“I understand your concern, Luna. But I am not sure how you or Twilight can sense this power.”
“But Master Blades. There has to be a reason we can sense this… positive energy. And just from one girl. Could it be connected with this realm? Or even the Tree of Harmony?”
“Unless Jack and Sunset has encountered something like this as well, I have no answer to this.”
“Perhaps I can explain…”
Jack and Twilight already made it to school at about the same time Monday morning. And with good reason. After learning what all went on over the weekend, Twilight started putting a plan in place for the Crystal Harvest Tournament. All that was left was to confirm Moon Dancer’s information.
“I still can’t believe that you awaken some kind of power in Tree Hugger,” Twilight said. “This might be the best tool that we need to find out who has what at Crystal Prep.”
“I’m just surprised that Professor Star Swirl couldn’t even prove this theory with Master Blades,” Jack added.
“But look at us. We were able to prove that theory for him,” Twilight replied. “Well, almost. Moon Dancer said that she had to look into some history about a group that she came across that could be related to Tree Hugger. But what’s better is that she can help us in finding out which students have been given the gift and which hasn’t.”
“Did you talk to Sugarcoat?”
“Yes. And it sounds like she has a lot on her plate. I still can’t believe that Crystal Prep is in disarray since we beat them in the championship game. And she’s just focusing on that one idea that we brought up weeks ago as a distraction from what’s going on.”
“She’s not the only one who’s distracted,” Jack replied. “Indigo called me yesterday about Long Shot. She’s worried about his playing ability with the team. I’m just hoping that I didn’t deal a serious blow to his future, from what she told me.”
“I hate to say this, but I think all that should be left up to them. They’re the ones who got caught up in this mess. And I hope that it will bring them out of hiding in the process.”
“We got a good ways to go, Twilight. Let’s make sure we don’t put them in a hole that no one can get them out of. Then we could have our hands tied in the process.”
“For some reason, I think we all have been making too many holes in all of this.”
Both of them went inside and straight to their lockers to put their coats away, joining the others in the process.
So, how was you training practice,” Twilight asked Sunset.
“Better than I expected,” Sunset replied, with the sound of joy in her voice. “I don’t know how, but working on that one skill a few times helped me figure out how to do it with ease.”
“And the other two?” Jack asked Sunset.
“Coach Spitfire said that I must be a fast learner, because I seem to have a handle with all three this time. It’s not as strong, but it should be enough to make an impact if we need it. She wanted to spend some private time with me on Sunday’s to help focus on this kind of power. Hope you don’t have a problem with that.”
“No need for me to complain,” Jack replied.
“I’m just wondering about how we plan to face Crystal Prep,” Applejack said. “I mean, seeing Sour Sweet going into a rage is something I don’t want to see at all from them.”
“And having Tree Hugger look into who has these powers worries me,” Fluttershy added.
“I have to agree,” Rarity added. “She nearly fainted when she looked at one of them.”
“I think I might have gotten that part covered,” Jack said. “As long as she uses what I gave her over the weekend.”
That got Twilight thinking. “Speaking of which-”
“Don’t even bother bring it up,” Jack interrupted. “Especially here, OK?”
“That’s not what I was about to talk about,” Twilight said. “Well, I did had that in mind. But here is not a good place to talk about it. What I want to know is this tool that Doctor Whooves has that could benefit you later on with that crystal they have. I mean, what does it look like? How does it work? Is it big or small?”
“How about we ask him after class today?” Sunset recommended.
“Good idea!” They looked to see Doctor Whooves walking by in a cheerful mood with his finger pointing upwards. “See you after class.”
“Something tells me that Professor River Song gave him the heads up,” Jack said.
“By the way. Were you able to bring any gym clothes for later on?” Flash asked Jack.
“Still have the ones from my old school. Never figure I be wearing them again here.”
“At least we don’t have club meeting today,” Soarin said. “This might be the only chance that we get to practice with Miss Luna and Coach Spitfire.”
“You think we’ll get to use some real gear?” Pinkie asked.
“Only practice gear,” Jack replied. “They still want to figure out what would be best suited for each of you.”
“At least Rarity and Fluttershy already got their gear and styles,” Twilight said. “Just a matter of what to do with the rest of you.”
