//------------------------------// // Ch. 22 - Samurai and Demon (Part 3) - Trust // Story: Equestria World, Book 1: Surviving Canterlot High // by Gear Works //------------------------------// The next morning, I walked with Sunset towards our lockers, where the others were already there. “Jack, I’m glad you’re here,” Twilight said. The group stopped and noticed the bandages on our hands. “What happen to you?” “Just call us butterfingers,” I said. “Happened when we were fixing dinner for us. But something tells me you have something to tell me.” “Well, I do. I finally got the results that you wanted about the team average stats.” She brought out a piece of paper with several columns on it. All of us, including Sunset, went to look at the paper. “See the first column. It’s the stats from last year. The second column is this year’s stats without Jack. The third column is this year’s stats with Jack. While there’s a slight difference between the first and second columns, the third column shows a big difference.” She turned to her side and said, “Pinkie, do you have those newspaper clipping you collected over the weekend?” “Sure do,” Pinkie said. As she started to look in her book bag, I said, “You keep newspaper clippings?” “Oh yes,” she replied while looking in her book bag. “The Cakes get a newspaper everyday at Sugarcube Corner, and I look for any Canterlot High articles, and clip them, and have a scrapbook made from them, because I want us to remember our memories while here since our first year,” and pulls out the clippings, “like these ones.” She handed us one and said, “This one is from Saturday’s paper.” The headliner on the article said Wondercolts’ Almost Pull A Shutout. As we read the article, I came across my name and some of the stats that I made in the last game. “Look at that,” I said, pointing to where my name was. “And there’s my name, plus Thunderlane and Shining Armor’s names as well,” Flash said. “Looks like Jack stands out more than the others,” Applejack said. “As long as y’all don’t have a problem with it.” “No problem here,” Flash replied. “If you like that one, then check this one from Sunday’s paper.” Pinkie handed us another article. New Student At Canterlot High Surprises All was the headliner listed. I read out some of the pieces of the article that stood out. “Started as a kicker, Jack Diamond shows in the past three games that he can cover the offense wherever he is needed. – Almost as fast as Flash Sentry. – Can move like Thunderlane. – He could be next season’s key starting quarterback.” Then one line stood out the most. “Might give Crystal Prep a run for the money.” I stopped reading and said, “Who writes this stuff?” “Ponyville’s best sports writer, Play Maker,” Flash said. “He played high school football, basketball, and baseball back in his time. He started to play college football before an injury ended his sports career. That’s when he started to write sport articles for his college. The Ponyville Express newspaper hired him when he finished college for his expert knowledge of sports.” “And if he thinks that you can challenge Crystal Prep, he might be right,” Soarin added. “I bet you that when someone saw this article, they felt worried about having their perfect record coming to an end,” Twilight said. “Well, fear can make people panic,” Sunset added. Everyone just stared at her. “What? I know I’ve done bad things before, but some Crystal Prep students would do the same thing I do if I was in their shoes.” “I hate to say this, but she’s right,” Rarity said. “But this was in the Sunday paper. Who from Crystal Prep would read the Sunday paper?” Dash asked. Twilight asked Sunset and me, “Did anything stand out when you faced them?” “Lightning Dust was the one calling the shots when they decided to attack,” Sunset said. “And I think they could have been at Jack’s truck for quite some time before I saw Jack walk up to them. It made me suspicious about what was going on. Once I saw the slick golden hair, like Dash did, I knew trouble was coming and had to intervene.” “Not to mention that Suri was with them,” Rarity added. “I recall that she’s either with her designers or high society students. Being with a football athlete and a female basketball athlete is an odd pairing.” “Wait, you said that they were around my truck for some time,” I said to Sunset, in which she nodded. “Did anyone take a picture of my truck before?” “I think my big brother did when you were after the team party at my place,” Applejack said. She took out her cell and started to look for the picture online, before showing it to me. “Here it is. You were with Sunset at the time it happened.” It was a picture that Big Mac took of both of our trucks. The caption read, “Looks like Jack’s older truck still has more life than mine.” “Looks like someone had to do some research before planning this,” I said. “Think Sugarcoat would have something