âTWILIGHT SPARKLE!â
âShhhh!!!!â
The white-haired girl raised an eyebrow, watching the purple-haired girl completely dismiss her as she tilted her glasses, staring intently at the plant in front of her. Trixie folded her arms, waiting patiently for Twilight to look up from whatever it was she was doing and finally acknowledge her presence, but after a few moments of staring, Twilight quickly pulled out her pencil and began jotting something down in her notebook, still completely ignoring her!
âAhem!â
âSshhh!!!!â
âTwilight Sparkle, you answer Trixie this inst--â
Just as soon as Trixie raised her voice again, however, the plant in front of Twilight exploded, leaving Twilight with a blacked face as she froze in her flinching position. The white-haired teenager had no idea how she could have possibly caused a plant to blow up, but based on the chain of events (and her luck), she naturally assumed it was her fault. Then, turning around as quietly as she could, she discreetly began tiptoeing away until she heard a low growl from behind her.
âTrixiiiiiieeeee!!!â
âOh! It appears that youâve finished. Anyway, the Grrrreat and Powerful Trixie just came by to ask if you remember what tonightâs homework is supposed to be. You know, in Mr. Doodleâs class? I forgot to write down what the assignment would be, and normally Trixie would have no problem asking him what it was, but you know Mr. Doodle. He can be such an a--â
Before Trixie could finish her sentence, however, Twilight growled again. âSeriously? You ruined my experiment of herba pygocentrus just so you could ask what the math homework for tonight is?â
â...To be fair, Trixie didnât know it would sneeze like that.â
âIT BLEW UP!â
Trixie rolled her eyes. âFine. Trixie didnât know it would blow up. Do all your science experiments do that, by the way?â
With a sigh, Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose, raising her glasses once again as she tried to recompose herself. âNo. This species of plant isnât from our world. Sunset Shimmer brought it back from her last trip to Equestria along with this tome.â Trixie then looked over Twilightâs shoulder to see a leatherbound book with some kind of alicorn pendant on the cover. âShe told me that by reading this, I could find ways to use Equestrian magic without calling on the Elements of Harmony.â
â...Youâre telling me that that book can teach you how to use magic?â
âYes! Itâs also very dangerous, which is why I need absolute silence if I want to make sure I do it right. Weâre lucky the plant is the only thing that exploded. With this kind of power,â Twilight then held up the tome, presenting it in the air like a trophy, âsomeone who got their hands on it could do just about anything.â
Trixie put her hands on her hips. âAnything?â
âYes.â
âAnd itâs all in that book?â
âYep.â
âCan Trixie borrow it?â
âWhat?! No! Donât you understand that with this kind of information, the entire world as we know it could fall into--â
âIs that an encyclopedia?!â
âWHERE?!â
Twilight quickly turned her head, and at the exact instant she did, Trixie quickly grabbed the book out of Twilightâs hand and replaced it with a chemistry textbook. Just as soon as Trixie finished stuffing the tome into her bag, however, Twilight turned around with a confused look on her face.
âI think you might be seeing things,â the nerdy girl said with a confused blink. âThere are no encyclopedias--where did the tome go?!â
âQuick! They ran outside!â The white-haired girl then rushed towards the classroom exit and pointed to a random spot in the hallway. âThey swooped in and stole it right out of your hands! There were three of them! You need to hurry if youâre going to catch up with them!â
Twilight squeaked uncomfortably, pulling her head out the doorway and running in the direction that she was told. âThanks, Trixie! Let me know if you find it!â
Then, once Twilight was all the way down the hall, Trixie put her back to the wall of the classroom and pulled the book out from her backpack, staring at it with a sick grin on her face. âOh, donât worry, Twilight. Iâm sure itâs in good hands.â
âCoach, is there a reason youâre wearing all that?â
Trixie blinked and looked down at her outfit. Sheâd decided to dress for the occasion, sporting a short, black dress, knee-high black socks, purple sneakers, black arm sleeves and a tight, black neckband that made her look just like a young black mage. Also, Sandbar was in the room, wearing a sports jersey with one hand on his hips and the other hand holding a basketball. He seemed confused about the situation, but Trixie projected another confident smile.
