//------------------------------// // Chapter Nine // Story: Equestria Girls: Reimagined // by Candle Light //------------------------------// Equestria Girls: Reimagined Chapter Nine by Candle light based on a story by Meghan McCarthy Lunchtime was just around the corner, and Twilight’s operation had all but ground to a halt. “I know I keep saying this, but this school is in worse shape than I thought,” Twilight told Spike, alone in the corridor again. “At this rate, I’m not too sure the meet-and-greet is going to work out. We need to inspire confidence and positivity, but I just don’t have a clue what would work anymore…” “Maybe we could do it with a song,” Spike suggested. “Like, in the middle of lunch break, just burst into a catchy tune and make everyone cheer for you.” “Yeah, that probably wouldn’t fly in this world,” Twilight said. “I haven’t had the urge to burst into song once since I got here. Not even Pinkie Pie’s so much as hummed. That being said, there is a music club, which leads me to believe music's is important to humans, even if it isn't a natural instinct. And I do have song in my head for the meet-and-greet, but I’ll need the other’s help to finish it. There’s some choreography involved, too. Oh Celestia, I hope it’ll be enough…” “Why don’t we go to Celestia?” Spike suggested. “If there’s anyone here with as much skin in the game as you, I’d be her. She did tell you to come back if you ever needed guidance.” Even if it wasn’t the same Celestia, the idea of receiving more help from at least a version of her mentor made her smile. “That’s a good idea, Spike.” A few minutes later, they were greeted by the tall figure of Celestia’s human form, standing by the window in her office. “Oh, hello Twilight.” Though her back was straight, her face made it obvious that she hadn’t had much peace of mind as of late. “Hi…” Her mind froze for a second. What would she ask her? When in doubt, start with the obvious. “Thanks for those tickets yesterday.” “Oh, it was nothing. I’m glad they helped.” Her even tone made Twilight worried. “Are you feeling alright?” “I didn’t sleep a wink last night,” Celestia admitted. Then, affording her a meek smile, she added. “You, on the other hand, have done wonders, bringing some of the most unlikely allies together. I never thought I’d see the day when Rainbow Dash and Applejack would talk to each other in the hallway.” Her smile fell away at once. “But Sunset has made my worst fears come true. You heard the announcement.” “About cutting the funds?” “She isn’t joking, Twilight. She knows you’re serious now, and will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Our only solace is that Sunset Shimmer is a proud one, and now that the race is underway, I find it hard to imagine she would try anything too underhanded, as it might undermine her victory. That’s not to say she hasn’t done plenty of damage already. I can no longer carry favors for you, or even lift a finger to help in any practical way. All I can offer you now is my words.” “Your words are more than enough,” Twilight said, walking over to her. “I’ve tried mending the chasm between clubs, but Sunset’s threat is still too fresh in their minds. I need to convince them that we need to stand together as one, united school, but the way things stand…” “You’ve done remarkably well as it is,” Celestia said. “I have tried these sorts of ventures in the past myself, but none of them went over especially well. People already have their concerts by the music club; to them, that’s more than enough. It’s how the social echo system has functioned ever since before the Rich family ‘saved’ our school…” “But the drama club and technology club seemed open to my ideas,” Twilight protested. “I even had one student tell me outright she wanted to help.” “And this, my dear, speaks to your strength of character.” Celestia afforded her another small smile. “They recognized the charisma that made Rainbow Dash side with you, and your effort in spreading the word has no doubt engaged a lot of people. Who knows, maybe all we need is a little extra something that pushes the over the edge.” “Something that…” Glorious inspiration flooded through her head. “I’ve got it! Or rather, I think I’ve got it. First I need someone to agree to help…“ She trailed off, then shook her head. “No, it has to start with me, doesn’t it…” “What’s on your mind?” “They’re all afraid of having their secrets exposed,” Twilight said, “but what if we took that fear