The famous Crystal Prep Academy, or CPA for short, earned itself an undeniable reputation in Canterlot City and around the world. It was always known for the high standards it held its students to, but even more importantly was the competitive environment that challenged its students, providing the chance to excel. In order to achieve greatness the private school needed a firm hand and a brilliant head at its top, with a vision for the bigger picture. A way to earn recognition. This much needed head for the school was found 15 years ago: Principal Abacus Cinch, who was the bonfire of pure discipline needed to earn Crystal Prep the reputation it deserved.

Or, at least that was what she herself liked to think.

Abacus couldn't believe it. She created the perfect atmosphere for students. Yes, the fees were expensive, but when you wanted to learn with the best equipment available under perfect conditions, a price had to be paid. Expensive exchange programs and international scholarships, science fairs, sport events, she could supply it all. Over her years as a principal of CPA the competitive spirit she stoked served its purpose. Her students built a reputation for themselves, but more importantly the school, and by extension, her. They won every competition in all provinces of knowledge, as well as every sporting event.

Crystal Prep had a reputation, indeed! The desire to be better than others, engagement and a network of contacts from the school board to circles of the most respected universities, an unbroken influence. This was how her legacy should endure.

Then the Friendship Games happened.

Dean Cadence always represented the opinion that understanding, emotional support and encouraging her students to make friends was the right course of action to help Cinch's school. Seriously, this woman had a major in 'Analytical and Applied Psychology' with the topic, 'How Love Can Bring Out A Student's Hidden Potential'. How unprofessional. Principal Cinch could only roll her eyes at such ridiculous and naive sentiments, the dean was a lost cause.

But now, Cadence felt herself confirmed in her beliefs after the conclusion of the Games.

Lucky for Cinch the students had been well trained by her and still looked out for their own future first and foremost at all costs, knowing that it would at some point lead to higher places. And it would be to her credit. Her reputation was the bait to bring the most intelligent young minds to CPA and the most talented of them all was her, Twilight Sparkle.

And how did she thank Cinch for her accomplishments? Her support? She dared to leave the principal, her school, her empire. She dared to stain her legacy. The reason made her furious. Friendship with the students of Canterlot High School, a third-class backwater public institution that had somehow started to develop their own reputation. A school for commoners, a place that extolled the same wrong headed beliefs the dean did. People, who would never leave their mark on the world, unlike Abacus Cinch.

She still remembered them; Principal Celestia and her sister, Vice-Principal Luna. How smug they were after the games, to announce the Friendship Games a tie, to declare all as winners. They knew they never would have beaten Cinch and Crystal Prep in anything, so those upstarts had to use cheap tricks to even the odds for them. Trained attack plants, illusions of wings out of nowhere, along with hair extensions and some ludicrous looking animal ears like something from a children’s cartoon. Clearly the point was to mock her, Abacus Cinch.

Those arrogant and impudent lowlives from Canterlot High! First they turned her own students against her and in the end they had the audacity to look at her with an amount of self-righteousness and sardonic satisfaction that Abacus needed all her attained professionalism to stop herself from exploding in everybody's face.

All that caused by a power she only knew from fairy tales and would never have believed in, if she didn't witness its power with her own eyes first hand... magic. Reality certainly proved her wrong this time. Such a curious force. If someone would have asked her before the Friendship Games, she would have denied that such a thing even existed.

But Principal Abacus Cinch always was a pragmatist and preferred cold logic over irrational decisions based on emotions and childish wishes. She learned a long time ago to adapt her worldview in order to succeed. Otherwise she wouldn't stand where she was; a respected, influential and well-known person with a reputation in society.

After Twilight Sparkle transformed into that monster, made by the very power she obtained, this naive girl nearly destroyed the entire world! Cinch knew exactly why she couldn't handle it. She was weak.

Twilight Sparkle didn't even appreciate the little musical number she held for her, Cinch had liked her song. It had a... dramatic touch.

Besides, a little pressure never hurt, in her opinion. It showed who was reliable and it always served to separate the wheat from the chaff. On second thought, that girl fit perfectly into Celestia's little school of friendship.

No, this simply wouldn't do.

She needed something to pay them back for her humiliation, to show them their place once and for all. But she could not declare magic to be real for fear of what the school board would think. She would lose everything! Then Cinch remembered something she discovered a long time ago. In a long forgotten underground section of Crystal Prep was a room full of documents and books in the form of a little private study. She closed this area off from the public entirely and told the superintendents of the school board that she stored only old textbooks and equipment in these rooms.

No more questions were asked.

Crystal Prep Academy stood on these grounds for a little over 100 years now. It was founded by the first principal of the school, Headmaster Sombra. The only thing she knew about this man was that he was head of the academy for only 10 years before he was admitted to a sanatorium.

The records said that he had an unhealthy obsession with crystals for some reason. Cinch guessed his quirk was the reason for the name of the academy. Well, never mind. Abacus now knew what she needed to do.

It was break time at CPA, a time where five of the most famous students of the academy met each other to talk. It was like a ritual they decided to perform since the Friendship Games in order to learn about each other. They wanted to become friends, if that was possible, like Twilight taught them. Like the students of CHS taught to them, the Rainbooms most of all.

The Shadowbolts were a dynamic group of five girls, that was for sure. The very competitive Indigo Zap, the bipolar Sour Sweet, the paragon of bluntness Sugarcoat, the rock music loving Lemon Zest and last but not least, the straight and poised Sunny Flare, the unofficial leader of their team. Most people thought that Sugarcoat or Sour Sweet were the group's leader, because they talked more in public, they didn't know that Sunny was more the silent observer type.

After the games they wanted to hang out more with each other to see where it went, and it worked out, much to their joy.

It was a sunny Monday, scattered clouds painted the sky. The girls sat on their chairs at a large table in their school uniforms and enjoyed a good meal. Sometimes the high entry fees were worth it. On the menu today was fried chicken with an exquisite mango sauce, supported by roasted potatoes, french bread or salad and, for the vegetarians, lasagna.

"So... how was your weekend?" Indigo Zap started the conversation awkwardly.

