> Flash Sentry Chronicles: EQG
>  by Banshee531
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Thief and the Mirror
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the land of Equestria, Princess Celestia's sun was beginning to slowly descend below the horizon and make way for its sister, the moon, to take its place and illuminate the night. The beautiful stars were beginning to fade into existence as this happened, turning the sky into a canvas of dotted shapes and shines.

Many of the kingdom's occupants were now currently fast asleep, all except seven ponies and a dragon riding a train headed for the Crystal Empire. Inside that train, we find Equestria's newest alicorn princess Twilight Sparkle, riding in a carriage along with her friends, her assistant Spike, and her best friend turned bodyguard, Flash Sentry.

Said bodyguard was currently yawning, though this was because they had to get up earlier than usual to make sure everything in their home was okay before leaving. However, this yawn did not go unnoticed. "I told you that you shouldn't have gotten up so early," Twilight told him as she flipped another page in the book she currently had her nose in. "May I remind you that it was you who let Lightning become a defender. Why are you so worried about him while you're gone?"

Flash let out a low groan at this. "I do trust him to keep the town safe while I'm there Twilight, its just...I don't really know what he'll do while I'm not there that worries me. I know I trust him now, but...I don't know. Guess old memories aren't exactly helping right now." Flash leaned back in his seat, only to slump down a second later, "Good thing Springer opted to stay behind."

"I'm sure everyone will be fine darling," Rarity told him with a small wave of her hoof.

"Provided Lightning and Iron don't start butting heads," Applejack added with a smirk, getting a glare from Rarity and Flash.

It was here that Fluttershy spoke up, "Don't say that Applejack. I made Iron promise to behave while we're gone."

"Like he'll keep that promise," Rainbow remarked, ignoring Fluttershy's glare as she continued. "But hey, its not our problem until we get back."

"Yeah!" Pinkie cheered, also ignoring everypony's glares, "So let's sit back and have fun!"

"I'd hardly call what we're here for as fun," Twilight growled, only to hear the signal saying the train was now pulling into the station. Once it came to a stop, they unpacked their luggage and stepped out, soon making their way to the empire's crystal castle.

"Hoo-wee!" Applejack cheered as she turned to Twilight. "Your very first princess summit! You must be over the moon Twilight!"

Twilight smiled in response. "Oh, I am excited...." She then did a big gulp, her hooves twiddling as she continued, "But to be honest, I'm a little nervous too."

"You're 'nervicited'!" Pinkie cheered as she hopped in front of Twilight, "It's like you wanna jump up and down and yell 'YAY ME'!!" She leapt into the air three times before curling herself up and sinking into the ground. "But you also wanna curl up in a teeny-tiny ball and hide at the same time!" She started to uncurl herself, making a robotic noise as she did this. "We've all been there!"

"I'm there almost every day," Fluttershy replied as she shook all over.

"Almost everyday?" Flash asked as he shined a smirk at the mare, a nervous smile now on her face. He then turned back to Pinkie, blinking at the sight of the pony continuing to make mechanical sounds. "And I'm still wondering if that explains things or not..."

Applejack just rolled her eyes at these antic before turning to Twilight. "You've got no reason to fret Twi. Everything's gonna be just–"

"TWILIGHT!" Rarity screamed as she interrupted the earth pony, her form quickly running in front of Twilight, causing Twilight backpedal in sudden fear. Seeing this, Rarity did a small chuckle, "Oh...sorry, darling. Didn't mean to freak out there." She then pulled Twilight's head towards the ground, inspecting it like a mother would for head lice. "But I just realised you're not wearing your crown!" She then locked eyes with Twilight. "You haven't forgotten it back in Ponyville, have you?!"

Twilight let out a sigh before answering, "it's in my bag." They all looked at Spike, who patted the saddlebag with her cutie mark on it. "Sorry, but I just feel a little self-conscious about wearing it." She then opened her new wings. "Haven't really gotten accustomed to these yet either." After this statement, the alicorn tried to leap into the air to hover, only to kiss the ground a second later.

Flash took this moment to flare his wings and hover above her, his hooves crossed as he asked, "You haven't been doing those exercises I suggested, have you?"

Twilight let out a low nervous giggle as she picked herself up. "I've been doing them....more or less that is."

Flash gave her a flat stare, "More more, or more less?"

Before Twilight could fumble for an answer, Rarity spoke up as she put her hoof around the alicorn. "You are a princess now Twilight, embrace it!" She let out a long happy sigh. "I'm telling you...if I had a crown like that, I would never take it off! Why, I'd sleep in the thing!"

"Twilight had to do that when Discord was in Ponyville," Flash told her as he landed. "I had to spend every night hearing her fumble around to get comfortable until she finally decided to put a sleeping spell on herself."

"Oh..." Rarity gulped, blinking at the thought. "Perhaps not then."

Twilight let out a low growl at her bodyguard, causing him to give an apologetic smile before continuing her journey into the crystal castle. Her friends soon followed, all except Flash as he flew up to the nearby balcony and into the throne room. Here, he was met with the sight of the three other princesses along with the several guards.

"Ah! Glad to see you made it Flash." Celestia remarked as the pegasi walked inside. "I see you got the instructions I privately sent you."

"Yes your highness," Flash replied before standing in place next to one of the guards. Soon enough, the doors to the room opened and he saw his friends on the other side. Twilight stepped into the room as the trumpets started playing, instantly taking Twilight's focus away from the room. In fact, the noise distracted her so much that she walked straight into Flash. She then pulled back and saw who she had bumped, soon firing him a coy frown while Flash shined a smirk before announcing, "Her highness, Princess Twilight Sparkle!"

Cadance laughed at the sight as she walked over to her sister-in-law. "Twilight!" She pulled her into a hug. "I haven't seen you since the coronation!"

"We have so much to discuss," Celestia told her as she and Luna stepped up to them. "But it can wait until tomorrow. You all look tired from your journey. Now...off to bed, all of you."

Everypony nodded before doing as they were told, all except Flash as he turned to the princesses to ask, "So where are Shining and Ruby? I was hoping to catch up with them."

Cadance let out a small sigh at this, "Those two are monster hunting right now."

"Monster hunting?"

"Yup. We've been getting reports of yeti sightings in the Crystal Mountains. Ruby's knowledge of the terrain and Shining's shield magic made them the perfect ones to lead a team to check it out. They'll be back either tomorrow or the day after."

"Ah. Well, I still hope I get to see them." Flash replied turning around to follow the others, soon giving Cadance a wave goodbye as he went to find his room. A little later, he found where he would be staying and placed his saddlebag and Celestic Gear on his bed before heading out, stepping over to Twilight's room and knocking.

"Come in." He stepped inside, finding Twilight staring at herself in the mirror while wearing her crown.

"You okay?" He asked as he saw the huge frown on her face.

"Yeah! What's wrong Twilight?" Spike added as he was making his bed.

Twilight just sighed, not turning to the others as she stared at the reflection. "I don't know you two. I'm just...worried, I guess. I really don't know if I'm ready for this kind of stuff." She turned towards them before spinning her hoof along the floor in a circular motion. "I mean, Princess Cadance was given the Crystal Empire to rule over. What if because I'm a princess now that Celestia expects me to lead a kingdom of my own?"

Before Flash could reply, Spike let out a cheer. "That would be AWESOME!"

"No, it would NOT!" Twilight barked before looking back at the mirror. "Just because I have this crown and these wings, it doesn't mean I'll be a good leader!" She then took her crown off and levitated it onto her bedside table, another sigh following. It was here that she felt a wing wrap around her, making her glance at the wings' owner.

Flash just shook his head at her, "Stop thinking that Twilight." The defender then tapped her chest as a big smile shined on his face, "You're already a great leader Twilight. When the chips are down and all seems hopeless, you always come up with a plan. You were the one who managed to figure out how to awaken the Elements of Harmony, you were the one who reversed Discord's spell and figured out that Chrysalis had replaced Cadance. You also located the Crystal Heart, which is something I know all of us could never do." It was here that the pegasi slung his hoof around her shoulders, "And even when you do mess up, which honestly is less than me, you learn from those mistakes. Trust me, if you took the Great Test...you'd pass it without issue."

"Yeah...but I'm also smarter than you Flash." Twilight remarked, only to get a flat stare from the defender. The sight alone made Twilight giggle. "Sorry."

"Its fine. I know you're smarter, ya bookworm." Flash admitted with a snort, his hoof over her shoulders now tightening into a hug, "But I'm serious, you'll be fine."

"He's right Twilight," Spike said before motioning Twilight to get into bed. "Now c'mon, you should get some shut-eye. You got a big day tomorrow!" He then turned off the lights and went to climb into his basket while Flash pulled away from the hug and headed for the door.

But as Flash tried to leave and say goodbye, he heard the sounds of bed covers flying into the air behind him. Turning around, he saw the humorous sight of Twilight trying to get her wings to relax on the bed. "Can't...tuck them in!" she grumbled, only for the wings to flare again, "Augh! Can't get comfortable with these-"

"Just ignore them," Flash interrupted as he pointed at the wings. "They're just like any other part of the body. Try and relax, and they will too." He watched as Twilight took a deep breath, doing the trick Cadance had once taught her, and her wings slowly went down. She sighed in relief before pulling the bed covers over herself, allowing Flash to say his goodnight before shutting the door.

As soon as the door was shut however, he heard a yelp, followed by Twilight annoyed moans. He laughed at this as he returned to his room and went to bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. And as the realm of dreams took the young defender, his mind wandered in the land of sleep. He could feel true rest and relaxation embracing him as he let out a small snore.

Peace at last.

And as the hours passed and energy began to return to him, the pegasi felt himself drift more and more, until-

"STOP!"

Flash's eyes instantly flew open, all hints of being tired gone as he heard Twilight's voice. He quickly entered Theta Mode and checked the time on a nearby clock, seeing he had only been asleep for about three hours. "STOP! THIEF!" It was these words that made him kick into action, his wings flaring as he took to the air instantly, grabbing his sword as he slammed his room's door open.

And as he landed into the hallway, Twilight ran right by him as the others all opened their doors. "She's stolen my crown!" Twilight screamed, getting gasps from everypony while Flash quickly looked ahead, soon seeing the thief. It was a pony wearing a black cloak and a saddlebag.

"Oh no you don't! Flash Cutter!" Flash yelled as he hovered over Twilight and slashed his sword through the air, unleashing an energy wave. But before it landed, a light blue aura glowed out from beneath the hood. It was here that the energy blade suddenly turned around, instantly flying back at the defender, "WHOA!" He yelped as he blocked the attack with his sword, the recoil knocking him back. "What the heck?!"

And as the defender tried to regain his aerial balance from the sudden turnaround, Twilight teleported ahead of the criminal as the perpetrator rounded a corner. "STOP!" They all heard the princess cry, only for a flash of blue light to shine out as they turned the corner to see Twilight covered in the thief's hood.

Another blue flash appeared behind Twilight, fading to reveal a golden unicorn mare with a red and yellow mane and tail. Her cutie mark was a red and yellow sun, and she was shining a huge smirk as she kept running down the halls. Seeing this, Twilight let out a low frustrated growl as she threw the cloak away, soon sprinting after her. Flash and the others quickly followed, the apprentice knight not daring to use another attack for fear of it being redirected. They then found the mare rushing down a corridor with only one door as Twilight began to catch up with her. And as they were about to reach the door, Twilight leapt into the air, tackling the mare as they both slammed through the door.

As the two forcefully entered the room, the impact from the tackle knocked the Element of Magic free of the saddlebag, causing it to go bouncing around the room. But before the duo could try to grab the crown, the shining head piece suddenly went flying into a mirror, only to phase through it like it was water.

Everypony gasped at seeing this as Twilight growled at the mare next to her. "What did you do to my crown?"

The mare shined a sinister smile. "Sorry it had to be this way," her horn sparked before she disappearing in a light blue flash. She then reappeared right in front of the mirror. "Princess." With that, she stepped into the mirror and phased through it the same way the crown had.

Everypony gasped again as Fluttershy asked the obvious question. "Who was that?"





One transition to the crystal castle throne room later...

"Sunset Shimmer. That is your thief."

The morning of the next day had come, and after they had explained what had happened to the princesses, Celestia then said those words, only to continue explaining, "She's a former student of mine. She began her studies with me not long before Twilight...but when she didn't get what she wanted as quickly as she liked, she turned cruel and dishonest."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "And we haven't heard about her till now...because?" Twilight shot a glare at him, causing him to give a nervous chuckle before prompting shutting his mouth. "Sorry."

"Its fine Flash." The sun princess continued as she crossed her hooves in thought. "I tried to help her, but she eventually decided to abandon her studies and pursue her own path. One that has...sadly led to her stealing your crown."

Spike took this opportunity to pull out what looked like Twilight's crown, except this one appeared to be made out of plastic. "She replaced Twilight's with this one." He held it up, only for Celetsia to grab it in her magic and look it over.

"I suppose Sunset Shimmer thought you wouldn't notice right away that this was not yours." She stepped past the group and headed out of the throne room, Twilight stepping up besides her with the others following. "And by the time you did, it would be too late to go after your crown and Element of Harmony."

"But I don't understand...where did she go? Where did she take the crown?" Twilight asked as she saw worry fill Celestia's face. "Princess?"

Celestia let out a long sigh as she levitated the fake crown away. "You'll soon know more about this place than even I do." She, Luna and Cadance then brought them back to the room, Luna stepping up to examine the mirror.

"This is no ordinary mirror," the moon princess explained as she put her hoof on its frame. "It is a gateway to another world. A gateway that opens once every thirty moons." Pinkie decided to use this moment to press her hoof to the mirror, giggling and saying 'sparkly' as the strange glass started to ripple. Luna rolled her eyes and pulled Pinkie's hoof back with her magic. "It has always been kept in the throne room of Canterlot Castle...but when Princess Cadance took over the Crystal Empire, we sent it here for her to watch over."

"I thought it looked familiar," Flash spoke up as he stared at the magic glass with a frown. "Grand Hoof had me clean that thing once for punishment detail."

Celestia let out another sigh as she stared back at the portal. "I had always hoped that Sunset Shimmer would someday use it to return to me, to come back to Equestria, seeking my guidance. Obviously, this is not what has happened."

The whole group grimaced at her words, only for Cadance to step up to Twilight and say, "Twilight, 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 blinked at her sister-in-law before looking back at the mirror, Luna then speaking up, "She is correct. Your crown does not belong in the place Sunset Shimmer now calls home. And in her possession, your Element of Harmony will no doubt be used to bring harm to the inhabitants of this other realm. They will not have the power to defend themselves."

Twilight continued to stare at the mirror, only to feel a saddlebag be lifted onto her back. She looked up at who had done this, soon seeing it to be her mentor Celestia. The expression on her face showed a mix of confidence and pure business, "Do you understand the importance of your task?"

"Of course I do." Twilight replied as she looked back at the mirror.

She opened her mouth to say more, only to be cut off by Celestia, "Good. Then you must go at once Twilight."

Twilight turned back to her mentor again, nodding before taking a deep breath. She looked back at the magic reflective, soon stepping towards. But as she did this, her vision was suddenly be blocked by a certain rainbow maned pegasus. "Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as the rest of her friends stepped up besides her. "If she's going, we're going with her. Right girls?"

"Like you have to ask," Flash added as he gave Rainbow a half glare. "And there are males here too, you know."

"Oooh! I'm so nervicited!" Pinkie squealed, her hooves running in place.

Applejack turned to her with a raised eyebrow. "You do realize that's not a real word, right?"

Twilight smiled at her friends, happy they wanted to help. But her smile was short lived as Celestia took this moment to sigh and shake her head. "I'm afraid I can't let you all go with her."

"What?!" Rainbow yelped as she stomped her hooves, "Why not?!"

"Sending all of you could upset the balance of this alternate world. It could create havoc that would make it impossible for Twilight to get the crown back from Sunset Shimmer." She let out another sigh, "This is why this is something Princess Twilight must do alone."

"WHAT?!" Flash exclaimed as he stepped up to the princess. "You can't be serious! We're not letting Twilight face that mad mare alone!"

"Flash! You heard Princess Celestia!" Twilight tried to say, "You can't-"

"Yes I can Twilight!" Flash barked back as he turned to his old friend, "I'm your bodyguard and I'm saying we're coming!" He then pointed at the new alicorn, "That mare shot my magic back at me like it was nothing! Who knows what other tricks she's got up her horn!" He then turned to Celestia, only to see a stare of pure authority, one that made him sweat. It also didn't help that Luna was doing the same, while Cadance just gave him a small half-frown. Despite this, he continued, "I'm sorry for speaking out of line, but we have no idea what's on the other side of that portal. Sunset Shimmer would have total home field advantage over Twilight! That's not something you go solo into!"

"Even so Flash Sentry, she must go alone." Celestia replied back, a chill going down Flash's spine as he heard her use his full name. "If she goes with all of you, the balance of that world will falter. It is something that must not be disturbed."

Flash wanted to growl and yell, but the back of his mind told him not to. He then glanced at his friends, all of them now showing looks of confusion and uncertainty. He knew they didn't have an answer, and this made him realize his next words. The defender took a long deep breath before glaring back at Princess Celestia, "If that's the case..." he pointed to himself, "then at least let me go with her! Let her have one friend by her side!"

"Flash..." Twilight gasped, the frown on her face now trying to disappear.

"And even if you say no your highness..." Flash continued, only to do a small gulp as he stared at her cold dead authoritative glare, "you know we'll still try to go in with her. We're her friends!"

Seeing his argument despite her mind telling her to never defy Princess Celestia, Twilight felt her body reflexively step up to be beside Flash as her mouth began to move on its own, "He's right princess. Please let them come along. I'm at my best when I'm by my friends."

Celestia continued to glare at him, only to turn to Cadance and Luna. It was here that she saw a nod from Cadance while Luna sighed, but nodded as well. Celestia then let out one last sigh as she turned back to Flash, "Very well Flash Sentry. You may also accompany Princess Twilight to keep her safe as her bodyguard." She glanced at the others, "but only you may go. I will not risk sending anymore of you."

Everyone nodded at this, Flash now shining a big grin as he stepped up to the mirror with Twilight. But as they started to go in the portal, Flash felt a magic aura grab his back. Before he knew it, Lightbringer had just been removed from his body. He turned to Celestia, who was the one now holding the blade. "I'm afraid you cannot take your Celestic Gear. Like the Element of Magic, having it in a world where it does not belong could be dangerous."

Flash nodded as they looked back to the mirror.

"Time is of the essence," Luna explained to them as she used her magic to create the image of the moon in the sky. "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 thirty moons before you will be able to use it to return."

Hearing this made everypony gulp, especially Flash and Twilight as the stared at the portal. It was here that the defender turned to the Twilight, "You ready for this?"

"I guess I have to be," Twilight replied as she picked up her hoof and pressed it against the portal, which it phased through like it was made of liquid, causing her to pull back in surprise. She then took one final look back over her shoulder, only to see Celestia nodding at her. The sight alone made Twilight filled with confidence, making her turn and step into the mirror first, Flash soon following after.

But as they did this, Spike, who had been silently panicking at the back of the group, continued to squirm at the sight of his two best friends disappearing into the goopy void of the mirror. Before anyone could say or do anything, the drake suddenly rushed past everypony. "SPIKE, NO!" The rest of the mane seven cried, but it was too late. Spike closed his eyes and leapt into the mirror, disappearing in a brilliant flash of light.
> A Strange New World
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as Flash stepped into the portal, he wasn't sure what to feel. His mouth opened immediately as he felt himself be sucked into the void, a strange cry releasing itself as he felt his body begin to spin like it was going down a drain. And as he felt this unbelievable tug of force, he wanted to throw up, only to instead feel a blinding white light blast his face.

The next thing he knew, his body hit something hard, pain quickly surging everywhere. He let out a long moan after this as the sound of another groan hit his ear. It was Twilight, as she sounded just as disorientated as he was. His eyes started to blink as he kept trying to reorient himself, his voice soon asking, "Twilight? You okay?"

"I...I think so?" Twilight replied as she let out another moan. "Oh...I don't know."

Flash's head had now started to clear, allowing his eyes to finally focus. It was here that he saw his face was right over a combo of pavement and grass, causing him to look up and see a large building a little ways away from him. "What in the-"

"Uh....Twilight? Flash?" said a third voice, the duo quickly recognizing the voice.

"Huh?!" Twilight yelped as she kept blinking, "Spike! You're not supposed to–Spike? Are you a...dog?"

Flash raised an eyebrow at hearing this before turning to where Spike's voice was coming from, only to be met with the sight of a purple dog with green ears and head tuft. The dog began circling himself, checking his body as he replied, "I...think so. But I have no idea what you two are!"

"What are you..." Flash tried to say as he looked down at himself, only for his eyes to go wide as dinner plates. "What the heck?!" He yelped as he stared at what was his hooves, which were now replaced with a pair of bright orange arms and hands. "Huh?! Why does my hooves look like they have five long tiny hooves on them?" He then flexed the fingers, his head leaning back in surprise at how dexterous they were. "Whoa....its like I have my own version of Springer's paws."

It was here that he looked down at the rest of his body, surprise covering his face as he now saw he was wearing clothes. He was dressed in a blue sleeveless jacket with a hood that was atop a white short sleeved shirt that had his cutie mark on the shoulders. There was also black ripped up pants on his legs, the jeans sporting orange lines running down the seams. The ends of his back hooves were now concealed within blue trainers with a lightning bolt on the sides of them and his new 'hooves' had blue, fingerless gloves, reminding him of Springer again.

"Huh. When did I get-" He didn't get to finish his question, as in that moment, the sound of Twilight screaming filled the air. He quickly used his new hands to cover his ears, finding that they had definitely become smaller than they were as a pony. When the screaming stopped, he turned towards its source as his eyes went wide.

Much like him, Twilight's appearance had completely changed. Her form had purple skin, complete with her usual tri-purple mane, and also sporting a smaller muzzle with a tiny nose. She was also wearing clothes, which mainly consisted of a light blue blouse with a pink bow around the neck, a purple skirt with her cutie mark on it, and knee high purple boots.

Twilight started to hyper-ventilate as she kept staring at herself, her eyes twitching in a way that Flash knew was about to become one of her freak-outs. However, unlike the past, he couldn't blame her, as he really wanted to freak out as well. Instead, he took a long deep breath, his brain slowing down so he could focus on Twilight and said, "Twilight...I need you to stay calm."

This got her attention, causing her to turn and go wide-eyed at his new form. "Flash?! Is that you?!"

"Yeah." Flash replied, reflexing waving his hand at her, "It's me, though don't ask what I am. I have no idea."

