a little Darth Vader too, at least because of the armor; my initial idea for this Midnight would have been that she was completely covered in armor, with only her eyes being visible (and maybe not even that) and as she became more afflicted by doubts, her armor would have cracked and eventually broken apart. Probably would have been too on-the-nose, but there you have it.

(Another tidbit that never made it into the story? The damage that Midnight would have wreaked if nobody had managed to talk her down. Basically, her fiddling with the portal and trying to drain all its magic in order to seal off Earth from Equestria would have had catastrophic consequences – she’d already torn open several portals in that one overload she suffered; if she’d kept trying to “fix” it, she’d have eventually destroyed both dimensions with her refusal to just stop doing everything herself!)

Midnight’s powers were a fun challenge to write. She basically becomes this reality-warper, and it wasn’t until I had her start messing with the portal that I realized she was some kind of Lawful counterpart to Discord – hence the cameo in that one chapter. :rainbowlaugh: That was a lot of fun. And it provided some levity too. Which was needed on more than one level.

Cadence

Cadence, ay-yi-yi... this was a tough one. So many ideas bounced around when it came to her; would she be nice like in canon, or are we going to make her incredibly mean... but seeing as how we made Principal Luna and Vice-Principal Celestia nice principals, I think keeping consistency would have done us all favors. So eventually we chose to go with making her nice, but as for the backstory, boy that was a difficult one to figure out. Cause on one hand, you don't want to overdo it and make her come across as completely unlikable in the end, but on the other hand, you don't want a repeat of the famous Starlight Glimmer controversy. Sooo... yeah. It was pretty challenging. Scholarly, I'll let ya take it from here.

Of all the plot concepts and ideas that went into this story, I don’t think there was one that underwent more changes and “what-ifs” than the idea of how to handle Cadence and her relationship with Twilight. I’m not ashamed to admit that it took a very long time, almost until the proverbial eleventh hour, before I hit on the final, concrete plan for why Twilight disliked her so strongly and why Cadence felt guilty about it.

As a matter of fact, originally I was going to write two drafts of the first scene between Cadence and Shining Armor – one where Cadence was a former friend and Shining was kind of relieved to hear from her again; and one where she wasn’t and Shining was more on-guard. (The latter would have implied, and built on, the idea of Cadence having been a mean girl who’d dated Shiny for popularity and been mean to Twilight—in some ways making her like the canon Sunset Shimmer.) However, FourShadow liked the first draft so much with Cady and Shiny as amicable exes and all, that we stuck to that and went from there.

Like I said previously, I went through a TON of ideas for what could have went down between Cadence and Twilight. I had the idea that she was once Twily’s favorite babysitter, or that she’d been a teacher that Twilight had looked up to – but *what* drove them apart? What made Twilight turn on her? Finally, the idea came to me: I’d kicked around that Twilight had been bullied in childhood, but the specifics of it had really eluded me. And then, thinking about the idea of Cadence being a teacher, it suddenly hit me -what if she’d tried to help, but sadly things just got worse and Twilight even grew to resent her former idol for being unable to help her in any meaningful way? It seemed like a good idea, but still there felt like there was something kind of missing… which, ultimately, is where I got the idea for that nasty rumor.

Boy was I nervous bout that; I was afraid all over again like with the Cherry Crash incident. But the idea made an awful kind of sense to me. I always liked Cadence’s loving relationship with Twilight – and it seemed like the saddest thing to have that very love tainted by a slanderous lie spread by some creeps who thought it’d be fun to pick on the ‘teacher’s pet’. Fortunately, FourShadow did a good job translating my idea into the actual story, and it managed to go over well with our audience. So for that, I have to say “thank you” to everyone for that. I’m so glad that this story has been a success, thank you all so much. :twilightsmile:

I’d like to do more with Cadence and Twilight in the future, especially the idea of the two of them catching up on lost time and all. It’d be a bit awkward at first, but I think it could become really sweet. :pinkiesmile: I also like to picture that Cady and Shining Armor got back together sometime after Tournament of Friendship. (They kind of split for a while, amicably but with a lot of regret, after the business with Twilight – Cadence felt so guilty about everything…) But like I said, I pictured there to be a happy ending at the end of all of this. And since I co-wrote this story, I like to think I know a thing or two there, haha. :yay:

What Could Have Been

With every story idea, there's bound to be some ideas that didn't make it to paper, or text. And this story is no exception. A few ideas bounced around, but when it came to finding a way to make it fit in the story? Yeah, not so much.

One idea I was contemplating was possibly having a 'Shattered variant' of Unleash the Magic from the movie, but based on how we had written everyone at that point, it would most likely come off as out of place and also out of character for the characters in question. There was also some ideas about whether or not the Dazzlings would have actually come into the climax and actually attempt to do some damage to Midnight... but looking again, this story's intent was to develop the Rainbooms and having the Dazzlings show up like that probably wasn't going to do much to help here. Besides, we got a fun idea for the Dazzlings planned way down the line. :raritywink: And there were some other concepts and ideas bouncing around as well.

There was one idea I had where I was contemplating a fight scene between Twilight, Trixie, Vinyl, and Amethyst over the magic control... but looking back, that probably wouldn't help either one of our characters. And there was another idea of Trixie using her illusion powers on a grander scale to try and set the truth in... but that idea looking back kinda comes off as more villainous than heroic. And I think the last idea I had in mind was on our ending twist. There is another big project planned, but as for how to leave it on the cliffhanger was still a challenge. How to leave enough hint, but not make anything 100% official to give everything away. I don't know how well that was executed, there was a lot of ideas bouncing around; heck, I was contemplating whether or not to just have a bit of a scene from one of the EG specials be clue enough. But I'm happy with the hint I left behind. And hoping to drop some more when we get to it. :raritywink:

Like Four said, with every story there’s probably something that doesn’t make the final cut. And I too had some concepts or scenes that I wanted to put into the story but just ran out of time, or space, or luck in making that happen. Most of these ideas involved more towards fleshing out further details with the Rainbooms, in particular, between them and their families. Readers will know about the scenes with Rainbow Dash and her parents – what they might not know is that I wanted to do something similar with a couple of the other Rainbooms as well. Get into their headspace a little, figure out how their parents (or other close relatives) were dealing with the aftermath of the first Shattered story and how Dashie/Pinkie/Rarity and so on were now serving detention and were hated and known as delinquents and all that.

