There were a few people around by the track when Twilight arrived. It was an impressive sized track, surrounding a grass field where a few students were playing what looked like hoof ball, but with two legs. It never ceased to amaze Twilight what excellent balance these beings could achieve with only two legs.

There was a gallery by the end of the track, where some students were sitting and talking, others fiddling with their phones. A few of them laughed when they saw Twilight, but she just ignored them, and they got bored pretty quickly. 8:45; another fifteen minutes until Rainbow Dash would get here. From what she could tell, time measurements were one for one to Equestria, which was weird, since the rotation of the globe—read from the articles online—was considerably slower than that of Equstria. Perhaps the planet was larger, or denser in mass. This was brain candy of the highest quality; for all of Sunset’s fault, she couldn’t claim she didn’t understand her frustration when told she wasn’t allowed to study this world. One could spend a lifetime comparing, contrasting, learning…

“…lo, Twilight.”

If Twilight hadn’t been so used to Fluttershy’s near-inaudible greetings, she would have missed it. When she looked up, she was standing right there.

“Hi, Fluttershy,” Twilight greeted. “Are you having gym class soon?”

“Not exactly. I was just trying to pass out fliers for my animal shelter.” The stack in her hand told her it wasn’t going too well. “Can I sit here?”

“Of course!” Twilight said, beaming. “C’mere, Spike.” The dog leapt onto Twilight’s lap, and Fluttershy took a seat next to them.

“I like coming here and watch Rainbow Dash play,” she told her. “I’m not the only one; she’s got a bit of a fan club. It’s just as well, that way, I can stay invisible…”

“Why’d you wanna stay invisible? Why not go out there and talk to her?”

“T-t-talk to her?” Fluttershy stammered, her face bright red, as though she had suggested she would go out there and kiss her.

“Have you never even talk to each other?” Not being friends is one thing, but the pony versions grew up together!

“Oh, we have… a long time ago. We went to the same grade school. We even used to play together out on the swing.” The memories made Fluttershy smile. “But now look at her; she’s gone so far, and me… I’m almost peddling backwards.”

“You can’t put yourself down, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, trying to sound confident. “I’m sure she still wants to be your friend. You just gotta take the first step.”

“You make it sound so easy. I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I don’t have the best people skills—eep, here she comes!”

Rainbow Dash was running out onto the field, keeping her eyes on a football soaring through the air. She caught it with her leg, and it bounced in a perfect arch onto the middle of the field, where she squashed it under her foot before it could make a second bounce. The small audience cheered. Smiling to herself, she started making what Twilight assumed were stretching moves. In her casual shorts and sweater—the latter of which had the rainbow lightning bolt cutie mark printed on it—she looked wild, like she was born ready for action. Another perfect representation of Twilight’s pony friend.

“Alright,” said Twilight, “I’m gonna go talk to her about the Fall Formal. You wanna come with me?”

“What? N-no, I…”

“Please?” Twilight tried. “I’d feel better if she saw that I have someone on my side already.”

This was, of course, not as important as helping Fluttershy out of her shell, but the prompt seemed to work. “O… okay.”

So they left the gallery and walked out onto the field. She had hoped there wouldn’t be so many people around, but at least class hadn’t started yet.

“Hey, it’s Sunset’s new target,” Rainbow Dash greeted as they approached. “Oh, and, uh, hey Fluttershy! Haven’t talked to you in a while.”

“H-hello, Rainbow Dash…”

“I heard you are the person to talk to if you I wanted meet the captain of the athletes,” Twilight said, sparing Fluttershy from carrying a conversation she clearly wasn’t ready for.

“That’d be me, yeah. And let me guess, you’re looking to get my vote for the Fall Formal.”

“Uh, yeah, that’s kind of the gist of it,” Twilight admitted. “I mean, aren’t you tired of having Sunset Shimmer always—”

“I’ll stop you right there. I know your heart is in the right place, and sure, I’d love to see Sunset get hers as much as anybody, but uh,” she made a small laugh, “you? The girl who started her semester without knowing what a computer was?”

“I know what a computer is now!”

“Yeah, I’m sure you’ve done your homework like a good little student. But here at CHS, we have a thing called standards. Sunset Shimmer might be the queen of jerkballs, but she’s at least got pizazz.”

Twilight had known her pegasus friend to be a bit high and mighty from time to time, but this version must have nurtured that part for years without anybody putting on the breaks. Not the same people, Twilight.

“B-but Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy suddenly spoke up. She looked scared, but kept going. “I-I thought you hated Sunset Shimmer. You’re always talking about how you wish you could give her the ‘what for’.”