"Yeah...I thought so." Twilight said with a gulp, her lips trembling as she slowly raised her hand and pointed a finger at him. "Um...Flash? Where are your wings?"

The question made him blink for a second, his head soon turning and noticing that his wings were now gone. "Shoot. That's not good. And I thought not being able to bring Lightbringer was bad." He turned back to Twilight and gulped as well, knowing what he was about to say could cause her to panic, but she needed to know. "Uh...Twilight?"

"Yeah?"

"Your wings are gone too. That and your horn."

"They are?!" she screeched, her hands quickly tapping her back and forehead, only to feel nothing. "They're gone! Why is this happening?!" She asked as she started hyperventilating again, causing Flash and Spike to roll their eyes.

"Twilight, you have to get it together!" Spike said as he went up and nudged her. "You already freaked out once."

"I am entitled to freak out multiple times due to this!"

"I couldn't agree more." Flash commented as he looked back at his hands, flexing them again before continuing, "I want to freak out too, but its not gonna solve anything."

"I..." Twilight wanted to reply, but she saw the calm look on Flash's face. They sight alone made her start to slow her breathing, eventually reaching a semi-calm state. She then looked back at Flash, properly observing him this time. "Do I...do I look like that?" She asked Spike as she pointed at him.

"Pretty much. There's a few differences between you two, but overall, you're the same....I think."

Twilight began comparing her body to Flash, quickly seeing what Spike meant. She reached up and touched her much flatter face, said face soon looking like it was about to panic again. Spike and Flash quickly reacted, Flash placing his hand over her mouth while Spike put his paws on Flash's hand.

"Are you gonna scream again?" Spike asked as he bit his lip.

Twilight shook her head, making Flash sigh in relief. "Good. Last thing we need is to draw attention to ourselves by having you screaming again." He pulled his hand away and looked his body over. "I honestly have no idea what this is, but it looks like this is just the way we look now. We'll just have to get used to it."

"How am I supposed to get used to this?!" Twilight yelped as she pointed to herself. "Look at me! Is this normal to you?!"

"No...no its not. But we're gonna have to just suck it up and ignore it Twi. How else are we gonna get your crown back?"

"Well...that's..." Twilight tried to say, only for her eyes to narrow as she glared at her bodyguard. "Why are you still so calm?!"

"I'm not. Its just something Grand taught me over the years." Flash remarked as he slowly picked himself up, kneeling before pushing himself onto his two feet. "Huh. So I am like Springer now...weird."

"What are you doing?!" Twilight asked as she pointed at him again. "Why are you standing like that?!"

"I don't know. I just looked this new body over and uh...I just thought I was kinda like Springer and could do this."

Twilight gave him a flat stare. "Flash. I have no idea what we are right now, but we are definitely not dogs." She then pointed at Spike, "Look at Spike and tell me we're dogs right now, because I'm sure we're not!"

"I know. I was just guessing that these bodies are like him though. You know, stand on two instead of four and stuff." He then tried to take a step forward, only for his arms to flail around as he tried to keep his balance. "Whoa!" His body almost flopped over, which was soon saved thanks to a few quick footsteps. "Oookay, this is gonna take some getting used too."

"I...guess?" Twilight replied as she tried to do the same. But as she got up, her legs quickly shook, making her fall back. As she fell, she felt herself get caught on something behind her, making her turn and see that it was a large stone square with a statue of a horse atop it. She reached out to touch it the square, only for her hand to phase right through it. "Flash, look at this!"

"Huh?" Flash responded as he stumbled over to her. "What the-how are you doing that Twilight?"

"I think...I think this statue must serve as the gateway back to Equestria. Good thing too, we know now how to get back." She pulled her hand away, her head soon turning around to seeing a large red building just a few steps away. "We need to find my crown as soon as possible and get back there. I suggest we start searching the castle first."

"I'm not even sure if that thing's a castle," Flash told her as he stared at the same building. "It sure is small compared to the other castles we've gone too." He turned back to the princess, "But you're right. We're on a time limit, so we better get searching. Just remember, try to blend in. Which means no matter how hard it is, walk on two ho-feet. Walk on two feet....at least, I think that's what Springer calls it."

Twilight moaned but nodded, pushing herself off the statue to try and get her balance. The two soon made their way towards the building, Flash managing to get the hang of walking while Twilight was obviously still having trouble. "Whooaaa...Whoa! Ooh!" She yelped as she fell forwards, her hands grabbing the railing at the last moment. She then felt Flash's hand grab her, his strength now pulling her up.

"Its a good thing I'm here," Flash said as he helped her up the stairs. "Sunset'll be used to moving in this form, so she'll be tricky for you to fight on your own."

Twilight nodded as she reached the top. "You'll have to do the forefront of the fighting, while I hang back and support you with some spells."

Flash raised an eyebrow as he watched her walk up to the door, "Um...Twilight? You don't have a-" before he could say anything else, she swung her head like if she was using her magic before stepping forwards, only to slam right into the door.

"Augh!" she screamed as she felt pain slap her face.

"Horn...yeah. That looked like it hurt."

"No horn, no magic, I guess." Spike added as he saw Twilight pull away from the door.

"I don't like this place." Twilight said as she rubbed her head as the pain faded. "I really don't like it."

"Again I say," Flash opened the door with his hands. "Suck...it...up." With that, the two of them crept inside. They began looking around, Flash rubbing his head as he saw the simple designed building inside. There were just basic hallways with rows of lockers, all sights he wasn't used too. "Not what I was expecting. What is this place?"

As he stared at the sight, Twilight noticed a strange case nearby and saw the objects inside. "What do you think?" She asked as she pointed at the glass, "Other artifacts she's stolen from Equestria?" It was then that she saw herself in the glass's reflection, causing her to gasp. "Wh...what am I? What is this?!"

Flash also checked his reflection, soon touching his face as he continued to stare. "Weird...this is definitely a different look for me." He then turned to Twilight, "Hey, think we actually look good in this...weird form?"

"I have no idea." Twilight replied before blinking at the defender, "And since when are you so vain?"

Flash just shrugged, "I was just asking."

Before he could say anything else, a sound caused him to kick into a battle ready stance. A bell. Barely a second later, all the doors in the building opened and more...whatever Flash and Twilight were now, stepped out and filled the hallways. Flash quickly grabbed Twilight's hand and picked Spike up, not daring to lose the pair in the crowd.

"Stay against the wall," he tried to tell her. But no sooner had he said it, somebody pushed into Twilight and caused them both to trip. By this point, it was too late. Flash and Twilight found themselves now on the floor, splitting them up as more people knocked them away.

It was here that Flash with Spike in his grip got up and tried to stagger through the crowd, only to find themselves getting pushed down to the floor, "Twi-" Spike tried to say, only for Flash to cover his mouth.

Flash shook his head, not wanting to risk if dogs can talk here or not. Instead, he crawled back over to the crowd, spotting Twilight and pulling her hand. As soon as she was free, the three of them all felt themselves falling backwards, only for Flash's back to hit something.

"What the-" said a strangely familiar voice. Flash then looked up, only to see himself staring up at a bulky boy with gunmetal skin and black hair. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt and baggy white pants, which had a familiar shield and spear emblem on their pockets. The teen looked down at him and scowled. "Watch it twerp."

Flash just stared at him strangely, a sense of familiarity filling him. Twilight and Spike were also looking up at him, that same feeling coursing through them as well.

"Be nice Iron," another familiar voice replied to him. This one came from a girl with green skin as well as blue and pink hair, who was wearing a yellow blouse with a pink flower printed skirt. She also wore a broach that had a rose with a chain wrapped around it. She stood next to a tall lanky teen with light gray skin and black hair, wearing a pair of half moon spectacles. He also wore a white button up shirt with a red tie and cream vest, along with a pair of black pants. There was also a badge on his chest, which showed the shape of a red cross with an arrow sticking through it.

The tallest of the group re-positioned his glasses before looking them over. "You two are obviously new here. Did you transfer from another school?"

"School?" Flash repeated dumbfoundly.

"That's what he said," the bulky teen hissed. "What, you clumsy and dumb?"

"Iron..." the girl growled as she glared at him before before smiling down at the duo. "Sorry about him. He's a lot nicer once you get to know him."

"Whatever." He replied before shutting a locker and walking off, the other two following after.

"See you around!" the girl said with a wave back to them.

"Welcome to CHS," the last finished before the three of them stepped into the crowd.

Flash, Twilight and Spike all continued to stare at where the three had been, still very much confused. Spike broke the silence. "That...was weird."

"Tell me about it," Flash added as he blinked at the sight. "Those three looked, sounded and acted just like Iron, Heather and First....but that's impossible, right?"

"Maybe not," Twilight replied as she finally picked herself up. "But one thing's for sure, this isn't a castle. Its a school."

"Great....just what I don't need." Flash grumbled as he stood up, picking up Spike and placing him inside Twilight's backpack.

As he did this, Twilight blinked at his comment before asking, "What do you mean?"

"I didn't go to school Twilight, remember?"

Twilight gave him a flat stare, "Surely I told you enough about what school is like back when we were just foals."

"Probably..." Flash replied, a sigh following, "But I also probably didn't pay attention. At all. That and I didn't have any interest in going."

"Of course." Twilight grumbled as she reflexively tapped her foot. "I should expect no less from a meathead."

"Stop fighting please." Spike interjected, causing the two to frown before he asked, "Also, why would Sunset Shimmer bring your crown to a school?"

"I don't know, but we probably need to find out." Twilight replied as she stared at their surroundings. "And I get the feeling that we'll need to learn as much about this place as we can."

"And yet another thing I don't like. Learning." Flash groaned as he looked away from Twilight, "Ugh...why did it have to be a-ow!"

"Oh, suck it up!" Twilight hissed as she pulled his ear, "That's what you told me, right meathead?"

"Yeah yeah...I know." Flash growled as he rubbed his ear, "Of course the bookworm would use my words against me."

"Oh shut up and let's start investigating already."

And so, they began their investigation. The first thing they realized was that this world seemed completely magic-less. Instead, they appeared to have improved their technology to a level that magic was not needed, though the heroes didn't understand a spit of it. Also, everywhere Flash went, he spotted several people, a term they had heard someone say, carrying strange square boxes that they talked into that then talked back. At the same time, they noticed how the people move, which Flash watched and copied to help his movement in this new body.

It was here that when they moved through the hallways of the school, they spotted a trio of familiar young humans. "Scoots?" Flash asked almost aloud as he watched a girl that had his sister's coat and hair color, racing down the hall on a scooter. This was followed by two others, who Flash was sure were Sweetie Belle and Applebloom. Or their doppelgangers that is. Luckily, the Scootaloo look alike didn't hear him and kept racing off.

Twilight then embarrassed herself by heading into a bathroom that they later discovered had a symbol that meant it was for boys only. Once she escaped, she was bright red and leaned again the lockers. "That was humiliating."

"Wasn't exactly your fault," Flash said as he leaned up next to her and crossed his arms. "And at least we know what to look out for. I hate to say this, but I'm not sure how to make us less....obvious here."

"Same here." Twilight replied as she let out a long sigh. "Guess we should just keep trying to find the crown and get out of here as fast as possible."

"Agreed."

The duo began another walk through the school, only to pass by a couple that looked kinda familiar to the two. Then the familiarity increased as one of them spoke out, "Oh, I'm really sorry. I-I just found it, and-and I thought I should give it to her."

"Does that voice sound familiar to you?" Flash asked while putting his pinkie finger in his ear, trying to make sure he wasn't hearing anything.

"It does," Twilight replied before following the voice and looking around the corner.

"I didn't know you had dropped it," the shy, trembling voice continued as the duo glanced at the hallway. They then saw that the hall had four people in it, two of them minding their own business while looking like they might actually be afraid to speak while the other two were talking. One had their back to them, while the other seemed to be trying to curl in on herself in fear.

"Well, I did!" The one who was not looking at them yelled, "And I was about to get it before you swooped in and ruined everything! You shouldn't pick up things that don't belong to you!"

The girl looked down at her feet, her whole head shivering, "It...doesn't really belong to you either..." The next thing they knew, the girl with her back to them slammed her fist into the locker.

"Excuse me?! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!" She screeched, everyone in the hallway hopping at her roar.

The other girl looked like she was about to faint as she slowly slid down the locker. "N-n-nothing."

Flash had seen enough. A vicious glare on his face, he stepped out and yelled, "LEAVE HER ALONE!"

The bully girl heard this and turned around, anger and fury on her face as she stared at Flash. The girl had gold colored skin, hair that was a combination of red and yellow, and was wearing a leather jacket over a pink and orange skirt. "What...did you just say?!"

"He said, leave her alone," Twilight repeated as she stood next to Flash, putting her bag on the ground so Spike didn't get hurt if things turned ugly. "How dare you speak to her that way!"

The girl scowled at the two of them, walking up to the pair, only to see that they had no fear at her presence. This made her smirk before flicking Twilight on the chin. "You two must be new here," she said as she walked past them.

"And what if we are?" Flash barked back.

The girl laughed as she walked down the corridor, the two others in the hall looking at her with the fear she expected. "I can speak to anyone, anyway I want." She then shot a glance at the male student, causing him to yelp before jumping into a nearby open locker. "Like that. Later new losers."

Flash frowned as he saw her disappear down the hallway. "I wanna call her a name, but I'm scared we'll lose our everyone rating."

"Use a rhyme," Twilight told him.

"THAT HITCH!" He yelled, panting after he did so.

"Better?"

"A little."

"I can't believe you did that!" They turned to the girl they had just defended, who looked like she had just seen a pig with wings.

"Well, we couldn't just stand there and let her bully you like that!" Twilight told her.

Flash nodded in agreement. "Yeah! Its called being a decent...um....you get the idea."

The girl gulped at this, now twiddling her fingers as she continued, "Well, I was just s-s-surprised cuz...you know."

"Know what?"

"Well...nobody ever stands up to Sunset Shimmer."

"Sunset Shimmer?!" The two of them gasped before turning back to the hallway Sunset had disappeared into.

"You've heard of her?" The girl asked, getting them to turn back to her.

"Um...sort of," Twilight replied as she slightly looked away. "Let's just say uh...."

"We've had a run in with her before." Flash finished. "We just uh....didn't recognize her."

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." the girl replied before she blinked at the duo, "Um...I don't think I've seen you around before. Did you just transfer to Canterlot High from another school?"

"Uhh..." the two of them shared a glance before looking back and nodding, "Yes! Another...heh, school!"

"It's way up north," Flash added. "You've probably never heard of it, so I won't bother with the name."

Twilight nodded again. "Anyways, my name's Twilight."

"I'm Flash," the pegasus turned human replied with his signature smile. "You got a name?"

The girl once again curled into herself, her hair hiding her face as she whispered. "I'm Fluttershy..."

Flash heard it and suddenly felt himself flashing back to when he first arrived in Ponyville. "Did you say...Fluttershy?"

This got Twilight's eyes to go wide as she asked, "You're Fluttershy? But how can that-"

"OH MY GOODNESS!" The girl now named Fluttershy screamed, having spotted Spike pull himself out of the backpack. She rushed past Twilight, Flash managing to pull her out of the way, and knelt down in front of drake turned mutt. "Who's this sweet little guy?"

"I'm getting a serious sense of déjà vu here," Flash said as he helped Twilight balance herself.

Twilight gave him a slight nod before turning back to Fluttershy, "That's Spike. My, uh...dog!"

Fluttershy only heard the name as she scratched Spike behind the ear. "Oh, he's so cute!" She reached into her bag and pulled out a dog treat, "Go on! Eat up little pup!"

Spike looked at the treat with confusion before sniffing it, his face turning to one of curiosity as he took a bite. As soon as he did, his eyes lit up and he quickly grabbed the treat from her, soon chowing down. Seeing this made Fluttershy let out a happy sigh, "Oh, how wonderful! Wouldn't you just give anything to know what they're really thinking?"

Twilight shrugged at this. "Actually, he usually just-OW!" She turned to glare at Flash, who had elbowed her side, only to see him shake his head.

"What was that?" Fluttershy asked as she turned back to the duo.

"Nothing," Flash told her as Spike barked, "nothing at all."

Seeing this, Twilight knew she needed to change the topic now. "Um....Sunset Shimmer said you picked something up. Something that belonged to her. It wasn't a crown, was it?

Fluttershy gave her an odd look as she stood up. "How did you know?"

"Lucky guess," Flash answered. "You don't by any chance still have it...do you?

Fluttershy shook her head, "Mm-mm."

"But you know what happened to it."

"Mm-mm," Fluttershy nodded this time before explaining. Apparently, she had been handing out flyers for the local animal shelter when the crown suddenly smacked her right in the head. "I have no idea how it got there, but I didn't want anything to happen to it. So, I decided to give it to Principal Celestia."

"Principal Celestia?" Twilight yelped, her eyes going wide at the mention of the name.

Flash just blinked at the statement before asking, "Uh...I'm guessing she's the one in charge here?"

Fluttershy nodded at this. "She and Vice-Principal Luna, yes."

"Where is she now?" Twilight asked as she leaned slightly towards Fluttershy.

"Probably in her office," Fluttershy replied, only for her and Flash to see the sight of Twilight and Spike running off in two different directions. A second later, they returned to them and Fluttershy giggled. "Third door on your left."

"Thank you!" Twilight said before the three of them rushed off.

"Oh, wait!" They heard Fluttershy call out, making them stop and see her point at Spike. "You're not really supposed to have pets on school grounds. Might wanna tuck him into your backpack." She turned to show her bag, as it opened to reveal several furry critters leap out. "That's what I do." She kneeled down and hugged them all. "They just get so lonely when I'm in school all day."

"Oh...okay. Thank you!" Twilight replied as Flash grabbed Spike and shoved him into her bag.

In that moment, the bell rang and Fluttershy gasped. "Oh, no! I'm late for class!" With that, she tucked her animals into her bag before racing off.

"She really is our Fluttershy," Flash commented as he watched her leave. "Well...the Fluttershy that we first met in Ponyville. I get the feeling ours is a little bolder compared to her. Though not much."

"Eh, it doesn't matter Flash. Let's just find this principal and see about getting my crown back," Twilight remarked as she started to make her way to the office.

"It's kinda weird," Spike added as he popped his head out of the bag. "Iron, Heather, First, and now Fluttershy."

"You don't think this world has a copy of everypony we know, do you?" Flash asked as he blinked at the two.

"I'm beginning to think so, though I'm not sure if that's going to be a problem or not." Twilight continued as she rubbed her chin in thought. "You don't think it will, do you Flash?"

"I don't think so. I mean, at least we don't have to worry about bumping into ourselves here," Flash replied as he looked back at where Fluttershy had been. "Since this version of Fluttershy didn't recognize us, we must not have duplicates here."

"Thank Celestia," Twilight finished as they reached the door they wanted. "Oh, speaking of which."

She then knocked the door, soon getting a reply from the other side of the door, "Come in," Twilight opened the door as she bowed her head, only for Flash to straighten her up. She frowned as he pushed her inside, where a woman had her face hidden behind a folder. "How may I help you?" She asked without looking at them.

The three shared a look as Twilight placed her bag on the floor in front of the desk. "Um...uh," the pony turned human gave Flash a slight glance, not sure what to say. Unfortunately, he didn't know either and just took a deep breath, something she also copied. As they did this, the woman lowered her folder, revealing her face. It was just as they expected, she looked like Princess Celestia. Her skin appeared to be more pink than white, but her hair was a dead giveaway, as it looked like a human version of the rainbow-colored mane they knew so well. However, the look on her face showed she was getting impatient.

Flash then decided to break the ice, "Hi. I'm uh...Flash Sentry."

"And my name's Twilight Sparkle. W-we're new here, and...well, I understand that Fluttershy found a crown this morning and gave it to you."

"Yes," Celestia replied as she stood up, "I've had Vice Principal Luna put it somewhere for safekeeping. No idea how it ended up in the front lawn."

"Maybe somebody stole it," Flash immediately suggested. "You know of any students who might do something like that. Maybe one with red and yellow hair." This time, it was Twilight who elbowed him in the side, the look she gave telling him to shut it.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at Flash's accusation, only to shrug it off as she placed the folder into a filling cabinet and turned to Twilight. "Were you interested in running for Princess of the Fall Formal this year?"

"Uh...no." Twilight replied as she rubbed her arm, her form now shivering in pure nervousness. "The truth is...well, the truth is I...you see, the crown is actually." Twilight's jagged speaking came to a stop when she realized what she had just heard, "princess of the Fall Formal?"

Celestia stepped over to a calendar. "Its Canterlot High's big Fall dance."

"Like the Grand Galloping Gala?" Twilight asked, causing Flash to stare at her in shock.

"Ex-nay on the Gala aye," he whisped to her.

Principal Celestia turned to them with a look of pure confusion. "Uh, Grand Galloping Gala?"

"Oi vay," Flash replied as he facepalmed.

Twilight twiddled her fingers at her blunder. "Oh uh...it was a-a-a big deal at my old school! Yeah, that's it..."

"And was there a princess?" Celestia asked as she turned back to the calendar and began marking it.

"Yes, but she wasn't exactly a student."

Celestia pointed at a nearby wall, showing pictures of a girl Flash and Twilight recognized. It was Sunset Shimmer, as she was in multiple dresses with a different crown in each one. The first one showed her as surprised but happy, the second showed her with a lot more confidence on her face while the last picture showed her laughing maniacally. "Here at Canterlot High, the students select one of their peers to represent them. She receives her crown at the Fall Formal."

"Sounds like something that could go to someone's head," Flash deadpanned, only to get another elbow from Twilight.

Twilight hummed as she picked up her bag and walked towards the door. "You asked me if I was interested in running for Princess. Can anyone run?"

"Yes," Celestia replied as she began marking on the calendar, "you just need to let the head of the Fall Formal planning committee know you'd like to be on the ballot. Was there anything else?"

Flash saw Twilight start to walk out and got up himself, "When is this dance?"

"Day after tomorrow," Celestia replied as she finally turned back to them before showing them out.

"Thank you. That's all we needed to know."

Celestia nodded at this. "Well, if you do need anything else, my door is always open." With that, she slammed the door shut, a little too forcefully in their opinion.

Flash saw this and commented, "Wow. She's not exactly like our Celestia, is she? Guess living in this world changed her personality a bit."

"Looks like it. Come on, let's go find a better place to talk." Twilight said as she began walking down the hall, Flash soon following.

As they did this, Spike pulled his head out of the bag. "Twilight, why didn't ya just tell her the crown was yours and ask for it back?"

"Oh, I was going to..." she let out a long moan, "But imagine if one of them showed up in Equestria saying they came from a place filled with tall, fleshy, two-legged creatures with these?" She held up her hands, proclaiming loudly. "We'd think they were crazy!"

