Chapter 1: The Mysterious Stranger
E.Q.U.E.S.T.R.I.A Spies: Lightning's Version of The Friendship Games (8#)
Chapter 1: The Mysterious Stranger
~Sunset Shimmer fled down the pavement in a hurry and Lightning Star followed. They had been running now for thirty minutes or more, and fine beads of sweat were forming on Lightning's upper lip. The girls were closing in on CHS; they could tell. Beyond the school statue and stairs, their other friends were approaching the scene. They sprung to a halt and Sunset looked down, holding back her puffing and panting.~
"I got your text, Rainbow Dash!" Sunset exclaimed before gabbling out a ton of questions. "Did something come through the portal? Is Equestrian Magic on the loose? Did Twilight come back with a problem that only we can solve?"
"Has a giant cake monster covered all the cakes in the world in cake?!" Pinkie Pie asked, thrusting two cupcakes in her mouth while Sunset looks unimpressed.
Lightning Star comes forward. "Maybe it's something more serious! However, a cake monster would be cool. I would be naturally concerned if that happened though. Maybe Devil attacked the school! The bank was robbed? A friend has been abducted by a mysterious winged villain?"
"Umm, not exactly." Rainbow smiled sheepishly.
Sunset looked around. "Uh, I don't understand."
"Well, Sunset...I was just tellin' Rainbow Dash here that a broken guitar string doesn't really qualify as an emergency." Applejack explained, fiddling with the broken string on the guitar.
"It totally does!" Rainbow retaliated.
"Really, Rainbow Dash?" Rarity spoke up. "I was in the middle of sewing a very complex applique on my latest frock."
"And I was just about to tuck everyone in for the night at the shelter." sighed Fluttershy. "Now we'll have to start stories all over again."
"I was in the middle of painting a picture of a meadow, but that stupid text startled me and made me jog my brush! Now, I find out that this emergency is not important!" Karly Crystal frowned then sighed with a hint of irritation.
"Why would you send all of us an emergency text for a guitar string?" Sunset asked, folding her arms.
"Well, I was going to pony up, and show our fans some awesome guitar licks," Rainbow gestured at the CMC as they waved. "But I kinda need all 6 strings to do it. Got any extra?"
~All the girls sighed in annoyance. Sunset threw her open backpack off her shoulders heavily and reached for the spare guitar string from inside of it. She gave it to Rainbow gingerly.~
"Here. But, everyone finished practising for the day, I'm pretty sure all the music rooms are locked." She then said, throwing her backpack back on her shoulders.
"No problem. The autistics in the hallway are perfect for power cords." Rainbow strummed her guitar. "Come on! Let's go!"
~Lightning and Sunset exchange pleasing smiles while shaking their heads happily. Their girl group walk away through the door, however, they stand completely still. Applejack looked back at them after noticing they weren't following.~
"You comin', Lightnin' an' Sunset?" She said.
"I'll catch up in a bit." replied Sunset.
"Yes, I will too." added Lightning. "Just need to relax from the start that just happened. My lungs are working like crazy!"
~The cowgirl nodded in understanding before heading inside. With a smile of relief, Sunset hopped up onto the stairs and spun around to face her backpack, eyes droopy, feeling relaxed. Lightning landed softly beside her without so much as a clip. She picked some leaf litter from the instep of her favourite shoe and fiddled with it. Sunset watched her then reached into her backpack again and pulled out a journal with a leather casing and a shimmering sun logo on the front. She opened it up mid way before pulling out a pen from the bag too. Lightning watched her write inside it.~
"Dear Princess Twilight, how's life treating you in Equestria? Any cool new magic spells? It's been pretty quiet here at CHS since the Battle of the Bands. We still pony up when we play music, which Rainbow Dash just loves to show off! But I still can't quite grasp what it's all about, I would love to hear what you think about it when you get a sec. Your Friend, Sunset Shimmer."
~From across the road of the school, a bus stopped outside. The automatic doors opened slowly and a person, all disguised up in a hood, stepped out. Their face was hard to make out. They activated some strange tracking device before beginning to saunter forwards to the school. The arrow on the device was bouncing left and right from the red zone to the green zone. As the figure approached the statue, they began circling it until they faced the door to Equestria, their device was going mad and they laid a hand upon the portal. It waved ever so swimmingly. Suddenly, with a sense of trouble, Lightning darted up to the portal and saw the hooded figure doing just that. With panic settling inside her, she vigorously elbowed Sunset's arm.~
"Um, Sunset?"
Sunset looked up and also saw the figure snooping around the portal. "Hey!" She called out.
~The person whirled around and spotted the two girls staring at them in confusion. They stood there frozen and with an open mouth.~
"What are you doing?" Sunset called again.
~They didn't answer. Instead, they glanced backwards, then ran as fast as their legs could carry them away back to the road.~
"Wait! Stop!" Sunset scrambled to her feet.
"Hey, you heard the girl, Stop!" Lightning shouted.
~It took the girls five seconds to prepare before giving chase. Sunset got a head start over Lightning and was gaining on the stranger, until they crossed the road. Sunset was about to pursue, but Lightning stopped her before she stepped on the road by grasping her arm and yanking her backwards.~
"Sunset!"
