Elemental Studies and a VERY Bizarre Greeting
"Class dismissed!"
I carefully folded my comic strip and slipped it nicely into my saddlebag. Then, I collected my colored pencils and eraser and put them back where exactly they belonged. Noticing that my markers were still missing, I turned to Whirlwind and demanded my markers back.
"Oh, you mean these?" he picked up a box of markers that had fallen on the floor. I gave him an unamused stare. "Don't ask me how they got there, I have absolutely no idea," he 'confessed', putting the markers on my desk and holding his hooves up 'innocently'. I increased the unamusing-ness of my stare by fifty percent, before swapping the markers off my desk and putting them back in my saddlebag.
"I suppose we go to lunch now," Flare trotted in front of us, her saddlebags already set and ready to go. "I do speculate what variety of food they have here."
"Knowing you, I think 'speculate' is putting it a little too lightly," I attempted to joke. Flare rolled her eyes, the way she did whenever she heard a poorly attempted joke. Well, I guess now I know my skill when it comes to joking. Thank you, Flare.
"Arrrrrrrgh, I'm starving," Whirlwind groaned as he dragged himself off his seat to join Flare, his saddlebag hanging over his head. Flare gave him a 'what the hay' look, before pushing his saddlebag down to his back, where it kind of belonged. He jumped with a 'whoa!' as it slammed down over his wings. Then, he turned to Flare with mirroring 'what the hay' look.
I thought back to something Flare had said a lot earlier that day, when we were still at Cloudsdale High. Then, I grinned deviously and spoke, imitating Flare's voice. "I hate to break up your rather romantic affair, but we should really be getting to lunch now."
And Flare's demeanor completely snapped. "Hey! That's MY line!"
"Nope, not anymore," I answered simply and trotted to the door, with Flare grumbling behind me, and Whirlwind whining about how is stomach kept on arguing with him.
Yep, this was going to be a loooooong day.
"Ooooh, what's in here? Turkey? Ham? Chicken? Pony meat?"
I winced slightly in disgust at Whirlwind's last attempt at guessing. "That's a turkey sandwich, smart one. Not all of us are cannibals like you."
"I knew tha - Hey!" Whirlwind cried as he figured out what I had just said. Even Flare laughed a little at our reactions. I gave them both a smug grin, knowing that I had one this round.
I sat down at one of the tables closest to the windows. The cafeteria was actually quite spacy, even though it contained the same number of students and was smaller than the classroom. There was long buffet style lunch line on one side, and the tables where scattered around different parts of the cafeteria. Just like in my old school, I had the habit of sitting at the corner, where everything was peace and quiet.
Most of the time.
"Mmm. . . I never knew pony meat could taste so good. . ."
I choked on the bite of my sandwich I had just taken. Thankfully, Flare beat me to it while I continued to loose the fight to turkey sandwich. "That's repulsive, Whirlwind!" she chastised him, standing up and scowling at him in disgust. "You need to stop thinking such nasty thoughts and please do keep you're mouth closed while you're chewing!"
Whirlwind ceased his purposely loud smacking and glared up at Flare. "Fine, sheesh, mom, I was just joking. . ."
Flare fixed her 'I'm watching you' look on him as she slowly sat down and resumed eating with the best table manners I had ever seen. Whirlwind let out a loud belch, but still continued to eat with the worst table manners I had ever seen, completely ignoring Flare's look of disapproval.
I took a swig of water, thankfully washing down the last bits of turkey sandwich. Then, I decided to switch to eating my fruit salad instead, just to avoid picking any more fights with my turkey sandwich.
Honesty, I have no idea what's worse: getting chastised by Flare for bad table manners, or almost losing a fight to turkey sandwich.
"That was - *belch* - a good lunch," Whirlwind commented satisfyingly as we headed to our next class, elemental studies. "Although it would be better if they allowed thirds."
Flare sighed and shook her head. "Sometimes, I wonder how you can even fly with all that food you consume."