One scene in particular I kicked around involved Pinkie’s parents debating pulling her out of CHS and homeschooling her, to keep a closer eye on her, and that Pinkie would beg them not to, in large part because she wanted so badly to try and fix things at CHS. Rarity would have been my next big pick, given the whole “shearing” thing, but unfortunately that slipped me by too. Her or Fluttershy, since Flutters in this story was kind of the wet blanket for so long when it came to reforming or making friends. It would have been nice to get into more of why that was the case.

I had written up some stuff with Applejack and Big Macintosh that I really, really wanted to use in some way, but unfortunately there was never a really organic way to bring that into the story. A little bit of that survives though, in AJ’s one scene where Rara catches up to her and talks to her. I’d liked to have done more with Rara in this story, but unfortunately as we got closer to the climax we had so many balls to keep in the air, metaphorically speaking, that AJ’s old friend kinda got lost a bit. Though I do have plans to remedy that sometime down the road. Maybe another one-shot? I’d also like to turn the stuff I *have* written with Big Mac into its own story too – maybe a brief little prequel to Tournament? :twilightsheepish: A guy can hope, at any rate.

I remember that I also wanted to do just a little bit more with the Principals of CHS. In particular Celestia, actually, since I loved the detention scene so much.

That’s both the blessing and curse of these big stories. You have all this possibility and room for concepts and storytelling before you, but ultimately you have to narrow things down somewhat and pick and choose what to focus on. But still, working on this story was a real joy and a learning experience, and I’m very proud of the finished product. :twilightsmile: So once again, thank you all for being there, for following Four and I to the end of this particular installment of the Shattered Rainbow Rock universe!

Chapter 1: Good Morning Canterlot!

Author's Note

And so our story begins. Special nods to Scholary Cimmerian for the MASSIVE help in setting up this first chapter, all credit goes to him on that. And another nod to CSC for usage of his OC's. Thanks guys :twilightsmile:

Hope you'll enjoy the story, as we go down this path of making amends of past mistakes, and here's hoping to make this a better story than the first one! Stay tuned for more! :raritywink:

Chapter 1: Good Morning Canterlot!

The early hours of the morning were still dark. Crickets chirped, the night owls hooted, and the suburbs were empty. It was the time of night when no one in their right mind should be awake…

But someone was awake. In a normal bedroom in a normal house, on a bed with the covers tossed and turned by a restless sleeper, a teenage girl sprawled in a frustrated, defeated slump. Sporting rainbow colored hair and cyan skin, she cannot for the life of her get to sleep. Her eyes grew tired, heavy, and burning with frustration as she lays on her belly, staring daggers at the wall and trying not to look at her radio alarm clock.

“Hmph… stupid Sunset, stupid Dazzlings, stupid stupid stupid…” she grumbled.

She squeezed her eyes shut, trying to think of something, anything, to make her tired and let her sleep.

“Gah!”

Defeated, Rainbow kicked her blanket off as she sat up, at first full of wrath, then slumping forward in exhaustion. Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she finally looked at her alarm clock – noting the time with a groan, not of anger, but weariness. She sits on the edge of her bed, her eyes rove over the contents of her room: the guitar case carelessly tossed in one corner, a small dusty bookshelf of Daring Do books that have gone unread for a long while, the skateboard that hadn't been used in years, not since….

Rainbow Dash sighed, remembering who it belonged to.

“Scoots…”

She threw her palm on her cellphone which rested on a nightstand. Taking it out, she pulled up some photos on it and scrolled back. WAY back, back to a few years ago. Rainbow frowned, as she scrolled back, but she was more thoughtful… pensive even, as she finally picks out what she was looking for.

On her phone, she scrolled up a photo of two girls. One of them was Rainbow Dash on the cusp of teenager-hood, freshman age, with a younger girl with short purple hair. Scootaloo, of course. The two of them were seated on a ramp at a skate park, grinning brightly at the camera.

Rainbow couldn't help but smile. “Heh. First time we went to the skate park… that was a good day.”

She scrolled through some other pics. A few other things of her and Scootaloo hanging out, playing soccer, video games, riding bikes, eating pizza… just two adventurous young girls having a ton of fun. Dash couldn't help but smile a bit. Until the next photo made her smile just fade away, in favor of a pained grimace… a picture of Dash, Scootaloo, and a bunch of other girls: Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy… and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. All of them crowded together to make the shot, it’s a big party – a birthday party to exact.

“I forgot about that…” Rainbow quietly whimpered. “I can’t believe I forgot…”

Depressed, she scrolled through more pictures from the party. Games, the cake, presents, the group having fun – even Fluttershy, sulky and angry though she normally was, managed to crack a smile in one pic! But the party pictures quickly ran out, and other pictures appear now.

Rainbow Dash stared, looking again – and yet, in some ways, for the first time – at pictures of her and Sunset Shimmer. The other Rainbooms are there too in some of them. Most of them just hanging out in the halls at school. And in the pictures, Sunset was there, with that cold and heartless smirk on her face and that ugly look in her eyes. The kind of look that would make your stomach upset just looking at it.

