Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

by DrakeyC

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Cutie Mark Crusaders, Trixie
Length: 43179

Trixie gets three new apprentices in stage magic. Or, the Crusaders get a new victim in their search for their cutie marks.

After another failed attempt to get their cutie marks, the Cutie Mark Crusaders stumble upon a wagon in the woods with a familiar unicorn showmare inside. In awe of Trixie's presence and her tales of travelling across Equestria, they decide she may just be the unicorn to help them get their cutie marks - in stage magic! And it may just be the most difficult trick Trixie's ever attempted.

Pre-readers: RTStephens, The Albinocorn, and Cerulean Voice.
Cover art made from vectors by Acer-Rubrum and thatguy1945

Featured on Equestria Daily

Published 2015-04-03 00:20:03 UTC
Last updated 2016-02-26 13:45:49 UTC

Chapter 1

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 1

“Scootaloo!”

No response. Only the dense, dark trees of the White Tail Woods. The afternoon sun barely peeked through the tangle of branches overhead, and the grass underhoof was thick as two fillies clomped over it.

Apple Bloom sighed. “Let’s keep goin’. She’s gotta be in here somewhere.”

“Maybe we sent her into the next city,” Sweetie Belle said. “I think there’s another town out this way, past the woods.”

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes. “Well, she wouldn’t be out all this way if somepony could follow directions.”

“The container said to use two or three spoons!”

“Teaspoons, not tablespoons!”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “It didn’t say which!”

“It did so!”

“Well… the label should have been easier to read!”

Apple Bloom groaned. “Whatever. Let’s keep lookin’.” They moved on, both calling out Scootaloo’s name. After a few more minutes, they heard a faint response and broke into a trot.

“Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle looked to either side. “Where are you?”

“Up here.”

The two fillies craned their heads; a familiar orange body and purple tail poked out a few feet above them, its head stuck in a tree trunk.

“Good thing we made ya wear that helmet,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yeah, great,” Scootaloo deadpanned, her voice muffled by the trunk. “Did my cutie mark appear?”

“Hold on.” Sweetie Belle walked to the side for a better view. “No.”

“Darn.” Scootaloo lifted her hooves and braced them on the tree to push herself back. “Little help?”

Apple Bloom walked up to the tree and turned her back to it. As Scootaloo kept pushing, Apple Bloom bucked hard. The tree shook, and Scootaloo’s helmeted head popped out. She cried out and fell back, landing next to Apple Bloom.

“Well, it could have gone worse,” Apple Bloom said.

Scootaloo groaned and stood up, brushing herself off. “So much for getting cannonball pony cutie marks.”

“Maybe we didn’t use enough gunpowder,” Sweetie Belle suggested. “Come on—let’s go back and see what four spoons can do!”

“Uh…” Apple Bloom looked around the site and tilted her head. “Girls? Where is the way back?”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned their heads; the woods stretched out behind them, growing deep and dark only a little ways in.

Scootaloo slumped. “Great. We’re lost.”

“Sweetie Belle! You said you’d keep track of the way we came!”

“I did!” Sweetie Belle pointed her hoof. “We came from exactly… um…” She looked around, swung her hoof back and forth, frowned, and scratched her head. “I remember we passed a tree with a funny-looking bush in front of it…”

Scootaloo slapped her forehead. “We could be anywhere!”

“And we were walkin’ quite a while before we found ya…” Apple Bloom frowned. “There’s gotta be somepony out here who can help us. Sweetie Belle, which way is that other town you mentioned?”

“Uh…”

“Never mind. Let’s just find the main road and go from there.” Apple Bloom started walking, leaving Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to follow.

They hadn’t gotten far before Apple Bloom spotted something between the trees. “There!” She ran ahead, and the object came into full view; a wagon sat in the clearing before them, a small staircase leading to the back door and a window under a purple awning on the side. She approached the end of the wagon and knocked on the door. As she waited, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle caught up and stood behind her.

The door opened, and a blue unicorn mare poked her head out to look down at Apple Bloom. “Yes?”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth to reply, froze, and then leaned her head forward. “Wait. Do we know you?”

“It’s Trixie!”

Apple Bloom turned as Sweetie Belle spoke up. “Who now?”

“Remember, the hack magician that came to Ponyville and humiliated everypony?”

“The same one that got the Alicorn Amulet, went nuts, and took over the town?” Scootaloo added. Sweetie Belle nodded.

Apple Bloom grinned and turned forward, Trixie giving her a furious scowl. “Ah thought you looked familiar! Miss Trixie, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and—”

The door slammed in Apple Bloom’s face.

“Huh. Wonder what’s up with her?” She knocked again—

Trixie pulled the door open. “What?”

“Uh, Miss Trixie, we’re lost and we need a ride to Ponyville,” Apple Bloom said. “Please?”

“Who in the hoof are you three, anyway?” Trixie asked, looking over Apple Bloom.

“We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” Apple Bloom gestured at her two friends as she spoke. “Ah’m Apple Bloom, that’s Sweetie Belle, and over there’s Scootaloo.”

“We know all about you, Trixie!” Sweetie Belle said, coming closer with Scootaloo.

“Yes, so Trixie overheard,” Trixie replied, rolling her eyes.

“Mah sister tried to show you up with lasso tricks, and you tied her up with her own rope,” Apple Bloom said.

“And then you turned my sister’s hair green when she bragged about her looks.”

Trixie looked at Scootaloo. “I suppose I did something to humiliate your sister, too?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “Well, I don’t have a real sister. But Rainbow Dash is sort of like my sister, and—”

“Never mind, you’ve said enough.” Trixie sighed. “For the reasons you have just given and numerous others, the Great and Powerful Trixie is not going to Ponyville and has no plans to.” As the three fillies let out a simultaneous groan, Trixie reached out and tapped Sweetie Belle’s horn. “Oh, don’t look at Trixie like that. Just cast a navigation spell—it’ll point the way.”

Sweetie Belle chuckled sheepishly and gently brushed Trixie’s hoof away. “Yeah, um… I’m not so good with navigation spells. Or... any sort of magic, really.”

“Please, Miss Trixie? We don’t wanna be lost out in the woods. Our sisters are gonna be lookin’ fer us, and if we don’t get home they’ll be mighty worried,” Apple Bloom said.

Trixie grunted and turned around. “Very well. Trixie may have a map of the area she can lend you.”

Apple Bloom followed her into the wagon, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stepping in behind her, and the three crowded at the entrance watching Trixie. While Trixie moved to a shelf and began pushing books and scrolls around on it, the three fillies scanned the wagon. Diagrams of devices they didn’t recognize hung from the walls and under shelves, lined with potions and magic props. Jars of powders with faded labels filled a small desk next to alchemy mixing tools.

“What is all this?” Scootaloo asked, looking at a vial of red powder in a holder.

Trixie glanced her way. “That is illusion powder. Trixie is not done mixing it, but when she is, it will create the image of a great dragon in a cloud of smoke.”

Scootaloo grinned. “That is so awesome.”

“Most audiences would agree.”

“What about this?” Sweetie Belle pointed a hoof at a diagram depicting some sort of box.

“That is a transporter box. Trixie currently lacks the materials to construct it, but with two of them, it can modify a pony’s teleportation magic to allow something placed in one box to appear inside the other.”

“Neato!”

Apple Bloom saw a pot of liquid over a glowing red stone, swirls of yellow and green roiling around the top and heat coming off the stone. “And what’s this?”

“My lunch. Daffodil soup, old family recipe.”

“Oh.” Apple Bloom pulled back. Trixie frowned and stepped back from the shelf.

“Alas, the only maps Trixie has are of cities. But Trixie has another idea.” She opened a trunk against a wall, revealing rows of compartments holding various compounds in collapsible drawers.

Scootaloo stepped away from the alchemy table as Trixie pulled the trunk over and opened a spellbook. The three lined up, watching her begin to mix various ingredients.

“So, Trixie, you perform magic?” Sweetie Belle asked. Trixie stopped and slowly turned to look down at her, an eyebrow raised.

“You must be the smart one.”

“What kind of magic do you do?” Scootaloo asked.

“Stage magic, of course.”

Apple Bloom tilted her head. “How is that different from the type of magic Twilight does?”

Trixie scoffed. “Trixie confesses, she is not as skilled in practical magic as Twilight Sparkle. But Twilight pales in comparison to Trixie when it comes to being a proper magician.”

“Magician?”

“Of course!” Trixie turned around and thrust her head into the air. “Any common pony can learn magic, but it takes a rare and special breed to be a magician. A magician needs cleverness, dexterity, charisma!” Trixie smirked and bounced her mane with a hoof. “Stunning good looks and a magnetic personality help, too. It’s all part of being a showmare.”

“Uh-huh… can only unicorns be magicians?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, it is easier, of course. But there are many tricks even a pegasus or earth pony can perform, if they have the props and proper knowledge of alchemy and spellbinding. There are schools in Baltimare that teach such things.”

“Baltimare?” Apple Bloom looked up at a map of Equestria pinned against a bookshelf. “That’s all the way on the other side of Equestria!”

“Yes, well, have horn, will travel, as the saying goes. I’ve done presentations at their schools for magicians.”

“Where else have you been, Trixie?” Scootaloo asked.

Trixie dropped a lump of red powder in a beaker of water. “Oh, near everywhere, two or three times over. Baltimare, Hoofington, Manehattan, Saddle Arabia, Fillydelphia. I was once in line for a headlining show in Las Pegasus, but lost my contract to some DJ music hack.”

“Have you been outside of Equestria?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Trixie shrugged. “Once or twice. I’ve been to griffon cities, and met a few nomadic zebra tribes near the border. I’ve never been to the dragon clans, of course. Far too barbaric.”

“Wooow…” Apple Bloom glanced between Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Crusaders, huddle up!” The three turned from Trixie and moved down the wagon, whispering.

Trixie rolled her eyes and went back to her work. She picked up an emerald and dropped it in a beaker of thin red liquid. “All right, Trixie is doing her good deed for the day. This stone, once she finishes enchanting it, will flash to point the way to Ponyville as long as you picture it in your minds. The next time you happen upon Trixie, she expects repayment. Emeralds are not cheap, but Trixie does not need any trouble from…”

Trixie looked away from the beaker at the three, who were still in a huddle, and frowned. “Are you three even listening to me?”

The three dispersed, and Apple Bloom stepped forward. “Miss Trixie, can you do somethin' for us?”

“What this time?”

Sweetie Belle stepped up. “We want you to teach us how to be magicians!”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Beg pardon?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Can you show us how to be a cool showmare like you?”

The three leaned forward, their eyes wide. “Pleeeeeeeease?”

Trixie looked between the three, grins of equal width on each of their faces. “Give Trixie one good reason why she should deign to spend her time training any of you.”

“We’ll do anythin’ you say to help us learn!”

“We’ll be loyal and attentive and never give up!”

“We’ll use our powers to dominate the lesser-minded!”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle turned their heads and stared; Scootaloo noticed and held up her hooves. “What?”

“Those are all traits Trixie admires in a pony, but she has not yet heard proper reason to spend time with you three.”

“Uh…” Apple Bloom tapped her chin. She raised her head, eyes shining. “We have money!”

“How much?”

“About forty bits? Maybe fifty.”

Trixie held out a hoof.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “It’s back at Ponyville, in our rooms.”

“Which is to say, you’re broke.”

“We can pay you, if you’ll just take us back to Ponyville!”

“Out of the question.” Trixie’s door swung open, encased in pink. “Good day.”

“You’re just going to leave us lost in the woods?” Sweetie Belle cried.

“Trixie was just about to finish enchanting an emerald to lead you home, if you wish.”

“But what about our magic lessons?” Scootaloo asked.

Trixie rolled her eyes and huffed. “Seeing as you cannot pay for them, there will not be any lessons anyway.” She turned and removed the enchanted emerald from the beaker, letting the liquid drip off of it.

The three fillies looked at each other. Then, Scootaloo stepped forward. “You know, Trixie, when we get home late—and we will, because we’re lost—our sisters will want to know what happened to us. And I don’t think they’ll like it very much at all if we tell them you kidnapped us and we escaped.”

Trixie’s head snapped up and she turned. “What? Trixie has done nothing of the sort! On the contrary, she would be rid of you three promptly!”

“Well, you may not have actually done it, but that’s what we’ll say,” Apple Bloom said, giving her a knowing smile.

“The nerve!” Trixie glared at them. “This is blackmail!”

“Uh, what’s blackmail?” Scootaloo asked.

“Blackmail is when you threaten another pony that you will do something to them unless they do something for you.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Then, yeah, we’re blackmailing you.”

Trixie rose over them on her hind hooves. The cart shook with the force of her voice, the lamps dimming and casting shadows over her. “This is an insult of the highest order! You three foals would dare to blackmail the greatest and most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “No. We’re trying to blackmail you.”

“I was talking about me!”

“Oh.” Sweetie Belle smiled. “In that case, yup.”

Trixie fell back down on all fours, and the light returned to normal. She slapped her hooves to her face and let out a long, low groan, then flung down her hooves. “Urgh. Fine. If I give you one magic lesson, will you go home and never tell anypony in Ponyville that Trixie was here?”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Three lessons.”

“One.”

“Two.”

“One.”

Apple Bloom frowned. “You’re not very good at negotiatin’ for a pony we’re tryin’ to blackmail.”

Trixie floated the newly enchanted emerald beside her. “Seeing as you need this emerald to go home, it will be Trixie who calls the shots.”

The three looked at each other, and Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shrugged. Apple Bloom nodded at Trixie. “Okay, one lesson, and we’ll go home and never mention you to anypony.” She held out her hoof. “Deal?”

Trixie smiled and shook her hoof. “Deal.” Apple Bloom withdrew her hoof, and Trixie put the emerald down on the table. “We have an accord. Trixie hereby names you her new apprentices in magic!”

The three fillies whooped and jumped into the air. “Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, yay!”

As their signature call echoed through the wagon, Trixie grimaced and covered her ears. She lowered her hooves when the wagon stopped rocking and glared at them.

“First rule: never do that again.”

Chapter 2

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 2

Clad in her magician’s hat and cloak, Trixie paced back and forth in front of the three fillies lined up on the grass outside her carriage. She looked at them each in turn as she spoke.

“Now, the first step of being a showmare is to choose a stage name. Something powerful, bold, and memorable.” She stopped and curled a hoof into the air with a smirk. “Something that speaks to you as a true magician and lets the world know you are there to amaze them.” She turned and thrust her hoof at Apple Bloom. “Let’s hear it!”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Ah’m kinda happy with just bein’ plain ‘Apple Bloom’.”

“No. Try harder.”

“Uh… The Great and Powerful Apple Bloom?”

“We’ll come back to you.” Trixie stepped up in front of Sweetie Belle. “You—smart one. Stage name?”

“How about ‘Dazzler’?” Sweetie Belle stood up and thrust her hooves into the air as she said the word.

Trixie smiled and patted Sweetie Belle on the head. “Not bad, for a first try. A bit generic, but you’re young.” Sweetie Belle grinned and sat back down. Trixie moved down the line to Scootaloo. “And you?”

Scootaloo leapt into the air and crossed her hooves. “I am The Amazing Scooter Rocker, world-famous stunt pony and scooter rider!”

Trixie shook her head. “We are magicians, not stunt ponies.”

“Can’t I be both?”

“No.”

Scootaloo pouted and crossed her hooves. Trixie ignored her and backed away from the trio. “All right, we’ll come back to stage names later. Alternate personas take time to develop anyway.” She tossed her mane and flared out her cape. “A showmare needs a sense of presence—a sense of charisma and grace that draws all eyes to her. You must become that pony, not merely put on an act.”

Trixie stood in front of Sweetie Belle. “What was your stage name, again?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “Dazzler?”

“Wrong!”

Trixie slipped behind Sweetie Belle and stood over her, sweeping a hoof through the air. “You are the one and only Dazzler! No unicorn in Ponyville could compare to your beauty and power, and none would dare try! All are in awe of your magnificence and line up to behold but a glimpse of your magical prowess on the stage!”

Sweetie Belle’s eyes glittered as Trixie spoke and her mouth hung open. “That sounds so cool…”

“It will be more than ‘cool’ when I teach you to live it!” Trixie smirked and stepped back in front of the three. “Now, Dazzler! Show me a pose worthy of a magnificent showmare!”

“Uh…” Sweetie Belle stood up on her hind hooves and spread her front hooves out. “Ta-da?” She wobbled in place, her hooves shaking. She stumbled to the side and crashed into Scootaloo, knocking them both down.

Trixie looked down at the two. “Try it again without falling over.”

Sweetie Belle held her side and winced as she climbed off of Scootaloo. “Maybe later.”

“Hn.” Trixie sniffed. “You must be confident if you are to be a showmare! A magician controls her audience as deftly as her tricks. Nothing can shake her resolve to put on the grandest show the audience will ever see.”

She looked at Scootaloo as she stood up. “You next! Show Trixie how confident you are!”

“Confident?” Scootaloo grinned. She dropped low to the ground, spreading her hooves and tilting her head up. “Confident is my middle name! I’m the second-coolest, most awesomest pony in Equestria, and it doesn’t matter if I’m on a stage or a scooter—I’m gonna rock it!”

Trixie glanced up from Scootaloo’s face to her mane. “You may want to get that twig out of your hair first.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo reached up and quickly brushed her hooves through her hair. “There’s a twig in my hair?”

“No, there isn’t. But see how quickly you fell for a distraction?” Trixie rolled her eyes. “Be sure of yourself. Be bold! If you make an error, take command of it and make it yours! The audience doesn’t know what you tried to do, and unless you tell them they never will! Yes, there was a twig in your hair, so what? You wanted it there! In fact, you put it there!”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “I did?”

“Yes, you did. And you are going to do an amazing trick with it.”

“But you just said there isn’t a twig!”

“Trixie was speaking in hypotheticals.”

“Is that a fancy word for ‘trying to confuse me’? Because it’s working.”

Trixie snorted and turned away from Scootaloo. She pointed at Apple Bloom. “You—boring one.”

“Hey!” Apple Bloom glared at Trixie. “Ah’m not boring!”

“Do you have a stage name yet?”

“Uh…”

“Then you’re the boring one.”

Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue, then lowered her head and bit her lip. “Well… um, what about ‘Apple Cadabra’?”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle turned their heads to stare at her; Trixie simply stared.

Apple Bloom looked between the three. “What?”

“That is both the dumbest and coolest thing you’ve ever said,” Scootaloo said.

“I’ve heard worse,” Trixie said. She scrunched her face and made a gagging sound. “I’ve opened for worse. All right: Apple Cadabra, Scooter Rocker, and Dazzler. They’re not the best stage names but they’ll do. The next step is to work on confidence. Some magicians adopt a persona on-stage to help them. Be yourself or be somepony else, whatever works for you. The key either way is to always be confident and in control. All will go as you demand it to go and you must control your audience’s full attention when it does, otherwise—”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and raised a hoof. Trixie looked her way. “Yes?”

“When do we start learning some actual magic?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Trixie scoffed and tilted her nose up. “If you three wish to be magicians, you must first possess the proper state of mind to command the stage. A magician is not merely a pony who does tricks, she must have a sense of grace and mysticism—”

“Yeah, yeah, we can figure that out on our own,” Scootaloo said. “We were thinking more about you teaching us stuff that’s useful.”

Trixie stared, then reached up and pulled her hat over her face. The three foals shared confused looks as the sound of muffled grumbling came from beneath the fabric.

Sweetie Belle leaned over and whispered in Scootaloo's ear, “I think she's angry with us.”

Trixie lifted her hat back up and gave a forced smile. “Not at all. This is your lesson, you get out of it what you put in. If the benefit of Trixie’s years of experience is too boring for you, we shall move on. Tell me, what practical skills do you three have that could be applied to stage magic?”

“Well, Twilight was teachin’ me how to brew potions.”

“I was learning how to build things. Mostly a unicycle.”

“I was developing my magic. She was teaching me tele… tele-kuh… how to move things.”

“That, Trixie can work with.” She smiled and turned to walk into the wagon. “Give her a moment to gather some materials and we can begin.”

Trixie held up a hoof and frowned. “Stop.”

Apple Bloom lifted her eyes from the bowl of yellow flakes in front of her, a vial of purple liquid in her hooves. “What?”

Trixie sighed heavily and shook her head. “Do you know what you hold in your hooves?”

Apple Bloom looked at the label on the vial. “Manticore venom?”

“And what were you going to pour it into?”

“Cragadile sheddings and iron filings?”

Trixie leaned closer. “Do you know what that combination will do?”

Apple Bloom looked between the sheddings and the venom, then back at Trixie. “It should create a cloud of blue smoke, right?”

“Yes, it will. In that it will explode in a blast of magical energy with a blue afterburst.”

“You’re just sayin' that because the last three potions Ah brewed exploded!”

“No, Trixie says that because it’s the truth.” Trixie took the venom in her magic and set it down. “You’ve blown up enough of Trixie’s alchemy supplies already.” She walked away from Apple Bloom and approached Scootaloo, sitting among a pile of metal parts. “You—what have you built to show Trixie?”

Scootaloo rifled through the metal and lifted a tangle of bike parts in her hooves. “I made this!”

Trixie took the contraption and lifted it to eye level. Various metal poles connected to a wheel sitting horizontally on the top, and a length of bicycle chain hung from the tire. Trixie spun the wheel around with a flick of her hoof. “And what is ‘this’ that you have built?”

“Well, you grab the chain, and use that to pull the tire around!”

“And?”

“And… it’s shiny?” Scootaloo gave an awkward chuckle.

Trixie lifted the bike chain and raised an eyebrow. “This chain is not supposed to come apart. How did you manage to get it around the tire?”

“I dunno. I was wondering that too.” Scootaloo held up her hooves.

Trixie dropped the jumble of bike parts and slapped her face. “This is why Trixie doesn’t work with children. Smart one!” She raised her head. “Need Trixie turn around, or shall she presume your magic practice is equally disappointing?”

Sweetie Belle’s voice came from behind Trixie. “Well, uh…”

“That would be a ‘yes’.”

“We’re sorry, Trixie.” Apple Bloom walked up to her. “We’re doing our best, but we’re not very good at these things. Even when Twilight was teaching us, it took weeks for us to get the hang of it.”

“Well, you don’t have weeks with Trixie. You have a day.” Trixie thrust a hoof at the sky. “A day that will soon be over.”

The foals followed her hoof and saw the sun had sunk below the trees, the sky a sea of red and violet.

“We’ve been out here all day?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yes, and thus Trixie is bringing this lesson to a close.” Trixie looked over the area, and the various supplied she had given them floated beside her. She walked into her wagon and approached the alchemy table, lifting the lid of a trunk next to it. “Trixie has upheld the end of our arrangement, even if it was a waste of time for everypony involved. It is time for you to do her a great favour and get out of her mane.”

“Hey, we did our best!” Apple Bloom said. She stepped into the wagon and stood in the doorway, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle on the steps behind her. “You don’t have to be so mean about it.”

Trixie dropped the goods with her in the trunk and slammed the lid. “Trixie would remind you that she only agreed to give you this lesson out of blackmail.”

“She’s got us there,” Scootaloo said.

Trixie lifted the enchanted emerald off the table and floated it over to Apple Bloom. “Here. Focus on the image of Ponyville in your mind, and the gem’s light will point the way. Safe travels.”

Apple Bloom looked at the emerald as Trixie dropped it at her hooves. “So, that’s it? We just go home now?”

“We had an agreement: one lesson and then you go home,” Trixie replied. “That emerald is my price to take my leave of you three. Take it and be quick of it.”

Apple Bloom picked up the emerald, looking over her shoulder. “But… it looks like it’s gonna be night soon.”

“Are you gonna make us walk home through the dark and scary woods?” Scootaloo asked.

“Can you come with us?” Sweetie Belle pursed her lips and widened her eyes.

Trixie huffed. “Trixie is beginning to wonder if this isn’t some sort of con job. Is there a fourth foal waiting in Ponyville that’s going to claim she’s my long-lost little sister?”

“No. We just don’t wanna go home by ourselves this late,” Scootaloo said.

Trixie looked around the wagon then back at the three foals in front of her. She groaned. “Truly, Trixie’s generous and caring spirit is getting the better of her. Trixie will not accompany you, but she will allow you three to stay the night. You will let Trixie get her beauty sleep, you will not bug her any further, and come sunrise the three of you will go home without further incident or protest. Understood?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “That sounds fair.”

“Good. Now go play outside while Trixie prepares dinner for us. You three are a distraction and will get in her way.”

The three foals filed out of the wagon, the door shutting behind them once they cleared the stairs.

Scootaloo sat down on the grass and looked back. “You don’t think she’ll leave us out here for the night, do you?”

“Nah, I think we can trust Trixie,” Apple Bloom replied. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle gave her a matching pair of doubtful looks. “Well, maybe we can! She gave us the magic lesson we wanted, right?”

Scootaloo her head. “Not really. She just told us we need to look cool and strike poses. I mean, duh, we do that already anyway. If that’s all it took to be a showmare, we would have gotten our magic cutie marks a long time ago.”

“And she only gave us the lesson because we blackmailed her,” Sweetie Belle pointed out. “She wanted us to go home and leave her alone before.” She scrunched her face. “Why is it called blackmail, anyway? We didn’t mail her anything.”

“What if we tell her we want a second lesson?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom thought, looked up at the wagon, and then shook her head. “I don’t think so. Trixie was already angry about us blackmailing her the first time, if we try it again she might not care what we tell our sisters.”

Scootaloo groaned. “Well, we gotta do something else before we leave! We haven’t learned anything that could help us get our cutie marks in stage magic!”

“Maybe it doesn’t matter.” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “We don’t get our cutie marks in anything else we try, and none of us are any good at magic anyway. I’m a unicorn, and I can’t even lift a broom for very long without getting tired.”

“Yeah, but we haven’t had a teacher like Trixie before!” Apple Bloom said. “Everypony else in Ponyville just tells us our cutie marks will appear once we’re ready. Well, Ah’m ready now, and mine ain’t showin’ up. But we never asked Trixie for advice before. Maybe she knows something we don’t.”

“Maybe…” Sweetie Belle lay down on the grass and yawned. “Or maybe this was just another wasted day.”

Trixie stared at the wall of her wagon, a cool breeze blowing through the window over her bed. Her eyes were narrow, her teeth gritted. Behind her, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo lay asleep on the floor of the wagon. After they had finished dinner, Trixie had insisted they go to sleep so they could get an early morning.

Why oh why did I agree to let them sleep in the wagon with me? Another loud snore interrupted her thoughts. Trixie let out a small growl. The orange one is mouthy, and the white one is dumb. Figures the yellow one is hiding the worst secret of all. For what seemed like hours, the snoring had been like a steady rhythm of wagon wheels grinding over Trixie’s head. She lifted her pillow and held it over her ears.

I never should have taken them in, just more trouble than they were worth. I could have just slammed the door and ignored them, but nooo, I had to be nice. Who knows what they’ll tell their sisters when they get back to Ponyville? Why on all days did they have to get lost when I’m passing through?

Trixie heard the wagon creak, and her expression softened. Then, the door to the wagon clicked. She turned over in bed and saw the door close behind her. She glanced down at the floor of the wagon. The orange one?

Trixie carefully climbed out of bed, stepped over the two sleeping foals, and pushed the door to the wagon open. “Hey.” She padded down the steps to the orange pegasus sitting on the grass. What did this one say her name was? Scooterloo? “Uh, Scooterloo?”

