Twilight frowned at the broken component, wracking her brain for how to replace it. It was a piece she’d scavenged second hand from a failed project she’d made last summer, and she couldn't remember exactly which thing she’d pulled apart initially to acquire it. It might’ve been an old television, or a small radar gun, or any number of a dozen broken and scrapped machines. And that was the piece that Wallflower’s frantic behavior earlier had destroyed—all for an assembly that had nothing to do with her.

With a heavy sigh, she began taking notes on the broken piece, so she could look up where she might find one to replace it. This would set her research back several days, and that was upsetting, and she hoped she could make up for it before her weekly progress meeting with Principal Cinch on Thursday.

The friend responsible for her setback had followed her back to the lab, still hung up on offering her commentary on the assembly, but Twilight had long since tuned out what Wallflower was saying…which worked fine until it didn't.

“Twilight, are you even listening?”

Stress and anxiety made her tone a little shorter than normal. “Not really, Wallflower. I don't particularly care about the Friendship Games, or this petty ‘rivalry’ with CHS. I plan on spending the day of the games right here, in this lab, working on my project. And right now, that project has hit a snag because your somewhat aggressive manhandling of my person earlier caused the destruction of a delicate and difficult to replace component integral to my energy scanning device.”

Wallflower looked taken aback by Twilight’s brusqueness. “It was an accident, Twilight,” she responded stiffly.

“I understand that, but I do not remember exactly where and how I acquired it in the first place, and that will take me time to sort out and replace. Time I do not necessarily have.” The dark haired girl gave her friend a long, somewhat hard stare. “While your desire to not be on the receiving end of any ire by our Principal is reasonable, you may have simply created a situation where her displeasure will be felt in other ways.”

It looked like Wallflower was trying to determine if Twilight was serious or not and she finally shook her head. “There’s no need to try and scare me Twilight—it was an accident and I’m sorry a piece of your project broke, but I don’t understand why you can't get your parents to buy you the parts you need. It's not like they're hurting for the money.”

She frowned. While it was true that her family was well off, her parents had never had the kind of frivolous spending habits often found among the upper class members of society. Her mother shopped at sales and used coupons, and her father was often content with cheaper, storebrand goods for generic purchases. Plus, both of them had been firm with Twilight and Shining—if they wished to spend money on things, they had to either work for it or provide a reasonable explanation for why they needed it. Otherwise, they were instructed to save their weekly allowance and birthday money. They didn't just buy whatever she asked for immediately. “That’s not really the point, Wallflower,” she responded finally. “My parents don't just buy everything I want when I ask. I have to explain myself.”

“So do that. It's for a school project, so they can't complain, and you told us you love taking stuff apart. They can buy a bunch of stuff for you to do just that. Win-win for you.” The other girl shrugged. “If anything, I’ve kind of accidentally done you a favor that means you’ll get all kinds of new things to take apart.”

Twilight blinked at her friend, unsure how to take that. A favor? By wrecking her work? How did she even reach that conclusion? “A favor?” she repeated dumbly, trying to make sure she’d heard that right.

“Yup,” her friend responded cheerfully. “A favor, and one I kind of want to cash in right now.”

Her head spun, confusion and disbelief drowning out her other feelings. Had she missed something somewhere? “Cash it in?”

“Oh yeah, totally, because it seems you’ve been holding out on me.”

“I…don't understand, holding out what?” Twilight asked, now completely lost.

Wallflower’s smile became a smirk. “I heard that you got caught sucking face with Suri’s ex boyfriend—and you didn't tell me that you’d gone and gotten one over on her…and maybe a leg too, over that statuesque hunk of muscle and abs?” Her voice was as dry as the Sahara. “I’m hurt.”

Twilight turned red. “Because there was nothing to tell! It was a stupid rumor started because Indigo mistook a bruise for a hickey in the locker room and she only has one volume setting: obnoxiously loud.”

Her companion took in her hunched shoulders and red face. “Are you sure? Because if you're getting some on the side and its pissing Suri off, that’s worth sharing.”

