Scootaloo

The next day, in CHS' gym.

The Friendship Games loomed ever closer and we were all excited to help with the prep-work. We had learned from our group leaders what our behind-the-scenes duties were for the games. Before we could even get started on them, though, we all had to wait on the Crystal Prep freshmen to arrive at the school. We sat on the gym's bleachers while shooting the breeze amongst ourselves to pass the time. Obviously, Twist kept her distance from AB, Sweets, and me. During this time, our group leaders were keeping watch to make sure we didn't cause any trouble. Before long, Principal Celestia called out to us all;

"May we have your attention, please?"

We looked over at her and noticed that she had just entered the gym alongside Vice-Principal Luna. The pair walked over to stand in front of the bleachers. Luna then explained while the two gave us polite smiles;

"We are pleased to inform you that the freshmen from Crystal Prep have arrived."

The kids' reactions were... mixed. We clapped politely, yes, but I could hear some of them groan out of annoyance. I didn't blame them, given Crystal Prep being so annoying in general. Heck, I was groaning a bit in my head as well. But I didn't want to be rude or cause trouble for our Principal and Vice-Principal.

Again.

So, I kept up a brave face while listening to Celestia respond with an understanding voice and smile;

"It is true that our school doesn't have the best relationship with our rivals. However, these young students are genuinely well-behaved. Their Dean can attest to this personally."

"Their Dean?" I asked myself out of confusion while watching Luna walk back to the doors. My annoyance eased up a little when I heard those words. I mean, the Principal was a cool leader who never lied to her students, same for the VP! At the same time, though, Shadowbolts were Shadowbolts, so my annoyance stuck around along with my slowly growing worry. Once Luna reached the doors, Celestia declared in a clear and welcoming fashion;

"Let's get ready to give our guests and helpers a proper CHS welcome!"

Luna pulled open the door closest to her, allowing a whole line of squirts to come marching in. Every single one of them was wearing Crystal Prep uniforms. A whole bunch of them rocked fancy skirts as part of their outfits, while the rest of them rocking what looked more suits than uniforms to me. Man, our rival school's dress code was seriously strict! I readjusted my gaze to get a better sense of their behavior, which I quickly found to be a mixed bag. I mean, yeah, it seemed to me that none of those kids looked like they were itching to be jerks. But I could tell from the agitated scowls that many of them were not happy to be here. Thankfully, none of the kids caused any trouble, probably because who I had guessed was their Dean was right there with them as they walked up to us. This was a woman with flowing two-toned hair, pink skin, a professional-looking blue dress shirt with a lighter undershirt, a skirt with a different shade of blue, and gold colored heels. She wore on the left side of her shirt (her left) a teal heart shaped like a crystal with two gold jewelry things at its sides. I wasn't into fashion stuff like Rarity, but I remembered enough of history class to recognize that crystal as a symbol from a bygone age: the symbol of the Crystal Kingdom. I wasn't sure if it was the crystal, the warmth in the woman's smile, or both, but I had a funny feeling that she was not going to be a problem. Once the Crystal Prep visitors had stopped to stand in front of us Wondercolts in a line, Celestia and Luna had caught up with the Dean. Our Principal turned to face us and declared while gesturing to her;

"Allow me to introduce you to the Dean of Crystal Prep Academy: Mi Amore Cadenza."

This Cadenza lady laughed politely and offered while keeping that warm smile of hers strong;

"You kids can call me Dean Cadence if you want."

At that point, I knew my hunch about her was right. I mean, if she was a total snob, she would have insisted on everyone calling her a name as fancy as Mi Amore Cadenza!

After the introductions were finished, things went well from there. I was half-expecting our counterparts to be just as arrogant and stuck up as what I believed the typical Crystal Prep student to be. Instead, they had shown a clear willingness to help with the prep work. Sure, all of these Crystal Preppers were certain that their school would win and would sometimes brag about its past achievements. But, as strange as this sounded, none of them were being egotistical bullies over it. I was perplexed by this, but who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth. Like us CHS freshmen and eighth graders, the Shadowbolt freshmen were divided up into groups, the same number of groups as ours. That meant more organized sets of hands to work with, which was fine by me. It was during this time that Sweets, AB, and I got to meet three particular Shadowbolts.

