As the bell rang once more, the trio of dimension jumpers found themselves being once again swept up in a crowd of students. However, this time the students were all seemingly heading to one direction. Seeing this, Flash and Twilight soon noticed that they were heading to the school's cafeteria, the one place about school that even Flash knew about. (Though this was mainly due to him having to deliver some books to Twilight right at lunch time as a favor for Princess Celestia back in the day) It was here that they spotted Fluttershy on the edge of the crowd, and with no one else they recognized, they made their way to her before asking, "Hey, would it be alright if we eat with you?"
"Oh! Um...sure. I guess that's okay." Fluttershy slightly mumbled as the two humans along with a dog in a backpack soon followed her into the school's dining hall. Inside, most of the students had already gotten their food and were eating at tables, which they all saw before getting into line.
Fluttershy went first and grabbed a tray, which she began to put her chosen food on. Twilight was next and copied her, then did a small gulp as she asked, "Hey um...I know we've just met, but I was wondering if you might be able to help me with something."
"Of course," Fluttershy replied as she grabbed a bowl of fruit.
Twilight did the same as she spoke. "I've decided to run for Princess of the Fall Formal, and–augh!" She yelped as Flutershy suddenly gasped and dropped the bowl. The object then hit the counter, instantly flipping as its contents splashed all over Twilight.
"Eep!" Fluttershy cried as she quickly grabbed a bunch of napkins and began wiping the juice off of Twilight. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry! It's just, you really surprised me and...oh, running for Fall Formal Princess is a really bad idea."
"Why?" Twilight asked as she grabbed a few napkins and started wiping the juice away as well.
"Sunset Shimmer wants to be Fall Formal Princess," Fluttershy placed the now drenched napkins on the counter before turning back to Twilight and began whispering, "And when she wants something, she gets it! She'll make life awful for anyone who stands in her way." The lunch lady, who once again Flash swore reminded him of someone, handed them an apple and the three headed off to find a table. "Just ask the girl who ran against her for Princess of the Spring Fling. She um...she doesn't speak to anyone anymore."
Twilight and Flash glanced at each other, glum looks on their faces as Twilight looked back at Fluttershy, "Well, even so...I have to try."
"Yeah...she's right." Flash added as he blinked at Fluttershy with a frown, "Look, I know it sounds strange, but its a matter of literal life and death. We gotta get that crown before Sunset does."
"Oh..." Fluttershy mumbled as her tray slightly vibrated due to her now shaking hands, "I...I don't think you understand. You'd have to convince everyone here to vote for you instead of her." With that, she started pointing at several huddled groups of people in the cafeteria, "You'll have to convince the athletes, the fashionistas, the dramas, the eco-kids, the techies, the rockers...all of them."
Flash blinked at the sight, "Wow. And I thought where we came from had diversity."
Twilight also looked around as she asked, "Why is everypony–ow!" Spike smacked her in the head, making her realize her mistake as Fluttershy turned to her. "Uh, everybody separated this way?"
Fluttershy sighed as she motioned them to sit down by her at a table. "Maybe it was different at your old school, but at CHS, everybody sticks to their own kind."
"That's stupid," Flash replied as he and Twilight sat down. "How are you supposed to learn anything if you only stick to the people that only know what you know?"
"I thought you hated learning." Twilight instantly remarked, getting a glare from Flash as her face now shined a huge smirk. "Just kidding."
"Yeah yeah..." Flash grumbled as he looked away.
Fluttershy giggled at this before putting her fork into her fruit bowl. "You know, you two are really different. You'd probably get along well with the Royal Knights."
This caused the duo to raise an eyebrow. "Royal Knights?"
Fluttershy gulped down a bit of pineapple as she answered, "Yeah, they're a band at the school. Their members are Iron Core, Heather Bloom and First Aid, who are a rocker, eco and techie that all hang out together. They even revived the Royal Knights, a band that formed back when the school first opened. Apparently, the original members all graduated and joined the police force, and those three wanna follow in their footsteps, which is why they took the name. They're also the only people who don't let Sunset Shimmer push them around, especially after what she did to their last member."
Flash's face was a cross between wide-eyed and frowning at this information as he asked, "What uh...what did she do?"
Fear covered Fluttershy's face as she shook her head, quickly glancing around before leaning in and whispering, "Well, she denies it, but everyone knows she planted some contraband in his locker that got him expelled." Flash, Twilight and even Spike gasped at this. "It wasn't anything illegal, but it was enough to get him expelled since he was on his very last chance."
