esisting her sister's insistence had been useless, of course, but that didn't stop Luna from trying. “I am not a witless foal to be ordered about and taught inane lessons!” She waved a hoof at a nearby shop stall. “Glazed pottery? Verily, Sister, what use have we for this place? I have no desire for these pedestrian wares!”
The brown unicorn inside the stall huffed and looked away, pointing her nose skyward.
“This is the upper level market of Canterlot,” Celestia replied, “and there is no finer market to be found in all of Equestria.”
Luna rolled her eyes and walked on. “I have no need for markets.”
Shaking her head, Celestia hurried to catch up. “The markets aren't the point, Sister. I'm just trying to get you out of the castle, trying to get you a little socialization.”
Without breaking her stride, Luna turned her head and glared.
Celestia met her stare evenly. “You've hardly stepped outside you suite since you returned. I know this world is strange for you after a thousand years, but you can't become a recluse.”
“And what shall a tour through Canterlot change?” Luna scoffed, stepping onto the arched bridge that separated the upper market district from the entertainment district. “'Tis not so different from when I saw it last.”
A camera flashed from the middle of the bridge.
Luna sprang into a defensive stance, shooting a blast of concentrated starlight from her horn. The camera vaporized.
Celestia held a hoof up in front of her sister's chest, holding her back.
A blue unicorn colt stood gaping at the smoking pile of ash in front of him.
Leaning down and smiling sweetly, Celestia conjured a small slip of paper with a burst of her magic. “I'm terribly sorry about that, dear.” The paper floated over to him. “Bring this voucher to the castle clerk's office, and they'll compensate you for your lost property.”
Luna glared at her sister. “What was that? 'Tis not any magic I have hitherto seen.” She stepped past the colt, keeping a wary eye on him until she reached the other side of the short bridge.
“That wasn't magic.” Celestia sighed and shook her head again. “That's part of the reason I asked–”
“Coerced.” Luna scowled.
“–you to come out here. You have a lot to catch up on.” She glanced back toward the bridge. “That was a camera, a machine that makes and stores pictures of whatever you point it at.”
Luna's scowl deepened. “I still do not trust it. If it can make an image of a pony, then by magical transference, it could–”
“Your Highness?” A stocky white unicorn bowed in front of Celestia.
“Ah, Fancy Pants! A pleasure meeting you here.” Celestia gave a wide, genuine smile.
“Thank you, Princess.” He rose. “I was wondering if I might be able to speak with you privately for a moment?”
“For you, Fancy? Anytime.” Celestia turned and whispered to her sister, “I don't think this will take long. Just stay here for a moment, and I'll be right back.”
Luna rolled her eyes as her sister walked off with the stallion. Being told to stay put like a child... it was disgusting. And what were they talking about? What was so secret that not even she – the Princess of the Night and co-ruler of Equestria – couldn't know about it? She strained her ears toward the alley her sister had slipped into, trying to catch a snippet of the conversation. Fancy Pants was one of the very few 'nobles' she had met whom she could tolerate. What did he have to hide?
Her perked ears didn't pick up on any whispered secrets. Instead, she heard the brash voice of a mare calling out, “Come one! Come all! Come and behold the incredible magic of Trixie!”
Incredible magic... Now that was something Luna could find interest in! She had to go see. Celestia's order to stay put could wait. Luna was a full-fledged alicorn princess with mellinia of experience. She could handle herself in a place as tame as this. She trotted away, off toward the source of the voice. After all, she didn't want to miss anything.
Through an alley and around the other side of a small theatre, she found a crowd gathered in an outdoor amphitheater. Down in the center of it was a stage-on-wheels in bright, freshly painted colors. A light blue unicorn pranced on it, her sparkling violet cape billowing in the breeze.
This had to be what she was looking for. She slipped into the back of the crowd, thankful that the ponies around her were too absorbed in the show to react to the royalty in their midst.
The unicorn on stage whirled around, coming back with a bouquet of flowers in her previously empty hooves.
