Riku walked through the halls of the School of Friendship. After another training session, he was looking forward to a little downtime with Twilight, provided she wasn't busy with any paperwork for the school, or even her own training. He hoped running the school and doing any of her princess duties doesn't eat up her time practicing if she were to become a Keyblade master like him. With all her skills and her unique Harmony Links, she could be as strong as him, or maybe even Sora if she wanted. He began to wonder if she could form H-Links with him or the others, and how long her Keyblade's chain will grow if it can add more links on the chain with different symbols.
Reaching the alicorn's office, he knocked on the door and opened it, already finding Rarity in the office with Twilight. "Hey, girls."
"Back from training so soon?" Twilight asked curiously.
"Yeah, and I'm free for the rest of the day," Riku said. "You busy, Twilight?"
"No, but I just got a letter from Star Swirl the Bearded." Curious, Riku walked over to the desk to see the letter from Twilight's idol.
"I have wondered how the former Pillars have been faring in our time after we last parted," Rarity said.
"I just hope that some of them are able to fit in," Riku said. "How is that old coot?"
Twilight opened the envelope with her magic, pulling out a few postcards within, along with a letter with a highly articulate writing style. Many of the postcards had different images of locations found throughout Equestria, some familiar while others were not, showing Star Swirl had been traveling far and wide on his mysterious pilgrimage.
"'Dear Twilight, it is difficult to express how grateful I am to you for teaching me the power of friendship,'" Twilight read aloud. "'You would think after more than a thousand years, there would be nothing left to learn. And yet, even a pony as old as I can continue to be surprised by how much there is to know. I hope you find these postcards enjoyable, and I look forward to seeing you and your friends and fellow wielders of light again, though I can't say when my journey will be complete. Your friend, Star Swirl.'"
"Well, at least he's continuing his pursuit of knowledge," Riku said as Twilight taped the postcards Star Swirl sent on the cabinets and window with plenty of other ones he's sent between his other letters.
"It must be gratifying to have your idol writing to YOU about the friendship lessons HE'S learning," Rarity commented.
"I'm not sure I'll ever get used to it," Twilight said bashfully. "Of course, if he really wants to learn friendship, he could just come to our school."
"He's probably busy scoping out the world of today to see other changes and gain new experiences," Riku said. "Sora would definitely do that."
"Weren't you also just as curious exploring new worlds?" Twilight asked.
Riku shrugged his shoulders, feeling he's long since passed following his dream after finally leaving Destiny Islands, albeit in a much disastrous way. The door to the office opened up, gaining the two mares 'and stallion's attention when Cozy Glow poked her head inside.
"Professor Sparkle? The mailpony just came with, uh, a few things," Cozy announced.
The filly opened the door a bit wider, revealing several crates sitting out in the hall outside of Twilight's office. "Ooh! The sewing machines I ordered for my class!" Rarity squealed as she hopped over to the mail delivery.
"Three heavy crates of sewing machines?" Riku questioned as he stared at Cozy Glow. "Did they drop them off here or did you push all those yourself?"
"I guided the mailpony to where the headmare's office was," Cozy said. "Also, these came, too." She hovered over to the crates and grabbed a pile of papers, bringing them over to Riku and Twilight while Rarity was dying to see her new sewing equipment. "I wasn't sure what to make of them."
Twilight took the papers in her magic aura and lifted one of the sheets for the couple to read. They ignored Rarity describing how the sewing machines would be invaluable for teaching friendship in her classes as they read what appeared to be a pamphlet. Their eyes widened as they frowned, glancing at each other in disbelief.
"You have got to be kidding me," Twilight grumbled.
"Oh, don't worry, Twilight," Rarity said, thinking she was talking about her unnecessary purchase. "I'll think of something. And I didn't use the school's funds to buy these. I made the purchase entirely with my own bits."
"Not your sewing machines, Rarity; we're talking about these pamphlets!" Riku exclaimed, grabbing a sheet for himself as he read the tagline for what was being advertised. "'Why waste your time at a friendship school that's just a school? Learn everything they teach and more at Friendship University!'"
"Huh?" Rarity snatched one of the flyers and read it over, barely bothered unlike the couple. "Oh, pfft! I'm sure this is nothing to worry about. Twilight, you're the Princess of Friendship. What could this other school possibly offer?"
"It isn't just another friendship school; it's a university!" Hearing Smolder outside, and talking about the very same university that's bothering Twilight and Riku, they, Rarity, and Cozy Glow looked outside, finding the Young Six with the same pamphlet Cozy Glow showed them.
"It says they teach the same lessons of competing schools in half the time," Ocellus said with a small hint of excitement in her voice. "That's twice the learning!"
"And it's in Las Pegasus?" Gallus added as he glanced over the Friendship University's location. "If Professor Rarity lets us skip sewing class - road trip!"
The six teens cheered in agreement, making Rarity grumble bitterly as the six students wanted to skip her sewing classes, and with her new machines, to sneak off to Las Pegasus to see the Friendship University. Riku flew out from the office and came to a stop in front of his apprentices, startling them as they all stood at attention.
"...You six are going to sneak off to Las Pegasus and skip going to school here?" he questioned. They said nothing, but realizing they were caught, they were sweating bullets. "I guess that also includes skipping your training after school today, huh?"
"...Uhhh...N-No?" Smolder answered sheepishly.
"I-It was just a joke, M-Master Riku," Gallus added while the others muttered their own nervous agreements.
Riku silently leered at them for a moment. "...Smolder, you're already serving some time training for what you did on your adventure in another world. You want to add on more time?" he questioned the dragoness. Smolder gulped and quickly shook her head. "I'm informing Aqua about this. If you don't report to The Land of Departure after classes, it won't be me you'll need to worry about."
Six gulps rang out before the young apprentices scurried off to their next class, dropping the pamphlet they were looking at. Riku picked it up, but if they had a copy, then that meant there must have been several of these printed and sent out to other parts of Equestria. There should have been some news about there being another school to teach friendship to others and brought up with Twilight, the PRINCESS of FRIENDSHIP, but he remembered that they weren't EEA approved, and Chancellor Neighsay had every intention to keep an educational facility like that shut down if it didn't appeal to only the ponies of Equestria.
"I think we need to look into this school," Rarity said, immediately changing her mind after overhearing the Young Six discussing their ditching Rarity's class.
"Yes. Let's," Riku said.
Twilight and Riku flew to Las Pegasus with Rarity tagging along and hitching a ride on Riku's back. From the flyer, they searched around on foot for the address of the Friendship University. They had no idea who would come up with this school, and in the middle of a city built for entertainment and pricy tourist attractions. The trio finally found the university, which was sizable for a massive school and was advertised as such with a sign of an open book in the middle of all the shops and attractions around it. They could already see ponies around the building or coming in and out, talking excitedly while holding or looking at the very same pamphlets that were mailed to Ponyville.
As a student walked out, Rarity flagged him over. "Excuse me. I don't like to judge solely on appearances, but...what kind of friendship school is this?" she asked.
"Only the best friendship school in the west!" the stallion answered with excitement. "Maybe all of Equestria!"
Hearing him express his glee, that brought several other ponies stampeding past them, up the steps, and nearly breaking down the entrance to the university. Riku, Twilight, and Rarity followed them inside, surprised by how many ponies wanted to enroll here as they gathered to the front of a stage with two podiums. They pushed their way to the front of the crowd to see who exactly was in charge of this building. They soon got their answer when the lights in the main foyer dimmed down and stage lights lit up the stage. Behind a thin paper screen, they could see two pony silhouettes through the lighting, both of them tall and lanky stallions from their shadows.
"Welcome, friends!" one of them greeted. "You are about to embark on a journey of amazing magnitude! One that will change your lives forever!"
"Prepare yourselves to embrace a new path!" the other said. "And become students of-!"
Both stallions soon burst through the screen and slid out in a dramatic entrance, revealing them to be none other than the troublesome, swindling twin unicorns, Flim and Flam. "Friendship U!"
"Flim and Flam," Twilight grumbled. "Of course it would be them."
