She’s Got Game
A bell rang, and students in plaid uniforms with the Crystal Prep crest on their red jacket lapels rushed through the halls to class. Twilight Sparkle wove in between them.
“Sorry!” she apologized as she brushed past a group of girls. “Pardon me.”
Girls rolled their eyes as she hurried past. Crystal Prep was a very prestigious school, but it wasn’t always the friendliest place to be a student. In fact, the kids weren’t just determined to beat other schools, they were cold and competitive with one another. Twilight Sparkle was one of the very best students at Crystal Prep, but not always the happiest. The hardest part of her day was when she wasn’t in the classroom or the library.
Twilight Sparkle raced up a flight of stairs, down a corridor, and burst through the door of her bedroom. She tripped over her dog, Spike, and he tumbled into the trash can. Twilight Sparkle leaned against the door, at last able to relax. “Spike!” she called. Where was he?
With a cheerful yap, Spike scrambled out of the trash can and hopped onto Twilight Sparkle’s desk.
“There you are!” exclaimed Twilight Sparkle.
Her beloved pooch gave an excited bark, wagged his tail, and covered Twilight Sparkle’s face in kisses.
“Okay, okay.” She giggled, already feeling better.
Twilight pulled open her desk drawer and took out her laptop. From her pocket, she removed the small electronic device she had activated and plugged it into her computer. Data whizzed across the screen. Twilight Sparkle watched, excited.
She turned to Spike. “Last night’s field test confirmed it,” she explained. “With this device, I can track and contain the bizarre energy coming from Canterlot High.”
“I know you don’t like me going over there, but I just couldn’t wait. And soon I’ll have all the time I need.” She closed her computer and went to lie down on her bed. “All of Crystal Prep is going to be there for the Friendship Games. I just hope all that rivalry nonsense doesn’t get in the way of my research.”
Twilight Sparkle reached under her bed and pulled out a thick file of scientific-looking papers. “If I can collect enough data on these EM frequencies, I should be able to extrapolate the waveforms and determine their origin. That would practically guarantee my admission to the Everton Independent Study Program.”
Spike tilted his head, confused by all the big words. But he did know that Twilight really wanted to advance her studies on her own.
Someone knocked at the door, and Twilight quickly shoved her papers under the bed. She opened the door, and Dean Cadance spotted Spike. She shook her head. “Twilight, you know the rules against pets.”
“Spike isn’t a pet,” Twilight explained. “He’s the focus of my research project ‘Human-Canine Cohabitation: Its Effects and Implications.’”
She blinked her eyes innocently, but Dean Cadance wasn’t fooled. “If you say so, but Principal Cinch is highly allergic, so I suggest you put on a clean shirt.” She plucked a dog hair from Twilight’s jacket.
“Why?” asked Twilight.
“Because she wants to see you,” the dean answered. “Get changed and meet me in her office.”
“Maybe she has news about my application to Everton!” Twilight Sparkle said.
The dean looked concerned. “I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that. Are you sure that’s what you really want?”
“Why wouldn’t it be?” Twilight Sparkle asked. “A program that allows me to focus all my attention on my own advanced math and science projects! What a dream come true.”
“But there aren’t any classrooms with other students,” Dean Cadance reminded her. “You’ll be doing everything on your own.”
Twilight Sparkle grinned. “That is why it’s called an independent study program.”
“I just don’t want you to miss out on anything. That’s all. Being around other people isn’t a bad thing. Sometimes it’s how you learn the most about yourself,” Dean Cadance said gently.
Twilight Sparkle shrugged, thinking of the unfriendly students she had passed in the hall just moments earlier. “I guess.”
Dean Cadance sighed. “Meet you in Principal Cinch’s office in a few minutes.”
When the door was shut behind her, Twilight was perplexed. “What’s she so worried about? Everton is exactly what I need right now. It’s not like I have anything left to learn at Crystal Prep.”
Twilight Sparkle slipped through the halls, avoiding as many of the other kids as she could. Twilight opened the door to the dark, wood-paneled office of the principal. There was a thick rug on the floor, serious-looking paintings of serious-looking people on the walls, and a high-backed chair in front of the principal’s desk, which Twilight sat down in. A clock ticked and chimed.
Shining Armor entered the room. His dark hair was brushed off his face, and he looked particularly handsome.
Twilight Sparkle was surprised. “Why is my brother here?” she asked Dean Cadance.
Dean Cadance smiled shyly at Shining Armor. He smiled back at her.
Dean Cadance cleared her throat. “Principal Cinch thought that he could, as an alumni, provide some unique perspective—”
“Perspective on what?” interrupted Twilight Sparkle.
“Why, the Friendship Games,” announced Principal Cinch, appearing through another door and taking a seat at her desk. “You competed in the Games, did you not, Shining Armor?”
“I did,” he acknowledged.
“And do you happen to recall who won?” the principal asked.
Shining Armor burst out laughing. “Crystal Prep did. We always win.”
The principal nodded her head and repeated his words: “We always win.”
Twilight Sparkle couldn’t figure out what was going on. “Principal Cinch, why did you ask to see me?”
The principal gestured to a glass case filled with trophies and plaques and medals. “Twilight, I’ll be honest. It doesn’t matter whether or not Crystal Prep wins or loses. The important thing is that we are expected to win because Crystal Prep has a reputation. And it is that reputation, my reputation, that is responsible for everything we have here.” She gestured out the window at the beautiful grounds, the stately buildings, the pristine athletic fields. “You’ve done quite a lot, haven’t you?”
Twilight blushed. “I don’t know. I guess.”
“Don’t be modest,” said Principal Cinch. “You’re the best student this school has ever seen. But what I can’t understand is why my best student wouldn’t want to compete.”
“In the Friendship Games?” Twilight Sparkle was baffled. The games had nothing to do with academic excellence.
“Look, Twily,” said her brother, resting a hand on her shoulder. “I know it’s not really your thing, but representing the school is kind of a big deal. Plus, they could really use your help.”
“It seems,” explained the principal, “that Canterlot High is undergoing something of a renaissance. Test scores are up, grades, even athletics are on the rise. You see, they are developing something of a reputation.” Principal Cinch’s eyes narrowed. “This. Cannot. Happen.”
Twilight Sparkle shook her head. “I can’t possibly participate in the Games; my work is—”
“Ah yes,” the principal interrupted. “Your work. Cadance, could you and Shining Armor find my contact sheet for the Everton Independent Study Program?”
Dean Cadance nodded. Shining Armor opened the door for her awkwardly, blushing.
When they had left, Principal Cinch leaned closer to Twilight Sparkle. “I understand you’ve applied for admission. You see, one of the advantages of having a reputation is a certain amount of influence in such things. So let me offer you a deal. In return for contributing your agile mind to these Games, I will use my influence to guarantee your application is approved.” She leaned back in her chair, smiling. “Though I suppose I could also have it denied.”
Twilight Sparkle was stunned. She had no idea what to say.
But Principal Cinch knew she had Twilight right where she wanted her. “What do you think I should do?”
Twilight Sparkle was overwhelmed. What should she do? She wanted to get into the program more than anything—but the last thing she wanted to do was join the other kids in the Friendship Games. There really wasn’t a choice. She would do what she had to.
Principal Cinch gloated triumphantly. Crystal Prep would win again!