“How do you know I said that?” Rainbow Dash replied with a skeptic look. “You been stalking me or something?”

“No! That’s to say, I haven’t been… not a lot, anyway…”

“Speak up, I can’t hear you.”

“Okay, yes, I have been stalking you!” she blurted out, finally showing some assertiveness. “I’ve been watching all your matches, a-and I listen to you talk to your teammate. I know you’ve been too busy to notice me… b-but the point is, I didn’t think you were so… so…”

“I’m what, Fluttershy?” Rainbow Dash took a step towards her, a frown on her face. She backed away. “I’m what?”

“Shallow!” she exclaimed, which from her came off like a shout. “I can’t believe you care about that awful video. Is ‘pizazz’ more important to you than doing the right thing?”

Something in that rant seemed have to hit a note, because Rainbow Dash looked uncomfortable, scratching her back absentmindedly. “School’s changed, you know. We can’t just ‘do the right thing’, there is a pecking order now; you gotta be smart.” As much as Twilight didn’t want to, she understood now why Applejack wasn’t her friend. “But tell you what, Twilight Sparkle,” she added, before she could tell Fluttershy they had wasted their time, “we’ll have a game of one-on-one, right here, right now. First to five goal wins. If you win, you got my vote.”

“Oh, it’s on,” Twilight said without hesitation. Nevermind she was going up against the top athlete of the school, and nevermind that a small crowd was forming around them. She’d show them all. Bullies like this version of Rainbow Dash was the reason people like Sunset Shimmer could get away with anything. She absolutely could not lose.

She lost. Oh boy, did Rainbow Dash ever mop the floor with her. Just because she didn’t have wings, it didn’t mean she didn’t fly like a hurricane; Twilight had no idea a human being could move like that. At this point, she was just happy that none of Rainbow’s shots had hit her in the face

“That’s game,” she called.” Laughter rung out from the spectators. Twilight just collapsed onto the ground. Could this day get any worse? How in Equestria was she going gain the school’s trust now?

“So,” said Rainbow Dash, who was stretching out her hand for Twilight to grab. “How can I help you be princess instead of Sunset Shimmer?”

Twilight blinked, confused. “But… I lost…”

“Of course you lost! I’m awesome! I was always gonna give you my vote, but I wanted to see what sort of gal you are. It takes a lot of nerve to agree to a match with me on your second day of school, and that shows you’ve got determination. I like that.”

The frost that had accumulated in Twilight’s heart was melting. So she was the same caring person she knew, thank Celestia! Grabbing her hand, she rose to her feet.

“There you have it folks!” Rainbow Dash called out to those watching, maybe twenty people or so. “Rainbow Dash’s vote goes to Twilight Sparkle, and if you’re awesome, so will yours. Let’s give Sunset Shimmer the what for!”

Though there was a cheer, it was lot more muted than what Twilight had thought. But it was a start. Plus, Fluttershy was approaching them again. “I-I-I’m so sorry!” she said. “I-I didn’t know you were just acting…” At least I should’ve… I’m so sorry!”

“Why’re you sorry? You were supposed to think I was a jerk. I should be the one to apologize… but you know what, see it as payback for never coming up and talk to me.”

“But how could I? Every time I tried to get your attention, you’d walk right past me…”

“Well, yeah, I didn’t recognize you at first—your not a ten-year-old girl anymore—and by the time I realized it was you, you kept averting your eyes. I thought you hated me for some reason.”

“No no, I would never… oh,” Fluttershy said, understanding flashing in her eyes. “Now I feel silly.”

“You and me both,” Rainbow Dash agreed. “But we’re friends now, right?”

Fluttershy’s whole face beamed. “Friends.” Rainbow Dash hugged her. Fluttershy could not have looked happier.

“So what’s next, chief?” Rainbow asked Twilight. “When do we start campaigning? Two days will be cutting it tight.”

“I’m honestly not sure,” she said truthfully. Once, she would have panicked right about now, unable to cope with the lack of plan in such a high stakes situation, but during her stay in Ponyville, learning the magic of friendship, she liked to believe she had matured enough to know when to ask for help. “What we need is a committee meeting. I’ll call Applejack…”

“Ugh, why do we need her for!” Rainbow Dash whined. “Trust me, I know pretty much everyone at this school, and Applejack’s attitude problem is the last thing we need.”

“Now Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy cut in, “this is for the good of the school. The whole point is to work together to defeat Sunset Shimmer.”

“I guess. Fine. Who else you got?”

