Louis rubbed his head after putting the piece in the side pocket of the car door. It was a testament of how put out he was that he and Emerald didn't exchange one word on the way to the school. He had just spent nearly the entire morning arguing with Vortech over not releasing Greta while the others were at the Gathering. Louis tried hard, but Vortech had this to say:
"You were the one who left me out in the open! And I don't recall you naming any rooms that she was prohibited to enter...even though your house is so small that the list wouldn't be..."
Louis couldn't think of a retort, so he simply removed the piece. It felt like seconds later when Emerald announced, "Master we're here."
"Hmm? Oh thanks Emerald. I'll be off then."
Emerald looked concerned. "Are you sure you about this, Master? I mean, you don't look like you could stand up without falling flat five seconds later."
"I know Emerald. But I need this job, and we can't afford any sick days at this point." His argument with Vortech did a number on him.
The concerned look on Emeralds face didn't fade. "Alright, but I don't like it."
Nonetheless, Louis got out and walked in.
After first hour, Louis was always nervous because, despite first hour having the likes of Rainbow Dash, Gilda, and Ember, second hour students were shadier and ruder looking.
The first student, starting the first row, was a light amberish gray Pegasus with gamboge eyes, a mane and tail that was a mixture of dark cornflower blue and moderate cerulean with artic blue streaks, and yellow lightning bolt earrings.
The second student was a pale amaranth unicorn with light amber eyes, and a light pistachio mane and tail with light lime green streaks, and was bobbing her head to a song on her headphones.
The third student was a pale grayish gold earth pony with indigo eyes, a moderate rose mane with light grayish aquamarine streaks tied in a ponytail by a black band with three red cherries, and a tail matching the mane.
The fourth student ending the first row was a light turquoise unicorn with cerise eyes and a cropped, grayish mulberry mane and tail with light raspberry streaks.
The fifth student starting the second row was a light phthalo unicorn with grayish orchid eyes with burnt orange glasses and a really light opalish gray with light artic blue streaks mane and tail that even when pigtailed didn't do a thing for it. (Insert Fozzie Bear laugh.) She had her nose stuck up so high that when she lowered her head, she'd look like Spoiled Rich.
The sixth student was a...pale apple green...humanoid with raspberry eyes and a mane bushier than Hermione's when she tried (and failed) to make the Draught of Living Death that was futilely restrained by a black headband with moderate gamboge spikes. She had a bored look on her face.
The seventh student was a light fuchsia...humanoid with mulberry eyes and a purple mane with aquamarine streaks tied in two pigtails. She had an equally bored look on her face.
The eighth student to end the second row was an artic blue-white...humanoid with raspberry eyes and a light artic blue mane with Persian blue stripes tied in a ponytail. She had a dreamy look about her.
The ninth student starting the third row was a dark orchid unicorn with opal eyes and a rose mane with lighter edges that looked as though it were combed back too many times. She had a scar on her right eye that was half blind and she had cold look on her face.
The tenth student was a light turquoise Pegasus with gamboge eyes and an amber and gold mane and tail with a medal shaped like a white lightning bolt surrounded by three yelled stars pinned to her uniform. She looked cocky, like she could pass this class before midterm.
The eleventh student was a very pale orchid earth pony with grayish brown eyes and a grayish violet mane with a yellow headband and grayish violet tail.
The twelfth student to end the third row was a light blue Pegasus with brown eyes and an orange mane and tail. She was the shiftiest looking of the bunch.
The thirteenth student to start the fourth and final row was a light grayish olive earth pony with azure eyes and a cerulean mane and tail with artic blue streaks that were in pigtails.
The fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth students to end the fourth and final row were a trio of unicorns: one gold with a frizzy, afro, gamboge mane and eyes, an azure one salmon eyes with a cerulean mane and tail, and a red one with yellow eyes and a light gray mane and tail.
Now that the descriptions were out of the way, Louis called roll. "Indigo Zap?"
"Here."
"Lemon Zest?" Silence. "Lemon Zest?" Still no response. She was still in the zone. Louis was considering going to her and confiscating the headphones when Indigo Zap beat him to it.
