Arc 2- 4 (Fancy Answer)

What is society? (10 pts.)

Society is a machine, each piece in a machine plays a pivotal role and needs to work together in perfect harmony in order for the machine to work. One wrong piece and it could all break apart, and it is the responsibility for those sitting on the highest echelons of power to maintain such harmony. The beauty of the machine is that if there is a broken piece then it could be fixed, just as if there is something broken in society the government can fix it. Whether it is unfair wages or blatant bigotry, the Equestrian government can come in and fix what is wrong in a quick and effective matter. Criminals can also be fixed if we give them the chance and may become even better citizens than before. They can even become more loyal to the state for the acts of mercy that was shown towards them. Essentially, sometimes the broken piece can be fixed into something better. However, some things cannot be fixed and must be removed before they bring society down with it. This, of course, are the threats of poverty, gross inequality in income, corporate greed and power, and misguided traditional bigotry. In order for society to function at its peak with social and economic equality then it is the job of the government to be society’s guide and to take the necessary steps to ensure that it can reach a new golden age.

Brisk Wind, you strayed from the question again. Political Theory is not for another two months, please schedule an appointment with me so we can discuss ways to keep you focused on the now, not the later.

-Sincerely, Mrs. Quill

++++++++++

Brisk Wind had been talking to Princess Celestia in the palace courtroom for over two hours already. When she first arrived she told the news of Roar Shock’s survival, and just as she had suspected, Celestia did not take the news lightly. The alicorn demanded to know how their number one target escaped, but Brisk Wind did not have an answer for her since it was Shining Armor’s operation. The EIB Director had been expecting Shining Armor’s letter to appear in front of the Princess since he said he would explain his side of the Roar Shock issue, however, when the letter didn’t arrive after an hour of talking she became fairly certain that Shining Armor passed out on his desk. Then she hoped that the ink cartridge for his fancy typewriter leaked all over his face. Brisk Wind then went on to explaining that if Celestia puts in the recommended funding for the newly formed Civilian Defense Agency then they would be able to apprehend Roar Shock and bring him to justice before he can do more harm. After another hour of talking to Celestia about the benefits of increasing funding for the CDA and EIB they went on to discussing the Rehabilitation Program, the EIB’s landmark program, and more specifically: Trixie’s release.

Which is something Brisk Wind did not know about until now.

“But, Princess, the Rehabilitation Program was not meant for ponies like Trixie!” whines Brisk Wind. “It was meant for criminals like petty thieves and beaters!”

Celestia sighs and gently sets her cup of tea down on the arm of her throne, and then she leans forward and stares at Brisk Wind intently. “When you designed the program, you meant for it to help criminals become better citizens, correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty,” says Brisk Wind with a curt nod.

“Trixie is a criminal, correct?”

“No, Your Majesty, she’s a terrorist.”

“Terrorists are criminals and should be treated as such.”

“No, terrorists are enemy combatants who do not follow the laws of warfare!”

“Trixie is a criminal, Director, and will be treated as such for your program. But due to the nature of her crimes she will not be placed with just any parole officer, she will be placed under the care of somepony I trust.”

“Who?”

“Somepony I trust more than you.”

Brisk Wind narrows her eyes as her jaw tightens while Celestia relaxes in her throne. Suddenly, Brisk Wind gets an idea and to prevent herself from exploding due to the mixed bag of emotions she’s feeling right now, she exhales to calm herself down and then she flashes a sly smile at Celestia.

“I think I know what you’re doing, Your Majesty.”

Celestia raises her cup of tea using her magic. “Oh, and what is that?”

“If Trixie is a success with this program than we can expand on it! I don’t know why I didn’t see this before!”

Celestia sips her tea, smacks her lips, mumbles dreamily about how good the tea is, and then she smiles at Brisk Wind as she continues her talk.

“I mean, now that I think about if Trixie is able to be fixed then that will show Equestria that we, the ever so benevolent guardians of peace and Harmony, can fix anypony and anything!”

“Bingo.”

Brisk Wind smiles and says a quick apology for her doubt as Celestia sips her tea. The sun goddess momentarily frowns when she realizes that her tea cup is almost empty, but that doesn’t ruin her mood for long, she has plenty of servants to fix her tea.

“There’s no need to apologize, Brisk Wind, I actually enjoy it when ponies such as yourself question my judgement. It shows that you care about my actions. Now why don’t you run along and send Trixie and Minty Sprinkles in,” says Celestia.

“Who’s Minty Sprinkles?” asks Brisk Wind.

“The mare with Trixie that looks like she was born from a box of crayons.”

“Oh. Of course, Your Majesty.”

Brisk Wind turns and trots towards the large, exquisite double doors, her echoing footsteps being the only sound in the courtroom again. That, and Celestia’s quiet sipping. When Brisk Wind pushes the doors open Trixie and Minty turn to her and she instantly puts on an innocent smile as walks towards them with a charming sway.

“The Princess will be seeing you two now,” says Brisk Wind kindly, however, anyone with working ears could hear the phoniness in her tone.

“Cool, thanks!” says Minty happily, then she gently nudges Trixie forward. “C’mon, Trixie! It’s time to talk to the most powerful being in all of Equestria!”

