Hello, fellow readers! Back with the next entry in the OC series, Calm after the Storm! Last time, we spent a nice Christmas with the cast as new faces reveal themselves. Among those new faces are Levin's cousins, Stylite Stream and Pixel Stellar. This chapter will be the former getting the tour of Crystal Prep, next chapter is the latter's tour of Canterlot High with each spending a full school day before we start build up to the Games.

This interlude series will not follow the prologue/epilogue formula, just simple chapters similar to the shorts that are just as important as the main stories. With that summary said, let us begin!

Chapter 1: The New Shadowbolt

As winter break ended, the boys return to Crystal Prep for their first day back to school. Our main trio has their way of wearing the school uniform, so Stylite was no different. His blazer was left open like Levin along with having the sleeves rolled up close to his elbows and his own touch of his signature black fitted cap.

"So the name was literal, huh?" Stylite looks around the interior as Levin answers, "Pretty much. It's a bit shiny, but you'll get used to it."

"Not like the ordinary ones that have normal structures." Shade chimes in.

"Well, considering the type of people that go here and run it, it fits quite well." Visor points out, making the three agree with a small chuckle.

"Hey, guys!"

"Except for one." Visor casually mentions as the four turn to the voice calling out to them.

Sci-Twi was the one that did, a smile on her face as she approaches them. "Good morning."

"Morning." Levin cheerfully responds back to her, the others following up on that soon after before he continues. "Surprised that you're not at your lab this time."

"That's because Dean Cadence has assigned me to give Stylite the tour of the school today." She shares with them.

"Oh? That's weird." Stylite was a bit surprised at that, "Usually it would be a member of the staff, but OK."

"Best that we get to class, then." Shade simply said as he takes his leave, "We'll see you two later."

"Yeah, see ya later!" Visor follows after his friend with Levin in tow, "Have fun!"

Stylite and Sci-Twi simply wave at them as they left, leaving the two alone as the former spoke up. "Well, lead the way."

The tour was rather simplistic, as it was just pointing out which subject is in which classroom. The main thing about this was their conversations in between as they took the stairs to the second floor.

"So, you have a personal lab at school too?" Stylite recalls from what Levin said earlier.

"Yeah. It was more so a gift for someone of my 'natural intelligence', honestly." She answers, sounding a little bit embarrassed about it.

"That definitely gives off the vibe of favoritism..." He speculates, "Do other students have a lab like that?"

"Actually, I asked Principal Cinch about that too." She recalls from when she arrived here back then, "Her only answer was that it belonged to a former student of hers."

"Really? Do you know who it was?" Stylite was rather curious at that part.

"I didn't ask. The way she said it... sounded rather sad." Sci-Twi slows down a bit upon thinking about that again.

He slows down with her as similar thoughts went into his mind, "Oh."

She realizes the change in mood and addresses it, "I'm sorry, didn't mean to-"

"No, it was a simple question and you answered it." He gently interrupts her before shifting the topic, "For example, how did you meet the boys?"

The tour continues, sharing her story about the boys in between each time she points out a classroom's purpose. It isn't until they reach the stairs that go to the third floor that the conversation went more naturally.

"Wait, so this 'magic hunt' they were on turns out to be true?" Stylite wants to make sure he heard that right.

"I know it sounds crazy without seeing it, but it's real." Sci-Twi was honest with her words, "Especially the transformation..."

"Sounds terrifying... and awesome at the same time." He couldn't help but admit what he felt about that.

"That's one way to look at it..." She mutters to herself before speaking up, "Anyways, it was after that when we finished our project, which we got an A on, and the Christmas party later on."

"That part I know of." He points out the obvious in a joking manner, "Still, pretty crazy about the other worlds and magic. Guess we came in at a good time."

The two reaches the third floor as Sci-Twi spoke, "This floor doesn't have classrooms, just the offices and teacher's lounge among other rooms."

"Interesting way to structure a school." Stylite comments on before looking right at her, "Is that all there is?"

"No, but I was told just to tour the main building since the rest of the campus is easier to memorize." She answers, "Plus, Principal Cinch wants to talk to you afterwards."

"Ah, convenient." He comments, "On that note, thanks for the tour. It was quite informative."

