"This place is ridiculously huge," Sugarcoat noted quietly as the group formed up and followed Professor Glimmer and her students to the front entrance.
"It's a bit big, yeah," Twilight Sparkle said. "But it's a science school. I mean, labs for every department here have to take up a lot of space, right?"
"Right you are!" Professor Glimmer said brightly. "From chemistry to astronomy to electrical engineering, we have practical labs for almost every branch of science and engineering our curriculum covers! Why, we even have our very own particle accelerator!"
Twilight let out a squealing gasp and rushed up to the front of the line, leaning in close to Professor Glimmer. "You. Have a particle accelerator?!" She balled her hands up into quivering fists under her chin as she stood on tiptoes, vibrating eagerly as a broad, silly smile split her face.
Professor Glimmer took a half-step back, a faintly alarmed look on her face. "Err, yes? I believe I just said that," she said. She smiled. "Now, if you would please get back in line with your classmates, we'll continue the tour, alright?"
"Oh. Right." Laughing sheepishly, Twilight ducked back into the line, her face flaming. Good-natured chuckles and less good-natured snickers followed her.
"Now, I hope you all have some ideas already for what projects you're going to develop for this science fair," Professor Glimmer went on, "but perhaps seeing our top-rated facilities will inspire you to new academic and scientific heights! As it says in the information you should have already received, each team will be given exclusive use of one student lab, with access to any approved equipment and materials you need. Certain things, such as the particle accelerator, will of course be off limits, but I believe you'll find there is more than enough for you to work with in any field of science you have a mind to apply yourself to! Also, while submitting a group project is encouraged, by no means are you forbidden to work independently on different projects. We want everybody to participate equally, and if that means striking out on your own and submitting more than one project for your school, then that's perfectly fine!"
"Well that's a relief," Twilight heard a boy with long, curly brown hair and glasses say. "I mean, no offense girls, but I really don't wanna do another agriculture project with you two!"
The twin girls walking to either side of him giggled. "Yeah, we know," one of them said. "You like working on different stuff than we do, it's cool."
"But you'll still lend a hand if we need help with the mechanics, right? You're way better at that than we are!"
"Of course!" the curly-haired boy said.
"Now class," their teacher said in a posh accent that grated on Twilight's nerves, "you are being disruptive! Please allow Professor Glimmer to continue, won't you?"
Professor Glimmer had stopped walking briefly, and turned her attention to the teacher, a smile on her face that didn't sit right with Twilight. "Thank you, Miss Saddles," she said. "Everyone, I would prefer if you save any discussion with your teams until after the orientation, alright?" With that, she turned and continued on, pontificating about the various state-of-the-art facilities at Everton.
As the tour went on, Twilight listened attentively to the descriptions of each facility. Part of her almost regretted giving up on her plans to enroll in the Everton independent study program, but when she thought about what awaited her back in Canterlot, she smiled and decided that one week of surrounding herself with all this scientific splendor was good enough; she wouldn't trade her new friends for an entire lifetime of research and experimentation in Everton's diverse labs. More importantly, her mind began to percolate with potential project ideas.
Once Professor Glimmer had covered everything, she led them to a student lounge where they could rest and enjoy provided refreshments. The lounge had an interesting layout; four sets of paired long tables were set up in such a way that, in Twilight's mind's eye, the entire room looked like a giant equal sign made up of smaller equal signs. The hard plastic chairs were padded, and rows of drink and snack machines lined two walls. Staffers laid out coolers full of free drinks on one table, as well as wrapped sandwiches and several pizzas.
Twilight and her classmates grabbed food and drinks and found seats; a few minutes later, the Shadowbolts joined them, much to Twilight's surprise. "Hey girls," she said.
"This is some place, huh?" Lemon Zest said as she took a huge bite of pizza.
"The facilities here are impressive," Sugarcoat said. She looked at Twilight. "Are you regretting your choice?"
Twilight shook her head. "Not really. I mean, sure, it'd be great to study here full time, but then I wouldn't have my friends."
