Twilight Sparkle is probably the most studious... student, you'll ever find. She always has her head buried in a book... unless she's with her friends. Applejack, a cowgirl with a soft heart and strong limbs; Rainbow Dash, a speed demon with absolute devotion to whatever she sets her mind to, especially when her friends are involved; Fluttershy, a sweet girl whose kindness cannot be taken any other way; Rarity, the popular girl with a generous heart and love for fashion; and Pinkie Pie, the happy-go-lucky party lover who, literally, laughs in the face of danger. Together, they attend the Chantalot Academy of Magic, a school developed by Princess Celestia to help gifted mages excel in their talents. They also go under the name of Team Harmony... and the Elements of Harmony. Together, they restored Nightmare Moon back to Princess Luna, stopped Discord, the spirit of Chaos, and even helped repel a Changeling invasion. Together, they are an unstoppable force of nature. But Celestia knows they can only go so far. Their teamwork inspired her to create a team of six system where each teammate has a different special skill. This new year, new students and old lone ones will be grouped.
"Come on, we're going to be late." Twilight is one of the few people who was worried about being late for school, even if she didn't have a class that morning. She was dressed in a purple shirt, light purple capris, and black and white trainers. Over this, she wore her uniform: a long white cloak with gold, black, and blue accents. She also wore a six-point star-shaped hairclip in her long lavender hair, with two other shades of purple streaks running through.
"I'll be right down." A few moments later, a purple creature with bright green eyes and matching green scales came down the stairs and swiftly made its way to her shoulder. "I really don't understand why we have to go so early. You don't have a class for another two and a half hours."
"I know, Spike," she replied, scratching the little dragon's chin, "But I want to be their for the orientation and grouping. Plus, I want to do some studying ahead."
"Of course you do."
"Come on, Rarity. How long'r you gonna take." Applejack was waiting outside a large mansion. She stood behind the gilded gates, giving an uninterrupted view of the splendid house; its marble pillars, the groomed gardens, the stone statues, all glorious in their own way. She was dressed in a red button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a brown leather vest, brown shorts, and shin-high boots with fur cuffs, over which she wore her uniform. Next to her, was a girl wearing a blue crop-top, a pink skirt with long blue and yellow stockings and matching armbands, and bright pink sneakers, as well as the same uniform. Her frizzy pink hair bounced as she did.
"Maybe she got lost," said the pink girl, hopping around Applejack. "I mean, that house is ginormous. There's probably a whole bunch of secret rooms she doesn't even know about."
Applejack grabbed her companion's collar. "Could be. But could ya simmer down. You're makin' me jumpy."
"I'm here," sang the purple-haired girl. She wore a simple white shirt, black skirt, and flat, black shoes. She wore a purple diamond-shaped hairclip and light blue eyeliner. "Sorry girls. I had to find something that would fit the start of the new school year. The uniform colors don't make it easy to choose certain colors," she said, gesturing to her cloak.
"Yeah, well, we gotta hurry."
"Come on, Flutts! Pick up the pace." Rainbow Dash was fast at everything, but she was especially fast at moving. Her white tank-top exposed her midriff to the rush of air. Her sky blue shorts gave her good leg room and her light blue sneakers were made to be friction-resistant. Her rainbow hair whipped behind her like the rainbow trail it left. Her pink-haired companion, in her white shirt, yellow sweater, and pink capris found it hard to keep up, and it wasn't because she was wearing sandals. Fluttershy did not have her friend's need for speed, but she constantly pushed herself to her limit, like she did. She stopped behind Rainbow, panting and adjusting the butterfly-shaped hairclip in her hair. She looked up to see her four other friends.
"Oh... hi... girls..."
"Rainbow, try slowin' down a bit fer her sake," Applejack said. "The poor girl's gonna collapse tryin' to keep up with ya... no offense."
"None taken," Fluttershy replied, smiling, now recovering her breath. "Actually, I'm fine with it; it's like training."
"Well, we'd better get inside," said Twilight. "It's about to start"
"To old students, welcome back. To new students, welcome to the Chantalot Academy." Princess Celestia's voice echoed throughout the auditorium. She had made herself a common sight in the school for many reasons. For one thing, she wanted the students to see her more as a Principal and ignore the royal status. It brought her closer to them. "I see many fresh faces in front of me. Many of which have waited for months to get in. Well, you need not wait any longer." She paused for them to finish their clapping and whooping. "I believe you have all undergone orientation. But I must warn you, this academy is for those who are willing to push themselves to their limit and beyond. It will not be easy, but the results will be very rewarding."