It happened after the schools' officials were done explaining their plan for the prep work and the students were allowed to talk amongst themselves in the gym. The three of us made sure to stay together as we moved through the really large crowd of kids that formed in the center of the room. We greeted as many of the kids as we could, hoping to make a good impression on the Crystal Prep squirts while setting a good example for the Wondercolt squirts. I caught sight of a whole trio of Crystal Preppers who were walking up to us with intent in every step while looking right at us. AB noticed them too, for she was quick to lead Sweets and me over to them. We all stopped to stand close to each other, the CHS logo under our feet an indicator that we were standing right in the center of the gym. I stood next to Apple Bloom, who stood between Sweetie and me. AB stood before the kid in the middle, while Sweets was in front of the one to the right while I was standing before the one to the left. Seeing the opportunity, I made sure to get a good look at these Shadowbolt squirts. Like their fellow students, they were wearing Crystal Prep uniforms, the suits specifically. I had guessed that they were dudes, but I didn't want to assume. The squirt in front of me had orange hair and wore a pinwheel cap and a pin on the front of their suit that, to my delight, showed a video game joystick. The one gazing at Apple Bloom had purple hair and wore a pin on their suit that showed two black and white tap dancing shoes standing together side-by-side. The kid standing before Sweetie Belle had dark grey hair and wore a pin on theirsuit that showed off two light grey wings that were spread with pride. Judging by the fact that, from what I could tell, no other Shadowbolt had pins like theirs, I figured these three were buddies. We gave them our best warm and friendly smiles, but the kid in the middle spoke up with a smile of their own and a somewhat nervous voice before we could fully greet them;

"Hey there, Wondercolts."

Okay, that was a friendly greeting and we were not called lame and insulting take on our school's team name, so we were off to a good start! That fact became even more apparent when the two other kids smiled at us as well. Apple Bloom, being our club leader, took the initiative on our behalf;

"Howdy to all three of ya'll!" she said with a happy wave of her right hand that Sweets and I mimicked. The kid in the middle nodded at us while saying in a voice that was polite and gentle all at once;

"Where are our manners? My name is Tender Taps."

It was clear to me, at this point, that at least two of the kids were boys. Tender Taps went on without skipping a beat;

"This here is Button Mash," he said while gesturing to the guy in question, who nervously looked off to the side while lightly spinning the pinwheel on his head with his right finger. Tender then finished while gesturing over to the kid to the right;

"And over here is Rumble."

Rumble, with a confident smirk and a fist pound to the chest, spoke up as soon as Tender had stopped speaking;

"What's up?"

Yeah, all three of them were boys, unless I was hilariously mistaken! After we introduced ourselves in return, Tender Taps looked at the crowd of students around us with his head while noting with an excited grin;

"I don't know about the others, but my two friends and I are looking forward to getting these games ready to go."

Hearing that come from a Shadowbolt's mouth was a relief to say the least. Seeing Rumble and Button Mash nod in agreement was also relieving. After all, that made three Shadowbolts who were at least willing to be helpful! Button Mash chuckled before admitting, his earlier nervousness having weakened;

"Yeah, I got this feeling that the games are gonna be extra hype this year. Don't ask me why."

Rumble chimed in, his smirk holding strong;

"Your team better bring their A-game, because our team will!"

Those dudes had spirit and I was liking that a lot! Feeling confident in our Wondercolts, I told Rumble with a proud smirk;

"Oh, our Wondercolts will be firing on all cylinders!" My movie club pals and I gave each other fist bumps to further demonstrate our school spirit. Looking back the trio of Crystal Preppers, I saw Tender Taps reach out to Apple Bloom with an opened right hand. With an honest smile and a voice filled with politely reigned in confidence, he declared;

"May the best school win!"

I turned my head to check on Apple Bloom, who looked at the handshake offer with slight surprise on her face. That surprise quickly turned into skepticism that remained for two seconds before melting into that bright optimism that I had known her to have. With a big smile, she took Tender's hand into hers and shook it vigorously while the two stared each other down. Encouraged by this, Sweets and I did the same with the other two Shadowbolts. Once the hand shaking was done, the trio waved us goodbye before turning to walk back into the sea of kids that surrounded us. That made five Shadowbolts I knew of who weren't absolute jerks, which was totally better than zero! Just then Apple Bloom called out to us at a vocal volume that I could hear even through the noise made by the many nearby talkative kids;

"Huddle up, ya'll."

