Declaration of War
“Aw yeah!” Dash proclaimed. She did a loop through the air out of the classroom and into the hall. “So glad the Sports Festival didn’t get canceled!”
“It does make sense,” Twilight murmured, “it’s a bold display of force and will help assuage public fears after the attack. Furthermore, it…”
“Oh, I can’t wait either,” Rarity beamed while Twilight prattled on to herself. “I’m a bit sad we don’t get to wear our costumes, but it will be a great chance to show off all our Talents!”
“Plus, we may get to play some fun games!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Oooh, or go through some crazy obstacle courses.”
“I just hope it’s nothing too rough,” said Fluttershy.
Applejack let out a snort. Everyone turned to her, noting the intensity washing off of her. Her eyes were steely when she looked over her friends. “Let’s give it our best.”
“You’re really fired up about this, eh?” Spike asked with a nervous grin.
“Darn straight.” Applejack gave a stomp. “This’ll be a great chance to drum up some business for the farm before applebuck season.”
Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike screeched to a halt. Twilight broke out of her muttering. Pinkie stopped skipping but hummed instead of looking surprised. Dash tumbled out of the air, but managed to right herself before landing.
“That’s what you’re excited for?” She got straight up in Applejack’s face. She threw her head back and groaned, “Come on, Applejack, this could be another chance for us to see who’s faster. It’s a chance for the pros to scout us out. It’s a chance to show we’re the most awesome class!”
Applejack took a breath and pushed Dash back. “I get all that. Matter o’ fact, I’m hoping some big shots have their eyes on me. That said, my main goal at the Festival, and my goal as a hero, is spreading my family’s name. I know it’s a bit selfish, but us Apples are farmers first, heroes second. We’re proud of the land we make flourish, and I’ll do whatever I can to keep Sweet Apple Acres going strong for a long time…” Her face softened. “… and make things a little easier for my sister and my granny.”
“What about your pa—”
Pinkie rising up behind Applejack and flailing her legs cut Twilight off. Applejack turned to see what was going on, but Pinkie was already back to humming.
“I understand. As much as being a hero is about having your heart in the right place, it is still a job.” Rarity grinned. “Plus, we need to set good examples for our younger siblings.”
“You got a sis too?” Applejack asked.
The group resumed walking while they chatted and listened. Since the subject switched to siblings, Twilight chimed in and Pinkie gleefully talked about Maud. Fluttershy muttered something about a brother but did not add much more than that. They were just about to turn a corner when Celestia burst from the other side of it. Everyone was once again brought to a halt and bumped into each other.
“Ah, Twilight Sparkle,” she proclaimed. Her horn lit up and she floated a wicker picnic basket out from behind the corner. “Would you care to join me for lunch?”
“Uh… sure,” Twilight answered.
Celestia’s smile widened. “Wonderful!”
The two of them trotted off, leaving the majority of the group to gape at them. Spike managed to keep his composure even though Celestia being so direct had jolted him at first. Dash managed to keep her jaw from slacking. Now, her eyes narrowed.
“Holy guacamole!” Pinkie exclaimed, breaking the awe that had struck the group. “What do you think that’s about?”
“Maybe about the attack?” Fluttershy suggested.
“Or about her Talent,” said Applejack. “If it was enough to drive off that villain like Fluttershy said, maybe the Princess is scouting her out.”
Dash remained silent. A little way back from the group, Sunset had observed the exchange. Both she and Dash wore the same expression: a tightened jaw and steely eyes.
~~~
“Ah.” Celestia relaxed back in her chair across the mahogany table from Twilight. In her usual appearance, the chair might have appeared a bit snug, but in her true form, it was quite large. A spread of quartered daffodil sandwiches, a triangle of cheese surrounded by various crackers, and a three-tiered tray of miniature cakes sat in the center of the table. “Please, help yourself, Twilight.”
“Thank you, Princess.” Twilight took just a quarter of a sandwich to start with. She felt the awkward tension in her bones. She had had lunch with Celestia multiple times over the summer, but that had been on the edge of the Everfree when she was exhausted from training. Now, she was in the middle of the School and had been called out by the most powerful hero in Equestria in front of all her friends. She needed to speak before she could eat, or she feared she would choke. “Um, is there something really pressing?”