There had been no teleportation flash there! That unicorn must have conjured the flowers... Luna's jaw dropped. It was commonly accepted that conjuring spells could never work on living matter – it was too complex. And yet... here, this ordinary-looking unicorn had done it as if it was nothing!
A blast of sparks and colored fire drew Luna's attention back to the stage.
“And now,” the unicorn shouted, “watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie summons storms of lightning with her mind alone!” She dropped back to all fours and squinted her eyes shut. She hunched down, and Luna could see her trembling, but the unicorn's horn didn't glow in the slightest.
Two small black storm clouds rolled in from behind the tall buildings.
Still without the slightest glow of her horn, Trixie jumped back to her hind legs, kicking her front hooves out. “Now!” she screamed.
Unseen by Luna and the audience, the pegasus ponies on top of each cloud kicked down hard. Huge, forked bolts of lightning shot out from each cloud, fanning out over the heads of the ponies below.
The audience all ducked, but when they rose back up, the cheering was as deafening as the lightning had been. Luna joined in wholeheartedly. This was the most amazing display of magical prowess she'd ever seen.
Trixie slipped away to the back of the stage, returning with a large, colorful box on wheels. “Now...” she said, as fog rolled out from the backdrop and across the stage, “the Great and Powerful Trixie will perform the most amazing – and dangerous – feat of magic ever attempted by pony kind!” She swept her sinister gaze across the audience, letting the brief moment of quiet speak for itself. “For this, Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience.”
Silence came from the crowd. Nopony dared to move.
“What?” Trixie brought a hoof up to her forehead. “Nopony dares to step up to the stage?”
“I will.”
Everypony's eyes were drawn to an earth pony stallion stepping up to the stage.
“Excellent!” Trixie shouted. “A pony who has faith in the Great and Powerful Trixie!” She turned to the yellow stallion. “Now, if you would please step into this box...”
The stallion waved at the crowd and stepped adroitly into the box, as if he'd done it a million times. He settled in, with his head poking out of a hole on one side and his blue tail poking out through the other.
Luna watched wide-eyed as Trixie levitated a huge, gleaming saw from backstage. “Take care,” the unicorn warned, “this magic is extremely advanced and dangerous, to be used by only the highest-level unicorns. It should not be tried at home.” She set the saw against the wooden box, and her horn flared.
The crowd gaped as Trixie sawed through the box in mere moments. The saw must have been very sharp indeed. Before long, she reached the bottom, and the two halves separated.
Trixie spun both halves on their wheels, so that the ends with the earth pony's head and tail faced the audience. With another burst of magic, she sent the two halves rolling to opposite sides of the stage.
“This feat requires the constant use of advanced magic to keep the pony inside alive.” She walked over to the box with the stallion's head.
Luna stared at Trixie's horn. The bright glow around it looked like no more than a simple light spell, but she knew it had to be far more than that.
“So, my lovely assistant, how are you feeling?” Trixie asked.
The stallion looked over to the other box, where his tail hung out. “Pretty good, considering.” He chuckled.
“Are you ready to be back in one piece?”
He nodded.
Trixie's horn flared, and the two halves of the box rolled back, slapping together.
There was a brilliant flash, and spurts of colored flame shot into the air.
Trixie opened the box. “Come on out, Lovely Assistant!”
The stallion stepped out, looking at his own flank in disbelief.
“Truly, Trixie is the greatest unicorn who has ever lived!” She thrust her hoof out and her horn flared. Another bouquet slipped into her hooves. “Here, my brave assistant, please have a parting gift!”
The audience broke out into thunderous applause.
“Thank you! Thank you!” Trixie bowed to them. “This is the end of Trixie's show for today. The autograph session will begin in five minutes, right here! Just five bits each!”
As the applause died down and Trixie took her final bows, Luna took to her wings, hovering just above the crowd. “GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE,” her royal Canterlot voice boomed over the crowd, “WE DESIRE TO SPEAK WITH THEE, FOR THOU ART THE MOST TALENTED UNICORN WE HAVE SEEN IN ALL OUR THOUSANDS OF YEARS!”
The audience turned and gaped at Luna.