"That blows," Flash said as he picked up what he was told was a burger. Granted, it reminded him of a hayburger, though his nose told him it was something slightly different. "But at least those guys didn't let Sunset ruin their dream." With that, he took a bite of sandwich, instantly surprised at how it tasted. "Dang, this is good...wish we had something like this back home."
Fluttershy let out a long sigh. "But they're the only ones. Everyone else is too scared to mess with Sunset Shimmer. She's probably gonna rule the school until we graduate."
Twilight growled at this, a huge frown on her face as she said, "Not if I can help it!" She then leaned down and grabbed an apple with her mouth, only to hear Flash let out a loud cough. She looked over at him and saw he was holding his apple in one hand and pointing to another person in the distance doing the same thing with his other hand. She then turned to Fluttershy and saw her staring at her with pure confusion, causing her let go of the apple with her mouth. "Uh...yeah." She stifled a small giggle as she asked, "So uh....about becoming the Princess of the Fall Formal. Where would I find the head of the party planning committee?"
"She's probably in the gym," Fluttershy mumbled as she let out a low hiss, Flash surprised as they saw the version of their friend now show anger on her face. "Though I bet she's gonna try and turn it into some silly loud rave."
Flash and Twilight glanced at each other again, both trying to remember the last time they saw Fluttershy look like that. Flash then sighed, "You know what, I'm not even gonna ask. Let's just eat and get over there." Twilight nodded in agreement as the duo quickly finished their lunch, Twilight eating a salad as Flash finished the burger. After that, they said their goodbyes to Fluttershy and quickly headed out of the cafeteria.
"Did she say to go left or right?" Flash asked once they were outside.
"I'm pretty sure it was left twice, then a right."
"Sounds good to me. Let's get going!" He replied as he took the lead, both heading down the hallway. But as Flash turned a corner, he suddenly felt his feet slipping out from under him. "WHOA!" He cried as he fell backwards, his back instantly embracing a puddle of water.
"Flash!" Twilight cried as she bent down to help him. "Are you okay?!"
"Ow..." Flash moaned as he rubbed his back, only to hear a low gentle chuckle. But that wasn't what surprised him. It was the voice. He then looked up and saw a middle aged man with gray skin and white hair. He was dressed in a janitor's get-up and had a large scar running over his left eye.
"Careful there kiddo," he said to the boy as he pointed to the mop in his hand. "Wet floor."
"Err...yeah. Sorry." was all Flash could say as he stared at the man with eyes wide as dinner plates. "Whoa..."
The man raised an eyebrow at him, blinking as he asked, "You okay kid? Didn't hit your head, did ya?" Flash just shook his head as he picked himself up. "Good. Accident reports are such a drag to fill out."
"We're sorry," Twilight said with a bow. "We're both new here. I'm Twilight, and this is Flash."
"Name's Grand. Nice to meet ya kiddos," the man replied with a tip of his hat.
"Nice to meet you," Twilight instantly remarked, trying to not look completely surprised at the name she just heard. That is, till she didn't hear a follow-up from Flash, causing her to elbow his side. "Right Flash?"
"Right!" He yelped a little too loudly, "Nice to meet you sir!"
Grand nodded at this. "Same to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, floors don't mop themselves."
"Right. Well...we'll be going now." Twilight replied as she grabbed Flash by the arm and pulled him away, the apprentice knight craning his neck to look at Grand as long as he could as they turned a corner. She then grabbed his collar as she said, "Yes, I know. Suck it up Flash, and don't freak out."
"He's a janitor?!" Flash almost screeched. "How could somepony like Grand be a janitor?!"
"I don't know, but you need to stop raising your voice!" Twilight remarked as she put her hand over his mouth. "But we've got bigger things to worry about. Come on, let's find party planning committee, okay?"
"Okay." Flash muttered as they walked down another hallway, only to arrive at some double doors. They opened said wooden frames and saw it was a place covered in streamers and balloons. Seeing this made Flash say, "Huh. I think I know who the party planning committee is."
"You do?"
"Yeah. I mean, who else do we know that-"
"Incoming!" interrupted a voice above them. They looked up just in time to see a bunch of streamers flying at them. Flash's reflexes kicked in as he hopped back, dodging the party decorations while Twilight and Spike soon found themselves buried beneath a pile of streamers.
