On the first day back from April vacation, Sky decided to sit at Lyra's lunch table instead of his usual one. The table was at the opposite end of the cafeteria, so he had to walk considerably further than he normally did. When he got there and sat down, Lyra and Bon Bon were nowhere to be seen. Octavia, Vinyl Scratch and Derpy were nonetheless pleasantly surprised to see Sky.

"Hi, Sky!" Derpy said with a grin. "It's so good to see you!"

"You too, Derpy!" said Sky. "Speaking of which, where's Lyra? I haven't seen her all morning."

"Her teacher probably let her out a few minutes late." Octavia replied. "You know how it is." Vinyl nodded in agreement.

At that moment, Trixie arrived and sat down next to Sky. "Apologies for being late." she said in an annoyed tone. "The Great and Powerful Trixie was waylaid by an eighth grader who spilled a Coke in the hallway."

"Clumsy freshman!" Sky laughed. "I guess you had to take the long way round?"

"Indeed I did!" Trixie fumed. "I always knew it was a bad idea to make this a five-year school. Trixie is too great and too powerful to be stuck in the same building as such immature rookies!"

Sky found Trixie very amusing. She had an incredibly grandiose view of herself, and probably said more words in a day than Sky said in a week. Group conversations never failed to entertain when Trixie was involved.

"Yesterday, Lyra told me she had a big announcement planned for today." said Sky. "But she wouldn't tell me what it was."

"It could be a special surprise just for you." Octavia suggested. "You are her boyfriend, after all. Every time I texted her last week, she wouldn't stop talking about how wonderful you are."

"For the past month or so, really." added Trixie.

"Well,if you ask any of my friends, they'll tell you I've been talking nonstop about Lyra too." said Sky. "Ever since our first kiss last Sunday, everything has been just perfect. I've honestly never felt happier."

"Lyra feels just the same way." said Octavia. "And with the Spring Fling coming up in a few weeks, I'm sure your bond will only continue to grow."

"Now that you mention it, I wonder if that's what Lyra's big announcement is going to be about?" Sky remarked.

"Could be!" said Derpy. "She didn't tell any of us about it. Only you."

Sky smiled. "Well, I guess we'll find out when she gets here."

Just then, Lyra and Bon Bon emerged from the lunch line and strode over to the table. "Ugh... our teacher let us out so late!" Bon Bon groaned as she sat down.

Lyra put down her lunch tray, and then sat down next to Sky and put her arms around him. "Hey, babe..." she said, and leaned in to kiss him. Sky happily reciprocated.

"Aww..." Bon Bon and Derpy purred.

"Ew, get a room, you two!" Trixie muttered.

Lyra and Sky's lips eventually parted. "Anyway, it's time for that announcement I told you about!" said Lyra.

"I've been wondering about that all day!" said Sky. "What is it?"

"I'm running for Spring Fling Princess!" Lyra declared. She put her arm around Sky again. "It's my first time running, but I have a feeling this is going to be my year. I've got the best boyfriend in the world by my side, and it feels like everything just keeps getting better and better. And now that Sunset's no longer ruling the school with an iron fist, I'll finally have a fair shot at the crown!"

"As the best boyfriend in the world, I'll do everything I can to make sure you win it!" Sky promised, giving Lyra another kiss on the cheek. "I'll be behind you all the way!"

"As your best and oldest friend, so will I!" added Bon Bon. "Do you have a plan?"

"Well, I was hoping that some of you could help me make a banner tonight." Lyra explained. "Then we could hang it up in the main atrium before school starts tomorrow. I think I'm the first girl to enroll, so I'll have a head start! But I'm going to need all of your support."

"You can count me in!" said Sky.

"Me too!" said Bon Bon. Octavia and Vinyl nodded in agreement. They would all work together to help Lyra win the crown.

Meanwhile, Sky's friends were all sitting at their usual lunch table. As members of the rugby team often did whenever there was a game after school, Curly was wearing his rugby uniform. It was blue with a big yellow number 14 on the back, representing Canterlot High's school colors.

