//------------------------------// // Unwanted Encounters // Story: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Drink Kool-Aid // by MacArthurite //------------------------------// As we silently watched the unfamiliar girl groan on the ground, I noticed two important things about her. The first was that a small (and kind of ugly, in my opinion) dog laid in a dazed heap on the girl's back. The second and more important fact was that I'd never seen this girl before. Sunset coming out of the mirror had been scary, but at least we'd known who she was. Having the second person to come through be a stranger just made things even more confusing, and cast doubt on our mirror dimension theory. I didn't have long to think; both of them opened their eyes and started looking around. The dog noticed us first, rolled off of his owner's back, and started nudging her. "Uh, Twilight?" said the dog. Yes. The dog. "Ugh, Spike, you're not supposed to—" the girl began, stopping when she caught sight of us. Instead of getting scared, her expression shifted to one of excited curiosity. "How odd-looking," she said to herself. We probably weren't supposed to hear that, but we were too shocked to care. Plus, even if our brains weren't busy rebooting, all three of us had heard that line before. The girl cleared her throat and rose on all fours, "Greetings! My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I—" she tipped over and landed on her side, letting out a cute little "oof!" when she did. "Ah, sorry about that! I'm really off-balance today for some reason, ha-ha! Anyway—" "Uh, Twilight? You might want to look down," the dog, apparently named Spike, interrupted again. Twilight huffed, "Spike, don't interrupt me when I'm talking to..." she trailed off as she registered his appearance. "... Spike, why are you a dog?" Spike looked up at Twilight and shrugged. The instant that both sets of eyes were off us, we turned on our heels and ran. Well, I did. Lyra started to, but stopped, went back, and stuck her selfie stick though the portal so she could snap some pictures. Starlight noticed this, ran back to her side, and tipped Twilight over again to delay a reaction. I ran in place impatiently until they finished, and then we all ran away together. "Wait! Come back!" Twilight shouted, but we ignored her. Whatever this situation was, we didn't want any part of it. We were going to find a department store parking lot to loiter in, argue about politics, and act like none of this was our problem. Naturally, that plan was foiled almost instantly. The familiar figure of Sunset Shimmer rounded the corner of the school not far from us, and she looked borderline frantic. Her normally well-brushed hair was frazzled, her clothes were wrinkled, and her eyes were wide and bloodshot. When she caught sight of us, her expression twisted into one of blinding rage. "YOU!" She took off in a dead sprint towards us, so we spun around and ran back the way we came. Once again, we didn't get far. Twilight had recovered from Starlight's sneak attack, and was now galloping towards us on all fours. "Please wait!" she pleaded, but really, when has that line ever worked? With enemies closing in on both sides, and none of us athletic enough to outrun Sunset in the open, we made a beeline for the front doors. "You think you can run from me?! You think you can steal from me?! Once I ascend, I'll trap you three in stone and lock you in a storage compartment where you'll rot until the end of time!" With Sunset's encouraging commentary echoing out from behind us and drawing closer with every second, we re-doubled our efforts to try and lose our pursuers. We lost Twilight pretty easily after she galloped head first into the flower sisters and bowled them over, but Sunset resisted all attempts to shake her off our trail. If we kept this up, it was guaranteed that she'd catch us. However, when we came to a three-way split in the hallway, we made our play. "Girls, scatter! The usual routes!" I shouted. They nodded, and we split up. Lyra peeled off to the right, Starlight darted to the left, and I kept running straight. I glanced back and saw Sunset slow down for a moment, eyes darting to either side before locking on me and narrowing. I inwardly cursed as she sped up again. I'd hoped that splitting up would make her hesitate long enough for all three of us to escape, but now it looked like I was going to get choked out in the hallway (and not in the sexy way). Just when I thought I was done for, I saw the boys' bathroom up ahead and inspiration struck. I took a deep breath and lurched to the right, narrowly avoiding Sunset's outstretched hand and bursting through the door. I found myself wading into a cloud of smoke, and on the other side of the room, Snips and Snails stared at me with deer-in-the-headlights expressions, blunts still in their mouths. Anyone who'd been here for at least a month knew that Snips and Snails would always come to this bathroom to smoke a joint whenever they could get away with it. However, after getting busted a few times, they'd been put on a tighter leash, which left them able to meet on fewer and fewer days. Banking on Snips and Snails being smart enough to slip away from their handlers had been a gamble, but to my glee, it paid off. I stepped to the side and pressed my back against the wall, still holding my breath. Not a second later, Sunset charged through the door. "No more run—!" Sunset descended into a nasty coughing fit, stumbling to a halt and futilely trying to wave the cloud away. I slipped out of the bathroom and made to continue running when I saw something down the hallway that caught my