Script Dangles

"Please, if you have any information contact myself or any of the staff immediately so we can put this matter to bed. It is my job to make sure that every student is accounted for and taken care of. Now, with that being said, please to be aware of the sign ups for the Horse Hockey Team tryouts, they will be held soon." He looked around the dining hall half hoping that the young mare would be within the ranks of the students. "You may all go back to your classes, and please, any information, anything at all, let a teacher, staff, or myself know immediately. That is all." Greyhoof turned and started down the platform and through a side door. Students were chattering as they started to leave the dining hall heading back to their classes. Professor Mirror stood behind and to the left of the Headmaster. Cloaked in his shadows, it was difficult to say he was even there at all. Carefully, he listened to what he had to say. If you have any information.... He imagined the young mare that had vanished. In his mind's eye, she swam in the soothing blue and green ocean within the sphere in his desk. Then he imagined his Queen. He could almost hear her laughter echoing in his ears. The sound of it sent a shudder up his spine, like the legs of spiders, crawling up the center of his back. The Headmaster's words died from the air in the dining hall. The Professor's horn shimmered gently and he ceased to exist. ...when he stepped from the shadows once more, he was in his room again. The mirror in the corner was covered with its dust cloth. The artifact was hidden away in his desk. Neither was nearly as harmless as they seemed to be. He needed to speak to his fellow Professor again, Turner. He needed to know how much he truly understood about the danger at hand. And for his part, Smoking Mirror needed to decide if he actually intended on stopping it. * @@HackTune, @,@@Summer Breeze, 'maybe, I'm not sure yet. since we have most afternoons off, we have a lot of spare time. but I'm not a real athlete' summer said to hacktune, then she turned her face to flearia 'how about you, shall we all join the hockey team together?' then summer saw professor dangles in the hallway 'hello mister dangles, is the class going to start? what are we going to talk about today?' summer said to him. she was happy to have english now, it was her favorite subject and proffessor dangle was her favorite teacher to is that because he gives my favoirte subject or because of an other reason? summer thought by herself. The Professor entered the classroom behind all of the students, closing the door behind him as he did. He wasn't far enough behind them that he couldn't hear their conversation, though. And what he heard from the young, pretty pegasus at the front of his class made his smile. He didn't bother to hide it a bit. "A real athlete, hm?" he asked her. "I'm not so sure I've ever met one of those before. I've just met ponies who like to have fun playing sports." He gave her a little wink. "Please...don't let your inexperience or what you think might be a lack of ability hold you back from joining the team. This will be the first year the University's had a horse hockey team -- and it's much more important that we build a tradition of having fun before we worry about winning. And as for the experience and ability part...just let your coach handle that," he chuckled. He took up a position in front of the class, his eyes sweeping across all of them. "Now, before we get started today, I want to talk a little bit about Headmaster Greyhoof's message," he said, his tone growing serious. "I want each and every one of you to know that -- even above the classes I teach here at the school -- it's absolutely vital to me that every student in attendance at the University can feel secure in their safety. I realize that many of you are magically inclined," he looked briefly upon Flearia next to Summer Breeze. "Many of you are quite powerful and capable. But I also want you to know that you have my solemn promise that I will protect every single one of you, no matter what it takes. So if any of you are frightened or worried that something might happen to you...please. You can come to me at any time and I'll do what's necessary to make sure you're safe." He sighed slightly. "Okay," his smile returned. "Now that that's out of the way, let's begin our lesson..."

The professor stopped halfway in through the doorway. He'd been furious with himself for being late. All he'd wanted was a quick drink of water...and being so new to the University, he'd managed to get himself lost along the way. Now, everything was a mess. Class was starting, the Headmaster was talking over the intercom.... He hated being late. It wasn't like him at all. He expected his students to be on time; it was a terrible example to set for them. If he was only better with magic, he could have just whisked himself away, popped in right next to his desk with a sly smile. But no. He was going to be late. All the students were standing up from their chairs, getting ready to go down to the dining hall. Script just sighed. He followed them on their way.

