//------------------------------// // Coping with Adversity and Revelations // Story: Caelum Contortum: Snarled Stories // by JapaneseTeeth //------------------------------// While the gods are typically omnipotent within their universes, very few are omniscient. It's quite an odd phenomenon, as the attributes of divinity are typically identified as omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipresence. But that's not the kind of godhood we are talking about. Chapter 3: Coping with Adversity and Revelations “Log #1 May 22nd. It's been two days since I arrived here. I decided that even though I have no way of contacting Celestia or any other ponies I should still write down my thoughts. It should help me calm down a bit if I can get everything onto paper. Writing things out has always helped me organize my thoughts, so hopefully it will keep me from freaking out too much. Here goes. I mean, I had read about humans before, but I never thought that they really existed. When I found out that this world had humans in it, I just wanted to hide from them. That didn't work out too well. One of them stumbled into the bush where I was hiding and found me. The good news is that she turned out to be really nice. I'm not sure what I had been expecting, but it caught me off guard for some reason. She told me that I had appeared in a giant, city-sized school where she was a student. She called her teacher using some sort of magic, and he brought some other students out and took me back to their dormitory. Apparently, here, not everyone knows about magic, and because there aren't any other unicorns or talking ponies here they thought I might scare somepony or something. While I was there, they asked me a bunch of questions about whom I was and where I was from. At first I was a little suspicious, but I'm pretty sure that I can trust them. I think they were even scared of me. It never really occurred to me that they didn't really know what was going on either. We talked for quite a while; they were curious about Equestria, and I had a lot of questions about wherever it was that I've ended up. There were a couple of humans that I got to know a little. Negi was their teacher. It's a little strange, because he's actually younger than his students, and he actually lives in the building with them. Apparently it's one of those schools where the students stay there all the time. It reminds me a little of when I left home to go study under Princess Celestia. He was very polite, although he seemed really agitated about something. I guess he has a lot on his mind, being a teacher and everything. The girl who found me was named Nodoka. She reminds me a little bit of Fluttershy. She's quiet, but she was also really nice. She talked to me a little right after she ran into me. I think she was just as shaken as I was, but she helped me calm down. It's probably a good thing that she found me like that; I don't know what I would have done otherwise. Nodoka is one of the people in Negi's class who do know about magic. She actually had this magic book that lets her read people's thoughts. I let her use it on me for a few minutes. It was kind of creepy, but she didn't use it for long and afterward they didn't seem to be as scared of me, so I guess it was worth it. Nodoka told me later that she doesn't like using too much because it feels weird to look into somepon- somebody else's mind like that. Negi said that he would take me to talk to the school principal about what to do. Until then, I'm going to stay in his room and do some research. Two of Negi's students are also in the room with him. Asuna can be a little grouchy, but she's not too bad when you get to know her. Konoka is really nice, and she's a really good cook too. They're in class most of the day though, so I'm usually alone in the room. There's also Chamo. He's an ermine. Asuna says that he's a jerk and a pervert, but he seems nice enough to me. It's actually kind of nice to have him around; I like having another non-human to talk to. He comes in and out during the day, so I don't get too lonely. He even curled up to sleep with me. It was sort of like having a little teddy bear with me, although he wriggles around a bit in his sleep. But it's not like I was really going to sleep all that well anyway. Nodoka got an encyclopedia out of the library for me so that I can learn more about this world while I waited to meet the principal. (Chamo said he could show me this thing called the internet with even more information on it, but Asuna said that I'm not ready for that yet). So far I've managed to keep myself occupied by reading it. This world is sort of like Equestria, but there are some really weird