//------------------------------// // Ch 01 Cherry Bomb! // Story: Cherry Tune: A New Tune Season Two // by CherryTune //------------------------------// “Captain Sunny.” Celestia said. Sunny Side and Cherry Tune approached Princess Celestia.  “Princess Celestia.” Sunny Side said bowing as did Cherry Tune. “Please Sunny, stand. We have matters to discuss.” Celestia said looking over at Cherry Tune while raising an eyebrow.  “Yes Ma’am.” Sunny said while she and Cherry stood at attention. “So Cherry Tune, the enlisted guard that assembled mine and Luna’s armor for our hunt of Reaper. Not to mention your role as acting officer of the armory during the Spirits of Turmoil. And from what I saw on the battlefield, you wielded Zecora’s energy potion effortlessly and rallied those around you to do the same.” Celestia said. “You showed great potential for promotion to lieutenant. And now after all these moons we finally caught the one responsible for that exploding cake incident.” she continued with a disappointed tone. Cherry straightened up even more after hearing that she was being accused of sending Princess Celestia the exploding cake. She also knew that as her reputation as the local prankster she had no defense, nor could she talk back to the princess of all of Equestria.  “It says here Sunny that your armor was scattered throughout the castle and even had some pieces frozen solid.” Celestia said. “Yes, Ma’am.” Sunny said, maintaining composure. “And it says here you also found the culprit?” Celestia asked. “Yes Ma’am.” Sunny replied. “Lastly it says that you informed the culprit, Cherry Tune, that she can continue with her… program?” Celestia continued. “Yes... Ma’am. I made a decision that the guard benefited from her actions and still maintained the standards we guard strictly follow.  “And this was after the cake incident with myself and the delegate from the badlands?” Celestia said. “...yes… ma’am.” Sunny said looking over at Cherry Tune with an apologetic look. Cherry Tune nodded back and returned the same look back to Sunny. Celestia stood up and stepped towards them. “Right.” Celestia said with a smile. “Good job you two!” She continued. Sunny and Cherry looked at each puzzled and then back at the princess. “Ma’am?” Sunny asked. “Oh come now Sunny, enough of this ma’am stuff. You might be a captain of my guard but you're still a relative of the crown. Even if it is by some long distant bloodline.” Celestia said. Cherry gawked as she didn’t know Sunny was related to Princess Celestia. Sunny shuffled uncomfortably and frowned as she never really truly believed that her bloodline actually split from Celestia's. “Still not willing to accept it, Sunny?” Celestia asked. “What Blueblood’s uncle did was unforgivable… I’d rather not think about it ma’am.” Sunny said. “And besides it’s not a true bloodline anyway, respectfully.” she added. “Very well then, my dear Sunny.” Celestia said slightly saddened.  Luna walked in from behind the throne saying “I believe we’ve gotten off topic dear sister.” Luna gave a nod to Sunny while Cherry still gawked before regaining composure. “Yes of course Luna. I did not call you two here because of the shenanigans, though I must admit I was having a bit of fun at your expense.” Celestia said.  “You were called here because Cherry Tune has been picked to lead a team to the Ancient Burial site of the Spirits of turmoil to investigate and eliminate any stray ancient spirits.” Luna said forcing the topic train back on track. “Yes, as you know after the defeat of Turmoil and the evacuation of the elements of harmony, we set up a small outpost to monitor the grounds with the approval of Zecora.” Celestia said. “We had hoped that this was the only action we had to do to ensure the safety of Equestria. It was meant to keep creatures out and educated them as to why the grounds must not be disturbed.” she continued. Luna stepped closer to Celestia and said,“Unfortunately myself and Discord have been sensing ancient spirit magic emanating from the site as well as reports from the guards at the outpost are detailing sightings of spirits and spirit golems.”  “This is where you two come in.” Celestia added. “Sunny as I understand it, Cherry Tune has been a top performer in your outpost. And with her ability to master the ancient potions energy she has been a top pick for what we have planned.” she continued. Sunny looked confused. “Master the potion?” she questioned. “Yes.” Celestia tilted her head slightly in contemplation. “More like mastering the energy the potion unlocked. Though she wasn’t the first on the battlefield to wield it, when she did, it sent ripples to those around her. A catalyst to them unlocking their own power.”  “What do you have planned?” Sunny asked. Celestia said. “It concerns Reaper, or rather the remnants of Reaper and his siblings, the six spirits of turmoil. Since their banishment, and Reaper's destruction, I sent guard scouts to every corner of Equestria to keep an eye out for any disturbances related to the ancient evils.” Celestia continued. “Yes, I had applied for those missions quite a while ago but the requests disappeared as quickly as they appeared and no one knew anything else about them.” Sunny said. “Indeed, and while you had an outstanding record you were needed here the most. You brought all the guard in Canterlot and all the guard in Ponyville together with great acts of kindness, letting the displaced use your Barn and Stable at no charge during the aftermath of Turmoil.” Celestia explained. “However I feel now that the guard is rejuvenated and these unfortunate sightings are ramping up. Your help is needed for the next phase.” she added. “Next phase?” Cherry asked. “Yes, I’d hope there wouldn’t be a second phase but alas our scouts have reported seeing remnant spirits and spirit magic near the ancient burial grounds. Our outpost has grown since the battle there but they are merely the caretakers. I need someone to visit the site and banish any spirits the same way we banished the six spirits of turmoil.” Celestia said. “But that took the combined effort of all the creatures of every nation in our known land and the sacrifice of the elements of harmony… all of them except Twilight.” Sunny said. “How can I even compare to that kind of power?” she asked. Celestia chuckled. “Sunny, what the elements of harmony have isn’t power, and may I remind you that Princess Twilight brought her friends back. I… I still wonder what more she is capable of, especially with what she gave.” Celestia turned away almost sad. “But if you recall details about the battle at the burial grounds, several small groups of around four to twelve creatures had combined their essence with the help of Zecora’s gems and potions to seal away stray spirits. “I don’t understand?” Sunny said. “It’s simple, there were hundreds if not thousands of creatures across the known lands at the burial grounds and from these groups, small pockets of “Elements” formed between many different creatures. You yourself had been at the heart of one particular group who banished stray spirits possessing the golems. And those creatures were NOT just from the guard, but from across Equestria.” Celestia explained.  “So I need to find someone who can channel the Elements of Harmony to defeat rogue spirits?” Sunny asked. “Almost.” Celestia replied. “The Elements of Harmony remain locked into Twilight and her friends and the Tree of Harmony seems to have made up it’s … let’s say mind… when it chose them to channel the elements.” She continued “So what am I supposed to do?” Sunny asked. “It’s not as if the Tree of Harmony is going to choose me to play the role of Twilight… I’m not even a unicorn. And with those new young creatures from Twilight’s have become the Tree’s new chosen harmonies if we’ve read the reports right.” she added. Celestia smiled and said, “So it seems, but you and many others still channeled the sparks of elements at the burial grounds. However Sunny, though you are very much part of what I have in mind, Cherry Tune…” “Ma’am!” Cherry Tune replied startled as she was largely unengaged in the conversation.  “You and Sunny are to find these spirits at the Burial Grounds outposts and put a stop to what is generating them. Take whoever you need with you to accomplish this task. I trust you and Sunny, as I did one of my close pupils, with the protection of Equestria.” Celestia said. “You may not be the next Elements of Harmony but I sense you’ll still play a part in the protection of Equestria.” she added. “Yes Ma’am!” Cherry and Sunny said saluting Celestia. The two depart the throne room and head back to Sunny’s office. “Well, that was kinda weird.” Cherry said. “Just another mission to help people.” Sunny said. Just then Sapphire barged in asking “So! What happened? Did Cherry get yelled at?” “Why do you smirk when you ask that Sapph?” Cherry said. “No.” Sunny replied. “And even if she did, you know I’d have come for you afterwards Sapphire.” She added with a wink. “Uh.. ehehehe… but seriously what happened?” Sapphire said. “Not much really, we just gotta channel magic elixirs to capture spirits into inanimate objects to seal them away at the burial grounds out post.” Cherry said crawling into a pot, contorting her body.  