//------------------------------// // The Mondays // Story: Vanishing Act // by redandready45 //------------------------------// Monday Morning, 7:45 PM A green SUV drove down the street at a moderate speed. Driving it was Canter Zoom, the popular director. Despite his renown and wealth, he eschewed limos and overpriced sedans, preferring a more humble form of transportation. He drove with a hopeful expression on his face. It stood out against the morose expression of the person sitting in the passenger's seat. "What do you think, June," Canter said happily, while keeping his eyes on the road,"a new school, a new opportunity to make friends..." "A new chance to get used again," Juniper muttered unhappily. Canter sighed and shook his head. Using his rear-view mirror, he could see his niece wasn't exactly hopeful. She kept staring at the floor. "June", Canter said,"those kids were jerks-," "Everyone at my school was a jerk. Either they never wanted me around, or they used me. Even mom and dad-," "How many time do I have to tell you," Canter said in an exasperated tone. " My sister and your father getting a divorce has nothing to do with you! They've had problems since before you were born. Your parents sent you to live with me BECAUSE they don't want you getting dragged into the mess." "Yeah, sure," Juniper said, not convinced. "Look," Canter Zoom, "I'm sure you'll be able to find some friends, if you just act like yourself." "Telling people about you was the only reason anyone paid attention to me," Juniper rebutted miserably. "Well I can tell you, no one is going to pay attention to you if you keep acting like you ate your mom's meatloaf," Canter said firmly. Juniper started chuckling at that. Canter smiled a bit. It helped lift her mood for a minute. She frowned again. "The thing I like the most, telecommunications, nobody else cared about back home," Juniper said solemnly. "Well," Canter said excitedly,"this is a school that might. I mean, some of the smartest engineers in the country came from this school." "Really," Juniper said, somewhat hopeful. "Yeah. In fact, Dean Cadence told me that you can even perform your experiments in the science lab. It is a world class facility." "Well, I guess that sounds great," Juniper said, somewhat happily. "But I don't know if anyone else will care." "Well, don't be afraid to ask, June," Canter said. "You'll never know what people are like. Just keep an open mind, and don't miss any opportunity to meet someone." As soon his finished the sentence, he saw Crystal Prep only a short distance. "Ah, here we are," Canter said excitedly. He pulled into the school, and parked at the curb near the entrance. "A place I can dump you for several hours so you don't get on my nerve," he replied facetiously. He saw Juniper smile, before giving him a light punch on the shoulder, which lightened his mood considerably. "Anyways, when you get inside, go straight to Principal Cadence's office. She's a nice lady, and she'll help you out." Canter said to his niece, as she unbuckled her seat belt. "And remember to be positive and keep an open mind, ok?" "I'll try," Juniper said with a smile as she opened the door to the SUV. She walked out of the car with her backpack over her arm. She watched as she saw her uncle drive away. As soon as he was out of sight, she turned back to the school, let out a heavy sigh, and marched toward the entrance with a resigned and solemn expression. As she approached the entrance, she saw her future classmates hanging around it. She gulped as she imagined them eyeing her, the same way convicts watch new prisoners arrive, looking for easy meat to kill. Just like my old school, she thought unhappily. Her steps were getting shorter and more heavy. These rich snobs will probably think of me as easy prey. As she got closer, she noticed that none of the students were giving her the mean or judgmental, looks she expected. In fact, none of them seemed to be noticing her at all. And not because they were chatting. In fact, these kids looked sad and a little lost. It wasn't a case of the Mondays, but real loss. She felt her pace quickening, as she felt a load lift off of her, her apprehension replaced with curiosity. As she approached the door, she turned back again, looking at the hollow and beaten look of everyone. These people look like they saw someone die Juniper thought as she opened the door and went inside. ****** 20 minutes later "Why are we going to her lab," Lemon Zest asked, as she and the other Shadowbolts walked through the halls. "Well," Indigo said, "We can't really honor someone without knowing much about her." "Which means we've got to start where she spent most of her time," Sunny said. "Frankenstein's Lab," Sugarcoat said in her usual deadpan. The Shadowbolts all chuckled at their nickname for Twilight's personal lab. "So what do you think we'll find in there," Indigo said. "We'll we can't exactly ask her," Sugarcoat blurted out. Everybody glared at her, and she let out a tired sigh. "Sorry," she said, her face more morose than usual. "It's OK, Sugarcoat," Sour Sweet said with a warm smile. She then frowned. "Don't ever