//------------------------------//
// Meeting People that Know You 
// Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: Friendship Games 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

"So..." Flash said in a rather skeptical tone as he watched Twilight setup her backpack, "Tell me again why you suddenly decided to enter the friendship games?"

"Oh, you know." Twilight grabbed a notebook and placed it in her bag, "I just figured I could help the school one last time as a...going away present."

"Usually the going away present is given to the one going away."

"Very funny. Besides, I'm sure competing would also be a good subject to add to my Everton resume."

"You already need to make the font on that resume microscopic just to fit it on one page! What else could you possibly need to add to it?" Twilight just shrugged as she reached for her jumper, only for Spike to grab it in his teeth and pull.

"Ugh! Spike, stop it!" she groaned while pulling back, "I was always gonna go to Canterlot High for the Friendship Games." The puppy then let the jumper go, "The only difference now is that I have to compete."

Flash huffed while picking up Twilight's new scanner, leaning against a wall and throwing it up in the air. "Guess this means you won't be able to do any studying on that weird energy."

"I'll admit, I probably won't be able to collect anywhere near as much data as I thought," she stood up and caught the midair scanner, "But maybe I can still get some." She then pulled out some string and looped it through a hole in the device, tying it off around her neck to give it a necklace appearance.

They then both heard Spike whimper as he brushed up against Twilight's leg, his owner smiling as she pulled him into a hug. "Spike, I wouldn't leave without you." She lowered him into her bag, "Just remember to be quiet....and try not to shed."

"There are worse things he could do in your bag than shed," Flash told her as she put the bag on, only to turn and glare at him, "What?! Remember when you took him to the museum and you were worried on how he would react in the dinosaur exhibit?"

"Yeah well, him doing that won't set off Cinch's fun allergy. Now come on."

She headed for the door, but Flash blocked the door, "Twilight, tell me honestly...is there something you're not telling me?"

The two stared at one another for several seconds, only for Twilight to shine a big smile, "You worry too much. I promise there's nothing going on. Let's just get these games over with and everything can go back to normal."

Flash just glared at her, only to let out a long sigh, "Alright...if you're sure everything's alright."

"I am." It was here that they headed through the school, reaching the front to see two large buses waiting to transport everyone to CHS. "Which bus do we get on?" Flash was about to reply, but Twilight then went over to Cadance as the woman checked something off her clipboard. "Dean Cadance, I'm not really sure where to go."

"One second, Twilight." Cadance walked off, leaving the two as Sour spoke up in a dark tone.

"You could try the end of the line!"

Flash and Twilight turned to her, Flash giving her a hard glare, "Excuse me?!"

Sour's face switched to a bright yet obviously fake smile, "Just that, you know, someone as smart as your friend should definitely go first."

Twilight yelped as she now realized she and Flash were both standing at the front of the bus line, having accidentally cut in when they spoke to Cadance. "I...I didn't mean to. I was just asking-"

"This is the right bus, Twilight." They turned to Cadance as she gestured to the bus, "Go on ahead."

"But...I didn't mean to cut-"

"Well it's too late now!" Sour Sweet scoffed, Flash spinning around to glare at her, only to see a giant innocent grin.

"You ever considering getting tested for multiple personality disorder?!"

"Do you ever consider not being annoying?!"

Flash just rolled his eyes at this as they boarded the bus, only to find Indigo scream out, "ARE WE GONNA WIN?!"

Spit flew into Twilight's face, Spike whining while covering his ears in the bag as Twilight replied, "I...I don't know."

"Wrong answer!!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, "Try again! Are...we gonna...WIN?!?!"

"Not if you deafen us before we get there," Flash grumbled as he stuck his pinky in his ear.

"Oh, don't be such a drama queen," Indigo growled as she slumped over in a chair.

Flash just rolled his eyes before seeing Lightning and his friends sitting near the back, gesturing Twilight to move over there. The other members of the Shadowbolts all moved their bags so that the two couldn't sit down, making the duo even more want to go to the back, where Flash sat near a window with Twilight next to him. Twilight then saw a certain girl sitting opposite seat to them. "Hi Sugarcoat, are you looking forward to the games?"

