My Brave Pony Starfleet Humans STARFLEET EVENTS

by DakariKingMykan

Act 2: Strangers and Stranger

ACT TWO

Two years ago, Cadance’s older brother, and only living blood-relative, Fratello set sail with his team of Deep-sea fisherman. He emailed her everyday via his satellite powered cellphone, and kept well in touch with her.

Then one day, the news revealed a great storm out at had sunk the ship. There were no survivors whatsoever. However, the very last message Cadance received from her brother was about the storm, and that he had escaped in a life-raft…

But the message was poorly spelled, which suggested he was injured and weak, or that his phone was malfunctioning. After that the messages stopped coming.

Cadance had been haunted and plagued by it ever since, but despite the overwhelming evidence, she refused to believe her brother was gone. She knew him better than anyone, and deep down she couldn’t stop believing that somehow he was alive.

Still, she had to do her best to be brave for her students.

Bright and Early the next day, the students at CPA were all on the busses and prepared to head to Canterlot high, on the other side of the island.

Principal Cadance announced that all the students sit down and behave themselves. “Today, we compete in the Friendship games against Canterlot High.”

The students did not look so optimistic.

“Why bother?”

“We always lose to those guys.”

Cadance cleared her throat telling them all to be quiet. “Regardless if we win or lose, the whole point is for us to establish a good relationship with our neighboring school, and I expect to see courtesy and good mannerisms from all of you.”

The students agreed… at least to try, but to them this was pure torture.

Soon, the busses were on their way.

Some of the students were already whispering, plotting and scheming to come up with ways to ensure they would win this year.

The brain behind this was Indigo Zap; a snooty, in-your-face member of the CPA Shadowbolts, and she was determined to win this year and hopefully humiliate Canterlot High.

She passed around her plans to her buddies, and they secretly swapped it around making sure not to get caught.

“Sugarcoat, is it all set?”

Sugarcoat, a nerdy student, tipped her glasses and a manner telling her “Duh, I didn’t spend the last two weeks calculating and formulating every aspect for fun… that was just a bonus.”

Lemon Zest, another student, couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy. “I really don’t think cheating is a cool idea.”

“Yeah? Well I do.” sneered Indigo “We’ve tried everything else, and you know the old saying: “If you can’t beat ‘em; cheat ‘em”

“Um… actually it’s “If you can’t beat ‘em, join em.” said another student, Soursweet “But whatever.”

Indigo sat back down and scoffed.

Meanwhile, Twilight sat up front, looking a bit grim, and her school bag gave a little quiver.

“Spike, take it easy in there.” she whispered.

Her big brother was sitting next to her and asked “You talkin’ to me, Twily?”

Twilight had snuck Spike with her, when she was really supposed to leave him at the animal shelter that morning. She just couldn’t bear to be without him, and was keeping him concealed inside her bag and doing her best to keep it secret.

“Uh, know… just… talking to myself. Ya know, doing a few equations in my head.”

Her brother wasn’t sure what to think.

“Shouldn’t you be sitting with Cadance?”

“Nah, she wanted Lightning to sit next to her so she could go over a few things with him. Besides, I’d rather sit up here with you.”

He wrapped his arm around his sister. She did enjoy this, but she felt a bit awkward the way some students looked at her.

She was often teased and hooted at, since Shining Armor was the dean, and he was married to Cadance, which made them all feel Twilight got unfair treatments being family and all.

“Just ignore them.” he would say to her “At least you don’t have to represent them in the games.”

Twilight giggled softly. “Actually, sometimes I wish I were competing. Then maybe I could figure out what Canterlot High’s strategies are and come up with logical ways of determining their weaknesses.”

Her brother sighed “Twily, you’ve gotta stop overworking yourself like this. It’s not good for you.”

Twilight sighed “That’s what everyone says, except Lightning.”

Her brother shrugged “Twily, come on, don’t do this.”

“I can’t help it. I really think he just hates me.”

“He does not, but are you sure it’s not that you hate him?”

Twilight couldn’t say for sure. She didn’t really hate Lightning. He was a fine teacher for his age, and the students all looked up to him. “It’s just that, he takes things way to seriously, and he always jumps the gun and resorts to fighting to resolve his issues.”

Shining Armor couldn’t disagree with her, he, too, had his only little worries about Lightning, but all he could really think to say was “I don’t think you and he are as different as you think. Offhand I can’t think how, but there must be something.”

Twilight wasn’t sure if she could believe that, as she looked over her brother at the seat opposite theirs where Lightning sat with Cadance.

They practically were having the exact same conversation as the others.

“I know Twilight means well, and she’s a good student…” Lightning said “But she just doesn’t have the experience, the actual feeling, a sense of what it’s really like out there in the real world.”

