Canterlot Dorks: Canterlot High's Dark Secrets

by ThatUnknownPony

Ch3: Night At The School

The next day after their little incident inside the old workshop, Dizzy and Crowned brought the stone to Flash, slowly explaining what happen-

"-AND THEN THE SHADOW BECAME THIS MONSTER..."

"-IT WAS SO SCARY AND HAD RUSTY NEEDLES FOR CLAWS... "

"-DIZZY RAN IN CIRCLES LIKE A MANIAC..."

"-CROWNED KEPT YELLING AT ME AND THAT JUST STRESSED ME OUT..."

"GUYS, GUYS, SLOW DOWN! ONE AT A TIME!" Flash screamed, stopping his friends' crazy rants.

The two boys took a moment to breath and regain their composure, and then they told their friend what happened.

"Well, we went to the Corner after they expelled everyone from there, and we found that inside Shady's locker there was a fake wall that Dizzy went through, and he found the infamous lost Sewing Workshop, there we found the stone and-"

"-AND THEN A SHADOW APPEARED AND PUT FABRICS AND NEEDLE-CLAWS ON ITSELF AND TRIED TO RIP US APART!" Dizzy screamed in panic, "ONLY THE GODS KNOW HOW WE GOT OUT OF THAT, BUT I DON'T WANNA DO IT AGAIN!"

Flash was shocked to hear about their misadventure, thinking about it for a second.

"So, that shadow attacked you physically?" he asked in surpise, "Well, I sure didn't see that one coming."

"THEN YOU SHOULD'VE!!!" Dizzy grabbed his friend and shook him violently.

"WOAH WOAH WOAH, CALM DOWN!" Flash said in response, pushing himself free from the pale boy, "Look, the Shadows never attacked anybody before, they just stood there watching, they didn't attack, just... scared people away. They only had effects over Sunset and the others, I think they saw that you were a "threat" to them and decided to attack using physical methods to hurt you."

"OH GREAT, AND NOW WHAT?!" Dizzy asked terrified, "IF WE KEEP SEARCHING FOR THOSE THINGS, THEY'LL KEEP ATTACKING US!"

Flash thought about it for a moment, trying to answer his friend, when suddenly Rarity and Applejack arrived, talking about something they had been planning.

"...And she also has done theatrical productions back where she came from," the white girl was telling her friend, "She's just so cute! I'm sure that she will be perfect for DIz-"

Suddenly, the two girls realized that Dizzy and Crowned were still talking to Flash, and were taken by surprise.

"AAH!!! H-HEY GUYS!" Rarity said nervously, hoping that they didn't hear them talking.

"Flash, we thought tha' they just gave y'ah the stone and left," Applejack remarked, as Crowned once again nearly drooled over her presence.

"Well, I-"

"HOLD IT!" Dizzy interrupted as he approached the girls with curiosity, "What were you saying about theatricals and someone cute? What about me? What were talking about, Rarity?"

"Hey, calm down y'er horses, cowboy," Applejack said as he pushed him away, "Don' get all offensive on us."

"Nope, I heard my name, I need to know what you to are planning exactly?!"

Flash has to pull him away from the girls, worried that he would blow up the surprise.

"Buddy, relax, it's probably just a bunch of girl talk. Don't worry about it."

"But I'm not su-"

"BY THE WAY..." Crowned said interrumpting the situation, as he brought up the stone they got, "Here's the second stone."

The girls approached to him and saw it closely. Rarity examinated more closely, and noticed the "diamond" mark that she had with her, usually stamped on her clothes.

"Oooh, what a nice gentleman you are, Crowned. Thank you," she said as she grabbed the stone.

Suddenly, just like with the first one, it began to shine, as it began to transform from the cold grey stone into a golden necklace with a blue aquamarine in the shape of three diamonds.

"AHAHAHAH, YES!!!" Rarity laughed in joy as she put on the newly made necklace, looking at it from every angle, "Oooh, and it even matches my outfit!"

Everyone else around her fell backwards at her somewhat silly commentary.

"That's our Rarity, alrigh'," Applejack said as she stood up again, "As happy as a new car on an old road."

"Uhum, whatever. Can we leave now?"

"What, you have a class to attend, buddy?" Crowned asked to his friend.

"No, I meant LEAVE THIS MESS!" Dizzy responded, still terrified out of his mind, "I don't wanna continue on this suicide mission!"

"But Dizzy, what about that thing you..."

"I MADE THAT THING LONG AGO AND IT WAS FOR SOMETHING SAFER THAN THIS!" he exclaimed, interrupting his friend, "I NEVER THOUGHT SHE COULD USE IT TO MAKE ME YOUR PARTNER IN A DEATHLY MISSION! I THOUGHT HE COULD SAVE IT FOR... well... you know... something more lewd."

"DIZZY!" Crowned scolded his friend and slapped him on the forehead.

"ARGH!" he shouted, and directing to Flash he apologized, "Flash, sorry, I cannot continue with this. I don't wanna risk my life for a collection of rocks."

"But Dizzy, we have no cho-"

"Y'ah were goin' to say 'No Choice'?" Applejack interrupted, rising her voice, "Because A'h don't know about y'ah, but we're now two who have our elements, and A'h think we can use them against those shadows."

"I don't know, my dear," Rarity responded to her friend's suggestion, "I don't know how to use them yet, and we have no idea if having them will prevent the shadows from attacking us."

"Well, it's true I was thinking about it and..." Flash turned towards his own friends, and bluntly said, "Maybe we don't need Crowned nor Dizzy after all."

"WHAT?!" Crowned was shocked to hear that.

"Two of the girls already got their elements, and they contain the power that could help destroy the shadows and go for the other elements without any problem. If it was only one, it would've been risky to encounter those shadows, but with two of them I think it's worth a shot."

"OH, THANK YOU FLASH!" Dizzy said with joy as he hugged his friend, "FINALLY! THEN I CAN LEAVE WITH ANY REMORSE!"

"B-But... I wanted to help" the crowned boy said disappointed that he could no longer be helpful to them.

"Well, maybe you can..."

Flash interrupted himself when he noticed Sunset was walking towards them. Realising she was close, Dizzy got all nervous, fully aware that maybe wanting to get out of the mission wasn't a great way to impress her.

"AAAHHH, SUNSET! Heh heh heh, uhm... Well, I... I wanted to..."

"Keep your comments to yourself, Dizzy. I heard well how you wanted to break the contract." Sunset said abruptly, with a tone of certain dissapointment to the boy.

"IT WAS JUST A...." Dizzy stopped talking when he realized Sunset was looking very disapproving to him, and toned himself down, "It was something I did when I was two years younger, don't take it too seriously, please."

Sunset stared at him thoughtfully, and after a few seconds she said:

"Oh okay, but..." suddenly, she smiled mischiefully, something that surprised the pale boy, "I think think you should leave us, Dizzy. Not when we organized something for you."