to do with this?” “As a member of the Elite 5, they only care about who’s in their group,” Twilight said. “If you’re not in the Elite 5, you’re on your own. And they don’t ask for anyone to do anything for them. That’s what makes Crystal Prep who they are.” “Then how did they know about Jack in the first place?” Applejack asked. We started to think of any option that could explain all this before Fluttershy broke the silence. “Um…what if…maybe…someone else wanted to…you know…ask them to do this for them.” “Not to be rude, but we thought about that before, Flutters,” Dash said. “Who said it had to be from the Elite 5?” Sunset said. “What if someone else wanted to have this done?” “Sunset, you might be on to something,” Twilight said. “I hate to make you the villain on the spot, but give me an idea of who it would be and what would be done.” Sunset put her finger on her chin, trying to get an idea in her head. “Well, for starters, I don’t think they would have counted on me to show up. Three on two wouldn’t be a problem for them, but that changed when I showed up and taunted Dust, who was calling the shots.” “Plus, Brick Wall started to distanced me from the girls as we fought. What would that say to you?” I asked Sunset. “If I wasn’t there, it would have been two on one with you, leaving Suri with Chrysalis. Unless?” Sunset paused for a moment before she continued. “What if Dust and Suri paired up, leaving Chrysalis in a disadvantage? Brick Wall was big enough to handle himself against Jack. And what would be the reason to keep the guys and girls distance from each other.” Just then, Rarity looked like a bright idea came to mind. “I just thought of something. Soarin, have you even come across Fleur before, even with Rainbow Dash?” “I believe we have a couple of times, but it didn’t look like she was trying to show off like she would have towards Shining or Flash,” Soarin said. “Wait a minute. Someone was trying to show off…to Flash?” Sunset said. “Like a runway model should,” Rarity said. “I would have made her black and blue if I was still with him,” Sunset said. “Can’t blame you for that one,” Flash said. “Twilight is one who wouldn’t go that far.” “Don’t be so sure about that,” Twilight corrected. “But what are you trying to say, Rarity?” “Flash and Shining were popular before Jack came here. Now that Jack’s the popular one, what if Fleur was interested in him in the first place. She’s the only connection with Suri. Plus she’s one who will do anything to get what she wants.” “Chrysalis told me a bit about her last night,” Sunset said. “And if what you say about her is true, she would be the right girl to do this.” “If that’s the case, what would be her next move?” I asked. “Sunset,” Rarity said, “I hate to say this, but I might need your help in understanding what Fleur is planning.” “I was thinking the same thing, Rares. Besides, I have no clue what else could go through a model’s head,” Sunset said. “Then both of you try to figure out what she’s trying to do, if you think it’s her,” Twilight said. “Last thing I need is to have Jack out of the game.” I told Celestia and Luna about what I learned from Sunset’s past. It could also explain why her mother never brought it up. And with the fact that she’s still scared to come forward about her past in front of the others is a big problem to overcome. But they believe in time, she will overcome all this and things would get better. But the issue of the cuts on our hands was mixed when I explain it to them. Celestia was worried that I was doing something reckless, but Luna had a different idea. “I think what they did is a big step for him, and it’s not just the blood pact that they made,” Luna said. “Does this involve the call you made a couple of days ago?” Celestia asked Luna. “Yes,” Luna replied. “Jack, after you had the blades over here on Monday, I decided to call up an old friend, and mentor, of mine from the kendo club: Master Blades. I told him that you had the last swords ever made and used for their challenge. Turns out that there was an unaccounted story that they kept as some wise tale. “A young boy was collecting wood in the forest when he came across the battle going on. When the two were tired, what he saw next was something no one would even believe would happen. He saw a glowing woman in white showing in front of the two fighters. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but he saw the two placed their blades into the ground, kneeling like a knight would to his king. Then a bright light flashed around them, and all three disappeared. The boy ran off back to the village, not telling anyone what happen. When word went around about someone finding the blades, the boy told her grandfather what he though he saw, not sure if anyone would believe him. The old man told the village elder in private the same story, believing that a strange event happened to them, but would be hard to prove it happen. Because of the scene there the blades looked strange, they decided to call it a wise man’s tale, hoping that someone later on can prove it to be real. “If I was to take a guess, that mysterious woman that showed up must have taken their souls and placed them in their own blades. And not just a piece of their soul, but their entire soul, sealed into the blade, unable to be released. It’s possible that what you and Sunset did was making a blood pact to the blade’s creator living in the blade.” “You mean I made a pact with Masamune, and Sunset made hers with Muramasa?” I asked Luna. “That is correct. And this might be the first step in awakening them. But don’t expect you to sense them coming to life. It’s possible that there are other steps in awaking them. But this isn’t the only thing that I learned.” “What do you mean, sis?” Celestia said. Luna took a deep breath before answering. “Master Blades is on his deathbed. While his spirits are high, his body is weakening. He made a confession to me saying that he was helping Star Swirl in some research, the art of soul resonance.” Celestia reacted to this. “You mean…” “Yes sis. He bears the same gift that Jack has, or he used to. Before I met him, he worked with Star Swirl on understanding this power, because he sensed that his power was slowly fading, due to age. Blades wanted to make sure that Star Swirl could get an idea of what each skill could do from another point of view. That’s what led to the book that we have now. He also had a set of ancient skills that are not in the book, called Soul Arts. He has already planned to send me all of his works and teachings to me before he passes away, including the Soul Arts, since he has no one else to pass it along to. Jack, I think these would be useful to you in your training in the future.” “You didn’t tell him that I had these powers, did you?” I asked Luna. “In fact, I did. He lost his powers a few years ago, and with him being on his deathbed, it wouldn’t matter either way. He did ask me if you knew how to Soul Shift, in which you have. He said that if you can understand how to use the blade, then you would be able to learn the first three Soul Arts, which he said would be easy to work on. The others would require more skill and training. I’ll know more when his stuff arrives.” “I guess I have my work cut out for me,” I said. “I’m guessing that Sunset will have to know my secret, since she must have made a pact with Muramasa.” Luna replied, “You are right, Jack. And Applejack will have to know this as well. It looks like we can’t keep this secret from your friends for long.” “Then you need to make sure that they can trust each other and are willing to forgive their past actions if we plan to do this,” Celestia said. After another afternoon of practice, we all went back home. Sunset and me went to work on finishing up on our project, which all we had to do, was write it up from what we had researched. Once we finished creating the report on our project, we looked it over to make sure it was good before calling it finished. We took the rest of the time working on what little homework that we had before relaxing in my room. “So, feel better after getting that out of the way?” I said. “Actually, I’m feeling a lot better than before,” she responded. “Maybe it’s because of getting all that…stuff out of me last night. It’s too bad your mother almost panic when she saw the bandages that we had. Now I have a to deal with a scar that I can’t hide.” “That scar is a reminder of the promises that we made, remember?” “I know. You don’t have to remind me.” It went quiet for a moment before she spoke again. “Can I ask you something?” I looked at her, waiting for her question. “Has there been anyone that caught your interest? I mean, someone who would be your girlfriend down the road.” “I have…two. But I rather not say who at this time,” I said. “I’m still not sure how to make of it.” “I can only guess that Applejack is one of them.” “And what makes you say that?” I said to her. “Because you spend a good amount of time with her. Plus, I think you and her have something in common. Not sure what at this time.” “OK, you win on that guess,” I said. “Then why haven’t you asked her out in the first place?” “Over the weekend, we had a fighter’s duel, with each one making our own bet. If I win, she would have to stop bring up the girlfriend issue and become my sparring partner. If she won, I would have to be her date for homecoming. Then I would have to find a girlfriend afterwards.” “And who won that bet?” she asked. “You’re looking at him.” “Oh come on. You could have had a date easily without all the other girls feeling left out, and you passed up on the offer.” “Then I would have to give up on helping you, leaving you with all the pain buried inside you,” I said. “I guess you might have a point about that. Otherwise, I would have felt