Chapters The Three Princess Rejects
An important gathering occurred in Celestia’s Castle the night of Sunset Shimmer’s exile. She stood firmly on her podium staring down at the other students.
“You mean she isn’t coming back?” Luna asked asked.
“Yes. She must never return to my school of gifted unicorns after the way she behaved. I put too much trust in her.” Celestia said somberly.
“It is not your fault.” Luna said putting a hoof on her shoulder.
“I suppose. Now I will need a new student to take her place.” Celestia said.
“What about Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Cadence suggested.
“Who is Twilight Sparkle?” Princess Celestia asked taking Cadence’s words into consideration.
“She’s a unicorn I foalsit. She is exceptional at magic and an avid reader.” Cadence said.
“I’ll send her parents an invitation, but we need to start making the entrance exam more challenging. We can’t just have anypony trained to be the next princess.” Celestia said sternly.
“I’m sure she’d make a wonderful princess.” Cadence said.
“That’s another thing. We mustn’t tell her that we are training her to be a princess. You all know what happened last time. Do I make myself clear?” Princess Celestia shifted her eyes over to Luna’s student Trixie. Trixie covered her face with her starry hat. Celestia’s glance moved over to Cadence’s student, Sprinklejinx. Her leg was wrapped tightly in a cast from the previous incident. She swallowed a lump in her throat and covered her injury with her tail.
“Yes, your majesty.” Sprinklejinx stammered feeling intimidated by the powerful goddess standing in front of her. She bowed down her head nervously.
“Good. You shall continue your study as it was tomorrow. Hopefully Sunset Shimmer’s departure will be a lesson to the both of you.” Celestia said dismissing everypony. Celestia hid the mirror she had trapped her former student in down in the dungeon. She stared at herself in the mirror and sighed. “What have I done?” Celestia said to herself. She had put too much pressure on the three little fillies. Although her intentions were good, things were turning for the worse.
After Night Mare Moon had been banished, Celestia couldn’t rule all of Equestria on her own. So she did what any sensible princess would have done. She adopted a young Pegasus named Cadence to be her niece. After years of doing good deeds and foal sitting, Cadence finally earned the privilege of being a princess. Knowing she would soon have to fight her sister again, Celestia mentored a unicorn named Sunset Shimmer. She did this because I something were to happen to her, nopony would be able to raise the sun. The prophecy said that a pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony would rule one day. Celestia thought Sunset Shimmer would be the perfect choice. She had impressive magic skills and the sun for a cutie mark. Much to her surprise, Luna regained control of herself. Soon, she wanted a student of her own. She chose Trixie because she was great at magic and her cutie mark had a moon on it. Princess Cadence, on the other hoof, got the shorter end of the stick. Celestia and Luna encouraged Cadence to teach a unicorn a well. Unlike the other two students, Sprinklejinx had no cutie mark and no idea how to control her magic. The three fillies got themselves into so much trouble over the past two months, Celestia regretted training them to begin with. Things started to go downhill after Sprinklejinx arrived.
It all started when Cadence’s messenger told her that a powerful bad luck spell was spreading rapidly through Fillydelphia. She teleported there to figure out what was going on. She saw a minty green unicorn with a magenta mane. There was an angry scowl on her freckled face. Her fuchsia eyes narrowed. A blinking light flashed from her horn. That only seemed to make her more irritated.
“What’s the matter little filly?” Cadence asked following Sprinklejinx down the crowded sidewalk. She was still glaring at the ground.
“Leave me alone.” Sprinklejinx said in her thick city accent. She didn’t want to talk to anypony especially a stranger. Cadence flew over her head and landed in front of her.
“Sunshine, sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Cadence chanted. She wasn’t even slightly ashamed of dancing around in public.
“What are you doing?” Sprinklejinx asked wondering where the closest insane asylum was.
“I only want to make you happy, Sprinklejinx.” Cadence said. Sprinklejinx stopped in her tracks.
“You know my name?” Sprinklejinx asked looking up at her. Her jaw dropped.
“Of course I do. A princess knows everypony by name.” Cadence said.
