“You ready?” Lemon asked as they approached the door. It was one of the science labs that the rainbooms set up shop in.
“As I will ever be.” Sugarcoat said with a sigh. “I should not be this nervous…” The duo headed there after class, so they got several weird looks for showing up in their uniforms.
“It'll be okay, I got your back.”
“We're not here for a fight.”
“I'm being supportive, whether or not you accept it.” She huffed, crossing her arms. “Stop being difficult.”
“I will not.”
Lemon rolled her eyes, knocking on the door. “Hello?”
“It's open!” Someone called from the other side. Lemon shrugged, turning the handle and opening the door.
“Oh, you're here. Is it that time already?” Sunset asked, checking her phone.
“I tried to warn you.” Rainbow said, sitting at a table further back, her legs rested on the table and she rocked on the chair she was in.
“Sorry, Dash. I got caught up in this…”
“I know, I know, it’s not like it’s the first time you’ve lost yourself in whatever you were doing.” She shrugged, pushing away from the table to stand up. “Plus that new info is pretty important. Hey Lemon, Sugarcoat.” She waved.
“Man. You’re making me feel guilty.” Sunset sighed.
“Hey Rainbow.” Lemon said with a smile.
“Hello.” Sugarcoat added with a simple nod.
“Ready to bury the hatchet?” Rainbow asked.
“To bury a hatchet would imply-”
“She is.” Lemon cut her off with a sigh. “She’s nervous.” Sugarcoat looked away at that comment. While true, it was also hard to admit for her.
“I don’t think there’s anything to be nervous about, but I get it. Admitting you were wrong is tough.” Rainbow shrugged. “Fact is, because you’re here it means you’ve learned that on your own and wanna fix it.”
“I always took you for someone not so socially aware.” Sugarcoat said, surprised by the accuracy of the jock.
“Gee, thanks.” Rainbow crossed her arms, earning a giggle from Sunset.
“...Sorry, I just realized how that sounded.”
“Maybe you’re not the socially aware one.” Dash said.
“Sugarcoat is really observant, but she has trouble knowing when and where to say certain things. She can keep a secret, but she can’t lie to save her life.” Lemon giggled. “We know that if she says it, it has to be true.”
“Huh, sounds like AJ.” Rainbow noted. “Do you start sweating and looking away whenever you try to lie?” She asked, glancing to Sugarcoat.
“No. I just don’t find any use in lying, so it’s not a skill I’ve honed.” She crossed her arms, though at the last moment, her eyes darted from Rainbow’s gaze.
“Uh huh, so you say…” Rainbow chuckled. “So, Shim, where’s Twilight?” She asked.
“She’s on her way.” Sunset said, looking up from her phone. “We’ve been compiling the data from Sour’s tests.
“Sour’s tests?” Lemon asked.
Sunset blinked. “She…didn’t tell you?”
“Tell me what?” Lemon asked, a sinking feeling starting to form in her gut.
“To be fair, you guys asked her to hold off telling anyone.” Rainbow noted.
“Crap, and I blurted it out.” Sunset sighed. “Okay, so…without trying to sound vague, we’ve been reading new sources of magic. The Dazzlings have been helping us find them. One of them was Sour Sweet.” Sunset explained. “B-But! We don’t know the exact details of what she’s capable of, she’s been trying to test them with us before letting you girls know, just in case it was something dangerous. I’m sorry for asking her to keep it quiet.”
The tension in Lemon’s shoulders seemed to fall away from the words. She looked almost relieved at the revelation of her friend having magic… “Oh…okay, that’s good then.”
“I admit, I was expecting you to have more questions.”
“Oh, I have them. I'm just relieved.” Lemon said. “That explains why she's been so busy lately.” She noted. “I haven't been able to hang out with her for a few days.”
“That's unusual.” Sugarcoat said. “If I had known, I would also have been concerned.”
“I just thought I said something I shouldn't have.” Lemon chuckled nervously.
“If you had, I doubt you'd hesitate to apologize. You two don't stay at odds for long if you ever argue.” The bespectacled girl said, adjusting her glasses.
“We just get each other.” Lemon scratched the back of her neck.
Rainbow glanced from Lemon to Sunset, giving her a knowing look. “Anyways. I'll get Twilight. Just a sec.” She grinned, excited to do some running, with a cartoonish lift of her leg, a rainbow flash darted out of the room.
“She'll be back in a flash.” Sunset said.
“That's so cool.” Lemon noted.
“Don't tell her that. She's already obnoxious.”
Sunset crossed her arms. “Hey now, no need to call names. It's endearing.”
“You two are dating, it makes sense you like her boastful nature.” Sugarcoat said flatly.
“Hmm.” Sunset cupped her chin in thought. “Well, now I see what you meant when you said you could be blunt when you don't intend to be.”
With a sudden burst of wind a rainbow streak flew into the room, a very confused Twilight sat in the chair Rainbow pushed through the door.
“-at do you mean it's time?” She asked before blinking, looking up at Sugarcoat and Lemon.
“Heya Twilight.” Lemon said with a smile.
Sugarcoat offered a wave.
“Oh. You coulda given me a better heads up.” Twilight said towards Rainbow.
“You two are impossible to pull away from work!” She groaned, throwing her hands into the air.
“Sorry, Rainbow.” Twilight sighed. “Thank you for getting me.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She shrugged, hopping up to sit on one of the tables.
“Hello, Twilight.” Sugarcoat said with a pensive look.
“Hello Sugarcoat, Lemon.” She gave a nod to each. “Sunset said you wanted to talk to me?”
“Apologize.” She corrected, “I want to apologize for how I treated you.”
“Well, I-”
Sugarcoat held a hand up. “Please. I've thought about this for a while.”