“I’m not ‘getting some,’” Twilight replied, hoping Wallflower would drop it. Especially because there was a part of her that very much wished she was—with a girlfriend like Sunset it was a very easy thing to wish for. “And I certainly wouldn't want Suri’s leftovers. The guys she dates are the exact opposite of what I would consider for a romantic partner. They’re all big, dumb jocks who are easily led and manipulated and are from wealthy families. I would be very surprised if any of them even knew any three syllable words at all, or if they were even capable of a halfway decent conversation.”

There was another eye roll from Wallflower. “Ugh, not this again,” she complained. “You are listening too much to that sister of yours with all her talk of love and romance.” Her voice dry, the green haired girl explained, “He doesn't have to be ‘Mister Right’ for you to get a little action, Twilight. He can be as dumb as a box of rocks, but if he’s hung like a horse you can enjoy the ride. And if he’s got money, you can enjoy spending some of that for him too.”

The mental image made her feel queasy, and she took a few breaths through her nose, calling up the visualization of Sunset to dispel the unpleasant thoughts, imagining what her girlfriend would have to say about this. “Bright moonlight,” the redhead would swear—and Twilight could hear the inflection almost perfectly—even as she rolled her eyes harder than Wallflower ever could. “Where do you find these people, Sparky? She sounds just like those stuck up relatives you were telling me about. Its like sex is a currency for them!”

That helped, and Twilight took a deep breath. “I'm not one of those people, Wallflower. I’m not interested in casual sexual encounters, because I was taught that its meant to be an act of intimacy and trust. I wouldn't consider it if I didn't and couldn't form some kind of connection with the other person.” Like she had with Sunset, for example, though she wouldn't admit that aloud. “It's just not who I am.”

Wallflower rolled her eyes yet again, and Twilight wondered absently if it was possible to strain them doing that particular gesture overmuch. “Suit yourself, Twilight. Keep your secrets. I've got to get to class anyway…and don't you have gym?”

Twilight glanced up at the clock and realized Wallflower was right. She hurriedly began putting tools and components away, rushing as the bell rang. By the time she was done, her friend was already gone, and she shouldered her bag with a sigh. It was probably best to just chalk the conversation up to a bad morning and stress on both their parts. She already knew that she was already feeling overwrought and nearing her limit for social stimulation. “You just have to survive gym and then you have two whole hours before English. You can do this,” she told herself.

Taking a deep breath, Twilight stepped out of her lab and into the hall, locking the door behind her. As she did, she heard whispering from nearby.

“Can you believe it?” an unfamiliar voice said grumpily.

“She certainly didnt earn it,” another responded.

Twilight fought a frown. Earn what? What had the rumor mill kicked up now? Shaking her head, she turned to hurry towards the gym so she wouldn't be late. Eyes followed her through the hallway, and whispers continued to chase her hearing in snippets and snatches of conversation.

“Of course, she gets it…”

“…much they paid?”

“Well I heard…”

“…suck up. Wonder if she actually sucked someone to get in…”

Her heart rate increased, the hairs on the back of her neck prickling at the nasty glares directed at her, and escaping into the locker room was almost a relief.

Almost.

For about seventeen point four seconds.

Until Suri, Sour Sweet, and their posse surrounded her, cutting off her ability to even get to her gym locker.

“Well, well, well,” Suri said, her accent making her voice seem overly saccharine…in the same way antifreeze was sweet to the taste, despite being deadly poison. “It's not enough for you to ruin everyone else’s grades by being an overachieving suck up, but now you have to go and get yourself special treatment for the Games too?” She sneered at Twilight. “Ugh, you are the most inconsiderate, self centered person in the whole school, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight drew back away from the girl, resisting the urge to cower when Sunset’s voice whispered from a memory, “No matter how terrified you are, don’t let them see it. Predators of any kind are drawn to it. Plus it's harder to maintain a stance if youre all hunched up and tense. Stay loose, Sparky.”

Heeding that, remembering how it had worked well against Silver Dollar, she squared her shoulders and did her best to meet Suri’s gaze without taking her eyes off the other girls, her feet shifting subconsciously into a ready stance. “What are you even talking about, Suri?” she asked, trying to project just how tired she was of the harassment from her classmate.

