It was finally Friday morning and after an early meeting at Crystal Prep, the busses were being loaded for the trip across town. Twilight was crouched low in her seat trying to avoid eye contact with her teammates as they headed to the back of the bus. Sugarcoat had all but carried a zombie-like Sour Sweet past her already. Indigo had given her a knowing smirk then leaned in to shout in her face, “Are we gonna win?” Before Twilight could manage an answer, the jock leaned in closer and growled, “We better, or that little mutt of yours is mine.”
Hoping to avoid any more encounters, Twilight kept her eyes down and was left to fiddle with the all too light backpack in her lap. “Where is Sunset?” she thought. When Principal Cinch had gathered them all for her pre-Games lecture, the amber unicorn had told Twilight that she had something she had to take care of and then she had disappeared...literally. When the speech was over, they had been made to head for the busses. Twilight had delayed as long as she could but was eventually ushered out the door by Dean Cadance.
A sudden increase in weight, and a muffled, “Oof,” drew her out of her spiraling worry. Carefully unzipping the backpack, Twilight found that it now contained the wayward pony.
“Where have you been,” demanded the teen in a harsh whisper. “I was worried you were going to leave me to deal with all of this by myself.”
The little unicorn met Twilight’s eyes with a frown. “I would never abandon you.” Relenting a bit at the sight of the anxious teen, Sunset gave her a small, lopsided smile. “I promise, we’re in this together until the end.”
Twilight returned the smile with a little one of her own then closed her eyes and took a cleansing breath. “R-right, until the end,” she repeated. “So what were you doing that you nearly missed the bus?”
“Poking my muzzle where it doesn’t belong,” Sunset smirked. “I checked a few places in the school for any sign of Spike, but no luck. I’m not familiar enough with the building’s layout to know exactly where to check, but I couldn't sense his magic either, so I don’t think he was in the school. Cinch probably wants to keep him close. My money says he was on one of the busses that left with the spectators for the Friendship Games. I also may have set up a little surprise for Cinch in her office.”
“Sunset,” Twilight chastised, “that was reckless! You could have been seen or stepped on. Not to mention using all of that magic with nothing to show for it.”
“Whoa now,” interrupted the pony from the bag, “my magic levels are doing fine thank you, and it was worth it if it meant saving the little furball sooner. It didn’t work out, true, but who says I have nothing to show for it?”
“What did you do?” asked the teen worriedly at seeing the devious grin spread across the unicorn’s face.
“Just returning something that belongs to Cinch. Nothing for you to worry about now. We have things to work out.” The rest of the way the two went over their plan for when they arrived. Sunset did her best to describe both the school’s layout as well as what she would likely face if she confronted the girls, in particular Pinkie Pie as she was the one outstanding target for their collection.
When they arrived at their destination, Twilight opted to slouch down in her seat and allow the other Shadowbolts to exit before her. It would provide a distraction, having to deal with all the visiting students, and hopefully allow Twilight to avoid any unwanted attention from any Wondercolts who might be looking for her. After the run-in with Applejack at the mall, there was no doubt that they were aware of her existence and likely suspected what she was up to. From her spot at the front of the bus, she could hear a woman greeting the delegation.
“...Vice Principal Luna can help your students get settled if you’d like me to show you around, Principal Cinch.” Twilight chanced a look out the window to see the speaker, and her jaw dropped at the sight of a familiar woman with flowing aurora hair. “There have been quite a few changes since your last visit.”
“Oh yes, Principal Celestia, I’m sure there have,” Twilight could hear her principal’s normal tone of smug superiority this tie laced with something else; jealousy, anger, Twilight wasn’t sure but having been on the receiving end of Principal Cinch’s ire, the teen did not envy the woman’s position. “Though I doubt that a tour would be all that enlightening, perhaps it could provide some...insight as to your recent endeavors.”
Seeing the two principals headed toward the entrance, Twilight took the opportunity to slip off the bus. Only to be shoved off the bus by Indigo Zap, causing Twilight to knock into the person in front of her and causing both to fall over. Unfortunately, when the teen was able to straighten her glasses, she found that the one who had broken her fall was Sour Sweet and she found herself staring into a pair of enraged indigo eyes.
“Seriously?!” the fuming girl seethed but caught the glare the nearby Sugarcoat shot her and reigned in her temper with a deep breath.
“Oh, sorry,” Twilight stammered as she scrambled back to her feet, “I didn’t mean to.” Fearing either retaliation or unwanted attention from the remaining educators, she continued, “Why don’t you go ahead.”
“You are such a sweetie,” Sour began in her falsely sweet voice, then followed it up as she stalked past the bespectacled teen with, “I’m watching you.”
Sugarcoat decided it was best to follow after her friend to make sure her anger didn’t just find a new target but felt it necessary to point out something to Twilight as she passed. “You are kind of being a doormat right now.”
Winding through milling Crystal Prep students, including a still headphone wearing Lemon Zest who had graduated from head banging and now a full-on air guitar performance, the teen took refuge behind one of the large hedges in front of CHS. Taking off her backpack, she glanced around quickly to make sure no one had spotted her, before unzipping it and freeing its occupant. This time, the tiny unicorn did not flop out but instead seemed to unfold herself from the confines.
“Well, this is it,” Sunset said after she had extricated herself, “You ready?”
“Not really,” Twilight replied nervously.
“Don’t worry, you’ve got this. First thing you have is the Welcome party, and Pinkie at a party will not be hard to spot. Just go in there, stay out of sight and let your device do the work. In the meantime, I’ll track down Spike and we’ll meet back out front at the Wondercolt statue then we can open the portal and send me back. Magic will be gone again from this world, and with no magic, there is no reason for Cinch to go after you or Spike any more. You’ll be free to go to Everton and do whatever you want far away from Crystal Prep and Abacus Cinch.”
