//------------------------------// // The first days are always the hardest // Story: Clouds On The Horizon // by Xhadow //------------------------------// "Quantum mechanics, theoretical physics, history, complex mathematics..." Cherilee looked in awe at the paper the university sent with me. "Is there anything you're not qualified to teach?" "Cutie mark acquisition, magical mechanics..." "Huh. but it says here that," Cherilee asked hesitantly as if she didn't believe me. "Magical theory, not application," I was so tired of ponies messing that up, "I'm not a unicorn after all." "Well," Cherilee took another long look over all the paperwork, "Why here?" "I...I'm not sure I understand the question." "With these qualifications you could be teaching at Canterlot University, or Celestia's school and making exponentially more than you could dream of making here." Cherilee put down her reading glasses and sighed, rubbing her eyes. "Not to say I couldn't use your expertise, but there's so much more you could be doing." "I've never thought about it that way, to be honest," I shifted my satchel containing my supplies, "I guess you could chalk it up to a calling. Maybe Celestia pulled some strings in my destiny, who knows? But all that matters now is whether or not you'll sign me on. If you choose somepony else, I guess I'll look into that university job you mentioned." I meant the last comment as a joke, but something about it seemed to hurt the young teacher. Cherilee avoided my gaze, glancing out her office window at the pouring rain. "I'll strongly consider your application, thank you for your time." I wanted to help her, to pull her into a tight hug and tell her that whatever was hurting her that I would defend her. But unfortunately, I had to settle for slowly slinking out of the office and silently closing the worn wooden door behind me. "That went well," I turned up my collar against the wind and rain as I fought my way through the streets to the hotel building. My mutterings were lost to the storm, heard by nopony but me. I had to get this job, but it didn't make sense. Why had I chosen this one, this town? I let my gaze drift over the soaking buildings and closed shops. "It's a nice place, don't get me wrong, but why? Why here?" It startled me that I've never thought about it before she said anything. I let the thoughts linger a few moments longer, "You know what, it doesn't matter. This town needs an extra teacher and I aim to fill that need." With a determined nod I continued on my quest. The hotel was a nice place, although understaffed they kept it clean and it was nicely preserved from the last century. I stamped off the mud and water from my hooves before entering the lobby. I didn't want to make their job any harder I guess. "Hey, Professor how'd the interview go?" the mare manning the front desk called, I vaguely recalled her name to be Octavia. "I've had worse, she said that she would 'strongly consider my application.'" I pulled up a chair, "There's something else though, she asked me something I haven't been able to get out of my mind." Octavia raised an eyebrow and with infinite caution asked, "and that would be..." "Why I decided to work here when I could make so much more teaching at some prestigious university in the big city." I placed a hoof on the desk and gingerly slid it over the pristine marble surface. Octavia cleared her throat, "anyways...we cleaned your room while you were out, I hope you like it better now." "Oh, thank you Octavia," I had completely forgotten about last night's incident. "Well, I for one hope you stick around it's not every day a pony stays here and cleans their own room." Octavia finished her glass of, what I hope was iced tea. "I hope so too, Octavia, although, for slightly different reasons." I gave the mare one final smile before packing up for the night. My room, apartment rather, was on the third floor closest to the roof. On the wall hung portraits of Ponyville's glory days, and the room just felt vintage. It was a perfect fit, and after working out a deal with Octavia I managed to snag it for a little bit of nothing. There was a small kitchen off of the main room and a bedroom off in the corner. The place was furnished with refurbished antiques that still held their beauty, much like the building itself. There was a table and some chairs in the kitchen and a small coffee table and couch in the main room. The bedroom was simple, a small bed, a dresser in the corner and a mirror hanging on the wall. With as little effort as possible I flopped down on the bed and pulled the covers over myself. "Today was good, now I just wait until Cherilee gets back to me and figure out where my life goes from there." I didn't know whether to hope for the job or to start looking elsewhere just to be sure, but I had to let such thoughts go otherwise I'd never sleep. With a soft click the lamp shut off and the room was bathed in darkness. I made my way through the market, scanning for that one item I needed, "It's just got to be here..." Ponies of every color and race flowed past me as I frantically searched the stalls. Unfortunately for me, I can get a little too focused at times and forget the world around me. Before I new what was happening I found myself flat on my back and more than a little out of breath. "I told ya you were goin too fast." "I was not. He just doesn't watch where he's going!" I rolled