Information is an amazing thing. It can be passed through many different methods and reach many different places. The main hub of information in Equestria lies in Canterlot, the biggest and busiest city of the land. Celestia's scientists work around the clock going through every piece of information that comes into Equestria from the surrounding areas, be it from outside worlds, or from other cities and settlements near the borders.
Once the information has been verified, it is sent to the surrounding schools and universities. Smaller classes with the youngest students are taught by Earth ponies, where most of the lessons talk about rudimentary subjects, such as Cutie Marks. It is much more difficult for Earth ponies to teach higher level theories without the use of magic, as magic allows the teacher a wider range of teaching methods. For this reason, the majority of Universities have staffs of almost all Unicorns.
Some happy exceptions, however, are the renowned teachers Atlas and Astral, who are brother and sister. These two are an Earth pony pair teaching a combined studies class titled "Earth and Space 101." They can be found in the prestigious University of Canterlot, which is second only to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns.
It was late afternoon at the University and a warm breeze blew through the windows. A single bell rang through the halls. "Two minutes left!" a deep voice spoke up. Atlas, a geographer with decades of experience and author of "Equestria and Beyond," is more like a friend to his students than an overbearing teacher. His attitude towards his students is never on a level of greater importance, and instead of speaking at them, he speaks to them as an equal. He brings this tone into his book too, by explaining his observations in a fun and engaging fashion.
He is a slightly disheveled pony and is not very old. Most of the teachers in the University are almost twice his age. Though he is still quite young, stress and constant work have given him a look of old age with several grey hairs through his dark brown mane and tail. His coat is of the darkest black, but white hair shows through here and there. He wears an old green cotton vest around his chest and thick spectacles on his muzzle.
The bell rang again, this time longer than the first. A softer voice spoke up over the clamoring students, "We are here for you if you need any help studying for your finals!" Astral is considered an expert when it comes to anything astronomy related. Her favorite thing to do is lay out on the grass and identify the stars and constellations. She is also the author of a well known text titled "The Spaces Between the Stars" talking about all of the mysteries beyond what can be seen by the naked eye.
Astral is the complete opposite in looks compared to Atlas. She keeps her yellow mane in a neatly shaped bun on the back of her head and has a bright polished golden brown coat. She is a few years younger than Atlas, who always makes a joke at her saying she's his "baby sister" even after all these years.
"For those of you who came in late, please don't forget to sign in on the sheet on the wall next to the door, and if you are still struggling, there are some options for extra credit!" Atlas mentioned, picking up an eraser to clean the chalkboard.
Their students claim that the fatherly tone of Atlas and motherly voice of Astral give the lessons a comforting family feeling. They also have the highest pass:fail ratio in the entire University. They are strict to stick to the course, but they also allow the students to discuss their own theories in order to broaden the student's imaginations and thought processes. Students taking the class say that it is "engaging," "entertaining," and "well rounded."
As the students filed out of the classroom, Atlas walked back to the desk and picked up the small dustbin. He walked over to the front row of desks and started to pick up what little trash was left behind by the students.
"Astral, you seemed a little distracted today. Are you okay?" Atlas asked. She seemed to not take notice and continued to stare at the papers on her desk.
"Astral?"
"Wha- Huh?" Astral finally replied, looking rather confused.
"You seemed really distracted today. Are you alright?"
"Oh, sorry, I'm a little distracted at the moment," Astral replied, looking back to her papers.
Atlas just rolled his eyes and walked back towards her. He took his glasses off of his muzzle and placed his hoof on her shoulder.
Astral looked up, surprised. "What? Is there a problem?"
"That is what I've been trying to ask YOU silly..." Atlas replied, putting his hoof back on the floor.
Astral sighed and turned towards him. "You remember the Summer Sun Celebration a few days ago, right?"
Atlas looked at her a little confused. "Uh, yeah. What about it?"
Astral looked down, "Well, I've got that strange feeling again. Like the one from the 1,000th Summer Sun Celebration... It's been steadily getting stronger with each day and I'm starting to get worried..."
Atlas took a step back, a little shocked by her reply. "What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" he asked, a slight sense of urgency in his voice.
"I was trying not to worry you," Astral started to reply, obviously shaken by his reaction. "I wanted to handle it myse-"
"You know how serious this is, don't you?" Atlas interrupted.
"Well yes, but I-"
"Do you remember what happened last time? They had to shut the whole University down for nine months!"
"Of course I remember what happened! You don't need to yell!" Astral snapped back, tears welling up in her eyes.
It wasn't often that Astral raised her voice beyond enough to get somepony's attention. As a matter of fact, Atlas couldn't remember the last time she had yelled like this. "Astral... I..." He gave a small sigh and continued. "Look, I'm just worried about you is all. Last time it-"
"Please don't say anything further... I was there... You don't have to remind me..." Astral added through soft tears.
"Alright, I won't," Atlas conceded as he gave her a gentle hug. "This could be dangerous for you. For us. For the entirety of Equestria even..." Atlas tried reasoning with her.
"Don't you think I know that already?" Astral retorted, gently pushing her brother away. "When it appeared... When you-" Astral tried to force her words through the chokes and sobs.
"But do you also remember how you prevailed? How we ended up okay in-"
"But what if it doesn't end up like it did before? What if you are lost forever? What will I do then, huh?" Astral pleaded.
"Honestly, Astral, I don't know. But the main thing is that we try and get through this. Together. Okay?" Atlas tried his best to comfort his sister. Thankfully, his words finally reached her.
"Yes, I know. But what do you want to do? What do you want me to do?" Astral asked, looking at him with frightened eyes.