~Lightning pulled her friend back on the pavement just as a car zoomed past on the road. On the other side, the bus halted at the stop and the stranger slid on board. It took off in a matter of seconds. Lightning and Sunset crossed the road and watched it leave for the city.~
"Who was that?" Sunset asked rhetorically.
~On the bus, the stranger sat down on the back seat and pulled their hood off, revealing it to be Twilight Sparkle! But, she had glasses? What? She sighed in relief and slid in her seat. Minutes later, the bus stopped outside a large fancy, crystal-like building, Twilight hopped off and stepped inside. She walked through several doors dramatically before stepping into a mysterious office. The board hanging on the wall was covered in papers and findings all about CHS and everything that's happened there. Twilight took a piece of paper with a picture of the portal with a question mark on it and with a pin, she stuck it to her collection.~
~After a short while, Twilight began to work. She pulled apart her tracking device thingy and looked inside. Afterwards, she began to spark and invent another small, strange device. It was about the size of a pocket watch. The centre showed a sparkly star logo and all around it glowed. She smiled when it was complete. Back at CHS, the day went on regularly. A ton of students were in the library, reading and researching, including our main cast. They all had their noses deep inside some books, except for Lightning and Sunset. Lightning plugged her earphones in her ears and began to listen to some music, however, when she cocked open one eye, she could see Sunset walking back and forth in distress. She knew exactly what she was thinking about and also couldn't hold back her distress either.~
"She was definitely doing something to the statue, or was going to." Sunset said.
"Do you think she came through the portal from Equestria?" asked Fluttershy.
"No, I'm pretty sure we would have noticed that." Lightning said, taking out one earphone.
"I think she was from over here." Sunset claimed.
"Well, that's a relief." Applejack grinned. "The last thing we need is another magic so an' so bent on world domination comin' over from Equestria." She winked at the girls who grinned back slyly.
"Agreed. I have no interest in another fight against the powers of evil magic. The wear an' tear on my wardrobe is just too much to keep up with." Rarity sassed.
Sunset shrugged. "Still, a mysterious figure snooping around…"
"Don't you want to know what she was upto?" Lightning raised a brow.
"Uh, no. Absolutely not." Karly answered.
Fluttershy shuddered at the thought. "I don't even wanna guess."
"Well, you don't have to!" Rainbow exclaimed, coming from around the bookcase. "Because I've totally figured out who it was!"
Pinkie flew in Rainbow's face and held up a couple of interesting books of her guesses."Ooo! Ooo! A nighttime statue cleaner? A magical portal maintenance? A gardener?!"
Rainbow pushed her face away. "Seeing as how they got off a bus from the city, and got back on a bus headed to the city, I'll bet they go to…"
"Crystal Prep." The Mane 5 groaned.
Lightning folded her arms. "Crystal Prep? What's that place? Was it originated by Karly's family?"
"No." Karly answered immediately. "I've never heard of that place in my life."
"Crystal Prep Academy is a school located in the city. It's our biggest rival school." Applejack explained.
Rainbow nodded with her. "Yep. And with the Friendship Games starting tomorrow, they totally try to prank us by defacing the Wondercolt Statue."
"Wow. I hate these guys already." Lightning frowned.
"Why would anyone take a bus all the way from the city for that?" Sunset then shrugged.
"Because the Crystal Prep Shadowbolts are our biggest rivals." Applejack answered.
"Because that's just what students at Crystal Prep would do." Rarity added.
"Because even though they beat us in everything; Soccer, Tennis, Golf. They still have to gloat!"
~Rainbow shoved a book into Sunset's face and showed a page of their statue dressed up in a jokey, clown-like outfit. Red shoes, puffy purple wig and yellow and orange striped shirt. It looked ridiculous. Lightning pulled a disgusted face when she took the book and stared at the picture. Karly was not far behind. They began flipping through the pages while Sunset rolled her eyes.~
"Yikes…"
"I'll say."
"Seems kind of silly to me."
"Silly?!" The Mane 5 exclaimed.
"So, I guess you think the Friendship Games are silly too?" Rainbow frowned.
"Well, it's not like we'll be fighting the powers of evil magic." Sunset said.
Fluttershy put her hand on her shoulder. "No, we'll be fighting against a school full of meanies. Not everything has to be magical to be important." she convinced.
Sunset rubbed the back of her head. "You're right. I'm sorry. I know it's a big deal."
"Oh, that's putting it mildly, darling. They're still revamping the playing fields in preparation." Rarity scoffed.
"I just don't understand why there's this big rivalry." Sunset then fessed.
"Yeah, aren't the Friendship Games supposed to be about our 2 schools getting along?" Lightning spoke up, peeking out of the book.
"Well, it's kinda hard to get along with someone that beats you at everythin'." Applejack sighed, taking the book off Lightning's hands politely.
"Not anymore!" Rainbow threw the book to Karly as she caught it. "This time, things are going to be different."
"What do you mean?" Sunset asked.
"Oh, you'll find out…" Rainbow pulled a smug grin.