“Don’t play coy with us, ‘kay? We’re not as stupid as you like to make us look.” Her gaze raked over Twilight. “It's easy to figure out that money has to be involved—no one is as good at everything the way you pretend to be. One thing? Maybe two? That we could buy, especially here, where only the best get in, but not every subject.”

One of the other girls, Ruby Necklace, sneered. “Yeah, and we all know that your family has the money to buy your grades so that you get all the attention.”

Twilight frowned. Not this accusation again. Just because she was smart and applied herself in her studies didn't mean she was sabotaging them—they had every opportunity to do the same instead of spending all their time going to the mall or gossiping like nosy old women. “I—” she started, but Suri cut her off.

“Still talking here. Don't be rude. You’d think with all the old money in your family you’d at least know better how to act in public. I guess it isn't your fault though that you're just too wrapped up in your little fantasy that mommy and daddy are buying for you to learn how to act like a normal person.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “The worst part is, if you’d stuck to your weird little academic fantasy where you pretend to be some kind of super genius, you probably would have gotten through your time here and we would have let it go.”

No you wouldn't have, Twilight thought grumpily. Suri and her pack had had it out for Twilight since freshman midterms had ended. That’s what had started the accusation that Twilight bribed her way to good grades.

“Let’s face it, Sparkle—we all know who is really the best here, and it's not you…and mommy and daddy’s money won't work well at college. When that happens, you’ll realize just how sad and stupid you really are,” Ruby added.

Except If she was having her parents pay people off it would have worked better at the college level than high school. That was, after all, what her cousin Starry Night’s father had done. “That still doesn't tell me what has you upset today,” she said in that same bored tone. “This is all the same thing you have been baselessly accusing me of since freshman year in some kind of attempt to make excuses for your grades without addressing the real source of the problem: your own refusal to place more value on your academics than your social life.” The words were out before she could stop them, and a part of her wondered what made her say it, internally cringing at just how mad Suri was likely to get over her standing up to them.

“See? This is exactly the attitude I’m talking about, where you think youre so much better than us, just because you're your family’s little princess. Except you’ve gone too far with it.” Suri looked her over, lip curling in disgust.

Sour Sweet backed her friend up, “Way too far, Princess, and we’re not going to stand for it anymore.”

“Yeah, Princess,” stressed a fourth girl—Twilight thought her name might’ve been Diamond Dazzle—and she pointed a finger at Twilight. “You may have got what you wanted through bribery, to be seen as the best of everything, so you could make us look bad, because after all, who could compare to the great and powerful Princess Twilight Sparkle?”

The word princess rubbed her wrong, not just the way they meant it, but the way it made her feel, with all the connotations that it held. “I haven't bribed anyone,” she responded tightly. “I don't need to, when people like you, who seem barely capable of English Comprehension, are my academic competition.”

She could picture Sunset nodding approvingly at her for that one. “Now stand your ground, Sparky, and look for your escape route.”

“I think that’s enough out of you, Princess, ‘kay? The fact is, maybe we don't have the ability to counter your parents' money—you’ve got Principal Cinch too tightly in your corner for that, but we can promise you this: you’d better succeed now that you’ve done this, because if you don't? You are going to regret ever coming to Crystal Prep.” Suri’s expression had become a dark glare, but it only served to make Twilight even more frustrated and angry. She still had no idea what had triggered all this.

It was one step too far, given how bad her morning had been, and she was getting so very tired of the same old lies and vitriol falling from Suri’s mouth. “So now it's not enough for you to accuse me of bribery because I do better in class than you,” the dark haired girl said, arching a brow at her tormentors, “but now youre bold enough to accuse Principal Cinch of taking those supposed bribes? Not even you can possibly be that stupid, Suri Polomare.”

That took them all by surprise, and Twilight kept talking. “Principal Cinch has a reputation for being an upstanding citizen and administrator of this school, with contacts and connections in all fields of academia and society, and her reputation is very important to her—as is the school’s. Yet here you stand, so committed to this farce you desire to perpetuate that you are now slandering her and the school as well. Do you honestly think she will be happy when she finds out about that?”