"Kind of glad Sora isn't here right now," Riku uttered, knowing how much he despised the two unicorn twins for what they had done to Applejack's family and their home.
And as if on cue, to entice the crowd with whatever insane scheme they were pulling, they were going to perform a oddly catchy musical number to pull them in and rake in their bits.
[Flim]
If you're alone and you can't make friends
We understand your plight
[Flam]
Until now, there was just one way
Your friendships could take flight
[Flim]
There is a school real far away
That'll teach you what to know
But if you live here, you couldn't stay
[Flam]
You'd learn you have to go-o-o-o
The crowd felt dejected from the sad news. Word did seem to get around Equestria really quickly about Twilight's school, though that was when it was EEA approved and no one knew it did get shut down once. Some ponies lived pretty far from Ponyville, and it could be taxing being away from friends or family while enrolled in their classes. Even if Twilight could try to expand and make another school of friendship under her name, with the strict EEA rules, and Neighsay's racism toward other creatures, they would have to have ponies who graduated from her school first in order to teach friendship lessons across the kingdom. Riku never truly met these stallions, but if they had acting careers, they'd definitely hit it off if their singing wasn't convincing enough for their local suckers.
[Flim]
Now, there is an alternative to all of that adversity
[Flam]
Not just a school, I'll have you know
[Flim and Flam]
But a whole university
At Friendship U, our aim is true
In a city, not some backwater
You'll learn the things you need to know
At our new alma mater
Flim and Flam insulting Ponyville as a backwater town irked the trio, even as the twins went around the crowd to express how well their school can teach friendship just as much as theirs, and apparently much better. "That's it, everypony, you heard correct!" Flim said.
"Friendship U, the one and only university of friendship!" Flam added.
"Probably because they only called it a university to one up the School of Friendship," Riku mumbled under his breath bitterly.
The unicorns pulled out a chalkboard with random diagrams and stat charts to show their new students their success rates.
[Flim]
As you can see, we're a success
By any kind of stat
[Twilight]
That may be so, for all we know
[Riku]
But we still smell a rat
Noticing the alicorn, Flim and Flam sidled up to the mare, booting Riku out of the way while he glared suspiciously at them.
[Flam]
Everypony, lookie here
That other school's headmare
[Flim]
Her presence is a testament
To the mutual respect...
[Flim and Flam]
...we sha-a-a-are
"What!?" Twilight exclaimed as she glanced at the unicorns in shock. "No, it isn't!"
[Flam]
It really is the final piece
To make our work complete
[Flim]
To have the Friendship Princess
Bless our school is such a treat
To Twilight's surprise, Flim had bowed to Twilight, even giving her a random bouquet of flowers to show his and his brother's "respect" to the royal alicorn. "We're so honored!" Flam added as he and Flim went back to entertaining the crowd.
[Flim and Flam]
And Friendship U, we teach to you (and you!)
The duo pointed at Riku as they addressed the random ponies they could teach. Clearly, they have no idea who he is, which would be quite a shock to them when they find out he's friends with the pegasus who wants to clock their heads in for causing trouble to his second family.
All of our friendship knowledge
You'll learn it all in half the time
At the one and only friendship college
The twins went around handing out copies of their worksheets for their friendship lessons, even giving one to Riku. The stallion glanced at the lessons and the questions for the specific assignment it had, which baffled him by how they think this lesson plan can be learned in literally half the time a normal class would teach.
"How is anyone supposed to learn friendship in half the time?" he questioned.
"Our coursework is so accelerated, to take longer would be a crime!" Flam answered, immediately intriguing the potential students to these hustlers.
[Flim]
The lessons that we teach have been
Reviewed and checked and edited
[Flam]
Which might explain why our new school's
[Flim and Flam]
About to be accredited
Confetti shot out on the stage the two unicorns hopped on as they announced their university's accreditation. Riku, Twilight, and Rarity did not like the sound of that, which could only mean Neighsay would be around and officially make this school the ONLY friendship school in Equestria and try to shut down Twilight's school again. It didn't help that the other ponies were eating it up and were eager to start learning.
At Friendship U, oh yes, it's true
Even the Princess of Friendship agrees
The only place in Equestria
To give out friendship degrees
Yeah!
The ponies all began to chant "Friendship U!", hyping themselves up and stroking Flim and Flam's egos and lining up their pouches for their bits. "That's it, everypony! Let's hear it!" Flim goaded his and his brother's new "students". "Tell us again why it's the best!"
[All]
It's the only university of Friendship U!
[Flim and Flam]
Yeah!
Riku had no idea when they had the time to form a cheerleading squad when they haven't been open for maybe a couple months, but despite the incredible choreography and teamwork, their true intentions were clearly for greed. "This place is being accredited?" he questioned.
"Who would accredit this place?" Rarity asked the stallion twins.
"Why, the EEA, of course." Flinching, Riku, Rarity, and Twilight turned to face the owner of the voice they didn't want to hear, or see.
Stepping past the crowd was the stern and racist unicorn stallion himself, Chancellor Neighsay. "Oh, great," Riku grumbled.
"The Equestria Educational Association has taken an interest in institutions that teach friendship in a pony-first environment," Neighsay explained as he approached Twilight. "Surely you didn't think your school has a monopoly on the concept?"
"Well, she did write the book on it," Rarity stated, recalling the harsh, intellectual burn Twilight gave the stallion after unlocking her school from his seal.
"Ah, yes. How to teach friendship to creatures who will one day use it as a weapon against us," Neighsay stated. He glanced at Riku as he stood on the sidelines, then back to Twilight. "And use OTHER weapons as well. Miss Aqua is still teaching those creatures how to use them to destroy our kingdom when we least expect it?"
"Hey, you have no jurisdiction over how we teach our apprentices," Riku stated as he marched over to the chancellor. "They're vowing to protect the entire world, not just their own kingdoms."
"How can they even use friendship as a weapon anyway?" Twilight questioned Neighsay.
"You tell me. It's YOUR book," Neighsay countered. Riku wanted to deck this stallion, but in front of other ponies, in a university of friendship led by two of the no-good swindlers, Flim and Flam, anything they do could ruin their school's credibility and give Neighsay the power to permanently shut down or tear down Twilight's school. Smirking at the lack of a response from the alicorn, Neighsay walked over to Flim and Flam. "Meantime, this university appears to be a promising option for PONIES who'd prefer to stick to the EEA book on the subject."
Seeing the chancellor give Flam a hoof bump startled the trio. "You can't be serious," Twilight said. "These two are clearly up to something. It's Flim and Flam!"
Both brothers gasped, appalled at the insult. "Well, that certainly wasn't friendly," Flim pouted, his twin doing the same as they both looked visibly upset.
Riku rolled his eyes, knowing Sora could beat them with being overdramatic if he tried. "Well, one would think the headmare of a school of friendship - albeit an unaccredited one - would behave differently," Neighsay chided, making the alicorn flinch. Riku couldn't believe that Neighsay was falling for Flim and Flam's scam. Or...was it possible he was involved in their scheme to be vindictive toward Twilight and her going against their kingdom's educational system? "Unless, of course, she plans to undermine the competition?"
"What!? N-No, I-I'm not," Twilight backpedaled, but the display of her unfriendliness toward Flim and Flam was already getting the audience talking about what they expected from her.
Riku was about to step in to tell Neighsay to do a background check on Flim and Flam, but Flam immediately butted in. "Now, now, fillies and gentlecolts. Let's show the princess just how friendly we are by signing up for some classes!"
Flam led the excited group to get them enrolled, much to Twilight's annoyance. "Why don't I show you around, chancellor?" Flim offered Neighsay as the duo began making their way further into the school.
Rarity and Twilight looked at each other, growing increasingly concerned with Neighsay's choice in trusting the twin unicorn hustlers. "Ugh. As much as I hate that guy, we can't let Neighsay believe them," Riku said. "I'm really glad Sora's not here. He'd turn Flim and Flam into Heartless if he saw them opening a friendship university."