"Wait... WHAT?!" Dizzy was taken by surprise by her comment.

"Oh, it's nothing. It was something that we had planned to do as a'reward' for stopping being so... bitter and helping me and your 'mortal' enemies."

"You know? It's been a while that I almost forgot what they did to you," Dizzy realized, surprised by how much his own anger against the girls had vanished in the past two days.

"Dizzy, they didn't do any harm to me, they simply helped me out," she pointed out, despite him already figuring that out, "And since you're already helping us now, can you please continue with it while I teach them how to use their elements?"

Seeing the girl he always had a crush on talk to him gently, and with a sweet look on her eyes, Dizzy had a change of heart and decided t stay.

"I.... I... Okay, I'll do it."

"Thanks you, Dizzy!" Sunset said with a smile, making the boy blush like a tomato.

"Hey, wait a second, you have something for him but not for me?!" Crowned felt slightly jealous of his friend's luck.

"Shush, calm down suga'cube," Applejack responded to him, causing him to blush in an instant,, "If y'ah need something, just tell us, A'h think y'ah deserve it."

"...W-whatever I want?"

"Sure, just tell us what y'ah wa-"

"IWANTADATEWITHYOU!" From the two students, Crowned was only a shade redder than Applejack.

A very uncomfortable silence filled the room, and Rarity just looked at the really awkward situation going on, internally laughing but without losing her cool, intrigued by the scene.

"C-Crowned... do y'ah really... want that?" AJ said, barely being able to talk from the shock.

"Y-Yeah..."

Applejack looked very conflicted and nervous, and had no choice but be a little blunt about it.

"Crowned, A'h... A'h could go with y'ah to the movies or have some dinner, but..." she took a deep breath and continued, "A'h rather tell you this now: A'hm not interested in having a boyfriend right now. Sorry, suga'hcube, A'h hope y'ah understand."

The boy remained in silence, still with his eager smile, trying to process her answer, finally saying.

"I... I understand perfectly. [INTERNALLY CRYING AND SCREAMING] "

Crowned simply stepped back, taking a sit with an emotionless expression, just smiling and trying to keep a "happy" face.

"W-Well, uhm..." Flash tried to make the situation less awkward and broke the ice, "Dizzy, Crowned? Could you come tomorrow to the gym after classes? It's just to... discuss business."

"Sure, it's fine," Dizzy said, still noticing his friend petrified on his seat, "Uhm... I'll take him with me if it doesn't bother you."

He then grabbed poor Crowned and dragged him out of the room, leaving an already embarrased Applejack in company of Flash and her friends.

"Oh dear, Applejack, how does it feel to have an admirer and having to break his heart?"

"RARITY!!!" Applejack exclaimed, herface absolutely red, "A'H... A'H JUST TOLD 'IM THAT A'H HAD NO INTEREST AT THE MOMENT, NOT THAT I WOULDN'T BE HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

"OOOHHH! That means you'll reconsider?" her friend said with an teasing expression, only bothering her even more.

"RARITY!!!"

"Girls, girls" I think it's better you should go to the lab," Flash had to interrupt before things got uglier, "the sooner you learn about those necklaces, the sooner we'll get out of this problem."

The two girls then left the room, Applejack still frowning at Rarity's remarks. As soon as they left, Sunset let out a noticeable sigh, and looked really concerned about something. Flash noticed his friend's attitude and approached to her.

"Sunset?"

"Yes, Flash?" she asked, snapped out of her thoughts.

"I don't think you'll have to stress now," he began to say. "At least we have two of the six elements now."

"Yes, I know about that, but if they don't learn soon, we'll have to relay on Crowned and Dizzy, yet..." Sunset sighed again and turned towards her old friend, "I don't wanna do that. I don't want Dizzy to fall back again into his 'bitter' self, ever since he's friends with Crowned his behavior improved a lot."

"I know, I know, I trust they're gonna make it, it's just..." now Flash was the one looking concerned, something Sunset wasn't expecting. "I-I'm really worried about Twilight."

"What are you talking about?"

"The last day I went visiting her at her house... she had this weird scheme on a blackboard. She told me the reason she changed to Canterlot High was because she wanted to find the "secret" of the school and..." Flash stared right into his friends eyes, looking really afraid of his thoughts. "I fear that if she discovers this she might look at you like freaks or... even sell you to science."

Sunset took a moment to think about his position, and what was worrying him, and then she answered.

"I...I understand that, but Twilight would not do that. The Twilight we met before taught me so much about friendship, and I know that if I teach that to 'our Twilight', she would be the same way she did."

"Are you sure about that? I mean, parallel universes and that, there tend to be differences."

"I'm aware but..." she thought for the right word to express her idea, and proceeded, "we must make her trust us, I know she's the only one who would use the Element of Magic."

"Right."

"Besides, I think she already trust you a lot, Flash," Sunset added with a smile, making his friend blush a new shade of red.

"Uuuh, what are you talking about?" he asked, sweating nervously and getting all flustered, as Sunset simply smiled and giggled as she responded.

"Don't play silly on me, I've noticed the way yo look at each other, how you blush when you grab her hand... And Pinkie said you've even been kissing!"

"I-IT WAS ON HER CHEEK, AND JUST THERE!!!" Flash yelled while covering her face, not that it could cover how red his face had become.

"Oh come on, you're doing a great job making her open up to everyone," she complimented her friend, as she patted him on his back, before adding, "Althought the way you're going, I'm sure you've already been french kissing."

"T-THAT'S NOT TRUE!!!" Feeling more and more embarrased, Flash even shook his hands trying to stop Sunset from saying more.

"Well it should've happened already," Sunset then glanced at him with a smug smile and said, "Maybe if I tell Twily about how sweet you used to kiss me."

"SUNSET!!!" at that point, Flash had changed from his whole skin had completely changed into a bright, red blush.

"HAHAHAHAHAH!!! OH GOODNESS, MY SILLY FLASH!" the girl laughed as she hugged her dearest friend, who still hadn't recovered from his blush.

"Y-You're pretty mean sometimes, Sunset," he remarked, giving an unamused look to Sunset, even if deep inside him he enjoyed being this friendly with her. She giggled looking at his good friend, just patting him on his back and hugging him.

---

Meanwhile, in another classroom, Crowned remained catatonic, curled up on one of the corners, drawing circles with his finger on the floor and remaining silent. His friend Dizzy just stared at him, and rolled his eyes by the ninth time as he watched his friend repeating the same circular pattern with his finger.

"Oh come on, Crowned, calm down," he said, trying to make him react, "it's not the end of the world because a girl doesn't want your attention."

Dizzy's friend didn't respond, still making circles on the floor.

"I'm being serious. Look, I haven't hooked up with anyone and see how I... Okay, I'm an awful example, don't say it."

Crowned remained silent, just looking at the imaginary circles he was still drawing.