"Hey, I need extra food to fuel up my awesomeness," Whirlwind smirked. "Unlike some ponies."
Flare opened her mouth to retort, but at that moment, I decided that it would be a good time to step in just before things started heating up. "Hey guys, we're here," I announced as I carefully pushed open a particularly heavy door that protected the elemental studies classroom.
We all looked in and gasped in awe.
The elemental studies classroom was amazing. It was way bigger than the history and economics classroom, maybe just a little less than twice it's size. But it wasn't just the size that captured our attention.
The room was filled with elements. Hanging from the ceiling where tubes that blasted strong gusts of wind. Arrays of strangely shaped water sprinklers aligned the walls. There was a wild network of fire rods and steel wires that enveloped the room like a roller coaster, ridden by a spark of fire once in a while. In the corners, highly secured behind see-through cabinets, were jars of lightning, labeled with colors and degrees of danger. In the middle were a series of levers and buttons, which I was sure must be the controllers of all the technology in the room. At the back of the room, far away from where we were standing, were a group of students wearing goggles, lab suits, and gloves crowded around a large, circular table.
"Oh god, what an eyesore," Whirlwind groaned as he rubbed his eyes and stretched them even wider to take in the view.
I had to agree with Whirlwind. It was so vibrant and filled with wonders that it did make my eyes water. But at the same time, I couldn't wait to just step right in there and start experimenting with the elements. Oh, this class was going to be so much fun.
"Welcome to elemental studies!" a bright, cheery voice caught out attention. I looked at the source of the voice: a young white mare with a slightly messy bun of curly, pale blue mane. The first thing that hit me was how similar she looked to Professor Cloudy Cirrus, despite her looking younger and a lot more...energetic?
"You must be Spectrum Skies!" she suddenly popped up right in front of my face, nearly giving me a heart attack. "You know, the daughter-of-Rainbowdash-and-Soarin-who-has-a-little-brother-called-Prism-and-just-performed-the-legendary-Sonic-Rainboom-this-morning??? Of course it's you!"
What the buck just happened.
Before I could mentally process what I had just witnessed, I heard a 'GAH!' from Whirlwind. I looked over to see him leaning as far back as possible while the mare chattered nonstop right in front of his face. "Hey, you must be Whirlwind, the son of that really fast turquoise mare and that really strong light blue stallion! What was that guy's name again? Calm...Calm Breeze? Still Wind? Nice to meet you anyway!"
As much as the mare was starting to freak me out, it was still nice to see Whirlwind getting stumped.
Flare tried to make a proper introduction before the mare did. "Hello, Professor, I'm Flaring Mist, the daughter of - " She never got a chance to finish.
"Fire Fly and Misty Streak? Oops, I meant Fire Streak and Misty Fly! Silly me, always getting the names mixed up," she giggled and suddenly disappeared and reappeared in the middle of the room, where all the controllers were. A semi-insane mare at the controllers. . . oh no. . .
"Now that we've all gotten a chance to know each other as besties, I am going to introduce myself," she disappeared behind the controllers, causing a temporary panic attack to the three of us. Then, when she reappeared, she was wearing a pair of pink-rimmed goggles, pink gloves, and a lab suit that was a little differently designed than that of the students.
"I am the great and almighty Professor Cloudy Cumulus!" she stood on the controllers using only her hind legs and raised her forelegs dramatically. "I control the wind and the water! I am the creator of the storms and the clouds and the deadly typhoOOOWHOOOAAAAAA - !"
A pale blue hoof had reached out and cuffed 'Professor' Cumulus around the head, dragging her down from the controllers. "Please don't mind my slightly psychotic sister. She can be a little dramatic at times," said a VERY familiar voice. I looked up and got rewarded with another near heart attack.
It was Professor Cloudy Cirrus.
"P-Professor Cirrus?" Flare spluttered after a pause of silence. "Y-You're her sister? B-But - !" She looked between the mare calmly strangling the other mare, and the mare being strangled by the other.
