//------------------------------// // Ch. 12 - Field Test // Story: Equestria World, Book 1: Surviving Canterlot High // by Gear Works //------------------------------// Celestia was now aware of Coco knowing about my soul powers when I arrived to work with her for 6th period. Knowing what we are dealing with, having another friend that we can trust really helps. But so far, I haven’t experienced anything new about my powers in the two weeks that I have been here. Celestia would have figured that at least one new power would come out, with all that has happened. “So you have been dealing with the same effects and never experienced anything new since you were at your old school,” Celestia said. “It’s just been the same,” I said. “Even Coco doesn’t see anything new about how I have acted since I last saw her. And this is the first time that a lot has happened in a two-week span. Coming here, helping Chrysalis, joining a club; I mean this is so much that I would discover something new about my powers.” “Luna told me the two of you had four other friends that hang out with you. Did they do the same thing that Coco did back at your old school?” “Yes. I already e-mailed them that Coco was attending here. And I told them what my gift was called, but nothing more. Not until more comes out.” “And that’s all who knows about your powers?” She glared at me, believing that someone else knows about my powers. “One other. She’s a professor who filled Coco’s space, so to speak. But don’t expect me to reveal any ‘spoilers’ about her.” If she didn’t know what I was talking about, then that’s better for me. “Professor River Song?” I sighed. “I’ve met her when she comes to visit Dr. Whooves over the winter break. She does some traveling during the summer and has been helping me find any info in finding Professor Star Swirl.” “And so far, no luck.” She nodded. “And now that I’m here, you were hoping to find some answers in his research. Did you ask her about it?” “No. I didn’t want to bring her in on that because I didn’t think it would be important. But when she e-mailed me that you were coming to Ponyville and plan to look into our school, she wanted me to watch over you when you attended here. It was luck that your mother and Twilight’s mother knew each other.” “What all did she tell about me?” “She said that you were ‘special’, that you like helping others in needed. After what happened with Sunset, I was hoping someone new can help her in making a new path, since no one else cares about her.” “So you planned to make sure Twilight, Sunset, and me were in the same classes, in hopes to fix the damage that was caused, making me the peace-keeper.” “When Twilight and Cadence came to me, complaining about her being in the same classes as the two of you, she was more concerned about you than herself after Sunset sat next to you in Science class. I knew that this was the only chance for you to help her open up and become a new person. I started to wonder if you bear the gift of soul resonance, so I took a chance the next day and see if I was right. And we know what happened after that.” “Now I’m trying to learn more about my powers. And so far, nothing new has come to it.” “She did bring up one thing.” I raised my eyebrow, wondering what else she told Celestia. “That you also played on the football team as their kicker.” I rolled my eyes. “Did she really have to bring that up? That’s the last thing I wanted to be a part of.” “Well, it brings me to your next test. I want you to try out for the football team.” “This has got to be a joke. I was hardly useful last year. What good will I do this year?” “She said you made a couple of field goals, and that they were long ones. And our team could use another kicker. But I want to see what other talents you have on the field before going through this. Do you think you can stay after school tomorrow? I want to see what you can do with my own eyes.” “I can let my parents know. By I don’t think this will be any good for either of us.” “Trust me on this. I have my reasons for putting you through this.” So I stayed after school the next day and walked down with Celestia and Chrysalis to the football field. When we got there, Luna, Soarin, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, and Big Mac were waiting for us. Chrysalis sat next to the stands to watch while waiting for me to finish. “I’m guessing that with Big Mac here, it could be the passing of the torch,” I said. “Maybe,” Celestia said, “but lets see what you can do before we go forward on that.” As we walked up, Big Mac told Soarin and Rainbow Dash to get the net in place behind the goal post. “Where’s