“There is the matter of my time limit.” Celestia poured some tea for Twilight and then a cup for herself. “It’s at two hours at best; one if I actually fight.”
Twilight thanked the stars she had not eaten or drank anything yet. “That little?!”
“It was bound to happen sooner or later, regardless of whether or not I found a successor for the Elements.” Celestia blew on her tea and took a sip. When she lowered the cup onto the saucer, it produced a clang that rang through the room. Even in her current form, her eyes were now fiery with the determination of Equestria’s top hero. “It makes this year’s Sports Festival all the more important, especially in light of villains who may have already realized my time as a hero is limited.”
“You don’t think that mare knew, do you?” Twilight gasped.
“Equality was aware of much,” Celestia answered. There was more on the tip of her tongue, but she held back certain words and continued with others. “She likely doesn’t know about the specifics of my time limits, but the only conclusion I can reach as to why she targeted you is that she knows you have access to the Elements.”
“But how?” Twilight’s stomach churned. “I thought it was one of Equestria’s most guarded secrets.”
Celestia inhaled deeply and then sighed. “I did not wish to tell you this so soon, Twilight, but there are others that know of the Elements, and they do not have Equestria’s best interests in mind. About a thousand years ago, Equestria was in disarray and there were multiple evils that Princess Luna and I sealed or defeated with the Elements. You know some of their names well: Discord, Master of Chaos and…” Celestia took another breath. “Tirek, the Destroyer.”
“Th-those… those were just stories.” Twilight sounded like she was trying to convince herself, and a pit formed in her stomach. “And what do you mean by ‘sealed?’”
“Well, for one, there is a statue in the castle gardens that is not a statue.” Celestia paused a moment to let the words sink in. Twilight’s lips pressed together, she gulped, and broke out into a cold sweat. “It is nothing to concern yourself with now. The seals on them are still strong, but they were devious. It is possible Equality is a long-term puppet by one of these forces.”
Twilight remained silent. She was still reeling from the thought that she had had tea near one of the most famed monsters in Equestrian history. Yet, when Celestia directed her gaze at her, her breathing stabilized.
“Regardless of where Equality comes from, she has sent out a message to Equestria’s underbelly.” Celestia raised a leg and pointed at Twilight. “The main reason I wanted to have a talk with you is because the Sports Festival is an event all of Equestria and beyond will be watching. For you and your friends, I have confidence you will be able to tell the villains and the world, ‘we are here!’”
~~~
“Sheesh,” Dash sighed. She glided ahead of the rest of her friends and over to the stack of lunch trays.
The others slowly followed after her. Pinkie had stopped skipping, Fluttershy shivered and hid behind her mane, and Applejack adjusted her hat to avoid almost the entire lunch hall staring at them. Rarity took a breath, flipped back her mane, and marched forward. Spike inhaled and strutted over to the lunch trays.
“Don’t hold up the line,” Sunset muttered to Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Applejack. She trotted past them and inserted herself between Applejack and Spike. “Tch, if this is how you’re going act after one villain attack, how are you going to manage being pros?”
“Awesomely,” Dash answered while Sugar Belle deposited a large serving of vegetarian lasagna onto her tray. “Let them scope us out. I don’t mind showing off and neither should any of you.”
“Oh… oh dear,” Fluttershy mumbled. She took a tray, but it jittered between her teeth.
“Guess you’ve got a point.” Applejack slid down the line, taking three servings of everything except the pear cobbler. “Just a little shocking is all.”
“Reminds me of the first time I was on a runway.” Rarity’s eyes glazed over for a second before refocusing. “A little different now I suppose.”
“A lot different is my guess.” Spike got a few servings, but his main course and seasoning of jewels jostled in his book bag. “What’s this about runways?”
“Oh, just a few shows I did here and there,” Rarity answered. “If I hadn’t made it into the School as a hero, I had a backup application sent to the Costuming and Equipment Branch.”
“I applied there, too!” Pinkie exclaimed while layering her tray with cakes, cobblers, and fruits. “It would have been fun coming up with new costume ideas for others, but then I wouldn’t be super hero friends with all of you!”
