BRRRIIIIIIIING!
It was Monday. A very sleepy Monday. Once the first bell rang, the halls of Canterlot High were ambushed by half-awake students squeezing their way past each other to get to their lockers. The day was beginning on a rough start for a couple of teens whose locks refused to open no matter how many times they put in their code. Rainbow Dash was experiencing this inconvenience, thumping her head against the small metal door and letting out a deep sigh. “Pinkie Pie, could you help me open my locker?”
“Okie dokie.” Usually being the most energetic student around, Pinkie Pie seemed quite laid-back this morning. However, true to herself, she was still trying to keep a bright smile on her face despite the tired look in her eyes. With a few twists of the knob, the door swung open.
“How did you know my combo?” Dash asked, relieved to have access to her textbooks, but annoyed that Pinkie was able to get it open on the first try.
“You told me it three months ago. I always remember my friends’ locker combos in case of emergencies,” Pinkie smiled back. Once Rainbow grabbed her things, the two walked together to their algebra class.
“That’s cool.” Dash yawned, not bothering to cover her mouth. “I wish we didn’t have to deal with stupid math first thing in the morning. I’m still tired from kicking Siren butt over the weekend.”
“I think the whole school would say the same,” Pinkie says, looking around and seeing her sleep-deprived peers sluggishly drag themselves to class. “Well, if my gut is right, an epic monster battle like that means we won’t have to deal with anything like that for a while, hopefully never again. That or my tummy is mad that I skipped breakfast.”
“Hey, if we end up falling asleep in class, lunch will come by faster.”
“That or a bummer detention.”
Dash let out a chuckle. “Detention? After saving the world, I bet my lucky pencil that we won’t have to worry about detention for the rest of the year!”
“I’ll keep your word on it…” The pair walked through the threshold to Mr. Cranky’s classroom, mentally preparing themselves for the hour-long snoozefest that awaited them.
It felt like an eternity, but the lunch bell finally rang that afternoon. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash joined their friends at their usual table. None of the girls looked more awake than when they arrived at school. In fact, Rainbow seemed even worse. Digging through her backpack, she pulled out a nibbled-on pencil and rolled it over to Pinkie.
“You don’t need to give me your lucky pencil, Dashie. I wasn’t expecting you to actually bet on it,” Pinkie said.
“I don’t think it’s as lucky as I thought it was,” Dash sighed, putting her head in her hand.
“What’s all this about?” Rarity asked, biting into a granny smith apple.
“Rainbow Dash got detention,” Pinkie replied. “She fell asleep in Mr. Cranky’s class.”
“I had my shades on and everything!” Dash retorted, picking at her food with her fork while Pinkie blew bubbles into her chocolate milk. “He still caught me, and he still gave me detention even though he wouldn’t even be teaching if we didn’t save the world!”
“Well, you know what they say,” Rarity said, “justice is blind.”
“I don’t see how this is justice!” Dash aggressively bit into her pear, chewing away as she talked. “My shleep schedule needsh jushtish!”
“And your table manners need justice…” Rarity mumbled under her breath.
“Ah, the ol’ sunglasses trick. You can call me an expert on that,” Sunset Shimmer smirked. “I think the only reason you got caught is that Mr. Cranky caught on when I kept doing it. I guess not answering questions when the teacher calls on you makes it pretty obvious.”
“And, ya know, wearin’ sunglasses inside.” Applejack laughed.
Silverware clanked against plastic trays as the cafeteria crowd ate their mediocre meals. Fluttershy looked up from her lunch and glanced around. “It’s nice and quiet today. I like it.”
“Yeah, everyone seems to be out of it today,” Sunset nodded, following Fluttershy’s gaze. “I don’t blame them. I wasn’t able to sleep much this weekend either.” Just then, a lively humming broke through the quiet murmurs of the lunchroom. Turning their heads, the girls saw exactly who was acting so preppy, and honestly, it wasn’t all that surprising.
“Hi, Trixie!” Pinkie grinned, waving her over.
“Hmm? Ah, greetings, fellow students!” Trixie strode over to their table with a flourish of her skirt, sitting down on the edge of the tabletop.
“You seem pretty happy today,” Sunset pointed out.
“Why of course! Why wouldn’t the Great and Powerful Trrrixie /i] have an extra pep in her step after receiving extra credit for reading to the kindergarten next door?”
The six girls all shared odd looks with each other before looking back at the self-called magician. “You… volunteered to do that?” Sunset asked, summing up the thoughts on everyone’s minds.
