It was a day, like any other day, at Canterlot University. It was after class hours and on the day that started the weekend, and many of its students were enjoying breaks, making study plans or just getting a bite to eat. That’s what one group of friends had decided to do after a hard day of college courses and lectures from their professors. Sometimes you just need to take a load off and enjoy some time to yourself or just hang out with friends.
As Twilight Sparkle walked with a tray of food she’d gotten from the food court, she scoped the area until she found where her friends were sitting. It wasn’t long until she spotted them at a table inside the building. She pushed her black framed glasses up before proceeding inside.
Sitting at the table were her friends, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Rarity, as well as a couple of guys.
One of them, Dusk Noir, was seated between Sunset Shimmer and Rarity, enjoying his sandwich. His hair was dark brown, his skin was duke blue, his eyes were green, and he wore a dark blue colored long sleeve shirt over a white collared shirt, black pants, along with square shaped black framed glasses on his face. He, like everyone else, was glad to be taking a load off and having some downtime for what seemed to be a long week.
The other was Ray Strike, who was seated next to Applejack towards the end of the rectangular table. He had been eating some chips and playing a handheld gaming system. He was light green skinned, with messy light silver hair and yellow eyes. His outfit consisted of a gray hoodie, jeans, and white running shoes. He seemed to be content with carrying on with his game, however, once Twilight had made it to the table, a conversation was started and he perked up.
“Hello everyone” Twilight said as she greeted her friends. She appeared to be somewhat on the sleepy side with her eyes being slightly puffy, though in spite of this she appeared to be in good spirits, her hair styled in a ponytail as per normal. Though, her choice of clothing did sort of give away that she had hit the books pretty intensely over the last couple of days as she looked comfortably dressed with her ‘How to Train Your Dragon’ "Toothless" T-shirt and her more casual choice of a purple skirt and white tennis shoes. “Nearly Forty eight hours of endless study, reports, and notes has a way of taking all of the wind out of your sails, am I right?” She said with an exasperated undertone.
“I’ll say,” Dusk replied. “I don’t think I’d be able to do that without so much as a nap. How are you even still awake and functional?”
“A lot of will power and concentration,” Twilight replied but didn’t elaborate on it any further.
“Fair enough,” he conceded.
“Anyway,” Rainbow Dash cut in. “Anyone else go to that rager of a party that Sunset and I went to last night? I guess the Canterlot University Football team smoked Appleloosa Canyon again for the third time in a row, so some of the football team threw this big celebratory party, and one of the guys even gave me one of his jerseys… oh cool and it has his cell phone number written on it. Must’ve missed that.” Rainbow pointed to the Jersey she was wearing, which indeed had someone’s number written in a permanent marker. The Jersey in question was gold and blue and the Jersey number was eight. She was proud of it so she’d worn her blue pants and her customized Canterlot running shoes with it to match.
“It was alright,” Sunset said as she took a sip from the straw of her fountain drink. “I stayed up too late last night, myself. I just don’t enjoy these loud parties as much as I did when we first got here. You go to one, you’ve been to all of them ya know?” Her voice, like Twilight's, was a little strained as well. Her outfit looked equally as comfortable as Twilight’s had, wearing one of her favorite white T-shirts with the pink sleeves, as well as jeans and the most comfortable tennis shoes she owned.
“That’s what makes them fun. Nine times out of ten you know what to expect!” Dash said. “You go into it with the hope and anticipation that something crazy is going to happen!”
“You want to see a real party, you should have been to the one Fluttershy and I threw last night. We had a DJ, funny games, bouncy houses, piñatas, all of the works!” Pinkie Pie threw in. She was wearing her typical blue and white outfit with her pink skirt that had three different colored balloons on her white top.
“We?” Fluttershy suddenly said, confused. “I just showed up with chips and dip. You did most of the work. And it was just us and a bunch of kids we were chaperoning as a favor to Miss Cheerilee. I hope she’s getting over her cold.” Fluttershy wore a light blue summer dress as well as her favorite white sandals and a yellow butterfly hair clip that complimented her pink hair.
“Hey, those kids really know how to party!” Pinkie said. “Miss Cheerliee is going to be so proud of us for making sure to get them to use up all their energy before we sent them back home to their folks.”
“Oh yeah, I’m sure their parents really appreciated the sugar rush we gave them when you let them all have two cupcakes each…” Fluttershy murmured to herself, as she pet a little brown mouse that she had in her hands. “Isn’t that right, Fievel?” She gently stroked the mouse with her finger and fed it crackers that she had on her.
“Heh, yeah whatever Pinkie” Dash said with a light chuckle. “Kids' parties are so five years ago for us. We’re adults. Gotta start going to adult parties some time in your life.”
“I feel like the adult title you’re giving your rager parties is subject to opinion.” Twilight said, once again with her head in another book but still listening to the conversation. “Not everyone our age thinks that parties have to involve making a fool of yourself and causing a bunch of racket that keeps the rest of us awake to have a good time. Some might call those types of parties borderline barbaric.” This earned her a fist bump from Sunset, while Twilight gave a slightly confident grin Dash’s way.
“Stay in your lane, egghead. If I want advice about parties, I’ll ask someone who’s idea of a party doesn’t involve sticking your head in a book for two whole days.” Dash said with a tomboyish grin. Twilight’s only response to this was shooting a slight glare towards Dash before brushing it off.
“I feel like Twilight has a valid point, Rainbow” Rarity said while doing her makeup, using a handkerchief to make sure none of it spilled onto her designer clothes. “Adult parties aren’t limited to flashy lights and aimless shenanigans. Parties are better suited to have class, with elegant guests who are on their best behavior and-“
“Uh, Rarity…” Applejack spoke up. “Not ta disrespect yer fancy ideas of what parties should be, but that kinda stuff don’t sound fun ta most folks. We all know parties ain’t nothin without a hoedown shindig, bonfire and a heck of a good time with plenty of outdoorsy games and hayrides.” Applejack’s country mannerisms would be out in the open in her speech alone if not for her signature Stetson cowpoke hat, her choice in her button up collared shirt with a bandanna around her neck as well as her slightly beaten jeans and boots to match.
“Hmph, forgive me for wanting to have a little class,” Rarity retorted.
“Okay, I see we all have a plethora of ideas on what a party should be, and should all just agree to disagree on the matter.” Dusk said, reading the room and trying to calm everyone down a bit as he noticed Rarity and Rainbow exchanging glares with each other.
“Yeah, I’m with Dusk. Plus I’ve heard enough commotion to last me the rest of the weekend from last night. Can we please keep it down a few pegs?” Sunset said, hiding her face into some of her red and yellow hair, while apparently dealing with a bit of a headache or possible hangover, depending on what exactly she partook in the night before. “That’s the last time I go out and party before Friday Night.”
The liveliness of the table began to die down as the group of friends quickly decided that a change of topic was in order. That was about to happen sooner rather than later, as they were met with yet another guest as they approached the group’s table.
The party in question was an acquaintance to most at the table, and for the most part his presence was tolerated because he was Twilight’s boyfriend. The ever energetic, eccentric, Singer. He was a tall young man, the same age as everyone else in their group. He had blue skin, as well as his eyes. His hair was red and it stood tall on his head as he stylized it to look that way. As for what he was wearing, on this particular day he was wearing a formal dress suit, complete with a white dress shirt and a bright red tie, along with a pair of nice dress shoes. This wasn’t typical attire for him, as usually he’d be dressed in more casual clothing, usually wearing a superhero or other pop culture icon t-shirt of some sort along with jeans, sneakers and the occasional cap. But today he looked more formal and this naturally caught everyone's eye.
“Twilight, you’ve finally done it! You’ve finally trained him!” Rarity joked, with Twilight even letting out a small giggle in response in the background. “I’m kidding of course. But you really do look handsome, Singer. What’s the occasion?”
“What? Oh this?” He said, quickly looking himself over. “Yeah so, I have a gig to get to shortly and a job interview…shockingly in the same place. So I’m dressed for success as they would put it.”
“They? Who’s this ‘they’ you speak of?” Ray asked, trying to mess with Singer.
