A Royal Performance
Preread, Edited, and Reviewed By
El Oso, Illustrious Q, BronyWriter, Winston, Wanderer D, Level Dasher
Cover Art By RyuRedwings
=====================================================================
“Is this really the time to be taking a break?”
Fluttershy gave Twilight another gentle nudge, trying to herd her and keep her moving towards the red potion lab. “Yes. You’ve been staring at your equations for hours and you missed dinner. You’re pushing yourself too hard.” She gently placed a plate of food in front of Twilight, and she could hear her friend’s stomach growling just from the smell of it.
“But every second I waste—”
“This is not wasting time.” Fluttershy continued her gentle guidance. Though, as they walked, she dared to take her eyes off Twilight for a moment. She looked to the interior of the red lab. Meadowbrook was standing there, just behind the counter. Fluttershy nodded in Meadowbrook’s direction, and Meadowbrook returned the nod before coming out of the lab and joining their little procession.
“Fluttershy is right,” Meadowbrook said. “You’ve been staring at all them formulae of yours for too long. You should take a break to take care of yourself. Surely you’re hungry.”
Fluttershy led Twilight to a trio of sitting cushions that had been set up just outside the red lab. She gestured for Twilight to take a seat in the center cushion, and at the same time, Meadowbrook set down two plates of food. One was the main course Pinkie had prepared, and on the second smaller plate was a heaping helping of Pinkie’s dessert bars.
Fluttershy watched as Twilight opened her mouth to protest, but instead of words, all Fluttershy heard was a loud, ravenous growl coming from Twilight’s gut. Twilight blushed and refused to meet anyone’s gaze. “I guess I did let myself get too wrapped up in what I was doing.”
“There’s nothing wrong with that.” Fluttershy looked briefly at Meadowbrook once more, the pair sharing a smile. Step one of Zecora’s plan was complete. Twilight was where she needed to be. She had a big plate of food and was sitting facing the green lab. Now, all Fluttershy had to do was take her own seat on the cushion to Twilight’s left. At the same time, Meadowbrook would be sitting down on the last remaining of the three cushions, which was on Twilight's right side. The pair of them, together, would box Twilight in. She would not be able to get up and leave from her seat easily.
And as far as Fluttershy could tell, Twilight wasn’t aware at all. She used a bit of magic to levitate a spoonful of fried rice from the plate to her mouth, and as soon as she tasted it, she began to chew greedily. “Oh, this is good! Let me guess, Pinkie made it.”
Fluttershy nodded. “Yes, she did. But wait until you try the dessert bar. It’s so good.”
“I bet,” Twilight said before she glanced around. “Though, speaking of Pinkie, where did she and Zecora go?”
“We thought that, after all your hard work, you could use something to help you relax,” Meadowbrook said. “So we put together a little something.”
“Is it more food?” Twilight asked.
Fluttershy shook her head and worked to suppress her giggle. She was happy Twilight was enjoying her food, and that she realized how hungry she was. Still, it also meant their plan was working. Twilight had taken the bait and was well within the snuggly comfort of their puckish trap. Fluttershy had to admit, it was fun to be part of a for-a-friend’s-own-good kind of prank.
“It’s a magic show,” Fluttershy said.
At that moment, small pops of magical fireworks exploded above the green lab. Even though she knew what would happen when she gave the others their cue, Fluttershy had felt herself jump a little. Still, Twilight’s reaction had been far more visible. She had dropped a bit of food she had been trying to transport to her mouth, and her eyes were now transfixed on the green lab.
“Yes, marvel and awe as the Great, Powerful, and Princessly Trixie puts on a show filled with wonders and amazements that will leave even Twilight Sparkle slackjaw!” Trixie leaped up from behind the green counter, standing on its surface as she struck a pose. Even though she was in Twilight’s body, she had put on her own cap and hat. That and she was using Twilight’s magic to create the magical fireworks that continued to pop and explode above her head.
