Emily sat down on the couch, exasperated. Loud party music and the sound of people talking thumped within her skull, but bothered her even less now that she had some alcohol in her system.
The home football team had won the game earlier that afternoon, and were throwing a massive party as a result, and all members of the team, and anybody who happened to cross by, were there and celebrating the sweet taste of victory with a live DJ, plenty of booze, drugs and women. The party had been going on for a while; Emily had to estimate that it was around midnight by now, but everyone
still seemed to be enjoying every aspect of the party and held no intent of stopping until the brink of dawn and beyond.
Emily, however, was still in a slump. After her argument with James, she really didn't feel like partying: she just wanted to apologize to him when she could. Hence why she bothered showing instead of going home; Bernard would somehow find a way to convince James to come along, given the opportunity, however, in hindsight, James always seemed much more quiet in nature in comparison to Emily's lifestyle, and the thought of him even bothering to show up to a party was slightly humorous, even to her. Bernard, speaking of him, while not a party animal, did enjoy the occasional get together, but didn't bother showing up to this one.
She set down the red cup she had been holding at her feet in front of her and rested her chin in her hands, and remembered James' mysterious disappearing act in the hallway. She thought through the scenario over and over, and it was all she could think about on her way to the party: how did James suddenly... vanish? In all, logical sense, James couldn't have walked around a corner: the hallway was long and had no other place for him to disappear to. Which left only the impossible: he completely disappeared.
She kept the thought to herself, knowing not a soul here would believe her. She picked up her cup and took a swig of her beer; maybe the alcohol would help her forget a little. She analyzed the scene of the party: she saw people doing keg stands in the backyard of the house, with a crowd of onlookers cheering him on as he drank. Her eyes continued to scan along the scene until they stopped for a moment at a group of guys sitting before a television: they were watching a game of soccer, yet the different quality and the controllers in their hands spoke of a different scene.
Emily scoffed at the group as they continued to play, then suddenly remembered James and nearly broke down as a result. She decided to head out, when, at the doorway, a familiar face approached her.
It was Bernard, of all people in the world. It was near impossible to forget the blonde hair with brown roots and his stocky build. He seemed to be having some trouble dealing with the guy at the front door, who was acting as if he were security of the party, in spite of how they allowed random strangers to enter the place without as much of an invitation.
Emily approached Bernard in the doorway as the argument escalated even further. Bernard eventually saw Emily and began waving at her. "Hey! Em! Give me a hand with this ass hat over here, eh?"
Emily shook her head and made her way out of the house. "It's alright," she admitted, trying to maintain a calm, collected appearance, "I was just about to leave this place anyway," she looked back at the supposed-guard of the place, who was obviously looking her up, his eyes lingering on certain aspects of her that she would much rather him not stare at. She threw her cup at him, which splashed him with the remnants of her beer, startling him. "Watch where your looking," she said dangerously, "my eyes are way up here."
Quickly, she grabbed Bernard and began walking away from the house and onto the sidewalk, powerful strides leading the way.
She finally stopped and let Bernard go when they were a safe distance from the house. Her expression changed suddenly; to the one of soft innocence as opposed to her casual, typical mentality. "What's wrong Bernard? I haven't seen you this stressed since..." she began thinking of a possible time, "...never."
Bernard was visibly fearful, began talking rapidly. "It's bad, Em," he began, making even Emily share a similar sense of dread he did, "it's about James: he didn't come home tonight. At all. His parents hadn't seen him."
Emily's eyes widened. "He... didn't go home...? At all?"
Bernard was now in full panic mode. "No! The last time they saw him was when he left in the morning for school!" He paced about in a circle, clearly worried about his best friend, "it's why I came to the party; I thought that, even though the chances were low, he would have come to apologize to you-"
Emily raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean that the 'chances were low'? You think he wouldn't have come to apologize?"
Bernard face palmed. "No! It's the party; James has a thing against parties. He's not exactly what most people would call 'social'. I have no doubt in my mind he would have come searching for you to apologize."
"Well, as nice as the thought is, he didn't show up to the party..."
Bernard's face became even more gloomy. "I... I see," he turned around and stuffed his hands back into his pockets, "sorry for disturbing you. You can go back to your party."
The sight of Bernard in this state hurt Emily; she seemed to be prone to hurting people's feelings today, and the fact she was tipsy didn't make matters much better.
One thing did matter to her though: James was missing, and it may have even been her fault. If she and Bernard were the last people to see him, then that meant it was up to them to find him in the first place.
As Bernard began to leave, Emily yanked him back by his arm. "I already told you," she said, a determined expression on her face, "I was already going to leave the party. I have no intentions of returning. I'm going to help you look for James."
This caused Bernard to smile. "Thank you," he said, wholeheartedly, "this means the world to me."
"So... where should we start looking? Have you checked every place he visits regularly?"
