My Little Pony: Third Gear

Chapter 6: Revenge of the Magician

Gearhead could not find any reasons to reject Aerial’s offer of a place to stay for the night, so that evening he was sitting on the veranda behind the set of rooms where he and the others were staying when Prism flew over and found him. “Fancy seeing you out here,” she said.

“I am simply enjoying the night air,” Gearhead said.

“Ah, so it’s not just Pegasi.”

“I have a little in me anyway, remember?”

“You know,” Prism said, her suddenly-serious tone making Gearhead turn to face her, “I’d like to thank you for what you did. But taking such a huge risk makes it a lot harder for me to do that.”

“How do you mean?”

“I started studying Latin and Greek so I could understand the basics of the spells you were trying to cast. I know that ‘athánati̱ psychí̱’ means ‘immortal soul.’”

“Then I am lucky I cast such a small spell, where the portion required would be much less significant than it could have been. Besides, souls should be able to recover, like a flame. Especially if new foals get a portion of their souls from their parents. It would not make sense otherwise.”

“I just hope you’re right. Still, I can’t be dating the stallion who put some of his soul into my mom – that sounds really weird. I also need to focus on my career, now that I’m gonna be a Wonderbolt. No time for romance if I want to be a Skybolt, with the others, so...”

Prism suddenly lunged into Gearhead, wrapping her wings around him and pushed her lips against his. He was very much aware of her scent and warmth in that moment, but he was also stunned, and unable to do anything except steady himself physically so he did not fall down, even when she pressed against him a little more fully.

“What was that?” Gearhead asked a couple moments after Prism broke off the kiss.

“That was me giving up on us being together.”

“That is a strange way of giving up,” Gearhead said wryly.

“Well, I certainly wasn’t going to get a kiss from you any other way. Except now I can see that I was being foolish, attaching to you so completely on so little. The books always say something about a spark or instant connection, but it just felt kinda... warm.”

“Time to move on?”

“Time to grow up,” Prism said.

“Well, I hope you do not judge Contrail or Rook based on a kiss,” Gearhead said.

“Don’t worry, I won’t.”

* * *

Prism Flight left for Cloudsdale the following morning. Gearhead stayed to finish his business in the region, while Fluttershy and Dash did some sightseeing.

Installing the Alicorn Arrays at Hoofington and San Palamino was easy. Father and the Council even approved building one to protect Verdant Fields, since it was outside of Hoofington, but he made sure it was hidden from sight so it would not attract unwanted attention. It was also nice to visit with his family, although Vines ignored him, and Bean and Cori had started to act coldly toward him. Mother, Big Sister Ivy, and Roselle were still overjoyed to see Gearhead.

Staying at Los Pegasus had given Gearhead more time in which to tinker with his cloud-borne designs. In the end, he decided to go with the simplest design possible: a single piece the same size as a normal turbine, but with the bottom half shaped to project the particles it produced downward, the same way a normal turbine projected them up and outward.

Each turbine would be mounted onto a bracket made out of cloud-stable metals, and attached directly to the city’s cloud matter. The bracket allowed the Pegasi stationed at the Central Condenser to change the turbine’s orientation and angle, effectively allowing them to steer the whole city.

A cloud city would not be able to move anywhere near as well as the Silver Wind, the next-largest object to be equipped with Alicorn Engine technology, other than the immobile ground-based cities that already had the Array. Regardless, Gearhead could only imagine some prospective invader’s jaw dropping when Cloudsdale and Los Pegasus arrived to help protect Canterlot or Crystal City.

As another bonus, Windwalker agreed to take part in another of Gearhead’s experiments, this one involving the condusive cabling that he used to transfer power throughout the Wind. He connected the cable to the Central Condenser, and ran it to the pyramid containing Azure Wing Central Base. Windwalker and Spring helped to disconnect everything that ran on Unicorn magic from its crystal-contained power source, and connect it to the Array through the new wire. Within an hour and a half, the pyramid was running on power that was being generated in the city. And the Array’s turbines only seemed to have to spin for a couple of seconds to provide the power necessary for an hour’s worth of operations.

Despite the experiment’s apparent success, Gearhead insisted on leaving everything in a state where it would be easy to revert to the old Unicorn power sources, and continue the experiment over the upcoming months before going any further. His business concluded, Gearhead gathered Dash and Fluttershy, and soon they were once again aboard the Wind, heading for Ponyville.

* * *

Gearhead was happy to be back to ‘business as usual,’ primarily because tinkering with the gadgets he sold to other ponies was simple and straightforward. Helping Princess Celestia and Luna set up a country-wide defence network, and dealing with the logistics and the large sums of money involved, was complicated. The simple act of dealing with ordinary, happy customers almost seemed cleansing by comparison.

The next morning, Gearhead allowed himself a few moments to unwind as he lay on the roof after his usual training session. He was just looking up at the sky, enjoying the breeze, when he caught an odd glint out of the corner of his eye. He rolled to his stomach and oriented himself to the west. Even through his glasses, he did not immediately see anything, but he sat up and tensed, just in case it was the sort of thing he had anticipated being able to catch in the Ponyville Array.

This time Gearhead saw the puff of light, but it was also much closer than the last one he had seen. Unfortunately he did not know what to make of it, and it had not been visible even for half a second before vanishing, so the sensors embedded in his glasses had barely begun to get a reading.

“Look out!” The feminine voice just barely got the words out when the bearer’s mass tumbled right into Gearhead, and they rolled backwards together. He ended up flat on his back, a fall of light, near-white, wavy blonde hair completely obscuring his vision. Her coat was blonde, her eyes light amethyst, and she had the faint smell of lilacs on her. The newcomer brushed and prodded his legs and barrel with her hooves as she snorted lightly, pressing her muzzle against his neck for just a moment before taking a light leap back. Gearhead got a good look at her, although she probably wanted to smooth her mane out a bit after the teleportation run she had just been through. Her cutie mark was a magic circle with an eight-sided star that contained a four-sided star, all done in the same purple as her eyes.

