Violet Reflections

Chapters

Friendship Is Magic
The Ticket Master
Applebuck Season
Boast Busters feat. Trixie
Dragonshy
Griffon the Brush-Off

Friendship Is Magic

“It sure is nice of Princess Celestia to let us have copies of the royal mirrors,” Spike exclaimed as he and the alicorn wandered through their newly refurbished hall, checking out the fabulously made mirrors of recognition. The hall, which Twilight hadn’t fully adjusted to yet, was quite grand, a joyful spectacle, especially when there were huge mirrors placed on either side.

“Hmm,” Twilight thought, raising a hoof to her chin, “They’ve only been put in today. I guess it’ll take some time getting used to.” She gave the mirrors an edgy look.

“Yeah,” Spike agreed, turning to face Twilight, “But think about it. Now you can see all of your triumphs anytime you want! No more going to Canterlot.” He looked up at the mirror they were currently standing in front of; a giant pane of glass with a figure of Discord. “Well, almost every triumph,” he muttered under his own breath.

“Yeah...” Twilight reluctantly agreed, “This one seems a bit... off. It was based off his ruling before Princess Celestia and Luna stood up to him. I wouldn’t say I’m proud of this one, but it’s a memory nonetheless. An important part of Equestrian history. A monument. A sign of décor. A symbol.”

“Okay, okay... geez. There’s no need to hammer it in. It’ll stay, enough said.”

“I wonder what the girls will think of this new change,” Twilight wondered out loud, ignoring Spike’s small outburst. “I told Pinkie Pie about it. She said she’ll be around today to check them out.” Her grin grew a tiny bit. “I can’t wait for her to get here.”

Spike backed away a little, almost as if he was afraid of the pink mare emerging out of thin air. “Hold on. If you two are going to go all mushy when she gets here, then count me out!”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh grow up Spike.” She quickly grinned, realising something she could use to her advantage. “Besides, don’t you want to do similar things with Rarity?”

Spike’s eyes widened, a blush quickly forming on him. “Uh...” he stammered, not coming up with anything. No arguments whatsoever.

Twilight chuckled, knowing she was right once again. “Why don’t you go on over and tell her about these anyway? I’m sure she’ll be happy to know of this new change. We all have a small input here now after all.”

Spike perked up at the very idea of speaking with Rarity. He made a salute motion. “Aye aye!” In a flash, he was off to head towards the Boutique, where no doubt Rarity would be, likely awaiting the very presence of a handsome dragon.

Twilight sighed as the dragon left her field of vision, turning back up to the glass. The figure of Discord looked a bit scary, even though he was a close friend. It was made for when he ruled though, so the designers likely made it that way deliberately. How Celestia put up with the horrifying image was something she couldn’t understand though. After a while of pondering, she simply shrugged it off.

She whistled as she continued her gentle walk the hallway, checking out, like Spike had said, many triumphs, as well as downsides to Equestria’s history. She stopped in front of a particular mirror. The one that referenced King Sombra’s ruling, it made her shudder just thinking about it, the evil eyes especially sticking out. But to have it as a lingering memory in her home for an inexplicable amount of time, always being reminded of it whenever her eyes set on it.

Well, it made her slightly nervous.

“Twilight!” a cheery voice called out during her concentration, heard from all away across the entire castle.

Twilight turned her head towards the direction of the voice, smiling, knowing just who it was. The increasing sounds of rapid clip clops told her Pinkie Pie was right nearby. “In here Pinkie!” she called back, to give the pink pony her precise location.

Within the span of a few seconds, the door to the hallway swung open widely, revealing the most beautiful mare Twilight had ever seen. The puffy mane, the sparkling blue eyes. The pinkness.

Pinkie Pie had arrived.

The party pony laid her eyes on her marefriend after quickly scouting the room, her grin enlarging by a value likely tenfold, before she charged right at the alicorn with all her might. She tackled Twilight to the ground, before promptly peppering her with small, rapid fire kisses.

Twilight giggled involuntarily as Pinkie Pie blew a deep playful raspberry on her neck, knowing exactly what made her tick. Expertly crafting her hooves, she pulled the pink mass away from her, gazing into her eyes. “Hey Pinkie,” she greeted the pink mare softly, already a seductive tone just from seeing her.

Pinkie Pie didn’t waste any time in lowering her lips to Twilight’s, sending the two of them in yet another plane of bliss from their usual routine. Spending no less than ten seconds in an interlocked kiss, she broke away. “Hey Twilight,” she finally said with glee, even though she was late to the conversation.

Twilight felt heat rise in her cheeks with her marefriend positioned on top of her. She continued to look up at Pinkie Pie, before her eyes trailed off to her side, where the mirror of King Sombra stood, the image looking like the ex-king himself was watching them both without remorse. She would much rather make out with Pinkie Pie than stare at Sombra any day, but Pinkie Pie had come around for a reason, not to mention the very thought of Sombra staring at them both was creepy. She cleared her throat, prompting the pink pony to climb off her. “It’s good to see you too,” she heartedly replied, rising up on her legs.

“Sooo,” Pinkie Pie began, already excited for what Twilight had in store for her, “What exactly are you showing me?” She looked left and right, before leaning in to Twilght’s ear, ready to whisper.

Twilight blushed just from the idea alone of what Pinkie Pie whispered to her, strictly remembering events to exactly three nights prior perfectly, but a little too exact. She rubbed the back of her head nervously, Pinkie Pie also having resorted to a blush. “No... it’s not that.” She pointed towards the King Sombra mirror. “It’s this.”

Pinkie Pie looked up at the horrifying mirror image, before screaming, pointing her accusing hoof at the motionless picture. “Ah! Sombra’s in our castle!” She immediately ran up to the mirror, ready to smash it with her hoof.

“Pinkie wait!” Twilight yelled in no time, the message thankfully getting across before her precious mirror got shattered into fragments. She took a breath at the close call. “No, Princess Celestia has been kind enough to let this castle have the same monuments as the Canterlot castle.”

Pinkie Pie tilted her head, still a bit confused, whilst also antsy about King Sombra.

“See?” Twilight asked, pointing to the next window in the hallway. Pinkie Pie joined to her side to gaze up at the spectacle.

“Whoa...” Pinkie Pie unconsciously said out, looking up at a mirror that showed Princess Celestia and Luna at the founding of Equestria.

“You see?” Twilight asked, turning to face Pinkie Pie, “They’re memories. They can remain here to remind us of the good times.” She quickly got the image of evil Discord again in her mind. “As well as the bad...” she mumbled, not keen on hiding it.

Pinkie Pie checked out the variety of memories, some of which the events represented she was personally involved in. She awed at some of the decorations, not really having an extended period of time to check them out in detail before. Whenever she, or even the group of friends for that matter, went to meet Princess Celestia in Canterlot, Equestria usually hung in the balance, not really giving a long time to gaze at the history.

She got attached to a certain mirror, heading over in front of it to stare up at the memory. Twilight joined to her side in curiosity, to see which one grabbed most of her attention. When she followed up with her eyes, she was caught by the specific treasured memory as well.

It was her, along with her five friends, all coming together, first forming the Elements of Harmony. It was when her life changed for the better, getting a group of friends she loved dearly. If that day didn’t happen, she might have just been stuck up in Canterlot, continuing to study magic by her lonesome.