“I dunno the general group of people who say stuff like that, I guess.” Singer replied with a shrug, not catching the jest.
“I can’t with this guy sometimes…” Ray muttered to himself.
Singer caught Twilight looking him over and grinned boyishly at her. “Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer.”
She took out her phone and did just that. Who knew when the next time she’d see him dressed so dapper would be?
“What’s after that? Gotta tend to Master Wayne at Wayne Manor?” Rainbow sniggered as she said that. “Or…wait, wait, gotta go back to the ‘Men in Black’ Headquarters?”
“Ah, Dash has jokes today. Actually, it’s more of a ‘Double O’ Singer’ look. I knew I should have picked the bow tie instead of the red tie.” He said, chuckling along with her. “Actually, I just came by to bring Twi her coffee.” He placed the cup beside Twilight’s book.
“Oh, thank you Singer. Uh, did you remember the-…”
“Mocha/mint latte with whipped cream on top in a grande cup. Just how you like it.” He gave her a quick kiss on her cheek and she took a sip of her coffee. “Oh and I also sent you a playlist for when you go back to your room to hopefully take a load off. You’ve been overdoing it lately.”
“Thank you, and I’ll think about it. I still have quite a few things left to read up on, essays to write, and even some tests to run on my computer. It’s going to be a busy weekend.”
“Okay, just keep what I said in mind then. Oh, we’re still on for finishing Season Seven of the Clone Wars later, right?”
“Of course! I wouldn’t miss it! I hear in the last four episodes Ahsoka and Maul are supposed to have a huge lightsaber duel. Can’t wait to see what that’s all about.”
“Booyah!” he shouted while anticipating what all that would entail. Whether he was more excited for that or just being able to sit and watch with her, he didn’t know. He’d just be looking forward to it.
The others at the table grew silent for a minute as Singer and Twilight whispered amongst each other for another moment before Sunset, who was really not feeling energetic at all at this point spoke up.
“You didn’t happen to bring an extra coffee, by any chance did you?” Sunset asked sheepishly and slightly hopeful.
“No, I’m sorry Sunset,” he looked down at the beverage can he held in his hand, smiled and held it out to her. “But I did bring an energy drink. I was going to drink it on the way to my gig, but it looks like you need it more than I do, so you can have it if you want.” He handed the drink over to Sunset who graciously took it from him, smiling gratefully.
“Thanks. I owe you one. You’re alright, Sing. I don’t care what the others say about you.” She said with a wink as she opened the can, but not without it shooting out and hitting her face as she did so. “I deserved that.”
“Sorry, I didn’t realize I shook it up.” Singer said apologetically. “Wait, what do the others say about me?” The others at the table diverted their gaze for a split second.
“It’s fine, really. And nothing, I was just kidding.”
“Oh, cool.”
Rainbow, Applejack and Pinkie tried to suppress their giggling as Sunset struggled to find enough napkins to clean the energy drink off her face. Fortunately, Dusk gladly shared some of his with her.
“Thank you.” Sunset said to Dusk.
“Oh guys, one last thing before I go… I just wanted to let you know that Miss Reed, the Glee Club Coach… try saying that five times fast. Gee Glub- Argh! Klee Glub- Crap! Yeah don’t try that…”
“Singer, is there a point that you’re trying to make?” Dusk asked, hoping to help him get back to his train of thought before he trailed off on another tangent, like he was prone to do.
“Oh yes. Thanks, Noir… Miss Reed, scary lady, is in heavy recruitment mode for the Glee Club, especially with regionals on the horizon. Do not under any circumstances, make contact with her! She’s a devious genius and she will use her devious powers of Glee to suck you in. And once you’re in, it’s hard to get out. It’s infectious and it spreads fast! I’ve even had the unfortunate experience of seeing it happen to someone.”
Applejack screwed her eyes and shook her head once she processed what Singer had just said. “Singer, that’s crazier than a two headed rattlesnake trying to fit into one hat. Come ta think of it, so are you!”
“Yeah that is crazy!” Pinkie said. “Snakes don’t even wear hats!”
“No, but a two headed snake can fit in a hat because there aren’t any tiny hats that would fit on a snake’s head.” Ray threw in, catching a look from Applejack. “What? The notion of a snake wearing a hat is silly, just like the tone of this conversation.”
“Okay, not my best country-ism, but ya get what Ah’m sayin’.”
“Oh dear… please don’t mention snakes around Fievel.” Fluttershy said, comforting a now squirming Fievel in her hands.
“Heed my warning, or not. Just be careful out there. Miss Reed is relentless. Once you’re in her crosshairs, you best believe she’s coming to get you…” Singer waved his fingers in the air like he was telling a spooky story before he looked down at his watch. “Oh, look at the time! I gotta run! See ya Twilight and everyone else!”
And with that, the well dressed Singer was off in a dash, leaving nothing more than a dust cloud behind him.
“Yep, he definitely didn’t need that energy drink.” Pinkie said. “Wooooooosh!!!!” She made a swift movement with her arm moving forward to go with her expression.
“Ya really picked a winner there, Twi…” Applejack said, shaking her head. “Evil Glee Club Coaches. Why that’s just-“
“I will admit, he can be a bit extra sometimes…” Twilight said as she began to put her books back into her bag. “But I’ve known him long enough to know when he’s being serious. And if he has a bad feeling about things going on, his judgment is… usually… quite sound, and I’m inclined to trust what he says. And maybe you should, too.”
“I mean, I get being afraid of the Glee Club. They’re scary cringe. But come on! Glee can’t be that bad…” she gulped. “Can it?”
“I have to agree with Twilight on this. Taking everything into consideration…and with a grain of salt, I feel it best to at least exercise caution. Just in case.” Dusk said. “Lest we all get dressed in sweater vests, and get wrapped up in…regionals…” Dusk shuddered at the very thought of that. “What do you think, Sunset?”
“What the heck even are regionals?” asked Ray but with no response from anyone.
Sunset Shimmer, upon hearing this, concluded that perhaps it was a good idea to be on the lookout for this. The now slightly fearful, or at the very least uncertain, eyes of everyone at the table, sans Pinkie Pie who’d untimely taken off towards the soft serve ice cream machine, made her come to her conclusion. “I definitely don’t care about Glee Club or regionals, nor do I want to get wrapped up in them. I’m definitely avoiding it. So it’s all agreed then?”
“Agreed!” said everyone in unison, even Pinkie Pie who’d returned, holding a small bowl of vanilla and chocolate twist ice cream. However, she didn’t quite catch what they’d all said. She figured they’d tell her later. No trouble could possibly come of that, right?
Pinkie Pie had broken off from her friends to head towards the music room to blow off some steam and hit some drums for a bit. She wondered why all her friends were acting the way that they did when she left the table. Maybe she should have waited until she heard what they were saying before she darted off for ice cream. However she was sure that she would find out soon enough.
And how right she was. She expected to see Octavia and Vinyl vibing to their own music session, but they weren’t there this time, however she paid their absence no mind.
“I guess the room’s all mine!” She said excitedly.
That quickly changed when she saw someone out of the corner of her eye sitting at the piano.
“Oh, hi there!” Pinkie said, addressing their presence.
“Hello Pinkie Pie” said the lady sitting at the piano. She stepped into the lightened part of the room so Pinkie could see her more clearly. She was a woman in her mid forties, with medium length blonde hair and pink skin. She wore red lipstick, and she had round hoop-like earrings, and wore tan khakis and a blue collared shirt under a red sweater vest that had a big yellow smiley face on it. She bowed like a stage performer before attempting to introduce herself. “My name is-.”
“Well hello- hey! I know who you are! You’re Miss Reed the Glee Club Coach!” Pinkie said, in realization.
“Coach? What, you think I’m running a sports team? Glee Club Instructor!”
“Right. Sorry… My friends mentioned you earlier. Something about the Glee Club, infections and something else about mind control. I didn’t exactly hear it all.”
Miss Reed began to inch closer to Pinkie, raising an eyebrow. “Now who would go and say something so negative like that? Glee literally means Glee! There’s no foul play, no manipulation involved. Just singing your heart out and trying to make it to Regionals!”