“Legs, check. Neck., check. Head, check. I can hardly believe my luck that everything still seems to be in good order.” The Unicorn mare sat back on her haunches and held her forelegs out for Gearhead. He hooked his legs around hers, and leaned into her so she could pull him up to a sitting position. “Sorry about that,” she said sheepishly. He knew she would not be acting so informally and relaxed if anypony else had been around.

“Would you care to tell me what that was all about, Dawn?”

“Oh, I wanted to be here as soon as I could, so I used a serial teleportation spell. But I may have gotten 'slipped' a little on the last two re-entries, which made my exit do... that. Sorry. Oh, and there’s probably one or two more things to address.”

“What—“ The sudden appearance of five suitcases cut off the question, and both mages had to scramble to catch the baggage before they tumbled off the roof.

“Dusk may have sent them before I could give the all-clear,” Dawn said.

“But why?”

“Oh, right. The D.A. finally made it official, who they wanted to send to help you out with the shop. They decided they did not need to send another Verdant, since you are one, but I get to represent the Shadow, so Dusk gets a little more room at home.”

“And the Azure are sending Spring Flight?”

“Officially. I find myself surprised Prism did not insist on coming.”

“Prism Flight is going to Wonderbolt Academy. They are going to buckle down on their flying.”

“

Then I guess she is fulfilling the promise you said she made when we were all foals.”

“It is kind of funny that she forgot about it when I went to Los Pegasus with Spitfire’s message.”

“A mare remembers what she wants to,” Dawn said. “Is it true you healed up Auntie Aerial?”

“It is,”

“Good job,” Dawn said, wrapping him in a light hug. “But here is a good question: where should I unpack?”

* * *

While Dawn might have been eager to see whether Gearhead suggested common accommodations between the two of them, he also knew that she was well aware of the impropriety carrying that out would entail, even if they were both daring enough to go through with it. The solution was to build a house, similar to the shop, five meters down the river and slightly closer to Ponyville.

The reason behind having a separate building was that Gearhead would have to house three Pegasi in addition to Dawn, and he wanted to ensure they all had their separate space. As it was, the limited space in the shop would never serve, even if he was to split the top floor with one of his new employees: He would still have to build a new space for the rest of them.

Like Gearhead’s Gadgets, the house had three floors. Unlike the shop, the top and basement floors were given over entirely to bedroom space that whoever claimed the two rooms on either floor could use as she or he saw fit. The middle floor was a common area with everything they needed to make a house a liveable space, including a kitchen, spaces for washing the various things that needed washing, storage, and even a lounge / dining area. What the house did not have that the shop had was specialized equipment and a display / sales area, but then it hardly needed that sort of thing – although Gearhead could see Dawn turning part of her room into a spellcrafting laboratory.

“I think we did rather well,” Dawn said, standing back to admire their work.

“Oh, this was much easier than my first build thanks to you,” Gearhead said, “so thank you.” Dawn giggled and smiled.

The levity, however, got cut short as particle fields wound up from around Ponyville, and cascaded down from the air above City Hall in its center. Gearhead quickly nodded his head to shake his glasses from his forehead, and then adjusted how they sat on his muzzle with one hoof. He also used his Light Magic to retrieve his communicator clip from one of his harness pockets so he could put it on. Dawn sidled closer so she could hear.

“Central, Gearhead. Situation report, please.”

“Gearhead, Central,” Flitter said. “Sorry, I doubt you’re seeing anything different from what we are: one contact, confirmed as a Dark Magic user. It never got a chance to get close to Ponyville before the force field came up.” Gearhead could indeed see that one blip, rendered in red. It approached the shield from the southeast, and then stopped. A slight ripple that one could only see if one was watching for it marked an impact. “The field is holding. The turbines haven’t even ramped up since they deployed their energy.”

“Our new ‘guest’ may not be challenging the Array yet, but that could easily change. Just one contact could mean anything.” Gearhead exchanged a glance with Dawn, then deployed his cores so she would have space to lie between them if she decided to come with him.

The Unicorn nodded, carefully climbing onto his back when he crouched down, finally wrapping her legs around him to secure herself as much as possible. Or just to give him a hug. Under the circumstance, Gearhead did not have the opportunity to ask. “We are coming your way,” Gearhead said, taking off with a burst of energy. Dawn gasped softly at the sudden motion, but quickly got used to the speed, even shifting her position so she could see better.

“Gearhead, Twilight. Did you just say ‘we?’”

“Twilight, Gearhead. Yes I did: my first employee arrived not an hour ago.”

“Well, introductions will have to wait. The Six are headed out to investigate.”

“Well then, the rest of us can breathe a little easier. I will monitor the situation from Central. Please keep us appraised.”

“Acknowledged, Gearhead. Twilight out.”

“Well, that seems to work wonderfully,” Dawn said into Gearhead’s other ear.

“It does,”

“So when do I get mine?”

“When I have the time to make another set,”

“Fair enough,” Dawn settled down, but Gearhead was already descending and decelerating for a landing. The Central Condenser was a small cylindrical white building with blue accents, situated three meters from City Hall, so that if it became a target the municipal offices would remain unaffected for a little longer. This planning had not made sense to Gearhead, since everything would be damaged if an enemy could get inside the shield, however he had followed Mayor Mare’s request on the matter.

Gearhead landed just outside the door to let Dawn dismount from his back, then he returned immediately to business, opening the door and striding into the room, with Dawn following him inside. All three princesses had determined that there should always be at least three ponies on-duty at all times inside each defended city’s or town’s central condenser. If possible, those who were on-duty would represent the different tribes, something that was tricky in most cities, but not in Ponyville. That morning Flitter, Vinyl Scratch, and Time Turner were present.