"Come on, there are a lot of other girls (cofcofandmorefeminineonescofcof), all around the whole world. I mean, maybe if you think about that girl from Cry-"

"I DON'T WANNA TALK ABOUT IT!!!" Crowned screamed enraged, before looking at his friend and apologizing, "...I-I'm sorry."

"Y-YOU'RE A DUMBASS!" Dizzy replied hanging from the ceiling, absolutely terrified from his buddy's scream.

"Excuse me... I just didn't take AJ's answer so... well."

"SHEEZ, IF YOU DON'T TELL ME, I WOULDN'T HAVE NOTICED!" the even more paler boy said, as he dropped from the ceiling and fell on his back. "Ouch."

Crowned felt ashamed of himself as his cheeks turned red again. Dizzy stood up again and approached to his pal.

"Look, just think about it this way: She didn't BREAK your heart like anyone else would've done, and she didn't tell you she wanted nothing with you, just that she has no interest in a boyfriend right now. Key word: RIGHT NOW. Give her some time, maybe she will be more open and would want a boyfriend, and what better choice than the kind boy who helped her recover her... 'Mcmuffin', whatever."

The boy turned to face his friend, still a bit saddened, but he managed to smile and say:

"I-I think you're right... thank you, friend," and then he embraced his pal in a hug, shocking him.

Dizzy didn't know how to react, but accepted his friend's hug.

"...you dumbass," he said, in a more friendly way, "Just don't get all melodramatic if she rejects you."

"DIZZY!!!" Crowned exclaimed at his joke, but quickly calmed down and hugged him, "You're a dummy."

---

The next day, Crowned and Dizzy walked to the gym after classes, but to their surprise they found a crowd of people, most of them girls, entering the gym.

"Uuuhm, are the gym classes the favorite of the school, or why are there so many people?" the boy with the crown asked.

"First of all, it definitively is not a favorite, and I have no idea of what's going on here," his pale friend responded, still wondering about the large crowd of students.

"Well, Flash told us he could meet us here so, let's go." Crowned noticed that, to make their way into the gym, they'd have to pass through the crowd of girls. "...this will be uncomfortable."

"You don't say. Outside of Sunset, the girls are... Uuuuuh..." Dizzy looked at all the girls, trying to keep something in control, "They're not ugly at all, definitively not, just... If they noticed me, they would kick the crap out of me."

"Uhm, okay? Guess it's better me than you, then." He then proceeded to open a way among the people, not without slightly pushing them a bit. "Ooop! Sorry! My apologies! Ouch! Excuse me! Didn't notice you... Ow... Huh?"

As he tried opening his way, Crowned turned back and noticed Octavia looking at him from afar. He then tried going back outside, but Dizzy pushed him back into the gym.

"Come on! Don't get distracted looking around you, or you want them to do the same they would do to me? At least tell me, what are they all watching?!"

"Wait, Dizzy!!!" Crowned tried to walk back, but his friend kept pushing that he had no choice but go inside.

Once inside the gym, he found a good place away from the crowd, and saw what had everyone's attention: Flash was shirtless and covered in swat, practicing with a staff with the help of the P.E. coach. All of the girls were fawning over him, looking at how attractive he looked.

"Oh... so... it was that."

"What is it? Tell me, is it Sunset doing gymnastics?" Dizzy asked from the entrace of the gym.

Rolling his eyes, Crowned pulled his friend through the multitude and to his side.

"No, Sunset is over there, for some reason with... Is that Twilight?" The two of them looked over at the other side of the gym, where Sunset and Twilight were together over the steps, "I almost didn't recognize her from how red she is now."

"...Oh dear, she's blushing harder than a tomato. I wonder why she's..." Dizzy then looked over at the center of the court, and realized what made her blush, "Oh... Oooooh... Okay, what?"

Flash didn't lose focus on his training, as Dizzy and Crowned walked away from the crowd into the steps, the pale boy still trying to comprehend what he was looking at.

"F-Flash was always this athletic?" the crowned boy asked, perplexed at his friend's figure.

"N-No... or not that I knew about. He never told or showed me... He usually was the same old Brad conquering girls."

"Well, he is still doing so, ain't he?" Crowned said pointing at all the girls melting for him.

"Yes... and probably even more," Dizzy responded, facepalming at the sight of the girls fawning over Flash, "I think you understand now what I meant about the girls... and I guess Twilight has quite the competition now."

"I understand... althought with that body and his cute face, it's obvious Twilight could have competition." Crowned blushed slightly looking at his friend training.

"Yes, it's obvious that..." Dizzy's eyes opened wide as realization hit him. "...what the fuck did you just say?"

"...that he has a good body and cute face, and that could cause that Twilight had a lot o-"

"Woahwoahwoahwoahwoah, WHAT?!" the pale boy grabbed his friend by the shirt and drove him closer. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN FLASH HAS 'GOOD BODY AND CUTE FACE'?!"

"H-Hey! One has to admit that Flash is... quite good-looking." Crowned responded, blushing even harder.

Dizzy was starting to freak out and in the edge of a breakdown.

"...Please don't tell me you got a crush on him."

"DIZZY!!! I-I just said I must admit that, for a guy, he's very-"

"STOP SAYING THAT! YOU REALLY SOUND LIKE YOU'RE INTO HIM!!!" Dizzy shook Crowned while trembling and getting absolutely freaked out.

"DIZZYYYYY!!! CALMDOOOOWN!" he managed to push himself apart, his head now flurried, "It was just an observation. Besides, if I was into him, how could that affect you?"

One of the pale student's eye began to twitch, and grabbed his friend by the shoulders, and shook him violently at supersonic speeds.

"CROWNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEED!!!"

...and then a certain staff hit Dizzy right in the head, knocking him down.

"Hey, leave Crowned alone," Flash said as he helped his buddy.

"Thanks Flash, buddy," the boy with the crown said, his eyes twirling and smiling.

"You're welcome," he made a gentle reverence, like all a martial artist, "Please wait with the girls. I mean, Sunset and Twily, not the others. Just wait with them, I'm almost done here."

As he returned to his training, Dizzy rubbed his head in pain, recovering consciousness.

"Ouch... why me?" he said before turning to Crowned, still looking freaked out, "Buddy, are you really going after Flash just because AJ rejected you?! Seriously, there are a lot of other girls, AND YOU PICK FLASH?!"

"DIZZY!!! YOU WANT ME TO CALL FLASH HERE SO HE CAN HIT YOU AGAIN?!" Crowned replied, a little bit upset.

Dizzy just remained silent as he rubbed the bump on his head, and the two boys moved towards the steps where Twily and Sunset were watching. The two girls were very focused looking at Flash, both for different reasons, and Sunset noticing how her friend was absolutely blushing.

"Twilight, is everything ok?" she asked to her.

"Y-Yes, it's just... Heheh..." Twilight laughed nervously as she tried to come up with an explanation of how she was 'studying' Flash's body, "I was focusing on my book, but... I feel like I should be studying something else."

"Yeah, I get ya," Sunset replied, blushing just like her, "You're 'studying' Flash's body, right?"