“Ooooh, but Singer said-“
“Oh, that guy? I’ve been trying to recruit him for ages. Thinks he’s too good for the club, and he’s going around spreading rumors and stirring up hysteria surrounding it. He’s just a hater and nobody should listen to anything he says! Him and those other punks who think they’re too good for Glee Club. ‘It’s just an elective, they say’.‘It’s a waste of time, I don’t have time to waste’, ‘Miss Reed is a nutcase’! I’ve heard it all.”
“Well that’s… that’s just mean! I didn’t peg him for such a petty meanie-pants. Running the Glee Club must be hard when you have to deal with that.” Pinkie said as she pondered for a bit.
“Tell me about it. We will never make it to regionals with the small team we currently have. We need more people power.”
“I don’t know, there’s not a lot of people that are interested. You can’t just make people join.”
“Sounds like the naysayers talking, and perhaps maybe some of your friends? Glee is important to the fabric of society. It’s the only way we can give the world the gift that keeps on giving.”
“A gift? I love gifts! But what kind of gift are we talking about here?”
“The gift of glee! Don’t you understand, Pinkie? Glee is what brings everyone together! United to spread cheer throughout the world!”
“Wow, it’s literally my life’s mission to do just that! Well, that and bake desserts until I’m too old to do it anymore, and eventually retire to Tehiti… But my friends just don’t seem to get it. I wish I knew a way to help them understand.”
“You must make them see that…” Miss Reed smiled at Pinkie and put her hand on her shoulder and began to sing as she slid back over to the piano.
“Glee! It’s the gift that you get
When your brain finally lets
Your heart take a big chance
Glee is the magic you use
To turn your pain into shoes
And your shoes into dance!”
She stepped away from the piano, which was miraculously still playing, and began to walk around Pinkie, who followed her movements with her unsure gaze.
“How’s that piano still playing this song?” Pinkie asked in song. As Miss Reed continued dancing.
“Glee is the answer
When questions are wrong
You’ll understand
If you just sing along
Glee is the gift that we need!”
Pinkie, now getting into it, began to dance with Miss Reed.
“Glee it’s what I’ll spread to my friends
Like a smile that sends us to a happier place
Glee! I’ll understand everything
‘Cause we’ll say what we mean instead of making a face!”
Pinkie had a small party cannon in her hand and made it go off for more effect.
“Families are closer when families are winning”
“Everything’s funner when the room is a spinning” she spun around before joining Miss Reed in unison for the final part.
“Singing and dancing in unison-ing-ing-ing
Glee is the gift that we need…”
“Glee!” Pinkie shouted with excitement.
“Don’t you see, Pinkie? The best way to spread Glee is to sing your heart out! And together we can make the world a better place.”
“Oh my gosh, I’m so excited! Don’t worry. I’ll get everyone else on board and we can save the Glee Club and make it to Regionals!”
Pinkie with a new burst of energy sped off to go find the others, not really knowing what kind of craziness she was about to unleash.
“Much appreciated, Pinkie.” Miss Reed said with an evil looking smirk. “Much appreciated.”
When Twilight and Sunset made it to the former’s dorm room, Sunset began to notice Twilight was getting more sluggish in her steps on the way up and when she’d led Sunset inside, she walked straight to her couch and hurriedly took a seat. Must be the lack of sleep the last couple of days. Sunset on the other hand, was beginning to feel a bit more chipper, but also jittery.
“Oh man, I feel weird… I’m still tired but I couldn’t go to sleep if I wanted to. I shouldn’t have drank that energy drink. It just sounded good at the time.” Sunset said as she sat in a chair across the room from Twilight’s couch.
“Those things, more often than not, won’t really help you. And the crash that comes after will bring you down. I really wish Singer wouldn’t drink them either.” Twilight said.
“Well, thanks for letting me crash here for a bit.”
“You’re welcome. Stay as long as you need to. It’s been a while since we hung out, just the two of us.”
“Well you have been busy lately” she said with a knowing smile. “Balancing your relationship, your school and time with your friends isn’t always easy.”
“Tell me about it," she admitted. “But there are things that make it all worthwhile.”
“I know exactly what you mean. I wish I had done things way differently when I was with Flash. But we did have some good times together. I’m glad that you’ve found someone who appreciates you and cares about you. Even if he can be a little bit of a dork sometimes.” She smirked as she said that.
Twilight laughed, she couldn’t deny it. But she was also self aware of her own dorky, or ‘adorkable’ tendencies, as Singer had once referred to it. “Well, I can’t say that I’m much better. But who’s to say we all can’t be a little dorky at times?”
“You got a point there. I mean look at Rainbow Dash. Closet egghead, and she’s always one of the ones geeking out about sci-fi movies or Daring Do books. One of these days I’m really going to call her out on that. And then you have the boys, but they don’t even try to hide it.”
“No they don’t, but that’s what we like about them.”
Twilight opened up her laptop, but not without a series of yawns ensuing.
“Are you sure you’re going to be able to continue doing that? Forty eight hours of no sleep is bound to catch up with you sooner or later. Singer was right earlier, you need to slow down and relax a bit. We’re not teenagers anymore.”
“Nonsense… I could keep going for hours-“ she felt herself drifting off before shaking her head to wake up. “….hours….” It didn’t take much more fighting before sleep finally prevailed and Twilight relaxed and her head was now resting on the back of the couch.
“Hours, huh?” Sunset chuckled, grabbing a blanket and putting Twilight’s laptop on the small table in front of the couch. She draped the blanket over her sleeping friend before grabbing one for herself returning to that comfy chair across from the couch, and began checking some of her social media hoping it would make her start to drift off too.
However, try as she might. The sugar rush she’d gotten from that energy drink from earlier was fighting her and she became restless. Unable to stop her mind from going zero to sixty every five seconds.
Unable to gain any ground, she gave up and decided that maybe the best course of action for her to take would be to go walk this off. So, she sent Twilight a text that she could read when she woke up, and quietly left and locked the door behind her.
Rainbow Dash had been chilling in her room, reading a Daring Do book, when all of a sudden, a chipper singing Pinkie Pie walked into the room. This wasn’t abnormal for Pinkie, so naturally Dash didn’t pay it any mind.
“Hi Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said with a bigger smile than normal.
“Uuuuuh… hi Pinkie. Can I help you?”
“Absolutely!”
“Okay…” she waited about ten seconds as Pinkie continued to smile at her before finally asking: “Well, what is it? And why do you sound even more chipper than usual? That’s saying something too, because you’re already over the top.”
“Oh, riiiiiight! So, I’ve been thinking. Is the Glee Club really that bad?”
“Excuse me?” Dash asked, clearly dumbfounded. “What the hay are you on, Pinkie Pie? Did you not just hear about that crazy Glee Club instructor who’s brainwashing people into joining the Glee Club? Don’t even joke about that! I swear if I never hear another thing about ‘Regionals’… it’ll be too soon.”
“But, Rainbow! Those are just lies told by a less refutable source. Who are you going to trust? Your best friend or… your other friend who’s a little bit on the crazy side?”
“Pinkie, you’re trying to confuse me and I don’t like it. You and Singer are both crazy, so that doesn’t really narrow it down.”
“But Pinkie Pie would never ever EVER steer you wrong! I mean, when have I ever?” Pinkie smiled big.
“Well…” Dash could name a few times right at the forefront of her memory but for the sake of preserving her friend’s feelings, she chose not to say anything more about that. “Look Pinkie, I trust you completely. It’s just the Glee Club is awful. Totally not awesome. And you know me. I like things to be awesome. End of story. Put it to bed, and don’t wake me up until Saturday.”
“But Rainbow…” Pinkie said with a pause before the lights in the room grew dim and a spotlight was shown upon her. She paused with her finger right about to hit the play button on a portable stereo.
“No, Pinkie! Please don’t….”
“TOO LATE!”
“Everything is awesome!
Everything is cool when you’re part of the team!