like crap for a long time. Now I see what makes you special. You do all you can to help others in need, when they need it. And you don’t care about what the critics say. But it does leave us with one problem.” “Fleur de Lis,” I said. “You think she would have something to do with what happened Monday afternoon?” “Maybe,” she responded. “When I was talking to Rarity about her, we think that her motivation would be to get you to go for her. They might have been hoping that you would be by yourself so they can take you to her, but didn’t expect Chrysalis to be with you, not to mention me showing up. That is if she’s the one behind all this. We still don’t have enough proof that says that.” “Then we wait for the next move to be made. Who makes it is up in the air.” “I do have one request to make, and it’s going to sound weird to you.” Sunset started to look away, almost blushing. “Can I…sleep with you for the night?” “OK, that does sound weird from you. Is there a reason you’re asking this?” “I’ve been having…nightmares in the past. Not every night, but every now and then. I was hoping that if you were there to…hold me, maybe the nightmares would go away. I hope your parents don’t have a problem if I did this.” “Then let’s do this. If you feel scared later at night, just come up to my room and we can go from there.” “Thanks,” she said as she grabbed my hand. “And who would the other girl be that peaked your interest?” “If you can’t figure that out, then I’m not telling,” I said. “I’m starting to hate you again for that.” It was Friday, and we were done with school for the day. Sunset was able to go back home with her mother today, and it was time for the team to head to our next game in Trottingham. Everything was the same as before with the last road game that I had to face. And when we arrived in Trottingham and started to warm up and stretch, I saw a dark purple guy behind the low fence where the track was located, waving at me. It took me a moment to realize who it was. Since Rainbow Dash was helping me with my stretches, I decided the have her walk with me and introduce her to the guy. “Artemis, are you still here,” I said. “Can’t believe you still remember me after so long,” Artemis replied. “How’s everything with you?” “Well, after moving to Fillydelphia for two years, then to Manehattan for another two years, it’s now Ponyville as my new home.” I turned and said, “Dash, this is my friend from the 6th grade, Artemis. He’s the one from that story I told you on the first day.” She shook his hand, saying, “It’s nice to meet you. Name’s Rainbow Dash. I’m sorry about what happened to your mother.” “It’s no biggie. I’m used to it,” Artemis said. “A coach from our school had to retire weeks before school started. She has an only daughter who was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had to tell your story to her because her coach was supposed to help her with her future scholarship,” I said. “Well, I hope things get better for her daughter,” Artemis said. “At least the former bullies are helping me out whenever needed. Some of them play for the football team.” “Oh this is going to be interesting,” I said. “At least they have changed their ways.” “Well, we have been working on an anti-bullying movement here, after hearing a story about someone trying to end his life in Fillydelphia. Trying to get new laws passed in the town,” Artemis said. “Guess I must have that effect on others from afar.” Artemis had a confused look on his face after what I said. “He went to the same junior high school that I was. Had to teach some bullies a lesson after hearing what happen to the victim. Now they are helping out with the family in taking care of the kid.” “You never cease to amaze me,” Artemis said. “Yea, he has that effect on everyone at school,” Dash added. “Well, I need to get back with my friends,” Artemis said. “Hey, do you think you can do me a favor?” I asked Artemis. “Is there some way you can send me anything from your match with Crystal Prep. It can be videos, stats, anything.” “We plan to face them next week, and word back home is that our superstar here,” as Dash placed her hand on my shoulder, “can help hand Crystal Prep their first loss.” “And already they made a move on our school, mainly towards me. Still not sure what their motive is, but we don’t want to take any chances,” I added. “Well, they did give us a beat down two weeks ago, so why not. I’ll tell our former bullies about this. I’m sure after what they did to us, and trying to do to you, I’m sure they would like to help. Just give me your e-mail and I can have them send whatever they have on them.” Dash said, “Jack, I still have my cell with me, with all of your contact info on it. I’ll exchange it with him and send it to you after the game, OK?” “Sure thing, Dash. Artemis, I hope to see you next time.” “You too, Jack.” So I rejoin our team while Dash went and exchanged