What if instead of Spike, it was all of the Mane 6 that entered into the parallel world to get back Twilight's crown back from Sunset Shimmer? Along with the help of a different group of friends who had their friendship broken?
We all know what happened when newly crowned Princess Twilight Sparkle went through the enchanted mirror that led her to a world parallel to Equestria to retrieve her crown stolen by Sunset Shimmer. But, what if she hadn't gone through alone?
What if instead of Spike, her friends defied Celestia's warning and followed her into the other world? Would things really be that disastrous, or can this group of friends bring back together a different group of friends, who remind them of ponies, or creatures, back home in Equestria, or seem somewhat familiar? And will they also help the Mane 6 stop Sunset Shimmer from accomplishing whatever plan she's scheming?
Hints of shipping included.
Ships involved: Flashlight, SoarinDash, AppleSpike, Fluttercord, Cheesepie, and Raripants.
The castle of the Crystal Empire was sparkling brightly in the setting sun. Ponies were walking around the streets happily, going about their day, working or playing around.
Entering through the gates on this particular day were seven visitors: six ponies and one small dragon. The first pony was a lavender alicorn with amethyst purple eyes and an indigo mane with purple and pink highlights. On her flank was a pink six-pointed star with five white smaller ones around it. Her name was Twilight Sparkle, or rather, Princess Twilight Sparkle, as the former unicorn became an alicorn and gained her wings only a couple of months before.
The second pony was an orange earth pony with emerald green eyes, tiny white freckles on her cheeks, and a blonde mane tied into a ponytail over her shoulder. On her head was a beige Stetson hat and on her flank were three red apples. Her name was Applejack.
The third pony, flapping above every pony else was a cyan blue pegasus with magenta eyes and a rainbow colored mane. On her flank was a tri-colored lightning bolt coming down from a single white cloud. Her name was Rainbow Dash, for obvious reasons.
The fourth pony was also a pegasus, but unlike Rainbow, she was on the ground. She had a pale yellow coat with teal eyes and a long soft pink mane. On her flank were three pink butterflies. Her name was Fluttershy.
The fifth pony was an earth pony, bouncing happily. She had a rosy pink coat with crystal blue eyes and a poofy hot pink mane. On her flank were three balloons; two were blue and the third one was yellow. Her name was Pinkie Pie.
And the sixth pony was a beautiful and sophisticated white unicorn, who was admiring the amazing gems and crystals around her. She had sapphire blue eyes with her lashes outlined in mascara and light blue eyeshadow, and a styled royal purple mane. On her flank were three blue diamonds. Her name was Rarity.
The small dragon beside Twilight had lavender purple scales, green spines from his head down to his tail, and matching draconic eyes. His name was Spike.
"Whoo-whee!" Applejack cheered, her voice ringing out in its usual country accent, and she went over to Twilight in the front of the group as they were entering the castle courtyard. "Your first Princess Summit. You must be over the moon, Twilight!"
Twilight gave her a small smile. Yes, it was her first Royal Summit since she was crowned a princess. However, she did have some insecurities about all this.
"I am excited." Twilight answered. "But, to be honest, I am also a little nervous." Why shouldn't she be? Other than the occasional mission to save Equestria, the biggest responsibility she had was to give a friendship report to her mentor, Princess Celestia, every week. And just missing one had her mind go in a frantic state that caused more problems than solve them. So, that was one scenario she didn't want to relive.
"Ooh, you're nervicited!" Pinkie exclaimed, coming up in front of them, making the both of them jump back in surprise. The other mares and the dragon all raised an eyebrow at the strange word the party mare had said. Pinkie quickly began to explain as she began hopping higher.
"It's like you want to jump up and down and yell, 'Yay, me!'" She suddenly then stopped jumping and began curling herself into a tight ball as if she was scared and was rocking back and forth. "But you also want to curl up in a teeny-tiny ball and hide at the same time." She got back up in a standing position and came up to Twilight. "We've all been there." She assured her, giving her a noogie.
"I'm there almost every day." Fluttershy quietly piped up.
"You've got no reason to fret, Twi." Applejack said. "Everything's gonna be just-"
Before she could finish her sentence, Rarity immediately zoomed up to Twilight in a panic.
"Twilight!" She exclaimed, before gently grabbing her friend's face with her hooves, looking around her head. "Sorry, darling, but I just realized you're not wearing your crown. You haven't forgotten it back in Ponyville, have you?" She asked.
"It's in my bag." Twilight answered, gesturing to the bag that Spike was carrying. The little dragon proudly patted it with a smile. "I just feel a little self-conscious about wearing it." She then opened up her new lavender alicorn wings. "Haven't gotten really accustomed to these yet, either."
She flapped her wings to get herself a couple of feet off the ground, but she easily lost her balance and crashed back on the crystal floor.
"You are a princess now, Twilight." Rarity said as the lavender alicorn slowly got back up on her hooves. "Embrace it! I'm telling you, if I had a crown like that, I would never it off. Why, I'd sleep in the thing." She flipped her mane for added emphasis.
Twilight rolled her eyes with a small smile. Of course she would.
The palace doors soon opened, and a bunch of Crystal Pony Royal Guards began playing a fanfare with their trumpets as Twilight and her friends entered the throne room; the newly crowned princess ahead of her companions, looking around in awe.
Suddenly, she bumped into some pony. She quickly took a step back and saw who it is. It was a tangerine orange pegasus stallion with a short blue mane, matching eyes, and was wearing golden armor.
"Her Highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle!" He announced.
Twilight probably didn't notice then, but she felt a small bashful smile creep up on her muzzle.
At the end of the corridor, there were three alicorn princesses waiting, all of them majestic and beautiful in their own way.
"Twilight!" Princess Cadence greeted happily, coming up and nuzzling her sister-in-law. She had a pink coat and wings with hints of purple, violet eyes, and a curly mane of pink, purple, and blonde. "I haven't seen you since the coronation."
The other two, Princess Celestia and Princess Luna followed suit. "We have so much to discuss." Celestia said. The tall alicorn had a snowy white coat, violet eyes, and a flowing mane of a pastel aurora. Meanwhile, her sister, Luna, was almost the exact opposite. She had a charcoal coat, aqua turquoise eyes, and a flowing mane that resembled the night sky.
The Princess of the Sun then noticed the drowsy looks on the young ponies' faces. "But it can wait until tomorrow. You all look tired from your journey. Now, off to bed. All of you."
The six nodded, then headed off to their bedrooms, sharing a few conversations.
That night, in the room that she and Spike were sharing, Twilight lit up her horn and magenta colored sparkles enveloped it. She placed some of the books she brought with her, and then, she magically took out her crown and placed it on her head. She looked into the mirror, seeing her reflection. She then sighed.
"What's wrong, Twilight?" Spike asked, finished making his tiny bed.
"I don't know, Spike." Twilight admitted to her dragon assistant. "I'm just... worried, I guess. Princess Cadence was given the Crystal Empire to rule over. What if now that I am a princess, Celestia expects me to lead a kingdom of my own?"
"That would be awesome!" Spike exclaimed.
"No, it would not!" Twilight disagreed. "Just because I have a crown and these wings," she opened her wings again to emphasize her point, "It doesn't mean I'll be a good leader." She lit her horn again, and magically placed her crown on her nightstand.
"Sure you will, Twilight." Spike assured her as he came up to her while she was sitting on her bed. He helped her pull the blankets. "But come on. You should get some shuteye. Big day tomorrow."
Once Twilight was snuggled in her sheets, Spike turned off the lamp on her nightstand before getting into his own bed with a happy sigh.
However, he only shut his eyes for a minute when he heard Twilight groan. She was shuffling around, but her wings were in the way, seeming to have a mind of their own, popping out from under the sheets.
How do pegasi sleep with these things? Twilight thought annoyed.
"Just trying to get comfortable!" Twilight exclaimed as she pushed her wings down with her hoof. But after a few seconds of getting relaxed, her wings popped up again, making her groan. This was going to be a long night.
The hallways of the Crystal Palace were dark and silent as Luna's moon was now high up in the sky. Unicorn guards wander through the hallways, their horns glowing like beacons to see in the dark corridors. But, no pony noticed that from inside a closed room, there was a white flash of light for a split second. Then, as soon as it came, it vanished.
A couple of seconds later, a cloaked figure quietly emerged from the room. It then snuck through the hallways, avoiding the guards as it made its way to Princess Twilight's bedroom.
The handle was then enveloped in vermilion red magic, and it opened the door slightly. The cloaked figure snuck past a snoring Spike and made its way over to Twilight's nightstand, where her crown was placed. The figure lit up its horn again, having the same vermilion magic envelope the crown.
Suddenly, the floating crown knocked over a crystal lamp that was on the night stand. But, the figure used its magic to catch it before it hit the ground. It glanced over at Spike, then at Twilight, and both were still fast asleep.
The cloaked pony magically set the lamp back on the stand and placed the crown inside its cloak. Then, it pulled out a similar crown, but the difference was that the magenta star-shaped gem didn't have any shine or luster.
The cloaked pony placed the fake crown on Twilight's nightstand and turned to quietly walk away. But then, Spike turned over in his sleep, his tail flopping on the ground and it tripped the cloaked pony over, causing it to crash loudly onto the floor, making him and Twilight start to wake up.
Twilight rubbed the sleep from her eyes and saw the cloaked pony. Or more importantly, what was in its hidden saddlebag underneath the cloak.
"My crown!" She exclaimed. "She's got my crown!" She shouted again, identifying the cloaked pony as a female.
The cloaked mare immediately made a run for it. But, Twilight was not far behind her. "Stop! Thief!" Her shouts caused her friends to wake up as well and emerge from their bedrooms across the hall. "She's stolen my crown!" Immediately, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack followed Twilight and gave chase.
Twilight teleported herself ahead of the cloaked mare with a blast of magenta magic. "Stop!" She commanded.
But, the cloaked mare lit up her horn and also teleported with an identical burst of magic, except vermilion red, leaving the cloak in Twilight's face.
Without her cloak, the mare re-appeared behind Twilight, showing her appearance. She was a unicorn, of course, with a curly red and yellow mane, an amber orange coat, and sinister turquoise blue eyes. Her cutie mark was a red and orange sun, giving the resemblance of a setting sun. On her back was the saddlebag carrying Twilight's crown. She gave the lavender alicorn an evil look, then continued galloping down the hallway.
As soon as a triumphant smirk came on her face, she soon saw that the Mane 6 were right on her tail. Twilight was getting even closer as she tried to grab her tail with her teeth. Finally, with a large leap, she tackled her into the room where the mare came in from.
However, Twilight's crown fell out of the saddlebag, bounced off a few objects in the room, and then vanished into a nearby full-length mirror, the glass rippling and glowing with magic.
The Mane 6 gasped at the sight, but the thieving mare had back on her triumphant smirk again. Twilight turned to her. "What did you do with my crown?" She asked.
But the mare ignored her question. "Sorry it had to be this way." She said before teleporting next to the enchanted mirror in a blast of vermilion magic. "Princess." With that last snide remark and a mock salute, the mare went through the mirror, the light and ripples appearing as she jumped through.
The Mane 6 gasped again after seeing the same thing happen again. "Who was that?" Fluttershy asked.
