//------------------------------// // Chapter 16: Mystic Sprinkles // Story: Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome to Canterlot High // by LPFanFic //------------------------------// Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome To Canterlot High Chapter 16: Mystic Sprinkles It was early in the afternoon at Canterlot High School. The students were eating and spending time with their friends during lunch period. All morning, Thomas and the others kept an eye out for Lady during their morning period classes. Morning classes for Thomas included Visual Arts, Math, and Geography. He and Sunset Shimmer both shared Visual Arts together to his relief. Though Thomas didn't know how to paint, Sunset showed how to easily create art by teaching him a few basics on crafting whatever appears in his head and onto the blank portrait. Once he got down the basics, the two friends had a fun time painting for the rest of the class. The next two classes went by a lot slower for Thomas. None of his friends were in any of them and he was still unfamiliar with the subject manners, especially math. The only person he seemed to recognized was Trixie during Math class. He tried waving to her at one point but she didn't seem to notice. Other than that, he was on his own. It wasn't until Thomas had already left the room however did Trixie finally see him walking away to his next class. Trixie never got the chance to properly thank him for sharing his muffin with her. Even so, she was still hesitant to go after and tell him this. So instead, Trixie wondered to herself how, besides letting him into the library, would she be able to kindly thank Thomas after acting so mean to him when he was just being very nice. She didn't know how to exchange the same amount of kindness Thomas showed, given how she's never really tried being nice or polite to any of the students at CHS before. Trixie knew there had to be some way for her to show how appreciative she was to Thomas. While going through his classes, Thomas still didn't see Lady anywhere. 'Maybe the others were having better luck,' Thomas thought to himself. Everyone met in the band room when lunch time started. The Girls and Spike all collectively greeted Sunset and Thomas as they were the last ones to arrive and made themselves comfortable. "So, how was sleeping over at Sunset's?" Twilight asked Thomas. "It was so much fun!" Thomas said. "Sunset introduced me to her pet gecko Ray, then we ate more pizza, and then played a game on this amazing magical box called a video con-soul." "Yup, Sounds Like A Night At Sunset's Alright!" Pinkie Pie said. Twilight giggled. She knew what Thomas was talking about, so she didn't have to ask what he meant by a magical game box. "Not to mention he shared a few details on what Sodor's like," Sunset said. "Oh! What's it like?" Fluttershy asked, eagerly. "More beautiful than you can ever picture" She said, smiling at her. Thomas nodded with approval. "However, that wasn't the only things that happened yesterday," Sunset grimly. "Do you want the good news or bad news first?" Thomas looked at her, remembering himself about the Gold Dust. Everyone became worried. "Bad news please," Fluttershy said disquiet. "Thomas blacked out again last night," Sunset said, candidly. The Girls and Spike all gasped. Twilight Sparkle ran over and examined Thomas from head to toe, anxiously making sure there weren't any loose tears or dark shadings on his clothing. "Are you okay?!" She asked, worrisome. "Yeah, I feel just fine now," He said, happily. But Twilight wasn't happy to hear what happened to him at all and continued speculating the events that took place, knowing it was partially her fault that Thomas had blacked out last night. Thomas noticed Twilight's distress and was began worrying for her. "Are you sure?! How is he alright?!" Twilight locked her arms together. "Ow, I knew this would happen again! Why do I have to be so-" "Twilight relax," Sunset interrupted, walking over and placing her hands on hers for comfort. "You haven't heard the good news yet. Twilight, your theory actually worked! I used Gold Dust against the Darkness to counteract its effects." "R-really?" Twilight said, calming down a little. Thomas chimed in "Yup. Thanks to Sunset, she prevented me from being completely covered in that shadowy stuff." "Well how bout that" Applejack said, slapping her knee. "Looks like those fancy dancy sparkles really are good fer somethin' after all." "How long was he out for?