//------------------------------//
// Rainbow & Rarity 
// Story: The Medallion Shards 
// by Aliucon 
//------------------------------//

Late afternoon. The campus of Canterlot High is in front of you. Despite hearing of the place often, you've not been enrolled or visited the place prior to this. Even when you knew Sunset enrolled, it never felt right to just show up out of nowhere to talk to her while classes were happening.

A steady stream of students left the building and either went out of the campus, passing by you in the process, or went different ways to talk with their peers or watch the soccer match that was happening on the school field. Said soccer match attracted quite a crowd, and you steered yourself towards it.

It felt like a laid-back game. The girls playing weaved around themselves, fighting for the ball with little thought to defense. Goal shots from the middle of the field were frequent and mostly unsuccessful, but no stress followed. The score was eight to five: high numbers for the sport.

Out of all athletes, one stood out not only by her speed, but by her hair, which boasted all colors of the rainbow. When attacking, she dribbled and bounced the ball with mastery, and in the short span of time you watched, she scored twice. Her appearance was very telling, however. You remind yourself of a message that Sunset sent you the day before, which was the reason you were here today. To refresh your memory, you take out your smartphone and scroll down messages to the latest ones from her:

> Please talk to Rainbow Dash first. Remember the photo I've sent you with my friends? We took that during a slumber party recently. She's the one with the rainbow-colored hair. You might have guessed that already.
> She's an amazing and reliable friend, but she can get conceited. If nothing else, maybe she thought she'd be the only one that could keep the medallions safe?
> Also, she is a known prankster. It's usually during Halloween, but it could happen anytime. This could be an elaborate joke. Honestly, I'll be glad if it's just that.
> I think she plays tomorrow, but has nothing to do later on. If you have trouble starting a conversation, just talk about the game and how well she played. It's a pretty safe bet.

After reading it up again, you keep watch of the game. The scoreboard was there, but nowhere was it mentioned whether this was the first or second half of the match. Eventually, the whistle sounds, and the players stop and disperse. Some go on to talk between themselves, others just make their way inside the school building, likely to freshen up or wash off the sweat on the bathrooms. Rainbow, however, just struts towards a pale girl with long curly purple hair, and starts talking to her. Even from afar, you realize that she had barely broke a sweat during the match, in a very literal sense.

As the crowd watching the game disperses, your way is clearer and more straightforward. You take steps towards the girls, soon getting in range to hear what they're saying.

"- and Bitta Luck totally messed up that pass! I could have gotten one- no, two more points!"

"I'm sure you could, darling. But don't be hard on the girl. She'll probably take up a new hobby before-"

The pale girl notices your approach before Rainbow. Rather than be opposed to it, she just looks inquisitive. Or intrigued by your clothing. It's hard to tell.

"Why, hello. Can we help you...?" She asks. As she does, Rainbow also turns to you, with momentary annoyance that just becomes mirrored curiosity.

You introduce yourself and your occupation in a few words. To draw a more favorable reaction from them, you mention you are a friend of Sunset Shimmer.

"Oh! That's wonderful news!" The girl whose name still eludes you joins her palms in glee. Then, realization sets into her eyes, and she downplays the motion by looking away. "Sorry, I mean... Sunset is a good girl, but she definitely hit a hitch on making friends. It's good to see this changing, even outside the school."

"Yeah, that's cool and all," Rainbow nods, but you notice her tapping her foot, absent-minded. "But hey, what brings you here?"

"Rainbow," the other one scolds, "manners! Please don't mind my friend, darling. We didn't even introduce ourselves yet, did we? My name's Rarity."

"And I'm Rainbow Dash!" Despite her apparent disinterest earlier, Rainbow speaks her own name with flair and strength. "And hey, I just wanted to get a straight answer, is all. They came in talking about Sunset, so they gotta know we're her friends too, right?"

You nod, mentally chalking up that observation as a sharp one. You go on to explain your situation: despite being a friend of hers, your contact with Sunset has been infrequent at best, and you felt the urge to get to know more about her and her current friends. In an attempt to soften Rainbow up, you commend her skills at soccer, something that she dismisses with a hand wave and a smile.

"Pfft, that? That's nothing. You should watch me against the other schools. That's when I gotta get serious, for once!" Despite the dismissal, her smile hinted at her being pleased at this.

"Anyway, it's unfortunate that you've not gotten in contact earlier," Rarity says, eyes to the side and a finger tapping her chin. "We had a slumber party on her apartment not long ago. I think it was the first we ever did one over at her place. She might have invited you."

"I dunno," Rainbow says, arms crossed. "Sunset looked upset with... whatever since that day. Probably couldn't have handled more guests."

You feel a tingle on the back of your neck. This might be important information. You ask them to elaborate.

"Oh, I think everyone from our little circle of friends was there. Me, Rainbow, Applejack, Pinkie- A total of seven people, including Sunset." Rarity still kept a thoughtful stance, but looks straight at you. "It was a splendid time! I so wish I had done more with the girls, but alas, my parents called me an hour into the party, and I just couldn't let them hanging." She got increasingly more bashful with her gestures, causing Rainbow to raise an eyebrow, but ultimately nod.

"Yeah, you were in Sunset's room for, what, like an hour or so? And you were talking all the time! It was just getting annoying at that point."

"Well, excuse me for being a good daughter," Rarity replies, unamused. "And it's not like I was hogging the room. You stormed in yourself in the middle of our conversation."

"That was just a minute! And I was going to the bathroom!" Rainbow exclaims, heated. "I just got the wrong door, and- look, it's not important!"

You make mental note of some of those facts, but also decides to move the subject before things get any more heated for no reason. You ask in the best way you can about the strange things that happened in the school, specifically the event pertaining to the girls that crashed on the music talent showcase.

"Oh yeah, those sirens. ... I mean, the Dazzlings!" Rainbow said it very straightforward, but a look on Rarity's face made her quickly fix the claim. "Wow, they were something alright. If we told you all that they did, you proooobably wouldn't believe us."

"They were incredible singers," Rarity admits, though her expression was less than pleasant. "But as people, they were positively rotten. Why, their lyrics were dastardly and manipulative. It was a nightmare, darling. How did you come to know about it, if I may ask?"

You mention the news article about the unicorn-shaped light show that appeared during the event. Both girls recall the image and agreed that it indeed happened. After some more reminiscing about non-specifics of the event, you get to a point where you ask what happened to these so-called Dazzlings.

"They ran away," Rainbow says in a most assured tone. "We don't know where they are now, but we sure do know they're not gonna be a threat anymore!"

Once again, Rarity gives Rainbow a look, and Rainbow scratches her head, clearly uncomfortable. Despite how she might be feeling, she gave you an opening, so you press the point further. Rarity reluctantly speaks.

"We've... kept something from them. What they were using to cause all this trouble, you see. I believe Sunset has them now. If you want to know any more about them, you can probably ask her."

The mood becomes tense after this. Perceiving that this might be a bad time to continue the interview, you decide to announce your leave. You've not gotten the first thing about a motive, but you did get some information that might prove to be useful.

"Oh, are you going?" Rarity reverts to her more pleasant self, and offers you a smile. "Well, darling, it was nice to meet you! Sorry to bore you with tales of our parties and adventures. Surely we must talk more about you next time."

"Yeah, you're not half bad, sport," Rainbow continues from her friend's stopping point. "You're kinda like... the cool and collected type, huh? I like that. Respect."

You bid your own farewell to both and walk away. The campus seems much emptier than when you approached now, and a night with no moonlight encroaches. As you walk, you sit by the bus station, whip out your smartphone, and start to type away to Sunset.