"That's what I'd like to know." Twilight said, glaring over at the enchanted mirror where the mare and her crown went into. "First thing in the morning, we get some answers."
That following morning, the Mane 6 and Spike reported to the princesses about the late night theft. To their surprise, Princess Celestia knew who the mare was.
"Sunset Shimmer." She revealed the mare's name. "She was a former student of mine who started her studies with me not long before Twilight."
The Mane 6 were surprised to know that Celestia had a student before she had decided to take Twilight under her tutelage.
"But when she did not get what she wanted as quickly as she would liked, she turned cruel and dishonest." Celestia continued. "I tried to help her, but she eventually decided to abandon her studies with me and pursue her own path. One that has sadly led her to stealing your crown."
Spike then held out the fake crown that Sunset had switched. "She replaced Twilight's with this one."
Celestia took a closer look at the doppelganger crown, examining it. "I suppose that Sunset Shimmer thought that Twilight wouldn't notice right away that this wasn't hers." As she talked, every pony began walking out of the throne room. "And by the time she did, it would be too late to go after her crown and Element of Harmony."
"But, I don't understand." Twilight said, coming up beside her mentor. "Where did she go? Where did she take the crown?"
"You'll soon know more about this place than even I do." Celestia answered.
Soon, all of them were back in the room where the mirror was being kept.
"This is no ordinary mirror." Princess Luna said. "It is a gateway to another world. A gateway that opens once every 30 moons."
Pinkie Pie touched the magic glass with a hoof, making it ripple and shine. "Sparkly!" She exclaimed.
With a blank look on her muzzle, Luna lit up her horn and used her midnight blue magic to pull Pinkie's hoof away from the glass. She then continued speaking.
"It has always been kept in the throne room of Canterlot Castle, but when Princess Cadence took over the Crystal Empire, we sent it over here for her to watch over."
Celestia sighed as she laid eyes on the mirror. "I had always hoped that Sunset Shimmer would one day use the mirror to return, to come back to Equestria seeking my guidance. Obviously, this is not what has happened."
"Twilight." Cadence called her sister-in-law's attention. "You must use the mirror to go into this other world and retrieve your crown. Without it, the other Elements of Harmony have no power and Equestria is left without one of its most important means of defense."
Twilight nodded solemnly as she got a little closer to the enchanted mirror. Her friends shared a glance in between each other.
"Your crown does not belong in the place that Sunset Shimmer now calls home." Luna said. "And in her possession, your Element of Harmony will no doubt be used to bring great harm to the inhabitants of this other realm. They will not have the power to defend themselves." She then used her magic to put two saddle bags onto Twilight's back.
Celestia came up to the young lavender alicorn. "You understand the importance of your task?" She asked.
"Of course." Twilight answered.
"Good." Celestia said. "Then you must go at once."
Twilight took a deep breath and began to approach the mirror. But suddenly, Rainbow Dash landed in front of her.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa." She said as the rest of the gang took place on both sides of her. "She's going, we're going with her. Right, girls?"
"Ooh, I'm so nervicited!" Pinkie exclaimed.
"You do realize that's not a real word, right?" Applejack asked her rhetorically.
Twilight smiled at her friends, touched by their loyalty to not leave her side. But, Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder.
"I'm afraid I can't let you go." She said. The Mane 6 looked at her in shock.
"What?! Why not?" Rainbow demanded, stomping her hoof for emphasis.
"Sending all of you could disrupt the balance of this alternate world," She explained. "Creating havoc that would make it impossible for Twilight to get the crown back from Sunset Shimmer. This is something that Princess Twilight must do alone."
As the Mane 5 moved away from the mirror, they shared a glance with Twilight. She wasn't happy about this either. Rainbow Dash moved the others a little further away from the group.
"We're not just letting Twilight go into that mirror by herself, right?" She whispered.
"But ya heard the Princess." Applejack whispered back.
"Since when we have left Twilight hanging when she needs us, even if she didn't realize it?" Rainbow pointed out.
"She does have a point." Fluttershy pointed out.
"So, are we all still up for it?" Rarity asked.
"I am." Pinkie said.
The Mane 5 all looked over at each other. Applejack sighed, realizing that they were right. "No contest." She said.
"Wait for my signal." Dash said.
"Time is of the essence." Luna said to Twilight. She then used her magic to make an image of the moon rising. "On the third day, when the moon reaches its peak in the night sky, the gateway will close. And once it does, it will be another 30 moons before you will be able to use it to return."
Her friends gave her reassurances as Twilight approached the mirror. She cautiously touched the enchanted glass with her hoof, then retracted it. She turned to Celestia, who nodded. With the bravery she could muster, she slowly stepped inside the mirror, the glass rippling and glowing.
Unbeknownst to every pony, the Mane 5 got ready. "Now!" Rainbow Dash cried out. Before any of the princesses could stop them, one by one, they followed Twilight into the mirror.
"Girls, wait!" Spike shouted. But it was too late. They had already vanished inside the enchanted mirror.
Celestia was surprised that they had disobeyed her, but still held in her place. "I should've known that they wouldn't surrender to my wishes so easily." She said. "I only hope that they will be safe and return together, along with the crown."
Luna and Cadence nodded in agreement. Spike nervously looked at the enchanted mirror, He wanted to do what the others did, but decided against it. Celestia already had a few ponies disobey her. It wasn't worth it to go against her warnings.
The girls screamed as they spiralled around in a weird limbo filled with color. Except Pinkie, who was enjoying the ride giggling away. Then, everything went black.
Twilight felt dizzy and faint as she slowly fluttered her eyes open. She then heard five very familiar groans as well.
"Somepony wanna tell me what the hay just happened?" A very familiar southern voice asked. And Twilight knew that voice. But before she could turn to them, another voice screamed.
"What happened to me?!" A prim and proper voice shouted. "What are we?!"
Twilight then looked down at her hooves, but when her vision cleared, she quickly realized that she didn't have hooves. She had thin and dainty appendages with five much smaller and skinner ones on each. She then screamed as well.
A similar appendage, except pink, quickly covered her mouth. "Relax, Twilight. It can't be too bad." A voice assured her, removing the appendage.
Twilight looked around and saw her friends. Or at least, they looked like her friends. "Girls?" She asked, not believing what she was seeing.
They all nodded slowly, confirming that they are indeed her friends, and she slightly glared at them. "You're not supposed to be here."
"What were we supposed to do?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Leave you in another world to handle Sunset Shimmer alone? No way!"
Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were also looking over at their new bodies. "Fluttershy, do you know what the hay we are?" Applejack asked her.
"Well, not exactly." She said. "But, what I do know is that we are some sort of primate, since we have hands and feet."
Twilight looked at each of them and saw that she was right. They all did look like some sort of primate. Their muzzles had shrunk, their bodies had a couple of more curves down the sides and chest, and their hair became longer and more voluminous. They didn't have fur, but instead, soft yet smooth skin. And they were all wearing clothes, and she had a hunch as to why.
But despite their new appearances, they still looked a lot like how they did back as ponies in Equestria. Applejack still had her Stetson hat on her head, emerald green eyes, freckles, and blonde hair in a low ponytail down to her waist. But, the color of her skin was more of a pale orange now. She also wore an apple green tank top with an apple red short-sleeved sweater tied across her chest, dark blue jean shorts with a brown belt having a red apple as a buckle, and brown cowgirl boots with red apple prints.
Rainbow Dash still pretty much looked the same, and she wore a pale yellow shirt under an orange tank top having her cutie mark on the front and the shoulder straps red, a green and white gym skirt with blue biker shorts underneath, and purple sneakers with rainbow colored soles and gray socks. It was like she was wearing her namesake.
Fluttershy also looked the same, except having a butterfly barrette in her hair, and she wore a white tank top with a jagged neckline and that was showing her shoulders with teal straps, a lime green skirt with her cutie mark imprinted on the side, and tall matching heeled boots.
Pinkie Pie also looked the same, except primate-like. She wore a yellow shirt with orange, pink, and magenta stripes, and having one shoulder strap and one short sleeve, a matching ruffled short skirt, and short orange boots with her cutie mark on the side.
Lastly, Rarity still looked the same as well, except she had blue diamond stud earrings in her now tiny primate-like ears. She wore a mountain purple ruffled shirt, exposing one of her shoulders, a skirt of a different shade of purple (plum she would call it) with her cutie mark on it, and tall matching heeled boots. She also wore a blue bracelet on her new left wrist.
The girls all looked around. "Where are we?" Fluttershy asked. Behind them, there was a road with strange vehicles zooming around with those primates walking around. And it seemed that they came out from a statue nearby with a horse on top.
"I'm not sure." Twilight admitted, crawling to the statue and touching the flat surface. "But that probably serves as the gateway back to Equestria." Her suspicion was right as her hand went through and appeared back as a hoof. She took it out, and it was a hand again. "We need to find my crown as soon as possible and get back there."
The others nodded in agreement, and then all six turned around and saw a large building.
"I say we start with the castle." Twilight suggested.
"Are ya sure that's a castle?" Applejack asked.
"It's definitely... smaller than what we are accustomed to." Rarity observed.
"Well, it's all we got right now." Rainbow Dash said. "Let's just go for it."
They nodded, and were about to head towards the building on all fours when Pinkie stopped them.
"Hold it!" She shouted.
"What, Pinkie?" Twilight asked.
"In case you didn't notice, but I think that we are not supposed to be on all four legs." Pinkie gestured to two similar creatures who were indeed not on all fours, but just walking on two legs.
"We're supposed to go around walking like that?" Applejack asked.
"It seems so." Fluttershy confirmed. "It would very much help if we blended in."
The girls sighed heavily, knowing that the two of them were right. Slowly, they all started to get on their new two legs. They all wobbled and flailed around as they tried to balance themselves as they walked.
"This isn't as easy as it looks." Rainbow said as she nearly lost her balance and faceplanted on the ground for about the fifth time.
Finally, Twilight grabbed the metal bars of the staircase leading up to the front doors of the building. She then used them to pull herself up the steps. The others followed her lead once they got close enough.
"Come on, girls." Twilight said as she pulled herself up. "I think we all don't want to have to be stuck like this for longer than we have to."
"Ditto on that, Twi." Applejack agreed.
"Look on the bright side." Pinkie piped up. "You don't have those pesky wings to worry about anymore."
Twilight glared at her, telling her that what she said wasn't helping. Suddenly, Rainbow Dash screamed.
"My wings!" She screamed, looking and feeling over her back. "They're gone!"
Fluttershy looked over to her own back and screamed as well. "Mine, too!"
"Calm down!" Applejack took hold of a hyperventilating Rainbow Dash. "It's just only for a couple of days." She reassured her and Fluttershy.
The girls finally made it to the doors. Twilight tried to be graceful entering in, but she instead walked right into them. She "hmphed" while rubbing her head, and tried to use her magic to open the doors. But, nothing happened.
"My magic. It's not working." She said.
"Makes sense." Pinkie said. "You don't exactly have your horn."
"WHAT?!" She screamed as she tugged her hair and felt around her forehead. Rarity did the same.
"I don't have mine, either!" She yelled horrified.
Rainbow slapped her own forehead and went up to the door. "We really need to find us a mirror." She said before pushing the door open.
The girls entered the building, and it was all quiet. They tiptoed in, looking around.