“You’re THE Princess Cadence?! That’s so cool! What are you doing here?” Sprinklejinx gasped smiling from ear to ear. Her mood flipped like a switch. Her horn stopped flashing pink. She couldn’t believe that she met an actual princess. She would have pinched herself to see if she was dreaming, but it’s pretty hard to do that sort of thing with hooves.
“I came here to see you.” Cadence said. The filly jumped for joy.
“You came here to see me?” Sprinklejinx said trying to contain her excitement. She didn’t want to fan girl out too much in front of the princess. She needed to act professional.
“Yes. It has come to my attention that your magic is causing a string of bad luck.” Cadence said. Sprinkljinx looked around her. A kart full of fresh apples was tipped over in the middle of the street. The wheel had been broken off and ponies were stealing the apples off the street. A stallion had bird droppings on his head. A mare had accidentally stepped in a sewer hole and sprained her ankle. She limped down the streets with her hoof soaked in sewage.
“Oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.” Sprinklejinx said hoping that she didn’t let one of her biggest role model down. Her ears drooped.
“I know you didn’t mean any harm. You just have powerful magic. You need to learn to control your emotions. I could teach you if you want.” Cadence suggested looking down at the chubby little filly.
“Oh my gosh! You would do that?” Sprinklejinx asked beaming at the princess.
“Yes, if I get your parents’ permission. So what was bothering you, if you don’t mind me asking.” Cadence asked folding her wings.
“Well, I’m lost. My brother and I got chased by muggers while walking home from school. We got split up. I don’t know if he got away or not.” Sprinklejinx said regaining some of her sadness.
“I’m very sorry to hear that. You shouldn’t wander the streets by yourself. Fillydelphia is a dangerous city.” Cadence said thinking of all the ponies who get mugged in dark alleys.
“Don’t worry about me. I’m tough for a little filly.” Sprinklejinx said still trying to keep her cool.
“What is your brother’s name?” Cadence asked.
“Lucky Dice.” Sprinklejinx replied.
“What does he look like?” Cadence asked.
“He’s a unicorn like me. He’s a little older than me. He has three dice blocks as a cutie mark.” Sprinklejinx said.
“So where are your parents?” Cadence asked.
“They’re working at the Horse Shoe factory.” Sprinklejinx said.
Princess Cadence took Sprinklejinx to the horse shoe factory the horse shoe factory her parent, Jigsaw and Clover worked at.
“There you are, Jinx. We were worried sick about you. Lucky Dice told us all about what happened.” Clover said.
“We were just about to leave to come find you. I’m glad those muggers didn’t catch you.” Lucky said.
“We didn’t think you’d be able to find your way back.” Jigsaw said.
“I had a little help.” Sprinklejinx said letting Cadence inside. They were just as thrilled to see the princess as Sprinklejinx was. In fact, her mother nearly fainted.
“You met the princess? That’s so awesome!” Lucky Dice said.
“That’s not even the best part. She said she’s going to let me be her student!” Sprinklejinx said cheerfully.
“No way!” Lucky Dice said letting his jaw drop.
“What?!” Sprinklejinx’s parents both said in unison.
“Allow me to explain. It seems that your daughter’s magic is dangerous. She has trouble controlling her emotions. That is a bad combination. With proper training she will be able to learn to handle her magic, with your permission of course.” Cadence said.
“Why, of course. It would be such an honor for our daughter to be mentored by a princess.” Clover said.
“We would be so proud.” Jig Saw added.
“So what are you going to teach me first?” Sprinklejinx asked.
“First, you need to take your entrance exam.” Cadence replied.
“But I didn’t study. What if I fail?” Sprinklejinx asked. The extent of her magic was levitating small objects.
“Do your best, Jinx.” Lucky Dice said giving her a quick noogie.
“Don’t worry. You’ll do fine. It’s just to see how much you know.” Cadence said teleporting them both to the castle.
The Three Princess Rejects
For the first time Sprinklejinx was in Canterlot. Ponies walked the streets in dresses and tuxes. She gazed up at the gigantic castle in front of her. It made her apartment back in Fillydelphia look like an anthill. Luna and Celestia were waiting for them at the door.