She could see Sour Sweet go pale, even as Suri drew herself up to speak again. The girl well known for her erratic mood swings covered Suri’s mouth before any words came out. “Of course we wouldn't question our Principal’s honor,” she said sweetly with a smile before shifting back to sour, “but that doesn't mean there aren’t others you bribed.”

Suri tried to move her head to talk, but Sour Sweet shot her a dark look, silencing her struggle for the moment. Then she returned her focus to Twilight. “We’re going to end this discussion here, today, Princess, for your sake…” Those eyes narrowed, cold and icy as a winter night. “…but you've had things your way long enough. So you’d better hope you can make good on what mommy and daddy’s money has gotten you into. Because if not, we’ll be there, waiting…and you will learn just how insignificant you are in this world.”

Then she nudged Suri and the other girls, hard. “Let’s go.”

Twilight stood there, dumbfounded and trembling for several minutes, unable to truly process that she had stood up to her bullies and actually came out of the exchange the victor. That was, of course, overshadowed by whatever had upset them that she was still in the dark about—her gut churned with anxiety at the idea of something unknown looming over her with consequences she didn't particularly feel keen on suffering.

“Yo! Sparkle!” The shout of her name made her jump nearly a foot in the air, only to realize a second later that it had been Indigo calling out to her, and not one of the girls who loved harassing her.

“Oh, Indigo. Hello…?”

Indigo looked wild eyed and a bit frazzled herself, and she motioned to Twilight. “How are you not dressed yet? Oh man…look, if you're late, it's both our asses! C’mon!” The other girl gave her a gentle nudge towards her locker. “Change quick, there’s only a few minutes.”

Sighing, Twilight opened her gym locker and started to do just that. “Believe me, it's not by my choice. Suri and her friends took intense offense to my existence this morning. Probably because its a day that ends in ‘y.’”

Honey colored eyes went wide. “Then what I heard coming in here was true? You had it out with her in front of everyone? Holy shit, Sparkle, do you have a death wish?”

Tugging her shirt down, Twilight stuffed her uniform in her bag and secured her locker. “It doesn't matter if I do it or not,” she bit out. “Suri has had it out for me since freshman year for reasons that only exist in the space between her ears she calls a brain.” The words were more than a little bitter, and part of Twilight felt guilty for being ugly, but she was tired of being Suri’s verbal punching bag, and her time spent with Sunset had made the prospect of just suffering through it until she graduated unbearable.

Indigo frowned, but hooked her arm with a hand and tugged her towards the door to the gym. “Yeah, but embarrassing her in front of everyone is only going to make her go after you more. For a nerd, you're a decent person, Sparkle—it would suck to see something happen to you because you pissed off the wrong girl. So think carefully before you piss off Suri and Sour Sweet and them too bad. Now c'mon. Move faster…coach wants to see us both, but then I’ve got to figure out how much help you're going to need to get ready.”

They had passed through the door and into the echoing gym, and Twilight had had enough. She jerked to a halt. “Get ready for what!?” the lavender skinned girl demanded. “All morning long I’ve had nothing but nebulous demands and a million whispers, and somehow, unbeknownst to me, I’ve managed to yet again offend the bulk of the CPA student body, and send Suri and her friends on the warpath, and now you're telling me I have something to get ready for, but no one in this entire school seems willing to tell me what it is I’m supposed to have done!” She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Indigo.

The athlete stared at her. “You…the Friendship Games? You’ve been put on the team by Cinch?”

Anger guttered out even faster than it had come, leaving behind ice in her veins that froze her to the spot. “What? No no no…I’m not going to the Games. I’m not one of the school’s physically capable students. Why would I be on the team?”

A powerful hand clapped her shoulder and their gym coach’s booming voice echoed in her ears so loudly it made her teeth itch. “Because Principal Cinch thinks you're going to be instrumental to our victory this year! And with Indigo training you up, you’ll be a fine asset to our team!”

