Major Problems

Chapters

Chapter 1: Of Returns and Randomness
Chapter 2: Friends and Enemies
Chapter 3: Admiring the Twilight
Chapter 4: Show Us All
Chapter 5: It's All In the Cards
Chapter 6: Sweet Dreams
Chapter 7: It's Just Begun
Chapter 8: Dropping In
Chapter 9: Out Of Control
Chapter 10: Magic Dance
Chapter 12: Drinking Pony Is Best Pony
Chapter 13: Scary Mothers and Nice Fillies
Chapter 14: Memories and Melodies
Chapter 15: Party Time
Chapter 16: Pines and Needles
Chapter 11: Where Everypony Knows Your Name
Chapter CENSORED: CENSORED Is CENSORED

Chapter 1: Of Returns and Randomness

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 1

Of Returns and Randomness

The lone unicorn with the blue coat and long, silky silver mane slowly plodded onward through the woods towards the small village. Why she was doing this, she really couldn't figure out. At least not the specifics anyway. She needed to apologize for her boasting the last time she had visited the village, and the trouble that said boasting had indirectly caused when two of her adoring fans had decided to show the truth in her words to everypony, even if there was no truth to be found behind that particular story. The specifics of exactly why she needed to do this still escaped her though. Perhaps it was to clear her reputation, though she didn't think herself to be that selfish. True, she had boasted about single-hoofedly defeating a monster that was later proven to be absolutely unbeatable by any one pony, but that had been part of the act. It was her job as a stage magician to make herself out to be more impressive than she actually was. A job that was considerably harder after that Celestia-damned Ursa Minor had destroyed her stage, and presumably her cloak and hat as well.

"Trixie wonders, if that was just an Ursa Minor, then what in Equestria does an adult Ursa Major look like? That purple unicorn seemed to know." she said aloud to herself. Suddenly, her face contorted to take on a look of sadness. The aforementioned purple unicorn had proven herself to be so much more powerful than Trixie, for that was the blue unicorn's name, could ever hope to be. The thought had crossed her mind more than once, that perhaps she should surrender the part of her title that declared her as Powerful to that mare and just be satisfied with calling herself "The Great Trixie". As Trixie reached the outskirts of the small village, Celestia's sun was casting its last rays of light at the very edge of the horizon, and Luna's moon was beginning to rise behind her, the first stars shining as bright points of light in the darkening sky. The colors were, in actuality, very beautiful. The pinks and purples the sky was filled with made Trixie wonder why more ponies didn't admire the twilight.

"Twilight! That was that mare's name! Trixie remembers because that little dragon kept saying it as he was trying to coax her into competing against the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Trixie declared as the memory flooded back to her, rearing up on her hind legs out of habit as she announced her title and name, then blushing slightly as she realized that she was not in the middle of one of her shows, and lowering herself back to all four hooves, looking frantically about to make sure nopony had witnessed her dramatic-but-embarrassing display.

Unfortunately for Trixie, there had been somepony watching. A pink earth pony with a curly darker pink mane suddenly popped her head out of a large pile of leaves just off the road and loudly asked, "Hey! Who're you talking to?", causing Trixie to let out a cry of alarm and leap away from this new pony in surprise, tripping over her right back hoof with her right front hoof as she did this, so that she landed unceremoniously on her side. Trixie tried to scramble to her hooves again in an attempt to recover the dignity that had been stolen from her with such an act.

"T-Trixie was talking to nopony." Trixie attempted to explain, blushing as she ran a hoof through her mane to make sure that it was still straight and that no leaves or branches or anything more horrid had embedded themselves in it during the fall. "Not that Trixie normally talks to herself, of course." she added sheepishly, hoping that the pink pony believed her. Trixie ran her back left hoof through her tail, performing the same check on it as she had done on her mane. The truth was, she often did talk to herself, at least while traveling from town to town, because she had nopony else to talk to.

"Who's this Trixie you're talking about? Is she nice? Can I meet her? Please? I just love meeting people, because meeting new people means that they're not from around here, because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville, and if they're not from around here, then they must not have any friends, and that makes me so super sad, but that also makes me so super happy, because if they don't have any friends, than that means that I can help them make some by throwing one of my super-duper awesome welcome parties for them, and I just love throwing parties!" the pink pony exclaimed hyper-actively and without stopping for breath as she hopped completely out of the pile of leaves, looking frantically about for any other ponies aside from the one in front of her. Now that she was out of the pile of leaves, Trixie could see that the mare’s cutie mark was three balloons, two of them were sky blue and one, which was positioned between the other two and a little higher, was bright yellow.

"Trixie was... ummm... referring to herself." Trixie said, backing slowly away from the overly-energetic pony, frightened that she might be some crazy pony that waited at the edge of town for victims to pass by so that she could pop out of random piles of leaves and attack.

"Ooooooooooh!" the pink pony exclaimed, her eyes growing wide with realization. "You use the third pony when you talk about yourself, don't you? Why do you do that? Is it a psychological disorder or what? Cause I've never met anypony else who did that, and I know a lot of ponies, like I said, I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville, even all the background ponies!" she said.

"Wha... huh? Background... ponies?" Trixie asked, thoroughly confused. Did that mean ponies that painted backdrops for plays or something? If so, why would this pink pony choose to mention that she even knew them? This newcomer was starting to give Trixie a headache. She really needed to find the inn of this village and lie down, quick.

"Ummm... never mind. Forget I mentioned them. Anyways, so your name is Trixie, huh? It's so super-awesome to meet you! I'm Pinkie Pie, by the way, party pony extraordinaire! Everypony in town knows that Pinkie throws the most super-awesomest parties ever, because it’s my super-special talent!” Pinkie said, beginning to bounce around Trixie.

"Yes... well... The Great and Powerful Trixie has found this meeting very... ummm... interesting, Miss Pinkie Pie, but she really must find the inn and prepare for tomorrow." Trixie said, backing further away from Pinkie. "Besides, Trixie's mother always told her to stay far away from crazy ponies." Trixie whispered under her breath.

"Oh, Trixie, you're such a silly filly! Firstly, you can just call me Pinkie, that's what all my friends call me, and I hope that we can be friends, too! And secondly, I'm not a crazy pony! I’m a chicken!" Pinkie said, letting out a loud squawk, then suddenly giggling. “No, wait! Sorry! Nightmare Night’s so totally over!”

Trixie’s headache grew as she tried desperately to keep pace with the hyperactive pink pony in the quite one-sided conversation and perhaps devise some reason why Pinkie would call herself a chicken, but still came up short. "Ugh... Trixie is getting a headache trying to keep up with you. Do you know where the inn is, Pinkie?" she asked, hoping that her direct question would get a direct answer from the hyperactive pony, though she highly doubted that her hopes would come true, given Pinkie's unique way of socializing.

"I'm so super-sorry, Trixie, but there's no inn in Ponyville! We're just a small little village, and almost nopony passes through here, because we're so close to the Everfree Forest. I’m also sorry if I’m making your head all hurty. But anyways, no inn here, Trixie, but I'll tell you what! You can stay at my place if you want! It'd be so super-duper fun spending the night with a new friend, and I'm pretty sure Mr. and Mrs. Cake wouldn't mind, unless they would mind...” Pinkie started.