"That and then some. Even the places he doesn't visit regularly. I even contacted his tournament buddies to see if they knew if he was in some tournament somewhere," he shook his head, "no luck there."
Emily began thinking hard, remembering James suddenly disappearing within the school without rhyme or reason. "What about the school?" She inquired, "did you check there?"
Bernard shrugged. "Scouted the entire perimeter. Place is locked up tighter than Alcatraz though. There's no way we're getting inside."
Emily suddenly grinned, an idea popped into her head. "At least, no way LEGALLY."
Now it was Bernard's turn to be confused and slightly concerned. "I know I'm gonna regret asking, but what is your great idea?"
Emily sighed. "Look; I'm serious about trying to find him. If you're not, then you don't have to come."
"Oh HELL no! James is my friend, and I want him back just as badly as you do! If your plan ends up working, then I'm all for it."
Emily looked up at the sky. "Do you know what time it is, Bernard?"
Bernard pulled out his phone and checked. "Just past 1:00. Why do you ask?"
"Then yeah, I think they'll be drunk enough for it..."
"Emily, just what ARE you thinking about?"
Emily's grin was back in full force. "Ever heard about the time the football players broke in and vandalized every classroom in the school?"
Bernard recalled the event. "Toilet paper, glue and spray paint. Put it together, and you get one day off from school," he said with a chuckle, "never really knew how they got in the school in the first place though..."
"One of the football players, Jimmy. His fathers a locksmith. He built the locks for the school; he knows them like the back of his hand," she turned back to the party house, where things seemed to be getting a little bit more rambunctious, "he's here tonight. If we can somehow lure them and convince him to do it again, then we can check the school for ourselves and maybe find where James went off to!"
Bernard was a bit sheepish to the idea. "I'm not too sure, Em... what if we're caught?"
Emily scoffed at the stocky boy. "We won't be! We'll just look around for James, and if things start going south we can slip away through the commotion! Loud, drunk teenage boys are the BEST ways to cover yourself."
Bernard folded his arms. "I really hope you're not speaking from experience here..."
The athletic teen let out a sheepish giggle and began twiddling her thumbs. "Umm... well..." she blushed, "I-I don't have to confess to anything you accuse me of!"
"Yet you don't DENY it, do you?"
Her blush deepend. "Okay, I MAY have been the reason as to why school was cancelled last time they broke in..."
"You mean they broke in before?"
"And I may have pointed out his father was a locksmith..."
"...I think it may just be better if you confessed to the lot of it."
Emily, who's face was now as red as a tomato, didn't look Bernard in the eye. "Okay, I wanted to do something a little crazy the night before and I heard a rumor that Jimmy's father was a locksmith who built the school locks, and... well, I convinced him to break open the doors and convinced the rest of the team to help make as big of a mess as possible in the rest of the school, but we only had glue, spray paint and toilet paper... it did work out in the end, though!"
Bernard shook his head. "Two things: one, when you say it worked out in the end, do you mean for you or yourself? Secondly, just how did you convince the son of a locksmith to break the very things his father built?"
Emily waved her hand. "Unimportant details that we REALLY should not be overthinking!" She exclaimed it with a nervous laugh. She quickly grabbed Bernard's arm and began running, causing him to stumble along behind her, "let's go!" She yelled enthusiastically.
Bernard smiled, his first smile in the past couple of hours, as he ran along with Emily back toward the thunderous sound of music and drunken cheers.
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Emily, Bernard and the rest of the football team stood outside the school, hooting and hollering loudly as poor Jimmy began breaking open the lock for the second time. The team soon began chanting Jimmy's name as he worked faster and faster, until a loud click was heard and the door was hauled open. The team hollered loudly and ran inside, eager for another round of mayhem after a long down period.
Emily grinned. "S-see?" She said, slight slur in her voice showing she was on the verge of passing from tipsy to drunk at any moment, "I told ya: all guys want to do is eat, fight, sleep and f-fuck." She took another step forward, stumbled slightly and caught herself on Bernard.
Bernard sighed and supported her as she straightened herself up. "I'll admit; you do know how to work a crowd, but maybe chugging another beer was a bit excessive; you can hardly walk."
Emily hiccuped. "It was *hic* totally necessary, Bernard. If I wanted to be taken seriously by those guys, I-I had to show them I meant *hic* business."
Bernard looked back inside the dark building. "Well, in the end, it seems your idea worked out for the better. Come on; let's see if we can find James."
Bernard took a step forward, and Emily tried to follow suit, wobbled a little before grabbing back onto Bernard for support. She let out another sheepish giggle, and Bernard rolled his eyes: he really didn't have time for this. There was no telling when people would notice the group of teens breaking into the school, and there was no time to lose. Bernard quickly picked up Emily, who let out a confused squeal as she was quickly moved onto Bernard's back, who then carried her along through the dark hallways of the school.
