Adventure at Canterlot High - All fun in games

It was now time for the second half of the Friendship Games as students from both Canterlot High and Crystal Prep gathered at the sports field, sitting in the stands while some others were chatting amongst their fellow scholars.

Tristen was walking by himself, spilling from an empty soda can.

"You will race in pairs, Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat will handle the motocross.”

Tristen stops himself upon hearing, making him look to see Shadowbolt team and Cinch.

"Yes!" Indigo Zap exclaimed excitedly.

"Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare have requested the short track." Cinch continued, the two girls sharing a high-five in agreement with grins on their faces.

Tristen listened and watched on as Cinch approached Sour Sweet and Twilight. "Since archery is a standard requirement at our school," Cinch continued, "any of you should be able to do it." Cinch glanced towards Twilight, who looked nervous while Sour Sweet glared at her, "Twilight and Sour Sweet will start us off," she stated.

"Well, that's just marvelous!" Sour Sweet said in a surprising sweetly before looking at Twilight bitterly. "If you wanna lose before we even start!"

Tristen glared at Sour Sweet, truly not liking the fact that Twilight was getting some major flak from her teammates.

"Given that Twilight won the last event single-handedly, I have every confidence that she will be able to pull her weight here." Cinch told her students, then looked at Twilight. "Won't you?" Twilight was even more nervous now, but she nodded her head in reply.

Tristen, now truly furious, crushed the can he was holding before tossing it away like a baseball. He was so angry that he needed to let off some steam. “That manipulative old bag!” Tristen grunted out. “I swear to God, I oughta….”

“You oughta what?”

Tristen, still angry, looked behind him to see Cinch glaring at him with her arms crossed while accompanied by the Shadowbolts.

“Were you spying on us?” Lemon Zest asked.

“Oh, don’t flatter yourself.” Tristen retorted. “Like I’d be interested in what you tight asses are up to.” Tristen then turned his attention to Cinch. “I knew you were a class-A, stuck up old bitch! But manipulating your own students to win?!” Tristen pointed at Cinch. “Honestly, you can’t get any lower than that!”

“You watch your mouth, buddy!” Sunny Flare shot back angrily. “Didn’t your parents ever teach you to respect your elders?”

“I respect my elders when they earn my respect.” Tristen replied, gesturing to Cinch. “What she deserves is a stake through the heart! Though I doubt she even has a heart!”

Cinch was steaming mad at such insults. “If you’re not out of my sight in the next five second-!”

“Don’t bother, I’m leaving!” Tristen barked back before turning around. “And PS, I'll probably never want to eat pork again thanks to you!” And with that, Tristen walked away while Cinch was confused by that last remark.

“What does that even-” Cinch suddenly realized what Tristen was referring to, her left eye suddenly twitching in fury. “Did he just call me a pig?!”

“In a creative way, yes.” Sugarcoat replied with a nod.

“That punk is really pushing me buttons!!” Indigo Zap seethed while crossing her arms. “If it were up to me, I’d make him eat dirt!”

“We'll deal with him some other time.” Cinch replied. “For now, you better get ready.”

As the crowd cheered for their representatives, Cadance was up in the announcer's booth against the school building where Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Principal Cinch were seated.

"Welcome, everyone to the Friendship Games Tricross Relay!" Cadance announced, causing the crowd to cheer excitedly. “In this event, our qualifying competitors will face off in archery,”

“Speed skating,”

“And finally, motocross.”

Indigo Zap casts a smirk to Alex, who was washing her motorbike. "Be sure to get every part." Indigo Zap said with a smug grin. “I want this bad boy sparkling by the time we start.”

“Someone just kill me already.” Tristen mumbled to himself as he washed the motorbike.

"So, if the competitors are ready..." Cadance continued, raising an airhorn before sounding it off.

Sour Sweet and Fluttershy ran off, starting the race while Twilight and Applejack readied themselves to be the next ones to go.

"Each competitor must hit a bull’s-eye before their teammates can start the next leg of the relay," Dean Cadence explained while Sour Sweet was quickly leaping over the hay bales, grabbing a pack of arrows, and then using the rope swing to get across to the blue platform beyond a small moat of mud.

Meanwhile, Tristen glared at Sour Sweet before an idea came to mind. While he continued to wash Indigo Zap's motorbike, he began to envision a wasp. And moments later, a red wasp with yellow stripes appeared near Sour Sweet and fly towards her.

