Eight - Plan
Celestia leaned backwards in her office chair, a hand clasped to her forehead, and let out a shuddery breath. She double-checked the screen of her laptop—nope, hadn’t changed. Darn.
She still wanted to leave. She knew she shouldn’t and she knew she couldn’t but she still wanted to. Only now she felt worse and more selfish about it. Was it too much to want a normal life? Where things went her way?
Probably.
The creak of the side door announced Luna’s entrance. “Celestia, I think we—” She stopped when she saw her sister. “What’s wrong?”
A groan. Celestia shifted from leaning backwards to leaning forwards, her head resting dejectedly on her desk. “They’re all here, Luna,” she said, gesturing halfheartedly to her laptop and the master attendance sheet that it displayed. “Every single student on Pinkie’s list is here today. Even the one who claimed to be in the hospital because of a collapsed lung.”
“Maybe they, uh, got better?” Luna cringed at her own words, murdering any amount of reassurance her statement had.
Celestia only groaned once more, moving back into the forlorn slouch Luna had found her in. “They’re going to kill us.”
“Wait, what?”
“They know we know about them so they’re going to kill us to eliminate the risk! What else could possibly be going on?”
“I don’t know…” Luna hummed. “They don’t seem like the ‘murder’ type. More the ‘imprison you forever’ type.”
“Thanks, I feel a lot better now.”
“Oh, come on, you’re jumping to conclusions. You don’t have to automatically assume the worst in every situation.”
“It’s been pretty accurate for me in my life so far.”
“Why do you have to be a downer all the time? I’m sure whatever happens, we can handle it.”
“Let’s hope so.” A shaky exhale. “I just pray things don’t get any more complicated.”
As soon as her lips closed, someone rapped at the door, and Celestia felt like curling up and dying right then and there. “Sometimes, I really hate fate,” she mumbled to Luna. “Most times, really.”
“It’s probably just a student,” Luna rebuked with a roll of her eyes, opening the door.
Or not, she mentally corrected, taking in the tall woman that stood in the doorway. She had long, straight, gray hair, and Luna swore it was made of spider webs. A rogue lock of it split the middle of her dark face, cutting just to the right her nose. Affrontingly vibrant green eyes stood out in a drastic contrast to her charcoal skin, not unlike her pearly whites that poked out from behind a rather unwelcoming smile. She was dressed in a dark gray pantsuit and tie, flat business shoes covering her feet, and she clutched a suitcase in one hand.
The three women coexisted in silence, the principals waiting expectantly, and the newcomer not volunteering.
At length, Luna cleared her throat. “And, you are…?”
She flashed a badge. “Chief Agent Chrysalis, FBI, branch M.”
Celestia collapsed to the desk, clutched her head, and started to whisper to herself. Luna’s jaw refused to close for about ten seconds.
“Oh,” she finally managed. “Well, shit.”
Celestia looked up briefly to chastise Luna for her language before resuming her panicking.
“Mind if I take a seat?” Chrysalis asked, sitting down. “Anyway. I’m here because you two seem to have no idea how to handle emergency situations and it’s going to get someone killed eventually.”
Celestia, whose eyes had finally stopped their mad jittering, spoke up. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about the fact that when man-eating plants started growing in the middle of the playing field and attacking students, you thought it would be a good idea to go ahead and continue playing trivial games instead of, I don’t know, evacuating.”
Luna’s eyes narrowed. “How do you know about that?”
“Really?” Chrysalis’s eyebrow rose. “I thought you met Special Agent Sweetie Drops.”
“Her?” Celestia’s eyebrow joined the party. “She works for the government?”
“Well, yeah. She’s investigating the school, Federal Bureau of Investigation, thought it would be pretty obvious.”
“I guess,” Celestia admitted. “It’s just, she was so secretive about it all, and you’re so… forward.”
Chrysalis laughed. “Yeah, that’s SD for you! She’s been a little out of it ever since her parents kicked it.”
The principals jolted. Luna crossed her arms. “That’s not something you should just drop casually.”
Chrysalis shrugged. “What’s it to you? Did your parents die too or something?”