Everyone finished putting away their stuff and closed their lockers, carrying their books to their first class. That was when they saw Moon Dancer walk out of Mrs. Harshwhinny’s class room.
“Twilight! I’m glad I came across you. I just found out something big about Tree Hugger’s past. I’ll explain it later on after Science class.” She quickly left the area and made her way to her first class.
“What was that all about?” Sunset asked.
“You’ll find out soon enough.” They saw Mrs. Harshwhinny at the doorway to her class room with a grin on her face. “Now get to your seats. We have a short class week, and I plan to make sure we get a lot covered before exams come around in a few weeks.”
History class was coming to an end, and Jack, Sunset, and Twilight had little time to learn about this tool and Doctor Whooves had with him before the next class of students.
“OK. Do you know what kind of tool that the professor was talking about?” Twilight asked.
The Doctor grabbed the small rod from his jacket pocket. It was made of a silver like metal, with a blue glass top on it and a black pointed part on the bottom.
“That’s… a pen,” Sunset said.
“Is it?” the Doctor replied.
“I’ve seen you write with it.”
“Really? Open and close the draw on my desk.”
Sunset went and simply open and close one of the draws.
“Now. Watch and learn.” He pointed the blue tip of the tool and pushed a button, emitting a small hum from the tool for a small moment. “Try it again.”
She went to open the same draw, only for it to be stuck. She tried it a few times, with no effort in opening. Twilight was surprised at what she just witnessed.
“This… is a sonic screwdriver,” the Doctor explained, while waving the tool in his hand. “It can operate mechanical gears and electronics, and analyze data of any material or living being. It can do just about anything. Well, expect for wood. Never could figure out why. And it’s synced to my brain waves, allowing it to do what I want it to do.”
“That’s amazing!” Twilight replied.
“How would I be able to use something like this with the crystal that was found?” Jack asked.
“That’s a bit more completed to explain at the moment, and in such short time. But the main thing is that I have what is needed to get the brain waves needed to sync the device to yourself. And I believe that you plan to be practicing later today?”
“After 4th Period,” Twilight replied. “We plan to learn about Tree Hugger’s special power before we practice. I’m sure that will be enough time to get it done before we start practice.”
“Consider it done.”
4th Period classes were coming to an end. And due to a short school week, Monday club meetings were canceled for the day, allowing students to do what was needed for free study. But the gym was closed off for the time being so that it would be used for a private practice session for the team. Coach Iron Will and Coach Spitfire went to lay out mats to allow the others to practice, while the students went to get changed into their gym clothes. Tree Hugger, Moon Dancer, and Doctor Whooves were waiting in the gym for the others to show up, each with their own reasons. But as the team finally showed up, three other staff members came into the gym: Miss Luna, Mrs. Harshwhinny, and Principal Celestia.
Celestia clasped her hands together. “Well. It looks like a lot of things have been going on over this weekend that no one expected to see coming. Would anyone want to fill in on all the details?”
Everyone looked at each other, wondering who should start first. But Mrs. Harshwhinny decided to step in.
“Perhaps it’s better that we focus on what we have just discovered right now.” She nodded towards Moon Dancer.
“I was looking into this aura reading stuff and came across some old articles of a group that had something like this.”
Doctor Whooves interrupted. “Is this going to take a while?”
“Maybe. Why?”
He took out his sonic screwdriver and aimed it towards one area of the bleachers, causing it to expand after hearing a humming sound.
“Now I really need one of those,” Twilight said.
“Is that by chance the tool that River Song was talking about?” Luna asked.
“It’s one of them. But what she plans to make might just be far advanced than this one.” The Doctor looked at Jack. “If you will kindly take a seat, I can start getting those brain waves in the process. Hearing what Moon Dancer has to explain will help with the process.”
Jack went to the bleachers and sat down. The Doctor placed some nodes on his head, which were extended by wires that attached to a strange metal box.
Moon Dancer continued. “As I was about to explain, I found some articles that would relate to what Tree Hugger has. They’re call the Spirit Readers, a group of… peace keepers, if you want to call them, that can… read the energies of others and contact the spirits of those who are lost. And Mrs. Harshwhinny knows very well about this group.”
