Magical Girl Trixie

Platinum City was not a physical place like Manehattan or Canterlot, which meant that the only way to get into the city itself was with a magical portal device. This was where Dreamdrop's crescent moon necklace came in handy. Once she grabbed my hand and held onto her necklace, she asked me to close my eyes, and after a few moments, my body felt weightless, the air began to feel cleaner, and the smell of flowers and waterfalls filled my broken nose.

“We're heeeeere!”

Upon opening my eyes, I saw something that I could only imagine in my fantasies. It was as if I was in a giant city that had been taken over by lush gardens, tall trees and clear rivers. Everything around me looked, smelled and felt more beautiful than I could have imagined.

“This… is Platinum City?” I asked in astonishment.

“Yuh-huh! Oh! I know! How about I introduce you to the other magical girls? I'm sure they're there!”

“How many magical girls are there?” I asked as we began walking through the gardens.

Dreamdrop put a finger to her chin. “You know, I guess I never really thought of that before. Platinum City is kinda like a parallel-dimension version of Manehattan, so all the girls here actually live somewhere close by!”

“Do… Do you think I might know any of them?”

“Maybe, but if you do, you'll never find out.” She added a wink at the end, which only furthered my curiosity.

“Huh? How come?”

“Well, you know, one of the best parts of being a magical girl is the ability to live dual lives. Even though we love being magical girls and having fun nicknames and using special powers, deep down, we're all just humans like you, living lives in Manehattan the same as anyone else. Even Platinum City is more like an escape than a home, especially when you consider the fact that they're basically the same two places. Even though we don't know of any penalties for exposing magical girls or our true identities, it would lose some of the magic if we did that.”

“That's kinda sad to think about…”

“Are you crazy?! I wouldn't want it any other way! It's almost like we have some kind of dirty little secret, don't you think?” With a giggle, Dreamdrop winked at me, making me involuntarily flinch.

“N-no! I don't think it's like that at all!”

Honestly, I had no idea what to make of the situation, seeing as how I was completely ignorant to the whole concept of magical girls, but Dreamdrop just laughed boisterously at my response.

“I'm just joking, Trixie! Anyway, I'd like to introduce you to the Manehattan magical girls!”

Finally taking my eyes off of Dreamdrop, I looked around me and saw about a dozen other girls sitting by a fountain, all wearing some kind of pretty costume that matched Dreamdrop's in one way or another. The entire scenery combined with the variety of colors was so bright that my head was beginning to spin from the huge contrast of what I was used to. Once all the girls took a look at me, though, their faces grew even brighter as their mouth turned upward into exuberant smiles.

“Is that a new magical girl?”

“She's so cute!”

“What happened to her? It looks like you saved her from a manticore!”

“I… uh… um…” With all the girls clamoring around me, I began to shake in anxiety. I had never been really good at talking to people, and with this much attention, all I could think about was how I was going to ruin their expectations and make them hate me… But their smiles seemed so genuine. It was something I'd never experienced myself.

“Alright! Hold on everyone! Give her some space!” Dreamdrop held out her arms shielding me from the onslaught of attention while I shivered in fear. “This here is Trixie. She was in a little bit of trouble, so I thought I'd help her out by bringing her here.”

“You know only magical girls are supposed to be here,” a voice from the background said. Peering past the other girls, I finally noticed a girl in all black, sitting back on the fountain. She wore high-heel boots that went up to her thighs, a dress that was thin up top but poofy along the seams, long feminine gloves, a cape that went down to the back of her knees, and a gemstone at the pit of her neck, whose redness contrasted with the black color of literally everything else she wore.

“Oh, don't pretend like you're not human deep down yourself, Night Seam!” Dreamdrop said, putting her hands to her hips.

“I… I'm sorry if I shouldn't be here!” I quivered. “I-I didn't know--”

“Oh, you're fine, Trixie,” said a girl wearing a green dress and steel shoulder pads. “Night Seam here has been growing grouchy ever since we started doubling in numbers.”

“Is… is that bad?”

“Yes,” Night Seam said in the distance, making my heart drop despite the fiery looks the other magical girls shot her.

“No, we're glad to have you, Trixie,” said a girl with a love-themed outfit. “She's upset because it means that when there are more magical girls, there's more competition for brownie points.”

“Uh… B-brownie points?”

