//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Bad Blood // Story: Shadowbolts Adventures: The Real Friendship Games // by DragonShadow //------------------------------// Chapter 1: Bad Blood The snow fell outside the frosted windows, a sharp contrast to the orange warmth of the crackling fireplace behind Twilight Sparkle as she sat in her living room recliner, her feet propped up in front of her with a laptop shining in her face from her lap. She adjusted her glasses with one hand, then went right back to typing with long-practiced ease. The click-clacking of her keys meeting the popping of the log in front of her were the only noises until she heard Spike's tiny feet padding along the carpet on her right side. "Hey, bwilighb! You gob momefing!" Spike leapt up onto the arm of her chair and opened his jaws, letting two letters fall onto her thigh. "Who are they from!?" "Hm?" Twilight glanced down at the letter on top and plucked it from her lap. "This one's from Sunny Flare. I wonder why she sent it, we see each other every day..." She carefully pried her fingernails under the envelope's edge and peeled the glue apart, careful to leave the paper intact until she could pull out the letter and scan through it. "Hey, it's an invitation to a Hearth's Warming Eve party! That's great! My first real party with my new friends!" Spike panted in excitement. "Yeah!? Do you think I can come too!? They're not too far, right!?" "I'll ask her if pets are allowed." Twilight scratched under his chin with a bright grin, then moved her hand away to pluck the second letter from her lap. "This one's from Applejack! Boy, it sure is a busy night." She carefully pried the envelope open and scanned quickly through the letter. "It's an invitation to my first Hearth's Warming Eve party with my new friends..." Twilight blinked. "Uh-oh..." "What do you mean? Isn't that great too?" Spike asked. "Sure, if there were two of me..." Twilight gulped. "Who should I spend the day with? I can't just take a bus back and forth all day." "Who do you want to spend the day with?" Spike asked. "Everybody..." "Then why not tell everybody that!?" "I can't..." Twilight trailed off slowly, then rubbed her forehead with two fingers. "I can't freak out over every little thing... you're right Spike. I should just gather them all up and see if they want to spend the day together. They're all nice, I'm sure they'll get along just fine." Twilight plucked her phone off of the desk beside the chair and began thumbing out a pair of text messages. "I'll just have them meet at my house tomorrow, and we'll all sit down, have some cocoa, and discuss this like the calm, rational adults we all are." *** Twilight wasn't so sure about this anymore, but the invitations had already been sent. She stared out the front window of her house, watching the snow gently drift to the ground around the approaching girl, wrapped in a thick winter jacket and pants. Twilight moved to open the door just as the girl approached it, gesturing her in quickly. "Hey Sunny, thanks for coming." Twilight smiled broadly. "Don't mention it." Sunny slipped her thick knit beanie off of her head and shook out her light purple hair. "I don't think you've ever invited us all over before. What's the occasion?" "I just come over to see you girls so often, I thought it would be nice if we could all get together at my place." Twilight gave a smile she hoped didn't look too forced. "There's a pot of cocoa in the kitchen, feel free to help yourself." "Thank you, I think I will." Sunny pulled off her scarf as she made her way into the kitchen. Twilight took a deep breath to calm herself just before the doorbell rung again. One by one the rest of her Crystal Prep friends arrived. Indigo Zap, Sugarcoat, Sour Sweet, and Lemon Zest. They all seemed to be in light spirits, and Lemon Zest was grinning ear to ear as she sat down at the sofa to pull Spike into her lap and scratch him behind the ears. "Don't think I've forgotten about you just because I have a dog, little dude." Lemon giggled to herself as Spike's tail wagged so hard it pounded into her bicep. Sour Sweet dropped onto the sofa beside her, clasping her hands in front of her. "So what are we doing here? Staring at this dog? That sounds like so much fun!" "I have plenty of movies we can watch." Twilight cast a discreet glance at the clock above the television. It was just about time for the others to arrive, but she still needed to be a good host. "Has everybody seen Freezer?" Sugarcoat raised one eyebrow. "Is that a rhetorical question?" "I think it's a requirement to live in this country, at this point." Indigo slung her legs over the arm of the recliner as she plopped down on it, cradling her mug of cocoa in her hands. "You have to know the National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, all of the presidents, and be able to sing Let It Go Already by heart." Sour Sweet gasped in delight. "Oh I love that song! It's such a wonderful lesson to kids, telling them to $%^# their friends, family, job, and entire life so they can retreat into the mountains and build their only friends out of snow! The movie's about a crazy person!" "That's right," Sugarcoat agreed. "The whole movie was Orelsa's fevered cold-addled mind creating a better