Brisk Wind watches the two walk inside the courtroom and when the enormous doors close her devious smile returns and she walks away, humming a joyful tune to herself.

oooOOOooo

Trixie’s jaw drops as soon as she enters the grand courtroom. The place is so huge that it can easily fit hundreds of ponies, and the large, decorative, storytelling stained glass color the rays of sunlight in cheerful colors. The polished tiles on the floor also tell a story, probably multiple stories, but a good portion of them are blocked by the thick, velvety rug that stretches from the base of the throne all the way to the double doors. Trixie can’t see the details of the throne just yet, but she does marvel at the white pillars and their golden bases, she can only imagine at how expensive it was build just one pillar. The unicorn’s eyes then glance up at the line of enormous glass chandeliers hanging down from the ceiling.

Celestia chuckles. “Like what you see?”

“Uh huh,” says Trixie softly, she’s so lost in the beauty of the courtroom that she barely heard Celestia.

“Oh she loves it!” says Minty enthusiastically. “Just look at her face! I mean it’s exactly like everypony else that walked in here for the first time!”

Trixie’s eyes glide towards Celestia and is once again stunned by beauty. The slender alicorn is easily the tallest pony in Equestria. Probably all of Equus! Her snow white coat has a small glow to it and her light, multi-colored mane and tail flutter freely from what has to be pure magical energy. Even her posture is majestic! The way she sits and the way her magenta eyes stare at them show that she’s in charge, but more like a mother than a dictator. However, the thing Trixie finds the most astonishing about Celestia is the armor she’s wearing. The golden, gem studded armor is laced with gorgeous leafy patterns that add to her shine and makes her figure look all the more beautiful.

Then Trixie feels a hoof go under her chin and push her mouth shut.

“That was an interesting two minutes,” says Celestia, grinning playfully.

“What?” says Trixie, completely confused by what just happened.

“You were staring at Princess Celestia for two minutes, and kinda drooling,” giggles Minty, “and I would know because I counted.”

“Are you...?”

Trixie looks at both of the ponies, they are both smiling and trying to contain their laughter. Celestia is having a considerably easier time compared to Minty, who appears to be ready to burst into a laughing fit judging by the way her cheeks and puffed out and how red her face is.

Trixie cheeks and the tip of her ears turn a shade of crimson as the effects of complete, burning embarrassment take over. She bites her lips and looks down while gently running her hoof along the soft rug; she just wants to curl up in a hole and possibly stay there for about... forever. She finally meets the most powerful being in Equestria and she drools in her presence like a mentally retarded pervert.

Celestia is either quick to forgive or forget Trixie’s awkward behavior as she turns her attention to Minty. “Minty Sprinkles, are you up to the task of being Trixie’s parole officer for the needed duration of the Rehabilitation Program?”

“Of course I am,” replies Minty.

“Do you swear to uphold the law and guide Trixie to become a better citizen of Equestria for one full year?”

“Yep.”

“And Trixie Lulamoon, do you swear to obey all of Minty Sprinkles’ orders within reason and rule of law for the duration of one full year in the Rehabilitation Program?”

“I do.”

“Do you swear to write me a letter every day chronicling what you did?”

“...I... do? Yes, yes I do.”

Celestia smiles and finishes her tea with one more tiny gulp. “Okay, that is all. You two are dismissed.”

Trixie’s jaw goes slack and she stares at the Princess with a mixed bag of annoyance and confusion. After all the Hell she’s been through she can’t believe that all she gets is a thirty second oath! An oath that didn’t even sound cool! It was absurdly lame on every level and she didn’t even get an explanation as to why she was released in the first place!

Trixie’s turns to Minty in hopes of getting an answer, only to find her turning tail and casually strolling her way out of the courtroom. Trixie struggles to form a coherent sentence, causing the other two to look at her with raised eyebrows. When Trixie is able to piece together the nonsense she just received she glares at the Princess.

“That’s it?” Trixie asks, her voice trembling with annoyance and rage.

“Yes,” replies Celestia. “Why? Were you expecting something more?”

“You’re damn right I was!”

Trixie marches towards Celestia with a fire in her eyes and the alicorn simply sighs and makes her cup of tea disappear in a puff of golden mist. She knows Trixie’s going to go on a rant. She’s seen this thousands of times during her reign, and Luna also had a habit of going on a massive rant about simple things before she turned into Nightmare Moon.

“I want answers and I want them now!” demands Trixie furiously, her voice echoes in the empty courtroom and Minty runs up to Trixie’s side and tries to push her out the door.

“Okay, that’s enough, Trixie. It’s time to go,” says Minty uneasily.

Trixie shrugs Minty away and approaches Celestia with even more determination for answers. Celestia, however, rubs salt on the wound by keeping an amused smile and looking down at Trixie as if she were a toddler having a funny tantrum.

“I want answers NOW!” repeats Trixie with greater authority.

“Well I can’t give answers if I don’t have questions, now can I?” remarks Celestia.

Trixie growls and her ears flatten, deep down she knows Celestia is right about the “question” thing, but she should already know these things! One is simply not released from Singsong and then offered -no, told- to see the ruler of Equestria, only to take an oath that didn’t sound like an oath. Especially when said released prisoner is someone like Trixie, who joined a vigilante organization that was labeled as terrorists and then nearly leveled a whole town from pure, bloodthirsty rage.