“Pinkie, please! Trixie may be Great and Powerful, but she is not immune to headaches!” Trixie interrupted before Pinkie could continue her tirade. Trixie’s head was already throbbing in pain from trying to keep abreast of the conversation, and she could barely get out two sentences at a time before Pinkie was off and running her mouth again. Trixie frowned as she realized that Pinkie had just said that Ponyville didn’t have an inn, and her face fell further as she caught Pinkie’s solution to where Trixie was going to stay. Well, it wasn’t like she had another choice.

“Ummm... sorry, Trixie. I’ll try not to talk as much. But anyway, I'm pretty sure they wouldn't mind, and it can't hurt to ask, so let's go ask! Come on! Sugarcube Corner is this way! I should know, because it’s where I work, and also where I live!" Pinkie said, her hyper-activeness returning as she bounced toward Ponyville's central square.

Trixie found that she could only keep up with the bouncing pink pony by jogging alongside her, walking at a normal pace just wouldn't do, not with the speed Pinkie was bouncing at. She really didn't have any other option at this point, apparently this village was too small to afford to run an inn with how few visitors it received, and she didn't actually know anypony in this town aside from Pinkie, and the ponies she had sort of met during her previous visit, four of which she was certain would be horribly less than happy to see her, and two of which she had absolutely no interest in ever meeting again. She'd take Pinkie's headache-inducing hyperactivity and randomness over those idiotic foals any day. If they did run into her again, they'd probably go out looking for another beast for her to vanquish, knowing them, and who knew, maybe they'd actually succeed in bringing an Ursa Major back to town. Trixie was dragged from her thoughts by a loud gasp from Pinkie Pie. "What is it, Pinkie?" Trixie asked, wondering just what in Equestria could make this weird pony gasp. It had to be something that even rivaled Pinkie in weirdness.

"I just totally realized something! Remember when I told you that I'd never met somepony who talks like you before? Well, it turns out that I have met somepony who talks like you before! She had this big wooden stage that folded out from this cart thingie, and she was all, 'Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by ponykind!'" Pinkie exclaimed, standing up on her hind hooves and copying the dramatic pose Trixie had taken on the edge of town, small fireworks suddenly appearing next to Pinkie as she hummed a fanfare Trixie hadn't heard since the destruction of her caravan. “Wait... her name was Trixie, too?” Pinkie asked, her face contorted in confusion.

"Ummm... that was the same Great and Powerful Trixie that stands before you now.” Trixie quickly explained before Pinkie could start into her verbal onslaught again. “So you were at Trixie's show as well? The Great and Powerful Trixie admits that last show before her stage was destroyed was not one of her good days. Sadly, Trixie's boasting caused two foals to be inspired to bring an Ursa to town so she could vanquish it. Trixie guesses she was lucky they had only found an Ursa Minor, instead of an Ursa Major like Trixie had claimed she'd vanquished." Trixie said, a bit embarrassed.

"I was totally there, right up in the front row too, though I didn’t talk at all during it, which was like so super-hard to do, I mean, I’m having trouble just trying to tone it down so that you don’t get a headache! I bet it was easy for Fluttershy not to talk though, she doesn’t talk much around strangers anyway.” Pinkie said, and Trixie thanked the Princesses that Pinkie was actually listening to her and trying not to talk too much.

Trixie desperately tried not to think about why Pinkie and this Fluttershy, whoever she was, had not talked at her last show here, as all the previous times she had tried to make sense of the hyperactive mare's seemingly-random spurts like this, all she had got out of it was a worsening headache. "Where is this Sugarcube Corner you mentioned? Trixie desperately needs some sleep." Trixie said, yawning a bit as if to show how tired she was.

"It's right in front of you, silly filly!" Pinkie exclaimed, pointing to the building directly in front of them. "Like, duh, what other place would be shaped like a gigantic gingerbread house with an enormous cupcake on top? Come on, let's go ask Mr. and Mrs. Cake if you can stay the night!" she said excitedly, bouncing toward Sugarcube Corner. As she bounced through the door, it swung open and she somehow skidded to a stop mid-bounce before gravity suddenly took hold of the pink pony and her hooves hit the floor all at the same time. Trixie followed her inside, looking around at the interior of the place.

“Oh, good evening, Pinkie! Who’s your friend?” an older mare, whom Trixie presumed was Mrs. Cake, asked. Mrs Cake had a blue coat and a pink mane that almost rivaled Pinkie’s in curliness, which was a very hard task to complete, and surpassed Pinkie’s in pinkness, which, again, was saying something. Mrs. Cake’s mane and tail were twisty and pink with lighter pink stripes running through them like the stripes of a candy cane. She had three cupcakes for a cutie mark. Mrs. Cake was currently standing behind a small wooden counter, which had a glass display in the front of it, through which various desserts were visible. Trixie realized that, given how hyperactive Pinkie was, it was only common sense that she lived and worked in a shop that sold a large variety of sugary treats.

“Hey, Mrs. Cake! This is Trixie, my newest friend! She talks in the third pony, which is super-duper-awesome because I’ve never met anypony else who talked that way, have you?” Pinkie asked, bouncing over to land next to Mrs. Cake, who seemed to be relieved that this was one of Pinkie’s shorter outbursts. Trixie shared that particular sentiment, as her headache had finally started to calm down.

“No, I haven’t. Well, it’s nice to meet you, Trixie. My name is Mrs. Cake.” Mrs. Cake said, walking across the room and extending a hoof toward Trixie.

“Trixie is pleased to meet you as well, Mrs. Cake.” Trixie said, shaking the hoof offered to her politely.

“Oh! Mrs. Cake! Mrs. Cake! Can Trixie spend the night? Please? Because she just got into town and she doesn’t have anywhere else to stay, and it would make me so super-duper-sad if she had to sleep on one of the park benches, or even worse, on the ground!” Pinkie said, frowning as she imagined her new friend having to sleep outside somewhere.

“Of course she can, dear. I wouldn’t want anypony to be forced to sleep out in the cold, not if I can help it.” Mrs. Cake said as she walked over to the door and shut the bottom half, locking it in place with a latch, then shutting the two parts of the top half of the door and locking them in place with another latch. “Now, then, if you girls don’t mind, I’m going to go to bed. Good night, Pinkie, and good night to you, too, Trixie. It was a pleasure meeting you.” she said, walking over to the stairs that lead up to the second story.

“It was a pleasure meeting you as well, Mrs. Cake. Trixie hopes you sleep well.” Trixie said, smiling.

“You too, dear.” Mrs. Cake replied, disappearing up the stairs.

“Okay, so what do you want to do now, Trixie? I’m sure that our slumber party will be super-extra-special, so we can play a game or tell spooky stories or give each other makeovers or even do all three at the same time! Or we can...” Pinkie started, but was suddenly interrupted by a loud yawn from Trixie.

