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Ch. 1 - The Last Straw3,164 words
Ch. 2 - A Fresh Start2,649 words
Ch. 3 - New Friends for Sky2,808 words
Ch. 4 - Lyra's Rest Cure3,289 words
Ch. 5 - One Rainy Monday3,537 words
Ch. 6 - The View from Above2,570 words
Ch. 7 - Showtime2,760 words
Ch. 8 - True Blue Cousins2,715 words
Ch. 9 - Under the Clear Night Sky4,497 words
Ch. 10 - The Friendship Games3,809 words
Ch. 11 - Heart of the City3,125 words
Ch. 12 - Slumber Party for Two4,203 words
Ch. 13 - Taking Her Hand5,378 words
Ch. 14 - Friendship in the Forest5,032 words
Ch. 15 - Since You Came Along4,834 words

Ch. 7 - Showtime

At around noon on Sunday, Sky walked down to the bus stop across the street from Canterlot High. Lyra and Bon Bon were already waiting there. "Hi, Sky!" Lyra said with a grin. "You ready for the movie?"

"I sure am!" Sky replied. "Though at the moment, I'm more ready for lunch!"

"I feel that!" Bon Bon agreed. "The movie doesn't start until two, so we can go to the food court first."

Just then, a girl with light gray skin and long dark gray hair came around the corner and joined them on the bench. "Afternoon, all!" she said in an upper-class English accent.

"Good afternoon to you, Tavi!" Lyra replied. She motioned to Sky. "This is my friend Sky Scraper, if you haven't met him before. Sky, this is Octavia Melody."

"Oh yes, I remember you!" said Octavia. "You're in my History class, though I don't believe we've ever been formally introduced. A pleasure to meet you, Sky."

"Same to you, Octavia," Sky replied. "How long have you known Lyra and Bon Bon for?"

"Around three years now, I believe," Octavia recalled. "We met not long after I moved here from England in seventh grade."

"Wow! That's a long trip!" Sky remarked.

"Oh, it was," Octavia agreed. "The moving process itself was quite arduous, but I've enjoyed living here since then."

At that moment, a white transit bus pulled up in front of them and came to a stop. The bus's LED destination board read "27 - CANTERLOT MALL".

"That's our bus!" said Lyra. When the doors swung open, she and her friends climbed aboard. They scanned their transit cards at the front, then filled out a row of four seats further back. The doors swung shut, and the bus continued on its way.

It was a comfortable ride for Sky and the girls, because the bus remained relatively quiet and empty throughout the trip. When the bus pulled into the Canterlot Mall parking lot and stopped in front of the main entrance, the four friends hopped up from their seats and disembarked. "Have a good one, kids!" smiled the bus driver.

"You too!" Lyra replied. Sky, Bon Bon and Octavia smiled and nodded as they got off the bus.

The food court was located on the second floor, directly above the main entrance. When Sky, Lyra, Bon Bon and Octavia entered the mall, they got on the nearby escalator and rode it to the upper level. Unlike the bus, the food court was very crowded. Most of the tables were taken, and almost every restaurant had several people waiting in line. "I forgot how busy the mall can get on weekends," Sky remarked. "I hope we can find a table."

They each headed off to different restaurants. Sky went to an Indian place called The Tasty Treat, Lyra and Bon Bon went to a place that made sandwiches and crepes, and Octavia went to the sushi bar. After waiting in line for quite some time, they each got their food and reconvened at a table near the front of the food court. "Ah, butter chicken always hits the spot!" Sky said as he began eating his lunch.

"Ooh, you went to The Tasty Treat?" said Lyra. "Nice!"

"Yep! I was excited when I found out they were opening a second location here," Sky recalled. "My parents and I have been going to the original one in Valesbridge for years."

"Where's Valesbridge?" Octavia asked. "I'll admit I'm not too familiar with the surrounding towns."

"Valesbridge is about ten miles south of here," Sky explained. "That's where I lived before I moved to Canterlot. It's a nice suburban town with a big lake in the center. My dad and I go kayaking there every summer."

"Ah, I see," said Octavia. "Can't say I've been there before, but it does sound quite nice!"

"Are you still in touch with anyone there?" Lyra asked.

Sky shook his head. "Unfortunately, no. I used to be, but we lost touch after I got buried under Crystal Prep's ridiculous workload."

Lyra nodded. "That's a shame, but it's understandable. At least you have plenty of friends at CHS now."

"I sure do, and I also have my cousin Sugarcoat. Obviously I couldn't talk to her while I was grounded, but she just texted me yesterday. I told her about how the past month has gone for me, and she said she's happy that I'm doing better now, even if we're now at rival schools."

"Aww, that's sweet," Lyra said with a smile.

"I assume your cousin goes to Crystal Prep?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah. She was pretty much the only friend I had there. She's lived in Canterlot her whole life, so even though I didn't move here until a couple years ago, I've been visiting since I was young."

