//------------------------------// // Chapter 10: Just An Illusion // Story: The Tournament Of Friendship // by FourShadow //------------------------------// The girls rushed over to Trixie's home as soon as she called them. Trampling up the stairs like elephants, Lyra and Bon Bon ran as fast as they could, finding her bedroom door open. "Okay Trixie, what could-- AH!" Everyone dropped cold in silence at what they were seeing. Trixie was not joking at all. She was shaking in fear on her bed, curled up on a mountain of pillows and blankets. And there on the floor, was in fact, an alligator. A big one. They could hear growling sounds coming from the alligator, who was staring up at Trixie with curiosity. Either it was angry, or curious, or hungry, they could not understand. Lyra and Bon Bon were expecting the alligator to turn around and focus on them since they were on the floor with him. But the alligator acted like they weren't even there! "So. You were not kidding." Trixie shivered and nodded rapidly. "Here's my question; where did it come from?" "I-I don't know!" Trixie stammered. "I got up, I got breakfast, I was ready to come out to meet you guys, and then the next thing I know, there's an alligator near my foot!" Lyra and Bon Bon stared back down, looking at the curious alligator eyes. "I see... Trixie. Where are your mom and dad?" "They went out for brunch," Trixie nodded. "Uh...huh," Lyra said. The three friends stared back down at the alligator, who stood still like he was preying on her. "Okay, so how are we going to get rid of it?" Bon Bon asked. "Well we're not just going to poke it with a stick," Lyra said. "My cousin went golfing down in Florida, he learned that the hard way." Bon Bon and Trixie glanced over to Lyra with equally frightened faces. "I don't think I should ask," Bon Bon deadpanned. "Look, Trixie, just stay calm, we're going to find a way to deal with this. Hmm... did you call animal control?" "No! You really think they're going to believe there's an alligator in a teenage geek's bedroom?" Now Bon Bon and Lyra were glaring at Trixie with deadpan expressions. "Okay, well at the most, we can at least find a way to get you out of here. Hmm..." She looked at the situation in front of her. Trixie, a scared bespectacled geek wandered out of her bedroom, and when she returned, there was the alligator. Too many questions were raised about the reptile; how did it get in the house? Where did it come from? Why did it take so long for Trixie to notice such a massive reptile wandering around in her dwelling? The more she thought, the more curious she became. Until Bon Bon had an epiphany... "Okay, Trixie, a question," Bon Bon asked. "What were you doing before you saw the alligator?" "I was just going to get myself ready for the day." "--No, no, no, I mean, what were you thinking about? What was going on inside your head before the alligator appeared?" "Well... I was thinking about Pinkie Pie's pet alligator, you know Gummy?" Bon Bon nodded. "And I was thinking he would be kind of scary when he gets older into a more mature... reptile." Bon Bon thought. Then she looked down at the alligator again. Curiously, she went straight for Trixie's window. She closed the blinds, blocking the light from the outside. And in a second, the alligator vanished. The girls all gasped, seeing the animal vanish. "B-B-But where did he go!?" Trixie panicked. "He was just there!" Bon Bon looked again, and a light bulb flickered in her head. "Hold on..." She grabbed the pulley for the shades, pulling them up to let in the light. The alligator manifested itself in front of them like it had never left the room. Then dropping them back down, it vanished. Pull up, and down, pull up, and down, up and down, up and down, up and down-- "Okay, okay, stop!" Trixie begged. Bon Bon snickered. "Sorry." "You don't sound sorry," Lyra crossed her arms. Bon Bon shook her head, stifling a snicker. "Okay, look. Trixie, it's not real. Clearly we're all seeing illusions, as for how it's there, I don't..." Bon Bon pondered for a moment. She raised her head up and looked at Trixie with a revelation. "Trixie." The bespectacled girl looked to the baker. "You... you made that illusion. Trixie, you..." Bon Bon's face was now slowly grinning with excitement. "You. Have. POWERS!!!" She yanked Trixie