"Well I just hope you're ready to bring your A-game," Indigo Zap said with a confident smirk. "We're in it to win it, and we're gonna blow everybody's minds!"
Twilight smiled. "I look forward to seeing what you come up with," she said. She took a look around the room as she unwrapped a sandwich. She frowned as her gaze fell upon Miss Saddles, the teacher who had scolded her students earlier. She had very light blue skin and medium-length orange hair styled in an elegant wave, with a lighter orange streak down the middle. She was anorexically thin and wore a sharply tailored black skirt and blazer with a gold blouse and black stiletto heels. While the other teachers were gathered at one table and conversing quietly, Miss Saddles was in the middle of chewing out the curly-haired boy from earlier. Twilight leaned forward, straining to listen in. The Shadowbolts, noticing her behavior, turned as one to follow her gaze.
"Now, Cheese Sandwich," Miss Saddles was saying, "you know there's no place for your silly little whimsy devices in Vanhoover Vocational's pattern for success! Callery and Nashi have a long-standing tradition of agricultural excellence to uphold, so I suggest you put aside any silly notions about...about things that make silly noises and blast confetti and what-not and simply devote your attention to helping them devise innovative farming equipment!"
The twin girls shifted awkwardly, giving Cheese Sandwich an apologetic look. He frowned, looking at anything but his teacher and schoolmates. "I said I'll give them any help they need," he said. "I just gotta do my own thing too, y'know?"
"And it's perfectly fine to do your own thing! On your own time, when the school isn't counting on you," Miss Saddles said. "But for now, just—"
A lone sprinkler head, positioned directly above Miss Saddles, abruptly burst, drenching her in water and cutting her off mid-tirade. She let out a sharp shriek, drawing the entire room's attention. Professor Glimmer rushed over. "Goodness," Professor Glimmer said, looking up at the ceiling in consternation. "I am ever so sorry about that, Sassy dear. I can't begin to imagine how that happened." Her eyes flickered briefly to Twilight Sparkle, her lips pressed in a thin, thoughtful frown. "Come along, we'll get you cleaned up...we just so happen to have a machine that will dry your clothes while you're still wearing them! It's quite fascinating, and so useful in our practical labs..."
As the two teachers left, the groups went back to their own conversations.
"Don't listen to her, Cheese," one of the twins said. The girls both had pale skin the color of a ripe pear's flesh, with curly honey-brown hair. One twin wore her hair long and loose; the other wore it in a short mass that fell loosely about her shoulders. They each wore a pin on their shirts depicting half of a cut pear, each the opposite half of the other.
"Yeah, we love your party props!" the other twin said. "I mean, yeah, we're gonna need your help for our stuff, but you go right ahead and build something amazing and fun!"
Cheese Sandwich smiled. "Thanks, girls," he said.
"I wish they'd sent any teacher other than Miss Saddles," one of the twins complained.
"She's not even a teacher, she's the guidance counselor," the other twin said with a frown.
"She's not much of one, that's for sure," Cheese said with a sigh. "I thought guidance counselors were supposed to give students guidance, not...not tell them what they need to do for the school."
"Wow, that sounds familiar," Lemon Zest said with a wince.
"Yeah," Indigo Zap agreed, frowning. "I guess...it doesn't look so good from the outside, huh?"
"I really hope we're not going to have a lot of drama here," Sugarcoat said with a scowl.
"Oh, but so far it's been an absolute blast!" Sour Sweet simpered.
Twilight's phone buzzed in her pocket. Frowning, she pulled it out. She glanced at the text notification, then to her left at Vinyl Scratch. Vinyl made a 'read it' gesture. Brow furrowed, Twilight opened the message.
That was you, right? The sprinkler. Kinda saw your hand glow there.
Twilight paled.
Her phone buzzed again.
No worries, I'm the only one who saw. I'm with you on that, that lady needed to chill. Just be careful, OK? Don't want things going sideways if you use too much magic.
Twilight glanced at Vinyl and gave her a nod. Vinyl smiled and gave her a thumbs-up, then went back to her pizza.