Scootaloo turned her head. “Oh. Sorry, Trixie. Did I wake you up?”

“Waking Trixie up would imply she was previously sleeping. Your friend has made a remarkable effort to prevent that.” Trixie walked closer as she spoke and stopped next to Scootaloo.

Scootaloo smirked and gave a small snicker. “Yeah, Apple Bloom’s snoring is something. You get used to it. Between camping trips with Rainbow Dash and sleepovers with Apple Bloom, I don’t even hear it anymore.”

“Well, Trixie does hear it, and she would much prefer not to get used to it, thank you very much.” Trixie looked down at Scootaloo. “Why are you out here, if not to escape the noise?”

“Just thinkin’. No offense, Trixie, but as far as helping us get our cutie marks goes, today was pretty much a bust.”

“No offense is taken, Trixie is inclined to agree.” Trixie looked back at the wagon. What was it they kept calling themselves? Cutie Mark Crusaders? “You three seem rather obsessed with getting your cutie marks.”

“You don’t know the half of it.” Scootaloo thrust a hoof at her blank flank. “The three of us are the only ones left in our class that don’t have our cutie marks yet. Everypony used to make fun of Apple Bloom until Sweetie Belle and I came to her defense and they backed off!” She slumped and frowned, padding a hoof on the dirt. “Well, at first. Now they just make fun of all three of us.”

Scootaloo looked up at Trixie. Trixie was staring off into space. Her mouth was set in a small frown, and her eyes didn’t seem focused. Scootaloo gently nudged her hoof. “Uh, Trixie?”

“Seeing as your flanks are still unmarked, your efforts thus far have been futile,” Trixie said softly.

“Yeah. We call ourselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and we spend all our time trying new things in case one of them finally gets one of us their cutie mark. Hasn’t worked out so far.”

“And you thought perhaps stage magic is a venue worth pursuing, hence you forcing my hoof into aiding you.”

Scootaloo slowly nodded. “Right. Are you okay, Trixie?”

Scootaloo nudged her again, and Trixie blinked. She held her eyes shut for a moment; when she opened them again, she looked at Scootaloo. “Yes, Trixie is fine. Go inside and rest. We have an early morning tomorrow.”

“Okay. What about you?”

“Trixie is getting some fresh air. She will be along shortly.”

Scootaloo nodded and walked back into the wagon. Trixie watched her go and used her magic to softly shut the door behind her.

Sweetie Belle jerked and snorted, her eyelids fluttering. “Wha…?” She looked around the wagon. The jingle of glass and metal filled her ears and her eyes opened fully. “Apple Bloom, Scootaloo!” She turned to either side of her and shook her friends awake.

Apple Bloom lifted her head and yawned. “What is it?”

“Something’s happening!” Sweetie Belle looked at the wall. The glass vials over the alchemy table were shaking in their rack, and there was a constant wooden creaking.

Scootaloo realized it first. “The wagon is moving!” She looked at the bed against the wall and found it empty. “Trixie?”

Apple Bloom climbed over them and jumped on the bed, rising on her hind hooves to look out the window over it. Outside, at the front of the cart, Trixie had a harness slung over her back and was slowly towing the wagon through the woods. The enchanted emerald floated in front of her, its far edge pulsing with light.

“Trixie!” Apple Bloom called to her.

Trixie stopped and looked behind her. “Go back to sleep.”

Scootaloo nudged Apple Bloom aside to look out the window with her. “What’s going on? Where are we going?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “The Great and Powerful Trixie has deigned to grant you foals mercy and take you home. Now go to sleep and let her keep on with it, as she is quite tired, and this wagon is not exactly light.”

Trixie resumed walking and the wagon began to move again.

Apple Bloom smiled at Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle. “Told ya we could trust her.”

Chapter 3

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 3

Sweetie Belle reached out and pulled one of the books on the shelf in front of her closer. “Check this out. It’s a book on how young unicorns can develop their magic.”

“Yippee, get it and climb down!” Scootaloo winced and strained to keep standing. Sweetie Belle looked down; Scootaloo stood on the floor of the wagon supporting Apple Bloom on her back, who in turn was supporting Sweetie Belle as she examined the books.

“Heads up!” Sweetie Belle tossed the book down in front of Scootaloo, the pegasus squeaking as it hit the floor. “I just wanna check one more time.”

Scootaloo groaned and glared at the two ponies on top of her. “Why couldn’t Apple Bloom be on the bottom? Earth ponies are supposed to be stronger than other ponies.”

“Ah’m not that strong yet, and you’re the one always ridin’ your scooter, so you’ve got strong hooves,” Apple Bloom replied. “Now quiet down—we don’t want Trixie to know we’re goin’ through her stuff. We should be at Ponyville soon.”

“Okay, I’m done.” Sweetie Belle looked at the wagon floor. “Uh, how do I get down?”

Scootaloo thrust her body up, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle tumbled to the floor.

“That was mean!” Apple Bloom said, rubbing her flank where she had landed.

“So was putting me at the bottom of the stack.” Scootaloo stuck out her tongue.

Sweetie Belle climbed to her hooves and picked up the book she had brought down. “Whoa. This is old.” She opened the front cover and carefully lifted the first page. The text had begun to fade, and the page was creased and torn. The page talked about stances and concentration techniques a unicorn could use to focus their magic better, with illustrations to demonstrate. It was obviously intended for very young unicorns. “Why would Trixie keep a book like this in her wagon?”

Before her friends could answer, there was a louder tinkling of glass and creaking of wood than before, and the wagon ground to a halt.

Apple Bloom jumped on the bed and looked outside. “We’re home!” She ran past Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, and pushed the wagon door open. She circled to the front where Trixie stood, and saw the wagon had stopped on a hill overlooking Sweet Apple Acres. “Thank you, Miss Trixie, we’re ever so—”

She stopped when she realized Trixie was staring ahead. “Uh, Trixie?”

“Castle?”

“Huh?” Apple Bloom nudged her hoof. “What’s wrong?”

“Castle.” Trixie blinked and kept staring. Apple Bloom saw what she was looking at; on the horizon on the far side of Ponyville, Twilight’s gleaming crystal castle rose into the night sky.

“Oh, that.” Apple Bloom nodded. “That’s Princess Twilight’s castle. She got it when she and her friends beat Tirek.”

Trixie's jaw dropped. “Twilight’s castle?”

Apple Bloom frowned and turned as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle approached. “Ah think we broke her.”

“Allow me.” Scootaloo cleared her throat and stepped up next to Trixie. “Hey, Trixie! Sweetie Belle was snooping through your stuff!”

Trixie’s head snapped to the side. “What? You touched Trixie’s things?”

Sweetie Belle shrank back and gulped. “J-just a book on magic! I left it on the table, honest!"

Apple Bloom rolled her eyes and walked down the hill. “Come on, girls, let’s go.”

Trixie gave Sweetie Belle a dirty look and then followed, towing the wagon. As the four reached the bottom of the hill and neared the boundaries of one of Sweet Apple Acres’ orchards, an orange pony came into view, galloping towards them.

“Apple Bloom!”

Apple Bloom grinned and waved a hoof. “Applejack! Don’t worry, we’re—”

“Don’t worry?” Applejack stopped her gallop and responded to Apple Bloom’s smile with a scowl. “Don’t you tell me not to worry, missy! Where’ve you three been all day? Rainbow Dash has been lookin’ round town all night, Twilight’s busy tryin’ to find locator spells, and don’t get me started on Rarity!”

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle ran up beside Apple Bloom. “Is she okay?”

“She will be now that Ah won't have to listen to her anymore. She was tryin' to get Spike to send Celestia a letter askin' for the Royal Guard to help search. More like she should send a letter telling her that you three are…” Applejack lifted her head when she saw Trixie step up behind them. “Trixie?”

Trixie stopped and gave a small sniff. “The one and only.”

“What in tarnation are you doin’?”

“Questioning some recent life choices I've made.”

Applejack frowned but didn’t respond. Movement in the sky drew everypony’s eyes up at a strip of rainbow color streaking over them. A moment later, Rainbow Dash turned back, slowed down, and descended.

“All right, you found them!” She looked at Scootaloo and grinned. Then her eyes darted to Trixie and the grin vanished. “What’s she doing here?”

“We’re gonna find out. Rainbow, go tell Twilight and the gang they’re back,” Applejack said; Rainbow nodded and flew off again. “The rest of y’all follow me.” Applejack gave Trixie a dubious look, and then turned to lead the way. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle followed her.

Trixie watched them, sighed, shrugged off the harness to her wagon, and tossed the navigation emerald through the window behind her.

Scootaloo watched to see Trixie come with them, then looked at Apple Bloom. “So, how much trouble do you think we’re in?”

“For what?” Apple Bloom replied. “For goin’ missin’ for a day, for bringin’ Trixie back to Ponyville, or for blackmailin’ her into trainin’ us?”

“All of the above?” Sweetie Belle asked.

The group reached the edge of the orchard. Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy were waiting for them. Their eyes moved from Applejack, to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, then to Trixie.

“Um, I think we’ve missed something,” Fluttershy said.

“We all did.” Applejack turned and looked down at Apple Bloom. “All right, y’all, let’s take it from the top. And Ah want the whole truth, ya hear?”

Apple Bloom took a breath, then quickly blurted out the story. “We were shootin' Scootaloo out of a cannon to try and get our cannonball pony cutie marks, but Sweetie Belle used too much gunpowder and we shot her deep into the White Tail Woods. We got lost lookin' fer her and then we found Trixie’s wagon. We threatened to tell you she had kidnapped us if she didn’t spend the day teachin' us magic so we could get our magician cutie marks, but we weren’t any good at it, and then she brought us home because Ah dunno why.” She stopped and caught her breath.

“Also, we found out what ‘blackmail’ means,” Sweetie Belle added. “For some reason it doesn’t actually involve mail.”

Scootaloo slapped her forehead.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “When you tell the tale like that, it sounds ridiculous.”

Applejack shook her head. “Nope, this is pretty much how most of their schemes go, just with more tree sap. But that don’t change the fact that you three acted reckless and irresponsible!”

“Tell me about it!” Pinkie cut in, glaring at them. “You were shooting somepony out of a cannon and didn’t even think to ask me for help? How do you think I came up with the party cannon in the first place?”

“Pinkie, not the time,” Applejack said; Pinkie stepped back, pointing a hoof between the foals and her eyes. “Well, with that settled… Trixie.” Applejack reached up and took off her hat, holding it to her chest. “Thanks for bringin’ the girls home. Ah know they’re a hoof-full, and ya didn’t have to do it, but we appreciate it.”

“Given the choice between thankless generosity and blackmail, Trixie is at least pragmatic.”

Applejack nodded and looked at the three foals. “Girls, what do you have to say to Trixie for bringing y’all home?”

The three fillies lined up and looked up at Trixie, speaking in unison. “Thank you, Trixie.”

“Trixie did not do this for gratitude.” Trixie began to say something else, but something caught her eye and she turned her head. The other mares present followed suit; a white unicorn mare was rapidly galloping towards them.

“Rarity!” Sweetie Belle grinned and raised a hoof. “I’m okay, I’m whoa—” Her body lit up blue, and she snapped towards Rarity, who crushed her in a tight hug and rapidly pressed kisses to her forehead.

“Sweetie Belle, I swear by all four princesses, you are grounded for the rest of your natural life and are never leaving home again.” Rarity spoke between kisses and hugged her tighter. Sweetie Belle let out a faux choking noise in response.

“Don’t worry, she’ll get over it. She’s been like this all day.” Spike walked up beside Rarity and patted Sweetie Belle on the head with a smirk. Rainbow Dash landed beside Rarity and approached the group. Trixie’s eyes narrowed as another familiar pony flew up behind her and landed too.

“Welcome back, everypony.” Twilight Sparkle smiled at Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, then turned her attention to Trixie. “Trixie, thank you very much for bringing them back. We all appreciate it.”

Trixie said nothing but came closer, her eyes fixed on Twilight; Twilight shuffled in place and avoided eye contact as Trixie looked her up and down. She then leaned to the side and stared at Twilight’s wings. “So. It is true. Twilight Sparkle is now an alicorn princess. And here Trixie was hoping the last year was merely a prolonged, detailed dream.”

Twilight laughed sheepishly. “Nope, not a dream. But you don’t have to call me princess if you don’t want to, Trixie.”

“She doesn’t?” Spike folded his claws and raised an eyebrow. Trixie glanced at him and tossed her head.

Twilight shook her head. “Of course not, Trixie’s our…” She made a face and turned to the rest of the group for help. They each held up their hooves. “Acquaintance?”

“Sure, let’s go with that,” Trixie replied. “Well, Twilight Sparkle, if all is well with the three foals, Trixie will be retiring for the evening.” Trixie turned and walked towards her wagon.

“Wait!” Twilight ran up beside Trixie. “That’s it?”

Trixie stopped and sniffed. “Is there some other manner of business to attend to? Is Trixie not welcome to spend the night in her own wagon?”

“No, not really. I just thought, perhaps…”

“You thought, perhaps, but Trixie did not. She is quite tired and has had a very long day.” Trixie stepped around Twilight and approached the wagon.

“Will you be here in the morning?” Twilight asked.

Trixie huffed and rolled her eyes. “Does Trixie appear to be in a state to do further travelling tonight? She fully intends to sleep in, barring any unexpected visitors. Now, is there anything else, or is she free to take her leave?”

“Yeah, go ahead, leave. Please,” Rainbow Dash called, glaring at her.

Trixie stuck her tongue out and walked out of her view to the far end of the wagon. Twilight watched her go and then turned back to the group.

“Twi, did Ah miss somethin’ with you an’ Trixie?” Applejack asked.

Twilight came closer and looked down at Apple Bloom. “Why did she agree to bring you three home? Was she on her way here?”

“No. She said she didn’t want to come to Ponyville if she could help it.”

“Then why did she suddenly change her mind?”

Scootaloo raised a hoof and looked sheepish. “I talked to her last night a bit. She was asking about why we want our cutie marks so bad, and I told her about how we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders and like trying things to get our marks.”

“But why would that make her bring you home?” Twilight asked. Scootaloo shrugged.

Applejack nodded to draw Twilight’s attention her way. “We’ll ask in the mornin’ before she leaves. For now, it’s a late night—let’s call it now that they’re back and get some shuteye.”

“Well spoken, Applejack.” Rarity smiled at her. “I, for one, am quite ready to retire.”

“Rarity?” Sweetie Belle squirmed, still in her sister’s hooves. “Can you let me go?”

“Absolutely not.” Rarity took Sweetie Belle in her magic and put her on her back, keeping the aura around her stable. She turned and walked towards Ponyville, Sweetie Belle struggling to move on top of her.

“Come on, Scoots, I’ll give ya a lift home.” Rainbow Dash gestured Scootaloo forward. Scootaloo jumped on Rainbow’s back and put her hooves over her neck, and the two shot into the air, leaving a rainbow trail.

“We’ll be heading home too.” Fluttershy smiled at Twilight and walked towards her cottage.

Pinkie Pie leaned down to Apple Bloom, her eyes narrowed. “Remember, buster—I’m watching you.” She then stood up, smiled, and trotted towards Ponyville, singing under her breath.

“G’nite, Twi. Don’t you worry none. I’ll keep an eye on Trixie through the night.”

“Thanks, Applejack.” Twilight watched her leave and cast one last glance at Trixie’s cart, and then she too headed home.

The sun peeked over the treetops to beam down on Ponyville. A ray of sunlight fell on the entrance of Sweet Apple Acres as Twilight walked through the gate and approached the wagon on the far edge of the property. She reached it, circled to the door, and knocked three times. There was no response, and Twilight knocked again.

“Go away!”

At the sound of Trixie’s voice, Twilight cleared her throat. “Trixie, it’s me!”

“Who is ‘me’?”

“Twilight.”

“Oh… go away!”

“Please, I want to talk to you.”

Twilight heard movement and stepped back from the door. It swung in, and Trixie looked down at her from the steps; her mane was unkempt and her eyes sagging. Twilight forced a polite smile. “Good morning.”

“It was. What do you want?”

“I wanted to invite you to my castle for breakfast, and to talk a little.”

Trixie blinked slowly, processing Twilight’s words. “Is there coffee?”

Twilight perked up. “There could be.”

“Trixie takes two sugars and one cream. Give her five minutes to make herself presentable, and have a cup waiting.”

Trixie gulped down the last dregs of coffee in her cup and set it down on the table. She smacked her lips and let out a murmur. “Your dragon makes good coffee.”

“Late night study sessions. He has to,” Twilight replied.

Trixie’s eyes flitted about the room, the crystalline walls shining purple and blue over the small table the two were sitting at. “So, one of the foals told me you got this castle after defeating Tirek.”

“Yes, the Tree of Harmony granted it to me.” Twilight sighed. “To be honest, I miss my library a lot. The castle is nice, but it’s a little ostentatious.”

Trixie snorted. “Only a little? As an expert on such matters, the adverb you’re thinking of is ‘very’.”

Twilight coughed. “Well, there’s little I can do about it. I never asked for it, but it's here, and it’s my home now, for what it is.”

“And why not? A princess deserves her own castle, doesn’t she?” Trixie eyed her coffee cup and a bit of syrupy liquid still dwelling in the bottom.

“Speaking of princesses, I noticed you weren’t surprised to see me like this,” Twilight said, spreading her wings. “I imagined you would be angry, or jealous.”

“Jealous?” Trixie looked up from her cup. “Jealousy demands that one desires what another has. Trixie is already the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria. What value would wings hold for her?”

“Right.” Twilight rolled her eyes. Before she would continue the conversation, the large doors to the kitchen pushed open.

Spike wheeled a cart with two plates of pancakes and a bowl of fruit into the room. “Here we go, breakfast.” He lifted one plate and set it next to Twilight, then moved the bowl of fruit to the center of the table. “I’m gonna go get mine.” He turned and walked away.

“Spike!” Twilight looked over the side of her chair. Spike stopped at the sound of her voice and looked back. “Didn’t you forget something?” Twilight nodded at the other plate of pancakes still on the cart.

“Nope.” Spike shrugged and back into the kitchen.

Twilight sighed. “I’m sorry. I’m sure he doesn’t mean to offend.”

“Of course he does.” Trixie lifted the plate off the cart and floated it in front of her.

“Please don't be angry with him, we were all up late last night looking for the girls, and Rarity was pestering him.”

“I quite doubt that's the cause of it. The last time we met, one of us used an ancient amulet of untold dark powers to enslave the town.” Trixie cut her pancakes and stabbed a fork into the piece of the stack she’d cut. “Anger is hardly uncalled for when our last meeting was under such circumstances.”

Twilight tilted her head, watching as Trixie calmly ate her meal. “You’re being rather reasonable about all this.”

“Trixie knows to exercise proper manners and speech when meeting royalty, much less in a guest's home.” Trixie looked at the bowl of fruit and pulled it closer, lifting the spoon in it to heap a pile of cherries and mango slices on her plate.

“And if Trixie were to abandon those proper manners and speak to me as I know she wants to?” Twilight asked.

Trixie tossed a cherry in her mouth and bit on it, the skin popping between her teeth. She chewed, swallowed, and leaned forward. “She would question why the hay she was woken up barely after the break of dawn, after a late night towing her wagon, to dine with a princess she does not have good history with.”

Twilight nodded. “Fair enough. I wanted to ask you why you brought those three home last night.”

“Really?” Trixie rolled her eyes. “You brought me here to ask that? I could be sleeping in right now.”

“And I wanted to make sure there’s no hard feelings between us. They said you didn’t want to come back to Ponyville, and I could hazard a guess as to why.”

“As though Trixie could exercise some sort of grudge if she wished it? Even with the Alicorn Amulet, you outsmarted Trixie, loath though she is to admit it. And now, you are an alicorn, more powerful than ever, while Trixie has been humbled by her defeat.” Trixie looked up from her breakfast to hold Twilight’s gaze. “No. There are no hard feelings, Twilight. I harmed your friends and received just retribution. I simply didn't see a need to return here. I am quite aware the townsfolk aside from you don't care for me, and a travelling showmare such as myself has no purpose in a town where her act will be ill-received.”

“Yet you came back to bring them home. Why?”

Trixie didn’t respond right away, and the knife cutting into her pancakes stilled and dropped to the plate. There was a far-away look in her eyes. “The orange one, the pegasus.”

“Scootaloo.”

“Right. She told me some intriguing things about them. She said they call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”

“That's right. They were mocked for having no cutie marks, and they banded together. They’ve spent a couple of years at it to no success, trying all sorts of different activities to see if one of them finally gets her mark.” Twilight smiled and shook her head. “They don’t understand what cutie marks really are, but they have fun, so we let them go at it.”

Trixie nodded. “They said they had studied with you on such things.”

“Yes. Apple Bloom was studying potions, Scootaloo was working with tools to put together a unicycle, and Sweetie Belle was practising her magic. They made a bit of progress, but only a bit.”

Trixie lowered her eyes to her plate. “And now the lessons have ceased?”

“They stalled after the des… after I got the castle. They said they wanted to let me settle in before they came asking for lessons again.”

“I see.” Trixie thought for a moment, then stood up from the table. “Trixie thanks you for your hospitality, Princess Twilight. But if you do not mind, she would take her leave now and allow you to eat your breakfast.”

Twilight gave a slight frown, but nodded. “All right, if that's what you want, I won't keep you. But you still haven’t explained why you brought them home.”

Trixie gave a small smile. “Is the explanation not obvious?”

“So what do we wanna try today?” Apple Bloom asked. On the other side of the table in the living room of Sweet Apple Acres, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo thought.

“Well, we could head into the Everfree Forest to earn our herbology cutie marks,” Sweetie Belle said.

Scootaloo shook her head. “We tried that before.”

“Oh. What about weightlifting cutie marks? I hear one of the spa ponies could help us.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “That might be—”

The door to the room burst open, a cloud of thick smoke billowing from it. The three turned at the noise and coughed through the cloud.

“Ye three who have wandered in darkness and confusion, seeking a guide to show you the path… despair no longer!” The silhouette of a pony appeared in the smoke, walking towards them. “For the one you have awaited has arrived, and she is prepared to lead you to glory!”

The three squinted as the smoke cleared; Apple Bloom recognized the blue coat and purple hat and cloak first. “Trixie?”

“Indeed!” Trixie snapped her hoof to the side and flared her cape out. “Alchemy, construction, magic! These three subjects are the foundations of stage magic! Surely there is no better magician in all of Equestria to teach them to you, and so surely there is no better unicorn in all of Equestria to help you get your cutie marks than the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie thrust her hooves into the air, firework spells erupting from below her and striking the ceiling in a blaze of colors.

“You mean, you’re really gonna train us?” Apple Bloom asked, her eyes wide.

Trixie smirked. “Has Trixie’s grandeur dazzled you so that her words are rendered meaningless?”

Scootaloo grinned. “Then you’re gonna stay here in Ponyville?”

“For a time, yes.”

Sweetie Belle jumped out of her chair. “And you’re gonna train us like we asked?”

“Trixie will mold you three into the second-through-fourth greatest magicians Equestria has ever known!” She thrust her hoof at the three. “To do what Twilight Sparkle could not, to outperform an alicorn princess, Trixie shall get you three your cutie marks, and together we shall take Ponyville by storm! All of Equestria shall know the truth – there truly is no unicorn, even an ex-unicorn, with more magical talent than the Great and Powerful Trrrrixiiiie!”

Chapter 4

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 4

Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle walked through the orchards of Sweet Apple Acres. At the far end of the property their club house came into view, Trixie’s wagon parked beneath it in the shade.

Sweetie Belle was counting bits in a bag around her neck. Apple Bloom looked back at her. “So, how many bits do we have?”

Sweetie Belle looked up from the bag. “Forty-seven.”

“Ah hope that’s enough. Trixie said we’ll need a lot o’ money for her lessons.” The three reached the wagon and Apple Bloom knocked. She heard movement inside and stepped back. The door pulled open and Trixie stepped down the small staircase.

“Good, you’re on-time. Trixie appreciates punctuality.” Trixie thrust a hoof up into the air. “Now, are you three ready to embark on full day of magic and learning?”

“Well, more like only most of the day,” Sweetie Belle said. “Rarity said I'm grounded for running off. I'm not allowed out after dinner for a week.”

“Applejack said mine was for blackmailin' somepony.” Apple Bloom turned to Scootaloo. “What about you?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “My dad works all day, and Rainbow Dash covered for me. She thought shooting myself out of a cannon was cool. Besides, she said it's hardly the worst thing we've tried.”

“You've done worse?” Trixie rolled her eyes and levitated a piece of paper from beside her. “If the fraternizing is concluded, let us proceed with our lesson plan, lest the Great and Powerful Trixie reconsider her generosity. First, you, Apple Boom.”

Apple Bloom raised an eyebrow. “Mah name is Apple Bloom.”

“Whatever. Trixie will be teaching you basic alchemy that can be useful for stage magic. Smoke bombs, fireworks, potions, flashes of light. Think you’re up to it?”

“Ah’ll do mah best!”

“Excellent.” Trixie looked at Sweetie Belle. “You… erm…”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “Sweetie Belle.”

“Yes, that. You will be developing your telekinesis. The more advanced spells are certainly too much for you at this stage, but Trixie will get you started.” She turned to Scootaloo. “And lastly there is you, Scooterloo.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Close enough.”

“Trixie will be showing you how to construct magical props. With proper application of magically charged gemstones, even you should be able to manufacture practical items like invisibility cloaks and transporter boxes.”

“Sounds cool. So when do we get started?”

“As soon as we have all we need to do so.” Trixie looked behind her at a table and lifted a piece of parchment on it, floating it to Scootaloo. “Run to the general store and procure these supplies. Use the bits you assembled to buy as much as you can. Whatever you cannot afford, leave it be. Trixie will come up with a workaround when you return.”

“Gotcha!” Scootaloo lifted the bag of bits from Sweetie Belle’s neck, turned, and galloped away.

“What about us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We will be scavenging alchemy supplies. Trixie’s stocks have mysteriously dipped low in the last two days.” She cast Apple Bloom a knowing look and Apple Bloom gave a small chuckle. “Trixie has prepared a list.” Another piece of rolled-up parchment floated beside her. “Much of these are rather rare and difficult to procure directly. I don’t suppose either of you has much experience fighting chimerae?”

“A bit, but it didn’t go so well last time,” Apple Bloom replied.

Trixie stared for a moment, then shook her head and unfurled the list. “Trixie is not even going to ask. Barring that course, tell me, who in Ponyville has a deep knowledge of alchemy and potions?”

“What about Twilight?” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“Somepony else.”

The two foals looked at each other and thought. After several seconds, Apple Bloom raised her head and smiled.

“Ah know who we can talk to!”

Scootaloo pushed open the door to Hay’s Hardware. “Hey, Mr. Lugnut!”

A grey earth pony stallion with a balding mane lifted his head from a magazine on the counter. “Oh, hello, Scootaloo. How are things?”

“Great.” Scootaloo approached the counter. “I need as much of these as these will buy.” As she spoke, she put the list Trixie gave her on the counter, then the bag of bits.

Lugnut unrolled the list and read it over. He hummed and shook his head. “We don’t carry most of this stuff. I can get ya the wood and the aluminium, but gemstones and the rest, can’t help ya. Carousel Boutique might have what you need.”