"The games are not something to look forward too," she replied in a monotone voice. "If we lose, we'll go down in school history as the only Crystal Prep team to lose to Canterlot High. That shame will follow us right up until we graduate and possibly to any future schooling and job opportunitys."

"So I'm guessing that's a no," Flash chuckled, getting a glare from the girl.

"Just ignore her Flash," Gorgenia told him while applying her eyeshadow. "Losing a silly little game won't change how our future turns out."

"It might..." Twilight whispered as she reached into her bag to stroke Spike's ear.

"What was that?" Flash asked, Twilight looking away before he could see her face.

"Nothing," she responded as Lemon Zest took the seat next to Sugarcoat.

She was rocking out, dancing before turning to Twilight, "DUDE!" She took her headphones off, "YOU HAVE GOTTA HEAR THIS!" She quickly placed them over Twilight's ears, the girl suddenly bombarded with loud rock music as the bus pulled away.

And as the bus started to move, Flash glanced out the window and watched the city fly past them, only to then turn to Lightning, "Hey Lightning," The teen and his friends looked back, Twilight taking the headphones off as well. "You used to go to this school, so our competitors will your old classmates."

"Obviously."

"Do you have any idea who they'll be? If we know that, we'll know what we're up against."

"Good idea," Script added, "Information is the foundation of victory. The stronger the foundation, the more assured it'll be."

Twilight nodded in agreement. "That is true. Knowing our opponent's strengths and weaknesses will allow us to strategize against them."

"We already got a strategy," Wild replied while leaning back against the window. "Win."

Lightning laughed as he slumped back in his chair, "Well, if I had to take a guess...my old bandmate Iron will probably be competing. If we're lucky, Heather and First won't have entered. Those two are never ones to stand in the spotlight."

"And they're supposed to be in a band?" Gorgenia asked.

"Yeah, but Iron loves to compete in physical stuff. He and Rainbow Dash will be our biggest physical opponents."

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, that name striking a chord.

"I've heard of her," Flash added, "She's supposed to be one of the best players in soccer, baseball and a few other sports. If the school had more players like that, they might have made the playoffs this year."

"Exactly. She and Iron will be tough to deal with on the field. Applejack might also be a problem, being so strong."

"Well that's the physical side of the games," Script hummed. "But what about the academic aspects?"

"Eh, dunno about that. There were a lot of smart students at CHS, at least by their standards. Rarity, Bright Idea, Fluttershy and Micro Chips...at least, I think those were their names." Lighting started to rub his chin as a new memory popped into his head, "Then again, gramps told me that CHS got some new students in the fall. One of 'em was supposed to be really smart and the other was a tough customer. At least, that's what gramps said."

Script did a small gulp, "Well if Grand Hoof thinks they're good, we should make sure we keep our guard up. Any idea what their names are?"

"No, I wasn't really listening."

Flash sighed as he stared out the window, "Guess we'll have to wait til we get there. But whoever this smart new student is," he then elbowed Twilight, "They can't be as smart as this girl."

"Flash..." Twilight blushed while the others chuckled, the four now starting to small talk as Twilight only spoke up whenever she was asked something, trying to stay focused on her research more than anything else.





Meanwhile...

As the bus drew closer to the school, CHS was now finishing preparations for the games. Inside one of the rooms, the Rainbooms were all practicing their music while in full ponied up mode. The girls then finished their song with an epic pose, smirking as their wings, ears and tails disappeared. Rainbow cheered as she said, "I hope the Friendship Games have a music competition, because we would totally rock it!" She strung a chord with that last statement, Sunset shaking her head at the statement.

"We're supposed to keep magic out of the Friendship Games Rainbow, remember?" Rainbow scoffed at this, Rarity sighing as she powdered her nose.

"Easier said than done, darling. I'm sure in Equestria, magic does whatever you want. But..."

"This isn't Equestria," Sunset sighed before Applejack patted her shoulder.

"Well, when it comes to magic, I'm sure ya'll figure it out."

Rarity nodded in agreement, "And while Sunset works on keeping the magic out of the games, I've been working on what to put in!"

She let out a giggle, making everyone turn to her as Applejack moaned, "Rarity...what'd you go an' do?" She got her answer as Rarity pulled a rack of different outfits out from nowhere, followed by several more racks.

