Thomas & Equestria Girls:
Welcome To Canterlot High
Chapter 1: A New Source Of Magic
Equestria! A place filled with mysterious and wondrous magic. It is a kingdom inhabited by magical ponies and other talking creatures, such as griffons, dragons, and many other animals and strange beings. Equestria is co-ruled by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, who reside in a palace at the capital city of Canterlot. All ponies play a part in spreading harmony through out the land, possessing unique and special talents that set them a part from one another, but at the same time are connected through the magic of friendship. While Equestria is a very peaceful kingdom, there are magical creatures who use their abilities to instill chaos and disharmony.
These attempts were prevented by Twilight Sparkle, an Alicorn Princess of Friendship studying under Celestia's wing, and her pony friends the Mane 6; usually with the power embedded in the Elements of Harmony. The Elements were six supernatural artifacts representing subjective, elemental aspects of harmony and friendship. They can only be activated if the wielder possesses the corresponding trait and if all six are used in conjunction. Twilight and her friends have wielded them on rare occasions, particularly during events marked by danger and anarchy as a last resort to restore and enforce peace and order.
One time, Twilight Sparkle visited a place mirroring a world very much like her home Equestria, only in a completely different light. Instead of being ponies, they were humans, living in an ordinary looking land similar to our own. Twilight was sent to this strange world to retrieve an artifact possessing an Element of Harmony. A crown known as the Element of Magic, which was stolen by Celestia's former pupil, Sunset Shimmer. While there, Twilight met and befriended counterparts of her pony friends. And with their help, was able to find and retrieve the crown. Sunset wanted to use the tiara's power to gain control of the human world and invade the Kingdom of Equestria itself. This was prevented when Twilight and her friends tapped into the Element of Magic and defeated Sunset by showing her there's more to it's magic than just power; that friendship is the most powerful magic of all, and is the only element that can unite everyone in harmony.
While the crown safely returned to Equestria, the magic left behind opened a whole new world of possibilities. A lot has happened since then. Enemies became friends, magical abilities began manifesting within the Mane 6, and more secrets about their Equestria like world are being uncovered. For Twilight's friends in the human world, things will continue to get even more stranger as they continue learning about the magic and how it works.
In a garage, off to the side of a large purple house in a suburban neighborhood, the inner workings of a laboratory are taking place. Lights flickering, machines in the background humming, the little inventor of the lab works tirelessly on their project. A small, purple dog with green fluffy ears approaches them curiously, wondering what they're working on. With sparks flying, tools switched around and parts coming off and added on; the inventor was just about done their project. The Person working on this special project was a bright young teen girl named Twilight Sparkle!
Even though the two may look similar, this Twilight Sparkle isn't the same as the pony princess that once visited the human world. Twilight's human counterpart once attended a school called Crystal Prep Academy; A school for highly educated students. Whenever there wasn't anything to learn, she mostly spent her days working on projects in hopes of upgrading to a study program and continue furthering her knowledge. However, Twilight was forced by her principle to compete in an event called the Friendship Games, a tournament of skill and knowledge against rival schools. In return for participating, she would be guaranteed a spot in the Everton Independent study program.
It was through the Friendship Games that Twilight Sparkle met her would be friends, Sunset Shimmer and Mane 5 of Equestria's human counterpart dimension. Although, they didn't become friends at first. Twilight crafted a magic tracking device that can contain aberrations upon catching it in use, and accidentally drained all the magical essence residing within the Girls. It got to a point where the locket couldn't contain anymore. Once it was released, the magic turned Twilight into a monster bent on power crazed destruction. With the help of Sunset Shimmer and the others, they returned Twilight back to normal and prevented the annihilation of both Canterlot High and Equestria. Despite her actions and misguided meddling, the Girls still accepted her as one of them, and forgave their new friend with open arms. Twilight decided she wanted to learn all about the magic of friendship. So, she transferred over to Canterlot High where she now attends alongside Sunset Shimmer and the Mane 5.
After hours of working, Twilight Sparkle raises the little device in her hand.
