The next day came. The time was now 12:00 PM, the time for students to go get food or take a break from classes. Most of them would spend break time either hanging out on the school grounds, either in the grass or in the halls, maybe even off school grounds if it was permitted. Indigo Zap and her Shadowbolt friends were taking their food out into one of the halls, taking a break from the cafeteria so they could have a little bit of some quiet time.
But for Twilight Sparkle; this time meant perfect peace and quiet to continue her research. Private research. Research that she wanted to do alone and with no one over her shoulder. Her cramped tight room housing only herself, with nothing more than graphs, charts,
She used a small soldering gun on a circuit board, connecting some wires together to their proper places. A few screws in place, and one side of a piece of tech was done. She had been working on it almost all morning until it was time to go to school. But now with her break, she was able to get it finished. Until--
"Twilight Sparkle, please come to the principal's office, Twilight Sparkle, please come to the principal's office, thank you," was said over the PA system.
Twilight rolled her eyes. Not now of all times!
But she knew she couldn't stay holed up in there and ignore it. Hesitantly, she closed her laptop and concealed it away, hiding it from anyone who might go into the room or come in to try and steal it. She trusted no one with her possessions, and it wasn't a risk she was willing to take. With everything put away, she stepped outside of the cramped basement, walking up the stairs and into the hallways of the prestigious Crystal Prep.
Twilight walked through the halls, passing by other students who were busy giggling, talking, happy with one another that they've got each other's company. She just rolled her eyes, focusing on continuously walking. All of these people were happy to have one another for sure, but company just wasn't something Twilight could find the joy in. But Twilight stops for a brief moment, hearing her name in the wind. Her head turns, noticing Indigo and her friends who all stood and froze, like a policeman about to strike. Nothing. Twilight then turned her head and keeps walking.
Sugarcoat watched her leave and looked at her friends.
"Y-You heard the rumor, right, about Twilight?"
"No." Sunny shook her head.
"About Twilight? No."
"What happened to her?" Indigo asked.
"Apparently something bad happened between her and Cadence."
The girls hissed sharply. A few 'oohs' were uttered in there.
"Who's Cadence again?" Lemon asked.
After she walked up to the front stairs, she turned down a wing and approached a single door. The Principal's office. Opening it up, she saw nothing but a poorly lit room that was mostly dark, like Dracula's castle. A single light was lit in the room, only over the desk and chair who's back was turned. She sat down in the one chair in front of the desk, waiting for someone to talk. She turned her back and her eyes bulged out of her head. Shining Armor was here?
“Principal Cinch. You told me to come here?” Twilight asked. “And why is my brother here?”
“Well, Twily, as an alumni, I thought it would be best to offer a unique perspective.”
Twilight blinked. “Perspective on what?”
“Why the Friendship Games, of course.”
The chair that was turned back against Twilight spun around, revealing a slightly older woman who looked like she was in her late 50s or early 60s. Her skin was blue as ice, her hair neatly curled with a dark shade of purple and indigo, and dressed in a buttoned up and sleeveless vest.
“You competed in the games did you—“ The woman stopped. She looked up, seeing the only source of light shine down on her. “Oh good heavens, I’m sorry, Shining could you please turn on the light switch, I keep forgetting to turn them all on.”
All of the lights flipped on, providing enough light for the wincing eyes.
“Thank you. Anyways, you competed in the games, did you not, Shining Armor?”
“I did.”
“And do you happen to recall who won?”
Shining Armor chuckled a bit. "Crystal Prep did, just like always."
Principal Cinch nodded. "Exactly, just like always... though it's starting to get old after awhile..."
Twilight cleared her throat. "Why am I here, exactly?"
Principal Cinch got up out of her seat, walking past the student. “Twilight, I’ll be honest,” The principal said, looking at old pictures on a shelf, mostly containing memories of previous victories at the Friendship Games and old memories. “It doesn’t matter or not whether Crystal Prep wins or loses.” She wiped off a smudge on one of the photos. “The important thing is that everyone at Crystal Prep enjoys the games for the sake of having fun and creating new friendships among Canterlot High.”
