So You Say You Want a Revolution
The bell rang, indicating the end of the school day. While the Crystal Prep students started for home, the Canterlot High volunteers made their way to the bus stop.
"Well. That wasn't so bad," said Lyra, placing her hands behind her head. "A lot better than when we came here for that soccer match."
"Yeah, I've always heard rumors that Crystal Prep was full of jerks, but they're actually kinda nice," said Silver Spoon. "Though I'm still gonna study my butt off when I get home. Those teachers mean business."
"No kidding. Did you see those equations they had to memorize?" said Bon-Bon. "That felt like calculus-level stuff."
Sunset shrugged. "It didn't look that difficult, to be honest. If anything, I'm more baffled by Professor Gourmand's home economics class."
"Yeah, I'm pretty convinced that old hag has no taste buds to speak of," said Sonata, looking a bit green. "I mean, didn't those guys used to brag that they were better than your school in every way? Why is their food so bland and mushy?"
"No one was asking you to eat the whole thing, Sonata," Aria sighed, rolling her eyes.
"She looked like she'd kill me if I didn't! What was I supposed to do?!" Sonata whined, clutching her stomach. "Ooh, I feel so sick~. I need tacos, stat!"
"How is eating more going to make you less sick?" Aria inquired incredulously.
"Because I need to remind myself of what good food actually tastes like, that's why."
"C'mon, I doubt it was that bad."
"How do you know?! You didn't eat it!"
"Oh, will you two just shut up?" Adagio snarled, pinching the bridge of her nose. "What did I ever do to deserve this?"
"What, you mean besides trying to take over the world and hypnotize us into being your slaves?" asked Diamond Tiara.
Adagio shot Diamond Tiara a look. "That's what should have happened, you little—"
"Hey, hey. Easy," said Sunset, stepping between Adagio and Diamond. "Adagio, trust me. I've faced this kind of thing before. You can't let it consume you like this."
"I don't take orders from you," Adagio growled. She made a move to shove Sunset out of the way, but Aria and Sonata held her back. Sunset sighed.
"Listen, you guys go on ahead," she told the others. "I promised the Shadowbolts that we'd meet with them after school."
"We?" asked Lyra.
"Me and the Dazzlings."
The other students looked over at Adagio still struggling within the grip of her cohorts. After a pause, they all shared a shrug.
"If you say so," said Bon-Bon. "I guess we'll see you tomorrow, then."
"Yeah, seeya," said Sunset with a smile and a wave.
As the two groups parted ways, Adagio finally calmed herself down, even though her sour mood did not change one iota.
"This is still a bad idea," she grumbled. "And you two are idiots for taking marching orders from her."
"Well, you've always called us idiots. I don't see how this changes anything," said Sonata blankly.
Aria snickered. "Oh man. You just got burned by Sonata."
Adagio huffed, folding her arms and pouting. "So, I suppose we should just let you do the talking?" she asked Sunset. "Y'know, seeing as someone died and apparently made you boss."
Sunset ignored the jab and simply shook her head. "Actually, no. This isn't just going to be an interrogation. This is a chance for you guys to make new friends."
"She's right, you know."
A familiar voice echoed around the girls as a beam of light shot from Sunset's phone, revealing Discord messing around with a gaming app.
"And why exactly should we trust you?" said Adagio, leering at Discord.
"You know, Sunny actually asked me the very same question when we first met," said Discord absently, his eyes transfixed on what appeared to be a digital map of the parking lot. "The point is you three are still relatively new to this friendship business. It wouldn't hurt to get some practice in."
"I think the same could be said about you, Discord," said Sunset with a smirk.
"Hey, I'm learning," said Discord defensively. "I-it's just difficult sometimes. So many intricate nuances to keep track of, and— Oh my goodness! I haven't caught that one yet!"
"Wait, caught what one?" asked Sonata.
"Oh, nothing," said Discord, his eyes transfixed to the game. "By the way, Adagio, I'd duck if I were you."
Adagio scoffed. "Oh, please. You honestly think I'd—"
She was interrupted by a ball sailing through the air and beaning her in the face.
"Drat. I missed," Discord grumbled. "Oh, good. It hasn't run away yet."
Before anyone could ask what he meant, there was a loud squawk from behind Adagio. All eyes turned to see a bizarre creature that appeared to be a cross between a platypus and a bunny rabbit. Another ball whizzed through the air, barely grazing Adagio's cheek as it struck the creature and sucked it inside. The ball shook three times before letting out a satisfying click.
"Yes!" Discord cheered, pumping his arm. He then looked at Sunset and shrugged. "What? You said you'd introduce me to the Shadowbolts if I didn't cause any more trouble today. How do you think I've been keeping myself occupied?"
Sunset breathed out a small laugh and shook her head. "Okay, fair's fair. Just, try to be—"
"Discreet. I know, I know," said Discord. "That's five, by the by. I suggest you look into a thesaurus."
With that, he disappeared back into Sunset's phone. Sonata blinked.
"Okay, how are we gonna explain him to the Shadowbolts?" she asked.
Sunset sighed and shrugged. "I'm sure we'll think of something. C'mon, I think the diner's over here."
***
The distinct chime of a bell sounded above as Sunset and the Sirens walked into a modest-looking diner just across the street from the school. Though the place seemed mostly empty, delicious smells wafted from the kitchen. Sunset couldn't help but be reminded of the café run by Mr. and Mrs. Cake where she usually hung out with the Rainbooms.
"Yo, Sunset Shimmer! Over here!"
She looked over to a large booth near the end of the diner. Sitting there were all five of the Shadowbolts, with Indigo Zap waving her over. Sunset waved back and led the Sirens over to the booth.
"So, I presume we should get down to business," said Sugarcoat, adjusting her glasses.
Lemon Zest rolled her eyes. "No need to be such a stiff, Sugarcoat. We want them to help us, yeah? So let's, like, try to have a good time here."
"Oh, yes~! That's a great idea~!" Sour Sweet trilled innocently. "We should definitely just sit around shooting the breeze instead of, I don't know, discussing everything that's wrong with our school!"
Aria blinked. "Okay, I have to know. Is she always like this?"
"Yes, actually," said Sugarcoat bluntly. "The fact that she has managed to succeed here despite her, shall we say, quirks is a testament to her work ethic as well as Dean Cadence's guidance."
Sour Sweet narrowed her eyes. "I can't tell if you were complimenting me or insulting me."