“Okay, that’ll do,” Scootaloo said. “About how much—”

“Hang on…” Lugnut kept reading. He frowned and narrowed his eyes. “Changeling silk? Magic-attuned gemstones, preferably sapphires? Silver shavings?” He looked up at Scootaloo. “What are you three building this time?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “I dunno. Trixie didn’t tell me what this stuff was for.”

Lugnut raised an eyebrow. “Trixie. You mean that showmare that took over the town?”

Scootaloo smiled widely and nodded. “Uh-huh.”

“She sent you to buy magic supplies.”

“Uh-huh.”

“You, that with your two friends last year, blew up my store with fireworks.”

“Uh-huh. Also, we apologized for that.”

Lugnut groaned and rubbed his forehead. “Why is Trixie sending you to buy magical supplies?”

“Because we’re her apprentices now and she’s gonna teach us stage magic to get our magician cutie marks,” Scootaloo replied.

“You three are Trixie’s apprentices now.”

“That’s right.” Scootaloo smiled at him.

“…Are you planning to blow anything up?”

“Not that she told us.”

Lugnut sighed and shook his head, then walked around the counter. “If anypony asks, you didn’t buy this stuff here.”

“No problem.”

Trixie looked up as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle lead her through the Everfree Forest. The trees overhead blocked out the sun while sharp stones and high grass kept poking at her hooves. “Are you two certain it is safe to venture out this far?”

“We’re almost there,” Apple Bloom said. “Zecora knows all sorts of stuff about potions and she says the forest has all kinds of supplies in it. She’ll have what ya need, no problem.”

Trixie said nothing, but continued to cast a wary eye over the forest. They turned a corner in the path and a hut carved out of a tree came into view in a clearing ahead. Trixie frowned and began to walk faster, passing Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle. She knocked on the door and waited. Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle stopped behind her and watched as Trixie kept looking around, shifting her weight between hooves.

“Trixie, are you okay?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Trixie gave a fake laugh. “Of course Trixie is okay. Why would she not be okay? Did she do anything to indicate she was not okay?”

“Ya just seem kinda nervous.”

Trixie gave Apple Bloom a dirty look but said nothing. The door swung open and Trixie looked forward. Zecora saw her and narrowed her eyes.

“Zecora!” Apple Bloom stepped forward. “Howdy. Can we come in?”

Zecora looked down at her, then back at Trixie, and then at Apple Bloom again. “A cruel prank you play on me, why have you brought this pony?”

“Is that a no?” Trixie asked. Zecora frowned, but turned and walked into the hut. The three ponies followed, Trixie closing the door behind her.

Zecora sat by a table full of jars of alchemy ingredients and turned to them. “I would not expect Trixie to visit me, yet for you foals I will suspend my hostility. Why have you come here, please tell me.”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat to draw attention. “We need some alchemy ingredients and we were hoping you have what we need. Trixie?”

Trixie opened her saddle bag and gave the list of ingredients to Zecora. She looked them over and nodded.

“These reagents I can supply.” She looked up at Trixie. “But first I must ask: why?”

“The Cutie Mark Crusaders have become Trixie's apprentices,” Trixie said with a smirk. “She shall be teaching Apple Bloom alchemy with regards to its uses in stage magic and requires these ingredients to do it.”

Zecora nodded. “These foals are my friends, that is well and true. But I cannot believe they would dare trust you.”

Trixie huffed and rolled her eyes. “Why does everypony I see treat me like some sort of villain?”

“Well, you did take over the town one time.”

“That ain’t helpin’, Sweetie Belle.”

Trixie came closer to Zecora and looked at her evenly. “Yes, Trixie got the Alicorn Amulet, went mad with power, and took over the town. But she has dined with Twilight and cleared the air over such things. And, last Trixie heard, Twilight Sparkle is friends with a spirit of chaos that tried to conquer Equestria two or three times over.” Trixie put a hoof to her chest and held Zecora's eye. “Is Trixie truly so vile she is beyond forgiveness, yet that being is not?”

Sweetie Belle shrugged. “She’s got us there.”

Zecora put a hoof to her chin. “Your past deeds are cause for distrust. Yet, your reasoning is just. If Twilight can forgive you, then I shall trust you too.”

“Wonderful, yay. Now, how about those ingredients, hm?” Trixie asked. Zecora gave her a slight glare, but nodded and walked through a doorway into another part of the hut. Trixie took a deep breath and looked down at the foals behind her. “Once she has the ingredients, let’s pay her and get the hoof back home.” She looked at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle and frowned when she saw the former had her eyebrow raised. “What?”

“Trixie, are you scared or somethin’?”

Trixie scowled. “Do you two realize where we are?”

Sweetie Belle looked at the window. “The Everfree Forest?”

“And what lurks in the Everfree Forest?”

Sweetie Belle rubbed her chin. “Uh, cockatrices, cragadiles, manticores, sea serpents, parasprites…”

“Don’t forget the timberwolves,” Apple Bloom said.

“Yes, yes, yes, all of those live here, along with ursa minors and ursa majors!” Trixie snapped. “This is one of the most dangerous places in Equestria and you two walk in here like it’s a trip to a friend’s house!”

“It is. This is where Zecora lives,” Sweetie Belle said.

“You know what I meant! Ponies have no business being here. The last two foals I knew that came into this forest brought an ursa minor back to Ponyville with them.”

Apple Bloom nodded. “Hey, that was different. Snips and Snails are stupid.”

“Be that as it may, this place is dangerous, and we shouldn’t dally here.” Before Trixie could continue, Zecora came back in the room carrying a box of glass jars, various alchemy ingredients filling them.

“Most of what you need is here, though there is another box, I fear.”

“We can get it, right Sweetie Belle?” Apple Bloom looked at her friend and Sweetie Belle nodded. Zecora gestured a hoof toward the door and the two ran through it. Trixie looked around as Zecora began to take jars out of the box and set them on the table.

“So…” Trixie said, stepping closer. “You’re Zecora.”

“Correct.”

“You’re the zebra that helped Twilight defeat me when I had the Alicorn Amulet.”

Zecora stilled and looked at Trixie. “I am.”

“Great… good work there. Really.” Trixie smiled awkwardly. “Amulet drove me crazy, it needed to be stopped.”

“The amulet is indeed a great and terrible charm, made worse when worn by a pony who already seeks harm.”

Trixie scoffed and swept a hoof in the air. “Hardly. Trixie concedes she has her flaws, few and minute though they may be. However, she is hardly a power-mad tyrant. When she was released from the amulet’s power, she made amends with Twilight Sparkle.”

“An apology or two does not fix what is passed. It is to future events to see if your redemption lasts.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Do you practice that rhyming in your spare time, or does it just come naturally?”

Zecora glared in response. “For one who claims to have to have ended her feud, you still act rather hostile and rude. It is with good grace I give you my aid and I would expect that I will be repaid.”

“Naturally. Trixie is many things but she is no con.” Trixie reached into her saddlebags and withdrew a small bag. “These bits are all Trixie has, but she is certain that she has enough. If not, she is open to alternative arrangements.”

The bag floated over to Zecora, but she gently brushed it away. “My alchemy reagents are gathered in the woods and rarely must I venture to Ponyville for goods. Though of bits I have a dearth, it is only because to me they have little worth.”

Trixie took the bits back and dropped them in her bag. “Well, if you don’t want money, how am I supposed to pay you?”

Zecora smiled. “I have a need for a unicorn and the magic of her horn. If you desire to give these foals a magic education, why not provide them with a practical demonstration?”

Behind Zecora’s hut, in a fenced-in garden, Trixie stood in front of a row of sprouts, leaning down to examine them. Behind her, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched.

“Hm, shouldn’t be too difficult,” Trixie said under her breath. “I’ll sleep like a foal tonight after this and their lessons, but payment is payment.”

“Uh, Trixie?” Apple Bloom nudged her hoof. “Didn’t you say you wanted to be goin’ home? Why are we out back here?”

Trixie stood up and turned around. “In lieu of bits, Trixie has agreed to aid Zecora in the cultivation of certain alchemy ingredients. Thus we begin our first proper lesson.” Trixie stepped aside and nodded at the sprouts. “Do either of you know what these are?”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked closer at the plants. Each had four leaves which twisted into a spiral point. “They look familiar,” Sweetie Belle said.

Trixie nodded. “I’ve little doubt you have seen them before. These are apricorn sprouts. Apricorns are some of the most commonly cultivated plants in alchemy, as the various parts of their fruits have many uses, from healing salves to spellbinding catalysts. Any alchemist who uses practical concoctions will likely be growing apricorns to aid them.”

Apple Bloom looked at Trixie. “So, Zecora wants us to water them?”

“Not quite. Apricorns are so named because of their reaction to unicorn magics, that being that exposure to it makes them grow larger.” Trixie tossed her mane and put a hoof to her chest. “Obviously, Zecora does not have unicorn magic, so she has asked me, the Great and Powerful Trixie, to offer her magical talent to her in ensuring these plants grow a bountiful harvest for her.”

“Cool!” Sweetie Belle smiled. “So what do we do?”

“You will be up first.” Trixie put a hoof around Sweetie Belle’s neck and pulled her forward. “Do you know at least basic spellcharging?”

“Uh…”

“Empowering other objects with magical energy.”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “I know of it. But I told you before, I’m not very good with magic.”

“That’s why you have Trixie.” Trixie stepped back and nodded at one of the sprouts. “We’ll start slowly. What you cannot finish, Trixie will. There is no pressure. If you could do it perfectly on your own we wouldn’t be here.”

“Right.” Sweetie Belle took a breath.

“Don’t be nervous, this is beneath even elementary magical studies.” Trixie walked around Sweetie Belle as she spoke. “A unicorn’s magic is more than just the spells she chooses to cast. It is a sixth sense that binds her to magical energy, the same way earth ponies connect to the ground and pegasi to the clouds. Sensing magic for a unicorn is like an earth pony feeling the earth beneath their hooves or a pegasi feeling the wind on their wings. The apricorns want you to cast magic on them, they’re calling to you. Reach out with your magic sense and you can hear them.”

“O-okay.” Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes, and her horn lit green.

Trixie shook her head. “No, no, no. This isn’t supposed to be stressful, even for an amateur.” She came closer to Sweetie Belle; the foal’s horn ceased its glowing. Trixie put a hoof on her back. “Relax. You have the ability; you just lack the knowledge of how to use it.”

Sweetie Belle huffed and looked at the sprout. She turned her head to either side, a frown deepening on her face with each turn. She stomped a hoof. “I can’t hear anything!”

“It is not an actual voice, Trixie just used that for comparison. The magic sense is beyond that. Close your eyes and shut out all other sounds. Focus and you can feel it coming from the dirt. Like a whisper on the edge of your hearing or a brush against your hoof. It’s not obvious or direct, it’s gentle.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and lowered her head. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply. Trixie watched her expectantly. After several seconds, Sweetie Belle’s eyes popped open and she grinned.

“I got it! I mean, I think I did. It’s sort of like a humming or a ringing, right?”

Trixie smiled and nodded. “Yes. With more training in magic, such a sense will become second nature to you, but that will take time.”

Sweetie Belle grinned and looked down the row of plants. “What do we do now?”

Trixie chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Now we move on to empowering them with magic. Spellcharging is a very basic ability. You simply pour as much power as you can into an object, such as a gemstone or a potion. It takes proper training and strong magical potential to perform a spellcharging with significant benefit, so it is seen as impractical for conventional magic where one can just cast the spell with their own magic. But, for one in Trixie’s profession, otherwise ordinary items that secretly hold a magical charge in them can be quite useful.”

“So, I have to charge up these apricorns?”

“You will try, yes. Given your age it's unlikely that spellcharging will do much, but it will teach you how to channel your magic better. Once you have a better grasp on that, other spells will come more easily.”

From behind them, Apple Bloom thought aloud. “Twilight never taught us anythin’ about spellchargin’ or magic senses.”

Trixie looked back. “Really? Magic sense is one of the most basic principles of unicorn magic.”

“How do you know so much about learning magic, Trixie?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“It’s quite simple, my little apprentice.” Trixie smirked and patted a hoof on Sweetie Belle’s head. “Trixie is talented in many areas of spellcasting. Is it not natural that she is a prodigy when it comes to imparting her wisdom to others?”

“I guess…”

“There's no guessing about it. As you have said, even the Element of Magic herself is an unsuitable teacher. Fortunately for you, Trixie is here to pick up her slack.” Trixie nodded her head at the apricorns. “Reach out your magic sense again. When you hear the apricorn’s call, answer it with your magic. Don’t force it and don’t stress. It should feel natural.”

Sweetie Belle nodded and closed her eyes. As Trixie and Apple Bloom watched, her horn lit up green. Thin trails of light began to pour off her horn like smoke, weaving through the air and flowing into the dirt around the nearest apricorn sprout. The leaves shimmered and lit up the same green. After several seconds, the glow faded and Sweetie Belle collapsed on her stomach. She was gasping for breath.

Apple Bloom ran up to her. “Are you okay?”

Sweetie Belle blinked several times. “I feel kinda dizzy…”

Trixie looked at the sprout Sweetie Belle had been casting on. Her eyesbrows raised. “Little wonder. That’s quite a bit more power than I would have expected from you. You’ll feel better in a few hours, you’ve just overexerted yourself channeling more power than you’re used to using.”

Sweetie Belle lifted her head. “So, I did good?”

Trixie nodded. “Yes, you did very good.” Sweetie Belle smiled back and laid her head down. Trixie looked back at the plants. “We’ll continue practicing spellcharging later. For now, Trixie must concentrate and finish this chore.” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched. Trixie moved down the line of plants, stopping in front of each one. Her horn glowed pink, and swirls of magic flowed into the dirt, then she moved on to the next seedling. When she finished, Trixie came back to them. “There. Trixie has agreed to return at a later date to continue her work, but that will be for her to worry about later. For now, let us gather our promised supplies and depart. Trixie would be rid of this forest promptly now that her work is complete.”

Sweetie Belle climbed to her hooves, swaying, and she and Apple Bloom followed Trixie into Zecora’s hut. The zebra looked up from a journal as they entered. “Are my apricorn sprouts freshly energized?”

Trixie nodded. “Indeed. Trixie promises you the best crop you’ve ever had.”

“Such a feat would render me mesmerized.” Zecora gestured a hoof to a small wagon laden with jars and boxes. “The ingredients you require are in that stack, just bring the cart when you come back.”

“Much appreciated.” Trixie walked to the cart and looked over the jars. “On our way back, Apple Bloom, we’ll see how much you know of these items. We have a lot of work to do when we get back to Trixie’s cart.”

“Awesome.” Apple Bloom nudged Sweetie Belle, and the two pushed open Zecora’s door.

Trixie lifted the harness for the wagon onto her back. “Thank you for the ingredients, Zecora. Trixie shall return in a few days to complete her task.”

Zecora waved a hoof for Trixie to wait. “Trixie, before our business is through, I would have a word with you.”

Trixie peeked out the door at Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, then gently pulled it closed. “Yes?”

“Please forgive me for prying, but during your lessons I was spying. You showed a lot of patience for young Sweetie Belle even as she struggled to listen, I could tell.”

Trixie shrugged. “Trixie is a gifted teacher, as in many other fields. What of it?”

“I must apologize for my earlier hostility. I have borne witness to your sincerity. I wish you luck in your teaching lessons, feel free to consult me if they have any questions.”

Zecora bowed her head as she finished speaking. Trixie thought over what she said, and smiled.

“Apology accepted. See you later in the week.”

Trixie pushed open the door and walked out of the hut to her waiting apprentices.

Chapter 5

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 5

“So I told him, if he was gonna ask me for triple-fudge vanilla-toffee cupcakes, and then complain when I assume he wants the strawberry filling, well he can just take his business to another bakery because that is not how this pony rolls!” Pinkie Pie crossed her hooves over the edge of the fence in front of her and nodded to punctuate the statement.

Applejack paused as she raised her hoof to buck the tree behind her and looked up at Pinkie. “What in the heck does that have to do with Trixie?”

Pinkie uncrossed her hooves. “Nothing. Why?”

“Because before you went off, we were talkin’ about Trixie. At least, Ah was.” Applejack bucked and a load of fresh apples fell into the bucket beside her. “She says she’s stayin’ in Ponyville for a while.”

“How come?”

“Says she’s gonna help those three fillies get their cutie marks.”

“Oh. Is she gonna buy a house, then?”

Applejack barked out a laugh. “Ah reckon she’ll be lookin’ into it in a month’s time. That girl really doesn’t know what she got herself into.”

Applejack moved under the harness connected to the apple buckets and stood up to lift and take them to the barn. Pinkie turned and followed her as she passed. “You think she might actually do it?”

“Pinkie, Ah give it a better chance o’ Discord becomin’ an alicorn princess than Trixie getting’ any of those three their cutie marks. They’ve been tryin’ for years now and it ain’t come to nothin’.”

Pinkie nodded. “Exactly. It’s gotta happen sooner or later, right? I mean, I’ve never heard of any full-grown pony without a cutie mark.”

Applejack set the buckets down inside the barn and turned back to Pinkie. “Sure, but what makes ya think Trixie’ll be the one to finally do it?”

“Gotta be somepony, right? Why not Trixie?”

“Eh, Ah guess.” Applejack’s eyes widened. “Imagine if she does pull it off! Trixie would have done what Twilight couldn’t. We’ll never hear the end of it!”

Pinkie scoffed and waved a hoof in the air. “Oh, come on Applejack! Maybe Trixie just wants to be nice and helpful for once!”

Applejack stared.

Pinkie shrugged. “Stranger things have happened.”

The two heard the creaking of wheels and walked to the entrance of the barn. Scootaloo walked onto the farm property pulling a small wagon behind her. Planks of wood and sheets of aluminum were piled on it.

“Scootaloo?” Applejack approached her. “What’s all this?”

Scootaloo stopped. “Trixie told me to go buy supplies, so I headed over to Mr. Lugnut’s store.” She reached for the list hanging from the stack and held it out to Applejack. “It cost every bit we had just get this much. We’re gonna have to ask Rarity for the rest of it and I don’t think we can afford it now.”

Applejack took the list and read it over, a frown crossing her face. “Scootaloo, do you even know what it is that Trixie is plannin’ on doin’ with these supplies?”

“No. But she said it’s for our magic lessons.”

Applejack handed the list back. “Hey, Ah get that Trixie ain’t all bad anymore, and she did bring you three home. But don’t y’all think it’s a bit much to go buying her all this magic stuff without knowin’ what she’s gonna use it for?”

Pinkie nodded. “She could be using it to build a doomsday weapon to make herself an alicorn princess so she can take over Equestria!”

“Pinkie, weren’t you just defendin’ Trixie?”

“Hey, we have to consider all our options.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Trixie has been okay. She’s lost her patience with us and yelled at us a bit, but that was when we were blackmailing her.”

Applejack was about to continue when something caught her eye. She turned her head; Trixie, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were walking through the gates on the far side of the farm. Sweetie Belle was pulling the cart as Trixie held up jars full of various items and said something to Apple Bloom. As she came closer, Trixie’s voice coming into hearing range.

“…The key thing to remember is that this type of reaction isn’t linear to the ingredients used. Just because two spoons of each creates a little burst, doesn’t mean three will create a slightly bigger burst. More likely it’ll be twice as powerful, if not more. And don’t confuse your ingredients. Some may look the same to the untrained eye, but the…” Trixie stopped as she saw Applejack and lowered the jars into the cart. “Hello, Applejack,” she said stiffly.

“Trixie.” Applejack nodded her head and put the list in her hooves back on the wagon. Her expression lightened when her eyes moved over to Apple Bloom. “How goes it, girls?”

Apple Bloom grinned. “Trixie was telling me about how to make smoke bombs!”

Applejack looked at Trixie with narrowed eyes. Trixie looked back at her evenly. “Magicians often employ explosive powders as distractions. Theatricality and deception are powerful agents.”

“And y'all really think Ah'm gonna be lettin' mah little sister run around throwin' smoke bombs when she's supposed to be grounded?”

Apple Bloom flinched and backed up under Applejack's gaze. Trixie sniffed and raised her head. “Do not fear. Young Apple Bloom is too inexperienced to handle such materials, anyway. When she mixes them, she will have proper supervision to ensure safe and responsible usage.”

Pinkie clapped her hooves. “Cool! Who’s supervising her?”

Trixie’s smirk vanished. Before she could respond, Scootaloo walked up behind Applejack, drawing Trixie’s eyes to her. “I got as much as I could.” Scootaloo stopped and shrugged the harness for the wagon off her back.

Trixie examined the wagon's contents and lifted her list from it, noting which items had been checked off. “How much did this cost?”

“All of it.”

Trixie’s eyes bulged and she gave Scootaloo a shocked look. “All of it?”

“There was a lot to get!” Scootaloo protested. “Actually, it cost more than what we had, but I talked him down from fifty-five because we were a few bits short.”

Trixie frowned and rolled up the list. “I’ll have to find a way to work haggling into our lesson plan. But, very well. We shall have to procure the remaining materials another way.”

“Yeah, he said we might wanna try Carousel Boutique.”

“Carousel Boutique?” Trixie thought aloud. “Why does that sound familiar?”

Applejack cleared her throat to get Trixie’s attention. “It’s Rarity’s place.”

Trixie deflated. “Of course it is.” She looked at Sweetie Belle. “Trixie doesn’t suppose your sister might be feeling charitable towards her?”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “She still has nightmares about the green hair thing.”

“Really? Your sister has nightmares about her hair color?”

“You don’t know Rarity very well.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Trixie is open to alternative suggestions.”

Scootaloo came up beside Trixie, and she, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at each other. It was Apple Bloom who thought of it. “What if Rarity didn’t know who it was for?”

Sweeite Belle grinned. “Yeah, she might not like Trixie, but she doesn’t have to know it’s for Trixie!”

Standing a few hooves away, Applejack leaned to whisper to Pinkie Pie, “Should we tell ’em we can hear them?”

“Why ruin their fun?”

“Very well then, my apprentices.” Trixie smiled and thrust a hoof into the air. “Apple Bloom shall remain so that we might continue our alchemy lessons. The two of you, go forth and procure Trixie her needed sapphires, post-haste!” Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle stared at her blankly. Trixie groaned and slapped her forehead. “Do it fast.”

“You got it!” Scootaloo nodded and ran off, leaving Sweetie Belle to shrug off the wagon harness and run after her.

Trixie lifted the harness onto her back and regarded Apple Bloom. “I trust you can manage the cart of hardware?”

“Sure.” Apple Bloom trotted over to the wagon Scootaloo had brought to the farm and slipped on the harness. The two headed through the orchard to Trixie’s wagon on the far side of the property.

Applejack watched them go and shook her head. “Ah swear, Trixie’s gonna end up causin’ more chaos for Ponyville than she ever did with the Alicorn Amulet.” Applejack looked back at Pinkie. “Y’all really think she’s legit in wantin’ to help them?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Nopony is all bad. And Trixie seemed sorry about the Alicorn Amulet thing. Twilight came by Sugercube Corner yesterday and said the two of them had talked it out, so I guess Twilight is okay with what she’s doing.”

Applejack saw the two reach the cart in the distance. “Yeah, but still. Somethin’ ain’t quite addin’ up about all this…”

Trixie floated the jars of ingredients onto the table in her wagon and shut the door behind Apple Bloom. “Now, where did I leave off?”

“You were talkin’ about confusing your ingredients.”

Trixie brightened. “Ah, yes.” She held up two jars of blue powder from the table. “Amateur alchemists make that error all the time. They mix the wrong ingredients because they look the same, and instead of a cloud of smoke, suddenly you’re creating a localized stormcloud.”

Apple Bloom giggled at the thought. “Have you ever done that?”

“Don't be absurd.” Trixie sniffed. “Trixie is beyond such foolish errors.”

“That many, huh?”

“Be quiet, and have a look a these.” Trixie put the jars on the table and stepped aside. “These are two common culprits in Trixie’s profession. Look closely and tell her the difference.”

Apple Bloom approached the jars and squinted, turning her head between them. The jars both had white powder in them. “Uh… the one on the right looks bigger. The one on the left is like sand, the right one is kinda more pebble-y.”

“Very good. And?”

“And the right one is kinda off-white, not really white.”

“Precisely.” Trixie tapped her hoof on the right jar with the larger granules. “Sulfur is often sold in small powders like this, sometimes diffused with magic to affect its properties. Such diffusion can dilute its color, causing the normally yellow sulfur to appear white, making it easy to confuse with another common ingredient: potassium nitrate.” She moved her hoof to the left jar of white powder.

“What happens if we mixed them up?” Apple Bloom asked.

“The smoke bomb would still work, but the sulfur would give it a bad odor and burn your eyes.” Trixie shuddered. “It’s a mistake Trixie has made before in her earlier days. She still isn’t allowed back in that theater.”

Apple Bloom stuck out her tongue. “Ugh. Right.”

Trixie shook her head and set the jars back. “It is because of the potential for such mistakes that an organized alchemy drawer is critical.” Trixie opened the trunk next to the table and pulled out the stacking drawers inside it to extend them to the sides. “If you truly intend to go into stage magic, procuring a steamer trunk is a worthwhile investment. They save a lot of space and make for easy organization.”

Apple Bloom peeked in the trunk and her eyes widened. Dozens of jars and boxes filled the slotted compartments in each shelf. Each one had a carefully printed label on it and most were reagents she’d never even heard of it.

“Zecora was gracious—there’s more than enough here to resupply and have enough left over for lessons.” Trixie unscrewed the lids and began pouring the contents of the full jars into the empty ones. “Presuming, of course, you take direction well?” Trixie gave Apple Bloom a knowing look. “You almost cleaned Trixie out once already.”

“Yeah, if ya tell me what to mix, Ah can do it,” Apple Bloom replied. Trixie nodded and turned back to her work. Apple Bloom rubbed her left hoof and turned away. “Ah know we weren’t very nice to ya when we first met, but we really are thankful you’re doin’ this for us, Trixie. Ah know it’s probably a big pain for ya to stick around Ponyville like this.”

Trixie lifted her nose into the air slightly. “How could Trixie refuse, when three impressionable young foals seek her out to learn the ways of the stage? You three made a wise choice in instructors, and Trixie chose to honor that choice.“

Apple Bloom nodded. “Well, ya sure do know a lot about alchemy. Ah mean, not that Twilight doesn't know a lot, too, but somethin' about how you teach it... Ah dunno, it just makes more sense comin' from you.“

Trixie smiled. “Once again, you flatter Trixie with a statement of the obvious. Alchemy was one of the first things Trixie studied as a foal. She and it have taken to each other well as she has grown.”

Apple Bloom tilted her head. “So when you were a foal doin’ alchemy, ya had to figure out how to use all these tools you’re talkin’ about? Didn’t you have magic?”

Trixie set down the jars she was sifting ingredients between and turned her head. “We’ll move on with the lesson now. Take a look at these.” Trixie floated three jars of colored powder from the trunk, colored violet, red, and light blue. “These are all crystallized lightning dust, very difficult to procure unless one knows a pegasus alchemist, which Trixie does. Why do you think the color is different?”

Apple Bloom leaned forward and looked between the jars. “Is it like the other stuff you showed me, where it’s been infused with magic and changed color?”