It wasn't long till Twilight pulled herself out of the pile, only to see a girl leap down from above. She had long puffy pink hair, something Flash instantly recognized while Twilight walked up to her said, "Hi, my name's Twilight Sparkle and-" She didn't finish her sentence, as in that moment, the girl turned to show her face, making Twilight gasp, "Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie was blowing up a balloon, only to stop as the air blew back into her face. Once deflated, she grabbed Twilight by the bag straps and pulled their faces close together. "Are you psychic?!"
"Uh....no? I don't think so." Twilight squeaked out as she forced a smile. "Unless that's something you can do here."
"Not usually," Pinkie replied as she let Twilight go. "Well, except-"
Flash smirked as he stepped up and interrupted her, "Let me guess, little twitches and tingles every now and again?"
Pinkie spun around to stare at him, soon racing up to his face as well, "Holy moley! Are you psychic too?!"
Flash just chuckled at this, shaking his head as he replied, "Nope. I'm a lot of things-"
"Like a meathead." Twilight interjected, a glare from Flash following as she shined a cheeky grin.
Flash then turned back to Pinkie, "As I was saying, I'm a lot of things, but psychic ain't one of them."
"Ohhh...okay!"
"Anyways!" Twilight spoke up as she walked up in front of Flash, "Fluttershy said this is where I'd find the head of the Fall Formal planning committee."
"Fluttershy, huh?" Pinkie quickly blew up a balloon and violently tied it up. "Don't let the whole "shy" thing fool you. She can be a real meanie."
Twilight and Flash blinked at each other, surprised at the dark expression now gracing Pinkie's face. Twilight turned back to Pinkie and asked, "Wait...you two aren't friends?"
Pinkie just let out a low growl, only to start moonwalking towards them with her back bent back. "Waited a bit to get your name on the ballot, huh? Dance is day after tomorrow."
"We're brand new here," Twilight instantly replied.
"Oooh! That makes sense! I thought you didn't look familiar." She did a quick spin before scanning Twilight over, "Though, now that I'm really looking at you two...." She then pointed at Twilight. "Do you have a twin sister who lives in the city and has a pet dog named Spike that looks just like that one?" She pointed at the dog on the floor, who was now playing with a balloon.
Twilight and Flash shared a glance at each other again, only for Twilight to shrug back at Pinkie, "Uh...maybe?"
"Thought so. Anyhoo," she reached into her hair and pulled out a clipboard and pen, "just need you to fill this out and you'll be officially up for the coveted Princess of the Fall Formal crown!" Twilight nodded and was about to take the pen in her mouth, only to hear Flash cough. Glancing at her bodyguard, she saw him pointing to his hands. She then took the pen and started writing her name, moaning when she saw that her once amazing calligraphy skills were now gone with this new form's hands. As soon as she was done, Pinkie looked it over and her eyes went wide. "Wow! You have really bad handwriting. Its like you've never held a pen before."
Twilight let out a fake laugh as she dropped the pen. "Is it? Well uh-"
"Somebody order a dozen cases of fizzy apple cider?" called out a voice, interrupting them as Twilight and Flash noticed how familiar the voice was.
"Oh! Me! Me-me-me!" Pinkie cheered as she rushed to the gym's doors. "I did! I did!"
Flash and Twilight watched her go, only to both go wide-eyed as they saw a girl with orange skin and blonde hair wearing a familiar Stetson gave Pinkie a bottle of cider. Flash then chuckled at the sight, "Nice to see that in all universes, the cowpony look is still in."
Twilight rolled her eyes at his comment as she watched the girl she knew was Applejack put down a box of drinks. She then took off her hat to wipe her brow before turning back to the door. "Can you bring in the rest?"
"Eeyup." answered a tall bulky teen that also stepped into the room, carrying five more cases of the drinks.
Applejack stepped up to the teen and removed the top box, revealing his face and confirming the duo that it was Applejack's brother, Big Mac. As she put the case down, she noticed Flash and Twilight and smiled. "Hey, I know you two."
Twilight and Flash glanced at each other before Twilight replied, "You do?"
Flash smirked as he put his hands in his pockets. "Only been here a day and already we're getting a rep."
Applejack laughed at this. "No wonder, especially considerin' ya'll gave Sunset Shimmer the what-fer today." She then took out a bottle of cider and pulled off the cap before drinking it down.
Pinkie then floated by while being carried by balloons. "Twilight Sparkle here is gonna run against Sunset Shimmer for Princess of the Fall Formal."
