//------------------------------//
// The Buid-Up 
// Story: Mages of Etheria: The Infinity Matrix 
// by Nova Arc 
//------------------------------//

"Whoa!" Nightshade ducked as another blot of purple energy flew over her head. Descent had gone outside to avoid getting hit by a stray bolt of energy. "Wait! Lavender, I can explain... I think... GAH!" She rolled to avoid another.

"Explain? EXPLAIN?! How could you possibly explain how you failed to get something this easy done?" She launched more bolts at Nightshade. "What, did you actually start feeling something for him?"

"What?" She dodged another bolt. "Don't be ridiculous. If I knew how he survived I would have told you by now." Finally, she tripped when a bolt exploded in front of her. She turned and saw Lavender standing over her, arm outstretched with energy cackling around her hand. "Wait, look, I did my part. I did kill him. If he survived, then someone else must have saved him... somehow."

"You said you shot him in the heart with an ice arrow. How do you save someone from having their heart frozen?"

"I don't know." Lavender stared at her. Nightshade was a good liar, but she wouldn't lie to her.

"So, if he didn't die, how did the spell work when I cast it?" Lavender asked, backing away.

Nightshade sat up. "I don't know. Maybe he was on the brink of death when you cast it. That would still qualify for the spell. But what worries me is that I don't know how he survived. It would take a lot of magic energy or some serious dark magic to bring someone back from the brink of death. Then again, he's too clean for it to have been dark magic."

Lavender sat down on the scorched bed. She looked up at Nightshade. "Figure this out and fix it. And hurry up. If that wretch hears about this I'll never hear the end of it."





"YOU DID WHAT?! What were you thinking?!" Pixel, sitting on her bed, was on the border of bemusement and fury, but took from both sides. "Do you realize how dangerous that was, both for you and her?"

Digit, sitting on the floor against the wall, held his head in his hands. "Keeping this secret is driving me nuts! I needed to get some of it out of my system. And yes, I know it's dangerous, but I trust her to keep it quiet. She isn't exactly on the school's journalism club."

Pixel face-palmed. "Still, do you realize she could be in danger, now? You just said you encountered Nightshade, meaning she knows you're alive. If she finds out about this in any way, you, Fluttershy, and anyone else even remotely involved with you is in trouble." Digit held his head harder, as if hoping to pop it like a balloon. Pixel got up and sat next to him. "Look, I know it's hard for you, but you need to know that this isn't just for you, it's for everyone's safety."

"I know."

"And the person you felt watching you?"

"I only felt the presence. I don't know who it is, but I'll keep an eye out. Hopefully, she'll keep it to herself and only confront me about it."

Digit looked at the ceiling. "Yeah, well, he's back in my head. We had a little chat." Pixel reeled back slightly I confusion. "Don't worry, I pushed him back, but it feels like it's getting harder." He folded his arms. "I can't keep doing this. Keeping secrets, pushing everyone away... it's not me. That isn't who I am." Digit sniffed, his eyes welled up with tears. Pixel pulled him into a hug as he said, "Mom would be disappointed, wouldn't she?"

"What? No, of course not. But she would tell you to be careful. Just... do that, okay?" Digit nodded and hugged back.

"So... Fluttershy, huh?" Digit pushed away, blushing. "You into shy girls now, or does she seem like she could be... submissive?" she asked, grinning. Digit turned even redder, if that were possible for someone with skin as tan as his. "Oh, or is it the rack?"

"W-What? No! Look, it was a spur-of-the-moment thing."

"Uh huh."

"Sh-Shut up!"

Pixel was still smiling, but was a lot more serious now. "But there is someone, isn't there?" Digit went silent. "Someone who might be able to sympathize... to understand?"

Digit looked away. "There are a lot of girls in the school like that."

"You know, you hide your emotions pretty well, especially for someone who hates to. And you don't need to push anyone away. So why?"

