A New Player
Chapter 65: A New Player
(House by the hill)
“You girls are geniuses!” Twilight jerked back from her phone hearing Gloriosa’s enthusiastic voice bomb through the moment she answered the call.
“I take it the attraction was a success?”
“More than a success. The campers here love it! Especially the children. The kids can’t get enough of it. People have been taking selfies for hours now. The Rock Quarry diner was an awesome idea. I even have a couple saying that they want to hold their wedding right here! Can you believe it? A wedding in my camp?”
“That’s… great?” Twilight gave a look though the woman on the other line wouldn’t be able to see it. I mean come on… a camp wedding? It sounds rather cheesy. “Sorry we had to tear down some of your decorations. It was kind of a short notice.”
“Oh please. Compared to what you girls made, it’s a small price to pay. If this whole thing is a success I might turn this whole diner into a restaurant. Just one question. You’re absolutely sure that this thing won’t… uh… move or go crazy or anything?”
“We’re pretty sure. Just… don’t let it come into contact with anything magical.”
“Will do. I really can’t thank you enough.”
“Don’t sweat it.” It was sort of their fault that golem was there in the first place so… this little favor eased some of her guilt. “We’re happy to help.”
“Hey, if you girls ever plan on staying over, I’ll give you all a good discount.”
“That’s uh… awesome. We’ll think about it.”
“Great! Oh… gotta go. That couple earlier wants to set up a meet.” And with that, Gloriosa hung up leaving Twilight in a rather joyous mood.
“I’m guessing with that smile, Gloriosa liked our design?” Sunset asked sitting cross legged in her PJs on her bed.
Oh she most definitely liked it. While the big stony golem can look rather intimidating at first glance, that frightful visage was easily masked by a few banners and drapes. With a little spit and polish they converted that creature into a semi-tourist attraction that will undoubtedly bring Gloriosa a lot of good-will and money. They even placed the logo of Camp Everfree on its chest to make it look like it was all part of the establishment. By the time people saw it, they wouldn’t even know that they were actually staring at a dangerous monster that could possibly crush them underfoot.
“Naturally.” Twilight replied, jumping onto the bed. “That ribbon you added at the end was a nice touch.”
Sunset shrugged. “Meh. Like Fluttershy always say: If you want something to look cute. Just put a bow on it. Either way, that slashes one problem off our list.” We have a list?
A knock on the door interrupted their session.
“Are you girls still up?” The star haired lady poked her head in.
“Just doing some last minute research.” Twilight answered gesturing to the scattered papers around the room. “Come on in Vice-Principal Luna.”
“Just Luna is fine.” She insisted. “I’m not much of a stickler on rules and regulations like my sister whom I just had a nice long chat on the phone. It seems like the damage done by the quake was more severe than we imagined. There were a lot of broken classrooms and minor injuries. It’ll take all weekend to have the place up and running again.”
“That’s terrible.”
“It’s bad enough that our funding has been cut. Now we have to spend even more for repairs. And it’s only the first week of school. Sometimes I think we spend more money on fixing the school itself rather than maintaining it.”
Sunset flinched at the outburst. “Sorry Vice-Principal Luna.”
The woman quickly realized her error and raised her hand up in defense. “Oh no. I didn’t mean it like it was your fault or anything. That was… just me… thinking out loud. I’m just curious to where that earthquake came from. Canterlot City has never had anything like that before. At least… not in my experience. Not since our trip to Camp Everfree.” She gave the two a knowing glance. “I don’t suppose you two can explain.”
“Sorry. Ms. Luna. But we just started on our research. It’ll be a while before we can explain anything conclusively. There are just too many factors to take in.”
“Tut tut tut, Sunset.” Twilight waggled her finger at her roommate. “We might not be able to explain the magic behind it, we can however explain it scientifically.” She pulled out her phone showing a blog page from the internet. “Good news. Maud introduced me to a website where a bunch of scientists study the tectonic plates of our world. And thanks to their immense resource and stellar lab equipment, I now know exactly where the earthquake originated.”
“That’s convenient. For once.”
“That’s the power of the internet.” She struck a victory pose, signaling the triumph of mankind’s ingenuity. “The bad news however… is that: We can’t exactly go there.”
“Why not?” It was Luna who asked.
“According to the website, the origin of the quake came from Freefall Island, or more specifically, Hoofbeard’s Castle. And that whole place that’s been put on lockdown ever since our stunt with Hoity Toity. No ferry or boat are allowed anywhere near that place without permission.”
