Cadance had calmed herself down with a long sigh. She had a long rest of the day ahead of herself, but there was something she had to take care of first. She took out her phone and went into her contacts, then dialed.
Now Calling: Twilight Velvet
As the dialtone began, Cadance kept her eyes on her desk phone. Any minute now, there'd be a call...
"Hello?"
Cadance snapped herself back to the present moment. "Velvet... I don't have a lot of time, so I'll make it quick. I need to speak to your daughter."
"She's resting right now. The poor girl's had a rough day."
"I know that, but this is something important she needs to know."
Velvet paused for a moment. "Are we speaking on an 'official' level here?"
Cadance nodded. "Yes."
Velvet sighed. "Okay. I'll go get her. Wait a moment."
There was a long pause, then a yawn came from the other end.
"Dean Cadance... wass wrong?"
"Twilight. Cinch was spotted in your lab!"
"W-What?! What's she doing in there?!"
"I don't know, but I'll investigate as soon as I hang up."
"Please be careful in there! Most of the equipment is delicate!"
"Understood."
"Thank you for telling me." Twilight yawned again. "Now if you'll excuse me, I've got some more recovering to do."
"You're welcome, Twilight."
Cadance hung up, then made a mad dash for Twilight's personal lab.
Abacus Cinch had carefully scrutinized each and every piece of equipment inside Twilight's lab, and loathe as she was to admit it, she could not make heads or tails of anything. This only infuriated her more over that ungrateful child's defection.
Abacus had given Twilight all that she needed and more! But still, she ran with her tail between her legs to those... those cheaters! She grit her teeth and growled. As much as she wanted to smash everything in this damnable room, it would be quite a waste of money to do so. She cupped her chin. Surely there must be some way to still make use of these...
"Principal Cinch?"
Abacus jumped in spite of herself, then turned around to see Dean Cadance.
"I saw this door open, and I wanted to make sure nothing untoward was happening in here."
Abacus sighed, trying her best to hide her irritation. "No need to worry yourself. I was just... engaging in bittersweet memories."
Cadance resisted a strong urge to roll her eyes. "Crystal Prep just won't be the same without Twilight."
"Indeed it won't," Abacus said as she headed for the door. She stopped for a moment, then noticed Twilight's cork board with strings of yarn all pointing to... Canterlot High. She quickly turned back and headed out the door, with Cadance closing it behind herself.
The two went their separate ways.
Abacus put a hand to her forehead in disbelief. She had been so infuriated over the Friendship Games that she hadn't realized the obvious... the way to that other world was most certainly somewhere in Canterlot High's vicinity! She would have to investigate the school grounds thoroughly, but she would have to be discreet in doing so.
Abacus realized that her investigation might have to require some less than reputable actions, such as breaking into the school. She couldn't very well do that without the risk of getting caught. She sighed. This was why her father had flunkies.
Perhaps Abacus could go to Canterlot High on Monday... but under what pretense? The district meeting had already happened, and her being there would more than likely arouse suspicion.
Abacus could investigate tonight, but she was exhausted from the day's activities, and she still had some leftover work to do as well! She heaved a sigh, then headed to her office.
As Cadance walked away from Twilight's lab, her mind was full of questions. Why was Cinch in Twilight's lab? What did she hope to gain? What was she planning?
Cadance shook her head. She didn't think Cinch would have calmed down over the result of the Friendship Games. That woman was tougher than she gave her credit for! She'd have to re-evaluate her at some point...
Cadance reached her office, then saw her desk phone had messages on it. She stared at the blinking light, then walked over to her desk and sat down and closed her eyes. She took her arm and pressed it against her chest as she inhaled, then waited a moment. She then exhaled and extended her arm forward.
Cadance opened her eyes, then went straight to work.
A couple of hours had passed since Cinch was in Twilight's lab, and she had finished all of her work. She had had a headache for the last half-hour, and was in dire need of a good night's sleep.
A gunshot sounded off in Abacus' mind, and she yelped. She stood still for a moment, panting until she realized is was all in her imagination. She grit her teeth and growled. She thought she was through with that damned sound after her nightmare cleared up!
Abacus slowly shook her head as she got off of her desk chair. It felt like there was a long road ahead of her with little to no stops in sight, and she wondered if her late father ever had that issue. With a sigh, she turned off her office light and left for home.
Silence. At long last, Cadance could hear herself think! The last few hours, all she could hear were the voices of angry parents. Confused parents. Scared parents. To say nothing of the S.M.I.L.E.-related questions she received!
Cadance buried her head in her hands. She resisted the temptation to scream, then go home and drink herself into oblivion, her pounding headache be damned! Today had been a very, very stressful day.
Cadance raised her head and stood up. She decided that she would try to spend the weekend relaxing. Emphasis on try. She'd still have to contact agents and reassure them that everyone was okay. Well, physically okay.
Cadance made a sputtering noise as she headed for the door. As she left her office, she could only imagine the mental state of the student body as a whole right now.
It was not a thought she relished.