“Hey—”
Fluttershy quickly intercepted Twilight. She used one hoof to catch Twilight’s shoulder, to keep her from standing up, while she used the other to pick up the small plate with the dessert bar on it. She gently waved the dessert bar beneath Twilight's nose, trying to ensure Twilight could smell the sweet aromas. Fluttershy felt she was successful, as she heard Twilight’s stomach audibly growl once more.
“Trixie just wants to do what she can to help you, and the best way she can do that is by putting on a magic show,” Fluttershy said. “We want to help get your mind away from your equations and theories for a little bit. I bet, once you’ve taken a real break, you’ll be able to solve the problem we’re facing easily.”
Fluttershy felt Twilight slowly stop resisting. She flicked an angry gaze to the dessert bar. She snatched it up in her magic, took a bite, gave it a few angry chews, and then swallowed. “And Trixie agreed to this for my sake?”
Fluttershy nodded. “We all agreed that you were our best chance of getting out of here.”
“... Fine,” Twilight said. “But if she starts doing magic that could put any of us at risk, I reserve the right to put a stop to all of this. Agreed?”
“Agreed,” Fluttershy said, smiling to herself. She leaned forward a little, looking around Meadowbrook. The pair shared a smile of a job well done. They had gotten Twilight to sit and watch the show. Now the others just had to do their part.
“She doesn’t look like she’s giving Trixie an honest chance.” Trixie stood backstage, or rather, behind a large curtain they had hung from the ceiling with Fluttershy’s help. It was in this small corner of space, hidden from their audience’s view, that Trixie, Pinkie, and Zecora had stacked the numerous props needed for the magic show.
“That’s just ‘cause you’ve been warming her up,” Pinkie said. She was fussing over Trixie, gently touching up bits of her mane and offering her a glass of water. “You’ve used the light stuff to break the ice, to set the stage on your stage. Now it’s time to bring out the big tricks! We’ve got your next one all ready for ya.”
Trixie batted at Pinkie gently. It was like trying to shoo away an annoying fly, but this one was capable of talking and seemed to smell constantly of cotton candy. “But Trixie has never done this trick right before. She’s read about it, practiced it, and yes, because of how marvelous Trixie is, we were able to mostly do it during our rehearsal. But even then, it wasn’t perfect. Twilight…” Trixie looked back out at Twilight, who was finishing the last of her dinner. “Twilight will just get to laugh at me. I will be nothing but a court jester for her.”
At that moment, a pair of hooves clapped loudly in front of Trixie’s face. She flinched, but her eyes were quickly forced to refocus on Pinkie. “Trixie, this is your moment. You’ve got Twilight’s undivided attention. It’s just you and her… and Fluttershy and Meadowbrook… but just imagine it. You do this trick, and you’ll blow. Twilight’s. Mind! She’ll be all like… ‘Whhhhaaaaaaat!?’ And then you’ll just keep on rolling. With each new trick, you’ll blow her mind even more. You’re going to freak her frizz. You’re going to make her put on socks just so she can have them knocked off.”
Trixie suddenly felt her face being squished. Pinkie had placed a hoof on either side of her Trixie's and continued her invasion of personal space by pressing her nose against Trixie’s. All Trixie could see was Pinkie’s eyes, staring at her with infectious determination. “You can do this!”
Pinkie released Trixie at that point, and Trixie happily stumbled back a few steps. She knew Pinkie didn’t mean any harm, but Trixie was a mare who appreciated her personal space. Still, she glanced over at Zecora, who gave a confident, affirming nod. It was strange to have so many ponies actually supporting her, and Trixie felt a strength welling up in her chest. She snatched the water Pinkie had offered her and gulped it down. She then adjusted her hat before swooping back onto the stage with a single, wing-aided leap.
“Perhaps you are thinking that the show so far has been… pedestrian,” Trixie said, speaking as if she was entertaining an audience of thousands. “Bunnies from hats and flowers from nowhere. Yes, these are staples of any magician, but now, the Great, Powerful, and Princessly Trixie will perform magic beyond any you have seen.”
