The Friendship Games

by Perdita Finn

  “Seriously?” sneered Sunny Flare, irritated.

  “Oh! I’m sorry,” Twilight Sparkle apologized. “I didn’t mean to… Why don’t you two go ahead?”

  Sunny Flare rolled her eyes as both girls stepped in front of Twilight Sparkle.

  “You are such a sweetie,” hissed Sour Sweet maliciously. “I am watching you.”

  Twilight stood there, confused. This was the one thing she was no good at—getting along with the other girls. Lemon Zest executed a perfect backflip from the bus steps and landed beside her. She blasted her music and strutted past Twilight, paying her no attention whatsoever.

  “You are kind of a doormat,” said Sugarcoat.

  Twilight Sparkle felt worse than ever. Sugarcoat, too, stepped in front of her. Twilight Sparkle found herself at the end of the line. There was nothing to do but wait.

  Except that her necklace, or rather the device attached to it, had started to buzz. Twilight Sparkle snapped it open. Making sure that no one was watching her, Twilight ducked behind the statue of the Wondercolt.

  She checked her device again. Its lights were flashing brighter than ever. Twilight Sparkle had to find out what it meant. Ignoring the line of Crystal Prep students and the check-in with Dean Cadance, she headed toward the steps into the high school.

  Canterlot High students greeted her with hellos and friendly waves, but she didn’t even notice. She had to find out what was going on. Her eyes on her device, she followed the glowing arrow down the hallway. She passed a crowd of kids standing around their lockers.

  Cecil couldn’t believe it was Twilight. “Hey, Twilight!” he called out.

  Twilight hesitated. How did the kids at Canterlot High know her name? It was strange. A throng of students walked past her, all smiling and greeting her.

  “’Sup, Twilight!”

  “How are you?”

  “Hey! What’s going on?”

  Twilight was very confused. These were the friendliest kids she had ever met—much friendlier than her classmates at Crystal Prep.

  A good-looking blue-haired boy stopped in his tracks when he saw her. “Twilight?” exclaimed Flash Sentry. He had thought he would never see her again.

  Twilight gulped. Who was this kid? “Yeah?” she asked.

  “I almost didn’t recognize you,” said Flash Sentry. He was so happy; he couldn’t stop smiling. “When did you start wearing glasses?”

  “Um… like, since forever.” The boy was standing very close to her. It was making her feel uncomfortable. He was acting like he knew her, like they were old friends.

  “So how long are you here for?” Flash asked.

  “Just for the Friendship Games,” answered Twilight.

  “Right!” Flash grinned. “Of course! We’ll totally win with you here.”

  Twilight’s device began buzzing, and she used that as an excuse to escape from the boy. He seemed a little crazy. “Gotta go!” she said, and dashed off toward the stairs.

  Flash was surprised. “Okay.”

  What had happened to Twilight? It was like she was a different person.

  Ahead of the Game

  Rarity was having the girls try on different outfits for the Friendship Games in the music room. She zipped around, pinning a hem here and taking a measurement there. She put Fluttershy in a hockey goalie’s uniform with knee and elbow pads and an enormous helmet. Rainbow Dash was wearing an old-fashioned policeman’s uniform. Applejack was ready for the tennis courts.

  “These outfits are great,” said Applejack. “But why would you put so much time and effort into clothes we might not even wear? You’re gonna exhaust yourself before the Games even start.”

  Rarity waved her hands as if it were no bother. “Don’t be silly, darling. Putting effort into clothes is what I live for, and spending time on my friends just fills me with energy!”

  Out of the blue, for no reason at all, without anyone playing any music or singing, Rarity began to pony up. Her pony ears appeared and her pony tail swished down her back.

  The girls were stunned. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

  Rarity began rising off the ground. She was floating! Maybe she was about to fly.

  Sunset shook her head. “And magic, too?” What was happening to Rarity? Shimmers of purple energy were radiating from her body.

  Slowly, Rarity began to return to the ground as the girls watched, amazed. She seemed suddenly very, very tired. “I suppose I could use a break,” she said. She lay right down on the floor, exhausted.