"I've done it!"
"Done what?" Spike asked.
Twilight spun on her chair excitedly and faced him.
"Remember that spectrometer I made a couple of months ago?"
"You mean the one that sucked up all our friend's magic powers and nearly destroyed our world and that pony place in the process?"
Twilight glared at spike for bringing up the unfortunate incident, an incident she herself is still trying to get over.
"Yes," She said, turning back to her table. "Well, after a lot of revisions on the overview for the configurations and mechanisms, I came up with a better, more efficient tracking method that can detect any readings that aren't just unique to Equestrian magic."
"Neato!" Spike said, then raised a brow. "Why would you make another one?"
"Ever since we got these Geode Crystals from Camp Everfree, a lot of strange magical occurrences have been popping up lately. If we're dealing with something that's possibly not from the pony world, then this device can track the source of its origin. Maybe it'll even lead to wherever these Geodes really came from."
Spike examined the device. It was a round locket shaped design similar to the previously one. The main operating buttons were centered in the middle where it controls the whole device. The locket was purple with pink ridges that would give off a pink light whenever magic was detected, pointing in a 360-degree direction to wherever the source is originating.
"If you say so," Spike said, reluctantly. "I just hope it doesn't steal anymore magic and tear another rift in the fabric of space."
"Don't worry. I went over the ramifications and made sure it can't contain magic this time. Its only function should be scanning for unusual elements."
"Why did you design it to suck up magic in the first place?"
"I thought I could understand it better by collecting a hands-on analysis. I would've been guaranteed a spot in Everton if I could provide concrete information for the source of Canterlot High's strange anomalies." Twilight paused then exhaled a dejected sigh. "Clearly, I wasn't ready to handle that kind of approach. And after last time I tried studying it's magic, I'm not sure if I still am."
Twilight eyed the purple Geode Crystal held in her hand, concealed in a mini locket with a chain attached to put around her neck.
"But now that I have this Geode, I can still use magic to study its effects and have a hands-on approach that doesn't involve keeping so much of it in one little device."
Spike jumped onto Twilight's lap and laid himself down while she pets him.
"No harm done. Now that's the Twilight Sparkle I know and love."
"Oh, Spike," Twilight said, hugging him. "You're the best canine companion a friend can ask for!"
Time had passed as Twilight sat in her lab petting Spike while examining her Geode Crystal. Her Geode was contained in a tiny locket with a chain to wrap around her neck. The locket was purple with crystal facades and a star on the front. Sitting and theorizing about the Geodes origins of a good while, Twilight's phone began vibrating. She picks it up and stares at the time with eyes widened.
"Oh No! No no no! We're Late! We were supposed to meet the others at the Sweet Shoppe five minutes ago!"
Spike jumped off to let Twilight get her things organized. She headed back inside her house and ran up to her room while removing her lab coat, gloves and goggles.
In her Room, Twilight fixed her hair from a bun into a long pony tail and switched into her casual clothes. She sports a light blue, short sleeved buttoned up shirt with a white collar and a pink bow tie, a pink vest with a purple belt, a purple skirt with frills at the hem, a print of a large pink star overlapping another light star diagonally, and a smaller white star on top beside it. She then slips into some light blue socks and purple Mary Jane shoes. Twilight examined herself in the mirror. Finally, she puts back on her black rimed glasses and gleefully pushed the stem into place.
Grabbing her phone, backpack, and the magic tracker, Twilight runs out the front door while putting Spike inside her backpack as they hurry down the sidewalks to the Sweet Shoppe where their friends are meeting.
It was a long trek, but Twilight Sparkle and Spike kept a good pace. Crossing traffic lights, screeching around street corners, Twilight tried taking every possible short cut she could find that didn't require her to stop. With whatever time left to spare, Twilight and Spike made it to the Sweet Shoppe with only ten minutes behind the initial time they agreed to meet.
Twilight walked into the shoppe, leaning on her knees while panting, where she was greeted by her friends from across the entrance.