Digit shifted on the bed. "Don't you remember what happened to her? The last thing I need is someone else I care about getting caught up in the chaotic hell that's my life and getting hurt because of it... or worse." He held his arms. "I can barely live with one. If I lost two, I would..." Pixel pulled him in for another hug.

"Ssshhh. I understand. But you'll need to say something eventually. Bottling up any kind of emotion is bad. Anger is dangerous, love even more so. And forcing yourself not to feel is... well... denying your humanity."

"What if that's what I want? To not feel? To deny everything-"

"STOP IT!" Digit shook in her arms. "Now mom would be disappointed. You used to be strong. You never let anything seem bigger than you. You used to want to take on the world. That's the thing that kept you going for so long." She hugged him tighter. "Don't let go of that. Don't let go of who you are... of what makes you you... of what makes you strong." Digit wrapped his arms around her and cried into her shoulder. "I'll always be here for you, bro."





Sunset was worried. She was at her seat at homeroom on Monday and realized that it's been barely a month since school resumed and there was already a bunch of stuff that troubled her. First, it was her team, then it was the possibility that someone on her team was either mentally unstable or keeping something from them (she didn't think she wanted to know which it was), and then, Rainbow was acting strange during the sleepover. The strange was on account of her constantly wandering off and watching Fluttershy as if she was waiting for her to say something important. But it was Monday, which means she would have enough work to keep her mind off of those things. "Hey, Sunset." Sunset turned to see Twilight standing next to her. "Something bothering you?"

"No," Sunset replied, "It's nothing. Why?"

"Well, you seem kind of... out of it, lately."

"I'm fine." Sunset heard the door open and turned to see who it was. Her heart started pounding when she saw Digit walking into the class and up the steps to his seat at the back. She wasn't sure what, but something was off. For one thing, he didn't run up to greet them. The other oddity was that he seemed unusually deep in thought, like last week. Then, she noticed he was staring at something. She followed his eyes to the three new students... but why?

After their first class, Sunset was even more confused. She felt that she needed to talk to someone about all the craziness she had been noticing. So, during the first free period, she went to meet the one person she felt she could trust to keep this confidential. She knocked on the door to the classroom. "Come in," came the reply. She entered, and the man said, "Ah, Miss Shimmer. What can I do for you?"

Sunset turned and walked over to him. "Professor Creed. I, uh..." She needed to be careful. This kind of information could get Digit, and possibly her, in trouble. She started having regrets. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea, but she couldn't turn back now. Creed looked at her, waiting for her question. "I... just wanted to know something about emotion spells."

"Ah. I studied those for a while," he said. "Quite an interesting history behind that particular branch. What would you like to know?"

Sunset got her thoughts together. "If it's possible to alter a person's personality, would it also be possible to split the person into two different personalities?"

Creed thought for a moment. "Well, yes. A multiple personality can be induced into a person by a variety of things, the most common being emotional or mental trauma and bottling up one's emotions."

"But what would it take for someone to split into multiple personalities."

Creed froze for a moment, then looked up from his work to star at Sunset. "You're... asking about splitting a person into two or more separate entities, each with it's own personality. That is highly advanced and dangerous magic... and it's usually dark magic." Sunset's heart jumped. "There are very few regular magic spells that can be used for such a thing. Most are used to help a person get rid of psychological trauma by having them face that emotion in physical form. But to give that emotion a physical form and a mind of it's own? That's ... dangerous... to say  the least."

Now Sunset was even more worried. "I-Is it possible for the other half to possess magic?"

Creed was getting worried about her curiosity. He had always known her to be interested in rather unusual topics, including theoretical applications and even dark magic, but this was troubling. "Well, it is an individual entity... so... yes, I believe that would be possible. But why all these questions, Miss Shimmer? Most of the knowledge required to cast such spells are hidden from the general public or forbidden to mages below a certain degree, as are the spells themselves."

"Oh, I know. I was just curious."

"And what sparked this curiosity?"

"Um..." She thought of something that could get her out of this. "I was, um... reading a book and came across the story of the mage with ten names.