Trixie clapped her hooves, and right on cue, Zecora and Pinkie came out onto the stage. Each was pushing a wheeled box. “For this trick, I shall be receiving aid from two very friendly assistants. Each is wheeling out a box. The boxes themselves are entirely ordinary. There is nothing inside. There is nothing outside. The boxes are nothing more than wood and a few screws to hold it all together.”
Trixie did her best to watch Zecora and Pinkie from the periphery of her vision. As they had done in their one rehearsal, her two assistants were showing just how ordinary the boxes were. Once they were done with their demonstrations, Trixie watched to ensure both Zecora and Pinkie had climbed inside their respective boxes.
“Now, Trixie will give the boxes a small spin. Hopefully my assistants don’t get dizzy.” For the first time that show, Trixie used a touch of Twilight’s magic. The wheeled boxes began to spin in place. It was slow at first, but the boxes gradually gained momentum. Trixie kept adding speed, going faster and faster. Then, when the moment was right, Trixie flourished her borrowed wings and clapped her hooves once. At that moment, the boxes abruptly stopped spinning.
“Whhhhaaaaaaat!?”
Trixie couldn’t help but smile, taking in the delicious view of Twilight’s awestruck face. But of course she would be awestruck, for Trixie had just performed a marvelous trick. “Well, it would seem my assistants got a little mixed around when spinning.” Trixie gestured to the two boxes as Zecora and Pinkie stepped out. Pinkie was now monochromatic while Zecora’s stripes had taken on several pink hues.
“Of course, Trixie wouldn’t dream of sending such helpful assistants home all mixed up.” She gestured for the pair of them to step back into the boxes. This time, she spun the boxes only once, but when the open sides turned to face the audience again, something else had happened. Pinkie and Zecora’s colors were back to normal, but they had traded mane styles. Pinkie was rocking a mohawk while Zecora’s head was almost lost in bushy curls.
As Trixie did a customary dramatic pause, she watched Twilight carefully. Twilight had grabbed Fluttershy’s shoulder and was pointing at their non-existent stage. “Mane magic! But mane magic is nearly impossible!” Twilight had obviously been trying to whisper, but Trixie had heard every word, and it only made her smile grow.
“Oops. Well, as they say, third time's the charm.” Trixie spun the boxes again, and again the boxes only spun around once. This time, when their interiors once more faced the audience of three, both Pinkie and Zecora were gone. Trixie let the moment of bewilderment linger, giving the perfect dramatic pause. Then, with grand intent and gesture, she cast a pair of firework spells.
From the horn of Twilight’s body, two fireworks shot into the air, one pink and one gray. They flew for a few seconds, almost reaching the ceiling of the coliseum before finally bursting. And from those explosions, Zecora and Pinkie reappeared.
Trixie struck a proper post-trick pose, using her hooves to point to Zecora and Pinkie as they descended gently back to the stage thanks to a pair of parachutes. All the while, she basked in the small but energetic applause of her three-pony audience.
“Okay, how did you do it? Because you sure didn’t use my magic for anything more than basic levitation spells.”
After the show had ended, Twilight got up from her seat and moved towards where Trixie had been performing. Twilight couldn’t deny it, even to herself. The show had been fun. After the first big trick with the spinning boxes, Trixie kept it coming. She did more over-the-top tricks, each one worthy of being the big finale of a single show. And maybe… that was exactly what Trixie had been doing. Maybe she had been pulling out all of her best tricks for this one private performance.
If that was the case, Twilight really did need to thank Trixie properly. The show had done its job. She felt mentally refreshed and ready to tackle the time locked problem the group was facing once more.
“A great magician never reveals her secrets,” Trixie singsonged. She walked with a confident swagger, but for once, Twilight felt Trixie had really earned the right to be so proud of herself.
That and the others were gathering as well. Twilight knew Fluttershy and Meadowbrook were only a few steps behind her, and she could see Zecora and Pinkie were coming out from their “backstage” area now they had finished stashing the props from the last big trick. Twilight was happy to see that, for the first time since their seemingly inescapable situation began, that all of them were smiling.