“There you are. Come inside.” Princess Celestia said.
“Let us show you our students.” Luna said.
“This is my most faithful student, Sunset Shimmer.” Celestia said pointing her hoof at the unicorn with the red and yellow mane. “And this is my sister’s student, Trixie.” Celestia added.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie.” Trixie said correcting the princess.
“Why don’t you two show Sprinklejinx a few spells you learned?” Cadence said.
“Check this out!” Trixie said. She tossed her hat in the air with her teeth. Before the hat fell on her she made a barrier around herself. She then used her magic to make a duplicate of herself. Trixie used her magic to make a cloud of smoke. She morphed the cloud into the shape of a star. Each time a beam of light bounced off her horn the cloud changed colors. She ended her act with a cluster of fireworks.
“Let me show you how it’s done.” Sunset Shimmer said. Sunset Shimmer turned herself invisible. Then she used a gravity spell to make her walk on walls. Then she put a spell on an apple to make it taste like an oats. “Alright, Jinx. Let’s see what you got.” Sunset Shimmer said. Sprinklejinx swallowed a lump in her throat. The princesses waited patiently for Sprinklejinx to begin. Sprinklejinx’s horn shined briefly. She levitated a tea pot into the air. It teetered from side to side. She tilted it in front of a cup. She nearly spilled tea on their fancy table cloth. She poured the tea into the cup. Trixie laughed.
“Do you really think she has what it takes?” Celestia whispered to Cadence.
“That’s it? I could do better than that.” Trixie said unimpressed by her magical ability. Sunset Shimmer yawned.
“I am very disappointed in you.” Celestia said looking down at the fillies. Sprinlejinx’s horn glowed brighter. She tried her best to fight it.
“No! Not again! Not now. Stay away from me.” Jinx said feeling her own magic taking over her.
“What’s happening?” Luna asks.
“Sprinklejinx! Calm down.” Cadence said.
“I can’t control it!” Sprinklejinx screamed. A tree collapsed on top of the roof. The branches landed into the castle. The tea pot went sailing into the air spilling on Luna. It hit the floor and shattered. The princesses looked at each other and gasped. “I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to.” Sprinklejinx said.
“We know.” Celestia said.
“I just wanted to be good enough. I just wanted to make you proud.” Sprinklejinx said.
“I said I was disappointed in Trixie’s behavior. Not you.” Celestia said.
“We didn’t expect you to know all of those spells. It took weeks for them to master those spells. You didn’t flunk the entrance exam. You got a C+. That’s still passing.” Cadence said.
“I got an A on mine.” Trixie bragged.
“So did I.” Sunset Shimmer said.
“That power can cause a lot of danger.” Luna said.
“That’s why we should train her as soon as possible.” Cadence said giving her a spell book. After Sprinklejinx told her family the good news, they bought her a carrot cake. Normally, her family would eat grass to save money. On special occasions they might have oats, carrots, or apples. Carrots were always her favorite. After they were done celebrating, Dice helped Sprinklejinx practice her magic. They tossed around a paper airplane made out of an old newspaper back and forth. He taught her how to change its shape. After they were done, she solved the cross word puzzles. Even if Sprinklejinx and Dice didn’t have very many toys, they always had ways to amuse themselves.
After a week of training, Sprinklejinx didn’t have a single magical meltdown. It was finally time for her to try new spells instead of learning to prevent her bad luck spell.
“Are you ready to go?" Princess Cadence asked smiling at Sprinklejinx.
"I sure am." Sprinklejinx said trying to hide her panting.
"Good. Then let's go." Princess Cadence said teleporting them to the castle.
"I wish I could teleport." Sprinklejinx said.
"One day you will, Jinx. So have you been reading your new book?" Princess Cadence asked.
"Uh, yeah." Sprinklejinx said nervously.
"How far have you gotten?" Princess Cadence asked.
"Well... I only read up to chapter four." Sprinklejinx said.
"Four chapters? That’s not too bad. " Princess Cadence said seeming a bit surprised by her student’s progress.
"So what are we going to do today?" Sprinklejinx asked anxiously. She wanted to show her everything she learned.