A nearby glass case caught Twilight's attention. Inside it, there were trophies, ribbons, and framed pictures.
They all went over to it. "What do you think, girls?" Twilight asked her friends, gesturing to the trinkets and referring to Sunset Shimmer. "Other artifacts she stole from Equestria?"
Finally, the girls saw what they all looked like in their bodies. For Twilight, she saw that her skin was a shade lighter, her new hair went down to her waist, and she still had the same violet eyes. Her clothes were a light blue blouse, a purple star with her cutie mark on the side, and matching boots. Her saddlebag became a different bag strapped onto her back.
"What are we?" She asked, checking herself out.
Rarity was admiring herself in the faint reflection. "Well, for our new appearances, we do look quite nice."
"Only you can see the bright side of our new looks, Rarity." Applejack said.
Suddenly, there was a loud ringing throughout the building, and instantly, the halls were crowded as many of the primate creatures began walking around.
It quickly became very hard for the girls to get around. It was tight, and they had to duck down to the ground to avoid people hitting them, but they also had to make sure they didn't get stepped on.
Finally, they all squeezed through to a much less crowded hallway off the main lobby. When Twilight squirmed out, she tumbled over and bumped into something. Or rather, someone.
It was a male primate creature with pale orange amber skin, blue hair and matching eyes. He wore a white shirt with a lightning bolt and shield on it, a black leather jacket, jeans, and black and white running shoes.
"Whoa! You okay?" He asked Twilight, and extended his hand to her. Twilight relaxed her hand on his palm, and he pulled her back up to her feet. She only nodded, assuring him that she was fine, and he went off towards the crowded lobby, with Twilight keeping her eyes on him.
"I don't think this is a castle." Fluttershy voiced out her thoughts. The other girls only nodded in agreement. Whatever this building was, they had a hunch that there may be a clue to where Sunset Shimmer took the crown.
A few minutes later, the girls had seen a lot of strange things, but what they saw were quite a bit helpful to learn about this world. There was no magic in this world, the building they were in was not a castle, but a school, the creatures were called humans from what they had heard, and that they were familiar yet unfamiliar things about everything and everyone.
Soon, the girls headed outside in the school yard. There were tall metal bleachers on one side of a soccer field, and luckily for them, there was no one there. They all sat down on the benches.
"This is just getting weird." Rainbow Dash said. "It's like this is Equestria, yet at the same time, it isn't."
"I'm with ya there, Rainbow." Applejack agreed.
"How are we supposed to blend in if we act so strange, as if we don't know what we are doing?" Rarity asked.
"We can observe and learn from them." Twilight suggested. "Rainbow's right. This is like Equestria, and at the same time, it's not. But, what we can do is just be us and learn how to appear human."
With that, she started as she walked around them, looking at the humans in the distance.
Twilight: Whatever you do, I'll do it too. Show me everything And tell me how.
You know me something, And yet nothing to me.
I can see there is too much to learn. It's all so close, And yet so far.
We see ourselves As how they see us. But I just know There's something bigger out there.
The girls smiled as they began to sing along with their friend, observing that some humans show off to others, some hold hands, and that they just act as they want. It was just like the ponies back in Equestria, so, it couldn't be that different.
All: I want to know, can you show me? I want to know about these strangers like me. Tell me more, please show me. Something's familiar About the strangers like me.
Every gesture, Every move that they make, Makes it seem so strange than ever before. Why do I have this growing need to just be me?
There are some emotions that I never knew. Some for this world far beyond our place. Beyond the trees, above the clouds; I see before me a new horizon.
I want to know, can you show me? I want to know about these strangers like me. Tell me more, please show me. Something is familiar About the strangers like me.
As they looked around the school yard, they felt a strange sense of comfort. This part of this new world made them feel the most at home, especially when they laid their eyes on the statue that served as the portal back to Equestria.
Fluttershy: Come with me now To see our world, Where there's beauty beyond your dreams. Can you feel the things I feel right now with you?
Applejack looked around her, relishing in the feeling she was feeling.
Applejack: Take my hand. There's a world we need to know.
All: I want to know, can you show me? I want to know about the strangers like me. Tell me more, please show me. Something is familiar About the strangers like me.
I want to know.
"Thanks, Twilight." Rainbow said. "I guess we really needed that."
Twilight smiled. "No problem. Now, let's head back inside."
The girls nodded, and they all went back inside the school.
After a couple of minutes wandering around, the girls heard something. Using their new ears, they listened to the conversation.
"Well, sorry!" A male voice said. "I just saw it on the ground, and I thought I should give it to her. How was I supposed to know that you dropped it?"
The girls looked around a corner and saw that there was a human boy arguing with a human girl.
"Well, I did!" The girl snapped back. "And I was just about to get it until you swooped in and ruined everything!"
The girls weren't really listening to who was speaking because the guy she was arguing with seemed really familiar. He had wild dark hair, gray skin, and what was really mind-blowing was that he had red eyes with yellow sclera. He wore a brown and yellow shirt, brown pants, and green shoes.
"You shouldn't pick up things that don't belong to you." The girl went on.
"Well, it doesn't belong to you, either." The boy muttered under his breath. But, the girl heard it.
"Excuse me?!" She demanded, slamming her hands against the lockers.
The boy flinched, showing a minor break in his snarky attitude. But, he still glared at her, not saying a word.
"That's what I thought. It's as good as mine, and you know it. You really are pathetic!" The girl continued to insult him, making him glare at her more fiercely and the girls clenched their teeth at the scene in front of them. "It's no wonder that you're a freak."
That just about did it for the girls. "How dare you speak to him that way?!" Twilight said, standing her ground, along with her friends by her side, crossing their arms in anger.
The girl sharply turned to them. She had pale amber skin, wavy red and yellow striped hair, and familiar sinister aqua turquoise eyes. She wore a purple shirt with a familiar red and orange sun on it under a black leather jacket, an orange skirt with a purple and yellow stripe, and tall black boots with purple splotches.
"What did you say?" She asked, not believing what was just said to her. The other students that were seeing this backed away, not wanting to get any closer if this gets ugly.
"She said, 'how dare you speak to him that way'?" Fluttershy repeated as she felt her confidence boost when alongside her friends. Twilight nodded, glaring at her, and the other girls copied her.
The girl had a strange look of confusion when she saw the Mane 5 beside their friend, but then realized that she was outnumbered when she turned her attention back to Twilight. Then, a smirk appeared on her face.
"You must be new here." She said to Twilight, roughly pushing her face up with her hand and started to walk away. "I can speak to anyone any way I want."
A student was partially hiding in his locker, and when she glared at him, he slammed it closed, and then she walked away, smirking.
Applejack huffed with disgust. "What is her problem?" She asked.
"Geez, talk about wicked." Rainbow Dash added.
Then, the boy looked over at the girls, specifically Twilight and Fluttershy.
"Did I hit my head or did you two just do that?" He asked.
"Well, we couldn't just stand there." Twilight pointed out.
"Well, it's just that almost no one stands up to Sunset Shimmer." He said.
"Sunset Shimmer?" Twilight asked, turning to where Sunset had walked away and disappeared. The students breathed a sigh of relief once she was out of sight.
"That is who we are looking for?" Pinkie asked quietly to Rarity. She only shrugged, saying "It seems so."
"You've heard of her?" The boy asked Twilight.
"Sort of." Twilight answered.
"And I must've hit my head because the five of you are actually together." He said to the Mane 5.
They all raised their eyebrows. "Say what now?" Rainbow Dash asked, not understanding.
"Uh, you five can't stand each other, much less be around each other?" The boy asked, saying that it was obvious. But the girls were still confused.
The boy raised his own brow, but then decided to drop the subject and turned his attention back to Twilight. "I don't think I've seen you around before. Did you just transfer to Canterlot High from another school?" He asked.
"Um..." Twilight trailed off, but then decided to go with that story. "Yes, another school. My name's Twilight." She introduced.
The girls wanted to introduce themselves, but it seems that he knows who they are, so they just kept quiet.
"Pleasure to meet you, Twilight." The boy said, taking her hand, making her uncomfortable and she swiped her hand back. "I'm Discord."
The Mane 6 froze in shock. No wonder he looked familiar! "Discord?" Twilight asked.
"I know, right?" He asked with a roll with his eyes. "Not the greatest name." Discord then turned to Fluttershy. "What are you doing here so early?"
"Uh, what do you mean?" She asked.
"The semester transfer trip to Manehattan, and you got stuck with going with them?" He gestured to the other four girls, who weren't so sure if they should be insulted by what he said.
"Um..." Fluttershy trailed off, glancing to the girls for some help, but instead they all shrugged. "Well, we made up, thanks to Twilight here." She answered.
"Yeah." Twilight agreed, going along with the story. "And then, they decided to come back for a couple of days, and by luck, they came to visit today, since I'm new."
The girls all nodded, hoping that Discord would buy it. Luckily, he did.
"I see." He said.
Twilight then remembered something. "Sunset Shimmer said that you picked up something." She said. "Something that belonged to her. It wasn't a crown, was it?"
"Yes." Discord answered, slightly surprised that she knew. "But, how did you know that?"
"Eh, lucky guess?" Twilight shrugged nervously. "Do you still have it?" She asked.
The other girls watched with bated breaths. If he did, then they could all just go home. But, to their disappointment, he shook his head.
"But, you know what happened to it?" Fluttershy asked him.
Discord nodded. "This morning, I was out handing your flyers for the animal shelter like we do every Wednesday. How you had managed to convince me to help, I still don't know. But anyway, out of nowhere, the crown hit me in the head and then landed on the ground."
The girls knew that that was when the crown came out of the portal from Equestria.
Discord then continued. "I had no idea how it got there, but since I couldn't just leave it there, so I decided to give it to Principal Celestia."
"Principal Celestia?" Twilight asked, sharing a raised eyebrow with the girls. "She's the ruler here?"
Rainbow Dash slammed her palm against her forehead at Twilight's choice of words.
"You can say that." Discord said awkwardly.
"What Twilight meant to say is that she manages this school?" Rarity clarified with a nervous grin.
"Yes, along with Vice Principal Luna." Discord answered.
"Where is she now?" Twilight asked.
"Probably in her office." Discord replied. "Third door on your left."
"Thank you!" Twilight said as she and the girls dashed off. "Though I never thought I would say that to him." She muttered to her friends once he was out of earshot.
"So I guess this was what Princess Celestia meant by she not wantin' us to come with you here in the first place." Applejack said. "That Discord fellow reminds us of him back in Equestria, but he isn't really the Lord of Chaos here."
"And he seems to know us, but we don't know him." Pinkie added.
"Well, let's see how this Principal Celestia is like." Rainbow said. "Hopefully, she is like the Princess back home."
Soon, the girls had arrived at the office of Principal Celestia. Twilight was just about to knock on the door when Rainbow Dash suddenly grabbed it.
"Hang on." She whispered, so that the principal wouldn't hear from behind the other side. "I think only you should go in."
"What?" Twilight whispered back.
"Dash does has a point there." Applejack quietly joined in. "This could be the reason why the Princess back in Equestria didn't want us to come with ya here in the first place."
"I agree." Rarity said softly. "If we have counterparts in this world, which thankfully are not right here now, we can't exactly act like ourselves if there are other versions of us in this world. We are already causing enough suspicion as it."