Flash noticed a human that reminded him of a unicorn who lived in Canterlot staring at Twilight like she was the crazy one. He laughed nervously at him as Flash gave him a glare, making him quickly walk away. At the same time, Spike rubbed his new chin as he replied, "Hmm...you make a good point."

"Looks like if I want my crown back, I'll have to become the Princess of the Canterlot High Fall Formal." With that, she threw her arms into the air. "So that's what I'm gonna do!"

Both Flash and Spike raised an eyebrow at this, "and how exactly do you plan on doing that?"

"I have no idea!" Twilight replied happily, a look of horror hidden behind her smile.

Flash let out a long sigh at this. "This is either gonna lead to something very good...or apocalyptically   bad."
> The Competition is on
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As the bell rang once more, the trio of dimension jumpers found themselves being once again swept up in a crowd of students. However, this time the students were all seemingly heading to one direction. Seeing this, Flash and Twilight soon noticed that they were heading to the school's cafeteria, the one place about school that even Flash knew about. (Though this was mainly due to him having to deliver some books to Twilight right at lunch time as a favor for Princess Celestia back in the day) It was here that they spotted Fluttershy on the edge of the crowd, and with no one else they recognized, they made their way to her before asking, "Hey, would it be alright if we eat with you?"

"Oh! Um...sure. I guess that's okay." Fluttershy slightly mumbled as the two humans along with a dog in a backpack soon followed her into the school's dining hall. Inside, most of the students had already gotten their food and were eating at tables, which they all saw before getting into line.

Fluttershy went first and grabbed a tray, which she began to put her chosen food on. Twilight was next and copied her, then did a small gulp as she asked, "Hey um...I know we've just met, but I was wondering if you might be able to help me with something."

"Of course," Fluttershy replied as she grabbed a bowl of fruit.

Twilight did the same as she spoke. "I've decided to run for Princess of the Fall Formal, and–augh!" She yelped as Flutershy suddenly gasped and dropped the bowl. The object then hit the counter, instantly flipping as its contents splashed all over Twilight.

"Eep!" Fluttershy cried as she quickly grabbed a bunch of napkins and began wiping the juice off of Twilight. "Oh gosh! I'm so sorry! It's just, you really surprised me and...oh, running for Fall Formal Princess is a really bad idea."

"Why?" Twilight asked as she grabbed a few napkins and started wiping the juice away as well.

"Sunset Shimmer wants to be Fall Formal Princess," Fluttershy placed the now drenched napkins on the counter before turning back to Twilight and began whispering, "And when she wants something, she gets it! She'll make life awful for anyone who stands in her way." The lunch lady, who once again Flash swore reminded him of someone, handed them an apple and the three headed off to find a table. "Just ask the girl who ran against her for Princess of the Spring Fling. She um...she doesn't speak to anyone anymore."

Twilight and Flash glanced at each other, glum looks on their faces as Twilight looked back at Fluttershy, "Well, even so...I have to try."

"Yeah...she's right." Flash added as he blinked at Fluttershy with a frown, "Look, I know it sounds strange, but its a matter of literal life and death. We gotta get that crown before Sunset does."

"Oh..." Fluttershy mumbled as her tray slightly vibrated due to her now shaking hands, "I...I don't think you understand. You'd have to convince everyone here to vote for you instead of her." With that, she started pointing at several huddled groups of people in the cafeteria, "You'll have to convince the athletes, the fashionistas, the dramas, the eco-kids, the techies, the rockers...all of them."

Flash blinked at the sight, "Wow. And I thought where we came from had diversity."

Twilight also looked around as she asked, "Why is everypony–ow!" Spike smacked her in the head, making her realize her mistake as Fluttershy turned to her. "Uh, everybody separated this way?"

Fluttershy sighed as she motioned them to sit down by her at a table. "Maybe it was different at your old school, but at CHS, everybody sticks to their own kind."

"That's stupid," Flash replied as he and Twilight sat down. "How are you supposed to learn anything if you only stick to the people that only know what you know?"

"I thought you hated learning." Twilight instantly remarked, getting a glare from Flash as her face now shined a huge smirk. "Just kidding."

"Yeah yeah..." Flash grumbled as he looked away.

Fluttershy giggled at this before putting her fork into her fruit bowl. "You know, you two are really different. You'd probably get along well with the Royal Knights."

This caused the duo to raise an eyebrow. "Royal Knights?"

Fluttershy gulped down a bit of pineapple as she answered, "Yeah, they're a band at the school. Their members are Iron Core, Heather Bloom and First Aid, who are a rocker, eco and techie that all hang out together. They even revived the Royal Knights, a band that formed back when the school first opened. Apparently, the original members all graduated and joined the police force, and those three wanna follow in their footsteps, which is why they took the name. They're also the only people who don't let Sunset Shimmer push them around, especially after what she did to their last member."

Flash's face was a cross between wide-eyed and frowning at this information as he asked, "What uh...what did she do?"

Fear covered Fluttershy's face as she shook her head, quickly glancing around before leaning in and whispering, "Well, she denies it, but everyone knows she planted some contraband in his locker that got him expelled." Flash, Twilight and even Spike gasped at this. "It wasn't anything illegal, but it was enough to get him expelled since he was on his very last chance."

"That blows," Flash said as he picked up what he was told was a burger. Granted, it reminded him of a hayburger, though his nose told him it was something slightly different. "But at least those guys didn't let Sunset ruin their dream." With that, he took a bite of sandwich, instantly surprised at how it tasted. "Dang, this is good...wish we had something like this back home."

Fluttershy let out a long sigh. "But they're the only ones. Everyone else is too scared to mess with Sunset Shimmer. She's probably gonna rule the school until we graduate."

Twilight growled at this, a huge frown on her face as she said, "Not if I can help it!" She then leaned down and grabbed an apple with her mouth, only to hear Flash let out a loud cough. She looked over at him and saw he was holding his apple in one hand and pointing to another person in the distance doing the same thing with his other hand. She then turned to Fluttershy and saw her staring at her with pure confusion, causing her let go of the apple with her mouth. "Uh...yeah." She stifled a small giggle as she asked, "So uh....about becoming the Princess of the Fall Formal. Where would I find the head of the party planning committee?"

"She's probably in the gym," Fluttershy mumbled as she let out a low hiss, Flash surprised as they saw the version of their friend now show anger on her face. "Though I bet she's gonna try and turn it into some silly loud rave."

Flash and Twilight glanced at each other again, both trying to remember the last time they saw Fluttershy look like that. Flash then sighed, "You know what, I'm not even gonna ask. Let's just eat and get over there." Twilight nodded in agreement as the duo quickly finished their lunch, Twilight eating a salad as Flash finished the burger. After that, they said their goodbyes to Fluttershy and quickly headed out of the cafeteria.

"Did she say to go left or right?" Flash asked once they were outside.

"I'm pretty sure it was left twice, then a right."

"Sounds good to me. Let's get going!" He replied as he took the lead, both heading down the hallway. But as Flash turned a corner, he suddenly felt his feet slipping out from under him. "WHOA!" He cried as he fell backwards, his back instantly embracing a puddle of water.

"Flash!" Twilight cried as she bent down to help him. "Are you okay?!"

"Ow..." Flash moaned as he rubbed his back, only to hear a low gentle chuckle. But that wasn't what surprised him. It was the voice. He then looked up and saw a middle aged man with gray skin and white hair. He was dressed in a janitor's get-up and had a large scar running over his left eye.

"Careful there kiddo," he said to the boy as he pointed to the mop in his hand. "Wet floor."

"Err...yeah. Sorry." was all Flash could say as he stared at the man with eyes wide as dinner plates. "Whoa..."

The man raised an eyebrow at him, blinking as he asked, "You okay kid? Didn't hit your head, did ya?" Flash just shook his head as he picked himself up. "Good. Accident reports are such a drag to fill out."

"We're sorry," Twilight said with a bow. "We're both new here. I'm Twilight, and this is Flash."

"Name's Grand. Nice to meet ya kiddos," the man replied with a tip of his hat.

"Nice to meet you," Twilight instantly remarked, trying to not look completely surprised at the name she just heard. That is, till she didn't hear a follow-up from Flash, causing her to elbow his side. "Right Flash?"

"Right!" He yelped a little too loudly, "Nice to meet you sir!"

Grand nodded at this. "Same to you. Now, if you'll excuse me, floors don't mop themselves."

"Right. Well...we'll be going now." Twilight replied as she grabbed Flash by the arm and pulled him away, the apprentice knight craning his neck to look at Grand as long as he could as they turned a corner. She then grabbed his collar as she said, "Yes, I know. Suck it up Flash, and don't freak out."

"He's a janitor?!" Flash almost screeched. "How could somepony like Grand be a janitor?!"

"I don't know, but you need to stop raising your voice!" Twilight remarked as she put her hand over his mouth. "But we've got bigger things to worry about. Come on, let's find party planning committee, okay?"

"Okay." Flash muttered as they walked down another hallway, only to arrive at some double doors. They opened said wooden frames and saw it was a place covered in streamers and balloons. Seeing this made Flash say, "Huh. I think I know who the party planning committee is."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I mean, who else do we know that-"

"Incoming!" interrupted a voice above them. They looked up just in time to see a bunch of streamers flying at them. Flash's reflexes kicked in as he hopped back, dodging the party decorations while Twilight and Spike soon found themselves buried beneath a pile of streamers.

It wasn't long till Twilight pulled herself out of the pile, only to see a girl leap down from above. She had long puffy pink hair, something Flash instantly recognized while Twilight walked up to her said, "Hi, my name's Twilight Sparkle and-" She didn't finish her sentence, as in that moment, the girl turned to show her face, making Twilight gasp, "Pinkie Pie?"

Pinkie was blowing up a balloon, only to stop as the air blew back into her face. Once deflated, she grabbed Twilight by the bag straps and pulled their faces close together. "Are you psychic?!"

"Uh....no? I don't think so." Twilight squeaked out as she forced a smile. "Unless that's something you can do here."

"Not usually," Pinkie replied as she let Twilight go. "Well, except-"

Flash smirked as he stepped up and interrupted her, "Let me guess, little twitches and tingles every now and again?"

Pinkie spun around to stare at him, soon racing up to his face as well, "Holy moley! Are you psychic too?!"

Flash just chuckled at this, shaking his head as he replied, "Nope. I'm a lot of things-"

"Like a meathead." Twilight interjected, a glare from Flash following as she shined a cheeky grin.

Flash then turned back to Pinkie, "As I was saying, I'm a lot of things, but psychic ain't one of them."

"Ohhh...okay!"

"Anyways!" Twilight spoke up as she walked up in front of Flash, "Fluttershy said this is where I'd find the head of the Fall Formal planning committee."

"Fluttershy, huh?" Pinkie quickly blew up a balloon and violently tied it up. "Don't let the whole "shy" thing fool you. She can be a real meanie."

Twilight and Flash blinked at each other, surprised at the dark expression now gracing Pinkie's face. Twilight turned back to Pinkie and asked, "Wait...you two aren't friends?"

Pinkie just let out a low growl, only to start moonwalking towards them with her back bent back. "Waited a bit to get your name on the ballot, huh? Dance is day after tomorrow."

"We're brand new here," Twilight instantly replied.

"Oooh! That makes sense! I thought you didn't look familiar." She did a quick spin before scanning Twilight over, "Though, now that I'm really looking at you two...." She then pointed at Twilight. "Do you have a twin sister who lives in the city and has a pet dog named Spike that looks just like that one?" She pointed at the dog on the floor, who was now playing with a balloon.

Twilight and Flash shared a glance at each other again, only for Twilight to shrug back at Pinkie, "Uh...maybe?"

"Thought so. Anyhoo," she reached into her hair and pulled out a clipboard and pen, "just need you to fill this out and you'll be officially up for the coveted Princess of the Fall Formal crown!" Twilight nodded and was about to take the pen in her mouth, only to hear Flash cough. Glancing at her bodyguard, she saw him pointing to his hands. She then took the pen and started writing her name, moaning when she saw that her once amazing calligraphy skills were now gone with this new form's hands. As soon as she was done, Pinkie looked it over and her eyes went wide. "Wow! You have really bad handwriting. Its like you've never held a pen before."

Twilight let out a fake laugh as she dropped the pen. "Is it? Well uh-"

"Somebody order a dozen cases of fizzy apple cider?" called out a voice, interrupting them as Twilight and Flash noticed how familiar the voice was.

"Oh! Me! Me-me-me!" Pinkie cheered as she rushed to the gym's doors. "I did! I did!"

Flash and Twilight watched her go, only to both go wide-eyed as they saw a girl with orange skin and blonde hair wearing a familiar Stetson gave Pinkie a bottle of cider. Flash then chuckled at the sight, "Nice to see that in all universes, the cowpony look is still in."

Twilight rolled her eyes at his comment as she watched the girl she knew was Applejack put down a box of drinks. She then took off her hat to wipe her brow before turning back to the door. "Can you bring in the rest?"

"Eeyup." answered a tall bulky teen that also stepped into the room, carrying five more cases of the drinks.

Applejack stepped up to the teen and removed the top box, revealing his face and confirming the duo that it was Applejack's brother, Big Mac. As she put the case down, she noticed Flash and Twilight and smiled. "Hey, I know you two."

Twilight and Flash glanced at each other before Twilight replied, "You do?"

Flash smirked as he put his hands in his pockets. "Only been here a day and already we're getting a rep."

Applejack laughed at this. "No wonder, especially considerin' ya'll gave Sunset Shimmer the what-fer today." She then took out a bottle of cider and pulled off the cap before drinking it down.

Pinkie then floated by while being carried by balloons. "Twilight Sparkle here is gonna run against Sunset Shimmer for Princess of the Fall Formal."

Hearing this caused Applejack to spit her drink out as she yelped, "I'd think twice about that! Especially since ya'll be facing Sunset Shimmer!"

"How so?" Flash asked back.

"Oh, well...she'll probably start by approaching you all friendly like." Applejack mumbled as she grabbed Pinkie and pulled her back towards the ground, taking the balloons in her hand before drawing crude Sunset and Twilight faces on them. "I sure am lookin' forward to some friendly competition," she mocked in a fake Sunset voice that made Flash crack up. She then did a fake Twilight voice, which caused Flash's laughter to increase. "That's so good to hear." She then turned the Sunset balloon over, showing a pin tapped to it. "But then, here comes the backstabbin'." With that, she used the pin to pop the Twilight balloon.

"Sounds like the kind of thing she'd do," Flash added as tried to avoid a glare from Twilight.

Applejack nodded at this. "About the only girl in this school you can trust less than Sunset Shimmer is Rainbow Dash."

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she heard this, "Rainbow Dash?"

Pinkie then bounced on a large balloon in front of Twilight. "She's the captain of like, every team at Canterlot High." In that moment, her balloon burst and she fell to earth, only for Flash to quickly catch her. She let out a giggle as she gave him a big hug as he let her down. "Thanks Flash."

Flash blinked at this. "I didn't give you my name."

"Just a hunch," Pinkie said as she pulled out another set of balloons. "Now, to more partying!"

"Some things never change. Right Twilight?" Flash turned to the princess, only to see her talking to Applejack. "Twilight?"

"Thanks for the advice, Applejack," she said as she placed her hand on the girl's shoulder. "But this is something I really need to do."

Applejack just shrugged in response. "Huh. Well, suit yourself." But as she said this, a click went off in her head. "Hey, how'd you know my name is Applejack?"

Twilight hid a gulp from this, a low nervous laugh following, "Um, I uh...didn't you say it earlier?"

"Eenope," Mac replied as he brought in another box of cider.

Sweat filled waterfalls started to appear on Twilight as Flash stepped in front of the two, "Uh...everyone's heard of you!" Flash replied as his brain tried to improvise, "You're Applejack and Big Mac, best apple farmers around...right?"

Applejack raised an eyebrow at him, only to shrug. "Guess that makes sense."

Twilight sighed in relief before shaking Applejack's hand and waving to Pinkie. "Well, it sure was nice meeting you both." She started heading to the door, "I'm sure I'll be seeing you around."

"Yeah. Catch you on the flip side." Flash added as the trio quickly left the gym, closing the door behind them instantly, "That was way too close."

"Tell me about it," Twilight finished as they started making their way down a nearby hallway. "Alright, now that I'm in the contest, I'll need to start coming up with a plan to win."

"And how do you expect to do that?" Spike whispered from within her backpack. Twilight's reply was a simple shrug, unsure how to answer.

Seeing this, Flash rubbed his chin in thought before saying, "Hmm...if there's one thing Grand always kept telling me in training, its that you need to know as much as you can in any situation."

"I agree with that." Twilight replied as she blinked at her bodyguard, "You got an idea?"

"No, not really. I'm uh...not a school pony, remember?"

"I know."

"Yeah..." The two then came to a stop, both at a halt physically and mentally. As they stood there, another thought popped into Flash's head, "Hey, I know this might not be the best idea, but...you think we should split up?"

Twilight tilted her head in surprise at this, "Split up? Why?"

"Well...for starters, we'll cover more ground and....let's be honest, we don't know anything about this place Twilight. We both need to ask a lot of questions here."

"That's true." Twilight was now tapping her chin in thought, "But even if we do that Flash, are you sure you'll be okay in this place? You said it yourself, you never went to school."

"I know. And I would totally agree with you...if we weren't on a time limit. Remember, we only got two days before the dance, and we'll probably have a few hours after that to return home."

Twilight wanted to retort, but saw his point. One sigh later, she replied, "Alright...but you have to be careful Flash. Despite what's going on here and the fact that this is a school, I'm just as much in the dark as you are."

Flash just shrugged at this. "Eh, I don't think I have to worry too much. From what I've seen, this place isn't really that dangerous."

"Just don't go doing anything stupid."

Flash let out a small chuckle before pointing to himself. "Hey now, this is me you're talking about."

Twilight shot him a smirk, "That's what I'm afraid of." The two of them burst out laughing before heading down two different corridors, determined to find out as much about the school as possible.

For Flash, he wasn't sure where to go or what to look for. But as Twilight had said, he had never gone to school, and considering what little he remembered from Twilight's school days, he knew he had no idea what to do. Not only that, now that he was alone, he could feel his guard being dropped just because of the environment. He might have adapted to being human a lot easier that Twilight, but he knew that was nothing to what was happening now.

And so, he began his trek down the hallways, looking through the windows of every room he passed. Some were empty classrooms while others were full ones, complete with lessons on boards that had what looked like gibberish to him. It had been a while since he felt like a true idiot, knowing he should had paid more attention to the reading and math stuff Twilight had taught him back when they were foals.

He let out a long sigh as he walked down another hall. "Maybe this was a bad idea. I don't got a clue on what might help win Twilight that crown." He rubbed his face in frustration. "Ugh....this is actually getting annoying. Maybe I should just try and steal it. Though, would that-" But before he could even think about that idea any further, his ears suddenly picked up something new:

Music. Loud rock music, which was complete heaven to Flash's ears.

Being drawn to the sounds, Flash followed them to a pair of double doors. He could hear the music coming from behind the frames, urging him to open them. And when he did, he was met with the sight of the trio he met earlier that day. It was Iron, Heather and First all playing together, using the exact same instruments as their Equestrian counterparts. Iron was banging out a beat on a set of drums, while Heather was playing a bass guitar. First was tapping on a keyboard with a saxophone by his feet.

All had their eyes shut as they continued to play, the tones and beats guiding them perfectly. The bliss continued for another minute before the song came to end. And as it finished, they opened their eyes to a wide-eyed Flash, complete with a huge grin on his face, "That was amazing."

Heather giggled at this, "Aw thanks. You should hear us when the band's complete."

"I bet." Flash replied, nodding as he walked into the room. "I heard about that. Shame you lost a member."

Iron let out a low growl. "We told Lightning not to date her, but would he listen? No. He decided to be an idiot instead."

Flash almost hopped in place, "Lightning?"

"Lightning Blitz," First immediately answered, "He was the one that suggested we restart the Royal Knights. Even after he was kicked out, he made us promise to keep going."

"I see...interesting." Flash commented as he closed his eyes and rubbed his chin in thought. He then whispered to himself, "So, Lightning is friends with them here instead of Wild Smile and the others. Huh."

"You okay?" Heather piped up, making Flash look up at her.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm cool. Just uh....let's just say I'm still figuring things out here at school."

The trio all glanced at each other before Iron said, "Okay. Though I gotta say, you're a lot more talkative than you were before."

Flash did a small chuckle, "Yeah...sorry about that. Being in a new school is a...well, its a little jarring."

First nodded at this. "Understandable."

Heather then walked up to Flash, "So, you into music?"

Flash placed his hands in his pant's pockets as he replied, "I uh...dabble from time to time. Guitar mostly."

"Really?!" Heather asked as she clapped her hands together.

"We have been looking for a new guitarist since Lightning left," First added.

"Hold on First." Iron chimed in as he glared at Flash, "You any good?"

Flash opened his mouth, only to close it as he looked down at his pant pockets. Seeing his hooves now gone, he hid a gulp as he replied, "Um...I might be a...little rusty there. Sorry."

Heather then put her hand on his shoulder, a big smile on his face. "That's fine. In fact, we have a few guitars on the wall over there. Maybe you could try and-"

RIIIIIINNNNNNNGGGGGGG!

That was the bell for end of period, causing all four to hop in place. Before Flash could say anything, he saw the trio start to put away their instruments.

"Drat," Iron said as he put his drumsticks into his bag. "free period just keeps getting shorter and shorter."

"Apologies," First added as he placed his saxophone in its case, "but we have class."

Heather also packed up her bass. "Looks like we'll have to see how well you play another time."

"Don't worry about it," Flash told them with a slight wave. "Hope you all manage to find somepo-er, someone who can play with you."

"Would help if we could find one in time for the Fall Formal," Iron grumbled as he got up to leave, "Eh, looks like that's a pipe dream for playing in it now."

Flash gave them a slight nod as they headed out. "Well, thanks for letting me listen. See you around!"

The three nodded back before heading out, leaving Flash alone in the room. He then leaned against a grand piano and stared at the guitars from before. Not being able to resist, he picked one up and began tuning it, only to be surprised at how easy it was. Once this was done, he picked up a strange flat thing that he spotted Heather using on her bass and started using it to strum away. He tried to play one of his favorite tunes, but found his new fingers weren't properly responding the way he liked it. After several minutes of botched attempts to play, he let out a long sigh.

"Dang. This is harder than I thought."

"Eh, you just need a bit more practice." said a new voice, making Flash look up to see Grand. He had a huge grin on his face as he walked into the room, "Though I gotta say, despite your skills, I can tell your true love for the instrument is there."