She then set the picture down as she started to circle around Twilight until she went back to her seat. “And it is that constant variable, the one variable that doesn’t change, that the games' full intents and purposes are to have fun, even at my most competitive I never stooped to petty rivalry. And it is that image in mind, my job mind you, that is responsible for everything we have here and everything you’ve done. And you’ve done quite a lot, haven’t you?”
Twilight rolled her eyes, trying not to snort. “I suppose so.”
“Don’t be so modest,” Principal Cinch said, sitting back down in her chair. “You’re one of the best students I’ve seen here, arguably the best. But what I don’t understand is why my best student doesn’t want to talk or socialize with anyone.”
The bespectacled girl’s eyes glared. “Because I have more important things to do and I’m not going to waste my time?”
“Twily, Principal Cinch has a point. A little social interaction isn’t a bad thing. And representing the school is kind of a big deal, they could really use your help."
"Yes. And it seems Canterlot High is having some very interesting news on their end. With all of the reports about giant monsters and demons about, they've been getting quite a lot of attention."
"Principal Cinch, with all due respect, I cannot participate in the games," Twilight said, looking her in the eye. "Besides, I've got too much research to do--"
"--Ah, yes, your research," Principal Cinch said, leaning back in her chair. "Shining Armor, may I please have a moment with Twilight?"
Shining nodded and he stepped out of the room to give them a moment of privacy.
"I understand you're doing research, but I hardly see you around in the school. Spending your time alone, focusing on your research, lackluster performances in group projects..."
Twilight scoffed.
"Twilight." Principal Cinch said, sternly a bit. Twilight eventually looked Principal Cinch in the eye again, seeing a worried expression across the head principal's face. "I know what it's like to be in your place. I do. But quite frankly, this is concerning me more than ever. I want you to do well in this school, and you are. But you need friends, you need people outside of your family that you can talk to. You need to have a social life, just every other student here. That is why I am making this suggestion; contributing in the Friendship Games will not only show your wits and intelligence... but I believe there may be some students at that very school you might be able to make friends with."
"No offense, but how can I do that?" Twilight rolled her eyes.
Principal Cinch smiled. "The best way to start any friendship, is always finding common ground."
Canterlot High
Some time after school, at the school's soccer pitch/sports track, the two Principals and the Rainbooms had gathered. There were a mixed bunch of moods among the five students: Rainbow Dash is cautiously interested, Applejack was kind of the fence, Pinkie Pie was jittery and nearly bouncing in place, Fluttershy looked sour and like she'd rather be doing anything else, and Rarity is standing with her arms folded and her nose upturned a bit - her type of defense mechanism, trying to look disaffected.
"All right girls, just show us what you can do. Give it your best shot," Principal Luna announced.
Rainbow Dash puffed up at the words. Her old ego flared at the idea of showing off. This was her chance. "Best shot? I can do that! I can do a dozen of 'em!"
And just like that, Rainbow Dash was the first one to begin her tryout. First of all, she began into a soccer routine, kicking several goals from a set of lined up soccer balls. From there, she performed a few other tricks with one soccer ball, bouncing it from knee to knee and off of her head at one point. Quite rapidly, she perked up from the challenge - and just the fun - of doing something she likes, just because she liked it.
Her last performance ended with a track sprint. Running around the distance of the pitch, timed by Luna. Soon as she was done, the principal checked her time score, and smiled in pride.
"Excellent work, Miss Dash!"
Rainbow nearly tripped in surprise at that. But, after a moment's consideration, she couldn't help but smile at the compliment. It was a nice feeling! First nice feeling she felt in a long time. "Hehe. Uh, thanks!"
Vice-Principal Celestia turned her gaze to Applejack. "Applejack? Would you like to go next?"
Applejack, who had been watching Dash's tryout with growing interest, shrugged and stepped forward.
"Ah, heck, why not?"
And so Applejack's tryout begun. She did a bit more physical kind of stuff - lifting various sets of weights, rather impressive ones, thanks to her growing up on a farm. And just to show off even more, she lifted a barbell while juggling a few apples up into the air that would make clowns jealous.
