Sleight the Mystifying and Extraordinary

by Bluecatcinema

Preparations

The next morning, Chrysalis, at Sleight's suggestion, gathered all the Changelings together in the town.

"My children, the wizard has a plan." She announced. "A plan that will rid us of Red Eclipse and his thugs once and for all!"

Chrysalis stepped aside, allowing Sleight to take the helm.

"The answer is simple, my friends." He declared. "As you know, to face Red Eclipse and his legion would be futile. So we won't even try."

The crowd murmured with confusion.

"Instead, we will use misdirection and illusions to defeat Red Eclipse!" Sleight announced. "Just as the stage magician bamboozles his audience, so too will we deceive and confuse our enemies. We will make them believe we have the power to defeat them, and send them running."

"You expect uzzz to agree to zzzuch a cowardly and ridiculouzzz plan?" Char spat. "And wazzzte all our remaining time? I don't think zzzo!"

Char's fellow guards backed him up.

"He has a point." Slog noted. "This sounds like the old us, using lies and deception to get what we want."

"What other choice do we have?" Sazh asked.

"My young friend is right." Wizel agreed. "To fight those fiends directly would be futile. And to run would be true cowardice."

"We Changelings were once well-known for our cunning." Chrysalis recalled. "If keeping our home means using that guile once more, then so be it! We were quite the tricksters back in the day, and we will be again... but this time, for a just cause."

"I promise you, it will work." Sleight assured them. "I swear, none of you will have to leave your homes or young ones behind. Now, who's with me?"

"I am!" Sazh smiled.

"As am I." Wizel raised a hoof.

"Me, too." Chrysalis grinned.

One by one, the gathered Changeling all raised their hooves in agreement. Even Char, bowing to the majority.

"I zzztill zzzay it'zzz a zzztupid idea." He pouted.

"Too bad, Char." Sazh taunted him. "You're outvoted."

"Watch your zzztep, runt." Char snarled.

"Now, now." Wizel stepped in. "Let's save the anger for our enemies."

"Don't think thizzz changezzz anything." Char growled. "Mark my wordzzz, you will regret truzzzting that foolizzzh pony..."

"Like a broken record..." Sazh rolled his eyes.

"Okay Slog, I have a special task for you and your builders." Sleight declared, holding up some blueprints. "Can you make this for me?"

"What is it?" Slog perused the papers.

"The key to our victory." Sleight smiled.

Sleight returned to his room and looked through the back section of his grandfather's book. That section contained spells Sleight had considered 'too difficult' or 'too unwieldy' for his show. Now, though, he believed those spells could be useful.

The first spell he tried was one that could copy cards, enabling him to have a near-limitless supply. For a few seconds, he struggled, and struggled more, trying to duplicate a single card. With a grunt of effort, he succeeded.

"Yes!" He smiled. "Double or nothing..."

With a little more effort, Sleight copied two cards, then three, then four. Soon, he was up to a full deck. Using all his willpower, he levitated the deck and soon, it split into two identical decks. Satisfied, he moved on to the next spell: Changing a cards' size. This proved to be a little harder.

"Come on, you..." He groaned, his horn glowing.

The card suddenly doubled in size... before shrinking back down.

"Aw, jeez!" Sleight groaned.

It took the better part of an hour for Sleight to actually manage to hold a size change. As night fell, he decided to call it a day, and work on the harder spells the next day.

As he stood out on the balcony, gazing at the emerging stars, he was joined by Chrysalis.

"Your majesty." He said respectfully.

"Please, call me Chrysalis." Chrysalis smiled. "Things are going well. You certainly inspired my Changelings back there."

"Well... you, Sazh and Wizel helped." Sleight said modestly.

"True." Chrysalis nodded. "Speaking of which, I'd like to thank you for what you did before. Coming to my aid when Red Eclipse struck me. It was very gallant of you."

"Oh, thanks." Sleight blushed. "I couldn't let that brute get away with that. Where I come from, we treat a lady right."

"I'm not surprised." Chrysalis smiled. "For that place to produce a stallion like you, it must be a society to be respected."

"You flatter me, Chrysalis." Sleight sighed. "We both know I'm not that good."

"Nonsense." Chrysalis declared. "We all make mistakes. I've made some pretty big ones in my time. Sometimes, I worry that I can never be truly good..."

"But you are." Sleight told her. "You look out for your children. You protect them. You even trust a guy like me with their future. If that's not good, I don't know what is. I really don't..."

"So you say." Chrysalis smiled. "But I've seen how good you can be with my own eyes. You just need to believe it, and accept the greatness within you."

