Life at Canterlot High

Chapters

After a Long Day
On the Road
Sciencing Magic
Crystal Prep's Finest
Two Girls and a Guy
The Sleepover
Steam Time
Lunch Studies
Gentle Care
Faculty Meeting
Sweet Treats
Ex-Villains Anonymous
Unhappy Reunions
Helping Out

After a Long Day

Sugar Cube Corner was, undoubtedly, one of the more popular spots for the youth of Canterlot, especially after a long day at their respective schools. Be it CHS or Crystal Prep, boys and girls often flocked here after their studies, tests or whatever else they'd been doing that day, and the place was now packed with those just looking to unwind a bit. Mrs Cake was hard at work, going from booth to booth, making sure all the teens had what they wanted, and all-in-all things seemed to be looking good for the place. There was one booth in particular, however, that sported a rather odd patron. A small purple dog, currently downing a tasty-looking milkshake, before sighing with satisfaction over it. Now, most venues would be rather nonplussed at having a canine for a customer, but Mrs Cake merely smiled and shook her head to the little pooch, strolling over before speaking up in that calm and welcoming tone of hers. "Enjoying it?"

Spike smiled right back as he finally looked up from his drink. "It's even better than the last one. Seriously, you guys keep getting better and better at these!"

Mrs Cake waved him off. "Oh stop, you'll make me blush!" The two shared a quick laugh together over that, but it wasn't long before the store's owner glanced around, specifically to the door. "So...will I be serving one here today, or eight?"

Spike chuckled. "Hehe, give it a moment. They're a bit...busy right now." He watched as Mrs Cake opened her mouth to speak, only to be kept from getting a single word out by the sound of the door swinging open. Spike smirked to himself. "Well, speak of the Devil..."

Mrs Cake too smiled, turning to look upon the new arrivals. Sadly, her smile vanished immediately, replaced instead with a look of utter shock. It was definitely the girls, but they were here not in their usual clothes, but rather the magical garbs that always appeared whenever they used their now-famous Equestrian magic. This was not the shocking thing, however. No, that was the fact that they appeared to have all been pelted with eggs to one degree or another, with their deadpan expressions interrupted only by the occasional trickle of yolk down their faces. Slowly, the older woman glanced back down to Spike, whispering to him. "I'll just...um...get seven more milkshakes then."

Spike nodded, watching her go for a bit before again looking to his friends, who now finally made their way over to his booth. Though really it was more of a shuffle than anything, a clear sign of exhaustion. Whatever they'd been through, it had definitely been tiring, and after sitting down around him, they all let out deep exhales to emphasise that fact. Spike looked to each of them, then took one final slurp of his own shake before finally breaking the silence. "So...rough day?"

Sunset, in spite of herself, chuckled, wiping away some egg that had trailed down her cheek. "You could say that."

"Honestly, of all the things that could have been infected with Equestrian magic, why, oh why, did it have to be a chicken coop?!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Ah could maybe put up with it if it weren't mah coop!" Applejack added, reclining further into her part of the booth. "Well, better start lookin' fer a new one."

Fluttershy, looking like she wanted to at least try to lighten the mood, smiled to them all. "Well, at least all the chickens got out safely before it all went wrong, right?" The silent treatment she got caused her to sigh in slight defeat. "Well...I think that was good anyway."

Spike nudged Twilight in the side, prompting his owner to look down to him as he spoke. "It can't have been too bad, right? I mean, you're all here."

Twilight smiled to him, offering him a quick scratch behind the ear. "You're not wrong. Still, it could have at least been a bit less...messy," she grumbled as an especially gloopy bit of egg fell onto her glasses.

Rainbow chuckled dryly after that. "I can take the mess, I can take the danger, I can take the randomness of a chicken coop being given life and going rogue...but did it have to talk too?!"

Spike raised an eyebrow to her. "Well, it's not the first thing the magic has given a voice too, remember?" he remarked, pointing to himself.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Oh, it wasn't the talking...it was the puns!" She grimaced, giving herself a facepalm. "Dear God...the puns!"

Pinkie, who had been quiet thus far, soon started to develop a mischievous smirk. "Oh yeah...the puns."

Rainbow, knowing her friend quite well by now, immediately regretted having said what she'd said. "...Oh no."

As the athlete had feared, Pinkie immediately stood up, hands on hips, bellowing out an overly-exaggerated version of, presumably, whatever voice the possessed coop had spoken with. "Muahahahahaha! I guess I wasn't eggs-axtly, what you were eggs-pecting, eh Rainbooms?!" The response was a chorus of boos from all the girls, prompting a giggle on Pinkie's part as she sat back down. "Meh, worth it."

After a while though, Sunset actually afforded herself a laugh, followed by another sigh. "Well, if nothing else, it's good to know we did some good taking the thing out."

There was a murmur of agreement among the girls, during which time Pinkie looked down to her school bag, which she, along with the rest of them, had left behind before going on their messy adventure today. It took only a few moments before the party-lover whipped out some earphones, popping them on and switching on her music. The other girls paid her no mind, as it was now when Mrs Cake returned, bringing with her the promised tray of milkshakes. The girls all eagerly accepted, enjoying that first slurp as if it was the most delicious thing they'd ever tasted. Mrs Cake smiled to this, getting back to the counter soon afterwards, and after having swiftly downed most of her shake, Twilight eventually elected to speak first. "You know, this whole Equestrian magic debacle can't last forever, right? I mean...it'll have to stop eventually."

Rarity, sweeping aside some of her hair, gave a firm nod to that. "Quite, darling. One does not wish to engage in such...unpleasantness their whole lives after all."

Rainbow snorted as she looked to her fashion-loving friend. "Speak for yourself, Rares. I could play the superhero forever!"

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Eyup, we know ya could."

Rainbow, however, was unconcerned with her friend's remark, balling her hand into a fist and offering it to her. "Hey, let's face it, we're pretty awesome at it."

Applejack looked to the offered first, then to Rainbow's smirking face, before developing a smirk of her own. "Yeah...we kinda are, aren't we?" She matched the fist, bumping it against Rainbow's and prompting a simultaneous shared chuckle between them.

Fluttershy, who had taken to pulling bits of egg shell out of her hair, looked over to Sunset. "Maybe we can call Princess Twilight about it? She might have some insight about all this magic coming in."

Pinkie, having apparently heard her friend through her earphones, whipped them off and grinned widely, clapping her hands together. "Oooooh! Maybe she can come over and we can all have ourselves a big and fantastic talk-about-magical-perils sleepover!"

Sunset smiled to her friend's enthusiasm, then suddenly started to look a bit more thoughtful. Twiddling her thumbs, she very much looked like she wanted to talk about something important, and after staying silent for quite some time she finally did so. "Twilight...rules Equestria now."

A silence fell, and all her friends looked to her, especially Twilight, who now adjusted her glasses slightly. "Um...pardon?"

Sunset glanced back up to each of them before settling on her spectacled friend. "I got word of it some time ago. Princess Celestia and Luna retired. Twilight...reigns over all of Equestria."

Her friends all looked to her with utter shock, and for a time nobody said anything. Occasionally, they'd look to one another, as if hoping one of them would actually say something or have a better handle on how to react to news like that. After a while though, it was, inevitably, Rainbow Dash who broke that silence. "That...is...awesome!"

Sunset, seeing her enthusiasm, as well as the happy smiles on all her other friends' faces, afforded herself a grin of her own. "Yeah...it kind of is, isn't it?"

Rarity squealed with delight. "Oh my! Mayhaps a coronation dress is in order?"

Sunset placed her hand on her shoulder. "Yeah, I think the other you got that part covered."

Rarity nodded, smiling with satisfaction. "Well then, I'm sure Princess Twilight looked stunning if that's the case."

Twilight, who had naturally looked the most uncertain out of all of them, took a moment to take off her glasses and give them a quick wipe with a handkerchief. After putting them back on her face, she looked to Sunset with more concern. "Was she okay? Ruling, I mean. I know I'd be pretty nervous."

A thoughtful nod from Sunset. "She was. And I don't blame her. Having people look up to you is one thing, but a whole nation? That's stress on a whole other level." She paused, then slowly started to smile softly. "But...after all she's been through...I think she's ready for it."

Twilight too smiled, but before she could say anything, Rainbow leaned over and looked to Sunset with confusion. "Wait, she had some big fancy I'm-taking-over party and we weren't invited?"

Here, Sunset looked a bit guilty, scratching the side of her cheek briefly. "Well, she did kinda send me a message...but I told her we couldn't make it. The exams and everything."

To that, Rainbow threw back her head and groaned loudly. "Uuuuuuuugh! Why do schools always do that to us at the worst times?!"

Fluttershy smiled to her, placing her hand upon her shoulder. "I'm sure we can always visit and congratulate her later."

Sighing, Rainbow smiled back to her. "Yeah...I guess we could." She snickered. "Plus, how great is it we have a head of state as our friend?!"

The group all laughed together at that, with Rarity speaking up about it first. "I think Twilight might have other responsibilities besides doing favors for us, Rainbow."

Immediately, Rainbow blushed. "I wasn't suggesting that!" After seeing the critical looks she was getting, she nervously scratched the back of her head. "Okay...maybe a little."

Pinkie continued giggling for a bit, then looked to her athletic colleague. "Besides, we should be less worried about her and more worried about us! We've got a whole weekend to enjoy and no plans for it!"

Leaning back into her side of the booth, Applejack pondered that. "Well, ah know ah've gotta go an' get mah family a new coop...or at least fix up what was left o' the old one."

Looking over to her, Fluttershy clasped her hands together. "Oh, maybe I could help?"

Applejack smiled to her, tipping her hat as she did so. "That'd be mighty kind o' ya, Fluttershy."

Pinkie, understandably, smiled widely to that friendly display, then got her headphones out again before switching them on. "Well, I know what I'm gonna do! Spend tomorrow listening to all these super-fun tracks of mine!" She kept her headphones in her hands for a while, allowing the music to belt out. And as she nodded in-tune with the music, listening to the lyrics of "round and round and round" going on, she soon noticed her friends giving her odd looks, prompting a quick shrug of her shoulders. "Hey, they may have been baddies, but boy do those three know how to make a sweet-sounding song!"

The others reluctantly nodded in agreement, after which Rarity got up, brushing off some stray egg-shell from her outfit before starting to step out of the booth. "Well, this has been a lovely moment, darlings, but I really must be off. One desperately needs to go home and have a nice, hot bath after today."

Rainbow cackled again, getting up herself. "Yeah, I'm with ya there. I've got a jog with Indigo tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure she won't want me covered in egg while I do it." She paused, then smirked. "Heh, maybe she would. It'd get a chuckle out of her anyway."

They all had another laugh together over that, and one by one they all began to make their way off, giving one another a wave before finally departing. Eventually, it was just Sunset, Twilight and Spike, with the latter having finally finished his current shake. "So...Think you'll face something weirder next time the magic strikes? A big, flying mailbox maybe?"

A dry laugh escaped Sunset. "Honestly, after today's outing, I'd take it."

Twilight too took a sip of her drink, then looked over to her Equestrian friend with thoughtfulness. "Do you ever think about it? How odd our lives are? How everyone in this town has just gotten used to magic and the seven of us and...all of it?"

Sunset paused, thinking hard on that and looking to her. It was hard to read her face, at least at first, and for a while the former student of Princess Celestia just started looking around. Some familiar faces, some unfamiliar, all laughing and enjoying themselves in this place, before Sunset finally glanced back to her friend. Slowly, she smiled again, taking Twilight's hand into her own. "Yeah, it's weird alright." Her smile grew. "And you know...I wouldn't trade it for anything."

Author's Note

Unquestionably, the story I have poured the most time and love into on this site was my Equestria Girls Continuity, which was brought to an end last year. But when you spend that much time on something, it can be difficult to just walk away from it. Ever since it ended I've been thinking about that story, and whether or not to possibly continue it.

In the end, since I was very satisfied with the way I concluded it, I thought it might be better instead if I do a different sort of story. A kind of second draft, if you will. After all, now that the show has ended, I have a greater grasp on what is and isn't canon for the show, as opposed to what I was doing before and coming up with stuff that frequently ended up zigging where the show zagged.

Also, I think it's safe to say that my old story was kind of weird in a lot of places, so I'll try and keep this one a bit more grounded than what I've done before. So if you were expecting some out-there stuff like Adagio once more being given an R63 version of herself as a boyfriend, please know that's not the sort of thing this one will have.

Plus, you might have noticed I'm writing somewhat differently to how I normally do, and I decided that after so long of people suggesting that I use too many spaces it might be worth trying to cut back on them, just to see how people take it.

So yeah, it might not be as regularly updated, but I hope this new EqG story will engage readers like my old one did :twilightsmile:

On the Road

A long road ahead of them, and a long road behind them. Rows of trees on either side as they drove towards their destination. Of course, having driven for so long, they would have to go further before they actually saw said destination, but after having been through many such journeys the three of them were used to this sort of waiting by now. Aria, sitting at the wheel, looked about as bored as one could get, only occasionally letting her eyes stray from the road in front of her when there was some animal jumping out of the way some distance ahead of them. That was the level of excitement she had to deal with right now, and it prompted the expected sigh on her part. "This...sucks."

"Well, you volunteered to drive this time, so no complaining," called a voice from behind.

Aria frowned, looking up to her rear-view mirror to see the rest of the inside of the van. There, she could easily spot Adagio, doing her usual lounging on the place's one sofa, quietly reading to herself. Sonata was kneeling on the floor, a handheld game currently holding her focus, her tongue sticking out as she played. Having looked to them both, Aria once more looked to the reflection of Adagio before again returning her gaze to the road. "I only volunteered because I couldn't stand to have one more trip like this of just sitting down doing nothing for hours on end!"

Looking up from her book, the eldest Siren smirked, as was her way. "Well, now you can do nothing at the wheel instead. How fun, yes?"

Aria grumbled of course, much to Adagio's delight, but it was at this point when Sonata finally spoke, having set her game aside for the time being in favor of her phone. "Ooooh! Check this out! Looks like people are pretty chatty about our performance at the Post-Crush festival!"

Adagio chuckled. "As well they should be! It is us after all."

Sonata swiped photo after photo of the event in question, then tilted her head slightly. "Huh...didn't know they were there."

Aria briefly glanced into the mirror to look at her. "Who?"

Sonata smiled obliviously, holding up her phone for the two of them to see. "The Rainbooms."

Instantly, both Adagio and Aria's heads snapped in her direction. "What?!" They both shouted simultaneously. Unfortunately, Sonata didn't get the chance to reply, as there was a sudden bursting sound from somewhere underneath the van, and Aria gripped the wheel tighter than ever before. There was a few moments of violent swerving for the vehicle, during which time the three on-board let out yelps of distress. Thankfully, Aria managed to get control of the van, guiding it into the side of the road and slowing it down to a stop. In the relative calm that followed, all three of them panted and breathed heavily, definitely shocked from the ordeal. Aria, in a rare moment of concern, looked back to the other two. "Everyone okay?"

Adagio looked over to Sonata, then back to Aria. "Y...yes, I think so."

Slowly, Sonata got herself up, glancing around before settling on Aria also. "What happened?"

Aria sighed. "I think I know." She got up, reaching over and opening the door before stepping outside. Adagio and Sonata were quick to follow her, and before long all three were outside. It was pretty chilly tonight, and with the sun having set mere moments ago that chill was all the more noticeable, as evidenced when Sonata started shivering. Aria, not noticing this about her, walked around the van and got to one knee as she inspected the rear-right wheel. Sure enough, the thing was busted, with a gaping hole in the side. Seeing this now-deflated tyre, Aria frowned. "Thought so."

Adagio placed one hand upon her hip as she too looked to their newest problem. "What was it? Glass in the road?"

Aria shook her head as she stood up again. "Nah. The thing's just old. This vain ain't exactly a spring chicken, Adagio."

Adagio rubbed the bridge of her nose, taking a deep breath. "Right...and let me guess, we have no spare?"

Again, Aria shook her head. "We used up our last getting to the festival. We'll need to call in some help."

Adagio stared at her for a time, clearly irritated at all this, but also knowing it wasn't exactly Aria's fault. Turning, she whipped out her own phone and, after looking through her contacts, selected one in particular. The others watched silently as she waited and waited for a response, sounding as calm as possible when she finally got one. "Hello? Yes, I'm afraid our tyre burst while we were driving and we have no spare. We're rather stranded right now, so we'd be grateful if you could maybe send someone out to help?" A pause. "Where are we? Hold on." She took a step closer to the van, reaching inside the still-open door and pulling out a road-map. Looking to it in the dim light, she spoke slower than before. "I'd say...about a mile south of New Manesville. Yes? Y...yes, that's right. An hour?" She sighed. "Sure, I'm pretty sure we can wait that long. Thank you." Pressing the off-button, she exhaled finally. "They'll be here as soon as they can."

Aria folded her arms, shaking her head. "I'm betting this won't be cheap."

Adagio rolled her eyes. "We made enough during our last performance to cover it...but no, it won't be."

Sonata looked from one, then to the other, before placing a finger on her chin. "Um...should I go and make some tea?"

A long sigh from Adagio. "Yes, Sonata, that would be good right now."

As the other Siren hopped back into the van to make the promised drinks, Aria looked over to her, then narrowed her eyes slightly. "So they were there? The Rainbooms?" She watched Sonata look over her shoulder, giving a quick nod before getting back to her work. Her phone, however, was left on the side, with the pictures she'd been showing still on display. Stepping into the van herself, Aria took hold of the device, with Sonata seemingly having no issue with her doing so, before stepping outside again. As Aria looked through the pictures, she saw that Sonata had the right of it. The Rainbooms had indeed been there, as there were pictures of Pinkie, Rarity and everyone else from that group doing various things across the festival. As Aria looked through them, she started to appear worried. "Think they saw us there?"

Adagio shrugged. "I'd imagine so. Those girls have a nasty habit of getting involved in our business."

Switching the phone off, Aria folded her arms again. "If they did, why didn't they try to do anything with us? I mean, us three, doing public singing? They'd probably guess we were up to no good again."