Trixie can feel her horn charging and her muscles tensing up, and it doesn’t help that Celestia is still acting calm as can be. Trixie is practically daring the alicorn to try something, anything, just to give her a reason to zap that ridiculous smile off her face.

“You already know what my question is!” yells Trixie.

A bolt of lightning flashes out of her horn and strikes the floor near Celestia. Celestia sighs and rolls her eyes as she recalls how Luna used to pull stunts like that before her transformation.

Minty gets in front of Trixie again and tries desperately to calm her down. “Okay, Trixie, you need to relax. I know things have been stressful but-”

“Shut up!” snaps Trixie, then she turns her attention to the smug goddess that toyed with her since birth. “You-You-You know what questions I have, Your Majesty.”

Trixie made sure to make her tone for “Your Majesty” as scornful as she can muster. Celestia sighs again, stands up, and looks at Minty with a cool smile. “Minty Sprinkles, can you please wait outside while I have a word with Trixie.”

Minty looks a bit uneasy for leaving, but she nods and hurries out of the room. Trixie is sure to keep her eye on Celestia and the smugness of the deity is only making her more and more upset. Trixie’s horn glows brighter and-

She’s suddenly levitated off the ground and then slammed on the floor. The impact makes a loud banging noise and sends a shock of pain all throughout Trixie’s body. When her eyes stop rolling she watches in horror as blue mist is literally sucked out of her body and collected into an orb above Celestia’s horn and is slowly absorbed into her. Watching the blue orb disappear is like watching a star get sucked into a black hole. Trixie suddenly, feels weak and tired, but not enough for her to pass out, just enough for her to be next to helpless. She also finds that her muscles have relaxed and her horn is no longer threatening to shoot out bolts of lightning.

“Now that that is taken care of we can have a decent conversation,” says Celestia while sitting on her throne with the fading orb of blue haze next to her. Then, without even a flicker of further movement on her part, Trixie feels her legs being cuffed to the ground. When she looks around and she sees that she is, in fact, cuffed to the ground with chains made of pure energy. Then Celestia decides to have more of the pure energy chains wrap around Trixie’s body and tug her to the ground so she’s lying on her stomach, unable to move. “Trixie Lulamoon, like to think I’m a patient deity, but lately my patience has been running thin.”

Trixie’s ears droop as stares at the sun goddess, the motherly figure is now gone and the dictator has shown herself and her tone is a grim, threatening one as she explains what she had to do.

“I have been forced to take extreme measures to combat this Chaos. Some I’m not too proud of, others have proven to be valuable, such as the Rehabilitation Program, which is what you’re part of. However, regardless of personal feelings I am doing what is necessary to keep Equestria from falling apart,” says Celestia, then she  gets up and walks towards Trixie. “Tell me, Trixie do you believe in mercy?”

Trixie thinks back to what Gray Muffin had said during one of their training sessions.

===

Gray Muffin knocked Trixie to the ground and brought his hoof down on her gut, knocking the air out of her and forcing her body to curl up while she gasps for air. Gray Muffin then paced around her while lecturing her on her mistake of showing him mercy after she accidentally kicked him in the eye during a sparring session.

“Mercy is weakness. Compassion is flawed. Evil relies on Good to be merciful and compassionate towards them. Those who think we should take the time to have tea and muffins with those who harm the innocent think it will make them better, when all it does is give them another moment to strike,” he said harshly.

Trixie looked at Gray Muffin out of the corner of her eye and saw his eye is swollen shut from her kick. He grunted and looked at the zebra twins and ordered them to train her harder, and then he looked at Trixie.

“On our next sparring match I want you to fight me until one of us collapses. No mercy.”

Trixie nodded and allowed her head fall back on the mat as Gray Muffin walked away.

===

Trixie smirks. “Depends on who its towards.”

“In this case, it’s for you.”

Trixie looks up at Celestia’s glowing figure and feels the magical chains slither off of her and disappear into the ground. Trixie is taken back by Celestia’s statement; she has no idea whether or not this is some kind of trick question. Celestia knows what she did, what she’s capable of and had more than enough control over her in Singsong. Is Celestia asking her if she deserves mercy? Trixie doesn’t know what she deserves. All she knows is that she needs answers, and if she doesn’t deserve answers at least get some out of common decency.

Celestia is now pacing around Trixie, which now that Trixie is next to the alicorn she feels completely unnerved by her vibrant body. Sure, the mare is beautiful, but after seeing what she did without so much as blinking and the way her body is constantly shining and her mane and tail are constantly moving, she’s terrifying. Add in the fact that standing next to Celestia makes Trixie feel small and insignificant and she gets the feeling of wanting to run out screaming. However, Trixie holds fast, partially because she’s too scared to move and partially because she would never forgive herself for passing up an opportunity to get some easy answers.

“Do you think you deserve mercy?” asks Celestia.

Trixie looks down at the floor, she still doesn’t know if she deserves mercy or not.

“Do you think that after destroying a peaceful town and assaulting two of the Elements, one of which is a daughter to me, you deserve any mercy at all?”