As Sour Sweet was pulling out three arrows and preparing to fire, the wasp landed on forehead and stung her right above her left eye. She yelps out in pain while releasing the arrows. Surprisingly, they all hit the same target, with one striking the bull’s-eye. Sour Sweet, despite the pain she was feeling, smirked while Tristen grunted.

Twilight then took off quickly, all the while Fluttershy was trying to fire at a target.

Meanwhile, Sour Sweet looked back to see Twilight trip over one of the hay bales, falling flat on her face with a thud.

Sour Sweet growled angrily in frustration, then anxiously looked back to Fluttershy still trying and failing to fire another arrow.

In the stands, Tristen and the Dazzlings were watching on in worry.

“Fluttershy isn't doing so good.” Adagio murmured in worry.

"Come on, Fluttershy!" Sonata cheered from the stands, "You've got this!"

Twilight attempted to traverse the mud moat by the rope swing but only ended up getting her left foot onto the platform, about to fall down into the pit of muck below while her teammate watched on nervously. Fluttershy pulled back another arrow, and this time, she managed to hit a bullseye

“Yes!” Adagio cheered cried as Fluttershy gives a thumbs-up back to Applejack, who took off from the starting line.

Tristen, sending Sour Sweet’s frustration, smirked wickedly. “Hey, Sour Sweet!” Tristen called put, grabbing the girl’s attention. “Sucks to suck, doesn't it?” Sour Sweet growled angrily in response.

Sour Sweet, seething in fury, glared venomously at Tristen in response. Applejack leapt over the second hay bail on the field, quickly making her way towards the rope swing. Meanwhile, Twilight had managed to get herself onto her team's platform, breathing out of relief on her knees while Sour Sweet looked at her blankly with her arms crossed.

Applejack grabs the bow Futtershy had used, drew back some arrows, and fired one of the remaining. Twilight, however, wasn’t fairing as well as she kept missing the target completely. Sour Sweet growled angrily, making Twilight develop a somber look on her face.

As Applejack was about to take her next shot, she breathed in and out slowly and fired. And fortunately, the arrow hits right on target, causing the crowd on tram Canterlot High to cheer.

The starting light post on the speed skating track rang as the light changed from red to green, allowing Pinkie and Rarity tk race off while leaving their rivals behind since their teammates hadn't completed the first leg of the relay yet.

"And Canterlot is off to an early lead!" Cadance noted excitedly through the microphone system, much to the dismay of the Cinch as her arms were crossed while she had a disappointed look on her face.

Aria took notice of Cinch’s dismay. “Looks like the old bag isn't having a good day.” Aria said with a smirk.

“Uh, Aria,” Adagio said, gesturing to Twilight. Aria noticed that the bespectacled girl was still trying to land a hit, and Aria realized the situation.

"I'm sure glad I don't go to Crystal Prep…" Fluttershy admitted.

"You said it." Applejack agreed.

On the skating track, Pinkie began spinning around happily while Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare who were shell shocked by this undetected twist.

The scoreboard showed the Wondercolt team leading by two laps to the Shadowbolts zero.

"Come on already!" Indigo Zap screamed angrily, making Twilight buckle under the pressure.

“Cut her some slack, thunderhead!” Alex barked back! “She’s doing her best! So shut it before I shove this damn rag down your throat!”

Sugarcoat glared at Alex. “One more word out of you, smart guy,” Sugarcoat said warningly, “and I’ll be sure to have a little chat with Cinch later.”

“Now be a good boy and keep washing.” Indigo Zap added. Alex just sighed before going back to washing the Indigo Zap’s motorbike while Rainbow and Sunset watched him in pity.

"If CPA can't hit another bullseye soon, they'll be out of this race." Spoke Cadance while Twilight desperately trying to fire another arrow while her comrades watched on in frustration.

"You're really bad at this!" Sugarcoat shouted from atop the starting ramp of the motocross track, receiving glares from her rivals as everyone else caught wind of it.

“Why you motherfu-” Alex growled furiously but stopped himself when Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat both glared at him. With a sigh, Alex continued his work.

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Indigo Zap said with a warning tone while Salazar glared.

As Alex continued washing though, he had a smug grin. ‘Just you bitches wait.’ Alex thought to himself as he glanced at the front tire of Indigo Zap’s motorbike, a nail punctured into the back of it. ‘Your ego is about to be deflated.’

Applejack, feeling the need to help, hands her bow to Fluttershy and walks towards Twilight.

"Ya hafta stop aimin' at the target." Applejack advised Twilight, getting her attention before she could fire her arrow.