"Twilight," Sunset Shimmer called, "Over here!"
Everyone else waved happily too. Twilight smiled. At first she was worried about disappointing her friends, but knowing them, they didn't mind all that much if she was late. They might be wondering what took her long sure, but understandable either way when she does show up and didn't hark on her about it. It was that kind of trust Twilight learned she had with her new friends when getting to know them over the period since her transfer to Canterlot High School.
Exhausted, but happy to have arrived, Twilight makes her way over to where the others are sitting and takes a seat on the couch beside Rarity and Fluttershy. Sunset Shimmer leaned against a pillar while the rest sat in chairs gathered around the couch and coffee table. Spike goes over and sits on Fluttershy's lap who then started petting him.
"Darling, you're all out of breath," Rarity pointed out.
"I, had to run," Twilight panted. "Was late, for meet up."
"No seat, Twilight!" Rainbow Dash said. "You managed to get here still, and that's what matters."
"So, what did take you so long?" Sunset asked.
"OH, OH, OH! Where You Ambushed By A Pack Of Gummy Bear Creatures That Wanted To Take You Away To Their Home In The Forest?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Pinkie Pie, there ain't no such thing as gummy bear creatures," Applejack chuckled.
"There Was Such A Thing As Gaea Everfree. Any Thing's Possible!" Pinkie said in a sing song tone.
Rainbow Dash scoffed. "Yeah, which just turned out to be Gloriosa jacked up on these Geode Crystals."
"So? What If Equestria Had Gumi Bears That Were Secretly Banished To Our Dimension and Are Now Hiding In The Woods, Waiting and Plotting Their Attack As We Speak!" Pinkie Pie said, eerily.
"There isn't, and they aren't," Sunset smiled, casually.
"Anyways, that's not the reason I was late." Twilight pulled out the locket from her bag, "This is."
She held and showed off the Magic Tracker to the others. The Girls gasped and shifted away.
"You made another magic sucking device?!" Rarity cried.
Some of the girls backed away from the Twilight and her device. Pinkie Pie hid behind her chair and Fluttershy used her long pink hair shield her face.
"No, It’s okay. I designed it to not contain magic anymore," Twilight explained.
After sharing collective and skeptic glances to one another, the Girls returned to their seats and moved closer back to Twilight.
"So, what's it designed to do this time?" Sunset asked.
"Just tracking EM frequencies," Twilight answered. "With this I'm not only able to trace the source of Equestrian magic, but all sorts of anomalies."
"Why would it need to track different magic sources?"
Fluttershy chimes in. "Well, we don't know for sure if these Geodes or, whatever that magic was back at camp, is really the same as the ones from that pony world. Maybe they're from another place."
"Exactly," Twilight said. "And in order to collect as much data as possible, I did some tweaking to the old prototype so it can measure other frequencies that may have surfaced in our world."
"Sounds like an awful lot of work to tweak a little device just to research a possible, non existing inquiry," Rarity said. "Equestrian magic is already enough to deal with, now you're saying there might be other kinds magic here too?"
"Where in hey would another magic source even be comin' from besides Equestria?" Applejack asked.
Pinkie Pie interrupts. "Maybe It Can Track Where The Gummy Bears Are Hiding!"
"What's with you and the Gummy Bears all a sudden?"
"Probably Just Cravings!" Pinkie Grinned.
"All I can say is," Sunset said, placing a hand on Twilight's shoulder, "whatever gets us closer to finding out where these Geodes came from, I'll trust any device Twilight's made to show us the way. We might even be able to locate where a magic source is coming from a lot sooner so we can stop it the next time we run into someone or something using it to cause trouble."
Rarity chimes in. "Well, if you ask Me darlings, I for one would still like that break away from all this magic nonsense. Four months in a row of nothing but dealing with power crazed maniacs is starting to do a number on my wardrobe. Oh, uh, no offence, dear."
"Eh. None taken," Twilight slouched.
"Told you you'd get use to it," Sunset said, nudging Twilight playfully.