Sunset groaned and slumped on her bed. “Another hurdle? As if we don’t have enough problems already. Can’t something go our way just once?”
“Why don’t you let me handle that?” The VP suggested much to their surprise. “I did say I was going to help you solve your magic problem. When rules are set there are bound to be gaps. Trust me. When it comes to loopholes, I’m your girl. I’ll find us a way in.”
(Flash’s House)
Magic.
Flash couldn’t help muttering that word as he gaze giddily at his hand. Even under the cover of his bandages he could feel the energy pulsing like a second heartbeat. He wasn’t really sure what caused it or how it came to be – and to be perfectly honest – he couldn’t care less.
He had magic literally coming from the palm of his hand. It tingled through his fingers, electrifying every part of his arm giving him a weird yet strangely pleasant sensation. For all he knows, hanging out with magically powered girls might’ve passed him this power – or maybe the Equestrian Magic that’s been running through the city had finally caught on to give him a chance. Either way, the thought of such energy running through him made him smile. The boy could only imagine what kind of powers he received.
It didn’t matter if it was a lame power. Just the fact that he had magic was enough.
What if he could control water? He’ll be an ice-wizard, or a fire breathing sorcerer! A weight lifting juggernaut! Heck, maybe even swing around the city like some biogenetically engineered superhero!
The sky was literally the limit.
“Can you believe it buddy? I finally have magic!” He cooed to his pet dog who gladly licked his nose in return. “It’s finally my time to shine. With this power I can become one of those awesome heroes in the movies! Maybe I’ll even be able to Pony-Up like those girls. Think about it. Think about what I can do will that power.”
Bananas scratched the back of his ear in reply.
“I knew you’d be excited too.” He laughed. “Man. I can’t wait to show this to Sunset. She’ll be ecstatic. I just wish what my powers were.”
He glanced over his hand as the devil and angel whispered into his ears.
“Eh… maybe one try won’t hurt.” Despite knowing the danger, Flash decided to do a test run just for the heck of it. He quickly undid the bandages over his hand and grabbed a few of his old toys, lining them by his study table to act as target practice. “Alright. Sorry fellow members of the Cat Brigade. But your sacrifice shall be for the betterment and understanding of my new powers.” The action-figures understood and accepted its fate. Or maybe it didn’t. It didn’t really matter. He didn’t really care. “Right! Here we… oh.”
Thankfully he wasn’t completely brainless and quickly pulled Bananas over to his bed, hastily constructing a fort made entirely of pillows.
“Sorry buddy. But this is for your own safety. Wouldn’t want to hurt my best pal by accident.”
*Woof!*
“Alright. Stand back. Things are about to get… magical.” And with a thrust of his hand, the boy felt the power course through. A hazy sky colored glow lashed out from his fingers interacting with the toy. “Yes… yes… YES! It’s real! It’s really magic! It’s…… bubbles?”
The muscled action figure lifted from the table, floating in a magically made bubble. It made its way towards the ceiling before popping and dropping back on the floor with an audible thud.
“Ok. Not exactly what I was expecting, but it’s a good effort for a first try. Right Bananas?” The dog whimpered. “Let’s try that again. This time something flashy. Something awesome!” He took a stance and thrust his hand forward sending out another wave of his magic.
A second smaller action figure was chosen, shaking violently. Its whole body turned and twisted as each piece sprung over before anticlimactically tipping itself to the floor.
“Ugh! Come on! One more time!” The third figure followed suit, dismantling itself like a broken jigsaw puzzle. “One more!” And the fourth one melted. “Oh come on! Just one more time.” He kept going again and again with each spell casting turning out bizarre and diversifying results. None of which were to his satisfaction. “Ugh. Dang it. Those girls make it look so easy. I need concrete magic, not some random mumbo jumbo! How in the world am I supposed to help anyone with bubbles?”
On his twelfth swing of his hand, the glow suddenly intensified creating a seismic shock that shook the whole room.
*Woof!*
“Bananas!” Flash rushed over to his pal who thankfully got out of his pillow fort unharmed though it did look quite frightened by the sudden tremor. “Sorry about that buddy. Didn’t mean to scare ya.” He held onto the little guy, cradling him in his arms. “I guess Fluttershy was right. This magic really is dangerous.” A little more and he might’ve brought down the whole house.
“Flash?” A knock on the door came a few moments later. “Are you alright in there?”
Oh crud.
The boy quickly answered the door opening it just enough to poke his head out. “H… hey dad. Whatcha doin?”
