//------------------------------// // They’re That Kind Of Off // Story: Equestria Girls: Ninjago Rocks // by Digi_Verse //------------------------------// It seems to be a quiet morning at Canterlot High. A steady buzz of conversation is heard as students make their way toward the entrance; Students carry in loads of supplies to the auditorium, and through the doorway, assorted groups of students can be seen hunched down on the floor, hard at work making signs and banners.  Among the design teams are the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Trixie, the latter of whom is working with two other girls. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo are adding their own touches to the Crusaders’ banner. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trade an approving smile, the latter holding a small can of paint with a brush resting inside.     A hand attached to an arm in a dark gray sleeve reaches into view to pluck the implement away, much to both girls’ surprise, this is Sunset Shimmer. Her demeanor is very much changed from the events of the fall formal, though, in that she has put on a genuine smile and a helpful tone.  “Want some help?” She asked kindly.   “Uh, no thanks, we’re good.” Apple Bloom nervously rejected as she looked at the other two, who had the same uneased expression   “Oh... Okay..” She sighed and dropped the paintbrush back in the can. “Why do I even bother...” She silently whispered to herself. Suddenly, a loud voice boomed in her direction.  “SUNSET SHIMMER OVER HERE!!” Sunset turned to a girl with pink skin yelling her name while waving with a few other girls. She smiled as she began to walk, but her good mood was quickly killed by the amount of whispers and glares she received from the students  “I had no idea the whole school would be here.” Sunset groaned as Fluttershy lifted her chin with a smile. Pinkie and Rarity exchanged a look and then held up their flyer. A Guitar, keyboard, and drum kit, were floating against a backdrop of night sky and stars with a musical staff and notes snaking across” “Quite the eye-catching advertisement, if I do say so myself.” Rarity exclaimed.  “And It smells like cake!” Pinkie smiled. “It does?” Fluttershy questioned, to which Pinkie shoved the flyer in her face. She then backed up which left freckles of glitter all over Fluttershy’s face and a splotch of blue on her nose. “I used frosting instead of paint!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Um Fluttershy? You’ve got a little something…uh.” Applejack pointed at her nose. Fluttershy barely rubbed off the little glitter on her face.  “Did I get it?” Fluttershy asked. “Heh, not exactly.” Applejack chuckled. Sunset pulled out a cloth and wiped Fluttershy’s face as Principal Celestia and VP Luna walked into the auditorium, making their way to the stage.  “Good afternoon, students. I just wanted to tell you all how pleased I am that so many of you are going to participate in the first-ever Canterlot High School Musical Showcase!” People cheered from all sides.   “This is a wonderful opportunity to raise money for all our after-school programs here at CHS. So keep working on those signs and posters. I think it’s going to be one of the most exciting events we’ve had at CHS —since the Fall Formal.” The yellow/red-haired girl gets a round of dirty looks from the rest of the gym, prompting her to blush and lift one hand to shield her face. She follows this up with a grimace and a slow slide down the folded-away bleachers against which she is leaning. But much more interesting things were happening outside.  Around the statue, one of the four mirrors began to glow, sparking and alarming the students standing outside as they turned around to it. Six teens toppled over each other onto the hard pavement, groaning and holding their heads. One of them looked around and raised and eyebrow, and then looked at his friends. He was shocked to see what happened to them. “Um, you okay Lloyd? You look like you’ve seen a ghost! And we’ve seen ghosts before so I don’t know why you’d be scared,” Jay rambled on. “OH MY FSM YOU'RE GREEN!” He quickly realized what was unusual.  “What do you mean he’s green… he’s the green ninja. Did you hit your head… Jay… that’s. Blue.” A disgruntled expression pasted itself on Kai’s face as he pointed at Jay.  “Yeah, they’re not the only ones…” Cole nervously chuckled. Kai looked around and saw his friends' new looks. Zane’s Gi turned into a sweater, and his grey metallic skin stayed the same, but he lost his robotic appearance. Nya also became grey, but a darker grey, while her gi became a jacket with a black and white striped shirt.  (You get what I’m saying, Lloyd is green, Jay is Blue, Cole is Orange, Kai is red, and they have their ninjago movie attire.) “Where did this scarf come from?!” Jay pulled it around him. “Kinda digging the blue skin tho, I look like an ocean!” He seemed to be enjoying his new look. Kai on the other hand, was not taking it so lightly. “We look like the colors of a rainbow!” Kai ran around and screamed. He would have kept making a scene if Lloyd didn’t grab his shoulders and stop him.  “Chill out Kai, we’re drawing too much attention to ourselves. If we just act normal, maybe we’ll fit right in, okay?” Lloyd smiled. “Fine, but the second I start growing wings or something, I’m out.”  “About that Kai… you may not have a choice.” Zane pointed at the portal. Except the same glowing that was there earlier… was gone! Kai rushed over to it. “No…NO! I can’t be stuck here! Where’s the portal! Where’s the portal?!” He placed his hands across the mirror, but all he saw was a reflection of himself. The Ninja nervously pulled him away and into the school as they got weird looks from everyone, due to Kai’s reaction.  “High School? We’ve defeated the Overlord three times, and our new mission has us going to high school?” Jay pondered. “Maybe to learn public training again, since some of us don’t know how to ACT!” Nya covered her frantic brother’s mouth as they walked down the hall. Someone there had to be able to help them.  “Look, Principal’s office. We should enroll, as we don’t know how long we’ll be here.” Zane reasoned. Lloyd nodded their head, and as they made their way to the office, a group of girls bumped into them. Lloyd caught the red and yellow haired girl in his arms before they both fell.  “Jeez, you okay?” His green eyes looked down into her teal ones. “Um, well I wouldn’t be if you didn’t catch me.” She slightly chuckled. They stared at each other for a moment and blushed as they realized their friends had gotten up and were staring at them. Lloyd quickly set her up straight and turned around to the others, giving a nervous smile.  “Hey… I’ve never seen you guys around here before! Do you even go here?” Rainbow spoke up, breaking the silence.  “No, we’re actually from another-” Cole covered Jay’s mouth and let out a grin. “He was going to say from another country! We’re um… transfer students!” Cole frantically explained. The group of girls raised an eyebrow, but shrugged it off. “Can I be the first to say that you look absolutely gorgeous darling! You’ve got to let us show you all around!” Rarity put an arm around Nya, complimenting her looks.    “It would be nice to have some help. We would have probably got lost.” Lloyd shrugged. “I’m Lloyd, this is Kai, Zane, Cole, Nya, and Jay.” He introduced them. Pinkie Pie went up to Jay and shook his hand frantically, which Jay returned with the same energy. “Hi Jay! I’m Pinkie Pie, this is Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Sunset Shimmer!” She bounced around and pointed at everyone. The two teams shook hands and nodded. “We were just on our way to band practice, would you like to join us?” Applejack offered. “The school is having a Musical Showcase, I don’t suppose any of you sing?” The ninja looked at each other and raised an eyebrow. “Sing? We don’t normally do that…” Lloyd said. “Zane and I do, remember when that one woman with the reflective powers and we had to sing to beat her?” Jay nudged his friend. “I mean she had special effects.” He quickly corrected himself after receiving confused looks from the girls, and annoyed facepalms from his friends. “Well, Ignoring that, come on, we’ll show you!” The team was grabbed by the arm and rushed off by their new greeters, as Lloyd and Sunset walked behind. “Sunset Shimmer was it? Nice name.” Lloyd smiled. “Yeah… yours is pretty cool too.” She smiled back.  