Chapter 7
“As I am sure you all know” Principal Celestia, once again standing on top of a stage in the gymnasium, spoke in a microphone to the students sitting on the bleachers and folding chairs “tomorrow, Canterlot High School will be hosting our fellow students from Crystal Prep Academy as we join together in the spirit of excellence, sportsmanship and fidelity to compete in the Friendship Games.”
All four Dazzlings, sitting on the topmost seats of the bleachers, watched as the students gave half-hearted cheers and clapped without any enthusiasm.
“They don’t sound too thrilled about that event.” Adagio said.
“Since the games only happen every four years I’m sure you’re all curious what goes on.” Celestia continued.
“No, not really.” Aria muttered while checking her nails.
“You mean other than us losing?” Flash Sentry, located just a few seats below theirs, shouted as he stood up; the principal chose to ignore that comment.
“And that is exactly why I’ve asked Rainbow Dash to come up and give you all a little, um… context.”
“Thank you, Principal Celestia!” The rainbow-haired girl said as she grabbed the microphone from its stand before clearing her throat.
“Oh my Hathor, here we go…” Aria complained, resting on her elbows and lifting her head to look at the roof. Sonata shushed her, curious about what was about to happen.
“I know a lot of you might think there’s no way we can beat a fancy school like Crystal Prep at anything.”
Pinkie Pie shouted something at the girl on stage. Aria didn’t bother to pay attention to what she said.
“Do we have to be here? At this point I’d rather be back in Salem. And I’m talking 1600s Salem.”
“Where’s your spirit of excellence, sportsmanship and fidelity?” Adagio mockingly asked.
“I dropped it along with all the damns I don’t give about these whatever games.”
“Well, I think it sounds like fun.” Sonata said. “You girls want to compete?”
“Give me one good reason why I should care about anything that goes on at this school.”
“CHS hasn’t been able to defeat Crystal Prep in many years.” Sunset Shimmer explained. “If you manage to lead our school to victory you’ll be able to rub it in their faces and have bragging rights until graduation day.”
Aria sat up straight. “You have my curiosity.”
While they were chatting amongst themselves, Rainbow Dash and the marching band began singing a song meant to motivate the other students.
“We fought magic more than once~!” She sang. “And come out on top~!”
“Uh, pretty sure that’s inaccurate!” Adagio shouted, but her protest fell on deaf ears; all students were focused on Rainbow Dash and her song.
Dash continued to sing as she marched towards two groups of nine students holding up signs that together formed the letter C styled like a horseshoe that served as the logo of CHS’s sports team, the Wondercolts.
“We overcame the obstacles we faced~!”
The first group of nine students flipped over their signs, forming a depiction of Sunset Shimmer from when she transformed into a she-demon during the Fall Formal. The girl in question crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow.
“Ok, that’s just rude.” She stood up and shouted: “I’m right here, you know!”
The other group of nine students flipped over their signs as well, revealing a painting of the three sirens in their true forms.
“Booooo!” Sonata jeered.
“Our fangs do not look like that!” Aria complained. “We’re not vampires.”
“I don’t remember being asked permission to use our likenesses.” Adagio shouted. “And again, you did not ‘overcome’ us!”
Members of the marching band began tossing hairbands with pony ears and pony tails with a clasp so that it could be attached to the back of their pants or skirts; most students put them on, but the sirens ignored them.
“I will not wear any of those things until I am given a proper apology.” Adagio looked away with her arms crossed.
“And we know at the end of the day it is we who survive~!”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Aria asked. “Do people die in the Friendship Games? Are they like the games the Romans used to play in the Colosseum? Those things were hardcore, I’m getting kind of excited now!”
As the students began to clap and sing along, Sunset Shimmer noticed that Rainbow Dash had started to pony up, an unusual occurrence since that was something that only happened when the Rainbooms played their musical instruments; she sprouted wings, pony ears appeared on the top of her head and her hair grew in order to simulate a tail. When the song came to an end and the students began to cheer, the athlete was flying several feet up in the air.
“Well, that’s unusual.” Sunset mumbled.
“You know what? I wasn’t interested before, but now I’m motivated to participate.” Aria said as the Dazzlings exited the gymnasium with the other students. “I’ll win those stupid games, get a stupid medal, wear it around my stupid neck for the rest of the stupid year and make sure to rub it in their stupid faces every time we cross paths. And then we will parade around this stupid school carrying stupid signs with their stupid faces on them!”
“Ohhh, can I draw them?” Sonata asked.
“Sonata, your drawings are terrible.” Aria replied. “You’re more than welcome to.”
“You’re unusually quiet.” Adagio pointed out, addressing Sunset.