Trixie smiled. “A good guess. You’re close, but not quite right. It’s more to do with how far the lightning travels to strike the ground as it gets caught in the crystallization spell…”

Scootaloo pushed open the door to Carousel Boutique and trotted inside, Sweetie Belle behind her. The two stopped and looked around. “Hey, Rarity!” Scootaloo called.

“Just a moment!” The voice came from upstairs. Scootaloo moved to a drawer and pulled it open.

Sweetie Belle saw what she was doing and ran up to her. “Hey, what are you doing?”

“Where does Rarity keep her gemstones?” Scootaloo replied.

Sweetie Belle gasped. “We can’t just take them without asking!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes and pushed the drawer shut. “It’s easier to beg forgiveness than ask permission.”

“But I’ll be the one who’ll get in trouble for it instead of you! I'm already grounded!”

“So? If you're already being punished, then what's another week on top of it?”

The stairwell echoed with the sound of hoofsteps and the two turned. Rarity and Twilight descended the stairs. Rarity saw them and smiled. “Oh, it was you, Sweetie Belle! And, Scootaloo, what brings you two here?”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and stepped forward. “Rarity, I need a teeny, tiny favor from you.”

“But of course, Sweetie Belle.” Rarity put a hoof around her. “It's not asking to no longer be grounded, is it?”

“No.”

“Then I'd be delighted. What can your big sister do for you?”

“Well… I wanted to practice my magic, and I heard that sapphires are good for training. Can I borrow a few from you?” Sweetie Belle pursed her lip and widened her eyes.

Rarity smiled. “Aaaw, you’re working so hard to develop your magic, aren’t you?”

Sweetie Belle nodded, and her eyes grew wider. “I know I'm in trouble for running into the woods and treating Trixie like we did, but I'm really sorry about it, and I'm working so hard on my magic. It really would mean a lot to me if you could help.”

Rarity hugged her tight. “Oh, you poor darling. I can’t very well refuse you after that, can I?”

Watching the two, Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Gimme a break,” she mumbled under her breath. She cleared her throat and raised a hoof. “Great, sapphires, yay. Also, we need some of these.” She pulled the list out of her saddle bag and held it out.

Rarity turned her way and read the list. “Hm. Changeling silk is a luxury item I’m afraid, obviously quite hard to procure. What little I have I must hang on to. Silver shavings and sea serpent scales, on the other hand, I can help with. I have a contact in the area that gets me the latter at a bargain price.” Rarity walked up to a drawer and pulled it open. Dozens of small gems of different shapes and sizes filled it. “Twilight, I believe clarity doesn’t affect the magical properties of gems, does it?’

“No, it’s more based on the color and size of the gem than its quality.”

“Excellent.” Rarity popped a jeweler’s glass in her eye and began to examine the gems in the drawer. “I’ll find a few appropriate ones for you, Sweetie Belle, just give me a moment.”

Sweetie Belle grinned. “You’re the best sister ever!”

“I do my best.”

Scootaloo looked up at Twilight. “What are you doing here, Twilight?”

Twilight nodded at the drawer. “Rarity was looking for some help with a spell to make thread more resilient, so her dresses can last longer.”

Sweetie Belle perked up. “Hey, Twilight, how come you never told me about magic senses and spellcharging when we were training with you?”

Twilight looked surprised. “Well, spellcharging especially is pretty advanced, and magic sense is so fundamental I assumed you already knew about that. Most unicorns can develop their magic sense long before they get their cutie marks.”

“Hear hear,” Rarity said from the dresser. “Even before I got my cutie mark, magical sources lit up to me like gemstones.”

Twilight smiled. “It’s still good you know about those subjects, I’m glad you’re interested in learning more about magic. Where did you hear about them?”

“Trixie taught me about them,” Sweetie Belle replied.

Rarity shuddered. “Sweetie Belle, what have we discussed about mentioning that name?”

“Right, sorry. Uh… Miss T. told me about them. She said even if spellcharging can’t do much with magic as weak as mine, just trying it out can help me learn to conjure my magic better.”

Twilight nodded. “I see. I have to admit, magic just came naturally to me, even as a foal.” She glanced back at her flank. “I guess that’s one of the perks of being the Element of Magic’s bearer. I can’t really comment on what she said either way. But, spellcharging is a very safe form of magic, so if she says it can help you, it’s worth a shot.”

“Be careful on what she has you work on, though,” Rarity said. “There’s no telling what she might be using that charged up magic for.”

“Oh, I know what she’s using it for. We went to visit Zecora to get alchemy ingredients for Apple Bloom’s training, and Tri…” Sweetie Belle glanced at Rarity. “So, Miss T., had me practice spellcharging on some apricorn plants in Zecora’s garden as payment for the ingredients.”

Twilight nodded. “That’s perfectly safe, then. Apricorns are good conduits for magic, and there’s not any real risk of something going wrong practicing on them.”

“Yup.” Sweetie Belle smiled brightly at Twilight and then turned to her sister. “So, Rarity, how many do you think—” She stopped; Rarity had turned around and her eyes were narrowed. “Uh, Rarity?’

“Please allow me to make sure I understand this correctly.” As Rarity spoke, she slowly came closer. “You and Apple Bloom spent the morning with Trixie getting alchemy supplies from Zecora.”

“Um… yes?” Sweetie Belle backed away.

“And she had you practicing your magic.”

“Yeah…”

“And now you come to me asking for magically attuned gemstones for your magic training.”

Sweetie Belle gulped.

Rarity stopped and looked down at her. “Tell me, dear sister of mine… are these gemstones going to come into Trixie’s hooves?”

“Uh… um…” Sweetie Belle sweated under Rarity’s gaze. “N-no! They’re… that is…” Sweetie Belle grinned and grabbed Scootaloo, pulling her in front of her. “They’re going to Scootaloo!”

“Hey!” Scootaloo glared behind her.

“And will Scootaloo be giving them to Trixie?”

Scootaloo looked up at Rarity and shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m just gonna do with ‘em whatever she tells me to do.”

Rarity huffed. “Sweetie Belle, if you wanted these sapphires because Trixie needed them, why didn’t you just say so?”

Sweetie Belle slumped. “Because I knew you’d say no.”

“And you’re correct.” Rarity turned her head and slammed the drawer shut with her magic. “After how she has behaved, Trixie is not a client I’m keen on servicing.”

“Rarity,” Twilight began, shaking her head, “Trixie is changed. She apologized for what she did, and now she’s trying to help these three.”

Rarity scoffed. “Apology? I received no such thing.”

“Maybe you didn’t, but I did. She’s sorry about what she did with the Alicorn Amulet; it took control of her and she wasn’t herself.”

Rarity looked between Twilight and Sweetie Belle. “Well… I don’t like it, but if Twilight vouches for her, then I shall give Trixie the benefit of the doubt. The gemstones I was putting aside are too poor quality for dresses, anyway.”

“Does that mean I can have them?” Sweetie Belle asked eagerly.

“Yes.” Sweetie Belle opened her mouth to cheer, but Rarity swung a hoof up in her face. “On one condition.”

Sweetie Belle pushed the hoof away. “Yes?”

Rarity tossed her head. “Trixie may have apologized for the Alicorn Amulet, but I recall no such apology for her original show where she humiliated us. There was no evil magic or mind control at play, she was simply an arrogant braggart. And even if she did apologize, it was never to me. If Trixie comes to my shop herself, and gives me a formal and sincere apology for what she did – to all of us, not just me – then I will give her the gems.”

Rarity lowered her head. “I expect her by tomorrow evening at the latest. Any questions?”

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle looked at each other, and Scootaloo raised a hoof.

“What’s Plan B?”

Author's Note

Last two chapters and possibly the next one slowed things down too much for my taste. Don't worry, this "Trixie talks to somepony and reconciles with them" formula has outstayed its welcome for me and won't be sticking around.

Chapter 7

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 7

Twilight rolled up the diagram she held in the air. “And so, with the trans-dimensional vortex held in check by the atomic distortion field created by the close proximity of the cryst particles to the magnesium and potassium, the only danger is if you leave the curtain open for more than a minute at a time. Otherwise the vortex will remain stable and contained.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders stared blankly.

Standing next to Twilight, Trixie rubbed her chin. “But won’t the atomic distortion field disrupt the molecular integrity of items passing through it and cause them to break down after repeated passings?”

Twilight shook her head. “Not a problem. The distortion’s effects on objects only reaches critical levels if it makes enough passings over a short-enough period of time; say, a dozen times in a few hours. Otherwise its effects are negligible and even then, it would take closer to several dozen passings before the object actually begins to undergo molecular destabilization.”

Trixie raised her eyebrows and nodded. “And the repercussions for violating Neighton’s Second Law of Trans-Spacial Mechanics are completely irrelevant because we’re using the boxes to teleport non-biological matter. Brilliant!”

Twilight beamed. “Thank you.”

“Ah think that’s the first time anypony’s ever understood Twilight’s technobabble.”

“Hey!” Twilight scoffed at Apple Bloom’s remark and tilted her head up. “It is not technobabble! These are highly studied and recognized scientific principles on the interactions of different types of magical particles and energies. Just because you don’t understand it doesn’t mean it isn’t important. Unicorns have dedicated their entire lives to studying these concepts and translating their findings into practical applications.”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “In other words, it’s technobabble.”

Twilight grunted angrily.

Stepping away from Twilight, Trixie faced the fillies. “Yes, but it’s technobabble we can put to practical use. All you need to understand is that we can use a normal curtain for the transporter boxes, provided we weave samples of sun-cryst into the fabric and put some powdered magnesium and potassium along the edges of the box itself.”

Sweetie Belle thrust a hoof forward. “Yeah, see, that we understand. Is that why we’re out here?”

‘Here’ was the base of Winsome Falls. Trails of rainbow descended from the sky around the lush green grass on top of a high hill. Further down the path were the falls themselves, a massive wall of water and rainbow mix crashing down into a lake where the rainbow mix then flowed into a natural river and diluted into the water.

Trixie nodded. “Yes. Sun-cryst is a naturally occurring byproduct of exposing rainbow mix to sunlight and water in the proper amounts.” She turned to the cart she had pulled up the falls and withdrew a glass jar from the trunk inside. She unscrewed the lid and floated it down in front of Apple Bloom. “Go to the base of the falls and watch the rainbow trails carefully. When the light hits the rainbows just right, you’ll see a shimmering golden dust appear in the air. Gather it in this jar. Get as much as you can, better that we have plenty more than we need.”

Giving a smile and a nod, Apple Bloom said, “No problem!”

Scootaloo lifted an eyebrow. “So, is this gonna take very long?”

Trixie nodded. “Hours.”

“Seriously?” Sweetie Belle said, her jaw dropping.

Trixie shrugged and said, “Maybe. Maybe not. The only thing I can tell you for sure is the longer you stand here complaining about it, the longer it’s going to take.”

Apple Bloom gasped, then turned and ran towards the falls. Scootaloo looked back at Trixie. “Are we just supposed to watch her?”

Trixie simply smiled and pulled two more jars from the trunk. “Now get a move on. Trixie doesn’t wish to be here all day, and she doubts you three do either, but she is willing if that’s what it takes.”

Sweetie Belle grinned and nodded. “Leave it to us!” She nudged Scootaloo and the two ran to join Apple Bloom.

With the fillies gone, Twilight turned to Trixie. “What are we going to do while they work?”

“Fear not, Twilight Sparkle, for Trixie has prepared for that as well.” Trixie walked to the trunk and pulled out a rolled-up blanket. She spread it out over the grass and then removed a picnic basket. She sat on the blanket and set the basket next to her. “After the chaos of the last few days, Trixie believes she has earned a rest.”

Twilight giggled. “I’ll say. Those three are a hoofful and you’ve clearly worked hard with them.”

“A redundant expression. Trixie works hard at all her endeavors.” As she spoke, Trixie took a sandwich out of the picnic basket and began chewing. “Although, teaching those three is indeed a lesson in patience. Trixie is used to heckling crowds and unruly assistants, but they're something else.”

Twilight approached Trixie and sat down next to her. She looked down at the basket and saw another sandwich. “May I?”

Trixie glanced at her and then where her eyes were directed. She shrugged. “Help yourself. Daisy and hay.” She took another bite of her own.

“Simple but filling.” Twilight set her lesson plan down, and then lifted the sandwich and began chewing. The two fell into silence as they watched the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The three had formed a line by the rainbow falls and were taking turns swiping their jars in the air to gather the sun-cryst. Twilight chuckled through a mouthful of bread, flowers, and hay. “Look at them, concentrating so hard.”

Swallowing her own bite before answering, Trixie nodded and said, “They don’t understand the theory behind my lessons, but they understand the practical enough to take direction. That’ll do for now.”

“Given their ages, I think the types of magic we’re studying is a bit advanced for them, anyway.” Twilight gave a small frown and looked at the rolled-up lesson plan nearby. “I have to admit, in spite of how she said it, you’re one of the few ponies I’ve met who understands the magical lectures I give. It’s a bit refreshing.”

Trixie shrugged. “If you want Trixie's honest opinion, you make it sound far more complex than it need to. All that matters is the bare basics, everything else is simply fluff.” She gave a small smirk. “Professor Burette used to give the same sorts of lectures and got a similar reception for the class until I stepped up to simplify it for them one day. His face was priceless.”

Twilight paused mid bite and stared. “You know Professor Burette?”

“We’ve kept in touch since I left his school. He helps me with my alchemical needs.”

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “You went to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns?” Before Trixie could react, Twilight was directly in front of her with a wide grin, their sandwiches falling to the ground. She leaned in, her wings flapping rapidly and her hind hooves rising off the ground. “Oh my gosh, I can’t believe you never mentioned that! I can’t believe I never saw you there! What was your major? Who was your favorite professor? What year did you graduate?”

Trixie leaned back and darted her eyes away. “Um… I didn’t. I dropped out.”

Twilight’s grin vanished and she plopped back to the ground. “What?”

“I left by choice. It wasn’t for me.”

“But… but…” Twilight shook her head. “That’s impossible! There are ponies across Equestria who would give anything to be enrolled there! Nopony just leaves!”

“I did.” Trixie held up her hooves. “I went there for a year after I dedicated myself to becoming a professional magician. But they didn’t teach me much that would be of use, so I dropped out. Besides, I got bad grades and barely passed my entrance exam. If I didn’t leave they probably would have kicked me out, anyway.”

Twilight thought aloud. “But you know so much about magic. You’re teaching those three so much.”

Trixie snorted. “You don’t need to attend a school to be smart, Twilight. Obviously it worked for you, but Trixie is a different breed.” Trixie’s horn lit up pink and she created a field of crackling starbursts in front of her, swirling them through the air. “Take the fireworks, for example. One of the first spells Trixie learned. She knew she wanted a way to create magical fireworks, but had no idea how. So she read up on some energy transmutation spells and learned to modify one of them to create a burst of light. Build off of that and voila; fireworks.”

Twilight watched the fireworks spells burst through the air in Trixie’s magic. “There’s quite a few actual fireworks spells. You could create bursts of light in specific formations, or launch them in pre-coordinated directions.”

Trixie nodded. “I learned about those later and took to them well. I’m just saying, I learn differently than you. I don’t care about magical theory itself, I just care about what it can do for my act. I’m always mailing Professor Burette to ask him for help on pulling off an idea I had, or what sort of ingredients I need for a specific type of potion. He supplies me the why and the how and I focus on making that into reality.” Trixie collapsed the field of starbursts, the particles exploding in one final blast of light.

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “So, all this knowledge you have about alchemy and spellcharging…”

“Picked it up over years of practical experience, learning what I needed as I needed it.” Trixie frowned and her eyes narrowed. “You seem surprised at the depths of Trixie's knowledge. Did you think she was some sort of dullard?”

Twilight backed away and quickly shook her head. “No, of course not. I’m just trying to figure you out, and that was a bit of a doozy. I never would have pegged you to go to the School for Gifted Unicorns.” Trixie’s glare grew darker, and Twilight stammered. “I-I mean, that is, you know, you just said you’re not the type to go, and you never acted like - scratch that, I’m trying to say…”

Trixie waved a hoof. “Oh, stop it. Trixie is simply having her fun with you. She understands well enough, and you’re not wrong. As I said, I left, anyway.”

“Right.”

Trixie picked up her fallen sandwich, examined it, then she took another bite. Twilight turned her attention back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. They had stopped working for the moment and were talking. She sighed. “Well, your methods worked well for you. My teaching made a bit of progress with them, but maybe you’ll succeed where I failed.”

“We shall see,” Trixie said. “If nothing else, their persistence is admirable. Few have the patience to gather sun-cryst by hoof and just rely on pegasi alchemists.”

“Oh, they’re persistent, all right.” Twilight laughed. “They’ve been trying to get their cutie marks for years. I haven’t seen them focus this much on one task since the talent competition.”

Frowning, Trixie turned her head. “Beg pardon?”

“The talent competition was the last time they stuck to one thing this long. They built a set, wrote their own song, all to try and earn their cutie marks. It didn’t quite work out, but they tried their hardest. It just shows you how strong their commitment can be when they get passionate about a project.”

Trixie held up a hoof and shook her head. “Back up. When was this? What did they do?” She watched Twilight intently as the other mare thought.

“A couple of years ago, they put together a musical performance for a talent show. I think they mis-assigned duties, though. Instead of trying to hone their natural talents, they did what they wanted to do.” Twilight gave a sheepish smile. “It was more than just a bit of a mess. Their song wasn’t very good, and the set fell apart. But they had fun, if nothing else.”

Trixie lowered her head, her brow creased. “Scootaloo told me they had performed in a talent show, but not that they tried it for their cutie marks.”

“Maybe she didn’t think it was a big deal. After all, they’ve tried dozens, even hundreds of things, and it’s never worked out.” Twilight leaned down and peered closer at Trixie. “Though, it seems a big deal for you. Why are you so interested in this?”

Trixie blinked and looked up into Twilight’s eyes. Another blink and her expression changed, from one of thought to one of dismissal. “Trixie isn’t any more interested in this subject than the overall subject of her apprentices. She was just confused that they had not brought this up to her yet and sought further explanation of the matter to understand why.” She folded her hooves behind her head and lay back on the grass.

“Uh-huh.” Twilight looked at her suspiciously and walked back into Trixie’s field of vision. “I’ve been meaning to ask you, Trixie. Really, be honest. What are you up to, helping them?”

Trixie frowned and tilted her head to look back. “Really, Twilight Sparkle? You forgive Trixie yet remain suspicious of her?”

“No. I don’t think you’re doing anything bad or wrong. But there’s definitely something you’re not telling us.” Twilight shook her head. “It makes no sense why you would bring these three back here and then stay here for days training them as your apprentices. Why do you care so much?”

“Is it so hard to believe that the Great and Powerful Trixie has taken these three foals under her horn out of the goodness of her heart?”

“Yes,” Twilight deadpanned. “You’re a good enough pony, Trixie, sure. But for somepony who says she didn’t want to come back to Ponyville, you sure put that old grudge aside quickly enough for their sake. And you’re spending a lot of time and supplies on them. It doesn’t add up, not unless there’s something more going on.”

Trixie grumbled under her breath and sat up. She had a sour look on her face as she watched the Crusaders in the distance. She breathed deep and turned her eyes to look at Twilight. “If I tell you why I came back to help them, promise me you’ll keep it a secret from them. I know what I’m doing, and it’s something they’ll appreciate more if they don’t know the truth.”

Smiling, Twilight nodded. “I’ll promise for now, as long as it isn’t something that puts them at risk.”

Trixie looked at the three again to make sure they were still at the falls and out of hearing range.

“Ah think Trixie was just jokin’ when she said this would take hours.” Apple Bloom lifted her jar and peered at it closer. Small golden-yellow particles swirled in the air inside it. “Ah almost filled mine.”

“Mine too.” Scootaloo swung her jar at a trail of sun-cryst, the dust she missed blowing away in her wake. “Hopefully we can finish soon and go home. This is boring.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head, leaning on her jar. “I don’t think so. We gotta be patient and keep a close eye on the falls. If we wanna be showmares, that’s important stuff to know. Rarity always said a seamstress needs an eye for detail and good concentration, but you can pick up that stuff doing other things, right?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “I guess. I never wanted to be a showmare anyway. I wanted to be a stuntpony. If this is what being a showmare is about, it’s dull. I’m sick of just preparing to perform. I wanna perform already!”

Reaching over, Apple Bloom patted her on the back. “Look at it this way, Trixie’s lessons will still come in handy.” She smiled. “Just think of how cool it’ll be if you know how to mix smoke bombs. You can ride your scooter through a blast of smoke.”

That got a more positive reaction as Scootaloo grinned. “That’d be so cool. And she was talking about that potion that makes a flaming dragon, too! Maybe I could mix up something like that!” Her grin faded. “So how come I’m learning how to make a transporter box instead of cool potions?”

“Ah dunno. But we’re still workin’ together, so Ah could mix up the bombs for you.”

“Sounds good to me.” Sweetie Belle perked up and stood, and swiped another wave of sun-cryst into her jar. “I’m getting really good with my magic, but I’m getting tired of training. Think Trixie will let us put on a show?”

Apple Bloom nodded. “We should be ready soon. Ah’m learnin’ how to mix stuff, Scootaloo’s got all she needs for her boxes, and you’ve really improved your magic.”

“You bet. Watch this!” Sweetie Belle focused and a green aura appeared over her jar. She withdrew her hooves from it and the jar wobbled in the air but remained floating. Sweetie Belle licked her lips and gritted her teeth and the jar raised back up to where she had been holding it. “A bit more practice and I’ll have this magic stuff down great!”

Apple Bloom saw a trail of sun-cryst and lifted her jar from under it to catch it. She looked into the jar and shook it around, watching the dust shimmer. “Ah think that should be good. Wanna check in with Trixie?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Hopefully we can go. I wanna finish my boxes and start seeing what they can do.”

The three turned and headed back to Trixie and Twilight. As they neared, Trixie stopped talking to Twilight and regarded them. “Welcome back. How did it go?”

The three ran forward and dumped their jars on the ground. Apple Bloom smiled proudly. “We got as much as we could.”

Trixie raised her eyebrows. “Well, you certainly did more than Trixie was expecting. No offense. This is certainly enough for what we need.”

Scootaloo buzzed her tiny wings and grinned. “Hey, we’re awesome. No biggie.”

Trixie rolled her eyes, but smiled at the remark. “Well, then. Twilight, is that all?”

Twilight looked over the jars, peering at them closely. “There’s still some more practical work to be done, but like you said, they have plenty. I might even be able to use the leftovers myself.” She looked up at the three and nodded. “Good work, girls.”

Sweetie Belle put a hoof over Scootaloo. “Like she said; we’re awesome.”

Trixie floated the jars into the trunk in her cart, and loaded her picnic basket next to it. “Well then, let’s be off.”

Trixie and Twilight led the way, leaving the Crusaders to follow them. Apple Bloom ran a bit faster to walk beside Twilight. “By the way, Twi, thanks for helpin’ us.”

Frowning, Twilight said, “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”

“Well, Ah thought with you and Trixie maybe not gettin’ along, you might not wanna help. Not to mention she’s trying to get us our cutie marks where you couldn’t.”

Twilight scoffed. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m just happy you three are developing your skills and learning more about the world. Besides—” Twilight looked at Trixie “—I think Trixie may just be the perfect pony to train you three after all.”

Apple Bloom swiveled her head between the two. Trixie was giving Twilight a pointed look, while Twilight had a smile on her face. “Uh, why’s that, Twi?”

Trixie looked away and chuckled. “Twilight Sparkle is simply acknowledging Trixie’s superior skill at training foals. She is a gracious loser.”

Rolling her eyes, Twilight snorted. “Yeah, that’s it.”

The two older ponies continued to walk in silence, leaving the foals to wonder what they had just heard.

Chapter 8

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 8

Apple Bloom looked over the railing of the club house. “Ah’m ready up here!”

On the ground below, Sweetie Belle nodded and turned her head. Across the orchard, Scootaloo stood on her scooter. Sweetie Belle waved at her. “Go for it!”

Scootaloo dropped her head and lowered a hoof to kick against the ground. She began to move and fluttered her wings to pick up speed. Ahead of her, at the bottom of the tree their clubhouse was built in, a plank of wood leaned against a transporter box. Scootaloo came closer, aiming her scooter at the blank.

Sweetie Belle’s horn lit up green and the curtain of the box drew back in an aura of magic. “Now!”

On the balcony above, Apple Bloom lifted a small, tightly packed ball of blue powder and dropped it into the second transporter box in front of her.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched as the box on the ground flashed blue and the ball of powder was flung out of it to hit the ground. A cloud of smoke erupted into the air on its impact. A second later, Scootaloo hit the plank of wood and made the jump, emerging from the smoke in midair and going a few hooves further before she landed on the grass and skidded to a halt.

“That was awesome!” Scootaloo whooped and jumped off her scooter. She ran back into the dust cloud to examine the transporter box. “It worked! I built it right!”

“And mah smoke bombs went off just like Trixie said they would!” Apple Bloom ran down the ramp to the clubhouse to join them.

Sweetie Belle closed the curtain on the transporter box. “And did you see my magic? I just willed it to happen and it did it!” She rapidly closed and opened the curtain several more times. “I guess all those exercises Trixie told me to do are really working.”

“All her lessons are working.” Apple Bloom grinned. “She talks about all sorts of alchemy stuff when she’s making me mix smoke bombs. Ah think I could probably whip up some sleepin’ powder on my own with what she’s told me.”

Scootaloo held up her hooves. “I built a box.” She looked back at the transporter box. “Its got sapphires glued to the back. They do something magical.”

Apple Bloom tilted her head, quirking an eyebrow. “Ya know, you are a pegasus. Have ya ever tried doing something with weather control?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “You need clouds for that, and this low they tend to evaporate and fall apart. I’ve asked Rainbow Dash.” She looked back at the transporter box and sighed. “It’s cool you two have learned so much from this, but I’ve kind of been the third wheel.”

Sweetie Belle gaped. “That’s not true! You’ve been a huge help! You… uh… you convinced Trixie to come and help train us in the first place!”

Apple Bloom patted Scootaloo on the back. “We’re a team, remember? We’ll all help each other out, just like we always do. Ah’m sure if we think about it, we can come up with an awesome act that all of us can do.”

Scootaloo looked at her for a moment and slowly smiled. “Yeah… come on, we gotta find Trixie!” She looked back at the empty cart behind them. “Where is she, anyway?”

“Ah think she said she was talkin’ to Applejack about somethin’.” Apple Bloom galloped towards the barn, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle following. As they approached, they heard voices coming from the barn.

“Ah’m not saying it’s a problem, Trixie, but next time ya can at least ask first.”

“Trixie was taught it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission.”

“Yeah, but it still ain’t polite.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked into the barn and saw Applejack loading hay into a wagon as Trixie watched her. Sweetie Belle gently tapped Trixie on the hind hoof. “What’s going on?”

Trixie thrust a hoof at Applejack. “Trixie has been taking the apples from the trees around her cart since her arrival. Apparently this is a problem.”

Applejack looked at her evenly. “Ah don’t mind, we’ve got plenty this season. Ah’m just sayin’, would have been nice if ya asked.”

Apple Bloom walked up beside Trixie. “What did ya need them for? Some kind o’ fancy fruit-growin’ spell or something?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “No. I was hungry.”

“Oh.”