Sometimes they had to try harder to make a dialogue work. They were still more accustomed to keeping other students at a distance, especially classmates as Principal Cinch had taught them. Except for sycophants of course, another of her lessons.

Principal Cinch searched long and hard before she decided who would represent Crystal Prep in the last Friendship Games. In the end she picked the students with the highest grades, like Twilight Sparkle, for the competitions of knowledge, while popular students with athletic skills were the choice for the sport events. A reputation had to be upheld. It was good that she decided to pick them, otherwise they might not be sitting together now.

"That was a really bad attempt to start this conversation. But we all are still unused to this whole friendship business, so it was fine try," Sugarcoat remarked without a twitch.

"Don't worry about it, we are all friends here. In fact, Sugarcoat, I'm sure you couldn't do it much better, so don't act like that!" Sour Sweet voiced her opinion in an attempt to help, with mixed results.

Lemon Zest nodded her head silently in support for Indigo, or because she just really liked the music she was hearing in the moment; both were possibilities.

Sunny Flare had enough and came straight to the point, "Girls, calm down. We all know why we are here." She touched Lemon's shoulder to get the teenager's attention.

"Dude, that was the best part!" Lemon looked around in confusion, "Oh, are we talking about that now?"

Finally Sunny Flare could start, "Yes we are. Alright girls, listen up, since the Friendship Games we tried to make the other students of Crystal Prep understand that working together and trying to get along would make this place much more bearable. We learned that lesson from Twilight, but mostly from this Sunset Shimmer girl and her friends-"

"Her transformation was awesome! Did you see those wings? They looked like they were made of freakin' sunlight!" Lemon exclaimed helpfully.

Sunny just groaned and continued after giving a short glare, "As I was saying before someone so rudely interrupted me, the problem is that nobody, except maybe the students who witnessed the Friendship Games, would believe what happened there. In fact I still can hardly believe it myself. The point is that the other students see no reason to change the way they are. And frankly, I can't blame them for that. I would have acted the same way if someone just came up to me and wanted to change the way I am. So, has anybody an idea to actually convince them?"

Sugarcoat corrected her glasses on her nose with two fingers before she replied stoically, "You already mentioned some points, but the facts remain. Nobody wants to change, because there is no reason to do it in the first place. While the magic we saw is a great hit on the internet with various videos the students made during the entire ordeal, of course people think that everything in them was just well-made special effects. I doubt we could change the attitude of the others, even if we were able to prove that Cinch tried to blackmail Twilight with the Everton scholarship."

"I don't think that would work. It's just Twilight's word against hers and it doesn't count that Sparkle told others about it after the Friendship Games. Without any solid evidence we can't do anything. And Cinch is not stupid. I'm sure she didn't make a file or something like that and only threatened her privately for pressure. She manipulated the girl, because she knew Twilight would do anything to keep her chance to go to Everton," Indigo voiced her thoughts and sighed, "The same way we helped Cinch to pressure her into using that pendant." Now she sulked.

Lemon put a hand upon her shoulder in a supporting manner.

Sunny rubbed her chin thoughtfully, "Maybe we can make this work if we could show them that magic exists in the first place. I mean, the students of CHS seemed to have no problems with it and if our fellow classmates would have no other choice than to acknowledge its existence, maybe they'd believe us about Cinch without any proof concerning her shady methods. Besides, such a behavior isn't too out of character for her to believe something like that."

Sour Sweet rested her head upon a hand, deep in thoughts herself, "Hmm, you know... I'm surprised that those Rainbooms are even still freely walking around and weren't already taken away by the authorities with their abilities. It's like the government had more important things to do!" she ranted, irritated by the lack of action from the higher ups.

Sugarcoat mumbled something inaudible to herself about not underestimating the ignorance of others.

"Did you hear the rumors about some incidents around Canterlot? A bunch of people went missing in the last few weeks and were never found again,“ Indigo Zap informed darkly, scrolling through the news messenger on her cellphone.

"I totally heard that, too! These disappearances happened especially on the outskirts of the city and the more rural areas, but mostly near the Everfree Forest," Lemon Zest filled out the rumors, for those of her friends not in the know, with more information.

"This may sound far-fetched, but we all heard about the 'special effects' from the Battle of the Bands, right? And after the whole thing with Twilight we can certainly say that this was probably real magic what the Dazzlings used. That being said, the disappearances of those people could be the doing of other magical beings. We should look deeper into it and help!" Sunny Flare decided and earned shocked expressions from her fellow Shadowbolts.

Indigo was the first to comment, "Err, Sunny? I know we want to make things better, but isn't that much too dangerous for us? Don't misunderstand me, I'm always willing to show my awesome skills. The problem is just that whatever kidnaps people will most likely be very dangerous, like maybe even on the deadly danger level. We should let the police handle this."

Their team leader scoffed, "The police are completely overwhelmed. They didn't find even one of the missing persons yet and they won't be able to handle magic. We don't really qualify as magic experts either, but-"

*RIIIIING!!!*

Sunny started to defend her idea, but they heard the bell and knew their break was over.

On their way back to class they wanted to talk more about it, but Lemon saw something strange, "Look, there's Cinch. Where is she going? I thought the only thing down there is old furniture and books." In response the others stared silently in the direction she pointed at and indeed saw the principal walking down the stairs.

"Only one way to find out! Let’s follow her, and make sure she doesn't cause more trouble!" Sour Sweet said with her usual change of attitude.

"She's right. Cinch clearly has a plan with the way she behaved since the Friendship Games. She is mad that she didn’t win, and is obsessed with revenge on Twilight and Canterlot High School. A seriously sore loser," Sugarcoat commented with narrowed eyes.

The five teenagers nodded their heads and followed Cinch into the basement. The underground level was cleaner than they expected, and still... older seemed to be the right word to describe their feelings. The corridor changed from the modern architecture upstairs to old walls of stone. It felt like they followed their principal into a secret dungeon.

They did so until they reached a room, where they hid outside behind the door and looked into it the moment the principal reached the far side. It had the appearance of a private study. That was certainly interesting.