“Trixie is extremely sorry, Pinkie, but she is so tired, she doubts she could stay awake another minute. Perhaps getting some sleep is the best thing to do at the moment.” Trixie said, covering her mouth with her hoof as she yawned again. She sincerely hoped that, knowing that Trixie wished to go to bed, Pinkie would begin to wind down for the night. The pink mare seemed to have boundless amounts of energy, bouncing everywhere and talking at speeds of a mile a minute, sometimes not even stopping to catch her breath.

“Okay, come on, I’ll show you my room!” Pinkie said, bouncing up the stairs three at a time. Trixie followed slowly, not wanting to make Pinkie wait, but unable to ascend the stairs quickly due to how tired she was. “Come on, you silly filly! You can move faster than that!” Pinkie said from the top of the stairs.

Trixie glared up at Pinkie. “Sweet Celestia, this is going to be a long night.” she muttered under her breath as she continued up the stairs at the same pace, as if to say, “I’ll go as fast as I darn well please.”

Author’s Note: This is my first fanfic of FiM, and technically my first real fanfic of anything. This is kind of the result of breezing through Of Mares and Magic in a little more than a day, and getting really inspired to tell my own story. There’s no Twixie yet, sadly, but there will be, once the story gets rolling.

Sorry if my Pinkie gets a little out of hand sometimes, but I’ve toned her down as much as I could without changing the story completely, and made Trixie a little more forceful with her attempts to get Pinkie to calm down.

Chapter 2: Friends and Enemies

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 2

Friends and Enemies

Trixie awoke to a sunbeam shining directly on her face, and tried to roll over to get away from it so that she could open her eyes without going blind first thing in the morning. Sadly, Pinkie’s bed was not quite so large as to allow that, normally only having to accommodate for one pony, and Trixie rolled out of the bed, hitting the floor below with a loud thump and an impolite curse. As she got to her hooves, she followed the offending sunbeam back to its source, a heart-shaped hole in the top of a door leading out to a balcony. Trixie muttered some very impolite things directed towards Princess Celestia under her breath, then turned back around, finding a pink mare directly in front of her and stumbling back towards the door.

“Good morning, Trixie! Did you sleep well?” Pinkie asked in her hyperactive way, her head bouncing as she waited for Trixie’s answer.

“Gah! Pinkie, don’t do that! You nearly gave Trixie a Great and Powerful heart attack!” Trixie said, trying to catch her breath and slow down her pulse after the fright Pinkie had given her. It was then that Trixie noticed that there was something very wrong about Pinkie’s positioning. “Pinkie... how are you... do you realize... how is it that you are upside down?” Trixie asked.

“Suction shoes! See?” Pinkie said, taking one of her hooves off the ceiling she was hanging from via the aforementioned shoes, and allowing Trixie to get a closer look at the shoe. It was strapped around her hoof and the bottom of the shoe had a large suction cup affixed to it.

“Um... Pinkie? Why are you hanging upside down from the ceiling with suction shoes?” Trixie asked, even though she knew she was going to regret it.

“Because it’s fun!” Pinkie exclaimed, emphasizing the last word with a broad smile. She then bounced free of the ceiling, the suction cups disengaging with a loud popping sound, and twisted in midair to land on her hooves, the suction cups sticking to the floor. Pinkie bent down and unstrapped the suction shoes on her front hooves using her mouth, then unstrapped the ones on her back hooves using her now free front hooves. She left the suction shoes where they were and bounced over to the door behind Trixie. "Wow! It's such a beautiful morning! I bet Dashie was up early, clearing the skies." Pinkie said, poking her head out of the heart-shaped hole in the door. "Nope, guess not. She's still sleeping." Pinkie said, spotting the cyan pegasus with rainbow-colored mane and tail asleep on a low cloud. Pinkie tried to take her head out of the heart-shaped hole, but whimpered loudly when she found that it was stuck, part of her curly mane caught on the pointy part of the top of the heart. Trixie couldn't help but sigh to herself.

"Hold still, Pinkie. Trixie will help." Trixie said, grabbing the caught part of Pinkie's mane with her magic and gently pulling it free of the wood it was caught on. "Don't worry, Trixie will have you out soon." she said as her telekinesis enveloped Pinkie's head, turning it gently sideways and pushing Pinkie's head free of the door.

"Oh, wow! Thanks so much, Trixie! I thought I was going to be stuck in my own door for weeks, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy would try to bring me honey to eat, but Mr. and Mrs. Cake would put a sign outside that says 'Don't feed the pony!', which would make me so super-sad because I love honey, because it's so sweet, and Dashie would try to get Twilight to get me free, but she'd be so busy working on plans to excavate that she wouldn't help me at all!" Pinkie said, bouncing around the room now that she was free of the door.

Trixie could almost feel her headache threatening to return. "You're quite welcome, Pinkie. Trixie thinks she remembers that story... about a stuffed bear that belonged to a little colt?" Trixie asked, trying desperately to remember the name of the story.

"Yep! Whinny the Pooh! Granny Pie used to read that story to me all the time!" Pinkie said, still bouncing around in celebration of being free of the heart-shaped hole in her door.

"Please, Pinkie, calm down. Your bouncing is making Trixie's headache return." Trixie said, idly rubbing her forehead just under her horn with a hoof. "On another note, as much as the Great and Powerful Trixie would love to deal with your shenanigans all day, she really must apologize to the town for what happened the last time she was here." Trixie said, though she still wasn't entirely sure why she felt she needed to apologize. She only hoped Pinkie didn't ask about that.

"How come?" Pinkie asked, and Trixie let out a sigh as Pinkie asked exactly the question she didn't want to answer. "I mean, it's not like you personally brought that Ursa into the town, it was Snips and Snails that did that." Pinkie said, putting a hoof to her chin in thought.

"Well, it was Trixie's boasting that inspired them to bring the Ursa to town, so at least some of the blame for what happened that night rests on her. Not all of it, but enough to make Trixie feel she must make her own apology." Trixie said.

"Yeah, but... how come? I mean, you're an awesome pony, Trixie, but judging from the show you put on the last time you were here, you don't seem like the type to apologize. No offense." Pinkie added, smiling.

"None taken, Pinkie. That was Trixie's stage persona. It is the Great and Powerful Trixie's job as a stage magician to make herself seem more Great and Powerful than she already is. Offstage, Trixie is not too proud to admit she made a mistake." Trixie said. "Trixie guesses that the reason she needs to apologize is to make things right. Trixie had a hand in the troubles that befell this town that night, and wishes to make up for it." Trixie stated.

Trixie stood in the center of the square, directly in front of the fountain, with a crowd of ponies in front of her. She could hear some of their murmurs of disapproval, those who recognized her from her last visit, even without her trademark hat and cloak. Trixie cleared her throat, casting an audio illusion spell so that it sounded loud enough to be heard above the crowd, and the noise slowly died down. "The Great and Powerful Trixie guesses that you are all wondering why her new friend Pinkie has gathered all of you here. Some of you may remember Trixie from her visit to this village a few months ago." Trixie said, and the murmurs returned in full force. Trixie cleared her throat again, and they died down once more. "Allow Trixie to begin by saying... she is sorry." This time, the noises that swept through the crowd were those of confusion. "Trixie realizes that she had a hoof in what happened on the night of her last visit here. Had Trixie not boasted about defeating an Ursa Major, those two colts would have never been inspired to go find one, and bring the Ursa Minor that caused so much destruction to this village. So yes, Trixie is sorry. It is true that it is part of Trixie's job to make herself seem more Great and Powerful than she is already, but boasting about single-hoofedly defeating a creature that is too much for any one pony to defeat was a bad decision on Trixie's part, and she apologizes for making such a claim." Trixie finished, scanning the faces of the gathered crowd.

