Ch.5

The weekend went by and it was time to go back to school. Twilight woke up with a smile on her face and hopped out of bed. She yawned and stretched a bit, then picked up Spike and twirled him around. "Good morning, my precious little Spike," she said happily. "How are you this lovely morning? Did you sleep well? I know I did." Twilight put Spike down and went into the bathroom. She went through her usual morning routine, but it was unusually happy. She got dressed and brushed her hair, humming.

"There we are," she said. "Come on, Spike. It's time for breakfast."

Twilight walked out her room and skipped down the stairs with her backpack. She skipped into the kitchen and kissed her parents and brother. "Good morning, mother, father, brother," she said as she sat down. "How are we on this beautiful day?" Shining Armor looked at his sister turned to his parents. "Okay, something's wrong with her," he said. "I don't know what happened to her, but I think it has something to do with that boy she met at the Cage Club." Twilight merely smiled and ate her pancakes.

"Twilight?" Night Light asked. "Is there something you're not telling us?"

"What? I can't be happy for once?" Twilight asked. "I don't always have to wake up as some grouch."

"Night Light, leave Twilight alone. This is surely new for her," Twilight Velvet said. "It's not every day Twilight falls in love."

Twilight stopped eating and blushed. "M-mom! I-I don't have a crush on Flash Sentry!" Twilight protested. "I just met him, and we only hung out once." Twilight sighed and continued to eat her pancakes. Shining Armor looked at her dubiously, but didn't say anything. Twilight brought her plate to the sink and filled Spike's bowl with dog food. "Anyways, we're gonna be late. Let's go, Shining Armor." Twilight kissed her parents one last time, cuddled with Spike, and pulled Shining Armor out the door.

"Bye, mom, dad, Spike!" Twilight yelled over her shoulder.

Twilight and Shining Armor got into the car and drove off to the school. Twilight was texting on her phone, giggling a few times before texting a response. "So, you're dating Flash?" Shining Armor asked. Twilight stopped texting and looked at Shining Armor with curiosity. "No, but why do you care? You wanted me to take to different people, right?" she asked.

'Leave it to her to find a loop hole,' Shining Armor asked. "Well, yeah, but I just didn't think you'd get friendly with a guy."

Twilight chuckled and shook her head. "Life is just filled with surprises, big brother. But, I got to hand it to you. You were right about me. I do need to go out more. And Saturday was a good start," she said. Shining Armor looked at her as if she just shape shifted into a shark. "I take back what I said about you hanging out with different people," he said. "You need to stick to the status quo."

"Did you really just make a High School Musical reference?" twilight asked, laughing.

"Hey, you should be the one to bash about it. You were just watching it yesterday," Shining Armor said.

Twilight rolled her eyes and continued to text. "So, who are you texting?" Shining Armor asked. "Oh, wait. Never mind. You're just texting your new boyfriend." Twilight sighed and unbuckled her seatbelt as the car parked into a free parking lot space and got out, throwing her bag over her shoulder. She tucked her phone into her bag and walked over to her locker, when a pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Guess who?" a voice said.

Twilight smiled and gasped. "Adam Levine?" she teased. She pried the hands off her eyes and turned to see Flash, smiling at her. "Very funny. Do I look like Adam Levine to you?" he joked. Twilight chuckled and smiled. "I see you have pants on," she teased. "You want a belt to make sure they don't disappear on you?" Flash frowned and pushed her against her locker, making her shriek. "Never bring up the pants incident," he growled, even though he was clearly joking. "Or else you'll have to face to consequences."

"And what are you gonna do to me, Flashiekins?" she asked.

Flash raised an eyebrow and lifted her up, draping her over her shoulder. "Eek!" she screamed. "Flash, put me down! I have to get to class!" Flash smirked and began spinning around in a circle, much to Twilight's displeasure. "This isn't funny anymore, Flash! Put me down!" Twilight yelled, smacking the back of his head.

"Come on, we have like, ten minutes before class starts! Loosen up a bit," Flash laughed.

Twilight groaned and began squirming in his grip. "Okay, okay, calm down," Flash chuckled. He placed her down and smirked as Twilight stumbled and wobbled a bit. "I hate you so much right now," she said, shoving him away. She turned her back to him and opened up her locker. Flash smiled and leaned against the locker next to her. "Listen, I'm writing a song, and I kinda need an audience. So, will you meet me in the music room during free period?" he asked. Twilight took out her math and world history textbooks and smiled. "Sure. As long as you have pants on," she teased him, walking away.

"He caught me off guard!" Flash shouted at her defensively.