Trixie turned around to face the three. “So, my young apprentices. Trixie recalls she tasked you to read the provided textbooks on sleight-of-hoof tricks. Did you complete them as commanded?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “No. We agreed it was boring.”

Trixie huffed. “Very well. Do you have a better idea for today’s lesson?”

Sweetie Belle smiled. “We have a great idea. We wanna put on our own show!”

“Excuse me?”

The three looked at each other, gave a joint nod, then Apple Bloom turned back to Trixie. “We really appreciate all the trainin’ you’ve given us, but we think it’s time to actually do something with it. We wanna put on our own magic show.”

Trixie looked away and rubbed her chin. “Well… you have learned a lot… and it’s good you have such enthusiasm about the idea…” She smiled. “Very well, my young apprentices. Let it be known that you shall shortly put on your first magic show!”

The three jumped and cheered as Trixie rounded them up and headed towards her wagon. She looked behind her to make sure they were following before she spoke again. “Trixie shall presume you have ideas for what such a performance would entail?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “We’ve put on other types of shows before. How hard can it be?”

“Hn. Trixie will ignore that insinuation.”

When the four reached Trixie’s cart, Trixie moved to the far side where the harness and straps for pulling it lay. She pulled down one of the wooden panels, revealing a lever inside a small compartment. “Voila!” Trixie clicked the lever and the side of the cart exploded outward. The three watched as the wall fell down, revealing it was actually a false wall on hinges. Legs came loose and extended to stop it from hitting the ground as it came down, forming a stage. Behind it, an awning on spring-loaded poles popped up over it and curtains pooled down at the back.

Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “Did that always do that? Or did I miss it?”

Trixie smirked as she jumped on the stage. “Trixie is full of surprises, my young apprentices.” She walked to the front and stomped a hoof twice, causing a section of the stage to part into separate panels which lowered to become a set of stairs. “Mind the window hole. Keep it covered during the performance and it makes an effective trap door.”

The Cutie Mark Crusaders walked onto the stage and stepped around the square hole in the middle where the cart’s window lined up, the window awning now taut along the underside. Scootaloo looked over the stage, a wide grin on her face. “This is gonna be so cool.”

“I should hope so, my apprentice.” Trixie gestured her hooves to either side of the stage. “How long do you require to plan this show of yours?”

The three turned around and talked among themselves. Trixie waited, tapping a hoof on the stage. Eventually they turned back to her and Apple Bloom cleared her throat. “How about tomorrow night?”

“Marvelous. You have free access to Trixie’s supplies and textbooks, use them as you need.” Trixie smiled and walked past them to hop off the stage. “Trixie will be going into town for lunch.”

“W-wait!” Apple Bloom ran to the end of the stage. “You’re leavin’ us alone?”

Trixie stopped and looked back at her. “What? Trixie intends to be amazed and dazzled by your performance. That would hardly be workable if she watches you prepare for it, hm?” Trixie shook her head. “Don’t worry, if you need help, just come and find me. But I have full confidence that you’ll be able to handle yourselves.”

Trixie resumed walking. Alone on the stage, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked between themselves. Sweetie Belle spoke first, grinning.

“Wanna get out the cannon again?”

Trixie walked down the main street of Ponyville, casting her eyes between the stalls of goods. After leaving the Cutie Mark Crusaders to work on their act yesterday, she’d woken up today and forced herself not to spy on them. They’ll be fine. I’ve taught them well, and it's good they want to take this sort of initiative. She had a thought and shuddered. I hope they don’t blow up my cart.

Trixie saw an alchemy stand and approached it. She saw a rack of vials with a silver powder and looked at the sign. She picked up a vial and held it up to eye level. “Are you sure this is authentic silver lining from Cloudsdale?”

The pegasus salespony on the other side of the alchemy booth smiled and nodded. “Sure is. I have a cousin in the weather factory who gets me the hook-up. It’s one hundred percent pure, too.”

Trixie put the vial back on the rack. “How much?”

“Well, between the quality of the goods and the difficulty in procuring them around these parts… ten bits for a vial.”

“Ten bits?” Trixie’s jaw dropped. “I’ve bought entire alchemy sets for less!”

“Ten bits. Take it or leave it.” The pegasus crossed his hooves.

Before Trixie could respond, she heard movement behind her. “Leave it. It’s sugar and dust dipped in silver paint.” Trixie turned to see Rainbow Dash flapping her wings to descend beside her. Rainbow kept her eyes on the pegasus at the booth. “Monty Swag. I thought they ran you out of Cloudsdale?”

Monty gulped and shrank back. “Dash! Look, this isn’t like that, right? That was a misunderstanding. Those pegasi knew their bits with me was an investment. It’s hardly my fault it didn’t pay out.”

“Oh yeah?” Rainbow glared and leaned over the booth. “Well, I’m about to invest my hooves in your flank.”

Monty raised an eyebrow. “What does that even mean?”

“It means get out of here!”

Monty grabbed the two shelves of alchemy vials on the booth and pulled them down in a flash. Seconds later, he ran down the road pulling a cart of ill-repute ingredients.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “I knew something was wrong with that. Authentic silver lining has a brighter lustre than that.” Rainbow looked back at her and Trixie locked eyes with her. “Hello, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey.” Rainbow raised a hoof to wave. “No training with the squirts today?”

“They can take care of themselves.” Trixie noticed Rainbow Dash’s brow lift and amended, “mostly. They want to put on their own show, so I’ve left them to it. They were working hard yesterday and they tell me this evening they’ll be ready to take the stage.”

“Right. So you’re just out here shopping?”

“Pretty much. Those three have used up more supplies in a week than I’d use alone in a month.” Trixie peered closer at Rainbow and pursed her lip. “You’re being very friendly to Trixie. Why?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Why? Should I be a jerk?”

“Trixie would prefer you not, but given our history…”

“Meh. You patched things up with the rest of us, I’m not gonna be a stickler. Besides, I was a show-off, you just put me in my place.” Rainbow smirked and leaned in. “And then you got it sent back to ya.”

“Fair enough.”

Rainbow opened her mouth to say something else, then raised her head and looked past Trixie. “Ho boy.” Trixie turned and saw.

Scootaloo was riding her scooter down the street, pulling a cart with Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle in it. The three were wearing red capes with a blue shield crest on the back, and the latter two were throwing flyers out from a stack in the cart.

As they came closer, Trixie could make out Apple Bloom’s voice. “Tonight, the Cutie Mark Crusaders debut their magic act at Sweet Apple Acres!”

“Come one, come all, and be in awe!” Sweetie Belle added, handing a flyer to a passerby.

The three approached Trixie and Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo dropped a hoof to the ground to stop them. She grinned, her wings fluttering eagerly. “Trixie, you’re gonna love what we’ve come up with!”

“Trixie should hope so.” She smiled and tilted her head up. “She has given you the benefit of her years of experience and wisdom. Do not disappoint her.”

“No problem!” Scootaloo turned to Rainbow. “We’ll see you there won’t we, Rainbow Dash?”

“Of course, kiddo.” Rainbow brushed a hoof over Scootaloo’s mane. “I wouldn’t miss it for the Wonderbolts.”

“Awesome!” Scootaloo turned back to the cart. “Come on, girls, let’s finish up the advertising and get back to practice!”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “Oh, and by the way, Trixie, sorry about the spill.”

Trixie paled. “Spill?”

Apple Bloom scoffed. “We cleaned it up, don’t worry! Personally, Ah think that cloak looks better that color! Anyway, gotta go!”

The cart started up again and the three continuing down the street, tossing out flyers.

Trixie groaned and slapped her face. “Trixie is beginning to reconsider giving those three access to her magical supplies and then leaving them unsupervised all day.”

“Trust me, Trixie, you’d have better luck trying to stop a hurricane by yourself than keep those three out of trouble.”

It was shortly after sunset and a small crowd of ponies had gathered on the back areas of Sweet Apple Acres in front of the stage connected to Trixie’s cart. A pair of spotlights attached to nearby trees illuminated the stage. At the side of the cart, Trixie paced back and forth, her brow furrowed. She stopped and took a deep breath. Stay calm. It’s natural to be nervous for them. After all they haven’t done magic on-stage before. She shook her head. Not to mention what might happen at the end of the show… if they actually got their cutie marks...

“Trixie!”

Trixie turned and saw Twilight Sparkle approaching her. She swiftly adopted a more collected expression before replying. “Yes, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Sweetie Belle just poked her head out and said they’re starting in a minute. Don’t you want to come watch?”

Trixie smiled. “Yes, Trixie would. Lead the way.”

Twilight turned and walked into the crowd. Trixie followed her and found her sitting down with the rest of her friends near the front. Trixie sat at the end of the line and looked down it. “So, anypony nervous?”

Applejack shook her head. “Ah’m excited, mahself. Can’t wait to see what all this ruckus the last week has been for.”

Rarity nodded. “Quite right. Sweetie Belle is always so jovial when she comes home from her lessons. I’m eager to see why.”

Trixie sighed. “No pressure on me, then.”

Beside her, Twilight smiled. “Relax, Trixie. They’ll do fine.”

Suddenly, the spotlights on the stage went out, blanketing it in darkness. The murmurs of the crowd faded. Then…

“Welcome, citizens of Ponyville!” Sweetie Belle’s voice rang out over the area.

“Y’all are in for a heck of a show tonight!”

“Welcome, for the first time on-stage: the Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians!”

At Scootaloo’s declaration, a cloud of smoke erupted on the stage, roiling over the wood. From the cloud, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo leapt up one at a time and posed. They were wearing the same red capes from that afternoon.

The crowd applauded and cheered. Trixie eyed the stage as the smoke dissipated. Pressure-release smoke bomb to hide jumping up the trap door. Basic, but clever.

Apple Bloom swirled her cape around her. “Tonight, y’all are gonna see the most amazin’ magical show of yer lives! Scootaloo, bring me the prop box!”

Scootaloo ducked behind a curtain and came back with a familiar box, setting it in front of Apple Bloom. Apple Bloom looked inside and reached her hoof in. “Dang it, Sweetie Belle, you gotta organize this stuff better!”

“It was Scootaloo’s turn!” Sweetie Belle protested.

Apple Bloom began pulling out a variety of cheap magical props and other assorted miscellaneous goods, tossing them behind her until they began to pile up. The crowd laughed at the display, with Trixie sporting a smile of her own. Wonder where they hid all that stuff with the other transporter box.

“Here we go!” Apple Bloom finally pulled out a pair of shiny silver hoofcuffs.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. I don’t recall showing them how to use those… where did they even find those?

“Now, we shall hoofcuff Scootaloo to the wheels of a cart bound to leave for Appleloosa!” Apple Bloom announced. She approached Scootaloo and the other pony stepped back.

“Hang on. We didn’t talk about that. What’s the trick?” Scootaloo asked.

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Oh, no trick. This is just revenge for not organizing things like you said you would.”

“Now hang on!”

The crowd laughed again.

Scootaloo pushed Apple Bloom’s hoof away and stepped forward on the stage. “She’s just jealous, because for the first trick tonight, you’ll see me… uh…” Scootaloo turned her head and whispered. Apple Bloom covered her mouth and whispered back and Scootaloo nodded. “Right. Now, watch as The Amazing Scooter Rocker performs a feat beyond imagination! Does anypony in the crowd have a bit?”

There was some shuffling, and a few hooves at the front of the crowd extended with bits. Scootaloo took the nearest one and stuffed it in her mane. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders thank you for your donation! Now, for our first trick…”

Scootaloo paused as another round of laughter rippled through the crowd.

Trixie smiled. They don’t know as much about the trade as they thought, but they’re covering it up with humor to stay entertaining. Works for professionals all the time.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle gently pushed her aside. “Stand back! It’s time for a real showmare, the one and only Dazzler, to kick this off!” Sweetie Belle turned to the side and rose on her hind hooves, waving her hooves in the air. Her horn lit green and a coil of colored handkerchiefs tied together rose from the transporter box and swirled towards her.

Apple Bloom raised a hoof and held it in the air, then swept it down and bowed. “And now, we shall cut the rope!”

Hanging in the air, a thick rope tied around her midsection to hang her from the awning, Diamond Tiara’s eyes bulged. “W-what!?” She looked down; a bed of sharp steel spikes lay on the stage below her. “You’re gonna cut me down!?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Relax, we practiced this twice earlier.”

“Really?” Diamond Tiara looked her way. “I’ll be safe?”

Sweetie Belle held up her hooves. “Probably. We bungled it the first two times. But hey, third time’s the charm, right?”

Diamond Tiara shook her head and struggled in her bonds. “You stupid blank flanks, get me down from here right now!”

Sweetie Belle picked up a pair of scissors in her magic and moved them to the rope tied off next to her. “You’re the boss!”

“NO, NO THAT’S NOT WHAT I—”

The scissors closed and Diamond Tiara fell, screaming. She hit the bed of spikes and a blast of light went off. When it had faded, both Diamond Tiara and the spikes had vanished.

Apple Bloom looked over the stage, then at the crowd. “Hey, it worked: she’s gone!”

The crowd laughed and applauded widely. The three foals on the stage lined up and bowed, the applause growing louder.

Trixie grinned widely as she stomped her hooves with the rest. Good ol’ rubber and aluminum foil spike mat over the trap door. Works like a charm. I didn’t even tell ’em that one. They figured it out themselves.

“Thanks fer comin’ out!” Apple Bloom waved her hoof at the crowd. “Hope y’all had a good time!”

The three turned and ran behind the curtains and the crowd’s applause began to fade. They dispersed and Trixie turned her head. Twilight and her friends were talking among themselves. Trixie slipped away and climbed onto the stage. Behind the curtain, the Cutie Mark Crusaders had pulled Diamond Tiara up the small staircase that led under the stage.

Sweetie Belle brushed off Diamond’s mane. “You did great, you really seemed like you were scared!”

Diamond Tiara scowled. “I was scared! You didn’t tell me the spikes were fake!”

Scootaloo looked at Sweetie Belle. “Didn’t you tell her?”

“No. Didn’t you?”

“No.” The two shrugged, but Trixie saw the hints of a smile on Scootaloo’s face as she replied. “Hey, it worked out, and it was fun, right!”

Diamond Tiara grumbled under her breath and walked away. The Cutie Mark Crusaders noticed Trixie watching and rushed towards her. “Trixie!”

Apple Bloom grinned. “Did ya see mah smoke bombs! Ah used that ori-mah-calco stuff to keep it from going off, just like you said!”

Sweetie Belle jumped up and down. “And that’s the most magic I’ve ever used at once, and I’m not tired at all for it!”

Scootaloo looked at the transport box lying on the stage. “I have to admit, I never realized those things could do so much! I’m already thinking of other ways we could use it.”

Trixie smiled and nodded. “You three were marvelous. You do Trixie proud.”

The three looked at each other. Apple Bloom giggled. “Ah had so much fun tonight!”

“Mhm!”

“You said it.”

“So y’all know what that means…”

The three foals looked at their flanks in anticipation. Trixie sighed and lowered her head.

What seemed like minutes, but was in reality barely ten seconds, passed without any of them talking. Scootaloo’s face spell. “No cutie mark…”

“But…” Sweetie Belle blinked. “We worked so hard… and everypony loved it…”

“Yes, they did.” Trixie put a hoof over her. “Your cutie marks don’t matter. What matters is you worked hard, had fun, and put on a great show. And Trixie isn’t saying that just to humor you. She was quite impressed with all that you did.”

Apple Bloom’s eyes fell from her flank to the stage. “Yeah… but…”

“Come now, no sad faces like that.” Trixie smiled and reached out a hoof to nudge her head up. “It’s been a long night. Let’s pack it up and get you three to bed, hm?”

Trixie turned and approached the edge of the stage where Rarity and Applejack had stepped up.

Behind her, the Cutie Mark Crusaders watched her for a moment, then looked back at their flanks.

Author's Note

You waited long enough for this one; normal updates will resume every third Friday.

Chapter 9

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 9

The sun had just risen on the horizon of Sweet Apple Acres, casting the ground in a golden glow. Grouped inside the shadow of the barn doors, the Cutie Mark Crusaders looked across the orchards at the distant shape of Trixie’s wagon near the treehouse.

Sweetie Belle backed away from the door. “I’m not sure this is a good idea. Maybe we should just take a break for a day.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Trixie said she wanted us to come see her for the usual lessons. We can’t just not show up. Right?”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Why not? I’m ready for a break from all the lessons. Besides…” She flopped on her stomach and beat a hoof on the grass. “It’s not like our next show is gonna be different, right?”

“Don’t say that.” Apple Bloom reached a hoof over to pat Scootaloo on the back. “It was a great show, everypony loved it.”

Scootaloo looked up at her and smiled. “Yeah, and I had a lot of fun dropping Diamond Tiara down the hole.” The three shared a snicker at the memory. Scootaloo looked back at her flank. “But, ya know, we started all this to get our cutie marks. And it didn’t happen, did it? Like usual for us.”

Sweetie Belle bit her lip and lowered her head. She approached Scootaloo, keeping her eyes down. “Everypony always said we’d get our cutie marks when it was time, Scootaloo. It just isn’t ours yet, right?”

“Exactly.” Scootaloo pushed herself up. “This magic stuff isn’t working, especially for me. I’m tired, I’m sore, and I’m fed up. Trixie said she promised she would get us our cutie marks, but it ain’t happening. And the more time we train with her, the less interesting it gets.”

Sweetie Bell raised her eyes. Her brow furrowed for a moment and then she gave a slow nod. “Yeah. When you put it like that, I gotta agree. I’ve been working really hard on my magic, but I’m going to bed really early these days and eating a lot. Rarity says I’m not used to using so much power and it’s wearing me out. I went to bed almost as soon as I came home last night after the show.”

The three fell silent and looked between themselves and Trixie’s cart. Apple Bloom spoke up first. “Look, Ah get what y’all are sayin’. We’ve worked hard, and it isn’t goin’ so well for us, and we’re havin’ second thoughts.” She forced a smile. “We’ve been tryin’ to get our cutie marks for a while now, and we’ve tried a lot of different ways. Sure, it hasn’t worked yet, but we don’t give in, right? One way or another, it’s gotta happen eventually. What’s it hurt to keep trying this one a bit more?”

Scootaloo shook her head. “It hurts because I’m tired of trying and failing…” Sweetie Belle gave a small nod.

Apple Bloom sighed. “Ah know, girls. So am Ah, but we can’t give up. Let’s go talk to Trixie at least before we quit. Maybe we can have a day off, huh?”

Scootaloo said nothing but began walking forward, leaving the two others to follow her. They reached the cart and Scootaloo knocked twice. A moment later, the door opened.

“Excellent, right on time.” Trixie backed into the cart, inclining her head for them to follow. “We have much to do today.” She opened a case against the wall and withdrew several interlocking silver rings. “Scootaloo, we’ll be moving on to proper usage of pre-made props. Some of them are difficult to manipulate with hooves, but you can manage. Sweetie Belle, we’ll be—”

As she finished taking out the rings and closing the trunk, Trixie turned to the three and paused. Sweetie Belle was looking away with her eyes downcast while Scootaloo stared at Trixie, her eyes narrowed and her mouth set in a line. Trixie looked between them. “What is it?”

Apple Bloom sighed and stepped forward. “Well, Trixie… see, thing is, we were doin’ some talkin’, and we’re kinda tired after last night. Maybe we can take a break from all the training?”

Trixie nodded. “I suppose that’s all right. We can continue tomorrow, a day won’t hurt.”

Apple Bloom hesitated before raising a hoof. “Actually, maybe tomorrow we can break too? To be honest, we’re having second thoughts and wanna kinda thinks some of this over.”

“Second thoughts?” Trixie raised an eyebrow. “About what? You three displayed wonderful talent yesterday. It’s barely been a week and you’ve learned much more than I’d have expected on our initial meeting.”

Sweetie Belle grimaced and looked away. “Yeah, but… well, the whole reason we were doing this is because we wanted to get our cutie marks, and…” she said nothing more but jerked her head back at her bare flank.

Trixie scoffed. “You must be patient, it’ll come in time. If that is truly a concern, we can mix up our lessons and have you three each try something new.”

“I don’t want to try anything new!” Scootaloo said in a huff. “We’ve been working at this magician stuff for a week, and yeah, we’re good at it. But if it isn’t getting us our cutie marks, what’s the point?”

Trixie glared and set the silver rings down on the table. “You want your cutie marks, but don’t want to work to discover them? Don’t be ridiculous. You’re smarter than that and Trixie knows it.”

Letting out a gasp, Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “We’ve been working hard for years! You have no idea how many things we’ve tried!”

“I have no idea how hard you’ve worked? You’ve spent a week barely scratching the surface of Trixie’s knowledge, ignorant of how long she—” Trixie stopped and shook her head. “This was your idea, and I went along with it, against my better judgment, mind you. And now you want to quit just because the first time you put on a performance, it didn’t get you your cutie marks? If it was as simple as just being good at something, we’d all have gotten our cutie marks in our infancy. It takes dedication, hard work, determination!”

Scootaloo flung up her hooves. “We’ve got all those things, we’ve had them, and for years it’s gotten us nowhere!”

Sweetie Belle nodded, adding, “We’ve been working hard and doing our best, but it’s not getting us anywhere!”

Trixie scowled. “Twilight Sparkle warned me you three were liable not to listen. I thought you all wanted to be magicians, hm? If you only wanted me to train you to get your cutie marks and don’t actually care about the craft, then you’re just wasting everypony’s time! Cutie marks are not merely about being good at something, it’s—”

“We know what it is!” Scootaloo said, cutting her off. “Everypony’s been telling us for years what it is! But we do things we like and things we’re good at and things we wanna try, and none of it works! All I know about what cutie marks are anymore is what they’re not, and they’re not coming to us!”

“And that’s Trixie’s fault?” Trixie glared, looming over them as Scootaloo glared back. “Trixie has dedicated her time, her cart, her supplies, and her years of experience to helping you three!”

“And a fat load of good it’s done us!” Scootaloo jerked her hoof towards her flank. “You promised us you’d get us our cutie marks if you stayed and we trained with you. Well, Trixie, thanks for nothing!”

“Enough!” The door to Trixie’s cart flung open so hard the cart itself shook, and Trixie thrust out her hoof. “Get out, now! The Great and Powerful Trixie has better things to do with her time than waste it on three impatient ingrates!”

“Back at ya!” Scootaloo spun around and marched out of the cart.

Apple Bloom looked between the two, eyes wide and glistening. Then, she turned and ran after Scootaloo. “Scootaloo!”

Sweetie Belle lowered her eyes. “Sorry, Trixie.” She turned and slowly headed out of the cart, closing the door behind her.

When the door closed, Trixie spun around and swept a hoof over the table, knocking the silver rings to the ground. She scowled and looked down at them, as though they were somehow responsible. All I’ve done for those three, all I’ve tried to make them see…

She lifted the rings from the floor next to the bookcase and saw a spot of pink under a pile of handkerchiefs. Trixie lifted the clothes and found a faded book on the floor. “A Foal’s Guide to Magic…” The lessons still worked wonders on Sweetie Belle. Too bad it doesn’t work on earth ponies or pegasi. She snorted and set the book on the shelf. “Twilight was right. I should have just told them the truth to begin with. Subtlety is lost on children with their level of impatience.”

Trixie paused as she realized what she had just said. She groaned and grabbed her cloak and hat from a hook on the wall. Can’t think in here. Need to clear my head. She pushed open the door and hurried out it, not sparing a glance at the clubhouse over her head.

Sweetie Belle dropped down from the window. “She left.”

“Did she look mad?”

“I couldn’t tell.” Sweetie Belle turned her attention to a corner of the clubhouse. “I didn’t think you’d be that angry.”

Facing the corner, huddled over, Scootaloo wiped her eyes. “I didn’t either. You know I haven’t been on board with this much. But I…” she dropped her head. “I didn’t mean to talk to her like that...”

‘”Hey.” Scootaloo turned her head to see Sweetie behind her, the other pony patting her on the back. “You’ve been angry for a while. It was bound to come out.”

Scootaloo sniffed. “But—”

“No ‘buts’. If you weren’t liking the training, you should have told her a while ago.”

“You liked it. Just because I can’t use magic doesn’t mean you can’t learn to use yours.”

Sweetie Belle shook her head. “Hey, we’re a team. We always talked about getting our cutie marks together. I want my cutie mark, but I’m not going to make my friends try something they don’t like to get it faster.”

Scootaloo stared for a moment, then turned and hugged her. “Thanks, Sweetie Belle…”

“Besides, like I said,” Sweetie Belle continued with a shrug, “I never really thought I’d be a magician like her.”

“Me neither.” Scootaloo pulled away and stood up. “If we don’t want to be magicians, then we really are wasting her time. Trixie’s tried hard, but it just isn’t for us. When she comes back, we’ll tell her this really isn’t working and she should just move on.”

“Maybe…” The two turned their heads; Apple Bloom had been pacing the room in thought as the others spoke. Now she had stopped to gaze at them, her eyes bright.

Scootaloo tilted her head. “What are you thinking?”

“Ah’m thinkin’ that even if we didn’t want to be magicians, we still learned some useful stuff, right?” Apple Bloom lowered her head and smiled.

Sweetie Belle’s brow creased. “Yeah, I guess.”

“We’re good at doin’ what Trixie taught us. We just don’t wanna use it to be magicians. Ah think we’re going about this wrong. Trixie’s lessons aren’t the problem, it’s how we’re usin’ them.”

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “So, what? You’ve got an idea to do something else with them?”

Apple Bloom ran to the window. “Sweetie Belle, you said Trixie left, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Sweetie Belle said.

Apple Bloom grinned and pointed to the door to the clubhouse. “Ah got an idea, come on! We’ll make it right, Ah promise!”

Trixie gulped down her milk and slammed the mug back onto the café table. “And when she said that, I’d had enough and told them to get out!” She looked at the mug and scowled. “I’ve been far more patient with them than they deserve, given them more time and effort than anypony else who’s tried to be my apprentice, and they don’t even know why or care. If this is how it’s going to end, then this really was all just a waste of our time.”

On the opposite side of the table, resting her head on her hoof with a wide grin, Pinkie Pie nodded her head. “Yup. That sounds pretty bad.”

Trixie looked up at her and raised an eyebrow. “Then why are you smiling?”

“I like listening to my friends talk about their problems.” Pinkie’s grin grew wider.

“We’re friends?”

Pinkie’s grin vanished and her ears drooped and tears formed in her eyes. “You mean, you don’t want to be my friend?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Sure.”

“Hooray!” Pinkie threw her hooves up and a burst of confetti exploded behind her. She came back down and rubbed her chin. “Ya know, now that we’re officially friends, I gotta ask you something.”

“Shoot.”

“Why do you call yourself Trixie?”

Trixie frowned. “Because that’s my name?”

Pinkie held up a hoof. “I mean why do you say ‘Trixie doesn’t like this’ instead of just ‘I don’t like this’. Twilight told me it’s called third-person, but I tried it one time for fun and it just confused me.”

“Somehow that doesn’t surprise me,” Trixie muttered. Louder she said “Trixie speaks of herself in such a manner to give herself grandeur and spectacle. She is a showmare, she must be a larger-than-life figure.”

“Oooh, okay.” Pinkie grinned again. “That’s cool! Can you teach me how to do it better?”

Trixie shook her head. “Pass. Trixie doesn’t much feel like teaching anyone anything today.”

