"And so if you combine this reaction with the following chemical," said the teacher as she poured some contents in a test tube into another.
The students watched this as the reaction occurred. They were impressed by what they saw; a few made some sounds while others scribbled down some notes. Almost everybody was paying attention, apart from one person.
Emerald was shown at his desk as he looked out the window. The boy rested his head on his hand while gazing at the trees and clouds rolling by. He wasn't paying attention as Twilight was seated a few meters next to him. The girl was trying to get his attention as their teacher was making their way toward them.
The student council president cleared her throat as Emerald turned to look at her.
"What?" said the boy when another person cleared their throat. The teen then looked up as he saw their teacher standing before him.
"Well, Mr. Emerald. Since you rather look out the window than pay attention in class. Then maybe you can answer this question: What is the average atomic weight of silver?" demanded the teacher.
The other students made faces as they seemed to pity Emerald for being called on.
"Atomic weight?" responded the teen with some hesitation in his voice, "Uh, well, not very much. I mean, it is an atom." chuckled the boy, making a joke as he hoped to get a laugh, but that was far from the case.
The woman called for him to come to the front of the class. Emerald sighed as he got up and followed their teacher before they stood in front of the class and next to the board. Twilight dreaded this as she prayed that Emerald would find mercy from their teacher's wrath.
"Then solve it!" demanded the teacher to the boy as she presented the piece of chalk.
Emerald looked at the chalk before taking a gulp; he then turned to look at the blackboard. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, the boy recalling a memory that he was once taught.
"Alright. So... how do I find the average atomic weight of silver? Well, that would be 106.905 times 0.5200 plus 108.905 times 0.4800..."
As Emerald explained the answer, the other students were shocked that the boy was solving the problem. They thought he'd choke after being called out by their teacher, but he was proving her wrong. Even the teacher was amazed at seeing the boy staring out the window solve the problem she had asked like it was nothing. As for Twilight, she repeated his calculations as she saw he was doing the problem correctly.
"... which would give us 107.9 amu," said Emerald as he circled his answer while turning to look at the flabbergasted teacher.
"Amu?" muttered Twilight at how he said that as he pronounced it wrong.
"I see," said the professor, "I apologize for...."
"Underestimating me?" said Emerald as he finished the woman's train of thought. "Don't make the same mistake twice." The boy tossed the chalk back to her as he left to take his seat.
The other students in the class began to murmur at how Emerald got the last word from their teacher. The boy was glad to show that he wasn't as dumb as people assumed. He sat back in his chair and leaned back before he saw Twilight looking at him with a look.
"What?" said the boy to the girl.
"It's A-M-U. Not amu!" responded Twilight, taking a bit of offense that Emerald didn't pronounce the unit of measure correctly.
"Whatever. I still got the right answer. This science class, not English class." Emerald said as he went back to staring out the window.
Twilight was at her locker as she was getting some books. She closed her locker as she saw Emerald at his. The girl saw the boy as she was looking to speak with him.
"Hey, Twilight!"
The girl turned to see Flash and a few of his friends approach her.
"If you're not busy after school, we wanted you to show up at the gym so that you can train with us in preparation for the district tournament," stated the blue-haired teen.
"Oh," said the bookworm, "Well, see I..."
Twilight turned to see Emerald but saw the boy was no longer at his locker. In fact, he was nowhere to be seen. The girl would ask him if they could have more private training sessions.
"Twilight," said Flash, as the girl hadn't finished her train of thought.
"Uhm, s-sure," said Twilight hesitantly.
"Great," said Flash, putting his arm around the girl and leading her away with the rest of the Wondercolts.
Emerald was currently walking through the hallway. He passed through an open door as he heard some sounds.
"Let it rip!"
The teen walked back as he leaned his head in. Inside were the CMC as they were taking their break time to get some practice in.
"Come on, fight back!" declared Apple Bloom.
"Don't let them push you around!" said Sweetie Belle.
The two girls were giving their beys command as they clashed in the small stadium. Emerald saw this and smiled at the slightly younger teens. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle's beys clashed before the former was sent flying. Apple Bloom saw her bey flying by her as she looked to catch it, but it soared over her head. The bey flew but was caught by Emerald with one hand as he looked at it.
