A cold, bitter wind blew through the cobblestone streets of Bellbrooke. Gentle flakes of white fluff drifted downwards, followed by the last few dead leaves off the trees as they snapped and descended with their snowy friends to the ground. Though it was only midday the lamps that lined the streets were lit as thick overcast clouds, grey like dirty wet cotton, hung overhead dimming the sunlight enough that it seemed like it was nearing dusk.
Warm yellow glows radiated from the windows of thatched room homes and brick walled shops that lined the streets. Lively smoke rose from countless chimneys bringing the smell of freshly baked bread, newly forged steel, and sweet alchemical brews to the largely unshoveled streets. Cheers and the occasional bout of more then
slightly drunken singing could be heard through the thick wooden doors and walls of the pubs in town.
Atop the walls that surrounded Bellbrooke the guards would find the warmth of the settlement at their backs as they stared out into a bleak, frigid landscape. The lively greens of the trees and underbrush outside the walls had all but disappeared with the approach of winter. Leave stripped yews looked like rotting, brown skeletons as their trunks stood out against the white landscape. The only other colors came from the yellowed grasses and stubborn weeds that remained unburied by the snow.
The winter air that rolled over the parapets of the wall did more then just carry cold to the guards, it also carried sound. The snapping of twigs, the crunch of snow and dried leaves, even the distant howls of creatures seemed so much closer. Something about the air of the season seemed to carry sound much better then it had in previous months.
For some guards it made them more alert while others were lulled into a distracted state, having tuned out the noises all together and become unaware of their surroundings.
The approaching holidays made it difficult for the guards to focus on their jobs. Many were left glancing back, wishing they could leave early for a pint or rush to the bakery to take advantage of a sale on bread or cake. Only the automated sentries and the crude, thick limbed robots remained resolute in their duties and unhindered by the cheerful atmosphere of the town.
Even the castle, which loomed over the town with thick stone walls and shadow laden spiraling towers, seemed to have a slight festive glow to it as yellow firelight could be seen in some of the keeps and windows visible from the town. Though home to the Refrom School the castle always had a slightly dower, unhappy air to it. Many in town found it ironic that one of the coldest, more unpleasant months was when the castle decided to brighten up.
Yet for all the cheer of the town and change of the castle, there remained a room within its walls unwarmed by the happiness of the town. The sterile glow of a florescent light lit the office of the Headmaster of the Bellbrooke Reform School...
"How long have I been here?" Prince Blueblood asked himself as he paced the thick carpeted floor of this otherwise cold office.
"I’ve forgotten and that worries me so. When a gentle pony such as myself wakes up and can barely recall the days, the weeks before...it means they so are uneventful they are not worth remembering! I’m wasting my life here!” The Headmaster bit his lip, pressing a hoof to his forehead as he glanced around his office. Despite being spacious and well furnished it managed to feel suffocating to Blueblood. A varnished oaken desk, several bookshelves lined with books and scrolls he never bothered to read, a globe of the world he had no interest in seeing, a single chair for sitting naughty children in front of his desk, an unlit (and uncleaned) fireplace, and a fat firmly locked cabinet located at the back of the room.
Blueblood looked at the cabinet, glancing to the door to his office and outside the glass paned window overlooking the castle courtyard and the town below. Trotting over his horn glowed, drawing a fat silver key from his suit pocket and sliding it into the brick sized lock. A twist and the thump of the lock hitting the floor sounded out as Blueblood opened the doors to the cabinet.
Inside was a scattering old, dirty items. Unreadable scrolls, broken staffs, dark bits of threatening stone, and even a single bleached human skull that seemed to stare back at the lowly prince with an empty mocking gaze.
Amidst the junk and colorless trash there was one object that shined with a notable worth. A gold needle left resting carefully in a small rectangular box filled with rolled up paper and silk.
The needle was long, golden and elegant. It was too long to be used for sewing yet too small to be used as a weapon. Inscribed meticulously around the circumference of the needle. Blueblood did not fancy himself a scholar, but he was far from daft. He’d found the books needed and translated the text in his spare time.