“Indeed! The Great and Powerful Trixie always has the time to entertain the youth of today!” She ran her hand through her hair and gave it a flip. “There was this one adorable little girl. Trixie didn’t get her name, but Trixie knows we are going to be best friends from now on! In fact, Trixie is going to take her out for lunch all paid for by moi.”
“Wow, that’s awfully nice of you, Trixie.” Fluttershy smiled.
“Trixie doesn’t settle for less. Now, alas, Trixie must go! The lunch line calls her!” With another flourish of her skirt, Trixie ran off. Sensing eyes still on her, she turned back around. “Trixie forgot her smoke bombs today, but that does not stop the Great and Powerful Trixie from exiting greatly and powerfully!” After watching her leave (again), the girls gave another look at each other. Rainbow Dash let out a groan.
“Gosh, Trixie gets dragged into babysitting a bunch of kids, and she’s still having a better day than me!” She put her head in her arms.
“Babysitting is tons of fun!” Pinkie grinned. “It’s fun, and you can get paid to do it! Two in one!”
“Yep, have fun dealing with whiny kids, Pinks. I’m plenty happy working on my soccer skills to win an epic scholarship.”
“Suit yourself, Dashie!’ Pinkie smiled, eating her ham sandwich.
A few minutes later, the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch period. The girls grabbed their bags and went to dispose of their lunch trays.
“So, since Rainbow has detention, does that mean we won’t have band practice after school today?” AJ asked.
“Nah, you guys go ahead. From what I heard, Sunset can play some sweet guitar.” Rainbow Dash smiled over at Sunset, causing the girl to blush sweetly.
“Thanks, Rainbow. Detention isn’t that bad. Trust me, I know. At least they let you do homework there.”
“Great, nothing like passing the time with some exciting algebra problems. As long as no one bothers me there, I think I’ll survive. See you guys later then.”
The girls said their goodbyes and head off to finish their classes for the day. Once the final bell rang, Rainbow Dash called her mom to tell her about the situation. Of course, she wasn’t happy. Dash’s mom gave her some extra to-do’s on her chores list before hanging up. Dash let out her umpteenth groan of the day as she made her way up a flight of stairs. “I’m already being punished. Why pile more on top of that?” She opened the detention room door, seeing no one inside just yet. She set her things down near the desk at the very back of the room and took her seat. Looking around the room, Dash saw a bunch of cheesy motivational posters and bookshelves filled with old, tattered, classic literature books. Do they really expect us to read those ancient books for fun? Dash thinks to herself, glancing over to the door and seeing a shoe organizer hooked on it with the phrase “No Phone Zone” above it in foam letters. Rainbow Dash immediately grabbed her phone to spend as much precious time with it as she could before the supervisor could come in and confiscate it.
“Of course, sweetheart, you can spend as much time as you want in here,” a friendly voice Dash recognized as the school’s librarian Cheerilee said just outside the door. It slowly swung open to reveal not Cheerilee but a little girl walking in, the librarian following after her. The child looked around the room before noticing Dash in the back, causing the athlete to raise her eyebrow in confusion. Rainbow Dash got up and handed her detention slip over to Cheerilee. “Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Cheerilee said, “please put your phone on the door and take your seat. You will be dismissed at 4:00.”
“Thank you, Miss Cheerilee,” Dash replied, more out of habit than actual sincerity. Her eyes glanced over to the little girl trying to lift herself onto one of the desk’s chairs. “If you don’t mind me asking, is this girl your niece or something?”
“Oh no, she’s just a little friend I met today.” Cheerilee smiled over at the girl, and she smiled in return. “She needed something to do, and I offered to let her spend time here. I feel so bad though, I don’t have any games or toys for her to play with. Maybe you could entertain her, Rainbow Dash?”
“Huh? Me?” Dash pointed at herself. “Doesn’t this girl have parents coming to pick her up?”
“I’m sure that’s something we don’t need to worry about. If you help me with her, it will give you something to do before you’re free to go.”
Rainbow looked back at the kid once more. “I guess it’s better than doing math homework… fine, I’ll help.” She sat herself down next to the desk where the girl was, watching her little legs kicking idly over the side of the chair. “Hey, kid. Wassup?”
The child, who looked about five years old, gave her a toothy grin. “Hi! I’m Cwystal Peawl, wha’s yoh name?”
