"I believe we've seen quite enough, Miss Sahara," Gustav stated boredly, writing the freshman's name his clipboard "it appears the third time isn't the charm, after all."
"W-Wait! I can do it! I swear!" the dark-haired girl pleaded, staring into her cauldron as she quickly checked the spellbook resting in the crook of her arm "Um...uh...Audite me, tempus et spatium! Um...Rogo vos!"
"Fräulein Sahara! I've had quite enough! Come off the stage immediately or I'll-"
A deep rumbling interrupted Gustav, emanating from inside Sahara's cauldron. Profuse amounts of dark smoke chugged out of the cauldron, arching up to the ceiling. Lightning cracked as it exited the cauldron, just as some of the other students exited backstage to see what was happening.
"Take cover! Schnell!" Gustav shouted over the roar.
"Somebody run and get Zecariah!" Jackie shouted, ducking as wild sparks of lightning shot off of the main streaks. Wisps of smoke curled from her hair as sparks landed in it, filling the air around her with the sharp smell of burning copper.
"Nobody panic!" Saharah shouted in a futile effort to calm everyone "I can-"
*Ka-boom!*
"Eh, maybe not..." she whimpered, taking cover behind the curtains of the stage.
Jack entered the theater, a thick stack of papers in his hands.
"Gustav, I got the practice scr-"
He was promptly cut off as the thunderous streaks of lightning tore up the chairs in the first few rows of the auditorium. The seats squealed as they were ripped out of the floor by the bolts, flying through the air.
"Damn..." Jack swore, under his breath, as he could only stare at the chairs hurtling towards him.
Nathan darted past Jack as the pile of flying seats crushed him, running into the hall. Dashing down to the end of the hall, Nathan passed Carrie, a thick circle of bright-blue chains wrapped around her shoulder.
"M-Miss Carrie?" Nathan asked, confused "Wh-What-?"
"Brutis got out..." the pale woman said, out of breath "...the whole classroom started fallin' apart, now she's runnin' ta hell and back all over the school..."
"Wait a minute...Brutis is a girl?" Nathan asked, confused.
"All that's goin' on right now, and that's what yer worried about?" she replied.
"No! I...uh...wait..."
The sound of stampeding hooves echoed from the opposite end of the hall, forcing Carrie to dash off.
"Y'all run an' git as much help as ya can, I got a feelin' this ain't no earthquake." she called over her shoulder, then muttered to herself "It sure as hell's gotta be somethin' big to git Brutis spooked."
Nathan stood in the hall for a moment, before rounding the corner and running to the main lobby.
Books fell from their shelves as the entire building shook.
"Spike, watch out for the encyclopedias!" Twilight shouted, catching a thick tome in her magic.
The young drake ran to and fro, catching the smaller books, while the unicorn caught the larger ones.
"Where did the tremors come from?!" Spike shouted over the roar of the quake.
"No idea!" Twilight shouted back "There hasn't been one scheduled since-"
The earthquake stopped suddenly, leaving just as quickly as it had appeared.
"That was odd...why-"
The rumbling beneath them suddenly came full-circle, roaring with such intensity- it threatened to tear the library up by its very roots.
Forgetting the books, Twilight dove at Spike, shielding his smaller body as her copy of 'Starswirl's Discovery of Quantum Mechanics' fell from the shelf closest to the ceiling. Twilight shrieked in pain as the spine of the book struck her. Spike whimpered fearfully below her as numerous books and tomes fell from their shelves. Messy stacks and piles formed as Twilight and Spike had given up on the futile task of placing them back in their proper places.
"Spike- Spike...are you alright?" Twilight groaned.
"Y-Yeah...I think so...are you alright, though?" he asked, concerned.
"I...I think..."
Twilight collapsed on top of him, unconscious.
Spike tried waking her up, attempting to drag her out of unconsciousness as the tremors continued. Spike winced as the last of the books finally fell from the shelves, no longer any danger waiting as they lay on the wooden floor. Weak in the knees, he steadily lifted Twilight, doing his best to carry her to the door of the library as the quake continued to lay its wrath upon the library.
'Please be alright...' he thought, glancing at Twilight as he pushed the door open.
Taking care not to injure Twilight any further, Spike stepped carefully over the single step leading to the front door, and continued onward, heading towards the hospital. Spike grunted as his arms threatened to give out, just from Twilight's weight. His muscles burned as the ground below him continued to rattle like a freight-train, daring him to trip.