"The truth has no bias," Sugarcoat quipped, looking down at her menu.
Lemon Zest shrugged and looked over at Sonata. "So, you girls are all from another dimension, right? That's pretty rad."
"Yeah. We were kinda banished here for trying to take over Equestria," said Sonata sheepishly.
"That's, what our dimension is called," Sunset clarified. "There's a lot to unpack here, so I'll summarize the best I can."
Like with Dean Cadence, she explained everything about the Fall Formal and the Battle of the Bands. As she spoke, she could feel Adagio's piercing gaze bore into her. When she was finished, Sugarcoat was the first to speak up.
"So, let me see if I have this straight. These three Sirens were banished here so that they couldn't steal magic, and then you introduced magic into this world just to get revenge against your former teacher?"
Sunset's face turned bright red as she sank in her seat. "Well, yeah."
"So everything that happened in the Friendship Games is technically your fault."
"I-I guess. Look, I'm not proud of what I did. The best I can do is learn from it and become a better person."
"That's the right way to go about it, if you ask me," said Indigo. She then looked over at the Sirens. "I'm guessing you three feel the same way."
Aria shrugged. "Something like that. See, after we lost to Sunset, we thought our powers were gone for good. Turns out they're not."
"Speak for yourselves," huffed Adagio, folding her arms. "I haven't gotten my powers back yet."
"Well, you're not getting them back with that attitude," Aria retorted. "Unless it turns out that your 'true self' is a total jerk."
"Well, I'm lost," said Sour Sweet. "Did you get your powers back, or didn't you?"
Sunset cleared her throat. "Well, about that. See, there's actually someone else I'd like you all to meet. Just, promise me you won't freak out."
Sugarcoat deadpanned. "We're talking to four pony people from another dimension who can shoot rainbows to vanquish evil. I think we've seen just about everything."
"Oh, how wrong you are."
A jovial yet sinister laugh resonated around the diner, though only Sunset, the Sirens, and the Shadowbolts seemed to notice. Glasses and plates clinked, and the ground rumbled. The Shadowbolts exchanged worried looks as the rumbling became more and more intense. Just at the tip of the crescendo, there was a quick, anticlimactic pop. Everything was as it was before, except at the far end of the booth stood a creature none of the Shadowbolts had ever seen before.
"Dude."
"I-I-Ay yi yi..."
"Okay, now we've seen just about everything."
"Oh, hey! Yeah, that's fine! Just, appear in the middle of this diner, where everyone can see you. Nothing unusual here! By the way, what the heck is that thing?!"
"I was just getting around to that," said Sunset.
"Allow me, Sunny," said Discord with a bow. "Salutations, Shadowbolts. I am Discord, Master of Chaos and something of a former enemy of Equestria. Much like these lovely ladies here, I have changed my ways, and I seek to learn all I can about the magic of friendship."
"Oh my giddy aunt, it talks," Sunny Flare stated blankly. "Sour, be a dear and catch me, will you?"
She then swooned right into Sour Sweet's lap. Indigo shook herself.
"Okay, back up here," she said, shaking her head. "You girls used to be ponies, right? But you changed shape when you came here."
"That's correct," said Sunset with a nod.
Indigo looked over at Discord again. "So, what's his excuse?"
"Remember when he said that he's the Master of Chaos? That's actually true," said Sunset. "Discord's chaos magic allows him to do pretty much whatever he wants."
"Well, more or less," said Discord. "I should mention that my magic sometimes acts on its own accord. Wouldn't exactly be chaos if I had control over it, know what I mean?"
"Okay, that explains how you're here," said Sugarcoat. "What about why?"
Discord shrugged. "Why not? Sunny's my friend, and there's nothing wrong with spending time with your friend."
Sour Sweet blinked, looking down at Sunny Flare passed out in her lap. "Wait, Sunny? I don't think she knows you."
Discord gave Sour Sweet a curious look. "Whatever do you mean?"
Sour Sweet smiled. "I'm just saying that if you were really friends with someone, they wouldn't, you know, faint at the very sight of you."
Discord turned to Sunset. "Do you know what she's talking about?"
It didn't take Indigo long to figure out what was going on. "Maybe we should introduce ourselves," she said. "I'm Indigo Zap. These here are Sugarcoat, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare."
Discord looked at Sunny Flare, then back over to Sunset. "Hang on, so her name is Sunny? But, Sunny was the nickname I gave to Sunset when we became friends."
"There's no use complaining about it," said Sugarcoat with a shrug. "How's she holding up, Sour?"
"I think she's coming to," said Sour Sweet. Slowly but surely, she helped Sunny Flare regain her upright posture.
Discord frowned. "Well, this certainly will not do. I will admit, the idea of two Sunnys can lead to some interesting moments. Nevertheless, I promised that I would be on my best behavior and not cause my good friend any undue stress. Intentionally."
"Likely story," Adagio grumbled under her breath.
Discord ignored Adagio and looked between Sunset Shimmer and Sunny Flare. "Okay, how about this? I'll call you Smitty, and I'll call you Burbligun."
Sunny Flare's eyes went wide. "Wh-what? What madness would possess you to refer to me by such an asinine, undignified moniker?! I'd be insulted if I wasn't so utterly perplexed! I mean, it simply does not—"
"Make any sense?" said Sunset, finishing Sunny Flare's thought. "Yeah, that's a bit of a theme with Discord. He likes it when things don't make sense. That's why he was such a threat to Equestria for so long."
"Well said, Smittywernerjäegermanjepson," said Discord.
Adagio scowled. "I still think he's a threat," she muttered under her breath. "You're all just too stupid to realize it."
"I feel like we got a bit sidetracked," said Sunset, clearing her throat. "See, after the Battle of the Bands, Discord heard about me and wanted to become my friend. The only problem was I didn't know that he turned over a new leaf. So, he had to prove himself to me."
"And it wasn't easy," Discord chimed in. "Smitty was so sure that I was going to make things worse for her, even though I was being sincere in my efforts. It was touch-and-go for a while, but I soon discovered the best way to prove that I was no longer an enemy of friendship was to help create friendship."
"And that led to Aria and me getting our magic back!" said Sonata. Her expression drooped as she turned to Adagio. "Unfortunately, Adagio here made a mistake. She though he was still evil, so she tried to make Sunset evil again. That didn't turn out well."
