Balance of the Mind and Body

by Swift Blaze

Chapter 44: Whatever You Do, Don't Open Your Eyes!

"Fluttershy! Hold up! Do you know what caused Twilight to be turned into stone?" Blaze asked.

"There is a cockatrice on the loose!" the mare quickly said.

Once she said the name, the colt recalled what it was from that creature book. His face showed fear. "We need to split up if we want to find the Crusaders faster. I know you don't want to, but it is the only way."

"But Blaze, I don't want you to lose you too. You don't know what that creature is capable of."

"I do. I read about it. Head of a chicken with red eyes. Its body is that of a snake. Don't look it in the eyes or it will turn you into stone. I’ll be fine."

The Pegasus saw how courageous he was. She simply nodded before they took off in different directions. As Blaze ran through the forest, shouting out the fillies’ names, he was thinking about how he was going to fight a creature that he can't look at. The colt soon heard some rustling in the bushes nearby. He stopped in his tracks and looked directly at the bush.

"Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo? If that is you, please respond. If it’s you, Cockatrice, prepare for a beatdown!" he said.

Nothing was said from the bush. The green Earth pony prepared to launch an attack at whatever was there. In one quick motion, the creature popped out. It was Elizabeak.

Blaze breathed a sigh of relief. He found the chicken, but he wondered where were the Crusaders? He then heard a twig snap behind him. He turned his head to see who was behind him. Right behind the colt was a pair of red eyes on a chicken head.

He quickly closed my eyes, but the green Earth pony was already affected. He tried to back away, but his back hooves didn’t want to move. The colt could still move the front ones. Half of my body has been turned into stone. Blaze had nothing in his jutsu list that he could think of on the spot to fix this. His mind was racing at fast speed as he tried to guess what was going to happen next. The colt’s heart was going at the same pace.

Blaze heard Elizabeak running away. He did hear the Cockatrice was still there, but couldn’t pinpoint where to launch an attack. The green Earth pony stomped a hoof to try and intimidate the creature. He heard the stomp echo for a sec. ”Wait! Maybe I can find the creature with that,” he thought.

The colt calmed his heart down so he could concentrate. He stomped a hoof at the same intervals and listened to the world around him. The green Earth pony started to picture his surroundings with his mind just as Blaze recalled before he closed his eyes. He felt something go against his back. He swung a hoof at it but hit nothing but air. The colt’s mind picture was beginning to get clearer, but he still couldn’t detect where the creature was. He started to feel the airflow through the forest. Combining the feel of the air with the sound, the green Earth pony thought he was now able to find where this creature was hiding.

Listening for any subtle changes, Blaze soon heard the flapping of the Cockatrice's wings. Waiting for the right moment, when the creature was about to attack, the colt somersaulted forward towards the creature. His back legs made of stone made contact with the creature. He felt the stone break away. Now that he had full motion control, the green Earth pony ran away before the creature could give chase. He kept my eyes closed and continued to listen for the others.

Blaze soon heard Fluttershy and the Crusaders voices. He turned towards them and ran at full speed. The colt was able to avoid hitting the trees and limbs as he ran. The Crusaders screamed. The green Earth pony picked up the pace as he wanted another round with that creature.

The colt jumped over a bush and landed when Fluttershy ordered the girls to get behind her. They quickly did so. Blaze joined the Crusaders while keeping his eyes closed. Sweetie Belle was first to notice that he joined them.

"Rocky! Where did you come from?" the white filly asked.

"I was helping Fluttershy find you three. We came across Twilight over there and feared the worst," he replied as the colt pointed to the petrified Twilight. "We split up to find you. I’m just glad none of you got hit with that creature's curse."

Just then, Fluttershy spoke up as she was talking to the Cockatrice.

“YOU! Just who do you think you are, going around turning others into stone?” the yellow mare said in a stern voice. The Cockatrice then used its curse to start to turn her into stone. The Pegasus continued with her lecture. “You should be ashamed of yourself. I have a mind to find your mother and tell her what you've been up to, young man.” Fluttershy activated her STARE. The Cockatrice was now scared. The stone covering Fluttershy was beginning to fluctuate. “Now you go over there, and turn Elizabeak and my friend Twilight back to normal, and don't ever let me catch you doing this again. Do you understand me?”

