//------------------------------//
// Chapter 12 - A Matter of Mind and Spirit 
// Story: Spring Surprises 
// by TheGJ90 
//------------------------------//

Truthfully speaking, what many of the girls visiting Tree Hugger expected to find in her tent was different for each of them. Rarity expected a veritable pigsty that would render her aghast. Applejack and Rainbow Dash thought they'd walk into a tent that had tie-dye clothing and peace-related iconography scattered about. Pinkie Pie, true to form, expected to find all sorts of fun hippie stuff that she could take inspiration from to improve her merriment-making. Octavia, having given the subject of hippie culture a passing glance once out of boredom, was worried that the host would have unhealthy items and several egregious examples of cultural appropriation on display. DJ-P0N3, with her headphones on and set to maximum wub, was too busy vibing to the beat being blasted by them to make any assumptions whatsoever. Twilight, who had never done any sort of research on hippies before, only had several stereotypes to mentally draw from, each one worse than the last. Recognizing that these would not help her in the slightest, she pushed them aside to look upon the contents of the tent with an open mind. Sunset, Fluttershy, and the CMCs, having visited Tree Hugger's humble slice of the forest in the past, were quite pleased to be here once more. The others, by stark contrast, were surprised by what they saw inside.

Very much like Wallflower's uniquely constructed office in the school garden, the grass below their feet served as the tent's floor. The girls expected that much, given their history with camping. It was what was set up on the grass that got their attention. To their left stood a set of handcrafted wooden shelves that reached to about half-way up the wall behind it. The set had three shelves, one above the other, and was wide enough to reach the walls next to it. Each shelf was neatly filled with items that were not commonly owned, let alone displayed, by most people. The bottom shelf held a wide assortment of gemstones that were carefully organized in a simple yet practical manner. Each gemstone was placed in a small glass container that was labeled by name and chakra, a term that was new to all but a few of the girls in the group. The labels were all written near the bottom of the containers, which were turned to have the words face anyone who looked at them. In fact, they were positioned in such a way that it would be difficult to accidentally push one onto the ground. The middle shelf held, much to the delight of Rarity and Octavia, a bunch of white glass teacups, a silver teapot, a silver kettle, a stack of small round saucer plates, a short stack of bowls, a metal container that was labeled 'sugar', assorted spoons, and numerous tea bags that carried a variety of flavors. Like the gemstones, these items were not haphazardly placed. The teacups and silverware were placed in the middle, with the teapot and plates on the left side and the tea bags placed in a brown box that stood alongside the sugar container on the right. The top shelf carried a whole slew of wax candles and a variety of incense sticks, which were essentially long thick pieces of wood, that were placed in two lines side-by-side. Candles were on the left and incense sticks were on the right. Placed between them was a small brown matchstick and a square tan striker. Sitting to the left of the shelves was a large transparent water container with a dispensing nozzle and a full supply of clean water. In front of the group stood several blue yoga mats that were rolled up and placed along the wall before them. Just their existence was enough to make Rainbow Dash a very happy girl. To the right of the mats was another set of wooden shelves. This one in particular was taller than the other one, but it was not quite as wide. Filling each shelf were items that made Twilight so gleeful that she had to use much of her self-control to stop herself from squealing with joy;

"Books!", she exclaimed in jubilation while staring daggers at the source of her happiness, a huge teeth-baring smile that was borderline manic having formed on her face. If it weren't for her sense of politeness, and the gentle right hand of an understanding Sunset placed on her right shoulder, she would have darted over to the shelf to grab several books for the sake of immersing herself entirely in written word. Letting friendship come before books, she allowed herself to relax while inspecting the rest of the tent. To the right of the bookshelf was a large white box that was left opened. Several colorful shirts could be seen from the girls' positions near the opened doorway. Some of them were, indeed, colored with tie-dye, while others were made colorful through more traditional means. Anyone with a working pair of eyes could see the silver peace sign medallion hanging by its necklace from the edge of the box. On the far-right of the tent was Tree Hugger's bed, which was actually a comfy-looking hammock that had her bandana resting on it. Hung above the hammock on the far-right wall was a long rectangular piece of wood that was of reasonable thickness. Carved into it was a single sentence;


You are far more than your mistakes.


