//------------------------------// // The PORTA // Story: Mirage Shimmer // by RedPegasus //------------------------------// The folder is thrown on the desk and with the blow opens allowing you to see the document it contains, a sheet of paper of simple appearance, but in its written content highlight the words, "Order of Suspension." The director of Crystal Prep looks at her with a serious countenance, before looking up at the woman. "What does this mean Chrysalis?" The Superintendent stands holding her arms as she looks at the director sitting at his desk. "You can see for yourself. Alphonse, the ministry of education, has given the order that you be suspended from your position as director for a period of seven days." Shadow hits his desk. "What are you saying ?!" "What I say, is that for a week, you will not be able to run this school." "What is it that you intend?" "I just do my job, now, I have other matters to attend to, I will ask you to finish this last day and retire, take whatever you want that is not linked to school." The woman does not wait for an answer and simply turns to leave the office, the three men who accompany her also retire. The director keeps watching the door and his fists close and his teeth press hard against each other, a strong growl escapes from his mouth while his arm gives a strong blow causing everything on his desk to fall, the sheet of paper slides Slowly to the ground falling right at his feet, his eyes full of hatred observe the document. ***Mirage*** Sugar keeps his signature stance and impassive stare looking at the director sitting at his desk. Ignoring the slight but notorious disorder surrounding the desk decides to speak. "Yuou wanted to see me, director?" "Miss Coat, I need progress on the project, what can you tell me?" "I am pleased to report that the project is almost ready in full." "The assembly and configuration are finished." "Indeed, the most important elements are ready." "Why have not you started then?" He asks with clear impatience in his voice. "I'm afraid there are unforeseen difficulties." "What kind of difficulties?" The tone of the man is annoyed by the answer. "Our source seems to be," disabled ", we need a way to activate it and use it." "Do you have any idea how to do that?" "Indeed, but I want to do a couple of tests before that." "do it now." The order puzzles her, so it takes a few seconds to speak. "excuse me?" "You heard me Miss Coat, whatever you going to do, do it today, I want the project to be finished before the day is over." "Director, if you may me, while the components are ready, there is no way of knowing how efficient the results will be, I would suggest doing a few tests first." "I did not ask for your opinion, Miss Coat." His voice is so sharp and serious ... Both are observed in silence, the director's eyes show seriousness and severity, Sugar Coat does not show any emotion, but keeps the look with the director for a while. "Yes, director." ***Mirage*** ... In some place... A gas station located on some desert route. In this one sees an orange and gold car stopped next to a gasoline dealer. A person wearing a hooded cloak leaves the wicket after completing the tank, leans on the hood of the vehicle and crosses his arms. He seems to wait for someone. Inside the gas station there is a grocery store, and in a short time it is seen leaving this one to two other people, also hooded. The person in the vehicle lifts his head a little, sees the other two with some bags in their hands. "Are you finished?" The first person asks. All three have a clearly feminine voice. "We do, but the service of these places is awfull" Responds one of them, the other girl speaks in a somewhat laughing voice. "You're just mad because they did not have lemon ice cream" "shut up" Orders in a grunt to which the other laughs. The girl in the car lets out a frustrated groan before standing up. "Come up now, I want to get to Canterlot today" Opens the driver's door and gets on the vehicle. "shotgun!" Exclaims the cheerful girl surrounding the vehicle and getting into the front seat. The third climbs back. The driver lights the car. "belts" "... as a nuisance" The girl sitting behind complains but obeys, the one in front does not object and puts it on. The driver also puts her own and they leave the place. After a few minutes driving, the girl sitting forward removes the hood, showing her ponytail blue. From her shopping bag she pulls out a donut with caramel. "Aria do you want a donnut?" The girl behind also removes the hood, her purple pigtails are released. "Pass" From her own bag he takes out a can of soda and gives a drink. "Adagio, you want?" The driver removes her hood, revealing her bulging orange hair. "Give me one, but no sparks." The blue haired girl looks in her bag and passes a donut to the driver, she eats it while with her other hand she continues driving "... at what time do we arrive?" Asks Aria with some boredom. "... at the time of arrival" Says Adagio finishing her donnut. "... that is not an answer" The leader ignores the question and focuses on driving. Sonata, oblivious to the mastic conversation of her dunnut, turns to the window and notices stormy clouds moving through the sky. Swallow his mouthful and speak. "Hey ... those clouds follow us ...?" Both, Aria and Adagio look out, noting also that apparent storm... Adagio is silent for a moment. "Sonata" The blue hair girl turns to her leader. "Get your phone out, if we ever feel anything, call Sunset, and tell her to wait for us." Obeying