“Oh, come on!” Before Trixie saw her move, Pinkie was beside her and hugging her tightly. “Don’t be such a mopey-dopey-lopey! What’s wrong?”

Trixie struggled to escape. “Weren’t you listening? The Crusaders and I had a bad fight.” She grunted and pushed back against the clingy pony.

“So?” Pinkie held up her hooves in a shrug, resulting in Trixie staggering away and falling on her back. Pinkie leaned on the table and shook her head. “Friends fight all the time! Nopony gets along every day, so of course you’re gonna have a fight now and then. What’s important is that you make up when it’s over and say you’re sorry. That’s what friends do: they forgive each other!”

Trixie pursed her lip. “That… actually makes a lot of sense.” She stood up and gave Pinkie a sideways look. “Since when are you so insightful?”

Pinkie giggled. “Silly, there’s nothing I don’t know about friendship!”

“Right. I guess if you’re so insightful, then what do you think I—”

Pinkie shoved a hoof in Trixie’s face to cover her mouth. “Uh-uh! Say it the cool way!”

Trixie scowled and pushed Pinkie’s hoof aside. “If Trixie were to be interested in returning to her cart and attempting to mend bridges, how would you advise she do it?”

Pinkie waved a hoof in the air. “That’s easy. Trixie should go to them, apologize for losing her temper, offer to start fresh tomorrow, and ask them what they want to do about their cutie marks. Also, Trixie should get a cake.”

“Why?”

“Because a cake will help smooth things over when she shares it with them once they forgive her. And if it doesn’t work out and they’re still angry at her, then at least she still has a cake.”

“What if Trixie doesn’t like cake?”

“Then I’d advise Trixie should check herself into Ponyville General Hospital, because she clearly got hit on the head recently.”

Pinkie’s cheerful demeanor never changed even as she finished her recommendations. Trixie looked at her evenly for a moment, then took a deep breath. “I’m a bit strapped for money.”

“Aw. Does Trixie have any money she can lend you?”

Trixie stared for a moment, her face scrunched in confusion. “No.”

“Oh well. Good thing you’ve got an inside connection!” Pinkie put a hoof around Trixie’s neck and began to lead her down the street. “Come on, we’ll get you and Trixie both a sweet deal! How do you feel about coconut cream?”

Applejack’s plow reached the end of the field and she stopped, wiping a sheen of sweat off her brow. She lifted the plow and turned it to go back the other way for a new row when she saw Trixie coming through the fields. She raised a hoof and waved. “Hiya, Trixie!”

“Hey.” Trixie nodded at her and stopped in front of her wagon to look up at the clubhouse looming over it. She ran her tongue around in her mouth and pursed her lips.

Applejack’s eyes fell on the purple box floating beside Trixie. “What’s that?”

Trixie looked back at her and followed her eyes to the box. “Vanilla and caramel ice cream cake. It’s a long story that involves Pinkie Pie. Don’t ask.”

“Ya said ‘Pinkie Pie’, so that’s all the explanation Ah need.” Applejack tipped her hat. “Ah’ll presume you comin' back here with a cake has somethin’ to do with all the yellin’ Ah heard this mornin’?”

“Yeah…” Trixie frowned and set the box on the ground next to the stairs to her wagon. “Have you seen them?”

“Nope, sorry. Ah’ve been busy plowing the new fields in the front this morning and worked my way back here just an hour ago.”

“Right.” Trixie looked at the clubhouse again. She took a breath, hesitated, and shook her head. “I need to compose myself, make sure I don’t say something stupid again.” She walked over to her wagon and climbed the stairs. She pushed open the door and took one step inside before she froze. Her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped. “Applejack!”

Applejack looked up from her plowing. “Eh?”

“I’ve been robbed!”

“Say what?” Applejack ran to the cart as Trixie went inside. Applejack put a hoof on the stairs and looked. The cart had been ransacked. Textbooks lay strewn over the floor along with props and costumes, and several drawers and cupboards had been left open. Trixie stared, slack jawed, at the carnage. Her eyes darted back and forth.

“They got my alchemy chest, my magic textbooks, most of my props! They even took the cheap ones I fall back on when the professional-grade stuff breaks.” Trixie slammed her head on the table. “I can’t believe I was so careless! I have security spells on the cart but I haven’t been using them!”

“Hey, calm down.” Applejack held up a hoof. “Ah told ya, Ah’ve been working these back fields all afternoon. Anyone who came back here has to still be hidin’ on the farm somewhere. There’s no way they coulda taken all of this without me seeing ’em go.”

“Good point.” Trixie nodded and turned back to her. “Apple Bloom and her friends are up in the clubhouse so go check if they’ve seen anything.”

“Right.” Applejack left the doorway and headed up the walkway to the clubhouse. Trixie came to the door and looked up at her as she went in and came back out. Applejack leaned over the railing. “Trixie? They ain’t here.”

Trixie scowled. “Then where could they—” She stopped as a horrifying thought came to her. “No… Applejack!”

“What?”

“You said you’ve been here all afternoon?”

“Yes ma’am, was workin’ the front fields this mornin’ and the back ones just now.”

Trixie looked over the fields. “So… for anypony to get to my cart without you seeing them… they’d have to already be back here this morning.”

“Ah guess. But Ah haven’t seen anyone come or go but you and the Crusaders.”

Trixie gave Applejack a pointed look. Applejack’s eyes widened as she realized what Trixie had said.

“Oh no.”

“Oh hay no.”

Author's Note

Because some editing notes must be shared.

When the door closed, Trixie spun around and swept a hoof over the table, knocking the silver rings to the ground. She scowled and looked down at them, as though they were somehow responsible. All I’ve done for those three, all I’ve tried to make them see…

Albinocorn: And then Trixie burst into song!
Drake: Don't let them in, don't let them see, be the Great and Powerful pony you have to be.

Chapter 10

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 10

Rainbow Dash swooped down and landed on the street in front of Trixie and Twilight. “I just scanned all of White Tail Woods two miles out, but no sign of them. Fluttershy’s still moving through on-hoof, so want us to turn back?”

Trixie shook her head. “Check further. I was out a long way when they found me. They could be halfway to Las Pegasus by now.”

Twilight turned to her. “How long ago did they leave?”

“I don’t know, it was morning when I left them.”

Rainbow nodded. “Yeah, could be a ways then. I’ll head back.” Rainbow launched into the sky and flew away in a streak of light.

“Trixie.” Twilight leaned forward to get Trixie to look at her. “Are you sure you have no idea where they could have gone?”

“No!” Trixie snapped. She slapped her forehead and grunted angrily. “Three young, mischievous foals with only a beginner’s understanding of magical theorem and a wealth of magical supplies. They could be anywhere, doing anything.”

“Hey.” Twilight reached out and gently pulled Trixie’s hoof away. “We’ll find them. Fluttershy and her animals are searching the White Tail Woods, Rainbow’s scanning the outskirts of Ponyville from the air, Pinkie Pie is leading a search of the town with Applejack, and Rarity is at the station checking the balloons and trains out of Ponyville. There’s nowhere they could have gone that we won’t find them.”

“Are you sure it’s enough? You know these three, Twilight. There’s no telling what they’re up to.”

“I know. But if they do something with all those magic supplies, it’ll just help us hone in on where they are.”

“Maybe…” Trixie shook her head and stared off into space. She let out a sigh and swivelled her head around to look over the streets, seeing nothing.

Twilight smiled softly. “You’re really worried about them, aren’t you?”

Trixie looked at her for a moment, then tossed her head and sniffed. “Of course Trixie is concerned! Her three apprentices are gallivanting about with dangerous magical supplies they barely know how to use. Furthermore, if they get into trouble, it’ll be on Trixie’s head, again. She is not keen on such a prospect.”

Twilight waited for Trixie to finish, then nodded. “So, you’re worried about them.”

“Immensely.”

“Right.”

Biting her lower lip, Trixie lowered her head. She breathed deeply. “They’re just foals, Twilight. Foals that just wanted to learn. If they end up blowing themselves up or something all because of an argument, Tri—I don’t need that on my conscience.”

“Don’t worry.” Twilight patted Trixie on the back. “They’re more responsible than you know. Granted, not that responsible, but I don’t think they’re going to go blow themselves up. We’ll probably find them behind a store or in a clearing in the woods practising some advanced stuff on their own.”

Trixie snorted. “Good, so they can blow themselves up and the forest with them. I don’t suppose you know a spell to rapidly remove tree sap from buildings, do you?”

“Yup. Use it all the time.”

“…Trixie will not even ask.”

“That’s really for the best.” Twilight looked over the area once more. “There’s some locator spells we could use to find them, so I’m going to go look them up. What about you? Want to come lend a hoof?”

Trixie shook her head. “I’m going to head back to the cart in case they find their way back somehow. And… I just wanna be alone and think for a bit.”

“Sounds good.” Twilight put a hoof over Trixie’s neck. “We’ll find them and they’ll be okay. Trust me.”

Trixie did nothing but nod and walk down the street.

The sun had begun to set on the horizon when Trixie reached the borders of Sweet Apple Acres. She looked at the barn and jogged over to it, peeking her head in. “Hello?” Her voice echoed off the walls and came back to answer her. “Apple Bloom? Sweetie Belle? Scootaloo?” She turned her head from side to side. “Trixie is sorry she lost her temper.” When several more seconds passed without response, she pulled her head back and turned to head towards her cart.

Maybe… Trixie stopped at the steps and looked at the ramp into the clubhouse. She went up it quickly and looked inside, unsurprised when she found it empty. She returned to her cart and pushed the door open. I should clean up.

Slowly, one by one, Trixie picked up the few magical props and tiny boxes of alchemy ingredients left behind and put them back in their places. They left me barely anything. Even if I wanted to help, I can’t do anything more than just be another pair of eyes. Trick hoofcuffs and a two-sided mirror won’t help anything.

Trixie saw a tiny wooden box under her alchemy table and looked at the label. “Ferrochrome.” She opened the box and saw a few flecks of green powder inside, barely enough to fill her hoof. She shut the lid and snorted. “Oh yes, don’t fear, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie is here with her ferrochrome! Why, just get her some aluminum oxide and she might be able to make a stink bomb! And they’ll all come running towards the stench!” She tossed the box on the table with a thud.

Trixie put a hoof to her forehead. Doesn’t matter if I can’t do much to help, I still should. It’s my fault they’re out there, running around with dangerous supplies going who-knows where… She looked at the small chest on the table and lifted the lid. “Well, at least they didn’t take Trixie’s bits and gems. So they aren’t getting on a train. Should go tell Rarity.”

Trixie walked to the door and put a hoof on it.

…Aluminum oxide?

She looked back at the still only half-cleaned cart and ran to the table. She grabbed an emerald from the chest and turned to a stack of boxes she had picked up. A thrust of her hoof sent the boxes scattering along the table and Trixie found the one she needed and held it up in triumph. “Aluminum oxide!” She grinned and grabbed a few other boxes, flinging them open. They took almost everything. But not quite. They left Trixie enough. Trixie ducked to the drawer under her bed and pulled it open, grabbing a canteen. “Tell me Trixie remembered to fill you!” She held the canteen next to her ear and shook it. “Yes!”

Trixie picked up what little pockets of ingredients were left clinging to the corners of the boxes on the table and lumped them into the canteen. She shook it vigorously and pulled the emerald on the table towards her. “All right, it’s a suboptimal mixture but it’ll do. You shouldn’t explode from this.” She uncapped the canteen and poured the now-red liquid on the emerald.

After several seconds of pouring, the canteen burst, sending clouds of black smoke into the air. Trixie turned her head and coughed. She dropped the ruins of the canteen and pushed open the door, using her magic to create a blast of wind. “I had to say it.” When the smoke cleared, she turned back to the emerald on her table.

A spot of bright green light pulsed in the middle of it.

“HA!” Trixie inhaled deeply and pulled the emerald towards her. “They left me enough to enchant a locator spell!” She held the gem under her nose and inspected it closely. “Okay… never used one to try and find ponies instead of locations, but the spell fundamentals should be the same.” She closed her eyes. Apple Bloom… Sweetie Belle… Scootaloo… She chanted the names, picturing the three faces in her mind. She cracked an eye open.

The green light wobbled, dimmed, then moved to one edge of the gem and began to pulse brighter and dimmer.

“Gotcha.”

Trixie turned her body the way the gem was pointing and began running, keeping it floating in front of her. The light oriented forward, confirming she was going the right way. She allowed herself a smirk, her cape billowing behind her and her hat bobbing on her head. “You are indeed a mischievous and rambunctious trio of trouble-makers, my young apprentices! But the Great and Powerful Trixie is more clever than you know, and once she finds you she shall—”

Trixie ran into a fencepost.

“Ow!” Trixie fell on her flank, the emerald dropping to the grass along with her magician’s hat. She rubbed her head and winced. “Once Trixie finds you, she shall deliver just retribution for that interruption of her monologue!” she finished. She pulled her hat back on and then looked up at the fence.

Her eyes went wide and her ears flattened against her head.

“No… no, no, no, no…” Trixie stood and put her hooves on top of the fence, pulling herself up to look. She looked back at the emerald and saw its light pointing straight ahead. “They wouldn’t… they wouldn’t.” Trixie looked between the emerald and what lay over the fence again, and gulped. “They would… they did… oh no…”

Trixie swung herself over the fence and grabbed the emerald from behind her. She held it in front of her to check the position of the guiding light and slowly raised her eyes.

The Everfree Forest loomed in front of her.

Sweetie Belle looked to the left and then the right, but the forest was too dark and too thick to see very far. “Apple Bloom, are you sure this is a good idea?”

Behind her, Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah told ya, it’s a piece o’ cake. The forest isn’t as dangerous anymore since Discord and those plants were taken care of. We’ll get there no problem.”

Leading the way, Sweetie Belle looked ahead again, where the path was just barely easier to see than the trees. “But we don’t even know where the Castle of the Two Sisters is.”

“Ah know. That’s why we brought this.” Apple Bloom gestured to the emerald floating in front of Sweetie Belle, a pulse of light coming from its far edge. “Remember, Trixie just said all we have to do is picture the place we wanna go in our minds and the gem will point the way.”

Sweetie Belle frowned. “Yeah, but we’ve never actually seen the castle, so I can’t really picture it. What if this thing is leading us to, I dunno, Canterlot?”

At the end of the line, Scootaloo shrugged. “Then we end up at Canterlot and turn around.”

“That’ll take days and we don’t have days.” Sweetie Belle sighed and rubbed her forehead. “My horn is getting kinda tired keeping it up and I’ve never kept something floating for this long. And it looks like it’s getting dark and we haven’t found it yet…”

Apple Bloom trotted up to her and patted her on the back. “Don’t worry. Ah’m tellin’ ya, this is gonna be fine. Twilight said there are all sorts of ancient magical stuff in the old castle, and it’s super dangerous and spooky. We’ll head out there – usin’ Trixie’s stuff to fend off anything we find in the forest – and explore the castle for some cool magical stuff. If that doesn’t prove we’ve mastered magic and get us our magician cutie marks, nothin’ will!”

“Apple Bloom,” Scootaloo started, “saying it again doesn’t make it sound like a good idea. It isn’t.”

“You’re just upset because you’re bringin’ most of the supplies.”

Scootaloo looked at the metal wagon she was pulling. Trixie’s alchemy chest had been loaded into it, along with a bag stuffed with props and books laying next to it. By comparison, Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom each had a single saddlebag. Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Well, yeah. Why do I always get stuck with the hard work?”

Apple Bloom smiled back at her. “Because you’re a great scooter rider and that means you’re stronger than us.”

“But you’re an earth pony, so shouldn’t you be stronger than me?”

“Didn’t we have this talk before?”

“I’m still upset over it.” Scootaloo pouted. “I always get stuck with the hard work. I was the one who got shot out of the cannon, too!”

“You volunteered for that!”

“…Oh yeah.” Scootaloo grinned. “And it was cool! Ya know, until I hit a tree. That kinda hurt.”

Sweetie Belle stopped and turned her head back and forth. “Uh, girls?”

Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stepped up beside her; the path split into two ahead of them. Either way looked identical, dried and trampled dirt leading into a thicket of large trees with leaves blocking out the sun and shadows obscuring their trunks.

“Which way does the gem point?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah, about that…” Sweetie Belle held the stone up higher. The pulse of light off one edge was now swirling wildly from one side to the other, trails in its wake.

“Uh-oh.” Apple Bloom looked around, eying the dark trees around them. “Twilight said this place was full of chaos magic. Maybe it’s not lettin’ the stone work.”

Sweetie Belle sighed and let the stone fall to the ground, her horn’s glow fading. She rubbed it tenderly and then looked at the emerald again. “Did Twilight ever mention the path she took the castle?”

“No…” Apple Bloom thought. “Now what?”

“Pick one?” Scootaloo offered.

A howl echoed through the woods and a gust of icy wind blew past, shaking the leaves overhead. The three ponies held onto each other, a shudder passing through each of them.

“What was that?” Sweetie Belle squeaked.

“Ah dunno… timberwolf?”

A second howl came, this one sounded much closer than the first. Then a warbled, staggered croaking.

Scootaloo began to breathe faster. “Okay. All in favor of going down the path that sounds like the opposite way those sounds came from, raise your hoof.”

Three hooves shot into the air.

“Good, great, awesome. So…”

A cracking sound came from their right.

“RUN!”

Sweetie Belle picked up the emerald and ran forward, the green light illuminating the path on the left. Apple Bloom followed her and Scootaloo stumbled after them, the wagon laden with supplies jingling with her hoofsteps. The trampling of their hooves filled the air, three pairs of eyes darting into the trees, behind them, even above them, for any sign of pursuers or other creatures.

They slowed and came to a halt as a line. Sweetie Belle flopped on her stomach, the emerald hitting in front of her with its light still swinging erratically. She groaned. “Did we lose them?”

“Ah think so…” Apple Bloom turned in place to survey the area. “Did we even see what ‘them’ were?”

“No, and I don’t wanna.” Scootaloo sighed. “Now what?”

“Well…” Sweetie Belle stood up. “This path has gotta lead somewhere, right?”

Scootaloo squinted into the darkness. “Or it could just go nowhere and we’ll end up trapped in a dead end.”

An involuntary shudder passed through Sweetie Belle. “Please don’t say that word again. Dead.”

“Hey.” Apple Bloom shook her head. “We ain’t gonna die here, ya hear me? We might be lost, but we got all sorts of magic stuff we can use to fight off monsters.”

“I’m not sure a smoke bomb is gonna help against timberwolves,” Sweetie Belle replied.

“Hang on…” Scootaloo was staring off to her left. She shrugged off the harness for the supply wagon. “I think I see something. Past the trees.”

“What? Where?” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at her quizzically.

Scootaloo took a few steps off the path, twigs and leaves crunching under her hooves. “Something dark blue, maybe. And kinda glow—”

At the next step, the ground gave away under Scootaloo’s hooves.

Scootaloo pitched forward and fell. The ground gave away to a steep hill; the blue color she had spotted was the night sky visible past the narrower tree line. Scootaloo winced and cried out as she bounced down the hill. Her head hit a rock and she screamed, her skull throbbing. Her next landing on the hill was delayed and she looked down in time to see flat brown dirt slam into her. Clouds of dust kicked up in her wake.

“Ooooow…” Scootaloo let out a low groan and looked up. The hill ended with a drop of several hooves down a sheer ledge. Scootaloo rolled on her belly and slowly stood, stumbling in place. She began to raise her head to look around, and froze, staring forward. “No… oh no…”

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom’s voice came from up the hill. “Are you okay?”

“Quiet!” Scootaloo hissed. Her eyes remained locked ahead.

“What was that?”

Scootaloo let out a small growl and tilted her head up. “Keep it down!”

She looked for a way back up, but the ledge where the hill above ended was too difficult to climb. Then…

“Ah think she said to come down.”

Scootaloo’s eyes widened and she jumped in place. “No! No, don’t come down!”

The jingling of two saddlebags, a wagon of alchemy supplies, and staggered screams, filled her ears. Scootaloo watched as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle sailed over the ledge and fell on top of her. The wagon of alchemy ingredients bounced down the hill behind them and into the air. Sweetie Belle screamed and her horn lit up green. The wagon slowed its fall inches from the ground and heavily descended, creaking as it hit.

“Scootaloo!” Apple Bloom looked down at her. “What the hay are you doing?”

Sweetie Belle groaned. “I think I broke my horn. Can unicorns do that? I barely caught the wagon and I don’t feel good.”

“Shut up!” Scootaloo shouted.

A low growl filled the air and the three fillies whipped their heads around. Burrowed under the ledge was a large cave. Before the shadowed form inside it rose and fell in the steady rhythm of snoring, but now the movement had stopped. The creature opened its eyes and looked down at the ponies in front of the cave.

Apple Bloom weakly lifted a hoof and waved. “Uh… sorry?”

Now fully awake, the ursa minor opened its mouth and let out a furious roar.

Chapter 11

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 11

The Cutie Mark Crusaders turned and sprinted away. Behind them, the ursa minor rose and stomped after them, its paws barely missing the cart of magic supplies. The three headed into the trees lining the bottom of the valley.

Apple Bloom looked behind her. “Think we can outrun it?”

“Yeah, right!” Scootaloo replied as she pulled to the front.

Trailing at the back, Sweetie Belle looked to the side as she ran. She quickly grabbed the biggest tree branch she could find and hurled it at the ursa with her magic. The ursa barely flinched as the branch hit it in the face, and kept coming. Trees were pushed aside and snapped under its claws, the ground shaking with each step.

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Split up! It can’t chase all of us!”

Scootaloo veered off to the left, and Apple Bloom went right. Sweetie Belle kept running forward and glanced behind. The ursa paused, momentarily confused by its prey diverging. It looked at Sweetie Belle and then turned to head after Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle’s jaw dropped. “Apple Bloom!” She looked the way Apple Bloom had run. “We’ve gotta help Scootaloo!”

It was only a few seconds before Apple Bloom came running back. “Go, go!” The two turned and followed the ursa, its massive blue body leaving a large wake in the trees. Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth and ran faster.

“Got a plan?” Apple Bloom asked.

“We can’t let it catch Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle’s head snapped around, looking for anything that might serve as a distraction. She saw a beehive hanging from a tree branch, and stopped. A green aura surrounded the beehive and flung it forward. Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom watched as it sailed forward and smashed into the ursa’s rear paw.

The ursa stopped and turned its head. Its eyes zeroed in on Sweetie Belle and her still-glowing horn.

“And now we have to run again,” Apple Bloom deadpanned.

The ursa began to turn, and the two Crusaders did the same. Sweetie Belle shook her head. “We can’t run from it forever, we’ve gotta escape!”

“Ah’m open to ideas!”

The two kept running, the sound of the ursa behind them coming closer every second. Ahead of them the trees thinned and a sheer cliff came into view. They hit it and turned, running along the bottom. The ursa kept after them, roaring and growling.

“Girls!” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked to the side as Scootaloo ran out from the trees. “I came to sav – uh oh.” The ursa barely interrupted its stride at the intrusion, and Scootaloo turned to keep pace with the others.

Apple Bloom groaned. “You were supposed to escape while we distracted it!”

“I came back to distract it so you could escape!”

“Yeah, we’ve tried that twice. It’s not working well,” Sweetie Belle said.

The three faced forward, and began to slow down. Ahead of them, several trees had fallen down and piled up, creating a barrier too high to climb. They skidded into the bark, and turned around. The ursa minor slowed down, its prey trapped. It gnashed its teeth at them and pawed the ground.

Scootaloo wrapped her hooves around Sweetie Belle. “Girls. I want you to know that if I died helping you escape, it would have been worth it.”

“Same here.” Sweetie Belle patted Scootaloo’s hooves and put her other over Apple Bloom.

Apple Bloom looked up at the ursa. “It’s been fun…”

The ursa came closer, the stink of its breath washing over them as it opened its mouth.

Light flashed overhead.

The ursa paused and looked up. The Cutie Mark Crusaders tilted their heads. A streak of silver light curved through the air, the sound of crackling and popping growing louder as it descended. The silver light hit the ursa minor on the back of the head and exploded in a burst of sparks and color. The ursa flinched and turned its head away.

A cracking of bark and the whoosh of clothing were the next sounds heard before a pair of blue hooves landed on the ground in front of the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

The three stared, their jaws hanging open.

“Trixie!”

Standing on her hind hooves, Trixie snapped a hoof out to the side, her cape billowing behind her, her horn glowing bright pink beneath the brim of her hat. Her eyes blazed with fierce determination.

“You will not. Harm. MY APPRENTICES!”

The ursa recovered from the fireworks attack and turned its attention back to the intruder. It let out a roar, and Trixie thrust her head forward. Another firework spell launched into the ursa’s mouth and exploded. The roar turned into a garbled groan and the ursa stumbled back, rubbing its paws at its mouth. Trixie fired again, and again. A storm of silver and blue magic bursts filled the air, striking the ursa across its face and paws. The beast turned its head away and swiped its paws in the air.

Trixie snapped her head to the side to look at the foals. “Run!”

The three nodded and ran away down the length of the trees, into the forest. Trixie looked back at the ursa and fired another volley of fireworks, then dropped on all fours and followed them. Behind her, the ursa roared angrily, but the thunder of its paws didn’t come for several more seconds. Trixie reached out her magic to the foals ahead of her, and she lifted them in her telekinesis to pull them to the side with her. She ducked behind the other end of the blockade of trees and pulled them behind her.

Apple Bloom looked up at her. “Tri—”

Trixie put a hoof to Apple Bloom’s mouth to silence her, and closed her eyes. A shimmering field of pink magic rose from the ground, forming a dome over them. Trixie lowered her hoof but kept her eyes looking out at the forest. “A bubble of silence,” she whispered. “I can’t make it totally soundproof though, so stay quiet.” The three nodded.

Eventually the ground shook again, and they tensed. Trixie leaned over the blockade to watch the forest. The sound of breaking trees and heavy paws thuds came and went, growing further away. “It lost us, but it’s still looking,” Trixie said. “Wait until we can be sure it’s not coming back.” More time passed, and the shaking of the ground was so faint as to be undetectable.

Trixie let out a long breath and turned to face the Crusaders. “Okay. Let’s take it from the top. One – it’s gone for now, but it’s still awake and angry and looking for us. Two – you three fell down into the valley and the only way up is by the Tree of Harmony, which isn’t exactly a short jog away. Three, and most importantly.” Trixie seized the three in her magic again and lifted them into the air.

“You three are the most reckless, irresponsible, foolish, brash, brave-to-the-point-of-stupid ponies I have ever met!”

“We know!” Apple Bloom interrupted Trixie before she could continue. “We know it was dumb!”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “You’re right, it’s really dangerous in these woods!”

“And…” Scootaloo slowly raised her head to look Trixie in the eye. “I’m… I should have listened more. You’ve spent so much time training us and explaining things to us. I didn’t really care about the lessons, but I should have been nicer about it. I’m sorry.”

Trixie’s expression softened and she set the trio on the ground. “Trixie is sorry, as well.” She took off her hat and shook her head. “I know you haven’t much liked the lessons. You’re wonderful showmares, you really are. But this isn’t exactly your cup of tea, is it?” The three shook their heads. Trixie sighed. “I blame myself. I wanted to try and show you something instead of just telling you, with the way you three seem to operate I thought it might sink in better that way. But it’s just made bad blood between us.”