“Well, that was fast,” Time Turner said.

“I have a fast watch,” Gearhead said. “Also, I can fly.”

“Very good. The contact hasn’t moved, but whoever it is doesn’t seem ready to give up anytime soon.”

“The vibrations are getting more intense, though,” Vinyl said. “I can dig a certain beat, but whoever’s out there doesn’t seem to have a good sense of rhythm.”

“Whoever it is really wants to get inside,” Flitter said.

“Contact Canterlot and ask them to have reinforcements at the ready if necessary. We are dealing with a magic user, so other casters would be desirable.”

“Right on,” Vinyl said, and she immediately opened a channel to Canterlot Central.

“Central, Twilight.”

“Twilight, Central. Gearhead here.”

“It’s hard to believe, but I’d recognize that voice and that speech pattern anywhere: our mystery assailant is Trixie.”

“That, and she said her name like a million times. Oh, this is Rainbow Dash, Central.”

“I hear you, Twilight and Dash.” Gearhead paused. “I was not aware that Trixie used Dark Magic, or that hers was particularly powerful, but judging from these readings we are heading into dangerous territory here.”

“Still, somepony’s gotta talk to her to figure out what’s what,” Applejack said.

“And that somepony is us,” Twilight said.

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said.

“I’m with Fluttershy: certainly you don’t need all of us to go out there?”

“Rarity, if Trixie sees us all standing together, I think she’s less likely to try anything,” Twilight said. “We can walk through the shield safely, can’t we?”

“You can,” Gearhead said, “plus certain Dark Magic users on the Exceptions List. Trixie, however, cannot. Please assure her that this shield is not coming down unless we are certain it is safe to lower it.”

“Right,” Twilight said.

“Twilight Sparkle, Canterlot Central here,” Princess Celestia said. “You have carte blanche as far as negotiations go, and you are free to engage only if attacked. I have Wonderbolts reinforcements standing by if necessary, but I leave overall command of the situation to you.”

“Twilight, Crystal Central,” Cadence said. “Please, all of you, be careful.”

“Miss Sparkle, Hoofington Central,” Nightstar said. “Since this is the first real test of the Alicorn Array, if you could provoke Miss Lulamoon into a full-power attack on the shield, we would appreciate it. But only while you’re within the protective bounds.”

“Is everypony listening in?” Twilight asked.

Gearhead checked the boards. “No, that is actually ‘it.’”

“I love a high-pressure situation!” Pinkie piped up.

Dawn winced at the volume. “Pardon me, but why did you give her an earpiece?”

“It seemed like a good idea,” Gearhead said. “Also, for tracking purposes.”

“I can’t tell if you’re kidding,”

“Oh, he’s not,” Fluttershy said. “Pinkie can get to places nopony would ever think of, so it’s useful having an easy way to find her.”

“You could just call for me, silly!”

“Except for that one time we couldn’t,” Dash said.

“Focus, girls. We’re about to find out why Trixie’s come to Ponyville.” At Twilight’s reminder, all the radio chatter died down.

* * *

“Ooh, tingly!” Pinkie said as she hopped through the particle shield.

“And warm,” Fluttershy added.

Twilight admitted that it was far from an unpleasant sensation, and an improvement over the shivering, however slight, she had felt going through Shining Armour’s city-scale shield on the train. This time, since the group was ‘hoofing it,’ their passage through the barrier took a moment longer.

And on the other side stood a hooded pale blue Unicorn, a massive battering ram made of red energy raised to strike. She was wearing a curious pendant which showed an Alicorn in red and black. “Hello, Trixie. Under the circumstances, I don’t think it’s appropriate to say that it’s nice to see you again.”

“Well well, if it isn’t Twilight Sparkle herself,” Trixie said. “Finally come out of your cosy shell to say ‘hello?’ And with your little friends, too.”

“What d’you mean ‘little?’” Rainbow Dash asked. “We’re all the same size, more or less.”

“Oh, but the Great and Powerful Trixie is so much larger than any of you: my magic’s gotten better since I was here last.”

“And why are you here?” Twilight asked.

“A rematch, Twilight Sparkle. The last time I was here you humiliated me with that Ursa Minor. That turned me into a laughingstock, and I couldn’t get a show anywhere. I had to get a job on a rock farm just to earn a living. But lets see who is the most powerful Unicorn now. Trixie challenges you to a Magic Duel. The winner stays, but the loser leaves Ponyville forever!”

“No,”

“What do you mean ‘no?’ Oh, you’re scared, aren’t you? Scared that the Great and Powerful Trixie will show you up in front of your friends, and then you’ll never be able to live it down. Or at least, not in Ponyville. Hmph.” Trixie smiled in satisfaction.

“What I meant is that I don’t have a reason to fight you, Trixie. I won’t duel you.”

“Good job, Twily,” Shining Armour said softly over the comm. Twilight did not completely succeed in suppressing a blush at the praise, so it was a good thing that he was not actually there to see it.

“No reason, eh? Then Trixie will give you a reason to fight!” Without further warning, Trixie zapped Rainbow and Rarity. Dash’s right wing was suddenly massive, and flapping it like normal made the normally-agile Pegasus veer all over the place, shouting as she fought her own body for equilibrium. Rarity was suddenly in a dress that was full of loud, zig-zagging patterning.

Rarity screamed. “You monster! This shade of brown should only be used for accents.” Applejack caught her friend as she began to faint.

“Quick,” Pinkie zipped alongside her friends. “Lets get into a soothing shade of pink, stat!” She and Applejack retreated through the shield, the latter carrying Rarity on her back.

“That’s enough, Trixie. Undo your magic. Please.”

“Where’s your little dragon friend, Twilight Sparkle? I had such plans for him.”

“Didn’t you hear me? I said ‘undo it!’”

