Sunset and Shuffle quickly made their way outside, Shuffle leading the way to the CHS statue.
Sunset turned, staring at Shuffle; she noticed that during these few tense seconds, her breath was hitched, and if her grip got any tighter, she could easily rip the book she had in hand quite easily.
“Okay, I want answers, starting with this parallel world, Equestrian.”
“It's called Equestria.”
“I don't care about the name, just if it's true.”
“Yes, Equestria exists, it's a world of multiple races of creatures, from Hydria to Unicorn. It exists somewhere.”
“And this world is inhabited by talking Ponies?”
Sunset Nodded.
“Show me.”
“Why? You've been nothing but nasty to me, and besides, if I opened the portal, something could happen and it could destroy reality.”
“Sunset Shimmer, as usual, even in Canterlot, you’re somewhat of an airhead. Space nor time works like that, and an open portal to another world isn't something that should be kept secret. Do you know what this could do to the world if we could communicate with borderline aliens?”
“First off, I'm going to ignore the airhead comment. Secondly, just because you want it, doesn't mean it's going to happen. Third, I've lived among you humans for two years now, and with the amount of violence that has happens in recent times, I’m not so willing to show Equestria off like some kind of science exhibit.”
Shuffle growled, annoyed that he wasn't seeing the proof he wanted.
“Fine. What about the magic at the Fall Formal, or the battle of the band, hell I'll take that geode story! I just want proof, and if you don't want to give it to me, I'll find someone that will!”
Sunset, out of pure instinct, grabbed Shuffle’s arm as he started to turn. As the two made contact, Sunsets’ geode began to glow, triggering her mind-reading ability.
Earlier
Shuffle had gotten up from the table, heading for Sunset and her friends.
“This can't be true! Magic doesn't exist. But in theory, the whole school is overly friendly, too… maybe that's what's causing the…”
*Bump*
“We have to talk.”
Sunset gasped as she let go of Shuffles’ shoulder.
“So you think Equestrian magic is why everyone was so friendly?”
Shuffle seized up. “How did you…?”
“I can read emotions. You’re confused, angry, and intrigued by this. I am too.”
“Lucky guess. Besides, have you seen how these people act? It's not normal.”
“Why is it not normal for people to be nice to each other?”
“Because, human nature is cruel, greedy, and malicious. If you’re not out for yourself, this world will eat your alive.” Shuffle sighed, his back sliding down the base of the statue. Sunset sat next to the boy, who was suffering from the inner turmoil from the view that his mind had put on the world so quickly.
After a few moments Shuffle turned to the teen.
“So you really aren't human, are you?”
“Nope. I was originally a unicorn and a protégé of Princess Celestia, but I got too ambitious and ran away, threatening to come back and conquer Equestria, but Twilight stopped me.”
Shuffle nodded, hearing her words. This made no sense, and if anything, this was borderline cartoonish. After a few moments, he spoke up again.
“I want to know everything. Is there any way I can take notes of you and your friends? This would be an amazing research opportunity, and my mom would kill me if I passed it up, and don't worry, I won't leak this stuff on the internet, it's not like anyone would believe me anyway.”
Sunset chuckled, a feeling of nostalgia overcoming her, the memories of days spent trying to figure out what's going on with her and her friends before and during the friendship games had become prevalent in her mind.
“Well then, let's start at the beginning…” she said, leaning onto the statue base.
Soul had been rushing past the crowds undeterred, his eyes quickly scanned every person he saw, it was very apparent he was looking for somebody.
After a few minutes, Soul burst into the cafeteria, quickly making his way towards the humane six, all of which were wrapped up in their own conversations, at least until Soul appeared next to their table.
Applejack was the first to notice.
“Heya Cuz, where's the fire?”
Soul didn't even respond with a “Hello”. Something more important was on his mind.
“Have Y'all seen Sunset? I've been trying to look for her all lunch period.”
“She was here Soul, but she up’n left just a few minutes ago, she said she had to do something.”
“Thanks,” he said, making a quick turnabout and leaving the cafeteria.
“So, do you girls think Sunset went to talk to the Shuffle boy?” Applejack asked.
