Since the cafeteria was full, the six competitors gathered around the statue that moonlighted as a portal to Equestria.

“What in the name of all that is great and powerful was that, Applejack?” Trixie asked. “Why would you help someone from the enemy team?”

“The poor thing was in tears, and nobody from her own team even cared.” Applejack defended herself. “I had to help ‘er before she had an anxiety attack or somethin’!”

“And she was so grateful that she thanked you by stealing your magic.” Aria pointed out.

“It wasn’t her fault, she had no control over the darn thing.”

“Another reason why she shouldn’t have it in the first place!” Sunset fired back. “That Principal Atticus Finch is up to something, I just know it.”

“You think she’s gonna do something with the magic Twilight stole?” Adagio asked Sunset.

“I overheard her talking to— well, yelling at Principal Celestia.” Flash spoke up. “She sounded pretty pissed about the ‘students with wings’, so she might want to get even.”

Adagio pulled out her phone and began typing a text message. “I’ll tell Sonata to keep an eye on her, make sure she doesn’t do anything stupid.”

“The ditz?” Trixie asked. “Are you sure she’s even capable of that? She’ll probably give herself away in five minutes or less.”

“After today’s performance, I don’t think you’re in position to call somebody else a ditz.” Aria said. “By the way, I know of a very good spa in town, I’m sure their mud masks are more effective than that crap you rubbed all over yourself.”

“Why, you—”

“Cut. It. Out!” Sunset stood between the two and pushed them away from each other. “Look, there’s nothing else we can do for now, so let’s just focus on winning the Friendship Games. Sonata may not act like it, but she’s reliable; she does things her own way, sure, but in the end she gets results.”

Trixie crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “This is the closest we’ve ever come to beating Crystal Prep in the history of Canterlot High and I get the chance to be the one that breaks the cycle, I don’t want any magical crap to mess with it and ruin my chance to make history.”

The sky had already darkened when the students from both schools gathered in front of CHS, getting ready for the final event of the day.

“Since the score is tied, the final event will determine the winner of the Friendship Games.” Dean Cadance explained before passing the microphone to Vice-Principal Luna.

“Somewhere on campus a pennant from each school has been hidden.” She raised two pennants that looked identical to the hidden ones. “The first team to find their school’s flag and bring it back wins.”

“Isn’t that kind of unfair?” Flash Sentry asked. “They don’t know the layout of the school as well as we do.”

Trixie shrugged. “Mayhaps, but that only makes it easier for us. If we don’t nail this I’ll eat my wizard hat.”

Meanwhile, on Crystal Prep’s side, Principal Cinch was giving her students yet another speech.

“Canterlot High has shown that their students are capable of things that no regular human being should be able to. We have no way of knowing if they have been manipulating the Friendship Games from the start, though given what happened during the second event, I’d say that’s more than likely. Maybe not all of them are capable of growing wings and soaring through the skies, some may have more… subtle abilities.”

“I refuse to believe that the hick correctly answered a math question that advanced without cheating.” Sour Sweet commented.

“And that is exactly why we must even the playing field.” Cinch walked towards Twilight and stood in front of her, holding the gadget by its string. “I’ve seen what your device can do Twilight. Containing magical energy is fine, but have you considered releasing it?”

“But I don’t even understand how it works.” Twilight replied.

“But you’d like to. And since our opponents have already shown that they are capable of superhuman feats, I see no reason why we shouldn’t be able to as well.” Cinch grabbed Twilight’s hand and placed the device on it. “Unless of course you have no interest in Everton. Though honestly, I think there’s more knowledge packed in that little device than any independent study program could offer.” Cinch placed a hand on her student’s shoulder. “Imagine all you’ll learn by setting it free.”

Twilight placed her other hand on top of the device, ready to open it, but before she had the chance a blue blur whizzed past them, taking the device with it.

“Yoink!” Sonata said before she ran, holding the device above her head. “Woop woop woop woop woop!”

“Stop her!” Principal Abacus Cinch ordered, pointing a finger in the direction Sonata ran to.

A number of students gave chase, but the principal stopped the five competitors from going.

“The last event of the Friendship Games is about to begin.” Luna announced. “If both teams are ready…”

Cinch removed her glasses and angrily wiped the lenses with her handkerchief. “Looks like we’ll have to do things the old fashioned way.” She put the glasses back on. “Do not disappoint me out there. Our school will clinch the win and my legacy will endure.” She turned her head to look at Twilight one more time. “It’s up to you to not fail this time.”

