7 days to the Friendship Games

It was a rather warm day outside Crystal Prep Academy, with the winds blowing slightly to keep the students cool, but it wasn’t enough to stop them from sweating as they sat at the side, where a row of benches sat, facing the carpark. Each of the Shadowbolts and other Crystal Prep students had beads of moisture forming on their foreheads and brows, especially Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap, who had on full protective suits and motorcycle helmets, all of them looking out at two high ramps they had placed out there in the now almost empty carpark.

Only one student with them didn’t have a single drop of sweat on her head, but the others didn’t bother asking her how she managed it.

Canvas Splash and Sunny Flare sat beside Silver Rose, one of each side of the girl. Canvas was holding up a canvas and a paintbrush, holding them out in front of her as she looked at the two dressed up Shadowbolts and the carpark.

“What’cha gonna paint, Canvas?” Silver looked over at the girl’s blank canvas. “I don’t know if Sugarcoat and Indigo standing at the carpark is a scene enough.”

“That’s why I’m waiting till they start,” the girl explained, wiping a drop of sweat away from her eyelid. “I’ll start once I see them start practicing.”

“Sure, paintbrush…” Sunny scoffed, clearly not interested in art. “Hey, Lemon!” she shouted down at the carpark. “Got the timer ready?”

“Yep!” Lemon Zest yelled back. She held a black and white checkered flag in her other hand. “Just waiting for Neon Lights and Sound Wave to return with the bikes!”

“Yeah, um…” Silver waited until she got Sunny’s attention. “Why are they even practicing with these?”

“Oh, Sugarcoat managed to glean some information from Principal Cinch regarding the games.” Sunny pulled at her collar, trying to let the heat out. “Motocross is one of the events.”

“Y’know, I don’t even know why motocross is in the Games,” Canvas said, tilting her brush to the side. “Riding a motorbike is kinda dangerous. And I mean, how many of us would know how to ride a motorbike?”

“Hey, I didn’t make the rules,” Sunny groused. “Take it up with Cinch if you care so much.”

“I was just asking.” The painter went back to mapping out her scene.

“I agree with Canvas.” Silver watched as Neon Lights and Sound Wave came riding around the corner on two purple and black motorbikes, driving slowly up to where Sugarcoat and Indigo Zap were waiting. “Someone could seriously get hurt here. Will Nurse Cardiac be coming along? Uh, better question. Would an ambulance be on standby?”

Oh, don’t be such a worrywart,” Sunny said as she fanned herself. “Indigo knows how to ride a motorcycle. She’s even got a license. I’m not so sure about Sugarcoat though…”

Neon Lights and Sound Wave soon found their way over, nodding their hellos to the girls before seating on the bench beside them. Sugarcoat and Indigo swung themselves atop the motorcycles, revving the engines. Sugarcoat seemed to know what she was doing.

“Ready?” Indigo yelled over to Lemon Zest, who was holding the flag up now. “Just take it slow first, okay?”

“Pfff, slow? No way.” Indigo leaned forward in her seat, ready to roll. “I’ll go at a speed I feel comfortable at.”

“If you die here, we lose you for the Friendship Games,” Sugarcoat told her friend. “So don’t die yet.”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ve got this.”

Both girls slid the visors for their helmets down, revving the engines.

“On your mark,” Lemon shouted, holding the flag high.

Indigo’s mouth grew into a grin.

“Get set, go!” Lemon swung the flag down.

And then they were off, shooting past Lemon Zest and along the side of the carpark, heading towards the first ramp, which was just a simple slope up to a flat plane, then back down again.

Silver Rose watched them go, asking herself again how this could possibly be safe. Principal Cinch deciding on this was one thing, but from the Canterlot High side as well? Surely someone must’ve questioned the safety of this event, right?

The roar of the bikes’ engines echoed across the parking lot as Indigo surged up the ramp, propelling herself into the air for a brief moment. Sugarcoat followed close behind, though not as much at breakneck speed as her fellow biker was. By the time the white haired girl went down the ramp, Indigo was already away and arriving at the second ramp, which was a steeper climb up, followed by a drop on the other side.