“Probably. Sunset has always been a ‘direct approach’ kind of girl, but this wasn't a magical problem like normal, this was a boy who had genuine bad blood with her, so Soul is probably worried,” Twilight responded.
“I just hope this doesn't end in violence,” Fluttershy said meekly.
Soul quickly charged around the school, his eyes scanning each person. Sunset was very distinct, so finding her in a crowd shouldn't be hard, but since she's with that boy, he assumed that they would find an isolated part of the school for anything they were going to do.
His thoughts were interrupted, bypassing the entrance of the school his eyes locked on firmly to the fiery-haired girl was against the the CHS statue base, while Shuffle was in front of her, his arms, from where Soul was standing, pulled out of sight, but if one were to follow the curves of Shuffle’s arm, they looked like they were against his chest, or someone else's. Without even thinking, Soul broke into a full sprint, slamming through the door and rushing across the yard almost instantaneously. Soul grabbed Shuffles shoulder and pulled him away and got in between him and Sunset.
Shuffle stumbled back, dropping his phone, which had been recording his conversation with Sunset.
“Dude, what the hell?!” he said defensively.
“I don't want to hear it from you! Why did you have Sunset out here by yourself? What exactly were you planning to do?”
“I was following the rumors around CHS and this equestrian magic that everyone is talking about, and since Sunset was the center of it all, why not go right for it?”
Soul stood in place. Undeterred from what the boy said, he fired another question back at Shuffle.
“If that's all you wanted, why did you threaten her a few days prior?”
“Because, if what she says is true, I was going to apologize for doing it, but it seems idiots like you really make it hard to have some kind of meaningful conversations with a single person. I can see the look in your eyes, I can already tell you see me as a possible threat, so I'll leave it be.” Shuffle did a 180 turn and went back into the school.
Sunset and Soul stood there in silence a moment before he quickly turned around to make sure his girlfriend wasn't injured.
“I'm fine Soul, I promise he wasn't trying to hurt me.”
“Yeah, but the threat was there, Sunset. That was one of the most insane things I've seen you do. Why would you go so far as to reach out to someone like that?”
“Because, in a way, Soul, he's kinda like me back after the fall formal. Didn't you see how defensive he got after you showed up? Shuffle built a wall around his heart, and it's all this other Sunset’s fault, so I confronted the problem head-on, since this was a problem caused by me, and I believed it would make the most sense to end it with me.”
“Wow… that's really brave of you Sunset, but please don't try to take on something that could possibly get you hurt without someone being there to back you up. I don't know what I would do without you…” Soul said silently, hugging Sunset tightly, which she reciprocated. The two stayed like that for a few minutes, at least until the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. The two parted, and Soul walked Sunset to her next class.
Three Days Later
Shuffle was walking out of CHS. The day had just ended, and with it being Friday, he decided to stroll around town before heading home. After sending his mother a quick text to inform her of his intentions, he began his mindless wandering.
Heading deep into the main area of Canterlot, Shuffle walked in and out of some shops, each carrying something of interest to him. That was until he came up a strange store; it depicted a tribal mask on the front with lights in the eye sockets that gave off an ominous green glow.
“Canterlot Curio. I wonder what this has…” Shuffle said aloud, entering it.
The entrance bell let out a loud ring, as per usual for every shop. Shuffle took no notice of it as he began looking about.
The curious thing about this curio shop was that each shelf was covered to the brim with ancient relics or something tribal; shriveled heads, talismans, and masks aplenty. Each looked like they belonged somewhere in a stereotypical witch doctor setting.
One shelf, in particular, caught Shuffle’s eye; while other shelves had something from Mayan or other cultures, this shelf was completely covered in Egyptian artifacts, a find that any archeologist would kill to discover!
Shuffle turned his back away from the front counter, his mind already focused on looking at each item. After a few moments, there was one in the very back that caught his eye, giving off a golden glow even in the dark. Mesmerized, Shuffle reached back and grasped the object, retrieving it, and realizing it was heavier than Shuffle had anticipated.
By the time Shuffle pulled the foreign item from the shelf, he noticed it wasn't much bigger than his wrist, about the length of a blow dart gun, and an eye of Wdjat crest on the base of the figurehead, which Shuffle discovered wasn't an actual animal, but the ears of Anubis. Shuffle turned the object over, eyes taking in every little detail of the scepter, which was then he noticed a smaller crest on the bottom of the headpiece.