Twilight quietly groaned. "Fine."
"We'll be waiting right here." Fluttershy assured her as the five girls sat down at the seats beside the door.
Twilight slightly smiled at her friends, though she was still nervous about going in the office alone. She then knocked on the door.
"Come in." A voice called.
Twilight came into the office while bowing her head as she walked. Watching from their spot outside, the girls shook their heads. Pinkie quickly whispered into her ear.
"She's the principal, not the Princess." She corrected her before the principal caught her.
Twilight quickly stood back upright before she quickly closed the door behind her.
Then, she turned to see Principal Celestia, reading from a folder. She reminded Twilight of the Sun Princess back in Equestria, with the same white skin, light pastel hair, and violet eyes. She wore a light yellow jacket under a white blouse, with a sun pin on the collar, purple pants, and matching shoes.
"How may I help you?" Celestia asked, not looking up from the folder.
"Um..." Twilight trailed off. Celestia looked away from the folder and gestured for her to continue. "My name's Twilight Sparkle. I'm new here, and, well I understand that Discord found a crown this morning and gave it to you."
"Yes." Celestia said, standing up from her desk and heading to put the folder away in a drawer. "I had Vice Principal Luna put it somewhere for safekeeping. No idea how it ended up on the front lawn."
From outside, the girls shared a confused glance. Vice Principal Luna? Now there's a counterpart of Luna here, too? How many familiar counterparts are there in this world?
"Were you interested in running for Princess of the Fall Formal this year?" Celestia asked Twilight.
"Uh, no." Twilight said. "Not exactly. Well, the truth is, well you see, the crown is actually-"
"What is she doing?" Rainbow quietly hissed from outside the office. "She's not planning on telling her the truth, is she?"
But then, Twilight stopped. "Princess of the Fall Formal?" She asked.
Celestia checked something off her calender. "It's Canterlot High's big fall dance." She explained.
"Like the Grand Galloping Gala." Twilight compared. The girls waiting outside slapped their foreheads.
"The Grand Galloping Gala?" Celestia asked.
"Oh, uh, it was a big deal over at my old school." Twilight quickly covered up.
"And was there a princess?" Celestia questioned.
"Yes." Twilight answered. "But she wasn't exactly a student."
Twilight suddenly saw three photos nearby that had Sunset Shimmer in them. The first one showed an innocent and happy girl, the next one showed Sunset's growing pride, and the third showed her looking like she had conquered a world.
"Here at Canterlot High, the students select one of their peers to represent them." Celestia explained. "She receives her crown at the Fall Formal."
Twilight began thinking as she started out of the office. The girls immediately bolted for a new hiding place.
"You asked me if I was interested in running for Princess." Twilight said. "Can anyone run?"
"Yes." Celestia said. "You just need to let the head of the Fall Formal planning committee know you'd like to be on the ballot." Before she closed the door, she then asked, "Is there anything else?"
"Um, nope." Twilight answered. "That was it."
"Well, if you do need anything else, my door is always open." Celestia said, and then she closed the door.
Once the door was shut, the other five girls came out of their hiding spots and joined Twilight out in the hallway.
"Twilight, were you seriously going to tell her that the crown was yours and that you want it back?" Rainbow asked her.
"I was going to." Twilight admitted. "But imagine if one of them showed up in Equestria, saying that they came from a place filled with tall, fleshy, two-legged creatures with these?" She held up her hands for further emphasis.
"We already know that they're called humans." Pinkie pointed out, sounding like it was obvious."
Twilight ignored her. "We'd think they were crazy!" She finished.
"You do make a pretty good point, darling." Rarity said.
"Looks like if I want my crown back, I'll have to become Princess of the Canterlot High Fall Formal." Twilight proclaimed confidently. "So, that's what I'm gonna do!"
"And how exactly do ya plan on doing that?" Applejack asked her with a raised eyebrow.
Twilight froze. "I have no idea!" She exclaimed.
Rainbow groaned. But just then, the bell rang again, and once more, the hallways began getting crowded with students. The girls had to dodge them to avoid getting pushed around.
Later that afternoon, it was time for lunch. The Mane 6 eventually found the crowded cafeteria to get some food, since they haven't eaten all morning. They had to spend all of class time wandering around the halls, acting like students to avoid suspicion of why they weren't in class.
As they got in line to get some food they recognized, like fruit and salad, Fluttershy noticed that in front of her and Twilight, was Discord. She tapped Twilight on the shoulder and pointed him out to her.
Twilight saw Discord and thought that even though the six of them have an idea on how to get back her crown. Maybe Discord could give them some information on how the election of Fall Formal Princess works.
"Hello, Discord." Fluttershy greeted.
Discord looked to the side and saw the Mane 6 all up in a line beside him. "Well, I won't question why you're still hanging out with them, so what I can do for you?"
Twilight nodded over to the girls, telling them to keep hiding their confusion about what he meant by that. Then, she turned back to Discord. "I've decided to run for Princess of the Fall Formal."
"You're WHAT?!" Discord yelled, accidentally throwing up his salad bowl up in the air.
"I got it!" Rainbow Dash cried out and quickly caught the bowl before it crashed onto the floor and handed it back to Discord.
"So sorry about that." He apologized. "It's just that I was hoping that I had misheard what you said, Miss Twilight. You just said that you are going to run for Fall Formal Princess?"
"Yes." Twilight answered.
"That's a really bad idea." Discord said. "You must have a death wish if you want to do that."
"How come?" Fluttershy asked him.
"That ball of fire, Sunset Shimmer wants to become Fall Formal Princess." Discord explained. "And you all know that when she wants something, she gets it, no matter the cost. She'll make life a curse for anyone who stands in her way."
Discord raised an eyebrow. "Well, just ask the girl who ran against her for Princess of the Spring Fling. Trust me, that demon girl will make sure that you will live the rest of your life in shame if you try to stop her from getting what she wants."
"I have to try!" Twilight insisted.
"This is really important to her, Discord." Fluttershy pleaded.
Discord sighed. "I think you don't understand how this works." He said to Twilight as he led the Mane 6 towards his table, all of them carrying lunch trays. "You'd have to convince everyone here to vote for you instead of her: the athletes, the fashionistas, the dramas, the eco-kids, the techies, the rockers..."
The Mane 5 noticed how each of them would be categorized if they did live in this alternate world. Rainbow Dash would definitely be an athlete, Rarity easily would be a fashionista, Pinkie might be a drama, AJ and Fluttershy would probably be part of the eco-kids, and Twilight would most likely be a techie.
Twilight, however, noticed that everyone seemed to be separated into social groups. "Why is everypony-" She was caught off by a quick slap upside the head from Applejack, then realized her slip-up. "Uh, everybody separated this way?" She asked.
"Maybe it was different at your old school." Discord said before sitting down at an empty table. The girls sat down with him. "But here at CHS, everybody sticks to their own kind. One thing that they do have in common is that they know that Sunset Shimmer is gonna rule the school until we graduate."
"Not if I can help it." Twilight said confidently. She was about to bow her head down to take a bite of her apple, but Pinkie stopped her. She subtly nodded before demonstrating. She took her own apple in her hand and brought it to her mouth to take a bite.
Knowing best not to question how Pinkie knew that, Twilight only copied her. After swallowing her bite of apple, she turned back to Discord. "So, where would I find the head of the party planning committee?" She asked.
Fluttershy noticed that once Twilight mentioned that, a weird look briefly came on Discord's face. It seemed to hold many different emotions, like hurt, anger and betrayal.
"Most likely in the gym." He answered Twilight. He then turned to Pinkie Pie. "Since you haven't been here to begin preparations for the Fall Formal, your vice president is in charge of it."
Pinkie knew she was a little confused by what he meant, but hid it with a smile. "Okay." She said.
The Mane 6 decided to eat the rest of their lunches in silence. However, once in a while, Rarity would catch Discord giving Fluttershy glances out of the corner of his eye. But, he would quickly turn away when she would look at him. She had to surpress the smile that was threatning to appear on her face. It was so cute, realizing that Discord had a small crush on Fluttershy.
But then, the aching to smile vanished when a more heartbreaking realization came to her mind. Discord thinks that this Fluttershy was the Fluttershy that lived in this world. But, that alternate Fluttershy is not at Canterlot High at the moment, but will eventually come back. Maybe she should discuss this with her friends later.
Soon, the girls had finished their food. "Do you know where the gym is?" Twilight asked Discord.
"It's the big double doors down at the end of the hallway." He answered.
"Thanks." Twilight said before she and the other girls left the table with their empty lunch trays. They put them away before leaving the cafeteria towards the gym.
Soon, the Mane 6 entered the gym where the Fall Formal was to be held. There were tons of balloons and streamers hung around the walls.
"Incoming!" Someone warned. Suddenly, a swarm of streamers came raining down on them. They all ducked for cover until the streamers cleared up.
As they all stood back up, they saw a boy with curly brown hair, mustard yellow skin, and green eyes. He wore a light gray shirt underneath a bright yellow one, jeans with a mark of a cheese sandwich on one of the pockets, and yellow sneakers. For some reason, Pinkie felt like she couldn't tear her eyes away from this boy.
He took out a balloon from one of his pockets and began to blow it. Twilight got up and came over to him. "Hi. My name's Twilight Sparkle, and I'm here to-" She stopped herself when the boy turned around to face her, and she dodged the balloon that was in his grip.
But then, his eyes widened when he saw Pinkie. He was so startled that he released the air from the balloon and it blew back in his face.
He then zipped over to Pinkie. "What are you doing back so early?" He asked.
Pinkie repeated the story that she and the other girls made up, and the boy seemed to buy it. "And I think I must be seeing things because you are with them." He pointed to Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Rarity behind Pinkie.
"We made up." Pinkie said. "Everything's good now, thanks to Twilight here." She gestured to Twilight, who waved nervously.
"Nice to meet you." The boy said. "The name's Cheese Sandwich."
"It's nice to meet you, too." Twilight returned the greeting. "Discord said this is where we'll find the head of the Fall Formal planning committee." Twilight said.
Cheese was blowing up another balloon when he got a frown on his face. "Discord, huh?" He asked bitterly. He tied up the balloon. "His name speaks everything. He can be a real party pooper."
"You two aren't friends?" Pinkie asked him, but realized too late what she had said, and covered her mouth with her hands.
However, Cheese didn't seem to get her mistake as a slip-up. He just shrugged it off and turned over to Twilight. "You waited a bit long to get your name on the ballot." He said. "Dance is the day after tomorrow."
"I'm brand new here." Twilight explained.
Cheese gazed at her. "Thought you didn't look familiar." Then, he started zipping around her. "Though, now that I'm really looking at you," he stopped and gave her some space, "do you have a twin sister who lives in the city?"
Twilight thought about an answer. "Um... maybe?" She decided to say.
Cheese smiled. "Thought so." Then, he zipped over to the table and grabbed a clipboard and paper. "Anyway, just need to fill this out and you are officially up for the coveted Princess of the Fall Formal crown."
He handed Twilight a ballpoint pen, who took it in her hand. Realizing that she can't use her magic to write, she opted for her mouth. Before she could, Pinkie stopped and took the pen.
"Allow me, Twilight." She said, giving her a wink. Twilight wanted to ask, but decided against it. Pinkie then used her hand to write Twilight's name on the ballot. She then handed the pen back to Cheese, who had a confused look on his face.