Professor Cirrus sighed and rolled her eyes at her sister's crazy antics. "I understand that's it's hard to believe that we are related, but you will have to accept that as a fact if you are going to be spending this year and maybe the next year with us."
Now it was my turn to ask. "Wait, so you two are both going to be teaching elemental studies?"
She nodded. "That's absolutely right. Professor Cumulus - ," she paused to glance down at her sister, who was blowing bubbles with great interest. " - is experienced in controlling water and wind, while I am more experienced in the art of controlling fire and lightning. You will be switching between the two of us so that you can learn the basics of controlling all four elements."
Flare, Whirlwind, and I glanced at each other, all thinking the same thing. I shakily raised my hoof, hoping it would come back in one piece.
"Yes, Spectrum?" Thankfully, it was Professor Cirrus who answered.
"So which one are we going to start with?"
"You'll be reviewing all four in each class," she answered with a smile. "But why don't you put on your lab coats, gloves, and goggles so that you could join the other students? I was just teaching them how lightning works."
"Sure!" I responded, now eager to learn despite the insanity that might befall me if I wasn't careful. Then, I realized that we didn't have any lab coats. Just as I opened my mouth to ask. . .
I was suddenly wearing a lab coat that fit my size exactly, along with a pair of goggles propped up on my forehead and a pair of gloves covering my front hooves. A sudden yelp and a gasp told me that Flare and Whirlwind had also befallen the same fate. Somehow, I was not at all surprised to see 'Professor' Cumulus, who had somehow escaped her sister's death grip, floating above us and wearing all three of our saddlebags.
"Free laundry delivery, fast, flying, and free of charge!" 'Professor' Cumulus saluted us and dumped our saddlebags in what looked like a cloud pouch. She giggled at the looks of horror on our faces as the cloud pouch literally devoured our saddlebags, complete and whole. "Oh sillies, you won't be needing these. Here in elemental studies, you're supposed to get your hooves dirty, not sit in a borin' ol' classroom and read borin' ol' books all day. Right, sissy?"
Professor Cirrus was seriously struggling to keep her professional demeanor. "Professor Cloudy Cumulus, you were specifically instructed to introduce the new students to elemental studies, then organize your plans for your own lessons."
'Professor' Cumulus' eyes widened, then she smiled sheepishly and giggled. "Oh, right! Silly me, how could I have forgotten? See y'all later!" With that she zipped away to who-knows-where.
And that concludes the story of 'Professor' Cumulus' insanity.
Well, at least for now.
"You will eventually have to get used to her, if you're going to survive this class," Professor Cirrus grumbled, as she led us towards the table in the back. "She could be a real hooffull at times, but she means well."
I shuddered to think of what power 'Professor' Cumulus would have if she were evil. "I'm sure we'll get used to it eventually," I assured her, despite the fact that I was freaking out on the inside. "She kind of reminds me of a certain Wonderbolt."
"I suppose you are referring to Surprise?" Flare whispered to me, just out of earshot. Any more Wonderbolt related stuff for the day, and I think I'll be ready to explode.
I gave a her quick nod before finding a spot at the table that wasn't occupied. The other students ceased their conversations as they saw us approach, being quick to make room for us. I smiled at the kind gesture, then dropped to a frown when I realized that they were only doing this because of our parents' reputations. The professors just HAD to bring it up in both classes, didn't they?
"Whoa, cool!" Whirlwind exclaimed from right next to me. I looked to the center of the table to see a basin - with sparks of lightning jumping around within it. I had to admit, that was pretty cool.
"Lightning, or electricity, as you will find out later on, is a highly dangerous element to work with," Professor Cirrus began sternly, making sure that she had everypony's attention. "There will be no fooling around in this class whatsoever, no matter which element you're working with. In fact, one wrong move with the most dangerous type of lightning can cause severe internal damage to your nerve system. Today, we are just going to learn the principles of how to control lightning."
