Spike had a firm grip on his end of the table he and Pinkie were carrying. Much time has passed since the food war in the cafeteria, and Spike was now helping Pinkie in the gym.

“Thanks again for helping out Spike.” Pinkie said as she and the former-dragon set the table down on one side of the room. Pinkie had explained that this table, which will be lined up with three others, will be used to hold the snacks for the upcoming Formal.

“No problem, Pinkie Pie.” Spike said.

He then stopped in his tracks, realizing what he had just said.

“Did you just call me Pinkie Pie?” Pinkie asked.

Before Spike could answered, Pinkie then smiled widely.

“You know what? I like that name!” She said. “That’s going to be my nickname for now on! It just rolls off the tongue so easily. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. Pinkie Pie. For now on I’m PINKIE PIE!”

Pinkie then hugged Spike tightly.

“And all thanks to you Spike!”

“N… …no problem.” The boy said, gasping for breath.

Pinkie then let Spike go, allowing the former dragon get air back in him.

“Oh, I almost forgot.” Pinkie said. “I forgot the table cloths. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere Spikey!”

Pinkie then bounced away, leaving Spike alone in the gym.

As Spike looked around the large room at the decorations, he heard the sound of the doors opening.

“Pinkie! Y’all here?”

The former dragon looked and saw a girl wearing brown Stetson enter the gym. It didn’t take long for him to figure out who this girl was.

“Oh, howdy there.” The girl said in a familiar accent. “Is Pinkie around?”

“She went off to find some table cloths.” Spike answered. “What do want see her for?”

“She wanted to sample the drinks we got to offer for the Formal.”

She then extended her hand.

“I’m Alison.” She said. “But ya can call me AJ is ya want.”

“I’m Spike.” Spike said as he shook the blonde’s hand.

There was a brief silence between the two.

“So did ya hear about that big food fight that happened?” AJ asked.

“Hear about it? I was there.” Spike answered. “Me, Twilight, and Flash barely got out of there.”

“Oh ya, my sister Applebloom told me that he gave Belle a hug after that little witch Tiara dumped all that soda on her.” AJ said. “He’s good people. Ain’t that right Big Mac?”

Spike looked over at the door and saw a really tall white, freckle faced male with sandy brown hair carrying a box walking in.

“Eeyup.” He answered.

“Speaking of Twilight.” AJ said. “Ya hear she’s running for Princess of the Fall Formal?”

“You mean, my sister?” Spike asked. “Yeah, she told me herself. She also said that people are a tad shocked about it.”

“Well, when Sunset is running, it’s hard to blame people.” AJ explained. “She may be friendly about it, but when ya turn your back, ya drop out of the race for a “certain reason”.”

“Eeyup.” Big Mac agreed as he set the box down on the table.

“AJ!”

Pinkie practically ran out of nowhere and latched herself to AJ.

“Nice to see you too, Pinkie.” AJ said, almost breathless.

Pinkie then let AJ go and hugged Big Mac.

“And it’s good to see you too, Big Mac!”

Big Mac merely smiled and said “Eeyup”.

“So what were you guys talking about?” Pinkie asked as she let the gentle giant go.

“I was telling Spike about running the dangers of running for Fall Formal Princess.” AJ said. “You know, with Twilight running and all.”

“Speaking of that.” Pinkie said. “Did you hear what happened with Lyra? She dropped out. Something about that food fight that happened earlier.”

This caught Spike’s attention.

“Really?” He asked. “How so?”

“Man, this computer thing is amazing.”

Twilight was back in the library. Her earlier run in with Sunset Shimmer in the washroom had, for once in a long time, actually frightened her a little. What’s more is that she put her hands on her first, something Twilight never thought she’d ever do whether intentional or not. Apparently her impulses have also changed along with her body.

After returning to the library, Twilight went back into doing her research of how this world’s version of her friends weren’t friends anymore. To do so, she decided to try and use the computer devices the library had to offer, even after it took practically ten minutes, in which the library volunteer, who looked amazingly similar to Cheerilee, except with dark auburn hair, lightly tanned skin, and green eyes helped her. Also she wasn’t named Cheerilee, her name was Cherry Lee. Despite being a human, she was still just as kind as her pony counterpart back in Equestria.