sideways back onto my hooves to find three fillies 66% of the group was bickering over speed and the other 34% was glancing up at me with teary eyes and holding a watch. "Um...you dropped this," The unicorn filly placed the watch in my coat pocket. "Thanks, um what just happened if you don't mind my asking?" "We were trying for our cutie marks as physicists, and Scootaloo got going a little too fast and then we crashed into you." the unicorn filly informed, brightening up when she saw she didn't cause any permanent damage. "Physicists? What was the experiment," I asked, helping the fillies get their vehicle back on its wheels. "We were just wondering how fast we could go," Scootaloo started. "Yep, and how much weight slows us down," Applebloom continued. "And we were measuring it with this," Sweetie Belle squeaked, holding up what looked like a bathroom scale sent through a paper shredder. "Right," I nodded at the three fillies, "it's always nice to see young ponies so interested in science...?" "Wait, have we met before," Applebloom questioned, assuming a rather intimidating posture. I took an involuntary step back from the filly. "Ya look awful familiar," she continued, pressing me further away. "I don't think so, it's my first few days in town," as the words left my lips I head a gasp that I was sure would rip the universe apart and a pink blur faded off into the distance. "Wait, he's the new science teacher Miss Cherilee hired!" Sweetie Belle piped up, pulling her friend back from her inquisitive charge. Well, that's one thing solved. "Well," I brushed the dust off my coat, "if you bring the experiment to class we could go over the results after school one of these days." "You would do that," Sweetie Belle asked in disbelief. "Why not? That's what I'm here for." I wasn't going to be that teacher who only wants to be friends with the students, but their research legitimately piqued my interest even with their primitive methods. "Come on, Sweetie Belle," Applebloom called from the wagon. Sweetie gave me a quick hug before racing off after her friends. I shifted my bag back onto my shoulder as I watched the three friends vanish into the distance. Now, to find a banana... Octavia had briefed me on the town when I arrived looking to move into her building. The main thing she cautioned me about was a specific tradition one of the villagers honored. I braced myself glancing from my bag to the door of my, no doubt, full apartment. It would be full of towns ponies that bounced around from party to party and those that actually wanted to be my friend and welcome me to their town. I reached into my bag and pulled out the colored paper packets and a few test tubes, This is going to be good. I gave the glass a quick shake, letting the crystals rattle inside, I had warned Octavia beforehand of what I had planned. I opened the door just enough to slide the glass inside and I slammed it back shut. The reaction was nearly instantaneous a bright flash flew out under the door and a loud bang shattered the silence inside. Well, time to meet the town. I thought as I pushed the door open and stepped into my invaded apartment. "Surprise." "Wow, I would've never thought of that," Princess Twilight commented as she worked on her sixth glass of punch. "Are you sure you don't want one," Pinkie asked offering a glass. "Yes, I'm sure," I had answered the question six times already, "I don't drink anything unless I know what's in it. Sorry." "I understand," Pinkie nodded, "besides if I went through half of what you did, I'd be the same way." "Okay..." Meanwhile on the other side of sanity. "I saw it in a magazine once, I still have the address somewhere if you would want to order some." I pulled the well folded scrap of paper from my pocket. "Won't you need it for class," Twilight asked, hesitant to accept the postal address. "I've long since memorized it, don't worry." I assured her, turning my attention to Pinkie who had slunk over to the fridge while Twilight and I discussed science, "I don't want any punch." "What? How'd you see me?" "You left a trail," I lifted a hoof gesturing to the smoky pink residue that floated after the mare. "If you were a unicorn you'd be downright dangerous," Twilight laughed, giving me a playful shove. My watch fell to the floor with a heavy thud, perfectly blending to the loud music. "We all wish we had your talent, especially the unicorns." "Really?" Twilight asked, confused, "I'm not all that special actually, just a hard worker." "You're so much more than that, Ms. Sparkle, you're a hero and an inspiration to thousands across the world. Adoption into the royal family, friendships, the Elements, and more adventures than AK Yearling." Twilight blushed, "W-what?" "Oh, sorry. You were my senior paper topic at the university...and a bit of an obsession--academically." Twilight went from pink to red, "Well...that's, um, very flattering professor." "What?!" Rarity screamed from across the room, charging right towards me. Oh, no. Not again... She skidded to a halt just inches from me, "This is a first century Pegasus silver watch, one of six in existence today...where'd you get it?" "What? That old thing," I tossed her the watch, "It's been in the family forever, I wouldn't know anything about it." Twilight caught interest in the watch all of the sudden, more so than her over-professional friend. "Is this yours?" I nodded and motioned