Apple Bloom?” I asked. “She went with Babs back to the farm, since Big Mac wanted to help here.” Applejack said. “Figure I see how well you can kick a football,” Big Mac said. “You up for it?” “I’ll give it a shot,” I answered. Big Mac and Applejack had footballs set up on each hash mark on the 20, 30, 40, and 50-yard lines. We stated on the left hash mark of the 20-yard line. “We’ll start here, then try the other side,” he said. I went to set up for the kick, like I did when I played on the team last year. When I kicked the ball, it went through the center of the goal posts. I did the right hash mark the same way, but adjusted my kick to go the other way. It went through, but was close to the right goal post. “Looks like you do better on the left side than the right.” “I still have a hard time getting the angle right, since I kick with my right foot,” I said. “Let’s focus on the left hash mark to work on distance, then the right for accuracy,” Luna said. We tried the left hash mark on the 20-yard line again to see if anything stood out. I did fine with the 20 and 30-yard marks, but the 40-yard mark came closer to the left goal post. By the time I got to the 50-yard line, the ball barely made it over the cross bar next to the left goal post. “Barely made it,” Big Mac said. “What’s your longest?” ’44-yards,” I said. “And yours was a record 55-yards, right?” “Eeyep.” We started on the right side to work on some mechanics. After kicking from the 20-yard line, Big Mac told me on how to improve the angle of my kick. This was an improvement at the 30-yard line, but when I kicked the 40-yard line, it barely made it, like I did at the 50-yard line on the left side. That worried me about kicking at the 50-yard line, and I was right, because I came up short of the goal post. “I guess that’s the best you got,” Big Mac said. “Can I see how well you can putt?” I agreed with him, and we just kicked it from the 35-yard line on the other side. Since all I have to do was a straight kick, I got the ball to land around the 20-yard line on the other side, about the same distance as my field goal kicks. “I don’t think I can come close to what you had,” I said to Big Mac. “But it’s better than those that were after me,” Big Mac replied. “I’d think you might have a chance with the team.” As Rainbow Dash and Soarin were coming back with the footballs, Dash decided to throw one my way and said, “JACK, CATCH!!!” When I say the ball coming my way, I saw it was about to go over me. At that point, I felt like I knew what I needed to do and just started to run backwards and jump to catch the football as it came over me, landing on my feet with ease. “HEY, NICE CATCH!!!” I started to run back when Luna stopped me. “JACK,” she yelled, “THROW IT STRAIGHT TO BIG MAC!!!” I never threw a football, but decided to do so anyway. For some reason, I just felt what to do. I just grabbed it, pulled my arm back, and tossed it in a near perfect spiral for Big Mac to catch. “Well I’ll be,” Applejack said. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you give Shining Armor a run for his money.” “If not him, then maybe Thunderlane,” Soarin added. “He plans to be the backup QB this year.” “What about that run and catch?” Dash said. “It could come close to Flash or Thunderlane in the skills department.” “Well, I don’t want to take Shining Armor’s or Flash’s job, but what does Thunderlane do on the team before?” I asked. “He did the same position as Flash on the team, but became the new backup QB halfway last season when our backup QB got hurt really bad,” Soarin said. “Was he the same QB who was also the starter two years ago?” They nodded. “His chances of getting a football scholarship and career ending badly last year,” Soarin added. “He went in for Shining at one point during the first game, and that’s when it happen. And it was worse than the hit two years ago. Shining recommended that Thunderlane be his new backup because he has done some passing during practices. And his skills were average for a QB.” “Well, I don’t want to compete with him, if Shining Armor feels he’s the best fit as backup,” I said. “He might have to be the starter next year when Shining graduates.” “Well, we need to head on back,” Applejack said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” “Nice to meet ya again, Jack,” Big Mac said. “Same here,” I replied. “Thanks for the help.” “We need to do the same,” Rainbow Dash said. “Don’t want to keep Fluttershy waiting on us.” All of them left expect Luna and Celestia. Chrysalis walked up to the field to meet us. “You looked great out there,” Chrysalis said, poking her elbow into my ribs. I