  Sunset Shimmer was trying to figure out what was going on. She was a bit of a magical investigator. While the other girls crowded around Rarity, she followed the purple energy swirls toward the door. It was almost as if there was something on the other side pulling the energy toward it.

  She swung open the door—and there was Twilight!

  Nobody could believe it. “Twilight?” they all exclaimed together.

  “Yes?” said Twilight. How did these girls know her name?

  “Well, I’ll be,” said Applejack. “You shoulda told us you were coming!”

  “Darling, those glasses…” worried Rarity. “And what are you wearing? It’s so severe.”

  Twilight looked down at her red blazer and her plaid skirt. “My uniform?”

  “Your uniform for what?” asked Fluttershy.

  “For Crystal Prep,” Twilight Sparkle answered. “But why does everyone at this school know who I am?”

  “Did you just say Crystal Prep?” asked Rainbow Dash. There was no way their old friend would be playing for another team, was there?

  Spike let out a bark from inside Twilight’s backpack.

  “Spike!” Rarity and Fluttershy reached for the bag, but Twilight spun it away from them.

  Her face was pale with alarm. “You know my dog’s name, too?”

  Before anyone could answer, Principal Celestia led the principal of Crystal Prep into the music room. “Our music program has especially taken off.…” Her voice trailed off when she saw the girls. She couldn’t believe it. “Twilight?”

  “This is getting ridiculous!” said Twilight.

  Principal Cinch stepped forward and placed a firm hand on Twilight Sparkle’s shoulder. “I must apologize for the curiosity of my prize student.”

  “Your student?” Principal Celestia was very confused.

  “The smart ones,” continued Principal Cinch, “are always curious. I’ll return her to check in with the rest of her classmates.” As she led Twilight away, the girl looked over her shoulder at the group of friends all staring at her.

  The girls were speechless. What was the matter with their friend? What was she doing here?

  “I didn’t know Twilight had a twin sister,” said Principal Celestia.

  “She doesn’t!” Pinkie Pie had just figured it all out. “That Twilight was obviously the Twilight from this world since it couldn’t possibly be the Twilight from the pony world since the Twilight from the pony world doesn’t go to Crystal Prep or wear glasses!”

  Applejack was trying to take it all in. “Twilight, well, our Twilight said there were ponies in her world like us. I guess it makes sense there’d be girls in our world like them.”

  Principal Celestia looked like she had a headache. This was too much for her. She had visiting students, and the Friendship Games were about to begin. “Never mind,” she said to the girls, and headed back to her office. She looked out her window at the busloads of students getting settled and saw Principal Cinch talking to Twilight Sparkle.

  Twilight was apologizing to the principal. “I was just following these strange readings,” she said, holding up her device. “Actually, they led me to those girls.”

  “Twilight, what you do in your own free time is of…” The principal’s voice trailed off. She’d just realized something! “Perhaps they are trying to confuse you. Perhaps they are trying to lure you away.”

  “It didn’t feel like anyone was trying to lure me away,” Twilight answere
d.

  Principal Cinch’s eyes narrowed. She was determined to triumph yet again at the Friendship Games. “I don’t know what they are playing at, but I can guarantee it isn’t to help us win.”

  Principal Cinch took Twilight Sparkle by the elbow and led her back to Dean Cadance, who was still checking kids in with her clipboard. The other Crystal Prep girls glared at Twilight Sparkle. They whispered to one another and rolled their eyes. Twilight Sparkle could only imagine what they were saying.

  She went to the end of the line and studied her device while she waited. Why had it gone wild around those girls? What was going on with them?

  Game Changer

  The girls couldn’t stop talking about the new version of Twilight Sparkle.

  “I can’t believe she goes to Crystal Prep!” exclaimed Rarity.

  Neither could Rainbow Dash. “You’re saying Twilight’s gonna play against us? She’d never do that.”

  “Our Twilight wouldn’t,” said Fluttershy.

  “Our Twilight,” explained Sunset Shimmer, who was also from the land of ponies, “is a princess in Equestria and an expert on friendship magic, and if she were here, we’d know why magic is randomly popping up at pep rallies and costume changes.”