She wrapped her hoof around Pinkie Pie, the party pony easily succumbing to the embrace, leaning on Twilight’s neck. “This might just be one of my most treasured memories,” Twilight said, speaking her mind, still looking up at the glass panel.

“Yeah?” Pinkie Pie replied, still gazing up at the window.

“Although I wasn’t the easiest pony to deal with...” She heard Pinkie Pie giggle at her tormented behaviour when first visiting Ponyville, “It was the day I met you. I met all of you.”

“I was the first pony to see you in town too!” Pinkie added.

Twilight leaned her head over so it became buried in the puffy pink mane. “Yeah... it wasn’t really the best introduction though. I mean, you just jumped into the air and ran away!”

“Well yeah,” Pinkie Pie defended, “Because I could tell you were special, so I just had to go and throw you the bestest super-duperific party ever!”

Twilight smiled. “I’m still grateful for that by the way... even if my attitude at the time wasn’t... ideal.”

Pinkie Pie giggled again. “I could tell. You were being such a grumpy-pants not taking part, locking yourself in your room, all because you were so lonely and that you didn’t have any friends. And then Black Snooty had to come along and ruin everything!”

Twilight frowned. “I think you mean Nightmare Moon.”

“Yeah. But we showed her!”

Twilight broke from the small hug, inching closer towards the mirror. “That’s right. We were destined and followed through to become the Elements of Harmony that day.” She turned around to face Pinkie Pie. “That’s a day I won’t ever forget.”

“Really?” Pinkie Pie asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Mhmm,” Twilight answered, nodding her head, before closing the gap between them, lifting a hoof onto Pinkie’s shoulder. “It’s the day I found my friends. And if that didn’t happen, I wouldn’t be standing here with you now.”

Pinkie Pie felt flushed as Twilight began to lean in. She mimicked the same action in return, leaning forward and putting the two of them in a binding kiss.

“See? Told you,” a voice said from the silence during their connected lip play, unsure of how exactly it was they were locked together. The pair broke the kiss to follow the direction of the voice, only to spot Spike alongside with Rarity a bit behind. He had his arms folded, likely from seeing yet another public display of infatuation, a deep frown, while Rarity presented her warm smile.

“Hey Rarity!” Pinkie Pie greeted.

“Good afternoon,” she gracefully replied, trotting her way over towards the pair, Spike following with a grump. “Little Spike here told me you had something to show me.” She fluttered her eyelashes, before realising something. “That is, if you two didn’t want a moment.”

Twilight and Pinkie Pie looked at each other, blushes present on the both of them. “Spike,” Twilight finally said after an embarrassing display, “Would you mind rounding up the rest of the girls?”

Spike stood still for a moment, the request going and registering into his brain. Moving without a word, he grumbled something under his tongue, nonsensical jabber to the three mares, slouching his way out of the hallway. “Here we are,” Twilight said, pointing towards one of the mirrors, Rarity following the direction of the hoof.

“Sweet Celestia...” Rarity said, surprised at the marvellous pane of glass in front of her, her jaw dropping.

“Nice huh?” Twilight asked Rarity, a smug grin upon her.

“Nice? This is spectacular!” The white unicorn looked all around her, gaping at each of the mirrors, walking down the hallway with each panel getting better than the last. “Truly appreciative art here. It looks amazing!”

Pinkie Pie leaned next to Twilight’s ear, lowering her volume while holding a hoof to block possible audio reaching Rarity. “Don’t let her see the Sombra one.”

The Ticket Master

“Mmm,” Pinkie Pie moaned as she lustfully continued to kiss Twilight on the bed, their bodies somewhat entwined with each other, rolling around on the bed sheet. She enjoyed and gave in more to their battle of locked lips, brushing her hooves behind Twilight, feeling her fur, while Twilight did the same with her.

“What should we do?” Twilight playfully asked after breaking from the kiss, eyes half-lidded.

Pinkie Pie retracted one of her hooves, before mockingly stroking it down Twilight’s cheek, scrunching up her lip. “I don’t know.” She leaned forward. “What do you think?”

Both of the ponies had a grin, before they went back to their short kissing session, the two bodies shifting slightly. Fighting a little over dominance, Twilight managed to pin Pinkie Pie on the bottom in a swift push.

“Ah!” Pinkie shrieked as Twilight lunged directly on top of her after the small prod, burying into her neck. She gently kissed all the way from Pinkie Pie’s neck up towards her waiting lips.

Pinkie Pie giggled while their lips remained a couple of inches apart, Twilight joining in soon after. “I think...” Twilight whispered, before pecking Pinkie Pie on the lips, “That we should use the hoofcuffs.”

Pinkie Pie curled up a portion of her lip. “An interesting choice Madam Twilight.”

“That’s ‘Officer Twilight’ to you,” Twilight replied, a hint of power, poking Pinkie Pie’s lips with her hoof.

“Have I been bad officer?” Pinkie Pie asked, frowning.

“Very,” Twilight quietly reinforced, furrowing her brow, hungrily licking her lips.

Pinkie Pie acted first when she had the chance, leaning up and bringing Twilight in for a kiss. The officer didn’t fight back, rather welcoming it.

Using the chance, Pinkie Pie used what she could to swap their positions, Twilight put onto the bottom. She cheekily grinned from the shift in power. “Looks like Pinkie Pie can’t be captured,” she taunted, “The Baker ends up escaping again.”

Twilight growled playfully, pretending that her loss had a huge impact. She was about to say something, when her bedroom door slammed open. Both of the roleplaying mares turned to face the intruder.

Standing in the doorway was Spike, hunching over from fatigue, needing to catch his breath. “Twilight... I... have... a... letter...” he wheezed, in-between breaths.

Twilight groaned, partly because of her ruined session with Pinkie Pie. “Spike, what have I told you about barging in?” she scowled at the dragon.

“It’s... from... the... Princess...” he replied, still worn out.

“The Princess!?” Twilight yelled, already internally panicking about how important the matter could be. She didn’t move from her position, waiting for the letter, Pinkie Pie deciding to carry on, dipping down to kiss her on the neck. “Pinkie,” she whispered to the pink mare, “Stop. Not while Spike’s here.”

“Aww,” Pinkie Pie whined, resting to the side of her marefriend.

“Sorry,” Twilight mouthed to the pink mare, before turning around to Spike, trying to keep her cool. “Now Spike, where is this letter?”

“Hang on,” Spike proclaimed after catching his breath, before raising his hands up to his lower jaw, his cheeks bulging. With a loud belch, green magical flames emerged from his gaping mouth, a scroll materialising from the efficient delivery system. He picked up the scroll and proceeded to carry it over towards Twilight, finally spotting what was happening on the bed. With haste, he covered his eyes. “Really Twilight!”

“You’ve seen this before Spike,” Twilight said while rolling her eyes, before activating her horn to take the scroll from Spike’s hand, levitating it over towards her. Pinkie Pie lay next to Twilight, anxious for her to read the letter, in front of them both.

Twilight unsealed the letter, placing the scroll in front of her, the ink visible to read. Clearing her throat, she prepared to read it out.

Dear Princess Twilight,

You are courtesy invited to attend this year’s Grand Galloping Gala, to be held in Canterlot. Enclosed are seven tickets, one for you and for each of your friends. I hope to see you all there.