"Sorry," Flash replied as he laid the guitar on his lap. "Didn't think anyone would come in here and uh...you know, clean and stuff."

Grand let out a low guffaw, "I'm actually on my break kid. I like coming in here when no one else will." He stepped over and grabbed another guitar before tuning it, soon playing it like it was nothing. Flash was instantly surprised, as he knew his version of his mentor wasn't a musician.

"Whoa...you're good," Flash commented as Grand kept playing.

"I should be since I play almost everyday. Its probably the memories of this place, but I can't seem to let myself get rusty."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this, only for a click to go off in his head, "You were one of the original Royal Knights."

Grand glanced up to him, another chuckle following, "You catch on quick kiddo. Yes, I was one of the original Royal Knights. Its why my grandson wanted to start the band back up."

"Huh. I heard you guys had all joined the police force," Flash replied as he crossed his arms. "What are you doing here as a janitor?"

"I retired from the force a few years ago. I took this job to have something to do."

"Maybe you should have asked if the music teacher position was open," Flash said with a huge smirk, only for the duo to start laughing.

Grand then sat next to Flash as he continued to chuckle, only to slap Flash's back. Flash remembered this pain, as his mentor always did the exact same thing. As he did this, Grand spoke up, "I like you kid, I can tell you've got some serious spirit. How about I show you how to treat that instrument right?" Flash nodded with a smile as the two began playing together. Over the next hour, the two continued to strum a series of tunes, quickly hopping to rips as they played. It wasn't long till they hit their limits, soon stopping as Grand said, "You learn quick kid."

"Helps to have a good teacher," Flash replied as he put the guitar down. "Though I gotta say, you're rough when teaching."

Grand let out another guffaw as he got up and put the guitar away. He then turned back to Flash and gave him a toothy grin, "Well, I'd best be getting back to work. You probably got a class to get to after all."

"Er...yeah," Flash said as he rubbed the back of his head, "I uh...I also need to find my friends."

"Welp, see you around kiddo." With that, Grand left the room, leaving a blinking Flash. A few seconds passed before Flash got up and put the guitar away, ready to leave to go find Twilight and Spike. But as he left the room, his ears picked up a new voice.

"Well, well, well," Flash came to a stop before turning his head slightly to the left, soon seeing the owner of the voice. It was Sunset Shimmer, and she was leaning against a locker with a smirk on her face. "So this is where you were hiding. I have to admit, you're not half bad. Must have been tricky to play with fingers instead of hooves."

Flash let out a low growl. "So you know."

Sunset continued to shine her coy smile as she pushed off the locker and walked up to him, inches from his face. "Wasn't hard to figure out once I learned your little girlfriend had entered the princess contest. Plus, my little talk with her confirmed it."

Flash's eyes went wide before morphing into another glare, "If you did anything to her, I swear-"

"Relax knight boy, she's perfectly fine." Sunset interrupted as she began to circle around him. "I didn't do anything except...well, let's just say I gave her a little warning. She can't beat me, so I suggested she head back to Equestria and enjoy it while she still can."

Flash stifled a low laugh. "Tch. You obviously don't know Twilight as well as you think you do. Your threats won't stop her. She'll find a way to beat you, she always does."

"Well, this is the time she won't. I hold all the cards of this school and she can't even hold a pencil right now. Face it, I've already won and we haven't even started playing yet. Soon enough, your friend will figure out she's lost and head home with her tail between her legs." She then stepped back in front of Flash and scanned him up and down, "You on the other hand, don't look half bad. I could use a new boy toy since my last one started misbehaving and I had to throw it away."

Flash's glare intensified, only to switch to a smirk, "Sorry, my mother taught me to never date a girl who wears leather. Or is...well, a total nutcase."

It was Sunset's turn to frown. "You don't want to mess with me pretty boy. I can make your life a living hell."

Flash's reply was a quick laugh. "Listen bacon brain, you might thing you're some big baddie, but you don't scare me. I've faced off against a mad alicorn, a psychotic chaos monster, a powerful hungry shadow pony and two super charged unicorns." He then leaned in, a cold dead stare on his face as he now inches away from her, "Compared to them, what could you possibly do that would take me down?"

But as he did this, Sunset's frown turned into a devilish grin as she placed her hands on his chest. "How about...this!" With that, she grabbed him by the jacket and pulled, their faces instantly colliding. Before Flash could react, her lips planted themselves onto his, both now fully kissing. The move instantly made Flash's eyes go wide, his brain completely shutting down as it tried to compute what was happening. After several seconds, Sunset pulled away with an even bigger smile while Flash just stood there, dumbfounded and confused.

"Awww...what's the matter? Did I just steal your first kiss? I think I did, little knight boy!" Sunset mocked as she leaned up again, this time putting her hand seductively under his chin, "You know, you're kinda cute when you're all flustered."

"I...uh-er…" Flash tried to say, only to feel his cheeks burn up as Sunset pinched his chin.

"Huh. Guess I already broke you." She then grabbed his jacket's collar again, "Wanna another one then?"

It was at this moment that Flash's brain finally clicked, its on switch finally turned as he grabbed both of her hands with a vice-like grip. "Not a chance!" he yelled as steam blew out of his nostrils. "I won't fall for that again!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Sunset leaned forward, their foreheads now touching as she whispered, "Then how about...THIS!"

THUNK!

"AUGH!" Flash screamed as Sunset's knee suddenly shot upwards, making contact with something best left unsaid. Pain flooded through Flash's system as he let out another scream and staggered back, his legs barely holding him up as his hands went down to top of his legs. "What...did you...do to me?" he whimpered out, his hands now gripping the area of pain, trying to relieve anything possible.

Sunset just laughed at the sight. "Oh, nothing much. Just something that you might want to look up while you're here." She then walked up and grabbed his collar again, now seeing the tears on pain coming out of his eyes. "Since you're new to this school and world, I suggest anatomy for your first class. It'll help you understand your new body." She shifted her knee back, "Like this part."

THUNK!

"AUGH!" he screamed again, this time falling face first into the floor. "Ooohhh….why?! Why does that...hurt so much?!"

"AHAHAHAHA! That felt good!" Sunset laughed as she turned around, doing a slight wave as she started walk away, "I think I'm done toying with you. Tell your friend that I'm hoping to see her at the dance, and I can't wait to crush her under my heel." She then turned back with a huge grin on her face, "I'll be sure to mention her when I accept my crown....maybe."

And with that, she was gone.





Half an hour of pain later...

"Evil....pure evil...greatest evil I've ever faced..." Flash moaned as he pulled his body up. He had started using the lockers as support to walk, which his legs were not liking or cooperating at the moment. "Ohhh....it hurts. Why does it hurt so much?!" he groaned as his whole form staggered on the locker wall. He then whispered to himself, "How did that girl become Princess Celestia's student?! She's pure evil!"

As he struggled to turn down another hallway, he spotted a pair of younger teens run past him. He blinked at the sight, his brain reminding him that they looked like the colt duo Snips and Snails from Ponyville in human form. The two laughed as they passed him, both on what Flash had learned to be 'phones'.

"Snips and Snails? What is...eh, doesn't matter Flash. You gotta find Twilight. Sides, they're probably just watching one of those...what did those two from earlier we passed call it? Cat videos?" Flash asked himself as he turned another corner. It was here he saw his destination. Above a double door was a sign that said: 'Library'. Flash chuckled at the sight. "Here we go." He then opened the door, only to see Twilight just in the distance, sitting at a table and surrounded by books.

He slowly stepped up behind her, only to see that she was so engrossed by the book that he knew she wouldn't notice him. With that in mind, he leaned over her head and whispered, "And here we see the bookworm. She has returned to her natural habitat after being away for over twenty four hours. This is a marvellous feat, as most cannot survive more than twelve hours without reading."

Spike started laughing at this as Twilight turned to Flash while rolling her eyes, "Oh hardy har har," she growled before returning her focus to the book.

Flash then took a sit across from her as he said, "Sunset told me that you the two of you talked."

"I'm guessing she talked to you too?" Flash nodded at Twilight's question, only for her to see his fidget his legs. Raising an eyebrow at this, she asked, "You okay?"

"That's not important," he told her as he waved his palm. "But she's very confidant she's gonna win."

"Not if I can learn as much about this place as I can," she remarked as she showed him the book she was currently reading. "You were right. We need to learn everything here, so I started asking everyone I could in this library. Granted, I probably wouldn't have regularly, but I think the time limit thing is getting to me. So...I've already learned a ton, like how to use the world wide web."

That got Flash's eyes to go as wide as dinner plates. "How big are the spiders here?!" Twilight just giggled at his response, soon explaining what it really meant. Flash then agreed to help her read, the two using the next few hours to read every book they could find. Even after the school day came to an end, they kept at it. It was here that Flash found himself being drawn to a history book about warfare, particularly a one involving knights and crusaders. Another book he enjoyed was about automobiles, which he found a magazine filled with pictures over them. "Wow. I have got to get me one of these. I don't know how I'd get it to Equestria, but I want one."

Their research eventually came to an end when the sun began to set. That, and a mysterious voice spoke out from above. "The library will be closing in five minutes."

Twilight closed her latest book before letting out a yawn, only to gasp as something clicked in her brain. "Oh no! I hadn't even thought about where we're gonna sleep tonight!"

Spike chose this moment to come out from under the table. "Way ahead of you," he said as he motioned them to follow him. Flash and Twilight shared a nervous glance before putting down their reading material and following after him. He led them to a dark and seemingly unused sector of the library, where an old sheet covered something from view. Spike grabbed that sheet and pulled it off, revealing a pile of books arranged to look like a bed. "It's a little *cough* *cough* dusty, but it doesn't seem like anybody comes up here."

Twilight sat down on the makeshift bed and pet the drake turned dog, "Its perfect Spike. Thank you."

"Yeah furball," Flash said as he knelt down and scratched him behind the ear. "Nice work."

"Thanks," he replied as he looked up at Twilight. "So, how did your research go?"

Twilight held up the one book she had kept on hand. "I found this book. Its called a yearbook and it seems to be something they use to keep a record of things that have happened at the school." She opened it up and showed a picture of five young human girls, three of which they recognized from earlier today. "Look! That's Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Fluttershy, and I'm gonna bet the girl on the far right is Rarity."

Spike's ears went up at this as he snatched the book away. "There's a Rarity here!?" he then let out a nervous laugh as he gave the book back, "Uh, I mean um...interesting photo."

Twilight and Flash shared a knowing look before Twilight glanced back at the photo. "Its interesting though...they really do look like they're friends."

"They do look like our friends, but I thought we figured that out already.

"She means that the picture shows they used to be friends," Flash corrected as he glared at the picture. "But something, 'cough, Sunset, cough,' made them stop being friends."

"Oh...yeah. I guess that makes sense."

Twilight nodded as she laid back and put her head on an open book. "I can't believe that such a strong friendship could be broken like that."

Flash shrugged as he sat at on the floor opposite to her. "Maybe that friendship wasn't so strong." He then noticed Twilight's face shine an absolutely horrified expression, only for him to hold up his hand to stop her. "Hang on Twi, just think about it. Our friends have a strong friendship because of everything we've been through, but that doesn't mean it happened here. These girls in this world probably haven't faced stuff that we have, as you know...there's no magic here. Besides, even when Sunset broke them up, their friendship could have been as strong as ours was when we faced Discord, and you saw how easy it was for him to tear us apart."

Twilight wanted to reply, only to let out a long sigh, "And Sunset seems to be as conniving as he was."

"She really is trouble," Spike commented as he grabbed a sheet and pulled it over Twilight to be a blanket as he sat beside her head. "But she wanted your crown cause she's planning on doing something even worse! If you're gonna stop her, you have to focus on getting the crown, which means you need to make friends with everyone here. You can't be worrying about why these girls aren't friends anymore, even if they," he yawned as he said his next word, "do remind you of your Ponyville friends..."

"I agree with Spike." Flash added as he crossed his arms. "The goal is the crown. I want to help them too, but we have lives back in Equestria. We can't get stuck here, and we need to get your crown before the time limit's up."

Twilight looked at the book one last time before nodding and pulling Spike towards her. "Yeah...you're both right. Sorry about that."

"Don't apologize Twilight. We understand why you want to help them." Spike replied as he nudged up to Twilight.

"Thanks Spike." She said as she laid back, now looking up to get a perfect view of the moon and stars through the library's glass roof. "Eyes on the prize."

Flash watched as they both slowly drifted to sleep. He noticed Spike had made the bed big enough for all of them to sleep on, but he chose to sleep where he was. Leaning back on the bookshelf, he listened as his friends rhythmic breath slowly lulled him to sleep. Tomorrow, they would begin the fight to beat Sunset at her own game and win back Twilight's Element of Harmony. Easy...right?
> Friendships Restored
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The next morning was something very unpleasant for Flash. Stiffness combined with pain racked his body as he got up, the soldier soon doing a series of stretches as he got off the floor. "Urgh...miss my bed. Note to self, when traveling to weird other...whatever this world is, bring pillows." Flash grumbled to himself as he took a quick trip to the bathroom.

Twilight woke up an hour and a half later, a long yawn following as she ascended from the bed. This was followed by a laugh from Flash as he commented on her twisted bedhead hair, "No offense Twilight, but you might wanna go fix that." She gave him a glare before getting a good look of herself from a window's reflection. Seeing this, she went to the bathroom next, taking about half an hour while Flash went and read a few more automobile magazines, "Dang, I still really want one of these. Maybe I should get some kind of book on making one before we go back home...though I wonder if Princess Celestia would be okay with that?"

The princess soon returned, a pen and paper in hand before sitting down and writing down a list. Flash rolled his eyes at the sight, as Twilight was still using her mouth. By the time she was finished, the school day was beginning as Celestia's voice suddenly echoed through the air. "Good morning students, and happy Thursday. Just a reminder to pick up your ballots for the Princess of the Fall Formal today. They are due at the time the dance starts tomorrow night, so don't forget to turn them in and make your voice heard."

"So we have right up until the dance to make a good impression. That's good."

Twilight nodded as they started making their way towards the library exit, "Fluttershy said I'd need to win over all those different groups if I wanna become Princess of the Fall Formal. As such, I've compiled a list of talking points."

Spike snorted at this. "You made a list? That's so unlike you!" He then started giggling, only for her to glare at him before pointing at her open backpack. He gave a nervous chuckle as she stepped inside. "Uh...sorry. Please continue."

Once Twilight had him zipped in and on her back, she did. "I'll start by introducing myself, sprinkle in some things I learned about their world into the conversation, and show them how I fit in here!"

"Do we have a plan B?" Flash piped in, getting a glare from the princess as he continued, "Twilight, you do know its possible to muck this up."

"I know, but we can't fail here!" Twilight growled back as they entered the hallway, "Now, we need to make a good first impression on the students. The whole world sorta depends on it after all."

"So no pressure," Flash joked as they started down the hallway. But as they did this, they quickly noticed that everyone around them was laughing. Blinking at this, Flash growled before yelling, "Hey! What's the big idea?"

However, the yell quickly changed the tunes of the people around him, all of them flinching at his yell. Seeing this, Twilight started concentrating, only to realize she had no magic, so she used her hand to grab Flash's ear. "Flash...stop it. This isn't helping, and its definitely not what we want when making friends."

"They're the ones who started it," Flash grumbled back as he swatted her hand away. "And that hurts even more in this form..."

"It doesn't matter," Twilight barked back as they took another corner. "But I would like to know-whoa!"

Twilight let out a yelp as she was suddenly pulled inside a nearby classroom. Flash's instincts kicked in instantly, his feet blazing him after Twilight as he hopped into the classroom as well. The door behind him was slammed as he took a very pony-ish battle stance. "HEY! What's the big-" he was about to yell, only for his eyes to go wide at the next sight.

"Rarity?!" Twilight squeaked as a girl zipped around Twilight, constantly pulling on a measuring tape as she spun around the princess. "What the-what are you doing?!"

The girl didn't answer as she zoomed over to Flash, quickly taking his measurements before nodding. She then reached into her bag and pulled out a green dress, which she forced Twilight into. When the girl's head popped out of the dress's top, she was now wearing a blonde wig.

"Perfect," Rarity clapped her hands before glaring at Flash, Flash's imagination now seeing drool seeping out of her mouth.

"Oh no," he gulped as he tried to make a run for it, only for a white blur to appear in front of him. Before he could react, he found his body spinning like a top, only to come to a halt in front of a large mirror. He quickly shook his head from the assault, blinking as he now felt something on his head and in front of his eyes. The defender then stared at the mirror, which now showed him wearing a three piece suit, bowler hat and glasses. "What in the name of-"

"Marvelous!" Rarity exclaimed as she patted Flash's shoulders, "Yes, this is good. Nobody will recognize you two now."

The duo shared a confused look before Twilight turned to Rarity, "why wouldn't we wanna be–"

"And we'll need a disguise for your dog," Rarity interrupted as she looked Spike over, "Which is too bad...he really is adorable!" She started scratching him under the chin, which made Spike look like he was in heaven. That is, until Rarity said her next sentence. "Y'know, with a little work, I think I could make him look like a rabbit."

Spike's eyes went wide hearing this, causing him to slip out of the backpack and hit the floor as Twilight yelped, "A rabbit?!"

"Does someone wanna fill me in here?" Flash added as he took off the glasses and hat. "Specifically why we're being dressed like-"

"There you two are," interrupted another voice, making them turn and see a giggling Applejack enter the room, "Heh...nice look partner."

"So much for the disguise," Rarity moaned with crossed arms.

"Good!" Flash remarked as he took off the jacket and vest, "Can I have my clothes back please?!"

"Fine...." Rarity groaned as she handed them over. "And I did so much work making you look good."

Before Flash could give a sarcastic reply, Applejack patted his shoulder as she said, "Ah've been lookin' all over for ya."

Fluttershy then revealed herself behind Applejack, "Me too."

"Me three!" Pinkie cheered as her head popped out from above the door. The girl then hopped into the room, just as Flash was removing the shirt. All four girls immediately starting blushing at the sight while Twilight just raised an eyebrow at their reaction. It was here that they all saw that Flash had a fully toned body, along with his X shaped scar on his chest. The very sight made Pinkie chime in, "Whoa! Cool birthmark!"

"Agreed darling, along with the...pecs." Rarity added as she let out a low purr, "Meeeow."

"It's a scar," Flash remarked as he grabbed his shirt, now realizing he still didn't fully understand how to put it on.

"That's even cooler!" Pinkie exclaimed, only for Rarity to hop in front of her.

"Not only that darling, it makes you even more...manlier." Rarity cooed as she leaned up to the defender, a sultry smile on her face as she batted her eyes, "You should show it more often."

Flash just blinked at this, his mind now wondering what the word 'manlier' meant. At the same time, Pinkie hopped over to Twilight with a huge smile, "Hi Twilight! I like your new look!"

"Of course you like it." Rarity chimed in as she pointed at Twilight, "After all, I do have an eye for these sorts of things." She then looked away, trying to ignore the pink puffball of a girl. "Not that you seem to care."

"What?!" Pinkie screamed, anger now on her face, "What did you just say to me?!"

Seeing the sudden fury on Pinkie's face, Twilight walked in between them, "Whoa, hold on there! Why do you think she doesn't care? She just came in here and-" She then shook her head, her mind now telling her she was getting off topic. "No, never mind." She turned to the others, taking off the wig. "Why were you all looking for me? What's going on?"

They all gulped, Fluttershy muttering, "Oh dear....she hasn't seen it yet."

"Seen what?" Flash asked as he zipped up his jacket.

Pinkie reached into her backpack and pulled out a strange device that looked like a condensed version of that computer Twilight had shown him yesterday and placed it on the desk. She opened it up and started typing while giving off a nervous laugh. "Oh, its really not that bad."

The screen came to life, showing an image of Twilight in the library. Flash blinked at the sight as he commented, "Oh, this can't be good."

"Twilight Sparkle wants to be your Fall Formal Princess," Sunset's voice came out of the device as Twilight started to struggle on the computer as bad music played, "But what does it say about our school if we give someone like this...gets such an important honor?!"

Before the video could continue, Twilight slammed the lid of the device down. "Wha...I..."

Pinkie could only frown at this, "I take that back. It is pretty bad!"

"But this all happened yesterday at the library!" She yelled at the girls. "Has all of the school seen this? Is that why they were all looking at me that way?!" There were four nods, all of them making Twilight's eye shrink in despair.

Flash growled as he slammed his fist into his palm. "When I get my hooves on her..." he said, not even noticing the looks of confusion on the girls' faces from his comment.

Twilight slumped back into a chair, bags appearing under her eyes. "What am I gonna do?! No one is gonna vote for me after seeing this!"

Fluttershy then stepped up to her, giving her a kind smile. "Not that it'll make any difference, but I'll still vote for you. You and Flash were so nice to stand up for me when Sunset Shimmer was picking on me yesterday."

Twilight response was to slam her head into the desk as Flash shook his head, "We didn't do that to get something out of you Fluttershy. We did it because it was the right thing to do."

Fluttershy nodded at him with an even bigger smile, "I know. That's what I like about the two of you."

It was here that Pinkie stepped up and patted Twilight on the back. "Aw, cheer up! If ya still wanna run, maybe there's something I can do to help!"

Fluttershy's nice demeanor suddenly disappeared as she knelt down next to Twilight. "Word of advice? Don't accept her help. She doesn't take anything seriously!"

"Hey! That's not true!" Pinkie yelped as her poofy hair turned straight for a second, "Grrr...why do you have to be so awful to me?!"

"Oh please! Don't play innocent Pinkie Pie, you're no better than she is!" Rarity hissed as she pointed at Fluttershy. "You both aren't worth trusting!"

Pinkie grabbed Rarity by the arms before screaming into her face. "And what is that supposed to mean?!"

"It should be obvious what that means you crazed party animal!" Rarity quickly freed herself from Pinkie's grasp, fixing her head before turning to Twilight. "Listen, compared to what I've heard about you Twilight, I would be happy to offer up my assistance, but only to you." She then turned to Pinkie and shot her a glare, only to see Fluttershy walk up to her and start yelling as well.

While this all happened, Flash, Twilight and Spike just blinked at the sight. That is, till Flash leaned over and whispered, "Whoa. I knew this was bad, but I didn't think it was this bad. I mean, they went full angry mode as soon as possible."

"Yeah...this might be too much." Twilight gulped as she gave Flash a worried glance. "Maybe you two were right, we might not be able to fix this....that and it may just not be our problem."

"No kidding. I just wish we knew what Sunset did."

"Yeah...." Twilight replied, only for a bulb to go off in her head, "Wait, that's it!"

Before Flash could ask what she meant, Applejack took a loud crunch of an apple as she spoke up, "Sweet apples, listen to y'all carryin' on! Git over it and move on already!"

