//------------------------------// // Chapter 18: How The Moon Must Feel // Story: Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome to Canterlot High // by LPFanFic //------------------------------// Thomas & Equestria Girls: Welcome To Canterlot High [Yesterday Night at Canterlot High School] Not much goes on in the evening during closing hours for CHS. Students and staff have gone home for the day, the night janitor had just finish cleaning up and headed home as well, leaving the entire building empty. That is, it would be like that. Now there is someone who occupies the school when the lights go out at night. This someone was Mystic Sprinkles, a student of Canterlot High School who doesn't seem to fit in or relate to anyone. Though it wasn't her fault for being the way she is, the world she believes to live in felt more alien than comforting. For some reason, Mystic Sprinkles couldn't remember who she was or how she even ended up in Canterlot. The only thing she remembered was waking up randomly a couple of days ago, lying on a grassy lawn near the parking lot. Mystic awoke and found she had no memory of herself, her name, or home. Beneath her was a pile of shiny gold sprinkles that chimed majestically whenever they were brushed along. A boy named Flash Sentry noticed her and called out. But before he could discover who she is, she frighteningly got up and ran away, tripping over herself a few times and hiding behind a red, pick-up truck. Flash stopped and saw the pile of Gold Dust laying on the ground. Crouching down and picking some up in his hand, he looked over to the direction the girl ran down and back at the Gold Dust. It was then that she over heard him ask what these mystical sprinkles were. Not knowing her real name and after hearing some of the strange names people have here, she decided to go by Mystic Sprinkles; which resulted from when she ended up registering at Canterlot High, seeing how it seemed to be the only thing she could really do at this time. With nowhere else to go, Mystic Sprinkles spent her nights wondering the hallways of the now empty school building, having difficulties remembering if she even had a home to go to in this place that she knew very little about. She even had trouble remembering the night before. Only vague images of a boy in blue were what kept popping up every time she tried recalling that night. Although she has trouble remembering last night, the day she just had was one Mystic couldn't stop thinking about. It was her first full day as a Wondercolt student, a proud title that students at this school refer themselves as. She spent all day going to her classes knowing nothing of the subject matters, but was able to pick up a few details to get a good enough idea. She didn't know anything about the world she lived in. All of these strange terms, forms of speech, technology, and general environment seemed to put her off. And the people taking part were even more so. However, Mystic didn't feel like it was her place to judge; looking exactly like everyone else in terms of appearance, minus the clothing she wore, it appeared she was the odd one out of the bunch who didn't know what they were talking about. This become more prominent when Mystic tried to make friends on her second day at CHS. Early morning at Canterlot High, Mystic approached a group of students texting on their phones, oblivious to the girl now standing blissfully in front of them. She arched a bemused brow over their weird little devices beeping away from their fingers tapping on their phones. One girl noticed Mystic and her innocent smile when she noticed her. The girl had green short hair, amber eyes and pale-yellow skin. Her appearance, along with the others, were dressed in punk rock style outfits with spiked belts, fingerless gloves, some plaid clothing, and other kinds of unique hairstyling. "Uh, Hi?" the girl said. "H-hello" Mystic said, kindly. "Can we help you?" The other teens look up at her too. "What's that you're doing?" She asked, pointing at their phones. "Uh, texting?" the girl said, a little weired out. "Oh. Neat!" she beamed. "What's that?" The girl scoffed, amusingly, "You don't know what texting is?" "Well, no. But I'd like to know." She nodded, eagerly. "You'd have to have a phone first in order to text," A boy mocked. "Oh, right. Where might I find one of those?" All the students then started laughing at her. Confused by what's so funny, Mystic Sprinkles tried smiling despite not really getting what they found so funny. "So, can we be friends? You'll help me find a phone now, right?" Mystic asked, naively. The green haired girl scoffed. "As if. How about you get lost." "Seems like she already is," one girl said. She continued laughing along with her friends as they walked away from an embarrassed Mystic, hanging her head low and feeling disheartened by their rude comments. More teens she ran into also mocked her for asking simple but oblivious questions, even going as far as commenting rude remakrs on her choice for fashion, not knowing that's the only outfit she knows how to wear. Mystic Sprinkles was either teased, ignored, or unnoticed by almost everyone she ran into. It seemed not a single student wanted to be her friend, or at the very least help guide her along. She even tried finding the girl who gave her a tour of Canterlot, but she was nowhere to be found. The rest of her day went by miserably. It got to the point where Mystic began struggling through the last half of classes she had for the day, finding it difficult to motivate herself to show up on time or pay attention when she's