"That makes perfect sense!" Sour Sweet said sarcastically. "Don't aim at the target! Thanks so much!"

“How about you shut the hell up and let AJ do her thing?!” Tristen called out to Sour Sweet. “Twi’s already under a lot of pressure from you bitches as it is!”

Growling in pure rage, Sour Sweet grabs Fluttershy’s bow, pulls out a narrow and aims at Tristen. “Keep talking!” Sour Sweet challenged Tristen angrily. “I dare you!”

In the spectator box, Cinch casts a glare to Celestia and Luna, the two looking away sheepishly. “You do have him under a tight leash, correct?”

"Ya hafta stop aimin' at where the target is." Applejack explained, "an' aim at where the target's gonna be.”

Twilight then wiped her right eye with her hand, while still holding the arrow as her tears dried up.

"Trust me." Applejack advised, holding her hands out to her. "Take a deep breath, and let the arrow go."

Following Applejack’s instructions, Twilight took in a deep breath, exhaled, and when Applejack gave her the go ahead, Twilight fired. And much to her relief, she managed to hit the bullseye. With that finally found, Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare were finally able to begin part of the relay.

"Alright!" Tristen cheered in excitement, jumping up and down.

"Yeah!" Spike cheered, coming up onto the platform with his front paws, "That's my girl!"

Twilight was relieved as she knelt and took her pet in her arms while Sour Sweet just backed away, a bit freaked out upon seeing the canine.

While Applejack just watched with a smirk on her face. "See? Ah was tellin' ya the truth" Applejack said. And suddenly, an orange aura began to envelop her body, as her pony ears and ponytail formed out of the blue, much to the surprise of Twilight and everyone else.

(Meanwhile)

While hidden, Aggregor was also watching the scene unfurl. But rather than being surprised, he has a sinister smile.

“Yet another tally on the scoreboard.” Aggregor murmured, chuckling wickedly.

(Back with Applejack)

Twilight stood in awe, but then her device started humming loudly once and began gravitating towards Applejack. The device opened up, pulling Twilight by her neck as she clenched her teeth.

“Not again!” Alex gasped in shock before running off. Luckily Indigo Zap and Sugarcoat were too stunned by the sight to page him any mind.

“Ah crap!” Tristen gasped out as he and the Dazzlings lepy out of the stands.

Twilight's contraption was beginning to take in the orange-colored aura enveloping Applejack, causing her to suddenly stumble back out of fatigue.

Applejack grunted as Tristen and the Dazzlings arrived. “Hang on AJ!” Tristen went to grab the device, but as he got a hold it, he was suddenly enveloped in a surge of purple electricity. The Dazzlings, Fluttershy, and Twilight, watches in shock as Tristen was shot away from them, hitting the ground in force.

“Tristen!” Fluttershy gasped in concern as she and Adagio ran to help him.

"What...are...you...doing?!" Applejack asked in between groans while her energy was being drained away by the strange machine that was apparently acting on its own.

"I don't know!" Twilight claimed as the sphere of energy within it began to enlarge from the new aura it was gaining. Once Applejack’s magic was gone entirely, she grew faint and fell over, only to be caught by Sonata anc Aria.

Fluttershy and Adagio were helping Tristen up as well. Thankfully unharmed, he was unharmed for the most part. “Are you ok?”

“No, mom. I don’t want to go to school today.” Tristen said in a dazed state.

Meanwhile, Twilight fought with the magic seeking device, unknowingly stumbling back towards Spike the whole time, making her accidentally trip over her canine companion and hit the ground.

This caused the device to unhook itself from her necklace, rolling across the grass and then onto the wooden track. When it finally came to a stop, it opened back up to let out a pulsating wave of energy. Much to the disbelief of its bespectacled wielder, a small rift began to form right beside it, with a small vine poking through it.

(Later)

After the whole ordeal, Applejack and Fluttershy were resting out in the stands with Tristen and the Dazzlings.

“How are you feeling, sugar?” Applejack asked with concern for her male friend.

“I’m a bit sore all over, but I’ll walk it off.” Tristen replied as he held an ice pack on his head. “How are you holding up?”

“A bit better than ah was earlier." Applejack answered.

Meanwhile, as the speed skating race continued, the Wondercolt team was still in the lead while the score on the board was four laps to three.

"Canterlot has only three laps to go!" Cadance exclaimed from the booth through the microphone as the duo of Pinkie and Rarity finished their fifth lap. "But it looks like Crystal Prep is making up for lost time!"

