//------------------------------// // Ch. 30 - Old Friends, New Problems // Story: Equestria World, Book 1: Surviving Canterlot High // by Gear Works //------------------------------// After dropping off Applejack and Sunset at their own homes, I came back home and lay on my bed, tired as ever. Realizing that my soul could have lived in a past life is just as bizarre, but with the fact that I may know some of these soul arts that I have yet to see is more puzzling. At least everyone else is handling all of my problems this time. But there’s one thing that I can only do, and I’m hoping that she can fill me in on what I really need to know. I decided to grab my cell and Indigo’s number and placed a call. “…………” “Hey! Who’s trying to call me on here?” “Is that how you greet your old training partner?” “About time you called, Jack. What took you so long?” “Oh, you know. First date. Crowned king at homecoming. Working out. Mysteriously finding new powers you don’t see coming. The usual.” “Forgot you had homecoming last night. So I have to ask, what led you to Ponyville?” “After my dad finished with his part of the Manehattan project before Christmas last year, we had some free time working on old Rusty for me to drive.” “I’m surprised that he gave you his old truck.” “Well, he did get a new truck after we moved to Manehattan. But I now have a new truck of my own, thanks to his boss.” “Why you little…” “Hey, now we can give that truck to Chrysalis, now that’s she’s part of the family.” “As soon as I get my license.” Chrysalis just walked into my room. “Is that Indigo?” “Yep,” I said. “Is that her?” “Sure thing,” I said to Indigo. “HEY! MAKE SURE YOU KEEP HIM OUT OF TROUBLE, YOU HEAR?” “Don’t worry, I will,” Chrysalis said towards my cell. “I’ll leave you two alone to talk.” And she left my room. “Tough girl, that’s for sure. So where were we?” “Still talking about my time at Manehattan. So while we were working on the truck, my dad’s boss comes over and requests his aid on some problems with the new D.I.Y. store location. Thanks to my dad’s help, they got it resolved and decided to have my dad become the new manager of the store. We relocated here, and with help from a friend of my mother’s, I was able to transfer to Canterlot High on short notice.” “Well you at least answered my next question. So where are you living at?” “If you find the new sub-division that was created earlier this year, we’re the only house in the area at the moment. My dad is looking over a few houses that are being built at this time, so we won’t be alone for long.” “You’re more lucky than anyone else that I know.” “So how did you come here as well?” “After having good grades during my freshman year at Filly high, and doing some out-of-school sports that lead to my local team winning championship games in basketball and soccer, my parents got a visit from Principal Cinch and Coach Fleetfoot from Crystal Prep. They heard how I want to go to college with an athletic scholarship that they hope that Crystal Prep will improve my chances in earning a scholarship. So I was able to transfer to Crystal Prep over the summer a year ago.” “So, where does you family living at?” “Parents still live in Fillydelphia. I’m living with Coach Fleetfoot until I graduate from Crystal Prep. I do get to see my parents during the summer, and they do come over here for Christmas. Coach loves my parents cooking.” “Who doesn’t love your parents cooking?” “I know.” “Well, since we got that out of the way, I think it’s time we got to what we really need to talk about.” “Why most of Crystal Prep carries these strange powers…including myself.” “Do you know when it started for yourself?” “About a month after I started attending Crystal Prep. It worried me for a while, but I started to just think I was either hearing things or that my time training with you was finally paying off. But when basketball season started. It started to get creepy for me. After a few games, it almost felt like my mind was in sync with most of my teammates. Three others in fact.” “Let me guess: Lemon Zest, Sour Sweet, and Sunny Flare.” “That’s right. And whenever we were looking over various plays with coach, I can sense what Sugarcoat was thinking, and somehow she knew the same with all of us. Coach looked at me with concern one evening over dinner, and I just told her what was going on with myself. I had a feeling that she would think I was crazy, but she was on my side. She wondered why her teams in past years have been perfect every season. And I have to agree with her. It’s not normal to pull off. I mean, where’s the fun in that?” “It’s like there’s no need to compete when you already know who will win and who will lose before it even begins.” “So coach asked me if there were anyone who I felt in sync with, and I told her about the four girls that we just brought up. She decided to talk to each one in private and see if they were feeling the same thing, in which they did. So all five of us got together at coach’s place to