//------------------------------// // Ch. 25 - Samurai and Demon (Part 6) - Redemption // Story: Equestria World, Book 1: Surviving Canterlot High // by Gear Works //------------------------------// We made our way towards Fleur’s mansion to find Octavia at the pick-up spot. We saw Octavia at an intersection, waving at us. Once she was in the truck, she told us that Angel and the trio that we encountered were at Fleur’s place, but something wasn’t right about the group. She directed us to where the team was located. “Rarity, we were told that something was wrong about the group,” I said. “Can you explain?” “It’s best that you hear it yourself,” she replied. “Vinyl was able to record much of the conversation.” Vinyl handed us some earphones for Sunset and me to listen to, as she started to replay the conversation. “I don’t understand why I have to keep this bunny,” Fleur said. “Why can’t you keep it in the first place?” “Fleur, none of our parents will allow us to bring any pets home without them talking about it first,” Lightning Dust replied. “And we can’t afford to leave it at the school. Someone will get suspicious about it.” “And we all know that you live by yourself, so that makes it easier for us,” Brick Wall added. “The only thing I’m interested in is Jack, not some lucky bunny from that school,” Fleur responded. “What is it with you and those Wondercolt losers,” Dust asked. “Last year, it was their star quarterback, Shining Armor. Then you went for their top guy, Flash Sentry. Now it’s this newcomer on their football team. Their from our rival school.” “Yea, aren’t there any guys at our school that are more interesting,” Brick Wall added. Fleur said, “All the rich guys are total snobs, which is just boring. The smart ones keep their heads in their books. And all the jocks just like to show off their talents. No offense.” “None taken,” Brick Wall responded. “I can understand how some of the guys on the team want to prove themselves to everyone. But not everyone can’t be what you think they are.” “Then name one who can also model for someone like Rarity,” Suri asked. “To find out that the new guy on the team can also be Rarity’s only male model makes me jealous. I can’t even find one guy at our school who can model for me.” “That’s what makes him interesting,” Fleur said. “A guy like him is who I need to impress my mother that I also like. And maybe, I can convince him to attend our school instead. Then we all can have what we want from him.” “I still don’t trust him,” Dust said. “He’s already friends with Rainbow Dash and Rarity. And he hangs out with that troubled girl at their school. If it wasn’t for her, this would have gone without any problems.” “What about that dark girl that was with him,” Suri asked. “I don’t know who she is, but she’s just as much a problem as the other girl. And she’s with Rarity.” “All you need to do is just leave the bunny here until we trash the Wondercolts tomorrow night,” Brick Wall said. “Then you don’t even have to worry about it after that.” “Maybe we should have her return it to them the day after,” Dust said. “Then the newcomer would see her as the hero and both will start dating.” “Like that’s going to happen,” Brick Wall said as he laughed. “I just hope he calls today, saying that he wants to meet me somewhere romantic,” Fleur said. “It would be a dream come true.” “Like he’s going to have the time to do that when he has to play tomorrow night,” Dust said. “Just meet him Saturday.” “They have…homecoming that day,” Fleur responded. “It’s not like he has time for me that day.” “Trust me, after what we did there, they will have to cancel their homecoming,” Dust responded. “There’s no way they can recover from that.” We removed the earphones when the recording ended. “I think Fleur is only interested in you and nothing else,” Rarity responded. “The trashing of the gym and stealing of Angel must have been Dust’s plan.” “Hey Jack, that girl’s still waiting for you to call her. Maybe you should give her a call and see if she can help us out,” Vinyl said. “Vinyl, it’s not like she can hand Angel to us on the spot,” Octavia said. “I think Vinyl might be on to something here,” Moon Dancer said. “Jack, since you have her address, why don’t you plan a visit to her place?” Sunset replied, “They’re just going to hide the bunny someplace else,” “And where’s the only place you would hide the bunny at this time?” Moon Dancer asked. A light bulb just went on inside Sunset’s head. “The school. And the others are getting set up as we speak. It doesn’t have to be right away, but plan to do so later on at an unknown time. They’ll panic in what’s being planned.” “Moon Dancer, what do you think about if I tell her that we just getting homecoming fixed up, and that someone is look for the bunny, like they didn’t see the note in the first place. Think that would make them panic better?” I asked. “It risky, but it might just work. And I need you to call her anyway. If I’m going to hack into her calls, I need a signal identifier to lock on to,” Moon Dancer recommended. So I got out my cell and made the call, waiting for her to answer. “Hello. Fleur? It’s Jack. “Jack! I wasn’t sure you were going to call me.” “Had to find some time to do so. Is it OK with you if I come by your place later