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Only a couple minutes. I grabbed the Sparkles immediately and tried using them on Thomas. It reversed all of the effects, which caused him to wake up and feel better than ever." "Well, it's a good thing you took the initiative when you did, Sunset," Rarity noted, walking over to Thomas and hugged him tightly. "Otherwise, I can't dare imagine what would've befallen poor Thomas if he was completely consumed by that awful dark magic." "Nothing good I assure you," Sunset said. Pinkie Pie cheered and began doing cartwheels around Thomas. "Yippee! Thomas Is All Better, Thomas Is All Better!" She said, in a sing song voice. "But I was only able to stop the darkness from hurting him for now," Sunset said solemnly. "It may very well start eating away at him again depending on how much magic Gold Dust Diesel 10 still has." "So, even after what he did, you still think this Diesel 10 guy is good?" Spike asked. Before Thomas could crossly explain his defense, Sunset spoke up on his behalf. "We talked about it right after I stopped the shadow, and yeah, we believe there's maybe a slim chance he can still redeem himself." "And why in hay would you still think that?" Applejack asked Thomas. "Because, I kinda sorta told him about my past and now he's even more convinced he can turn over a new leaf," Sunset said. "You did? Did you tell him everything?" Twilight asked, surprised. Sunset nodded. Then, Thomas chimed in. "Sunset told me about the things she did to you and everyone at Canterlot High. If you're all able to forgive her for what she did, then why is Diesel 10 out of the question?" "Oh, um, it's not that we don't believe he can. It's just, um, well," Fluttershy started, until Rainbow Dash spoke. "It's only the fact that he tried wiping you out with Gold Dust twice, and not to mention trying to hurt all your friends back in your dimension." "But I told you, Diesel 10 can be good. I've seen it for myself. He does have a caring side to him and wants to be really useful, I just know it." "Then why's he so bent on destroying Sodor?" Twilight asked. "I don't know!" Thomas yelled, in frustration. The Girls were shocked by his sudden outburst. Thomas realized this and shamefully buried his face in his hands. He didn't like not knowing why Diesel 10 was bad again, or that everyone thinks he's nothing but trouble. Pinkie Pie went up to Thomas and smiled comfortably. She didn't like seeing him upset and wanted to cheer him up. "I Still Believe He Can Be Good." "You do, Pinkie?" "Mhm," she nodded. "You Know What They Say; Innocent Until Proven Super, Duper, Mega Crazy, Over The Top, Power Hungry, Outer Worldly Maniac Out To Destroy Everything, Everyone And All Life As We Know It!" Thomas looked at everyone panning away or scratching their heads. They weren't sure what to make of Diesel 10. On one hand, he is trying to take over the Magic Railroad. then again, how long has it been since they met a foe the girls couldn't persuade over to the side of good? This boggled them greatly. They didn't want to disappoint their new friend, but everything they're hearing about him is only proving more and more that this kind of villain doesn't seem so easily persuasive. "I of all people should believe someone like Diesel 10 can be reformed, and I do," Sunset said, reassuringly." Once we find Lady, we'll figure out what to do about him, assuming he hasn't already found her first." "That's Right! We Still Have To Find Lady Before Splatter Or Dodge do!" Pinkie said, grabbing Thomas' shoulders and shaking him. "But, how are we suppose to search for her?" Rarity said. "She's not in any of our classes and the only time any of us have seen her is at night," "She could be anywhere in the school," Fluttershy said. "That is, if she even decided to come to school at all today." Then, Twilight thought of something. She pulled out her magic tracker from her backpack and held it for everyone to see. "I think I might know a way we can reach her." "Of course!" Sunset said, smiling back at Thomas. "With Twilight's magic tracker, we'll find Lady in no time." Twilight activates her locket and immediately a gold light begins to blink from one of the pink ridges. She points to the direction it's facing only to have it lead her to Thomas again. He too still had a little bit of Gold Dust left in him. Whenever he was near the magic tracker, it would always go off as indication that the magic's presence is coming from him. The beeping noise grew louder whenever the device pointed directly at him. She tried stepping out of the room to see if it will point somewhere else, but it kept directing back to Thomas. "Ugh, this won't work," Twilight said, earnestly. "There's too much interference. If we're going to