No no no no no…this could not be happening. This was some kind of horrible nightmare, like the one where she got up to give a lecture only to learn her notes were all in the wrong order and she was in her pajamas. She couldn't go to the Games—she had too much work to do! That and having to pretend for a whole day that she and her best friend didn't know each other, when she had a sneaking suspicion that the girls Sunset was friends with would be on the Canterlot High team…she wasn't sure if either of them could do it, and she didn't want to be the reason for Sunset to get bullied again.

The coach was talking again, but Twilight couldn't hear any of it over the roaring in her ears. The ice had stolen her lungs' ability to draw breath, and black spots started dancing across her vision. She struggled against the rising panic, against the maelstrom of thoughts and feelings, trying to find something to hold onto before she passed out.

It came, as it often had of late, in that mental construction of her girlfriend. She imagined those warm arms enfolding her, the fiery redhead putting herself between Twilight and the source of her negative spiral. “Hey,” Sunset’s voice echoed in her mind, the single word with so much inflection dredged up from a hundred memories. “Sparky, it's going to be okay. Just focus on breathing for me.”

Mental-Sunset was right. She needed air desperately. She struggled against the ice, felt that phantom brush of fingers over her heart, and suddenly the cold spear in her chest was melting away. The first breath was almost painful, ragged and tearing, but the warmth encircling her was safe and encouraging. “That’s it. Deep and slow. I’ve got you. Now nod your head for me, so your teacher will go away instead of thinking you’re ignoring him.”

Twilight refocused briefly on the real world, eyes opening enough to see her gym teacher looking at her expectantly, and she followed the command from her subconscious by giving a short, jerky nod. He smiled and walked away, blowing his whistle and seeming to yell at the rest of the class.

“There. Okay. Keep breathing. Lets get you calmed down for now. Do you have your medication?”

It was in her bag in the locker-room. She’d have to wait until after class to take it.

“Ugh. This school of yours is a nightmare, Sparky. I don't like it. Alright. New plan. Lets focus on something else. Your friend here is starting to get worried. Can you focus on what she’s saying?”

Friend? She looked around sharply, half expecting Wallflower, and finding Indigo instead. Did she really think of Indigo as a friend?

“Twilight! Focus!”

Okay…Indigo was talking. Twilight pushed past the buzzing to try and hear her classmate. “…arkle, cuz you dont look so good.”

Assuming it was an inquiry about her state of being she gave a second, jerky nod. As her breathing finally found a more normal rhythm, she croaked out, “I didn't do this.”

Indigo tilted her head. “Do…what?”

“Games,” Twilight managed. “…I…don't…even want to g-go.” Her breath hitched again, and she focused for a moment on her mental projection of Sunset Shimmer, watching and trying to match her breathing pattern. “I…didn't…ask…for this…” Her arms came up and she hugged herself, leaning against the wall.

The other teen watched her for a long minute. “…I believe you, Sparkle…despite what Suri and her pack of bubblegum zombies have convinced themselves, the spotlight isn't your style.” Indigo frowned. “But you can't go against Principal Cinch. Which means you're on the team, and you have to go now…but it also means I’ve got the next two months to train you up.”

Twilight’s brain threatened to halt all function then and there. “W-what?!”

“That’s what coach was telling you. You and I are training buddies until the Friendship Games. Your gym classes from now until then will just be you and me, doing our thing. So at least that gets you away from Suri, right?” Indigo gave her an attempt at a smile.

The dark haired girl swallowed hard. “Me? Train? Train how? I…I’m no athlete, and I’m clumsy and terrible at sports and I can barely throw a ball for my dog, or run too long without running out of breath…”

Indigo cut her off, the friendly firmness in her tone doing more to settle her than the words themselves. “I don't expect you to be a sports star, Sparkle, but we are going to work on your speed and endurance at least. You’ve already gotten better since last fall, and even if thats cuz you're getting laid or because you just found a reason to care about fitness, it's something we can work on.”