"How about you show me your breathing techniques." Princess Cadence said. She read in the book that it is easier to use magic when you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. She hasn't tried to do it yet. Princes Cadence levitated a pile of books.
"I can't levitate all that." Sprinklejinx said.
"We'll start off with one and then I'll gradually add more. Don't worry. Just do your best." Princess Cadence said.
Sprinklejinx’s horn flickered. She took a deep breath through her nostrils. Her horn glowed even brighter than before. The book slowly raised into midair. It teetered from side to side.
"I did it?!" She whispered.
"Sprinklejinx, focus." Princess Cadence whispered.
"Sorry." Sprinklejinx said looking back at the book. She added another one to the pile. The two books lowered for a split second and returned to its position. She regained the pattern of the breathing technique. The stress in her head is slightly relieved.
"Hmm..." Princes Cadence mumbled to herself. She added another book to the stack.
The weight was finally dragging her magic down.
"Stay up. Stay up. Stay up." She whispered closing her eyes tightly.
"In through the nose. Out through the mouth." Princess Cadence said calmly.
"Nice form." Princess Celestia said from behind Sprinklejinx. She panicked and all the books fall like rain. Princess Celestia levitated them before they hit the marble floor.
"Oops! I'm sorry." Sprinklejinx gasped.
"I didn't mean to interrupt. I just wanted to have a little word with Cadence and Luna alone." Princess Celestia said.
"Alright. Maybe Trixie and Sunset Shimmer can give you a couple pointers while you’re waiting." Princess Cadence said.
"She'll be right back." Princess Celestia said leading Princess Cadence out of the room. Trixie and Sunset Shimmer entered the room.
"You know what's going on, don't you?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"What do you mean?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"The princesses are having a meeting right after the final princess found her student." Sunset Shimmer said trying to give me a hint.
"So what?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"So they're probably picking the pony who will be the next princess." Sunset Shimmer said.
"Don't be ridiculous. They're not going to pick the princess now. We're too little to be given that much responsibility." Sprinklejinx said.
"If they are choosing one it's obvious that The Great and Powerful Trixie would be the most qualified." Trixie gloated.
"Of course." Sprinklejinx said dryly as she rolled my eyes.
"I have just as much of a chance of being the new princess as you." Sunset Shimmer protested.
"You? Well may I remind you who scored highest on the last test? That's right, The Great and Powerful Trixie." Trixie bragged.
"May I remind you who's teacher got banished to the moon?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"Maybe they'll make all of us princesses." Sprinklejinx suggested.
"You? A princess? Look at your flank. Now look at our cutie marks. What do you notice?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"They have similar symbols to Princess Celestia and Luna?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"Hmph! I guess you're not as stupid as you look." Trixie said.
"You have no cutie mark. You aren’t even full unicorn. Your father is an earth pony.” Sunset Shimmer said.
"Maybe we'll be the next ponies to raise the sun and the moon." Trixie added.
"Well they have to pick one of us sooner or later." Sunset Shimmer said.
"Which is why The Great and Powerful Trixie is going to prove to them that I'm better than the two of you combined." Trixie boasted.
"How are you going to do that?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"I'm going to take down an Ursa Major, of course." Trixie said confidently.
The worst part about it was that she looked dead serious. Sprinklejinx laughed hysterically.
"What's so funny, Sprinklejinx?" She asked.
"That thing would eat you in one bite. You wouldn't last ten seconds in that cage." Sprinklejinx said.
"You dare to belittle The Great and Powerful Trixie?" Trixie said.
"I'm not belittling any pony. I'm just stating a fact." Sprinklejinx said.
"I bet that Ursa Major would kick your sorry flank." Sunset Shimmer said.
"How much do you want to bet?" Trixie said.
"Whoever loses has to do whatever the winner says for a whole week." Sunset Shimmer said spitting on her hoof.
"It's a deal." Trixie said spitting on her hoof and pressing it against Sunset Shimmer's hoof.
"You're all crazy." Sprinklejinx said spitting on my hoof and joining in. The three filles went down into the dark dungeon.
"How are we going to get the key?" Sunset Shimmer whispered?
"I don't think this is a good idea." Sprinklejinx whispered.