Sunny and Sapphire walk over to the pot each raising an eyebrow. “You make it sound easy, Cherry,” Sunny said. “But I don’t even know how I… we triggered the potions magic in the first place.”  “Me neither.” Cherry said, poking her tongue out. “Aww man! That sounds awesome! I wasn’t there for the battle of the Six Spirits but the stories told kicked butt!” Sapphire said. “Why don’t you come with us!” Cherry said. “Hey now, Celestia gave us this responsibility Cherry.” Sunny chimed. “Yup! And she said we can take anyone we wanted to with us!” Cherry replied. “Sweet! I’ll go tell Sugar to pack her things!” Sapphire said excitedly. “Whoa! Hang on just a minute. Cherry we don’t even know how to channel the energy. Do you really want to risk others when we don’t even know how to defend ourselves?” Sunny said. “Oh Sunny, Celestia said that we, as in the creatures out there, all came together to protect each other from the golems. I feel like from Twilights' book about her lessons we can assume that the more that come with us the more likely we are to trigger the potion.” Cherry replied. “And besides! Remember Celestia said ``I'm a ripple!” she added. “That… makes sense… I guess. Wait, you read Twilights' book?” Sunny asked. “Yeah I was expecting pictures but only Pinkie Pie’s section had any.” Cherry said disappointingly. “Sooooooo, does that mean I can bring Sugar? She’d love an adventure like this!” Sapphire asked. “Oh and why don’t we invite Promenade and Nightfall as well! Leave our duties and homestead unattended!” Sunny said, laying the sarcasm on thick. Cherry smiled and replied with excitement, “That’d be awesome! Moon and Night really need to get away from the castle as of late and Prom seems to be ….” Cherry paused. “Well it’ll do the two of them good! I'll inform them at once!” Cherry said skipping away. Sunny groned. “Sure, but no one else okay!” Sunny said. “Alright since you two are going, you are dismissed. I need to make plans to cover the shift and you two need to get ready. Let’s meet up at the train station tomorrow morning. Don’t be late.” She added. “Yes Ma’am!” Cherry and Sapphire said bounding off. They went their separate ways, Cherry to her home and Sapphire to hers where she met up with Vernal Gem. Vernal Gem and Sapphire Spark’s relationship had blossomed since Promenade’s birthday and Vernal Gem has frequently interacted with Sunny, Promenade, and Meryl over the weeks. Because Promenade and Sunny would be joining Cherry to the Burial grounds, Vernal Gem offered to watch the Barn and Stable with Meryl. “That’d be a great idea Gem!” Sapphire said. “You should come with me to Sunny’s and offer to help!” she continued. “I would love that!” Vernal gem replied. The two head to the Barn and Stable. Sunny had returned to make arrangements and was in a slight panic.  “Whoa! Calm down girl I have brought you your savour!” Sapphire said gesturing to Vernal Gem. Vernal Gem slapped on a wide enthusiastic smile and bounded forward. “I don’t know…” Sunny said. “Oh come on! She’s pretty business savvy as she runs her own shop just a few blocks away!” Sapphire replied.  “Mmmm, the business aspect isn’t what concerns me. I just worry about Meryl.” Sunny said. “Aww she and Meryl get along very well! In fact she even created a unique scent just for Meryl!” Sapphire said. Sunny frowned saying, “Eh, I--” “You know we’re both standing right here…” Vernal said. “Yeah, and I think we can handle this Sunny.” Meryl said. “Remember I’ve done this by myself a few times before when I was younger too.” she added. Promenade walks into the Barn and Stable where the others were having the conversation. “If it makes you feel better Aurora will be here as well. Plus Nightfall asked Water Lily and Full Throttle to stop by as needed AND I asked Lyra and Bonbon as well.” Promenade said with a gentle smile. “You have nothing to worry about Sunny let everyone else have a chance to look out for you for change.” She continued with a wink. Sunny paused for a moment. “Very well! It’s been a long time since my last adventure! Sapphire once you get the vials from the lab tomorrow head to the train station. We’ll meet up there and head out first thing in the morning!” “Got it boss!” Sapphire said.