The morning of the Friendship Games finally dawned. The students of Crystal Prep waited in line at the parking lot, Sunny stood outside of her bus to Canterlot High, her mood was far more bitter than usual lately. The 'pep talk' that Cinch gave them really got under her skin.
That woman really knew how to kill any form of excitement. She crossed her arms, Sour doing the same in front of her. The top six, minus Cinch's little pet of course, were called out specifically. 'Your performances will dictate your future recommendations.' She growled in annoyance. Indigo had a very obvious forced smile after that. It really got to her.
"Dean Cadence?" Twilight's voice pulled her from her thoughts. A twinge of annoyance shot through her as she walked up to the overworked woman at the head of their line.
"I'm not really sure where to go-"
"One second, Twilight." She cut her off, stepping away to check her schedule.
"You could try the end of the line?" Sour spat, Sunny gave her a look, but couldn't exactly blame her for being upset at her. Twilight was one of the reasons that Cinch put them on blast.
The poor girl turned, adjusting her glasses. "What did you say?" She asked. Everything about her screamed that she didn't want to be here. Sunny almost felt sorry for her, but being at the top of the school and not even wanting to help represent them? Who did she think she was?
"Just that someone as smart as you should go first." Sour mocked, sounding as kind as she could while still spewing venom.
And Sunny found herself smirking as the girl shrank back. "I-I didn't mean to, I was just asking-"
"This is the right bus Twilight, go ahead." Cadence said before returning to her duties.
"But, I didn't mean to cut in front."
Sour scoffed "Well it's too late now."
Twilight dejectedly stepped up onto the bus where Sunny overheard Indigo's forced cheerfulness.
Her annoyance turned to concern and even anger. 'That- Wait- What did Twilight do to-' She blinked. 'I'm just as bad as the people who bad mouth Indigo.' She sighed.
"You good?" Sour asked.
"Just, uh, have a lot on my mind."
When she finally made it on the bus, Twilight had taken a seat in the back, the rocker's headphones covered her ears. The music was loud enough for her to hear, but it blocked out any of the murmured insults. She frowned, was she too harsh on her? Lemon was pretty clever to use that noise to block out the rude students.
The ride was uneventful, leaving the city to head down to their rival school never was very interesting. Not much to see or do, and no one was interested in talking. Sunny watched as her teammates all seemed to bend over backwards to ignore the people sitting beside them. Well, aside from Lemon, who had brought out a set of earbuds to jam alongside Twilight, though it seemed only she was having fun.
After arriving, Twilight wandered off almost immediately after getting off the bus. Her funeral. When Cinch caught her she'd be torn a new one.
Indigo stood straight, ignoring the pain from her bruises. She remained steadfast and strong.
"Hey, Indigo-"
"What's up?" She asked, her expression was neutral, which wasn't a good sign. She'd actually been warming up to her, hadn't she?
"Are you doing okay?"
"I'll manage, but I'm not doing hot." She admitted, glancing around. "Don't make a big deal out of it, alright?"
"If you insist, but I think you should avoid anything too strenuous."
They entered the school's gym, as they talked, a small welcoming party was being held for them. As if they had time to stop and enjoy the moment, they were here for business.
"Oh, Indigo-" One of her classmates began, she turned to face him, trying to place his name. Sunny sighed internally, leaving her to talk to him. He handed her a cup of punch as he asked something about a club they were both in, a sharp burst of pain made Indigo jolt, spilling her drink as agony ran up her bruised ribs. She turned to glare at the poor bookworm who had bumped into her.
Twilight backed away slowly, the fear in her face striking Indigo hard. She wasn't going to hurt her, did she think she would? She watched her go back to messing with her device before one of the notable CHS students called her name.
"-What have you been up to?" She asked, arms crossed and an accusatory expression darkened her features.
"Me? Oh- I was jus-"
Indigo stepped forward, sensing the girl begin to panic. "Who wants to know?" She pushed Twilight back, taking the focus from her, and perhaps easing her fears, but unfortunately making her feel more out of place.
This started a chain of trash talking before the principal introduced herself and formally started the 'party' if one could call it that. Though, to be fair, it did start to pick up as that pink haired girl darted around the room.