"It's no trouble. I got a free period out of it, so I can use it to work on my lab projects." She said before taking her leave, "I'll see you later!"

"Wait, where is her office?" He realizes that she didn't mention that part.

She stops and simply points across from themselves, "Through that door."

"...Oh." He briefly felt a little bit stupid about that, "Thanks again."

"Your welcome. See ya later." Sci-Twi then goes back down the stairs as he heads towards the office.

He simply strolls towards the door as his mind drifts to the conversations earlier. Magic, new faces, and the upcoming Games makes for quite an eventful school year. A smirk appears on his face as he spoke to himself out loud.

"It's gonna be one heck of a party."


Opening the door to the office, it was fairly lit with some shadows on the side walls which has bookshelves and other furniture to boot. The center of attention was the desk that belongs to the principal as she sat there in clear view.

"Welcome, Stylite Stream." She addresses the new student before gesturing to the seat in front of the desk, "Please, sit."

Entering the room and goes right to the available chair to take a seat, the principal continues. "I hope that Twilight Sparkle has given you a proper tour of the school's layout."

"Yes ma'am, she did a great job." Stylite gives positive feedback in response.

"Good." She simply said back before continuing, "Now, I want to speak to you about an urgent matter that has came up recently. One of the students that were on our team for this year's Games has recently suffered an unfortunate accident during the winter break as they went on a ski trip for a week during this time. As you can guess, this opens up a spot that has to be filled as soon as possible."

Stylite got the picture as soon as the word 'accident' came up, "And you want me to join the team in the student's place?"

A small smirk appears on the principal's face as she spoke, "You catch on quickly. However, that goes into another issue I want to discuss. When we make our team for the Games, we usually extend an invitation to our top students to participate. Four of the top twelve this year are those you already know."

He immediately knew who she was talking about, "Is that so?"

"Yes. If not accepted in the time allotted, we give the invitations to the next best candidates. Although, it would be a waste for them to decline as they do give us the best chances of winning and have you included at top of that."

"Which is why you want me to convince them to join the team too?"

"I believe you are able to do so." Principal Cinch then clears her throat, "Please come back here when they have made their decision. Dean Cadence has your school schedule, please stop by there on your way out." She gestures to a door a few feet away from them to her left as she said that.

"Yes, ma'am." Stylite then gets up to his feet and takes his leave to said office, leaving the principal alone.

"He has to..." She simply said to herself, making a bet on how it plays out.


"Welcome our new student, Stylite Stream."

The students in his first period, Physics, simply look at him with indifference as he stood in the front of the class. Though, he can hear some of them mumbling under their breaths before the teacher spoke up again.

"Are there any questions that anyone want to ask?"

About three hands raised in the air in response, one of them being chosen for him to answer.

"What's with the scars?" A male student asks the first one.

Stylite wasn't surprised at all, "Fights, both of them are from the ones that started it and both were cheap shots."

"Why do you have a ponytail?" A female student asks the second question.

"I like having long hair over short hair. Plus, I'm not a fan of haircuts." He casually mentions.

"Do you play baseball?" Another female has the last one that was a bit specific, though she clarifies right after. "Cause of your baseball cap."

"Oh. Kind of, though I mainly wear it since it goes well with my ponytail." He admits.

With the questions answered and being told his assigned seat was in the second row close to the window, he goes and takes his seat before class resumes. He was honestly half-listening to the lesson being taught, his mind thinking of how Levin and the others would react to him joining the Games. Without realizing it, he was called on by the teacher.

"Stylite! What's the number needed to reach our answer?"

Taking a moment to look at the equation on the chalkboard, he remembers what Levin told him about finding missing numbers is kinda like doing it backwards. With that in mind and looking over the numbers in the problem, he answers.

"Twenty-five."

The teacher looks at the equation again before speaking, "Correct."

The other students started up again with the murmurings, which he didn't pay mind to except for one that was nearby.

"Lucky guess."

Shifting his eyes over to his right, he sees a girl that has long pigtails and wore a pair of glasses to complement the look. She wasn't even looking in his direction now, but he felt like she was before simply shrugging it off.

The lesson passes and the rest of class was given to the students recapping what they learned with a couple of questions written on the board for them to do. Stylite simply places his pencil down as the current paper in his notebook was filled with the questions and his answers.