Discord sighed. "I admit, I can be rather vindictive when it comes to people interfering with my friendships. But, as I've learned from Tree Hugger, it is a habit that I have to overcome should I wish to continue pursuing the magic of friendship. I'm justing waiting on Adagio to accept my apology." He then looked at Adagio, who was still sulking. "Which might be some considerable time."
Aria suddenly perked up and took a look around the diner. "Um, Discord? Not to be a buzzkill, but are you sure it's okay for you to just be like, well, this right now? Anyone could see you."
"Oh, can they?" asked Discord with a sly grin. "Maybe they're not seeing me. Maybe this is all just a mirage."
As soon as he said that, his image became blurry before vanishing entirely. Before anyone could say anything else, a waitress appeared with notepad in hand.
"Can I get you girls anything?" she asked.
The Shadowbolts looked at Sunset, as if to ask her how the wait staff missed Discord entirely. Sunset simply shrugged and turned back to the waitress.
"I think we're ready," she said.
"I'd like the barbecued house special, please," said Lemon Zest.
"Meatloaf sandwich for me," said Sour Sweet.
Sunny Flare shook herself, still recovering from her odd experience with Discord. "Um, I guess I'll have two hard boiled eggs."
"Right, two hard boiled eggs," said the waitress, writing down the order.
There was the honk of a clown horn blasting from the seat which Discord previously occupied. When the waitress looked up in confusion, Sunset let out a cough.
"B-better make that three hard boiled eggs," she said hastily.
The waitress shrugged and jotted down the order. "So, the rest of you?"
"Do you have any tacos?" asked Sonata, prompting a smack from Aria. "Ow, what?"
The waitress arched an eyebrow. "Miss, this is a diner. We don't serve tacos here."
"Oh. Phooey," Sonata sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have two hard boiled eggs, too."
"Right, two hard boiled eggs."
Another honk from the empty seat.
"Make that three hard boiled eggs," said Aria, giving the vacant seat a glare.
Thoroughly befuddled, the waitress shook herself. "Um, okay. And you, miss?"
Adagio snorted. "This is the point where I would be feeding off of negative energy, but thanks to Sunset Shimmer, I can't do that."
"Will you just drop it?" Aria groaned. "Get her two hard boiled eggs, too."
"Right, two hard boiled eggs."
Yet another honk from the empty seat.
"Make that three hard boiled eggs," said Sonata quickly.
There was one more honk.
"And one duck egg."
Sunset averted her eyes, her cheeks flushing bright red. "I am truly sorry about this, ma'am."
"Um, okay," said the waitress, nodding slowly. She jotted down the rest of the orders without incident and marched back into the kitchen without even collecting the menus. Sugarcoat gave Sonata an incredulous look.
"One duck egg? Really?"
Sonata flailed her arms. "He sounded like a duck, and I panicked. Get off my back."
"Yeah, that's usually my job," said Aria with a sneer.
Indigo sighed. "Okay. Hopefully, we got all that out of our system."
"If you truly think that, you don't know me very well," Discord stated frankly. He slithered from underneath the booth's cushions and wrapped his arm around Sonata, pulling her in close. "But hey, we're all friends here! Or at least, I would like it if we were all friends. Anything I can do to help, consider it done!"
Indigo furrowed her brow. "Well, I hate to say this, but we might actually need your help." She turned to Sunset. "That goes for you and the Sirens, too. I don't know if you've noticed, but our school's in big trouble."
"I've gathered that much from what I heard from Dean Cadence," said Sunset. "But, what kind of trouble are we talking about?"
"We think Principal Cinch has become paranoid," said Sugarcoat in a matter-of-fact tone. "Ever since the Friendship Games, the rules and guidelines at Crystal Prep have become a lot more strict. Sometimes to a ludicrous degree."
"Remember those turnstiles at the entrance?" Indigo continued. "Those weren't always there. Cinch had 'em installed about a week after the Games."
"I wasn't exaggerating about the security cameras, either," Sour Sweet added. "The only thing the staff can't see is in Dean Cadence's office, and that's because she fought tooth and nail to keep them out."
"Hmm. Are you sure this Principal Cinch was not named Sombra at one point?" asked Discord, stroking his goatee. "This sounds more like his MO."
Lemon Zest shrugged her shoulders. "Sorry, dude. No clue who that is."
"Oh. Huh," said Discord thoughtfully. "Something of a missed opportunity there."
"What?"
"Nothing. Just an aside." He then waved to a seemingly blank space, as though he were looking into a camera. "Hello."
Sunset let out a small cough. "Well, that all sounds pretty rough."
"Rough does not even begin to describe it, my dear," Sunny Flare said darkly, dipping her voice into a low whisper. She leaned in, a harsh shadow cast upon her face. "For rumor has it that Principal Cinch has gone so far as to outlaw the very concept of your magic in our school. Of course, there is no proof of this, nor do we have any idea of how such a rule would be enforced. But before the last Friendship Games, no student has ever stood up to Cinch the way we did. And how could we not? Her actions caused our comrade to drive herself insane and nearly tear the fabric of reality asunder. True, it is hypocritical for a sheep to criticize her shepherd, but that is precisely the reason behind our actions."
She sighed and placed a hand to her chest. "For lo, 'twas us five, sitting right before you, who have orchestrated the student-exchange program. We always thought that Crystal Prep was the better school. We were trained to think that for years. But after the events of this year's Friendship Games, the blinders have fallen away. We see now that our school is not perfect, and it never was. And because we dare to consider such a prospect, our dear principal believes that our minds have been tainted by your otherworldly magic. Well, I say if this is her best remedy, I would rather not be cured. Instead, we have sought an alternate treatment. You."
She bowed her head and scrunched her eyes shut, as though trying to hold back tears. "Introducing magic to this world may have been folly on your part, Sunset Shimmer. But verily, it led to the birth of your school's glorious renaissance. We only ask that you share your experiences with us, so that we in turn may better ourselves. Help us free our principal from the grips of paranoia and force her to swallow her pride. For ye, the time has come for us to rid ourselves of our delusions and actually learn from those we have once deemed inferior. There is so much we can learn from one another; so much we can teach one another. The nuances of this world must be brought to light! ¡Viva la revolución!"
She concluded her speech by slamming her hand on the table with all her might. A long pause hung in the air as all eyes stood transfixed at the overly dramatic display. The silence was broken by Aria.