  The girls stared at Sunset Shimmer.

  “I’m sorry,” she apologized. “I’m just frustrated that I haven’t heard back from her.”

  “Maybe it’s like you said,” suggested Applejack. “She’s a princess in Equestria. She’s probably got problems of her own to deal with.”

  Rarity agreed. “We certainly can’t expect her to drop everything and pop through the portal whenever, especially if it’s to deal with something as minor as a few random pony-ups.”

  But Sunset Shimmer was still worried. “They aren’t minor. Magic came into this world when I stole Twilight Sparkle’s crown. It’s taken a lot for me to earn everyone’s trust. If we have to forfeit the Games because I can’t think of a way to keep it under control…”

  Fluttershy wrapped a reassuring arm around her friend. “Oh, Sunset! I’m sure you’ll be able to figure things out.”

  “Yeah,” Applejack said, nodding her head. “You’re the one who figured out what was going on with the Sirens, remember?”

  “I guess,” sighed Sunset Shimmer. “But Twilight is really the one who figured out what we needed to defeat them.”

  Rarity linked an arm through Sunset Shimmer’s. “Don’t you remember, darling? What we needed to defeat them was you.”

  Sunset Shimmer blushed. She still wasn’t used to having friends who supported her and believed in her. “All right,” she agreed at last.

  All the girls cheered.

  “C’mon, guys,” said Rainbow Dash, springing into action. “Let’s see if we can find out any info on the events and come up with a strategy. You coming, Sunset?”

  Sunset Shimmer hesitated. There was something she needed to investigate. “I’ll catch up with you all in a bit.”

  Sunset Shimmer took out her journal and peeked inside. But there was no answer from Twilight Sparkle. She was on her own. Unless she could reach Twilight through the portal of the Wondercolt.

  She slipped past the Crystal Prep students milling around their buses, went over to the statue, and placed her hands on it. Immediately, they stuck to the marble. Streams of purple energy began flowing from her fingers. What she didn’t know was that on the other side of the Wondercolt, Crystal Prep’s Twilight Sparkle was stuck to the statue, too.

  “Hey! Let go!” screamed Sunset Shimmer.

  The Wondercolt was glowing brighter and brighter until there was a sudden burst of purple energy that sent both girls sprawling backward onto the lawn. As Sunset got to her feet, she was surprised to see Twilight so close by.

  “What did you do?” she asked at once.

  Twilight looked down uncertainly at her device. What had she done? But before she could say another word to Sunset Shimmer, Dean Cadance appeared at her side, reminding her that she still hadn’t formally checked in. She led her back to the group of Crystal Prep students.

  Sunset Shimmer watched Twilight Sparkle. She was suspicious. Twilight was up to something. She’d had the same feeling when she first met the Sirens, and she wasn’t going to ignore it this time. If only she could consult Princess Twilight Sparkle!

  Sunset Shimmer turned back to the statue to reopen the portal. But it wasn’t there. It had disappeared. The passage between the pony world and the human world was gone. Sunset Shimmer panicked, searching everywhere for the portal. But it had vanished. “Where’s the portal? Where’s the portal?” she shouted, her anxiety rising.

  But there was no answer from Equestria. Something very strange was going on, and Sunset Shimmer was going to have to figure it out without any help from Equestria.

  At the Top of Her Game

  Sunset Shimmer raced back to the gymnasium, where Canterlot High was hosting a reception for Crystal Prep. The kids from the different schools each stood staring at one another across the vast room, not mingling, not getting to know one another. The gym was decorated with streamers and balloons, but it didn’t feel festive. At all.

  Sunset tried to explain to her friends what had just happened.

  “What do you mean the portal’s gone?” asked Applejack, scratching her head.

  “I mean it’s gone! It’s closed! It’s not there anymore!” Sunset Shimmer was a nervous wreck.

  “How’d that happen?” Rainbow Dash wondered.

  “I don’t know,” said Sunset Shimmer breathlessly. “But it had something to do with that Twilight.” She pointed across the room to where Twilight was peering at her strange device.