do it again!" "Look, we can't just get angry," Sunny Flare said putting her hand on the knob. "The best we can do right now is honor her, and we can only do that by getting some info-" she swung the door open, and gaped at the room in shock. "What," Sour asked. "Everything's gone," Sunny said with a whisper. "WHAT!?" blurted out the rest of the Shadowbolts, rushing into the room, brushing past Sunny on the way. They looked around, and saw the barely-lit room had indeed been picked clean. No equipment, no files, not even a trashcan. "Where did everything go," Sour asked sadly. She then turned to Indigo Zap, with a glare. "Did you take it?!" "What," Zap replied with disbelief. "I got here the same time you did Sour. Besides, why would I care about nerd stuff?" Sour was about to raise her voice, but then thought it over, and shrugged. "Maybe Cadence would know," Sunny said with her chin in her hand. "Let's go ask her." They all decided to walk to their new principal's office. ****** "Anyways, here is your schedule," Cadence said to Juniper, handing the document to her, who took with some pained resignation. Cadence saw the nervousness on the girl's face, but tried to hide it with a confident smile. "Now go fill yourself up with some of that Crystal Prep spirit," Cadence said. "Thanks," Juniper said politely, but forlornly. "I do the best I can." Juniper walked out, without a word, and decided to walk out. Cadence sighed. I've got to raise her spirits, somehow, Cadence thought, if she keeps acting like this, people will start to avoid her. She was broken out of thoughts as she saw five girls approach her. "Hey girls," Cadence said cheerfully, "what can I do for you?" "Well," Sunny Flare said, morosely, "we wanted to ask you...um." "Where is Twilight's stuff," Lemon Zest blurted out. "Canterlot took it for research," Cadence said carefully. "Why are you asking?" "Well," Sunny said carefully, "we wanted to have some kind of tribute to Twilight, but we-," "We don't know much about her," Sugarcoat continued. "And we wanted to find out more, so we came to you." "You do," Cadence said, in a surprised tone. "I mean, yeah, it was our fault," Indigo Zap complained. "I told you girls that what happened wasn't your fault," Cadence said sternly. "You only did what you did because Cinch told you. You-" "I know," Sugarcoat said, "but she was our classmate, so it is only fair that we honor her. Besides, Canterlot High did a lot more to honor her then we did. Do you know anyone here who might have known anything about her." "Well," Cadence paused. She stared at them oddly. She then went back to her computer and began typing furiously. "Wait one second," Cadence said, to sooth their impatience. And began typing some more. "I think I can help you with your tribute," Cadence said. "But there is something I want to guys to do for me." "What is it," Sunny Flare asked. "There's this girl who just transferred here," Cadence said. "Her name is Juniper Montage." "So," Sour said. "She's..." Cadence paused, sighed, and let out a breath. "Had some trouble making friends." She then printed up several copies of some document, and began drawing circles on them with a marker. "I discovered that you guys share not only share some of your classes with her, but a lunch break." She handed them the document, revealing several school schedules, with the exact classes they shared with Juniper. "So what do you want us to do," Indigo Zap. "Look, if you see her in her class," Cadence said, "maybe be friendly, or ask if you want to hang out. If you guys do that, I'll tell you all I know about Twilight." Much of the Shadowbolts looked uneasy at this chore of having to play the friend to some stranger. Sunny looked at the document, and remembered the soothing words from someone she cared about roaring back at her. "No. Here's what you can do. Find a girl like this other girl you didn't care about. A girl with no friends and with glasses, and who seems too smart for her own good. If you meet her, be the friend you wish you could've been to this other girl. Give her the love and care you wish you could give to the other girl. That is your mission, Sunny. Be the person you wish you could've been, and you will have repented. "We'll do it," Sunny Flare said excitedly. "Well," the rest of the Shadowbolts said with less enthusiasm. "Great," Cadence said happily. "Anyways, class is about to start, so I would get going." The first bell soon rang, which signaled that it was time to get to class. "By the way girls," Cadence said, stopping them from leaving. "what do you mean CHS honored her?" The Shadowbolts looked at her like she had been living under a rock. "You didn't know," Lemon Zest said, confusedly. "They put up this really big poster of her," Zest continued, spreading her arms as if to show it was that big. "Really," Cadence asked. "They even threw this concert," Zest excited, "apparently this tragic song was being played by this really hunky-," "Anyways," Indigo said, interrupting Lemon Zest's...Zest for the guitarist. "If CHS is doing that for someone they don't know, why can't we do something like that for her." "As I've said