And just between us, I wouldn’t worry too much about your stature of Princess. While you will be royalty, should you choose to attend, you may do what you wish. You do not have to greet the guests if you do not want to.

Yours sincerely,

Princess Celestia

As Twilight finished reading the letter, seven golden tickets emerged from the scroll, each one addressed personally to Twilight and her friends. All three of the parties gasped from the tickets, as soon as they all realised what was implied.

“The Grand Galloping Gala?” Twilight and Pinkie said at the same time, their pupils having dilated from the shock alone.

Spike got closer towards the pair, rather excited. “This is amazing Twilight!” he shouted, throwing his arms up in the air for emphasis.

“I thought you didn’t like the Grand Galloping Gala,” Twilight protested, quirking her eyebrow.

Spike scoffed, folding his arms. “Pfft, that was last year. This year will be better!”

“Yeah Twilight!” Pinkie Pie added, “This year, we can go together!” On cue, she leant into Twilight, moving a hoof around her barrel.

A grin formed on Twilight. Separating the tickets into two sets; one of five, the other of two, she passed the five tickets towards Spike. “Here Spike, look after these alright?”

Spike nodded, grabbing the tickets from Twilight’s magical grasp, before running out of the bedroom like a child, giddily laughing to himself. Twilight turned back to face Pinkie Pie, placing the letter and remaining tickets on a nearby dresser. “What do you think?” she asked her marefriend.

Pinkie Pie giggled like a filly, giving Twilight the answer in by itself. “At least the Princess sent us seven this time,” Twilight added, “No more of those favours. Those got pretty irritating.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “Aww, so no song?”

“What song?”

Pinkie Pie took an inhale.

Twilight is my bestest friend, woopie, woopie!

“Oh yeah...” Twilight remembered, interjecting the song.

“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie bellowed, mad that she was interrupted, “You missed the most important part!” She took in another inhale.

She’s the cutest, smartest, all around best pony, pony!

“I remember it Pinkie...” Twilight continued, dropping her eyelids. “Hmm, but tell me that part again.”

Pinkie Pie brought her hoof to Twilight’s cheek. “You mean...” she trailed, before giving Twilight a peck, “The cutest... smartest... all around best pony?”

“Something tells me you mean that,” Twilight jokingly said, tapping Pinkie Pie’s muzzle.

“Of course I do,” Pinkie Pie stated, "You are all of those things!" A blush came to her, before she rubbed her hooves together, looking nervous. “Twilight... can I ask you something?”

“Pinkie?” she replied, noticing the worry on Pinkie Pie, while also extremely embarrassed at the compliments. “What is it?” She put a reassuring hoof on Pinkie Pie’s shoulder to help her out, hoping to give her the confidence. The sudden change in mood was unexpected.

Pinkie Pie rubbed the back of her head. “Would you... be willing... to go to the Grand Galloping Gala... with me?”

It took a few seconds for the realisation to hit Twilight, but it took her concerned attitude and replaced it with joy. She chuckled softly, thinking about how silly of a request it was, even noticing Pinkie Pie’s nervous giggling with a blush. More comfortable, she brought Pinkie Pie closer, ready to give her answer. “Of course.”

Pinkie Pie squealed in delight, before planting a kiss on Twilight. She made it deeper, deliberately taking away Twilight’s concentration, pushing the alicorn down on the bed full of bliss, before sneakily leaning a hoof over towards the dresser and snatching up the two tickets. She laughed again as she quickly pulled away, flashing the two cards in front of her marefriend.

“Pinkie?” Twilight questioned, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

Pinkie Pie presented a mischievous grin, before leaping out of the bed with her incredible energy, making a break for the door. She stood in the doorframe, one hoof leaning on the door, waving the tickets in the air.

“Pinkie, what are you doing?” Twilight asked again, incredibly befuddled, a bit cautious too.

“I am not just Pinkie Pie,” the pink pony stated, lifting a hoof up to herself, “I am The Baker, well-known thief.” She took the same hoof down and pointed it towards the alicorn. “You have just been tricked Officer Twilight. Again!”

Twilight’s eyes widened, realising the game had just been set afoot. Before she could say anything, Pinkie Pie charged away from the scene. “You’ll have to catch me...” she heard from the distance, taunting her through the wall in a soft voice, being sung.

She knew Pinkie Pie was only playing, and would easily give back the tickets. But first, she’d have to pay for her crimes.

With kisses.

She grinned extensively, climbing out of her bed. Without a shadow of a doubt in her mind, she head off out of her bedroom, fully ready to explore the castle.

She found her way searching through the giant home, checking everywhere for the criminal. At times, she’d hear a giggle or a snort, before it faded, followed by moving hooves. She couldn’t keep up with Pinkie Pie, the mare always with a plan. Wherever she set to, Pinkie Pie was waiting, only springing her trap.

She had almost given up after half an hour, the activity actually getting a bit boring. It was purely a cat and mouse chase, and she didn’t feel in the mood anymore. She sloppily made her way towards the throne room, where each of the seven chairs sat. She prepared to take a seat in her personalised seat, when she found a golden ticket on it.

She used her magic to bring it closer, reading if off. It was her ticket to the Grand Galloping Gala, something she would indeed look forward to.

She read over the card many times, each time feeling more giddy about the event, and even more considering the fact that she’d have an official date to go with her.

She’d have to make preparations with Rarity. No doubt the fashionista would like to jump over the moon about finding out about the event, though her plans might have severely changed since last year. Prince Blueblood was a lesson that she learned well.

And it was all because of her friends' pestering that they all got to go in the end. All of them trying to give her favours or offering acts of generosity in order to try and lean the ticket slimly in their direction.

All it did in the end was irritate her, though she couldn’t deny the extra attention she received was a bit nice. But even after the end of it all, she had a distinct gut feeling that the Princess knew about her predicament all along. She couldn’t precisely place it, but it remained strange to her.

She looked up from her ticket. A meeting with her friends regarding all of their plans for a better time would be in order. But in order to meet with her friends, she’d first have to get a hold of her marefriend first.

Pinkie Pie...

She jumped to her side with a great idea, the incoming mass of pink she expected crashing onto the floor in a bundle. She smiled at her fool proof plan. “The ticket was the bait huh?” she playfully asked, cocking her grin.

Pinkie Pie nervously looked up at Twilight, her plan having failed. “Maybe...” she trailed off impishly, deliberately looking away with heated cheeks.

“Tut tut tut,” Twilight mocked, shaking her head, “Nopony outsmarts Officer Twilight. I’m afraid I’m taking you in Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie gasped as a violet aura surrounded her entire exterior, the cause of it radiating from Twilight’s horn. She was hoisted into the air, completely powerless to escape the magical hold. She attempted to struggle, wriggling to try and break through, but it was no use. She was lifted and carried throughout the majority of the castle, Twilight following with a devious grin the entire way.

“Assaulting an officer, talking back to an officer, your crime of stealing,” Twilight finally said, reading out the violations, "Though I might have missed a few.”

“So what are you going to do with me?” Pinkie Pie shyly asked, curling up while still airborne.