Looking around, Adagio saw a nearby large rock only a few feet away from where they'd stopped, which she casually walked over to before sitting on, legs crossed. "Oh, who knows? The less we have to do with them, the better."

As before, Aria looked through the pictures on the phone, then stopped at one in particular. "Huh...looks like that pony Princess is back with them."

"Oh, really?" Adagio remarked, uninterested.

Slowly, Aria tilted her head. "Guess her eyes aren't as good as they used to be, if those glasses are anything to go by."

Adagio's eyes flickered towards her for a moment, then she turned away, looking up at the starry sky instead. "Well, time changes all of us, doesn't it?"

Aria cocked an eyebrow, surprised by the out-of-nowhere philosophical moment from her fellow Siren. But before she had the chance to respond, Sonata came out, holding a tray with three tea-cups. The bubbly Dazzling looked pleased as punch as she offered the cups to her cohorts, and despite their usual grouchy attitude towards one another, they accepted and smiled to her in gratitude. There was silence for a long while, during which time the three each found their own place to sit. Sonata upon the grass, Adagio on her rock and Aria sitting on the edge of the still-open van door. Aside from the occasional light breeze, the only sounds right now was that of the three of them drinking their tea. But there came a point where Sonata finally ended that quiet. "So I was thinking..."

"Will wonders never cease?" Aria remarked with a smirk.

Sonata frowned, but ignored her. "Maybe, if we get ourselves a computer or something, we can make some kind of music video for our songs?"

Adagio gave one of her customary arched eyebrows. "Music video?"

Sonata nodded enthusiastically. "Yep! You know, get the song out there online, make people interested, that sort of thing? Might make us more popular, you know?"

A pause, and Adagio eventually offered her a small smile. "A fine idea, but the three of us aren't exactly big movie-makers."

Sonata tapped the end of her chin. "Well...maybe we could think of some new lyrics? New costumes while we're singing? You know, shake things up a bit?"

Aria looked to her inquisitively. "Why do you care about our music all of a sudden?"

Sonata didn't look to her, instead staring down at the warm cup of tea, now held carefully in both hands. "I dunno...I guess it's just...all we've got, right?"

As anyone who knew these three could tell you, a remark like that was not expected from the most upbeat of their number, and for a while Adagio and Aria just looked to each other, unsure of how to respond. Adagio, after a moment or two, took a sip of her tea, then looked up to the sight of the moon, only half-full tonight. "Well...I suppose a few flourishes here and there wouldn't be entirely unwarranted."

Sonata perked up immediately, smiling widely to those words. "Really?"

Adagio smiled. "Quite. We can't just keep doing the same thing over and over after all."

Aria chortled. "No argument there. It'd get boring real fast. I mean who wants to spend the rest of their lives doing the same thing?"

They shared a laugh, doing much to make them feel better about their situation. Though even that didn't really distract them too long from just how cold it was out here, as shown when Sonata shivered again. "So...can we head back in?"

Adagio, finishing off her tea, gave a firm nod. "Agreed. Now's not really the time of year to be out too long."

Unfortunately for the two of them, Aria stood between them and the door of the van, holding her hand out to stop them. "Hold up..." She stepped inside, and as the other two gave confused glances to one another, they could hear her rummaging around in there for something. When she finally re-emerged, she was holding a jack. "The job will go much easier for the guy if the old wheel's off by the time he gets here. And the sooner he's done, the sooner we can get on the move again."

Adagio grimaced, but gave a reluctant nod, acknowledging the wisdom in her colleague's words. Aria nodded back, walking along to the damaged wheel, and as she got onto her knees, getting the jack into place, Sonata started to look contemplative again. She looked again to Adagio, hesitating to speak for a time, before finally just poking her in the side of the arm. As the eldest Siren looked back to her, eyebrow raised, Sonata spoke to her, her voice tinted with nervousness. "I...I know we're not supposed to talk about it, but...do you think we'll ever get all that stuff back for ourselves?"

Adagio paused, then spoke with a flat tone. "That stuff?"

Sonata nodded. "Yeah...magic, popularity...Equestria maybe?"

Adagio restrained herself from wincing at those thoughts, but after a few seconds, she just sighed, reaching out and giving her fellow Siren a quick pat on the shoulder. "Word of advice, Nata? Focus on the lives we've got...rather than what we know we'll never get back." As she saw Sonata start to look a little disheartened, Adagio looked away, staring at the road they'd just driven down. "It's...better that way."

Sciencing Magic

"Er...girls?"

"Yeah, Rainbow?" Applejack responded.

"Would anyone wanna explain why we're spending our afternoon in the school labs...again?"

Applejack shrugged. "Sunset an' Twi said they wanted ta meet us here."

"Ooooh! You think they've got a super-special birthday surprise planned for us?" Pinkie speculated.

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "Darling, nobody here has a birthday today."

But Pinkie just waved her off. "Pfft! When's that ever been a good reason not to celebrate them?"

Fluttershy giggled, petting Angel, who was sitting on her lap as she sat in the corner. "I know Twilight was really excited about something earlier. She had all these notes and books she wanted to go through."

Rainbow chuckled. "Hehe, sounds like a typical day for her." Then she grimaced. "Wait...we don't have an extra-long study session we agreed to or anything, right?" As she saw her friends all give her a collective shrug, she clasped her hands together and started talking to the ceiling. "Please don't let it be that, please don't let it be that, please don't let it be that..."

As she continued her praying, it was here when the door of the lab finally opened, revealing their two absent friends. Sunset and Twilight smiled to the group, entering and closing the door behind them. The girls all noted that the two were wearing lab coats, and immediately a sense of familiarity came to them. But they said nothing, at least for now, as Twilight cleared her throat and started to address them all. "As you know, we've been at our work of protecting the town from magical threats for some time now."

Pinkie laughed loudly. "Well duh, Twilight! No need to go all 'as you know' on us!"

Twilight blushed, clearing her throat again, though this time with a slightly embarrassed sound to it. "Anyway...me and Sunset got to talking, and we decided that it might be a good time for us to start doing some serious research on our capabilities."

There was silence for a while, and the other girls all gave each other uncertain looks. Sunset, who was much better at reading the room than twilight, stepped ahead of her spectacled friend to speak to the rest of them. "Look, I know the last time we did anything scientific about our magic it didn't end up...all that successful."

Rarity pointed to her. "Sunset, dear Sunset...you ended up blasted into a wall!"

Twilight adjusted her glasses as she turned to her Equestrian colleague. "You never mentioned that."

Sunset blushed, scratching the back of her head. "Well...I kinda didn't want to remember that part." After seeing the smirks she was getting from all of them, she sighed, speaking up again. "The point is...we all have a better handle on our magic. It's not just showing up at random times or unleashing itself in uncontrollable bursts like it used to."

Rainbow folded her arms, looking her usual confident self. " Yeah, we're getting pretty great at it, aren't we?"

Sunset's smile returned. "Exactly. And because we're able to control it more, now might be a good time to see just what kinds of things we're dealing with."

Stepping forward, Rainbow planted her right hand, now a fist, straight into the open palm of her left. "Alrighty then! What are we gonna do first? Test to see how much Pinkie's power can blow something up? Maybe see if I can break the light-speed barrier?"

Twilight, though at first amused by her friend's enthusiasm, whipped out a clipboard and gave a shake of her head. "I think we need to start small, Rainbow. Best to wait until we've gathered more data before moving onto more, shall we say, exciting endeavours?"

Rainbow folded her arms, giving a quick pout. "Hmph! That's no fun!"

Fluttershy walked beside her, offering her a brief pat on the shoulder, before looking to Twilight. "So what is first?"

Here, Twilight gestured to Sunset, who took the next turn to speak. "Well, I think it might be worth trying to see if our pendants are limited to just those who have them." She and Twilight walked over to a nearby chalkboard, and Sunset took a photo from Twilight's clipboard and struck it on. The others saw that it was a photo of Gloriosa Daisy from Camp Everfree, whom Sunset now gestured to. "We know from the day we first got these gemstones that others were capable of harnessing their power. So clearly there's no real limit on their wielders."

Pinkie scratched the side of her cheek, then smiled. "Oh, so if I were to give mine to Fluttershy..." She took off the artefact in question, then offered it to the friend beside her who, after a moment of hesitation, accepted it. Pinkie, clapping her hands together, eagerly awaited what was next. "Go on, Fluttershy! Try it!"

Fluttershy looked around, and after seeing Sunset give her a smile and a shrug, the group's resident animal-lover took a deep breath, then took off her own pendant, replacing it with the one that had been given to her. At first, nothing happened. No magical reaction, no glowing, not even the tiniest peep. After waiting for a while, Fluttershy glanced over to the closest table, which had a number of stray pencils laying on top. Nervously, she reached out, taking the nearest, then held it tight in her hand, concentrating in the same way she did when activating her own magic. Here, there actually was a reaction, a glow from the pendant, and the girls all leaned in closer, anticipating what the outcome would be. But there was not the usual sparkly explosion that Pinkie had, and instead there just seemed to be no outcome whatsoever. "Um...what now?! Fluttershy rightfully asked.

Sunset and Twilight looked to each other, equally uncertain, but then the former was distracted by the sound of a bird tweeting at the lab's window. An idea came to the Equestrian, and she again looked to Fluttershy. "Can...can you understand him?"

Fluttershy looked to the aforementioned bird, and she too listened to it for a time. After hearing that sweet-sounding birdsong, she smiled, nodding once before looking to her friend. "Yes, I can."

Twilight jotted that down on her clipboard. "Okay then, that's that established. The pendants, no matter which of us is wearing them, would still activate our magic, but the skills themselves wouldn't change."

Applejack took hold of a chair and sat herself down in it. "Huh, guess that makes sense. We were still gettin' super strength an' speed before we got them pendants after all."

Glancing over to her, Sunset smiled. "You're not wrong, Applejack. Which brings us neatly onto our next test." She reached out to Twilight, and the latter gave her the clipboard. After flipping over the front page on it, Sunset again gave Applejack her full attention. "As you say, our powers came to us before we got them. But we also know that our powers are diminished if they're taken away." She gestured to herself. "My losing my pendant during our fight with the toaster robot was proof enough of that."

Twilight frowned at the memory. "Honestly, how many times do I have to tell Chips, don't give the robots a desire to punch things!" Slowly, she noticed her friends were all giving her odd looks, prompting a shrug on her part. "What? It's just common sense, right?"

Looking from Twilight to the rest of the group, Sunset eventually cleared her throat. "Yes, well, we still need to see just how much losing those pendants affects us. So..." She walked over to a battle in the corner of the room. "Pinkie? Rainbow? Rarity? Could you come and stand on top of this for a moment?" She watched as the girls paused, showing clear uncertainty. But in the end, their trust in Sunset won out, and they followed her instructions. One by one, they began to stand on top of the table, and after giving a quick nod, Sunset faced Applejack once more. "Now then...use your magic and lift them, if you would."

Applejack too seemed uncertain, but her curiosity was apparently just as great as Twilight and Sunset's right now, and so, after spitting into her palms and rubbing her hands, she sauntered on over. Placing a finger to her pendant, she activated her magic, and before long she was lifting the table with the three girls like it was no issue whatsoever. "This okay?"

Sunset gave her a hearty thumb's up. "Great!" She then looked to the three girls, watching them hold onto each other. "You okay there?"

After making sure they all had their balance, Rarity called down to her. "Y...yes, I think we're alright, darling."

Sunset now walked forward, right up to Applejack, reaching out slightly. "Okay...I'm going to take your pendent off now, Applejack." Her friend was understandably worried, but as before, she trusted the words of her friend.

Twilight, in the meantime, took a step closer to this whole gathering, noticing for a moment how concerned Fluttershy was being off to the side. "If anything goes wrong, I'll use my telekinesis to keep the three from falling." Those words assured the girl, but only slightly, and Twilight soon gave a silent nod to Sunset. "Okay, go ahead."

Sunset nodded back, reaching out further and, very slowly, took Applejack's pendant off. Immediately, there was a change, and the farm girl wobbled slightly. Twilight immediately let her hands glow, ready to catch whoever fell, but Applejack called out first. "It's okay...I got em!" She was struggling more than before, and the girls above held onto each other closer. Sunset, now very wary of what was happening, took a single step back from Applejack. Then she took another, and another, and another, and sweat started to pour down Applejack's face. "Okay...gettin' pretty hard now."

"Alright, I think that's enough," Sunset declared. She rushed forward, getting the pendant back on as fast as she could, and immediately they could all tell that Applejacks' strength had returned, as the strain completely disappeared from her face. Carefully, she set the table down, and the three girls quickly hopped off it. Sunset, waiting until the last one was off, let out a deep sigh. "Okay, everyone alright?" There was a pause, but after looking to one another, they gave her a simultaneous nod, much to her relief. "Good."

Pinkie, who had been biting her nails in worry for some time, walked over and placed one hand on her hip. "We couldn't have lifted the table without people on it?!"

Rainbow rolled her yes. "Oh please, a table would have been nothing to AJ, with or without her powers!"

Tipping her hat, Applejack smirked. "She ain't wrong."

Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight were whispering to each other for a time, writing notes down on their clipboard and going back and forth over what they'd witnessed. The others watched, and after coming to some sort of conclusion, it was Twilight who eventually came forward. "Alright then. We've established that our powers are still present without the pendants, though they diminish with greater distance. We know they can't be used to give each of us the powers of others, so we must act on the assumption that the powers we possess, speed, speaking with animals and all the rest, are unique to us."

"Sort of like how manipulating plants was something only Gloriosa could do when she had them," Sunset added.

Rarity tapped her chin for a time, glancing out of the window to several of their fellow CHS students outside. "Mayhaps there are other talents among people that would be activated by these pendants? Would, say, Applejack's brother display some power if he were given one?"

Applejack chortled to that thought. "That'd be something to see."

Twilight took her glasses off as she looked to her fashionista friend. "It's entirely possible. We'd need to call him in to know for sure."

"How much more do we need to know? We use our powers fairly well already," Fluttershy added.

Sunset walked over to her. "If there's one thing we've all learned together, it's that it never hurts to be prepared and know just what we've got at our disposal." There was a murmur of agreement between them, after which Sunset looked back to Twilight. "Having a second set of eyes during all this has certainly helped. My last time experimenting with this wasn't nearly this informative."

Putting on her glasses, Twilight smiled to her, taking her hand. "Hey, that's what friends are for, right?"

Holding the offered hand tenderly, Sunset smiled right back. "Hehe, no argument there, Twilight."

Crystal Prep's Finest

There was a time, not so long ago, when the school of Crystal Prep, though renowned as an excellent place for education and success, also came to be known as a place where students weren't exactly all that happy. True, awards and trophies and high grades were all well and good, but the school itself never had the kind of unbridled love of its students that Canterlot High had become famous for. Things had started to change, however, and wherever one looked, there seemed to be genuine smiles on the faces of the boys and girls who passed through those historic doors. Things were, for lack of a better word, lightening up around here, and for one girl in particular, she had even more than usual to be pleased about. "Oh yeah! Who has two thumbs and just passed her test? This girl!" Indigo leapt off the top stair at the front of the school, landing with all the grace expected of the school's top athlete.

Her friends soon followed, with Sour shaking her head to the display of bravado. "You know, the rest of us passed too, Indigo."

Indigo turned, smirking to her classmate. "Yeah, I know. So where's your enthusiasm for it?"

Lemon walked alongside Sour, smiling to her. "She's not wrong. This was pretty great."

Indigo pointed to her. "Now that's the spirit!"

"It really shouldn't be that big of a surprise that we passed. Passion for doing well at this school has been on the rise lately," Sugarcoat noted as she emerged from the school, adjusting her glasses slightly.

Sunny, smiling to her friend's usual matter-of-fact tone, took a few steps down the front stairs before adding her own voice to the conversation. "Well can you blame us? Ever since Cadance took over, students here have been wanting to learn...well...because we want to now."

Chuckling, Indigo took a seat on one of the bottom steps, looking out to the other students around them. "I'll say! That lady really knows how to run the place. I don't know about the rest of you, but learning because I enjoyed the subject never really came into play under...well, the last Principal we had." Seeing the general look of agreement among her peers, Indigo stood tall again. "Guess that's one more thing we oughta thank the girls for."

Sour looked down to her. "Who? Sunset and the others?"

A shrug from Indigo. "Who else?"

Another round of nods from the girls, ended when Lemon took off her headphones, and whatever she had been listening to, smiling to her friends. "Say what you will about CHS, but boy do those guys know how to add some weirdness to the town." She started counting off her fingers. "Let's see, we've had magic from another world, we've had crazy she-demons, and now we apparently have a team of super-heroines going around stopping monsters and bad guys."

"And also a talking dog," Indigo nodded.

Lemon giggled. "Oh yeah, that too."

Sugarcoat gave a single nod. "Quite. An exciting time for all."

Her tone had not changed in the slightest, much to the amusement of the rest, and after shaking her head slightly, Sunny considered what had been said. "Do you ever worry about how they don't even bother hiding their faces when they go out like that? Like, no masks or anything?"

Lemon shrugged. "Hey, if Superman can go out and save people without a mask and get away with it, I guess anything's on the table." The girl took a moment to enjoy how none of her friends could come up with a counter to that, but then got distracted by a sudden buzzing in her pocket. Whipping out her phone, she looked to the message she'd received, and before long there was a massive grin on her face. "Oh yeah! Looks like our music video with the Rainbooms just got itself a million hits on CanterTube!"

There was a round of high-fives among the group, followed by a rather smug look on Sour's part. "Well, can't say I'm surprised. We were pretty great there."

Indigo gave an uncharacteristically solemn nod, then looked away. "Yep, you really were."

Instantly getting the feeling that came off those words, Sunny stepped over to her, placing her hand upon her shoulder. "Hey, sorry you weren't able to be a part of it. If we could have postponed, we'd..."

But Indigo, smiling in gratitude to the kind words, shook her head. "No, it's fine. Being with my family for the vacation was pretty great too. I'm glad you all had a decent time with it."