“Say you’ll accept my challenge, Twilight Sparkle. Say you’ll duel me.”

“She doesn’t have to do anything you want,” Pinkie said returning.

“I think you’ve said enough,” Trixie summoned a small pink arrow. It latched onto Pinkie’s muzzle and somehow separated it from the rest of her face, only to deposit it into a trash can that immediately vanished. “There. Nothing is impossible for the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Pinkie fumbled where her mouth used to be, and then burst out crying: she could neither eat nor speak as long as Trixie’s spell was active.

“Fine, Trixie.”

“What was that?”

“I’ll duel you, Trixie!”

“That’s better,” Trixie hit Rainbow with another beam, turning her wing back to normal. Rarity was no longer around, so the spell on her could not be undone, however she still left Pinkie mouthless and indignant. “Your annoying friend can have her muzzle back if you manage to beat me, Twilight Sparkle. But I can practically guarantee that you won’t. Now, draw!”

* * *

Trixie and Twilight took up opposing positions a distance from the edge of Ponyville’s shield so they would have plenty of room for their spellcasting.

After a couple of seconds, Trixie catapulted a cart at Twilight. It was filled with barrels of apples, and Twilight did not know who had left it there, but she or he probably wanted it intact. She reached out and telekinetically guided all of the produce back onto the wagon, even as she guided it to a safe landing further away from the dueling Unicorns.

Twilight returned her attention to Trixie in time to see that she had summoned a volley of pies that she clearly intended to use to humiliate Twilight. Fortunately, she had an idea that was just crazy enough to work, summoning a single Parasprite to eat the pies, and then banishing the original and its second before they could become a problem. The others applauded, but Trixie merely growled.

Trixie started off the third round as well, gathering a thick fall of snow to thoroughly bury Twilight, who responded by intensifying and directing the sun’s heat to quickly melt it all away.

“Now that we’ve dealt with the warm-up, lets get to the serious stuff,” Trixie said. “Trixie would prefer to cast this spell on the two colts who brought the Ursa Minor, but your friends will have to do instead.”

“Trixie, wait! What are you—“

“Ha! Fooled you, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said, catching her in the spell instead. Energy swirled around her, and when she landed she could barely move her aching joints, and her vision was cloudy. “Nothing would please me more than a spell you couldn’t undo,” Trixie said while the others, particularly a recently-returned Rarity, gasped.

“W-what is it?” Twilight asked shakily.

“Oh, um,” Fluttershy stammered.

“You’re old,” Applejack said. “Really old.”

“But at least you age well, I think,” Rarity added.

“And it doesn’t just go the one way either,” Trixie said. She caught Fluttershy with the next spell, and when it resolved even Twilight could see that her friend was but an adorable newborn foal. “Well? Can you undo this?”

Twilight decided to try. Maybe her advanced age would even help her. Despite her best efforts, however, she failed to turn herself and Fluttershy back to their original ages, or even to revert them a little. Exhausted, she had to let both herself and Fluttershy out of her magical grip, and the latter started to cry.

“Give up, Twilight Sparkle?”

The aged Unicorn groaned weakly. “But... that spell... impossible. Highest...”

“You fool: Trixie is the highest-level Unicorn!” She laughed. “Now that you’ve lost, I suppose it’s only fair to return you to normal,” Trixie said, hitting Twilight and Fluttershy again.

Now Twilight was able to get back up, and her friends rallied around her. She had never felt so completely helpless before, and she didn’t like it. But more importantly, she was worried about what Trixie might do to her friends if Twilight was forced to honour the terms of the duel after all.

“And now, Twilight Sparkle, you will leave Ponyville forever!”

“Stop this madness, Trixie,” Rarity said. “You can’t expect Twilight to actually go away, can you?”

“You fool, she’s already gone!” Trixie picked Twilight up in a powerful telekinetic grip and slung her all the way to the nearest entry to the Everfree Forest before releasing her. While the others ran to meet her, Trixie summoned a giant force field in the shape of an inverted fishbowl and lowered it to the ground. It was so massive it enveloped the town, the shield that was already present, and the five remaining members of the Elemental Six.

“Don’t go, Twilight,” Fluttershy said.

“Don’t worry, guys. I’ll find a way to undo what Trixie’s done. But I am a little concerned, seeing how little she seems to be acting like herself. Something’s off, and I’m going to find out what. Keep an eye on things while I’m gone, okay?”

* * *

“She’s really going,” Applejack said as they watched Twilight sprint into the Everfree Forest.

“What choice is there?” Rainbow asked. “If she can’t break this force field right now, then she has to go somewhere where she can learn to do it.”

“Zecora’s,” Pinkie said.

“Well, then there’s hope, as long as we do what Twilight asked us to do,” Rarity said.

“And Trixie still has to get through the shield to get into Ponyville,” Fluttershy said.

“Oh yes, this frustrating shield,” Trixie said, catching up. “I wonder why it’s still here, even after I beat Twilight Sparkle.” The Unicorn summoned her battering ram and cracked it against the edge of the shield to punctuate her question: “How. Is It. Still standing?!”

“Oh my,” Fluttershy said. “Please calm down—“

“I won’t calm down! I beat Twilight Sparkle, and that makes me the most powerful Unicorn in Ponyville – except that I’m not in Ponyville, even though I won the duel. So do what you have to to get me inside. And do it now!” Trixie raised the ram threateningly.

“I have a dangerous rise in Trixie’s signature,” Gearhead said. “Get yourselves inside now!”

“Sounds like a plan,” Applejack said, and she and the others wheeled about to sprint for safety.

“And where do you think you’re going?” Trixie reached out, plucking the slowest of the friends, Fluttershy, from formation and dragging her back.

“Fluttershy!” Dash called.

“We’ll get her back,” Applejack said, “somehow. Keep running ‘less you have a plan!”

