//------------------------------// // Ch. 9 - A Leaf in the Wind // Story: Equestria World, Book 2: The Rise of Harmony // by Gear Works //------------------------------// It was Saturday morning, and Jack was transporting his white tiger, Whiteblaze, and Coach Spitfire to Fluttershy’s home in the woods. Fluttershy offered her time during the weekend to take a look at Whiteblaze to make sure he was fine since coming to Ponyville. “This is the first time seeing Fluttershy’s house, right,” Spitfire said. “Yea,” Jack replied. “Would be nice to see how Rainbow Dash was able to help her have a home that she felt comfortable in. Dash was always protective of Fluttershy since they lived in Cloudsdale. I still remember it when I was Dash’s soccer coach.” “Well, Dash didn’t do this alone, remember?” Jack reminded Spitfire. “I know, I know.” Spitfire had some glances at the side mirror and started to get curious as to the white truck that was following them. “Is anyone else supposed to be meeting Fluttershy today?” Sensing the concern in Spitfire’s soul, Jack replied, “What do you see?” “A white truck following us. Can’t make out who’s driving?” A grin came across Jack’s face. “Wave to them.” Seeing that there was no concern in Jack’s voice, Spitfire lowered the window next to her and wave her hand. That was when she saw someone waving back at them for the passenger’s side of the truck. “That must me Roseluck,” Jack said. “And the truck would be Bulk’s. He wanted to make something for his mother, and I offered to do so for him. Something that I used to do when I helped my mother out over the summer with her online business. I asked Roseluck to come along and bring some items from her nature club that I would need to make something that Bulk can fix later on.” Spitfire was a bit surprised with what Jack was doing for Bulk. “What? I used to do this myself to help me sleep. Couldn’t rely on candles at times,” Jack explained. They finally arrived at Fluttershy’s log cottage. It wasn’t like any home that Jack has ever seen. The size was big enough to double as an animal clinic. There was even a chicken barn and fence around it with chickens. And parked in front of it was a small, old yellow van with a white top that Fluttershy would drive to and from school, along with a second van that was all green. Jack and Spitfire got out of their truck, and jack went to let Whiteblaze out from the back. Bulk’s truck parked nearby and he and Roseluck, with a bag, also got out. “Surprised to see the place?” Roseluck said. “I’ll say,” Spitfire replied. “The gang did a great job on the outside. Hope it’s the same on the inside.” “Oh it is,” Roseluck said. “We like to work on projects for the nature club when we couldn’t do so at school. Even for floats for the school parade.” “You brought the items I requested?” Jack asked Roseluck. “That and a bit more, just in case.” “Good.” All of them started to walk up to the house. Roseluck knocked on the door, to which Fluttershy nervously answered. “Oh. Um, hello. I didn’t expect that you were coming as well,” as she was referring to Spitfire. “I figure I see the place for myself after Rainbow Dash and her friends were able to help out. So, can we come in?” “Well, um… you see… it’s just…” Fluttershy was trying to come up with an excuse for what was going on inside. But Spitfire started to catch on when she smelled something foul. “What in the-” Spitfire forced herself inside to identify the smell, but Roseluck had an idea what it was. “Bad time for her to be doing this.” Jack wasn’t sure what she was talking about. “Who?” “Tree Hugger.” “Doing what?” But that answer quickly came when Spitfire yelled, “TREE HUGGER! WHAT ARE YOU SMOKING!?” “I believe the words, getting high, would answer that,” Roseluck said to Jack. The others went inside to see Sandalwood sitting in one chair while Tree Hugger was on the couch with a colorful bong in her hand. Spitfire snatched the bong away from her. “Hey. I was inhaling that.” “I believe that you are too young to be doing this stuff.” Spitfire took a whiff and almost gagged at the smell. “That stuff is bad for you.” Jack went up and also too a whiff of what was in the bong and had the same reaction. “See. He can’t stand it as well.” “Yea. You’re inhaling the wrong stuff,” Jack added. “That’s right.” Spitfire then stared at Jack and said, “Wait. What did you just say?” “She’s inhaling toxic materials.” Jack took the bong and went to the open kitchen nearby. “Roseluck, bring the items over here. I need something to crush them with. And I’ll need some hot water as well.” Roseluck placed the items on the table and knew where the items were in Fluttershy’s home. She grabbed a small bowl and pestle grinder while