The trio all glared at her as Rarity hissed, "You mean like how you've gotten over what happened with Rainbow Dash?"

Applejack's eyes suddenly turned blood red at the mention of that name as she barked back, "Don't ya'll dare bring that up! That's different!"

"IS NOT!" The three girls yelled in unison.

"IS TOO!" Applejack screamed as she hopped off the chair she was on, slamming her fist into a desk at the same time, "She made a liar outta me! That's different!"

"There! That's where we'll start fixing it!" Twilight whispered as she pointed at the girls. She then took in a deep breath, making both Flash and Spike cover their ears as they readied themselves for a screech from Twilight. And as the four girls started to yell at each other at louder volumes, Twilight then screamed, "STOP! ALL OF YOU STOP RIGHT NOW!"

As these words traveled throughout the room, Flash and Spike released their ears while the girls turned to Twilight, all of them silent at the princess's command. She then turned and pulled out a book from her backpack as she said, "Here, I wanna show you girls something." She flipped to the page that had the photo she had found yesterday before showing it to them. "You were friends once."

The four all stared at the picture, memories surfacing as Applejack hummed, "The Freshman Fair." She turned to the others, "Y'all remember that?"

They all nodded, confirming a certain theory Twilight had thought up as she shut the book, "You were all friends at one time....but something happened, didn't it? And if I'm right, I think that something was Sunset Shimmer."

Rarity rolled her eyes at this, "Well, that's a nice theory darling, but Sunset Shimmer had nothing to do with it."

"You bet." Applejack added, "Sunset ain't the one that made a liar out of me by saying there was a whole softball team coming to mah bake sale. Ah told everybody that they were comin', and then not one of 'em shows up!"

"Let me guess, that was Rainbow Dash?" Flash interjected, getting a hissing nod from the farmer.

Fluttershy spoke up next, "She's right, Sunset Shimmer isn't behind us losing our friendship! Sunset Shimmer isn't the one who ruined my silent auction for the animal shelter by bringing fireworks and noisemakers!" She glared at Pinkie with a stare that made Spike whimper. "It was supposed to be a serious event, and Pinkie Pie ruined it!" She then crossed her arms and looked away.

"What are you talking about?" Pinkie asked before pulling out a small device, "I got a text from you saying that you didn't want a silent auction, you wanted a big party!"

Fluttershy almost hopped in place at this as she glared back at the party planner, "What are you talking about?! I never sent you a text like that!"

"You didn't?" Pinkie asked, her anger gone as she tilted her head in confusion.

Flash and Twilight both looked at each other, the two now catching on what was happening. Flash then asked, "Say uh...this may sound strange, but are those things how you girls all send messages around here?" They all blinked at him in pure confusion, but nodded all the same.

"Is it possible to make it look like these messages came from someone else?" Twilight asked next, only to get silence in response. This made her glare at the trio as she pointed at them, "Is that silence a yes or a no?"

The girls all glanced at one another, not sure what to say before Rarity decided to answer the question, "I...suppose it is possible."

Twilight and Flash both did all they could to hide the smirks they wanted to put on their faces. They knew they were on to something as Twilight asked, "And what happened to you Rarity? Why are you mad at them?"

Rarity turned to Pinkie with a half-lidded glare, "For me, its every time that I volunteer to help with the decorations at a school function, I get an e-mail from you saying you have plenty of volunteers!" She then let out 'hmph' as she looked away, "And once I get there, I find out you've lied to me and done everything yourself!"

Pinkie went wide-eyed at this, "I never sent you any e-mails like that!"

"But maybe Sunset Shimmer did," Flash interrupted as he pointed at Pinkie's laptop. "I might have only just met her, but this makes me think she's capable of doing just that."

Certain clicks went off in the girls heads as these words entered their brains, Applejack speaking up next, "Hmmm...maybe she's the reason Rainbow Dash didn't show up for my bake sale. Though ah...ah'm not fully sure."

Twilight stood up and walked over to her. "Didn't you ever ask Rainbow Dash why she didn't show up?"

Applejack took off her hat and hid her face behind it, "No. Ah guess ah....ah kinda stopped talkin' to her at all after that."

Twilight smiled at this, taking her hat and placing it back on her head. "Maybe now would be a good time to start." She then turned to other three, smiles now appearing on their faces, "How about it? Will you listen to your friends?" They all glanced at each other, only to all nod. Before they knew it, all of them were apologizing to each other, Applejack as well. And as they made up, Twilight then said, "Maybe from now on, don't let your trust in technology overpower your trust in your friends." Everyone nodded at this before heading out the door, Flash and Twilight needing a minute to change back to their normal clothes as they went out in search for Rainbow Dash.





One transition to the school's fields later...

It wasn't long till they located the girl who was Rainbow's clone in all but appearances outside the school on a sports field. She was kicking a soccer-ball around the field, dribbling around cones and other obstacles before firing the ball into the back of a net. Flash turned to Applejack, only to see pure nervousness on her face. He then placed his hand on her shoulder, catching her attention and pushed her forwards. "Go on already. It'll get worse the more you sit there and do nothing."

Applejack sighed before nodding, soon walking up to her as they all sat down on some bleachers off to the side. IT was here that Rarity clapped her hands gleefully, "They're actually talking! That's a good sign!"

"Oh! And there's hugs!" Pinkie cheered as she pointed at the two, "Hugs are always good!"

With that, Rainbow and Applejack stepped over to them as Rainbow asked, "Hey, what's up?"

Applejack let out a series of nervous chuckles, "Looks like ya'll were right. Somebody, and ah think we can ya'll can guess who, told Rainbow Dash that my bake sale had been moved to a different day. Dash showed up with all the softball team and thought ah'd cancelled on her!"

"I knew it," Flash replied, crossing his arms. "I bet Sunset was scared you girls might threaten her rule on the school, so she split you up just like what she did with the Royal Knights."

Rainbow turned to Twilight and scanned her over. "So you're looking to dethrone Sunset Shimmer and become Princess of the Fall Formal, huh?" Twilight blushed at this, but nodded.

"And we're gonna need your help," Flash told Rainbow. "Fluttershy said we need to speak out to several different groups. With you helping us, we'll have an in with every single clique in the school."

"What about the rockers?"

Flash just smirked. "You leave them to me."

Rainbow guffawed at this as she started bouncing a ball up and down on her knee. "Gotta say, I'd really love to see that happen. I'll totally help you out!" Twilight smiled at this, "All you gotta do is beat me in a game of one-on-one."

Twilight smile dropped. "What?!"

"First to five goals wins," Rainbow said with a huge grin. "But since I'm being nice, I'll let you sub in your boyfriend."

"Come again?" Flash asked with a raised eyebrow.

"What's that supposed to mean?!" Twilight added, only for Rainbow to ignore and drop the ball, placing her foot on top of it next.

"So what do you say? Want my help, or are ya chicken?!"

Flash turned to Twilight, a half-smile on her face, "Um...could you do it please?"

Flash let out a low sigh, her mind now flashing back to their first meeting where Twilight forced Flash to go against Rainbow. Despite this, he nodded as he turned back to Rainbow, "Okay...I'm in."

"Alright, let's get going." Rainbow commented as she kicked the ball to the middle of the field. Seeing this, Flash, Rainbow and Applejack walked up to the object before Applejack picked it up and held it between them. She then dropped it, only for Rainbow to quick steal the ball, instantly spinning around Flash like it was nothing. Before he could turn around, the ball was already in the net.

"One to zip." Rainbow smirked as she walked around him, "Ball's all yours."

Flash blinked at the sight before walking up to the ball, dribbling it slightly like he had seen Rainbow do before. "Oookay, this is different. Imagine buckball but with only two hooves Flash....and its the hooves you don't use in that sport." He then looked up at Rainbow, her form already charging at him.

Seeing this, he looked down at the ball for a second before back at her. "Okay, let's see how you like this." He closed his eyes shut, only to open them and...nothing. "Huh?" He blinked again, only for no results once more. "Come on, why isn't this-" It was here that a click went off in his head, now remembering that magic didn't exist in this world. "Shoot. I can't access Theta Mode here." He then looked down, his eyes showing pure despair as the ball was now missing. "Aw horseapples."

"Two to nothing!" Rainbow yelled behind him, making him turn and let out a huge groan. And thus began one of the hardest activities Flash had ever had to endure. Forget facing Nightmare Moon, Lightning, Discord, Sombra, or Doom, it was this world's version of Rainbow that was bringing him to his knees.

Flash was given the ball again, this time him rushing towards the opposite net. As he did this, he was constantly looking over his shoulder, making sure Rainbow wasn't getting close to him. He then turned back, only to see Rainbow right in front of him. "How did-" he tried to say before shaking his head. The defender glanced back down at the ball, pouring all his strength in his foot as he kicked the sphere, sending it rocketing towards the goal.

But as the projectile flew through the air, Rainbow just hopped up, easily headbutting the sphere back. Before Flash could do anything, she grabbed the ball with her feet, easily dribbling it down the field. This time, Flash went into on a full-on sprint, at least as much as he could, only for the ball to still hit the back of the net. "Three, nil."

Flash growled at this. "You have got to be kidding me!"

The ball was soon back in Rainbow's feet and she was dribbling towards the goal once again. While this happened, Flash hopping in front of her, only to see a huge smirk on Rainbow's face. Before he could do anything, she kicked the ball straight up at him. The sight of the incoming flying ball made him slightly falter back, his new feet now losing their footing. Within seconds, he fell with a thud before the ball went sailing over him and into the net.

"Four...still nothing," she laughed as the teen got up to his knees in a heavily panting mess.

Twilight rushed over, handing him a bottle of water. "You're a trained solider!" she told him as he drank. "How are you losing?!"

Flash gulped down half the bottle, sighing in relief as he finished. "She's just as good as our Rainbow," he told her before pointing a thumb into his chest. "Plus, I'm still learning to drive this thing. Cut me some slack."

"Can't you just...you know, use Theta Mode?" Twilight whispered.

"I already tried...and its not working." Flash replied as he gulped down the rest of the water. "Iron was right...I rely on it too much. Ooohh...can't believe I just said that. You must never tell him that Twi."

"Interesting," she said as she took the empty bottle back to the bleachers. While she did this, Rainbow kicked the ball back into the center of the field.

"I won't judge you if you decide to give up now," Rainbow told him before smirking. "Well, I might judge you a little."

Flash wiped his brow as he fully stood up, still out of breath as he walked up to the center. "No way. I don't quit, no matter what."

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh yeah? Why's that?"

"Because if I do, then we might not be able to get Twilight to win, and I can't tell you how important that is."

"Really?" Rainbow glanced back at the princess who had just reached the bleachers, "Huh. She must be something really special if you're willing to go through this much punishment for her."

"She is. That's why...I WON'T LOSE!" Flash yelled as he immediately went into a sprint, instantly stealing the ball from Rainbow before she could react.

"GO FLASH!" Twilight screamed as she jumped up and down.

Rainbow had finally recovered from the shock enough to turn around and see Flash heading for the goal. "Oh no you don't!" She quickly rushed past him, soon turning and blocking the route to the net. "You're not getting around me!"

Flash just smiled at this, his instincts telling him what to do next. With all his strength, he kicked the ball right above Rainbow's head, just missing a headbutt from her. And as she tried this, he thrusted towards the ground, causing him to slide right under her. The very act shocked Rainbow as he got behind her, his arms hitting the dirt as he propelled himself back up. As he did this, he kicked the now landing ball, sending it into the net.

"GOAL!" Pinkie screamed as the girls all cheered, Rainbow still recovering from Flash's move.

"You were right," Flash told her as he picked up the ball. "I didn't get around you, but you never said I couldn't get through you."

Rainbow's smirked as she took the ball from him. "Alright, you've impressed me. Not just anyone can get a goal on me in one on one. You really are something special. But..." she tossed the ball straight up into the air before leaping up into midair somersault. As the ball returned to earth, she kicked it in mid-flip, instantly knocking it down the field and into the goal as she landed. "You're not as special as me. Five to one, that's game!"

Flash's face fell at her sudden movement causing Rainbow to laugh. Before he could react, she patted his shoulder, "Eh, don't worry about losing. I'm always a winner." She then turned to Twilight, who looked just as shocked as Flash. "So what's the plan? How can I help you be princess instead of Sunset Shimmer?

Twilight blinked at hearing this. "But...but he lost! Wha-"

Rainbow just let out a series of laughs. "Of course he lost! I'm awesome, and I'm unbeatable! Heck, the fact he managed to get one goal against me is a miracle."

"I wouldn't say that," Flash growled as Twilight gave him another water bottle.

Rainbow ignored his comment as she continued, "The fact is, I'm not gonna help just anybody try and beat Sunset Shimmer. The Fall Formal Princess should be someone with heart and should be able to earn the loyalty of those around them." She then pointed to Flash before lightly punching Twilight's shoulder. "If he's willing to do all that for you, then you've gotta be something pretty special."

Twilight smiled at this, soon not being able to stop herself from hugging Rainbow as the others cheered. Once they pulled away, Twilight turned to the others. "Alright, we have a team. Now we need to come up with a way to undo everything Sunset's done to kill my chances of being named Princess."

"Oh! I know the perfect place to have a strategy meeting!" Pinkie chimed in, only for the school bell to ring behind them. "After class."

Everyone nodded at this, knowing their different schedules would make it impossible to meet up during school. That only left after school, which made Twilight very nervous. It was then she felt Flash pat her on the shoulder, telling her it would be alright.





After school...

The place Pinkie ended up suggesting turned out to be this world's version of Sugarcube Corner. Instead of a bakery though, this one seemed to be more like a café. It was run by two people who were exactly like Mr. and Mrs. Cake, except they didn't have kids. At least what Flash could tell.

As soon as they stepped inside, they heard giggles and chuckles coming from the other students. While they heard this, Flash patted Twilight's shoulder as they sat down. They then got their drinks, Pinkie lending Flash and Twilight money since they had left theirs at home. It was here that Twilight asked, "And...can I get mine with extra oats?"

This version of Mrs. Cake gave her an odd look, "Oats?"

Flash then spoke up, "Sorry, that's a...slang in a hangout where we used to live. She means...sprinkles."

Twilight nodded rapidly at her mistake, "Yeah! What he said....uh, extra sprinkles."

Mrs. Cake shrugged before doing as asked, soon handing the two their drinks. It was here that they saw three others walk in, those being Iron, Heather and First. Seeing this, Flash waved at them, "Hey! What's up you three?"

"Nothing much," Heather replied before turning to Twilight. "We're sorry to hear about what happened."

"It's alright," Twilight grumbled as she started on her drink.

"If you would like, I am sure I can find a way to remove the video." First added.

Twilight shook her head at this. "Eh, don't bother. The damage is already done. I think its best to keep it so Sunset will have one victory to look back on after I beat her."

This got the Royal Knights smiling as Heather chimed in, "Well, you've certainly got my vote."

Iron turned to her with a disgruntled look, "I thought we weren't voting."

"That was only if Sunset was the only one running," First answered, soon getting a shrug from Iron. "And I will vote for you as well Twilight Sparkle."

"Thank you," Twilight said with a nod before the trio sat down at the booth next to them. She looked back at Flash and visually told him that he could keep talking to them if he wanted too, which he nodded in agreement at.

And as Flash left the booth, Rarity nudged Twilight's side, "So Twilight darling, fess up. You and Flash...what's the story there?"

Twilight almost spat out her drink, barely managing to stop herself as she glanced over at the girl. "What are you talking about?"

"You know..." Pinkie said before raising her eyebrows up and down.

"You and Sentry boy over there," Applejack added as she pointed at Flash.

"You don't appear to be siblings," Fluttershy continued. "Or at least you don't act like it."

"So what's the deal between you two?" Rainbow ended.

Twilight just shrugged at this, not sure what they were getting at. "No deal. He's my best friend if that's what you're asking."

Rarity glanced at the other girls, all of them blinking before she turned and asked, "Okay darling, let's try this a different way. How do you two know each other?"

Twilight sighed, knowing she would need to be careful how she phrased this. "Um...yeah. That's not the best question. Let's just say that Flash...well, he used to live on the street." She saw the grimaces appear on their faces as she continued, "But...my family took him in. He's lived with us ever since."

The girls all looked glum at this, their vision shifting over to Flash as he talked with the Royal Knights before Rainbow broke the silence. "So...he's your stepbrother?"

"Best friend," Twilight corrected, "Who just so happens to live in the same house as me."

"Right..." Rainbow replied as she gave the other girls an all-knowing glance, all of them instantly getting what she was getting at.

But before she could say anything else, Flash walked back over and sat down, the Royal Knights now behind him as they made their way to leave the café. "So....what're we talking about?"

"About how we're gonna get Twilight crowned as Fall Formal Princess," Applejack told him in an impressive improvised tone. "Dance is tomorrow night and we still don't know how we're gonna get Twilight the votes she needs to win. Right now, folks only know the Twilight from the videos Sunset Shimmer posted online. We need to help 'em see her differently."

Everyone nodded at this, Flash commenting, "Sounds good to me. Just uh...how many students are at the school?"

"You pretty much saw all of them when you went to lunch earlier." Fluttershy replied, getting a nod in return.

As this information entered everyone's brains, Rarity gasped before standing up and proclaiming. "I'VE GOT IT!" The entire café when deadly quiet, everyone inside now turning to stare at her as if she was insane. Rarity blushed at this until everyone finally looked away. "Ahem. I mean, um, perhaps I have a solution." She stepped over to her bag and began to rummage through it. "Now this may be an absolutely preposterous idea," she then pulled out a bunch of headbands with ears on them along with belts that had blue and yellow tails. "But what if we all wore these as a sign of unity?"

Everyone blinked at this, Flash raising his hand, "Okay, I'm officially lost."

"Join the club," Rainbow added, raising her hand as well.

Rarity sighed as she placed them on her head. "Freshman year, they were very popular. It was used as a way for everybody to show their school spirit! You know?" She started jumping around, "Go, Canterlot Wondercolts!" She then coughed as her face dropped. "I haven't sold any in ages." She reached back into her bag and pulled out several more, handing them all over. "I mean, the five of us are obviously very different, but deep down, we're all Canterlot Wondercolts!"

"But how does this help?" Twilight asked as she watched everyone put a headband on.

Rarity shined a huge smile, "Sunset Shimmer is the one who divided us," she then pointed at the pony princess turned human. "But you Twilight Sparkle was the one who united us, and we're gonna let everyone know it!" She placed the last headband of Twilight's head before turning to everyone, "What do you think?!"

They all nodded as Flash put on his headband. "Sounds like a plan to me."





The next day at lunch...

The cafeteria was bustling as usual, the girls were talking about what they should wear to the dance that night while the boys trying to make mental images of the girls, drooling at their thoughts. The only thing different was Rainbow, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie, all of whom were wearing the blue Wondercolt jumper and headbands. This confused the majority of the school, all except the Royal Knights. Flash had told them yesterday at the café what had happened between the five girls, and in response they agreed to help undo Sunset's grasp on the school.

But as the eight sat there, the doors of the cafeteria suddenly slammed open, getting everyone's attention. It was Flash, now carrying Twilight's backpack and an old guitar case he got from the music room. He was also wearing a Wondercolt jumper, which was soon accompanied by a eared headband as he pulled out the guitar. With a snap of his fingers, he pulled out a guitar pick and began to strum.

Then it happened. A strange banging sound began to fill the air, as if like a random occurrence, only for a rhythm to soon flow through the cafeteria. At the same time, the students also saw the five symmetrically dressed girls stand up, all of them now wearing the headbands and tail belts.

Once everyone had their focus on the girls, Flash picked up the pace of his strumming, the sound now reaching every ear. While this happened, Spike's paw reached out and turned on a radio that had been hidden beneath Flash's chair. The music that played matched Flash's tune, filling the entire cafeteria with music as the girls all started to sing.


(All)
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!


The girls began to dance in perfect harmony with the music, their performance really getting to the students. While this happened, The Royal Knights kept their focus on Flash's guitar work. If that was him when he was a little rusty, they really wanted to see him at his best.


(All)
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

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!


The music's beat began to change as the girls started their solo parts.


(Pinkie)
Hey, hey, hands up now
We're sending a message to the crowd
Hands wave up, then come down
We party together all around

(Rarity)
Generous, honesty

(Applejack)
Laughter, kindness, loyalty

(Fluttershy)
Twilight helped us each to see

(Rainbow)
All that we can be!

(All)
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!


Pinkie and Fluttershy rushed over to the cafeteria doors, opening them up to show Twilight in her own jumper. The girl shined a bright smile as she stepped into the room, the rest of the girls following behind her as she sang.


(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
If you follow me we'll put our differences aside
We'll stick together and start working on that school pride!


Flash stopped playing and stood up, clapping his hands as the girls sang and danced together. The rest of the cafeteria caught on and started clapping as well.


(All with Flash in brackets)
Jump up, make a sound (Hey!)
Stomp your hooves, turn around
Start now, make a change
Gonna come around


The girls split up and rushed over to their own groups, grabbing people and pulling them over to the other cliques. The audience fidgeted at this at first, but the music soon took over, instantly getting them clapping and dancing together.


(All with Flash and audience in brackets)
Jump up, make a sound (Hey!)
Stomp your hooves, turn around
Canterlot Wondercolts
Help her win the crown!


Flash rushed over to the rockers and once again started playing, the music quickly overtaking them. The cafeteria immediately lost its divisions here, all the different kinds of people mingling together and having fun. As they did this, they remembered back to when they first started at their school. How they hung out with anyone, no matter what their likes and dislikes were and why had they stopped doing that.

Then they remembered. Sunset Shimmer.

But that was soon forgotten as the girls began passing out the same headbands and tail belts they were wearing. Everyone grabbed them and put them on, not the least bit embarrassed about wearing them.


(All with Flash and audience in brackets)
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!)






Outside of the cafeteria, we find one Sunset Shimmer watching the madness through the doors.

Pure anger covered her face as she gripped the doors, hoping she could twist them into nothing if they weren't made out of metal. The very sight of everyone getting along made her sick. "You idiots...what are you doing?! How dare you destroy all my work! This school is mine and everyone here is supposed to be under my heel!" she growled to herself, glaring at the sight. "They're supposed to be separated! That's why they're so easy to control..."

She then turned around and spotted two of her flunkies, Snips and Snails, dancing behind her while wearing the headbands and tails. "TAKE THOSE OFF!" The two boys froze as they did as they were told, hiding them behind their backs and they looked down at the floor. "Don't speak. I have something I need you two to do."

And as she instructed them and they ran off, she looked back at the cafeteria with a vile glare. "I'm not gonna lose to some two bit wannabe princess. If you, the disgusting foal that Celestia decided to take in thinks she has a shot against me, think again!"