world than the one she spent the whole time freezing to death in." "Whoa, dude..." Lemon blinked as her jaw dropped. "It all makes sense now... the trolls must've been rock bottom." Sunny chuckled. "That would explain the rockiness of them." "This must be shared with the world!" Lemon whipped out her cell phone and began typing furiously with both thumbs. Indigo scoffed. "If you ask me the trolls were the director literally trolling the audience. That's the only explanation." Suddenly the sound of an engine pulling into the driveway outside drew all eyes towards the front door. The other five girls all exchanged quick, confused glances as Lemon began counting on her fingers, pointing at each of them in turn. Lemon muttered, "one, two, three, four, five, six..." Spike whined, and she wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug. "Seven. Sorry little dude." "Are we expecting more company?" Sunny asked. "Uh.... maybe." Twilight rubbed the back of her neck with a blush. The knock on the door came moments later, so she moved to open it. Applejack's old work truck sat out in the driveway, with the crew climbing out of it one at a time. Sunset Shimmer was standing in front of the door, giving Twilight a bright smile. "Hey, Twi. Thanks for inviting us." Sunset stepped into the living room and gave her a firm hug, which Twilight returned. "We don't get out here to see you often e... enough..." Sunset's eyes scanned the living room, where the other girls were staring back with equally confused expressions. When Sunset pulled away from Twilight to look at her face Twilight suddenly had to adjust her glasses very furiously. "Twilight, what did you do?" "Twilight?" Sunny asked worriedly as she and the other girls moved toward her from the TV. "Is everything okay?" "Howdy Twilight, sure was nice of you to invite us all out here to see you!" Applejack's deep accent cut through the house and Twilight's nerves, as her thick cowboy boots stomped their way through the doorframe into the living room. "Is everything alright in..." She trailed off immediately as she caught site of the Crystal Prep girls. The other four Canterlot High girls entered behind her, all of them stopping dead to stare, until the entire room plunged into a deep, uncomfortable silence Twilight would give anything to banish. "Awkwaaaaarrrrd..." Lemon Zest rubbed one arm uncomfortably. "Twilight?" Sunny Flare put her hands on her hips. "Is there something you'd like to say to us?" "Yeah, what in tarnation are they doing here?" Applejack asked. "I know there's still a little animosity over how the Friendship Games ended..." Twilight rubbed her arm with a gulp. "After all, there was no winner, but I don't see any reason you all can't be friends, right? You're all good people, you appreciate friendship, and I know that deep in your hearts, you realize that the end result of the games wouldn't have mattered... so I thought we could get together and talk it out. To put it all behind us, and spend Hearthswarming Eve together." The silence returned in force, and for a short time, Twilight had hope that it would work. That they really could resolve this silly animosity and share the holiday... but her heart cracked the moment Rainbow Dash spoke up. "Sure, as soon as they admit that we would have won." "You didn't win!" Indigo exclaimed. "And if you did, it was by cheating!" "We cheated? You were the ones who made Twilight destroy the campus trying to cheat!" Applejack scratched her head. "Yeah, and besides, what're y'all so worked up about it for? You ain't still worked up over Crystal Prep's reputation, are you?" Sunny fielded this one, "just because Principal Cinch is a jerk who takes things way too far doesn't mean we don't care about our school. We've achieved a lot there, and we have the same pride in our school that you do in yours." "But do you have parties!?" Pinkie exclaimed. "We do, sometimes... two or three times a year..." Lemon Zest sighed. "I wish we had more parties." "No showing weakness, Lemon! Not to them!" Indigo glared across the room at the Canterlot High girls. "We're not your enemies..." Fluttershy squeaked softly. Sour Sweet cooed. "Oohhh you are so right! I guess everything I thought was wrong just because butterfly girl said so!" Fluttershy winced and muttered something under her breath, taking a quick step back. "Don't y'all yell at her!" Applejack took a sharp step forward, only to be met by Indigo in equal stride. "Don't y'aaawwwwlllll come up here to our turf and start talking crap!" Indigo shouted right in her face. Twilight buried her face in her palms, her fingers tightening over her bangs. This was going as bad as it could possibly go. This had been a huge mistake, she knew there was still bad blood between them, why did she think that had changed? Maybe she'd just assumed that because they were all nice to her and Sunset Shimmer that they could get along with each other. She was so stupid, and now she didn't know how to stop the yelling that was still going on. "Hey, everyone SHUT UP!" Sunset Shimmer's scream finally cut through the chaos, bringing the volume in the room down to a less deafening level. "If you all want to pick a fight, that's fine, but don't do it here in Twilight's living room! Take it outside!" There was