Principal Cinch came to sit with Dean Cadence while Principal Celestia sat with Vice Principal Luna.
"Welcome, everyone, to the tri-cross relay." Dean Cadence announced.
The Canterlot students cheered, very excited.
"In this event, our qualifying competitors will face off in archery." Dean Cadence continued.
Applejack, Fluttershy, Sci-Twi, and Atticus were by the archery field, in uniform, and ready to go.
"Speed-Skating." Dean Cadence continued.
Cherry, Lemon Zest, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were by the speed skating field in uniform and ready to go.
Cherry did not have her skates on yet, she was hiding after her name was called. She took out Eglantine's wand that she had snuck with her to help give her advantage in the game. "Oh, please let this work for me..." she whispered to herself since she was not a witch by birth as she waved the wand to give herself perfect balance for the skating round.
"And finally, motocross." Dean Cadence finished.
Sunset Shimmer, Rainbow Dash, Sugarcoat, and Indigo Zap were on their bikes on the ramps, in uniform, and also ready to go. Mo was going to be with Sunset for this round, but since Rainbow Dash was faster, she changed for Dash's sake.
"Thanks for letting Rainbow Dash do this." Patch's voice said from inside her backpack.
Mo opened her bag and reached her hand inside to pet the top of Patch's head.
"So, if the competitors are ready..." Dean Cadence looked to the competitors, she took out a soccer horn and blew it loud.
Principal Cinch did not like the sound, but Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna were extremely excited. Fluttershy and Atticus ran as the horn was blown.
"Each competitor must hit a bulls-eye before their teammates can start the next leg of the relay." Cadence told everyone through the microphone.
Fluttershy ran slower than Atticus. Atticus jumped up, tucked, rolled, and picked up his bow and arrows, focusing on the target. Once he was in position, Atticus brought out three arrows and shot all three of them from his bow and where he got a bulls-eye. Sci-Twi and Applejack reacted in utter shock.
Since Atticus was done, it was Sci-Twi's turn. Fluttershy struggled with the arrows. Atticus looked behind him as Sci-Twi was on her way over. But she tripped on one of the bails of hay which caused for Atticus to wince out of pain.
"Ooh, that had to hurt..."
Fluttershy still struggled, she got her bow up in the right position, but still couldn't hit a target. Sci-Twi swung on the rope and put her feet on the platform, but was about to fall. Atticus decided to help her out so then she wouldn't fall. Fluttershy took a deep breath and was able to hit one target at last.
Atticus helped Sci-Twi up to her feet. "There you go."
Fluttershy gave a thumb's up to Applejack and now it was the honest country girl's turn. Applejack rushed over to take her turn.
"Good luck." Atticus told Sci-Twi before leaving.
"Thanks." Sci-Twi smiled.
Fluttershy smiled to Applejack. Sci-Twi looked determined as she shot her arrow, though very anxiously. Applejack looked worried for her, but focused on her own target as it spun in a circle in front of her eyes and she shot the arrow. And where she got a bulls-eye on the first try. Pinkie Pie and Rarity beamed once they started to skate, leaving Lemon Zest and Cherry in the dust.
"And Canterlot is off to an early lead!" Dean Cadence announced.
"You can do it, Twilight." Atticus assured her.
Sci-Twi was very shaky and had a really hard time with the archery round.
The sour/sweet girl growled as she watched. "Well, that's just fantastic!" she sneered.
"I'm sure glad I don't go to Crystal Prep..." Fluttershy stroked her own hair nervously.
"You said it." Applejack muttered in agreement.
"Whee!" Pinkie cheered.
"If CPA can't hit another bulls-eye soon, they'll be out of this race!" Dean Cadence announced.
Sci-Twi panicked, she was running out of time. She was so overwhelmed that she had tears of rejection in her eyes.
"You're really bad at this!" Sugarcoat called.
Applejack had enough though. "Ah can't take it anymore!" she threw her bow to Fluttershy and decided to actually help Sci-Twi and give her a helping hand. "Ya have to stop aiming at the target."