Running his thumb over it, the crest pushed inwards and the rod’s bottom half extended, making it now the full length of a full staff.
“Fascinating relic, is it not? For one so young, to be enamored with history is quite a shock,” a voice said behind Shuffle.
Shuffle spun on his heels instinctively, hiding the staff behind his back.
“Calm yourself, child; if you see from my face, my reaction was quite mild.”
Shuffle let out a breath he didn't even know he was holding.
“Sorry… I just saw this and was looking at it, but I apparently found a button on it.” Shuffle said, chuckling awkwardly, finally taking notice of the woman who had addressed him.
Upon first glance, she looked withered away, her gray skin contrasted by her black and white Mohawk hairdo, but upon closer inspection, one could see she was incredibly fit, even in her middle ages, from what Shuffle could guess.
“It is fine, welcome to Canterlot Curio, Zecora is what I am called, and by the look on your face, you’re not appalled,” she said, chuckling.
“My name’s Shuffle Suite, and I do apologize for snooping, but Egyptian artifacts are just so interesting, plus this staff caught my attention. It seems incredibly familiar to me when I picked it up when it was a rod.”
As the two continued their conversation, the door to Zecora’s store opened and in walked in Trixie, who had on her hat and robe; if Shuffle could guess, she was preparing for another one of her shows.
“Zecora are you in? Trixie needs more of those flameless fireworks you have, Trixie’s stock has run low again,” she said, waking about the store like she owned the place.
Zecora excused herself from Shuffle, who had been inspecting the rest of the staff.
“Ah, Trixie, it's good to see thee. I have a crate of what you desire, but I have to charge my usual fee.”
“Don’t worry Zecora, I have some herbs; you have no idea how long it took Trixie to find this stuff in the Everfree.”
Zecora smiled as the two talked for a few moments. Shuffle approached the counter with the staff, now retracted into its rod form.
“Shuffle, I didn't know you came in here.”
“Well, usually I just head home, but today I just felt like walking around town, and this place just caught my eye.”
Zecora slunk away as the two teens focused on their conversation to grab Trixie's fireworks.
“Oh Trixie comes in here every few days. Zecora is the best when it comes to natural remedies or relics,” Trixie pulled up her jacket sleeve to reveal a tribal bracelet on her forearm. On the natural looking string was her logo, which was made into a little add-on, along with a few multi-colored wings which led to the string being tied in a pentagram pattern.
“Wow, I didn't know you were into Wiccan stuff.”
Trixie blushed as she rolled down her sleeve.
“It's a guilty pleasure of mine, plus Trixie is surprised that you didn't automatically default to Satanism.”
“Any normal person would, but they would just notice it and assume that but your pentagram is faced up, which means ‘Balance’; I learn that back during culture class back in my old school. Plus, it would be bad if I got something I know very well wrong.” Shuffle moved the back of his shirt slightly, revealing a pentagram of his own.
Trixie smiled, impressed with Shuffle. Before she got a chance to ask her next question, Zecora returned with the box, which Trixie picked up, but failed to notice it was heavier then she had originally anticipated, almost dropping it, if Shuffle didn't quickly grab the box keeping it from falling, who in turn put his hand over Trixie’s on accident.
Both teens paused, then straightened themselves as Shuffle took it from her. “I'll help you carry it out.”
Trixie huffed. “Trixie had it, I'll have you know, but since you are willing, she will allow this.” Shuffle chuckled as Trixie tried to hide her face from her minor blunder. Before both of them left, Shuffle turned to ask Zecora something.
“Is there any way I can keep this, I can go home and get some money if need be.”
“It’s fine Mr. Suite, and adieu, this staff I bequeath to you.”
Shuffle thanked the older woman and helped Trixie remove the boxes from the store, setting them in her van.
As the two worked, thunder was rolled over both their heads and with each boom, rain started to fall from the sky, slowly at first.
