Let the Legend Come Back to Life
Computer class was a bore as usual, with their odd teacher droning on and on about simple things, turning a grass patch into a whole rainforest in one breath.
“Ugh…” Applejack groaned at her seat, her head threatening to fall against her keyboard. “How long do we have?”
“Still quite a bit, I’m afraid...” Home Run shrugged as he returned his eyes to his computer screen. As much as he would love to doze off, the thoughts of Mr. Pierce’s baton on his face held him up, keeping him focused.
Time ticked by at about the same speed as Mr. Pierce could limp around the room, as if the boring man and the clock were working together to keep him from the baseball game the Wondercolts would be playing later today.
He felt someone nudged him, his head turning to face Flash Sentry.
“Baseball game today, right?” Flash flashed him a grin as he whispered over. “No doubt you guys are gonna win!”
“Please…” Home Run sighed. “Don’t remind me. I’m already doing my best to keep it out of my head, or we’re going to be in this class all day!”
“Chill, man,” Flash tried to help. “Just think about something else. I mean… between you and me, I normally think of Twilight Sparkle.”
A knock drew everyone’s attention to the door as Mr. Pierce grumpily hobbled towards it. Flinging it open, he was greeted by a royally-pissed off looking Principal Celestia.
The teacher quickly turned to the class. “I’ll be a while. Just do your homework. I’d already sent it to your inboxes. Do it and I’ll grade it, like always. Not like I have to look particularly hard to see where your mistakes are…”
Principal Celestia cleared her throat irritably. “I don’t have all day, you know.”
Mr. Pierce nodded and headed out, slamming the door behind him. As soon as the lock clicked into place, the entire room erupted into raucous cheering and the sound of numerous videos being pulled up.
“Ah, yes!” Home Run joined in the cheering. “This’ll definitely pass time much faster. Baseball game, here I come!”
“Anyone noticed how agitated Principal Celestia looked?” Applejack leaned over from her desktop. “Ah mean, Ah’ve never seen her like that before.”
“Mr. Pierce must’ve done something really bad…” Fluttershy whispered from behind them.
This statement earned a bark of laughter from Lightning Dust, who had one earbud in, listening to some kind of metal band. “Seriously? I hope she sacks him then. Mr. Pierce’s been nothing but a pain since day one.”
“Tha-that’s not a v-very nice thing to say…” Fluttershy timidly told her.
“For real though, I heard he used to involved in hacking and shizz. All sorts of shady stuff like that.” Lightning Dust cranked up the volume on her video. “Maybe Principal Celly finally got some evidence, huh?”
“Well, whatever it is,” Home Run leaned back and cracked his fingers. “At least he’s not in class right now. I still remember what you guys said about Jetstream and Lightning Rain. I really don’t want that happening to me.”
“That too!” Lightning Dust frowned and took off her earbuds. “No one hits my little brother but me. What a jerkwad.”
“You’d think he’d get fired, but no,” Flash shrugged as he returned to search the net for some music. “He’s still here.”
“I bet he’s just hiding here at CHS, ‘cause he’s on the lam for a crime he committed a while ago.” Flash raised an eyebrow at the sprinter’s accusation. “I mean, he obviously doesn’t like kids, so why else would he be working here?”
“She does raise a good point,” Applejack tipped her hat as she brought both legs up onto her table. “Why work in a school when ya don’t wanna interact with kids?”
Home Run and Fluttershy exchanged nervous glances.
“Well, maybe he’s just shy?”
This earned a bark of laughter from everyone who heard it. “Pfft, tcha, right! I’m telling you, that Mr. Pierce is hiding something dark. And one day, it’s going to come back and bite him.”
“Meh, as long as we’re not involved when it happens…” Home Run laughed. “Well, with him gone from class at the moment… baseball game, here I come!”
Home Run held the door of Sugarcube Corner open for the rest of the baseball team, allowing them to enter before letting it swing shut behind him. They ordered their drinks before sitting around one of the bigger tables, ready to celebrate their victory in their latest baseball game. It had been a close match, but they had managed to get in a good hit near the end, allowing them to cinch the win by two points. The cafe was as usual, crowded with other people, but fortunately you could always get a table, no matter how packed it looked.
