//------------------------------// // Rough Divide // Story: A Great and Powerful Love Story // by DragonMaster24921 //------------------------------// A few days had passed since the incident between Trixie and Shuffle. After Shuffle explained what happened and a firm scolding from Tesla, Trixie was allowed to stay for a few days, and was also able to put her Traveling Trailer of Tricks in the second space of the garage so nothing happened to it. Tesla kept an eye on the two during the weekend, and nothing happened for the most part, beyond Tesla finding the pair laying together listening to music. By the time monday rolled around, she felt comfortable letting Trixie be alone with her son once again and left for work like usual, leaving a small stack of french toast ready for the pair. The two trouble children got up a little after Tesla left, performing their morning rituals in relative silence. The only noise heard was Trixie singing in the shower, and soon after, both were ready for school. Finally, winter exams were completed, and everyone at CHS was enjoying the weather. Thankfully, snow crews were able to keep the roads clear enough that students were going to be able to travel to school with little to no issues. Lunch today began once again, and unlike most days, where Trixie and Shuffle could be seen hanging out together, Shuffle was rushing around the school purposefully avoiding the eyes of his girlfriend. “Come on, where the hell are you?” Shuffle huffed out as he jogged down each hall. As he turned a corner he had accidentally bumped into someone. “Oh, sorry about that, I wasn't watching where I was looking.” The other teen groaned as he rubbed his head. “It's fine. With how often this happens, it wouldn't surprise me if the world just likes trolling me,” the boy replied. Shuffle helped the other teen up, and finally took notice of who it was: the one kid from Discord's, Artemis-something, if he remembered. “Anyways, do you by any chance know where a girl named Pinkie Pie is?” Shuffle asked. “Actually, yes, I'm going to go meet her in the band room now, if you want to tag along.” Shuffle sighed, relieved he wasn't going to have to spend the afternoon looking for her. The duo then set off. “So what are you looking for Pinkie for?” Artemis asked. “Well, it was just something party related, and apparently she is the ‘Defacto’ party planner here, so I figured I’d get some advice.” “Actually, same here; I've been trying to help a few friends of mine interact with the others, and two of them are just being stubborn.” “How's a party going to help two people converse with other students?” Artemis smirked. “Well, they can't avoid a party if it's in their home, now, can they?” Shuffle pondered for a moment. “That is true, little creepy, but true.” Artemis and Shuffle chuckle as they continue their journey to find the Premiere Pink Party Planner. “Oh, Artemis, I have a question for you.” “Shoot.” “Back at Discord’s shop, he gave me a card, and I was curious if you knew about it,” Shuffle pulled out his wallet and handed it to him. Artemis gasped and quickly took the card away from Shuffle. “How did you get your hands on an Odd-Eyes?!” “Discord gave it to me. He said something about you being able to help me do something with it.” “Of course he would be holding out on a rare card like this! But yeah, if you hang around after school, we can head to Discord’s and I can set you up with a deck perfect for Odd-Eyes here.” “Sweet, consider it done, but first, Pinkie.” “Eyyup.” Both boys finally reach the band room. Upon opening the door, the pair were greeted with the sound of muffled music pulsing through the door of the practice room in the back. Both wandered to the door, and waited outside. Whoa oh, whoa oh now that we are better than ever! Both boys entered quickly and gave a small applause. “You girls are getting better and better,” Artemis said. “Heck yeah! What would you expect from my band?” Rainbow boasted. The rest of the rainbooms looked at Rainbow Dash. “Hehe, our band. Sorry girls...” Artemis chuckled as he approached Pinkie Pie's drum set. Shuffle stayed back near the door, staring off in a random direction, trying his best to avoid eye contact with any of the girls. Even though he had been staying away from Sunset Shimmer, he couldn't help but notice she was standing on the far side of the band room. His discolored eyes met her teal ones, and he looked away in shame. After a bit, Artemis appeared in front of Shuffle and passed him with a sheet of paper in his hand. “Thanks, Pinks, I'll let you know when I wanna set up the party,” Artemis stepped out of the room, leaving Shuffle