present. Some students have even gone as far as to make up stories about Mystic Sprinkle. Whenever she approached the first person or group Mystic tried befriending, they would take advantage of her oblivious and naive state by telling her she was one person or another, and how they fit in to Canterlot High. Mystic was easy to believe each word, thinking they could be what she really is, only to quickly catch on to their teasing and feeling foolish for jumping on so quick to their claims. Any high hopes she had from who she could possibly be was almost always diminished by the students teasing. Even when students did try to be helpul, Mystic had had enough and stopped asking all together to avoid further embarrassment. Back in the dark gloomy hallways, Mystic's stomach curdled up from remembering the way everyone treated her. How was it even possible for anyone to become friends at this school? Was she really that different? Was her lack of knowledge about the way things work here the reason she wasn't making friends? This made her feel awful. It really must be because of her. She didn't know how to make friends. Mystic knew, even if she didn't have the words to describe it yet, was lonely. While walking down a flight of stairs to the first floor, she found a window facing the courtyard and looked outside, leaning her hands on the plain glass gingerly and sighing heavily to herself. Mystic Sprinkles had no idea why she was even at this school. She had no memory of where she's from or even who she is. But Canterlot High was the only place to go. She had no home, no friends. She wanted to leave but couldn't. The group of teens she talked to earlier were right, she Is lost. 'Is this what it feels like', Mystic thought herself. She somberly gazed at the moon lit sky glowing brightly with the twinkling stars so bright. At least the moon had friends to shine with him. He wasn't so lonely himself. After the day she had and the many questions boggling her, Mystic needed to let off some steam. Mystic Sprinkles: "I know how the moon must feel." "Looking down from the night sky. Smiling at the silly things, we put ourselves through." "Missing magic each day, and not seeing the wonder." "That's how the moon, must feel." [Mystic stepped down the stairs and reached the first floor, often side stepping and occasionally twirling in a gentle pace down the corridors.] "I know how the moon must feel." "Starry eyed and contented. Everything is beautiful, as the world should be." "Far away from it all. Never needing to worry." "That's how the moon, must feel." [She reached the main lobby and stood in the middle centre. Glimmers of moonlight shined through the main entrance and a little thought the cafeteria doors, illuminating the spot Mystic stood.] "From up there our worries must seem very small. Maybe that is why he wears a smile." [The more she let out, the cheerier she felt. Finding comfort in the moon's bright shiny glow that lit up the surface around her also invigorated a sense of comfort.] "I'm sure he knows if there is more to life." "Wish I could be him for a while." [Mystic stepped outside onto the courtyard. Leaving the door half way open, she proceeded to the center of campus and stood by the Wondercolt Statue. She gazed up at the moon radiant as ever now that she can see it in all of it's beauty.] "I know how the moon must feel, when he sees someone's happy." "That's the feeling I too have, 'cause I don't know how." "Searching for the answers, finding a place in this world." "That's how, the, moon, must feel." [Just then, Mystic began glowing in a golden aura of magical energy. She didn't know what was going on, especially when it began levitating her off the ground. Scared at first, Mystic sensed a riveting comfort from the encompassing mystical aura and smiled. She quickly discovered that when she wanted to stop floating from merely thinking about it, the magical aura lowered her back down a little closer to the ground on command. Then she thought about floating above the base of the Wondercolt Statue. The gold light lifted Mystic higher up, twirling her in a majestic flow until her feet meet the top base. As she was now giving off a very bright, blinding luminescence surrounding her entirely, Mystic could feel the power surging throughout her being. It was such a wonderful feeling, and it filled her with joy again regardless of the random radiance she was blindingly giving off.] "I'm sure he knows if there is more to life!" "Wish I could be him for a while!" [Closing her arms together, hair beautifully waving in the wind, she now happily stares up at the moon and the stars, which were unable to compete with the glimmering source of gold brilliance Mystic Sprinkles now produced. It didn't matter what she was feeling minutes ago, so long as she could keep her smile for a little longer, that's all she needed.] "I know how the moon must feel, and I can't say I blame him." "Smiling at the silly things, we put ourselves through." "Never taking our time, always running in circles." "That's how the moon, must feeeeeelll." Floating back down, Mystic Sprinkles saw couldn't stop glowing, no matter how hard she tried to stop. She didn't know how to turn it off. The light wouldn't dimmer at all and it seemed to only get brighter. Mystic ran back inside the school, worried someone might see her, which would be extremely hard not to given how the blinding light gleamed. As soon as she went back inside, a man came jumping out through a portal from the west side of the Wondercolt Statue. It was Diesel 10. He was on all fours breathing profusely, not