“The last event of the Friendship games begins…” Dean Cadance said.

“Now!” Luna and Cadance announced at the same time.

All twelve students ran, each looking for their school’s pennant in a different area on campus; Adagio investigated the library, Flash checked the cafeteria, Applejack searched the gymnasium, Aria looked through the field where the previous event took place, Sunset inspected every classroom on the first floor and Trixie was in charge of the classrooms on the second floor.

“Ok, this is getting ridiculous.” Aria said as she turned around to face the same girl with twintails she had accidentally shared sentences with more than once. “Here I was thinking that finding out I have a stalker was the lowest point of my day, but wouldn’t you know it, I actually have two.”

“We are both competitors in an event that requires carefully searching for an item within school boundaries, it was more than likely that we would cross paths at some point, it does not mean I am stalking you.” Sugarcoat replied in her usual fast but blunt manner of speech. “Had I arrived here before you, would it be fair for me to call you a stalker in that situation?”

“But you didn’t, so you’re the stalker.”

“The thought process of Canterlot High students never ceases to astound me.”

“And I think Crystal Prep students are a bunch of uptight snobs, but you don’t see me complaining about it, do you?”

“You are complaining right now.”

“And you are getting on my nerves. Why are you still bothering me? You can look for your stupid flag in silence.”

“I’m trying to figure out what kind of magical powers you have and if you could have used it to cheat without being found out.”

“No use hiding it anymore, huh?” Aria rubbed her temples. “Rainbow Dash should have let you fall… Yes, I have magical powers, but no, I can’t use them to cheat. And even if I could, I wouldn’t; I want to beat you fair and square to show how much of a punk you really are.”

“I’ll be the judge of that. Show me your powers.”

Aria rolled her eyes. “Aaaaaah~ aaah~ aaah~! Aaaaaah~ aaah~! Aaaaaah~ aaah~ aaah~! Aaaaaah~ aaah~!” For a brief moment, Sugarcoat’s neutral expression faltered and she showed a look of surprise. Halfway through the song she even uncrossed her arms, her mouth hanging slightly open. “So, think I can use that to cheat?”

The CPA girl shook her head, her expression turning neutral once again, but with a hint of wonder that she was unable to mask. “That’s it? Your superpower is… being a good singer?”

“I can also scream really loud, but if I show you that, at best your ears will ring for a week, and at worst you’ll go deaf permanently.”

“I’ll pass. And I guess you power is too lame to cheat, so you’re off the hook. For now.”

“I know it’s filthy rich coming from me, but you need to lighten up a bit. Jeez.”

“We don’t ‘lighten up’ at Crystal Prep. If you don’t have the drive to be the best then someone else will step up and be happy to take your place.” Sugarcoat hugged herself, looking down at her feet. “It’s why the Friendship Games are so important to us. We have more to lose than just a medal, we’ll lose respect, opportunities, we’ll taint Principal Cinch’s quote-unquote ‘legacy’ and there’s no telling what she’ll do to us behind the scenes if that happens.” Sugarcoat looked up and noticed Aria looking at her. She quickly stood upright, placed her hands behind her back and cleared her throat. “Not that it’s any of your business. Clearly there’s nothing to be found here, so I’ll look for our pennant somewhere else.”

Aria smirked.

“What’s so funny?”

“You remind me of myself from a long time ago, as much as I hate to admit it; always working hard to be the best, afraid that if I falter for one second someone else will just use me as a stepping stone and take first place away from me. I don’t know if that makes me want to punch you or make out with you.”

“You… what?” A confused blush appeared on Sugarcoat’s cheeks.

“Well, why are you still here? You said it yourself, there are no flags here. Now move along, twintails.”

“You have twintails too, you know.”

“But does it look like I spend one hour in front of the mirror every morning to make sure they look good?”

“Hmph!” Sugarcoat turned her head, but didn’t deny it. Aria’s smirk just grew bigger. “So, uh… what changed? That made you lose your drive to be the best, I mean.”

“Being number one only means you have a bigger target on your back. Jealous people sometimes get desperate enough to do whatever it takes to stand at the top, and the only one who loses is you. So now I just do the things I feel like doing, and I do them my way; it means I don’t have to constantly look over my shoulder to make no one is about to be stab me in the back.”

“I… see.”

Sugarcoat finally left, walking towards the main building. Aria kept looking around for the hidden pennant.

“So uh, come here often?” Flash Sentry asked as he checked under the tables before slapping himself in the forehead.

