Chapters Element of Empathy: Princess Trixie Sparkle
Narrator's POV.
It's been quite the week, preparing for her next royal duty in Canterlot. She had poured over every book she could find in her library on Canterlot etiquette and tradition, not that she even needed it. Twilight was born and raised in Canterlot. She knows the place like the back of her hand.
Oh, forgive me. I don't think we've met before. My name is Eleanor May Carter. I know, it's a weird name for a Pony. My Pony name is Apple Wisp, but I grew used to my Human name.
I'm a Bat Pony and I'm one of Princess Twilight Sparkle's best friends as well as her study partner.
I used to be a human, but a certain Draconequus used his magic to turn me into a Bat Pony. I was hoping to ask him to turn me back, but my friends like me better as a Pony, and my voice is gone.
"What's next on the list, Spike?" Twilight asked her #1 Assistant, Spike.
"Let's see..." The little purple Dragon pulled out a scroll from his pocket. The scroll toppled to the ground and extended half way across the room, "Pack some scrolls and ink: Check. Straighten up the library: Check. Pack food and supplies for Owlicious: Check. Next we need to visit Sugarcube corner to pick up some cupcakes for Rarity's party tonight."
Twilight clapped her hands together, "Excellent! We're ahead of schedule, I think we should-" But was interrupted by a quick knock at the door.
"I've got it." Spike chimed, racing toward the door.
I sensed something grow cold in the air, like a familiar presence was waiting for us. Spike fell silent.
"Who is it, Spike?" Twilight asked.
"Uh..." Spike was lost for words.
"May I come in?" A familiar voice asked from the doorway.
Twilight and I turned to the door, to see a familiar Unicorn mare standing in the doorway.
Her coat was a light greyish blue. Her mane and tail were almost white with pastel blue streaks. Violet eyes that scream with a humungous ego and a boastful personality.
She wore a light purple magicians hat over her head. A matching cape. A buttoned shirt under a tailed vest coat. And short, black leggings.
Trixie Lulamoon. Never thought we'd see her again, since she apologised for her acts while wearing the Alicorn Amulet.
"Trixie? What are you doing here?" Twilight asked with a cautious tone.
I wanted to tell to Show-Pony to leave, but an encounter with the Queen of Changelings left me with no vocal cords, so I'm unable to speak. Twilight has been teaching me ways to speak. Such as tapping my hoof on the ground to get attention, and clapping my hands once for yes and twice for no. Body language is very useful.
Trixie looked Twilight up and down, her mouth agape, "It's true! You are a Princess!" She exclaimed both in shock and jealousy evident in her voice, "How could you do that? There's no magic spell to become a Princess, if there were I would have been one long ago! My magic is certainly as powerful as yours, why is it you get all the glory, the friends, the attention..."
I folded my arms, as Trixie ranted. In all my studies of magic and physiology, I can say that there is a spell that can turn Ponies into Alicorns. However, there are a few catches.
Number 1: You have to achieve a high level of enlightenment.
Number 2: You have to die...
Number 3: Only other Alicorns can perform this spell.
And number 4: You have to earn the title. Do not rush into things to quickly.
Twilight became a Princess because she achieved enlightenment within Friendship and completed a spell that Star Swirl the Bearded couldn't finish himself.
"Is there something you wanted, Trixie?" Twilight asked impatiently.
"As a matter of fact, there is. As much as I hate to say it, I need your help, Twilight." Trixie invited herself in and began to look around, "I figure since you forgave me for my last little mistake, you might be willing to help me out this once, you know because that's what friends do."
"Well, we're not exactly friends." Twilight answered, closing the door behind Trixie.
Spike crossed his arms and grumbled, "More like frenemies."
"Spike why don't you go upstairs and keep packing, I'll be up shortly?" Twilight suggested.
Spike didn't need to be told twice; he was eager to get away from Trixie.
Trixie walked around the library, snorting in disapproval, "You're a Princess and they make you stay in this old dump? I wouldn't stand for it if I were you."
