//------------------------------//
// The Professor 
// Story: The Truth of the Alicorn 
// by ThunderChaserCreate 
//------------------------------//

January 2nd, 1011

The strangest thing about 'The Academy,' as the broken-down building was so named, was that it...
wasn't really even a building. Sure, the hunks of stone held together with tar could loosely be described as walls, but the roof was almost non-existent. It had caved in more than once, and now had supportive columns made of tree trunks protruding from the collapsing disaster. High iron gates with bold letters that spelled 'The Academy' over and over again, circled the apparent place of learning.
As if to hit confirm the pure discord of the building, the 'm' in 'Academy' fell off as soon as I had stepped down from the carriage. I took several hesitant steps towards the health code violation, than looked back to the driver of the carriage.
"Are you sure this is the place?" I asked him. The disgruntled pony replied, "It's none of my business." and galloped off before I could ask a follow-up question.
I took a shaky breath and started back toward the dilapidated building. The double doors, though they must have been magnificent in their prime, were hanging off of rusty hinges, and had a knocker shaped like a draconequus' face. Not only that, but it was too high for me to reach. I tapped on the door with my hoof, which swung slowly open with a creak, revealing the gnarled face of a... pony?
"Hmmmmunghhhhh..." the colt moaned, only the left half of his mouth moved, revealing a row of sharp, black, rotten teeth. The other half of his mouth appeared to be sewn shut.
"Uh-" my voice wavered and I gulped, "uhh?" 
Another pony came out from behind him, a mare, looking very annoyed. She murmured something fiercely into the ear of the disheveled stallion. 
She had an angular face and a longer snout than usual. When she saw that I was a student, she plastered a fake smile across her face, "Welcome! I am the Professor! And you must be...?"
I opened my mouth, but no sound came out. I was too busy watching the seemingly melting face of the pony beside her. She maintained her artificial grin, but gave the other pony a swift kick in the rear end. He made a sound, not of pain or surprise, but from the sheer effort it took to haul himself up out of the sitting position and shuffle into the next room. His knobby spine jutted out from his skin, creating strange shapes on his back.
The Professor kept her pretend beam smothered over her face, but her eyes glared down at me as she asked, "Would you like to come in?" I knew that even though it was phrased as a question, it was more of an order.
"Umm... I think I have the wrong h--house. I'm sorry I b-bothered you!" I turned and prepared to dash for it, when a red aura appeared around the iron gate, and it slammed shut, broken lock repairing itself.
"I'll ask you once more," the mare's smile now an evil smirk, and very real, "Won't you please come in?"