“Fair enough,” Twilight said. “Still, thank you for the show, Trixie. It really helped.”
“The Great, Powerful, and Princessly Trixie is happy to hear you enjoyed the show. Trixie certainly couldn’t disappoint after receiving such a heartfelt plea.”
Twilight chuckled as she arched an eyebrow. “Okay, what do you mean by that?”
Twilight watched as the pride-filled smile on Trixie’s face weakened a little, confusion mixing in. “What do you mean ‘what do you mean?’ You asked Trixie to put on this performance, to bring some joy and hope to our sorry situation.”
“I… didn’t ask for you to perform. I thought you did this because you felt I was our best chance to get out of here, and you wanted to thank me for working so hard.” Twilight looked intently into Trixie’s face, trying to discern if this was some strange mental game. But no, it wasn't. Trixie looked just as confused. However, Twilight could see Pinkie and Zecora were still smiling. Looking over her shoulder, Twilight saw Fluttershy and Meadowbrook were smiling as well. “Okay, what’s going on?”
“Sorry, we didn’t want to deceive ya, but we felt it was for your own good,” Meadowbrook said. She, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Zecora stepped forward so they could stand together while facing both Trixie and Twilight. “But… we think we figured out how to get out of here, and the first step was to get you two to quit feuding.”
“And to begin that we thought to share our own lesson with hope the animosity between the two of you can lessen,” Zecora said. “Perhaps true friendship is out of the question, but mutual respect is a step in the right direction. Meadowbrook and I may each do things our own way, but we are both skilled potion makers at the end of the day.”
“Even if I still disagree with your use of Red Juniper,” Meadowbrook jabbed with a friendly, teasing tone.
Twilight shifted her gaze to Fluttershy, who had stepped forward and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “We just felt that the only reason you two were still angry at one another was over what happened in the past, and neither of you are the same ponies that you were back then. So, how about it? Can you let bygones be bygones?”
Twilight looked into the faces of the mares around her, thinking about what had been said. She had been spending most of her time in the arena trying to stop the fight between Zecora and Meadowbrook, yet… everypony had a point. When it came to Trixie, she was still treating her with caution… as if the incident with the alicorn amulet had just happened.
Twilight sighed. Now that the others had pointed it out, it was easy enough for her to see. She had been having a friendship problem of her very own. “Yes… and I’m sorry it took me so long to see it.”
A sharp stomp made Twilight quickly turn her head, where she saw Trixie looking at the whole group. “Well, Trixie will not forget,” she said. “Trixie will always see Twilight as her rival. Trixie cannot forget the slight Twilight did to Trixie!”
Twilight flattened her ears and took a step towards Trixie. “What have I ever…” Twilight caught herself. She took in a deep breath. Twilight realized she couldn’t be angry. Being angry would just start an argument. She needed to just listen. “What did I do, Trixie?”
“The alicorn amulet incident!”
“You were holding Ponyville hostage. I had to stop you.”
“Trixie does not disagree with that,” she said. Twilight suddenly found a hoof pointed at her face, like she was being accused of some horrendous crime. “But Trixie’s honor as a magician was stolen that day, and Trixie will not stop until she has regained it!”
“But what did I do!?” Twilight said, trying to keep herself from raising her voice, but partially failing. Still, after the question was uttered, Trixie tried to answer. She opened her mouth, shut it, and then looked away. She puffed her cheeks, obviously angry yet struggling to say why she was angry. It was irritating. Why couldn’t Trixie just say it? Still, Twilight kept her composure. She was trying to rebuild a bridge of friendship that had been long burned. She had to be patient. “Trixie, I honestly don’t know what I did. So please, just tell me what it was.”
“You… out-magicianed me.”
First, Twilight’s brain grinded to a halt at what surely was not a real word. Once she got past that and understood what Trixie meant, Twilight found she was still a bit confused. “Come again?”