Hearing this caused Applejack to spit her drink out as she yelped, "I'd think twice about that! Especially since ya'll be facing Sunset Shimmer!"
"How so?" Flash asked back.
"Oh, well...she'll probably start by approaching you all friendly like." Applejack mumbled as she grabbed Pinkie and pulled her back towards the ground, taking the balloons in her hand before drawing crude Sunset and Twilight faces on them. "I sure am lookin' forward to some friendly competition," she mocked in a fake Sunset voice that made Flash crack up. She then did a fake Twilight voice, which caused Flash's laughter to increase. "That's so good to hear." She then turned the Sunset balloon over, showing a pin tapped to it. "But then, here comes the backstabbin'." With that, she used the pin to pop the Twilight balloon.
"Sounds like the kind of thing she'd do," Flash added as tried to avoid a glare from Twilight.
Applejack nodded at this. "About the only girl in this school you can trust less than Sunset Shimmer is Rainbow Dash."
Twilight raised an eyebrow as she heard this, "Rainbow Dash?"
Pinkie then bounced on a large balloon in front of Twilight. "She's the captain of like, every team at Canterlot High." In that moment, her balloon burst and she fell to earth, only for Flash to quickly catch her. She let out a giggle as she gave him a big hug as he let her down. "Thanks Flash."
Flash blinked at this. "I didn't give you my name."
"Just a hunch," Pinkie said as she pulled out another set of balloons. "Now, to more partying!"
"Some things never change. Right Twilight?" Flash turned to the princess, only to see her talking to Applejack. "Twilight?"
"Thanks for the advice, Applejack," she said as she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "But this is something I really need to do."
Applejack just shrugged in response. "Huh. Well, suit yourself." But as she said this, a click went off in her head. "Hey, how'd you know my name is Applejack?"
Twilight hid a gulp from this, a low nervous laugh following, "Um, I uh...didn't you say it earlier?"
"Eenope," Mac replied as he brought in another box of cider.
Sweat filled waterfalls started to appear on Twilight as Flash stepped in front of the two, "Uh...everyone's heard of you!" Flash replied as his brain tried to improvise, "You're Applejack and Big Mac, best apple farmers around...right?"
Applejack raised an eyebrow at him, only to shrug. "Guess that makes sense."
Twilight sighed in relief before shaking Applejack's hand and waving to Pinkie. "Well, it sure was nice meeting you both." She started heading to the door, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around."
"Yeah. Catch you on the flip side." Flash added as the trio quickly left the gym, closing the door behind them instantly, "That was way too close."
"Tell me about it," Twilight finished as they started making their way down a nearby hallway. "Alright, now that I'm in the contest, I'll need to start coming up with a plan to win."
"And how do you expect to do that?" Spike whispered from within her backpack. Twilight's reply was a simple shrug, unsure how to answer.
Seeing this, Flash rubbed his chin in thought before saying, "Hmm...if there's one thing Grand always kept telling me in training, its that you need to know as much as you can in any situation."
"I agree with that." Twilight replied as she blinked at her bodyguard, "You got an idea?"
"No, not really. I'm uh...not a school pony, remember?"
"I know."
"Yeah..." The two then came to a stop, both at a halt physically and mentally. As they stood there, another thought popped into Flash's head, "Hey, I know this might not be the best idea, but...you think we should split up?"
Twilight tilted her head in surprise at this, "Split up? Why?"
"Well...for starters, we'll cover more ground and....let's be honest, we don't know anything about this place Twilight. We both need to ask a lot of questions here."
"That's true." Twilight was now tapping her chin in thought, "But even if we do that Flash, are you sure you'll be okay in this place? You said it yourself, you never went to school."
"I know. And I would totally agree with you...if we weren't on a time limit. Remember, we only got two days before the dance, and we'll probably have a few hours after that to return home."
Twilight wanted to retort, but saw his point. One sigh later, she replied, "Alright...but you have to be careful Flash. Despite what's going on here and the fact that this is a school, I'm just as much in the dark as you are."
Flash just shrugged at this. "Eh, I don't think I have to worry too much. From what I've seen, this place isn't really that dangerous."
"Just don't go doing anything stupid."
Flash let out a small chuckle before pointing to himself. "Hey now, this is me you're talking about."
Twilight shot him a smirk, "That's what I'm afraid of." The two of them burst out laughing before heading down two different corridors, determined to find out as much about the school as possible.