"Hmm, maybe we've seen each other when we were younger and didn't realize it!" Lyra joked.

Sky chuckled. "That's entirely possible!"

"Do you know if Sugarcoat made the Friendship Games team?" Bon Bon asked. "I remember you said a while ago that she was trying out."

Sky nodded. "Yep! She said the tryout couldn't have gone better for her. I guess you'll be competing against her next month."

Bon Bon raised an eyebrow. "You're still going to be rooting for us, right?"

"Of course!" Sky replied. "Duh! I like Sugarcoat, but I'm the last guy who would be rooting for Crystal Prep in anything."

Bon Bon smiled. "Good! Just wanted to make sure."

"Speaking of your cousin, that reminds me of my cousin Montgomery," said Octavia. "He's lived in London his whole life, and until last summer, claimed to know the city's subway lines like the back of his hand."

"What happened with him?" Sky asked.

Octavia chuckled. "Well, Monty's a year older than me, and he and I have always gotten along well. He's a nice bloke, though a bit boastful at times. At the beginning of last summer, my family went to London for two weeks, and we stayed with Monty and his family. During our stay, we often rode the Tube - that's what they call the subway there - to get to places around the city. Since Monty's ridden the Tube so many times, he often boasted that he knew its layout like the back of his hand. One night, he and I were coming home from a party, and he led me down to the Tube station as usual. Unfortunately, he led me to the wrong platform, and we boarded a train in the wrong direction. Instead of going home for the night, we ended up in an old rundown station in one of the city's roughest neighborhoods. There were so many unsavory characters lurking about, I was afraid we were going to get mugged, or in my case, worse." She shuddered at the thought. "We did manage to get home safely after switching platforms, but Monty was never allowed to boast about his navigational skills again. I told him that if he knows the Tube like the back of his hand, then he must not look at his hand very often!"

"Oh, man!" Sky laughed. "That's a good one! Talk about jinxing yourself!"

"Indeed!" agreed Octavia. "Monty did not cover himself in glory that night, that's for sure!"

"Well, at least you didn't run into a drunk woman who thought you were spying on her," Lyra quipped. "Sky, have we told you this one before?"

"No, what happened?" Sky asked.

"This happened last Halloween," said Lyra. "Bonnie and I were on our way to a costume party at our friend Minuette's house. I was dressed as a unicorn..."

"...and I was dressed as a secret agent," finished Bon Bon. "Gotta keep things on brand!"

"Always!" Lyra agreed. "Anyway, we were walking down the street when this woman staggers up to us and starts yelling at us to stop spying on her. We could smell the alcohol on her breath from ten feet away, that's how wasted she was."

"The sun hadn't even set yet and she'd already gotten herself drunk," said Bon Bon. "After yelling at us for like a minute, she then started blabbering about how the government was trying to take away her freedom and privacy, and that we were only pawns in some kind of master scheme they were planning."

"She's not just drunk, I'd say she's mentally unstable!" Sky remarked. "Jeez."

"I know!" said Lyra. "Bonnie's secret agent costume was very convincing, to be fair, but I was literally wearing a fuzzy pink unicorn onesie. I don't know how someone could have looked at me and thought yep, she's a top-secret government spy out to get me."

"I have no idea either," Sky chuckled. "I bet you made a cute unicorn, though."

"Thank you so much!" Lyra giggled, lightly blushing. "I like to think I do."

The four friends continued eating and chatting for a while. Eventually they were all finished with their lunch, and they got up to return their trays. Octavia checked the time on her phone. "Are we all ready to go?" she asked. "We've about fifteen minutes before the movie starts."

"I'm ready," Sky replied. Lyra and Bon Bon nodded in agreement. With that, they left the food court and set off for the Flixiplex Cinemas, which were located at the opposite end of the mall.

"You know, I'm not really into store-hopping, but I've always liked coming here just to walk around," Sky said as he passed by the various storefronts on the second floor. "Sugarcoat and I used to run around this place all the time when we were younger."

"Yeah, it's really nice," Lyra agreed. "It always seems so bright and sunny in here."

"Oh, definitely," said Sky. "It's because of the glass roof. And the pastel-colored walls reflect the light really well."

Up ahead, the floor had recently been mopped. Since he'd always been a fast walker, Sky was at the front of the group. But he was so busy talking to Lyra that he didn't notice the wet floor sign ahead. He hit a slippery spot and his feet suddenly slid out from under him. He rapidly rotated his arms to try to catch his balance, but it was no use. He braced himself for impact with the tiled floor, but then he felt his head come to rest on something soft and warm. He looked up and saw Lyra's beautiful golden eyes looking down at him. "Are you okay?" Lyra asked with concern.

"Yeah... I'm fine..." Sky stuttered. He realized that his head was resting on Lyra's chest, which felt really nice. "Thanks for catching me."

