//------------------------------// // Chapter 13: Rainbows And Shadows // Story: The Tournament Of Friendship // by FourShadow //------------------------------// Sometime after their phone chat with Aria, the Rainbooms all regrouped and started to head outside. The party was still going on (even after the little incident regarding Amethyst's stage performance) but they did want to get some fresh air just as much as the Shadowbolts. Though to be honest, it was mostly just an excuse to get away from their classmates who were still bitter with them for the most part. "Why are we even talking to them?" Fluttershy scowled. "Because, they don't know us, and this can give us a chance to finally make some real friends." "Yer heart's in the right place, Rarity, but, are ya sure they're, um... not gonna judge us?" "Applejack, they barely know us. If the whole school isn't going to talk to us, then maybe we should at least try with some people who don't a thing about us. This could very much give us the chance to start over and become better." "Or create more enemies," Fluttershy snarked. "Oh come on, don't be such a grumpy-pants. They'll love us!" Pinkie Pie smiled with some optimism. Rainbow shrugged. "Well, better than nothing. Come on..." The girls stepped outside, finally feeling the cool air outside. And right there, underneath a tree protected from the shade, with a fresh blanket set up were the Shadowbolts. "Oh there you are dearie! Please, come on over!" Sunny Flare waved, inviting them all over to come join. As they sat down they could hear some soft music playing, the source being the boombox that was sitting next to Lemon Zest. "Hey, nice to meet ya guys!" Lemon smiled. "We already met you and Rainbow. And you three are?" "I'm Applejack," Applejack smiled, tipping her hat at her. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" "Fluttershy," Fluttershy deadpanned. Sunny Flare smiled. "I'm Sunny Flare." "Indigo Zap, what's up?" "Hi dudes, Lemon Zest!" "Sugarcoat." "Sour Sweet. And as I've told Rarity, no smart remarks about my name, capiece?" "Please, come, sit, sit!" Sunny offered, inviting the Rainbooms in. Still unsure, but not willing to disregard their offer, the girls accepted and sat around the picnic blanket with the others. There was a little bit of some awkwardness between the two groups. None of which knew what to say or even begin the topic. "Sooo... what do you girls do?" Applejack asked. "I-In yer freetime, I mean." Sugarcoat blinked before speaking. "I help work on the school's newspaper. I'm in charge of the writing committee and making sure whatever information we say is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. ... Also I do online movie reviews." "Oh, well, that's cool," Applejack rubbed her head, feeling a bit on edge just from asking. "Sooo... by whole truth, you mean... all of it?" Sugarcoat nodded. "I have the responsibility of the Crystal Prep Headline to be completely honest, 100% in full. Of course, if there are those that do wish to keep anonymity to maintain some shred of integrity regarding what rumor or situation gets pulled into the main center of attention, it's my journalistic integrity to protect said individuals." All of the Rainbooms blinked, trying to comprehend all the words that were thrown at them. "... She's true to her word," Indigo summed up. "Ohh..." The Rainbooms nodded, now getting the picture. "I'm team captain of Crystal Prep's volleyball team," Indigo said, failing to hide a prideful smirk. "Don't wanna brag or anything but... I've got fists of steel." "You're not the only one," Rainbow winked. For once, she felt like showing off a bit of her old self. Indigo giggled. "Maybe you and I will face off against each other in the games at somepoint?" Rainbow shrugged. "Maybe." "What about you, Lemon?" Applejack asked. "Eh, I don't really have much to say. Honestly, you say the word, and I will turn a boring night into the most epic night you can have." Sunny Flare rolled her eyes, chuckling. "She's exaggerating." "But I'm always around if ya need someone to help turn that frown upside!" Lemon grinned, flipping herself on her back, looking at the Rainbooms from an upside down view. Rarity couldn't help but giggle a bit. Pinkie Pie would definitely get along with this girl for sure. "Oooh! Do you like parties?" Pinkie asked. She received a glare from Fluttershy. "Whaaat? I'm just curious!" "You kidding me? I'm this group's resident party animal," Lemon giggled. "Though don't let her have too much sugar, or else she turns into super-hyper mode," Sour warned. "Aww, Sour..." "You know we're doing this because we love you, right?" "Come on, you can't deny me sweets!" Sour Sweet rolled her eyes. Applejack nudged Fluttershy's shoulder, getting her to glare at the applefarmer. Applejack tilted her head towards the Shadowbolts, hinting at them. "No," Fluttershy deadpanned. "Come on, do you wanna be stuck in the same place?" Fluttershy glared, but ultimately turned her head to look at Sour Sweet and tried her best to give a friendly face, although her attempt was very clearly forced. "Sooo... what do you do?" Sour felt like this girl was almost about to pounce on her like a tiger. There's an image I will never get out of my head. "Well first of all... can you please not look at me like that, you're kinda creeping me out a bit?" Fluttershy felt a bit of relief, finally going back to her usual deadpan expression. She felt the pain from her cheeks clenching, just trying to smile at her. "Second... I don't really have much to say either. I mean, I volunteer from time to time, but nothing really much to me. Just don't make me mad, you get me? I'm good with a bow and arrow, and trust me, I'm not afraid to use them." Fluttershy was a little shocked from her sudden swing into sour disposition. But at the same time, she couldn't help but smirk a little bit. "I like this one." Sour smirked back at her. "Anyways... while I know no one asked, my talents mostly fall into the artistic fields. Arts and crafts, acting, performing arts, that kind of thing," Sunny nodded. "Oooh! You're into fine arts?" "Mmmhmm!" "Any plays you put on?" "Well, while I can't name any off the top of my head, I did have to perform a number of Marehouse County," Sunny shrugged, head tilting side to side. "Though not the best performance I put on." A moment of silence was between the two groups. "Well, um, I do want to say thanks again for inviting us out here. It is rather calmer out here than being in there." "Oh, it's no problem at