@@Stardust*, The mirror began to shimmer, almost if looking into a black pool of water. It gave off a greenish glow almost as dark as the deep black waters. There were sounds of little tiny hoof steps, as if a foal was trotting behind that darkness. The Professor stiffened. Something in the pit of his stomach weight slightly light. It was happening. He closed his eyes gently. He need see no more to know. She was coming. The image of a tiny foal peering back at Smoking Mirror. She tilted her head in one direction, and then the other, almost if studying the stallion that was standing before her. She then gave a very large smile and started dancing around as if trying to catch a beautiful butterfly. She would stop and look back at Smoking Mirror, and then get even more excited and continue dancing around. Finally she came to a stop, out of breath and inhaling as much air as she possibly could. Once she caught her breath she began to speak. "Gee, you sure are big and strong, you look just like my big bwobber." She giggled. "I sure hope you don't have a special some pony." She giggled again. "You sure have a huuuuuuge pwace. I would wove to see the whole pwace." She looked past Smoking Mirror and saw the orb resting on a small table. Her eyes grew very large, a very thin smile appeared on her muzzle. She peered at it, and her eyes went from a bright blue to a deep green. She could no longer hold her figure. A deeper voice came from the little foal, "Oh my dear, dear Smoking Mirror. You have done so well." The Professor bowed low. "My Queen..." he said, his muzzle almost upon the floor. He wondered if she could see the way that he trembled in her very presence. It was only then that her words settled in on him. He'd expected her to be furious with him, to shred him with scathing words. After a fashion, he deserved no less. This was...unexpected. The tiny white foal began to deform, looking as if it were very painful. She hunched over as her spine elongated, her head whipped back as her tiny face exploded into a full grown mares head and muzzle. One leg would shoot out and the almost disgusting looking mess of a pony was twitching on the floor of this dark mass that surrounded her. As the transformation was coming to an end, there could be a maniacal laugh coming from the now balled up black body of a full grown mare. She stood, her legs were thin, strong, her horn was curved in more than one direction and ridged. Her delicate wings flitted as if to dry them, as the newly born butterfly. She opened her eyes, and that deep green shot straight to the orb once again. She was beautiful. She was horrifying. She was breathtaking in the way that the hurricane could be lovely, in the way that the erupting volcano could be stunning. Professor Mirror watched her transformation in silent awe. He could hear his heart, like thunder in his ears, his breathing, like the only sound in existence. "Oh, Smoking Mirror, you got my gift. I am so pleased. Have you noticed the wonderful effects yet? Oh how this is going to be such an enjoyable time for you. You will be able to hunt and feast with the others. They will be arriving when the time is right." She gazed longingly into the orb. He looked behind himself. At first, he had no idea what to say at all. Then, he uttered the words that would surely see to his damnation. "I am humbled by your gift, my Queen," he said. "And I look forward to that time with great relish. To drink deep of their love with my brothers and sisters." Something in the pit of his stomach seemed to quiver. "OH! Wonderful, absolutely wonderful, it has already affected that batpony. This is even better than I could have imagined." She laughed and it filled the room. The Professor laughed along with her. He felt her dark delight even through the mirror. It seemed to race his veins as if it were his own blood. "But how, my Queen?" he asked her. "How does it achieve its marvelous effects?" "Do not be afraid my love, you will feel its effects soon, don't fight the feelings that you have. Embrace them and feed on them, they will give you strength. Find that pony, have her gaze into it, let it hold her, let it feed her. You are so close, you will accomplish my wishes, you will do this because you love me. Just as I love you. Oh you will make me proud my darling. I am so happy you called to me." She reached out as to touch Smoking Mirror, she looked longingly into his eyes... The Professor dared reach out, his hoof shaking as he reached out as well. To touch her, even for a moment.... ...and with a flash she vanished in a puff of smoke. And like that, she was gone. His hoof touched the cold, flat surface of the dark mirror once more. The Professor slumped into a heap, where he sat. The whole of the ordeal washed over him as a tidal wave of emotion. He began to shiver gently in place, the light from the sphere providing the only illumination in the room. He managed to look in its direction, long enough to come to an awful realization... ...its blue color. It was exactly the same as Queen Chrysalis' eyes. He thought he might have felt a tear slide down the plain of his cheek.