"So, basically, your principal has gone crazy, your school sucks, and you want us to use our magic to fix everything," she said.
Sunny Flare pouted. "That's a rather broad generalization."
"Not an incorrect one, though," Sugarcoat pointed out.
Sunny Flare sighed and shook her head. "Philistines."
"Well, I'm sorry to say that magic is a little more complicated than that," said Sunset. "We can't just zap your school and make everything okay."
"Can't he do it?" asked Lemon Zest, jerking her thumb over at Discord.
Discord sighed. "If I had a bit for every time I was asked that question..."
As if on cue, several golden coins rained from the ceiling and into Discord's lap.
"Oh, hey. Neat," he said, scooping up the coins. "I guess dinner's on me, girls."
Sugarcoat blinked at the odd display before shaking herself. "Look, we had a feeling that it wouldn't be that easy. Which is why I propose that we work together. If Cinch truly wants to make a No Magic rule for Crystal Prep, we have to expose it for what it is: A draconian measure being taken by a paranoid tyrant of a principal trying to keep her subjects in line."
"Sounds to me like you're planning to stage some sort of coup," said Discord, donning a red bandana. "I'm all for it, but isn't that a bit too ambitious for a bunch of high school students such as yourselves?"
Indigo snickered. "What can I say? Our professors always taught us to be ambitious. We're just following their example."
"In all seriousness, though. Simply getting Cinch to acknowledge her faults and not punish us for disagreeing with her is reward enough," said Sugarcoat, adjusting her glasses.
Sunset nodded. "Alright, I think I get the gist. We'll do whatever we can to help." She then looked over at the Sirens. "At the same time, however, maybe you guys can help us."
"We don't know anything about magic," said Sugarcoat bluntly. "If we did, why would we ask you to do this in the first place?"
"Oh, it's not really about that," said Sunset, rubbing her arm sheepishly. "Well, it kind of is. See, my research has determined that Equestrian magic is triggered when the wielder is true to themselves and makes full use of what makes them special."
"The problem is, we don't really know what that means," said Aria. "So Sunset figured if we help you guys out, it'll also help us discover our true selves. Or, something. I don't know; I'm still trying to wrap my head around all this. Adagio usually does most of the thinking, but she doesn't exactly want to be helpful right now."
"Hmm. That's pretty deep," said Indigo thoughtfully. "You girls need to discover yourselves, huh? Well, I don't know much about magic, but if there's one thing I learned from Crystal Prep, it's how to dig down and really show the world what I'm made of. That's how all of us got to where we are, and if nothing else, I'm sure we can do the same for you. Isn't that right, team?"
"It's certainly within the realm of possibility."
"I'd say so."
"Yeah, let's help them discover themselves and get them in trouble with Cinch for using magic!"
Indigo deadpanned. "Sour, try to be a bit more positive, yeah? Anyway, what about you, Lemon—? Oh, for Pete's sake!"
Lemon Zest was off in her own little world, thumping beats blaring on her headphones. Sunny Flare sighed and nudged Lemon Zest with her elbow.
"Huh, what? Oh, yeahyeahyeah. Totally. Whatever you said," she stammered, giving Indigo a thumbs up.
Indigo sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes, you guys just drive me crazy."
"How do you think we feel?" Sugarcoat retorted.
Discord looked over the Shadowbolts, twirling his goatee around his finger.
"Is something wrong?" Sonata asked.
"Let's just say I've seen this sort of thing before," Discord mused. "Alright, that settles it. I'm helping, too. But keep in mind that I don't take well to orders. If I'm doing this, I'm doing it my way."
"Which means you plan to doom us all," Adagio grumbled.
Discord smirked. "It will be so satisfying to prove you wrong, Adagio Dazzle."
Just then, the waitress returned with several plates of food. Discord conveniently vanished as everyone was served. Indigo smiled and raised her water glass.
"Alright then. Here's to our new friendships and the betterment of Crystal Prep Academy!" she cheered. "Shadowbolts and Wondercolts unite!"
There was several clinks of glasses as everyone toasted, with the exception of Adagio. Before Sunset could dig in herself, she got a text from Discord.
"The Shadowbolts might need more help than they realize. Be vigilant, Smitty."
Sunset smirked as she texted Discord back.
"Duly noted. Though I think I liked Sunny better."
Discord responded.
"Sorry, the name's already taken by Burbligun, apparently."
Sunset sighed and rolled her eyes before putting her phone away and starting in on her salad. She watched as the Sirens and the Shadowbolts mingled, with only Adagio opting out of the festivities. She couldn't help but stare at Adagio, a concerned frown on her face.
"Hey, don't worry," said Indigo with a warm smile. "We already saw you do some pretty amazing things at the Games. You helped Twilight out of a really dark place. Surely, you can help her, too."
Sunset smiled back at Indigo. "Thanks. It's nice to know that I have friends to support me, even so far away from Canterlot High."
Indigo nodded. "It's like that Discord guy said. We're all friends here. That means we're all in this together."
"Indeed we are, Indigo Zap," said Sunset sagely. "Indeed we are."
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I don't know why, but that line broke my sides. I love it, keep up the fantastical work.
Okay, who else wants to see Discord drive Cinch off the deep end? Show of hands!
7902371
Me, me, me!
7902371
Actually, I'm waiting for that supposedly all-important Magic of Friendship to win some hearts and minds, something that has nothing whatsoever to do with tormenting people and driving them insane. Call me crazy.
I get that Discord is literally the polar opposite of that pretty much from birth, but it sends really, really dark messages if the force that converted him even partly turns out to be inferior to wanting to make people suffer, especially if the entire point of Keep Calm and Flutter On, and perhaps the show as a whole, is to be considered.
Like, it's funny that Aria gripes on Adagio to just shut up and accept what's being pushed on her (even if she might feel better by the end) when, in the first story, Adagio was the only one of the three putting any effort in at all, and still got cheated out of everything. All Aria had to do was admit she had a soul. Must have been so hard for her. Here, she's just hoping someone else will handle all that pesky Empathy stuff for her, which seems to fall to Sunset alone.
Does it make sense if I say that that combined with the people hoping and praying that someone suffers horribly aren't good signs?
Umm.
This group of students? Has never gone to Crystal Prep for the Friendship Games.