In the study was a set of two bookshelves, one to the right side of the room and one to the left, filled with many apparently old scrolls and books, a big table made of mahogany, a grand leather chair and a high desk made of stone with four whole black candles, one on each corner of it and finally in the middle lay a mysterious tome. It was a thick, huge volume bound in bright red leather with hand written lettering on the cover that nearly covered the entirety of the high desk nearly from bottom to top. Sadly they could not see what it was from their perspective.

Now they had to wait. Nobody noticed the red magic circle beneath the woman.

Principal Abacus Cinch was surprised at the condition this room was in. Since for quite a long time nobody had entered this room, she believed, and yet no dust was to be found in here. She wondered briefly how that was possible. So many books and scrolls, surely they held the knowledge that could help her in her plans, right? She had to destroy the growing reputation of Canterlot High and reestablish her position over those upstarts. Then she saw the tome upon the high desk and approached it like a curious cat, hopefully she wouldn't share its much presaged fate. It was bright red and upon its front were golden, gleaming... symbols? Cinch had never seen writing like that in her entire life. She didn't even know how to start in order to understand what was in front of her.

She opened the tome and found notes on several papers upon the first page. It looked like some kind of documentary or diary. Certain that she was alone, Cinch began to read them out loud.

I always was obsessed by two things in my life: crystals and knowledge, especially long forgotten knowledge. And finally I, Sombra, found the ancient tome I heard so much about. I need to make these notes before others might take my work away from me. I searched for 20 years of my life and followed hint after hint before my discovery. An old colleague of mine told me about ancient ruins in Greece, a temple, in which the people of old worshiped beings known as 'Elementals' in their own society called 'Scions of the Elementals'. This happened 2500 years ago. The more modern society decided to ignore it and called this historical place a 'temple of religious fanatics'.

They believed that our world has her own magic and that it could be used for great things. I ventured far and went deep into the temple. I found it in a restricted area, because the authorities believed this place to be too dangerous and old to search beyond the main hall. There was an ancient door with Old Greek written on it.

Luckily I studied dead languages for years and could translate its message perfectly, which said:

"Welcome friend, before you can enter and visit our inner shrine, answer one question to ensure that you are indeed a fellow brother: 'What are the five true elements of nature, our lords, the Elementals, represent?'"

If someone talks about the elements of nature then people simply assume until this day that fire, earth, water and air are the answer, metal as a fifth in some distant cultures, but I found out the truth through years of research. I answered out loud in front of the door in the dead language: 'Everlasting Fire. Unyielding Water. Unbending Earth. Relentless Air. Unforgiving Thunder'.

The door quaked and opened.

The beauty of the hidden shrine was astonishing. Somehow flora grew in this place and I found a pond of the clearest water in the center of the room. And there it was; the holy shrine itself. It stood in the middle of the pond on a little green island. The construction itself was small and nothing special, but what I found in the shrine was another thing entirely. Upon a pedestal laid the target of 20 years of research, 'The Art of Summoning', written by the Scions for future brothers and sisters who would follow the elementals.

I was ready to take the power I deserved.

I spent a long time translating it from Ancient Greek into our modern English in my own copy. After I was sure my translation was flawless I needed something I didn't have at the time; magic. But because the book was infused by magic it could be used to find other sources of said energy, or so my translation told me. I searched, with the tome as my compass, over the whole world until I found a place with enough magical energy for my purposes. It led me to Canterlot City and the epicenter was a horse statue in front of a decommissioned military base. I heard they wanted to build a new high school in its place instead, because Canterlot didn't need the base any longer, but I couldn't wait. Nevertheless, destroying the statue would have drawn unnecessary attention.

No, a little bit less magic was enough, too. Later I found an old church with a magical heart-shaped sky blue crystal, the size of a man's head. They called it the 'Crystal of Faith', because it shimmered in the presence of strong emotions. They didn't even know that it was a magical artifact, thinking it was a relic of God. I needed this place, so I used all my influence I could muster to buy the church, as well as the land so that the crystal would be mine.

I just needed a cover story for my plan, and the rumors of a school being built gave me the perfect idea. I always wanted to be a principal or in a position of power in general, sadly this land had no need for a king.

This was the cornerstone for my new private school, the Crystal Academy.

In the underground I built my private study and finally I could start my plans. I had to precisely follow the instructions from the tome, and after 10 more years I had the necessary ingredients. I wonder if the Scions of old had had everything at their disposal? In this time, most people have forgotten about magic and think of it only as mere fantasy. How disappointing. It was worth the effort.

I summoned a fire elemental.

Sadly, my first summon led to the destruction of the only copy I made of the tome and its translation. Well, I decided that I would note the instructions later on a single sheet of paper and keep it safe in the back of the tome. And still, all the time I translated the rest... for nothing. The Crystal of Faith was taken away, too. The moment the fire spirit looked upon it, it was seized and removed. I never found out where or why.

My master helped me to awaken my inner magic. Crystal Magic. Yes, he told me that every being on this world had its own spark of magic. Without it, there was no life. Some humans were even able to manipulate it and gained new abilities. Mages, or magi as they were called, indeed existed in ancient times. I can call myself a part of that proud profession now, having found out about ruins and places of old and other planes of existence. I won't write them down, because most humans are unworthy of such knowledge in my opinion.

So much power, but I wanted more, I wanted... to rule, to be a king and not a mere Scion, no mere unimportant foot soldier.

I will rule and create my kingdom of dreams- no, an empire! Yes, my Crystal Empire!

Cinch read the last words of the notes she found and was, well... surprised would be the understatement of the century. She didn't know she wasn't alone with that feeling, nor that five girls heard every word and were very shocked as well.

The principal didn't know where to start. She tried to collect herself before she took the next step. Did she even want that? Did she want to summon some supernatural entity? What happened to Sombra? He wanted to rule, that much was clear, but somehow he ended up in a sanatorium, powerless. What she did know was that Sombra went mad with power, that he couldn't control himself.

Much like Twilight Sparkle.

On the other hand, what other options did she have? Her legacy had begun to crumble away since the Friendship Games, she heard the whispers from her peers and members of the school board alike for what, to their knowledge, occurred. Just because her, what did they say? Ah yes, her 'so called elite' lost the games to a commoner school. Oh how they laughed. No, her legacy, her reputation was on the brink and she wouldn't lose everything she worked her entire career for. She knew that those five girls, the Shadowbolts, acted behind her back since the Friendship Games, that they wanted to change her school, her students. They wanted to make everything like... in Canterlot High.

