The Great Expedition of Canterlot
It was early in the morning when Shuffle had risen from his new bed. It was very rare to beat his alarm, but today seemed to be one of those days. As the teen stretched his arms, Shuffle had decided to make his way to the bathroom he had for himself to get ready for the day.
After showering, Shuffle walked down the stairs and saw that his mother wasn’t awake yet. So instead of waiting Shuffle had decided to make breakfast for himself and his mother. Making his way to the kitchen, he removed a carton of eggs and the instant pancake mix and set about performing the task.
Breakfast was an easy affair, and after making two small stacks of pancakes, homemade hash browns, and two sunny-side-up eggs apiece, Shuffle had set the table only to go get his mother up from the bed.
Knocking on the door of his mother's room, he waited for her, either to get up and respond, or he would have to go in making her get up. He knocked again with a little more strength to make sure he was heard.
No response.
“Mom, it’s time to get up!”
Waiting for a response was getting annoying, so he quickly put down the plate of food on a nearby table. He returned to the door ready to go in and see why she wasn’t answering.
He slowly opened the door, revealing there was no one in the room. Which was weird due to the fact he knew his mother very well; she’s not an early riser, and she spends most of the time (especially at night) much to his irritation performing “SCIENCE!”, as she called it. Shuffle loved his mother to death but her tendency to go overboard when she was in “The Zone” can go for two to three days without eating or sleeping.
Shuffle took a few minutes inspecting his mother’s room to even see if she was in here, to begin with, which from the askew bed sheets and dirty clothes on the floor, there were signs of his mother being in her room at least.
“Might as well try to call her,” he said aloud, leaving the room and heading up to his on the second floor.
Shuffle entered his room to find his phone going off, with his mother's’ ringtone playing; moving across the room he quickly answered it.
“Hey Mom; where are you?” he asked the woman on the other line.
“Sorry Shuffle, I had to finish getting my equipment from work so I left early to grab it before you got up,” she responded.
He sighed, “You couldn't have waited for me? Really mom, I kinda wanted to explore Canterlot today, so I could have gone with you.”
“Then why don't you go out on your own and explore then?”
His mother's rebuttal took Shuffle aback considering three factors; One, New town means no environmental awareness, which he could easily remedy with a simple mind map. Two, the fact not only does he not know where to go, but at the same time the chances, even at his age, of a random kidnapping wasn’t out of the question. Three, what if he got lost? Yes, he had his phone, but there was a chance he could go in the wrong direction and get lost regardless of how careful he was.
As the teen pondered his phone let out a loud screech that almost made him drop his phone. As he picked it up he could hear his mother groaning on the other end.
“Mom, are you okay?” Shuffle asked her.
“Yeah, just a minor chemical spill… umm, Shuffle, can you please get on your bike and head over to me so you can help me please...?” she asked, trying to coerce the teen to help her.
Shuffle couldn’t help but mentally facepalm, thinking how much of a genius his mother was, even if she couldn't perform the most basic of tasks.
“Don't worry mom, I'm on my way. Can you send me the address via text so I can use a map app please?”
A few seconds later, his phone beeped signaling he got a message, which revealed the address.
“501 Sunset Avenue, I swear if I see any yellow cards I give up!” he said to himself, chuckling at his own stupid joke. He grabbed the extra set of keys that were made before they moved in. He grabbed his MP3 player, popped on some music and set out following the map his phone had made for him.
Meanwhile
Across the street from Shuffles house, a man in his early forties was getting out of his car, physically exhausted from working all night groggily walked into the house his wife and daughter had been living in for the last few years.
Upon entering his home he was greeted by his wife Star Shine.
“Good morning dear, how was work?” Star Shine asked the exhausted man, who promptly slumped down into the chair that was at the head of the table.
“It was absolutely abysmal. Four more temp workers were let off so I spent the vast majority of the night trying to cover for the lack of hands."
"That girl of yours... She ain't right… with the magic I mean. She's going to have to learn sooner or later that that magic act isn't going to get her anywhere.”
A vein bulged from the man's forehead; he was obviously annoyed, but he still ate what his wife had promptly set in front of him.