For Flash, he wasn't sure where to go or what to look for. But as Twilight had said, he had never gone to school, and considering what little he remembered from Twilight's school days, he knew he had no idea what to do. Not only that, now that he was alone, he could feel his guard being dropped just because of the environment. He might have adapted to being human a lot easier that Twilight, but he knew that was nothing to what was happening now.
And so, he began his trek down the hallways, looking through the windows of every room he passed. Some were empty classrooms while others were full ones, complete with lessons on boards that had what looked like gibberish to him. It had been a while since he felt like a true idiot, knowing he should had paid more attention to the reading and math stuff Twilight had taught him back when they were foals.
He let out a long sigh as he walked down another hall. "Maybe this was a bad idea. I don't got a clue on what might help win Twilight that crown." He rubbed his face in frustration. "Ugh....this is actually getting annoying. Maybe I should just try and steal it. Though, would that-" But before he could even think about that idea any further, his ears suddenly picked up something new:
Music. Loud rock music, which was complete heaven to Flash's ears.
Being drawn to the sounds, Flash followed them to a pair of double doors. He could hear the music coming from behind the frames, urging him to open them. And when he did, he was met with the sight of the trio he met earlier that day. It was Iron, Heather and First all playing together, using the exact same instruments as their Equestrian counterparts. Iron was banging out a beat on a set of drums, while Heather was playing a bass guitar. First was tapping on a keyboard with a saxophone by his feet.
All had their eyes shut as they continued to play, the tones and beats guiding them perfectly. The bliss continued for another minute before the song came to end. And as it finished, they opened their eyes to a wide-eyed Flash, complete with a huge grin on his face, "That was amazing."
Heather giggled at this, "Aw thanks. You should hear us when the band's complete."
"I bet." Flash replied, nodding as he walked into the room. "I heard about that. Shame you lost a member."
Iron let out a low growl. "We told Lightning not to date her, but would he listen? No. He decided to be an idiot instead."
Flash almost hopped in place, "Lightning?"
"Lightning Blitz," First immediately answered, "He was the one that suggested we restart the Royal Knights. Even after he was kicked out, he made us promise to keep going."
"I see...interesting." Flash commented as he closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in thought. He then whispered to himself, "So, Lightning is friends with them here instead of Wild Smile and the others. Huh."
"You okay?" Heather piped up, making Flash look up at her.
"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm cool. Just uh....let's just say I'm still figuring things out here at school."
The trio all glanced at each other before Iron said, "Okay. Though I gotta say, you're a lot more talkative than you were before."
Flash did a small chuckle, "Yeah...sorry about that. Being in a new school is a...well, its a little jarring."
First nodded at this. "Understandable."
Heather then walked up to Flash, "So, you into music?"
Flash placed his hands in his pant's pockets as he replied, "I uh...dabble from time to time. Guitar mostly."
"Really?!" Heather asked as she clapped her hands together.
"We have been looking for a new guitarist since Lightning left," First added.
"Hold on First." Iron chimed in as he glared at Flash, "You any good?"
Flash opened his mouth, only to close it as he looked down at his pant pockets. Seeing his hooves now gone, he hid a gulp as he replied, "Um...I might be a...little rusty there. Sorry."
Heather then put her hand on his shoulder, a big smile on his face. "That's fine. In fact, we have a few guitars on the wall over there. Maybe you could try and-"
RIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG!
That was the bell for end of period, causing all four to hop in place. Before Flash could say anything, he saw the trio start to put away their instruments.
"Drat," Iron said as he put his drumsticks into his bag. "free period just keeps getting shorter and shorter."
"Apologies," First added as he placed his saxophone in its case, "but we have class."
Heather also packed up her bass. "Looks like we'll have to see how well you play another time."
"Don't worry about it," Flash told them with a slight wave. "Hope you all manage to find somepo-er, someone who can play with you."
"Would help if we could find one in time for the Fall Formal," Iron grumbled as he got up to leave, "Eh, looks like that's a pipe dream for playing in it now."
Flash gave them a slight nod as they headed out. "Well, thanks for letting me listen. See you around!"
The three nodded back before heading out, leaving Flash alone in the room. He then leaned against a grand piano and stared at the guitars from before. Not being able to resist, he picked one up and began tuning it, only to be surprised at how easy it was. Once this was done, he picked up a strange flat thing that he spotted Heather using on her bass and started using it to strum away. He tried to play one of his favorite tunes, but found his new fingers weren't properly responding the way he liked it. After several minutes of botched attempts to play, he let out a long sigh.
