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Ch. 1 - Welcome to College2,542 words
Ch. 2 - The Gang's Back Together3,759 words
Ch. 3 - A New Adagio5,124 words
Ch. 4 - Magic, Monsters, and Managers4,577 words
Ch. 5 - Cafeteria Talk5,501 words
Ch. 6 - A Troubled Truth3,740 words
Ch. 7 - The Archer Arrives3,571 words
Ch. 8 - Blaze and Steel4,937 words
Ch. 9 - Meeting of the Knights3,825 words

Ch. 3 - A New Adagio

As all twelve girls were walking to the front of the campus grounds, Sunset Shimmer was explaining to the former Shadowbolts about how they faced the sirens during the Battle of the Bands that they created, and how Sunset had to redeem herself in the process. Learning that they no longer have any magical powers since their defeat, the girls were hoping that Adagio had finally changed, just like Aria did.

They were able to see the small restaurant across the street from the front of the campus grounds with the “Johnny’s” sign on it. From the outside, it looked like an old style burger joint. But once they were able to cross the street and make it inside, it really looked like an old burger joint. Seeing the red stools in the front and the booths to the sides was proof enough. But the black menu sign with the white letters and red numbers attached to it made it feel really old.

“Is it just me, or did we travel into the past,” Sunny Flare said.

“Hey. You don’t see me complaining about my home like that,” Applejack explained. “Some people like the vintage look.”

“Plus, it has passed proper inspections to maintain the place,” Rarity said as she pointed to the inspection report with the number 98 written on it. “It might be old, but if the money earned is going to food, maintenance, and workers, then maybe it shouldn’t be a big deal about image.”

“Spoken like a true owner.” The girls looked to the guy running the iron grill in front of him. He had light brown skin and short white hair, and had an average build for an old man. He turned around to greet the girls. “Name’s Johnny Grill. Been running this place for over 40 years, and no one that has come here often has ever complain about it. Although I spent the past ten years expanding it with the empty room next door.”

“Well, it doesn’t look all too busy,” Rainbow Dash said, noticing a couple of customers on the stools.

“That’s because it’s a Saturday, and everyone is still checking in to the dorms,” Johnny explained. “It gets really busy during the weekday lunch hour, that’s for sure. I’m guessing you girls are new here, right?”

“Yes. We were meeting an… old friend here who works on campus,” Sunset explained.

“Well, grab you a few booths and the miss’s will be glad to take your orders.”

So the girls went over and found three empty booths next to each other. Fluttershy, Rarity, Sunny Flare, and Sour Sweet sat at the first booth. Sunset, Twilight, Sugarcoat, and Applejack sat at the next one. And Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie took the last one. One of the servers came up behind each booth and took their orders before walking back and handed them to Johnny, and returning with their drinks. With some time to kill, the girls decided to talk about what they are planning to do for college.

“So, what are you girls majoring in?” Twilight asked.

Rainbow Dash was the first one to speak. “Well, turns out that me and Indigo have the same major in Athletics.”

“Yea. I also got a scholarship with the girl’s basketball team,” Indigo said.

“And I got mine with the co-ed soccer team,” Rainbow added. “But I might try out with the girl’s basketball team when that comes around, just to help Indigo out.”

“Hey, you weren’t that bad when we faced each other in high school,” Indigo explained. “I’m sure you’ll make the team.”

“Well, I do plan to major in business,” Rarity said. “I want to expand my fashion business when I’m done here.”

“I been meaning to ask, but who’s running the boutique while you’re here?” Applejack asked.

“Sassy Saddles. She started working there last year,” Rarity explained. “I do admit that it was a rough start working with her on how I run things, making sure she understood that each dress must be unique to its owner. But she was able to understand after working for a few months. And we do plan to keep in touch with work whenever we can. What about you, Fluttershy?”

“Well… um… I’m working in the university’s medical department in nursing. I want to be a veterinarian and help out more at the animal shelter.”

“Well, you do know how to communicate with animals,” Sunset said. “Should make things easier for you.”