“I don’t know what I deserve,” whispers Trixie sadly, “I just want answers.”

Trixie looks at Celestia, her eyes are now moistening because she just wants the truth and all she’s getting is a lecture about something she doesn’t know if she deserves.

Celestia is silent as she sits back on her throne. This time Trixie’s shoulder buckles and she looks down as tears trickle down her cheek and splash on the floor. Celestia’s expression softens and becomes slightly uncomfortable when she notices the tears.

“I’ve been through so much, always wanting something I could never have,” sniffles Trixie, “and for once I just want one thing to go right. Just please answer my question with a straight answer.”

“What is your question?” asks Celestia.

“Why me?”

“Why you?”

“Of all the murderers, rapists, thieves, and other lowlives in Singsong or other prisons you picked me to be released. You picked me to be reintroduced into society even though my actions are horrible. Some might say I am beyond saving... And I think you and I are some of them. So, why me?”

A heavy silence takes over as Celestia looks down on Trixie’s tear soaked face, she’s surprised that Trixie is able to hold her gaze, given her lack of energy. Celestia exhales and decides to return whatever energy she hasn’t sucked up yet back to Trixie. With a simple spell, the ball breaks apart into an energy stream and returns to Trixie through her chest. Trixie instantly feels an electric surge throughout her body as her energy returns and her drooping stature is stiffened to her full height, or as high as a pony gets when sitting up straight. Her first reaction is to thank Celestia, but she wants to hear the answer to her question first before she starts saying her thanks.

“Trixie, you were chosen because of potential. Nothing more, nothing less,” says Celestia cryptically. “Now wait outside while I have a private word with Minty Sprinkles.”

Trixie’s mind snaps again. Her tears instantly dry up, she grits her teeth, and her muscles tense up again as she take a couple heavy steps towards the self proclaimed leader of Equestria. She is sick of these games! She’s sick of not knowing what’s going on, or what happened to her family, or why she was chosen to be released! She’s sick of being in the dark, period!

“But I killed one of the Elements of Harmony! And I hurt I don’t know how many ponies when I tried to kill Twilight Sparkle! And-And now your just letting me go!? I don’t see how that makes any SENSE!” yells Trixie furiously while stomping the floor.

Celestia’s eyes narrow and she stands up and expands her wings threateningly while approaching Tixie with menacing hoof steps echoing off of the walls. “First off, Trixie Lulamoon, I’m not just letting you go!” booms Celestia’s voice in a way that is hardly ever heard from the goddess. “You will be under the strict supervision of Minty Sprinkles at the designated apartment and you’ll be writing me a letter every day telling me what you did! Secondly, your crimes are great and originally you were going to be exiled to a far away, deserted island where nopony could find you! But I needed answers as to where your organization was located! Equestria is my responsibility and I will NOT let it succumb to any more violence!”

Celestia wishes that the unicorn would just accept that her grace -and a “recommendation”- are what freed her. She doesn’t understand why Trixie is so hesitant to accept her road to freedom. Any other pony would jump at the chance, especially if that pony came from a Singsong prison cell.

While Celestia is fuming, Trixie shrinks down under the realization that she had just kicked over the hornet’s nest.

A moment later, Celestia takes a deep breath and gives herself a few seconds to calm down. When she is calm she starts speaking again, this time in the motherly voice she’s known for. “Thirdly, a friend, a pony whom I trust very much, sees something in you and has begged me to release you under the Rehabilitation Program. I didn’t want to, but she insisted and has yet to fail me. But nonetheless, my decision to put you in the Program is very unpopular to say the least, so do not make me regret this.”

“But just don’t understand why you would even consider letting somepony like me have a second chance. I killed the Element of Laughter and-”

“Trixie, stop right there. I know what you did and like I said, my original decision was much more severe than what you faced in Singsong. But one thing you must understand is that you did not kill the Element of Laughter.”

“What?”

“You merely killed its host.”

Trixie cocks her head quizzically, she is now more confused than ever right now. She knows she killed the Element of Laughter. She remembers feeling her hoof connect with Pinkie Pie’s chest and watching her fall to her death. She remembers how lifeless she looked when she checked on her. And if Pinkie Pie was the host then how can the Element of Laughter still be alive if it has no host? Now she really wishes she paid attention in school when they talked about the Elements of Harmony, but her teacher was so boring and mono-toned that only a dedicated egghead could stay awake for his classes!

Celestia sees the confusion plastered on Trixie’s face plain as day, so she tries to come up with a simple way of explaining how the Elements work. “The Elements are more than flesh and blood, Trixie. They are beyond the comprehension of a normal pony, but for the sake of simplicity we are going to go with ‘symbols’. The Elements are symbols for the pieces of Harmony. Pinkie Pie, the host of Laughter, was only its physical incarnation. You may have killed Laughter’s host, but Laughter will always be around, even in the darkest of times. Laughter is a symbol and symbols do not die. They may change, but they will never die. But the question is not about what happened to Laughter or why you did what you did. Trixie, I need to know if you are you willing to change for the better.”

Trixie takes a moment to ponder the words, and a few seconds later she bows and says: “I will change, Your Majesty.”

