Ricky walked into the computer lab with the rest of the club following him.
"Ricky, wait! What's going on?" Terry asked.
"Something's wrong with Discord's magic!" Ricky said.
"What?" Aaron asked. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know." Ricky answered. He covered up the window to the door behind him and went to the far end of the room. He opened up his laptop and turned it on. Devastator's digital face appeared on the screen still looking upset.
"You know, Ricky, I'm getting really..."
"Devastator, now isn't the time." Ricky said pulling out his cell phone and a chord. "It's an emergency. Code: Cotton Candy."
"Wait." Devastator said. "Code what?"
"Code: Cotton Candy." Ricky repeated. "You know, Discord's powers are acting up. We've been over this. Just look at these new readings." He connected his phone to his laptop and waited as binary numbers Devastator covered Devastator's eyes.
"Readings?" Joe asked. "Ricky, what the heck are you mumbling about."
"These are readings of the chaos magic Discord made." Ricky said. "I rigged my phone to catch signals of it as data to be analyzed."
"Why didn't you tell us?" Marty asked.
"I did." Ricky said. "That was the subject of our first meeting after Discord became class president."
"Really?" Marty asked. "How'd I forget?"
"Anyway, I've been analyzing Discord's magic since he arrived to keep tabs on him. You never know when he might slip up."
"Done." Devastator said. "You're not going to believe this. The readings you just fed me... They're not Discord's. At least, not all of it."
"What?" Ricky asked. "What does that mean?"
"There are traces of Discord's magic, but it looks to me like an outside source has been triggering it on its own and guiding it."
"So... something's making Discord's magic go off without Discord himself?" Terry asked. "Why?"
"I don't know." Ricky said. "But one thing's for sure: we've got to find the outside source and shut it down. If Discord's magic goes off in front of Crystal Prep, we're in deep trouble."
The next day, the students of both Canterlot High and Crystal Prep filled the lobby. At the center, Celestia, Luna, Cadence, Cinch, Dawna, and Tartus stood side by side. Discord stood proud next to the Rainbooms glaring at the Crystal Prep team.
"I really hope you know what you're doing." Sunset whispered to Discord.
"Look, whatever happened the other day, it wasn't my fault. Besides, if anything does happen, Vice Principal Dawna will cover for me."
"You mean the Crystal Prep girl working for Cinch?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Believe me, girls," Discord said, "In the big, bad apple that is Crystal Prep, Dawna is a good seed. You understand what I'm saying, right, Applejack?"
"Just keep your magic to yourself and take extra care." Applejack said. "By the way, where's the computer club."
"Terry told me they were working on a secret project for a bit." Rarity said.
"Good morning, students." Celestia announced. "I'm sure you're all thrilled to start the first day of the Friendship Games. Out competitors will face off in every aspect of the CHS curriculum, culminating in the elimination equation finale."
"Sounds like someone has a word-of-the-day calendar at home." Discord said. "Anyway, that's my cue."
Discord walked toward the center with a set of notecards in his hand. He looked at the words written in and read them aloud.
"The first event of the Friendship Games will be the Ala... Alca..." He squinted to understand the word. "Alpaca... Okay, who named this thing?" He sighed heavily. "Basically, it's just a bunch of little contests. The six students from each team who does the best will move on to the next event."
"I think he means the Academic Decathlon." Discord overheard Sunny Flare say.
"Only Discord can be that illiterate." Sugarcoat said.
"I am not illiterate!" Discord shouted. "My parents were married!"
"Discord, be quiet!" Luna panicked. She gently pushed him back to the crowd.
"Anyway," Dean Cadence said, "Good luck, everyone."
Discord growled to himself and caught up with the Rainbooms.
"Discord, control yourself." Fluttershy said.
"I couldn't help it." Discord said. "Every time those people open their wretched mouths, I just want to take their ponytails and pigtails and shove them up their..."
"Well, isn't that just typical of you." The voice made Discord growl in anger and turn his head toward Lemon Zest, who stood alongside the rest of the team. "Nothing but mischief on your mind."
"Hey, Discord's changed." Fluttershy said. "He's not... that bad anymore."
"I'd appreciate it more if you didn't hesitate." Discord said.
"Well, either way," Indigo Zap said, "It's gonna be satisfying to see his face when we win again."
"We'll see about that, snobs." Discords said. "Because we're not holding back like I did when we were classmates."
What followed was a long day of contests in which the adults judged. During the decathlon, a montage broke out between Discord and Crystal Prep's champions.
"The gloves are coming off
The gloves are coming off"
The first event was a chemistry experiment. Every student mixed up various chemicals to create a stable substance. The only one who didn't get it right was Derpy.
"It's time to let the Friendship Games begin" Discord sang,
"This is the year Canterlot High will win
Call us inferior. You can call us cute
But wait 'til you see what we contribute
Don't go thinking that you're so tough"
"Don't go hoping that your words are enough" Lemon Zest sang,
"Hate to break it to you, but I'm calling your bluff"
"No more Mr. Nice Guy" Discord sang,
"The gloves are coming off"
The next event was baking cakes. Naturally, with Pinkie Pie on the event, Canterlot High won easily. The Crystal Prep students didn't get so much as a pity pat from Principal Cinch.