"Greatness?" Sleight looked into Chrysalis' eyes, and she looked into his.

For a moment, they stood frozen, then...

"Anyway." Sleight snapped out of it, blushing heavily. "I've been working on some new tricks that should really help."

"That's... good to hear." Chrysalis replied, also blushing. "I look forward to seeing that. ...Good night, Sleight."

Chrysalis flew off the balcony, and up to her own room. Sleight stared after her, a longing look on his face.

"Get a grip, Sleight." He told himself. "She's too good for you... just like Trixie was…"

The next day, Sleight got to work on the next spell: Merging an object or pony with a card. He started with an apple.

"And... go!" He cried, forcing them together.

He only managed half an apple.

"Dang it…" Sleight muttered, as he lifted up the half apple… only to pick up the half that wasn't merged with the card, "Yikes…"

He got it right the second time though, and decided to move on to putting something the size of a pony in a card, enlisting Sazh to help him.

"Are you sure about this, Sleight?" Sazh asked nervously.

"Look, the only way this plan is going to work is if I can merge a pony within this card." Sleight declared, holding up a card.

"Yeah, but why does it has to be me?!" Sazh trembled.

"Because we didn't exactly have a surplus of volunteers." Sleight answered. "Now, shush. I'm concentrating."

He held the card in front of him, focusing his magic, then flung it at Sazh. There was a flash of light... and there was Sazh, with a card bearing his face for a head.

"Whoops." Sleight cringed.

"Hrrrlp!" Sazh said, muffled.

"Uh, don't worry, Sash, I'll get you out of there." Sleight stammered, as he rifled through the pocketbook.

"Szh!" Sazh muffled in a peeved tone.

"Sorry, Sazh!" Sleight rolled his eyes.

The next few tries were just as fruitful, with several of Sazh's body parts becoming cards (Fortunately, the reverse spell was not so tricky). On the fifth try, Sleight finally managed it.

"Yes, yes, yes!" He cheered, as he turned Sazh back. "How do you feel?"

"Like I've just been squeezed into a very tight box." Sazh admitted, "And it's very empty in there."

"Shake it off, pal." Sleight smiled. "The fun is just starting!"

Next up was the card portal spell. It proved to be even more difficult.

"Come on, baby." He whispered to his queen of hearts card.

Charging the card with magic, he flung it across the room. Instead of expanding into a door-shaped pillar of light, it sputtered and exploded.

"Okay… that happened…" Sleight glanced unsurely.

"Who knew cards were combustible." Sazh shrugged.

On the next try, it turned into a portal, but retained it's original size.

"Well, I suppose we could... send a mouse through." Sazh declared.

"Or a very angry gerbil." Sleight added. "Red Eclipse won't be expecting that."

On the third try, he managed it.

"Ah-ha, I got it!" Sleight cheered, as he then slide out another card under the door leading outside. "Now for the other side, and..." He concentrated again. A glow edging under the door indicated success. "Oh, yeah!"

"Good work, Sleight!" Sazh slapped Sleight on the back, accidentally knocking him though the portal, to the corridor outside. "Ooh, sorry."

"No worries." Sleight shrugged, poking his head back through. "I needed to pop out for a while, anyway."

Sleight went outside the tower, and found a small group of construction Changelings.

"Hey, guys." He whispered. "I need to work on something."

"What is it, oh great one?" The leader asked.

"A balloon." Sleight answered.

"A balloon?" A smaller Changeling asked.

"Yeah. I left one back in the marshland." Sleight nodded. "I need it ready by tomorrow. Think you can swing that?"

"I suppose so..." The lead builder declared.

On the third day, Sleight went for the trick he had faked on stage so many times: The card teleport. He enchanted several cards to become a whirlwind, enveloping himself with magical energy and transporting him elsewhere.

His first attempt sent him a foot or so away from his original position.

"Good news: it worked." Sleight noted. "Bad news: I barely moved at all."

It took a lot of practice (and most of the day) for him to increase that distance. Once he had achieved a satisfactory distance, he closed the book, confident that he was ready for what was coming.

"Prepare yourself, Red Eclipse." Sleight smirked. "You are about to pay witness to a show of a lifetime!"

As the day ended, Red Eclipse and Twitch looked upon the village from afar.

"Still there, huh?" Red snarled. "Big mistake."

"R-really big, boss." Twitch agreed.

"Let's go rally the troops." Red smirked. "Time for those bugs to get exterminated."

Comments

[Razzy]

Ring racist soulless gingers. :P

Hmm, ona thinking that Sleigh could be a powerful magician if he ever allowed himself to believe in himself.

Cya
Raziel-chan