“I’m just thinking.” Sunset said. “I thought the Rainbooms were only able to pony up when playing music, but Rainbow Dash wasn’t playing her guitar.”
“Maybe any musical number counts?” Sonata suggested.
“It’s a possibility, but I’ll keep an eye on those five. Princess Twilight trusts them enough to let them keep their magic, but if it gets out of control I’ll have to step in.”
“You may have to step in one way or another.” Sunset Shimmer jumped when the voice coming from behind her suddenly spoke up. She turned around and spotted Princess Luna looking down at her.
“Where did she come from?” Sonata whispered to Aria, who just shrugged.
“Principal Celestia and I would like to keep magic as far away from the Friendship Games as possible; it may not look like it, but they are serious business and we don’t want any more magic-related surprises interfering with yet another event at CHS. Princess Twilight Sparkle briefed my sister and I on your mission in this world, and if Crystal Prep finds out about this they will make zero effort to keep the existence of magic under wraps like we do.
“It will be bad for us, it will be bad for you and it will be bad for your homeworld. I’ll talk to the Rainbooms, see if I can get them to tone down the magical transformations in public, but if things escalate I would like you four to find a way to prevent things from getting worse. Can I count on you?”
Sonata saluted her. “Aye-aye, sir, ma’am, sir!”
“We’ll do our best.” Sunset replied.
“And I’ll be forever grateful.” Luna walked away, searching for the five girls.
“Guess I better sign up.” Aria said. “It’s a little last minute, but if the principal can let it slide once then she can let it slide twice.”
“Don’t worry about it, I already signed all of us up days ago!” Sonata cheerfully informed her. “And we’re all part of the twelve selected to participate.”
Adagio raised an eyebrow. “And when, exactly, were you planning on telling us?”
“I’m telling you right now!”
“Then why did you ask if we were going to participate if you had already signed us up?” Aria asked.
“But none of you participated in the tryouts.” Sunset Shimmer pointed out before Sonata answered. “How come you’ve all been selected?”
“I told Principal Celestia it was urgent magic-related business and that we had to investigate closely, so she just gave us spots on the team!”
“So you lied.”
“Yep!”
Aria facepalmed with a sigh of frustration and defeat. “I guess we’re doing this now, then. You better hope some magical shenanigans happen in this thing, because if the Principal comes a-knocking demanding an explanation I’ll tell her it was all you.”
With school over for the day, they returned to their minibus and Adagio drove them back to the apartment above the Sweet Shoppe where they lived so they could get ready for work – without mind control magic to get them free lodging or free clothes, they either had to live in the bus forever, which would run out of gas eventually, or find part-time jobs so they could afford a place to live in.
Aria Blaze worked as a cashier in the same counterculture store where they “bought” the spiked wristbands she had taken a liking to, side by side with the teal-haired girl she had hypnotized; they weren’t exactly friends, but they had enough in common to tolerate each other’s presence.
Adagio Dazzle worked at a pawn shop that belonged to a very shady pair of brothers named Flim and Flam; at first they tried to make her wear a banana costume and sing in front of the store to attract customers, but after showing them that she had a way with words by making an unsuspecting client pay a lot of money for something that was barely worth half of what he paid, the brothers gave her a job behind the counter.
Sonata Dusk worked as a waitress at the Sweet Shoppe, the bakery that belonged to their landlords Mr. and Mrs. Cake; after finding out that the girls lived in a minibus and had no home to call their own, the generous couple offered the vacant apartment located above their place of business.
Sunset Shimmer didn’t have a proper job, but she babysat Pound and Pumpkin Cake, the twin kids of the Cake couple, during working hours in exchange for a discount on their rent.
The next morning, the four girls saw black buses park in front of the school and Principal Celestia approach them to greet the only person who stepped out of the first bus, an older lady who was most likely the principal of Crystal Prep, while Vice Principal Luna gave the second person a hug.
“It’s always such a pleasure to see you, Dean Cadance.” The vice principal said.
While the two of them had a conversation, the Dazzlings watched as students in uniform came pouring out of the buses, each looking just as bored and uninterested as the previous one. Sunset tried to greet them warmly by waving at them with a big smile, but all she got in return were cold glares that Adagio and Aria were more than happy to return in kind while Sonata stuck her tongue out.
Another person they saw coming out of the bus was Twilight Sparkle herself, but with minor differences like her clothes, her hairstyle and the fact that she wore glasses, which caused a little bit of confusion until the sirens came to the conclusion that she was Princess Twilight Sparkle’s human counterpart. Before she had the chance to place her foot on the pavement, another girl also stepping out of the vehicle pushed her aside, causing her to fall on top of a Crystal Prep student.
