The bell rang the end of the class, the last time Twilight would have to hear the note-perfect chimes of the Crystal Prep Academy. She rushed to her closet to empty it and get it ready for its next owner, Sour Sweet and Lemon Zest accompanying her on the way. Sunny Flare and Sugarcoat have already been waiting by her closet.
“Well, I guess it’s time to say goodbye.” Sour Sweet stood with the sincerest puppy dog eyes she’s ever done.
“Aw, don’t be so gloomy.” Twilight forced a reassuring smile. “I’m not leaving you forever. We can still meet outside of school.”
“Yeah, but still...” Sour Sweet continued. “It was still good to have you around.”
“Yes, she was the only person who’d let you yell at her.” Sugarcoat’s blank expression betrayed no malice, but her words rippled through everyone’s faces, like a shockwave of brutal truth.
The sadness suddenly disappeared from Sour Sweet’s eyes, as she glared at Sugarcoat. Though her anger stemmed less from what Sugarcoat said and more the truthfulness of the statement.
Lemon Zest tried keeping the positivity in the air and helped Twilight pack. “I wish we could have been better friends to you.” She said.
“Yeah, you don’t know what you miss until you lose it.” Sour Sweet repeated an ancient wisdom that she read in a fortune cookie once.
“You still haven’t told us why you’re transferring.” Sunny Flare leaned against the lockers with crossed arms.
Twilight looked to the ceiling for the right way to answer. “I still haven’t figured out the right way to say it.”
Sunny Flare took a few steps towards her. “Your graduation score is going to suffer so much.”
“I don’t really mind that, to be honest.” Twilight waved her hand. “At the last Friendship Games I saw that academics aren’t everything and I still got much to learn.”
“Like what?” Sunny Flare kept this low-key interrogation going.
Twilight finished packing while she looked for the right words to say. “You know, Crystal Prep is a very competitive environment. It’s too stressful for me and I just wanna experience the fun side of going to school. You know, have some parties, pull pranks on others...”
“Just say it,” Sugarcoat barged into the conversation once again, “you hate us.”
Her comment fell with the bluntness of an anvil. Everyone else seemed to have lost their balance for a second, as if they could feel the weight of her words shake the ground.
“What? No!” Twilight tried to defend herself.
“No, it’s understandable,” Sugarcoat’s eyes slowly fell towards the ground, “we’ve been nothing but jerks to you this whole time.”
Twilight tried coming up with something uplifting to say, but words were escaping her.
“She’s not wrong, is she?” Lemon Zest’s usually sharp voice was softened by guilt. It was like she was scolding everyone, including herself. They all fell into a silent remorseful agreement.
“Twilight, wait!” Indigo Zap finally emerged from the corner, her lively attitude breaking the bleakness of the atmosphere. “I almost forgot to give your pen back.”
Twilight looked at the four-colour ballpoint pen, that she parted ways with too long ago, to even miss it anymore. “Didn’t I lend this to you two years ago?”
“Y-yeah...” Indigo Zap pried out a sheepish confirmation.
Twilight turned back to the rest of the group. “Don’t worry guys, we will continue to see each-other. I’m sure my new friends will be happy to meet you.” The bell rang the start of the next class, which Twilight has already graduated in. “I should really get going.” She turned and headed to the door.
The rest of the girls didn’t stay behind for long either. Indigo Zap was hoping she could exchange a few more words with Twilight, so she stared in her direction for a few more seconds.
“Oh, before I forget!” Twilight turned back and took out a key from her bag. “I wanted to give the key to the science lab to you, Sugarcoat.”
Sugarcoat turned around in surprise. She took the key which had a tag attached to it, with the number 14 and “science lab #3” written on the tag’s other side, for those who’d forget what the number 14 class was supposed to be.
“Just be sure to return it to Principal Cinch. I’m sure she’ll let you have it.” Twilight turned around and walked out through the entrance.
Sugarcoat stared at the key, while the rest of the group took off to their next class. They weren’t in a hurry; their mood just didn’t allow them to really care about being late. They simply had other things on mind.
“Don’t you think it’s strange that she’s transferring schools?” Sunny Flare hushed.
“Nah mate,” Indigo Zap commented, “have you seen what kind of magic malarkey Canterlot High is up to? They made me want to transfer as well.”
“Twilight literally just told us why she’s transferring.” Sour Sweet finally let her impatience get back to her.
“But that explanation sounded nothing like Twilight. I’m sure there’s something going on here.” Sunny Flare kept trying to keep the gossip going.
“Beg your pardon, I was late and missed your conversation.” Indigo Zap said. “What did Twilight say?”