the order, she raises her backpack off the ground and from there pulls out a phone. Aria looks intriguingly at her leader. "Do you really think they will wait for us?" "If they want to fix this, they must." There is no more talk, their faces show different emotions... They travel that road of asphalt, seeing in the distance a city. ***Mirage*** The sub director of Crystal Prep opens the door of the director's office, but the man is not in the room. Walk through the corridors, these are completely empty, some teachers to see that no students decide to use their time in other things. The sub director's intrigue is beginning to turn into concern. After reviewing the whole school decides against her best judgment, go down to the place where she knows that the students are working on that strange project. It is not surprising to see that what appears to be the entire student body are there, which if surprising, is the machinery that occupies the center of the place. From the distance and the height of those stairs can not distinguish that it can be beyond a large metal ring. After moving the view around she realizes that the director is not among the students, but when she raises it a little she sees from the left side of the place a kind of completely closed observation post, a perfectly transparent glass shows the school director in the Inside, with the arms behind the back and a look so serious and cold that surpasses the usual. A small balcony at the end leads to spiral staircases protected with a steel net, entering the place, Cadence does not waste time and rises. "director!" She yells as she opens the door and enters the room. "Cadenza, I did not expect you, what brings you here?" The man speaks calmly. "I was looking you for an affair, it does not matter... what do all the students do here? What are YOU doing here?!" She asks with demand as she approaches. "I wanted to see firsthand the great step into a new era." The man always keeps the view of the bottom, observing as the students continue working. "New era? First step? What are you talking about?" "It will be today, Cadenza, when humanity manages to create a new and better future." Cadence does not seem to understand the answer. "Today? But ... what will happen ...?" Sombra takes a few seconds, watching what you see below, before answering. "That machine, it is a passage, to a world of possibilities, of knowledge, a world full of power." At no point does he look away from the place, but the tone in his voice causes the young woman to shiver. "... what ... what do you mean?" The man did not answer, but Cadence did not notice it because her attention was quickly directed to a small group of students who had just entered the place, in the middle of them was... "Twilight ...?" ***Mirage*** Twilight walks fearfully forward, followed by four students who look at her with serious, almost aggressive gestures. She stops her walk when she sees Sugar Coat, who is watching her with her usual countenance. "Twilight Sparkle, thanks for coming." "Coming? These guys practically dragged me here!" She complains with annoyance. "Why did you bring me?! I said I do not want to know anything about this!" "I'm very sorry about the event in question, but I'm afraid we have no choice, we need your help in this." "No! I don't want to know anything about the Equimia! I've ruined it enough ..." "I'm aware of that fact, however Twilight Sparkle, I think this may interest you, please follow me." Without waiting for a response, the girl turns around and walks to the center of the room. Twilight sees her leaving and after receiving a serious look from the students around, she continues to hurry. Sugar Coat stops a few feet away from a kind of machine, Twilight seeing it is astounded. It was large, could be described as a metal ring embedded in a holder. Dozens of cables connected to this and several computers of the place. TWilight does not struggle to hide its astonishment and intrigue. "… What... is that…?" She does not finish her question, but Sugar turns and responds. "Twilight Sparkle, I introduce you, The P.O.R.T.A." "The ... porta?" "Passage, oscillating, radial of transport active, in a nutshell ..." "… a portal?" "In effect, a generator of temporal space vortex, a portal to other worlds." The face of Twilight does not try to hide her astonishment, her jaw dropped, big eyes and dilated pupils, her mouth tries to say something but only babble. "Bah ... bah ... hohoho- ... how was ... ?!" "It's a prototype, but I'm confident that it will yield satisfying results." "How did you do it?!" "With the data obtained in Canterlot Secondary research, and following some theories of both past and contemporary astrophysicists." "I... I don't know... what to say is... wait! What are you going to do with that?" "After the research, we realized that the strange energy that the students of Canterlot have, come from a different place." "a place…?" "In some way, they are able to bring that energy from an unknown point in the universe, you could say, another world, or another dimension." Twilight was speechless, he seemed unable to process everything he heard... "But they do not know how they do it, so continuing to investigate energy from here is a waste of time." "You will not be saying...!" "To efficiently analyze this energy, and discover how to manipulate it, we must go to the main source, its point of origin, the world, where it comes from." "T-that's ... IT'S INSANE!" Sugar makes a bit of it. "I am aware that it is an extremist