Spike moved away from the serving area and followed along with the rest of the group. “Huh, haven’t really looked into much about the School branches. Maybe I sh—”
A turquoise wing flared out from a nearby table in front of Dash, but she soared over it. At the same time, Fluttershy tripped over something, sending her tray flying. Pinkie zoomed forward and managed to catch all of Fluttershy’s food back on the tray.
The turquoise pegasus grinned up at Dash. “Impressive.”
A pair of azure hooves clopped together. “And entertaining.”
“What’s the big idea?” Dash snorted. She flew down to help Fluttershy up.
“Okay, I admit, the wing was me, but everypony else here is just enjoying their lunch,” said the turquoise pegasus. “I wanted to get your attention after the WTF attack anyway, Rainbow Dash. Name’s Lightning Dust, and I hear you’ve been going on about being a fast pegasus.”
“Damn straight, and I don’t need some goons to back me up.” Dash glared at Dust but made sure to briefly direct her ire at all those seated at the table. The light green and pale purple unicorns at the opposite end and the amber-gray earth pony in the middle continued to eat their meals. A light orchid earth pony sitting opposite from the other earth pony stopped eating to admire the confrontation.
The azure unicorn slammed a hoof down on the table. “Trixie is no goon! Trixie will be happy to show you just what a foal you and the rest of your class are!”
“Now, now,” said the light orchid earth pony, “no need to get upset. They are our schoolmates after all.”
“Oh!” Rarity’s eyes lit up. “Suri? Is that you?”
“What a pleasure you recognized me.” Suri grinned. “Please forgive my classmates, they’re just a little revved up about the Sports Festival.”
“Quite understandable, I—”
“Can it,” Sunset snorted. She shot daggers at Suri. “If you want a fight, then say it. You’re all just cannon fodder for me.”
Suri’s smile remained in place, but her eyes turned icy. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I do hope the rest of your class isn’t this rude.”
“Now look, Sunset may be a little jumpy, but I think our class is…” Applejack jolted. Her pupils dilated, and her ears went stiff. Her next words came out in a Maud-like drone. “… gonna be up against a wall at the Sports Festival.”
The table, save for the green unicorn and the amber-gray earth pony burst into chuckles. Dust put a hoof on her chest. “Well, I have heard Apples are known for their honesty.”
Applejack shook her head and stared around for a second before snarling at the table. “Consarnit! I don’t know what your game is, but if you wanna play it that way, we’re gonna show you our class is the best!”
“Yeah!” All the girls and Spike added, although Fluttershy whispered her “Yeah.”
Dash jabbed a hoof at the table. “Consider this a declaration of war!”
Dash swirled upward into the air and flew off. Sunset made sure her glare pierced everypony at the table before she trotted away. The others marched after Dash with Spike at the end. He stalled for a second, blinked, and then looked down at his tray. “Uh, weren’t we just talking about runways?”
Another fit of chuckles from the table made Spike blush, and he rushed off to catch up with the group.
Other tables had observed the incident. One was occupied by a trio of unicorns adorned with the latest fashions and glistening jewelry. The gray stallion of the trio remarked, “How droll. It does our class little good to show our hoof to Class 1-A.”
“Oh yes,” the light olive filly at his side mused.
“Still, I cannot wait to trounce them,” remarked the white stallion that loomed over both of them. “And perhaps gain the admiration of some of the fillies. I particularly like that Sunset one.”
“Oh, Blueblood, you should just go over and say so,” Upper Crust purred. “She’d easily be head over hooves for you.”
All three of them chuckled.
At another nearby table, a yellow earth pony bit down hard on a carrot.
“You okay, Golden?” asked a light beige earth pony sitting across from Golden Harvest.
“I’m fine, Roseluck,” Golden sighed. “Applejack is my rival though. What gives them the right to mess with her like that?”
“That’s what you worried about?” asked a third filly with a coat somewhere between Roseluck’s and Golden’s.
“I just want to have a nice time,” the lone pegasus colt at the table sighed. Unlike the rest of the, his coat was not a shade of yellow, but of a dark grey. “You agree with me, right, Junebug?”
“I want to win, Thunderlane,” Junebug huffed. She looked over the room. “We’re gonna have some tough competition.”