tonight? I’m busy helping the others with fixing up the gym for homecoming right now.” “Isn’t…there a place we can meet after you’re free?” “I don’t know how late I’ll be working. Some of my friends are busy looking for a pet rabbit from the school that got out, so we were limited in the gym. I was thinking of coming by your place afterwards. It would be a safer opinion to go on. Some places could be busy or closed later tonight.” “Well…I guess that would be fine. Just make sure you call before coming over.” “I will. Bye.” I ended the call and went back to the group to listen in. Fleur panicked. “Not good, not good, NOT GOOD!!! They know the bunny is missing, and they almost have homecoming fixed up. And he’s coming over.” “What were you thinking,” Dust yelled. “You could have just canceled the whole thing.” “But they still plan to have their homecoming, after what you guys did,” Fleur responded. “This is the only chance I get to have some time with him.” “But we still have their bunny here,” Dust added. “If he sees it here, we are all dead.” “Then find another place to take it. I don’t care where, just do so for the night,” Fleur requested. “I’ll take it to the school’s locker room, since we have finished practice for the day,” Brick Wall said. “Since the students and staff will be out for the evening, it shouldn’t be a problem until morning. It’s not like they plan to break in with the security measures in place.” “Then do it and leave. I need the place to myself when he comes over. I’m going to make him mine, no matter what,” Fleur replied. Sunset, Rarity, Moon Dancer, and me removed our earphones. “We better make our way to the school before they get there,” I said. “Make sure that Twilight knows what’s going on, and keep a watch over her place until after we rescue Angel.” “On it,” Moon Dancer replied. “And Jack, Sunset, good luck.” We ran back to my truck and made our way to the school. Rarity sent us a text to look for Trixie near the school to meet up with the other group. Once we found her, she wanted us to park my truck in the nearby parking lot before joining up to the group with our blades. We saw that Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Lyra, And Sweetie Drops were wearing black, ready to go in. I also saw Twilight’s group looking over the school, along with Coach Spitfire and another blue woman with white hair. Spitfire said, “Jack, Sunset, this is my friend, Coach Fleetfoot of Crystal Prep. She’s helping us with our mission.” “It’s nice to finally meet a person with some real soul powers,” Fleetfoot responded as she shook my hand. “I’m hoping you can help find out about this school’s secret, but for now, we need to focus on rescuing your bunny.” Twilight said, “I got the info from Moon Dancer. We’re still trying to hack into the school cameras before they get here.” She handed me the same box from before that had the ear coms in them. “We made a total of six sets. The others have theirs on, so what’s in the box are for the two of you. It’s linked to my laptop so I can talk to you.” As we equipped our ear coms, Fleetfoot joined us with her cell towards her ear. “Twilight. Let me see your laptop.” She entered some commands that were being given from her cell. Just then, the school camera views showed on the screen. “Alright, we’re connected.” “Good job.” A masked voice came into our ear coms and Twilight’s headset. “Who is this?” Twilight asked. “You may refer to me as Shadow. That’s all you need to know.” “I asked…Shadow to help hack into the system, in case we have problems,” Fleetfoot explained. “Fill them in on what you have done so far.” “We already have prerecorded each camera view that looks empty, but we can replace one of the camera views with a recording. The school has only one guard, who does his rounds before making sure to lock up and move to the security desk near the entrance.” “Shadow, they plan to hide our bunny in the men’s locker room. Can we make our way in there without being detected?” I asked. “The door to the locker room will be locked from the outside, once he goes through his rounds. The best way will be through the air duct system on the roof of the locker room. Look at the screen.” Shadow showed us the pathway to the roof that leads to the air duct system. There was a ladder at the back of the school that leads to the roof over the locker room that we needed to take. We would have to enter the air duct, which would be almost narrow and a one-way trip inside. There were no cameras in the locker rooms, and we would have to make our way out through the hallways with their help. Getting past the guard will be the tough part, because all the other doors to the outside will send off a silent alarm expect the main door. We finally saw Brick Wall come up to the school with a school bag. Angel has to be in the bag. We looked at the cameras and saw him with the guard going to the men’s locker room. Once he came out of the locker room, his bag looked empty, and the guard locked up the room. Then we saw Brick Wall outside, leaving the school while the guard finished up with the outside rounds. “Once he finished with searching outside, he’ll go back in and do a quick check inside before going to his desk. You can make your way to the roof around that time.” “On