Twilight smiled as she continued to walk to her geometry class. As she walked down the hall, she thought about Flash's offer. 'It's not like the song's about me or anything,' she thought. She walked in the classroom and sat down in her seat. She glanced at the clock in the room then glazed out the window. The bell would ring in two minutes, so she might as well space out. Sunset Shimmer walked over to Twilight and sat down in the seat in front of her. "Hey, Twilight," she said. Twilight looked at Sunset and smiled. "Hey. How's it going?" She asked.

"It's okay. So…" she started.

"So…" Twilight said.

"So? Tell me about your date with Flash Sentry!" she squealed. Twilight blushed at this and looked at the ground. "Nothing much happened," she muttered. Sunset smirked and raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? Why are you blushing?" she teased. Twilight looked away and looked at her reflection in the window. It was true; her face was as red as a rose. "It's hot in here," she said. "Besides, what's it to you? What, you and Flash have a thing or something?"

"Of course not. We're just friends," she said. "Besides, I saw that little moment you guys had at the Cage Club. You really did steal Flash's heart. Can't say I'm surprised. You're practically like her, except you're human."

"What?" Twilight asked. "What are you talking about? And what do you mean 'You're practically like her, except you're human?'" Sunset blushed and turned around, fiddling with her fingers. "Uh, I said too much," she muttered. Fortunately, or unfortunately for Twilight, the bell rang and her classmates began entering the class. Sunset smiled and greeted the other girls.

"Hey, girls," she said.

"Good morning, darling," Rarity said, sitting in the desk next to her. "And hello, Twilight. How was your date with Flash?" She looked at Twilight and smirked. "I take it went well? I did expect this. After all, you did kiss his cheek before you left." Twilight blushed a deeper shade of pink and looked away. "W-where's Pinkie Pie?" Twilight asked.

"Pinkie Pie had to finish up some dance committee things," Rainbow Dash said. "She should be here soon."

As Rainbow said that, Pinkie Pie rushed in with streamers and confetti in her hair. She smiled and shook it out, beaming goofily. "Hiya, guys!" she exclaimed. Twilight smiled at Pinkie's silliness and looked down at her hands, when something caught Twilight's eyes. Each of the girls were wearing a gold necklaces, each had a different gems. Rarity's necklace had a purple diamond shaped gem, Applejack had an orange shaped gem in hers, Pinkie Pie's necklace contained a blue balloon shaped gem, Fluttershy's necklace bears a pink butterfly shaped gem, and Rainbow Dash's necklace sported a red thunderbolt shaped gem. Only Sunset Shimmer didn't have a necklace.

"Those necklaces," Twilight said.

"You like them?" Rarity asked, brushing her hair. Twilight merely nodded her head. "It's so beautiful. I mean, I never seen necklaces like this before." Rarity smiled and fluffed her hair a bit. "Of course not, darling! These necklaces were specifically made just for us," Rarity said.

"You see, it's the anniversary of our friendship," Fluttershy explained in her usually timid voice.

"Yes. And even though we had a bit of a misunderstanding," Rarity said. "We realized that our friendship was more powerful than anything."

Twilight nodded and looked at Sunset, who looked a bit out of place in all this. "How come Sunset doesn't have one?" Twilight asked. Sunset looked at her with a "deer caught in a headlight" look and averted her gaze. 'I recently befriended the girls after an incident. Before the girls and I became friends, I wasn't the girl I am now," she said, her eyes tearing. Fluttershy walked over to Sunset and hugged her. Twilight felt guilty for dragging Sunset into the conversation and rubbed the back of her head.

"Oh, I, um… I didn't mean to hurt you," she muttered.

Sunset dried her eyes and smiled sadly at Twilight. "It's okay, Twilight. Don't worry about it," she said. Twilight nodded but still couldn't help to feel guilty. The late bell rang and Principal Celestia's voice came over the intercom. "Good morning, wondercolts!" she exclaimed. "We have a lot of special events, starting with the boys' soccer game…." Twilight zoned out during the announcement and stared at her fiddling hands. She looked at saw the girls smiling at each other, their necklaces gleaming beautifully. But when she turned her gaze to Sunset, she noticed that her eyes glistening with tears. Twilight sighed and took out her geometry notebook and a small spiral journal with her trademark star. She also took out a pen, opened the journal and began writing in it.

"It is my second week here in Canterlot High, and I've grown used to the things here," Twilight wrote. "I've made new friends (though I'm not 100% sure if I am ready to call them that), and I somehow made an acquaintance with a certain boy named Flash Sentry. During my time here, the girls tell me that I'm now one of them, a friend. But for some reason, whenever I look at Sunset Shimmer, I see guilt and remorse in her eyes. I may be wrong, but everytime I look at Sunset, I think that whatever she did in the past led her to think that she doesn't deserve friends. I wonder what happened back then that created such tension."