"Well, I had a little time on my hands, and since we don't know what the Friendship Games' events are-" She leapt out of Rainbow's rack while holding a sports uniform, which she quickly threw on Rainbow. "I made a few options for uniforms!"

"You really didn't have to do that," Rainbow told her while looking over the clothes.

"I know," Rarity sighed with a huge smile.

"No," Applejack showed off a bunch of frilly dresses, "You really didn't have to."

"I know!" Rarity giggled again before she started dressing each girl in different costumes, taking measurements while looking like she was having the time of her life.

"Hey girls!" They heard Heather's voice as the Royal Knights walked into the room. "The Crystal Prep kids just arrived. Might be a good idea to-" She stopped when she saw Rarity was in a frenzy, the rest of the Rainbooms giving them a look that screamed 'save yourselves.' "You're...busy," the three started to slowly back away, "We'll...catch you later." They then broke into a run before Rarity could catch them, racing through the halls as fast as they could.





Outside...

The Crystal Prep bus had now arrived, everyone disembarking as Flash and Twilight were at the back of the line. Flash had pulled Twilight back since most of the girls tended to rush off the bus stampede style. And as they waited to step off, Celestia was talking to Cinch with a bright smile on her face. "Vice-Principal Luna can help your students get settled if you would like me to show you around, Principal Cinch. There have been quite a few changes since your last visit."

"Oh yes, Principal Celestia." Cinch muttered out, "I'm sure that would be...fascinating."

Luna then squeed as she spotted Cadance and Ruby, the dark-skinned women pulling the counselor in for a hug. "Ruby! Oh, you being here is always the best bit of the games.!"

"Agreed!" Ruby laughed as she embraced her back. She and Luna had been roommates in college, Luna studying education while Ruby had original been studying law with a minor in psychology. "After the games, we should go out for drinks. Maybe your sister and Cadance can join us."

"Hopefully...though Celestia can be a bit of a bummer about that." Luna added before pulling Cadance into a hug as well. "It's always such a pleasure to see you Dean Cadance, even if it means another defeat."

Cadance giggled as she slung an arm around Luna, "Thank you Vice Principal Luna, but I hear it's not going to be so easy this time." The three women continued to talk and walk, Flash and Twilight now stepping off the bus and staring up at the school.

"So this is CHS..." Flash commented as he stared at the building, "I gotta admit, I was expecting more."

"The good stuff is inside," Lightning responded as he leaned against the bus, only to raise an eyebrow, "Though uh, did they redo the front of the building?"

"I'm sure it's just because you haven't seen the place in a while," Script added.

"It does look nice," Flash continued as he saw a few students walk by with big grins on their faces, "Seems like a friendly place."

"Hey!" they turned to Sour Sweet, the girl growling at them, "We're not here to be friendly, we're here to crush this school!"

Flash rolled his eyes at this, but then Twilight grabbed and pulled him away as she said, "You're right Sour," she pushed her glasses up her nose, "Why don't you go ahead?"

Sour's face swapped to a cheerful one. "You are such a sweetie!" She then walked by, whispering into Twilight's ear, "I am watching you!"

And as they glared back at her, Lemon Zest followed her while playing air guitar. Sugarcoat was next, glancing at Twilight as she stepped by. "You are kind of being a doormat right now."

"It's called being nice," Flash told her as she walked off. "You girls might want to try it sometime."

"Forget them," Twilight added before her scanner started beeping. A giant smile appearing on her face, she began to walk away, Flash following her.

"Hey, uh...is it a good idea to wander from the group?"

"We'll be fine," she answered as she walked up to the school's statue, "Hmmm....there doesn't seem to be any readings from this thing anymore."

"Maybe they moved whatever was causing it inside," Flash commented as he put his hand on the statue, "You said they spotted-YOW!" He pulled his hand away, Twilight and Spike turning to him with worry on their faces.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I think so." he stared at his hand while feeling a weird tingle run through it. "It felt like...I don't know, static shock?"

"From stone?" Twilight asked, Flash just shrugging. She rolled her eyes and turned to the school, following her device with intense focus, Flash following as he didn't notice some small golden sparks absorbed into his fingers.