Emily began protesting. "Hey! I-I can walk just f-fine on my own! I've RAN while more drunk than this!"
"Yeah? And how did that end up for you?"
She giggled, "broken *hic* nose."
Bernard could hear the sound of the foot ball team yelling to each other in drunken commands as they each began to trash the interior of the cafeteria. Bernard was thankful the school's layout was so easy to memorize. 'Turn left, take another left at the corner, head right...'
As Bernard began walking through the school, Emily stopped protesting and quietly rested her head on his broad shoulder. She sighed. "Why are you so determined to save *hic* James? I-I mean sure; breaking into the s-school is good 'nd all, but," she brought a finger to her chin in mock thought, "I feel there's s-something more to it than that."
Bernard stopped momentarily. "James is my best friend," he admitted after a pregnant silence, "if something happened to him then I want to know what and if there's anything I CAN do to help. If that means I have to bend or break some rules, then," he began walking again, hoisting Emily back onto his back, "so be it. Why do you care so much about James? I mean, sure that you two fall into the category of 'friends' but you still both live in separate worlds!"
Emily laughed loudly at that. "S-separate worlds? R-really Bernard? You know that's-"
"he likes video games, staying quiet and on his own without attracting too much attention to himself and absolutely despises sports."
"Y-yeah? So-"
"You're the exact polar opposite; you hate video games and, based on how you acted at that party, you love attracting attention to yourself. And you love anything sports related," he cast his glance behind him, "forgive me for saying this, but I can't help but feel that maybe, just maybe, you would follow that traditional cliche of how you would be attracted to the quarterback of the football team and openly make out with him on the field during an important game or something."
Emily balled her hands into fists. "Everyone MAY be entitled to their own opinion, but they should still be aware of who they're vocalizing it to, and how they say it. That's the big problem with freedom of speech," she grinned smugly, her voice holding an unreasonably sharp edge, "quote: Bernard."
"I asked for your forgiveness right from the get go."
"That doesn't mean you got it!"
"Well then, how about you prove me wrong and tell me just how you don't fall into this cliche then?"
She raised her head up. "I *hic* actually DID date the quarterback of the football team-"
"this isn't helping your case..."
"y-you didn't even let me finish! I broke up with him after our first two dates!"
Bernard raised a curious eyebrow. "And how long was that?"
"It-it was about... two weeks?"
"Why'd you break up with him? You hardly gave him a chance."
"He was an asshole. Plain and simple."
Bernard couldn't help but laugh. "I get that all the time. People still consider me a good guy."
"No. Not like an asshole like you..." Emily trailed off after that, looking down.
Bernard stopped for a moment, noticing he may have crossed a line. "If you don't want to talk about it, you really don't have to."
Emily shook her head. "N-no. I've been w-wanting to get this off my chest for a wile. I just... don't have the right people to t-talk to."
"If you say so. I'm not going to tell anyone."
"There's the difference."
Bernard gave a confused look. "What difference?"
"Between you being an asshole and him being an asshole. Y-you can at least manage yourself and s-sense the mood. A-and control yourself."
Bernard's confused expression turned into one of understanding. "He was a constant asshole?"
"And more. I thought he was a nice guy s-starting out, but..."
"But what?"
Emily sighed, "once our relationship g-got off, he just... kept bragging. I-I mean, sure; it was nice. He always talked a-about me and the attention w-was nice, but... he t-took it too *hic* far. He w-would brag to all of his friends about things... that should just be p-private, y'know?"
"Did you two... y'know... do it?"
Emily reeled back,a blush on her face. "No! O-of course not! I-I believe sex should stay between m-married people. I was mainly *hic* talking about things like making out and stuff. He- he just... kept talking and-and talking... e-eventually, I heard a rumor f-from one of my friends. About how h-he was going to try and... and..." tears now stained her face, "make a move. I-I didn't want to be a p-part of that so... I left him. B-but... he just. Kept. Talking. H-he m-made up an entire story a-about how we actually DID d-do it and everyone fell for it." She buried her face into Bernard's back, "it was s-so difficult to t-try and repair my reputation. E-even my friends who I thought w-were always on my side... they started looking at me differently. L-like I hurt them and they didn't f-forgive me."
Bernard nodded in understanding as Emily began to sob. "I see..." he murmured to himself.
Emily glanced back up. "T-that's why I can't f-forgive him. H-he hurt me that day and... and..." she broke off into uncontrollable sobs that made soft echoes throughout the dark school.
Bernard decided to sit her down against the wall and let her sadness run its course. There wasn't much he could do at the moment, so he let her cry. He let out a sigh; this girl had too many emotions bottled up. He slowly sat down beside her and began to rub her back in hopes of soothing her slightly.
"That's why I like James."
Bernard glanced up at her in confusion. "Pardon?"