“Seriously?” The girl chastised her as she got up.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to.” Human Twilight apologized, looking down at the ground to avoid eye contact as the girl walked away. When she got up, she blocked the path of yet another girl from her school. “Oh, sorry!” She stepped out of the way. “Why don’t you go ahead?”
“You are such a sweetie!” She said with a smile before her expression turned into a mixture of anger and annoyance. “I am watching you.”
Aria rolled her eyes as she walked towards the not-Princess of Friendship.
“You are kind of being a doormat right now.” Both Aria and a girl from Crystal Prep who also styled her hair in twintails told Twilight at the same time.
They locked eyes, Aria looking just as pissed off as ever while the new girl had a calm and neutral expression. Aria crossed her arms and looked away while the CPA student adjusted her glasses and joined the others.
Twilight had some kind of device hanging around her neck, which began to blink. Holding it on her hands for closer inspection, she noticed that the blinking light, which worked like the needle of a compass, was pointing at the CHS girl who just talked to her. She tried walking around the girl, but the light of the gadget kept pointing at her – whatever strange energy she was tracking, that girl either was the source, had said source on her person, or had interacted with it recently and some of the energy had clung to her body.
“What are you doing?” Aria asked, raising an eyebrow.
“You wouldn’t happen to…” She froze when she noticed the expression of her face – people who were familiar with Aria would recognize that as an expression of curiosity, but to everyone else she just looked angry. “N-N-Nevermind! I’m sorry!” She ran to join the other students from Crystal Prep and nearly collided with them.
“Good morning, girls.” Principal Celestia greeted the four of them. “Since you’re already here, could you please escort our friends from Crystal Prep Academy to the gymnasium?”
“Sure, we’ve got nothing better to do.” Aria replied as she approached the large group of students. “Alright losers, listen up: I can tell that you want to be here about as much as I do, so why don’t we get this over with and—” Adagio interrupted her speech by slapping her hand on the younger siren’s mouth, effectively shutting her up.
“What she meant to say is that we are very thrilled to have you all in our humble school and we hope that you enjoy participating in the Friendship Games just as much as we enjoy hosting them.” Adagio spoke up before giving Aria a sideway glare. “Now, I’m sure you’re tired from the trip, so why don’t you follow us to the gym so we can have a little interschool celebration before the games start?”
“You shouldn’t toss words like ‘loser’ around when it’s your school that’s never been able to beat ours in the Friendship Games.” A girl with blue hair and goggles sitting on top of her head warned.
Adagio chose to ignore that comment as the Dazzlings escorted the Crystal Prep students into the building. Sunset glanced at Twilight from time to time, curious about that apparatus and the reason why it was pointing at Aria.
The gymnasium had very basic decorations such as banners, flags, streamers and balloons, and the food available at the tables was considered barely passable at best – neither CHS nor CPA students were very impressed. None of them had any interest in interacting with people from another school, choosing to communicate only through glares and rude hand gestures.
“You know, if we were still able to feed off negative energy this place would be a five course meal.” Adagio pointed out. “And we didn’t even do anything.”
“Oof!” Twilight, who wasn’t looking where she was going, collided with Aria and fell down. “Sorry! I’m sorry!”
Sunset offered a hand to help her up, which she took before dusting her skirt.
“Are you stalking me?” Aria asked, raising her fist. “I swear, if you don’t leave me alone I’m gonna—”
“Ganging up on one of ours now?” The Crystal Prep student with blue hair and goggles asked, pushing Twilight aside so she could stand in front of Aria. “Are you that desperate to win?”
“No, but I care about my personal space and invasion thereof.”
“It was just a misunderstanding, there’s no need to start a fight over it.” Sunset Shimmer placed her hands on the shoulders of both girls, trying to defuse the situation. “Let’s save all that energy for when the Games start, ok?”
“If these Friendship Games turn out to be just like all previous ones, we’ll win without wasting any.” The same student Aria had a staring contest with not long prior said before adjusting her glasses. “We could run a few laps around the field before the competition and still have enough energy to beat you.”
“Pride cometh before the fall.” Adagio spoke with her hands on her hips and a smug smile on her face. “But please, do keep clinging to the accomplishments of your predecessors like they are your own; that will only make your defeat taste much bitterer.”
“We from Crystal Prep Academy are born and raised to be the best.” Another student, this one with ear-length purple hair, replied. “Unlike you slackers from Canterlot High we always give 110% of what we got, no matter what we’re doing.”
“Except math! You can’t go higher than 100%, dummy.” Sonata pointed out, causing Aria to groan and facepalm while Adagio rolled her eyes. “What?”
“It’s a figure of speech, Sonata.” Sunset explained.
