//------------------------------// // Chapter 1 - School is in session // Story: This is a principal matter // by Golden_Map //------------------------------// Rose Everet was a cunning person, content with her life. She lived in a nice house and had a stable job as a teacher in the local secondary school. One day in autumn she decided to head out and enjoy the colorful foliage, that now adored the plants in this season of change, before the cold winds of winter stripped the plants of their lush garments. She dressed for the chilly weather and opened her front door. But before she stepped through it, she grabbed her favorite scarf and put it on. The street was deserted. No doubt the people that normally ventured across the road were inside to escape from the cold weather. Not even the show that the trees put on for them could get them to come outside. Rose walked across the streets for a bit until she came across a crosswalk. That is where it happened. Just as she was crossing it, disaster struck, and a drunk driver crashed into her. The last thing she saw before dying was the silhouette of a streetlight shining down on her. When she regained consciousness at first she felt and then saw, that she was sitting in a comfy chair. She was situated in a plain office and in front of her was a desk. On the other side of which sat a plain looking brunette woman wearing a blue suit. So Rose said the first words that came to her mind: “Am I dead?“ “Yes, you are Rose.“ Answered the being. “And that is an issue. You see, you shouldn’t be dead. You should have died in 78 years. At the proud age of 106.“ “So what went wrong?“ Rose asked in a state of shock. “Am I being sent back?“ “To answer your questions, Rose. Firstly, sometimes humans are tied up in destiny and as such gain a type of “plot armor“ until they have played their part, but because humans have free will they can do anything. Which means that a human, that isn’t involved with destiny, can interfere with it and to an extent with the people involved. We can’t account for that. And as such you were mowed down on that crossing. Secondly, no you aren‘t or rather you can’t be sent back. Nobody who dies returns. There is an order to things, and we can’t break it.“ replied the being with a sympathetic voice. “So, what will I do now?“ asked Rose, a cracking having entered her voice, as if it was buckling under the weight of the revelations heaped on her so suddenly. “Listen to me, Rose.“ The being said after a brief bout of silence. “I can understand, that you are emotionally distressed, but we don’t have much time. As much as I would like to comfort you, I can’t. Will you listen to what I have to say?“ Rose slowly raised her head to meet the being's eyes and said: “I might as well. It's not like I have a choice.“ “Thank you, Rose“ The being replied. “I have two choices for you. You must decide between these two. You could go on to the afterlife right now. With all the good deeds, that you have accomplished, you will go to whatever afterlife you believe in. Or you could be reincarnated as another person at random. With all your memories intact, mind you.“ After hearing these words, Rose thought about the choices for a bit. So I have two choices. Either I go to heaven and live there for the rest of eternity, or I get reincarnated as a random person. Not much of a choice, really. “I will take choice number two.“ Rose answered with a determent look on her face.”I had a life, and I will be damned before I pass on the chance to finish living it the proper way ." “Alright.“ The being said. “But I should warn you. We have no Idea, where or as who you could end up. You could end up in this universe, a universe that you know from TV shows, or a completely different one. Are you sure, that you want to do this?“ “I am sure.“ Rose answered, full of determination. “Alright.“ The being replied good-natured. “Goodbye and good luck.“ “Until next time.“ Rose answered. And in a flash of white, she was gone. When she became conscious again, she was laying in a bed. It was a luxurious one. The covers were wine red and the bedposts were made of a darker wood. It was very comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that she almost went back to sleep right then and there, but then she remembered. “Oh God! I died! And then I choose to reincarnate! Who even am I now? Shouldn’t I be an infant now that I reincarnated?!“ she said in her new voice. „Wait! Is that how I sound now? I sound like an older woman! I need a mirror!“ And with that she threw her covers aside, briefly noting, that she had light blue skin and a rather thin body, and sprinted towards one of the door of the room. When she opened it, she was meet with a bathroom with granite tiles and light gray colored walls. One of the walls was made of glass and looked out into a forest. It had a freestanding bathtub in the middle of it, a toilet on the left side and a sink with a mirror on the right side. After briefly taking in the wonderfully designed bathroom, she went up to the sink and looked into the mirror. She could scarcely believe who stared back at her. What were the chances, that she would be reincarnated as her. In the mirror stood Principal Abacus Cinch with a shocked look on her face. “Oh God! No! What is this!? Is this a cosmic joke!?