"Relax, The Great and Powerful Trixie has this all under control. I'm going to take that key from the guard who comes in to feed the monsters." Trixie said pointing her hoof at a Pegasus stallion. He scooped up a pile of ground meat and dumped it into one of the cages. Since the Ursa Minor is the last cage in the dungeon that means he hasn't eaten since last night. So Trixie was about to go inside a cage with a hungry Ursa Minor inside. He had a key hooked onto his belt. Trixie's horn glowed brightly. The guard fell fast asleep on the floor.
"We're going to get in trouble." Sprinklejinx whispered.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie never backs away from a challenge." Trixie said.
"This isn't a challenge. It's suicide." Sprinklejinx said.
"The Ursa Major is no match for the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria." Trixie said.
"You're not the most powerful unicorn! You're seven years old." Sprinklejinx snapped.
"Don't you want to see Trixie go head to head with an Ursa Major?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
Sprinklejinx really wanted to watch all the action happen. It would be really exciting to see Trixie get maimed by and Ursa Major, but this was dangerous.
"Give me the key." Trixie said to Sunset Shimmer.
"Here you go." Sunset Shimmer said levitating the key to Trixie.
"Wait! Stop!" Sprinklejinx shouted.
"What now, Jinx?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"If you open the cage the guard can get eaten. He's just laying there like a sitting duck." Sprinklejinx said.
"Hurry up and get him out of here." Trixie ordered. Sprinklejinx took the shovel out of his snoring mouth and tried to drag him up the stairs. He is nearly twice her size.
"This is taking too long." Sunset Shimmer said. Trixie unlocked the cage and closed herself inside. She put a spell on the ground to make it slippery. The glare of her horn woke up the beast. The Ursa Minor roared ferociously. He swatted at her with his giant claws. At the last second Trixie ducked. He knocked her hat right off her head. If she didn't duck her head would have came clean off. The Ursa Minor got up on his hind legs and bared his sharp teeth. Trixie shrieked and bolted out of the cage. The Ursa Minor slipped on the ground. Sunset Shimmer quickly slams shuts the door behind her.
"That was so close!" Trixie said hyperventilating a little bit. Her eyes were opened up as wide as her eyelids would allow.
"Are you okay?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"I think so." Trixie said.
"Are you crazy? You could have died." Sprinklejinx groaned.
"I told you you couldn't do it." Sunset Shimmer said.
Trixie ignored her scornful remark. Trixie was trembling like a leaf.
"Now is not the time for that, Shimmer. She almost got eaten alive by and Ursa Major." Sprinklejinx scolded. Trixie was cocky and deserved to be proven wrong,but that didn't justify Sunset Shimmer rubbing it in her face.
"So what are you going to do about your hat?" Sprinklejinx asked looking back at the cage.
"M-my hat?!" Trixie stuttered putting her hooves over her head.
"It's gone. What am I going to do?" Trixie said frantically.
"Who cares? Your parents can buy you a new hat." Sprinklejinx said. Trixie's parents, like most ponies in Canterlot, have more than enough money to get by.
"That's not the point. If the princesses see the hat they'll know she went in there." Sunset Shimmer worried.
"And if Luna finds out she'll get mad at me." Trixie said.
"She'll get over it. It's not like you did any serious damage." Sprinklejinx said.
"Do you know what happens when Luna gets angry?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"She'll turn into Night Mare Moon and Princess Celestia will have to banish her into the moon for another thousand years!" Trixie said.
"Oh, no! We have to get that hat back." Sprinklejinx said.
"There's no way I'm going back in there." Trixie said.
"We have to." Sunset Shimmer said.
"Can't we just put the Ursa Major to sleep, walk in, and take the hat?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"He might be too powerful. But I'll give it a shot." Sunset Shimmer replied.
Her horn flashed. The Ursa Minor curled up into a ball and yawned. He closes his drowsy eyes.
"That should do it" Trixie whispered.
"Now all we have to do is levitate the hat." Sprinklejinx said.
"The glare from our horns might wake it up." Sunset Shimmer said.
