private The Elements

[AmberDust 1,118]

"Yep, one and only! How can I help you, Miss?" Flipnote scrambled around and pinned his name tag to his shirt. "Your friend there okay?" He pointed to Starchase who was still bawling his eyes out like an infant. "Is something wrong?"

 

"Why-y..." Starchase just sobbed into his own arms. If he didn't keep it it down he'd start attracting unwanted attention.

 

So it really is Flipnote, Amber thought. She cleared her throat.

"He's--fine," she said, hesitating momentarily as an idea formed in her mind.

"He's just going through some stuff right now--we were actually looking to speak with Celestia about it," she said. She searched Flipnote's face for any reaction at the sound of the name "Celestia". Was it familiar? Or foreign?

"Have you seen her around at all...?" she ventured. Hopefully the Celestia we saw has an important role in this world, too, Amber thought. She was with them not too long ago, so she just might be local, but she didn't want to raise any suspicions by assuming too much about this world.

[LordSwinton 759]

"Principal Celestia should be in her office, down the hall, take a right and it should be the third door on the left. You should be able to see her name on the door." He pointed out the door. "Hope your friend is okay, he seems devastated. If you need anything just let me know!" He winked at her before he left with a trolley of returned books.

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice was confused by Flipnote's words. Principal Celestia? Sounds much different than her actual title. He went up to Amber, and asked, "Uh...what the heck was that? And why do they call her, 'principal'? I thought she was a princess. Something's very wrong about this place...."

[AmberDust 1,118]

Ice was confused by Flipnote's words. Principal Celestia? Sounds much different than her actual title. He went up to Amber, and asked, "Uh...what the heck was that? And why do they call her, 'principal'? I thought she was a princess. Something's very wrong about this place...."

 

"Not wrong, just different," Amber said with a smile, as the pieces began to fall into place beneath her steady gaze. She turned to Flipnote and thanked him before returning to the group's table.

 

"I have good news," she said quietly, "Prin--Principle Celestia is just down that hall." She pointed to where the Flipnote had directed her before putting her palms on the table confidently.

"I'm sure she'll know what's going on, and will be able to help explain some things!" she added with a reassuring smile.

[LordSwinton 759]

They sauntered off to Principal Celestia's office, knocking softly on her door before entering, trying to look presentable and not like some crazy homeless people.

 

"How can I help you all?" She looked rather surprised to see so many people looking for her at the same time.

[AmberDust 1,118]

 

 

"Apparently I'm a teacher in this world. Can we use this somehow?" I said in a whisper to her. Maybe this Celestia would recognize me? Not good......   Sparky just idled behind us, trying to look inconspicuous.

Amber looked to Lektra, slightly astonished.

"A teacher, eh...? Maybe she'll be able to help us out with all of this."

 

They sauntered off to Principal Celestia's office, knocking softly on her door before entering, trying to look presentable and not like some crazy homeless people.

"How can I help you all?" She looked rather surprised to see so many people looking for her at the same time.

 

"Principle Celestia?" Amber said, cautiously. She certainly looked the same as the Celestia they saw earlier, but one couldn't be too careful. If this was some sort of clueless doppelganger, she didn't want to tip her off to anything suspicious. Who knows how these creatures might react to Equestrian magic? They didn't want to put these people in jeopardy just for the sake of their own quest.

Amber looked at her friends for a brief moment pf support, then cleared her throat.

"There was something you wanted us to do for you?" she asked.

[LordSwinton 759]

"Thank you for fixing the boiler on such short notice," She smiled politely and shook hands with them though they didn't exactly seem like boiler repairmen. "That'll be all, everything's in order. Now don't you have a class to teach?"

 

Seeing no further reason to stay, they had to exit the office for others to see the principal with their official business. "Well, that went nowhere..." Starchase muttered as he kicked a stray can across the now empty hallway.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

There was a moment when Celestia's face seemed as if she knew exactly what was going on... then, she simply smiled.

 

"If that is your presentation for your class, Miss Bolt, I'm sure there will be a lot of homework to assign; now, if you will please excuse me - I have a lot of work to finish up."  Saying this, her eyes wandered over to a slice of chocolate cake on a styrofoam plate, sitting on the corner of her desk.

 

"There you go, Miss Bolt - and do be so kind as to make sure the other students make it to their respective classes."

 

Gently but firmly, Principal Celestia shooed Lektra out of her office and looked over at Trixie.  "Miss Lulamoon, we have a LOT of talking to do."