“Fantastic game, team!” Rainbow grinned and leaned back with her hands behind her head. “We’re pretty awesome! Especially me, though, but you guys did great!”
“Well of course, captain!” Jetstream put a hand to his chest. “We’re one of the best. You’re one of the best!”
“Not if you keep swinging your bat like that, Jetstream,” Lightning Rain looked smugly at the boy next to him.
“Hey, that’s technique, waterboy,” Jetstream poked a finger in Lightning’s face. “And my technique isn’t the one that lacks something.”
“Well it lacks a home run, I’ll give you that.”
“You… You shut your face!”
“Make me, Windbag.”
“Right.” Jetstream rolled up his sleeves and brought his fists in front of his face. “You ready?”
“Guys!” Home Run got their attention with his voice as he put down his strawberry milkshake. “Celebration. Not argument. Could you guys just cool it for a few hours?”
“Fine.” Jetstream folded his arms and kicked back against the soft leather. He picked up his lemon juice and began draining its contents through the straw. “Since you won us the game, Homey, I’ll cool it.”
“Yeah, nice touch at the end, Homey,” Heavy Wind said as he tapped away on his phone. He turned it around for the rest of the team to see a picture of Home Run, hitting the ball sky high. “Three points. You got us ahead with just those three points!”
“Well, it wasn’t all me,” Home Run waved away their praises. “Everyone contributed. Especially Rainbow. I mean, she’s the captain after all.”
“Got that right!” the rainbow haired girl whooped. “That’s why I’m awesome!”
Home Run had hit the home run that gave them the win, but the others couldn’t go unnoticed as well. Even Jetstream’s odd quickdraw technique and Lightning Rain’s calculative bat mode had scored a few points. Not to mention the other contributions from the rest of the team. Sundown’s fine pitching had gotten them plenty of chances to bat, while Heavy Wind and Cold Wind had done well out on the field, tagging out the other team’s players as they rushed to get to the bases. First Base and Shortstop were still young, but they still did really well too.
Home Run admired his team. Even without the recommended number of players, they had pulled through so many victories, even before he had moved to Canterlot. The five baseballers truly earned the title, ‘Winds of Destruction’. He couldn’t ask for a better team to play with.
“We should be able to dominate this year!” Rainbow cheered as she thought back to the game. “Let’s see Crystal Prep try to beat us this time!”
“Well, we might be good,” Sundown began after a sip of coffee. “But we ain’t the best just yet. There’s still... the Ocelot.”
“The Ocelot?” Home Run raised an eyebrow. Home Run had heard of the legendary baseball player before. He was a boy of extraordinary skill, able to pinpoint the ball’s exact position before hitting it really far, and his speed was supposedly unmatched. “I thought he was just a myth?”
“Oh, he’s more than just a myth,” Cold Wind answered. “Have you never seen him on the field of battle?”
“Uh… on the baseball field? No. You mean you have?”
“Of course I have!” Jetstream butted into the conversation. “It all happened a few years ago. We were playing baseball, back in middle school. He showed up on the other team and totally thrashed us! That day, we were utterly defeated. Like, we didn’t even stand a chance against that guy! He ran so fast.”
“I heard he’s never been outrun,” Home Run said with the straw in his mouth. “But I always thought that was all a scary story the coaches told you to get your game up.”
“No, Homey.” Jetstream leaned closer at the table. “It all started when he was younger. One day, aliens had crashed down in his hometown and demanded the lives of small children. They would’ve gotten away with it too if it wasn’t for the Ocelot. He found out one important thing that day. Their weakness was baseball. And he was even fast enough to dodge their lasers! Have you ever seen anyone dodge lasers?”
“Uhh… What?” Home Run wasn’t sure what his ponytailed friend was talking about anymore.
“That ain’t even remotely true!” Sundown smashed a fist on the tabletop.