"B-because he's quiet... a-and honest... he was one p-person who I c-could talk to who... didn't judge me."
Bernard laughed a little. "That's because you both live in separate worlds." Emily looked at him in confusion as he continued talking, "James doesn't involve himself too often with people other than his friends. He may not have even known about the story in the
first place," he gave her a pleasant smile, "but I honestly doubt he would have judged you for it, even if he did know."
Emily let out a small laugh herself, wiping tears from her eyes. "N-now I see what you mean by that... I-I guess it's for the b-better though. That he didn't know a-about that."
Bernard stayed quiet for a bit before asking his question. "So... you like James?"
Emily blushed. "I-if we find him, please don't tell..."
"Why not? I think it's a brilliant idea."
"Bernard, please... if he found out-"
"He would be delighted."
"... y-you think?"
Bernard sighed. "He's had a thing for you as well. Good lord, how are you two so oblivious? Even during the football game, he was giving you looks. You're one of the few people he actually smiles at when he's having a conversation with, and I can count on one hand how many people he truly seems happy to talk to," he shook his head, "the both of you. Too unconfident to voice how you feel, yet both of you share the same feeling. It's sad, really: in my opinion, you two could have been a thing a long time ago if one of you just tried."
Emily looked up at Bernard, a smile across her face, and her blush still present, though not as bright. "J-James... he liked me all along?" Her expression, one of awe, persisted, "but... d-do you know why he didn't try?"
Bernard closed his eyes and hummed to himself. "It's like I said; different worlds. He saw you as someone who was completely out of reach to him. Like a star in the sky. It's true, he wanted to reach the heights and expectations that you set as your standards, but my best guess is he just felt that he wouldn't get there."
Emily went silent after that, a flurry of emotions hitting her all at once as she finally began to understand James as a whole. Bernard got up after a long while in their shared silence, only the sound of the drunk football players heard between them. "Come on," he said, offering his hand out to her, "we still have to find James before anybody finds out about the rest of the drunken idiots in the place and calls the police."
Emily looked up at his hand, and smiled before taking it and rising to her feet, wobbling slightly. Bernard frowned. "Can you walk on your own, or do you need me to carry you still?"
"I-I can try..." she took a couple small steps and managed to maintain he balance, "I can walk."
"Perfect. Let's get going."
Albeit with a little difficulty, Emily and Bernard continued down through the school at a slow pace, Bernard keeping a close eye on Emily in case she fell. Emily, who seemed to have become an entirely different person after learning the truth, bore a happy expression on her face as they continued their trek.
Bernard and Emily turned one more corner and both stopped dead at the sight of the familiar hallway. Emily's smiling face soon disappeared and was replaced with one of sorrow as she remembered James' disappearance earlier in the day. She cast a glance to Bernard who was visibly clenching his teeth as he stared to the end of the hallway.
Bernard slowly began walking forward. "You know, I never understood why we didn't just enter through the doors leading into the hallway in the first place."
Emily shook her head, walking the same pace as Bernard. "It's for respect. *hic* it's part of their tradition to - to lock the doors, remember? If they break that lock, and they p-play game, they believe they'll have *hic* bad luck," she turned her gaze back to the hallway before her, "it's stupid, I know, but it's just what they do; they'd rather not t-take the risk."
Bernard shrugged. "Understandable. But, if what you said was true and James really did just 'disappear', then I get the feeling we might not be able to recreate that same effect without walking through that door first."
Emily shook her head. "It's worth a shot though."
They were both quiet as Bernard continued walking forward. Emily gripped tightly onto Bernard's arm to steady herself, staring about wide eyed.
Bernard hadn't felt anything unusual. In fact, he felt the exact opposite; he felt pretty normal, but something just felt... peculiar about the scenario. Emily finally vocalized the elephant in the room. "Is it just me, or did the hallway get REALLY dark all of a sudden..."
Bernard looked around worriedly, shocked to see that the familiar walls of the school were replaced by pitch black darkness. Bernard felt Emily's grip tighten around his arm as they stared into the darkness. "What should we do?"
Bernard looked beside him to see a panicked Emily, iris' the size of pinpricks, glancing about frantically. Bernard sighed, attempting to calm himself from the sudden change of scenery. "We should move forward," he said, taking a step, "this may be where James went. It would explain his," he paused momentarily, "disappearance."
Bernard suddenly felt Emily's grip on his arm slack. He turned his attention back to her and saw she was about to collapse. He quickly caught her, making sure she didn't fall and hurt herself.
Emily was clutching her head, a mix of pain and relief entering her system at the same time. She felt her vision clearing somewhat and her muddled thoughts returning to her once more.
"Em, you okay?"
Emily turned her attention back to Bernard, concern was clear in his eyes and she smiled, "yeah... I feel..."
She suddenly felt... clean. Sober.
