//------------------------------// // Chapter 11 // Story: Elements of Equestria // by Bookpony579 //------------------------------// Twilight managed to get through the rest of the day despite the snickers that followed wherever she went. She even managed to study the book between classes and at lunch. Finally the bell rang and classes were over for the day. Twilight stuffed away the book and went to meet her friends. Sugarcube corner was a nice little coffee shop not too far from CHS. It served a wide variety of drinks and baked goods and thus was a popular hangout spot for the local teens. When Twilight got arrived, she discovered the other girls waiting for her. "Sorry girls. I got a little caught up in the book and almost didn't hear the bell ring." "Don't worry about it, go get yourself a drink and we'll get started." Rainbow reassured her. Twilight nodded and headed for the counter. There, a plump middle aged women with pink swirly hair greeted her. "Why hello there deary. Name's Mrs. Cake. What can I get ya?" she greeted Twilight eagerly. Twilight introduced herself and placed her order. Finally it was ready and she paid for it, but when she turned around... *WHAM!* Twilight collided into Flash, this time spilling her drink on his shirt. After a moment of shock, Flash put on a good natured smile. "Oh! We've gotta stop meeting each other like this." Twilight offered a quick and sincere apology as they both reach down to the dropped cup. As they grabbed, their hands touched. Noticing this, they both pulled away, blushing. "Yeah. Well...um...thanks." Twilight managed to put out. "Hey. I heard about that video. Sorry about that." Flash said, "If it helps, most people probably thought it was kinda funny. Not that posting it was a funny or cool move! It was actually kind of stupid. N-Not that your stupid! I-I mean..." Flash fumbled around for words to help salvage the situation. "It's ok. Sorry about bumping into you...again." Twilight replied. "Here, let me help." She recited a spell in her head and pointed at Flash's shirt. One magenta glow later and it was devoid of any hot chocolate stains. "Cool thanks." They continued to stand in awkward silent for a minute until Twilight noticed Rarity calling her over. "Looks like she's calling me, so I'd better go. See ya later?" "Sure!" Flash agreed, a little too eagerly."Don't forget; if you need any help, just ask, ok?" Twilight nodded and they both went their separate ways, spilled drink forgotten. When Twilight reached the booth, she still had a slight blush on her face, which Rarity noticed. "Don't even think about it! You're already trying to get her crown. Who knows what Sunset Shimmer would do if you ended up getting her ex-boyfriend too?" She warned Twilight. " I'm not trying to. I don't even know... We just accidentally... Ex-boyfriend?" Twilight was surprised, to say the least. How could someone as nice as Flash date someone like Sunset? "Flash Sentry broke up with her a few weeks ago. I can't believe she hasn't done something awful to him yet." Fluttershy said. Twilight's eyes widened with worry as an idea popped in her head. "Maybe she's just waiting until she has the power to do something really awful." The realization made her worry as she pulled out the book. "I've been studying this whenever I could, I didn't get too far, but I found this." She pointed to a picture of five gems surrounding another gem...one in the shape of a six pointed star. "Hey! That looks like the one on your outfit!" Pinkie said, pointing to Twilight's skirt. "And it looks just like the Fall Formal Crown!" Twilight explained. "But the Fall Formal Crown is just paper mache darling. There's nothing magical about it." Rarity reasoned. "Maybe there is. Fluttershy, remember when we found the crown? Did you notice anything different about it?" "Well...the gem in the middle did seem more...special, I guess?" Fluttershy offered, thinking back to the event. "Exactly. I don't know how, but I think Sunset actually found an element of harmony and hid it in the crown by replacing the gems!" The others looked shocked at Twilight's theory. "Maybe that's why she was so upset about the crown earlier!" Fluttershy concluded. "But..if she had something that powerful, why didn't she just keep it?" Rainbow asked. "I don't know, maybe she was worried about getting caught? Or maybe she was being followed? In anyway, I have a feeling that Sunset is planning something, and I don't think we're gonna like it." "Now hang on ya'll..." Applejack tried to calm them down, "We don't know for sure that the