didn’t reply, thinking about what just happened. It was Celestia who broke the silence. “Did something happen earlier?” I said, “For some reason, my instincts took over when Dash threw that ball to me. And again when I threw it to Big Mac. I never did anything like that before.” “I figure that something happened when you went to catch the ball,” Luna said. “That’s why I needed to see if it would happen when you throw it as well.” “That could only mean that a new power has unlocked,” Celestia said. “Let me look through Star Swirl’s book to see if something explains what you just experienced. For now, go on home and get some rest.” “Thanks,” I said. “And maybe what just happen here today might have been worth it.” When I came the next day, some of the students were looking at me, exchanging whispers. I came up to my locker with my friends already there. I was about to find out what was going on. “Hey Jack,” Twilight spoke, “did I hear that you could be looking into joining the football team?” “Where did you hear that?” I asked. Flash answered, “Some of the students are talking about the ‘new kid’ having some skilled talents that can compete with me or Shining. Maybe even Thunderlane.” I stared at Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Soarin. “Don’t look at me,” Rainbow Dash responded. “I didn’t say anything either,” Soarin added. “Not me either,” Applejack answered. “But I think I saw some girls looking at what was going on. They could be some cheerleaders, but I’m not sure.” “If that’s the case, then Cadence might have some answers,” Twilight said. “She was the co-captain of the cheerleader team last year, and was helping out with the tryouts that happened yesterday.” “Looks like someone is getting really popular around here, including the ladies,” Rarity said. “Even the girls in the fashion club wished they met you over the weekend after seeing the picture that we took. And it’s just the third week of school.” I let out a sigh and said, “Really, Rarity. Like I need all the attention.” “Well, you did help out Chrysalis, who we thought was a witch but learn that she wasn’t, stood up towards Diamond Tiara, from the richest family in Ponyville, because you wanted to help Apple Bloom, walked around with Sunset during club recruitment, got slapped in the face by her the next day,” Pinkie takes a deep breath, “and it all started when you decided to take on Sunset for Twilight.” “Pinkie, do you have to explain everything in one breath?” Rainbow Dash asked. Pinkie Pie rapidly nodded her head. Fluttershy added, “Wouldn’t that make, you know, Sunset Shimmer…jealous?” A locker door slammed very hard, revealing an angry Sunset. She heard everything that we all said. “Jealous? You think I’m JEALOUS?” she said towards Fluttershy, causing her to hide behind Pinkie Pie. Rainbow Dash stepped forward and said, “Hey, you have no right to yell at Fluttershy.” “Oh, I’m shaking in my boots,” as she was taunting Rainbow Dash. “I’m still surprised that you have to keep protecting a scared little girl who can’t stand up for herself.” Rainbow Dash was ready to do something drastic until Applejack stepped in. “Look, you have been nothing but trouble after what you did in the past. I can’t toss you out of our club, but I’d be happy to put you in your place, if you like.” “Try me!” Sunset taunted. I can see that Flash was about to have enough of what Sunset was doing, so I put my hand on his shoulder, showing him to stand down so I can handle her. I walked up to her and said, “Sunny, if want to start some trouble, then start it with me.” Sunset turned around, stared in my face, and said, “Oh, you plan to hit a girl? Why don’t you do that right now!” “I’m sure we can handle that for him.” Sunset looked at who spoke, only to be stunned by seeing Chrysalis, with Coco standing next to her. “Anyone who wants to mess with our friend, messes with us,” Coco replied. “And don’t let this cute little face fool you. I can take you down in one blow.” “And for the record, I have seen her do that with my own eyes,” I added. “Don’t ask me how she does it, but the last time she did, the girl was stuck with neck pain for a few days before the pain went away.” Sunset knew that she had enough of this and decided to walk away, but stopped and yelled, “AND FOR THE LAST TIME, STOP CALLING ME SUNNY!!!” She then walked away, heading to class. “Sorry, but we had to step in,” Chrysalis said. “We were planning to talk to Rarity before all this happen in front of us. “Maybe we can talk later, after everyone has cooled down,” Coco added. “That’s fine, dear,” Rarity replied. “See me during free study.” “We better head to