“Tell us what?” Apple Bloom tilted her head.

“I’ll tell you if we survive the night.” Trixie looked back out over the forest. “I can find the way out of the valley, but not while that ursa is around. It could rampage around the forest, it could attack Ponyville or some other town. Ursas can be very territorial against aggressors, and the fact you woke it up is not going to help.”

Scootaloo frowned. “What makes you think we woke it up?”

“Trixie knows you three.”

“…Oh. Right.”

Trixie brushed her cape out of the way and sat down. She rubbed her chin, staring at the ground. “We’d best get it back to its home, in case any other ponies come out this way. And we have to subdue it somehow so it can’t follow us out.”

“Here!” Apple Bloom shrugged off her saddlebags and nudged them towards Trixie. “Sweetie Belle, show her your stuff.” Sweetie Belle nodded and floated her bags next to Apple Bloom’s.

Trixie brought the two bags close and flipped the covers over. She looked between them, and frowned. “This is it? Where’s the rest of my stuff?”

“Sorry.” Scootaloo shrugged. “We left it behind when we found the ursa minor. It’s outside its cave.”

Trixie raised her eyes to her. “Was it intact?”

“Maybe?”

“Hm…” Trixie looked between the two bags. She withdrew the small glass vials of ingredients and other magical props, and examined them. She looked out in the forest, then back at the supplies. “Okay… I have a plan. Maybe. Possibly.” She looked up at the Cutie Mark Crusader. “But I can’t do it alone. Who’s the fastest among you three?”

“Scootaloo,” Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle answered in unison.

“Yeah, probably.” Scootaloo shrugged.

Trixie nodded. “Good. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, you’re coming with me. Sweetie Belle, I’ll need your magic, too.”

Scootaloo frowned. “What about me?”

“You are going to find the ursa minor.”

Scootaloo paled. “T-then what?”

Trixie leaned toward her, her face stern.

“It is going to chase you.”

Scootaloo slowly crept forward. Her eyes darted around, her wings fluttering at her sides. A large gap was carved through the forest, snapped branches and fallen trees marking the ursa’s path. She gulped. “O-okay… just remember the plan, and you’ll be fine. Trixie knows what she’s doing.” She breathed deep. “Remember the plan. Remember the plan. Remem—”

The ground shook.

Scootaloo squeaked and shot behind the nearest tree, pressing against her back.

The shaking came in steady rhythm, and Scootaloo leaned her head out. She saw a large blue mass moving through the trees and the sound of cracking bark that came with it. Scootaloo inhaled deeply, gathered her courage, and leapt out of the trees. “Hey!”

The cracking stopped, and she saw a part of the blue mass move to bring a pair of yellow eyes into view.

“Uh… you stink!” Scootaloo stuck her tongue out, and then turned and ran.

A roar and more breaking trees signalled the ursa had heard and seen her.

Scootaloo jumped over fallen trees as she ran, her wings beating rapidly to lengthen her jumps. She chanced a look behind her; the ursa had moved into the massive path it had already broken down, and was quickly gaining on her. Scootaloo looked forward and scanned the ground. Where is it? She saw a glint of light coming from a pile of leaves, and grinned. Fire one! She reached the glint and jumped over it.

Behind her, the ursa kept coming, the beast’s paws stomping the ground. It reached the area where the glint of light was, and its paw came down on a mass of leaves. The rope stretched across the path under the leaves snapped, and a glass vial tied in the middle flung into the air, smashing into the bottom of the ursa’s jaw. A blinding flash of light filled the air, and the ursa roared, stopping and shaking its head to dispel the light. It growled, regained its senses, and resumed the chase.

Ahead, Scootaloo jumped over another concealed trap. Two. One more and I’m on my own. Her strength was beginning to give out, but she kept pushing. She dodged between fallen trees and jumped over bushes, the shaking reminding her that the ursa was still coming. Another snap and a flash of light from behind her signalled the ursa had triggered the second flash powder vial. The thuds from its paws resumed a few seconds later.

Scootaloo kept running. Her hooves were tired, her wings had stopped moving from strain, and sweat beaded down her face. Come on. A bit more, a bit more! She saw the third and last trap hidden and dodged it. Ahead of her, the forest had started to thin. The third trap went off and the ursa let out an angry roar. Scootaloo looked back. The beast was almost on top of her, and looked angrier than ever. She kept pushing and turned forward. The forest ended, and the ursa minor’s cave loomed in the valley wall ahead.

“Sweetie Beeeeeeeelle!” Scootaloo screamed out the signal as she finally began to slow down. She passed into the cave and limped to the back, panting. She turned her head. The ursa came into the cave, slowing down as it realized its prey was cornered in its own home. It stopped and glared down at her. The beast was so massive it filled her field of vision, and Scootaloo gulped.

A whistle echoed through the cave. “Behind you!”

Scootaloo thought she saw the ursa roll its eyes, before it turned its head.

Behind the ursa, outside the entrance to the cave, Sweetie Belle stood with a small smile on her face. In the air next to her hovered a transporter box. “Heads up!”

The ursa had a second to wonder what she had meant before the curtain on the box was drawn back. A vial of pale yellow powder came out of the box and arced towards the ursa. It smashed on the ground and a cloud of thick black smoke filled the cave. The ursa growled and coughed, the smell of sulfur filling its nostrils. Behind it, Scootaloo ducked around its paws and ran. She passed the entrance to the cave, the sulfur burning her eyes. “I’m clear!”

“An’ here it comes!”

The magic of the transporter box flashed rapidly. Packets and clumps of blue powder rained down on the ursa, bursting around it. The clouds of smoke and dust obscured it, its roars and growls echoing from the cave. Sweetie Belle stepped back and kept the transporter box pointed at the cave.

Scootaloo reached the trees again and looked around. Hidden behind a larger tree, Apple Bloom and Trixie sat on either side of the second transporter box. Beside it was a large stack of glass vials and jars, along with one of the pairs of saddlebags. The two rapidly shoved more of the vials and jars in, the box lighting up each time. Scootaloo ran up to them and joined in the bombardment.

When the stack was done, Trixie held up the saddlebags. “Here comes the big one!” she called out. She shoved the bags through the box, and the three looked out at the cave. As the bags came out of the other box and sailed into the cave, Sweetie Belle dropped the box and ran up to them. She coughed, sneezing twice.

Apple Bloom looked at the cave, now filled with blue smoke. “Did it work?”

Trixie scanned the smoke. “We mixed up enough sleeping powder to knock out half of Ponyville. In that confined space…”

The smoke began to settle, and the form of the ursa minor became visible. Its eyes were drooping, and it was staggering to the side, banging against the side of the cave as it struggled to stay standing. It slumped to the right and slid down, its paws spraying out in front of it. At last, its eyes slowly closed.

The four ponies waited with bated breath.

The ursa slowly inhaled, and let out a loud snore.

The Cutie Mark Crusader whooped and jumped up, their hooves drawn back. “We did it! Cutie Mark—”

A pink aura surrounded their hooves before they could connect.

“Perhaps you can save the loud celebrations for after we leave the dangerous sleeping monster’s lair?” Trixie hissed, glaring. She set them down.

Apple Bloom chuckled. “Yeah, good thinkin’.”

Trixie looked at the cave and pulled the second transporter box towards her. Behind another tree, the wagon came forward, and Trixie piled what was left of her supplies into it. She pulled her hat on, slipped the harness for the cart under her cloak, and looked down at the Crusaders. “Well then, my young apprentices. The Great and Powerful Trixie believes we are done here. Shall we be off?”

They nodded, and Trixie started forward. “We’d best hurry. It’s quite a walk, and Trixie believes you’ve all earned a warm dinner after vanquishing the beast.” Under her breath she added, “and I’ve earned a hard cider in a deep mug.”

“Trixie, what does that mean?”

“Ask your sisters when you’re older.”

Author's Note

The final chapter and epilogue will be posted together.

Chapter 12

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 12

The forest ahead of them thinned out and the homes of Ponyville came into view beyond the trees. Trixie let out a breath and looked behind her at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “We’re here.” At her words, the three ran past her towards the village. A streak of rainbow light zipped overhead and turned towards the village. Trixie watched it go and then kept walking.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran down the path and had just crossed the bridge when Applejack rounded a corner with Rainbow Dash and Twilight Sparkle flying overhead. Apple Bloom raised a hoof. “We’re okay!”

The Crusaders slowed down and Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground beside Applejack. Applejack looked down at Apple Bloom and glared. “Y’all got one chance to talk me outta groundin’ ya for a month. Go for it.”

Apple Bloom opened her mouth, then closed it and shook her head. “Ah got nothin’.”

Applejack recoiled. “Seriously?”

“Yup.” Apple Bloom held up her hooves. “We did something stupid, we almost got killed for it, and then Trixie had to save us.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Who are you guys and what did you do with the Crusaders?”

Sighing, Scootaloo walked up to Rainbow. “No, she’s right. We went too far this time.” She looked up with the most powerful puppy dog eyes she could muster. “I don’t suppose you can not tell my dad about this one, too?”

“Nope.”

“Darn.”

Sweetie Belle looked around. “Where’s Rarity?”

“She’s at the train station,” Rainbow said with a nod. “I’ll go get her and send her over. Need to tell Pinkie and Fluttershy, too.” She jumped up and flew off.

Applejack smiled and pulled Apple Bloom to her side. “Apple Bloom. Ya know how Ah just said ya had to talk me outta grounding ya for a month?”

“Yeah?”

“Four weeks. Because you took responsibility.”

“Yippee,” Apple Bloom deadpanned. She glanced over at Trixie, tilting her head. She was talking to Twilight and Trixie looked solemn. She couldn’t hear them, but she saw Twilight nod and turn their way.

“Well, girls,” she said as she reached them, “where do you go from here?”

“Um…” Apple Bloom looked between Twilight and Trixie, who was coming up behind her. “Ah was thinkin’, Trixie, we should have a talk about some stuff tomorrow?”

“Trixie was thinking the same,” Twilight replied.

Trixie bowed her head. “For the evening and most of the morrow, Trixie will be settling in and restocking her supplies. Attend to her tomorrow evening.”

“Hey!” Applejack frowned. “Ah just gone done groundin’ her!”

“Applejack.” Twilight held up a hoof and shook her head. “It’s okay. They won’t be long.”

Applejack scrunched her face. “Well… all right, Twi. If you’ll vouch for them.”

Keeping a neutral expression, Trixie walked past the two. “If that is all, Trixie shall retire to her cart.”

“Uh, hey.” Applejack gently held out a hoof to stop her. “What happened in that forest, anyhow?”

“I saved them from an ursa minor.”

Applejack’s eyebrows lifted. “An ursa? …Well, shucks, this has been a heck of a day for ya, huh?”

“You don’t know the half of it.”

The moon was high in the sky, the last ribbons of sunlight fading on the horizon when Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo knocked on the door of Sweet Apple Acres. A short time later, the door pulled back to reveal Apple Bloom. “Applejack says we can’t be too long. I’m grounded.”

Scootaloo nodded. “Me too. Two weeks.” She looked at Sweetie Belle. “You?”

“Rarity says until I’m old enough to know what ‘emancipation’ means, because that’s the only way it’ll happen.” Sweetie Belle shrugged. “I just looked it up in a dictionary, but she says that doesn’t count.”

Apple Bloom stepped outside and pulled the door shut behind her. “Let’s go see what Trixie wants.”

“Yeah, about that,” Scootaloo cut in. “I know I’ve brought it up before, but maybe we can just tell her we want to end it?” She paused and shook her head. “I mean… look. It isn’t fair to her, right? She’s spending all this time and stuff training us, settled down in Ponyville when she’s usually travelling. But if it isn’t gonna happen…”

“Ah was thinkin’ the same.” Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah really like Trixie’s lessons, but Ah’m just not feeling it’s gonna get me mah cutie mark. And like you said, it’s kinda unfair for her to be doin’ this.”

The two looked to Sweetie Belle again. She looked between the two, and then out over the apple fields. “Girls, you know I love these lessons. Trixie’s taught me a lot about magic, and I really learned a lot. But…” she bit her lip. “I know you’re right. I don’t wanna be a magician.” She faced them again. “Can we at least hear her out, first? Before we say anything?”

Scootaloo nodded. “Yeah. Let’s go.”

Apple Bloom stepped between the two and led the way into the apple orchard. The night was young and there was enough light for them to find their way easily enough. When their clubhouse and Trixie’s cart came into view, they also noticed a light source on the far side of the tree. The trio walked past the clubhouse to find the cause of the light.

In an open spot of the orchard away from the apple trees, a campfire was burning from a pile of broken branches. Trixie was sitting beside it, staring across the fire into the darkness. Her cape, neatly folded, was on the ground beside her, her hat on top of it. The three shared a look before coming closer. At the sound of their hooves, Trixie blinked, her eyes focused, and she looked their way.

“Hey,” she said softly.

Sweetie Belle looked at the campfire. “What’s with this?”

“It’s dark. We should have light.” Trixie breathed deeply. “I’ve spent a lot of the day trying to figure out how to say this stuff. It’s not something I tell often, and not to a lot of ponies.” She frowned. “I guess… I should start at the beginning.”

“Hang on.”

Trixie paused and looked over the fire. The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat down opposite her. It was Scootaloo that had spoken.

“We’ve been doing some thinking,” she continued, “and we really do wanna call off the training this time.”

Sweetie Belle nodded. “We love what you’ve taught us, Trixie. You know I mean that. But maybe this is for the best for all of us.”

“We know you’re not likin’ it, stayin’ in Ponyville this long, spending so much time on us,” Apple Bloom said. “And, well, if we ain’t gonna get it, and you don’t like it, let’s just call it quits. It makes sense, right?” She looked up to see Trixie giving them a passive look and fidgeted in her seat. “Ah mean, we do appreciate your time an’ all, but it hasn’t done much for us, and it ain’t doing much for you, either. Ya get me?”

Trixie continued to stare, blinking slowly. Apple Bloom looked away. “It’s just, you’ve done a lot for us. But there’s nothin’ really we can do to repay ya, especially after what we’ve put ya through.”

“Not to mention we don’t even know why you’ve put up with us like this,” Scootaloo added. “Most other adults we try stuff with give up on us.”

“Whatever the reason is, it isn’t fair to you.” Sweetie Belle tilted her head. “So, maybe the best thing we can do to show we appreciate it is… just say it’s not working.”

The ponies around the campfire fell into silence. Trixie said nothing, eventually lowering her eyes to the fire.

Apple Bloom sighed. “Ah know you’re probably angry. We can wait in the clubhouse if you wanna think this stuff over.” Trixie said nothing and Apple Bloom stood up. “Okay, then. Like Ah said, if—”

“I was your age.”

Apple Bloom stopped. Trixie’s browed had furrowed, but she was still looking at the fire.

“Well, perhaps a bit older than you. My classmate, Cherry Swirl, was having her cute-ceañera. She had helped her mother bake pies for a school bake sale and got her cutie mark for coming up with a new filling recipe. Everyone was happy for her, including me. I really was. It didn’t hit me until the party was almost over. Another classmate of mine said I was probably feeling embarrassed. I didn’t get what he meant, so I asked why. And that was when he said it…”

Trixie’s eyes lifted from the fire to look at the Cutie Mark Crusaders.

“Well, this makes you the only pony left in the class without her cutie mark.”

Apple Bloom sat down and looked to the side to see Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle watching intently. Trixie waited a moment before continuing.

“It wasn’t long before the insults came. Not at first, but they came. And once the more creative names caught on, everypony used them.” Trixie raised her pitch in imitation of a foal’s. “‘Hey Trixie, a cutie mark is a sign of a pony’s talent, right? I guess that means you don’t have any talent. No-Talent Trixie, No-Talent Trixie!’” Trixie gritted her teeth. “No-Talent Trixie was their favorite, but there were plenty others. Trixie Losermoon. Beatrips, Tripsie – those two didn’t even make sense, I wasn’t clumsy. And of course, there was the old standby.”

Trixie spat her next words. “Blank flank.”

The foals opposite her leaned in.

Trixie continued, “I wanted to shut them up. I knew I would get my cutie mark in time, so I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to make them stop. I spent weeks trying to think of some way, anything, to make it stop. Then I saw it. A poster for the school talent show. I signed up without having any real idea of what to do. I went to the library to get some ideas and took out a lot of books on magic, to try and develop my powers there. Then, among them, I found a book on stage magic. And the opening paragraph said something I committed to memory.” Trixie closed her eyes and recited the passage.

“‘The key to stage magic is not what you can do. It’s what you can make your audience think you can do.’

“I wasn’t very good with magic, but I realized I didn’t need to be. I would leave them in awe, make myself look like the most powerful unicorn the school would ever see. I kept practicing my magic, but I also turned to other means to develop an act. I saved up every bit I had and did odd jobs wherever I could just for a couple more. And when I had enough, I went to the nearest alchemist. I rented books on alchemy and taught myself how to make some basic mixtures. Smoke bombs came easy enough. Even simpler was making a clump of powder that could explode into sparks and then another mix that created a flash of light. I didn’t have much, but I learned to make the most of what I did.

“I spent hours in that library reading all I could, and when I wasn’t reading I was practicing, making more alchemy mixes and refining my magic. I worked myself to the bone. I collapsed into bed at night and stumbled into class in the morning. They still made fun of me, but I endured it. I knew it was almost at an end. It would all be worth it. Then came the night. I was nervous and they still laughed that my act would fail. I waited backstage, wearing a cape I made from an old bed sheet to conceal the satchels of supplies I was wearing. They called me up and I went out in front of the crowd.”

Trixie smiled softly. “I pulled out every trick I could think of. I made them see images of monsters with some choice magic blasts against a cloud of smoke. I vanished and reappeared before their eyes on opposite ends of the stage. I made props manifest from nothing and sent them back a moment later. With my final trick, I poured as much power as I could into my horn, and let loose a spell I had figured out myself. I shot a fireworks spell over the audience. The air came alive in a burst of red and blue in the shape of a star. With that, I could take no more and collapsed on the stage.”

Tearing her gaze away from the fire, Trixie looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. “The crowd went mad. I could feel the stage shake from the force of their applause. I pushed myself up and bowed. I looked off-stage and saw my classmates applauding as well. Even the teachers were doing it.” Trixie closed her eyes and a look of absolute joy came over her. “The pounding of their hooves, the sound of their cheers, my heart thumping in my chest, my hooves and horn more sore than they’d ever been. It was the most incredible experience of my life. I wanted more of it. I knew at that moment I was meant to be on the stage. This was my calling. I was born to be a magician.”

Trixie turned and nodded at her flank, the silver-blue star and wand glowing in the firelight. “It wasn’t until I noticed their cheers and applause had grown louder that I realized something had happened, and I saw my teacher pointing at my flank. I got my cutie mark that night, on stage in front of everypony.”

She turned her head back to the Cutie Mark Crusaders. A long time passed with neither of them saying anything, just looking at the other over the flames. At last, she spoke again. “I’ve spent a lot of timing thinking about that night. What might have happened if I hadn’t performed. And do you know what I realized?”

The three foals shook their heads.

“I realized we are the sum of our own actions. No more and no less. If I hadn’t gone on that stage, my cutie mark, and my life, would have turned out different. I made my choice and I found my calling. It didn’t find me. A cutie mark isn’t some arbitrary destiny that waits for us to realize we belong to it. It’s the destiny we choose for ourselves, because we want it.”

Trixie took a deep breath. “I’ve been trying to help you because I thought maybe, this way, showing you instead of telling you what I knew would let that lesson would sink in. You told me you’ve heard everyone else’s cutie mark story. But you’d never heard mine. And I know better than any what you’re going through. I know how tough it can be, how desperate and eager you are to prove yourselves.” She shook her head. “But forcing yourselves to grow up before your time won’t accomplish anything. The harder you look, the harder it is to see it. The more you want it, the further it slips from your grasp.” Trixie looked to the side and smirked, giving a small snort. “I forget that lesson, sometimes. I forgot it when Twilight Sparkle showed me up with the ursa minor. I forgot it a few times before then too. And maybe I forgot it, trying to train you three.” She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I wanted to—”

The sound of moving hooves caught her attention and Trixie opened her eyes. She cried out as three small bodies swarmed her, knocking her onto her back. Before she could react, three sets of hooves had wrapped around her neck and body, squeezing for all they were worth. Trixie blinked, looked down,realized what was happening, and gave a small chuckle. She let her head fall back and brought her hooves up to hug them back.

For several minutes, the only sound was the crackling of the fire.

“Trixie?” Scootaloo kept her face pressed against Trixie’s stomach as she spoke. “I don’t wanna be a magician.”

“Me neither.”

“Nope.”

Trixie let out a barking laugh. “Yes, Trixie had figured as much out herself.” She sat up and the three foals stepped back to let her. Back on her hooves, Trixie smiled warmly. “I don’t know when you’ll get your cutie marks. It could be tomorrow, next month, next year. But I know it won’t happen until you three truly discover what you want to be. And when that epiphany finally comes, you’ll know your place in the world for the first time. As I did that night.”

Trixie lifted her head, smiling down at them proudly. “Trixie recognizes greatness when she sees it. And there are great things waiting for you, my young apprentices.”

Scootaloo grinned. “Got that right.”

Beaming, Sweetie Belle said, “Hey, we’re already growin’ up!”

The three returned confused looks.

“We got through all our lessons without getting covered in tree sap!”

The four shared a laugh.

Trixie lifted the trunk of freshly stocked alchemy ingredients into the cart and pushed it into place. “There. That’s everything.” She stepped back and pulled the door shut, latching it. Trixie hopped off the small steps into the cart and regarded the nine assembled ponies standing a short distance away. “Trixie shall be picking up where she left off, on her way to Appleloosa. From there, hard to say. Trixie walks as the road takes her.”

Applejack smiled. “Never thought Ah’d say this, but Ah’m kinda sad to see ya go, Trixie.” The other five adults around her voiced agreement.

“Will you come back and visit us?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Of course. Trixie can’t promise a precise time, but she’s sure to be back someday.”

“And we’ll have our cutie marks to show you!” Scootaloo added. She winced and shrank back. “Maybe.”

“Trixie would be delighted to see them.”

Walking up to her, Twilight asked, “Is there anything else you need to take care of before you go?”

“Not that Trixie can recall. She has her supplies restocked and her cart is prepared.” She bowed her head. “Trixie thanks you for your aid, Twilight Sparkle.” She turned her attention to the other five. “Rainbow Dash, Trixie trusts you to keep these three out of trouble.”

“Yeah, right.” Rainbow winked and gave her a knowing look.

“Applejack, Trixie thanks you for usage of your land. And the apples, of course.”

“No problem.” Applejack nodded and tipped her hat.

“Rarity, whichever tea that was you served, please be sure you have some more in stock for Trixie’s return.”

Rarity beamed. “Lavender and lemon, darling. And of course.”

“Pinkie.” Trixie frowned. “We forgot about the cake and it melted. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry!” Before Trixie saw her take a step, Pinkie zipped across the orchard to a tree and climbed partway up it, sticking her hooves into the leaves. She emerged with a pink box. “Here you go, chocolate and vanilla swirl!”

Trixie cocked her head as Pinkie brought the cake over. “You had a cake stored in an apple tree?”

“I have cakes stored all over Ponyville. In case of cake emergency.”

“When would…” Trixie saw Twilight discreetly shake her head. “Nevermind. Thank you.” Trixie looked at Fluttershy, and frowned. “Fluttershy… um… Fluttershy… you really…”

Fluttershy gave a small smile. “It’s okay. I don’t have much to say goodbye to you for, either. Sorry.”

Trixie shrugged. “Fair enough. Then…” She thought for a moment, and then her face brightened. “You look very nice today.”

“Thank you, Trixie. So do you.”

Finally, Trixie looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders. She puffed out her chest and lifted her head into the air. “My young apprentices. You have been the best students Trixie could ask for. Truly, you have benefited from her vast wisdom and experience in ways lesser ponies cannot imagine. When next we chance to meet, she shall be overjoyed to hear how you’ve grown.”

The three said nothing, until Sweetie Belle turned her head. “Girls? Think you can leave us alone for a sec?” The older ponies nodded, Twilight leading them away from the cart. When they were a distance away, Sweetie Belle looked behind a tree. A small brown box floated out in glowing green magic. “We had to promise Rarity we'd pay her back by next month to get her to make this.”

Trixie took the box and set it at her hooves. “What is it?”

Apple Bloom smiled. “Somethin’ to remember us by.”

Trixie lifted the lid off the box and set it aside. Her eyes widened slightly as she lifted the garment into the air.

A dark red cape, sized for an adult with a high neck, hung in front of her. Trixie turned the cape over and saw the emblem on the back: a blue shield with a yellow pony rearing on it.

Scootaloo nodded. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, forever. We stick together, even when apart.”

Trixie pulled the cape over her neck and looked down at the clasp. One part magician’s wand, other part crescent moon, slid together and clicked into place. She looked up, and no words were spoken as the three came closer and hugged her. Trixie squeezed her hooves around the three.

“Thank you, my young friends.”

The four parted, Trixie tipping her hat to them. “I’ll see you again, someday. Count on it.” She grinned. “The Great and Powerful Trixie always holds to her word!” With a flourish of her new cape, she twisted around, walking to the end of her cart. The harness slipped under the cape onto her back and Trixie waved.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders sat together, calling out farewells and waving, as Trixie pulled her cart to the gate at the far end of the orchard and then up the hill beyond.

Epilogue

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Epilogue

Sweetie Belle smiled up at her sister. “Nervous about tomorrow, Rarity?”

Rarity took a breath and shook her head. “Certainly not. Everything has been planned down to the last detail. Coco is making sure the store is ready for the morning and Sassy will be arriving by train to help us in the afternoon. Yes, all fine.” She took another breath.

Ahead of the two, Twilight turned her head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, Rarity. The opening of the Canterlot store went well, right?”

Pinkie Pie raised her eyes. “Well, except for when Sassy tried to take over the store and you had to spend all your time making the same dress over and over again until you couldn’t stand it anymore and almost closed down the store because you were so stressed out. But that was a one-time thing!” She noticed Rarity had stopped walking, her eyes now wide and her chest heaving. “Uh, I say something wrong?”

“Nothin’ more than usual,” Applejack replied.

Rainbow patted Rarity on the back. “That’s totally not gonna happen this time, right? Coco Pommel isn’t like Sassy Saddles and Sassy’s gotten a lot better since then.”

Rarity regained her composure. “You’re right, Rainbow Dash. The Manehattan store will be a brilliant success.” She hugged Sweetie Belle closer to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. “And I can’t thank you and your little Crusader friends enough for the help, Sweetie Belle.”

“Sure!” Sweetie Belle looked down the street. “Uh, where’d they go?” The group turned down the street; Apple Bloom and Scootaloo were nowhere in sight.

“Darn it. Girls!” Applejack ran forward. “Ah told ‘em not to go runnin’ off…”

“Applejack!” Applejack almost bumped into Apple Bloom as the foal rounded the corner, jumping excitedly. “C’mere, ya gotta see this!” Apple Bloom ran down the street to where Scootaloo was staring up at a wall next to a theater. Applejack followed her and saw what had gotten their attention: a poster for the theater.

“This week on-stage – Equestria’s greatest ventriloquist, Gabbo the Grande, and his sidekick, Harvey.”

“Not that!” Apple Bloom groaned. “The bottom!”