action, but it is the best, we have taken the necessary precautions, the portal should be safe and if necessary have an emergency shutdown system, in addition, we will not send any live form for the moment, we will focus on doing research with camera bots, and testing different inanimate objects and components. " "That ... that's ..." "Believe me Twilight Sparkle, we have not left any aspect unresolved." Both young women look at each other, one with some amazement and fear, the other with an impassive and indecipherable gesture, silence covers them for a moment. "... I still do not understand ... what I do... what I do here." The other four students that Twilight recognizes stand behind Sugar Coat. "For P.O.R.T.A. can work, we need a source of energy to guide the vortex to the place we want to go, a sample, of that energy." The young woman pauses to make a gesture with her hand, this is answered by the green haired girl who hands her the jewel. "This jewel that you have given us, has a sample of that energy, however, we are unable to access it." Before Twilight could ask anything, Sugar Coat throws the jewel towards her and by reflex she catch it, almost instantly the jewel begins to bright. "My theory is correct, Twilight Sparkle, you are able to unconsciously release the energy contained in this jewel, you can release the passage to a new future." "… what…?" "All you have to do, is place the jewel in the scanner that is in front of P.O.R.T.A, and this will take us wherever we want." ***Mirage*** Dark and stormy clouds had spread through the city, the sun had been completely covered, preventing the passage of its light. At Canterlot School, Sunset couldn't help but glance at the clouds from her classroom spot. Her friends and almost all the students and teachers didn't ignore the event either. *** Mirage *** In the city the pedestrians began to feel the wind blowing, more than a hat threatened to fly flying from the head of its owner. From the center of the city, Sun looks up at the sky, and with the look follows the displacement of the clouds. "... that's not normal, is it?" The little bird on his shoulder gently. *** Mirage *** A kind of spiral forms above Crystal Prep, the constant clash between them causes lightning to disperse through the air, one of which falls just above the school causing a blackout throughout the building. The energy cut goes to the base where the students are, cutting the lights and being replaced by an emergency system that leaves the place dimly lit. Even so none of the present takes importance of this fact because they attention is still placed on the fearful girl with glasses that still carries in her hands that jewel whose brightness seems to intensify, uncertain if it is because of the lack of light ... or something else. "No! This... I can't... this is too much for me, I don't want to be a part of this." "Do you realize Twilight Sparkle, that this is what you've been waiting for? Possibly the greatest discovery in the history." "N-no! ... no ... I ... would only cause more problems for Sunset and the others." "and with that?" "What with that? I don't want to hurt my friends anymore!" "Friends? Are you going to forget your dream just for an unnecessary emotion? Will you ignore the opportunity of your life for a group that you barely know?" You will deny yourself the opportunity for your future that you have always longed for? " "I... I... why are you doing this?!" "You can not deny yourself Twilight Sparkle, this is the opportunity that you, me, and all here we've all been waiting for." "... you ... all ... what ...?" Sugar begins to approach, Twilight recoils fearfully. "We have differences, many of them, but, you must release the passage, you know, and we all know, that there is something in which we are equal." (Unleash the Magic) Sugar Coat your confusion I completly can understand I know how diferents we are me and you Our rivalry is real great But you must be have present In something all here we are same The other girls go to Sugar Coat and they approach Twilight around her... Girls Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Sugar Coat I know that we have had many mistakes The differences must be left behind The future comes to us And what we can desire Do not deny it, our goal is the same. Girls Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Release the passage Release the passage If you don't it is a wrong you have it tried you alone have failed togheter we can it do Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Twilight tries to pull away but several students cut her off. Sugar Coat stands behind her. Sugar Call it Equmia call it magic Losing it will be tragic Think about what we could achieve. The world we can change. What you want you will get. In the history we must prevail. Girls Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Twilight tightens the jewel in his hands and desperately seeks an exit. The girls approach her almost threateningly and push her back. Girls Release the passage Release the passage About friendship we don't care What we look for And you long for It's glory and triumph to attain Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Oh, wuh-oh-wuh, oh. Twilight sees all the students move aside leaving free way between her and the machine. Sugar Coat gets up on the stairs and looks directly at Twilight. Sugar What we ask is very simple We all want to achieve here Release the passage and you will Make come true all your dreams Think about those future people Generations will