differences. The humans don't have any control over the weather at all; it just happens on its own and they have to deal with it. They don't have cutie marks either, so it takes them a lot longer to figure out what they want to do. I guess that writing about all the differences between Equestria and this world would take a really long time, so I should probably leave that for later when I find out more about where I am. They call it Earth, but that seems to be a name for the entire world rather than just the part that they live in. Negi said that there's actually far more in this world than just Earth and it's up in the sky or something. I thought he might have been talking about floating cities like Cloudsdale, but he meant something else. Anyway, apparently there was a disturbance in the sky here as well. I have a few of the books that were with me when I got sent here, so there might be something in those books that will help explain what happened both here and in Equestria. Nodoka says that the school has a very large library, so there might be some books in there as well that will help us understand what happened. I actually think that I can hear Negi coming back now, so I guess the first journal entry will have to end here, even though I have a lot of other things I want to write down. “How's your journal coming along?” Konoka asked as she looked up from the stove in the corner of the room. “It's going fine, I guess.” Twilight turned around awkwardly. The chair was obviously not made to be used by a pony. “It took me a while to get used to this.” She pointed a hoof at the ballpoint pen that was hovering beside her head. “I'm used to using a quill. This is way more convenient though. I don't have to worry about knocking the inkwell over.” “You still had to use inkwells in Equestria?” “Yeah, I guess we never got around to figuring out how to-” She stopped as Negi burst into the room, clutching a giant stack of papers in his arms. “Good afternoon, Twilight. Are you having a good day?” “I suppose so.” Twilight sighed as she closed the journal. “I've been doing a lot of reading, same as usual. It hasn't been too bad, although I have to admit I'm getting a little tired of being in this room all the time.” “I have good news about that, actually.” He grunted as he dumped the papers onto the table. “I was talking to the principal again and he says that he'll be able to meet with you first thing tomorrow morning. He's already thinking about possible places for you to stay, so if all goes well you won't have to be cooped up in here for much longer.” “That's great!” “It's good to hear that grandpa is finally getting his act together.” Konoka chuckled as poked at the food in her frying pan. “I've been bothering him all day about making time for the meeting.” “Well, he has been very busy lately.” Negi shrugged. “I mean, he's been consulting with experts all over the place trying to figure out exactly what's been going on.” “So is there anything that I should do before the meeting?” Twilight asked as she stuffed her journal into her bag. “Do I need to dress up or anything?” “You'll be fine the way you are,” Konoka called out from behind a haze of steam. “Grandpa doesn't really care much about stuff like that. You should just relax. It's not like he's going to interrogate you or anything. Don't worry about it too much.” “That's sure easy to say...” Twilight began to climb off the chair. “I mean, even if he does find somewhere else to stay, what am I supposed to do? Am I just stuck here? Do I just hang around until somepony figures something out? Am I just going to-” She paused, recognizing the sound of a laugh being stifled. Or, rather, a failed attempt at a laugh being stifled. And it was definitely female. “Sorry...” Konoka giggled. “It's just that the 'somepony' stuff is so adorable...” “Ugh...” Twilight crawled onto the couch and curled herself up. The last thing that she wanted was another reminder that she wasn't in Equestria anymore. So naturally, even the inanimate objects seemed to be hellbent on pointing out that fact at every available opportunity. Even when she had tried to lose herself in the journal, every few seconds the pen would reflexively flick towards the upper right corner of the desk. That was where she normally kept her inkwell on her desk back in her library in Ponyville. It was hard not to think about how far from home she was when every time she got a rude reminder of the fact every time she forgot that she wasn't using a quill. “Are you alright? Twilight?” “Huh!