Sugarcoat arched an eyebrow. "Decent might be stretching it. I distinctly recall going through some rather unfortunate times before things came together."

Sour groaned. "Uuuuuuuuugh! Don't remind me! I can't believe I went and made promises like that to the rest of the school!" She buried her face in her hands. "If Rarity hadn't come along and helped us, we'd have been a laughing stock!"

Sugarcoat glanced down to her. "Well...you more than us."

Sour frowned to her. "Thank you, Sugar, that was really helpful of you."

Indigo, now feeling at least a little bit better at not having been a part of all this, smiled over to her. "Hey, things worked out in the end, right? I mean you've got an awesome and popular music video now, so that's pretty neat."

Sighing, Sour nodded. "It would have been nice to have done it without help, but...yeah, it is pretty neat." She smiled over to Indigo, then suddenly got an idea, pointing over to her. "You know, if you want, we could always try making another video. You could be part of it this time."

Indigo tapped her chin as she considered that, slowly smiling to herself. "Yeah...that'd be sweet alright. I'd probably need to call Rarity to figure out what outfit would be good for me."

Lemon smiled mischievously to her. "And don't forget you've gotta pick up some dance moves. That's kind of important too. Don't wanna spend the whole time just jumping around randomly."

Sugarcoat nodded in agreement. "Quite. Though if nothing else, Indigo has that part covered. She's at least as good as I am when it comes to ballet."

Instantly, the rest of the group fell silent, as if struggling to process what had just been said to them, and after a while all eyes were on their resident tomboy, who promptly shrugged. "Hey, don't look at me like that! It's helps with my balance." She smirked right back to them. "Anyone who's seen me in gym class will tell you that much."

"Indeed. You were quite impressive at it, if I recall correctly." The unexpected voice caused all five girls to turn, and there they saw the smiling face of their most recent Principal, Mi'Amore Cadenza, though just better known as Cadance. "Apologies for interrupting, but I believe, Miss Sour, you left this at your desk earlier."

Sour watched as her Principal offered her an open hand, in which was, very definitely, her phone. The girl's eyes widened, and she patted down her own pockets, before blushing fiercely at having realized what had happened. "Oh! Thanks! I didn't even know I'd left it!"

Cadance gave a single nod. "I can see that. I suggest you be a touch more careful with it. Especially since phones aren't technically allowed in the classrooms here." Seeing her student start to look nervous, Cadance laughed briefly, patting her on the shoulder. "Don't worry, I'll let it slide this time. If it happens again though..."

Sour shook her head. "Don't worry, I'll keep it somewhere else."

Again, Cadance nodded. "Glad to hear it. Now then..." She started walking past the group and away from the school. "If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting to attend to in town. The Superintendent has some new regulations to announce and the local Principals need to attend."

Lemon looked at her watch. "But it's only lunchtime. Who's in charge while you're gone?"

A sly smile crept onto Cadance's face. "Oh, I'm sure the other teachers can keep the place from falling apart while I'm gone." She looked back to them, eyebrow raised. "Unless you girls perhaps have some shenanigans planned?" Seeing them all vigorously shake their heads, her smile grew. "Very good. Now, if you'll excuse me."

The girls watched as she got into her car, and before long the thing was off, heading down the road at a decent speed. Now alone, Sour held her phone close to her chest, breathing a sigh of relief. "Oh geez! Can you imagine how bad this would have been for me if Cinch had been Principal right now?!"

Lemon chuckled. "Oh yeah, you'd have been in detention faster than you could blink!"

The girls, even Sour, all shared a laugh together, and when it was over, Indigo glanced in the direction Cadance had left in. "You know, she's been a pretty great Principal so far. You actually feel like you can talk to her. I mean...talk to her and not get into trouble for it."

Sugarcoat considered that. "Unless you arrive unexpectedly while she's on a conversation with her...'colleague' in the city's police department. Those moments are rather adamantly private for her."

After a collective smirk from the other girls, it was Lemon who ultimately said what they were all thinking. "I'm guessing you're talking about Twilight's brother?"

Seeing Sugarcoat nod, Indigo, leaning on the side of the stairs, chortled for a moment. "Honestly, do those two actually think they're being subtle about that? They have to know it's not really a secret, right?"

"I'll bet anything that Twilight hasn't noticed," Sunny remarked. "I don't care how smart she is, that girl can be the most oblivious in the world sometimes."

Getting out her own phone, and after pressing a few buttons, Lemon started to look a touch mischievous. "Well, there's definitely plenty out there for her to pick up on. She'll notice one day."

Looking to her with confusion, Sour stepped forward. "Wait, what are you...?" Getting closer, she soon noted that Lemon apparently had a number of photos involving their Principal and Twilight's brother. Moments like him leaving her office and smiling back to her, or them meeting up with one another in the local park. After looking to the photos, then to Lemon, Sour started to speak, her voice giving away her uncertainty. "Um...have you been stalking those two?"

Lemon rolled her eyes. "No! I just take photos whenever I spot them. There's a difference!"

The girls all looked to one another again, after which Indigo walked over to her music-loving friend. "Well don't just hog them, girl! Let us have a look!" They gathered around, looking through photo after photo after photo, with giggles abound, even for Indigo. "Oh yeah, there's no doubt, those two are gonna go at it like friggin' rabbits before long!"

But after a few moments of this, Sunny glanced to Lemon with concern. "Er...you don't take photos of other people getting close like this, do you?"

Lemon waved her off, looking as cool as a cucumber. "Nah! That'd just be weird!" She laughed for a moment, and then, while looking away, whispered under her breath. "Note to self, delete personal files when I get home."

Sunny, who at least had some inkling of her friend's words, looked to her warily. "You know, maybe just stick to video games as a hobby, okay Lemon?"

Lemon grinned excitedly. "Oh! That reminds me! I've gotta meet up with Pinkie later for a rematch on Tirek's Revenge!"

Sour twirled her ponytail with one finger as she smirked to that declaration. "Oh yeah? Well in that case, make sure to beat her at it. Can't let up with those CHS girls after all."

Indigo rolled her eyes. "Sour, I know this is rich coming from me, but after all we've been through do we really need to keep up the whole rivalry thing between our schools?"

Sour shrugged. "Hey, gotta keep each other on our toes somehow. Besides, they kinda made it personal when they stole that cutie Twilight from us." After seeing her friends give her surprised looks, she snickered. "Admit it, you've all thought that about her at least once."

A moment of awkward embarrassment, ending when Sugarcoat leaned in and whispered to Indigo. "Credit where it's due, she's not wrong."

Two Girls and a Guy

"Sunset, I mean this with the greatest respect and love...but you're absolutely crazy!" Twilight announced.

Sunset, folding her arms, looked to her friend sceptically. "Oh yeah? And you think your position is somehow saner?"

"There's no debate to be had! If you don't make the choice I've made, then clearly there's something seriously kooky going on with you."

Leaning forward, the Equestrian looked to Twilight with amusement. "Those are some figthin' words, Twilight, but you think you can back em up?" she declared, with a tiny bit of an accent to boot.

Twilight, adjusting her glasses slightly, smirked right back. "First of all, impersonating Applejack won't help you, and secondly..." She reached to the side, picking up her glass and holding it and the pink liquid within right in front of Sunset's face. "Everyone and their Grandma knows that strawberry milkshakes are the tastiest you can have!"

Sunset chuckled, shaking her head. "Oh Twilight, you sweet girl. But oh so foolish. Clearly chocolate is the top-tier milkshake in this contest!"

Twilight looked to her, aghast. "I can't even believe what I'm hearing! How long have you kept this dark and terrible secret from me!"

Sunset pointed an accusing finger to her. "I was gonna say the same thing about you!"

A tense pause, and after what looked like a dramatic standoff, both girls broke character and burst out laughing, taking a good glug of their respective drinks before sighing over the matter. "Honestly, I love them both...but strawberry really is the best," Twilight said.

Sunset shrugged. "Hey, whatever makes you happy, friend."

Twilight, who was content with just continuing with her drink for the time being, took a moment to glance around at their surroundings. The local mall wasn't as busy as she'd have expected for a Saturday, but there was still enough to fill the immediate area with a buzz of chatter. She recognised many faces here, both from school and around town, but while she'd nod in greeting she never said anything. After a while though, her drink finally ran out, and she smiled over at Sunset. "You know, it's funny. These days I'm pretty comfortable being in a place like this. But back in the day?" She shook her head. "Back then all I cared about was learning and studying. I'd have never considered coming here just for the fun of it."

Sunset considered her for a time, then smiled softly. "Hey, we all change, Twilight. You the solitary shut-in, me the bitter would-be world-conqueror."

Twilight's eyes widened to that, and she stifled a giggle, helping her mood considerably. Yeah, I guess if anyone knows what it's like to be changed from how you used to be, it's you."

"And changed for the better, I'd say."

The two girls were at first taken aback by the unexpected new voice, but when they turned, they looked on with fondness at the sudden arrival. "I'm not a piece of toast to be buttered up, Flash," Sunset remarked with a sly grin.

Her ex chuckled. "Well, if there's a chance to compliment a friend, why not do so?" Lifting one hand, he revealed that he'd been carrying what was, undoubtedly, a guitar case. "As promised, I got it fixed up for you, Sunset."

Sunset smiled happily, accepting the case and setting it on the table between her and Twilight. After clicking it open, she looked on with warmth at the instrument within, which looked as good as new. "Thank you so much for this, Flash. When I dropped it the other day, I..."

But Flash raised a hand, interrupting her. "Don't mention it. I've been around guitars since about the time I could walk. Trust me, fixing this thing was no problem."

Twilight looked to Sunset's restored guitar herself. "Good thing you got it fixed when you did. The band's got a performance lined up next week and we'd have been lost without Sunset in it."

Closing the case, Sunset blushed slightly. "Oh stop! Those girls were playing great long before I ever joined up."

Flash placed a hand on her shoulder. "Maybe, but nobody would disagree when I say that you really add something special to it, Sunset."

Sunset glanced up to him, and the two enjoyed this nice moment together. When it was over, the ex-unicorn gestured to the third chair around their table, currently empty. "Care to join us? It's the least I can do."

Flash shook his head. "Thanks, but I wouldn't want to intrude."

Twilight giggled. "You're not intruding, you're being invited."

Flash paused, looking to the chair with some hesitation, then gave a quick shrug. Getting himself seated, he looked from one girl to the other for a time before finally breaking the silence. "So...watcha been talking about?"

Twilight and Sunset gave each other a somewhat competitive look, with the former speaking first. "We were having quite the debate over what the best flavor of milkshake was."

Flash smiled. "Ah! Did you mention vanilla?"

Instantly, both girls looked to him mischievously. "I see we have a new challenger on the field," Sunset commented.

Gulping, Flash waved his hands defensively. "Um...forget I mentioned it."

Reclining back into her chair, Sunset considered the boy carefully. "Consider it forgotten. Besides, you deserve a break after your heroics the other week."

Flash cleared his throat, then scratched the back of his head, after which he placed that same hand upon the table. "You girls are the real heroes around town, Sunset. You do so much to keep us safe from magic and the like, so a guy like me running interference...I'm just glad I could help."

Twilight reached forward, giving him a quick pat on the hand. "It was brave of you to do it. Facing danger with magic is one thing, but to do so without? That's something else altogether." Her smile faded soon afterwards. "But you should still be more careful. That robot was pretty powerful. There's no telling just how hurt you could have been from it."

To that, Flash rubbed the side of his torso. "No need to tell me. I can still feel the bruise from where it just missed me. A full hit would've..." He grimaced. "Well, probably best not to think about it."

Looking over to Twilight, Sunset started to look somewhat worried herself. "Honestly, I think you, me and the other girls bear some of the blame for this." When she saw Twilight and Flash start to look at her with confusion, she began to explain herself. "Think about it. A bunch of regular teens going out into dangerous situations, saving the day? Sooner or later we were always going to encourage others to follow that example." She glanced to Flash. "I'm not ungrateful that you wanted to help, Flash, but there's a very real chance that there might be others like you who'll want to pitch in when things get tough, no matter how dangerous. And the more who do it, the more chance there'll be that they won't wind up as lucky as you were."

Flash gave a slow nod, looking like he too was thinking about that very issue. "You're not wrong. Sometimes, when I'm at lunch, I'll overhear about how some of the other kids wish they could do what you girls do. Fighting monsters and being heroes. Your selflessness certainly helped nudge me into going out there, so I guess..." He sighed. "Think we oughta maybe tell people not to follow your lead?"

Sunset shrugged. "Honestly? I think we can only play it by ear. You know how people can get. Tell them not to do something and, sooner or later, they'll end up doing it anyway."

In spite of the seriousness of their conversation, Flash couldn't help but chuckle again. "Humanity in a nutshell."

Sunset smirked to that. "You lot certainly have a habit of getting into trouble, I'll say that much."

The words prompted Twilight to nudge Sunset in the side, gaining her attention. "I think we can safely say you Equestrians have a talent for it too, lest we forget all the trouble that follows whenever you come over here?"

A blush crept onto Sunset's cheeks. "Yeah, good point."

Tapping her finger on the table, Twilight pondered her own words. "You know...it really is amazing just how much your world has influenced ours. And I don't just mean magic." The others said nothing, looking to her in silence, and listening well as she started speaking again. "I don't really know how to describe it. But...it's as if Equestria's nature has caused, I don't know...just sheer positivity to seep into ours. Like everything has become better for people."

Flash nodded. "You're not wrong. I remember just how things used to be before Princess Twilight came along. People were happy to just be apart from each other, or just looking out for themselves. There's certainly a lot of that now, of course, but it's like...they're more inclined to be nice, or to do things for others." Slowly, he looked over to Sunset. "The magic of Equestria might be dangerous and unpredictable...but it's also making our world better."

Sunset's expression, though uncertain about her friends' position, eventually softened. "Well, good to know my home has had a good impact on yours. I guess I just get so wrapped up in thinking about all the magical artefacts and powers that cause havoc over here that...that I guess it just never occurred to me that there might have been better things coming along with it."

Looking to her, Flash gave a friendly smile. "Well, guess Princess Twilight has that effect on people."

Hearing of her old Equestrian friend, Sunset smiled right back to him. "You're right on the money on that one, Flash. She just...she just has this way of bringing out the best in people. I guess that sort of rippled out after she first came here."

A sigh escaped her ex shortly afterwards. "No arguments there. Just...just being willing to do what she can to help people from a world she didn't even know? How many out there would have it in them to do that?"

Sunset chuckled. "Well, maybe a few more now, thanks to her."

Twilight, who had been sitting quietly for some time, looked from one to the other, then started to develop a sly and knowing smirk to her. After the other two finally noticed this about her, she waved them off. "Oh, don't mind me. I just think it's adorable to see you two crushing on the same girl." She pointed to them both. "And don't deny it, because that's totally what's happening right now."

Sunset and Flash blinked, then looked to one another. Rather expectedly, a blush came for both of them, but Sunset was able to move past it shortly afterwards, laughing quietly with clear amusement. "Well, guess we can safely say we both have good taste in girls."

Turning to face her once more, Flash matched her demeanour, "I know I always did, if you remember."

It took no time at all for her to get his meaning, and so, slowly, Sunset arched an eyebrow. "What did I say about complimenting me?"

Flash's eyes darted about a bit. "Um...don't?"

A snort from Sunset. "Well, in that case, forget what I said. Please, keep complimenting."

The group all had a good laugh over that, ending when Twilight took a moment to wipe her glasses clean. "Honestly, the way you two are about her..."

Sunset glanced to her, reaching over and holding her hand. "Don't you worry, Twilight. We have all the Twilight we need right here."

This time, it was Twilight's turn to blush. "Oh, stop, you're making me as red as a tomato right now."

After a moment or two, Sunset looked back to Flash. "So...no feeling of awkwardness on your side here, Flash?"

Folding his arms, the boy gave a shrug. "Meh, no issue here. Charm away."

A pause, followed by Sunset looking to him with another sly smile. "Oh? Well maybe I could turn on you with that afterwards?"

Flash considered that, then again matched her expression. "If you were expecting me to be unwilling to participate in such an offer, Sunset, then you were sorely mistaken."

Twilight, who had recovered from her earlier moment, considered the present situation. "Um, just so I know...are we all in some big three-way flirt right now?"

Sunset and Flash looked to her, then to each other, then finally back to her. "Er...yeah, that about sums it up," Sunset answered.

A single nod from Twilight. "Okay. Just had to make sure."

The Sleepover

"Okay...truth or dare?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo hesitated, her eyes going left to right, as if trying to look between those two options. "Um...truth?"

Sweetie smiled. "Alright then. What was the moment you knew that Rainbow Dash was the one you were going to be fangirling over?"

Her friend frowned. "Firstly, I do not 'fangirl' over Rainbow, she's my idol. There's a difference!" She watched Sweetie roll her eyes, but she otherwise said nothing, thus allowing her to continue her answer. "As for when...I'd say it was during my first few days at CHS. I was out in the front, reading my textbook on the stairs, when all of a sudden she came along and did this awesome skateboard trick. Can't remember what it was called, but it was the most awesome thing I'd ever seen!" She smiled nostalgically. "Oh yeah, that was definitely the moment!"

Apple Bloom giggled. "Yeah, ah'd be impressed too, Scoots." The farm girl glanced around her bedroom, seeing all those who had gathered here for this night together. There was Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo of course, but there was also the rather unexpected addition of two other girls. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Now, go back a few years and the idea of these five girls spending time together like this would have been unthinkable. But these days, a lot had changed, and now it looked as if they were all having a nice time together, which Apple Bloom was of course happy about. Well, mostly happy anyway, as she did feel a pang of irritation over seeing her friends all here with better PJ's than her. Her green onesie was comfy of course, but even so, being the only one here to wear one was a little embarrassing. She tried to hide that feeling behind her smile however. "Okay, whose turn is it?"

The girls all glanced around, wondering who would be next, before Diamond did the honors. "Guess I'll go ahead and spin it then." She reached forward, taking hold of the empty bottle between them all on the floor, giving it a quick spin.