That can’t possibly be safe…

But safe or no, Indigo was not to be stopped. She steered her bike to the next ramp, not losing speed. Sugarcoat fell more behind, keeping her bike at a more reasonable speed.

It was then that Silver took her eyes off the two bikers and inhaled deeply, trying to gauge the overall mood of the event.

Concentration and excitement from Canvas. Muted interest and pride from Sunny… nothing new there, though her fear seems to be subsiding. Caution and more concentration from Sugarcoat. Lemon Zest’s smelling of happiness and energy… Indigo… moving too fast. Can’t get a proper analysis. Wait…

Silver sniffed again, taking her eyes off the obstacle course and zeroing them on a cluster of bushes that was on the edge of the carpark.

“There’s someone hiding in there…” Silver muttered to herself.

“What’s that, Silver?” Canvas looked up front her painting.

“There’s someone… no, wait. Two people hiding in those bushes. Might be worth checking out.”

“What, seriously?” Sunny turned to look in the direction Silver was looking. “Well? Let’s go check it out!”

“You girls can go.” Canvas kept her eyes on her artwork and the carpark, where Indigo was now flying up in the sky over the higher ramp. It looked incredibly dangerous, but she came back down the other side with nothing more than a bump, carrying on like she knew what she was doing. “I’ve got my painting to finish.”

“I wasn’t asking you, paintbrush.” Sunny motioned for Silver to come along and got up, heading for the bushes.

“I’ll be right back, Canvas.” Silver patted her friend on the shoulder, then followed after Sunny. The mulberry haired girl seemed determine to find out who was behind the bushes.

Neon Lights and Sound Wave had turned to see where they were going, but eventually returned their eyes to the motorcycle race.

“You saw someone, Silver?” Sunny asked as the young changeling caught up to her, walking beside her now.

“Umm, yeah, that’s right. Saw them. Two of them. Yeah.”

“Hmm… Who would hide behind a bush out here?” Sunny’s frown deepened, likely trying to come up with a guess as to who it was. “It better not be Domino. He’s known to prank others, but if he’s trying to prank me…”

“Who’s Domino?” Silver didn’t recall that name; she had yet to meet a Domino in school.

“Oh, uh, my ex-boyfriend…” Even in the light, Silver could see a tinge of pink spread across Sunny’s cheeks. “He’s not important anymore. But if he’s the one back there…”

Closing in on the row of bushes separating the school premises with the woods, Silver Rose was the first to push through, then looking straight into a pair of light blue eyes.

Sunny Flare had stood behind Silver, watching the bushes, but then when Silver bent down to part one of the bushes, her skirt had lifted just enough for Sunny to see the bottom of her pink panties.

Her face going a deep red, Sunny looked away and stopped breathing.

What’s wrong, Sunny? You’ve seen her in her panties before, back when Sour Sweet had pulled down Silver’s shorts. You’ve seen other students in their underwear too, so why are you acting like this now? Stop it!

Then there was a high pitched shriek from the other side of the bush, startling Sunny, and apparently, Silver as well. The pink-grey haired girl fell back as a very pink girl stood up on the other side. “We’ve been found! Ruuuun for it!”

And then in a puff of smoke, she whizzed through the bush, running off to the carpark.

“Hey, wait for me!” Another girl, one with rainbow colored hair and blue skin, got up and ran along after her friend. Both of them weren’t wearing any uniforms, but ordinary clothes. “Pinkie!”

Sunny turned and followed them with her eyes, watching as they hopped over a railing and into the carpark, running at the side to avoid the motorcycles. The others stopped to look as well, including Sugarcoat. Indigo didn’t seem to bother, still going rounds around the carpark.

“Who were they?” she asked aloud, watching them get further and further away.

“I haven’t seen these two before… I think...” Silver pulled a twig from her hair and tossed it back into the bush. “Any idea who they are?”

