"Tecna, Aisha, would you like to go first?" Palladium asked at the beginning of potionology class one day. Sophia watched with interest. She didn't have any notes to take today because the class was having a test. "To prepare the elixir, you have exactly…" His finger glowed with magic as he flipped the hourglass on his desk, "Five minutes!"
"Mm…" Tecna said as she stretched, cracking her knuckles in the process before turning to Aisha. "Let's get to work." Tecna had a fire in her eyes, but Aisha looked less than enthused. "Are you online, Aisha?"
"Guess we'll find out." Aisha said nervously.
"Thirty ounces and three… thirty ounces and four…" Tecna counted as she added an ingredient to a scale drop by drop.
"Hm…" Palladium murmured as he looked at the hourglass.
"Tecna, we'd better hurry." Aisha said with impatience, "Time is running out." Up until now, she'd been letting Tecna run the show, since this wasn't exactly her favorite subject.
"Shh! Let me focus!" Tecna scolded before going back to her meticulous measurements. "Thirty ounces and five… Thirty ounces and six…"
"For goodness sake's, she's taking forever." Sophia said as she face-palmed herself, "She should pour it until she's almost there and then go to one drop at a time. This is ridiculous!"
Meanwhile, Aisha stared bug-eyed at the hourglass. "Hey! What are you doing?" She asked Tecna as she swiped the vial and dumped all of its remaining contents into the pot. "We're just wasting time like this. An ounce more or less won't matter."
Sophia sweat-dropped. "Uh… that's probably even more dangerous than what Tecna was doing."
"There it is! Ready!" Aisha said with a wink as she flourished the vial just before the sand ran out.
Palladium leaned over and sniffed the contents of the pot, "Um… it doesn't smell so ready." As he said that, the pot bubbled, and the elf groaned as it immediately blew up in his face. "No, definitely not… I'd say it smells more like an exploding potion." Aisha chuckled nervously as Tecna scowled at her. "I'm sorry, girls. You don't pass the test."
Sophia sighed almost in unison with Tecna and Aisha before she clicked on the earpiece she was wearing. "Darcy, open a portal to the throne room for me please." The portal opened a moment later and Sophia walked through. "Heads up. I'm pretty sure we've got a Prime Star Riddle incoming."
"Oh? And what makes you say that?" Valtor asked with interest.
Sophia turned to gesture at the dark hologram that he conjured beside her and answered, "Tecna and Aisha just failed a test in Potionology. I feel sorry for Professor Palladium. It can't be easy to teach a subject that results in things blowing up in your face everyday. Anyway, as we've already seen, conflicts for the Winx, whether personal or interpersonal are typically followed by a Prime Star Riddle."
望むの星
"Why did you do that?" Tecna asked grumpily as the group walked through the halls after class. "We were doing so well."
"Tecna, we would've handed in nothing at your pace." Aisha said.
"Hm." Tecna grumbled before jogging to get ahead of Aisha and block her path. "Everyone knows that measuring ingredients has to be perfect."
"Well, sometimes, you just gotta be quick and trust your instincts." Aisha said.
"Sure, and that worked out well." Tecna shot back.
The two girls growled and glared at each other. One could practically see the sparks flying between them, so much so that a few students softly screamed and fled the scene.
"Hmph!" Aisha and Tecna said in unison, turning their backs to each other and crossing their arms.
Sophia sighed in annoyance, "For crying out loud, they're both right and they're both wrong!"
"Uh…" Bloom groaned nervously as she shared a nervous glance with Stella.
At that moment, the Star Case appeared.
"Wow! You called it again!" Stormy said to Sophia with an impressed smirk. "You're getting good at this."
"The more data I have, the more accurate my predictions." Sophia replied calmly.
"The Star Case!" Flora said as it floated down toward them.
For some reason, Bloom had to jump up and grab the Case out of the air. "Let's find someplace quiet."
Sophia raised a brow, "Why? There's nobody else in the hallway, they all fled. Besides, the Star Case has shown up in the middle of class more than once. They didn't bother to find somewhere quiet then." Of course, her comments went unheard as the Winx went outside and found a grassy spot on the quad.
"Winx, the Sixth Prime Star is on Coralya." The Star Case told them.
"Coralya is an ancient star, belonging to the Oceanic constellation." Tecna said, having pulled the data up on her phone.
"Please, listen." The Star Case cut in. "If you want to take the Star without a fight, find the place of symmetry between shadow and light."
Bloom stood up as soon as the Case disappeared, "For now, let's head to Coralya, girls."
"Yay!" Stella cheered, "I really need a vacation. Uh, Oceanic star means there's a beach, right?"
"Ah, ha!" Darcy said mockingly from where she was sitting beside Valtor's throne. "Our little fairies think they're going on vacation! Amateurs." She added as Valtor closed the hologram.
Icy and Stormy were perched on either of the armrests while Valtor had been glowering at the hologram, looking to be in a rather foul mood. Meanwhile, Sophia was stubbornly sitting near the bottom of the steps, preferring to avoid sitting as far from the others as possible even at the risk of having to crane her neck to see the hologram. Thankfully, she no longer had to.
"They should be more like us." Stormy said from where she sat to the left of Valtor. "The Trix always take missions very seriously."
"Yeah, well, I will give you that much." Sophia said as she stood and dusted herself off.
"Speaking of missions, let's not waste any time." Icy said. "Let's get to Coralya before the Winx." She, Darcy, and Stormy looked a bit confused as Valtor stood up with a smirk. It was strange considering he'd been glaring a minute ago.