“Indeed, I do,” she replied. “I’ve heard about this group during and after my college years when I got married. The group was more of a peace loving group. But there were some who thought it was more of a propaganda group or a cult. I had a friend back in college who helped the group out with… explaining who the group really was. She didn’t have anything special like some of them in the group. But she helped with getting to word out about them and how they wanted to help others who felt troubled.
“But it was on one day that things turned tragic. My friend was working there with making fliers when a fire broke out at the building. Everyone that was there died in the fire. Media reports at first said that the “Cult” was doing this to enter the afterlife to gain eternal power. But something in my gut said otherwise. I was able to walk by the place to see what all went on, but the area was blocked off because the investigation was still pending. I was able to tell the detective in charge about my friend, and he took down the information for his investigation.
“But while I was there, I saw a young lady who was looking at the scene the best that she could. I asked her why she was there, and she said that she knew someone who was to be at that building. I told her my reason as was hoping that the media reports were wrong. Turns out that it could be the work of arson, but no other details were released days later. When I came across the same lady later in the month, she confessed that she was one of the Spirit Readers that had the gift and saw that I was looking for the truth. She, and some others, couldn’t making it to the meeting when the building went ablaze that same night. When they learned what happened, the others went into hiding. But she had to find out what happened. And it pointed to a letter that she was able to save at one time.”
“A letter?” Applejack said.
“More like a message from a hate group,” Mood Dancer corrected.
“The letter could have been a key point of who could have set the arson,” Mrs. Harshwhinny continued. “I tried to convince her to report it to the police, but she felt that they wouldn’t believe her. So I went to my husband, who worked as a private detective. He was able to get in touch with the police detective in charge of the case and arrange a meeting with him. She showed him the letter and it confirm his own suspicions. He told us that a homeless veteran was able to witness some hooded guys locking the doors with chains and throwing what looked like a molotov cocktails into the building. It was no doubt a hate group that did this.”
“Dark Star perhaps?” Twilight said.
“Looked into that idea,” Moon Dancer said. “But it was a group called the Order of the Light.”
“I remember hearing about that group,” Doctor Whooves said. “They believed that our nation was being transformed by so-called radical groups that wanted to change the way we live in. But all they were doing was dividing the nation for their own ideas. Killing those that opposed the old ways was the only action that they would do.”
“Horse apples!” Applejack replied. “Sure it’s best to remember the old ways. But there be times when we need to change with the times. The entire Apple family knows this.”
“Not everyone is willing to change,” Jack said. “Most will accept it and move on with their lives. But there are always a few that prefer the lives that they like and think that it’s the only way to live. Life… is never easy.”
“That’s one way of putting it,” Mrs. Harshwhinny said. “But this group was not so easy to take down. With laws in place, they had a right to voice their opinion. But proving that they did the crime was another issue. My husband worked with the police detective on the case to find any proof that this hate group did it. The best that the city police could do was take the lady, and any other members of the Spirit Readers, into witness protection for their own safety. So I don’t know who else was still alive from the group that knew of this hate group, or where they live now.”
“What happened to the Order of the Light?” Flash asked.
“After a couple of years of work, they were able to bring enough proof to file charges for mass murder on their leader and members of his group. But all of them were given life sentences, because there were no proper laws for the death penalty at that time. But as the leader was walking out of the court house in cuffs, he was encountered by an old lady who pulled out a small gun and shot him point blank, killing him, before she surrendered herself to the police at the same time.”
“Talk about bold… and crazy,” Rainbow Dash said.
“It was. And she got off lucky but pleading insanity for what she did. But that didn’t matter to her. She passed away a few years later due to poor health. She said that she’s seen lives destroyed by that hate group and decided to make sure they paid for what they did when they were finally brought to justice. “An eye for an eye” was the last words that she said in public. The Order of the Light became no more.”
A ping like sound came from the box that was attached to Jack’s head.
“Looks like it’s done,” Doctor Whooves said. He started to remove the nodes from his head. “Were you doing a lot of thinking about what was told?”
“I was,” Jack said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if the Order of the Light was being used to keep Dark Star in hiding for some time.”
This got Twilight thinking. “Doctor, can you use that… sonic screwdriver and do a reading on both Jack and Tree Hugger and see if they have anything in common?”