Jack went to rinse off the bong. Jack then placed it on the counter and called Bulk over to show him how to crush the dry petals that Roseluck brought in the bowl. Roseluck went to work on the hot water with a kettle. Once it was hot, he was able to take the kettle and pour a bit of hot water into the bowl. He placed the kettle aside and went back to more crushing to blend it with the hot water. Once that was done, he poured it into the bong and handed it back to Tree Hugger to inhale. Spitfire was about to protest, but Jack raised his hand, asking her to wait. Once Tree Hugger inhaled the new product, her eyes were wide open, and a sense of pure energy went through her. “Wow. This is better than what I used before.” Spitfire had a look of confusing to what just happened, because what she started to smell was much better than before. “Can someone explain to me what just happen?” Jack asked Spitfire, “Have you heard of potpourri?” “Yes.” “Well, what I just created was something like that from dried-up petals. I would use this to put in a small bowl of water and have a tea light candle underneath to warm up the water. The steam from the water fills the air and releases its own smell until the water runs dry. I used to do this when I didn’t have my usual candles to help me sleep. I just applied that to what she was doing.” Spitfire raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s all there is to that?” “Well, there was another way to inhale it. Night Glider helped me with this process whenever we were sparring. Her grandfather was a smoker, but preferred pipe smoking than anything else. When he quit smoking due to his age, Night Glider wanted to keep the pipe to remember him, since she was close to her family, and he was the only grandparent that she knew. She never smoked. Just kept it in the box. So, she saw that I was stressing out, she learned about making potpourri that I learned from my mother. And decided to use it in a pipe for me to… inhale. I was hesitant at first, but after trying it, I started to have a clearer head and was able to focus better whenever I sparred with her. I think that whenever I’m stressed out, my powers don’t work as well as they use to. It was nothing toxic, just the pure stuff and proper work on it.” “So, you used to… inhale whenever you were stressed so that your powers would work properly?” Spitfire asked. “That’s right,” Jack replied. “Even Professor River Song was aware of this and learned about its benefits. She just made sure I didn’t do it in public. I’m going to have to go back to the old way now that I’m here.” Sandalwood reacted to what he just heard. “Wow. That is like, deep, man.” “If you do something like that just right, there is some benefits to it. But you need the right materials to do so and a lot of work. I’m just glad that I learned how to do this. All those summers helping out my mother for her online store has been quite helpful.” “I really need to work with your mother sometime,” Roseluck recommended. “YEAH! Me too,” Bulk added, which brought some stares towards him. “What. My mother likes potpourri as presents.” “Is that why you came here?” Spitfire asked, to which Bulk nodded. “I feel like I need to get caught up in the loop.” Everyone found a place to sit in the living room, except for Bulk and Fluttershy. Bulk decided to work on crushing his own dried petals, while Fluttershy went back to her examine room to grab her medical tools so that she can examine Whiteblaze. “So, you ready for the Fall Harvest Festival?” Roseluck asked Jack. “I’ve been meaning to ask. What is this Fall Harvest Festival about and why do they have it around Thanksgiving?” Jack asked. “I know that my father is working with the mayor on the setup in the town square. But I never heard anything about it.” “I know I’ve heard a bit about it,” Spitfire said. “But I’ve been used to Cloudsdale’s local events. I know it involves the Apple family and Rich family in how they founded the town.” “That’s right,” Sandalwood replied. “It was over a hundred years ago when members of the Apple family left Appleloosa to find new land to farm in. When they came here, they found small ponies living off the land. They believed that the land that they found was just right to live and farm on and started planting apple seedlings so that the trees would grow in about a year. When they finally had their first harvest, they were having a hard time collection the apples and finding a place to sell them. It was when one of the ponies came up to one of the trees and kicked it, knocking the apples on the ground. This sped up the process of collection the apples to sell. “But they still needed to find a buyer to help sell the apples elsewhere. That