“Oh, uh, Crystal Pearl, huh? I’m Rainbow Dash,” She replied, feeling a bit awkward trying to have a conversation with a lisped kindergartener.
“Wanna pway?” Crystal Pearl kept swinging her legs, grinning eagerly at the teenager.
“Play?” Dash contemplated the offer, not sure if she wanted to lower herself to this girl’s level just for her entertainment. However, knowing that Cheerilee had her eyes on her, Dash knew she didn’t have a choice. “Uh, okay, I’ll play with you.”
With a cheerful grin, Crystal Pearl hopped off her chair and proceeded to take off her little Mary Janes and frilly socks. Dash gave her an odd look as the girl began wiggling her toes excitedly. “Do you have dees?”
“What, toes?” Dash raised an eyebrow, looking to the side at the odd display. “Uh, yeah. I do.”
“I wanna see!”
Oh come on… Dash let out a sigh. “Why do you wanna see my toes?”
“Because dey cool!” Crystal giggled, examining her own feet. “Look! I gots lotsa toes!”
Dash had to hold back from rolling her eyes. “Fine, just real quick.” Dash bent down and took off one of her sneakers, yanking the sock off and showing Crystal Pearl her toes. Who on earth would wanna look at people’s feet? Dash wondered.
“Ooo!” Crystal crawls over and grabs her foot, trying to look at it from all angles. “Dey bigger den mine! Yoo gots lotsa toes too!” She then stands up and grabs Dash’s arm, looking at her hand. “You got dem here too, just like me!”
“Uh, yep! Hands and fingers, just like you…” Dash looked over at the clock. It’s only been five minutes?! Rainbow looked over at Crystal who was looking right back at her expectantly. What do I do with this kid? “So, Crystal Pearl… uh, that’s a nice scarf you got there.”
Crystal gave her a big grin, playing around with the sparkly purple scarf around her neck. “Thankies! Dewe was dis girl who read to me and a buncha kids, and she gave dis to me! She’s gonna get me lunch tomorrows.”
“Oh, you mean Trixie gave that to you?” So this is the girl she was talking about…
“Yus, dat giwl!” She smiled, “I’m not never ever taking it off!”
“Cool…” Rainbow started digging into her backpack to find some hand sanitizer for Crystal; touching other people’s feet wasn’t the most hygienic activity after all. “Umm… do you have anything you really like to do?”
“Ooo! I like singing!” Crystal immediately replied, bouncing back up. “Wanna hear a song? Ish my favowite song. Ish my happy song!”
“Your happy song?” Dash had to mentally prepare herself for the torture her ears would have to endure. “Nngh… fine. Lemme hear it.”
Crystal stood up straight and proud, taking a deep breath before letting a melody escape her throat. Rainbow Dash immediately looked up from her backpack. Even Miss Cheerilee stopped her work to watch and listen. This girl was only five years old, right? If that was the case… then why did she sound so beautiful? With every pitch-perfect note she sang, both student and teacher found themselves lulled by the sweet music Crystal Pearl created. It was lively, cheerful, and better than any song either of them had ever heard. It felt too soon when Crystal finished singing.
“Beautiful as ever, dearie!” Cheerilee praises, “You’re the most talented girl I’ve ever had the chance to meet! Wouldn’t you say so, Rainbow Dash?”
It took a moment for Rainbow to process what Cheerilee had asked. She blinked a couple of times before facing the happy-looking girl in front of her. In an instant, she picked her up and twirled her around, making Crystal laugh in delight.
“You, kid, are the most awesome thing in the world!” Dash beamed up at her. Crystal Pearl squeals and beams proudly. Dash gave her a big hug. “Are you free tomorrow? We gotta hang out again!”
“Wanna come to lunch tommorrows wif me and Twixie?”
“You bet! I wouldn’t miss it for the world!”
If detention was meant to be a punishment, Rainbow Dash didn’t care in the slightest. She was perfectly happy playing with little Crystal Pearl and asking her to sing over and over again. By the time detention was over, Dash was pained to have to leave her new buddy. After getting reassured that the two would meet once again at the cafeteria, Dash opened the door and exited with a slight skip to her step, paying no mind to the pink mist leaving the room with her as she walked back down the stairs.
Author's Note
Wondering what Crystal Pearl's "happy song" is? It might be familiar to Legend of Zelda fans!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-icqyQH-kbU
The next day at lunch hour, five friends sat together at their usual table. Rainbow Dash was the last one to arrive at the table, but much to the girls’ surprise, she strolled right past them, not even making her way toward the lunch line. Sunset waves her hand at her. “Rainbow Dash, we’re over here!”