“Well, I’m majoring in theater,” Sunny Flare said with dramatic flare.

“Better be careful, Sunny. You might have some competition,” Rarity said.

“And why’s that?”

“Trixie’s majoring in that as well,” Rarity explained.

“You mean The Great and Powerful Trixie,” Rainbow replied, trying to imitate Trixie’s talk in third person. Rarity nodded, to which Rainbow replied, “Please. As long as she doesn’t get carried away, I’m sure that Sunny will have no problem with her.”

It was Pinkie who went next. “Guess what I’m majoring?”

“What, partying?” Sour Sweet asked.

“No silly. Visual Arts.”

“I would have never thought of you to enter a field like that,” Sunset said.

“Well dud. Partying is an art. And I want to make my parties stand out for everyone,” Pinkie replied.

Applejack replied, “Typical Pinkie.”

“What about you, Lemon?” Pinkie asked.

“Music Education.” Everyone just stared at Lemon Zest. “What? I think it’s cool to teach music to others.”

“Guess that could explain why you brought your keyboard on campus,” Indigo said.

“Isn’t Flash majoring in that as well?” Applejack asked.

“I think he’s majoring in Music Performance,” Sunset replied. “But don’t be surprised to see him around, Lemon. What about you, Twilight?”

“Oh. Um, Computer Science. I mean, I like to do lots of research here and there and invent things, so I though it would be best to focus in that field.”

“I think that suits you well,” Sugarcoat said. “I’m focusing on Physical Science, with a minor in Mathematics.”

“I’m actually focusing on Agriculture,” Applejack said. “I’m hoping it can help me out with the farm better.”

“And who’s helping out on the farm while you’re here?” Rarity asked, since Applejack asked about her business.

“Lyra and Bonbon. They’re attending a community college back in Canterlot and helping out with Big Mac on the farm for some extra money. I will say this, we have had a few times that the farm was hit hard with bad weather. I’m hoping that I can find a better way for the farm to last longer, since mom and dad passed away long ago. Granny Smith can’t keep it up forever and work at the school at the same time.”

“What are you majoring in, Sour Sweet,” Twilight asked.

“Psychology.”

“I’m majoring in that as well,” Sunset said. “Is there a reason that you wanted to major in that field?”

“Well… for starters, I’m trying to understand my condition,” Sour explained. “I know it’s bipolar, but not sure in detail.”

“They thought it could be schizophrenia, but others thought it was something else,” Sunny Flare explained. “Soon then, she’s looking through various reports and news articles and… well, she got hooked on it. Now she wants to learn more about mental conditions and how she can help others adjust to them.”

Sunset looked at Sour Sweet and asked, “Are you taking any meds?”

“Platinum pills for now. It’s… kinda helping out.”

“But she still has her outburst now and then,” Sunny Flare added. “I have to keep a close eye on her.”

Sour Sweet rolled her eyes and said “Thanks a lot… mother.”

“So I can guess you have Mr. Discord as your guidance councilor, right?” Sunset asked.

“No. Dr. Chrysalis Changeling,” Sour replied. “Do they both work in the same department?”

“Well, this came from Miss Luna, but his real name is Dr. Discord Draconequus. Besides being the former principal of CHS, he also specializes in psychology and was selected to be the new president of Equestria University. He understands students very well and knows when problems come up in their lives. He only likes to be called Mr. Discord because of his last name. Everyone that knew him at CHS called him that. Although, I must say, he’s not quite like the Discord from my world, but I was told that he has changed since then. But I have heard of the name Chrysalis from my world, through Princess Twilight.”

“How about you hold off with that,” Applejack said, because she noticed that their food was coming their way.

“Here you go. I believe you two wanted the salad.” The server handed the salads to Rarity and Fluttershy. “And the others wanted burgers.” She started to hand out some of the orders that she could carry, then went back to collect the remaining orders and handed them to the rest of the girls, along with a plate of fries for each booth. “Fries are on the house, courtesy of Johnny himself. Enjoy.”

“Might fine of him to do that,” Applejack said.