Sprinklejinx and Trixie could hardly hear her over the beast's deep snoring. The cell door creaked open. Sprinklejinx cringed. The Ursa Minor didn't seem to stir. Sprinklejinx swallowed a lump in her throat and creeped slowly towards the hat. She held her breath and tried not to make a sound. She snatched the hat with my teeth. "Got it!" Jinx whispered to the two fillies behind her.
"Shhh!" Trixie said putting a hoof over her mouth.
As they crept back out of the cell, Sunset Shimmer's long wavy tail brushed up against the Ursa Minor's nose. He sneezed loudly startling the three of them. They all screamed in unison galloping out of the cage. The Ursa Minor came barreling after them.
"Hurry!" Sunset Shimmer screamed.
"Help us!" Trixie yelled. She skidded to a halt.
"I have an idea." Trixie said. Trixie teleported out of the room. Sunset Shimmer was about to do the same.
"Wait! I can't teleport!" Sprinlejinx pleaded. Sunset Shimmer looked back at her for a moment. Her horn lit up and then she disappeared leaving her to die. She tried to get out but the door wouldn’t budge. The Ursa Minor stood on its hind legs towering over her. Her ears drooped down to the sides of her head. The Ursa Minor roared and slammed his paw into Sprinklejinx’s side. His claws raked through her skin as she tumbled backward. As she tried to get back up she noticed the feeding shovel from across the room. It was in the mouth of the still sleeping guard. She used her breathing techniques and levitated it into the air. She heard hoof steps coming down the stairs. The Ursa Minor opened his jaws widely as he pounced at her. She swung the shovel at his snout. He recoiled for a moment and put his paw over his nose. Sprinklejinx struck him again. It just seemed to make him angrier. He picked her up with his slobbery mouth. His breath smelled like fish. She heard some pony coming down the stairs.
"What in Equestria is going on down their?" Princess Cadence asked as she burst through the doors. The Ursa Minor whirled around and growled. He was bearing his teeth. Princess Cadence stood still with a dumbfounded expression. The Ursa Minor threw Sprinklejinx head first against the wall. Her vision was blurred for a moment. After a few seconds of disorientation, Sprinklejinx saw the Ursa Minor lunging at Cadence. She was flying over to her. She staggered out of the pool of my own blood.
"You leave the princess alone!" Sprinkljinx shouted whacking The Ursa Minor in the face with the shovel again. This time a pointy tooth hit the floor. He licked the bloody gap in his mouth. She kept beating him over the head with the shovel. Beams of magic shoot out of Cadence's horn blinding him temporarily.
"What do we do?" Princess Luna asked.
"Get the Elements! Now!" Celestia commanded.
She begins hitting the Ursa Minor with sparks of magic as well. It seemed to be helping more than her shovel attacks. Luna quickly got all these magic necklaces and a magic tiara. They all made a rainbow vortex surround The Ursa Minor. Princess Cadence lifted me into the air before the Ursa Major fell on Sprinklejinx’s leg. The three princesses trapped the unconscious monster into his cage.
"We heard screaming and we got here as soon as we could." Princess Celestia said.
"Are you alright?" Luna asked.
"I don't know." Sprinklejinx said staring down at her red hoof prints.
"I should have kept a better eye on you. I don't think I'm ready to have a student yet. I'm sorry, Jinx." Princess Cadence sighed.
"I'll put a healing spell on you for now, but we need to take you to a hospital immediately." Celestia said. Her magic made some of the pain go away.
The Three Princess Rejects
"Get me some more pain killer! Hurry!" A doctor said to a nurse. She sat up out of the bed. Her family, the princesses, and their students were standing around her bed.
"Tell me where it hurts, Jinx." Her mother said. Sprinklejinx couldn't really feel anything.
"Sprinklejinx, would you like to tell us what happened? Trixie said that you stole her hat and tried to hide in the dungeon when the Ursa Minor got loose. Is that true?" Princess Celestia asked.