She stood up from Bernard's grip and took a wary step froward and found she was walking in a clear line. "I'm... not drunk anymore..."
Bernard stared at her, facinated. "Really? That's odd..."
Emily shook her head. "It doesn't matter. I'm glad I can think straight but..." her expression was slightly forlorn, "it's a little unusual."
Bernard smiled, then turned his attention back to the long hallway before them. "Well, at least you can walk on your own now. Come on; let's find James."
Emily nodded silently, but kept a death grip on Bernard's arm as they continued to walk through the darkness.
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"And that just about summarizes everything."
James stood before the human form of Celestia, smiling broadly; in spite of the unusual circumstance he found himself in, talking had seemed to help his uneasiness, and with the promise of power presented to James by the Princess, he had a LOT to speak about.
Celestia listened to every word the human spoke of, weaving tales of ancient heroes and powerful creatures and unusual technology she had not heard of in her life. The concept fascinated the princess of the sun, and she hung on to every word James spoke of as he gave his lengthy explanation, never once growing bored as he jumped between idea and idea.
James had to admit; he was rather happy about how eager the Princess was to listen to him. Normally, he restrained himself to only speaking in tolerable amounts to not lose people, but Celestia seemed to understand his explanations, so he went all out; explaining consoles, lore, characters, the development of games themselves, controllers... there wasn't anything he left out, his excitement only increasing as he passionately spoke onward.
However, his long speech came to an end, and he smiled in satisfaction. Celestia, having sat down during the explanation, arose to her feet. "That sounds quite interesting!" She said excitedly, "however, I fail to see how this can possibly become any possible power for you. Can you elaborate for me, please?"
James smile increased, "isn't it obvious? I want the power of every game I know."
Celestia put on a thoughtful expression. "That's an incredible amount of power," she admitted, "it is something I can do, however I first need to analyze which games you have played in your life, though..." her expression turned to one of concern, "I'm not sure if you'd be able to control such power. Even simply speaking the incorrect words can cause an incredible amount of damage, maybe even to yourself. I'd suggest a possible way to regulate your power to prevent any unnecessary risk."
James shrugged. "Maybe... but, I have some ideas for things I want, and I don't want them ruined by limitations."
"James, limitations can be a life saver-"
"But what if I want to use several powers at once?"
"You can still use multiple powers; just not all at once. James, please consider this; my sister and I also use regulations to keep a rain check on our powers, and with what you want to use, I'd strongly recommend it."
James pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. "Fine, fine, I'll give it some thought," he looked back up at the sun Princess, "but, what should I make it? Does it have to be an actual object or can it be something... nonexistent?"
Celestia smiled. "It can be anything you want it to be, James. However, I'd suggest you use a physical object; that way you'll be able to keep track of just how powerful you are."
James raised an eyebrow in confusion, "I can keep track of my power? What does that even mean?"
"In Equestria, all magic spells use a certain amount of power from the user. It all depends on the amount of power the user wields; higher power means even greater spells can be used, or a greater quantity of spells can be used in succession," she explained, "most ponies are capable of finding out the... statistics, if you will, of how great their power is and can compare them to see if they can cast a particular spell. Recently, some breakthroughs have been made in magic recently; one of them being able to keep track of your power, how much power you've used," Celestia rotated her hand in a lazy circle, "et cetera. It is quite useful for a pony who casts magic quite frequently."
James nodded in understanding. "So, if you don't have enough power to cast a spell, you can't cast it. Got i-"
"Well... there are some exceptions."
James glanced up at her, arms folded, "you just contradicted yourself then."
"Well, some spells can be channeled instead of immediately cast; the channeling itself causing the user to continuously build up power until they are able to use the ability, though it is a lot more," she thought about the next word for a moment, "stressful. And time consuming. However, another recent breakthrough was found; there is a way to speed up the process of a channel, if used correctly."
James leaned forward, interested. "Go on...?"
"Usually, a channeling requires immense amounts of concentration, however if the user is energized by something: not energized as in electricity, energized as in excited," Celestia shook her head, "hence the HOPEFULLY temporary name for it, called 'hype', it is, in essence, the caster becoming energized by something around them and it allows them to channel the spell at a much faster rate."
James cocked his head. "So, if the user is hyped up by something, like music, then they channel spells a lot faster?"
Celestia laughed. "It was actually discovered through the use of music, surprisingly enough. Though I didn't approve of his methods, he did advance the field of magic by quite a bit using his technique. He always did have a very... unique taste in music."
"He...?"
Celestia let out a small gasp and quickly turned her head, flowing rainbow hair masking most of her face, "umm... that's a topic I would rather not get in to. I already spoke too much as is."
James shrugged it off. "Alright. I won't pry. But, you think maybe we could get along with this? I'm not sure how long we've been sitting here for, but I think we've wasted enough time just waiting around and discussing things."