“ Shouted Rose full of anger. “I was reincarnated as her!? How would I even run a school!? I am no principal! Damn it!“ Overcome with emotions, she punched the mirror with her hand. She was, of course, rewarded with a flashing pain in her hand. And with that pain came memories. Not hers, mind you, but Abacus Cinches. How she went to school, how she was fascinated with math and the sciences, how she aspired to be a principal and how she became the bitter middle-aged lady she was during the time of the movie. More and more memories passed her by the second. Every scene, every emotion, every sight, every sound that Abacus had experienced in her long live blurred by her in instances too fast to follow. It all became too much, and she collapsed on the spot. While she lay collapsed on the floor, she started to relive on of Cinches more prominent memories. She stood at the side of a stage. From where she stood, she had a perfect overview of the concert hall. It was filled to the brim with both adults as well as teenagers in crystal prep uniforms. They had all shown up for her official inauguration as the new principal of the Crystal Prep high school. This was the moment, that she had been waiting for since she was a high school student. With this new position, she would reform the school and make it one of the best schools in the country. Any further musing was interrupted as a man that looked like a younger, human version of Chancellor Neighsay stepped up to the microphone placed in the center of the stage. “Hello everyone. Let me introduce myself. My name is Chancellor Neighsay. I am the new head of the CEA, the Canterlot Education Association. When I came to my new position several months ago, I decided, that I should do a surprise inspection of all the schools in Canterlot. Almost all the schools passed with only miner infringements. But when I came to Crystal Prep and saw, what a madhouse the former Principal Sombra Umbra had made out of it, I had no choice, but to fire him. As such, the CEA has gone through considerable effort to find a new principal for your school. And we have found one. She is a person of sound mind, I assure you, and has many outstanding diplomas in several fields. As such, she is a perfect candidate for the job as principal of the Crystal Prep high school. Lady’s and gentleman, please welcome to the stage, your new principal, Dr. Abacus Cinch!“ And with those words I walked onto the stage. My gate was precise and measured. And my hands were clasped behind my back. My suit was immaculate and my expression was kept carefully neutral. This was all necessary to facilitate my position as a disciplined person of authority from the start. I walked up to the microphone under the sound of polite clapping. And there I waited for it to die down. And only then did I begin to speak: “Thank you very much for this warm welcome. It fills my heart with joy to see the labors of my work at last come to reality. It may surprise you, but I have wanted to be a principal for a long time. This desire first formed when I went to high school. I saw so many of my fellow classmates failing in tests and consequently failing in life. They were never made aware of the importance high school would have on the rest of their life. They wasted their time with partying and skipping school.“ With these words, I paused and slowly looked around. The hall was silent and the student were slowly realizing, that I was in no way like Sombra. “So I decided, that if the teachers couldn’t make them aware of the importance of high school, I would. This desire fueled me in my studies and shortly afterwards I graduated high school early. After that came college and after that university. This desire to help, this desire to be able to help, drove me ever onward in my goal to be a principal. And that is why I am proud to say, that I will turn your lives around, no matter what methods I have to use.“ And with those words I stepped back. At first the theater was silent, but then the people started to clap. Slowly at first and then ever faster. I closed my eyes and basked in their sound. And then everything went white. When consciousness returned to me, I heard their clapping slowly fading into the background. I turned my head right and looked out the bathroom window. It was raining heavily. I turned my head back towards the ceiling. Through the pain that I had caused myself, I had gained all of Abacus Cinches memories and knowledge. It was a lot. I needed some time to process all the information now at my disposal and a first aid kit for my hand.