“It's like our currency,” said a girl whose dress was splattered in a rainbow of different colors. “When we do good things for others, we get brownie points! From those, we can buy things here in Platinum City, and that ranges from anything like magical items to super yummy strawberry shortcake!” The girl licked her lips as her mind seemed to go off in a different direction.

“So…” I started, turning towards Dreamdrop as I began connecting the dots. “When you saved me…”

Dreamdrop doltishly stuck out her tongue, lightly bonking herself on the head as she knew what I was getting at. “I maaaay have had brownie points on my mind.”

“Oh…”

It was all beginning to make sense now. The whole reason she had saved me was so that she could use the earnings for her own profit. I felt idiotic and humiliated for even thinking that there was someone who went out of their way to save me because they genuinely cared about my wellbeing. Nobody did, and this proved it.

“But!” My eyes shot up at Dreamdrop, who was now grabbing hold of my hands. “I don't want you to think that that's the only reason I saved you! When I saw what kind of danger you were in, I would have jumped in to save you even if I wasn't a magical girl! The things that girl wanted from you... the horrible things she was doing to you… I just couldn't ignore something like that, especially when it's happening to such a sweet girl like you, Trixie!”

Tears were now beginning to form in my eyes again, but in a way I'd never experienced before. I was crying… because I was happy? The emotions from somebody finally making me feel like I was important, like I mattered, was just too much for me to hold back. As the other girls looked on, they didn't point and laugh like I was used to; they were smiling, and some of them were even beginning to tear up themselves! I was so happy! I'd never been this happy in my life!

“How…” I mumbled between sniffles. “How did you know where to find me?”

“Oh, that? That's easy! I just used one of these!” The magical girl then held out what looked like a cell phone, only it was a map of Manehattan with red lights blinking in different places. Looking around at the other magical girls, I noticed that they all had the exact same item, which they proudly displayed for me to see. “This is how magical girls see when someone's in trouble! If any of us are nearby, we jump in and help them! Pretty cool, right?”

“Wow…” I said, entranced by this new world I was becoming exposed to. “Umm… C-can I ask one more question?”

“Sure you can! Oh, wait, I guess your question is all used up now. Unfortunately, you won't be able to ask anything else.”

“Huh?!”

Dreamdrop again laughed heartily, holding her sides at her own hilarity. “I'm just kidding, Trixie. Ask whatever you want.”

“Um…” Now that everyone's eyes were on me, I didn't know if I'd be able to get out what I really wanted to say. My cheeks were growing red, and the last thing I wanted was to say something stupid or rude without realizing it, especially since these girls had all been so nice to me. “How…” I took a deep breath. “How do you become a magical girl?”

Suddenly, all the girls looked at each other, then over to Dreamdrop for her answer. Shoot! I messed up again! I'm such an idiot! Now they all probably hate me! Why did I think it would be a good idea to ask a stupid question like that?

“Weeeeeell, I can't tell you that,” Dreamdrop replied, making my heart sink to the lowest depths of my stomach. Typical stupid Trixie, always saying whatever idiotic shit comes to mind. “That is…” My ears suddenly perked up. “...unless you want to be a magical girl.”

“I… M-me…? A m-m-magical girl…?”

“Now, hold on there,” said the girl with a deep purple dress and goggles covering her eyes. “I know what you may be thinking, but being a magical girl is a big responsibility. You're in charge of keeping people safe, and sometimes that can be pretty dangerous. You sure you wanna commit to something like that?”

She had a point. I was never one to take responsibility well, seeing as how whenever somebody trusted me with something, I always seemed to let them down, but… this didn't seem like something I would be bad at. The idea of helping other people had never been an option for me, seeing as how I'd never been able to help myself, but then again, I had never been able to use magic before.

“I-if I do become a magical girl… will I get to use a special ability?”

“Sure,” said Dreamdrop. “Whatever you'd like. For instance, my magic is being able to put people to sleep. Oh, but I guess you already knew that.”

“And mine is the ability to bend metal,” said the girl with the green dress and steel shoulder pads.

“I can make any boy fall in love with me,” said the girl with the love-themed outfit. “Pretty useful ability, if I do say so myself.”

“But you can only choose once,” said Night Seam, finally joining the other girls. “You can't change your mind if you want a different power later.”

“That's OK,” I said, feeling more confident than I ever had in my life. “I'm ready. Dreamdrop, I want to become a magical girl.”