"Thanks, mister," said Apple Bloom.
"No worries," stated Emerald as he returned the bey to the girl. "So, you all entering the upcoming tournament?"
"Yup. Maybe one of us might win it," said Scootaloo. "Say... don't I know you from somewhere?"
"I doubt it," said Emerald.
"Thanks again, mister," stated Apple Bloom.
"No problem. Though word of advice might want to change the angle, you hold your launcher. The way you hold it, you're putting too much thrust into your bey that it becomes a bit unstable."
"Really?"
Emerald walked over to the small stadium as he bent down. Apple Bloom appeared next to him and looked over his shoulder. The older teen pointed to a skid mark caused by the farm girl's bey when it made contact with the stadium's surface.
"See that. When you launched your bey, it hit the surface a bit rough. Too much thrust, which meant too much torque was launched. And that expands to your whole bey. Which in turn means you lose power in a head-on collision."
"Wow..." said the three girls.
"Mind if I?" asked Emerald.
Apple Bloom handed the boy her launcher as he angled it as instructed and pulled the ripcord. The bey flew as it hit the surface and took off. It left no mark on its landing point as it spun around the stadium. However, it was spinning with tons of power and momentum.
"See the difference," said the teen.
"Yeah," responded Apple Bloom as Emerald handed her launcher back.
"Hey, can you give me some pointers?" asked Scootaloo.
"And me?" chimed in Sweetie Belle.
Soon all three CMC began to crowd Emerald as the older teen raised his hands. The girls were seemly interested in wanting help from him. While the boy was dealing with his triple threat, Twilight was being led by Flash as he brought the girl to their training place.
"Well, well. Didn't expect to see you here, egghead?"
Twilight cringed at hearing that, as she knew only one person called her that. She turned as there was Rainbow with a smile.
"Hello, Rainbow," said the girl, almost wanting to jump at her and strangle her for calling that.
"So, why's your girl here?" asked Spitfire to Flash.
"She's not my girl," chuckled Flash while rubbing his neck as Twilight looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Not yet... at least," the teen said that last part to himself. "Anyways, since she's entering the district tournament, why not have her train with us?"
"Whatever floats your boat," scoffed Spitfire.
"Okay, let's practice," said Flash.
Everybody began to pair up and approach some stadiums. Twilight felt out of place. Mainly because she'd only been used to training with Emerald in a one-on-one session. Here the girl had multiple partners from which to practice, and she needed help figuring out where to start or who to choose.
"So... Twilight..." said Flash as he cleared his throat. "Want to practice with me? I can give you some pointers."
"Uhm..."
"Sorry, Flash! She's taken!" said Rainbow as she appeared and grabbed her friend's hand to zip her away.
"Oh, well... okay then," sighed the boy, hoping to get some alone time with the girl.
"Rainbow!" said Twilight, finding it rude that her friend didn't let her answer Flash's request.
"Alright, spill it, egghead! Why are you here? Shouldn't you be training with your other boyfriend?" asked Dash with her arms crossed.
"First, I'm not an egghead! I'm well-read!" stated Twilight, not liking that her friend had that nickname for her. "And second, Emerald is not my boyfriend. He's a friend who so happens to be a boy. And third of all... I want to get some more practice in."
"Sure...." said Rainbow, still not believing the student president.
"What?" said Twilight.
"I'll find out what I need to know. Get your bey out!" said Rainbow as she pulled out her launcher.
Twilight took a deep breath as she took off her backpack. The girl set it on the floor and opened it to pull out her launcher. She also pulled out her bey and attached it to her launcher.
"Been wanting to see what you can do, egghead!"
"Don't call me an egghead!"
The two girls bent down before the stadium.
"3... 2... 1... Let it Rip!" shouted both girls.
They pulled on their ripcords as their launchers shot out their beys. They landed in the stadium with a bounce before each took off clockwise. Both girls didn't call out any moves to their beys as they were waiting to see what the other would do. The feeling-out process was shown as they glanced at each other and the stadium.
"Make a move, Twilight. Let's see what you learned from your boyfriend," taunted Rainbow.