I growled in anger and balled my hands into fists. The Golden Oak Library isn't a dump! It's home!
"This isn't a dump, Trixie, it's my home." Twilight's patience was running thin, "Why exactly to you need my help?"
Trixie turned suddenly and threw herself at Twilight's hooves with big watery eyes, "Oh Twilight! It's terrible, just terrible! I tried a spell that I found in an old book, something only a powerful unicorn such as myself could pull off. Only it backfired, and now I can't seem to undo the damage. I know there isn't another Unicorn with my kind of talent, but I figured you might come pretty close. I need you to reverse the spell right away."
Twilight and I raised a brow in unison. Twilight more of confusion. Me more of suspicion. Trixie's hiding something and it's making the air around grow cold. I don't like it.
"What's the spell?" Twilight asked warily, certainly not amused.
"It's a love spell." Trixie answered, "You see, I live in Canterlot now and there's a certain pony there that has taken a fancy to me. He's just an Earth Pony, and certainly not my type, but he simply wouldn't leave me alone. I tried to cast this spell to make him keep his distance but something went wrong and now everypony avoids me, except him! It's rather tiresome dodging a love-sick fool. I need to make everypony love me again. I was quite the important pony before that spell, and I don't want to keep my new friends from my delightful company any longer."
"No, we wouldn't want that." Twilight muttered under her breath, unaware she just voiced my thoughts.
"Oh please, Twilight, can't you just look it up? Be a friend and find me a counter spell, I can't bear to live this way any longer." Trixie pleaded more, grovelling.
Twilight rolled her eyes, sighed and turned to her books, "I might be able to find something."
She pulled a few books from the shelf and set them on the ground. She began flipping through the pages.
"Oh thank you, Twilight! I can even pay you for your troubles." Trixie smiled, as I saw something glint green under her starry cloak.
"You know, Trixie, love spells are dangerous. No pony should be meddling in that kind of magic." Twilight informed her, unaware what was going on.
Trixie nodded, "You're right, Twilight, you're always right. I should learn to use my power responsibly before somepony gets hurt. Who knows what I'm capable of?"
She approached Twilight, handing her a strange black and green gem, "Here, take this, as a token of my gratitude and our friendship."
I narrowed my eyes at the gemstone. It looked like a clear malachite gem, but malachite isn't transparent. A beryl, perhaps? A Quartz?
Twilight sighed and looked up at Trixie. As she did, put her hand over the gem.
Suddenly, Twilight started to look like she was gonna topple over. A soft wind whistled through the library and she had to blink a few times to compose herself. I noticed a change in Twilight and Trixie's aura. It worried me.
After a few seconds, Trixie turned to a bookshelf and squealed delightedly, "Oh my! I think I've found the exact book I need!" She grabbed the book from the shelf, "This is sure to solve my problem, I guess I won't need anypony else's help after all. You don't mind me borrowing it, do you?"
"Huh?" Twilight uttered, still a little dazed.
"I didn't think so. Thank you, Princess, you really are a good friend." Trixie smirked, taking the book and letting herself out.
After Trixie had gone, Twilight looked like she was about to collapsed. I quickly caught the Alicorn Princess before she hit the floor.
"What just... Happened?" She muttered to and before she knew it, she was fast asleep.
I set Twilight softly, then ran upstairs to get Spike.
Element of Empathy: Princess Trixie Sparkle
Twilight Sparkle's POV.
"Uuuugh, Spike? Ellie? Where are you?" I managed to call out.
She rubbed my temples, trying to ease the pain, until I looked and saw my hand was blue. Not mullberry purple. Frightened and confused, I picked myself up and rushed to a mirror, hoping my hunch wasn't right.
Unfortunately, staring back at me wasn't a young, unguligrade, Alicorn Pony with a sapphire mane and violet eyes, but Trixie. But, her eyes were different. I couldn't put my finger on it. I screamed and backed away from the mirror in a panic.
"Trixie! What did she do?! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh..." I took a breath the calm myself, as I paced in the library, looking myself over, "Okay Twilight, think." Then I face-palmed, "Ohhh, I should have never let her in here in the first place. What was I thinking?"
