• Published 29th Apr 2020
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The Song Of Friendship - Lab Matt



Princess Twilight's friends aren't as receptive to the idea of befriending Sunset Shimmer as she hoped. The Dazzlings seize the opportunity.

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Chapter 8

Both CHS and CPA students gathered on the school entrance hall, with the twenty-four of them who were going to participate in the Friendship Games standing by Principal Celestia, Principal Cinch, Vice-Principal Luna and Dean Cadance.

“Welcome to the first event: the academic decathlon!” Cadance announced. “You’ll be scored on chemistry, home-ec and everything in between, but remember: only the six students from each team with the most points will move on to event number two. Good luck!”

The first round of the event took place in the chemistry lab, where the competitors were given a list of chemical reactions they were supposed to create; some were easier but worth fewer points, while the more difficult ones earned them extra points. Although Derpy almost set the room on fire, the round was over without complications.

The next round was a mixture of home-ec and art class, where the students were separated in pairs and had to both bake and decorate a cake. Sonata learned how to bake delicious cakes at her job and Aria had a sense of aesthetic that surprised even her closest friends, so after they were paired together they baked a masterpiece in both design and taste. Baking wasn’t Flash Sentry’s strongest suit, but by following Sunset Shimmer’s instructions they managed to make something acceptable together.

Round three was woodworking, in which the pairs had to build a birdhouse that was both functional and aesthetically pleasing. Trixie, who crafted her own props for her magic shows, felt comfortable with a circular saw on her hand and worked miracles with it, making up for Adagio’s lack of experience.

All the pairs were dissolved before round four, a spelling bee contest taking place in the school auditorium. Sonata and Derpy did poorly right off the bat. Aria and Trixie were a little better, but still below average. Adagio and Flash did ok, but nothing spectacular. Sunset did great, but even she was capable of making mistakes.

The final round of the first event was a series of mathematical problems, with each student being tasked with solving one of them. Every CPA student answered correctly, but a few CHS students made mistakes along the way that caused them to give the wrong answers.

After calculating the results of the participants in each round, Vice-Principal Luna made the announcement:

“The winner of the Friendship Games first event, scoring a total of 472 points, is Crystal Prep. Canterlot High scored a total of 312 points, better luck on the next round.”

The crowd clapped without much enthusiasm, already knowing that this would be the result before the Games even began.

“After a careful tally of the points, we’d like to announce the students moving on to the Friendship Games second event.” Dean Cadance said. “From Crystal Prep, I’d like to call Indigo Zap, Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare and Twilight Sparkle to join us up here.”

The students whose names were called climbed on stage, all of them looking just as bored as the audience with the exception of Twilight who wasn’t comfortable being the center of attention.

“And from Canterlot High, the students moving on to the second event are Adagio Dazzle, Applejack, Aria Blaze, Flash Sentry, Sunset Shimmer and Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Aw, shoot.” Sonata muttered sadly, looking down at her feet. Derpy Muffins, looking equally disappointed with the results, walked up to her and patted her on the back. Sonata pulled her into a sad hug.

“That’s thanks to you, Sunset.” Flash told her as they walked up on stage. “If you hadn’t carried me throughout the first event, I doubt I would be standing here.”

“Don’t sell yourself short, Flash. You understood all the instructions I was giving you, even when I myself wasn’t sure if what I was saying made any sense.”

Flash Sentry waved Twilight, but she just looked confused before turning around to face her teammates. He used the hand he was waving to scratch the back of his head.

“What is up with Twilight? I thought she came here to help us win the Friendship Games, but not only is she playing for the other team, she’s acting like I’m a total stranger. Is it because of the things I said during the Battle of the Bands? I don’t think I ever apologized for that, now that I think about it…”

“That’s not Twilight, Flash.” Sunset explained as they were directed by Principal Celestia to exit the stage. “Well, I mean, she is Twilight, but not our Twilight; she’s a student from Crystal Prep and, as far as I can tell, she’s always been. Our Twilight is a princess, she’s got duties and responsibilities, I don’t think a high school competition is very high up on her list of priorities to make her drop everything and come here to help us.”

“Yeah, that makes sense. Well, thanks for telling me before I said anything that would make things awkward.”

“Even more awkward, you mean. She definitely thinks you’re a weirdo at this point.”