"So, how was your break?" Twilight with her friends on her right. To her left was a girl with orange and crimson hair wearing an orange shirt, matching shorts with pink lines on the side, and black and orange boots. She was one of the relatively few students that wore their uniform unzipped.
"Not bad," she replied. "At least when people said the name 'Sunset Shimmer', there wasn't always some curse or insult following it," she said with a rather weak smile.
"I thought everyone had forgiven you for that."
"Especially after you helped us beat the Sirens," added Pinkie.
"Yeah, well, some kids left and I met them during the summer. They don't know that happened, so they still hate me."
"That's a pretty strong word," said Applejack.
"It's the best description."
"Now, I'm sure you all know of our team-of-six system. So now, without any delay, here are the groups..." She began listing off the groups. Some were pretty much expected, like Vinyl Scratch with Octavia Melody and Bulk Biceps and Macintosh Apple, but some were rather odd, like having Bulk and Big Mac with Ditzy 'Derpy' Do. Others seemed like recipes for disaster, like putting Thunderlane on the same team with both Flitter and Cloudchaser. "Next: Sunset Shimmer."
"Oh boy," Sunset said, nervously.
"Don't worry," said Twilight reassuringly, "Your team will be fine."
"Trixie Lulamoon..."
Sunset looked at Twilight. "Um, okay. It won't be so bad."
"She won't give a break." Sunset looked back to see the pale blue-haired girl glaring at her. She turned away almost instantly.
"Digit Weaver..."
"That sounds promising."
"Amethyst Luster..."
"Looking up."
"Zesty Blitz... and finally Nox Moonrider."
"Well, I guess it isn't... so bad." Sunset felt a shiver down her spine. "Is Trixie still staring?"
"Um, yes," Twilight replied.
"Oh. boy."
"In one week, you will have the freedom to switch teams or even reduce your numbers. However, I do hope you find a reason to remain with your initially chosen teammate."
"That's going to be a bit difficult," murmured Sunset.
"If you all check your tablets, you will each see your homerooms and main team meeting grounds. That will be all. Enjoy the year and good luck."
"Some of us are going to need it," groaned Sunset.
"So, I've got the magical pain in the butt, the hyper guy high on sugar, a fashionista, and the silent shadow. Only real upside is the technical genius." Sunset Shimmer was walking with Twilight and her friends to their homeroom while looking at her team's balancing.
"You mean Digit?" asked Twilight. "I haven't had many encounters with him, but I do know he's pretty smart. Plus, he's athletic."
"I hear he uses some odd form of Rune Magic," added Applejack.
"Well, whoever he is, this Digit guy is probably going to be the silver lining in all this," Sunset added with a sigh.
"Our team ain't that bad." They turned around to see a smiling young teenager with spiky, snow white hair and electric blue eyes. His hair had a light blue streak on each side and he wore a pair of goggles. He wore his uniform open, which showed his light blue shirt with a gear on it, cut by a lightning bolt, light brown khakis, and blue high-top trainers. He also wore a pair of fingerless gloves and a pair of belts around his waist that crossed one another, along with a pair of goggles and a set of headphones. "It's pretty diverse, actually. That's what makes it awesome."
"Oh, you must be Digit?" asked Sunset.
"That's me. Pleased to meetcha," he said, holding out his hand. She shook it. It felt unusually cold... or maybe she was just a bit warm. "Mind if I walk with you? Room 318, right?"
"Yeah, sure, not at all."
They finally arrived at their homeroom, which was more than half full. "I knew we should have stayed close to the door," Twilight said under her breath.
"Hey, Sunset, wanna sit next to me?" Sunset was a bit flustered. He was so forward with the question, like he ignored the implications.
"Um, sure, okay," she said, hesitating a bit.
"How well can you handle high speeds?"
"Well, I can hold on to Rainbow when she's running for like five seconds." That's probably a record.
"It won't take that long." He held her shoulder. "Seeya around, Harmony." He zipped off with such speed, there was a gust of wind and trail of blue and white light.
Twilight stood, staring blankly. "That was... interesting."
"I'll say," replied Applejack.