alone with the Rainbooms. Shuffle let out a slow breath. “Look, I know I did some stuff I shouldn't have, but I just need to talk to Pinkie Pie and I'll be out of your ears.” “And why should we let you do that? All you've been since you showed up was nothing but mean towards anyone who’s tried to be nice to you,” Rainbow said defensively. “I was bitter, sue me. Besides, you might be her friends, but none of you can stop me from talking to her.” Shuffle pointed towards the pink drummer. “Regardless of what happened before, I haven't said or done anything to any of you, I just need to know about something for a party and if…” Shuffle was caught off midway through speaking before the pink party planner had appeared besides him. “He might have been a meany, but if all he did was come here for party tips, it's in my code as an ‘Official CHS Party Planner’ that I can't walk away from something like this. Just give us a minute, okay?” Pinkie grabbed Shuffle’s hand and was about to head out of the room, but Dash spoke up. “No way! You are not leaving this room with ‘Freak-Eyes’ over there!” Shuffle stopped mid stride, his mind rewinding to earlier in his teen years; how he was ridiculed for his eyes, and that alone triggered a few scarce tears to slip past the calm facade that was quickly starting to break. “Rainbow Dash, that was uncalled for!” Rarity yelled out, angry at her friend. Shuffle kept his back turned away from the rest of the Rainbooms, save for Pinkie. “I just need to know what kind of cake Trixie likes. After that, I'll leave,” he mumbled silently enough for Pinkie to hear. “Chocolate with Cinnamon nut bits on it.” “Thank you,” he said quietly before leaving quickly. Every other member of the Rainbooms turned towards Rainbow Dash. “What?” “Was insulting the kid really necessary Rainbow?” Rarity asked. “Oh come on! Everyone here was thinking it! Those eyes are really weird.” “Ah can most certainly say for a fact that’s not what ah was thinkin’,” Applejack countered. “Don't you remember what happened back when we were kids, especially with your hair…?” Fluttershy said softly. Rainbow huffed, grabbed her guitar and got back into position. “Come on Pinks, we gotta finish our set,” Rainbow said, before noticing Pinkie hasn't moved an inch from when Shuffle left. “Pinks, you ok?” Pinkie’s hair physically deflated as she turned towards Rainbow. “No, I'm not okay Rainbow. If you are going to judge someone like Shuffle, you seem to forget what some of your friends went through!” Pinkie stormed out of the room. Finally, one by one, each of the Rainbooms left the room, save for Sunset Shimmer. Rainbow huffed and turned to Sunset. “You gonna leave too?” “Yes, and at least think about the crap you say before you say it Rainbow, considering what happened with the Annon-O-Miss fiasco!” Sunset got her stuff and left promptly. “Fu-” Rainbow started to say, before being cut off by the sound of the school bell. Shuffle walked calmly towards his next class in silence, his mind still reeling from the impromptu confrontation from Rainbow Dash. One thing from the entire conversation stuck to him the most... Freak-Eyes Shuffle instinctually covered his left eye. The insult kept coming back to his mind, along with the mocking tone... Freak-Eyes Shuffle started getting aggravated as the mocking voice continued on a sing-songy tone... Freak-Eyes... Freak-Eyes… Shuffle finally snapped at the taunting, finally lashing out in the direction of the voice. A crack, then a yelp of pain came from Shuffle's mouth. Shuffle rubbed his hand making sure nothing on his hand was broken from hitting the wall. “Fuck, that was stupid,” Shuffle said silently as he recovered before swiftly moving on. As The day ended, Shuffle met up with Trixie, who had Lavender and Fuschia in tow. Trixie greeted her boyfriend with a hug, and he returned it. They said their goodbyes to the other girls, then climbed into Trixie’s car and headed home. “Where were you at lunch Shuffle? Snips and Snails were asking about you.” “Sorry, I had to do something and it took all of the lunch to finish up.” “So you didn't eat?” Shuffle turned his face away shamefully. “No, I didn't eat...” Trixie looked at Shuffle, who had been staring outside of the car. Trixie put her hand on Shuffle’s, getting his attention. “Hey, are you okay?” she asked. “Yeah, just tired,” he said dismissively. “We could hang out in my trailer if you want. I got a few new tricks I can show you.” Shuffle shook his head slowly. “No, I just need to go home and take a nap.” Trixie grasped Shuffle hand interlocking their fingers together. “Maybe I could join you?” Shuffle smiled, finally