“Well, there’s Rarity…”

“Lame!”

“…Flash Sentry from the music club…”

“He’s pretty cool.”

“And Pinkie Pie, I think; I never got her phone number.”

“On second thought, we don’t need everyone to win against Sunset,” Fluttershy sulked.

“I’m sorry, girls, but there’s a method to this madness, I promise.” She typed in the quick-dial to Applejack. “Hello?”

***

The atmosphere in the room could best be described as freezing.

All of the five ‘friends’, plus Flash, had gathered in an unused classroom. But aside from Flash, none of them looked like they much wanted to be there. On the right of the front desk stood Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, and on the left, Pinkie Pie and Applejack. Flash and Rarity were just kind of leaning against the wall.

“Alright, people,” Twilight began. “You all know why you’re here.”

“I know why I’m here,” Rainbow Dash retorted. “But I still don’t get why she’s here.” She pointed at Applejack. “I mean, Pinkie, fine, she’s the one taking care of the decoration and stuff, but what’s she ever done?”

“I actually wanted her to—” Twilight started.

“How about supplying the whole thing with apple cider?” Applejack shot back. “And what’s wrong with just wantin’ to help? Heck, even Fluttershy is here!”

“She’s here because—”

“What’d you mean, ‘even Fluttershy’? You know how shy she is; it took her major guts to come here.”

“Exactly, and I think she—”

“Pfft, guts schmuts,” Pinkie said. “Fluttershy’s just trying to cover up all that meanie beanie underneath!”

“Just because I don’t go around smiling at stuff that isn’t funny,” Fluttershy said, low but quite audible. “Would it hurt you to be sincere once in a while?”

“What?! Sincere is my middle name: Pinkie Sincere Pie! Everybody knows that!”

“Honestly Twilight,” Rarity spoke up. “I’m beginning to have second thoughts about what you’re going for here. One hot head with an attitude problem, we could handle, but now we have three? And no offense to you, Fluttershy, you’re hardly the ‘campaigning’ type.”

“I know it seems that way, but—”

“Don’t you start too, Rarity,” Rainbow Dash told her. “At least Fluttershy step up when it counts; you, on the other hand, don’t seem to care about anything that’s not related to fashion! Remember when I came around to ask if you can fix a bunch of my clothes? All I wanted was for you to mend some holes, but you turned them into these frilly cheer-leader stuff! Oh, and I’ve heard a few things about your grades too; it’s like you’ve given up on your academic life or something.”

“First off, you’re hardly the one to lecture me on tunnel vision, miss Captain of All Sports, and second, I was doing you a favor, as you sorely need to diversify your—”

“Please!” It wasn’t Twilight who shouted, but Flash. “Come on, people, we all came here to listen to what Twilight has to say. Let her speak.”

“Thank you, Flash,” Twilight said, grateful for the opportunity. “You know what I see when I look at you? I see a microcosm of what this school as become. Is this really what you want to remember when you think back on your years in high school?”

“Duh, of course we don’t!” Pinkie Pie said. “That’s a really obvious question, Twilight.”

“Yes, well, if we let Sunset Shimmer keep doing what she’s doing, who’s to say it will stop at high school; Sunset Shimmer might rule the whole city someday. Just look at what she’s done to all of you! You could have been friends!”

“Hold yer horses, you think it’s her fault we can’t get along?” Applejack asked.

“That’s a nice theory, darling,” Rarity said, “but I’m afraid we can’t blame Sunset for all our problems. It wasn’t Sunset who ruined the walkway show by bringing a bunch of fireworks, Pinkie!”

“Whoa whoa, I never brought fireworks to a walkway show!”

“Are you trying to tell me that wasn’t you? But you sent me a text and everything, saying you wanted to ‘improve’ my show. I said yes, because I thought you only meant the decorations!”

“I never sent you any text,” Pinkie Pie said, sounding confused.

Twilight smiled to herself. Just as she’d suspected. Now, once Sunset’s involvement came to light, they could start on rebuilding their trust.

“Yes you did; look!” She showed the phone to her. “I have it saved right here.”

Pinkie Pie took a glance at it, and her eyes shot up. “Oooh, that text! Yeah, guess I did; I’d completely forgotten about it. What can I say, your show needed more wazoom!”

Twilight’s heart sank. Or not…

“It was a walkway! ‘Wazoom’ wasn’t part of the program.”

“Well it should’ve been!”