“Rise, my little pony,” says Celestia with a wave of her hoof, “there is no need to bow before me. We are beyond that age.”

Trixie quietly stands up, but still keeps her head down to avoid eye contact with the deity.

“Trixie, do not disappoint me. Write me a letter every day for the duration of your rehabilitation, and I will know when you’re lying in your letters, so don’t try it. If I feel that you are ready, are trustworthy to live on your own without us watching your every move, then I will release you. If I feel that rehabilitation is not working then I will send you back to Singsong. Or if I determine your failure to be really bad, then I will exile you to that remote island I was looking at earlier. Are we clear?”

Trixie nods her head, quietly saying: “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Glad to hear. You are dismissed, but bring Minty Sprinkles in, I want to have a word with her before you leave.”

Trixie quietly leaves the courtroom with her head down. When she enters the hallway, the first thing she notices is a ring of unicorn Royal Guards keeping an eye on her, and the second thing she notices is that Minty is laying by one of the windows... reading a phone book.

Trixie opens her mouth to say something, but when Minty turns the page, the page making a crackling sound in the process, she gives off a vibe that says she’s in deep concentration. Trixie opens her mouth again, and closes it again a second later. The earth pony is really involved with her reading. When Trixie opens her mouth to speak for the third time, Minty suddenly slams the phone book shut and hops to her feet, making Trixie jump and miss a heartbeat.

“Looks like I’m up,” says Minty. “Did you and Celestia have a nice talk?”

“Uh...”

“Didn’t sound nice, but don’t take it personally. She’s been under a lot of stress lately, and between you and me, I think she really needs to find an alicorn coltfriend.”

Before Trixie can reply, Minty stretches herself out like a cat, making the unicorn arch an eyebrow. There is a small series of pops that comes from the colorful mare’s back and she sighs blissfully while her eyes roll to the back of her head and her tongue rolls out. Her body relaxes a little too much for a couple of seconds, too, giving off the appearance that she had just killed herself with a stretch.

“Oh that felt good,” moans Minty, then he sees Trixie staring at her with a grossed out expression, so she smiles reassuringly. “My back’s been killing me lately, so I gotta stretch it out every now and then.”

“Why not see a chiropractor?” asks Trixie.

“I am. I have an appointment scheduled in six months.”

“Why not get it sooner?”

“You know how the system works, silly.”

“But-”

“I’d love to stay and chat, but I gotta goddess waiting for me. Oh and don’t mind the sudden number of guards watching you. Safety reasons and all.”

Minty walks away, humming a happy tune to herself, and Trixie looks around at the unicorn Royal Guards watching her with piercing eyes and stone cold expressions.

‘Oh great,’  thinks Trixie dryly.

Trixie sighs and looks at the phone book Minty was reading earlier to see if she can find Bon Bon’s address. The book is enormous to say the least, and when she runs her hoof over it she instantly hates the rough feeling the paper has against her hoof. She decides to use magic, and as soon as her horn glows the grayish magenta the Royal Guards tense up and light up their horns while aiming the barrels of their battle saddles at her. Trixie glares at them as the pages of the phone book gradually turn, filling the silent hallway with the familiar sound of rough paper crackling. Trixie silently flips through it and gets more and more agitated as the guards continue to stare at her.

A few seconds later she slams her hooves down and shouts: “Stop looking at me!”

“No,” says a Royal Guard bluntly.

Trixie groans and slams her head on the book under the realization that her search for Bon Bon’s residence will be met with annoying, scrutinizing eyes of drones called Royal Guards.

oooOOOooo

Minty enters the chambers and bounces towards Celestia. When she’s a respectable distance away she stops and beams at the sun goddess. “What can Minty do for you, today, Princess?”

Celestia smirks. “You can remove your disguise, Pinkie Pie.”

Minty sighs in mock sadness and removes the pink wig to reveal a puffy, darker pink mane. “How about I just take the wig off?  I kinda dyed myself after the fall with some really strong stuff, so my coat will be like this for a while. Oh well, at least I like it. Do you want to hear the story behind my new cutie mark?”

“Pinkie Pie, we don’t have much time.”

“It all started when I built this cool doohickey thingy to help me paint a cutie mark over my newly colored body...”

Celestia blinks as she listens to Minty, a.k.a. Pinkie Pie, explain how she used an intricate system of mirrors, pulleys, levers, switches, and paint brushes of all sizes to get it right. Pinkie Pie also laughs about how many trial runs she went through while trying to keep herself “dead”.

“Okay, Pinkie Pie, that’s enough. I need to know something,” says Celestia sternly.

“Ask away, Princess.”

“How, exactly, are you going to keep Trixie under control? She did almost destroy Ponyville when she tried to kill Twilight Sparkle and she did lose her temper today.”

Pinkie Pie dismisses Celestia’s worry with a wave of her hoof. “Oh please, Princess, you give me too little credit. I’m smarter than I look and act.” Pinkie Pie taps the side of her head with her hoof. “Besides, I’ve planned everything.”

“Pinkie-”

“I didn’t plan five moves because that’s too little. I didn’t do ten because that’s normal. I planned twenty moves! There’s no way anything is slipping by Auntie Pinkie. Maybe that’s why Twilight never wanted to play chess with me. Either that, or she thought I was too much of an mush brain to be a challenge, which is odd because the Manehatten Institute of Technology begged me to join their institution. Which proves I am not a mush brain. I wonder why everypony forgets about that letter?”