turning his head towards the magician, revealing a small stream of liquid was going down his right eye. “Yeah, that sounds great.” A few minutes passed in relative silence. Since Tesla was still out with Lightning Arc, she wouldn't be back ‘till later, which left the duo on their own. Shuffle had already retreated to his room, swiftly changing out of his school clothes into a pair of fluffy lounge pants and a sleeveless zip up jacket. Trixie, on the other hand, changed into a pair of sweats and one of Shuffle’s hoodies which was to big for her, but she enjoyed the feeling of it. The two settled down in Shuffle’s bed, slow music playing as a kind Of white noise and laid in silence. After a few minutes, Trixie turned towards Shuffle, who had his arm under her head and was staring up at the ceiling. “So, now that we are by ourselves, wanna tell Trixie what's on your mind?” “Nope.” Trixie took a moment to register what shuffle just said. “Did you just say no?” “Eyyup.” “Why?” “Because.” “Because of what?” “Trixie, it's nothing you gotta worry about, okay? I just don't feel like talking tonight.” “And that's what's wrong; usually you’re so energetic and happy. What happened?” Trixie pulled Shuffle’s face to look at her. “Tell...Me…Now…” Shuffle turned his face away. “Don't worry about it, it's not worth wasting time on.” Shuffle turned away from Trixie and mumbled something so low Trixie couldn't pick it up. “This freak isn't worth it.” Trixie sighed before turning over, away from Shuffle. A few minutes pass before she calls out to Shuffle once. “Can you at least hug me?” No response. Trixie covered her face with the blanket and laid there quietly, before sleep finally took her. At around midnight, Shuffle woke from his slumber. He noticed his arms were crossed, he was sweating, and more importantly, that he was alone in his bed. Shuffle then turned over, checking his phone, seeing that he missed a message from Trixie. If i did something that made you mad just tell me okay… Shuffle sighed as he rolled out of bed and responded. I'm not mad at you, i promise it's just something that shook my self esteem, nothing you gotta get worked up about. Shuffle put his phone in his pocket, before changing his sleeveless jacket into a long sleeved shirt. He grabbed his hoodie, along with his mp3 player, and closed the door to his room, ready to head out. The living room was barren, so passing through was quick. Once he got outside, he turned on his mp3 player, set it to full blast, and started jogging towards Everfree Forest. Once Shuffle arrived, he quickly pulled out a moderate sized headlamp and a pair of thick gloves from his jacket pocket. Hooking it to the hem of his shirt, Shuffle started jogging through the forest looking for something, and after a few seconds, he spotted a downed tree, making a beeline for it. Once at the base, he launched himself up the stump and starting scaling the leaning tree, into the the upper parts of the trees. He leapt forward, landing shakily on the next thick branch, taking a second to readjust his stance and focus on his movement before he took off again for the next branch. Then the next… Then the next… Faster and faster he moved, his eyes subconsciously spotting the next best branch for him to hop to, ‘till he was flying through the trees. Once he finally got to full speed, his mind let go of all rational thought, and he began performing twists and rolls mid air, landing them as he continued rocketing through the forest. Once Shuffle reached his next tree, he turned to it, got a good grip and started to scale it. Benedictus Et Affectus Benedictus Hallelujah Each time he grabbed a piece of errant wood or a new branch, his mindset changed to focusing on the song currently blasting in his ears. Without thinking about it, Shuffle noticed he started singing along to the song. “In the night we can't rest in the dark we are blessed and in moonlight we fight for the father We are brave to the heart blood and fire we part and forever we pray for we are...” Shuffle let out a yell of pure anger as he willed his body to perform a longer launch from a branch like a jumping spider. His leap successful, he perched atop the highest branch. “Blessed and Possessed.” Shuffle turned to look back the way he came and noticed he was a significant ways away from the cityscape. Shuffle sat down on the branch and just stared out towards the small town to let his mind wander, and finally sleep. “Yo, get up,” a voice called to Shuffle, along with a foot tapping his side he woke up. “Wha… What time is it?” Shuffled asked groggily. “It's going on four in the morning, and you’re sleeping in a