Lemon Zest glared at Indigo Zap. "Hey! I was going to miss the brainstem!" Indigo Zap just pointed at Louis. Lemon Zest turned to him and blushed (whether out of embarrassment or infatuation, Louis didn't know.) "Here."
Louis just shook his head and proceeded. "Sour Sweet?"
"Here, what's it to you?" Sour Sweet called in a sweet voice that turned sour.
Louis couldn't hold back a shudder, his futile resistance earning him several snickers. But he plowed on. "Sunny Flare?"
"Here."
"Sugarcoat?"
Five pulled her nose out of her arse (figuratively speaking) and said in monotone, "Here."
"Adagio Dazzle?"
Six let out a moan, "Here."
Louis gave her a look. She simply looked back with half lidded eyes. Seven letting out a snort brought him home. "Aria Blaze?"
"Here," she grumped.
"Sonata Dusk?" Nothing. "Sonata Dusk?" Louis increased his tone when she continued to bask in her own little world.
"SONATA!" Adagio and Aria yelled. "TACOS!" Sonata yelped and nearly jumped out of her seat. After glancing around, she grinned sheepishly. "Here."
Louis just gave her a reassuring, smiling nod. "Tempest Shadow?" Nine just growled at him, prompting a more nervous response from him. "Fizzlepop Berrytwist?" This just made her growl louder, making Louis think he was about to wet himself. "I'll just put you down, shall I?" Missing her brief glance at his pants, Louis moved onto Ten. "Suri Polomare?"
"I'm here, Professor," said she in a flirtatious voice that couldn't hold q candle to Adagio's.
Louis just rolled his eyes and moved on. "Lightning Dust?"
"Try me, ma'am." Lightning Dust snarked.
"But we haven't even started yet." Louis didn't even bother to correct her on gender. This was an all girls school after all.
Lightning Dust had the guts to look embarrassed, and knowing her, that was saying something.
Moving right along, Louis called out, "Rose Thorn? Assuming you haven't swiped anything off my desk."
"Right here, teach," responded the shifty looking Pegasus.
Thankfully nothing was missing, so on with the roll. "Juniper Montage?"
"Ack shin!" she yelled, prompting several amused reactions from the students.
Louis himself had been trying to stifle nostalgic flashbacks of Boris Badenov in a Mr. Know-It-All segment. Then he called out the last three students and they responded in monotone delivery as such. "Goldcap?"
"Hoo ray."
"Decepticolt?"
"Nice nice."
"Zappityhoof?"
"Ya boo." Apart from Louis having to stifle saying Philips a German and he have my pen..., that was that.
"Alright class, if you would take out your textbooks and turn to the section on the Roaring 20s." (Second hour had a habit of lagging behind first hour. Both were supposed to be in WW2 and what followed, but second hour was somehow in WW1. Must've been a miscommunication or something.) Well anyway, things were surprisingly well for second hour until they reached the St. Valentine's Day Massacre. "Now, can any of you describe what happened then?"
"The Mafia gathered in one place to exchange tacos?" asked Sonata.
Louis was still getting used to Sonata's taco fetish. "No," he drew the word out as if to ponder what went on in her head. "Adagio?"
"One guy took out the entire mob and made the streets of Southside Chicago run red with their blood?"
"No." This "no" was drawn out longer, with Louis fearing for his life...not for the first time either. "Tempest Shadow?"
"One of the gunmen betrayed his outfit due to some abandonment by said outfit?"
Louis couldn't blame Tempest for thinking that; she had gone through something similar when her horn had broke and had joined a gang called the Storm Bikers, led by a simian like creature called the Storm King. Not that the faculty knew this, at least no one other than Louis...at least Louis thought he was the only staff member who knew.
Moving right along, Louis decided to lay it out for them. "Al Capone was big in the rackets, having killed his own mentor to get where he is...was. Now as we know, the Chicago underworld was divided in two gangs: the Northside and the Southside. Capone became head of the Southside gang while rival gangster Adelard Cunin, AKA Bugs Moran, was head of the Northside gang."
