//------------------------------// // Happy Birthday // Story: A Great and Powerful Love Story // by DragonMaster24921 //------------------------------// Eight-Thirty AM *beep* *beep* *beep* Shuffle quickly rolled over, shutting his alarm off before it could get any louder. “Operation: Magician’s Distraction is a go,” Shuffle whispered silently as he sent out a message to someone. A few moments later, Trixie's own phone went off with a notification from Lavender. Shuffle answered it and whispered into the mic. “Ready?” “Yeah, lemme get her out of your hair. We'll be back by late afternoon, that good?” “Absolutely perfect.” Shuffle nudged Trixie trying to wake her. “Hey, Lavender is going to the mall for a shopping spree. Apparently, she’s got a lot of money and asked me if you wanna go.” Trixie turned over and responded groggily. “Trixie doesn't feel like getting up right now. Tell Lavender she can go without Trixie.” “Nu-uh, you’re going out with your friend's madam. I'm not letting you stay inside as I do. Besides, don't you have something to pick up from Zecora’s shop anyways?” Trixie moved deeper into the bed. “Trixie can wait another day.” Shuffle sighed. Okay, you asked for this… Shuffle rolled out of the bed, grabbed ahold of the top sheet and yanked both it and his comforter off, exposing Trixie to the cold. Trixie yelped as the freezing air forced her to curl up into a ball. Shuffle also forgot she wasn't wearing pants from last night, so he was greeted with an exposed behind once his eyes locked onto the magician. Shuffle clapped his hands and pulled her out of bed. “Chop chop, Lavender's gonna be here in an hour,” he said as he left the room without another word. Forty minutes flew by with Shuffle in the kitchen. Tesla was there as well, but she was still in her robe rubbing her head, a glass of water in her hand. “Ah, sleeping beauty is finally up and about,” Shuffle said as Trixie finally decided to come downstairs. He quickly gave her a breakfast sandwich to eat. “Lavenderisoutsidewaitingjacketsbythedoorbye!” Shuffle quickly said as he literally pushed her out the door, jacket in hand and sandwich in her mouth. Shuffle slammed the door a moment later and locked it. “Well then, that was rude,” Trixie put on her jacket and made her way towards Lavender's car. The two greeted each other, and a few minutes later Lavender pulled away. Shuffle watched as the car rounded the corner and drove out of his sight. “Okay everyone, you can come inside now.” The door to the garage opened, revealing Fuschia, Snips, Snails, Zero, and a girl that stood beside Zero. “Ok ladies and gents, we got five hours to get this party up and running; Snips and Snails, you’re on decorations,” Snips and Snails both gave him a salute and got to work. “Fuschia, Mom, you set up snacks. Here is a list of what I didn't get to put together,” Both nodded and went on with their assignment. “Zero you’re with me. You knew Trixie longer, and I need your opinion on the other surprise I have planned.” “Um, I don't think I recognize you,” Shuffle took a moment to actually take a look at the new girl. Her hair had been pulled back into a ponytail with a star pin on the right side. Her hair was violet, along with her skin tone. She also wore a pair of thick black glasses. “Hello, I'm Twilight Sparkle. I'm Zero's plus one.” “Ah okay, you don't have to help out. The remotes to the tv and cable are on the table. Also, mind Greg, he has a tendency to get out of his cage.” Shuffle turned and headed into the garage. “Who's Greg?” Twilight asked Zero. “Remember that spider that likes jumping on Soul's face?” “Yeah, what does that have to do with-.” Zero gave her a look, mentally conveying the info for Twilight. “Oh. As long as he doesn't jump on me, I'll be fine. Go help your friend.” Zero left Twilight and followed Shuffle into the garage, while she went into the living room and sat on the couch. With Shuffle and Zero “And that’s what I got planned, whatcha think?” Shuffle asked as he finished folding the cloak he had gotten from Rarity earlier that month. “Well, it's unique, to say the least, but don't you think it's over-the-top?” “That's what I was going for. Trixie loves spectacle, and it lets me practice with the props