//------------------------------// // Xavier Breakthrough Project, Day 7: Magic // Story: Days in the Mind of One that is Great and Powerful // by The REAL Mister Pkmn //------------------------------// Saturday dawned, and Trixie got up and ready for the lesson for Xavier. Even going straight there, Xavier managed to be waiting for them, once again. Twilight, Trixie, and Janice stepped forward to teach the lesson. Janice decided to start her section first. “Having a good, strong connection with someone can be hard to maintain sometimes, but it’s worth it in the end. I know that troubles and trials can shake friendships, but those that hold and survive those problems are the ones you should cherish always.” Postulating a bit beforehand, Xavier responded. “Really now? So you’re saying that all the ones that fall apart are worthless, then? So really, all the past friendships I’ve had should be buried forever, right?” Noticing Janice’s flustered state, Twilight took over from there. “Not necessarily. Trying to make amends with old friends is paramount, to signal that you want to believe that you can repair what you once had. Why do you think Maestro enlisted our help? It’s because he knew that doing this alone would never work. He knew that having us help would give him better odds of rebuilding his friendship with you.” Looking around for a bit, Xavier noticed Maestro having a look of remorse in his eye, a pleading that made Xavier blink. He shook his head. No. This had to be some kind of trick. He wouldn’t lose to them! “Why do you think you can do this, huh? What makes you believe that after all is said and done, I’ll just let go of what he did- What ALL of them did?” Looking to her friends for support, Trixie put in her thoughts. “Because, deep down, we want to believe that you can change. I once terrorized the school of this city, and I had no friends. But everything changed after I anthrofied, and faced off against Twilight. I wanted to ruin them, but that desire only got me used in the end. After that debacle, I spent some time thinking. Why was I so empty? Even at the start of me wanting to change, I didn’t really feel comfortable calling Twilight a friend until I had a small group of people reach out to me, and show me that friendship was what I’d been missing. I want to offer you what they offered me- another chance.” She reached out a hand toward Xavier. “Please. Let me help you remember how good friendship can be.” Xavier dropped his gaze, almost looking as if he’d accepted defeat. But then he started to shake. He laughed. Loudly. “HAHAHA!” His head shot up, his eyes in a bit of a craze. “You think that- that this spiel could ever help!?” He looked from side to side. “No, I know what you’re doing. You want to lure me into a false sense of security. You want me ‘on your side’ while I’m useful, and then toss me to the curb!” He shook his head as he backed away. “Well it just ain’t gonna happen, chief! Blow all the hot air you want, it’s not going to change my mind! Friendship is just a virus! And I’ll find the power to cure the world of it!” After Xavier’s rant, he tried to get away, but Maestro grabbed him. “Wait! Please.” Xavier locked eyes with Maestro, and found his worried look, full of concern. “Don’t you understand the consequences of that? Friendship isn’t the problem, the people you surrounded yourself with during your travels made bad choices, much like I did. I cannot speak for them, but I would give almost anything to go back and change my choice that day. I-!” *SLAP!* Xavier’s gloved hand hit Maestro’s face, loosening his grip. “I’ve heard enough! I will find some way, no matter the cost!” Xavier ran as Maestro was helped up by the others. Twilight looked nervous. “So now what?” Maestro looked after the fading figure of Xavier. “We get ready. Tomorrow, he’ll do something rash. After we stop that, we get back to what we’ve been doing. We up our game. I’ve even called in a little back-up. We’ve gotta fight hard if we’re going to break through.” He stepped away, and stood. “Go over every argument we can make to persuade him. We’ll be needing them.” With those words, everyone nodded and split off to go over what they could do. 4 PM, Rarity’s shop. Trixie needed a little break from thinking over what went wrong, and stopped over at Rarity’s place to pick up her dress for tonight. When Rarity opened the door, she took Trixie to the back immediately, and revealed the dress. It was even more beautiful than before, with silvery fabric sewn in arcs along the waist. There was a bit more of a blue hue to the dress than before, because of a transparent overlay. When Trixie put it on, she admired it once more. With this, she sort of looked like a princess. Rarity even shed a tear at how beautiful the finished work was. Trixie paid for it, despite Rarity’s insistence otherwise. She took it home, and her parents practically glowed over her look, insisting on taking a picture. After that, she prepped to ensure everything was just right. Once she was done, she waited for Gearbox to arrive. He got there on time, and when Trixie opened the door, she gasped. He was wearing a dapper chocolate brown suit, and his hair was cooperating for once. He smiled. “And here I thought you couldn’t get any more beautiful.” Trixie blushed and looked away. “You’re not half-bad yourself.” Chuckling nervously, Gearbox responded, offering his hand. “Well, shall we go?” Nodding, Trixie smiled. “Yes. Let’s.” The car ride was mostly filled with silence, seeing as Gearbox needed to concentrate on the road. When they arrived, Gearbox parked, and got out first. He went over to the other side, and opened her door, bowing with a flourish. “Milady.” Trixie giggled lightly, and took his hand as he helped her out of the car. They went inside, and were seated at their table. After the waiter took their orders, Trixie and Gearbox talked about their likes, dislikes, and the like as they waited, until they were distracted by a couple laughing. When they saw who it was, Trixie’s jaw dropped. Maestro was sitting on the one side, chatting up a familiar girl. Sarah. However, Trixie couldn’t help but notice that Sarah seemed… off. Even after their food arrived, neither Trixie or Gearbox could focus on their date. Maestro seemed a tad tired, but otherwise his usual self. Sarah though, was acting extremely off. Her laughs at Maestro’s art jokes seemed hollow, and was that an eye roll she saw? She looked to Gearbox to see if he thought similarly, and he nodded. He could see it too. After dinner was done, they were too preoccupied with what was going on with Maestro and Sarah to think of doing much else. They went after them, and Gearbox called out. “Maestro! What’re you doing here?” The leaving couple turned, and while Maestro smiled, Sarah seemed to glare at us. “Ah! Much similar to your reasoning, I suppose. A date with my girlfriend.” He looked to Sarah. “It’s going quite well.” However, Trixie noticed that Maestro’s right hand was out of Sarah’s line of sight. It was making gestures and symbols in the air, tough Trixie couldn’t decipher it just yet. Seeming intrigued, Gearbox asked the question lingering in the air. “So how’d you two hook up? And when?” Sighing dreamily, Maestro spoke. “Just this morning, actually. You see, last night, she ran off when I said that we need to talk. But when I came across her today and confronted her about it, she seemed confused at first. Then when she remembered what had happened, she apologized. She then heard me out, and after hearing how I felt, she agreed to be my girlfriend. It hasn’t been long, but I’ve never felt better.” Maestro’s hand was still moving throughout the spiel, and Trixie had figured out what he’d been doing. Gearbox noticed this, and nodded. “Well, I wish you two the best of luck.” the other couple left, and Gearbox looked to Trixie. “So? What was his message?” Sighing, Trixie shook her head. “Not much, but its connotations are dire.” She looked to Gearbox. “His message was this: ‘Not Sarah. Replaced. Help Me.’” Concerned, Gearbox spoke out. “So what do we do?” “It’s late. Both of us are tired, and everyone else is asleep. Going in against a Changeling anthro -most likely Chrysalis- right now would do us no good. We get some sleep, then tomorrow, we get some help.” The two nodded, and Gearbox dropped Trixie off at her house before he went home. Their second date may have ended with something unexpected, but the promise of a third later gave Trixie some peace of mind as she drifted got ready for bed, then drifted off.