//------------------------------// // New Arrivals // Story: Let Them Wonder // by Onomonopia //------------------------------// "Well that can't be good," Luna muttered to herself as she hung up the phone, her words drawing her sister free from her work. "I just got a call from Crystal Prep. Seems that they'll be sending over three transfer students to our school tomorrow and they wanted to make sure that they had already been approved. Did you...?" "Yes. I did," Celestia confirmed before holding up a hand to stem her sister's words before they could start. "Look, Principal Cinch insisted that we let these students into our school, so she must have a reason. And we both know that it can't be good." "Then why let them in at all?" "Because something strange has been going on at this school," Celestia muttered as she weaved her fingers together and leaned against her hands. "And I mean even weirder than usual." "Care to explain what you mean by that?" "The teachers that suddenly quit or disappear. Sunset having nightmares that nearly drove her over the brink. Students acting up and going rogue. These aren't the regular magic threats that we've faced before. This...is something else. I can feel it." Luna's eyes narrowed with concern as she bit her bottom lip, knowing that her sister's hunches were far too accurate to argue with. "But what other force besides magic could it be?" "I don't know, but I plan to get to the bottom of this," Celestia said as she rose out of her chair and gazed out her window, amazed that the sun was already starting to go down. "I've already informed Sunset and her friends about my suspicions and they all seem to agree with me. Sunset especially. They'll be on the lookout for anything strange...or anyone." Luna raised an eyebrow at the tone in Celestia's voice, knowing her sister well enough to know there was more. "You suspect someone?" "I do, Sister. Even though I have no evidence...or even reason, to do so," Celestia said before gazing back at her sister. "But I suspect Diana." "I...can see that," Luna agreed as she rested her hands on the table. "So what are we going to do?" "As I said, she's done nothing to warrant any action or even suspicion. But I just have a feeling that there's something she's not telling us. Something about what's going on...there's so much mystery nowadays. Who's behind the new attacks? Why is Cinch sending students to us, and what is Diana hiding? I miss the days where the biggest threat to the school was the cafeteria food." -wWw- "Diana. You have yet to answer me with anything but silence." To Athena's growing frustration, Diana continued to walk down the sidewalks that were bathed in moonlight in complete silence. Her head was bent down slightly and she wore a look that Athena had seen on her face before...right before she flattened Hercules. "Diana, this is an order from your goddess. Tell me what troubles you." "I apologize for my silence, but I discovered what Hades is after...and I don't know what to do," Diana finally whispered as she came to a stop in the middle of a park, removing the hood from her head and allowing her hair to be free once more. She sighed slightly as she gazed up at the moon, giving Athena the chance to land upon her shoulder. "Well, you do have the goddess of intelligence with you. It would be foolish not to advise her in your time of indecision," Athena reminded Diana, who smiled for a moment before her face hardened. "I finally found the magic that Hades has been seeking. But the magic that he wishes for does not reside in magical artifacts...but instead inside six of the children here...specifically, Sunset Shimmer and most of her friends." Diana glanced over to see Athena staring off into the distance, with concern in her eyes but not surprise. "You knew that they were what he was after?" "I suspected it--from the moment you told me about Fluttershy's transformation. It is not the first time that he has hunted those with magic that he could not fathom," Athena informed Diana, whose eyes flashed with the lightning of Zeus in response. Athena noticed the expression and it made her next question all the more difficult. "Diana, now that we know what he is after, I must ask what will you do? For if you turn the six over to Hades, I have no guarantee that he will spare them. But if you do not, Steve Trevor's soul..." "I am still deciding what to do," Diana informed the owl, who nodded to Diana before glancing off to the side. "I am needed among the gods. Zeus has called a meeting. When it is over, I shall join you once more if I am able." Diana nodded to Athena, whose eyes glowed with an incredible power before fading out. When the owl opened her eyes again, she turned towards Diana and let out a hoot. "Fly free, little friend," Diana told the owl as it hopped onto her arm before spreading its wings and soaring into the night sky. Diana watched it go for a second before she too kicked off of the ground and sailed into the night sky, having no destination in mind as she flew over the land, lost in her own thoughts. 