it, Shadow. We’ll start getting ready. Just give us the word,” I said. Spitfire handed us some black clothes to change into. I went out of site to change while Sunset changed in front of the girls. That’s when my powers went off. I looked and saw Sunset’s jacket was off, and Twilight was making her way towards Sunset. “What is this?” Twilight said as she was pointing to Sunset’s scars on her arms. “It’s none of you business,” Sunset replied. Well, it is now.” Sunset started to turn away when Twilight grabbed her by the arm and turned her back around. “I asked you what is this?” I can see Sunset wanting to lash out at Twilight. AJ and Dash was about to intervene when I waved them off. This was between Twilight and Sunset. Twilight was holding on to Sunset’s arm, and Sunset’s hands turned into fist, ready to hit Twilight. It only took a moment before Sunset eased up on her fists and looked down. Twilight soon then realized that she was grabbing the spot that harmed Sunset the most. “I’m…I’m sorry. That was uncalled for,” Twilight responded. “I forgot about what happened to you when you were young, on that spot.” “It happened over the summer,” Sunset said, causing Twilight to look confused. “I made the cuts on my arms over the summer. I wanted to make the pain inside me go away, after all that has happened.” She looked at Twilight and said, “Look, when this is all over, I’ll be happy to answer any question that you want to know. Deal?” “Deal,” Twilight responded and shook her hand. “Get geared up. We got a bunny to rescue.” After getting dressed and geared up with our blades on our back, we made our way close to the school, but out of sight until the word was given. Twilight told us that the guard was inside and decided for us to make our way to the ladder at the back of the school. We saw that the ladder was covered with a metal fence and a lock, preventing anyone to enter. Sunset broke out some pick lock tools that she used to enter our school back then. She was able to open the lock, allowing us to climb the ladder to the roof. I made sure that the fence was closed and that we would have to place the lock back on it once we were done. The next step was to get inside through the air duct. But when we came up to it, we came across a problem. I said, “The air duct is sealed, well-designed bolts in place. Anyplace else that we can get in?” “Spitfire here. I had a feeling that this would be the case. That’s why you needed your blades. Can you slice through the metal?” “Looks like I’ll have to use the Blade Cutter art,” I said. “Applejack, if this goes through, you have to catch it so we don’t make any sudden noises.” “Got it,” Applejack replied. I started to grab my blade, but decided to go another option. “Sunset, draw Muramasa. It should be sharper to cut through it than Masamune.” “But I can’t do any of those soul arts, remember?” Sunset said. “Just trust me on this. I’m going to try something.” She drew her blade and had it ready to slash against the metal. I got up behind her and slid my arms underneath hers, placing one hand on the handle and the other with the palm on the blade. I closed my eyes, hoping that the same thing I did today would happen now. It was a small moment, but I started to feel it tell me what to do. That’s when I opened my eyes and said: “SOUL ART #3: BLADE CUTTER!” The blade quickly glowed, and we executed a forward slash through the metal, making a clean cut. Applejack was able to grab it as it fell off and laid it to the side. “We did it. I can’t believe it,” Sunset said as she sheath her blade. “I knew it would work,” I said. “Alright, we’re going in.” I went in first, landing inside the air duct. Three pathways were in front of me. Shadow told me to take the path to my right. I started to crawl, while the others started to come down, one at a time. I soon then came across an open vent that showed what looked like a locker room. I could see the door with the word “Men’s” in reverse, telling me that this was the room to go to. I was able to flip open the vent and slid out, feet first, landing on the floor. Since it was narrow, I can understand why it would be hard to get back in, so I used my blade to close the vent, knowing that the hallway was our only escape. We started to look through the locker doors, quietly calling Angel’s name. Sweetie Drops heard the thumping and found the locker he was in. Sunset went to pick the lock, removing the lock and opening the locker. We saw Angel unharmed and I was able to pick him up and placed him inside my shirt. With the locker closed and locked, it was time to make our escape. Shadow instructed us when and where to go, making sure that we were not spotted in the cameras as we made our way out. When we came up close to the main hallway leading outside, we needed a plan to get pass the guard. Twilight said that Fluttershy and Tree Hugger were making their way towards the school, hoping to get the guard to come outside and help them find Angel. When the guard saw the two outside, he made his way to the door and yelled at them, asking why they were here. When he heard what was going on, he maintains a clam manner and went outside to help. That was when we made our way to the exit. As we came close to the door, I raised my fist, telling the