“Oh, I do so hate leaving her behind,” Rarity said.

“Mm-mm!”

“I hear ya, Pinkie. But there’s nothing we can do ‘xcept avoid getting caught ourselves.” Applajack dove into the field first, followed by Pinkie and Rarity. Dash hung back, making sure the others were okay, before she charged through herself.

* * *

“So they ran and left you behind,” Trixie brought Fluttershy to float right in front of her. “Some ‘friends.’”

“They’re great friends,” Fluttershy said. “They’ll come up with a plan to save me, and then—“

“I’ll be sorry? I think not. But I have a plan. You’re talking with somepony inside the barrier right now, aren’t you? Tell them to lower it, or I’ll start doing horrible things to you. On the other hoof, lower the force field, and I’ll let you go. See? The Great and Powerful Trixie will show you mercy even though you all tried to double-cross me and go against the terms of the duel.”

“Oh, um...”

“What is it? Speak up!”

“I don’t have an earpiece, so I can’t tell them.”

For a moment, Trixie was speechless. “Then I’ll just have to tell them clearly in my terms,” she said, raising the battering ram again.

* * *

“Field successfully expanded,” Flitter said. “I don’t think she even noticed.”

“And it looks like the others made it,” Vinyl said.

“Too bad Fluttershy got captured, but sometimes this sort of thing does happen,” Time Turner said. “What?” He asked, when the others glared at him.

“We will get her back,” Gearhead said. “Okay, as soon as the others have cleared to the normal zone we can release the field to its normal area of coverage...”

“What’s that?” Dawn asked, nodding to a reading on the main display.

“High-density Dark Magic? This doesn’t make any—“

“Put the Array into Passive Standby now!” Gearhead said, cutting Time Turner off.

“But the shield--!”

“Now, please,” Gearhead said.

“Okay then,” Time Turner and the others entered the necessary command, and the turbines stopped sending energy into the fields, instead filling the condensers until they were full before going quiet.

* * *

Fluttershy watched in horrified fascination as Trixie slammed the battering ram into the shield for the third time, the ram a brilliant red. Where cracks would have spread on any other field, particles simply dispersed from the point of impact, the effect quickly spreading over the entire dome. The farther apart the particles flew, the less visible they became.

As soon as the opening was large enough, Trixie stepped through. She breathed deeply and smiled. “This is Trixie’s home now,” she said.

“Um...”

“Oh yes, I no longer need you,” Trixie said, throwing Fluttershy aside. The Pegasus tumbled, but was unhurt due to the softness of the grass.

Fluttershy watched as Trixie slowly began a deliberate march toward City Hall. “Oh no,” she whimpered.

* * *

“We’re clear of all feedback distortions,” Vinyl said. “Should we power back up?”

“Negative,” Gearhead said. “We can learn more about what is going on with Trixie and why she seems to have changed so much compared to her last visit if we make her believe she has won. For now, we just stay vigilant and remain here, assuming Trixie does not know about the Array, or what this building is.”

“How long can we assume that?” Dawn asked.

“I suppose it depends on how well she has kept up with the news,” Gearhead said.

“You saw those too? I thought they were unflattering articles.”

“Well, I never gave them many details.”

“Work with what you’ve got,” Vinyl said.

“Precisely. And we can rain down particles any time we want, but Trixie may not know that.”

* * *

The mood in Ponyville changed drastically once Trixie took control. Part of that was because her Dark Magic kept generating thunderheads, and her force field kept them contained in the skies above the town. The other factor was the purely oppressive atmosphere, with Trixie demanding whatever difficult or impossible thing seemed to come into her head, like forcing Applejack to make jelly for a facial, having Rarity sew banners for her new regime, or forcing Pinkie, still mouthless, to dance.

Princess Celestia could have sent the reinforcements from Cloudsdale at any time, however since the Elemental Six had not yet learned the reason behind the drastic change in Trixie’s demeanour, she agreed to hold off for now. But if Trixie’s demands went too far, against anypony in Ponyville and not just the six friends or the mayor, the princess wanted to intervene. “I promise,” Gearhead said, “before it comes to help from outside the town, I will take a hoof in this myself.”

Of course, making such a promise was easy: Gearhead was safely out of Trixie’s eyes, and therefore out of mind, in the Central Condenser together with Dawn, Flitter, Time Turner, and Vinyl Scratch. Twilight had already been defeated and was in forced exile, but with Zecora’s help they could come up with an answer to what had changed Trixie.

The rest of the Elemental Six was on the front lines, and therefore in the most dangerous position. If Trixie caught them doing something she did not like, she could reprimand them however she liked, and Gearhead doubted she was into small telekinetic tricks that hogtied or embarrassed their victims anymore.

Fortunately Trixie did not need everypony to see to her puerile desires all the time. When Trixie gave them all a break, the five friends immediately headed for the Golden Oak Library to conduct research. Whatever she was doing, Twilight had her communicator off, making her impossible to contact except physically. Since the librarian among them was unavailable for guidance, Gearhead and Dawn pitched in instead, guiding the others remotely.

* * *

After nearly two hour of fruitless searching, everypony was tired and hungry, and more than that, they were all upset over Twilight’s exile and Trixie’s rule. Applejack’s chest still hurt from all the tickle torture. Rarity was recovering from pricking herself in the hoof while sewing banners. Pinkie was still unable to eat or speak, and it was driving everypony else, except Applejack who seemed to understand her, batty.

“I’m pretty sure Twilight wouldn’t approve of all this mess,” Spike said from where he had collapsed among the piles of discarded books, which did not contain anything of use.

“Oh, I wish we had to worry about such a thing, instead of worrying about Trixie’s next demands,” Rarity whined.

“The words ‘lost cause’ keep popping into my head,” Rainbow said.

“Well, stop it,” Applejack said.

“I can’t help it! Besides, Spike said it first.”