Everything is awesome
When you’re living out a dream”
“It’s not my dream…”
“Everything is better when we stick together
Side by side you and I
Gonna win forever
Let’s party forever…”
Rainbow looked at her foot and noticed that she was subconsciously starting to tap it on the end of her bed. “Hey! Cut it out!”
This didn’t cease. It only got worse as Pinkie began to jump on and off her bed.
“We’re the same, I’m like you, you’re like me
We are working in harmony…
Everything is awesome
Everything is cool when you’re part of a team
Everything is awesome
When you’re living out a dream”
“Oh my gosh, I can’t take this anymore!” Dash said right before Pinkie went into rap mode.
“Three, two, one, GO!
Have you heard the news?
Everyone’s talking
Life is good because everything is awesome
Lost my job, it’s a new opportunity
More free time with my awesome community
I feel more awesome than an awesome possum
Dipped my body in chocolate frosting
Three years later wash off the frosting
Smelling like a blossom, everything is awesome
Stepped in mud, I got new brown shoes
It’s awesome to win and it’s awesome to-“
“Do not finish that last part. I hate losing... So much so that we need to crush the competition!” Dash said… before she smiled uncontrollably and started to sing.
“Everything is awesome
Everything is cool when you’re part of a team
Everything is awesome
When you’re living out a dream”
“Oh my gosh! Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie squealed happily, hugging her friend.
“That was AWESOME!” Rainbow said, embracing Pinkie back.
“Don’t you mean ‘everything is awesome’?”
Suddenly Rarity walked into the open door that was Rainbow’s room, and appeared to be irritated and holding a romance novel of some kind in her right hand.
“Now I’m not against having a good time,” Rarity began. “…but you’re causing all sorts of clatter and it’s disturbing my time of peace and relaxation. I was so close to finding out if Rachel and Dennis were going to go steady or remain friends!”
“Sorry Rarity” Pinkie said apologetically.
“We’re just practicing for regionals.” Rainbow said, causing Rarity to raise an eyebrow. “It’s just around the corner, you know…
“Regionals, you say?” she asked unsurely, and she began to take a couple of steps back as Pinkie and Dash were grinning. “I see… w-well… I… think nothing of it. I’m just going to go out and get some fresh air… buh bye!”
With that, she walked away with her back and arms stiff with anxiety. What had been said about the Glee Club was seemingly looking to be true and it had already taken hold of Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. “I’ve got to find the others and warn them of this catastrophe!!!”
“No! No! No!” Ray yelled as he fiddled with the joysticks on his controller. “I can’t believe you keep beating me! That’s not very nice, Dusk. Lulling me into a false sense of security by letting me beat the crap out of you on this game until you all of a sudden kick my butt with freaking Yoshi so you can grab the ultimate satisfaction of beating me! That’s what they call sandbagging, Dusk!”
“I have no idea what you mean, Ray," Dusk said with a smirk. “One could argue that I just got lucky.”
“There’s no way you get lucky that many times in a row. You’ve been holding out on me!”
“Can we just move on and accept the outcome as a game well played? I’ve really been wanting to try playing as Sonic.”
“No, no, no! I’m calling another rematch and we’re going to play this again. And then you’re playing Mario for the remainder of the evening.”
“I bet I could beat you with Mario.”
“Game on, dude! Play as the fat plumber. You’re not winning this next match…”
“Okay, just let me-…”
Dusk was interrupted by the sound of frantic knocking coming from their apartment door. Dusk took it upon himself to be the one to get up and answer the door, anything to get out of the current conversation.
“Hey, what are you doing?” Ray said. “This isn’t over, Dusk!”
“Just give me a second, we have someone knocking on our door.” He said, getting up.
“Hey if you’re getting up, could you grab me another soda?.” Ray said, grabbing a slice of pizza out of the pizza box that they’d ordered earlier, and tossing the now empty can that he had into the trash can, making it in without even trying.
Dusk rolled his eyes as he turned the door knob and answered the door. To his surprise, and a pleasant one at that, it was Rarity. Dusk stopped and briefly stared for a split second, before he got ahold of himself again. His cheeks flushed red with a blush and a smile tugged at his lips at the sight of her.
“I didn’t come at a bad time, did I?” Rarity asked, also equally caught up in the awkward blushing.
“N-No, not at all. Ray and I were just playing some games… what can I do for you?”
“I don’t know how else to say this, but I have reason to believe what’s been said about the Glee Club is true. And we might be in trouble.”
“What makes you think that?” Dusk asked.
“I just witnessed Pinkie and Rainbow Dash breaking out into song, and Rainbow mentioned something about…regionals.”
“What the heck are regionals?!?” Ray shouted.
“Are you sure? I mean those two are known pranksters. Perhaps they were just indulging in some funny antics inspired by what our mutual singing friend said earlier.”
Ray came to the door as well, standing right by Dusk. The former being slightly taller than the latter. “You mean Dash and Pinkie are out pranking people without me? How rude… Oh, hello snob…” Ray said with a grin.
“Hello, ruffian.” She returned. “Dusk, I know what I saw. And I didn’t like it. There’s definitely something going on about this place, and I’m going to get to the bottom of it. I’ll even go speak to this ‘Miss Reed’ if I have to.”
“Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Dusk asked cautiously.
“There’s nothing wrong with aiming to find a diplomatic solution to this. Who knows? Maybe Miss Reed is actually a reasonable person, and would feel inclined to listen to reason and help us put an end to it.”
“If you must, please be careful.”
“Not to worry Darling, I can handle myself.”
“If it makes you feel better, Ray and I can help to scope the area and to see if there’s anything else out of the ordinary going on.”
“Thank you Dusk. I can always count on you.” She said with a warm smile, which Dusk returned.
“You’re not just volunteering us to get out of the pummeling I’m going to put you through are you?” Ray said, punching Dusk’s arm.
“No, not at all.” Dusk replied wittily as he rubbed his arm.
“Oh my, should I be concerned?” Rarity asked jokingly.
“Of course not. We all know Ray wouldn’t really harm anyone, much less me. Well, not without probable cause.”
“Of course he wouldn’t.”
“I suppose we will see you shortly, Rarity.”
“Well, I’ll leave you to it then.” Rarity said as she turned to go. “We can meet out at the food court once we’ve concluded our objectives.”
“Right,” Dusk agreed. “We will see you there.”
“I guess we will have to postpone our rematch for now, but you’re totally going down!” Ray said.
“Of course.”
The two friends each picked up a new can of soda, and tapped them together before taking them on the road.
“So… off we go then?”
“Affirmative. Once more into the breach!”
As the sky began to get darker, the other students of the university were beginning to retreat to their dormitories, cars, or their apartments for the night. That didn’t mean everyone, though. Some were still stirring and wandering about the corridors.
Two friends in particular, Applejack and Fluttershy, had been walking as AJ had agreed to walk back to the parking lot with her.
“Thank you so much for walking back with me, Applejack!” Fluttershy said with a smile. “It’s always nice to have someone to talk to on the long walk to my car.”
“Think nothin of it, Fluttershy. Ya can’t be too careful nowadays with all the creeps wonderin around seeminly everywhere. Besides, Ah always enjoy yer little stories about yer critters.”
“They really are wonderful aren’t they? Animals, I mean. I would live out in the wilderness with them if I could.”
“Yeah, some more than others I reckon. Though, Ah don’t think livin around certain kinds of vermin would be all that appealin. Theivin little rascals.”
“Oh, dear. I’d really appreciate it if you didn’t use the ‘v’ word around Fievel. He’s sensitive about that kind of language.”
“What, vermin?” she asked. Fluttershy nodded in response and Applejack looked down at the critter sitting in Fluttershy’s hand. “Sorry little fella. Ah didn’t mean anythin by it.”
Fluttershy looked down at the mouse she continued to carry in her hands, and he looked unbothered. The little guy did appear to be happy and felt safe in her care though as he let her know this with a smile. “Oh, I think he forgives you.”
Applejack only chuckled in response. She continued to walk alongside Fluttershy but stopped and held out her hand when she noticed some movement in the darkened part of the corridor that they were about to walk through.
“Hello?” she called out. “Anyone there?”