Rainbow shuddered, swiftly deleted the photos of Sunset and the others from that time. Then, half-tossing the phone back in place, she sat back on her bed, pulling a pillow up to her as she slumps again, thinking.

Rainbow whispered quietly. “Where did it all go wrong?”

A part of her knew that answer… the day she chose to follow Sunset.

But part of her didn't want to acknowledge that either. Rainbow Dash is mad at a LOT of people: Sunset Shimmer for what she did to Scootaloo and the others. The classmates who now pick on her and her friends and shun them with impunity. The Dazzlings and their friends who knocked the Rainbooms off their pedestal…

But even if she couldn't admit it just yet, Rainbow Dash was mad at herself too. Because looking at those pictures of herself and Scootaloo from before, she can’t help but KNOW, that if the girl in those pics – the kid who looked up to her, called her an awesome big sister – saw her now, or saw what she’d done elsewhere…

Rainbow Dash flopped back onto her bed, a pillow over her face. Her voice muffled under the cotton. “I’m sorry, Scoots…”

For a few hours, she just laid there… and finally, due to sheer exhaustion, she slowly started to drift asleep...

“GOOOOD MORNING, CANTERLOT CITY!!”

Rainbow Dash jerked awake and thrashed in surprise, falling out of her bed and slamming onto the floor with a thud.

“Ow!”

Sitting up, Rainbow Dash saw the source was her alarm clock radio having gone off. She glared with massive daggers at the alarm.

“Grrr… seriously?!”

She wanted to go back to sleep, but she knew she couldn't. The time was already here to get up for the morning. The radio continued on cheerfully, oblivious to her exhausted frustration. As Rainbow struggled to get herself dressed for the day, the radio show began.

“My name’s Incognito Mike!”

“And I’m Wiretap!”

"Now, whatta we got this morning, Wiretap?”

“Well Mike, it’s a gorgeous October morning here in Canterlot City. Halloween’s in a few weeks and if the weather holds it’s gonna be a great night for trick-or-treating!” Wiretap said with enthusiasm.

"Whoo! I’m sure we got a lot of listeners looking forward to that big day.”

“I know I sure am, Mike.”

Mike chuckled. “In other news, the trial of local teenager and would-be criminal mastermind Sunset Shimmer just concluded. Miss Shimmer, for those of you who haven’t heard, was arrested on multiple accounts of vandalism, robbery, harassment, and even apparently assault of fellow students!”

The former athlete froze, her face going tight.

Wiretap whistled. “A real piece of work there, Mike.”

“Tell me about it! Anyway, Miss Shimmer has been sentenced and won’t be leaving prison anytime soon, I can tell you that.”

“And thank goodness for that!”

Rainbow scoffed. “Hmph. Yeah, I guess…”

“Say Mike, weren’t there some other girls on trial in that case? Some flunkies to Sunset Shimmer, if I remember correctly?

At the precise moment, Rainbow Dash stepped out of the bathroom brushing her teeth. The moment she heard mention of her and the Rainbooms, she nearly choked on her toothbrush.

“You’d be right, Wiretap. Apparently there were a group of other girls involved in several of Miss Shimmer’s crimes. But here’s the interesting part: they were only sentenced to community service, apparently due to a plea for leniency – from one of the girls that they harassed!”

Rainbow Dash’s face fell in shame, thinking back to Adagio Dazzle asking the judge for leniency. To today, she still didn't understand; how could someone be so willing to forgive?

“Dang. Talk about lucky.” Wiretap blanked.

Rainbow snorted at the comment. ‘Lucky?’ For what definition of luck? She might not be in jail but she was in no way lucky to be out in the real world.

“Bet those girls are real popular right now…”

“Yeah… must be tough to be them right now…”

Rainbow sighed before going to spit her toothpaste out. Wiping her mouth, she glared at the radio, muttering.

“You have NO idea…”

In another bedroom outside of the suburbs, way out in the city, a girl was awake. Thought it'd be hard to call her room a bedroom. It was dull and lifeless, lacking any color; there are bookshelves immaculately organized and kept, there is a desk with a top-tier computer there, but no decoration on the walls, no sense of personalization to the room. It resembled more of an office than a home.

At the desk, a teenage girl sits. Her eyes glued intently to a video screen from a news feed. On the screen, shaky video footage records a car speeding down the street… followed by an improbable thing, a giant three-headed monster.

"Make what you will of it folks! Either a Japanese parade has come to Canterlot, or it would seem monsters in fact, are real. Just a few hours before Sunset Shimmer's arrest, video footage of what appears to be a dragon-like monster was found stomping down the streets that night. In addition, there appeared to be six mysterious girls who were leading them back. And that’s not all…”

Other clips of footage played on the news screen, recorded from various cellphone cameras or such. The wild, frantic battle between the three-headed Siren monster versus the Five-Headed Rainboom Hydra. Also captured in some shots was the demonic form of Sunset Shimmer, engaged in combat with the six girls.

“Twilight?”

She was too focused on the screen to even pay attention to the male voice calling for her.

“Twilight!”

Until someone rapped sharply at her door, finally snapping her out.

“It’s time for school! You’re going to be late, come on!”

The bespectacled girl sighed in frustration, and closed out her browser windows.

“I’m coming, Shining Armor!" Twilight called.

With practiced familiarity, she quickly snatched up her schoolbag and other essentials, and stepped out to meet her brother; an adult with pale skin and dark blue hair. This is an all-too-familiar dance for him, and he looked disappointed as they walk downstairs and out to his car.

“You keep doing this, Twi. I know your research and stuff is really important to you, but one of these days you’re going to miss school if you don’t get your head out once in a while!”