Twilight cackled as they approached a room they were both familiar with. Giving a mischievous grin to Pinkie Pie, she inched closer. “You’re in big trouble,” she said softly, lowering her eyelids, “And you’re going to pay for your crimes.”

Pinkie Pie squealed again as Twilight carried her into her bedroom with her strong magic, before promptly shutting the door hard behind them both.

Applebuck Season

A tree rustled as the fruit it contained on its branches, apples, fell straight down and into the many wooden buckets waiting for them around the base of the trunk. A few leaves snapped off from the tree, getting dragged along through the air.

The apples collected in each of the many buckets, before getting hoisted up onto the nearby carriage, the transportation dipping slightly from the extra weight. The worker of the farm, the mare everypony knew as Applejack, wiped her forehead with her hoof, before turning back towards her work.

“That’s all of ‘em for here,” she proclaimed to her big brother, taking another look at the small orchard. Row after row of trees were present and in order, but none of them contained any apples, having been harvested already.

“Eeyup,” the older stallion replied, nodding his head, before heading off with the carriage carrying the apples attached behind him. He got further away by each second, the sounds of the wheels travelling across the farm getting quieter.

Applejack sighed, rearranging her stetson as Big Mac walked away with a few good hours load of apples. It was apple bucking season, and it kept the family mighty busy. The morning all gone by, and not even half of the farm had been harvested. They really had their work cut out for them.

She needed a little rest from her hard work, lounging herself in front of a tree. Just when she was about to lower her hat over her eyes to catch some shut-eye, a figure appeared in the far distance. She put her hoof on her forehead, narrowing her eyes to see the figure more properly.

It was purple and moving, certainly a pony. On further inspection, as well as the figure getting nearer, she could easily make it out as Twilight Sparkle. With a smile, she got back up on her hooves, ready to listen to whatever Twilight came around to say, or even proposition her with.

“Afternoon Twilight,” she pleasingly welcomed the princess, “What can I do ya for?”

Twilight happily trotted up to the cowpony, basking at the sight of the empty trees to her side. “Hey Applejack. Pinkie and I were wondering if you wanted to come bake with us.”

“Baking? That’s mighty kind of you to offer Twilight, but if you haven’t noticed, I’m rather busy.” Applejack pointed to her side, where trees far back as the eye could see weren’t bucked. “It’s apple bucking season.”

“Oh,” the alicorn responded, having checked out the huge plantation, “Well, come take a break anyway.”

The cowpony chuckled, shaking her head. “Again, nice of you to offer Twi, but I’m going to be busy all day.”

“Are you sure?” Twilight asked, frowning.

“Yeah,” Applejack confirmed, heading over towards a tree full of apples, tapping it with her hoof, “Me and Big Mac are gonna be out here all day.”

“Hmm,” Twilight pondered, “Perhaps I could assist? Maybe speed up your progress?”

Applejack almost broke into laughter, knowing that Twilight wasn’t a tree bucker, never even attempting it. She backed away from the open tree, a grin upon her, ready for the princess to show her stuff, a little cocky. “Go ahead. Knock yourself out.”

Twilight had an inkling Applejack was tempting her, but she already had a way around it. With a simple activation of her horn, several surrounding auras formed around the apples, before they were all taken off their stems and lowered into the buckets.

Applejack scoffed, furrowing her brow. “Hey! That’s cheatin’!”

Twilight leaned her head forward a bit, her eyelids dropped. “You didn’t tell me how I could get the apples down.”

“I didn’t think I’d need to,” the cowpony replied, an eyebrow raised. She looked down at the ground and sighed. “Well, this was kind Twilight, but I think you’d best be-“

When Applejack raised her head, her jaw dropped rapidly. Pink auras were arranged all around her trees, or more specifically, her apples. Every single one was slowly picked from the branches, lowered into the awaiting baskets. The wooden objects were next to succumb to the magic of Twilight, getting raised into the air and carried and piled into the many carriages off to the side, ready to be taken away.

All of Applejack’s day chores for the entire season. Gone. In a mere matter of seconds. She had just spent hours bucking a small portion of her entire farm, and Twilight just came along with her magic and...

“Twilight!” she shouted, not hiding the sudden venom in her voice, “Just what do you think you’re doing?”

“Just helping out,” Twilight proclaimed happily, still smiling, “You can’t overwork yourself Applejack.”

“Work myself!?” She shook her head many times, “Why all the! Twilight!”

Twilight was stunned at Applejack’s sudden negativity, and was even starting to get a little worried when the earth pony started to walk towards her. She started to back up, half of her concentration on what was behind her, the other on the mare with sudden rage.

“Here on my farm, we believe in a little something called tradition!” she started, not at all happy.

“Tra-Tradition?” Twilight stammered, already regretting her overall visit. She wanted Pinkie Pie by her side right now.

Applejack nodded her head once. “That’s right. That means no wings.” She pointed to the large alicorn horn. “And no fancy magic either!”

Twilight awkwardly continued to inch backwards, Applejack always following her. “You uh... didn’t tell me that last time.”

Applejack knew it well, but that was an exception. Sleep deprivation, no Big Mac. She practically cracked. “That was different.”

Twilight remembered it well too. Applejack got so cocky and determined that she refused help, even the simplest amount, resulting in a handful of mistakes. Rainbow Dash got lodged into her balcony, the town got sick from bad muffins, and somehow, a rabbit stampede got the town spooked.

But Applejack learnt her lesson, accepting the generous help in the end. Twilight deemed that she likely did the most work at that point. Though she didn't want to brag.

“Well you know...” Twilight staggered, nervously chuckling, “It could always go faster if there were some... unicorns around here.”

The sound of a twig snapped. Twilight had backed up over a small twig, breaking it in the process.

But Applejack seemed to react metaphorically the same to the small piece of wood. “What was that?” she sternly asked, narrowing her eyes.

Twilight looked left and right, hoping for some freedom or escape from her impending doom. She had worked up Applejack too much, something that was always a bad choice.

“You think,” Applejack continued, “That you can come here on my farm and tell me how to harvest my own apples, after years and years of my family doing it by their own hooves?”

Twilight presented her awkward grin, swiping the back of her head. “Maybe?” she responded, not really sure herself, fairly certain it was an incorrect answer.

Applejack took in a large inhale after an unhealthy growl, Twilight’s eyes already enlarging straight away.

***

A groan came from the alicorn as she slouched her way into Sugarcube Corner, desperately wanting to be back in close proximity with her marefriend. Her hooves could only carry her body so much after what she had just been through. And it wasn’t pretty for her either.

The frisky pink mare appeared almost instantaneously at the sudden sound of boredom, knowing full fact it came from the bestest mare she knew in the whole wide world. Her cute figure appeared in front of Twilight in no time; muzzles pressed together, her grin present.

She kept silent, before dragging Twilight into the kitchen, ready to carry on their baking session. Twilight didn’t complain, though the sudden speed burst was a little disjointing. “Soo, how’d it go?” Pinkie Pie asked, leaning her head on her hooves placed on the counter, waiting in anticipation.

Twilight could only remember the horrible scowling she received from Applejack, the memory not exactly pleasant. She scrunched up some of her face. “Uh... not that well.”

Pinkie Pie lost her highly anticipated mood, dropping her hooves from the counter. “Aww, what happened?”