About forty minutes later, Professor Glimmer and Miss Saddles returned to the lounge. Professor Glimmer clapped her hands for attention and gave the room at large a bright smile. "Alright, everyone, listen up!" she said. "I think it would be a swell idea if we all went around and introduced ourselves! I think we'll go alphabetically by school, then alphabetically by name within each school—oh, but beginning with your teachers, of course!" She sat down, picking up her tablet. "First, let's hear from Canterlot High School!"
Light, polite applause filled the room as Time Turner stood up. "Hello," he said. "My name is Time Turner, I teach physics. I'm happy to be here, and looking forward to seeing some brilliant ideas from such a group of brilliant young minds!"
He started to sit down, but Professor Glimmer raised a hand to stall him. "I'm curious, Mr. Turner, why did your school only field three students for the Regional Science Fair?"
"Ah, yes, well..." Mr. Turner scratched the back of his head. "The truth is, these three are the only ones who were free to come that wanted to participate. I mean, our involvement was fairly last-minute, wasn't it?"
Professor Glimmer pursed her lips. "Well, that's true," she admitted. "At least with Crystal Prep bringing five students, things are...more or less equal. Alright, let's meet your students."
Micro Chips stood up, looking awkward. "Umm, my name is Micro Chips, I..." He coughed. "Well, I'm pretty good with computers and small electronics. I...guess I'll probably go into computer manufacture or repair after college?" He laughed nervously, then sat back down.
Twilight stood up. "My name is Twilight Sparkle," she said. "I've been passionate about science since I was a little girl. I don't have any particular plans for the future, I just...really want to understand everything about how the world works. I mean, research and observation are what I spend most of my time on." She giggled. "I even invent my own sensors and measurement devices sometimes...aheh..." She sat back down with a nervous smile, playing with her hair.
Vinyl Scratch stood up. "Yo," she said. "I'm Vinyl Scratch. I'm a DJ. I build my own equipment—turntables, mixers, amps, speakers, bass cannons, equalizers, you name it, if it makes sick beats, I can build it from scratch. Guess I'm not all about the hard science and stuff, but I know what I know and I go with the flow." She grinned and sat down to applause.
"Well, that was...imaginative," Professor Glimmer said. "Alright, next, Crystal Prep Academy!"
Principal Cadance stood up, giving the room a sunny smile. "Hello everyone, I'm Principal Cadance. I just took over as Principal of Crystal Prep, I was the Dean of Students before that. I thought it'd be a good way of easing into my new position to be here in support of my star students!" She earned a round of applause as she sat down.
Professor Glimmer cleared her throat. "Principal Cadance, wasn't Twilight Sparkle a student of yours until fairly recently?"
Principal Cadance winced. "Ah, well, yes," she said. "There was an...incident with the former principal of Crystal Prep. I'd rather not go into the details, but she put undue pressure on Twilight, and some girls from Canterlot High were there for her when she needed friends. She asked to transfer to CHS, and I saw to it she got to stay with her new friends."
"Uh-huh," Professor Glimmer muttered in a tone that raised the hairs on the back of Twilight's neck, making a note on her tablet. "Alright then! Let's meet your students."
Each of the five Shadowbolts introduced herself in turn; Indigo was cocky as usual, Lemon Zest was excessively cheerful, Sour Sweet managed to get through her introduction without saying anything caustic, Sugarcoat delivered her introduction in a flat, rushed monotone, and Sunny Flare gave a perfunctory introduction that said very little about her.
"Very nice, girls, thank you," Professor Glimmer said absently. "And now, the Everton Engineering team. I, of course, have already introduced myself. Now, if my students would care to take their turns?"
The white-skinned, white-haired boy stood up first. "Double Diamond," he said. "I study the practical applications of physics and technology in cold-weather environments."
The next to stand was the girl with dark blue skin and flyaway white hair. "Night Glider," she said. "Aerodynamics."
Next, the other boy stood. "Party Favor," he said. "I study the properties and applications of rubber and latex." This elicited snickers from Vinyl, Indigo, and Lemon Zest, earning them dirty glares from Professor Glimmer and Miss Saddles.