-?” She snapped out of her funk to see Negi's worried face looking at her. “Are you alright?” “Oh, yeah, I'm fine. Just a little stressed.” She blinked a few times, hoping it would clear her mind as much as it cleared her eyes. “Well don't be worried. I'll make sure that everything gets taken care of.” Negi smiled broadly as he put his hand on the top of Twilight's head. “I'll make sure of that.” “Thanks...” She closed her eyes as she rested her head on her forelegs. There was a nagging feeling in the back of her mind that the pat on the head would normally be considered condescending, but at the moment she didn't care. Something about him calmed her down, and that was the most important thing at the moment. He had been trying so hard to help her that she couldn't help but feel at ease. After all, the one time she had managed to forget where she was had been the night before during her conversation with Negi, comparing their respective magical styles. She never would have expected that the one thing that would get her mind off of home was talking about how different it was from where she had ended up... “I'M BACK!” There was a crash as Asuna kicked the door open. Her arms were wrapped around what appeared to be a gigantic hunk of sod. “I brought some grass for Twilight!” “Oh...uh...” Twilight eyed the tangle of dirt in Asuna's arms. There was barely enough grass on the thing to make a decent appetizer, but the girl had obviously gone out of her way to bring it, and after two days with no foliage, it actually looked quite appetizing. “Thanks...” “Oh, good!” Negi exclaimed as he popped out of his seat. “You remembered.” “Yeah, I remembered,” she grunted. “Where do you want me to put this thing? It's freaking heavy.” “Just give me a moment.” Negi scrambled over to where Asuna was standing. “I'll get you a newspaper or something to put it on.” He turned back to Twilight. “I thought you might want some, so I had her pick some up on her way back from art club.” “Thank you.” Twilight could smell the turf from across the room. It wasn't quite the same scent as Equestrian grass, but it was still good enough to make her hungry. The floor trembled as Asuna dumped the sod on the coffee table. “You're welcome,” Asuna mumbled as she flopped onto the couch next to Twilight, coughing into her fist a few times before finally relaxing. “Asuna, you're getting dirt all over the couch!” Konoka shook a spatula at her roommate. “Why don't you go clean up before we eat?” “Fine, fine...” She pried herself off the couch with a groan and began to shuffle towards the door. “Oh, that reminds me...” She turned around. “You're meeting with the Principal tomorrow, right?” “Yes. Negi arranged it for me.” “Well, you might want to get cleaned up a little bit before the meeting. I mean, nothing personal, but it's been like three days, and you haven't had a bath or anything yet, and the room is starting to get a bit...horse-y.” “Asuna, that's rude!” Negi gasped. “You can't say something like that to a guest!” “Oh, come on!” She rubbed her nose. “Don't say that you haven't noticed. It's not like she can help it or anything, but just look at the couch. It's got purple hair all over it.” “Still...” Negi crossed his arms. “It just isn't polite to come out and say it like that...” “No, she's right...” Twilight smiled awkwardly as she examined the sofa, noticing the scattering of purple for the first time. “I really do need a bath or something.” She arched her neck back at took a quick sniff of one of her flanks. “Eagh.” She cringed. “Yeah, a bath would probably be a good idea. I wouldn't want to smell bad or anything tomorrow. Do you have somewhere where I could take one?” “There's a community bath at the end of the hallway,” Konoka offered. “Maybe we could sneak you out of the room.” “Yes, that would probably be the best option.” Negi put a hand to his chin and began to stare into space, looking unnecessarily pensive. “Tonight would probably be best. Policy is for everyone in the dorm to stay in their rooms after midnight, so there shouldn't be anyone in there.” “Sounds like a plan!” Asuna gave Negi a pat on the back; one hard enough that it could qualify as a slap. “And you might want to show Twilight how to use this.” She snatched a lint roller off of the counter and pressed it into Negi's hands. “Sooner or later somebody who's not in the whole magic thing is going to come in here, and they're going to be curious about the purple hair.” She sniffed. “And I think I might be allergic to horses....” “Do all of you really need to be here?” Twilight mumbled. “Technically, no,” Yue answered as she scrubbed the pony's back. “But the most efficient way to get you from your room to the bath was to surround you with people.” “Besides, it'll go a lot faster if we all help,” Nodoka added. “You might want to close your eyes for a moment.” Twilight