//------------------------------// // An Old Flame Reignited // Story: A Great and Powerful Love Story // by DragonMaster24921 //------------------------------// The entire month of November flew by in a flash for Shuffle and Trixie; after Granite’s funeral, Trixie would throw herself into her act and/or would always be seen around Shuffle. Shuffle noticed she was incredibly hurt from the entire ordeal, so to make up for the dark days, he would try as hard as he could to make her smile, even going as far as playing little harmless pranks on their friends to ease her pain. By the time Thanksgiving break rolled around, Lavender and Fuchsia had had enough of it and confronted Shuffle, who promptly apologized. Thanksgiving was fairly lackluster, barring the fact Trixie spent the day with Shuffle, who invited her, Lavender, and Fuchsia, along with their boyfriends, over to his house for the feast. Tesla loved having the company, along with watching her son interact with more and more people. As the day wound down, everyone left, taking plastic plates of food for later. All that was left were Shuffle, Trixie, and Tess, alone for cleanup. As the trio cleaned, Shuffle noticed a friendly spider descend and perch himself on Shuffle's Shoulder; apparently Greg decided to tag along with Trixie, and the duo laughed as Tesla freaked out with a giant spider in her home, but after some convincing, and a few tricks with Greg, Shuffle took Greg back to his cage across the street in Trixie’s trailer. While he was gone, Trixie and Tesla continued to clean in silence, at least, until Tesla stopped. “Hey Trixie, I just wanted to thank you.” Trixie turned towards Tesla, who had stopped washing dishes and turned to lean against the counter. “For What, Ms. Suite? Trixie never leaves a mess at another’s house. She can sometimes be vindictive and egotistical, but never a slob.” Tesla chuckled. “Well that, and for what you do for Shuffle. In the past month that you two have been together, it's almost like nothing ever changed since we moved from Vanhoover. After that incident with that Sunset girl, he retreated into himself, always staying shut up in his room and not really eating or sleeping. But now, it's very rare I see him inside anymore, and because of you, I truly have my son back.” Trixie blushed at the praise. Honestly, it’s all been Shuffle who's wanted to hang out outside of school, and from what she just learned, if he hadn't changed his ways, he would have been in even worse condition than before. “Trixie appreciates the comments Ms. Suite, but Trixie isn't the sole reason Shuffle has become livelier. It was all of our friends that helped out, and from watching him at school, his list of friends is slowly growing. I've already seen him hang out with a few other guys in the lunchroom if he's not with myself, or the two couples that were here tonight.” “Still, compared to how we left Vanhoover, that's five times more than before. Do you mind if I ask you a personal question though?” “No, we haven't done anything like that. Shuffle actually hasn't made that kind of move on Trixie yet, nor I to him.” Tesla stood there, slightly taken aback. It wasn't the question she was going to ask, but now it was another thing she didn't have to worry about immediately. Sure, she was over the moon for her son and his girlfriend, but not so excited to be a grandma yet. “Actually, I was going to ask how you two first got together. I mean, it's not that I don't have any problems with you and Shuffle doing...’That’, as long as your practice safety.” Trixie laughed at a flustered Tesla, who was about as red as one of Applejack’s apples. Trixie took a moment, recovering from her fit of giggling. “It was thanks to this spot at the base of Everfree Mountain. Shuffle showed me this really beautiful indoor lake that had natural holes and gashes in the back wall, making it look like a night sky. From what Shuffle said, you had brought him there, and that it was supposed to remain a secret no matter what.” So he took you to the ‘Twilight Cavern’, Tesla thought as she listens to Trixie talking. “After that, he and I sat on the beach for a little while, before deciding to head home for the day.” “Interesting…” The door opened again, revealing Shuffle, smiling as he approached the kitchen. “Sorry I took so long, Greg needed some food, and THIS one had to hide it,” Shuffle said teasingly as he moved to the right side of Trixie. “You've seen what Greg's like if he knows where his food is mister, he'd make a little web in the box and devour all the crickets in hours, and a fat spider is something Trixie doesn't need, thank you very much.” The trio finishes cleaning up and headed back into the living room. Shuffle moved towards a cabinet on the side of the TV. “How's about a movie to unwind for the day?” he suggested. Both of the women nodded. Shuffle grabbed a random movie and popped it in, dashed back to the couch and plopped down on the seat next to Trixie. The movie quickly loaded and hit the main menu, calliope music started playing as all three noticed what Shuffle put in, “The Greatest Showman”. Trixie let out an audible squeal and quickly dove for the remote, pressing play. Mid-way through the movie, Shuffle