Pinkie Pie looks down to ponder why no one seems to remember when she got that odd letter from MIT, but Celestia interrupts her thoughts when she asks Pinkie Pie a simple question: “So, have you improved your Pinkie Senses?”

Pinkie Pie nods. “Of course I did! But it’s far from being perfect, it’s only a general prediction and I base all of my predictions on facts and things I spot when I pretend not to care. Well, predictions based on events anyway. Stuff that happens soon, like instant to twenty minutes, is when I get the good twitches.”

Celestia smiles at how much Pinkie Pie has grown under the guidance of Twilight. “So I take you’ve learned a lot from Twilight, then.”

“Yep, and it all took off after somepony thought of the MMMM would be a great midnight snack,” says Pinkie Pie proudly while puffing out her chest, then she stiffens. “But my survival must be kept a secret. If anypony finds out I’m alive then those guys might go after my father or sister or my friends again. I can’t let that happen.”

“Your secret is safe with me, Pinkie Pie, but even then, the League of Justice has been defeated. They are weak and depleted, their threat to Equestria has been brought down to the bare minimum, and with every level of the Equestrian Guard and EIB hunting them there will be nothing left of them very soon.”

“You’re giving too little credit again, Celestia. You may have won that battle, but every bone, muscle, nerve, cartilage, and hair in my body is saying its not over. They will be back and this is something me and my friends cannot handle. Heck, even your agencies are in over their heads. Just look at what happened to Ponyville!”

Celestia opens her mouth to counter Pinkie Pie, but the pink -now minty green- pony continues.

“But Trixie has been with them, she knows the ins and outs of their group.”

“Wait. So you’re using Trixie to fight the League?”

Pinkie Pie cocks her head and stares at Celestia, dumbfounded by her ignorance. “Uh, no. WE are. What else did you think I meant when I wrote that I wanted to guide Trixie to become a better mare so she can save Equestria from an impending doom in my letter?”

Celestia shakes her head while putting her hoof to her head. “Pinkie Pie, the Rehabilitation Program is not designed to make heroes. It is designed to turn criminals into good citizens.”

Pinkie Pie pops up next to Celestia, making the alicorn flinch, and nudges her in the ribs with her elbow while giving her a sly smile. “And what better way to make a good citizen than to prepare them to save a nation from an organization that wants to destroy them, hmm?”

Pinkie Pie hops down in front of Celestia as the goddess grumbles and rubs her temple with her hoof, which admittedly only makes her more uncomfortable since the ridges at the bottom of her armored shoe scratch against her divine skin.

A moment later she says: “I’m in no mood for this. Okay, so Trixie, the one who destroyed Ponyville and technically killed you, is going to save Equestria?”

“That is correct,” replies Pinkie Pie.

“How can you-”

“Pinkie Sense.”

“I’m going to need you to do better than that.”

“Pinkie... Sense. You ask ponies to have faith in you and now I ask that you have faith in me. It’s only fair.”

The two stare at each other in total silence; Celestia’s mind is completely blank due to Pinkie Pie’s insane plan, and Pinkie Pie’s unwavering grin isn’t helping her think any better, either.

After what seemed like an hour of silence, Celestia sighs and looks down. “Fine, I’ll accept that, but Trixie will find out who you are eventually, and there’s no telling how she’ll react when she does.”

Pinkie Pie pretends to act snobbish as she inspects the hoof Trixie burnt during their brawl; she’s glad she was able to cover the injury to near perfection. “Well I’ll be sure to be her friend so that when she does find out she won’t be too upset. Maybe just a little upset since I’ll be tricking her for a while, but if we become friends then she won’t take it as hard.”

Celestia lets her hoof fall and she nods, she’s still skeptical of Pinkie Pie’s optimism but is deciding to give her the benefit of the doubt. Celestia is about to dismiss Pinkie Pie, but then another thought crosses her mind. The party animal never answered her first question.

“Pinkie Pie,” begins Celestia.

“Yeah?” Pinkie Pie says while putting her wig back on with minimal difficulty.

“You never answered my first question.”

“Just trust me, Princess. I have everything under control.”

“Fine, I’ll say that I trust you, even though this plan of yours is ridiculous, but I will not cease any operations against the League or any other threats against Equestria, and I will adjust operations as I see fit.”

Pinkie Pie finishes putting on her wig. “And Trixie will operate as her own separate entity under my guidance. Got it?”

“Be sure to tell me what her ‘alter-ego’ is if she gets one so I can alert the agencies.”

“Oh she’ll have one, and I know for a fact ponies will get a kick out of it. I can just see it now,” Pinkie Pie moves her hoof across her face like she’s summoning words, “‘The Dark Mare. Scourge of the Underworld’, or hang on a sec. How about-”

“One wrong move on her part and I’ll have Shining Armor or Brisk Wind take her away. Clear?”

Pinkie Pie frowns and drops her hoof. “Only if I’m arrested as well.”

“What?”

“She is my responsibility and any fault on her part would be mine as well, so where she goes, I go. Deal?”