off the bed, almost swinging her around the room with the most childish excitement she let out. "This is amazing! First Octavia and her metal bending and now... you have the power to control illusions!" Bon Bon said, holding Trixie's shoulders. Trixie was blushing furiously. "Ah, um... I'm not sure I..." "Come on, Trixie, that's amazing!" Bon Bon grinned. She held her friend in a hug, both with excitement and comfort meshing together in a warm feeling. Lyra couldn't help but giggle at how child-like Bon Bon was acting right now. "Girls? You uh... you might wanna come down." Amethyst called from downstairs. Lyra blinked. "Wait, why?" "I... can't put it in words, please, just come down." Shrugging, the girls went downstairs. But before walking into the kitchen, Trixie stopped to notice something. "Wait..." She looked at a small table that was against a wall. "... where's the telephone?" But once they went into the kitchen, Trixie felt like everything inside of her body, both physically and mentally, just fallen apart. The kitchen looked like a tornado had gone through! Drawers were out, utensils and kitchenware was everywhere, the table was flipped, the entire place was a pigsty. "... What just happened? This kitchen was fine, I didn't... oh gosh, Mom and Dad are going to be furious! No, they're going to kill me! I can't..." She turned her head, and her arms dropped, her eyes bulging out of her head. "... Where's the fridge!? How can it... be... gone..." It didn't take long for them to find the refrigerator. It had been yanked out it's wall on it's own, and was now smushed against a British rocker who was pinned against the closet. All they could see from behind the fridge were a pair of arms sticking out, but they didn't need any other confirmation who those were. "Ah... um... Octavia? Are you okay?" Trixie asked, cringing a little bit. "I feel like I was run over by a steamroller..." Octavia moaned in despair. The fridge slowly fell down, slamming onto the ground, showing a pained Octavia who slumped down on the ground as well. "Oh my gosh, Octavia, what's---" Trixie froze in place and hissed. What she just saw in front of her made her face tighten up. "ooh... oh, ow...um..." "Oh, oh dear..." Lyra rubbed at her collar. Bon Bon looked at the scene in front of her, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath to relax. "Okay. This is, um... Octavia. There's, um-- somethin', uh... somethin on, or... in... uh..." "I KNOW, JUST GET IT OFF, OR OUT, PLEASE!" Octavia screamed with extreme pain. A few moments later, Amethyst and Trixie were ducking behind the living room couch with soldier helmets on their heads. Lyra and Bon Bon now wore ear-muffs that you would often see men wear at construction sites when operating a jackhammer. Bon Bon gulped. "Okay. Lyra, grab on." Lyra joined her friend. "Trixie, Amy, cover your ears. Octavia, you might want to bite into something because this is going to probably hurt. This is gonna be like pulling a porcupine quill." "What are you talking about--" With one hard tug, Lyra and Bon Bon yanked out the piece of metal that was stuck. And Octavia's heart sank. Her eyes grew watery, as a giant wave of pain spread through her system. "AAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!" Octavia screamed so loud and so hard, the windows in the house all shattered into glass. In fact, it wasn't just there, her scream echoed out of the house and all over town! Birds fled their trees, dogs were now barking to scare off the sound, and car alarms were set off within the next county! Some teenagers walking by froze when they heard Octavia screaming. Some looked disturbed, some looked terrified. "What the heck was that!?" Lemon Zest shouted. “I dunno… but man, was that loud. And painful too,” Indigo Zap replied. The other girls nodded in agreement, as they resumed their walk. After a moment, one of them broached the topic again. “What on earth do you think could have made that sound?” Sunny Flare asked. Indigo shrugged. “Who knows? Frankly I’m not sure I want to know…” Sour Sweet shivered. “It sounded almost like Sugarcoat when Sunny talked her into getting a waxing.” Both Sunny and Sugarcoat – but especially Sugarcoat – gave her dirty looks for that. Lemon and Indigo however had a laugh at the memory, even as Lemon gave the