It was flowery and vague but the needle gave
“Protection from the sun’s blistering gaze”.
“A glorified magical sunscreen ward!” Blueblood snarled, nearly swatting the needle from the cabinet and into the waste-bin.
"Blast those stupid, swamp smelling fools! I pay them as much as I have and all they bring back is trash and a needle. How much money have I embezzled from the school funds just to get broken bits of rock and waste paper?" The Prince's voice raised, but he knew he would go unheard in his own office. It did little to calm him though as he fumed to himself.
“I came here to find something to put my life back on track. To give me the power I needed to earn the respect and stature I need to be important! This place...it’s special. It’s littered with artifacts, items, stones and jewels that practically bleed magical. While this one may be mundane there are others out there that are far from it. All I need to do is pay someone to find the right one and-” *KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK* The white unicorn nearly leaped from his body as he spun towards the door, eyes wide and teeth clenched.
"Headmaster Blueblood? The inspector from Equestria has arrived and they're asking for you to give them a tour of the school." A female voice said from the other side of the door.
Blueblood sighed, his eyes rolling back as relief washed over him. The relief was short lived and quickly replaced with a burning irritation.
"Thank you Mrs. File, you can tell the inspector I'll be with him in a moment!" Hearing the hoofsteps of his secretary walking away Blueblood locked the cabinet, taking one lasting look at the gold needle before sealing his ill gotten gains away. He stepped out of his office where three chairs sat directly outside his door, unoccupied by human children in need of discipline.
Walking down the hall he arrived at his secretary's desk and saw a blue coated, brown maned Earth Pony waiting for him. They were dressed warmly with a jacket, scarf, and fedora. Their smile was as warm as their clothes as they nodded to Blueblood at his approach.
"It's a pleasure to meet you Headmaster Blueblood, is everything well?" The inspector asked and Blueblood forced a smile.
"If it was any better I'd be genuinely worried. I must say I'm quite surprised, I wasn't expecting you until after the holidays..." The Prince's smile soon gained teeth as the inspector laughed.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that. The reason for my early arrival will become clear soon. Shall we begin?" The inspector stepped to the side, waiting for Blueblood to take the lead and show him around. It took deep personal restraint not to simply swat the inspector as he began walking down the hall.
Silence hung in the air as Blueblood led the inspector through the corridors and halls of the castle. He could hear the scribbling of a pencil on paper as the inspector took note after note, rolling the pencil in their mouth between writing.
"Here is where the children sleep." Blueblood said, pushing open one of the doors lining the hall to reveal a large open room filled with rows and rows of bunk beds. It was a barracks style room with colorful walls, clean sheets, and a pair of windows at the back of the room that let natural light in.
"I see. So there's no individual rooms for the children?" The inspector asked and Blueblood shook his head.
"The layout of the castle simply doesn't permit it, Inspector. Besides by sharing a sleeping space the children become closer. They sleep together, eat together, learn together, and play together." Blueblood explained. Though as sensible as the answer he gave was, he was simply parroting what the drivel the teachers in the school had stated. Seeing the room all he could feel was a sense of relief that the loud, human brats were kept in one place.
"Hmmm, very intriguing idea. I assume the sleeping areas are separated by gender and age of course?" The Inspector glanced into the room and Blueblood could feel the hair on the back of his neck stand up.
"Of course, it'd be ridiculous if it wasn't! Come now, I'll show you the dining hall." Slamming the open door Blueblood took the inspector by the back and began leading him away from the sleeping room.
In truth Blueblood hadn't bothered organizing where the children slept. They all attended different classes, but he simply didn't have the patience to separate everyone into specific rooms. Simply letting the children sleep where they chose (or dropped) was convenient and the presence of the teenage humans near the younger ones seemed to reduce the crying from their petulant little nightmares.
Walking farther down the stone laden halls Blueblood brought the inspector to a large room. The stone floors had been replaced with sterile white tiles and long wooden tables with benches fixed to them dotted the room in orderly lines. At the back was a kitchen with a cafeteria line.