The Cockatrice curse on Fluttershy broke. The parts that were stone on her shattered off into a thousand pieces. She now looked like nothing happened. The creature headed off to undo the curse on Elizabeak and Twilight. Fluttershy turned towards the kids and said, “Are you kids alright? I was so worried.”

“Yeah, fine!” Scootaloo said with a smile on her face.

“Thanks to that stare of yours,” Sweetie Belle said.

Getting all excited, Scootaloo said, “You’re like the queen of stares. You’re the . . . “ Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle joined in. “Stare Master!”

Fluttershy then saw the colt was behind the girls with his eyes still closed. “It’s ok, Rocky. The Cockatrice is gone,” she said.

The green Earth pony stomped his hoof a couple of times. He detected the creature was several hundred yards away. Rocky opened his eyes and said, “Yea, it is at least two hundred yards away.”

“How are you able to tell?”

“I can detect its movements from the ground.”

“Even with your eyes closed?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It was how I was able to find you once I discovered I could do this. Had to do this when I went up against that Cockatrice.”

“WHAT!” Fluttershy actually screamed at a higher octave.

“It got the jump on me and got me with its eyes. My back legs got turned to stone. I couldn’t run away.”

“Then how did you escape?” Scootaloo asked.

Rocky told them about what happened. How he listened to the forest and vibrations in order to create a picture of the area in my mind. Once he finished, Fluttershy and the Crusaders came up to him and started a group hug.

"Oh Rocky, I’m just glad you are alright," Fluttershy said.

Twilight finally woke up and joined us. “What . . . what happened?” She said as she rubbed the side of her head.

“You ran into a nasty creature,” replied Rocky. “Fluttershy saved you.”

Twilight lit up her horn so she could see everyone better. Once she saw the colt, Twilight let out a loud gasp. “What happened to your tail, Rocky!”

He looked back and waved his tail around. It was still there, only thing is that it now looked like it was made of stone. “Huh, guess that was also turned to stone. How come I can still move it like a normal tail?”

“I don’t know, but I think that is not the only thing different about you.”

Now everyone was looking me over. The Cutie Mark Crusaders then shouted, “YOU HAVE YOUR CUTIE MARK!”

Rocky quickly looked at his flank. He was expecting to see his Yin and Yang cutie mark. Instead, the green Earth pony had a different one. It was a red rescue shield. In front of it was a lantern. Instead of shining beams of light, the lantern was emitting sound waves.

Blaze’s mind just went into overdrive. ”WHAT THE FUCK! How can I have another cutie mark? It’s IMPOSSIBLE! Did that Poison Joke make me lose the one I had and now I have this one? I sure hope I don’t have the Cutie Pox. Wait, how could I? I did not eat a lot of that Hearts Desire plant. I haven’t even seen one.” His mind continued to run a ton of questions, coming up with no answers. The colt snapped back to reality when something touched his shoulder.

“Are you ok Rocky? You look like something is troubling you,” Fluttershy said. She continued to rub his shoulder as he turned his head to look at everyone.

“Yeah, I think I’m ok,” he replied. “I was just surprised I got my cutie mark in a place like this.”

“It hasn’t been a day since you joined our club and you already have your cutie mark. It’s just not fair,” Apple Bloom said with a pout.

“I’m sorry. You know cutie marks will only appear when you discover what you are good at. I’m good at several things. It wasn’t until now that I found mine. I still want to be a Cutie Mark Crusader and help you three in getting yours.”

That did cheer the yellow filly up as she wiped some tears away. “Thanks, Rocky. I’m happy you found your talent.”

“So what does your cutie mark mean?” Scootaloo asked.

“If I have to guess, I say my talent is in search and rescue. More specifically, finding them with sound and vibrations,” Rocky said.

“Well, it’s getting late. You kids need to get to bed quickly as you have school tomorrow,” Fluttershy said.

Sweetie Belle spoke up, “Before we go Fluttershy, we like to say we're sorry we snuck out of the house and into the forest.”

“Yeah. We'll listen to you from now on,” Apple Bloom added.

“We promise,” Scootaloo said.

The yellow Pegasus saw they meant it but decided to have some fun. “Oh, you DO, do you? Well, you better, or I'll give you . . . The Stare,” she said.

Everyone was now laughing. The group headed back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Once they were out of the woods, Twilight waved goodbye as she headed to her home. Fluttershy scooted the kids inside and straight upstairs. The fillies and colt got tucked in and quickly went to sleep.