complied as Nodoka kneading shampoo into her mane. “Don't worry, you'll get used to this kind of thing,” Chamo commented as he watched from the edge of the water. “Communal bathing is par for the course around here.” “Why are you even here?” Asuna looked back over her shoulder. “You aren't even doing anything. Why don't you take lookout duty?” “Nah, I'm fine where I am.” Asuna rolled her eyes at the ermine before turning back to her post. “Why do I even ask? A bunch of girls in the bath? Of course he's going to...what the heck is that...?” She squinted into the darkness trying to discern whether the figure in the hallway was actually there, or just a figment of her imagination. As the figure began to solidify in her vision, it became evident that it was the latter. She spun around. “Somebody's coming! Everybody get in the water.” Ten seconds later, Twilight found herself squashed behind the other girls against the edge of the pool underneath a large, overhanging plant, trying to stay as quiet as possible. “I thought no one else was supposed to be in here at night!” Konoka whispered. “They aren't supposed to be here,” Asuna grumbled. “At least we had special permission from Negi...” “Shhh…” Yue elbowed her into silence as the main door of the bath squeaked open. Yue groaned as she heard a familiar voice echo through the bath chamber. “Okay, you can come out now!” “Of course it had to be Haruna...” Yue mumbled. She silenced herself as a loud rustling filled the air, followed by a loud gasp and a voice that she didn't recognize. “Eaah! Were you trying to suffocate me or something?” “Oh shut up.” Haruna again. “It was the only way to get you in here without someone seeing.” “Oh, wow.” The other voice seemed to be ignoring Haruna's explanation in favor of admiring the size of the bath. “This place is pretty nice.” “Yeah, it really is. Now get in the water before somebody finds us.” “Come on, just give me a few minutes to fly around first. I haven't gotten to stretch my wings since I got here.” “Well, you can't fly in here. If someone saw you, even I wouldn't be able to explain it!” Nodoka leaned over in an attempt to hear better. She knew the voice that Haruna was using. It was the voice Haruna used when she was arguing against something that she actually wanted. Naturally, this didn't happen often, so it was quite recognizable. “Hey, after keeping me under your bed for the last few days, you owe me! Besides, I already told you about all the awesome tricks I can do. You know you want to see them.” “Well, yeah. Just not now.” “I think I recognize that voice...” Twilight began to sidle along the edge of the pool to get a better look. As she attempted to peek out from under the plant, she felt a gentle tug on her tail. She turned back to see Nodoka shaking her head. “If Haruna sees you, we're all going to get in a ton of trouble. Everybody will find out about you!” “I'll be careful.” Twilight lowered herself into the water as she slowly peeked out from behind the leaves. She could see a human with long black hair and glasses, shaking a fist and yelling at some unseen entity. “Will you get in the water already? We don't have all night!” “Oh, just give me a minute to stretch my wings! I haven't been able to fly at all.” Twilight tried to breathe evenly. The voice almost certainly belonged to Rainbow Dash. But then, her entire world had pretty much collapsed in on itself a few days back. If that could happen, it was entirely possible that it was a coincidence, and whoever it was only sounded exactly like Rainbow Dash. And apparently had wings. “Well, if you're going to waste time fluttering around like that, could you at least do one of these tricks you've been blabbering about for the past two days?” “Sure! How about a Calculated Ricochet Agility Super Hyperdash?” “I have no idea what that is, but it sounds awesome! Go for it!” “Okay, here we go!” Twilight could hear the rapidly accelerating flapping of wings. On the one hoof, the sound was reassuring. She had probably heard it a hundred times; it was unmistakable. Rainbow Dash was on the other side of the plant. On the other hoof, Rainbow Dash's wings only sounded quite like this in a very specific situation: when she was gearing up to perform some sort of epic flight maneuver. As in, the types of tricks that almost certainly couldn't be performed inside the bath. She considered calling out a warning. Or simply sticking her head out of her hiding place and calling to her friend. After all, if this Haruna person already knew about Rainbow Dash, it couldn't get too much worse- Twilight snapped out of her contemplations at the sound of a loud splat directly above her. She cringed. That