as well.” “But playing magician for a magician’s birthday makes no sense.” “Exactly. Besides, it's not going to just be stage magic, the song ties in as well.” Zero shrugged. “Hey, it's your gift. If anything, she'll enjoy it.” Shuffle sighed as he finished loading up everything he needed. “Thanks, Zero.” Zero gave a thumbs up and went back inside. Shuffle pulled out his phone for a moment and thumbed a message to Lavender. How's it going? Trixie is still complaining… I know you got stuck with the short end of the stick but just keep her distracted another 3 hours, I owe you. Damn right you do! Shuffle chuckled as he grabbed his bag and went back inside to help. “Trixie, come on, we gotta get outta here.” “No, Trixie refuses to leave until she gives these plebians a piece of her mind.” “And last time you did that, you got kicked out of the Canterlot Theatre, remember that?” “That wasn't because of Trixie, remember? She was just showing that boy how to win at a crane game easily.” Lavender raised her eyebrow. “By throwing a chair at it?” “Don't blame me for a rigged machine.” Lavender sighed as she pulled her friend by the arm away from the shop of Flim and Flam. “Thanks for the business Miss Lulamoon. Make sure to come back again,” One brother said, slyly counting the bills in his hand. Trixie growled. Ever the vindictive one, she quickly lashed out towards the side, grabbing someone's drink and threw it at the Flim Flam Brothers, drenching them in juice before turning around and striding away confidently. The brothers started to clean themselves off of the sticky substance. The one that was holding the money in his hand already noticed that they started to stick together. “You do know they can call the police right?” “Yes Trixie does, but their pride won't let them, especially with cheapskates that can very easily be taken to court.” Lavender groaned, following Trixie out of the Canterlot mall. Originally, this was supposed to be a fun outing, but going into Flim and Flam's shop was a bad idea. Three hours earlier Lavender had just pulled up to Canterlots mall. As Trixie and herself got out of the car and walked towards the entrance, Trixie turned mid-stride to ask a question. “So, why did you choose to invite me and not Fuschia as well?” “I did, Trixie. I was hoping we could spend the day together like we used to before we all kinda found boyfriends, but Fuschia isn't even in town today. Did you know that Snails is actually part of a small group of Buddhists?” “Is that why he always sits crossed legged during our Hoofball games?” Lavender shrugged. “I guess so. I remember Fuschia saying something about meeting his teacher, think his name started with a Z, it sounded fancy like, Zenyamcha, I think.” “Well then, good for him, but how about we focus on what we came here for? Pretty sure we can find something special,” Trixie said, giving Lavender a jab in the side with her elbow. Lavender smirked, replying cooly. “Whoever said I didn't already have something for Snips? Besides, if I remember correctly, weren't you a little busy with Shuffle yesterday?” “Sh-Sh-Shut up!” Lavender and Trixie laughed as they got out of the cold and into the mall’s warm, welcoming plaza. Shuffle we got a problem. Lavender sat in a bathroom stall, trying to get ahold of Shuffle, while Trixie had opted to go back to the car. Lav was trying to figure out what to do. Minutes passed with no response from Shuffle. Clearly aggravated, she kept sending message after message to his phone, finally, she started calling him. Please enjoy this music while your party is reached. Lavender groaned audibly as she heard the music play. “Come on, pick up!” Meanwhile Shuffle sat on the table connected to the island of the kitchen, just staring at the chaos that was unfolding. Decorations tore down; food was strewn all over the floor; Greg SOMEHOW got ahold of his food supply, so now crickets were chirping and hopping about the house. Greg, on the other hand, could be seen scuttling about the living room, catching his mobile buffet. “Well, at least it can't get much worse now, right?” Vrrr..Vrr...Vrrr.. Shuffle turned his head, his eyes locking onto his partial screen on his phone, only seeing half of the name, but he could