Everyone in the group felt their hearts swell upon reading that sentence, some more so than others. The CMCs, in particular, placed their right hands on their hearts, their smiles beaming like god rays from the sun. There was no doubt that Tree Hugger was going to get a hug from them. It was simply a matter of when. Placed between the hammock and the doorway was, much to Applejack's surprise and appreciation, a first-aid kit. To its right was, much to DJ-P0N3's joy, a radio CD player with a stack of CDs in a round container that was placed on top of it. Rarity was the first to make a comment on it;

"I must admit, darling, that I appreciate what you've done with this place.", she gushed at Tree Hugger, her dignity on point as she went on while gazing at each item in the tent;

"While it certainly veers far away from my personal standards in regards to home, or rather, tent decoration, I find that it exudes a kind of earthly beauty that is truly its own."

With a polite titter, the fashionista added while looking right at a smiling Tree Hugger;

"A friend of mine, Wallflower, would love it in here!"

These days, the mere mentioning of that specific girl's name did not make the Rainbooms tense up quite as much as it used to, thanks in large part to their talk with her not too long ago. This time, they all felt compelled to smile when Rarity's words were uttered. Pinkie's hair, somehow, got a little poofier than usual, albeit for a brief moment. Tree Hugger's response to the dignified lady's complementing of her home away from home was a simple, heartfelt, and utterly chill;

"Righteous."

It was Applejack's turn to comment on her surroundings with an honest grin as she looked around the tent;

"A girl can really take a load off in a place like this, Ah reckon.", she declared with goodwill in her southern drawl. The biggest eco kid in CHS sighed peacefully before responding in her perpetually utterly relaxed tone;

"I know, right? Whenever I need to revitalize my energy field, I can come here and just exist."

The prospect of doing exactly that was clearly enticing to her, if the growing expression of pure peace on her face was any indication. Applejack, with a raised right eyebrow, noted while sounding a tad confused;

"Well, them 'energy fields' you're talkin' about are new to me, but..."

She eyed the hammock, her grin still on point as she spoke;

"Nothin' beats a good nap after workin' on the farm."

Rainbow Dash, her impatience flaring up from the inside, decided at that moment to ask the girl with dreadlocks;

"Soooo, how are you gonna help us?"

Tree Hugger, with a quick look at the athlete, responded to her while showing a complete lack of agitation through her mannerisms;

"We'll get to that, but first, I want to check each of your auras."

The girls, save for Sunset, Fluttershy, and the CMCs, all showed various levels of confusion;

"Our what?", Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. Surprisingly, it was Twilight who broke through her confusion first. With a light bulb shining like a star in her head, she pointed out enthusiastically;

"Ah, so auras are the energy fields that you were referring to!"

Tree Hugger looked over at the egghead and responded with a hint of excitement in her relaxed voice;

"Good catch, righteous learner!"

Twilight beamed with joy over the prospect of learning something new, while the subtle skeptic within her needed more info on this subject in order to believe it. As for Rainbow, Rarity, Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, they along with Octavia and P0N3 looked at the hippie, their confusion holding strong. It was the string player who expressed it for them;

"I'm sorry, but could you elaborate a bit?", she asked while hoping she sounded as polite as she felt she needed to be. Fluttershy, who's smile could melt the polar ice caps, answered with rarely shown confidence while her peaceful friend took a moment to stretch her arms;

"Think of an aura as a sign of one's health."

Tree Hugger added while she raised both hands as far up as she could;

"It's an energy field that surrounds each Human being at all times. A person's aura can give you an idea of their mental, physical, spiritual, and emotional health..."

Once she finished stretching, she allowed her hands to rest at her sides while gazing at each of the girls with a smirk;

"If you know how to check it.", she finished with soft confidence.