sound was slightly less common, but Twilight still recognized it. Rainbow Dash tended to make that same sound when she miscalculated her high-speed entrances through Twilight's library window. “EAAHHH!” The combined sounds of a splash and half a dozen screams erupted from the hiding place as the multicolored pegasus crashed into the water. For a few moments, the bath was a tangle of churning water, soap, and rapidly flailing limbs. “What the hell?” Haruna cocked her head at the splashes and screams that were echoing from the other side of the pool. She didn't really know anything about pegasi, but she was quite sure that it would take more than one of them to raise such a ruckus. It was also more than a little suspicious that more than a few of the screaming voices sounded familiar. As she began to scramble to a better vantage point, she could make out a group of figures scurrying out of their hiding place. Two of them were ponies. One of them was Rainbow Dash. The other one she didn't recognize. The rest of the people were human. And she recognized all of them. They were her classmates. They froze as they noticed her standing on the edge of the pool, hands on her hips. “What on earth is going on here?” “Well, I was flying around, trying to get a better view, and then I looked down and everything was like way too far away. I tried to fly back down, but everything started spinning and you were floating in the air for some reason; like the hill that had just moved out from under you. I tried to grab on, but for some reason I couldn't go in the right direction. I couldn't even see where the ground went. Then I could see it again, but it wasn't Ponyville. It was...wherever it is we are.” “So when you appeared here, you were still conscious and still in the air?” Twilight swam out of the way as Rainbow Dash rushed past, using her wings to propel herself across the bath. “Yeah, so I flew down and figured that I should probably hide somewhere until I figured out where I was so I hid in a tree. Then Haruna found me, stuffed me into a bag and dragged me back to her room. So I've basically been hiding from her roommates under her bed, and watching movies while they're out. You should see these movie things! They're like these pictures that move around and stuff, and there are explosions and robots and people flying around in space! It's so awesome! You really need to see it sometime.” “Uh…that sounds...interesting...” Twilight answered, not sure at all what her friend was talking about. “Yeah, it was pretty cool. What were you doing all this time?” “Well...” The most accurate answer was something along the lines of “trying not to have a nervous breakdown”, but that probably wasn't exactly what Rainbow Dash was asking. And Twilight's nerves were still more than a little jittery; the last thing she wanted to do was actively focus on that feeling. “Mostly I kept a journal and read up on the history of this world.” “Shoulda figured you'd still be studying...” Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Well, I don't know how long we're going to be stuck here, so I figured I'd learn about where I am. I also had a few of my astronomy books with me, so I've been looking through them to see if I can figure out what happened.” “So, did you find anything?” “No...” Twilight reluctantly admitted. “The only thing I can think of is that Luna is reverting back into Nightmare Moon. She controls the night sky, and it even took place during the No-Moon festival. The whole thing just seems very suspicious.” “Her again?” The pegasus flopped onto her back once again. “I thought she was on our side now. She did a public apology and everything. Even Princess Celestia said she was okay.” “I know, but we can't be sure. I can't think of anypony else who's powerful enough to do something like this...” “Well, if she shows up again, we'll just have to summon the Elements of Harmony again.” Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs. “We beat her once and we can do it again!” “But there are only two of us...” Twilight answered. “We can't summon them like that.” “Eh, we don't need all of them!” Rainbow Dash smacked the water with a hoof. “We totally got this by ourselves. We only need two elements!” She thrust the hoof at Twilight. “You've got the magic-” She patted herself on the chest. “And I've got the...uh.... Awesomeness!” “I think you mean 'Loyalty',” Twilight responded dryly. “Yeah, that. Whatever.” Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in the air. “We'll be able to take her out. Pow!” She punched the water. “I kinda hope I'm wrong, and it isn't Nightmare Moon...” Twilight dodged Rainbow Dash's splashing. “I got to talk to Princess Luna for a little bit after the Gala and she seemed really nice, like she was really sorry for everything that she had done.” “Well, maybe you're wrong then. That's happened before, hasn't it?” “Yeah...” Twilight sighed. “But this is the one time I actually hope I'm not right...” There had been a number of points in Haruna's life where she had received a revelation so stunning that it resulted in a whole new epoch in her existence. Specifically, the number was two. The first revelation had been her discovery that she enjoyed drawing and didn't suck at it. It had occurred at the age of eight, when some unwitting relative had left an illustrated collection of the works of H.P. Lovecraft next to a box of crayons. The result was the most realistic depiction of the Great Old One ever put to paper; to the point that it was eventually burned, sealed in a canister, and buried. But the second revelation dwarfed Haruna's discovery of her artistic ability. She would have killed for magic. Not literally, but in a figurative sense, she would have given almost anything to have made that dream a reality. X-ray vision, flight, turning lead into gold, turning herself into an axlotl, magical mustache summoning powers...she would have taken anything. So naturally, when she discovered not only that magic did in fact exist, but that her teacher and two best friends were totally in on it, the feeling was comparable to getting a pony for Christmas. Of course, the fact that it was all going on under her nose made it more like the pony had actually been there all along, and had only been revealed on Christmas. And then there was the fact that the revelation in question was accidental, so it was really like waking up on Christmas morning to discover that your family had been hiding a pony from you for your whole life, and the only reason you found out about it is because they didn't realize that you would get up early to go to the bathroom. So it was an awkward revelation with a few awkward questions involved, but the revelation in question was so awesome that you can momentarily forget that you've been left out of the loop. So maybe it isn't like getting a pony for Christmas at all, other than the fact that it was in fact a literal pony that accompanied the revelation. “Okay, stop...” Konoka held up a hand. “Let's go back to the beginning, okay, Haruna?” The girl just nodded dumbly. “Good.” Konoka stood up and gestured for Haruna to take her seat. “You're going to want to sit down for this.” “Okay...” Haruna let herself plop onto the bench next to Yue. Her tremendous tolerance for absurdity was getting closer to its limit than it had been in years. “Negi is actually a mage.” “What.” Haruna's eye began to twitch. “But how is that-” “Shh.” Konoka held up a finger. “You should probably ask him to explain his background to you. Long story short, several of our classmates have been let in on it. Asuna was the first. She found out shortly after he arrived. A few others, including myself, Yue, and Nodoka first learned about Negi's nature during the class trip. Several students were also aware of the existence of magic before Negi even arrived. Setsuna, Evangeline, Chachamaru, and Mana all knew. In addition, a number of faculty members at Mahora are mages. My grandfather is actually the head of the magic association in this region. Oh, Setsuna is actually part Tengu, and Evangeline is actually a vampire and several hundred years old. Also, Chachamaru is a robot.” “Eh?” Haruna's brain grounded to a halt. Even for her, this was far too much information to process in far too short a time. “Negi's here!” Asuna called. Once again, she had been relegated to her position as lookout. The diminutive teacher scurried around her. “What's going on?” He tilted his head at the bath, where Twilight and Rainbow Dash were splashing around as they caught up with each other. “Where did the blue pony come from?” Yue stood up and approached her teacher as Nodoka and Konoka began to attend to Haruna. “She apparently appeared around the same time Twilight did, only Haruna found her before anyone else. Somehow she managed to hide her in our room. I'm rather embarrassed that I failed to notice the pony's presence. Perhaps I was too distracted by Twilight to notice. It does explain why our room was starting to smell rather pony-like, though.” “How did she manage that?” Negi asked, regarding Rainbow Dash's size with curiosity. “She stuffed me under her bed, that's how.” Rainbow Dash stuck her head out of the water. “Sooooo cramped. Dusty too. I barely even fit under there.” “That's because you ate like all of my snacks!” Haruna snapped. “I've never seen anyone eat so many Bugles! Is that what screwed