//------------------------------// // Chapter twenty-one // Story: Twilight the hybrid // by WolfGoddess1990 //------------------------------// "Oh really? Were you guys actually there?" Spike asked. "Well, eh, uh... no, but—" Snips tried to say. "But nothing the proof is in the pudding." Snails laughed, "I like pudding." "Look, unless an Ursa major comes waltzing up the street for Trixie to vanquish, I am not gonna believe a word she says, and neither should you!" "Hm, an Ursa walkin' up the street hey? Snails! You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" "Why is it they call it a flea market when they don't really sell fleas?" "Yeah, uh... oh, come on!" They both left. Spike went back to the library he tried to convince Twi to beat Trixie as she was reading a book, "Twilight, would you put down that book and just listen to me?" Twi looked annoyed, "Didn't you see how they hated Trixie's bragging, Spike? If I go out there and show off my magic, I run the risk of losing them as friends." She looked at him. "It's not the same thing, Twilight. You'll be using your magic to stand up for your friends!" "No, Spike, it's exactly the same." "Come on, Twilight, any one of these tricks, even the teeniest, would be enough to show up Trixie." Spike said going over the list they made. Twi fully turned towards him, "I don't want to be seen as a bragger like Trixie." She made a door appear and slam in his face, which Spike just opened, "But you're the best!" "Uh. Please, Spike, I said no!" Spike sighed, "If that's the way you want to be, then fine." He slammed the door again, and Twi just stood there looking at the door she made. Spike finally realized he was still in the same room as her and opened the door, he walked past her as she watched him leave, she really did think Trixie was laying it on thick but some performers did that, she went back to the book she was reading. What Twi and Spike didn't know was that Snips and Snails went into the forest to find an Ursa, they walked into a dark cave but it got too dark to see, "Oh, how we gonna find an Ursa major when I can't even see my own hoof in front of my face?" "Hold on." Snails said trying to light his horn and he finally did it. "Oh, heh. That's better." They both froze when they felt a huge breath on their bodies and then when they heard growling they turned to see a huge bear that looked semi-transparent blue with small stars. It had brighter stars on its tail and back and one large star on its forehead, the Ursa growled at them as it got up, then the two screamed and it roared making the two run off towards town. Spike was outside kicking a rock when Snips and Snails run past him still screaming, "Hey, guys, where ya going?" "Can't talk now." "Got a major problem!" "Yeah, Ursa major, to be exact." Spike scratched his head then heard a roar he turned to see an Ursa and ran off before he was stepped on. Snips and Snails shouted, "Trixie!" But Spike shouted, "Twilight!" The Ursa crashed through the trees as Snips and Snails ran to town towards Trixie's wagon and started to bang on her door, "Trixie!" "Come on wake up!" Trixie appeared on the other side of the door looking at them through the top opening, "Trixie thought she said the Great and Powerful Trixie did not want to be disturbed!" Snips let out a nervous laugh, "We— We have a— a tiny problem." "Actually, it's a big one." "What is so important that you cannot wait until morning to disturb Trixie?" She heard a roar looked up to see an Ursa crashing the last trees before coming into town, it roared one last time and Trixie screamed running off. Snips and Snails screamed as well, before running after her, the Ursa crushed Trixie's wagon and roared at them, Spike meanwhile ran and half flew to Twi's library, being a baby dragon he could fly but couldn't fly far or very high because his wings aren't strong or big enough to allow him to do this. He slid into the library seeing Twi still reading her book, "Twilight! You've gotta come! Quick!" "I already told you, Spike, I don't wanna show up Trixie!" Why was showing up Trixie so important to Spike? "No, you don't understand, it's..." Spike couldn't finish because a loud roar cut him off. "Uh, is that what I think it is?" "Majorly." Meanwhile, the Ursa had cornered Trixie, Snips, and Snails, it continued to growl at them as they stood there. "Great and Powerful Trixie, you've got to vanquish the Ursa." Snips said. "Yeah, vanquish so we can watch." "It took a lot of trouble to get that thing here." "Wait, you brought this here?" Trixie gasped at them, "Are you out of your little pony minds?!" "But, you're the Great and Powerful Trixie." "Yeah, remember? You defeated an Ursa major." The Ursa roared again. "Uh, okay." Trixie gulped. "Stand back." She used her magic to move the rope and tie it on the Ursa, "Heh. Piece of cake." The Ursa simply looked at it's tied fingers and snapped the rope off. "Aw, come on, Trixie." "Stop goofin' around and vanquish it, eh?" Trixie gasped and gulped again, she used her magic to create a storm cloud, no bigger than the Ursa's tail... "Well, that was a dud." "Yeah, pfft, come on! Where's all the cool explosions and smoke and stuff like earlier? You know." The storm cloud zapped the Ursa, and it opened its mouth at them. "Uh-oh." It roared again making the three yell and run off, it continued to roar as it woke up the whole town, lots of them gasped, then started to cry in fear. The Ursa chomped a roof, and the ponies ran off, Twi ran towards the source, she spotted Snips and Snails and went to them, "What's going on?" "We brought an Ursa to town." Snips said as if it was the most obvious thing ever. "You what!?!" Twi shouted what was wrong with these two?! "Don't worry, the Great and Powerful Trixie will vanquish it." Snails said as they looked at Trixie. Trixie looked down as her ears folded back, "I can't." "What!?" They both said. "Oh, I can't, I never have. No one can vanquish an Ursa major. I just made the whole story up to make me look better." "Made it up!?" As good as it was to see Trixie tell the truth the issue was still here, the Ursa growled as it came forwards then Twi turned her head to look at it and it roared making