for her to examine it. It was just an old beat up watch that might've been once silver, but now it's stuck, broken, and so old it can't be fixed. It's worth little more than a fancy paper weight to me. "Do you know anything about this writing on the back here?" Twilight asked, highlighting the scratches with her magic. "No, I don't. My father would though." "How can I get ahold of him," Twilight's speech was getting smashed into single word sentences. "He died in the war," a single tear fell onto the table. "There wasn't anything anypony could do, so please don't apologize." "But, but...you're still here." Twilight declared, as if she'd won the lottery. "I'm not bitter or anything Twilight, I'm going to be living in Ponyville, hopefully for some time now. I'll be teaching at the school." "Yes, yes, yes, do you mind if I run some tests on the watch, maybe show it to a friend of mine?" "As long as you give it back I don't see any harm in it." Twilight excused herself from the party right after the watch incident and Rarity followed her, pestering her friend about the pricelessness of the watch and how she should be careful with it. At the rate Rarity was going off you would think Twilight was carrying the crown jewels into an active minefield. The party wound down soon after, with the last guest leaving at about ten. At least Pinkie kept my being a teacher into account. I was amazed at how spotless the apartment was, not a trace of the party existed, except a small gift or two, a leftover piece of cake wearing a blue party hat, and a bottle of Pinkie's homemade punch. Weary from the long day, I pulled out my notes for tomorrow and checked them over one last time before drifting off to sleep. The next morning came early. I started the kettle, took a shower, made triple sure I remembered to shave, brewed some coffee, ignored Pinkie's punch, finished off the cake, packed my bag, grabbed my notes, put on my coat, and set off for the school. Nopony was there, I glanced at the clock on the wall and my face met the desk. "Of course, Canterlot's an hour ahead of Ponyville." "Oh, Sleuth. I didn't think you'd be here this early." Cherilee greeted from the door. "Forgot to set my clock back," I groaned, my head still on the desk. "I see you've set up the classroom already," Cherilee noted as she walked around the room, "it's good to have someone else here. As much as I love my students there are some things I just can't teach them." The first few students poured into the classroom. "Hey Quill, ask him, he might know," one of the boys urged their reserved, notebook bearing comrade. "Ask me what," I scrawled a quick sketch of the classroom on the blackboard, sure to include every desk and started placing students' names over them. "Well," Quill hesitated, "I've been working on a story and just wondered how the Las Pegasus gangs laundered their money in the 20's is all." "Most often they'd do it betting on the derbies," I pulled a small book from my desk and tossed it towards the unicorn. "It's mostly fiction, but I think it's exactly what you're looking for." He was already buried in the early equestrian story of mystery and revenge. "Thanks." "I've got the whole series, just don't waste time in class, okay?" "Great! Thanks." "Diamond Tiara," furious would be an understatement I was at war, "stay here a while." "What? Why?" "Go home Silver, and close the door on your way out." The students filed out a few quicker than others until it was just me and the filly left in the classroom. "Do you have any idea..." "Don't." I was not a stallion to be reckoned with, "what you're doing is dangerous and borders on abuse, if I see it again..." "Why do you care? they're just blank flanks." "I don't want to see them dead!" I slammed my hoof on the desk, "If you keep devaluing them the way you are it won't be long. There's a fine line between harmless teasing and verbal abuse. You've crossed that line. Consider this is your only warning." I pulled the yardstick from behind my desk, "you do not want to mess with me, kid." "My father will have you fired!" "Really," I asked in disbelief, putting down the yardstick, "getting me fired would be doing me a favor. You don't want that now do you?" She started to counter, but stopped. "Not all your problems can be solved by having your mark ahead of time or your family's money. Sometimes it takes more than that." I had cooled down some, seeing some remorse in the child. I would like to tell you that she changed, like a sudden epiphany rocked her world and she turned into a perfect angel. I should've known better than to believe she could change. Never the less, I saw her to the door and made sure she got home alright, but beyond that I just had to hope her father loved her enough to give her the proper guidance she needed. That too, however, was too high a hope to be attained. Celestia's sun was long gone by the time either of us had made a dent in our mountains of papers to grade. "How did your first week go," Cherilee asked as she finished grading yet another student essay on cutie marks, something I never fully understood. "I met Quill and the Cutie Mark Crusaders," I paused, "...and Diamond Tiara." "Oh, her. She's fine when she turns in homework on time, but I haven't really seen anything the kids can't handle." "I don't want to do it for them by any means, I'm just saying that a little discipline here and there might discourage