"Actually, I was thinking perhaps you could use a vacation." Valtor said as he began to descend the stairs. He stopped momentarily to look over his shoulder and smirk at the Trix.
"Huh?" Icy gasped in confusion.
"Did he just say… 'Vacation'?" Stormy asked.
"This time, I'm going to acquire the Prime Star personally." Valtor explained with a hand on his hip as Icy alighted from the armrest and flew down to stand next to Sophia. "I only need Sophia to come with me since she's such an expert riddle solver." Valtor added as he turned around.
"Uh… wait, what?" Sophia asked in confusion as Valtor held his hand up and used his mark to drag her over to him.
"Oh!" Icy exclaimed in surprise, "What brought this on?"
"May I remind you, Icy, your last mission was not exactly a success story." Valtor told her.
"The Fifth Star would've been mine if the Winx hadn't cheated!" Stormy exclaimed.
"Uh… Stormy, that's… not how they work." Sophia said with a shake of her head, "What would've been the use of getting it if you couldn't remove it from its protective sphere? That, you know, teleported it away from you?"
"And you, Sophia, were busy playing around at that dance contest instead of advising the Trix." Valtor remarked, "Which is why you're not getting a vacation."
"Uh, the last I had checked, Darcy was in the same place as Musa. How was I supposed to know that she had left?!" Sophia protested.
"Do you think I'm a fool?" Valtor asked her as gripped her upper arm, "I know the Guardian of Earth's Magic is capable of sensing magic, so you knew she had left!" At that, Sophia gulped nervously. "Victory is closer than ever." Valtor said more calmly, "But I grow tired of waiting." He opened a portal to Coralya, "Wish me luck." He told the Trix, chuckling evilly as he walked through the portal, dragging Sophia alongside him.
The portal opened on Coralya and two Lumens who were guarding the core flew over, trying to figure out what it was. "Boo!" Valtor said as he emerged from the darkness. The two Lumens screamed and fled as he came out the rest of the way.
"Oh no! The Lumens!" Sophia exclaimed with concern, still being dragged by Valtor. Valtor smirked and held up his hand, trapping the two minuscule guardians in an orb of darkness.
"Help!!" They screamed.
"No, let them go!" Sophia cried.
Valtor glanced at her briefly in annoyance. "Hmph!" Sophia cried out as Valtor threw her to the ground. "You're not in a position to demand anything!" He told the girl before kneeling so that he was at her eye level. "Did you really think I didn't know?"
"Huh?" Sophia said nervously.
"I know that you were the one who really received the second Prime Star, and that when you did, you became a fairy." He explained. Sophia gasped in fear. "Your magic is almost the same as that of the Cosmix power. Of course I could sense it!" He continued as he stood up, "I didn't say anything because you were being so careful not to reveal yourself by not using your powers in my palace, so I thought I didn't have to worry. However…" He glared down at her, "When you returned from Melody, your magic had grown tremendously. You awakened the power of Charmix, didn't you? And not only that, but you didn't inform the Trix about the truth of the riddle. It seems like you've grown too bold, Sophia. However…" He held up his hand and cast his magic toward Coralya's core.
Sophia gasped as the Core blackened and crackled with energy. "The Core!" She cried before looking back at Valtor, "What did you do?!"
Valtor smirked as he looked down at her, "Since you did hand over the Star of Confidence to me after becoming a fairy, I won't attack your planet. This time. But you need to be reminded of where you stand." He added while pointing a finger at her before pointing to the core, "My magic will cause the Star Core to eventually explode and destroy all of Coralya. Since you have magic of your own, you don't need the Trix's help. Go and find the Prime Star on your own. If you can manage to find it before the Winx, I will release the Lumens and the spell on the Star Core. If you don't, however, I will take the Prime Star from the Winx myself and Coralya will be destroyed. I suggest you start looking, Sophia."
Sophia whimpered with anxiety as she stood up and prepared to leave. "The Heart of a Fairy…"
望むの星
"Wow! After we get the Prime Star, we should make time to get under the waves." Aisha said as she and the Winx stood in the coast of Coralya.
"Or under the sun." Stella suggested, a pair of sunglasses on her face.
"It says here that Coralya is a huge island." Tecna said as she looked at her phone. "There's even an ancient volcano in the middle of the forest." Bloom smiled and pointed at said volcano, implying that they didn't really need Tecna's phone to see that.
As they walked forward, Musa nearly stepped on a red shell. Suddenly a little creature emerged from it with a yelp and dashed out from under her foot, running straight toward Flora, who crouched down with interest. "Oh! A hermit crab! Hello, little friend!" She said cheerfully. Unfortunately, the crab seemed rather shy, as it immediately zoomed off. Several other hermit crabs popped their heads up in surprise, and the next thing the Winx knew, an entire army of the little crustaceans were stampeding toward them.
The Winx all yelped and whimpered as they struggled not to step on or be knocked over by the hurricane of speeding shells. "Hey! Watch it!" Stella exclaimed as she nearly lost her balance. She sighed with relief when she'd recovered. The crabs, meanwhile, all scurried into the sea.
The fairies continued forward, coming upon a series of tall structures.
"How weird." Bloom commented. "Looks like…"
"A coral forest?" Flora finished for her.
"But… don't they live underwater?" Stella asked in confusion.
Bloom held up the Star Case, "Hmm, that's weird." She remarked, "The Compass seems to be going crazy." She gasped as the Star Case vanished from within her hands of its own accord.