Finally, Ellie and Spike came downstairs in a rush. They must've heard my scream.
Eleanor's POV.
"Twilight? What's wrong?" Spike asked.
However, Twilight was nowhere to be found. Standing in her place was Trixie, but something wasn't right about her. Her aura was different. Her posture and eyes were all wrong. What in the hay is going on?
"Trixie!" Spike exclaime, then took a stance, "Where's Twilight, what have you done with her?"
"Spike it's me, Twilight." Trixie insisted, in Twilight's voice, "I need you to get a note to Celestia right away..."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute." Spike waved his hands, then asked suspiciously, "How am Ellie and I supposed to know you're really Twilight?" Spike crossing his arms defiantly.
Trixie rolled her eyes and sighed, "You have a crush on Rarity."
"Everypony already knows that!" Spike pointed out.
Trixie rubbed her chin, "Okay um... You're my number one assistant?"
Spike shook his head, "Is that the best you can do?"
Trixie sighed in frustration, "Spike! We don't have time for this, I need to find a reversal spell!"
Spike waved his hands again, "Okay, okay. How about this, when we were in the Crystal empire, what was my greatest fear?" He asked.
Trixie's eyes soften, "That I'd send you away because I didn't need you anymore. I told you then and it's still true now; That'll never happen!"
Spike's eyes widened in surprise. He smiled and threw his claws around the blue Unicorn in a hug.
That's Spike convinced. Now can she convince me.
Trixie looked at me dead in the eye, "Come on, Ellie. You know it's me."
I narrowed my eyes at the Show-Pony. I took hold of her hand, Trixie gripped my hand. Her grip was gentle, but firm. I adjusted my glasses looked into her eyes. I didn't see a large ego or a boastful personality. I saw the eyes of a Pony I've known all my life. A Pony who was the embodiment of kindness, loyalty, honesty, generosity, and laughter. And her aura....
This was Twilight's aura.
I softened my glare and threw my arms around the blue Unicorn. Twilight was in Trixie's body? How was this possible?
"Do you think one of your books can help?" Spike asked.
Twilight shook her head, "I'm not sure, Spike. I've never heard of anything like this before. Maybe Celestia will know something, can you take a note for me, Spike?"
"Of course!" Spike chimed, pulling out a fresh piece of parchment, "But what about Rarity's party?"
Twilight face-palmed, "Oh my gosh, I almost forgot! We're running late, we'll have to send the letter from Rarity's." She ran to the door, "Come on, let's get those cupcakes and head over there now."
Spike and I nodded, "Alright by me!"
Element of Empathy: Princess Trixie Sparkle
Eleanor's POV.
Twilight looked less than amused as our friends tried to soak in the news of our recent run-in with Trixie and the magical mess she's made.
"But how do we know you're really the real Twilight?" Pinkie asked, as she narrowed her eyes. Then she grinned, "Ooo I know! What's my name?"
"Pinkie, even Trixie knows your name..." Twilight explained.
Pinkie thought for a second, then smiled, "That's right! Pinkie Pie!"
"Now wait just a dog-gone minute, are yah sayin' yer stuck like this?" Applejack asked.
"Only until I can find a counter spell, so far I haven't found anything remotely useful. It would help if I knew what she did, it happened so fast!" Twilight answered.
"When is Fluttershy's birthday?!" Pinkie asked through narrow eyes.
"Pinkie, yah would have to ask her something only Twilight would know." Applejack explained.
"Oooooooh." Pinkie answered, then asked, "What was your very first visit to the zoo like?"
"Uh... Good?" Twilight answered with a raised brow.
Pinkie Pie shrugged her shoulders, "Beats me, only you would know that Twilight!"
"So somewhere out there Trixie is... You?" Fluttershy asked in a squeak.
"I think so." Twilight nodded, then sighed, "Ugh! I have no idea where she went or what she's doing to me!"
