A/N: Cloudflare has light orange skin (a bit lighter than Applejack's) and short green-blue hair, and he wears a plain black shirt and blue pants.


I step onto the bus.

"Are we gonna win?!" Indigo Zap is practically in my face.

"Uh... Hell yeah?" That sounded weak.

She makes a buzzer sound. "Try again! Are we gonna win?!"

Didn't help that she caught me off-guard. "Hell yeah!"

"I can't hear you!"

"Hell yeah!"

"That's the spirit! Up top!" She gives me a high-five. "Hell yeah!"

"I admire your enthusiasm," Dean Cadance says to us, "but watch the language."

"Sorry," I say. "Got a little carried away."

I walk up the aisle and sit in the back right window seat. Part of me's excited to possibly see Cloudflare again, but another part's super nervous about going back. I look out the window. Twilight walks to the front of the line for this bus. She's on the team, too? Why? This is, like, the exact opposite of something she'd participate in. Also, doesn't she know how lines work? You get in them from the back, not the front! Dean Cadance lets her on anyway.

"Are we gonna win?!"

I've never heard Twilight get excited about anything. This should be good.

Indigo makes a buzzer sound. "Wrong answer! Are... we gonna... win?!"

Twilight steps onto the bus. "Um... I guess? I-It's just... I mean... I heard that CHS is doing well now. With their reputation. And - I mean, it's not better than ours, of course, but we can't let them do it, you know? Win, I mean? Right?"

...

That was the worst rally speech I've ever heard.

"You're gonna have to take your seat," the bus driver tells her.

She walks back, trying to find an open seat. She eventually sits next to me and looks to her left. "Hi, Sugarcoat."

"That was a really bad speech. You should consider not speaking in public." For somebody named Sugarcoat, she's not afraid to tell people exactly what she's thinking.

Twilight looks at me. "Hi, um... uh..."

"Olivia."

"Right, Olivia. Sorry. It's been a while since we first talked, and you're not in any of my classes."

"No, it's fine. Most people only know me as the girl from CHS."

"You're the CHS girl?"

"Uh... Yeah?"

"Did you notice anything strange happening at that school?"

"Other than one girl ruling over the student body and the students being segregated into cliques?"

"Yes, other than the usual high school drama."

"Not that I can remember."

"When did you transfer to Crystal Prep?"

"Seven months ago."

"So you were there on the third Friday of the month."

"No, I left the weekend before."

"Oh..." She looks disappointed.

"Why are you on the Friendship Games team? This doesn't seem like something you'd participate in."

"Principal Cinch... persuaded me to join."

"I see..." The bus starts to move. "She convinced me to join, too."

"She did?"

"Well, more like she forced me to. She figures if they see a former Wondercolt playing for their rivals, it'll throw them off their game. She knows about my history with CHS, so I don't know why she'd want me to go back."

"Are you any good at the events?"

"She implied there won't be any running and jumping, so maybe."

"What's wrong with running and jumping?"

"My right leg... It's..." How do I put this... "It can't handle the shock of too many hard impacts. Doesn't help that my class schedule is all over the place. My locker's on the top floor, my first class is on the middle floor, second class is on the ground floor, lunch is on the middle floor, third class is on the top floor, and my final class is on the bottom floor."

"Wow... That sounds tiring for someone with two good legs."

"No kidding. It takes me like 20 seconds to go up each flight of stairs. I have to go up... Twenty, forty... Sixty..."

"120 steps each way."

That was quick. "Right. It wasn't an issue at CHS, but here, I have to be very careful with how I walk up and down them." I swear she has it out for me... I notice Twilight has some sort of necklace. "What's that thing around your neck?"

"It's sort of a spectrometer. It tracks electromagnetic frequencies."

"Like a P.E. Meter."

"A... what?"

Guess she doesn't have time for movies. "Never mind."

"There's some strange energy coming from CHS, and I'll be using this to determine its origin and contain some of it for further research."

"Is that why you asked me that stuff earlier?"

"I've been meaning to ask the CHS girl about it for a while, but I didn't know who it was."

"Sorry I couldn't be more help. Everything was normal when I left. Well, as normal as that school could get."

This is probably the most she's ever talked to anyone. It's definitely the most I've talked to anyone since coming here. Maybe she'd want to this time.

"So, um... I heard you don't have any friends. And, well... I was wondering..."

"I told you before. I don't have time for relationships."

Are you serious?! "Bullshit!"

"Eep...!"

"Nobody at school wants to spend any time with you. I get that. But when you reject the one person who does wanna spend time with you..."