“Not a clue. But I’m willing to bet they’re from Canterlot High. They must be trying to find out what we’re doing.” Sunny walked over to and help Silver up.

As she got up, she planted both legs on the ground in a squatting position, letting Sunny have a better look at her panties before standing back up.

Sunny, what’s wrong with you? You’re a girl! You have on a pair of panties yourself. What’s wrong? You can look at your own whenever you feel like it!

Sunny felt something begin to warm up between her legs. She pressed them together, trying to get rid of the feeling and taking two steps away from Silver.

“Something wrong, Sunny?” Silver watched her, tilting her head to the side.

“N-No, nothing… Just the… usual…” Sunny managed a smile.

“Oh. Okay. Well, with the two intruders gone, shall we get back to watching the motorbikes?” She pointed a thumb back to the carpark.

Just then, there was a loud crash, coming from the carpark.

“My fault! My fault! That was me!” They heard Indigo yell.

Rushing back over, Sunny and Silver realized the girl had toppled on her side next to the second ramp.

“Indigo, what the hay?” Sugarcoat stopped her motorcycle beside her and put it on park. “That’s why you don’t overtake me with so little space.”

“Hey, I could do it! The ramp just had to be so close.” The blue haired girl tossed off her helmet and rubbed at her head.

“These really are quite dangerous.” Silver leaned over to whisper to Sunny. “And this will be happening during the Games?”

“No changing anything now.” Sunny folded her arms after a wipe of her forehead. “It’s all finalized, seeing as we have a week left.”

“Seriously. They better have an ambulance at the ready. If something like this happens, it could be bad on Principal Cinch’s record.”

“We’ll see, I guess.”

The two girls headed back to the bench, where Canvas was already in the process of touching up her work with some added detail. It was a picture of Sugarcoat racing behind Indigo, with the latter doing a jump over the ramp.

“That was fast, Canvas.” Silver sat beside her, with Sunny sitting on the left. “And it looks good!”

“Thanks, Silver,” the artist said with a grin. “I think it’s pretty good.”

Sunny looked at it and rolled her eyes. It only looked alright. Nothing special. She knew if she wanted to, she could do it better.

Looking up at the sun, Sunny squinted and then groaned in annoyance, giving her face a wipe. It wasn’t even summer yet, but the temperature was already rising. Their uniforms weren’t helping in keeping them cool.

“You know what?” Sunny pulled off her bowtie, then her blazer. “It’s too hot and it’s after school. They’re not going to care if we follow dress code.”

Unbuttoning the top two buttons of her shirt, Sunny looked over at Silver and noticed she wasn’t even sweating, nor did she look irritated with the heat.

She must’ve been living in a really hot place before, huh?

Eventually, Indigo recovered enough to continue, but Sugarcoat had won the race that day, going more rounds while Indigo had sat out.

“Meh, I would’a won if you weren’t so slow.” She adjusted her hair back up, her face all sweaty.

“If you hadn’t tried to overtake me, you wouldn’t have been in this mess.” Sugarcoat got off the motorbike and took off her helmet. “You might be good, Indigo, but speed doesn’t always determine the winner.”

“Meh, sure it does. I was just careless. It won’t happen again. Especially not during the Games, I’ll assure you that.” Indigo toyed with her goggles. “No one’s going to stop me.”

“Well, now that we’re done with practice,” Lemon Zest said. “How about we go grab some smoothies or something? This heat is killing me!”

“It’s not even summer yet, so stop complaining so much.” Sugarcoat shot her a look. “It’s just a warmer day.”

“I’m up for smoothies!” Neon Lights stood up, pumping a fist into the air.

“I’m guessing I’m not invited,” Sunny heard Canvas whisper to Silver Rose, so she put her things together and got up. “Well, I’ll see you girls tomorrow, alright? I’ve got some work to finish up.”

“Silver?” Sunny inched closer to ask. “W-Will you be joining us?”