"And we can't get a letter to the Princess because she's already left Canterlot and none of my scrolls are going through!" Spike chimed worriedly.
I gasped and tapped my left hoof. The girls looked at me. I pointed to Twilight, then covered my eyes, then my ears, then my mouth.
"Ah think Ellie's tryin' to say that she thinks Trixie is blockin' yah, Twi." Applejack believed she translated.
I smiled and clapped my hands once. She always got me on the ball.
"Oh how dreadful! I can't imagine being stuck inside there... And with this awful costume too." Rarity sympathized, "At the very least can we find you a better ensemble?"
Twilight frowned, "Oh Rarity, I'm so sorry I had to ruin your party, I know how hard you had to work to get this fashion line done. I was so excited when you found out Hoity Toity wants you to come to a fashion show in Canterlot."
Rarity waved her hand, "Think nothing of it, darling. It's far more important that we get your situation resolved first."
"I'VE GOT IT!" Pinkie pie interrupts with a shout, the others look at her in confusion, "What if it Trixie is a wanted outlaw and she has to try to run away without being seen, so she borrows your body, so that she can buy a ticket for the train to Fillydelphia, so that she can go see the Barn-and-Barley circus and then she joins that circus and spends the rest of her days as a rodeo clown because she can never go back!?"
"A rodeo clown?" Rainbow dash asked sarcastically, unaware she voiced my thoughts.
"It could happen." Pinkie Pie shrugged.
"I have to be in Canterlot tomorrow!" Twilight spoke, "The Princess is expecting me and Princess Luna to take over for her while she's gone for a few days." She pulled on her white mane, "I can't go like this!"
"What can we do to help, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked.
"No one messes with our friend and gets away with it!" Rainbow Dash added.
Twilight smiled in relief and gratitude, "Oh thank you girls, I think maybe we should start back at the library. There might be something in one of my books that can tell us something. I didn't have a chance to look yet."
"We'll get this all sorted out lickety split, ya'll see." Applejack said.
With that, we all made our way to Golden Oak Library.
Element of Empathy: Princess Trixie Sparkle
Eleanor's POV.
"No..." Twilight muttered, looking quickly through the pages of one book. She set it aside and looked through the next one, "No no no! There isn't anything usable in these diaries!"
"I'm not having any luck either." Fluttershy said sadly.
Rarity groaned impatiently, "There isn't anything about this kind of spell anywhere. This is completely hopeless."
"There's got to be something ! Spells don't just appear out of thin air, and I don't think Trixie could pull this off on her own." Rainbow Dash countered.
"She did mention something about a love spell she'd tried in Canterlot, but I don't think anything that she told me was true." Twilight replies.
"Oooo, what's this?" Pinkie Pie asked, holding up the black and green gem that Trixie gave Twilight, "It's super extra sparkly!"
"Oh my, that's just lovely!" Rarity said, walking over to Pinkie Pie to investigate, "That would go perfectly with my new line!"
As Rarity and Pinkie touched the gem, the air grew cold again, and a soft wind whistled around them. Twilight and I gasped. I recognised these feeling. The same feeling when Twilight and Trixie touched the gem.
"Mmm, that looks delicious." Spike smiled, drooling at the sight of such a prize.
I gasped and covered his eyes away from the gem. But I was able to get a full glance of the gem, another wind whistled as I struggled to cover my eyes and rubbed my temples in a headache. From across the room, Rainbow Dash was furiously shaking her head with her eyes squeezed shut.
"What's going on here, what's a matter with you Ponies?" Applejack asked.
Twilight gasped, and she shouted, "Applejack, Fluttershy don't!"
But she was too late. Fluttershy and Applejack looked at the glowing gemstone. I could feel my energy leaving my body. Using her magic, Twilight ripped the gem away from us and hid it behind a pile of discarded books. The wind died down and the cold sensation thawed out. The headache
"What in the hay just happened?" Applejack asked.
My ears twitched, and I looked around. Everypony was looking themselves over. Across from me, I saw a ravenette Bat Pony in dark clothing looking herself over. Curious, I looked myself over. My fur was a cyan color. My mane and tail were rainbow-themed and my wings were feathered.
