//------------------------------// // VII: The Magical Encounter // Story: The Misadventures of the Renegades // by reading is magic //------------------------------// It was disorienting. The passage inside the mirror twisted and turned the travelers within. Frost Bite was just spinning through, and all he saw were shapes and colors, which reminded him of a kaleidoscope. As of this moment, he would never go into one ever the same again. Who would? Also, he was screaming the entire time too. What felt like an hour was actually only a minute, and the first thing Frost Bite felt was pain on his face as he fell out of the portal face first in the ground. “Ow. Felt like my muzzle became shorter.” Frost Bite immediately stood up in all fours and looked around for Sing Song. “Come on, Sing Song, please be safe,” Frost Bite said as he shielded her eyes with her hands. Hand? Hands… Hands. “AH!” he immediately screamed at his hand as he shoved it away from her face. “What is this!?” He decided to look at the rest of his body; it was an alien body. Covered in clothing, he had longer hind legs, his front hooves became monkey arms, and he had mounds on her chest, which by human standards his chest size would be— “WHAT AM I!?” Noticing he only had shoes on her hind legs, he decided to try to stand on just those. “Whoa, that’s creepy.” Whatever he was now, it preferred standing on two. The new height surprised him, as he began to see things differently like how he can actually see the ground farther from her face. It made him giggle a bit. “Frost Bite?” It was no doubt Sing Song’s voice. A smile formed in Frost Bite’s face and he turned to see the most adorable creature in whole world. She was just like him; standing in two legs and wore clothes, but he knew this was Sing Song because of her mane perfectly covered her forehead and the way it covered the entirety of her back in a way. Well, okay, it didn’t cover her back; her mane split into half so you can still see her back. Frost Bite noticed Sing Song was wearing clothes just like him, but hers took the cake; she wore a white Gothic dress, which made her look like a Victorian-age doll, not that Frost Bite would know anything about Victorian era fashion. Also, Sing Song was a child. “Sing Song!” Frost Bite called out as he immediately hugged the little human before her. “Oh my goodness, you’re so adorable!” “Okay! Let me go! Too tight!” Sing Song struggled to breathe as she squirmed in Frost Bite’s embrace. “Sorry!” Frost Bite let go of Sing Song. “You are just so adorable.” “Whatever. Just get us back to the Crystal Castle and we’ll be fine.” “What?” “Back home! You know, where we're not two legged things with wormy hooves?” Sing Song moved her fingers in front of Frost Bite’s face like worms. “Oh right. How did we get here again?” “The mirror! Behind you! That’s how we got here!” Frost Bite turned and saw the horse statue above a pedestal, and as he looked down into the reflection of the mirror, he saw herself; a taller human than Sing Song, having a long white mane like what he had when he was in pony form. He wore a white dress shirt and a blue fitted trench coat, a pair of dark blue pants and black shoes. His (false) cutie mark was nowhere to be found, but the chains Luna gave him still shone brightly around her neck. “I still feel awesome.” Frost bite began doing poses for the mirror. “And I feel like we should get back to the castle,” Sing Song said as she stepped beside Frost Bite posing. “Where are we’?” “Manehatten? Who cares!?” Frost Bite looked around and saw a building behind the statue. In front of the statue, there was a road leading probably somewhere, but Sing Song was right; it doesn’t matter right now. They probably stumbled upon a teleport device. “But why are we in this weird form?” Frost Bite began examining his hands. “This doesn’t seem necessary.” “Whatever! Let’s just go home and think about it later!” “How did we get here?” “That necklace! Stick it to the mirror.” Frost Bite was still confused about everything; how they got there, what their forms are for, and why is Sing Song the most adorable creature that had ever existed. But he set aside the questions, took her necklace off his neck, and approached the mirror. Before he could even stick the thing, another person came out stumbling. This time, it was a guy. “Ombré?” The man did resemble the name Frost Bite called out. He had a short lavender mane, gray skin, and wore purple shirt and dark jeans. He lied on his back, looking confused as ever. Frost Bite and Sing Song looked down on him. “Is he going to be fine?” Frost Bite asked. “Give him a minute to recover and prepare your ears.” Sing Song already was covering her ears. “Wait, why?” Ombré’s eyes shot open and he immediately sat up. ”Frost Bite? Sing Song? Is that you?” “Yeah, it's us,” Frost Bite answered. “Wait, are we not ponies?” “No. Not as of the moment,” Sing Song said. Ombré began to look at himself. He looked at his body, his hands, and also began to feel his parts using his hands. “Oh my stars. We’re not ponies.” Frost