Twilight, after pondering for a second or two, tactfully expressed her skepticism;

"Scientists do agree that a Human is surrounded by some kind of invisible magnetic field, I'll grant you both that. Nevertheless, I have not seen any scientific reference to these 'auras' specifically."

Fluttershy, with hesitancy all over her voice and face, answered nervously while trying to hide behind the bangs of her pink hair;

"Oh, um, that's because science... has yet... to prove that they exist."

She expected to be criticized by her nerdy friend, but what she got instead was Twilight's friendly inquisitiveness. She looked at her with no hint of frustration on her face and asked politely;

"Yet, you treat them like they do exist. Why is that?"

With brisk movement, Tree Hugger walked up to Twilight to stand at about half a foot away from her. Hearing the footsteps, the scientist looked over to face the hippie while feeling as nervous as the look on her face had suggested. The expression of deep peace never leaving her face, Tree Hugger declared;

"Science explains a great many things, Twilight Sparkle."

She then looked over at the first-aid kid with a smile while noting;

"It's also useful in all sorts of groovy ways."

She looked back at Twilight and finished with the tiniest possible hint of slyness in her eyes;

"But, it doesn't explain everything."

The other girls watched closely as the lavender student of every science ever took a moment to ponder while her nervousness faded. With a small grin forming on her face, she responded with clear confidence in her beloved field of study;

"It doesn't explain everything yet!"

With a quick friendly look at a smiling Sunset before returning her gaze to Tree Hugger, Twilight added;

"That fact aside, Sunset recommended you to us, and I'm inclined to trust her judgement."

Sunset's smile got an additional dash of warmth added to it. The rest of the group showed their approval of Twilight's words through head nods, grins, and in Rainbow's case, a thumbs up. With that settled, Tree Hugger walked up to Fluttershy and stopped to stand a few feet away from her. She then said calmly;

"I'll start with you, then, my most excellent friend."

The kind young lady, knowing exactly what was about to happen, straightened her posture and allowed herself to relax. Even though everyone else's eyes were on her, having her friends around made it easy for Fluttershy to sink into a state of comfort and ease. Of course, being in a place of nature helped her as well. Recognizing all of this, her green friend went to work. She raised both hands up, slowly reached out to the animal-lover before her, and began to perform graceful hand movements while keeping her eyes closed in utter silence. To most of the audience that stood around them, it was as if Tree Hugger was gently rubbing on some kind of invisible bubble that was all around Fluttershy. Sunset watched with a knowing smirk creeping up her face, with the CMCs smirking as well. The lady with dreadlocks did her thing for a good two minutes before letting her hands rest and nodding at Fluttershy after opening her eyes back up. This prompted her to move aside to let another girl get a turn. It was Sunset who stepped up to take her friend's place. She relaxed while standing still, allowing Tree Hugger to do her work her as well. One by one, the Rainbooms went through this process that seemed quite strange to most of the group, Twilight especially;

"What does she see that we do not?", she thought to herself. The scientist's attentiveness allowed her to catch some additional details about their host's actions. For starters, the way she moved her hands was deliberate, precise, and well-practiced: a clear sign that. at the very least, she was quite sure of what she was doing and its effectiveness. Not only that, but with some people, such as Sunset and Pinkie Pie, Tree Hugger took a couple of steps further back before doing her motions. With others, like Applejack and Twilight herself, she took a few steps closer to them, but not close enough to make the girls uncomfortable. Putting a mental pin on such details, the young scientist kept her eyes fixed on the hippie as she took her turn. Once the band was taken care of, Tree Hugger turned her attention to the CMCs and offered to them sweetly while giving them a bright loving grin;

"You want to get your auras checked too, little dudes?"