The Friendship Games happen every four years. It says so in the movie. High school, last I checked, is a four-year thing. Unless Lyra and Bon Bon got held back a year or two, they've NEVER BEEN to Crystal Prep for the Friendship Games. And Silver Spoon and Diamond Tiara have to be freshman, so they've never really taken part in any regular school activities in prior years because...they weren't there.
Now maybe they went there for like, a tennis tournament or something. Anything that would actually justify the CHS kids' attitudes toward Crystal Prep in the movie.
Nice jab at how everyone was expecting human Sombra in Friendship Games, by the way.
7902834 Wait, then how do you square that with the Rainbooms knowing about them in the first place? Aren't they juniors or something? I mean, I see your point; I'm just wondering if there's more to this.
7902917 Again, if you'd rewatch the movie, you'd see the Rainbooms going through yearbooks showing Crystal Prep beating them at various things, including golf. The Friendship Games happen every four years, which is ALSO stated plainly in the movie.
You...should probably rewatch the movie, since you keep making these mistakes. ^^;;
I have to admit that the Shadowbolts did better with Discord than I thought they would! Maybe they are tougher than they look!
As for the Dazzlings...? I'm getting a vision of Adagio getting hold of the magical collector and going postal. One Rainbow Friendship Laser later, there is a hole where Crystal Prep's courtyard used to be.
7902995 Ah, right. Fair point. I'll make the necessary changes. This is what I get for waiting so long after the movie to write this thing.
7903041 I often have to rewatch episodes/the EG movies to double-check myself on things I'm not 100% on. Or at least look up transcripts.
wonder how much days Sonata will resist without a taco, wonder what kind of nasty and hilarious event will prepare DISCORD to that school, as long there is no rain of fire dogs and chesse appear for eveyone (thats Sheogorath thing) i hope he will hanged out with the Shadowbolts specially Lemon and Sour and her bipolar personality I will like to se how Cinch will react to Discord
7902732 This is also the same show that demonstrates that some hearts and minds simply cannot be won with the Magic of Friendship. Cinch has, thus far, failed to demonstrate any redeeming characteristics - she blackmailed Twilight into participating in the games, demonstrated anger with her students for falling short of her expectations, and I'd argue bullied her into releasing the collected magic and tearing down the walls between the human world and Equestria. And not once did she take responsibility for her actions.
The Shadowbolts themselves at least have shown some basic decency when they helped to save lives during the games, so them learning about friendship and forming better bonds with others I have no issue with. Discord I'm even willing to forgive, as I tend to see his actions prior to "Keep Calm and Flutter On" as those of an immature child who needed to learn some discipline and empathy. Cinch, however, is a grown adult, perhaps even close to being a senior citizen, and I find it unlikely that she's capable of becoming a better person.
7903263
The sirens and Discord himself showed no signs of humanity in their first appearances either, and saying 'some people just don't get Friendship' is an admission that something else is even stronger, completely antithetical to the treatment people like Sunset got. The only person that can be confirmed to be a 'child' to be redeemed so far is Diamond Tiara, so saying someone just 'isn't capable' of changing sounds more like an attempt to justify wishing them harm.
With Discord, there ain't no Sanity Claus.
7903341 Perhaps. Still, I'm strongly discouraged from thinking that Cinch is inclined towards change, given her actions in the film. After all, she put winning a competition over the lives of her own students. That says a lot about her character right there.
7903802
Discord put his own entertainment above the lives and sanity of the entire world, Sunset put her pride before the stability of her home nation and whatever she had to do to the human population to get her way, and Luna put her pride before the lives of the entire world.
Were any of them tortured when they were stopped for someone's gratification? Were any of them left screaming messes or driven off the deep end? Should they have been? Was that how anyone was convinced to stop hurting people and learn to get along? Because Adagio got nothing but pain and misery in the first story and seems no happier for it. In fact, it seems to be the crux of why she's still bitter and resentful.
If you just want to see someone suffer for sheer schadenfreude, putting your own satisfaction above empathy and compassion, even, you can admit that. It's kind of wrong (what feels good at any given time is not necessarily the right thing to do) and goes against the message of the show and, I would think, the title of the story, but you can just say so if that's how you feel about the subject.
I don't think Aria would put herself down with "I'm not smart enough" again and again. I find that slightly out of character. She is a pretty proud person regardless of the changed outlook. Also, with all the crap Adagio keeps giving them, I'd expect Aria to punch her already.
7903851 ...okay, you've got me there. Still, the sorts of things that Cinch did can and do happen all the time in the real world, and while I'm satisfied with what karma she got in the animation, I don't see her changing her attitude anytime soon.
And as much as I'd like to see her suffer, me being a rather petty person, I look forward to this story satisfying me through other means. Plus, no suffering I'd want to see her go through would involve her being physically harmed.
7903954
Friendship is Magic, whether Cinch comes to see that this time or not.
7903857 I'd argue that her pride has been tempered since accepting friendship into her life. Thus, she's willing to acknowledge when she doesn't know something that Adagio would. As for her punching Adagio, well, considering the Sirens have been living together since who-knows-when, I'd say her tolerance for this kind of thing is rather high. However, that's not to say a threshold can't be reached.
7903802 That's a complete misintepretation of what she did. She never expected lives would be in danger (she expected magic would help them, which was admittedly rather stupid), and she made it obvious in her very first scene that maintaining a perfect rep for CPA is kind of important, so it's not just about "winning a competition" at all.
7905776 ...are you forgetting about the killer plants that showed up in the previous round? And the fact that Sugarcoat, one of Cinch's own students, was attacked by one of them? Cinch certainly didn't acknowledge it - she was more concerned about CHS cheating than she was the fact that one (let alone all) of her students had their life put in danger.
And before you pin the blame on CHS for that, let's also acknowledge that the portals leading to the appearance of said killer plants was a result of Sci-Twi's actions. And when Cinch put two and two together, instead of trying to present it as proof of CHS' cheating, she had Sci-Twi release it so that her school could win, thus leading to everything with Midnight Sparkle.
I don't care what anyone says, the woman is not a nice person. And bare minimum, her priorities are pretty damn skewed.
7903419
As a friend of mine once said, "Pfft, sanity's overrated. As far as I'm concerned, we're all inmates in an insane asylum and we've taken the damn place over."