“We should give them a special tip for the service,” Rarity said, to which they all nodded.

As they were eating their meals, a professional lady with yellow skin and orange puffy hair walked in, dressed in a white blouse, black skirt down to her knees, and black heals. She was carrying a big white purse over her shoulder. Johnny looked to great the lady that walked in.

“Adagio. I didn’t expect you to show up today.”

“Hi Johnny. I’m just here to see some friends of mine.”

“You must be the girls over there,” Johnny replied, pointed to the three booths at the side.

Adagio looked and said, “Yep, that’s them. Can you fix up my usual, please?”

“Sure thing.”

Adagio started to walk towards the girls in their booths. Applejack was the first to notice, because she had the best view.

“Looks like the lead siren finally showed up.”

Sunset looked over and saw the same thing. “Twilight, can you sit on the other side. I want to make sure she’s not here to cause any trouble.”

Twilight did what she asked and went over with her food and sat next to Sugarcoat. Adagio saw this and sat down next to Sunset. There was an awkward silence before Adagio spoke.

“I guess you heard from Aria about what happened to us. And yes, things have changed for us.”

“We’ll believe it when we see it,” Rainbow Dash said.

Adagio sighed and continued. “Look. What we did back then was wrong, I know that. Being possessed by those pendants and living in this world for so long can have an effect on us. We wanted to return home, but being sent to this world was our punishment… and we deserve it.”

“What about what you did to our school?” Rarity asked. “You took control of everyone and turned them against us. You even did the same to us, even if you didn’t use your pendants on us.”

Adagio looked back at Rarity, then looked forward and sighed again. “Look. I thought those pendants… those gems, were a gift to us. Now I think they were nothing more than a curse. If anyone deserves true magic, it’s you girls. Me and my sisters don’t even deserve it.”

Applejack started at Adagio and said, “If I didn’t know any better, I be thinking that you’re telling the honest truth.”

“It is. Ever since we got new jobs here, I’ve been reflecting on the past and all of the mistakes that I made. And I can say this-” Adagio looked at Sunset and said, “I can understand what you went through and how you were able to redeem yourself in front of others. And I knew I needed to do the same.”

“And have you?” Sunset asked.

“I’m getting there. I think Sonata had it easier to do that than me or Aria. Although, Aria now has a boyfriend to get her through it.”

“SO WE NOTICED!” The girls laughed.

“Yea. Both her and Sonata are lucky,” Adagio said.

“You mean Sonata has a boyfriend as well?” Pinkie Pie said with excitement.

“Yea. He’s… different, that’s for sure. Best you hear it from her when you see her. She’s been busy getting the cafeteria ready before freshman orientation begins. But enough about me and my sisters. What is this Equestrian magic that I’m sensing from you girls. Or should I say the pendants that you’re wearing.”

“You can sense it too, right?” Sunset asked Adagio, when she replied with a nod. “We’re not sure how they got here, but we think they were meant to belong to us. Have you sense any Equestrian magic anywhere?”

“Not since the Battle of the Bands,” Adagio replied. “I didn’t think I could sense it until now. I’m guessing it runs in our blood. But if what I heard from is right, there could be more of it anywhere, which could become a problem if it was in the hands of any human. You already saw it at Camp Everfree.”

“How did you know about all this?” Applejack asked Adagio.

“Your principal told me about it. And before you ask, yes I did meet her and her sister when they were called over her to resolve a problem at Crystal Prep. I told her not to bring me or my sisters up about working here. I figure you have bigger problems to deal with. And after what happened at the Friendship Games and Camp Everfree, you already have your hands full.”

“When did you meet them?” Twilight asked her.

“A few months after the Friendship Games. Principal Cinch wanted to expel some students that took part in the games. I think it was you five,” as she was pointing to the five former Shadowbolts.

“Wait a minute. We were about to be expelled?” Indigo asked.

“You mean you didn’t know?”

Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare said, “No!” But they soon noticed that Sugarcoat didn’t respond.

“Sugarcoat, do you know anything about this?” Sunny Flare asked.