away?” “You intend to convince a school full of teenagers that their own personal secrets are less important than the uncertain promise of a better future?” Celestia asked, eyebrows raised in skepticism. “I know what it sounds like, but that’s exactly why I gotta be the one to set the example. If I can get just a few more people to follow my lead, It might send a strong enough message…” It was a fifty-fifty shot at best, but right now, it was the best Twilight could come up with. Celestia looked into her eyes for a couple of moment, as if contemplating something. Then, lowering her head, she said, “Very well. Desperate times do call for desperate measures, and you’ve certainly showed me you have a smooth tongue. If anyone call pull it off, I believe it’s you.” Twilight nodded. This was going to be tricky; her only secrets was that she was actually from a world populated by talking little ponies, and that she was a real, actual princess. Since that was off the table for obvious reasons, she would have to make a few things up. Could she do that while sounding sincere enough? Maybe if one of her friends took the lead instead…? But even the slightest of consideration made it clear that asking someone else to do this for her was unacceptable. Lead by example. Even if those examples would be a bit embellished. *** “Attention, all students!” Lunch, the one time you could be sure every students were gathered in the same place. Seeing them all together like this, it occurred to her that this wasn’t a very big school, its student body consisting of maybe a little more than a hundred students. She wasn’t too nervous; she’d talked to bigger crowds before. But then, Sunset Shimmer was in this crowd, sitting in a corner, ready to judge and counterattack. “Back in the mountains where I came from,” Twilight began, once she was sure every eye was on her, “we still used diapers at the age of ten!” She let it sink in. Was the lie to obvious? But just like she hoped, a good many people burst out laughing. Fluttershy and Applejack looked the most embarrassed, while Rarity and Pinkie seemed to snicker along. Rainbow Dash’s expression was simply non-plussed, like she wanted to know where this was going. “And that’s not all,” Twilight continued. “When I was a young teenager, I didn’t know you weren’t supposed to use diapers in school, so on my first day, people would laugh themselves silly when they saw white sticking up from my bulging pants.” A few laughed harder, but more and more were beginning to look really uncomfortable. “And if you think that’s embarrassing,” Twilight said, quite proud of this one, “the name ‘diaper girl’ stuck so hard, I accidentally introduced myself as diaper girl to my first crush!” “Hey, you wearing any diapers now?” called one of the people who had laughed, while a good portion of the crowd looked like they really didn’t want to be there right now. Exactly the reaction she was hoping for, which made the comment easy to brush off. “And you wanna hear hear about the time I called my crush’s mom instead of my own? You’re gonna—” “Stop it!” someone shouted; one of the drama people, the one with the beret. “No we don’t want to hear more of your diaper stories! Why are you telling us this!” “Because none of this matters in the least!” Twilight said, finally getting to the point of it. “I did those things, and I’ve learned from them. They are part of who I am, and I like who I am. What I’m trying to say is, accepting your past, especially when it’s just silly things that makes for fun stories in the present, is an excellent way to prepare yourself for the future. Because our past is not today! Not unless you decide to let it.” Twilight cast a glance at Sunset Shimmer that nobody could miss. And looking out over the crowd, it seemed a lot of them, if not most of them, understood what she was getting at. She expected Sunset to speak up at any moment now, but Rainbow Dash beat her to the punch. “Well I, for one, agree with diaper girl. But man, Twi, diapers? That’s nothing; when I first went to school, I was walking around with an embarrassing hole in my pants all week. Fluttershy can attest to that.” Fluttershy immediately shrunk into her seat. “Let’s face it, we’ve all had more than a few stinker moments on our lives.” Almost as if in sync, more-so than Twilight could have possibly planned for, Applejack pitched in, “Hey, Ah live on a farm! Ever had to stay up all night taking care of a sick pig, and then try