All the girls around me smiled, which just gave me more affirmation that the choice I was making was the right one, and if it was like I imagined it would be, I would have these girls with me throughout my journey. I was always cautious about being optimistic, but there was nothing more that I wanted than the opportunity I had before me in that instant.

“Alright,” Night Seam said with a sigh. “Go ahead and call him.”

“Him?” I asked, looking around at all the magical girls.

“He's the one who gives us our powers!”

“He’s the strongest magical being in the universe!”

“He's the one who decides whether you have the potential to be a magical girl.”

“Wow,” I said, suddenly feeling nervous as the gravity of my decision was beginning to weigh down on me.

“Alrighty, then!” Dreamdrop said, putting her hands to her mouth like a megaphone. “As a representative of Platinum City, I hereby seek you out. Appear, o spirit of chaos! Discord!”

Out of nowhere, clouds began to fill up the sky, covering the once bright sky with a blanket of gray storm clouds. Thunder ravaged through the air, making me fall to my knees in fright, covering my ears to soften the impact. The fountain also began to change, first by draining completely, then by shooting water straight up into the air, sending water flying down in all directions. Then, through the water, clouded by the darkness from the sky, emerged a being that snaked its way around the fountain until it floated in the air above us. Finally, it took its final shape as the water calmed to its normal flow into the fountain’s base.

The actual shape was something I had never seen before, and to be honest, it was a little scary. He had the head of a pony, a lion's paw, an eagle's claw, and all other sorts of extremities that I couldn't even identify. It roared as it stretched, again, making me cover my ears and hide behind my legs, but just as soon as it loosened its variety of limbs, the storm clouds began to disappear, once again filling the land with sunshine.

“Hello, there, everyone!” It said happily. “Dreamdrop, you seem to be bubbly as ever.”

“Thanks! Back atcha!”

“And Cupid Symphony, if I wasn't a deity, I'm sure I would be falling for you yet again.” The girl with the love-themed outfit winked and blew him a kiss. “Ahh, Night Seam. Grumpy as ever, I see.”

“Tch.”

“It really is wonderful getting to see all of--Oh, hello. And who might you be?” Suddenly, his face was in front of me, staring at my bruised face with his big, yellow eyes.

“Me?” I whispered timidly, now shaking and instantly regretting my decision. “M-my name is Trixie.”

“Pardon? You might need to speak up. You see, my hearing isn't quite what it used to be.” Then, like he didn't even feel pain, he tore off his right ear, hitting it across his knee until a giant drum fell out of his ear and onto the floor. “That's alright. I only need one eardrum anyway. Now, what did you say your name was again?”

“T-Trixie, Mr. Discord, sir.”

“Oh, please, Mr. Discord was my father's name, but that was back before the universe was even created, so I guess you probably never met him. Oh! Silly me! I must have gotten sidetracked again. Who was it that called me again?”

“I did!” Dreamdrop said, raising her hand and bouncing up and down. “You see, Trixie here was wondering how to become a magical girl.”

“Ooohhhh? You want to become a magical girl, do you?” His muzzle was practically touching my face, making my breathing stop and palms sweat.

“I… uh… y-yes?”

“Perfect! I love adding new faces to my collection! Now, as I'm sure the girls haven't told you, there are three steps to becoming a magical girl. Number one.” The deity carved the number one out of thin air. “You must pick a name that you will use as your identity. Number two.” Again, he carved out the number two, which floated in the air just above my head. “You must pick which ability you will use to help improve the lives of those around you. Now, for the third and final step…”

So far everything sounded so easy, but knowing my luck, the next step would be something I would never be able to--

“You must tell me who you love.”

Aaaaand that's about when my face went as red as a beet with steam practically sizzling from my cheeks. I had always kept my crushes to myself in fear of being teased, but to openly admit to something like this in front of all these girls?

“W-who I love?”

“Of course! I need to make sure you're pure in heart, after all. I'll give you a little bit of time to think of that last part. First of all, is everybody in accordance?”

Everyone nodded their heads, then turned to Night Seam, who grumbled while looking away from the throng of girls. “Fine!” she said. “Just so long as everyone else is OK with it.”

“Wait a second!” said one of the girls. “Where's Marrow? Wouldn't she want a say in this too?”

“Aww, she's probably trying to score more brownie points,” said another. “That girl has so many at this point that she could probably buy half of Platinum City by now.”

