//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: New Friends // Story: A Rift Between Worlds // by Cinders of War //------------------------------// Home Run had changed into his gym clothes for P.E, consisting of a yellow shirt and blue shorts. He left his belongings in a changing room locker and joined the rest of the students heading to the gym. It was a short walk, and soon they found themselves in the Canterlot High gymnasium. The gym was a cavernous space, with a wooden floor that was polished so well, Home Run could see his reflection in it. Rows of bleachers stood on both lengths of the gym. “Attention!” Everyone looked to see who had spoken and saw their grey-skinned teacher standing on the other side of the gym. He was tall and muscular, wearing a pair of sunglasses even though they were indoors, and was dressed in a white shirt and a pair blue shorts. “Right this way, class!” the teacher ordered, flexing his arm back and forth. The students headed over to his side, awaiting his next orders. “For those of you who are new, I’m Coach Whiplash, and this is my gym! For everyone else, welcome back from the winter break! I hope you’ve all had a good amount of exercise! Don’t want to get soft around the edges, eh?” “So what are we doing today, coach?” one of the students with fiery hair asked. “We should play a game, being our first day and all.” “Cool down, Spitfire,” the coach said sternly. “I was just getting to that. We’ll be playing some basketball today. After some drills and excercises.” A few groans and cheers escaped the students’ mouths when they heard the coach say ‘basketball’. “First, I’ll need two of you to get the balls from the back,” Whiplash continued. He looked around, deciding which students to send. He eventually settled his finger on Home Run and a peached-skinned boy next to him. “You two. You’re new. You should go get the balls. They’re in the storage room in the back.” Home Run headed towards the direction the coach had pointed at, the other boy following behind him. Home Run was sure he heard the laughter of some other boys as the boy was picked, but he didn’t think too much of it. “Hi, I’m Home Run,” he introduced, putting his hand forward. “What’s your name?” The boy looked at his hand, but didn’t shake it. “I’m Charly. Charly with a ‘y’, not ‘ie’.” “I see,” Home Run said, nodding his head. “So you’re new here too?” “Yup,” Charly nodded. “Today’s my first day here.” “Cool. Me too! Although… I did get here a little late.” Home Run opened the door to the storage room. He searched around the dark room for the switch, eventually flipping it, turning on the bright lights. The room was just a simple rectangle, containing lockers and crates filled with all kinds of balls. “Here they are,” Charly pointed at a crate of orange basketballs. “Great! Let’s get them out. Don’t want to keep the class waiting.” The new students pushed the crate of basketballs out to the main floor of the gym, which consisted of three small basketball courts, or one big one. “Ah, there you are!” Coach Whiplash said as he saw them coming back. “Alright, class! Everyone take a ball and line up at the half court line.” The class formed up on the line, ready for what the coach wanted them to do next. Coach Whiplash walked to the side of the court. “When I blow my whistle, you’ll dribble the ball from this end to the next, and back. We’ll do three reps! For those of you who don’t know how to dribble a ball… you do it like this!” The coach started bouncing a ball on the floor with his hand, demonstrating the art of dribbling. “Good? Any questions?” Most of the students shook their heads. “Alright! Then ready, set… go!” The coach’s whistle pierced the air as the students started dribbling to the end of the court. Home Run performed better than he thought he would at the dribbling, but still only ranked among the average people of the class. He couldn’t compare to other kids like Spitfire, who had taken off like a shot the moment the whistle sounded. Then there was this other kid with brown hair that covered his eyes, who seemed like he really knew what he was doing. “Good job, Hoops!” the coach congratulated. “Nice to know you didn’t lose your touch during the break!” “No chance, coach!” the brown haired boy replied, dribbling the ball back with ease. “This is my game!” The coach waited for all the students to finish their three repetitions before walking back onto the court. “Good to know most of you can dribble!” he whooped. “Now for shooting! For those of you who are unsure, this is how you shoot!” Whiplash demonstrated the shooting position, holding the ball above his head and bending his knees, only straightening them when he released the ball, sending it sailing straight into the hoop. “Any questions? Good. Let’s