She bit her lip as she turned and walked down a nearby hallway, muttering to herself, "I won't lose. That crown belongs to me, along with Equestria. I will get it, and even if I don't, I'll make sure you never make it back! You and your blockhead bodyguard."
> Truths and Friendships
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once their performance in the cafeteria had ended, the seven heroes now saw that everyone was wearing the headbands and tails. Not only that, but the different groups were now mingling in the hallways. They also smiled whenever they saw Twilight and Flash, the video Sunset made now long forgotten.

"Doesn't everyone look just fabulous?" Rarity asked as she pointed at the accessories.

Twilight smiled as she placed a hand on the girl's shoulder. "It was a great idea Rarity!"

Flash nodded in agreement. "I'll say. Not only that, I always love an excuse to show off my guitar skills."

"You weren't kidding when you said you were good," Rainbow told him as she did an air-riff. "The two of us should totally jam sometime."

Flash smirked at this. "Thanks. I look forward to it."

But as he said this, the hallway suddenly went dead quiet. Everyone turned towards the source, Flash and the girls frowning as they now saw Sunset walking down the hallway, a smug looking smile on her face. Snips and Snails were walking behind her, smiling as everyone else tried their best to not draw any attention to themselves.

"Don't know what she's smilin' about," Applejack grumbled as the trio passed them. "Twilight's the one that's gonna be Princess of the Fall Formal."

Flash frowned at this, whispering at the sight, "Huh. I thought she would be angry. What are you plotting?"

Rainbow then nudged Twilight, "Just ignore her. She's just trying to hide how upset she is at being beat."

"T-t-that doesn't sound like her," Fluttershy added. "She'd usually t-t-try and make you pay for going against her."

Pinkie growled at this. "Well, its not gonna work! We're not gonna let her get between us, right?!" Everyone nodded at this, knowing their friendship would not be so easily unravelled again.

Rarity then walked in front of the group, "Alright darlings, we're not done yet. Remember, after school we're all heading to the boutique in town to get ready for tonight."

"We'll be there."

It was then that Twilight went wide-eyed as she turned to Flash. "Oh no...we don't have anything to wear tonight Flash! If this is like the Grand Galloping Gala, then it's gonna be-"

"Formal attire," Flash finished before letting out a combined groan and facepalm. "Ugh..."

"Oh, don't worry you two," Rarity told them with a wave. "I made us all something to wear last night. My best work, if I do say so myself."

"Really?!" Flash asked in disbelief.

"You managed to make six dresses and a suit in one night?!" Twilight added. "How is that possible?!"

Rarity shined a cheeky grin, "Pre-made clothing darling. I had made the basic design a while ago and was waiting for the right wearer. After what happened yesterday, I got them out and made the final additions to match everyone's style."

"Wow...you're good." Flash gasped, only to get a seductive wink from Rarity.

"Flatterer."

Their conversation was cut when Sunset and her lackeys rushed back down the hallway, followed by a woman who looked like a humanized version of Princess Luna.

"This doesn't look good," Flash commented as he blinked at the sight.

"Maybe we should follow them?" Twilight suggested. "You know, make sure Sunset hasn't done something drastic." The others were all about to nod, but then the bell rang.

Applejack let out a moan, "Dang it! We gotta get to class, anyone have a free period?"

Twilight raised her hand, Flash doing the same. "Then you two will have to be our eyes," Rainbow told them. "Meet us at the boutique later. You remember where it is?" The two nodded, having gone there yesterday after leaving Sugarcube Corner.

"Well good luck," Pinkie said before walking off.

"And be careful," Fluttershy finished as her and the others all nodded and headed off, leaving Flash, Twilight and Spike to follow Sunset and Luna.

But as they started to follow, a new trio of people hopped in front of them. It was Heather, Iron and First, Heather in front as the walked up and said, "Flash! Wait up, we've been looking all over for you!"

Flash just shook his head, "Hey there. Sorry, but we can't talk right now."

"This will only take a minute," First told him.

"We talked to Principal Celestia," Iron added.

"She said we could play at the dance tonight!" Heather finished before letting out a squeal.

Flash's head went slightly back in surprise, "Really?! That's great!" His then turned into a slight frown, "But...wait a minute. I thought you guys couldn't because you don't have anyp-er, anyone to play guitar."

Heather just shined a huge smirk, "Well, we do now."

First nodded and stepped in front of Heather, "Flash, will you do us the honor of joining the Royal Knights?"

Flash went wide-eyed, gasping as he pointed to himself, "ME?!"

"Heck yeah you!" Iron chimed in as he pointed at Flash, "We saw you strut your stuff in the cafeteria. You definitely got the skills we're looking for."

Flash's jaw dropped, unable to say any words. Seeing this, Heather piped up, "Flash, I'll happily do all the singing. All you have to do is play and it'll only take about an hour...tops. To learn the songs that is." She placed her hands together and bowed her head. "Please."

"You will be helping us achieve a long held dream," First said as he copied Heather's action.

"Yeah. Help us out ya wimp," Iron commented before getting elbowed in the side. He frowned at Heather before sighing, soon coping his band mates. "Please."

"Err...uh..." was all Flash could say as he scratched the back of his head. He then turned to Twilight, who simply smiled and nodded at him. Seeing this, he glanced at he band with a half-smile, "Alright, I'll do it."

Heather once again squealed, First nodding in agreement while Iron gave a thumbs up as he said, "Nice. Now, first thing you'll need to do is meet us in the music room after school."

"We will practice the songs we wish to play before moving the equipment to the gym, then return home to change."

Flash shined a cheeky grin, "You got it. Looking forward to playing with you guys."

"I'm afraid you won't be playing with anyone tonight young man." said a new voice. Everyone then turned towards the voice, soon spotting Vice-Principal Luna walking towards them with her arms crossed and a frown on her face.

Heather tilted her head at this. "Vice-Principal Luna? What are you talking about?"

She didn't answer, instead pointing at Flash and Twilight, "You two, follow me. Now." With that, she spun on the heel and walked back down the way she came. Flash and Twilight shared a look of both puzzlement and worry before following her, leaving the band trio behind.

It was here that they followed Luna to the gym, only to see a despairing sight. "Oh no..." Twilight gasped as she put her hand over her mouth. "How did this happen?"

The Fall Formal decorations were a wreak. The streamers were ripped to pieces, popped balloons covered the floor, and some chairs and tables had been knocked over. Not only that, in the center of the room laid a smashed disco ball.

"Why don't you tell me?" asked a snide voice, causing Flash and Twilight to turn and see one Sunset Shimmer. The girl was leaning against a wall, a devilish grin on her face.

"You!" Flash almost yelled, "What did you do?!"

Sunset's face morphed to one with obvious fake-sadness. "Moi? I didn't do anything." She then pointed at the duo, "You did."

"What?!"

Luna stepped in at this point. "The two of you in my office, now!" She then left the gym, Twilight slouching over as she followed. Flash sighed before doing the same, only to turn and shoot a glare at Sunset.

"Checkmate lover boy," she told him with a dark grin. "Don't worry, I'll let you take me out on a date to make it up to you. I still think you'll make a good boy-toy after all."

"This isn't over." Flash grumbled as he turned and left.

"Oh, I think it is," Sunset replied before kicking the broken disco ball across the floor. "Now you need to make a choice princess. Either leave your crown behind and go home, or get it back and be stuck here for thirty moons." A small snort followed as she said, "Oh, what am I saying?! You have no choice!" With that, she started laughing madly. "I've already won! AHAHAHAHA!"

But as she continued to laugh, a lone man stood outside of the gym. It was Grand, a long dull expression showing on his face as he tried to hide his anger. "Not this time sweetheart. I saw you talking to Luna, and I have an idea or two now. Your days of ruining students are over."





A few minutes later...

Flash could only blink at the sight before him. He was currently in Luna's office, which was absolutely bathed in darkness. So much so that Flash had no idea how she was able to see anything, as both lights were off and blinds were drawn. The Vice-Principal was standing at the window, skimming through an open folder.

Flash turned to Twilight, seeing she was as confused and worried as he was. She then stuttered out to Luna, "But...but I don't understand! How are we in trouble? We haven't done anything."

Flash nodded in agreement. "Yeah. We just got here like a day ago. Whatever Sunset told you is a big fat lie."

Luna didn't reply, instead simply turning and placing the folder before them and pointing at the images inside, "This is clearly the two of you in the photographs, is it not?"

Flash and Twilight picked up the photos, which had images of Flash smashing up the gym while Twilight cheered in the background. "What the-we didn't do this!"

Luna raised an eyebrow at this. "The evidence says otherwise."

Flash and Twilight glanced at each other, unable to respond before looking back at Luna. It was here they saw a death glare, making sure they couldn't reply as she continued, "I think it should be fairly obvious now that the school cannot let someone who would do something like this compete for the Fall Formal crown." Her glare intensified as she directly stared at Twilight, "And we definitely won't allow them to play at, or even attend the dance."

Flash opened his mouth, ready to retort, only to stop. His mind couldn't think as he looked back at Twilight. It was this sight that made him speechless, as she was now placing her head into her hands, ready to break down and cry. "Shoot..." he whispered to himself, "What do I do?"

Knock! Knock! Knock!

That was the sound of the door, causing the three to glance at the door before Luna said, "Come in."

"Vice-Principal Luna," replied a low, rusty voice, "I found these while clearing out the trash cans in the library. I have a feeling that you should see them."

It was Grand, and he was carrying a set of photos. Before Flash and Twilight could react, Luna took them and skimmed them over, blinking as she did. "This is..." she tried to say, only to look up at Grand, "What is this?" The photos were ones showing Flash kicking a ball in the soccer field from yesterday, along with Twilight cheering in the background. However, these were cut up, causing Luna to pick up the others and notice they fit perfectly over each other. "What in the-"

Grand nodded with a small hidden smirk. "It seems someone combined these photos to make it look like these were the one who trashed the gym."

Luna turned to Grand, nodding in return. "I appreciate you bringing these to my attention." She then sat behind her desk and turned to the ponies turned humans. "Despite how...convenient and timely this is, I'm no fool. I know who originally showed me this, so...in light of this new evidence, you may continue your bid to be crowned the Princess of the Fall Formal and you may play at the dance."

"YES!" exclaimed a voice as the blinds seemed to miraculously open and fill the room with light. Everyone then turned to see Iron, Heather and First standing at the door. Iron, after realizing he had given their eavesdropping away, chuckled nervously. "Sorry."

As Flash laughed at this, Twilight walked over to Grand before throwing her arms around him. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how important this is to us!"

Flash nodded in agreement. "Yeah. You might have just literally saved the world."

Grand chuckled as he patted Twilight on the back before she pulled away. "I might be retired, but I'm still a cop at heart. I couldn't just stand idly by while the two of you are framed. That's not the Canterlot Wondercolt way."

The Royal Knights then stepped into the room. "And now you can play with us tonight."

Luna snapped her fingers at this, getting their attention. "I am afraid enough damage has been done to the gym that we will have to postpone the dance until tomorrow night." With that, she picked herself up and walked out the door. "If you will excuse me, I need to let my sister know about this latest development."

Once she was gone, Twilight turned to Grand. "If there's anything we can do to thank you, just-"

Grand chuckled again before patting the girl on her head as he glanced at Flash. "Just make sure to win and for you to play your heart out tomorrow night. That's all I ask."

Flash smirked as he raised a thumb. "Don't you worry, we'll-" He stopped mid sentence, as both he and Twilight went wide eyed in realization. "Tomorrow night?!"

"Oh no," Twilight began to panic before rapidly stepping on the spot. "No, no-no-no-no-no, no no no no no! Nonononono!" The two of them turned to one another, completely forgetting they weren't alone in the room. "The portal!"

"That'll be too late!" Flash added.

Twilight quickly grabbed her bag off the floor and rushed out the room, Flash on her heel. "Vice-Principal Luna! Please wait!"

Grand and the Royal Knights blinked in surprise at this, only for Flash to suddenly reappear at the door. "Still totally down for playing with you guys, but this dance has to go down tonight...and don't ask why. Sorry." With that, he returned to his sprint after Twilight, leaving them speechless.

"Those two are kind of odd," First commented.

Iron shrugged. "Meh, whatever. He can play, and that's all that matters to me."

"Hmm..." Grand hummed as he remembered what Sunset had said before. "Princess...thirty moons?"





A few minutes later, Twilight and Flash finally caught up to Luna just as they passed the gym's open door. "Vice-Principal Luna! Please wait!"

Luna stopped and turned, "Yes?"

"Please...you have to...." Twilight panted, slightly leaning over before continuing. "The dance....needs to happen tonight."

"Yeah! We uh...we have um, important plans tomorrow."

Luna raised an eyebrow again, "I see. Well, I'm sorry but with the gym in the state it is, holding a dance here is impossible."

"Really? Is there nothing we can do?"

Luna glanced back at the ruined gym. "Hmmm...well, if you can get the place suitable for the dance before tonight, than I guess we could still have it."

"Seriously?" Flash asked in joy, only to look back at the gym. "But...shoot. That's a lot of cleanup."

Luna just shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's the only alternative."

She then walked away, causing the duo to look at each other before entering the gym. It was here that Twilight walked over and picked up the shattered disco ball, seeing her reflection in the broken glass. "Its like we can't win here. No matter what happens, things keep getting worse the more time we spend here in this crazy world!" Tears filled her eyes as she put the ball down. "What are we gonna do?"

"Twilight..." Flash moved over and pulled her into a hug, the girl now crying into his chest. "Its...its gonna be okay."

"How?! We can't leave without the crown, but if we don't get it back by tonight, then we'll be stuck here for thirty moons! How is it gonna be okay?!"

Flash wanted to answer her, only to let out a sigh, "I...I don't know. I'm not sure."

This only caused Twilight to cry harder, making Flash almost tear up. But as he was about to cry, she pulled herself free from his arms took off her bag. Before he could ask why, she handed it over, Spike's head popping out as she did this, "Flash, Spike, I want you two to head back through the portal."

"WHAT!?" They screamed in unison, "Are you nuts?!"

"There's no way we're just going to leave you here," Flash added.

Twilight just raised a palm, "Just listen to me. There's no reason the three of us should be stuck here. You two have lives back in Equestria. Spike...you weren't even supposed to come here and....and Flash, um...well, who knows what'll happen to Scootaloo and Springer if you didn't return. They need you."

Flash just frowned as Spike let out a low growl, "We're not going anywhere Twilight. We came so you wouldn't get stuck here, and that's what's gonna happen."

"Yeah! Besides, Scootaloo and Springer will be fine! You really think your friends wouldn't help them?!"

Twilight rubbed one of her arms as she looked down. "No, but-"

"But nothing," Flash interrupted as he handed Spike back to her. "We're in this together, no matter what. We're gonna beat Sunset at her own game, got it?!"

Spike nodded in agreement. "It might look impossible, but we've faced the impossible before. And like before, we don't have to do it alone."

"He's right! We've now got friends here, and I'm sure they'd be willing to help us."

"But look at this place!" Twilight screeched back as she waved at the whole room. "You really think they'd be willing to help us after seeing all this?! They'd just tell us to wait until tomorrow!" Flash was about to reply, only to come to a halt. Seeing this, Twilight crossed her arms as she glared at him, "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Yeah...I guess you are." Flash admitted as he slumped slightly over, "Dang."

"I know." Twilight replied as she let out a long sigh, "That's why I suggested you two go home. After all, we're out of options here."

"But...surely there's something we can do." Spike said next, only to get two frowns in response.

"Spike, there's no way they wouldn't say that." Twilight grumbled as she shook her head. "I mean, look at this mess!"

"She's right buddy. I would do the same thing if I was in their hooves." Flash admitted as he stared at the ground, "Dang, I just don't know."

Spike glanced back and forth, surprised at how depressed the two were. It was here that an idea popped into his head, causing him to speak up, "Well...what if we told them the truth?" They both gave him a glance of confusion, causing him to continue, "Let's let them know what's really at stake if you don't get the crown tonight. Surely they'll help us figure somethin' out."

Both Twilight and Flash frowned at this. "But what if they won't? What if when they find out how different I really am-"

Spike shook his head, interrupting her, "Twilight, these girls rallied around you cuz they saw what was in your heart. They aren't gonna feel any differently about you when they find out you're a pony princess from Equestria." He then turned to Flash, "You too Flash. The Royal Knights wouldn't want your help and Grand wouldn't have helped us if they didn't think they could trust you." The two looked at each other, their brains clicking as Spike then added, "Besides, at this rate, what do you two have to lose?"

Hearing this, Twilight let out a giggle before patting Spike on the head. "You're right. I'm glad you followed us here Spike."

"Yeah furball," Flash began scratching him behind the ear. "Me too."

"Me three! Unless of course, we get stuck here for another thirty moons." That got them all laughing, only to stop as they heard a series of footsteps behind them.

"Man..." Iron commented as he, Heather and First walk in and look around. "Sunset, and it was totally her, really did a number on this place."

"Tell me about it," Flash replied as he nodded at Twilight before turning to them, "Speaking of which, there's something we need to tell you three."

"What?"

Twilight shook her head. "Not here. We want to tell everypo-er, everyone this at the same time. You mind coming with us?"

The three teens turned to one another before shrugging, First replying, "Sure, why not?"





One transition later...

When the group arrived at the boutique, they found the rest of their friends looking through several racks of clothing. The five of them turned towards the sound of the door opening, smiling as they spotted Flash and Twilight step inside. That is, till the Royal Knights came inside as well, causing them all to raise eyebrows in confusion as Applejack asked, "Hey...so uh, what's up?"

Flash and Twilight walked past them until they were standing in front of the changing rooms, Spike jumping out of the bag and onto the floor. Twilight let out a low sigh as she began, "Well...for starters, the Fall Formal isn't happening tonight."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie screamed.

Flash shook his head at this. "It's being pushed back to tomorrow night because Sunset Shimmer had Snips and Snails ruin all of Pinkie's decorations."

"WHAT?!" Pinkie repeated even louder than before.

"But the Fall Formal has to happen tonight," Twilight finished.

"Wha-" Pinkie tried to say, only for Applejack to quickly cover her mouth.

Iron blinked at the duo as he asked, "Look uh...I don't know why you're so into this but....why is it so important that you can't wait until tomorrow?"

"It's really important," Flash replied as his brain kept trying to think of words. "Because....because we have to go home tonight and uh...yeah. Let's just say that we won't be able to come back for a very long time."

"Go home?" First asked.

"Go home where?" Heather added.

Twilight gulped, afraid of her next words. "You see-"

"You're from an alternate world and you're a pony princess there and Flash is your bodyguard who is also a knight in training. The crown of the Fall Formal isn't the one the school usually uses and is instead a magical element that's embedded in the jewelry. It also helps power up other magical elements, and without it, they don't work anymore and you need them to help protect your magical world, and if you don't get the crown tonight, you'll be stuck in this world and you won't be able to get back for like, a really really long time!"

Everyone stared at Pinkie, only to hear a loud facepalm from Flash as he groaned, "Why...WHY?! Why didn't I see that coming?! What is wrong with me?!" Twilight patted his back in response, a big frown on her face as he continued, "I am so ashamed of myself for not realizing that was gonna happen."

"I know....I know." Twilight admitted as she mildly shook her head.

The others just stared at Pinkie in confusion, Rainbow speaking up, "Come on Pinkie. There's no way that's what's actually going on."

Seeing this, Spike walked into the middle of the room and spoke up, "No, she's pretty much spot-on."

All the humans in the room stared at the drake turned dog in horror, Rarity screaming, "HE CAN TALK?!"

"Oh yeah!" Spike replied to the stunned group of eight. "And back where I come from, I'm not even a dog!" He stood on his back legs and tried to imitate his true form. "I'm a ferocious, fire-breathing dragon!"

Flash saw the dumbfounded looks on their friends, causing him to chuckle. "Maybe you should have told them that slowly. I think their brains are beginning to fry."

But no sooner had he said that, Fluttershy recovered and put herself at Spike's eye level. "This is so amazing! Tell me, what are you thinking right now?"

Spike stared at Fluttershy for several seconds, then turned to the still dumbstruck Rarity before stepping over to her. "Sure would love a scratch behind the old ears!"

"Gah!" was all she managed to get out.

Seeing this, he let out a fake laugh, "Uh...maybe later then."

While this happened, Twilight turned to Pinkie. "How...how did you know all that?"

Pinkie shrugged in response. "Just a hunch."

"Wait a minute!" Applejack spoke up as she pointed at the duo, "Lemme get this straight....you two....you two are ponies?! Seriously?!"

They both nodded as Flash replied, "Pegasus and alicorn to give the proper definition." He then scratched his back, "And geez...I really miss my wings."

Rarity stared at Twilight in awe. "You're a princess?"

"And you're a knight?" Heather asked Flash.

"In training."

"And you're all from another world?" Fluttershy finished, soon getting two nods in response.

It was here that silence took the room, Twilight and Flash glancing at each other with despairing frowns. That is, till Rainbow exclaimed, "That...is...AWESOME!!!" The rest of the group then rushed up around them, asking questions about their world. Flash and Twilight both smiled and looked down at Spike, who gave a knowing smirk.

"See? Told ya."

"Whoa whoa whoa! Hold on!" They all turned to Iron, a look of non-convincement on his face. "Its a nice, yet brief story and all, but how can we be so sure they're telling the truth?!"

"They have a talking dog," Heather said as she picked Spike up. "How much more proof do you need?"

"Could be a trick of some kind," Iron replied before turning to Flash. "And how can you prove you're really a knight?"

Flash blinked at this question, knowing he needs to figure out a reply quickly. It was here that he saw a nearby broom and picked it up, pointing at the boutique's mannequins. He gave Iron a quick glance, "Now, I will admit I'm still learning how to drive this..." he then raised and flexed his free hand, "thing...but I've still had training. Watch."

With a quick spin of his fingers, the broom's stick spun like a pinwheel in one hand before Flash flexed his arm back, his other hand also now grabbing the stick. Gripping the broom with both hands now, Flash let out a roar as he did a single horizontal swipe, instantly hitting five mannequin's heads, all of them going flying off in an instant. And as the dummy heads fell to the floor, he turned back to Iron, "Satisfied?"

Iron raised his eyebrows in surprise at this before looking at his bandmates. Their faces showed pure convincement, causing him to turn back to Flash, "Okay...that's impressive. If you promise to teach me how to do that, then I'll believe you."

"Thanks. Though I will say, its not easy to learn."

"Try me."