"I-I have to study!"

"Every waking hour?! Shit, if you can't spend even one hour a day with someone, what else don't you have time for? Bathing?!"

"Of course I bathe! I'm not a slob!"

"What do you do, study in the shower?!"

...

I went a bit overboard... "I'm sorry, Twilight. I'm just frustrated that everyone ignores me."

"I understand."

"At least give it some thought. I'd like to have someone to hang out with, even if it's only for a few minutes like today."

"I'll consider it." Better than a flat-out 'no'.


I step off the bus and sign in with Dean Cadance. Back at Canterlot High. I had the entire bus ride to calm myself, but now that I'm here, I'm super nervous. I'm about to walk back into the hornets' nest, or however that saying goes. I look around. All of the Shadowbolts team is here except Twilight. Where did she go?

As usual, the other Crystal Prep students are ignoring me. I'm actually surprised. I figured at least Sugarcoat would say something about the CHS girl being back at CHS.

I put my earbuds in and play a DragonHearts song on my phone. I'm not a huge metal fan, but I overheard Lemon Zest listening to them and they sounded pretty good.

As epic as the guitar solo sounds, it's just a typical DH solo. The build-up immediately after stands out the most, and I can't help but air guitar that part whenever it comes up. It's so awesome!

When the song's over, I take out my earbuds. I think I can see Cloudflare standing by the school's entrance. Someone's with him, who looks a little like -

"Having fun?" Twilight has returned from wherever she ran off to.

"Where'd you disappear to?" I ask her.

"I got a reading on my device, and I followed it into the school. When I was outside the music room, it started absorbing some type of purple energy."

"Purple energy?"

Her device makes some type of noise. She looks at it, then walks toward the Wondercolts statue. Why would there be anything odd about a statue?

"That was some awesome air guitaring," Lemon Zest says to me. "What song was that?"

I walk over to her. "Thanks. It was 'No More Tonight' by DragonHearts."

"Ah, that song. That's a kick-ass build-up!"

"I know, right? I always air guitar during that."

"I didn't know you were a fan."

"I heard you listening to them a few months ago, so I decided to give them a try."

"What other bands do you listen to?"

"A whole bunch, but usually only a few from each."

"Any bands you know a lot of songs from?"

"Only a few. Rushed, The Progeny, and DragonHearts."

"Hard rock, punk rock, and power metal..."

"I'll listen to songs from any genre as long as the songs aren't shit."

"You seem pretty cool. Why have we never hung out before?"

"Because I'm the CHS girl, and nobody wants anything to do with me."

"Oh, right... Well, maybe when the games are over..."

"Olivia, Lemon Zest," Dean Cadance says, "we're going to the gym."

"Coming!" Lemon runs ahead.

I sigh. That's the closest anyone's come to wanting to hang out with me.


They did a nice job of decorating the gym. Streamers, balloons, and even a disco ball. The welcome banner could've been less plain, though. Put a lot of effort into sprucing up the gym, then half-ass the thing welcoming the students?

Well, time to stir up the hornets' nest. I walk toward the Crystal Prep side, passing several CHS students. To my surprise, even though they're looking at me, they say nothing. I know a couple of them teased me before. Is the uniform fooling them or do they actually not remember me? Either way, I'm relieved.

"How does it feel to be back?" Lemon asks when I reach the other side.

"Honestly, I was hella nervous. I didn't exactly transfer out of CHS on good terms."

"How so? Get in an argument with the principals?"

"The other students didn't like me."

"Why not? You seem like a nice girl."

"And if they gave me a chance, they would've seen that. I don't wanna say why they teased me."

"Oh, come on. It can't be that bad."

"It's not, but my school life was ruined because of it. I don't wanna take the chance with any Crystal Prep students knowing."

"Are you a lesbian?"

...What?! "No!"

"It's alright if you are. I won't tell anybody."

"I'm NOT a lesbian!"

"Bisexual?"

"No, I'm straight! Just stop guessing!"

"Okay, okay! Sheesh... I was just curious."

"I know, but I have my reasons for not telling anyone."

"I understand. We all have our secrets."

"I'm gonna check out the snacks. You want anything?"

"Nah, I'm good."

I walk over to the snack table in front of the stage. Radishes, carrots, cheese on toothpicks, ranch dip... They couldn't spring for a plate of cookies?

"Olivia?" That sounded like...

I turn around. Light orange skin, short green-blue hair... "Cloudflare?"

He smiles. "It's been a while."

That was him earlier! "Oh my gosh, I knew it was you!" The two of us hug. I'm so glad to see him again!