Twilight closed her journal and stood up as everyone said the pledge. 'Friendship… what is it exactly?' Twilight thought as she sat back down. 'For so long I've always been so cold and shallow and kept my distance far from other people, burying myself in my studies . I don't even know what it's like to understand friendship. What is like to have friends? What is it like t be part of a friendship?' And the thought of friendship remained at the back of Twilight's head.

---

It was now free period, and Twilight was heading to the music room, just as she promised Flash. As she got closer, she heard soft humming coming from the music room, and pressed her ear against the door to hear clearly. Inside, she heard Flash strumming her guitar, humming a song. She turned the handle and slowly opened the door, slipping in quietly and closing the door behind her silently.

"Beautiful girl has a heart of gold, you held me tight when I was out in the cold," he sang softly. "Never met a girl like you before, you truly have a heart that's pure."

"Wow," Twilight said when she stopped. "That was beautiful." Flash turned and looked at her, his cheeks flushed. "Uh, Twilight! I-I-I didn't see you there," he stammered. "H-how long h-have you been there?" Twilight shrugged and sat down next to him. "Long enough to here that last part," she said, giggling as his cheeks turned redder. "Is that your new song?"

"Uh, yeah, well… it's not exactly finished," he admitted. "I wanted you to here it before I show it to the guys."

"Okay," Twilight said. "Let's here it." Flash sighed and began playing the song.

I was blind, but now I see

I realized that you were the missing piece

I was lost, but I was found

Now you're with me, safe and sound

You're the missing thing I need

The other half of me

You help me make a melody

I fell in love you, is that a felony?

Beautiful girl has a heart of gold

You held me tight when I was out in the cold

Never met a girl like you before

You truly have a heart that's pure

"Uh… that's it," Flash said, strumming the last note. "Like I said, I didn't really finish it." Twilight stared at him for a while, not saying anything for while. She stared at Flash and smiled gently. "That was beautiful," she said. "Even though you didn't finish it, I know that it's gonna turn out great. I take it it's for a girl?" Flash's face was practically a fire hydrant when she said that, and looked away, making Twilight laugh. "She must be a lucky girl."

"Oh, she is," Flash said. "You can't find a girl like her anywhere else."

"So I hear," Twilight muttered. What was with her? She clenched her skirt tightly and tried to remain her composure as Flash put his guitar in his case. She felt an unfamiliar feeling in her stomach, and she didn't like the way it felt. Was she jealous of Flash's crush? 'No, no, no! There's no way I'm jealous!' Twilight thought to herself. 'Sure, we hung out, but that didn't mean anything! Besides, there's no way a guy like him could like a girl like me.' Thinking that thought made Twilight a bit upset. 'That's right, we can never be together. For we are two different. He's the cool guy who's in a band, and I'm the brainy geek girl who nobody can get to.'

"Twilight?"

Twilight blinked and looked at Flash, who was looking at her with a concerned look. "You okay?" he asked. Twilight nodded and gave him a fake smile. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just zoned out a bit, that's all," she said. Flash frowned and crossed his arms. "You sure?" Is something on your mind? We can talk about it if you want," he said. Twilight shook her head and got up. "No, really, it's okay," she said. "I gotta go. I want get a head start on my English essay."

"Nerd," Flash joked.

Twilight smiled sadly and playfully shoved him. "Dork," she teased him. "At least I can keep my pants on." Flash frowned and came over to her, and Twilight prepared herself to be swung around, but all Flash did was pull her into a hug. "I'm really glad I met you, Sparky. You're really special, and you can't really compare yourself to other girls."

"Sparky?" Twilight chuckled.

"Yup. Your new nickname is now Sparky," he said. Twilight smiled and hugged him back, resting her head on his shoulder. She sighed and the word "nerd" echoed in her head. 'That's right," she thought sadly. 'No one wants to be seen with a nerd.'

---

The day passed by and the school day was over. Thoughts swarmed Twilight's head, and it gave her a headache, so she decided to take a walk. She slipped on a purple hoodie, grabbed her house keys and phone and walked out. She popped in her earbuds and picked a song out of random. The song "Immortals" from Fall Out Boy came on and a small smile came to her. She enjoyed listening to Fall Out Boy just as much as she liked listening to Maroon 5, and their songs, in a way, calmed her. Twilight snapped out her daydream and realized that she came to the school and sighed. She walked over to the statue and brushed her fingers against it.

"I'm so confused," Twilight mumbled, sitting down, her back pressed against the statue. "Flash is a nice guy, really sweet, but… I just don't know."