Something akin to discomfort and resentment bubbled up inside Twilight. She worked with Sunset on her fitness and actually enjoyed it because of the company, not the fitness, and because it meant Sunset was teaching her more ways to protect herself. Doing it for a school competition that she was being forced into, and with someone she barely knew and certainly didn't trust? The very idea soured in her stomach and made her nauseous.

“I…” the words failed to exit her throat.

Her companion sighed. “Look, let's go for a warm up jog around the indoor track—its on the opposite side of the gym from everyone and you can tell me what's the problem, and no one will hear as long as you don't shout.”

She could practically see Mental-Sunset giving her a crooked smile. “Sparky, it's going to be okay. If you need me, you know I'm here for you in a heartbeat, and your Principal won't scare me. I've faced bigger harpies and lived to tell the tale.” A phantom hand brushed her cheek. “And your friend there is right—you’ll be away from that pack of slavering, inbred, manipulative popular girls who like to bully you…they make the Queen Bitch of CHS look like a newborn foal.”

She resisted the urge to nod and followed Indigo across the gym, feeling like everything was swirling wildly out of her control. They began warming up for their jog, stretching their muscles out, and Indigo glanced at her briefly. “Look I know you don't want to do this, but let's face it, that ship has sailed. Cinch isnt gonna change her mind. So what’s the issue, Sparkle?”

Twilight exhaled slowly. “…I…I’m not…my love life…or lack thereof,” she stressed firmly, “is not really the kind of thing I feel comfortable having be the talk of the school.”

Indigo rubbed the back of her neck. “Aw shit…I’m sorry, Sparkle…I didn't mean it the way that came out. I’m not trying to dig into your personal life or find out what motivated you to improve. It’s not my business, and I'm really sorry for what happened the other week.”

Once again, Twilight could hear Sunset gently nudging her mentally, as if her girlfriend were really there and not just a complex coping mechanism to help Twilight handle extremely stressful situations when her support network was not present. “This one’s not that bad, Sparky…Definitely less nasty than anyone else so far today…including your friend from earlier. Now say something—she’s starting to look like your dog after his tail gets stepped on.”

There was a moment of confusion at why a part of her subconscious seemed to prefer the school sports star over her actual friend, but it was pushed aside as she realized that Indigo did look rather crestfallen and upset, her shoulders slumped in and head down as she stretched out her legs. It…reminded her a little of both Glamour on the balcony and Sunset when she talked about her past with her school.

“It’s…well…it's not alright in the sense that I am frustrated by the rumors being spread about me,” Twilight stated awkwardly, “but…I don't blame you for that, and I…forgive you for your unintentional outburst. It's wrong for me to throw it in your face after you have apologized for it…just…in the future, could you perhaps minimize inquiries in that direction? It’s not a subject I’m comfortable with.”

The athlete shrugged and rubbed her neck, dropping her foot back to the ground with a thump. “I’m not great at thinking before I open my mouth, Sparkle. It's why I stick to sports stuff and sports related motivational speeches, y’know? Balls and nets and sweaty teens who are good at kicking balls around don't care if you're not good at talking, and they don't make fun of you for not wearing the latest fashion or being sweaty and dirty.” She sighed. “I can try, but sometimes I get excited and things just…come out of my mouth.”

Again she saw Glamour apologizing to her on the balcony, and it made her reexamine Indigo’s behavior and words. “You said before you were excited at my improved fitness, that it was why you said something. That excitement was not related to the Games? It was…because you thought someone else might have found enjoyment in something that you have a passion for?”

Indigo glanced up at her again, her face twisted into a somewhat pained expression, before she looked away. “Uh…yeah…I guess I did.”

“She’s lonely, Sparky. Maybe even more than you are here. Unlike most of this place and the people in it, she seems like a halfway decent human being—if about as observant as a half blind mule with a hornet in his ear.” The sarcasm softened away into that tone Sunset took when she was trying to show compassion and empathy towards someone—Twilight wondered idly if her use of this coping skill was delving into unhealthy territory given the detail she was starting to put into the mental facsimile of her girlfriend and best friend. “I know that teaching you to protect yourself is an us thing, but letting her help you with this wouldn't cut into that.”