âAhh. Youâre impressed with Trixieâs couture, are you not? Such a wardrobe is befitting only of a Great and Powerful sorcerer such as myself!â
â...And how is this supposed to help me make the team, again?â
Trixie slapped her hand to her face with aggravation, sliding her hand down her cheeks and pulling her eyelids down with them. âI told you, Sandbar! Trixie will help you learn basketball once youâre finished being her lackey!â
âOK⌠And why am I your lackey again?â
âBecausenobodyelsewastupidenoughtosayyes.â
âHuh?â
âWill you stop asking questions already?!â Sandbar shrunk as Trixie extended her arms outward in frustration, but once the younger boy had finally stopped talking, the white-haired girl took a breath to calm herself and picked up the black book, flipping through the pages and skimming its contents. âLetâs see⌠levitation⌠levitation⌠Aha!â
âCoach, is this gonna hurt?â
âShh!â
Trixie finally stopped flipping through the pages once she found a page titled levitation⌠or at least what she thought was levitation. The whole book was written in old-ponish, and even though it wasnât terribly far from the language she already spoke, she had to depend on the illustrations on the sides to help decipher the text.
The page she eventually landed on depicted a unicorn with glowing red eyes releasing some kind of red beam of light onto an object, and from what she could tell based on the picture, it looked like the object was floating in midair. Trixie squinted at the text as she tried to decipher what was on the page, but it probably didnât matter too much. As long as she could read the spell, the rest would just work itself out, right? After all⌠What was the worst that could happen?
âSandbar! Give me your basketball!â
âWhat?! But my dad gave me this--â
âDo you want Trixie to fix your jump shot or not?â
The green-haired boy looked away in defeat, obviously bitter about having to give in so easily, but handing his basketball over to Trixie regardless. She knew, though, that once he saw what she could do, there would be no way he could doubt her again. Heck, if this worked out as well as she was hoping, maybe sheâd even be able to help get him onto the team after all! With this book, the possibilities were limitless!
âOK, letâs see if this worksâŚâ Trixie gulped and held out her shaky hands as she looked down at the page. âO magick of the Eastern Plane, I hereby call upon thy strength to lift that which I have gathered and project thy force upon it! Matzavah haleâah! Let thy thunderous fury reign!â
Suddenly, thunder roared outside, even though the sky had been completely clear when she had read her incantation. Both Trixie and Sandbar jumped in surprise, shivering in fear as the objects in her room began to shudder around her, vibrating and bouncing until a bright red light began to envelop everything around them.
âC-coach? Whatâs happening to you?â
Then, Trixie suddenly looked down at her skin and yelped. The same bright red light that was lifting the objects into the air was also covering her own body as well, lightly elevating her off the ground while she pulled the hem of her dress down as best she could. If this whole thing ended up blowing up in her face like that plant from earlier, the last thing she wanted was for her underwear to be the center focus in the meantime, but for some reason, as she looked around at the environment of the room, everything seemed⌠suspiciously under control.
Releasing the deathgrip she had on her dress, Trixie lifted an eyebrow, looking down at her hand before pointing it back towards the basketball. Then, moving her finger back and forth, the basketball began to bounce on the ground, imitating the same movements of a basketball court despite the carpet flooring repressing its normal bounceback. With a smile on her face, she quickly turned to her garbage can and lifted the palm of her hand, simultaneously raising the item until it was near the ceiling of her bedroom. Finally, with a determined expression on her face, she stuck her tongue out, bounced the ball a couple more times and heaved it towards the garbage can, sending it straight into the middle until it rolled around to a complete stop.
âI did it!â the girl said with exuberance in her voice.
âCoach, that was amazing! Can you teach me how to do that too?â
Trixie couldnât help but giggle, tossing her hair behind her shoulders as she puffed out her chest with vanity. âIâm afraid that magic such as this is far too complicated for anyone who isnât already a talented sorcerer such as myself, but since you have been so kind throughout this ordeal, Trixie supposes she could at least--â
âUhhh⌠Trixie?â
Sandbar couldnât even finish his sentence, instead trembling in fear as he pointed his finger to something behind her. Once Trixie turned around, however, she saw that a cup of tea that was left on her desk was beginning to spiral around like a whirlpool, creating a vacuum that was starting to pull nearby objects into its gravitational field. Even Trixie was starting to drift closer to the object, and since she was still floating in the air, she no longer had anything she could grab onto to keep herself stable.
âSandbar! Grab Trixieâs ha--aahhhh!!!â
Just as Trixie held out her hand for the boy to grab onto, the tornado-like force immediately pulled her forward, nearly sucking her in if it werenât for a much heavier wardrobe catching her before she fell into the vortex. Instead, she watched as pages ripped out from her books, entering the void of what was supposed to be a mid-evening caffeine boost. Everything was out of control! Everything was spinning so fast! But then, out of nowhere, the vortex seemingly disappeared, dwindling down to a small breeze until the red light encapsulating the room disappeared, leaving everything to fall directly back down.