Twilight pulled her knees close to her and hid her face. "I just wish I knew what to do," she muttered. She heard footsteps, but chose to ignore it. "Twilight?" a voice said. Twilight slowly looked up and saw Sunset Shimmer looking at her with a confused and concerned look. "What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be home?" she asked. Twilight sighed and smiled a bit. "I was taking a walk, but I somehow ended here," she said. Sunset sat down next to her and looked at her.

"Everyhing okay? You look sad," she said.

Twilgiht sighed and looked at the moon. "It's just that I've always been the girl who's more focused in school than friends my entire life. And I come here and it's… different," she explained. "Don't get me wrong, you guys are nice and all. It's Flash that's the problem." Sunset shrugged and smiled a bit. "What's wrong with Flash? Don't you like him?" she asked.

"I do like him. He's really a sweet guy. But I'm worried about "her", whoever "her" is," Twilight said, looking at her shoes. "Flash wrote a song about her and is planning to sing it to her."

Sunset seemed to understand and facepalmed her face. "Oh, right! I didn't tell you!" she explained. Twilight looked at her confused, an eyebrow raised. "What are you talking about, Sunset?" Twilight asked her warily. Sunset rubbed the back of her head and smiled sheepishly. "Um… do you want the long version or the short version?"

"Long," Twilight answered.

"Oh boy. Where do I begin?" Sunset muttered. And so, Sunset began to tell Twilight everything: Equestria, the Fall Formal Dance, how her pony doppelganger ran against for the crown, everything. Twilight sat down taking in all this new information. After a long explanation, Sunset stopped and smiled sheepishly at her.

"Wait, so let me get this straight: a pony princess from an entire universe came here and ran against you for the crown, and you, being your evil self, did everything in your power to power to stop her. So on the night of the dance, you stole the crown and transformed into a demon, hypnotized the entire student body in attempt to rule this "Equeatria", but this other me defeated you with the other girls, and since then they befriended you while the whole school was against you. Is that right?" Twilight asked.

"Pretty much," Sunset asked. "You kinda left out the girls though."

"That's scientifically impossible!" Twilight exclaimed. Sunset giggled and raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "Don't tell me you're one of those people who think that every little thing has to have scientific proof behind it," she teased. "Twilight, I know it's hard to believe. But trust me on this one, it's true. How else do you think I made a video of someone who looked exactly like you? Unless, of course, you have a twin sister." Twilight smiled a bit and looked at the ground. She remained quiet for a while, before Sunset spoke again. "After all I did, I don't blame the school for hating me," she muttered. Twilight looked at her and saw that she was crying. "I was a horrible person. Back in Equestria, I was cold and heartless, and I couldn't see the magic of friendship Princess Celestia tried to show me. I wanted power. I wanted to be on a higher rank than her. So I stole Princess Twilight's crown and came here. I didn't think the princess would come here, and try to stop me, but she did, and she was able to take back the crown before further damage was done. Now, looking back, I only wish that I could take back everything I did."

"Sunset," Twilight.

"I just want to be forgiven," Sunset cried softly. "I really want to make up for what I did. I… just don't want to be alone." Twilight stared at her, shocked, then smiled. She got up on her feet, helped sunset up and pulled her into a hug. "I may not admit this to my family, but coming here really opened my eyes and showed me that… we are one," Twilight said. "Back at Ponyville High, we had different cliques. I fell into none of then, because I was so focused in my studies. But the moment I came here, the first thing I noticed was how friendly everyone was to each other. And your friends was the first to attempt to befriend me. Now, I'm slowly adapting to the ways of this school, and I think I'm ready to learn about the magic of friendship." Twilight broke the hug and took Sunset's hand and smiled. "I guess what I'm trying to say it that... you're not the only one who feels alone. I've been alone my entire life, but I've gotten used to it. But even still, I know deep inside, we're all the same. So there's no reason to feel this way."

Sunset smiled and wiped off her tears. "Thanks, Twilight. I needed that," she said. "Well, I gotta go. I'll see you later, Twilight."

"Bye," Twilight said. Twilight watched Sunset walked off, then brushed off the dirt from her outfit and decided to go home as well. She took a few steps, before looking over her shoulder and staring at the statue. 'Equestria…' she thought to herself. She gently smiled and continued to walk home.

Twilight came home just as the rain began to fall. She walked in and walked in the kitchen, where she found her parents and brother sitting at the table. "Hey. What's wrong?" she asked. Twilight Velvet looked at her daughter, her eyes red. "Twilight," she started, but didn't finish. She rested her head in Night Light's shoulder and resumed crying. Shining Armor got up and looked at his sister sorrowfully, a single tear slipping down his cheek.

"What happened?" she asked.

Shining Armor was a bit hesitant, but sighed. "There's something you should know…"