//------------------------------// // Ch One: Arrival // Story: Magic Talents // by Zocarik //------------------------------// Trixie hated to admit it, but she was obsessed with Twilight Sparkle. It started days after the Ursa Minor. Trixie had felt nothing but resentment as she worked to rebuild her life afterwards. As months had passed, the resentment turned to a burning need to prove herself better than Twilight. Throwing caution down the drain, Trixie turned to finding the Alicorn Amulet. While the power boost got Trixie through their first duel, power could not trump cunning in the rematch. Yet, even though this definitive defeat calmed the resentment, Trixie still thought about the lavender mare constantly. It made no sense. Trixie had been beaten in three duels before she had ever seen Twilight, yet those defeats became nothing more than shameful memories in a couple days. She felt a connection to Twilight. Love had nothing on this feeling. Trixie had felt love in the past. This meant many times more to Trixie than that romance ever had. Which is why she was now standing outside Twilight’s door. At ten in the evening. Enough is enough. I will figure out why she seems so familiar and important to me. We have spent fewer than two days in each other’s presence. It makes no sense. Trixie felt no nervousness as she rapped on the oaken door. “Just a minute!” Twilight was clearly in the middle of something. “I’ll be there after I have stabilized this quadratics field.” More than just something. She was playing with the fabric of space. That is some impressive spell casting. Ten seconds later, Trixie heard that peculiar screeching of space being rent and repaired. Either Twilight had been working on that field for hours, or she is unnaturally fast at spell casting. “Thanks for waiting. Now what-” Twilight stopped suddenly as she opened the door. “Hiya Trixie. I didn’t expect to see you for a month. Weren’t you going to Staliongrad on an invitation from the mayor there?” Trixie suppressed a grin at the state of disarray in Twilight’s mane; apparently, her mane had been put through tornado force winds during the spell casting. “Might Trixie come inside before you start the questions? Oh, and you might want to find a mirror.” A hint of amusement colored Trixie’s voice. Twilight showed no sign of noticing the Trixie’s amusement or her own mane. Moments later, Trixie found herself seated on a soft couch while Twilight walked to her bathroom. “Eeep!” As the lavender mare got to work restoring her mane, Trixie giggled. “Thanks for warning me about my appearance.” Walking back into the room with her mane fixed, Twilight said “So, what’s up Trixie?” Trixie muttered to herself as she gathered her thoughts. “How do I explain this? Ah! There is the plan.” Looking straight at Twilight, Trixie asked “When I first came here to Ponyville, did you feel like you had seen me before, even though we had never met before?” “Yes. It was strange. Also, why did you drop the third person speech patterns?” “I only speak in third person to keep up my stage performance in public.” She gave a relieved grin. “It grows tiresome to perpetually speak in third person. Now, to business. I understand that you have received extensive training at the hooves of Princess Celestia.” “Yes. I have been her protégé for twelve years.” “I was hoping that you might know why we seem familiar to each other.” Trixie hoped that this could be resolved with one statement from the purple student. “Uh, no. I would imagine that it is something psychological. I have never studied psychology.” Twilight bashfully rubbed a hoof on the back of her head. Trixie had no idea why she would be bashful about having limited psychological knowledge, but she dismissed the issue. “I don’t think it is a psychological phenomenon. I did some research on déjà vu and similar occurrences; none of them match what I felt toward you. I hypothesize that magic is involved in some way. Which is why I came to you. ” “You mean there is more than the feeling of familiarity? What else is there?” Twilight’s curiosity colored her voice with excitement. Inwardly, Twilight thought a new area of study in magic? Yippie! “Ever since you beat the Ursa Minor, my thoughts started drifting to you. I literally can’t stop thinking about you.” Trixie held up a hoof to forestall any comments. “I have been in love before. I know the difference between this and romantic attraction. Love is a pleasurable sensation; this obsession ranges from pleasant to aggravating. I want to find out why I have it and how to stop it.” Already, Twilight was listing possibilities on a conjured sheet of parchment. Trixie’s eyes widened as she beheld the partially formed list: Accidental Want-It, Need-It spell Partial Thrall spell Magic Addiction (highly improbable) Destiny Bond spell …. It went on for half a scroll Is she capable of casting spells of that level? Naturally and unaided? No wonder I needed the Alicorn Amulet to match her. Come to think of it, how did I know… Trixie voiced her thoughts. “I just realized something else. I knew that I needed an artifact as strong as the Alicorn Amulet to beat you. I knew. Over the months, I felt how much power you had and searched for a corresponding artifact. It was like I received constant updates on how strong you were. Have you heard of anything like that?” This statement stopped the list making. “How could you have known how strong I was at any given moment?” “I do not know. I could just feel it.” “Okay. I will need a few new hypothesizes. Nothing I have ever read about would cause that sort of effect. Though I will have to test the ones on my list to see if any of them are similar to the real cause.” “How long will the testing take?” “About a week. Two weeks at most. But if the affliction is not a simple spell, it will require weeks to remove,” Twilight had already returned to scribbling down possibilities. “and