They watched as it went around and around and around, before finally settling on Silver, who smiled. "Alright then, guess it's me." The spectacled girl span it again, and here there was nervousness, for they know this second spin would decide the one asked the question. Silver watched in anticipation, then saw it eventually land on her closest friend, Diamond. Instantly, Silver hesitated. "Um...you know, I can just..."

But Diamond interrupted her. "No, it's fine. Ask the question."

Silver pondered that, looking to the other girls briefly, perhaps for inspiration. After a moment though, she finally asked her friend the question. "Truth or dare?"

Diamond nodded. "Truth."

Silver nodded back. "How were you able to convince your Mom to let you come over? Doesn't she normally hate it when you spend time with Apple Bloom and the others?"

Apple Bloom herself raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah, how did you convince her?"

To that, Diamond gave a quick shrug. "No convincing needed. She and my Father got into a fight earlier today, and they always need me out of the house and visiting someone else when they're done. Usually it's Silver's place, but today I asked if it could be here instead."

Scootaloo looked to her with confusion. "Um...why do they need you out?"

Another shrug from Diamond. "Dunno. Something about needing to make up and not wanting me there when they do it. Don't know much beyond that." Eventually, the heiress noted that all the other girls had fierce blushes on their cheeks, as if they knew something she didn't, prompting curiosity on her part. "...What?"

Feeling an understandable need to change the subject as quickly as possible, Scootaloo cleared her throat, her eyes darting all over until they finally settled on Sweetie Belle. "Um...who's next?" Picking up the message instantly, Sweetie's hand shot forward to the bottle, spinning it and, thankfully, drawing everyone's attention to it. Round and round it went, until it slowly stopped and pointed to Scootaloo herself. The latter didn't say anything, instead gesturing for Sweetie to carry on, which she did, and again the bottle span. When it stopped a second time, it wound up on Silver Spoon, causing a look of mischievousness on Scootaloo's part. "Okay then, Silver, truth or dare?"

Considering her position carefully, Silver adjusted her glasses before giving her response. "Truth."

Apple Bloom scratched the side of her cheek. "Ah'm sensin' a theme with this game so far."

Ignoring her, Scootaloo thought long and hard, then eagerly rubbed her hands together. "So...who would you rather kiss, Snips or Snails?"

Immediately, everyone looked to her with clear indignation, which Apple Bloom alone was willing to put into words. "Scoot! That ain't fair! Those boys are...ugh, why would ya make her pick between them?!"

Scootaloo, completely unconcerned, gave a shrug. "Meh."

It wasn't much of an answer, but Silver wasn't willing to forfeit her place in the game, so she actually took a minute or two to think on her possible answer. Even Diamond was growing curious as to what her closest friend would say to this, and after a while, the spectacled girl finally spoke, albeit with a massive blush as she did so. "I guess...Snails?"

Scootaloo nodded slowly. "Okay...because...?"

Folding her arms, Silver glanced away. "I don't know! I guess...his voice just sounds less annoying than Snips' does. Nasally isn't great, but it's better than that screeching."

The other girls looked to each other, then seemed to share at least a little bit of agreement over that. "Those two are still gross...but yeah I guess Snails is at least a little bit less so," Diamond admitted.

Sweetie giggled. "Honestly, I'd even prefer kissing Spike over those two! But, you know, on the cheek or something because...well...dog."

After the group shared a quick laugh over that, Silver leaned forward. "It sucks we're not a couple of years older, because then we'd have the likes of Flash on the menu."

Diamond rolled her eyes, then looked to Silver with some incredulity. "Really? That's who you'd pick?"

Silver, looking at least a little irritated to her friend, started sounding a touch more defensive. "What, you don't like my taste?"

Diamond shrugged. "No, no, he's fine. But it's like saying Superman's the best superhero out there. Sure, he's the best for a reason, but...it's kind of a boring answer, you know?"

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo gave each other a quick look, then the latter finally replied to Diamond's words. "Since when were you into comic book superheroes?"

Looking to her, Diamond seemed almost offended by the question. "What, you think just because I'm the rich girl here that means I can only have been interested in rich girl things?" She placed her hand upon her chest. "Scootaloo, my dear friend, you have cut me to my core."

Though it was clearly a fake moment of upset on Diamond's part, it nevertheless had the effect of causing a fair amount of laughter all around, lifting up the mood considerably from what it had been before. Apple Bloom, sighing afterwards, looked down to the bottle between them. "Well, this thing ain't gonna spin itself." Reaching for it, she gave a vigorous spin, and after only a few moments, she saw it land on Diamond, causing some disappointment on Scootaloo's part, as evidenced by her irritated groan. But Apple Bloom raised a finger. "We gotta go by the rules, Scoots, even if she's had a turn already." Seeing her friend fold her arms with a huff, Apple Bloom span again. Unfortunately for her, this resulted in the bottle landing on her as the one to be asked the question, causing a slow blink on her part. "Well...shoot."

Smirking, Diamond tapped her chin. "Okay then, Miss Apple, truth or dare?"

Leaning back slightly, Apple Bloom thought about it, then gave a quick shrug. "Well, we've had truth a couple o' times already, so...dare?"

Diamond was surprised by the answer, but quickly got to thinking, with a mischievous grin coming to her shortly afterwards. "Okay then...I dare you...to put on your sister's magic necklace."

The silence that followed the words was deafening, and all of the girls looked to her as if she'd lost her mind. In fact, Scootaloo decided to voice that exact sentiment. "Are you crazy?!"

"Why would you ask her to do something like that?!" Sweetie added.

"Yeah, I've gotta agree with them on this one, Diamond. There's crazy, and then there's that!" Silver declared.

But Diamond was unconcerned with their worries, instead just shrugging and looking only to Apple Bloom. "Well? You can refuse if you like."

Slowly, Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed. "Y'all jus' wanted ta win by askin' a super-dangerous dare, right?"

A quick chuckle from Diamond. "Guilty as charged. So, if it's all the same with you, I think I'll just go ahead and declare myself the winner."

Apple Bloom grimaced, then slowly glanced to the door of her bedroom. Diamond saw her do this, and actually started to look somewhat worried herself, her earlier confidence melting away as the moments passed. As Apple Bloom thought long and hard, pretty soon every set of eyes was on her, and before long she let out a deep sigh, turning again to Diamond with a determined look. "Alright...ah'll do it."

Much like with Diamond's dare, everyone was stunned by what they heard, and none more so than Diamond herself. "Wh...what?!"

Slowly, Apple Bloom got to her feet, her friends never letting their eyes stray from her. "Ah said it...an' now ah'm gonna do it. If wearin' her necklace is the dare...then that's what ah'm gonna do!"

Scootaloo leapt up, followed shortly by Sweetie Belle. "You...you can't!" the former announced.

Apple Bloom's eyes narrowed. "Ah can...an' ah will." And without even another word, the young farmer slowly walked away from her circle of friends, never once looking back to see their reactions. She went to her door, reaching for the knob and turning it. After slowly peeking out into the hallway, she saw that there was nobody else to see her do it, so she took a single step outside. Applejack's room was right across from her, and so she was at her destination already. She stared at it for the longest time, knowing that powerful magical artefact was just beyond that door, and that her sister was not there with it right now. Taking a deep breath, she slowly reached forward. "Well...here goes nothin'."

But she didn't manage to touch the knob, for her hand was grabbed and immediately yanked away. Her heart skipped a beat, fully expecting it to be her sister, or perhaps Big Mac. Instead, she looked on with surprise to fine that it was none other than Diamond, who looked to her with tears in her eyes. "Stop!" she yelled to her.

Apple Bloom, who was understandably confused, stepped back slightly. "What?!"

Diamond kept hold of her hand, looking to her and sounding genuinely worried. "I forfeit! You hear me?! I forfeit!"

Naturally, such an announcement from Diamond of all people was quite the shock, and so Apple Bloom glanced around. Sure enough, Scootaloo, Sweetie and Silver were there too, but it was the girl holding her hand that kept her interest right now. "Ya...yer willin' ta jus'...quit?"

Diamond nodded frantically. "I am! That necklace is super-dangerous, Apple Bloom! There's no telling what could happen! You could get hurt, or...or worse!"

Apple Bloom frowned. "I thought ya cared bout winnin'?"

Diamond shook her head. "Not if it means you end up in danger like that!"

"Why?" Apple Bloom asked.

"BECAUSE WE'RE FRIENDS!!!" Diamond blurted out. All was silent afterwards, and the girls all looked to her, completely shocked at her having just said that. Diamond herself, wiping the tears from her eyes, exhaled deeply, her gaze finally straying from Apple Bloom and staring at the floor instead. "Do...do I really just need to come out and say it before you know it?"

Apple Bloom stared at her in silence for quite some time, as did everyone else. Then, after a while, the redhead smiled, stepping forward and, in a movie that shocked Diamond to no end, hugged her. "Yeah...we're friends."

Diamond blinked rapidly, uncertain about this gesture on her friend's part, but after a while her defences lowered, and she returned the hug. The other girls looked to one another, smiled, then rushed over, creating a massive group hug between the five of them. But while this was all nice and good, it wasn't long before the head of Granny Smith poked itself up from the stairway, looking down the hall with concern. "Ah heard screamin'! Is everythin' oka..." She paused, seeing the hug, and without even needing a single word of context about why the hug was happening, she smiled, retreating back downstairs. "Alrighty then...g'night, girls."

Steam Time

"Miss Rarity? Would you care for some extra towels?" Aloe asked, her usual politeness shining through.

Rarity, who was perfectly relaxed right now, simply smiled and gave a quick wave. "Oh no, that'll be quite alright, Miss Aloe. I have all I need right here." She patted the pile of towels beside her, prompting her host to smile before retreating back outside, making sure to close the door behind her as she did so. Rarity exhaled deeply, her contentment as clear as day. The spa of Canterlot was always one of her favorite places, but this right here, the steam room, was by far her top choice whenever she came here. Clad in a pristine white bath robe and slippers, CHS' resident fashion expert could not have been more relaxed right now, reclining into her side of the room-spanning chair and just letting the heat of the steam pass over her. But even in spite of this, there was one thought that gave her pause, causing a small sigh from her. "Oh, I do wish she'd be here already. I know she has chores to tend to, but still..."

As if to answer her concerns, the door of the steam room opened yet again. But this time, it was not the attentive Aloe, but rather the girl Rarity had been hoping to see from the start. Applejack was here now, and while the two were certainly happy to see one another, the farmer was currently, and rather amusingly, hopping on one foot as she entered. The reason for this was that she was trying to get her other slipper on while she was on the go, and this clearly displayed that she'd been in a hurry to get here. Closing the door, she finally breathed a sigh of relief, taking a seat a short distance from Rarity. "Sorry ah'm late, Rares."

But, much like with Aloe earlier, Rarity was unconcerned. "Think nothing of it, Applejack. I'm just glad you're here." She tapped her chin a couple of times. "In fact, I do believe this is the earliest you've ever managed to join me for our little spa days."

A chuckle from Applejack. "Well, Rainbow popped on over ta the farm earlier, an' with her speed it took no time at all ta get stuff done."

Rarity giggled. "I see. Perhaps you should ask her to help you with your work more often?"

To that, Applejack shook her head. "A fine notion, Rarity, but nah. Ah only said 'yes' to her offer today because ah knew ah had ta be here. Most of the time..." She smiled, flexing an arm and feeling her bicep. "Ah prefer the feel of an honest day's work. Feels right ta do it mahself, ya know?"

Rarity, taking a moment to ensure that the towel wrapped around her head was on properly, looked to her rustic colleague with a smile. "Well, far be it from me to criticize one for preferring to have a direct hand in things. I much prefer such ways myself whenever I work on my outfits."

Applejack snapped her fingers, pointing to her afterwards. "Oh yeah? How's that goin' anyhow?"

Rarity clapped her hands together. "Why it's been going wonderfully, darling! Miss Hemline has been very kind to my work. She even says my latest dress will be going into the front window next week!"

Applejack smiled. "Well, ya deserve it. Nobody there works as hard on them there clothes as you do, Rarity."

A blush crept onto the fashionista's cheeks, and she waved in Applejack's direction. "Oh stop! You're just saying that!"

But her friend shook her head. "Nope! Cross mah heart!"

After pausing for a moment, Rarity again smiled affectionately to her. "Well, I'm, grateful for the compliment. But really it's a group effort over there." Then her face lit up, and she squealed with delight. "Oh, and I almost forgot! I took my dear sister with me to work the other day."

Applejack looked to her with interest. "Sweetie? Didn't know she had an interest in fashion."

Rarity nodded enthusiastically. "I was as surprised as you, but she seemed rather interested in seeing where I work, so I asked Miss Hemline if it was alright to bring her. She was nice enough to agree, and so Sweetie spent the whole afternoon there with me, watching me do what I do."

Applejack chuckled. "Heck, maybe she'll try her hand at makin' dresses herself one day?"

Here, and to Applejack's confusion, Rarity grimaced somewhat. "Um...yes, that would...that would be simply wonderful." After seeing her blonde colleague look to her with increasing intensity, Rarity's shoulder slumped. "Oh, the thing is...she did try making an outfit. I suggested she try and emulate what I'd shown to her using some spare or discarded materials. You know, see how she did?"

Slowly, Applejack arched an eyebrow. "An'...ah'm guessin' it didn't turn out all that well?"

Rarity tried to put on a smile. "It wasn't that bad! She certainly had a fine grasp of...well she definitely displayed a real talent for..." After a while, she realised she couldn't keep it up, and so clasped both hands upon her cheeks. "Oh, who am I kidding, her dress was ghastly!"

In spite of her friend's mood, Applejack couldn't help but laugh. "Well, can't say ah'm surprised. Ask a girl who's never made a dress before ta suddenly make one? Yeah, that was never gonna turn out okay."

Accepting Applejack's words, Rarity sighed. "You're right, of course. I thought she might have the same talent I showed when I was her age, but...it seems her skills need some work."

To that, Applejack again looked to her with curiosity. "Did ya tell her ya didn't like the dress?"

As before, Rarity grimaced. "I didn't want to...but yes, I knew I had no choice but to be honest with her about it."

Applejack nodded, silently agreeing with the choice. "Glad ta hear it. Ah hope she weren't too upset?"

Here, Rarity actually seemed to perk up a little. "Not upset at all actually. Turns out she just enjoyed making it. She said afterwards she knew full well she hadn't made anything spectacular. The girl just had fun being a part of things."

Hearing that, Applejack smiled. "Good girl. She's got the right attitude fer it at least. Havin' fun instead o' bein' disappointed. Wonderful."

Crossing one leg over the other, Rarity nodded in agreement. "Indeed. And yourself? I trust Apple Bloom has been aiding you in your regular work as well?"

If Applejack had been wearing her hat right now, she'd have likely tipped it. "You betcha. There was a funny moment earlier today with it though. Ah wanted ta set mah necklace aside fer a moment an' offered it ta her ta hold onto. She looked downright terrified of it."

Rarity considered that. "Hmmm, well, it is a powerful magical item. Perhaps she was concerned about doing something wrong with it?"

Applejack shrugged. "Maybe..." She smiled again shortly afterwards. "Getting back ta our spa day, anythin' ya wanna do when we're done this here steam?"

Rarity giggled slightly, taking a moment to wave her face with some air. "Certainly, Applejack. I fully intend to enjoy every service the spa has to offer. Facials, massages, you name it."

Applejack chuckled. "Well, ah'd just be happy with a long steam personally."

Thinking on that, Rarity shuddered briefly. "Oh goodness no! I remember what happened the last time I tried having a steam too long. I ended up so pruny it took an entire extra day at this place to get all the crinkles out of me!"

Applejack knew she wasn't going to get a good reaction for doing so, but she still ended up smirking. "That'd be a sight ta see."

As expected, Rarity frowned to that. "Honestly, Applejack, you really need to learn to have a bit more delicacy about such things." Slowly, she developed a smirk of her own. "After all, should you get someone special in your life, you may well need to develop more of a sense of, how shall I say it...sugarcoating?"

This time, it was Applejack's turn to frown. "Apples stay honest, Rarity, an' y'all know it!" Then, she started looking a bit more mischievous, as a knowing smile came to her. "Besides, ah think we both know ah already have 'someone special' in mah life."

Instantly, Rarity looked to her with wide eyes. "Ooooooh! I hadn't expected to hear this kind of gossip today!" She scooted along the seat, bringing herself closer to her steam partner. "Do tell, Applejack! Whoever is this mystery beau of yours?"

Applejack looked her over, as if thinking she was kidding about that. So, after a moment, she elected to play along. "Well, ya really wanna know about her?"

Rarity nodded enthusiastically. "Oh yes indeed, darling!"

Leaning back into her side of the seat again, Applejack considered her words carefully, then smiled again. "Let's see...she's mighty pretty fer one thing. Ain't nobody in town who don't think she's a looker."

Rarity smiled devilishly. "Oh my! The rugged and outdoorsy Applejack falling for a sweet and fair maiden? Do continue!"

Applejack rolled her eyes before doing exactly that. "Ah can't think of anybody who don't like her. She goes out of her way ta help folks when she can. When they're down, she's always willin' ta help lift em up."

Rarity was growing increasingly interested, even scooting along even further. "Sounds like quite the lady. So selfless, so...so altruistic."

Applejack laughed again. "She sure is. Ah couldn't imagine not spendin' time with her. An' ah try an' get ta her as much as ah can these days."

Rarity again nudged herself closer, so she and Applejack were only a foot apart now. "I must confess, this sounds like quite the union. I'm surprised you're able to spend as much time with me if you also have someone that special to be with also."

Here, Applejack blinked a couple of times, looking to her friend carefully. Slowly, the feeling she'd had before, that Rarity knew exactly what she was talking about, began to fade away. Instead, she was given full realisation, and now recognised the complete obliviousness her friend had been displaying this entire time. So exasperated was she that she even slapped her forehead over it, much to Rarity's confusion. Afterwards, and after taking a few deep and calming breaths, Applejack looked to Rarity and spoke softly. "Rarity...allow me ta jus' come out an' say it...y'all already know who ah'm talkin' bout!"