“Why are we allowing Trixella to continue that blasted magic?” Star Shine asked the man after a minute of silence.
“Because, Star, That's what she wants to do with her life and to be honest, I do support it, even if she's reckless with some of her stunts,” The man retorted.
“Granite, you don't understand; she triggered the fire system AGAIN. Do you know how long it took to clean the mess she left for me? Three hours, three fucking hours while she was too busy holed up in her room to help fix the mess she-” Granite slammed his hand on the table, cutting off Star before she could finish her sentence.
“Star, I don't want to hear it! I just got home and your complaining isn't gonna fix the situation, I'll talk to her after I get up tonight ok?” the man relented, trying to diffuse the situation calmly; another argument wouldn't be worth what little energy he had left. Star went back to cleaning.
“Fine, but if she does it again, she won't have her show gear, come the first day of school...”
As the man ate his dinner he pondered why Star was so against their daughter being a stage magician; it may not be a good profession to go into, but Trixie does have a talent for it, if only Star would go to her shows as he did, she would understand why he supports his daughter. She was talented with her craft, albeit a little reckless, but talented regardless of that fact.
Granite finished his plate of food and cleaned his place; he might be tired but that doesn't mean he couldn't keep up his own dishes. After a few seconds of cleaning his few dishes, he walked up the stairs of his two-story home and right to his wife and his bed so he could get a few hours of rest.
“Just you wait for Trixella, this magic act is going to go up in smoke, even if it kills me.” Star let out a sinister bark of laughter and turned to leave to the living room.
In Trixies’ Room
The early morning Sun stung the eyes of Trixella Lulamoon, “Too early… leave me alone…” she said aloud.
But the sun can be a cruel and harsh thing, as it continued to shine in on her.
Grumbling in annoyance, the teen got out of bed to close her blinds; she might like the moonlight but the sun could burn out for all she cared. Having returned to her bed, Trixie grabbed a stuffed plushie, depicting a blue unicorn with a small wizard cape and hat.
“Good morning Stygian. Did you sleep well?” she cooed to the plushy, hugging it to her chest as she slid back into her bed. “That's fantastic to hear Stygian, now what’s on today's Itinerary?”
She reached for her phone and swiped it open, her home screen depicted a picture of her and her bandmates Lavender Lace and Fuschia Pattern on stage before the Battle of the Bands from last year.
She smiled fondly at the memory, because for all intents and purposes The Dazzlings were not only beaten by that Princess Twilight and The Rainbooms, they were also caught cheating, so by default she and her bandmates had won the Battle of The Bands, even though she had sabotaged the Rainbooms from performing in the first place. She waved her hand dismissively at the thought.
“I was under the Dazzlings influence; I would never do that… intentionally.”
She chuckled nervously to no one but herself and her plushie pal.
“Okay, so today we are going to go down to the Canterlot Curio Shoppe, try and find some new props for my show, then over to Carousel Boutique to check on my cape repairs. And finally, stop by the store so I can get me a new supply of peanut butter crackers!” she let out a squee in joy at the thought of getting her favorite snack today.
Trixie had laid in her bed for about forty-five minutes, getting ready for the day and enjoying the silence while she was singing her band's best song “Tricks Up My Sleeve.”
As it was pushing 9 am, she finally got finished getting ready in a lavender shirt that had magic wisps on it, a pair of jeans that tightly hugged her figure; she had a nice body and was proud to show it off.
“I should be back in a few hours. Bye, Stygian!” she waved at the plush exiting her room.
After shutting her door, Trixie quickly made her way downstairs and passed her mother without a word. Star had stopped Trixie at the door by calling her name.
“Not even a goodbye, or an ‘I'll be back soon’, hell not even a ‘good morning mom?!’” she asked, outraged at her daughter.
Trixie turned around before opening the door.
“Mother, we do this every day. I hardly say anything to you anymore. Why do you insist on wasting Trixies’ time with your dribble?” she fired back defiantly.
“I AM your mother Trixella! You're supposed to respect me, but ever since you passed the age of ten you've done nothing but go against my wishes and do whatever you want without any regard for what I want! And another thing you little….”