The next morning, Blaze woke up at his usual time, just before sunrise. He quietly got out of bed and floated downstairs. The colt saw that Fluttershy was asleep on the couch. He then noticed the mare had kicked a blanket off her. The green Earth pony picked it up and placed it back on her. As he made his way to the door, he saw the rubble of the broken table. Blaze performed a wood jutsu and had the table rebuilt itself. He also made it stronger so it will be harder to break. The colt got to the door and quietly tried to open it. Halfway through, it creaked.

Fluttershy woke up from the sound and looked at the front door. While rubbing one eye, she whispered, “Rocky, why are you up so early?”

“I normally get up at this time to do my morning training. I promise to be back before the other fillies get up. Now go back to sleep,” he whispered back.

“Just don’t go into the forest,” the mare said as she went back to sleep.

The colt quickly left and closed the door. Now outside, he took a big breath of the cool, morning air. He thought the morning mist was perfect for a jog. The green Earth pony increased the magic weights by ten pounds and started his jog. The distance was a little further today as Fluttershy’s cottage was further away from town. While on the jog, it allowed him to organize some thoughts that have been on my mind.

Guess the first thing that was bugging Blaze was getting another cutie mark. He looked back at his flank while he continued to jog. He doesn’t know any pony has ever had two cutie marks unless they had the cutie pox. The colt doesn’t think that’s the case here. It was a legit earn on finding a talent. So what, did he have multiple personalities? That can’t be it as he still knows it’s him, Swift Blaze, aka Bob. The green Earth pony just chose a different name for this body. ”HUGH! What in Equestria is going on!” He rubbed the side of his head with one hoof as a slight headache was coming on.

Rocky then saw a flash out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head towards it. It was Twilight Sparkle and she was running to catch up with the colt. He slowed down a bit until the mare did.

“Morning Blaze, still doing your pre dawn morning jog I see,” the purple mare said.

“Hey Twilight. Yeah, even though I’m in this form, I still like to keep up with my training,” Rocky said.

“So how much weight are you using?”

“I think I’m at five hundred and ten pounds, by the magical weight.”

“Wow, if you took that off, you would probably break the sound barrier while running.”

“Or I can jump over tall buildings in a single bound.”

“Huh?”

“Human joke. So why are you up?”

“Oh, I wanted to head back to Fluttershy and write a report to Princess Celestia about what happened last night.”

“I take it you are going to include me getting another cutie mark,” the colt said in a monotone.

“What’s wrong, Blaze? You don’t want me to mention it?”

“It’s not that, it is the fact that I did. I read about pony history and the average life you all have. I never saw a mention of a pony getting more than one cutie mark. Have you?”

“No, can’t say I have. But remember, you’re not really a pony. You said, when we first met you, that some humans can be good at several things. So don’t think bad of it. Think of it as a new skill to add to the ones you can already do.”

“Thanks. Now the question is, will this mark appear on my human form and other pony form?”

“You won’t know till you are cured of that Poison Joke.”

“Speaking of cures, did Zecora say how much longer when you went and saw her last night?”

“I think she said she will have everything ready by this weekend.”

“That's great! I hate lying to the people about who I am.”

“Just remember, once you are back in your original body, you owe me time to teach you about how to use magic.”

“You heard that last night?”

“I remember hearing your voice, but that is pretty much what I remembered while I was turned to stone.”

The green Earth pony rubbed his head again at the headache. “I haven’t forgotten. I have so many things I need to do, I don’t know where to start.”

“Just calm down and focus on things a colt does. We can worry about magic and the other things till later.”

Blaze thanked her for that. The pair soon arrived back at Fluttershy’s cottage a couple of minutes after the sun had risen. The colt slowly opened the door to try and not wake Fluttershy, nor the other girls. He looked inside and saw Fluttershy was not on the couch anymore. Twilight and Rocky headed in. He found the yellow mare in the kitchen working on breakfast.

“Morning Rocky. Oh, hiya Twilight. What brings you here this early?” Fluttershy asked.

“I just wanted to come by and see if you would allow me to write a report to Princess Celestia about last night,” the Unicorn replied.

The Pegasus acted a little nervous, she said, “Uh, sure. If you really want to. Rocky, how about you go and get cleaned up. I will call when breakfast is ready.”