Rarity was taken aback by that announcement, her hand gently placed upon her chest. "I...I do not believe I do, Applejack. In fact, I'm rather shocked at myself for not recognising this about you sooner. With all the time we've spent together, I'm fairly certain I should have at least noticed this special other half of yours. In truth, I'm a little disappointed in myself for failing to do so."

Applejack didn't know if she should be amused or just continue to be frustrated. So, in the end, she decided it was just time to ditch subtlety altogether, and like Rarity she too moved closer. Reaching out, she took Rarity's hand into her own, her thumb gently caressing the palm of the other. "Rarity...ya already know her."

Rarity looked to their holding hands, then to Applejack's face, and back and forth several times, before finally looking Applejack in the eye, her own eyes widening considerably. "Oh...oh!"

At last, Applejack smirked. "Okay, there we go!"

Predictably for a situation such as this, Rarity started to blush fiercely in her cheeks, and while she was certainly willing to close her fingers around the hand Applejack had given her, that didn't mean she wasn't still a little shocked. "Well...um...I must confess...I'm rather surprised you'd think...that."

As befitting a girl like Applejack, she shrugged. "What can ah say? All we've been through...how close we've been lately...guess it jus' kinda happened fer me."

Looking away, Rarity took her free index finger and twirled it through some of her hair. "Well, I'd be lying if I said I hadn't thought the same thing. Though...don't think me unwilling, because...well..."

Then Rarity was further taken aback when she felt Applejack's other hand under her chin, slowly guiding her to look back at her, wherein the farm girl stared right into her eyes lovingly. "Ah know, Rarity...ah know."

The two stayed like this in silence for some time, and when it was over, Rarity suddenly started to look slightly worried. "So...how do we tell this to our friends?"

To that, Applejack once more rolled her eyes. "No offence, Rares...but ah think the girls were a bit better pickin' up on it than you were."

Rarity responded with a huff. "Hmph! Had we a couch together, you'd be sleeping on it after that one."

Lunch Studies

"Okay, so in eighteen-eighty-two, General Trottingham marched onto the Canterlot Plains for the first time alongside his squad of...um...fifty men? Thirty?" Trixie groaned as she looked over the paper she was writing. But of course, this grumble had the expected effect of prompting a sudden "shhh" from the main librarian, Cheerilee, popping out from behind a bookcase and disappearing before Trixie even had a chance to see her. After glancing around, and giving an eye-roll for good measure, the amateur magician got back to her studies. Rummaging around in her backpack, she pulled out an old and fairly dusty book, cracking it open and going through page after page, searching for her desired information. "Let's see...ah, here we go. it was only twenty men with him!" She scribbled furiously afterwards, then looked a touch disappointed. "You'd have thought Trixie would remember that, but apparently not."

"Hey don't beat yourself up over it. We all forget stuff from time to time," a second voice said to her.

Looking up from her essay, Trixie raised an eyebrow when she saw that it was Snips who had spoken, with Snails beside him and giving the girl a friendly wave. Though slightly irritated by having her train of thought interrupted, Trixie couldn't help crack a smile. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is far too amazing to allow herself to forget such small matters." She paused, then let her shoulders slump slightly. "If nothing else, you'd hope she'd pay more attention in class."

Seeing this upset way she was right now, the two boys took their places, sitting on the chairs around the table she was at, with Snails looking to her and speaking with his usual oblivious tone. "Hey, no worries, Trix. Nobody expects the two of us to remember all those dates and stuff, right?"

Slowly, Trixie arched an eyebrow. "Yes, Snails, but people don't tend to think of you two as...well..." She considered her words carefully. These were, after all, her two closest associates in the school, and as they smiled to her, she soon found herself unwilling to say what she'd clearly been wanting to say. "You know what? Nevermind. Just..." She sighed, offering them a small smile. "Thanks...for trying to cheer me up."

The two boys chuckled over that, giving each other a high-five shortly afterwards. "See? Told ya we could get her to smile!" Snips remarked.

Trixie smirked, shaking her head slightly before setting her paper to one side for a moment. "So, dare I ask why you're here? Last I checked you two didn't have any homework today."

Snails shrugged. "Meh. I like coming here. It's quiet."

Snips folded his arms and gave a pout. "I wanted to go to the arcade, but this guy said he wanted to be around books and stuff."

Trixie blinked, her eyes going from Snips to Snails. "Oh? Trixie wouldn't have pegged you as the kind of lad to want to be around books."

Snails smiled in his usual care-free manner. "Books are great. Don't use them for learning or anything, I just like the stories."

Trixie stifled the need to giggle over a remark like that. "I wouldn't let the teachers catching you say that, if I were you. It's kinda the opposite of what they wanted for this place." She glanced around, making sure they weren't being overheard, before leaning in closer to the taller of the two boys. "And definitely don't let Twilight hear you. Lord knows what that girl might do to you if she heard." They shared a laugh, and again this prompted a sudden "shhh" from Cheerilee, who once more disappeared before any of the students could spot her.

"Huh, the place is kinda loud sometimes, huh?" Snails remarked.

As before, Trixie held herself back from laughing at the remark, looking to Snails while tapping her chin. "You know, I imagine you gave Sunset Shimmer a fair few laughs back when you were her lackeys."

Snips shrugged. "Meh, not really. She was always too busy. You know, evil schemes and stuff? Planning for control and world domination..." He paused, then glanced to Snails. "That was her plan, right? I forget what she actually wanted sometimes." Unfortunately, Snails' only response was a shrug of his own, much to Snips' annoyance. "Well anyway, you're much better at having fun while doing your own thing, Trixie. Way less serious than Sunset was."

Trixie swept some of her hair aside. "Well, let it never be said that Trixie is not a more amenable mistress when she needs to be. And if nothing else, you two have proved to be some fine goons during your brief time in my employ."

Snips folded his arms looking away with a huff. "Excuse me, but we're minions thank you very much!"

Trixie was taken aback by his tone, but after seeing him smirk back at her, she understood, and the three yet again found themselves trying their hardest to hold back the laughter. Glancing around, and making sure Cheerilee wasn't here to shush them again, Trixie finally broke the silence between them. "You know, you two should come see me during my next street performance. I promise you there'll be quite the crowd."

Snails smiled to her as he leaned forward slightly. "Oh yeah, I saw your last one on Cantertube. That was some neato telekinesis."

Here, Trixie grumbled a bit. "Hmph! Turns out that was nothing more than Twilight's involvement! I assured everyone Spike would be fine, but apparently she needed to make sure of it!"

Snips scratched the side of his head as he regarded her. "Well...that was nice of her...right?"

After a moment, Trixie sighed. "Yes...I guess. It's just..." In a repeat of her past actions, she looked around, making sure nobody was listening, before looking to the two boys. "Can the great and Powerful Trixie let you in on a secret?" She watched as the two glanced to each other, then looked back to her and smiled in unison, nodding eagerly. Trixie, after getting her words together in her head, finally let out her confession. "I'm...a little jealous of Twilight and her friends sometimes."

Now, what Trixie was probably expecting at this point was for her small audience to gasp in shock, perhaps while clasping onto their cheeks, exclaiming that it couldn't possibly be true that a girl like Trixie would debase herself with petty feelings such as jealousy. So you can probably imagine the disappointment she felt when they just stared at her blankly for a while. After about a minute or two of them just sitting in total quiet, the boys looked to one another, then back to her. "...And?" Snips asked.

Trixie frowned. "Um, I'm sorry, but why aren't you acting more surprised?"

Snails shrugged. "What, is this about them having magic and you not having magic?"

Though she was somewhat pleased at not having to explain her position, her earlier annoyance remained. "Well...yes. Aren't you at least a little bit taken aback by that?"

The boys both shook their heads, with Snips giving a quick chuckle. "Come on, Trix, I think it's safe to say that everyone's a bit jealous of them by now."

Folding her arms, Trixie leaned back into her chair and regarded the boy. "What do you mean?"

Snips snorted. "What? Are you kidding? They're friggin' superheroes! They have power and go around town stopping monsters and doing cool stuff! Who wouldn't be jealous of that?"

Trixie paused here, considering that statement. "Huh...I guess it is pretty awesome that they do what they do." Then she immediately realised what she said, waving her hands frantically. "Just...don't tell them I said that."

But then Snails looked to her with confusion. "So...is that not what you were jealous about?"

Placing her hands upon the table, Trixie sighed. "No. It's just...all my life I've wanted one thing. To be seen as an astounding magical performer. I work hard on my acts, I try to make them as impressive as possible, and nothing beats the thrill of having people go 'ooh' or 'aah' to my work." She grimaced. "And suddenly, the town has seven girls running around doing actual magic. Compared to that, all the little tricks I do just don't seem all that..." Her shoulders slumped. "...all that great...or powerful."

Snips looked at her, then smirked a little. "Silly Trix. Tricks are for kids." Then, after seeing the pure annoyance he'd sparked in Trixie after that remark, and even in the usually-calm Snails, he backtracked immediately, avoiding both of their gazes. "Okay, yeah, forget I said that one."

Doing her best to avoid just that, Trixie rubbed her temples, clearly as some sort of stress-alleviation. "It's just hard, you know? Knowing there's people out there who can do something more impressive than I ever could?"

But Snails, in contrast to Trixie's downer mood, actually looked quite perky. "Okay, you've still got stuff to be proud of, Trix." After seeing her look to him with confusion, he explained further. "I mean, yeah, those other girls have all this awesome power, but all they do for it is wear those neat little necklace thingies, right?" Seeing Trixie give him a quick nod, his smile grew. "Well there you go. When you do magic, it's all because of practice and planning and making sure everything's where it's supposed to be. You work hard for your magic, and when it all comes together it looks...well...amazing."

Trixie stared at him for a long time, and after a while it because obvious to anyone looking at her that she was genuinely moved by what he'd said to her. Reaching forward, she gave him a quick pat on the hand. "Thank you, Snails." She watched him nod to her, keeping that calm smile he always wore. "You know, no matter what anybody says about you, you're pretty smart for a kid your age."

Snails chuckled. "Thanks." Then he paused, looking to her again with some confusion. "Wait...what do people say about me?"

Clearing her throat, Trixie glanced away. "Anyway..." Wanting to change the subject as quickly as possible, Trixie's eyes eventually met Snips'. "Say, any word on Mac for our next game session?"

Snips sighed, shaking his head. "Nah. He's got chores for his family at the weekend. Guess it's just the three of us this time."

Trixie folded her arms, matching his sigh. "Oh well, that's okay. We'll just...have to carry on our dangerous quest without our nigh-invincible tank character." She grimaced. "That won't be too bad...right?" Seeing the worried looks her friends were giving her, she gave a quick shrug. "Yeah, thought so."

Then Snails, in that way he seemed to be doing a lot of today, perked up. "Hey, I hear that talking dog really likes those games. So maybe we could invite him?"

It took no time at all for Trixie to understand who he was talking about. "What, you mean Spike?" After seeing Snails give a nod, she continued. "Doesn't it seem a bit odd to invite a talking dog to our game session? I mean, no disrespect to the little guy, I enjoy being around dogs as much as the next girl, but still..."

Snails chortled briefly. "Hey, we're going on a magical fantasy adventure, right? What better time than that to have a talking animal with us?"

Trixie blinked a couple of times, then turned to Snips, who promptly shrugged. "Hey, when he's right he's right."

Snorting for a moment, Trixie gave a permissive nod. "Alrighty then, send the word. If nothing else it'll make it an interesting game session." The three shared a laugh together, and when it was over, Trixie pondered for a short while before pointing to the two of them. "Say...how would you two like to join me and the Illusions for our jam session this weekend?"

Snips looked to her with surprise. "R...really? You want us to come and watch you and your band?"

Trixie offered him a genuine smile. "Hey, we're friends, right? Besides, I figured you'd earned it after being such good minions for me." To that, the two boys gave each other high-fives, with big grins on their faces, to which Trixie gave a slight smirk. "You're welcome."

Gentle Care

To anyone who knew her, there was undoubtedly one place in all of Canterlot where Fluttershy was at her happiest, and that was the local animal shelter. The amount of time, effort and love the girl had put into this place couldn't be counted, and her smile was always at its biggest whenever she was down here. For now, however, this did not appear to be the case today, as she was currently sitting on a chair to one side of the main room of the shelter, carefully holding a small cat with a recently-bandaged leg. "Now then, Mr Floofington, what have we learned?" After waiting for a moment, she heard the cat give an unhappy meow, to which she gave a firm nod. "That's right, no more trying to pick fights with Miss Puppington." Slowly, she placed the animal down upon the ground, making sure she could see the animal walking okay on the injured leg, before again smiling her usual loving smile towards him. "There you go. No off you go and have fun." Getting herself off her chair, she brushed down her skirt, then glanced to the clock. " Now then, I think she said she'd be here about..."

Before Fluttershy could even finish that sentence, the door of the shelter suddenly burst open, causing many a nearby animal to recoil instinctively. Fluttershy, for her part, simply put on a knowing smile and turned. Just as she suspected, her friend was here. Rainbow Dash, having just come off one of her bouts of super-speed, and currently panting heavily. "Hey...there...Fluttershy. I'm...not...late...am I?"

Clasping her hands together, Fluttershy shook her head. "Not at all. You're just in time."

Having recovered her breath, Rainbow gave out a cackle, putting her hands on her hips. "Well, I said I'd be here, right? Rainbow Dash keeps her promises." Then she paused, looking down just in time to see a small dog suddenly jump up to her with a happy wag in its tail. Smiling, she knelt down and picked it up. "So, what do we have planned for these critters today? Taking them all out for a walk?"

As before, Fluttershy shook her head. "No, that's later. Right now we have to help out some of them who've been injured. There was a bit of a scuffle here earlier."

Raising an eyebrow, Rainbow turned her attention to the rest of the room, and saw that her friend had the right of it. Several of the animals seemed to indeed be licking various scratches and sore spots over their bodies, prompting some concern from the athlete. "Nothing too bad, right?"

Walking over to her, Fluttershy took the dog from Rainbow's hands. "Thankfully no. But some of the new volunteers here at the shelter don't...well..."

Reading her immediately, Rainbow sighed. "Let me guess...they suck at getting the animals to play nice?"

Fluttershy considered that, giving a quick shrug of her shoulders. "I wouldn't have put it that bluntly...but yes, that's more or less what happened."

Rainbow frowned. "Honestly, I don't know why they bother. You're the only one who comes here who ever has any success with these little guys."

Fluttershy suddenly seemed worried by the prospect. "Oh, they do their best, I'm sure."

Rainbow rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Fluttershy, I love ya, I really do, but you gotta know when to cut your losses. If these guys are as much of a bother as you say they are..."

Thinking hard on that, Fluttershy exhaled deeply. "Maybe you're right. I've tried coaching them on what to do, but...the lessons don't seem to stick."

Pausing for a moment, Rainbow glanced around the room, her smile returning. "Well, if nothing else, at least there aren't as many animals in need of you these days."

Fluttershy perked up immediately after that. "You're right. Ever since Twilight and Applejack helped me with the video we've been getting a lot more people coming in to adopt them."

Turning, Fluttershy's smile widened as she got to one knee and stroked the head of a particularly attention-hungry cat, which purred in response, much to her delight. "There's never been a time when I've had so few here. It's been a real help for my work. Not so much chaos if I don't have as many to worry about."

Rainbow gave a firm nod, pleased that her friend's workload was being lightened. "Glad to hear they're getting good homes." Then she hesitated. "Er...they are getting good homes, right?"

Standing tall again, Fluttershy nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, definitely! I interviewed each person who wanted to adopt. Trust me, they're all good carers."

Rainbow wiped her brow. "Phew. Good to hear. I know how worried you can get when it comes to animals."

Fluttershy giggled. "I know. Still..." She sighed, looking around the room, specifically to the now-empty cages and enclosures that dotted the place. "It will take some getting used to. Being so quiet. And I'll miss so many of them."

Rainbow looked to her, clearly sympathising with her. "I know what you mean. I get the same way whenever Tank has to hibernate." She grimaced. "He'll have to do that pretty soon actually. It's been getting pretty cold out these days." Then she regained her smile, placing her hand upon Fluttershy's shoulder. "But, hey, you'll be able to go and visit them at their new homes, right?"

Fluttershy too began to smile again. "I certainly intend to. Their new owners all offered to let me come and see them. And I told them that if there's anything they're unsure of with the animals, they know who to call."

Rainbow chuckled. "There we go! You know, those animals couldn't have asked for a better volunteer here than you, Flutters!"

A blush came to the other girl. "Well, I try my best."

Rainbow rolled her eyes. "Trust me, you are the best. I mean, hey, the power to talk to animals wouldn't be given to just anybody after all." Then she considered her own words, scratching the side of her head. "Say...did you ever just stop and have a conversation with them with that power of yours?"

Slowly, Fluttershy looked to her with a knowing smile. "Maaaaaaaaybe."

Rainbow matched her look, reaching to the side and pulling over a small chair to sit on. When she was comfortable, she gestured to her friend. "Alright then, lay it on me. What kinds of stuff do these guys talk about?"

Clapping her hands briefly, Fluttershy started pointing to this or that animal as she spoke. "Well, Mr Barksy is very happy that he finally managed to jump through that plastic hoop over there. He's been trying so hard ever since he came here and now he's finally done it! Mrs Whiskers usually likes to talk while she sleeps, and she takes some long naps so that's a lot of talking. Mostly she likes talking about how she enjoys chasing mice." Fluttershy looked somewhat concerned there. "But that has had the effect of causing some of the hamsters to back away from her while she's awake." Then she perked up again. "Oh, and I mustn't forget the wonderful conversations that Tweety McTweeterson likes to have with himself."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. "Er...with himself?"

Fluttershy nodded. "He discovered that new mirror over on the wall the other day and when he flew up to it and saw his reflection he thought it was another bird. He was really excited to see another like him here so he started talking to it. He thinks the new bird is 'a really good listener' since he only ever lets him talk, you know?"

Rainbow stifled a laugh. "Oh dear. You ever gonna tell him?"