“You out-magicianed me! Trixie had the alicorn amulet.” Trixie reared back onto her hind legs, striking one of her signature stage poses. “Trixie had ultimate power! Yes, it was corrupting Trixie, but that’s beside the point! You beat Trixie. You got Trixie to take off the amulet willingly, and you did it by being an amazing magician!”
Twilight was still confused, but thankfully, someone else amongst the group was able to follow Trixie’s logic. “Ohhh, I get it!” Pinkie said. “You’re talking about when Twilight used those puffs of smoke to make it look like she was doing age spells and duplication spells and even that spell to turn Applejack into a stallion! That was basically a super fun magic show, wasn’t it?”
“Exactly! I realized it after I left Ponyville, and it just burned me up so much. I’m a magician. I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Yet, on your first try ever, you put on a magic show so amazing you convinced me a doorstop was a powerful magical artifact. A doorstop!”
Twilight now understood and blushed a little in embarrassment. “Oh, well… maybe I did put on a pretty great performance that day.” She saw Trixie’s frown increase and moved quickly to try and get out the rest of what she wanted to say. “But that’s certainly not true anymore. You just put on an amazing show, and though I have some ideas, I honestly can’t say for sure how you pulled off your tricks. It was creative, fun, and perhaps above all else, you didn’t have to belittle anypony in your audience. You put in the hard work to create an amazing show, and that means you are an amazing magician.
“If anything, I should be the one apologizing to you. I should have been more supportive of you after you took the time to apologize for what happened with the amulet. If I were, maybe it wouldn’t have taken until you met Starlight for you to make a new friend.”
“What do you mean?” Trixie asked. “What does friendship have to do with this?”
Twilight smiled. Now this was something she could speak confidently about, even if the words were being said in Trixie’s voice. “Starlight helped you perform your first big trick with the Manticore Mouth Dive, and just now, you worked with Zecora and Pinkie to put on a great show. The only reason I was able to out magician you that one time was because of my friends. Now that you’ve learned to make friends of your own, you’ve leveled the playing field.”
Twilight at that point gently bowed her head, like a student would bow to a teacher. “Trixie… you are the far superior stage magician.”
“Trixie… was… I… ” Trixie fumbled. Twilight could see Trixie’s lip trembling, and… she might have been on the verge of crying. In the end, Twilight decided to spare Trixie having to say thank you. She just moved in and gave Trixie a hug. It was a little odd since she was technically hugging her own body, but still, she felt the intent got through.
And much to Twilight’s delight, Trixie lifted the forelegs of Twilights’ body and returned the hug.
“Well… Trixie officially believes she’s reached her quota for feeling-sharing today,” Trixie said once she began to pull away from Twilight a few moments later.
Twilight chuckled a little before looking back at Fluttershy, Pinkie, Zecora, and Meadowbrook. “Okay, I think I can say Trixie and I have made up. Now, how does all this help us escape?”
Pinkie Pie grinned as she drew back from her work. She was splattered with paint, but on the floor beneath her, she was looking at a pretty pristinely painted picture. Okay, it was less of a picture and more of a squiggly thing that kind of looked like two alphabet letters squished together. But that was what Twilight had asked her to draw.
Looking up from her most recent artistic success, Pinkie took in what was the group's current endeavor. After the magic show had come to a close, Zecora explained to Twilight her theory. That time may resume flow if they finish the current round of the contest, which meant they needed to cure the final symptom of the I.M.B.E.C.I.L.E disease.
And that was what they were currently working on doing. Twilight came up with the plan, and now everyone was contributing. It was like a party, though the point of the party was crafting a special magic circle. Twilight kind of explained how it would all work, but Pinkie hadn’t been able to entirely follow it. Then again, she trusted Twilight and knew that this would either work or it would do something else that was super fun. Maybe it would cause a confetti explosion.
“I’ve finished painting this symbol, Twilight!” Pinkie said, waving a hoof in Twilight’s direction.