go! Line up and start shooting!” He blew his shrill whistle again as the students formed up into a single line, waiting for their turn to shoot. “You ever played basketball, Charly?” Home Run asked the boy behind him. “No,” Charly shook his head. “I’m pretty good on the swing, though.” “Baseball?” Home Run asked, amused. Charly shook his head again. “The one in the playground.” “Oh…” Home Run spoke, understanding what Charly meant. “That’s… pretty neat.” Hoops was up next, easily letting the ball slide from his long fingers to the hoop, sending it through without a single bounce on the orange plastic. “Very good, Hoops!” the coach praised as the basketballer headed to the back. Eventually, the blue haired baseball player was next, taking his stand at the free throw line. Home Run took a good breath before attempting the throw. It seemed to be a good shot, until the ball bounced off the hoop and back to the boy himself. “Nice try, kid,” the coach said. “Try again next time.” Home Run nodded and moved to join the others in the back. He felt like he gave it his best, so he wasn’t too depressed that he missed. “Nice try new guy,” one of the other kids, a boy with dark blue hair and blue skin, said as Home Run joined them. “Your first time touching a basketball?” “Thanks,” Home Run replied. “And yes, actually. I’ve never played basketball before.” “No sweat!” he told the baseball player. “The name's Soarin. Spitfire and I are from the soccer team. We don’t really play basketball as well. Now if you’re looking for someone good at it, that’d be Hoops.” “That’s right!” Hoops shouted in triumph. “Ain’t no one in this class better than me! Especially not that new kid, Charly.” Home Run was about to say something against that when Charly came over to join them. “How’d it go Charly?” Hoops asked, stifling a laugh. His two friends tried to hold their laughter, but didn’t do as well as Hoops did. “C’mon guys,” Home Run said, taking a step towards the bullies. “That’s no way to treat him. He’s new.” “Ha ha!” Hoops laughed, finally giving in. “You hear that, boys? That’s no way to treat him.” The three of them started bellowing with laughter, building a level of anger in Home Run. He was about to step forward for his new friend when Soarin stopped him. “Don’t,” Soarin told him. “They do this all the time. Don’t get yourself in trouble.” “Alright, kids!” the coach shouted from the front of the court. “Time we start out basketball game!” Coach Whiplash had walked around and picked out the teams. The students were split into four groups of five. Team one and three would go on the first court, while teams two and four would take the second one. The winner of each game would challenge the other after the first match, with the winner of the second being the overall winner of the game. Home Run was put in team two with Charly, Soarin, and two girls, Tennis Match and Trixie. “We’re going to lose!” Tennis Match shouted. “None of us are good at basketball!” “The great and powerful Trixie… cannot lose!” the white haired girl boasted. “What a team…” Soarin said, pushing a hand through his hair. He turned to Home Run. “Well, we’ll give it our best.” “That’s right,” Home Run agreed. “All set, Charly?” “Maybe,” the peach-skinned boy nodded. “I’ll try.” “Alright!” the coach continued, stepping in the middle of the two small courts they were about to use. “First teams to six win and move on.” Home Run and his team got to their positions, facing team four. Team four consisted of a girl with purple and pink hair, both of Hoop’s comrades, Spitfire, and a boy with a cap and long silvery white hair. “Alright,” Soarin motioned towards the center. “We’ve got this.” “May the best team win, Soarin!” Spitfire called from the other side. Soarin smiled and nodded. The coach handed the ball to Home Run’s team, letting them start first. Soarin started dribbling, leading his team towards the other end of the court. Spitfire immediately headed for Soarin, standing in his way to the hoop. “Not getting past me, Soarin!” she smiled. He returned the smile, dribbling the ball between his hands. He made his move, feinting to the right before making a dash for the left. Spitfire countered, stepping in front of him, but Soarin stopped and tossed the ball to Trixie. “Go for it!” Trixie did her best, dribbling the ball to the three point line, only to be blocked by one of Hoop’s friends, Dumb-bell. “Out of my way!” Trixie chided, keeping the ball away from him. “The great and powerful-” The white haired boy dashed past, grabbing the ball from Trixie’s hands as she stood there stunned. “Good one, Heavy Wind!” Spitfire cheered. “Keep going!” The boy was fast, heading past Soarin and Charly before they started after him. Tennis Match stood on her team’s side, ready to