No, she would NOT let that happen! They wished to make Crystal Prep like Cadence always wanted. Yes, she would gladly support them in their endeavor. Cinch could already see the smug, gloating, self-righteous faces of Principal Celestia and Vice-Principal Luna before her very eyes, taunting her. It made her blood boil.

Without a second thought she opened the tome at the end and took out the paper from Sombra to summon one of those infamous elementals, “Let's see...”

1. Step before the tome within the red circle so that the elementals will feel your presence.

2. Light the four black holy candles upon the high desk.

3. Let the tome rest in the center between them, so that it can absorb the magic from the flames.

4. Recite the following words to summon an elemental:
Beings of the Elemental Planes, hear my plea!
I came to summon you,
I came to serve your will,
I came to learn under your guidance,
I came to live in your name,
I came to die for your glory,
I came to understand your wisdom,
I came to unleash you upon this world,
Command me!

5. Serve, and become a true Scion of the Elementals.

PS: Push the button under the right side of the high desk before you start, so that nobody may interfere, otherwise the results could be deadly. The mechanism will activate a hidden portcullis and close off the door to keep out potential intruders.

Cinch swallowed because of the last part and checked. There really was a red and lightly shining circle. But first, she found and pushed the button, like mentioned in the notes, causing a portcullis to fall down. She could have sworn she heard someone scream in surprise. Must have been her imagination, she figured. Abacus really needed to stop worrying so much. Nobody except her could possibly know about this place. She looked a last time into the direction of the door and listened. No, nobody had followed her.

Principal Cinch started the ritual. She already stood in the circle; step one was complete. Now to step two. She took a confiscated lighter out of her pocket and lit all four candles, which produced black flames no less, then she placed the tome exactly in the center. Suddenly the object began to glow and the flames were absorbed by it in a slow flow. Now to the quote. She cleared her throat and started the incantation:

"Beings of the Elemental Planes, hear my plea!

"I came to summon you,

"I came to serve your will,

"I came to learn under your guidance,

"I came to live in your name,

"I came to die for your glory,

"I came to understand your wisdom,

"I came to unleash you upon this world,

"Command me!"

Something strange appeared behind the tome. A circle in blazing red energy, filled with symbols she never saw before. And then it came, an elemental of fire.

It was like nothing Principal Cinch ever saw before. This entity was literally made of living flames. If she guessed correctly, the being was around 2 meters, or something close, tall. It stared down at her with blazing yellow eyes. Its body looked similar to the one of a human, just much, much broader when it came to its upper body, unlike a normal human being. It didn't really have legs, but swirling flames instead to let it float a little over the ground. She was lucky it stood on magical stone, at least she thought it was, because nothing melted under the burning heat. The being's flames weren't really like normal fire either; its entire body was made of black fire, like the candle flames, and it wore slate gray armor on its entire upper body, except its massive arms. On the armor were the same symbols of the summoning circle.

What surprised her the most was its ability to speak English fluently.

"A long time has passed since my last summoning," the elemental started with a voice that sounded like scorching flames, "I see. You, mortal, do you want to serve us? Speak up, before I burn you to ashes!" it demanded, annoyed by the principal's lack of action and imitation of a fish.

"Y-yes! I summoned you, oh Great Elemental of Fire! I came to learn under your wise guidance and do as you wish," she said with a shaky tone.

"Tell me, what is your name, future Scion?" it asked, now much calmer.

"My name is Abacus Cinch. Would you grant me the humble honor to know your name, oh Great One?" Cinch sucked up to the elemental a second time. For a moment the woman thought she had heard a faint sound like a gag in disgust.

The entity seemed to ignore her behavior and answered truthfully, "My name is Igniticious, High Recruiter and part of the elementals of my master's division. I see the curious look in your eyes, being of flesh. His name is none of your concern, yet."

"High Recruiter, Milord?" she inquired curiously. The elemental indeed sounded male. But mostly like a burning flame.

"It means that I'm one of the fire elementals who can recruit non-elementals and grant them power. Such is my task in his name. Now, Scion, stand in front of me and be bestowed by the power of the Everlasting Fire!" Igniticious shot magical flames from his hands in Cinch's direction.

Black flames surrounded her immediately and she started to have second thoughts, but she felt... no pain? The flames engulfed her body and they started to transform her. Abacus' glasses burned away and her skin changed its color from the former light opalish gray to dark scarlet. She grew in her stature to at least 195 cm in height, her irises turned from grayish fuchsia to a brilliant glowing amber, her sclera from white to a warm red, like fire, and her hair changed from various tones of violet into various shades of the same blazing amber like her eyes.

Otherwise her body stayed largely the same.

Her attire was changed by the black flames, too. Cinch now wore silky, ornate robes with runes sewn in red colored thread as protection, her shoes just changed their colors from the previous blue shades, light and dark, into coral ones.

Principal Abacus Cinch was no more.

"This incredible feeling..." Cinch whispered in awe and gasped at how she sounded.

Her voice was the same, but with a little distortion, an echo of crackling fire. A symbol of her new existence as a half-elemental. This power was extraordinary. Everything she could do now, the possibilities were endless! Perhaps she wanted to build a name for herself, but no rulership like Sombra.

No, she was always a principal at heart and never tried to reach for higher positions in the educational system, even if her desires told her otherwise. It was enough for her to serve in a greater scheme and to earn a position for herself in the ranks of her new masters.

She knelt in front of the High Recruiter, "Master, what do you desire?" Cinch asked, humble but determined.

"I think we should take care of our eavesdroppers, before we go any further. Some of your former students, I presume." Igniticious concentrated flames in his hand in form of a little fireball and destroyed the door, swearing was heard from the rising dust.

After it cleared, Cinch saw them. Her students... former students, she had to remind herself. The Shadowbolts.

Lemon Zest coughed heavily and glared at the fire elemental, "Dude, that wasn't cool!"