tree,” the voice said. “Damn it, it's amazing that I didn't fall,” Shuffle said as he turned over to stand, before noticing he wasn't the only one in the tree. Another boy stood on an adjacent branch that hung close enough for someone to stand on without hurting the branch’s integrity. He had on a black shirt with a japanese kanji symbol on it, along with a black button up shirt that hung loose and unbuttoned, gray skin, golden eyes, long black hair that looked like it couldn't be tamed even if the best hairstylist in the world tried to do it; the thing that got Shuffle's attention the most was even with all the dark colors on, he still had a cocky smirk on his face. “Thanks for waking me up dude, I wasn't planning on dying today,” Shuffle joked awkwardly. “All good dude, but we might wanna get down soon. This tree has a tendency of breaking branches.” Shuffle’s eyes went wide. He quickly got ahold of the trunk of the tree and quickly descended, the boy following close behind. Once the two reached the ground, Shuffle put away his headset and gloves and turned back towards the boy, whose feet had just hit the ground. “Once again, thanks for that dude,” he said, holding out his fist. The boy smiled and gave Shuffle the fist bump he extended. “Ye, just don't go up so high next time.” Shuffle nodded as the boy turned to leave. “Wait, what's your name?” Shuffle called out. The boy waved back still walking away. “Name's Zero Gravity. I'll see you around!” Shuffle gasped, recognizing the name easily before smirking again, taking off after the boy. Once he got close enough, he blew by the teen who stood there for a moment. “Trixie told me a lot of things about you. Any friends of hers is a friend of mine, and I know for a fact you can't resist a challenge!” Shuffle laughed, and Zero took off after the teen. “First one back into town buys breakfast!” Zero said as he took to the lead. “Oh…. IT….IS….ON!” Shuffle called out! The two used the impromptu challenge to push themselves to their absolute limit… only to end up tying as they wound up at a small twenty four hour diner. The two enter and sit at a booth, panting. After the two sat down, a waitress came by. “Welcome to Salty Mike's. My name’s Winifred, and What shall I be serving you tonight?” Both boys ordered their respected food and drinks, and Winifred left wordlessly. “So, you’re the boy going out with Trixie?” Zero asked. “Yeah, it's… unique, to say the least, but I enjoy her company. Plus, nifty seats at her magic show is always a plus.” Zero sat back in his seat, staring at Shuffle. Shuffle tried to ignore the eyes boring into him, but after a few extra moments Shuffle spoke up. “Can you please stop staring at me?” “I will after I find out something.” “Find out what?” Zero chuckled as he looked away. “Don't worry yourself about it. Trixie is my friend, and watching out for my friends is my thing.” The two fell into a silence as Winifred returned with their food. Zero unceremoniously tore into his pancake stack while Shuffle just stared down at his food. “Come on dude, chow down! This stuff is delicious!” Shuffle started cutting his own stack of pancakes when he looked back up at Zero. “What were you doing in the forest at four in the morning Zero?” “Oh, between study sessions with my tutor and school, I like getting some exercise. I was just passing by when I saw you at the top of the tree, so I climbed up and woke you.” “...So you free run too?” “Yeah, I've been doing it since I was about twelve.” “Neat.” The two fell into silence and continued eating. “Ya know, I haven't seen Trixie this happy since the fall formal last year.” Shuffle looked at zero again. “What do you mean?” “Well, back then, me and Trixie tried dating. It didn't work out, but we did end up like brother and sister, and ever since that witch of a mother of hers started trying to force Trixie to stop practicing what she loved, she was slowly slipping back into her haughty full-of-herself mode, but then you came along. It's weird, ya know?” Shuffle nodded silently, thanking Zero for the compliment, before finishing his own food. He pulled out his wallet so he could pay for his food, but zero held up his hand. “I got this dude, don't worry about it, you have a good morning.” Shuffle got up to leave, but as he passed Zero, he put his hand on Zero's shoulder. “If you wanna hang out sometime, find me at CHS,” he said before leaving. Zero sat there for a few minutes, before pulling out his phone and sending a group message. Shuffle needs to be introduced to the group tomorrow more details later. Zero smiled before paying the tab, leaving Winifred a sizable tip and left as well.