@@Stardust* It had been a spectacular day. Outside the sun was shining. As he'd walked across campus to the building in which his classroom lay, he'd watched the big, beautiful tufts of white clouds idly gliding above him. The trees and bushes that lined the walkway were a lush, deep green and he stopped for a moment to watch a swarm of butterflies flutter above a riot of flowers between them in a chaotic dance of motion and color. It put a smile on his face as he entered the building, walking into the room the would soon be full of his students. Script hummed to himself as he arranged the books in the classroom. He liked to be prepared before a lesson. If he was going to ask that his students did so, it was only fair that he did so, as well. He started to write on the chalkboard. Today was the English part of the course. He wondered how many of his students had a passion for language and how many were just attending to fulfill a requirement of their major. He also wondered if he'd have a massive scorpion in attendance, today. Maybe he should have a lesson plan for that, too. * The sphere continued to pulse and shimmer in deep cerulean and ebon radiance. It had done so all night long. Professor Mirror knew this because he'd gazed into its depths until the candles in his room at last burned themselves down to their brass sticks. All that remained of illumination, now, was that deep and pervading glow that it shed. It was soothing, after a fashion. It was an abomination. Something that should not be, he knew. Despite its external beauty, he knew better to allow it to lull him into a false sense of security. And so, he watched it so, his dark eyes reflecting its radiance. All night long. At last, he could bear no more. The Professor stood from his seat and crossed the room to the corner, where the mirror stood. With the wave of a hoof, he shed the dust cover that shrouded it, allowing the gentle trail of smoke that perpetually rolled outward from its utterly black surface. In its depths, he could see himself reflected, the sphere and its unnatural, breathtaking glow behind him. That which appears most beautiful...is very often evil in disguise, he reminded himself. If anyone knew that well, it was she. Smoking Mirror looked into the depths of the darkness...past his reflection, past the reflection of the sphere and its kaleidoscopic shimmering. It was like immersing himself into a pool of complete, all-consuming night. Ensconced in that blackness, he whispered for her. "Your Majesty," he said. "Your beautiful, inestimable majesty. Your most loyal subject calls to you...." It was like uttering the final words of a love poem. Or perhaps, the vilest curse ever spoken.

@@Guirdann, @@reader8363 "Well it's a sore subject but I didn't told you how my soul is still tied to my body without magic so I can't blame you" "if it's actually a shard and we are still sane after that you can do what you want with it and even try to find the element but don't even try to include me in this madness without a good reason." Professor Mirror listened carefully. He did not like what he was hearing a single bit. Gold re read a bit of the notes trying to remember what he knew of the shards " From what I have gathered the shards are indeed tangible but I suppose they differ in shape and power like, this power is not evil but incredibly overwhelming so it could affect the psyche of people by drawing somethings they don't want out of them. it could explain what the orb did to me. but we are not sure it's a shard. I could check with the lens but it was broken" "Allow me to set your mind at ease, Professor," the black-robed pony beside him said. "One thing that I know for certain is that the artifact is whole. What you see is complete, not a shard of some sort." Madness flinch and slanted his eyes, then he said, "Really. I guess it wasn't thought of. Then again, my name isn't common. So it affects ponies minds." His horn glowed and the orb appeared on his hoof. "It doesn't look that dangerous. I know you already said it not, but I really don't see anything special with it." Professor Mirror frowned. "I think not," he said. He turned his hoof over and then back again. From the midst of his grasp, the sphere vanished. There / Not there. He simply dismissed the spell that had invoked it into their presence in the first place. "I am unprepared to pass a judgement regarding its safety until I've committed more study to it." Where the artifact was now, who could say? He nodded. "Thank you for your insight, Professor Turner," he said. Likewise, he nodded in the direction of the pony with the utterly dark eyes. "Madness," he said, acknowledging him, as well. His horn shimmered gently, colorlessly. And then, just as the sphere had done, he winked out of existence. * When he reappeared, he did so in his chambers once more. He glanced over at the desk. There, the sphere sat, its meandering blue colors shifting and warping gently. As it was before he'd spoken to his colleague, it was ever an enigma. The thought of it bothered the professor in a deep and fundamental way. He looked at his mirror. Took a deep breath. He knew someone that would know what it represented. Did he dare ask her?