Flash Sentry laughed nervously. “Do you know if our Twilight will come visit us anytime soon? I, uh… we miss her. And I really need to apologize.”

“Hiding it won’t do you any good, Flash, we all know you have a thing for her. But like I said, she has duties and responsibilities back in Equestria, and that’s where she’s gonna spend most of her time. I don’t want to sound mean, but you should get over her.”

“Ouch. Your attitude may have changed, but you’re just as blunt as you were when we… y’know…”

“Dude, you already made things awkward with one girl today. If you want a two-for-one discount that badly, ask Adagio about The Flim Flam Brothers’ Everything Under The Sun Emporium.”

“Yeah, my bad. It’s just… Twilight and I were really getting along, I was just hoping we’d become… something more.”

“That’s why you need to get over her, otherwise you’ll be stuck thinking about what could have been for the rest of your life and won’t be able to move on. Of all the people that comes to mind when I think ‘lonely 30-year-old basement-dwelling bachelor pining for his high school sweetheart’, you’re not one of them. Get out there, find a human girl that you like, go out with her and be happy because the pony girl is not coming back anytime soon.”

“When you put it like that… Well, thanks for the tough love, at least. Some people still say you haven’t changed at all, but you’re definitely a better person now than you were before the Fall Formal.”

She rolled her eyes at the mention of that cursed event. “Anytime.”

“So, uh… any plans for the weekend?”

“I said human girl, Flash.”

“Right. Sorry.”

Sunset received a text message saying that they were meeting up at the cafeteria since it was empty, so that’s where they went; Aria, Adagio, Trixie and Applejack were already there.

“Hey there, Applejack!” Sunset Shimmer greeted with a wave. “We haven’t talked in forever. How are the girls? Done anything interesting since, y’know, almost killing me?”

Applejack tried to hold it in, but she had enough: slamming her fists on the table, she stood up and pointed an accusatory finger at her. “We already said we’re sorry many times over, how long are you goin’ to hang that over our heads? Especially since, far as I can remember, you tried to kill us long before the Battle o’ the Bands even happened.”

“That was different, the magic corrupted me and I lost control!”

“And we didn’t know that tryin’ to stop y’all would almost kill ya, shouldn’t we be even now?”

“Excuse me, but are we going to discuss a way to beat Crystal Prep or did you just invite me here to watch you bicker?” Trixie interrupted. “Because as amusing as that sounds, I’d rather do literally anything else right now.”

“I didn’t invite any of you.” Adagio explained. “Sonata went behind my back again and texted everybody that made it to the second event so we could ‘work on our synergy’, and now here we are.”

“I’m surprised Sonata even knows what the word ‘synergy’ means.” Aria commented.

“Well, I got nothing better to do.” Trixie propped her feet on the table. “So, are we going to tell childhood stories or what?”

“Trixie, people eat here!” Sunset chastised her.

“So what? Somebody’s gonna clean it after school, no big deal.”

“If I find foot fungus in my salad I’m cutting your legs off!”

“Alright ladies, put a cork in the lovers spat.” Adagio requested, clapping to get their attention. “I know this sounds crazy, but Sonata has a point: if we want to win the Friendship Games – which is the cheesiest name ever, by the way – we need to work well together, and to work well together we need to know each other better. Let’s start with you, farmer girl, what kind of person are you when you’re not trying to murder the last survivors of a functionally extinct race?”

Applejack exhaled in frustration before sitting back down; arguing with them wasn’t going anywhere, so she decided to be the bigger person and let it go. “There ain’t much to tell; I grew up on an apple farm just outside o’ town with my big brother an’ my lil’ sis where we also work, and we were all raised by my Granny Smith, the lunch lady.”

“What about your par—” Before Flash Sentry could finish that sentence, Trixie covered his mouth with her hand.

“Don’t even go there, Mr. Sentry!” Trixie said. “I’m no fan of the Rainbooms, but even I know that bringing that up is a rude thing to do. Just drop it, ok?”

“That’s surprisingly considerate coming from ya, Trixie.” Applejack said with a smile, glad that the subject had been dropped before it even started.

“I didn’t do it for you.” She looked away with her arms crossed. “This day has been painful enough already, watching the toughest girl in school cry would only make it worse.”

“Well, uh… thanks anyway.”