discuss what was going on. The others started to feel this way a month after they started their freshman year.” “I’m surprised that you got the principal’s daughter in all this.” “I know. We didn’t know what to do. So coach told us to do what we normally do and that she’ll deal with our problems in this matter. The best we could do is keep an eye out for each other.” “So how were you able to come up with the name ‘The Elite 5’?” “Well, we were the top five female students in the school in our sophomore class that time. So it just stuck with us. Jack, what is the soul…something that we have?” “It’s called soul resonance. It involves a person’s soul. It can sense other people’s negative emotions, and can also allow you to react without seeing it coming. It was awakened inside me during the 7th grade. I didn’t know what it was at the time, or how it work, but I took the time to understand what I was sensing with this gift.” “Could explain why you were able to find and confront those bullies. You even were able to dodge them before I stepped in to help out.” “But not the time when we decided to take the fight to them when they went too far.” “I know. We were full of rage when we did so. You took a good beating at the time, but it didn’t take you down.” “That’s because it was masking my gift’s powers. I think it’s a weakness to what I possess. So keep that in mind.” “I might have to tell that to Sour Sweet. She has bi-polar disorder. And she doesn’t like taking any meds for it. Look, Sugarcoat has been studying what’s been going on with us, and some of us have unique talents. I don’t know how to explain it.” “That’s OK. There are still questions on my end as well. We need to find a way to meet altogether. If I can get Coco and Moon Dancer to see what you have discovered, maybe we can get more answers than questions. Along with Chrysalis, they know about our past relationship.” “And I would like to keep it that way. While coach handles the group, I make the orders for the group, since I’m the one who brought it up in the first place.” “Good enough for me. It was Moon Dancer who found the article on yourself when I brought your name up. I’m just glad you’re on my side.” “If you don’t mind me asking, where does Coco come in on this? I heard that she was going to attend Crystal Prep, but Suri was pissed when Rarity took her away, which in my opinion is the best thing that ever happened towards her.” “First friend I made in Manehattan. She was one who felt like my gift needed to be kept in secret. And she’s the one who has kept me in check and got me out of some tight spots since I got here.” “Glad she’s there and not here.” “Now I have to ask you something.” “I knew this was coming. I know that Long Shot might be gifted like us, and that worries me.” “What makes you say that?” “First, he’s the only one who has kept his gift from what I know of.” “You mean the rest of the team had this gift?” “Yes, but for some reason, it didn’t last long as the first game was underway. We still won, but Sugarcoat hasn’t seen any signs of their gifts returning, which is puzzling for us.” “And what would be the second thing.” “Because he’s a good friend of mine since I came here. He has the talents that could get him far in college. But I don’t think he understands what he possesses, and I didn’t feel like telling him if it would crush his dreams.” “What, is he your boyfriend?” “HECK NO!!! I mean, he’s nice, but he’s a total health nut. Always complains about some of the foods I eat. I just don’t think he’s the one for me. But he’s nice to talk to when I need someone to talk to, since I didn’t have you around when I needed it the most.” “Well, at least you had a shoulder to lean on. I was able to get a training partner at my last school. And another at this school, Applejack.” “The farmer girl? Now that’s a laugh.” “Watch it. If it weren’t for your gift, she would kick your rear big time. I had to rely on mine just to beat her in a sparing match.” “OK, OK. I believe you. Just wish I didn’t have these personal rivalries between school.” “Like you and Dash. Or should I point out Twilight and Sugarcoat. Maybe Lemon Zest and Vinyl Scratch?” “Wait, what does Lemon Zest have against this Vinyl Scratch?” “Something about Lemon getting 2nd place while Vinyl got 3rd at the EDM contest.” “So that’s what she was bragging about all this time. And to think that Sour Sweet had to face off against some hippie girl for what Sour did to one of Dash’s friends.” “Now this is a first. That would be Tree Hugger. So, does Sunny Flare have any grudges with my friends?” “Ugh, the Great and Powerful Trixie is what I heard from her. Don’t even ask.” “I guess we all have our own personal grudges.” “The only grudge you had was against bullies, and not just one person.” “That changed when I got here. And now she’s my girlfriend.” “Now I’m curious. You might have to give me the full story later on. Look, I’m going to have to go. It was nice to hear your voice again. Just wish is was on better