Before her mother could finish her rant Trixie was already out the door and on her way into the main part of town. Trixie opted to not take her car, trying to conserve its minor reserve of gas until her Father could give her a few dollars to fill it up.
“Stupid mother, and her annoyances, Trixie is perfectly capable of going about as she pleases! It's none of her business what Trixie does because Trixie is her own person!”
Her shout was met with stares as she cut through Canterlot Park, heading for her first destination of the day.
Meanwhile
The trip on his bike was relatively short and uneventful, barring the one guy who chose to sit in the middle of a four-way intersection, holding up traffic.
Shuffle had arrived at his mother's lab. Inside was a stereotypically formatted lab; it was pure white with people scrambling around in lab coats, holding clipboards or containers of unknown materials that were held within. After getting de-sanitized by one of the aides, he was able to enter the building properly.
Approaching one of the men in coats, he tapped the shoulder of one that seemed to be the least busy.
“Excuse me sir, but would you have any idea where Ms. Tesla bolt is? I am her son and she asked me to come by.”
The man promptly nodded his head and ushered the teen to follow him. The two men went to the back of the main room into a bright colorful office; his mother was sitting at a desk typing frantically away at her computer.
“Tesla, your son is here to see you,” he said dully.
After he announced Shuffle’s presence, the aide had turned away and swiftly exited the office leaving the boy and his mother alone.
“Bright ray of sunshine you got there. Okay, mom, you got me down here. What do you need help with again?” The boy asked his mother while taking a seat in one of the chairs in front of the desk.
After a few seconds, Tesla didn’t respond back to her son, so Shuffle took the initiative and knocked on his mother's’ desk trying to get her attention. This didn't seem to work, however; letting out a groan, Shuffle moved around the desk tapping her on the shoulder, which resulted in the same lack of reaction.
“MOTHER!” Shuffle shouted aloud, promptly scaring the woman out of her seat.
“Who? What! When...” she tried to rationalize what was going on until her eyes lock onto Shuffle, “Oh; Shuffle sweetie please don’t pop up on me, I was doing something important; when did you get here? I’d think someone would tell me you were here...” she trailed off in thought while turning back to the computer.
“I've been here for about ten minutes mom. You got wrapped up in your work again and lost track of time, I guess. Now, what was it you needed me to help with?” Shuffle’s retort was short and blunt since he knew his mother couldn't stay away from a project no matter how much she tried. Science was in her blood and it wasn't in him to try and tear her away from her passion.
“Oh that, what was it I was needing help with again?” she tapped her head thinking hard. “Oh yes, I was wanting your help with moving stuff in my personal lab, but my assistant Lightning Arc showed up earlier than anticipated, so he did it.” As if on cue, a man about his mother's age had walked in carrying a box of papers and other miscellaneous junk for an office.
His looked just screamed head scientist: his hair was back in a neat comb-over, whilst the streaks in it were reminiscent of wild lightning; his jacket, whilst being white, was smudged with grease stains and what looked like a random assortment of dry chemicals. The oddest thing about his man was his eyes, they were feline like in nature and each iris was a different color; red on the left and purple on the right.
“Tess I’ve got the Bio equipment set up so far on the west side of the...” the man had noticed the teen in front of Tesla. “Hello, my name is Lightning Arc. You must be Tess’s kid.” Putting down the box he was holding and extended his hand which Shuffle had reluctantly taken.
“Yes, I’m Tesla's son; Shuffle Suit Bolt is my full name, but people usually call me Shuffle.” Lightning shook the teen's hand before turning back to his mother.
“Anyways Tess, I’ve got a few questions about your equipment. Is it okay if I can steal you for just a few minutes?” Lightning asked Shuffle’s mother, whom Shuffle had noticed was blushing. “Of course Arc, I’ll be along in a few minutes,” she said quickly; he gave a nod in response and turned away, leaving.
Shuffle stood there in silence a moment, then joked, “Really, mom, if you’re going to admire the man you might want to dry up the spittle around your mouth.” Shuffle chucked as his mother fumbled for her compact mirror, which made Shuffle burst out laughing.