to explain why ya smell like manure the next day?” The people who had laughed at Twilight were now laughing harder than ever. Beret girl, on her end, looked like she was about ready to snap. Which she kind of did. “Sure, it doesn’t matter; except when people are laughing at you!” “Laugh with you,” Pinkie Pie corrected. “They’re only gonna laugh at you if you act like it’s the end of the world. Take me for example; I made the Principals sick with a sugary croissant, and… wait, Sunset already said that. Well, what about mixing up sugar and baby powder, ‘cause I did that too! That was one interesting cupcake!” “And I sang off-key during my junior high theater festival!” It was Scribble Dee from the technology club. “And then I made this five-second pause in the middle of the song; I thought I was gonna die! There, now the whole school knows!” she pointed at Sunset. “Do your worst!” “And like, I had a crush on Rarity, once,” Minky from the fashion club said. “Oh, gosh, I said it!” In the corner of her eye, Twilight saw Rarity blush. “That’s not a secret, anybody with eyes see that,” said a girl with an accent—Photo Finish, if memory served. “I once published a photo without realizing my little sister was in the shot, all naked! It nearly cost me my career.” People were still laughing alright, but the quality of the laughter wasn’t quite the same. The tension and embarrassment had been replaced by something else, something friendlier, like they were all in on a big in-joke. “I collect dolls,” one guy said. “So sue me!” “I threw up in front of my hero last year!” “I’m a hoarder! My whole back yard is a dump!” “I’m a failed magician!” Trixie shouted out. “I lived out in the woods! I had to save up money by working on a rock farm!” Twilight’s smile widened; things were definitely turning around. She knew perfectly well that this hardly equated to every student suddenly voted Twilight, and that all this would be for nothing if she didn’t follow it up with some real, substantial effort. After lunch, it was time to set Operation Helping Hoof in— BAM! Twilight jumped. The blast had come from behind her; from the kitchen. The students became dead silent, the same face of ‘what in the heck’ plastered on every face. Next moment, the door to the kitchen swung open, and a figure covered in a black mantle rushed out of a haze of black smoke, straight towards the other door, then fled out the corridor. “Stop!” Twilight called, and by her practiced sense for facing danger, she ran after the figure. She could hear people follow behind her. The perpetrator was fast, but for some reason, they stopped by the corner to look back before continuing, almost as if they were waiting for her to catch up. That stature, that skin color; it reminded her of… but that was ridiculous! Again cursing her weak limbs, Twilight nonetheless kept her pursuit… that was, until Rainbow Dash, well, dashed past her. The figure nonetheless managed to disappear behind another corner. Dash followed, but then came a ‘whoa!’ and she jumped back into view. When Twilight finally rounded the bend, she saw the figure holding a big sledgehammer, in a pose that told her she was ready to strike. “Who are you?” Twilight demanded. “What did you do in the—” The figure swung the hammer. Not at her, but at the wall… no, not the wall, an open case attached to the wall. The case containing the fuse box. There was a loud crack, accompanied by a firework of sparks, marking the end of the machinery. And with it, no more electricity to the school. All lamps dimmed, casting the corridor into semi-darkness. The other students were finally catching up. As if the figure had waited for enough of them to arrive, they pulled off their hood. Twilight was so shocked, she couldn’t even say her name. So Rainbow Dash did instead. “Principal Celestia?!” The Principal of the school only stared blankly at her students. Then, with a small sigh, she spoke, “It’s over, children. Canterlot High has no future. I’ve spent months trying to pretend it isn’t true, but it all ends now.” “Are you out of your mind?” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “You don’t like your job, so you’re just gonna blow up the school equipment?” “Absolutely insane, isn’t it,” Celestia replied. The pain in her voice was so thick, Twilight couldn’t find it in her to muster up the appropriate outrage. “I’m at my wits end. Watching the school decline day in and day out, with no hope of change…” It was at this moment that the rest of the teaching staff came running. Cheerilee, she recognized, and also Fancy Pants, and Cranky Doodle. Even Zecora, Twilight’s zebra friend in the pony world. And Luna. Celestia’s little sister, her hair two shades of blue against light blue skin. Her eyes traveled to her sister’s face, then to the sledgehammer. “What is the meaning of this?” she demanded. “This, ladies and gentlemen,” Sunset Shimmer said, making her way to the front of the crowd, “is just what it looks like. One of the school’s own Principals has taken a hammer to school equipment! But not before she set off a bomb in the kitchen!” “You did not!” breathed Luna, giving her sister a look of terror. “I made sure all students and staff were out of harms way,” she assured her. “But yes. It had to be done.” “This is almost too delicious!” Sunset was saying. “Oh, you can bet Mr Rich will have a field day with this. I can see the headlines now: Principal of high school loses her mind and destroys property.’” “Mr Rich will find that the Principal did not destroy any school property,” Celestia replied. “I turned in my form of resignation earlier today. I even handed him a copy personally. What I did today is on m,e and me alone.” The smile on Sunset’s face dropped instantly. “Hmph,” she scoffed. Something about the look the two of them exchanged right them seemed… off. Twilight couldn’t quite put her finger on it. “Still, have fun rotting in a prison cell for the next year or so.” With a laugh, she added, “Geez, you must’ve just hated your students. You’re a smart woman; you must know that all you’ve really accomplished here is making life all the more miserable for all the poor students who has to live with your mistakes. And this kind of damage isn’t going to be cheap, you know…” “My sister Luna will take care of things in my absence,” Celestia said. “I trust that she will find a way to salvage the situation.” The sentence was immediately followed by a quick glance at Twilight. It went by so fast, she almost missed it, but she knew what it meant. Her heart skipped a beat; suddenly it all made sense! “As for my prison sentence, that’s assuming the police will be able to find me. I am quite good at hiding. On that note, I bid you farewell, children.” They all watched her run down the corridor. Nobody followed, not even Rainbow Dash. Before she had even disappeared from sight, Sunset gave another laugh. “There you have it, folks! How very appropriate; now it doesn’t matter whether or not you’re worried about some silly little secrets, because if you don’t vote for me, there’s no guarantee my uncle will restore everything to normal, is there. Imagine your school life with no food or electricity; no sewing machines for the fashionistas, and the dramas will have to practice in the dark. And the ever so popular music club won’t be able to power up their amps. But vote Sunset Shimmer,” she stretched out her arms, as if she meant to embrace them all, “and all of your worries will be washed away.” “No,” Twilight said firmly, taking a step forward. “No, they won’t. Because Sunset isn’t going to just ‘fix it.’ All she’s going to do is put the school in more debt than ever! The Rich Family will own every single aspect of your education, and if you think this isn’t going affect the rest of your lives, you’re wrong. I’m not going to defend Principal Celestia’s action,” she added, but in her heart, she knew that wasn’t true. She understood perfectly well why she had done it, and the task she had left in Twilight’s hands. “But she did it because this school had driven her into a corner! She wanted nothing more than to make this a better place for everybody, but she felt powerless to do so. It’s a shame she never realized that we had that power all along!” “Ugh, you just love your long-winded speeches, don’t you,” Sunset moaned. “Fine, how are we going to fix it?” “I’m glad you asked! Sweet Leaves,” she addressed the eco club member, “you told you had a bunch of solar panels lying around, but you couldn’t install it on your own. Techies, how fast do you think you can help them set them up?” “We can’t do it from here; we’d have to manually insert the cables in all sorts of different places,” one from the technology club members responded. “That’s assuming these solar panels are of a compatible model…” “They are, I’ve double checked,” Sweet Leaves interjected. “Okay, but even then it’ll still take us five hours, at best!” “Then you have your work