"Dang. This is harder than I thought."
"Eh, you just need a bit more practice." said a new voice, making Flash look up to see Grand. He had a huge grin on his face as he walked into the room, "Though I gotta say, despite your skills, I can tell your true love for the instrument is there."
"Sorry," Flash replied as he laid the guitar on his lap. "Didn't think anyone would come in here and uh...you know, clean and stuff."
Grand let out a low guffaw, "I'm actually on my break kid. I like coming in here when no one else will." He stepped over and grabbed another guitar before tuning it, soon playing it like it was nothing. Flash was instantly surprised, as he knew his version of his mentor wasn't a musician.
"Whoa...you're good," Flash commented as Grand kept playing.
"I should be since I play almost everyday. Its probably the memories of this place, but I can't seem to let myself get rusty."
Flash raised an eyebrow at this, only for a click to go off in his head, "You were one of the original Royal Knights."
Grand glanced up to him, another chuckle following, "You catch on quick kiddo. Yes, I was one of the original Royal Knights. Its why my grandson wanted to start the band back up."
"Huh. I heard you guys had all joined the police force," Flash replied as he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here as a janitor?"
"I retired from the force a few years ago. I took this job to have something to do."
"Maybe you should have asked if the music teacher position was open," Flash said with a huge smirk, only for the duo to start laughing.
Grand then sat next to Flash as he continued to chuckle, only to slap Flash's back. Flash remembered this pain, as his mentor always did the exact same thing. As he did this, Grand spoke up, "I like you kid, I can tell you've got some serious spirit. How about I show you how to treat that instrument right?" Flash nodded with a smile as the two began playing together. Over the next hour, the two continued to strum a series of tunes, quickly hopping to rips as they played. It wasn't long till they hit their limits, soon stopping as Grand said, "You learn quick kid."
"Helps to have a good teacher," Flash replied as he put the guitar down. "Though I gotta say, you're rough when teaching."
Grand let out another guffaw as he got up and put the guitar away. He then turned back to Flash and gave him a toothy grin, "Well, I'd best be getting back to work. You probably got a class to get to after all."
"Er...yeah," Flash said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I uh...I also need to find my friends."
"Welp, see you around kiddo." With that, Grand left the room, leaving a blinking Flash. A few seconds passed before Flash got up and put the guitar away, ready to leave to go find Twilight and Spike. But as he left the room, his ears picked up a new voice.
"Well, well, well," Flash came to a stop before turning his head slightly to the left, soon seeing the owner of the voice. It was Sunset Shimmer, and she was leaning against a locker with a smirk on her face. "So this is where you were hiding. I have to admit, you're not half bad. Must have been tricky to play with fingers instead of hooves."
Flash let out a low growl. "So you know."
Sunset continued to shine her coy smile as she pushed off the locker and walked up to him, inches from his face. "Wasn't hard to figure out once I learned your little girlfriend had entered the princess contest. Plus, my little talk with her confirmed it."
Flash's eyes went wide before morphing into another glare, "If you did anything to her, I swear-"
"Relax knight boy, she's perfectly fine." Sunset interrupted as she began to circle around him. "I didn't do anything except...well, let's just say I gave her a little warning. She can't beat me, so I suggested she head back to Equestria and enjoy it while she still can."
Flash stifled a low laugh. "Tch. You obviously don't know Twilight as well as you think you do. Your threats won't stop her. She'll find a way to beat you, she always does."
"Well, this is the time she won't. I hold all the cards of this school and she can't even hold a pencil right now. Face it, I've already won and we haven't even started playing yet. Soon enough, your friend will figure out she's lost and head home with her tail between her legs." She then stepped back in front of Flash and scanned him up and down, "You on the other hand, don't look half bad. I could use a new boy toy since my last one started misbehaving and I had to throw it away."
Flash's glare intensified, only to switch to a smirk, "Sorry, my mother taught me to never date a girl who wears leather. Or is...well, a total nutcase."
It was Sunset's turn to frown. "You don't want to mess with me pretty boy. I can make your life a living hell."
Flash's reply was a quick laugh. "Listen bacon brain, you might thing you're some big baddie, but you don't scare me. I've faced off against a mad alicorn, a psychotic chaos monster, a powerful hungry shadow pony and two super charged unicorns." He then leaned in, a cold dead stare on his face as he now inches away from her, "Compared to them, what could you possibly do that would take me down?"