 

Trixie flicked her hair over her shoulder.  "Of course!  EVERYONE wants to talk to The Great And Powerful Trixie!"  She then got a look at the Principal's face; her haughty look changed to one of hesitant fear.  "Though... maybe it would be a better thing if Trixie wasn't always so popular..."  With that, she made her way into the office and closed the door.

 

As soon as the door shut, one of the hall monitors walked up.  "Here... from the office."  He handed over a permission slip, then simply walked off back down the hall, getting lost in the crowd almost instantly.

 

The Note Read:

 

[Not safe to talk here - meet me out by the cafeteria dumpsters.  - L.]

[AmberDust 1,118]

"Well, that didn't go quite as planned," Amber said, as the group was ushered out of Celestia's office. They stood silently in the hallway that seemed suddenly packed as the students were rushing to their classes.

"I guess she's the local Celestia," Amber sighed, "I can't believe she's just a principle after all."

This world was certainly a strange one, the mare thought. In one incarnation, you can be a regal and powerful monarch, and in another, a glorified babysitter. Amber brought her hand up to her chin pensively.

"I hope we didn't seem too suspicious," she said, and found herself biting down on one of her nails, almost instinctively. She twitched her hand away as soon as she realized what she had been doing. Must be a human thing, she thought in disgust.

 

 

 

As soon as the door shut, one of the hall monitors walked up.  "Here... from the office."  He handed over a permission slip, then simply walked off back down the hall, getting lost in the crowd almost instantly.   The Note Read:   [Not safe to talk here - meet me out by the cafeteria dumpsters.  - L.]

 

Amber raised an eyebrow, then looked down at the note in Lektra's hands. Upon reading it, her eyes quickly darted back to the retreating figure, but he was gone. She looked at the group with a glare of determination mingled with suspicion.

"I guess we've got our next lead."

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice meanwhile had stayed in the library the whole time and was mostly interested in reading the books that were there. He eventually caught up to the others and asked Amber, "Um...what just happened? I was busy looking for a book, and the next thing I know, you guys are gone."

[LordSwinton 759]

"We'll tell you on the way," Starchase ushered Ice Blizzard along as they marched toward down the empty hallways,their footsteps thundering and bouncing off the lockers.

 

 

A courier pulled up to the dojo and requested a signature for a package for an 'out of town' Caliber and promptly left after handing him a small well protected envelop with the same exact note the others had gotten.

[P-Jay 1,987]

A courier pulled up to the dojo and requested a signature for a package for an 'out of town' Caliber and promptly left after handing him a small well protected envelop with the same exact note the others had gotten.

"...?" caliber was handed it by violet, and he started reading...

 

"...while its been fun...i gotta bounce. so, if i could have my sword back...?"

 

the other caliber looked at violet, who nodded. he took it off his back, and tossed it to equestria-caliber, who caught it. 

 

"thanks bud. ill be back later." he grinned, and started running towards the school.

[Randimaxis 8,652]

The lot of them converged near the rear parking lot.  They exchanged a few words (surprisingly few of them rude) and followed the smell of rotten potatoes to the back of the cafeteria, where the dumpsters were kept.

 

From the thick stench, they weren't kept very well.

 

At first glance, there seemed to be nothing present - aside from the garbage, one or two rats, and a general sense of 'Authorized Personnel Only' vibe to it.  When a shadow slid out from the far end of the dumpster, the group stood ready to defend... but it wasn't a shadow.  It was Luna.

 

Well, THIS dimension's version of her, at any rate.  The similarities were astounding, though her mane-... um, I mean 'hair', wasn't full of stars; just hairspray.  She wore a smart navy blue pantsuit beneath the black trenchcoat, and sneakers instead of business footwear.  The look in her eyes was grim, and she studied each one of the group in turn. 

 

"You've already been drained... I'd hoped to catch you before that happened."

 

She sighed a weary gust, then shrugged.

 

"I suppose you know who I am already, so we can skip that part.  Questions are safe; out here is free from little ears," she glanced about a bit nervously, "so it's okay to talk about your Equestria - I already know about you."

[AmberDust 1,118]

"You've already been drained... I'd hoped to catch you before that happened."

 

She sighed a weary gust, then shrugged.

 

"I suppose you know who I am already, so we can skip that part. Questions are safe; out here is free from little ears," she glanced about a bit nervously, "so it's okay to talk about your Equestria - I already know about you."

Amber stepped forward, relieved to see a fellow Equestrian, and considered bowing before she realized that she had no idea how to, in this body. Instead she simply nodded her head.