"What was that about?" He asked Pinkie. "She acted like she'd never held a pen before?"
Pinkie giggled nervously. "Really, huh?" She asked. "Well, her handwriting is pretty bad. You wouldn't be able to read it."
Suddenly, the gym doors opened. "Hey, there." A familiar voice called out. "Did somebody order a dozen cases of fizzy apple cider?" It asked.
"I did!" Cheese said. "Just set them down over there." He pointed to a table near the entrance.
The figure then wobbled over to the table and placed the couple of cases down on it with an exhausted huff. The figure turned out to be a very familiar face. It was like a human version of Spike! The girls' jaws dropped.
This Spike had purple skin instead of scales, spiky green hair that replaced his spines, his green eyes were normal, not draconic, and he was much taller, up to the girls' height. He wore a neon green shirt under a purple hoodie, jeans, and light green shoes. On his hoodie was a dragon head sewn onto the side of the zipper.
Spike wiped some sweat off his head. "Hey, can you bring in the rest?" He asked to someone who was out of the entrance.
"Eeyup." A familiar voice answered as a taller figure came out. Applejack recognized that voice. It was a human version of her older brother, Big Macintosh. She hid behind Rainbow Dash so that she would avoid possible questions from this version of her brother.
Spike took another case from Big Mac and was about to place it on the table, but stopped when he saw Twilight. "Hey, I know you." He said.
"You do?" Twilight asked nervously.
Spike smiled. "Sure." He said. "You're that new girl who gave Sunset Shimmer a piece of her mind today." He took out a bottle of fizzy cider and tried to pull the cap off.
Cheese came over and helped him pull it off. "Twilight Sparkle here is gonna run against Sunset Shimmer for Princess of the Fall Formal."
Spike almost dropped the bottle, but luckily caught it and put it on the table. "You really have a death wish, then." He said to Twilight. "She might swallow her pride and act all nice to you, but then, when you least expect it, she'll stab you in the back."
Cheese demonstrated that with two balloons, one that had Sunset's face drawn on it with black marker, and the other having Twilight's. Then, he popped Twilight's balloon with a needle.
Spike brushed off a piece of balloon off his head. "Well, the only guy you can trust less than Sunset is Soarin'."
Rainbow Dash recognized that name, since it was the name of one of the Wonderbolts back in Equestria. "Soarin'?" She asked.
Cheese bounded by while riding a humongous balloon, making Pinkie gape in amazement. "He's been your co-captain on almost all the sports teams here in Canterlot High."
Spike then got a frown on his face. "He's also the co-captain of saying he's gonna do something for you and your friends, and then turning around and not even bothering to show up."
Applejack and Rainbow glanced at each other. So it seems that Cheese and Discord weren't the only ones having some possible bad blood between them.
Twilight then came over to Spike. "Thanks for the advice, Spike, but this is something I really need to do." She said.
Spike shrugged in defeat. "Suit yourself, then." But then, he realized something. "Hey, how did you know my name is Spike?"
Twilight froze while Rarity slapped her forehead. "Um..." She trailed off nervously. "Didn't you say?" She asked, hoping that there was a safety point.
"Nope." Big Mac answered. He then thought he saw someone hiding behind Rainbow Dash. He peeked to get a better look, but Applejack quickly hid behind Rarity to avoid being seen.
Twilight thought that now was a good time to make an exit. "Well, it sure was nice meeting you both." She said quickly, taking Pinkie and Fluttershy by the hand and started to drag them out of the gym, with Rarity, Rainbow and AJ following behind. "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around." With that, the Mane 6 zipped out of the gym.
Cheese came over to Spike. "I think she's hiding something." He said.
For once, Spike agreed with his peculiar friend. "Yeah." He said. "And did you notice the others? One week, they couldn't stand each other so much, they wouldn't even be in the same room, and the next, they're acting like they're all in on a secret."
"Do you think she brainwashed them?" Cheese asked with a gasp.
Spike shook his head. "No, she doesn't seem like the person who would do that sort of thing."
Suddenly, the gym doors slammed open with a BANG! Everyone turned to see Sunset Shimmer entering the gym with Snips and Snails trailing behind her.
"This looks terrible!" She exclaimed as she started walking around the gym. "There should be more streamers and fewer balloons." She grabbed a balloon and popped it.
"Yeah, streamers!" Snips repeated as he tossed a streamer roll over to Cheese who barely caught it.
"And fewer balloons!" Snails echoed as he knocked down a pole that had balloons tied around it.
Sunset picked up a bottle of fizzy cider. "Fizzy apple cider?" She asked, then gagged. "This is my coronation, not a hoedown."
Spike grabbed the bottle away from Sunset and placed it back on the table. "Well, it's not exactly gonna be your coronation this time." He said with a glare.
"Oh, is that so?" Sunset asked. "No wonder you mostly hang out with country folk. You're not really that bright."
Spike growled as he went over to Big Mac, who also looked angry.
"Obviously, it's gonna be my coronation." Sunset said proudly as she turned to walk away. "I'm running unopposed."
Cheese held up the ballot. "Not this time!" He said. "The new girl just signed up!"
"What?!" Sunset exclaimed. She took the ballot and read it.
"The weird thing is, she acted like she had never seen a pen before." Cheese added.
Sunset removed the ballot from her face to show a grimace. "Where is this Twilight Sparkle?" She asked to herself. But then, she realized that Cheese and Spike must have heard her. She laughed nervously. "I'm looking forward to meeting the competition." She said as she turned around and headed out of the gym. Cheese and Spike exchanged a glance. She's definitely up to something.
Sunset tossed the ballot away and stomped away with a glare. This new girl could ruin everything that she has worked for! Well, she wasn't going to let that happen.
A few minutes later, the Mane 6 were wandering throughout the hallways of the school, trying to be as discreet as possible. Since they weren't actually students at the school, they had to pretend to either be going to the restrooms or to a class that was at the other side of the building to avoid suspicion.
Soon, they had found a dead end that was darker than the rest of the hall because of the broken fluorescent lights that would sometimes spark from the bulbs.
"This area needs some remodelling." Rarity said, not liking the darkness.
"The lights just need a little fixing up, Rarity." Applejack said, looking up at the broken light bulbs for a couple of seconds.
Suddenly, Twilight felt like there was someone watching them from behind. A second later, her hunch was proven correct.
"Can't believe I didn't recognize you earlier." It was Sunset Shimmer. She was leaning against one of the lockers. "Should've known that Princess Celestia would send her prized pupil here after my crown." She then pointed her finger over at the other five girls. "Though you five shouldn't have come along."
"It's my crown!" Twilight retorted back.
"And we weren't about to let our friend go here alone." Rainbow Dash said. "Imbalance or not."
Sunset smirked at them. "Whatever. And be lucky that your other counterparts aren't here right now." She replied. She then began to circle around the Mane 6. "This is just a minor setback. You six truly don't know the first thing about this place, and I already rule it."
"If that's so, why do you need my crown?" Twilight asked. "You went to a whole lot of trouble to switch it with the one that belongs here?"
"Pop quiz." Sunset suddenly said. "What happens when you brings an Element of Harmony into an alternate world?"
Twilight opened her mouth to answer, but then she closed it as she realized that she actually doesn't know.
"You don't know? Seriously?" Sunset laughed. "And you're supposed to be Princess Celestia's star student? Then again, what were the chances she'd find somepony as bright as me to take under her wing after I decided to leave Equestria? Bit embarrassing that you were the best she could do."
The girls didn't like her gloating, and they glared at Sunset, crossing their arms in front of their chests. "Twilight is 100% more the star student than you can ever hope to be." Rainbow said.
Sunset glared at her, but then it morphed back into the snarky grin she had on earlier. "Oh, please. Like what can she do that I can't?"
"A whole lot of things." Applejack answered, remembering all that the six of them had been through together.
Sunset rolled her eyes. "Whatever." She scoffed. "By the way, you better keep an eye on your friends." She said to Twilight. "Hate for one of them to be... taken away from you."
"Is that a threat?" Rainbow asked, her eyes narrowing more.
"Oh, of course not." Sunset replied with a false sweetness, making the other girls that were defending Twilight glare even more fiercely. "But I'd make myself pretty scarce around here if I were you five. Don't want everyone to know you're not really who you say who are. And you especially don't want them to know that you and your princess don't belong here."
She turned to leave the shadowed area, but she sent Twilight one last smirk. "You wanna be a princess here? Please. You don't know the first thing about fitting in." With that, she left the darkened part of the hallway.
Twilight, Rarity and Fluttershy looked visibly scared, but Applejack, Rainbow and Pinkie cheered them up a bit.
"Don't worry, girls." AJ assured them, placing her hand on Rarity's shoulder. "She was just trying to get under our skin."
"Once Twilight wins Fall Formal Princess, everything will be okey-dokey!" Pinkie added with a big smile, hugging Twilight's shoulder.
"Besides, since everyone here is afraid of Sunset Shimmer, I'm pretty sure that along with a good campaign, Twilight will have this whole thing in the bag." Rainbow said with a confident pump of her arm and her other arm around Fluttershy's shoulders.
Twilight smiled at her friends' confidence in her. She just hoped that it will be enough for her to get back her crown before it's too late.
Meanwhile, Sunset had come back to where Snips and Snails were waiting for her at another hallway.
"I want you to follow her." She ordered them. "Bring me something I can use just like I did with that last girl who thought she could challenge me."
"You got it, Sunset Shimmer." Snips said with a salute, and Snails followed his best friend's action.
"When the crown and its power are mine, Twilight Sparkle and her pathetic friends will be sorry they ever set hoof into this world." Sunset said as she crossed her arms in front of her.
An evil smile then came up on her face. "Not that they would've been much safer if they'd stayed in Equestria."
After that conversation with Sunset Shimmer, the Mane 6 were back to wandering around the school. They had no idea where to go once the school was completely closed for the day. Twilight had suggested that they stay in the library, if they only knew where it was. Plus, they could do some research about how to blend in.
Suddenly, Twilight bumped into someone in the chest. She was losing her balance and was about to trip over her feet and fall onto the floor when an arm snaked behind her waist and caught in midair. Twilight looked up to see who helped her, and a blush came on her face when she recognized the face. It was the same human boy that she had bumped into earlier.
The boy laughed. "We've got to stop bumping into each other like this." He said jokingly.
Twilight still felt like she couldn't speak. Now that she got a better look at him, he was actually kind of cute. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat, snapping her out of it.
"Yeah, uh, we should." Twilight stammered nervously as the boy helped her steady herself. "Not exactly the best way to meet someone."
"By the way, I'm Flash Sentry." The boy introduced himself.
"Twilight Sparkle." Twilight answered, a red blush appearing on her face.
"Nice to meet you." Flash said with a smile.
Applejack nudged Twilight in her ribs, reminding her of what they were supposed to be doing. Twilight glared at her for a moment before turning back to Flash.
"Um, since I'm new here, do you know where the library is?" She asked.
Flash nodded and then pointed down the hallway. "Just down this hall and it's at the end of that. If you want, I can take you there."
Twilight felt her face turning hot and pink for some reason. "Um….sure." She eventually complied.
Flash smiled again. "Okay." He said. He started to walk in that direction, with Twilight following close behind. The other girls shared a knowing look between each other before catching up with them.