"Oh-" Sour Sweet giggled sheepishly, "-what a pleasant surprise to meet you here like this Principal Cinch. What have you done?! Are you insane?!” she exclaimed angrily, though clearly baffled.

The others weren't faring much better. They watched the woman's actions the whole time until now, but could not do anything, because the door was closed off right in front of their faces. Literally. They knew she wanted revenge and was angry about the Friendship Games, but to make some kind of pact with a very scary entity was surely no solution!

"You little pests. Did you really think you could trick me? That I wouldn't notice your presence?" the High Recruiter boomed in a powerful voice.

"There is no reason to do something drastic, maybe we can talk this out," Indigo Zap nervously tried to negotiate.

"That isn't the way, Principal Cinch! We you know didn't like the tie in the Friendship Games, but we-" Sunny Flare started to lecture, but was interrupted.

Abacus laughed wholeheartedly in response. After a few more chuckles she looked with disdain at her former students, "Oh, you naive, pesky little fools. Do you really think I would still care about those ridiculous Friendship Games? Yes, I was angry about how things went, but now I don't have to worry about it anymore. I found my true destiny and you could never understand how small you all are in comparison to the gift my master granted me," she clarified reverently, "But we can't let you run away and blab about what transpired here. I'm sorry, young ladies."

She didn't like taking a life, but she had to do it, otherwise those girls could cause trouble in the future. Cinch had vowed her loyalty, not only for her own dreams, but to the plans of her masters, too. Yes, it needed to be done.

Before the five teenagers could meet a terrible end, the earth quaked. The fireball didn't only damage the entrance, but the ceiling as well.

"We have to go, now! Move!" Sugarcoat screamed panicky at her alarmed friends.

Before the new Scion could run to escape an inglorious end herself, Igniticious concentrated his magic and in a blink of an eye he and Cinch were gone.

The Shadowbolts took off and ran as fast as they could, the crumbling ceiling in hot pursuit their entire way back. They ran up the stairs and jumped through the door into the school corridor where their little adventure started, hoping they were safe.

Sour Sweet panted heavily, "T-that was much too close. We are lucky Crystal Prep had such a deep underground system, otherwise the whole school might have been in danger. I swear, the next time we might kick the bucket with our luck."

They heard fast approaching steps and saw that Dean Cadence was coming their way in high heels and wondered how she could maintain her speed with such style of footwear.

"Thank goodness! There you are! I was worried about you. I couldn't find you nor Principal Cinch anywhere. After the earthquake started and I just ordered the evacuation of the campus!" She was clearly worried about their well-being. Then she noticed their current state, "What in the world happened to you?!"

The five girls glanced at each other in fear and agreed silently. Sunny Flare stepped forward and announced, a little disturbed by what they just witnessed, "Dean Cadence, we have to tell you something very important, it is about Cinch."

"Hmm?" Cadence inquired, very confused now from the behavior of the students in front of her.

"You should sit down, because I don't think you will believe-" before she could say more, the dean interrupted her in a smug tone, "Friendship Games, remember?"

Sunny smiled patiently, "Right, you were there. Well, never mind. Everything started today during our break. We were discussing-"

In a realm not many mortals had entered in its existence without an elemental affinity, a disturbance interrupted the tranquility. A magic circle with runes made of fire appeared and with it, High Recruiter Igniticious and his new Scion, Abacus Cinch.

"Wh-where are we?" Cinch asked, unsure and confused.

"Welcome to the Elemental Planes. More specifically, the kingdom of the fire elementals, the Burning Mountains,” he introduced proudly, "Now, were you ready to go further, before the young humans disturbed us?"

"Yes, I was." Cinch knelt down again. Igniticious put one of his large hands on her shoulder and surprisingly it didn't hurt her.

"My Scion, stand up and be acknowledged. Wear your new title with pride, bring us honor, devour your foes with your flames and make all who dare to defy our masters pay. Rise now and mark the world, Blazing Inquisitress, Abacus Cinch!" the High Recruiter intoned

"My Lord, I thank you for the honor you gave me, but may I inquire, what do you desire me to do now?"

"Now, I will give you your basic training and after that you may have your first mission," the elemental replied, thoughtful of his Scion.

Cinch understood his idea and the High Recruiter was right. She had no experience in battle or combat in general. She could forge documents, she could blackmail and she could intimidate with words, but she could not use a weapon or her new magic even remotely. Yet.

"I apologize for any further delay, but still have questions. What does the word 'Scion' mean exactly?" Cinch thought she could anger the High Recruiter with her questions and was worried that she overstepped a line.

Igniticious's eyes had a familiar expression, amusement, she thought, "Of course you may ask. We don't need mindless pawns who cannot think on their own in your position. To answer your question, 'Scion' is a title which describes you as a half-elemental. Humans, when they accept an elemental as their master, are taking some traits of the element they choose in progress. You, for example, can no longer feel pain by the heat of fire, but be careful. Beings much stronger than you could still deal great amounts of damage to your body despite the immunity. I think you already noticed the moment I touched your shoulder that you didn't receive any torment by my flames."

"And my new title? Does it entail a special meaning?" Cinch asked respectfully.

Igniticious stared at the scorched red sky, or so it appeared, above them when he spoke, "Your title of 'Blazing Inquisitress' is your formal rank in our rows and describes your position as a special force reserved for half-elementals. After your basic training is completed you will be sent on missions, which need a more... delicate approach. You are no lesser fire elemental, the ones incapable of speech or following more complicated orders, those who are used in the army as patrols, for example. You will receive orders from me or other fire elementals in leading positions above your rank as a special force."

"I understand, master. I heard that humans can learn their own kind of magic, if they have the potential to become magi. I read about it in the notes of a former Scion of Fire. He founded my school." Abacus really wanted to find out if she would have the potential to have more sources of powers than one, but first she had to learn the extent of her abilities in her new position as an inquisitor.

Igniticious chuckled, a crackling sound was heard, "Ah, do you mean Sombra, young Scion? I heard about him. It was not I who was once summoned by this man, but I know that he failed. He got greedy and demanded things beyond him. A pity. He had such great potential, but picked the wrong path, leading to his own demise. I have the feeling you are not so foolish and know that greatness is not something you can demand. Let us begin your tutelage."