Many of the faces seemed ready to forgive, but there were four in particular that stood out to Trixie, three of which were the ponies who had tried to best her during her magic show, and the other the purple unicorn who had saved the town from the Ursa Minor after Trixie's magic failed to do so. The cyan pegasus with the rainbow mane and tail looked as if it was taking all of her will to not fly up to the front of the crowd and buck Trixie in the teeth. The orange earth pony with the cowpony hat next to the pegasus seemed to have the same expression, but a little more restrained. The white unicorn with the purple, wavy mane and tail seemed to wear a snooty expression, as if she felt she was above having to listen to Trixie's apology. And last, the purple unicorn with the striped purple and pink mane; whose name, Trixie remembered, was Twilight; seemed to be confused on whether to take Trixie's apology at face value, or hold a grudge, as her friends so clearly did. Next to Twilight was a yellow pegasus with a pink mane and tail, half of her mane almost covering one of her eyes. This pony looked as willing to forgive Trixie as most of the crowd did.

The cyan pegasus was the first to speak her mind. "Oh, so you think that you can just waltz right into town, and all will be forgiven and forgotten? Nice try, Trixie, but I ain't fallin' for it." the rainbow-maned pony said.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie remembers you. You were the first of the neighsayers to boo Trixie at her last performance here. Though the Great and Powerful Trixie forgets your name at the moment. Oh, wait. Trixie thinks she might remember it now. Was it... Loser?" Trixie asked, an arrogant smirk forming on her face as she eyed the pegasus.

"The name's Rainbow Dash, and you're lucky I don't put you in your place after the trouble you caused when you brought that monster into town. I was there that night. I remember the destruction you caused." the pegasus said.

"Were you truly there?" Trixie said, glaring at Rainbow Dash now. "Because if you were, you might remember that it was not the Great and Powerful Trixie who brought that Ursa Minor into town. It was two young colts from this very village. True, Trixie's boasting might have inspired them to go find an Ursa, but it's not as if Trixie commanded them to do that. It's not as if Trixie herself held their hooves every step of the way, egging them on. They brought the Ursa Minor here, not Trixie, and they did so of their own will, not Trixie's." Trixie finished with a wide smirk, and Dash gritted her teeth. Suddenly, she rose above the crowd with a flap of her wings, and looked ready to dart toward Trixie, who quickly readied an illusionary shield spell in her mind, which would make the air around her seem as solid as the cobblestone below her, should the pegasus want to trade blows.

However, Trixie's spell was not needed, as the orange cowpony with the blonde mane and tail grabbed the end of Dash's rainbow-colored tail in her mouth. "Woah there, Dash." she said as the pegasus found the futility in trying to escape the cowpony's grip, and settled back to the ground beside the orange mare. "Now listen here, Trixie. Snips and Snails already done apologized for bringing the Ursa into town, and they helped clean up the destruction as punishment. Mah question to y'all is, what're y'all fixin' to do to make up for it?" the cowpony asked.

"Trixie is willing to accept any punishment the town feels is required of her, within reason, of course. The Great and Powerful Trixie admits that it is partly her fault that the Ursa was brought to town, but refuses to have the full blame of the attack forced on her, little hayseed." Trixie said, remembering the name that had convinced the orange cowpony to try and compete with Trixie.

"Mah name's Applejack, and ah never said that all a' tha blame was y'all's. But Snips and Snails're just foals, they didn' know any better."

"They were old enough to make their own choices, therefore, they were old enough to know that it's dangerous to go chasing after monsters simply because somepony claims to have beaten one. Trixie will not take the blame for their negligent actions, she will only take the blame for her own." Trixie said.

The white unicorn with the purple mane and tail finally spoke up. "Now, Applejack, I refuse to believe that you cannot see what's going on here. She is obviously attempting to goad you into opposing her, just as she was the day of the Ursa Minor attack. Personally, my dear Trixie, I refuse to fall for your scam. You may be able to lure the others into arguing with you, but I am above such nonsense." she said.

"Oh, what's the matter? Afraid of a little challenge? Perhaps I should turn your hair green again, you stuck-up old hag." Trixie said, smirking again as the white unicorn made a face that looked as if she'd just been bucked in the gut.

"Old hag? Listen here, you horrid witch, Rarity is the epitome of youth and beauty, and if you call me an old hag again, I will personally end you!" the white mare said.

"Oh, dear, I seem to have gotten under your skin. Oh, I humbly apologize for saying such an awful thing..." Trixie started, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "...old hag." she added after pausing just long enough for the insult to really sting.

"Oh, it... is... on!" Rarity exclaimed, baring her teeth and snorting steam through her nostrils.

Suddenly, the yellow pegasus with the pink mane and tail flew in front of her, shouting, "WAIT!", stopping Rarity in her tracks. "Now, girls, I know that you are all angry about some of the things Trixie has said, but to be completely honest, you brought those insults upon yourselves. You were the ones who engaged Trixie with hostility. She was only defending herself from that hostility in likely the only way she knows how: more hostility. How would you girls like it if, when you were only trying to apologize for a mistake that you made, somepony decided to take that time to say that your apology wasn't sincere, or to say that they thought you deserved a worse punishment than you actually did, or to say that you were only trying to start an argument?" the yellow pegasus said, looking first at Rainbow Dash, then at Applejack, then lastly at Rarity. "Now, then, I think that you girls owe Trixie an apology now, for saying such horrible things." she continued. "....Ummm... if you want to, that is..." the yellow pegasus finished, so quietly that Trixie could barely hear her. With that, the other three mares looked at each other, realization on their faces, and then began to murmur apologies all at once.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie accepts your apologies." Trixie said, waving a hoof towards the group. Suddenly, the yellow pegasus took to the air, floating in front of Trixie.

"Aaaaannnnndddd?" she asked, looking at Trixie with big, bluish-green eyes, coaxing Trixie to say something else.

"Ummmm... and Trixie apologizes for the horrid things she said about you three." Trixie said, looking down at her front hooves. Her voice would have barely been audible to the ponies at the front of the crowd had her spell not still been in effect. The yellow pegasus, satisfied with Trixie's apology, floated back over to her friends.

"Thank you, Fluttershy." Twilight said, finally speaking as the pegasus landed next to her. Trixie's gaze was drawn to her immediately as she wondered whether Twilight would accept Trixie's apology or not.

Author's Note: Welcome to cliffhanger town, population: all of you! :P

But anyway, Applejack's accent is really hard to write, especially for me, because I tend to be quite obsessive over proper spelling and grammar, and Applejack pays absolutely no attention to such things.

I really couldn't find anyone else to proofread this for me in time, I gave it quite a few looks over to make sure it was all right, but I wrote it, so I'm kind of biased in that regard. If you guys have any problems with it, please tell me, and I'll fix them if I can, and if I can't, I'll keep them in mind for the next chapter.

