It was days before classes start, and all the remaining students were starting to check in during those days. But in Clover Hall, Twilight was playing checkers with Spike while Sunset was getting herself fixed up in front of the mirror. They left the bathroom door open so that Applejack and Sugarcoat could join them whenever they wanted to.
Applejack just finished taking her shower and yelled to Sugarcoat, “Shower’s all yours!” and decided to check up on Sunset. “Any word from Flash?”
“Not yet.” Sunset turned her attention to Applejack and was a bit stunned that she was wearing a white tank top and jean shorts that showed her fit body.
“Um, why are you staring at me like that?”
This caused Twilight and Spike to look at Applejack and shared the same look that Sunset had.
“Don’t tell me that you plan to walk around like that?” Sunset asked Applejack.
“This? Heck no. I’m going to get changed when it’s time to head to Flash’s room. I just wear this when I’m working on the farm during the summer.”
“In front of the others that help out?” Twilight added.
“Trust me. My brother makes sure the workers are kept in line,” Applejack explained.
“Sounds like you just want to get some tail,” Spike said.
“EXCUSE ME!?” Applejack was upset at Spike’s comment. “Last I recall, you were busy with my dog when you and Twilight were visiting me the last time.”
“It wasn’t my fault,” Spike replied. “She’s just as tough and you are. I was trying to get her off of me.”
Twilight decided to clam Applejack down. “Don’t worry, Applejack. If I wanted to breed my dog with yours, it would be for scientific reasons.”
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“You know she’s capable of doing that,” Sugarcoat yelled from the shower. “Besides, you might be making a first impression on Centaur when he shows up with what you’re wearing anyway.”
“I didn’t ask for your opinion on any of it,” Applejack yelled back.
Just then, a knock came from the door. “Um, Twilight. Can I, um, come in?”
“Just a minute, Fluttershy.” Twilight got up and walked to the door and opened it, requesting Fluttershy to come in before closing the door and sitting on the bed together. Spike decided to sit on Fluttershy’s lap. “So, what brings you here?”
“Well, Aria and Gears just came over to fix the air unit next door, so Sour and Sunny decided to join us. And… well… Sour was feeling… well…”
“Anxious?” Sugarcoat said as she just finished her shower. She came into view with a towel wrapped around her and her hair still down. “She’s always like that when it comes to boys.”
“Why do I have a feeling it has to deal with Centaur,” Applejack said.
“Well-” Sugarcoat paused for a moment. “Let me get dressed first,” and went back to her room.
“Something tells me that she’s going to cause more trouble than she knows,” Applejack said. She saw Sunset let out a sigh and asked, “Something wrong, sugarcube?”
“Well, it’s not about Centaur, but more about Flash.” Sunset looked at Applejack. “How do you feel about him dating your friend, Rara?”
“Now what made you give that idea?” Applejack responded.
“It’s been on my mind for the past few days. I just… wanted to make sure that I don’t regret the decisions I’m making,” Sunset explained.
“But you said that it wasn’t working out between the two of you,” Applejack said.
“I know,” Sunset replied. “But I want to make sure I don’t leave here with any regrets.”
That was when Sugarcoat joined the group, fully dressed. “It’s because she wants to make sure that he’s with the right girl so that she doesn’t have to worry about him for not making an effort the making it work between the two in case she decides to return to own world.”
Everyone just gave blank stares at Sugarcoat.
“Wow. She knows how to get to the point of things,” Spike said, breaking the silence in the room.
Applejack asked Sunset, “You want the honest truth?”
Sunset just glared back and sarcastically replied, “No, I want you to lie to me.” Then she serious replied, “Of course I want the truth.”
Applejack explained. “Well, Rara does plan to return to the music stage after college. And since Flash plays guitar, they could make a great couple on and off the stage. It could also make sure that Rara doesn’t get caught up in the same mess like last time. But only if Flash is ready to get back into dating. I wouldn’t rush it anyway.”
“Plus, we’re here for four, maybe five years. So I’m sure you all have enough time to get it all figured out,” Fluttershy added.
“Just let Flash do what he wants to do, and you do what you want to do,” Applejack said. “I wouldn’t worry about relationships at this time anyway.” She then turned her attention to Sugarcoat. “Speaking of which, you were about to explain to us about Sour Sweet?”
“Well, she has a habit of doing strange things to get the boys that she’s interested in. She wanted one boy there, but went crazy when he was with one girl most of the time.”