But as he did this, Sunset's frown turned into a devilish grin as she placed her hands on his chest. "How about...this!" With that, she grabbed him by the jacket and pulled, their faces instantly colliding. Before Flash could react, her lips planted themselves onto his, both now fully kissing. The move instantly made Flash's eyes go wide, his brain completely shutting down as it tried to compute what was happening. After several seconds, Sunset pulled away with an even bigger smile while Flash just stood there, dumbfounded and confused.
"Awww...what's the matter? Did I just steal your first kiss? I think I did, little knight boy!" Sunset mocked as she leaned up again, this time putting her hand seductively under his chin, "You know, you're kinda cute when you're all flustered."
"I...uh-er…" Flash tried to say, only to feel his cheeks burn up as Sunset pinched his chin.
"Huh. Guess I already broke you." She then grabbed his jacket's collar again, "Wanna another one then?"
It was at this moment that Flash's brain finally clicked, its on switch finally turned as he grabbed both of her hands with a vice-like grip. "Not a chance!" he yelled as steam blew out of his nostrils. "I won't fall for that again!"
"Oh yeah?"
"Yeah!"
Sunset leaned forward, their foreheads now touching as she whispered, "Then how about...THIS!"
THUNK!
"AUGH!" Flash screamed as Sunset's knee suddenly shot upwards, making contact with something best left unsaid. Pain flooded through Flash's system as he let out another scream and staggered back, his legs barely holding him up as his hands went down to top of his legs. "What...did you...do to me?" he whimpered out, his hands now gripping the area of pain, trying to relieve anything possible.
Sunset just laughed at the sight. "Oh, nothing much. Just something that you might want to look up while you're here." She then walked up and grabbed his collar again, now seeing the tears on pain coming out of his eyes. "Since you're new to this school and world, I suggest anatomy for your first class. It'll help you understand your new body." She shifted her knee back, "Like this part."
THUNK!
"AUGH!" he screamed again, this time falling face first into the floor. "Ooohhh….why?! Why does that...hurt so much?!"
"AHAHAHAHA! That felt good!" Sunset laughed as she turned around, doing a slight wave as she started walk away, "I think I'm done toying with you. Tell your friend that I'm hoping to see her at the dance, and I can't wait to crush her under my heel." She then turned back with a huge grin on her face, "I'll be sure to mention her when I accept my crown....maybe."
And with that, she was gone.
Half an hour of pain later...
"Evil....pure evil...greatest evil I've ever faced..." Flash moaned as he pulled his body up. He had started using the lockers as support to walk, which his legs were not liking or cooperating at the moment. "Ohhh....it hurts. Why does it hurt so much?!" he groaned as his whole form staggered on the locker wall. He then whispered to himself, "How did that girl become Princess Celestia's student?! She's pure evil!"
As he struggled to turn down another hallway, he spotted a pair of younger teens run past him. He blinked at the sight, his brain reminding him that they looked like the colt duo Snips and Snails from Ponyville in human form. The two laughed as they passed him, both on what Flash had learned to be 'phones'.
"Snips and Snails? What is...eh, doesn't matter Flash. You gotta find Twilight. Sides, they're probably just watching one of those...what did those two from earlier we passed call it? Cat videos?" Flash asked himself as he turned another corner. It was here he saw his destination. Above a double door was a sign that said: 'Library'. Flash chuckled at the sight. "Here we go." He then opened the door, only to see Twilight just in the distance, sitting at a table and surrounded by books.
He slowly stepped up behind her, only to see that she was so engrossed by the book that he knew she wouldn't notice him. With that in mind, he leaned over her head and whispered, "And here we see the bookworm. She has returned to her natural habitat after being away for over twenty four hours. This is a marvellous feat, as most cannot survive more than twelve hours without reading."
Spike started laughing at this as Twilight turned to Flash while rolling her eyes, "Oh hardy har har," she growled before returning her focus to the book.
Flash then took a sit across from her as he said, "Sunset told me that you the two of you talked."
"I'm guessing she talked to you too?" Flash nodded at Twilight's question, only for her to see his fidget his legs. Raising an eyebrow at this, she asked, "You okay?"
"That's not important," he told her as he waved his palm. "But she's very confidant she's gonna win."
"Not if I can learn as much about this place as I can," she remarked as she showed him the book she was currently reading. "You were right. We need to learn everything here, so I started asking everyone I could in this library. Granted, I probably wouldn't have regularly, but I think the time limit thing is getting to me. So...I've already learned a ton, like how to use the world wide web."