"I'm afraid we'll have to figure it out on our own." Musa said.
"Why don't we start with the water?" Aisha asked. "It seems like a good place to hide a Star."
"But we came from that way, Aisha." Tecna pointed out, "And the Compass didn't move til now. It makes sense to go inland." The two fairies glared at each other.
"Why don't we split up?" Musa suggested in an attempt to arbitrate, "We'll find it faster."
"Mm, better not, Musa." Bloom said, "The Trix could be anywhere." At that moment, they all heard a giggle. "Huh?" Bloom said.
They looked and saw a Lumen with a surfboard, flipping it multiple times beneath her feet before landing on it and surfing through the air just above a wave. Two other Lumens appeared and the three of them rode the wave to the shore.
"Ooh, do you see what I'm seeing?" The one in the center asked. "They look like real, actual—"
"Visitors!" The three Lumens exclaimed in unison.
"I read that Coralya Lumens are famous for their hospitality." Tecna said.
The three Lumens immediately flew up to the Winx. "Aloha!" The one in the middle said, "Welcome to Coralya, strangers! Come on, follow us." They giggled with glee as they flew off into the coral forest.
"Maybe we should change." Bloom suggested, "I don't feel so, um, comfortable like this."
"Leave it to me!" Stella said with a wink, activating her powers and changing the group into their leisure outfits.
As the Winx followed the Lumens, Sophia came out from where she had been hiding nearby and sighed. "Tecna and Aisha are so far off… 'If you want to take the Star without a fight…' The Star Case meant that they shouldn't be fighting with each other. They need to agree… Hm…" She looked thoughtful, "'Agree'… 'Symmetry…' 'Balance…' In this case, agreeing wouldn't mean simply picking one choice or the other… it would mean a compromise. An answer… somewhere between the two… Tecna wants to go inland, while Aisha wants to search under the sea. So in that case… the balance between the two would be… the beach! It's sandy because it's made up of rocks that have been eroded by the waves! It's not exactly 'land' or 'sea'. It's in between!" She sighed softly. "I wish I could just tell them that. Valtor probably won't release the spell on the Core even if I bring him the Prime Star… but if I don't at least try… he'll attack Earth and my parents for sure!" She sighed again, "For now… Let's change into something more… appropriate." Using her powers and a spell that Stella had taught her, Sophia summoned her own clothes from home. A pink, strapless ruffled bikini replaced her dress and a blue sarong covered it. She was also wearing a flowing blue, sheer cover-up that covered her torso and half of her arms. On her feet were a pair of simple flip flops with blue cloth straps. She ran her hands over her hair and changed it to high ponytail that seemed to form a single large curl. On her wrist was a pink bracelet made of cloth tied in a knot.
Heaving a heavy sigh, the weight of her troubles bearing down on her, Sophia began walking down the beach. As she trailed along the line between the shadows of the coral forest and the sun- kissed sand, she watched the waves moving back and forth at the place where land met sea, and before she knew it, she started to sing to the rhythm of the waves.
"I was small when I first heard my inner voice—Then I followed my destiny—It led me here and—Now I'm making the best of my awesome skills—And I'm able to fight dark forces—What do you see when you look at me?" Sophia hopped along the outline of the shadows, switching from one foot to the other like she was dancing as she continued: "I…am… only a girl—Trying to save… the whole universe—It's my mission! It's a… magical life—But sometimes I wish… I could live for one day… Just like anyone else."
"Wow…" A small voice broke through Sophia's thoughts. She stopped walking and looked ahead of her. A tiny creature with wings was observing a large clam with fascination. Her proportions were so miniaturized that it reminded Sophia of the Chibi art style from Japan. She knew without being told that this creature was a pixie. "This clam is amazing! The balance between the light and dark bands is just perfect!"
Sophia couldn't help smiling. "Excuse me…"
"Huh?" The pixie stopped what she was doing and looked up at Sophia. Their eyes met and a feeling of elation swelled within Sophia's heart.
"Like love at first sight…" Sophia recalled Roxy telling her.
"I'm Plisse, the Pixie of Fashion." The pixie told her as she flew up to Sophia's eye level. She had a bold style to be sure. While her long, bright pink hair was probably natural, she had paired it with a strawberry red strapless dress that had a frilly, tiered skirt and a small yellow belt. She also wore yellow leggings, and strawberry red shoes. A deep red beret upon her head, and her leggings had a print like wings or four-pointed stars on them. She also had a yellow kerchief around her neck, and a yellow and red pin-cushion on her right wrist. And yet… as bold as it was, the outfit was cute. Somehow combining boldness and understatement at the same time.
"It's wonderful to meet you, Plisse. I'm Sophia. The Fairy of Starlight."
"Oh wow!" Plisse exclaimed in surprise. "It's… it's… it's you! You're the new fairy who suddenly appeared on a brand new branch of the tree of life! Everyone in Pixie Village has been wondering who it was!"
"I see." Sophia said with a smile. "I've been longing to go to Pixie Village, but I haven't had an opportunity yet. To think I would meet my destined Pixie here. What are you doing here?"
"Oh! I came to Coralya to look for inspiration for my designs." Plisse explained. "And look at this shell! Isn't it gorgeous?"
"Yes, it is." Sophia replied. "The size and shape remind me a little of a Giant Clam from Earth, but I've never seen one with purple bands like this…"
Plisse looked at Sophia in contemplation for a moment. "…Hey. Your outfit is cute, but… it seems a little… boring. Would you mind if I touched it up a bit?"