"Here is where the children eat. We recently served breakfast so lunch won't be ready for another two hours..." Blueblood explained, stepping back to lead the inspector out but the Earth Pony simply walked farther into the room.
"It seems clean enough, but what kind of food is served here? Humans have different dietary requirements from us, they're nearly carnivorous given what they can eat. Meat may have been somewhat taboo for us, but they used to eat mountains of it."
"Well we serve eggs, local fish, and whatever we can get affordably from the local shops. There are a few Griffon and Minotaur run butcher shops here in Bellbrooke. So meat isn't entirely unavailable..." "I've heard rumors of Rended meat being bought and served to the human children in some reform schools. Have you ever done that here?"
"W-what? No, no, don't be ridiculous. It's true the meat does occasionally show up for sale, rather cheaply, but we've never done that." Blueblood shook his head firmly and the inspector nodded, taking a long line of notes as the Prince glanced back to the freezers.
"That's good to hear. The Rended...well they used to be human. Feeding their meat to other humans could have some dangerous side effects."
"Yes, we wouldn't want anything happening to the children..."Blueblood said, his tone dipping slightly as the inspector looked away. Luring the inspector back out into the hall the Headmaster of Bellbrooke took him to the lively part of the school. They began to pass classroom after classroom.
"These are the classrooms?" The inspector asked and it was all Blueblood could do not to roll his eyes as a smile flashed across the Earthpony's face.
Bright colorful rooms filled with desks, books, toys, posters, and smiling teachers and aides served as the classrooms for the school. Human children of varying ages from gradeschoolers to teenagers sat attentively at desks, smiling, talking, and eagerly raising their hands to ask or answer questions.
"Yes, these are some of the classrooms where we teach the human children the important aspects of life. And all that other drivel" Blueblood muttered the last part as the inspector walked into one classroom with teenagers, his eyes lighting up as he noticed some young ponies mixed in with the class.
"Are the children regularly taught alongside ponies near their age?"
"Sometimes. Plenty of the staff here have children of their own that are taught here out of convenience. Occasionally classes from the local school house in town are brought up for shared lessons, but since Winter arrived we've been toning them down." The Prince straightened his stance, giving a more convincing smile as he walked into the classroom. Some of the students looked his way, but averted their gaze the moment his eyes met theirs. Silently the prince gestured to some of the fixtures in the room for the inspector to look at, all while approaching the teacher in order to pawn the inspector off on her.
“As you can see, everyone is in class engrossed in their studies and-” “Are you sure? Does anyone sit at that empty desk?” Blueblood stopped dead in his walk, eyes going wide. He slowly turned his head, seeing the inspector pointing at a desk at the far back of the room. Tucked away near the bookshelves at the back of the classroom was a battered desk with all manner of graffiti carved into it's wooden top. Pegasi being struck by lighting, strange and outright crude words, and one name that had seemingly been carved deeply into the top of the table.
FALLING DOWN.
Blueblood flashed a smile and turned his head, glaring over his shoulder at the teacher whose own smile immediately became forced.
“O-oh I nearly forgot about her. She’s sick and spending some time in our infirmary for the sake of the other children. After all they love to share everything, including their germs! Ha ha ha…” Blueblood faked a laugh and the Inspector gave a more legitimate one, failing to see the tension in the teacher's eyes as Blueblood approached her desk. With the inspector strolling to the other side of the room to look at the books laid out from the children Blueblood leaned in, speaking through gritted teeth to the teacher.
"Where. Is. Falling?" Blueblood demanded, in as hushed yet harsh tone as he could manage without being heard by the others.
“I don’t know. One of the other children said she wasn’t feeling well so she went to the nurse’s officer. She was there for about an hour and that was the last time anyone saw her. She might be around somewhere sleeping or-”
“She could have snuck off somewhere and gotten off the school grounds entirely.” Blueblood rubbed a hoof into the side of his head, eyes narrowing into an even more threatening glare at the teacher.