The trio practically shot up to her like three bullets and stopped to stand up straight at about a foot away from their peace-loving pal. With beaming smiles, they watched as she went to work on each of them without making another peep. It was at this moment that Twilight had caught yet another interesting detail: she took a few steps forward to stand before the CMCs, in front of Apple Bloom specifically, with only a foot or so between them. Like before, she closed her eyes and raised her hands up. But this time, she suddenly let them fall to her sides and stood totally still, as if she was waiting for something that caught her attention. She did this for three seconds before moving an entire step back. With a quick breath, she raised her hands and did her motions, leaving the CMCs both relaxed and curious;

"She didn't do that with any of us before...", Sweetie Belle noted internally. Sunset, who was also watching the scene unfold, raised her right eyebrow in silent thought. After a minute or so, Tree Hugger had finished with the kids and walked over to Octavia and P0N3. With peace all over her face and smile, she asked them;

"Do you want me to check your auras as well?"

The cello player, as perplexed as she was by her host's odd actions, saw no harm in taking part. She nodded politely while her beloved DJ produced a thumbs up with her right hand. Without further ado, Tree Hugger went right to work on each of them. This time, she didn't see any need to make any major adjustments to her positioning. Before long, she finished up and walked over to the clothing box on the grass. She bent down, rummaged through the clothes with both hands for a few seconds, and pulled out a pen and small notebook. Recognizing what was going on, Twilight beamed while thinking happily;

"She's taking note of her findings! A wise decision!"


Ha! I'll bet she's writing all sorts of New Age nonsense!


Without skipping a beat, the egghead mentally told her twisted inner voice to, as her father Night Light would put it, stuff it in a sock and toss it. She kept her eyes fixed on Tree Hugger as she did this, determined to understand the new ideas that this girl with such a unique perspective could bring forward. Thankfully for her state of mind, that inner voice decided to be quiet again, but not before belting out a cackle loud enough in her head to make Twilight's right eye twitch slightly for a brief moment. She made sure to mark this little moment as a topic of discussion with her friends as Tree Hugger finished writing and placed her pen back into the box. With her notebook in her left hand, she walked up to the hammock and sat on it to face the girls, who by this point were all grouped together and standing before her. They all waited with baited breath as she took a slow deep breath with her eyes closed. This simple act was enough to produce a sense of calm within the tent that helped ease everyone's minds a little. Once her eyes opened back up, she looked at the other girls with the most chill expression imaginable and told them calmly;

"Your auras are vibrant and lively, as I expected. But..."

There was a pause as she tried to think of the best words to use next. This silence did not sit well with the group, especially Fluttershy who asked with a soft frightened shudder;

"Um... But, what?"

Her friend answered simply;

"Some parts of them are dim... like old light bulbs that lost some of their glow."

The girls expressed shared concern over this info, with Applejack expressing it on their behalf;

"That sounds mighty bad.", she responded with worry in her words. Tree Hugger, with a quick nod, began to explain;

"Think about what Fluttershy said: An aura is a sign of one's health."

She placed her right hand on her heart, closed her eyes, and went on;

"If an aura is filled with bright and colorful life, it's a sign that you're in good health. But..."

She opened her eyes and looked at the group before her with a serious expression so rarely shown that Fluttershy had only seen it once before. She placed her notebook on the bed and finished with calm surety;

"Dim spots in an aura are signs that you have issues that can't be left alone for too long."

Rainbow Dash spoke up in response to this declaration while scratching the back of her head with her right hand, concern and nervousness filling her voice;

"Yeaaaahhh, we kinda do have a proble-."

Tree Hugger interrupted her while raising her opened right palm up to her;

"Hold on, awesome one. I have some more things to lay on you all."

As much as the athlete didn't like to be interrupted so suddenly, she figured it best to avoid getting punched in the arm by Applejack, who she knew was well within punching distance. After being given a quick confirming nod by Rainbow, the hippie declared;

"While Sunset did tell me that she and her fellow band-mates were seeking my advice, she didn't give me any details. I can only guess as to what problem you Rainbooms may be having."

She sighed audibly for a moment before adding while staring daggers at each Rainboom;

"But, I'm a Wondercolt in your class. So, I can make a really good guess, even without your auras to go off of."