Atticus nodded before tapping the sour/sweet girl's mouth shut so she couldn't talk. The sour/sweet girl muffled, struggling and narrowing her eyes at Atticus, shaking her fist at him.
"Thank y'all," Applejack said to Atticus before going back to Sci-Twi. "Now, Twilight, ya have to stop aimin' where the target is and aim where the target's gonna be."
The sorrow/sweet girl began to try to take the tape off her mouth so she could speak, but because her hands were now behind her back thanks to Atticus, she couldn't.
"Sorry, she was working my last nerve." Atticus mumbled.
"I-I don't know..." Sci-Twi stammered.
"Do ya wanna hit the bulls-eye or not?" Applejack rhetorically asked.
Sci-Twi slowly nodded.
"Then trust me," Applejack gave a friendly smile. "Take a deep breath."
Sci-Twi looked ahead of her and took an inhale.
"And let the arrow go," Applejack continued as Sci-Twi aimed. "Right... NOW!"
And just like that, Sci-Twi let the arrow go, sending it flying, hopefully to the right target. Everybody looked in suspense, even Principal Cinch. The arrow hit the target right on the bulls-eye! Lemon Zest and Cherry started to skate, though Cherry was wobbling due to her poor balance and yelled as she was unable to control herself. Atticus then took the tap off of the sorrow/sweet girl's mouth.
"YOW!" the sour/sweet girl hissed in pain. "Why I oughta-"
"YEAH!" Spike came onto the platform with Patch. "That's my girl!"
"Way to go, Twilight!" Patch also cheered.
Sci-Twi and Atticus hugged their puppies.
"I-I'm just gonna go now..." the sour/sweet girl backed away, looking uneasy to be around talking dogs.
"I'm so happy she got shocked and surprised." Atticus smiled.
Applejack was going to high-five Sci-Twi, but the Crystal Prep girl gave her a hug instead.
"See?" Applejack put her arm around Sci-Twi. "Ah was tellin' ya the truth."
This made Applejack grow bright orange and she ponied up, which activated Sci-Twi's pendant.
"Oh, no, not again!" Atticus and Patch gasped.
"What... Are... You... Doing?" Applejack sounded weak as the magic was being sucked out of her.
"I don't know!" Sci-Twi cried, she then accidentally tripped over the dogs once Applejack was drained and she fell off the platform.
The pendant detached from Sci-Twi's necklace and it fell on the field.
Patch ran over to destroy the thing once and for all. "Time to get rid of you!" he yelled at the pendant before rising his front foreleg.
But before he could destroy it, he was hit by the same attack yesterday, sending flying away from the pendant.
"YOOOOW!" Patch whined and whimpered.
Darla looked up and held out her arms and Patch landed right into them. "Patch?"
"Darla?" Patch looked to her.
"What are you doing?! Me? I'm here for the Friendship Games. What?!" Darla and Patch exclaimed at the same time.
"You okay, Twi-" Atticus came to the fallen girl's sight before a portal was opening up in the ground. "Light...?"
The four skaters were still making their rounds.
"Canterlot only has two laps to go, but it looks like Crystal Prep is making up for lost time." Dean Cadence announced.
Cherry and Lemon Zest began to catch up and pass Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Crystal Prep actually started to cheer for the two. The Canterlot students looked concerned however. Cherry accidentally hit the pendant with her skate as she passed with Lemon Zest. More portals were opening up and it sounded like it was followed with Dr. Faciler's laughter as a tentacle reached out.
"Come on!" Rarity urged her teammate.
Pinkie Pie held onto Rarity's leg and zipped between Cherry and Lemon Zest, crossing the finish line and making Canterlot High earn a point.
"What a finish!" Dean Cadence cheered.
Photo Finish snapped their picture. Sugarcoat, Indigo Zap, Sunset Shimmer, and Rainbow Dash started their motorbikes and they were racing down the ramp all together. Sci-Twi tried to reach for her pendant, but a monster from a portal was dragging her by her ankle.
"Twilight!" Atticus gasped before running over and starting to pull her away from the monster.