That got Flash's eyes to go as wide as dinner plates. "How big are the spiders here?!" Twilight just giggled at his response, soon explaining what it really meant. Flash then agreed to help her read, the two using the next few hours to read every book they could find. Even after the school day came to an end, they kept at it. It was here that Flash found himself being drawn to a history book about warfare, particularly a one involving knights and crusaders. Another book he enjoyed was about automobiles, which he found a magazine filled with pictures over them. "Wow. I have got to get me one of these. I don't know how I'd get it to Equestria, but I want one."
Their research eventually came to an end when the sun began to set. That, and a mysterious voice spoke out from above. "The library will be closing in five minutes."
Twilight closed her latest book before letting out a yawn, only to gasp as something clicked in her brain. "Oh no! I hadn't even thought about where we're gonna sleep tonight!"
Spike chose this moment to come out from under the table. "Way ahead of you," he said as he motioned them to follow him. Flash and Twilight shared a nervous glance before putting down their reading material and following after him. He led them to a dark and seemingly unused sector of the library, where an old sheet covered something from view. Spike grabbed that sheet and pulled it off, revealing a pile of books arranged to look like a bed. "It's a little *cough* *cough* dusty, but it doesn't seem like anybody comes up here."
Twilight sat down on the makeshift bed and pet the drake turned dog, "Its perfect Spike. Thank you."
"Yeah furball," Flash said as he knelt down and scratched him behind the ear. "Nice work."
"Thanks," he replied as he looked up at Twilight. "So, how did your research go?"
Twilight held up the one book she had kept on hand. "I found this book. Its called a yearbook and it seems to be something they use to keep a record of things that have happened at the school." She opened it up and showed a picture of five young human girls, three of which they recognized from earlier today. "Look! That's Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and I'm gonna bet the girl on the far right is Rarity."
Spike's ears went up at this as he snatched the book away. "There's a Rarity here!?" he then let out a nervous laugh as he gave the book back, "Uh, I mean um...interesting photo."
Twilight and Flash shared a knowing look before Twilight glanced back at the photo. "Its interesting though...they really do look like they're friends."
"They do look like our friends, but I thought we figured that out already.
"She means that the picture shows they used to be friends," Flash corrected as he glared at the picture. "But something, 'cough, Sunset, cough,' made them stop being friends."
"Oh...yeah. I guess that makes sense."
Twilight nodded as she laid back and put her head on an open book. "I can't believe that such a strong friendship could be broken like that."
Flash shrugged as he sat at on the floor opposite to her. "Maybe that friendship wasn't so strong." He then noticed Twilight's face shine an absolutely horrified expression, only for him to hold up his hand to stop her. "Hang on Twi, just think about it. Our friends have a strong friendship because of everything we've been through, but that doesn't mean it happened here. These girls in this world probably haven't faced stuff that we have, as you know...there's no magic here. Besides, even when Sunset broke them up, their friendship could have been as strong as ours was when we faced Discord, and you saw how easy it was for him to tear us apart."
Twilight wanted to reply, only to let out a long sigh, "And Sunset seems to be as conniving as he was."
"She really is trouble," Spike commented as he grabbed a sheet and pulled it over Twilight to be a blanket as he sat beside her head. "But she wanted your crown cause she's planning on doing something even worse! If you're gonna stop her, you have to focus on getting the crown, which means you need to make friends with everyone here. You can't be worrying about why these girls aren't friends anymore, even if they," he yawned as he said his next word, "do remind you of your Ponyville friends..."
"I agree with Spike." Flash added as he crossed his arms. "The goal is the crown. I want to help them too, but we have lives back in Equestria. We can't get stuck here, and we need to get your crown before the time limit's up."
Twilight looked at the book one last time before nodding and pulling Spike towards her. "Yeah...you're both right. Sorry about that."
"Don't apologize Twilight. We understand why you want to help them." Spike replied as he nudged up to Twilight.
"Thanks Spike." She said as she laid back, now looking up to get a perfect view of the moon and stars through the library's glass roof. "Eyes on the prize."
Flash watched as they both slowly drifted to sleep. He noticed Spike had made the bed big enough for all of them to sleep on, but he chose to sleep where he was. Leaning back on the bookshelf, he listened as his friends rhythmic breath slowly lulled him to sleep. Tomorrow, they would begin the fight to beat Sunset at her own game and win back Twilight's Element of Harmony. Easy...right?