The next day, Sunny and Indigo were sitting inside at Kahuna Burger eating lunch. It was only a few minutes after one. “So…when do you think they’ll get home?” Indigo asked.
“I’m hoping in the afternoon sometime because if it’s in the evening we’ve just wasted an entire day doing nothing,” Sunny replied as she ate a sweet potato fry.
“Yeah, when I could’ve been playing Battlefield,” Indigo grumbled. Sunny gave her a sour look. “Hehe…I’m kidding! So why was I given the honor to be chosen anyway?”
“I kind of needed a wingman…winggirl, whatever. Sugarcoat would’ve been condescending the entire time, Sour would burn the place down and Lemon…well it’s Lemon.”
“Fair points, and I do know how to be smooth…” Indigo winked.
“Smooth with guys or girls?” Sunny asked.
“Both. I’m a people person. I’m good at reading them too. See, not just some stupid jock after all.”
“Have I ever called you stupid?” Sunny asked.
“No…but I kind of got the perception at school. I mean, I’m not book-smart but I’m pretty smart…like college algebra smart.”
“You’d hate calculus then.”
“Don’t remind me…”
“So who cares if you’re not some model A student? Sparkle was one and everyone envied her.”
“Oh yeah…yeah you’re right! I mean, I’m smart but not smart enough where you’d want me to burn down in flames!”
“Um…right,” Sunny said. She looked around and saw the place was moderately full.
“So…why did we pick this place again?” Indigo asked.
“Well, it’s nearby where Twilight’s house is. And I was hungry and I don’t get to splurge on fast food often.”
“You kidding? I splurge all the time.” Indigo then stole a fry.
“And you keep your skinny figure how?”
“Metabolism baby…hey just wondering…why do they call it a ‘Royale with Cheese’?”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah seriously, what kind of-?” Indigo then looked over. “We got company.”
Sunny looked over and saw two girls walking in. She recognized them immediately. “Well…guess my intuition was right.”
Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle ordered their food and sat down at a table on the opposite side of the room. “Huh…did she change her hairstyle?” Indigo asked.
Sunny ignored the question. “Okay…how do you want to approach this?”
“You’re asking me?”
“Yes! You’re the wingman, the people person!”
“Okay, okay…let’s just play it cool. We’ll walk by, act like we’re about to leave and I’ll engage them. You know, like catching up with old friends.”
“We’re not her friends.”
“Well let’s hope she’ll talk to us at least.” The two of them got up and acted as if they were throwing away their trash and then Indigo turned around in their direction. “Wassup!?”
Sunset and Twilight suddenly looked in her direction. Sunny looked at her like she lost her mind. Indigo glanced over and gave her a wink before walking over. “Yo Sparkle. Long time no see! You remember me right?”
“Oh uh…Indigo right?” Twilight asked.
“Yep! And you remember Sunny too right?” Sunny suddenly grinned nervously as three pairs of eyes looked at her.
“Right…hi Sunny,” Twilight said.
“Um…do you need something?” Sunset asked.
“Oh uh…no just got done with lunch…here…where we usually eat…and isn’t it great we run into you two!?”
“Indigo…” Sunny muttered.
“Y-Yeah…really nice.” Sunny could see Twilight was looking nervous.
“Man, the way you two are dressed it’s like you two got back from camp or something!”
“We did,” Sunset replied, looking suspicious. “How’d you know?”
“Oh you know, lucky guess…”
“Oh for crying out loud,” Sunny said. She pushed Indigo aside. “Listen, I don’t mean to be abrupt but…we need to talk to you. It’s important.”
“About what?” Twilight asked.
Sunny wasn’t quite sure how to answer. “Magical stuff.”
That got their attention. The two of them looked at each other before Twilight said, “Do you want to sit down?”
“Sure.” The two of them sat down in the booth. “And you’ll have to excuse Indigo she’s not as good a people person as I thought.”
“Hey!”
“So…are we talking about Friendship Game-level stuff here?” Sunset asked.
“Where do I even begin?” Sunny stated. “Well, for starters, we had the pleasure of running into a manticore near the Everfree Forest a few days ago.”
“A manticore!?” Sunset was taken aback by this.
“Oh don’t worry, Sunny gave him a few second and third-degree burns, I’m sure,” Indigo said.
“Okay…I get the feeling that’s not all,” Twilight said. Sunny then continued on about their little side trip, the incidents at school and finally the spider in her background.
By the end, both girls looked quite disturbed. “Well, we can explain the part at Camp Everfree,” Sunset said. “When we got there-”
"TRAITOR!"
The yell echoed around the restaurant and as the four of them looked over, they saw Sour Sweet stomp in while being held back by Sugarcoat and Lemon Zest.
“Oh no…” Sunny facepalmed. “What is she doing here…!? Indigo…”
“I got this.” Indigo gave an apologetic look to both Sunset and Twilight as she got up and went over to restrain the girl.
“Uh…is something going on?” Sunset stared at the entire scene.