"Excuse me?" Twilight replied, blushing even further and staring at her friend.

"N-Nothing."

Twilight stared coldly at her friend, adjusting her glasses to look more intimidating with the reflection of the lights.

"...You didn't want him, now he's mine," she declared bluntly.

"HUH?! TWILIGHT, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!" Sunset freaked out at how her friend was staring at her.

"Oh, nothing," she responded, discimulating like she said nor heard anything.

Sunset slightly blushed, surprised by her friend's attitude, althought she thought perhaps she was right.

---

After the training session was over, everyone left the gym except for Crowned, Dizzy, Sunset and Twilight, who all approached the still sweaty Flash.

"Well, at last they all le-" he couldn't finish talking when Twi suddenly glomped him, "T-TWILIGHT!!!"

"My perfect manly specimen... I mean, hi!"she said awkwardly.

"T-Twily, I have no shirt yet and... I'm all sweaty!" Flash felt a little bit shocked of her being so close to him.

"I-It doesn't matter, I'm interested in studying the anatomy of a boy... up close." Twilight got even closer to him, making the boy blush probably brighter than a traffic light, and what she said next, with a cute bright shine on her eyes, didn't help either, "Especially if it's you, Flashy."

"Heh heh... Heh heh heh... Oh dear..." her awkwardness was like an attack of cuteness for Flash, who didn't know how to react.

"IIIIIIIII think you should let him go, Twily, or you'll kill him before he starts training the boys," Sunset attempted to separate her friend from him, blushing as hard as him.

"T-TRAINING!?" Both Crowned and Dizzy shouted in surprise, unaware of the plan.

"Uhm... I was.... I... Well... the Elements.... and..." Flash could barely talk, still infatuated by Twilight's affection.

Sunset saw this and rolled her eyes, grabbing her friend and separating her from Flash, dragging her towards the exit.

"Noooo! My Flashy-Washy!" she cried in a somewhat cute way.

"TWILIGHT, CAN YOU PLEASE BEHAVE?" Sunset berated as Twi still tried to push herself towards the boy. "GUYS, I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE WITH FLASH."

And so the two girls left the room, leaving only Flash and the other boys to train.

"Oh goodness, that was... really cute," he said as his cheeks turned red, until he noticed the already confused looks on his friends, "Uuuh, right! Cofcof... Okay guys, while AJ and Rarity learn how to use their new powers, I've decided to train you two in personal defense."

"Wait, YOU?!" both exclaimed at the same time.

"Yeah. Any problem with that?"

"No no no, of course not! It could be amazing if you-"

Suddenly, a loud cackle interrupted Crowned, and when he turned his head, he saw Dizzy breaking in laughter in the floor.

"Dizzy, what's happening to you?" Flash asked, looking unamused.

"HAHAHAH! SORRY, BUT YOU?! TEACHING US HOW TO DEFEND OURSELVES?!" the pale boy just kept breaking into laughter, "HAHAHAHAH! OH DEAR, THIS IS TOO FUNNY!!! HAHAHAHA... WHAT WILL YOU TEACH US ANYWAYS, HOW TO FLIRT WITH THE SHADOWS?! HAHAHAHAHAH!!!"

"Dizzy! Give Flash a chance, didn't you see how he was training with-"

"PFFFFT! HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAAAAAAAAHAAAAA!!!" Dizzy only laughed even louder, "OH YES, 'KUNG FU BRAD'! HAHA-"

And then his laughter stopped when Flash hit him with his staff on the head, then grabbed him into a submission hold, just to finish by throwing him to the other side of the gym, face first to the floor.

"You were saying?" the blue-haired boy said with a smirk.

"...Pain. So much pain..." Dizzy said, barely rising his head to speak, "That was cheating."

"Nope, that was Flash kicking your butt for being a bigmouthed dummy", Crowned added with a smile.

"...are you sure you don't have something for him?" the pale boy said rapidly.

"What?"

"Don't listen to him, Flash. He's just dizzy." Crowned's friend stared at him unamused. "Okay, let's practice then."

"Very well," Flash began speaking, shifting into a more bossy tone, "you may start giving me 500 squats."

"WHAT?!" the two boys shouted in shock.

"THIS IS JUST WARM-UP, SO DO IT NOW!!!"

Both of them looked at each other in resignation and started their training, doing everything their new instructor Flash told them to. They last the whole afternoon, and it soon was about to be nightfall when they finished.

"Nice, it was a good first day, you lasted more than I expected," Flash said to his friends.

But neither of them answered, they were more busy catching their breath, laying on the floor exhausted.

"Uuhm, I think we're done for today," their instructor said, a bit embarrased about their situation, "I think I shall make the sessions shorter, just so it doesn't last as much as today... you know, because of the shadows lurking."

"YOU... DON'T... SAY!!!" Dizzy screamed, barely breathing.

"HE... JUST... SAID... oh goodness," Crowned said, completely tired.

"Okay, uhm... I'll go for your stuff so you can rest a bit."

Leaving the two on the floor catching their breath, Flash left for their backpacks so they could go home as they regained their strenght.

"Damnit, Brad..."

"Come on, Dizzy, don't so harsh with him," Crowned said, putting back his crown from the floor, "he just wants to help us to defend ourselves from the shadows when we're alone. I mean, it'll be just until AJ and Rarity learn to use their elements, and then they'll be the ones searching for the rest."

"I know, but still... if he knows there are shadows in the school, why does he make us stay so late?"

"Uuuuh..." Even Crowned couldn't deny that, "I admit he doesn't know how to measure time well, but it's not even that late."

"WELL IT IS TO ME!"

As Dizzy kept growling in displeasement, Flash came back with their stuff and bottles of water, that then he handled to the boys.

"Have this, and just drink, breath, and go home. I have the feeling that we stay for longer the shadows will begin to appear."

"You don't say!" Dizzy simply grabbed his backpack, stood up and ran away to the exit, "GOODBYE, GUYS!"

His two friends only saw him dash to the exit, Flash simply rolling his eyes.

"...Oh, Dizzy," Crowned said, letting out an audible sigh.

"Crowned?" to his surprise, Flash was looking at him with some consternation, "Tell me: Have you been feeling comfortable here in the school even with... how Dizzy is, the shadows and now everything we've told you?"

"Well, Dizzy is still a grouchy pants but he has improved, and he smiles more at me, the shadows don't bother me, and your situation is... interesting to me, but if I can help to save the world, I'm not bothered. The only thing that did was... well you know what... but I'm getting over it."

Flash saw his friend's face, and noticed his somewha

"Oh buddy, AJ is not one who thinks about getting boyfriends, and I doubt she'll do it soon, but..." Flash patted his friend on the back, giving him some support, "I think that the fact that you help her might aid you so she looks at you as a potential 'boyfriend' in the future, and I tell you by experience."

Feeling his friend really close, Crowned felt a bit warm inside of him, and that made him happy.