others to hold. I saw that the guard wasn’t far away enough for us to make our escape. I decided to ask Angel to help us out, seeing if he can lure them farther away to right of us so that we can make our way out through the left. Angel saluted and made his way out. By the time he made his away pass the bushes next to the building, he was able to get their attention and lured all three of them to that side. I signal my team to move on ahead to the left, seeing that Fluttershy and Tree Hugger kept the guard’s attention towards them and away from us until we were out of view. Once in the clear, Sunset made her way back to the ladder that we took and placed the lock back on it before rejoining us. With Angel safe with Fluttershy, we rejoined the others and waited for Fluttershy and Tree Hugger to join us before we left. Shadow told us that their work was done, and if we needed their help to let them know. Shadow said that it’s best to “not go into the battle alone.” I started to take a guess who Shadow really was, but didn’t want to say anything in front of the others. We were able to hand the ear coms back to Twilight, knowing that they worked well on this mission. She was hoping to attach them to the helmets for us to use at tomorrow’s game. Once Fluttershy and Tree Hugger joined us, we called Rarity on Twilight’s cell. Twilight said, “Rarity, we have Angel with us. Everyone is safe and sound. Meet us back at the school.” “That is good to hear, Twilight. But we might need to handle one more issue here.” I said, “Why do I have a feeling that this involves me with Fleur?” “It does, Jack. Moon Dancer, will you please explain?” Moon Dancer came to her cell. “Fleur just got a call from Brick Wall, saying that the bunny was dropped off. She requested that they leave her alone for the night, waiting for you to call and come over.” Rarity came back on the cell. “I think it’s wise not keep a lady waiting, now is it?” “That’s a good idea, Rarity,” Twilight responded. “Maybe we can get some more info about what they were trying to do last night.” “Plus, we can find out why Fleur is really interested in you,” Sunset added. I can see everyone giving me those evil stares. “You just wanted to get back at me after all that I’ve done to you, right?” Everyone nodded. Twilight said, “I think after keeping your gift a secret, you can handle some punishment.” “And this would be a good chance to understand how to confront a lady that’s interested in you for once,” Applejack added. “I did hear that she was hoping to take your V-card along with hers,” Vinyl yelled on the cell. “Vinyl, please don’t give him any ideas,” Octavia said on the cell. “You do know that I have a blade, and I have yet to use my Shadow Slash art,” I said. Fleetfoot placed her arm on my shoulder and said, “Look, I have had Fleur in my gym class the last two years. During her freshman year, she always came out, trying to get the attention of the guys in class. It didn’t work out well most of the time, but I though it was normal of her. When her sophomore year came around, she was doing the same thing again in my gym class, getting the same result. “I decided to have a talk with her about what she was doing in my class and how I wasn’t pleased with her actions. I knew that she was a foreign exchange student at the school, but didn’t know that she was living by herself in a mansion that her mother owned. When I asked her why she was doing this, it was because she was hoping to have someone in her life, and at such a young age. I told her that those actions are not allowed at the school and that she should remember that. Perhaps you can get her to understand the right and wrong way to approach a boy of her liking.” I sighed and said, “Fine, I’ll do it.” Twilight told Rarity, “We’ll be over there shortly. Maintain watch until then.” “Will do, Twilight.” I decided to call Fleur and tell her that I was on my way. When we went to our cars, I took Sunset’s blade with my own, and requested that Twilight should ride with me this time. I knew I needed to have a talk with her about some personal issues while heading down there. “You must be really enjoying this, Twilight,” I said. “Who, me? NNNNOOOOOOOO!!!” she replied. “Well, don’t be so sure about that.” “Come on. Maybe Fleur would be the girl just for you,” she responded with a giggle. “So I should just give up on Sunset and Applejack?” Her mood changed in an instant. “After AJ talked to you about me, and then you find out that I’m interested in her and Sunset, you just had to get Sunset’s side of the story, didn’t you.” “I just asked her if she had feelings for you, which she does. I wanted to make sure your feeling aren’t hurt.” “And you had to tell her about AJ after she asked, right?” She let out a sigh. “Sunset wants me to NOT get into a relationship with her and just ask AJ out to homecoming. Now tell me you really don’t want my feelings hurt.” “I guess I’d screwed up again, didn’t I? Ever since I took you on that tour, you seemed like a nice guy who needed help making friends. I figured that wouldn’t be a problem, until you decided to get into Sunset’s business. I was hoping that it would be easier to get you out of it, even AJ wanted to help make sure you were safe. Now that I understand the reason you were