“Sure thing Fluttershy,” the colt said.

He headed upstairs and entered the bathroom. As the green Earth pony was washing up, he was still getting a slight headache. He thought he might be a little dehydrated. As Rocky drank some water from a cup, someone knocked on the door.

“Be out in a minute,” he said. The colt finished up and opened the door. A yellow filly was standing there with bed hair mane. “Morning Apple Bloom. The bathroom is all yours.”

“Thanks, Rocky. Mind waking up Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle? They did not want to wake up to me,” she said while still a little groggy.

“Sure thing.”

Rocky headed into the bedroom. Sure enough, they were still in bed. He crept up to the foot of the bed. The green Earth pony pondered how he should wake them up. Gentle like a mother would do or something they will regret for sleeping in, choices, choices. Well, Apple Bloom went gentle. Guess he’ll go the other way.

The colt stood up on his hind legs, took in a deep breath, then let out a shout of one of the most popular wake-up calls, “GGGOOOOOODDDD MMMMOOOOOORRRRNNNIIINNNNGGG CRUSADERS!!!”

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both jump out of bed with fright. When they saw Rocky was the only pony in the room, they became a little mad for the rude awakening.

“Rocky! Why in Equestria did you shout to wake us up? I had a wonderful dream flying with Rainbow Dash,” Scootaloo said.

“Yeah! Though, my dream was being as popular as my big sister,” Sweetie Belle said.

“Apple Bloom tried to wake you, but you didn’t. So, she asked me,” he replied. “I got those kinds of wake up calls if I didn’t wake up on the first try. Breakfast is almost ready and we have school, remember?”

“I wonder what is for breakfast?” Scootaloo asked.

The colt sniffed the air. “Smells like pancakes.”

“PANCAKES!” They both shouted, before running past him and downstairs.

Rocky quickly followed behind their flanks. As they ran down the stairs, he jumped over them and landed at the bottom. The colt was now in the lead and got to the table first. Scootaloo came next with Sweetie Belle to follow.

“What in Ponyville were you running down the stairs for?” Apple Bloom said.

The green Earth pony looked to his left and saw she was at the table before us, already eating a stack of pancakes. “We wanted to make sure we had enough time to eat before we headed to school,” he said. The others nodded in agreement.

“You sounded like a stampede. We have plenty of time.”

Just then, three plates of pancakes levitated and were placed in front of them. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo looked like they wondered who did that. “Oh, Twilight Sparkle arrived earlier this morning. She wanted to talk to Fluttershy.”

They nodded and began to dig into the food. Rocky joined in a heartbeat. Once they were done, it was still early, so Fluttershy allowed the kids to play outside before they had to go to school. As the Crusaders were running around, Rarity showed up and started to talk to Twilight and Fluttershy. Rocky continued playing with the fillies.

Soon, the white Unicorn came over to where the fillies and colt were running around. “Kids! Get your things. Time to go. Kids! “ Rarity said while trying to speak over the Crusaders and Rocky’s laughter. He stopped when the colt saw Rarity was there. The Crusaders continued to play. “Girls! Time to-- Girls! Your things! Girls! It's time to-- GIRLS!”

Fluttershy walks up next to Rarity. “Allow me. *clears throat* Girls?”

Instantly, the girls stopped running around and moved to stand in front of Rarity and Fluttershy. “Yes, Fluttershy?” Apple Bloom asked.

Scootaloo then said. “You called?”

“Go and get your things. Rarity is here to see you to school,” the yellow mare replied.

“Of course, Fluttershy, right away!” Sweetie Belle quickly said.

They ran inside and grabbed their saddlebags. When the kids were back outside, they saw Fluttershy was trying to convince Opal to take her claws out of Rarity’s coat. The Crusaders and Rocky giggled at the sight. Once the cat was off and back in her basket, they headed off to school.

Along the way, the white mare gasped at something, then said, "Rocky! When did you get your cutie mark?"

"Uh, last night during hide and seek. Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo are very good at hiding,” he replied while making up the story on the spot, “Turns out my talent is being able to find things with the aid of vibration from the ground or the air."

"That explains the lantern and what looks like sound waves. What about that other part behind them? I have seen that on some fire rescue ponies."