The Mage with Ten Names
A powerful mage who wished for a deeper understanding of the human mind. He completed a spell that allowed him to separate a mage into his/her most dominant emotions. He delved deeper and manage to completely separate the different personalities into different bodies. He used the spell on himself, using acronyms and titles to name each of them to avoid confusion, and used his nine other personalities to obtain the results he wanted. He faced his demise when three of his embodiments, Pride, greed, and anger, overheard (or overthought, as the case may be) him planning to reunite the individual personalities and decided to stop him... permanently.



Creed stared at her for a while before saying, "Well, I guess it's not so bad to embrace one's curiosity, but be careful what you decide to delve into." Sunset nodded and left the room. Once she was gone Creed sat back in his chair. "He's back... and she's seen him... but how?"





The rest of the day was relatively uneventful... that is, until team meeting. "Guys, it's almost here!" Zest said in an excited tone.

"Yep," Amethyst said. "Two more days until the trials. It feels like forever."

"It feels kind of early to be doing something like this," said Nox.

Amethyst gasped. "He speaks!" Nox rolled his eyes and everyone laughed. "Okay, I say we get matching outfits for this."

"And there's the inner diva I've heard so much about," said Sunset. "Why don't you show that side of you more often? It reminds me of Rarity."

"Yeah, well, I got rid of it because it sorta made me an insensitive jerk to others. Then I figured that the clothes don't make the person and, well, you can't judge a book by it's cover. Just because someone doesn't share your taste in fashion doesn't mean you're any better than them. So I just stopped caring."

"Uh, you're wearing a designer shirt, skirt, stockings and boots," Sunset said, noting Amethyst's outfit, "I'm not seeing the lack of care."

"Hey, I never said I stopped looking good," Amethyst said, posing for a non-existent camera, which made them all laugh.

"Looking good?" asked Trixie. "HA! That outfit lost its value the moment you put it on."

"Yours lost its value the moment you imagined wearing it," Amethyst replied.

"Whoa, whoa, save it for the trials." They turned and saw Digit walk into the gym. Sunset's heart jumped, and not in the good way. She was still uneasy about what she saw last week. "I see we've at least managed to put most of our differences behind us?"

"Well, I guess some people aren't as obnoxious as they seem," said Amethyst, staring at Trixie. "Then again, that could just be the ignorance talking." Trixie glared back.

Digit laughed and said, "Well, glad to see that's settled. But we also need to get our entrance badges tomorrow. Zest, could you remind everyone to get theirs tomorrow?"

"Sure thing," Zest replied.

"Okay then. If there's nothing else, I guess we can call it a day."





"NIGHTSHADE! DESCENT!"

"Great, I hope your happy." Descent would not let Nightshade hear the end of it. "Thanks to you, Lavender isn't gonna give us a break."

"Hey, you wouldn't help," Nightshade replied as they made their way to Lavender's room. "Besides, I'm the one who isn't getting any sleep because I'm the one taking the blame here."

"But since we're related, I take that pain with you, unfortunately. Stupid sibling bond."

"I thought the bond was only mental," Nightshade said thoughtfully, "Like mind reading and finishing each other's sentences."

"Well, you thought wrong." They arrived and Descent knocked on Lavender's door, which opened of its own accord. Lavender was sitting on her bed with her phone. "Um, Lavender?"

She was sitting on her bed with a laptop on her legs wearing a t-shirt and a pair of short-shorts. She looked up. "Oh, good. You're here. Come here." She didn't sound as angry as when she was shouting their names. It made them uneasy.

"W-What is it?" asked Nightshade.

Lavender noticed her hesitation. "Relax, Nighty. I've forgiven you. We can't all be perfect."

"Oh, um, thanks." Oh, sure. Of course you forgive me right after trying to kill me, she thought. "So, what's up?"

"Check this out." She showed them a social media page with the school's logo. "Someone just Cheeped about an upcoming trail or something hosted by the school. It's supposed to be a sort of test for whether or not the students can start taking missions."