“Was that the boy who left CPA after our freshman year?” Twilight asked.
“No. This was a different boy,” Sugarcoat replied. “I did hear about that episode from Sunny. But this boy actually had a girlfriend. One that Sour shouldn’t have come across. When she confronted her, instead of starting a fight, Sour ran in panic from that girl. Remember seeing it while I was at the coffee shop. Turns out that the girl knew some kind of martial arts.”
“So basically, she kept coming up to bad karma every time,” Applejack said.
“That’s right,” Sugarcoat said. “Sunny has been on Sour’s case for years with that issue.”
“What about that other boy that Twilight brought up?” Sunset asked.
“Best you ask Sunny Flare. She remembers it clearly,” Sugarcoat explained.
But that was going to have to wait, because Sunset’s phone started to ring. She went to check and saw that it was Flash calling her. So she answered it and talked to him before hanging up to tell the others.
“That was Flash. He said that Centaur just checked in and could use some help unloading his stuff.”
“Sound’s like a good time to get to know him personally,” Applejack said. “Let me get changed so I can help.”
So Applejack went back to her room to get changed. While she was doing that, there was another knock from Sunset and Twilight’s door. Twilight got up and answered the door to be met by Moon Dancer and Rara.
“Good. You’re here.”
“What is it, Moon Dancer?”
“Our friend, Gem, just called us saying that she just checked in. I want you to meet her and tell her what you learned about the bracelet… without the Equestrian details of course.”
“Well, Sunset and Applejack were about to go see Flash and Centaur at their dorm room,” Twilight explained.
“That’s good,” Rara said. “Because we were going to meet her and Trixie over there as well. She wanted to help Centaur move in as well.”
“Well, as soon as Applejack gets dressed, we can all head on down there together,” Sunset said. “Do you two want to come along as well?”
“Oh, not me. I’ll just stay here and keep Spike company,” Fluttershy said.
“I’m just going to relax for once,” Sugarcoat said. “I need some time to clear my head before the first day of classes.”
“I can understand,” Sunset responded.
Once Applejack was ready to go, all five of them left the room and made their way to the dorm room that Flash was staying at, leaving Spike, Fluttershy, and Sugarcoat alone in the shared rooms. This made things very quiet. Maybe a bit too quiet. And it was this that became a problem for Sugarcoat, because she has never bother to relax for a long time.
“Fluttershy, do you know how to… relax?”
“Um, well, I just like to enjoy nature. Like walk in the park, see all the animals, that kind of stuff.”
“I’ve never enjoyed stuff like that. All I do is go to a coffee shop, but that’s only to focus on my studies.”
“Well, walking around campus would be a good start. But it might be packed with students trying to check in right now, so maybe it would be better to do that between classes. What kind of class schedule do you have?”
Sugarcoat went back to her room and grabbed the class schedule to show to Fluttershy.
“Oh. We both and the same Biology class together,” Fluttershy said. “You actually have some of the supplies to help with that class, right?”
Sugarcoat nodded. “You want to see it for yourself? I also have some programs that explain various subjects, like animals.”
“Oh, that would be nice. Maybe we can talk about animals as well.”
So Fluttershy got up and followed Sugarcoat back to her room with Spike following them.
The five girls made it to the dorm that Flash was staying at, Hurricane Dorm.
“I swear, these dorm names remind me of the six ancient leaders that became a part of Hearth’s Warming Eve,” Sunset said.
When they got to the front of the building, they saw Trixie and another girl trying to unload some items from a silver truck. The girl almost looked like Applejack’s twin with the orange skin and freckles, but had red hair instead of yellow. She was dressed in a white shirt with a tan vest, blue jeans, and western boots, and wore a white bandanna to cover the top of her head.
Trixie looked up to see them walking their way. “Good timing. Trixie could not do all this alone.”
“Just be grateful that we’re here to help,” Applejack replied.
“Where’s Flash anyway?” Sunset asked.
“Oh, he’s inside with Centaur.” The orange girl got off the truck and walked up to the group. “You must be Sunset Shimmer. Trixie’s told me about ya. Name’s Gem Stardust, fastest gunslinger in the nation. Well, next to my mother of course.”
“It’s… nice to meet you,” Sunset replied. “These are my friends, Twilight Sparkle and Applejack. And I’m sure you know Moon Dancer and Rara.”