Sunny glanced at Twilight. “She’s…still kind of upset over what happened at the Friendship Games…and that you transferred schools.”
“Oh…actually…” Twilight looked up. “I kind of wanted to say something to all for awhile…something I need to get off my chest.”
Sunny looked over at the girls and nodded her head slightly. They let Sour go and went towards the table.
“This isn’t going to turn violent right?” Sunset asked.
“Hey, give us a little credit,” Indigo rolled her eyes. “We’re students, not gang members.”
Sunny looked over at Twilight. “Go ahead.”
Twilight took a deep breath. “I know it’s been awhile since we last met but…I kind of feel like we didn’t quite leave on the best terms. I know I was kind of a burden for everyone at the Games.” She looked over at Sour. “And…I don’t want you to think I’m upset about what happened at the end either. I don’t blame any of you. It’s like Sunset once told me, I should keep myself out of things I don’t fully understand. And I hope you can understand that the only reason I left Crystal Prep didn’t have to do with any of you, Principal Cinch, or the school itself. I just felt Canterlot High was a better environment for me.”
It was quiet for a few moments. “Um.” It was Lemon who spoke up. “Well, just from my standpoint, I don’t think you were a burden…I mean you figured out that big equation at the end. I mean, I wouldn’t even have gotten past part one.”
Sugarcoat looked a bit uncomfortable. “I know I tend to be…brutally honest about what I say but…looking back at everything I should’ve been a little more supportive, especially considering you didn’t ask for all that happened.”
Everyone then looked at Sour who managed to glare at everyone back. She then took a deep breath. “Look…I’m a lot like Indigo when I get involved in school events. I’m competitive, and that pretty much drives my emotions. Was I getting pissed off at you during the competition? Yes. Was I upset that you decided to leave right afterwards? Yes. I’m…ugh I admit I can be a bitch to everyone but…don’t take it personally okay? I’m like that to everyone…”
“I…think that was an apology…” Sunny said. “With all that said, I think its time we bury the hatchet…what’s done is done. We’re here because we need your help. I mean, you guys are kind of experts on this type of stuff right?”
Sunset just smiled and shook her head. “And here I thought we’d be done with magic for awhile…”
Twilight smiled as well. “Well…what do they always say? ‘Once a Shadowbolt, always a Shadowbolt?’”
“You got that right!” Indigo grinned.
“Okay…we’ll help you out,” Twilight said. “I think first we should get everyone caught up.”
Both sides then gave their accounts of the events that took place up until now. “So…you found these gems in a cave in the woods?” Indigo asked.
“We haven’t figured out where exactly they came from…though I admit I have an idea,” Sunset said.
“The other dimension?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Yes…I think. You ask me when or why, I can’t answer that, but that’s the source of our powers. But what about you guys?”
“It was kind of…sudden,” Sour replied. “I mean, we didn’t find anything of importance.”
Twilight was in thought. “I know that look,” Sunset said.
“Well…we didn’t discover them until the end, after we got our powers,” Twilight said. “So…”
“You’re saying the source is at Crystal Prep somewhere?” Sunny asked.
“Exactly.”
“But wait…if that’s true then why did it only start happening on Friday?” Indigo asked.
Twilight shrugged. “I can’t say. What I can say though is that every scientific theory needs data so…”
“An experiment?” Sunset finished.
“An experiment.” Twilight suddenly got giddy. “Oh…I can’t wait to get out my old equipment again!”
“Just no magic-stealing devices this time please,” Sunset said.
The whole group started laughing. “Okay, so…what do you say we meet at Crystal Prep tomorrow morning?” Sunny asked.
“I think that’ll work,” Sunset said. “How much stuff are you bringing Twilight?”
“Everything.”
“…Everything?”
“You’re not going to make it like real early right?” Indigo asked. “Cause I sleep in til nine at the earliest.”
“Fine, ten then,” Sunny confirmed.
Twilight then looked at her watch. “Oh shoot…I left Spike back at home and he’s probably still waiting for us. We have to get going.”
They said their goodbyes and the two girls left. “Well…that actually went better than I expected,” Sugarcoat said.
“Yeah, and Sour didn’t end up stabbing anyone,” Lemon said happily.
Sour knocked her out of her chair.
Meanwhile, Sunset and Twilight were on their way back to Twilight’s house. “Well, I certainly wasn’t expecting that,” Sunset said.
“Yeah…honestly I was worried it was going to be…something else,” Twilight said. “But you know…I feel better, even more so than after Camp Everfree.”
“It’s nice having friends, even from your now rival school,” Sunset said. “Speaking of friends…should we tell them what’s going on?”
“I don’t know…I mean it was kind of awkward for us two, imagine if the others were with us…” Twilight was silent for a moment. “Let’s not worry them just yet…I’m hoping this isn’t something big.”
“And if it is?” Sunset asked.
Twilight looked over to her. “If it is, then we’re going to need all the help we can get.”