Sunny never quite thought about it, but Silver Rose was actually quite pretty. She hadn’t wanted to accept it back when she had a vendetta against her, but now that they were actually friends, Sunny could tell that she was quite attractive. Certainly nothing compared to Fleur Dis Lee, but Silver was also much nicer than the regular student here and that, by Sunny’s books, made her better than Fleur.

She eventually realized she was still staring at Silver’s face, with a meek gasp, she looked away and began tapping her fingers on her knees, distracting herself.

“Sure. I’ll come.” she heard Silver say.

“Wait, you will? Really?” Sunny turned her head in the girl’s direction, slightly.

“Yeah, why not?” Silver whipped out her phone and brought up her contacts list. “I’ll just need to let my aunt know. Not like my mother is around to find out. I hope…” she finished in a lower voice.

“What was that?”

“Oh, nothing!” Silver smiled and waved a hand. “I don’t mind a smoothie! Now, if you’ll excuse me for a second...”

“Yay, Silver’s coming!” Lemon Zest whooped, jumping into the air a few times. “She’s never gone anywhere with us before!”

“Sweet.” Indigo got out of her suit and wiped a hand down her face. “I’ve never hung out with an acclaimed actress’s daughter before. This is gonna be awesome.”

Sunny watched Silver Rose walk over to the field behind the benches, putting the phone to her ear. The blowing wind made Silver’s skirt ruffle and Sunny’s eyes looked down at it, hoping the wind would blow it up just enough to see what she wanted to see.

Then she realized what she was doing again and looked down, gritting her teeth in annoyance.

Sunny, really. What is your deal? Why is Silver Rose different for you? Why are you trying to be like a boy and looking up girls’ skirts? You see it all the time. It’s never bothered you, so what makes Silver Rose so special?

Sunny kept thinking these thoughts, but she was never able to come up with an answer. It made her feel uneasy inside, as if she didn’t know herself as well as she thought she did.

She had seen plenty of underwear in school, and never had she felt embarrassed like she did now. She was even okay the other girls in the locker rooms when they changed for PE, but she could never keep her eyes on Silver Rose without her face going red. She knew if she wanted, she could always look up her own skirt, so she couldn’t figure out why she wanted to look up Silver’s so badly.

Just calm down. Deep breaths, Sunny. Just breathe… Maybe it’s just a phase and you’ll get over it? Just give it time.

When she was done with her call, Silver walked back and rejoined them, pocketing her phone. “Okay! My aunt says I can join you!”

Indigo pulled off her sloppy bowtie and her blazer and wiped her face with it. “Awesome! Silver’s coming!”

“Could you girls please look presentable?” Sugarcoat eyed both Indigo and Sunny. “This is no way to walk the streets.”

“But it’s hot.” Indigo pulled at her shirt. “It doesn’t help that the blazer is so thick.”

“Yeah…” Sunny swiped at her fringe. “Until we get somewhere cool, I’ll be dressed like this.”

“Huh.” Sugarcoat folded her arms and looked away. “Silver Rose is a model student. She’s not even complaining about the heat.”

“She isn’t even sweating!” Sour Sweet walked around the mauve-skinned girl. “What kind of creature are you?”

Silver laughed nervously and scratched at her cheek. “I-I don’t know… I guess I’m just used to the heat. Ha ha...”

“Well, smoothies will help straighten you all out.” Sound Wave placed his headphones over his ears. “I’m ready to rock and roll when you are.”

“Yay! Then come on! I need a smoothie!” Lemon Zest was the first to begin walking off, anxious to get to the nearby cafe.

Sunny walked alongside Silver, following the group of Crystal Prep students as they talked about how good smoothies were on a hot day.

Entering the cafe, Sunny instantly felt the wave of cold air hit her, smiling to herself as the heat detached from her, staying outside the door.

“Aahh… Much better…” she sighed contently as the group of them found a circular booth to sit at.

She sat down beside Silver Rose and Lemon Zest, the others along both sides, meeting back at Indigo Zap, who was directly opposite of her.

