//------------------------------// // Monday Afternoon // Story: Through the Mirror // by Darth Link 22 //------------------------------// The rest of the day passed by in relative uneventfulness. Classes flew by, Twilight doing her best to learn, which was hard if any class had Flash in it. Not only had she no excuse to avoid his company, but it was often preferable if two of the five friends were present, as he was the safe alternative. Finally, seventh period ended and students began filing out. Thankfully, Flash was in her last class, which meant sticking by him was a good way to keep the girls, who didn’t want to interrupt a romantic moment, anyway. “Well, looks like you’re having fun,” Flash said as the two walked together. “Those girls all want me to spend time with them, and I’m afraid if I pick one it will alienate everyone else.” Flash nodded. “Is that why you want to see this article so bad? You think it can get them together?” “I hope so. They all seem so nice, I don’t want to hurt any of them.” Flash looked at Twilight with an unreadable expression. He then looked away, as if in deep thought. “Hey, you’re Twilight Sparkle, right?” Twilight did a little jump at the sudden intrusion. It was the boy that she had sat next to in second period. “Uh, yeah, that’s me.” “Are you really going up against Sunset?” “Yeah. I’m running for Fall Formal Princess.” “Cool. You’d have my vote. Name’s Sandalwood.” “It’s very nice to meet you,” Twilight said, putting on her best polite smile, a technique she had perfected on several visiting dignitaries. Sandalwood smiled back, then turned to Flash. “Congrats on seeing her first, buddy,” he said with a playful punch to the arm. Flash turned red at that. So did Twilight, hiding behind her mane. Sandalwood didn’t notice, having walked off. The pair stood there a moment, trying to lower their embarrassment. “Um, well... I need to go into my aunt’s office to get something, wait here.” And she dashed into Celestia’s office, closing the door behind her. Principal Celestia looked up to see her faux niece, standing there beet red and alarmed. “Let me guess... you couldn’t avoid the boy?” That only got Twilight to blush harder. “Seriously?” Spike poked his head out from behind the desk. “Really, Twilight? I don’t want some big hairless ape for a father.” “Spike it’s not like that,” she said, unzipping her backpack. “Now come on, get in. We have something to do.” Spike obeyed. “What are we doing?” “Flash said there was an article in the school newspaper about those five becoming friends. He’s going to take us to the school library to look it up.” “Okay... wait, Flash is going to...” Twilight zipped up the backpack before Spike could finish venting his outrage. Principal Celestia chuckled at the antics. “So, did you manage to make any progress in getting those five talking to each other?” “Well... they’re all willing to vote for me, at least. And Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie all want to help with my campaign. The problem is, they all want to do it without the others.” Celestia nodded. “Figured as much. Well, I hope Flash has something for you. I need to do some more wrap up work, so you have an hour and a half until we go home.” Twilight nodded before walking back out. Flash was standing there, looking at her awkwardly. “Um, hey.” Twilight blushed again. “Come on, we better get going.” As they began to walk together, Flash spoke up. “Listen... if it makes you uncomfortable, I can tell everyone we aren’t... you know.” “Oh. It... doesn’t bother me,” Twilight said. “But... it sounded like Sandalwood thought I was pretty...” “That shouldn’t be a surprise,” Flash said. Twilight turned to look at him. Flash was blushing again. “I mean... you’re beautiful.” Twilight was flushing again. “Most st... boys don’t think so.” “Really?” “Well... none of them ever came up and talked to me at my old school.” “Well then, they must be crazy,” Flash said as they walked into the library. “You’re pretty, and standing up to Sunset takes something special. Plus you have some cool aunts.” Twilight looked at Flash. “Do the others like my aunts? Rainbow Dash was saying that Aunt Celestia should be superintendent, but...” “And she should be. Everyone in school wants her to be. Anyone’s better than Hope. It’s thanks to her that Sunset gets to run free. If Celestia replaced her and Luna became principal, I guarantee the school would be better off.” Twilight smiled. “So you like her too?” Flash smiled, although there was sadness in this one. “She helped me out after...” He bit his lip, but at Twilight’s encouraging look he went on. “After I dumped Sunset.” Twilight’s eyes went wide. “You... and Sunset?” “I thought she was a different girl,” Flash admitted, looking down. “When we first met, she seemed so... well, depressed. Like she had lost everything before coming here. I offered to show her around, and one thing led to another...” Twilight swallowed. Why was this upsetting her so much? Flash had led them to an unattended computer. He worked almost robotically, typing in his student ID. “We dated for quite a bit, and... it was nice. Then people started to accuse her of everything that was going on. I stood up for her. Then she