"What you need now is a clear mind. Look," Atlas began, "I will stay here for now and clean up the classroom. What I need you to do is to go back to the house, set some tea on the stove, bring out your copy of "Celestia in the Celestials" and relax."
A small chuckle came from Astral at the mention of her favorite book. It was a small book with large illustrations of Celestia playing around with the constellations. These silly images always made her laugh. "You always know how to cheer me up," Astral replied, getting off of her chair and wrapping her hoof around his neck.
"I promise I'll be home soon," Atlas replied, returning her hug.
"You better be. You still have to do the dishes," she said while wiping away the last of her tears and picking up her saddle bags.
"Aaaww shoot... I was hoping you would have forgotten," Atlas stated, giving her a small wink.
The two ponies have lived together their entire lives. Atlas started out as a hard working pony in the University's cleaning department while Astral stayed home, helping his mother with the necessary house chores. While the two were still very young, their father left on a solo expedition to the Land On Fire. This region to the south of Equestria is the destination of migrating dragons, and is home to a large population of dragons year round. Search and rescue attempts were continued for several years after, but yielded no results. Despite his mother's requests, Atlas vowed he would continue his father's work. He worked hard enough at his studies to finally earn his teaching degree from the same university he now works in.
Soon after though, their mother developed dementia and Atlas had to drop his dream of teaching geography to support his family. After several years of care, her dementia worsened and she was unable to perform normal motor functions and died in her sleep soon after. It was then that Astral began to study astronomy. She believed that her mother was out there, somewhere past the stars. It is also what has made her into such a strong, caring pony.
Astral stopped before the door and turned around, "You better be home soon."
"As soon as I'm done cleaning up here, I promise I'll be right home," Atlas replied giving her a reassuring smile.
Astral turned around just in time to bump into a young filly standing in the doorway.
"Oh my Celestia! I'm so sor-" a sudden chill ran down Astral's back, cutting her apology short. "I have to go."
And with that, Astral was gone, cantering through the hall.
"Well that was weird..." Atlas said to himself, his attention now on the young filly still standing motionless in the doorway as though she was completely unfazed by what had just happened.
Atlas made his way towards the dustbin he had left near the desks. "Can I help you miss?" he asked the filly.
She was wearing a dark blue cloak with what appeared to be a small book in the side pocket. A monotone voice finally replied, "I'm looking for a detailed map of Equestria."
The air in the classroom seemed to be sucked out the windows as the filly finished her statement. Atlas swayed, putting his hoof to his forehead. "Woah... I must be dehydrated or something..." He turned back to face the filly. "What was that again?"
"I was told you could help supply me with a detailed map of the recent geographical changes in Equestria," the filly replied.
Atlas finally took a serious note of the pony in his presence. She was younger than any of the students he had seen in the University. She wasn't anypony he had seen in the area before, and he knew almost every student and teacher in the University. "Might I ask who you are young miss?"
"Can you help me or not? I'm pressed for time," the filly replied coldly.
"Well, well, well. A little quick on the tongue, eh?" Atlas retorted, giving a slight chuckle.
The filly didn't respond and continued to give him an emotionless stare.
"Well alright then... Sheez." Atlas gave a slight huff and walked over to a tall bookshelf in the back of the room. After searching for a few seconds, he pulled out a large paper box on the bottom shelf. "Come here young miss," beckoning the filly over.
He took his attention off of the filly and looked back into the box. It was filled with papers of all kinds. Illustrated maps with keys, pages upon pages of notes from first hand accounts of colleagues, and even some papers from his students. After shuffling through them for a few minutes, he pulled out a thick folded paper. "Is this what you're looking for?" he asked, passing her the large map.
She unfolded the map with her magic, looked at it for a few seconds, and then refolded it. "Yes. I greatly appreciate this," the filly replied, putting the folded map into her pocket.
"That's weird... I never noticed her horn until now," Atlas noted to himself. He didn't think much of it, though. Ever since Astral left, he'd been slightly absent minded on how to deal with her dilemma.
"Well I'm glad I was able to help," Atlas said, putting the papers back into the box and returning it to the shelf. "Are you going on some kind of adven- Where'd you go? Hello??" Atlas looked about the room, wondering where the filly had gone. It was as if that she hadn't been there to begin with. "I think I'd better get home," Atlas said to himself, as he walked back to the desk, rubbing his forehead.
He picked up his bags and started to make his way to the door when suddenly, "UGH! ERK...! Why can't I move?!" Atlas had only taken a couple steps towards the door when a sharp pain ran through his torso. He felt a rush of cold make its way from his hooves to his back and then up to his face. His eyes flickered, trying to keep themselves open. He struggled to look up towards the door. He noticed a familiar figure standing in the doorway... But who was it?
Atlas gasped. "That filly!" he said to himself, struggling to try and make any sound. "He- Help..." But it was too late, and Atlas collapsed to the floor, papers falling from his saddle bags.
A small chuckle came from the door as it slowly closed. A soft clanging of the lock echoed through the classroom and then...
Silence.
Author's Note
Hey guys, Crackerjack here. This is an idea that's been floating around in my head for a while, and I hope you guys like the first chapter. I hope to be changing the story throughout each chapter to try and add more depth into each part instead of a plain one sided story so look forward to awesome twists :P
Update: July 24, 2013 12:31am
I added a timeline to this chapter. I am going to be adding several new elements to the story in Chapter 2 and realized that I didn't mention a time that Chapter 1 took place, so I changed it. Nothing major, but it should make the story a bit stronger.