The girl growled as she began to give her chromatic-haired friend what she asked for.
"Magia, head to the center!"
The bey heard the girl's command as it took the center of the stadium and spun.
"Please... Falki, attack!" shouted the girl.
Her bey moved and headed toward Twilight's bey, looking to knock it out of its position. The beys collided as Magia took the shot from Falki and held on. Soon it came back around as once again it held strong.
"Blitz Rush!" said Dash.
Her bey turned and skidded before zooming back. It zipped back and forth from all different angles; Twilight's bey was knocked about and wobbling in place as Rainbow's bey let loose a barrage of strikes. The light behind the bey was indeed rainbow-colored.
"Magia put up your defense!" instructed Twilight.
The bey heard the call from the girl as it began to shine. The blades on it began to lock in place as the snap was heard.
"Reflecto!"
Magia began to work its magic as the blades put up a small barrier around itself. Falki banged against its opponent as the barrier held up, stopping its foe from dealing significant damage. Twilight smiled, having activated her defense in time as Rainbow's momentum temporarily halted. Magia then pushed back Falki when it attacked its barrier and pushed the bey back.
"Now, switch to offense," stated the bookworm as her bey spun out from the center toward its foe.
"You gotta catch us first. Falki, Rainbow Burst!" instructed the chromatic-haired girl.
Her bey heard the command as it began to pick up speed, leaving a rainbow-colored trail behind it. Twilight was amazed to see how suddenly the bey gained speed as it was zooming and now doing laps around her bey. Rainbow smirked, seeing the student president was stunned by what her bey could do.
"Time to finish this, Falki!" shouted Rainbow.
Her bey heard the call as its energy gathered up. The creature inside was released as a falcon wearing a Greek helmet; on its wings and tail feathers, it wore rainbow-colored armor. The bird of prey let out a screech as it soared high.
"Sonic... Rainboom!" yelled Rainbow as she clenched her fist before thrusting it forward as the light shined.
The bey then collided with Twilight's bey to send it flying toward the center.
"Magia!" said Twilight.
Her bey shined a purple aura as the magician inside appeared. She twirled her staff and held her book in the other hand as she prepared for the attack.
"Do it!" shouted Rainbow.
Falki, after hitting Twilight's bey toward the center, then rushed forward. It collided with the stadium wall as it shot forward in a red light. It bashed against Twilight's bey before hitting the wall and ricocheting back now in an orange light.
The student president was now seeing Rainbow's finishing move as it was making a seven-strike attack, each having the bey emit a rainbow color. Soon Falki was coming in for the final strike as it collided with Magia. Both beys clashed as what was supposed to be the final blow was currently a stalemate.
"Counter Break!" said Twilight.
Her bey heard the command and tried to use the power of its foe against it, but soon its tip lost its footing on the stadium's surface. That slight slip allowed Falki to overpower it, and a second later, it burst the bey as the pieces lay near the center. Twilight gasped at seeing her bey being defeated.
"Oh yeah!" exclaimed Dash.
Twilight merely looked at her bey as she reassembled it. The girl having the match's final moments play out in her head.
"I was off by 5 degrees," stated the bookworm.
"Hey, good job," stated Flash as he saw the battle between the girls. "You almost beat, Rainbow."
"Thanks," said Twilight, not focusing on Flash but moreso on figuring out what advice Emerald might give her to help perfect her Counter Break.
"It wasn't bad. You made me sweat at least," scoffed Dash. "By the way, what the hell were you trying to do?"
"I was trying to launch a Counter Break. It's something that Emerald has his bey do. A way to use your opponent's power against them. But... seems I miscalculated it." stated the girl. "Maybe he'll give me advice."
"Perhaps I can help instead. I don't know much about Counter Breaks, but I can teach you some of my tricks," offered Flash.
"Thanks for the offer, Flash. But I really want to learn this Counter Break," said Twilight as she declined the boy's offer as that seemed to affect him.
Back with the CMC, the girls were with Emerald as the older boy showed the girls some tips on getting a better grip on their launcher which would translate to how they launched.