7906531 Which goes to show that the party of the first part shall henceforth be known in this contract as the party of the first part. >^_^<
7906173 But CHS was to blame for entering magic-enhanced students into the competition in the first place, even though they had just seen Rainbow spontaneously sprout wings in front of the entire school. Celestia and Luna prioritized finally winning against Crystal Prep over keeping the secret of magic and therefore Sunset Shimmer safe (and also running a fair competition, since magic-enhanced students are similar to steroid-enahnced students). Ultimately, it's those two who are to blame for magical rifts almost tearing apart reality.
On the other hand, Cinch did try to force a student to basically ingest steroids with unknown harmful effects, so that was pretty shitty of her. But she's a jerky high school administrator who's one tenth the age of Discord or Luna, and they managed to reform.
7907665 ...I fail to see how magic would've helped CHS win the academic round, or how it would have impacted the athletics portion. Besides, up until then, they had no way of consciously activating their magic without playing musical instruments, and the one time magic was activated during the games, the student in question (Rainbow Dash) immediately pulled out of the competition.
Luna was either suffering from possession, severe mental illness, or some combination of the two - she didn't reform so much as she was healed. Discord reformed, yes, but he found himself with a greater priority than his own amusement - maintaining his friendship with Fluttershy. Cinch seems to be in full control of her faculties and has no desire to change her attitude.
7908630 Remember Pinkie baking that cake in home ec that looked like the Mona Lisa? That was magic influencing the academic round. At the beginning of the movie, during the Pep Rally that Rainbow Dash leads before the athletes are chosen, her magic publicly manifests without her playing any instrument. Here's two key quotes:
Then Luna says
So at this point Luna already knows that using magic is basically cheating, and wants to keep magic out of the games, so she assigns Sunset to study magic with the goal of keeping it under control so it doesn't manifest during the games. But what does Luna not do? Simply pick a team without the six students who have manifested magic! Apparently the perception of cheating is important, but not so important that it's worth CHS not fielding their top athlete and top academic in the competition. Luna is prioritizing victory in the friendship games over everything else, presumably with Celestia's consent. It's why they are ultimately responsible for the events that unfold in that movie.
Luna was suffering from a mental illness, I'll give you that. I don't think she would be considering legally insane when she created the Tantabus though, and that almost destroyed Equestria. Now, of course Luna didn't mean to threaten Equestria, but then Cinch didn't mean to threaten the world either. Discord didn't seem like he had any desire to change his routine until an elaborate attempt at reforming him was made, in the face of overwhelming evidence from his own behavior. If Keep Calm and Flutter On was a two-parter and we were halfway through that episode, would you be advocating today that Fluttershy and her friends should give up on Discord, he's too old and set in his ways to ever be reformed?
7909418 ...remember Pinkie pulling one of the balloon designs on her dress right off and then blowing it up like a normal balloon? From the first film? And that was before she had magic. And Rainbow Dash doing that was the very first time that she'd done so without the involvement of her guitar, and is specifically commented as such. I'm not pretending otherwise.
The film suggests that Luna knows their magic could be construed as cheating. I'm not denying that. What I'm arguing is that they, at this point, have little if any control over the magic, something which is no fault of their own given Sunset's attempts to understand it. VP Luna's asking them to keep it under control, and unfortunately, that's very difficult to do. From my perspective, that limits her fault.
Luna no doubt was in a better state of mind when she created the Tantabus, yes, but guilt and depression can and often do cause people to make horrible mistakes, and she certainly didn't see the Tantabus becoming as powerful as it did coming. And as for a hypothetical two-part "Keep Calm and Flutter On"...even if it had been a two-parter, at this point, I'd have had a long time to dissect. Plus, we've seen a lot of Discord since then, and he has genuinely grown as a character (even accounting for his slip-ups). Cinch will probably not see further development.
Look, I'm not saying that Cinch becoming a better person is impossible. I'm just saying that I personally find it horribly unlikely based on what little we've seen of her in the animation. She effectively told Twilight "You take part in the Friendship Games and win, and you get Everton. You don't take part, or we don't win, and you can kiss your academic future goodbye" - this is something that she reminded Twilight of in the film itself, shortly after Twilight drained Fluttershy's magic. While Celestia, Luna and Cadance were freaking out about lives being in danger, Cinch was scowling. Despite the apparent dangers associated with releasing the magic, she encouraged Twilight to do so to win a competition, which led to Midnight Sparkle's rampage. And during said rampage, she ran like a rutting coward and left her students to fend for themselves. Her students had the balls to admit they had some fault for what happened, but she didn't. The woman is not a nice person, bare minimum.
7909610 Luna was self-aware enough to realize that utilizing magic was constituting cheating, sure. And I agree with you, they didn't have control of their magic. But they could have chosen not to enroll in the competition in the first place. That would have put Sunset Shimmer and the secret of magic at significantly less risk. But of course, that would mean CHS fielding a less competitive team, and to Luna risking the exposure of magic was less important than finally beating Crystal Prep.
After the second round, when as far as Luna and Celestia know magic unleashed by their students prevented Crystal Prep from finishing the competition and endangered the lives of their students, they could have ended the whole thing on the spot by just forfeiting. Instead, they told Cinch she would have to accept a tie. Cinch refuses and demands a tie-breaking round. Is Cinch a shitty Principal and shitty person for continuing the competition? Yes, but Luna and Celestia are as well, and since as far as they know its their students magic going haywire, they're even worse. They just saw a bunch of teenagers almost get eaten by a plant and five minutes later they are demanding they compete in another round, so Celestia and Luna don't have to accept another loss to Cinch.
Yeah, Cinch is a jerk, and for blackmailing her student and persuading her to ingest performance-enhancing magic, she should lose her job. Characters that have minimal screen time do generally shown as flatter and less nuanced than characters who have had significantly more screen time. It sounds like you're saying Discord's behavior and characterization post-reformation retroactively justify his reformation? That's the nice thing about fanfiction then, it gives skilled authors like Metool a chance to flesh out poorly-written plot devices into 3-Dimensional characters, with hopes, fears and nuances, and the possibility of redemption. He's already written a fantastic prequel where vampiric siren monsters who tried to enslave the world have reformed thanks to the magic of friendship (well, 2 out of 3). I wouldn't bet against him.
7910548 ...you seem awfully eager to cast Celestia and Luna as either incompetent or villainous here. At worst, I'm just seeing them as being caught up in things they don't entirely understand and clearly can't control.
7911374 I'm awfully eager to judge all characters by the same standard, rather than divide them into two categories (heroes and villains), and judge one only by the purity of their intentions, and the other by any and all consequences of their actions.
