Chapter Thirty-Six
Vix-Lei
Vix-Lei and the rest of them took a moment to examine themselves as for some reason they’d all become some sort of weird minotaurs.
“What the fuck happened to us?” That was Xvital; the former kitty cat was now a bit taller than before; her dark blue hair was cropped short in the back, and her skin was a mixture of purple and blue. She was wearing an open tan yellow jacket over a soft green top and wearing some black pants with white worn shoes on her feet.
“I don’t know but I am not too fond of not having my wings,” Looking to the right of her had to be Nighty who was twisting around, trying to see his back. He had the same light gray-coloured skin, the same scar over his eye, and the same windblown hair, but now he was wearing a dark red formal looking jacket, with a badge that had a silver sword over a black background on its right breast, over a white collared shirt and black tie. He was also wearing polished black shoes and corduroy pants. And he was not happy, if the normal grumpy look on his face was anything to go by.
“Nor me,” Windy grumbled as he patted his sides of his reddish-gold jacket. “Not only are my wings gone but my crossbow and my booze are missing too!” He slammed his orangish-pink hands onto his faded blue pants and kicked the ground with well-worn looking yellow shoes.
“But you were abstaining from drinking, correct?” Rexy asked and somehow she knew that this was the perfect outfit for him. He had his normal vest but it was over a high-neck blue shirt with loose sleeves and sharp dark gray pants with white and black casual-looking shoes, though in somewhat better shape than Windy’s slightly worn ones.
“Uh…” Wind trailed off, his face heating up with embarrassment as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“Wind Breaker,” Page hissed at him. She looked very much a librarian would; she was wearing a dark green blazer over a white blouse and a blue-green skirt. Her skin was the same yellow as her pony self’s fur, she had her light green hair all combed up, and her shoes were tiny things on her feet. “You were doing so well.”
“Hey, I’ve been on the stuff for so long, it’s hard to get out of the habit all at once!” Wind Breaker protested.
Page crossed her arms and tapped one foot, giving him a look. “I can understand that. But it’s a habit you need to get out of… the withdrawal will be hard, but we’re here to help you.”
Wind Breaker smiled faintly. “Yeah… thanks.”
“As good as this is guys,” Vix-Lei said as she took a weak stop forwards-why were her legs so weird now? She was wearing her normal skirt over some short dark red pants and had a white top on her chest, something that was a bit odd after going without for so long. “Shouldn't we figured out where we are or what’s…” She trailed off and then did a double-take, and looked down to make sure her eyes weren’t fooling her. But they weren’t.
“EE-YES!” Vix-Lei whooped as she gazed at the lower half of her body. “I have actual pants now!”
Then she caught the odd looks everytaur else was giving her and blushed, brushing her bluish-black hair back and wincing at the lack of her horns. “Eh-heh… sorry.”
“Beyond the obvious,” Rex said as he glanced around the clearing they were in. “It seems that this mirror has transported us to somewhere very different than what we are used to.”
“A school if that name’s anything to go by,” Vix-Lei said, pointing at the massive building behind them. “See? Canterlot High School. Says it on the sign right over the doors.”
“Would explain all the kids around,” Xvital said as she shuffled around with Vix-Lei now noticing all the kids with backpacks looking at them. “I think we should get moving and out of the open - people are looking at us.”
“You think they’d mind a group of strangers coming in to look around?” Wind Breaker asked.
“That depends,” Page replied. “If this is a school though…” she looked thoughtful. “I wonder where their library is.”
“I’m sure we’ll figure it out,” Night Blade told her. “In the meantime, Xvital is right, and I can’t believe I just said that,” he added with a groan. “We need to get moving.” Taking a step, he swayed. “Or… trying to move.”
“It’s hard enough having these long legs and no wings for support,” Wind Breaker grumbled as he walked stiffly. “I can’t believe how much my tail actually helped to keep my balance.”
“It’s not that hard,” Page said as she walked around with a smile on her face.
“Speak for yourself,” Vix-Lei said as she tried to walk but her legs were just wrong now! She wasn’t suppose to be able to see her kneecaps, and there was something she never would have imagined anytaur ever thinking! “You’re used to changing into new shapes.”
“Actually…” Page said with a blush on her face. “My unicorn self is pretty much the most I know; I could add wings or pretend to be an Earth Pony but other than that…”
“Again, we should get moving and figure out how we are going to get my Element back,” Xvital said, causing Vix-Lei to feel her neck and was relieved to discover the familiar metal of her Element, with the others doing the same. “Also figure out who that mare was. And we should probably try to keep as out of sight at possible. Bad enough all those kids are looking at us,” she grumbled. “I’m sure we don’t look suspicious at all just standing around like this. Come, let’s go find a place we can claim as a base and observe the people here to find out who took my Element and make plans to get it back from here.”