"Remember, keep it steady. Firm grip on the launcher. Concentrate. Picture the angle at which you want your bey to drop." stated Emerald.
The girls presented their launchers and made the proper adjustment that the teen said. They each took a deep breath before looking at the stadium.
"Remember, the speed at which you pull the string will determine how powerful and fast it will take off," stated the boy. "You girls, ready?"
"Ready!" responded the CMC.
"Alright then... three... two... one. Let it rip!" instructed Emerald.
All three girls put their dominant hand on the ripcord and pulled as hard as possible while keeping their launchers steady. Their beys were launched and flew through the air; they landed in the stadium as they all perfectly landed and took off without leaving any marks. The girls were amazed by what they saw as their beys were now only spinning perfectly but gaining speed.
"Nice work," said Emerald as he smiled at them.
"We did it!" said the girls.
The older boy was then tackled to the floor by the girls as they all hugged his lower half. Emerald sat up as the girls thanked him for helping them out.
"Say, Emerald. Do you think you can teach us some more stuff tomorrow?" asked Apple Bloom as they were all heading to the door.
"Yeah, you teach us all your fancy tricks!" exclaimed Scootaloo.
"I don't know, girls...." said Emerald as he rubbed his neck.
"Please," said Sweetie Belle as she put on a pair of puppy dog eyes.
Emerald tried hard to not look at her directly. It didn't help that Scootaloo and Apple Bloom soon joined in as they also did puppy dog eyes. Seeing the trio with those expressions was enough to tug at his heartstrings. The older teen sighed as he had no choice but to submit to their cuteness.
"Alright," said Emerald.
"Yes!" exclaimed the trio.
"Hey, girls!" said a voice.
The trio turned as they saw Spike, Rumble, and Button Mash all appear after coming out from their latest practice session with each other.
"Hey, boys!" said Sweetie Belle as she waved at them.
"What are you all doing here? I thought you girls would have left," said Rumble.
"We were just receiving some help. Boys, this here is Emerald," said Apple Bloom as she introduced the boys to the older teen.
Rumble and Button Mash waved at Emerald. However, for Spike, he knew the teen directly as the moment of what happened when their first battle came rushing into his mind. In a way, the boy felt his hand clench as he looked to right that wrong. All of Velvet's special training helped the youngest Sparkle sibling as he found himself to be a bit stronger than he once was. Still, that moment Emerald beat him was one of the few things that kept him awake at night. As for Emerald himself, the older teen saw Twilight's little brother as he smirked a bit.
"Hey," said Emerald as he waved back at the younger boys. "Well, girls, it's time you and your friends get going. But we'll practice more tomorrow."
"Does that mean you're also entering the district tournament?" asked Rumble.
"Of course! Have you seen him battle?!" said Scootaloo, emphasizing how well of a blader Emerald was.
"Mind if we join tomorrow?" asked Button Mash.
"Eh," shrugged Emerald, "why not."
Rumble and Button Mash did a high-five while Spike kept looking at Emerald. Soon the CMC and the boys all began to walk, though Spike hung back a bit to talk with Emerald directly.
"What is it, kid?"
"Next time, I'm gonna win. Count on it." declared Spike, pinging his chest with pride and a cheerful smile.
"So you managed to put your bey back together, huh?" Emerald smirked, seeing that the kid found all the pieces of his companion when he scattered them. "Look, kid; I get it. Nobody likes to lose. But this is neither the time nor the place for us to do this. You say you're stronger. Prove it. Prove it at the tournament. We'll see if you actually learned a thing or two."
"Count on it," said Spike as he began to walk away to catch up with his friends. "Oh, by the way, my sister is looking for you. She'll be in the student council room. Third floor, the fourth door from the hall."
"Thanks," said Emerald as he saw Spike turn to go with his friends. Soon he let out one thing, "I did mean one thing after our battle. As good as you are, Spike. There will always be someone better than you."
Emerald turned and walked; he didn't see Spike stop to look at the older teen walking away. Emerald had a smirk on his face as he headed toward where Twilight was waiting for him. The teen was curious as to what the student president would want. The CMC and his friends called out to Spike as he turned and quickly ran to catch up with them.