EDIT: Ohmygosh! I so totally called Pinkie with suction shoes! Something I wrote is actually canon! XD

Chapter 3: Admiring the Twilight

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 3

Admiring the Twilight

Trixie's thoughts raced as she awaited Twilight's decision about her apology. Here was the mare whose opinion mattered most to her, and why not? Twilight had proven herself to be powerful during the Ursa attack. True, her power was raw, unaccompanied by much experience or determination, but power was still power, and Twilight wielded it responsibly, at least, from what Trixie had seen. And power was something that Trixie greatly admired.

As Twilight spoke again, Trixie's ears unconsciously focused on her voice. "Now, Trixie, I understand that my friends insulted you first, but when you say such mean things, you're not giving us much evidence that your apology is sincere and that you've learned your lesson about boasting." Twilight said, and Trixie's ears flattened against her head "However..." Twilight started again, "This is not a trial, it's you asking to be forgiven, and I think that you truly mean your apology, so I forgive you, Trixie."

Trixie's eyes went wide with shock as most of the crowd nodded their heads and muttered in agreement. After a few seconds of reluctance, Twilight's three neighsaying friends slowly nodded as well. "T-Trixie thanks you all for accepting her apology, and to show that she has indeed learned her lesson, she will stay in this ba... ermmmm... this beautiful village, and help out in any way she can. That is, if there is room for Trixie." Trixie said, barely catching herself before she called Ponyville a backwater town.

A tan earth pony with a gray mane and tail who wore reading glasses and a white collar with a sort of green cravat stepped forward. "Of course there's room for you, Trixie. As Mayor of Ponyville, it is my honor to officially welcome you to our little village." the mare said.

"Trixie thanks you, Mayor, for your warm welcome, and hopes that she can be of service to the town." Trixie said,

"Oh, absolutely, Trixie. Ponyville is in dire need of some magical entertainment. Now if you'll just follow me to Town Hall, we'll get you set up with a home." the Mayor said.

Trixie stood outside her new home, which apparently belonged to a unicorn couple before they recently moved to Canterlot. Suddenly, she noticed a plain brown package with no return address on it sitting on the doorstep. The package was stamped with a series of seven seemingly randomly-placed circles. But perhaps the strangest part of the package was the fact that it was addressed to her, and the address matched that of her new home.

Trixie picked the package up with her telekinesis, and inspected it closer. It seemed like your regular run-of-the-mill brown box, taped shut with clear packing tape, and with an address label on the top and the aforementioned seven circle pattern stamped next to the label. Trixie scrunched her eyes up in concentration and shook the box up and down slightly using her magic. All that could be heard from inside was the rustling of cloth. Trixie put the box on her back and opened the door to her new home with her magic, trotting inside and closing the door behind her.

The Mayor had said that she would provide basic necessities for Trixie's home until Trixie earned enough bits to pay for her own items, which was good, because everything she had was destroyed when the Ursa Minor had wrecked her stage, and without her cloak and hat, she just didn't make enough of an impression on towns she'd never visited to make more than a few dozen bits, just enough to get enough food and drink to last her until the next town. Trixie trotted into her kitchen, and after a while of searching through drawers and finding nothing more than spatulas and silverware, she finally noticed the knife block sitting on the counter, with multiple knife handles poking out of it. Trixie scolded herself for not finding it sooner and took the smallest knife in her telekinesis, walking into the dining room and shifting the box from her back to the table. She began carefully cutting the tape holding the box closed, and soon enough, she had the box open. Resting on some very familiar purple fabric was a letter, and Trixie seized it immediately in her telekinesis, hoping to unravel the mystery of who the sender of this package was.

Dear Great and Powerful Trixie,

I am sorry for not returning these to you during the apology you gave today, but I didn't think to bring them, because I didn't know what to expect. I hope that you find them useful in your new job as Ponyville's magical entertainer.

Sincerely,

A fan.

Trixie frowned as the letter failed to reveal the mystery of the sender. The only two fans of hers that she could think of were those two little colts... what were their names? Scissors and Slugs? Trixie didn't think that was quite right, but what did it matter? The point was, they had been absent from her apology today. She had made sure of it, by begging and pleading with Pinkie not to invite them. She didn't want anything more to do with those two, lest she accidentally inspire them to bring some other unspeakable horror to town. So, with them absent from the speech, the question remained of just who was this fan who sent the package in front of her. Perhaps the answer was deducible once she had checked what else was inside?

Trixie floated the contents of the package slowly out. The weight of it felt very familiar, as if she had once lifted these objects every day. Once they were over the top of the box, she could see that they were in fact made of purple cloth, which had a horribly familiar star pattern on it. Wait... these weren't...

Trixie's magic faltered and the items fell back into the box as realization hit Trixie with full force. She concentrated and lifted them free of the box, floating the items in front of her. She had been certain that they had been destroyed along with her stage, but here they were in front of her, fully intact. Trixie smiled broader than she had for months as she put on her cloak and hat for the first time in what felt like forever. Somehow, she felt more complete now, more herself, more Great and Powerful as she fastened the blue gemstone-shaped clasp on her cloak. She ran her magic over the collar to make sure it was straight, and inhaled deeply before standing on her hind hooves and declaring loudly, "Now the Great and Powerful Trixie has truly made her return!" Trixie slowly lowered herself back to all fours, a frown spreading across her face. She still didn't have her stage, or her trademark fireworks. All she had was her outfit, and whatever she had left tucked inside it that night. She began to search the various pockets of her cloak, and came up with a bouquet of flowers, which had long since withered, and a deck of cards.

Trixie's frown slowly disappeared again, replaced by the same broad smile. She didn't need her stage for card tricks. In fact, it only got in the way with most of them, as it required one of two things. Either Trixie would have to let somepony else climb up on her stage, which was something she hated every time she was forced to do that, as the stage put her literally above everypony else, and to have somepony she didn't even know be at the same level as her was almost unbearable; or she would have to lower herself to the level of the audience, which, again, was something she hated to do. But she would do the latter for an entire show if it meant that she could get enough bits to pay for a new stage. Maybe she could find one with a fireworks display as impressive as her old one.

Trixie took the cards out of their package with her magic, and began shuffling them idly as she thought Perhaps she should do that trick, the first one her mother had taught her. Trixie flourished the cards through the air in front of her with her magic, and caught them on the other side, and flourished them back to the side where they began. The trick she was thinking of was a simple one, but it was effective, even if the audience caught on to how it was done. She practiced it a few times, floating random cards out of the deck with their backs facing her, and correctly identifying which cards they were. It had been forever since she'd used this deck, but she still remembered how to use it.

As Trixie lay on the grass outside her home, she watched the last part of Celestia's sun set behind the Everfree Forest. The slowly-darkening sky was filled with purples and pinks once more. It was amazing how much she'd accomplished in just twenty-four hours. She had made a new friend in Pinkie Pie, apologized to the entire town, found a home and a job in Ponyville, and even got her cloak and hat back. Sadly, she still had no clue who had returned her cloak and hat to her. Once again, she let her mind wander as she gazed west at the twilight. In fact, Trixie let it wander so much that she didn't notice when a certain yellow pegasus with pink hair and a cutie mark of three butterflies landed next to her.