search for Lady with this, we might need to disperse and form a pack." "I have an idea too," Sunset said, after thinking to herself. The plan was to split everyone up into teams again. Spike, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash were pared with Twilight Sparkle to go and search Lady with the magic tracker. Thomas, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Sunset Shimmer were pared to go and talk to Principal Celestia and see if she has any info on anyone resembling Lady, seeing how she's also posing as a student at CHS. When everyone was briefed on the tasks at hand, the two teams disbanded and went off to look for Lady. Thomas, Sunset, Rarity, and Fluttershy entered the Principal's office and found Celestia sitting on her desk. She was speaking to her Sister, Vice Principal Luna. Luna had long, wavy hair like Celestia, only dark blue and with some light Persian blue highlights. She also had green opal eyes and light, bluish grey skin. Luna wore a purple blouse with a violet belt and white collar a half moon emblem, violet pants and white heeled shoes with purple designs. Both Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna over see everything at CHS, much like their pony counterparts that reside and rule in the city of Canterlot from Equestria. Celestia and Luna stopped talking and noticed the students. "Why hello, girls. What can we help you with?" Celestia said, happily. "And Thomas, good to see you again. I didn't get a chance to ask how your first day of classes were." "Oh, they were okay. I'm still having a little trouble keeping up. But other than that, I'm still having fun." "That's good to hear. And don't worry, we may push our students to be their best, but they always manage to pull through in the end. I see you've already made a few friends too." "I sure did!" Both Fluttershy and Rarity wrap their arms around Thomas in approval. "We were hoping you can help us with something," Sunset said. "Of course, Sunset. We need an excuse to deviate our current conversation anyways, don't we sis?" Luna said, glaring at Celestia. Thomas and the others were confused by the tension. Celestia payed no mind to it though and explained what they were discussing. "Vice Principal Luna claims that students have been reporting a strange looking man lurking school campus. I personally haven't seen anyone myself. But, I guess just because I can't see them, doesn't rule out the possibility." "Especially when half the school is catching on to these sightings," Luna commented. Fluttershy gasped nervously and looked at Thomas. "You don't think?" His first instinct assumed the strange man could very well be Diesel 10, but he didn't want to admit it out loud. "If these sightings continue, we'll need to investigate what they're doing at CHS," Luna said. "Would any of you know anything about this? If so, now's the time to speak up. I don't want some stranger disturbing our students or cause trouble on campus." Thomas shrugged, refusing to say anything. Luna glared skeptically at him. "We'll talk more about this later, Vice Principal," Principal Celesita assured. "Let's just hear what they need from us first." "Very well," Luna said, begrudgingly. "You may proceed." "Go on, Thomas," Sunset encouraged. Thomas stepped forward and stood in front of Celestia's Desk. He then explained that he was looking for someone very important to him. He tried describing Lady's appearance, and why he was searching for her, saying she was a girl that went missing from his homeland and needed to return as soon as possible. Both Celestia and Luna tried following along the best they could, but didn't think of anyone that fits his description. Sunset stepped in and explained that the girl was a new student she gave a tour around school for just a few days ago, and added a more detailed description of her attire and physical features based on memory she had of her when they last ran into each other. "Uh, darlings?" Rarity intervened. "Is there a reason we're leaving out the fact that she's a magical talking engine that keeps both our worlds alive?" Luna heard what Rarity said, but Celestia was too busy thinking about who this new student is, then came up with an idea. "Now that I think of it, I may know who you're referring to. Luna, fetch the student files. Pull up the ones we recently registered." Luna does so, returning with six student information files packed inside envelopes with their pictures faced on the top right corners; all of which belonged to girls who have just started attending CHS. She laid them on Celestia's desk, spreading them out for them to view. Sunset goes