her current, corrosive effect on the school." "I wish I could to be honest, and believe me I've tried. But lately her father has been cracking down so to speak." Cherilee dipped her pen and began grading again. She's avoiding the topic. I noted, "Anything exciting happen in your classes?" She nearly laughed, "You really should contain your students." Oh, no Scootaloo. You didn't... "She brought her velocity measurer to class for show and tell, which in itself wasn't a bad thing, but then Applebloom and Sweetie Belle..." Oh, no. I wasn't seriously suggesting it. "...the amazing thing was that nopony was hurt in the blast. There was something odd about the readings though, I left a copy on your desk, hoping you could make sense of them." "There wasn't anything alarming if that's what you're concerned about. Most likely they just blasted their way into some reserve magic pool, happens all the time especially in the Canterlot Mines. The company, for a while, sold what they called 'magic in a jar' but after a few foals drank the contents it was banned from the market. I actually have a jar or two come to think of it..." "I'm not even going to ask why you have a substance of questionable legality." Last night's events followed me like a bad dream, "Do you know any reason for Twilight to get interested in an old conductor's watch?" "...No, actually, unless it has some relevant magical history or something like that. Maybe the princess asked for a report on you." That...no, something's going on here, and I have to get to the bottom of it. "Would she be home now?" "Twilight? Maybe, she lives in the castle at the end of the lane." I felt a frown forming, "No, not Twilight. Rainbow Dash, if I'm going to get any answers I have to have some leverage." "What, like blackmail? Good luck with that, I don't think Rainbow is going to be a cooperative hostage." "Cherilee, I like you, but no. I'm not doing anything illegal." I got up to leave, "want to come along?" "Eh, why not?" Cherilee threw her pen into the jar and wrapped her scarf around her neck, "I need a break anyway." We spent hours talking to Rainbow Dash. Hours. Apparently some little filly who can't keep her mouth shut told her about me being a physicist. "...and then I thought what if I could get faster?" "In theory you'd open a temporal vortex and get sucked into a alternate reality. Now, about the watch, why would Twilight care about something like that?" I was impatient, Twilight was withholding important information and I had a right to know. "I don't know professor, she's been locked in her study with it since she got her hooves on the thing. Honestly it's a little creepy." Rainbow cast a nervous glance towards the castle as if she expected it to implode. "Eh, but it's just a watch right? What could it do, destroy the world?" "Really, Ms. Dash, with the scandalous misadventures you've had with your friends I thought you'd pick your words a little more carefully." "...you lost me after Dash..." My hoof met my face, "Athletes," I groaned. Cherilee just rolled her eyes, "He's just worried you're going to jinx us talking like that." "You superstitious or something professor?" Dash asked, touching down for the first time since the conversation started. "If I was superstitious I wouldn't be living above Equestria's biggest vein of devil's eye diamonds with the embodiment of chaos just meters from my apartment, and least of all I wouldn't be talking to you." "Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!" "Just what I said, if I was superstitious I wouldn't talk to somepony who had such a close encounter with Nightmare Moon or King Sombra." Do I need to explain everything to this filly? "Yeah. I guess so..." Rainbow agreed, backing down hostilities. "Let me guess, 'how'd you know all that?' You were my freshman science thesis, demonstrating Spectrum's Reality Quandary." "Okay...not sure whether to be flattered or creeped out." "Anyways, the watch? Has she told you anything yet?" Dash sighed and shook her head. "I didn't even know she had it until today." What? With the way she's so loyal I'm sure Twilight would've given Dash something. I scratched at the ground nervously. Something was definitely going on here, and I had a right to know how it involved me and/or my watch. "But, there was somepony else in there with her," Dash remembered, "I've seen him around town off and on, before the coronation, but he disappeared until about a week ago." "Do you know who he is?" I pressed, hoping my turn of luck would hold. If Twilight was getting a consult on the watch then he must know at least something about it. I was already on my way to the castle when I heard Cherilee close the conversation and both mares followed after me. If they want to tag along it's fine, just so long as they don't get themselves hurt or killed doing it. I determined as I continued my journey. It was about a quarter mile from Rainbow's to the castle, and by the time we got there it was long past dark, only the guards were stirring. "Halt," they ordered in unison, barring the door with their spears, "the princess must not be disturbed." I put on a false air of confidence, "disturbance? Do you have any idea who I am?" They stood silent, still barring the way. "If you're not going to say anything," I tried forcing my way past, but was thrown to the ground several feet away. "Hey! What are you doing," Rainbow demanded, assisting