terms.” “I can understand. Just do me a favor. Keep an eye on Fleur. I want her to stay safe against those troublemakers that gave us a hard time last week.” “Already on it. And I’m sorry about Lightning Dust getting on your case. I hope when basketball season starts, I can keep her in line. I know she’s this close to getting a beat down…with my fists.” “Let’s just hope that the school punishes her and the others for what they did last week. You take care.” “You too. Bye.” I hang up on my cell and plugged it into my charger. I lie down on my bed and let out a big sigh. That’s when Chrysalis returned to my room. “Everything OK?” she asked. “Yea, just a lot of things going on with both schools. They’re worried about what’s going on there just as much as we are. I got lucky to get our friends working together when they learned about my gift. But adding the Elite 5 into the mix will be a bigger problem with the grudges that each one of them have.” “I’m sure you’ll find a way when the time comes,” she said. “Let’s just hope that a lot of Crystal Prep students are punished tomorrow,” I said. “Would be nice to get some of them off our backs.” “I’m hoping for the same thing,” she said. I was with the volunteer club, including Coach Spitfire, working on getting all the remaining props down and making sure it was preserved for other related events. The school likes to save some of this stuff for the theater club to use. The fashion club had a very short meeting, so Rarity, Coco, and Chrysalis were able to join and help us. By the time we finished up, Cadence, Twilight, and Principal Celestia were able to join us. Miss Luna let Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon go so the rest of us can discuss our next course of action with Crystal Prep. “We haven’t heard anything about punishments from the group who broke in here, have we?” Applejack asked. “Not yet,” Spitfire responded. “But Coach Fleetfoot will let me know before school is over.” “That just leaves us with Long Shot, which we know isn’t a part of the group,” Luna said. “Twilight has been telling me that Moon Dancer and Tree Hugger have been trying to come up with a theory as to Jack’s soul having to lived a past life,” Celestia explained. “To know about these soul arts without seeing it twice is very unusual.” “I can hardly imagine it,” Rarity said. “Maybe he was a great hero, or a king back then. OH, he could have been a knight of Canterlot back then.” After saying that, Rarity started to go off into her own world. “Um, Earth to Rarity. I think you’re overdoing it,” said Applejack, snapping Rarity back into reality. “Forgive me, AJ. I was just imagining what he could have been to produce these talents,” Rarity said. “But we don’t know how he’s executing them out of nowhere,” Sunset explained. “What if this happens during the playoff games?” “Sunset’s right. If it was to happen, people would notice, and every bad person out there would be coming for him,” Coco explained. “That’s why we kept his gift a secret back in Manehattan.” Then a question came to mind. “Luna, how many soul arts were there that you have from Master Blades?” “20. All of them are written in scrolls and kept in cases, five per case. After you guys called me, I went to look over the scrolls. I’ve only looked over the first ten, and from the looks of them, each soul art gets to be more challenging the higher the number. I know you just did arts one, three, and five. If that’s the case, the art number two should be easy at this stage, maybe art number four.” I asked Luna, “What’s art number four?” “Lightning Jab. It involves lightning fast punches. I’ll bring the scrolls tomorrow for you to look over. But there’s one that really caught my eye. Soul Art #10: Chi Boost. From what I read, it’s similar to Soul Shadow in the multiplier department, but it involves having your mind, body, and soul to be as one, which I don’t think you have yet to experience. It might be the only art that can be hard to notice on the field. But with it being the tenth art, it might be hard to learn and control.” “Maybe not,” Twilight said as she placed a finger on her chin. “I wonder if Tree Hugger would know something about this that could help Jack learn it better.” “It might sound like a long shot, no pun intended, but I’ll take any opinion there is,” I said. “With less that two weeks before we could be facing Crystal Prep, it’s going to take a team to pull off a big win.” “I’ll talk to Tree Hugger and see if we can set a date and time to work on, maybe this weekend,” Twilight recommended. “Works for me,” I said. The bell rang, signaling that it was lunchtime. Everyone in the gym left, expect for Coach Spitfire and me. Spitfire asked me, “Did you have a chance to talk to Indigo Zap.” “Just last night. She’s just as worried as we are, not just for her, but for her friend, Long Shot.” “So Long Shot is just caught in this mess without knowing it? That complicates things.” “I don’t know about that,” I said. “He’s not part of Dust’s group, and