"Heh...it never changes." Flash muttered to himself as he put the broom down before speaking up, "Since I think we convinced you all, we have a bit more to talk about. For starters, Sunset Shimmer is also a pony, and she came through the portal before we did. A few nights ago, she returned to our world and stole Twilight's crown."

Twilight nodded at this as she added, "But we were unable stop her. Unfortunately, during our scuffle with her in our world, she accidently dropped the crown into the portal between our worlds, where Fluttershy picked it up."

"So that's how it got there," Fluttershy said with a gasp.

Twilight nodded again. "That's why I need to win the Fall Formal Princess contest. To get back my crown before we're trapped here for a real long time. Without the magic of my crown, our home is all but defenseless."

"And trust me that when she says defenseless, she means it." Flash said next as he crossed his arms. "Where we come from, trouble is something that comes along every other week...usually on a Tuesday." He then leaned up to Pinkie and whispered, "And because I know you'll ask, we do have 'World ending danger only happens on Tuesdays' t-shirts in our world."

"Nice." Pinkie replied, giggling.

"So that is what is going on," First concluded before asking, "And may I assume that the portal closes tonight?"

Twilight nodded again. "Which is why we need to get the gym looking perfect for a dance."

It was here that Rainbow hopped into the center of the group, "Then what are we waiting for?! Let's get that gym fixed up!"

"RIGHT!"

"This'll be easy," Pinkie cheered. "I mean, how bad could it be?"





One 'why did you just say that Pinkie?' transition later...

"Oh...yeah, that's pretty bad." Pinkie commented as they entered the gym, the ten now seeing the pure destruction Sunset and her goons had caused.

"I simply cannot believe they did all this," Rarity added, tapping her foot in anger. "Just...how terrible can one be?"

"Well Rarity, we knew this wasn't gonna be easy," Heather told Rarity as she picked up some ripped up streamers. "Wow, this is...excessive."

Pinkie's hair drooped down, tears about to appear in her eyes, "Awww...all my hard work. If I only had some kind of...party cannon that could decorate everything super fast!"

"I knew I should have asked your counterpart to let me borrow it," Flash commented as he patted her shoulder.

"Really? She has one?"

Flash nodded. "Yup."

"I still can't believe you told us that there's versions of us in your world." Iron said next with his arms crossed, "And I still can't believe the Pinkie Pie versions are basically the same."

"Eh, just be glad you don't have to deal with my sister like my version of Iron does." Flash replied, getting a raised eyebrow from Iron.

"You have a sister?"

"Yeah..." Flash muttered as he looked away, "Let's just say uh....I'm trying to not meet her...other version in this world. Think it might be better that way."

"Fair enough."

"That's enough you two." Twilight commanded as she stepped into the center of the room and turned to them with pure determination on her face, "I know it seems impossible to fix this, but if we all work together, we can get this ready!"

"Now that's the kinda can-do spirit I'm lookin' for in a Fall Formal Princess!" Applejack exclaimed before placing her hand in front in the center of the group. "Let's do it y'all!"

"Absolutely darling!" Rarity put her hand on Applejack's.

"We are in," First agreed as he and Heather did the same.

"Rock on!" Rainbow put hers on the pile.

"Yes, indeedily!" Pinkie slapped hers on while Fluttershy did the same as she a quiet 'yay'. They all then turned to Flash and Twilight, who smiled at one another before placing their hands on the pile. As soon as they did, the ten of them threw their hands into the air. "Let's do it!"

"Way ahead of you!" They all turned to see Grand pushing a large cart into the gym, filled with brooms, trash bags and wheelie bins. He pulled it to a stop and turned to them all. "Don't know why having this party tonight is so important, but if it is, then that's all I need to hear."

Flash smiled at his mentor's doppelganger. "Thanks Grand."

Grand smiled back before tossing him a broom. "No problem kiddo. Now let's get this place cleaned up." He reached into one of the bins and pulled out a radio, which he turned on. And as the gym was filled with the sounds of music, Grand began to hand out brooms and trash bags to everyone, all soon getting to work. Flash, Rainbow, Fluttershy and First swept the rubbish into a pile while Rarity, Pinkie and Heather checked to see if anything could be saved. They actually found a lot they could re-purpose, while the rest was shoveled into the wheelie bins by Applejack, Grand and Iron. And while this happened, Twilight went through everything that had been saved and sorted it into piles.

Once the floor was cleared of trash, they started to remove and repair the damaged furniture. Flash and Grand then carried a stack of chairs in, only for Flash to notice that Twilight was having trouble moving a table. Flash was about to go help her, but as he put the chairs down, a pair of the athletes from the cafeteria stepped into the gym and helped her.

"Well I'll be damned," Grand commented as he put down the other chairs. "Looks like your little friend did more than just bring all the students together."

Flash laughed at his comment, "Yeah, she has a habit of doing that."

As they continued to work, more and more students came to help. And as they came, Twilight directed everyone with ease, all of them combining their skills as she suggested certain cliques to help each other. Before she knew it, the whole gym was filled with helpers, all being directed by her as the gym was starting to look like it had never been destroyed.

In fact, so many students were helping that Flash and the Royal Knights were able to stop cleaning and relocate their instruments onto the stage. Flash was the only one who didn't return to the gym, as the Knights gave him some sheet music and told him to practice in the music room, making sure he had no distractions. Time quickly passed as he sat in that room, trying to master every song.

Once his practice was done, he rushed his guitar over to the gym. When he got there, he was amazed at the sight, now seeing the gym twice as good as Pinkie's original job. "Wow..." he gasped as he walked up to the stage, soon walking up to his friends, "Great work everyone."

Twilight shined a bright smile, "Thanks. How'd your practice go?"

"Prefect. I can safely say that I have every single song memorized and perfected....at least as close to what I can."

"Good to hear," Iron told him before they all looked over the gym.

"This...looks...sooooo...GOOD!" Pinkie screamed.

"And we couldn't have done it without everyone's help," Heather added.

"Just goes to show what happens when you work together," Grand told them as he began to push the bin cart towards the door. As he reached it, he noticed Celestia and Luna step inside with giant grins on their faces.

Celestia began to clap, catching everyone's attention. "All right everyone, Fall Formal is back on for this evening!" This announcement was met with a thunderous cheers, only for Celetsia to clap again, "Yes yes, I know you're happy, but we're not done yet. You all need to get out of here and get dressed for the dance. Oh, and don't forget to cast your ballots for the Fall Formal Princess on your way out!"

Upon hearing this, the students all began to call out to Twilight and telling her she had earned their votes. Twilight blushed at hearing the praise, her friends all gathering around her and giving her a big old bear hug.

At the same time, Grand pushed his cart of the gym, only to hear a low growl. He quickly turned a corner at the sound, which he then saw Sunset and her goons. "You idiots! Next time I tell you to do something, make sure it actually works!" She then pointed at the gym's doors. "Look at what your incompetence has done! Both the gym and Miss goodie-two-shoes look better than ever!"

"We did our best," Snips told her while fiddling his fingers. "If we did anything else, we might have been caught."

Sunset just glared at them, "That's not an excuse, you idiot! I have to win, so you have make sure you don't mess up again! Got it?!"

"We won't," Snails whimpered, his lips trembling, "But uh...what are you gonna do now?"

Sunset turned away, fingers gripping her face, "I'll think of something. Just be ready when I do, GOT IT?!"

The two gulped. "Got it," they replied in unison.

Grand frowned as he shook his head at the sight. "Nothing ever changes, does it? Guess I gotta watch the gym just in case."





One transition to the boutique later...

"I still can't believe we pulled that off!" Fluttershy squealed as she held a dress up to her body while staring at a mirror.

"I can!" Rainbow cheered as she started to do a little dance. "Of course we did because we're awesome!"

"Enough chatter girls!" Rarity told them as she finished taking Flash's measurements. "We need to get ready, and we need to look fabulous!"

"I'm all for that," Heather added.

Flash stepped over to First and Iron. "Let me guess. We're gonna be here forever, aren't we?"

The two nodded in agreement, First then commenting, "It seems that is the one thing that shall always be a universal constant."

"Yup." Iron added, the boys now getting glares from the girls. Rarity then told Flash she would make him a suit while they began to get ready, also telling them that they would meet up at the school later. Seeing this, Iron invited Flash and First to his house, which was nearby. Apparently, Iron's foster father Skybreaker was on assignment abroad and thus they had the whole house to themselves. (Flash decided to not comment on the Skybreaker part, which Iron thankfully didn't ask if a Skybreaker existed in Equestria.) And so, for two and a half hours First and Iron showed Flash other various things of the human world. Flash was particularly interested in the video games and comics of the world, and asked Iron for pencil and paper, as he wanted to write down a few of these world's inventions to bring to Equestria. As such, the hours passed quickly and the boys went back to the girls to get their suits for the dance.

Flash was wearing a suit similar to what he had worn to the Grand Galloping Gala while Iron and First wore similar tuxes, but with different colored vests, Iron having gray while First had red. Iron then drove them to the school in his sports car, which Flash was all to happy to ride in, still fascinated by the vehicle, which he also jotted down in his notes. Soon, they arrived at the school, all three waiting at the main entrance.

Five minutes later, a limousine pulled up to the front of the school. When it came to a stop, the doors opened and out stepped the seven girls. Each one was now dressed in beautiful gowns, all adorning their different styles. Flash was instantly reminded of the dresses of the previous gala, though noticed some differences.

"Hey guys," Heather called out to them as she walked up with a silver dress that went down to her knees and had a yellow wool jacket atop it. "You three cleaned up good."

"Haa….yeah, sure." Flash moaned as he pulled the collar of his shirt. "How do you humans breathe in these things? And I thought wearing a suit with a fur coat was bad."

"Oh suck it up," said a voice he knew all too well. He turned to launch a retort, but his voice suddenly disappeared when he saw the fully dressed Twilight. She was in a dress similar to her gala one just like the others, but the appearance was even more beautiful than before. The very sight made Flash freeze up, casuing him to just stare with a dropped jaw. And as he stared, Twilight slightly blushed as she asked, "Um...you okay? Do you not like it?"

"Uh..." Was all Flash could say, causing the girls to laugh.

Rarity just patted Twilight's shoulder, "That's primitive man speak darling. It means he thinks you look incredible." Flash just nodded in agreement, getting another laugh from everyone including Twilight.

"Thanks. Shall we go in?" They all nodded and began to step inside, leaving only Flash, Twilight and Spike to bring up the rear. "This is it," Twilight said as she looking up at the school before looking back at the portal home, "now or never."

"You've got this Twilight," Spike told her.

Flash nodded again. "He's right. There's nothing we can do now except hope for the best. Until then, let's just try and enjoy ourselves." He offered her an arm before putting on a fake posh accent, "Will you accompany me to the dance my fair lady?"

Twilight laughed as she took his arm, "I shall good sir."

As they headed for the gym, the passed Luna as she was collecting the ballots. Since she was a candidate, Twilight wasn't allowed to vote, but Flash then handed in a slip of paper with a large tick next to Twilight's name. Luna nodded and told them to enjoy the dance.

It was here that they had to split up, as Flash joined the Royal Knights onstage, soon playing their hearts out while the rest of the student body danced to their tunes. It was amazing how easily Flash was able to get in sync with the others, but considering he had technically played with them before, it wasn't that difficult. Down on the dance floor, Twilight and her friends were also dancing to the beat.

That is, till a click went off in Twilight's brain. She started to look around, a question following, "Wait...anybody seen Sunset Shimmer?"

"Maybe she was too embarrassed to show!" Rainbow replied over the music. "She's gotta know you won by a landslide!"

"Maybe. But...she doesn't seem like someone that would just give up now."

It was here that the Royal Knights finished their last song, the crowd all cheering. They each gave a bow before heading off stage, Celestia soon stepped up there as the background music was brought down. Flash and the Royal Knights stood beside the girls as the principal spoke up, "First off, I wanna say how wonderful everything looks tonight. You all did a magnificent job pulling things together after the unfortunate events of the gym's earlier....problem."

"Sure, that's what it was." Flash joked, Twilight slightly giggling as she clutched Spike tightly in her arms. Luna then walked up on the stage with a box. She opened the wooden frame, revealing one Element of Magic crown.

"And now, without further ado, I'd like to announce the winner of this year's Fall Formal crown!" Luna handed Celestia an envelope, which she opened and read out loud. "The Princess of this year's Fall Formal is...Twilight Sparkle!"

The gym was filled with cheers, Flash patting Twilight as she put Spike down and ran onto the stage. Once she was there, Celestia picked up the crown and turned towards her. "Congratulations, Twilight." With that, she placed her crown onto its rightful place. As soon as it touched her head, it let out a quick flash of light.

Twilight turned toward the crowd, all of them continuing to cheer her on. A giant grin was on her face as she looked at her friends, all of them now hugging in joy at her victory. Flash smiled up at her and gave her a thumbs up, which she copied. "I did it." she said to herself, "I..."

"Twilight! Help!"

"Spike?!" Twilight yelped as she instantly recognized the voice. Flash did as well, which he looked down, only to see the drake turned dog now missing. He then looked back up, only to see Twilight gasp and hop off the stage, running through the crowd and towards the gym's exit as she yelled, "They've got Spike! Hang on Spike, I'm coming!"

"Oh no..." Flash whispered as he ran after her, their friends quickly following. And as they ran out of the gym, Flash let out a growl, "Hang on buddy, we're coming!"
> A Sunset Face Off
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

As Flash followed Twilight through the school, he soon caught sight of who had captured Spike. It was Sunset's goons Snips and Snails, both of them running just a bit ahead of Flash and Twilight. Despite their clumsiness and shorter height of the two, they easily evaded the duo as they ran though the hallways.

And as Twilight and Flash started to get close to them, the boys turned a corner, causing the duo to crash into some lockers. With a resounding 'clang', both slumped over before Flash quickly tried to recover, pulling Twilight up with him. "Those two are slippery." he commented as they both got back into a sprint.

"I know! But they got Spike, so we have to-huh?"

"Don't slow down ya'll!" said a new voice, the two now seeing their friends running beside them. "We gotta save 'em!"

The two glanced at each other, smiles on their faces before turning serious as they looked back at the running dognappers. They soon pushed themselves to their top speed, slowly catching up to the boys as they passed by a girl who looked a lot like their friend Trixie.

Eventually, the two arrived at a doorway leading outside. One slam through the doors later, the whole group ran down the opening's stairs, soon coming to a halt as they now saw both Snips and Snails. Spike was squirming in one of their arms, causing Flash to let out a low growl. "Let him go! NOW!"

"You heard him! Give me back Spike this instance!" Twilight added, pure fury now present on her face. "DO IT!"

Snips and Snails exchanged glances before slightly backpedaling, only for a new voice behind them to yell out, "That's close enough!" It was Sunset, and she was now wielding a large sledge hammer that was menacingly pointed at the statue with the portal. She was also wearing a huge grin as the seven teens came to a stop, Twilight and Flash now showing expressions of true worry.

"Twilight! Help-mmph!" Spike cried out as he squirmed again, only for a hand to clamp his mouth shut.

"No! Don't hurt him!" Twilight yelled as she pointed her palm at the bullies.

Flash on the other hand just pointed at Sunset and growled, "Sunset! If you know what's good for you, you'll let him go and step away from the portal! Its over, and you've lost!"

Sunset let out a hissing laugh, "HA! I'd hardly say I've lost. Far from it actually. But don't worry, I'm not a monster." She motioned to Snips and Snails. "Let him go." Snips and Snails shot her a confused look, but did as they were told. As soon as Spike was on the ground, he rushed over to his friends and jumped into Twilight's warm embrace. "You don't belong here," Sunset went on as she held out her hand. "Give me the crown, and you can go back to Equestria tonight."

"And if she refuses?" Flash asked with crossed arms.

Sunset's smile turned into a dark frown as she raised her sledge hammer. "Then you can keep it and never go home." Twilight gasped as everyone else tensed up. Flash growled at the sight, his fists gripping as he started to measure the distance between him and Sunset. That is, till Sunset continued, "Tick-tock, Twilight. We haven't got all night." She pointed up at the sky, everyone looking up and seeing the moon was almost at its highest peak. "The portal will be closing in the next hour. So, what's your answer?"

The question made the princess shiver, causing Twilight to take off her crown and stare at it. Thoughts about everything that was waiting for them back home entered her mind, their friends, family and the many dangers that were there. But as she stared at the Element of Harmony, she looked back at her friends in this world. She saw a variety of anger, fear, disgust and...worry on their faces. The sight alone made Twilight look back at Sunset, now seeing the devilish, malevolent expression she was displaying.

Blinking at this, she looked down at Spike, the dog staring up at with an expectant look. She then turned to Flash, her eyes seeing her bodyguard glare daggers at Sunset. His hands were gripped into fists, a look of pure anger on his face. It had been a long time since she had seen him this angry despite the obvious determination on his expression. That is, till he shifted his vision to Twilight, soon shooting her a confidant smile and nod. That gesture alone was him saying he was with her no matter what she decided.

With that last piece of support, she turned to glare at Sunset. "No! I'll never give you this crown!"

Sunset's expression turned to one of shock and horror. "What?!" She stomped her feet, swinging the hammer threateningly close to the portal. "But what about Equestria?! Your friends?! They'll be lost to you forever! Don't you see what I'm about to do to the portal?!"

"Yes, I see it. I know what you're about to do." Twilight replied as she stood up, Spike now leaping out of her arms as her friends started to line up around her. "But I've also seen what you've been able to do in this world without magic." Twilight then looked back down at the crown again, "I know that this crown is important to Equestria, and its needed to help protect it...but I also know that Equestria will find a way to survive without my Element of Harmony." She glared back at Sunset, "And I know now that this world might not survive if I allow my crown to fall into your hands." They all then saw Sunset begin to show signs of panicking, her feet slightly backpedaling as she tried to make sense of Twilight was saying.

Then, Twilight gave Sunset a glare of pure determination, one where hope could not be destroyed as she said, "So go ahead Sunset, destroy the portal! It won't matter no matter what you do..." Twilight lifted the Element of Magic above her head, "You are not getting this crown!" With that, she placed the Element back on her head, the crown letting out a long flash of light.

Sunset and Twilight glared at each other, time going to a crawl as they continued. And as it went on, Sunset's vision turned to the other six humans ready to fight against her, now seeing nothing but anger and determination in front of her. Seeing this, the bacon-haired girl let out a long sigh, "Fine...you win." With that, she tossed the hammer towards the ground and crossed her arms.

Twilight and Flash's eyes went wide in shock, only to feel the others hugging them, Rainbow cheering, "You...are...so...awesome Twilight!"

Applejack then friendly punched Twilight in the arm. "I can't believe you were gonna do that fer us!"

Rarity nodded in agreement. "Its no wonder you're a real live princess!"

"Oh yes, she's so very special!" Sunset screeched, causing everyone to turn and see her leaping towards Twilight. Before they could do anything, the two girls collided in a tumble, Twilight's crown flying off through the tackle. Sunset then pinned Twilight into the dirt, the princess yelping as pain surged through her body.

"Aaahhh!"

"Twilight!" Flash yelled. "Hang on, I'm-"

"The crown!" His best friend replied, causing him to turn and see the Element roll away.

But as he started to go after the accessory, Sunset screamed, "GET IT!" On command, her lackeys tried to get the crown, only for Flash to get it first.

But as he did this, Snails and Snips cut off his way back to his friends, Snips pointing at Flash with a glare. "Give it up! Its two against one, and we've already won!"

"Congratulations, you can count. And they say the education system's dead." Flash joked as he cricked one of his fists, "Well? You said you've already won, right?" He then motioned a 'come on' gesture. "Bring it on."

"Get him!" Snails yelled as he and Snips tried to tackle him, Flash easily backpedaling away from their attack.

"Flash!" said a new voice, causing Flash to notice Spike running towards him, "Over here!"

"Catch buddy!" Flash threw the crown at the dog, the drake quickly grabbing it in his mouth.

"What are you-GRAB HIM YOU FOOLS!" Sunset screeched as she pushed Twilight away, her goons now chasing the dog.

Spike ran as fast as he could, Snips and Snails right on his tail, only for Sunset to push past the two as she tried to grab him. Everyone else was not far behind, but they were too late, as Spike now found himself at the school's front door. But as he found out that his little paws couldn't open the giant metal frames, he turned to see Sunset glaring down at him. "Uh-oh..."

"SPIKE!" yelled another voice, causing Spike to see Rainbow right behind Sunset, waving her arms in the air. Instantly catching on, he jerked his head back, quickly tossing the crown between Sunset's legs. The athletic teen caught the accessory with a swipe of her hand, only to see Snips and Snails rushing up to her. She backpedaled from the two, dodging both of their attempts as she then noticed Sunset about to get to her. Rainbow jerked her head left, seeing another friend and yelled, "Fluttershy! Catch!"

"Eep!" Fluttershy yelped as the crown suddenly landed in her hands, causing her to hop in place. But as she tried to secure her grip on the crown, she looked up and saw Sunset and her toadies racing towards her. The sight alone made her scream, "Help!"

"Hang on Fluttershy!" Applejack said as she pulled a lasso out of nowhere, the rope instantly tying the girl up and pulling her away. But as she was yanked away, the crown slipped out of her hands, now flying through the air.

"I got it! I got it!" proclaimed Snips as he grabbed the accessory, "Ha! Now-huh?!"

A pink blur snagged the crown from his fingers, revealing it to be Pinkie. Snails quickly reacted and tried to tackle her, only for the party girl to dodge and then throw the crown to Applejack. The farmer instantly snagged the crown, but soon saw Sunset running towards her. Reflexes kicked in, causing her to throw it to Rarity. The fashionista immediately spun around, tossing the crown to Twilight. Twilight gripped her crown, only to see Snips and Snails rushing towards her. Instinctively, a small yelp escaped her mouth as she threw the crown up into the air, causing another to grab it.

"Got it!" Flash called out as snagged the Element of Magic. But in the moment he grabbed the accessory, his reflexes told him to turn around. He instantly did so, only for an end of a sledge hammer handle to be thrust into his gut. "AUGH!" he cried as he staggered back, the crown falling out of his hands as his legs started to wobble like jelly.

"Hurts, doesn't it?" mocked one Sunset Shimmer as she put the sledge hammer down.

"Not...as much...as-" Flash tried to say, only to see Sunset walk up to the crown. "No, wait-"

"I'll take that," evilly chuckled Sunset as she picked up the crown and lifted it above her head. "At last...more power than I could ever imagine!"

Everyone rushed after the girl, ready to stop her. But as soon as the crown was placed upon her head, everyone came to halt. The stolen Element of Harmony began to glow, shining a light that made everyone backpedal. And as it did this, a ring of black and blue energy appeared, encircling the girl. Sunset felt the surge of energy consume her, causing her to open her eyes as light devoured her. While this happened, everyone had shield their eyes as the light continued to grow, soon becoming a pillar of bright shining light.