Fluttershy thought on that, then shrugged. "You know, I think I'll keep it a secret. I don't want to spoil how happy he's been."

Rainbow looked around at the other animals, then started to develop a look of curiosity. She glanced down to her own magical pendent, holding it carefully before looking back up to the one owned by Fluttershy. "After what Twilight told us a while back, we know our pendants let out more magic the more one of them is used, like what I did with my speed." She pointed to Fluttershy, I'm guessing you haven't been using yours too much then?"

Fluttershy, holding onto her own item of power, shook her head. "No, I didn't want to cause problems for the other girls. We all remember how difficult things got last time."

Rainbow blushed, nervously scratching the back of her head. "Hehe, yeah, sorry about that."

But Fluttershy smiled sweetly to her. "It's alright. It's all in the past now."

Standing up from her chair, Rainbow took a few steps closer to her childhood friend, placing her hand upon her shoulder once more. "It really is amazing, Fluttershy."

The other girl tilted her head slightly, showing her confusion. "Oh? What?"

A quick chortle from Rainbow. "You. How you can always be so nice and thinking of others like you do."

Fluttershy, in her usual Fluttershy way, blushed slightly, tucking a stray bit of hair behind her ear. "Oh, I'm really not..."

But before she could give her predictable remark of modesty, Rainbow halted her, shaking her head before speaking up again. "You really are. When I first met you, back when we were barely out of diapers, all I saw was a girl who was afraid of her own shadow. Who'd hide behind her hair rather than look people in the eye." Her smile grew, and she took a step closer to her. "But as we spent more time together, I knew who you really were. You cared, Fluttershy. People, animals, it didn't matter. You wanted nothing but the best for others. In this world, where people can be real jerks and just give those in need the cold shoulder, you were always there to lend a hand." She paused, then looked to her oldest friend with softness. "Really...you're one of the most amazing people I've ever known."

Fluttershy stared at her for the longest time, showing obvious uncertainty, both about what was said and also how to respond to it. Then, after leaving her athletic friend in silence for who knows how long, her smile too began to return to her. She clasped her hands together in front of her skirt, took a single step forward, leaned closer to Rainbow and, in a move utterly unexpected for the latter, gave her a kiss on the cheek. Rainbow, as predicted of her during a moment like this, stared blankly at her, a blush creeping onto her cheeks that overshadowed anything Fluttershy had given so far. As for Fluttershy herself, she just carried on looking to her with adoration. "And thank you, Rainbow...for always being with me. My closest friend throughout my whole life. A girl I...I couldn't imagine my life without."

Rainbow, having recovered at least a little bit of self-control back from her more stunned state, cleared her throat, even as her earlier blush remained. "Er...yeah, I...you're welcome."

Fluttershy giggled, reaching out and taking Rainbow's hand into her own. "I hope...you don't object to what I did a moment ago?"

Immediately, Rainbow shook her head frantically. "No! Not at all! It was fine! Good even! Maybe a little awesome too!" Again, Fluttershy giggled, and as she did so Rainbow looked a bit more thoughtful. "So...is this maybe the start of something? With you and me, maybe?"

Fluttershy tapped her own chin with her index finger, considering the question. "Hmmm...it could be, if you wanted."

Rainbow looked over her shoulder, to the main door of the shelter. "And maybe...we tell the others?"

Here, Fluttershy gave a wholly unexpected smirk to her friend. "Oh, certainly...or we could keep it as a fun little secret for the moment and then tell them."

Rainbow's face made it clear that she was wrestling with two very prominent thoughts. On the one hand there was the desire to be open and honest with her friends, and on the other there was the prospect of having a private special time with Fluttershy before anybody was even vaguely aware of there being anything between them. In the end, and judging from the look on her face, the latter won out. "Alrighty then...let's see where this goes."

Faculty Meeting

While it was true that the average student was largely unaware of the exact details of what a Principal's job entailed, there was no doubt that the overall goal of "just keep the school from blowing up" was common knowledge. And for a school like Canterlot High, where magic and monsters were known to frequent it, this job was doubly difficult. So if one were to look now upon their own Principal, Celestia, they could definitely see the worry she wore upon her face. Of course, she would try her hardest to cover that, putting on a smile and a welcoming tone of voice for the sake of her students, but when she was here, alone, in the comfort of her office, she could let her defences down a bit. Looking over the various papers for the school's budget, it was undeniable that the woman was tired, so much so that when the last of said papers had finally been poured over, she set them to one side and just casually leaned back into her chair, releasing a long sigh. "Uuuuuuuuuuugh...what a day."

"Oh dear, that bad, was it?" a second voice spoke to her.

Celestia didn't need to look to know who it was, and she put on a small smile all the same. "Just the usual thing, Lulu. Tighten our belts, don't get careless with the money, the normal routine." Finally looking to the door of her office, she watched as her younger sister entered, carrying a tray of two piping hot cups of coffee, to which Celestia looked to with appreciation. "Oh sister, you know me so well."

Luna, chuckling a little to that, entered the office in earnest, and with both hands currently occupied in carrying the tray, she had to resort to closing the office door with her heels. Once the two were finally given some privacy, she set the tray upon Celestia's desk, after which the two took their respective cups, giving one another a respectful clink with them, before downing their first gulp. Luna, for her part, looked rather fond of her drink. "I swear, I don't know what I'd do if I couldn't have one of these every day."

Celestia shuddered. "Please, don't even joke about that!" The two shared a laugh to that, during which time Luna pulled out the chair in front of Celestia's desk, then sat herself upon it.

Taking another swig of her coffee, the younger sister looked to her elder with concern. "So...anything disastrous this time around?"

Celestia shook her head. "Thankfully no. It's just all the usual drudgery. There's just...so much of it."

Luna nodded, turning her attention to the massive pile of papers that lay on one side of her sister's desk. "You know, if you wanted, I could help you out with them?"

Thinking on that, and looking at least a little bit tempted, Celestia let out a sigh of her own, shaking her head. "I appreciate the offer, Luna, I really do, but it would be irresponsible of me to just hoist my work onto someone else."

The school's Vice-Principal couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Honestly, Tia, with all the work you put on yourself you're going to get yourself into an early grave. Besides, I've been bored out of my mind today, so I'd appreciate at least a little bit to do."

Celestia gave a smile to her younger sibling. "I'm in quite good health, Lulu. But thank you for being so concerned. As for your boredom, there's always the library. I hear Cheerilee's been struggling to get some of the books back in their right places after a few of the students decided to swap them around for fun."

To that, Luna gave a quick shudder. Thanks, but I'll pass. You know how she gets if even one book is put back in the wrong place. Being around her with all that mess would just be a nightmare." The two shared a laugh, getting back to their drinks, which they were keen to do given that there was the risk of said beverages getting cold any moment now. During this time, Luna's eyes strayed to the window behind Celestia's chair, and it was right around this time that she spotted a particular group of seven girls. They were all chatting and laughing with one another, as they so often did in their free time, but while Luna was certainly happy to see smiles on the faces of her students, there was something that troubled her. "Do you ever worry about them, sister?"

Celestia didn't even need to turn around to know what she was talking about. "I do. I've known those girls for years now, even Twilight. They're my students, and seeing them put in danger as often as they are is always keeping me up at night." Here, she finally turned, though the girls had long since departed. "Sometimes, while I'm making my dinner, I'll look out the window and wonder what they're up to. Are they fighting some new Equestrian monster? Perhaps another shoplifter? Have they faced something that's finally too strong for them?"

Seeing the distress her sister was feeling, Luna offered a reassuring smile, even though it was obvious that they were concerns she shared as well. "Well, given everything we've seen of them, perhaps we needn't worry too much. It really does seem like the world just can't bring those girls down."

Celestia smiled back, silently thankful to her sister's attempts to cheer her up. But alas, the smile faded as quickly as it had come. "I want to believe that'll keep on happening, sister. That no matter what comes their way, Sunset and Twilight and all the others will be able to rise above." She grimaced. "But...luck doesn't last forever. Sooner or later it'll run out. And I won't be there to help them."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "Well...not to sound disrespectful, Tia...but you haven't really been helping them with any of that magical stuff so far, right?"

To Luna's surprise, her words had not prompted irritation or even anger, but rather sadness, as Celestia sunk further into her chair. "I know. And that's because I haven't been able to help them. I'm their Principal, Luna. Their well-being, and the well-being of every boy and girl in this school, is my top priority. But tell me, what am I supposed to do when magic and monsters become the problems my students face? What good can I do, what...what can I possibly do to keep them safe?"

Luna took a deep breath, putting down her now-empty coffee cup on the table. "You think I haven't worried about the same things? You think their parents haven't been having those same worries?"

Celestia grimaced, rubbing her temples. "Oh, I don't even want to think about how stressed all those mothers and fathers are when they see their kids go off like that."

Luna nodded. "I imagine they're feeling even worse than you. Yet they still let them go. You know why?" When she saw her sister look to her with interest, she continued. "It's because they trust them. They know they have an important job to do and that they're the only ones who can do it. It likely tears them up inside to let their own children fight dangers, but at the same time I'm sure they're also proud of them for having the courage to do the right thing." She smiled, reaching forward and giving her older sister a pat on the hand. "I know you care about them, probably moreso than any Principal has ever cared for their students, but you have to put your faith in them."

Celestia stared at her sister for the longest time, taking in all the words she'd been told. Then, at the end of it, she cracked a smile. "And here I thought I was supposed to be the wise one."

Luna chuckled briefly. "Hey, let it never be said I can't get a few good words in here and there." The sisters shared another laugh together, and when it died down Luna looked to Celestia with more thoughtfulness. "You know, if it really concerns you that much...there is always the option of, you know, forbidding them from going out." When she saw Celestia give her a confused look, she elaborated. "You know, when they're here at the school, just tell them they're not allowed to use their magic and stuff. Like when I instructed them during the Friendship Games?"

Celestia remained silent for a time, very much looking like she was giving serious consideration to that option. But, in the end, she let out a long sigh, shaking her head. "No...no, I couldn't. Like you said, Lulu, they're doing good. I may care about what they face when they're out there, but to tell them not to try and stop it would probably not result in anything good." She tapped the end of her coffee cup with her finger, musing on new thoughts. "You know...I do wonder if this is what that other me feels sometimes."

Luna, having heard that, let her gaze stray to the window once more, and particularly to the plinth that once bore a magnificent horse statue. "It's funny to think, isn't it? Over there, just a short walk away, there's a door to a whole other world."

Celestia nodded, glancing over her shoulder to that exact same sight. "One that was there right from the beginning, and we never even knew about it."

"One where there's a different version of each and every one of us," Luna continued.

"Including you and I, sister," Celestia remarked.

A silence fell, and as it continued, Luna would sometimes let her eyes dart down to Celestia, then returned again to the plinth. "Do you ever feel tempted? Maybe to just go over there and have a look at this other place?"

A smile crossed Celestia's face. "It would be a lie to say I haven't thought about it, at least a few times." She paused, pondering the possibility. "To meet with another like me. To talk with her. What kind of conversations would we have?"

Luna smirked, gesturing to her sister. "Well, just as one example, you might discuss your respective career paths. Not to put too fine a point on it, but a Principal isn't all that impressive when compared to a Princess."

But Celestia was unconcerned with her sister's words, instead looking back to her with an equally-sly smirk. "Says the Vice-Principal?"

Luna sighed, giving a quick shrug. "Okay, yes, point taken." The two shared another laugh, with Luna walking off to the side, to a table where there was more things ready to get them some further coffee, and as she started preparing to do exactly that, she again found herself looking to the window. "From what I've heard, I think we can say we're better off. Sure, we may have the occasional monster or day of bizarre happenings, but if what Sunset has told me is anything to go by, what we deal with is tame compared to what Equestria has to go through."

Celestia mused on that, clearly worried at the prospect of there being even greater levels of danger that they might have otherwise been dealing with. "In that case, consider me fairly satisfied with the problems we've faced thus far."

Luna chuckled. "I'll drink to that." And drink she did, having just poured a freshly-brewed cup of coffee. But of course, she had not done this for herself alone, as she'd also made a second cup, which she now carried over to her sister. Celestia, naturally, accepted it graciously, and for a while the two just sat opposite one another, enjoying their drinks. After a while though, Luna once more looked to Celestia, her expression more serious than it had been before. "Tell me truthfully, Tia. When you look back, thinking on all the time we've had here at the school, with all it's ups, downs and moments of outright craziness...would you say you were happy here?"

The look Celestia had gave the impression that she was giving that question her absolute focus, but after a few stray sips of her drink, she eventually offered her sister a genuine smile. "Dear Lulu...I wouldn't change my time here for anything."

Sweet Treats

"Okay, it all comes down to this. She's stayed the course well until now, but how this all ends will be decided in the next few moments." Pinkie was uncharacteristically focused, her eyes narrowed as she devoted all her attention to the bowl in front of her. She raised her hand, reaching over to a smaller bowl on the side. Without even looking, she took the tiniest pinch of the latter bowl's contents, then carefully brought it over to the first. Letting her fingers open, the tiny sprinkle fell down below, and Pinkie grinned widely at having done it. She grabbed the bowl, lifting it high above her head, then giggling loudly as she proclaimed her triumph to all around her. "Yes! She's done it! The perfect pudding has finally been created!"

"Pinkie! For the last time! I'm trying to watch my show in here!" an angry voice from the other room called out.

Turning, Pinkie looked to the fuming face of her older sister, Limestone. But contrary to how most would react, the party-girl simply let loose another of her customary giggles. "Oh Limestone! I know you love those wrestling shows and all, but this right here is way better than that!"

Limestone's eyes narrowed. "Pinkie, I love you, but you say that about every dessert you come up with!"

Pinkie snorted. "Pfft! What? No I don't!" Then she paused, pondering her sister's words. "Um...actually, no, you're right. I do."

Limestone gave herself a facepalm, then sighed as she finally entered the kitchen in earnest. "Alright. Let's get this over with."

Pinkie happily clapped her hands together, getting a spoon from the side and scooping up a big taste of the chocolatey pudding she'd just made. "My sweet sister, I promise you, you won't regret this!"

Limestone folded her arms, raising an eyebrow. "Just so you're aware, if you're gonna disturb my show like that, this had better be the tastiest dessert in the world." She looked on at her sister's usual expression of excitement, then grumbled for a bit before finally opening her mouth. Pinkie, still holding the spoon, brought it to her sister's mouth, with the latter closing it soon afterwards. She pulled the spoon out, leaving Limestone to taste what she'd been given. Her eyes strayed left to right and then left again, finally swallowing her offered treat. Pinkie watched eagerly, awaiting her sister's verdict, and as for Limestone she twisted her mouth into a look of pure reluctance. After a while though, she could deny it no longer. "...You got lucky."

Pinkie squealed with joy. "Eeeeeeeeeeee! I knew I got it right! I mean, I was thinking maybe my sugar count was a bit off because of stuff like the new spoon sizes I was using, but then I remembered that I don't ever measure it at all since I just chuck a whole bag in and..."

But her ramble was cut short by a finger to her lips from Limestone, who was looking like she was doing everything in her power not to look amused right now. "Pinkie...just get the other two down here for this already."

Nodding excitedly, Pinkie rushed out of the kitchen, put her thumb and forefinger into her mouth, then let out an almighty whistle so loud and high-pitched that it wouldn't have been surprising if it had been heard all the way across the city. But Pinkie was unconcerned with that, and instead focused on the stairs of her family's home, where she continued to grin happily as she awaited the first of her remaining siblings. Sure enough, it was Maud, who walked down with a speed nowhere near as close as Pinkie's would have been had their positions been reversed. "I take it your dessert's ready?"

The manic energy Pinkie was trying to hold back was palpable, and so much so that she couldn't wait for Maud to come all the way down the stairs herself, so she rushed forward, grabbed the other girl by the wrist and zoomed her down to stand next to the still-irritated Limestone. "Wait right here! I've just got our dear baby sister to bring along!"

And so she darted off, with Limestone looking to Maud with interest. "So...how's boulder?"

Maud gave a slow shrug. "As stoic as ever."

Limestone rolled her eyes, then remained silent as Pinkie, as promised, brought in the youngest of their number, Marble. In fact, it wasn't even so much an escort of the girl so much as looking like Pinkie had just gone to her, picked her up by the waist, and then just brought her along and plonked her beside the others. But Marble, having clearly gotten used to such behaviour by her twin, simply smiled and gave a small wave to her older sisters. Pinkie, on her side of things, had been rushing all around the kitchen, getting bowls and spoons aplenty, and arranging one set in front of each of the other girls. In a flurry of activity, each of those bowls soon had a good portion of the pudding Pinkie had prepared, and once it was finished the chef herself lifted her own bowl, holding out her spoon with confidence. "Here's to desserts! May they be forever sweet and tasty!"

Her sisters mirrored her movements, if only out of courtesy to her, and they all took a spoonful of their pudding, eating it at the same time. Pinkie, naturally, had downed hers faster than all the others, and so she looked on, nervous and excited in equal measure to see how the others would respond. Maud, was the first to answer, although her answer was more along the lines of her usual silence coupled with a sweet little smile, much to Pinkie's delight. Maud was next, and though her face did its usual thing of betraying no emotion, her voice, if only a little, sounded a fraction of a percent peppier than was the norm for her. "It was...good."

Pinkie balled her hand into a fist, punching the air. "Ha! Take that, people I've never met who maybe might not like my desserts and say I can't make good ones...if you even exist at all!"

Though annoyance was her de facto state of being, Limestone suddenly found herself eyeing her sister's creation somewhat warily. "Er...you didn't put in any of those exploding sprinkles of yours, right?"

Pinkie laughed happily. "Ha! What?! No! I'd never do that!" When she saw the raised eyebrow Limestone was giving her, she rolled her eyes. "I mean, yes, I did put that into my desserts once or twice...for a few months. But that's all over now."

Maud looked to her. "Good to know. Mr Cranky still hasn't recovered from the last batch you gave him."

Placing her hands upon her hips, Pinkie considered that. "Yeah...but really I just say that's probably just a sugar allergy or something."