Rainbow Dash hopped over a ramp perfectly. "AWESOME!" she cheered, going down the other side.
Sugarcoat followed her. A monster portal appeared in front of Rainbow Dash, but she managed to steer clear away from it. The portal and monster really surprised Principal Celestia, Vice Principal Luna, Dean Cadence, but the one that was the most surprised of all was Principal Cinch. The monster came through, knocking Sunset Shimmer off her motorbike.
Sugarcoat got her bike trapped in the monster's mouth. Indigo Zap rode her bike up the monster's back and she flew ahead of Rainbow Dash. Rainbow Dash saw Sunset in distress, so she turned around to help her friend. Sunset was frightened of when she saw the monster as it now devoured her motorcycle. The monster was going to eat her now. Sugarcoat was freaked out, so she ran away. Rainbow Dash saved Sunset before the monster could eat her.
"Dash, you saved me!" Sunset was amazed and relieved.
"I wasn't about to let my friend become plant food!" Rainbow Dash smiled to her before she glowed bright blue. She stopped the motorbike, removed her helmet and ponied up instantly.
Principal Cinch glared to Principal Celestia who sheepishly shrugged in response.
"We can still win this!" Rainbow Dash smiled.
Sunset smiled and drove the motorbike this time. Rainbow Dash flew after her, still having her pegasus wings. Spike tried to gnaw at the plant tentacles while Sci-Twi and Atticus tried to get free. Indigo Zap was in the lead until she fell through a ditch made by one of the plant monsters. Rainbow Dash saw the monster there and decided to hit it, distracting it.
The monster snarled, trying to eat her alive. Rainbow Dash had to admit she was nervous, but she was not going to let one of her friends get eaten by it. Sunset rode over a couple of ramps, making the crowd cheer for her.
Indigo Zap glared as she was stuck in the ditch and now all dirty. She then tried to ride after Sunset, which attracted one of the plant monsters. Which of course, didn't get very far as Rainbow Dash tackled it to the ground, making sure it didn't eat anyone else. Sunset and Indigo were in neck and neck, but...
"Canterlot wins!" Dean Cadence announced.
Canterlot High School cheered while Crystal Prep Academy looked bleak and dissatisfied.
Principal Cinch was not pleased.
Dean Cadence feared this and kept a straight face. "Attention, students, please proceed to the gym." she told the students.
Spike kept on gnawing at the monster's tentacle while Sci-Twi was now trying to close the pendant. As soon as the pendant closed, the monsters and portals vanished. Sci-Twi looked incredibly nervous. Darla walked over with Patch in her arms.
"Patch, are you okay?" Atticus asked.
"Fine..." Patch grunted a little. "You? Guh... I can't wait until this adventure is over, I hate getting hurt from magic!"
Sci-Twi saw the Humane Six and decided to apologize to them.
Mo rushed to Atticus and hugged him with tears in her eyes. "I was so worried about you..."
"So worried?" Atticus smirked slightly like when Angel found Scamp when they first met.
"Lighten up, city boy." Mo let go with a smirk.
"Looks like Sci-Twi is apologizing for what happened." Patch said.
Sci-Twi did apologize and explained she was tracking down the strange energy coming from Canterlot High. "I didn't know that it was magic or how it works." she then added.
"That's okay," Rainbow Dash walked over. "Neither do we."
The pendant then somehow sensed Rainbow Dash still had her ears, wings, and tail and opened up to drain her Equestrian magic.
"Oh, no, not again!" Sci-Twi cried.
"Oh, come on!" Atticus and Patch groaned before coming over. "Not again!"
Rainbow Dash looked to be getting weaker and weaker.
Sci-Twi tried to close the pendant, but couldn't. "I'm sorry! It just started absorbing energy on its own, but I'm not sure how!"
"What do you mean you don't know how!?" Sunset raged, she tried to fiddle with the pendant herself.
Suddenly, a spark hit the daytime sky and a portal opened up to show nighttime. Principal Cinch walked over, but she hid in a corner once she saw what was happening.
"It also causes these corresponding rifts to appear, we don't know how that works either." Atticus said helping Sci-Twi try to close the pendant.