"What the-?" Zechariah asked, entering the theater with Nathan.
"I don't know sir," Nathan stated, staring at the chaotic mess of bright light and students scrambling to escape the wrath of the wayward spell "Saharah was just re-doing her magic act, and then...this happened."
"Then there isn't much we can do..." the large cheetah stated calmly, even though his hackles were sharper than thumbtacks, standing straight up.
"Sir...?" Nathan asked, confused.
"There truly isn't anything we can do," Zechariah explained, leaping over an arc of lightning as he dove further toward the cauldron "the most we can do, is make sure everyone is safe, then quarantine the area until the spell runs its course."
Nathan nodded, unsure of the vice-principal's plan of action.
The pile of chairs which pinned Jack to the floor with their weight shifted, showing that Jack was, indeed, still somewhere beneath the seats. Keeping his head low, Nathan began steadily removing seats from the pile as the intensity of the wayward spell increased.
"Jack- come on, we need to get moving!" Nathan shouted over the din of screaming students.
"You think I don't know that?" Jack's head groaned, being barely heard by Nathan.
"Where's the rest of you?" Nathan asked, searching through the pile.
"I think my torso got speared, try looking over there." his head stated, rolling his eyes to indicate where he meant.
Nathan complied, digging through the pile of cloth, stuffing, and twisted metal. Nathan shuddered as his searching hand met something damp and furry. Removing his hand from between two bent cushions, he found himself holding one of Jack's arms.
"Figures..." Jack sighed "...just...stack 'em in a pile over here."
Nathan all-too-happily set the appendage near Jack's head.
"Doesn't it freak you out? Seeing...this?" Nathan asked, gesturing to his severed limb as he continued to search for the rest of his body.
"Not really..." Jack admitted "...unless you count the time my cousins decided to play tennis with my eyes..."
Nathan shuddered once more as he envisioned the act, four little children batting an eyeball back and forth with tennis rackets. Nathan glanced around the theater, just as Zechariah leapt forward from near the stage, only bouncing once as he came to a halt outside the exit. Nathan and Jack took notice of both Jackie and Gustav slung over Zechariah’s back, while Zill and Mackenzie hung by the scruff of the neck from his jaws. Stepping out of the theater, Zechariah returned, no passengers with him.
“I believe that’s everyone, save us three.”
The stage suddenly turned into an inferno of sparks, raging as the thick curtains caught fire.
“It’s getting worse, come along.” Zechariah stated grimly.
“But- But-” Jack’s head sputtered, nodding to Nathan, hesitantly pulling Jack’s torso out of the pile of seats.
“No time, we can retrieve them later.” the large cheetah stated firmly.
Nathan nodded, and collected Jack’s few other parts. Jack himself, really didn’t have any choice in the matter, being hurriedly scooped up by Nathan.
“Isn’t there anything we can-”
*Crack*
*Crack*
*WhoooOOOOSSSSSSSssssshhhhhh*
*Crash*
*BOOM*
*BOOM*
Nathan’s ears popped as Zechariah closed the double doors leading to the theater, sighing in relief once it was firmly locked.
“Sir…?” Jack asked.
“Yes?” Zechariah asked, leaning against the door, his eyes closed.
“Where did everyone else go?”
“Off to get help...a bit too late, it seems.”
“Yeah…” Nathan chuckled humorlessly.
“So...what happens now?” Jack asked, wincing as another loud crack of lightning resounded within the auditorium.
“As I said before,” Zechariah sighed, glancing down the hall “it would appear we need to quarantine the area, possibly the entire wing, to investigate.”
Teachers and students alike were beginning to filter into the halls leading to the theater, curious as to what had happened.
“Everyone, please evacuate the wing immediately,” Zechariah announced loudly “all classes of the Arts are to be relocated effective immediately.”
Several of the teachers in the crowd nodded, while the majority of the group stared silently at the unconscious forms of Jackie and Gustav.
A red-headed man with a randomly-spotted, yellow bow-tie pushed his way out of the crowd, shrieking at the top of his lungs as he ran to Jackie.
“Baby! My darling!” he wept, running a hand through Jackie’s colorful hair.
“If someone would be so kind as to fetch Nurse Chasetopher and Doctor Keiko for the injured.” Zechariah stated as the group dispersed.