Music picked up and livened the mood, some of the rivals actually began to mingle. Lemon actually danced in the large crowd of students. Sour watched from the side, she crossed her arms when she spotted Pinkie Pie and Twilight talking.
The screeching feedback from the microphone on stage killed the music, and the eternal wet blanket of a headmaster immediately snuffed out any camaraderie that could have built between the two schools.
The rest of the morning was a blur to Indigo. They started with a chemistry competition, one of the girls on CHS's team actually caused her entry to explode. She overheard about the baking segment, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy winning that one handily, eliminating both Suri and Upper Crust.
She found herself teamed with Sugarcoat on a shop class build. They won with a two story birdhouse. The 'competition' was so pathetic that it fell apart when touched by the judge's pen. She sighed, also recalling how mean she was to that nerdy looking kid, and even Sugarcoat followed her lead, knocking his birdhouse part out of his hand. It was second nature to be cruel to them. Like it was the most natural response to gloat over them for trying their best and failing.
'What the fuck is wrong with us?' Indigo asked herself.
Cinch's 'pep talk' came back. Pep talk? More like threatening to withhold their recommendation letters to their colleges, but it kept playing back through her mind. She knew how to ruin something meant to be fun, and twist her students to be just like her. Indigo shook her head, watching the ground for a moment.
The spelling bee portion was up next. It was down to just the top six on both sides. It happened so quickly, first Lemon then Sugarcoat, Sour and then Sunny, Indigo was actually the last eliminated from the spelling portion, but that left Twilight to head onward. The CHS students all cheered on the redhead who stood across from her. None of the CPA students even bothered for Twilight.
Indigo felt herself want to, to give her some form of encouragement, but she couldn't. Her body just wouldn't allow her to. Every time she began an attempt it would die in her throat. She resolved to just watch on.
"Incorrect!" Cinch declared, awarding Twilight the win. The other team's rep, the redhead was quickly swarmed by her friends and given praise for her efforts. Twilight felt no pride from her victory. Her teammates simply joined her on stage for the winning announcement and left just as quickly.
They took a break for lunch and came back for the afternoon events.
Sour and Lemon were eating together, no one had the guts to approach Sour, even here. Indigo figured she was snapping at people here as well. Lemon seemed unphased, so that was good. She walked towards their table, Sugarcoat and Sunny joining them soon after.
"This is closer than I think Cinch was prepared for." Sugarcoat said, twisting her fork in her pasta. "We're doing our best, isn't that good enough?" For the first time, Indigo noticed how tired Sugarcoat looked.
"Are you doing alright?" She found herself asking.
"You actually care? Or just being social?"
Indigo blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Wh-Hey! I could have just ignored that you look tired y'know!"
"Girls, please." Sunny said. "Calm yourselves. The tension is high, but we shouldn't take it out on each other."
"You mean exactly what everyone's been doing to Twilight?" Sugarcoat said flatly.
"Hey! I haven't said anything mean to Twilight." Lemon said with a frown. "I've been good all day, right Sour?"
"Whatever…"
"Why are you so upset?" Sugarcoat asked.
"I'm not-!" She held herself back, staying seated, though she looked obviously uncomfortable as she stared at the table. "I can't control it. Sometimes it just happens, okay?"
Lemon reached over to pat her shoulder. "Shit, dude. I didn't know that." Indigo said with a frown.
"I apologize, that was none of our business." Sugarcoat offered.
"I'm not upset at you. I'm fucking pissed off at myself!" She growled. "All I've been doing is bitching and snapping at people all day, I was doing so well before this."
"Have you, perhaps, sought a professional's assistance?" Sunny asked.
"I'm not crazy. I don't need a shrink."
"No one thinks you're crazy, but if you have a legitimate condition, wouldn't it be best to see if there was something you could do?" Indigo asked, frowning softly.
"Just don't worry about me. We'll go back to not talking as soon as we leave here anyway."
The bell to end lunch cut off any attempt at a response, Sour standing quickly and heading to the next event. Indigo gingerly stood and followed.
"Is Indigo hurt?" Lemon asked, having watched her struggle to push up from the table momentarily.
"I dunno." Sunny lied, watching her walk away.
Cinch handed out the roles for each of them, Indigo cheered when she was informed she'd be on the motocross bike. Sunny caught her as she held her side, but played it off. With the news of who her partner was, Sour snapped again, Twilight slipping away quickly. She couldn't carry this event alone.