just from exhaustion, but also from a recent fit of rage. After receiving Gold Dust from his two henchmen, Splatter & Dodge, Diesel 10 went back inside the Magic Railroad through the portal to use them on Thomas and a few of his friends back on Sodor, one of them being Edward. Though despite having a good grasp on Gold Dust, Diesel 10 had a hard time utilizing it's raw power. Every time he tried using the sparkles on an engine, it seemed to never finish its process. Instead of tearing them away completely, the dark shading would only do half damage then just abruptly stop. When trying to use his magic on Thomas again, someone or something deliberately prevented him from doing any harm on him this time. He sat on his knees and held out his hand to see specs of Gold Dust glistened off his palms. Diesel 10 grew extremely cross. He still had more than enough to wipe out Thomas. But If he had plenty of magic to overcast him with the same dark shading, then why didn't it work this time? Why did it all of a sudden reject his notion to leave him as nothing but a lifeless shell of his former self? More importantly, what was it that stopped him in the first place? Not knowing it was really Sunset Shimmer, who quickly used a small collection of Gold Dust she carried on her to heal Thomas, Diesel 10 angrily slammed his fist on the ground in an aggressive fit and growled to himself. "WHY, WON'T, YOU, WORK, FOR, MEEE!" He yelled. Preoccupied, Pinchy all of a sudden pointed its mouth towards the school. It started yanking on Diesel 10 and jerked towards the entrance with a clamping of its clawed mouth releasing sparks and exhausting smoke. "What, Pinchy?!" Diesel 10 yelled. Just then, from within the school by the entrance, Diesel 10 saw what appeared to be a bright golden light gleaning inside. He glared at the light, entranced by it's wonderous golden glow before slowly vanishing away. Smiling maliciously to himself, Diesel 10 got up. He was about to head towards the entrance when he heard ruffling fences and voices calling out to him. "Boss!" "Hey Boss!" "Over here!" "By The Fence!" It was Splatter & Dodge near the far-right corner of the school. Splatter was already half way over the fence, alternating between where he wanted to drop down, while Dodge stayed on the other side in the soccer field. Rolling his eyes, Diesel 10 annoyingly glared at them. "We've found the lost engine!" Dodge shouted. "She's inside the school!" "And there's a way to get in through the back!" Going back to his malevolent little grin, Diesel 10 struts over and joins his two henchmen. Mystic Sparkle still couldn't stop radiating her gold light, which continued to shine so bright it'll be impossible for anyone to make out that behind the blinding glow as a teenage girl scared and confused by her enigmatic abilities. Where did this magical gold lighting even come from all of a sudden? She tired with all her will to dim down the light with little result. Mystic then gasped, startled by a voice she heard coming from down the hall. "Hello, lost engine! Remember me?" Said a menacing voice. She turned around and saw who was calling out to her. It was Diesel 10, along with Splatter & Dodge all shielding themselves from Mystics bright gold light. Diesel 10 chuckled sinisterly. He finally found the lost engine. "Hey, uh, I don't think she remembers us, boss," Splatter said. "Wat? How could she not?" asked Dodge. "I mean, look at her. She's not rattling in fear or running away from us." "So?" "So then why isn't she, well, you know…" Splatter then shivered to imitate what Lady looks like when scared. "Well I wouldn't know because I can't see her!" "Shut up, Splodge," Diesel 10 said, casually. Although he too noticed Lady wasn't running away from them as well. He saw an opportunity and took advantage of it while the chance was still there for the taking. "Hello," Diesel 10 greeted warmly, while approaching her slowly. "Who-who are you?" Mystic asked, nervously. "There's nothing for you to fear. I am a friend." "Uh, you are?" Dodge said. Splatter nudged his arm. Mystic couldn't get a good look at the man through the light. All she could make out was a tall figure with long hair and a jacket blocking the light from his eyes with his arm. "You see," He continued, "I've been looking everywhere for you. You have something of mine that belongs to me; something you took without my permission." "I did?" "Yes. You stole my magic! A magic that's most precious to me more than anything." She didn't know what he was talking about. What kind of magic could she have stolen from him? Mystic had no memory of stealing any such thing, and wondered if maybe the man was telling the truth. Was it the sparkling glitter she woke up on and used just a few minutes ago what he's referring to? "What kind of friend does that to another? I trusted you with this powerful magic, and you took advantage of it by running away without giving it back." Hearing all this made Mystic Sprinkles feel awful. Did she really steal these magic sparkles from him? How could she do such a thing? More importantly, why would she? It didn't sound like her to be accused of taking someone else's property. "I'm so sorry!" she said wistfully with arms locked. "I didn't mean to… did I?" "Oh, but you did. You betrayed me, and now it's time to pay the price," Diesel 10 said, trying to subdue Mystic to get nearer. She felt deep inside for any inclination or impulse to steal, but nothing came to her. More still, she didn't feel any genuine guilt. Either she was as bad as the man claimed, or she didn't feel any such implications because she