“Sorry about that.” Flash Sentry looked down in shame, rubbing the back of his head. “I’m not exactly on top of my game today.”

“Can’t blame ya sugarcube, Big Mac said it’s always like that when Crystal Prep’s around; morale goes way down while we’re gettin’ our butts kicked an’ everybody starts actin’ a bit funny.”

“Well, we have to turn things around on the second event and then crush them on the third.” Aria punched the palm of her hand to illustrate her point. “Any guesses on what it could be?”

“Uh, you don’t know?” Flash asked. “Principal Celestia explained to everyone who qualified, it’s an event called Tri-Cross Relay where pairs from both schools will compete in archery, roller skating and motocross. She asked us to not tell anybody to keep it a surprise.”

“That’s why those construction workers came earlier this week and put a fence around the field while workin’ on it.” Applejack explained. “Dash wasn’t happy about that, but said it was gonna be worth the wait once she got the chance to participate in the Relay.” She chuckled. “Hoo boy, she was fumin’ once we learned that Trixie made it to the second event and she didn’t – she was trainin’ all week for the motocross part.”

“Just goes to show that brawn isn’t everything.” Trixie replied with a smug smile. “I won the Battle of the Bands after all, I have a close relationship with victory.”

Applejack just rolled her eyes. “Lucky me, round one was full o’ things I know a thing or two about. Chemistry and grammar ain’t my thing, but cookin’ and carpentry are right up my alley!”

“Also you’re one of the few of us who answered the math problem correctly.” Adagio pointed out. “You don’t strike me as the mathematician type. How’d you do it?”

“My brother’s been tutorin’ me since grade school, he says it’s good to know our way ‘round numbers to make sure we don’t get swindled by some crooked businessman like those no-good brothers, Flim and Flam. Y’all know ‘em? They own a pawn shop downtown, everythin’ they sell is awfully overpriced.”

“I do, unfortunately.” Adagio said between gritted teeth; they were her bosses and signed her paychecks, but that didn’t mean she had to like them.

“Your brother wouldn’t happen to offer tutoring to non-family members, would he?” Trixie asked. “I could use a… refresher. N-Not that I’m dire need or anything, it’s just good to be prepared.”

They spent the rest of the interval between events bonding, discussing the activities they would be participating in and, against all odds, they were having a good time doing it. Even Sunset Shimmer managed to tolerate Applejack’s presence – the fact that the farmer girl was the only Rainboom who acted somewhat civil towards her after the Fall Formal and before the Battle of the Bands certainly helped her look past the fact that she was one of the girls who almost got her killed.

“There you all are.” Principal Celestia said as she entered the cafeteria. “I was about to call your names on the P.A., but seeing how you’re all here… I just wanted to tell you that the Friendship Games will resume soon, we’ll be waiting by the sports field.”


When the temporary fences erected around the field were removed, it was revealed that the sports field received a complete makeover: there was a short obstacle course and an archery range with moving targets in the center, an oval race track built around it and a bigger track with large mounds of dirt surrounding the smaller track.

“Welcome, everyone, to the Friendship Games Tri-Cross Relay!” Dean Cadance announced from the commentator booth overlooking the track alongside Principal Cinch, Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna. “In this event our qualifying competitors will face off in archery, speed skating, and finally motocross. So, if the competitors are ready…” She blew an air horn, signaling the start of the second event.

Trixie and Sour Sweet dashed off, grabbing their quivers before jumping over bales of hay and swinging over a mud pit on a rope.

“Each competitor must hit a bullseye before their teammates can start the next leg of the relay.”

Trixie vaulted over the bales effortlessly, but her grip on the rope wasn’t strong enough; she fell in the mud pit, amusing both Canterlot High and Crystal Prep students.

Sour Sweet finished the obstacle course without problems, picked up the bow at the end of the course and fired an arrow at one of the moving target, hitting a bullseye on her first try. It took a second for Twilight to register what just happened, but she eventually snapped back to reality, grabbed her equipment and ran as well.

Trixie felt very embarrassed, but she wiped the mud off her face and climbed on the platform where her bow awaited.

Twilight Sparkle had difficulties along the way but she managed to reach the platform before Trixie hit a bullseye, although it didn’t take long for the CHS student to score a point. Applejack grabbed her quiver and ran, finishing the obstacle course just as easily as Sour Sweet. It took a couple of tries, but she hit a bullseye fairly quickly compared to her teammate. Once the arrow hit the target, Adagio and Flash skated away.