"Sure." Sophia agreed. "I'll leave the fashion to the expert."
Plisse nodded and then applied her magic to the outfit. A beaded sash decorated with charms shaped like citrus wedges dangled from Sophia's waist, with more of the wedges and some flowers on her right hip. A matching necklace appeared on her neck and a set of differently colored bangles appeared on her right wrist. As a final touch, a pair of large, round, pink sunglasses appeared on her head.
"That should do it!" Plisse said with satisfaction. "The beach is a place to let loose and have fun! There's no need to hold back!"
Sophia looked at the outfit with interest. "This is a lot more flashy than what I usually wear… but you're right! It's okay to have fun!" She chuckled and knelt in the sand beside the clam, placing her hand on top of it. Plisse landed on the shell and placed her own tiny hands on top of Sophia's. "You know, Plisse, I think I understand now why fairies become stronger after bonding with a pixie." At this, Plisse tilted her head curiously, so Sophia continued. "I've always been kind of conservative about how I dress. My eyes stand out as it is, so I was afraid to wear clothes that stood out." She smiled, "But blending in is for hiding from predators. Now I see that there's no need to be afraid. It's okay to be myself and let the world see me!" She giggled, "At the same time, I'm not sure that I could coordinate a bold outfit if I tried. I think I'm too used to playing it safe. That's okay though, because now I have you! You offset my weakness with your own talents."
"Of course! That's what friends are for!" Plisse exclaimed.
Sophia smiled softly at that statement. "You're right. I've always been wondering where I fit in. Always trying to do everything on my own. I thought… I had to be perfect. I was afraid to trust anyone besides myself." She shook her head, "I know now that there's nothing wrong with relying on friends to balance you out. That's how it should be. The world is just like this clam. It's beautiful because of all the differences, contrasts, and opposites that exist."
"Everything in the Magic Universe has its opposite!" Plisse confirmed happily.
"That's right." Sophia said with a nod, "And light and dark can be beautiful together. I saw the Headmistresses of Alfea and Cloud Tower combine their magic into an orb, and it was really beautiful! Just like this shell!" Suddenly, Sophia recalled why she was on the beach in the first place. "Light and dark? Balance…?" She looked at the shell with renewed interest. The pattern contained various shades of purple, from deep purple to lavender. On top of that, if it were either opened or split down the middle vertically, it would be perfectly symmetrical. "Could the Prime Star be inside of this clam?" She wondered as Plisse flew up to hover above her shoulder. "It's halfway between the land and sea… its symmetry between light and shadow… is perfect." As if in response to her words, the clam slowly opened up, revealing the purple Prime Star hidden within it.
"Oh wow…!" Plisse gasped as the Star floated into Sophia's hand.
"I managed to do it…" Sophia said in disbelief.
"What's wrong? You don't look happy…" Plisse noted.
Sophia's shoulders sagged, her expression both forlorn and remorseful. "…I have to give this Star to Valtor… if I don't… he'll destroy Coralya. I… I'm glad I managed to find it on my own, but…"
"Sophia…" Plisse said sadly.
Sophia stared at the Star for a moment, and then looked at the shell. "…Balance…"
"Huh?" Plisse said in confusion as Sophia stood up.
"If I give this Star to Valtor, he'll have three and the Winx will have three. The scales will be balanced, and there's still one Star left. This time… I'm going to do what I can and rely on my friends to do the rest. I have to trust the Winx… and you, Plisse." Sophia looked at the Pixie, "I need your help."
"What do you need?" Plisse asked as she landed to sit in Sophia's hand.
"Warn the Winx. I don't believe for a minute that Valtor will keep his word and undo the spell he placed on Coralya's core. I need you to warn them about it so that they can stop the volcano from erupting."
"Okay, but… where do I find them?"
"Hide inside of the clam shell for now, and use your magic to prevent it from being opened. I'm sure that the Winx will find it. When Tecna and Aisha understand the importance of balance, reveal yourself and warn them of the danger. Let them know that the Prime Star was here, but I had to take it, and let them know what I said about Valtor. Since I don't trust him to keep his word, I really wish I could just not give him the Star… but if I do that, he might just detonate the Core before anyone can stop him."
"You can count on me, Sophia!" Plisse said with a salute, "I'll make sure the Winx are able to save Coralya!"
Sophia nodded and stood to her feet as Plisse hid within the shell. Now that she had gotten her Charmix, she no longer needed to transform in order to teleport short distances, so she wrapped herself in light and returned to Coralya's core. Valtor smirked when he saw her appear with the Prime Star in her hand.
"I knew you'd be able to do it if you actually tried, Sophia." Sophia didn't bother to reply, but when Valtor abruptly trapped the Star in a metal orb of some kind and pulled it over to himself, she raised a brow at him.
"What is that?"
"I can't touch the Prime Stars directly because my magic isn't compatible with them, so I created this to trap Stars and take them away with me."
"When did you even—You know what? I don't wanna know." Sophia sighed, "I suppose this explains why you relied on outside help in the first place."
"Indeed." Valtor stated while using his mark on her hand to drag Sophia over to him again. "Now come along, Sophia. It's time for us to return."
"Wait!" Sophia exclaimed as he grabbed her arm, "Release the spell on Coralya's Core!"
Valtor chuckled. "I'm afraid I won't be doing that. Think of it as your punishment for trying to hide your fairy magic from me!"