"Nice." He simply said to himself as he leans back in his chair.

"Stylite, right?"

He looks over to the girl he heard earlier, who is now looking at him with a skeptical look.

"Yes." He simply answers in kind.

"There's no way that you are already done. You didn't even double check." She was right to the point, but her claim is somewhat valid.

"My cousin tutored me on this stuff back when we were still living together." He casually mentions, "Dude is crazy smart with his numbers."

"And your cousin happens to be who, exactly?" He wasn't exactly sure, but he could have sworn she was stifling a chuckle while she was talking as a sign of not believing what he's saying.

"Levin Reed." He bluntly said, most likely to mimic her way of talking.

She simply blinks as her reaction to it, "The guy that is somehow almost as smart as Twilight Sparkle?"

"Told ya, crazy smart." He reiterates with a smirk on his face before asking something, "Oh yeah, what's your name?"

"...Sugarcoat." She simply said as her introduction.

"Nice to meet ya." He was rather genuine with his words, which intrigues her a bit without it being noticeable to him.

"I thought you were some special exception that the principal allowed in..." She admits, "However, I may have jumped to conclusions."

"Oh... well, thank you." Stylite was noticeably caught off guard by what she said before giving a small smile.


The second period was rather boring as the subject this time was literature, which he wasn't much of a fan of. After teaching them some history of how plays were done back then, the class was assigned a simple task of figuring out the original definitions of certain words. Sounds simple, but some students were struggling with it. One particular girl was a bit irritated at trying to figure this out, who so happens to be sitting behind Stylite who was doing OK.

"Gay? Wait, that meant something else?" She was a bit surprised at that, which he picks up on and turns around to see what's up.

"You'd be surprised how many words changed meanings." He casually said, "If I remember correctly, gay originally meant happy. At least, that's what Shade told me."

"Happy?" The girl with headphones was now confused, "Why have a different word that means the same thing?"

"It's a bit complicated. Though, it usually meant 'carefree' or 'cheerful' back then before the change." He recalls, "Nowadays, it's just another way of saying 'homo'. Kinda sad, honestly."

The girl was still processing what he said before catching up, "So... it meant 'happy'?"

"Yup." He simply said, which she wrote down.

"Huh, you're smarter than you look." She said as a compliment, "You're the new student, right?"

"Stylite Stream. And you are?"

"Lemon Zest." The headphones girl introduces herself, "As you can tell, I'm more into music than... well, this."

"Thought it was kinda obvious." He jokingly retorts back, "What kind of music do you listen to?"

"Mainly rock. Though, I have recently got interested in jazzy stuff." She admits.

"I also like rock, but my little brother really enjoys the big band style of jazz."

"Does your brother go here too?"

"Sadly no, he goes to CHS instead since there isn't room."

"That sucks."

"Eh, you take what you get. It's close by and we have friends over there to hang out with him."

She can hear a bit of disappointment in his voice about that before she got an idea. Putting her headphones over his ears, she then plays one of her favorite songs... which she forgot that the volume was rather loud, making him flinch in pain.

"Turn it down!" He said, trying not to shout in order to attract attention.

She does so, making it more bearable for him to listen. It was a simple rock song, but the vocals and beat were rather catchy as he finds himself bopping to the rhythm.

"This is good." He compliments, which she smiles at.


The lunch period comes around, which Stylite had the lucky chance of getting the same one as Levin and the others. After getting a lunch, he sees the four at a table and joins them.

"Hey, how's your day going?" Levin asks a simple question to start the conversation with.

"Pretty good." Stylite answers, "The classes are boring, but some of the students were mostly nice to talk to."

"Great. I was hoping that you wouldn't get hostility from anyone while you're here." Levin admits.

"I'd feel sorry for them." Shade casually said.

"You two make it sound like he's a troublemaker." Sci-Twi was a bit confused about what they were saying.

"No, I just defuse it." Stylite reassures her, "I only fight when the person doesn't want to back off."

Shade was chewing on his apple when he makes a comment, "Other than that, he's got a soft heart."

"Meaning he's a nice guy underneath." Sci-Twi got that part right.

"And totally not because he's lonely." Visor casually said to tease the guy.