Twilight sighed. “I wouldn’t be missing anything important, and you’d never let me miss school.”

Shining sighed. “You’re right…”

They get into the car wordlessly, and Shining starts it up, pulling out to drive her to CPA. They were making decent time, despite the amount of cars that were already out and about. But after five minutes of uncomfortable silence, Shining Armor finally spoke up.

“So, uh… you give any thought to what I said, about the Friendship Games?”

Twilight paused. "I have.”

Silence hushed over the car as Shining waited in vain for an answer.

“Aaaand?”

“I’m not interested, Shining Armor. It’s pointless,” Twilight deadpanned.

Shining raised a brow. “Pointless? Hey, come on, I think that’s pretty harsh. Lots of people enjoy the Friendship Games, I’m sure that you could have some fun too if you--“

Twilight retorted, “If I tried? Is that what you mean?”

Her tone makes Shining frown, sadly.

“…I’m sorry. I just… I worry about you, that’s all. I’m your big brother, I went to Crystal Prep too, and I – I just want to make you don’t miss any opportunities. That’s all.”

Twilight says nothing. The silence is a familiar answer to Shining, and the rest of the ride to school passes without another word between them. Eventually Shining Armor was at the school, slowly pulling up in front of the school. With a lot of time still available, there were a few students just hanging around outside talking with one another and just chatting the time away.

"Have a good day at school. Okay?"

Twilight waited. "I will."

She got out of her seat, and opened up the door in the backseat, grabbing her belongings.

"Goodbye, Shining. See you after school."

Just like that, she closed the door, and waved to Shining Armor as he drove off.

When they get to school, only then does Twilight speak, and it’s more of a perfunctory “goodbye” than anything else.

Twilight walked straight into the school without looking at or addressing any of the other students. Straight as an arrow, she headed inside the school without a second glance. She pushed past several of them, and walked straight into an old storage room, deprived of it's original contents and turned into Twilight's own research area. A dark and cramped space, full of charts, graphs, and some odd equipment, with most of the light coming from Twilight's laptop when she turned it on.

"Magic..." Twilight scoffed. "That's crazy. Whatever is causing these disturbances, these - monsters - it's dangerous..." Twilight then looked down on one of the tables. A small circular device, with a string wrapped around it, a soft hum of energy emanating from the inside. Her eyes reflected off the starry cover, serious as ever. "And I must find out what it is..."

Chapter 19: The Rebirth Of Rarity

The Sparkle house was a nice, quaint house that blended in with the rest of the houses in the suburbs of Canterlot. Beautiful dark purple color, meshing together with beautiful window panes and strong structure. Anyone who would pass by would probably make a guess that this house belonged to someone rich, which the Sparkle family was. While not rich enough to go all out and afford private jets, expensive watches, or any of that sort you would see the snobby rich, they had enough to support themselves.

Twilight Sparkle was not in her room, for once, but instead is in the shed out back. In a workshop - once her father's but now hers, used for her research purposes. Tons of machines and equipment all set up, intended for her research, along with a wide array of computers, monitors, and all sorts of science equipment you would see in the most high tech of laboratories. Currently the purple-haired genius was at work, doing some last-minute adjustments to the tracking device of hers.

Twilight is busy, and she liked it that way. Her attention totally focused on the machine and the tools before her, no other sound or distractions or people - it's just her, and her work, and that's the way that she likes it.

But just then, there was a knock at the shed door.

"Twily!"

Twilight yelped, nearly dropping the device as she fumbles it. Catching herself though, she puts the thing back on the workbench, shooting a rather annoyed look to the door as she went over to answer it.

"What is it, Shining Armor?"

Her big brother was taken aback by her tone, but he recovered to tell her, "It's almost dinner time. Thought you should know and get ready."

Twi scoffed. "I'll be fine. I'll just heat some up later."

Shining frowned at her, with a mix of concern and annoyance. "Twily, c'mon... you really can't have just one dinner in the house?"

"I'm engaged in--"

"--Important research, I know, I know..." Shining interrupted, then trying to be persuasive. "Twily, I know this stuff is important to you. But I think it can wait long enough for you to have one meal with your brother," he smiled hopefully. "And your parents too."

Twilight was admittedly surprised. "What?"

"Mom and Dad are back from their trip - well, on their way back at any rate. I thought that they'd like to come home to a nice, freshly-made supper, served up by me - and my genius little sister." Shining gently clapped her on the shoulder.

"Hmph…" she grumbled without heat. "You're just saying that..."

"No, I mean it. C'mon," Shining nudged, trying to get her to come with him.

Twilight sighs, but relents. Closing the shed behind her - and locking it for good measure - she follows her brother back into the house.

Sometime later, the doorbell rings. Shining Armor calls “I’ll get it!” and heads to the door. Twilight, engrossed in peeling vegetables as if it were advanced surgery, doesn’t look up. She knows her brother. She couldn't remember how many times Shining had either cut himself, or wasn't paying attention, or who knows.

Shining Armor opens the door and lets the two individuals on the other side; Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Also known as their mom and dad. Velvet cheerfully tosses her travel bag to the floor with a thud (Night Light wincing at that) as she greeted Shining with a big hug.

“Mom, Dad!”

Velvet smiled. “How’s my favorite son?”

Shining chuckled. “Your only son is doing just fine, thanks. You have a good trip?”

“It was great! That Mr. Will really knows how to run a cruise! I almost wish we could have stayed longer!” She hugged Shining again. “Almost…”

Night Light smiled ironically. “Your mother tried to go over the falls in a barrel.”

The older brother groaned. “Mom…”

Velvet brushed off the concern. “Oh hush son. You only live once.”

Shining rolled his eyes, but it’s friendly. He knew his mother, and her love of adventure. Night Light looks around as he – more carefully – sets his suitcase on the floor.