block Heavy Wind. “Get him, Tennis!” Soarin shouted as he and Charly tried to catch up after Heavy Wind. Home Run did what he could, making a straight line from the corner towards the boy with the cap. Tennis Match remained still, her legs shaking as she waited for the white haired boy to reach her. Heavy Wind ran past her as she tried to snatch the ball from his hands. Home Run saw his opportunity when Heavy Wind ran around the girl, buying Home Run more time to get to him. Just as Heavy Wind stopped to shoot, Home Run had arrived next to the boy, bringing his hand up to block the ball. Heavy Wind released the ball, but missed after being startled by Home Run’s presence. “Not bad, new guy,” Heavy Wind smiled. Home Run made a run for the ball, picking it up a second before Heavy Wind could grab it. With a long throw, Home Run got it to the other side of the court into Charly’s hands. “Shoot!” Soarin shouted, seeing the chance for a score. Charly nodded and threw the ball like no other, sending it sailing up like a volleyball, straight into the mouth of the hoop, scoring two points for Home Run’s team. Home Run’s jaw dropped after witnessing the feat, along with Hoops’ cronies. “Good job, Charly!” Soarin congratulated, giving the boy a pat on the back. “That’s what I call scoring.” Spitfire, Heavy Wind and the purple haired girl also went over to congratulate him, but the two bullies hang behind, still unable to believe he scored. Home Run’s team gathered back together and high-fived. “Alright team,” Soarin started. “We can do this. We just need to score a few more times, and we’re good to go. Everyone set?” The team chorused a good response together, ready to show the other team what they had. Captain Vor paced the hangar, waiting for the engineers to complete their inspection of the drop pods. He didn’t want any mishaps after getting this far. They had been searching for the Lotus for as long as he could remember. She had always covered her tracks well, but they had finally found her signature, scribbled all across the planet beneath them. As soon as they narrowed down her location, they would enter the planet, killing anyone who would dare stand in their way. “Captain,” one of the men said at last. “We’ve finished our inspection. Everything seems to be in working order.” Captain Vor didn’t like the word, ‘seems’. “What do you mean? You’re not a hundred percent sure?” The other engineer tried to stop his friend, but didn’t get there in time. “Anything can happen out there in space, captain, even if the pods are working fine.” The captain moved forward and grabbed the engineer by the neck, lifting him a good feet off the ground. “Then why don’t you check it out? This invasion is not like the other ones. We are here to find the Lotus. She has been a thorn in our side for much too long.” Vor opened the bay doors and threw the engineer into the airlock. Sealing the door, Vor activated the airlock, watching the window as the engineer flew out into the quietness of space. “You!” he pointed at the other engineer. “Are the pods going to get us down there?” “Y-yes, c-captain…” he trembled. “They’ll g-get you down t-there s-safely.” “That’s what I wanted to hear,” Vor said before turning to leave. “Make sure they stay that way.” The Rainbooms sat together in their math class listening to Mr. Bray go on about algorithms, but also talking about a particular new student they knew. “So, you guys think this Home Run’s a magical creature?” Sunset Shimmer asked. “Ah think he’s alright,” Applejack said. “Ah mean, he hasn’t meant us any trouble or hooha yet.” “I gotta agree with Applejack!” Rainbow whispered loudly. “Being a sporty fellow puts him in the good books for me.” “Hmmm…” Sunset hummed as she thought about it. “Well… maybe.” “I think he’s fine!” Pinkie shouted, getting the attention of Mr. Bray and most of the class. “Yes, Ms. Pie?” the teacher said, clearing his throat. “Something you want to say?” “Oh nothing, Mr. Bray!” she said and stood up. “I was just saying that you’re such a good teacher!” That comment put a little smile onto the math teacher’s face. “How nice of you, but please, save it for later. I’m in the middle of explaining something important.” “Okey dokey, Mr. Bray!” Pinkie said energetically and sat back down. The class returned to the locker rooms as the bell rang, signaling their time to head to their last period of the day. “Great game, Home Run,” Soarin told him, changing out of his gym clothes to his usual clothes. “Didn’t know you could run that fast.” “Well, we do have to run like that in baseball,” Home Run admitted. “But I’m not too good at shooting, though.” “Meh, we can’t all be good at everything like Rainbow Dash. She’s pretty awesome.” “Yeah,” Home Run agreed. “Must be something to be the