Cinch was ready, yes. She would learn what was necessary and she would rebuild, no, renew and improve her legacy, her reputation. She would make her mark in the world once again and nobody would stop her. She would make them all pay for their arrogance, every single one who dared to laugh at her.

The former principal knew who her targets would be one day. Her master told her over the powers he gave Cinch. The High Recruiter said something about a task his master got from his master. Truly, she had a long way to go before she could meet the highest ranked fire elementals. And she wouldn't have it any other way. Only through hard work, dedication and the iron will to be better than others. Yes, one day, they would meet again and she would show them.

She would show them all the capabilities of Abacus Cinch, the Blazing Inquisitress.

"My lord, one last question. What will you do about the girls who saw us? There are people in Canterlot City who know magic exists and they will try to stop us the moment they hear about our alliance." Those foolish CHS students would try to play hero again. She simply knew it.

High Recruiter Igniticious had a malicious glint in his eyes before he indulged her with more information, "Do not worry about them and listen well. The elementals of Terra have awoken. 'Beings of Mythology', as ignorant humans would call them, walk once again on Earth and many of them are hungry." Pity, if one wanted to call it, colored his next words, "You can imagine how this will end for the unprepared."

"B-but how exactly do you want to achieve that? We are talking about a place with a population of over 300,000 citizens. Those meddling teenagers may hide themselves somewhere until they can talk with others about us." Abacus wasn't sure how they could seize control of the situation in such a big city like Canterlot.

Her master chuckled darkly at his Scion's lacking faith, "I am confident there is not much for us to fear right now. The world is changing, every country, town or village has its own problems in this very moment we speak," Igniticious answered mysteriously, "Remember what I told you about the lesser fire elementals? They can't do much, but they can guard, defend, attack and conquer, if you are clever enough to use them to the best of their abilities. In our army is a pure force of lesser fire elementals and they could use the exercise to lose some dust from all these centuries of boredom. I know the elemental who leads them. He is not that strong in comparison, but he gets the job done. His name is Raga. I think they should pay them a visit. We shall unchain the Infernal Guard upon this human city." Igniticious' entire body was covered in a bright black aura. "We will begin your training the moment I return. Wait for me and make yourself comfortable around this place in the meantime." In a teleportation flash he vanished.

Cinch gazed into the distance and admired the view of the Burning Mountains. Her thoughts drifted finally to her future targets.

"And that is everything what happened until you met us," Sunny Flare ended her tale in an exhausted voice.

The dean of Crystal Prep was obviously very doubtful about the principal's supposed 'downfall into insanity', as Sugarcoat called it in their discussion. But after she heard more and more, she decided to believe the Shadowbolts. It was an incredible story. If she didn't know from the Friendship Games that magic was real, Cadence would have demanded a drug test for the five students.

She listened attentively and never knew that Cinch would go this far, "OK girls. We have to go and find Twilight and this Sunset Shimmer. From what Principal Celestia told me, she and one of her 'friends from out of town' know much more about magic than anyone else. I will call Shining Armor and ask him for help. Perhaps you remember him, he was once an alumni of CPA and became a police officer recently. Maybe he can help us with alerting the local authorities in time if this goes south.”

Cadence took out her phone and picked Shining's number. After half a minute he answered the call, "Cadie? I thought you are in the school at this time?"

"It doesn't matter at the moment. Listen Shiny, I will visit you at the police station immediately. It is very important," she informed briskly.

He stammered, confused and startled, "Wa-wait, what do you mean? Cadence, I-," she ended the call and prepared herself to go this instant.

"Alright, I will take my leave, please be careful, we don't know what will happen next. Here, let us exchange our numbers Miss Flare. Please call me if you see something suspicious and for everything that is holy to you. Don't play hero again, just call me. You nearly died down there and I won't let you toss your lives away for nothing." Dean Cadence ran outdoors swiftly, out of their sight.

The resulting awkward silence between the girls explained this entire day perfectly for them.

"Guys, we should totally leave the school and look around. See if we can find something suspicious," Lemon Zest offered her opinion in a rare, more serious voice.

"GAAHH! Come on! She really just wants from us to play nice and let her handle this? She didn't even see Cinch and what she was ready to do! The police will just get their asses kicked!" Indigo exclaimed in frustration.

Sugarcoat put a hand on her friend's shoulder to calm her down, "Indigo, we have no magic of our own. How are we supposed to do anything? Let's leave the school, like Lemon said, and look out for anything out of the ordinary. Or whatever can be defined as such in these days."

In the outskirts of Canterlot, hidden by curious eyes, a giant dark red portal made of flames appeared. The being who left it was a fire elemental, he was 252 cm tall and made of indigo flames. His body was very humanoid; not as thick as most other elementals. But what lacking in body, he had in power, more than enough to keep his position. He was more magically orientated, his flames could melt nearly anything and he took great pride in that ability. His eyes were navy in color and like all fire elementals they were like blazing, sharply formed holes which looked like they could see into your very soul. He wore royal blue armor with glowing orange runes as a full body armor. It gave him a more gallant appearance.

This servant of fire was one of the few elementals who used a weapon. On his back rested a bastard sword. It was two meters long and 30 centimeters broad. Its sheath was navy blue and looked fancy with one little indigo rune as an ornament in its center. The blade itself was a silvery color for the most part and its sharp side was a burning ice blue. It was made of Zyphorium.

"So this is Canterlot City, the town High Recruiter Igniticious mentioned. I don't know why we have to attack this worthless place, but an order is an order. Only our leaders need know the reason behind their orders, our purpose is merely to do or die,” he mused. Then, unsheathing his sword, raising it to the sky, he intoned, “Hear my call! Come and fight for the true lord of the fire elementals! Come, Infernal Guard!"

More portals, this time smaller, but with the same runes and color, appeared in their unholy glow. The Infernal Guard had arrived.

The lesser elementals were small, barely the size of normal humans, with a little range in their size from 130 to 160 cm, but they all looked the same. Their bodies were made of orange flames, with swirling fire instead of legs, which let them hover over the ground. They wore metallic brown armor with three little orange runes per armor piece; on their bracers, helms and chest-plates. They had still a broader upper body than humans. In their helmets were blazing red eyes. The earth burned under their angry flames.