“Where’s Twilight? Is she in her workshop again?”

Shining shook his head. “Uh, no, actually, she’s in the kitchen.” He looked behind him down the hallway. “Twily! Mom and Dad are home!”

Twilight called back, annoyed in a 'I already know that' tone, “I know, Shining Armor!”

Their father sighed. Twilight Velvet’s cheerful mood faltered slightly too, as she looks to her son, who was a little embarrassed. But boosting up some confidence, he chose to cover for Twilight. “She’s fixing dinner.”

Night Light brightened a little bit. “Oh really?”

Shining said. “Yeah, I know! I almost couldn’t believe it myself.”

Little did his parents know that he was deliberately misrepresenting this. It was his idea for him and Twi to fix dinner, but an attempt to make their parents happy, he’s trying to make it look like SHE did it.

Velvet smiled. “That’s wonderful. I can’t wait to have some, I’m starving!”

Shining chuckled. “Right, right…”

Velvet hefts her and her husband’s suitcases, hauling them towards the stairs. Night Light looked worried at how casually his wife handles his case, but it’s familiar to him. He knows his wife for who she is, and he loves her for it.)

Night Light chuckled. “Come on son, let’s get the table set.”

“Sure.”

As they do so, putting out plates and silverware and glasses – all to Night Light’s specifications – he couldn't help but end up reminiscing. “This will be a nice treat. I can barely remember the last time all four of us sat down to eat together.”

Shining's head almost sunk at the comment. Wistfully replying, “Yeah… I know.”

They both jumped slightly as they hear a loud hissing from the kitchen, and poor Twilight scrambled to deal with an pot bubbling over on the stove.

“Shining Armor!! You were supposed to be keeping an eye on the pasta water!”

Shining slowly spun around back to his father with an embarassed smile. “Whoops…”

"Maybe we should give you a hand," Velvet said.

"No, it's okay. Sorry, I just had to step away for a second," Shining said, trying to urge them not to rush to the kitchen.

Sometime later, the Sparkle family were all seated at the table, eating dinner. Thankfully Shining managed to get back to the kitchen just in time before anything could have gone wrong.

"Thank you for fixing dinner, Twilight."

"Your mother and I really appreciate it, sweetie."

Twilight smiled at the words from her parents. It was subtle, but noticeable. Shining Armor suppressed a smile of his own, taking a drink to cover it up.

"So, kids, what's happened while we were gone? Any exciting news?"

Shining glanced over to Twilight, who's focused more on her food now than anything else. So he decided to take up the slack to answer."Well, mom, dad, not too much on my end. Same old, same old..." He nudged his shoulder over to Twilight, "but I think that Twily here has something interesting to tell you about school."

Twilight looked up at the mention, confusion plain on her face.

"Oh really?" Night Light asked.

"What is it, Twilight?"

Twilight looked back at Shining with a confused look. "What?"

"...You know, Twily, that - thing - with Canterlot High?" Shining said, practically spoon-feeding her the topic.

Unfortunately the indication didn't get clear to Twilight as she brightened up, getting the wrong idea. "Oh! Right! Mom, Dad, I've been pursuing some fascinating new research into tracking a new form of--"

"--Twilight, I was talking about the other thing..." Shining gently interrupted. "You know, with your classmates?"

Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle exchanged looks, confused. The penny finally dropped for Twilight, and her enthusiasm wilted. "Oh. That. Right." She sighed. "So... I joined the Friendship Games this year."

Velvet was surprised. "Really?"

"Twilight, that's really great!"

Twilight's face went immediately to bored, picking at her food. "Hmph."

Night Light reached out, and put a hand on top of hers. Surprised, Twi looks up at her father, seeing a smile of pride. "Twilight, I mean it. I'm really proud of you. It's good that you're trying this."

"It really is, sweetie. I'm so happy that you're reaching out," Velvet gently added.

Twilight looks away, feeling a little self-conscious. Frowning, not comfortable with this topic of conversation.

Her mother and father, sensing this, backed down, if reluctantly. The dinner eventually continued quietly, but amicably.

"So, is anything else going on with you two? Shining, I know you aren't in that current state but... have you by any chance found any cute girls lately?" Night Light asked.

"Night," Velvet said, swatting at his shoulder.

"What, can't a father ask his son if he's seeing anyone?"

Shining chuckled. "No Dad, I'm not seeing anyone. Besides, I'm too busy at work to take some time to do so."

"Oh come on, I'm sure you can find time," Night Light said. "I mean, you haven't seen anyone... since..." He stopped, realizing what he was saying.

An awkward pause hit the table, as Twilight's head jolted up, but with a blank face.

"May I please be excused?"

"Of course," Velvet said, allowing her daughter to leave the table. She heard her feet stomp up the stairs, just before going up to her room and closing her bedroom door. This house was nice and roomy, but every noise that was made could easily be heard.

"Ohhh," Night Light said, rubbing his face. "It's my fault, I shouldn't have asked."

"It's not your fault," Velvet said, patting his hand. "Look, I'm going to go talk to her. And don't blame yourself." She said just before she started to head upstairs. She went up the stairs, hitting the second floor. She made a right hand turn, and was outside the door of Twilight's bedroom. She didn't hesitate to knock on the door.

"Twilight? Sweetie?" Velvet softly spoke.

No response. She slowly opened up the door, seeing Twilight sitting near the foot of her bed, looking away from the door. She kept her back turned, keeping her eyes away from her.

"Sweetie, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Twilight said coldly.

"Twilight, you know we didn't mean to upset you, right?" Velvet asked.

"... Yes." Twilight peeped.

"And you know what happened between you and Cadence was only an accident?" Velvet asked some more.