Yeah, I think that fits as a pretty good description of the three Principals.
7911899 Doesn't change the fact that Cinch showed no regard for the lives of her students. As ineffective as their efforts were, at least Celestia and Luna had the good sense to acknowledge that magic could be a problem.
7912087 True, they knew it was a problem it was just priority #2, after winning a high school competition.
7912108 I won't deny that if they'd wanted magic to stay out of things, the best thing they could've done would've been to keep Sunset and the Rainbooms out of the competition. However, let's face it - they're the main characters, and they sorta have to be in the competition, or Hasbro can't sell toys. I just figured it was more sensible to accept that and move on. In the film, however, events suggest that they trust Sunset and the Rainbooms enough to take care of things themselves (which says good things about Celestia and Luna, in my humble opinion).
Unfortunately, due to the truncated nature of the films, we have no firm idea of why they were put on the team and not someone else. Perhaps tryouts didn't have as much interest as Celestia and Luna hoped and they had to go with what they had?
7912410 We actually have the shorts show us dozens of CHS students applying. That's where the awesome clips of Lyra and Bon Bon dressed as birds comes in.
Realistically, you're right: The real reason Luna let Sunset and the rest of the Rainbooms compete even as she warned them using magic was cheating was because the movie requires the main characters to take part in the competition. But once you open the door to real-world facts guiding fiction, it's hard to judge anything in the setting on its own terms. For example, realistically Crystal Prep had beaten CHS in the last 9 competitions over 36 years. If Crystal Prep lost to CHS, then they would have a record of 9-1. The actual damage to their reputation would be minimal. Would Cinch have risked her own career and legal jeopardy blackmailing a child prodigy who has quite possibly been publishing scientific papers already, who's possibly the sister in law of her 2nd in command, just to slightly increase the odds of her team winning? Of course not.
After seeing magical plants hundreds of feet long almost eat a bunch of people like ten minutes ago, would a reasonably intelligent person have risked their own life (As Cinch was risking her own life, in close proximity Twilight Sparkle's magical experiment when she told Twilight to unleash it), when as an alternative Cinch could have just declared that Crystal Prep is going home right this instant because CHS is using some bizarre, inexplicable means to cheat? Of course not.
She could have called up a local TV news crew, had them film the wrecked stadium and interview most of the Crystal Prep students, and within hours the news story would be "Heroic Principal Pulls Children out of Dangerous Competition run by Shady Administration, Puts Welfare of Children First." That would have boosted Crystal Prep and Cinch's personal reputations more than winning the tenth round of the Friendship Games ever could. But of course, Cinch did none of that, because that would ruin the movie. The movie needs a villain to do something incredibly dumb like unleash a pulsing, vibrating magical locket when everyone had just witnessed how dangerous magic can be.
7912609 ...you're exaggerating a bit. I'm well aware of that short, and we only actually see three students (Sandalwood, Lyra and Bon-Bon) take part in the tryouts. We can safely assume that more took part, but we don't know the exact numbers.
Also, the past nine competitions? Where did that number come from? All the movie gives us is that the Friendship Games take place every four years, that CHS has yet to win, and that Crystal Prep tends to go out of their way to rub their success into CHS' face. Even when you take the expanded universe into account, there couldn't have been more than five installments of the Friendship Games in total, the film's events included, as Luna took part in the first installment, and she doesn't look older than forty.
Taking the film as it is, Cinch comes across as arrogant, controlling and obsessed with maintaining her reputation, perhaps even her sense of superiority over Canterlot High and its faculty. Arrogance, in real life and in fiction, leads to many a mistake.
7912737 We see Bulk Biceps competing with Bon Bon in the arm wrestling competition, and we see at least a dozen students who not only attended the competition with Bon Bon, Lyra and Microchips. You can argue they just wanted to watch others compete, but we also see a dozen people lined up to check if they are on the CHS team, when Bon Bon and Lyra both find out they could be accepted. So yeah, if Celestia and Luna wanted to fill out their team with students who haven't manifested magic, they could have.
Shoot, I guess I got the "9 times" line from fanfiction then. All we know is, as Applejack says, Crystal Prep normally "beats us at everything." Presumably this includes all the other sports and competitions that a team participates in, otherwise it doesn't seem likely that the Rainbooms would have these severe negative memories of an event that happened once as freshman. So In the last decade or so, Crystal Prep always seems to win various types of competitions, but if they lose the Friendship Games then they will have lost.... one competition of many types. So not actually affecting their reputation to a significant degree.
Arrogance can lead to mistakes, but it also means someone feels totally confident in their victory. But if Cinch was so arrogantly confident Crystal Prep would win, she wouldn't have needed to blackmail Twilight to compete, she would have arrogantly assumed that she could win no matter what. But of course, the writing demands Cinch be arrogant and somehow be intelligent enough to be a successful Principal of a prestigious high school right until the plot starts, then immediately lose intelligence and self-preservation. Because I'll tell you, arrogance is not enough to excuse being at ground zero experimenting with magic when you just saw giant plants almost eat everyone due to magic ten minutes ago.
7913405 I don't think arm-wrestling was an actual part of the competition. I think that was just part of Bon-Bon's tryout. As for the crowd around the bulletin board, those folks could have tried out, or they could just be curious about who did and was accepted into the CHS team. It's open to interpretation.
Intelligence is one thing that can contribute to arrogance, however. Just saying.
7914136 It's possible, but it doesn't seem likely. Sandalwood tells everyone "there are limited spots in the CHS team, so bring your A-game." Do you think its more likely that all of those dozens of other students showed up to the competition, left before some of the competitors did but after Luna left to go publish the list, and then waited around in a big crowd just to see who else would be on the team, or that a significant percentage of those students were trying to get on Luna's list as well?
That is quite true. People who are intelligent but incredibly arrogant can often do stupid things.
There's a problem with that explaining Cinch's behavior though, and it's the same plot hole appearing in several of the more cliched episodes with two-dimensional villains in MLP. I'll call it the "professional villain paradox." Remember Svengallop and Zesty Gourmand? They fall into the same paradox. Basically, the writers want to do a story where the villain is a threat because of their job and position. The villain in question is a leader in their profession, and uses that power against the protagonist. The protagonists then proceed to beat that villain at their own game, in the terms of their own profession. Svengallop is outmaneuvered in the context of the talent management profession, Zesty Gourmand is shown up in the context of being a food critic. Cinch is shown to be a bad Principal.