Several 'awww's chorused throughout the group. As much as I understood why Professor Cirrus didn't want us actually handling lightning on the first day, I couldn't help feeling a bit disappointed. Like the rest of the group, I had been looking forward to finally getting a chance to handle lightning.
Professor Cirrus tried to give us a reassuring smile, though it looked very forced. "Don't worry, you'll be much better at handling electricity after you've learned about it first, I can guarantee you that."
The students' faces lit up a bit, mine included. Of course I'd have to learn about it first before I actually started playing with it. Thank the safety first rule for that.
"Now, lightning is collected from thunderclouds, which are formed when flames are absorbed into clouds. This electricity here - ," she motioned to the ribbons of lightning still dancing within the basin. " - was just collected yesterday, so you can see that it's been preserved and released today. Now, you might be asking, how does electricity form from the start and how to we collect it?
"First, you will need clouds. Clouds can be formed by advanced water and wind manipulation, which you will learn later. Then, you will only need a few sparks of flames to add to the cloud to turn it into a thundercloud, which will release bolts of electricity. Too much heat will make the thundercloud too dangerous to work with. So as you see, all the elements work together in one way or another.
"Now, lightning cannot simply be maintained in a jar without somepony controlling it. In fact, these jars - ," she motioned to the jars in the nearest corner. " - and this basin here - ," she pointed at the basin. " - are made of a special material made to preserve lightning. But it is highly impossible to place lightning directly into a container. Now move aside, please, so I can show you something."
I shuffled back a few steps, but still keeping the electricity clear in my sight. Professor Cirrus approached the electricity with a jar in one wing. I pondered for a moment on what she was about to do, then gasped in excitement. She was actually going to handle electricity! I leaned forward so much that Flare had to place a hoof on my back to keep me from toppling over.
Professor Cirrus rolled up the sleeve of her right foreleg all the way and pulled her glove off. Then, she carefully dipped her hoof in the basin. Bolts of electricity shot to her hoof like magnets, collecting and dancing in ribbons around her hoof. She waited until all the lightning in the basin was crackling around her hoof and her mid-foreleg. Then, she held the jar up in front of her with her wings, pulled her hoof back, and ZAP!
With one strong punch, all the electricity shot off her hoof and right into the jar, where it crackled madly, begging to be set free. Professor Cirrus merely shrugged in response and slammed the lid on with her other hoof. "And that, kids, is how you handle lightning," she said casually, while the students stared at her in awe.
"Now that you've seen how lightning can be handled, we will move on to fire." She put the jar back on the shelf and led the way to the next station.
"It wasn't that bad, wasn't it? I thought it was quite an intriguing learning experience."
"Says you, Flare," I groaned, wincing as I placed my hoof on the ground. "At least you didn't get burned by accident."
"I didn't get burned, because I listen to directions," she retorted.
"Hey, it's not my fault that fire decided to lash out at me."
Flare responded with a giggle. "Maybe it just wishes to be your friend."
"Ugh, whatever. I just hope we have better luck with water and wind."
"Speaking of wind, did Whirlwind just disappear?"
We both stopped and looked around in confusion. If I remembered correctly, Whirlwind had accompanied us out of the classroom. Now, he was nowhere to be seen. Of course, that wasn't very uncommon, knowing Whirlwind and his usual antics, but what could he possibly be up to this time?
"Ah...urgh...OW, crap-crap-crap!"
I turned around and gasped in shock. Sure enough, Whirlwind was there. . . only that his mane was so messy and tangled up that it was nearly unrecognizable. That wasn't helping with his very drowsy and slightly annoyed expression, either, or his body covered in small but noticeable bruises. He looked had he had been run over by a train of tornadoes, or something.
Flare let out a very loud gasp. "Whirlwind! What happened to you? Are you okay?"
Whirlwind stumbled as he tried to regain his steps. "I just wanted to learn how to handle wind ahead of time," he shrugged and tried to smile sheepishly. "But I guess I should have waited until class starts again."
I groaned. Again.
"Whirlwind, I would totally slap you right now if you didn't have enough bruises already."