eye. Ms. Cheerilee stood just outside of her classroom, a massive mug of coffee held in her right hand, while she used her left hand to massage her temples. Her face was drawn in a pained frown, and even from a distance, I could see her silently muttering to herself. This could only mean one thing: Ms. Cheerilee was in a very bad mood. If this were any normal day, the sight would've struck fear in my heart. But in this situation, it brought a smile to my face. I cupped my hands around my mouth and yelled, "Ms. Cheerilee! Snips and Snails and getting high in the bathroom again!" Her head spun in my direction, and she snarled, "Oh, they are, are they?!" She stomped her way towards the bathroom, and I made to walk past her. "I need to get to class, but I hope you have a good day!" I said. She grunted, and marched past me. The door swung open, and Sunset ran right into Cheerilee, spilling coffee all over the teacher's clothes. Sunset's enraged expression quickly melted into one of surprise and terror. "M-Ms. Cheerilee! I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to—!" "Why were you in the boys' bathroom, young lady?" Cheerilee asked in a deceptively calm voice. "I... I..." Sunset's eyes darted around before landing on me, watching all of this over my shoulder as I speed-walked my way to freedom. She jabbed a finger at me and said, "Jack was smoking too!" "Er, no he wasn't. He burst in just before you did!" a confused Snips cut in, his voice barely loud enough for me to hear as I continued my retreat. Sunset cringed, and Cheerilee's frown deepened. I turned the corner just as Cheerilee took a deep breath, and I broke back out into a jog as her incensed yelling filled the hallway. I met up with the girls at the vending machines near the gym. After answering their questions about how I escaped and then waiting for them to finish laughing, we discussed our next move. At least, we tried to, but we once again had to wrestle with the problem of having no idea where to go from there. Our entire plan had hinged on sending the crown back through the portal and trying to gaslight Sunset into thinking we didn't know anything, but now the crown was gone, and we had no idea what the implications of that might be. Plus, since we panicked and ran when Sunset charged us, any hope we had of tricking her was dead on arrival. Then there was the stranger and her talking dog that had come through the mirror... "Ditching won't work this time," Starlight concluded. "If Sunset is determined to keep us here, we won't be able to leave even if we try." "But we shouldn't just go to class either," said Lyra. "That will leave us exposed and split up." I raised my hand, "What about going to Vice-Principal Luna? She's scary enough to deal with Sunset, and I'm pretty sure she likes us enough to not turn us away." The two considered the suggestion for a moment, and nodded. "If Sunset is gonna bring the hammer down on us, and she will if she's as pissed off at us as I think she is, then we need all the help we can get before things get out of hand," said Starlight. "Then we better get going," I said. We moved as quickly and quietly as we could. Classes had started not long after I sicced Cheerilee on Sunset, and the hallways were empty, leaving us with no crowd to use as a barrier if things went south. If we were caught by a teacher, then we'd be sent to class and become easy pickings for Sunset, and if Sunset herself found us, there would be no one to save us. My fears seemed unfounded at first. We didn't meet anybody else in the halls, and after the echoes of Cheerilee's yelling stopped, things were mostly silent. The closer we got to Luna's room, the less tense we became. By the time we turned the corner to the perpetually dark and foreboding hallway where the office was located, we'd thrown caution to the wind and broken into a jog. Then someone grabbed me by the collar. The world spun, and I was slammed against the lockers. Starlight and Lyra cried out, but all I could focus on was the absolutely murderous look on Sunset Shimmer's face. "H-Hey, Sunset," I said with an attempt at a disarming smile. "Where's the crown?" she growled. "Well, um—" She pressed me harder against the lockers, "If you try to bullshit me, I'll rip out your spine and use it as a pogo stick." "Sunset, maybe you should—" Lyra began. She turned and gave the girls a glare so intense that they took a step back. Satisfied that they would not intervene, she turned her attention back to me and tightened her grip. "Don't try calling for help," she said, noticing that I was glancing in the direction of the office. "Vice-Principal Luna is out sick today, Principal Celestia is out of the office, and none of the other teachers will take your word over mine." She smiled cruelly, "And I have it on good authority that this hallway is a blind spot in the school's security system until the repairman gets here next week. Now spill it." I gulped, "We may have... lost it?" Sunset's expression went blank, "What." "So, funny story. After we accidentally took it last night, we decided to bring it back, but when we opened the bag we brought it in, it wasn't there." Sunset said nothing. "But don't worry!" I continued. "Even if we don't know exactly where it is, there's only a few places it could be! If we search for it, we should—!" Sunset let go of my collar and, to my surprise, took a few steps back. I'd been expected her to break my nose, not look like she was on the verge of a panic attack. "You lost it," she muttered. She grabbed big fistfuls of her hair and barely restrained herself from pulling chunks of it out in frustration. "You lost it?!" "Not