“Or…” Vix-Lei said, cutting off the former kitty cat. “We can just go inside, talk to the people that run this place and get help that way.”
“That makes a terrifying amount of sense,” Rex said, blinking in actual concern although she could see the smirk on Rex’s’ face. She wasn’t that bad! “Shall we head on then and see whom is the principal of this school?”
“...Yeah,” Xvital finally said. “All right. Let’s go.”
“Wait!” Page suddenly shouted. “I just thought of something.” Turning around, she pressed a hand against the base of the statue they were standing in front of, and sighed in relief as she saw one hand go through it. “Whatever this is, I’m pretty sure it takes us back to Equestria.” She looked at Xvital. “Wait up for me, will you? I’ll be back in just a moment, I just need to make sure.” And with that, she ran through the statue, leaving five blinking companions to stare after her.
“Why do I have the feeling there’s something more going on here than we know?” Wind Breaker asked.
“Whatever it is, I am certain Page will inform us if we need to know,” Rex said. “And when she’s ready to tell us.”
A minute later, Page emerged, looking as she had the first time. “Right, that’s all settled. So!” She clapped her hands together. “Let’s go.”
As the six headed for the doors and began to climb the stairs at the front of the building, Vix-Lei noticed Night Blade stumble a bit as he started up them, only for Page to catch him. She blushed a bit, before guiding his hand to the railing, and continued on. Night nodded in thanks, then furrowed his forehead as he kept going, watching the stairs carefully.
Once inside, Vix-Lei stopped, eyes widening as she looked at one of the display cases off to the side. “Wow!” she said, as she studied her reflection. “I am ripped here!”
Wind Breaker snorted in amusement as he studied his own reflection. “And I don’t look too bad either,” he commented. “The face is a lot flatter than I’m used to, but from the looks of things, that’s normal for this species. Whatever it is,” he then frowned and ran a finger inside his mouth. “And I’ve got teeth now. Weird.”
“They are completely inefficient for eating anything tougher than meat,” Rex complained after he ran his tongue over his teeth.
“Come on, admire yourselves later,” Xvital said impatiently as she flexed her fingers and looked longingly at her butt. “We need to get-”
Just then, a bell rang, and students began pouring into the halls from every doorway.
“Moving,” the former ahuizotless said with a groan as they stepped to the side as students began to go to their next classes. She tried to call some of them out but only got brushed off “Screw this...” she grumbled as she grabbed a blonde haired girl with some cool looking eyes and was noshing on a muffin. “Hey, can you point us to whoever’s in charge?”
“Uh sure,” she said in a soft voice, with just a hint of a north Manehatten accent, pointing off in a direction. “Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna’s offices are down that way.” She then promptly walked off to her class.
Three sets of eyes immediately widened. “Did she say…” Page managed, “Principal Celestia?”
“And Vice Principal Luna‽” Night almost shouted but was smart enough not to do that in a school. People might come out and think they were just some kids playing hooky or something.
Wind’s own eyes were wide. “Either we heard that wrong, or something is definitely odd about this place,” he said faintly. “Or…”
“I believe it is this place,” Rex said sharply. “While I do not believe that they were goddesses, your rulers were noted to be kind and just ponies. I cannot begin to imagine them choosing to spend a thousand years in this place instead of returning back to Canterlot… our Canterlot...”
“Hey!” a voice rang out, and Vix-Lei turned to see another student looking at them, this one with blue hair and a black jacket. “Shouldn’t you be heading for… class…” the boy’s eyes widened as he stared directly at Nighty. “Um…”
“Yes?” Night arched an eyebrow at him. “Can I help you?”
“Yeah… listen, are you from Crystal Prep or something?”
“Crystal what?” Night looked confused. “I’m sorry, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“It’s another school, and for a moment there your outfit kinda looked like their uniforms.” The boy grinned sheepishly. “Guess not, if you’ve never heard of them.”
“No, I can’t say I have,” Night said. “I’m Night Blade, by the way.”
“Flash Sentry.” The boy stuck out his hand. “By the way, cool scar.”
“Oh… thank you.” Night Blade shook his hand somewhat hesitantly.
“Anyway, I gotta get to class. See ya around!” Flash waved, then dashed off.
“Nice guy,” Vix-Lei commented as she watched him go. “So, guess we’d better get going.”