@@Guirdann, @@reader8363 Gold approached the sphere, watching carefully his steps, completely mesmerized by the sphere. " I felt it before..." He muttered "But … Where?..." Professor Mirror watched his fellow faculty member's reflection distort as he drew nearer to the artifact. His eyes were wide, lit by the unearthly blue of the sphere so it was as if he stared into flame. He had lost some of the color from his coat. Something was obviously amiss. "Where, indeed," he said quietly, hoping the tone of his voice might break him from his reverie. G.S slowly brought a hoof next to the sphere, the movement so slow that you could believe he was immobile. " It's like in... " He whispered struggling to talk as if the sphere didn't allowed him to talk. The sphere distorted itself, pulsating, wanting to close the gap between the hoof. As the artefact grew closer to the fur a low humming could be heard. Gold began to shiver, in his eyes a blood red symbol flashed for a fraction of second it was an half finished hexagon with three diagonals. Gold quickly backed away " NO! No! no...." He picked up his tank-fish and hugged it tightly like it was the only thing that kept him from fading away. "It's not the same, it's not the same, it's not the same, it's not the same... You are not in the Room." It was not going well. The presence of the sphere had obviously triggered...something within the Professor. A memory, perhaps? A phobia? It was impossible to tell and in any case, Professor Mirror had little time to ponder it. "Professor Turner!" he said, his voice raised to almost a shout. You are with me: Professor Smoking Mirror! You are in the University of Canterlot's dining hall. You are safe. You have nothing to fear!" He looked at the sphere again fear in his eyes but the object was standing still like nothing happened, just the ominous feeling remained. Gold breathed deeply a few times and said loudly "I don't know what it is, but I know it's essence." He got up on his hooves "Let's hope it's not a shard..." "A shard?" Professor Mirror lifted a brow. "Good pony, please speak plainly. What is he nature of this item's essence? And what is the shard you speak of--?" He stopped in mid-sentence when he realized that the two of them were no longer alone. At some point, beneath his notice, evidently another pony had slipped into the dining hall with them. He turned his attention in his direction as he approached them. Madness walked in and said. "I couldn't help but hear you from the hall. So I came in and wanted to know what's going on?" He walked closer as he changed his body to his original and took off his altering glasses to show his eyes. The professor slit his eyes as he watched the transformation take place. The hair on the back of his mane stood on its end. Could it be--? No. No, the muting and bending of shape was different. It was something worked by magic, not by the gift of birth, as was the case of his own kind. He took in a deep breath, then exhaled it in a whisper of a sigh. "Where are my manners. My name is Madness." "Indeed?" he replied. He glanced once at his fellow faculty member, then back at the newcomer. "I am Professor Mirror. This is Professor Turner. Are you a student here, or staff?" The way he asked the question, it was clear that Madness had intruded upon a private matter.