"Welcome to Homeroom 318. I am your supervisor, Professor Cypher Creed, Head of History and Philosophy Departments." The tall, black-haired man stood on the stage in front of the class, but his voice echoed all the way to the upper seats ten rows back. He wore a white dress shirt, black trousers, black jacket, and black shoes. Over this, he wore an open white cloak with brown accents and brown armband and had a black fedora. Hanging out of his cloak pocket was the chain of a silver pocket watch he was know to carry everywhere. He looked stern, but his bright brown eyes and calm voice were rather warm. "I'm glad to be here with you all. Now, I don't want you to see me as just a teacher. I want you to see me as a friend, someone you can trust to help with any problems you might have in any way I can... if I can." There was some giggling. "Now you know me. I want to know you... starting from the back."
They all introduced themselves, stating their name, age, class, and magic specialty. There was a good 3:1 Sophomore to Freshman ratio. Once Professor Creed learned everyone's name, he tapped the board behind him. It lit up and the image of a sphere appeared. It had three distinct rings around it. Creed tapped the floor twice with his foot and a 3-dimensional image of the sphere popped up above him, the rings now spinning and moving around the orb. "Here's a chance to get some points for your team at the start of the year. What is the name of this device? Miss Twilight Sparkle?"
Twilight stood up. "The Gyroflux Orb; a device with the ability to warp gravity in an area with a four mile effect radius."
"Very good. And who invented it?"
"The great mage, Metal Brook."
"Right again, Miss Sparkle."
"Nice goin' Twi," Applejack said with a playful punch to Twilight's shoulder.
For the next ten minutes, Creed asked about an assortment of items, spells, words of wisdom, and even books and who came up with them. Twilight got most of them, but others also competed for Professor Creed's points. And then... "My last few questions were worth five points each, but this one is worth a hundred." At least half the class gasped. Harmony was in the lead, but a hundred points could push anyone ahead, if not at least close to them. "What is this?" The hologram projector brought up the image of a massive conical object. It looked like a giant, floating city with faces on the four corners.
"Huh? I can't remember that one?"
"What?" her friends whispered in shocked unison.
"The Oberion, also known as the Floating Crystal Island. A giant city made from crystals from the Crystal empire by Diamond Carver. Developed as a refuge and watchtower for King Sombra during the Black Crystal Era" Everyone looked in awe at Digit, who was smiling and standing.
"That is correct, Mister Weaver. So I take it you know what this is then?" The image changed to that of a giant rubrics cube with at least fifty or so rows instead of three. The image kept shifting.
"The Perplexahedron. Created by Professor Warp Paradox, who worked closely with Diamond Carver. However, it technically does not exist."
"Oh? And yet it is in the history book in front of you?"
"'Technically' is the key word. This being because it is located in another dimension, not within our physical plane. Also, information on it is based on theory as no mage has ever been able to replicate this apparatus. Then again, Professor Paradox was powerful enough to perform special distortion and special configuration spells on a much larger scale than many others."
The class was silent. They knew he was smart, but now they though he was a walking encyclopedia. "Outstanding, Mister Weaver."
Twilight looked in utter confusion at Digit, who smiled at her and sat back down. For the rest of the class, Creed talked about the history of special magic; developers, creators, and their accomplishments. Two hours later, everyone filed out for their next class, if they had any. Digit zipped out again as Sunset walked over to meet Harmony. "I don't think me being speechless is a big deal right now, huh?"
"Nope," replied Applejack.
"Yeah, well, at least the Professor didn't say something like, 'You should all learn from his example' or something," added Rainbow.
"Well, that's half the day gone." Sunset had spent the rest of the day with Harmony, as Digit had vanished after class. She was now heading for her first team meeting. "See you girls later."
"Bye," they replied in unison.
She approached the gym, where her team was supposed to meet. She took deep breaths. Your not evil anymore and they know it. They've forgiven you... I hope. She couldn't even convince herself that this was going to go smoothly. She opened the door. A dark haired figure was sitting cross-legged in the bleachers, next to a purple-haired girl, who had a white streak in her hair and was texting on her phone. A figure with spikey bright red hair, which fades to pink as it goes down, was hanging upside down from the pull-up bar. Almost instantly, he dropped down and in a flash of shades of red, he was in front of her. She jumped back.
"Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you." He spoke rather fast, Sunset couldn't tell were the statement started, ended, or broke off. He held out his hand. "Zesty Blitz, but you already know that, just like how I know you're Sunset Shimmer, since we were both in the auditorium during the announcement, and we both know were our meeting place is, meaning we both heard each other's names, but I just like the whole introduction process, it just feels so nice and warm, what do you think? By the way, what type of mage are you? What's you're elemental affinity? What's your favorite color? Where are you from? Do you think we're friends?" He was still breathing normally, and he hadn't taken any breaths between his long statement. Sunset was still trying to process everything he just said. After knowing Pinkie Pie for a few years, you tend to pick up some new skills.