Cadance shook her head, and though she well aware of Lightning past and hardships… “Lightning, I’m not trying to pick sides but, maybe you should learn to open up a bit. Be a little more optimistic instead of always lounging in the darkness and looking at the negative of things. You need to let go of the past.”

Lightning scoffed in a soft chuckle “That’s rich; “Let go of the Past”. I mean look at you. Here you are waiting for someone to come back that isn’t coming back, and after two years it still hasn’t clued you in yet; and you tell me to let go of the past.”

He stopped when Cadance’s expression hardened, and she folded her arms and slowly turned away from him, feeling very hurt.

Lightning felt deeply remorseful, and he had to keep well in mind this was his supervisor he was talking too, and what he said was not at all nice.

“I’m sorry, Cadance that was very rude of me.” Lightning said “I’m just worried about you. I think your setting yourself up for extreme depression.”

“I accept your apology...” Cadance said “But you’re wrong; Fratello alive, I just know he it. I know my brother; he would’ve survived.”

Lightning said nothing. Talking to her like this was almost like talking with Twilight, but not wishing to hurt her anymore, especially with his job on the line, he let it go.

Soon the busses arrived at Canterlot High, and all the students were there to greet them, as well as Principal Celestia and VP Luna, since Cadance was their adoptive niece.

Cadance and Shining Armor were overjoyed to see them, and shared a welcome hug. The Canterlot students thought it sweet, but the Crystal Preps merely scoffed and rolled their eyes.

Then the students’ eyes met with one another, and the Crystal Preps didn’t look a bit friendly nor interested in making friends.

Nevertheless, everyone was welcomed in for the welcoming party. The games would begin in the afternoon after the opening ceremonies.

Meanwhile, there was nothing to do that morning but party and try to get along.

Twilight stepped off the bus and was glad to be back at Canterlot High, for her ulterior motives were to snoop around and try to gain more information on all the strange happenings she suspected at the school… equipped with a special device she wore round her neck she made herself to detect abnormal energies and masses.

Spike began to fuss about in her backpack again. “Spike, stop it! I’ll let you out when the coast is clear.”

Lightning stood behind her and cleared his throat.

She turned and nervously giggled, while he just walked past her.

Twilight sighed heavily, not wanting to think about how close that was.

Suddenly, her device began to resonate near the statue in front of the school. “Weird…” she said as she moved in closer and the resonance became stronger.

“Twilight…!” Lightning called. She quickly shut off her tracker. “Are you coming?”

“Yes, I’m coming.”

As both she and Lightning walked up the stairs into the school, they couldn’t help but notice the Canterlot students looking at them.

“Hey, Twilight…”

“Long time, no see, Lightning.”

“How are things in space, Lightning?”

“Wow, they're back.”

Lightning and Twilight couldn’t understand this. Everyone seemed to know them, but they were certain they had never seen any of these people before, although walking down the halls made Twilight feel a little funny.

“Why I feel like I should know them?” she wondered “And this school? I’ve never actually been inside of it, but it feels all so familiar to me.”

Lightning felt more strange and awkward than she did. “I think I need I need some water.”

He rushed to the nearest fountain and took a few squigs, and when he got up, he bumped right into a Canterlot Student; Starla Shine.

“Oh, I’m sorry…” he said.

Starla, however, gazed at him, and her eyes began to sparkle. “Lightning? I can’t believe it, you’re here!”

Before Lightning could say anything, she had thrown her arms around him, hugging him warmly. Many of the students saw this, and while the Canterlot students didn’t mind, the Crystal Preps were confused and felt awkward…

Lightning blushed and felt very embarrassed “Um… excuse me, but have we met?”

Now Starla felt confused. “Lightning, it’s me, Starla. Don’t you remember me? And why are you wearing those clothes with the Crystal Prep insignia?”

Lightning didn’t know how much more confused he could possibly feel, and shook his head to snap himself awake from passing out in shock. “I’m sorry, but I think you’ve got the wrong guy. Excuse me please.” and he walked off rather quickly before anything else happened.

Starla still couldn’t understand it. Then she turned and saw Twilight coming up to her and asking “Um, why did you just hug Lightning like that? Are you his girlfriend or something, because I don’t think that’s very appropriate for a student to date a teacher?”

Starla felt her head would burst if she got any more confused. “I have to go…” she said, and she quickly sprinted off nearly knocking off Twilight’s glasses as she sped past her.

“O-kay…” Twilight simply said, and she walked down the hallway, passing by a small picture on the wall, decorated with a flowery wreath around it.

It was a picture of Flash Sentry, and below it was a plaque dedicated to his memory. This shocked Twilight to learn a student had passed away, but strangely, something about the picture itself seemed to bring back more and more deep feelings… like something from long ago that she couldn’t seem to remember.

Starla had rushed off to meet up with the rest of the gang, as they went over final details for the games, and when she told them of whom she met up with in the halls.