girls, I help you if you help out Juniper," Cadence said. "Now please get to class." "Yes, general," Sugarcoat said with jest, as the girls turned around and walked away. When the girls walked away, they turned to Sunny Flare with somewhat annoyed expressions, except for Sour Sweet, who retained an especially sour expression, which showed she was deep in thought. "Why did you volunteer us to play babysitter Sunny," Indigo said with some annoyance. "Look," Sunny said with some seriousness. "I still remember how mean I was to Twilight. I want to prove that we can better. We can do that by giving whoever this girl is a chance." She looked at them with sad, pleading eyes. "We owe it to her." Sugarcoat, Lemon and Indigo looked contrite at that, and sighed. Sour however, remained pensive, thinking about what she had seen. I know I saw what looked like her, Sour thought, she was with those Canterlot jerks. And now they had her equipment. "So what do you think they are doing with her equipment," Lemon asked. "Trying to change the Earth's orbit," Sugarcoat quipped. "I don't know." Or maybe she's working for them to discover magical stuff, Sunny thought angrily, as she walked with her friends to class. ****** Principal Luna sat at her desk, looking over some test papers, when her office phone rang. "Hello Luna," Cadence said. "Hello Cadence," Luna said, "thank you for sending us the equipment." "Did it arrive safely?" "Applejack and her brother brought it hear in their truck, and some other friends carried it into the science lab," Luna said. "Great," Luna said. "I'm calling because, well, I heard your students through an impromptu concert for Twilight," Cadence said, sounding a bit confused. "Oh yes, well, that was nice of them," Luna said, nervously. "It seems odd they would throw a concert for someone they barely knew for, like, one day," Cadence asked, suspiciously. "Well," Luna said timidly, "you know how kids are." "Do kids normally write romantic tragedy songs for people they barely know," Cadence pressed. "You know," Luna said, gritting her teeth, "young love and all that." "Certainly was young. It might have lasted, like, ten hours at best," Cadence continued. "I'm sorry Cadence," Luna said abruptly. "I have a student who needs to wash their hair." "Hair problem? Wha-" "BYE, "Luna said, hanging up the phone and cringing over her idiotic excuse. I hope Sunset can figure this out before Cadence comes to me with more tough questions, Luna thought. She smiled a bit. I know Sunset can figure this out. ****** "I don't think I can figure this out," Sunset said nervously. Sunset and Rarity were in the science lab, that the school had kindly allowed them to use in the early hours for their experiments. Sunset was scrolling on the computer, randomly looking at Twilight's data, graphs and charts, feeling overwhelmed by all the information packed in. "It can't be that much," Rarity said "It's like, eight months worth of data," Sunset said exhaustedly, to which Rarity let out a polite sigh. "She's been collecting info since the Fall Formal, at least." She had tons of minute data sets, observations, and hypotheses in these notes and graphs. All of it demonstrated an obsession with learning and meticulous data collection. Just like our Twilight, Sunset thought. "Incredible isn't it, darling," Rarity said. "What's that," Sunset asked. "This Twilight was able to not only pick up on magic well before an older scientist did, but absorb it without even knowing what it was." Rarity looked at the pendant perched on the opposite side of the room. While it was necessary for their experiments, the device needed to have its magic absorption controlled before it could be used practically. "Yeah she was prodigy," Sunset said sadly, "she could've helped me out if I-.' "Sunset," Rarity said firmly. "I understand your anger, but you dumping on yourself is not merely pointless, but it makes you look terrible." "I know but-," Sunset. "But nothing," Rarity interrupted, putting on her usual dramatic airs. "If you must do this task, you must face it bravely! With courage and dignity! With resolve and a stiff upper lip! And when you feel down, remember that I SHALL STAND BY YOU NO MATTER WHAT!" Rarity held a firm pose. Rarity's phone made a strong beep sound. "But later darling, I have sewing class. A bientot!" Rarity happily ran out, leaving an exhausted Sunset, who sighed, feeling overwhelmed again. "No, she's right," Sunset said to herself, feeling pride and resolve flow through her body. "I acted lazy, and looked what happened. I've got to carry on!" Sunset said. "For her! For them! For the magic of-," "Miss Shimmer," Miss Cheerilee said, peeking through a crack in the door. "We can all hear you in there. Please carry on quietly, " "Sorry, " Sunset said blushing, returning to her work once Cheerilee left the room. She decided to open up a document. The earliest one that read September 10. This shouldn't be too hard, Sunset thought. Until she opened up the word document and saw the page count. She opened up, and saw it was... 300 pages?! Aaaaah!, Sunset screamed internally, while putting her head in her hands.