"Cumin? Did he also make tacos?" Three guesses who asked that and the first two don't count.
Louis face palmed and he wasn't the only one. "Sonata," growled Adagio, "if you don't cease your obsession with tacos..."
Louis didn't miss the role of duct tape in her hand. "Adagio! If you use that on her, it will be detention for you!"
Adagio stared at him in shock, after all a male standing up to her was rare. But the shock wore off when she unbuttoned the top of her uniform and half closed her eyes. "Does that mean you'll be in charge of it?"
Louis found out it wasn't easy to face palm and tug at your collar at the same time.
"Finally!" Louis huffed after he flopped down onto the couch in the teacher lounge. The second hour students were always a surely bunch. But today was the first time they--mainly Adagio--put on the "moves," and class ended with him feeling very hot. So, for some odd reason, he put on his necklace after he sat down.
"Well, Casanova can handle a voice in his head, but not one woman?"
"For your information, all I have to do with you is put the communication device in my pocket. I can't do that with women."
No, but you can put them in your pants."
"If you make another lecherous insinuation like that again-"
"Look! The Changeling is heading this way! Let me speak with her!"
"Is that even possible?"
But before Vortech could respond, Chrysalis slunk over to the couch and took a seat. "Well history boy, how was your class?" She asked, leaning a little too close to him.
"Not too bad. First hour whizzed right through. Second hour made a slight improvement, but still left a lot to be desired." There was a bit of a nervous edge in Louis' voice as he leaned away from Chrysalis.
"Mmm hmm. You know, I could lend you some," here her voice softened to an eerily calm tone, "assistance."
Louis tugged at his collar again
(You know, I might make a drinking game out of how many times he does that.)
and, remembering what happened the first time they met, said, "Hey, remember when you got tangled up after touching my piece?"
Chrysalis sat up and away from him, her voice raising to a normal, hesitant tone. "Yes?"
"Well, I was thinking of letting you hold it. You know, like a little truce." To prove it, he held up said piece.
Chrysalis pondered his words, then hesitantly reached for it. "Here." Louis got up, went behind her, and wrapped the string around her neck. She let out a quiet moan at the thought of a male putting jewelry on her...or something close to jewelry.
Louis sat back down again and watched as her face changed from sensually content to mildly apprehensive to interest to pondering to a malicious smirk to stubborn, childlike greed before there was a flash of light and Chrysalis was once again in the immobilizing rope gag.
Louis picked up the piece and wrapped the string around his neck. "Dare I ask why you did that?"
"Just to give her a slight taste of what is to come should she cross me."
Before Louis could ask what he meant, he and Chrysalis' struggling were interrupted by a smug giggle. Cadance had arrived and was standing in the doorway, watching her rival fall to the floor, due to the top-heaviness of her arms being forced over her head, and flopping around, trying to get up on her hooves. "Not only did you not learn your lesson on not taking things that aren't yours, but you had to learn it again with the same item?" She shook her head. "Sad yet shameful."
Louis, probably just to spite her, pulled on a rope and released the assistant dean, causing Cadance to pout. "Now why did you do that? I like her better when she's muzzled; she can't talk properly."
Chrysalis took back her spot next to Louis, nuzzling him before retorting, "Funny, I could say same thing about you...but I won't and instead say I liked Gleaming Shield like that after my brief 'tenure' as you."
Cadance's reaction was to stare at here in irate shock, then grit her teeth and power up her horn. Now Louis' mother had warned him about getting in the middle of a fight between women, saying that he would be scratched in the crossfire, but he instinctively got up and flicked the dean's horn; her magic aura vanished as she blushed and let out a startled "oh." Her embarrassed shade of red went into an angry one and her horn lit up with a vengeance. "You typical little-"
"Hey!" Chrysalis was on her hooves in an instant and clapped her own glowing horn against Cadance's. "So he flicked your horn! Big whoop! You never heard me whinge about it!"
"Oh don't flatter yourself!" Cadance retorted, "You'd flirt with every male staff and student member if this school was bi gender, maybe even sleep with a few of them!"