"Um, sure, Arcane, fire, I like amber and opal equally, and... I... guess so."
"Cool." He zipped away in a red blur. Sunset's hand was still shaking from his handshake. The purple-haired, dark-skinned girl looked at her, laughed a bit, and went back to her phone.
Well, he was... interesting, Sunset thought to herself. But something's missing...
"Sunset Shimmer."
There it is.
A girl of about average height with pale light blue hair and blue eyes was suddenly standing in front of her. She was wearing a light blue shirt, dark blue skirt with several stars designed onto it, and blue low heeled boots. She wore a witch hat with a star hanging on the tip. "You should have begged for a re-selection. Now, you are at the mercy of the Great and Powerful..."
"Trixie, knock it off." They both turned to see Digit standing at the door. "Seriously, you've been doing this for four years now. Get a new theme will ya."
As he walked past Trixie stepped in front of him. She was about two to three inches shorter, but she didn't let that intimidate her. "You think you're something special, don't you?"
"Nah. Not really. I ain't exactly famous," he said smiling.
"Well, let me show you that Trixie has earned her Great and Powerful title." She drew her wand from inside her cloak and pointed it at Digit. Digit looked back at her, blankly.
"You... want... to pick a fight... with me? Here? Now?" He chuckled to himself. "Okay, yeah... no." He zipped past her in a blur of blue and white. Trixie turned to fire a bolt of pale magenta magic at him. He stopped and snapped his fingers and instantly, a light blue bubble surrounded him, blocking Trixie's attack. He snapped his fingers and the bubble popped, causing a strong gust of wind that the students in the bleacher's felt.
Trixie recovered from the force. "You're too weak to strike back?"
"Nah. I just don't like hitting girls. They're kinda... soft. No offenses Sunset. No offense Amy."
"Um, none taken," Sunset replied.
"Don't worry about it," called the girl in the stands.
"Was there a fight? Did I miss it? Please don't tell me I missed it. Digit, you're here!" The hyper boy from earlier was now jogging on the spot rapidly beside Digit.
"Yeah. Good to see you back in action, Zest."
"Yeah, well, it gets kinda boring when you're stuck in one place for days, ya know."
"I hear you. So, shall we begin?" They zipped towards the bleachers.
"You're gettin' slow pally," said Zest.
"Meh."
Sunset walked fast, trying to keep distance from Trixie. "So, what now?"
"Well, we already know each other's names," Digit said, thoughtfully, "How about we start coming up with a team name?"
"Do we need one?" asked Amethyst, still on her phone.
"Every team needs a name... unless you don't mind memorizing our number?"
"How long is it?" asked Sunset.
"About twenty characters long, including letters, number, symbols-"
"Never mind. So, does anyone have any ideas?"
Trixie opened her mouth to speak, but Digit cut her off. "Let's all agree that if Trixie even implies the name, The Illusions, for our team, we revoke her right to vote on anything else."
"I can work with that," Sunset said, smiling.
"Oh, come on."
"Besides, I'm pretty sure your friends already took that name," Digit said, still thinking.
"They couldn't. They know the consequences," Trixie said, trying to sound intimidating.
"How about the Misfits." Everyone turned to the black-haired, green eyed mage sitting cross-legged behind them.
"Ummmm." Digit didn't know how to reply.
"I mean look at us. We each seem to have a problem of our own. How is this even going to work?" He stared at Sunset and Trixie.
"Hey, I'm over it," Sunset said.
"Nox, come on. A little support, please?" Digit said, smiling lightly.
"You know I'm not a good team player."
"Yeah, well, that can be dealt with." Nox frowned.
They spent the whole hour arguing on names. Amethyst had suggested the Crystal Gems, but everyone had an issue with it. For one, she was the only person named after a gem to begin with. Others included The Streaks, the Shadows, and the Arsenals, but no one could agree on a name. "Misfits it is then. Seriously, we couldn't even agree on a team name in an hour."
Then, Digit had an idea. "Okay. We've got a week to come up with a permanent name before the school makes one for us. Lets each come up with a list and meet up a couple of days and try again."
"Sounds like a plan," said Sunset.
"Sure, why not."
"Whatever."