In the end, 1200 Infernal Guards assembled themselves.

"Burn this city to the ground and take no prisoners! Attack!" their leader screamed at his soldiers.

He watched the beginning of the assault and already decided to look for a worthy opponent, he always sought a challenge. Though the fire spirit knew that mankind couldn't win this fight. They didn't even know that the magic of their own world awoke or what magic even was. He would make them fear his Infernal Guard. He, Commander Raga, would bring their demise.

"Everything looks fine, surprisingly enough. God, I just jinxed myself, didn't I?” Sour Sweet facepalmed for her tempting of fate.

"Sunny Flare, we were supposed to look out for something that can be called 'out of the ordinary'. Well, I didn't see anything, but listen," Sugarcoat advised in a monotone voice.

"Hm?" The friends did as instructed and heard loud noises. Then Indigo recognized them: panicked screams, "We have to hurry!"

The Shadowbolts ran around Sugarcube Corner and what they saw horrified them to their very being. An entire army of fire elementals. They set buildings on fire and attacked every human on sight, the dying screams of people, who burned to death, shocked them madly.

"Oh my god! They're killing everybody! They're burning down our hom-" She gasped in realization. Before Indigo Zap could run back home, she was tackled to the ground by Lemon Zest, "Hey! Let me go Lemon! I have to leave! I have to save my parents!" she pleaded in blind fear.

"Dude! We have to stay together now. These guys will cook you extra crispy if you run off! They are already spreading, look around you. You have to believe that your parents will survive on their own," Lemon reasoned wisely with a very soothing tone.

She was right. More and more sounds of battle and death invaded their ears, coming from every direction. They had to find a safe place; they had to run away!

Canterlot City had fallen.

Sunny Flare and her friends ran away as fast as their legs could carry them, demoralized from the assault on their once proud home. The skyscrapers of the town had began to burn away under the attack of the elementals, two having already collapsed and likely crushed every poor soul nearby under falling rubble.

Suddenly Sunny's cell phone vibrated.

"OH MY GOD CADENCE! It's terrible, the fire elementals...! Yes? Hm? Alright, fine, we are coming! Be safe and wait for us there!" she shouted into her phone. "Girls, we have to go! Dean Cadence found a place in the outskirts of the city where they think we'll be safe for some time," Sunny said with new courage.

"Where is this place?" Sugarcoat inquired frightfully.

"Sweet Apple Acres. Follow me, I know where that is. My mom always bought apples from there," the teenager explained while increasing her speed, determined for the first time since the start of the attack, the rest was following her lead, "We can't go there without a car, it’s too far! But none of us know how to drive..." Sunny Flare looked around for a fast solution, before some of the elementals caught up to them, “They are strong, but not fast,” she thought analytically.

As if a higher being heard her plea, a red convertible stopped besides them. The window went down and they saw...

"Moondancer?!" the Shadowbolts all exclaimed, surprised and happy at the same time to see at least one of their classmates alive and well.

Moondancer had cream colored skin, wore her signature glasses with black frames and her hair in a ponytail. Her Crystal Prep uniform was damaged, like she went through hell and back with it. The Shadowbolts were never happier to see her.

"Girls, jump in! We have to go before these living disasters for every respectable physicist on this world catch up to us!" They didn't need a second invitation, scrambling over the sides into the back seat except Lemon Zest who calmly opened the passenger door and sat down.

"So, any idea where to go?" She looked at her classmates pleadingly. There was no time for long debates.

"Shiny, please talk to me, I know that was too much for you. Don't bottle up your emotions," Dean Cadence argued with her fiance. She and Shining Armor tried to escape the never ending attacks of the Infernal Guard in form of head sized fireballs.

Her plan was to ask Shining to send the police to Crystal Prep under the, more or less true, cover story of a completely unexpected earthquake under the academy, and later to convince Shining Armor to let his colleagues search for anything suspicious.

Maybe they would have found something important.

The moment most of the police were ready, everything went south in neck-breaking speed. Then they came, made of living fire, protected by some kind of armor. That must have been the 'elementals' the girls were talking about, Cadence guessed. The officers answered by shooting bullets at them, but they didn't cause any damage at all, because the munition just melted in them or even before they reached their targets.

In the end, Shining grasped Cadence and they escaped in a close call with the help of the station's police jeep.

Others weren't as lucky as them.

They drove like mad for 40 minutes through town, hoping to escape the city and to search for survivors they could take with them in the jeep. Other people had the same idea and it was madness all around. Many streets were completely blocked because of burnt-out cars, sometimes with the passengers still inside.

He snorted angrily, "Cadie, I just had to watch colleagues of mine, people I called friends, some for years, BURN ALIVE. I don't know how I can look their families in the eye ever again. I was one of the lead officers and I could do NOTHING! I couldn't defend them like it was my duty. I failed and those things just slaughtered everybody. I hope at least some of them could escape, before it was too late."

"I'm so sorry Shining. But you can't give up hope, we have still us and I'm sure many of your friends managed to escape in time," the dean of Crystal Prep said empathically.

Tears of despair, fury and self-loathing made themselves known on the young man's cheeks, "I wanted to protect the innocent, but we had to run away, like cowards. So many people burned and killed. I'm sure I saw our neighbor on the ground one block ago. You told me a lot of things before I started to assemble my colleagues. Things about Cinch, about these 'elementals', about the Friendship Games. I still can't believe Twily had a part in all of this. All that sounded like some fairy tale or Dungeons & Dragons kind of thing. I thought you just wanted to joke about my passion with games and comics about knights. I certainly wasn't ready for this. I'm still not sure if I'm dreaming, but I fear not."

Cadence rubbed gently his tears away with a finger and wanted nothing more than taking all his pain away, "I don't know why that had to happen, and so suddenly. I'm not even certain what will happen from now on, but we can't give up. Twily counts on us, she needs her big brother."

Shining Armor laughed bitterly, "You are right. Thanks. But honestly? I don't know what to do, I can't search for my parents, because these things destroyed the streets with their flames and in the inner city are most of them. I'm only relieved to know that Twilight and her new friends are safe. They wanted to spend a week in a summer camp; It was called Camp Everfree, I believe. I will call her on her phone when we are somewhere safe," he explained his feelings and thoughts in a more determined state of mind.