"Is it game day?" Sherbert asked.

"Yep!" Curly replied. "We're playing against Maresbury. The game was supposed to be yesterday, but they postponed it because of the storm."

"That makes sense." said Wiz. "I heard a giant tree fell across the rugby field."

"Indeed it did!" said Emerald. "I may be in the minority here, but I love thunderstorms! They're so fun to watch and listen to!"

"I uised tae be terrifee'd o' them." said Sherbert. "Which was verra inconvenient syne I'm fae Scotland!"

"I can imagine." Emerald chuckled. "I don't think I could live up there, with how cold it is all the time."

"Aye. I prefer the wather here." Sherbert agreed.

"Anyway, how's the rugby season going?" Wiz asked Curly. "I don't know much about rugby, but I remember you got a pretty good position this year."

"Yeah, I did. I'm a wing this season, which means I get to run and score a lot." Curly explained. "The position requires a lot of skill, but Coach says I've done a good job so far."

"Yeah, I agree with Coach." said an unfamiliar voice from behind Curly. "Just good. Not great."

Curly and Wiz turned around to see Iron Turk, another rugby player, standing behind them. He had cropped crimson hair and was of similar build to Curly. His uniform had the number 3 on the back.

"Oh look, it's the Turkey!" Curly quipped. "Having fun being used as a battering ram?"

"Don't call me Turkey!" Turk snapped. "And besides, I love being a prop! Coach knows I'm stronger than you, which is why he put me on the front row instead of you!"

"Oh, please!" Curly retorted. "Your reflexes are so slow that even Rainbow Dash's pet tortoise could land a punch on you!"

"How about we talk once you get yourself a better haircut?" Turk shot back. "Maybe you'd be faster without that giant lump of hair weighing you down!"

Curly raised his eyebrows, feigning a realization. "You know, I just realized why Coach made you a prop! If your face got smashed in, nobody would notice a difference because you're already so ugly!"

"Go run off a bridge, you brainless cretin!" Turk barked.

"Go smack your head on a wall, you arrogant dumbbell!" Curly countered.

"Whatever, I've got better things to do than talk to a moron like you." Turk scoffed, and he sauntered off.

Curly's friends were shocked at how quickly the argument had escalated. "Seriously, what the hell got into you two?" Emerald remarked.

"Curly and Turk have been arch-rivals for a while now." Wiz explained. "They may play football, basketball and rugby together, but that doesn't mean they get along."

"D'ye ken hou it stairtit?" Sherbert asked.

"Yes, I do." said Wiz. "During this past football season, Curly and Turk were in the running for the MVP Award. In one of the last regular games of the season, Curly was about to score the winning touchdown when Turk bumped into him and caused him to fumble the ball."

"And then he won MVP!" Curly fumed. "To this day, I'm still convinced that he made me lose that touchdown on purpose, just to make me look bad!"

"Maybe he did." said Wiz. "He is pretty competitive and self-absorbed." He turned back to Sherbert and Emerald. "Then in the first game of the basketball season, Turk was running down the court when he tripped and sprained his ankle, which forced him to sit out about half the season."

"And he blamed me for tripping him!" added Curly. "He tripped over his own feet because he was too clumsy!"

"Exactly. And they've hated each other ever since." Wiz finished.

"Wow... that's just stupid on Turk's part!" said Emerald incredulously. "I've heard of intense sports rivalries before, but this one is just petty!"

"Aye." Sherbert agreed. "If Turk keeps actin that wey, he's juist gaun'ae bring the hale team doun!"

"He already is." said Curly. "Some other guys on the team don't like him either. Really tells you about his personality." Wiz, Emerald and Sherbert nodded in agreement.