Trixie's eyes went wide, and as Luna finished, an enormous grin spread across her face, growing wider and wider. “Of... course, Your Majesty!” She looked back down at her audience. “Sorry, everypony, today's autograph session is canceled. No refunds on preorders!” She rushed around to the back of the stage as Luna glided down to her.
Luna set down next to the caped unicorn and folded her wings.
“Did you really mean that?” Trixie asked. “Trixie truly is the most magical unicorn you've seen in thousands of years?”
“Indeed.” Luna nodded.
Trixie nearly exploded on the spot. “Thank you so much, Princess! You have no idea how much that means to me!”
“But that is not what we desire to speak with you about.”
Trixie cocked her head to the side. “Oh?”
“It is time we took on a student of our own... an apprentice, a protege.” Luna laid a silver-shod hoof on Trixie's shoulder. “After seeing thine talents here, we have decided to offer this opportunity to you. We couldst learn much from one another.”
Trixie's mouth hung open in a stunned smile, and her eyes sparkled.
“Well,” Luna half-yelled, “dost thou accept?”
“Yes!” Trixie shook herself out of her stupor. “Oh yes!”
“Very well, my faithful student.” Luna smiled back. “Come with us. We shall assign a guard detail to bring thine possessions to the castle.”
“Good,” Celestia whispered to the guard, “keep searching for her, but do not sound the alarm yet. I don't want this to be a national incident if it doesn't have to be.”
“Of course, Your Highness.”
Celestia smiled at a couple of nobleponies who bowed to her as they crossed the bridge. As calm as she looked on the outside, behind that serene mask, her heard thundered and her mind raced. She had only just gotten Luna back – she was in no condition to lose her sister again.
She glanced around. Still on sign of her. She couldn't have gotten... Well, she could have gotten rather far, actually. She was an immortal alicorn, and not to be underestimated. At least that meant wherever she was, she could handle herself... but she knew so very little of the modern world. Even if she didn't get hurt, she could still make some faux pas that would cause a war or a riot or–
“Greetings, Sister.”
Celestia's head snapped up.
Luna stood right in front of her, smiling. “I apologize if–”
The force of Celestia's hug nearly knocked Luna over. “You're okay!”
“But of course.” Luna struggled to free herself.
Finally, Celestia let go of her sister. “What happened? Where were you?”
“I ventured out, just as thou wished.”
Celestia smiled.
“And I found a protege of my own.”
“Sister... are you sure you're prepared for the–”
“Of course I am!” Luna stomped a hoof down. “Just because I was imprisoned for a thousand years does not mean I hath lost any of my magical acumen!”
Celestia winced. She regretted that, and it pained her to hear her sister bring it up again. “Of course.” She nodded. “So, whom have you chosen?”
Luna looked left, then right. Her brows furrowed. “Why dost thou cower behind us, Trixie? Come forth!”
Celestia's eyes shot open wide. This couldn't possibly be the same Trixie she'd read about in–
The light blue unicorn stepped out from behind Luna, complete with hat and cape. She struck a pose.
Yes, that most certainly was the Trixie from Twilight's letter. “Sister, are you sure she's a...” Celestia stopped herself. She had been trying to get Luna to socialize for weeks now. Was she really going to crush the first real attempt to make a friend?
“A what?” Luna cocked her head to the side.
“A... unicorn?” Celestia winced. She should have been able to come up with something better than that.
Luna stared at her as if she'd just literally put her hoof in her mouth, not just figuratively. She used her magic to lift the hat from Trixie's head and glanced over meaningfully. “Yes. I am certain.”
Celestia blushed as the hat fell back down. After three thousand years of wearing Equestria's crown, she should have been able to hold her tongue better than that. “Ah, yes, excellent. Shall we retire to the castle then?”
With one curt nod and a dozen odd glances, her sister trotted away back over the bridge, with Trixie following close behind.
Celestia hurried to follow Luna and her new protege. Perhaps Trixie wasn't as bad as Twilight's letter made her sound. Perhaps Twilight's perception had been exaggerated due to simple rivalry. It could always be that she didn't–
“Make way, peasants! Make way for the Great and Powerful Trixie and the Princesses of Equestria!”