“You used a contraction.” Twilight noticed.
“Whoa, you know about that too?” Lemon asked.
“It shouldn't have been much for her to deduce.” Sugarcoat adjusted her glasses, pulling a chair over to sit face to face with Twilight. “I'm sorry.” She said quietly. “I'm sorry that I never saw you as more than an intellectual rival, that I never treated you fairly, that…” She sighed. “That I was partly responsible for your transformation at the games.” She sat rigidly, staring down at her hands. “Over the last year, getting back in touch with Lemon, Indigo and Sour…and even befriending Sunny, it opened my eyes. The possibilities of what could have been if that happened just a few weeks before the games…”
Twilight let her speak, but could feel the sadness in the stoic girl's demeanor. Sugarcoat never let her emotions show, this was a brand new situation for her.
“I'm sorry I never took the time to get to know you, Twilight.” She sighed. “But, because of all of that, you've found yourself. You're thriving, making new discoveries that you'd never have found at Crystal Prep. For a while, that was enough for me to feel like all's well that ends well, but not anymore.” She looked up. “So there it is. I'm sorry I was a terrible person to you. Sorry I put you through something so terrifying and dangerous.”
“Sugarcoat…” Twilight frowned softly. “I forgive you. We didn't know each other very well back then, but that doesn't mean we can't change that now.” Her frown shifted to a hopeful smile. “Make up for lost time?” She extended her hand. “You shouldn't hold so much guilt on your shoulders alone, it's not like I went out of my way to befriend you girls either…there's some fault on both sides.”
Sugarcoat took the extended hand. “I…wasn't expecting forgiveness. I just wanted to tell you.”
“Well you have it.” She shook her hand. “I don't blame you. I never blamed you. Or any of the girls. I know how much control Cinch had over the students…and my own actions caused the amulet to get overcharged, so while we could never have expected such an outcome, it's far from your fault.”
Sugarcoat said nothing, but reached up with her free hand to wipe her eye, letting a quiet sniffle escape. Twilight smiled softly, leaning forward to give her a hug.
Sunset smiled, arms crossed. “Twi's come a long way, hasn't she?” She asked with a sense of pride. She glanced over to Rainbow who quickly hid her face, rubbing her forearm across her eyes. “Dash, are you-”
“No.” She huffed, crossing her arms, though her flushed expression and sniffly nose gave way to her lie.
Sunset shifted to put an arm around her shoulders with a chuckle. “You don't have to be the tough girl with me, you know.”
Lemon had a big smile, tears flowing freely as she watched one of her oldest friends work through something that had been affecting her for so long. “I'm so proud of her.”
Sunset chuckled. “So I see…”
Sugarcoat sighed. “I now wish we handled this in private…”
“Don't mind them. They're being supportive.” Twilight giggled, looking back at Rainbow and Sunset, who was patting Lemon's back now as well. Her eyes shifted focus, feeling a tingle of warmth on the back of her neck. She caught what looked like a small see-through object forming behind her. “Wha-” She turned back to see Sugarcoat holding the side of her head.
“Ugh…that was sudden…” She mumbled. Twilight looked back to the object which had grown into a small semicircle, blocking the others, and growing to cover the two of them.
“Sugarcoat, are you doing that?” She asked, pointing it out.
Sunset tilted her head, ‘Doing what?’ She thought, before catching the faintest glimmer of a reflection. She stepped forward, inspecting it.
“What?” Sugarcoat asked.
“Are you picturing a bubble around you and Twilight?” Sunset asked.
“Huh? I…was, but how could you-”
“Deep breath, breathe out and clear your mind.” She instructed. Upon the exhale the construct faded away, along with the pain in Sugarcoat's head.
“What was that, Shim?” Rainbow asked, having hopped off the table to join her.
“Well, I know what it looked like, and seeing how the advice worked…” She crossed her arms. “It looked like a barrier.”
“A barrier?” Sugarcoat asked.
“I used that spell a lot in equestria. Good to get a few minutes of silence, but it's not an easy spell to use. Lots of strain on your horn.” She cupped her chin in thought. “But you don't have a point to focus your magic to…so it may take a while to produce one without the headache.”
“Wait. You're saying Sugarcoat has magic too?” Lemon asked.
“It's the best guess we've got to explain what just happened.” Sunset shrugged. “Now with two of the bolts having them…maybe we can conclude that more students were affected by the Games.”
“How would you check that?” Lemon asked, walking over to stand beside Sugarcoat.
“We'll connect some sensors to her and try out different methods to activate her potential.” Twilight suggested. “I would feel better getting a better handle on your power Sugarcoat, especially if it hurts you to use.” She stood.
“I'm out of my depth here.” Sugarcoat admitted.
“I'll come with, if you need the support.” Lemon offered.
“Thanks.”
“Follow me then.” Twilight said, leading them out of the room.
The scientist opened the door to the lab, leading them in, a few odd machines lined the walls. “Welcome to my lab! All the equipment in here was made by myself and Sunset. With some labor from the other girls…” She said almost proudly. “Now then, we'll attach some monitoring equipment to you and begin testing.” She added, excitedly gathering materials.
“That's the Twilight I wish I got to know…” Sugarcoat said quietly. Lemon patted her back.
“There's still time.”
Twilight lifted a small radar like device which began to beep.
“This was one of the early prototypes, why it's activating now…I have no idea.” She tilted her head, pointing it around the room, trying to find the source. It's beeping would fade if it went away from the source. She turned to face the two new girls, slowly walking toward them. Pointing it to Sugarcoat, the beeping stopped. Four sets of eyes followed the machine to beep when pointed at Lemon.
“Eh?”