"Which flowers do you think would be great for the banquet?" Kairi asked Sora as they glanced at some of the flowers at Daisy, Lily, and Roseluck's flower stands. The flower mare trio were eager to assist the couple with their flower arrangements for their upcoming wedding and showed the different species of flora that would be perfect for them. "Maybe white and pink roses in the shape of hearts? Or does that remind you too much of-?" As she looked at her goofy husband-to-be, she saw Sora standing absentmindedly, his ears twitching randomly like he was hearing something she couldn't. "...Uhh, Sora?"
"...I don't know why, but I have the sudden urge to pummel Flim and Flam for some reason," he said.
The flower mares glanced at each other, confused by the stallion's statement. "Uhh...what?"
Kairi looked back at the mares, smiling sheepishly at them. "Sorry. He's still got the jitters from our eventual date for the wedding," she explained. "Give me one second."
Kairi dragged Sora away from the stalls with her aura, getting him far enough away from the busy streets of Ponyville, then clocked him in the back of the head. "Ow!"
"What's gotten into you?" Kairi questioned. "You were acting weird just now. And Flim and Flam aren't in town. Why do you want to hurt them?"
"I don't know. I just have a...sixth sense for their swindling," he reasoned, but Kairi wasn't buying it.
"I get that those two have caused a lot of trouble for the Apples, but they're busy in Las Pegasus with their new hotel after exposing Gladmane," Kairi said. "They're not bothering us now."
"But they're doing something to other ponies and taking all their money with their cheap tactics!" Sora exclaimed, shifting his eyes warily. "They could lure unsuspecting Apples into their hotel, and give them a good deal that winds up costing more than they were promised."
Kairi stared blankly at Sora for a moment before he finally stopped acting like a weirdo. "Heart-shaped roses in pink. Yes or no?" she asked.
"...How about white roses?" he asked back.
"We'll do both," Kairi said, then dragged Sora back over to the flower mares.
"Uhh, ok. Pink and white roses it is," he agreed.
Riku, Twilight, and Rarity quickly caught up to Flim and Neighsay. Even though they detested Neighsay and alienating the other kingdoms who aren't led by equines, they didn't want him to make the mistake of letting two con artists trick him into accrediting their school and rob students of their money.
"Hold on a second!" Twilight called out, stopping the facial hairless unicorn and the EEA chancellor. "I'm sorry, but approval from the EEA won't convince me that this school is what you promise, Flim."
"And what would it take to convince you?" Flim asked curiously.
"Well, somepony whose opinion I respect, for one," Twilight said.
Flim smirked, which unnerved Riku. "Really? Somepony like...him?"
Opening up a door to a classroom nearby, Twilight, Riku, and Rarity looked inside. To their shock, sitting at one of the desks going through numerous friendship worksheets was someone they didn't expect to be here: Star Swirl the Bearded. The elder wizard looked up from the worksheets, spotting the trio and gave them a small wave.
"Twilight Sparkle, what a surprise," he said.
"Star Swirl!? What are you doing here!?" Twilight exclaimed.
"Why, studying friendship at Flim and Flam's wonderful school!" Star Swirl said.
Stunned, and a bit hurt, Twilight looked at Flim. How he managed to swipe Star Swirl the Bearded and sucker him into the unicorn twin hustlers was beyond her. Riku wasn't buying it, though. Flam was off on his own, "enrolling" new students, and he must have snuck off to disguise himself and pretend to be the real Star Swirl.
"Oh, sure. You're really Star Swirl," Riku said.
"I beg your pardon, Riku?" Star Swirl asked, confused.
"Don't give me that nonsense!" Riku marched up to the wizard. "How about you take off that fake beard and stop playing games, Flam!?"
Riku quickly grabbed the unicorn's long beard and pulled hard. Star Swirl yelped in pain as Riku tried to tear his beard off, but while he tried to reveal the stallion as an imposter, the real Flam reunited with his brother, able to be seen from the doorway.
"How's everything going in here?" the handlebar mustachioed stallion asked, barely phased when he saw Riku trying to rip off Star Swirl's beard.
Riku froze, glancing at the other twin, then back to the real Star Swirl, his face stretched while he still had a firm grip on his beard. "...Oh gosh..." Letting go, Star Swirl grunted and rubbed his sore face. Riku chuckled sheepishly, hoping Twilight and Rarity had thought the same thing he did. "Uhh...I-I'm so sorry about that...Those...darn impersonators always seem a bit too good, and I...I'm so dead, aren't I?"
"Who could ever impersonate me?" Star Swirl mumbled.
Neighsay walked inside the classroom after hearing the commotion, a look of surprise on his face when he saw the greatest unicorn wizard in history in person. "I have heard rumors you have returned, but I didn't believe it until now." The chancellor's awe and his reaction to meeting Star Swirl for the first time disproved Riku's theory that he was part of Flim and Flam's fake friendship school scam, which only complicated matters with the twin stallions. At least he didn't see the pegasus trying to rip off Star Swirl's well-renowned beard, otherwise THAT would have led to more proof over the wielders abusing their power on a famed unicorn wizard. "And if a pony of your stature is studying here, there really isn't anything else I need to see. I, Chancellor Neighsay, hereby confer upon Friendship University complete and unreserved EEA accreditation!"
Flim and Flam were glad to hear the good news, glancing at their visitors from their "rival" school with a cocky grin. Upset, Twilight walked up to her idol.
"Star Swirl, I don't understand. Why would you come here and not MY school?" she asked.
"My travels brought me to Las Pegasus," Star Swirl said. "I didn't come here for the school, but Flim and Flam convinced me to try it out."
"You can't trust them!" Twilight exclaimed. "Sora doesn't trust them, and he knows how much trouble they cause! They tried to con Applejack and her family out of their farm, they sold a fake health tonic, and they're running a resort here in Las Pegasus!"
"Technically, our resort is a legitimate business," Flim pointed out, much to Twilight's annoyance.
"I spent a thousand years thinking the worst of a 'bad' pony," Star Swirl said. "You and your friends taught me to look for the best in them. Whatever Flim and Flam's past may be, starting this school shows they want to change for the better."
"Con artists changing for the better, huh?" Riku questioned as he glowered at Flim and Flam. "Sounds like a good idea for a scam if you ask me."
"What is untrustworthy about opening a school of friendship?" Star Swirl asked, questioning Twilight and Riku's harsh judgements toward Flim and Flam. "They don't even charge for classes."
"I don't know," Twilight said. "But they must be up to something. And until we find out, I'm begging you, Star Swirl, come to my school instead."
"I understand if you feel threatened by the competition, but my word, Princess Twilight," Neighsay said, making the alicorn and pegasus stallion wince, almost forgetting about the chancellor still in their presence. "I wonder if the ill manners of those creatures at your school aren't contagious." Riku scowled, but stayed his hoof. The chancellor had the power to cancel out a wielder's most powerful spells. It still ticked him off that he despised him his friends because they were also "creatures" who couldn't be trusted with the knowledge of friendship or the Keyblade when he knows absolutely nothing about their key-shaped blades of darkness's bane. "I think I will take my leave before I become infected."
Chancellor Neighsay turned and exited the room, making his way out of the school to finalize the paperwork for Flim and Flam's accreditation. As much as he hated the stallion, Riku couldn't help himself and chased after Neighsay.
"Neighsay!" Riku called out, making the unicorn chancellor pause and glance back at the pegasus with a sneer. "I get that you hate us. Maybe you have a reason to, but your racism is going to end up biting you in the butt sooner or later. And if you value your credibility as an EEA chancellor, I suggest you hold off accrediting this school."
"Please don't tell me Princess Twilight is ordering you to change my mind," Neighsay scoffed. "If she feels threatened by other ponies creating friendship schools throughout the kingdom, she shouldn't have come up with the idea in the first place."
"She IS the Princess of Friendship, F.Y.I.," Riku stated. "And I'm not her lapdog; I'm her boyfriend. I'm the one telling you you're making a big mistake. When the truth comes out, you're going to regret trusting a couple of lying con artists."
Neighsay snorted, almost letting out a mocking laugh. "At least those two are ponies, not filthy, hairless apes pretending to be ponies."