“Great! Just one more on the circle’s exterior.” Twilight levitated a small piece of paper in Pinkie’s direction, on which was drawn another rune. Pinkie happily snatched the new picture, took two steps to her right, and set to work drawing the last picture. At the same time, from the periphery of her vision, she could see Fluttershy was helping draw the strange symbols as well. Fluttershy was hovering just above the middle of the circle, drawing the pictures that needed to be there without risking smearing any of the already drawn lines.
It was then a poof of smoke caught Pinkie’s attention. She looked up and focused on the red potion lab. While she and Fluttershy were helping Twilight, Meadowbrook and Zecora were helping Trixie control the alicorn magic in Twilight’s body. Though Trixie had protested, everyone else agreed with Twilight that it would take too long to teach Trixie to be proficient in the complex mind swap spell.
That was where the circle came in. The circle would let Twilight and Trixie work together to cast the spell that would unswap their minds. In Pinkie’s head, it was like if she was getting Applejack to help her decorate a cake with a really, really big frosting piping bag.
Pinkie would be the one to point the tip of the piping bag to make swirls and flowers and other fun shapes on the cake. But, because the bag would be so big, she wouldn’t be able to squish it. That was where Applejack would come in. She’d squeeze the bag, but she’d have to squeeze it just right. Too hard and too much frosting would come out and it would sploosh everywhere. To little and the buttercream rosettes she could hypothetically be making would just turn into lumpy, buttercream piles.
That was kind of what Trixie and Twilight had to do. Trixie had to provide a steady stream of magic while Twilight directed the magic to form and cast the spell.
“Everything all right over there?” Twilight asked, having also noticed the smoke.
“Just… fine! Trixie… is so great and powerful… this lesson… is nothing.” Trixie forced her words out through gritted teeth as her eyes remained focused on a single small gemstone.
“And what do her teachers think?” Twilight asked.
“She’ll be ready soon. That hiccup was the only one she’s had in the past few minutes.” Meadowbrook answered.
“Go Trixie! You’re Great and Powerful and Amazing and I know you can do it,” Pinkie said, bouncing once where she stood. A bit more paint from her paintbrush glopped onto her coat, but she was sure that her happy bouncing never caused a drop of paint to spill onto the floor. It was a lot like decorating the cake. Frosting could go a lot of places, but she’d always make sure the cake looked great in the end.
“Pinkie’s right, Trixie. You got this, and I think we’ve got our part as well.” Twilight set down the few scraps of notepaper she had been fussing over and looked at Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, once Pinkie’s done with her last rune, would you mind just flying circles over the diagram for a few minutes, to help the paint dry?”
“What about me, Twilight?” Pinkie asked.
“Just worry about that last picture, Pinkie… and then maybe try and get cleaned up a bit. You’re more red than pink right now.”
Pinkie giggled, but saluted Twilight all the same, though the action just caused red paint to spread over more of her body. “I’ll be sure to be cleaned, pressed, and ready to impress. Oh, this is going to be so much fun! Hey, once this is done, do you think I could be a princess for a while? I bet it would be fun to swap bodies with you.”
“Sorry, but I think I’ll want my body to myself for a while after this.”
“That’s fair. I’ll just have to ask Princess Celestia, then. I wonder if I could make the sun look like a happy face...”
“All right, everyone. Brace yourselves, we’re about to start.”
Meadowbrook hunkered down with Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Zecora in what had been her potion lab for the contest. The spell circle had been finished and given a chance to dry. Trixie had been given a chance to rest, but now they had come to the moment of truth.
In the unlikely event of a magical explosion or blowback, Twilight had directed everyone else to hide behind the counters of a potion lab. Still, Meadowbrook couldn’t help but want to watch the magic as it unfolded, and she noticed she wasn’t alone. Though they were all taking cover, she, Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Zecora were all also peeking over the edge of the counter.
“Okay, Trixie,” Twilight said. She was standing on the outer perimeter of the painted circle, while Trixie was at the center. “Start pouring in the magical energy.”