Though she knew she shouldn't, Applejack sometimes got a little bit jumpy when it came to walking down dark hallways. Kinda like today. Her heart pounded in her chest as the movement appeared to get more frequent as the figure moved closer. However, when they revealed themselves, Applejack’s demeanor shifted back to calm because a familiar face emerged from the shadows.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash. Fancy bumpin into you here. But aren’t you headin in the wrong direction? Parkin lot’s the other way, remember?”
“Who needs that when we’re getting our show together to be ready for regionals?” Dash replied. “We’re going to need everyone on board if we want to make it happen!”
“I’m sorry, what did you just say?” Fluttershy inquired. “Regionals? Surely you’re not talking about…”
“Now Rainbow, we’ve had a stressful enough week without you and yer shenanigans tryin ta scare us. Why not put this game out ta pasture while Ah’m still in a good mood?”
Rainbow Dash didn’t move for a moment. She just stood there and looked at her two friends that stood before her, before making her remark, “Regionals aren’t a game, AJ.”
Pinkie Pie also appeared out of the shadows holding a flute, which she tossed to Derpy, who was also with them. Pinkie stood beside Rainbow helping her in staring AJ and Fluttershy down while also harmonizing and warming up to sing.
“Somewhere out there
Beneath the pale moon light
Someone’s thinking of me
And loving me tonight”
“Is that the best you got?” Applejack remarked.
“Nope! Hit it Derpy!” Dash shouted as Derpy began to play a folksy version of the song on her flute, to which Dash proceeded to join in singing.
“Somewhere out there
Someone’s saying a prayer
That we’ll find one another
In that big somewhere out there”
Fluttershy placed Fievel in her pocket and began to walk over to them.
“Fluttershy, no!”
Rainbow and Pinkie continued to sing in unison.
“And even though I know
how very far apart we are
It helps to think we might be wishing on that same bright star”
Fluttershy shed her inhibitions and began to belt out lyrics herself, aiding in the continuation of the song.
“And when the night wind
Starts to sing a lonesome lullaby
It helps to think we’re sleeping underneath
That same big sky!”
“Hoooo-weee!” Applejack shouted as she too found herself being swept up in this too. She joined the other three in singing.
“Somewhere out there
If love can see us through
Then we’ll be together
Somewhere out there
Out where dreams
Come true”
Derpy’s flute playing came to a close and the girls all stood there high fiving each other.
“Ah don’t know what Regionals are, but Ah think we’re gonna knock 'em dead yet.”
“Darn right we will!”
As the girls triumphantly marched off, presumably back to the Glee Club wing, this didn’t go unnoticed by Sunset Shimmer, who had been hidden behind a trash can as she stumbled onto the scene while it was going on. When she felt the coast was clear, she peaked her head out and looked at the now empty hallway and grabbed her phone to try to call someone, anyone. This was getting out of hand, quick.
“Come on, Twilight! Pick up!” she said as she speed dialed Twilight. But no answer. “She must still be asleep… I know. I’ll call Rarity.” She dialed her number next and just hoped that she wasn’t too late to reach her.
Rarity’s nerves were shot at this point. Her dramatic nature had brought her to the verge of hysteria. Her makeup already slightly smeared and the closer she got to the Glee Club area, the worse it got. She kept her mirror out until she’d reached her destination, fixing her appearance as needed.
She wasn’t sure what she’d find herself in when she got there, but she’d hoped beyond hope that the odds of this all being a big misunderstanding would be true, however, her fear of the unknown about what it was was really getting to her.
However, she was able to search inside herself for the courage she’d need as she was seemingly walking right into the ‘lion’s den’, so to speak. The more she thought about it, her irritation towards this whole thing began to overwhelm her fear and a sudden boldness came over her before she reached Miss Reed’s office door.
She knocked, and was ushered inside by the sound of Miss Reed telling her the door was open. And it was there she came face to face with her. The very character that Singer had mentioned earlier. Miss Reed.
“Hello Miss, Rarity is it?” Miss Reed said, addressing her presence. She had shown indications of being tired and stressed. Something that Rarity could relate to due to her own line of work. Surely being the instructor of something as high maintenance as the Glee Club had its challenges. Nevertheless, Rarity had her concerns and she felt an obligation to get the answers she sought. She cleared her throat after Miss Reed further addressed her. “What can I help you with today?”
“Uh, yes. Well… as I understand it. Your program is getting grotesquely close to this event you all indulge in, called “Regionals”, am I right?”
Miss Reed’s eyes lit up at the mention of regionals. Almost as if she hadn’t expected that to come up. But how could she not, with nobody shutting up about it?
“Yes, they’re very important and we need as many as we can to make sure we wow the judges there. Why? Have you taken an interest?”
“Well, not exactly. Farbeit me to question the teaching methods of an instructor of this fine establishment, but… I fear that some of your methods might be drawing in people who, how should I put this? Uh… really aren’t into that sort of thing? And against their will, no less.”
“My methods are fine, I assure you Miss Rarity.” Miss Reed said as she stood up from behind her desk and opened the blinds that looked out into the auditorium. “I see untapped potential out there, and those students are putting hard work into making this dream a reality. I’ve always said that the spirit of Glee is infectious.”
“Maybe a little bit too infectious, perhaps?”
“What are you implying? That I’m brainwashing students into completing my vision? That’s a pretty lofty accusation.”
Rarity was beginning to get tired of dancing around the issue, and with another jolt of confidence, she lashed back. “Well if the shoe fits, wear it as I always say.” Her phone began to ring, but she just let it do so. “You cannot keep doing this to the students here. Especially not to my friends! This is simply uncouth to the highest degree, and I refuse to tolerate it any further.”
“I see. Ya know, kid. You’d make a fine addition to the drama club.” Reed remarked.
“I am already in the drama club, thank you very much!” she retorted.
“Well then, in that case.” Miss Reed snapped her fingers and her office door sprung open.
Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Applejack stood behind Rarity at the doorway, preventing her from making an escape attempt.
“Oh no…” Rarity said as she turned to face them while backing up right into Miss Reed’s desk.
“Way to fall right into my trap. I knew one of you would be dumb enough to try and confront me.”
“Now ladies, can’t we just talk about this in a civilized manner?” Rarity pleaded but to no avail. She knew she was doomed. Her fate was sealed when Derpy began to play her flute again, but this time to the tune of a certain song from a famous movie about a sunken titan of a ship. The girls cornering Rarity began to sing in unison as Derpy played on.
“Every night in my dreams
I see you, I feel you
That is how I know you go on…”
“Oh come now, this is hardly fair. Who doesn’t like this song?” Rarity protested but to no avail.
“Near, far wherever you are
I believe that my heart will go on
Once more, you open the door
And you’re here in my heart
And my heart will go on and on”
Rarity was forced to hear them sing as her friends filed into the office with the door closing behind them. Rarity’s voice would soon be added to the mix just moments later.
“You’re here, there’s nothing I fear
And I know that my heart will go on
We’ll stay forever this way
You are safe in my heart and
My heart will go on and on”
Laughter could then be heard as the door suddenly slammed back open, Derpy continued to play the song with her flute, and Miss Reed led the small chorus of college students out of her office as her face adorned an unsettling grimace. “Now I am unstoppable! The rest of them are as good as mine!”
“Ray, are you sure we should be back here?” Dusk whispered. They had found their way backstage at the auditorium, looking around at all of the props while they were “checking things out” like they’d agreed to help Rarity do.
“Dude, relax. This is the school’s property and we are students here. Besides, wouldn’t you think that around here would be a good place to find answers? Maybe we can sneak around and overhear people talking until someone says something incriminating.”
“Sounds like an excuse to goof around to me.” Dusk replied, pulling out his phone. “Odd, nothing from Rarity yet. Or any of the others in quite a while.”
“Nothing for me, either.” Ray said, checking out his own phone. “Hey Dusk, you aren’t really buying into the Glee Club nonsense are you?”
“Well, given the fact that Rarity saw Rainbow and Pinkie Pie partaking in a musical type performance in their room as well as going on about regionals, I’m inclined to think that it’s possible. Not sure if it’s probable as this could all just be a prank.”