admitted that they were true.” Twilight raised an eyebrow. “She admitted it just like that?” “She thought I’d cover for her, that I’d stay her boyfriend because she was popular. I dumped her on the spot and she went ballistic.” He rubbed the side of his jaw. “I swear, I can still feel where she punched me.” Twilight winced. She looked at Flash and saw his eyes start to mist over. Twilight put a comforting hand on his shoulder and gave him a small smile. He looked at her and returned it. Then he blushed. “Um... here, let me find that article for you,” he said quickly, turning back to the computer. Twilight’s cheeks turned pink, but she smiled. “How did my aunt help you?” Flash spoke as he brought up the school’s website. “She saw how sad I was and brought me into the office to talk to me. She may not be the school counselor, but she always has time for anyone that needs her. And she looked into everything I told her about. Actually managed to make a case to the school board, but they dismissed it... as usual.” He clicked a few times until he found the homepage for the school newspaper. He typed in “Applejack Rarity Rainbow Dash” and hit search. “So she doesn’t give herself enough credit,” Twilight said under breath. “What?” Twilight bit her tongue. Celestia might not appreciate having her doubts broadcast. “It’s nothing.” Flash placed a hand over hers. “Please tell me.” Twilight looked into his eyes, ready to tell him no. But the look he was giving her was radiating trust. “My aunt... I guess she’s just sick of Sunset running around. She’s... frustrated that she hasn’t managed to get her expelled.” “I can’t blame her,” Flash said. “But that’s the school board’s fault, not hers. Every time she manages to get a claim against Sunset, the whole school follows. We know she and Luna are trying their best. ...Hey, I think this is it.” Twilight looked at the screen. Flash clicked on one of the search results, labeled How We Came Together. The picture was of five younger looking teens standing for a group pose. “Yeah, this is it. How the five became friends.” “Well, this might explain it. Look at the author.” Flash looked, and his eyes widened. “Sunset? ...I forgot, she used to be on the paper. It was only for a few weeks back when she started...” “So she knew about them... wonder why she broke them up.” There was silence as they started to read. Well, Wondercolts, Do I have a story for you! I’m still new here, and I’m having trouble making friends, but after hearing this story, I don’t think I’ll have anything to worry about! This is a story about how five girls managed to tell the entire school that they’re friends, and they weren’t going to let anyone tell them they couldn’t be! “What’s that mean?” Twilight asked. “This school used to be very clique-based. No one hung out with anyone not part of their designated group. Those five becoming friends changed that.” “That’s it then.” Flash looked at her. “What?” “Don’t you see? Sunset relies on a lot of social manipulation. If these five managed to break through that, Sunset would see them as a threat!” She looked at the screen. “Can we print this out?” “Sure,” Flash said, obeying Twilight’s unspoken command. “Do you think showing them this will work?” “Maybe. At least I’ll have something to show them.” At that point, the zipper on Twilight’s backpack popped open, and Spike stuck his snout out. “What the?” Flash said, moving to unzip the pack all the way. Spike popped out, sticking his tongue out and panting with a happy look on his face, clearly trying to sell the mindless pet act. “You have a dog?” he asked. “Sh! Don’t tell anyone! He was supposed to stay in my backpack,” she said in a strained voice. “Aw, why? He’s a cute fella.” Flash leaned down and scratched his ear. Spike growled, causing Flash to jerk away. “Um, he’s a bit testy to newcomers, but he warms up quickly, don’t you Spike?” Twilight shot him a glare that said everything. Spike gave a defeated look. Twilight motioned for Flash to try again. He carefully began giving him a scratch behind the ear. In seconds Spike had given in and was accepting the affection happily. “Aw, what’s his name.” “Spike.” “Hmm... not very original, but good enough.” “And what’s that supposed to mean?” Flash shrugged. “After how smart I saw you being with everything else, I kind of figured he’d be named Star Swirl or something.” Twilight thought a moment. So Star Swirl existed here too, and he was a historical... wait, he thought she was smart! Thankfully, she only turned pink this time. “I always wanted a dog,” Flash said, pulling the article off the printer. Thankfully, their computer was near it. “Your parents won’t let you have one?” Flash stopped for a moment. “My mother might have before she...” Twilight put a hand to her mouth. “Oh, I’m sorry...” “It's no problem.” Flash gave a smile, but there was sadness behind it. “My father has a strict ‘no pets’ policy.” “Well, I’m sorry to hear that.” “Yeah, well... let’s talk about something better.” He handed the article to Twilight, who took it. “Like how you’re going to beat Sunset.” “Flash, I haven’t won yet,” she said, as she started to read. “You will. Friday you’ll be tearing up the dance floor, and...” Twilight tensed