In the center of the food court, the Great and Powerful Trixie stood before a half-interested young girl. The toddler held a playing card in her tiny hand, its face pointed toward her. Trixie's eyes were closed as she placed her fingers to her temple as though attempting to stimulate some latent clairvoyant ability within herself.
"Your card..." Trixie began, pausing for dramatic effect. "...is the Three of Diamonds!"
The girl's eyes widened as she turned the card around to reveal that it was indeed the card Trixie had identified. Off to the side, the girl's mother applauded with saccharine enthusiasm - more for her daughter than Trixie. The few people dining nearby were too engrossed in their overpriced meals to even look up.
While Trixie smiled on the outside, she groaned internally. Lately, she had not been drawing the crowds as she had before. A vital part of being a magician was to keep your act fresh and interesting. She knew that her magic act was long due for an overhaul. She did not just need new tricks, she needed a new look. The navy blue top hat and matching jacket she wore was a step up from her purple hat and cape, but the classy look was clearly lost on the riff-raff that frequented the mall. She needed something that would catch - and hold - everyone's attention.
KABOOM!
Trixie glanced to the side of the food court where a cloud of pink smoke had suddenly appeared. What the heck was that? she wondered. Did somebody set off a firecracker? The mother quickly snatched up her daughter as all of the diners got up from their seats, shocked and bewildered. A moment later, a girl with pink, frazzled hair emerged from the smoke. Trixie recognized her Canterlot High School classmate Pinkie Pie.
Pinkie clumsily staggered out of the cloud. Several mall patrons cautiously approached her, asking what had just happened and if she was injured. Pinkie, seemingly in a daze, did not answer any of them. With each step, her hip movement became more pronounced. Her arms out to her sides, she began to sashay toward the center of the food court.
Trixie stared in dismay. Was this some kind of prank? Pinkie was well-known at CHS for pulling over-the-top stunts. That explosion was definitely on brand for her! However, Pinkie's stunts usually involved balloons, confetti, and plenty of sweets. From the way Pinkie was moving, Trixie wondered if this was another belly dance performance like the one Pinkie and her friends had put on to benefit the Animal Shelter. But then why was Pinkie not wearing some colorful costume? And what was that green glow underneath her shirt?
Pinkie suddenly dropped down to her knees, swinging her head and arms backward. The motion lifted her shirt, exposing her belly - and what appeared to be a green LED light in her navel. With her head and shoulders mere inches from the floor, Pinkie proceeded to circle her wrists overhead as she fluttered her belly. A nearby bystander wondered aloud if she was having a fit.
The little girl pointed at Pinkie. "Look, mommy! That girl has a light in her belly button!" The mother promptly shielded her child's eyes.
Trixie twisted her mouth. She did not know what was going on here, but she was certain of two things: (1) Pinkie had interrupted her act, and (2) was stealing her spotlight! She quickly stepped around the gawkers and over to Pinkie. Feigning an attempt to administer first aid, she bent down and whispered into her classmate's ear.
"Pinkie Pie, what are you doing? Look, if this is about the time I ate your cupcake, I already apologized for it, and even bought you two to make up for it!"
Pinkie continued to wriggle and writhe on the floor. "I'm sorry, Trixie," she whimpered. "But I really can't help myself!"
Trixie's face flushed red. Pinkie sure had some gall! From the corner of her eye, Trixie could see that one spectator was already recording the scene on a smartphone. There had to be some way she could regain her spotlight. She had to think of something fast! Then the Clever and Resourceful Trixie got an idea. She clasped a hand down on Pinkie's forehead and reached the other to the heavens.
"Oh, misery and misfortune!" Trixie called out. "An evil spirit has possessed this unfortunate girl! I command thee, spirit, begone!"
It was the best idea Trixie could think of at the moment - copying the act of a charlatan faith healer she had once seen in an online video. Some of the onlookers giggled at the spectacle, apparently believing it to be part of her magic act. Still, she needed to get rid of Pinkie. Now. She bent down to hiss into Pinkie's ear once more.
"Seriously, cut it out!
Trixie then felt a hand digging into her coat pocket. She glanced up as Rarity withdrew her hand - along with one of her (Trixie's) smoke pellets. Whatever Pinkie was pulling here, Rarity was clearly a part of it!
Trixie angrily bolted up. "Hey, what are you..."
"Sorry about this, Trixie!" Rarity said as she dashed the pellet onto the floor.
A cloud of bluish-white smoke erupted. All around them, people shrieked and gasped. Caught off guard, Trixie broke out into a coughing fit. When the smoke cleared seconds later, Pinkie Pie and Rarity were nowhere to be found.
Trixie cursed as she threw her hat down onto the floor. It was bad enough that Pinkie Pie and Rarity ruined her act - they even stole her signature exit! They were going to pay for this!
Rarity ran as fast as she could down the restroom corridor, doing her best to not think about how cold or dirty the tile floor was on her bare feet. In one hand, she held her shoes. With the other, she tugged the newly-reformed diamond hoop and chain.
Behind her, Pinkie clung to the hoop under her arms, her feet dragging on the floor. Without solid footing to dance on, the jewel's influence over her body seemed to have subsided - for the moment.
"I'm really sorry, Rarity!"