“Oh ha-ha Shuffle, but since I’m needed why don’t you go out and explore Canterlot?” She handed him a fifty note from her purse. “Go have some fun before school gets back in, and I swear this money had better be gone.” As the boy turned to leave his mother called out to him.
“Oh, and Shuffle,” the boy turned around to his mother holding a remote. “I wouldn’t suggest just heading home since I activated the security system, so, until this afternoon at around five, you can't go home.” she let out a short defiant laugh, much to the annoyance of her son, who cursed under his breath before leaving the office.
“Great, locked out of the home with nothing to do except walk around town,” he threw his hands up in the air in frustration.
If Shuffle couldn't go home until later, then he'd need to find something to do. Pulling out his phone he began researching popular locations in this new town. One place that he had discovered in his search was a Small cafe called Sugarcube Corner, which was located about two miles away and a few streets over.
“Might as well try there first,” He mused since he had money to spend and an iced coffee sounded great in his mind.
As Shuffle put the address on his phone, he started walking down the street of the semi-busy road and struck upon an idea.
“Why take the long way when I can just cut through… or should I say over?”
Cutting down an alleyway, Shuffle found a fire escape and proceeded to climb it at a rapid pace; getting to the top of the building was easy enough. Taking out his phone shuffle got a picture of the cafe he was heading towards, which he could see since it had a crescent brown roof on it, whilst every other building was a dull gray.
“Looks to be about a five-minute sprint this way,” he said to himself. “Legs, arms, I swear if I die from this, I’m going to kill all four of you.”
Taking a jogging start towards his objective, he sped up until he reached the edge of the first building, then pushing with all of the strength in his legs, Shuffle made a mighty leap between the two buildings, as he poured more speed and grace into his movements.
The teen sailed between the two buildings with no foreseeable issues. Shuffle kept pace with the beat of his song until he reached the next building edge. Feeling a little daring, he took a step off the building right on the edge and somersaulted over the next gap; luckily, this gap wasn’t wide, so he was able to do his trick along with a diving roll, prior to dropping slightly onto a lower building. When his legs hit the roof, he performed another role which he ended in a three-point stance.
Rising back to his feet, Shuffle continued to Sugarcube Corner, occasionally doing a flip or tumble along the way just for style.
A short five-minute sprint on the rooftops turned into a ten-minute detour because Shuffle forgot how much fun free running was!
Shuffle noticed he passed the Sweets Shoppe without even thinking about it, so he performed a quick 180°, jogged towards the edge of the building he was at, and quickly dropped down the front of it, using edges to stop himself as he descended so he didn't get injured.
While this was happening a black-haired boy, wearing almost exclusively black, save for the silver kanji on his shirt was wandering along, enjoying his morning walk, and had noticed a boy about his age rapidly descending the building across the street. He watched in surprise as the boy was moving with style.
After he reached the ground the boy had walked into Sugarcube Corner. Taking out his phone, the black-suited boy sent a message to a group of friends via group chat.
“Guys, I think there's a new kid in town, meet me at Sugarcube Corner ASAP.”
As the message was sent out, the teen made his way into the café, quickly following in step right behind the unknown boy.
Who's the mysterious boy?
why exactly does Trixie's mother hate Trixies' magic?
will fate bring our two protagonists together
Did you see the hidden thing?
FIND OUT MAYBE NEXT TIME WHEN RAGGA_MUFFIN WON'T BE A TWAT AND FORGET MY CHAPTER FOR ALMOST A WHOLE MONTH (love ya bud don't hate me plz... 
As usual thanks to my lovely editors and friends Ragga and Xeno
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One word: Trixella!
Something tells me Shuffle and Zero are gonna be good friends.... We'll see as the story continues.
Hehe Trixtella
Love the cover art!
8829974
Thanks ragga muffin suprised me with it and I was blown away myself
Who’s talking here? From context I think the father but the last part of the paragraph throws me off. He says that Trixie needs to learn to let go of the magic but then he’s defending it.
9421673
Thanks for catching that. Appreciated