and Trixie had shifted around so that they snuggled together, their eyes not leaving the TV, but enjoying each other’s heat. Tesla smirked as she discreetly pulled out her phone and took a snapshot of the two. By the time the movie ended, Trixie was already asleep and Shuffle was quickly heading the same way. The credits rolled when he finally succumbed himself. The rest of break was quiet, then when Monday rolled around, things got really hectic. The first week of December was exam week, so all of CHS was even more chaotic, each student doing his or her own way of studying and/or coping. For Shuffle, juggling his own studies and keeping up with his goal of making Trixie smile was tiring; he was stressed out, but it was worth it in his eyes. By Wednesday afternoon, Shuffle decided to take a walk around the city part of Canterlot to cool off his mind. Trixie was spending the night over with Lavender and Fuchsia, having a “Girls night”, which left Shuffle by himself, and apparently all of his friends had stuff to do, looking back at his phone, re-reading all of the rejections for the afternoon. Shuffle sighed. It had been so long since he had been alone. The feeling felt almost foreign to the boy, which was weird, considering last August he preferred it. Shuffle pursed his lips looking up and down each road looking for something to do before he spotted a particular store. “Discord's Game Emporium”, why have I never seen this before…?” Shuffle said aloud as he approached the store and entered it. Inside sat two rows of seats on the far left, a few people standing around them, enraptured with what was going on in between the crowd. Shuffle approached it and took a look without trying to invade someone else's space; on the inside were two boys each staring at the other in focus, as the boy on the left grabbed a card on the table. “With your turn ending, I play the trap card ‘Call of the Haunted’, reviving my Starving Venom from the graveyard.” Shuffle gasped, Call of the Haunted was a trap from Yu-Gi-Oh! That alone was enough to make him smile. “After that, I'll immediately attack directly. Good game, Shadow.” The boy, now named Shadow, clutched his heart in mock pain. “Damn, not here,” he said before laughing. “Good game Artemis, but one of these days, I'll beat your Predaplants.” The other teen packed up his cards and smiled at his opponent. “I welcome the challenge anytime Shadow. See you later!” the two fist bumped and Shadow left. The group dispersed to go about looking around the shop, while Shuffle approached Artemis. “So, you play Yu-Gi-Oh?” Shuffle asked the boy. “Oh yeah, I come into Discord’s a few times a week to practice, plus the friendly atmosphere is always a good thing to be around,” Artemis idly said as he finally focused on the boy talking to him. “Are you new to Discords? I haven't seen you around before.” Shuffle sat down in front of Artemis. “I've never seen the store before. If I knew there was a comic shop around, I would have been in here more. Do they have a local’s tournament here?” “Depends on the time of year, but we do play for fun, and that's all that truly matters. Ya know, I never got the chance to introduce myself. I'm Artemis Arrow,” he held out his hand and offered a handshake. “Shuffle Suite, a pleasure to meet a fellow duelist.” Shuffle returned the gesture. “I thought I recognized you, you go to CHS right?” “Eeyup.” “Awesome, we have to talk some more at another time, my girlfriend is texting me, apparently her sisters are getting on her nerves, and she needs me. I'll talk to ya later buddy.” Artemis got up and quickly left the shop. “Huh… Neat.” Shuffle said silently as he got up himself, walking around the shop and looking. Before he knew it, the sun had reached its setting point, and Shuffle was about to leave before a tall man appeared beside him. “Never have I ever seen someone stay in my shop for so long, barring Artemis himself,” the man said as Shuffle took a good look at him. His skin tone was grey, he had a goatee, and weirdly enough his eyes were yellow, while the irises were as red as his favorite jacket; he wore a suit that looked like it was patched together by random pieces of cloth. “Apologize for my interrupting, but my name is Discord, and this is my shop, mind if this old clout gets your name in return?” “Shuffle Suite.” “Ah, I remember now. Zecora told me some time back about a boy with discolored irises helping her usual customer out, and your description fits. For helping one of my friends, I have something for you.” Discord snaps his fingers, revealing a singular card in his opposite hand as if it appeared from nowhere. Shuffle retrieved the card and looked at it. It was both a spell card and an effect monster; this turned Shuffle’s mind upside down as he took a closer look at the card’s design. It was a seven-star monster, dragon type, had red scales, a ring around its back near the tail, but the biggest thing Shuffle noticed was the dragon had two different irises, just like he did. “‘Odd-Eyes Pendulum Dragon’, I've never heard of this card before.” Discord let out a mad cackle as he walked away from the confused boy. “Ask your new friend, I bet he can help you. Ta-ta for now, I've gotta close up.” Discord