Celestia stopped for a moment to apologize to the 'peasants' Trixie had offended – the Duke of Manehattan and his wife. “I'm terribly sorry about that. She's new.”
The two of them simply bowed and nodded before walking off again. She would have to be sure to apologize in writing as well, perhaps with a small gift attached.
“Make way! Make way for the Great and Powerful Protege of Princess Luna!”
Celestia shook her head, hoping she wouldn't regret this as much as she thought she was going to.
Luna smiled down at her new pupil, glad they could finally get to work.
“So... this is the royal arcanium?” Trixie glanced around the barren stone room. “Trixie expected it to be more... royal.”
“This is where my sister and I experiment with new and potent magic. The bare walls and floor minimize distractions and complications, while the best shielding in Equestria contains our excesses.”
“Trixie supposes this will do.” She shrugged.
“Excellent!” Luna clapped her hooves together. “We have much to learn from one another.”
“Of course!” With a ruffle of her cape, the unicorn stood on her hind legs. “Trixie has mastered many great and powerful spells!”
Luna settled herself into a seated position and smiled. “Perfect. I am certain I have missed a great many new and exciting spells whilst on the moon. Wouldst thou demonstrate one?”
Trixie's energetic smile froze. “Of...” She glanced around. “... course. Let's begin with a simple...” She bit her lower lip. “... vanishing spell.”
Luna's jaw dropped. Vanishing spells had been nothing but speculation in the days before she was banished. This was going to be amazing! She primed her magical senses so she could detect every nuance. “Very well. Proceed.”
“Of course.” Trixie gave an anemic laugh. “Well, first, you begin with any small object.” She produced a flower from inside her cape, holding it with her magic.
With her magical senses attuned, Luna could clearly see the flower was nothing but an illusion spell.
Trixie held the illusory daisy up in front of her, still enveloped in her magical glow. “Then – and watch this part carefully – you give an extra flash and let it vanish!” The flower popped out of existence as easily as it had come in. Trixie posed as if expecting applause.
Silence stretched just long enough for it to become uncomfortable.
“But... 'twas naught but an illusion spell.”
Trixie winced. “Of... course.” She glanced back and forth. “That's why you have to pretend to levitate it the whole time – to give a reason for your horn glowing.”
“But... 'tis not a vanishing spell. 'Tis but a trick.” Luna's eyes widened as she gained insight into the origin of Trixie's name.
“Well, ah,” she mumbled. “Of course!”
Silence stretched again.
“Um, so...” Trixie glanced around the empty room again. “What arcane spells of the distant past would you teach the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
Luna smiled. At least she could have the joy of teaching a powerful young unicorn the finer points of the arcane arts. “A great many, child.”
Trixie's eyes brightened.
“Shall we begin with an assessment of your skill?”
The brightness faded. “Um, sure.”
Luna stood, and she gathered her magic around her in full measure, ready for the intense power of the unicorn in front of her. “Very well. I shall create a magical shield barrier, and thou shalt press against it with all of thine might. Thus, we shall test the limits of thine power.”
Trixie nodded.
With a moment of concentration, Luna put her shield in place. “You may begin.”
A blue glow surrounded Trixie's horn, and a truly feeble magical force pressed against the shield.
The force was considerably less than Luna would have expected even from an average unicorn. Her eyebrow rose as she stared at her new student.
A look of monumental strain crossed Trixie's face. The force against the shield increased marginally.
“Enough.”
Trixie collapsed to the floor, panting.
This unicorn's talent didn't lie in her raw power, that was certain. “The next test shall determine thine ability to manipulate highly intricate spells.”
Trixie gulped.
“I shall weave a pattern of light traces. Thou shalt copy it to the best of thine ability.” Luna began tracing out a simplified version of her master starmap, a three dimensional masterpiece of interconnected stars, showing the relationships and vectors between a multitude of celestial bodies. To keep things simple, she limited her herself to just one quadrant of the night sky.
As she completed her simplified starmap, she looked up to see Trixie's work. She winced.