"Heheh, thank you, my friend."

Flash smiled back at him and helped him stand up again.

"By they way," Crowned asked, suddenly remembering something, "what happened to the date you were organizing for Dizzy?"

"Oh, that. Well, Rarity has been speaking with Coco, and says she's a really nice and caring girl, and has multiple talents too. Rarity hopes that she can convince her that Dizzy could be a great match for her, I mean, she's not looking for a boyfriend, but if she finds someone nice, she might open her heart for that certain somebody. Possibly this weekend we'll have something ready for Dizzy."

"At least someone will have a date," Crowned said slightly upset.

"Oh, calm down Crowned, I'm sure you'll find someone for you," Flash hugged his friend again, making him feel the same warm feeling inside him.

"Thank you, friend," his friend responded, embracing him in a nice hug.

Dizzy then came back for something he forgot, and saw his two friends embracing each other... and slowly left without making a sound, with a supreme mind fart, though.

"Did you hear something?" Crowned asked, feeling like he was being watched.

"I don't know... maybe it's the shadows?"

"Uuuuh... It's better that we go now."

"Agreed."

Flash and Crowned both left the gym, althought the crowned boy stopped to drink more water while Flash decided to leave ahead... and that's when he began hearing strange noises.

"W-WHAT WAS THAT?! FLASH?!" to his horror, he realized he was alone, probably Flash thinking he was right behind him, "Oh no..."

He picked up all his stuff and rushed to to the exit, but the lights began flickering, giving him a bad feeling.

"IIIII RATHER LEAVE THROUGHT THE BACKYARD!"

The crowned boy tried running to the back door, but then he heard distorted laughs that send a chill through his spine. He tried to open the door, but unfortunately it was already locked.

"I SHOULD'VE LEFT THROUGH THE FRONT DOOR... OH DEAR."

He tried to run to the main entrance, but he saw the lights flickering again, but this time they ended up fading, just as a group of shadows began materializing in front of him. Crowned just kept running, turning towards the halls where the lights were still on. But the more he kept running, the more shadows that appeared, finally getting him surrounded under a flickering light. The boy felt a dreaded feeling of fear, but when he felt all alone and on his own, a mysterious melody began playing, making the shadows leave in a rush.

"Huh? W-What is that sound?" he asked to himself, wondering where the sound was coming from.

Crowned followed the sound of the music, the shadows no longer appearing to chase him. He just walked following the melody, until he found himself of an almost hidden classroom.

"Is... Is this the Ghost Symphony from the rumor?"

Crowned felt nervous, but curiosity beat him, and entered the classroom, only to not believe what he was seeing: It was actually Octavia playing the chello, her eyes closes and enjoying the melody she was playing.

"W-Wow..." Crowned barely could speak from watching the beautiful girl playing such sweet symphony, studying her movements, exaltating her long hair and blooming figure, "It's... majestic and... so... big... and beautiful."

But in that moment, Octavia turned her head to the door, and noticed the boy enjoying her music.

"AAAH!!!" she shouted in surprise, "WHATAREYOUDOINGHERE?EVERYONE'SSUPPOSEDTO... I mean... Everyone should be at home."

"SORRY, SORRY!" Crowned apologized, "I was just hearing your beautiful melody and-"

"W-Wait... did... did you said... beautiful melody?" Octavia said in surprise.

"Yes, I did?" the boy said naively.

"...thank you," she said with a smile, "You're actually the first person I've heard say that."

"Really?"

"Long story, you see, I..." just when she was going to talk, the musician had a sudden realization, "Wait, I'm not the one who needs to explain. What are you doing here?!"

"I-I just stayed longer than usual for-"

"DON'T PLAY ME LIKE A FOOL! You and your pale buddy acted very suspiciously that day."

"B-BUT I THOUGHT WE WERE ALREADY FRIENDS!" Crowned shouted feeling more than nervous.

"YES, BUT IT'S NOT PLEASANT WHEN MY FRIENDS ARE INVOLVED WITH THOSE SCARY SHADOWS OF THE NIGHT!"

"Wait, you've seen them?!" the boy was even more surprised by this.

"Of course! Who couldn't notice them?"

"Well, I thought nobody believe in that legend."

"Everybody actually believes on it," Octavia explained, "It's just that nobody wants to ADMIT they see them, because they don't want another event like the one from a few months ago to happen again."

"Oh, I understand now..."

"Well my friend," she regained her composture and looked at him with serious eyes, "can you tell me please what were you doing at this hours?"

"As I was about to say, I was just practicing with Flash at the gym and-"

"Wait, that means those screams of pain... that was you?" Octavia was about to break into laughter, but Crowned quickly explained.

"Uuuh, no, that was Dizzy," he said, causing his friend to almost burst out laughing, "Flash sat on his feet so he could do abdominals."

"PFFT!!!" Octavia had to cover her mouth to not laugh loudly, and managed to calm herself, "Hehe, okay, that explains it... but you stayed for far too late, are you not afraid of the shadows?"

"Let's just say I'm helping Flash and his friends to deal with the problem." Crowned sat on a desk near her friend, speaking more calmly with her.

"Oh really?"

"Yup, you know, to prevent another incident like 'that day'."

"Well, that explains a lot of things." Feeling more comfortable chatting, Octavia also sat near him, wanting to know more about her friend. "Could you kindly tell me more?"

"Uuuh, I don't know if you wanna hear more," Crowned began to blush, seeing her closer to him, "I mean, Flash told me that-"

To his surpise, the gray musician got even closer to hear, almost shoulder to shoulder.

"Come on friend, let me know." She grabbed his arm and placed it closer to her with a more kind smile, inconsciously putting his arm right over her chest.

"Oh gosh... O-Ok..." he responded, slowly crossing his legs.

His friend didn't realize it, and simply gave him a sweet smile as he began explaining.

"Well, uhm, Sunset believes that the black magic she release is still in the school, and we're searching for some magical stones to eliminate them, but either me or Dizzy must be the ones who find them because the shadows absorb magic, and Sunset is weak to them as well as her friends. That's why I stayed, Flash is training us to fight the shadows if they treaten us."

"...what?" Octavia said somewhat confused, "So, something will happen like last school year unless you find those stones?"

"Uh, I think so."

"That is... the most bizarre thing I've ever been told," she said feeling like she got lost in his explanation, but quickly regained her usual unamused demeanor, "But I'm not surprised, not after that day."

"Heh, I guess... Well, now you tell me, what were you doing here?"

Octavia blushed really hard with his question, not expecting him to turn the tables towards her.

"HUH? ME?! Heheh, well I.... Do you really wanna know?" she said feeling pretty nervous to talk.

"I told you about my deal, now you tell me what were you doing here?" Crowned asked kindly, making his partner realize she had no choice with how nice he was.