"That's not how it happened at all. It was her fault the Ursa Major got out. She wanted to beat the Ursa Major to impress you. She wanted you to pick her to be the princess. Sunset Shimmer and I made a bet with her that she wouldn't last five minutes in a fight with an Ursa Major. Then she chickened out and her hat got stuck in the cage. We knew if you saw her hat in there, Luna would get mad and turn into Nightmare Moon. Then you'd have to banish Luna into the moon for another thousand years." She explained. The princesses looked at each other and laughed.
"I do not turn into Nightmare Moon every time I get mad." Luna said seeming a little offended.
“You were all lucky that was only an Ursa Minor." Princess Celestia said.
“That was only an Ursa Minor?”Sprinklejinx asked.
"Don't any of you ever do that again. You could have gotten yourselves killed over a foalish bet.” Celestia scolded.
"And thanks to your foalish little bet, your mother and I have to pay for your surgery.” Her father said.
"Never be afraid to tell us when something goes wrong." Princess Cadence added.
"So how long was I out?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"Forever." Lucky Dice said.
"Four hours at least." Her father said.
"You really had us going, Jinx. We thought that thing was going to kill you." Sunset Shimmer said.
"Well it could have. Thanks for all the help by the way." Sprinklejinx said sarcastically.
"Survival to the fittest. If you want to stand a chance against monsters, you're going to have to learn to use your magic." Trixie said trying to justify her stupidity.
"Does this mean that you still have to do whatever we say?" Sunset Shimmer asked.
"Well she did lose the bet." Sprinklejinx said smugly. She took Trixie's hat off of the night stand and levitated it back on her head. Princess Celestia gave them a stern look. She didn’t approve of their little bet.
"Ew! You got blood all over The Great and Powerful Trixie's hat." Trixie said.
Sprinklejinx slammed my hoof into a pillow to blow off some steam. Who did she think she was anyway? She should have been grateful that she got her hat back at all. The doctor came back pushing a kart full of sharp looking tools.
"We're ready to perform the operation." The Doctor said.
"Operation?" Sprinklejinx asked cringing at the thought of having my body being cut open with the scalpel.
"Don't worry, sweetie. You won't feel a thing." A unicorn nurse said. Her horn flickered. She forced her eyes open. She didn't want to go to sleep. She wanted to tell everypony all about the things she saw. While Sprinklejinx was asleep the princesses returned to their royal duties. As for her family, they sat anxiously in the waiting room.
"Well, you're all done." The doctor said hearing her wake up.
"What did you do to me?" She asked groggily wiping her eyes with my hooves.
"One of the bones in your back leg was completely shattered so we had to have it removed." The Doctor replied.
"My leg!?" Sprinklejinx shouted sitting up. The doctor chuckled and gestured me to lay back down.
"No, just the bone. We had to replace it with a metal rod." He said. She sighed in relief.
"Where is everypony?" Sprinklejinx asked.
"The princesses left while you were having your surgery." Her mother said patting my head.
"Is there anything we can get you?" Her father asked.
"Just my book, please." Sprinklejinx said examining my stitched up leg. He levitated my book in front of me.
"I better go tell your brother that you're awake. They're in the waiting room." Her mother said.
"Hey, Jinx. How ya feelin?" He asked.
"I'm okay." Sprinklejinx said.
"Do you want me to read you a chapter?" Lucky Dice said peeking over her shoulder.
“I’m a big girl. I know how to read now.” Sprinklejinx said.
“Oh yeah? What’s this word?” Dice asked pointing at a large word with his hoof.
“Tran- Train-“ Sprinklejinx stammered.
“Transmogrification.” Dice corrected.
“That’s what I was going to say.” Sprinklejinx growled. Dice laughed and levitated the book out of her reach. He read to his sister until she fell fast asleep. Dice saw his parents talking to the doctor in the hallway. He leaned his ear against the door.
“There’s no way we could afford these surgeries.” Jigsaw said.
“Without those surgeries she will most likely die.” The doctor said not even looking away from his clipboard.
“We could sell the factory.” Clover suggested desperately.
“But it’s been in our family for years. Where would we work? We’ll be out on the streets.” Jigsaw said.
“What other choice do we have? We can’t just let our little filly die.” Clover sobbed.
“You could always take out a loan.” The doctor said.