that is only if the cause is on my list of ideas here. If nothing I have here caused this, I will have to research you directly. I hope that I don’t have to violate your privacy like that.” Her tone was hard to define. On one hoof, she sounded unsure and self-conscious, on the other, she sounded excited. “What do you mean, ‘research directly’?” Trixie was slightly nervous. She didn’t know why those words unsettled her. They simply did. “Let’s not talk about that unless we are forced to use direct research.” Twilight finished her list, and grabbed a horde of tomes from the shelves. “So, what do I need to do?” Trixie stared at the whirlwind of books. Wow. How can she handle that many books at once? There is a big difference between levitating one big object, and many smaller objects. Splitting focus in so many directions is hard. “Head downstairs to my laboratory. I’ll be in a minute after I’ve refreshed my memory on a few spells.” Five books opened before the lavender mare. Spotting the basement stairs, Trixie headed down. The room complemented the order imposed throughout the building. Nothing appeared to be out of place. All the jars, drawers, and mechanisms had labels. I never have anything organized. How can she stand living in such a structured place? There’s no room for creativity. The showmare had started investigating a shelf of samples from various Everfree plants when Twilight climbed down the steps. “Step away from the jars with blue labels. Those samples are poisonous.” Trixie jumped at the sound. “You keep poisons here? With an infant dragon living here as well?” Trixie thought that the lavender mare was more responsible than that. “The jars are sealed so that only unicorns possess the ability to open them. Spike is safe from them. You, however, are not safe.” “Okay,” Trixie did as she was bid. “What do I need to do for these tests of yours?” Twilight sounded cheerful as she said, “Not much. I will need a blood sample, a lock of your hair, some filings from your horn, and a solution of maguslime with your magic.” “Is that all?” Trixie sarcastically replied. “If you want my tests to be faster, you could allow me to remove a portion of your soul to study.” Twilight’s voice still carried that note of cheerfulness. “NO! I mean, no. I am fine if it takes a couple weeks. I would rather keep my soul intact, for sentimental reasons.” Trixie did not sound nervous, but inside she was scared. I thought spells for manipulating the soul were illegal. How does she know how to remove souls? Is her connection to the Princess that powerful, that she can access illegal spells? Before her mind got carried away, she noticed Twilight holding back giggles with a hoof. A few giggles slipped into the lavender mare’s voice. “I have wanted to try that prank for months. Don’t worry, Celestia hasn’t taught me any spells like that. I can’t touch your soul. I am surprised how many ponies think that I can remove souls.” “Okay. That was both amusing and scary. I can appreciate a good prank. Back on topic, why do you need those things? And what is maguslime?” “The hair will help search for any traces of mind domination spells like ‘Want it, Need it’. Blood carries conditions like magic addiction. Filings of your horn carry indications of advanced magics like Destiny Bond. The maguslime is a liquid that can contain magic in a liquid solution for months. Once it is charged with your magic, it will help me identify anything else.” Even as she spoke, Twilight pulled out the instruments she needed to collect samples. “You’re certainly efficient.” Trixie stated. “Of course. Wasted time serves no purpose.” A pair of scissors and a collection case floated to Trixie and removed a clipping of her mane in under a second. Fortunately for Twilight, the clipping was not noticeable. Trixie would have filled Twilight’s shampoo with brown hair dye otherwise. Levitating a flask for blood collection, Twilight approached the showmare. “Hold still. This will be quick.” One brief surge of magic later, a small cut appeared on Trixie’s front left leg. Blood trickled out of the wound, only to be grasped in magic and deposited in the flask. The flask floated to a table. A file appeared next. “Do be gentile with that. I don’t want my horn damaged more than necessary.” Trixie cringed inwardly. Professional horn filings are one thing, laboratory sampling simply made Trixie nervous where her horn was concerned. “Don’t worry. I only need a tiny shaving.” True to her word, Twilight filed at Trixie’s horn for less than two seconds before pulling away with a sample small enough to mistake for a bit of table salt from a plate of spaghetti. A tub of clear gel floated off a shelf. “Since you probably have never used maguslime, I will guide you through the saturation process. You will need to dip your horn in the maguslime. Focus on releasing magic without directing it to a task. The gel will absorb the magic if the magic simply enters it. If you direct the magic, the gel will not have a chance to become saturated.” Once the unique experience of saturating the maguslime ended, it turned blue. Trixie stared at it, fascinated. “Yay! Testing can begin!” Immediately turning to her instruments, Twilight submerged herself in a new experiment. This was a little awkward for Trixie. The researcher clearly had everything under control, while Trixie now had nothing to do. “Are you sure that you should begin an experiment so late in the day? I have no appointments to keep at the moment.” Pausing, the researcher thought for a moment. “You’re right. This can wait for tomorrow. Where are you going to be staying while I am doing the tests? If you need it, I have a spare bed in the library.” “That would be most welcome.” Twilight led Trixie up to the guest bedroom and bid her goodnight. Little did the mares know that this would be the last full night of sleep either would have for the next few weeks.