“Y-yes that might be what happened. But I’m sure she wouldn’t do something like that…”
“And I’m sure she’d do exactly that.” “I’m sorry…”
"Oh there's no need to apologize to me. Apologize to your own children. The fact this girl keeps giving you and the rest of the school staff the run around is nothing short of disgraceful." Blueblood pulled his hoof away, his tone growing venomous as he spoke.
"Were it any other day I wouldn't have cared. Just wait till she comes back, give her the usual scolding, and let her spend the night in the dungeonto think things over. But the inspector is here. If he catches wind of this my job is on the line, and if that happens I'll ensure you'll never teach anywhere on Earth for the rest of your life." The teacher grimaced, nodding her head in quiet fear as Blueblood turned and walked away.
“Oh Celestia help me, why did I have to get stuck with this girl?” "I must say I'm thoroughly impressed so far Headmaster Blueblood. You've done a wonderful job running this school. I'd heard some disturbing rumors but they all appear to be false."
Blueblood simply nodded, growing more and more unable to bear the Inspector's obnoxious smile.
"Yes, yes. Very glad to hear that. Now why exactly have you come out here early?" A flash of realization flashed through the Inspector's eyes and he swatted a hoof against his forehead.
"Oh that's right! If you met the standards needed for a Reform School I was to give you this bonus sum of bits."
Blueblood's face remained passive. He watched the Earth pony reach back into his saddlebags, half expecting him to pull out a pathetic little pouch. The noble's looked changed completely as the inspector pulled out a heavy bag, bulging and straining under the weight of the money inside.
"Oh!" Blueblood's horn glowed and he reflexively took the bag of money from the Earth Pony's hooves with a telekinesis sell. The Prince smiled, wide and legitimately at the fat bag of bits he had.
"I assure you I will choose to use these funds wisely for a task benefiting the school. Deciding what that is will be difficult given the sum-" "Oh there's no need to worry about deciding what to do with the money, it's already been decided." The inspector exclaimed and Blueblood's face stiffened.
"...I'm sorry what?" "Yes! Miss Meadows, the councilor here, told me how the children hadn't had a proper holiday celebration in a while. She was very persuasive." The inspector said, smiling and staring off blankly at the mention of the councilor. After a few moments of awkward silence he shook his head, blinking as his senses returned to him.
"I admit I don't really remember exactly what she said, but it was clear the school deserved some additional funds. There is enough enough bits there to buy a number of gifts for every student in the school and ensure they have a bountiful feast and plenty of goodies when Hearth's Warming Eve arrives!'
Intentionally raising his voice the Inspector threw up his hooves and looked to the human children sitting at the nearby desks. Hearing the announcement clearly their eyes lit up like long forgotten Christmas trees and a number of cheers, squees, and excited shaking rang out.
Even the recently threatened teacher smiled more genuinely at the announcement seeing the children explode into smiles and joyful banter.
Blueblood simply stood there, teeth clenched and face frozen in smile that grew readily less friendly the longer he stood in the room.
"How...nobleof her." He said and turned to the door.
"I'll deposit these funds somewhere safe, Mr. Inspector. Please refer to the teacher for any more information you need regarding the school. I'm sure she'll be more then helpful" Shooting what only a deranged man would call a smile at the teacher Blueblood left the room and walked back to his office. As soon as the door was closed he dropped the bag of bits onto the floor and took a deep breath.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Blueblood shouted, as long and as hard as he could until his lungs were empty. As soon as he felt the burn in his throat he turned his gaze to the useless globe beside his desk. His horn became engulfed in a glow and the globe was lifted off the ground, spinning a top briefly before flying across the room.
It struck the adjacent wall with enough force to break apart, throwing bits of plastic and metal across the room.
Seeing the destruction brought a weak smile to the Prince's face as he stood, heaving and huffing amidst his office.
No sooner had he recovered then the fire of anger returned to his belly. Blueblood gritted his teeth, picking up the hefty bag of bits and dragging it across the floor to the window of his office.
There, embedded in in the stone, was a rotary phone. Recently made and wired down to the snow laden settlement below. Picking the receiver off the line and pressing it to his ear the prince began to make a call, every turn of the dial harder then the last until a tone panged in his ear.