They both then reached the front doors, now seeing two girls as both turned to them and shined a smile that you would only share with someone you know. "Hi, Twilight." They heard the cream skinned girl say with a wave.

"What's up Flash?" The aquamarine girl added.

"Err..." was all he could say at first, "Not...much?" The two walked off as both blinked at what had just happened.

"Hey, Twilight!" They turned to see another girl wave at them, both now exchanging glances as they kept walking. As they did this, more people kept waving and greeting them as they passed through the hallways.

"Hi, Twilight."

"Hi, Flash.

"Hey you two, lookin' good!"

"Great to see you both again."

"Um..." Twilight scratched her head as she tried to respond, "Hi?"

"Nice to...meet you?" Flash meeped out as they kept looking at each other with pure confusion on their faces.

"Hey," another girl cheered, "What's happenin'?"

"Uh...total strangers are treating us like they know who we are, that's what's happening....I guess?" Flash muttered out, but the girl was already gone. He then leaned down and whispered, "What is going on?!"

"I have no idea." Twilight squeaked out as another few walked by.

"Really nice to see you."

"Flash, my man!"

"Twilight, how ya doin'?"

"Flash!"

"Twilight, yo!"

"Oookay," Flash bit his lip as they turned a corner, "I'm gonna freak out if-oof!" He yelped as a trio of students crashed into the pair, all of them falling over with a loud groan as they formed a five-person one puppy dogpile on the floor.

They moaned while trying to pull themselves free. "Hey!" A gruff voice yelled as Flash was pushed off the owner, the teen turning to see Iron Core getting up, "Why don't you watch where you're-" He stopped before going wide-eyed, "Sentry?"

"Uh..." was all Flash could say as they stood themselves up, "Can I...help you?" The next thing he knew, he was being tackled by Heather and pulled into a tight hug as she let out a squeal.

"I can't believe you're back! It's so great to see you!"

"And...you?" Flash gingerly patted her on the back, looking down to see Twilight still on the floor, now trying to find her glasses as they fell off. But before he could pry the girl hugging him off, First Aid picked up the girl's glasses and slowly put them on.

"Did something happen to you Twilight?" He asked once the glasses were safely on her face, "Some kind of accident back home that made you need glasses?"

"What?" Twilight yelped as she started to adjust her glasses, "What are you-"

Iron let out a laugh, "HA! You would have thought they'd have some way of fixing eyesight. I mean, do you even have any diseases back where you come from?"

Flash and Twilight just stared at them, their eyes twitching as they unable to even respond. But as this happened, Twilight's scanner started to brighten, making her grab Flash's arm with a yank, "Um...we gotta go!"

With that, she zipped away with a confused Flash, both quickly going past another corner of the hallway. As this happened, Heather turned to her bandmates, "What's up with them?"

"Not sure." First replied before tilting his head, "They acted like they did not know us."

It was here that Heather's eyes shrunk as she said, "Wait...were they wearing Crystal Prep uniforms?"

The boys went wide-eyed at her comment, Iron now whispering, "They can't be."

"Could they?" First added.





Back with the Rainbooms, they were still suffering Rarity's elongated dressing fittings. Currently, Fluttershy was dressed like a hokey play, Rainbow a stereotypical cop, Pinkie as a cowgirl, the normal cowgirl as a racquetball player and Sunset was in a welder's uniform, complete with a protective mask. All the while, Rarity was zipping around the place taking more measurements and making quick changes to them.

It was here that Applejack spoke up, "Uh Rarity, these outfits are great, but why would you put so much time and effort into clothes we might not even wear? Ya'll gonna exhaust yerself before the games even start."

"Oh, pff. Kch. Fff. Ts!" She announced with a small wave, "Don't be silly, darling!" She then squeed as she saw the others in the clothes she had worked on. "Putting effort into clothes is what I live for, and spending time on my friends fills me with so much energy!"

As soon as she said those words, her entire body exploded with purple magic before she ponied up, everyone gasping at this as Sunset lifted her mask to stare at her, "And magic too, I guess."

And as this happened, Twilight and Flash were still following the device. But as they did this, Flash kept asking, "How?! How can they know us when we've never been here before?!"