Rarity only gritted her teeth. The last of her patience - and poise - had just flown out the window. Right now, she had to get Pinkie free of that accursed jewel before it embarrassed them both even further!
The girls burst into the ladies restroom. Thankfully, there was nobody else inside. Rarity took Pinkie back to the toilet stall at the far end - the most spacious of all. After bolting the door, she focused her geode, reducing the hoop's size until its interior was less than an inch away from either of Pinkie's hips. She then dismissed the diamond chain and conjured four diamond struts that anchored the hoop - and Pinkie - in place. No longer being literally dragged by Rarity, Pinkie fell to the jewel's influence once more, sliding her hips from side to side within what minuscule space the hoop now offered.
"Alright," Rarity said as she rolled up her friend's shirt. "Time to get to work!"
Rarity produced a white handkerchief from her purse and tied it over her nose and mouth. She recalled a scene from a campy spy movie where a secret agent tried to remove a golden bullet from a belly dancer's navel and ended up accidentally swallowing it in the process! Rarity did not want to take any chances of the same mishap happening to her.
Pinkie bit her lip. The makeshift mask made Rarity look like a surgeon getting ready to make the first cut! Rarity reached into her bag and produced a vial of rubbing alcohol and a pack of cotton rounds. After soaking a triple layer of rounds in the alcohol, she kneeled down and proceeded to rub the alcohol-soaked round over the jewel. Once the alcohol dissolved the spirit gum, the jewel's grip on Pinkie - physical and magical - would be lost. Hopefully. Pinkie mewled as her belly, muscles already burning, began to ripple even faster. It was as though the jewel sensed what Rarity was trying to do!
The cotton was soon depleted of alcohol, but the jewel still held fast. Rarity applied more alcohol to the cotton and began rubbing again - this time, tracing around the edges of Pinkie's navel. The task was made all the more difficult by Pinkie's belly rapidly undulating in random directions - the jewel's last-ditch effort to remain attached to its host. They could only hope some of the alcohol seeped inside the crevice and helped dislodge it. Rarity soaked the cotton a third time. The acrid scent of the alcohol was quickly becoming unbearable.
After nearly two minutes of continuous rubbing from Rarity, the jewel suddenly slipped out, clinking onto the floor. Pinkie gasped as she slumped within the diamond hoop, finally free from the jewel's control. At their feet, their green adversary's glow faded as it once again became an inert piece of glass.
Rarity clasped a hand on her friend's shoulder.
"How do you feel?"
"Like I just did a gazillion sit-ups," Pinkie panted.
Just then, the jewel hopped like a cricket. Both girls shrieked, Pinkie clasping her hands over her newly-freed navel.
"Oh no, you don't!" Rarity exclaimed. She focused her geode once more, dismissing the diamond hoop and encasing the jewel inside a diamond orb the size of a hamster ball. She was not about to risk this magical menace re-attaching itself to Pinkie!
As Pinkie staggered against the stall, something fell out of her thick curly hair. She glanced down at the floor to find a chocolate chip cookie - no doubt a leftover from the foodcourt blast. By some miracle, the cookie was still intact. She promptly snatched it up and began kneading it into a ball.
"Rarity, on the count of three, make a hole in the top just big enough for this." Pinkie said as she held up the cookie ball. "As soon as I drop this inside, close it up again!"
Rarity nodded, immediately understanding her friend's plan. Inside the diamond orb, the jewel bounced about, in a desperate albeit futile attempt to escape its prison. Pinkie focused her geode's power, lacing the cookie with a delayed surge of kinetic energy. She then placed it atop the diamond orb.
"One...two..." A tear welled in Pinkie's eye. Such a waste of a perfectly good cookie! "Three!"
Rarity opened the hole, allowing Pinkie to slip the cookie ball inside the orb, then re-sealing it again.
"Adios mother hugger!" Pinkie crowed.
Both girls backed away as the cookie ball detonated. The diamond orb shook as its interior filled with opaque pink smoke. Thankfully, the force of the blast along with its noise was almost entirely suppressed by the orb. Rarity opened tiny vents in the orb to release the smoke. She and Pinkie peered inside the orb to find the jewel reduced to a minute pile of green grain. Not taking any chances, Rarity emptied the grain into the toilet and flushed.
With the arcane threat neutralized, the girls took a moment to catch their breath. Pinkie pulled her shirt back down as Rarity began putting her shoes back on.
"Well," Rarity said. This will make for an interesting report to the others."
Pinkie groaned. "Aww...do we have to?"
Rarity lidded her eyes. "You know the rules, Pinkie."
When Equestrian magic began flowing into their world, the members of the Rainbooms agreed to report any and all encounters with it to the group. This way, they could better analyze the magical incursions and be better prepared for future incidents. So far, they had survived friends transforming into she-demons (and one ogress), mass mind control, and giant plants. There was no telling what they might encounter next. Although, neither Rarity nor Pinkie ever imagined they would ever encounter an accessory that compelled its wearer to dance non-stop. One would expect such a thing to at least be a pair of shoes!
Pinkie pouted. She just knew Twilight would find some way to rub this incident in her face.
Having regained their composure, the girls exited the stall...and immediately froze in their tracks. Standing at the restroom entrance was a tall unsmiling woman clad in the white-and-black uniform of a mall security guard.