A mad scramble of glowing lines wavered in front of her. It was a child's parody of the map she created. As she watched, it collapsed in on itself and vanished in a shower of tiny sparks. With a sigh, she dismissed her own creation.
Trixie looked up at her with a strained smile creasing her eyes.
“That was, ah...” The unicorn obviously needed some encouragement. “... good, but perhaps thine true talent lies in a delicate touch.” Luna created a magical glowing needle balanced on its point. A dozen tiny holes appeared in its sides. “Thread a light trace through the holes without disturbing the needle.”
Trixie's jaw dropped and one eyebrow fell. After taking a deep breath, she summoned another light trace. She stared closely at the needle with her teeth clenched, putting her full concentration into the task.
Luna's eyes widened, watching the unicorn at work. Perhaps now she would finally see the real talent of her new protege.
The needle toppled and dissolved before Trixie even managed to thread one hole. She winced and glanced away.
“How didst thou manage such feats when I first observed thee?” Luna shook her head. “Mayhap you wore an alicorn amulet or the like?”
“A what?”
“An alicorn amulet,” Luna answered absently. “It's a magical artifact that gives even the most talentless unicorn power as great as an alicorn's. I know not what became of it whilst I was away.”
“That is very... interesting.” Trixie sat tapping a hoof to her chin with a wide grin growing on her face.
Luna sighed. Her new apprentice seemed disappointing, but it was too early to give up. She obviously had potential, given her earlier performance. “That is enough for one day. I have much to consider.” She stepped toward the door. “The castle guards can guide thee to thine suite, adjacent to my own. We shall engage in another session on the morrow.”
My faithful student Twilight, a matter has arisen for which I would seek your counsel.
My sister has taken a protege. Her name is Trixie. While I wish to encourage my sister's independence and socialization, I fear this mare may be detrimental in the long term.
Because you have dealt with Trixie in the past, I am asking you for advice on how to handle her and more information about her.
I await your prompt response, Princess Celestia.
Celestia rolled the letter and ignited it with a spell. Any moment now, her student's baby dragon would deliver it, and she could finally begin to make progress toward a decision.
Luna groaned. This was the last stallion in the world she wanted to deal with.
“Really, Princess, it would only take a moment. It's about your new apprentice.” Prince Blueblood stepped to the side, once again blocking her path.
She sighed. Clearly, she wasn't getting anywhere until she conceded. “Very well.” She scowled down at him. “What is it now?”
He puffed his chest out, ever the pompous buffoon. “Well, this Trixie of yours has stolen my grandfather's watch!”
“Thou art certain it was her?”
“She took it right in front of me!”
Luna's eyebrow rose. “Thou couldst not prevent her from taking it?”
“It was a dirty trick!” He growled and looked away. “She asked to show me a new magic trick, making something vanish. When she asked for something to vanish, I gave her the watch.”
“Doth sound as if you gave her permission.”
“She wasn't supposed to make it permanently disappear!” He held his hooves out in front of him.
“If thou gave her permission, there is naught the law can do.”
“I know! That's what the royal guards said!” He buried his face in his hooves. “I should have known a low-class unicorn like her would be a thief!”
Her eyes narrowed. “Trixie is not a low-class unicorn.”
Blueblood barged in uncomfortably close in the hall. “Can you please just do something about her? I have to get that watch back – it's been in the family for generations!”
Inwardly, Luna laughed at the royal oaf in front of her, but she supposed she would have to say something to satisfy him. “I was presently en route to call upon her. I shall speak with her on this.”
“Thank you, Princess.” He bowed before stepping around her and continuing on down the hall.
She shook her head as she resumed her trip to the royal housing section where she and her pupil lived. Why Celestia had conferred a title onto a stallion like that, she'd never know. She wished she had been there to prevent it.
Finally, and with no further interruptions, Luna rounded the corner into the hallway that housed her quarters. She stopped in her tracks.
Trixie stood in front of the two royal guards at her door, waving her hooves in their faces as a flourish of impressive-looking magic shot from her horn. Luna noted the shiny gold watch on her foreleg.