She was now curious as to what he means, which Stylite wants to not hear. "Dude, I swear if you-"

"She's not gonna tell anyone." Shade cuts him off, "She knows I read romance novels. Though, where I got such an idea..."

"...I would ask to change the subject, but I'm betting she wants to know anyways." Stylite guesses.

"Honestly, yes." Sci-Twi hesitantly admits, "With that said, is there a reason why you read romance too?"

Stylite looks at the others before back at her, "You won't tell anyone, right?"

"Of course." Sci-Twi reassures him.

Stylite does a simple nod before speaking, "Well, I'm sort of a... what's the word? Or words? It's on the tip of my tongue..."

After a few seconds, Levin steps in to help. "A 'hopeless romantic'."

"Yeah, that." Stylite simply said as a way of thanks before continuing, "I always imagine being with someone. At least before I leave this world, I wanna have a special connection to a girl that made my life... well, special. It isn't much to ask, I hope."

"I think that's very sweet." Sci-Twi was honest with her thoughts, "I hope you do meet that special someone, Stylite."

He was rather surprised at the encouragement before giving a big smile, "Thanks, Twilight. And besides, I'm not the only person who's single at this table."

Shade and Visor shifted their eyes away as they continued eating, which Stylite chuckles at before noticing Levin looking at Sci-Twi who was taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Well, make that most of us." Stylite lightly jabs his elbow into Levin's arm, getting his attention as he realizes what his cousin meant.

"W-What? D-Don't make assumptions." Levin tries to deny, a light blush evident on his cheeks as his cousin chuckles at his expense.

Stylite then remembers something that he might as well get out of the way, "By the way, Principal Cinch wants us in the Games."

All four of them look right at him after he said that, "Was that what she wanted to talk about earlier?" Sci-Twi recalls from earlier.

"Guess so. And she was thinking since one of her students couldn't join, she wants me to be their replacement." Stylite continues to elaborate on, "Which in turn, would help her get you four to join as well."

The four were silent, most likely in thought about this. Stylite was kinda curious about their hesitation, "Any reason why you don't want to join?"

"It's mainly due to what it represents." Levin goes first, "From what we've told from the students at CHS, Crystal Prep sees the Games as a way to win instead of having fun. Even though it's called the 'Friendship' Games for a reason."

"I wouldn't want to be seen as someone who just wants to win." Visor chimes in, "That kind of reputation is hollow, to say the least."

"Plus, why be on a team who would turn your backs on you if you mess up?" Shade brings up a good point, "At least, that's the kind of vibe I got."

"I'm just not into competitions, sports or otherwise." Sci-Twi didn't really have much to say, "I don't like dealing with that kind of pressure..."

Stylite listened to what they all have to say and can agree with their viewpoints. Principal Cinch may have high standards for her students, but it doesn't seem like she knows how to have fun or at least how to relax. He then got an idea that could help their little predicament.

"Tell ya what. How about I go and talk to her about it?" His suggestion made them look at him like he's gone mad.

"Wait, are you serious?" Visor was taken aback by this, "I highly doubt she would even listen."

"Better to take a shot than not at all." Stylite simply said, "And if I manage to do that, you four will join the Games for fun. How about it?"

"You're taking a gamble." Shade warns him about.

"I'll hold you up to that." Levin surprises the other three and even his cousin with his words, "If you can convince the principal to relax for the Games, then we'll join."

"Then it's a deal!" Stylite was glad that worked out.

Sci-Twi was understandably flabbergasted, "W-Wait, I don't want to join! I don't want to join!"

"Don't worry, it wouldn't be a competition by then." Levin tries to reassure her on, "Plus, you'll be with us and the girls at CHS. It'll be more like one big school trip."

Sci-Twi didn't feel any better, but sees where he was getting at. "Still..."

"Either way, it'll depend on if I succeed." Stylite then realizes what time it was, "Oh crap, we'd better eat before we leave!"

The group then went back to their lunches, making sure they had enough energy for the rest of the day.


Good thing Stylite did just that, as his next class was gym. For today, there was a small obstacle course for them to traverse through. It was a rather simplistic one with how straightforward it is, though the obstacles themselves were why.

Starting off with a tire run, they then have a soccer dribble course and a gym crawl section before following it up with a balance beam. Ending the course, they had a rock climbing wall that leads to a drop into a large inflated pad to land on safely.