to reach for one when Celestia places her hand on top of it. "Unfortunately, I cannot allow you to read private information on other students." "Is there any chance we can just see their profile pictures then?" Sunset asked. "We will show them to you," Luna said. Luna held up the first folder, revealing the picture of a girl with purple eyes, harlequin skin, red dreadlocks and an orange hat with daisies on it. Thomas leaned in and examined her, then shook his head in dismissal. Vice Principal Luna held up the next set of files to Thomas. One showed a girl with pink eyes, light amberish skin, scarlet curly hair and violet glasses. One also wore glasses, but had dark purple eyes, light yellowish skin, and red amaranth hair with purple and violet highlights. The next one Thomas saw had gold eyes and pale-yellow hair with a pink hat. It was almost a close match, but Thomas shook his head still. None of these girls seemed to look like Lady. It seemed like she wasn't even registered at CHS at all. Luna then holds up the fifth envelope, revealing a girl with pale yellow skin, golden yellow hair, and sapphire colored eyes. Thomas leaned further in and examined the photo very carefully. Everyone in the room waited in anticipation. He stared at the picture longer than the other ones. His eyes shot wide open. "That's her!" Thomas said. "That's her!" "Excellent!" Celestia smiled. "I'll invite her down and explain everything." Sunset, Fluttershy and Rarity all beamed with joy. "We did it!" Thomas laughed and cheered. "We're gonna see Lady again!" He hopped with excitement while the girls joined in and jumped and cheered along with him as well. Feeling overly victorious, Thomas, Sunset, Fluttershy, and Rarity brought each other in for a group hug. Thomas was the most happy and excited out of all. He was about to see Lady again! Sunset Shimmer was just as eager over their victory. She set out to save Thomas' home, and now they were one step closer to achieving this. Given how they were reuniting with Lady, they might as well have already saved the universe just by finding her. All was coming together exactly the way they hopped. Principal Celestia reached for the PA speaker and pressed the button to announce her request to see Lady. "Mystic Sprinkles, please report to the Principal's office. I repeat, Mystic Sprinkles, please report to the Principal's office. Thank you." Everyone stopped dancing and cheering. They shot Celestia and Luna looks of confusion. "Um, w-who's Mystic Sprinkles?" Rarity asked. "Isn't she the girl you're looking for?" Luna asked. Thomas and Sunset exchanged glances, then look back at Principal Celestia. "But, that isn't her name," Thomas said. "Her name's Lady." "Hmm, that's not what her profile says," Celestia said, conjectural. While they all tired figuring out what was going on with the names, Thomas heard the door open, followed by someone stepping into office. Walking in was a timid teenage girl, holding both her hands and overlapping them together. She had brightly pale yellow skin, sapphire eyes, and long, wavy, golden sparkling hair that bounced elegantly with each step she took. She wore a magenta, Victorian style off shoulder short dress with gold lace trimming on the collar and the long loose sleeves, a dark purple petticoat with shimmering designs, and reddish-purple, knee-high, heeled boots with dark purple lacing. She had her head hung nervously as she slowly stepped further into the office space. Thomas beamed with both relief and astonishment. He thought Lady looked absolutely beautiful. She was already very beautiful as engine, and now she appeared even more breath taking as a person. He couldn't help but feel some sort of strange attraction towards her. Maybe he was just glad to see her again; to see her perfectly safe with no visible sign of harm on her. None the less, after a good ordeal of searching, Thomas had finally found Lady at last. "You wanted to see me?" she said, delicately. She then took note of Thomas, Sunset, Fluttershy and Rarity all smiling at her. "Yes, Mystic. Thomas tells me you went missing from his home. Apparently, he's been worried sick trying to find you. Now he's ready to take you back to, uh, where's he from again?" Celestia asked Sunset. Thomas slowly stepped towards Lady. Her head was still slouched as she looked up and saw him through strings of hair covering most of her right eye. "Lady?" Thomas said, blissfully. "I can't believe it's really you!" "Err, darling, you do know the Victorian style is out of fashion now, right?" Rarity said, commenting on her dress. Fluttershy and Sunset gave Rarity raised brows. "What? Someone