The siblings looked at the webpage. "Huh. Never woulda guessed that schools needed that much publicity," she said. "Any reason this caught your attention?"

Lavender grinned. "According to this, Princess, or should I say Principal, Celestia said that if the classroom performance of the students is compromised in any way, those competeing members will be removed. Lose more than two members and you're out."

Nightshade grinned as well. "Lemme guess. You plan to sabotage a bunch of students so that hopefully the Princess will let us take their place and we can use that opportunity to deal with Digit." Lavender nodded, grinning sinisterly. "That might actually work. Just one problem. Won't the school take precautions to avoid any student from being mortally injured?"

Lavender feigned a face of defeat. "True. It would be unfortunate if someone was seriously wounded during this event." She grinned, adding, "It would be just as unfortunate if, I don't know, something disrupted the transport spell they set up to get injured or endangered students out of the area."

"But how will such a horrible thing happen?" Descent asked, joining the jest. "Wouldn't the Princess and the guards be on high alert and check the runes and transporters on a regular basis?"

Lavender looked up in thought. "Well everyone makes mistakes. I mean, anyone could mistake a detonation rune for a transport rune. And the engineers aren't always watching the equipment. Why would they need to? They've already dine it a hundred times before."

"True," Descent said nodding his head. "It would be such a shame if they got careless with something so serious. Nightshade, let's go for a walk, shall we. I feel like sightseeing."

Nightshade nodded. "Well, I am feeling a bit bored. Can we go to the Eclipse Spire?" Lavender blushed and went from joking to serious.

"J-Just go," she said, as Nightshade laughed her way out the door.





The next day, the students were given a free day on behalf of the competing students. But something happened that day. Something rather unexpected. Then again, it was a high school. Sunset heard all the rumors of some teams getting laid off because of "inappropriate behavior". "I heard Eco and Green sprayed some "Save the Planet!" graffiti on the school wall," Amethyst said when the team met. "And the Forces of Nature ain't the only ones that got knocked out." She scrolled through her Cheeper page on her phone. "Apparently, Six Storms also got kicked out."

"Why does that not surprise me," Sunset said. The love rectangle between Thunderlane, Blossom Forth, and the twins, Flitter and Cloudchaser was a very common and popular topic among the students. Some saw it as cute, some saw it as a powder keg being laid next to a dragon's mouth. "What's the story this time? The usual kissing behind the school? Naked photos? Or was Thunderlane caught with Blossom's underwear again?"

"Nope. This time Thunder stuck his fingers in two beehives... if you know what I mean."

Sunset and Trixie both turned red. "Well... that's... a new level," Sunset said. "How'd they get caught?"

"Especially if it's Thunder," Trixie added. "I always thought that bozo was at least smart enough not to get caught."

"Apparently, Principal Celestia caught them under the bleachers at the field," Amethyst explained.

"And they weren't expelled?"

"Nope. Apparently, they were all hit by some kind of spell that got them horny. Admittedly, I'm curious about that. Wonder what it's like..."

"Amethyst," Sunset called, bringing Amethyst back to reality. Amethyst blushed in response. "So, is anyone replacing them?"

"Yep. Two teams got the spots. First, the Travelers."

"That's Savannah's team. Who else?"

"Some other group called the Midnight Hearts. I think it's the new girl's team."

"Hey guys." They turned to see Zest and Nox walk into the gym. Digit followed soon after. "Heard the news yet?" They nodded. "Sheesh. Wonder if Thunderlane thinks it was worth it. Kinda wish I was in his shoes... minus getting kicked out of the trials." Amethyst hit him over the head. "Ow," he said rubbing his head. "But if it was a spell, ten bits says it was Blossom getting back and getting off at a safe distance." Another smack.





Celestia paced in her throne room. "Sister, please, try to relax," said Luna. "You've done everything you can to prepare."

"I know. But is this right?" Celestia asked. "Those who pass won't just take missions early, they'll be called for very dangerous ones as well... like assisting with the investigation of the Infinity Jewels."