“With competition like that, I don’t know why even bother with the Games.” The goggles girl said to the others. “They may as well just give us the medals now and avoid the embarrassment.”
All Crystal Prep students within earshot laughed, giving Twilight the opportunity to sneak away unnoticed.
“Hello, everyone.” Principal Celestia, standing on stage with Dean Cadance, said in a microphone – while she spoke, the CPA and CHS students that were arguing went their separate ways. “I’d like to take this opportunity to greet all of our visitors from Crystal Prep Academy and welcome them to CHS.” She then passed the mic to the dean from Crystal Prep.
“Would all twenty-four students that will be representing their respective schools in the Friendship Games please come on stage so that you can be properly introduced?” Dean Cadance requested.
They all followed the principal’s instruction and their names were finally revealed: the Crystal Prep students that would be competing were Sugarcoat, the girl with twintails that Aria met by the bus, Indigo Zap, the blue-haired girl with goggles, Sunny Flare, the girl with ear-length purple hair, Sour Sweet, the bipolar girl with a pink ponytail, Lemon Zest, who hadn’t taken off her headphones since stepping out of the bus and had to be dragged on stage by her classmates, Twilight Sparkle, Suri Polomare, Upper Crust, Jet Set, Pokey Pierce, Trenderhoof and Neon Lights.
The students representing Canterlot High School were Sunset Shimmer, Adagio Dazzle, Sonata Dusk, Aria Blaze, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, Rarity, Derpy Muffins, Trixie Lulamoon and Flash Sentry.
“Um, where’s Pinkie Pie?” Principal Celestia called, looking around the gymnasium for the 12th student representing her school.
“Over here!” The girl in question called, waving her arm before pulling a lever that turned off the lights. She then turned on spotlights that were pointed at a disco ball that wasn’t there before.
The silence was broken by the school DJ, Vinyl Scratch, who played an upbeat song as students from both schools realized that the cheap snacks on the tables had been replaced with delicious baked goods. Pinkie ran to the two cannons she brought into the gymnasium and pulled their cords, releasing a rain of streamers and confetti.
This new atmosphere changed everybody’s mood; they all began mingling and interacting with students from different schools, chatting, dancing and generally having a good time. Sunset Shimmer noticed that Pinkie Pie’s magic began acting up, giving her pony ears and extending her hair, but before she had the chance to do something about it the other girl simply returned to normal, looking uncharacteristically exhausted. She spotted Twilight not far from her, busying herself with her device.
Just as all students were beginning to have fun and enjoy themselves, the lights were turned back on, the music stopped and the feedback from the microphone forced all of them to cover their ears. Standing on the stage behind the microphone stand was Crystal Prep’s very own principal.
“I’d like to thank Principal Celestia for her unconventional welcome.” She said in the mic as she used a handkerchief to clean the lenses of her half moon glasses. “For those who do not know me, I am Principal Abacus Cinch of the Crystal Prep Academy. It’s been four years since the last Friendship Games but it feels as though nothing has changed.
“Canterlot High continues to pick its competitors in a popularity contest and Crystal Prep continues to field its top 12 students. It is a comfort to know that, even after so many years of losses, your school remains committed to its ideals, however misguided they may be. I wish you all the best of luck, regardless of the inevitable outcome.”
By the time her speech was over, the rivalry between the schools that had been momentarily set aside returned stronger than before and students that were smiling at each other just moments prior were glaring once more.
“Guess we know who their role model is.” Aria pointed her thumb at the Crystal Prep students they were previously arguing with.
“She sucked the happiness out of the room in a matter of seconds. I bet you two cupcakes that her Equestrian counterpart is a changeling.” Sonata said, frowning before taking a bite out of one of the cupcakes she was holding. “One and a half.”
After the welcome party was over, the gym was emptied so that the participants could get ready for the Friendship Games.
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Don't mind me, I'll just be rocking back and forth in my chair, chanting "Sci-Twi siren" for the foreseeable future.
I wonder if the HuMane 5 feel bad about ousting and almost killing Sunset in The Battle of the Bands?
...Well, that answers that question!
I foresee no problems occurring what so ever, nothing going wrong, and everything working out well in the end.
[The Voice in the Water manifests in a different body of water] Alright, who dumped booze in the pond I was possessing.
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I'm sure nothing will go wrong and everything will be perfect.
Wasn't expecting more chapters but I love it. also, I agree with Raith021 Sci-Twi Siren!!
10218226
Are you sure that it wasn't pure alcohol that was poured in there liberally?
Very good chapter
, it is interesting since the dazzlings are there, I really like that you focus on them and at sunset. 
By the way, I see that your story has a sundagio tag, can I see more of them ~?
I laughed at this.
Ooo im excited