Nathan nodded, and glanced around, searching for an appropriate place to set Jack’s body parts.
“I’ll tend to Mister Jackson,” Zechariah stated, exhaling harshly as he glanced down at Alanzo and Jackie “quickly now, Nathan.”
The young man nodded, and dashed down the east hall.
“Alanzo?” Zechariah asked as the red-head held a hand to his wife’s forehead.
“Oh, Zechariah,” he stated absently, his usual smile missing from his face “when did you get here?”
“Why don’t we go and check on everyone else? I believe Carrie could use some help fixing up her classroom.”
“I...I don’t think so...I’d prefer to stay with her...until Keiko arrives…”
Zechariah nodded, his attempt to hopefully distract the man, and maybe himself, from the problem at hand, up in smoke.
The vice-principal plucked Jack’s head from the floor with his tail, careful with it as he checked on the other students.
“They seem alright, for the most part- wouldn’t you say, Mister Jackson?”
“Oh- uh...yeah...most of the damage looks light…”
“It seems you came out with more than a few scratches.” Zechariah chuckled.
“Uh..y-yeah…” Jack replied, laughing nervously.
“Ah, here comes Keiko and Chasetopher.” Zechariah stated, spying the duo, led by Nathan.
“Oh, um...well...what should I do? Or...not do?”
“I leave you in the care of your peers.” the cheetah stated, carefully handing Jack’s head to Nathan as he arrived.
“Thank you, Mister Zechariah.” Jack called.
“No trouble.” the vice-principal called as he stalked down the hall.
“Oh, your poor dears,” Keiko stated through the mask that poorly hid her seemingly-permanent smile “Chase? If you could?"
"Time to play 'nurse', Willis!" Chase said to the teddy bear he was clutching.
Chasetopher set the bear on the floor as Keiko approached Alonzo, Jackie, and Gustav.
Keiko carefully placed a hand on Alonzo's shoulder, trying to comfort the man.
"Come along, if you please," she said softly, gently tugging Alonzo away from Jackie "we'll do our very best to return them to tip-top condition."
"I'd...I'd still like to stay near." Alonzo sniffled firmly, standing his ground.
Keiko nodded.
"Very well," the doctor relented "If you'd be so kind as to help us?"
Keiko reached down, carefully looping her arms beneath Gustav's.
Alonzo nodded, and took Gustav's legs, helping the red-coated doctor carry him down the hall.
"Spike! What in Equestria-?!" Applejack screamed in terror, upon seeing Twilight draped over Spike like a ragdoll.
"The quakes..." Spike panted.
"Ah know, they came outta nowhere- most a' the damage was kept in the house." Applejack replied, ducking under the other side of Twilight.
"Thanks..." Spike said gratefully.
"Not a problem, sugar."
"It looks like the library is going to be out of commission for a little while," Spike commented "everything's gone to Tartarus over there."
Then after a moment-
"I mean...um...I didn't mean-"
"Ah know, Spike," Applejack chuckled "ah won't tell Twilight."
"Thanks, AJ." Spike sighed.
"But Ah don't want to hear you say anythin' like that again."
'Yes, mom.' Spike thought, daring not to say it out loud.
He got off the hook once, why push his luck?
"So after we get to the hospital, where do we go from there?" Spike asked.
"I reckon we'd better start gettin' everyone together, as well as damage control." Applejack replied, glancing around at the somewhat minor destruction the quakes had caused the town.
"Ponyville's survived worse, right?" Spike said optimistically "I mean, Discord did more damage than this."
"Yeah, but Ah don't think the Elements can take care of some broken windows an' property damage." Applejack replied.
"Yeah, but...this is a nice change, I guess...not good that it happened, but a bit of a nice change..."
"Ah suppose you're right." Applejack relented.
Cameron sat tucked firmly beneath her desk, peeking fearfully out. The flower pot she'd received as an office-warming gift from the staff of ZPA lay shattered on the floor, crushed by the bookcase that had inadvertently tipped over during the earthquake. She held a hand to her heart as she shakily stood, using her desk to support herself.
"This place is going to kill me..." she moaned to herself, as her heart slowed its pace.
Glancing around her office, she noticed that the damage was minimal, and began to straighten up the room. Setting the chair behind her desk right-side up, she circled the room, restoring the room to its original order. Crossing the room, Cameron opened the rather tall door to her office, peeking out to assess the damage to the rest of the school. The halls leading to her office didn't seem to be too bad; but she had the feeling that after what felt like a magnitude six earthquake, that a few tipped chairs and a fallen bookcase were minimal compared to the possible damage done to the rest of the school.