To finish it all off, Applejack performed a track run of her own, quite comparable to Rainbow Dash's own. Though Rainbow Dash couldn't see it. In strength, yes, but in speed? Never.
Principal Luna was very surprised. "Oh my. Quite impressive, Miss Applejack!"
Applejack couldn't help but smirk. "What's mah score? Did I beat Dash?"
Vice-Principal Celestia examined the results "It's an exact tie."
"WHAT?" Applejack and Rainbow Dash yelped in unison.
"I didn't beat her?"
"She tied with me?!"
"Are you kidding me! Come on, let's get a do-over!"
Celestia gave a warning glare at the two. "Girls."
Knowing now was not the time to start something now, Dash and AJ subsided.
Principal Luna cleared her throat. "All right... who would like to go next?"
Pinkie Pie zipped up out of nowhere, waving her hand up in the air and acting like a little kid. "Ooh! Me, pick me, pick me!!"
Fluttershy scoffed. Luna was just trying her hardest not to smile at how child-like Pinkie Pie was acting, but she was failing badly. "Miss Pie? If you would then?"
Pinkie, with astonishing speed, rapidly spun around until she stopped, revealing that she had put on a set of roller-skating gear. Helmet, knee-pads and elbow-pads and of course the skates. She spun so fast that it even caused Fluttershy to stumble only to be caught by Rarity.
"Whoo! Watch me, girls!"
Like a shot, she went off, skating around the jogging track like a pro. She moved with impressive speed, even Dash found herself approving of the pink girl's movement. After one circuit of the track, she skated another, throwing some tricks into her routine: going on just one foot, then the other. She jumped up with her legs spread like she was jumping over a beam. She performed a leap and twirl, like an ice-skater!
The other Rainbooms, and the Principals too, watched in amazement.
"Whoo! Go, Pinkie Pie!!" Rainbow genuinely cheered.
"Yeah!" Applejack applauded.
Finally, Pinkie concluded her routine, skidding to a halt back at the starting line. Huffing slightly for breath, she did a little bow at the end.
Fluttershy scoffed again. "Showoff."
Rainbow Dash elbowed her to shut up.
After Pinkie's trial was over, that left Rarity and Fluttershy.
Principal Luna wrote down her results on the clipboard. "All right. Now which one of you would like to go next?"
Rarity hemmed and hawed. "Oh, Principal Luna, I'm flattered, but really, I don't think that I'd be of much usefulness to the Friendship Games. I'm not one for sports, not anything like what Pinkie or Rainbow are capable of--"
Fluttershy shoved her aside, cutting off her explanation. "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."
A few minutes passed and Fluttershy was ready to show off her skills. With archery. Just up ahead she was facing a target. A bow in hand, she took an arrow, locked it, and took aim...
The arrow went Whoosh and then Thunk!
The first shot hit the target, but it wasn't really impressive. Not close to the bullseye. Fluttershy grit her teeth. She may not have wanted to do this, but she hated that she's not doing this well either. Humiliation burned, red hot in her face as she glared at the target, hating it...
Then, drawing another arrow, she narrowed her eyes, and focused on that target, with every bit of anger she had. Anger at Sunset, anger at the other Rainbooms, the other students, the therapist she's had to see since her ordeal with a psychopath who threatened her life weeks ago, the list of people she was angry at was continuing on!
Another Whoosh and THUNK.
This time, she hit much closer to the bullseye, right on the edge of it.
THUNK. THUNK.
Two more shots, both hitting inside the bullseye. Then--
THUNK!
Bullseye. Dead center.
Fluttershy let out a breath, lowering the bow for a moment. Then, suddenly, she lifts it up again--
Thunk-crack!!
She fired another shot, one that split the previous bullseye, right down the middle. Then, without another glance back, Fluttershy turned and stalked away from the target, back to the rest of the Rainbooms. An amazed silence hung over the scene.
Then finally, there was applause, from the principals and from the other Rainbooms - Dash in particular.