already tell who it was. “Mother-” *Whoosh* Another small fire started on the stove. “OH COME ON, I WAS JUST MAKING HOT CHOCOLATE!” Lavender tried another dozen times to call Shuffle. The last time she tried, she was sent straight to voicemail. “I have listened to your damn ringtone twenty-two times Shuffle! I swear to god when I get ahold of you... Trixie wants to leave, PLEASE be ready by the time we get back! I don't have any other way to stall her!” Lavender hit end on her phone before leaving the stall, only to be met face to face with a very irked Trixie. “Distract me from what, Lavender? The fact that Shuffle had a party planned for my birthday?” “...No?” was the only thing Lavender could say. “Shuffle’s house. Now. We can go together, or I'll just walk. Either way, I'm going now,” Trixie about-faced and left. “This has gone so poorly it's not even funny.” The group just finished cleaning the majority of the house back up by the time Lavender’s car pulled up. “Welp, at least we have the cake,” Shuffle said aloud before he noticed that crickets had stuck to it. “I give up!” Shuffle screamed, slamming his hand onto the island, making the cake fall. Trixie opened the door to the house, and what she saw shocked her; Zero was sitting on the couch, nursing a sizable lump on his forehead; Fuschia was trying to stop Greg from crawling all over Snips, who was trying his absolute best to not freak out; Snails was sitting in a corner, his arms and legs crossed, his mind clearly other places; Tesla was trying to salvage anything she could for the party; and Shuffle himself had just rounded the corner, looking the worst out of them all. His hair had singed tips, his usually confident smirk was overshadowed by a deep scowl, and crickets and cake were on his shirt and pants. Lavender pushed past Trixie. Once her eyes witnessed what happened, she yelped in surprise. “What happened?!” “Everything... Murphy’s Law happened,” Shuffle said dejectedly before turning towards Trixie. “Surprise.” The entire group sat around the table of the living room in silence, two Large pizza sitting on the table and a few soda bottles sat close by. “So basically, you have been planning this party since the beginning of December?” Trixie asked. “Yup. Everything was already made. I ordered the cake the first day of break, told all of our friends to keep is quiet, hell I even thought we fooled you. When did you find out about the party?” Lavender cleared her throat, drawing attention to herself. “That was my fault. I was trying to get ahold of you and kinda shrieked it into the voicemail.” Shuffle took a second to grab his now ruined phone. “You wouldn't have been able to get ahold of me anyways, thanks mostly to the oven.” “But that doesn't explain how everything else got destroyed, or even how Zero got knocked out.” This time it was Snails that spoke up. “That was Snips and my fault, we were putting up the decorations when we starting talking about the last Ogre's ‘n’ Oubliettes session we did. It started an argument, I fell into Zero, and he fell right into the table.” “And Greg?” Everyone shrugged, uncertain how the spider, who was now roosting on a web in his cage his belly full of cricket, got ahold of the stash. “Sorry the party was a bust, Trixie,” Fuschia replied somberly. After a few moments, Trixie started giggling before bursting out into a full-on gaffuafle. The rest of the room looked at her in confusion. “What’s so funny?” “You guys... Trixie does appreciate the gesture, but you didn't need to do anything extravagant for her. Besides, doesn't this sound like something out of a terrible romance story?” Trixie said in between fits of giggles. The gears clicked for everyone else, and the laughter began to spread. “Whoo, okay. Since this has gone so far south, how about we get a few more pizzas?” Tesla suggested. One phone call and a minor wait later, the party had finally gotten into full swing. Music played as background noise, and Shuffle dragged all of his consoles out of his room, along with a few extra controllers. Everyone was having a blast. By early evening, Shuffle and Tesla went back out to get a cake from the store. It wasn't the one that Shuffle wanted to present, but no one can simply say “no” to an ice cream cake. The party finally began winding down as everyone presented Trixie with a gift. Lavender and Snips started by giving her a well-drawn picture of herself up on stage, her cape billowing in an invisible wind, fireworks shooting in multiple directions. “Sorry we couldn't buy you something, Trix,” Her response was to hug both of them. “Think nothing of it, but you did capture in the most perfect angle. Good job, Snips.” Next, Snails and Fuschia had gift cards. Snails’ was for a free trip to the Canterlot Spa, which had a forty-five percent discount for a group up to four people, while Fuschia’s was a fifty dollar card towards a local aromatherapy store. “We knew you would on occasions get stressed out on occasions, so we thought it would be nice for you to relax on certain days.” “Oooh, Trixie hasn't been in a long time. I wonder if Aloe and Lotus ever got promoted since last time?” Zero stepped up next. In his hand, he had a wrapped box with some weight to it. “Happy birthday. You have no idea how long it took me to get this together.” Trixie quickly tore off the wrapping paper, revealing it to be a box set of Ironclad Alchemist. “Oh my gosh, is this the complete series?!” Trixie asked, already excited. Zero smirked, wiping his nose with his pointer finger, “Yes it is, and you have no idea how many cities I dug through to find all of-oof!” Zero was cut off mid-sentence as Trixie locked him in a bone crushing hug. “Thank you! You might be a pain, but I couldn’t ask for a better brother.” Twilight spoke up. “Wait, you guys are related?!” Trixie and Zero started laughing at the confused Twilight. “No, we are just close Twilly. I promise you aren't getting replaced,” Zero said, sitting back down next to his girlfriend and giving her a kiss on the nose. “N-No, it's not that, I just didn't know,” Zero smiled as he pulled her into his side. “God, you’re so easy to tease,” Zero Chuckled. Tesla went next, handing Trixie an envelope. Trixie quickly opened it and within was a crisp hundred dollar bill and note behind it. I'll be out of the house tonight. Have fun and be safe. Check the cabinet ;) Trixie blushed and quickly put the paper and the money into her jacket pocket. The only person left was Shuffle, who had somehow disappeared from the festivities. “Has anyone seen Shuffle?” Tesla asked, but not a moment later the light went off. A few moments later, a shuffling could be heard, and somehow the fireplace erupted to life. From the opposite side of the living room, three figures appeared. Ya better believe I got some tricks up my sleeve Time to captivate 'Cause we're powerful and great Oh, whoa, oh-oh-oh-oh Ya better believe I got some tricks up my sleeve We dominate 'Cause we're powerful and great Oh, whoa, oh-oh-oh-oh The lights came on at a low dim, revealing a male figure covered in a cloak and hat, along with Lavender and Fuschia in their stage gear and instruments. They think they've got what it takes to go toe to toe? We got more moves than you'll ever know Let's own the stage, be all the rage, Not looking’ to the past, Shooting for the Space Age Come on, let them make noise Listen it takes no effort for our music to destroy Anything you throw at me We’re just gonna throw it back, Just you wait and see! The figure swiftly moved past his audience and took ahold of Trixie’s hand, pulling her back onto the impromptu stage. She smiled, joining in on the song. Ya better believe I got some tricks up my sleeve It's time to captivate 'Cause we're powerful and great Oh, whoa, oh-oh-oh-oh Ya better believe I got some tricks up my sleeve This time we dominate 'Cause we're powerful and great We'll gladly knock you down a peg Oh, whoa, oh-whoa-oh-whoa-oh-oh By the time it's done, You're gonna beg Oh, whoa, oh-whoa-oh-whoa-oh-oh it'll take a lot to be in this band, Application rejected! Rejected! Don't be so sad and so dejected So dejected... Don't mean to brag, never meant to boast But I'm a six-course meal and you're just burnt toast Think we are ever gonna ever give up? No, never, ever, ever, ever! Come on, you're just making noise Listen how our magic destroys Anything you throw at me We'll gladly throw back, Just wait and see Ya better believe we got tricks up my sleeve