The last member of Everton's team, the pink-skinned girl with the curly magenta hair, stood up. "Sugar Belle," she said. "Food science."
As she sat back down, Twilight frowned thoughtfully. The Everton students didn't just dress alike and wear identical blank expressions, they all spoke in the same flat, inflectionless monotone.
She felt a nudge and looked over to Micro Chips. "Did that creep you out?" he whispered.
Twilight nodded. "A little," she whispered back.
"Okay! Next, let's hear from Fillydelphia High School!" Professor Glimmer said.
The teacher from Fillydelphia stood up. She had dark grey skin and neon orange hair in a pageboy cut and wore round glasses that reminded Twilight of Photo Finish. When she spoke, the resemblance was even stronger, as she had the same thick Germain accent as Canterlot High's notorious photography buff. "Mein name is Amber Glow," she said. "I teach ze Physical Science unt ze Computer Science!"
Next to stand was a girl in highly fashionable clothes. She had parched almond skin and wavy lavender hair with a cream-colored stripe swirling through it. "My name is Almond Milk," she said. "I don't like, really care about science and stuff? I'm only here because it was this or summer school and my daddy said he won't cut off my credit cards if I behave myself." She sat back down with a sulk.
The next girl to stand up had peach-colored skin and frizzy purple hair held up in a high ponytail with a fuzzy neon green scrunchie. She had braces and huge, bushy eyebrows, and wore a peppermint-striped skirt, a plaid shirt, bright orange leg warmers, and hot pink sneakers. "Hi, I'm Plaid Stripes!" she said with a lisp, spraying spittle as she spoke. "I've got just all kinds of sciencey ideas and I can't wait to do science stuff!"
As she sat down, a slightly overweight boy with dark orange skin and charcoal hair in a bowl cut stood up. He wore a plain khaki polo shirt and matching slacks with brown loafers, and slouched noticeably. "Yeah, I'm Quibble Pants," he said. "I guess you could say I'm kind of into...deconstructive science. I mean, you read stuff in books and see stuff in movies and it's like, there's no way this stuff is possible, right? So I like proving that the stuff these writers come up with is total garbage that couldn't possibly happen in real life." He sat back down to a round of confused murmurs and faint snickers.
The final member of the Fillydelphia team stood up. He was tall and gangly, with rose-red skin and curly sand-colored hair and wore half-moon reading glasses. A pyramid-shaped pin was affixed to the breast pocket of his white polo shirt. "I'm Rosetta Stone," he said timidly, "and my interests really lie more in research than applied science. I'm really more of a linguist and would love to go into archaeology one day. Oh, umm...but I guess there are some things about applied sciences I find interesting." He sat back down with an awkward smile.
Lemon Zest grinned. "Duh-duh, duh-duh, duuuude looks like a lady," she sang under her breath.
"Behave," Sunny Flare said tiredly, though she smirked.
"And lastly, we'll hear from the team from Vanhoover Vocational!" Professor Glimmer said. A brief discussion broke out among the Vanhoover students as their teacher stood up, fixing the room at large with a very plastic smile.
"Good afternoon all, my name is Sassy Saddles," Miss Saddles said. "I am the guidance counselor at Vanhoover Vocational. My goal is to see to it that every student at our school functions perfectly in the Vanhoover Vocational pattern for scholastic success! Our exacting academic standards ensure the smooth functioning of our school as a whole by encouraging every student to adhere to our carefully designed academic plan—"
"Yes, thank you," Professor Glimmer said curtly, smiling forcedly. "Let's hear from your students so we can move on to registration, alright?"
Miss Saddles frowned but sat down primly. The twins stood up.
"I'm Callery Pear," the twin on the left said.
"And I'm Nashi Pear," her sister said.
"We're twins!" they said together.
"We'll be taking over the family pear orchard when we grow up—" Callery said.
"—so we're learning everything we can about agriculture and new farming technology—" Nashi picked up.
"—so we can produce the finest quality pears for fruit lovers everywhere!" they finished together. They sat down, and Cheese Sandwich stood up.