It was upon hearing those words that the whole group had thought the same thing:

Checking their auras had confirmed, or at least strengthened, Tree Hugger's suspicions.

The lady of peace was not done, however. She gave the CMCs a quick glance with her eyes before fixing them on the band again and offered;

"The auras have helped me look into that guess, but one can't be too careful when handling matters of healing. So, I want to hear from you radical magical girls before I act further."

With that, her expression reverted from seriousness to a look of seemingly endless relaxation, small smile and all. Each Rainboom had their own internal struggle to bring themselves to tell her about that which plagued them. Oh, they wanted to open up, no doubt about it! Tree Hugger was there to help them and they wanted to give her the info she needed to do so effectively. Of course, wanting to do something and actually doing it were two different things. Octavia and P0N3 could see their friends visibly agonizing over their response and tried to figure out how to best help them. The CMCs were on the same boat as they readied themselves to cheer them on. They didn't need to this time, though, for it was Applejack who stepped up. She walked over to their host before stopping to stand between her and the group. With resignation and sadness all over her freckled face, she took her hat into both hands and lowered it to her chest. After taking a deep breath to steady herself with her green eyes locked on the lady of peace, she began solemnly while the girls behind her watched in quiet support of their honest friend;

"Ah'll sell it to ya' straight, sugarcube: Our past is tryin' to be today and Ah ain't talkin' about the happy moments."

Any Wondercolt from her class would quickly gain a strong understanding of what she was referring to just from hearing her words. After pausing for a moment to let her thoughts settle, the farmer spoke further;

"All those fiascos we went through, both in and out of school, left scars in each of us that haven't fully healed yet."

Her sadness gave way to a small but genuine smile as pride flickered in her eyes while she noted while putting her hat back on;

"Not from a lack of tryin', mind ya'. Ah mean..."

She turned around to give her friends behind her a warm glare before adding with a hearty chuckle;

"We wouldn't be the good friends we are today if our scars hadn't healed up even a little bit."

The tent was filled with appreciative smiles that were worn with pride by the group of girls. Twilight, Sunset, and the CMCs looked especially joyful over what they just heard. After giving them all a gentle tip of her Stetson, Applejack turned back around to face Tree Hugger, who grinned just as brightly. She then dropped her smile with another sigh and went on with renewed solemness;

"But, we ain't completely healed up yet. We sure as hay weren't healed up when our memories got plum stolen. While we've been workin' on that problem ever since, Ah'm worried that Ah..."

Fear gripped the Apple's heart like a cowboy's lasso as she looked off to her right side and down at the grass. She tried to finish her thought, even though it was difficult to think it, let alone say it;

"That we..."

Right then and there, her honest nature kicked in when she needed it the most. It drove the farmer to admit after allowing herself to glare at Tree Hugger;

"That we might hurt someone over the pain inside again."

Worry and fear mingled together in her eyes and voice. The attentive hippie nodded quietly while watching with caring patience. All of the ladies behind the older Apple looked at her with concern for their friend. It was the CMCs who acted on that concern first. All three of them walked over to Applejack to stand at her left side, with Apple Bloom in the middle of the trio. The youngest Apple took her big sister's left hand into her two hands with gentle care, thus getting her attention. With their eyes locked on each other, Apple Bloom looked up at her with a face full of familial love, her smile as big as her beating heart. She then told her with absolute sweetness;

"Ya' won't hurt anybody over your pain again, ya' hear?"

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo added to their friend's sweetness with beaming smiles of their own, creating a powerful combined force of adorableness that cut through Applejack's sadness like a knife on butter. This gave the farmer's love for her family and friends the opening it needed to crush that sadness, thus encouraging her to smile back at the kids. She then added her right hand to the set of held hands that Apple Bloom had previously created and slowly got down on her right knee. Before her little sister could react, she pulled her into a big Apple hug that they both happily embraced. No more words were spoken between them for almost ten seconds as the other girls watched in joyful support. Once the hug was broken and Applejack stood back up, Rarity spoke up with dignified seriousness in every word;

"Applejack speaks of a fear that the seven of us carry, I'm afraid. Yes, we have certainly grown from the dreadful Memory Stone Incident. However, our internal wounds still persist, so they can be inflamed."