me to my hooves. "We're sorry, Miss Dash, we had no idea..." The guard on the left replied and stood down, allowing us passage. Rainbow glared down the guards until they faded from view, "....ought to be court marshalled acting like that." Our hooves resounded like thunder on the empty crystal halls, we trotted on, following Rainbow to the lab. "What did you do now, how'd you get in?" Cherilee whispered, scanning the walls and floor as if everything was a portal to another world. "Simple," I whispered back, slacking my pace so Rainbow wouldn't overhear, "I just got them worked up, and the element of Loyalty saw me mistreated, she talks down the guards and Bob's your uncle." Cherilee looked confused, "Who's Bob?" "I...don't understand." "You said it, and..." Cherilee glanced up to see Rainbow's ears burning, "oh, never mind." "If you two are done flirting, we're here." Rainbow rapped on the double-enforced crystal weave bunker sealed door. "That would contain a category two point five starburst spell," I exclaimed, examining the door with rapt attention, "They solved Gunther's loose cannon paradox! Cherilee, come look at this! It's amazing!" "Well, starburst spells are kind of my forte," a new voice commented from behind me. "There's not a lot of unicorns that can bind that much energy, in fact there hasn't been one for about ninety years. She was last seen in Prance the night the opera house collapsed." I turned to face the newcomer with confidence, "hello, Twilight. It's been a while." "How'd you get in? I thought the guards were instructed to let nopony pass. I don't know entirely what I'm working with here so I pulled out all the stops in security." Twilight declared, stamping once for emphasis, "but, then again you might be able to help me..." "Twilight, I just want some answers. That's all just to satisfy my curiosity and we can all get back to work." I assured her, glancing between my duo of irked compatriots. "Oh, well..." Twilight paused considering her words carefully, "what did you want to know?" I noticed a bead of sweat trace its way down her forehead, and how her eyes swiftly darted about the empty hallway. I lowered my head and sighed, "how can I get Pinkie to stop pestering me? I have to work sometime and with all the parties she's planning Cherilee and I will have to shut down the school to go to them all. " Cherilee looked at me, shocked while Rainbow skillfully held her tongue. She'd had this talk a few times herself and knew how sensitive it could get. Twilight sighed in relief, "well Pinkie is like any small foal you have to tell her no, but in a nice way." "It's hard," I drooped my ears, and glanced as far as I could under the door, I don't want to upset her." "I know..." Twilight recalled from painful experience, "she tries so hard, but sometimes what ponies need is to be sad or left alone. She's been getting far more efficient at discerning those times from when her brand of help is actually needed, but like anything. It's a work in progress." "Yeah," Rainbow agreed, "like a stuck record." "Rainbow!" Twilight snapped at her friend, "How could you say such a thing?" When Twilight and Rainbow were sufficiently distracted I pulled Cherilee close, as if I was showing her the features of the rather impressive door. "...but, they have one weakness from the outside," I told her gesturing to where the latch met the wall, if you blow here..." I shoved my fellow teacher inside and pushed the door shut behind us. "Okay, now, where's the light?" I asked, sorting through my mental checklist as I searched the wall for the switch. "Are you sure this isn't illegal?" Cherilee demanded, throwing the master switch. "Of course not, if Twilight didn't want us in her castle she would've called the guards and had us thrown out. Besides you can't get arrested for being invited to a party...well, unless it's the king of Florence's wedding day." I felt myself drawn to the center of the massive round room to a hopeless mass of wires all connected to my father's watch. "What is all this for," Cherilee asked examining some of the instruments strewn throughout the room, "I've never seen a setup quite like this, even in Manehattan." Whenever I find a laboratory I just have to explore the exploring! I can't help myself, come along Jane it'll be fun! I shook my head, struggling to remove the hallucinations. Something was wrong here, very wrong. Whatever Twilight had done I wanted no part of it, we had to leave. Right now! "Cherilee," I Struggled out, barely able to make a sound, "let's get out of here." She nodded and whimpered, she was terrified and crying, but like me, had no clue why. Something in this room was wrong. Very, very wrong, and I was never supposed to find it; that much I knew. We turned back to the door, only to be starred down by a vaguely familiar brown coated stallion wearing one of Rarity's suits. He cleared his throat and gestured for us to leave. It was almost like he was afraid to speak like a single syllable would cause the towering ceiling to collapse down upon our heads. Not much else happened that night, except insomnia inducing questions kept going to war with my barely conscious mind. Who was that stallion? What was Twilight hiding? What evil experiments had she been conducting in that room? But alas no answers came, and after several hours I found myself in an uneasy, mostly restless, and nightmare filled sleep.