"...Okay, I suppose I should tell you," she said with some shyness in her voice, "You see, I... I love to play the chello, every since I took that music class I fell in love with the melody. I decided to start playing the chello to created harmonic and beautiful music, but everytime I show my partners my natural talent with the chello, they all seem to get quickly bored... and that saddens me, especially with my family. They all seem... concerned. They want me to follow the family business, as a lawyer."

"LAWYER?" Crowned exclaimed, utterly surprised.

"Yes. I mean, I know more than a thing about it, like, remember when I was talking with Celestia? I was preparing a case against those guys from the Corner, but I couldn't convince her yet I did managed to convince Luna to try catching them again, and for some reason it worked that time. I got the talent, but..." Octavia looked at the bow she was holding, and the chello she was playing minutes ago, "it's not what I like. I want to play the chello professionally, make entire crowed auditoriums fall under the charm of the harmonic sound of my chello... but the people here is too immature to listen to such music, that's why I practice at night, right here, to not be bothered at all."

Crowned couldn't help but feel a lot of symphathy for the girl, wishing that he could do something to help her.

"Oh Octavia... I'm so sorry..."

"You don't have to, you already made my day tonight," she responded smiling, suddenly making him blush.

"M-Me?!"

"Yes, you said you loved my music, and that really meant a lot for me," she replied, her cheeks as blushed as his were, "thank you, usually people says that I should play something else, or that I get interested in other kinds of music, like rock, pop... or dubstep. I mean, I already have a kinda crazy friend who loves that, but it's not my style."

"I get you, but I'm really the only one who has said that to you?"

"...okay, you're not the only person," she responded, somewhat embarrased, "but you're the first guy, though."

"Well then..." he then stood up and grabbed her chello, giving it to her, "I think you should practice more."

"What? B-But..." Octavia was surprised by his optimism.

"Your dream is the most beautiful think I've ever heard, it's passion that you feel for that dream, and it shouldn't matter to you what your family or what others say about you." Crowned smiled as he placed her hand over the big chello, "You have a true talent, you just need to believe in yourself."

Octavia's cheek glowed even redder than before, and tears started to appear in her eyes.

"Crowned..." she tried containing her tears, but couldn't help feeling she was at the brick of crying, "Crowned..."

"Octavia, are you okay?! I'm sorry if I said some-" suddenly, Crowned felt himself being pulled closer to her, embraced into a hug, "Huh?!"

"Thank you, Crowned, for saying those sweet things..." the girl wrapped her hands over his wraist, and he felt the warmth of her body, "Please forgive me for misjudging you... Crowned... my friend Crowny."

"C-Crowny?" hearing her new friend call him that way made Crowned blush completely and let out a silly laugh that made Octavia giggle.

"Mhmhmhm... Could you like to hear me play my chello?"

"Of course I could, dear T... Tavi," he hesitated, but felt like he needed to call her that way.

"Heheheh, Tavi? I like it," she responded with a bright smile, "Tell me, would you like if I teach you how to play music?"

As if the question wasn't enough, Crowned felt how Tavi pushed his arm closer to her, right in the middle of her chest. Not even crossing his legs would he hide the reaction to the softness he was feeling now.

"Humina humina humina... I mean... YES! I would lo-"

Suddenly, a loud screech startled both of them, making them jump in shock.

"AAAH!!!" Octavia screamed, feeling scared.

"Stay calmed, I'm here with you, Tavi," Crowned said as he now hugged her friend, controlling himself as the noises began growing outside the door, "It's the shadows... could it be that, now that you aren't playing your music, they're getting agressive?"

"M-my music?"

"There was a rumor that at this hours a ghost appeared, and it was said their music scared the shadows away..." In that moment, Crowned put the pieces together and realized what that meant, "Nobody knew it was you who was scaring them away!"

"M-me?! I... scare them away?" Octavia couldn't give credit to what the crowned boy said, and then he grabbed her by the shoulders and said:

"THE MUSIC YOU PLAY... IT'S SO PURE THAT IT CAN DRIVE THE EVIL A... AAAH!!!"

Crowned screamed as he realized the shadows had now forced the door open, and were slipping towards them.

"T-Tavi..." Despite feeling nervous, the boy put himself in front of Octavia, trying to cover her. "I'll try to stop them while you play your melody."

The gray musician wasn't sure if that would work now, until she remembered something, as she extended her arm and grabbed the case for her chello.

"...I have a better idea, Crowny." To his surprise, she opened the case, and from insideit, she grabbed what appeared to be a sabre.

"W-WHAT?!" Crowned was beyond confused watching her friend take out the weapon, but even more when she pointed it at the shadows and screamed:

"I WON'T LET YOU RUIN THIS SPECIAL MOMENT WITH MY DEAR CROWNY!!!"

As swift as a lightning, Octavia cut her way through the dark beings, with greath skill and precision, slashing them and banishing each one of the shadows, which disappearing as soon as her blade sliced them in half. Crowned's jaw dropped to the floor, astonished by her new friend's skill.

"OH-OH MY... H-HOW DID YOU DO THAT?!"

"Those things bothered me for a long time, as when I wanted to go home they always chased me," she began to explain, as she cut down a couple more shadows, "I decided to take fencing lessons and take advantage from the little gift my adventurer uncle gave me: This sabre, which now I'll use to defend us, friend!"

Cutting down more of the shadows, a path was finally open for both of them to leave.

"Pick up your stuff and mind, don't worry about the chello, it can stay here," Octavia commanded, still with her lady-like accent, "Let's just go home."

"Y-YEAH, SURE!" Crowned was still amazed of what Octavia had done in front of him, but that didn't distract him from picking up everything save the chello as they left the classroom.

The two students ran through the school halls as Octavia cut their way as more shadows tried to attack them. As they ran, Crowned noticed the principal's office wide open, and remembering what the "legends" said, saw it as a chance to investigate.

"T-TAVI!"

"Yes, Crowned?" Octavia asked, barely slowing down.

"THE PRINCIPAL'S OFFICE... IT'S OPEN, CAN WE MAKE A QUICK STOP THERE?"

"W-WHY?!" the girl felt very confused by his request.

"THE STONES I TOLD YOU ABOUT... I THINK THERE'S SUPPOSEDLY ONE INSIDE OF THERE!" Crowned explained to her, making things more clear.

"OH, OKAY, THEN JUST STAY RIGHT BEHIND ME!"

They then rushed to the office, with Octavia leading the way, and closing the door so the shadows wouldn't enter, or at least had to struggle to do so. Strangely for them, there was no sign of any shadow inside of there.

"Okay, let's just give a quick check, we grab the stone, and get the hell out of here," Octavia said, while looking around the empty office.

"I think that's a great idea!" Crowned said, feeling perhaps more scared than her friend.

The two students searched around the office, lifting up books and messing around the bookselves and paperworks, feeling the pressure of the dark creatures lurking outside, probably looking for a way to burst open the door. Suddenly, Octavia caught glimpse of some curious documents hidden in one of the drawers of the principal's desk.

"Hmmm, interesting..."