”Think! Think! Think!” "Um, Apple Bloom got stuck where she was hiding and I was able to get her out."

"So your special talent is search and rescue. What a marvelous talent for such a brave colt. I’m sure when you grow up, all the mares will adore the work you will do."

"Luckily that won't be for a LONG time."

The group continued towards school. Sweetie Belle got a little closer to Rocky and whispered, "Thanks for not telling her what really happened. She won't let me leave the house if she found out we went into the EverFree Forest after dark."

"I'm a Crusader now. We have to stick together," he replied.

The white filly nodded as so did the others. They soon arrived at school. Rarity waved goodbye as she headed back to Carousel Boutique. The Crusaders and Rocky continued on to school. Until they got stopped by their least favorite duo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Rocky wanted at least one day where these two are not pestering him or his friends.

"Well, well, well, look what we have here. All the blanks flanks are wearing matching capes so we can spot them from a distance. What's the matter? Wanted to be more noticeable that you do not have your cutie marks?" Diamond Tiara said in her normal banter.

"Diamond Tiara, how’s your hoof feeling, by the way,” asked the colt. “I’m guessing it’s sore from writing all those lines on the board."

Rocky could tell she felt some pain when he mentioned it. Her eyes went all narrow and looked like they wanted to send daggers at him. "I don't have to put up with this. Come on Silver Spoon, let's go mingle with ponies that do have their cutie mark. See you later you four, Blank Flanks."

"You should know that one of us just got their cutie mark!" Scootaloo shouted.

"Oh really? Which one?" Silver Spoon asked.

Rocky turned his flank so they could see it. "Me, that's who,” he replied. “Mine is way cooler than yours by a landslide. Mine has a purpose. Yours doesn't look like it."

"What. . . How?" Diamond Tiara tried to say. Only jumbled words came out.

"If Miss. Cheerilee allows it, I will explain in class. Come along Crusaders."

The Crusaders left Silver Spoon holding back Diamond Tiara. She was telling her don't do it or she will get longer detention. They laughed quietly as the kids finally reached the school.

Miss. Cheerilee was outside to greet all the students as they walked in. "Hello, girls. Hello Rocky. What are you laughing about?" She asked.

"Oh, it's nothing,” replied Sweetie Belle. “Guess what Miss. Cheerilee, Rocky got his cutie mark!"

The colt turned his flank again so the mare could see it. "That's wonderful. Rocky, do you want to show or tell what your special talent is?"

"I would like to show it during recess as that would be the best conditions for it," he said.

"Sounds like a plan. I will go over one subject, then we will break early for recess so you can show us."

They nodded and headed inside. The rest of the students soon followed in. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were the last ones. Miss Cheerilee informed the class of what is going to be covered today, including seeing Rocky’s talent. The first subject was math. The green Earth pony just followed along and answered the question when called upon. Once they were done, the magenta mare took the kids outside for the demonstration.

"Alright Rocky, go ahead and tell us about your cutie mark." Miss. Cheerilee said.

"My special talent is search and rescue by vibrations from the ground and in the air. The best way to demonstrate is we all play hide and seek," he said. The class all cheered. "Now, I’ll be the one who’s ‘it’ to demonstrate. I’ll close my eyes while everyone else goes and hide. I’ll then tell Miss. Cheerilee where you are and she will check to verify. Anything else you want to add Miss. Cheerilee?"

"Yes, please stay within the school grounds."

"Sounds good. I will count to twenty before I will start looking for everyone."

The colt closed his eyes and began to count. He heard all the kids running all over the place. After the ten count, the green Earth pony didn’t hear any of them close, but he continued to count. When he reached twenty, Rocky shouted that he’ll now search for them.

The colt gave a forehoof a couple of stomps on the ground to get the layout. He then listened for any disturbances. He could feel the teacher was being patient as he looked for the first pony.

With his eyes still closed, Rocky said, "Ok, the first one is hiding underneath the slide. They are giggling pretty hard."

The magenta mare headed over and found the pony. She shouted, "Correct, Rocky."

"One is behind the bush behind you Miss. Cheerilee."

"Again, correct."

This continued on until he found most of the ponies. Apple Bloom had climbed into a tree, Sweetie Bell was under the jungle gym, and Scootaloo hid inside the school underneath Miss. Cheerilee's desk.

"Alright Rocky, all that is left is Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. Where do you think they are?" the teacher asked.