The Shadowbolts had gone up to four laps, catching up with their rivals. But they failed to notice some screws on the rollerblades were a bit loose and were getting more so as the two skated.

Pinkie and Rarity both cringed as they saw their Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare pass them again. Lemon Zest smiled in victory as they took the lead soon afterwards with six laps under their belts. While they were passing by the glasses-wearing girl, Lemon Zest accidentally struck her device, sending off to the other side of the track.

Not wanting any more problems to happen, Twilight quickly went to try and get it. But the device started to let out small sparks of energy, creating rifts beside it that had large vines coming out, much to her shock as she halted herself immediately.

Alex noticed this and was shocked at what he was sawing while also fearful for his friend’s life. “Shit! Twilight!”

As a vine was extended at her, Alex shoves her out of the way to avoid being grabbed.

Rarity and Pinkie were able to catch as Rarity extended her right leg out for Pinkie to take hold of. And with a forward swing, Rarity launched her pink partier friend across the final turn.

By the time Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare were near the finish line, their screw keeping their wheels in place finally fell out, causing the wheels to roll off. This caused both girls to roll onto the ground while managing to cross the finish line. Pinkie Pie skated off by then shortly afterwards.

Cinch was surprised by this ordeal, as were the other faculty, but she cared less about that since the two managed to cross the finish line.

"What a finish!" Cadence declared as the Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare examined their rollerblades out of shock.

Having seen everything from the ramp of the motocross track, Sunset, Rainbow, Indigo Zap, and Sugarcoat had started their engines in anticipation.

The light post changed from red to green, signaling the race's start. And both teams wasted no time as they went down onto the dirt track.

Meanwhile, Twilight reached for her device again, but she suddenly felt her legs get pulled back. She looked to see that one of the mysterious vines that had wrapped around her feet came from a venus fly trap-like creature, dragging her away as she tried to claw back to get a hold on her device.

Luckily for her, Alex came back with the shock staff and sliced the tentacle and freed Twilight.

In surprise, Twilight looked at Alex before noticing the shock staff in his hand. “Where'd you get that?”

“No time to explain.” Alex declared as he stared down at the carnivorous plant. Then with a few spins of the shock staff, he aimed it at the plant before firing a red energy blast, disintegrating the plant on contact. Twilight watched in shock as Spike arrived, equally as dumbfounded.

But before Alex could pat himself on the back, more vines started to emerge.

"Awesome!" Rainbow exclaimed excitedly, landing onto the ramp track. The Shadowbolts however were quickly followed, but Indigo Zap’s front tire suddenly popped. Indigo Zap’s eyes widened as her motorbike skidded and fell, knocking her out of her driver seat.

Cinch and the other faculty were taken back by this, as were everyone else. “It seems we have a flat!” Cadance announced as Sour Sweet and Upper Crust went to help Indigo Zap.

But things got even hairier as another vortex appeared just over the dirt track, with a plant monster sticking right out of it with a large vine as well. Rainbow looked in shock upon seeing the monstrous flora, quickly maneuvering her bike out of the way quickly to avoid its large appendage.

The officials in the announcer's booth were all shocked and surprised, and in the stands.

“Oh shit!” Tristen called out in shock. But then he looks over to see Alex fending off vines while Twilight did her best to avoid them.

As Alex continued to strike the vines, one of them actually managed to grab a hold of the shock staff and yanked it out of his hands. “Hey!” Alex protested but was picked off by a vine.

“Alex!” Twilight was about to help him, but she was picked off as well. “HELP!”

Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer was switching gears as her bike was catching up to Sugarcoat's. But as Sugarcoat was about to catch up, her front tire popped just like Indigo Zap's, making her lose control of her vehicle.

Sunset was surprised by that, but she then heard the plant monster roar. She looked up to see the floral monstrosity as it about to attack. Sunset tried to evade the beast, but unfortunately her vehicle ended up hitting the ground on its side, causing her to fall off of it as she and it both slid across the dirt.

“Sunset!” Tristen called out as he readied his Omnitrix, cycling through his roster. “Alright, looks like a controlled burn from Sunstone is needed!”

Upon selecting Sunstone, he tapped the screen to trigger the transformation. Everyone present watched on, collective awe from team Canterlot High, and shock from team Crystal Prep.

But when the green flash came and subsided, instead of Sunstone, he was…

“Saw Horse?!” Saw Horse examined himself. “I asked for Sunstone, but good enough, I guess.” With that, Saw Horse curled up, span rapidly, and began to spin dash at the many vines in an intent to slice and dice them.