Trixie rolled the shoulders of her borrowed body before doing just that. She closed her eyes, lowered her head, and pointed the horn of Twilight’s body at the nearest part of the painted circle. The horn began to glow, and Meadowbrook was fairly certain she could see something pouring out from the horn. And as the magic was poured, it was being absorbed by the circle. The lines began glowing, and the glow spread through the circle along the existing pathways and shapes.
Meadowbrook would compare it to a blacksmith pouring metal into an intricate mold, and like a hot mold filling the room with heat, Meadowbrook could feel the magic coming off the circle beginning to flow over her.
Once the whole circle had been saturated, Twilight began her part. The horn on Trixie’s body glowed as Twilight shut the eyes and began to focus. Meadowbrook could not see the glow of Trixie’s blue magic anywhere on the circle, but she knew Twilight was already hard at work shaping the magic.
A gentle breeze began to kick up in the air. The spell circle was drawing air in towards itself. Gentle trails of smoke, or maybe just steam, began to billow from the thicker lines. The steam swirled and was tossed upwards, disappearing into the air above the circle. Meadowbrook was no stranger to higher magic. She had witnessed Starswirl perform spells of numerous natures. And she could easily see now just how impressive Twilight’s magic was. She was casting such a complicated spell by proxy.
It further enforced the thought in Meadowbrook’s mind that, someday, Twilight’s fame would be as great if not greater than Starswirl's.
“Is it weird my brain is tingling?” Trixie asked.
“No,” Twilight answered, neither of them opening their eyes as they kept focusing. “The spell is almost ready to fire. Just keep providing magic. Once it’s triggered, the spell will complete automatically.”
“I want to know what it’s like for my brain to tingle,” Pinkie whispered, the only bit of commentary from the four ponies watching. After all, Meadowbrook imagined none of them wanted to break Twilight or Trixie’s concentration.
“Ready… three… two… one…”
There was a sharp snap, like the crack of a whip. Meadowbrook winced at the sound but did not take her eyes off the circle for more than a moment. In the swirling, vicious tendrils of magic, Twilight and Trixie stood still as stone, eyes open and glowing white. From their eyes came clouds of magic. The cloud seeping out of Twilight's body was light blue, while the one rising out of Trixie’s body was a vibrant purple.
The two clouds were tugged and guided by the tendrils of magic. Meadowbrook watched as the cloud that she assumed was Trixie’s mind drifted straight towards Trixie’s body. Twilight’s cloud went along the perimeter of the circle, flowing clockwise. Trixie’s mental cloud began to seep back into her body just as Twilight’s cloud reached the opposite end of the circle. From there, it moved towards the center, coming up on its own body from behind.
Soon, both mental clouds had disappeared, but the spell was not complete. The energy became more rampant, twisting and swirling as the runic circle supporting the spell grew brighter and brighter. Twilight had explained that the spell had three stages. The removal, the swap, and then the rebinding. Meadowbrook realized this had to be the rebinding phase, where the minds of the two mares were reconnected to their correct bodies.
The light built, growing in intensity until it was near blinding. Then, another sharp crack, this time like the snap of lightning.
And then… the sound of applause.
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Considering this is Discord, I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it sounded like Applesauce.
If there is sound of applause, are the audience responding to the clearing of the vines and that everyones ok after the domes came down, or has Discord been using a dou8ble indirect temporal manipulation region so that those in the origional dome volume, personally, see illusions of stationary time, while outside it flows at the origional time shift, with Discord updating?
Whatever the intermediate method is, One more event to show Twilight and Trixie are back and with their magic etc, and the end show festivities can get started? Applejack in her Nightmare Night lion costume with Pip holding a chair or such?
Kudos for playing Zecora straight, including rhyming dialogue. Most authors have trouble writting her because of that.
Trixie doing a show with Twilight's power? With discord involved?
The problem with reconciling with Trixie is that she's still going to be Trixie afterwards. But, at least she won't be in an alicorn body anymore.