Sunset added a counterpoint with confidence in herself and her friends;

"Even if they are inflamed again, I have hope that we'll do the right thing when it matters the most."

Her words of encouragement soothed the concerns of her fellow Rainbooms, with Octavia and DJ P0N3 looking on with supportive grins. Sweetie Belle, with a bubbly squeak, spoke on her club's behalf in audible anticipation;

"Movie Club Rule Number Fourteen..."

Recognizing what their friend was going for, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom joined her to finish in confident and joyful unison;

"Hope is eternal!"

Every girl in the tent laughed after that heartfelt declaration was made, their worries weakened considerably at this point. Once the laughter died down, Tree Hugger noted to the others;

"Looks like I guessed right. Don't worry, I'll do what I can to help you break free from the past's vice grip."

It was easy to recognize the gratitude on the girls' faces, the Rainbooms' especially. Just then, their host came up with an idea that she calmly offered to her guests;

"I'll prepare us some tea, since we're totally gonna be here a while."

She had Rarity at 'tea'. Fueled with excitement that was balanced by her dignity, she exclaimed politely;

"Oh! Perhaps I can assist you, darling?"

The hippie had no problems with getting help, so she accepted the offer with a nod. The two went right for the assorted tea items on the shelf on the far end opposite the hammock. The other girls sat, mingled, and chilled out while their drinks were being prepped.





Once the tea items were prepared, Tree Hugger grabbed the kettle, which had been filled with water, and took it somewhere behind the tent. For a good five-to-six minutes, the other girls recognized and enjoyed the familiar smell of a campfire before she returned with freshly boiled water in the kettle. Soon enough after that, the girls were either sitting or standing on the grass while enjoying their cups of tea. One would think that the likes of Rainbow Dash would not touch the stuff, but there she was, drinking her tea without showing a hint of agitation. Tree Hugger, needless to say, was curious;

"What made you want to give tea a chance, Rainbow Dash?", she asked her with her traditional chill voice. With a manure-eating grin that could be seen from space if she walked out of the tent, the confident athlete answered after taking a quick sip;

"Taking chances on new things is part of what makes me so awesome! The trick is to know when to jump in and when to back off."

Rarity, with a polite titter, commented while holding her cup with the propriety of a royal and giving Rainbow a knowing smirk;

"Of course, with the two of us having been such wonderful friends for as long as we have, it was hard to not pick a few things up."

"Yeah, yeah...", was Rainbow's response, with an eye roll added in to match. Her smirk getting a visible hint of sweetness added to it was proof enough to Rarity that she took the comment well. Twilight was watching the exchange between the three girls when she decided to look over at the CMCs, who sat together with Octavia and DJ-P0N3 in a circle on a grassy spot near the the shelves. Seeing them made her realize a fact that she related to the kids inquisitively;

"CMCs, in the time that I've known you, I have never once seen you drink tea before."

The trio looked over at her as she went on;

"Sweetie Belle, I can understand, given who her sister is. But, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, I did not expect."

After the three friends expressed short bubbly giggles, Apple Bloom responded on their behalf;

"Ya' can thank Tavi for that. She introduced the drink to us when we connected with her and P0N3 after the Battle of the Bands."

The little Apple took a sip of her tea, which was jasmine with a hint of honey, and asked her four pals with a big nostalgic smile;

"Ya'll remember that day?"

They laughed along with her before Scootaloo, after enjoying a swig of peppermint tea, responded with a teeth-baring grin while giving the older pair a warm glare;

"I remember the music they played for us! It was so cool!"

The rest of the kids joined Scootaloo in giving the two musicians who sat with them glares full of warm appreciation, to which they responded in kind. While this was going on, Sunset took the opportunity to ask Tree Hugger;

"So, what are we doing next?"