doing what you were doing, I guess I went overboard with all of this.” “If you want to blame someone, then take it out on Principal Celestia. She was able to plan all this from the start of school…with help from Professor River Song.” “I won’t. I think I can understand why she would want all this to happen in the first place. I just didn’t see it in the first place. I need to start asking more before making judgment calls in the first place.” “Well, at least you made a good judgment call yesterday. If anyone from Crystal Prep has a similar gift like my own, it’s the team’s quarterback. The way he can avoid being sacked would have to be from powers like my own. We just need to find a way to stop him tomorrow night.” “I just thought of something. Can I see your cell?” I nodded, and she grabbed my cell in my cup holder. “I’m going to change my name on here to ‘Mom’ so that if I need to send you a warning, she won’t know that it’s me.” “Good thinking. I know you plan to listen in, but if you have access to her cell signal, you can let me know anything that comes through her cell.” “Just do me one thing? Just be yourself towards her. She might try to come on strong to you, but you can detect anything from her. Go with the flow and see if you can get her to understand what she’s been doing.” “I’ll do my best,” I said before we made it to the meet-up point to drop Twilight off before I head to Fleur’s mansion. I drove up to the gate and pushed the buzzer. The gates opened and I drove up the driveway to the front of the mansion. When I got out of my truck, the door opened, with Fleur walking out to greet me in a white fur coat. “Sorry it had to be so late, but I felt like it would be easier to do this,” I said. “That’s fine,” Fleur replied. “I’m guessing you had to make sure that your school’s homecoming was ready for Saturday, right?” “Well, it was a mess this morning. I’m guessing that Crystal Prep decided to pull their prank overnight in the gym. We never saw that coming.” “Oh my. That sounds like it was a dirty prank that they wanted to pull. Why can’t they just let the games prove who’s best, instead of this stuff?” “Because Crystal Prep wins every game, from what I have been told.” “Well, let’s go inside. It’s a bit chilly out here.” So we walked inside, and I was surprised to see how big the main room was. “I’m surprised that you live in a place like this by yourself. How do you keep up with it?” “My mother owns the place. She likes to come here whenever she wants some R&R from modeling. She made sure I have workers to maintain the place on the weekends and a driver to take me to school. I like to have my parties here, but the students are not much of the fun type, and I want to make sure nothing gets damage in here as well.” “So you just have the place to yourself at night?” I asked her. “Why yes. But I like to spend it in my room. I’ll show you where it is.” I noticed that she put her coat away and was wearing a light pink silk dress. If she was trying to impress me, I guess it’s a start. When we walked to her room, which was to the right of the main room, I saw a lot of pink everywhere. I also noticed some cheese and crackers, and what looked like fruit punch in a pitcher and a pair of wine glasses on a table. “I wasn’t sure if you ate,” Fleur said. “I hope cheese crackers and fruit punch will do?” “In a wine glass?” I asked. “Well I don’t intend to drink, but I figure the wine glasses would be a nice touch,” she said as she poured fruit punch into the wine glasses and handed me one of them. I took a sip of the punch. “You used the powdered stuff, right?” “How did you know?” “Too much in the punch. But it’s good anyway.” “I’ll remember to use a bit less than before. I’m used to just using the single packs that they sell and pour them into a water bottle. You’ve seen them, do you?” “We use those a lot back in Manehattan. My dad did construction work over there. It was easier to have something good to drink in the summer heat.” I sat down and took a bite of the cheese crackers. “At least these are good. I’m usually a light eater at times.” “That’s good to hear.” She sat down across from me and took a bite as well. “I hope I’m not keeping you late here.” “Oh, I didn’t have any homework today. It might be because of the big game tomorrow night. I do need to be back home before ten.” “Oh, I can understand. We have at least an hour before you have to head back. I just can’t believe that we have to face each other tomorrow. You did bring up that your friends were looking for their bunny. Any luck there?” “I haven’t heard anything about their search at the time. I guess this week has been strange as ever. So, I’m sure there must have been a reason you wanted to meet in person.” “Well, I wanted to get to know you better. Not on the phone, but in person. I was just hoping that it would be someplace…romantic.” I looked around the room and said, “I think you might have done so here. You have better control here than out there. Plus,” as I scratched the back of my head, “I’m not used to the dating world. I hope you can understand.” “Oh, I can help you with that, if you like?” as she was giving me the bedroom eyes look. Then her cell went off. She answered it, yelling, “What is it? Can you see that I’m busy…what do you