The Doctor nodded and pulled out his tool and started to use it to scan Tree Hugger first, then Jack. When he was done, he looked at it and was able to have an answer. “Well this is interesting. They don’t have anything special in common. But Tree Hugger has some kind of power that is flowing in her DNA. Nothing like what Jack possesses.” He looked at Celestia. “Do you know who the parents are?”
“Flax Seed and Wheat Grass,” Rarity replied. “I know this because they own the Earthbound shop in the mall. Been in there a few times for some… unusual fabric that they carry.”
“Don’t think I know those two,” Mrs. Harshwhinny said, rubbing her hand on her chin. “But I never knew who the other survivors were, nor the were-a-bouts of of the lady that I helped. And I can’t force my husband to look into it, since he quit being a detective after what happened that day when the case came to an end. Said that it was too much to take, seeing all that happened. And I don’t blame him for it. We left that old town and moved here, where I started my teaching career that time. He went to take a regular job like everyone else.”
“Let Iron Will look into it,” Iron Will replied. “Iron Will might know someone who can look into that.”
“If those two were part of the Spirit Readers, then it could explain why she has this kind of power, and why Jack was able to bring it to life inside of her,” Doctor Whooves explained.
“Can this kind of power help us out with Crystal Prep?” Celestia asked.
“Now that I know more, I think so,” Twilight explained. “Crystal Prep is in disarray, and Sugarcoat is having a hard time trying to figure out who has gifts similar to Jack. If they show some kind of… tainted aura around them, then Tree Hugger can find out who carries it, with Moon Dancer’s help.”
“And what about avoiding the panic response like last time?” Celestia asked.
“Roseluck is working on the… stuff to help her focus,” Jack answered.
Celestia, curious, raised in eyebrow. “Stuff?”
“Stuff for her to, um, smoke,” Twilight said.
“It is not SMOKING!” Jack and Spitfire responded in unison.
Spitfire explained. “It’s a form of incense. Similar to what some monks use in meditating. Or more likely during training. And right now, if this works, she could be able to control her actions with this method. It’s purer than the usual stuff that we usually hear about in the news.”
Mrs. Harshwhinny placed her hand on Celestia’s shoulder. “If Roseluck is making this, then we should trust them in this judgment. We can talk to her and see what is used for Tree Hugger to inhale.”
“She has the recipe that I gave her over the weekend,” Jack said. “You can check with her and see it for yourself.”
“I’ll look into it. I want to make sure that we don’t have any problems with this plan.” Celestia started to make her way out, with Moon Dancer, Tree Hugger, and Mrs. Harshwhinny following her.
“I’ll get to work on transferring the data to Professor River Song so she could get started on your own sonic screwdriver.” Doctor Whooves went to make sure the bleachers were back in place before leaving the gym with his device.
“Let Iron Will know when you are done with the gym.” He was the last person to leave the gym.
“Well, let’s get started.” Luna went to grab several wooden staffs and handed them to each student. “We’ll be using practice staffs for your training. Since some of you have weapons to use, this will help refine you weapon based skills. Plus, they’re the only ones I could bring without others noticing. We’ll put you in pairs to duel each other. Twilight and Fluttershy, Rarity and Sunset, Dash and AJ, Flash and Soarin, and Jack and Pinkie.”
Luna and Spitfire began showing each of them how to use the staff at a basic pace before letting them practice in a freestyle like pace. Twilight and Fluttershy took to a light pace, for Fluttershy’s sake. Rarity and Sunset was more of an average pace, since Sunset wanted to take it easy, but soon caught on to what Rarity was able to do. Flash, Soarin, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash each displayed a stronger style. But it was Pinkie Pie and Jack that became more unique. Something that Luna wanted to see for herself.
Luna learned a bit about this Pinkie Sense from Twilight and wanted to see if Pinkie could react quickly on short notice. It was nothing like what Jack carried because Twilight believed that it was more towards instinct in a way. And if the only weakness was instinct, as told by Spitfire, she needed to see if it could work both ways.
Jack and Pinkie started with striking the ends of their staff at first, before Pinkie decided to change it up a bit. She went and extended her staff and swung it at Jack. But he was able to duck the swing and respond with a poke jab from his staff, only for Pinkie to quickly bounce backwards. Jack did another poke jab, only for Pinkie to respond by tangling her staff with his in a circular motion. It only lasted a moment before Jack was able to break off from the attack. Pinkie then made a forward leap and swung her staff vertically towards Jack. He quickly stepped aside, allowing Pinkie to strike the ground next to him. This allowed him to quickly make a vertical swing at Pinkie’s staff, only for her to retract it away from him.