Everyone watched this event in horror, fear and worry on their faces. It was in this moment that the rest of the school's population walked out of the front doors, Heather, Iron and First at the front as they all stared at the pillar of light. Grand was next, shock on his face as he stared at the sight, the lights in the pillar now spiralling, magic now consuming Sunset. She could feel the magic of the Element flow through every single cell in her body, her eyes now closed as tears started to leak out. Pain shook her body, only for the tears to evaporate as she reopened the eyes as they revealed pure white voids.

Then the light from the crown exploded around her body, causing her to combust into a flurry of black and blue flames. When the flames faded, everyone gasped as they saw the being that revealed itself from the light. It was Sunset, and her skin was now dark red, almost pink while her hair was shorter and spiked up to resemble fire. She now wore a dress that was the same color as her hair, complete with a black section around her waist while wearing black high heeled boots with red on the top, a red and yellow tail sprouting out of her rear. The final piece of her new look involved a pair of black bat wings with red inner membrane, all of it protruding out of her back.

Everyone continued to look up at Sunset in horror as Flash glanced between her and Twilight. "Could your Element always do that?"

Twilight didn't tear her eyes away from Sunset as she replied, "The element must be conflicting with this magicless world. I'm guessing that probably changed how its magic works."

"But it didn't do that to you when you wore it!" Spike, who was cowering in her arms, told her.

"I guess her dark heart must have reacted with the Element's changed magic," Twilight commented as she slightly backpedaled. "Though I have to say, I never expected her to change that much."

At the same time, Sunset stared at her new form, feeling her new power course through her veins. She then let out another psychopathic laugh, "AHAHAHAHA!!!! YES! Yes...true power, and its mine! ALL MINE! AHAHAHA!!!" Sunset exclaimed before looking down at her goons, a blast of energy firing out of her fingertips at the duo. Snips and Snails were struck instantly, transforming into blue and orange versions of whatever Sunset had become.

The two started giggling as Snails hissed and Snips said, "This is gonna be so cool."

"No, its not." Flash growled as he cricked his neck, stepping between the two and his friends. Snips just hissed at him before swiping a claw, causing Flash to hop back before tripping over his own feet. "Ack!"

"Not so tough now, are ya?" Snips retorted, chuckling.

"Still tough enough to beat you!" Flash yelled as he swung his leg, tripping both as Flash hopped back up. Before they could do anything else, Flash grabbed the sledge hammer Sunset had been using, causing them to whimper as they picked themselves up. "Ready to rumble, you idiots?!" Flash smirked as he gripped the hammer, "Cuz I know how to use this thing!"

The two glanced at each other, nodding before flapping their wings as they took to the sky. Flash saw this and sighed, "Oh yeah....they have wings now. Dang it."

Snips and Snails then flew over to Sunset, who was just staring at the school and its students. Seeing this, Grand yelled, "Everybody inside! Now!" Hearing this, Iron, Heather and First began pushing the students back into the school before Grand closed and locked the door.

Sunset just laughed at the sight. "AHAHA!!! I've had to jump through so many hoops tonight just to get my hands on this crown, and it really should have been mine all along!" She then growled at the school, a fake smile soon following, "But let's let bygones be bygones. After all, you were influenced by someone to no longer fear me!" The crown on her head began to glow as both her hand and the school's entrance did the same. "I am your princess now, and you will be loyal...to ME!" She balled up her hand, causing the entrance of the school to break off, a huge chunk of stone now levitating over the building before being thrown away.

The students all began to scream as they tried to run away, only for Sunset to fly into the school with a huge grin. Once in the center of the foyer, she closed her eyes before opening them to show a pair of hypnotic swirls. The swirls quickly flew out of her eyes, hitting the students one by one. And as soon as they were hit, the students all stood swaying on the spot, moaning as their eyes opened and showed a disgusting light green color.

Sunset then landed and looked around, smiling happily at the sight before turning to Snips and Snails. "Round them up and bring them to the portal." With that, she flew back outside and looked down at Twilight. "Spoiler alert! I was bluffing when I said I was going to destroy the portal. I don't want to rule this pathetic little high school, I want Equestria! And with my own little teenage army behind me, I am going to get it!"

Flash and Twilight growled at this, only to gasp when they spotted Grand and the Royal Knights stepping into view as hypnotised zombies. Twilight glared up at the she demon as she placed Spike on the ground to go, "No...NO!" she stood back up, "Do you hear me Sunset?! You won't win! Equestria is not yours!"

"I couldn't agree more!" Flash added as he pointed at Sunset, "Even if you do manage to beat us and head to Equestria, you'll still have to take down three princess, the Royal Knights and our friends. One blast from the Crystal Heart and you're dust!" The statement made Sunset let out a loud screech, causing Flash to cross his arms in smirk, "Aww...what's the matter?! Just realizing how stupid your plan is?! I mean, you're facing a force that's beaten countless magic evils with a bunch of high schoolers. How else is it gonna end?!"

"SILENCE, YOU WORM!" Sunset screeched as she fired a blast at the two, only for Flash to push Twilight out of the way.

"Twilight, watch-AAAHHH!" He cried as the blast sent him flying back.

"FLASH!" Twilight screamed as she and the others rushed over to him, the knight letting out a low moan.

"Some ponies just can't take criticism..." he whispered as Twilight started to help him up. "Ooohhh...that hurt."

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Flash grumbled as he fully got up and stared back at Sunset, "What's the matter?! That all you got? If it is, you'll get your flank beaten in two seconds in Equestria, you-"

"ENOUGH!" Sunset interrupted as her fist turned into huge fiery blazes of magic. "Equestria will fall to me! ME! I will be its princess, and there is nothing you can do to stop me! I have magic, and you have NOTHING!"

"They have us!" Rainbow yelled as she and their other friends stood beside Twilight and Flash.

Sunset saw this and, while a little surprised, she simply laughed once again. "Gee, the gang really is all back together again! And they think they can stop me, HA! That's so cute!" Her laughter grew as the flames began to grow in her fists again, "Now, step aside! Twilight has tried to interfere with my plans one too many times already! She needs to be dealt with!" A miniature sun then appeared in one of her hands before she tossed it towards the princess.

Flash quickly pushed Twilight behind him, crossing his arms as he expected to once again take the full force of the attack. But as he did this, the rest of their friends all huddled around them like a shield, causing him and Twilight to be pulled back in surprise. And as the sun struck, a massive explosion shook the earth, a pillar of smoke instantly covering the area as Sunset laughed at the sight. "AHAHAHA!!! I've-WHAT?!"

As the smoke cleared, the seven opened their eyes and saw a purple light surrounding them. Flash turned back to his friends, now seeing all his friends consumed in the purple glow. It encompassed them all as Twilight then opened her eyes, seeing the light and knowing what to do. But before she could do anything, Sunset screamed, "What is this?! What is that light?!"

She looked up at Sunset and smiled. "Its our magic! The magic of the Elements of Harmony!"

"WHAT?! But....but that's impossible!" Sunset screeched as she pointed to the crown, "This is the Element of Magic! All its magic is in me now!"

Twilight shook her head, "No...the magic contained in my Element was able to unite with those that helped create it! That is its true magic!" As soon as she said that, Sunset suddenly felt the crown's power surge once again. Only this time, it shot out a beam of pure untainted light that flew towards the seven teens, seemingly causing them to fly into the air.

One by one, the teens felt themselves be filled with the magic that they represented and began to change. "Honesty!" Applejack's ears grew and moved to the top of her head as her hair lengthened into a tail like extension, strength now pouring through her muscles. "Kindness!" Fluttershy's ears and hair also changed as a pair of wings appeared on her back. She could feel a flood of memories, all of them being with her animal friends as she could feel what they were truly saying. "Laughter!" Pinkie flicked her new ears and looked down at her tail, cheering as new ideas for parties began to fill her brain. "Generosity!" Rarity marvelled as she saw her ears and hair grow, her mind also bursting with innovation. "Loyalty!" Like Fluttershy, Rainbow gained a pair of wings along with new ears and a tail, her body now feeling like the speeding wind. "Courage!" Flash felt his ears and hair grow, only unlike the girls, his tail only went down to the middle of his back. He also felt his wings return, causing him to let out a sigh of relief as he flapped them. "Magic!" Finally, Twilight gained her own ears, tail and wings.

The seven transformed teens looked down at Sunset, who was completely horrified by what she was seeing. "No...I..." the magic fire in her fists began to flicker, their flames now shrinking as she stared at them. "No...no! What is happening?!"

But as she asked this, Twilight continued, "Together with my crown, they create a power beyond anything you could ever imagine! But it is a power you don't have the ability to control! The crown may be upon your head, Sunset Shimmer, but you cannot wield it, because you do not possess the most powerful magic of all" Twilight grabbed Rarity and Flash's hands, the two grabbing the others' hands and flew into a heart formation in the sky. "The magic...of FRIENDSHIP!" With that final decoration, a rainbow beam of light exploded out of them.

The rainbow spiraled up into the air, then shot straight down at Sunset Shimmer. "No! NO!!!" She screamed as the rainbow hit her before spiraling around her body. "What...is...happening?!" Soon enough, she was consumed by the tornado of colors as the power she once wielded wildly shot out of the top of the pillar of magic and into the horizon.

"Here and in Equestria, it is the only magic that can truly unite us all!" Twilight declared as they unleashed one final blast of magic, this one covering Grand and the others students. It also struck Snips and Snails, reverting them back to their human forms before covering the entire school in a veil of light. When the light faded, everyone now saw that the school's entrance was thrashed, along with a massive crater in the school's front yard. Also scattered around the edge of the crater were the seven heroes, all of them laying in the grass.

The first to recover was Flash, who sat up before looking around. "Everyone okay?" He got five different moans in response, "Good." He then realized he was a moan short and looked over at his best friend, "Twilight?" He crawled towards her and turned her onto her back, breathing a sigh of relief as she gave him a small smile. Spike then rushed out from his hiding spot and began to lick her in the face, causing her to laugh as pulled him and Flash into a hug as she stood up.

Once the hug was over, she looked back at the crater. There, Sunset Shimmer laid in her human form, consumed by smoke. She tried to pick herself up, but found her body had taken too much damage, causing her to crawl her way out.

"You will never rule in Equestria," the girl looked up to see Twilight and the others glaring down at her. "Any power you may have had in this world is gone." She pointed around the edge of the crater, allowing Sunset to see Grand and all the students staring down at their defeated tormentor. "Tonight, you've shown everyone who you really are. You've shown them what is in your heart."

Sunset looked back on all she had done as something inside her began to crack. The Magic of Friendship had torn the darkness out of her heart, causing guilt began to pour in as she started crying. "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't know there was another way."

Twilight shook her head at this. "The magic of friendship doesn't just exist in Equestria, Sunset Shimmer." She turned to smile at her friends, both new and old, "It's everywhere. You can seek it out, or you can be forever alone. The choice is yours."

Sunset finally found the energy to pick herself and climb out of the crater, now at Twilight's feet. "But...but all I've ever done since getting here is drive everyone apart. I don't know the first thing about friendship." She looked down as more tears spilled out of her eyes, only to feel two hands grab her shoulders.

She looked up and saw Flash and Twilight both holding her, then helped pull her up onto her feet. "I bet they can teach you," Twilight pointed towards her friends.

"And when you've learnt what you need to," Flash pointed to the rest of the school. "You can start making amends. Only then will you be able to not let your past define you."

Sunset looked between the two, then towards everyone else. For the first in a very long time, she felt like she could truly see and think clearly. She wanted to know, everything there was to know about the Magic of Friendship. And so, she nodded as more tears began to flow.

"All right! Those are my girls!" Spike cheered with a clap. "And Flash, Woo-hoo!"

The students all looked down at him in surprise as one of them spoke up. "Did that dog just talk? Whoa! That's...weird."

Spike shot him a raised eyebrow. "Seriously? The talking dog is the weird thing about all this?"

Rarity laughed as she picked him up and started scratching him behind the ear. "I, for one, think you're adorable."

"Oh yeah...." Spike moaned at the scratching.

Principal Celestia, Vice-Principal Luna and Grand then stepped towards the group, Celestia carrying Twilight's crown as Grand asked, "So kid, wanna explain what just happened?"

Flash began scratching the back of his head, nervously chuckling as he did so, "Not really. Besides, I doubt we have enough time anyway. Sorry Grand." He turned and pointed to the rest of his friends. "Though they can give you the run down."

"Oh sure, you have all the fun and leave us to do the clean up." Iron grumbled, only to get a nudge from Heather.

"Oh stop it! What are friends for but to help each other Iron!" Heather said while nudging him again.

"Indeed," First added.

Celestia stepped over to Twilight and held up her crown. "I believe this belongs to you." Twilight turned to her mentor's doppelganger and kneeled down. "A true princess in any world leads not by forcing others to bow before her, but by inspiring others to stand with her." She placed the crown on Twilight's head as she looked over at the friends she had managed to reunite. "We have all seen that you are capable of just that. I hope you see it too, Princess Twilight."

She kneeled down and raised Twilight's head so that their eyes locked. Twilight, after so much doubt and fear, finally felt like she was worthy of the position that had been thrusted upon her. "I do."

Celestia smiled as they both stood up while the students and faculty all cheered happily. Flash then patted Twilight shoulder, "Not bad eh? Looks like your magic saved the day again."

"Yeah...it did."

"Hey Sentry." Iron chimed in, "Does this mean you guys have to leave now?"

Flash and Twilight shared a worried glance, only for Flash to smile. "Sunset did say the portal would remain open for about an hour or so."

"And that was only ten minutes ago," Pinkie added.

Twilight let out a giggle, "I guess we can stay a little while longer."

This caused everyone to once again cheer, all of them running back into the gym. And as they arrived, the school's DJ took the stage so the Royal Knights got a chance to party. Fluttershy, Iron and a few more of the less social kids stayed near the edge of the hall, enjoying themselves while keeping away from being the center of attention. Applejack, Heather and First were closer to the center, Applejack dancing beside her brother while First and Heather did the same. Rarity was leading a conga line, with Pinkie at the back bouncing on her feet. Rainbow Dash was now enjoying the use of her new wings as she flew around above the other's heads. She then reached down and plucked the human Scootaloo up before throwing her onto her back, the two shooting off around the gym.

Finally, in the dead center of the room, Flash and Twilight were dancing below the disco ball. Flash was starting to get the hang of dancing as a human, but one look over at Twilight, and he saw her dancing the way she did in Equestria. He quickly saw the others staring at them, but shrugged and decided to show them how it was done in Equestria before getting down on all fours.

Once that song was over, they noticed a girl carrying a camera step up and offer to take a photo for them to remember. They all agreed and grouped up, Spike and Twilight in the middle with the four of girls around them while Flash and Rainbow stood behind. Once that photo was taken, Flash was pulled away for another one with the Royal Knights.

Soon enough, it was time for Flash, Twilight and Spike to head home. They and their friends left the school, Twilight pulling the girls into a tight hug while Flash fist bumped with the guys. And as soon as Twilight got out of the hug, she spotted Sunset Shimmer hanging around the destroyed school building. "You'll look out for her, won't you?"

"Of course we will," Rarity said with a small wave. "Although I do expect some sort of apology for last spring's debacle."

"And she'll need to confess to getting Lightning kicked out of school," Heather added. "Maybe we can still get him back..."

Twilight nodded as she spotted Luna step up to Sunset with tools, obviously expecting her to repair the school's opening along with Snips and Snails. "I have a feeling she'll be handing out a lot of apologies."

"We'd better get going then," Spike told them.

Twilight nodded before turning back to the group. "I know we've only been friends for a short time, but I'm gonna miss all of you so much."

Flash chuckled at this, "Yeah. You all might look, sound and mostly act the same as our friends back in Equestria, but don't you ever feel like we see them as replacements for you. Even if the differences are barely noticeable, we can see them." With that, the trio began to walk towards the portal.

As they did this, Spike looked up at his caretaker and smiled. "That crown really does suit you, Princess Twilight."

Twilight smiled as she looked up at her Element of Harmony. "You know, I think it does. Heck, I think I'm finally starting to feel a little more comfortable wearing it."

Flash shined a devilish grin, "What about the wings?"

Twilight turned to smirk back at him. "I've been walking on two legs and picking things up with these!" She held up her hands and wiggled her fingers. "Wings?! I'm thrilled that's all I'll be dealing with back in Equestria!" With that, she and Spike stepped through the portal.

Flash stepped up to it and took one last look at the place he barely knew but would happily risk his life for again, only to spot a particular person standing a ways off. Grand smiled at Flash before giving him a two fingered salute, which Flash mimicked before stepping into the portal, ready to go home.





Back in Equestria...

The three princesses and five remaining members of the Mane Seven were still in the throne room. They had been waiting there for three days, waiting impatiently for their friends to return. Rainbow was pacing in front of the mirror, having had to be restrained from jumping into it herself while the rest of them sat or laid on the floor waiting.

"Grrr….why is it taking so long?! Their time is almost up!" Rainbow complained, only to get a shake of the head from Fluttershy.

"Rainbow, we have to wait on them." She then patted Rainbow's shoulder, "Remember, this is Twilight and Flash we're talking about. They can do the impossible."

"I know, its just-wait! Look!" Rainbow exclaimed as she pointed at the mirror. Its surface started to wobble and shine, causing everypony to stare at the object. Before anything else could be said, Twilight and Spike flew out of the mirror.

"Aaah!" she yelped as she walked through on her back legs, quickly falling to standing pony position. "Oh...right. Four legs now. Just like its supposed to be."

"You're one to talk." Spike grumbled as he put himself into a bipedal position. "Ahhh...that's nice. No more hot fur or itchy ears."

Twilight was about to respond as she walked away from the mirror, only for it to wobble again as a certain orange pony exited it while on two hooves. The pony quickly exclaimed as he took to the air, "YES! Finally...we're back to normal!"

"Tell me about it," Twilight groaned as she shook her head. "No more-"

"Twilight! Flash! You're back!" yelled their friends as they tackled them into a series of hugs.

"You've got your crown!" Rarity cheered as she tapped the accessory. "Wonderful!"

Pinkie then tightened the hugs. "I knew you could do it!"

"Ugh! Too tight!" Flash croaked, "Can't breathe!"

"Oh, we were so worried." Applejack spoke up as they were released. "Thank the stars ya'll are okay."

Celestia then stepped up to them, a worried look on her face. "Sunset Shimmer, is she alright?"

Flash and Twilight both smiled and nodded at each other as they looked back at the Princess of the Sun, "I think she's gonna be fine. We left her in good hands."

This got a confused look from everypony as Rainbow asked. "What are hands?"

Flash chuckled at this. "Pinkie, get the popcorn. You girls are gonna love this story."

Twilight, Flash and Spike then told them everything they could think of. They went over how they had transformed into the strange beings called humans, found themselves in a school which had a version of almost everypony they knew and how Sunset had turned the place upside down. They were only half way through the story when Twilight let out a yawn, causing Celestia to tell them to go to bed and continue the story tomorrow. But as they headed off to their rooms, their friends still wanted more info.

"Where did you stay?" Fluttershy asked.

"What did they wear?" Rarity added.

"Did ya have fun?" Guess who asked that.

"What'd ya'll eat?" Applejack continued.

"Would ya say she's just as awesome as me? No wait, don't tell me. I already know who's more awesome." Again, guess who asked that.

Twilight sighed as she tried to keep her eyes open. "I wanna tell you all everything, I do, but I'm just so exhausted from all the dancing."

"DANCING!?" The others exclaimed as Cadance shined a greasy smile. "Okay, this can not wait until tomorrow."

"It can if you want a proper explanation instead of a tired, rushed tale..." Flash replied before yawning as well. "Not only that, I need to...wait." He then blinked before tapping his sides, soon poking his wings as well, "Oh no...its gone!"

"What's wrong?" Twilight asked as she blinked at him before glancing at her crown, "We got the crown Flash. I don't think we left anything else in that world."

"But we did!" Flash replied as he glanced all over himself before his eyes started to tear up, "No...I left it in that suit and it didn't come back with us!" He then turned to Twilight and pointed at her sides, "Just like your saddlebags, its gone!"

"I...oh yeah." Twilight remarked as she looked at her sides. "Huh. My saddlebags did disappear, didn't they? Wonder where they went..."

"That's not important! What's important is that I lost my notes that I put in my suit!" Flash exclaimed before rubbing his head in frustration, "No! All those cool ideas of that world! Video games, cars, computers, those awesome comics....they're all gone!"

Twilight just shook her head, soon patting Flash's shoulder, "Its okay Flash, we can always go back the next time the portal opens, right?"

"Yeah...you're right." Flash grumbled as he slumped over, "Guess we should get to bed then."

"Amen to that." Twilight added as they continued to walk down the hallway. But as she did this, her exhaustion began to settle in, causing her to trip. Flash quickly reacted and grabbed her wing, managing to pull her towards him. Twilight felt herself fall into Flash's chest before looking up at him, the two locking eyes. And as they did this, the two remembered what had happened earlier that night, causing them to blush as they stepped away from one another, Twilight hastily saying, "Anyways! Like I said, I'll tell you girls the rest tomorrow."

"Yeah...I need a serious shower and a proper bed." With that, the two continued down the hall while not looking at each other.

And as their friends saw this, they all smiled as they wondered what might have happened between the two in the other world. That is, except Cadance. Her skin was a furious red as she whispered, "It finally happened....it finally happened!" She then rubbed her hooves into her head, "AUGH! Why did it take so long?! WHY?!"

"Um...Princess Cadance? Are you alright darling?" Rarity asked as she saw Cadance's frustration consume her.

Cadance then turned to her, her left eye twitching while the right started to form tears, "No, I'm not. I feel like I just wasted over half a decade over something that ended up getting solved because those two went to another world!" She turned around, walking away from the group in a huff as she muttered to herself, "What is wrong with me?! I'm the Princess of Love, and yet I couldn't make them even remotely realise anything?! Augh!"

As the group stared at the fleeing princess, Flash and Twilight turned a corner and spotted two more ponies walking towards them. It was Shining Armor and Ruby Scarlet, both looking particularly tired as Flash spoke up, "Hey there, heard you two went yeti hunting."

"Yes...and it turned out to be a complete waste of time." Ruby grumbled before looking Flash and Twilight over, seeing the exhaustion on their faces while Flash had a few scrapes on his body. "Are you two alright?"

"Yeah, you look like you've been in a battle of some kind." Shining added as he looked his sister over, "Did something happen while we were gone?"

Flash and Twilight both glanced at each another before turning back to them, Flash shrugging. "Eh, nothing out of the ordinary."