Bite realized what Sing Song was getting at; screams. He realized he was too late. “I’M HUMAN! THIS IS AMAZING!” “What?” “We’re humans!” Ombré stood up and started to look on his body using the reflection on the statue. “This is just amazing.” “Is he done?” Sing Song asked. Frost Bite only nodded, to which Sing Song uncovered her ears. “Was it loud?” Sing Song asked. “It wasn’t that bad.” Frost Bite answered. “Hey Ombré, you know what we are?” “Oh yes!” Ombré said as he turned to him. “We’re humans! Just like what I read when I was little.” “You read about monkeys?” Sing Song questioned as she folded her arms. “At least these work like hooves.” “No, we’re not monkeys. We’re humans! A specie that doesn’t rely on magic and instead uses technology to advance in nature.” Ombré quickly said. “This is so exciting!” “How come you know about humans?” Frost Bite asked. “Well, my mother had this book of legends and-” “Blah, blah! Let’s just get out of here! We’re not supposed to be here!” Sing Song exclaimed as she waved her hands around, which Frost Bite found amusing. Before Frost Bite could even ask more about humans, a bell rang. “Is that a school bell?” Ombré wondered. A rush of beings similar to their form burst out of the building behind the statue. Like ponies, different colors and shapes was everywhere. It reminded Frost Bite of ponies. “Maybe we should ask around!” Frost Bite suggested. “If you’re crazy enough,” Sing Song answered, to which Frost Bite didn’t hear since she started to approach the other beings. “I forgot you’re crazy.” “Hello there!” Frost Bite greeted. “Can you tell me what I am?” The one person Frost Bite greeted only looked at him with confusion, then laughed and walked away. “What’s so funny?” Frost Bite wondered, but immediately forgot since he approached another person. “Hi there! Care to tell me what species are we?” “Uh, human?” the mint green person answered. “Are you new here?” “Sorry about my uh, big sister,” Sing Song said as she went in front of Frost Bite. “She’s really bad at conversing, and we’re just looking for schools.” “Oh right,” Frost Bite said. “Just looking for schools.” “Well, I think you’ve come to the right place!” the mint green person, who apparently was a girl, said. “Nothing’s more magical than Canterlot High!” She then giggled. “Magical, huh? Do you know some pony who’s good at magic?” Frost Bite asked. “That would be Twilight and her friends, but I’m not really close to them.” Hearing Twilight’s name made Frost Bite’s skin crawl. It was a new feeling, so it kind of confused her, but she shook her head to forget about the weird feeling of skin. “Do you know anyone else?” “If you mean magic tricks, maybe Trixie can help, but I’m not sure if she will. She’s always kind of weird.” “Oh okay, where can I find her?” “She’s doing a magic show at the gymnasium. You might still make it if you go there now.” And with that, the mint green girl left. Frost Bite was relieved she didn’t have to meet Twilight here, but it also confused her; what was Twilight doing here? And it seemed her friends were here too. “Frost Bite,” Sing Song called out. “What?” Frost Bite snapped out of thinking. “What are we going to do now? You still haven’t tried your necklace.” “Oh yeah.” The duo turned around to see the mirror, but as Frost Bite was about to take a step toward, she saw them. Twilight’s friends. While they were human, their colors, mane, and even voices were identifiable. They just stood outside the statue, talking and laughing. Frost Bite felt like they were mocking her. How could she forget the very ponies that shot her into the sky? “Sing Song, we better go.” Before Sing Song could even protest, Frost Bite was already pulling Sing Song into a run. “Hey! Where are you guys going?” Ombré called out as he chased the girls who went inside the building. “Why in Equestria were we running?” Sing Song asked as she panted. They stopped at the lockers. “It was Twilight’s gang in front of the mirror!” Frost Bite exclaimed. “I don’t know how, but they probably followed us here!” “Unlikely story, but it is odd for them to be here.” Sing Song folded her arms. “I’m starting to like this, but not much.” “Hey guys!” Ombré called out he stopped running beside them. “It’s amazing to run in these things!” “Glad to know some pony is enjoying himself,” Sing Song said as she rolled her eyes. “What’s with you, sour plum?” he asked Frost Bite. “Ombré, do you know why Twilight’s friends are here?” Frost Bite asked in a panicked tone. “Uh, it’s not exactly them, you know.” “What do you mean?” Sing Song asked. “This is an alternate universe. In this world, our counterparts are human and almost every pony back in Equestria has one, like Twilight’s friends.” “And how do you know all of this?” Sing Song questioned as she raised an eyebrow. “I read Princess Twilight’s reports and journals. They are really well written, I tell you.” “Wait, Twilight’s been here before?” Frost Bite zoned out of the conversation, and instead, peeked inside a double door near them. It was busy on the other side; could it be the gymnasium? Curious and bored, he went inside. The room had a little stage set up in the middle, and there were two people setting up things. Before the stage, seats that were half empty awaited more audience. It only made sense to Frost Bite that he should take a seat in front. He then picked up a flyer on the floor which said, ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie invites you to the Magical Show!’ It contained images of fireworks and common magic props, which were unfamiliar to Frost Bite since he had never seen any magic show before. It made him wonder how humans used magic since obviously they didn’t have horns. And all of a sudden, the lights in the room dimmed and the spotlight focused on the center of the stage. “Ladies and gentlemen!” a voice boomed. “Welcome to the greatest magic show you will see! And now, we present you; the one and only, Great and Powerful Trixie!” Fireworks began to fire up and other flashy props lighted the stage. Smoke and light erupted in the middle and then, the smoke quickly dissipated, revealing a blue girl wearing a lavender wizard hat and cape, both covered in stars. Frost Bite became confused when the other humans started clapped. He decided to follow suit; slapping his own hand with his other hand. After the applause, the one called Trixie took of her hat. “The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you all for coming!” Wait, she’s not Trixie? Frost Bite became confused as to where was the Great and Powerful Trixie. “Watch in awe! As the Great and Powerful Trixie astounds all of you.” The girl then showed the contents of her hat, which was empty, then proceeded to insert her hand in it. She pulled out and her hand was holding a bunny by its ears. The crowd started clapping again, which Frost Bite imitated again. It reminded him of stomping on ground as applause. “The Great and Powerful Trixie needs a volunteer!” The girl on stage said. Where is this Trixie? “How about you!?” The girl pointed at Frost Bite. Frost Bite’s widened his eyes at the girl’s pointing and before he could realize what was happening, the two girls from early who were setting the stage pulled him off of her seat and led her to the stage. Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a small crown on the center of the stage. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will perform an act nobody has seen on this school ever before! But before that, let us know our guest assistant’s name.” The girl then faced Frost Bite. “Introduce yourself!” “Hi, I’m Frost Bite,” he said to the microphone held by the loud girl. “I don’t really go here, I’m just checking it out.” “Ah,” the girl said, returning the microphone to herself. “No wonder Trixie doesn’t recognize your face. Well, we will not delay any further; bring out the box!” Frost Bite pondered where the hay is the one named Trixie and who was the girl beside him. Surely she doesn’t mean herself, right? Because that would be silly and probably stupid. The box was brought in by the girl’s assistants into the stage. It reminded Frost Bite of a coffin; a boring, dark blue coffin. It made her wonder what magic she was going to use on the box. “Now, help dear Frost Bite get inside the box,” the girl told her assistants. They quickly obliged and opened the coffin by unlocking the bolts on each side on the box. Frost Bite noticed that there was a hole for the head. At least he won’t be in the dark. “Looks a bit cramped in there,” Frost Bite commented, which earned giggles from the small audience. “Fear not, my little assistant; the box’s may look small, but it is quite bigger on the inside. You’ll fit in just perfect.” Frost Bite shrugged his shoulders and climbed inside the box to which he realized that the show girl lied; it was crampy and the box was small. Frost Bite’s head poked out of the box, as if he needed to see something happen. At least he wouldn’t miss it. The assistants locked the bolts of the box and one of them disappeared from sight. Or maybe because he/she couldn’t move his/her head much that he didn’t see them leave. “And now, the main event!” Spotlights pointed to the box, where Frost Bite squinted at the lights. “Where I, The Great and Powerful Trixie,” the girl said, to which Frost Bite realized she was talking about herself all the time. “Will slice this volunteer IN HALF!” Frost Bite’s eyes opened wide as he heard Trixie’s words. He turned her head and saw the magician grabbing a lengthy saw from one of her assistants. “Uh, what?” Frost Bite loudly asked. “Don’t worry, this is just a trick,” the blonde assistant reassured Frost Bite as she smiled at him. Frost Bite’s widened eyes only stared at the saw Trixie was holding.He could already imagine it hacking through him. She twisted her to see the glimmering blade that was going through her. “Can I un-volunteer?” Before the assistant could hear her request, the stage dimmed and after a second, the spotlight was pointed at Frost Bite, and the Loud and Future Murderer Trixie was suddenly beside her. “Witness the magic taking