"That! Was! AWESOME!!"
Fluttershy's deadpan expression didn't change. "Meh." But when she sat back down on the bleachers with the other Rainbooms, she couldn't help but smirk a bit.
When the applause dies down finally, Vice-Principal Celestia spoke.
"Miss Rarity, it's your turn."
The other four Rainbooms look expectantly at the fashionista, who balked at the words.
"Me? Oh, no, no no no, thank you, but I really couldn't..."
Pinkie piped up. "Come on, Rarity! You can do it!"
"Come on! We all did something, you can too!" Rainbow Dash quipped.
Rarity hawed. "I am NOT suited to sports, all right? I never bothered to play any of those games growing up - fashion and beauty was much more to thing - especially after the time Father tried to teach me baseball..." Suddenly, she looked away with a thousand-yard stare and a haunted tone in her voice. "I really don't want to talk about it..."
There was a brief pause. Until Applejack interrupted the scene.
"Look here, Rarity. All's ya gotta do is just score a goal at soccer. How about that? Just kick that ball right there, and get it into the net. You can do that!"
"Yeah! It's not that hard!" Pinkie Pie nodded.
"Give it a shot!"
Rarity, reluctant, stepped over to the soccer balls from before, lined up again facing the goal. Tentatively, she gave a kick to the first one... way too softly, rolling it only a few feet down the pitch.
Awkward silence blanked on the field.
"You gotta be kidding me." Fluttershy said, unamused.
Rarity, embarrassed, kicked the next one. She did deliver more force, kicking it much farther, but was too far off the goalpost.
"Keep trying, Rarity!"
Now scowling, Rarity kicked the next one - hard. It flew through the air... and bounced off the side of the goal, spinning away.
"Ooh! So close!"
Rarity, by now puffing and fuming with barely-suppressed rage, rounded on the very last ball in the lineup.
She snarled, before shouting in full rage mode"WRETCHED INFERNAL BALL!! TAKE THIS!!"
WHAM!
She kicked it, so hard and with such force that it punched right through the netting of the soccer goal and soaring further away. A distant shattering of glass followed by a car alarm could be heard. The two sisters exchange a look. Then they gazed back at where the soccer ball had crashed. Vice-Principal Celestia gave a deadpan look. "Well at least my car alarm works."
The other Rainbooms just kinda stared at Rarity. Even Fluttershy was at a bit of loss. Finally, Luna stood up.
"...Okay then. I'd call that impressive. Just... try to control that anger when the Games come around, all right?"
Rarity blushed a bit, rubbing the back of her head. "Right... sorry..."
What none of them knew was that someone was outside the front entrance of the school. Dressed in sweatpants and a hoodie, she wanted to make sure no one could recognize her. The only thing brought with her was a small device in her hand, a tracker which was beeping.
Her hand swayed the tracker around, trying to find the source she was searching for. Something here had to have been the beacon for the magic, something must have caused it! But wait!
As she swung it passed the Wondercolt statue it started to beep a bit more rapidly. She turned it back around and it only increased in noises. She walked towards the statue, placing her hand on it's side. She gasped, seeing some soft waves flash before her eyes as she touched it, like her hand touching the water and creating a soft splash. She glanced down at the tracker, watching it continue to beep, creating more noise than ever.
"Hey!"
She hunched up and quickly looked back. The Rainbooms had spotted her.
"What are you doing?"
Without any other plan, she instantly started to run for it.
"Hey, stop!"
Rainbow Dash charged after, trying to chase her. The hooded girl ran across the street, just before a car raced behind her. Rainbow tried to cross but the car speeding by caused her to slow down. The last sight she saw was her racing onto the bus across the street. She was about to run, but it was too late. The bus took off before they could even stop her. And the bus just vanished.
"Rainbow Dash, who on Earth was that?" Rarity asked.
"Why are you asking me, I don't know who she was!" She looked back to the empty spot where she had run off to. "What I want to know is, what was she doing near the Wondercolt statue?"
No one knew. No one even knew what she was doing here. There was only one question remained on their minds.
Who was she...?