This pattern kept going on and on. One moment, Jack makes an attack that Pinkie was able to dodge and counter. Then Pinkie does that same, only for Jack to dodge and counter. But at one moment, Jack quickly makes a vertical swing again, only for Pinkie to use her staff to block the strike. But once the strike was made, it broke Pinkie’s staff into two, missing her in the process. Everyone stopped to see what just happened.
“Pinkie, you OK?” Luna asked, running up to her.
“My staff broke into two,” Pinkie replied with a grin.
Luna took the staff pieces and noticed that the break was clean and smooth. This was a bit odd at first. But Luna soon started to display them like carrying two wooden sticks, rotating and swinging them in the process. Then she had an idea. “Pinkie. I want you to treat these as two smaller weapons instead of one.” She handed the sticks back to her.
“Okie dokie.”
Pinkie took the sticks and faced Jack again. But this time, she started to feel a rhythm inside of her and started to bounce a bit back and forth. Jack swung his staff behind him and opened up his palm, taunting her to attack him. Pinkie agreed and came rushing, swinging her sticks at Jack, only to be blocked by Jack’s staff. Jack was able to block each strike as fast as he could, but couldn’t counter because of how close Pinkie was to him. She even swung her whole body to strengthen her attacks, almost like how Rarity was able to display the shark fin style in front of Luna and Twilight days ago. But it wasn’t the only thing that looked familiar to what was going on.
“That feeling. It’s happening again.” Twilight was sensing the same energy that she felt when Rarity was showing off with the twin blades before. “First Rarity. Now Pinkie Pie. How can they display such strong energy when they act like this?”
But Twilight wasn’t the only one who could sense it.
“Such power. It’s… intense.” Sunset could also sense the same energy. “It’s just like how Applejack was able to fight off Sour Sweet. Is it because she’s determine to win?”
The battle kept on going before Luna decided to step in. “That’s enough!” Pinkie and Jack stopped sparring and looked at Luna. “I think that would be all for today. Go get cleaned up before you head to the cafeteria. Twilight, Jack, Sunset. Can I have a word with you?”
As everyone started to turn in their staffs, including Pinkie’s broken staff to Luna, they went on to their respected lockers, leaving Twilight, Jack, and Sunset with Luna and Spitfire.
“Are you thinking what I think you’re thinking?” Spitfire asked Luna.
“I am. And the tonfa sticks would be best for her to use.”
“Then I might add the leopard style of fighting to improve her odds. That would make her a fierce warrior,” Spitfire added.
“Um, forgive me for asking, but what is a tone-fa, whatever you call it,” Twilight asked, not knowing how to say the word.
“Police nightsticks,” Jack answered. “If you remember them from the 80s and 90s.”
Twilight nodded, saying, “Oh, I see.”
“Alright. Did anyone sensed anything… unusual about what just happened just now?”
Jack and Sunset looked at each other, trying to understand what Luna was just asking, before Jack first answered.
“When I was battling with Pinkie, there was a mixture of energy going on. I could sense what she was doing. But there was another kind of power coming from her. It was… strong… and powerful.”
“I was able to sense that kind of power as well,” Sunset added.
Twilight was shocked. “You mean both of you could sense it as well?”
“Wait, you sensed it also?” Sunset replied.
“With Rarity,” Twilight answered. “Happened when she was dancing with those twin sabers. When did you experienced it?”
“First, it was when Rainbow Dash was focusing on making the basket against some of the Shadowbolts,” Sunset explained. “And again when Applejack was battling with Sour Sweet during her rage.”
“Jack was able to experience it from Fluttershy when I was showing her the deer style and later with the fans,” Spitfire explained. “Tree Hugger was able to see the aura emitting from her at that same time.”
“And with Pinkie Pie, that makes five,” Luna said. “It’s starting to make sense.”
“What does?” Sunset asked.
“Our role in all this,” Luna explained. “I had a talk with Master Blades in the Realm of Souls about what we just experienced. And at that time, he didn’t have an explanation of it. But someone else did.”