"Everyone, look towards the woods," Rocky said.

They all turned their heads. The colt did an Earth Jutsu to bring the ground up where they have been hiding. Their bodies appeared behind a bush. They all clapped as he now found everyone. They all headed inside to finish the lessons.

--------Meanwhile----------

Al was busy cleaning up and organizing the guard post. He couldn’t believe how those guards were able to get any work done with all this mess. He did have to deal with a couple noise complaints. Other than that, the night shift was very quiet. He was in a back storage room when he heard the front door open and several ponies walked in.

"Sir! Replacement Royal Guards reporting in!" The pony said.

"Be right there!" Al shouted as he lifted a box onto a shelf. When he walked into the front, he was surprised by the ponies that were there. "What are you all doing here?"

The ponies that were standing in front of Al were Lightning Trails, Star Dust, Colorful Sparks, Cancer, Dragon, and Fang. They were all wearing the standard Royal Guard armor.

"Well, Shining Armor asked us if we were willing to help cover the guard post here until he is able to find some other guards for a more permanent position to take over," Cancer said.

"Plus, we wanted an excuse to see you and Blaze again," Dragon said.

Lightning Trails said, "We planned to come down soon anyway to hang out and see what you two have been up to."

"Where is Blaze by the way? Why isn't he helping you with this?" Star Dust asked.

"Oh, um, he is currently preoccupied with some other things. I will say he’s going to have a field day when he sees you all here," Al said with a big smile.

"So, how do we want to handle the shift duty?" Fang said.

"Let's do this, two will stay here for eight hours. Two will be out on patrol for that same amount of time. Lastly, the remaining will get some sleep before they start their shift. And we will rotate in that pattern."

"Sounds good to me," Colorful Sparks said. The others nodded in agreement.

"Cancer and I will take the first shift at the guard post," Dragon said as he placed a hoof around his brother's neck.

"Then I guess Colorful Sparks and I will take patrol then," Lightning Trails said as he nudged Colorful Sparks on the shoulder.

"Then I and Fang get to rest before we start," Star Dust said.

"Do you have a place to crash while you are here?" Al asked.

"We just got into town. I think we were planning to stay at the local hotel if there is one," Cancer said.

"You know, I don't even know myself. Blaze allowed me to stay at the place he built just outside of town. I don't think he will mind if you crash there too."

"That would be sweet!" Colorful Sparks said.

"Then let me show you all where it is before everyone starts their shift."

They all left the building and made their way to Blaze's house.

--------Back at school, several hours later----------

School has just been let out and all the kids ran out. All except for Diamond Tiara. Rocky was glad it was over, but the headache from this morning had not gone away. It was steadily increasing in pain. The colt just wanted to head home so he can work on healing this away.

Before they left, the class was informed that there is going to be a talent show on Saturday. The kids were allowed class time to begin to work on it. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo decided to do a musical number. They asked Rocky if he wanted to join. Once the colt heard that he recalled the episode of this. The green Earth pony kindly said no as he had another idea that he wanted to try. They said goodbye as they went in different ways.

Once home, Blaze set his bag by the door. "Al! I'm home! How was guard duty?" he shouted. No answer.

The colt headed upstairs to see if he was in bed after staying up all night. He looked into Al’s room and saw the bed was empty. The headache throbbed even more. ”He’s an adult. I don't need to know where he is. I just want this headache to go away.” Blaze headed for his room. When he entered, the colt saw a body was in his bed.

"WHO IN EQUESTRIA IS IN MY BED!" he shouted.

The pony in question popped their head up very quickly to see who was shouting. "Hey there little guy, are you looking for Blaze or Al?" Star Dust asked.

"Uh, no. I was wondering why you are in my bed, Star Dust," the green Earth pony replied.

"Well this is, . . . wait. How did you know my name?"

Blaze didn’t feel like playing the charade of who he was pretending to be. "Can you please stand over there for a sec," he said while pointing to a spot on the floor.

The blue Unicorn got out of the bed and went over to the spot. "You have still not answered my question little kid."

"Well, here’s my answer."

Blaze touched his forehooves together and then touched the floor. The spot where the stallion was standing suddenly opened up and he fell to the first floor. The colt walked up to the opening and looked down. He landed on the couch in the living room. "Care to take a guess who I am?"