"Operator, how can I help you?" A nazzly female voice asked.
"Connect me to the mayor, tell him it is urgent." Blueblood said fiercely, hearing the operator jump on the other end.
"O-one moment please..." The prince waited, smiling as he looked down at the money he was supposed to waste on the brats packed into the castle. As soon as the mayor picked up, the Prince spoke, refusing to let the man on the other end speak.
"Hello my dear and graceful mayor! How are you? Good I'm sure. I am calling to hire another expeditionary band. Yes I remember you saying it would cost more after the last party was completely butchered, but I figured you'd be more generous with this particular request of mine." Blueblood's tone was cheerful, forcefully so as his voice shook.
"Not because Hearths Warming Eve is just around the corner, but because I still have those photographs. Oh yes. I'm sure the local paper would just love these, they capture you so well. Your voters will just perk up seeing this new and wonderful side to you I'm sure." Blueblood's lips curled and he leaned into the speaker, voice sick with frustration and anger.
"You will find and send a handful of skilled individuals up to my office at the castle or I will have you thrown out of office like a filly into the streets." He paused letting his words sink in.
"I don't care if they're from the adventure's guild or some decent guards, as long as they are COMPETENT for a rare, blissful change. Am I understood? Good. Don't keep met waiting." Hanging up the receiver Blueblood breathed, feeling his heart rate slow as satisfaction swept over him. Returning to his desk, bits in hoof, he sat down and leaned back.
"This time is going to be different. Oh I can just feelit. Nothing is going to ruin my mood now. Not even that troublesome girl..." Despite what the Prince told himself a frown spread across his face as he glanced back to the window, out into the snow...
From the outside of the Reform School the walls and gates of the castle seemed totally unpenetrable. Though old no child or teen, inside or out, could hope to scale the walls or worm their way inside. Or so they would likely tell themselves. Most were too well behaved, others were simply too afraid to do so.
But one girl out of countless others tried and more often then not-
"Woohoo! HAHAHAHA!" Succeeded.
Falling Down's brown hair burst from a snow pile beside the west wall of the castle. Her face held a victorious smile, even as frozen mud dirtied her face and hands as she climbed from the hole she had appeared from. Down in the darkness was an old stone drain that ran out of the castle and down the hill. It had been sealed off with iron bars and was normally filled with water.
But the arrival of winter had led to the draining and freezing of the water, and a steel file put an end to the bars that kept anyone from entering it.
"And Daring Doo's assistant burst from the ancient catacomb tunnel and into the icy air of the lost land. Ready to search for treasure and excitement!"Falling spoke to herself, mimicking the narration of the adventure books she leafed through when she was supposed to be reading Equestrian history.
Even as the snow stung her exposed fingertips from her gloves and reddened her cheeks, Falling couldn't stop smiling. It'd been too long since she left the school, escaped the boring classes to do something she actually wanted to do.
Wasting little time Falling began to run, leaving footprints in the snow as she ran to a lone naked tree not far from the walls of the castle. She got down on her hands and dove her hands into a well hidden hollow at the base, pulling out a backpack and a large length of metal piping.
Securing the backpack over her shoulders and shouldering the pipe, Falling turned her gaze to the forest down the hill from the castle.
"I'm not coming back without something cool this time. I don't care how long it takes..." Falling spoke with what she felt was resolve, glancing back at the castle walls and glaring before starting down the hill.
The Castle overlooking Bellbrooke was outside the settlement walls. It had its own walls and was near enough that assistance could easily be called. Thanks to the placement of the school a child couldn't run out into Bellbrooke and potentially hear something they shouldn't. If they approached the town the guard would likely see them and return them to the school.
However there was nothing stopping a child from simply trudging out into the unexplored woods and wilds not far from the castle. Fear was the only thing that stopped children from venturing far, but Falling was not mired fear. At least not the fear of spooky woods and monsters.
"I'll head to the lake. I remember seeing that old, tall building near the water. There has to be something there." Falling picked up the pace and was soon running in between the sleeping husks of trees, her sneakers growing wet with cold snow as she ran farther and farther away from the school...
