//------------------------------// // Chapter 8 // Story: The New Generation // by Autobot Lancewing //------------------------------// Chapter 8 The girls were just starting on the second episode of RNIS when Starlight peeked over and happened to see Bright Eye’s notebook. ‘What are you writing about?’ Starlight thought. She carefully crept over to the notebook and opened it. She looked through the potions and saw the heading “Potions of Romance.” This intrigued Starlight...especially considering how she felt around a certain orange earth pony... She had had a crush on Ace since middle school, but she could never build up the courage to do so. Especially since Ace liked Melody. Maybe… Just maybe… No, she couldn’t. If she did that, it would be a betrayal of her friend’s trust. But what if she did? And it worked? It was just a potion after all... Starlight finally decided grab her cell phone and take photos of the pages. Hopefully Bright Eyes wouldn't be back for a while... This still felt wrong, it was almost like taking pictures of someone's diary. When she heard Bright Eyes coming, she quickly put the notebook up and put her phone away. "Starlight?!" Bright Eyes whispered loudly. Starlight swallowed hard. “What are you doing?” "I...thought it was my notebook..." "Then why were you taking pictures?" "I...was gonna put the art from my notebook on Hoofspace." “Uh huh…” “Yeah… I’ll just delete them right now.” “Yeah, please do that.” Starlight brought her phone back out and glanced at the photos...this could be her only shot at Ace… But if she keeps the photos… she might lose her friend. Defeated, Starlight deleted the photos. Starlight sighed. 'Well, that went well,' She thought. Starlight continued to watch the episode with the other girls. As the episode continued, Starlight started to wonder if she might end up like one of the victims on the show… Well, probably not...though if looks could kill… She eventually decided to turn in early, mainly because she was already getting drowsy. She got out her sleeping bag and lay it down on the floor. She crawled inside her sleeping bag and dozed off… ****** Garuda was packing his bags. He had just got home and he already needs to go back Ponyville. He still felt uneasy about this whole school thing, but if he had to, then he had to. And besides, maybe there were some cute girls at the school… Hmm...might not be so bad after all... “Are you ready?” Gilda asked as she walked in. “Not yet. Still gotta get the thing I need to work on.” “And what thing is that?” “The new weapons that I am working on. These will be able to compact into little sticks just a little larger than the smoke bombs." “Uh huh...and what does it do?” "Pretty much what I just said. They're like my normal weapons, just easy to store." "Okay… Do you need any help?” “No, I almost got it. Thanks for offering, though.” “Okay. But remember we’ll be leaving soon.” "Okay." Garuda grabbed a box and put the weapons that he was working on in there. He had to make sure he has all of the tools that he needs because there would be no returning to get them. He went over his mental checklist: Five Shurikens: Check. Ten Smoke Bombs: Check. Two Ninja Suits: Check. Rope: Check. Two Knives: Check. Everything was present and accounted for, except his pocket knife, a gift from his mother (cuz his step-father didn’t want him to have a gun) and a ninjato, a gift from his father after he had completed his training. Those two thing were what he didn't want to replace because the pocket knife was already easy to store and the sword was considered a sacred symbol for a ninja. Plus the knife had belonged to his mother’s grandfather, and the sword had been in his step-father’s family for centuries, so it meant a lot to him. Surprisingly, though, it does a really good job. It might not have been a gun, but it was just as effective if not more. Once he had those items packed, he took he's bags and walked toward the front door. "Now I'm ready," he said. "Good," Gilda replied, "Got everything?" “Yep, got everything.” "Weapons?" "Yup." "Clothes?" "Yup." "Phone?" This made Garuda pause, "Um..." He patted his pockets; no phone. "I'll go get it." He raced back to his room and grabbed the cell phone and the charger. “Got it!” “Good. Do you have your car keys?” “Right here.” Garuda patted his pocket, a small jingle could be heard. “Good. Well, I guess we’ll see you at our new house, okay?” “Okay, I will see you then.” Garuda was about to get to his car, but before he could, his mom planted a kiss on Garuda’s cheek. “Love you.” Garuda frowned as his cheeks turned red from embarrassment, “I love you too…” He made his way to his Mitsubishi Eclipse and unlocked the door. Then he threw his backpack in the back seat and got in. He started the engine after buckling up. ‘Well, here goes...’ ***** Teddy jolted awake. He sighed before stepping out of bed. He had been having bad dreams ever since he found out that his sister was alive. But this one was...different. His past dreams had been about Flare, scared, hurt, crying...but this one wasn’t about Flare. It was about Sweetheart. It could possibly have to do with how much Sweetheart reminded Teddy of Flare, or how she was nearly taken by that creep the other day. Either way, there was something about those experiences that set Teddy off. He wished he could call her, but it was probably too late. He rubbed his eyes and picked up his cell phone, dialing Sweetheart’s number. After a few rings, Sweetheart answered. "Hello?" “Hey Sweetheart,” Teddy said. "Teddy...why are you calling so late?" “Can’t sleep.” "Oh...do you wanna talk?" “I guess.” "Ok. So...are you still trying to recover from Flare?" Teddy sighed. “Yes.” "I'm sorry... Is there anything I can do to help?" "Just tell me you're okay?" "I'm fine, Teddy. We all are really, truly fine.” “We?” "I'm having a sleepover, remember?" “Oh yeah… I forgot…” It was a good thing Sweetheart can’t see him blushing. “We’re currently watching RNIS.” “Oh really?” “Yes. The episode we’re watching we’ll be the last one before we go to sleep.” "Oh, okay. I should probably let you go. But...can I offer to take you to take you somewhere tomorrow?" “Maybe you could take me to Sweet Apple Acres?” "Uh...okay...but I was thinking maybe somewhere to eat, or something. I can take you there, though..." “Oh. Okay. Well maybe before I have to go there.” "Okay...anywhere you wanna go?" “I don’t know…” "Well...you can sleep on it, okay?" “Okay… Good night.” “Good night.” Teddy hung up the phone. He laid back in his bed and tried to get back to sleep. ****** Sweetheart hung up after a short conversation with Teddy. "Who was that, Sweetheart?" Melody asked. "Teddy." Sweetheart replied. "Why'd he call?" Bon Bon asked. “I’d rather not say right now.” “Why not?” “It’s personal.” “For you, or for him,” Patch asked. "Both... And I really, truly don't mean to offend you. But it's none of your business. “It is every bit as much our business,” Melody said, “You know how much of a bully he is.” "He may be a bit of a bully, but he still has a heart, and he has feelings." Bright Eyes had to agree with Sweetheart on that point. "He may be mean to us, but he can change, he's not an animal." “Bright Eyes, whose side are you on?” Patch asked. "I'm not on anyone's 'side'; I'm just saying Teddy's still a person..." "But what if he hurts Sweetheart?" Melody asked. "Sweetheart's a smart girl. I have faith she knows she's doing what she thinks is right." “Fine…” "Thank you, Bright Eyes," Sweetheart said. “It was nothing. Anyway, I need to turn in.” A yawn immediately followed Bright Eyes’s sentence. "Good night, Bright Eyes." Bon Bon said. “Good night,” Bright Eyes replied as she got into her sleeping bag. "I think we all better get to bed, it’s getting late,” Clover said. "Yeah...good night everyone." Sweetheart said, before turning in, as well. Soon, the rest of the girls got into their sleeping bags and they all eventually fell asleep.