Waving one of the waitresses over, the students ordered their smoothies, which arrived almost immediately.

“Man, we are so ready for the Games!” Indigo sipped loudly from her lemon smoothie. “We’re going to win!”

“Not if you fall over again, Indigo.” Sugarcoat combed back her hair with a hand. “No mistakes.”

“You girls are really serious about this.” Silver looked at them, gulping down some of her strawberry smoothie. “I doubt Canterlot High is this competitive.”

“That is why I think we’re going to win.” Sunny drank from her mango smoothie. “They can’t beat us if they don’t give it their all. Not like they could if they did.”

“Principal Cinch seems worked up about it though,” Sound Wave drawled. “Overheard her talking to Dean Cadance about how CHS is on the rise or something. And from what I know, if Principal Cinch is worried about something, there’s usually a very good reason.”

“And we still haven’t been notified of our twelfth team member,” Sugarcoat added with a finger raised. “We can’t compete in the Games with an incomplete team.”

“Sure wish you were going to compete with us.” Lemon nudged Silver across Sunny. “You were an absolute beast on the track during PE. Not half bad with a bow either.”

Silver Rose shrugged good-naturedly, also blushing. “Well, I just got here, it would be a little arrogant of me to think I could represent the whole school in such an important tradition.”

“With you, we would easily dominate.” Lemon Zest told her. “Sound Wave, are you the twelfth member? I wouldn’t mind having you on the team.”

“Cinch hasn’t approached me or anything, so no, I’m not the twelfth member. Whoever it is, Cinch must be keeping it under wraps. Maybe she’s got a secret weapon and doesn’t want CHS to know about it. We did have a bit of a spy issue earlier, so it’s not entirely unfounded,” Sound Wave finished with a noisy slurp of his drink.

“Yeah, what was with that?” Sunny slammed a fist on the table. Canterlot High was already going to lose, yet they come to spy on them. The nerve. “Do they really think they can come over and just spy on us?”

“You think they’d send someone with less brightly colored hair,” Lemon said idly. “I could see the rainbow one a mile away.”

“Yeah, those CHS people must really be desperate to win if they’re sending spies to Crystal Prep.”

“I wonder what they plan on doing by spying on us in the first place,” Neon Lights said, polishing his large shades. “If it’s tactics they’re after, we just need to make sure to come up with a few different ones.”

“Never would have thought that Canterlot High would take the Friendship Games so seriously,” Sugarcoat remarked. “I wonder if they’re all like that.”

“They can’t be all bad,” Silver said consolingly.

Indigo snorted. “Why, do you know someone from CHS?”

Silver blushed, an awkward smile forming on her face.

“Uh, my, um, sister. She’s seeing someone from CHS. A boy. Yeah.”

Sunny flashed her a confused look. “Your sister is going out with someone from Canterlot High? Really?”

“Yeah,” Silver said, growing more confident. “He seems a decent guy, from what my sister has to say about him.

“Now that is some piece of news right there.” Indigo adjusted the goggles on her head. “How did she manage that when she’s homeschooled? And Canterlot High of all places?”

“She, um, met him on one of her nights out. Chance meeting, you see.”

“So on a chance meeting, she and this boy got together?” Sugarcoat raised an eyebrow. “That is awfully convenient. If only it happens to the rest of us too, huh?”

“Yeah, I would love to meet a girl on the streets and start dating her.” Neon Lights leaned back in the seat and crossed his left leg over his right. “I mean, wow, talk about luck.”

“Yeah,” Lemon Zest piped up. “I mean, Sunny’s the only one of us who’s ever had a special someone. Why can’t I get a date?”

“That’s because you’re too obnoxious,” Sour Sweet told her, then drank from her own strawberry smoothie. “But she’s right… I’ve never gone out with anyone. How did you manage it, Sunny?”

Sunny looked uncomfortable at all the attention being directed at her.

“Well, spill it,” Indigo said with a cheeky grin. “How did you manage to land a date with Domino Ace?”