silence on the other side of Twilight's hands, until she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, and a soft voice speak. "Twilight?" Twilight slowly lowered her trembling hands, looking up at her gathered friends over her fingertips. Sunset had a comforting hand on her shoulder, and everyone else was watching her with expressions of mixed guilt and worry. Twilight took a few deep breaths to make sure she could speak without choking up. "I-I'm sorry everyone. I got party invitations from both of you and I just... wanted to spend Hearthswarming Eve with all of my friends... but it was stupid, and I've just messed up again. Maybe I won't come to either party this year..." Spike padded up to her feet. "But you were so psyched about spending the holiday with your friends, Twilight." Twilight wiped a tear from her eye. "Well sometimes things don't happen the way we want." "You don't have to spend the holiday alone, Twi." Rainbow Dash smirked and turned back toward the Crystal Prep girls. "Because I know how we can decide who you party down with." Sunny Flare lifted a curious eyebrow. "Is that right? Do tell." "It's time to settle the score!" Rainbow pointed dramatically at the other girls. "Us five against you five in the real Friendship Games! Winners get Twilight Sparkle to spend the holiday with them!" "What!?" Twilight gasped. Indigo punched one of her palms with a bright grin. "I like the sound of that!" "That sounds like fun!" Pinkie Pie agreed energetically. "As long as it stays fun this time!" "I'll destroy you all!" Sour Sweet agreed. "But wait one second." Sunny Flare held up one finger. "The Friendship Games need to have an impartial referee." "I bet Sunset Shimmer could do it!" Rarity nudged her friend. "She doesn't care much for school competitions." "Yeah, that could work." Sunny nodded. "She's a friend to both of our groups, now. Does anyone object?" Sour Sweet's hand shot up. "Sour Sweet?" Sour Sweet spoke through gritted teeth. "I just... can't not hate her! She looks too much like the jerk from school!" "Ahehe..." Sunset Shimmer shrugged through her slightly pink cheeks. "Not a whole lot I can do about that, I'm afraid. But Rarity's right anyway, I'm not really into big competitions. I don't want to referee your Friendship Games or whatever." "That's exactly why we would trust you with it," Sugarcoat pointed out. "Someone who doesn't give a crap about the result would have no reason to favor one side or the other." "Please? You'd be doing us all a huge favor, here." Rarity batted her eyelashes with a gentle hand on her arm. Sunset Shimmer's eyes scanned the gathered groups, all watching her with penetrating, expectant stares. "Alright, fine." Sunset Shimmer gave them a small smile. "I'll come up with some games you guys can play. We can meet at Sweet Apple Acres, there'll be plenty of room in the barn to have the games instead of doing it out in the snow." "It's agreed." Sunny turned back to Rainbow Dash and held out her hand. Rainbow stared down at her hand for a moment, then reached out to take it in a firm shake. "May the best friends win." "We will, but try to have fun anyway." Rainbow Dash gave her a crooked grin, then pulled her hand back and turned to leave. Her fingers snapped and jerked toward the door, gesturing for her friends to follow. The others all exchanged wary glances, then shared a chuckle as they followed Rainbow Dash outside toward Applejack's work truck. Sour Sweet stuck her tongue out after Rainbow Dash. "We'll kick your butts later!" Twilight Sparkle was still trying to process all of this as Sunny Flare approached her. "Hey, relax... it's not that serious." Sunny's hand nudged her arm companionably, but Twilight was so stiff she barely moved. Instead Sunny turned to Sunset and leaned in to whisper into the red-haired girl's ear. "Don't worry, I got her," Sunset mumbled back in a low voice before speaking more loudly. "You girls relax in the meantime. I'll hammer out the details." Sunset waved at each of their friends as they passed. As Sour Sweet passed she gave Sunset a sharp glare and pointed at her eyes, narrowed her lids, and kept their eyes locked as she slowly made her way out the front door. Once they were gone Sunset turned back to Twilight, moving fully in front of her and leaning down to meet her slightly downcast eyes. "You doing okay there, Twi?" "No... this isn't what I wanted at all." Twilight's shoulders slumped in defeat. "I wanted them to spend the holiday together as friends, but all I did was start the fighting up again. I feel like the worst friend in the world..." "Hey, come on, don't beat yourself up." Sunset Shimmer gave her a reassuring smile. "I promise by the time this is all over, they'll be laughing and talking over hot cocoa by your fireplace." "How can you say that? All they did was yell at each other..." "I wouldn't say that..." Sunset Shimmer pulled her smaller friend into a comforting hug, stroking her back with one hand. "Have I let you down yet, Twilight?" Twilight accepted the hug with open arms and shook her head. "No..." "Then trust me. I'll do everything in my power to keep the peace." Sunset Shimmer pulled back and gave her an enthusiastic wink. "I already have a few ideas... I just might need a little help with them..."