The next morning, Sky waited on a bench outside the school with Octavia, Vinyl and Derpy. They had all helped Lyra design a giant banner yesterday afternoon, and now they just had to wait for Lyra and Bon Bon to arrive with it. To pass the time, Octavia showed Sky a video of a recent collaborative piece that she and Lyra had worked on. Lyra's lyre and Octavia's cello went together surprisingly well.

"Wow, I never knew the lyre and the cello complemented each other so nicely!" Sky remarked. "You two wrote an amazing song!"

"Thank you!" said Octavia. "It was mostly Lyra, though. She's a bit better at writing music than I am."

Sky grinned. "Oh, she's amazing! She played one of her best songs for me last Sunday, and we had our first kiss shortly afterward."

"Lyra told us all about it!" said Derpy. "We were all so happy for her when she told us!"

"It sure was a great day." Sky agreed. "I never actually went to any school dances in my old town, so this is going to be my first time."

"I'm sure it'll be a wonderful experience for you." said Octavia. "Especially is Lyra wins the crown at the end of the night."

"What's going to happen then?" Sky asked. "I know she'll get to wear the crown, but does she get anything else?"

"It's the same for both the Fall Formal and the Spring Fling." Octavia exclaimed. "The votes are cast by all students on the day of the dance. Then, at the end of the dance, Principal Celestia comes onto the stage and announces the winner. The winning girl joins Celestia on the stage, and if she has a date, he gets to go up too. The golden tiara is then placed on the Princess' head, and she and her date pose for a photo shoot. Their photo is then hung in the main atrium of the school."

Sky could just imagine it as Octavia spoke. The overjoyed expression on Lyra's face as she was declared Princess of the Spring Fling, Sky accompanying her onto the stage before the whole school, Principal Celestia placing the crown atop Lyra's lush minty hair, and then a beautiful picture of Lyra and Sky together displayed in the atrium for all to see. If Lyra won, she and Sky would have yet another night to add to their list of amazing nights spent together.

"The night of the dance is May 10." Octavia went on. "If all goes well, it'll be a joyous night for us all. Vinyl will provide the music, of course." Vinyl nodded to confirm that.

"You play the turntables, right?" Sky asked.

"That's right, my dude!" Vinyl replied with a smile. "I'm a new wave! Only 16 and already getting pro gigs!"

Sky was shocked to hear Vinyl speak. He'd assumed she was mute or something, because he'd only ever seen her nod or shrug in response to questions. "You... you can talk?" he asked incredulously.

"Of course I can!" Vinyl laughed. "But I like to let my music do the talking!"

"I can understand that!" Sky chuckled.

Just then, Lyra and Bon Bon appeared in the distance, carrying a huge banner together. Sky smiled and waved to them, and Lyra enthusiastically waved back. "They're here!" Sky said to the other girls.

"That's a relief." said Octavia. "We were waiting on them for some time."

Lyra and Bon Bon soon arrived at the bench. The banner was very large, and they were each carrying one end. "We have arrived!" Bon Bon announced as Lyra greeted Sky with a warm hug and a kiss.

"Is the poster in good condition?" Octavia asked.

"Not a single wrinkle in it!" Lyra replied. "Let's go in and hang it up!"

"I can't wait for everyone to see it!" Sky said as the group headed into the school with the banner.

When they were inside, Sky looked around the atrium. "Where do you want to hang it?" he asked Lyra. "There are a lot of good spots in here."

Lyra looked around and thought for a while. She finally pointed to the wall above the corridor the right. "How about there?" she suggested. "That's a nice big space, and if we hang it there, everyone will see it as they go down that corridor!"

"That's a great idea!" Sky agreed, interlocking his hand with Lyra's.

"The question is how do we get the banner up there?" Octavia asked. "We don't have any ladders."

"I'm sure Mr. Blackpool wouldn't mind if we borrowed a couple of his." said Bon Bon.

"Is Mr. Blackpool here though?" Sky asked. "I mean, we still have several minutes before first period starts."

"He's usually here pretty early." said Vinyl. "I'll run down to his office and ask him!" She turned and began jogging down the corridor.