Sophia didn't bother to resist as Valtor dragged her through the portal. As she had told Plisse, she had never trusted that he would keep his word about undoing the spell to begin with, so she was neither surprised nor panicked by this "turn" of events. As they reappeared in Valtor's throne room, Stormy raised a brow at Sophia's attire.
"What the heck are you wearing?" The Witch of Storms asked.
Sophia looked down at her swimsuit. She had no plans of mentioning Plisse, so she simply sighed while using her magic to change her clothes again. "I was trying to blend in."
When she was finished, her hair had returned to its normal style, while her swimsuit had been replaced with a sleeveless blue dress covered in a silver star pattern. The stars weren't flashy, so the dress was still on the simple side. Even so, it was elegant, mature, and pure. Her shoes had been changed to white Mary Janes with a low wedge heel and pearls on the straps. Around her neck was a choker made of star-shaped beads in the same blue as her dress. Her right wrist was accented with a double-stranded pearl bracelet that had a single blue stone fixed in the middle.
The Trix gaped at Sophia, shocked that she had used magic to change in front of Valtor like this. Sophia glanced at them and sighed. "The cat's already out of the bag…" She explained as she summoned a pale silver headband with pearls on the side from home. "…Or perhaps, more accurately, it was never in the bag to start with." She finished while slipping the headband into her hair.
The Trix all looked at Valtor, grimacing nervously. "Er… We can explain, Valtor…" Icy began.
"There's no need, Icy." Valtor remarked as he put the Prime Star into the cage-like contraption where he already had the other two. "I'm aware that it just happened when Sophia received the Prime Star of Confidence. I doubt you could have stopped it even if you tried." He turned to look at the four girls, his gaze fixed on Sophia. "I'm more concerned about the fact that she awakened her Charmix on Melody. What exactly were the three of you doing to let that happen?"
"Hey, don't blame them." Sophia said, "I wasn't even trying to get my Charmix, it just happened. Most fairies don't get their Charmix without having bonded with a Pixie first. Not even the Winx. I'm just an outlier."
"Yes, you seem to be an outlier in many ways." Valtor said as he crossed his arms and raised a brow at the girl, "You're surprisingly calm regarding the future of Coralya."
Sophia sighed as she placed a hand on her hip and angled herself away from Valtor. "You're not the first evil wizard I've encountered, you know. After all the trouble the Wizards of the Black Circle caused on Earth, I'd have to be an idiot not to have seen that betrayal coming a mile away."
"Hm. Touché." Valtor acknowledged as he folded his hands behind his back, "And yet, I would still think that the Fairy of Starlight would show greater concern over the fate of a star."
Sophia sighed, "You already know that I expected you to renege. That being the case, did you really think I wouldn't have taken precautions?"
Valtor smirked at her. "And what makes you think I didn't anticipate that?"
Sophia merely shrugged in response, "You might have, but if you did, I can't do anything about it. There's nothing to be gained by worrying when I've done all that I can do. If there's nothing else, I'll be returning to the library."
Valtor smirked and waved the girl off. The Trix walked as Sophia strode off, then hurried after her.
"Are you really not worried?" Darcy asked in confusion.
"Whether I am or not, it doesn't matter." Sophia said calmly, "What good was it going to do me to go in rounds with him? I meant it when I said that I've done all that I can do." She stopped walking for a moment and lowered her gaze, "I can't do everything alone. I'm only one person and everyone has their limitations. I'm not the same as when this all started, and I'm not just talking about my powers. I've learned now the importance of doing what you can and entrusting to others what you can't."
望むの星
Meanwhile, back on Coralya, Aisha and Tecna had come across the shell. Aisha immediately tried prying it open with her bare hands… to no avail.
"Move." Tecna said with amusement as she knelt beside her friend. She gathered energy in her finger and fired a gentle beam that wrapped the shell in green energy. A green, technological circle appeared over the shell.
"Oh…" Aisha said, just as the circle disappeared.
Tecna furrowed her brow, "My magic isn't working."
"I think you're right, girls." Musa said as Flora giggled, "The Prime Star could be inside the shell!"
"Yeah!" Aisha enthused, "Halfway between the sea…"
"…And the land!" Tecna finished.
"Right where we are now!" Aisha agreed.
"In symmetry between light and shadow." Tecna added.
As if responding to their words, the shell slowly opened, a bright glow coming from within. Aisha and Tecna gasped with excitement.
"Yes! You did it!" Flora exclaimed.
"Great job, you two." Musa added as Flora cheered while bouncing up and down.
To everyone's surprise, however, the light faded to reveal not a Prime Star, but a pixie with bright pink hair.
"Huh?" Tecna said in confusion.
"A pixie?" Aisha asked of no one.
"I thought for sure…" Tecna began.
"Please, allow me to explain." The pixie interrupted. "My name is Plisse, the Pixie of Fashion, and I recently bonded with Sophia, the Fairy of Starlight.
"With Sophia?" Flora gasped in surprise.
"Yes." Plisse said as she continued. "The Prime Star you are looking for was indeed inside this shell… but when Sophia met me, she realized for herself the importance of relying on friends to balance you out. As a result, she found the Prime Star, but…"
"She had to give it to Valtor?" Aisha guessed.
"Yes, but that's not all." Plisse explained. "Valtor placed a dark spell on Coralya's core… and he said that he would destroy all of Coralya if Sophia didn't bring him the Star… but Sophia didn't believe that Valtor would keep his promise and reverse the spell, so she asked me to warn you. She said that the spell will cause the core to explode!"