captain of every sports team. Oh, and Charly did very well today. Didn’t think he could shoot like that.” “Gotta admit,” Soarin nodded. “I really wasn’t expecting that. Well, we managed to win one game.” “That’s something. Too bad we lost against Hoops.” “He is a basketball player,” Soarin replied. “Like it or not, we wouldn’t have such a good basketball team without him.” “Yeah, but I still don’t like the way they talk to Charly. Just because he’s… different.” “Well, they’re not called the Boy Bullies for nothing.” Home Run released a small laugh. “True. Well, we’ve got to be getting to class. See you around.” Soarin gave him a wave as he left the locker room. Home Run passed Charly on the way out, giving him a high-five and a wave before heading off to his next class, which was history. He wandered around for a bit, before finally finding the history room near the end of the school building, arriving in the room seconds before the bell rang. That was close… Looking for a seat, he found some familiar faces looking at him and waving him over. “Welcome back, Home Run,” Applejack greeted. “Yeah!” Pinkie Pie shouted, jumping right out of her seat and onto the desk. “How was your first day? Was it good? Did you make many friends? How were the teachers? Anything interesting happen?” “Settle down, Pinkie,” Rarity said, behaving more civilized. “Let him speak at his own pace.” Home Run took a seat next to them. “Well, it’s been a good first day. This place seems to be a pretty nice school. Most of the people are friendly.” “That’s good to hear,” Fluttershy muttered from the other end. “Class,” the teacher said, calling for attention. He was a tall man of pale yellow hair and orange skin. The students stopped talking and waited for the teacher’s orders. “Nice to meet you all. I’m Mr. Loregiver, and I’m your new history teacher this year.” “New teacher too, huh?” Sunset whispered. “Keep an eye on him. He might not be what he appears to be…” “Right,” Applejack nodded. “What?” Home Run whispered back, unsure of what they were talking about. “I look forward to meeting each and every one of you, and I hope we’ll all get along just fine,” Mr. Loregiver finished, turning his back to the class. “Let’s start with a little history. Can anyone tell me where alien life came from?” The class was filled with silence as each student thought about the question. Rainbow Dash raised her hand, surprising Home Run. He didn’t think the sports captain would have an answer to such a question. “Umm… from other countries?” “That’s correct, but that’s not what I’m looking for,” said the history teacher. “Well, it was worth a try,” Rainbow told Home Run. “Well, class. I always thought alien life would come from deep beneath the ocean.” “Now that’s something I’ve never heard about aliens,” Sunset mumbled. Flash Sentry raised his hand. “Sorry, Mr. Loregiver? What made you think they came from the ocean?” “Why, I was young. I lacked knowledge,” Mr. Loregiver went on. “But after years of study, I learnt that aliens didn’t come from the ocean, but from the stars.” Flash scratched his head and sat back down. Home Run wasn’t exactly sure what was going on, but sometime later, the bell rang. The students let out cheers as the first day of school was finally over. “That’s it for today class,” Mr. Loregiver mentioned. “Since it’s the first day, I won’t be giving you homework.” On hearing that comment, the students cheered even louder. “Finally!” Rainbow joined in. “A teacher that didn’t give homework! One out of seven!” “So, ya headin’ back, Home Run?” Applejack asked as she packed her bag. “Yup,” Home Run nodded. “I’m heading back, then heading to a nearby field to practice some throwing.” “Alright,” she replied. “Well, we’re headin’ ta a place called Sugarcube Corner. Guess ah’ll see ya around tomorrow.” “Alright,” Home Run waved as he walked out of the room. “I’ll see you all tomorrow.” A beeping noise drew the attention of Captain Vor as he headed to the helmsman. “Have you found her?” he asked impatiently. “No, captain,” the man apologized. “We’ve picked up something else. It seems to be a resonating void energy.” That piqued the captain’s attention. “Void energy? That is just what we need. If we can harness the void power, we can open a portal straight to the Lotus. If we can find it, we can find her.” “What do we do, captain?” the helmsman asked. “Prepare for a drop. I will go down personally.” “Yes, captain!” the helmsman and the other crew members saluted as Captain Vor headed down to the hangar. This was much too important to leave in the hands of his soldiers. Sure, they were loyal to the death, and he did make sure they were healthy, but sometimes, reliability alone wasn’t enough to finish the job. Sometimes, you just had to do things yourself.