“Um… we were in the same English class,” Sunny said, rubbing her left wrist. “I needed help with some of the homework and he offered to tutor me. Before I knew it, we were a couple. Or at least he thought of it that way before I did. It took a bit longer for me to see the relationship for what it was.”

“But you liked it, right?” Lemon asked, fishing around in her drink for the cherry.

Sunny looked into her glass and sighed. It had been a long time since she had to talk about Domino at length. “I mean, yeah, I did. It was nice having someone to love.”

Silver Rose glanced aside to Sunny, and seemed to inhale deeply. An understanding smile spread across her face. “I imagine you were quite distraught when you two broke it off?”

“You have no idea,” Indigo said with a groan. “It took a whole week to get her to stop crying. Right, Lemon?”

“Tell me about it.” Even the cheery girl frowned at the thought. “Sunny hid in the restrooms at times and refused to come out. We took so much trouble to get her out…”

“Guys, stop telling her my life story!” Sunny shot them both a glare. “I’m past Domino, okay? You know that. He’s nothing to me now.”

“Okay then…” Sour Sweet said, sounding unconvinced. “What about you, Silver? I bet the daughter of Ebony Wings gets a lot of suitors. Unlike the rest of us.”

“Actually, I haven’t been approached by any boys,” Silver said, taking a pull at her beverage. “None that I’ve noticed anyway.”

“What, no letters in your locker?”

“No flowers or chocolate?”

“No guys coming up and complimenting you?”

Silver resisted the urge to roll her eyes. “No, no, and no.”

“If you’d like, I can be the first to ask.” Neon Lights flashed her a smile.

“Nah man, I sit next to her in calculus.” Sound Wave patted the side of his headphones. “I should ask first.”

“Umm… no thanks…” Silver Rose gave them both a sheepish smile.

“Hey, can’t fault a guy for trying,” Neon Lights said, putting his feet up and adjusting his shades.

Sound Wave and Silver Rose moved their drinks away from his feet.

“Um, Sunny?” Silver touched the mulberry haired girl’s arm to get her attention. “What did happen with you and Domino? I hope you don’t mind my prying. I’m curious why you’re not still together.”

Sunny looked down at Silver’s touch. It was soft and cool and not in the way.

“Uh, um, well…” Sunny decided to think about Domino again to not think about Silver. “One day, he just told me that our relationship was at a standstill. He had wanted to go on further, but I was too slow. He said it was never going to work out in the long run and decided to break up with me…” Sunny clenched her fists at the memory.

She could still see him standing beside her in the school’s hallway. The words he had used, the way he had said it. He had broken her heart that day, but Sunny had long since put it back together. Unfortunately, the cracks were still there and she couldn’t patch them up. She made it a point not to talk to him again and if she ever did meet him in the hall, she would go the other way. He had hurt her, hurt her badly, but Sunny had bounced back and she was never going to forgive him.

“Well, that Domino Ace doesn’t know what he’s missing,” Silver said casually, finishing her drink. “Not your fault he loses out on you.”

Sunny looked at Silver with a confused face. Was that a pass at me? It couldn’t have been, right?

“Well, uh… t-thanks, Silver…” Sunny quickly decided to say.

“Yeah dude, you should be glad you’re not kissing his ugly face anymore.” Lemon Zest began banging her head, listening to something on her headphones. “He doesn’t deserve you.”

As the other members of the party voiced their agreement, Sunny couldn’t help but smile.

She felt so fortunate to have friends that cared about her, who wanted to see her succeed. And more importantly, she felt glad that Silver Rose was on her side now. And surely it wasn’t wrong to keep a friend in her thoughts? Sunny closed her eyes and leaned back. She would have to figure out this fixation on Silver soon, or it would follow her into the Friendship Games. And losing the Games was not an option.

No distractions, Sunny. Victory is at hand. Focus, and you’ll be a hero to everyone at Crystal Prep, including that Domino Ace.

Now that was a thought worth harboring.