//------------------------------// // Chapter Three // Story: Trixie's Stupendous, Awe-Inspiring Adventure of Destiny // by Turkleson //------------------------------// The Fillydelphia Library was visually impressive as far as libraries go. It was exceptionally large, well kept, had rows of bookshelves that went on quite a ways. It was no Canterlot Library, but it was what Trixie needed right now. Besides, it still looked better than that hollowed out tree knot they had back in Ponyville. The fact that that tree was still alive despite being essentially gutted still amazed the unicorn to this day. “Remind me again why we are at the library.” Gilda requested with minor irritation. “We are taking the first steps towards achieving my de-“ “Yes, we’ve been over that. Care to be more specific?” “I’ll let you know when we get back home” Trixie replied. The duo commenced searching for the librarian. Taking a wild gamble, Trixie looked over to the help desk to see if she would be there. Low and behold, despite all odds, she was there. The blue child of destiny delightfully cantered her way to the help desk. The older mare had textbook librarian written all over her. Big glasses, heavy sweater, hair bun, the works. Upon the ring of the desk bell, she looked up from the copy of ‘Fifty Shades of Neigh’ she was reading. “Oh! Uh- Yes? Can I help you?” she asked, honestly looking surprised anypony else was here. “Yes” Trixie replied “We’re looking for magic books” “Oh. Well we have quite a few of those I assure you. What kind of magic book were you looking for?” “All of them” “W-What?” “All of them” “All of them?” “That’s what I said” “Um…may I ask-“ “You may not ask. How I hope to realize my destiny is none of your business until further notice. Do you have the magic books or not?” “Oh…well, yes we…have a fair amount of them” The Librarian goes through the list of books. “Now if you’ll follow me, I’ll help you find what you’re looking for.” Their guide took Trixie and Gilda across several different sections, sweeping several different shelves each of them holding one or two magic books. By the end of it, Gilda was stuck carrying 99% of their findings. What was Trixie doing? Cantering merrily with two books whose subject matter she deemed her ‘favorite’. *** The spoils of their search were taken back to the front desk. The librarian looked just as giddy as Trixie did, if not more so. Probably due to the notion that there were ponies out there who still wanted to read. Celestia only knows when the last time anyone came in here. “I hope this meets your satisfaction.” The Librarian asked. “Very much so, thank you.” Trixie said “Wonderful, now just let me see your library card and I’ll check these out for you.” “Uhhh… My what now?” “Oh, do you not have a library card?” “Can’t say that I do…” Trixie leaned over to the book encumbered Gilda and whispered “Get ready to run.” “Well that isn’t a problem” said the librarian. “Just fill out the information on this sheet and I can make you one” “OK, and then I can keep these books for as long as I want right?” “Well, you’ll have to turn them in on the due date or else I’ll have to fine you” “But that’s ridiculous! What if I need them longer than that?” “Well you can come in and renew them for a longer due date” “OK, you know what? This is absurd. SMOKE BOMB!” “Wha-?” With what little warning that was given, Trixie hurled a tiny ball at the elder pony which then exploded in a thick cloud of smoke. The librarian was immediately blinded from the pressurized gas attack and began coughing heavily. The younger Unicorn took this chance to push her Griffon friend out the door yelling “GO! GO! GO!” The two amigos dashed into the streets as fast as they could, confusing anypony who caught sight of them. *** Trixie plopped onto the futon breathing a sigh of relief. “That was a close one.” She looked over to her feathered friend putting down the books that were causing a strain on her back. “So” the Griffon said while stretching her sore sections “I guess we’re robbing libraries now” “Hey, we had no other choice. You saw how difficult that old bag was being.” “Guess we can’t go back there again” “We got what we wanted. Why would we need to go back?” “And what do you think is keeping her from calling the fuzz?” “Well…” Trixie pondered. *** “I’m telling you the truth officers” The library pleaded “These two assaulted me and made off with the books!” “Sure they did ma’am” replied the less-than-interested law enforcement officer. “They’re hoodlums of the worst kind. Probably hooked on that ‘high fructose corn syrup’ like on the news!” “Look lady. The police have more important things to worry about than overdue library books, a’ight?” “B-but” “Call us when it’s important, and not a moment before.” The officer then walked out the door, leaving the distraught librarian alone with the images of her traumatic experience. *** “She doesn’t seem like a snitch” Trixie finally replied. “If you say so” Gilda said. “So why do we need all these books again?” Trixie began searching through their plunder of magic tomes. Certain books were put in little groups regarding their specific topic of magic. “To cement my place as Equestria's most powerful Unicorn, I’ll need to know my strongest and weakest magical points. These books will help us get started with that. We practice different classes of magic and see which ones I excel at.” “Why wouldn’t you already know that?” Gilda asked. “It’s something unicorns learn in magic schools. I was self-taught” “Seriously?” “Hey! They didn’t have magic school where I grew up.” “Well where did you grow up?” “Irrelevant. Let’s get started.” Trixie said looking through one of the books. “What exactly am I doing in all of this?” the Griffon queried “I’m going to need a test subject for some of these spells.” Gilda began backing away “Oh no. I am NOT having any mumbo jumbo cast on me!” “Oh don’t be a filly” Trixie retorted “Or whatever you call a baby Griffon. I won’t cast anything dangerous on you. You’ll be fine.” The still wary roommate asked “So what’s first on the list?” Alteration Class “Ha!” Trixie laughed “I knew growing magic wasn’t that hard!” “Please get rid of this thing” a now mustached Gilda pleaded “Oh come now G. I think it suits you very well” “I will punch you in the horn.” Illusion Class “OK, can you still see me?” Trixie asked “Well, I can see through you.” Gilda replied The Unicorn looked down to see that she was indeed transparent. “Hmm…Hey, don’t we have a neighbor who’s afraid of ghosts?” A smile crept on her friends’ beak “Why yes. I believe we do” “Well I know what we’re doing this weekend.” Destruction Class “…” “…” “You’re paying for a new futon.” “I think you’re not seeing the silver lining here” “Unless the silver lining is a futon, I’m not interested” Enchantment class Trixie and Gilda look at the necklace that the Unicorn cast the spell on moments before. “So…what’s it do?” Gilda asked/ “Well according to the book, the necklace is now a good luck charm.” “So how do we know it works?” “Well tomorrow we can go out and get some lottery tickets. See if we win.” Gilda frowned. “Any enchantments with more immediate effects?” Trixie scoured through the book. “Well there’s something here about a ‘Want it, Need it’ spell." *** The exhausted Griffon looks out the window to see that night had long since fallen across the sky. The two had been at this for hours and were, for all intents and purposes, pooped. As tired as she was, the feathered hybrid was looking forward to sleep less than normal considering her resting space was reduced to ash. She looked over to her Unicorn friend, stretching her legs with a good yawn. “Well, that will do it for today. Best get to bed” The mare headed to her room. “Does this mean we’re done with this magic testing stuff?” “Of course not. We still go a bunch of books to try tomorrow.”