“Well…”

Sunset reached out for her hand. “Look, you can-” But before she could finish, she started to see a vision from Sugarcoat. She was leaning next to the door to the Principal Cinch’s office.

“Damn it. This school has become a disgrace. Ever since those so-called Friendship Games, the students can’t even achieve what they should be. And even though I tried to place stricter rules for the school, they still slack off. No doubt it’s those five girls who decided to turn against me after that so-called magic show I saw. Well, if you want to fix the system, then you have to remove the root of the problem. And expelling those students well do quite well. If I can do it with Twilight, then I can do so with them as well.”

Sunset’s vision came to an end. She looked at Sugarcoat and asked, “Was Cinch trying to… blackmail you like she did to Twilight?”

Sugarcoat responded. “Yes. I was on my way to deliver the student board report when I heard a noise from her office. I listened in and heard her talking about expelling the five of us from the school… or that’s what I believed it to be. So I went to see Dean Cadence and told her what I heard. All she said was to forget about it and that she would deal with it personally. That’s why I never said anything about it.”

“And it was a good thing you did,” Adagio said. “Mr. Discord got a call from her about what was going on and decided to have a… talk with the others.”

Adagio was working at her desk when two ladies came walking up to her.

“Ms. Abacus Cinch and Miss Cadence are here to see the Dr. Discord Draconequus,” Cinch said.

Adagio got up and walked to the door to his office. “Ah yes. They are waiting for you. This way please.”

“They?” Cinch replied with a raised eyebrow.

Adagio opened the door and went in, with Cinch and Cadence following her. As they walked in, they saw Mr. Discord at his desk and two familiar ladies sitting on one side of the room.

Cinch saw them and said, “I hope there’s a reason for Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna to be here.”

“There is… Ms. Cinch.” A man on the other side of the room turned around to face them. He had gray skin and black hair, and was dressed in a black business suit.

“Mr. Sombra Umbra. I wasn’t-”

“Sit! Down!” Sombra commanded Cinch after cutting her off.

Cinch was startled at first, but went on ahead and sat at one of the remaining two seats next to Sombra, with Cadence sitting in the chair next to her. Adagio went around Mr. Discord’s desk and stood next to him. With everyone in place, Mr. Discord decided to speak first.

“Now, the reason I called you here is that I have been hearing some… strange things going on between Canterlot High and Crystal Prep. Something about… magic going on in the schools? Would you care to explain, Celestia?”

A small, evil grin came across Cinch’s face.

“Well, there have been some… magical events happening in our school in the past few years,” Celestia explained.

“Yes. I heard about what happened at one of our Fall Formal’s and the destruction of the front wall and grounds. Not to mention seeing to it that the costs were covered for the repairs,” Discord said.

“Then there was the Music Festival that turned into the Battle of the Bands,” Luna added.

“Of course. What was believed to be some new students decided to take control of the school for their own… personal reasons,” Discord said while giving a glance at Adagio.

“And then there was the Friendship Games, where and few incidents happened,” Celestia said.

“Incidents that involved the use of magic to win,” Cinch decided to add.

“If I recall, you tried to use that same thing on your best student yourself,” Luna corrected.

“Excuse me, but-”

“THAT’S ENOUGH!” Sombra decided to cut Cinch off again. “I have heard what happened at the Friendship Games from the Dean herself. And I was not impressed with your work. You decided to blackmail you smartest student to compete, even though her athletic skills were not up to standards in the event.”

“But archery is-”

“Archery is a sport that requires strength and skill, which she lacks, from what I have been told,” Sombra explained again. “Something you should have thought of at the time.

“Well, they won that event after vine-like creatures came out of nowhere,” Cinch explained. “If that’s not magic, then what is?”

“Those vines came from the magic that your student was trying to take during her research while she was here,” Luna said. “And another of your students would have been lunch if it wasn’t for one of our students to come to their rescue.”

“So you do admit that you cheated,” Cinch responded.

“Principal Cinch, the ones that passed the finish line used no magic what so ever. The final stage of the race was a fair race from what I saw,” Cadence said.