'Perhaps there may be a way to remove the magic from the girls without needing to kill them, because I will not allow Hades to claim their lives. But they also use their magic to defend their homes from all sorts of creatures, so even if they give me their magic willingly that would leave them defenseless. Curse you Hades, I should have kicked your skull in when I had the chance.' Yet, Diana's rage towards Hades was stripped clear from her mind when she felt a presence once more, the same presence that she had felt weeks ago, but this time it was...stronger. Without a moment to lose, Diana rocketed across the night sky, following the source of the presence until she came to a stop above the same row of houses where she had felt it before. 'I recognize this neighborhood,' she realized as she glanced down at the houses, eyes falling onto a certain house when she felt the presence vanish once more. Her eyes narrowed practically into slits as she stared down at the house where the presence had been strongest, as well as feeling the magic of another powerful item...an item she knew well. The moon was in the middle of the sky before Diana finally decided to cease her silent vigil and return to where she was residing, her thoughts like a whirlwind as she started to sort through the new puzzle pieces that had fallen into her lap. 'So, Sunset was right. Those aren't just regular nightmares she's been having,' Diana assumed as she landed outside of her apartment, waiting beside the door to see if her owl friend would return before she had to retire for the day. 'Something is after her, but what? It's not Hades, at least I don't believe it to be...I need to keep a closer eye on her. And all of her friends. Something strange is going on here and I don't like it.' -wWw- The news that Celestia was going to allow the students to go on a field trip early in the year had spread like wildfire, and practically every student could find nothing else to gossip about. So when the bell rang to inform the students that it was time for lunch, they wandered out to the front of the school to discuss what they would do once on the trip and perhaps what they might see. But even though it had barely begun, all talking that had been going on in front of the school came to a stop when the attention of the students was grabbed by something that they had not seen before. Three students, each of whom were radically different from the other, were strutting up from the bus stop to the front of the school. The girl to the right was absorbed in a book, but when she did tear her gaze away from her stories, she gave the other students a glare that sent chills down their spines. The boy to the left only stared ahead, for which the students were grateful. Because none of them were certain if they could look a student as large as he was in the eyes and not run away screaming. And that left the main girl in the center of the other two, a girl that radiated like a star as she walked with her head held high in a regal way. "Look at this place. Principal Cinch was really worried about them one day surpassing our school?" the one in the center asked with a scoff, getting her some unfriendly gazes from the students around the three. The large boy let out a grunt and the glares all turned straight down, getting another scoff from the main girl. "Ugh, I can't believe that she sent us here. Out of all the schools in the city, and she had to choose this one. The things I do to make my principal proud." "Seems friendlier than Crystal Prep. I like it." "That's because you like everything, Boulder. Except what I tell you not to like," the girl reminded him before casting an unkind gaze at the other girl beside her, who paid her leader no mind as she continued to read. "As for you, do you think you could pull your head out of that voodoo book of yours for three seconds! We need to make a good first impression." "Why bother? None of them like us already," she pointed as the three walked into the front hall, each of them noticing that their uniforms were already garnering them nasty looks. "I swear Agatha, if you give me lip one more time-" "Teacher." That shut the girl up as she put on her best smile while facing forward, bowing slightly as the principal of the school walked down the hallway towards the three. "Greetings, Principal Celestia. We are the three transfer students that you have so graciously allowed into your school." "It was no trouble at all, Crystal. We're honored to have you," the principal replied with a kind smile before moving to the side to reveal a girl with red and yellow hair and a kind smile. "This is Sunset Shimmer. She volunteered to escort the three of you around