"Well, you don't need to worry about that, Sunbutt," said a voice. Celestia turned and saw one of the pictures on the stained glass windows dancing. "Remember, you have me."

"That's exactly what worries me, Discord." Suddenly, a picture of Discord, the Lord of Chaos, on the glass doubled and one slithered out and solidified. He donned a grayish-yellow shirt, orange trousers, and brown shoes. Over this was a reddish-brown hooded overcoat with a furry yellow right arm and a scaly brighter yellow one. His white hair and goatee were messy and unkempt. On his back were the phantasmal forms of purple bat wing and a blue feathered one, as well as a red tail with a white, furry end which looked like another hand.

Discord frowned. "Ouch. That hurt my feelings."

"Take this seriously, Discord," Celestia snapped.

"I am! You don't think I had a reason for locking those tings up in the first place? If anyone get's their hands on those jewels, what will I have left to play with?" Celestia shot him a look. "I mean, um, a lot of people will get hurt."

At that moment, a guard ran into the room. "Princess, there's a problem."

"What is it?" Celestia asked.

"We just received a message from Professor Spellbinder. It's about Miss Cherilee..."

Ten minutes later, Celestia, Luna, and Discord stood around Cherilee, who was lying in a hospital bed. The nurse read off the list of injuries. "Ruptured spleen, collapsed lung, punctured kidney, crack collarbone, two dislocated vertebrae, one broken arm, one broken leg..." The nurse closed the pamphlet. "And that's just half the list."

"Well, she a tough cookie, I'll give her that," said Discord. He leaned in to look at the x-rays. "Almost as if she was being slammed against the ground and a bunch of walls like a three-year-old's toy."

"That seems to be the case." They turned and saw Spellbinder standing at the door. "I found her outside the Chantalot Public Library last night... lying next to some cars with mysterious dents and broken windows. I rushed her here as fast as I could."

"Thank you," said Luna. "No trace of the culprit?"

He shook his head. "I'll do a little more investigating later today and tomorrow, but I need to get some equipment from my  lab first. Believe me, I intend to search until I find the one responsible for this."

"Very well." With that, he left.

Discord wandered around Cherilee. "I'm sure the same questions are on all our minds right now?"

"And what questions would those be?"

"Who attacked her, what did he want, and why didn't he kill her?"

"She was attacked in front of the library," Celestia said, thinking. "The person also must have known she was there, which means he or she was waiting for her. But what could they possibly have wanted? And did they get it?"

"I shall contact the library assistants and ask them to look for any books missing or checked out from the library. Maybe that may provide some insight... at least until she awakens," Luna said, looking at Cherilee.

"Good idea," said Celestia. "I'll station some guards around the area and undercover, just as a precaution."

"You mean in case someone tries to kill her again?"

Celestia nodded. "They decide she'd be better off dead."

"Yikes. The things people do to get a book," Discord said, shaking his head. He looked down at her. "I'll stay and watch her."

"What? Why?" asked Celestia.

"She's probably going to be surprised to see me, and I'd love to see the look on her face when I tell her that I've been watching over her. Besides, don't you two have some event to prepare for?" The sisters looked at one another. "Don't worry, it'll be fine."

"Fine," Celestia said reluctantly. As they left, Celestia turned to him and said, "Don't try any funny business." Discord nodded and they left.

"I wouldn't dream of it," Discord said when they left, pulling out a paint brush and palate, suddenly dressed in an artist's regalia, smiling.





"Today's the day!" Zest was as excited as a teenager getting his first game console. "Woohoo!" He and Amethyst were waiting in their locker room in the arena.

"Relax, Zest," said Amethyst. "Save your energy for the trials." Zest wore a simple red t-shirt with a black streak across it, black khaki shorts, and red high-top sneakers, alongside his signature sports glasses, armlet, and fingerless gloves. Amethyst wore a black shirt with 3/4 length sleeves and a pink cat face, purple skirt with black stockings, and purple sandals and had a bracelet around each wrist and fingerless glove. She had also tied her hair into a long, back-length ponytail.