Applejack joined in. "You know what? Ah wouldn' mind it myself if we had a day to spend like we did before magic came into our lives. Don't get me wrong, there's a lot about it to enjoy, but I'd still like havin' just one week of us kickin' it back like the good ol days; where we didn't have to deal with someone tryin' to take over the world and what not."
"Since we're being honest, I really don't like fighting all that much," Fluttershy said, scratching Spikes belly. "I only do it because I want to protect my friends and make sure they're safe."
"Oh, come on," Rainbow Dash said. "We have these super awesome powers now! Why shouldn't we be dealing with magic more? Fighting against the forces of evil is a breeze compared to when we first started out. And I feel like I finally got the hang of my speed."
Rainbow Dash began punching the air. "The next time someone tries to take us on, they'll have to get through me first!"
"As much as I do like slowing down every once in a while... Ah Who Am I Kidding! Kicking Butt is Too Much Fun! Not As Fun As Throwing Parties or Eating Candy Of Course, But It's Still Pretty Exciting!" Pinkie Pie said, widely grinning.
Twilight and Sunset looked at each other. Sunset then added in to the discussion.
"Magic IS apart of our lives now; No matter how much we ignore or embrace it. It's a responsibility we all carry. These Geodes choose us for a reason, which means we should take it upon ourselves to use them when the time calls for us to take a stand against whoever's using magic to put our world in danger."
"Yes, but that's only when we need to use them," Rarity said. "We don't exactly have to go around looking for trouble you know?"
"Trouble's usually what ends up findin' us nowadays anyway," Applejack added.
Before Sunset could respond, Twilight's magic tracker began blinking and beeping, catching everyone off guard.
"Wait, I think my tracker has something."
Everyone leaned in to see where the device was pointing. The Device emulated a small beeping noise with one of the pink ridges blinking a light to indicate the direction the magic source is located.
"Huh, that's weird," Twilight said, fiddling with the controls. "The lights not suppose to turn gold."
"Where's it pointing?" Fluttershy asked.
"Hold on let me see if I can fix it."
"Are you sure you didn't color coordinate it?" Sunset asked.
"I'm pretty sure."
She pressed every button on the device, but it still emulated a golden blinking light. As Twilight looked over the device, the Girls quickly got up and looked around the store to see what the tracker could be pointing at. Each time the source got closer; the beeping grew slightly louder. But it still wasn't clear what was causing it to set off.
"Where do you think it's coming from?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Who do you think it's coming from?" Fluttershy asked.
Both look at each other, wondering which question is more relevant.
"Ugh! Did you have to pick such an annoying sound for it?" Rarity said, plugging her ears.
"I can't figure it out," Twilight said, shaking the pendent. "This didn't happen when I was testing it."
Anxious, Sunset finally grabbed and pointed the tracker locket towards wherever it was beeping. Some people were leaving the store while Sunset pointed her device around. The bell on the doorway's scaffolding dings and as it dinged, the beeping suddenly stopped. The Girls looked over the device, which now read nothing. The gold light that was previously blinking became dimmer than a blown out light bulb. No more beeping. No more blinking.
Everyone gathered around Twilight and her silent device.
"Is anyone else just as concerned about this?" Spike said.
"Ah think I'm startin’ to," Applejack said, clutching her light brown stetson hat.
Twilight looked over the device to see what caused the light to change color, but couldn't get anything out of it.
"I don't understand," she said. "It's supposed to flash a pink light when an EM frequency is detected."
"That. Is. Super. Duper. Creepy!" Pinkie said.
"This can't be any ordinary frequency if it's able to mess up your device like that," Spike said.
Fluttershy gasped. "So then, there really is other magic in Canterlot?"
"Which means another magic hungry evil doer is likely after it," Rarity added.
"An evil doer whose butt is waiting to be kicked!" Rainbow Dash said.
"If what we just discussed was any indication, then we absolutely need to look into this," Sunset said. "Which leaves us with one big question."
Twilight finished Sunset's thought, with all eyes on the locket.
"Where did this magic come from?"
To Be Continued.