Cinch tutted, "Miss Sweet, throwing a hissy fit whenever things don't go your way will only hurt you in the long run. I can't imagine potential schools would be endeared to choose an unstable individual."
Sour froze before she grumbled and looked away, crossing her arms as anger took over her features, Lemon patted her shoulder as she stepped away to change.
"You've got this, dude."
"I really don't." Sour mumbled quietly.
"Did she really just threaten your future so casually?" Sunny asked, but Sour just walked ahead. She didn't seem interested in responding.
"That's not okay." Lemon said with a rare look of hatred aimed directly at the principal as she walked away.
The first leg of the race, Sour showed her rather impressive archery skills, but immediately felt her anger boil as Twilight struggled to do the same. The past few weeks of progress she thought she'd made shattered instantly, berating the girl harshly. Her tirade only stopped when she noticed the girl begin to cry. Sour stepped back as the blonde from the other team hopped over, she gave Sour a warning glare and gave the pitiful girl some advice that helped her make the shot.
Guilt and anger towards herself welled within as she stomped off the field. Was it even worth coming to this competition if she was just going to relapse this hard?
She didn't even notice as the roller skaters took off. Lemon was in that portion, but she couldn't even cheer her on with the mood she was in. It took the revving of the bikes to catch her attention, looking out to see the field suddenly had giant...plant stalks?
"What the fuck?!"
Indigo weaved and dodged them, riding up one and landing hard off the drop. One of the other racers started glowing and flying? What?
Sugarcoat had been caught by one, but dropped and slid down the vine, landing safely. Shaken, but unharmed.
One of the plant heads slammed down, making a sizable hole that Indigo immediately fell into at full speed. She tumbled off the bike and into a world of pain. The flying girl was quick to catch its attention, which allowed her time to escape. Everything hurt, but adrenaline pumped harder than ever as she climbed on and tore out of the pit. She and the last Canterlot racer both flew down the track toward the finish.
"Canterlot wins!" Dean Cadence cheered.
Indigo sighed as she got off the bike, she took a step before the pain caught up. Her entire upper body was in agony. She bit her lip and stood firm, a minor shaking in her step. She kept on her helmet to hide her grimace from each step.
"Indigo! Are you okay?" Sunny asked, rushing over, the first sign of genuine concern for anyone from anyone on their team. It felt kinda nice.
"I'm fine. No biggie." She lied.
"Sugarcoat almost got eaten too, but she seems to be over it. What happened out there?" Lemon asked.
"And why are you lying?" Sugarcoat asked, arms crossed.
"Huh?" Indigo asked, standing firmer. "I landed weird, sorry my back is jacked up. Sheesh."
Sour didn't say much, just sort of stayed near Lemon, who would occasionally give her a reassuring look as they talked.
"Rainbow Dash saved your butt. You should thank her." Lemon said.
"Right, and get Cinch to fuck me over?"
"Is Cinch really that powerful?" The rocker asked. "I mean, we make our own futures, don't we?"
"C'mon, we have to get to the final event." Indigo said, walking ahead, her arm cradling her side instinctively as she walked.
The other four hesitated. Three turned to face one.
"Wh-What?" Sunny asked.
"What's up with her?"
Sunny bit her lip, for all her acting classes, she couldn't convince them she wasn't concerned as well. "She had an injury from before the games. She said it was from practice, but didn't specify which sport.."
"But the sports teams stopped practicing two weeks ago to let the students get ready for the games." Sour said, looking up.
"Then-" Sunny watched where Indigo had walked towards. "Where could she have gotten that bruising from?"
A deadly silence came between the four. "You don't think-"
"There's obviously many ways she could have gotten them." Sugarcoat said. "We don't need to jump the gun."
"Maybe she got in a fight?" Lemon asked.
"And not have any bruising on her face? If it were a fight, they wouldn't care if the bruising was visible." Sour noted.
"Are there any other hints to go off of?" Sugarcoat said.
Sunny crossed her arms. "Girls, I think I might know, but I don't want to be right about this." She pulled up her watch, pressing a few buttons to bring up some notes.
"Leaving when she got a message from her dad, always trying to get home right after school, and her drive to be the best at everything? She once turned down a ride home because her dad wouldn't like an unknown car to be at their house…"
"All of that is pretty sketch." Lemon crossed her arms.