up, her eyes widening. “...what?” Twilight looked at him. “Dance floor... I don’t know how to dance!” Flash chuckled a bit. “You signed up for a dance without knowing how?” “It didn’t occur to me. I just needed to stop Sunset... will I have to dance?” “To beat Sunset? No... but it’d be nice if you did.” “But I don’t know how!” He grinned. “Come on, I can fix that.” Twilight was led up a flight of stairs and to the roof of the school. Despite the large glass dome there was plenty of room for the two to move around on. Twilight sat her bag on the roof, allowing Spike to poke his head out. Flash led her to the center. “Okay, it’s easy. Give me your right hand. Okay, now I’m going to put my arm around your waist. Now put your arm on mine.” Twilight went into learning mode, following instructions, and only after it was done realized how close they were. The blushing was there, for both of them, but Flash kept his cool. “Now, just let me lead you. Move your feet slowly with mine. No, don’t look at them, let it happen naturally.” Flash did start leading Twilight, slowly as she stumbled on the first few steps. But Flash stayed steady, following the same pattern. Twilight, always a natural at quick learning, quickly mastered the back and forth movement. “See? Not hard at all.” She smiled. “You’re right. I think I’m getting the hang of this.” “Good. Then let’s try leading somewhere else.” Flash turned, and while Twilight was initially caught off guard, he turned slowly enough that she was able to follow without much trouble. For a few minutes the two danced, simply concentrating on enjoying themselves. “I think you’ve got it,” Flash said at last, though he didn’t stop. She smiled. “Is everything just to the beat?” “No. You dance depending on the rhythm. Maybe I can bring some music tomorrow...” “You really don’t have do that. You’ve done so much for me.” Flash gave a mischievous smile. “I’m not doing this for free.” Twilight nearly stopped. “What?” “Once you’re crowned Princess, I get the first dance.” He blushed at his own price. “Well... I guess I can arrange that,” Twilight said, trying and failing to sound smooth. The pair danced a bit more. Twilight glanced over at Spike, who was sticking a paw down his throat with a gagging sound. She shot him a glare before turning back to her partner. “Why are you doing all this? You’ve been so helpful.” “Why are you so determined to stop Sunset?” Twilight blinked. “Well... I don’t like bullies. Do I need another reason?” “No... but I wouldn’t be surprised if you had one.” “You don’t think anyone would just stand up to her to do the right thing?” “Everyone’s tried, but a lot give up. I want to know what’s different about you.” Twilight was silent for a moment. She tried thinking of a cover story, but she knew she was a bad liar. “Well... I don’t like seeing Aunt Celestia and Luna feel this way,” she blurted out. Flash tilted his head. “What do you mean?” “Please don’t tell anyone. But... they’re frustrated that Sunset’s been allowed to get this far.” “That’s no secret. Celestia can keep her cool, but Luna has a bigger temper. We can see her every time Sunset gets away with it.” “I... I’d like to help them.” Flash nodded. “And what makes you so sure winning the crown will get Sunset to stop?” Because I’m going to arrest her... no, can’t say that. “Everyone’s afraid of Sunset. They think she’s invincible. If I can win, it will show everyone she’s not unbeatable.” “I guess that makes sense,” Flash said. “So... why did you help me?” “I don’t like Sunset either,” Flash said. “I don’t like bullies, and yes, maybe I want her to get knocked down a peg because I’m feeling vindictive. I know that isn’t exactly noble, but there you go.” Twilight could only give a small chuckle. “We all have our failings.” “And... okay, maybe I just wanted to spend some time around a pretty girl.” A few feet away, Spike placed his head on his paws. “Are these two ever going to stop blushing?” “Okay, now we stop,” Flash said, halting the dance, to Twilight’s disappointment. “I step back, give you a bow, and say ‘Thank you for the dance’.” He took Twilight’s hand and placed a kiss on it, causing them both to blush and laugh. “How romantic.” Both teens jumped half a foot in the air before turning to see who had interrupted them. “P-Principal Celestia.” The principal was indeed standing there, a smug look on her face. “Well, I see you’ve met my niece. Hoping to get in good with the principal?” “N-no, nothing like that,” the boy said, now looking as flustered as ever. Celestia chuckled. “Well, at any rate, it’s time to go. Come on, Twilight.” “Sure thing,” Twilight said, picking up her backpack and ignoring Spike’s sigh of relief. “Um... I’ll see you, Flash.” “S-sure, later.” He waved them off. He watched them leave, his heart still racing. He stood there for another half a minute before his cell phone rang, snapping him out of his stupor. He checked the phone and found it was his bandmate. “Hey Ringo. Yeah, I spent the afternoon with Twilight. It went awesome! She smart, and fun... I think I have a shot with her!” He listened. “Yeah, I think we can write a song for her campaign.” He thought a minute. “And... I think there’s one other thing we need to do.”