A figure appeared in front of the Tree of Harmony. It was covered with a dark purple robe with it’s face covered in a hood. The only feature that was visible was a lavender snout from the hood. And judging by the sound of it’s voice, it was female.
“Who are you?” Luna asked.
“My name is of no relevance to you. I am but the guardian of this tree. That is all you need to know about me. But as to answer your previous question, it is simple. You, and your friends, have been chosen to find the next Guardians of Harmony. Those who are worthy to be the next elemental bearers to face the threat that is coming?”
“The Dark Star Organization?” Luna responded.
“A dark threat that no mere human could defeat alone. One that can test the limits of your world. And only the Guardians of Harmony would have the power to defeat it.”
“A dark threat? It has to be Dark Star,” Twilight answered. “That’s the only threat we know.”
Jack looked away from the others to think a moment. The words that he just heard from the guardian were like a hunted memory to him.
“Maybe it’s someone that Dark Star works for,” Sunset said. “We don’t know a lot about them, expect for the fact that they might be tied to Crystal Prep. And we still need to figure out if Starlight Glimmer is connected to all this.”
“Maybe it is Dark Star,” Twilight said. “We just don’t know the chain of command in all of this. And we can’t confirm if all this ties into each other until the tournament comes around.”
That was when Jack responded with his back facing them. “The being that you were talking to. Do you know what she was?”
Twilight was quick to respond for Luna. “An Equestrian. I remember reading about them through Professor Digger’s research about the lost land of Canterlot. Something about horse-like creatures from another realm that came to our world, looking for a new home after their home was lost.”
“I heard about them.” The others looked to see Coco in the gym, with Chrysalis trailing behind her. “Just figure we check and see if you were finished with practice so you can join us. You were talking about the Equestrians?”
“Oh yes. I think Miss Luna was able to meet an Equestrian spirit that was guarding the Tree of Harmony,” Twilight explained. “Did you read up on his research as well?”
“I did,” Coco replied. “But don’t expect much help from mister “Jack of all Trades” here. He was more into samurais and such than the medieval times. But I did help out with some new items when I was there.”
Twilight went up to Coco and clasp her hands in front of Coco’s. “You have to tell me right now. Was there anything big that he discovered?”
Coco nodded, then looked down at their hands. Twilight realized this and let go of her hands so Coco could explained.
“Alright. On of the scrolls that came in to the professor’s office had an image of six horse-like creatures. They were referred to as Equestrian ponies. Two of them were just regular ponies, another two had wings, and one had a horn.”
“Those would be the earth ponies, pegasus, and unicorns,” Twilight explained. “What was believed to be the key Equestrian races… or breeds, as they were referred to.”
“But those five were surrounding the six one, which was bigger than the other five. And it had wings and a horn,” Coco explained. “Professor Digger said that it was called an alicorn, the supreme breed of all Equestrians. It represented all three breeds from their world. But nothing else about their kind is known from what is found.”
Twilight was star-struck. “An alicorn!? This is the first I’ve heard about them. I have to see this when I get back to Manehattan. If I can get there.”
“I’m sure we get there, Twilight.” Applejack, and the others reappear from the lockers. “I hope you don’t plan to eat while wearing that.”
“Oh, sorry. We were just… talking about stuff. Important stuff.”
“Anything we should know?” Applejack asked Twilight.
“Nothing you need to know now. Why don’t you go on ahead, and we’ll join you a bit later.”
“Don’t be too late,” Rarity replied.
The others joined Coco and Chrysalis and started to make their way out of the gym, until Spitfire stopped them for a moment.
“Chrysalis! I have something that I wanted to give you before you leave today. I think you will find this very useful.”
Chrysalis nodded before they all finally left, leaving the same five in the gym.
Twilight breathe a sigh of relief. “That was close. I hate to tell them what we just experienced about them.”
“I have to agree,” Luna said. “They don’t need to know this. Not yet. All we know is that we found five possible candidates to be the next guardians. There could be more.”
“It have to be,” Sunset said. “We have compared Twilight’s friends to the legend in our school. And those are the same elements that are in the Tree of Harmony. All that’s left would be the element of friendship. Which would be…” That was when reality started to set in. “Oh boy. This could be a problem.”