"That must be why…" Tecna began, but she was cut off as the ground rumbled beneath them.
"Uh, what is that?!" Musa asked.
"I think the volcano. It's about to erupt!" Flora exclaimed.
"I bet this is what Sophia was talking about!" Aisha added.
"Yes!" Plisse confirmed. "The volcano is the location of Coralya's Core! If Valtor's spell isn't stopped, the Core will explode and destroy the whole island!"
"Let's go!" Tecna said. "Stella and Bloom need us. They can't stop the eruption alone."
"I'll go warn the Lumens to evacuate from the village!" Plisse added.
"Wait, Plisse." Aisha said, "You should go on and get out of here. Now that you've bonded with her, Sophia will be devastated if something happens to you."
Plisse shook her head in response, "No! Sophia told me she was counting on her friends to do what she can't! I know she'll be worried about the Lumens of Coralya. I can't help you save the Core, so I have to do I can do instead!"
"Plisse is right, Aisha." Tecna agreed before turning to Musa and Flora, "Quick! Transform, and let's go find the others!"
Moments later, the four Cosmix Fairies were fluttering over the coral forest as they headed towards the smoking volcano. The cloud of brown smoke abruptly turned black as the sound of an explosion hurled lava bombs into the air.
"Sounds like it's to late." Musa said with concern. "The volcano has already started to erupt."
"We'd better split up." Tecna said decisively. "Aisha, Flora, you two go to the village and get the Lumens to safety. Make sure you find Plisse too. Musa, you and I will find Stella and Bloom."
In the village, a few of the Lumens whimpered and began to panic as the ground in the middle of the village began to crack and ooze with lava. Fortunately, thanks to Plisse's warning just moments earlier, their leader, Duchess Coraline, was able to quickly give an order to flee. The remaining problems were that the Lumens' houses were catching fire due to the lava, and that their various pet hermit crabs were not able to fly.
"Magic Rain!" Aisha called, holding out her hand and creating a downpour over the village that doused the houses, putting out the fire.
Flora gasped when she saw one of the hermit crabs becoming isolated by the cracks, so she used her powers to make a vine sprout from the top of a coral. The vine reached down and wrapped around the crab, lifting him up and carrying him to safety on the shelf of a coral where several of the Lumens had carried other crabs. The Lumens watched as the crab was set down among them, and then looked up at Flora and Aisha as they approached.
"Get to the beach, quick!" Aisha commanded, "We'll be safe there." The Lumens obeyed, each scooping up a hermit crab and flying off towards the coast with the two fairies bringing up the rear.
Meanwhile, near the top of the volcano, Bloom and Stella both grunted with effort as their hurled their magic into the smoking crater. All that seemed to do however was set off another explosion, which the two fairies tried to shield themselves from as smoke and ash was thrown their way. At that moment, Tecna and Musa arrived.
"Girls! Am I glad to see you!" Bloom exclaimed.
"Light Shield!" Stella declared as she created a star-shaped shield that grew inside and covered the top of the volcano to contain the smoke. This only lasted for about two seconds before the rapidly building pressure destroyed the shield and sent more smoke their way. "We've tried everything!" Stella told Tecna and Musa, "But we can't stop the volcano." She stopped and sniffed her sleeve for a moment before adding with a whine, "And this smoke smell is never coming out of my clothes!"
"We found out what's going on." Tecna told them. "Valtor cast a dark spell on the Core of Coralya, destabilizing the balance of the volcano."
"Did you say… 'Valtor'?!" Stella exclaimed in surprise.
"I'll explain later." Tecna told her, "Right now, we have to get down into that volcano."
"You're kidding, right?" Stella asked as Tecna zoomed past her. She watched as Tecna vanished into the clouds of smoke below. "Okay, that means she's not kidding."
Bloom, Stella, and Musa quickly caught up to Tecna. The four of them could feel that they were getting closer to the source of the disturbance when a sudden surge of smoke engulfed them.
"Virtual Shell!" Tecna exclaimed, creating a digital sphere made of hexagons around herself, which she then expanded to envelop the others as well, shielding them from the smoke and making it possible for them to breathe.
Bloom coughed to clear her lungs and then summoned her powers, "Cosmix Magic!" She exclaimed, creating a dragon made of fire and using it to sweep away the smoke surrounding the Core, which was still glowing an ominous purple and crackling with unstable energy.
"Cosmix Analysis." Tecna said as she began analyzing the state of the Core with her powers. "Sophia was right. Valtor magically increased the Core temperature, overloading it and triggering the eruption."
"Wait, Sophia?" Stella asked in confusion.
"Later, Stella." Bloom reminded as she looked at the Core thoughtfully, "So we have to cool it down. But, how do we do that?" She asked as Tecna rested her chin on the back of her hand in thought.
"If we use our Cosmix powers together, we should be able to lower the temperature." She surmised. With a grunt of effort, she expanded her Virtual Shell further to envelope the Core.
"Cosmix Power!" The four said in unison as they used the spell normally used to kindle the Cores to purge Valtor's magic from within it. A soft rumbling was heard as the lava outside instantly cooled while the Core regained its usual orange glow.
"Yay, we did it!" Stella cheered as she and the others landed around the Core.
Bloom looked over at a group of large lava golems who were huddled together and gasped with concern. The creatures had been quite aggressive towards them earlier. The golems all looked at the Winx, and then smiled as the two Lumens who'd been guarding the Core flew out from amongst them with a giggle.