Time to captivate 'Cause we're powerful and great Oh, whoa, oh-oh-oh-oh As the finale came about, Trixie took point. Ya better believe I got tricks up my sleeve See me dominate 'Cause I'm powerful and great! Applause came as the duo took a bow. A chilly feeling enveloped Trixie's throat, and only a second later did she notice that a necklace had been placed around her neck. On it was an exact replica of her logo. The wand had a sapphire stare embedded in the center, and in the “Magic” coming out of the wand, there were mini rhinestones to resemble the stars. “Happy birthday,” Shuffle said in her ear as she wordlessly marveled at the amulet on her neck. Trixie pulled Shuffle into a passionate kiss. The two were lost in each other as their kiss reached fever pitch, pulling at each other, trying to make the kiss last. Night gave way, and everyone had finally departed. The only ones left at the house were Shuffle, Trixie, and Tesla. The first two were relaxing on the couch snuggled together. Trixie had flat out refused to leave Shuffle’s side after the parody of “Tricks up my sleeve”. Tesla had gone back to her room and had been there for a long while. “You have fun today?” Shuffle asked. “Definitely. Even though your original plan fell through, it was still a nice gesture. Trixie appreciates it,” Trixie snuggled deeper into Shuffle’s side as they continued watching Trixie's new DVD set. Eleven-Thirty The duo finally decided to turn in for the night. As Shuffle turned on some light background noise, he rolled over in bed ready to relax. Unbeknownst to him, Trixie had somehow slipped out of the room behind his back, and by the time he noticed, his eyes had been covered by two familiar palms. “Ah-ah, no peeking just yet. Trixie has a surprise for you tonight.” Shuffle tried to remove Trixie’s hands but was stopped by an unfamiliar feeling on his back, something soft but firm at the same time... A few moments later, Trixie removed her hands. “Turn around…” Shuffle did as requested and was greeted by a mind-melting sight. There stood Trixie in rays of moonlight, adorned by nothing but a black negligee that split all the way down her front, which was barely held together by a thin black string. A small black pair of underwear covered Trixie's privates, but that was just about it. On her legs were stockings that matched the design of the rest of her outfit, but what got Shuffle’s attention the most was the amulet he gave her today was still predominantly placed on her chest. “I… You… Hot… Jeff…” He stammered, trying to find coherent words to the brain. “Before tonight is over, I want one more thing from you…” Trixie's stride never faltered, pushing the boy back onto the bed before sensually straddling his waist. “Make love to me…” with a voice like silk, she pushed her face into his and the two began kissing. Trixie's grip faltered, and Shuffle took point as he put his hands on her rear end, pulling it and kneading it as the two pulled each other closer, each actively trying to one-up the other, all the while grinding against each other, driving further into the haze of lust. Before long, the two separated, and Shuffle un-tied the string, the negligee opening up just enough to reveal the sides of Trixie's bosom. “Wow…” he said idly as he stared in awe of the sight. He leaned up, kissing her again, his arms wrapped around her sides. Trixie let out a few soft “Coos” of pleasure, her gyrating never stopping as Shuffle continued his ministrations. Leaning up, he pulled Trixie down to him again and into another passionate kiss, his hands pulling the blanket over the two. Trixie’s hands left his chest and were about to remove the garment, but Shuffle stopped her hand. “Leave them.” Shuffle watched in awe as Trixie drug her fingers past his nose playfully before moving back feeling a bulge touch her butt. “Mmmm, Nice wand you got there,” she replied smoothly letting the feel of their flesh sink in. Shuffle blushed as he thought of his own comeback. “Well, I can supply the equipment, but can the master magician use it right?” Trixie chuckled as she lined up for the plunge. “Let's find out…” She said, leaning down and kissing the teen again. The two embraced, and finally, the two halves became one.