“A… problem?” Twilight took a moment before she understood what Sunset was thinking about. “That… would be a problem. How can I be the six elemental bearer if I’m assigned to find them.”
“That means someone else has to be the sixth and final bearer,” Sunset said.
“Well, Coco did said that the sixth Equestrian was an alicorn,” Twilight said. “Maybe it has to be someone who has a… higher power, right?”
“How about you let me finish what I have to say,” Luna explained. “These are still candidates we’re talking about. And there could be more. I was told that they would have to be… tested before they could become guardians. And some of them may not become guardians, but more like… protectors.”
Twilight had a confused look on her face. “Protectors?”
“Those who would protect the guardians from harm,” Luna said. “But that’s all I know. I wish I knew more, but that is all that I was told before she disappeared.”
It wasn’t long before they noticed that Jack was still somewhat quiet, lost in thought.
“Jack. Are you OK? You’ve been quiet about all this,” Sunset said.
“Yea. You wanted to know about the creature that Luna saw,” Twilight said. “Why was that?”
Jack looked at them to answer. “A dark threat. The last time I heard that was just days before my gift came to life. And I don’t think it was an Equestrian that said that before.”
Twilight had a worried look on her face. “What makes you say that?”
Jack explained. “Months before my gift came to life, someone came to me… in my dreams. At first, I thought it was a dream, but I think it was through the same dreamscape that we used to enter into the realm of souls. And he told me lots of things. Things that helped me understood what I was about to experience when my gift came to life.”
“He? As in a male creature?” Luna said. “What was he?”
“Something… much more powerful,” Jack said. “That’s all I can say for now. But it was his last words that made me think a lot. A dark threat-” He looked at them. “-that no human could face alone. I took those words to heart. And after hearing what the Equestrian said, I feel that there’s a darker threat that we have yet to learn about. That all we have been, or could be facing, are nothing but pawns in a bigger game here. I want to think that I’m wrong in this. But deep down, I think that something bigger is in play in all this. Something… that we have yet to see.”
“Jack, you worry too much,” Twilight said. “We have Dark Star, and maybe Starlight Glimmer. I doubt there could be anything that would be worst than them.”
Jack looked straight at Twilight. “Then pray… that I’m wrong.”
Over at Crystal Prep, Sugarcoat left her last class for the day and made her way to her locker. When she made it to her locker, she was busy with the locker combination that she kept getting it wrong. She had a lot on her mind, and it was distracting her. So she stopped for a moment and took a deep breath. She looked at the combination and started to vision the code process in her mind. And she was thinking about the first part, the dial started to move on its own, moving clockwise three times before stopping on 16. She was surprised to see what just happened and decided to do the same with the rest of the combination. By looking, she saw the dial move counterclockwise one time before stopping on 6, then moved clockwise to 24. That was when she was able to unlock it.
“Dude.”
Sugarcoat was shocked when she saw Lemon Zest behind her. With all that was going through her mind, she didn’t realized that Lemon came up behind her. She regained her composure and said, “Please don’t do that.”
Indigo Zap, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare soon joined up.
“Dearie, did you just sneaked up on Sugarcoat?” Sunny asked Lemon.
“Dude, I’m surprised that she didn’t see it coming. But you have to see-”
Sugarcoat placed her hand on Lemon’s mouth. She whispered, “There could be others listening to us.”
Indigo was able to glance around, noticing nothing that would stand out. “You’re overdoing it again, are you?”
“You really need to take it easy,” Sour said. “Otherwise, you’re just going to cause trouble.”
“Like what you did Saturday?” Sugarcoat plainly replied, causing Sour to display a fake grin. “Look, I think I just found out something and… need to look into it.” She grabbed what books she needed and placed them in her book bag before closing her locker. “Look. I got some work to do. So let Coach Fleetfoot know to send me the tapes of what goes on during practice and I’ll look into it when I get a chance.” She was quick to leave with her book bag in tow.
“What was that all about?” Sour asked.
“Lemon, did you see what just happened?” Indigo asked.
“Yea. She just… moved the dial without even touching it.”
“Moved the dial?” Sunny said. “Do you think-”
“Let’s not go there. Not yet,” Indigo said, waving her hand. “If she’s unlocked a new power, this could benefit Jack, I hope. For now, let’s just focus on basketball practice.”