remind us To history we must pass All Students Our legacy will come far Release the passage Release the passage The victory will you not lose The look of anxiety of Twilight is almost crushed by the seriousness in the eyes of Sugar Coat. Twilight slowly turns his head to see P.O.R.T.A. Be idolized Recognized The world is waiting for you As if entering a trance Twilight begins to walk, at a slow but steady pace Release the passage The world waits for you Release the passage The world waits for you Twilight Imagine what will be for me... Release the passage The world waits for you Release the passage The world waits for you Cadence no longer supports what she sees and runs off the post. Sombra sees her leave but does not bother to do anything, just keeps looking down. Twilight The world will recognize me finally... Release the passage The world waits for you Release the passage The world waits for you Cadence throws his high-heeled shoes aside and runs as much as he can toward the students. Sugar Coat stays in place but the other girls are placed in front of the main computers connected to the machine. Twilight My name in history will to be... Release the passage The world waits for you Release the passage The world waits for you The machine is activated, with the gem near the scanner this begins to form a dark blue vortex that intensifies the closer it is to Twilight and the gem. Twilight I want to make real all my dreams. Cadence passes Sugar Coat and reaches the bottom to see Twilight bring the jewel to the scanner. Release the passage The world waits for you Release the passage The world waits for- "Twilight no!!" US!!! ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... Silence… … … That's all there is, P.O.R.T.A. Still active, keeping that spiral of dark shine. It was as if time had stopped, no one in the place moved, the faces of all showed astonishment, doubt, but above all, bewilderment. The eyes fixed on the girl in front of the portal. Twilight still holds the jewel in her hands, stopping just millimeters from the scanner, this when feeling an object so close try to read something, so that if it were not a machine it would seem desperate. The silence remains as everyone tries to assimilate what is happening. "… … No..." A brief whisper comes from Twilight, but the silence allows everyone to listen. The expression of Sugar Coat by first time changes her gesture illegible and allows to see its bewilderment. "... no... no! I will not...! I WILL NOT DO IT!" No one understands what is happening, their faces only reflect their doubts. The director from his observation point slammed his fists and his gaze reflects his inner anger. "IM NOT GOING TO DO IT!" "Twilight Sparkle!!!" Sugar Coat cries angrily. "what does this mean?!" Her tone of voice and her expression astonish more than one because she had never seen she in that state. "I WILL NOT DO IT! I will not let you do what you want with my friends!" The face of Sugar Coat shows a difficult attempt to remain calm. "... you do not realize... what can we do with this?!" "I DON'T CARE!" "I DON'T CARE FOR RECOGNITION! I don't care about fame or glory! "What are you saying ...? That's your dream, Twilight Sparkle!" "no more! Now I... I know what it's to have friends! People who really care about you and who you care about! I do not need to be famous or recognized, they ... they give me the happiness I need." The girl that everyone knew to be serious and devoid of emotions now just shows anger as she goes down the stairs. "You are going to abandon that for which you and all here we have fought... FOR THOSE ENTITILES ?!" "YES!!! THAT'S WHAT I GOING TO DO! And I will not let... you... or anyone... hurt them... NO MORE!" Twilight raises the jewel up and looks down. Everyone sees it holding their breath, but Lemon Zest is the most terrifying. "SPARKLE NO!" ... glass breaking ... It is the way in which that sound would be described. What once resembled an eight-pointed spark is now countless numbers of broken fragments on the ground. Again the silence, big eyes in surprise and some fear fill all the students. Twilight's breathing becomes heavy and tired as she watches those bluish fragments at her feet. No one can get out of their astonishment before their attention is directed towards P.O.R.T.A. Twilight flips over and everyone in the room watches as the vortex begins to move quickly and uncontrollably. What seems like currents of electricity escape from it as the fragments of the gem begin to glow. The currents leave the vortex and when touching the fragments a strong shock wave leaves the machine and it impacts to all leaving some in the ground. ***Mirage*** The shockwave expands through high school and spreads rapidly throughout the city. All people feel the impact of the wave. The electrical systems are out of control, lights in the streets and houses explode. Canterlot students feel the wave hit and the school lights go off. Some students end up on the floor, bewildered by what just happened, among them Sunset who in addition to the fall begins to feel a pain in his forehead. She gets up by clutching his forehead with one hand but before he can say or if he wants to think nothing hears a sound, the ringtone of his phone. Forgetting for a moment her headache removes the device and sees on the screen a number he had long forgotten, almost afraid he answers the call and puts the phone in his ear, what he hears is a cheerful and cheerful voice, a voice that Knows very well. Phone: hey Sunsie! This is Sonata.