“Well, I guess that settles it,” Discord continued. “If she's not going to show up, no point in waiting. Now then, why don't we start with the basics? What would you like your magical girl name to be?”

Thinking through all the options I had, I knew exactly what name I wanted from the start, but just to make sure, I gave it as much thought as I could. This name would be with me for the rest of my time being a magical girl, so I had to make sure it would be something I would never regret. The more I thought, however, the more clear it became that this was the choice I wanted.

“Discord, sir, I think I know what name I want. I would like to be known from here on out as the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

“Hold on a second!” Dreamdrop said, holding her hand out and giving me a cautious look. “This is going to be your magical girl identity. When you transform, your face, clothes, hair and even body will change! Do you really want your new name to be something that people will be able to identify as you?”

“Yes,” I said, holding my hand to my heart. “All my life, I've wanted to save others the way you saved me, and with this name, I'll be giving my name the meaning that I've wanted it to have for all these years.”

“Very well, then!” Discord said, writing out my new name in thin air, which gradually made its way to my chest, where it evaporated into my body. “Now, what will be the magic you will use to help those in need?”

“Levitation,” I said without second thought. “I want to stop the bad guys in their tracks in a way my body can't handle, and I know that by having this magic, I will be able to make the most amount of good happen.”

“Very good! You know, Night Seam, you could definitely learn a thing or two from her.”

“Tch.”

“And now, for everybody's favorite part, who do you love more than anyone else in the world?”

Everyone's eyes fell onto me in anticipation, but honestly, I didn't know what to say. I had always kept myself from falling in love just because I knew how hurt I would be if anyone ever found out or if I was ever rejected. Maybe that wasn't what he was looking for, though… He said he wanted to see if my heart was pure… As those thoughts went through my mind, I no longer had any doubt as to what I would say.

Staring Discord in the eye with newfound confidence, I said, “The person who I love more than anyone in the world is my mom. She means the world to me, and I would do anything for her.”

“Splendid! You've taken all the steps to become a magical girl! Thus, I hereby bestow upon you your powers and make you a magical girl, and the name you shall hereby be know as is the Great and Powerful Trixiiieeee!!!”

The moment he said those words, my body began to feel light and heavy at the same time, like my bones themselves were changing their shape. My skin began to glow a bright white, which burned my skin while somehow also making it feel like I had jumped into a pool of ice cubes. Then, I was being lifted into the air with orbs of light circling around me as my body grew brighter and brighter until my contours themselves formed into an indecipherable glowing figure.

Finally, with one last bright flash, the light began to fade, gently easing me to my feet, which began to feel as nimble as I had before my incident from the morning prior. In fact, every part of me felt lighter, stronger, and better than ever. As I looked back at all the magical girls around me, I noticed that I must have even grown a foot or two, now being able to look straight into their faces.

“She's so pretty!”

“Discord, you did amazing!”

“She looks so great and powerful!”

With curiosity circling through my mind, I quickly made my way over to the fountain to see what kind of magical girl he had turned me into, and for the first time in my life... I looked beautiful! My glasses were gone. I was now wearing a witch's hat and a long, purple cape. Even my body had matured, giving me a slim waist and the chest I had always been envious of. Looking down at my hip, there was a tattoo of a wand waving a spell in the shape of a crescent moon. My hair was a bluish white like before, but the way it was styled was nothing short of a magical makeover. It was just like in my doodles, like I had always imagined.

“Is…” I began, now speaking with the voice of a grown woman. “Is this really me?”

“It sure is, Great and Powerful Trixie!” Dreamdrop said, reaching her arm around my neck and pulling me in. “Congratulations! You're a magical girl now!”

I looked down at my hands, still in disbelief, even though I was seeing it right in front of my eyes. “I… I can't believe it!”

“Believe it, sister!” said the girl in the goggles. “You're one of us now!”

Looking down at my reflection one more time, then looking back up at the other girls, I couldn't help the large smile that was beginning to grow on my face. I had been smiling so much today that my cheeks felt like they would break if I stopped smiling. Then, with all the energy I had (and with this new body, I had lots of energy), I wrapped my arms around Dreamdrop, squeezing her as tight as I could.

“Thank you, Dreamdrop! Ohhh thank you thank you thank you thank you!!”