Xvital nodded, then started walking in the direction the blonde girl had pointed.
“So this it,” Page said several minutes later as she looked at the door that said Principal Celestia written on the glass screen. “How should we do this?”
“I’ve got this,” Vix-Lei said confidently.
“...I believe I should do this, no offense Vix-Lei,” Rex said.
“Yeah, me too.” Wind Breaker added in with Night Blade and Xvital agreeing quickly and Page nodding her head.
“Nah, trust me guys,” she grinned impishly as she opened the door to see a woman with pinkish-white skin and long flowing hair in a mix of light bluish-green and pink, dressed in a yellow business jacket with a sun-shaped pin on its collar, working away at a desk.
She tilted her head up at them walking into her office, but before she could get a word in, Vix-Lei continued to speak. “Hello, I’m Vix-Lei,” she reached over to pull Night over. “This here is Night Blade and that’s Page Turner. The guy with the vest is Rex and the one with the wind jacket is Wind Breaker,” she paused only to grab the former ahuizotless and drag her forwards. “And this is poor Xvital; while we were passing your wonderful school, some mean girl ran past her and stole a very near and dear family heirloom and dashed inside. We were really hoping that you can help us get it back before we have to continue on our journey.”
The woman gazed up at them. “I see. And could you possibly describe this heirloom of yours?”
“Well, it’s this kind of horseshoe-shaped tiara,” Xvital said. “A little warped, and it had a broken gem on the top. And it’s really important that I get it back.”
“I see. And the girl who stole it?”
“Well, she was… amber, and her hair was red and yellow,” Xvital said as she glanced around the room. “And she had a really nasty look on her face…” Her own face paled, and she pointed. “Just… like… that one.”
Principal Celestia looked where she was pointing, and raised an eyebrow. “Is that the girl you say stole your heirloom?”
“Yes! That’s her exactly!” Xvital looked at the framed pictures on the principal’s wall, each showing a girl who was clearly the unicorn mare they’d seen before, but in a form resembling their own current ones and wearing a fancy-looking dress and a crown. “Though she wasn’t wearing that kind of outfit when I saw her…”
“I’m not surprised.” Principal Celestia sighed as she sat back. “Sunset Shimmer is one of my… problem students. Earlier this morning I caught her running across the grounds. But she wasn’t holding anything warped and bent. In fact, except for the jewel on top being broken, the crown she had looked exactly like it did before she must have stolen it from my sister’s office.” She shook her head. “Why Sunset felt the need to steal the Fall Formal crown when she could have won it fair and square is beyond me.”
“Um… won?” Xvital blinked. “And what’s a Fall Formal?”
“The Fall Formal is our annual fall dance,” Principal Celestia explained. “It’s also the first of three that we hold at Canterlot High each year, along with the Spring Fling and, for students who are about to graduate, the Senior Prom.” Standing up and crossing her arms behind her back, she walked over to look at the portraits.
“I still don’t understand the won part,” Vix-Lei commented. “Could you explain that?”
“Certainly.” Principal Celestia turned to face them. “Canterlot High has a long-running tradition of electing a Princess for every Fall Formal and Spring Fling. One or more students will sign up to run, and then their classmates vote for whomever they choose to support. The winner of the election receives a special crown for their efforts.” Her eyes moved back to the portraits, and she began to pace. “A year and a half ago, Sunset Shimmer moved to Canterlot in the middle of the school year. At first, she seemed the perfect student: talented, driven and, soon, very popular. She joined the school newspaper and quickly worked her way to the top. Then she put her name in for Princess of the Spring Fling and won in a landslide. But after that… I began to see what kind of person she really was.”
“What do you mean?” Night asked.
Principal Celestia sighed. “By all rights, I shouldn’t be telling you this. But I’ve long learned that sometimes, I need to go with my gut instincts, and they tell me that the six of you are good people who can do something about this.”
“We’re listening,” Page said. There was an odd look in her eye now.
“Very well.” Principal Celestia began to pace again. “The first signs I had of trouble were when five of my students, who had become quite close in the first half of their freshman year, all of a sudden stopped talking to one another around the time of Sunset’s first Spring Fling. I was worried, and found out Sunset had interviewed each of them for the paper a few weeks after she arrived. Not long after that, a series of events happened that caused them to break apart. Once I figured that out, I began to watch her interactions with the other students more closely. I saw her making seemingly friendly comments to others, but when I ran her words over in my head, I realized they were carefully phrased to create confusion and self-doubt in the listener.”