Curious, I angled my body to face AB while Sweets did the same. All three of us then lowered ourselves into a huddle before our leader declared in a voice that only we could hear;

"Get a load of this."

She brought out her closed right fist and opened it to reveal a small purple piece of paper that was neatly folded. All eyes were on the paper as AB carefully unfolded with both hands. On it was single message written in a simple font that was easy to read;

During the party, meet with Jet Set and Upper Crust.

Be discreet.

We looked at each other with clear confusion on our faces. Those two meeting with us was one thing, but why the secrecy? Still, we didn't see any sign of danger, so Apple Bloom folded the note back up and tucked it into her pants pocket before we broke up the huddle. The party it was referring to was the welcoming party that CHS was going to hold for both schools on the day the games were set to start. So, we had decided to speak with Jet and Upper then, if nothing else but to honor their odd request. As we went back to mingling with the crowd, though, I couldn't shake the feeling that what those two Shadowbolts wanted to say couldn't be heard by just anyone...

We had a whole boatload of prep work tasks to perform during the leadup to the The Friendship Games, which made sense, given how important the games were to both schools. I'll admit that those tasks gave us a clear idea of what went into making the Friendship Games possible! There were three competitive events in the games: the Academic Decathlon, the Tri-Cross Relay, and Capture the Flag. To start with, we had to work together to get the venue for the Tri-Cross Relay situated. This was the hardest part of the work for a very good reason: the venue had to be straight up built! This was a racetrack custom-made specifically for the relay itself, so it had to be built in a way that accounted for each part of the event. Two teams would have to tackle three different challenges relay-style and the first team to beat all three of them would win the event. Those challenges were archery, roller-skating, and motorbike riding.

I'm not joking, that last one was a thing, and I was so looking forward to seeing Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer ride in style!

Now, in order for the track to be fit for the games, it had to have three sections, one for each challenge. Of course, it was especially tough for us kids to get the track ready, since we had never really made one before. Thankfully, we had a whole slew of additional school staff and contracted workers around to help out. Obviously, my friends and I were a big help too and so were our fellow Wondercolts. Just like before, the Shadowbolt freshmen were being genuinely helpful. As much as I appreciated this, a part of me was waiting for the sabotage shoe to drop. Before I knew it, my group and AB's were busy getting the relay gear to the correct spots on the track where the players could find them. I was carrying a quiver full of arrows on my back over to their proper place at the archery area when I saw something that instantly grabbed my attention: Twist, on her knees, trying to pick up her arrows, which had clearly fallen along with her quiver. Upon closer inspection, I noticed that the quiver's strap was broken. My old guilt rose to the surface once again, but I wouldn't let it stop me from doing the right thing! I walked up to Twist and offered to her with a smile;

"You want some help?"

She froze while holding an arrow she had just taken from the ground. Within a second, she sharply turned her head to give me that stoic glare of hers in silence. Once again, my spine shivered. Even so, I stood strong while waiting for her answer, which came after a quiet three seconds. She slowly, deliberately, nodded at me one time. Not wanting to waste this chance, I went right for the quiver, grabbed it, and brought it over to Twist so that I could hold it for her. This way, she could just put the arrows inside of it and we could go from there. After glaring at the quiver for a moment, she put the arrow she was still holding in it. Unfortunately, she had made an error. But I knew exactly what to do;

"I suggest you put the arrows in with the tips pointing down," I told her gently while demonstrating by taking the newly placed arrow out of the quiver, flipping it around, and putting it back in properly. Giving her orders, I figured, would only make her madder at me. So, wording my advice like a suggestion seemed like the best approach. Once my demonstration was complete, I added with a smirk;

"This way, the archers can grab an arrow without getting poked by their own ammo."

No slow nod from Twist this time, for she quietly followed my advice in response. I wanted to talk to her, about the previous Winter, the old days, us possibly being friends again, everything. But something in me, a gut feeling, told me that it wasn't time yet. So, I settled for helping her clean up her arrow mess and getting the quiver to someone who could fix the strap in silence.

One day, Twist. One day...

Three days later.

It took the better part of three days to get the relay ready to go. Preparing the indoor matches for the Academic Decathlon, such as the Baking Contest, Chemistry Contest, and Woodcraft Contest, was not too much of a time sink by comparison. The rooms were already booked for the decathlon and no classes would be held in them until after the games. So, we just had to get all the stuff that the players would need to compete set up in the correct rooms. Of course, there was a lot of stuff to grab for multiple events and the clock was ticking, so we couldn't slack off. Again, the Shadowbolts were helping us out without a fuss! I appreciated the assistance, but I couldn't help but think to myself;

"This better not be a long con..."

My group and Mr. Will's were bringing the heavier science equipment into the designated lab room. I, myself, was helping Sweetie Belle and Miss Zecora carry a long wooden box that was labeled 'glass beakers' in black marker. We carried the box into the room through the opened door and carefully placed it on a nearby spot on the floor. Mr. Will walked in soon after that and declared to Sweets and me;

"Eyes up, you two!"

We quickly stood at attention while looking up at him, with Miss Zecora watching the conversation to see what was going on. Mr. Will expressed seriousness on his face when he explained;

"Two of Granny Smith's kids are having a hard time with an extra heavy load. They've got guts, but the rest of the group is tied up by their own duties right now."

He didn't need to explain any further. I looked over at Miss Zecora, who gave me an approving smile and nod. Satified, I joined Sweetie in saluting the muscular gym teacher. With big smiles, we responded in unison;

"We'll go help them, sir!"

He gave us a grateful smirk and led us both out the door while exclaiming with the level of gusto that only he could bring to a situation;

"WONDERCOLTS INCOMING!"

Everyone in the hallway knew to back off when they saw the three of us coming through. After about fifteen seconds, we were closing in on the Baking Contest's room, which was one of the kitchen rooms that was normally used for Home Economics class. At least, that's what Rainbow Dash once told me when she was groaning over homework. Anyway, Sweets and I were quick to notice that Apple Bloom and Twist were having a hard time with getting this really big wooden box through the room's opened door. That box was labeled 'flour and sugar' in black marker, was taller than the both of them, and was not thin at all. I heard AB exclaim out of what sounded to me like motivation and nervousness hanging out together;

"Okay sugarcube, ya' pull from your side and Ah'll push from mine!"

Twist's chilling glare was on point, even as she nodded once at her and got into position. I was about to rush in to help when Mr. Will ordered;

"Let them give their plan a go first."

Seeing no harm in that, I relented and watched the two redheads as they finished preparing. Apple Bloom, with both hands on her end of the box, called out to Twist;

"On the count of three!"

She paused for a moment and began counting;

"One sweet apple! Two sweet apples! THREE!"

Immediately, she started pushing with a lot of her strength while Twist pulled with hers. Amazingly, the box began to move, albeit at a snail's pace. It was clear to Sweets and me that those two were going to tire themselves out from this, so we looked up at Mr. Will with pleading expressions. He looked down at each of us and, with a smile, nodded. That was all it took for us to run over to the box, with me moving to stand with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle rushing over to Twist's side. AB stopped push to look at me before we nodded in silent agreement, her smile full of gratitude. I couldn't see what was happening at the other end of the box, but I hoped that our former friend had allowed Sweetie to help. After another count of three sweet apples from AB, she and I started to push the box together. Immediately, we noticed that it was moving towards the room at a much faster pace than before, which meant that my hope was realized! After a little over a minute, we moved the box to a safe spot on the room's floor that was out of the way. While taking a quick breather, I wondered who would need that much flour and sugar when my brain came up with a funny answer;

"Pinkie Pie."

Giggling a little over my joke, I turned to look at the others. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom were walking up to stand at my sides, while Twist was standing still while staring us all down. She showed no emotion on her face other than coldness that bit at my heart. Slowly, she nodded at us three times, one nod for each movie club member, before walking out of the door in silence. Deafening silence. Mr. Will, after belting out a deep laugh, proudly noted to us;

"That girl will remember what you did for her today."

We turned to look up at him when he added with a wink;

"Even if she won't admit it to your faces."

He... wasn't wrong. It felt good to have helped out Twist and knowing that she would remember us helping her felt even better. My guilt remained strong, but it didn't feel as heavy as it usually did. We nodded at the coach and turned towards the doorway with a little more pep in our movements. Just then, Granny Smith came walking through it while carrying box labeled 'baking soda' in black marker with both hands. It was clearly taped up along the top with duct tape. Granny had this stern look on her face that made it clear to me that she was not in a happy mood. What hammered that fact home was her declaring with her lecturing voice;

"Now ya' know why we don't run with bakin' soda, even if it's in a box."

She moved over to a desk away from the doorway, allowing us to see that a freshman, who was walking slowly behind her, was wiping baking soda off of her face with a white towel. Well, that explained why Granny wasn't around earlier!

What had come with the privilege of knowing what the matches for the games would be in advance was a responsibility that Principal Celestia had made clear to us early on in the five-day period;

"In accordance with the rules of the Friendship Games, the competing students must not learn about the matches before they are announced. We would not have told you about the matches if we did not believe that you could be trusted to not spill the beans."

You better believe that the Canterlot Movie Club honored that responsibility! The rest of the helpers kept their mouths shut too, including the Shadowbolt freshmen. After the day's prep work was done and we all went home, I thought to myself while riding in Auntie Lofty's car;

"Why are those squirts so different from the other Shadowbolts?"

I had a few guesses, some wilder than others. But I figured that only the folks in Crystal Prep knew the answer.

The next day, at the steps in front of CHS

Between games prep, schoolwork, and chores, we didn't have much time for club activities. Doing our usual crusading work was a bit tricky too. Yeah, we wanted to take some time to do right by some of the folks on our list directly, but all of CHS needed us! Thankfully, we considered our games prep work to be special crusading work. So, we didn't complain too much about the tight schedule. School was over for the day and the three of us movie club buds decided to chill out on the steps that led to the front doors of the school. After-school activities were in full swing and the day's prep work wasn't going to start for a good while. So, the few remaining students and staff were inside the building. Except for one student, who volunteered to watch over us. It wasn't just any student though: she was the most awesome Wondercolt I ever had the pleasure of knowing.

Come on, it's totally obvious that it was Rainbow Dash!

Anyway, we were relaxing together on the steps, Rainbow's guitar case sitting closed next to her, when she suddenly asked us;

"Hey squirts, when was the last time you saw the girls and me Pony Up?"

We looked at her and quickly saw the confidence that my idol expressed so easily. At first, the question confused me;

"Pony Up... that reminds me of something..." I thought to myself before my brain gave me the answer in the form of two different memories that had one thing in common. It was that thing that I happily expressed to Rainbow after a quick gasp;

"You mean when you all transformed into awesome magical superheroes!"

"With them pony ears!" exclaimed an excited Apple Bloom. Sweetie Belle sounded just as happy as the rest of us over those cool memories;

"You girls were so brave and cool!" she gushed, her voice squeaking as only hers could. Rainbow Dash's smirk grew larger as she ate up our praise like it was dinner. I didn't blame her, cause she and her friends earned every bit of it! Once we calmed down, Apple Bloom answered her question;

"Sweetie Belle 'ere saw Fluttershy use magic in the animal shelter a couple of days ago. Other than that, I'd say the three of us last saw ya'll 'Pony Up' durin' the Battle of the Bands. "

She giggled a little before adding;

"I like that phrase by the way. It makes me smile."

From my perspective, 'Pony Up' made me think of two things: superhero catchphrases and crooks making folks 'pony up' their money in those old gangster films that Sweets liked to watch. As the images of the Rainbooms using their magic to kick bad guy butt shined in my head, I heard Rainbow explain;

"Well, while we don't know exactly how our magic works, we do know this much..."

She raised her guitar case up to her chest and declared;

"We Pony Up when we play music. So, I'm gonna play a few magical guitar licks for you squirts!"

We were going to see Rainbow Dash rock out hard enough to go into her superhero form?! My pals and I jumped up from the step were sitting on like rockets. We cheered and yelled out of pure excitement over what was going to happen. We had only seen the girls Pony Up from a safe distance before and we were way far away from them last time. So, to see one of them do it up close... man, that sounded so awesome! After settling ourselves down and sitting on the step again, we waited patiently for Rainbow as she walked down the steps and stopped to stand in front of the railing that divided the steps down the middle. She placed her guitar case on the concrete path, opened it up, and brought out her stylish six-string electric guitar. Right when she turned to face us and got into rock and rolling position, Sweetie Belle asked her;

"Don't you need an amplifier to make the guitar play its unique sounds?"

A fair point, Sweets! But Rainbow Dash was not fazed by this. Her smirk still holding strong, she responded while raising her right hand;

"I don't need an amp to rock!"

That was also true! We watched with wide eyes filled and teeth-baring smiles as my sister-at-heart fired her right hand downward and began playing with the gusto and skill of an expert. Heck, she started hopping in place and banging her head for extra flare. This was all pretty normal, like the usual kind of awesomeness that I expected from Rainbow.

What my friends and I didn't expect was Rainbow Dash playing the distorted sounds of a plugged-in electric guitar without an amplifier! Yeah, Flash Sentry did the same thing during that Cafeteria Song, but Rainbow made it look at least twenty-percent cooler!

We gazed at her with gaping mouths and eyes filled with shock as she ripped chord after chord like she was on stage in a concert, rip-roaring sounds and all. Within seconds, our shock turned into joy as we clapped and cheered over what should have been an impossible performance. Instead of playing an existing song, she opted to jam it out for the heck of it. Either way was fine with me, because we were all having fun together. It took about five seconds of her rocking out for us squirts to see that cyan light had started to glow along her body. We knew exactly what was coming, for something similar had happened to our Phoenix Friend not too long ago;

"Here it comes, girls!" I exclaimed to my friends while keeping my eyes locked on the glowing Rainboom who rocked hard before us. Just a few more seconds annnnnd-

TWANG!

In the words of Shere Kahn from the original animated Jungle Book movie, and I quote:

What beastly luck!

One of the strings on Rainbow Dash's guitar broke off from its tuning post, interrupting her guitar-playing entirely. This caused the cyan light to vanish, preventing her from showing off her magical awesomeness! This annoyed me, but not too badly. I mean, she could Pony Up another time and we all knew she was awesome anyway. Rainbow gave us an apologetic and sheepish grin, to which we responded with warm smiles that seemed to improve her mood a little. She bent down to look into her opened guitar case while saying with a slightly nervous chuckle;

"Don't worry squirts, I just need too..."

She suddenly stopped chuckling while freezing in place for a whole second;

"Call the girls!" she nervously declared while carefully placing her guitar back into the case before taking her smartphone out from it. It was pretty easy for me to recognize what had happened;

"Rainbow Dash forgot to grab her spare strings again," I reluctantly concluded in my head with an exasperated sigh that AB and Sweets mimicked. Hey, I never said a thing about Rainbow being perfect, okay?

A few minutes had passed and the rest of the Rainbooms had arrived in a rush. Apparently, Rainbow had sent them an emergency text message without giving the details first. They were annoyed with her over this, but Sunset gave her one of her own spare strings anyway. You lucked out that time, sister! After a quick talk, Rainbow walked up the steps and through the doors to the school, with the rest of us following her. Applejack was the last one to go through the doors when I heard her ask;

"Ya' comin', Sunset?"

I turned around to look over at the farmer just in time to catch Sunset's answer, even though I was a good distance away from her;

"I'll catch up in a bit!" she called out. This seemed to satisfy Applejack enough for her to turn back around and join the group. I couldn't help but feel a little curious. What was distracting Sunset at the steps of CHS? Still, I didn't want to get left behind by the others, so I turned around and caught up with Sweets and AB.

None of us knew this at the time, but what had gotten the former bully's attention was, to quote Shang Tsung from the first Mortal Kombat movie, a taste of things to come...

From the moment we walked into the entrance lobby, Apple Bloom decided to deal with a pressing matter on our club's behalf;

"Big sis, how in the names of our Ma' and Pa' did Rainbow Dash make that guitar play that electrical sound without an amp?" she asked Applejack with an incredulous expression on her face. I was wondering the same thing, buddy. The older Apple let out a quick laugh and explained while giving her sister a friendly grin;

"All six of us can pull that trick off, so long as we're usin' one of them electric musical instruments. Ah remember seein' Flash Sentry do it durin' our dance routine in the cafeteria, now that Ah think about it."

It took AB all of two seconds to look at Sweets and me with a knowing smirk. At that point, all three of us had the same idea, which we declared together with a unified nod and smiles all around;

"Magic!"

That got the whole group to laugh as we made our way through the lobby and into the hallway. I made a mental note to keep an eye out for more magical surprises while hoping they would be as awesome as the one we just talked about. Once Rainbow Dash found a good spot in the middle of the hall, she stopped to get her guitar out and ready again, prompting the rest of us to stand and watch. She then told us all;

"Let's give Sunset time to catch up. I don't want her to miss out on the coolness that's coming."