“This is literally the first time I’ve set foot in this place.” Sunny Flare replied while checking behind the counter.

“Yeah, I realized that after I said it. Today’s been strange, my brain is a little… scrambled.”

“You’re from CHS, that’s par for the course.”

“I should have seen that coming, but still, ouch.”

“What, that’s it? ‘Ouch’? You look like one of those popular dude-bros who can dish it out but can’t take it. I was hoping for a nice back and forth while you get progressively more flustered, so thanks for ruining my fun.”

“That may be how things are in Crystal Prep, but here at CHS we are don’t have that kind of hostility. I wouldn’t say we’re all friends, but there’s no animosity towards each other.”

“Cut the crap! Every high school is like that, no exception. You are a bad liar, mister… What’s your name again?”

“Flash Sentry.”

“Sunny Flare, charmed. As I was saying, animosity is part of the high school experience, there’s no such thing as unity. At least not on the level that you’re describing, it’s impossible.”

“Well, things weren’t always like that. But then this girl came over, showed us that we all had more things in common than differences and we’ve kind of been getting along since then.”

“One girl did that?”

“Yup.”

“What’s she like?”

A dreamy look appeared in Flash’s eyes. “Oh, her eyes are this beautiful shade of purple, she’s super nice to everybody she meets, she does this adorable little thing with her hair where she uses her finger to—” He stopped talking, then took a deep breath. “Get over her, Flash. Get over her.”

“Get over her? What happened?”

“She went back home not long after. She’s from… out of town. Won’t be back anytime soon.”

“Yeah, you’re right, you should get over her.”

“You’re not pulling any punches, are you? Reminds me of someone else I know.”

“Not really my style. Besides, look at you! You’ll find someone else in no time.”

“What do you mean?”

“Don’t play coy, Flash Sentry. You’re two things I didn’t expect to find in CHS: a nice guy and super cute. You’ll bump into another girl in no time.”

“Well, uh…” He scratched the back of his head, blushing. “Th-Thanks. You’re not so bad yourself.”

Sunny Flare sighed with a sad smile on her face. “Yeah, right. Tell that to the people in my school.”

“What, people aren’t showering you with compliments back in Crystal Prep?”

“The only shower I get is the one after P.E., people don’t even notice I’m there. The only reason I’m competing in the Friendship Games is because I am constantly pulling all-nighters to make sure my grades are up to Principal Cinch’s standards, and even then people barely notice me. I’m just ‘the chick with the gizmos on her wrists’.

“Sour Sweet gets praise for being good with a bow, Indigo Zap gets praise for being good at every sport, Twilight Sparkle gets praise for being good at everything but sports, Sugarcoat gets praise because she can build a bird house and Lemon Zest gets praise because she can bake a stupid cake. Me, I get yelled at because I wasn’t good enough at roller skating!” Sunny Flare slammed her fist on the table before taking a deep breath. “We should get back to the Friendship Games. Thanks for letting me vent, I didn’t know how much I needed that. You’re a good listener.”

“Glad I could help.”

With that conversation over, they left the cafeteria and went their separate ways to continue their search for the pennants.

Sunset crossed paths with Trixie as she walked up the stairs, who was walking down that same set of stairs at the same time, both of them tired from running around.

“Any luck?” Trixie asked.

“Do I look like I have a flag on my person?” Sunset fired back, raising both of her empty hands.

“Attention, all competitors.” Dean Cadance announced through the PA system. “Applejack has found the Canterlot High School pennant that was hidden in the gymnasium, it looks like— But what’s this? Indigo Zap has found the Crystal Prep Academy pennant hidden in the library as well, what great timing! Applejack is closer, but Indigo Zap is faster. It’s a race to the finish, who will make it here first?”

Trixie and Sunset watched as Indigo ran past the bottom of the stairs.

“Can’t you use your magic to slow her down or something?” Trixie suggested.

“Aria wants us to win this fair and square so we can rub it in everyone’s faces.” She explained. “Besides, I’ve been running nonstop since this event started, if you want me to give chase you’ll have to carry me. I accept piggyback rides.”

“Pass.”

With speed that could only be achieved by someone who dedicated every single day of their lives to their fitness, Indigo Zap cruised through the hallways of CHS, almost crashing on Lemon Zest and Sour Sweet on the way, but a quick maneuver spared all three of them. Bursting through the front door by slamming her shoulder on it, she spotted Applejack mere feet away from Dean Cadance, who had extended her hand to receive the pennant, an act that would decide the winner.