“So you’re going to side with them,” Cinch told Cadence.

Discord decided to intervene. “Now, now. I believe there is more to this. If you will continue, Sombra.”

“What I heard next was what disturbs me. You decided to blackmail Twilight again in releasing this… magic. In return, she turned into some demon like creature and nearly destroyed the school and all the students that was there, including students from Crystal Prep.”

“Well, its just-”

“I do not want to hear your excuses,” Sombra said as he cut Cinch off for a third time. “You risk the lives of others just to win a game that me and Discord created to bring our schools together? This is not some competition. It was designed to be done in good sport, nothing else. And now, I’m hearing that you plan to expel some students because they wouldn’t side with you after what happen during the games?”

“Those students were not living up to their standards for the school,” Cinch explained.

“After you decided to make the school stricter?” Cadence said. “I think not.”

“And what would you know, Cadence,” Cinch replied.

Before they could continue, Adagio placed her hand on Discord’s shoulder. “Perhaps I should resolve this.” Discord looked at her and gave her the nod. Adagio walked on over to where Cinch was at and spoke.

“Perhaps you don’t understand how magic works in this world, especially Equestrian Magic.” Cinch was about to interrupt, but stopped when she heard Adagio’s words. “You see, magic can be used for good… or evil. It depends on who possesses it and how it can be used. Now from what I have heard, Twilight didn’t know what she was getting into. And when you threaten her to use this magic that she collected, you never thought about how it would be used on her, just like you had no knowledge of her lack of athletic skills. But luck would have it that a girl from Canterlot High would have the knowledge on magic that she would be able to stop the damage that Twilight caused and save her from the corruption that you caused on her.”

“And what makes you say that?” Cinch asked.

“You heard about what happened at the Battle of the Bands. That work was MY doing,” Adagio said as she faced Cinch from the side. “And it was the same kind of magic from the same girl and her friends that defeated us. And you know what? I should be glad that they did that, because it freed me from the siren’s curse, just like it freed Twilight from the magic that she tried to take, only for it to have a will of its own. But none of that wouldn’t have happened if you haven’t pressured her into releasing it in front of her. So everything that happen back then… was your doing. So don’t go placing blame on others for your own work. You caused this pain and placed it on the school and its students. Remember that.”

Cinch was unable to respond to what Adagio explained. So it was Sombra’s turn to respond.

“I value the best for my students when I created Crystal Prep. And I expect them to be the best. But forcing them to be perfect just to see all the awards on display is not what I expect in return. I expect my students to make mistakes and learn from them, so that it will help them grow. If they are the best, that is fine with me. But students need to be ready to make a name for themselves in the real world, and be ready to rise to the challenge and accept failure if that was to happen. That is what Crystal Prep was made to be. Unfortunately, you have forgotten what the school’s purpose was just so you would care about your own pride in the school.”

When Cinch heard all this, she was at a loss for words. Nothing she could say would fix the damage that she has caused to the school.

“So, you have anything to say about all this?” Discord asked.

Cinch’s reply was a simple “No.”

“Sombra? This was your school. How would you like to resolve all this?” Discord asked.

“I think it would be wise to take some time away from the school and start reflecting on everything that she has done,” Sombra said. “What do you say about that?”

Cinch took a moment to think about it before giving her answer. “I’ll… I shall resign… at the end of the school year. I will leave it up to you, Sombra, on who should take my place as principal of the school. I feel… that I have failed as a principal of the school. I know that the students that took part in the Friendship Games will have graduated by that time, but there are other students that need the proper guidance to make a future for themselves.”

Cinch decided to get up and walk out of the office, feeling defeated.

“Damn. That was harsh, dude,” Lemon Zest said.

“I never knew that Mr. Sombra can be that hard when someone doesn’t do what he wants them to do,” Indigo Zap explained.

“Well, I do recall that he wanted the school’s students to be the best, but I never expect that he would want us to fail as well,” Sunny Flare said. “But I guess if you do fail, you have to pick yourself back up and try again.”