In a closed set of double doors, in a large music practice room. The 12 teens are all here: Applejack resting a bass guitar vertically against the floor, Fluttershy looking on from one side, Pinkie at a drum kit, Rainbow with an electric guitar slung up, Rarity at a keyboard in the back corner. Sunset is present as well, sitting glumly atop a grand piano. The Ninja take their place, sitting down on a small flight of steps, watching the girls, curiously.  “I am never going to live that down.” Sunset groaned. “Live what down, did someone hit you in the face with a pie?” Jay asked. Kai pushed him away and groaned. “Sometimes you need to shut up Jay.”  “She was pretty bad at the last event, the fall formal…” Fluttershy explained. “A demon, I turned into a raging she-demon.” Sunset groaned. “And tried to turn everyone here into mindless zombies for her own personal army!” Pinkie zipped up and smiled. “And she doesn’t do that anymore… right?” Cole asked with an appalled look on his face. “Oh, darling …you have us. And we’ve forgiven you for your past” Rarity cleared her throat. “Boo-boos”. “To be honest, I’d say the whole experience brought everyone at Canterlot High closer than ever before.” Applejack smiled as she got ready to play. “One, two, three!” Pinkie counted down with sticks.  “There was a time we were apart, but that’s behind us now See how we’ve made a brand-new start, and the future’s looking up [oh, oh]” (The hall; students pass this way and that, one girl wearing the blue/yellow pony ears and tail given out to boost school spirit.) “And when you walk these halls, you feel it everywhere” (Two of the eco-kids put up a poster advertising the Musical Showcase and bump fists.) “Yeah, we’re the Wondercolts forever, oh yeah” (In the cafeteria, an athlete, rocker, and drama smile and wave to a techie getting her lunch; she gratefully moves to take a seat with them.) “We are all together [oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh]” (Applejack’s hair elongates and braids itself and her pony ears appear, and Pinkie undergoes her own transformation as well. The ninja stare in amazement) Now it’s better than ever [oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh] (Rarity, then Rainbow, and last Fluttershy change, the last two of these gaining their wings.)                                                 You can feel it, we are back                                       [You…can…feel…it] And I’m so glad that we’re better Better than ever [Whoa-oh, whoa-oh] Oh yeah, we’re better than ever [whoa-oh, whoa-oh] (Sunset is now smiling and bobbing her head in time to the beat, and Jay and Kai begin tapping their feet and nodding to the music) “There was a time we couldn’t see past the differences” “That separated you and me, and it left us on our own” (In the hall, students talk and laugh as they go about their business.) “But now you walk these halls and friends are everywhere” (An errant hacky sack knocks the Wondercolt pony ears off Featherweight’s head so that they land on an athlete he is walking past; they trade a funny look, then both laugh.) “Yeah, we’re the Wondercolts forever, oh yeah” “We are all together [oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh]” (Sunset jumps off the piano and grooves a bit. The rest of the ninja begin to stand up and clap along to the music, invested in their song fully now) Now it’s better than ever [oh, oh, oh-h-h, oh] Now that we are back on track                                       [Now…that…we…are] Yes, I’m so glad that we’re better Better than ever (Fluttershy winks as she gives her tambourine a shake.) [Whoa-oh, whoa-oh] Oh yeah, we’re better than ever [whoa-oh, whoa-oh] Oh yeah, we’re better than ever [whoa-oh, whoa-oh] Oh yeah, we’re better than ever As soon as they complete the last line, the pony features vanish to leave five more-or-less ordinary teenage girls. Pinkie twirls a drumstick as Sunset and the ninja clap for the performance, and Rainbow removes her instrument, standing it upright on the floor. “I still can’t believe that happens when we play!” Rarity removes her keytar and props it against a piano leg.” Ooh!  I’ve got to look into some new accessories. Something that looks good in a longer ponytail.  Ooh! Maybe some clip-on earrings for when I get those adorable pony ears.”   “What I don’t understand is why it happens, Princess Twilight took her crown back to Equestria, shouldn’t that mean she took all the magic with her?” Applejack wondered. “Princess Twilight? Equestria?” Lloyd tapped his chin. “Equestria…”  “Is something wrong darling?” Rarity asked him. “I don’t know… that name, I remember hearing about it, seeing it in a book, or maybe the news.” Lloyd corrected. “So you don’t know why you get special powers when you play?” Zane asked.  “Who cares why it happens? It makes my band totally awesome!” Rainbow laughed. Rarity stared at her, offended. “Your band?” “Duh! It was my idea to start the Rainbooms so we could be in the showcase! Plus, I’m the lead singer and guitarist.” Comes now a string of knocks at the door; the cause is Flash Sentry, who lets himself into the room. He is a bit flustered, but regains his composure as he speaks. “Heard you outside. You guys are sounding really tight.” He walked in.  “Uh, we’re getting there. Rarity’s still coming in a little late on the second verse, and Applejack’s bass solo could use a little work.They’ll get it together in time for the Showcase.” Rainbow winked. She ignored two glares from Rarity and Applejack, as Fluttershy shrunk down and Zane and Nya stared at each other with a worried expression. “Uh, I-I don’t suppose any of our friends from, uh…out of town might come?  Uh, it being a special charity event and all.” Flash nervously scratched his head.  “Sorry, Flash. I don’t think Twilight’s gonna be back at Canterlot High anytime soon.” Applejack apologize  “Oh, yeah. Okay. I just, you know, thought I’d ask. Uh, keep on…rockin’ it!” He backed out towards the door, and ran off. “Who was that? He seemed interesting.” Kai stifled a laugh as Lloyd nudged him in the shoulder. “Well, someone was quite the smitten kitten,” Rarity chuckled, noticing Sunset hold her head down.  “Oh sorry, Ialways forget that you and Flash were an Item.” Rarity quickly apologized. Lloyd raised his eyebrow at this.  “It’s okay. Flash is a great guy and all, but I never really “liked him” liked him. I was just using him to become more popular.” She opened her eyes and realized what she had said. “The old me really was just awful, wasn’t she?” A round of varied noises bounced across the room.. “But the important thing is that you’ve turned yourself around.” Applejack tried to comfort her. “Thanks Applejack, but I’m not sure everyone else at CHS feels the same way.” Sunset sighed. “At least you didn’t mess up your first impression with us!” Jay spoke up, trying to make her feel better. Sunset lowered her eyebrows at him as the rest of them glared. “Okay, think it, don’t say it, got it.” Jay shrunk back down.  “Sunset Shimmer, please report to the main foyer.” VP Luna called over the intercom.  “Gotta run, I volunteered to show some new students around the school. Thought it’d be good for them to get to know the new me, before they heard all the stuff about the old me.” She began towards the door. The Ninja shared nervous smiles between each other, what if it was someone from their world! “I better go with you!” Lloyd quickly got up and stood in front of her. He received confused looks from the rest of the room. “To uh, see the new students of course, they might be from my country, and maybe seeing someone like them would help them… fit in more?” Lloyd grinned. Sunset shrugged and waved for him to follow her. He gave a thumbs up to the rest of the ninja, which the five girls caught wind of. And the two were both gone into the hall. “If Flash isn’t smitten, your friend definitely is.” Rainbow pointed out. “Lloyd? No… I don’t think-” Kai tapped his chin with his thumb.  “We’ve still got a few minutes before lunch starts. What do you say we do “Awesome As I Wanna Be”?” Rainbow asked. “Um, Rainbow Dash?” Fluttershy lifted a notebook ”I was wondering if we could maybe play the song I wrote?”  “Uh, we’ll get to it.” Rainbow waved her off. “Oh, okay…” She lowered the notebook back down, as to which Zane grabbed it and looked through it, seeming impressed with what she had written. He gave her a slight smile and a thumbs up, sending his approval. Rainbow began a riff. “Hi there, are you the new girls I’m supposed to be showing around?” Sunset walked up waving with Lloyd behind her.  “We are.” The three girls stepped out of the shadows, holding a sinister smirk. “Canterlot High is a great school. You’re really gonna love it” Sunset explained as they moved down a hall. “Oh, yes. We really sense there’s something…magical about this place.” Adagio smirked as they followed her.  