Pushing her body to the limit, she jumped over the steps and ran as fast as her body could handle. With one last burst of strength she body slammed Applejack before Cadance could touch the pennant. The audience cheered as the two of them wrestled on the ground while trying to handle their pennants to CPA’s dean. They eventually managed to untangle their limbs and deposit both pennants on Cadance’s hand.

“Oh. Oh my.” She said, looking down at her hands.

“So?” Indigo asked between gasps for air. “Who won?”

“It’s a tie!” Cadance announced as she raised both pennants. The audience didn’t celebrate or object, they mostly whispered amongst themselves in confusion. The other competitors returned, just as confused by the outcome.

“That’s preposterous!” Principal Cinch interjected. “This is a competition, not a team-building activity where everybody wins.”

“I’m sorry, Principal Cinch, but Indigo Zap and Applejack gave me the pennants at the same time. Like it or not, it was a tie.”

“Why are you siding with Canterlot High?”

“I’m not ‘siding’ with anybody, they both won and that’s a fact.”

“I demand a rematch.”

“Look at the time, Principal Cinch.” Celestia raised her hand and motioned at the dark sky. “We can’t keep our students here all night. We should end the games now and declare a tie.”

“Was this your strategy all along? To force us into accepting you as equals? I think not!”

“We should decide this democratically.” Luna suggested. “Raise your hand if you think we should have a rematch.” Principal Cinch was the only one to do it. She glared at Cadance, but the dean didn’t budge. “Now raise your hand if you think we should declare a tie.” Luna, Celestia and Cadance raised their hands. “A tie it is, then.”

“No. I refuse to accept it!”

“Principal Abacus Cinch, we—”

The principal from Crystal Prep reached into the inner pocket of her suit and retrieved Twilight Sparkle’s device that her students managed to take back from Sonata.

“I will not stand idly by while the prestigious name of Crystal Prep Academy gets dragged through the mud!”

Sunset Shimmer ran towards the woman as she realized what was about to happen, but the CPA principal opened the gadget before she had the chance to stop her.

A wave of energy pushed them back, causing Luna, Cadance, Celestia and Sunset to fall down. A sphere of magical energy emerged from the device as the principal began to levitate. She dropped the apparatus on the ground as the sphere grew larger, absorbing the body of the principal within itself, who smiled the whole time. Once the sphere had consumed Abacus Cinch entirely, it exploded into a blinding flash of white light.

The light eventually disappeared, and they all could see what had happened: Principal Abacus Cinch went through a metamorphosis and looked completely different – her skin was a much darker shade of blue, her hair flowed upwards like the flames of a bonfire, her business attire was replaced by a very revealing dress with thigh high boots and elbow gloves, a large pair of wings sprouted from her back and a glowing horn of pure energy grew from her forehead.

The transformed Cinch didn’t say anything, she simply looked down at the tiny sparks of energy circling her fingers. Clenching her fist, she moved her arm to the side and opened her hand, causing a beam of energy to shoot out of it and hit the horse statue standing proud in front of the school, which exploded upon impact. A portal emerged from where the statue once stood, showing the homeworld of the Dazzlings on the other side. Cinch smiled.

As cracks began appearing on the ground under the students, Cinch shot a magic beam at the concrete below, creating another portal to Equestria. The fabric of reality itself began to waver as more cracks and portals appeared throughout the school, be it on the ground, the walls or in midair.

“Cinch, stop this at once!” Dean Cadance demanded.

“I will not allow my legacy to be tainted by this third-rate school.” The monstrous principal’s voice had an otherworldly echo to it. “Its very own existence is a menace to the educational system, it’s best for all of us if it just… disappeared.” Joining both hands together, she fired another beam at the ground beneath her dean, creating a portal larger than all others and so high up on the other side that it was located above the clouds.

Dean Cadance screamed as she fell. Her body transformed the moment it crossed the portal and she morphed into a pink pegasus.

Sunny Flare almost fell into the portal when the ground beneath her feet crumbled, but Flash Sentry acted quickly and wrapped his hand around her wrist, pulling her towards him and hugging her protectively. With a smile on her lips and a blush on her cheeks, she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest.

Sunset Shimmer jumped into the portal, turning into her siren form. She flew down as fast as she could and placed herself underneath the falling pegasus, saving Dean Cadance’s life.

“Don’t let go!” Applejack said as she held the hand of another student who almost fell into the portal.