my contact info with his. I was hoping that if we can get some more info on them, maybe we could have a slight advantage against them. It made me think if we can get some help from Little Strongheart in Appleloosa and the Bully Boys in Cloudsdale, maybe we can find a way to beat them for once. And maybe we can also find out who could be carrying the gift as well. As for the game, it was more of a hard fought battle, but we were able to win the game, 30 to 27. A missed field goal on Trottingham at the end of the game helped us from sending the game to overtime. I think I came across one of the former bullies during one of my rushes that made me go out of bounds, just short of a touchdown. Can’t have all of the attention all of the time, now can I. When we started to head back to the bus, Artemis and some friends that I recognized caught up with us. Dash and me decided to introduce him to Twilight, Flash, and Soarin, who also heard his story. He also told us that one of his friends could get some videos sent to me from their match with Crystal Prep, but will need the whole weekend to get it produced and sent. Twilight decided to give him her e-mail address and to have them sent to her as well so she can review them. When we took the bus drive back, I was able to sit with Moon Dancer in the back like last time. She wanted to talk about our science project and my time with Sunset. “So, think you did good on your project?” Moon Dancer asked me. “I believe so. Sunset started to get into the assignment that we were given. What about you?” “Minuette had a hard time understanding what we had to work on for a moment, but we caught on afterwards. Twilight and Cadence should be the lucky ones. They had a hard one, but it was easy for them.” “Well, what would you expect from the current and future Valedictions,” I said. “What about Sunset? Luna told me what happen between you her, plus learning about her past. But I would like to hear your side of the story.” “Well, besides the fact that she learned a lot about the weather, she’s starting to open up. I was able to fill Applejack in about her past this afternoon in private, and she plans to keep it quiet until the right time, since Sunset still feels a bit scared of telling everyone. She’s trying to find a way to bury the hatchet between the two.” “Twilight still doesn’t trust Sunset,” Moon Dancer said. I just let out a sigh as my response. “After seeing what you have done with Sunset, Twilight needs to put all this aside. You might have to tell Twilight about your gift sooner than expected.” “Luna thinks I’ll have to tell Applejack and Sunset about my gift before we all start with her training,” I said. “This might sound odd, but why not tell Sunset about your gift now?” “Her wall is starting to fade, but if I tell her that, I may never help her bring her wall down,” I said. “Besides, last night might have weakened that wall of hers some more.” Moon Dancer just stared at me. “She had a nightmare that almost scared her badly. So she came up to my room, like I requested her if this happened, and slept next to me. When she laid her head on my chest, she said that she could hear my heartbeat. She felt better when morning came.” “Sounds like she’s making a connection with you,” Moon Dancer said. “I’m guessing you’re not ready to tell her that you have feelings for her, do you.” I stared at her. “Luna told me that you had feelings for her and AJ, and I can see why you’re torn between the two.” “I was at first. I mean, Applejack is a nice girl to be with. We always like to talk and think about everything around us, and I think she might be interested in me, but I can’t make heads or tails about that. But with Sunset on my mind as well, I’m worried that no one else would be willing to spend any personal time with her. And I’m not sure if she’s starting to have feelings for me after last night, especially with her troubled past with the other students.” “Well, just remember that you have me around,” Moon Dancer said. “Plus Coco and Chrysalis will be around to back you up if problems occur with the others.” “I just hope we can get everyone on the same side for once. With our match-up with Crystal Prep coming next week, I would like everyone to help in finding out what is making them the prefect school.” Saturday came around, and it was the last meeting before homecoming. This time, we started to move all the props and such to the school gym. Took us a few trips to get all of it there, but we got it done. But making additional work in the gym was impossible, because Miss Luna was a no show today, and we couldn’t get anyone else to come help for her. With no access to the supply room in the gym, we couldn’t get all of it done today, so we planned to work on the gym Monday during free study. Twilight made sure that club meeting will be canceled Monday to focus on helping with final homecoming preparations. With