Flash then realized who was behind him and Twilight. His eyes widened in surprise, and the Mane 5 prepared themselves to retell the story of how they "got back" together. But instead, he beamed at them.
"I won't ask how you girls got back together right now, since I need to get back home, but I'm glad that you are." He said.
The Mane 5 had their own eyes widened, but didn't question it. Flash then looked back to the front, a sad look on his face. "I just wish that it was the same for me." He added.
Twilight tilted her head. "What do you mean?" She asked.
Flash began rubbing the back of his head. "When I was in my freshmen year, I used to have really close friends, kind of like them. Unfortunately, during the span of one week, they all started to turn on each other, leaving me caught in the middle. Eventually, our band of friends was no more."
"I'm sorry." Twilight said.
Flash smiled softly. "Even though I have new friends, if I'm being honest, they were nothing compared to the friends I once had. They used to hate me, but now, they can at least tolerate me being around them, even if it is one at a time."
"Why did they not like you?" Twilight asked him.
Flash looked down, shame in his eyes. "Well, I hated myself for it, but I used to date Sunset Shimmer."
"What?" Twilight asked, shocked. Behind them, the Mane 5 had stayed quiet for the whole conversation, and as much as they wanted to exclaim out loud, they all just had their jaws dropped.
Flash nodded. "But I broke up with her a few weeks ago." He said. "I'm still amazed that she hasn't tried anything to hurt me yet."
Twilight was wondering about that for a second. "Maybe she's just waiting until she has the power to do something really bad."
Flash looked over at her with confusion. "I take it you ran into her today?" He asked. Twilight nodded, and he could see the nervousness in her eyes. "Don't worry, she still scares me, too."
Twilight gave him a faint smile.
"And here we are." Flash said. Twilight looked ahead and saw the double doors that led to the library.
"Thanks for walking me here." Twilight said with a grateful smile. Flash grinned back at her.
"No problem." He said. "It was the least I can do." He then turned to walk away and out of the school. "I'll see you tomorrow."
Twilight slightly blushed. "Uh, yeah. See ya tomo-tomo, ha, ha." She stuttered as he disappeared out of the main doors. "Why am I stammering?" She asked herself.
Applejack then came beside her. "I think I have an idea." She said with a teasing grin. "Someone's got a crush." She then nudged her with her elbow.
Twilight felt her face burn bright red. "N-No! No, I don't!" She denied, quickly crossing her arms and turning away from her friends.
However, Rarity came to the other side of her. "She does!" She squealed excitedly. "She absolutely does!"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Twilight continued to deny. "I don't even know him!"
"But you bumped into the guy twice today already." Rainbow Dash pointed out, a smug smile on her face. "If it's a coincidence, it's a pretty big one."
Twilight finally opted to change the subject. "Let's just get inside the library." She said.
The Mane 5 all gave each other knowing smiles. "Whatever you say, Twilight." Pinkie Pie complied. As they entered the library, they didn't notice Snips and Snails nearby, having their phones in their hands, chuckling.
Twilight tried her best to not squeal with excitement as she and the other girls looked around the library. There were two floors, both filled with tons of bookshelves. In the center of the room, there were a few large devices on a large circular desk.
But what caught their eye was the three young girls in front of one of the devices, which Pinkie quickly identified as computers. They looked like human versions of the Cutie Mark Crusaders, which included Applejack's younger sister, Apple Bloom, Rarity's sister Sweetie Belle, and Rainbow Dash's little sister figure, Scootaloo.
They were watching something on one of the computers, and the volume was a little too loud. One of the administrators, who looked a lot like Cheerilee, the teacher of the Crusaders back in Equestria, came up to them.
"Uh, girls, what are you doing?" Cheerilee asked them.
"We're just seeing how many hits our new music video has gotten." Sweetie Belle explained to their teacher.
The teacher watched the music video for a few seconds until she muted the volume, getting the students' attention.
"No! The school computers are for research purposes only." She said firmly.
"It's just as well, y'all." Apple Bloom said. "Some of the comments about our song were really awful." She then started to read some of them. "'Epic fail'... 'Funniest thing I've ever seen'?!"
"Funniest thing they've ever seen, huh?" Sweetie Belle grumbled under her breath.
The Mane 6 all tried their best to hold back their giggles that were building up. They definitely were like the same Crusaders from back in Equestria. But before the Crusaders and Cheerilee could turn to them, they, excluding Twilight, rushed to different parts of the library to hide.
"Uh, I don't know that that's what you should take from." Twilight muttered to herself as she walked over a bookshelf to begin her research of how to blend in this strange new world.
During the next couple of hours, the Mane 6 discreetly began to research through piles of books. Twilight would act a little clumsy, along with Rainbow, AJ, Rarity and Fluttershy. But Pinkie quickly helped them learn how to do things with her strange know-how of this world. All the while, they didn't notice Snips and Snails taking pictures of some of Twilight's awkward moments.
Eventually, the sun had already set in the sky, and the moon was shining silver light into the darkened room. Everyone had already gone home, and the library was closed. The only ones left inside were the Mane 6, who had hid themselves from everyone else on the second floor of the library.
Soon, Twilight closed another book and yawned. "You girls ready to get some sleep?" She asked.
"Way ahead of you." Rainbow said. Twilight turned to face her and saw that her friends had blankets for them, arranged to sleep under the glass roof to watch the stars.
Applejack brushed away some dust, coughing slightly as she did so. "It's a little bit dusty. But it doesn't seem like anyone comes up here a lot."
"It's perfect, girls." Twilight said with a fond smile. She then came over to them and snuggled in between Pinkie and Rainbow.
"So, how did your research go?" Pinkie asked her.
Twilight held out a blue book with a yellow horseshoe on the cover. "I found this book." She said. "It's called a yearbook. It seems to be something they use to keep a record of things that have happened at the school."
She opened the yearbook and started to flip through the pages. She stopped when she came across a photo of six young boys sitting together. And they all looked pretty familiar. "Look." She said, pointing to it.
"That's Cheese Sandwich." Pinkie recognized.
Rainbow then recognized one boy with light blue skin, green eyes and wild navy blue hair. Back in Equestria, she had a few posters of him, she saved his life, and she saved his pie. "Is that Soarin'?" She asked.
"Hey, there's Spike." Applejack said.
"And Discord." Fluttershy added.
Rarity then saw a boy with cerulean blue hair combed neatly, matching blue eyes and white skin. He definitely looked familiar. "Is that Fancy Pants?" She asked, pointing to him.
"You mean the stallion that didn't criticize us for being 'rustic'?" Rainbow asked, doing air quotes with her hands.
Rarity nodded. "Yes."
Twilight then saw the last boy in the picture. "And there's Flash Sentry." She said.
"Oh, look at all of them." Fluttershy cooed. "They look like they're friends."
"They look like they're friends with each other." Twilight said. "But it doesn't seem like they're friends now."
"Not so much." Rainbow emphasized.
"I just can't help but get the feeling that Sunset Shimmer had something to do with it." Twilight said. "And not just them. But also with your counterparts. They sound like they're not friends either."
"I wouldn't put it past her." Applejack said in agreement.
"But she wanted your crown because she's planning on doing something even worse." Rarity said.
"If we're gonna stop her, we have to focus on making friends here." Rainbow said. "Can't worry about why those guys and the counterparts of us aren't friends anymore."
Pinkie then stifled a yawn as she began to snuggle into her blanket. "Even if most of them remind us of friends back in Equestria."
Twilight sighed. "You're right, girls. Eye on the prize."
The Mane 6 then all bade each other good night and they soon fell asleep watching the stars. Though before the Princess of Friendship drifted off, she still couldn't help but feel like there was something that she and her friends could do to fix a broken friendship.
The next morning, the Mane 6 all woke up bright and early to warm sunlight streaming through the glass ceiling of the library. They all stretched out their temporary human limbs and one by one, stood up from their makeshift beds. Rarity made sure that each of them were more "presentable" before they tackled the day.
"Good morning, students, and happy Thursday." The voice of Principal Celestia came up on the PA system. "Just a reminder to pick up your ballots for the Princess of the Fall Formal tomorrow night. They are due at the time the dance starts tomorrow night, so don't forget to turn them in and make your voice heard."
As the announcement carried on throughout the school, the Mane 6 left the library. "Discord said I'd need to win over all those different groups if I wanna become Princess of the Fall Formal." Twilight said, holding a few papers in her hand. "So I've compiled a list of talking points."
"You made a list?" Rainbow Dash asked, pointing to the papers. "About what?"
"I'll start introducing myself, sprinkle in some things that I learned about their world into the conversation, show them how I fit in here!" Twilight explained her plan confidently before taking a deep breath. "Okay, girls. Time to make a good first impression on my fellow students. The whole world sort of depends on it."
The other girls all nodded in agreement, and they began walking through the halls, putting back on their charade of being normal human girls. But everywhere they went, they saw the students laughing and giggling at Twilight as she walked by them.
"Why is everybody looking at me funny?" She wondered aloud.
"You certainly don't look out of sorts." Rarity said. "You look like yourself."
Suddenly, someone grabbed Twilight's arm and immediately pulled her into a spare and empty classroom. "Whoa!" She exclaimed. The other girls jumped and quickly followed her inside.
"What're you-? Why did you-?" Twilight was cut off by the person shutting the door behind him.
The boy had snow white skin, cerulean hair styled nicely on his head, and matching eyes. He wore a casual black dress shirt, dark gray pants, and spic-and-span black dress shoes. Sewn on the pocket of his shirt were three gold crowns. To Rarity, he was quite familiar.
"Fancy Pants?" She whispered.
The human version of Fancy Pants scanned all over Twilight's form, his eyes taking in every detail. "What do you think, Rarity?" He asked. "Would a nice aqua green be one of her colors?"
"Uh, well…." Rarity trailed off, not exactly sure what Fancy would suggest that. Even though she had to agree, such a nice shade of turquoise would look fantastic on Twilight. "For what, exactly?" She asked.
"For a disguise, of course." Fancy replied, as if it were obvious.
"Why would I need a disguise for?" Twilight asked him.
Just then, the other classroom door opened to reveal Spike. "There you girls are!" He exclaimed with a smile.
"So much for the plan coming to light." Fancy grumbled, as if he didn't like to see Spike in his sights.
"I've been lookin' all over for you six!" Spike continued, entering the classroom.
Discord then entered. "Me too."
"Me three!" Cheese Sandwich added, appearing from the ceiling. He then jumped down and zoomed over to Twilight. "Though I would agree with Fancy that you should lay low for a while."
"Oh, now you decide to take some of my advice?" Fancy said coldly. "After all the times you seemed like you don't care."
"What?!" Cheese exclaimed in disbelief, clenching his fists.
"Why do you think he doesn't care?" Twilight asked. Her answer was all of the boys giving gestures of "don't ask", while Cheese was fighting back his anger, tensing up visibly. "No, never mind." She receded, and then focused on the main problem. "Why were you all looking for us?"
"What's going on?" Rainbow Dash added to the question.
The boys all shared concerned glances between each other. "Oh, they haven't seen it yet." Discord realized.
"Seen what?" Fluttershy asked.
Cheese Sandwich placed a bright blue thing on the table. The girls quickly realized that, thanks to Pinkie, it was called a laptop. Twilight sat down in front of it.