He continued walking off, feeling satisfied talking down to the Keyblade wielder. Riku just took in a deep breath and sighed heavily. There was no chance of changing Neighsay's mind. If he wanted to have his name tarnished by accepting ponies like Flim and Flam stealing bits from students at a school he reviewed and accredited, it would be his undoing. The problem was how those two were scamming the ponies in this region of Equestria unfairly.
Twilight and Rarity had come out of the classroom and met up with Riku, the alicorn in a slump as Star Swirl seemed to be staying at Friendship University. "I can't believe this is happening," Twilight mumbled. "You don't think they're running an official friendship school, do you?"
"I have my doubts, but if they are...Sora is gonna have a heart attack. Before he even reaches twenty," Riku said, feeling uncertain himself.
"Darlings, those two obviously don't have any intentions of teaching friendship without something," Rarity chimed in. "Which is why we have to investigate!"
"Oh, great idea, Rarity. Let's snoop around the school and show more proof that Neighsay was right and we're 'afraid of the competition'," Riku sarcastically stated.
"Only if we do it as ourselves." Twilight and Riku looked at each other, then back to Rarity as she trotted on ahead.
Wondering what the unicorn had planned, they followed her as she opened a door leading into a storage room. Rarity gestured them to get inside, acting like a spy guiding her escorts in the middle of an espionage mission. Shrugging, the couple walked inside. The room had a whole bunch of different knickknacks stored in boxes and shelves, and there were a few costumes in one of those boxes. Rarity made quick work of fashioning up disguises for the three of them, and once they were fitted, the unicorn confidently walked out of the room in her outfit. With her mane and tail straightened and looking a bit ragged, Rarity wore a yellow long-sleeved polo shirt, a smaller pink shirt over the polo, a short blue skirt hidden underneath the longer shirt as it reached down to her flanks, some blue cloth tied around her left hind leg above her hoof, and a light blue baseball cap worn backwards.
"In these disguises, I'll be we could pass as students at our school," Rarity said, feeling quite proud of herself despite wearing something she probably wouldn't be caught dead wearing in public.
"You can't be serious," Twilight grumbled. She walked out, but the only "disguise" the alicorn wore was an eye patch over her right eye and sticky notes covering her cutie mark with a picture of a cartoon pony with an eye patch like her. "THIS is my disguise?"
"It's the best I could come up with from the pieces that we had," Rarity said. "Besides, none of them seemed to fit enough to hide your larger wingspan."
"She could have at least worn this." Riku stepped out, donning his disguise Rarity came up for him. Over his clothes, he wore a gray trench coat that had an emblem of a menacing brown bear on the back, a black bandanna wrapped around his head, where some of his bangs stuck out under it from his forehead and the sides, and black combat boots. His wings were visible outside the trench coat as it was meant to be worn by a pegasus, though how it functioned for flight was a mystery to the stallion. "This coat's big enough to at least hide Twilight's wings."
"But it fits your disguise perfectly!" Rarity argued. "Twilight wearing that would just be...Twilight in a trench coat."
"And yet you're a fashion designer," Riku sighed.
"Everypony's clearly going to recognize me," Twilight added.
"Hey there, strangers!" Startled, the trio quickly turned around, a student in the university approaching them excitedly. "Are you three new here?"
Twilight just grinned awkwardly, shifting her eyes trying not to look suspicious and keep her wings pressed firmly to her sides. "We sure are," Rarity spoke up, her tone sounding completely nonchalant and more lackadaisical. "Completely new."
"Great! See ya in class!" the stallion said before trotting off down the hall.
As soon as he was out of sight, Riku facehooved in exasperation. "You cannot be serious. He didn't even notice Twilight's wings and horn sticking out like a sore thumb."
"And you two thought her disguise wouldn't work," Rarity said. "Also, do refrain from blurting out our real names. We're in our new personas." The fashionista pulled out a stick of gum and began chewing on it as she got into her character. "I'm Plainity, and I love bland old normal stuff. No frills for me." Adding to her character, she blew a bubble with her gum and let it pop before slurping it back in her mouth. Riku and Twilight glanced at each other, neither of them truly believing Rarity's disguise as "Plainity" would slip by Flim and Flam. "Ok. Your turn, darlings."
"'Plainity'? I could come up with something better," Riku stated.
"Then, who are you, dude?" "Plainity" asked the stallion.
Riku sighed, deciding to show Rarity how to REALLY make up a character. "My name is Snow. Snow Villiers," he said, giving a wide grin as he pumped his hoof in the air. "I'm a vigilante justice seeker who leads a group of youths who serve to protect the weak and unfortunate from authorities who abuse their power against them! We call ourselves NORA, an acronym that means "No Obligations, Rules, or Authority"! They are no match for NORA!"
Twilight rolled her eyes at the dumb, but nice tough guy act for Riku's character, though she can't deny it was quite fitting for his getup. "...Eh, it could be better," Rarity said.
Riku frowned and leered at the unicorn. "At least it's better than 'Plainity'," he grumbled.
"Now Twilight, what's your character?" Rarity asked.
Twilight gave her friend a deadpanned glare. "...My name is Eyepatch. I have an eye patch," she said, still unable to believe that someone had glanced over her horn and wings sticking out in the open from her lack of disguise and NOT tell that it was the Princess of Friendship.
"Perfect!" Rarity cheered, making Riku slump over in exasperation.
"Where did you learn how to do espionage?" Riku questioned.
"Shadow Spade, a private detective who solves mysterious to uncover the truths of missing ponies, tragedies, and with an incredible eye for detail like moi," Rarity said. "She's even able to blend into crowds and businesses with her many outfits to find clues in her biggest cases."
"So, a fashionable detective in some sort of noir novel series," Riku paraphrased.
"Indeed," Rarity agreed.
"Ok, can we focus, guys?" Twilight interjected. "We've got a pair of scammers to bust."
"Right. We should probably split up," Riku said. He glanced at Twilight, grimacing a little. "Uhh...Maybe not you, Twilight."
"What!? Why not!?" Twilight exclaimed. Riku didn't even need to point out the eye patch and sticky notes being her only getup made by Rarity on the fly. Twilight seemed to realize it as well, wilting slightly. "...Oh. But, I can't just let Flim and Flam keep running this place. They're going to tarnish what it means to learn about the magic of friendship."
"I know, but you're going to get recognized by someone who's paying a lot more attention than the last guy," Riku said. Twilight sighed, but she understood as she nodded. "I'll search around the school. Rarity, check in on the classes to see what they're teaching, and how fast each lesson successfully teaches the students here."
Rarity nodded and hurried off to get herself enrolled as Plainity. Riku split up and headed through the halls to begin searching for Flim and Flam's office to dig around for clues there, leaving Twilight alone. She was about to leave the university before she was caught, but she couldn't just stand by and wait for Rarity and Riku to find out the unicorns' scam. Twilight headed down the hall and split down a corridor away from the direction Riku went to do her own sleuthing.
Riku casually strolled down the halls, sneaking a peek inside some of the doors, though most of the rooms he searched were mostly classrooms. He wondered which ponies Flim and Flam had hired to be the teachers considering he hadn't found any other members of their faculty. Not even a janitor. Maybe they cut corners and were the only ones teaching, handing out assignments with lessons and different questions pertaining to those lessons. Money and greed were clearly on their minds, but finding where the main office is in this university is like traversing a maze, and the reward is somewhere in the winding turns.
"I wonder if Rarity found anything odd about any of the lessons yet," he mumbled.
"Hey, you there!" Flinching, Riku quickly turned around, trying not to look suspicious as he heard Flim call out to him. The clean-shaven brother eyed Riku, making him sweat nervously as he was sure to be caught if he recognized his face. Surprisingly, Flim's expression quickly changed to a welcoming grin. "You must be a new student here, my friend! Trying to find your class?"
"...Uhhh...Y-Yeah," Riku answered, clearing his throat a little as he tried to get into his character. "I mean, obviously. I was giving myself a little orientation, but I have no clue where everything is."
"Not to worry! I'll gladly help you get started!" Flim said. "What's your name?"
"Snow. Snow Villiers," the pegasus answered with a cocky grin.
"Hmm...I suppose you must have missed the enrollment office. But, regardless, we'll get you signed in and get you into Friendship 101! Follow me, good sir!" Flim began walked down the same direction Riku was headed to guide him to where he was supposed to go.
Sighing, Riku reluctantly followed Flim. He didn't want to get himself thrown out or have his cover blown, which was surprisingly working. As much as he didn't want to get himself enrolled at a rival school of friendship, Riku continued playing along and continued following Flim to his first class, which was ironically taught by him as he took a seat along with some of the other ponies attending. The lesson wasn't anything special: just the basics of friendship and how one can make friends with a good impression. Oddly, this lesson almost sounds just like the starting course for new students in Twilight's school. It didn't seem like a coincidence, but he didn't have much to think about it as he ended up taking part in a group activity: introducing oneself to new friends.
Flim had excused himself while he went off to check on the rest of the school, leaving Riku alone with the other students to continue the friendship exercise until everyone was fully introduced. Some of the mares seemed very interested in the vigilante persona, skipping several steps in the friendship process to get to the romance portion that probably weren't taught in this university. He excused himself, both to avoid having one of his female "classmates" get to know him more personally and to continue sleuthing around to expose Flim and Flam's school scheme.
"I can't believe I got stuck in that class for half an hour," Riku grumbled. "At least I wasn't caught by Flim."
He rounded the corner, only to bump into Star Swirl the Bearded, both stallions grunting as papers scattered around them. "Oh my! I'm terribly sorry," Star Swirl apologized. Gulping nervously, Riku didn't say anything, hoping to just walk away before the unicorn wizard got a good look at him. Star Swirl gathered the mess of worksheets he was carrying with his magic, forming them back in the an organized stack beside him. "Old habit of not paying attention wandering about while my eyes are glued on the parchment. I hope you are not injured, good sir."
"N-Nope. I'm...all good," "Snow" said. "I've had worse bumps."
"Oh, good. Hope you're enjoying this wonderful school." Star Swirl continued on his way as he paid attention to where he was going now. Curious, Riku followed the wizard. If he "appreciated" Flim and Flam's hospitality, he must know where their main office was located. Keeping hidden around the corner, glancing around to make sure no one else was around, Riku summoned his Keyblade and used the spell Invisible. Completely hidden, he continued tailing Star Swirl until he finally reached the main office and walked inside. "Well, gentleponies, I've finished another stack. The lessons in these worksheets are quite fascinating." Peeking around the doorway, Riku flinched along with the unicorn wizard when they found Twilight in Flim and Flam's office, her poor disguise easily uncovered, and one of the twin stallions held a camera and a photo of Twilight caught with her eyepatch torn off in their aura. "Twilight? What is going on here?"
"Oh, just your protégé getting caught snooping in our office in disguise!" Flim said. "...Well, sort of."
"Oh, honestly, Princess Twilight, envy does not look good on you," Flam added, showing Star Swirl the picture of Twilight getting caught snooping around their office.
"I'm not envious!" Twilight denied. "I know those two are up to something. I'm just trying to find out what."
"The only pony I see who is up to something is the pony in the picture," Star Swirl said, disappointed in the pony who had a deep appreciation for his life's work with magic and studies and resorted to stooping this low. "And this is not the princess I know."
He turned away, leaving his completed worksheets with Flim and Flam as he left with a frown. "Well, it's about to be the princess all of Equestria knows," Flim mocked.
"Unless...you decided to drop the whole 'uncover the scam' thing," Flam said, waving the photo as he and his brother smirked at the alicorn.
"Then we'll rip this silly picture up and NOT let it completely and utterly ruin you and your school," Flim added, making Twilight whimper, knowing she screwed up badly.
Riku couldn't believe Twilight was this stubborn to not keep herself from getting involved, and she knew her disguise was going to get her caught by Flim and Flam. Now she was being blackmailed, and whether or not she complied with their demands, she was going to lose. Keeping quiet while his spell was still in effect, Twilight left Flim and Flam's office, unable to give them a response or retort and slumped off in defeat. He followed after her as she got far enough away from the main office, and when she reached a nearby empty classroom, he grabbed the alicorn and dragged her inside with a surprised squeak.
"H-Hey! Who in the hay-!?" Riku quickly covered the mare's muzzle and slammed the door shut behind them, easily overpowering her struggles.
"Twilight, it's me," he hissed, getting her to stop flailing and blink in bewilderment.
Canceling his spell, Riku let go of her as she turned around to stare at him. "Riku? Why were you invisible?"
"I should be asking you why you're still here," he stated. "I told you to let me and Rarity handle this."
"I..." Twilight sighed, admitting defeat. "I know. I'm sorry. I just...I couldn't help myself. I had to find out why they were running a school, and I didn't want to wait."
"And now you got caught and you're being blackmailed," Riku added. "If those two leak that picture to Neighsay, he's going to have the perfect excuse to keep your school shut down permanently, or even torn down." Twilight's ears drooped, hanging her head in shame. Riku sighed, rubbing his forehead in exasperation, but he couldn't be too upset with her. They all want to find out what's going on, and Flim and Flam were clearly much more cunning than they appeared with their enticing deals and catchy musical numbers. Pulling Twilight closer, he held the alicorn in a comforting hug. "I'm not going to let them hang that over your head. There's gotta be something they're doing that's conning their students of their money. Let's find Rarity so she can take you back to Ponyville, and I'll figure this out myself."
Twilight hummed weakly in agreement, nuzzling her boyfriend's neck. They soon left the classroom, exiting separately to avoid other ponies from thinking she was secretly hanging out with some other stallion behind her real lover's back, even though they were one and the same. Through the halls, they found Rarity, thankfully still in disguise, surrounded by other students as they all seemed to be gaining more knowledge about generosity from the very mare who represented the Element of Harmony. After the small lecture, the group dispersed as they talked about how smart Plainity was, and the unicorn spotted them approaching.
"Eyepatch! Snow!" she greeted, only to notice Twilight was lacking her eye patch. "Wait, where is your eye patch, darling?"
"I...got caught," Twilight said. "Flim and Flam even snapped a picture of me snooping around their office."
"Were you at least wearing your eye patch?" Rarity asked, completely missing the point.
"'Plainity', Twilight tried to help, and now she's being blackmailed," Riku said in annoyance. "I need you to take her back home. I'm going to figure this out solo. If she stays here, they're going to tell everyone, especially Neighsay, that she's jealous and is trying to sabotage their university."
"B-But that's ridiculous!" Rarity exclaimed.
"Better for her to stay away and not risk ruining her reputation over catching those con artists red-handed," Riku said.
"No, not that! I'm talking about my classes!" Rarity rephrased, making Riku and Twilight blanch at her response. "I can't just head back after seeing how impressive their classes really are."
"...Y-You're joking," Twilight uttered. "You think their lessons are better than ours!?"
"You're one of the teachers!" Riku added.
"I know, but if I want to advance, I'll need all the bits I can get!" Twilight and Riku looked at each other, thinking the fashionista was brainwashed or something. "By the way, Twilight, can you send a letter to Spike and return those sewing machines? Hopefully I'll get enough of a refund. Tuition may be free, but those worksheets are not."
Before either of the couple could argue with Rarity's opinion on the rival school, she held out the pile of worksheets as what she said startled them. "Wait. Free tuition, but...you have to buy the worksheets?" Riku repeated. "They're charging for the assignments?"
They looked around, seeing the other students with piles or saddlebags filled with worksheets as they walked past each other. "Well, they do have to cover expenses in some way," Rarity said. "Flam even insisted that everything extra goes to improving their school and-" The unicorn paused as what she had been explained sunk in. "...This is the scam, isn't it?"