“Trixie, what dost thou?”
The unicorn jumped at the mention of her name, and the sparks of magic vanished from the air. She scrambled together some semblance of decorum and turned to her teacher. “Oh, Princess! I was just giving these guards a... demonstration! I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
“I hath been away all night...” Luna glanced at the guards. They seemed tired, which was saying something; they were trained to look their best at all times. “How long hath this been going on?”
“I'm... not sure,” one guard said.
“She's been here since before our shift began, Your Highness,” the other finished.
She glanced over at Trixie. “And thine shift began...?”
“Six hours ago.”
Luna's eyes narrowed toward her protege.
Trixie smiled a little too broadly, and she glanced from side to side. “So, do we have plans for today?”
“Indeed we do, child. We are scheduled to attend the Summer's Morning Garden Party in the the courtyard, just as thou requested. Follow me.”
Trixie fell in behind, skipping along.
Luna couldn't fathom why the unicorn would insist on attending one of the dreadfully dull Canterlot high society events. No doubt Trixie harbored some misconception about them. Well, that would be cleared up by this morning, of course. In the meantime, Luna had something else to inquire about. “So, Trixie, how didst thou acquire such a fine antique watch?”
“Oh? That?” Trixie laughed. “Some chump gave it to me.”
Luna walked in silence. How could she argue with that?
As soon as the two of them reached the wide glass doors leading to the courtyard, Trixie rushed out.
Before the announcer could even finish saying, “Princess Luna, and Protege,” the caped unicorn was off into the crowd. Luna lost track of her.
Finding Trixie again wasn't exactly challenging. Luna merely had to follow the flashes of gaudy magic and the shouts of self-praise.
Innumerable mumbled apologies and awkward excuses later, she finally managed to catch up with her wayward pupil. The unicorn was busy making a flight of doves appear from 'thin air' – or Trixie's hat, as Luna called it – but Luna used her magic to snatch her student away before the trick could be completed. “Trixie, my faithful student–” Luna smiled at the cluster of nobleponies who had been watching “–shall we retire to the buffet table and have a word?”
“Well, sure,” Trixie said as Luna's magic dragged her away.
As Luna brought her near the table, away from most of the crowd, she stepped around in front of her pupil and covered her face with a hoof. “What, in the name of the moon, were you doing? Doth thou not know these are some of the most important ponies in all of Equestria?”
“Trixie was just making some introductions and... just...” Her eyes grew wide, and she kept leaning to the side.
“And just what?”
Trixie's eyes widened even more, and she bit her lower lip. She was staring at something behind Luna.
She waved a hoof in front of her apprentice's face. No response. “What art thou staring at?” She glanced behind her, but nothing was there except... the buffet table. “Art thou hungry?” Luna asked, turning back around.
Trixie gave a tiny, uncontrolled nod.
Shaking her head, Luna gave in. “Very well, but I shall speak with thee before you go back.”
As Trixie rushed to the table, Celestia stepped up to Luna's side.
The Sun Princess watched Trixie assault the buffet line for a moment before speaking. “Good morning, Sister. You're up late.” She winced as Trixie dove her head into a layered cake, still on the platter. “I see the... etiquette lessons? ... are going well?”
Luna watched Trixie drink punch right from the bowl before eying a tray of eclairs. “Yes. Quite well.” She glanced over at her sister. “I didst not know you wouldst be attending today...”
“Officially, I'm not.” Celestia smiled, but her grin faded.
“I know thou disapprovest of my student, Sister.”
Celestia winced.
“It is time I had my own apprentice, as you have often had, and I exercise my right to my own choice.” Luna stuck her nose in the air.
“Of course, Sister.” Celestia sighed. “It's just that–”
“Jealousy is unbecoming of you, Sister.”
Celestia's eyes opened wide, and she whipped her head around to face Luna again. “What?”
“Being jealous of my student. It fits you ill. Beware, Sister. I know well the pitfalls of jealousy.”
“Ugh!” Celestia shook her head. “But... I... Of her? ... Twilight could... Isn't...” She stalked away, still muttering.