mean…look, this is your problem, not mine…fine, just don’t bother me again.” She ended the call and was frustrated. “Something wrong?” I asked. “It’s…it’s nothing.” Then my cell went off. I saw that it was “Mom” calling. “It’s my mom. Let me take this.” I answered my cell, expecting Twilight on the other line. “Yes mom?” “That was Brick Wall on the line.” “Yes?” “He went back to the school and found that Angel was gone.” “Yes.” “He was trying to tell her about it.” “I know.” “We might have to get you out of there.” “I should be back in 30 to 45 minutes.” “Understood. We’ll make sure that no one interferes.” “OK, bye.” I ended the call and look back at her. “Sorry about that. My mother can worry at times. You understand, right?” “I do. Mothers can be so protective of their kids at times.” She took a sip of her drink, then got up and sat down on the end of the bed. She patted to her side and said, “Come over here.” I knew that she was really trying to pull off her charm, so I decided to play along and went over to her. She said, “You know, I’ve always wanted to know what’s it like to be with a guy like you. I mean, I’ve tried to find one, but haven’t had any luck in doing so.” She placed her hand on top of mine. “You’ve been the first guy to spend some time with me since I’ve been living here. I was hoping…” That’s when she decided to make her move and jumped on top of me, laying down on the bed. “That you would be mine forever,” she finished. I decided to make a counter move and rolled her over, putting me on top. “Sorry, but I don’t like to rush things here,” I said, and got up off from her. I started to walk away from her, when she said, “I’ll have you know that whatever I want, I GET!!!” and started to run towards me. I sensed her coming and went to my side, letting her pass me and run into one of the curtains, tearing it off. What I saw next was a bigger shock than I expected. “Is that what I think it is?” I asked her. “Oh, this? It’s…it’s not what you think it is. I mean, it is, but it isn’t. I mean…” “It’s a shrine of me, isn’t it,” I asked her. She took a moment to compose herself and said, “Yes. But I can explain.” I looked and saw the news articles from the games I’ve played, some pictures that Rarity took of me in what Chrysalis created, and something that really caught my eye. “Where did you find this article from Manehattan?” “I…looked it up online, after you told me that you were from Manehattan that day. I never knew how special you were over there with the Manehattan Knights. I was hoping…” I placed a finger on her lips, stopping her from talking. “Hold on.” I walked towards the window and said, “Girls, I think that’s enough for tonight. I need to talk to her…alone.” Fleur was confused as to what I was saying, until my phone went off. I didn’t recognize the number, but took a guess as to who it could be and answered it with the speaker on. “Coach Fleetfoot here. The girls have begun to pack up and plan to head out. She’s all yours, Jack. I’ll be staying with Coach Spitfire until you leave her place. And Fleur, we’re going to have to talk about your actions in this matter…again. Fleetfoot out.” “You…you were spying on me?” Fleur asked me. “In a way, yes,” I said. “After what happened with my encounter with Lightning Dust and her friends, we couldn’t take any changes.” “Then, it was your friends who found the bunny at the school, right?” “Yep, with my help. I have a rule about that. Never cross the line unless they cross it first. They broke in to our school to take the bunny; we broke in to yours to recover the bunny. Plus, Lightning Dust decided to make a mess in our gym, trying to destroy our homecoming event and placing the blame on Sunset Shimmer, the troubled girl that got in Dust’s way.” “You mean, she wanted to place the blame on one of your classmates? I thought she went to capture the bunny and did some damage to the gym in the process. She never said that she was going to destroy the gym and place the blame on one of your classmates.” “Well she did. And Dust also tried to blame my classmate about taking the bunny, since Dust knew about how she got the name ‘Fire Demon’. Does that ring a bell?” “No. All she told me was that they were planning to take Canterlot’s good luck bunny and leave it with me. She said that some of the guys did some damage to what was displayed in the gym when they entered. They even asked for some extra money from me to hire someone who knew the school layout. I don’t even know who it would be. All they said that it was a part of their yearly prank.” “Then maybe you can start from the beginning, like how you started with this shrine, and why you were interested in me in the first place.” She got up from the floor and pointed to one of Rarity’s pictures. “It started with this one. I was coming in to our fashion club meeting about a month ago, and Suri was having a fit to what she found on Rarity’s page. When I looked at them, I saw you in a butler’s suit, but it wasn’t a typical butler that I have seen. All I had on your picture was ‘Jack as a bodyguard butler’, nothing else. I never knew that butlers could double as bodyguards.” “That happened centuries ago, a lost art that only lives in TV shows. It was Chrysalis’ idea. She’s the dark girl that Suri mention.” “I