gem is some all powerful element. It could still be just an ordinary fake jewel like we use at all our school events." Twilight took a deep breath. She knew she was risking sounding like a lunatic, but it was the only way she could think of to get them to listen. "Actually...when I was delivering the crown to Celestia, It felt as though...the was was calling out to me. And when I touched it, I saw these...visions, I guess?." She saw the others looking her, mouths slightly open in astonishment. She pressed forward, "And even before that, I've been having these... dreams involving the gem, and the school. They've been happening for about a month and every night since I got here. It's...the main reason why I started thinking about transferring here in the first place. Guys...I think something is going to happen at school and I need to be there when it happens. Do you understand?" The others just continued to just stare at her for a moment, processing what she just said until Fluttershy spoke up. "Actually, I've been having dreams like that too." Twilight was shocked that someone else was experiencing the same thing she was. "Me too! Maybe not as often as you've had them, just once or twice the last few days. I've had no idea what they meant until you came along!" Rarity explained. Pinkie, Rainbow and Applejack nodded their head in agreement. "Then this can't be a coincidence! There's something going on, and whatever it is, I'm pretty sure Sunset's at the center of it." "Actually...speaking of Sunset..." Rainbow glanced at the others and pulled out the photograph. If there was a good time for explanations, now was the time. "This slipped out of the book while you were walking away." Twilight took the photo in her hand, not believing what she was seeing. "She actually kept this...after all this time..?" She muttered to herself as she was mesmerized by the photo of the two smiling girls. "So you do know Sunset?" Rarity questioned, breaking Twilight attention from the photo. "Yeah actually, we went to magic school together." "Well, what happened?" Rainbow asked, demanding an answer. "Oh!Oh! Did the two of you meet at magic school and totally become BFF's? Like sleepover, birthday, and always together Bff's? Did the two of you used to be specially tutored because you were bother smart and powerful, but one day something bad happened and the two of you haven't spoken or seen each other since that day?" Pinkie asked, somehow managing to ask all that with one breath. "I'd...rather not talk about it right now." Twilight sighed. "Besides, we've got more important things to worry about right now." "She's right." Applejack said, respecting Twilight's privacy. "If Twi's right and that crown really is an all-powerful thingamajig, then Sunset's the last person who should have it. The only way to prevent that is for Twilight to win, agreed?" "Agreed!" Pinkie, Rainbow and Rarity chimed. "Good. Now, the dance is in two days and we still don't know how we're gonna get Twilight the votes she needs to be named princess. Right now, folks only know the Twilight from the videos Sunset Shimmer posted online. We need to help 'em see her differently." Everyone began thinking of ideas. After a moment, Rarity called out: "I'VE GOT IT!" This got the attention of the other customers, who looked at her curiously. Rarity blushed until they went back to their own business. She pulled out fake pony ears and tails out of her backpack and began to explain (in a normal volume). " I mean, um, perhaps I have a solution. Now this may be an absolutely preposterous idea, but what if we all wore these as a sign of unity?" As she talked, she handed out tails and ears to the other girls at the table. "Freshman year, they were very, very popular. A way for everybody to show their school spirit! You know? "Go, Canterlot Wondercolts!"' She did a little cheer before giving a small cough and slumped her shoulders. "I haven't sold any in ages. I mean, the five of us are obviously very different, but deep down, we're all Canterlot Wondercolts! Sunset Shimmer is the one who divided us, Twilight Sparkle is the one who united us. And we're gonna let everyone know it! What do you think?" The other girls made noises of agreement. "Oh! Maybe we can even do a song!" Pinkie suggested, proudly wearing her ears and tail. "That sounds awesome! We can practice at my house." Rainbow offered. The other became excited, this was going to win voted for sure! Twilight glanced over to where Flash was sitting with his bandmates. "And I think I know someone who can help us with this."