As Twilight clicked away on the device, someone caught her attention.

“Twilight!”

She looked and saw her number one assistant approaching her.

“There you are, Spike.” She said. “Where’ve you been?”

“I was going ask you the same thing. I was helping Pinkie in the gym.” Spike said. “Were you here the whole time? That vest looks good on you by the way.”

“Thank you Spike.” Twilight said. “I was still getting cleaned up after that little food war.”

Twilight then turned her chair to fully face Spike.

“And I… …ran into Sunset Shimmer.”

Spike’s eyes went wide.

“Really? What happened?”

“Well, she pretty much just said that we weren’t going to take here down. You know typical villain cliché.” Twilight explained. “And then I… …pushed her when she called Fluttershy a name.”
Spike wasn’t expecting this.

“Really? You didn’t fight her, did you?”

“No, the school bell went off before anything else could happen.” Twilight said. “I’m not going to lie, Sunset is kind of intimidating, and then again I wasn’t expecting to run into her like that.”

Spike put a hand on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be with you next time she shows up.”

Twilight smiled.

“Thanks Spike.”

Spike then took noticed the computer Twilight was on.

“What are you looking at anyway?” He asked as he a pulled up the chair next to her.

“I was taking a look at past school events.” Twilight said. “I’m trying to find out why my friends aren’t friends anymore.”

Spike took a moment to realize that Twilight was referring to this world’s version of their friends.

“What have you found so far?”

“Have a look.” Twilight said as she aimed the monitor toward the former dragon.

Spike looked closely at the computer screen, which bore several images from events such as the “Freshmen Fair”, the first soccer game of the year against a team called the “Shadowbolts”, and even the 2012 Fall Formal and Winter Bash. What these photographs had in common was that at least five out of ten of them had all five of her friends in a group shot. But as the pictures went on, the amount of these pictures decreased, all the way until the first half of the 2013 school year. Eventually, things began to change as most of her friends she saw in a picture were two at a time, Dash & Flutters and AJ and Pinkie, respectively. The other times being that one of them just so happen to be in the background when the photograph was taken.

“Man, that’s not good.” Spike said, leaning back from the screen.

“Yeah, I know.” Twilight agreed as she repositioned the monitor. “It’s absolutely terrible.”

“We’re going to get them back together, right?” Spike asked.

“Don’t worry Spike, we will.” Twilight said with an assuring tone. “And once that’s done, they can help me get the crown back.”

“Before or after you tell them you’re a pony princess from a different world?” Spike asked with a smug expression.

Twilight smirked, knowing what he meant.

“One thing at a time.” She said. “And right now…”

She looked back at the monitor.

“…I need to figure out how this printer machine works.”

Much time has passed since Twilight and Spike resumed their research, which consisted mainly of printing, organizing each picture by date, with the help of a borrowed three ring binder, and a whole lot notes written by a certain former dragon. So much time has passed in fact; the last bell of the day went off, signaling the end of the school day.

“Perfect.” Twilight said as she looked through the binder of pictures and notes.

“What do we do now Twilight?” Spike asked, rubbing his wrist, evidence of how much writing had taken place.
Before Twilight could ask, someone got their attention.

“Excuse me you two.”

Twilight and Spike both looked and saw a woman approaching them.

She had pitch black hair, light green eyes, and a skin tone that was borderline pale but was still rather fair. She wore a dark purple polo shirt, a pair of a black dress pants, and wore a crescent moon pin on the collar of her shirt. What made her seem all too familiar was that, for whatever reason, she gave off a vibe that said that she was someone you should never mess with.

“Yes, ma’am?” Twilight asked.

“Are you in the middle of homework?” The woman asked. “Because the library is closing so you’ll have to finish it somewhere else.”

This alarmed Twilight.

“What do you mean?” She asked.

“Principle Tia and I received a tip that there are reports of squatters.” The woman explained. “We’ll be closing the library early until the issue has been resolved. If you have to look for a book or finish writing down an equation, you have five minutes to do so. After that, everyone will be asked to leave and the door will be locked. Is that understood?”