said as he went into the back. “Thanks, I guess.” Shuffle said to himself as he walked out of the store, and went home. Trixie, along with Lavender and Fuchsia, had finally moved into Lavender's room after sharing a large pizza. Each was caught up in their own activity: Lavender tending her flowers, Fuchsia playing with her phone, and Trixie was staring outside, her eyes idly scanning the passing cars. “What's the wrong Trix? You seem distracted,” Fuchsia asked. “Nothing Fuchsia… It's just been quiet ever since dad died, and the silence reminded me of everything that's went on for the last month, and it hurts, so much…” Trixie hugged herself, trying to hold back tears. Unknowingly, her two friends sat down beside her, each placing a hand on Trixie’s shoulders. “Losing family is never easy. Remember when Lavender's dog died? She couldn't recover for almost two whole months,” Fuchsia giggled at Lavender, her face going red. “I couldn't help it, Spark was such a nice dog. Besides, I had him since I was little, it was better that he went in peace.” The three girls remained silent for a minute. “So, how are you two doing with Snips and Snails?” Lavender blushed, Fuchsia, on the other hand, did the same, but she also had a proud smile on her face. “Well, ya see…” Lavender started. “The thing is…” Fuchsia croaked out. Trixie giggled, waiting for her two flustered friends to recover from her question. “Snips might be a little immature sometimes, but he can be such a sweetheart,” Lavender said. “The same with Snails. He can act like a goofball, but he's actually really intelligent. Did you know his hand-eye coordination is so amazing that one time when I dropped one of my school books he was able to bounce it off his foot and hand it back to me?” The other two girls gave an audible “ooh” as Fuchsia finished her little comment for her boyfriend. “Snips can't do that, but he can draw,” Lavender pulled out her phone, showing a paint coated Snips, holding a well-done picture of the two on a beach together. “Has Shuffle done anything special for you, Trixie?” Trixie smirked already ready to give a few hundred things, but something stopped her. Actually, come to think of it, recently she had been as boastful as she normally was; it was there still, but not enough to annoy people. “Have you both noticed that Trixie doesn't boast as much as she used to?” Both girls nodded. “If Trixie could guess, it's because being around him has humbled Trixie. Yes, she is still her great and powerful self, but for the first time in a while Trixie doesn't feel like showing off. Plus, Shuffle is a mean cook,” Trixie rubbed her stomach, already remembering certain days where Shuffle would get up early just to bring her breakfast, along with a few packs of peanut butter crackers. “So, how far have you two gone?” Fuchsia, asked the daydreaming magician. “Excuse me, what did you just ask?” Fuchsia didn't even hesitate to repeat her question. “What makes you think we've done anything like that, Fuchsia?” “I mean, you’re around each other almost constantly, and I could swear there have been times if you could you’d sit in his lap!” “That is true, but that's just because Shuffle is very warm. Like, seriously, you wouldn't need a blanket if his arms are wrapped around you.” “AHA! YOU TWO HAVE DONE IT!” “NO, we just snuggle a lot, that's it though I swear!” Fuchsia burst out into a fit of laughter. “If it helps, Trixie, the way you two act, it's amazing he hasn't tried to make a move on you,” Fuchsia said, wiggling her eyebrows seductively. “And I do believe it's time for bed, goodnight ladies!” Trixie said before quickly turning over in her sleeping bag. “But it's only 9:30…” Lavender pointed out. “Goodnight you two,” Trixie said quickly before going still and silent. Both of the other girls shrugged and settled down themselves. The next morning, Trixie awoke to use the bathroom. Noticing it was still dark, she checked her phone, finding that it was barely four in the morning. Trixie sighed, noticing she had a missed message from Shuffle. Hey Trix, I found a neat little card shop on Prance Street, maybe tomorrow you can go with me so we can look about? If not, that’s all good. Have a good night :) Trixie smiled, even something as simple as this made her day. In the silence as she laid back down to go back to sleep, her mind wouldn't stop thinking of him. Everything about him was so amazing, his personality, his goofiness, the fact that Greg jumps on him and he doesn’t panic… Trixie's mind continued on and on until her mind started thinking of other things. Trixie bit her lower lip. The conversation with Fuchsia earlier that night got her thinking what it would be like if they actually went further… her mind became abuzz with thoughts, slowly growing lewder by the moment, before she noticed her own hands imagining what he would do. The very thought alone was a catalyst to reigniting a long forgotten spark inside Trixie, one that quickly took over rational thought, and replaced it with a need. A need for release. “I really need this, sorry girls.” Quickly but quietly, she checked to see if her friends were asleep, before turning away from them and quietly took care of the need she was so desperate for.