“I’m definitely regretting it now.”

“Excuse me everypony,” Fluttershy said softly.

“I suppose we’ll just have to get used to this,” Rarity said.

“Girls?”

“Life in the new Trixie-led Ponyville may not be easy, but it’s the only one we’ve got.”

“Girls,”

“B’sides, this is our home. We’re not gonna let Trixie ruin Ponyville forever,” Rainbow said.

THUNK! Everypony turned see that Fluttershy had just dropped the wooden horse-head bust onto its table. She was holding a book open to a page that showed a picture of the same necklace that Trixie was wearing. “This looks like Trixie’s necklace,” Fluttershy said.

“Lets see...?” Rarity and the others crowded around.

“The Alicorn Amulet greatly increases the wearer’s magical power,” Spike said.

“However the more it’s used, the more it corrupts the user,” Rarity said.

“But we can’t take it off her,” Fluttershy said.

“She has to be the one to take it off? How’re we gonna manage that?”

“Twilight would find a way,” Spike said.

“But she’s out there, and we’re in here,” Rarity said.

“Then we’ve gotta get a message out to her,” Applejack said.

“Yes, but how?”

“I’ve got an idea,” Rainbow said, “of who has the goods to get into those woods.”

“Who?”

“Fluttershy!”

“Me?! I‘ll crack under the pressure. I’ll snap like a twig! Trixie already had her eye on me from earlier, and I don’t want to think about what she’d do if she catches me again.”

“If I may interject?”

“Oh, thank Celestia!” Fluttershy fluttered her wings. “I mean, what is it, Gearhead?”

“Twilight’s comms just came back online.”

“Then I don’t have to go out into the Everfree Forest?”

“Correct,”

“And I had just the perfect idea for a Dangerous Mission Outfit too,” Rarity pouted.

“But only if you speak up before she goes and turns it back off,” Dawn said.

"Eep!" The usually-timid Pegasus zipped across to Gearhead to speak into the device in his ear. “Twilight? Twilight, it’s Fluttershy!”

“Fluttershy, it’s Twilight. Are you okay?”

“Oh yes, fine. Um. We just found some information about the Amulet that Trixie has.”

“Well then, I’m all ears.”

“Oh, and Twilight?”

“Yes?”

“I hope you don’t get mad, but the library’s a bit of a mess here at the moment.”

“... since it’s in the name of defeating Trixie and getting Ponyville back to normal, I’ll overlook it. But time is probably of the essence, more for you than for me. The information?”

“Oh, right,” Fluttershy said, and then the friends took turns telling Twilight about the Alicorn Amulet and everything that had happened in Ponyville since Trixie had kicked her out.

“It’ll take time to bring all of the elements together for this plan,” Twilight said. “We’ll need somepony else to stall Trixie while we do it, or it’ll never work.”

“Please leave that to me,” Gearhead said. “I believe Trixie owes a little compensation for the things she has done.”

* * *

“There’s something missing,” Trixie mused aloud.

“Oh no,” Snips wailed.

“I wonder what’s next?” Snails said.

“Don’t ask, Snails!” Whereas the two of them had merely been admiring gophers during Trixie’s previous visit, this time they were being used very cruelly: Whenever Trixie wanted or needed to go somewhere, she summoned a land-bound platform and hitched it to the colts. That would not have been so bad if even the chariot had had wheels, but it did not. And it got worse, since whatever Trixie used became bigger and heavier with each journey, and yet Snips and Snails were expected to take Trixie everywhere anyway.

“Ah yes, the inventor pony. Take me to him!”

“But Great and Powerful Trixie, that’s all the way on the other end of town,” Snails protested.

“On the edge of the other end of town,” Snips added.

“Why do I hear protesting when I should be hearing pulling?” Trixie asked, raising a riding crop in her magic grip.

“Nevermind!” Snails said, and he started pulling.

“That will not be necessary,” Gearhead said, landing right in front of them.

“Oh thank Luna,” Snips said, and he and his friend collapsed to the ground.

“Ah, perfect. You will make me the Alicorn Engine Trixie has heard so much about.”

“I cannot do that,”

“Why not?”

“Do you have any idea of the resources required for a single core? Ponyville does not possess the required amount.”

“Then give Trixie yours,”

“It will never work for you,”

“Why not? Trixie is the Greatest and Most Powerful-est of them all!”

“It is not about power, or at least not in that sense.”

“Explain,”

“I was going to. Please have patience. The main reason it would not work for you is because you are not me, and the Engine is keyed specifically to me. If anypony else, yourself included, tried to use it, it would not even start up. And force-starting it,” Gearhead continued, cutting off an incipient protest before it could begin. “Well...” He sat back on his haunches and made a quick exploding motion with his forehooves, complete with a little “Ka-boom.”

“Why would you build something that just... explodes?”

“They are called ‘safeguards,’ Trixie. They would not be very good at being safeguards if they did not work so completely. Moreover, I never intended to weaponize the Engine into what you may be aware of through the news. I decided a long time ago that I would be the only one who was ready for such power.”

“You speak of power before the Greatest and Most Powerful Unicorn of all?”

“Ah yes, the ‘power’ argument. As an added safeguard, anypony who chiefly uses Dark Magic to dark purpose would get a purification treatment. It might be good for the original you, but not for any Dark Magic Artifacts you may or may not be wearing. I guess you could see it as an ‘either / or’ deal.”

“You will make Trixie one that will work for her, even if you have to take yours apart to do it.”

“I am not sorry to say that I do not possess the components to do so,” Gearhead said.

“Then what good are you?!”

“I am good at so many things, just not for your sake. For example, I am very good at protecting my friends from moderate and even severe harm. You have threatened them, ergo I will now challenge you to a Magic Duel.”

“You? An Earth Pony? How absurd. Trixie is the Highest-Level Unicorn!”