The athlete mentioned turned her head around to look at her. “Oh, uh, sorry, guys. I’m not gonna be eating with you today.”
Everyone looked surprised at that news. “No? Why not” Applejack asked her.
“I’m eating lunch with Pearly and Trixie today.”
If the girls didn’t look shocked before, their faces certainly showed it now. “Wait, Trixie? As in Trixie Lulamoon?” Rarity asked, shaking her head in disbelief.
“And who’s Pearly?” Pinkie asked before gasping. “Is she a new student?! How come nobody told me?! I never got to meet them or plan a ‘Welcome to Canterlot High’ party!”
Dash chuckled, dismissing her rambling with a shake of her hand. “No, no. Pearly is a new friend of mine. I met her during detention yesterday, and she was super sweet. She said Trixie was gonna take her out to lunch today, so I figured I’d tag along.”
Fluttershy gave her a concerned look. “You met her in… detention? I’m not sure that’s the best place to meet new friends…”
“No, she wasn’t actually in detention. She just stopped by to visit. Trust me, she made my hour a lot less boring.”
The girls looked at each other and shrug. Just then, Rainbow’s face lighted up with delight when she saw someone walking toward her. “There they are now!” She quickly made her way over, a small squeal of delight filling the room once Dash lifted her new buddy up and twirled her around. There was a mixed reaction of confusion and adoration that came from the surrounding tables. Carrying the child on her shoulders, Rainbow walked over to her usual table. “Girls, I’d like to introduce you to my new pal Crystal Pearl, aka Pearly!”
The girls were once again met with a surprise, but they couldn’t help but ‘d’aww’ and giggle at the little girl smiling and waving down at them, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie especially. Applejack arched her eyebrow with an amused grin. “Wait a minute, Dash. Yer tellin’ us that yer new buddy is this little cutie right here? Whut happened to the Rainbow Dash who would much rather be workin’ on her sports scholarships than look after kiddos?”
“Hold it right there, this is different,” Dash smirked, bouncing Pearly a bit to elicit a giggle out of her. “Hanging out is totally not the same as looking after someone. Sorry, wish I could chat more, but we only got thirty minutes for lunch, so we’d better get our butts over to the Hoagie Queen right away. See ya, guys! Come on, Trixie, let’s head out.” The athlete, magician, and kindergartener made their way out, leaving a table of both amused and slightly confused girls behind them.
Trixie looked up at Crystal Pearl and let out a huff in Rainbow Dash’s direction. “When we finish lunch, Trixie gets to carry Pearly back to the elementary building.”
“But I don’ wanna go dewe,” Pearly says, looking down at her, “I wanna stay wif yoo guys.”
Dash let out a short laugh. “Same here, kid, but we got class to go to, including you.”
Pearly shook her head. “No, I don’.”
“We’ll get to hang out again soon, Pearly. I promise.” Dash smiled as the three entered the nearby Hoagie Queen. Luckily for them, the line was pretty short for lunch hour. Trixie and Rainbow Dash ordered their own meals while Pearly was ordered a kid’s meal. Once their sandwiches were made, the older girls let Pearly choose where to sit. She eagerly pointed over to the tables with the long-legged chairs. She swung her legs over the edge of her seat.
“Look! I’m big now too, just like you guys!” Pearly grins, now eye-level with the girls before they also took their seats.
“I remember wanting to sit on these kinds of seats too when I was little,” Dash smiles, taking a bite of her sandwich.
“Trixie prefers a booth… but she always makes special exceptions for Pearly.” She smiles as well.
The three of them continued to eat in silence until a question popped up in Dash’s mind. “Hey, Pearly. Just what were you doing wandering around the high school?”
“I was wookin’ foh my cousins,” she replied, sipping on an apple juice box.
“Oh. Did you find them?”
“No…” She looked down at the table, “but I will! Dey gotta be hewe.”
“I can help you find them after school,” Dash said, but then her grin morphs into a frown, “Oh right, I have swimming lessons then…”
“Yoo swim?” Pearly asked, her curiosity suddenly peaked.
“Yep, sure do! And you might not know this, but…” Dash leaned in closer as if she was going to reveal a huge secret, “...I’m actually the captain of every sports team at Canterlot High.”