Twilight nodded but she wasn’t so sure anymore. Sure this is what she had wanted, to be free of Crystal Prep and Principal Cinch. To be able to study and research whatever struck her fancy in the high tech labs of Everton had been the goal before, but now? Now after she had spent time with Sunset and a talking Spike. Now that she had studied magic and hung out with two magical creatures playing and planning together, was the Independent Study program really what she still wanted?
Not knowing the conflict in the young scientist’s mind, the unicorn just smiled and said, “Great. Then I’ll see you in a little bit. Good luck.” And with that she once again disappeared into the crowd headed for the school. Taking a second to perform one of Cadance’s breathing techniques, Twilight soon stood and followed after Sunset heading for the gym.
***
Sunset made her way down the once familiar halls of Canterlot High. Though thankfully empty at the moment as all of the students were currently attending the welcome party for Crystal Prep, for the former Wondercolt the halls were full of familiar ghosts. Returning to her former school was not something Sunset was sure she had wanted back when Princess Twilight dragged her onto the stupid mirror project but being here now as a miniature pony made Sunset want to buck the pony princess in the muzzle.
Wandering these halls again where she had been reduced to tears by an angry mob would be scary for anyone, but to do it as a tiny unicorn who’s only defense mechanism was nearly out of juice, was terrifying. But a friend was in trouble, and she had a job to do. Sunset trusted Twilight to get the rest of the magic they needed from Pinkie Pie. There was no doubt the pink party planner would be found in the gym where the welcome festivities were being held along with the delegation from Crystal Prep.
While Twilight handled that mission, this left Sunset in charge of locating Spike. Sunset understood how manipulators worked having been a master one before the Fall Formal. Cinch would want to have Spike close to use as leverage in case Twilight developed cold feet. Having the dog on hand would serve as a reminder why the scientist had to deliver the magic to the administrator.
As Twilight had informed Sunset of Principal Cinch’s allergy to dogs, it also meant that Spike was likely brought on the second CPA bus that had the students who had come to spectate, separate from the bus that Twilight had ridden with the team. It was likely that Spike was still on board, but it was possible she had stashed the pup in the building. Sunset knew of a few places on campus that would be easily accessible and out of the way for someone to hide something they didn’t want found, and so was taking the longer route through the school to the back exit where the busses were parked in order to double check some of those locations.
Lost in her thoughts, Sunset rounded a corner she was surprised to find it decorated, which was strange as it was on the opposite side of the school from where the Friendship Games were being held and likely wouldn’t be seen by any of the Crystal Prep students. It also confused her that the hall was festooned in banners of gold and red instead of the expected Wondercolt blue, until it dawned on Sunset exactly where she was standing, right in front of her old locker.
It was barely recognizable as the entirety of the hideous green color used for the lockers was covered over in pictures. Inching closer, drawn by curiosity, Sunset was shocked at the collage. What had to be dozens of photos covered her locker all carefully cut and trimmed together featuring herself, well her human self. Some of them were individuals, but more often they were her hanging out with different clubs or in the middle of helping some of the other students, but in each one the amber skinned girl was smiling out at the camera.
The display caused the little unicorn’s legs to give way as her hindquarters met linoleum out of shock, a myriad of thoughts rushing through Sunset’s mind. First and foremost was the realization that they missed her. The time and dedication that this display must have taken and the fact that it hadn’t been defaced meant that it wasn’t just a select few, but the whole school. The thought inevitably led to another.
“They must have figured out I wasn’t behind Anon-A-Miss,” Sunset muttered, still trying to sort through her feelings. Staring up at the display, her gaze was drawn to a small podium set up next to it. Teal eyes sparked with recognition as they spotted the book adorning the top of the podium, one the unicorn was very familiar with as it had belonged to her.
Calling on her magic, the book was surrounded by a red glow as it lifted off the podium. Sunset’s mind buzzed with questions and overwhelmed by confusion over the whole situation distracting her enough that she didn’t notice how weak the aura was until it fizzled out causing the book to slip from her magical grasp. The heavy tome banged against the edge of the thin podium causing it to tip over and clatter to the ground.
Sunset tensed waiting and praying that everyone was busy in the gym and wouldn’t have heard the racket over the din of the party. That hope soon died as her twitching ears heard the sound of heavy soled shoes moving quickly in her direction. Sunset quickly glanced around trying to figure out her escape. She could try running for it but the clatter of hooves on tile would be hard to mask if she was running and she doubted her little legs would be able to outrun a full-sized person unless they were as unathletic as Twilight.
Remembering the nerdy scientist, Sunset grasped hold of another idea. Maybe not her best but she was running out of time. The unicorn lit her horn and took hold of the dial of her locker quickly spinning in her combination. Knowing she had scared teenage boys into lockers in the past, Sunset figured there would be ample space for her current diminutive size.
That however proved to be untrue as she lifted the release for the door and a pile of pictures and notes came spilling out of the locker. Unable to do anything about the mess as the footsteps were fast approaching, the little unicorn hopped into the locker and tried to pull the door closed behind her only to find that the deluge of papers was preventing the latch from hooking correctly. Hearing the footsteps round the corner, Sunset knew she was out of time so she pulled the door closed as much as possible and prayed they wouldn’t think to bother looking inside.
A moment later heavy footsteps thudded into the hall stopping right in front of the locker at the downed podium. Another might have missed it, but pony hearing proved to be superior to a human’s as Sunset heard the new arrival emit a low growl. A sound Sunset still had memories of from when she was last on the human world: the sound of Gilda on the hunt.