Cheese opened it up and pressed a couple of keys, and a video made yesterday showing all of the Mane 6 in the library the day before. It mainly showed Twilight acting all weird, while the others were trying to help her, and each other, understand how this world works.
The Mane 6 all froze in horror and embarrassment. "Oh, it's really not that bad." Cheese chuckled nervously, trying to reassure them.
But then, the voice of Sunset Shimmer came up. "Twilight Sparkle wants to be your Fall Formal Princess. But what does it say about our school if we give someone like this... such an important honor?" She taunted.
"Why that little stuck-up witch!" Applejack gritted her teeth, her face flushing a steaming bright red.
"I take that back. It's pretty bad!" Cheese said.
"Really, really bad!" Pinkie added, horrified by what she saw.
"But this all happened yesterday! At the library!" Twilight said, wondering how Sunset got her hands on this. But then, a horrifying thought came into her head, making her gasp. "Has everyone in the school seen this? Is that why they were all looking at me that way?" She asked.
The boys were all quiet, looking either at each other or the ground or the ceiling, anything to avoid meeting Twilight's eyes. Their hesitance was all the confirmation she needed.
"So much for becoming Princess of the Fall Formal." Rainbow grumbled, crossing her arms.
"What are we gonna do?" Twilight was panicking now, gripping the sides of her head. "No one's gonna vote for me after seeing this!" She gestured to the video.
"Not that it'll make any difference, but I'll still vote for you." Discord said. The reply was a thunk on the table from Twilight. "You were so nice to stand up for me when Sunset Shimmer was picking on me yesterday. And it's like I said, I would rather vote for someone else than that little witch if she wasn't the only one running."
"If ya still wanna run, maybe there's something I can do to help!" Cheese offered.
Discord rolled his eyes, and then leaned in closer to Twilight. "Word of advice? Don't accept his help. He doesn't take anything seriously!"
Cheese gritted his teeth. "Like you ever were serious before!" He said. "What did I ever do to you?"
"Don't play innocent, Mr. Cheese Sandwich! You are no better than he is!" Fancy retorted back, crossing his arms.
"And what is that supposed to mean?!" Cheese demanded.
Fancy ignored him and turned over to the Mane 6. "I am happy to offer up my assistance as well." He said to Twilight, before turning to glare at Cheese. "To someone who would appreciate what I have to offer!"
That did it for Cheese, and the two began viciously arguing, along with Discord getting caught up in the quarrel. The girls all listened to the shouts and accusations, glancing nervously at the boys and then at each other.
Spike had enough and tried to end it. "Listen to you guys carrying on like that!" He reprimanded. "Get over it and move on!"
Fancy however, wasn't going to stop there. "You mean like how you've gotten over what happened with Soarin?" He asked.
Spike felt his temper flare up. "He said he and Rainbow Dash would get the softball team to make an appearance at the bake sale I was helping AJ with." He said. "We tell everybody they're coming, and then not one of them shows up! He made a liar out of us! That's different!"
"Is not!" The other guys shouted.
"Is too!" Spike yelled back.
The arguing started back up again, but this time, Spike was roped into it as well. But it wasn't long before the girls had enough.
"STOP! All of you!" They all screamed.
"Honestly, boys. Where are your manners?" Rarity scolded, her arms crossed tightly.
"Fighting about something as stupid as these things that happened in the past is worth nothing to get in a brawl about!" Rainbow added, glaring fiercely at them.
"We want to show you something." Twilight said, trying to bring things calm again. She reached into her pack and pulled out the yearbook she and the others were looking through the night before. "You all were friends once, right?" She asked. She opened the book to show the picture of the guys, along with Soarin, as young teens.
"The Freshman Fair. You guys remember?" Spike asked. The other guys nodded fondly, good memories from those days coming back to them.
"But something happened." Twilight said, closing the book. "I think that something was Sunset Shimmer."
"Well, it's a nice theory, miss, but Sunset Shimmer had nothing to do with it." Fancy replied.
"He's right." Discord agreed. "Sunset Shimmer isn't the one who ruined Fluttershy's silent auction for the animal shelter by bringing fireworks and noisemakers! It was supposed to be a serious event, and Cheese Sandwich and his girlfriend ruined it!"
Pinkie and Cheese would've blushed if the latter wasn't so indignant about the accusation. And if the former wasn't curious about what might happen.
"What are you talking about?" He demanded. "We both got a text from you and Fluttershy saying that you two didn't want a silent auction. You wanted a big party!" He took out a bright yellow device, which the Mane 6 learned was a phone, as proof and showed him the screen.
Discord looked surprised. "We never sent either of you a text!"
"You didn't?" Cheese asked.
"You don't think she's the one who's been sending me those e-mails, do you?" Fancy asked. "Every time Rarity and I volunteer to help with the decorations at a school function, one of us get an email from either Pinkie Pie or Cheese saying that they have plenty of volunteers! And then we find out they've done everything themselves."
"We never sent you any e-mails!" Cheese said, looking through his phone. He and Discord shared a glance as more puzzle pieces came into place.
"Maybe she's the reason Soarin and Rainbow Dash didn't show up for the bake sale!" Spike theorized.
"Didn't you ever ask Soarin why he and Rainbow Dash didn't show up?" Fluttershy asked him.
Spike chuckled sheepishly as he rubbed his arm. "Heh, I guess I kinda stopped talking to him at all after that."
Twilight smiled kindly at him. "Maybe now would be a good time to start." She suggested.
"Never too late to do the right thing!" Pinkie piped up cheerfully.
Spike smiled genuinely at the girls, who were all giving him signs of encouragement. It was worth a try.
But then, Twilight had a thought come to her head. "And actually, there's someone else that you guys should also make up with." She added.
The other girls caught onto what she was implying and nodded in agreement. "Ya fellers know a guy named Flash Sentry?" Applejack asked them.
The guys all froze at the name, and then shared a guilty glance with each other, knowing that the Mane 6 had a point.
In a matter of minutes, all four guys were standing in front of the band room. Inside, Flash Sentry was practicing his guitar. All of them took a deep breath and entered the room, one by one.
Flash stopped playing when he saw Spike, Discord, Fancy and Cheese. “Guys?” He asked. “What are you doing here?”
Seeing that he wasn’t unhappy to see them, but curious, Spike spoke up first. “We, uh, actually came to apologize.”
“For ditching you after you started dating Sunset.” Discord added.
Flash shook her head. “She forced me to date her.” He explained. “I was the coward who agreed. If I refused, she would’ve made your lives more miserable than she lets on.”
“That’s a new low, even for her.” Cheese muttered.
“So does that mean that you forgive us?” Fancy asked.
Flash nodded. “If you guys will forgive me for not standing up for myself soon.” He said.
“Well….” Discord trailed off.
“Discord!” The other three guys reprimanded.
“All right, all right, chill!” He exclaimed. “I was going to forgive him anyway! But, is your dream band with us still your dream?”
Flash nodded. “You bet.” He said. “And I promised that I’d let you play back-up bassist.”
“Yes!” Discord pumped his fist, making the other guys laugh. The girls were watching from outside, pleased to see that things were turning around for them. After a few more seconds, they entered the band room.
“That actually went better than I thought.” Applejack said.
“True.” Twilight said, and Flash recognized her.
“Hey, Twilight.” He said, and Twilight slightly blushed. “I saw that video that Sunset posted.” The indigo-haired girl flinched in embarrassment. “Well, I know Sunset pretty well, and she would only do something like that if she was afraid.”
Everyone looked over at him with wide eyes. “It’s true.” Flash continued. “And if so, then you can count me in on helping you win Fall Formal Princess.”
Twilight beamed at him. “Thank you, Flash.”
“Now we just need one more person.” Rainbow Dash said, looking out towards the field. “You’re up, Spike.”
The green-haired boy gulped in nervousness.
Out on the soccer field, there was a teenage boy practicing his kicks. He had pale blue skin, wild navy hair, and green eyes. He wore a white T-shirt with a lightning bolt piercing a storm cloud, a light blue jacket over it with yellow stripes on the sleeves, brown pants, and blue and white sneakers. On his head were yellow sports goggles. It had to be Soarin.
The others were watching him as they all sat on the bleachers and Spike nervously went over to him after he had scored another goal.
“They're actually talking!” Fancy said in amazement.
“That's a good sign!” Rarity pointed out.
After a few more inaudible moments of them talking, they both then held out their fists and connected them.
“Fist bumps! Ooh, those are always good!” Pinkie exclaimed in joy. Then, both boys came back up to everyone else.
“Somebody, and I think we can all guess who, told Soarin and Rainbow Dash that AJ’s bake sale had been moved to a different day.” Spike explained. “They both showed up with all the softball team and thought we’d cancelled on them!”
“I really hate that girl.” Applejack muttered.
“So you're the one who's looking to dethrone Sunset Shimmer and become Princess of the Fall Formal, huh?” Soarin asked Twilight. His answer was a nervous nod, but a bright smile. “Gotta say, I'd really love to see that happen.” He said, kicking the soccer ball on his knee. “I'll totally help you out! All you gotta do is have someone beat me in a game of one-on-one.”
“What?” Twilight asked.
“First to five goals wins.” Soarin then bounced the soccer ball hard and then kicked it while doing a flip, and it landed into the goal. “One-zip!”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Rainbow Dash said. “You think you can pull a cheap shot like that?” She challenged. “Let’s see if you can even try to best me.”
The other girls looked at each other with worried expressions. What is she thinking?! True, this game looks simple enough, but Soarin seems like he’s pretty good. And on top of that, Rainbow doesn’t exactly know how to play on two legs!
But Soarin saw that determined gleam in her eyes, the one that can never resist a challenge. “I’ve been practicing since you left, Rainbow.” He said, a wicked smirk on his face. “Let’s see if you haven’t lost your touch.”
Rainbow returned the smirk and walked out onto the field, opposite of Soarin. Both of them were tense and poised as they each waited for one of them to make the first move. Everyone else sat back on the bleachers, looking between the two athletes with anxious eyes.
Finally, Soarin kicked the ball hard, but amazingly, Rainbow stopped it with her foot. Everyone was shocked, and then she kicked it hard over Soarin’s head and it went straight into the goal. Rainbow stood there with a confident grin on her face as she began to sing and held out a hand, curling her fingers toward her, challenging him to bring it on.
Rainbow Dash: There's no way, I'm gonna sit this one out. Gotta take a chance now, not be a prisoner of doubt.
Soarin got the ball back and began running with it to try and get it past her. But Rainbow expertly stole the ball and gave it another good kick, and it landed in the goal, making it 2-1.
Gonna knock down the wailin' wall, it ain't no sin. I, got, the feel of fortune, deal me in.
The game continued in Rainbow’s favor as the points escalated to 3-1.
I'm comin' straight on for you! I made up my mind. I'm feeling strong, now I'm comin' through, Straight on, straight on for you, Straight on for you!
Rainbow had a cocky grin on her face as she analyzed the odds. But then, when Soarin gave her a matching grin, she got the suspicion that he had something up his sleeve.
Soarin: Now, I know how to play my hand.
He jumped high in the air and gave the soccer ball a mighty good kick over Rainbow’s head. She tried to block it, but it grazed past her head and went into her goal, bringing the point total up to 3-2.