Within a couple of minutes, Vinyl returned with Mr. Blackpool. The groundskeeper was carrying a metal ladder and a box of thumbtacks, while Vinyl was carrying two more ladders. "So I hear you're hanging up a banner." Mr Blackpool remarked.

"Yes, we are!" said Lyra. "I'm running for Princess of the Spring Fling!"

Mr. Blackpool smiled. "Always glad to be of assistance. I'd better watch over you while you use the ladders, though. Wouldn't want any of you to hurt yourselves."

"Thanks!" Lyra said as Mr. Blackpool handed her the box of thumbtacks.

"No problem." Mr. Blackpool replied.

Under the careful watch of Mr. Blackpool, Lyra, Bon Bon and Sky propped up the three ladders. They put one on each side of the corridor and the third one in the middle, making sure they were all evenly spaced. Sky then took the banner and two thumbtacks, and climbed to the top of the ladder on the left. Bon Bon took two thumbtacks and climbed up the ladder in the middle, and Lyra took two thumbtacks and climbed up the ladder on the right. The remaining three girls remained down below with Mr. Blackpool to watch their friends. It was lucky for everyone that Derpy stayed well clear of the ladders.

Sky carefully positioned the left end of the banner against the wall and pushed a thumbtack into each corner. "You ready?" he called to Bon Bon.

Bon Bon gave Sky a thumbs-up, and Sky unfurled the banner toward her. When the banner reached Bon Bon, she pushed one thumbtack into the top edge and one into the bottom edge.

"Ready!" Lyra called. Bon Bon unfurled the rest of the banner to her, and Lyra pushed her two thumbtacks into the remaining corners.

"Well, I guess that's done!" said Sky.

"Yep!" Bon Bon agreed. "That was easier than I thought it'd be!"

"It sure was!" said Lyra as she climbed down. "Thanks for helping me with this! You all did a great job!"

Sky winked at Lyra. "I'll always help my girlfriend whenever I can."

At that moment, Emerald and Tree Hugger walked into the atrium. "Wow, that banner looks amazing!" Emerald exclaimed.

"It gives off such a positive vibe." Tree Hugger agreed. "Who made it?"

"We all worked on it together!" Sky replied. "Speaking of which, I don't think we've met before. I'm Sky Scraper, one of Emerald's friends."

Tree Hugger smiled. "Radical to meet you, Sky. I'm Tree Hugger. Blessings."

"I'm running for Spring Fling Princess!" Lyra explained. "If you like the banner, then be sure to vote for me in a few weeks' time!"

"You definitely have my vote!" said Emerald.

"And mine." said Tree Hugger. "Anyway, Emerald and I have to go. Every morning, we come in here early and water the plants in the courtyard. Peace out."

Emerald waved goodbye to Sky and the girls, and he and Tree Hugger headed off to the courtyard together.

"Well, she seems like an interesting character." Sky remarked. Emerald's crush was a bit different than he'd imagined.

"She is!" said Derpy. "She seems weird when you first meet her, but she's actually really chill!"

Nevertheless, Sky was glad to see that Emerald and Tree Hugger were gradually getting closer. He and the girls helped Mr. Blackpool put away the ladders, and then he headed off to his English class.

Sherbert normally had Chemistry as his first class of the day, but today his teacher, Mr. Kelp, was absent and there was no substitute, which meant that Sherbert had a free period. Since he didn't have much work to do for other classes, he decided to go to the library and read for a while. When he entered the library, he found Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer, Rarity and Fluttershy sitting together at one of the tables. All four girls were in the same Chemistry class as him, so they were free as well.

"Hi, lassies!" Sherbert greeted them as he sat down at their table. He had a very important question to ask Twilight. "D'ye mynd if I sit wi' ye?"

"Of course you can, Sherbie!" Twilight replied with a smile. "I'm so glad you came by!"

"It's so nice having a free period right now." said Sunset. "We've just been studying for other classes together."

