“Whoo! We did that!” Spitfire cheered, looking at the pile of suits of armor. Tempest laughed, and the two girls faced each other, hooves raised for a high hoof. “That’s what I’m talking-”
They stopped, then retracted their hooves. Meanwhile, Gallus, Thorax, and Pharynx were congratulating Soarin, Rainbow, and Fleetfoot, the groups seeming to finally be getting along. However, they split up again and went back to their leaders, Gallus picking up Monarch from where he’d been left in the doorway. Luna’s hopeful look stayed on.
“Guys, come on! This was so great! We were a team! We worked together! Come on!” she tried to take Tempest’s hoof, but Tempest shook her head. Luna then reached for Spitfire, who also turned her away. Luna sighed, then smiled. “You know what we should try? An icebreaker.”
Both groups stared at her, including Discord, who was watching silently from the doorway. Pharynx facehoofed and groaned under his breath as Luna turned to Spitfire and her team.
“You say something you really like about the other creature. I’ll start.” Luna surveyed the group for a moment, then looked at Rainbow. “Rainbow Dash, you have a great mane. Now you go.”
Spitfire stared at her, then looked to Tempest. “Is she always this optimistic?”
“Uh, Spitfire, it wasn’t really your turn. But thank you.” Luna said, taking it as a compliment.
“Okay, Lu, a word?” Tempest pulled Luna over to her. “First of all, I love you.”
“Love you too bestie.”
“I love this energy, but we are very short on time.” Tempest reminded her. “Yona obviously knows we’re here so we need to get out of here.”
“Alright, where does this perky cheerleader bunk?” Spitfire asked, interrupting the conversation. “Even if she’s not there, we might find a clue.”
“She’s still in the school dorms.” Luna told her. “She has summer school.”
Rainbow burst out laughing. “Summer school? Summer. School. No wonder she wants revenge!”
“Alright, this will work best if we split up. Pharynx, Thorax, Gallus, Rainbow, Soarin, go find Sandbar. The rest of us will search Yona’s dorm. Meet back up at Luna’s in two hours.” Tempest directed.
“So it sounds like we’re going with my plan. Just saying.” Spitfire remarked.
“It’s kind of the obvious plan.”
“Spit said it first.” Soarin jumped in.
“Right, so it’s my plan.” Spitfire smirked.
“Whatever.” Tempest said in exasperation, leaving the room. “Come on!”
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Tempest and Luna entered Yona’s dorm, having searched around the school. Discord was sitting at Yona’s vanity while Spitfire lay on her bed with Fleetfoot. Fleetfoot was being spooned by Spitfire, the two fillies looking at a diary that lay in front of them.
“She’s nowhere on campus. Any luck here?” Tempest asked
“We found her diary.” Spitfire said, chuckling. “Dang did Gallus ruin her life.”
“Okay, but did you find anything in there we don’t already know?”
“She hangth out at Thecret Cottage. You know, where her father grew up before he moved hith clan up to the mountainth and became the king.” Fleetfoot reported, snuggling up to Spitfire.
Tempest nodded. “Yes, that makes sense… I wonder if she ever took Sandbar there. If we can find him he might be able to tell us where it is.”
“You know, I don’t see how anyone with this bed could ever be unhappy.” Spitfire said, stretching out on it.
“Ha!” Discord turned to face them, wearing a tiara and a long string of pearls. “Does this make me look more feminine?”
Luna turned to him, giving him a look. “The bling stays here.”
“But she’s bad!” Discord protested
“And we’re not.” Luna retorted. Discord sighed and with a snap of his fingers it was back where he’d found it.
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Meanwhile, the others wandered through the forest outside the castle.
“Sandy!!” Gallus called. “Sandy!!”
“Man, these things grow everywhere!” Soarin said, pulling some berries off a bush. Pharynx walked over, mentally checking to see if they were edible. Soarin ate one and Pharynx said nothing, knowing they were safe. “Hey, we should play that icebreaker!”
Thorax, Rainbow, Gallus, and Pharynx glanced at him. Soarin looked around, then focused on Pharynx.
“Pharynx, I like the way you can do parkour. It’s cool.”
Pharynx blinked, then shrugged and walked over. “Um… I like how you can get a kick out of a berry bush.” he said, taking some for himself.
“I guess you’ve probably seen everything by now, huh?” Soarin asked softly. “Moving rocks, giant clouds… grabbing lunch off a bush…”
“Not really. I just use the vending machines after sports practice.” Pharynx shrugged. “Guess I should try other things too sometimes.”
“Ha! Sports? That’s a foal’s game!” Rainbow laughed
“Oh shut up, you don’t even know what sports are.” Pharynx shot back, and Soarin tapped his shoulder.
“Hey, you know what would be fun? Going river rafting in a jungle.”
“Or discovering a lost civilization of changelings…” Pharynx said. “I know there’s bound to be more out there somewhere.”
“Or find a Thunderbird!” Soarin exclaimed.
“I-I think they might not be that common, but sure.” Pharynx agreed
“You guys are killing me!” Rainbow exclaimed, walking over. She took a berry, ate it, then grinned. “Nice. Oh, hey, Gallus, your cat went that way.”
“What? Monarch!” Gallus shot off in the direction Rainbow had indicated, the others following as they heard Monarch’s frantic mewing.
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Tempest and Luna led Spitfire and Discord up the path to Luna’s house.
“You know, I hope the others find Sandbar, for Gallus’ sake.” Tempest said, as they approached the small castle.
“Woah, nice digs.” Spitfire said, and Luna shrugged.
“I got a good deal.”
The group headed inside, and Tempest’s eyes widened.
“Oh no…”
Gilda and Gabby were curled up on the floor, sleeping with their wings around each other. Garble was passed out on the couch, Smolder on the other side of the couch, sleeping on her back with Ocellus asleep on top of her.
“We completely forgot about them…” Luna whispered. Discord walked over and snapped some blankets into existence, letting them fall over the five creatures.
“It’s alright.” he told them, eyes soft. “We’re going to get you back awake soon. We’re going to fix this, and then, they’re going to let all the kids come over from the Isle.”
Tempest bit her lip nervously at this, but no one noticed.
“Wait… if they’re asleep then-Snow!” Luna rushed over to her studio, where they found Snowdrop. She was lying on her side, slumped over onto the work table with her glasses askew.
“Who’s that?” Spitfire asked.
“Snowdrop!” Luna raced over, nudging her gently with her muzzle. “Snow? Wake up! Wake up!”
“She’s spelled.” Spitfire reminded her, looking at Tempest. “Is she not a fast learner?”
“She’s emotionally involved.” Tempest explained, making her friend blush.
“Well, in that case, she should be able to wake her up.” Spitfire said, and Luna looked at her. “True love’s kiss? Works every time?”