The gym teacher had out his clipboard as the students had finished changing clothes. Once they were lined up, Stylite finds himself next to two of the girls in class who were quite confident about this.

"This is the best he can do? Please, I can do this with my eyes closed." The girl with the orange goggles brags about.

"Totally. You know, you say that a lot." The other girl said with a strangely sweet tone before dropping into an irritated one in an instant, "It gets on my nerves."

"I do?" The goggle girl was surprised at this, "Huh, didn't know I did."

"Then again, that isn't as common as the sleep one." He comments out loud, unknowingly getting their attention since he was watching the first couple of students do the obstacle course. "Heard that enough times to actually fall asleep hearing it."

"Wait, really?" The goggle girl didn't catch his sarcasm, making him smirk a bit.

"No, but it is really boring to hear." He clarifies.

"I'm sorry, do I know you?" The two-face girl asks the obvious question, "I don't remember you in our class before winter break."

"Yeah, I'd definitely would." The goggle girl agrees with her friend there.

"Oh right, I recently transferred from out of town." He forgot to do a proper introduction, "Stylite Stream."

"That explains it." The goggle girl then returns the gesture, "Name's Indigo Zap. And that's Sour Sweet."

"It's very nice to meet you!" Sweet said so, well sweetly before shifting again to Sour. "As long as you don't annoy me."

Stylite was honestly intrigued by how she can change on a dime, but assumes it might be a personal thing and decides against asking about it. "I'll try my best."

"You have got to be an athlete or something back where you went. No way a bookworm can have those scars." Indigo points out.

"I am. Top of the class, or at least one of them." Stylite confirms for her.

"Ha! Please, probably got those from a mishap with a paper cutter or something!" Surprising him a bit with a neutral tone, Sour Sweet didn't think he was tough.

"You don't believe these are from fights?" He was kinda offended that she would think that.

"I mean, someone can try and play off a scar to be some sort of tough guy." Sour Sweet casually insults him, which he didn't take kindly.

"Ooh, you gonna let her talk like that? Ouch." Indigo wasn't helping at all.

"Don't worry, I'm up next." With that said, it was his turn to take the obstacle course.

Once he was at the starting position, the teacher blew his whistle to start his time. Stylite started right away, stepping in and out of the tires no problem and even transitions to the soccer section easily.

"All right, not bad." Indigo wasn't really impressed as Sour Sweet rolls her eyes.

Once he kicks the ball out of the way, he then slides into a crawling position and goes through it just fast enough to not hit the net above.

"OK, OK." Indigo was curious on that as Sour Sweet had her hands on her hips.

If that wasn't enough, the two and even the other students were impressed as he crosses the balance beam by basically sprinting across and jumps onto the rock wall, reaching the top in three big leaps. Finishing the course off with a bit of style, he does a corkscrew flip and lands in the large inflated mat before rolling off, casually putting on his cap and walks off to sit down.

"All right, I can do better!" Indigo was up next with Sour Sweet after her.

Once the two had done their times, they walk over to Stylite who was taking a sip of water from a bottle, which the gym teacher provided them with in a small portable cooler next to the bench.

"That wasn't half bad, dude." Indigo throws a compliment out there to start with, "You do those regularly back at your school?"

"They were tougher, for one thing." Stylite said from what he remembers before noticing Sour Sweet staring at him in silence, "What? Something on my face?"

"...Well, guess those weren't for show." She admits, "Even I know that wasn't a fluke you pulled off. Then again, Sugarcoat did say you're Levin's cousin."

Indigo realizes that right after she said it, "Oh, so you're his cousin? Whoa, talk about opposites."

"Not exactly." Stylite corrects her there, "While he is smarter than me, he can definitely keep up in gym class."

"Interesting." Indigo then changes the subject, "Ever thought about joining the Games this year?"

"Funny you say that. I'm replacing one of the students this year due to an unfortunate accident they had." He informs them about, "I'm guessing you are apart of the team too?"

"Of course!" Indigo was rather proud to say that, "Being the captain of the sports team, I gotta represent!"

"I'm in the Games too." Sour Sweet casually said, "Which just makes it so unfair for CHS, they don't stand a chance."