Crystal Prep students and Canterlot High students alike helped people from both schools without discrimination. Adagio and Aria shared a look before nodding at each other; they both jumped into the large portal, turning back into sirens, before flying up. Once they crossed the portal back to the human world they turned back into human girls, the momentum carrying them upward until they were on the same level as Abacus Cinch. The two of them wrapped their arms around her flapping wings, hampering her ability to stay aloft.

“What is the meaning of this? Let go of me at once!” She tried to shake them off, but to no avail. The three of them fell into the hole and their arms turned back into hooves, making them lose their grip and allowing Cinch, who had transformed into an alicorn, to free herself.

“So we are doing this, huh?” Aria asked rhetorically.

After returning Dean Cadance to the human world, Sunset joined them. Sonata, who managed to escape from the CPA students holding her hostage, also jumped in.

“The four of you against me doesn’t seem fair.” The alicorn cracked her neck by bending her head left and right. “You should have brought more.”

“Lady, please!” Sonata taunted. “When it comes to magic, we have much more experience than you. You don’t stand a chance!”

Cinch fired magic from her horn at Sonata, who fired back a beam of red energy from her mouth. Cinch’s magic tore through Sonata’s with ease, who dodged with a yelp on the last second.

“I didn’t factor in the raw power, though.”

“You Canterlot High students are all pests. Begone!” She fired another beam, this time at Adagio, but she also dodged.

Aria flew towards Cinch with her jaw wide open, but the alicorn dodged the bite by flying to the side. Sunset fired a red beam at her while she was distracted, but it was deflected by the bubble shield Abacus Cinch created around herself.

“This is gonna be tough…” Adagio mumbled.

The Dazzlings kept firing energy beams at Cinch, but none of them could even crack her shield. She also fired beams back at them, but the four sirens dodged them all. There was nothing the students from CHS or CPA could do but watch from the hole in the sky above them as the fight went on.

Sunset got distracted for one second while checking if all her friends were still unharmed, a distraction that did not go unnoticed by Abacus Cinch, who fired a beam at her.

“LOOK OUT!” Sonata shouted, but there was not enough time for the siren to move out of the way. She braced for impact, but it never came. Upon opening her eyes, she saw a shimmering magical barrier standing between herself and the alicorn.

A second alicorn joined the fray, this one an even darker shade of blue with an ethereal mane that gently swayed in the wind. She had dark spots on her flank with a crescent moon on top of it.

“Princess Luna!” Sunset Shimmer said. “What are you doing here?”

“There are portals to another world appearing all over Equestria, I was investigating the cause behind them when I felt a great concentration of energy coming from here.” Luna looked at the large portal above them, locking eyes with her human counterpart for a brief moment before looking at Cinch. “I assume this one is responsible.”

“She damaged the portal that leads back to the mirror.” She explained. “Now a bunch of portals to Equestria are appearing all over the courtyard.”

Cinch fired at Luna, but the barrier was still up and it blocked the beam with ease.

“It would appear that a civilized discussion is out of the question.”

“She went absolutely bonkers after absorbing a bunch of stolen magic!” Sonata explained. “Not that she wasn’t a little funny in the head to begin with, but now she’s lost it completely.”

Princess Luna nodded. “I can feel a lot of power within her, almost enough to rival the Elements of Harmony themselves.” Cinch constantly assaulted the barrier with magic beams, to the point where cracks began to appear on its surface. “We have to deal with her before she causes irreversible damage.”

Luna circled Cinch, firing at her shield; the moon alicorn was strong enough to damage it, but before she had the chance to pierce it, the Crystal Prep principal repaired it.

“Enough of this silly game.” Cinch fired at Luna, who fired back at Cinch. The two beams clashed, but since Luna was much stronger than the sirens, Cinch wasn’t able to immediately overwhelm her.

The Dazzlings joined in, firing their mouth beams at Cinch’s magical beam; their magic merged with Luna’s, powering it up. Together the five of them overpowered Cinch.

“No. I refuse to lose. I refuse!” Cinch protested as their combined magic slowly but surely approached her. Unable to fight back against the five of them, Abacus Cinch lost the beam struggle. An explosion happened when the attack connected with her horn, leaving it charred and cracked. Cinch tried to channel magic through her damaged horn, but only weak sparks came out.

“Over here!” Twilight Sparkle called from the portal above them, waving the magic-stealing device she built above her head. She then tossed it at Princess Luna, who grasped it in her magic.

“What is this artifact?” Luna asked as she inspected it closely.

“Point it at Principal Cinch and open it!” Sunset instructed. “It will take back all the magic she stole!”