""Trixie shall come up with the greatest name!"
"It's not a competition Trixie."
"So, how'd it go." Twilight and the others met Sunset during lunch and were curious to find out how their first meeting went.
"It wasn't bad." She didn't sound convinced. "But it's like Princess Celestia took six of the most different people in the school and put them in a team."
"Well, we aren't exactly carbon copies of each other," said Twilight, gesturing to her friends. "I'm sure you guys will be fine." Suddenly, there was a loud explosion coming from outside the school. "What was that?" They ran outside and saw something they couldn't explain. There was a mage throwing red explosives at a blue streak.
"Stand still, you freak!" she cried as she tossed two more bombs in his general direction.
"What's going on? Why isn't anyone stopping this."
"Because someone is supervising." They turned to see their homeroom teacher.
"Professor Creed?" Fluttershy asked confused. "What's going on?"
"One had some steam to blow off and decided to pick a fight. Of course, fights are forbidden without the presence of a supervising official."
"Well, that explains it," Applejack said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Everyone watched as the field was ripped apart by explosions. "JUST TAKE THE DAMN HIT ALREADY!" The blur stopped. Sunset rubbed her eyes, for some reason, refusing to believe that she was seeing Digit. He was smiling.
"Try harder. Or can't you hit a moving target with all that firepower?" He took off towards her, gliding on the ground as if he were skating instead of running. She threw a maelstrom of red, cherry bomb-like projectiles at him as he came. He dodged them all, ducking, leaning, and sidestepping out of the way. He ran past her and up the stadium wall. He kicked off, spun in the air, and then threw a glowing, disc like object at her, which hit her square in the stomach, knocking her back. As he landed, the disc flew back to his arm as if it were magnetized. The shield folded in on itself and disappeared with a spark. The girl shot up, but before she could throw the bomb in her hand, a blue chain wrapped around her hand, causing her to throw the bomb to the ground in front of her, knocking her back again. She laid there panting.
"Not bad, Cherry Bomb. Still need to work on your speed, though," Digit said, smiling over her and held out his hand to help her up, but she pushed his hand away.
"Don't try to lecture me you freak." The cherry-haired girl got up and stormed off.
"Um," Sunset was confused at the sight of how Digit had practically become a different person. "What just happened?"
Digit spotted her and teleported behind her. "So, enjoy the show?"
"I thought you didn't fight girls? Something about being soft," she said, smiling slyly.
"I said I didn't like it. Besides, it wasn't like she gave me a choice."
"Well done Mister Weaver." Professor Creed was now standing behind them. "I was impressed on how you held your own out there, especially against an unrelenting opponent like Miss Cherry."
"Thanks, Sir."
"But, you'd best be heading to class. You wouldn't want to be late.
The rest of the day had gone without a hitch. Sunset, Digit, Amethyst, and Zest followed Harmony back to the dorms to the east of the school , about a ten minute walk. Digit and Zest were roommates, while Sunset and Amethyst had to try to survive living with the insufferable Trixie. As they unpacked, Digit and Zest heard a knock on the door. "Coming." Digit walked over and peeked throw the spy hole on the door. Sunset Shimmer was standing outside. He opened the door. "Hey. Wanna come in?"
Sunset suddenly turned red. "Um... um... oh, no. I just came to give you this." She handed him a pamphlet. "I-Its the class schedule for the term. Princess Celestia asked me to hand them out to the team. Here's one for Zest and Nox when you see him tomorrow."
"Um, thanks. Are you okay? You sure you don't want to just come in for a while. We're teammates, so the boy-girl dorm restrictions aren't too bad."
"No, no. I'm fine. Well, bye." She darted away.
"Huh. Wonder what that was about." Then a gust of wind hit him and he realized. "Oh, crap."
Oh, crap. Sunset was leaning against the wall outside. Why the heck didn't I say anything. The image was sealed in her mind; the tan skin, the mildly defined six-pack abs... NO! She managed to force the image out of her head as she walked back to her dorm about a hundred meters away. But like any other girl with taste, she could only barely keep the image out of her head.
Zest was snickering. "If you say a single word..." Digit was standing over Zest with a large wrench in his hand, "...If you so much as chuckle..."
"I won't. I swear." He clasped his hands over his mouth to muffle his laugh. Then he cracked. Then Digit cracked his skull.
"First day," Digit said as he laid down, ignoring Zest's whines of pain. "Well, that takes care of a lot of awkward tension. I guess."