“Yeah!” Heavy Wind seconded as he scrolled down Neighgag. “Everyone knows that the legend started when a young boy from a rural town was first introduced to the Chrome Bat by a wandering stranger. The special bat was just so awesome that he ended up training with it day and night, mastering the ancient techniques of batting. After a few years, he joined a baseball team and batted his way to the top. Oh, and he also learnt that he could run really fast during that time, hence his nickname, the Ocelot.”
“That sounds believable,” Home Run nodded. “So who was this stranger? He must be pretty good at baseball too.”
“The stranger was the one who taught him baseball, Heavy,” Lightning Rain said from his corner. “He didn’t just hand him a bat. He showed him the fundamentals for batting and running. Then the boy left his town to learn under the stranger. That day, CQB was invented.”
“What’s that?”
“Close Quarters Batting. The stranger had given the boy an ancient batting skill, but the Ocelot had taken it and perfected it, forming a new way of batting. The stranger was so impressed that he sent the Ocelot to scout other schools, looking for more ways to improve his style.”
“No, that’s not what happened!” Cold Wind joined in. “The stranger never took him under his wing! After teaching him the right baseball skills, the Ocelot had gone off on his own on a long pilgrimage to add to his CQB knowledge. He trained with the legendary baseball monks in the Maretonian mountains before returning to school life. No one even remembers his real name anymore! Now, he’s just known as the Ocelot, because no one has ever been able to tag him out.”
“Wait, hold your horses!” Sundown interrupted again. “That’s all baloney!”
“Well, why don’t you tell the story then, big guy?” Jetstream asked sarcastically.
Sundown sighed but cleared his throat before continuing. “It all started with an agency called the Logicians. They had scouted out schools for any kid who could play baseball well. They had found the Ocelot and genetically modified him to be able to run like a big cat; silent but faster than lightning. From there, he went to play for many different schools, undercover, but kept switching sides.”
“Wait, why did he need to be undercover?” Home Run scratched his head. That part just didn’t seem to make sense to him at all.
“He was learnin’ everythin’ he could from the other schools, all the while feedin’ the information back to the Logicians so that they could program the knowledge into their other subjects.”
“Sundown, good story and all, but that’s not true!” Jetstream spewed his drink across the table in outrage, getting a little bit of it on Home Run and Rainbow Dash. “Sorry, boss. But that story is just so ridiculous! Genetically modified people? Ha! As if we’ve already invented that technology in this day!”
“Well, that does sound pretty ridiculous, Sundown.” Rainbow wiped the juice off her shirt with a tissue. “Are you sure you heard that all right?”
“O’ course, captain.” Sundown finished the last of his coffee. “That’s the story that’s been passed by my ears more than once, excludin’ Jets’ stories. Which ain’t true neither.”
“Hey!” Jetstream shouted, turning his attention away from cleaning the table. “My story is the real one! Not yours!”
“Nuh-uh,” Cold Wind shook her head. “Mine was.”
The five Winds began squabbling among themselves, arguing about who had the historically accurate story. Jetstream and Lightning Rain were the loudest, arguing about aliens and horses.
“You have a say in this, Rainbow?” Home Run turned to her as they watched the others debate the legend. “Everyone else seems to have a version of the Ocelot legend. What’s yours?”
“Glad you asked, slugger,” Rainbow put the tissue down and got herself into a comfortable position. “I think the Ocelot isn’t just one person, but many different people, trying to keep his legend alive.”
Home Run thought about it. It actually made sense. That could’ve been a reason why there were so many different origin stories about the guy. Then he noticed his table had gotten awfully quiet. He looked up to see the other baseball players, staring at the captain.
“Boss, not to disprove you or anything,” Jetstream began. “But that’s just another fairytale the others have been telling.”
“Is it, Jetstream?” Rainbow challenged. “Think about it. Why are there so many stories of the Ocelot’s feats? It must’ve been different people, all working under the same name to spread the legend around.”
“Although, aliens being weak to baseball is just plain ridiculous. Period.” Lightning folded his arms and glared at Jetstream.
“Hey! Aliens exist and you know it! You remember the other day? At the baseball field?” Jetstream pointed out.