Sombra gave his a raised brow. “I heard an explosion. Are you doing something in there? And are those… bubbles?”
“Oh that?” He chuckled awkwardly, tiptoeing out and closing the door behind him. “I was just um… doing some last minute school… science project.”
Come on you idiot. Science project? Really? You couldn’t have come up with a better excuse?
“You do know we have workshops in the backyard for that kind of thing, right?” The older gentleman reminded. “Try not to damage the house. Ask for Edmund’s assistance at least.”
“Yeah. Sure thing dad.” He brushed the back of his head awkwardly which his old man quickly noticed the bandages.
“What’s this?” Sombra asked, snatching his wrist with an exasperated look. “Did you hurt yourself?”
The man had a tone somewhere between frightened and furious. It was honestly a little surprising, especially as he held onto his hand when he was pulling away. He had to give it a solid yank before he let go.
“I burned myself during home-ec class.” He lied. “It’s nothing for you to be worried about.”
“I am your father. It is within my right to be worried.” Sombra sternly stated. “That little injury is not something I want to see on you.”
“Dad. Relax. It’s just a small wound. It’ll heal.” It won’t. That scar has been there since last year and it has only just now began to radiate with magic. “I got the school nurse to take a look and she said it’s fine. No need to make a big deal out of it.”
His old man didn’t seem to agree. In fact, he looked ready to pick up the phone and call a whole paramedic team just to give him a proper checkup. But thankfully and reluctantly he decided to let it go for now.
“Very well. If you say so. Just… be mindful. And use the workshop downstairs for your projects. I almost lost you in those caves on Freefall Island. I can’t afford to lose you now.” He let out a small caring smile, holding his shoulder tightly. “In either case. I came by for another reason. I actually have a favor to ask of you.”
A favor?
The boy gave a questioning look.
“With the recent upheaval in CHS and the change in management with the Board of Education, Principal Celestia has decided to host an event to make up for the lost funding in her school.” Oh right. He heard rumors that there would be some big spectacle coming soon. “It’s a joint venture between Crystal Prep and Canterlot High. A fund raising activity, if you could call it that. There’ll be auctions, bake sales, and all the likes.”
“Oh yeah. I heard about that.”
“Good. We can keep this short then. As the new Headmaster of Crystal Prep, I want to contribute to the event.”
That sounded pretty good. With all the damage done from the scientific and magical shenanigans the school could use some financial aid. Though it’ll be a heck of a lot easier if dad could just donate the money rather than jumping through all these loops.
“Sounds great. So… where do I fit in?”
“I was thinking of putting a few of my old things on auction. My garage is getting kind of full with the newer models. So maybe putting those that I don’t drive anymore.”
The boy froze. “Wait. You’re… selling your cars?”
“Just a few old classics. Nothing too fancy.” He shrugged. “Why? Is there a problem?”
“Only about a few hundred!” Flash stammered. “Dad. I don’t think anyone would be interested in buying your old classic.” He doubt any other parent or teacher could even afford them, much less the students.
“Oh…… you think they’ll like an exotic?”
Flash face palmed, hard. “Why don’t we start with something simpler? Something portable… and maybe even… affordable?”
(Equestria) (School of Friendship)
No… not here either.
Starlight Glimmer let out a sigh as she toured through the school for the 20th time this week. It’s been a few days now since school opened up and her two closest faculty and best friends were nowhere to be seen.
Trixie, she can understand. That pony had a wild side of her own and had a tendency to go off on one of her magical tours. She also developed a habit of being chased out of towns and villages because of some scam she worked up too.
But Sunburst? No way.
He did file in an extended vacation form earlier which she agreed upon, but he never exactly specified where he was going. Starlight sent a missive to both Canterlot and the Crystal Empire and neither royals have seen height or hair of that orange unicorn.
“Doh!” Starlight grunted when somecreature decided to fly right on her face.
“Oh! Sorry about that Headmare Glimmer.” Ocellus, the changling, frantically apologized as she grabbed the paper that spilled from her crash. “I should really look where I’m going.”
“It’s fine Ocellus. Just… remember to keep a strict altitude when you’re traveling in high speed.”
“Yes ma’am.” She gave a playful salute. “What are you doing here in the middle of the night? I thought you’d head home by now.”
The purple unicorn gave out a disgruntled sigh. “Just… making sure that everything is up to code. Wouldn’t want the EEA cracking down on us again. And… speaking of which. A little shot in the dark here, but you wouldn’t happen to see Trixie, would you? Normally I can find her no problem whenever she causes a ruckus around town. But she hasn’t showed up to her office for days now.”