Twilight and Spike looked at one another with worry.

“Yes, ma’am, we understand.” Spike said, looking back at the woman.

“Good.”

The woman then turned away and walked in another direction, in search of any stragglers.

“What are we going to do, Twilight?” Spike asked. “Last time I checked, we don’t have anywhere else to stay. And those tarps and pillows were my only option.”

“I don’t know Spike.” Twilight said with as much concern as the former dragon in front of her. “But for right now, we should get going, I wasn’t expecting to find this world’s version of Princess Luna and I don’t intend of getting on her bad side.”

The halls were almost vacant as Twilight and Spike walked down them.

“Where are we going to sleep now, Twilight?” The latter asked.

“I don’t know, Spike.” Twilight answered. “I really don’t know.”

“Maybe we could hide out in the gym, or maybe the cafeteria, that way we don’t need to worry about food.”

That was a good point. What were Twilight and Spike going to eat for dinner? It won’t certainly be that likely that Spike will be lucky enough for someone to buy him peanuts, or anything for that matter.

“Hey, Twilight, Spike!”

The two spun on their heels toward the source of who was talking. The source being rather familiar.

“Hey Flash, what’s up?” Spike asked.

“Just heading home.” Flash said. “What about you?”

“We’re just trying to figure out what we’re going eat for dinner.” Spike answered.

“Really?” Flash asked with interest. “Did you have anything in mind?”

“Well…” Twilight was trying to think of an excuse.

“Nothing really.” Spike said, before Twilight could say anything. “We don’t have many options.”

Flash cocked an eyebrow.

“Well, how about you two have dinner at my house?” He asked. “Rarity is coming over to help work on a project after her shift at work is finished.”

“You really mean it?” Spike asked with excitement.

“Yeah.” Flash said. “The more the merrier, am I right?”

Spike immediately looked at Twilight, with eyes that would put a puppy to shame.

Twilight knew what Spike was thinking. She didn’t want to bother anyone with providing room and board for them. But at the same time, she remembered the amount of choices she had…

…none.

“Welcome to Case de Flash.” Flash said as he put the black car in park.

It took about ten to fifteen minutes to get from the school to Flash’s house in his car. His house was two stores tall, and looked to be made of red brick, with a front porch with steps in the center, black shutters, a black tile roof, and a garage to the right side of the building. In the front lawn was a flag pole that had two flags, the American flag at the very top, below that was a white flag with a blue square in the upper left hand corner which contained a cross, similar to the one that Pinkie wore around neck, but was red.

“This machine is awesome Flash.” Spike said as Flash opened his door.

“Thanks. It’s a nineteen sixty nine Camaro SS.” Flash said. “My Dad’s had it since he was in high school. I’ve thought of putting some decals on it, like a shield with a lightning bolt on the hood.”

“Why haven’t you done it?” Spike asked as he shut the door.

“Because the moment the adhesive makes contact with the paint, my dad’s boot would be in my rump in less than two point seven seconds.” Flash answered as she slung his bag over his shoulder. “The only sticker related things allowed are bumper stickers, and only one’s he’ll allow.”
Flash lead the two to the back of the car, and drew attention to a white sticker on the back bumper that said “Romney” with a stylized “R” and below that said “Believe in America”. And next to that was a black sticker that said “Remember Benghazi”, with the first word in white and the second in red.

“What’s Romney?” Twilight asked.

“It’s the last name of Mitt Romney. He was the Republican Candidate for President the year before last, but Obama managed to grab a second term. Even after what happened in Libya which is what the other sticker is in reference to.” Flash explained. “Anyway, with politics aside, let’s get inside. Unless you two want to stand out here all evening.”

Flash unlocked the door and lead his friends inside.

The inside of Flash’s house is pretty similar to the average house back in Ponyville, which chairs, tables, and sofas. But in the living room was a device known as a “television”, something one couldn’t find back in Equestria.