more free time today, Twilight and the girls wanted to get together at Sugarcube Corner, and they invited me to join them. Without them knowing, I decided to bring Sunset along. She wasn’t sure if it was a good idea, but I told her that we need to put this rivalry in the past, and this was the best way possible. When we showed up, the girls saw that I brought Sunset with me and started to worry. I can see it in their faces at the corner booth, so I glared back at them. Applejack was fast to catch on and made sure to defuse the situation. “I knew I shouldn’t have come with you, Jack,” Sunset said. “Look, we are going to resolve this one way or another. Just trust me,” I said. We placed our milkshake orders and got them a minute later. We made our way to the corner booth, where Applejack was on the end that was looking towards the window. Twilight was at the following side next to Applejack, looking straight at us, with Rarity next to her. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were at the side next to the window, and Rainbow Dash was next to Fluttershy, with her back towards us. I sat next to Applejack and let Sunset sit next to Rainbow Dash. That’s when it got really quiet in our booth. Applejack gave Twilight a nudge, hoping she could break the ice around us. “Um, well, it was nice to meet your friend in Trottingham, Jack. It looks like he’s doing better after what happen years ago,” Twilight said. “You’re right about that. And I hope he gets to send us some videos when they faced Crystal Prep. Would be nice to have a heads up about them.” Dash looked at me and said, “You did get his contact info from me this morning.” “Saw it before our meeting today,” I said. “I like to find out how they can maintain a perfect record every year.” “Oh, you met the kid over there?” Rarity asked. “Sure did. Got a picture with him last night.” Dash took out his cell and pulled up the picture to show to Rarity. “Oh, he’s a cutie,” Rarity responded. “That’s what you always say about the young guys,” Twilight said. “What can I say? I like them cute and handsome.” Rarity added. “Speaking of which,” Applejack said, “with the exception of Jack and Twilight, has everyone else found dates for homecoming?” All of us just stared at Rainbow Dash, waiting for her to answer. “What?” Dash was trying to hide it, but had to say it. “Fine. Soarin asked to take me to homecoming. Happy?” “Details, Dash. Details.” Rarity said. “Look he’s just escorting me to the dance, so it’s not a date,” Dash replied. Twilight said, “It’s a date.” “No it’s not.” Rarity added, “It’s definitely a date.” “No it’s not.” Sunset decided to push it some more. “Dash, it really is a date.” Dash got up and yelled, “IT IS NOT A DATE!!!” The whole room went quiet as everyone was staring at Rainbow Dash. Realizing the embarrassment, she held a fake grin and sat back down. The room went back to it’s usually noisy self. Rarity said, “Dashie dear. You and Soarin have been hanging out a lot these past few years. I think it’s safe to say that it’s time to take it to the next level.” Twilight said, “She’s right. He does have feelings for you. He just doesn’t know how to say it to you.” “Come on, Dash. The two of you were made for each other,” Applejack said. “And what about the rest of you girls?” Dash said. “Well…um…I’m just going by myself…if that’s alright,” Fluttershy said. “Dear, no one’s going to ask you out if you keep hiding from them,” Rarity said. “You know, you can ask one of the guys out,” Sunset recommended. “I’m sure there are some guys out there who are scared to ask a girl out themselves. Maybe you can ask on of those geek or nerd types. They have no confidence in approaching any girl out there.” “Maybe because you always pick on them,” Twilight added. “Look, I know those guys can be weak,” Sunset said, “but if a girl like Fluttershy goes up to one of them she likes, she might make them feel like they have a chance with a girl like her. I say, go for it.” “She might be right about that,” Rarity said. “Some guys have a hard time coming up to a girl and asking her out. Maybe she should come up to one of them instead.” “And what about you, Rarity. Have you gotten a date?” Twilight asked. Rarity slammed her head on the table, saying, “NNNNNOOOOOOOOO!!!!!” “Look at you. Rarity, one of the most beautiful girls in school,” Dash said. “You should be able to get a date easily.” “But no one hasn’t come to ask me out in the first place,” Rarity said while her face is on the table. There was a silence before she spoke again. “I know you have something to say, Sunset, so just say it.” “I don’t like to say this, being that it might be too much, but you are a bit, I guess, high maintenance.” Rarity sighed and said, “You might be right. Besides being a fashion designer, I do come close to being a model when displaying my wares, which could explain why others are scared to ask me out.” “At least