"Oh, I think it is," Riku said. "Lure the suckers with free tuition, and then trap them by having them pay for the lessons and worksheets for a premium, and the extra bits they earn would go to anything else they own but the school." Riku had an idea, not only to prove they were right, but also show Star Swirl the truth and, as a popular celebrity, keep other ponies from going to such a horrible school where the owners embezzle the funds for their own personal gain, not their students. And maybe Twilight didn't have to go back home so soon. "Twilight, you and Rarity hide around Flim and Flam's office. I'll find Star Swirl and we'll show him how much those two have really changed from their past scamming innocents with fake promises."
Twilight grinned, catching on with his idea of "hiding". Riku split up from the girls to look for Star Swirl while Twilight led Rarity to an empty classroom.
"What are we doing in here? I thought we were supposed to be going to Flim and Flam's office," Rarity said, confused.
"Oh, we're going to be hiding before we get there." Twilight summoned her Keyblade, the cast Invisible while standing close to Rarity. Both mares were now invisible as Rarity tried to see her own hoof, nearly forgetting how Aqua had used this spell when they first met her in the Keyblade Graveyard when she spied on them. "Now, just keep quiet and stay close."
"Right," Rarity said with a nod, then the two carefully snuck out of the classroom and hurried to hide in Flim and Flam's main office.
Riku made himself invisible again while he was alone as he searched for Star Swirl. Luckily, he didn't have to search far when an opened classroom had Flim and Flam at the head desk with the wizard, along with a young unicorn stallion wearing a green long-sleeved sweater, who was excited to be taking classes with THE Star Swirl the Bearded.
"These lessons are so valuable," Star Swirl said, holding a couple bits in his grayish-white aura while Flim and Flam hovered another big stack of lessons for the elder unicorn. "Are you sure I can't give you more?"
"Ah-ah-ah! Unnecessary!" Flim waved his hoof, denying any compensation from Star Swirl. Riku kept along the wall, watching the exchange while scowling at the twins. "Being able to share them with a pony like you is our real reward." Nodding, Star Swirl pocketed his bits under his cloak, taking the stack of worksheets and exited the classroom. Taking note of the direction the stallion took, Riku glanced back inside the classroom, where the stallion behind Star Swirl held out the same amount of bits the wizard had offered to pay. Flim and Flam gave the student an uninterested frown, definitely not the kind of positive attitude for a friendship school. "Oh, my. And you want to study alongside Star Swirl, hmm?"
Confused, the pony looked at the bits, then back to the headstallions. "It's all I have," he said, distraught.
Flim and Flam glanced at each other, the latter taking the poor stallion's bits, and pulled out one single worksheet, but tore it in half down the middle, giving just one half to the downtrodden student. "Come back for the rest when you can afford it," Flim said with a disapproving frown from him and Flam.
Desperate, the student took off his sweater, leaving himself bare and held it out to the brothers. "Wait! I'll sell the shirt off my back!" he begged.
"And that's the kind of determination that'll get you to the next level, student whose...name I know!" Flam said.
Riku just shook his head as he watched Flim and Flam take the stallion's article of clothing and give him the other half of the worksheet. He saw all he needed to see, then rushed as stealthily as he could to catch up to Star Swirl. He didn't get far as the wizard was finding a place to continue working on his new worksheets. Turning visible once more, Riku tapped the unicorn's shoulder, surprising him as he turned to face the Keyblade wielder.
"Oh. You're the young stallion I bumped into earlier," Star Swirl said. "Is there something wrong?"
"Star Swirl, it's me," Riku said. Taking off the bandanna, the wizard was in disbelief when he didn't even notice how different Riku looked in his outfit. "I seriously cannot believe you thought I was someone else with this getup."
"What are you doing wearing that?" Star Swirl questioned. "...Please do not tell me you're snooping around the university like Twilight was."
"We have good reason to, and we have proof that Flim and Flam built this school for monetary gain, not to give ponies an education on the magic of friendship." Star Swirl was about to protest, but Riku dug into his pockets in his actual clothes hidden under the trench coat, pulling out his memory ornament. "I even saw you trusting those con artists' word over Twilight's in their office. It was wrong of her to rummage through their office for evidence, but they're blackmailing her with ruining her reputation with that picture to keep taking bits from their students and embezzling those funds for other means."
"What monetary gain do they have?" Star Swirl asked, appalled by the accusation. "They may charge for the worksheets with their tuition being free of charge, but that's the compensation necessary to keep this school running. No educational system gets free handouts from the EEA, even if they have successful graduation rates in record time."
"And what about ponies who don't have enough bits to buy a single worksheet when they need several to pass with barely an average grade?" Riku questioned. Star Swirl leered at the Keyblade wielder, still unable to believe such a farce. "Watch this, and maybe your opinion will change."
Indulging the stallion, Star Swirl peered into the ornament as Riku played back what he witnessed in the classroom Star Swirl was just in moments ago. He watched himself leave the room after offering to pay more for the twin unicorns generous donation, but when it came to the young stallion who waited behind him, his view on Flim and Flam was clearly shattered. His eyes widened as they talked down to the young student, disgusted by the small amount of bits he had on him that happened to be the same amount he offered for nearly one hundred worksheets, and only gave him half of a sheet before the student offered the shirt off his back to get the other half needed. Star Swirl was in shock at what he witnessed. He couldn't believe he trusted these greedy unicorns, who were willing to take anything of ponies from their clothing to any priceless trinkets to help "advance" their students, over the Princess of Friendship herself.
"My word...B-But those two were..." Star Swirl stammered as Riku put away the enchanted bauble. "Were they only that nice because of my stature in Equestrian history?"
"Most likely to be on your good graces and ensure their reputation would be much more credible and bring more ponies to scam," Riku said. "Even making the chancellor immediately accredit this place when he noticed you were studying friendship here. I kinda wished you were at Twilght's school when it first opened so he'd change his mind, but he's completely racist toward our students who aren't ponies. Five of them also happen to be Keyblade wielders, and he believes that the Keyblade should only be wielded by ponies."
"The chancellor said that?" Star Swirl questioned in shock. Riku nodded in response, baffling Star Swirl from the daft EEA chancellor's ideals, harsh racism, and with no knowledge of the outside worlds unlike himself. "...What does he even know about the Keyblade? Or the Heartless?...Or...Or you and your companions?"
"Well, after Neighsay inspected Twilight's school to get it accredited, our non-pony students played hooky and caused a bit of a ruckus. They...accidentally wrecked a tower and it fell, but thankfully, no one was hurt," Riku said. "He shut it down because he misunderstood Twilight's intention was to teach friendship to all creatures in the world, not just ponies. Twilight was in a funk, Aqua got furious and tried to attack Neighsay for his racist remarks that could have caused a world war between ponies, dragons, changelings, yaks, griffons, and hippogriffs, only for his medallion to overpower and cancel out her magic surge with just one tap."
"Yes. I could sense the medallion he was wearing had powerful magical properties when we met," Star Swirl said. "But how were you able to reopen the school and convince the chancellor?"
"We managed to unlock it." Riku summoned his Keyblade, emphasizing how it was able to unlock anything, from doorways to even enchanted locks, to the unicorn wizard's awe. "While it was locked, though, those students who came to the school from the other kingdoms ran away, and that was going to spark that war if we didn't find their charges soon. We did, thankfully, unlocked the seal Neighsay placed, which he was able to sense as he arrived to be more of a mule to the neighboring kingdom's rulers or delegates, especially in front of Celestia." Star Swirl's jaw dropped. He was surprised Neighsay wasn't blasted to the sun after spouting such vulgar terms and spiteful comments in front of one of his students. "Aqua got fed up, but had a much clearer head, and she...revealed her true form to Neighsay, breaking the world order and letting him know we were training those same dangerous students to be protectors of light."
Riku expected Star Swirl to be appalled and argue how reckless Aqua was for doing that, but he was still reeling from how Neighsay is unwilling to see how their world has changed in the last thousand years. Even more than Star Swirl had imagined, and he and his fellow Pillars were trapped in limbo for a millennia after poorly judging Stygian and his intentions with their relics. Racism toward their own brethren was bad enough before Equestria was founded, and Star Swirl feared that his actions toward the other kingdoms and the different species would bring the Windigos back and possibly destroy the land with their endless blizzards.