So, we waited while chatting it up together. Within the group, I could hear the conversations among the other Rainbooms. Rarity was gushing to Fluttershy about her work at the boutique while Pinkie Pie and Applejack were comparing pie recipes to pass the time. Rainbow Dash was busy tuning her guitar. As for Sweetie, Apple Bloom, and me, we took this moment to discuss crusading plans;

"Okay, ya'll. When the games are finished, we'll get right back to crusadin'! Ah say we start with Lyra and Bon-Bon!"

Sweets smiled at this and responded with a swoon;

"Those two are so cute together! I'm surprised they're not dating yet."

"Oh, they are, Sweetie Belle," I told her with slyness in every word I spoke. With a narrow curious glare aimed right at me, she asked;

"What makes you think that?"

I smirked while explaining;

"Come on! I'm not interested in mushy lovey-dovey stuff and even I can tell that those two are total lovebirds!"

Feeling a harmless joke coming on, I commented;

"I'm surprised they aren't locking lips by their lockers yet!"

Sweets gave me a narrow unamused glare that only made me want to laugh. I was good to my friends, but her reactions to my jokes were priceless! Apple Bloom laughed while putting her hands on our shoulders to prevent tension from coming up. With a warm smile, she chimed in;

"At any rate, we're gonna make those two ladies feel as right as rain. We just need to figure out how." The two of us nodded our heads in agreement before she turned around to look at the path behind the group. After turning back to face us, AB asked;

"By the way, what's holdin' up Sunset? She should be 'ere by now, Ah reckon."

As if on cue, a set of hurried footfalls could be heard from behind Apple Bloom. She turned around and moved off to the side to make way for Sunset herself, who ran up to the group. She got everyone's attention by declaring;

"Sorry for the wait, girls!"

Apology accepted in record time! My pals and I rushed over to her with bright smiles on our faces. While AB and Sweets took her by her hands, I exclaimed while bouncing happily;

"Come on, Phoenix Friend! Rainbow Dash is gonna Pony Up with the power of magical rock!"

Her awesome smile that I was sure was fueled by friendship was all the proof we needed that she was up for it. So, we led her through the group so that all four of us could watch from the front. Rainbow Dash waited until everyone was quiet and ready before before giving her audience a proud smirk. She then got into position and started rocking out once again. No more strings broke this time around, which meant that, finally, Sweets, AB, and I could witness up close a transformation that we had once seen from afar;

"She's gonna do it, ya'll!" Apple Bloom exclaimed with anticipation in her voice. Sure enough, we saw Rainbow's body glow with that cyan light from before. Within a few seconds of this happening, she began to float in the air while still rocking and rolling like there was no tomorrow, the pride in her smirk refusing to leave her face. A pair of cyan pony ears appeared on her head along with a pair of wings on her back that began to effortlessly flap in the air. Her hair, which was already pretty long in the back, grew even longer. The memory of me riding on Rainbow's back as she flew above the Fall Formal party at breakneck speeds flashed before my eyes, which only added to the joy I was feeling. She finished her performance with one final chord that roared throughout the hallway with abandon. The group cheered and clapped in approval, my buddies and me especially;

"THAT WAS AWESOME!" we yelled out together before getting a good look at my idol's transformed state. There was she was, holding her guitar with both hands while flapping her wings to hover in the air. Her pride held strong on her face, but appreciation and goodwill were mixed in as well as she hovered over to the three of us. Applejack, with a hearty chuckle, told her gratefully;

"Way to make the youngin's happy, RD."

We busted our giant beaming smiles to drive home the point. Rainbow made a soft landing on the floor beneath her feet before giving my friends and me fist bumps. Just in time too, because her magical awesomeness had vanished soon after she landed. After that, Sweetie Belle asked while thoughtfully holding her chin with her right hand;

"How come we don't see you girls transform like this every time you play music?"

"Yeah, like when ya' debuted 'My Past is Not Today' to us. None of ya'll were usin' magic then," noted Apple Bloom. Yeah, that was pretty strange, now that they mentioned it. Applejack seemed pretty confused and annoyed by this, for she noted to us while putting her hands on her sides;

"Yeah, we wanted to Pony Up for ya'll when we were playin' that song for ya'. But them pony ears didn't show up that time. Ya'd think they would."

After the band pondered my pals' words for a moment, Sunset spoke up;

"I might have an explanation for that."