"Umm... Trixie... I hope I'm not interrupting anything." the pegasus said, finally speaking up after almost a minute of silence. Trixie was torn from her thoughts almost violently, even though the yellow mare had been trying to avoid that. "Oh... dear... it seems I am... I'll just... go... that is, if you want." she said.

"No... you don't need to go. Trixie is sorry, she was just lost in her thoughts. Trixie doesn't think she's met you, at least not properly. She is the Great and Powerful Trixie, but most just call her Trixie." Trixie said.

"Oh, I'm... ummm... Fluttershy." the pegasus said, so quiet that Trixie barely caught the tail end of what she said.

"There is no need to be shy around Trixie. She will not hurt you, she promises." Trixie said, misunderstanding the quiet pegasus.

"No... I said... I'm Fluttershy." Fluttershy said, a little louder this time, so that Trixie could actually hear her.

"Oh, Trixie sees. Well, it is nice to meet you, Fluttershy. Did you need something from Trixie?" Trixie asked.

"Oh. I... ummm... wanted to thank you for apologizing for what you said to my friends earlier. You didn't have to listen to me, but you did." Fluttershy said.

"You're welcome. Trixie is sorry for causing such a scene, her stage persona sort of took over when she was confronted by Dash." Trixie said, looking away in embarrassment. Fluttershy fell silent, so Trixie changed the subject. "Would you like to see the trick Trixie has prepared for tomorrow's show?" she asked, pulling out her deck of cards with her magic.

"Oh, yes, that would be wonderful!" Fluttershy said, watching Trixie intently.

"Sadly, this deck of cards is the only prop Trixie has left, so her trick selection is limited to card tricks and her unicorn magic." Trixie said as she flourished the cards from side to side in front of her again. Fluttershy's eyes went wide over just how much control Trixie's telekinesis had so that each card landed perfectly in line with the others. Trixie flipped half of the deck away from the rest, spinning it around so that Fluttershy could see the bottom card of the cut, then flipping half of this cut away as well, so she now had three parts of the deck, one that held half of the deck, and two that each held a quarter. She took the quarter holding the bottom card that Fluttershy had seen, and flipped it over twice so that it landed face down on the other quarter of the deck. She then took the bottom half of the deck and flipped it in the same way so that it landed on the top of the other half. All this was just a little show leading up to the main trick. She spread the cards out with her magic, and finally spoke. "The Great and Powerful Trixie requests that you pick a card." she said, pointing to the spread with her glowing horn. Fluttershy placed her hoof on one of the cards, and it floated out in front of her, face towards her and away from Trixie. "Please tell Trixie when you have memorized your card." Trixie said.

""Okay. I've memorized it." Fluttershy said, and Trixie floated the card back into the spread. She collected the cards with her magic, did another spring flourish, using her magic to float Fluttershy's card out of the rest of the deck for a second before sliding it back in and letting it fall with the other cards, where her magic caught the deck. She then cut the deck and shuffled it with her magic, forming a bridge to make the cards fall neatly into place again. Then she shuffled the deck a few more times, and did another cut into halves and quarters like she had done before. Trixie did another flourish back to her right side, and floated a single card out with her magic.

"Is this your card?" she asked, holding out the seven of spades to face Fluttershy.

"Yes, it is!" Fluttershy exclaimed, astonished that Trixie had picked her card out of the deck. "That's quite a trick, Trixie." she said.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for being so attentive and enthusiastic, Fluttershy. Can you keep a secret?" Trixie asked.

"Well... I've had bad experiences with secrets, but as long as it has nothing to do with Twilight and the others, I guess I can." Fluttershy said.

"Well... Trixie doesn't really know why she's telling you this, since we've just met, but she feels like she has to tell somepony. The thing is... Trixie is... well... scared. Her cloak and hat were returned to her, but it has been a long time since she has put on a successful magic show. All of the shows since Trixie lost her stage only earned her enough bits to buy food enough to last her until the next town." Trixie admitted.

"Oh, dear. That must have been hard to admit for you. I know how that feels. After your last show here, there was a dragon that had fallen asleep in a cave on a nearby mountain, and his smoke was covering up a lot of the sky, so Princess Celestia asked Twilight to convince it to sleep somewhere else." Fluttershy said, before Trixie interrupted her.

"Wait... why would the Princess ask Twilight to take care of it?" Trixie asked.

"Oh, she's the Princess' most faithful student." Fluttershy stated matter-of-factually. Trixie's mind tripped over Fluttershy's words. Twilight... was the Princess' student? Not just that, but she was considered her most faithful one? Trixie looked at Fluttershy in confusion. "Anyway, Twilight chose me to help her because she knew I was good with animals. What she didn't know was that I am afraid of dragons. Not little baby ones like Spike, but full-grown dragons scare the hay out of me. But I was too afraid to tell my friends until we had reached the cave. So my friends tried to convince the dragon to leave without me, but he got really mad at them and it ended with all of them getting hurt. That's when I realized that I had to overcome my fears and teach Mr. Dragon a lesson. I'm usually a nice mare, but there was just something about seeing my friends hurt that made me... well... not very nice at all. I actually made him cry just by what I said." Fluttershy said. Trixie was amazed that this shy mare had actually lectured a dragon, and even made it cry. "The point is, sometimes, you've got to face your fears and do what you need to. It worked against a dragon that could have swallowed me in one gulp if he wanted to. I think it'll work for your magic show, too." Fluttershy finished.

"Thank you, Fluttershy. Trixie feels a lot better now. It's getting late, though, and Trixie needs her sleep, in order to be at her best for tomorrow's magic show." Trixie said.

"All right, Trixie. Remember, if you ever need to talk again, I'm always willing to listen. Have a good night." Fluttershy said

"Good night, Fluttershy." Trixie said as the pegasus flew slowly back to her cottage. Trixie went back inside her house and started preparing for bed, taking her cloak off and folding it neatly, then placing it on the chair next to a small desk in her room, then placing her hat on top of it.

Author's Note: Sorry this chapter took so long, I kind of got stuck on where to go with it in the middle of it, until I got the idea to bring Fluttershy into it so that Trixie wasn't left alone with her thoughts for too long. As for why Trixie was scared, since losing her stage, she hasn't been making nearly one-tenth of the bits she's used to making with her shows, and she was scared that even with her cloak and hat, without a stage, she would still be coming up short, and wouldn't make anywhere near enough bits to buy a new stage.

Chapter 4: Show Us All

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 4

Show Us All

Trixie stood in front of the same fountain that she had made her apology in front of the day before. She grinned as she stood up on her hind legs, and used her audio illusion spell to enhance her voice once again so that she could be heard above the crowd that had gathered for her show. "Fillies and gentlecolts!" she exclaimed. "Come and witness the Great and Powerful Trixie's return to Ponyville! The Ursa Minor may have destroyed her stage, but Trixie has no need for such flashiness. She is still Great and Powerful, even with only a simple deck of cards in her possession." Trixie said, floating her deck of cards out in front of her. "If Trixie could have a volunteer from the audience to inspect Trixie's deck, to make sure that it is not marked irregularly." she said, looking over the crowd. There was Twilight and her friends right near the front. Trixie gave another glance across the crowd, then said, "No volunteers? Well then, Trixie guesses that she'll have to pick somepony. How about you? Would you please come up and inspect Trixie's deck?" she asked, pointing her horn directly at Rarity. Most of the town had seen their fight the previous day, so she knew that there would be no doubt that Rarity was just a member of the audience, and not a planted friend, like so many hack magicians were forced to use.