The problem is this: If the villain is dumb enough (or their arrogance outweighs their intelligence, which in practice amounts to the same thing) to be easily defeated by the protagonist on their own home turf, they would never have reached the point in their career where they could be a threat in the first place. If Cinch had always been an arrogant casual blackmailer willing to risk her life to win, that would have blown up in her face 100 times before the show started, during her long slow climb up the school administration ladder to reaching her current prestigious post. Similarly, if Svengallop was dumb enough to so easily be tricked into betraying his client, he could never have built such a long-standing career as a top music promoter and become a trusted associate of Colleratura. If Zesty Gourmand constantly ignored the taste and preferences of her followers, she would never have become the premier food critic of Canterlot.
With all three villains, the writers wanted to start by showing them as hypercompetent and in control to intimidate the protagonist, but then during the course of the story they quickly fold like paper tigers. I think the best explanation in-setting is that the day before the respective movie/episodes, each villain was hit in the head and under the effects a severe concussion the entire time (in other words, an idiot ball).
For contrast, you know a similar villain that was actually done well? Suri Polomare. With her, the writers added in Coco Pommel, with the insinuation that Suri had been coasting off Coco's talent and ideas for a long time, thus explaining how a designer would be professionally advanced enough to compete in a top fashion show, yet desperate and short-sighted enough to steal the designs from another designer on the spot.
7914565 ...I think you might've missed the point with Svengallop and Zesty Gourmand. With Svengallop, he was abusing his power as Coloratura's manager to make all sorts of demands for his benefit. Zesty was in a similar position, using her place as a food critic to force restaurants to conform to her narrow-minded way of serving food. Both lasted so long not because of competence on their part, but because no one bothered to challenge them until the main characters came along - less an idiot ball for them, more herd mentality on the part of everyone else. I'll agree, however, that Suri was very competently done.
Look, can we both agree that the film didn't give us full reasoning behind Cinch's actions, and that it's ultimately left to us fans to fill in the gaps? We can definitely agree that her actions were wrong, at least.
7915697 Naw man, "herd mentality" is just a way of saying everyone else was carrying an idiot ball because they were a background character until the protagonists showed up. If your villain only achieved and maintained their power because of the "herd mentality" of everyone but the protagonist, you're not writing a real setting, just a playset for your heroes to stomp through.
On the second part though, I will agree fully. Cinch was never fully filled in, and its up to us fans to fill in the gaps. And you're right, her actions were wrong, and as I said earlier, she should have at the least lost her job for what she did to Twilight.
7903960 Just to throw my two cents into this conversation, while it's bad to wish for somebody to suffer, even being driven completely a little bit crazy by Discord, I think it's not so much "Some people just can't be changed for the better or reasoned with," but rather, "Some people just won't be changed for the better or reasoned with." Discord accepted reformation, because it was better than being a statue for eternity, and he'd never had friends before. Once he tried it, he decided he liked it. You can throw the magic of friendship at anyone, but they have to make a conscious effort to take it.
*sniff sniff*
Either I'm greatly deceived, or I sense a reference to a certain youtube star in this chapter.
*Crazed Butt Stabber Bursts through the wall*
NO!!! HE WAS RIGHT!!!! YOU WERE REAL!!!! SOMEONE GET WILFRED!!!! HE's GOING TO STAB ME!!! IN MY BUTT!!!
I've said this in the comments of another story (as well as with a story of my own), but I think she actually has the opposite problem: her taste buds are too sensitive. Which is only as bad as it is in SUYL because she tried to dictate her taste in food to others. (If she had no taste buds, then it wouldn't matter what she ate, in terms of taste. Health is another matter.)
Wow, a cross with something that already looks like it's a cross between a few things.
Assuming they even take Equestrian currency. There's this animatic, you see, of when they were going to have Princess Twilight talk with Sunset before the end of FG, and...
By the way, I think you've been using the wrong /dɪˈskɹiːt/. If you mean "not drawing attention, anger, or challenge," then you want "discreet", whereas "discrete" means "Separate; distinct; individual; non-continuous."
8050712 Huh. Whoops. Thanks for catching that, mate.
I almost want to see Adagio's character remain unreformed. Some people just WANT to be bitter. She clearly has no remorse for her actions and still relishes in the pain of others. A character cannot be reformed if they honestly see no problem with their current mindset. Adagio would make a good object lesson.
The time when the village idot burns you. That's when you know you've truly hit rock bottom.
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8152573
Maybe her trueself is being a jerk? Normally I'd say look at her cutie mark. But that doesn't really help here. Her Cutie Mark is a G Clef attached to a bell. Doesn't really give a show into what makes her special. Just like there's problems with Aria's Stars, and Sonata's heart with a discordant note in the center.
8888839
Whoops! Thanks for catching that, mate.
Sunny Flare shook herself, still recovering from her odd experience with Discord. "Um, I guess I'll have two hard boiled eggs."
"Right, two hard boiled eggs," said the waitress, writing down the order.
There was the honk of a clown horn blasting from the seat which Discord previously occupied. When the waitress looked up in confusion, Sunset let out a cough.
"B-better make that three hard boiled eggs," she said hastily.
The waitress shrugged and jotted down the order. "So, the rest of you?"
"Do you have any tacos?" asked Sonata, prompting a smack from Aria. "Ow, what?"
The waitress arched an eyebrow. "Miss, this is a diner. We don't serve tacos here."
"Oh. Phooey," Sonata sighed. "Well, I guess I'll have two hard boiled eggs, too."
"Right, two hard boiled eggs."
Another honk from the empty seat.
"Make that three hard boiled eggs," said Aria, giving the vacant seat a glare.
Thoroughly befuddled, the waitress shook herself. "Um, okay. And you, miss?"
Adagio snorted. "This is the point where I would be feeding off of negative energy, but thanks to Sunset Shimmer, I can't do that."
"Will you just drop it?" Aria groaned. "Get her two hard boiled eggs, too."
"Right, two hard boiled eggs."
Yet another honk from the empty seat.
"Make that three hard boiled eggs," said Sonata quickly.
There was one more honk.
"And one duck egg."
<addendum> There was a long drawn out series of honks that lasted 30 seconds.
"...There's either a traffic jam outside, or make that 12 more hard boiled eggs."
So nice to meet another person who likes the Marx Bros
spongebob reference