class,” Twilight said, “and lets hope that Sunset can back off for the day.” When I met up with Celestia later in the day, she has heard that I have started to get popular, maybe too popular. I told her that Cadence was at cheerleader tryouts, and some of the girls went to see what was going on at the field after tryouts were over. She also heard what was going on outside the office, surprised that the outcome was a safe one. After getting all that out of the way, she brought out Star Swirl’s book and opened it to a page that she wanted to show me. “Soul Release” There is a way to tap into your own soul, letting it guide your actions the way you want it to be. But to do this, you must know what must be done, then clear both your mind and body to let the soul take over at the same time. Once this is done, anything is possible. “So that’s how I was able to make the catch easily, as well as throwing the ball to the target. How come when I went to kick the football, it never happened?” “Maybe because you know how to kick the football,” she answered. “And what you did when it happened was close to perfect.” “So it’s a work in progress,” I said. “Do you want me to still try out for the team?” “I don’t want to take this route if it would damage the friendships that you have made, but I want you to tryout for quarterback instead of kicker.” My eyes went wide open after what I heard. “I know it’s a big risk, but with what some people that have seen what you have done, and word going on about you, we might have to take a chance.” “Football tryouts are tomorrow, right?” She nodded. “Then I need to find out how to recreate what I just did to make sure it can still work. If it happens when I do something I have no experience about it, I might have an idea back home.” When we got home, I noticed that there was no car in the driveway. When we went into the house, I saw a note on the table that was left for me. Gone out with Twilight’s mother. Looking for a new location for business. Back around 5. Mom She did say that she wanted to look into a place to run her business so she doesn’t have to work up in the extra room all the time. And she felt like it would help business if people came to her instead of going online all the time. This might be the only chance I get to put my theory to the test. I asked Chrysalis to meet me in the backyard while I get something from my room. I went up and looked under my bed, grabbing a long, narrow wooden case. I took it with me as I came back down and showed Chrysalis the two swords that I talked about Saturday. “So these are Masamune and Muramasa,” she said. “You think your theory of recreating ‘soul release’ will work?” “Only one way to find out.” I grabbed only Masamune to work with for now. I kept my distance from the house in the backyard so Chrysalis can monitor what was going on. “I know about swordplay, but handling a sharp blade like this can be deadly.” “Let’s just hope I don’t have to rush you to a hospital, because I don’t even have a license.” I pointed the blade forward and closed my eyes. At that point, I just relax and waited for it to happen. Nothing happened for at least 10 minutes before Chrysalis broke the silence. “Are you just going to stand there like a statue?” I opened my eyes to respond. “For some reason, its not working.” Chrysalis started to think, then had an idea. She went into her bag and brought out a butterfly knife. “Don’t tell me you carry that around school,” I said. “Nope, I just leave it in the glove compartment of your truck,” she replied. She revealed the blade and said, “Think fast.” She threw the blade at me like a throwing knife to a target. At that point, it happened. I knocked down the knife in one swing. “I knew it. It only works when something happens at the last second. Then it creates a reaction that you wish you could do, and it does it.” “So just wanting to do what I want to do doesn’t work. I just wish there was a way to test is more,” I said. “Hang on. I’ll be right back.” She left for a few minutes, and then returned with some small rocks. “Had to find the right size rocks to used. Ten will have to do.” She decided to throw the rocks at me, one at a time. Each rock that came to me, I struck it down. When she collected the rocks, she threw them at different locations, with me knocking them down again. She collected them again, and as she was walking back to the table, I sensed something from her, trickery. She plans to do something I won’t see coming, but what. When she started to throw the rocks again, she did more randomly than before. By the time she threw the tenth rock, she grabbed the other sword on the