"...I see...And he spoke poorly toward them in front of Celestia," he muttered. "I may be far behind the times, but after what I learned with Stygian, I do not judge anypony, or any creature, without understanding the nature of their actions. And that chancellor, who is not even decades younger than I, have lived with a brighter future and claims to know what he does not understand about the world, or what lies beyond. I may need to extend my travels to the other kingdoms and learn about their cultures to help in Twilight's goals to teach friendship to every creature, not just ponies."
Riku grinned, glad to hear Star Swirl was willing to assist them by making Equestria a kingdom equal to every sentient species. "And you don't trust Flim and Flam either, right?" he asked.
"Hmm...It was a harsh thing of them to do that to that poor stallion, but if ponies could not afford the worksheets with tuition being free, they wouldn't keep this university running," Star Swirl said.
"Then we're going to show you proof that they're embezzling those bits for themselves." Riku put his bandanna back on his head, then stood beside Star Swirl and cast Invisible on them. With their bodies no longer visible, Star Swirl stared at his nonexistent hoof in curiosity, still barely able to see himself and Riku. "Follow me and stay quiet. We're going to give those swindlers a surprise and all the proof you need to not trust them."
Star Swirl followed Riku through the halls, arriving at Flim and Flam's office while remaining undetected by the students they weaved past in the halls. They walked inside, but they noticed something new with the office that wasn't there before. Behind their desks with portraits of themselves flipped upside down, there was a hidden doorway leading into a secret room. They heard a shriek in the room up ahead, finding the unicorn twins being confronted by Twilight and "Plainity" as they revealed themselves to the swindling stallions. Inside the room, there were several huge piles of bits around the room, a small table holding a diorama of their resort hotel and additions they planned to add by using the extra bits earned at this university to make it possible, and there was even a diagram of their embezzled school earnings to reach their monetary goal for their much bigger project.
"I knew your school was a scam!" Twilight accused.
"Where did you come from!?" Flim exclaimed.
"And Plainity!? You were my star pupil!" Flam said.
"Not Plainity." Rarity took off her costume, her magic re-curling her mane and tail into her usual fashion. "I am Rarity, and you two are busted!"
Flam was stunned knowing the mare who was her best student happened to be the Element of Generosity herself, but he and his brother weren't that worried, knowing they still had a trump card to keep them silent. "Well, it doesn't matter if you found our scam," Flim said. "We'll have to go to the papers and make the big headline after all."
"Or maybe I can lead your students into this secret room of bits and resort expansion plans!" Twilight exclaimed, pointing to their diorama of their hotel.
And their confidence wavered immediately. "N-Now now, princess, let's not get too hasty," Flam said. "You have something on us, and we have something on you. How about we just call it even?"
Riku shook his head at their poor attempt to bargain with Twilight, and they were supposed to be talented with deals for their own benefit. "I don't think so," Twilight said. "You can destroy my reputation if you want, but using your students' bits to expand your resort is wrong, even if the lessons you teach are good ones."
"Of course they're good," Flam said, floating over a very thick book and flipped through several pages, certain sections bookmarked as important details. "We copied them from YOUR book."
"We just skipped every other page," Flim added cockily. "All the lessons, half the time!"
"I knew it!" Riku said aloud, his voice startling Flim and Flam. He stepped forward, dispelling his invisibility as he stomped over to the stallions while Star Swirl remained under Riku's spell and continued observing with a disapproving frown toward the twins. "I knew that worksheet had familiar lessons at our school!"
"S-Snow!?" Flim exclaimed in shock. "W-Where did you come from!? And...how did you just...appear out of thin air? Aren't you a pegasus?"
"Guess again." Riku grabbed his trench coat, pulling it off, his bandanna, and combat boots as he revealed himself to the shocked stallions. "The name's Riku."
"...Wait, who are you again?" Flam asked.
Riku fell over in exasperation, quickly standing up with a scowl, then summoned his Keyblade and pointed at it. "Maybe you know my best friend, Sora? I'm just like him, but luckily for you two idiots, he's not around to call your bluff and knock you both senseless with your schemes."
Flim and Flam grimaced, gulping simultaneously at the mention of the honorary Apple who despised them with a brutal passion. "Oh...W-We see," Flam uttered.
"If you two really want to call our secrets even, give back every bit to all these students and stop charging for Twilight's lessons that you're stealing," Riku said. "Maybe, if we feel like it's ok, then you can teach ponies in this region of Equestria as much as you like."
Twilight nodded in agreement, though she did wonder how these two had gotten ahold of her friendship guidelines. She didn't publicly release it, at least not yet if she did decide on branching out, but if the lessons they taught were exactly like hers, how did they acquire a copy of her rules for her school alone?
"Nah!" Flim and Flam said, despite the threat both from their scam reveal and being in the presence of another wielder like Sora.
"Running a school is far more work than we thought," Flim said. "Besides, we have almost everything we need."
"For your own personal gains?" Again, Flim and Flam were startled by yet another voice.
Stepping forward, Star Swirl lit his horn, dispelling Riku's own spell to reveal himself. Both unicorn stallions gaped in shock as they were busted by the greatest unicorn wizard, hearing everything that was just said. Riku, Twilight, and Rarity smirked, finally getting them caught by the pony who had helped accredit their scam of a school, and he now no longer sees them as trustworthy and were still the dirty con artists they were.
"S-Sta-Sta-Star Swirl," Flim stammered, he and Flam grinning sheepishly at the unamused wizard. "W-We were just about to-"
"Return the bits you 'collected' from your students and close down your school?" Star Swirl heavily implied.
Flim and Flam both gulped audibly, admitting defeat as they wilted in the superior unicorn's presence. "Y-Yes...That," Flam mumbled.
With Friendship U now closed, Flim and Flam gave all the students who attended a refund, especially those who had heard the news of their embezzlement and graduated from their school. Star Swirl made absolutely sure they gave back every single bit back, even taking money from their own resort's finances if they didn't have enough in their secret bank to refund all the suckers they scammed. As glad as some of the students were to get their money back, they wondered how they would learn about friendship now. Luckily, with Star Swirl's influence, he highly recommended they take a visit to Ponyville and see the headmare, who was in their presence, and would be glad to invite some new students.
A whole day passed since Flim and Flam were caught, and not a single flyer for Friendship University was in sight. Riku entered Twilight's office with a newspaper under his wing, ignoring the cases of sewing machines Rarity purchased still sitting in the hallway. Rarity was present as well as they were looking at another postcard from Star Swirl.
"Morning, ladies," Riku greeted as he approached the desk, setting the newspaper down on the wooden surface. "Guess what made the headlines today."
Twilight taped Star Swirl's latest postcard up with the others before looking at the front page. "'Friendship U, not for you. The co-owners of the educational facility, Flim and Flam, had been accused and caught red-hooved for embezzling their school's funds into plans for their resort. Their intention to teach friendship to ponies had been false, granting free tuition, but with pricy assignments that were meant to make up for the school's funding. Among the students was the famous unicorn wizard, Star Swirl the Bearded, who had approved of this school, but retracted his earlier recommendation when he, along with Princess Twilight Sparkle, Rarity and Riku, uncovered Flim and Flam's scheme. They were forced to refund every bit they unlawfully took from the ponies who had or were attended the university, and it has since been shut down. One can only hope their reputation will not squander their business at the resort they run after this unfriendly and untrustworthy scam.' Heh. Serves those two right."
"I think we're lucky Sora didn't catch wind of this, otherwise he would have made things worse than you did," Riku said to Twilight.
"Well, if Rarity gave me a better disguise," Twilight droned as she leered at her fashion savvy unicorn friend.
"At least it worked for the better," Rarity said. "But one thing still bothers me. How did Flim and Flam get a copy of your book?"
As the trio pondered the thought, they heard the door knock and open, Cozy Glow poking her head inside. "I finished straightening up the library," the filly said. She opened up the door, reminding them of Rarity's sewing machines. "Professor Rarity, I just wanted to make sure you're definitely keeping these."