âCoach!â Sandbar shouted, quickly coming to Trixieâs aid and lifting her shoulders off of her dresser. âAre you alright?â
âIs⌠Is it safe for Trixie to open her eyes now?â
âWell hello, theeeeeere!â
Suddenly, Trixie and Sandbar both turned their heads towards the cup of earl gray tea that had been creating absolute turmoil just a moment earlier. There was a voice coming out of it, which was making Trixieâs hair stand on edge, but in the next moment, the cup fell over, spilling the liquid contents onto her desk. Just as she was about to fret over the mess she was now going to have to clean up, however, the liquid swirled once again until it took the form of a pony, shaking like a dog to get any excess tea off of its coat.
âNice room you have here! The nameâs Earl. Pleased as punch to meet ya! Thatâs quite the mighty fine spell ya got there. Mind if I try it out? Naw, Iâm just teasinâ ya. I gotta tell ya, after sucking up all those pages from those books of yours, Iâve got so many new ideas! I learned so many words from âem that I canât keep âem all to myself! Atrophy. Sycophant. Flatulation. So glad you decided not to drink me! What are your names, by the way? How long have you two been a couple? I bet sheâs a lot to deal with. Am I right, Skipper?â
The tea pony named Earl winked in Sandbarâs direction, but the only thing either of them could do was watch on with their jaws next to the floor. Once the initial shock wore off, however, Trixie quickly shook her head to pull her mind back to reality.
âSandbar and I are not a couple!â
âYeah, because that would be, you know, weird, and Iâm, you know, totally into girls that are waaay different and everything.â
Trixie quickly looked back at Sandbar to see him blushing and looking away, coughing into his hands almost like he was trying to transition the conversation away from the topic altogether. She had no idea why he was acting so weird all of a sudden, but knowing boys, it probably had something to do with basketball.
Snapping back to reality, however, the girl turned towards the pony on her desk and asked, âWhat exactly is the meaning of this? Trixie thought she was using a levitation spell!â
âLevitation? Sorry, miss, but I donât know what that word means yet. All I know is that spell you used was supposed to make you really good at something. Canât say what, though.â
Trixie grunted in confusion. âThen how did you get here?â
âWell, I suppose since youâve been drinking me half the afternoon that some of your DNA got passed onto me too! And I guess since I absorbed a whole bunch of those books, it made me really good at speakinâ! Although I guess since I was born from your lips, this means that Iâm your first kiss too. Hubba hubba.â
Now both of the teenagers had red cheeks, but ignoring his saucy comments for a moment, Trixie once again remembered an important detail that had been glossed over. âWell, how is Trixie supposed to know what sheâs good at now?â
âSay, if you two ainât a couple, maybe you and I could--â
âEARL! Stop hitting on me!â
âHey! Beats me! I have no way of knowing what youâre good at now! What were you doing right as soon as you cast your spell?â
Trixie hesitantly stopped berating the tea pony while she put her hand to her chin, thinking back on what the spell could have changed about her. She didnât feel any different, but maybe that just meant that whatever changed about her wasnât physical! Actually, now that she thought about it, what if the spell suddenly made her really good at magic?!
Without wasting another moment, Trixie turned towards the basketball again, pointing her hands in its direction while trying her best to lift it with her mindâs eye. Instead, however, the ball remained motionless, making Trixie growl in frustration before nearly popping a vein in her face as she tried raising it up with her mind. No matter how much she tried to force it, however, all she managed to do was pull a muscle in her back.
âOw, ow, ow!â
âUhhh, Trixie?â Sandbar said, quickly catching her before she fell forward. âMaybe you should try something else.â
Trixie didnât want to give up quite yet, but if that spell had the power to make a cup of tea use a fancy word for fart, then maybe the change in her would be just as drastic. Still, though, as she picked up the basketball the old fashion way (using her actual hands), she couldnât help but lament the fact that she still wasnât good at magic. Then, with a sigh, Trixie closed her eyes and tossed the ball behind her back.
Clink!
Quickly, the girl spun on her heels, facing the direction where the ball landed, and to her surprise, she had managed to shoot it directly into her garbage can once again. Sandbar appeared confused, but with a smile beginning to creep up on her face, Trixie was starting to think that she may have just figured out what that spell did after all.
âTWILIGHT SPARKLE!â
âUgghhh⌠For the last time, Trixie. Will you PLEASE BE QUI--â
Boom!
Twilight froze, too scared to look behind her to see what had come from her science experiment. She knew something exploded, but it was probably better if she didnât see exactly how charred her lab coat was.
âYes, Trixie?â she said with a defeated sigh. âWhat do you want?â
The white-haired girl then giggled, placing her hands on her hips as she posed victoriously. âThe Great and Powerful Trixie challenges you⌠to a game of basketball!â