guess you’ve heard us talking when they were here before you called me hours ago.” She started to point to the local articles. “It was these articles that Lightning Dust brought up that made me think that you were the same guy. I usually read the main and local sections of the newspaper, while I give the sports section to Lightning Dust and the living section to Suri for them to read. Dust was shocked when Canterlot’s win against Cloudsdale was the top high school story instead of Crystal Prep’s big win. Canterlot was the big story the next two weeks, and all three brought up your name. That’s when I wanted to meet you in person. I asked Suri if she can make it possible, which she took Dust and Brick Wall for protection.” “And it didn’t go as planned when Chrysalis and Sunset intervene,” I said. “You might have not known this, but Chrysalis lost her mother, trying to fend for herself. My family stepped in and took her in to our family. So she’s always with me after school.” “I see. Well, I wanted to meet you, and I figure that this would be the best idea. But since that failed, I had to come up with another idea. Suri told me that they were going to stake out the school, trying to think of a prank to pull on them, when they saw you helping out on something, then leaving to head to Sugarcube Corner. I figure this was my best chance to meet you, but when I got there, you were with those girls. I was hoping that I could talk to you alone, which happened when you walked up to the counter. You know what happened after that.” “What about the Manehattan article on here?” I said as I pointed to that article. “When you said that you came from Manehattan, I did some looking up, but couldn’t find anything about you on the football team, or any side career. All I could find was this article about the Manehattan Knights, who were created to help others in need. I remember seeing this girl before,” as she was pointing to Coco in the picture, “knowing that she was coming to our school, but changed her mind and went to Canterlot High. She must be a good friend to you.” “Best friend I’ve ever made,” I said. “And I’m glad to have her on my side again. She’s a tough girl who can handle herself.” I picked up one of the pink candles that she had on the shrine and sniffed it. “Do you know where you got these candles?” “Ordered it online. Queen of Hearts was the online store’s name. That one’s…” “Pink Rose Petals.” Her jaw dropped when she heard my response. “I think I remember seeing your address before. You like to order shades of pink candles the last two years.” She was still stunned at my response. “I helped my mother with packaging on the weekends and during the summer. She’s the one who owns the website.” That’s when she fell back on her knees in shock. “I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to surprise you.” I picked her back up and took her to a nearby chair to sit in. “I must really feel like a creep to you, do I?” she said. “Well, I don’t know who’s more of a creep, you or Tenderhoof,” I said with a chuckle. She chuckled and said, “Good point. Who’s he stalking now?” “Remember the farm girl that I sat next to back at Sugarcube Corner?” She nodded. “That’s the girl, Applejack. But I found a way to scare him away for a long time, with Sunset’s help.” “You must have a great batch of friends over there. I guess I can’t convince you to transfer to Crystal Prep,” she responded, looking down. “Not really.” I walked up to her and placed my hands of her shoulders. “But that doesn’t mean you still can’t find the right guy at your school.” She looked up and said, “How can I find one that I would like, who can also impress my mother?” “Is there a reason you need a man to impress her?” I asked as I took a seat across from her. “When I was younger, there was this cute boy that I met back in my homeland. We had lots of fun, until my mother found out that his family was part of the lower class. She didn’t want me to see him again. I had to find a way to sneak out at night just to see him for a while. The last time I saw him, he said that he was moving away to live with relatives. I gave him a kiss on the lips as a going away present. I never heard from him again. I know I plan to start a career in modeling and business, but I wanted some adventure in my life. And most of the students don’t hold that kind of excitement that I seek. But I needed someone who would have a big career in his future. You just fit the mold that I was looking for. But I can now see that you’re better than that, someone who’s out of my reach.” I said, “Fleur, you need to focus on what you want, not what she wants you to have. If it’s excitement that you want, then just look for one who has that kind of excitement that you want to enjoy. If your mother doesn’t like him, tough, it’s her loss. A guy like that can have a big future down the road. Bold men can take risk to get what they want, but the reward will be greater than the risk. She just has to see it from a different view.” She stood back up with a new tone. “You’re right. I need to take charge in my life. And if she doesn’t like it, she’s just going to have to deal with it.” She took a moment to herself before she spoke again. “Jack, can you ask Coach Fleetfoot that I would like to