Twilight sighed. “Let’s just say that apparently I’m not the only ‘lecturer’ around here, as Rainbow Dash would say.”

“So she’s not coming?”

Twilight shook her head, putting in little effort. “I’m afraid not. I might have said something that ticked her off. Well, as well as doing something that started it.”

“What did you do?” Pinkie Pie asked, starting to look the same as the irritated Applejack.

“I might have... harvested all of her apples for her,” Twilight sheepishly admitted, trying to pass off a smile afterwards.

Pinkie Pie gasped, covering her mouth with a hoof. “Why would you do that?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Twilight blurted out, trying to defend herself, “I was only making a point.”

“And what was that?” Pinkie Pie asked, quirking her eyebrow suspiciously.

“If unicorns were apple farmers, harvesting the apples would take almost no time whatsoever.”

Pinkie Pie was about to argue against the point, but raised her hoof to her chin. She thinked it over for a minute, before something came to her in a flash. She was prepared to speak out again, but didn’t, retracting the point away, lowering her hoof once more.

It was a perfectly valid point, though not the best choice to mention it to the earth pony farmer herself.

“I don’t think I’ll be going to Sweet Apple Acres for a while,” Twilight jokingly said, finishing off with a tiny chuckle, “Did you know it was apple bucking season?”

Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight like the question itself was daft to ask. “Of course.”

“Maybe the town should give me the Pony of Ponyville Award,” Twilight claimed, rising a hoof up to her chest, "For my extremely quick harvesting session."

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes, followed by a short giggle. “You’re a princess Twilight, you don’t need it." She formed a more relaxed position. "Besides, you’re my Pony of Ponyville.”

Twilight blushed when Pinkie Pie placed her pink hooves on her cheeks, before pulling her in. It was a quick kiss, before Pinkie Pie broke away with gusto. “Now come on, let’s bake!”

Boast Busters feat. Trixie

“And for my next trick, I shall pull out a bunny from this hat.”

Pinkie Pie clearly showed to the audience in front of her the hat in question, a big black top hat, completely empty. She let the audience get a good look at it, making sure it wasn’t faulty. When she felt they got all the satisfaction they needed, she brought it back.

She waved it through the air a few times, before planting it on a table. Taking out a cloth from her jacket pocket, she fully covered it up, the outline of the hat visible through the cloth. She eerily waved her hoof through the air, mumbling a mysterious sound.

“And... sugardugar, schluperdaboom!”

Pinkie waited a few seconds for the dramatic build up, before lifting off the cloth. Dipping her hoof into the hat, she scooped up a small white creature, presenting it to the crowd in front of her. “Ta-da!” she finished off with, bearing a big grin.

“Angel!” a soft voice yelled out from the crowd, “How’d you get there?” Fluttershy flew up onto the stage in no time, picking up the small rabbit into her embrace. “Pinkie, how’d you do that?” she asked the pink mare, worried about the little bunny.

“I can’t tell you that silly," she replied, on the verge of giggling, "It’s a secret.” She turned to the crowd. “But thank you very much everypony!” She took a bow afterwards, the applauds of the audience revealing themselves.

Clapping of hooves could be heard, Rainbow Dash using hers to whistle and shout, “Yeah Pinkie!” afterwards, clapping with the others again.

Fluttershy re-joined the group too, Angel still in her hooves, both of them unsure how Pinkie Pie summoned him from nowhere. He was in the cottage one moment, and the next, it all went dark for him, suddenly trapped in what felt like a cage, before the night light revealed itself, the pink hoof waving from the air above.

“That was marvellous,” Rarity said, finishing off her clapping, “And that ensemble you’re wearing really suits you!”

Pinkie felt a slight blush come over her from the compliment. It was only a small jacket, a little old thing to add to her act. “Thanks Rarity,” she replied, packing up her small tricks of illusions, “So who’s next?”

“Do you really have to ask?” Rainbow Dash smugly said, before looking directly at another mare. All of the others turned too, towards the mare that was starting to wish they’d stop with the sudden eyes.

The grins. And the eyes. It was a little scary.

“Who, me?” the mare asked, pointing at herself and chuckling, “No, I possibly couldn’t...”

“Ah nonsense!” Applejack dismissed, “Go on Trixie, show us!”

“Yeah, we set all this up for you,” Rainbow Dash added in, leaning back in a slouched position.

The azure mare’s teeth showed themselves in an awkward smile, the spotlight being put deeply on her. It wasn’t a large spotlight, rather only six mares. She requested only a small audience, and they all agreed. She was still trying to re-amend her ways after all, and if everypony knew whenever she’d be around, there’d be a riot.

Small magic tricks with friends at night? She could do that.

“I uh... I don’t know,” the mare numbly said, “Can’t we just- eep!”

Applejack cut Trixie off, already pushing her up towards the stage. She didn’t resist, but her hooves dragged across the ground, the forced smile still present. Her eyes checked out her surroundings again, only the six mares around her. It might not have been much, but it was a bit of a relief.

Applejack gave Trixie a final push as they reached the stage, Trixie finishing the short journey by herself. Still with hesitation, she sluggishly dragged her way across the stage, where Pinkie Pie was finishing packing her things away. She was the third one to go on stage, showing off tricks they could do. She deliberately picked some magic tricks, so Trixie would be the next one up.

“You’ll do fine,” Pinkie Pie assured her, finalising her own pack up. As Trixie seemed to prepare for the stage show, she took her place, leaping off the stage and landing next to Twilight, taking no time in burying herself next to her marefriend.

Twilight took Pinkie Pie’s advancement with no trouble, coiling her hoof around the pink mare, feeling the puffy fuchsia mane against herself. She planted a quick kiss on Pinkie Pie, a sigh emerging from the pony herself.

They heard a small gagging noise, coming from one Angel Bunny. “Hush,” Fluttershy spat out, though still quiet, gripping him in her hooves a bit tighter.

Back on stage, Trixie was finishing her brief warm-up routine of stage performance, a quick calm breathing exercise Twilight had shared with her. She cleared her throat, taking the center of the stage, ready to perform some feats of illusions or tricks.

“Woo! Go Trixie!” Rainbow Dash called out, her hooves either side of her mouth to amplify the voice.

Trixie’s short case of nervousness came back to bit her a little, while Applejack gave Rainbow Dash a little hit.

“Ow! What’s that for!?” She rubbed the portion of her skin that Applejack hit, easing the small pain.

“Be quiet!” Applejack scowled quietly, before turning back to Trixie on stage, “Go right ahead Sugarcube.”

Trixie swallowed the rest of her nerves, telling herself to just go for it. It was just another show, with friends now too. Any failures wouldn’t be looked down upon. Clearing her throat again, she prepared her on-stage persona. “Right then!” she started, furrowing her brow for emphasis, “Prepare yourselves, as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs feats of illusions like none other!”

Activating her horn, Trixie sparked into existence two objects of hers, promptly putting on her hat and robe to finalise her icon. Smirking and raising a portion of her lips, she set off her horn again, fireworks coming into existence, flying off into the night sky, flaring off their beautiful lights and display.

All of the audience awed at the start of the show, gazing their eyes up at the fireworks which easily caught their attention. The sparks of the bangs drew them in, mesmerising.