was when they met a member of the Rich family who had connections to other big cities. He offered to help sell the apples to those cities, but needed help in transporting them. Turns out that the ponies were strong enough to carry the load of apples to the cities and helped out. After one successful harvest, people starting to move to the area and begin building what would become Ponyville. It was named after the strong ponies that lived off the land. But there haven’t been any sign of those kind of ponies living outside of the city and have believed to be lost.” “And that’s why they hold the Fall Harvest Festival around this time?” Jack asked, to which Sandalwood nodded. “I guess they want to make sure this year is the best festival ever with my father’s help. He’s supplying the materials for the festival, with Mr. Fix-It’s approval.” “Mr. Fix-It’s a generous man to do something like that,” Spitfire said. “That’s his nature,” Jack responded. “He just believes that something good will come back to him later on, so long as they know who made the donation.” “Whatever works,” Spitfire said. Fluttershy finished examining Whiteblaze. “Well, looks like he’s in good health. I guess he was feeling depressed after you left Manehattan. How are you on food?” “We just feed him a bowl of adult cat food once a day. And we keep an eye out for raw meat that’s on sale for him to chew on.” “Good. I think cat food is suitable for tigers like him.” Spitfire started to look around the inside of the house. She was impressed that the room around her was an open living room/dinner room/kitchen. “Looks like Rainbow Dash did a good job with this house.” “Oh, thank you,” Fluttershy replied. “Applejack, Big Mac, and some of his friends helped with the work. And I have my own bedroom, a full bathroom, and another room to help check up on animals whenever they come in. It makes me feel right at home, even if it’s in the woods.” “And they made sure every legal issue has been taken care of for her to live here,” Roseluck added. “One less worry, that’s for sure,” Jack said. That was when Spitfire found the opening that she needed to get Fluttershy on board with Twilight. “But do you feel… safe.” “Of course I do,” Fluttershy replied. “I have my animal friends in the forest. And Rainbow Dash likes to check up on me.” “How do you know for sure,” Spitfire said, trying to get her to start worrying. “Oh, I’m confident of my surroundings.” Somehow, Spitfire wasn’t getting her to break. But Jack decided to make a point. “What if it’s the Dark Star Organization. We don’t know when they will show up. And there could be a chance that they would try to take someone else in hopes to lure me in.” That started to make Fluttershy worry, but only for a moment before she could catch on to what they were scheming. “You’re just trying to get me to join you and practice on fighting like Twilight. Well it’s not going to happen.” She snubbed her nose at them. “Well, there goes that idea,” Jack said. “You know that she’s willing to protect her animals, but what you guys are facing would be a whole different game,” Roseluck explained. “Speaking of which, what kind of training are you working on?” Bulk asked. “Are you trying to use your sword like some super samurai?” Jack looked back at Bulk in the kitchen. “I wouldn’t go that far. But learning the remaining soul arts is part of my training. But our main focus will be to combat Dark Star without the use of weapons. So far, coach here has been teaching me the dragon style kung fu.” “What about Twilight, Sunset, and Chrysalis?” Roseluck asked. “They were there as well.” “I haven’t thought about what style to teach Chrysalis,” Spitfire replied. “But Sunset is learning the tiger style and Twilight the crane style.” Now Fluttershy was curious. “You mean that there are animal fighting styles?” “That’s right,” Spitfire replied. “It how the shaolin monks, like my master, train to protect themselves from outsiders that want to do harm. There are various fighting styles, but five of the animal styles are most common: Tiger, Dragon, Snake, Leopard, and Crane. There are other styles like mantis or monkey.” “So your master was a shaolin monk? What was his name?” Jack asked. “Master Copper Shield. Born and raised from Chineigh,” Spitfire replied. “And I’m sure you have heard of the 36th Chamber of Shaolin from various kung fu movies. Well that is where he learned the art. Monks there are allowed to leave that chamber to teach the outside world some of their teachings. It’s where he lives right now after retiring years from when Master Blades disappeared.” “Was Master Blades from there as well?” Roseluck asked. “No. He was from Japon, where he learned the art of the samurai. Both