so you can get a better feel for the place." "How sweet of her," Crystal replied with a smile of her own, but neither Celestia nor Sunset saw it because Celestia had pulled Sunset aside for a moment. "Make sure you keep a close eye on the three of them, Sunset. I don't want this to turn into another fiasco like the Sirens were," Celestia reminded Sunset. "I hate having my mind messed with." "Don't worry, I'll keep a close eye on them. All of us will." With that promise Celestia let go of Sunset and nodded to the new students before walking away, leaving Sunset to wave the three over to her. "Alright you guys, I have class in about ten minutes, so I'd like to make this quick. Our school may be smaller than yours, but we make up for it by having a big heart." "Which I'm sure does your teams great at the sporting events," Crystal remarked snidely from behind Sunset, who let the insult go with a sigh before regaining her smile. "Over there we have the arts and crafts section, which is always under use. And that there is the cafeteria. Celestia has instituted a no singing policy while in there, so don't go and get any ideas." Sunset smiled back at them after telling her joke, but to her annoyance she found that only Boulder was paying attention to her. "Yes, it's certainly all lovely," Crystal said with no effort to hide the fact that she didn't care at all. Instead, she chose to glare into the eyes of each student she met, smiling each time they cowered under her gaze. As the tour went on she found that she had the chance to even stare down a few of the newer teachers, something she always enjoyed doing. "So, is it true that you have all sorts of magic at this school?" Agatha asked Sunset, who struggled with all of her might to keep from blurting out the truth. "Black magic? Dark magic that allows one to gain unfathomable power? Anything like that?" "No, I can say with complete honesty that we have nothing like that," Sunset answered as she let out a sigh and wiped the back of her hand across her brow. "How about I show you where the gym is located?" "So why did you volunteer to show us around? I'm sure that Celestia could have dumped this task off on some problem student if she wanted to," Crystal pointed out before a sly smile crossed her face. "Unless you are a problem student yourself, Shimmer." "Oh, I used to be a problem student. One of the worst. I was cruel and mean and didn't care at all for anyone other than my...I'll stop myself now," Sunset said with an embarrassed blush before smacking her head, wondering why she couldn't help but blurt the truth out. Crystal rolled her eyes while Agatha returned to her book with no longer any interest in the place, but Boulder seemed to be enjoying himself. "Your school seems very friendly. A lot friendlier than Crystal Prep," he pointed out. "Our school is very friendly. In fact, we've barely had any issues with the harmony of the school, aside from a few...incidents," Sunset said while biting her lip to keep any more information from coming out. "I'm sure that after a few days of being here, that the three of you will fit in no problem." "I don't know. The students here don't seem to like us," Boulder pointed out as he gazed around at the students that hadn't been glared down already by Crystal, none of them giving any of the three a friendly gaze. "Ah, give them a few days. They'll warm up to you." Sunset turned her attention forward to see Diana walking towards her, causing Sunset to wave to Diana while racing towards her. "Hey Diana, did you finally get finished grading our tests yet?" "Yes I did, Sunset. I am sorry that they are so late, but numerous things came up that I had to take care of," Diana informed Sunset with a smile. "How are you doing? I hope that you haven't had any more of those nightmares?" "Nope. That lasso of yours has kept all of them at bay," Sunset informed Diana before she was pushed to the side and Crystal stood before the teacher. "Greetings. I'm Crystal and these are my 'friends.' We're new here," she explained to Diana as she stuck out a hand. Diana smiled and shook the girl's hand, allowing Crystal to gaze into Diana's eyes to stare her down. But for the first time in Crystal's life, upon trying to stare down another she instead found herself averting her gaze. "Crystal. And you two must be Boulder and Agatha," Diana said, not paying any attention to what had just occurred. "I believe I have all of you in my class. Study hard, because as your classmates can tell you, I put Spartans to shame for how tough I am." "Crystal, what was that?" Agatha whispered into her friend's ear, both of them gazing at Diana as she walked away from them. "I've never seen you back down like that." "And I've never felt a presence like that before," Crystal whispered back with a smile on her face." Principal Cinch was right. This place is going to be fun."