Celestia nodded, "yes, of course! All we have to do is analyze your mind for the games you have played and then we can get you into Equestria."
"Okay. Just make it fast."
Celestia paused for a brief moment. "Also, in order to use my magic, I have to return to my original form. Do you mind?"
"Your original...?" James suddenly recalled Celestia was not actually a human, "oh, right! You're a pony. Forgot for a moment." He laughed sheepishly.
"But do you mind it?"
James shook his head, "not at all. I mean; if Equestria is full of ponies like you, then I guess I'll have to get accustomed to it sooner rather than later."
Celestia smiled for a brief moment, "very good. Please be pa-" she paused and cast a wary glance around.
James cocked his head. "Umm... Celestia? You okay there?"
"Somebody else is here..."
James took a quick glance around; nothing but a white room filled his vision. "There's... nobody here..."
"In the hallway..." Celestia's hands balled up into fists, "one of them was drunk."
"Hallw-", James stopped as he recalled the dark hallway before entering the white room, "actually, I kind of wanted to ask about that..."
Celestia now seemed a lot more anxious. She quickly put on her best smile, "I can explain it all later," she said rather quickly, "but, for now, I have to go and deal with this... nuisance."
She walked past James, who turned around to watch her go, "should I just... stay here then?"
"Yes," Celestia responded in an instant, "if you please."
James sighed, "alright."
As James turned back around, Celestia's face contorted to one of frustration. She made her way to the back of the white room and disappeared into the dark hallway.
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Celestia let out a small sigh as she entered; the hallway was fairly ominous, even by her standards. She made a mental note to change the color to something a little more welcoming in hopes of preventing possible panic.
she shook the thought out of her mind; she had business to take care of. She quickly began casting her transformation spell and quickly shifted back into her typical pony form. She stretched out her wings and gave her brilliant white coat a once over. Her mane and tail both seemed well maintained, and she smiled as she acknowledged her proper appearance. She began walking down the dark hall.
She was mentally kicking herself. While James was explaining video games to her, she had forgotten to close the transition into the hallway and someone else- she cast a quick detection spell and double checked all if more people entered the area. She sighed with relief when she found only two signatures- multiple someones happened to find the transition and walk on in.
She also sensed alcohol on one of them; actually, it was what triggered her mental alarm. The hallway utilized a special spell that ensured all people who entered the hallway would react properly to any and all events. Meaning, they had to be clean. The spell itself directly removed any and all substances from the blood stream and refreshed the mind, allowing for a more proper meeting as opposed to Celestia being forced to wait for the person of interest to sober up; it saved her time, and she was a very busy pony.
She stopped momentarily as an idea popped into her head; instead of a direct interception with these two people, why not simply frighten them away? She nodded in approval of her idea and began preparing her magic; first, transition the hallway to white.
Second, direct telepathic communication with the two invaders.
Her smile came back to her; this should be easy.
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Bernard continued walking forward, with nowhere else to go, he was left with very little choice. Emily still had a death grip on his arm as they moved onward in the dark hall.
Bernard's mind began drifting as he walked onward. Why was this hallway here in the first place? He had walked down that particular hallway at the school many times over, and this was something that had never happened. He gave his brain a little kick; of course this never happened. What was happening here was borderline supernatural. Pitch black hallways don't just appear when they feel like it, especially throughout the school. He felt a little bit more on edge; this may have been done by another force altogether. If that was the case, then they may be hostile. He balled his hands into fists; if they were hostile, then James may be injured by now. Or worse.
Bernard subtly increased his walking speed and Emily kept pace. She had been awfully quiet ever since they entered the hallway and was incredibly fearful. She still held a tight grip to Bernard as they both walked down the hallway. Bernard was actually concerned that his arm would be permanently imprinted with Emily's hand prints, like a stamp, if she gripped any tighter.
Emily, after several minutes of unwavering silence, decided to try and make some small talk. "So, uhh... how long have you known James for?" She asked sheepishly.
Bernard's response was almost automatic. "About 7 years."
"That's a pretty long time. That means you met back in grade 6?"
"Yeah. At the beginning of the year."
"How did you meet him?"
He had to think for a moment on the answer, "it was the first day of school, if I recall it correctly. He was sitting alone on his computer. He was playing a weird kind of game. Something about a tiny skeleton and genocide. It had a catchy song though, and that was enough appeal for me to come over. I started watching and he didn't really appreciate it too much," he laughed a little, "I guess not many people appreciate random strangers watching them play video games over their shoulder. Anyway, I introduced myself, he did as well. He was a lot more patient while introducing himself, which was a nice change of pace."
"Anyways, I saw what he was trying to do and asked if I could give it a shot myself. He was pretty hesitant about it, but he said yes," he sighed and shook his head, "it was the hardest damn thing I ever tried. I couldn't even get past his first attack! I tried it a couple more times, and no luck. I was silently hoping he didn't have to watch me fail consecutively at the first attack of an enemy, but..." he shrugged, "he didn't. If anything, he was simply watching me try. Not in a mocking way, but observant. After about five failed attempts, he decided to step in and explain some tricks. I listened, tried it again and got through the very first attack." He shook his head again, "it sounds pretty pathetic when I say it, getting through the first attack of an enemy. Anyway, he tried got back on and played and holy shit; his reaction time was fast. He knew every attack almost. Practically beat it on the first try. That moment on, he had my admiration, and we continued hanging out together and became fast friends. That's pretty much it."
Emily pondered it for a moment. "I thought you weren't a fan of video games..."
Bernard cast a curious glance back to Emily. "I never said that."
"Well, I've never seen you playing any games. Let alone with James."
"You only ever see James or me at school. You think I bring video game consoles with me just so I can play with James? I like it, sure, but I'm not obsessed."
Emily sighed at the stocky boy's sarcasm. "Are all of James' friends video game fanatics?"
Bernard chuckled. "Practically. He met a lot of people through tournaments that he played in and made a lot of friends as crazy about games as he is."
"You mentioned those tournaments. Does James ever do well?"
"James usually places top five in those tournaments. He does incredibly well."
"What game is it?"
"Super Smash Brothers Melee. That's what it is most of the time. He plays Falco and Marth.
Emily cocked her head in confusion. "Who?"
Bernards eyes flashed with recollection. "That's right. You know practically nothing about video games..."
Emily looked down at the ground, slightly ashamed. "W-well... I just can't picture myself liking them..."
"Ever tried one?"
"Yeah... I tried one back when I was younger."
"And...?"
"Well-"
She was quickly cut off as bright, white light flooded through the hallway. The quick contrast in lighting forced the two of them to shield their eyes from the radiance of light. Since their eyes were still adapted to the dark, the light was borderline blinding. Bernard quickly tried to glance back at into the hallway. Though his eyes strained, he managed to see the rest of the hallway and saw near the end of the hallway farther ahead of them... he squinted a little harder at it.
It was something pale white, almost the identical shade of the hallway, so telling apart what was wall and what was the thing was almost impossible. The only way Bernard could tell that something was even there was through two small, rippling rainbows that seemed to portrude from the thing and a pair of deep, purple iris' seen on the things face. He also faintly saw smallshades of gold near it's feet. Before he could process what he saw further, a voice echoed within his head.
'The two of you! Please return the way you came! There is nothing here for you!'
Bernard looked around, thinking the voice he heard was actually some sort of speaker, or maybe the thing at the end of the hall was capable of projecting their voice incredibly well. He quickly came to the conclusion that it was in his head. Though, it wasn't a thought. He never had a thought that was quite so loud and demanding, let alone something in this particular voice. He narrowed it down a little further and reached a roadblock of what was physically possible and what was impossible. He gritted his teeth; maybe this was the supernatural force he had been worrying about.
He quickly looked at the thing, and assessed it further. He wasn't entirely sure what to make of it's warning; on one hand, it may be hostile, and this was it's territory. It may attack them at a moment's notice and could possibly kill them. On the other hand, the announcement it gave, while clear and demanding, was not, by any means, threatening. He took a wary step forward and felt a sharp tug on his arm. He quickly whipped his head around and saw Emily clinging to Bernard in fright, eyes clenched shut. The only thing that was keeping her together
was her tight grip on Bernards arm. He sighed as he quickly realized he wouldn't be able to take another step until Emily has calmed down, at least a little.
He turned his attention back to the thing and took a gamble; it had communicated to them telepathically, which meant there was a chance it understood what he would say. "We apologize for this..." he thought for the right word momentarily, "inconvenience. We're just here for our friend and then we'll go." He called out loudly, ensuring that the thing would hear him.
It took a moment before it responded through telepathy once more. 'I apologize, however I do not believe your friend is in our custody. You must be mistaken.'
Bernard huffed, "we can't be mistaken!" He shouted back in response, "he has to be here! I think you're mistaken! Or..." he gritted his teeth, "lying."
The thing seemed to be losing a little bit of mental ground on this back and forth, 'I can assure you; we do not have your friend here. I request you leave immediately.'
Bernard tensed as she finished speaking. He turned his gaze back to Emily, who seemed to calm down somewhat. "James is here."
Emily's eyes widened. "But it just said-"
"I don't care what it said; it's obviously lying. We need to find a way past it."
"I think we should leave... maybe James went home?"
Bernard shook his head. He didn't believe it. He refused to believe it. "James is here," He said firmly, turning back to the thing before them, "I'll show you. I'll make first move. When it's distracted by me, you go around and run as fast as you can. James must be at the end of this hall."
"But-"
Bernard turned his head to Emily, clear frustration on his face, "Emily, dammit just trust me on this one. Do you want James back or not?"
Emily quickly found herself again as Bernard said that. She let go of Bernard. "I want James back," She said, some of her confidence coming back to her, "okay. I'm trusting you, Bernard."
Bernard smiled as she said it. "Okay. On the count of three, we run at it, okay?"
Emily nodded. She tensed herself and got ready to sprint.
"One... two..." Bernard cast a confident glance to Emily, who nodded in response, "THREE!"
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Celestia was not happy with this outcome.
Hoping to solve this dispute with simple diplomacy and a white lie didn't seem to cut it. Some humans were rather intelligent creatures and, these ones were a good example, could see through lies as easily as she could give them. She made a quick few observations as they ran towards her. The fat one was slow, lagging behind the female, who, Celestia's eyes widened as she watched her speed ahead, was incredibly fast. Not as fast as a pony at full speed, but certainly an impressive feat for a being only using two legs instead of four.
She mentally shook herself. She didn't want to hurt these humans; they weren't important to her, but more than one was already big news to them. Clearly, talking didn't seem to work.
She sighed; actions always did speak much louder than words.
She quickly spread her wide wings in display. She knew a thing or two about humans; size always played a factor in a fight. A smaller foe meant an easier fight to them and, as beings incapable of magic or personal flight, this was understandable and relatable between Earth ponies and humans.
As she spread her wings out, the humans did take notice of her large wing span and stopped in their tracks. She internally grinned; it worked every time.
Now that they were closer, Celestia could get a closer look at them, and they could get a closer look at her. She noted that the male was a larger specimen, however his size did not cover up the fact he had some muscle on him, meaning he could do some damage if he so chose. He had blonde hair, obviously not natural due to the brown still protruding from his roots.He was also, quite obviously, very stubborn.
The female, was almost opposite; thin, lithe and muscular. Smaller and shorter than the boy, but obviously a person who preferred to stay fit rather than laze around. Celestia was more concerned about her than the boy, as she had something he didn't; speed. Which, if she played it right, could be dangerous.
They both were staring up at her. She didn't exactly tower over them, the male nearly being able to make eye contact with her, but she was just tall enough for them to have to look up at her in order to see her face.
She decided to give them as little time as possible; she had to make sure these people didn't reach James and wanted to do so as quickly as possible. Her horn began glowing a golden color as she began channeling her magic.
The fat one reacted to her channeling, noticing it and eyes growing wide. Celestia flinched; she failed to assess if he was even remotely intelligent. It seems, however, he was aware of the imminent threat. Even though humans are incapable of magic, they still were good at playing the guessing game. He quickly made a move and leapt straight for Celestia. "Run Em!"
Celestia was a second too late with her cast, and the boy tackled her in the neck. They both tumbled down quickly and Celestia gritted her teeth at the assault. She attempted to turn her head and see where the smaller female had gone, and found her still in the same spot, unmoving, possibly out of shock.
Celestia sighed; at least she wasn't-
She was hit again, this time on her head, as the boys fist connected with her skull. She quickly lost concentration and her magic immediately fizzeled out. They male had strong punches; her skull was throbbing from the hit. She wasn't expecting such a hard hit. "Dammit Em, move it!"
'Em' finally seemed to process the request and began running at top speed to the other side of the hallway.
Now, Celestia was mad.
She mustered as much of her strength as she could and flung the boy off of her, slamming him against the wall. A loud 'THUD' was heard as he made contact and he coughed up blood a second later. Celestia nearly panicked; she had no intention of harming him, yet she had to do something. She quickly assessed him and found a possibility of a broken rib and injuries marring his back from the impact. Otherwise however, he was okay. A little bit of healing magic would make him feel better.
She forgot about the girl.
Celestia whipped her head around to see the girl had not stopped running. She cast her gaze back and saw her friend slammed into the wall, but kept on running. Celestia was mildly surprised; humans were usually the type that craved some form of revenge when an ally falls in combat, and yet this girl, smarter than the average being, kept on running.
Celestia was okay with it. She needed a second to channel her magic, and one simple levitation spell will stop her in her tracks.
However, Celestia failed to assess the distance that 'Em' had made between her and the gate into the chamber with James. With one more quick step, she burst into the chamber, narrowly escaping Celestia's magic.
Celestia let out a huff of disapproval as the girl made it into the chamber. Had she not hesitated, she could have easily caught both her AND the boy and forced them out without the hassle.
But now, here she was; the girl made it into the chamber with James and the boy an injured mess on the wall, like a piece of modern art. She turned her attention back to the boy, who seemed to have lost consciousness due to the hit, and channeled her magic. She quickly began healing his wounds and, once she was sure he had fully recovered, levitated him on to her back and began walking back to the main chamber.
She now had to explain this to James, his friends and about what this was all about...
That thought, plus the punch to her head, was giving her a headache like no other.