get our talk over with now, please?” I nodded and took out my cell to redial the last number that was sent to me. I asked them to drive on up so that she could get this chat over with. She went to the main room to open the gate, and grabbed her coat to go outside with me. When they got out of their car, Fleur and Fleetfoot had their talk while Spitfire and me watched over. When they were finished with their chat, they walked back up to us. “I think Fleur might have learned her lesson,” Fleetfoot said. “I plan to keep an eye on her, just to make sure she’s safe, after what has happened today.” “That just leaves us with the guy who broke in through the window,” I said. “Well, if he tore his track jacket, I should be able to find him,” Fleetfoot said. Fleur asked, “Wait, you said that the guy ripped his jacket?” We all nodded. “Someone came up to Suri, asking if she can get his jacket fixed up before tomorrow night’s game. It looked like a clean rip on his side. I should be able to point him out, if that helps.” “You do that, and I’ll make sure to go easy on you,” Fleetfoot requested. “Thanks, Coach Fleetfoot. And I’m sorry that I created all those distractions before. I should get some rest.” Before Fleur went back inside, I went up to her and said, “Look, if you need to talk to someone, you have my number. Just give me a call, and I’ll be happy to talk to you. And if you feel like you’re about to get into a problem, just remember that you don’t have to go into it alone. That’s the keyword that you should use if you have to warn me or request for my help.” “Thanks, Jack. There’s just one more thing I want to give you.” Before I could respond, she planted her lips onto mine in a passionate kiss. When she broke from our kiss, she said, “Good luck beating Crystal Prep.” She went inside, closing the door. I walked back down with a puzzled look on my face. “You really do know how to score with the ladies,” Spitfire said with a grin. I replied, “Don’t get me started, Coach. That’s the second time today that I have been kissed without knowing it, and the third during this semester.” “If the other two are AJ and Sunset, then along with Fleur, who’s the better kisser?” Spitfire asked. I rolled my eyes and said, “You’re just as bad as Twilight. But one thing stands out when she was making her confession. She said that Lightning Dust asked for some money to hire someone who knew the school layout. You think we might have a mole inside our school?” “That’s the last thing I want to think about,” Spitfire said. “We might have to tell this to Celestia and Luna. They might be the only ones who can find out who’s giving Crystal Prep info, if that’s true.” “And we would have to tell Celestia about what we did in the process,” I said. “And she won’t be happy about it.” “I’ll keep an eye on Crystal Prep and let you know who you need to look for,” Fleetfoot said. “You’re going to have to catch him during the game tomorrow night if you want this to be resolved.” “There’s one more thing you need to know,” I said. “Lightning Dust, Suri, and Brick Wall were at our school on the Monday a couple of weeks ago just as classes ended. If they tried to skip class at your school, you might be able to use that to your advantage.” “Thanks for the info, Jack,” Fleetfoot said. “I can see why your school believes that you’re special. Gift or no gift, you have a way to help others who need it.” “Thanks. Just tell Indigo Zap and her Elite 5 that it was nice of them to help us,” I said. Fleetfoot was puzzled as she said, “How did you know it was them?” “Indigo and me have one main rule when going into battle, never go into a battle alone. I figure it was her helping us. And Sugarcoat was the one who did the hacking, right?” “Her and Sunny Flare as well,” Fleetfoot responded. “Indigo saw the news articles about your school and saw your name on them. She talked to me in private about you, hoping that you can help her with a problem that her team has been handling. I don’t think she knew that you have the same gift as her until tonight, after the way you cut open the air duct.” “So all of the Elite 5 has this same gift?” I asked Fleetfoot. “They do, but it’s best that they explain it to you later on, just to understand. The rest of the group doesn’t even know that you and Indigo are friends.” “Besides the sisters, Coco, Chrysalis, and Moon Dancer are the only ones that know this,” I said. “I want to leave it that way. But should we tell Celestia that the Elite 5 bear this same gift?” “Not yet,” Spitfire recommended. “The less they know, the better. And it will give them time to find a way to explain it to you later on. Plus we’re still waiting for Master Blades’ items to arrive at Luna’s. It could fill us in on some of your powers, or at least your arts.” “I can fill Indigo in on the details,” Fleetfoot said. “I’ll also have them keep an eye on Fleur as well. Lightning Dust and Suri might still use her for anything.” “Then we know what we have to do. Fleetfoot, thanks for all your help,” I said as I shook her hand. “No problem. I prefer a fair game instead of students cheating to win.” And with that, we all left Fleur’s mansion and made our way back to our own homes. We all know that tomorrow would be the big day for everyone, and we had to be ready.