Twilight took a little more time to respond to that statement. But she just replied with a simple, "Yes." She felt her mother come and sit on the spot on the bed next to her, but still didn't look up. Well, only for a few seconds. She tilted her head a bit, looking at her mother. Velvet simply gave a soft smile and pulled her youngest into a comforting hug. Twilight reciprocated in return, holding her close.

Her mother's hands rubbed her back, the same affection that helped her calm down in many situations. Like when she freaked about not getting an assignment turned in on time, or when she had to deal with a school bully, or worse; the incident with Cadence. But she wasn't able to cry this time, but instead, just a little eerily quiet breathing. Twilight Velvet just continued to hold her close, ensuring that she was still there for her.

The next day had came. Day three of the Friendship Games was here. Everyone was heading off to school like it was a regular day, but no one could deny they were excited. They knew what event was going to be happening today, and they could tell it was going to be exciting. At least, they hope they would be.

But not everyone showed up to school. Well, someone didn't. Rarity hadn't emerged from her room since yesterday, too afraid to go back out into the world again. She had herself buried under a pillow fort, trying to block out all light from the outside world, feeling more alone than ever. But her head jolted up when she heard a single hand knocking on the door of Rarity's room, trying to get an answer.

"Rarity?" A hoarse voice asked. "Rarity, it's just me, Fluttershy. What happened, I heard about Cherry."

"Go away!" Rarity cried.

The goth girl flinched, but she still wanted to proceed on. "Rarity, look, I... Okay. I know I don't talk much, but... I... I am..." Fluttershy attempted to say. "I am concerned. Look, do you want me to get back at her, because--"

"--No, Fluttershy! Just leave me alone, I don't want to talk," Rarity whimpered. "Just let me wallow in my sorrow!"

She wanted to say something, anything. But she couldn't bring herself to speak. Rarity was clearly in no state to try and talk. If she wasn't going to talk now, maybe tomorrow her efforts would be better. But she would have to leave her alone for now. She walked out of Rarity's home and walked back to her car. Not turning back to look, she just drove away, heading to school.

By the time the goth girl arrived at school, she found all of her classmates weren't in their classes. Instead everyone was on their way to the auditorium. Fluttershy was a little confused at first, but only a few seconds. It didn't take long to figure out what this was going to be about, just hearing the little bits of gossip from the rest of her classmates.

"Hey," A voice softly spoke.

Flutter's eyes turned, finding the source. "Hey." She said with a little bit of some somberness in her voice.

"So... you hear back from Rarity?" Pinkie Pie asked.

"No."

Pinkie wilted a little bit. "It's that bad, isn't it?"

For once, Fluttershy let go of the snarky attitude, and answered with some real worry. "It is. I tried talking to her but... I don't think she wants to talk to any of us. Though I can't say I blame her."

When they arrived at the auditorium, they found all of their classmates, practically the entire school assembled. Finding their seats, they quickly sat down and waited for the principals to go on stage. While they couldn't pick them all out, they did hear a few classmates of theirs mention Rarity's name. They could only imagine what they were thinking, probably joy that someone did something to one of them, finally getting revenge. But no, that's not what they were talking about at all.

In fact, the students that did talk about Rarity, were more shocked and mortified at the fact that one of their own classmates took it upon themselves and assaulted her! Passive-aggressiveness was one thing, but physical assault? That was crossing the line which was a complete understatement.

"Good morning students. Now I'm sure you're all anticipating today's events for the Friendship Games, but we needed you all to come here for an important announcement. Some of you may be aware, some may not. But for the sake of their identity, we'll be keeping their names anonymous. We found out that one of your classmates has been assaulted outside of school grounds."

Everyone gasped.

"Who?" A student called out.

"We will not be identifying them for their sake. However, there is something we need to discuss. The student who instigated the assault has been expelled, and will not be returning to this school."

Now everyone was murmuring. Some were in total shock. Some were in complete surprise. And a few were now quaking in fear, thinking of what would happen if they were the ones expelled.

"Now before anyone overreacts, we have something to say," Principal Luna interrupted. "We know all of you are some of the brightest students in school, some of the best students we've ever had."

"However, this kind of behavior will not be tolerated on school grounds," Vice-Principal Celestia emphasized. "None of it. If Principal Luna and I find out anything about it, there will be severe consequences. That is all."

Everyone was talking to each other now, whispering with thoughts. And it was still like that when they were allowed to finally go off to class. Though it felt a little awkward passing by them in the halls. Fluttershy felt as if all eyes were locking on her, even though they weren't. She knew everyone was going to find out, but this fast? Gossip traveled fast, that's for sure.

"Hey, Fluttershy?"

The goth girl halted in her tracks. Turning around, she saw one of her classmates, Tennis Match, approaching her.

"Yeahhh?" Fluttershy asked.

Tennis Match, without warning, pulled Fluttershy close and gave her a hug. Fluttershy wasn't sure how to react at first, but she couldn't help but wrap her arms around her and join the embracing hug. Tennis then broke from it, giving a sympathetic look.

"I'm sorry about Rarity. I know there's nothing I can do to help, but if you can tell her that I hope's okay, that'd be appreciated."

Fluttershy was at a loss. Anyone around here would never talk to her, let alone be in the same room with her.

"Oh, I... I will," Fluttershy replied, trying to clear voice.

The athlete smiled before starting to head to class, until--

"Tennis?"

She stopped. She turned around, looking back to the goth girl.

"T... Th... Thank you," Fluttershy said, genuinely.

Tennis's only response was smiling and nodding, before heading back off to class. Fluttershy didn't know what came over her, but suddenly she felt herself smiling. And it wasn't from deriving joy from the misery of others.