never did steal from him at all. Diesel 10 crept closer into the light, until he was standing right in front of Mystic with her head hung in shame. She gingerly looks up and sees Diesel 10 standing over in an intimidating height whilst staring down at her, able to see her clear as day without her light blinding him too much. Her heart began racing anxiously from seeing the man in all his wholeness. Mystic didn't know why, but some kind of instinct told her deep down that the face this man bore was not friendly at all. All doubts she had about whether she stole from him didn't seem to matter now. If anything, this man was trying to steal the mysterious magic from her. Magic that doesn't belong to him. Diesel 10 grinned. "It's time I take my magic Gold Dust from you." A terrible shriek startled Mystic as Pinchy lunged out of Diesel 10's jacket and chomps the air high above while spitting sparks and fumes of thick black smoke. She stepped back fearfully while Pinchy slowly glided over to Mystic, taking one gaping chomp of the air in front of her. Terrified, Mystic Sprinkles turns the other direction and sprinted away. The light blinded Diesel 10 and Splatter & Dodge again until she was much further away. Knowing the jig was up, Diesel 10 smiled then chased after Mystic Sprinkle and her light source. "Splodge, come and destroy!" Not wanting to disobey him, Splatter & Dodge follow him down the corridor after the lost engine. Mystic ran as fast as her legs could carry her, making turns down other hallways to try and evade her chasers. But her brightly glowing light gave herself away, making it difficult to lose them. She looked behind every so often to see them still following her. Diesel 10 laughed manically whenever he got close or had to chase her down another hallway, clearly enjoying this run a little too much. Splatter & Dodge tried keeping up, but couldn't keep looking at the blinding light which ended up causing them to either trip over a few times on the floor, run straight into a wall or two, a few garbage bins launching themselves into it, or even colliding into each other. The two boys eventually caught up and returned in pursue of Mystic Sprinkle along side Diesel 10. The chase finally ended as Mystic found herself corned against a wall with no other direction to go. Panting fearfully, she turns around and sees Diesel 10 approaching her slowly. His silhouette merging closer to her through the light. "You're mine now, steamie!" She heard his dreadful chuckle and Pinchy's hydraulic piston squeaking with excitement as it peered through the light munching the space between her and it. Scared half to death, Mystic shielded her eyes burring her face underneath her hands, wishing with all her might to escape this nightmare. She wanted to disappear way from the scary man and his nightmarish claw. Just then, the golden light began shining brighter and brighter, so much so that Diesel 10 had to stop in his place, unable to see through the ray beams anymore. Her entire body glowed copiously to the point where she couldn't see her own hands waving past her face through pure white ambience. She had no idea what was happening, but she was willing to cling on anything that could get her out of this situation before something worse happens. Rattling wind chimes go berserk while Mystic was now covered in golden illuminants. The next thing anyone knew before a loud prosperous blast echo's all around, the light began to quickly dimmer, until completely clearing away to reveal Mystic Sprinkles no longer standing where she stood. Diesel 10, Splatter & Dodged leaned over and saw she has in deed vanished into thin air. "W-what?" Diesel 10 said, clutching his head. He dropped down onto his knees angrily. "But, I-I was so close!" Everyone then heard wind chimes sparkling near by them. Eagerly alerted, Diesel 10 searched around for the noise until he saw a pile of Gold Dust lying on the floor where Lady stood. He stared at the pile for a good while, furious over letting the lost engine get away from him, but the Gold Dust left behind then managed to put a devilish smile on Diesel 10's face. He then proceeded to brush his arms over the large pile of Gold Dust, bringing them all together in one giant mountain pile invigorated by the wide-ranging clatter of wind chimes. He began laughing frantically, realizing he now had more Gold Dust to do with whatever he pleased. This is what his plan was after all; to take away all of Lady's magic. One by one, she was continuously dropping them all over wherever she went, meaning that her being away this long from the Magic Railroad must be what's causing her to lose her sparkles. Now that he knew this and how to corner Lady the next time he needed to, unless he's really desperate, Diesel 10 now had more than one way of obtaining her Gold Dust. Though not as fun to him as letting Pinchy strip away her powers, he was overjoyed to be holding sums and sums of Gold Dust in his own hands. Diesel 10 picks them up both hands and watched the sparkles slip through his finger and onto the floor, repeating the same process again and again. Splatter & Dodge awkwardly watched as their boss playfully fools around with the Sparkles. Nothing else matter to him at the moment. A half amount of Lady's magic, was now in his possession. To Be Continued. Music/Lyrics Used: "I Know How The Moon Must Feel" From Thomas & The Magic Railroad. Composers: Dayna Manning (Original Singer), Hummie Mann & Don Black (Writers) Copyright Ownership: Destination Films, 2000 Unforscene Music Ltd. / Nettwerk Productions, HiT Entertainment™, Mattel, Inc.