Applejack lowered her eyes. “Opening acts by comedian Stevie Slapstick and… magician Trixie Lulamoon?”

The rest of the group caught up as Applejack read the poster. Sweetie Belle ran up behind her. “Really? Trixie’s performing here?”

Applejack shrugged. “Seems so.”

Apple Bloom grinned widely. “Can we get tickets? Please?”

Scootaloo’s wings flapped excitedly. “We gotta meet up with her after the show and show her our new cutie marks!” She smiled down at her flank.

Turning to her friends, Applejack pointed at the poster.. “Whadda ya say, girls?”

Fluttershy nodded. “It might be nice to see Trixie again.”

“I’m up for it,” Twilight agreed.

Rarity looked up at a nearby clock tower. “Well, it’s a bit late and I want to be rested for the morning…” she looked at Sweetie Belle; the foal’s eyes were wide and her lip was pursed. “Oh, very well.”

“YES!” The Crusaders whooped and slapped their hooves together.

The theater was over half-full as the Cutie Mark Crusaders ran down the aisles, looking for a spot with enough open seats. Scootaloo waved her hoof. “Over here!” She pointed to three rows where the three seats closest to the aisle were vacant. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo filled in the lower row, leaving their sisters and Rainbow Dash to sit behind them, and then Twilight, Pinkie, and Fluttershy in the back.

Twilight flipped open a program book. “I’ve heard about Gabbo the Grande. He uses unicorn magic to manipulate and amplify his voice like no other ventriloquist can. His signature bit is having two of his dummies get in a slap fight while he tries to break it up!”

“I caught one of his shows in Canterlot, once.” Rarity sniffed. “I have to say his brand of humor is unfitting an establishment of this caliber. Too many horn and wing jokes.” Rainbow snorted as she tried to stifle a snicker. “Oh, hush, Rainbow Dash, of course you would laugh.”

“Hey!”

Applejack smirked. “Lucky for us, most of that stuff is gonna fly over their little heads, or we’d have to leave. That kind o’ humor ain’t fit for young’uns.”

Scootaloo turned in her seat. “Why not? What’s the big deal about horn and wing jokes?”

“Ask yer dad when you’re older.”

Rainbow reached forward and tussled Scootaloo’s mane. “I’ll tell ya when the show’s over.”

“Or that.”

The lights in the theater went down and the nine ponies faced the stage. “Here we go!” Apple Bloom whispered.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” The announcer’s voice rang through the auditorium. “Thank you for your patronage tonight. In a mere hour, you shall be entertained by the greatest ventriloquist in all of Equestria, Gabbo the Grande!” The audience applauded and the announcer waited until they stopped. “But first, we have two nearly as impressive acts for you. First, Equestria’s number one travelling showmare – the Great and Powerful, Trixie Lulamoon!”

The curtains parted, revealing a small purple magician’s hat in the center of the stage. Clouds of smoke billowed from it and it rose into the air as Trixie appeared from below it, throwing her hooves up in a burst of fireworks. Her voice thundered through the auditorium, almost as loud as the announcer. “Finally, Trixie has come back to Manehattan!”

The audience applauded once again. A particular three sets of hooves kept pounding the floor as the others around them stopped and a chorus of silencing shushes brought them to a halt shortly after.

Trixie bowed, her magic lifting her hat from her head to sweep it forward. “Fillies and gentlecolts of Manehattan. Trixie’s name is one that few in Equestria know, yet those that do speak of her in the highest reverence.”

“Yeah, she of the inflated ego,” Rainbow Dash muttered. Scootaloo shushed her.

“For you see, the Great and Powerful Trixie has vanquished one of the most dangerous and feared monsters Equestria has ever known!” Trixie’s horn glowed and a beam of light shot into the air above her.

“Oh no,” Applejack groaned.

“Trixie has face down and defeated the dreaded ursa major!” The light beam burst, forming the image of a giant snarling purple bear glowing overhead. The ponies in the audience let out a collective call of awe as it roared at them silently.

“It was in a small village on the outskirts of Equestria.” Trixie raised her hooves and sent swirls of magic into the air, turning the ursa major into a series of houses. “Trixie chanced there in her travels and found the village living in fear of this terrible beast, forever afraid it might attack them in the night and devour all they held dear! Trixie, benevolent and courageous as she was, could not stand to let them live like this! She vowed to the village she would free them from the ursa’s grip.”

Twilight rolled her eyes and rested her head on her hoof. “Maybe she hasn’t changed much after all.”

On-stage, Trixie paused for dramatic effect. “Yet, though she projected confidence to the villagers, Trixie knew she was no match for the ursa on her own. Even her power, great and mighty though it was, was not enough.” The village lights became a crowd of ponies, a blue pony with a cape and hat standing to the side of them. “Trixie called out to the villagers for aid. Surely somepony among them had but a fraction of the bravery Trixie showed? To her dismay, they stepped back. Trixie would need to face the ursa alone.”

The crowd of ponies turned into a shower of stars. “Trixie turned to set off into the woods where the ursa made its home. But then, suddenly, like the whisper of a breeze, she heard a small voice call out to her. And she turned.” The stars came together, forming the image of three ponies. “Three small fillies stepped out of the crowd and offered Trixie their aid. A unicorn, a pegasus, and an earth pony.”

In the audience, Apple Bloom’s eyes widened, and she saw Scootaloo lean forward.

“Trixie sensed great potential in these young foals. Truly it is a mighty pony that would step forth when others stepped back. Seven days, Trixie trained them for the trials ahead, teaching them all she could of the craft of magic. They took to it like fish to water. The earth pony showed amazing skill in alchemy, brewing potions that took lesser ponies years to learn. The pegasi had a knack for construction, and aided Trixie in building the trap that would seal the ursa’s fate. And last but certainly not least, the unicorn’s power in telekinesis was even beyond Trixie’s, levitating objects larger than fully grown ponies with ease.”

Trixie swept a hoof out, flaring her cape. In the air, the images of the four ponies training turned into a cave with trees at the side “At last, it was time. Trixie and her apprentices planned their attack, and in the depths of the night as the ursa stirred from its slumber, they struck!” The glowing image of a pegasus fleeing from an ursa appeared and whirled across the auditorium, the bear chasing the pegasus along the walls and balconies. Trixie kept her horn and eyes trained on the illusion as she continued.

“The pegasus, flying faster than a Wonderbolt, baited the ursa to chase it far away from the village. Though the ursa was persistent, the pegasus had lain traps for it along the way, distracting the beast and angering it to keep up the chase. Yet in its blind rage, the ursa fell victim to Trixie’s trap. The four ponies bombarded the ursa with a powerful sleeping potion, strong enough to put even an alicorn to sleep for a hundred years. Overcome, the ursa slumped to the ground, unable to continue.” Trixie’s illusory ursa major did as she commanded and fell over in the air. “So subdued, Trixie and her unicorn apprentice took the ursa further yet, to an isolated valley where it could do no harm. They put it to rest in a new cave there, far from ponies.”

Trixie conjured a crowd, hoisting her and the three foals into the air. “Trixie and her young apprentices returned to their village as heroes. And ever since they have known peace from all monsters, great and small, terrible and benign. For all who would threaten them find themselves at the mercy of the town’s protectors. The three foals that Trixie trained to defend it forever.”

The final image dispelled and Trixie took a bow. The crowd applauded, hooves stamping the floor. Staring, slackjawed, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo looked at each other. As one, they grinned and joined in the applause.

Trixie held up a hoof. “Your applause is appreciated, but premature, my audience. It is not Trixie alone who deserves your praise. She never could have vanquished the ursa without her apprentices. They, as much as her, should be commended for their courage and skill.” She lifted her head into the air and smiled. “But, in this, Trixie has a confession! She has deceived you this night! For these three great heroes are among you now!”

The crowd began to murmur, before Trixie thrust a hoof out into the audience. “They are the ones who deserve the applause! The Cutie Mark Crusaders!”

“Wha—”

A spotlight over the stage came on, casting a ray of light over the three. They raised hooves to shield their eyes and saw the crowd turning to look their way. The applause began anew, thundering through the auditorium. The spotlight turned down slightly, and they lowered their hooves. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle slowly lifted their hooves to wave. Apple Bloom, however, was watching Trixie.

“Girls!” She called out to them and nodded at the stage. Trixie was looking directly at them, and gestured them forward. Apple Bloom hopped out of her seat and ran down the aisle, grinning. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo quickly followed her. The three reached the stage and climbed onto it, running across the wood. They stopped in front of Trixie.

Scootaloo shook her head. “How did you know we were here?”

Trixie smirked. “A good magician always scouts the crowd for a good mark.”

“Look, Trixie!” Sweetie Belle turned to bring Trixie’s eyes to her flank. A three-colored shield with a musical note inside a star lay filled her vision “We did it! We got our cutie marks, just like you said!”

Trixie nodded. “You did indeed. And?”

“Just like ya said. We know our place in the world.”

“Indeed.” Trixie turned to the audience. “But for now, your place is here. You have an audience watching.”

The Crusaders turned and the four ponies took a bow together. The applause once again grew louder, then died down.

Trixie turned her head. “What say you, my young apprentices? Trixie is certain you have kept up with your training since her departure, yes?”

Confused, Scootaloo’s eyes darted away. “Yeah, sure…”

“Wonderful.” Trixie’s horn lit up and a box of magical props slid in from the wings of the stage. “Then you’ll have no problem assisting her with a simple trick or two.”

“Of course!” Sweetie Belle winked and headed to the box. “What do we need?”

“First, we need a strip of enchanted silver.”

Sweetie Belle reached into the box and pulled out a rubber chicken. The audience laughed.

“Stand aside, Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom slid in next to her. “Ah’ll handle this… uh, what color is silver again?”

The audience laughed, and continued to laugh as the three fillies began to bicker over the prop box, Trixie watching with a small smile.

Author's Note

Author's notes are here

Chapter 6

Cutie Mark Crusader Magicians, Yay!

Chapter 6

The morning sun shining over Sweet Apple Acres moved higher to mark midday. In the orchard below, the three foals had been awake and at work beneath the shade of their treehouse since daybreak, their new teacher ready with new lessons.

“No, no. I told you, you have to relax.” Trixie frowned and reached out a hoof to adjust Sweetie Belle’s posture, pushing her hooves apart and tilting her neck up. “It’s like a wave, from your hind hooves to your horn. Did you practice those breathing exercises I told you about last night?”

“Yes.”

“For how long?”

“Uh, a few minutes?”

Trixie glared. “Are you taking this seriously?”

“Yes…”

“Good. Because this is going to take time, dedication. You three have spent a few years trying to earn your cutie marks, what are a few hours?” She stood next to Sweetie Belle and assumed an identical posture as her. “Remember. Breathe in—” Trixie inhaled deeply “—and then out. And as you do, push your body down, forward, and up. Then on the inhale, draw back and repeat it. The breathing and the physical movement will help consolidate your energy and make it easier to draw on your magic.”

Sweetie Belle followed Trixie’s example. She took a deep breath and as she let it out she leaned forward and raised her head. She stopped. “I don’t feel any power coming out.”

“Give it a few more tries, you’ll start to feel it flow. When it does…” Trixie nodded her head at a ruby laying on a crate in front of Sweetie Belle. “Begin spellcharging that gemstone. However, don’t force it. Whatever magic comes from the exercise, let it go. You shouldn’t even need to focus on doing it, the exercise will draw forth your magic on its own. It won’t generate much, just a wisp. But it will train your body to use its magic better, so you can do so consciously later. Understand?”

“I think so.”

“Good.” Trixie patted Sweetie Belle on the head. “Keep going on your own.”

Trixie moved to the other side of the tree. Scootaloo was laying various construction tools across a workbench, a wagon of wood, and aluminum sheets beside her. A rolled-up strip of parchment lay next to the bench. She glanced up at Trixie’s approach. “‘Sup, boss! What’s the work today?”

“Trixie presumes you have cut the wood and aluminum into the ordered measurements?”

Scootaloo grinned. “Of course, piece o’ cake! I helped build the set for our first talent show performance together, after all.”

From the other side of the treehouse, a high-pitched voice yelled, “Scootaloo, the set fell apart and we all got splinters!”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. Scootaloo’s grin didn’t falter as she called back, “Shut up, Sweetie Belle!”

“Trixie trusts a wooden box will be easier for you than a stage backdrop?” Trixie said, keeping her eyebrow raised.

Scootaloo’s grin faded. “Really? I’m building a box?”

“A transporter box. Two, actually. They come in pairs.” Trixie lifted the parchment in front of her and unrolled it. “Here are the measurements. Keep within them as the magic field is delicate and the construction must be precise. Use the wood for the frames and then plate the outsides with the aluminum. Once the other ingredients are procured, we can use the silver and the sapphires as the anchors for the spell.”

Scootaloo scratched her head. “Yeah, that magic stuff doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. Pegasus and all.”

“Of course it doesn’t. Pegasi rarely study magical theory. Fortunately, you have Trixie and her profound wealth of knowledge to call upon. She’ll handle the actual magic, you just construct the base prop according to her blueprints.”

“No problem.” Scootaloo began to examine the blueprints closer.

Trixie moved to the stairs of her wagon. Apple Bloom was there reading over an alchemy textbook. A large cardboard box was next to the stairs, its flaps closed. She kept reading as Trixie stopped in front of her. “And Ah thought math variables were confusing. Everythin’ mixes with everythin’ else here! How are you supposed to know what to mix without blowing yourself up?”

Trixie scoffed. “Trixie assures you, there isn’t a magician alive who hasn’t had a potion blow up in their face once or twice. Occupational hazard.” Apple Bloom lifted her head and scrunched up her face, giving Trixie a knowing look. Trixie sniffed. “Four times. And the third was hardly Trixie’s fault; her supplier gave her mislabelled ingredients.”

“Uh-huh. Am Ah gonna be blowin’ mahself up with what we’re doing?”

“Not if you listen and do as you’re told.” Trixie opened the box and withdrew a pestle. She next pulled out a sack and dropped it in front of Apple Bloom. Several large crystalline rocks were inside, shining brown and gold. “Orichalcum used for amplifying base magic components, and is quite useful when we include sea serpent scales as a complimentary compound. The scales are a stabilizing agent; ground into powder, they can render a volatile reaction inert until a new catalyst is introduced.” Apple Bloom blinked and stared blankly. Trixie huffed and put a hoof to her forehead, rubbing for a moment. “The scales stop reactions that are supposed to happen from happening, and the orichalcum helps kick-start them back up.”

“Couldn’t you have just said that in the first place?”

“No. The point is, powdered sea serpent scales allow you to pre-mix certain potions and save them for later activation. It doesn’t work with all mixtures, of course, but it will work for what we’ll be making, namely smoke bombs and sleeping powder.” Trixie pulled a scroll from the box and unfurled it to show the list of ingredients for different types of the two creations.

Apple Bloom frowned as she read through the list. “Ah didn’t think sleeping powder was somethin’ a magician would use.”

Trixie rolled up the scroll. “We don’t, officially. But a tiny pinch in your smoke bombs or other inhalants can make an audience dazed and more susceptible to suggestion. Helps sell the illusions.” Trixie grimaced. “And, admittedly, it helps when audience volunteers are in short supply.”

“Cool!” Apple Bloom grinned. “Can you teach me how to make a potion that’ll make mah sister do whatever Ah tell her?”

“Perhaps later.” Trixie gave her a wink, then turned serious again. “For now, we need the orichalcum, and for that we need the copper.” Trixie withdrew a large metal file from the sack. “Grind the rocks against this and collect the flakes in the pestle. We don’t need much, but get what you can.” Trixie withdrew a pair of safety goggles from the box. “Wear these, you don’t want to get any in your eyes.”

“Gotcha.” Apple Bloom took the goggles and pulled them on. “But if Ah’m working alone, what are you gonna be doing?”

Trixie sighed and turned away. “Trixie is going to engage in a most unsavory and distasteful act for the good of her apprentices. She will not enjoy it, but there is no alternative.”

“Gonna go kiss Rarity’s flank for the sapphires we need?”

“Watch your language, your sister will think you got it from me. Also, no.” Trixie tilted her nose in the air and walked into her wagon. “Trixie has more dignity than that.”

Rarity hummed to herself as she ran the blue and white fabric through her sewing machine. She reached the end and pulled it out to hold it up for examination. Then, the door to the shop rattled with three sharp knocks. Rarity looked up, set the fabric down over the table, and walked to the door. She pulled it open and her eyes narrowed into a glare.

“Hello, Trixie.”

“Hello, Rarity.”

Rarity stepped aside. “Come in.”

“Certainly.” Trixie strode into Carousel Boutique with her head held high, her horn poking from the brim of her hat and her cloak trailing on the ground behind her. She stopped and turned on her hooves, her cloak swirling. The clasp clicked open, and Trixie floated her hat and cape to the coat rack by the door.

“I trust Sweetie Belle delivered my message?” Rarity asked. She shut the door and turned to face Trixie.

“She did. Trixie understands an apology is in order.”

“Quite. I’m glad we understand each other.”

“That we do.”

The two fell silent, the only sound the ticking of a clock on the wall. Rarity bit her lip, but Trixie kept watching her, her face passive. Rarity scowled. “Well!?”

“Trixie is waiting.”

“For what?”

“Her apology.”

Rarity stumbled in place and almost fell. She sputtered to respond, staring at Trixie. “You… you think, I’m, I, you… I’m going to apologize to you? FOR WHAT?”

“As Trixie recalls, she had her wagon destroyed, along with most of her possessions that were therein at the time, her reputation was ruined, and none of you offered even a shred of aid or sympathy. Tell her again, who is the victim here?”

Rarity slowly came forward, glaring. “Snips and Snails never would have brought that ursa minor to Ponyville if you hadn’t boasted about vanquishing one! You were just an arrogant show-off that got what she deserved for what she did to this town!”

Trixie snorted. “Oh yes, punishment for such misdeeds is indeed deserved. Except for when we’re talking about you. Trixie hears much while out on the road. Apparently something happened here that required the intervention of three alicorns to clean up dark magic somepony had spread through the city.”

“That was hardly my fault, I was under the control of an ancient evi—” Rarity stopped herself. Trixie smirked at her. Rarity shook her head. “Fine, fair enough, we have each dabbled in ancient forbidden magic that got the better of us. But that hardly excuses your behavior the first time you came here.”

“Oh, Trixie doesn’t blame magic for her behavior. You each brought it on yourselves.”

“Excuse me?”

“Did Trixie force you to come up on stage? Hardly. You each came up and showed off your talents, trying to upstage Trixie, and she turned them back on you. You came onto my stage and talked about how graceful and beautiful you are. And then you try to say Trixie is the arrogant show-off?”

Rarity growled and shoved her muzzle into Trixie’s face. “You turned my hair green!”

Trixie scowled and pushed her face back. “You tried to upstage me!”

“You took over the town!”

“You covered it in dark magic!”

“You’re a stuck-up, rude, arrogant little brat!”

“You’re a vain, shallow, narcissistic whiner!”

“You don’t know a thing about me!”

“And you don’t know a thing about me!”

Their faces pressed so close their eyes were almost touching, Rarity and Trixie continued to glare at each other for what seemed like hours. Then, as one, they pulled back, but didn’t break eye contact.

Rarity spoke first. “I want an apology.”

“And so do I.”

“You’re not getting one.”

“Hear, hear.”

The clock continued to tick as the two unicorns fell back into a silent staring contest.

Apple Bloom put down the copper rock and wiped her brow. The pestle had a pool of copper shavings in it, but it seemed a small amount to show for an hour of work. She moved the file and pestle and walked to the other side of the cart where Scootaloo was working.

“Scootaloo?”

“Yeah?” Apple Bloom rounded the corner and saw Scootaloo looking over a misshapen wooden box.

“Is that your box?”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo shrugged. “I guess I’m not as good at building as I thought.”

Sweetie Belle called over from behind the tree, “I could have told you that!”

Scootaloo scowled and ran around to where Sweetie Belle was working. “Hey, I’m trying! How about you, how’s that ruby working?” Apple Bloom followed her to see the two glaring at each other.

Sweetie Belle tossed her head and pointed at the ruby on the crate. “Behold, peons, as the Great and Powerful Dazzler shows off her newfound magical talent!” She swung her head to leer at the ruby, and her horn lit up green. A faint green aura appeared over the ruby and it shook on the crate. Sweetie Belle gritted her teeth and focused harder. The ruby lifted into the air and floated towards her, hovering in place. “There!” Sweetie Belle was panting, but she had a wide grin. “How about that?”

Apple Bloom reached out and touched the gem. “It’s a bit warm.”

“That’s ’cause it’s radiating with all the magic I’m pumping into it!”

Scootaloo rolled her eyes. “Well, you’ve got the ego of a magician down.”

Sweetie Belle let the gem drop to the ground and nodded. “Trixie said being a magician is about more than just doing some magic tricks; you need to have flair and style. So that’s what I’m gonna have!”

“Ah’m still kinda surprised she’s helpin’ us after how we tried to blackmail ’er,” Apple Bloom said.

Scootaloo frowned. “Yeah, I don’t get it. She said she was gonna take us home and didn’t want anything to do with us, then I got talking to her that night we met and suddenly she’s acting all nice.”

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked at Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle tilted her head, her brow furrowed. “What did you tell her that night, anyway?”

“Like I said before. I told her about what it means that we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and how we’re trying to get our cutie marks. And then she got all weird and told me to go inside.”

“Maybe she just really does want to help us,” Apple Bloom said. “Trixie really knows a lot about bein’ a showmare. Maybe she thinks it’s cool that we look up to her and wanna be like her.”

“Eh, speak for yourself.” Scootaloo shrugged. “I mean, the box she’s got me building sounds cool, but I really don’t want to be a magician. I mean, sure, it’d be cool if we have the talent for it and it got us our cutie marks, but it’s not what I thought it would be.”

“It’s better than what she was showing us before,” Sweetie Belle said. “We’re actually learning cool skills instead of just how to pose and look cool. That might work for Trixie, but I wanted to actually learn magic, and now I am.”

“Ah gotta agree with ya. I just wanted to know how she does her tricks and got to travel, but Ah don’t wanna end up like Trixie, boasting and showing off all the time.”

Scootaloo shook her head. “Nah, Trixie’s okay. I think she just acts like a show-off on-stage because that’s how showmares act. Like you said, she’s been a lot nicer since we came back to Ponyville.”

Sweetie Belle snickered. “She acts so dramatic and silly, but she’s actually really nice. She and Rarity should get along fine.”

“Want to go and see how they’re doing?” Scootaloo asked.

Apple Bloom nodded. “Ah think we can use the break. Besides, if those two get fightin’, somepony’s gotta break them up.”

The door to Carousel Boutique was shut and the curtains on the windows drawn as the three fillies approached it.

Apple Bloom stopped and regarded the front of the shop. “This doesn’t look good…”

Sweetie Belle approached the door and pressed her ear to it. She listened carefully for a moment. “I can hear voices. It’s Rarity and Trixie.”

“What are they saying?” Scootaloo asked.

“I can’t tell… hang on…” Sweetie Belle lifted her head, her eyes widening moments later.

Apple Bloom came closer. “What is it?”

“They’re… laughing.”

Sweetie Belle pushed open the door and the three stared.

Rarity and Trixie were sitting at a table, a teapot and two steaming cups between them. Rarity was speaking as Trixie held her hooves to her mouth, barely stifling a laugh.

“And when he used me as his own personal shield, I finally had enough of that disgusting snob. I shook my head as vigorously as I could and took great pleasure in watching that pristine white coat of his get caked in icing.” Rarity smiled proudly.

Trixie lost her personal battle to keep from laughing and let it burst out. “Rarity, you’re so mean!”

Rarity giggled. “Only to those who have it coming, and he certainly had it coming.”

“Oh, no doubt, from the way you tell it.” Trixie sipped her tea. “I was putting on a show in Manehattan, and some ridiculous heckler kept booing me and telling me my tricks were foal’s play. Then I got to the grand finale where I call on an audience volunteer.” Trixie grinned. “Few ponies can resist being put on the spot like that, especially when the crowd cheers for them.”

“Ooo, what did you do?” Rarity leaned over the table.

“Well, let’s just say he got the best view in the house. From twenty hooves in the air suspended over a glass of water.” Trixie tossed her head and held a hoof to her forehead. “Alas, Trixie was so distracted from his mouth earlier, she didn’t quite do the trick properly. He limped off the stage as she took her curtain call.”

The two shared another laugh and clinked their tea cups together.

Scootaloo lifted an eyebrow. “I think we missed something.”

The two mares noticed the foals and Rarity smiled widely. “Sweetie Belle, darling, you and your friends come inside and close that door, you’re letting a chill in.”

Sweetie Belle trotted towards her, blinking rapidly the whole way. “I thought you two didn’t like each other.”

Trixie scoffed. “We had a spat, for sure. But once all that nastiness was out of our systems, we settled down to talk and worked everything out.”

“Indeed.” Rarity turned to Trixie. “I really don’t even recall why we were so hateful to each other. You’re a delight to talk to.”

“And you, as well. I didn’t realize you six have been on so many adventures.”

“Oh, the stories we could tell, darling.”

“You must pick out some of the better ones to tell me over tea sometime.”

“Absolutely.”

Apple Bloom leaned over to Scootaloo and whispered, “Is it just me, or is this a little freaky?” Scootaloo nodded dumbly.

Rarity turned her attention back to them. “Sweetie Belle, you’ll be happy to know those sapphires you need are already packed up for you to take along.” Rarity nodded at a small purple velvet bag near the dresser on the other side of the room. “Trixie, you said you four need changeling silk as well, yes?”

Trixie took a drink of her tea and nodded. “When woven into the curtains for the transporter boxes we’re building, they help contain the magic of the boxes once we use them.”

Rarity nodded and got down from her chair, crossing to the dresser. “Ah, I see. I do believe Twilight asked me to come up with some similar fabric for her for some experiment or another she was doing. I couldn’t come up with an acceptable facsimile, but I believe she found some workaround on her own using some mineral compound she mixed up. Perhaps you could consult with her?”

“Marvelous idea.” Trixie stepped away from the table. “If that’s all, then.” Trixie walked to the door and lifted her hat and cloak from the coat rack. “Rarity, it has truly been a pleasure, but we have a lot of lessons to cover today, since it seems tomorrow we’ll be busy with Twilight.”

“Oh, must you go so soon?” Rarity pouted as she approached, bringing the bag of sapphires with her. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo stepped back to make way for her. “Very well, I understand. But you don’t be a stranger, now.”

“Of course, of course.” Trixie smiled and wrapped her hooves around Rarity’s neck. “Thank you for having me. And of course, I’m sorry about the whole hair incident.”

Three sets of eyes watching the two widened.

“Not at all, darling, it’s water under the bridge. And I’m quite sorry for my behavior that night, I don’t know what came over me.”

Three sets of jaws dropped.

Trixie stepped back from Rarity and took the bag from her. She looked at the Cutie Mark Crusaders and smiled. “Well, girls, let’s be off. I’ll check your progress and we can go over our next steps for your training.” Trixie turned and flung open the door to the boutique, trotting down the street. Rarity hummed to herself and returned to the table, gathering up the tea cups and taking them upstairs.

Standing by the doorway, the Cutie Mark Crusaders blinked as they processed what had just happened. Then, Scootaloo dropped her head and let out a low groan.

“Adults are weird.”