on purpose!" Starlight interrupted, but Sunset acted like she didn't even hear it. "Do you have any idea what you've done?! Obviously not, look who I'm talking to!" She reached out like she was going to wrap her hands around my throat, but stopped herself, opened her backpack, stuck her head into it, and let out a muffled shriek of fury. Once she finished, she slammed her fist into the locker beside my head. "I am not going to let six years of hard work and planning go down the drain just because you couldn't stick to only ruining your own life. You are going to find that crown and bring me to it, or so help me—!" "Leave them alone, Sunset Shimmer!" All four of us turned to face the unfamiliar voice. Standing at the end of the hallway (on two legs this time) was Twilight, her hands balled into fists and her growling dog perched on her shoulder like an ugly parrot. Sunset recovered from the interruption quickly. "What did you say?" she snarled. "I said, 'Leave them alone, Sunset Shimmer!'" said Twilight, fearlessly meeting the challenge. "Why? They aren't friends of yours," said Sunset, practically spitting the word "friends". "Strangers are just friends you haven't made yet," retorted Twilight. Sunset scoffed, "What, did Celestia tell you that?" The girls and I traded looks. They knew each other? Twilight marched over to her, "She tells that to all her students. Perhaps you'd know that if you paid attention during her lessons." Sunset got right up in Twilight's face, "Don't you dare insult my intelligence, you little teacher's pet! Just because you got a fancy crown and a set of wings doesn't make you better than me." "I didn't come here to argue with you, Sunset. I'm here to take back what you stole from me." "I think you mean what rightfully belongs to me, and if you'd stop interrupting me, I'm in the process of..." she turned back and trailed off when she saw that I wasn't where she'd left me. While those two were distracted, I signaled the girls to follow me and stealthily tiptoed away. We were an arm's reach from freedom when we were spotted. "Hey!" We took off again. Sunset and Twilight followed, one quickly, and the other clumsily. Was our plan a bad one that had no chance of ending well for us unless we got extremely lucky since most of the teachers dislike us? Yes. Fortunately, we DID get extremely lucky, so we faced no consequences for our stupidity! ... Okay, there were some consequences, but I'll get to that. The point is that we lucked out! We turned the corner and almost ran face-first into a group of three familiar figures. "Oh!" exclaimed Principal Celestia. Relief washed over me. If there was anyone besides Luna that could save us, it was her. Sunset and Twilight rounded the corner too, and simultaneously ground to a halt and let out a pair of gasps. "Princess Celestia!" exclaimed Twilight, dipping into a low bow. Celestia smirked, "Princess Celestia?" She chuckled, "I've been called many things by my students, but never 'princess'. However, I don't think I recognize you, and I make it a point to try and remember all of the students under my care. Are you a transfer student, dear?" Twilight stood up straight and sputtered, "Y-Yes prin—ma'am! I just arrived here today; though, it's very likely I won't be staying for very long." Celestia tilted her head, "And why is that?" "Well, I—" Twilight's eye drifted to the side, and she sucked in a sharp breath. I followed her gaze and saw what had caught her attention; the same thing that had captured Sunset's undivided attention and rendered her silent when she would normally be very talkative. My heart skipped a beat when I noticed the crown held in the hands of the second figure, my sister. "That's my crown; you found it!" said Twilight, stepping forward and reaching for it with a smile. Jill pulled it away, fixing her with a stern glare. "This is school property." "Where did you find it?!" asked Sunset, her expression one of elation at having found the crown. Jill raised an eyebrow at the normally composed Sunset's mannerisms, "I was turning in some forms for the Beta Club yesterday and noticed that the crown was a little dirty. I took it home and cleaned it, but forgot to tell the Principal before I did." She gave an apologetic smile to Celestia and said, "Sorry about that, by the way," before turning to me and giving me the flattest look I'd ever seen. I blinked owlishly. Why would she—? "I was with her when she borrowed the crown, so I can confirm all of this. I'm also at fault for not reminding her to send you an email," said the third figure, standing to the left of Celestia. I'd been so distracted by the relief at running into Celestia and the shock of seeing my sister with the crown, that I hadn't processed the presence of the third member of the group, someone who Lyra and Starlight had noticed much sooner than I had. Standing at 5'9 and sporting a white sundress was Sweetie Drops, known by her friends as Bon-Bon. She was one of the most respected people in Canterlot High, both by its teachers and students. She was a model student, vice president of the student body government, and close friend of my sister. She was also my least favorite person in that multi-colored nightmare of a school. Before you ask, yes, even more than Pinkie Pie. I'm scared of Pinkie, but I hate Bon-Bon. I instantly put myself between Lyra and her former best friend, joining Starlight, who was already standing guard. "... Well, I shouldn't keep you from your classes," said Celestia, looking sadly between us. "I'll take the crown from here, Miss Daniels." "I can carry it for you, Principal Celestia!" chirped Sunset, finally taking her