Things had a funny way of working themselves out, sometimes. Script hadn't gone straight home. No, he had a lot that he needed to have done before seven, and the sun was already setting over the straight-line horizon, dusk encroaching into what was left of daytime. So once he'd turned away, he'd headed back into town. The next hour or so, he'd spent spinning about the immense gazebo-like structure that served as its center. He'd looked in storefront windows, at first, but when that searching frustrated him, he started to stop ponies that looked like they might be helpful. Excuse me, miss...can you tell me where I can find a florist? Pardon me, sir...I'm new here. Can you recommend a nice place to take a mare to dinner? Preferably one where maybe they play soft music by your table? Oh, and is there a river nearby? Something with maybe a bridge over the top of it? It was a lot of questions asked to a lot of strangers and Script felt terribly self-conscious about asking them. But what he had discovered, after he had finished and turned his back on Ponyville for his house, was that he'd learned a lot about his adopted home. He had learned about all the shoppes in town, learned their keeper's names, and studied their wares. He'd also discovered that the ponies here were kind and friendly and always seemed to have a moment for you – even when you asked them questions that he knew probably seemed strange and annoying. The birds were out and singing and the sun had set fire to the sky before disappearing. It wasn't Chicoltgo...but maybe it was even better, in its own charming way. There was only one way it was going to get better, he considered. And she was going to be at his house at seven. If she shows up at all, he reminded himself, opening the door to his house once he'd arrived and shutting it after himself. It wasn't like you exactly gave her a choice. He tried not to dwell on it too much. He had his flowers and he had his reservations for their dinner at a quaint little outdoor cafe. He'd planned out the route on which he'd take her afterwards, if all went well, for a nice walk under the stars. That was ever Script: The plan, written out carefully, like the plots to one of his novels. He got into his shower and cleaned himself. When he finished, combing his mane and brushing his teeth, night had claimed the day. It was almost time. He waited in his living room listening for the door. He couldn't help himself; he imagined how he'd feel if her knock never came.

@@Guirdann He watched all the students begin to file out of the dining hall. "Now that your ability to speak in a cogent fashion has returned, Professor," the cloak-clad stallion said, "I would have a word with you." "Thank you for the gem but why do I feel like I'm going to be lectured" He walked toward the back of the hall, waiting to ensure that they were alone and out of earshot of anyone else. "Privately." Suddenly very interested Gold Star picked up his aquarium and followed his colleague. "or involved in something illegal..." He shrugged " let's just roll with it" The Professor seemed to ignore his comment. Instead, he held up an empty hoof. He turned it over, his horn shimmering with an ominous wavering. He turned it back upwards...and to his mild amazement, his fellow faculty member saw that something suddenly rest slightly above it. The spell was called Not There / There: A means of teleporting an object to a pony's self from some secure location, a great distance away. It was not a common spell, by any means. More interesting than the unusual prestidigitation was the object now floating weightlessly above his dark hoof. It appeared to be a sphere of some sort. It was a beautiful lapis lazuli color, though the light in the dining hall seemed to reflect upon a sheen on its surface like the inside of an abalone shell. Strangely, it seemed not to be solid, but inconsistent in substance. In its depths, something shadowy seemed to lurk, lurching restlessly within its blue tides. To look upon it made something in the pit of the stomach churn. It was undoubtedly enchanted, but there was something...sinister about the sphere, something awful. It was as if nature itself seemed to recoil it its presence. As if reality itself wanted to expel it from its presence. It was difficult to look at for more than a solid moment. Even a glance at it seemed to send something cold and terrible climbing slowly up the ladderwork of a pony's spine. "It is my understanding," Professor Mirror said, looking into the eyes of his fellow teacher, "that you are the school's Reliquarian, hm? You have something of a specialty in magical artifacts." He held up the sphere so that it was directly between the two of them. Roiling darkly within. "What do you know of this, Professor?"

I've just started teaching at the University of Canterlot! It's an amazing place with many unique and talented students. I'm not only in charge of the English and Creative Writing departments, but I'll also be coaching the school's Horse Hockey team, come the winter. It's so exciting to be around so many young stallions and mares with so much untapped potential!!! SD