“You’re sure…?” asked Buddy Rose, still unsure to believe it.

“I’m positive.” said Starla “It was defiantly them. Twilight even said Lightning’s name.”

“So, Twilight goes to Crystal Prep now.” said Applejack.

They all remembered what happened; how that Twilight, obviously not the Princess Twilight Sparkle from the dimensional Universe, whom was dead, but the human counterpart of her from their world, and she used to attend their school, and had a crush on Flash Sentry, not knowing he was an evil Crystallite.

When the Crystallite aliens were plotting treachery, back when the gang first met the Lightning Dawn that they knew, Flash Sentry, while he was originally evil had attacked Twilight, knocking her into a deep coma.

They got the news that she had recovered and her IQ was up but a lot from the attack, but unfortunately she had suffered from permanent amnesia. She remembered nothing of her life at Canterlot High, any friends she had, not even Flash Sentry or the Lightning Dawn they all knew.

“Then that must mean the Lightning you saw was the actual human Lightning Dawn.” said Sunset.

“It’s gotta be…” said Pinkie, and she opened her laptop “Grandruler sent me this email this morning telling us to expect this.”

She opened the message and it read…

“If you see someone who looks like Lightning, don’t be fooled. He is not the Lightning Dawn that you all know and love; He is a teacher at Crystal Prep, and he has never met any of you before, and try not to frighten him or anything.”

“And you just tell us this now?” snapped Rainbow.

Pinkie giggled nervously “…Oops?”

Starla felt really embarrassed now. “I must’ve sounded so stupid to him out there.”

“I can’t believe he’s a real teacher.” said Applejack“I mean, he’s only a few years older than all of us.”

“We’ve heard other things about him, too.” said Dyno.

“Si, like he’s some mucho adventure-dude who beats up bad guys and recovers stolen goods.” added Myte.

This made everyone feel curious about the new Human Lightning.

“I wonder what he’ll think of us now.” said Fluttershy.

Rhymey though deeply and said…

“Well, Starla’s impression may have gone awry.
But it was a simple mistake, and she can say she’s sorry.
I’m sure that he’ll understand and let it go,
And we can befriend him just as so.”

“He’s got a point.” said Artie “But don’t forget it’s not just him we’ve gotta deal with…”

The others all agreed.

Soon, they were gathered in the gymnasium along with all the other students from both schools, and things did not seem to be getting along that well.

Though the place was decked out nicely with all the decorations and food tables, and everything else, practically the entire place; Canterlot students stood on one end of the gymnasium, the Crystal Preps took up all of the other. Neither side seemed willing to make any efforts to interact with one another, but mostly it was the Crystal Preps nasty attitude that drove them apart.

Indigo crushed a cup in her hand and declared “You guys are so going down this year.”

Many of the students stood beside her hissing like snakes and snarling like angry creatures.

Fluttershy felt creeped out, some of the others were irritated by their attitudes, and others, including Sunset were growing quite concerned. This was not a good start towards the so-called “Friendship” Games.

“Gee, I never thought I’d say this…” said Pinkie “But this party is kind of a… downer.”

“Ya think?” said Rainbow. “Why can’t we just get the games over with and be done with this already?”

“That’s not how it goes, Rainbow.” said Buddy “Besides, you know as well as we all do these games last all through the weekend.”

“At least our accommodations and quite provided for.” said Rarity “Mr. Grandruler did permit us all to stay over the night and paid well for our provisions and such.”

“Speaking of Grandruler, shouldn’t he be here already?” asked Dyno.

“Oh, you know these businessmen, always busy like bees.” said Myte.

The party still didn’t seem to be getting any livelier, and Pinkie stood firmly and said “I think it’s time to crack open a can of my specialty.”

“Careful, Pinkie…” said Sunset “You know what could happen if you overdose it.”

“Ah, don’t worry. I know what I’m doing.”

She swiftly went around, placing trays of cupcakes and other fancy treats on the snack-tables, and then took the DJ’s place one stage and shouted “Okay, everyone, it’s time to REALLY PARTAE!!”

With that, she fired her party cannons of confetti, changed the lighting, and cranked up the music, and the students from both schools couldn’t help but move to the beat, finally starting to get into the partying mood.

“Yeah, now that’s more like it.” Pinkie hollered, and that’s when she began to glow as he magic began to show.

“Pinkie…!” Artie called to her softly, and gave her the kill-gesture. Pinkie quickly stopped before she gave it all away to the Crystal Prep students. Thankfully, they were all too busy partying to notice…

…except for Twilight.

She saw the whole thing, and she raised her detector to scan Pinkie, and the levels registered abnormally. “Strange…” she said.

Then she moved along scanning Pinkie’s friends, and they all registered too. As for Sunset, her levels were off the charts, far higher than any of the others. “What is this?” Twilight wondered.