"The gloves are coming off
The gloves are coming off"
"Prepare to lose" Sugarcoat sang,
"Hate to break it to you, but I'm calling your bluff"
"Prepare to lose
The gloves are coming off"
The next event was woodshop. Two students from each team was assigned to build a birdhouse. They thought the gentle touch of Sandalwood and the intellect of Micro Chip could build the perfect birdhouse, but they were wrong. The judges were more impressed with Crystal Prep's work. To rub salt on the wound, Sugarcoat snapped in half what was left of the birdhouse. Discord tried to tackle her, but Rainbow Dash and Applejack held him back.
"You think you can scare us with your boast" Sugar Coat sang,
"Like always, you're school's gonna be toast
That won't change, even with a position like yours
Even with your tricks, you won't beat our scores"
"Don't go thinking that you're so tough" Discord sang.
"Don't go hoping that your words are enough" Lemon Zest sang.
"Hate to break it to you, but I'm calling your bluff"
The next event was a spelling bee. Both schools were neck in neck spelling complicated words.
"No more Mr. Nice Guy" Discord sang,
"The gloves are coming
Into action
Satisfaction
And off
They're coming off
We're gonna win, not Crystal Prep"
"You talk big, but you won't take a step" Sunny Flare sang.
"Ooh, my knees are shaking" Discord sang.
"You're obviously mistaking" Indigo Zap sang,
"Girls, better get a mop
We're wiping the floor with these people"
There was one last contest. Sunset Shimmer and Twilight Sparkle stood in front of different blackboards with complicated math problems. Sunset looked at the crowd and saw Scimitar watching the two girls among many other students. Sunset and Twilight showed their work with many different equations. Scimitar watched Sunset at work and was actually impressed. He put his game in his pocket and continued to watch.
"The gloves are coming off
The gloves are coming off"
"Prepare to lose" Sugarcoat sang,
"Hate to break it to you, but I'm calling your bluff"
"PREPARE TO LOSE
THE GLOVES ARE COMING OFF"
When they were both done, Tartus walked up to the stage and observed both of the girls' work. He first saw Sunset's final answer and reached into his jacket. He clutched the Golden Apple inside and made it glow. Suddenly, a base line in the final 2 vanished. No one noticed that but Scimitar, who then looked upset.
"I'm sorry, Sunset," Tartus said, "But I'm afraid your answer is incorrect."
"What?" Sunset asked. She looked at her answer and looked confused. "But that's supposed to be a 2, not a 7. This doesn't make any sense."
"Well, Twilight Sparkle definitely got it right." Tartus said. "I guess today's event goes to Crystal Prep, thanks to Twilight Sparkle. Give her a big round of applause, kids."
The students of Crystal Prep didn't care less and only clapped gently. Twilight didn't feel as proud as she should have been.
"Mouth breathers." Tartus whispered to himself.
Discord mumbled to himself angrily as he took the stage. "Well, twenty-four people entered the games, but only twelve made it through to the next event tomorrow. The students advancing for Canterlot High are Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, and Applejack. The students advancing for Crystal Prep are Twilight Sparkle, Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sunny Flare, Sugar Coat, and Heather."
"What?" Sugarcoat asked in an upset tone. "My name is Sugarcoat!"
"Really?" Discord asked. "You look like a Heather to me."
"Yeah, well, you still lost." Indigo Zap gloated.
"The games aren't over yet, goggles!" Discord growled angrily. The Rainbooms pulled him away again.
"Discord, you've got to pull yourself together." Rarity said. "We don't want another freak-out like the other day."
"I told you, whatever happened was not my fault." Discord defended. "I told you I was gonna hold back my magic and I did. I don't know what happened with the punch, but I'm telling you, it was not me. I just want Crystal Prep to finally eat their words and choke on them."
"Look, Discord," Applejack said, "I'll be honest with you."
"Naturally." Discord interrupted.
"We all think this whole grudge you have with Crystal Prep is unhealthy. We get it, they kicked you out. But if you think about it, you got no one to blame but yourself. I mean, if you hadn't spilled all that paint on them, then..."
Discord growled angrily until he snapped. He then said four words they didn't expect to hear from him. "I didn't do it!"
The Rainbooms then fell silent. They didn't know how to respond. They looked at each other before turning back to Discord.
"What?" Fluttershy asked.
"I didn't really spill paint all over the school." Discord confessed. "I didn't pull any pranks. It was the first school in which I was on my best behavior."
"But... you said..." Sunset Shimmer said.
"I said that was the prank that got me expelled from Crystal Prep." Discord answered. "But the truth is, I wasn't the one who set it off."
"But if it wasn't you, then who?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"It was me." The Rainbooms looked behind to see who answered them, but Discord didn't need to look. He already knew it was Vice Principal Dawna who answered. "I got Discord expelled, and I deeply regret it."