//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: The New Student // by TheTwelfthDoctor //------------------------------// Chapter Three The next day was Trixie’s favorite--Saturday. She lay in bed for hours after the sun had risen, listening to the birds chirping outside, and taking in the sweet smell of the waffles grilling... “Waffles?” Trixie exclaimed as she sat bolt upright in bed. Hastily making herself presentable, Trixie trotted out of her new room and made her way to the palace dining hall. Inside, she found Celestia and Twilight, each with a tall tower of syrup-blanketed battery goodness before them. Celestia was browsing the comics section of Equestria Daily, while Twilight had the Hoof Street Journal open to the latest stock reports. “Pegasi just got bought out by Sassa-Cola in a billion-bit deal...I’m surprised the Department of the Treasury isn’t going to take them to court on antitrust charges,” Twilight mused. “What?” Celestia asked, startled. “I liked Pegasi. Somepony’s going to be getting an angry letter from me.” “That’s business, Your Highness,” Twilight replied, taking a swig of orange juice. Trixie sat down next to Celestia. “Good morning, my student. Did you sleep well?” “Yeah! Can I have some waffles?” “Sure,” Celestia said, sliding over her plate. “I just wanted a kale smoothie anyways.” As if on cue, a waiter dashed over with a tall sundae glass filled to the brim with a thick, minty green liquid. Trixie gagged as Celestia raised it and took a long drink. “Ahh...” “Your Highness?” “Yes, my faithful student?” “I’ve see the palace getting deliveries from a place called Sugarcube Corner in Ponyville both days I’ve been here so far.” Trixie, without Celestia noticing, began to make the ‘kill’ signal at Twilight. Celestia was very sensitive about her sugar addiction problems. If the lavender filly noticed, she didn’t react. “And...?” Celestia asked, indicating for Twilight to continue. “Well, they’re just about to go public under the ticker SCCX, starting at a half-bit per share. I don’t know if you’d be at all interested in buying into them a bit. There might be some perks involved,” she continued in a sort of sing-song voice. “I’ll consider it,” Celestia laughed. “Anyways,” Twilight said, finishing up the last of her breakfast. “I’ll be in the library, studying, if anypony needs me.” “Okay, my faithful student. Don’t forget about lunch, though. You wouldn’t want to starve a growing mind such as yours!” Celestia called after Twilight as she exited the room in the direction of the archives. “Trixie, my student,” Celestia said after Twilight’s hooffalls had quieted. “Yes, ‘Tia?” “Why don’t you go with her? You two really should spend some time together, get to know each other better. She might be able to teach you some things, and you could do so likewise.” “Okay...” Trixie grumbled, knowing that she really didn’t have a choice in the matter. She slinked out of her seat and followed the direction Twilight had gone off in. Trixie found Twilight engrossed in a large book in the library: “The Starswirl Theory on Applied Pony Genetics and Reproduction.” “Hey there, Twilight.” “Hi, Trixie,” Twilight replied without looking up. “Whatcha reading?” Twilight placed her bookmark on the page she was on and shut the book so Trixie could see the cover. After a moment she reopened it and resumed her reading. “Very interesting stuff you got there.” “Yes.” “So...'Tia told me to come here and teach you how to use magical shields. Why don’t you say we get started?” “Alright, I guess,” Twilight agreed, standing up and trotting over to an open area in the middle of the small study room she was in. “First, you have to draw in a bunch of magic to your horn, like this,” Trixie said, straining and sweating while she did so. Soon, a few sparks formed around her horn. Twilight did the same and her horn immediately came to life with a shimmering aura. “Next, cast a neutral beam directly upwards,” Trixie continued, sending a thin pinpoint of faint pink light a few feet in the air. Twilight shot a large column of magenta magic upwards until it made a small burn mark on the ceiling. Trixie was a bit peeved at the fact that the pony she was teaching was better at the subject material than her, but she continued nonetheless, if anything hoping that Twilight would be unable to actually create the actual shield. “Finally, infuse the beam with a spherical shield enchantment,” Trixie concluded, giving her pink beam a small increase in power and causing it to form a weak dome that fit snugly around her. Twilight’s horn flashed as a large magenta field to come down around her, with a few feet on either side to spare. It pulsated with magical shimmers. Trixie reached out and found that, while her shield was easily penetrable, Twilight’s was tough and rubbery, and she couldn’t poke her hoof through no matter how hard she tried. “ARGH!” Trixie cried in despair, taking down her shield, with Twilight doing the same in turn. “Is something wrong, Trixie?” “It’s just that...I’m not as...good as you,” she lamented, sitting down and brushing a stray mane hair out of her face with a hoof. “And I feel dumb because you’re so much younger than me.” Twilight sat next to her. “Well, Trixie, everypony has a different magical talent. Maybe yours just isn’t advanced spells like mine is. I’m sure you’ll find it if you keep practicing, though.” “You think?” “I know. Want me to help you?” “No! I want to do it all by myself!” “Okay, but if you change your mind, I’ll be right here!” Twilight said, returning to her book. ‘She thinks she can manipulate me that easily? Ha!’ Trixie thought. ‘I’ll show her! I’ll fight fire with fire! I’ll practice so hard that I’ll be just as good as--no, better than--Twilight! From hereon out, I’m a new mare! I’m unstoppable! I’m--’ “Confused,” Trixie finished out loud, her eyes glazing over at the wall of text presented to her in the random magical theory book she had picked off of a shelf. Nearby, she could hear Twilight humming a tune to herself, accompanied by the occasional sound of a flipping page or a spell being cast. Trixie returned the book to the shelf and this time spent some time hunting for something more her speed. “Paraspriting for Dummies,” she announced to nopony in particular, reading the title of a yellow-and-black book with a clueless-looking pony on its cover that had caught her eye. Sighing, she plopped down at a wooden study desk with the book and flipped it open to the table of contents. ‘What a great way to spend a Saturday. Way to go, Trixie. You’re officially an egghead’