place right before your eyes! Trixie shall begin!” And with that, Trixie started to saw away at the box by her stomach. In Frost Bite’s mind, he was already apologizing for everything as his untimely and probably unusual death approached. He also thought that she would need two caskets, for her upper body and her legs. It was a weird thought, but he knew that would already double the bills. “Stop!” boomed by a voice Frost Bite knew too well. Frost Bite turned his head and saw way back a human that looked very familiar; she had dark blue hair and bluish skin. She wore an attire that seemed to make her an official. It’s Luna! “All students must be out of school grounds at this hour. Leave the premises immediately.” Her voice boomed all over the gymnasium, which really surprised Frost Bite. Students started to voice their disappointment, but they followed Luna’s order. As the students leave, Trixie was already sneaking her way off the stage. Before Frost Bite could protest, Luna was already eyeing Trixie. “Ms. Lulamoon,” Luna called out, which made Trixie stop in her tracks. “My office. Now.” Trixie looked down, and went off the stage. “Hey! I’m still here!” Frost Bite exclaimed as he tried to look at Luna from his position. “Get her off that and bring her too.” The office was pretty dark. The lights weren’t on and the blinds were shut, as if Luna was a princess of the night. Which she is, Frost Bite thought. “Ms. Lulamoon, you do know the usage of the gymnasium requires permission no matter what it is used for, as with all facilities in this school.” Luna had her head resting on her hands as she seemed to glare at Trixie. Trixie could only look down. “Yes.” “Yes what?” “Yes, ma’am.” Frost Bite sat beside Trixie in front of Luna’s desk. Frost Bite couldn’t actually anywhere since it was dark. “Also, the school is off-limits to students during this time. Clubs are excepted, but are you in any of them?” “No, ma’am.” Frost Bite felt sorry for Trixie. Yes, she almost murdered her, but it was for a good intention: entertainment, which was still crazy. “Also, a trick to slice one of our students in half may be for show, but if gone wrong, our school will have serious repercussions. Ms. Lulamoon, I cannot ignore your actions this time. I will have to call your father.” Luna started to reach for her desk phone, a device Frost Bite saw for the first time. Frost Bite noticed Trixie’s teary eyes and her clenched hands on her lap. While he didn't how a weird looking device could call someone from afar, it was then that Frost Bite knew he had to save her. “Uh, Miss Luna?” “Yes?” Luna paused from picking up the phone. “Could you, um, not call her dad?” “And why would I do that?” Luna then swiveled her chair to face Frost Bite. Frost Bite gulped. “I know she probably did this without permission, but she did this out of passion. The passion to entertain. When I was there watching, she just wanted to make ponies, AHEM, people happy. And that makes her happy, so if you could just let her off the hook this one last time?” Luna drew her hand from the phone and drummed her fingers to each other, which was mesmerizing to Frost Bite. Trixie looked up and only stared at Frost Bite, surprised and shocked at what she had to say in her defense. “Are you one of friends?” “No, I don’t even go here.” His answer made Luna’s eyebrow raise. Frost Bite realized he shouldn’t have said that. “Very well, I won’t call your father, Ms. Lulamoon, and you have her to thank for. But Ms. Lulamoon, next time I will not be so lenient. Keep that in mind.” A huge smile immediately appeared on Trixie’s face. “Yes, Ms. Luna! Trixie won’t let you down!” “Good. Now before you go, I want you to clean up the mess you made in the gym. I better not see anything from it tomorrow.” “Yes, ma’am!” Trixie happily said, stood up and left the room as she slammed the door behind her.. “What an odd student,” Luna said she opened her blinds and lights, which made the room much more visible. Frost Bite rubbed her eyes as she adjusted to the sudden brightness. “So, what is your business in our school?” Luna sat down on her chair. “Uh, just looking for a school to transfer to!” Frost Bite said with an awkward laugh. He was sure that this was not the same as the princess version from her world, seeing that she’s so disciplined and uptight. “I see. Well, you can always come back tomorrow and I’ll have someone give you a proper tour around the school. Unless you have already seen everything by yourself?” “I’ll swing by tomorrow, no problem.” “I haven’t heard of your name, what is it? “Oh, it’s Frost Bite, Ms. Luna.” “Very well, Frost Bite. Any other questions regarding the school will be answered by your guide tomorrow. Unless you have personal questions?” Frost Bite pondered a bit. He wanted to know if there was a big similarity between Luna here and Luna from Equestria. “Do you like fast transportation? Like really fast and furious?” Luna was surprised at her question and raised an eyebrow. “Yes, I do. Why do you ask?” “Someone I know is like that. You remind me of her.”