table, drew its blade, and threw it at me like a lance. In an instance, I was able to dodge and grab the handle of the sword without knowing what to do. I looked at Chrysalis and said, “Can I start calling you a witch again?” She smiled and said, “Just wanted to see how you would react to that.” “That was a big risk there. But I knew you were scheming something before that last set.” “So your ‘soul resonance’ went into effect before your ‘soul release’ does its part.” She paused for a moment, and then asked, “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” “I think so. But I’m going to have to be lucky to pull this off at the tryouts.” It was Thursday after school, and tryouts were being held on the football field. This was the big test for me to take. Chrysalis walked with me to the field, making sure we have everything planned out. When we arrived, I can see Shining Armor, Flash Sentry, and Thunderlane among the students that were trying out. Rainbow Dash and Soarin were also there, getting the equipment set up, while Twilight was getting her notes ready to take down what’s needed for the selection of the team. Chrysalis went up to the stands to join the small group of girls that decided to stay and watch. Most of them were ones that I have met before. I couldn’t see Celestia and Luna around the area, but I saw Big Mac walking towards me from the field. “Wanted to make sure I do well in tryouts?” I asked. “Eeyep,” he replied. “Think you ready for this?” “I’ll do my best.” “So, do you plan to tryout for kicker, or are you going with somewhere in the offensive line?” “Well, Celestia thinks I should tryout for quarterback, but I don’t want to create any problems with my friends.” “After what I’d see Tuesday, I think it’s worth a shot. Shining would like to see Thunderlane have some competition for QB.” “Did you tell him about what happened?” “Eeyep. And he’s not sure if Thunderlane is ready to be backup. You give it a shot, and maybe it can motivate him to do so. And you can tryout for multiple spots. I was both in the defensive line and kicker roles. So you can focus on QB and kicker roles, maybe wide receiver after that catch you made.” I started to think about my options when we saw Shining Armor and Twilight walking towards us. “Hey, Twilight, Shining,” I said. “Glad to see that you made it,” Shining Armor said. “Big Mac told me about what happened with you Tuesday. Could explain why the rumor mill went off the wall yesterday.” “And the fact that Sunset went insane as well,” Twilight added. “Don’t even remind me,” I said. “Just so you know,” Shining said, “Thunderlane is trying out for backup QB, but has been either running back or tight end on the team because of his agility. Flash has been my go to wide receiver on the team, but has also worked as a running back because of his speed. And if you plan to compete for the backup, then you have to work with our big center over there, Bulk Biceps.” He pointed to the big, white guy on the field that stood out from the others. “And where do you stand on kickers?” I asked. I can see that he had no answer to that. “That bad.” “Big Mac has decided to help out with the new kickers, since that’s our only option that we have,” Twilight said. “And we’re not sure who else will try out for quarterback. I can talk to Coach Iron Will about what we plan for you to do, if you’re up to it.” “You tell me what I should do, and I’ll see what I can do about it,” I said. Coach Iron Will blew his whistle to call us over. He went on with his motivation speech to the students. Before starting tryouts, Twilight call him over to explain a few needed details. He looked at me first, then at Thunderlane. So he called out to everyone to pick either offense or defense to see which spots will fit them best. He called Thunderlane and me over with Shining Armor. “So both of your want to try out as Shining Armor’s backup?” We both nodded. “From what Iron Will has been told, Thunderlane has played on the offensive line, and Jack has played as the kicker. Iron Will wants to make it interesting. So Iron Will wants both to tryout as quarterback, offensive line, and special teams. Iron Will will decide what fits best for who.” We started with our roles in the offensive line. Thunderlane knew how to play the role as the running back and tight end. I focused on being the wide receiver, and tried for running back as well, making it easier for Shining Armor to have more options on the field. I was on target as a wide receiver, which Flash was glad to see. He said that it would help to get the ‘bulls eye’ off his back at times. But running back was more of a challenge. I had