While they were having that discussion, Sugarcoat was preoccupied with the key’s tag. She noticed a little bit of paper sticking out from inside the tag, as if she could take it apart and find a secret message. She could pry it open with the points of her nails and indeed there was something written on the tiny piece of paper. It said “drawer 4.” Suddenly a feeling of intense curiosity took her over. She knew that Principal Cinch would be looking for the key, so she had to take a detour to find out what’s inside drawer 4. There’s a little chance that Cinch would not let her have the key after all, in which case she’d never find out why drawer 4 was so important.
Sunny Flare noticed that Sugarcoat departed into a different direction. “Where’re you going?”
Sugarcoat stared back at her for a moment. “To the bathroom. I’m not feeling good.”
“Alright, fair enough.” They let her go, knowing that they’re all late as is, almost as much as Indigo Zap was all the time.
Sugarcoat opened the door to science lab #3, then hastily went in and quietly locked the door behind herself. She didn’t even turn on the lights, to not attract any attention whatsoever. She didn’t mind that she was way late for class; she had a perfect alibi. That is, as long as everybody thinks she’s in the bathroom.
Using the built-in flashlight on her phone, she could see that the science lab was completely empty, save for the school’s own equipment. Though it was empty, there were still hints of messiness scattered around. There was a bulletin board, with several thumbtacks still sticking out of it. Many of them were holding onto tiny shreds of paper. There were also a couple bits of red string scattered on the floor. Sugarcoat knew that Twilight was researching strange phenomena at Canterlot High, but she was still surprised that she’d leave the place so messy. Perhaps there was something else going on in the time between the Friendship Games and Twilight’s transferring. Maybe drawer 4 will reveal some answers, to some yet unasked questions.
Except, there was no drawer 4; the drawers weren’t labelled by number, they were labelled by letter. Sugarcoat opened the fourth drawer, which, in this case was drawer D. There was nothing in it, only ordinary lab equipment. She felt a hint of frustration, as she dug through the contents of the drawer and found nothing that would warrant skipping class. That is, until she realized that the number four, is often used to replace the letter A in certain circles. So she looked in drawer A as well.
Drawer A was completely ordinary as well; just some perfectly ordinary equipment. Sugarcoat took a deep breath and blew the annoyed air out through her nose, before shutting the drawer back in forcefully, but quietly. Then she heard a noise that sounded like paper rustling. The drawer was moving with slightly more difficulty than the other drawer. As if something was getting in the way of its movement. She kept hearing the sound of paper rustling as she moved the drawer in and out. She reached in and tapped the roof of the drawer and there was indeed a paper folder taped there.
She carefully removed the tape, in a way that she could put it back in. Inside the folder, there was a torn piece of old newspaper about bomb shelters being built in schools, including Crystal Prep. Behind it, a cleanly cut out article from six years ago. “Informant helps police expose criminal gang.” “Changeling leader ‘Chrysalis’ still at large.” They read. Beyond that, there were seemingly random photos of Principal Cinch from different years, along with a photo of a vertical crack in the wall.
She laid them all out on the table and took pictures of them with her phone. But just as she was about to put it back where she found it, she decided against it and slid the folder into her bag. She made sure to leave everything in the lab the way she found it and left.
Sugarcoat left the science lab just as carefully as she entered and hurried towards her class. She turned the corner and bumped into someone. Despite this someone’s lanky physique, they stood completely unmoved by the girl running into them at full force.
“Ah, Sugarcoat, I was just looking for you.” The deep voice of Principal Cinch could be heard.
“A-are you looking for the key to the science lab?” Sugarcoat’s voice shook for the duration of a single syllable, as her heart skipped a beat.
“Why yes, that is what I’m looking for.”
Sugarcoat handed over the key, her face betraying no emotion, but her hand shook slightly. Cinch took the key and glared at her accusingly.
“Why are you so late?”
“I was in the bathroom...” Sugarcoat forced a blank expression. She now had to put effort into something that usually comes so naturally to her.
Cinch raised an eyebrow, unsatisfied with the excuse.
Sugarcoat glanced aside, as she quickly looked for a believable excuse. “Lady business...”
“Ah, but of course!” Cinch let out an uncomfortable laugh. “Surely none of your fault. I’ll let your teacher know the reason of your absence.” She said and escorted Sugarcoat into the classroom.
Sugarcoat didn’t bother paying attention in class. She missed half of it anyway, so she didn’t see the point. Her thoughts were circling around Twilight’s hidden folder. She knew that it was something substantial, but she didn’t know what it was about yet. After class, she sent a text to Twilight asking about it, but she got no answer.