"Oh please! Like the self proclaimed 'Princess of Love' hasn't gotten any rumors that she magically solved any doubts her significant other had about their relationship! How else was I able to trick her into thinking I was you?!"
Cadance went redder still and pushed her horn forward. "And I suppose the 'LoneQueen of the succubi' was so 'successful' that her subjects up and left her after her 'well-planned' invasion!" Chrysalis just snarled and ignited her own magic.
"Should I do something?" Louis had placed the piece's string around his neck.
"Didn't your mother warn you not to get involved with these kinds of things?"
"Well yeah, but I'm not overly fond of the fact that, technically, they're fighting about me."
"If it consoles you much, here comes someone who can help cease this cat fight."
"Who are you...?"
Suddenly, the door flew open and wave of magic aura shot out towards the two women and pinned them to the wall. They struggled until they saw Celestia standing in the doorway, her horn all lit up, with an irate expression on her face. "So," she growled, "I leave you two alone for more than five minutes, which must be a personal best for the both of you." She displayed a sarcastic grin. Cadance and Chrysalis opted to try to speak up, but Celestia just casted muzzled their... muzzles. "Do not speak until I've had my say. Now I'd like for just one day, just one, where nobody had to put up with your ridiculous feud. Between this and my sister's misandry, you're making a bad business about the place. "Now I know that..."
"She sure knows how to break up a fight, doesn't she?" Louis jumped and whirled around to see Eris standing right next to him, grinning as usual. "The best part is when Sunbutt forces them apart like this. It's especially humorous when she inadvertently blasts their clothes off."
It was then Louis noticed that the assistant dean's clothes were off completely, save for pitch black bra and underwear. He could feel the heat come back to his face with a vengeance. "All we need now is some time alone in a secret, safe place."
"Shut up Vortech. How often does this happen?" He asked Eris.
The chaos goddess snorted. "More than you think it does. Anyway, the gags are dissolving, so I think we better pay attention." Louis turned his head to the sight and sure enough, Cadance and Chrysalis were on their...hooves and shaking hands almost as quickly as Sirius Black and Severus Snape. Celestia just sighed resignedly and faced Louis with a small smile.
"I'm sorry you had to see that, Mr. Terwilliker, but those two argue so much, you'd think they'd pencil it in their schedule books." Eris chortled at the joke, but Louis, who was trying hard to avoid looking at the near naked Chrysalis, forced a laugh. Celestia noticed this, however, and zapped Chrysalis away. "I believe Cadance has something to say to you."
The dean studied the floor, then looked at Louis in half remorse, half embarrassment. "I'm sorry for what I put you through the other day. It's just that Everfree Row has a rather unsavory reputation and I had a little spat with Chrysalis following the tour we gave you."
"From what I heard, that's a daily occurrence for the both of you," snarked Louis, "I'm surprised neither of you have confessed your feelings for each other."
"Ooh! Burn!" Eris remarked as she failed to contain her amusement at the two quarrelers' looks combining embarrassment, mild anger, and shock at Louis' statement.
"That said, if Obsidian did anything atrocious, I wouldn't even be inclined to forgive you. But she was actually pretty nice, so I forgive you wholly. Not like I have much of a choice, though..."
Celestia heard that last part, but decided not to dwell on it when she heard a certain name. "Obsidian?" She shot her niece an incredulous look. "You sent your spouse to Obsidian poorly armed, expecting them to get in and out just like that?"
Cadance blushed. "I just thought that he was living at her place when he mentioned that he was living there."
"Yes, but that doesn't explain, let alone excuse, the fact that you sent one unicorn, one, to the home of one of the fiercest and deadliest war mongers in the history of...ever!"
Cadance's blush deepened. "I panicked, ok!? It's not like I acted on impulse because I had a bad experience with somepony from there!" She directed a glare at Chrysalis when she said that.
Said changeling just made a non-committal shrug. "You grow up in a specific neighborhood, you end peddling whatever rubbish they shove down your throat, one way or another." She flounced over to Louis, threw her arms (forelegs?) around him, and rested her head on his shoulder, making sure not to impale him with her horn, purring, "Sometimes, a little company does wonders."