She then tried scanning all the other students, and but they all registered clean. Then she suddenly remembered “The statue outside…”

She silently excused herself from the party and ran out of the gymnasium, right past Lightning. “Where are you going?” he called to her.

“I’ll be right back.” she called back, and then she was gone.

The ladies and Shining Armor came up to him, having seen Twilight run past.

“I guess she’s still not much of a party animal.” said Cadance.

Lightning understood that, and he looked through the doors at all the students and how happy they all seemed to be, now that they weren’t quarreling, though they were still separated on opposite ends of the gymnasium.

“Why don’t you go in?” Celestia suggested.

“Yes.” added Luna “You never got experience a school gathering like this.”

The two sisters knew fully well about Lightning’s past, also having met him before through Celesto, they both knew this was not the magical Lightning Dawn they knew.

“I don’t think so…” Lightning said “I’m a teacher, not a student. It just wouldn’t feel right.”

He continued to gaze in at the students, and then his eyes fell upon Starla, the girl who hugged him and mistook him. He did think she was rather pretty though, but that’s as far as he went; not wanting to come off as anyone disgusting.

A teacher liking a student…? What would be next?

“I need some air…” Lightning said, and he headed for the front doors.

“Poor kid.” said Shining Armor “That’s one thing he and Twilight have in common; they’re both downers.”

“At least it’s understandable.” Someone said.

The four turned round and saw Celesto standing there, finally back from his meetings that morning. “Hello everyone…”

“Hi uncle…” Cadance said, giving him a hug.

Shining Armor shook his hand.

Celestia gave her husband a soft kiss.

“I’m glad to things are under control here.” he said “Oh, and Cadance, this dropped in at the office for you. I thought I’d bring it to you in person.”

He placed a letter in her hand, but Cadance preferred to look at it later and tucked it away in her suit.

“Did get the grant for the expedition?” Luna asked.

Her brother-in-law nodded “Now it’s simply a matter if Lightning wants to take it, but he’ll have to let me know my tomorrow morning. Where is he by the way?”

“He just stepped out for a bit.” replied Celestia.

Outside…

A few groups of students were just hanging out and chilling with one another rather than go to the party, while Twilight slunk about to avoid being seen. She made her way over to the statue, and got out her detector. The levels registered the biggest and craziest reaction she had scanned yet.

“This… this is impossible.” She cried.

Spike popped his head out from her back and watched with awe.

The resonance became stronger, and stronger, until suddenly in a big flash of light. “Hey, what’s going on!” cried Twilight as she struggled to maintain a firm grim as her scanner seemed to absorb a powerful flowing energy from the statue.

Lightning was just stepping outside when he saw the weird lights emitting from the statue. “What in the name of…?!”

All the students hanging around saw it as well, and there were just as shocked and surprised.

Then, the lights ceased, and everything was all quiet.

Twilight fell onto her bottom, and Spike fell out from her bag. No one else saw her or knew what she had just done. Even she couldn’t figure out what just happened, but her device was now glowing softly.

“I knew something strange happened at this school, but what is it?” Twilight asked to Spike. Spike could only shrug as even he couldn’t figure it out.

As for Lightning, he back against the wall with a creeped out expression on his face. He rubbed his eyes and softly swatted himself to make sure he wasn’t dreaming.

…there was no denying what he saw. “I don’t know what that was…” he said softly to himself “But I’m going to try and find out what. Then maybe I can figure out just what goes on here on this island.”

Meanwhile, that wasn’t the only mysterious thing that had happened!

What started out as a calm quiet day in Japan, a huge hurricane broke out over the entire country.

What was normally a very hot day in Australia, it was snowing!

And even in Russia, it was normally bitterly cold, and yet today, the people were outside without their jackets on, and that didn’t happen often.

All over, very strange and abnormal weather patterns were occurring, but meteorologists and scientists were baffled and hadn’t a clue how this was happening?

It was actually the work of that evil lady in her secret lair, causing all the hurricanes, typhoons, just as a bit of fun, and she laughed hysterically as she watched it all from her monitors.

“How wonderful. Long have I waited to see the people suffer and squirm. The hour of my dominance draws near.”

She clapped her hands, and her minion approached her.

“You called, mistress?”

“By this time, your message should have been given. It is time for you to go and play your part.”

The minion agreed but he couldn’t help but say “I don’t understand? Why is it so important we carry out this little side quest of yours?”

His master turned and sneered deeply at him “I will take no chances. I want total assurance there will be nothing to interfere in my plans. Nothing must ever be overlooked you know, or do you have a problem with that?”

“No… I have none.”

“Right then, get going, and do not disappoint me, or else…” and she threatened him with the remote control.

The minion ran off to carry out his mission, leaving the master to turn back to her monitors and narrow her evil eyes at everything she saw.