Soon, Sunset, Nox, and Digit walked in. Sunset wore a pink tank-top, orange short-shorts, and red high-tops with orange accents. Nox wore a dark blue t-shirt under a black sleeveless jacket with a fur-trimmed hood, gray khakis, and black boots and had a similar armlet and gloves as Zest, but with the addition of sports tape. Digit donned a blue sleeveless shirt, gray 3/4 length khakis, and blue high-tops with white accents, along with a pair of fingerless gloves, his signature goggles, and a blue and white scarf. Sunset looked around. "I see Trixie plans on making her grand entrance." She stared at the entrance to the locker room. "Three... two... one..."

"Trixie is here!" Trixie burst in, donning a purple sleeveless shirt with long detached sleeves, light blue skirt with  a matching ribbon around her waist like a belt, a slightly darker pair of stockings, and light blue boots with dark blue accents. She also had her signature purple cape with star emblazoned onto it.

"Ugh, will you ever stop saying that?" asked Amethyst.

"Will you ever be on time?" asked Sunset.

"Find out on the next episode of..." Zest stopped when he noticed them all looking at him. "What? You can't say you didn't just set me up for that." He handed each of them a pass... each of them except Digit. "Oh... crap."

"Don't worry about it," Digit said, smiling. He took out his phone and typed something. An alert came in a few moments later. "Done. The beauty of social networking." They all stared. "What? I just got someone to help me get registered."

"I won't even ask," said Amethyst.





Meanwhile the arena was filling up with students and staff. At the extreme end of the arena was the high table overlooking the arena. At it sat Princesses Celestia and Luna, Professors Creed, and Inkwell, all of whom were a lot less excited than they would have expected. "Is this necessary?" asked Inkwell. "Should we not be more concerned about Ms. Cherilee? Or the magic phenomena that I've been reporting."

Celestia sighed. "Spellbinder is investigating the incident. I have also stationed guards at her hospital just in case. And I am confident in your abilities to handle any  issues regarding the hotspots. Besides, Zecora is helping with monitoring the hotspots. If she notices anything, she will inform us." Then came a ring. "That must be Spellbinder." She pulled a stone out of the pocket of her royal gown and tapped the sun insignia on it. The symbol projected a gold pentagram, followed by the figure of Professor Spellbinder. "Spellbinder. Have you found anything?"

"Well, the culprit left no trace of their being there. Even the mage's magic is untraceable, like the essence vanished without a trace. But I'll keep looking."

"Do you know what they wanted? Did she have anything valuable stolen?"

He shook his head. "Purse, money, ID, credit cards, debit cards, house and car keys... everything is still here. And it doesn't seem like they took her magic energy or essence. But judging by the timing, it was definitely planned and the were definitely after something. I just don't know what or why. But I'll keep you informed on my findings." Celestia nodded and the image vanished.





In the crowd Twilight and her team, sitting together. They were all excited, especially to see Sunset compete. Suddenly, Twilight lost her vision. "GAH!" She reached for her face and felt a pair of hands. "Pinkie, knock it off."

"It's not me," replied Pinkie. Twilight noticed the voice came from in front of her, as did a few stifled laughs and giggles. Then again, Pinkie was a trickster mage.

"Pinkie, if it's you, I'm serious."

"It's not me... I promise... Pinkie Promise..." she said between stifled laughs.

"So that must mean..." She reached behind her felt soft, silky hair. She traced along the hair and hit something hard and heart-shaped. She jumped up.

"Hey!" cried a voice from behind. Twilight recognized it instantly.

"Cadence!" She turned and hugged the young woman behind her. She looked up and saw a girl with light purple eyes and streams of purple, pink, and cream colored hair. She wore a brilliant pink dress with gold accents. The accents curved to form a stylized heart over her torso. Her bangs hid most of her blue heart-shaped focus gem and on her right collarbone was her signature shaped similarly. She embraced Twilight. They broke the hug and whispered:

"Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake. Clap your hands and do a little shake." They laughed after the little dance.