Her peaceful glare aimed right at the former bad girl, Tree Hugger answered calmly;

"I want to take you and your fellow Rainbooms through a guided meditation session that will help you gain a better understanding of your invisible scars. The others are welcome to join you on this journey if they wish."

Octavia and DJ-P0N3 looked over at their host, with the former responding politely;

"While our own invisible wounds have healed to a considerable degree, I must ask to be sure: did mine and P0N3's auras also have dim areas?"

The hippie nodded before elaborating;

"Yes, but they are not quite as dim as what the others are carrying."

The cello player nodded back before declaring with certainty, the memories of past incidences, both magical and otherwise, pushing her forward;

"Then it would be good of us to take part in this session as well."

She looked at her girlfriend and asked her with dignified love;

"Am I correct, my dear?"

The DJ looked back at her with a smirk full of surety and gave her a thumbs up with her right hand. The Rainbooms also appeared to be up for making this mental voyage. However, the CMCs looked hesitant, Scootaloo especially. The typically confident go-getter asked Tree Hugger with a hint of worry in her voice and an old hurt in her eyes;

"What exactly are you going to help our sisters and friends do?"

Her two best pals were fairing no better than she was as their peaceful friend gazed at them and gave them an honest answer;

"Firstly, we'll use a deep breathing exercise that will, like the tea, help to bring your friends' minds to a peaceful state. After that, through guided visualization, they'll prepare themselves for the journey ahead. Once they're ready, I'll walk them through getting to know their invisible scars without judgement."

With a caring wink and a zen smile, she added;

"Those first two parts should help make those scars seem less scary."

Her words soothed the worries in the CMCs enough for Apple Bloom to bring her two pals into a huddle. They discussed among themselves for almost a minute before breaking up the huddle. The young farmhand looked over at Tree Hugger and told her on her club's behalf in a voice that seemed calm, but little hints of nervousness kept breaking through as she spoke;

"We'll watch the girls go through the session to see how it's done. Then we'll decide if we wanna go through it too."

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo nodded in agreement, their nervousness more apparent by comparison. Their green friend gave them a soothing glare while responding calmly;

"Taking the cautious approach, I see? It is your choice and I respect it."

Satisfied, Apple Bloom turned to speak with her club members while giving them a serious expression;

"What they're gonna do seems mighty terrifyin', that ain't no lie."

She looked off to the side while letting regret latch onto her face and noted in softer voice;

"Especially since we agitated some of them scars and made new ones, once upon a time..."

The older girls, who were listening in from their spots on the grass, made sure to keep their eyes locked on the kids to show their support. Sunset, in particular, nodded at them with an expression that was both calm and knowing, even though they would not see her do this. Apple Bloom's regret, as strong and old as it was, could not hold back the honest encouraging grin that she showed to Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle when she looked back at them. With hope and determination shining in her eyes, she told them with gusto;

"But, it'll be a warm day in Tartarus before we let them folks live in fear! They're tryin' to heal the wounds from the past, same as we are! So, why not help them get through this 'ere session?"

The words of the young farmhand sent her best friends' worries packing, a fact made quite clear by the giant smiles they were giving her. Scootaloo's confidence and enthusiasm back in full strength, she proudly declared;

"You're right, AB! They've been there for us, so let's be here for them too!"

Sweetie Belle chimed in excitedly;

"Yeah, and maybe if we do this too later, it could help us finish our crusade!"

To seal the deal, the CMCs gave each other fist bumps while looking considerably confident in themselves and each other. At this point, everyone in the tent was smiling, especially Sunset and the older sisters who gazed at them with love and appreciation in their eyes. Whatever fears the girls had felt over what was coming were swept away by the immense positivity that was growing in and around them. Tree Hugger herself, upon recognizing this, walked over to the yoga mats, grabbed one, and unrolled it onto a free space on the grass while happily thinking to herself;

"That's it, girls. Let those beautiful good vibes flow freely. You'll need them very soon."