"Um, hi," he said awkwardly. "I'm Cheese Sandwich, and...uhh..." Callery reached up and tugged on his sleeve, then gave him a thumbs-up. He smiled gratefully, then continued in a firmer, more confident tone, "I love making people laugh and smile, so I'm all about using science to create newer, wackier, sillier things to amuse, confuse, and befuddle people! Whether it's creating the perfect rubber chicken or redesigning a T-shirt cannon to shoot cupcakes and confetti, if it's something that can bring the party, I won't rest until I make it happen!"
A fair amount of applause met that as he sat down. Miss Saddles scowled darkly.
Finally, the last member of the Vanhoover team stood up. She was a pale-skinned girl with messy pinkish-red hair with lavender and violet stripes down the middle. She wore glasses whose frames were virtually identical to Twilight's, except the bridge was heavily taped. Her baggy dark blue sweater was rumpled and wrinkled, and she wore a plain black pleated skirt, white socks, and brown loafers. She slouched and frowned. "I'm Moondancer," she muttered in a barely audible tone. "I guess I just like to study everything." She paused awkwardly, her frown deepening, then sat back down.
Professor Glimmer blinked. "Well okay!" she said, clapping her hands together briskly. "That's everybody! Now, in a few minutes, we'll finish up the registration, and then you are all free to go sightseeing or return to your hotels for the remainder of the day."
"Well, isn't this just a bunch of really interesting losers?" Sour Sweet said with a snort.
"This is why they shouldn't have these things in the summer," Sugarcoat said with a frown. "A lot of these kids probably don't even want to be here. They can't possibly be the best teams their schools could send."
"Did the Everton team kinda creep anyone else out?" Lemon asked.
"Yeah," Twilight said. She stood. "Well...umm..." She scratched her elbow awkwardly. "So, umm...if you girls..." She pushed up her glasses. "I mean...you maybe wanna...catch up later?"
The Shadowbolts looked at each other and shrugged. "Sure," Sugarcoat said.
Principal Cadance walked over. "Come on girls, let's register so we can get to the hotel. I don't know about you, but I'm dying to take a long bath." She smiled at Twilight. "Hey, Twilight, I hope you can find time to catch up later," she said. "Text me? We can find a cafe to meet up at."
Twilight beamed. "Sure!" she said happily. They exchanged numbers, then Cadance led her students away.
Registration involved a lot of milling around waiting to input information in a row of tablets mounted in privacy booths in the lobby. As the Canterlot High group waited for their turn to register, Professor Glimmer walked up to Twilight. "I must admit, I was disappointed when I learned you wouldn't be joining us at Everton," she whispered. "You are one of the finest young scientific minds of your generation. With our resources and my guidance, you could have changed the world."
Twilight blinked and took a cautious step away, smiling awkwardly. "W-well...I had to do what was best for me," she said. "And what's best for me is to be with my friends at CHS."
"I see," Professor Glimmer said. "Well, our loss is their gain and all that. I can't wait to see what you're capable of!" With that, she walked briskly away.
Something about the encounter gave Twilight goosebumps. As soon as she registered, she hurried back to the bus. She was suddenly very anxious to be safely back at the hotel.
* * * * *
As the Crystal Prep bus pulled away from Everton, the Shadowbolts gathered in the back.
"Man, that teacher from Vanhoover is a total bitch," Lemon Zest said. "Did you hear the way she was talking down to her students?"
"Ugh, yeah," Indigo Zap said sourly. "Even the worst teachers at Crystal Prep aren't that...what's the word I'm lookin' for?"
"Condescending?" Sunny Flare offered.
"Yeah, that's the word," Indigo agreed.
"I don't like her or Professor Glimmer very much," Sugarcoat said. "I hope we don't have to talk to Miss Saddles too much, but we're stuck dealing with Professor Glimmer until we go home." She adjusted her glasses. "More importantly, you realize we've got a huge problem, right?"
The girls looked at each other uncomfortably. Sour Sweet was the one to finally voice it:
"There's no way in hell we're gonna beat Twilight Fucking Sparkle in a science fair."