Stylite was starting to see what the others meant. Despite being on the same team, these two are more focused on winning than fun. Still, he's gonna wait until after school to talk to Principal Cinch about this.


The last class period of the day was drama, which he didn't really get. Then again, it was probably put together at the last minute due to when he transferred, so he wasn't that bummed out. The assignment for today was simply going over previous lessons for refreshers. There were groups and pairs doing just that, leaving him without someone to work with. The teacher just say to join one anyways, so he does just that.

After drifting his eyes over the groups, he then sees a girl standing by herself near the wall at the back of the class. Figuring it's good enough, he goes over to where she is and introduces himself.

"Hi. Stylite Stream." The girl was a bit put off, looking behind herself before looking back at him.

"What do you want?" She wasn't really interested, but it wasn't really about that.

"I'm new here and I don't have a group, much less a partner." He elaborates as to why, "I saw you by yourself and-"

"Is this a pick up line or something?" She was understandably suspicious, but left him confused if anything else. "My partners aren't here today, so I decided to sit out. Simple as that."

Stylite was a bit put off by her aloof demeanor, but shrugs it off and retorts back. "Fine, fine. Have fun standing then."

He then walks off and sits in one of the chairs that was lined up next to the small stage they had. She lets out an annoyed sigh, turning around to look at the other students instead. Though, it didn't take long before she realizes something.

"Wow, this is boring." Without someone else to talk to, she didn't have much to do.

Glancing over to where Stylite was sitting, he simply had his cap over his eyes as he leans into the back of his chair. He may be sleeping at this point, but she didn't care at this point as she walks over and sits next to him. Still not sure if he was sleeping or not, she just flicks the tip of the cap upwards, making his eyes open.

"Kinda rude, aren't ya?" He simply said, though it was mostly a joke.

She crosses her arms as she looks away, "At least you talked to me..."

He catches that as he adjusts his cap, "What do you mean?"

"Most of these people don't like me, which I don't blame them." She answers, "I've heard it's due to my personality, apparently."

"Yeah, I can see that." He bluntly said, due to seeing it earlier.

She simply stayed silent at that, leaving the two in silence before she finally introduces herself. "Name's Sunny Flare, by the way."

"Nice to meet you." She looks at him with a skeptical look, mainly due to his comment earlier. "Trust me, I've met worse."

"Oh really?" Sunny didn't believe him on that part.

"Oh yeah. First girlfriend I ever had, she was so stuck-up." Stylite admits, "I mean, girl would wear make-up that made her look like a wax doll and never realized that until I told her during our break-up."

She simply blinks at that small story, mainly due to her not expecting him to even have a girlfriend. Or, had one before. "How many have you had?"

"Uh..." He starts to recall, "There were two in middle school, one during the summer in-between middle and high, and one during freshman year. What about you?"

She visibly gawks at his question, "Oh please, I've had boys try and ask me out all the time!"

"Really? Name one." Stylite challenges that.

"W-Well..." She was put off guard at him calling her bluff, "T-There was one... No, back when-..."

Her embarrassed silence made him smirk a bit, "Don't worry, I won't tell anyone."

"You better!" She was rather irritated, looking away in a huff.

He lets out a small chuckle, mostly at her expense before changing the subject. "Anyways, any reason you're in drama?"

"...I like it." She gives the short answer, mostly due to still being huffed up.

"Ah. Thinking about being an actress or something?" She turns back around to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

"...Have you seen me? I got the looks, the style, all I need are the skills and I'm a shoe-in." She was rather confident about that.

He would joke about the personality, but she is already aware of it to some degree. Adjust that factor and he can see it happening. "Put in the effort and you will be."

She was surprised at his sudden encouragement, which she tries to dismiss as a joke. "Haha, very funny."

"No, I'm serious." He reassures her, "I can see you on the big screen in a few years. I say, go for it."

Sunny was stunned on how their conversation has turned around from aloof to friendly, which actually made her smile a bit. "Well, of course I'll be."

Stylite has made a rather mediocre class he wasn't interested in into something he wouldn't mind keeping now. Though, it may take a bit to get used to working with her when the new assignments come around.


And his school day has come to an end, but he still has one more thing to do before going to hang out with the others. Going up the last flight of stairs, he then goes and knocks on the principal's door before hearing Principal Cinch's voice.