Sat on the sofa in the living room was a girl dressed in green skirt, a blue button up, and a yellow neck tie. This girl had blonde hair, light skin, and eyes that looked as if they were the color of gold. Speaking of her eyes, her left eye pointed in one direction, while the other in another, making her very, very familiar to Twilight and Spike, who looked at one another, knowing why this girl was so familiar. What wasn’t familiar, though, were the pair of rimless glasses she wore.

As she worked on, what is assumed to be her homework, she saw Flash and his guest walk into the room.

“Hi Flashy.” She said as she stood up and hugged Flash. “How are you?”

Her voice sounded just a familiar as she looked.

“Good to see you to, Derpy.”

Flash then let go of the girl.

“Derpy, this is Twilight and Spike, I told you about them yesterday.” He said. “Twilight and Spike, this is my half-sister, Deborah.”

“You can call me Derpy, if you want.”

“Anyway, you guys go and get acquainted.” Flash said, patting Derpy on the shoulder. “I got to get changed.”

“What are you getting changed for?” Twilght asked.

“Work. I work register over at “Fillmore & Son’s Bargain Barn”. Flash said. “So I might be back around six. Since I’ll be picking up Rarity, I thought I’d also pick up some pizza. That sound good?”

Twilight and Spike agreed.

After Flash disappeared upstairs, Derpy caught their attention, holding a white object with an assortment of buttons on it.

“Want to play video games?”

Much time had passed since Flash left for work and Derpy and Spike were in a tight match while playing a game called “Halo 3”. So far they’ve been playing something called “Team Slayer”, along with several other players called “NightmareMoon10102010”, “ScrewBall22924”, who were on Derpy and Spike’s team, the blue team, while the red team consisted of players called, “Button_Masher”, “Jackboot420”, “XxStahlhelmxX”, and “SweetieDrops100”. Derpy’s gamer tag was “DitzyMuffin” while Spike was playing on Flash’s profile, his gamer tag being “Sentry1980”. They were playing on a map called “Last Resort” and the Red and Blue teams were neck and neck.

“This game is crazy.” Spike said as he picked hopped into a machine called a “Warthog”, with Derpy at the wheel.

“I know, right?” Derpy said happily. “Flash and I play this all the time.”

After the Warthog smashed into SweetieDrops100, Spike grew curious of Derpy’s nickname.

“I was wondering, why do you prefer to be called Derpy anyway?” He asked.

Derpy chuckled.

“Well when I was introducing myself to my homeroom back in Middle School, I was trying to introduce myself as "Debby" but it came out as "Derpy". It just stuck ever sense.” She explained cheerfully. “Sometimes when I meet someone for the first time they think it’s because of my eyes.”

“How did your eyes get like that anyway?” Spike asked as he blew Jackboot420’s head off with a sniper rifle.

“Birth defect.” Derpy answered as she picked up a weapon she called a “Needler”. “That’s why I wear these glasses, they help me see straight essentially.”

Derpy pumped Jackboot420 full of pink crystals, making the player explode in a pink blast, when Spike asked another question.

“Flash said you’re his half-sister. How does that work exactly?”

Derpy blasted Button_Masher before answering Spike’s question.

“Well it's a pretty touchy subject, that I don't really want to go into." She said. "But despite what happened, I thank God I got a brother like Flashy. He’s always there for me, and I’m always there for him. Like when he and Sunset broke up.”

Spike’s eyes almost popped from his head.

“Sunset and Flash used to date?” He asked with shock.

“Yeah they did.” Derpy answered. “I still remember when it happened, I was in my room and then I heard shouting and a door slamming. To be honest I kind of knew it would come to that. Sunset isn’t that nice of a person.”

“That’s a bit of an understatement.” Spike said. “Especially with the way she treated Flutters.”

This caught Derpy’s attention.

“Sunset got told off yesterday. Was that you?”

Spike smiled and shrugged.

“That’s awesome.” Derpy said. “You’re sister is lucky to have a little brother like you.”

“Where is Twilight anyway?” Spike asked. “Didn’t she say she was going to the bathroom?”