Trixie knew she had the full attention of her audience, ready to perform her next trick. “Does anypony have a request for the Great and Powerful Trixie?” she asked the audience, ready to conjure up a specific trick if asked.

The group looked amongst themselves, small chatter going on between them, Trixie using the opportunity to wipe her forehead with her hoof, getting rid of the nerves that crept up on her.

“Vanquish an Ursa Major!” Rainbow Dash yelled from the group, the suggestion even catching the others off-guard.

Trixie froze up on stage, the memory coming back to her. It wasn’t something she was honestly proud of, her boasting making situations worse. Rainbow Dash bringing that up, was she insulting her?

“First off,” Twilight chimed in, a deep frown, “That was an Ursa Minor. And second of all, we’re not bringing one of those to Ponyville.”

Trixie felt a little relieved at how her previous rival, Twilight Sparkle, just defended her. Making amends was something that just got better day after day. The Ursa Minor only brought up bad memories. She had to rebuild her own home travel wagon after the giant beast crushed it. Not to mention the creature almost mad mincemeat out of Ponyville.

However, she had her light shows. She showed it off back then too, pretending to vanquish the giant bear with her magic. She could do that.

Trixie cleared her throat, grabbing the attention of the audience again, before starting off her light show. The tip of her horn sparked as two images blinked into the night sky, illuminating it above them.

One of them was a huge blue creature with a few stars sprinkled on it, the Ursa Minor, while the other was a cartoonish cut-out of Trixie herself, wearing her getup.

“The dreaded Ursa Minor once came to Trottingham when Trixie was performing,” Trixie started in a mysterious tone, acting out her dialogue with the two images, “So I had to vanquish it. And fast!”

Trixie acted out more of her act by having the bear image swipe at the Trixie one with a claw, a few gasps coming from the audience. “But!” Trixie interjected, “Using her incredibly amazing magical talents, Trixie vanquished the dreaded beast, and sent it back from where it came!” Trixie played along with her act by having the miniature Trixie cast a spell, the Ursa Minor getting hit by what looked like a painful experience. The small figure retreated from the scene, before it eventually popped, more fireworks exploding to end her small show.

“Woo!” Rainbow Dash called out as Trixie sent off a larger show of fireworks, the group beginning to applaud the performance. Trixie stood in the center of stage again, before using her magic to poof out the hat and robe. The mare was left on stage, before taking a bow. “Trixie thanks all of you!” she said, bowing again, the six mares still clapping for her.

“While short,” Twilight said after the faded claps ended, Trixie walking off the stage, “That was an incredible display there.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie added, still in the embrace of Twilight, “It’s not about how long the performance is, but rather how nice it looked.”

“And I’ll say that was a superb show,” Rarity agreed, before looking around the group with bumbling excitement, “So who’s next?”

Pinkie Pie nudged her marefriend, gaining her attention. Twilight immediately scuttled a bit further away from the rest of the group, trying not to draw attention to herself. “Where are you going silly?” she heard Pinkie deliberately call out loudly, gripping her to prevent escape. She gave out a nervous chuckle when the eyes focused on her. “Come on Twilight, show us your magic,” Pinkie added, wearing that grin that she sometimes found hard to turn down.

Some other remarks of acknowledgement were given from the others, calling for her to get up on stage. Trixie herself walked over towards the alicorn. “Just don’t one-up me,” she stated jokingly, taking a seat next to Pinkie.

Blushing from the pressure, Twilight rose up, the spotlight now on her rather than Trixie. Looking down at the azure mare, she smiled, receiving the same from the subject herself. She took a breath, before making her way towards the stage.

Trixie inched closer towards Pinkie Pie, shifting her gaze a bit before leaning in. “What is she going to do?” she asked, whispering it.

“I have no idea,” Pinkie happily replied, ready to watch her marefriend perform something she was bound to love.

Trixie prepared herself to watch whatever spectacular performance Twilight was likely to come out with. Back then, she would have scoffed at the very idea. Another unicorn who was better than her at magic? Preposterous.

But now, after making a lot of amends, Twilight now an alicorn, even friends, she was ready to witness a spectacle. It was going to magnificent, she could tell.

And even better, she’d cheer for her.

Author's Note

Trixie. That is all.

Dragonshy

Twilight looked up at their goal. It was certainly a track, not to mention a climb. She had done it before, they all had, and this time, no dragon slept up there. The large mountain above, still... large.

She lowered her eyebrows, fully determined to get to the destination. No pressure this time, or Fluttershy either. The shy pegasus had a nasty habit of preventing their progress last time, but now, it was just a casual climb, while there was also a goal.

The journey was much better for another reason too; Pinkie Pie was with her. A slow trek up the mountain with her marefriend. What could be better? All the time in the world was at their hooves, and they had privacy. No signs of bad weather either, which just made the travelling better.

That springing jumpy noise just relaxed Twilight. Pinkie’s active bubbly personality, as well as the pink figure itself jumping that cute way she did just made the journey even better for her.

The pair reached a small area they could use for a temporary rest, Twilight taking a moment to stretch her slightly aching joints. She sighed as she relaxed her muscles, releasing the built-up tension, ready for a break.

“Aren’t we continuing?” Pinkie asked, still bouncing.

Twilight took off her saddlebags, before taking a seat on her haunches. “In a bit. I need a short rest.”

“Aww, come on!” Pinkie Pie whined, halting her spring, “Let’s go slowpoke!”

Twilight chuckled before activating her horn, using her magic to envelope Pinkie Pie in a mystical aura, a slight scream coming from the pink mare after getting hoisted into the air. Slowly but gracefully, she was levitated over towards Twilight, where she was simply released from the magical grasp, landing right in front of her.

Twilight took the opportunity while Pinkie was on the ground to stroke her mane in a comforting manner. “In a bit ok?” she calmly asked, leaning forward and giving Pinkie a small kiss on the forehead.

Pinkie Pie got the message to have a break, though she wouldn’t mind continuing. She snuggled up next to Twilight, the two of them shortly brought together in a sharing embrace, a hug. “If you want,” Pinkie happily replied, not minding to wait, especially when she was in the hooves of Twilight.

The two mares looked over the mountain they had been climbing. They were only halfway there, but they were pretty high up. Looking out over Ponyville, and even portions of Equestria, was admittedly beautiful. “What do you think?” Twilight asked, still mesmerised by the gorgeous sight.

Pinkie Pie snuggled in closer, leaning her head onto Twilight’s shoulder. She didn’t say anything, rather take in the sight, which Twilight thought, was beautiful. She exhaled a glorious sigh, happy to be there. All of Ponyville below, all without their party pony for a while. She’d make up for it later.

Twilight continued to stroke her hoof through Pinkie’s curly mane, also taking in the sights. It really was a bit of a spectacle, but compared to what they were doing, it was only a temporary thing. She took a gander back up, seeing just how higher up they had to go. She would be brave, not scared at all, considering she had trailed up it before.

“Shall we go?” she gently asked, prepared to carry along.

Pinkie Pie’s ears fluttered, before she moved an inch too. “Sure.”

Both of the mares got up onto their hooves, ready to head off again. Twilight used her magic to put the saddlebags back on her, while Pinkie Pie gazed up at their destination. She awed a bit, allowing her mind to fill in the gaps and mental calculations, including advanced arithmetics.