is focused on having a bright future in college. Plus, he’s the only one in the football team that would possess it. I don’t want to say that he could help us, but might be helpful from Indigo’s end.” “I hope you know what you’re doing.” I spent my time helping with Principal Celestia during 6th period. She said that it would help ease my mind from everything else, which was working. She wanted to know how my date with Sunset was before homecoming. After telling her the details, she was glad that I was able to help her and bridge the gap between her and Twilight. As the final bell rang, I was finishing up with filing away the papers that we were sorting out. As I grabbed my things and make my way to my locker, Coach Spitfire came in with my friends that were at our lockers in front of the office. “I just got a message from Coach Fleetfoot that you need to hear,” Spitfire said as she pulled her cell out of her packet to replay the message. “Spitfire, I just found out that Mr. Discord requested for Principal Finch to hand out two weeks of dentition to at least 11 boys and 8 girls, and gave our equipment worker who confessed a one week dentition. The 11 boys were on the football team and have been suspended for the remainder of the football session. But we have a problem. Lightning Dust, Brick Wall, and Suri Polomare got off the hook with some alibi that someone else confirmed, so nothing is being done to them. I’ll try to find out who gave this alibi and what it was. Make sure the others know about this.” “Not cool,” Dash said. “I know Dust would pull some stunt to get out of it. That’s her style.” Twilight said, “That means that the only one who can prove they were with the group is the insider that helped them get in here.” “But how do we find out which student did this,” Fluttershy said. “There’s a lot of students here, and it will be hard to find out who helped them.” “We’ll find a way to expose our mole in this school,” Applejack said. “We just need a plan to find him or her and get that person to confess.” “We might as well stay alert after school hours,” Sunset recommended. “There’s no telling if they decide to make this personal with Jack, or any of us.” “I have to agree with Sunset on this,” Celestia said. “While they can’t do anything on school grounds, what goes on out there is beyond my control. Try to stay in pairs as best as possible whenever you go out.” So we all started to head on home, realizing that the next two weeks would not be easy for us. As Chrysalis, Twilight, and Shining Armor were walking with me to our vehicles, my cell started to go off. I pulled it out and saw that it was Fleur. “I got a bad feeling about this.” I answered my cell and said, “Something wrong, Fleur?” “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry!!!” “Alright, alright. Clam down. What’s going on?” I said as I was giving my friends a worried look. “Lightning Dust confronted me this morning at school and wanted me to tell Principal Cinch that her, Suri, and Brick Wall were with me on the night that they wanted to break in to your school. She said that if I told anyone what I was doing, that they would hurt me. I was scared and didn’t know what to do.” “Are you now by yourself?” “Yes I am. I’m in the car with my chauffeur going back to my place.” “OK, I want you to call Coach Fleetfoot about what happen. I’m assuming that you have her number?” “I do.” “Good. We’ll take care of Lightning Dust and her crew. You just take care of yourself, OK?” “I will. I’m sorry that I have to put you through this.” “It’s OK. We got this covered. Bye.” I hanged up and looked at the others. Twilight asked, “So, Fleur was responsible for all that?” “By force,” I replied. “Rainbow Dash was right, Lightning Dust would do anything to get out of trouble. Can you catch Principal Celestia and Coach Spitfire and tell them what we just learned? I need to head back and take care of things.” “Sure thing,” Shining Armor replied. Both of them went back into the school, while Chrysalis and me made our way to my truck. I decided to send a text to Indigo that I needed to talk to now. By the time we got into my truck, she finally called me. “Jack, I got your text. I had to step away from the others. Coach Fleetfoot is talking to Fleur right now.” “I asked her to do so. Lightning Dust forced Fleur to get her crew in the clear.” “Damn it. That bitch is toast.” “Keep it in check, Indigo,” Chrysalis said. “I don’t think you want her to catch on at this time.” “Sorry, Chrysalis. I just…” “It’s OK. We all have our moments.” I said, “Look, just keep an eye on Dust and the others, and make sure that Fleur is safe.” “I can see if Fleetfoot will let me stay with Fleur if it helps her. And we’ll make sure all eyes are on Dust, Suri, and Brick Wall. If they try something, we’ll do our best to intervene.” “Good enough.” “I wish I knew she was planning this in the first place.” “Well, if Dust wants to start a war, then I’ll be happy to give her one. And I’ll make sure she regrets it.”