  Applejack studied her. “What in tarnation is she up to?”

  Twilight was scanning the gymnasium. She walked backward, holding up her device, and accidentally bumped into a clique of Crystal Prep girls. Indigo Zap spilled her soda. Twilight tried to apologize while the girls sneered at her.

  Sunset Shimmer summoned her courage. “There’s only one way to find out what she’s up to. Leave this to me.” She strode across the room and walked right up to Twilight. “What have you been up to?” she asked.

  Twilight whirled around, startled. “Me? What? Oh, I’m just…”

  Indigo Zap stepped in front of Twilight and glared at Sunset Shimmer. “Who wants to know?”

  “Um, we do,” said Rainbow Dash, who had joined Sunset Shimmer.

  “All right, everyone,” said Applejack in a soothing voice. “Let’s not get too competitive before the Games even start.”

  Sugarcoat, who had been sitting across the aisle from Twilight on the bus, spoke up. “The games aren’t really competitive since we’ve never lost.”

  Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe someone would say something so unkind. “That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

  “Sorry, dearie,” sneered Sunny Flare, “but these Games aren’t about being nice.”

  “You might use a little tact,” said Rarity.

  Twilight watched the Crystal Prep girls trying to intimidate the Canterlot High kids with resignation—until she realized that the cheerful girl with pink hair was smiling at her.

  “Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie,” she introduced herself.

  “Oh,” said Twilight, surprised by her friendliness. “Hi. I’m Twilight.”

  Pinkie Pie giggled. “I know. You look just like my friend. Her name is Twilight, too.”

  Twilight was taken aback. “That’s weird.” Her device began buzzing again.

  “What’s that?” asked Pinkie Pie.

  Twilight popped open the device’s lid. It was whirring and going crazy. “It’s sort of a spectrometer,” she explained. “I built it to track EM frequencies, but it can also contain anomalies.”

  Pinkie blinked, completely lost.

  “It measures things,” Twilight added helpfully.

  “Like the party?” bubbled Pinkie Pie.

  Twilight looked around the room at the kids standi
ng awkwardly in small groups. “This doesn’t look like much of a party to me.”

  “I know!” agreed Pinkie Pie. “Something is definitely missing. Come on!” She grabbed Twilight’s hand and led her toward the bleachers.

  Meanwhile, Principal Celestia had stepped up to the podium at the front of the room. She checked her microphone. “Hello, everyone. I’d like to take this opportunity to greet all our visitors from Crystal Prep Academy and welcome them to Canterlot High.”

  A few kids applauded while the principal continued her welcome speech.

  Pinkie Pie showed Twilight two large boxes hidden under the bleachers.

  “What in the world are these?” Twilight asked as Pinkie Pie enlisted her help dragging them out.

  “Party cannons, of course!” squealed Pinkie Pie. She threw open the lid of the box to reveal a glittering array of noisemakers.

  “And lastly,” said Principal Celestia, “I would like to recognize the twelve students that Canterlot High has elected to compete. I don’t think we could have chosen a better group to represent the excellence, sportsmanship, and friendship the Games stand for.”

  Spotlights swung around the gym picking out Sunset Shimmer, Fluttershy, Flash Sentry, Trixie, Lyra, Bonbon, Cecil, Poindexter, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.

  Pinkie Pie was in the midst of switching a tray of sandwiches for cupcake platters. She waved quickly before whizzing up a ladder to hang a disco ball. Next, she ran over to DJ Pon-3 and slipped her a dance mix. Last but not least, it was time to plug in her confetti cannons!

  Twilight Sparkle gulped. “Are you sure this is a good idea?”

  “Absolutely!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. She fired the cannons and filled the entire gymnasium with rainbow confetti! Kids started laughing, eating cupcakes, and talking to one another. Pinkie Pie was very pleased with herself. If there was one thing she really knew how to do, it was throw a party.

  As she looked around the room, completely happy, little pony ears poked through her pink hair. Her tail grew and grew. She was ponying up! The next thing she knew, she was floating off the floor.