countries have different fighting styles and weapons. So we learned a lot from both nations and their histories.” “So, what did they teach while at Equestria University? “Master Shield majored in mathematics, while Master Blades focused of geology.” “Do you think he would have known Master Blades’ gift?” Jack asked. “I don’t think so. Last I heard when he retired was that he was returning to where he was trained to help out the elders there. I doubt they would even know about the soul society.” Fluttershy was still curious about the animal styles. “Um, do you know what you plan to teach the others, like Rainbow Dash or Applejack?” Spitfire gave this some thought. “Well, I’ll have to see how Flash, Soarin, and Dash do in basic training. Something that would involve speed or agility. Monkey, eagle, and leopard styles would do best. Maybe mantis style, but that’s more of a challenge from what I remember. Applejack is going to have to learn Iron Palm Style later on if we plan to take on any mechs, but my best guess would be the bear style, since it will involve strength. I’m not sure what would fit Pinkie Pie, since she’s unpredictable. I was hoping to teach you deer style. But if you’re not interested in it, then…” “Deer style? You mean there’s a deer style?” “Yes. It involves the use of the legs by kicking from behind. The hand would play a role like the antlers of a deer, but balance would be key to defending. You would be acting like how a deer would defend itself.” Now it was Fluttershy who was doing the thinking. “Well, I know that deer would use their hind legs to kick their predators away. And the antlers are used for deer to challenge each other. I… guess it wouldn’t hurt to try.” “I was hoping you would say that. If you’re done with Whiteblaze, then meet me outside and I’ll show you.” Spitfire got up and went outside. “Well, there’s nothing I need to worry about with Whiteblaze, so… I guess I’ll go outside and join her.” Fluttershy went to put her medical equipment away before join Spitfire outside. Roseluck just looked at Bulk and said, “You wanted to bring up the animal styles just to get her to give it a try, right?” “Hey, Flash has told me how those girls were joined to the hip last year. I think Twilight could use the same help like before with what we’re dealing with,” Bulk explained. “I’m just glad that Jack and coach were able to catch on.” “Well, it’s a good thing you did that,” Jack said as he got up. “Because Twilight could use all the help we can get. And I think Fluttershy has some untapped potential in her just waiting to come out.” Everyone went outside to see Spitfire and Fluttershy at work. Spitfire started to show Fluttershy how to maintain balance on one foot while extending her leg horizontally in line with her body. After adjusting her balance, she started to learn how to execute a rear kick by lifting her leg up by the knee, then extending the leg out while bending forward. After working on that several times, Spitfire decided to find a thin piece of wood for Fluttershy to break. “Alright Fluttershy. I want you to break this board with what I showed you.” Fluttershy was a bit hesitant about doing this. “Are you sure? I mean, what if I can’t break it. What if I hurt myself in doing so.” “It’s an old, thin piece of wood, Fluttershy,” Jack replied. “The weather would have made it weak to handle any kick.” “Oh alright.” Fluttershy took a deep breath, then made a rear kick like before, breaking the board in the process. “I… I did it?” “Yes you did.” Spitfire now went and grabbed two boards. “Now, I want you to break both boards at the same time.” Fluttershy’s eyes went wide open. “Really?” Seeing what she had to do, she took another deep breath, and kick the two boards together, breaking them. “I did it again.” Now, Spitfire decided to grab three boards. These one were in better condition than the last one, but she wasn’t going to tell her. “Now, you’re going to break three boards.” Fluttershy started to feel hesitant again. “Um, I… I don’t know… if I can.” “What if it was someone who wanted to harm your animals,” Jack said to Fluttershy. When she heard that, a change started to come from her. It was almost like what happened when they confronted Lightning Dust and her crew before their match-up with Crystal Prep. But this time, Jack can feel something coming from her. ‘What is this that I’m sensing? Is it coming from Fluttershy? It’s not the usual anger that I sense from most people. I’ve never felt this kind of power coming from someone. I wonder why.’ With one fierce kick, Fluttershy was able to break all three boards together. Everyone was either shocked or stunned at what they saw. Spitfire looked at the boards and saw that it was a clean break on all three boards. “I knew you can do it,” Spitfire said. “Maybe with that kind of motivation, you can actually help Twilight out.” Fluttershy started to become her old self again. “Well, I don’t know if-” Spitfire quickly replied, “Oh come on. Don’t back out now.” Fluttershy wasn’t sure what to do. But things started to change when Whiteblaze came up to her, rubbing on her leg, trying to get her to understand what’s at stake. She then looked at the doorway and saw her bunny, Angel, looking at her with sadden eyes. That was when she decided to make her choice. “I’ll do it. But… I don’t know if I can use a weapon like Jack can.” “That’s already covered.” They looked to see Jack go to the back seat of his truck and pulled out a couple of paper like fans that Spitfire brought, displaying one in full effect. Fluttershy was confused. “A… paper fan?” “Not quite,” Spitfire replied. “These are practice fans. There are some paper fans that can be used to affect the vision of their opponent. But metal, or sharp fans are more likely used for battle. These practice fans are used to help in how to attack or defend, based on the type of fan that they would use.” Jack brought the fans over and handed them to Spitfire. She took one fan and handed the other fan to Fluttershy. “We’re going to work on how to use a fan for display, then how to defend with it. Once I feel confident in how you can use it, then we can plan to use it to fight back.” Fluttershy replied, “Um, OK.” Spitfire held her fan in her right hand and started to dance with it, allowing Fluttershy to mimic her moves. While that was going on, the others were just standing next to Jack’s truck, looking at the display. While it looked graceful, Roseluck was wondering the reasoning for this. “So what can she use with just a simple fan?” she asked Jack. “Actually, she will be working with two fans, once she’s ready. From what I know, it’s like a leaf. It might be beautiful at first, but it can be sharp, like a piece of paper when it can create a paper cut. And maybe down the road, she can use it to create a blast of wind, which can be used to put out a simple candle. There are possibilities in how she can use a fan for battle. It just depends on what she can do with them. Just watch.” It was then that Spitfire increased her speed, displaying quick actions, to which Fluttershy was able to mimic. At times, the fan would be displayed in front of them with the fan pointing up, then down in quick fashion. Other times, it would be pulled back or to the side. As Fluttershy was in tune with Spitfire’s motions, Jack started to get that same feeling just like before. ‘There it is again. That same feeling. It’s like whenever she makes an effort in doing this, another side of her comes out. Something more… great. I wonder if she’s even aware of this?’ As it went on, what happened next caught everyone by surprised. Both of them rotated their bodies, displaying the fan in a full circle. But Fluttershy effort caused her to lose her grip of the fan, flying towards Jack. Jack was able to duck under it as it went by. “Oh my. I’m sorry, Jack. I didn’t mean to do that,” Fluttershy said. “That’s OK. You were lost in the moment that you could have forgotten that it was in your hand,” Jack said. But Jack didn’t expect what would happen next. The fan caught a breeze of wind while in the air, causing it to rotate the fan back at Jack’s direction, hitting him in the back of the head. “Jack, are you OK?” Fluttershy said, concern at what just happened. “No. I’m fine,” Jack replied, rubbing the back of his head. “Just didn’t see it coming.” “I thought you can sense any attack coming,” Bulk said. “Not unless it was planned,” Jack explained. “Fluttershy just lost her gripped and I just reacted by seeing it. But I couldn’t see it come back to me like that.” “Can a fan do something like that,” Fluttershy asked. “I mean, come back like a boomerang?” “It’s rare for it to do so, unless you’re skilled in it. I wonder…” Spitfire decided to take her fan and use it just like the ring blades by tossing it in the air, causing it to rotate in the process. The fan acted just like the ring blades and started to come back at her with the wind’s help. “It was slow, but it looks like the wind is needed to make it possible. I’ll have to look into it later on.” “I just didn’t know I could do that,” Fluttershy said. “I guess it just… happened.” That response sent Jack’s mind into motion. ‘It just… happened? I wonder…’ An idea came to mind, but he needed to see if it would work. “Coach, is there a way to repeat the process? I want to test something.” “OK.” Spitfire took her fan, waited for the wind to come by, and tossed it at Jack. He