"Oh!" Stella said to the golems in surprise. "So here's where you ran off to!"
"You were protecting the Lumens!" Bloom realized as one of the two Lumens moved to address the fairies.
"Thank you for saving Coralya, strangers!"
"Yay!" Her companion enthused, "You were great!"
"That fairy that was being bullied by Valtor is your friend, isn't she?" The first one said, "She must've asked you for help!"
"That's right." Musa told them.
A short while later, the Winx were all sitting on the beach in their usual forms. By now, Bloom and Stella had been informed about what had happened with regards to Sophia and the Prime Star.
"I can't believe it." Aisha said sadly. "To think that Valtor blackmailed Sophia into finding the Prime Star on her own and giving it to him."
"The spell on Coralya's Core was probably a double-trap." Tecna lamented, "If Sophia couldn't find the Star before us, he would've used the situation to make us hand it over anyway."
"That creep!" Stella exclaimed, "That is so unfair to Sophia!"
"That's true, but…" Bloom began, "Sophia was able to see through him and found a way to warn us. She trusted us to save Coralya in her stead." She looked down with a soft smile. "Remember what she said when this first began?"
"She said that she couldn't trust us because we took a long time to solve the riddle for the Star Compass." Tecna recalled.
"But today, she trusted and relied on us to do what she couldn't do." Flora said with a smile.
At that moment, the Star Case appeared before them. "That's right Winx. Just like Tecna and Aisha, Sophia now understands the strength that comes from being different and complementary."
"Sophia no longer relies only on her own strength." Musa said with understanding.
"Now she trusts others to do the things she can't." Aisha agreed.
"We've lost the battle, but not the war." Stella summarized, "Valtor will never win!"
望むの星
Meanwhile, Valtor closed the dark hologram he was using and looked at his Prime Star cage with a smirk. "Too bad, Winx. I'd say we're tied. Three Prime Stars each. Only one Star is missing. Soon, I will have my wish granted. To become the most powerful sorcerer in the Magic Universe."
He laughed maniacally to himself, seemingly unaware of Icy, who was eavesdropping on him from near the doorway. She groaned to herself in irritation and then walked off. Before long, she reached the library, where she found Sophia, who was glaring at her notebook, deep in thought.
"Well, your little plan worked, Sophia. The Winx were able to save Coralya."
Sophia blinked up at Icy in confusion. "I'm glad, but why are you telling me this? I doubt it's because you were worried about me."
Icy crossed her arms. "I just don't want you getting distracted and unable to focus on finding the next Star." She raised a brow as she looked at the piles of books on the desk. "You're supposed to be studying those books, you know."
"I don't think they'll be of any use." Sophia replied calmly as she looked up at the books in question. With a wave of her hand, she sent the books flying back to their shelves as Darcy joined them.
"…How do you know where those go?" The Witch of Darkness asked as she watched Sophia direct the books without even glancing at the shelves.
"My powers have enhanced my analytical skills, remember?" Sophia said nonchalantly as she continued looking at her notebook. "I've already figured out this library's organization system."
"Well if you know it so well, then do you know if there's anything interesting to read?" Darcy asked.
"Not unless you want to study history, no. Some of these books are so old that I wouldn't be able to read them if I hadn't been taught how to read Old English."
"When did you learn that?" Icy asked with a raised brow, "And why?"
"From Professor Wizgiz when I was a kid." Sophia told her as she rummaged through her purse for something. "I studied abroad—that is, on another part of Earth—for a few years before magic was brought back. Technically, it never disappeared completely. Anyway, the area where I went to school is where Professor Wizgiz is originally from. After we met, he took an interest in me and taught me all sorts of things. Mostly history, reading old languages, and about realms besides Earth. I came into contact with those who had magic a lot because I was naturally drawn to them." She pulled out a paperback book and then tossed it towards Darcy. "Here, try this. It's an anthology from Earth, but it should be interesting enough to stave off boredom."
Darcy looked at the cover and raised a brow, "'A Collection of Grimm Fairytales'?"
"Don't be fooled by the word 'fairytale.' Sophia told her as she wandered back towards the shelves, "That copy has the original stories, not the censored, kid-friendly versions. From an Earth perspective, at least, they're more like horror stories. They were called 'The Brothers Grimm' for a reason."
Darcy looked intrigued and went to find a seat.
"What are you doing, anyway?" Icy asked as Sophia scanned the shelf closest to her.
"I'm trying to figure something out… But I don't want to talk about it out loud because goodness knows whether Valtor is listening." Sophia answered.
"Why, are you plotting something?" Darcy asked from where she was sitting.
Sophia glanced over at her and shook her head. "No, I just don't want to give him more information than I absolutely have to. Particularly when I'm just speculating at this point." Darcy lost interest and rested her elbow on the table beside her, and then her chin on her hand as she began to read Sophia's book.
Icy, however, was curious. With a brow raised, she walked over to the desk and looked at Sophia's notebook. On the page it was opened to, she had scribbled "The Winx, Stella, Bloom, Flora, Musa, Tecna and Aisha", as a list. On the opposite page, she had written "Unity, Confidence, Trust, Intelligence, Harmony, Balance". Beneath the last space on each list, she'd written a series of question marks. Suddenly Sophia slammed her hand on the notebook and glared at Icy.
"Don't look at my notes!" She told the ice witch.