"Let's confront her. We can either be right or wrong." Sugarcoat said.
"That's a huge leap to suspect something that awful! We'd better be sure or she might shut us out completely." Sour blurted out.
"None of us want that." Sunny said. The group looked around. "When did we all decide we wanted to be friends, because I clearly missed it."
"Probably around the time you came to ask us about Indigo. You were quite cordial and pleasant to talk to." Sugarcoat said with Lemon and Sour nodding.
"Well, we have a goal now. As a team. Let's see if we can help Indigo."
Cinch brought them all together for another meeting, perhaps even a 'pep talk'. How easily her words triggered anger and dissension in the ranks. She kept pushing Twilight to use the device she had brought with her. The Shadow bolts all found themselves agreeing with her by the end of her speech. Her logic made sense to them. This was a fair game. They were just better, but those CHS students used some kind of power to cheat. Twilight had an answer for it, why not use it?
With a flash of what the students now recognize as 'magic', Twilight was pulled into a large ball of energy, the anguished scream she let out would haunt them in the days to come, her skin darkened and she glowed with an ethereal aura, floating up above the students and blasting holes into what looked like an alternate dimension.
Sunny gasped, glancing back to see Cinch sneaking away. "Hey! Where are you going?!"
"Anywhere to avoid that monster! And I suggest you do the same!"
Sunny turned back to face her, all the insults and jabs just repeating. Guilt washed over her as she looked to the others.
Twilight and Sunset argued momentarily before the magic drunk teenager blasted a hole in the ground, endangering the students still caught in the struggle.
The Shadowbolts watched as the CHS students struggled to help save anyone who was falling in, one actually dropped to just holding on with one hand, panic setting in.
With a nod, the Shadowbolts rushed into action. "We got you!" Indigo called out as she and Lemon caught Rarity's arm. Sunny caught and pulled Fluttershy back up from the edge as Sour hoisted Pinkie and another CPA student by herself. Sugarcoat assisted Applejack, keeping her balanced enough to pull another student back up.
Twilight and Sunset, had another quick back and forth before an awesome magical beam struggle, luckily Twilight was defeated after a distraction from her talking dog. Not the weirdest thing here, but definitely something to ask about later.
"Today was fucking weird." Indigo groaned as she sat back on the bus. Both schools tied in the end, Cinch's 'reputation' was forever tarnished and they were surely fucked when they got back. That didn't matter so much to her anymore as Sunny took a seat beside her.
"Yeah, but it wasn't all bad."
Lemon and Sour sat in the seat behind her and Sugarcoat in front of them.
"How do you figure?"
"We made some friends. That's something."
"What are you a kid?"
"It's okay to have friends, Indigo." Lemon said, poking her head over the seat. "I mean, you got us. Whether you like it or not."
"She's right." Sugarcoat said, but made no effort to look over the seat.
"Pft," Indigo scoffed. "You girls will be sick of me in a week. This is CPA, we don't have friends here."
"And who decided that? The principal who caused a student to be corrupted by magic for a stupid meaningless trophy?" Sugarcoat asked. "Screw Cinch. Make your own choices."
"I don't remember you being so vulgar." Indigo noted.
"That's what happens when you ghost someone for years. They still grow, you just don't see it happen. I still want to ask about that, but time and place."
"Buckle up Indy, you've got us for the long haul." Lemon giggled.
When they settled back down, Sunny leaned closer. "You doing alright?" She asked. Indigo's chest fluttered in that annoying way it did when Sunny was close.
"I'm good. I mean, I'm hurting pretty bad, but I'm okay."
"Get some rest." She patted her shoulder. "Maybe that'll help."
"Thanks Sunny." Indigo yawned, glancing at the window beside her. She saw the reflection of a teenage girl. Her face looked bruised still, but the bruises were lighter.
'After all of the pain, you're still you.' She told herself. She recognized herself this time. Maybe having them around would be nice.
"Girls?" She started, as she closed her eyes, leaning against the arm rest. "We need to apologize to Twilight." She mumbled as she dozed off, Sunny kept a steadying hand on her arm, helping her from shifting suddenly when the bus turned. If this was what it felt like to have a friend keep an eye on you, she liked it.