"I didn't know you went to Crystal Prep. How have things been going for you?"

"Well, the students aren't teasing me. They're not talking to me at all, actually. Aside from one... weird student."

"Weird how?"

"He has some... obsession with feet. I don't wanna go into it." I'm just glad that freak kept quiet.

"I see... So you're on the Shadowbolts team for the Friendship Games?"

"Principal Cinch forced me to join. She said it would throw you guys off your game to see an ex-Wondercolt. Though from what I've seen, they don't even remember me."

"I heard a rumor that one of the events is jumping over hay bales. Doesn't she know about your prosthetic?"

"Wait, what?! I have to jump over..." He can't be serious! "What the hell?! That bitch does have it out for me!"

"Calm down. I'm sure she just forgot."

"My classes are across all three floors! I have to go up and down 240 steps every day!" I don't care what she says. I am not jumping over anything!

"Hello, everyone!" Principal Celestia is standing on the stage. "I'd like to take this opportunity to greet all of our visitors from Crystal Prep Academy and welcome them to CHS."

"Are they still incompetent?" I ask Cloudflare.

"Sorta. They still seem oblivious to most of the stuff that goes on."

Some things never change. "Sunset Shimmer still runs the place, huh?"

"Uh... Well..."

"And lastly," Celestia says, "I would like to recognize the twelve students that CHS has elected to compete." I look around as the CHS team waves. "I don't think we could have chosen a better group to represent the excellence, sportsmanship, and friendship the games stand for." I recognize the muffin girl, Rainbow Dash, Lyra Heartstrings, Sweetie Drops, and that blue-haired guy... What was his name, again? Chad?

Wait, Sunset Shimmer is on their team?! "She could've chosen somebody other than Shimmer. But I guess when you have the principals in the palms of your hands..."

"Yeah... About that... Sunset Shimmer is... Well... She's..." A bitch? Yeah, I know that.

The lights go out, the disco ball lowers from the ceiling, and music starts playing. Students from both sides are talking with each other.

"Nice way to break the ice," I say.

"Yeah, Pinkie's good at that. So anyway, as I was saying... Sunset Shimmer..."

There's a loud bang, then confetti rains down.

"Wait, Pinkie used an actual party cannon? I thought that was a metaphor for the meet-n-greet being a blast."

"At least it got everyone together." Most of the students are dancing. "Things sure have changed since I left."

"...how much..."

"What was that?"

He sighs. "Sunset Shimmer and I are friends."

Did... Did I hear him right? "Sunset Shimmer? The same Sunset Shimmer who ruined my life and yours? Did you hit your head on something?!"

"She's changed! She's nice now."

Nice?! "You've gotta be kidding! This is Sunset Shimmer we're talking about!"

"Yes, and Sunset Shimmer isn't a heartless -"

Someone taps on a microphone, producing loud feedback. The lights turn back on, and Principal Cinch is on-stage. "I'd like to thank Principal Celestia for her unconventional welcome. It's been four years since the last Friendship Games, but it feels as though nothing has changed. Canterlot High continues to pick its competitors in a popularity contest and Crystal Prep continues to field its top twelve students."

The students walk back to their respective side. I do the same. Friends with Sunset Shimmer...

"It is a comfort to know that even after so many years of losses, your school remains committed to its ideals, however misguided they may be. I wish you all the best of luck, regardless of the inevitable outcome."

Shimmer made all of last school year miserable for me. Then at the start of this school year, she did the same to Cloudflare. So why the hell would he be friends with her? I'd say it's a practical joke, but he's not the type to do something like that.


***That night***

I sit at my computer. Okay, let's see... Canterlot High School, Fall Formal...

"Canterlot High Crowns New Princess on a Truly Magical Night"

New princess? I guess the students got tired of Shimmer's shit.

"Sunset Shimmer's dream of a clean sweep was brought to an end, as newcomer Twilight Sparkle was crowned Princess of the Fall Formal in a landslide victory."

I'm... not reading that wrong. It definitely says "Twilight Sparkle". Maybe they meant to put "Twilight Sprinkle". Sparkle has always gone to Crystal Prep. The rest of the article goes on to explain Sprinkle's campaign process and Shimmer's attempt at ruining her image. That sounds like the Sunset Shimmer I know, not the "nice girl" bullcrap Cloudflare mentioned. It doesn't say anything about strange things happening that night, though I guess the Queen Bitch being dethroned is strange enough. A search of "canterlot high strange things" doesn't turn up any relevant articles. Maybe I'll press Twilight for more info tomorrow.