Maud blinked. She had observed the whole altercation between Pinkie’s friends and the 1-B students, but it had not amounted to anything concerning, so she had let it slide. With another blink, she moved forward to join Sunset, who was currently digging into her meal, having split from Pinkie’s group.
A yellowish-grey pony brushed up against her shoulder. Maud stopped, turned her head, and stared at the pony. The colt wore a stony expression that matched Maud’s. She looked down at her shoulder, blinked, and then stared straight at the colt. “That was on purpose.”
“It was intentional, yes,” the colt droned. “My peers are in the process of sizing up our competition, and I wanted to do the same, though without the pizzazz my classmates enjoy. It’s not my style. Also, technically, your classmate made the declaration, I’m just returning fire.”
His tone and long-winded explanation would have put a normal pony to sleep, but Maud remained vigilant. “I’ll be keeping my eye on you.”
“And I will do the same.” The colt then held out a leg. “It’d be bad manners to not introduce myself. I am Mudbriar.”
Maud clenched Mubriar’s leg. There was no shaking or movement whatsoever from either of their legs, but below, Maud’s shadow bubbled slightly. “Maud Pie. Nice to meet you.”
“Likewise,” Mudbriar replied. He withdrew the leg and turned away. “I look forward to seeing you at the Festival.”
Back at Dust’s table, Trixie smirked. “Good one, Wallflower.”
“W-well, I did want to see if my spells worked on dragons,” Wallflower Blush mumbled.
“C’mon!” said Dust. “Show a little confidence! We’re gonna have Class 1-A on the ropes!”
“That seems toast-worthy to me.” The pale purple unicorn with a violet mane and stripes of teal pulled into pigtails lifted her glass. The others raised their glasses, though Coco only did so after a glare from Suri. “To Class 1-B and victory at the Sports Festival!”
“Cheers!” they all proclaimed.
Dust raised her glass a little higher. “And cheers to you too for pulling that move on Applejack, President Glimmer.”
Starlight Glimmer smiled. “Ah, this is going to be fun.”
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9237380
Probably
9237380
I mean not entirely, though you will quickly realise you love the anime more cause animation and music etc XP. Seriously it's a good show, three seasons of awesomeness, go binge watch it.
I would say you picks the right ponies to represent each key characters in the manga. Probably except the fact that Pinkie and Maud were sisters (not twin) but still in the same class year. Otherwise, nicely done.
Wait... what... but... GAH! the chapters are about a fifth of an actual episode this driving me up a water fall!
Man this was great I just read all of this on one sitting. I honestly really want a Sparity chapter. The interaction you have made between the two of them this story is just so great and they are a great team together. I really really want to see more of them two interacting. I mean it would be great to kinda get a idea on how Rarity feels about Spike by now. Or even see them interact outside of class. We never get to see what Spike does when he isn't with Twilight or anything. I kinda hope Spike really took this to heart and see he NEED to get stronger, he isn't anywhere near as strong as he knows he could be. I am sure he can feel it, deep down there is still so much power there that he is scared to use. He need, much like Twilight, learning to start to tap into it. Anyway all this aside great chapter and hope to see more Sparity soon lol.
Wait, what? Isn't Equality Starlight? Or is this a bait-and-switch? Anyways, nice, Class B is here!
Celestia: Young Twilight... IS HERE!
Twilight: Ah, Princess Celestia..! Why're you here?
Celestia: Lunch. Wanna eat with me?(smiles all cutesy like)
Fluttershy:*She's like a maiden..!*
EQUALITY =/= GLIMMER?
Consider me stumped.
Definitely liking who you have for Class 1-B. I knew Trixie was gonna be there, although I don't know if she was supposed to be the Neito Monoma of the group or not
Trixie! I wondered when we would see her.
Hmm, could it be that there are two Glimmers?
Either Equality is another pony, Starlight is Equality and is betraying the heroes or Equality is an alternate future evil version of Starlight. Can't wait to see more
I'm pretty sure Equallity is Future Starlight, which is why she hates Twilight. The really interesting thought is that if Starlight is time travelling, is this an alternate timeline she created fighting Twilight? Where IS Future Twilight? And Future Spike? This story could go anywhere now!
Starlight???? are'nt you Equality??!!!
Uuuuuu wut If she is who I think she is then this is a whole new interest