“Maybe. I just think it’s all a little far fetched. And if it is a prank, those two are amateurs. A true prankster would wait until the illusion of the threat disappearing takes place and right when you least expect it, it happens. But as for evil Glee Club Coaches, I kinda side with Applejack’s earlier remarks. Given the source, I’m not sure if I trust it.”
“Maybe you’re right. This could all just be overblown… and you’ve completely left this conversation by now.” Dusk, who’d looked off to the side while he pondered this out loud to Ray, looked back toward his friend to notice him playing with a dueling lightsaber that he’d found in one of the props boxes.
“Dude, check this out! I wonder if it has any batteries in it…” Ray said as he pushed the button, causing the thing to light up with a green blade. “Sweet! There’s another one over in that other box, Dusk. Let’s have some fun for a few minutes and have at it!”
“Ray, come on…” Dusk replied. “We don’t really have time for this.”
Ray began to imitate the sound of a clucking chicken. “That’s you right now Dusk! Too afraid to partake in a harmless lightsaber duel and too afraid to face me at Smash Bros while playing as Mario.”
“Your juvenile jesting isn’t going to get me any more into this little game of yours, Ray. We need to focus on finding the others.” Dusk said, his thoughts currently on Rarity with her contact open on his phone. He was half tempted to call and check in on her.
“Dude, stop being such a buzzkill! I’m telling you there’s nothing to-” Ray said, having turned back around, looking at Dusk after continuing to swing the lightsaber around. It was then he noticed that the other lightsaber he’d seen in the box was no longer there.
Dusk was now beaming as he ignited the lightsaber he was now holding. This one had a blue light inside of it, causing the blade to fully form once Dusk pushed the button that activated it. “I’m a little bit disappointed it isn’t red. Sometimes playing the villain is a bit more fun than being the protagonist.”
“Well played Dusk, you almost had me.” Ray said with a laugh. “You know, if you wanted to be the villain, you could just say you’re a Jedi who’s fallen to the dark side. Kinda cliche, but…”
“Are you quite done?”
“I’m not, but I’ll stop.”
“Thank you, now let’s get this out of our systems before someone catches us.”
Their blades clashed for the first time, and then again to test it and make sure these were actually durable enough for dueling. The two started to laugh when they realized the props were indeed sturdy enough. These lightsabers were the real deal, alright.
“It’s over Dusk-akin!” Ray said as he jumped up on a platform. “I have the high ground!”
“You underestimate my power!” Dusk said, hardly able to keep himself from laughing. He’d made sure to keep his voice and tone as whiny as the way the actor in the movie had done, perhaps even embellishing it a bit for more comedic drama.
Dusk, ignoring the rules, decided to run past Ray and join him on the other side of the platform so they could have equal footing again.
“Engaard, Jedi scum!” he shouted as he swung his lightsaber towards Ray and the blue and green blades clashed yet again.
“Traitorous Sith Garbage!” Ray countered with a few swings of his own.
Their duel was short lived, however, as they heard the sounds of approaching voices coming their way. Panicking, the duo turned off the props, placed them back in the box and ran, splitting up unintentionally with Dusk running off in one direction, and Ray in another.
Before Dusk had realized what had happened completely, he found himself alone and Ray being who-knows-where by now. He heard the familiar voices of his friends. But after taking a moment to think about it, he decided it best to stay hidden for the moment. Just to make sure that what Rarity had feared was happening, wasn’t actually happening. He’d hoped that this was just another excuse for a misadventure that they would all laugh about years later.
In his pondering, however, he didn’t even notice someone was standing behind him, but he soon found out as they reached out and tapped him on the shoulder, causing him to jump while simultaneously turning to face them. Once he turned around after having been spooked, he was happy to see the face of the one who’d gotten his attention. It was Rarity!
“Oh, you found me. That’s a relief. I’m glad that you’re okay. Any luck finding the others?”
“Indeed I have," Rarity said with a smile. “I also figured out what’s going on with Miss Reed and all of these students suddenly joining the Glee Club out of the blue.”
“Is it like we thought, then? Is there something diabolical going on?”
Dusk turned his back as he saw Rarity go into a changing room and shut the door behind her. He didn’t understand what she was doing, but he thought it best to turn around and look the other way anyway.
“Of course not. It’s like you say all the time, Dusk. Have a little faith.”
“Alright, fair enough. But what about the others?”
She stepped out in a shiny bright blue dress and struck a pose.
“This is what I’m wearing for the show, this is the theatre after all.”
“I’m afraid I’m not following, Rarity.” Dusk said, turning back around and suddenly unable to take his eyes off of her. “Uh….” He shook his head. “W-What do you mean? What show are you referring to? And what does the theater have to do with the others?”
Rarity softly shushed him. “Just listen to the music.”
“I-… I don’t hear anything…” Dusk said.
Suddenly, a piano on a rotational platform began to play, and the platform spun around slowly to reveal Bulk Biceps playing the piano. Dusk thought this was kind of odd, but didn’t acknowledge it completely right away, though the tune did sound familiar to him.
Suddenly, Rarity was joined by Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, who’d all began to harmonize as if to begin a song.
Dusk immediately backed up upon seeing this, realizing that he’d really messed up. He tried to turn to make a break for it, but he was stopped by Flash Sentry who was playing his guitar as well as Derpy, a few others, who’d been playing various other instruments, accompanied by Octavia who was playing her cello.
“Of course this was all a trap! What an idiot I am! Why did I let you go off by yourself? I should have gone with you!” Thoughts of regret plagued his mind in this instance. If only he’d taken this more seriously, if he had gone with her instead of fooling around backstage, maybe he and Rarity could have shut this operation down together. Still a small glimmer of hope arose in him, maybe he could still reach her.
“You must have faith, Dusk!” Rarity said, completely backing him into a corner.
“Rarity, snap out of it! Don’t you realize what’s happening here?!? You can beat this!”
“Oh, we all realize what’s happening here, Dusk.” Miss Reed said as she walked out from behind her performers. “And this is just the beginning. Don’t try to fight it, soon you will become a part of the new and improved Glee Club. Now, everyone! Let him have it!”
Dusk watched as Flash Sentry, who had a surprisingly adequate singing voice, began to sing a song that Dusk was all too familiar with.
“It’s been a long road
Getting from there to here
It’s been a long time
But my time is finally near
And I can feel the change in the wind right now
Nothing’s in my way
And they’re not going to hold me down no more
No, they’re not going to hold me down”
Dusk covered his ears with his hands, but the words were still reaching him. This was hardly fair. He’d begun to wonder how they knew he’d respond to this song. It was pointless to resist at this point.
“Cause I’ve got faith of the heart
I’m going where my heart will take me
I’ve got faith to believe
I can do anything
I’ve got strength of the soul
And no ones going to bend or break me
I can reach any star
I’ve got faith
I’ve got faith, faith of the heart”
Dusk couldn’t contain himself. He too was falling victim to the Glee Club’s trap. The song of choice was too perfect and it lured him in. It wasn’t long before he too joined the girls in singing the song.
Ray had come back to the scene, once he realized that Dusk wasn’t with him, he’d circled back, hid behind a cardboard tree prop and had the unfortunate displeasure of witnessing all of this. He’d arrived too late to save Dusk.
“Dang it!” he whispered to himself.
Ray knew that this was one hundred percent real now, and he had to go find whoever was left. But first, he needed to get the eff out of there!
As stealthy as he could, Ray slipped away seemingly undetected. Once he’d made it to the exit of the auditorium, he ran out the door and began to murmur various curse words to himself, passing frantically by a few unexpecting people down the hallway.
He made it outside and hid behind a stone wall near a bench that was out there and pulled out his phone. His first thought was to call Twilight, but no answer. Crap! Just lovely, he thought to himself. There was one other person that he knew he hadn’t seen in the crowd inside the auditorium and Ray hoped that he’d be able to reach her. Ray dialed Sunset Shimmer’s number and let it ring a few times before he got an answer, to his relief.
“Ray?” Sunset said as she received his call. “Ray, is that you?”