Sunny Flare was packing her locker next to her, measuring Sugarcoat up and down; she could sense that she has found out something interesting.
Sugarcoat turned to her. “Hey, so I missed most of that class, can I borrow your notes?”
“Sure!” Sunny gave her the notebook without missing a beat. Her curiosity got the best of her, so she had to speak up. “Why were you so late?”
Sugarcoat replied with a blank stare. “I wasn’t feeling well...”
“You went into the science lab, haven’t you?” Sunny pried further.
Sugarcoat looked around cautiously, before motioning Sunny closer. “Yeah, I did. And I think I found something.”
“What did you find?”
“I can’t say it right now. Let’s do a video call tonight and I’ll tell you then.”
Sunny Flare nodded. They leaned out of their lockers and took off.
Night has arrived. Sunny Flare was lying in her bed, already in pyjamas, holding her wrist device in her palms. She was waiting for Sugarcoat to answer her call. The curiosity was eating her up, so waiting for Sugarcoat just got more and more frustrating.
Finally Sugarcoat’s blank expression appeared on the device’s screen. She was wrapped in her blanket with her hair down.
“Finally, the first time you’re late for something and it’s your own idea.” Sunny barked.
“I have a night schedule.” Said Sugarcoat, unfazed by the nagging coming out of her laptop’s speakers.
“Whatever, what did you find? Just spit it out.”
“This folder.” She held it to the screen. “I think it’s Twilight’s last research.”
“Huh, did she forget it?”
“Actually, I think she left it there on purpose.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Well for one thing, it was hidden inside one of the drawers. Two, there was the drawer’s number inside the key’s tag. So she didn’t just leave it there, she hid it intentionally.”
“Interesting, what’s inside it?”
“These random articles about war era shelters and a criminal gang and random photos of Principal Cinch. Here, I’ll send them to you.”
Sugarcoat’s photos of the folder’s contents have slowly appeared on Sunny Flare’s screen, as the file finished uploading. She looked through them, an unexplainable sinking feeling taking over her, as if she was uncovering something she wasn’t meant to see.
“I don’t get it. What does any of this mean?”
“Well, I have a hypothesis... But it’s kinda weird...”
“Tell me.”
Sugarcoat pondered for a moment on whether she should say anything or not. But since she already started, there was no stopping. “I think Twilight has found out something about Cinch and that is what she was researching.”
Sunny Flare gasped as a thought struck her brain. “Maybe that’s why she transferred. She didn’t want Cinch to catch her.”
“Let’s not make gossip out of this. In fact, let’s not mention it to anybody.”
“Wait really? You don’t wanna know what all of this is about?”
“I do, but I think we should refrain from making any conclusions. We don’t even know if it’s Twilight’s at all.”
“Well, just ask her.”
“I did. I texted her, asking what’s inside drawer 4. She said she doesn’t know.”
“Well that’s useless.”
“She did also tell me, that she left something in her locker and asked me to bring it to her after school.”
“Do you think she means the mystery folder?”
“Well, considering that she left her locker totally empty, this must be it.”
Sunny Flare finally took a closer look at the pictures Sugarcoat has taken. “Wow, you’re really bad at taking photos, Sugarcoat.”
“It wasn’t the best environment for that.”
“Yeah, I can tell. Your flash blots out pretty much every single photo.”
“I had to be discreet, I’m sorry it’s not high-quality.”
“Is that one a crack in the wall?”
“Seems like it.”
“I’m pretty sure that one is by the pools?”
“How can you tell?”
“I always wondered what that’s about, so I recognize it. Do you reckon, it’s got something to do with the war era shelters?”
“You think that crack might lead to it?”
“Maybe...”
“I think we should just calm down and look this stuff up.”
“I want to take a look at this folder in person, because your pictures are terrible.”
“Alright, but we’re going to have to be very discreet.”
“You know who could tell us about Twi’s research?”
“Sunny, I really don’t think we should mention any of this to anybody.”
“Moondancer! She was relatively close to Twilight and they shared some research before. Maybe she has an idea?”
“Alright, you can ask her. But please ask just her and don’t make gossip out of it.”
“Don’t worry, I won’t.”
“In the meantime, I’m gonna do some research on these things. I’ll be sure to ask Twilight as well, once we meet.”
“Alright, sounds like a plan to me.”
“Cool. Good night.”
Sugarcoat abruptly ended the call. There was nothing but social pleasantries left, so she saved the time and just went to bed. Meaning, that Sunny Flare now had nobody to share her excitement with. She stayed up longer than she should have, because the curiosity just kept prodding at her, keeping her up.