"Not like it matters." Icy said defiantly as she crossed her arms, "What you've written in there doesn't even make sense."
"Of course it doesn't." Sophia said as she sat back down. "I purposely leave information out in my notes to make them hard for other people to understand. Besides, it's faster."
Icy rolled her eyes in response.
"By the way…" Sophia began as she sketched something, "What does Valtor want to achieve by obtaining the Wishing Star anyway?"
"To become the most powerful sorcerer in the Magic Universe." Icy answered.
Sophia abruptly dropped her pencil and looked up at Icy with her brow furrowed. It was the expression she made when the information she had seemed to contradict itself. "He's over a thousand years old. I'm pretty sure he's already the most powerful sorcerer in the Magic Universe. He's had plenty of time to achieve that. Just look at this massive library filled with countless books from all ages. It probably rivals the Royal Library of Solaria. I'm pretty sure there's no one sorcerer who is stronger than him on an individual level. So what does he want then? To be more powerful than everyone else combined?"
"I guess?" Icy said.
'I doubt that's possible.' Sophia thought to herself, her eyes narrowing slightly as she continued her sketch. 'Valtor himself told me that there appear to be rules that restrict the kinds of wishes the Wishing Star can grant… or at least, how she grants them.' Before long, she had finished a rough sketch of the Star Case, though she hadn't included any of slots for the Prime Stars or the Star Compass. She scribbled the words "Unity, Confidence, Trust, Intelligence, Harmony, Balance" next to six of the points, one word per point. Next to the last point, she scribbled a few question marks. 'She couldn't simply defeat the Wizards of the Black Circle for the Earth Fairies. She could only even out the scales by granting a unique power to my bloodline. So it seems like she can't grant wishes that would destroy the balance, even for a single planet.' She circled the word "balance" multiple times with her pencil. 'If that's the case, she won't be able to make Valtor stronger than everyone else in the Magic Universe combined, because that would destroy the balance of the whole Magic Universe.' She tapped the eraser of her pencil to her lower lip in thought, 'I'm certain that Valtor knows that… did he overlook it? Or is his ultimate goal actually something else? Maybe becoming the "most powerful sorcerer" is just a means to an end.'
"Is that supposed to be the Star Case?" Icy asked, pulling Sophia from her thoughts.
The teenager covered the drawing with her hands and glared up at Icy. "Stop looking over my shoulder, Icy. I already told you not to look at my notes." She turned back around and looked at the notebook again, covering the drawing with her left hand as she wrote "Valtor's Goal???" In Gaelic.
Icy raised a brow in confusion. "What is that?"
"I don't actually expect you to listen to me, so now I'm writing in another language."
"Another thing you learned from Professor Wizgiz?" Icy asked.
"No, this one I learned from my middle school on Earth. Some of the signs out there were written in an old language. You had to be able to read them to a certain extent. And we got extra credit for being able to translate things on the fly during field trips to historical places."
"And let me guess, you got tons of extra credit." Darcy said from where she was reading.
"I was fortunate enough to be gifted in languages." Sophia said with a smirk. Icy rolled her eyes as the younger girl turned her attention back to her notebook. 'The seven Prime Stars… according to my theory—which was confirmed by Queen Durana—they are each a part of the Wishing Star… but… what are they exactly? Each one has a different attribute. Are these traits of the Wishing Star? Or the rules that restrict her powers? …Maybe both?' She wrote near the drawing, "Traits? Rules? Both?" In Gaelic before sighing as she set her pencil down and closing the notebook. She then looked at the stack of books beside her and grabbed the top one, beginning to flip through it.
"Are those books on Cosmo-magic?" Icy asked. "Are you allowed to read those?" It was a fair question, considering that Sophia's powers were based in Cosmo-Magic, and Valtor probably didn't want her learning more about her powers.
"I'm trying to learn more about the Wishing Star." Sophia said, "To make a long story short, the current data indicates that the books Valtor picked out before will no longer be useful with regard to finding answers to riddles. However, I also haven't the slightest idea which information would be relevant, so I'm trying to get a better understanding of the Wishing Star itself instead."
Icy picked up a book and raised a brow as she looked at the cover. "Can you even read this? I've never seen this language."
"No, I grabbed a book without a clue as to its content." Sophia said sarcastically before rolling her eyes. "You probably don't know it because it's written in Elvish. I imagine that even if Cloud Tower's library contained books written by elves, they were probably either translated or written in English to start with."
"And let me guess…" Icy began as she handed the book back to Sophia, "Wizgiz taught you how to read Elvish too?"
"…He thought I might need it. At the time, I was trying to learn all I could about magic on Earth. That required reading records from before the Great Fairy Hunt." She opened her notebook again and began scribbling information from the book she was looking at. "I couldn't use magic back then, of course. I was just trying to learn about the things that the humans of Earth had forgotten, including the history of how that came to be in the first place."
"…You didn't have a life, did you? What, were you an honors student?" Stormy asked, wondering how anybody could spend so much time studying when they didn't have to.
Sophia raised a brow, as if to ask what exactly that question was meant to imply before answering, "I still am an honors student, thank you, and I'm perfectly happy that way."
This particular Star was a little hard to write for because of how it went in the original story. So I decided to use this as an opportunity to bring in Sophia's Pixie.
Plisse is from the PopPixie spin-off. She's more of a minor character, which makes her ideal to use for Sophia. Her appearance in PopPixie is different from what I described here, but because most of the pixies have different designs in the main show, I decided to come up with an alternative outfit for her.