Limestone didn't know whether to be bewildered or worried about her sibling's words. "Sugar allergies...that caused multiple internal burns?"

Pinkie at least had the decency to blush. "Um...at least they say he's getting better?" After seeing her sisters all give her an intense stare, she finally relented. "Okay, I get the message. I'll send him a fresh batch of non-explodey cakes later." Then, her eyes widened, and she clapped her hands together, immediately rushing over to wrap her arm around Marble in a tight hug. "Oh! And before I forget, you remember how I said I'd try and find you a date for next Friday?"

Immediately, Marble's eyes widened with shock, and she blushed fiercely. "Um...Mmm?"

Pinkie grinned. "Well, guess who also happens to be having that day off? Go on, guess!" She watched as Marble nervously thought about what possible match her sister might have thought up for her, but she didn't even get the chance to say it, as Pinkie cut her off shortly afterwards. "Nope! It's actually Big Mac! You know, AJ's brother? Big, tall, handsome, the strong silent type?" As before, Marble blushed, but this time it was while coupled with a look of fondness, looking away and clearly thinking on the muscular youth in question. Seeing that look, Pinkie developed a sly expression. "There we go, I knew you'd be interested! All we have to do now is try and convince him to go out with you and we're golden!"

Limestone frowned to her. "I really hope you don't have plans for matching all of us up with someone, Pinks. I'm happily single, thank you very much."

Pinkie giggled intensely, moving over to embrace her older sister in a way not dissimilar to how she'd held Marble. "Oh Limestone, you're such a joker sometimes. And here we thought Maud was the comedian of the family!"

Limestone grumbled, but before she responded, she felt the touch of Maud's hand on her arm, prompting her to look over as the latter spoke. "We both know she won't stop, Lime. Just smile and nod. Or just nod in my case anyway."

Limestone looked about as incredulous as she was capable of being. "Easy for you to say! You already have a boyfriend so you don't need to worry about her!"

Maud blinked slowly. "Technically, Mudbriar and I haven't made anything official yet."

"Ugh! Details!" Limestone countered. "You spend so much time with him you might as well call him your boyfriend anyway."

Again, Maud blinked slowly. "...Maybe I will." After taking a moment to see the shocked look on Limestone's face, she turned to Pinkie Pie. "And for the record, it might not be wise to set up Marble with Big Mac. Family records indicate that we Pies might actually share a connection with the Apples, so entanglement like that would be...problematic."

Pinkie looked to her, nonplussed for a time, and then, ever so slowly, those eyes widened. Instantly, she released Limestone and rushed over to Maud, looking like she was just barely holding back all of the sheer and unrelenting joy she was feeling. "Maudileena Daisy Pie. Are you tell me, that our family, this family right here, is actually related to Applejack's family?!"

Maud gave a single ponderous nod. "By way of a great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandmother...but yes, it looks like that's the case."

Pinkie took in a deep gulp full of air, then jumped up, her sisters all watching her. Then, when she landed back down, she screamed with more excitement and enthusiasm than she had for some time, which was saying something. "This...is...AMAZING!!! I can't wait to find Applejack and give her the biggest hug of her life! I'll arrange a big we've-secretly-been-your-family-this-whole-time party! We can have everyone together and..." Then, she let out a gasp, clasping her cheeks with her hands. "I need to go over right now and tell her!" She rushed for the door, then brought herself to a screeching halt, looking back to Maud. "Er...she doesn't already know, does she?"

Maud looked over to her. "Does Applejack have a deep interest in ancient genealogical records?"

Pinkie considered that. "Er...don't think so."

Maud then shrugged. "Then I think it's safe to say that she doesn't know."

And that was all the permission Pinkie needed, as she charged out of the door in earnest, with her sisters all waiting in one spot, listening for the sound of her going out their front door and slamming it behind her. When they heard that very sound, Limestone looked back to Maud. "How did you find out about us and the Apples anyway?"

Maud gave what could, charitably, be called a longing stare in the distance. "Me and Mudbriar were over at the town hall doing some research for a school project when we came upon it."

To that, Limestone smirked. "Already doing big and boring school projects together? Ah, young love." Then her smirk faded. "Of course, you know you've pretty much set up AJ for a whole day of being pestered by her, right?"

Slowly, Maud looked her sister right in the eye, then raised an eyebrow of her own. "If you like, I can have her come back and share all that boundless energy with us instead."

Limestone opened her mouth to speak, only to shut it again when she realised the consequences of such an action. Instead, she grabbed another helping of the pudding she'd been given by Pinkie, offering one to Marble before getting one for herself. "Yeah, okay, good point."

Ex-Villains Anonymous

"So...how's the gardening coming?"

Wallflower, looking up from her tea, put on a small smile, for Juniper's sake if nothing else. "Oh, it's been going well. I've been putting in some new roses and they've taken pretty easily." There was silence afterwards, as well as the usual awkwardness that usually got felt when nobody knew what to say. They gathered here as often as they could, these few ladies with one rather particular point in common. Wallflower, Juniper, Gloriosa, and of course the one who hadn't actually turned up yet. Yet every gathering was the same. Lots of silence, lots of discomfort, and most importantly, lots of feeling sorry for themselves. But thankfully, on today at least, Wallflower was able to think of something to say. "So when's she getting here?"

Gloriosa, having just dunked in a biscuit into her own tea, looked up to her. "Oh, you know how she gets. Fashionably late and all that."

Juniper rolled her eyes. "Honestly, it was fine the first couple of times, but now?"

Wallflower nodded. "She doesn't mean to upset us, Juniper. If you told her it bothered you..."

"Then she'd just come up with some justification for doing it anyway," Juniper finished for her.

To that, Wallflower frowned. "The whole reason we're here is because we want to be better. If there's something she's doing that others wish she wouldn't..." She left her words open-ended, much to Juniper's chagrin. But before Wallflower could say anything further, the bell of the cafe's door rang, causing all of them to turn in its direction. "Oh, here she is."

Sure enough, Wallflower was right. Vignette Valencia, looking as confident as ever, sauntered into the cafe like she owned the place. With a smirk, she gestured to the waitress at the front counter, who silently nodded back, and as Vignette made her way over to their usual table, she chuckled a little. "I've been in here enough. They know what I like."

Folding her arms, Juniper looked to her with slight annoyance. "So...this is kind of a weird 'ten in the morning', wouldn't you say?"

Vignette, getting herself comfortable in her side of the booth, gave a single shrug. "Oh, you know how it is when you're a massively popular social media star. Fans just can't stop sending you Bleets."

Juniper gave a smirk that rivalled anything Vignette could do. "Define massively popular."

Gloriosa, seeing the angry look Vignette was developing, cleared her throat, getting the attention of all the others. "So...now that we're all here, how's everyone been doing?"

Juniper, to that at least, gave a genuine smile. "It's been going good, actually. My Uncle invited me to join him and my Aunt for a fishing trip next week. I usually hate those things, but this is the first time he's invited me on one since...since I... you know..."

The other nodded, understanding, with Wallflower placing her hand upon her shoulder. "Well, guess this means he's started to soften to you again."

Juniper held herself. "I kinda wanted to turn down the offer. Not because I don't like fishing, but...but because I don't think I deserve to be treated like the old days."

Gloriosa looked to hear, seeing the clear self-loathing at play there, and offered her a smile. "You may not think so...but your uncle seems to. So...maybe take some comfort in that?"

Juniper smiled to her older friend, grateful at the chance she was giving to be cheered up. In this moment, she took a few breaths, trying to get herself out of her funk, and so took a big swig of her tea. With that finished, she looked around to her fellow ex-evildoers. "So, word on the grapevine is that we might be getting a couple of extra members here at some point."

Wallflower looked to her with confusion. "Oh? Who?"

Vignette gave a knowing smile. "Why, none other than the delightful duo of Post-Crush, my dear."

Both Wallflower and Gloriosa looked to one another, stunned with that announcement. "Wait, the band? The super-famous singers?" the latter asked.

Juniper nodded firmly. "Yep, those are the ones."

Again, Gloriosa and Wallflower gave each other a look, but this time it was the younger of the two who spoke up next. "But...what did they do? I don't recall hearing anything bad during their concert."

Vignette glanced to her. "Oh yeah, I forgot you were there too. Well, long-story-short, turns out their need for a good comeback performance led to some pretty questionable use of Equestrian magic. And not just any magic, we're talking time travel here!"

There was a stunned silence, after which Gloriosa became understandably concerned. "T...time travel? You mean those two have been messing around with history?!"

Vignette paused, considering her own past words. "Well...okay, maybe not time travel exactly, but they were looping around a lot. You know, trying to get their song right?"

Wallflower breathed a sigh of relief. "So...less Terminator and more Groundhog Day?"

Juniper giggled. "Okay, now I'm totally picturing those two going around with sunglasses and trying to put on Austrian accents."

The group all laughed together, and when that died down, with the nearby waitress having taken some of their now-empty tea cups in the meantime, Gloriosa put on another small smile as she looked to Vignette. "And I'm guessing it was a certain redhead and her friends who finally stopped them?"

Vignette nodded in confirmation. "Yep. Well, more Sunset than anyone else. Turns out she was the only one who knew what was going on." She turned to Wallflower. "Kind of like when you were doing your whole magical stuff."

To that, Wallflower started to look predictably dejected. "Yeah...I guess it is just like that."

Vignette suddenly noticed the look of "why did you do that" that Gloriosa and Juniper were giving her, and so quickly decided to backtrack on her actions, clearing her throat and speaking to Wallflower in a softer tone than before. "Hey now, you don't need to worry. It's all in the past now, right?"

She watched as Wallflower looked to her with some incredulity. "Were you just trying to squeeze in a time travel pun?"

Vignette, blinking a couple pf times, suddenly looked very uncomfortable when looking her in the eye. "...Maybe?"

Everyone shook their heads to this, but before anyone could really grate her on the matter, Juniper started to look more than a little curious. "Do you ever wonder how things might have turned out if they weren't there at the time? You know, Sunset and her friends? How would things have played if those girls hadn't stopped us?"

Gloriosa, upon hearing that, instinctively shuddered. "I don't want to think about it. We hurt enough people as it is. If they hadn't been there...there's no telling how far we'd have gone." There was a morose moment between the girls, and they all looked down to their cups, the only sounds being that of the waitress going around the rest of the cafe. Then, after all that, Gloriosa took a deep breath, putting on another smile, if only to appear more cheered up than she actually was. "Still...we were stopped. And that's what matters."

Wallflower smiled to her. "You know, you gotta hand it to Sunset and her friends. We had magic for only a short time and it drove us to all do terrible things. They've had power for who knows how much longer and they're all just as good as they've always been."

Leaning back into her side of the booth, Juniper folded her arms. "Well, that's what you get when you're dealing with a bunch of goody two-shoes. I mean, I'm grateful to them for giving us all second chances and all, but still, it can get pretty annoying to think of how we don't really compare to, you know, a bunch of girl-scouts like that."

Vignette gave her a sly look. "Maybe not as good as you suspect. From what Wallflower told me, our dear Sunset had a few dark moments of her own."

Juniper, raising an eyebrow, turned her attention to the most quiet of their group. "Oh? That right?"

Though hesitant, Wallflower nodded. "Um, yeah. It's what prompted me to do what I did, sort of. Sunset used to be the terror of our school, so it kinda bugged me that so many people treated her like she's this great person now." She suddenly started looking ashamed of herself, burying her face in her hands. "And she is a great person now. I just couldn't see it." The others looked to her with sympathy, knowing full well the guilt she was feeling right now. But they gave her the space they knew she needed, and as she finally lowered her hands, wiping away the pre-tear that was threatening to form in her eye, she resumed her smile. "I guess...it's why she suggested we all get together like this. She knows what we went though better than any of us. Maybe..." She chuckled, if only a little. "Maybe, one day...we can hope to be as good a person as she turned out to be."

Gloriosa turned, looking out of the window beside her. "Think we should invite her over for one of these meetings? She's pretty much ground zero for girls who go bad with magic around here after all."

Wallflower's smile grew. "I'd like that. It'd be good to hear all the ways she got out of all the bad she went through herself."

"I think a lot of that was her friends helping her. Being good to her. Do we have that?" Juniper asked.

There was a moment of quiet for a time, during which there was some uncertainty as to whether they did indeed have the same support Sunset had. Then, at the end of it, it was none other than Vignette who finally answered. "We have each other. Here, now, right?"

All of the others looked to one another, then smiled, giving her an accepting nod. Vignette smiled, taking the moment to take a quick selfie, much to Juniper's chagrin, and thus allowing Gloriosa another thoughtful moment. She stared out at the passers-by on the street. Men, women and children who had no idea she was looking to them. After a while, Wallflower noticed this about her, looking to her with curiosity, and Gloriosa in turn saw her looking to her this way, offering a smile. "I was just thinking." Again, she looked out of the window. "All of us here. We did what we did because magic came into our world. Magic from a place we never knew existed, and may never see with our own eyes. And from what Sunset told me, that magic has just kept on coming." She turned away from the window, holding onto her now-cold cup. "Timber and I talked about it a while back. How many more times will this happen? People like us, taking power they shouldn't and doing bad things with it? How much craziness will the world go through because of magic?"

As had happened several times now, the other girls didn't quite know how to respond, and even looked just as concerned as Gloriosa was. Then Juniper perked up slightly, reaching over and giving Gloriosa a quick pat on the hand to gain her attention. "Maybe it won't happen again. Maybe it'll happen a lot. Who knows? But even when it does happen, at least we know we've got people who know how to deal with it."

In response, Gloriosa smiled. "Yeah...guess it is comforting to know that there's a bunch of heroes who can face all that. They stopped all of us, so...I guess we don't have anything to worry about."

Vignette nodded. "Yes...unless something comes along that's even stronger than the girls." Instantly, the others looked to her with frowns, prompting some worry on her part. "Well, sorry for being the one to have to say it, but we're all thinking it, right?"

Juniper shook her head. "Can't you just leave it on an optimistic note for once?"

Vignette looked to her, gesturing to her phone. "I could just go back to talking about how many followers I have, if you like?"

Juniper grimaced. "On second thoughts...never mind."

Unhappy Reunions

The sun was shining, the birds were singing on the wing, and children were playing happily before them. At a glance, everything seemed to be utterly idyllic and tranquil. Yet Sunset still couldn't shake the feeling that something was amiss. It was like that feeling on the back of your neck when you've forgotten something important. A feeling that you knew wasn't going to leave you alone unless you'd resolved it. So in spite of just how great everything seemed on the surface around her, Sunset nevertheless felt unease as she sat on the bench at the side of the Canterlot park. But this feeling was, at least a little bit, given a time-out when who else but Twilight should suddenly walk along to her, carrying a pair of ice creams. Sunset smiled, accepting her strawberry one while Twilight kept her vanilla. "Thanks."

"No problem," Twilight remarked. And as the spectacled girl sat beside her, taking her first lick, she couldn't help but comment on it. "Hmmm, nice. Flash wasn't wrong to choose this as his favourite flavour. I mean, I know he was talking about milkshakes at the time, but still..."

Sunset chuckled to that, continuing to lick her own ice cream, and as she looked out at the serene park before her, she sighed slightly. "Things don't get much better, do they?"

Twilight smiled to her, shaking her head. "Careful, Sunset. Something like that usually precedes disaster."

Again, Sunset laughed. "Since when did you get genre-savvy?"

Twilight shrugged, looking more than a little smug in the process. "Well, after spending as much time with you girls as I have, you pick up a thing or two." The two laughed together, but when that laughter was over, Twilight could still feel that something was up with Sunset, even if the latter wouldn't say anything about it. "Sunset...what is wrong?"

Knowing that her friend was in the right for at least asking, Sunset took a deep breath, then looked her in the eye. "It's just...a feeling. I get them sometimes. Part of a consequence of having magic, I guess. But it's usually before something big happens. Like when we were back at Camp Everfree and we entered that cave for the first time?"

Twilight nodded, thinking on those words. "Well, if I were to hazard a guess, I'd say it could be a sense connected to your inherent magical abilities. After all, if you're going to be the one who has telepathy, it's not that much of a stretch to see you as also having some degree of precognitive talent as well."

Sunset frowned as she once more glanced to the oblivious children playing some distance away. "It's not like seeing the future, what I'm feeling. It's more like...like..." Her shoulders slumped. "Ugh, I don't know. It's more like the feeling of you when you're worried if you left the stove on after leaving your house. Just a sense of...wrongness, even if it's of something small."

In the face of that, Twilight could only giggle. "Well, given our track-record with magic, let's hope it is something small like that."

Sunset looked back to her, opening her mouth to speak, only to be halted by an ungodly noise from afar. It was like some machine going horribly wrong somewhere, and it was so loud that every head in the immediate area, including those of Sunset and Twilight, turned in its direction. When they did, Sunset's eyes widened in shock. For the sight that greeted her, on the far edge of the park, was one she had silently hoped to never see again. A van, currently broken-down, with a trio of girls about their age exiting it. A trio that Sunset was more than familiar with, and whom she now frowned to. "Well...looks like it wasn't a small thing."

Twilight glanced to her in confusion, then back to the three girls, and even with her glasses on she had to squint to get a better look at them. At first, she didn't recognise them, but then memories started resurfacing in her mind, causing her to start looking just as worried as Sunset. "Wait...I remember you and the girls telling me about three who looked like them. Are...are they...?"

She didn't finish, but Sunset let out a long sigh, standing up with a determined look upon her face. "Yes, Twilight...yes they are."

Twilight too stood up, and as Sunset started to march towards the van, the former Crystal Prep girl hesitated, if only for a moment, before following. Closer and closer they walked, and as they did they could already hear the sounds of an argument breaking out between the three beside the van. "I thought you said you checked the engine, Aria?!" the one with copious orange hair bellowed.

"Hey! How many times do I have to tell you that this thing is old! It might have been working yesterday, but it's a miracle it's lasted this long!" the girl with pigtails angrily responded.

"So...does this mean we're not making it to the motel on time?" the one with blue hair asked obliviously.

The first of the girls facepalmed. "Ugh! Of all the places we had to break down, it just had to be this town, didn't it?!"