The Shadowbolts were truly shocked upon seeing Tristen's transformation.

"What in the-?" Sour Sweet exclaimed, her eyes as wide as dinner plates.

Within the announcer's booth, Principal Cinch was glancing at the two Celestia and Luna skeptically, who were both casting nervous smiles. "Care to explain what I just bore witness to?" Cinch questioned.

Back on the motocross track, Sunset was about to get on her feet when suddenly, she saw Rainbow race by on her bike. She then sees that the plant creature now had its focus on her as it was about to gobble her. Fortunately, Rainbow Dash threw her right hand out and grabbed Sunset as she passed by, saving Sunset from an early demise.

Realizing what her rainbow-haired friend had just done for her, she had a soft smile of gratitude. "Dash… you saved me!"

"I wasn't about to let my friend become plant food." Rainbow mentioned jokingly in response. Suddenly, a light blue aura began enveloping Rainbow’s body, much to Sunset’s surprise.

Rainbow hits the brakes of her vehicle, making it stop immediately with a flurry of dust as she got off, removing her helmet and tossing it aside as her pony ears, ponytail, and wings all appeared upon her person.

Back within the announcer's booth, Cinch turned to her Celestia, who smiled nervously and shrugged after

Sunset had a serious expression on her face while she traversed the jump her rival had gone over, enticing the crowd to begin cheering.

Meanwhile, Rainbow made sure the rest of the monstrous plants were subdued, bashing into them again and again, making sure they didn't interfere with the rest of the race. However, one began pursuing Sunset, catching Rainbow's attention as she saw it stretching out to engulf them in its mouth.

But before it had the chance to devour Sunset, a large buzzsaw blade struck the monstrous flora, decapitating it instantly while Sunset continued to race. And upon the buzzsaw landing, Saw Horse unfurled and brandished his blades.

“Boy, do I love some good weed whacking!” Saw Horse said jokingly with a smile. But then he took notice of one of the vines holding the shock staff. With a serious look, Saw Horse pressed the Omnitrix symbol to switch into a different alien. In this case, Thunderclap.

Thunderclap's, with a smirk, rubbed his hands to get her as they sparked with electricity. “Alright you oversized weeds!” Thunderclap said, outstretching his arms. “Get ready to feel the thunder!”

And with a mighty clap, he sent powerful waves of yellow electricity at the vines. The vines convulsed from the electrical shock while one of them released the weapon. Luckily, he managed to catch the shock staff before glaring at the remaining vines.

With a grin, Thunderclap arms a surge of electricity throughout the shock staff, the blade of the weapon emitting a red glow.

“Get ready to do the electric boogaloo!” Thunderclap declared before aiming the spear, firing red lasers that were somehow more intense than before. The attacks disintegrated many vines, all the while the Shadowbolts watched on in disbelief.

“Help!”

Thunderclap looked to see Twilight was struggling to break free from a vine. He aimed at the vine and fired, destroying it while freeing Twilight in the process. Thunderclap pats himself in the back, only to get smacked away by a vine.

“Alright!” Thunderclap growled in frustration. “Time to go big or go home!” Thunderclap pressed the symbol on his belt, changing into the familiar alien Kaiju:

“Big Bang!” Big Bang roared out, making the others look on in awe and shock.

Twilight and Spike were also bewildered by the sight of the titan of an alien.

“Whoa-!” Spike murmured out, taken back by the transformation.

Big Bang rushed at one of the giant venus fly traps, only for the monstrous plant to smack him away, making him stable. As he was trying to regain his footing, his right hand had inadvertently pressed on the Omnitrix symbol on his chest, causing four gray spikes to jut out from the dial.

Big Bang was about to attack again, but he then took notice of the four spikes as his body was suddenly enveloped in a wave of green energy. Big Bang had grown five feet taller, his skin changed to a burnt mahogany on its outer side and candy apple red on its inner side. He also looked skinny compared to his regular form, though he still had a pronounced musculature. His tail became slightly longer with four spines near the tip, his legs were more digitigrade with two clawed toes and blade-like fins protruding from his heels, and he had stripes that glowed like they were superheated. He also has a gray metal helmet on his head with a long horn in the middle and two curved horns on the sides, a gray metal shell on its back, and It holds two large metal three-clawed gauntlets with mounted blasters and a blade-like fin.

“ZENITH BIG BANG!” The new form of Big Bang roared out in newfound might while everyone that bore witness was stunned speechless.

Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, and Sugarcoat were flabbergasted, Sunset was shocked beyond belief, and Rainbow was truly in awe.

“My word.” Rarity muttered out, baffled at what he saw.

“What in tarnation-?!” Applejack asked, just as shocked as her friends

“So, cool!” Pinkie exclaimed out in amazement.

Even Twilight, Alex, and Spike were dumbstruck at seeing this new form.

Zenith Big Bang glared at the blades on his gauntlets extended, and the shell on his back split up and opened to reveal thrusters mounted on his back. And with that, he launched himself towards the monstrous plant.

The beastly plant roars out and launches a vine at him, only for him to slice the appendage into pieces. And once Zenith Big Bang got close enough, he punched the beast with so much force to not only knock it to the ground but also remove it from the stem.

During all of this, Aggregor was watching the fight. He was surprised by the display, but he was also highly interested.

The remaining vines had their attention on Zenith Big Bang as they launched themselves towards him. But the stripes on the evolved alien Kaiju began to glow bright, and with a mighty roar, he emits a powerful pulse of orange energy to burn the vines into a crisp.

Once all of the plant monsters had been taken care of, Sunset’s bike broke through the red tape at the finish line first, leaving her opponents in second place.

"Canterlot wins!" Dean Cadance declared through the microphone from the announcer's booth, much to the delight of the Wondercolts, and the disbelief of the Shadowbolts.

Zenith Big Bang emits another powerful roar in victory as he reverts back to Big Bang, then back into Tristen.

Back on the skating track, Twilight was able to grab her device and using all of her available strength close it up while it hummed loudly. In almost an instant, all the remaining monster plants began retracting into the rifts in a bright pink light. Spike and Alex looked to Twilight worriedly as she was cringing on her knees, biting her lip out of feeling ashamed for causing all that just conspired.

At the motocross track, Sunset had parked Rainbow’s bike while the rest of the Wondercolts were walking over to her. Twilight grimaced nervously as she looked at them before standing up reluctantly and walking towards them with her Spike and Alex in tow.

"Is everybody… alright?" Applejack managed to ask in.

"Better than alright!" Rainbow declared. "We won!"

“And not to mention Tristen has a new feature!” Aria added, looking at Tristen. “That was badass, back there.”

“Yeah.” Tristen looked at the Omnitrix with surprise. “I don't remember the watch doing that.”

Cortana appeared on the Omnitrix. “It was recently unlocked.” Cortana elaborated. “Around the same time you've got that jolt from Twilight’s necklace.”

"Hey, guys."

The gang look over to see Twilight, Alex, and Spike them to turn around and see Salazar approaching them with Twilight and Spike in tow.

"Are you guys alright?" Tristen asked the three. But before anything else was said, Twilight walked up anxiously.

"I… didn't mean for any of this to happen." Twilight told them. "I just wanted to learn about the strange energy coming from your school." Spike and Alex glanced at her with worried expressions. "I didn't know that it was magic or...how it works…"

"That's okay," Rainbow replied as she walked over to her, much to the shock of the blue furred cat and his friend, "Neither do we." she pointed out in an uncaring manner.

Suddenly, the device around Twilight's neck began humming loudly again, glowing as it caught the rainbow haired girl's attention.

"Oh, no!" Twilight cried out in horror as it was yanking her by the neck, directing itself right at the winged girl. It opened up to reveal the enlarged energy sphere within it as Rainbow was cringing nervously.

“Not again!” Alex reached to close the device, but received a jolt like Tristen did earlier. He yells out in as the contraption began sucking away the light blue energy, causing the Wondercolt to groan in agony.

"DASH!" Sunset cried out, rushing over to go and help her along with Adagio as Rainbow got onto her knees.

"I'm sorry!" Twilight apologized as her contraption was still taking the aura into its enlarging energy sphere. "It just started absorbing energy on its own! But I'm not sure how!"

"What do you mean you don't know how?!" Sunset asked angrily, pointing accusingly at Twilight.

All of a sudden, a small spark of electricity shot up into the sky from it, causing a large portal to open right over the whole group.

"Whoa!" Spike gasped as Alex looked on in shock. Everyone else had their mouths agape at the sight of the vortex, frightened and concerned.

From afar, Principal Cinch had just returned to the field, taking notice of the portal with a gasp, quickly going over to the side of the announcer's booth as she eavesdropped on the revelation.

"It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear…" Twilight added to the group. "I don't know how that works either.”

"Is there anything you do know?!" Sunset screamed to her angrily. "Like how our magic's been popping up?!" Or how to fix the portal to Equestria?!”

"Equestria?" Twilight uttered in confusion.

"You're supposed to be so smart!" Sunset declared mockingly, "but did you ever think you shouldn't be messing around with things you don't understand?!"

As Sunset questioned out of rage, she puts her hands over hers on the contraption and closing it up herself, causing the portal to shrink and vanish instantly.

“Sunset, calm down!” Tristen said to Sunset, the girl looking at him.

“Calm down?! Did you not see what happened?!” Sunset said to Tristen angrily, making him reel back a bit in shock. “You expect me to calm down after what happened earlier?!”

"But I wanna understand!" Twilight claimed with an apologetic look in her eyes.

"But you don't!" Sunset shouted, causing her to cringe, "And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!"

"I-I'm sorry…" Twilight apologized with a breaking voice as tears were forming in her eyes, "I didn't mean to…"

Twilight turned around and ran, but inadvertently bumped into Alex, making him fall. Twilight got up, but she took notice sow things falling out of his pockets. Those items were a screwdriver, a pair of screws, and a box of nails. She then noticed one of the wheels that fell off of Sunny Flare and Lemon Zest’s rollerblades, then looked over to see a piece of tire rubber with a nail wedged into it

Alex, in a panic, tries to pick up the items, but Twilight grabs them while the others watch in silence.

Twilight walks towards the rollerblade wheel, and notices one of the screws definitely fit in one of the wheels. Then she walks to the tire piece and examines the nail, noticing that it matched the other nails in the nail box. As she put the pieces to get her, her hands clenched tightly in anger. “Alex? Did you do this?”

Alex, sweating nervously, tried to come up with an excuse. “Twilight-”

“Did!” Twilight turns to face Alex. “You!” Twilight holds up the wheel and tire piece. “Do this?!”

The Canterlot crew looked at Alex, never uttering a word while the Shadowbolts arrived as well.

“I, uh…” Tristen stammered while Twilight still kept her glare on him. With a sigh, he relents and decides to fess up. “Y-Yeah.” Alex looked down in shame. “I did.”

The gang were taken back by this while the Shadowbolts were shocked. And as for Cinch, she was flabbergasted, but she was also furious.

“You!” Cinch declared angrily, storming her way towards Alex, making him and the Canterlot High team look on nervously. “You're responsible for this?!”

“You sabotaged us?!” Sour Sweet fumed furiously as she and her fellow Shadowbolts approached Alex.

“You slippery rat!” Sunny Flare barked angrily.

“Well, what's the big deal?!” Alex replied in defense. “It's not like you pricks would've cared if you lost!”

“Your little stunt nearly got us killed!” Sugarcoat declared.

“If I wanted to kill you, I'd make sure you guys were dumped into the e harbor in boxes!” Alex barked back. But Alex then looked at Twilight, noticing she was absolutely upset with him. And the Canterlot crew noticed as well.

“I cannot believe you, Alex!” Twilight growled, shaking furiously while Spike looked at her in concern. “Why?!” Twilight asked, her glare intensifying. “Why would you do such a thing?!”

“I wanted to help these guys,” Alex gestured to Sunset and her friends, “be on the winning side for once.” Tristen replied. “And besides, it's just one-”

“You do realize that my chances of getting into Everton are in the line, right?!” Twilight yelled out in fury while Sunset and her friends watched on in worry. “I thought you were my friend!”

Tristen reeled back from that. “I-I am!” Tristen replied. “I didn't do it to-”

“A friend wouldn't do this, Alex!” Twilight gestured to the wreckage. “A friend wouldn't screw over their team to help the opposing team win!” Twilight ranted, gesturing to the Sunset's team. “None of this is something friends do to each other! Because of you, I'm probably never going to leave Crystal Prep!”

“Newsflash, Twilight! I'm stuck in that rancid shit hole, too!” Tristen fired back. “Who better to be stuck with than your friend?!”

Twilight's eyes started to tear up from a mixture of anger and betrayal. “You are not my friend, Alex!” Twilight shot back, making Alex look hurt from that claim. “Ever since we got here, all you've done was hold me back! And I'm the idiot for not seeing it until just now!”

Spike gasped in shock, Sunset and her friends looked at Alex worry, Celestia and Luna were stunned by the remark, even Cadance watched on in concern. And as for Alex, he looked down in shame as tears began to form in his eyes due to Twilight's harsh words.

Cinch then got in front of Alex, crossing her arms in disappointment. “Alexander Davidson, you are hereby expelled from Crystal Prep Academy!” Alex didn't bother to look at Cinch at this point. Sunset and her friends looked at Alex in pity while the Shadowbolts had smug grins. “Ever since you enlisted in my academy, you have been nothing but trouble, and a complete disgrace!” Cinch declared and looked at Cadance. “Cadance, if you would take him to campus so he can clear out his locker. I expect him off campus by the time we return.”

Cadance said nothing as she looked down and approached Alex with a sorrowful expression. “Come along, Alex.” Alex, saying nothing and a lot bothering to look up at Twilight, turned around and walked with Cadance.

“Good riddance.” Indigo Zap exclaimed with a smirk. But then she was suddenly punched to the ground by Aria. But Adagio managed to hold Aria back before her fellow siren could do more damage.

Cinch turned to see Celestia and Luna. "You can't possibly call that a fair race!" Cinch pointed out while gesturing towards the track.

"Principal Cinch, we all saw what happened!" Celestia responded. "You can't think CHS had some kind of advantage."

"Can't I?" Cinch fired back. "Even without your trained attack plants," she continued, "your students have wings!"

"Well, the race certainly had some… extenuating circumstances." Celestia admitted. "Perhaps we should end the games now and declare a tie…"

"A tie?" Cinch questioned in surprised. "Was this your strategy all along? To force us into accepting you as equals?" Cinch accused "I think not! The games will continue, and Crystal Prep will prevail despite your antics and whatever performance-enhancing regimen your students are on!"

Tristen growled angrily upon hearing Cinch’s assumptions. “Bitch, you are so full of shit I can smell it in your breath!”

Cinch looks over at Tristen, truly not pleased by that remark. "And not to mention," Cinch continued, "you have this beast roaming around in your school!" Cinch points at Tristen. “I’m not mistaken, this was supposed to be a school. Not a circus sideshow attraction!”

Tristen glared angrily at that insult before transforming into Thunderclap, making the older woman back up in slight terror. “Say that again, you wrinkled old bag!” Thunderclap threatened as she sparked with electricity. “I DARE YOU!”

“Tristen, that's enough!” Celestia said as she and Luna got in front of him. “Calm yourself!”

“I'll calm down after I fry this turkey!” Thunderclap shot back while pointing at Cinch.

“TRISTEN, STOP!” Luna roared out threateningly. “Unless you want to risk expulsion, then I suggest you back down! Now!”

Thunderclap growled angrily, looking at Cinch, then sighed out in defeat before reverting back to Tristen. Cinch smirked victoriously before walking off, and the Shadowbolts followed their superior.

"I'm sorry I couldn't stop all this from happening…" Sunset apologized to Celestia, ashamed for what had conspired in the relay.

"It's not your fault, Sunset," Celestia responded reassuringly.

"Isn't it though?" Sunset questioned back "I should know how to control the magic I brought here, but I don't…" Sunset looks away as she beats herself up, "I let everyone down, and now Principal Cinch thinks we're cheating."

"It doesn't matter what Principal Cinch thinks." Celestia reassured, placing her right hand on her student's left shoulder.

"But it does.” Sunset countered, "The students here at CHS don't just wanna win, they wanna beat Crystal Prep. It isn't gonna count if the other side doesn't really think they lost." Sunset’s friends cast worried looks at her as she continued. "Crystal Prep is never gonna believe we won fair and square if there's magic around. And that magic is only around...because of me…"

Sunset then noticed Tristen walking off, and the others took notice as well. “Tristen?” Fluttershy asked as she sees him grab the shock staff and walked toward one do the ramps.

With a roar of fury, Tristen swung at one of the bars that held the ramp up.

“Tristen!” Sunset said as she ran towards her name friend while he vented his anger. “Tristen, stop!”

Tristen didn't listen as he still slashed the support beams in a blind rage. Just as Tristen was about to smash again, Sunset got in front of him and held the shock staff in place.

“STOP!” Sunset declared. “I know you’re upset about this! Believe me, we all are! But this isn’t going to help!” Sunset placed a hand on his face, a soft look on hers. “I know things are tough now, but we’ll solve this problem eventually.”

Tristen just sighed, finally calming down from his rage as he dropped the shock staff. “I swear,” Tristen grunted out in anger, “I ought to pound that witch so deep into the dirt that she'll land in the ninth circle of Hell!”

Unbeknownst to the group, Aggregor was over them from the top of the building, holding the tracker he held.

“And now,” Aggregor said, smiling upon seeing the signal Twilight was giving off. “To wait for the opportunity to claim my penultimate prize.”