“Yes it’s me! Are you still… you? I mean…”
“I know what you mean, and yes. I’m afraid I can’t say the same for Applejack, Pinkie, Dash and Fluttershy though.”
“Add Rarity and Dusk to that. Wait, what about Twilight?”
“Probably in slumberland right now," Sunset said. “She was pretty beat when I left her place earlier.”
“Well that’s good. That’s one other person not being affected by this.” Ray said with a bit of relief in his voice.
“I was thinking maybe we should give Singer a call. Maybe he’ll know a way out of this.”
“Are you kidding? He’ll never let us live this down if he finds out! No way!”
Sunset sighed. “Look, let’s just find somewhere to meet up. We can discuss this better face to face.”
“Fine. I’ll meet you at ‘The Snak Shak’. I could really use some water.”
“Cool, me too. See you there.”
It had been a few hours since Twilight had fallen asleep, and it didn’t seem as though anything was going to wake her up. Except for accidentally rolling off the couch, which was exactly what she was about to do. Her door opening abruptly was what finally made it happen because when the door opened, it woke her up before she fell off the couch.
“Twilight?” the confused voice of Spike addressed her. “You were asleep? But it’s not bedtime yet.”
“I fell asleep?!?” She asked, panicking. “How long was I out? What did I miss? What time is it?!?”
“Twilight, snap out of it!” said her purple skinned little brother. When Twilight came to herself, she smiled warmly at Spike and ruffled his green hair. The boy was wearing an unbuttoned purple button up shirt with a yellow t-shirt under it that had the number forty two on it, as well as jeans and his sneakers.
“I’m sorry Spike,” she said. “Today was kind of a hard day. Plus I fell asleep when I was supposed to be studying.”
“You didn’t stay up for three straight days again, did you?”
“Two…” she admitted.
“Twilight…”
“I know, I know. But sometimes I just can’t help myself.” She said as she scoped out her room. “Hey, wait a minute. I thought Sunset Shimmer was here resting, too.”
“Sorry Twilight, but besides you, nobody else was in here when Mom dropped me off.”
“She must have left after I passed out. Good grief, I’m a terrible host!” Twilight looked at the time. “Great, hours have gone by since I fell asleep.”
“Come on, it’s not that bad.” Spike said. “Don’t you feel somewhat refreshed now that you slept a bit?”
“A little. I’m actually looking forward going to bed for real later, though.” She admitted.
“Uh, good… but one question. Where’s Singer? I thought we were watching more Clone Wars tonight.”
“That’s a good question. Let me see if he’s texted…” she said, opening her phone. “Hmm, yes. He texted a couple of hours ago saying he’d be a little bit late. Also, I have some missed calls from Ray and Sunset Shimmer. Multiple ones from Sunset; I hope she’s okay.” Twilight dialed Sunset’s number but got the busy signal. “Great…”
“Maybe it’s nothing.”
“No, Spike. I don’t have a good feeling about this. There’s gotta be something going on around here.” She said as she scrolled through more of her texts and found a few messages from Sunset, Ray and Applejack. “Oh no… this can’t actually be happening!”
“What’s happening?” Spike asked.
“Glee Club…” Twilight said, now starting to get worked up even more.
“Glee Club?” Spike asked bemused. “You’re not making any sense, Twilight.”
“It’s actually happening! Just look at these texts!” she exclaimed with panic in her voice.
“Twilight, whenever you get a chance, barricade your door” from Applejack.
“Twilight, Glee Club is real, I repeat Glee Club is real…” from Sunset Shimmer… “PS, wake up!”
“And last but not least, ‘Twilight, everyone has been taken by Miss Reed’s Glee Club. -Ray”
“Oh come on! I go to sleep for a few measly hours and the world falls apart on me! This is awful!” Twilight said in borderline panick mode again.
“Maybe it’s a prank?” Spike suggested.
“Not this time, I’m afraid. I’m not sure if there’s anything I can do, but I have to go out there and see if I can figure out a way to save everyone. This is going to be a long night…”
“I’ll come with you,” Spike volunteered right before putting his hand over his mouth. Why’d he say that?
“No, no. That’s alright. This is an adult problem… I think.” Spike breathed a sigh of relief. “Just stay here and watch Netflix or something. Just don’t be watching anything inappropriate, I can see what you watch so don’t try any funny business because I will tell mom and dad.”
“Who, me?” Spike grinned. “Yeah, sure thing! No funny business!”
“That means no Walking Dead.”
“Aw come on! I’m fourteen, I can handle it!”
“You know that show gives you nightmares.”
“Yeah when I was younger…”
“Spike…”
“Okay fine, I won’t watch The Walking Dead..” he crossed his arms bitterly.
“Good, now that it’s settled, I need to go.” She looked at herself in the mirror beside her bathroom door. Her hair was a mess and she just could tell that she needed to clean up. “Yeeesh, maybe I’d better shower and get changed first…”
“Good idea.” Spike said as he grabbed a box of Goldfish Crackers and a soda from Twilight’s fridge, taking it to the couch where he was looking forward to snacking heavily. “Have fun playing hero!”
“I’m not playing anything! Just watch your cartoons!” she said pointedly, walking to her bathroom.
“Okay, okay. I’m sorry. Sheesh…” Spike began to watch his cartoons. As soon as the theme song started up, the laughter commenced. “Go Darkwing!”
When Sunset Shimmer got to ‘The Snak Shak’, Ray had already gotten his water and was waiting for her at the outside table. She slowly proceeded with caution, lest she fall for a trap. She had no idea whether or not Ray was being truthful about not getting infected by the Glee Club.
“Uh, Ray?” she addressed him unsurely. “You really are all there, right?”
“Really Sunset?” He said, throwing his arms up. “Do you see me breaking out in song and bringing up regionals every five freaking minutes? That one doesn’t count. I still don’t even know what regionals even are.”
“I don’t think anyone does.” Sunset chuckled in her reply. She was more confident in her friend now. He was clean of Glee's influence. “So we’re the last ones, huh?”
“It would appear so. Man, this is going to be embarrassing to recount later.”
“I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not mention this ever again. Especially after we figure out how to get our friends back.”
“Do we really know to what extent they are being controlled?” Ray asked. “Maybe there’s some bonkers way of saving them. Given how ridiculous this whole thing is, nothing would surprise me anymore.”
“I didn’t stick around long enough to try and spot a weakness. I just know that someone has kept track of some of the songs we like and is using them against us. So stay on your guard.”
“Dusk was literally whisked away by The Star Trek: Enterprise Theme Song." Ray informed her.
“Fluttershy and Applejack both fell to ‘Somewhere Out There’ from that one movie about the mouse. It’s a classic” Sunset said, trying to keep what had happened fresh in her mind.
“Gee, that really narrows it down…”
“It’s like they know exactly what songs they can sing that will get each of us singing and that’s what traps you.”
“Yeah, that definitely makes sense, and I’m living in a world where it actually does.” Ray facepalmed. “This is so stupid…”
“They have our friends, I can only assume we’re next on their itinerary.”
“Fortunately for us, I don’t think they will be taking me today. I’m wise to the game now. And there’s absolutely nothing they can do to get me, let alone both of us at the same time. Right?”
“Don’t bet on it, gamer nerds” Rainbow Dash said coming out of the shadows, with Miss Reed and a few others in tow.
“Video games…” it suddenly dawned on Sunset’s mind. “This really was done systematically. Think about it, they can literally just sing any catchy video game song they can think of, and get us both at one time. We should have just talked over the phone, because now they have us right where they want us!”
“Oh sh-…” Ray said as he and Sunset shot up from their chairs. The former raised his hands. “Truce! I declare a truce! Let’s not do something we’ll regret, Dash.”
“I see we have a couple of stragglers.” Miss Reed spoke up, facing Sunset. “Sunset Shimmer, you’ve developed quite a reputation as a vocalist. Your contribution is invaluable to our quest for regionals.”
“No thanks!” Sunset shouted. “Ray and I are going to take you down.”