"I know how you feel. I saw students I consoled during my time as a dean in their hardest times, dead on the streets and I'm very close to a breakdown. That my ladybug is alright is one of the things that give me hope that we can survive this...! SHINING! THERE!" Cadence shouted urgently and pointed a finger in the direction of three young girls.

One of them wore a red ribbon on her head, had red hair and yellow skin, one girl had hair with two shades of mulberry and white skin and the last had fully purple hair and slightly orange skin color. Shining Armor stopped the jeep and shouted in their direction, "Girls! Come here, we'll bring you to safety!"

"But my sister told me to never go in some stranger's car-" one of the girls started.

"We have no time! You can trust us, please!" Cadence stared into their eyes with sincere kindness and worry on her face.

They were convinced.

After the trio was safe in the car they tried to rest before the red haired member of the group spoke up frightfully, "T-thank ya kindly. Without y'all these monsters would have gotten us. Ah'm Apple Bloom. Ma' friends here are Sweetie Belle an' Scootaloo," she said in a thick country accent.

"Do you have a home we can go to? Where are your parents?" Cadence asked with a motherly voice to calm them down.

"I don't know about my parents. They are on vacations somewhere and I didn't ask them. I live currently with my big sister, Rarity." Sweetie Belle answered with a little squeak in her voice.

"I have no idea about my parents either. My dad works as a businessman all over the world and only comes home once every few weeks over the weekend and my mom lives with me in the inner city, but those monsters destroyed and burned down everything there," Scootaloo had tears in her eyes, worried about her mom.

"Oh sweetie, everything will be OK. I'm sure your mother could escape in time," Cadence consoled the little girl.

"We sure as sugar can go to ma' home, Sweet Apple Acres. Our farm is in the outskirts o' the city. Ma' big brother and Granny Smith should be there and workin' on the farm rig’t now," the country girl announced hopefully.

"Are you sure we'll be safe there Apple Bloom?" Scootaloo inquired nervously.

"Don't be a chicken, Scootaloo." Sweetie Belle joked, the young farmer girl giggled.

"Girls, calm down. Apple Bloom, show us the way," Shining Armor ordered.

"I will call the others. Hopefully they are fine." That being said, Cadence chose Sunny Flare's number.

After driving for an hour they reached Sweet Apple Acres, praying that enough people could escape. The entire city was ablaze by now. Luckily for them, Sweet Apple Acres was far outside the city like what the farm girl told them during the ride. And as the orchards came into sight they didn't see any fire elementals. Maybe they were out of danger.

The jeep stopped short and everybody stepped out to look at their 'new home' for the time being.

"Big Mac! Granny Smith!" Apple Bloom screamed longingly as she jumped out of the car and ran into the house.

Shining parked the vehicle in front of the entrance for safety measures. As they went to go in, Apple Bloom came back out with a tall, well built young man with moderate sap green eyes, brilliant orange short hair, he was wearing a dirty blue jeans, a red shirt with a big green apple sliced in half upon it; Big McIntosh, and an older woman who could only be Granny Smith, CHS' cook.

"Ah'll be. Ma' little Apple told the truth. We really do have visitors." Granny Smith smiled warmly at them. Then she whispered into her grandchild, Big Mac's, ear, "Well, would ya look at that. This fine youn' lady sure is a keeper, isn't she?" Big Mac blushed a little bit on his cheeks and saw his granny's mischievous smile.

"How much do you know about the situation?" Cadence asked, completely missing the conversation.

"Enough. Big Mac her' was in Canterlot when these vermints attacked the city and came back as fast as he could. We will show them! They won't take this land away from us!" Granny declared hotly. "An Apple never leaves his farm, and no vermin will tell us otherwise!"

"Eeyup," Big Mac supported in all his wisdom.

"Those things are called fire elementals and common weapons don't hurt them at all. Do you have maybe something to defend us here? Like great amounts of water?" Shining asked, feeling a little stupid for such a question.

"Eeyup," came the long reply.

"Can you show me the way?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Eeyup." Big Mac started to walk to the barn and Shining followed him.

"You don't talk much, do you?" the police officer commented, grinning.

"Nope," the farmer answered with a smile of his own.

After they came back, Shining Armor wasn't as cheerful as the others thought. He sighed in exhaustion, "If I'm honest we can maybe defend us against a few of them, but in the end we can't hold this place. There were hundreds of those things and if they come here, this place is lost.”

"Shining-" Cadence started, as they heard a vehicle on its way to the house. They all ran outside instantly to see at who it was.

"Girls!" the dean screamed in great relief, "Thank goodness! You're fine! I was so worried about you!"

"We just escaped certain death again. No biggie," Lemon Zest replied in a relaxed tone.

"I'm sure we are out of the worst for the time being. Seriously, this was too close, I thought we were goners!" Sour Sweet added her thoughts.

"Well Ah'll be, come in young 'uns. Y'all are in for our famous Apple hospitality. Time to eat somethin', no fight was ever won with an empty stomach, right Big Mac?" Granny Smith asked her grandson.

"Eeyup!"

Before he could go his way Granny Smith whispered once again in his ear, "Lookie here, now there are seven beautiful youn' gals for ya! Choose wisely and make me many little Apples, y'hear?" She walked into the kitchen and left Big Mac alone.

He could only muster one answer to his grandmother's idea. With a blood red head and full conviction he shouted in his mind a frantic, "NOPE!"

Author's Notes:

Edited version uploaded: 02/20/19
Proofread by: Javarod

Greetings my avid readers!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

Just that you know, I will use italics for Sour Sweet's Sour personality...best joke ever and the elementals, because they don't really have vocal chords, so I wanted to make it clear that they don't 'speak' in the common sense.

And the trick to stop the Shadowbolts from interfering was made by me to go another approach. I always see this typical: "Hero-comes-in-the-last-second-and-stops-the-summoning-of-other-beings-in-last-second-cliche". And it is boring as hell.

Thank you very much for reading and stay tuned!