She brought her head back down, seeing Twilight ready to carry along. “I know what we can do,” she suggested, catching Twilight’s attention.

“Yeah?” Twilight raised her eyebrow.

“Why don’t we...” Pinkie quietly said, getting closer, “Fly up there?”

“Fly?” Twilight blankly repeated.

“Yeah, it’ll get us up there in no time!”

“First of all,” Twilight protested, taking a sigh. “You can’t fly Pinkie.” She was only met with a beaming smile. “So to do that, we’d have to-“

She saw it. The smile. The very notion, idea that was planted and currently occupied inside of Pinkie Pie’s head. She frantically shook her head, initially terrified of the negatives. “No Pinkie, we can’t do that.”

“Oh come on,” Pinkie whined, trying to encourage Twilight, “We’ve done it before.”

“Yeah, but not up a mountain,” Twilight added, emphasising her point. She took a gulp when she faced the vertical shaft, as well as the ground below. It was quite the distance.

“I know you can do it,” Pinkie Pie reassured her, taking the saddlebags off of Twilight and putting them on her instead.

“I... I...” Twilight stammered, her hoof up to her cheek. She took another overly complicated detail about her predicament, as well as the estimated time to reach the top. Flying would reduce their time by a substantial amount, which she had no objections against.

Flowing any arguments against the idea out of her mind, Twilight broadly extended her wings, the feathers in sight. She turned around to Pinkie Pie, before saying, “Climb on.”

Pinkie Pie practically beamed, not taking a moment’s notice to launch and cling herself onto Twilight’s back. The alicorn stumbled a bit from the extra weight, particularly a puffy weight, but she held on tight. “Hold on, alright?”

“Duh, of course,” Pinkie shot back at her, rolling her eyes. She took her hind leg and playfully tapped Twilight’s with it. “Let’s fly!”

Twilight felt a slight tingle as Pinkie’s hoof made contact with hers, setting her off on a brisk run. Taking in what moments she had, she flapped her wings, lifting the pair off the ground and into the open air. Twilight bit her lip as she tried to readjust herself to the extra weight as well as the altitude, her body shaking slightly. She feared for herself, but more for Pinkie Pie.

It must have taken a full minute for Twilight to get used to the air, as well as Pinkie’s body on her back. She sighed in relief as she normalised herself, remaining steady. She could see the ground beneath her, a flash of horror coming to her if she ever fell.

Pinkie Pie got rid of Twilight’s scary thought by taking her head and rotating it. The pink hooves moved the purple head around to face towards their destination, which stood a hundred metres above them at best. “Better?” she calmly asked, aware of Twilight’s previous state of fear.

“Much,” she thankfully replied, the current image occupied in her head more safe. When Pinkie Pie moved her hooves back to where they were, gripped around her, she took it as the sign, violently flapping her wings to gain immediate height, as well as a boost.

It was a fast trip to the top. Twilight found it was over sooner than it begun, while Pinkie Pie enjoyed the small journey as much as she could, allowing the passing wind to blow through her hair. To her, it lasted longer than Twilight’s experience.

Twilight landed slowly, Pinkie Pie getting off her. She bounced a few spaces away, before both of them noticed the giant hole in the side. It was the entrance to the cave, their destination. “We’re here,” Pinkie broadly announced.

Twilight didn’t comment on Pinkie Pie’s obvious statement, more interested in the architecture of the cave itself. It didn’t look threatening, not when there wasn’t a dragon resting inside of it. “Let’s go,” she proclaimed, already having taken a few steps forward.

Pinkie Pie actively sprung up behind her, checking out every nook and cranny of the cave. It was murky and a bit damp, and there was enough light in it, but it remained ugly anyway. It wasn’t a huge cave either, as evidenced when Twilight and Pinkie Pie halted for their eyes to lie upon the treasure.

Their eyes sparkled from the reflection of the treasures, their mouths opening on their own. A lot of treasure. A lot. Twilight used the opportunity to activate her magic to take back the possession of her saddlebags, Pinkie Pie mesmerised from the sight in front of them.

“Whoa...” Pinkie inadvertently said. She took a few steps forward, only inches away from the many gold objects. Analysing the many bits in front of her, she had a bright idea. She wriggled her flank a bit, before taking a leap towards the gold, yelling, “Geronimo!”

Twilight watched as Pinkie Pie disappeared into the vast amount of gold, like an elegant swimmer. She didn’t see how that was possible, given that gold was a metal and that there was no way Pinkie Pie’s weight would be able to ‘swim’ through it.

Pinkie Pie shot up amidst a pile of gold, her head poking out, before spitting out a cannon fire of gold from her mouth. “This is amazing!” she yelled, before lying on top of the pile, making an angel layout.

“Yeah...” Twilight agreed with a mutter, checking out the quality objects. They had come, and they had succeeded in their task. It was time to harvest the gold and take in back down to Ponyville. “Looks like our job here is done Pinkie.”

“So it’s time to take it down?”

“Mhmm,” Twilight confirmed, nodding her head. But there was something she was seriously wondering.

How would she transport it all down the mountain? Her saddlebags could only carry so much.

She loudly groaned and smacked her head with her hoof as soon as the realisation hit her.

Author's Note

Got the gold thing from this.

Griffon the Brush-Off

Peaceful. Quiet. Relaxing.

All of them qualities Twilight enjoyed about reading outside. Sometimes, being cooped up in her castle was daunting, even a bit stressful. She liked a change of scenery every now and then, as much as others might not see it, and sitting in the park, sprawled out on a bench where she could read in the open was nice.

Not many ponies came to the park that often. There were a few fillies or colts every now and then, but it was relatively quiet most of the time, only letting Twilight get lost in the words even more. She wouldn’t mind the extra activity, but she didn’t argue against the loneliness.

Today’s topic of literature called for something special, or rather, a book she was given from Pinkie Pie. It was a book about rocks, with the insides claiming that it had Maud’s personal seal of approval. Pinkie highly recommended it, the word passed on from Maud herself.

It was an enticing novel, but a bit odd. A whole book dedicated to... rocks. She was entranced by Pinkie Pie’s backstory. Recently, she had become more interested in her marefriend’s past. It was never really brought up between the pair, but at the request of Twilight, Pinkie Pie agreed that they’d talk about their younger years.

They were both happy about each other’s past. Twilight had discovered a different side of Pinkie’s younger self, especially after she got her cutie mark, while Pinkie Pie had heard about the bookworm’s apparent lonesome ways.

Though they continued their sharing stories, Pinkie Pie didn’t partake in her side at the same time. In the particular instance of Twilight lounging out across a park bench, she had decided to use the opportunity to mess with Twilight’s head. To do so, she employed the help of Rainbow Dash.

Pinkie Pie leant her head out from the tree, spotting the alicorn and her wandering eyes over the book. She grinned, as Pinkie Pie’s hoof trailed up her spine. “Is it done?” she asked, still gazing over at Twilight.

“Yep!” Pinkie Pie proclaimed, “This is going to be great!”

Pinkie Pie snickered. “Yeah. Now remember Pinkie, Twilight can’t know about this, so no distractions ok?”

“Got it,” Pinkie Pie affirmed, nodding her head, “Ready?”