“You... Are you serious?”

“Deal?”

Celestia hesitates. “Deal.”

Fantastic! I’ll see ya around!”

Before Celestia can reply, Pinkie Pie bounces out of the room while saying some more colorful and random farewells. After the doors slam shut Celestia sighs and sulks in her seat, hoping that Pinkie Pie knows what she’s doing and wishing that deities could get vacations.

oooOOOooo

Trixie is able to find Bon Bon’s address quickly, and since she lives in her candy shop it’ll be easier to come to her aid. The only problem is slipping out of Minty’s grasp and getting to Bon Bon before the griffins do, but since she got some free time she decided to look through the book to see what else Canterlot has to offer. For one, the population is now close to two million ponies, leading to a massive civilian phone number section, and due to the population boom there is plenty of businesses to look at. She’s mostly interested in the magic shows that are hosted, and there is one in particular that catches her eye. It’s a dark, page sized, extravagant advertisement for the “Greatest Magician in all of Equestria”. The advertisement has a picture of stallion unicorn-zebra by the name of “The Magnificent Monte Fountain”. He has a grayish blue coat with faint stripes, a white mane and tail with streaks of red, and a pair of cards as a cutie mark. He also has a cocky smile and is for some odd reason wearing a top hat and a black cape with a fluffy white trim that has a clip in the shape of a card spade holding it together.

This is Monte Fountain character is a pony Trixie wants to meet just to see how good he really is, but she can’t help but scowl at the fact that he looks like he’s ripping off her old appearance and name.

‘That jerk is totally ripping me off,’  thinks Trixie’s accusingly.

“What are you looking at, Trixie?” asks Brisk Wind curiously from behind.

Trixie slams the phone book shut and whirls around to see the Director of the EIB staring at her with a suspiciously kind smile. Trixie’s eye twitches from seeing the mare that gave her a week’s taste of Tartarus. She holds back every urge to pounce on her and beat her face to a bloody pulp like the scum she is. Trixie forces herself to smile, and the smile is so horribly fake that even a blind pony can tell it was fake.

“Hello, Director, fancy seeing you here. I thought you left.”

“I never left, Trixie, I just wanted to go for a walk. It’s a beautiful castle, after all.”

“Oh really? I hadn’t realized. It’s hard to enjoy certain things when your torturer is in the same building as you.”

Brisk Wind chuckles and walks towards Trixie, still holding that phony smile, and Trixie’s eyes narrow and she peers into Brisk Wind’s eyes. She’s begging Brisk Wind to try to attack her just so she has a reason to zap that demon seed into oblivion. Not that she doesn’t have one, she actually has a week’s worth, but it will better if Brisk Wind throws the first punch, just like Gray Muffin had taught her.

===

Trixie once again found herself on the ground, this time with a faceful of the blue mat they train on and a mouth full of blood with a few loose teeth. Her jaw felt like it had been cracked, which wouldn’t surprise her if it was, and her ears were still ringing from the force of the kick that sent her flying across the mat after she tried to charge Gray Muffin. She then felt Gray Muffin press his hoof on her back and push her to the ground. She squirmed as she felt his heavy hoof press her body to the ground with an uncomfortable force.

“When you’re meeting your enemy head on, always let your opponent make the first move. You will be able to tell a lot about their method of attack from doing so,” said Gray Muffin. Then he released her, walked towards the end of the mat and turned around to face her as she pushed herself up. “Now I’m going to make a move against you. I want you to block and counter accordingly.”

“And if I don’t?” asked Trixie with a wry, bloody smile.

“Then the dentist will have to shove your teeth back in your mouth.”

===

Trixie snaps out of her trip down memory lane when she hears Brisk Wind talking to her.

“Trixie, what happened was regretful, and I can only ask for your forgiveness,” says Brisk Wind dramatically, and to emphasize, she sniffles and looks down; but then she looks up with a hopeful glint in her eyes. “But let us resolve our quarrels like civilized ponies and move on from the past.”

Trixie smirks and in a threatening tone, she whispers: “Why not resolve this outside?”

Brisk Wind is about to say something, but before she can, Minty runs up and wraps her forehooves around their necks for a hug.

“Hey guys, how’s it going?” asks Minty cheerfully.

“Fine,” says the two mares in unison; however, Trixie’s is more of a grumble.

“That’s good. Hey, Brisky-”

“‘Brisky’?” mutters Brisk Wind under her breath while cocking her head and arching an eyebrow.

“I just want to thank you for allowing Trixie to-”

“I’m right here, you know,” says Trixie irritably over Minty.

“Go into the Rehabilitation Program. As her parole officer I know she’ll do fantastic.”

Minty puts a lot of emphasis on “fantastic” and switches her gaze to Trixie. Trixie shrinks back a bit because it feels like the colorful mare’s eyes are boring deep into her soul and searching for all of her sins. Which at this point in her life it isn’t too hard to find.

“Right, Trixie?” says Minty in a cheerful, yet oddly creepy, tone.

Trixie gulps and nods her head quickly while Brisk Wind pulls away from Minty.

“Look, Ms. Sprinkles, I don’t know who you are, but the Princess must have a lot of faith in you if you have been hoof selected by her to be Trixie’s parole officer,” says Brisk Wind.