“Oh, I have actually.”
Starlight blinked. “You have? Really?”
“Yup. She came over to our dorm room the other day. She needed Smolder and Gallus to help her make a few smoke bombs.”
“Smoke bombs?”
“Yeah. She said she needed them to get through some security in Canterlot Castle. Not really sure what they were up to but it looked pretty fun.”
That… did not sound good – or fun.
What in Equestria was Trixie up to now? She hoped she wasn’t regressing back to her villainess days. That would be a major disservice to her time here in the School of Friendship. Was she gonna rob somepony? Or maybe even a bank? She wasn’t short on bits, that’s for sure. Her salary alone should more than cover her expenses here in Ponyvile.
Unless… it wasn’t money.
“When did you say this happened?”
“About… two or three days ago.” The changling shrugged.
About the same time Sunburst took his extended leave.
Starlight’s eyes widened in realization as the scenario clicked into place. Her head snapped over to the window overlooking Canterlot City.
The timing of this whole thing couldn’t be a coincidence.
“No.” She muttered, nostrils flaring up. “He wouldn’t!”
Ocellus jerked back spilling her papers again. “Eeep! Headmare Glimmer?”
“Sorry Ocellus. I have something to take care of. Tell the other students that my period tomorrow is free.” And without even waiting for an answer she cast her teleportation spell and vanished into thin air.
“Umm… okay?”
(Canterlot Castle)
Princess Luna was sitting by Starswirl the bearded that night reading the latest issue of Daring Do. Seeing as her retirement plans have been thrown out the window, she may as well catch up on some literary relaxation with a nice cup of tea. A pony can only scribble so much ink on her old mentor’s comatose face for so long before getting bored. She even tied several knots on his beard to make them look… bearable to look at. She tried to trim it down earlier but Celestia warned her not to. I mean seriously… learn to shave, you old goat.
If she had her way she would’ve cleaned the whole thing right off.
Can you imagine? Starswirl the Clean Shaven?
Ha! His expression alone would be priceless. Though he’d certainly look a lot better than his bearded self.
But alas, that moment of peaceful serenity was abruptly interrupted when a voice boom across the castle.
“SUNBURST!!!!!!!!!!! You are in so much trouble!”
The echo alone rattled the castle to its core, alerting the guards outside. Her tea spilled over her book and her napkin.
The Princess of the Moon let out a sigh. “I should’ve planned our retirement sooner.”
(Ezaquatel) (Grand Temple)
Was that Starlight’s voice just now?
Trixie’s ears flapped when she swore she heard her best friend shouting across the hall. “Did you hear something?”
Her orange traveling companion shrugged back. “Hear what?”
“I swore I heard Starlight just now.”
Sunburst chuckled. “That’s ridiculous. You couldn’t possibly hear anything under here. It’s probably the wind.”
Right~~ wind.
“I think I would be able to tell the difference between a gush of air and my best friend.”
“Those hunger pangs must be making you delusional.”
“Well can you help me? I haven’t had anything to eat since that apple pie. And no, I am not eating your worms. They’re disgusting.”
“Hardly.” He retorted. “Earthworms have the nutritional value of a light snack. Even back before the founding of Equestria, Earth Ponies would put them in their pies, cake, and even salad. They were quite the delicacy back then.”
Trixie stuck her tongue out in disgust. “Well this palate only accepts actual food. Not… whatever squiggly wiggly thing you put in your mouth. How much longer must we stay here? We’ve been following Starswirl’s trail for days now and all he’s done so far is wander around aimlessly.”
And she wasn’t exaggerating either. The trace image of Starswirl kept a brisk pace in this world, however the old wizard had done nothing but wander the ground he walked on, tap a few walls here and there, and take quick breaks. She expected something big to happen when you follow in the literal hoofsteps of a legendary pony. But alas, it would seem like he was just as boring as the rest of the mundane masses.
Not only that, but they had to hide underground to keep themselves from being discovered by those creepy living statues. Every time Starswirl goes up from the underground passage, they had to hide in the dark corners of the temple as those monstrosities pass on by with their… uh… what do you call them again? Feet? Foot? Paws?
Anyway it hardly mattered. But that old wizard nearly got them in trouble several times already. They’ve been attacked, chased and pursued by these golems many times already. Thankfully, Trixie was used to being chased away by an angry mob and knew how to hide and turn a corner when needed. The only other problem was the grotesque nature of the monsters that attack them.