"I don't know," Twilight replied, "Maybe-" She didn't finish as her scanner went haywire, gasping as she saw the device pick up a big surge of energy. Before they could say anything, the device opened and pointed itself toward a cracked open door. As it did this, a kind of purple mist flowed out of the door and into Twilight's scanner, collecting it before slamming shut.

Both teens just blankly stared at it, the beeping now going non-existent, "That was...weird. Was it supposed to do that?"

"No idea." Twilight responded before looking up at the door, "But I know one thing. The source of this energy has got to be in there!"

She quickly slammed the door open, only for the room occupants to turn and gasp, "TWILIGHT!"

"Huh?" Twilight yelped as she heard her name as Flash leaned into the room.

"FLASH!" They yelled before running up to them.

"Well ah'll be," Applejack put an arm around Twilight's neck. "Ya'll shoulda told us you were comin'!"

"Why would we?" Flash grabbed her arm and pulled it off Twilight.

As he did this, Rarity narrowed her eyes at both, "Darling, why are you wearing those glasses? In fact, what are you two wearing?! It's so...severe."

The two looked down at their clothes, blinking as Twilight muttered out, "Uh...our uniforms?"

"Your uniform for what?" Fluttershy asked, Flash rolling his eyes.

"Well, let's think," Flash barked back, "Why would two teenagers be wearing uniforms at a school? Maybe...for school?"

"But...those are Crystal Prep uniforms."

"Nothing gets past you, does it?" Flash countered while crossing his arms, "Now, can someone please tell us what the heck is going on?!"

Twilight nodded in agreement, "Right. Why does everyone at this school think they know who we are?!" As she asked this, a certain puppy shot his head out her bag with a bark.

"SPIKE!" Rarity and Fluttershy cheered, Fluttershy reaching up to pet him until Twilight pulled away.

"Wha...you know my dog's name too?!"

"What's with this place?! Who are you people?!" Flash yelled as he stepped in front of Twilight as if to shield her, "Have you been spying on us?! Know thy enemy kind of thing?!"

"Enemy?!" The girls all gasped, going wide-eyed as they all exchanged glances. As they did this, a pair of principals walked by the room, one of them noticing the two.

"Flash? Twilight?"

The two sighed as Twilight growled, "This is getting ridiculous!"

Principal Cinch took this moment to move over and place an arm on Twilight's shoulder. "I must apologize for the curiosity of my prized students."

"Your students?" Celestia yelped, just now noticing their attire.

"The smart ones are always curious," she began to push Twilight away with Flash following. "I'll return them to check in with the rest of there classmates."

Before anyone could say anything, they disappeared around a corner, Celestia turning to the Rainbooms with wide eyes, "Oookay...I can buy one of them having an identical twin, but not two. Any idea what's going on girls?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Pinkie answered, "That Flash and Twilight are obviously the Flash and Twilight from this world since it couldn't possibly be the Flash and Twilight from the pony world since the Flash and Twilight from the pony world don't go to Crystal Prep and Pony Twilight doesn't wear glasses."

Celestia just stared at her, only for the others to now stare at her before Celestia turned away, "Nevermind. Just...get ready for the games."





Cinch was now in full marching mode, grumbling as Twilight spoke up, "I'm sorry Principal Cinch, I was just following these strange readings." She then looked down at her device, "It...for some reason, it led me to those girls and-"

"Twilight," she flinched as Cinch spun around and glared at her, "What you do in your free time is of little interest to me. But while you're here, I...all of Crystal Prep in fact, require your complete focus."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "Why? As long as Twilight is fine during the actual games, why should you care what else she's up too?"

"It's easier to remain focused one hundred percent of the time rather than needing to keep getting back into it. One slip up is all Canterlot High needs to beat us."

She rebegan her walk off, Flash huffing at her uptight attitude as Twilight asked, "But...why does everyone at this school seem to know us?"

Cinch glared back at her again, "Well...maybe they're trying to confuse you? Perhaps they're trying to lure you both away."

Twilight and Flash looked at each other before Twilight shook her head, "It didn't feel like anyone was trying to lure us."

Flash nodded in agreement, "Yeah. They actually seemed to care about us. Like they thought we were...friends."

Cinch gave them a death glare back, "That's nonsense. I don't know what they're planning, but I can guarantee, it isn't to help us win." She gestured for them to head back to the bus, Flash and Twilight sighing as they went back outside.