"You're welcome," Lyra said with a smile. "I saw you slip and I ran right over without a second thought."

Sky and Lyra both couldn't help but blush as they looked at each other. Eventually, Sky stood up straight again and Lyra let go of him. "Did you two enjoy that?" Octavia asked knowingly.

"Well, we're both fine," Sky replied, "so yes."

The Canterlot Mall's most distinctive feature was the large golden water fountain in its center. Sky, Lyra, Bon Bon and Octavia rode down the escalator next to it. When they got off on the first floor, Lyra found a penny in her pocket and tossed it into the fountain. "Made a wish!" she announced.

"What kind of wish?" Sky asked.

"I can't tell you!" Lyra laughed. "It won't come true if I do!"

Before long, they arrived at the Flixiplex Cinemas. They paid for tickets at the front window, and then entered the theater complex itself. Since there was a long line at the concession counter, and they were all full after eating lunch, they didn't bother buying snacks or drinks. They found the specific theater that SIA 97: The Monte Carlo Conspiracy was being shown in, and went in to find seats.

"Looks like we might have gotten here a bit too late," Bon Bon commented. "There aren't too many seats left."

"Most of those seats are empty," Sky said, pointing to the back row. "Let's take those."

"Oh, good idea!" said Bon Bon. She, Lyra and Octavia followed Sky up the steps to the back row, and they filled out four adjacent seats. Sky had always liked sitting in the back of the theater, since it was easiest to see the big screen from there.

The next fifteen minutes were devoted to showing trailers for other upcoming movies. After what seemed like ages, the lights in the theater dimmed, the screen widened, and the audience fell silent. It was time for Moonlight Envisage's mission in Monaco to begin.

TWO HOURS LATER

As the movie came to an end and the credits began to roll, many members of the audience clapped and cheered. Sky, Lyra, Bon Bon and Octavia stayed to watch the credits for a few minutes, then got up to leave together.

"So what did you think, Sky?" Lyra asked as they exited the theater and walked back into the light.

"I thought it was awesome!" Sky replied. "Best movie I've seen in a while!"

"Same!" said Lyra. "I think this might be the best SIA 97 movie yet."

"I think so too!" Sky agreed. "This one had pretty much everything. High stakes, stunning locations, badass fight scenes, and some awesome car chases. My favorite part was when Moonlight sent both of her pursuers off the cliff with one swipe and then just continued on like nothing happened. That was such a power move!"

Lyra nodded. "Totally! There was also the part when she knocked out that thug who broke into her hotel room, and then just casually rolled him off the balcony and into the swimming pool. I loved that!"

"Me too," Sky chuckled. "I know the fight scenes are supposed to be impressive and serious, but when she does stuff like that, I can't help but laugh out loud."

"No shame in that!" put in Octavia. "SIA 97 movies always blend action, mystery and comedy so well. This one particularly excelled in the mystery department."

"Absolutely!" Bon Bon agreed. "There were so many crazy twists in this one. Especially SIA 85 being a mole all along - even I didn't see that one coming!"

"I know, right!" said Octavia. "There I was, thinking that Moonlight's partners were just useless, as they sometimes are, and then it turns out one of them was aligned with the terrorists the entire time. I must say, 85 hid her duplicity brilliantly under a veil of incompetence."

"That she did," said Sky. "I had a feeling there was something off about her, but I couldn't quite put my finger on what it was."

"Honestly, 74 both cracked me up and pissed me off," said Lyra. "He was just fawning over Moonlight the whole time while barely even helping her at all. Like, his crush on her was funny and kind of cute, but there were a lot of times where I just wanted to punch him in the face."

"He was me..." Bon Bon giggled.

"Well, you still would have been more helpful than he was!" Lyra laughed.

"At least he finally did something useful at the end, knocking 85 into the harbor and then rescuing Moonlight from the torture chamber," said Sky. "I'm glad they didn't kiss, though. No cliches allowed!"

"That's why we love Moonlight Envisage," said Bon Bon. "She's an independent woman who does things her own way, just like Iris Magnifico herself!"

The friends walked out of the Flixiplex Cinemas and back into the mall proper. "So... is there anything else you want to do while we're here?" Sky asked.

"Not really, no," Lyra replied. "I actually feel kind of tired now. What about you?"

"I can't think of anything either," said Sky. "I'm feeling kind of tired too - I guess sitting in a dark theater for two hours will do that. I guess we'll just catch the bus and head home for the evening, then?"

"Sure," said Lyra. "It was fun getting lunch and seeing a movie together."

Sky smiled. "It sure was. We should do this more often in the future."

Lyra smiled back. "Sounds good to me!"

The four friends walked back to the other end of the mall at a leisurely pace, still talking about how great the movie had been. They exited through the main entrance, and when the next number 27 bus arrived, they got on and rode it back home together. There was no better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

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