Louis tried very hard to not make a tent in his trousers at the feeling of his arm squished against her cleavage. Vortech didn't help matters. "Boy, are we going to have fun tonight."
"Vortech," Louis strained to tell him, "we are not inviting her to my house."
"That's what you think."
Before Louis could contemplate what he meant, Chrysalis whispered into his ear, "I'll be seeing more of you soon. You can be sure of that." Louis decided not to say anything.
After Cadance and Chrysalis left the lounge, Louis had a conversation with Celestia about the second hour class. She was empathetic to his plight, telling him that he wasn't exactly the first teacher to handle those students, and issue an ultimatum when they misbehaved...yeah, "when," not "if." They're that bad.
Anyway, when Emerald picked him up, Louis said nothing, due to wondering what the heck Vortech had meant earlier. Oh sure, he did tell Emerald how his day went but to her, it wasn't anything new. When they got home, Emerald went out to the mailbox only to find nothing except a party invite, complete with confetti in her face. When she re-enter the house, she was met with the tip of a longsword at her throat, and let out a strangled gasp when she saw who its owner was. "Obsidian!"
The pitch black dragoness smirked in response. "That's my name, don't wear it out."
"Wha...what...why are you-"
"Here? My Lady has some...business to discuss with your Master." If it was possible, Emerald's blood ran even colder than it already was. Just then, there was a flash of sickly green light, and Peridot and Greta appeared, both individually mummified from their feet to their necks in a strange, gooey substance, with the same substance wrapped around their mouths. Peridot was struggling like mad, but when she saw Obsidian, she immediately froze and her pupils shrank. Obsidian grinned at the sight and impaled her longsword in the floor, right in between Emerald's feet, causing the dark green dragoness to help in fright, and loomed over the two captives. "Well well well. What have we here? A griffin? Mr. Terwilliker knows how to pick the rabble." She brought her face up into Greta's. "Doesn't he?"
Meanwhile, Louis was heading up the stairs to his room, unaware of what had transpired downstairs. "Peridot! We're back!" He heard nothing at first, but when he called out again, he could distinctly hear muffled grunting Christmas coming from the spare room. Sighing, he entered the room. "What have you done this...time?" It was then he found out why there were muffled grunts. Peridot and Greta were on the bed, trussed up in the same way Emerald found them (or would find them...whatever.) Chrysalis was there as well, sitting on a rocking chair adjacent to them with a small smile on her muzzle.
"Welcome home, history boy. Glad you could make it because we have business to discuss. It's supposed to be private so excuse me whilst I remove any uninvited ears." A fire of magic from her horn and the two captives were teleported to downstairs.
Louis raised a cautious eyebrow. "What sort of business?"
"Your boss said that you needed help as acquiring something."
"He's not my boss," protested Louis, "but he's after a ring. A special ring that can turn its wearer invisible, is so fire resistant that not even the fire of a dragon can so much as heat it, yet it exposed the markings of a dark language on it. The problem? This particular ring is in the stronghold of Obsidian, and given her reputation as a warmonger, there's no way that-"
Thump!
Louis stared in disbelief as Chrysalis dropped a pitch black gemstone onto the floor. "Obs...obsi...obis..."
"That's right,"giggled Chrysalis, "I found it completely by accident, but I know of the connection these stones have, so I did the little ritual, and voila! Incidentally, when I teleported those two away, it was meant to be a signal for her to come up. She should be entering right about..."
She was interrupted by the door opening and Obsidian marching in with a hogtied Emerald slung over her shoulder and the One Ring in one hand that wasn't keeping Emerald in place. She plopped Emerald onto the bed and held up the One Ring in front of a stunned Louis. "I believe you were wanting this."
Louis didn't know what to say at first. Then, deciding that he really didn't have anything to lose, he fished the LEGO piece out of his pocket and slid it through the Ring. Seconds later, there was a loud bang, and everyone was thrown backwards as the piece launched itself out of Louis' hand and into a wall. Upon making an impact, everything went black. As the light returned, they could hear laughing. "It's gOoD tO bE bAcK!"
Louis couldn't believe what he was seeing.