Rex nodded. “A typical strategy among the cruelest of beings, though one that requires a brilliant mind to successfully pull it off.” He sighed. “Unfortunately, I too have encountered such methods in my time.”
Principal Celestia nodded. “It was all too effective, I’m afraid. Gradually, she managed to break as many ties between the other students as possible, using such methods. Still, she won a second crown at last year’s Fall Formal. Since then, there have been other, more blatant acts of cruelty against some of the other students, but I could never pin those on her. In the end, without physical proof, there was nothing I could do, other than advise those students who had been affected to see the guidance counselors.”
“That’s horrible,” Page breathed. “And nobody can stand up to her?”
Principal Celestia nodded. “The damage has been done, I’m afraid. This school is divided by her actions. A few have tried to make it better, but their efforts fail when some horrible event happens to them. Poor miss Belle tried to run for Princess of at last year’s Spring Fling, but wound up publicly humiliated after someone anonymously posted a video of her… well.” She cleared her throat. “Suffice to say it was enough to make her drop out, and Sunset Shimmer won the crown again.”
Night clenched his fists and scowled, his new scar making him a bit more scary than normal. “That is despicable,” he said.
“I quite agree,” Principal Celestia told him. “And after that event, everyone has been too afraid to try to run this fall, even the older students. If I could get physical proof that she was responsible, I could have her banned from ever running again, but we haven’t been able to confirm anything. Despite her… poor reputation.”
“You can’t confirm…” Xvital’s jaw dropped. “But you just said, she stole the crown from your sister’s office! You caught her with it in her hands! How is that not proof‽”
“Because we also found a second crown in the office after I brought back the one I caught her with.” Principal Celestia stopped for a moment and fixed her with a firm gaze. “My sister and I are sure Sunset Shimmer was up to some tomfoolery with them, and we’re trying to get to the bottom of this… but until we do, we can’t take any action against her. As a precaution, of course, both crowns are going to stay locked up until the dance the night after tomorrow.”
Looking at Xvital, Principal Celestia’s expression changed. “If we can confirm the one she had today was taken from you, of course, we’ll gladly give it back.” She returned to her desk. “In the meantime, why don’t you all have a look around our school, see what you think. CHS could always use some new teacher’s assistants, if you’re interested in jobs here. You certainly look mature and old enough for it.” There was a faint but mysterious smile on her face.
“I-yeah, I think we’ll do that, at least until we get things sorted out here,” Xvital managed. “And I think Page here wants to see your school’s library…?”
“Top floor, directly across from the school’s entrance. My sister should actually be in there right now, so you can give her this for me, and she’ll help you get your paperwork settled.” Jotting a quick note down, she passed it to Page, who accepted it. “Enjoy yourselves.” She smiled again, then turned back to her own paperwork.
The six exchanged glances, then stepped outside. “Now what do we do?” Wind Breaker finally asked.
“We look around,” Page said. “We find out where Sunset Shimmer is now. And we get some answers. Like who she really is, why she stole the Element and how she knew to steal it.”
“Mm-hmm.” The others nodded. With Page in the lead, they were soon on their way to the library.
As they walked down the hall, each looking around, Vix-Lei’s eyes suddenly passed over a tall, box-like thing against one wall. "Wonder what that thing is…" she mused. Then she got a better look. "Ooh! Food!" She turned to the others. "I don't know about you, but I could use a snack." Then she studied the machine and frowned. "Hmm… how do you get them out though?" She pressed a button. "Nope, that didn't do it." Then she pressed another. "Not that one either…"
"Ahem."
Turning around, the group saw a girl with blue skin, two-toned gray hair and a blue jacket over a purple shirt and a skirt of the same colour with a star-tipped wand on it; she also wore tall boots the same color of her coat. "If you don't mind moving out of the way," she declared, holding up a coin. "The Great! And Powerful Trrrixie! Needs some peanut-butter crackers."
Stepping aside, Vix-Lei watched as she slid the coin into a slot on the machine, then pressed a button, causing a small package to fall to the bottom of the machine. Taking it, the odd girl flounced off, contentedly humming.
"… Well, that happened," Xvital managed. "And I don't know about you, but I got a good look at that coin she had. Other than the shape, it didn't look a thing like any of our money." She looked pensive. "Which means we're going to have a problem around here. So we may need to take those jobs."
"Aww…" Vix-Lei looked at the machine in dismay. "No snacks here?"
"Not from that thing, at least," Xvital told her. "Until we can find out more information, at least. And maybe some of the local cash."
“So I am back to work, yay,” Wind Breaker grumbled.