“It’s good to see you again,” Rara said to Gem.
“Same here partner. Like the new look.”
“Thanks.”
Applejack was surprised at how similar she was to Gem. “Gosh. You remind me of… well, me of course.”
“Ain’t that the truth,” Gem replied. “Rara’s told me about you. Never thought I meet you in person.”
But Moon Dancer decided to change the subject. “Gem, can we talk for a moment?”
Gem agreed and followed her, along with Rara and Twilight.
“I hope that it’s nothing magic related,” Trixie said.
“Don’t worry. It’s just about the bracelet that Moon Dancer has on,” Sunset replied. “Wait a minute. You didn’t go by your name.”
“That could only mean that you have something serious on your mind,” Applejack said.
“Yea. I’ve been hearing… whispers the past few days about golden knights,” Trixie explained. “I hope it’s just some kind of joke.”
“Fluttershy heard something like that from a bird that she was talking to,” Applejack responded.
“Yea. But we don’t know if it’s related to Equestria or not,” Sunset added. “I’ve already sent a message to Princess Twilight days ago, and she said that she would look into it. But I haven’t heard back from her.”
“Was there anything in the history books about something similar to this?” Applejack asked. “Twilight was able to learn about the sirens. And you know about this holiday that you keep bringing up.”
“I wish I knew,” Sunset replied. “But most of Equestria’s history was lost when the two sister princesses went against each other over a thousand years ago. We only remember certain events because we celebrate them. But any wars or other events before that time were lost or forgotten. I don’t even remember anything about golden knights taking on some undead creatures from the books that were still there.”
“But it is magic that we could be dealing with, right?” Trixie asked.
“I’m not sure what to make of it,” Sunset replied. “It may not be magic that we can’t even take on by ourselves. Until I learn more about these rumors, we’re in the dark. So this problem is out of our hands for now.”
“Let’s just hope these rumors stay that way,” Applejack responded, to which Trixie agreed.
Gem and the others were able to rejoin the group. “I guess ya heard about what your old friends have been up to, right?”
“Eeyep,” Applejack replied. “Hearing about that loser of a manager is one thing. But the story about that bracelet makes the stories of Gaia Everfree at Camp Everfree feel like ghost stories.”
Gem had a confused look on her face. “Gaia Everfree?”
“Oh, it’s just a scary story that was made up from the camp staff when we went to Camp Everfree back then,” Sunset explained while trying to keep a straight face. “It’s nothing really.”
“Don’t tell me that you’re talking about our time at Camp Everfree.”
The girls looked to see Flash coming out of the dorm with another guy. He had dark yellow skin and light tan hair, and was wearing a white t-shirt, blue jeans, and white tennis shoes.
“Maybe. Is this your roommate?” Sunset asked Flash.
“Yep. This is Centaur Archer,” Flash said, making introductions. “Centaur, these are my friends from high school, Sunset Shimmer, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack.”
“And those two are Moon Dancer and the one and only Coloratura,” Gem added.
“Please, call me Rara.”
“Well, it’s nice to meet you all,” Centaur responded. “Gem has told me about you two. And let me thank you in advance for helping out. It’s hard to get good help these days.”
“I already saw Blaze and Steel earlier, but they had to go see their football coach,” Flash said.
“Well, at least we have Applejack here to help out,” Sunset said, slapping Applejack’s backside. “She’s a hard worker.”
“Oh yes. Applejack is really the strongest girl we know,” Trixie said in dramatic fashion.
“Ha, ha. Very funny,” Applejack sarcastically replied. “Let’s just get this stuff unloaded and into the room.”
So the group went and grabbed Centaur’s stuff and took it into his room. Out of all the stuff that was there, Applejack was able to grab and carry a trunk by herself, which Gem and Centaur were surprised to see. Once they got all of his stuff unloaded, they started getting everything plugged in and stored away for him. Sunset, Trixie, and Rara went to hang up his clothes, Twilight helped Centaur get his computer hooked up, and Moon Dancer, Applejack, and Gem took care of the other stuff. As they were about finished helping out, Sunset noticed a dark blue vest with a golden bow and arrow embodied on it.
“Hey Centaur. I heard from Aria Blaze that you were into archery. Are you really that good at it?”
“Enough to display that wherever I go,” Centaur replied, pointing to the vest that Sunset was holding. “It was a birthday gift from Aria. She helped create a place to practice my archery skills. Been a good way to relieve stress.”