"Moi?" Rarity asked, slightly confused as to why Trixie had picked her. "Well, I suppose." she said, stepping to the front of the crowd, where Trixie spread her deck out, parallel to the ground. Rarity looked closely at the backs of the cards, inspecting them for markings or holes which might give away the card's identity, but she saw nothing of the sort. "It is an ordinary deck of cards. No markings of any sort on the backs." Rarity said.

"Thank you. Now would you please take the cards in your telekinesis and shuffle them well?" Trixie asked, flourishing the cards into a pile and floating the deck toward Rarity. Rarity took the cards and shuffled them three times, then floated the deck back to Trixie. "Thank you very much, Ms. Rarity. Would you like to be the first to help Trixie in her show?" Trixie asked.

"Just as long as you do not turn my hair green again, I don't see why not." Rarity said, looking at Trixie coldly in warning of what would happen if Trixie did try turning her hair green again, but then smiling gently to show that otherwise, she was willing to help.

"Trixie promises she will do no such thing. At least, not in this show." Trixie joked, a friendly smile on her face as she flourished the cards back and forth in front of her.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Rarity said sarcastically. "I'm serious here, Trixie, my mane is off limits."

"Yes, Trixie crosses her heart and hopes to fly, stick a cupcake in her eye." Trixie said, reciting the Pinkie Pie swear she had heard the pink mare recite while rounding up ponies for Trixie's apology the day before. Trixie pushed the deck of cards into a high arc with her telekinesis, so that they sailed high over her hat, and she caught them with her telekinesis on the opposite side of her from where they had started. Rarity seemed to be satisfied with her oath, so Trixie once again spread the cards out in front of her. "Please pick any card you'd like, Ms. Rarity." Trixie said, once again pointing to the spread with her horn. Rarity wrapped her telekinesis around a single card and floated it out from the rest. "The Great and Powerful Trixie asks that you memorize your card, then put it back in the deck anywhere you please." Trixie said. Rarity committed her card to memory, then slipped it back into the deck in a random spot. Trixie gathered the spread into a pile, and flourished the deck in an arc above her hat once more, catching it with her magic before cutting the deck into halves, then quarters. spinning the cards around with her magic before piecing the cut deck together in opposite order. Trixie shuffled thrice, then flourished the cards in front of her, floating a single card out to face Rarity as she did so. "Is this your card?" she asked

"Why, yes, it is!" Rarity said, genuinely surprised that Trixie had found her card. At this, the audience stamped their hooves on the ground in applause. "How did you do that?" Rarity asked, curious.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie does not reveal her secrets." Trixie answered, bowing toward the crowd. "Trixie thanks you for your assistance, Ms. Rarity." she said, bowing toward Rarity this time.

"And thank you, Trixie, for leaving my mane out of it this time." Rarity joked, smiling, and Trixie smiled back. Rarity went back to stand by her friends.

"Now then, for her next trick, Trixie will need three volunteers this time." Trixie said, and hooves raised in the audience. Trixie spotted three little fillies near Twilight and her friends, each with their hooves raised. "How about you three fillies?" Trixie said, pointing at them with her horn. One was a yellow earth pony with a pink bow tied in her bright red mane Another was a white unicorn with purple and pink streaks in her curly mane and tail, and the third was an orange pegasus with a spiky purple mane and tail. The three fillies stepped forward to the front of the crowd. Trixie noticed that neither of them had a cutie mark yet. "Now then, please tell Trixie your names."

"I'm Apple Bloom!" the earth pony said, smiling widely.

"I'm Sweetie Belle!" the unicorn said in a somewhat squeaky voice.

"And I'm Scootaloo!" the pegasus said, smirking. "And we are..." she added

"The Cutie Mark Crusaders! YAY!" all three shouted, startling Trixie so much that she lost control of her magic and almost dropped her deck of cards, barely catching them again before they hit the ground. The audience laughed, and Trixie snickered under her breath.

"Yes... well..." Trixie said, trying to regain her composure while she flourished the cards back and forth in front of her again. She shuffled them thrice, then floated them out in a spread in front of the three fillies. "The Great and Powerful Trixie requires your help for this next trick. Could each of you please pick a card?" she asked. Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all pointed their hooves at the same card.

"Hey, that's the card I'm choosing! You can't choose the same card as me!" Apple Bloom said, glaring at Sweetie Belle.

"Girls..." Trixie tried to interrupt, but was barely audible over the Cutie Mark Crusaders' fighting.

"Yeah? Well, I can choose any card I want, and I want this one! You two need to choose another one!" Sweetie Belle said,

"Girls." Trixie said, a little bit louder, but the three fillies continued to fight.

"Oh, yeah? Well, I saw this card first, so it's mine! You choose another one!" Scootaloo said.

"Girls!" Trixie said, barely keeping her composure.

"We all saw them at the same time!" Apple Bloom argued.

"GIRLS!" Trixie shouted, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders fell silent immediately. "Trixie has fifty-two cards here, more than enough to allow three fillies to each choose one." Trixie said, regaining her calm demeanor.

"Sorry, Trixie." the three fillies said in unison, each placing their hoof on a different card. Trixie floated the three cards out to face the Crusaders.

"Please tell Trixie when you've memorized your cards." Trixie said, Once the fillies had confirmed that they had memorized the cards, Trixie floated them back into the spread, each in different places. "Now then, Trixie needs your help, because doing this with three cards is a bit trickier than doing it with only one. Trixie needs each of you to concentrate on your card. Try to picture it in your mind." Trixie said, shuffling the deck three times again.

She shuffled it once more just to be thorough, and then flourished the deck in a high arc above her, drawing an "Ooooooooh!" from the three fillies that had never seen somepony do that before Trixie. Trixie flourished the deck back the way it came, then cut it in halves, then quarters, then even further into eighths. Trixie spun the eight cuts of the deck around with her magic, then did a sort of shell game shuffle with the cards, mixing them around and over each other, sometimes dropping one or two cards from one cut of the deck to another with a full spin of the falling cards, so that they always landed face down. After a bit of this, Trixie gathered the cut deck up in a random order. She shot the cards from one side to the other in front of her with a spring flourish, then shot them back to the other side with another. She then performed another arcing flourish above her hat, pulling three cards out of the deck with her magic and guiding them down to rest on the brim of her hat, face down.

Trixie floated the first card out towards Apple Bloom, face toward the filly. "The Great and Powerful Trixie believes that this is your card, Apple Bloom." she said

"How'd ya guess mah card?" Apple Bloom asked, looking at the nine of clubs in front of her, to which Trixie smirked.