I got a date,” Pinkie Pie said with excitement. Everyone was waiting for her to say who her date is, but she kept grinning. “Um, Pinkie. We’re waiting for you to say who he is,” I said. Her smile went to a frown when she said, “I was hoping you would know by now.” “No, Pinkie, we don’t,” Twilight responded. “It’s Cheese Sandwich…from my party club.” Sunset almost chocked on her shake when she heard the name. “You mean the one who plays the accordion?” Pinkie replied, “Yep.” “Who also likes to wear the western renegade clothes at times?” “Yep.” “And carries that rubber chicken he calls ‘boneless’?” “Yep.” Sunset just face palm on the spot. “You know the guy?” Applejack asked Sunset. “You mean none of you girls have met the guy…besides Pinkie.” The rest of us shook our heads. “No offense, Pinkie, but he is the most annoying guy in the school.” “Oh come on, dear. He can’t be that bad,” Rarity said. “Unless you like polka music,” Sunset responded. Rarity just cringed. “Yea. That’s why I just stay away from him. Well, in the past years.” “Oh he’s not that bad. He works at the costume shop on the weekends,” Pinkie said. “If you still need costumes for the Nightmare Night dance, he can help you find the best one. Oh, since I remembered this, he has the costumes for Cadence and Shining Armor, Twilight. You might want to let them know later on.” Twilight responded, “Thanks Pinkie.” “So AJ, you find yourself a date?” Rainbow Dash said. “No, and I rather not talk about it.” “Um, is it because of that Tenderhoof guy?” Fluttershy asked. “Darn right it is!” Applejack snapped, scaring Fluttershy. “I’m sorry, Flutters. The guy just won’t let up.” Twilight said, “Looks like he won’t stop, because he just walked in.” A tall, slender brown guy with blonde hair and glasses, dressed in his Crystal Prep uniform, came walking towards us. Applejack just covered her face. “Well, hello my lovely Applejack. Nice day it is,” Tenderhoof said. “Tenderhoof, will you just leave me alone. I’m trying to spend some time with my friends, and which you’re not a part of,” Applejack said. “Oh, you wound me, Applejack. I can see the mean look on Sunset’s face. I tapped my shoe on hers to get her attention. I showed her that I was pointing between Applejack and me. Sunset nodded with a grin, ready to play the part. “Excuse me, but I don’t believe we met.” I said to him. “The name’s Tenderhoof.” “Jack. Jack Diamond. I’m AJ’s boyfriend,” I said as I placed my arm around the back of her neck. “I am?” Applejack said. “She is?” the other girls responded. “Wait, since when did you get a boyfriend?” Tenderhoof asked Applejack. Sunset responded. “Oh, ever since he won that bet against AJ a week ago, right Dash?” “Um, yea, YEA! They had a sparing match, in which if Jack won…um…oh, he would have to be Applejack’s boyfriend, right?” “I believe so,” Sunset replied. “It’s a surprised that you would have the balls to hit on the most popular guy on the football team’s own girlfriend.” Sunset stared and grinned at Tenderhoof. It took a moment before it all sank in. Then I can sense the fear forming inside him. “Oh. OH!!! Um, excuse me, but I need to, um, go and, um, write on some, um, stuff. Yea, stuff.” Tenderhoof started to walk backwards away from us, colliding with the stool, then end up to the wall, then hit the door frame before he finally left and started to run across our window view. Dash started to say, “That…was…” Only to be cut off by Sunset. “Wait for it.” That’s when we saw Tenderhoof running the other way from our view. “Now you can say it.” “TOTALLY AWESOME!!!” “Oh my,” Fluttershy said. “Did you, um, come across him before?” “Oh I did a couple of years ago,” Sunset replied. “Let’s just say that he got a little too close for comfort, in which he got a blow where the sun don’t shine.” “Dang. You must be bold to do that.” Applejack said. “Well, I never knew he was a student at Crystal Prep. Plus, I wasn’t in a good mood at the time,” Sunset said. “I was hoping he would remember the girl who destroyed him in this shop.” “Sorry if I came up with this on the spot. I knew that Sunset would be able to play along, after her experience with him,” I said. “Well, I should thank you both for getting rid of that fool,” Applejack said. “I guess you have some good uses around here,” Twilight said to Sunset. “I’ll take that as a complement.” We spent some more time at our table, before another Crystal Prep problem showed up. Rarity said, “Oh great. Look who now just walked in.” We looked to see a white girl with light pink hair walked in and towards the counter. But she was wearing a pink dress that matched her hair instead of the usual Crystal Prep uniform. “Is that Fleur de Lis?” I asked. “Yes dear,” Rarity responded. “I hope she’s not here because of you.” She tried her best to see if she was trying to look at me, but with no luck. “Rarity, you have a compact with you?” Sunset asked. “Why