Equestria Girls Flipped! (Side: Canterlot High) · 11:37pm Aug 9th, 2018
So you're all probably wondering what E!Spike is up to while CH!Spike is having fun in Equestria.
Well it starts with him getting to know the local police and their station pretty well.
As you might recall, after falling through the portal with her, Sunset Shimmer ran off leaving Spike to take the blame for defacing the school statue. As one might expect, E!Spike is doing his best to explain what's going on but (also as you might expect) nobody in the Canterlot High world believes him. Eventually the cops have given up on getting a straight answer out of him and just tell him to stay quiet and wait. Before he can ask for what, the Canterlot High version of his parents show up.
Yeah, if you thought CH!Spike was confused that's nothing compared to E!Spike realizing that he's apparently still considered a child in this world despite being an adult by Equestrian standards. He gets a good scolding from "his" parents (who also refuse to brook any of the explanation he's trying to give them) before getting dragged back home and locked in "his" room.
Compared to the welcome he'd been shown in Canterlot just that morning, Spike is a little overwhelmed by this sudden change. As much as he wants to figure out what's going on the combination of strange factors and excitement leave him drained. He elects to try and sleep this off and figure something out in the morning.
Morning comes with E!Spike getting a wake-up call from a Twilight of his own. Though this one is a fuzzy purple puppy that's licking his face. He's ecstatic to see Twilight at first before realizing that this version of her is just a dog (though a very intelligent dog) that can't talk to him, which launches him back into morose territory. He can't figure out what happened with that mirror, where the heck he is now, why he's living with his parents again, and how things could possibly get any worse.
At which point, "his" mom calls up to tell him to get ready for school.
E!Spike gets no sympathy from his parents, and they don't buy it when he tries to come up with an excuse not to go so he can figure out what's going on. They even drop him off outside Canterlot High themselves just to make sure he doesn't sneak off somewhere else. As a lone saving grace, E!Spike at least manages to sneak Twilight along in his backpack so he has a familiar (and friendly) face around. His fortunes seem to be rising as he notices the statue outside the school and recognizes it as the one he and Sunset fell out of the night before. As soon as his parents are gone he makes his way over hoping to just jump through and get back to Equestria, only to get stopped by the last person he wanted to see: Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset makes it very clear that Spike can't just jump through the portal and go home, a fact she demonstrates herself by tapping the statue to show it's solid. E!Spike demands to know what's going on and what she's planning, but Sunset just responds that he's in her world now if he should just fall in line if he ever wants to see Equestria again. E!Spike, of course, refuses to do that and Sunset just comments how CH!Spike was smarter than him as she walks off. Before Spike can go after her the school's PA system sounds, ordering him to the principal's office and drawing almost every other students' attention to him.
Yeah, unlike his arrival in Canterlot, E!Spike finds himself funneled into a walk of shame by the other students (several of whom he recognizes from their pony counterparts back home) all the way to Vice Principal Luna's office. Luckily for him, though, another familiar face is there as everyone else leaves to go to class: Thunderlane!
Spike immediately tries to start up a conversation, hoping to figure out something about this world or what the principal would want. This version of Thunderlane is less than forthcoming with information, however. In fact, he flat-out tries to ignore Spike, snaps at him to stop talking when that doesn't work, and finally kicks his chair out from under him when Spike keeps pestering him. Spike doesn't get a chance to even ask about that last part as Vice Principal Luna shows up (and Spike draws the connection between her and Princess Luna) and tells Thunderlane off for his behavior, saying she'll be getting to him eventually.
First she has business with Spike.
Yeah, like with the cops and his parents, VP Luna believes Spike to be responsible for attempting to deface the statue. Realizing by now that talking about portals and Equestria is just asking for trouble Spike still tries to deny the accusation by explaining it was Sunset Shimmer. He doesn't know her name yet but there is a convenient photograph for him to point to. Several, in fact, showing her as the Fall Formal Princess, Student of the Month, winning numerous school awards...
Suffice it to say, VP Luna doesn't believe him and warns him that he should pick a better scapegoat than the school's top student. Spike's at an utter loss as it's explained he's off the school newspaper and on probation. Another toe out of line will lead to him getting expelled from Canterlot High. As little as he might care about staying in school (seeing as he already has a prestigious career in Equestria), Spike realizes that the school and, more importantly, the statue are his best chance of getting home so he just agrees and leaves (Thunderlane giving him another shove on the way out).
So not a great first day at a new school all in all. And he hasn't even been to first period yet. E!Spike is just completely baffled over what's going on (as well as where he's supposed to be going). Luckily, puppy Twilight has a solution to both problems: CH!Spike's class schedule!
Also his journalism scrapbook, which falls out when Twilight pops out with the schedule.
Looking through the articles his other self has been writing starts to paint the picture for Spike. Seems that CH!Spike only became a student at Canterlot High a few years ago, formerly attending Crystal Prep. He must have joined the Canterlot High newspaper club shortly after ("No surprise there. Aaaand... yup, edited by Ink Blot. At least that didn't change...") but the content of CH!Spike's articles as compared to E!Spike's is what strikes him. Apparently, CH!Spike's been writing some of the most unfounded and socially damaging gossip E!Spike's ever had the displeasure of reading. With the very first article being about Thunderlane getting his teachers to fudge up his grades so he could stay on the track team.