Twilight hunched over as she sat on the toilet of the first floor washroom, with both the seat and lid down. She had excused herself earlier to the washroom, but not to relieve herself, but to write a message to Celestia.
She wrote:

“Dear Princess Celestia,

I hope everything is alright since my last message. I am writing to tell you that I have made contact with Sunset Shimmer today, and it appears that she is not a nice pony, something that has not changed since my last message. As of now I’m still trying to figure out a plan in reunited my friends, this world’s version of my friends that is. Either way, I am still hard set on getting back the crown by becoming Princess of the Fall Formal, something I strive to gain with the help of this world’s version of my friends. Whatever Sunset Shimmer plans are, they will most certainly fail.

I miss you and everypony dearly.

Your most faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle”

Twilight closed the book and leaned her head back with a sigh.

So much was on her mind now. Not only was the Formal within three days, but so was the closing of the portal was that night. Combined with trying to reunite this world’s version of her friends, keeping Sunset’s plans, whatever they were, at bay, and looking for a place to stay, it was a lot of think about.

She looked at herself in the mirror, seeing herself as her pony form.

“What am I going to do?”

There was a knock at the door.

“Twilight?” It was Spike. “Are you okay in there?”

Twilight opened the door and stepped out into the hall.

“Yeah I’m alright.”

Spike cocked an eyebrow.

“You don’t sound like it.” He said. “What’s up?”

Twilight sighed.

“I’m trying to think of a way to ask Flash if we can stay here.” She said. “But I just don’t think I can do it or not. He invited us over for dinner; he even bought us lunch today. I just don’t want to take advantage of him, you know?”

Spike nodded.

“I understand.” He said. “But I guess the only thing you can find out if it’s okay if we can stay is if you ask him.”

“Uh, excuse me.”

The two turned and saw Derpy peaking around the corner.

“Sorry to interrupt, but Flash is back with dinner.” She said. “Just thought I’d let you two know.”

“Okay, thanks Derpy.” Spike said.

Derpy smiled and disappeared around the corner.

“Come on, maybe some food will calm your nerves.” Spike said to Twilight. “Hopefully it won’t be thrown at you this time.”

Thankfully no food was thrown, but eaten.

Flash had picked up two pizzas from an establishment called Dominoes, one thin crust with pepperoni and a hand tossed with veggies, along with a large bottle of a drink called Coca Cola, a beverage Spike took to a liking. He also didn’t come alone, as he had picked up Rarity from work so the two can work on a project, something of which they were almost finished with.

As of now, Flash was telling a story that everyone found amusing.

“Scoots told me that when she turned the corner over near the bread aisle, and she saw Tiara in a store apron stocking the shelves.” He explained.

“When was this again?” Derpy asked.

“It was while I first clocked in.” Flash said. “Scoots told me herself when she and her friends got to the register. Apparently her dad saw Silvia’s Facebook and saw what his little Princess was doing to Belle during the food fight. Long story short, she was forced to drop out of the Princess election for the Formal.”

“Serves her right. The nerve of her to do something like that.” Rarity said. “With her dropping out of the race, that leaves Trixie, Lyra, Derpy, Sunset, and Twilight.”

“Actually Lyra dropped out.” Spike said. “Pinkie and Applejack told me that she did so not too long after the food fight. I think it was about her helping start the food fight or something like that.”

Rarity looked across the table at Twilight, who was sat next to Derpy, who was hadn’t said a word since dinner started.

“Twilight, darling, are you okay?” She asked. “You’ve gotten rather quiet.”

Twilight looked over at Rarity, almost mechanic like.

“I’m okay.” She said. “Just thinking. You know with the Formal coming up.”

“Oh indeed.” Rarity said with a joyful sigh. “I can’t wait either. I’m still trying to figure out a dress to make, and a dress for Belle and her friends to wear, oh so much to do!”

“Same old Rarity.” Twilight thought with a smile.

“With someone like you, I’m surprised you’re not running.” Spike said. "Because you'd obviously win."

“Aren’t you a sweetheart?” She asked as she rustled Spike’s hair. “I ran for Princess of the Spring Fling last year, but a certain incident ruined it for me. If you don’t mind I kind of don’t want to talk about it.”

“It’s cool.” Spike said as he reached for another slice of pizza.