Twilight bit her lip. It was true that the weekly self defense practice was something special to her and Sunset, but it was also fair that running and doing push-ups and sit-ups and learning some other ways to stretch was not the same thing. Taking a breath to calm her jittery nerves, she imagined her fingers were entwined with warm amber ones. “I suppose you raise a valid point. While I have absolutely no desire to participate in the Friendship Games, if Principal Cinch has made this decision, I am unlikely to be able to convince her otherwise…and I also imagine that your place on the team may be contingent on my performance, yes?” That was, after all, how things were done at CPA. No reward was ever a given—it had to be earned through accomplishment or some assigned task…

“Uh…something like that, yeah.” Indigo scuffed a toe on the gym floor. “I’m not the only athlete in school.”

“Which makes this a source of stress for both of us.” She imagined Sunset squeezing her hand and flashing her that encouraging, crooked smile. “It stands to reason then, that we should come to an agreement that reduces as much of that stress as possible.”

Relief was evident in the way Indigo’s body bled tension at those words, and her lips twitched into that confident smile once more. “Yeah! Working together, we’re gonna make you a hell of a Friendship Games Team member! CHS won't stand a chance!”

The dark haired girl made a face. She did not understand the rivalry between the schools, especially because she had Sunset for a best friend. “I suppose…though I doubt my physical performance will be that stellar.”

“So maybe we don't think about it as training for the Games,” Indigo stated abruptly, elaborating when Twilight looked at her in abject confusion. “Maybe we can just look on it as trying to improve your personal fitness instead.”

Her brows furrowed. “…O…kay?”

It was Indigo’s turn to look flustered. “Look, maybe it’ll sound stupid to you, Sparkle, but…I want to go into sports medicine. Physical therapy, personalized training programs, the nutrition side of it, all of it. I’ve been working my ass off for years to get the grades and study what I can before I graduate. I’m already prepping my applications for the schools I want to try for after I graduate next year.” She rubbed her neck again, looking self-conscious. “I could…put some of that to work, you know? Get a feel for where you are, and help plan out goalposts, milestones, daily goals, that sort of thing? Like I will eventually for real clients.”

Now that sounded like a much more beneficial use of her gym class, Twilight decided. Especially because those kinds of plans often involved carefully measured spreadsheets and scheduled activities. “I think, Indigo, that that sounds like a far more preferable use of our time, and a compromise I can agree to.” A slight smile crossed her lips. “While I still believe that these ‘Games’ are a waste of valuable time, especially given such a blatant misnomer as applied to a competition that seems to engender anything but, perhaps you could use this as an independent project of a sorts, simulating the way you will one day assist a client in reaching their fitness goals?”

And while she knew it was just part of her imagination, she couldn’t help but feel like Sunset was smiling approvingly at her actions.

Sorry about the lateness, had a bit of a week, and didn't get a chance until this afternoon to do the final edit and posting pass.

So.

Things are happening. Setup for the Friendship Games continues, and there is some really toxic shenanigans at CPA.

At least Indigo seems chill?

On the other hand, there is something I wanted to drop here. Something that won't bear fruit for a while, obviously, but that I wanted to put out there for my readers.

I have some plans for the games themselves that may involve minor characters. A lot of minor and bit parts. And I can only fill so many of those with "Background Humans" of my own making or with ones from the show who exist as a name only.

But, my team and I talked about this a while back, and I thought it could be fun to open up the option to the readers...

We have a bunch of bit parts to fill with background characters from CPA and CHS for the games, for when the inevitable disaster comes and shit hits the fan. And while its pretty early for it, I wanted to put this out there now for people to be considering...

Its...going to be a bit of a contest, my dear readers. PM me with a short character description (two paragraphs or less, please), of your cameo/bit character you'd love to see appear as one of the background students. Include the following in the description:

-Name (Puns are great, nothing rude please.)
-Which School they are from
-Their basic appearance: hair, eye, and skin color, usual attire, build...
-A few personality traits or interests.

Depending on how many we get, we'll throw our top five to ten favorites in as small roles in the games chapters.