"Especially not if she's got the full resources of Everton E at her disposal," Sunny Flare added miserably.
"Hey now, let's not give up before we even get started!" Lemon Zest said. "I don't know about you all, but..." She paused, then took a deep breath. "Maaaaybe instead of worrying about being the best, we should, y'know, just do our best and...and have fun with it?"
The others stared at her.
"Do you even hear yourself right now?" Sugarcoat asked.
"That's such a sweet, sappy, feel-good thought!" Sour Sweet said. She narrowed her eyes. "Why don't you just join the Canterlot High team while you're at it?"
"We can't let CHS beat us again, even if it's Twilight beating us. No, especially if it's Twilight beating us," Indigo said.
Sunny Flare frowned. "I..." She worried at her lip. "Maybe...Lemon Zest has the right idea," she said slowly. "I mean, of course we should strive to win, but..." She looked around at the others. "Listen to yourselves. We're not...we're not Abacus Cinch's Shadowbolts anymore. We're Principal Cadance's Shadowbolts. Maybe...maybe we should try a different approach?"
The others shifted uncomfortably.
"We can't just change who we are and everything we've ever been taught overnight," Sugarcoat said. "Life doesn't work like that."
"Maybe not, but...we have to start somewhere, right?" Lemon Zest pleaded.
Sour Sweet sighed. "I'm too tired for any of this right now," she said. "Let's just worry about getting some sleep when we get back to the hotel, alright? We've got a lot of work to do tomorrow. Unless someone here would rather goof off and party."
Lemon Zest winced. "Uncalled for much?"
"I was talking to Sugarcoat."
Sugarcoat pursed her lips and folded her arms. "Oh yeah. That's totally me. Crazy all night party with drugs and booze and boys." The other girls giggled; after a moment, Sugarcoat joined in.
* * * * *
After checking into the hotel and freshening up, Twilight searched on her phone for local cafes. An hour and a half later, she met up with Principal Cadance at a cafe two blocks from the hotel. They spent an hour catching up; after that, Twilight returned to her room, tired but feeling excited for the week ahead, despite her misgivings about Professor Glimmer and Miss Saddles.
She frowned as she thought back to the incident with Miss Saddles. While Twilight was no longer scared of her magic and frequently used it in the privacy of her own home or when around her friends, she was trying not to get in the habit of using it too often, and especially not around people who didn't know. What she'd done to Miss Saddles had been largely an emotional reaction, and one she needed to make certain she didn't make a habit of. The last thing she needed was to ruin another interscholastic competition with Equestrian magic.
She thought about the Shadowbolts, who seemed to be making at least a bit of an effort to be nice to her, and about Professor Glimmer, who...
Honestly, something about Professor Glimmer scared her. She couldn't put her finger on it, but...
Shaking her head, she pulled out her phone and texted her friends. Hearing from them put a smile on her face, and before she knew it, it was late and she was sleepy.
* * * * *
The wall sconces in the living room of Starlight Glimmer's modest, tasteful house lit up with the flick of a switch.
Starlight Glimmer locked the front door behind her and armed the security system. Heaving a tired sigh, she stepped out of her heels, then slipped off her suit jacket. Folding the jacket over her arm, she leaned against the front door, closing her eyes. "Twilight Sparkle," she said to herself. A low chuckle escaped her lips. "You have the nerve to set foot in my school after you spurned your chance at greatness..." She clenched a fist at her side. "Rejected what I could have given you for some third rate public school..."
She took a deep breath, then stepped away from the door and clasped her hands behind her back. "But! No matter," she said brightly as she walked across the room, headed for the stairs to the second story. "Now that you're here, it's time for you to learn a lesson..." She frowned as she ascended the stairs. "But there's more to you than your plain face and astonishing intellect..."
The door to her bedroom opened, and the lights turned on. Starlight walked over to her closet, lost in thought. "Yes," she said as she unbuttoned her blouse. "This is going to be an...interesting week..."
A dark pendant which hung around her neck caught the light, the red gem set within gleaming brilliantly. A soft red glow lit her eyes up from within as she undressed for bed.