“Ah yes, Mister Strike…” said Miss Reed walking closer to Ray. If this was meant to be intimidating, he’d admit that it was sort of working. He backed up a couple of steps, as her piercing gaze looked into his. “I knew you’d be a tough one to crack. You’re almost not worth the effort, if I’m being honest. But we do need a bit of comedy for our show.”
“I think you’re missing the part where I actually give a crap. What you’re doing here is totally screwed up.”
“Shut up!” she yelled, gritting her teeth. “I won’t have my craft be insulted by a lowly gargoyle like yourself!”
“What, did I hit a nerve?” Ray said mockingly. Normally, he wouldn’t resort to poking the proverbial bear unless he knew he could get away with it. But he was just as annoyed about this as she was, and she took his best friend captive. This was personal. Manners were out the window as far as he was concerned. “You know, your voice sounds familiar. You kinda sound like this cartoon character, Eda Clawthorn. But clearly, you’re not near as cool as she is.”
“Hold up… I don’t understand that reference.” She pulled out her phone and typed that in her internet search engine. Her face grew even more angry after reading the character description. “Is that your indirect way of saying that I sound like a witch?!?”
Ray chortled. “I didn’t think about it that deeply, but hey if the shoe fits…”
“Okay, Ray. I think it’s time to stop talking now…” Sunset suggested. “We need to get out of here before something starts happening.”
“Cue the music!” Miss Reed shouted in a vindictive tone. “Give it all you got on these two!”
Flash began to strum his electric guitar, and beside him, Rarity was playing a keytar. The music they were playing was the opening notes to a classic television series theme song based on the worldwide phenomenon known as…Pokémon…
“I wanna be the very best
like no one ever was
To catch them is my real test
To train them is my cause”
Pinkie began the song, wearing a classic Pokémon trainer hat, to which she turned backward and threw Pokeballs at Ray and Sunset. “I choose you!”
“I will travel across the land
Searching far and wide
Each Pokémon to understand
The power that’s inside”
Rainbow Dash continued on with the verse. Ray and Sunset attempted to bolt, but they were thwarted by Bulk Biceps who grabbed both of them both by one of their arms and held them there.
A small choral arrangement of Fluttershy, Applejack, Dusk, Derpy(who was smiling all the while), and Octavia continued with the song’s chorus.
“Pokémon
It’s you and me
I know it’s my destiny
Pokémon
Oh you’re my best friend
In a world we must defend
Pokémon
A heart so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I’ll teach you
Pokémon
Gotta catch em all
Gotta catch em all”
“Lame!” Ray shouted. “Stop wasting our time with this. You guys are killing a good song. I feel absolutely nothing!”
“What he said!” Sunset agreed.
As the electric guitar intensified heading into the second verse, Miss Reed smirked. “You haven’t seen it yet. Jason, come on out here!”
Ray and Sunset’s eyes widened as before them walked out the man himself, the original singer of the song, Jason Paige. Dressed in a Pokémon trainer jacket, white T-shirt, and even the trainer pants and shoes.
“No!” Ray shouted. “No this isn’t fair! That’s cheating!”
JP straightened his jacket and proceeded to sing.
“Every challenge along the way
With courage I will face
I will battle every day
To claim my rightful place
Come with me the time is right
There’s no better team
Arm in arm we’ll win the fight
It’s always been our dream….”
And just like the song said, Ray and Sunset broke free of Bulk’s grip and arm in arm they both darted over to sing with JP.
“Pokémon
It’s you and me
I know it’s my destiny
Pokémon
Oh, you’re my best friend
In a world we must defend
Pokémon
A heart so true
Our courage will pull us through
You teach me and I’ll teach you
Pokémon
Gotta catch em all
Gotta catch em all
Pokémon”
The music ceased and everyone had stopped to catch their breaths. Sunset and Ray now joined their friends.
“Alright all of you, let's get back to the auditorium before we get noise complaints. We have a show to prepare for tomorrow, and nothing is going to stand in the way of it this time.” Miss Reed commanded, getting a high five from JP as he led everyone else away. “My, my, Miss Reed you’ve really outdone yourself, this time. Regionals, here we come!”
In the dark of the night, elsewhere on campus, the headlights of a car could be seen pulling into the parking lot. A blue muscle car had pulled in and was currently looking for a parking spot.
The owner of the car, Singer Case, had returned from his outing. Stressed and agitated, he’d found himself coping with what was apparently a rough time by listening to a classic rock song, and singing along with it.
“Hold the line
Love isn’t always on time
Oh, oh, oh
Hold the line
Love isn’t always on time
Oh, oh, oh….”
He turned off the ignition, opened the door and stepped out of the car. “What an evening… ugh. I can’t wait to relax and forget about this awful day.” He quickly reminded himself of what he’d been looking forward to. He’d only hoped that Twilight would still be available for it. She’d usually been good about making time for them to sit back, relax, and watch some of their favorite shows. The final four Clone Wars episodes had been at the back of his mind all day, and he was silently pumping himself up.
He pulled out his phone and went to his contacts. He searched through his contacts for “Adorkable”, which is what he’d put Twilight as in his phone for his own personal humor. He pressed the call button, and immediately got an answer after the first ring.
“Singer?” Twilight said. “Hi! Thank goodness!”
“What’s going on, is everything okay?”
“I don’t know.” She sounded nervous. “I-uh… where are you currently?”
“I’m walking to your place, I just got back from whatever the heck that was I did today.”
“Oh, I’m actually out and about, right now. Maybe we should find a place to-…”
She was cut off by a sudden collision with someone else. That someone ended up being the one she was actually talking to on the phone.
Singer shook his head after the impact that left both of them in the ground. Twilight’s glasses had fallen off her face and into his hands, so he placed them back on for her.
“Sorry sweetie, I wasn’t watching where I was going. You okay?” Singer said, getting up on his feet and lending her a hand in getting up.
“I am now that you’re here.” She said with a smile.
Singer noticed that she’d changed clothes since he last saw her. She wore a light blue polo shirt with dark blue stripes going across it, a dark blue skirt and a pair of nice white tennis shoes, much cleaner than the ones she’d worn earlier. Still casual, but still very much visually appealing to him. He’d always found her modest approach to fashion to be attractive.
“Wow, you look pretty tonight. Er- not that you don’t always look pretty. I mean-“
Twilight giggled. “I know.” She smiled. “You look pretty too.” She teased while straightening his collar on his dress shirt, and she also straightened his tie for him. “My goodness, you look like you’ve been through quite an ordeal. Is everything okay?”
“Nothing I won’t recover from by tomorrow. That gig I had, Flash and our other band members didn’t show up. I couldn’t just not perform, so I tried it without them. I forgot midway through frantically getting everything set up that I’m not a musical instrument player, merely a vocalist. And boy was it evident. I embarrassed myself so bad that the job that I was also there for, well that interview got canceled. You can imagine why. But, ya live and ya learn. Hopefully next time my band members will be more dependable.”
“I’m sorry that happened,” Twilight said. “But for what it’s worth, I kinda like what came of it. This suit really looks good on you, I’m glad I got to see you in it.” She winked.
“Well, seeing you after a day like today really gave me a boost. Especially when you dress like that. I like it when you just do what you do.”
They both blushed.
“Were we just flirting?” Singer said, sounding surprised.
“I think so.” Twilight smiled at him. “Why don’t we do that more often?”
“I dunno, I’ve thought about it before, but I’m just not sure I’m that good at it yet. Plus I wasn’t sure how you’d react to it. I just quite haven’t figured out how to put what I want to say into words without sounding like a desperate idiot.”
“Definitely keep doing it. We’ll get better at it as we go. You did fine.” She said as she lightly punched his arm. “Oh my gosh!” She shouted, pulling herself out of the moment when she suddenly remembered why she was out in the first place. “Singer, I have something that I need to tell you, and it’s not good news…”
“What could be worse than what I’ve already been through today? Bring it on!”
“You won’t be saying that when you see this,” Twilight pulled up her text messages, and showed Singer the last few messages.
Singer’s facial expression changed from a smile to a horrified frown. His eyes widened as realization of what had transpired in his absence sunk in. “Oh, no…”
TO BE CONTINUED…