While everyone had hoped to keep the news of the assault quiet, it unfortunately did not stop students from gossiping about it. And Crystal Prep students found out real quickly. And the news, oh no, it spread like wildfire. Now almost everyone was talking about it. And the news hit a certain group of Shadowbolts...

Two of which were standing outside the door of Rarity's bedroom. They needed to know if she was okay, they had to check up on her. And so, a baby blue hand knocked on the bedroom door.

"Please, leave me alone!" Rarity shouted.

"Rarity, it's me, Sunny Flare."

There was some silence from the other side of the door.

"S-S-Sunny Flare?" Rarity sniffled.

"Yes, it's me."

"And meee!" Lemon Zest squeaked.

"Look, we heard about the news about what happened last night, I wanted to see you. I'm sure I know the answer but... are you okay?"

"I was forced against a wall in an alleyway and tortured, what do you think!?"

Sunny and Lemon flinched at the shriek.

"Um... Rarity, when you say that, you don't mean... um..."

"No, not that!" Rarity responded. "Honestly!"

"Look, Rarity, can we please come in?"

"No! I'm hideous! I'm disgustingggg!" Rarity cried into a pillow.

Not even worried, Sunny Flare opened up the door to her room and walked inside. Rarity wasn't in sight, but it didn't take long for them to figure out who it was hidden underneath the pillow fort, the blankets, cape and hood.

"Rarity?" Sunny asked.

"Who else could it be?" Rarity cried, attempting to hide herself some more, her voice muffled into the pillow.

"Please, Rarity, what happened?" Lemon asked, sitting on the bed.

Only a hand exposed itself from the pile, grabbing another tissue and blowing her nose. "I was just walking home from school and then Cherry Crash tricked me into going into the alleyway! And she... she..."

"What, what?" Sunny asked, admittedly scared to know the answer.

"She shaved my hair!!!" Rarity bawled, pushing her face into the pillow. "She tried to shave all of my hair awayyyy!"

Once again, the rest of her voice was muffled underneath the pillow she buried herself in. But Sunny Flare gave her a soft pat on the back, trying to find some way she could comfort her.

"Rarity, I'm so sorry..."

"Dude, that ain't cool," Lemon said, shaking her head. "But wait, she shaved your head? That can't be that bad, hair grows back. I'm sure your hair isn't that messed up."

"Messed up?" Rarity's voice sharpened. Her head, for once looked up to the two Crystal Prep students and she yanked the hood down with anger. "Messed up? Does THIS, LOOK MESSED UP TO YOU!?" Rarity shrieked, her face twitching.

Both girls gasped at the sight, seeing the unruly mess that was the remains of Rarity's hair. They heard it was bad, but not this bad!

Rarity's face sunk. "Honestly, how hard is it to pretend it's not that bad?"

"Pretty hard," Lemon admitted. "... Okay, it's worse."

Sunny Flare scolded Lemon with a soft glare, which Lemon acknowledged. Moving closer, Sunny sat on the bed next to the poor girl.

"Rarity? Please, just look at me."

Rarity sighed, pulling herself back out from the cover. Her face was still visible, but she refused to open up the hood and exposing the dreaded remains.

"What happened? Why did she do that?" Sunny asked.

Rarity sighed, shakily. "I know why. And you're not going to like it."

"What?"

Rarity's hands reached over, reaching for a small cold gallon of ice cream, eating a scoop from the can.

"Last school year, I did something utterly terrible to that Cherry Crash girl."

Lemon and Sunny waited for her to finish her scoop before speaking.

"I... I sabotaged her performance!" Rarity said, spitting out the truth like ripping a band-aid. "She was performing for the Canterlot talent show and I sabotaged her band while they were playing on stage in front of a live audience!"

Lemon and Sunny blinked.

"Um... okay. Admittedly, not the first thing that came to mind," Lemon said, thinking about it.

"But why would you do that?"

"I don't even know anymore!" Rarity bawled, receiving another pat. "I was angry, I wasn't thinking, I made a repulsive decision that I wish I thought before I went through with it!" Rarity nommed on another scoop of ice cream. "I suppose it's not all bad... Cherry got her revenge. Good for her, she got her paybaccckk!" Rarity quivered, mascara running down her face.

Sunny Flare sighed. "Rarity? Mind if I say something?"

"W-What?"

"Okay, so you're telling me, you did something incredibly wrong, that's what resulted in her intending to get revenge by... that?"

"Mmmhmm," Rarity woefully nodded.

"Uh-huh..."

"... okay, I know this is messed up, but come on, that's a terrible way to get payback! What about a simple itching powder, taping scary photos in least suspecting places, at least that won't harm anyone! Seriously, taking someone by force and shaving their head, that's... that's not cool--"

"--We know, Lemon," Sunny said, trying to get her to stop. "Look, what you did wasn't cool, not at all. But it's still not an excuse enough to do something like... this."

Rarity sniffled. "I don't think I'll be able to go outside ever again..."

Sunny blinked. "Wait, what? You're just going to stay here?"

"What if there's more like her out there? What if another one attacks me, I can't handle any more of it!"

"And what if there isn't? What if there isn't another one like her? You can't hide from everyone just because of one person. You're not going to stay locked up in here forever, are you?" Sunny asked with a stern voice.

Rarity sniffled. "I... I don't even knowwww!"

Sunny waited for Rarity to let out the rest of her tears, waiting for her to be a little calm before she could talk to her. When she felt all her tears were completely gone, she looked up to Lemon Zest with open arms.

"W-What do you want?"

"Come here. Let me give you a hug," Lemon offered.

Rarity sniffled, still whimpering. But Lemon Zest moved over to her, and gave her a sweet embrace. Rarity didn't move, at least not until she hugged her back, breathing heavily.