ducked, letting it go by. The wind that Spitfire planned on coming brought the fan back, which Jack was able to catch it. “Did you plan that?” Jack asked Spitfire. “Yea. I knew I needed the wind to help and timed it right.” Jack walked over to Fluttershy and handed both fans to her. “I want to do what you just did before. Don’t think. Don’t plan. Just do it.” “Um, OK.” With Jack back in his usual place, Fluttershy went and threw the fan at Jack, to which he ducked, letting it go by. But the fan landed on the ground behind him. “It didn’t come back,” Fluttershy said. “Maybe there wasn’t any wind. Try the other one,” Jack said. Fluttershy nodded and took the other fan and threw it at him. The same reaction happened before, but the fan was caught in the wind and started to fly back to Jack, hitting him in the back of his head again. “Jack, I have a feeling there’s a reason for this,” Spitfire said. “I think so,” Jack said. “And I think it could explain why I can’t sense an animal’s actions. Instinct.” “What do you mean by… instinct?” Roseluck asked Jack. “Coach Spitfire was able to plan her attack on me. Something that even Twilight would do. But what Fluttershy did was just by chance. She didn’t know she would lose her grip, of that it would come back to her. If I was distracted before she lost her grip, the fan could have hit me before I could see it. I think that might be the key piece we’ve been looking for when facing the Shadowbolts.” “I think I understand,” Sandalwood said. “An animal knows when to hunt for food, but it just waits until it sees the chance to strike, waiting for that one moment. So, if you know who you plan to throw the ball to and they see that it would be coming their way, the Shadowbolts would know it and intervene. But just throw the ball anywhere, hoping that someone will come and grab it, then they couldn’t catch on before it’s too late.” “Exactly,” Jack said. “So, how do we plan to apply that to both basketball teams when we face them?” Bulk asked. This got Spitfire thinking. “Let me fill that in with Twilight later on and see what she has in mind. It might take some time, but maybe we can come up with… something before the end of the season.” “Since she works the plays, it might be best to leave it with her,” Jack said. “I would like to see this idea used during practice as well. See how I can react to just instinct alone.” “That’s going to be a tall order to fill,” Spitfire said. “But, if they can hone in to their fighting talents, then they wouldn’t have to plan their attacks in the first place.” “Um, if it’s OK, can I borrow the, um, fans for me to work on?” Fluttershy asked. Spitfire said, “If you do, then I want you to do it with the right music to sync with, OK?” Fluttershy nodded and made sure she grabbed both fans before going back inside, scooping Angel up. Roseluck and Bulk went back inside so that they can finish what they were working on. “Well, I think we got Fluttershy on board,” Spitfire said. “Now if Luna and Twilight can do the same with Rarity, I think they can practice together on an equal level.” “You think Fluttershy is up to this?” Sandalwood asked. “Like, I believe so,” Tree Hugger replied. “In fact, I could see it in her.” “You mean you can see her aura well?” Sandalwood asked, to which Tree Hugger nodded. “Rrrriiiight,” Spitfire said, rolling her eyes. “I think you need to lay off the smoke for once.” Tree Hugger protested. “I mean it. I could, like, see it from her when she kicked the three boards at once. And again as she was dancing with you with the fans like a mirror image. It was, like, strong.” “Wait a minute. You were able to see a strong aura coming from her?” Jack asked. “She’s been able to since we had that meeting last weekend,” Sandalwood replied. “But only when she is better focused.” “Who else knows this?” Jack asked. “Just Sandalwood,” Tree Hugger replied. This got Jack thinking. “Interesting. For some reason, I was able to sense a strong power coming from her at those times. And it was something that I never even felt before. I just wish I knew what it was.” “You don’t think Tree Hugger now has your gift?” Spitfire asked. Jack quickly replied, “No. This is something different. And I think I might know what it is.” Jack went back into his truck to grab his cell. “You’re not going to call Twilight now, are you?” Spitfire asked. “Not really, since she’s working with Rarity. But I think Moon Dancer might still know the book by heart. And I think it was listed on the next page when I read about soul knowledge.” Jack placed a call on his cell. “Hello? Moon Dancer? This is Jack. How well do you know Star Swirl’s book? … Good, because I think we might have stumble across another one of its powers.”