What the winner don't know, the gambler understands.
“What does that even mean?” Rainbow asked, starting to feel her competitive streak burn up inside of her.
Rainbow Dash: No! You don't stand a chance!
Soarin: You don't stand a chance.
Both of them glared at each other with challenging gleams in their eyes, while everyone else was watching the match with excitement.
Rainbow Dash: I'm comin' straight on for you!
Soarin: Straight on for you!
Rainbow actually felt like for the first time in her life, she has met her match. The points continued to pile up. 4-2, 4-3, 4-4.
Rainbow Dash: I made up my mind. I'm feeling strong now I'm comin' through, Straight on, straight on for you. Straight on, straight on for you.
Both: Straight on for you!
Finally, Rainbow did an incredible front flip, kicking the ball while doing so. The ball seemed to have fire forming around it as it zipped past Soarin’s head. He had to duck it to avoid his hair being singed, and the ball shot into the goal.
“That's game!” Rainbow cheered, as did everyone else.
Soarin sighed. “Well, I should’ve known that you would never ever let your game down, Rainbow Dash.” He said to her, picking up the soccer ball and went over to the others as everyone got down to the field.
“So what's the plan? How can I help you be princess instead of Sunset Shimmer?” He asked Twilight. “Even if by some miracle that I won, I would’ve helped you anyway.”
“Really?” Twilight asked him.
“Sure.” Soarin said to the confused indigo-haired girl, as if it was obvious. “I wasn’t gonna help just anybody try and beat Sunset Shimmer. The Fall Formal Princess should be someone with heart and determination.” He explained. “If the best player I know is helping you win, you've proved that you've got 'em both!”
Everyone cheered happily as Soarin gave Flash a fist bump, bringing the entire gang of boys back together. Now the Mane 6 has enough allies to help them get the crown back before it’s too late.
But little did the group of twelve know that Snips and Snails were behind the bleachers, each of them holding a camera, snickering to themselves. It seems that Sunset had something else planned for them to make sure that Twilight doesn’t get the crown. But what is it?
The six boys eventually took the girls to their old favorite hang out at a coffee shop that very much reminded the girls of Sugarcube Corner back in Ponyville. Everyone ordered some drinks, and Twilight was the last one to order.
“And... can I get mine with extra oats?” She asked the lady that looked very much like Mrs. Cake.
Mrs. Cake was confused by her request. “Oats?” She asked her.
Twilight briefly froze. She almost forgot for a quick moment that this wasn’t Ponyville, it was a very different world, and most likely, the people that are from here don’t really have oats on their drinks. “Uh, scratch that.” She recoiled. “However you normally make it is fine.”
The human Mrs. Cake handed Twilight her drink. She was about to walk away from the counter when she suddenly bumped into someone. Her drink splashed everywhere, and then clattered to the ground. Twilight, mortified, looked up and saw that she had once again bumped into Flash Sentry.
“We've got to stop bumping into each other like this.” He said, wiping off the whipped cream and sprinkles off his shirt.
Twilight felt embarrassed as she bent down to pick up her cup. However, Flash was doing the same thing, and then their hands touched. They looked at each other and flushed, removing their hands as the latter picked up the cup.
“You know me!” She giggled nervously as she tugged on a lock of her hair. “Always trying to make a big splash around here. 'Cause my drink kinda splashed... on the ground!”
Flash just smiled at her, slightly amused, making Twilight more flustered.
“I'm gonna go over there now.” She said, backing away, but she had bumped into the counter. Even more embarrassed, she headed back to where the others were sitting. Once she sat down, she blushed red and began twirling a lock of her hair.
“We saw that.” Rarity teased her, making her freeze from the way her friends were looking at her.
“Saw what?” Twilight asked, trying to attempt at playing clueless.
“Ya like him.” Applejack said, gently nudging her side with her elbow.
Twilight’s blush turned a brighter red. “N-No!” She exclaimed. “No, I don’t. Besides, he was Sunset Shimmer's ex-boyfriend.”
“Emphasis on the ‘ex’ part.” Rainbow Dash cut in.
Twilight just ignored her. “If what we learned about her is any indicator, she hasn’t done anything bad to him yet.” The girls became quiet at the point that she brought up. “Maybe she's just waiting until she has the power to do something really awful.”
Just then, Flash came over, holding two drinks, giving one to Twilight. She looked up at him curiously. “To make up for causing you to spill yours.” He explained.
Twilight blinked, but then smiled, taking the drink from him with both hands. “Thanks.” She said.
Flash just returned the smile as he sat down with his friends.
“All right, everyone.” Applejack said, starting the meeting. “Dance is tomorrow night, and we still don't know how we're gonna get Twilight the votes she needs to be named princess.”
Spike nodded in agreement. “Right now, people only know the Twilight from the video that that fiery witch, Sunset Shimmer posted online. We need to help 'em see her differently.”
Everyone else made noises of agreement as they tried to think of an idea.
Finally, Rarity had jumped from her seat. “I'VE GOT IT!” She exclaimed, making everyone in the café jump up from her surprising tone. She then cleared her throat. “I mean, um, perhaps I have a solution. Twilight, may I see that yearbook?”
“Sure thing, Rarity.” Twilight said to her fashionista friend, and then she reached into her backpack. Eventually, she pulled out the school yearbook. She then handed it to Rarity.
“Thank you.” She said, and she began flipping through the pages. Finally, she stopped at one photo in particular. “Now this may be an absolutely preposterous idea, but what if we all wore these as a sign of unity?”
She pointed to a single photo of some students who were standing together and a couple of them jumping up in the air. The students in the picture were wearing blue headbands with pale yellow pony ears on the top, and white ribbon sashes around their waists, having matching blue and yellow striped tails in the back.
Fancy Pants looked closely at the photo. “Ah, I see what you mean.” He said to her. “Freshman year, they were very, very popular. It was a way for everybody to show their school spirit!”
“Go, Canterlot Wondercolts!” Soarin said, pumping his fist up in the air, remembering the school cheer from when they were younger.
“We haven't sold any in ages.” Fancy said, looking back at Rarity.
“I think you may be onto something.” Flash said, rubbing his chin in thought. “I mean, the six of us are obviously very different, but deep down, we're all Canterlot Wondercolts!”
The other guys all nodded in agreement with him, as did the Mane 6. “Sunset Shimmer is the one who divided us, Twilight Sparkle is the one who united us.” Discord said.
“And we're gonna let everyone know it!” Cheese said, jumping up from his seat.
“Sounds awesome.” Rainbow agreed, liking the plan.
“But, how are we going to get all of the students to listen to us?” Fluttershy asked.
“With a smile and a song, anything is possible!” Pinkie said, waggling a finger, already having a plan in place.
Everyone else just smiled. Never question anything when it comes to Pinkie Pie. It's better that way.
The following day, everyone had discussed the plan they had and they were ready to put it into action. They all decided to do it during lunch time, when they knew that most of the school would be in one place, students and staff alike.
As everyone else was talking or doing their own things, everyone got into place, wearing Canterlot sweaters with the tails tied around their waists. Rarity and Fancy Pants were with the fashionista group, Rainbow Dash and Soarin were with the jocks, Fluttershy, Discord, Applejack and Spike were with the eco-kids, Pinkie Pie and Cheese Sandwich were in the lunch line, and Flash was sitting by himself with his band and the other rockers at their table.
Everyone put on their ears and got ready. The girls all left their spots and headed over to an end of one of the tables while the boys began to play out a rhythm. Cheese grabbed a lunch tray and began it, while the other boys used either their hands and feet, or something else, to follow along. Then, in the corner, Rainbow turned on a radio that began to play music.
The girls started to sing as they danced along to the song throughout the cafeteria. Their voices harmonized together perfectly, and some of the students were looking at them with curious eyes.
Mane 5:Hey, hey, everybody. We've got something to say. We may seem as different As the night is from day.
But you look a little deeper, And you will see That I'm just like you And you're just like me. Yeah!
Flash then opened up his guitar case and began to play along with the song from the radio as the girls continued to sing. His band and the other rockers at the table were looking at him curiously, wondering what he was doing.
Hey, hey, everybody. We're here to shout That the magic of friendship Is what it's all about.
Yeah, we thought we were different As the night is from the day, Until Twilight Sparkle Helped us see another way!
They had to sing that to continue to pretend to be their absent counterparts from this world and explain why they're suddenly friends again.
So get up, get down If you're gonna come around. We can work together Helping Twilight win the crown!
So get up, get down 'Cause it's gonna make a sound If we work together Helping Twilight Sparkle Win the crown!
Then, Pinkie Pie began to sing by herself.
Pinkie Pie:Hey, hey hands up now, We're sending a message To the crowd.
Hands wave up Then come down. We party together All around!
Then one by one, the other girls sang a solo part.
Rarity:Generous, honesty,
Applejack:Laughter, kindness, loyalty.
Fluttershy:Twilight helped us each to see
Rainbow Dash:All that we can be!
Then, they all began to sing together again as they began to drag the boys minus Flash into their song and dance routine.
Mane Five:So get up, get down If you're gonna come around. We can work together Helping Twilight win the crown.
So get up, get down 'Cause it's gonna make a sound If we work together Helping Twilight Sparkle Win the crown!
Then, Pinkie and Rarity opened one pair of doors to reveal Twilight Sparkle herself, wearing the same sweater, headbands and tail around her waist. Then, she started to sing along as she entered the cafeteria with the grace of a princess but still having the appearance of a normal girl.
Twilight:I'm gonna be myself, No matter what I do. And if we're different, yeah, I want you to be true to you!
As she gave a smile to Flash, he joined in with a sweet guitar riff as she continued to sing and dance with her friends, with her even jumping onto a table to make a bigger impression with her friends dancing around the rectangular table.
If you follow me, We'll put our differences aside. We'll stick together and Start working on that school pride!
Then, all of the girls and the guys started to sing and dance, the music quickly proving to be contagious as other students joined in the fun, Rarity, Fancy, Pinkie and Cheese throwing them the headbands and tail sashes up in the air.
All:Jump up, make a sound. (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Start now, make a change, Gonna come around.
Jump up, make a sound. (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Canterlot Wondercolts, Help her win the crown!
Jump up, make a sound. (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Start now, make a change, Gonna come around.
Jump up, make a sound (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around Canterlot Wondercolts Help her win the crown!
Jump up, make a sound. (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Start now, make a change, Gonna come around.
Jump up, make a sound (Hey!) Stomp your hooves, turn around. Canterlot Wondercolts, Help her win the crown! (Yeah!)
Finishing off in spectacular poses for each of them, the entire cafeteria burst into applause, the performers feeling breathless. But the smiles on their faces refused to leave as they all stared at each other. It seemed that their plan was a success.
However, there was one person who wasn't happy with what they were doing. From behind another pair of doors, Sunset Shimmer was glaring hatefully at the six girls from Equestria. But then, she heard noise coming from behind her and saw that Snips and Snails were still dancing, wearing the school spirit tails and ears, the song from earlier still playing in their ears.
"Take those off!" She ordered. The two boys quickly removed them and smiled sheepishly at her as she crossed her arms. "I have something I need you to do."
An evil glint in her eyes appeared, as well as a smirk, as she looked back inside the cafeteria. It wasn't over yet.