Dead silence.
“Doesn’t matter,” Chrysalis said quickly with a wave of her hand. Really, was she the only one without a tragic backstory? “First things first, you need to issue an evacuation.” She pointed at Celestia.
“Isn’t that a little on the nose?”
“And what’s wrong with being on the nose? It gets the job done.”
Luna huffed. “She means we don’t want to cause an unnecessary panic.”
“I understand that,” Chrysalis condescended, “but what about necessary panic?”
Their eyes locked for a few seconds, Celestia’s burning, and Chrysalis’s calm, collected, and confident.
“Fine. But you’re cleaning up the damage.” Celestia reached for the microphone to the PA system.
Sandalwood eyed the Rainbooms as they met up in the halls.
Targets in sight. Talking.
Miss Cheerilee picked up a worn piece of chalk and started scrawling on the blackboard.
Where’s purple?
Flash Sentry emerged from the boys’ bathroom.
Lab.
Micro Chips frowned as the pencil tip he had just sharpened snapped off, leaving a long and ugly mark along his paper.
They seem wary.
Scootaloo started typing on her laptop, her loud key clacks earning her a glare from the librarian.
Of course they seem wary.
Mrs. Harshwhinny sat grumpily at her desk while her students finished their math problems.
We should attack.
Octavia Melody walked briskly down the school hallways, lunchbox in hand.
I don’t think that’s what she meant when she told you to keep things under control.
Vinyl Scratch took a bite from a shiny red apple as she sat in the music room, turning knobs and adjusting sliders on her synthesizer.
But if we apprehend them, it’ll be under control, right?
Mrs. Harshwhinny noticed a student looking her way, and sent him a stare from hell until he got back to work.
Exactly. This is our only chance to redeem ourselves.
Octavia entered the cafeteria, taking note of the Rainbooms whispering among themselves around their table.
No offence, sir, but if we do this, we won’t be eating for weeks.
Cloud Kicker cheered as she scored a basket, high fiving her teammates. Her eyes darted quickly to the parking lot.
Our Queen! Our Queen is here!
Lyra Heartstrings jolted in her seat. Behind her, Bon Bon’s eyes narrowed.
What?! Why?!
Sweetie Belle grabbed a handful of napkins and hastily cleaned up the milk she had spit on the cafeteria table.
Really? Why can’t I reach her?
Amethyst Star held a dead stare towards the Rainbooms’ table.
It must be her duplicate. The monkey version of her.
Twinkleshine, who sat beside her, followed suit none too subtly.
Freaky. Is she on our side?
Trenderfoot lounged in the independent study room, lazily making his way through a sandwich.
Doubt it. We could always just attack someone near her and see what she does.
Flash, on his meandering journey through the school, waved at Derpy with a kind smile.
Hey, I found someone wandering the halls alone. Think I’m gonna get ‘er.
Octavia, now lunching at the table adjacent to the Rainbooms, made repressed noises of frustration. She didn’t realize that the girls had stopped talking.
Idiot! Someone could see you!
Green light slowly consumed Flash.
Who? There’s nobody here!
The side exits of the school that lay at the end of that particularly hallway opened wide.
The Rainbooms (with the exception of Twilight, who was busy in her lab) had agreed to meet up outside the library before going to lunch; it didn’t seem like a great idea to go anywhere alone. Sunset was leaning against a locker, the first one there, as she had a free period before their conveniently shared lunch period. Sandalwood was idling a few doors down, tapping at his phone, and Sunset was thankful for the students flooding the halls. He wouldn’t take action if it would blow his cover. Instead, he settled for what he thought was a surreptitious glance every now and again.
Applejack and Pinkie Pie arrived soon after Sunset, followed by Fluttershy thirty seconds later. Rarity was, as typical, fashionably late, and Rainbow was decidedly unfashionably late a minute after her.
“Heh, sorry,” she apologized. “I just spent the last three minutes wandering around trying to remember where you said to meet up.”
“An’ why am I not surprised?” Applejack said facetiously.
“At least she’s here now. That counts for something.” Rarity turned to Sunset. “Well, should we get down to business?”