E!Spike is appalled that he, or another version of him, could write something like this and it's far from the only article like that. All manner of demeaning and hurtful rumors are in the scrapbook that seem to cover almost every name Spike can recognize from Ponyville. Unfortunately he doesn't have time to be indignant before Twilight tugs him off to class before he gets into trouble.
After suffering through his morning classes ("How is math even more boring the second time around?") he finally gets a break at lunch where he gets a glimpse at how the students are all broken into different cliques like in canon. Spike tries to find someplace to sit but gets shut out of every group. He even tries sitting with the Canterlot High version of Ditzy Doo who's alone only for her to get up and walk away from him (not that he can blame her having found the "Derp of the Day" articles in the scrap book).
Then who should show up but Sunset Shimmer.
Spike tries to walk off on her, but she explains she's not looking for a fight. Actually, she wants to help E!Spike just like she helped CH!Spike when he started at Canterlot High. Sunset explains she was CH!Spike's first friend and that she helped him get onto the school newspaper after he mentioned how much fun he'd had on the Crystal Prep newspaper team.
Between that and the way the students are acting E!Spike manages to put two-and-two together, realizing that Sunset used her connection to the paper through CH!Spike to start controlling the students. Sunset applauds him for being smarter than she expected but points out the damage is already done. Even if she wanted to she doesn't think she could repair all the fractured friendships and hurt feelings that CH!Spike helped her cause. Of course, E!Spike wants to know why she'd do something like this but Sunset remains tight-lipped on that matter. She just points out that she's the only one that knows how to get E!Spike back home and that, without her protection, he's easy pickings for anyone that holds a grudge against CH!Spike (citing Thunderlane in particular).
E!Spike refuses to back down, saying he's managed to turn around a similar situation. Sunset just shrugs and walks off, figuring he'll come around sooner or later (not that she intends to give it a chance to matter). She just wishes him luck and heads off.
Spike spends the rest of his day getting pushed around by the other students (like Thunderlane and Ditzy Doo, plus Big Macintosh) and even some of the faculty (turns out CH!Spike had started a rumor about Miss Cheerilee the librarian being in a relationship with Guidance Counselor Time Turner). At the very least he manages to avoid any situations that draw VP Luna's attention, but come the end of the day he's still at an utter loss for what to do. None of this world's versions of his friends want anything to do with him, Sunset only does because she clearly wants something (likely another shot at the Element of Magic he figures), and even if he tries to tell the truth or warn anyone what's happening nobody is going to believe him. It actually reminds him disturbingly of life under Trixie back at the School for Gifted Unicorns, which just gets him more incensed that CH!Spike didn't stand up to Sunset.
At which point he decides that now is the perfect time to take a stand. Starting with making sure that she can't just slip off into Equestria again.
Before school lets out for the day, VP Luna finds a note taped to her office door saying that there's going to be another attempt to vandalize the statue that night. Later that night, she stays on duty at the school in order to see this through and does spot someone starting to paint the statue. Though they get away, VP Luna has her suspicions and calls Spike's parents to ask where he is. At which point she learns that he's up in his room working on a school assignment (and yes, they do go check on him right then and there to prove he is). VP Luna is confused but does have to admit that the vandal wasn't Spike (at least not this time). Meanwhile at CH!Spike's house, E!Spike is working late into the night writing out a very special article.
The next morning Sunset arrives at school in a grouchy mood having almost been caught by VP Luna. She's at least thankful that, without the portal open, time's moving differently in Canterlot High than Equestria so she figures it's probably only been a few hours since her failed theft back in the castle. She also notices E!Spike looking tired and figures he'll probably be ready to cave to her demands soon, until she gets a look at the crowd around the bulletin board in the school's lobby. It's been plastered with multiple hand-written copies of the same article. One that talks how the school newspaper has been plagued by a rash of harmful, rumor-mongering articles and the writer's intent to expose the truth behind them, signed by a writer that Ink Blot insists isn't on the school paper: Purple Prose.
Of course, Sunset has this pegged instantly but decides to let E!Spike have fun beating his head against a wall. E!Spike, meanwhile, sets his sights on the first subject for the biggest round of article retractions of his career: Ditzy Doo.
well this can only end badly for sunset
This is good. I can't wait to read how the papers start helping people.
Oh man, I'm excited to see where this goes. Twilight bumbled her way through the movie, but Spike is much more confident and knows how to play the game. It took a little bit of work to figure out the setting of the game, but the roles generally stay the same. I'm looking forward to seeing how this goes next.
The Equestria Girls setting tends to throw a monkey wrench into the Ditzy Doo family, as pony Dinky is supposed to be around the same age as the CMC, which works OK in Equestria, but not at CHS, where it's tougher to acknowledge Sparkler and Dinky being siblings if Ditzy is their mom. Of course, with the reality bending of Spike replacing Twilight as Shining Armor's sibling, the Doos could still be a family unit of some sort.
It'll be interesting to see what "Purple Prose" finds out.
Ooh, this looks good.