Pearly looked up at her with sparkling eyes while Trixie simply scoffed. “So you’re good at playing games. Big deal. Meanwhile, the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie has a much more interesting and unique talent.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a deck of cards. “Pick a card, Pearly.”
Crystal Pearl examined the cards presented to her before taking one and looking at it. “Excellent!” Trixie smiled “Now put it back in the deck with the symbols facing down.” Heading her instructions, Pearly puts it back and watches with fascination as Trixie shows off her fancy shuffling display, causing Rainbow to roll her eyes. “And now!” Trixie wiggles her fingers over the deck of cards. “Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie effortlessly reveals your card!” Gently shaking the deck of cards, the two watched as a single card began sliding out of the pile. Trixie flipped it over to reveal an ace.
“Hey! Dat’s it!” Pearly gasped with a huge smile, clapping as Trixie took a small bow with a proud smirk on her face. Even Rainbow had to admit that it was a pretty neat trick.
“Thank you, thank you!” Trixie turned back to Rainbow with a smug look on her face. “See, Rainbow Dash? My magic is just as, if not even more impressive than your silly sports.”
Pearly gave Trixie an odd look. “Dat wasn’t magic.”
Trixie snapped her head back toward her with a dumbfounded expression. “Wh- of course it was! I just made your card magically appear from the deck!”
Dash gave a snort of laughter. “She’s got a point, Trixie. That was a pretty cool trick, but it wasn’t actually magic. You should know that, especially with what happened this weekend.”
Trixie replied with a snarl. “What is your deal with trying to one-up Trixie?! So what if you get pony ears and tail when you play your guitar? It’s not that great!”
“Woah there, easy, Trix! I’m not trying to one-up you,” She sipped on her soda, “I’m just saying that we got real magic now. I may still be a little salty about you helping the Dazzlings trap us under the stage, but I’m trying to make it water under the bridge.”
“Trixie cannot be blamed for that!” She turned her head away indignantly. “She was not herself that day! Those stupid Siren-whatevers messed with her head!”
“Siwens?” The one-sided squabble was interrupted by little Pearly. The two instantly composed themselves.
“Oh, uh, yeah,” Dash nodded, “you know what happened last weekend, right?”
She nodded back. “What about Siwens?’
“Well, you see…” Dash leaned back, trying to think of a gentle way to explain the determined world-conquerer mind controllers from another world to the young girl. “You see, they’re these three girls who… wanted everyone to like them, so they…”
“Yuh huh, yuh huh, whewe awe dey?” Pearly asked, causing Rainbow and Trixie to raise their eyebrows at her.
“Uhh.. we don’t know. After the girls and I beat them, they just sorta… ran off. Why do you ask?” Rainbow asked her.
Pearly gave them the sweetest smile. “Dey my cousins!”
A long silence lingered at the table, Trixie and Rainbow Dash looking at each other in disbelief. They leaned in closer to each other to talk quietly in private.
“She can’t be serious, right? Her cousins can’t be those… those monsters!” Trixie said, glancing back at Pearly.
“She’s only a little kid, Trix. My best guess is that she’s got them mixed up for some other girls.”
“Other girls she recognizes as Sirens?!”
Dash looked down in thought before something reached both of their ears. Out of the blue, Pearly began singing her favorite melody, idly kicking her feet as sung out loud and proud. Everyone in the building stopped what they were doing to watch and listen to the child’s beautiful music. Rainbow Dash and Trixie stopped their conversation to listen as well, smiles crossing their faces. People began gathering around their table to adore the little sweetheart. Once she was finished with her song, everyone clapped and expressed their admiration for the musical prodigy. Pearly happily soaked up the compliments, feeling a satisfying energy flow through her veins. The manager even came over and gave the three girls coupons for a free meal. Dash thanked him before noticing the time on her phone. “Oh! Time to head back, guys.”
Trixie quickly took her chance to carry Pearly back to the school. Pearly grinned and waved at the workers and customers as they leave, a pink mist following her until none remained. With her two happy high schooler friends with her, she had never felt better.
“Oh! I decided you can totally come back to Canterlot High with us, Pearly,” Dash said with a huge smile on her face. “Stay as long as you want! And you can come watch me at swimming practice so I can help you find your cousins afterward.”
“Trixie will keep an eye out for your cousins too, dearie!” Trixie added with a little bow. “If you ever need help, the Great and Powerful Trrrrrixie will be at your beck and call!”
“Yoo guys are da bestest!” Pearly beamed as the trio walked back inside Canterlot High just as the bell rang.