yes,” she said as she got out her own compact to hand to Sunset. “But why would you need it?” “Watch and learn.” Sunset opened the compact and started to fix her hair, but she was trying to get a good view without tipping Fleur off. “Should have known. She’s been giving quick glances at Mr. Popular over here. Looks like she must know about you after all, Jack.” “Perhaps I should introduce myself to her,” I said. “Wait.” Twilight brought out a black box. In it looked like ear buds and wristbands. “Moon Dancer and me have been working on something for the football games. We call them ear coms. There are only four ear buds and two wristbands.” She handed me an ear bud and a wristband. “The ear bud is a two-way speaker and the wristband is the transmitter. It’s only short range for now, but this would be a good chance to test it out before we can make more. Sunset, Rarity, you take an ear bud to listen in with me. Let’s see if we can find out what her motive is.” “Oh. Jack, Mrs. Cake should still be cooking some sugar cookies,” Pinkie said. “From the smell, should be seven minutes.” “I’ll use that to my advantage,” I said. I made my way to the counter next to her and got Mrs. Cake’s attention. When she called out my name, I asked her for some sugar cookies for my friends. She said that it would be six minutes before they would be ready. So I decided to wait for them. “Off a minute, but that would do,” Twilight said through the ear com. “Forgive me for asking, but you wouldn’t be the Jack that’s been in the newspapers, now would you,” Said the girl with an accent. “Why yes. Yes I am. And you would be?” “Fleur. Fleur de Lis.” “At least we can hear everything going on,” Rarity said. “It’s nice to meet you, Fleur. Sorry if I don’t pronounce your name right.” “Oh please. I think you almost got it right. Not everyone can get it right at first.” “Suck it up, bitch,” Sunset said. “So, you go to Canterlot High?” “Oh, I’m sorry, but I attend Crystal Prep. I’m a foreign exchange student over there, and, well, it’s the only school that my mother would allow me to attend.” “Not even Mane Coast Academy in Manehattan?” “Oh no. She thinks it’s not good enough of a school for me. Did you live in Manehattan before?” “Last school year. My family moved here late this summer.” “Oh. Vous êtes vraiment mignon, mon ami.” “Excuse me?” “I’m sorry. I said that must be tough, my friend.” “Liar. She said, ‘you’re really cute, my friend.’ Good thing I can speak her language,” Rarity said. “I know. But I’m used to moving from city to city.” “So I can guess that you don’t have a girlfriend?” “Not really, but I’m not worried at the moment.” “Oh. Je vais te manger, mon ami. I’m sorry, I said that you must be lonely, my friend.” “That’s ‘I’m going to eat you up, my friend.’” Rarity said. “That is just sick,” said Sunset. “I’m used to it. Why, are you trying to hit on me like every other girl out there?” “Oh, I didn’t know that every girl was trying to be your girlfriend.” “I guess it comes with being popular. Beside, it would be odd to be dating a girl from a rival school.” “Now we’re getting somewhere,” Twilight said. “That is true. I can never understand all the rivalry stuff that goes on. Especially since all the guys I see are total snobs. The rest are either focused on being really smart or athletic. It’s hard to find a nice guy that can respect a girl easily.” “This girl really sounds like a bitch,” Sunset said. “Now that we can really agree on,” Twilight said. “Well, give it some time. I’m sure you’ll find the one that’s right for you.” “I hope so.” Mrs. Cake just brought out some fresh sugar cookies for my friends and me. I knew it was time to rap this up. “Well, I need to rejoin my friends. Is was nice to meet you, Fleur.” “Oh wait. Let me give you something.” She wrote something on a piece of paper, folded it up, and gave it to me. “My number, in case you want to talk some more. I haven’t had a nice conversation in quiet some time.” “Well, maybe I’ll call you sometime later on. Bye.” That’s when I left her and rejoined my friends. “I want to eat you up? Really? Talk about being a total flirt while trying to cover it up.” “You don’t plan to call her, are you?” Rarity asked. “Let’s just say I might use her the way she’s trying to use me.” I took out my ear bud and wristband and gave them back to Twilight. “Those are some useful tools that the two of you have made.” “Good. I’ll let Moon Dancer know to make some more transmitters to go with the ear buds,” Twilight said. “As for her, no doubt she wants you. Enough to send some allies to bring you to her.” “Then I hope that bitch will lead me to the bitch that wanted to cut me up. I own her some payback for what she did,” Sunset said. “Be patience, dear,” Rarity said. “They’ll get want they deserve soon enough. No one messes with my friends and gets away with it.” I said, “Looks like next week is going to be interesting.”