a hard time dodging because I wasn’t fast or agile with the ball. Shining Armor thinks part of that role could still be used with the secondary quarterback role in certain plays. Our next role was for the quarterback. Thunderlane was agile with the ball, avoiding defensive players in finding his targets when he throws, and was able to hand off the ball or take the ball himself for rushing plays. But when a few of the plays involved a blitz play, he couldn’t react fast enough before getting sacked. When I took over, my passing plays were good, but couldn’t go far and long like Thunderlane did. I was able to hand off the ball for rushing plays, but taking the ball was the same as being a running back. But I did have one advantage from blitzes, I was able to sense when someone was coming my way before I could see them, causing me to dodge them in time before I can throw. I knew that if I couldn’t see them, my power will tell me. Otherwise, I couldn’t react to what I was able to see. When it came time to look into special teams, Thunderlane was able to work on punting, but couldn’t do much with field goals because the kicking motion was different between the two. But he was able to work on receiving punt balls without any problems. My punting was also good, and my field goals went better than before when Thunderlane was my placeholder. Before tryouts were over, Iron Will wanted to try to test our kicker skills in distance. Thunderlane decided to be the placeholder for all the kickers. All the new kickers, along with myself, went to kick from the 20-yard line, and then backed up every five yards. Those who missed kicking the football through the goal posts were out. It was by the time we cleared the 40-yard line that me and another player were left to kick. He went to the 45-yard line and just cleared the crossbar. Before I went to kick, Twilight stopped me. “Coach, I want to see him kick it from Big Mac’s record distance,” she said. I was shocked when she pulled this on me. As they were setting up the spot, I went up to Twilight and ask, “What are you thinking? I can’t kick that long. My best was around 44 yards.” “I know,” she said. “But did you ever worked towards or against the wind?” “I don’t think there was any wind at the game that I made those field goals. And the football field was facing North to South, so wind wasn’t much of an issue.” “The field here faces almost East to West. And the direction you are about to kick is with the wind, which is about 10 to 12 miles per hour at this time. That should be enough to reach the goal post, if you can kick it at a 45 degree angle.” “I kicked around a 40 degree angle for my longest kick,” I replied. “So it will need to be a bit higher for the wind to catch it.” “Now you’re catching on,” she said. So I went to where the ball was and set myself up for the kick. I just needed the wind to help me here. I caught a quick breeze before it stopped, giving me an idea of what to expect. I made a few quick adjustments before making the kick, waiting for the wind to come again. Just as I was taking a deep breath, I felt the wind again, stronger than before. I started to feel like my soul was taking over for me. With no time to wait, I went to kick the ball before the wind died down again. As the football was in the air, I saw that it went faster across the field than I remembered. It was enough to barely make it across the crossbar. “Did I just see what I think I saw?” Thunderlane said. “I think so,” I replied. We heard a voice in the crowd say, “He just tied Big Mac’s kicking record.” Everyone was in an uproar from what I just did. All the students that were trying out or helping out came rushing towards us in excitement. “Twilight was right,” I thought. “I just needed to make the adjustments and let the wind do the rest.” “Hey Jack. That was great,” Flash said. “That was not great,” Rainbow Dash said, quieting the crowd. “That…was…AWESOME!!!” The crowd was in an uproar again. “I think you know how to work the field in your favor,” Shining Armor said. “Give your sister some credit,” I replied. “I can see why she’s the tactician on this team.” Coach Iron Will blew his whistle. “Listen up. You all did great. Iron Will is impressed in what you did. Iron Will shall post results tomorrow after 4th period. Go home, study, and rest.” I looked around to see all the students in the stands starting to head out. I saw Chrysalis point to what was behind her. I looked farther up to the booth where I saw Celestia and Luna. Both of them gave a thumb up. So far, I knew I have made some progress, but how much progress did I get will have to wait until tomorrow.