“Something that I’ve been doing since I got here,” Adagio said.

It was then that Johnny walked up and handed Adagio her usual order, a burger and milkshake. “Here you go.”

“Thanks, Johnny.”

Johnny walked back to his grill. Adagio decided to take a big bite of the burger and was lost in the taste. This got some unusual looks from the girls, which she caught on to.

“What? You never seen a lady eat a burger? These things are good. And the milkshakes aren’t half bad either.”

“Well, a lady needs to spoil herself once in a while,” Rarity said.

“I guess it’s true. You really have changed,” Applejack said.

“You know, if Mr. Discord and Mr. Sombra know about your past, is there anyone else that knows about this, besides Aria’s boyfriend,” Sunset asked Adagio.

“Was hoping you ask that. There are two other professors that know about me. One of them is Chrysalis. I think one of you have her as a guidance councilor.”

“That would be me,” Sour Sweet said as she raised her hand.

“Well, she’s not quite like the one from our world. And yes, I have met her long ago. But this one’s a bit different. She likes to get inside your head and get an idea of what you’re dealing with. Had a few sessions before that meeting with Cinch. Helped me understand what I was going through and what I should be doing with my life. And don’t let the green bug eyes fool you. They’re contact lenses that she likes to wear.”

“And what about the other one,” Sunset asked.

“She’s one that might help you with your magic search. Her name is River Song. She’s in charge of the History department, but also works in archeology and astronomy, which are rare classes to have on campus. She likes to spend her summers overseas on some research trip. But this past summer, she came across something… magical.” She pulled out what look like a tabloid from her purse and opened it to a page that she had tabbed. “She came across a girl over in the Middle East who was trying to remove a curse from some bracelet that was stuck on her. And it involved an event back in Manehattan. The girl in question was facing some pharaoh that woke from the dead. I know it sounds strange, but I’m not sure if it could be connected to Equestria or not.”

Sunset took a look at the tabloid.

“Not to sound offensive, but tabloids are used to so people can get money on stories that aren’t even true,” Sunny Flare said.

“Maybe so. But not this one.” Sunset handed the tabloid to Twilight. “Take a look at the picture at the bottom.”

Twilight looked at the picture. It wasn’t clear, but it looked like a girl holding up her arm in front of some strange figure. The girl was wearing what looked like a turtle neck sweater. “Is that… Moon Dancer?”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Sunset said. “Does she wear sweaters like that?”

“Yes. Her skin’s sensitive to the sun, so she wears sweaters and long sleeve shirts like these. But why would she be a part of this.”

Adagio explained. “Well, I was told that she would be attending EU this year, and figure that you would keep an eye out for her. But if you know her, that should make it easier. River Song was able to help her remove the curse, but also asked her to hold on to the bracelet so that it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands. There might be magic in it, there might be not. I’m not sure, but if it could be from Equestria…”

“We should be able to sense it,” Sunset said. “Perhaps it’s time to exchange some magic stories with each other. Then she might reveal it to us, if she has it.”

“I would have to agree,” Twilight said. “But what if it’s not Equestrian magic?”

“Then it’s one less worry for all of us,” Adagio said. “But Sunset, just remember this. There might be magical forces that don’t come from Equestria. If that’s the case, then the magic you hold may not work on other types of magic. I still remember the difference between the anger I took form the other students and from you girls, and they were both different.”

“So while our powers have some usefulness on others, it may not work to take down any threats that are not related to Equestria,” Sunset said. “We may have not come across anything like that, but it’s best to be cautious about what we face in the future. Thanks for telling us this, Adagio.”

“No problem. I’m starting to get tired of all these curses going around, Equestrian or not. And I don’t think anyone else needs to do the same. Now are you girls going to finish your lunch, or do you plan to let it get cold. Johnny makes the best burgers in the area.”

They all agreed, to which Sunset said, “Can’t argue with you there.”

Author's Note:

If you read the old one, then you can see what is similar between this chapter and the same scene from the old one. A couple of new elements were added to this chapter in hopes to prepare for what's to come.

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