Luna fiddled with it for a second until she figured out how to do it. Once the device was open, it began draining the magic out of Abacus Cinch’s body.

“No! Stop it! I demand that you stop!” Cinch’s coat turned a lighter shade of blue and her wings vanished into thin air. Unable to remain conscious any longer, she fainted. Luna picked the beaten unicorn up using her magic and floated her closer to herself. She then held the pony on her hooves before flying up and crossing the portal, where they both turned into humans.

Princess Luna looked exactly like Vice-Principal Luna, except she wore a long, dark purple dress with white dots mimicking stars in the Equestrian night sky, and a black crown sat atop her head. She placed the unconscious principal on the ground and held Twilight’s device on her hands before looking around at all the portals leading to Equestria and the ponies looking at her through them.

“Somepony needs to clean up this mess, I suppose.” Luna opened up the device, but instead of a sudden burst of energy like when Cinch did it, the magic simply flowed from the gadget and into the princess’s body as if the two belonged together. Princess Luna’s human hair gained the same ethereal look that her pony mane had, gently flowing in the wind that was not blowing. She extended her hands and shot magical beams out of them, closing all the portals one by one except for the largest on the floor. “This magic, who it belongs to?”

“It’s, uh… It’s ours, I guess. Yer Majesty.” A very bashful Applejack replied as she approached the princess with the other Rainbooms in tow, all of them slightly intimidated by the mighty royal woman standing before them. She looked away when Luna looked directly at her.

“There is no need to fear me, Applejack.”

“You… know my name?”

“Yes, I do. As well as Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Fluttershy” she turned her head to the side “and Twilight Sparkle. Your counterparts in my homeworld have saved the day many times over. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.”

“That’s so awesome…” Rainbow Dash whispered.

“Be more careful with this magic from now on, I may not be available to step in if a similar event occurs in the future.” Luna extended both hands – the magic she took from Twilight’s device flowed out of her and back into the bodies of its rightful owners. Her hair stopped moving once all the magic had been drained.

Vice-Principal Luna simply stared at her twin from another dimension with her eyes wide and mouth hanging open, unable to say anything. Princess Luna walked towards her.

“I don’t have a mirror in my possession, but I assume this is what I look like right now?” The vice-principal nodded. “Why do you wear a belt around you shirt?”

Without waiting for an answer, Princess Luna returned to Equestria through the large portal on the ground, turning back into an alicorn and closing it with her own magic.

“I’ll carry her back to the bus.” Dean Cadance said as she draped one of the unconscious principal’s arms around her shoulders.

“Let me help you.” Principal Celestia said, doing the same with Cinch’s other arm.

“Thank you for, y’know, not letting me fall through that portal.” Sunny Flare said while holding both of Flash Sentry’s hands. “I mean, that chick who turned into a dragon probably would have saved me like she did Dean Cadance, but she didn’t have to because you were there.”

“There’s no way I would have let you fall.” He replied.

“You’re a sweetheart. Can I borrow your phone for a second?”

“Sure!” Flash handed Sunny Flare his phone, who saved her number in his contacts.

“Give me a call one of these days, I’d like to get to know you better.” She said as she handed the phone back to him.

“I’d like that.”

Sunny Flare gave him a kiss on the cheek before running back to the buses with the other Crystal Prep students.

Not far from there, Twilight Sparkle walked up to Sunset Shimmer.

“I’m sorry for all the trouble I caused.” Twilight said, holding the device she built. “I just wanted to understand.”

“Well, I hope you learned your lesson.” Sunset replied. “Don’t mess with things you don’t understand when you’re not fully prepared to deal with the consequences, especially in places where other people can be harmed.” She then extended her hand.

Twilight placed her device on the palm Sunset's hand. “Do whatever you want with it, it’s brought me nothing but trouble since I built it. For now I’ll focus my efforts on regular human science and work my way up to more… extreme stuff.”

Sunset stuffed the gizmo in her pocket. “I’ll make sure it never causes any trouble again.”

“But I’ll come back when I’m ready, and you will tell me everything you know about magic.”

“Feel free to, as long as you don’t bring any more dangerous stuff near me or my friends.”

Once all Crystal Prep students were accounted for, the buses departed and the Friendship Games were officially over and Canterlot High didn’t win, but neither did Crystal Prep, and that was the closest they’d gotten to victory since the inception of the Friendship Games. Trixie and Aria weren’t pleased, but they eventually accepted it – Trixie was especially thankful that Flash forgot about her promise to eat her wizard hat.