had to have thought the same," she said, crossing her arm. "We were all thinking it." Vice Principal Luna skeptically surveyed both Thomas and Lady, feeling there something was off about them, particularly Lady. She remembered Rarity offhandedly mentioning something about Lady being a magical engine and what that meant regarding the both her and Thomas. Though she does dress rather oddly, Mystic Sprinkles looked and so far acted like a normal teenage girl. She can barely picture her being a train engine in human form. Then how could there be anything off about her? And if Mystic was a magical train, did that mean Thomas is also a magical talking train? This was all confusing Luna. The confusion caught up to her sister too, as Principal Celestia noticed something off in Lady's mannerisms and behavior. Thomas stepped closer to Lady and reached out for a hug. Not knowing what he was doing, she stepped timidly away. Thomas was muddled at first. 'Why is she acting so distant?' He thought. Lady pulled strings of hair away from her face. "I'm sorry, do I know you?" Thomas was taken aback. "What?" Sunset Shimmer and the others were also startled by what they heard. "Lady. I-It's me, Thomas." She glanced over at Celestia and Luna. She wondered why they brought her down just to talk to some stranger she barely recognized. "But, I don't know anyone named Thomas." Petrified, Thomas stepped away from her in horror. He had no idea what was going on or why she didn't know him. Lady appears to have completely forgotten all about him. "You don't remember Thomas?" Fluttershy asked. Lady shook her head, continuing to slouch shamefully. Luna was convinced that maybe Mystic wasn't what she thought she was, seeing as how Mystic Sprinkles doesn't recognize Thomas. Perhaps this wasn't the girl he was looking for, but rather someone else who looked like Lady. Seeing how she's not called Lady, but goes and responds to the name Mystic Sprinkles. Despite what she heard, Luna had to step in and assert the situation. "Well, Thomas, if she doesn't know who you are, then we can't allow you to take her anywhere." "What?!" The girls said all at once. "Um, can I go now?" Lady asked. "Yes you may, Mystic," Celestia said. "I apologize for any inconvenience." "It's okay, sort of." She took a leery glance back at Thomas before proceeding to leave the office. "You can't do that!" Sunset said, turning to Celestia and Luna. "Our world and his will be in serious danger unless she's running the Magic Railroad again." "What are you talking about, Sunset?" Celestia said, raising her brow. Sunset looked over at Thomas, still frozen and just staring at the door Lady left through, too horrified to process it all. He had finally found Lady, but she didn't recognize Thomas, like he was nothing but a complete stranger to her. Why did she not remember him or his name? Sunset knew Thomas wasn't in the right state of mind, but seeing him like this made her more than sure that revealing his mission to Principal Celestia and Vic Principal Luna was the only right call to make. And so, Sunset faced them again and told them everything. "Thomas is actually a talking tank engine from another world. Mystic, I mean Lady, is a magical steam train who runs on her own railway line that protects his world and anything connected to it." Celestia and Luna eyed each other with perplexity. Sunset then pulls out her locket and opens it to show them the Gold Dust inside. "This is called Gold Dust. It's what she uses to power the Magic Railroad. But because she's not running it anymore, someone else is using her magic to do terrible things to Thomas and his friends back on the Island of Sodor." "Island of Sodor?" Luna said. "Every moment we waste is another step closer for them to take away her magic. They'll have complete control and freedom to do whatever the magic will grant them, including our world's destruction." Celestia and Luna gasped. 'So Thomas and Lady are magic trains after all', Luna thought. "Wait a minute; didn't one of you mention Mystic being a magical train earlier?" Luna asked, looking at Fluttershy and Rarity. Both Rarity and Fluttershy nodded. Noticeably concerned by her warning, Celestia leaned in to examine the Gold Dust. "It seems there's been more magic business going on that we're once again unaware of." She sighed and leaned in her chair while pinching the bridge of her nose, "And just when I thought we were in the clear for a while after Camp Everfree." "Oh, this is much more serious than that," Fluttershy said. "A big scary engine called Diesel 10 wants to steal her powers and use them to take over the