“It’s always the same with you, Pinkie, I—”

And the room devolved into chaos. Three or four conversations at once, all throwing accusations at each other. Flash just kept quiet by the wall, and Twilight couldn’t blame him. This complicated matters; it would seem she had been mistaken in her ‘inverted Elements’ theory. Maybe it was time to admit that he simplest assumption might be the correct one: different upbring, different circumstances, different people After all, for as humbling as it was to consider, Twilight couldn’t deny that she had played an important roll bringing her Equestrian pony friends together.

Well, I’m here now!

“Stop it!” she yelled, catching their attention. “So you don’t like each other. You don’t have to. But you all share a common goal: dethroning Sunset Shimmer. And for that to happen, all of you are going to have to at least tolerate one another.”

“Yeah…” Rainbow agreed with a sigh. “I said I’d help you, so I’ll put up with these jerks.”

“Right back at ya,” Applejack said. “Tell us what to do, Twilight.”

“I have a plan,” she said, and for the first time since she got here, she actually did. “Applejack, I want you to bring us Sweet Apple Acre’s finest cider for tomorrow. The best you got!”

“Ah suppose I could whip up a few fresh batches, if Ah use some o’ the spare apples from the cellar. Is it important?”

“Very important. Pinkie Pie, do you still make those gorgeous frosted cupcakes with vanilla sprinkles?”

“Aye aye captain!”

“Good, we’ll need at least a hundred! Fluttershy, you were handing out fliers before, weren’t you? Do you have a printer at home?”

“I-I do, yes.”

“Do you think you could design a flier for a meet-and-greet tomorrow at nine, and print out fifty copies?”

“Th-that sounds like a big responsibility… b-but I’ll do it.”

“A get-together, huh,” Flash said. “Want me to bring the music?”

“This won’t come together without it,” she told him. “I’ve got a special song in mind; I’ll bring you the lyrics tomorrow.”

“It seems I underestimated you,” Rarity said, a smile returning to her face. “Anything I can do to help?”

“Well, I will need to look my best. Think you can make something that screams ‘Fall Formal Princess?’”

“I was born to. Leave it to me.”

“No way I’m gonna be outdone by these bozos,” Rainbow Dash said. “You do have something for me too, don’t you?”

“Yes dear,” Rarity said, “she wants to you stand a corner and practice acting civilized.”

“I didn’t get to be captain of every sport by ‘acting civilized’.”

“Nobody is asking you to be civilized!” Twilight cut in. “Well, please don’t be uncivilized, but especially now, I need you to be yourself. I want you to be the one to hand out the fliers, talking to people while you do it. Make a splash with that colorful personality of yours.”

“Sounds right up my alley!”

“Good. Then we all have our assignments. We’ll meet up again after school. And give me your phone numbers, so you can call me with any questions.”

One by one, Twilight received the full set of numbers. “Awright, guess it’s time to get to it,” said Applejack. “Ah, uh, just have one small question. How’d you know Apple Acre made cider? Ah don’t think I ever told you.”

“And you knew about my vanilla-sprinkled cupcakes!” Pinkie added. “I knew it, you are—”

“Psychic, yes! I’m psychic!” Twilight said proudly, because at this point, it was the easiest explanation to give. “Now let’s go make Sunset Shimmer pay. Good luck, all of you.”

“Is it really gonna be okay?” Spike asked, when they were finally alone in the corridor. “Looks like they all respect you well enough, but I have a bad feeling about that meet-and-greet.”

“You think so? I have a feeling things are gonna work out just fine.”

“Ah, so you got yourself a plan.”

“It is a gamble,” Twilight admitted. “And it could blow up in my face. But I’m a Princess now, Spike. Who am I if I can’t set my people on the right path?”

“I guess this isn’t how you imagined your new role to be tested, huh.”

“To tell the truth, I still haven’t entirely wrapped my head around the fact that I’m in a whole other world! But I need to focus on what’s in front of me, and right now, that’s talking to Principal Celestia. I need to secure a room where I can host the meet-and-greet, and also ask her a small favor.”

Spike started to reply, but cut himself short. There were footsteps from around the corner.

They nearly walked into Sunset Shimmer. “Whoa! Oh, Twilight. How are the preparations going? I can’t wait to see what you’ve got in store for me.”

“You keep talking down to people while you can,” Twilight returned. “If a shaming video is the best you can do, I think I got this.”

“My best? Oh dear, no, that was my worst! I’m actually ashamed; I never should have resorted to such childish tactics. You’ll know when I get serious. Fun chat, Twilight.” She walked away, humming.

She knew she shouldn’t be, but that smug face still left her worried. She had fought many villains in the past, and the ones that had given her the most trouble had always been the ones with the unwavering confidence.