“Ready,” Pinkie Pie said, “Watch this.” Looking at the wooden tree for a moment, she took in its features, before proceeding to climb up its branches. There were a few rustles and noises as she ascended the tree, Twilight even catching a faint noise at one point, though not overly disturbing. She only went back to reading after it faded.

Being as careful as she could, Pinkie Pie positioned herself on a branch overhanging Twilight and the bench, ready to dip down. Twilight definitely heard something, poking her head up from where the sound came from. She wasn’t prepared for a pony to come crashing down right on her, the weight landing on her.

She groaned from the sudden impact, clearly annoyed straight away. She quickly turned her head around to give the careless pony a piece of her mind, when it changed, seeing that it was Pinkie Pie. She was still a bit annoyed, but given that it was Pinkie Pie, she could let it slide. “Oh, hey Pinkie,” she gracefully said, glad that her marefriend had decided to ‘drop in’.

Pinkie Pie shook her head from the impact, before smiling, perched on top of Twilight. “Hey Twilight,” she happily replied, trying her best to remain joyful.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, detecting something odd. “Are you ok? Your voice sounds... off. Are you sick?”

Pinkie Pie coughed, rearranging her voice a bit. “Nope, not at all. But that isn’t important right now. What you reading?”

Twilight’s smile grew, bringing the book up so that Pinkie Pie could see. “It’s the book you gave me, regarding your past.”

Pinkie Pie darted her eyes around, not looking very keen on the book. “Yeah... nice.”

“Are you sure you’re ok?” Twilight asked, starting to get concerned.

“Yeah,” Pinkie Pie reassured her, “I’m fine.” She chuckled nervously, before pointing towards the book, making herself more comfortable, “Come on, let’s read!”

“Right...” Twilight reluctantly agreed, still feeling edgy regarding Pinkie Pie. She looked back at the book, bringing it closer towards the pair. She pointed at a specific point on a page. “This is where I’m at. Remember this?”

Pinkie Pie didn’t have a clue what was being described in the literature, and was growing very tense when Twilight was starting to stroke her hoof up her body, showing off her affection. “Uh... yes?”

Twilight paused, before turning around once more. “Ok, what’s wrong?” she asked forcefully, knowing something was up.

Pinkie Pie gasped, trying to keep up her charade, while in her own eyes, failing, “Nothing.”

Twilight continued to rub along Pinkie Pie with her hoof, leaning in a bit. “Come on, you can tell me.”

Pinkie Pie started to grow very nervous about the close contact, especially when Twilight only got nearer. “Uh...”

Pinkie Pie got the final straw as soon as Twilight leant up and whispered something in her ear, the final breaking point. With immediate haste, she leapt off of Twilight, the plan having failed, standing a few steps away from her on the ground. “Nope! I can’t do this!”

“Do what?” Twilight asked, tilting her head, ignoring the fact that Pinkie Pie’s voice had completely changed.

“Th-This!” she shouted in response, her breathing having sped up, “Pinkie, come on out! The plan has failed!”

Twilight looked behind her, a mare emerging from behind the tree. She looked so happier than the other apparent Pinkie Pie, but Twilight didn’t seem affected by it. “Aww, what happened?” the frowning Pinkie Pie at the tree asked, closing in on the scene.

“I can’t... do this!” the other Pinkie Pie exclaimed, before lifting a hoof behind her back, pulling down a zip. The costume came off, revealing Rainbow Dash in full, the costume falling to the ground. “You’re weird Twilight!” she said, pointing a hoof at the alicorn, eying her in a weird fashion.

Pinkie Pie joined next to Twilight. “What’d you tell her?”

Twilight smirked, leaning in and whispering the same things to Pinkie Pie, a resulting blush appearing. “Whoa...”

Rainbow Dash felt a shudder coming over her just from the implications alone. Twilight just told her... that. Something she really didn’t want to hear.

“Does this mean we’ve failed?” Pinkie Pie asked Rainbow Dash, feeling rather saddened by the sudden quitting.

“Failed?” Rainbow Dash stated, like the word itself was poison, “Failed? There’s no way this could have gone well!”

“But you... said it was going to be great.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Maybe so, but it didn’t.”

“So what are you going to do now then?” Twilight asked, Pinkie Pie taking Rainbow Dash’s previous spot on top of Twilight.

When Rainbow Dash looked back at the pair, she quickly turned away, screaming in disgust, blocking her vision with a hoof. “Guys... please don’t do that.”

Pinkie Pie giggled, the only response the pegasus knew she was going to receive. “Ugh... well anyway, I was about to meet up with Gilda.”

“Wait...” Twilight said, lowering her gaze, “Did you just say Gilda?”

“As in that grumpy-pants who found us all lame?” Pinkie added.

Rainbow Dash sheepishly chuckled, but a bit expectantly. “Yeah... that’s her alright. She’s passing through town today and I told her I’d meet up. You know, old friends and all.”

“But I thought you two sort of... split up?” Twilight asked, not knowing how to phrase it. It left on a low note, as far as she could recall.

“We kinda did,” Rainbow Dash replied, finding it tough to put into words, “She’s come a bit to her senses though. I wouldn’t say she’s perfect, but we’ve made up.”

“So what time are you meeting her?”

“Not for a little while,” Dash said, sighing again, realising just how long it was. But then she remembered the situation with Twilight and Pinkie Pie, in front of her. It made it awkward very quickly. “Umm, maybe I should head over there now?”

“Hmm?” Twilight wondered, turning to Rainbow Dash once more, Pinkie Pie seeming to be in a state of pure relaxation lying on top of her, “Oh, yeah. Sure. Go right ahead.”

Rainbow Dash nervously chuckled again, before spreading her wings. “Yeah... thanks Twilight.”

Twilight and Pinkie Pie watched Rainbow Dash leap off the ground, setting off at a casual pace through the air, heading to wherever she was going to meet Gilda. The griffon still spelt a red alarm to Twilight, but considering it was a while ago she met her, she couldn’t judge. Perhaps Rainbow Dash was right. Maybe she had changed.

She wouldn’t know though.

“Maybe she’ll finally give back that apple she stole,” Pinkie exclaimed, still resting on top of Twilight, “She was a thief.”

“And a party pooper,” Twilight added.

“Yeah... she didn’t turn that frown upside-down did she?” Pinkie Pie emphasised her point by snapping her head upside down perfectly, a bit disturbing.

Twilight almost threw Pinkie Pie off of her, the display rather horrifying to her, though somehow comical. It didn’t look like it hurt, but if she did that more times, then something would be wrong. “Pinkie... please don’t ever do that again.”

Pinkie shyly returned her head back to normal, before going back to relax on top of Twilight again. Sighing, she allowed her body to rest on top of the alicorn's, planting her head along Twilight’s neck, burying into her mane, before grinning. “We got Dashie didn’t we?”

Twilight returned back to reading the book, but allowed Pinkie Pie to remain on her. Grinning, she replied, “we sure did. Getting her to pretend to be you.”

Pinkie Pie giggled, slowly tracing her hoof along Twilight’s leg. “Well yeah, I’m the prank master after all.”

Author's Note

This one was a bit of a hassle. I hate Gilda, so I really didn't want to write her. I know she's only in a single episode, but I just hate her. Trying to put in this episode was tough in that regard too, since I didn't put her in.