We all turned to give our friend our full attention as she explained confidently;

"When ponies in Equestria begin learning how to use magic, some of them find it difficult to control at first. This is especially true for Unicorns. Certain spells not going off when they want them to and going off when they don't want them to are some of the common problems that beginners face."

I didn't expect to learn more Sunset's species that day, but I was not complaining, and neither were my friends! Sunset chuckled and added with clear nostalgia in her voice;

"Even I had a hard time controlling a spell or two when I was starting out. At first, anyway."

She snickered and snorted as if she was remembering a few funny moments in her life while I imagined how cool her pony magic was. Rarity, with her usual level of sophistication, responded;

"Applying what you have explained to us, you believe that while we can Pony Up by playing music, we can't do it consistently yet. Do I have this correct, Sunset darling?"

Sunset nodded at Rarity and answered while crossing her arms, only with a little less confidence in her voice than before;

"As for why that's the case, the magic I brought into this world may not have gotten used to our Human bodies yet, since they're radically different from the likes of ponies, dragons, yaks, and the like. On top of that..."

As amazing as the idea of dragons existing in any world sounded in my head, I had put that aside to stay focused on Sunset. She sighed, closed her eyes, crossed her arms, and went on;

"Our magic feels different than what Equestrian magic felt to me back home. It acts differently too. A transformation spell could be modified to activate only when music is played in my world. But transformed or not, we don't have anything to channel or cast spells with on Earth."

She opened her eyes and looked at the rest of us;

"There's more to our magic than what we can assume right now," she said with certainty in her voice. Just then, I noticed regret appear on her face in the form of a frown when she added, her words laced with worry;

"I just hope me bringing it here doesn't lead to a disaster..."

I never liked it when my friends were sad and that was especially true when Sunset was sad. So, I tried to give her some encouragement, Rainbow Dash style;

"If a magical disaster does come up, we know you'll do your best to stop it!" I told her with my best smile while throwing punches in the air like a boxer. Sweetie Belle jumped in with some encouraging words of her own;

"Yeah, and you've got wonderful friends to help you!" she said. Apple Bloom added with confidence and goodwill;

"Ya' ain't alone in this, sugarcube."

I had a good feeling that Sunset's band-mates, our sisters included, were showing her support as well without saying a word. Within moments, her frown melted into that awesome smile of hers that could make a cold heart melt. Mission accomplished in ten seconds flat!

Okay, maybe a little longer than ten seconds.

With Rainbow's performance and the little pep talk dealt with, we all walked back out of the school together. As we traveled passed the school statue, Rainbow Dash asked Sunset with a little bit of annoyance in her voice;

"So, what took you so long to catch up?"

"Something odd happened at the statue while I was writing in my journal," she replied. I instantly became very curious about what had happened, not to mention a little worried. Plus, I didn't even know she had a journal! Applejack sounded about as concerned as I was when she asked her;

"Somethin' off about the portal?"

Oh, if something bad was happening to the one and only door to Sunset's home world...

"I don't think so," she answered. Whew, that was a relief! Regardless, I kept my ears open when she explained;

"I saw someone walking around the statue doing... something with it. When I tried to ask them what they were up to, they made a beeline for the bus stop and got on a bus that had just arrived."

She crossed her arms again;

"Almost like they knew exactly when it would show up."

That's... interesting. Rarity asked Sunset while I thought about that detail;

"Did you catch a glimpse of their face, darling?"

I kept my eyes on the path ahead while thinking deeply, but not so deeply that I missed out on the conversation;

"No, their face was hidden under their hoodie," Sunset answered with a sigh. Applejack took this moment to suggest;

"Let's think on this mystery tonight and talk more about it tomorrow durin' Study Hall. A good night's sleep can help clear the cobwebs, after all."

That sounded good to the girls, I figured, since the topic was dropped after that. Still though, I couldn't help but think really hard about the way that mystery person had left the scene;

"Timing a bus' arrival to have it show up right when you need to make a getaway... That almost sounds like something an egghead would do."

Author's Note

We've officially reached movie territory! Anyone who has seen The Friendship Games knows how it ends. Thanks to the nature of this story, however, you get to experience the film through the eyes of the CMCs and let me tell you now:

They're going to be dealing with things that were never caught on camera. Stay tuned!

A key thing to note: The bloopers for the movies are, to my knowledge, not treated as canon by G4. So, this story, and the AU as a whole, ignores them (sorry Pinkie Pies!).