Venturing out, she stuck to the wall, fearful of aftershock.
‘Giant animals...and now earthquakes...’ she thought to herself, her legs wobbling as she advanced down the winding hallway, towards the theater department.
Everything seemed to be intact, nothing that a little spit-shine couldn’t fix. Some of the posters had fallen, the frames they were contained in cracked and broken, the splintered pieces scattered about the hall.
‘Why was there an earthquake in the first place?’ she wondered.
On any other day, it’d be a stupid question to ask, but...after coming to ZPA- she’d seen enough to know that spontaneous earthquakes could very possibly be a thing in this world. She supposed that it was a bit of a stretch to rule out any natural disasters, when basically…
Shaking her head, she continued down the winding hall, her head starting to ache.
She stopped dead in her tracks as she spied Chasetopher and Keiko- the presence of the both of them doing nothing for her nerves as she approached.
“I..felt the quake…” she stammered lamely, then took notice of Gustav’s unconscious form.
Her eyes widened as she stared at Gustav as Alanzo and Keiko passed, presumably towards the medical wing.
Zechariah then approached, unbeknownst to Cameron, whom continued staring at Alanzo and Keiko.
‘I think that’s the first time I’ve ever seen him without a smile on his face...’
“Miss Cam-”
She shrieked as she spun on her heels, now facing Zechariah. Zechariah grimaced as she screamed, his ears flipping down as he did so.
Taking a deep breath, she shakily calmed herself as she apologized to Zechariah.
“Quite alright, Miss Cameron,” Zechariah stated warmly, turning “but at the moment, I’d say we need all the help we can get.”
“Of course.” she nodded, trailing after him.
Passing a few more fallen frames, the both of them soon came across the locked door of the theater- Chase doting over Jackie’s unconscious body.
A chill ran down her spine as she made eye-contact with Chase. The crazed look in his eye was there, but not as manic as her first meeting with the ‘nurse’. He looked...sane...for lack of a better time.
She didn’t understand...she just didn’t…
Cameron glanced up, and found Zechariah with his ear against the door.
“Has the spell worn off?” Jack asked, asking exactly what Cameron was thinking.
“It appears so.” Zechariah replied, carefully cracking open the entrance to the auditorium.
Cameron stood back, unsure of what magical-voodoo could slip out of the theater.
“Miss Cameron- would you mind terribly in investigating with me?” the slender leopard asked.
“M-Me?” she stammered, wondering why the vice-principal was asking her “Wh-Why me?”
“You’re the only capable person here, besides myself.” Zechariah replied, then turned to Jack and Nathan “No offense, of course.”
“None taken.” Nathan replied as Jack’s head nodded slowly in his hands.
‘I...I suppose he has a point...’ she thought, shakily following her superior.
Nathan and Jack were students, she couldn’t endanger them- and Chase was busy attending to an unconscious Jackie. Then with Keiko, Gustav, and Alanzo...of course she was the only one left…
Taking a few deep breaths, she prepared herself as she entered the auditorium proper, following Zechariah closely.
“Is she going to be alright?” Spike asked, wringing his wrists nervously as he stared hopelessly at Twilight, lying unconscious in the hospital bed.
“She’s going to be fine,” Doctor Heart Pump replied, setting her clipboard down “she’s just got a bit of a concussion, plus a slipped disc.”
Spike’s heart seized in his chest, his face flushing as he began to hyperventillate.
“Spike, calm down,” Heart Pump stated compassionately “the concussion isn’t too severe- and...with therapy, she’ll recover, we’ve already reset the disc.”
The baby dragon sniffled, then nodded.
Exhaling, Heart Pump suggested that he go and inform the other five, all of whom were in the waiting room.
“-still unbelievable…” he heard Rainbow grumble.
“Y’all know Spike’s the closest thing ta family Twilight’s got, Rainbow,” Applejack relplied, “in Ponyville, at least.”
Spike exited into the waiting room, greeting his other friends.
“Well?” Rarity asked, as everyone leapt out of their seats.
“She’s going to recover.” Spike stated.
They breathed a collective sigh of relief, just as a loud explosion rocked the foundation of the hospital.
Author's Note
Hope you enjoyed it.