"But of course, darling," Rarity said. "If there's one thing I learned at Friendship University, it is not to give up when you know what's right. And I know teaching friendship through sewing is right! I just need to figure out how."
Twilight and Cozy Glow giggled while Riku just shook his head. As he looked down at the paper, Riku frowned slightly. He wondered how Neighsay was taking the news after giving full confidence in Flim and Flam and accrediting Friendship University. Riku did warn him he was making a huge mistake trusting those two, but he refused to listen. He had no clue about Star Swirl taking part in the lessons, so he never knew the bits Flim and Flam were going to be used outside their school, which would most likely infuriate him as the friendship school meant only for ponies misused the school funds. Karma was going to catch up to that stallion eventually, his own reputation tarnished for immediately accrediting a school run by greedy con artists.
At the EEA, Neighsay had a smug grin on his muzzle as he made his way through the facility to the main chamber of their meeting room. He had gotten a good night's sleep after yesterday, sipping on his mug of coffee, proving to Princess Twilight how successful a friendship school specifically for ponies had run in her presence, even with Star Swirl the Bearded himself approving of partaking in the classes to the residents of Las Pegasus. He had the papers ready to sign for the proper accreditation process with his fellow councilors, and he couldn't wait to sign his name on that dotted line.
Entering the chamber, he climbed up the steps and passed some of his colleagues to make his way toward his seat. "Good morrow, mares and gentlestallions," he greeted. Sitting himself down, he took another sip of his coffee, letting out a sigh before levitating the papers for Friendship University's accreditation. "Today cannot be any better as I believe we have found the best facility to teach friendship to ponies with the EEA standards upheld flawlessly." The council glanced at each other, some growing concerned for the chancellor's positivity. Neighsay noticed the awkward silence as he looked at his colleagues. "...What's with the silence? This is a momentous occasion."
"Chancellor, did you not hear the news?" one of the council asked.
"What news?" Neighsay questioned.
"There's...headlines in all the news articles about Friendship University," another stated.
"...Excuse me?" One of the unicorn council ponies levitated one of the newspapers for Neighsay to see.
Snatching the paper, he read the headline on the front, his eyes widening in shock as he read the whole article over and over. After re-reading the words ten times, thinking his eyes were playing tricks on him, he slowly lowered the newspaper down in front of him with a scowl. Grabbing his mug, he downed the rest of his coffee in one sitting, gently setting it back down, then picked up the official document accrediting Friendship University. The silence unnerved some of the other council members before a slow tearing sound echoed in the chamber. Neighsay ripped the document in half, remaining eerily silent as he continued ripping halves into it, turning the useless document into bits of confetti. Tossing the pieces in a nearby trash bin, he breathed heavily as he glared at the doorway for a short moment.
"Chancellor Neighsay?" another pony called out.
"I need to excuse myself," he said, teleporting from his seat to the door. "The coffee seems to be running straight through me this morning." Exiting the chamber, Neighsay closed the door behind him as his scowl intensified. "...How dare they make a mockery of me? Embezzlement!? In a school of friendship!?" He slammed his hooves down, unleashing a shockwave that shook the whole building. Breathing heavily, Neighsay tried to regain his composure, ensuring that Flim and Flam will most likely face a more proper legal punishment for their lies. What's worse was that he was more humiliated that Riku had warned him, and he refused to heed it. It baffled him as to why he tried to reason with him despite being against Princess Twilight's ideals for friendship studies, but he refused to be mocked by the stallion should they ever cross paths again. "Even if they were correct in their assumptions of those two-timing swindlers, friendship should STILL only be learned by ponies. Those fools will only bring disaster to Equestria. Especially those human creatures impersonating as ponies..."
Flim and Flam sat in the office of their resort hotel, grumpy and downtrodden as they looked over the losses they suffered from their failed friendship school scheme. "Well, brother, we seemed to have made a net loss after giving back every bit to those ponies," Flam grumbled.
"We should have just released that picture of Princess Twilight snooping in our school's office to prove her jealousy of our university and ruin her and her school's reputation," Flim said with a huff. He glanced at the friendship school guidelines copy they had sitting on their desk, rummaging through a drawer to pull out a letter that was sent to them. There was no addressee name, just the image of a queen chess piece on the envelope. "Whoever this pony named themselves 'Queen of the World' gave us quite a good idea, but now it's completely worthless!"
"At least things can't get any worse," Flam sighed.
A loud knocking on their office door startled the twin con artists. Confused, Flim walked over to the door and opened it. He regretted it in an instant when, behind the door, was Sora, holding up a newspaper with the front page showing their closed university and the article of their latest scam. Moving the paper aside, Flim's fur stood on end when he saw a wide, menacing looking grin on Sora's face.
"Hey! Flim! Flam! Buddies!" he greeted, emphasizing his words with held back rage.
Flim swiftly backpedaled until he tripped over the desk, flopping onto his startled brother. After untangling themselves, they poked their heads up, watching Sora let himself in and calmly close the door behind him.
"S-Sora! Hello, our dearest friend!" Flim greeted nervously.
"Would you two mind telling me what this is all about?" Sora asked curiously. Approaching the desk, he slapped the paper down on the desk, but the brothers didn't need to look at the article to know what it was about. "You two had opened a friendship school, and you two-" Sora let out a loud, exaggerated gasp, clapping his hooves against his cheeks in mock horror. "-swindled bits from your students and were planning to embezzle it toward this lovely hotel! Wow! What! A! Shock!"
"Err, yes, we made a teeny tiny little mistake," Flam said. "But, no need to worry."
"We refunded everypony we were teaching and our university is closed forever," Flim added.
Both stallions began sweating nervously as Sora slowly removed his hooves from his face. "Ohhhhhh. Ohhh, no no no no no," Sora said. He began walking around the desk, the twins shuffling away to keep the desk between them and the terrifyingly excited pegasus. "I knew my horseapple senses were going off yesterday. My hunch might not have been accurate, but I KNEW you two were up to no good." Slamming his hooves on the desk, Sora slid it aside, making both Flim and Flam yelp as their barricade was rendered useless, huddling together in fright. "Now, I promised to give you a pummeling for my assumption, and I'm gonna give it."
"W-W-We didn't harm anypony," Flim explained.
"O-Or v-vandalize property," Flam added.
"True, but you did do something far worse; using friendship lessons for your get-rich-quick schemes." Sora's creepy grin quickly turned into an angry frown. He crouched down, ready to pounce Flim and Flam. "And that's completely messed up!"
His wings flared out and he lunged at the twins, making them scream for help and flinch for the incoming pounding. Suddenly, the door to the office swung open as Kairi barged in, quickly snatching her groom-to-be in her magic aura. Sora struggled and flailed, held aloft in the alicorn's white aura. Another flash of her horn focused her aura on one of his ears, tugging hard while she dragged his flailing body toward her.
"Thank goodness I followed you the moment you caught sight of that newspaper," she said. Sora winced at the ear pulling, muttering and grumbling all the while as he continued trying to get to Flim and Flam. Both stallions were relieved to be rescued by the Princess of Heart, though they were still shaking as she gave them a cold glare. "I would say you deserved a beating from Sora for what you did, but being infamous through the news is probably enough to knock you down a peg or two."
"Then let me pummel them!" Sora exclaimed.
Plopping the stallion down, forcing him to sit, Kairi gave Sora a light smack on the back of his head. "No. Bad Sora," she chided. Sora pouted and crossed his forelegs with a grunt. Keeping him still, Kairi spotted the school of friendship guidelines copy, noting the thickness of the many pages similar in size to Twilight's actual book. She took the book in her magic, making sure it won't be abused by Flim and Flam again. "I'll be taking this. You two have a pleasant day."
Kairi dragged Sora behind her while he continued glaring at Flim and Flam. Before they disappeared around the corner, Sora gestured with his hooves he would be keeping an eye on them, promising them a harsh pummeling if they pull this stunt again. Kairi shut the door on their way out, leaving the twins to sigh and slump over in relief.
"You just had to say it, didn't you?" Flim grumbled, Flam grinning sheepishly before he frowned with another sigh.