“So I have heard, but if you are not going to accept the challenge, does that mean I win by default? If so, I would like to clarify the conditions.”

“What?”

“If you win, I leave Ponyville, same as Twilight. If I win, Twilight gets to return to Ponyville. And since you forfeit –“

“Trixie never forfeited! You’re an Earth Pony, so having a Magic Duel with you would be absurd.”

“Earth Ponies just have a different kind of magic, that is all. Do you accept? Oh, I can throw in an Alicorn Engine if that would make the deal more attractive.”

“But you just said... nevermind. You’re on!”

* * *

Trixie and Gearhead relocated to an open field, and so did a much of Ponyville, as their fate rested in the balance. As they faced each other, Gearhead used Shift Focus to get a clearer idea of the forces with which he was dealing. He also called in his Stabilizer just in case he needed the additional power. Trixie said she was not impressed by the addition of wings.

“You talk a big game, but Trixie doubts you can even handle basic magic. So lets find out!” She unleashed an uncharged magic blast from her horn. With a thought, Gearhead directed his cores to face forward and deploy a thin particle shield ahead of him. The blast splashed against it and dispersed without leaving a mark.

“Unimpressive,” Trixie said, and she charged her blast this time. It was much faster and much more powerful than the first bolt, but Gearhead used the twin spiral shield to deal with it.

“If you are going to continue firing,” Gearhead said, “I had better ensure there are not any chances of collateral damage.” He took off to hover several meters up, with nothing but sky and Trixie’s force field behind him.

“You can fly?”

“Of course,”

“So it was never a trick of the camera,”

“Of course not,”

“No matter. Trixie is still more powerful. Snips! Snails! Come here,”

“Now what?” Snails asked.

“I told you not to ask that,” Snips said.

“Sorry!”

“You will be,” Snips said, and he was abruptly cut off by Trixie’s spell, turning him into a foal and Snips into an old stallion.

“Ha! Lets see how you deal with real magic,” Trixie said.

“Indeed, this must be the ageing spell with which you defeated Twilght. So then what I should do is...” Gearhead compressed the particles coming from both his cores, but did not so much as brandish his bladecasters. Instead he launched the twin Purifying Spirals from the cores themselves, using the Stablilizer’s wings as focusers. The turquoise energy slammed into Snips and Snails, surrounding them completely. Gearhead kept the particle shower going, and when five seconds passed without anything seeming to happen, Trixie broke out laughing.

“And with this, you’ve also lost to Trixie, the Great and --!” Trixie came up short, as she saw black dust fall away behind the two colts – and indeed they had returned to their original colt forms.

“Have some patience,” Gearhead said, returning the cores to their resting position. “I was working on it.”

“Yes well, all that time and effort and you’ll be back to Square One in a moment.”

“Oh no,” Snails said as he and Snips got caught in the red aura again. Only they did not transform. They did not even get lifted off the ground.

“What’s happening? Why isn’t it working?” Trixie put more and more effort into her spell, but still nothing happened.

“I guess the article missed a couple details,” Gearhead said, all while Trixie continued to try to age the colts. “Such as side-effects. They include healing, recovery, banishment of a foreign status such as an illness or even a curse, and also something else that it should have included because of its role in the Changeling invasion.”

“What’s... that..?” Trixie scrunched her face in concentration, sending greater amounts of power at Snips and Snails by the moment.

“Partial immunity to magic,”

“Partial...? This whole time? This whole time I’ve been wasting my energy?” Trixie gasped as she pulled away, and her two targets took the opportunity to flee the scene.

“That would be the case,”

“You --!”

“Ah, but I have only demonstrated my counter. Granny Smith, could you possibly be willing to take part in my demonstration?”

“Anything to shut this whippersnapper’s mouth for a moment,” the elder pony came forward, step by step, to stand just a few paces in front of Gearhead. “Now what do I do?”

“All you have to do is stand there, relax, and look pretty.”

“Ha! Not easy at my age, don’t you know? I’m a little long in the get-along.” Again, Gearhead compressed his particles, but this time he had the two particle streams merge into one before they reached Granny, enveloping her. “Y’know,” she said from amidst all the energy, “I was skeptical when you said to relax, but this is... quite relaxing.” In the audience, several ponies who knew Granny well exchanged glances, having caught a change in her tone and pitch.

The explanation was forthcoming, as soon as Gearhead judged the process completed and he stopped the particle bath. The remaining particles took their time scattering, but when they did in Granny Smith’s place there was a young light-green mare with light blonde locks. Only the pie cutie mark was exactly the same as before: Smith looked out at the gathered crowd with bright amber eyes. She looked down at her young, slick coat.

And then she kicked, experimentally, with her hindquarters, bracing for the pain when they came back down. And blinked. “Well I’d... I got my get-along back!” Young Smith started bouncing, prancing, and dancing around the battlefield. “About how long would you say this’d last?”

“I suppose if you wanted a refresher I could always give you another particle bath. If it started to wear off, that is. Basically, I think it is permanent.”

“Well ain’t that a great boon to the family? Yee-hee! I thought youth was wasted on the young ‘cause only the old could appreciate it after it was gone. Turns out you can be both at the same time!”

“I am sure Princess Celestia and Luna would appreciate such a sentiment, although they never aged so far, comparatively speaking.”

“Older but younger? Sounds about right,”

“Now hold it right there!” Trixie caught Smith in her hold – or she tried to: the particles’ temporary immunity also let Smith break free of the hold and dance off behind the crowd, leaving Trixie blinking and confused. “Trixie cannot be beaten. Trixie is the Highest-level Unicorn. Trixie has not been beaten!” Red and black energy rippled out from around Trixie.

“Ah well, looks like this ‘duel’ is starting to go sideways after all,” Gearhead said. Now he unlimbered the bladecasters, and the Stabilizer snapped the end-halves into place. “Trixie, I would recommend that you calm down,” he said, going airbourne again.