"Is there anything you do know!?" Sunset hissed, sounding more like her old self. "Like how to get our magic back or how to fix the portal to Equestria!?"
"Equestria?" Sci-Twi asked.
"You're supposed to be smart, but did you ever think that you shouldn't be messing around with things you don't understand!?" Sunset scowled, closing the pendant and made the portal disappear.
"But I wanna understand!" Sci-Twi frowned.
"But you don't!" Sunset snarled. "And worst of all, you put the lives of my friends in danger!"
"I'm sorry!" Sci-Twi started to sob. "I didn't mean to!" she then ran away, crying.
"Twilight, wait!" Spike went after his young mistress.
Sunset breathed heavily in anger, but once Rainbow Dash put her hand on her shoulder, she realized she had went too far and she was now emotionally devastated for what she had done. Atticus wanted to say something to her, but knew that Sci-Twi needed comfort right now.
"This is not good..." Cherry sighed as she got her skates off. "This is not good at all..."
"You're right, this isn't looking good one bit." Mo said.
"Okay, would someone mind telling me WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON?!" Darla exclaimed.
The others then glanced to her.
"Um... Please..." Darla then added with a sheepish smile.
"Ugh... It's a really long story, Darla." Mo said.
"Yeah... Long story..." Cherry added, then gave her a look. "Hey, shouldn't you be in your own school?"
"Um, I came here because it was an emergency?" Darla smiled nervously.
"Darla..." Cherry glanced at her.
Darla pulled her collar and made their eyes meet. "I wanna help, okay!? Atticus may not be my real brother, but he's treated me like his own sister! I mean, his life is in jeopardy too!"
"Aww... That's so sweet..." Cherry smiled that Darla loved Atticus like her own brother despite not sharing blood. "Kinda reminds me of... Myself when I first met him..."
"When you first met him? Oh, you mean when you both were in the orphanage," Darla smiled. "Atticus told me that story."
"Yeah, we kinda became like a brother and sister," Cherry explained. "When Cinderella's father came to adopt us at first, the caretaker insisted we be adopted together since we grew so close despite our differences."
"That story is always my favorite, next to the day Atticus first met Mo, along with when he first met and adopted Patch." Darla smiled.
"Aww... You're a sweetie..." Cherry smirked a little, ruffling up her hair.
"Well, at least your foster home days are better than mine were before James and Elizabeth took me in..." Mo folded her arms. "Now that that's all settled, we have to destroy that spectrometer and NOW!"
"So, what's going on around here?" Darla asked. "Now explain to me slowly and clearly exactly what happened."
Cherry sighed, taking a very exhausted deep breath. "Okay, listen up, because I'm tired of this story..." she then took a deep breath and was going to explain everything. "So, Crystal Prep and Canterlot High have this four year event called the Friendship Games. We were told about it from Teller who came all the way from Las Vegas to help us since we helped him and Penn against Stinkbomb and Rot because Atticus had a vision that Vanellope von Schweetz told him to face against the two magicians since they were evil and Teller told us that he believes in Equestria and visits all the time under the identity of Doctor Whooves, but no one knows it's him. He then told me that Dr. Faciler bewitched him when he was a child so sell his soul and become a successful magician for when he'd grow up, but it ended up as a trick, because Teller's now dead and Dr. Faciler's possessing him and Dr. Faciler took our elements of harmony and we have to destroy the pendant before Atticus and Sci-Twi, this world's Twilight Sparkle unleash the magic and then Darkness will conquer the whole world of magic and it'll the end of the world as we know it!" she then gasped and took wheezing breaths after she told the story.
Darla slowly blinked. "Okay, now explain to me slowly and clearly exactly what happened..."
This caused for Cherry and Mo to anime fall.
"Just read the previous chapters of the story..." Cherry muttered, breaking the fourth wall. "There! I did it!" she then sat up before flopping backward again.
"Um... I'll just take a guess that this has something to do with magic." Darla said, smiling nervously.
"Exactly!" Mo and Cherry yelped before falling together.