cut out for you,” Twilight told him. “We’re all counting on you.” “Hey, none of us signed up for this,” another member complained. “Why should we have to stay behind at school just because the Principal went psycho?” “I’ll give you cupcakes,” Pinkie Pie pitched in. “And Ah’ve got some o’ Apple Acre’s best cider.” “Not to mention,” Rarity said, and approached the guy with the sweetest smile on her lips. “You would be the heroes of the school. I would be ever so grateful.” “Uh, sure, when you put it that way…” Ah, same old Rarity. “Pfft, don’t let her feminine viles get to you,” a female member cut in. “I had a TV show to watch this afternoon!” “Look, nobody’s forcing anybody to stay.” It was Flash Sentry who spoke up. “I understand we all have our lives to take care of. But I, for one, care about this school a whole heck of a lot. So you let me know if there’s anything I can do to help, Twilight.” The female member faltered. “I-I mean, I guess I could just have mom record it for me…” “I mean, why not?” a guy from the crowd agreed. “Someone’s gonna need to take care of this, why not us?” “I could bring food! I bake some pretty good scones, if I do say so myself.” “Are we gonna live on scones until we graduate?” “No no, just until they can fix the kitchen… oh.” The girl in the crowed seemed to catch on to the dilemma. “Yes, I’m afraid unless we can fix up the kitchen, we’ll just have to ask Mr Rich after all.” “Darn tooting!” Granny Smith’s voice could be heard from somewhere back. “It’s a battlefield back there. Ain’t nobody gonna put those ovens back together.” This put a damper on the momentum Twilight had built up. Sunset snickered. “Well well, unless there’s anybody who can magically fix broken ovens,” as if to mock her, she glanced at the remaining Principal, “how about we let Principal Luna here make the phone call.” “Wait,” someone from the crowd said. Yellow skin, blue and pink hair; Twilight recognized her as Bon-Bon. “I-I’m in the cooking club, and uh, like I said before… I’m a hoarder. I actually have two old oven stored in the back yard that I’m not using. Couldn’t we have them brought them here?” “Oh please, as if two ovens are gonna be enough for the whole school,” Sunset remarked. “What about the old home-ec ovens?” Applejack suggested. “The eco club refused to throw ‘em out. Couldn’t our techies here fix ‘em up?” “We’ll have our hands full with the power!” “I’ll call for repairs,” Rarity spoke up. “On me.” “Are you sure?” asked Twilight. “Of course I’m sure; not to brag, but it’s petty change compared to what I rake in.” “Really, Principal,” Sunset shot at Luna, “are you just going to allow the students to do the professionals’ job? This is slave labor! Their parents will complain.” “I’m sure some of them will,” Luna agreed. “But others might be pleased to learn that this school is teaching them a thing or two about resourcefulness. Surely Mr. Rich will understand the importance of saving money wherever you can.” Sunset face darkened. “Fine. I look forward to seeing how far you can make it on your own. And I hope for your sake those secrets of yours don’t mean anything to you.” “Hah!” Every head turned, as Scribble Dee walked forward with a grin on her face. “Did you hear that, everyone. Sunset just said she was going to out our secrets! Right from the horses mouth, no subtlety whatsoever.” Her eyes narrowed, and the two exchanged looks where words such as ‘poisonous’ and ‘murderous’ came to mind. She’d had the vague impression before, but now it was fairly clear to Twilight these two had some sort of history together. “I confess nothing,” Sunset said. “What are you trying to say?” “Only that your thoughtless comment just now has painted you into a corner,” Scribble replied. “And as you are well aware, we of the technology club know a thing or two about hacking. There hasn’t been a virus you could throw at us that we haven’t been able to delete. Just try to leak any of our secrets now; it won’t matter how well you cover your traces, we’ll all know it was you. Sure it wouldn’t hold up in court, but I think Mr Rich, good with numbers as he is, would be capable of putting two and two together. Or the school board.” “You…!” “…can go right ahead and leak those secrets, if you dare. Who knows, you might even get away with it, but like we demonstrated earlier, a lot of us don’t care about those secrets anyway. Seems like a lot of risk for a relatively small reward.” To Twilight surprise, Sunset didn’t