“Calm down? Calm down? Trixie is calm!”

Gearhead compressed particles in front of his chest condenser and looked down at Trixie from between both barrels. “Not from where I stand,” he said softly. And then he unleashed the blast.

* * *

The plan was finally ready to be put into motion. Twilight walked up to the force field with Zecora in tow, and was just about to ‘knock’ on it and summon Trixie when the Unicorn herself came from further in – except she was skidding with her back to Twilight, and by using Shift Focus, Twilight could see the dark energies writhing around her.

“Around that one a deeper darkness swirls. Who knows what intent this unfurls,” Zecora said.

“I think I know,” Twilight said, spotting Gearhead as he flew toward Trixie, bladecasters drawn and firing. She could see that Gearhead was speaking to Trixie, but from this side of the barrier, and from so far away, she could not tell what he was trying to say. His intent did become obvious a couple moments later, though, when Trixie half-turned and spotted the two visitors outside the force field.

“What are you doing here?” Trixie asked scornfully.

“Oh, I thought you might be interested in a rematch,” Twilight said, while Gearhead held position and remained on guard.

“Why would I do that? I’ve already banished you.”

“Yeah, once maybe, but can you do it again?” Twilight lifted an amulet of her own into plain sight. It had a gold band and a jade stone that sported swirls on it. A single glance with Shift Focus would have revealed the necklace’s nature, but Twilight was betting that Trixie was being too proud and stubborn, and was too far corrupted by the Alicorn Amulet to see the truth at this point. “Zecora gave it to me, and it’s even more powerful than your Alicorn Amulet.”

“Nothing is more powerful than the Alicorn Amulet,”

“I don’t know about that,” Twilight said, “after all it contains powerful and mysterious magic from beyond the Everfree Forest. But if you’re not interested...” Twilight turned to go.

“Wait!” Trixie dismissed the barrier and teleported beside Twilight. “Fine, a rematch.”

* * *

Gearhead supposed that the first surprise came with the revelation that Granny Smith was no longer ‘Granny,’ and could not participate in Twilight’s rematch. “Sorry, y’all,” she said sheepishly.

“That’s okay, Gran—err, I mean... what d’we call you now?” Applejack said. Mac and Apple Bloom were struggling equally hard.

“Just ‘Smith’ is fine,”

“No, really, you must’ve been called something else when you were as old as you look,” Apple Bloom said.

“Ann,”

“What?”

“M’name was ‘Ann Smith.’”

“Oh,” the others chorused.

* * *

Later, when Twilight unveiled her series of ‘transformation,’ the second surprise kicked in: having received a thorough bashing in the ego, Trixie fell far more easily than any of the Elemental Six had expected, given how hard she had been fighting earlier. But being put on the ropes by an Earth Pony could be very demoralizing if you considered yourself ‘the Highest-level Unicorn.’ Gearhead was surprised Trixie had never considered the opposition she was bound to face from a certain trio of Alicorns, although he was not surprised at all that she did not know not to consider him an Earth Pony, at least not when it came to magic.

Pinkie got a kick out of delivering the final blow, unveiling the hodgepodge of instruments she had cobbled together to fight the Parasprite Swarm all those moons ago. Trixie looked the most set back by the pink Earth Pony’s ability to play those ten instruments at once, especially as she still did not have her mouth back. And the kicker, as Twilight delivered afterwards, that it did not have anything to do with traditional magic: it was just Pinkie Pie being Pinkie Pie.

Gearhead could only guess at what was going through Trixie’s mind as Twilight ‘turned’ Applejack and Rarity into fillies, then turned Applejack into a stallion before ‘doubling’ Rainbow Dash. Her previous duel with Gearhead might have had something to do with the action Trixie decided to take, but then it could have been completely unrelated: she could have been thinking about his ‘either / or’ comment, or she could have just been greedy. Whatever the case, she snatched the necklace from around Twilight’s neck and took off the Alicorn Amulet to put the other item on.

At which point, the Amulet began to lose its hold on Trixie. Just to be sure, Dash swooped in and snatched up the Amulet. She took a blast from Trixie, but that only tickled her. Soon the dangerous Dark Magic Artifact was in a box in Zecora’s keeping. While Gearhead had some hopes it would never surface again, he did not hold to them.

* * *

Even in the aftermath of the incident with the Alicorn Amulet, there was not any time in which to rest: Princess Celestia was giving a tour to delegates from Saddle Arabia, and she had charged Twilight with coming up with a magical display to entertain them.

The display, floating a brace of Fluttershy’s animal friends in a Moebius strip, was very impressive in its own right, but lacked the polish of a ‘big finish.’ That is, until Trixie supplied it with a fireworks display. Fortunately her ego had shrunk to the point where she could ask for forgiveness. Just as fortunately, Twilight was not the type to withhold said forgiveness, allowing Trixie to leave Ponyville with a clean slate, instead of with a grudge like the one that had pushed her to seeking the Amulet in the first place.

During Twilight’s performance, Fluttershy had been on her last nerve with fright at the prospect of her animal friends getting hurt. Gearhead, for once not wearing his Twin Engines, gently held and comforted her. “You know you are missing quite the sight,” he told her.

“No thanks, I’ve seen it,” she squeaked. Nevertheless, she did manage to take a peak, and was hooked until the very end.

There was another spectacle, of course, in explaining to the Elemental Six and some of the other townsponies that Dawn would be staying in Ponyville for the foreseeable future. Gearhead explained that she, and three Pegasi from the Azure, would be helping him as full employees of Gearhead’s Gadgets. He assured them all that he and Dawn had built a house for the purpose of accommodating the newcomers.

Gearhead also asked Pinkie to save the welcome party for the Pegasi’s arrival. She happily agreed.