“I hope that’s all you’ve been doing this summer,” Gem said.
“It is, Gem. Just target practice.”
Gem stared at Centaur. “Ya sure that’s all? You didn’t do anything stupid, right?”
“Gem, will you just give it a rest.”
“After what happened last semester?”
Sunset decided to get Centaur a bit of a warning before he could respond. “Just so you know, Applejack has a way of knowing when someone’s lying. So you better be honest about your answer.”
Centaur looked at Applejack and noticed the way she was staring at him.
“Fine. I used blow-up pictures of the two that used me as target practice.”
Gem started to get furious. “Centaur! You damn well know we all had this talk before the summer break.”
“And still I can’t get what they did to me off my mind,” Centaur replied. “Damn bitches.”
“Now you watch ya language, boy!” Gem yelled. “Last thing we need is for you to do something stupid now, ya hear?”
Applejack decided to diffuse the situation and place her hand on his shoulder. “Look. We heard about what happened back then from Aria, and we can agree that it was stupid. And they got what they deserve, even if the damage was done. But you don’t need to go off like some demon wanting some payback. All that does is cause more trouble.”
“She’s right,” Sunset responded. “Some of us made mistakes in the past and had to live with the punishment for our actions. I know I did long ago and had to live with it.”
“Same here,” Twilight added.
“How?” Gem asked.
“It’s… kind of a long, complicated story,” Sunset replied, rubbing the back of her head. “I’m sure we don’t want to bore you with the details.”
“Anyway, the best thing you can do is be with your friends that you know well. At least they’re there to help you out,” Applejack explained. “And if you need an archery partner someday, I’ll be happy to join you.”
“Centaur looked at Applejack and said, “Really?”
“Eeyep. I’ve done some archery before.”
“She’s right about that,” Twilight added. “She knew how I needed to hit the bulls-eye when we competed back during the Friendship Games. And I wasn’t good at the sport, even if I was assigned to it.”
“And I’ll be happy to help out if you need to get something out in the open,” Sunset said. “I’m working on my Psychology major with Mr. Discord, and I already met Dr. Chrysalis days ago. So it would be a good learning experience for me as well.”
“If you plan on doing something like that, you better talk to Silver when she gets here,” Gem said. “Still waiting to hear from her on where she’s living now. I’m sure she’s going to want some help when she arrives.”
“Speaking of which, have you heard from Sea Spray and Crab Hammer?” Moon Dancer asked. “You would think they would be here by now.”
“No doubt they were running late getting out of town and got caught in traffic,” Gem explained. “I told them to get going early before traffic became a problem. But you know them. They don’t take it seriously.”
“I’m sure they will get here soon,” Rara said.
“They better,” Gem replied. “Otherwise, she’s going to be asking Blaze and Steel for help. And they’re busy with their football coach. And I haven’t heard from any of the others that we know.”
“Maybe we can help,” Flash recommended. “We have some friends back at the girl’s dorm.”
“That’s a good idea,” Sunset said. “Most of us are different, but we became good friends. It might be nice to make some new friends.”
“No doubt Pinkie Pie would be someone that can cheer Centaur up,” Applejack said. “I just hope that Rarity doesn’t get carried away with her fashion sense.”
“Knowing her and what we know about Centaur, She might pull something like that out of nowhere,” Sunset said with a laugh.
“Well, if we’re done here, how about we go down there and meet them,” Gem said. “I would like to meet them as well. Maybe you can tell us more about them.”
“Might as well,” Applejack said. “At least you can get a heads up on them before you meet them in person. Especially Pinkie Pie. She’s one who is full of surprises.”
“Well what are we waiting for?” Gem yelled. “LET’S GO!”
As everyone started to leave the room, Centaur made sure he had his vest with him. He was the last one to walk out of the room, locking the door. He noticed Applejack next to him, looking at Flash and Rara, having a nice conversation, and she said to herself, “You know, they might just make a great couple.”
“What do you mean?” Centaur said, which startled Applejack.
“Sorry. Was I talking out loud?”
Centaur nodded.
“Well, it was something that Sunset brought to my attention earlier. But you don’t have much in dating experience from what I heard.”
“Just one of the stories in my life.”
“Maybe what I’m about to tell you could prepare you for something later on… for Flash’s sake of course.”