“Why are-I’m right here!” whines Trixie.

“But we are all friends here, all wrongdoings have been forgiven. So if you need anything, and I mean anything, just give me a call at my office, okay?”

“Sure thing, Brisky. Thanks!” says Minty happily.

“Don’t call me Brisky!” snaps Brisk Wind as her wings expand threateningly. There is a moment of awkward silence, and Brisk Wind smiles apologetically and turns to Trixie. “As for you, Trixie, behave yourself and I know we’ll be good friends.”

Brisk Wind smiles and shakes hooves with Minty, and when she tries to do the same for Trixie, Trixie closes her eyes and sticks her nose in the air, away from the pegasus. Brisk Wind sighs and shakes her head while making a tsking noise. “You’ll come around eventually. After all, the government is your friend.”

Brisk Wind walks a short distance away and then flies off as Minty waves. When Brisk Wind is out of sight, Minty hums lightly to herself and starts walking towards the exit. Trixie scoffs and follows her parole officer down the lavish hallway in silence. Trixie is in no mood to talk, especially after getting a screwed up answer from the one being that could clear things up for her. Also, Minty is starting to annoy her again with her bubbly attitude, but above all else, she’s just anxious to get this day done and over with. She knows Bon Bon is in danger, but she can’t do anything to help unless she wants to make a mad dash for the little shop and get sent back to Singsong. Then Trixie starts thinking about ways she could get back into contact with Gray Muffin or Adanz and Wazza. Now that she’s out of Singsong she needs to do some catching up and she won’t be leaving Canterlot unless she gets some help.

“Whatcha thinkin’ ‘bout?” asks Minty.

“I just want this day to end,” replies Trixie grumpily.

“Well it’s almost over. We still have to meet your designated employer.”

Trixie glares at a couple of passing the Royal Guards. “Who is this guy anyway?”

Minty’s smile widens. “Oh, you’re going to love him! He’s one of the most influential ponies in Canterlot, treats everypony like an equal, isn’t snobby, isn’t-”

“Minty!”

“You’ll be working with Fancypants! Isn’t that great!”

Trixie stops and her eyes widen, and Minty stops walking and stares at her. That name sounds very familiar to Trixie, and her time as a traveling magician has kept her out of the loop of just about everything to do with life, except for magic show related stuff, but that was mostly so she can upstage her competition; and when things went downhill she only cared about survival. However, that name has always been at the back of her mind, occasionally rearing its head up when she had a great performance. But she can’t remember who he is for the life of her!

Minty sees Trixie struggling to remember something. “You okay there, Trixie?”

Suddenly, a very small memory comes to Trixie and she whispers: “‘I’m going to be famous one day’.”

“What?”

===

A teenage Trixie walked out of the day care center she’d been working at for the past few weeks with her new bag of bits. She hummed happily to herself, but her humming turned into a squeak as a strong gust of wind blew by and yanked off her pointy hat. She turns around to try to catch it, but the wind carried it around the corner, by the deli. Trixie ran after it and skidded to a halt when she saw her hat covered in a golden-yellow mist, floating in front of her face.

“I believe you dropped this, ma’am,” said a slender stallion wearing a dirty cap. He has a light azure mane and tail and eyes with a light gray coat and a trio of crowns as a cutie mark. He’s slender, probably in his early twenties, looked like he hasn’t had a decent meal or bath in a while, and he was wearing a sign around his neck that said: “WILL WORK FOR FOOD”.

Trixie stared at him as he gently lowered her hat on her head. She’s speechless for a second, but when her manners kick in she smiled and said: “Thank you very much.”

Then she handed him some bits from her bag.

He didn’t hesitate to put the bits in his hat.

“Anytime, ma’am. I’m just doing what any good citizen would do.”

Trixie laughs. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Oh ye of little faith. Repent and see the goodness of the world!”

He flailed his hooves around like the stereotypical crazed preacher and Trixie couldn’t help but laugh at his antics.

“Well, thank you for saving my hat and for the show.” Trixie said, then she gave him more bits, which he once again gladly accepted. “I didn’t catch your name, by the way.”

“Oh, my name is Fancypants.”

“Fancypants? No offense, but you don’t look like a... well, a fancypants.”

“Oh, but you see, wealth comes in more than just bits, Miss...”

“Trixie. Trixie Lulamoon.”

The two ponies shook hooves and Fancypants smiled at the amazing turn of events.

“A Lulamoon, eh? Well, Trixie, maybe we’ll run into each other again in the future when I’m famous.”

Trixie smirked. “You plan on being a celebrity?”

Fancypants nodded. “Yep, just you watch, I’m going to be famous one day. But first, I’m going to buy a much needed sub sandwich. Thanks for the bits, Trixie, and be sure to tell your mother that I love her music.”

Trixie smiled and nodded as Fancypants walked into the deli, whistling one of her mother’s tunes to himself.

===

Minty, waves her hoof in front of Trixie’s eyes, saying: “Hellooooo, Equus to Trixie.”

Trixie snaps out of her trance and stares at Minty while making a mental note to cool it with the flashbacks. Then she smiles at Minty and says: “I’m fine. Let’s go meet Fancypants.”