"What did you find, Tavi?" Crowned asked as he approached to her. Octavia brought out the papers and placed them over the desk so he could read them.

"These documents..." she read each one of them closely, uncovering their content, "They're all legal contracts and permissions of the goverment to realize work maneuvers over the school."

"That means they wanna expand the school?"

"It seems so, but..." reading further, she realized something wrong at the bottom of the paperwork, "It seems there's something wrong here."

"And what could that be?"

"They only have Celestia's sign, and apparently the goverment requires three signs to allow heavy machinery to operate on the school: One from the Governor, for approval; one from the principal, that is Celestia; and one from the vice-principal, that is Luna... but she hasn't signed."

"Hmmmm, strange. Why would she not sign this?"

" You know, I think I know why," Octavia began tu explain, as she grabbed the documents and placed them on their place, "I once heard a conversation between her and Celestia, and they were arguing about how Luna didn't want to 'attract the goverment' with how delicate this whole 'magical' situation around the school is. I mean, it's been a couple months since that happened, but even with that Luna is still somewhat paraonid about it and Celestia just wants to move on, and I can believe Luna would not let anyone from outside try to do works on Canterlot High."

"Oh, I understand that," Crowned commented, "But if its for the benefit of the school, I think she should at least try."

"Well, supposedly the shadows scared away the workers who were repairing a damaged classroom, and they scare any student that stays up late, so I don't think Luna's fears won't go away until we expell these shadows."

"Yeah, I guess..."

Putting the documents back in place, they continued their search for the stone. Octavia approached to the bookshelf at the left of the office, and noticed a small crack on the wall, right behind the shelf.

"Hey Crowned, look at this!"

Hearing her calling his name, he approached and noticed the crack too.

"Hmmm, this is strange. Give a moment..."

Pushing the shelf with a little help of Octavia, Crowned inspected the small crack, and managed to put his hand on it. To his surprise, he felt like it could be pushed, and when he did, a part of the wall also moved. It was actually a secret door, the crack being only a disguise.

"Tanana nana nanana!"

"Uh, what was that?" his friend asked confused.

"...Zelda." ...this earned him a pinch from her.

"CROWNY, NOW IS NOT THE TIME FOR GAMES! You dork..."

"Heheh, ouch..." he laughed silly, rubbing his arm where she pinched him.

Going inside the secret room, the students found a set of spiral stairs decending underground. There weren't any lights to illuminate the place, but they both had their cellphones at hand and used them to light their way downwards. At the end of the staircase, they found a curious looking door. Looking at each other with curiosity and a bit of fear, Crowned and Octavia slowly opened the door, but they sure didn't expected what they found.

"What is this place?" Crowned asked, looking around the place they found.

It looked like a vault or depot, or perhaps even the exhibition room of a museum, filled with old photographs in large frames on the walls, busts from several people as well as statues, and other kinds of antiques on display.

"I-I have no idea, but look! Those pictures are all from the school." Octavia approached to one of them, noticing something etched on the frame, "They all have a specific year engraved, so if we guide ourselves by the years, these are..."

The girl's eyes opened wide open when she realized what those were.

"T-This are all pictures of all the most important years from the school! And look! That's Principal Bonnie!" Octavia pointed to one of the largest frames, showcasing what probably was the original staff of the school, with the good ol' Principal Bonnie on the front. "She was the first principal this school had, and they say she was the nicest of all."

Crowned approached the large photograph, feeling a warm sensation just from looking at the original headmaster of Canterlot High. Octavia meanwhile was looking at the other frames, looking in awe at the history preserved in them.

"...oh, and here's the first expansion of the school, and this one is from when Bonnie and miss Apple Smith planted the great apple tree, which only grew bigger..." she sighed with joy, calming a bit after watching such a wonderful set of pictures. "Wow, they have all the history of the school in here! But... why?"

Her companion thought about it for a moment, giving her his conclusion.

"Maybe Celestia wanted to use this place as a time capsule, or maybe she feels it wouldn't be wise to exhibit this in front of our schoolmates, especially those who would scratch them or worse."

"Yeah, that could be right..." suddenly, Crowned heard her friend gasp in surprise, and calling for him, "CROWNY, LOOK!"

At the deepest part of the vault, the two noticed the round stone held over a small pedestal. It had a simbol with three butterflies imprinted on it.

"Oh, so the principals really had it, but why hiding it here?" Crowned asked as he approached to it.

"I don't think that matters, just grab it and let's go."

Following Octavia's instructions, he tried to grab the stone, but right when he was the closest...

"AAAHH! TAVI, WATCH OUT!"

Pushing his friend back, Crowned barely dodged the shadow that emerged from the floor right in front of him. Unlike the ones he saw before, this one had a more human shape, and even seemed to carry an armor over it.
This new shadow remained silent, just looking at them with bright red eyes that even illuminated the room.

"Tavi... go take cover," Crowned tried to put his friend behind him, but she refused.

"Not in a million years..." standing by his side, Octavia raised her sabre towards their foe. "STAY AWAY FROM HIM, SHADOW!"

But even she lowered her weapon in fear when the shadow's eyes glowed, followed by its deep, echoing voice:

"Y...YoU... YoU'vE..."

"Wait, Y-YOU CAN TALK?!" Crowned yelled in shock.

"...YoU'vE... InTerFeRReD...fAR... ToO lOnG."

"W-WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?!"

The shadow let out a sinister laugher, as it extended its arm menacingly.

"Il'Ll pUt YoU In yOuR pLAcE, KInG wItH nO KInGdOm!"

"W-WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" Crowned felt even more confused, while Octavia came to a realization.

"...wait, that's right! Why do you have that little crown of yours, Crowny?"

"I-It's not the time for that, I'll tell you when we're done with... him..."

Crowned couldn't believe what he was watching: The shadow's hand was surrounded in a dark aura, and as if it was a vacuum, it started draining the colors of all the frames in the vault, leaving them as empty white voids. The absorbed colours began taking an abstact humanoid form, a being made of living paint.

"W-WHAT IN THE WORLD IS THAT?! SOME KIND OF "PAINT-NATOR" OR WHAT?!"

"NOT THE MOMENT TO START NAMING MONSTERS, CROWNED!" Tavi said, as she raised her guard once again.

Once the creature had taken form, the armored shadow laughed eeriely, disappearing as suddenly as it appeared. Letting out what could only be described as growls, the paint monster stretched its arms and tried to hit the two students.

"TAVI, WATCH OUT!!!" Pushing her to the floor, they both dodged the monster's arms, which pushed the multiple busts and decorations to the sides, leaving enough space for it to move.

Noticing the now open field, they tried to run away to get some distance, but one of the arms managed to grab Crowned and pulled him towards its body.

"AAAH!!! HELP!!!" He yelled as the monster tried to absorb him inside him, feeling its goo-like body pushing him further.

"CROWNED, HOLD ON!!!"Running towards her friend, Octavia dodged the creature's arms and, with a swift swing of her blade, sliced the monster in two, freeing Crowned from its paint body as it appeared to melt.