“But we’re in so much debt already.” Jigsaw said. Dice had heard enough. He had to take matters into his own hooves. He snuck out of the hospital and snatched a wallet from an unsuspecting stallion. After that he stole a purse from a mare.
“Stop! Thief!” The mare shrieked hitting him with her umbrella. Just as he thought he got a clean getaway two police officers jumped from behind the corner.
“Freeze! Drop the bag, punk.” The first officer said.
“Put your hooves up!” The other officer said putting cuff’s around his hooves.
“Please sir. I’m too young to go to jail. I just need money to pay for my sister’s operation.” Dice pleaded.
“Likely story kid. Where are your parents?” The officer said pushing him forward.
“At the hospital across the street.” Dice replied trembling in fear. He didn’t know what he was more afraid of; his parents being mad at him or going to jail. The stern officer wasn’t about to cut him any breaks, that’s for sure.
“Is this your son?” The officer asked.
“Dice!? What did you do?” Clover gasped.
“Nothing! I just took a little money.” Dice said.
“Dice, you know better than to steal from other ponies.” Jigsaw scolded.
“You shouldn’t have worried about the bits. We would have figured out something.” Clover said.
“I’m not going to jail, am I?” Dice asked.
“If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime.” The cop said. He was awfully fond of that corny catchphrase.
“He just made a little mistake. Can’t there be an exception?” Clover asked.
“This hasn’t been the last time he was reported for stealing. Carrot Top said she spotted him eating out of her garden.” The cop said.
“I was just hungry.” Dice said.
“Some time in the slammer aughta teach you a lesson.” The officer said waking up Sprinklejinx.
“What’s going on?” Sprinklejinx asked.
“Your brother is going to juvie until he could behave like normal citizens.” The cop said.
“Can I bail him out? I could sell all of my toys and have a lemonade stand.” Sprinklejinx offered. The officer chuckled.
“Don’t laugh at my sister.” Dice yelled swinging his back legs at the officer.
“Hey! Assulting a police officer just earned you another two months behind bars.” The officer yelled. For the first time, Dice cried in front of his sister. He dropped to the ground in defeat.
“This isn’t fair. Let him go!” Sprinklejinx said trying to get out of the bed. Her parents held her down.
“You’re too young to understand the meaning of the law. I’m doing this to protect your brother from a life of crime.” The officer said dragging Dice into the back of the cart.
“He didn’t even let me say goodbye.” Sprinklejinx sniffled.
“Don’t worry. You’ll see him again.” Her mother said.
“But he’s going to miss my birthday.” Sprinklejinx said.
“Well he should have thought about that before he started stealing.” Her father said.
“It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have went in the dungeon.” Sprinklejinx said.
“Don’t say that. Everypony makes mistakes.” Her mother said.
“Even you?” Sprinklejinx asked.
“Yes, even me. I could have gotten a better job and moved to a friendlier neighborhood, but my parents' factory meant too much to me.” Her mother said.
“When I get better can I go visit Dice?” Sprinklejinx asked.
"Yes, but you will rarely see him at all anymore. You’re going to have to play by yourself. Maybe you could practice your magic or put together some puzzles.” Her father said. The doctor trotted into the room interrupting their conversation.
“I have some good news.” The doctor said.
“Thank Celestia.” Her mother said.
“You really should thank Celestia. She sent me a letter with the payment of your operations.” The doctor said. Sprinkeljinx’s parents sighed in relief.
“It would have been nice to know that a little earlier.” Sprinklejinx mumbled.
“Well at least we have one less thing we have to worry about.” Her father said. As soon as Sprinklejinx was done with her operations she began going back to school again. Occasionally she wrote her brother a letter like this one:
Dear Lucky,
I’m feeling much better than when I last saw you. I had my operation and now I’m able to learn more magic. I got in trouble for eating an orange crayon today. I was hungry. I thought that if I imagined hard enough it would taste like a carrot. It tasted yucky. I drew you this picture of a turtle because I thought it would make you happy. Momma says if I be good and don’t eat any more crayons we’ll come and see you next week. I miss you a lot. It’s no fun being by myself. Soon you’ll get out of jail and we could play games again.
From,
Sprinklejinx