"Drained--of our magic? she asked, looking concerned. She wanted to ask hkw it happened, or where it went, but another question came out first:

"Why are we here, Princess? What's going on...?" Amber could feel the pent-up stress and fear of these past days try and break free, and her voice let out a crack. She clenched her fists and looked pleadingly to the Princess.

Edited December 28, 2015 by AmberDust

[Randimaxis 8,652]

She sighed wearily, knowing what she had to say wouldn't be easy.

 

"My Equestrian counterpart and I have known of each other for some time now, and we have been exchanging information on goings-on for the past few years.  The lot of you are far from the first ones to come through from Equestria, and I was made aware shortly after you arrived... in fact, I've been trying to find you all since the 'sudden cold snap' down the street."

 

"But, a few months ago, there was another breach into this world; it was shortly after this that I started seeing the same washed-out coloration in my students as the lot of you are showing now.  Those particular individuals had a marked decrease in schoolwork and activities, and always seemed morose and tired."

 

"Your Luna and I have been working tirelessly to find the source of the trouble... and we may have come up with a possibility."

 

She reached into a pocket and produced a photograph.  For the moment, she held it in her hand, its subject unseen.

 

"There was someone who has been showing up recently in the library, reading their way through any and all books and magazines on modern technology, science and electronics.  Nobody really paid them much attention, as they never spoke to anyone... but they weren't a student here.  My sister saw the video feed and assumed it was a poor kid, struggling to study hard, so she paid them no mind and allowed it to continue.  If she had only known..."

 

She looked down at the photo.

 

"A couple of weeks ago, they just stopped showing up; it was shortly after this that the students began showing up with muted tones and personalities.  Then, about a day or two ago, something... happened... and it seemed like things felt wrong.  More wrong than they had ever been before.  Whatever's been going on, my sister has been affected, as well as much of the school campus."

 

Looking back up, she offered the photo to them.

 

"And I can't shake the feeling that this individual has something to do with it."

 

In the photograph, there was a table in the library that was stacked high with books and manuals.  Seated there, in a ratty, dirt-stained coat and jeans, was a short and pale man with thick-lensed glasses and a very studious look on his face, lost in concentration.  It was Gideon!

 

"I have no idea where he's disappeared to, but I am willing to bet that this person will have at least some of the answers I've been looking fo-"

 

Suddenly, there was a deep thump of a sound, like a single blast of bass, that rolled over them all before echoing into the distance.  Accompanying it, in the distance, was a flash of green light, then a pillar on bright green energy flashed into the sky, a discharge of energy that seemed to launch itself into space... then, just as quickly, it was gone.

 

"... that was the same thing that happened months ago!  When all this began!"

[LordSwinton 759]

"This is a rather interesting place to meet, Princess." Attempting bow respectfully to Princess Luna, he was about to loose balance with his body bent to almost a right angle, wobbling a little as he straightened up. He felt rather silly of himself as he saw Amber take the more rational way of just nodding. Why didn't he think of that?

 

Starchase felt rather repulsed by the stench and filth. He may not have been the most orderly and clean pony person around but it made him more sick than he already felt. The world seem to spin as he listened to the pony human Princess, the smell didn't help. It was rather comical to see Lektra actually talking to her mechanical companion for once. Suppose all good relationships need communication he giggled to himself. "I knew that dodgy character was up to no good!" He sniffled. 

 

As the weird light blasted out into the sky, he was more than sure it wasn't of this world.

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice unfortunately, had been out of it for a while. He had been reading his grandfather's journal most of the time, trying to understand what his relatives would do in a situation like this. He had caught up with the group, but hadn't really heard much of what was going on. He needed to ask what was happening, but didn't want to feel stupid for it. What to do?

[Randimaxis 8,652]

"This cannot be good... please, I know it sounds like a lot, but I have to ask you all if you can help me put a stop to whatever's going on here - before it becomes too late to do anything at all!  Please, we must hurry!"

 

Luna turned and began to run down the street, her coattails flapping in the wind as she ran like a bat-pony out of Tartarus.  The group supposedly in tow, she was headed to where she had seen the light come from, or at least it's rough vicinity.  Sure enough, the group eventually was right back at that creepy warehouse... except this time, there was smoke coming from the inside of it.  THICK smoke.

 

"This has GOT to be it!  Stand back; I'll get the door open, and then we'll have to see what we can do from there.  Hang on!"

 

Luna jogged back about twenty meters, then turned and ran full-tilt at the door.  Reaching it, she tilted her shoulder at it and slammed into it with all her might.