Flash glance over at Twilight and saw a book on her side of the table.

“What kind of book is that?” He asked before taking a sip of his cola. “I like the cover.”

It then hit Twilight that the book she used to communicate with Princess Celestia was right next to her.

“O-Oh it’s my… …uh…” She was trying to come up with an excuse.

“It’s her diary.” Spike said, running defense. “Guess she accidently brought it with her. She writes in it pretty often.”

He then glanced over at Twilight and winked at her, who then returned a thankful nod.

It was several minutes after dinner and everyone had gotten their fill of dinner. Rarity and Flash had gotten started on the rest of their project at the dinner table while Derpy led the Equestrian duo into the living room where they watch television. What they were watching was a show that originates from across the border up north in Canada called “Murdoch Mysteries”, which was about a detective named William Murdoch who solves mysteries in a city called Toronto. Twilight took great interest in this show, which really reminded her of the mystery novels she read back in Equestria.

While the others were busy with television, Flash and Rarity were making progress on their project for science class.

“Finished!” Rarity said as she dropped the pencil. “Thank goodness.”

“You can say that again.” Flash added as he closed a science book.

He let out a sigh before turning to Rarity.

“So, are you going with someone to the Formal?” He asked.

“I think I’m just going to go alone.” Rarity answered. “I honestly can’t think of anyone to go with. Have you thought of someone to ask?”

Flash looked up at the ceiling in thought.

"I'm not sure really." He said. "Minuette has the flu and the other members of the cheer squad are already asked for, Octavia's already going with Noteworthy, not to mention that they're providing music for the slow dancing, Blossom, Goldie, Scoops are taken, so on a so forth."

He then looked towards the living room.

“You think Twilight would go with me?” He asked. “I mean, I barely know her an all, but it would be nice to go with someone.”

Flash then put his feet back on the floor.

“And that’s not the only thing I need to ask her about.”

The credits began to roll as the episode ended.

“That was awesome.” Spike said. “The part where Murdoch and the other guy got away in that plane thing was awesome.”

As the introduction of the next episode began to play, Flash entered the room.

“Hey, Twilight, Spike, what’s up?” He asked.

“Nothing much. Sup’ with you?” Spike asked in return.

“Finally got done with that project.”

Flash then sat down in the armchair next to the couch.

“So, Derpy when do you plan on going to bed?” He asked his sister.

“Maybe around ten, ten thirty.” Derpy answered. “After I brush my teeth and everything.”

“That’s cool.”

Flash then looked over at his guests.

“How about you two?” He asked. “Do your parents want you back at a certain time?”

Twilight’s heart dropped and her brain began to run at full speed.

Before she could answer, Spike spoke up.

“We… …don’t have a curfew, yeah.” He said. “Our parents are cool like that.”

Flash cocked an eyebrow.

“Really? You want to give me the address to your house. You know, so your parents don’t get worried.”

“It’s uh…” Spike was racing to find an answer like Twilight.

“Nine eight seven Ben Harrison Avenue?” Flash said.

“Yeah, that’s it!” Spike said, not realizing what the address was.

“But isn’t that the school?” Derpy asked.

“Exactly.”

Flash then looked at Spike and Twilight with a rather serious look on his face, much different than earlier.

“You two are the squatters in the library.” He said. “And please don’t deny it; I was in the library when you two were talking about where you were going to stay next.”

This was it. Twilight and Spike had to come clean. But how would the two explain to Flash that they were really an alicorn Princess and a baby dragon, respectively. But thankfully, their assistance came around the corner.

“Um, pardon me, I’m really sorry to interrupt…” Rarity said as she entered the living room. “…but, Twilight is your book supposed to do this?”

Twilight looked over at what Rarity was holding.

If her heart could drop any further than it already had, it did as she saw that her book was glowing and vibrating in Rarity’s hands.

Author's Notes:

Happy New Year! Sorry this took so long to make, with trying to find a job, I was having trouble trying to find time to work on it, and when I do I can't get the words from brain to the keyboard. Either way, I'm glad I got around to publishing this chapter.

Hope y'all enjoy!