everyone scared. Spike nudged Twi and made some arm movements that told her to go on, Twi gulped as both she and the Ursa meet in the middle, she spread her legs a bit to get a better grip on the ground as she started to cast her magic. The winds started to blow and music started to play from broken cattails, the music flowed towards the Ursa calming it down, "Nice use of number sixteen." Spike said. Twi focused harder, a water tower container floated off the base, the top of the container unscrewed itself and poured the water out, Twi was straining a bit as she made it fly to the barn, milk the cows to fill it up, Spike watched in awe, "That's new." The top went back on as the Ursa started to sway then it fell asleep, it nearly landed on Trixie before Twi caught it in her magic and lifted it up, she gave the milk filled container to the Ursa which it started to drink, then she floated it back to its cave. Her job done she stopped and started to gasp for breath, then everyone started to cheer, "Unbelievable!" Dash said. "That was amazing!" Spike shouted. "Heavens to Betsy! We knew you had an ability, but not that much!" AJ said as the crowd quieted down. "I'm sorry. Please, please don't hate me." "Hate you?" "Why, whatever do you mean, darling?" Rarity asked. "Well, I know how much you all hated Trixie's showing off with her magic tricks, and I just thought--" "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Magic's got nothing to do with it. Trixie's just a loudmouth." "Most unpleasant." "All hat and no cattle." "So, you don't mind my magic tricks?" Twi asked not believing what she was hearing. "Your magic is a part of who you are, sugarcube, and we like who you are. We're proud to have such a powerful, talented hybrid as our friend." "And after whuppin' that Ursa's hindquarters, we're even prouder." "You are?" They all agreed and nodded their heads. Spike came forwards, "Wow, Twilight, how'd you know what to do with that Ursa major?" "That's what I was doing when you came looking for me. I was so intrigued by Trixie's bragging that I was compelled to do a little reading up on them." "So it is possible to vanquish an Ursa major all by yourself?" "That wasn't an Ursa major. It was a baby, an Ursa minor." "That was just a baby?" Trixie asked as some ponies looked at her. "And it wasn't rampaging. It was just cranky because someone woke it up." Twi looked at Snips and Snails and the two looked embarrassed. "Well, if that was an Ursa minor, then what's an Ursa major like?" Twi looked up as she thought about it, "You don't wanna know." "Huh. You may have vanquished an Ursa minor, but you will never have the amazing, show-stopping ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie said as she made a cloud of smoke appear and she ran off. "Why, that little..." Dash said going to go after her but Twi stopped her, "Just let her go. Maybe someday she'll learn her lesson. Now, about you two." Twi said going in front of the two who were trying to sneak off. Snips laughed nervously, "Uh, we're sorry that we woke up the Ursa minor." "We just wanted to see some awesome magic." "Yeah! And the way you vanquished that Ursa minor was awesome!" She stared at the two. "We deserve whatever punishment you give us." Snails said as they both laid down. "For starters, you can clean up this mess." She said looking at the crushed wagon. "And... What do you think, Spike? Should I give them number twenty-five?" "Oh, twenty-five! Yes! And I think I deserve it, too." "Heah?" They both said in confusion. "I think you're right." Twi said casting her magic and they all got mustaches. "Sweet!" They all said. Twi went back to her home to write a letter, "Dear Princess Celestia, I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a show-off that I was hiding a part of who I am." She said as she used her magic to write. "My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends." "So, you finally admit that you're the most talented unicorn in all of Ponyville?" Twi turned to see Spike, "Well... no." Spike opened his mouth in shock. "I'm the most talented hybrid in all of Ponyville, but it's nothing to brag about." Spike closed his mouth and sighed as he nodded. "Fine, I'll stop saying you're the most powerful unicorn in ponyville." "So, uh, how did it go with Rarity?" "Eh, she didn't go for the mustache." Twi walked over to him, "You know, Spike, that mustache has nothing to do with who you really are. Maybe you should just try being yourself." "Or... maybe the mustache wasn't enough, maybe if I had a mustache and a beard?" "Uh, not this again!" "Okay, imagine me with a nice, long, Fu Manchu type beard." He said stroking his chin. "Please Spike..." "Or maybe a goatee?" "Just stop..." "Oh, no, a soul patch right on my chin!" "Please just stop already." "How about some stubble?" "I am now going to ignore you..." She started to walk away. "Oh how about a different style on my head?" "I'm ignoring you." "Like what if you give me some kind of hair like yours?" Twi just started to read a book. "Oh, maybe the hair can be styled like a bad boy... or maybe the moopy gothic look... or even the prince cut to be proper?" Twi slammed her face in the book, "This is going to be a long day isn't?" She prayed something, anything will get Spike to stop talking about all the different hair possibilities, Spike burped and Twi grabbed the letter, thank you, Celestia! She didn't care if it was just a reply or whatever she was just greatful that Spike finally stopped talking about the hair, when Twi read the letter she paled quickly. "What is it Twi?" "We need to go outside." They ran out and Twi looked up making Spike look up, "Smoke?" "Yes and this letter explains it all..." She ran to the ponyville gardens, "Listen up! Smoke is spreading over all of Equestria." The ponies looked up as Shy jumped up behind them, "That's what I've been trying to--" "But don't worry, I've just received a letter from Princess Celestia informing me that it is not coming from a fire... it's coming from a dragon." The ponies all gasp, and Twi's friends followed her back to her library. "What in the name of all things cinnamon swirled is a full-grown dragon doing here in Equestria?"