“Whatever,” Sundown grunted, shaking his head. “This conversation ain’t about aliens. It’s about the Ocelot. Now, Ah once again say that mine is the real deal! He’s genetically modified! No one else can run that fast.”
“Trained by the stranger,” Lightning Rain said again.
“The Chrome Bat!”
“Baseball monks!”
“Aliens!”
“Genetically enhanced!”
“Different people!”
Home Run sighed and put a hand to his forehead. All their shouting was giving him a headache, and he was still nowhere close to figuring out the legend.
“Home Run!” Rainbow put a hand on his shoulder. “Who do you think is right? Which origin story is the real one?”
Home Run groaned internally. It was the moment he had dreaded since listening to this conversation. He would rather go feed on a tree frog than pick one of their stories. “Do I have to?”
“YES,” the team said as one.
“Does it even matter which one is real?” Home Run tried to diffuse the situation. “I mean, I always thought he was a story until today. Why not leave it that way?”
“Because he’s real, Homey,” Heavy Wind said flatly. “The legend is alive.”
“Yeah,” Cold Wind agreed with her twin. “We might meet him in a game during the championships. You can’t deny that he’s real.”
“Okay, okay,” Home Run put his hands up. “He’s real, I get it. But why do I have to decide which of you has the right legend?”
“Come on, slugger,” Jetstream creased his eyebrows and sighed. “At least pick one. That way we’ll know who’s right.”
Home Run averted his eyes as the rest of the team stared at him, waiting for an answer. Personally, he thought they were all rather silly. Eventually, he couldn’t take the pressure anymore, giving in to his teammates wishes.
“Agh! Fine!” he grabbed for his face and looked up. “Lightning’s is the most reasonable!”
There was a moment of silence, even from a few of the other patrons before Lightning Rain broke it with a low laugh. “Ha! I knew mine was the right one!”
Home Run waited for the rest of his friends to begin shouting at him for not choosing them, but it never came. Soon, he removed his hands from his face to look at them. Jetstream was the only one that didn’t look happy that Home Run didn’t pick him.
“You guys aren’t mad?”
“Why would we be, slugger?” Rainbow bent back and laughed. “Is that why you didn’t want to pick one of our legends? You were afraid we’d get angry?”
“No sweat, Homey,” Cold Wind gave him a smile. “We’re cool. We just wanted to know which legend sounded legit.”
“Yeah, don’t worry yourself, Home Run,” Sundown chuckled. “If we ever see him one day, we should ask him. Then we’ll know what really happened.”
"Alright, alright," Jetstream said as he finished up his lemon juice. "Well, can't say it wasn't a fun discussion. Are we done here? I've got to get home and beat Wooden Cog Dux."
"Is Wooden Cog all you think about, Jets?" Lightning shot him a look.
"No. I think about baseball, popcorn, pretty girls, and beating you at everything, LR. Oh, and your lovely big sister too."
“Oh, don’t you start with my sister again!” Lightning reached a hand for Jetstream, but the brown haired boy shifted further away. “You think you’re so good at everything? I can beat you at anything. Name your game.”
"Really? Outside then. Ruler fight. Let's see who's best."
"You two are not startin' a fight here!" Sundown pulled Jetstream away from Lightning, holding him back against the seat.
"I think it's time to head out anyway," Rainbow stretched her arms out over her head. "I've got to meet the other girls for practice."
“Don’t forget homework,” Cold Wind reminded all of them. “Especially for those of you in computer class.”
“Got it,” Home Run said as he picked up his backpack. “I wouldn’t want to get a beating from him.”
The baseball team was about to leave when Home Run felt someone pat him on the back. He raised an eyebrow and turned around to see a blue-skinned boy with brown-gray hair standing behind him wearing a cocky smile.
“Hey, saw your baseball game earlier.” The boy formed two gun gestures in his hands and pointed them at Home Run. “You’re pretty good.” He quickly walked out of the cafe before Home Run could ask him anything else, disappearing in the streets.
Home Run considered going after the boy, but then he shrugged and followed his friends instead. He had a feeling that this wouldn’t be the last time they met.