Aria shrugged as she once more looked to their smouldering engine. "We had no choice. If we didn't pass though we'd have had to take a road that was hours longer. If you think this engine was taxed from this, imagine what that trip would have done."

Lowering her hand from her forehead, Adagio continued to grumble for a bit. "Look, let's just do what we can to fix this thing and get out of here as fast as possible. In case you'd forgotten, our reception here wasn't all that great last time we were here, so I don't want to run the risk of someone spotting us."

"Ahem."

The sound of someone clearing their throat caused all three of them to freeze, and after a time, Adagio slowly turned. Her instincts, or perhaps even her fears, were right on the money, as the narrowed eyes of Sunset Shimmer were now looking back to her. After a long and very uncomfortable silence between them, the Siren leader looked completely and utterly exhausted. "...Of course." She glanced to Aria, then to Sonata, before taking a single defiant step forward. Sunset did the same, with Twilight close behind her, and after a long and tense silence, the lead Siren finally spoke. "Sunset."

Sunset gave a quick nod. "Adagio."

Adagio, in response, turned her eyes away, clearly unhappy about having to look at her right now. "For the record, I don't want to be here any more than you want me here."

"I don't doubt that," Sunset replied.

Slowly, Adagio's eyes drifted back to her, and soon found themselves locked onto the girl with glasses behind her. "Ah. I see you're not taking any chances. You decided to bring in your little Princess friend."

Here, Twilight finally stepped out from behind Sunset, clearing her throat briefly before speaking up for herself. "Er, no. I'm not her. I'm this world's Twilight."

Hearing that, and after taking a quick moment to grapple with that new truth, Adagio rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Right, there's two of you now. Well isn't that just lovely?" Lowering her hand again, she resumed her earlier frown. "I assume you're here to try and bring us in. For crimes against Equestria or Canterlot High, or whatever else you want to call it?"

After a time of considering her options, Sunset slowly shook her head. "No, I'm not. I think it's just best that you know that we'll do something only if you do something first."

Adagio chuckled, but it was dry and devoid of humour. "Will you now? Well, how comforting. But put your mind at ease, little unicorn. In case you'd forgotten, my colleagues and I are no more a threat than the last time you saw us."

Here, Sunset smirked slightly. "Oh, I know. You're just focusing on your music."

Adagio's eyes narrowed further. "And pray, just how do you know that?"

Sunset shrugged. "You may not have seen me back at that music festival, but I certainly saw you."

Now it was Aria's turn to add her voice to the matter. "Oh yeah, I think Nata told us about that."

Sonata smiled, clearly not getting the message that the three of them were all supposed to be in a bad mood right now. "I can show you the pictures again if you like, Dagi?"

Adagio groaned. "Not now, Sonata." She took another step closer. "Well then, Sunset Shimmer, if you saw us there, then you should already know that we're just passing through right now. We'll fix our van, we'll hit the road, and with luck we'll never have to look at each other ever again."

Sunset folded her arms. "For once, Adagio, you and I are on the same page."

Adagio, for just a brief moment, looked like she was going to ease off a bit, having accepted this "sort of peace" between them. But then, before she said anything else, she looked past Sunset's shoulder, and a look of rage came to her. "So, you are planning on doing something to us!"

Sunset and Twilight were, of course, confused by this, until they heard a familiar voice call to them from behind. "Sunset!"

They turned, seeing their friends, all five of them, rushing towards them, decked out in their usual magical hero outfits. Sunset quickly assumed why they were here, raising her hands towards them. "No! It's okay! They're not a danger right now!"

But Rainbow, speeding ahead of the rest of them, screeched to a halt right next to her, pointing up to the sky. "Not them! That!"

All eyes turned upwards, just in time to see, to their horror, a car, hurling towards them from some other location. All gathered there screamed in terror, but Twilight immediately leapt into action, activating her magic and using it to stop the car and hold it mid-air before it hit them. All of them panted with the fear that had gripped them, especially the Sirens, with Aria glaring angrily at their rescuer. "You girls have superpowers now?!"

Twilight grunted. "Never mind that! Move!" And move they did, getting as far away as they could, thus allowing Twilight the opportunity to finally get the car onto the ground. She took a moment to get her breath back, touching her pendant so as to transform just like the other girls, who only now arrived beside them.

Meanwhile, Sunset, who had similarly changed, looked to them all. "Anyone wanna tell me what's going on?!"

Fluttershy pointed ahead. "That's what's going on!" They all turned again, seeing a sight that, quite frankly, looked about as bizarre as they'd come to expect by now. It was an oak tree, and a big one at that. It's moved like a flesh and blood creature through the park, screeching in an ear-piercing way, prompting many a local bystander to flee from the sight of it. It scurried along the ground with its now-free roots, and it was reaching out with its branches, grabbing anything it could and hurling it towards the girls.

As before, Twilight caught the falling objects and lowered them to the ground, but it was clear that more needed to be done. "Okay...plan?"

Rainbow balled her hand into a fist, smirking. "What we always do!"

Pinkie looked to her. "Fly by the seat of our pants and take down the magical monster with a whole load of bright lights and rainbows?"

"...Yeah...that," Rainbow admitted.

With that, the girls leapt forward together, leaving the three Sirens behind in bewilderment. "Um...would someone care to explain what's going on right now?!" Adagio rightfully asked.

But the girls themselves were too far away now to be heard, having engaged the enraged tree, much to Twilight's dismay. "Urgh! How any times am I going to have to deal with magically-powered psychotic plants in my life?!"

Applejack, rushing right into the fray, looked to the dangerous tree with confidence. "Don't worry, girls! Ah've got an idea!" With an almighty punch, she used her great strength to punch right into the ground, and after a second or two of rummaging around down there, she yanked up a massive rock, at least the size of one of the cars that had been thrown at them. With another bout of strength, she flung the great stone at their enemy. Unfortunately, the tree was also quite strong, and effortlessly batted the rock away, sending it high into the sky, complete with a little twinkle when it was finally beyond sight. Applejack, staring upwards at where her weapon had vanished to, blushed a little before gulping. "Er...anyone else got an idea?!"

Rainbow, snorting to her friend's efforts, used her speed to charge ahead, grabbing a hosepipe from a front garden near the park, then running back and starting to spun around and around the base of the tree. "Girls! We've got this!" She kept on spinning around, until she was certain it was properly secured, and then all seven of them smiled to one another, knowing that they did indeed have things under control now. Together, they leapt to their enemy, their magic causing them all to glow brightly. Much like with the crazy robot they once had to deal with, their power burst forth, colliding with the tree and causing it to howl with defeat. As their magic swirled around it, it began to lose its own power, reverting back into its original state, with its roots once more burrowing into the soil. The girls landed back onto the ground, and after they were sure it was back to normal, Rainbow punched the air in triumph. "Oh yeah! Now that's what I'm talking about!"

The girls had good reason to celebrate, and they gave each other warm and friendly hugs as they reverted back to their civilian outfits. But it was here that Sunset remembered what she'd been doing before and looked over to see Adagio and the other Sirens. The three of them clearly had no idea how to react to what had just happened, and as Sunset walked closer to them, she spoke softly for the first time in their interaction. "Not to put too fine a point on it, but you'd know if we wanted to do anything to you, Adagio."

The Siren leader, clearly wanting to maintain some composure, took on a more calm and thoughtful expression. "Yes...well...glad to know we won't have to worry about you girls bothering us then."

Sunset rolled her eyes. "Not the friendliest exchange, but I'll take it, I guess."

Adagio let out a quick "hmph" before turning back to their van, with Sonata and Aria close behind. "And now, if you'll excuse us, we have our transport to tend to. And if we're lucky, we'll never have to see you or your friends ever agai..." Sadly, this remark was cut short, as it was right at that moment when the massive boulder, which Applejack had unsuccessfully thrown at the magical tree earlier, finally came back down to earth. Unfortunately, it came back down right on top of the Sirens' van, smashing it into a million pieces. As stray bits of metal were strewn in every direction, all eyes were upon its remains, and Applejack, naturally, covered her face with her hat out of sheer embarrassment. Adagio, staring long and hard at what would have been her ticket out of this town she hated so much, just stood there, never moving an inch, much to the concern of those around her.

After a while though, Sonata, realising for the first time how bad a situation they were in, gave a nervous poke on the side of Adagio's arm. "So...um...does this mean we'll be late for our next gig?"

Taking a deep breath in a vain attempt to calm herself down, Adagio unleashed the longest sigh she'd given in ages. "Yes, Nata...yes it does."

Author's Note

And I think that's a good spot for me to take a break. Not sure how long the hiatus will be, but I'll see you when I see you :twilightsmile:

Helping Out

"So...they're living here?" Flash asked, his voice showing sheer disbelief.

"Yyyyyyyyyep," Sunset replied, sounding rather tired about the point.

"The Dazzlings?" Flash asked again.

"Yep."

"As in the magical Sirens from your world that nearly tore our school apart?"

"Yep."

"And they're not, like, redeemed or friendly now, they just happen to be around and still hate your guts?"

"Yep."

"Sunset, may I speak freely?"

"By all means."

"...This sounds like a really bad situation."

A long sigh from his Equestrian friend. "Preaching to the choir on that one, Flash." The girl looked utterly exhausted, an not only because of the aforementioned scenario she and her friends had found themselves in. She and Flash were in the middle of some hard work right now, trying as well as they could to get a new big chair up the stairs in Sunset's apartment, right up to her upper floor. And given how big the stairs were, it wasn't going to be easy. She was holding one side of the chair, and Flash the other, but while they did their best to carry the heavy furniture, her mind kept dwelling on the matter her colleague had shown such understandable concern for. "Look, it just...it just seemed right, you know? Because of our fight, they'd lost their van. I may not see them as friends, but I'm not willing to leave them homeless because of that. It's kind of our responsibility."

Flash frowned, trying well to make sure he kept a good grip on the chair. "I understand. I suppose I wouldn't have done any differently."

A small smirk came to Sunset. "Oh, no question there, Flash. You're Canterlot's white knight after all."

Flash rolled his eyes. "Well, we all try, don't we? And speaking of trying, how's your end of this thing?"

Sunset grumbled. "I may love this house to bits, but boy did whoever made it not think of how much stuff its owners would want upstairs." The two shared a laugh, but when it ended they grunted together, having temporarily lost the grip they had on the chair. Thankfully they regained it before it fell, but it was still a clear sign that they needed to cut the chit-chat. A silent nod passed between them, and they instead focused on getting the furniture where it needed to be. There were many twists and turns while trying to do this, but they eventually managed to get it up, much to their delight. Sunset, looking around, found a suitable spot not far from where her bed was, and gestured to it as best she could with her head. Getting the message, Flash and her moved in unison towards the spot, and after reaching it they set it down, leading to the expected sigh of relief from the pair of them. "Oooof! I love chairs like this, but they aren't exactly the most mobile things around."

Flash, wiping some stray sweat from his brow, chuckled briefly. "I hear ya. But, it's up here now, and that's what matters." Then, his eyes drifted down to the ground floor, to a chiller box he'd brought with him, and he smiled. "So...soda?"

Despite feeling pretty tired, Sunset still managed to put on a smile. "Oh Flash, you know just what to say to a girl." The two laughed as they descended down the stairs together, and within only a minute both of them had their hands full of their preferred cold beverage. They opened their cans with the usual quick hissing sound, after which they plonked themselves down on the nearby sofa. Taking a simultaneous swig of their drinks, they both let out sighs of contentment. "Oh yeah, nothing beats a cold one after some work." She smiled over to Flash. "Thanks for the help. I'd have never got that thing up there by myself."

Flash shrugged. "Hey, it's no problem." He raised an eyebrow. "But I'm surprised the other girls weren't available."

Sunset sighed again, looking ahead to stare out of her window. "Yeah, well, you know how it is. They've all got things to do right now. Twilight was asked to head up that new 'extra help' class for those younger students, and the others all have their own stuff going on. Not the least of which is Rarity helping Adagio and the other two get set up in town."

At the mention of the Sirens, Flash resumed his earlier look of concern. "Sunset...I know you're pretty big on giving people second chances...but those three aren't like Wallflower or Vignette. These are the Sirens we're talking about."

Raising a hand, Sunset rubbed the side of her temple. "I know. In the grand scheme of things they're probably the biggest enemies we've ever had." She cast a glance to the boy beside her, seeing him continue to look worried, which resulted in her slumping her shoulders somewhat. "I realise that expecting them to take the same road I did is asking a lot. They've spent a long time stewing in their dislike of me and the others. And now, on top of everything, we left them without the thing they've been living in since then. There's probably nobody in the world they hate more than us." She grimaced. "But I was given a second chance, and so have so many others. I have to believe that there's at least a chance."

Flash looked to her with curiosity. "A chance? Of what? Them becoming better people?"

A deep exhale from Sunset. "If not that then at least some sort of peace between us. I can't just ask them to like us, and I can't forget everything they tried to do. All the fun they took in seeing people go at each others' throats. There was maliciousness to them that I've never seen in anyone else." A pained look came to her. "Well...except me."

Flash frowned. "You weren't malicious, Sunset, you were...well...just misguided."

Sunset smiled to him, but she also looked kind of amused by his words. "I know you're trying to be nice, but face it, I was terrible back then."

A small smile from her companion. "Well...you were occasionally terrible, I suppose."

Sunset gave him a playful punch in the arm. "Honestly, how you put up with me for as long as you did, I'll never know."

Flash looked ahead, out of the window, much like Sunset herself had done not so long ago. "Well, guess I figured that, whatever caused you to be so angry to people, it...it was just some personal problem, you know? Something you didn't want to talk about? Guess I kinda felt it was something to give you space over. Something not to hold against you."

Hearing that, Sunset took on a look of guilt, reclining further into her side of the sofa. "Well, you're not wrong about the personal problems...but they were my own fault, just like so much else back then."

Flash turned to her, seeing her take another sip of her drink, and smiled to her. He reached out, gently placing his hand upon her shoulder, and when she looked back to him he spoke softly. "You're not that girl anymore, Sunset. You're better, kinder. Someone I'm proud to call a friend."

Though she initially looked like she was still struggling with the memory of who she was, Sunset nevertheless offered a grateful smile to the words. "Thanks." Then she chortled a little. "Hard to imagine, isn't it? That things have changed so much. You look back to me when we broke up, and you look at me now...it's like seeing two completely different people."

Flash's smile widened. "Like I said, you've become better."

Sunset looked to him mischievously. "And you haven't changed in the slightest. You're still the same boy-scout you've always been."

In response, Flash folded his arms, looking almost indignant at the remark. "Hey, I can do bad stuff too."

Sunset's smirk grew. "Oh yeah? like what?"

Flash paused here, his eyes darting left and right as his mind desperately tried to come up with a proper answer. "Well...um...oh! I put an empty soda can into the regular trash instead of the recycling bin the other day. How about that?"

Sunset practically blew out her soda through her nose after hearing that. "Oh wow. Watch out, ladies, we've got a real bad boy here."

Flash's own shoulders slumped. "Okay, so maybe doing 'the right thing' is just something I like doing. What can I say? It's just something that feels good to do."

Sunset smiled warmly to him. "I hear ya. I can honestly say I've never been happier than I have been since I started doing things for others instead of myself. Selfishness might have taken me far back in the day, but trying to be better to help? Or to be a good friend? Oh yeah, there's no question that it's the better path."

Flash looked to her, looking like he was deep in thought, and then, for some reason, he started to look sad. "I'm...sorry."

Understandably, Sunset glanced back to him with clear confusion. "Sorry? For what?"

A brief shrug from her friend. "That it took as long as it did for someone to come and help you out of that bad time in your life."

To say that Sunset was taken aback by the words would have been an understatement, as she looked downright stunned by his declaration. But it also left her with a lot to think about, and she soon found herself staring down at her now-empty soda can. Flash too was quiet, but he recognised that his ex was getting her thoughts in order, and so gave her as much time as she needed for that. After a while, Sunset took a deep breath before looking him in the eye. "Thank you. But what I did wasn't just a case of me having nobody good in my life, Flash. I had Princess Celestia, I had my classmates back at Canterlot...and I had you." She saw him start to look surprised himself, then continued. "There were plenty of decent people who wanted the best for me, and I just shut out all of them for one reason or another. The things I did, the mistakes I made...those were my mistakes, not anybody else's. You all did what you could...and I just wasn't hearing it."

Flash didn't seem upset by this, and reached out, taking her hand into his own. When Sunset looked back to him, he simply smiled. "Maybe...but that's all in the past now. You have friends, you have a happy life, and you're not going back to that bad time again."

Sunset looked to him inquisitively. "Oh yeah? What makes you so sure?"

Flash paused, but only briefly. "Because I know you now, Sunset. Truly know you. You're not just putting on a facade of who you are like you used to."

Another moment of quiet fell between the teens, after which Sunset smirked again, shaking her head slightly. "Oh wow...I was pretty stupid letting you get away all that time ago." Sadness returned to her, and she held on tighter to Flash's hand, which was still on hers. "I should've done more...to keep what we had."

As before, Flash glanced out of the window. "Maybe...but let's be honest, Sunset...neither of us were really good together back then. It's like...what we had wasn't something either of us was ready for."

Slowly, Sunset looked to him. "And...and now?"

Flash considered the question, his eyes turning to meet hers. "What would you say?"

Sunset looked down, to their still-held hands, and smiled. "It might be worth it..." But then she let go, looking to him and keeping her smile all the same. "...One day."

Flash too smiled to her. "Well then...that'll be a fine day."

Sunset chuckled. "That it will be, Flashy-boy."

The musician groaned. "Ugh! I thought I'd heard the last of that nickname when we broke up!"

Sunset stifled a snicker on her part, giving him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "Not on your life, friend."

Looking to her, Flash too started to look amused by the whole thing. "Well, guess 'bad' Sunset doesn't completely disappear."

Author's Note

While it might indeed be interesting to just keep going and going, like I did with my other EqG fic, I think I'll be satisfied just to conclude things in a plain-old nice chapter like this :twilightsmile: