//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: The Lements of the School in the Everfree // by ImAPonyXY //------------------------------// Motivation "Alright Class. Get out you text books and turn to page forty-nine. Today we will be studying the effects and impacts of motivation," called out a professor from the front of the class as her faced the black board, writing what he had just said onto it. The class did what they were told, Spike, Cinder and Scootaloo all opened their book to the designated page. Scootaloo groaned as she saw the amount of words implanted on the paper. "Isn't this supposed to be a fighting school, not a reading school?" she complained and leant back in her seat. "Just remember Scootaloo, we have to know the theory before we are able to learn the actual techniques. Reading books is just as useful as training in the gym and learning to do flips," Spike replied. "Plus Scoots, it's not too bad, it's not as though this is part of every class," chimed in Cinder. "I know, I know. I just wish there wasn't so much reading, it's just not how I learn," Scoots argued, "I'm more of a hand-on girl. Besides..." Scootaloo was cut of by the booming call of the professor. "Excuse me, Miss Scootaloo," he said, "would you mind sharing what you, Mr. Spike and Miss Ash are chatting about. It must be important if you so desire to disrupt my class." Scootaloo gulped and shook her head, "No. Sorry professor." "Please try to keep quiet from now on, Miss Scootaloo. Wouldn't want you to miss out on any important information." "Yes sir. Sorry sir." she apologised. The professor nodded and went back to writing on the board and speaking to the class, "I want everyone to read through this chapter and answer the questions at the end. Be sure you finish this in class as I have an assignment to hand out when you are all done," he said. "Aww..." the class went as they heard of the assignment. "Yes, yes, I know, I'm such a horrible teacher for giving you work to do," he rolled his eyes, "this is to prepare you for your upcoming exams coming along in the next few weeks," he explained. A student put his hand up and the professor immediately noticed, telling him to speak. "Sir, do we really have our exams happening so soon?" the student asked. The professor nodded, "yes, you do. However, these exams will be determining whether or not you are fit to thrive against other students. If you do not pass then you will be kicked from the school. Just like the other exam you had in the forest," he explained with a tone of seriousness. "Is every exam going to determine whether or not we stay at this school?" the student asked another question. "Why yes, yes it will," the professor sighed, "You see, this school trains only the best warriors and the smartest tacticians, and to keep the best, we must constantly pressure the students to achieve their full standards by threatening them with expulsion. And before you go ahead and tell me that it is illegal, let me say this. Normal laws do not apply within the Everfree Forest and they most likely never will." The entire class went silent as they heard these, and realised that the person they were sitting next to now, may not be with them in the years to come. Scootaloo turned and leaned in close to Spike, "Well that turned rather dark didn't it?" she snickered. "Aren't you the slightest bit worried, Scootaloo?" Spike asked, looking at her seriously, "us three might not stay as a team." Scootaloo giggled, "They can't kick out the best team in our year, ya know that, Spike." "But we aren't the best team Scootaloo, we got out butts kicked in the forest the other day." "We're not the best... yet," she grinned, "and besides, we only lost because I couldn't fight." Spike sighed and rolled his eyes, "sure, sure. What ever you say." Cinder snickered but snapped back into student-mode as soon as the professor shot an annoyed glare towards the three of them. Spike and Scootaloo also went quiet and acted as though they were paying attention. Although, whether they were or not was debatable. None the less, the three of them, plus the entire class, stayed quiet for the rest of the lesson and began to learn about motivation, which most people found boring, but Cinder couldn't deny that it was somewhat interesting and fascinating that a simple emotion could change the tide of a fight so easily. By the end of the two hour long period, everyone had received an assignment that was unfavourably chosen to be due in the following week. This posed to be an issue as they not only had to train for their acrobatics class, which Cinder was failing already, but they also had scheduled training sessions between Spike, Cinder and Scootaloo during that time. So actually getting anything done through that time was going to difficult. However, throughout the rest of the day teachers tried to be interesting and fulfil their promises of keeping the students intrigued and passionate about what they were studying. Mainly it was interesting because a majority of their classes consisted of showing off to everyone at how good they were in combat. Although there was always someone stronger within a pairing and the match was usually a bias towards that person and no one so far has managed to reign victorious against Lyvia. It was during the final two hour period today in Strategy class that Cinder learnt of an assembly that was happening tonight and that it were to be held in the main hall. What the assembly was about was a complete mystery to her and nearly every other student but most people just assumed that it was about the upcoming exams that were taking place before the end of the first semester. Yet, no matter what kind of rumours spread throughout the varied students, they would never know until tonight after dinner and they sat upon their chairs. It was now that Cinder saw the headmaster again, accompanied by none other than the deputy principals, Professor Wing and Professor Blaze. The old man stood at the podium and began to speak in his usual clear and expressing tone. "Good evening students, I understand that this assembly was put together at the last minute and you did not receive a proper notification until earlier today. This is due to the fact that we have a very important event tonight that was expected to happen next week," he took a breath and looked around the room, glaring at everyone's eager face. "You see, tonight we welcome new students into our school. Tonight we accept those who are to replace those who were no longer able to continue due to physical or mental issues." ... "This is much like your arrival assembly, except we will not be having a demonstration and nor will they have to sleep in another room. They will be immediately placed within groups that need them most." He finished and took a took a step back from the podium and up stepped Silver Blaze. "Thank you Headmaster," he said and eyed everyone, "as you may or may not have noticed is that I have been away for the past few days." A few people in the audience nodded, especially Cinder, who noticed his absence the moment he didn't show up for class. "This is because I have been searching for worthy students who had applied but not accepted. We will now hold a short session to welcome them. I will announce their names and you will get to see them as they stand behind me." He took a deep breath and flipped over the page of which he was reading off, "the following have been newly accepted into our school." He read out a few names, not many, no more than twenty. Not many people had been reconsidered into the school and most of them meant nothing to Cinder, except for one particular person who made her perk up when Professor Blaze spoke her name. "...Lil' Dew..." he announced. Cinder couldn't contain her excitement. She squealed loudly but abruptly stopped when people started to look at her. It felt so good to know that he best friend who had originally been denied such education was now part of this prestigious academy and they could learn together. Although it was extremely unlikely that they would be on the same team, they may still be in the same classes and the same exams. They could also eat together and hang out during break-times. She watched her friend confidently walk onto the stage and take her place behind Professor Blaze, joined with her fellow newbies. Lil' Dew's eyes were shooting across the room and when her eyes met Cinder's, she smiled. Cinder was Lil' Dew's only friend at this school and now they both had what they wanted. After Blaze had finishing reading out all the names of the students, he too stepped back from the podium followed by a round of applause from the audience. Then Professor Wing stood forward and took the podium, holding his katana by his side and cleared his throat with a few coughs. "Evening, everyone," he began and cleared his throat again, "I suppose you are all wondering what's going to happen about these coming exams that a majority of you most likely already know about. You see, these exams are not just testing how well you can work in a group, but also how well you can survive in an army-like situation against another team. You will be graded on your combat abilities, strategy and communication throughout the entire day." ... "That is all the information you are getting for now. You will be told more on the day. Have a pleasant night." he turned to look at the newest arrivals, "and congratulations on making it this far." Lil' Dew smiled and nodded slightly, although not wanting to break character and draw attention to herself, she kept her actions subtle. Later that night in the common room between four separate dorms sat Lil' Dew, Cinder, Scootaloo, Spike and Lyvia upon the couches next to the fire. The air that night was chilly and whenever someone would exhale they could see the vapour leaving their mouth. Lyvia was the one who sat closest to the fire but furthest away from the group, Lil' Dew and Cinder positioned themselves right next to each other while Spike and Scoots sat opposite them. The five of them had been chatting and catching up, although Lyvia kept distant with her answers and kept her actions subtle and simple. "So Lil' Dew," Cinder asked, "what team did you get put into?" "I can't remember the names of who I was placed with but I remember the number of the team, I think it was team 3," she replied and looked around the group, "anyone here in group 3?" she asked. Lyvia perked up and glanced over at her, "yes. I'm the captain of team 3, you're with me." ... "My name's Lyvia Sounds by the way, and your other team mate's named Diamond Tiara." Scootaloo and Spike dropped their drinks and spat out what they had in their mouths, joining each other in staring at Lyvia. "What?!" Scootaloo yelled, "Diamond Tiara's here?" ... "Why haven't we seen that bitch anywhere?" Cinder and Lil' Dew giggled and snickered, and they split their attention between Lyvia and the others. Lyvia sighed, "well she doesn't even want to be here so she's keeping to herself and skips most of her classes. She's hoping to fail this next exam so she will be kicked out," she then smirked and looked at Scootaloo, "and you're right, she's an absolute bitch!" ... "There's a reason why I'm the captain and not her, she can't even fight, let alone work in a team." "So why is she here?" Lil' Dew asked. "Apparently her father sent her here as punishment," Lyvia replied. "So her father sent her here to die?" "No, I don't think her father expected her to even do anything dangerous enough to be in harms way. She acts like a spoilt princess and whines if I don't take her to a safe place." Lil' Dew giggled and focused her glare at the door of her dorm, "then I hope she does fail this exam. But at least you have someone else who can fight now!" Lyvia rolled her eyes and looked back at the fire, "Let's just hope you live up to your words. I don't appreciate cocky attitudes smothering actual skill." Lil' Dew pouted and drew her attention to Spike and Scootaloo as they tried to suppress their anger. They didn't like the fact that their childhood nemesis was attending the same school as them. They would gladly help her get kicked out and especially if they had to do it by beating her in a fight. Scootaloo looked at Lyvia and eagerly asked, "you don't mind if I kick her ass, right?" "Unfortunately for you I have to protect her otherwise I will fail the teamwork assessment. As much as I wish I could, I can't abandon her to the enemy. I would have no choice but to kick your ass." Lyvia replied, without even turning her head to acknowledge the orange pegasus. Scootaloo laughed, "Kick my ass? Are you kidding, I'm world class!" ... "Listen, you may have defeated Spike, but I'm on a whole different level than him and I already know how you fight. You can be easily countered." ... "I could beat you and still have enough energy to take out Tiara." "You're all talk. Do you remember how you were injured by a stalker?" ... "Well I never got a scratch, sure, my other teammate lost her leg and Diamond hid in a tree, but I took down a manticore without even breaking a sweat." Cinder quickly had memory flashes of the girl she saw in the hospital who had lost her leg to a manticore. 'Was she the girl on Lyvia's team?' she thought to herself. If Lyvia was telling the truth then that girl was most likely too cocky and made a foul move. Maybe that was the reason why Lyvia disliked cocky attitudes. But she had no idea, Lyvia was too secretive to give away any hints about what she's like outside of battle. Which is an understandable strategy since you can never truly know where your enemies are and you never want to give away anything personal to someone you don't trust. Now Cinder had a flash of the team of three that attacked them in the forest and how she was too weak to do anything useful. She just stood their and accepted what she thought was going to be death. Now she couldn't help but think about them, where were they? who were they? and why did they attack her? These were just some questions that shot through her curious mind. She sighed, maybe it would be a good idea to go and speak to the headmaster. He did after all seem like an approachable and understanding man, she felt as though she could trust him even though she knew absolutely nothing about him. Never the less, it would be safer to talk to him then someone else, so it was settled. Tomorrow after classes she would go speak with him. But for now, she had to start work on her motivation assignment. "Spike, Scootaloo." she spoke to grab her teammates' attention, "c'mon, we should start our assignment. It would be easier if we worked on them together." "Right..." Spike replied gloomily, he wasn't looking forward to this. Scoots did the same but she agreed that it would be better to get it done now so they could have time to train later. "Okay, I'll meet you in there. I want to speak to Lyvia for a little more." Spike and Cinder nodded and retired into their dorm to set up and wait for Scootaloo who was done talking in no time and the three of them began their assignment that was due next week. For the next few hours they worked on this and they were completely unaware on the amount of research that they had to do to at least understand the simplest answer. Motivation was apparently quite a hard topic to explain and the questions were even harder. It didn't help that they also had to write an essay on the effects of motivation. Eventually though, they retired off to bed to get a good sleep for the following day which surprisingly would go extremely quickly. They had their first class with Professor Blaze teaching and he was a remarkable one. Well maybe it was because Cinder and Lil' dew were both massive fans of him and so they paid attention to every word he spoke and wrote. Although, the fact that he was teaching finally was the only exciting thing that happened. Well, except for the fact that in Combat class that Scootaloo challenged Lyvia to a fight and surprisingly the fight was extremely close... but Lyvia reigned victorious over her. From the end of the classes, Cinder made good of her promise to herself and followed her plan. She headed straight to the headmaster's office, which she reluctantly remember the way. It was down the hall, left at the staircase and over the courtyard. When she got there she was greeted by a large wooden door and the sounds of hurried chatter. If she listened hard she could just make out what was being said... and she recognised the voices which belonged to the Headmaster and the two deputy principals. "...It's not safe. the students will get hurt." spoke Blaze, "if they return then people could die." "I recognise your concern, Professor Blaze. However, we cannot postpone the exam over a theory and prediction. Unless we had solid evidence of their return then I have no choice but to let this continue." the Headmaster explained. "Headmaster, Professor Blaze does bring up a good point though. if they were to return and we aren't prepared then students could die. I suggest that we take some precautions. Just to keep people safe." added Professor Wing. "And what precautions do you suggest we take, Professor Wing?" asked the Tinder Box. "Well if you were to head my advice, i suggest we should intervene with the exams. After all, don't the teams need a leader...?" "Are you saying that I appoint you two as team leaders?" "Yes." ... "That way we can keep a lookout over the students and inspect their skills on a closer scale." "Hmmm. You bring up an excellent point Shadow. I will think upon it and give you an answer tomorrow. You two are dismissed." "Yes, headmaster." the two deputy principal began to walk out, but then Cinder heard the footsteps stop. "Headmaster..." "Hmm, yes Professor Blaze?" "It would seem that you have a visitor." he said simply and went back to walking. Cinder took a step back and her breathing hastened. They had known she was their and whether or not they were aware of her for the entire time or just now was a different concern. She took another step back and the door creaked open slowly and out stepped the two Professors. Wing eyed Cinder as he walked out and she could see a small smile broke out onto his face but soon they had passed by Cinder. She gulped and watched them as they walked before she entered the Headmaster's office. The room was huge, larger than her team's sleeping chambers. It had two levels connected by a staircase with an old kind of wood which gave the room a somewhat ancient feel. The windows had large, purple curtains that were tied back to let the natural light of the sun illuminate the office and bookcases lined the walls. At his desk, sat the headmaster reading over a slip of paper that he may have only just received from the deputy principals. As Cinder entered he lifted his head up to meet he gaze. He lifted an eyebrow upon seeing her and laid the paper on his desk and out of his hands. "Hmm? What do you need?" he asked with a sort of rushing in his tone. Cinder gulped and stopped, holding her arms in front of her. Hand in hand. "Umm, headmaster, sorry to interrupt but I need to talk about Sunset and the other two that attacked me and my teammates...." she said nervously, "do you have a few minutes?" He let off a slight smirk, "of course, Miss Ash. Take a seat and ask away." he gestured to one of three cushioned chairs in front of his desk. Cinder sat down and positioned herself until comfortable and began to speak. "I was just wondering if you knew anything about those three?" "It would so happen that I do. As you know they were the top graduating class last year, but what you probably don't know is that they have a fascination with Palphonies and experiments..." "Experiements?" "Ay. They like conducting experiments on others. Whether it be a social experiment or a physical & mental one. They had dark minds and many times I asked them to leave the school." "Why didn't you just kick them out?" Cinder asked. "Because they never got out of hand. Although I could tell that they weren't right I had no supporting evidence. I couldn't just kick them out and make it sound just." he explained. "I think that was one of the worst choice I ever made because now they're back and we predict that they will attack again. Who know's what they're planning." "So you think this is more than just mindless attacking?" "Yes, they've never not had an agenda, and if they're going to the length of even enjoying the assaulting students through their exams then I wouldn't be surprised if they were planning something." Cinder gulped and took a step back. If was confronting to hear this, although she felt as though she was becoming part of something important. She felt like she was learning something that other's would never dream of hearing. It was a good feeling... being important. Now though, there was something else going through her mind. The words of what the headmaster clutched onto her mind, but a single word spoke loudly to the young wolf girl. When he said Palphony he ears perked up and she became curious, inquisitive and worried. "When you said that they were interested in Palphonies, what did you mean?" she asked, eager to here the answer. "Are you sure you want to here the answer?" the headmaster shifted nervously in his seat but then stood up. Cinder nodded and braced herself for the answer. Although she did not know, she realised that what she was about to hear could not be friendly to her ears. The headmaster sighed, "You know how no one knows of the creation of the Palphonies, where the genes came from?" he spoke. Then continued, "well... I know." Cinder's heart skipped a beat as she heard these words and she froze in place. "What?" she replied simply. She was in shock, would she finally know the answer to the question that runs through nearly everyone mind. Would she learn of a secret kept from most. "I know how Palphonies were created..." ... "It was an experiment, and Fang was the first. He was tested on, and the results are what you see. The gene was made waterborne and anyone who drunk water with the gene in it would have Palphony offspring. Although not all water has the gene in it. Some rivers and lakes contain it. You see, the Palphonies were made by through a twisted experiment. By the alteration of nature."