Sunset’s eyes darted to Sandalwood. “Not here. We need the cover of the lunchroom. It’s so loud in there, nobody will be able to eavesdrop.”
As the group marched down the halls, Pinkie Pie’s eyes narrowed, her lips pinched tightly together, and her head drew back from the hoards of students passing them. When her suspicious gaze turned to Flash Sentry, who had just waltzed out of the boys’ bathroom, Sunset had to ask what the big deal was.
“They’re here,” Pinkie whispered back in response.
“Who?” Fluttershy questioned, looking frightened.
“The changelings! They’re all here! Every single one!”
Applejack gave her a look. “Ya saw all of ‘em, today? Already?”
Pinkie threw her arms out. “Yes! It’s totes suspish!”
Rarity cringed. “Pinkie, please never say that again.”
Having reached the lunch room, Sunset pushed the doors open, and the six of them sat down at their regular table. Collectively, they leaned forward and spoke under the din of the cafeteria, their words swallowed by the sea of voices before they could reach unwanted ears.
Rainbow was the first to speak. “If they are all here, then I’d say they’re going to attack today!”
Sunset hummed. “It’s likely. Rainbow, Applejack, do you two still have the thaumic compressors with you?” Sunset had worked late last night with a copy of Twilight’s blueprints to create a second compressor; it wasn’t much, but it was the best they could manage on such short notice.
The two of them nodded.
“I’d rather not have to fight aliens two days in a row,” Rarity whined. “I just got a manicure before the whole scuffle yesterday, and it’s already ruined enough as it is.”
The conversation paused briefly as Octavia Melody walked by their table, taking her seat at the one next to it.
Surprisingly, Fluttershy picked it back up. “I’m not sure if I’d be very useful in a fight. I’d probably just get in the way…”
Rainbow nodded in agreement. Applejack elbowed her in the ribs.
“Well, what would you do if a mean dog tried to bite you?” Pinkie asked cheerily.
“Oh. Um, well, I’d probably try talking to it first, and if that didn’t work, I’d have to use… The Stare.”
“Then try using… The Stare. On the changelings!” Pinkie suggested.
“I…” Fluttershy paused thoughtfully. “I guess that might work.”
“They’re not exactly animals. I doubt some harsh look’s gunna do anything,” Rainbow argued.
“Hey, ya never know ‘til ya try,” said Applejack.
Their attention was briefly drawn to some commotion across the lunchroom—Sweetie Belle had spat milk all over her table.
“Tsk!” Rarity frowned. “Will she never learn her manners?”
It was then that Sunset made eye contact with Amethyst Star and Twinkle Shine, who were blatantly staring straight at them. Sunset nervously smiled and waved, all the while noticing even more eyes that occasionally turned their way. Frankly, it was incredibly creepy.
“Don’t look now,” she warned, “but I think we’re being watched.”
The Rainbooms froze in their seats, growing deathly quiet.
Twilight stuck out her tongue as she fiddled with her locket, making sure its thaumometer was displaying correctly. When it was sufficiently fine-tuned, she turned to her newest project.
She had thrown the demanafier together incredibly quickly, though it hadn’t been hard, seeing as it was just a larger-scale version of the absorption and containment functions of the locket. She flipped it on, and large vents around the sides started to hiss mechanically. Twilight smiled to herself as the arcane readings on the locket dropped to zero in a matter of seconds, but it quickly became a frown as a purple light shone from the demanafier. The glow forced Twilight to avert her eyes, but it only grew brighter by the second.
Eyes pinched tight, she managed to fumble her locket into absorption mode (it was no small feat), and the searing yellow past her eyelids grew dimmer as the excess magic was vacuumed up. Opening her eyes, she quickly flipped off the demanafier. Looked like it was experiencing the same containment issues her locket had been during the Friendship Games, and, just like the locket, it seemed incapable of absorbing the magic it produced. Was that a law or something? She was digressing. At least she had had the foresight to shift the default emittance to illusionary magic; she didn’t want a repeat of the motocross incident.
With a sigh and no further ado, Twilight dove back into the process of debugging. She didn’t have much time.