"There there..." Lemon rubbed her back. "Zesty's here. It's okay..."

Once she was calm, she pulled out of the hug.

"Are you calm now?" Sunny asked.

Rarity nodded, getting a soft smile from Sunny.

"Listen, Rarity. What happened was bad. Really bad, I know. I went through something similar as well. ... Okay, maybe not as intense as what you went through, but I know how it feels. But staying here, holed up in your room isn't going to solve anything. You're not alone, you have friends here with you," Sunny patted her shoulder. "And what about the rest of your team? They need you. And I bet when you show up again... they're going to see that nothing is going to take you down. And nothing will ever take you down."

Rarity, for the first time that day, smiled.

"T-Thank you..."

Sunny Flare leaned over and pulled Rarity in for another hug, this time more happy than sad. "But what to do about my hair?" Rarity asked, sulking again. "I can't go back out there looking like this!"

Sunny and Lemon looked at each other, but smirking.

"Maybe there's something we can do. I know a thing or two about styling hair, and I think Lemon knows a thing or two about salvaging. I think we can salvage those measly bits that are still hanging. Lemon, get my makeup kit! We've got some work to do!'

"Wait, I'm not sure..." Rarity said, now suddenly a little scared.

"Please, Rarity, just let me help you, I can fix your hair," Sunny offered with a puppy-dog eyed look. "Pleaaasseeee?"

Rarity wanted to say no. But dang it, the sparkling eyes were working on her! How can she say no to those eyes?

"Ohhhh... alright," Rarity said, defeated.

"Eeeee!" Sunny Flare squeed. "I've been waiting for this!"

The next few seconds went by in a flash because suddenly Rarity found herself thrown into her makeup chair, with a barber cape around her body and Sunny Flare standing with some tools in hands. She didn't even remember getting up from the bed!

"Okay, let us see..." Sunny Flare said, rubbing Rarity's shoulders. "What kind of look do we want to make here? A good portion of this hair may be gone, but I think we should be able to make a style that can restore for a good while. But what to go with, what can we do, hmm..."

"Well, um," Rarity tittered. "I'm not sure, maybe if you look into my closet, there might be a few choices that could help?"

"Whoa-ho-ho! Dude! Sweet jackets!"

Lemon tossed a few jackets onto Rarity's pillow fort. Sunny and Rarity looked back, seeing a few that were thrown. One was a denim jacket that looked as if patches could be attached. A winter jacket, which looked more for the fashionable wear than it did the weather. Football jacket, with CHS's team colors, more intended for regular football or soccer.

"Oooh, what's this?" Lemon reached deeper into the closet, almost to the point where it looked like she was about to fall in. Her closet was almost like a big deep pit that could easily be fallen into. But after pulling herself from the depths of the fashion closet, she pulled out a black punkish looking vest, one that had a few studs attached to it. "Why didn't you show us this stuff sooner? This is awesome!"

"... I only met you a few days ago?" Rarity asked.

"Okay, I don't think everything needs to be studded--"

--And a choker was tossed onto the pile as well.

"Okay, I really don't think I'll be wearing--"

--And another item was thrown onto the pile.

"OKAY THAT'S ENOUGH!" Rarity barked. But she quickly caught herself, blushing harshly. "Sorry..."

"I don't know, Rarity, I think Lemon might be onto something," Sunny thought. "With the remains of hair that I can work with, I think I might be able to transform all of this... into an awesome mohawk."

Rarity blinked with a wide-eyed expression. "Um, I'm not sure..."

"Rarity, I know it's not the first choice, but honestly, I think I can make it look awesome. In fact, there's this girl I know all the way from Africa who wears a mohawk, very cool. A little weird about the rhyming all the time, but she rocks a mean mohawk," Sunny smiled.

"Well... I don't know, there's another girl at my school who wears a mohawk," Rarity remembered. "She's British too, I don't want to be claimed a copycat," she whispered with fear.

"Well, look at it this way. You're shining from the inside out," Sunny Flare offered. "And you're reviving your old self by bringing out a cool new look. How's that?"

Rarity still wasn't sure. "I don't know..."

"Look, let me just give a shot, please?" Sunny begged.

"Alright, well, I suppose there's no other option... do it."

Straight away, Sunny Flare went to work. She zipped and zoomed around Rarity with intense speed. Almost on par with Pinkie Pie, or even herself when she tried applying makeup to Applejack one time (which she ended up removing all of it out of AJ's own tastes). Hairspray was sprayed, small snips and cuts with scissors were done properly, a few cans of hair color were sprayed as well--

--until Sunny stopped midway to take a quick swig of her coffee--

--And then more colors sprayed, some gel, some lotions, she had just about everything she needed to make her look complete. When the hair was complete, Rarity grabbed the clothes Lemon had tossed at her, and slipped behind a changing screen, putting on the fresh set of clothes. Hesitantly, she stepped out, revealing the completed look to the two Crystal Prep girls. Both of which looked at Rarity with shock, awe, and amazement.

"I think we got a winner here," Lemon grinned with an excited squeak.

"H-How do I look?" Rarity asked, unsure, trying to give a small smile.

"Rarity, you look awesome. You look like a completely new person!" Sunny smiled. "Here."

Sunny and Lemon pushed a full body mirror in front of her so Rarity could get a complete look. When Rarity saw her final look, she was astonished. Her head turned, and she spun herself around in a circle just to see herself completely.

"Girls, I know I was hesitant at first, but... I really do look quite fetching!"

"You do!" Lemon grinned. "You look like a rockstar!"

"Girls, I cannot thank you enough, thank you, thank you!" Rarity excitedly squeed.

"So what are we waiting for? Lets go to CHS! We've got Friendship Games to compete in!"