It's been two days since Sunset and the rest of her family, along with Fluttershy, had visited Equestria. They decided to take Monday off to relax. However, as fate would have it, their family time got interrupted. Sunset's mom got a call from CHS, and she was needed at school. When she returned home later that evening, Sunset saw no reason to ask what was happening, so she didn't get involved. However, upon arriving at CHS that morning.
Sunset was regretting her decision. Sunset arrived at her locker normally enough and exchanged her books around for her morning classes when she first heard that.
"… forum? But I thought that club closed for years?" one of the students asked. Sunset didn't make an effort to hear more and ignored it. But as the day went by, she began to hear more and more about a particular topic.
"… it's true? I thought they were messing with me…"
"… that's spooky."
"maybe someone hacked the school database?"
"another evil magic villain, maybe?"
Sunset couldn't help but wonder what was going on and started to think that was why the school called Celestia yesterday. While contemplating this, Sunset made her way to her table in the cafeteria with Fluttershy, Applejack, and Twilight already sitting there talking about something. Sunset took the seat beside Fluttershy.
"Hey, everyone! What's going on?" Sunset asked.
"Ah was just asking Twilight if she was going to join any clubs," Applejack said before she bit into an apple.
"You haven't joined anything yet?" Sunset asked. "I thought you might go into the science club or something.
"Yeah, well… I thought I would try something new," Twilight said.
"Hmm," Sunset paused as she thought of a club for Twilight.
"You can always join the Going Home Club. Besides band practice, Ah always head home to help out at the farm and finish my chores," Applejack added helpfully.
"Speaking of clubs, why is everyone talking about a club and a… forum?" Sunset asked.
"You don't know!?!" Everyone turned at the voice as Rainbow plopped into her seat as the rest of the girls took their seats as well. "Everyone's talking about it! Apparently, some kind of forum appeared on the school website that has been closed for years. Some say it's haunted. Others think it's a prank of some sort."
"Oh my. Haunted?" Fluttershy asked fearfully as she shook like a leaf.
"Come now, you don't really believe in that gossip, do you darling? Of course, I know magic is real but honestly, ghosts?" Rarity asked.
"Why don't they simply close it or block access to it?" Twilight asked.
Rainbow shrugged, "I don't know. Last I checked, I couldn't find it. But some say it disappears and reappears at random. What are your thoughts Sunset?"
"I'm not sure. My mom did get a call from the school yesterday. I'll ask her," Sunset said.
"Aaanyway, haunted forums aside, Tell us about pony world and what happened," Pinkie said while steering the conversation away from ghosts or hackers. While everyone else agreeing to the idea.
"Okay, so… I stepped through the portal and-"
And thus, Sunset and Fluttershy began to explain to the rest of the girls what happened in Equestria. It took much of the lunch period, but they were unable to tell everything. So, Sunset and Fluttershy promised to tell the rest after school when the bell for classes resuming began ringing. Sunset, who had a free period, decided to find out what's happening with the forum. She parted from the girls and began to walk towards her mom's office. Upon arriving at the door, Sunset knocked at the door and waited for her mom to answer.
"Come in," She heard Celestia call from the other side of the door. Walking in, Sunset saw Luna was also there looking at something on Celestia's computer. "Ah, Sunset, do you need anything?"
"Uh… actually, I need to ask you something. This is probably nothing, but I heard a lot of student talking about a-"
"Forum? Yes, unfortunately, it's true," Luna said as she pointed at the screen. "Come take a look." Sunset moved forward and took a look at the computer to see a forum opened up on the screen.
"Newspaper club?"
"Yes. Apparently, this suddenly became active yesterday. We tried everything we can to close this, but no matter what we do, it won't work." Celestia said.
"What do you mean?"
"It cannot be closed or blocked. The options simply don't work. We can block the forum, but it unblocks after a while," Luna said. "I even asked Chrysalis, but she couldn't do anything about it either."
"Chryssi can't do anything?"
"Unfortunately, I can't help but think there's more going on here than we think," Celestia said.
"You mean… Equestrian Magic?" Sunset asked. "Well, Midnight did blast the portal and opened up a bunch of rips in space. Maybe something slipped through?"
"It's possible," Luna said. "But if it's Equestrian magic, you are the only one that can help us,"
Sunset nodded as her brows knit together, "This club, why was it closed in the first place?" Sunset asked.
"Well, it happened about…20?... 15? Years ago, I think, I can't say for sure. I was just beginning my teaching career as a teacher's assistant as I need two years for my license. Luna was still in college," Celestia began. "The newspaper club wasn't very popular, even then. So there were only three members in the club. They did a wonderful job, as far as I can remember. There was a girl in that club. Timid, but sweet, reminds me of Fluttershy, but she would be considered outgoing in the case of Fluttershy. I've never met someone as shy as Fluttershy before. But she suddenly went missing one day. No one knew what happened. The police force back then isn't what it is today. Anyways, since they couldn't find any clues about what happened, the case went cold and unsolved until this day. The three friends dropped to two, causing them to close the club. No one reopened the club since then. It's why we have a yearbook club but not a student paper. The club along with the forum was abandoned."
"Until now," Sunset said, causing Celestia to nod. "Now that's… ahem. So if you think there is some magic at play, maybe we should reopen the club. Twilight was looking for a club to join, and we can solve the mystery, two birds one stone. If it's magic, we'll most likely be safe as Element holders. Her brains could be really useful for this."
"Sunset, I know you want to help. But… are you sure about this?"
"Yes, I'm sure. As the only person that knows anything about Equestrian magic, I'm essential. I'd be wrapped in sooner or later. Plus, as a princess, it's my duty to keep people, especially the students at school, safe," Sunset said, bringing a fist to her heart. Celestia lightly laughed while Luna had a small smile on her face.
"Okay, Sunset, you convinced me. However, that will have to wait until after school. We have a new student today. Let's see here, her name is… Aiko Whiskers. See if you can't make friends with her. In her files, it says she was a part of the photography club in her last school and considered the best photographer in the club. Maybe you can have her join you. You could use a good photographer, and it will help her to get to know the school," Luna said.
"Okay, I'll talk to her. Love you," Sunset said as she left the room, with one goal in her mind, find the possible source of Equestrian magic at play. To do that, she would have to reopen the newspaper club. If there was no magic, she could still enjoy making the club with her friends and help the new student. They could join and take some killer shots. She was looking forward to joining another club other than fencing anyway. This was a win-win situation. She was sure of it.