even look mad. “Well played.” And with those two words, she walked away. Twilight was convinced Sunset would return with a bigger, meaner scheme in the future, but for now, the battle was won. “Nice going, Scribble!” Rainbow Dash said, reaching her arm around her neck. “Way to give her the what for!” “Yes, well, I must admit,” said Micro Chips, who looked quite a bit more humble than before, “that was, uh, quite remarkable.” “Thanks,” Scribble said. “I’m just sick of her trying to boss us around, is all. I think it’s about time we put an end to Sunset's reign of terror, and I don’t know about all of you,” she turned to Twilight, “but I think this girl right here is just what we needed.” “Thank you, Scribble Dee,” Twilight told her, beaming. “And thank you, everyone! I’ve only been in this school for a couple of days now, but during that time, I’ve seen kind, strong, passionate people that are masters at what they do. Each of you possesses incredible skills on your own, but if we put them together, I truly believe we’re strong enough to make it past this bump in the road, and make a better future for us all!” Not everyone seemed enthusiastic, but the number of people smiling, nodding and murmuring to their friends gave Twilight hope. It wasn’t perfect, but it was a well-needed push in the right direction. *** As one might expect after the headmaster had smashed the fuse box with a sledge hammer, there were no more lessons the rest of that day. The twelve members of the technology club were the stars of the show, but while many did go home, many more stayed and helped clean out the kitchen; ‘battlefield’ was indeed an appropriate term to describe the aftermath. Others still were helping in the home-ec room, where Pinkie Pie and Applejack, together with most of the cooking club, were whipping up goodies. All in all, Twilight liked how things were progressing. But it had only just begun. This wasn’t going to guarantee votes, but thanks to Scribble Dee—who was letting everyone know on a regular basis that Sunset was still keeping the secrets off the internet—people seemed less afraid, and as a result, more open to one another. It had created an opportunity Twilight could not afford to miss, and that was exactly why she and her friends, including Flash Sentry, were gathered in a small café close to school to discuss. “I still can’t believe Principal Celestia did that,” Rainbow Dash was saying. “She always seemed so calm and collected. I used to look up to her.” “I agree, but seeing how things turned out,” Rarity argued, “one has to wonder if it wasn’t all part of a bigger plan, to give Twilight a good opportunity to make her grand speech.” “I dunno,” said Flash. “She did look pretty sad. Did you guys see the look in her eyes?” “I did,” Twilight said. “But even so... I think Rarity’s right. I talked to Celestia in her office before lunch. She hadn’t slept all night, and she looked like she had been deep in her own thoughts. She must have been planning like this for a while, and thought that this was the best opportunity she was ever going to get. Like it was her way of handing over the torch to me…” “Who cares about why,” Rainbow Dash prompted. “It’s not like anybody got hurt, and now that we have the torch, let’s make sure we use. That’s why we came here, isn’t it?” “Yes, the meet-and-greet,” said Twilight. “Now more than ever, we need a way to drive home the message of togetherness. Flash, you said your music draws a crowd, didn't you?” “Sure does,” he replied. “And especially after something like this, I think the students will appreciate a surprise concert; it’ll be a good way of saying thanks for the hard work. How’s that song coming along?” “About that. I, uh, know what kind of song I want, and I’m thinking we need a dance number too, but… I haven’t actually written anything out yet. I was hoping we could all do it together… right now?” They all stared at her, and Twilight thought she could feel the criticism blasting from their eyes onto her skin. Except, it was probably just her imagination, because Rainbow Dash broke out into a grin. “Then what are we waiting for? Let’s hear your ideas, and we’ll go from there.” “I-I like to write song lyrics,” Fluttershy offered timidly. “Some say I’m pretty good at it…” “It’ll be cutting it darn close if we want time to rehearse,” said Applejack, “but what the hay! In for a penny!” “Good thing I brought my guitar,” Flash said. “Do we need something upbeat? How about this?”