"Blaze? Is that really you? What happened?" Star Dust asked as he looked up.

"Long story. I will tell you later. I need some sleep."

Blaze closed up the opening and lay down on his bed. He focused his chakra on trying to get this headache to go away.

About an hour later, the colt heard the door to his room burst open. "You have to be kidding me. I have to see this for myself," Cancer said. "You are right! Blaze is a colt! This is hilarious!"

The green Earth pony sat up with an angry face. "Laugh some more and see how you feel when I kick your flank while I’m stuck like this," he said.

"I think you don't have the same amount of power as you did before. I think I can take ya now."
"Want to test that out?"

"We all want to," Dragon said. "We’ve been itching to have another round against the one who won the tournament.”

"Outside. Now."

Blaze teleported to the front yard. Shortly after, the six ponies and the human came out the front door. He performed an Earth Jutsu and created a twenty-foot by twenty-foot platform made of stone, and rose up a couple of feet from the ground.

"Rules are simple. You lose by either touching the ground or any nonliving object besides this arena. You lose by tapping out or being knocked out. Lastly, no killing. Other than that, anything goes." They are all nodded in agreement to the terms. The colt landed in the center. "Alright, who wants their flank to be kicked."

------Couple of hours later--------

The Cutie Mark Crusaders were walking down the road from Ponyville to Sweet Apple Acres. As they were walking, they heard some fighting in the distance.

"You hear that girls? Sounds like someone is fighting up ahead," Apple Bloom said, sounding worried.

"Sounds like it is coming from Blaze's place," Sweetie Belle said.

"Let's go and check it out," Scootaloo said, all excited.

They picked up the pace and ran towards the sound. When they rounded the bend and saw the house, they could make out that several ponies were fighting on a stone surface. They saw Al was standing nearby. When they got closer, they recognized the pony in the ring. It was Rocky and he was going up against several big stallions. They hurried over to Al to see what was going on.

"Al! Why are these ponies fighting Rocky?" the white filly asked.

The yellow filly said, "How come you are not in there stopping this? He could get hurt!"

"Blaze is doing just fine,” replied the human. “These others are the other ponies we trained with back in Canterlot."

"Wait . . . Blaze? I don't see him there," the orange filly said.

Realizing that he just blabbed out Blaze was in there, Al tried to correct himself. "Blaze? I meant Rocky. Yeah, he wanted to learn some defense maneuvers before returning home," he quickly said.

"Hold up, are you saying Rocky is Blaze?" Apple Bloom said while she stared directly at the human.

"I guess the jig is up. He’ll explain once he’s done taking care of these other ponies."

Al and the three fillies watched as Blaze was almost done with two zebra ponies. In one quick move, both were sent flying out of the arena in opposite directions. Blaze just stood there, in the center, breathing hard.

"Now do you believe that I’m Swift Blaze and that I can still kick your flanks while I’m stuck like this!" Blaze said. He looked around and then spotted the three fillies next to Al. "Uh, hi girls," the colt said as he was trying to think of a reason to explain this.

"Hi Rocky," Sweetie Belle said.

"Or should we call you Blaze?" Scootaloo asked.

"Busted," the green Earth pony said.

Author's Note:

Here's the latest chapter. It was proofread by Darksoul85.

That was an interesting night. Let's hope whatever that headache is will get cleared up soon.

Comments

[Shisarakage]

Search and rescue via vibration. Neat. Cool design for the Mark, too. Kinda reminds me of some early 1900's brigade insignias. As for the headache Blaze is getting, only thought I have is that being stuck in an Earth Pony body after having *JUST* gotten a Unicorn horn - and the magic that comes with it - is leading to an unstable buildup of magical energy akin to the pressure buildup of a volcano, like how St. Helens bulged out before it blew back in '89.

[Greenhorn]

“If I have to guess, I say my talent is in search and rescue. More specifically, finding them with sound and vibrations,” Rocky said.

Sound more like Steel Ball's ability to me.
static.wikia.nocookie.net/jjba/images/d/d9/Steel_Ball.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/700?cb=20160601083111

[vortex123]

He’s totally developing Dissociative identity disorder (that’s what Multiple Personality Disorder is called now, in case you didn’t know, though Blaze would probably still call it MPD).

Also didn’t the two brats leave school grounds, or am I misunderstanding?