Each statue they came across began to look even more random and creepier than the last. Really… it was something even Discord would find uncomfortable, and that guy was THE Lord of Chaos.
Honestly, whoever designed these monstrosities did not have a lick of imagination.
“Starswirl spent a whole week on this world before he came back to Equestria.” Sunburst reminded. “As a fellow researcher, I can understand why he would spend all his time studying the area. Leaving no stone unturned.”
“I am not spending a whole week here eating worms.” She groaned. “Can’t you like… fast forward your spell to the interesting part?”
Sunburst puckered her lips to retort but found himself agreeing. He too must be getting a bit annoyed on how slow the old wizard was taking things.
“I suppose we can speed things up a bit. We can probably find out more once he wakes up.” He did so, putting another spell in the works and watched as the trace image of Starswirl sped up like a movie roll. He glanced around, using a spell or two before heading to a particular corner of the passage. “It looks like he found something.”
Is it a stash of hayburgers? Because she could go for one of those right now.
Sadly it wasn’t. The image of Starswirl looked up to an old floor tile and eyed it carefully before pushing it up with his magic. He peeked around making sure that there were no monsters lying in wait before jumping in.
What was the pony even looking for anyway? He went missing for a few days and came back all haggard. If this ends up to be nothing more than a wild goose chase, she was going to be sorely disappointed.
Following the old pony’s trail, they came upon what appeared to be a giant auditorium – or perhaps something akin to a grand hall. While it was pitch black on all sides, you could tell by the echo that it was empty.
“It looks like he found what he was looking for.” Sunburst surmised – or perhaps that was just wishful thinking on his part. “Let’s see what he found.”
With a little help, the two unicorns conjured light from their horns illuminating the place. And on the far end they found what looked to be the biggest mural they had ever come across. It covered the entire section of wall, painted with a style unknown to all of Equestria.
An archeologist would probably say that it was the discovery of the millennium.
But to Trixie, it was just another boring old painting made by some kids with too much time on their hooves.
“This? This is what Starswirl wanted to find? An old painting? What a bore. If he wanted a good one I can point him to the auction house in Canterlot.”
“Don’t let its simplicity fool you.” The Vice-Headmare stated. “These murals are more than just architecture designs. Most civilization in their early days would scribble down things like these to commemorate important events in history. Why even the ponies back before the founding of Equestria used to decorate entire temples with them.”
Sounds like a hassle when you can just write the same thing on a piece of paper.
Trixie rolled he eyes and shrugged. “Whatever. So what grand event does this entail? Is it some kind of party?”
Sunburst squinted closely to the mural, analyzing it bit by bit. Many parts of it has faded over time but you can still make out the whole picture.
Judging by the rows of humanoid figures kneeling, it was probably some kind of royal procession. An introduction to a new monarch or something like that. Honestly, what cheek. I mean commemorating your own procession? Can you be anymore arrogant?
Pffft. If she had someone paint a picture of her, it’d be way more modest than this. Perhaps a little bigger – and maybe sold to other corners of Equestria to commemorate her amazingness.
“No…” She stopped on her thoughts when she noted Sunburst gasping.
“Ugh… what now?”
“It… it can’t be.” The boy’s eyes shot up as his face turned paler than a sheet of paper. He looked like he’d seen a ghost.
Ugh… great. He was doing that shocked expression. “What? What is it?”
The orange pony simply pointed to the center of the mural where a pitch black spot marred the entire piece. While the rest of the wall was decorated in beautiful colors and artistic marvel, the center of it was a pitch black hole, shaping into some kind of dark flame.
She could barely make out the shape hidden within.
A pony… made entirely of shadow.
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Okay, I'm interested. But what next?
Wow... The Pony of Shadows?! I just got more interested in Sunburst and Trixie’s storyline.
Ha! I like the idea of Flash being SpiderMan way too much.
Been a while since Daddy asked Flash for a favor.
Wasn't expecting that to be twilight's idea but at least it worked out in the end.
Drats, and they just found the location of where it originated from, at least we know the golem wasn't responsible for it. Though I still hope it'll be figured out how it got free from the cave it was trapped in. 🤔
https://m.It's still a shocker he technically has powers now like the main 7 and the sirens.
I think your overthinking it flash since this is all still new to you, plus these powers might be different than the power the main 7 have.
And that's what happens when you mess with something you don't know much about.
You never know what'll happen flash, someone might want to buy one of them if you ask me.
It makes sense why if you ask me.
Oh no!