And as they did this, the pair leaned against the bus as Flash commented, "Well, this is definitely weird. You were right, this is one strange school Twilight."

Twilight started rubbing her chin in thought, "No kidding. Now I know that I definitely need to find out that energy source."





Back inside the school...

"I can't believe our world's Flash and Twilight go to Crystal Prep!" Rarity almost screamed as they headed down the hallway.

Rainbow let out a huff, "And you're saying that they're gonna play against us?! They'd never do that!"

Fluttershy turned to her, "our Flash and Twilight wouldn't."

Sunset, her stress now reaching its boiling point, snapped as she yelled. "Our Flash and Twilight are a knight and princess in Equestria and experts in friendship magic! And if they was here, we'd have already figured out why magic is randomly popping up during pep rallies and costume changes!" She started to pant, now seeing her friends all looking at her with a mix of fear and worry. "Sorry. I'm just frustrated that I haven't heard back from Twilight."

"She's a princess in Equestria," Applejack replied with a small shrug, "Probably got problems of her own to deal with."

Rarity nodded in agreement, "I agree. We certainly can't expect them to drop everything and pop through the portal whenever. Especially if it's to deal with something as minor as a few random pony-ups."

"But they aren't minor! Magic came into this world when I stole Twilight's crown, meaning this is my fault!" Sunset barked back, "Its...its taken a lot for me to earn everyone's trust. If we have to forfeit the games because I can't think of a way to keep the magic under control..."

"Oh Sunset," Fluttershy put her hand on her shoulder, "I'm sure you'll be able to figure things out."

Applejack patted her other shoulder, "She's right. You're the one who helped us understand what was goin' on with the sirens, remember?"

"I guess..." Sunset leaned against a locker as her hair fell in front of her face. "But Twilight was the one who really figured out what we needed to defeat them."

Rarity shook her head before pushing her hair away from her eyes. "But don't you remember, darling? What we needed to defeat them...was you."

Sunset saw a big smile on Rarity's face, making her chuckle as she replied, "Oh...alright."

Everyone cheered at this, Rainbow now speaking up, "Alright! Come on girls, let's see if we can find any info about the events and come up with a strategy." The others nodded and followed, Rainbow smirking until she heard only four sets of footsteps echoing with hers. She turned to see the red and yellow-haired girl still standing by the locker, "You comin' Sunset?"

"I'll...catch up with you girls in a bit." Rainbow nodded and they left, Sunset sighing as she pulled out her journal, "Darn it...still no reply."

Back outside...

Flash and Twilight were now talking about the possibility of them being brainwashed and possibly coming to CHS without realizing it, only for their wild ideas to be halted when Twilight's scanner started beeping. She quickly followed, Flash now a little hesitant as he saw it was going back to the statue. He made sure to keep his hands in his pocket to protect against static shocks as the duo saw the device beep loudly before opening.

As that happened, Sunset walked up to the other side of the statue, "Maybe there's another way I could reach her." But as she pressed her hand on the portal, it suddenly flashed yellow, only for it to pull her hand, "What the-let go!" She started to yell as she kept trying to pull her hand out, not noticing a red mist flow out of her hand and into the portal.

On the opposite side, Flash and Twilight both gasped as they saw the red mist fly into the teen's scanner. Twilight quickly tried to close the device, but it refused to close. "What's happening?" Flash asked, only for Twilight to slam the scanner shut.

The motion knocked Twilight flying back, slamming into Flash as both Sunset and Twilight let out a cry. Flash and Twilight got up first, now seeing the scanner sparking with blue lightning. But before he could ask what happened, Sunset stood up and glared at them, "What did you do?!"

Twilight shrunk back at the glare, snagging and holding her scanner protectively as Flash jumped in front of her. As he did this, Dean Cadance suddenly spoke up, "Flash, Twilight, you have to check in with the others." The two glanced at her before looking at Sunset one last time, only for both to run away as Sunset just glared at them.

Sunset turned back to the portal and reached out at the statue, only to feel solid rock. She gasped before patting the area of the stone sculpture, "Where's the portal?! WHERE'S THE PORTAL?!"