The two quickly finish their task, and Trixie wished Shuffle farewell as she put up an umbrella so she could continue her shopping along the street. Both walked separate directions, but as Shuffle rounded the bend, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a trio of men emerge from an alleyway and quickly cross the street with purpose, following the magician.
Shuffle stayed silent, turning quickly and heading down another alley close by, quickly scaling the building using the fire escape as a makeshift ladder, and followed the trio from the rooftop unnoticed.
Luckily, with the BOOMS coming from the storm, he was able to keep pace silently. As soon as the group caught up with the unsuspecting magician, one grabbed the girl, who let out a muffled scream and was dragged into an alleyway.
“Hello Trixella, my boss gives his regards.” Trixie gasped, recognizing the voice from behind, the security head of her recent ex-boyfriend blueblood’s staff, Lariat.
He was 5”4 with some muscle, but what could be seen on him most prominently was his beer gut, along with his shaggy dirty neon blue hair, pasty skin, and dark unkempt mustache/beard combo.
Shuffle quickly but quietly made his way down the building, listening in on the conversation.
“I thought I told blueblood we were through, after the stunt he pulled at his eighteenth birthday, the prompt slap to the face and kick to the balls should have been enough of a message,” Trixie spat at the Man.
“Well, to him, it's not, so now me and my men here are ordered to escort you back to his manner so you two can make nice.”
Trixie laughed.
“As if I would want to make up with some spoiled, limp-dicked loser who tried to drug me! If he wants to apologize to me, tell your boss he can be man enough to do it himself, and not send Larry, Curly, and Moe after me.” Trixie stomped on the man's foot, digging her heel into the toes, causing them to bleed. The man's grip loosened and Trixie fled from Lariat.
Lariat reeled in pain, holding his foot.
“Well don't just stand there you idiots, GET HER!” the other two men quickly passed their boss and grabbed the girl, who wiggled free, throwing down one of her smoke bombs, and Trixie promptly made her way out of the alley. But as she reached the exit and into the public area, one of Lariat’s goons got her from behind, pinning her to the wall. Trixie let out a shriek in fear and pain as the man smacked her on the side of her head with the handle of a knife, making her vision blur, but her head starts bleeding instead of knocking her out.
Shuffle swung from the fire escape and quickly hooked his legs around the head of the assailant, using his body's weight and gravity to carry him down. He then pulled back, making the man let go of Trixie in surprise and flipped the man against the wall knocking him out cold. Shuffle rolled over and got to his feet before either of the two men could jump him.
“Sorry to ruin the moment gents, but it seems the lady doesn't want to be with you all tonight.” he quipped.
“Kid, this isn't your problem, just walk away and we don't have to hurt you.”
“Ya see…” Shuffle began, sauntering with swagger towards them, “That's where you're wrong. Trixie might have the ego of an over-inflated balloon on the verge of exploding, but that's half of her charm, and from here, your foot’s bleeding pretty badly. Plus, your friend over there is unconscious.” Shuffle pointed towards the man who was stuck in a scorpion position, his feet pointing towards the sky, groaning in pain.
“And your last friend over there looks like he's about to piss himself, ten outta ten lackeys you got there by the way.”
Both men charged the teen, who responded by sidestepping at the last moment and tripping the injured man using the heel of his boot. Shuffle smashed his foot down on the man’s head, rendering him disoriented, whilst the other spun on his heel, pulling a knife out of his pocket and slashing it at Shuffle. In response, the lackey was met with a quick gut check and prompt knee to the nose, causing him to scream out in pain, blood shooting from his broken nose.
Shuffle winced, noticing the man had slashed his arm deeply. Blood trickled down his arm and his mind was losing focus. Thinking quickly, he grabbed onto Trixie and a handful of smoke bombs that were sitting in her jacket pocket, throwing them down and quickly making his way outside of the alleyway, carrying the semi-conscious teen back to her car. He gently put her in and got in the driver's seat, despite the fact he didn't have his license, and quickly drove to the hospital.
Once he reached the hospital, Shuffle parked in the emergency room area and pulled Trixie out of the car, slowly making his way towards the entrance before his own body finally lost out to the lack of adrenaline that was keeping him going, along with the blood loss. As he passed into the entrance in sight of the nurse, he finally dropped, holding Trixie next to him tightly.