“Can't… breathe… greatandpowerfultrixiepleaseletgo!” Finally allowing her message to sink in, I released her from my grip, sending her to the ground as she heaved deep breaths. “Why… does… your… name… have… to… be… so… long…?”

“I guess nobody told you,” said the metal-bending girl. “Now that you're a magical girl, you automatically get lots of strength, which you can use to jump really high or lift things like cars.”

“Speaking of powers,” said the girl with the multi-colored dress, “let's see your magic in action!”

“Yeah!” said the other girls, chiming in.

I was definitely ready to try out my newfound magic for myself, but there was only one problem. “How do I use my magic?"

“Well,” Dreamdrop began, “that's something only you know. You just have to think real hard about what you would do if you wanted to use your magic.”

I still wasn't quite sure how to make it happen, but I trusted Dreamdrop that I would be able to figure it out. Closing my eyes and lifting my hands, I centered all the energy I had to my mind, picturing my surroundings from the back of my eyelids. Then, putting all my focus on the leaves littered around the fountain, I opened my eyes to see them swirling around us, like we were all inside a giant, leafy tornado.

“Wow!”

“Awesome!”

“Wonderful!” said Discord as I lowered the leaves back to the ground. “I see you're getting used to your powers already! Now, I hate to leave you all, but I really should get going. Chaos doesn't create itself, you know! Anyway, farewell, everyone, and it was a pleasure meeting you, Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Then, with the snap of his fingers, he vanished, leaving a billow of smoke in his place.

“So!” Dreamdrop said, grabbing my hands without skipping a beat. “Now that you're a magical girl, you wanna go earn some brownie points?”

As soon as the words escaped her lips, however, I realized a very, very important key detail that I had been glossing over. “Ohhhh, no no no no no! This is bad! Very, very bad!”

“What is it, Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“I just realized that I'm late for school! Oh, no! What am I gonna do?! What am I gonna tell my mom?!”

“Whooooaa whoa whoa whoa! Calm down, kiddo. Take a deep breath. There you go. Now, there's a solution for everything! Don't you think so, Paradox?”

The girl with the purple dress and goggles giggled, pointing a thumb to her chest. “Leave it to me!”

***

Before we left, Dreamdrop used some of her brownie points to buy me a magical phone and portal device, which took the shape of the red crystal that held my cape together. Then, upon saying our good-byes, Dreamdrop led us back to the gate where we entered, leaving Paradox and I to pick up where I had left Lulu before. Of course, my books looked like they had taken a beating once Lulu had woken up, with several pages ripped out and scattered along the grass, but for the most part, everything was in one piece.

Upon transforming back to my normal self, I picked up my things and led Paradox to my school. Apparently, she had the ability to create illusions, which seemed like an amazing power to have, and honestly, I was a little jealous that I hadn't come up with something like that for myself.

Once we made it into the school, Paradox immediately began using her power, making it to where nobody in the halls knew that we were there. Upon getting to my classroom, Paradox quickly hypnotized my teacher and all of my classmates as I quietly made my way to my seat, breathing a sigh of relief. As soon as my notes were spread out on my desk, I discreetly gave Paradox a thumbs up, who smiled and closed the door again, undoing the spell she had cast on the classroom.

“Now, can anyone tell us why this particular year was important?” Mr. Fairweather asked the class. “Can you, Lickity Split?”

“Naw, teach. You know I can't.”

“Figures. How about… Trixie? So nice of you to join us. I didn't see you walk… in…”

“What do you mean, Mr. Fairweather?” I asked innocently. “I've been here this whole time. Although, I don't remember you calling my name during role. Oh, no! I must have dozed off! I'm so sorry!”

Mr. Fairweather looked flabbergasted, being sure that I wasn't there a moment ago, but not being able to come up with an explanation of how I got there. “Well…” he stammered. “Whatever the case, don't let it happen again. I'm not going to give you a second warning.”

“Yes, sir. Sorry, sir.”

I had a lot of catching up to do. He must have gone straight through to the next chapter, which meant that I had to take notes at twice my normal pace! When I looked up at the board, though, I noticed that one student wasn't paying attention to class. One student had her head placed in her arms on her desk like she was sleeping, but her head was facing towards me.

Suddenly, I realized that the student at that desk was none other than Lulu Lemon, and as she pulled her glaring face out of her arms, I barely made out the message of her lips.

“I'm going to fucking kill you.”