Twilight was doing worse than Trixie, missing every single arrow she shot and not coming even close to hitting a bullseye. She broke down in tears when she realized there was a single arrow left in her quiver.

“You’re really bad at this.” Aria and Sugarcoat, who were waiting for their turns on their dirt bikes, shouted at the same time. Aria glared at her again, but Sugarcoat just rolled her eyes.

“We’re the ones who are supposed to taunt and demean your teammate.” Trixie said with a smile. “You’re doing our job for us.”

“Enjoying the mud mask, hair bleach?” Indigo Zap fired back. “It’s good for that oily skin of yours, you really need it!”

“Why, you—”

Applejack groaned. “I can’t take anymore!” She handed her bow to Trixie and walked over to CPA’s platform, standing beside Twilight. “Ya have to stop aimin’ at the target.”

“Oh, that makes perfect sense!” Sour Sweet said in her obnoxiously high pitched voice. “Don’t aim at the target. Thanks so much.”

Applejack ignored the sarcastic comment. “Ya have to stop aimin’ at where the target is and aim at where the target’s gonna be.”

“Yeah, definitely take advice from the person YOU’RE COMPETING AGAINST!”

“Do you wanna hit the bullseye or not?” Twilight nodded, wiping her tears on her forearm. “Then trust me. Take a deep breath…” The Crystal Prep girl did as she was told. “And let the arrow go… riiiiight… now!” Just as Applejack promised, the arrow hit the target right in the center. Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare did not waste any time, chasing after Flash and Adagio immediately.

“Oh come on, Applejack!” It was Sunset Shimmer’s turn to shout. “Are you trying to make us lose the Friendship Games?”

But the farm girl didn’t pay attention; she was comforting Twilight, who had just hugged her.

“See? I was tellin’ ya the truth!”

A pair of pony ears appeared on top of Applejack’s head and her ponytail grew longer to simulate an actual pony tail; Sunset Shimmer’s anger was replaced by panic.

“No no no no no!”

Before anyone in the audience had the chance to notice, however, the device Twilight Sparkle carried around on her neck opened itself up and began sucking the magic out of Applejack.

“What… are… you… doin’?” Applejack asked, trying to hold on to the magic being stolen from her, but losing the battle.

“I don’t know!” Twilight replied, trying to force the gadget shut. Applejack’s pony ears disappeared along with her ponytail extension, leaving her exhausted. Twilight finally managed to close it, but Applejack’s magic had already been completely drained by then.

Sunset Shimmer, who had witnessed everything, tightened her grip on the handlebars of her dirt bike as her anger returned.

“Canterlot only has two laps to go, but it looks like Crystal Prep is making up for lost time!” Cadance announced.

Adagio offered her hand to Flash Sentry, who took it as they skated side by side, effectively blocking Lemon Zest and Sunny Flare.

The CPA girls eventually figured out a way to get around the blockade, but it made them lose speed and cost them precious seconds; by the time CHS finished the race, they still had half of a lap left to go. When Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap were finally allowed to start, the Canterlot High girls were already two thirds of a lap ahead of them.

Sunset’s attention moved away from Twilight Sparkle and back to the race, so she didn’t notice when Twilight tripped and fell, dropping the apparatus in the process and causing it to open portals throughout the track from where Equestrian sentient vines began to emerge. Twilight tried to pick it up and close it, an act that would seal the portals once again, but one of the vines grabbed her by the ankle and pulled her away from her gadget.

Large vines appeared throughout the track and began attacking the four racers. Indigo Zap managed to dodge it, but Sugarcoat wasn’t as lucky and her dirt bike was caught on the monstrous plant’s deadly grip. The sirens were also assaulted, and Sunset fell off her bike trying to avoid a collision with the giant vine.

Sugarcoat was beginning to lose her grip on the bike that had been raised several feet up in the air by the vine. Rainbow Dash, who was sitting on the bleachers, jumped off and transformed in mid-air. The CPA girl finally lost her grip, but thankfully Rainbow Dash managed to grab her just in time. The plant’s grip tightened, crushing the bike as if it was made of aluminum foil. Sunset Shimmer tried to get back on her bike, but another vine landed on top of it, crushing it as well.