up your little trick?” She pointed at the circle of cracks on the ceiling. “Shut up!” Rainbow Dash sniffed. “I'm just rusty. I haven't been able to fly at all since I got here, and my wings hurt from being crammed under your bed. Give me some open space and a little warm up time and BAM!” She thrust a hoof into the air. “It'll be so awesome you won't even believe it! When do I get to go outside, anyway?” “We're working on that, miss...uh....” Negi's voice stumbled to a halt. “Oh, right, I forgot to introduce here!” Twilight threw a foreleg over Rainbow Dash's shoulder. “This is my friend Rainbow Dash. She lived in Ponyville, too. We were investigating that hole in the sky I told you about when we got brought here.” “Okay, my turn to do introductions!” Haruna shoved her way past her friends, putting her hand on top of Negi's head. “This is Negi. Despite his shortness, he's actually our teacher. Those girls...” She pointed at Yue and Nodoka. “…you actually should recognize them already, but just for the sake of a proper introduction, this is Yue, and this is Nodoka.” “Hello.” Yue bobbed her head in the pony's direction, starting to blush slightly as she realized that she had been unknowingly watched for the past few days. “Nice to meet you, Ms. Dash.” Nodoka bowed gracefully. “Eh, just 'Rainbow Dash' is fine.” The pony wagged a hoof in Nodoka's direction. “I really don't care about--” “Anyway!” Haruna stepped in between them. “The pissed off redhead over by the door is Asuna. She's a bit abrasive, but she's...tolerable…when you get to know her.” Asuna gave a sheepish wave before turning back to the door. “The friendly looking girl next to my roommates is Konoka. A little bit loopy, but you'll like her.” “Good to make your acquaintance!” Konoka knelt next to the edge of the pool and extended a hand. The pony stared at the appendage, unsure of exactly what she was supposed to do. After a moment she shrugged and held up her foreleg. She flinched as Konoka snatched it and gave it a strong shake. “Uh...yeah...you too...” Rainbow Dash glanced at her hoof for a moment looking back towards Haruna. “And last, but certainly not least, this is Chamo. If you couldn't tell, he's an ermine. And yes, he can talk.” “Hey.” The ermine scurried up to the edge of the pool and scrambled onto Rainbow Dash's back. “How are you doing?” “I'd warn you about him, but you don't really have any underwear for him to steal.” “Underwear?” Rainbow Dash cocked her head at the ermine as she climbed out of the pool, being careful not to tip him off. “I'll explain later.” Haruna tossed a towel over the pony's head, forcing the ermine to jump to the floor. “Get off of her.” “Okay, here's the current plan.” Negi waved his arms as he tried to regain the attention of the students and ponies. “First thing tomorrow morning, we're all going to a meeting with the Headmaster to figure out what to do about the current situation. We'll try to find you some more comfortable living quarters.” “Good to hear.” Rainbow Dash muttered as she shook the water off of her flanks. “I wanna sleep in a bed, not under one.” “You could spend the night in my room.” Twilight offered. “There's space on the couch.” She turned to Negi. “If you don't mind, of course.” “No, no, that's fine.” He nodded. “It's understandable that you'd want to spend some time with your friend after everything you've been through. The good news is that hopefully by this time tomorrow, we'll have everything sorted out.” Naturally, it was at that precise moment that an unknown figure quite unwittingly took advantage of the fact that Asuna was distracted, and proceeded to bust through the bathroom door. Roughly 19 hours later: “Hey, what's that?” Yuuna pointed at the ceiling of the bath. “There's a hole up there!” “That's odd...” Akira squinted at the suspiciously pony-shaped dent. “How on earth did that happen? It wasn't there yesterday...” “What a weird shape...” Ako scratched her head. “I wonder what caused it.” “It's shaped kinda like a pony!” Makie giggled. “What are you talking about!-?” Ako stared at the pink haired girl. “Why would there be a pony-shaped hole in the ceiling?” “I don't know.” Makie shrugged. “It kinda looks like it has wings...” “So you're saying that a winged pony caused that...?” Yuuna rolled her eyes. “That doesn't make any sense.” “Well, it does look sort of like a winged pony...” Akira admitted. “There's no such thing as a winged pony!” Yuuna stomped her foot. “Then what do you think caused that?” Makie pointed at the indentation. “I don't know.” Yuuna shrugged before hopping into the water. “Probably Haruna.” “Yeah, you're probably right.” Makie sighed. “I kinda wish that it was a pony, though...”