CnH2nSn
by Present Perfect
"It's a good thing the Friendship Games only happen once every four years, so we never have to come back to this idiotic school."
Sugarcoat's flat pronouncement was met by nods and rumblings of agreement from her fellow Shadowbolts. They all stood outside Canterlot High, waiting to board the bus that would take them and their disgraced principal home.
Sunny Flare scowled and stuck her tongue out. "Everyone at this high school is just so creepy. Always smiling, always giving it their all? I mean, who does that? Ugh."
"I thought it was nice!" Sour Sweet clasped her hands to her chest and fluttered her eyelashes. Her smile turned into a grimace. "If you like being attacked by freaky talking dogs, that is!"
Indigo Zap, closest to the bus door, tapped her foot impatiently. "And can you believe their principal? 'We're all winners'? Who says that?" She held her hands out before her and scoffed loudly. "If we're all winners, we're all losers, too! I am not a loser!"
"Are we complaining about CHS?" Lemon Zest lifted one side of her ever-present headphones.
"What else?" Sunny Flare said, crossing her arms.
"So yeah," Lemon said, giggling, "what's up with their name?"
"Uh, I dunno." Indigo looked at her askance. "What's up with it?"
"I mean, like, CHS?" Lemon held her hands out. "Isn't that sugar?"
The other four gave each other confused looks. After a moment, Sugarcoat sighed loudly and pressed her palm into her forehead.
"If you paid more attention in chemistry class, you'd know carbohydrates are made out of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen."
"No, but like..." Lemon clicked her tongue twice. "The last one's sulfur, right? So it's like, sugar, but it'd be smelly, right? Why name your school after stinky sugar?"
The sound of four palms smacking four foreheads echoed across the parking lot. Then the bus doors opened and Lemon Zest grunted as her compatriots shouldered past her.
"You should really just consider not tal--"
Sugarcoat's admonishment died on her lips as she took note of who was on the bus. Three girls, two with teal and purple hair, and one with a tremendous mane of poofy golden curls, stood in the bus aisle, grinning wickedly and beating their fists against their palms in perfect rhythm. They looked like colorful hobos, which didn't make them any less intimidating.
"Hi there," said the yellow-haired girl. "We are so going to beat your faces in."
Sugarcoat frowned. "In case you haven't noticed, there's five of us and three of you."
To punctuate her statement, Sunny Flare, Sour Sweet and Indigo Zap took up their best kung fu stances. Lemon Zest had gone back to listening to her music.
The girl with twin pigtails swung her head left and right, cracking her neck both times. "I don't think that'll be a problem."
"We're considerably better villains than you," said the yellow-haired girl.
"And far better waifu material," added the third.
They surged up the aisle like seafoam on a storm-tossed ocean. Sunny Flare lost her nerve and tried the door, only to find it stuck shut.
The Shadowbolts would never understand just why or how they got the beating of a lifetime.