eyes off the crown to give the Principal her trademarked teacher's pet face. Celestia pursed her lips, "... Very well." Jill reluctantly handed the crown to Sunset, who all but snatched it out of her hands. "You can come along as well, miss..." Celestia continued, turning her attention to the 'transfer student'. "O-Oh! My name is Twilight Sparkle!" "Nice to meet you, Miss Sparkle. Come with me, and we'll work out your class schedule for today." Principal Celestia moved past us at a brisk pace. Sunset hugged the crown to her chest, practically skipping after the older woman. Twilight, on the other hand, went reluctantly, looking back at us with obvious concern before following. The five of us said nothing for while. Seeing that no one else was stepping up to the plate, Jill broke the silence. "I'm not going to ask why you decided to steal the Fall Formal Crown, just don't do it again. You're welcome for bailing you out, by the way." "We didn't steal it. At least, not in the way you think," I replied. She narrowed her eyes, seemingly trying to decide whether or not she believed me. In the end, she sighed. "Either way, try not to do it again." I nodded, "Got it. Now, if that's all, we should probably get go—" "I didn't see you at the party last night!" Bon-Bon blurted out. She clenched her hands when she didn't receive a response, but a look of encouragement from Jill prompted her to continue, and to ignore the angry glares me and Starlight were giving her. "I... I was hoping to see you at the Halloween party last night, Lyra. I was pretty bummed when you didn't show." I glanced over my shoulder. Lyra was staring down at her feet and had her hands stuffed in her pockets, probably the same position she'd been in since she first noticed the candy maker looking at her. Lyra said nothing. Bon-Bon continued, "A-Anyway, the shop has some leftover sweets we didn't manage to sell on Halloween. I was thinking that you could come over and eat some with me while we catch up, just like old ti—" "Fuck off, Drops," snapped Starlight. Bon-Bon grit her teeth, "I was talking to Lyra, not you." "She's made it more than clear that she doesn't want to talk to a Marx-damned snake like you! How many times will it take to finally get that through your big head!" Bon-Bon started trembling, either from anger, anxiety, or both. Jill placed a hand on her friend's back and met our gaze, "She just wants to talk things out." I fought to keep my voice level, "No. Now, we really need to get to class—" "Please. I know what she did was bad, but she really does want to make things right." Starlight scoffed derisively, "Of course you'd say that. Birds of a feather flock together." Jill actually flinched at that, "I..." She looked at me pleadingly. I said nothing. Lyra ended the standoff by gently tapping me on the shoulder. "Let's go," said Lyra, just loud enough for everyone to hear. Bon-Bon's face dropped. We nodded. Starlight stepped out in front and led Lyra forward while I followed behind them once they passed. I hoped they'd take the hint, but of course, they didn't. "LY!" Bon-Bon shouted from behind us, freezing Lyra in her tracks. "Ly, please..." Starlight whirled around, looking more angry than I'd ever seen. Before she could do something that would probably get her expelled, Lyra surprised all of us by being the one to respond first. "... Only my friends can call me Ly, and we're not friends anymore, Sweetie Drops." I beamed proudly at Lyra for having the courage to stand her ground. I also heard a stifled sob from behind me, but I didn't care enough to turn around. Starlight's savage grin told me all I needed to know about Bon-Bon's reaction. "Thank you for helping us out. Now please, leave us alone," finished Lyra. Lyra began shuffling down the hallway again. This time, me and Starlight walked on either side and supported her weight, just like the two of them had helped walk me to class after my first encounter with Pinkie. I didn't look back, even though I could feel the weight of Jill's eyes on me as we walked away. I figure she was probably pissed at me, but that was a future me problem. I had a depressed friend and the inevitable wrath of Sunset to worry about. As Bon-Bon's sobbing finally faded into the distance, I made a mental note to send Jill a text reminding her to stay out of my friends' business while thanking her for the help when I had the time. After the... tense talk in the hallway, school went on normally for us, which was the last thing any of us expected. None of us were called to the office, we didn't get harassed by Sunset (something we knew would change the second her good mood wore off), and neither Jill nor her friend tried to follow up on their attempted intervention. By the time lunch rolled around, we were... not optimistic, but content with the breathing room normalcy gave us. The fact that the crown was still on this side of the mirror bothered us, but there was nothing we could do about it. It was Principal Celestia's problem now, and since there was absolutely zero chance that she'd believe us if we told her it was from another dimension, we decided to sit back and brace ourselves for the worst. I was in the middle of preparing some contingencies in case some Warhammer 40k-type shit went down when a tray was placed down in front of me. I looked up from my notebook paper, Starlight looked up from The State and Revolution, and Lyra looked up from the composition notebook she used when she needed to vent. Twilight Sparkle smiled back at us, "Hello again! May we sit here?" Behind the inter-dimensional traveler, Fluttershy looked at us like she was reevaluating her life choices.