“At least it’s for a good cause this time and not just because of some messed up laws,” Page said as she put a comforting hand on his shoulder.
“There is that,” Wind sighed as they walked up the stairs, all of them getting more used to having these weird legs.
Rex
Finally reaching the library after climbing all the stairs, Page’s eyes widened in delight. “This place is amazing,” she whispered.
Rex noticed that Night was smiling at her reaction. “It certainly is,” he agreed. “But where is…”
Just then, there was a loud noise in one corner of the room, and all eyes turned towards it. Moments later, three skulking boys came out from behind one of the shelves, and none of them were very happy, by the looks of things.
“You three,” a female voice said, "are in so much trouble.” The woman who followed them out was a little shorter than Principal Celestia, and had the same long, flowing hair, albeit in shades of blue instead of the other woman’s green and pink. She was dressed a little more casually, wearing a short-sleeved top, dark pants and heeled shoes, and the expression on her face told them she was not happy. “You’ll be having detention with Mr. Doodle for the next two weeks, understand?”
“Yes, Ms. Luna,” the trio chorused. As they made their way out of the library, Rex watched them go.
“Something wrong?” Xvital asked him quietly.
Rex frowned. “There is just something… familiar about those three,” he muttered to himself.
“Excuse me.”
Rex looked up to see the woman standing in front of them. “Can I help you?”
“Normally, I’d be the one to ask that,” the woman replied dryly. “I don’t remember seeing you six around here before. And believe me, I know all our students.”
Page stepped forward. “We’re not exactly students, ma’am,” she said. “Are you Vice-Principal Luna?”
“I am,” Luna replied. “And you are…”
“Page Turner. Your sister asked us to give you this,” she held out the note.
Taking it, Luna read it quickly, and her eyes widened, before she smiled at them. “Well. This is a pleasant surprise.”
“For us too,” Page replied. “I wasn’t expecting your sister to make us the offer, but… well, she did, and we accepted.”
“And I’m glad you did,” Luna said. “Follow me.” Leading them over to a round table with some odd devices on it, she sat down and began to work. Rex, studying the device, noticed that one of them appeared to be covered in buttons, each marked with a letter of some sort of alphabet or another symbol. The other looked like a framed piece of glass, but as Luna tapped some of the buttons, odd-looking images appeared on the glass. Finally, she hit another button, and Rex heard a whirring noise. Turning, he saw another odd device, appearing to be a large gray rectangle, about the same height as the table, with some trays sticking out of its sides and spitting out pieces of paper.
Luna typed another sequence into the machine, and the glass went blank before she got up to collect the papers. “Here,” she said as she handed them out. “You’ll need to fill these out, and then I’ll need to file them before you can start work, but that shouldn’t take too long. Just bring them to me in my office when you’re done, and I’ll get you your assignments.” She paused. “You do know where my office is, don’t you?”
“We know where the Principal’s office is,” Rex said. “And I believe one of your students said your office was the same way?”
Luna nodded. “My office is just a few doors down from Celestia’s. I’ll see you when you’re done with these. If you have any questions, Ms. Cheerilee will answer them.” She pointed to another woman in a green flower-patterned dress who had been shelving books.
Nodding, the six set to work.
Nearly half an hour later, all six had filled out their paperwork, and were looking over the tasks they’d been assigned. “So, what have you guys been assigned?” Xvital asked. “I’ll be assisting Ms. Safari in Spanish class.”
“In what now?” Vix-Lei asked.
Xvital shrugged. “Apparently, that’s what they call Burroñeso in this world.”
“Should be right up your alley then,” Vix-Lei said with a grin. “Me, I’m doing shop class - they’re doing a lot of woodworking this semester.” She grinned even wider. “Time to do my family proud.”
Page smiled. “Well, I’m in the library. Ms. Cheerilee was so glad to have someone filling in for when she has to teach her regular classes.”
“That is no surprise,” Night Blade commented. “I, on the other hand…” He studied his sheet. “Will be in gym.”
“Well, I’m helping out in the drama department,” Wind Breaker said. “Apparently they’ve started casting for some big play called The Heart That Stays True.” He made a face. “Sounds like a romance. Anyway, they need me to help with some of the props and sets.” He shrugged. “Should be fun. I’ve actually done that kind of thing before, so I have the experience.”
“Quite,” Rex said. “And from this, Professor Neigh has asked for me to help in his science classes.”
“Now that’s right up your alley,” Vix-Lei said. “So. Guess we’re off.”
Page nodded. “We’ll meet again after classes end.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Xvital said. “Until then.”
And with that, they set out.