"Thanks Tavi... Phew! At least it didn't left any stains on me," he said, still fazed about almost being eaten.

"Heh, are you always that positive? At least this is all..." before she could finish, the "Paint-nator" as Crowned called it reformed itself from the upper-half body. "W-What the bloody hell?!"

"TAVI!!!" Unnoticed by her, a second "Paint-nator" appeared right behind her, and was about to grab her when her friend ran and kicked the monster away from her. Thankfully its body felt more like jelly did time, and managed to push it away. Standing back to back, the two students tried to think of their situation as their foes dragged near.

"Crowny, seems that if I slash them, they'll just duplicate from their halves. First this two, then we would have four and so... what do you suggest?"

"I'm trying to think... ARGH... AND IF WE JUST SEAL THEM HERE?!"

"...AND LEAVE CELESTIA AND LUNE EXPOSED TO A POSSIBLE ATTACK?!"

Dodging more of their attacks, they both split for a moment rolling on the floor, as Octavia tried slashing their arms. While it worked, it was only temporal, and the arms simply reattached to the creatures' body. Standing side to side again, they saw further options.

"Okay, you are right about that... uhm..." Crowned looked to the empty photos, and lamented their fate, "Oh, that dastard ruined the school photographs!"

"I know, it shall pay for it when we- WATCH OUT!"

Pushing his friend away, the musician ducked to dodge another attack and sliced one of the creatures' arm, but before it could hit the floor she sent it flying away to the walls... landing right in one of the frames, where it dissolved and reattached to it, bringin back part of the photograph's colors.

"D-DID YOU SEE THAT!?" Crowned exclaimed at the scene.

"Y-Yes I did..." Looking right at his friend, Octavia helped him stand up, still with an eye towards their enemies who slowly dragged close, as they realized what to do.

"Octavia, slice those things again. I'll grab the other paintings."

"Alright... On my mark, you run as fast as you can."

"Okay..." Getting ready to run, he saw the monsters getting ready to attack again.

"NOW, RUN!"

Distracting the monsters, Crowned began to run towards the paintings, getting their atenttion. And as they stretched their arms to grab the boy, Octavia ran quickly towards them and sliced both in two, watching how they regenerated into now four smaller beings. Giving them no time to attack, she sliced them again, dividing them into eight new beings, barely as big as her but enough to still be able to surround and drag her to their bodies.

"CROWNY, HURRY UP, THIS IS GETTING TOO CROWDED!!!"

"I'M ON IT!!!" Grabbing one of the frames, he tried to reach her friend on time.

Octavia tried to slice the monsters once again, but this time they managed to grab her arms and legs, leaving her immovilized and pushing it towards one of the creatures. But just as it was about to drag her inside its body, Crowned slapped the portrait against it.

"Please work, please work, please work..." he slowly raised the frame, and saw how it completely regained its color, leaving just the creature's limbs helplessly flailing. "YES, IT WORKED!!!"

"Phew... Good, that's all I needed to know." regaining her breath, Octavia stood up again and sliced one of the creatures, kicking it back to the first photograph, which now fully recovered its color. And before the other half could reform, she kicked it back to another portrait.

Being brainless creatures, the remaining monsters futilely tried to grab the agile musician, who dodged them all as Crowned grabbed each frame and slammed the monsters into it, the remaining painting of them just flailing in the shape of limbs which they threw into those photos which lacked color. Soon, the photographs were back to their original form, no sign of a "Paint-nator" whatsoever.

"Phew... that ended up better than I expected," Crowned could barely catch his breath, sweating from running with all the portraits.

"Yeah, I agree... Let's just take the stone and leave," Octavia was happy they had dealt with them, but at the same time fed up with monsters for one day.

"S-Sure, just give me a moment."

Finally taking the stone from its pedestal, Crowned and Octavia returned upstairs where they left their stuff. Putting the stone in his backpack, the two left the school with Octavia opening a way. Compared to the paint monster, the other shadows were a breeze to her.

"Well at least that was easy," she said with a smile.

"Indeed..." Crowned looked up to the night sky, scared that they might've stayed far too long, "It sure got dark quickly."

"I think it's just the clouds," his friend said, checking on her phone the time, "Yep, it's barely midnight."

"Guess it's true..." Wanting to be more time with her, the crowned boy tried to be chivalrious, "Uhm, Tavi? May I take you home?"

"Hmhmhm, how kind of you, but that won't be necessary," she responded as she picked up a key from her backpack, "I have my own car."

"Oh... Okay, uhm..."

"I can drive you home if you want," she added, smiling to her friend, who didn't know how to react.

"Uuuuuuuuh, yes, but... It kind of embarrasses me that you're the one that has to drive me," he said while blushing.

"Oh come on, buddy, don't get like that. This day was pretty special: we stayed together telling us stuff, you told me how you like my music and how special it is to you, we had a... bizarre adventure to say the least... I think I shall stick with you more, my dear friend."

Having his friend hugging him made Crowned feel very nice inside, even more when she confessed she actually enjoyed their little encounter instead of what he feared.

"O-Oh, Tavi," he blushed even more, smiling from how nice it felt.

"Well, just tell me where your house is and I'll take you there." When she pressed the button to remove the alarm from her car, Crowned realized which one it was when he saw the lights of a Lamborghini turn on.

"W-WOAH, WHAT A CAR!" he exclaimed.

"You mean this?" Octavia said like it was nothing. "Oh, that's just the small car, you should see the others I have back at the manor."

"W-WHAT?!"

"Haven't I told you my dad is rich? ...actually, I think Vinyl was the only one who knew about it and I prefer it stays that way. Can you please keep the secret, Crowny?"

When she looked at him with shining eyes, Crowned realized how he was feeling something for her.

"S-Sure! ...I-I think we should go now," he said, feeling more nervous.

"Heheheh, calm down. Just sit down and leave the driving to me."

Octavia kindly drove home her new friend home, now with three elements on their side. Things seemed like they could be a piece of cake now, but unbeknownst to them, the mysterious shadow had his eyes over Crowned, looking from above the rooftop of the school as he was driven away, coldly smiling as he banished back inside.

END OF CHAPTER.

Author's Note:

OBLIGATORY TO BE CONTINUED MUSIC.

So if it isn't obvious what I've been obsessed in the last few weeks, I think it's obvious now.

Well, this was a fun chapter to edit. Now the plot has truly kicked in and the adventures off to full steam. Something worth noting was that the original version of this chapter prior to rewrite and further edits was... pretty different and not as great. Worth noting is that many characters who played smaller roles in the original draft have more action in this story, and this is just a bit of what's coming.

So, thank you for reading, credit of the story goes for my friend KingMario128, and see you all next time!

P.D. I know I've kept in hiatus my other story, but between work, college and editing this other story it sure has taken my time. But don't worry, I haven't forgotten it and I'll go back to it as soon as I can.