Luna smiled. She knew that would get her sister off her tail for a while. She glanced back to the buffet table.
Trixie fought a pitched battle against the buffet's serving ponies, who struggled to drive her away from the table. She struck back at them with illusory colored fireballs.
Luna shook her head. She was getting a nagging feeling that her sister might be right... again.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Trixie is not to be taken lightly. She is full of empty boasts and hollow bragging, and she is not to be trusted. She attracts trouble like a positively charged amiomorphic spell attracts axions.
If you want my advice, I'd recommend blasting her far, far away with the strongest magic you have.
Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle.
Celestia put the letter down and shook her head. What had Luna gotten herself into?
Luna awoke with a groan. Her thick black curtains blocked most of the light, leaving only tiny pinholes that bore a strong resemblance to stars, but she could tell it was late afternoon – the same time she always woke up.
She hadn't slept well, though. Her dreams had been full of troublesome caped unicorns and ravaged brunch trays. Stumbling up to her mirror, she took a look at herself.
It wasn't good. Her coat was matted, there were bags under her eyes, and her mane had lost its magical glow, returning to a rather ordinary-looking light blue. Nothing a little makeup and a quick shower with her EtherGlo™ shampoo wouldn't fix.
She headed for her adjoining royal bath, eager to feel the refreshing hot shower and the soothing tingle of there slightly magical hair product.
Closing the door behind her and turning on the tap, she let the water warm up while looking for her–
Where was it? She glanced all around, going over all of the places it should be, then going over them again. Her heart beat faster and faster. No! Not now! How could this have happened? She'd gotten three new bottles just last week!
It was undeniable, though. Her EtherGlo shampoo was nowhere to be found.
She hurried through a shower that turned out to be far less refreshing than she'd been hoping for, rushed through the bare minimum of preparations to look presentable, and made for her door.
Just outside, the two ever-present royal guards stood their vigil.
“Guards!”
“Yes, Your Highness?” they answered together.
Luna marched out into the hall. “The special shampoo with maketh my mane suitably royal hath been purloined! Thou shalt commence a search for the burglar immediately.”
“Of course, Princess!” They cantered off in the direction of the barracks.
Luna felt a twinge travel up her neck. She was sure that if she'd been able to have a proper shower, she wouldn't have felt so... worn.
Dusk would be a couple hours yet, and she certainly didn't feel like breaking her fast after what she'd been through so far. A visit to check up on her new student might be just the thing to take her mind off of it, she decided.
She trotted down the short length of hallway between her room and her student's, and she paused to knock on the door with a hoof.
“The Gorgeous and Magnificent Trixie is busy right now – please come back later,” the sing-song voice from inside called.
“Trixie, it is I,” Luna shouted, knocking on the door again. She was in no mood for games at the moment.
“Oh, Princess?” The sound of various clutter being hastily stowed filled a pause. “Come right in, of course!”
With her magic, Luna opened the door. Her jaw dropped.
Trixie stood just inside. Her mane and tail glimmered and sparkled, glowing slightly and waving in a breeze that couldn't possibly exist in the confines of the room. “Good evening, Princess. Are we going to continue our lessons now?”
Luna just stood and stared, trembling. She grit her teeth, and one eye twitched.
“Princess Luna, are you okay?” Trixie cocked her head to the side.
Luna could hardly breathe. Her mane began to sizzle.
“Princess?” Trixie took a step closer. “Are you–”
“THOU!”
Trixie took a step back, and her eyes went wide, blinking in the force of Luna's royal Canterlot voice.
“'TWAS THOU THAT HATH BURGLED OUR MANE SUPPLIES!”
Trixie winced, cringing down low.
“THOU HAST BEEN NAUGHT BUT A NUISANCE SINCE THOU ARRIVED! THINE PRESENCE IS A BLIGHT UPON THIS CASTLE!”
“Luna, I–”
“DAREST THOU TO NEGLECT THY ROYAL COURTESY? THOU ART A HUCKSTER AND A FRAUD – NAUGHT BUT A CONJURER OF CHEAP TRICKS!”