Uh-oh...
Pinkie Pie shrieked, but her voice was Rarity's. Even her eyes were sapphire blue and her aura was Rarity's violet.
"Hey!" Pinkie Pie's voice spoke from Rarity's body, "How can I be over there? I'm over here!"
As the other ponies began to realize what had happened, they all began to panic.
"Twilight! What do we do?" Spike asked.
Rainbow Dash looked at me and narrowed her cerise rose eyes at me, despite being in my body, her eyes were normal. At that case, eveypony's eyes has switched.
Such as Twilight, being in Trixie's body, still had her violet eyes. Fluttershy had green eyes. Pinkie Pie had sapphire blue eyes. Rarity had sky blue eyes. And Applejack had cyan opal eyes.
"Ellie?" Rainbow recognized me, "What are you doing in my body?"
"I've never even heard of magic like this before!" Twilight said sadly.
"Don't you think that silly little rock had something to do with all this?" Fluttershy wondered, sounding like Applejack, pointing to the pile of books.
Okay. Mental note #1: Applejack is Fluttershy and Fluttershy is Applejack.
Mental Note #2: Pinkie Pie and Rarity have switched bodies.
Mental Note #3: I am Rainbow Dash and Rainbow Dash is me...
Good luck everypony...
"Don't be ridiculous." Rarity interjected, "Gems aren't magical."
"Well obviously this one is!" Rainbow Dash countered.
"Oh, oh my... This is very, very frightening!" Fluttershy spoke up from Applejack's body.
"Why don't we all take a gander at the gem again, two at a time, and see if we can switch back?" Applejack wondered.
"It's worth a try!" Twilight said, "Fluttershy and Applejack should look, everypony else look away."
"Oh, um, okay." Fluttershy agreed, and Applejack just nodded.
Twilight picked up the gem from behind the books and used her magic to levitate the gem a few feet from the ground. Applejack and Fluttershy looked into it, while the rest of us looked away. No wind... No headache...
"Did it work?" Rainbow Dash asked, still turned away.
"No." Fluttershy answered sadly.
"Nothing." Applejack added.
Twilight moaned in frustration, then turned to Rarity and Pinkie, "Rarity? Pinkie Pie?"
Pinkie Pie turned around quickly and picked up the gem, inspecting it. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy both shouted to her to stop, so that they could turn away first, but nothing happened.
"Nope, nope, nope." Pinkie chimed.
Twilight turned around, everypony was watching her, hoping for some sort of solution.
"If this won't turn us back, what will?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"Oh this is just terrible! TERRIBLE!" Rarity cried, "I'm due in Canterlot tomorrow to present my new line to Hoity Toity!"
"And I've got the rodeo comin' up." Applejack added.
"I have to go to the individual qualifying rounds for the Equestria games in Cloudsdale!" Rainbow Dash panicked.
The Girls began talking over each other, becoming more upset by the minute. Rarity started to cry, Pinkie Pie was all over the place in panic, Fluttershy receded into a corner and looked down at her orange hands, and Rainbow Dash was trying to fly. Applejack and I were the only calm ones.
The green-eyed cream Pegasus and I looked at each other.
"Calm down Everypony!" Applejack called out.
"Applejack's right, we can't fix anything when we're arguing." Twilight added.
"Um, since this isn't in any of the books maybe..." Fluttershy started.
"Well this isn't in any books, so I don't think sticking around here will do us any good." Rainbow Dash finished, tossing the last book on the shelf over her shoulder.
"Maybe we could go see someone who might know something..." Fluttershy added.
"I have an idea!" Applejack spoke up, "Zecora might know something about this here magic!"
Everypony nodded in agreement
"Well, right now it's the only thing we can try." Twilight replied, carefully wrapping the gem in one of her scarves, "I don't want anypony else getting hurt by this thing."
The Ponies left the library with dim hope as Spike muttered under his breath, "I still think it'd taste good."