"Come in." With that said, he then opens the door and enters, which she was rather curious about.

"I didn't expect you back so soon. Is there something in your schedule you didn't want?" She asks about, only for him to shake off such suggestions.

"No, ma'am. I'm here about the Games." He takes a seat as she now has her full attention on him.

"I see. Were you able to have your friends join?" She was straight to the point, as usual.

"Actually, I wanted to talk about something related to that." He brings up, going for his gamble. "They didn't want to join because it wouldn't be fun."

"...Fun?" Principal Cinch was rather perplexed by this, "What about it?"

"Isn't that the whole point of competition? The reason why it's called the 'Friendship' Games?" He continues on, "If it's just about winning, there isn't really a point. It would only be hollow if there's nothing to gain. Trust me, I've had a lot of hollow victories because of various reasons."

Principal Cinch listens intently as he went on, "From what I've gathered, CHS doesn't play the Games out of competition. At this point, there is no reason why except out of obligation and tradition. Which makes me wonder..."

Stylite looks right at her as he asks, "Do you remember having fun?"

The two look at each other, silence hitting the air hard as he waited for her answer. Then, she stood up... and spoke.

"I remember." She then moves away from her desk and walks over to the window behind her chair, "I remember back when the first few Games had already happened."

She opens the blinds that were closed to let in the afternoon light from outside, her office overseeing the courtyard as she spoke. "We were on a winning streak, each one closer than the last as CHS had almost beaten us by a mere one point. Those Games were the last year my mother was the principal here before she resigns the position to me, who was vice principal at the time."

It was Stylite's turn to listen as she told her story, "I never saw my mother that happy ever since she left here. She was proud to know that her school would keep her winning streak before her retirement and even told me to 'keep tradition' by following in her footsteps. I can tell the students prefer her over their previous principal, who was just not adequate for the job. I made sure to keep her legacy alive, having our school win every game since."

"And this is where it went downhill?" He wonders out loud.

"...Not exactly." She briefly looks over her shoulder as she asks her next question, "You obviously know Twilight Sparkle. Do you know about her little lab she has here?"

"Yes, she told about that." He simply said as his answer.

Principal Cinch then looks back at the window and continues, "I followed in my mother's footsteps, not only to keep the winning streak alive, but to treat each student fairly and drive them to success. That lab... was when I became careless. And I guess I still am."

He was rather curious now, "Is there a reason why it's there?"

"...Yes. I care about my students, but there was one who I can admit I have made my priority over them." Principal Cinch then turns around and walks back to her desk as she continues, "She was quite gifted, able to do what she wants when she puts her mind to it. Her ambition was unrivaled by most, perhaps even my own. Twilight Sparkle reminds me of who she was, which is why I allow her access to it."

"...Whatever happened to her?" He couldn't help but ask, even though he knew it was likely a touchy subject as Principal Cinch sits in her chair.

"...Disappeared, off the face of the earth." Her voice was lower as she answers, "I'd never forget our last discussion. She firmly believes that this 'magical phenomenon' is real, which I'd deemed to be impossible. Discussion turned to argument, bitter words were said... and she left without another word. When I realized what had happened, I made sure to not have a student that close to me ever again. I still have that lab here, just to remember my mistake."

Stylite was quiet as he processes what he has heard, allowing Principal Cinch to conclude her story. "So yes, I do remember 'fun'. It is something that can bring in pain when your guard is down."

"...I see." He then gets up to his feet, "Sorry for taking your time then."

She watches as he takes his leave, but decides to say one last thing. "Although..."

He stops at the door, turning around to see what she wanted to say.

"...Perhaps you have a point. I'll think about your offer."

Stylite simply nods at this, "Thank you, ma'am."

He then leaves, closing the door behind him and starts going down the stairs, thinking about how his brother's day went.

"Hopefully, the girls helped him out of his shell a bit."

And done! Wow, I did not expect for it to turn out like this. Though, it should be enough to keep it from being boring at least.

There were some more screen time with the Crystal Five and a bit more backstory for Principal Cinch that was eluded to before. That's pretty much it, really.

So, that was Stylite's day at Crystal Prep, next chapter's will be Pixel's day at CHS! I'm honestly curious to see how it would go.

With that said, thanks for reading and I'll see you next chapter!