 

The door didn't budge; Luna literally bounced off it and hit the ground with a loud "OOF!"

 

She sat there a moment, then said, "... I might... need help.... getting the door... open... obviously..." as she rubbed her shoulder.

 

The only thing that was truly obvious at this moment was that they might lose any chance they had at figuring out what was happening if everything burned up in a fire.

[AmberDust 1,118]

Seeing the warehouse up in flames, Amber looked grimly at Lektra, then Starchase, and gulped.

 

"I can help you with the door, Princess," Amber offered. "Or, I can try, at least," she added sombrely. Hopefully turning into a human didn't take away my adventurer's strength, she thought to herself.

 

Lining up next to Luna, Amber scuffed the ground with her foot a few times, then stopped, realizing it didn't have quite the same effect it did back when she was equine. She grinned bashfully, before straightening herself out.

 

"On three," she said.

"One...two...THREE!"

[Randimaxis 8,652]

>WHUMP!<

 

The two of them bounced off it without so much as a wiggle from the frame.  The door wouldn't budge.  Luna looked at the doorway, then looked back to Amber.

 

"Again!"

 

Once more, she lined herself up and prepared to charge it; she was beginning to look a bit rumpled, as her hair was now out of place, and her clothes were becoming disheveled.  Yet still, she was determined to get inside... while there still WAS an inside, that is...

 

"One... two... THREE!"

[AmberDust 1,118]

Adjusting her dishevelled braid, Amber cast a sideways glance at Luna as the two Lektras conversed. 

"And here I thought this situation couldn't get any weirder," she whispered, and managed a small chuckle. It certainly was strange, almost off-putting, but she couldn't help but be curious about her own doppelganger...and if she was involved in this too, somehow. Probably not, Amber sighed. And it was for the best. This crazy mission had compromised too many lives already, she thought. Still...

 

Amber shook the dust out of her hair, dismissing her previous thought. They were on a mission, and she needed to stay focused.

"So, what is it we're looking for?" Amber asked, peering through the flames but not daring to enter. 

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice walked up alongside Amber. He looked up and then saw two Lektras?! This was getting ridiculous. He was so lost, that he did not know where to begin to start asking questions. Instead, Ice just kept quiet, hoping the situation would somehow resolve itself.

[LordSwinton 759]

"Are you alright, Amber?" Starchase asked as he saw her straighten herself out. He would have helped if his head didn't feel like a ticking atom bomb. Still he felt somewhat ashamed he let two ladies do all the hard work. "Sorry about that..." he laughed nervously. What would they think of him now?! He silently swore to make up for it the next time.

 

"Find anything useful, Lektra? Lektras?" He giggled as he stepped around pieces of cudely bent metals. Thank Celestia he had these shoes on his human hooves or they might have gotten cut into meaty shredded stumps. He poked around some ashy remains but didn't find anything of interest. I wonder what my double is doing in this world, he thought to himself as he lightly kicked around.

[AmberDust 1,118]

"Are you alright, Amber?" Starchase asked as he saw her straighten herself out.

 

"I'm 'alright' as I can be," Amber said, shielding her face from the smoke and squinting painfully as it made its way into her eyes. She coughed violently, taking a half-step back. Tears blurred her vision, and she was trying to decide whether or not to continue. The smoke seemed to be affecting her more than it was her comrades, although she didn't say anything on the matter. She turned her attention back to Starchase's question.

"I was just wondering about my doppel--" Amber paused as another fit of coughs interrupted her.

"--About my doppelganger," she wheezed, gripping at her throat. She hoped desperately that they'd find what they were looking for soon, and get out of this oven.

 

 

 

"I was just wondering about my doppel--is this really a good idea?" her thought was interrupted by a tongue of flame as it flashed in front of her. Amber grabbed her braid fearfully and took another step backwards towards the door, sweat beading on her forehead.

"Maybe we should do something about this fire before anyone gets hurt," she said fearfully. She could deal with dark caves, forests, and tunnels, fine, but fire was a whole other story. She wrung her braid nervously as her comrades searched through this ticking-timebomb of a building.

 

Edited February 7, 2016 by AmberDust

[J.R. 3,183]

Ice walked up to Amber, "Jeez it's smoky as Tartarus in here."

 

He looked around, "Hm...well it's a good thing the fire is gone. Couldn't smell anything past the smoke." He coughed a few times before looking around some more, "...so what exactly are we looking for guys?

Edited February 7, 2016 by J.R.