all, dearie," Sunny smiled. "Though I'm still confused, why was that girl trying to attack you?" All five of the Rainbooms heads lurched up. It was quiet, you could hear a pin drop. They almost looked like meerkats, just from the way they looked at them. "Well... um..." Rarity tittered. "It's kind of a long story..." "You can say that again," Pinkie agreed. Sugarcoat raised a brow. "Sounds to me like there's some kind of history going on that you don't want us to know." Now everyone looked terrified. "Uh... w-what do you mean?" "T-There's nothing going on, really!" Rainbow shook her head, clearly lying. "Rainbow Dash, is it? I can tell when someone lies. Stammering in their speech, constant void of eye-contact, visible sweat, fidgeting in place... when someone acts like that, it's always an indication of something not wanting to be heard or be known." "Okay, okay! Look, we did something bad, okay? And now because of that, she's mad, and wants revenge." Rainbow's lips curled, looking away. "Happy now?" The pig-tailed girl blinked. "I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to make you upset. That wasn't my intention." Rainbow halted. Looking back, she could see Sugarcoat was actually a little sincere. Her words may not have sounded truthful (thanks to her monotonous tone of voice) but her face spoke for her. "It's... it's alright," Rainbow said softly. "Sorry, we've... we've been having some rough couple of days." "I can tell," Sunny Flare. Some more silence was in between them. "... You know, girls, if that... Cherry Crash, was it?" Sunny asked, before getting confirmation on her name. "Don't let her put you down. You just gotta chin up, and keep on. You five are competing in the games, right?" The Rainbooms all nodded. "Then I think you should look at it from a different perspective. You all are participating in one of the most important events of your school, you're up there, ready to take a stand, participate in the games. Don't think about her, don't think about anyone in the crowds, just focus on the task you're doing. Who knows? Maybe because of you five, Canterlot might win." No one was really sure. Practically, the entire school was against them, and with all of their eyes watching, and knowing what they did to them all, it was something that was putting a damper on their spirits. But no one knew for sure; there was a small boost of good feeling inside. It wasn't much, but it was at least something. Maybe it was because they were talking with people who didn't instantly hate them, maybe it was because they were away from their classmates. But one thing was for sure; for the first time in a long time, the Rainbooms were starting to feel very, genuinely happy. Some hours much later in the day, the party came to an end and everyone went home. Tomorrow they would have to get up earlier so they could prepare themselves for the games. Well, those participating would have to get up earlier. While she wasn't participating, Vinyl found a way to help out. With Bon Bon and herself in the living room, Vinyl had a set of flash cards put together with some knowledge-based information in case she would succeed. So far, Bon Bon was doing remarkably well, though there was a few misses here and there. "Alright, common knowledge in the field of science... what are the main parts of an atom?" Vinyl asked. "Protons, neutrons, and electrons." "Perfect! Father of electricity, name is?" "William Gilbert, not Benjamin Franklin; Franklin's experiments helped make the connection between lightning and electricity," Bon Bon answered. "Good! Okay, now here's the last one; this is a tool that is used to help divert lightning into the ground in a harmless way. What is it?" "Uh... um..." Bon Bon paused. Now she was starting to get stuck. "Lightning... rod?" "Yes, there you go! See, you do remember these." Bon Bon wiped the fake sweat off her head. "Well it's hard to memorize every science fact in the world just for a school competition." "But yet you can memorize every kind of recipe you've ever made?" "Hey! Food's my calling card," Bon Bon huffed. Vinyl chuckled, putting the deck down on the coffee table. "How about we take a break?" "Fine with me. I need one." "Oh, Vinyl! Can you come here for a second?" Vinyl's mom called from the other room. "What is it?" "I know now's not the best time, but your grandmother would like to speak to you real quick." Vinyl looked back over to Bon Bon. "Mind if I...?" "Oh, uh, sure, of course." Vinyl stepped out of the room and took the phone passed by her mother. "Hi Grandma. How are you?" But as she held the phone she could hear a very soft buzzing coming from the phone. "Um, Grandma, is there... is there something in the house?" But the buzzing only got louder. She hit the bottom of the phone a few times, trying to see if maybe that would work. "Hello? Grandma?" But unfortunately, the signal was dropped, hinted by the dial tone sound from the other end. She hit the phone a few times, but nothing happened. It wasn't until the light flickered in the ceiling a few times that she noticed something was off. "Um, Mom? Any chance we have a power surge going on?" "I don't think so, why?" "The line just dropped!" There was no response. Until a few moments later. "No, you're right, the line's dead!" "Uh, Vinyl?" Bon Bon called from the living room. "You might wanna see this?" Vinyl rushed back into the living room and her eyes came glued to the TV. The TV was malfunctioning too! No channel, no video, nothing but tons of flashing images that flickered back into their eyes. It was like someone was trying to hack into a computer only through their TV. The light was so bright that it was almost about to give them epilepsy! "Turn it off!" Their heads looked up, hearing the strange sounds of electricity buzzing. And like a power overload, the lightbulb in the ceiling began to emit a few electric sparks until all of the power in the house was lost and left everyone in nothing but pitch black darkness. A moment of silence passed. "Well at least the TV isn't giving us epilepsy," Vinyl chuckled nervously, trying to remain calm. "Okay, Vinyl, Bon Bon, if you two have lights on your phones, pull them out! Vinyl, your father's going down into the basement and turn the power grid back on. If nothing works, we'll set up some candles and call an electrician!" Vinyl's mom called from the other room. "Okay Mom!" Vinyl yelled. A moment of silence was between the two friends. "Let me guess, now you have powers, huh?" Bon Bon deadpanned. "... yeah." "Shocker."