These people weren’t from Ninjago at all. But something was uneasy. He felt a certain darkness coming from them that gave him a chill down his spine. Maybe it was something else, maybe these girls were normal.  “That’s the science lab…computer lab is in there…oh!” Sunset was pointing to different classes, until something caught her eye and she ran up to it. “We’re having a big musical showcase this weekend. The whole school is pretty much rallying around it.” “A…musical showcase?” Adagio grinned back at her colleagues. “I’m sure since you’re new, Principal Celestia would let you sign up if you’re interested” Sunset explained.  “We have been known to sing from time to time,” Aria said, unbothered. “Hel-looo? We sing, like, all the time. It’s how we get people to do what we want!” Sonata unknowingly spilled out. She then received a mild grimace from Aria, total shock from Sunset and Lloyd, who looked at each other, and then stared back at her,  and a threatening snarl and “cut it” gesture from Adagio. Yet, the blue-haired teen remains completely oblivious to this colossal slip-up. “What? What’d I say?” Sonata shrugged, confused.  “What you meant to say was that being in a musical showcase sounds like a great way to meet other students.” Adagio tried to cover up for her.  “Oh, yeah! What she said I meant to say, that’s what I meant. To say.” Sonata gave off a big grin. “And what you would have said if you weren’t the worst.” Aria groaned.  “You are!” “You’ll have to excuse them. They’re idiots.” Adagio grumbled  “Hmph!”    The two other teens stare at them for a long moment, not sure what to make of this most unusual exchange, then Sunset leans forward as something catches her eye. She has gotten an eyeful of their pendants. Adagio fingers her gem idly as a gleam runs across all three. Lloyd notices something wrong with them.  Sunset chuckled weakly. “Those are pretty.Where did you—” Almost faster than thought, one hand in a fingerless glove flashes up to seize her wrist and prevent her from making contact. This shocks the two heroes and Adagio lets go a moment later, managing a sheepish laugh as Sunset massages the joint—evidently that grip has some steel to it. “Sorry. These pendants mean an awful lot to us. We’d just hate for anything to happen to them.” Adagio let out a fake kind smile. Away she goes, Aria following; Sonata stays put, smiling at Sunset and Lloyd until Adagio reaches back into view to grab a wrist and yank her away. The entire encounter does not sit at all right with the two other dimensional humans, who shrug at each other and walk to catch up with the rest of their friends. The two of them sit down at a table, where it seems that the ninja and the 5 girls have quickly began to get along.  “Give it back!!! I haven’t eaten since I got here!” Kai reached for his tray as Rainbow held it out of his reach. Sunset sat down and sighed, causing everyone to stop their antics and look at her.  “So, how was the tour?” Applejack asked. “I-I don’t know, these girls, there was something off about them,” Sunset explained. “Yeah… they just, I don’t know… but there was this feeling I got from them,” Lloyd added on.  “Like, off like this? Or off like this? Or, oh, oh! Like—“ On the first “this,” she pulls a tuft of her own hair around to cover her face like a beard and mustache. For the second one, she somehow gets to Jay’s neck and they pretend to be a four armed monster, much to Lloyd’s dismay. Rainbow’s next words cut them off before the masquerade can get any sillier. “Maybe we should just let her tell us?” Rainbow suggested as she fell off of Jay’s shoulder and popped back up in her seat. “That’s just it. I can’t put my finger on it. They just acted sort of…strange around me.” Sunset sighed. “Maybe someone already talked to them—told them about what I did. So much for making a good first impression.” She put her head on the table, making everyone give her a concerned look. “Uh-huh.” Fluttershy added with a smile. “Oh! That’s probably not it.” She corrected herself once the looks turned in her direction. Outside the cafeteria, a more sinister plan was approaching.  “This is it, girls. The moment we’ve been waiting for.” Adagio smirked. “Lunch?” Sonata eagerly said. “The chance to get our true Equestrian magic back.” Adagio sighed.  “Oh. Right.” “Our voices are just strong enough to make them want something so badly, they’ll fight to get it.” “So we’re just gonna do what we always do? Stir up some trouble and then feed off the negative energy? Some plan, Adagio.” Aria rolled her eyes as Adagio scowled at her.  “It won’t be the same as the times before! There is Equestrian magic here.  Their negative energy will give us the power we need to get this entire world to do our bidding.” “But we can get lunch after, though, right?” (The narrowed red-violet eyes pop in surprise to Sonata, who is absolutely mooning over a poster announcing that…) “It’s Taco Tuesday!” She continued to squeal over it. “Just follow my lead.” Adagio groaned. “ Or my lead.” Aria suggested. Adagio went to her, menacingly, grabbing the shirt front “My lead!” That puts a good scare into the pigtailed upstart, but she quickly shifts back to her usual dissatisfied look upon seeing Sonata’s big dopey smile. Adagio, meanwhile, moves toward the doors; cut to inside the cafeteria as these are thrown open. The three girls stroll easily among the tables, vocalizing. Table after table turns its collective attention to the triumvirate.           “We heard you want to get together…” Sonata passes Flash, caressing the guitar slung on his back to draw the focus of both him and his table-mate. “We heard you want to rock this school” M Adagio lets her fingers run along the heads of several students, entrancing them. “We’ve thought of something that is better Something that changes all the rules” Aria draws a few more eyes to herself.             Why pretend we’re all the same All three gather, back to back to back, and circle slowly; their pendants start to burn red. “When some of us shine brighter?                         (Shine brighter)                                                 Here’s a chance to find your flame Are you a loser or a fighter?” Bass drum in The math geek smiles thoughtfully to himself, and the singers gather near the doors again and point around themselves. “Me and you, you and me, why don’t we see who is better?” “We don’t have to be one in the same thing” A rocker and eco-kid start to eye each other with distrust. “Oh, what’s so wrong with a little competition?”   “Are you afraid of failing the audition?”                         “You’re a star and you should know it” Aria and Sonata take Adagio’s arms and lift her onto a table; she walks it like a runway. “Yeah, you rise above the rest Kneel; stroke and flick a boy’s chin, making him forget his lunch altogether. “It doesn’t matter who you hurt” Back to the floor; she sashays down an aisle. “If you’re just proving you’re the best” Sonata shoots a fist skyward, and Aria points at one knot of students to egg them on. “Battle, you want to win it” Adagio raises a fist of her own. “Let’s have a battle, Battle of the Bands” Now Aria pushes her way through the Crusaders, Snips, and Snails. “Let’s have a battle, we’ll go all in it                                  Let’s have a battle, battle, battle, Battle of the Bands”             Battle  “I can beat you!” Battle “Ha! You wish!” Battle “I so want this!” Battle “Not if I get it first!”  Me and you, you and me, why don’t we see who is better?                                                                                                                             We don’t have to be one in the same thing Flash and an eco-kid are nearly ready to come to blows. “Oh, what’s so wrong with a little competition?                           I’m going up and winning the audition!” All are on their feet and pumping fists toward the ceiling—all, that is, except the 6 girls and the ninja, who watch, confused. Their table is the only one not shrouded in the mist. Battle, we want to win it (Sunset throws a hard sidewise glance across the table.)                                    “ Let’s have a battle, Battle of the Bands Let’s have a battle, we’ll go all in it Let’s have a battle, battle, battle, Battle of the Bands!”    (Students have lined up and are shouting challenges and derogatory remarks at each other.) “Ohhhh! They’re that kind of off!” Pinkie realized. The group turned their attention back to the cafeteria and frowned.