glasses-wearing girl an apology pat on the back. Sugarcoat accepted the apology non-verbally, and the five friends continue on their day out in the town. Walking down the sidewalk of midtown, the group of girls turn a corner, and Sunny Flare bumped into a certain girl with purple hair-- Rarity shrieked and flailed her arms in panic. “AHH!! Don’t throw trash at me!!” Sunny was taken aback. “I’m sorry?” “Dude, what the heck?” Rarity's eyes having been shut in panic, opened up to see who they are, and relaxed. “Oh! Oh, I’m sorry dear. Just a, a bit of a nervous reaction on my part.” Sour gave a little snark. “Nervous is one way of putting it.” Rarity tittered, a forced kind of ‘a-ha-ha’ escaping her breath. “Well, that’s all right. No harm done.” The purple haired girl opened up her hand to greet her. “Sunny Flare.” Rarity tentatively accepted the handshake, then, more confidently spoke. “Rarity. Rarity Belle at your service.” “Hey, what’s up, I’m Indigo Zap.” “Lemon Zest, put ‘er there, sister!” Lemon shook her hand more erratically, almost the same energy as Pinkie Pie. “I’m Sour Sweet. And no smart remarks about the name, got it?” “Sugarcoat.” “Pleasure to meet you all!” Rarity said. For once in her life, she actually meant it. It was a real treat to talk to some other teenagers who didn't have a grudge against her. She looked at Sunny Flare, contently, “And let me say, darling, that I’m sorry about before. It’s been a – shall we say – unusual time for me, and I wasn’t paying attention like I should have been.” Sunny was curious, but she choose not to pry. “That’s all right. No hard feelings.” “Hey, are you from Canterlot High?” Lemon asked. Rarity stiffed up. “Why yeeees, yes I am… why do you ask?” Sugarcoat arched an eyebrow at her. Lemon grinned. “Sweet! So, you know who’s gonna be in the Friendship Games?” Rarity felt herself sweating and forcing a laugh. “Yes! Yes, of course! My friends and I are among those competing…” Sunny was surprised. “Really?” Indigo however was dubious. “Really?” Rarity noticed Indigo's tone right away. But with some politeness, she kept going, but was a little tense. “Pardon?” Indigo shrugged it off, hands up in a ‘no offense’ gesture. “Uh, nothing by it, but you don’t really seem like the sporting type…” Rarity sighed. “Don’t I know it… but all my friends tried out, and I felt I had to give it a try… and then I kicked a soccer ball right through the vice-principal’s car.” There was a pause, as everyone digests this. Then-- Lemon zoomed up to Rarity, almost in her face. “Dude! Really?! That’s awesome!!” Sour huffed and rolled her eyes mildly at Lemon for this, Sugarcoat frowned slightly as she tried to signal Lemon to tone it down. “Y-you think so?” I“Heck to the yeah! Now I really wanna see you guys compete in the Games!” Indigo smirked. “Really?” “Of course! Why wouldn’t we?” Sunny Flare asked. Rarity considered it, and then said, “I suppose you’re right. I’ve just never been the sporty type, and – well, I just wasn’t sure about the Games, or other things…” Concerned, Sunny Flare put a hand on Rarity’s shoulder. “Don’t worry too much, dearie. If your friends are with you in this, then that’s something you can count on. And remember, the Friendship Games are supposed to be fun. It’s not all about winning, it’s about both schools coming together. You can have fun during this week, I’m sure of it.” “Friends…” Rarity said to herself. It’s an odd feeling to think about, the idea of her and the Rainbooms, being friends, having fun in these Games… was it possible? “I, I appreciate that, Sunny." Sunny smiled, gently squeezing Rarity’s shoulder. “No problem, dear.” Indigo puffed with a smirk. “But don’t expect me to go easy on ya! We’re in the Games too!” “Yeah! It’s gonna be great!” “R-right…” the fashionista replied, forcing a smile, with a bit less effort than before, admittedly. Sugarcoat stared at Rarity a bit, thinking about something, but she doesn’t press the matter. But the girls had to be on their merry way, they had things to do. “Hope to see you tomorrow, dearie!” Sunny cheered. Rarity waved goodbye politely, then, to herself, “Tomorrow…” sighing as she looked back at them. "What on earth have I gotten myself into?” She didn't know. But to be honest, even if she knew nothing else, she did appreciate that chat with those girls.