"Indeed." said Rarity. "I have a History test next period, and now I have much more time to review for it."

"I'll probably do a quick run to the pet store in a little while." said Fluttershy.

Sherbert smiled and winked. "Weel, the main raison I cam here is acause I hae a speicial quaisten juist fer ye, Twilight."

Twilight's eyes lit up and she stood up from her seat. "Yes?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes.

Sherbert got down on one knee. "Weel ye be me date tae the Spring Fling?"

It took a few seconds for Twilight to fully process what Sherbert had just asked her, but when she did, she beamed with happiness. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" she burst out. "I'd love to!" She gave Sherbert a warm, tight hug.

Sunset, Rarity and Fluttershy were overjoyed for their newest friend. "Congratulations, Twilight!" said Sunset. "I had a feeling he was going to ask soon!"

"Oh, this is so exciting!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "I'm so happy for you, Twilight!"

"I think you'll love your first Canterlot High School dance, darling." said Rarity. "The Spring Fling is the most wonderful night of the year, even grander than the Fall Formal."

Sherbert nodded to Twilight. "It shair is! I cannae wait fer this year's dance!"

Twilight put her hand on Sherbert's shoulder. "Neither can I, Sherbie. Neither can I."

Flash Sentry stood at the other end of the library with a dejected expression on his face, having seen the whole thing. "Damn it..." the blue-haired guitarist muttered. He turned and walked out of the library.

Later that day, Sky, Emerald and Wiz were sitting at their usual lunch table when Sherbert arrived with a big smile on his face. "It looks like you're having a good day!" Wiz remarked. "What's up?"

"This morning I askt Twilight tae the dance, an' she said aye!" Sherbert replied.

Sherbert's friends clapped and cheered for him. "Congratulations, Sherb!" said Sky. "Now two of us have dates to the dance!"

"And this time, you didn't lose her to Flash Sentry!" added Emerald.

"Och aye!" Sherbert agreed. "Fate's gien me a second chance, an' I'm gaun'ae mak it coont!"

"I think you'll make Twilight very happy." said Wiz. "She's in my Calculus class. She's pretty quiet most of the time, but whenever she does talk, it's usually about you."

"That's great tae hear!" said Sherbert. "I feel like she needit a lad she coud coont on, whit wi' her juist transferrin tae a new schuil last month. I'm daein the best I can tae be that lad."

Wiz nodded. "I can tell you she definitely appreciates your efforts."

Meanwhile, Curly was standing near the door of the cafeteria, talking with Rainbow Dash and Applejack, the two co-captains of the girls' rugby team, about Monday's games. It'd been a very good day for all three of them, as for the first time that season, both the boys' team and the girl's team had won.

"You were so awesome yesterday!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I still can't believe you scored eight tries in one game!"

Curly chuckled. "Yeah, I really surprised myself with how fast I was yesterday. That was definitely the best game I've ever played! Being a wing is so much fun!"

Applejack smiled. "Ya may not be a captain this year, but Ah think ya definitely should be! Ah mean, ya basically carried the whole team yesterday!"

"My goal is to win the MVP award this season and be a captain next season." Curly replied. "One of our captains is a senior, so we'll need a new guy next year. I really want to be that guy!"

"Ya definitely deserve both!" Applejack agreed. She gave Curly a fist bump, and she and Rainbow Dash headed off to join the rest of the Rainbooms. Curly headed over to his usual table and sat down next to Sherbert.

"Guid tae see ye, Curly!" Sherbert greeted him. "I heard ye beat Maresbury yisterday!"

"We sure did! Total domination, 53 to 7!" Curly replied. "I scored 40 of those points all by myself!"

"Seriously?!" Sky exclaimed. "Holy crap, dude, you're a legend!"

Curly smiled. "Thanks! Now that I think about it, that might be a school record for the most points in a single game."

"You should ask your coach about it." said Wiz. "Because if it is, your name will finally be on the records wall in the gym!"