Trixie wilted even further under Luna's verbal onslaught.
“I HEREBY BANISH THEE FROM EQUESTRIA! THOU HAST UNTIL SUNDOWN TO BE GONE FROM THIS CASTLE!”
Luna slammed the door behind her, still twitching. It burned to be proven wrong by her sister yet again. It burned deep.
“It's all right, Sister.” Celestia hugged her again. “You missed a thousand years. Of course reintegrating is going to involve a few bumps along the way.”
Luna sighed. “And I am sorry, Sister. I should have heeded thine warnings.”
Celestia resisted the urge to tutor her sister in speech mannerisms. Now wasn't the time. “I'm sorry, too. I should have explained things plainly from the start.”
A few birds chirped outside the balcony as her now blue-haired sister snuggled close. Celestia would never dare say so, but she thought Luna looked better this way.
Luna looked up. “Is it time for sunset?”
It was a rhetorical question, of course. Both alicorns had near-infallible internal clocks.
“Come on, let's go.” Celestia nodded. She'd have to try something else to get her sister some much-needed socialization. Perhaps a visit to the Canterlot Planetarium... or maybe a trip to Ponyville on Nightmare Night?
Luna yawned. Now that the sun was up again, she could finally get to bed.
Celestia had been insufferable at sunrise. She never said a word about it, but the 'I told you so' was obvious in her eyes the whole time.
The stress of it was enough to send Luna to bed hours early.
She nodded to the two unicorn guards at her door as she stepped inside.
“Hi, Princess!”
Luna jumped ten feet in the air. Luckily, her chambers had high ceilings. She hovered on her wings above the door, staring down at Trixie.
“Trixie is ready for today's lesson.” She struck a pose, her mane and tail still sparkling from the stolen shampoo.
After a moment, Luna shook her head. That had been unexpected, but she knew how to deal with it. “Guards!” she yelled, “Escort this unicorn from the castle grounds forthwith!”
Her two guards rushed inside in the blink of an eye. A golden magical glow enveloped Trixie before she could even cry out.
Luna watched her former protege float out the door and down the hall. She sighed. At least that was over.
Celestia looked up with a start when she saw her sister running down the hall toward her. She crouched into a fighting stance, ready for anything.
Luna just ran right around, barely even noticing her.
She watched her sister disappear down the curving white hallway. What could have inspired that look of horror on Luna's face? What could have sent the Princess of Shadows running like that?
Another set of hoofbeats grew in the distance, echoing down the hall.
Celestia narrowed her eyes. Whatever was coming down that hall, she would stop it. She prepared a shield spell and brought a few of her more potent attack spells to mind, ready for split-second casting.
Trixie came into view, galloping headlong down the curved hall.
Celestia's jaw dropped. She watched, wide eyed, as the unicorn ran right past her in pursuit of Luna. Shaking her head, she cleared the shock out of her mind just in time to see Trixie disappear down the hall.
Twilight had been right. Celestia knew what she had to do. She ran off down the hallway in pursuit.
As the hallway followed the curve of the castle wall, Celestia gained on her quarry. Long legs had their advantages after all.
Just as she caught a glimpse of the unicorn's tail, Trixie ducked into an archway on the left.
That arch led to a balcony. Celestia grinned. It would be a dead end for the flightless unicorn. She skidded to a stop just inside the arch and peeked out.
Luna hovered just out of reach beyond the balcony's railing, the newly-risen sun at her back.
Trixie stood right in front of her, jumping up and down, pointing at Luna, and yelling something Celestia couldn't make out.
She knew what needed to be done. Digging deep, she readied a spell she hadn't used in a thousand years. Without the power of the elements, it wouldn't be able to reach the moon, but it would still blast Trixie more than far enough away.
The light from Celestia's horn caught Trixie from behind. She screamed as she took flight, but there was nothing she could do. She soared off into the sunrise, fading away into a tiny dot that twinkled as it finally disappeared.
Luna dropped back down to the balcony and sighed. Her whisper was almost too quiet to hear. “Thank thee, Sister.”