"It's been a while, Twilight," said Cadence. "How's my favorite sister-in-law?"

"I'm great." Twilight looked closer. "Wait, are you sure you're no Chrysalis posing as Cadence again?"

"Who knows? Are you?" They stared intently at each other, then burst into laughter. "But seriously, let us never speak of that again."

"Deal." Twilight looked around. "Where's my BBBFF?"

"Right here, Twily." Twilight looked behind Cadence and saw a young man clad in a white shirt and combat trousers with gold and purple armor. He hugged Twilight. "How's my little sister?"

"Sorry, she beat you to that question," she said, gesturing at Cadence. They all laughed.

"Well, we should probably get going," said Shining. "You know where to find us." They waved Twilight and her friends goodbye.

They took their seat next to Princess Celestia, while the teachers sat by Luna. "How was your trip?" asked Celestia.

"It was okay," replied Cadence. "How's Cherilee doing?"

"She's recovering slowly, but at least she's alive."

"Thank Faust." She leaned back in her chair. "Who would do such a thing? Cherilee was such a kind person. And she's a school teacher for goodness sake. Why would anyone attack her?"

"And from the reports I got, she wasn't robbed of anything valuable," said Shining. "So what reason could the attacker... or attackers have had?"

Celestia stared at him. "Attackers? Plural?"

"Well, either the assailant was extremely powerful of a high-level mage, or she was attacked by more than one person. Considering her condition, it's only logical to assumed there were multiple assailants."

"That is a possibility. But, no offense meant, Cherilee isn't exactly a brick wall."

"True, but until we get some answers, it would be wise to consider all possibilities."

"Agreed. Spellbinder is working on it and will get back to us as he progresses."

"Right..." said Shining, drifting off.

"Um, you okay, Shiny?" asked Cadence.

He came back to reality. "Hm? Oh, yeah. I'm fine. Just got lost in thought there for a second."

"I can't believe Discord isn't here," she said, staring at the empty seat next to her. "This doesn't seem like the kind of thing he would miss."

"He'll probably show up sooner or later," sadi Celestia. "He said he was watching over Cherilee, but I have a feeling he'll find a way."

"Maybe a clone, or something?"

"Possibly."

A bell rang and Celestia looked at her watch. "That's the signal." She stood up. "GOOD DAY, STUDENTS OF CHANTALOT MAGIC ACADEMY!" The Royal Chantalot Voice echoed through the arena. Once she had their attention, she continued. "Welcome to the Trials of Chantalot. For the next three days, six teams will compete in tests of strength, skill, and sheer willpower. These trials will determine which of them gets to go on higher missions earlier in the year than others. And now, the teams." The symbols of the six teams appeared over the entrance they were to use. The insignias lit up as the names were called.





Back in the locker room, the Sparks awaited their name."Team Xplosion."

"That was five," said Sunset. "We're next."

"Team Sparks."

"Well, this is it, guys," Digit said as the doors opened. They walked out to meet the cheering students. All classes, from Freshmen to Advanced Learners were there. The team looked and saw the other five teams at other entrances to the arena.

"Welcome to the Trials, my students. For the next three days, you shall be tested beyond your very limits. Would any of you like to forfeit?" Silence. Celestia and Luna nodded to each other and raised their hands and a giant eclipse insignia appeared in the middle of the arena. The glow expanded, engulfing the entire area in a big white dome.

"WOOHOO!" cheered Zest.

"WHAT THE..." cried Amethyst.

"I HATE THIIIIIISSS!" yelled Sunset.

"OH MY..." cried Trixie.

"HERE WE GO!" called Digit.

"Then let the games... trials..." Dramatic pause. "...BEGIN!" Then, the blinding light swallowed the entire arena, and the crowd cheered at the signal of the start of the trials.