Magic Railroad." "We're talking both our worlds falling into utter chaos under the power of two crazed lunatics." Rarity explained. "All so that this Genie character, whose name we still quite haven't figured out yet, can have free range of the Island to spread his magic and cause whatever kind of trouble he has in store!" Celestia had no idea what half of that was about, but understood the importance of the situation regardless. "So, does that mean Thomas can take Lady back to Sodor?" Sunset asked. "I... suppose so?" Celestia said, hesitantly. "Though, Mystic doesn't seem too keen on going anywhere with Thomas at this time. If you're hoping to bring her back, I suggest looking for ways to jog her memory first. See if you can help her remember Thomas and her responsibilities to the Magic Railroad again." "That is, if she has any recollections of such," Luna inputted. "If it's as serious as you girls say it is, then by all means do what you must. Just not against anyone's will though, okay?" "Thank you for understanding," Sunset smiled, in relief. "Well, I guess we shouldn't be too surprised at this point, should we?" Celestia said, smiling at her sister. "Ever since Twilight Sparkle from that pony world visited our school, weird and magical things keep popping up at CHS in the most unexpected ways. Thomas being a tank engine is almost just as if not the most unexpected case I've heard in a while." Suddenly, Thomas ran out of the room, bursting through the door and stormed out of the Principal's office, presumably going after Lady. The girls called out to him, but he was already long gone. Sunset Shimmer runs out of the room after him. Before Fluttershy and Rarity join her, Principal Celestia stood up from her chair and called them. "One more thing, girls." The two stopped and looked back at Celestia anxiously. "Be careful. I don't know who or what this diesel engine or genie is, but they sound dangerous. I don't want either of you, especially Thomas, having any harm inflicted on you. The only reason I'm allowing you and the others to handle this is because you all have a better grasp on Magic then Luna and I." Luna chimed in. "If bringing Mystic to the Magic Railroad before they can find her is all that needs to be done, than do so with extreme caution and care. Unless we need to intervene ourselves, we're leaving this up to Thomas and you girls to return things back to normal." Fluttershy and Rarity shared a glance. "We'll make sure to be extra safe," Fluttershy said, confidently. "Absolutely," Rarity said, also with confidence. "If there's anything else we're good at besides having excellent taste in fashion, it's solving problems caused by someone misusing magic for their own personal gain. No need to worry about our safety too terribly much, Principal Celestia. We've got this whole expedition on lock down! Come, Fluttershy, our friends need us!" The two then rushed out and left the Principal's office, leaving Vice Principal Luna and Celestia to ponder themselves over this sudden magic problem. "I wonder if this strange man has anything to do with Thomas and Lady," Luna said. "How so?" Celestia asked. "They did say a diesel engine and some genie are after her. Could he be one of the two?" "Well, can't say for sure. Though, it does explain why we've been hearing reports of this strange man's appearance right as Mystic Sprinkles started attending CHS." "Perhaps she really is the lost engine Sunset and the others spoke of." Celestia thought to herself more on the matter. "If you insist on looking into his whereabouts, then by all means. Just try and be a little discreet by how you go about it." She walked over to a window and glanced outside for any sign of suspicious activity. "We don't want to worry our students anymore than they already are." "Of course, sister," Luna said, sincerely. "But if they are related to Thomas in some conceivable matter, we'll have to assert our own authority to insure their safety. I don't care how good they are at controlling magic, I'd much rather a crisis such as this doesn't stirr out of control." Principal Celestia hung her head and closed her eyes with worry. "So do I, Luna. Let's just hope it doesn't come to that." Vice Principal Luna joined her sister as they examined the field outside their window, watching students happily hanging out together with not a care in the world. What they were unable to see through their window however, was a man standing beside the Wondercolt Statue as they head inside the portal through the statue's base. Diesel 10 had some more mischievous uses for the Gold Dust he now still possessed. To Be Continued.