"Oh yeah!" Curly exclaimed. "I've always wanted to be on that wall!"

"The first record of many, I'm sure!" Sky added.

"Imagine Turk's face when I'm on the wall and his name isn't!" Curly snickered.

"He'll probably have a stroke!" Emerald laughed.

"That'd be priceless!" Curly guffawed. Eventually he calmed himself down and turned to Sherbert. "By the way, I heard you asked Twilight to the dance this morning. Well done!"

"Hech ay! Thankye!" Sherbert replied. "Noo Emerald juist needs tae ask Tree Hugger, an' then everybody's set!"

Emerald blushed lightly. "I really want to ask her, but I keep chickening out." Emerald admitted.

"Ye juist hiv tae gae fer it, laddie!" Sherbert said encouragingly. "I'm shair she likes ye!"

"As a great man once said, you miss 100 percent of the shots you don't take." put in Curly.

"I couldn't have put it better myself." Sky agreed. "Speaking of Tree Hugger, how are you getting along with that Sandalwood guy? I remember you mentioning him a while ago."

Emerald smiled. "Sandalwood and I are friends now. I'm no longer worrying about competing with him. Besides, I think he already has a girlfriend, and it's not Tree Hugger."

"Good!" said Sky. "The last thing you need is someone trying to ruin your relationship before it begins."

"Oh, definitely!" Emerald concurred.

"Speaking of Spring Fling dates, I have something I want to confess." said Curly.

Sherbert raised one eyebrow. "Aye?"

"I never told you guys any of this, but I've really admired Applejack for a while." Curly explained. "She's really hot and I like a girl who's not afraid to work hard. Plus, she's probably the best player on the girls' rugby team, even better than Rainbow Dash."

Sherbert grinned. "I think ye shoud definitely gae fer her! I dated her earlier this year masel, and I can tell ye she's a guid ane!"

"Plus, you both play rugby, so I'd say you have a really good chance." said Sky. "Although she probably won't be expecting you to ask, so don't be overly forward. Play it cool."

"Of course." said Curly. "I've got a really good feeling about this."

After consulting with the rugby coach, Curly found that he did indeed set a new school record with 40 points in one game. By Thursday, his name was on the records wall, and he was very proud of himself. On Friday, his usual third period English class was cancelled due to Miss Cheerilee being absent, so he had a free period. He would have spent his free period playing basketball in the gym, but there were two eighth-grade gym classes in there, so he grabbed a soda from the cafeteria and went to the library instead.

Curly entered the library and immediately spotted Applejack taking to Rainbow Dash at the top of the staircase on the left. Remembering Sherbert's advice and his own, Curly saw his chance. He took a deep breath and began walking over to the stairs.

How badly could this possibly go?, he thought to himself. Applejack's a nice girl and I'm one of the top athletes in the school! I'm surprised I don't have more girls lusting after me!

But just as his encouraging thought finished, Iron Turk came around the corner of the big center bookshelf and began talking to Applejack and Rainbow Dash. Then before Curly knew it, Turk had put his hand on Applejack's shoulder, and Applejack had responded by pulling Turk into a hug. Curly didn't hear the conversation, but judging by the smile and blush on Applejack's face, he had a feeling he knew what had just happened.

Curly couldn't believe it. His arch rival had just stolen Applejack right in front of him. Clenching his fists with rage, he growled and kicked over the nearest chair, which hit the floor with a crash. He then shoved the doors open as hard as he could and stormed out of the library. What had started off as such a promising day had quickly come crashing to the ground.

Author's Note

There you have it, my longest chapter so far, my first chapter of 2020 and the first to feature Emerald and Sherbert interacting with their crushes! There's much more of that to come in the next few chapters!

Also, I know next to nothing about rugby, so I had to do some research to make Curly's conversations with his fellow players realistic. His subplot is a bit out of left field, but it'll definitely add an extra layer of drama to this story arc.