Aria won the race. Indigo Zap tried to get past her, but her late start combined with the unforeseen obstacle made it impossible.

“Attention, students!” Dean Cadance urged them. “Please proceed to the gym!”

While the track was being evacuated, Twilight managed to free herself from the vine and grab her device. It took some effort, but once she managed to close it the vines were sucked back into the portals they came from, and they closed immediately afterwards.

“What’s going on?” Rainbow Dash asked, landing next to Sunset Shimmer and finally putting Sugarcoat down, who ran away immediately. “Are you sirens up to no good again?”

“We had nothing to do with this!” Adagio replied as she skated towards them, pointing an accusatory finger at the winged girl. “Unlike a certain blockhead, we’re not trying to show our magic for the whole world to see!”

“What was I supposed to do, let her fall and die?”

“Um, excuse me.” A new, quieter voice joined the discussion, and it belonged to Twilight Sparkle. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen. I just wanted to learn about the strange energy coming from your school. I didn’t know that it was magic or how it works!”

“That’s ok.” Rainbow Dash assured her as she walked towards her. “Neither do we!”

“Oh no!” Twilight said as her gadget opened itself up one more time. “No no no, not again!” Once the apparatus was open, it began sucking Rainbow Dash’s magic right out of her body. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” She struggled to close it, but it was even more difficult than last time. Sunset Shimmer stepped in and they finally managed to close it together.

“What the hell was that?” Sunset asked without letting go of the device, the anger in her voice evident.

“I built this to find the source of the strange energy around your school.” Twilight explained. “But then it just started absorbing energy on its own, and I’m not sure how!”

“That’s the problem, isn’t it? You’re just messing around with things you don’t understand, the people who get hurt in the process be damned, right?”

“But I want to understand!”

“But you don’t! Some of us need this energy to live, and I’m not letting you anywhere near my friends with this.” Sunset Shimmer gave the gadget a hard tug, causing the string that Twilight used to hang it around her neck to snap.

“Hey, that’s mine!” She tried to take it from Sunset’s hands, but the siren gave her a push strong enough for her to fall on her butt.

“You’re like a child playing with her parent’s loaded gun, except this can be one thousand times more destructive if mishandled, which is exactly what you’re doing.”

Aria and Adagio joined Sunset Shimmer as she walked away with Twilight’s device. Applejack stayed behind to help Twilight up and make sure that fatigue was all Rainbow Dash had.


“I would like an explanation as to what just happened out there.” Vice-Principal Luna, who had intercepted the three Dazzlings in a hallway, demanded. “I thought I was very clear when I said I didn’t want magical interference in the Friendship Games.”

“We had absolutely nothing to do with that!” Aria fired back.

“That Twilight from Crystal Prep was messing around with magic using this thing.” Sunset Shimmer presented the device. “She’s the one who caused that catastrophe.”

“So what happens now?” Adagio asked. “Are the Games going to be postponed or something?”

“Celestia tried to have the games cancelled” Luna explained as she picked up the apparatus to inspect it closely “but Principal Cinch refused; apparently she values victory over the safety of not only our students, but her own as well.”

“What are we going to do about this thing?” Sunset asked, pointing at the device.

“I know what you should do with it.” A new voice joined the conversation, one that belonged to Principal Abacus Cinch who slowly walked towards them with her chin held high and her hands behind her back. “That device belongs to a student from Crystal Prep Academy, and I would like to have it returned.” She adjusted her glasses with the tip of her index finger. “Unless you want me to press charges, that is. Your student assaulted mine and stole it in broad daylight in front of witnesses. I don’t want to get law enforcement involved, given how interested you seem on keeping this incident under wraps, but I will have to if you don’t return it.” Cinch extended her hand. “What will it be?”

“Give it back? That thing is a menace to everybody here! We should get rid of it before it kills someone.” Sunset explained.

“If your claims are true, I will personally contact the proper authorities to handle its disposal and punish the student who built it. Now give it back.”

Vice-Principal Luna sighed. “I’m sorry girls, but I know she’s not bluffing.” Luna deposited the device on Principal Cinch’s open hand, who wrapped her long spingly fingers around it like a venus flytrap consuming its prey.

“You are smarter than your sister, Vice-Principal Luna.” Cinch said as she looked down at the gadget before turning around and walking away. “Maybe her position should be yours after all.”