"As Trixie said before, she never reveals her secrets." Trixie said, before floating the second card towards Sweetie Belle, face toward the white unicorn filly. "This is your card, Sweetie Belle, if Trixie is not mistaken."

"Yeah, it is! Good guess!" Sweetie Belle said, gazing at the two of hearts in front of her.

Trixie's smirk grew wider. "Trixie did not have to guess, she knew." She floated the last card out to Scootaloo, again face toward the filly and the rest of the crowds. "Trixie believes that would make this card yours, Scootaloo." she said.

"Wow! Awesome! It is!" Scootaloo exclaimed as she watched the ace of spades float in front of her.

"The Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you for your assistance with her show, Cutie Mark Crusaders." Trixie said, smiling down at the three fillies.

"Are you kidding me? That's the same trick as the last one, except you did it with three cards instead of one!" a pink earth pony filly with a striped lavender and white mane and tail and a crown for a cutie mark exclaimed.

"Oh, it seems that the Great and Powerful Trixie has a neighsayer in her audience once again! Perhaps you would like to volunteer to assist Trixie with her next trick?" Trixie asked, looking at the filly as the Cutie Mark Crusaders took their places in the crowd again. Trixie's eyes dared the pink filly to accept her offer as she floated the deck of cards back into the pocket of her cape. The filly only glared back at first.

"Why not? It's not like I won't be able to see right through your lame tricks up close." the filly said, causing Trixie to bare her teeth before she regained her composure and just smiled at the filly. So she thought Trixie's tricks were lame, did she? Well, Trixie would have to show her just what she could do.

"Before we get started, can Trixie ask your name? Trixie likes to know the names of all her victi... she means... assistants." Trixie said, smiling. The crowd laughed at Trixie's joke. The filly only let out a fake laugh, a slight bit of fear in her eyes.

"My name is Diamond Tiara." the filly said, turning her nose up and pointing a hoof towards the tiara which sat atop her mane. It looked silver, with a jewel at the top of each of its five points, but the metal was almost wire-thin, and the jewels were small and circular, and it was probably a lot cheaper than it looked at first glance.

"Trixie wonders whether your daddy bought that for you." Trixie said, which drew some snickers from the crowd, some of which specifically included the Cutie Mark Crusaders and Twilight's group of friends.

"So what if he did?" Diamond Tiara asked, which drew more laughter from the crowd.

"So let me get this straight... your special talent is... wearing that?" Trixie asked, barely able to cover up her own laughter behind a hoof. Diamond Tiara blanched.

"Just get to your trick already! I want to prove just how lame you are to everypony sometime today." Diamond Tiara said.

"Yes, yes, keep your cheap costume jewelry on, Miss Tiara." Trixie said, and the crowd laughed once again as Diamond Tiara bared her teeth. Trixie floated her hat off, she liked to have her horn visible to the audience when she was casting her illusion magic. It didn't matter when she was only using telekinesis, like she was doing with the cards earlier, but she wanted the crowd to be able to spot every time she cast an illusion spell during her show. "Please stand stage right, and turn around to face the audience." Trixie said. Diamond Tiara moved to her right, then turned to face the audience. "No, Miss Tiara, that is stage left. You will never make it far in life if you can't tell left..." Trixie said, raising her front hoof closest to Diamond Tiara, "...from right." Trixie said, raising her other foreleg and pointing to the opposite side of the stage.

Diamond Tiara growled and walked over to the other side of the stage, muttering something that Trixie barely caught the tail end of as she passed. "Trixie is sorry, Miss Tiara, but you were mumbling. Could you repeat that, for everypony to hear?" Trixie asked.

Diamond Tiara grinned. "You probably couldn't hear me because, like I was just saying, you are a no-talent hack." she said, smirking broadly.

"Oh, dear, that cuts Trixie deep, especially coming from a pony whose only talent is wearing cheap, wannabe-princess jewelry." Trixie said, which drew more laughter from the crowd. "But enough pointless banter. It is time for Trixie's next trick. She will require a prop. And how wonderful that you seem to be wearing one!" Trixie said, pointing at Diamond Tiara's tiara, and the crowd laughed again.

"As if I'd ever let you touch my tiara. How dumb do you think I am? You'll probably break it in half!" Diamond Tiara said, defensively putting a hoof between her tiara and Trixie.

"Trixie promises that your precious knock-off jewelry will be returned to you safe and sound after the trick." Trixie said.

"Do you swear?" Diamond Tiara asked.

"Trixie crosses her heart and hopes to fly, stick a cupcake in her eye." Trixie said, reciting Pinkie Pie's swear for the second time during her show.

"All right, then." Diamond Tiara said, taking off her tiara reluctantly and holding it out to Trixie on her hoof. The top of her head felt almost bare without her namesake sitting atop it.

"Thank you." Trixie said, her horn glowing lightly as she took the tiara in her telekinesis. "Whoops!" Trixie said, releasing her telekinesis to see the horrified look on Diamond Tiara's face before catching the tiara gently again with her magic a fraction of a second later.

"Ha, ha. Very funny." Diamond Tiara said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she wiped the sweat from her brow.

"Trixie knows she is." Trixie said, turning Diamond Tiara's sarcasm into a compliment. She floated the tiara in front of her, and said, "Now then, watch closely." as she prepared the spell, her horn glowing brighter as she focused on the tiara. The tiara began to glow as bright as Trixie's horn, and slowly began to change in appearance as Trixie's illusion took hold. The crowd laughed at the end result, a red and blue jester's cap with three floppy points, a bell at the end of each one. Trixie smirked at Diamond Tiara. "Trixie believes that it suits you better." she said, drawing more laughter from the crowd. Diamond Tiara could only stammer, wide-eyed with horror as she gazed at what had become of her most prized possession. "Do not worry. Trixie has only cast a temporary illusion on it. It still weighs the same, and feels the same on your head, and the spell will wear off in an hour." Trixie said, floating the jester hat over to Diamond Tiara and placing it on her head, the illusory bells making an illusory jingling sound as the hat settled into place.

Diamond Tiara gazed up at what used to be her tiara. "You... you promised it would be safe and sound after the trick." she said, tears forming in her eyes as the audience began to laugh again.

Trixie smirked broadly. "Trixie never specified the length of time after the trick before it would be returned to its normal state." she said, a devious smile on her face. "Trixie thanks you for your assistance, Miss Tiara." she finished. The audience laughed and stomped their hooves as Diamond Tiara ran off the stage, bells jingling with every step. Trixie floated her own hat back onto her head and took a deep bow. "Fillies and gentlecolts, the Great and Powerful Trixie thanks you deeply for your applause, and hopes to see you again at her next show." she said.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long, everypony. I just got stuck in the middle, and couldn't get motivated because of that. But I finally snapped out of it and wrote the rest.

Chapter 5: It's All In the Cards

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 5

It's All In the Cards

Trixie smiled broadly, thinking her show was a success as she walked toward Twilight and her group of friends. They seemed to be laughing at the last illusion Trixie had performed. All except one, that is. "That was a very mean thing to do, Trixie!" Fluttershy said, glaring at her as she approached.

"Huh?" Trixie said, not fully understanding why the kind yellow pegasus was glaring at her.

"You hurt that poor filly's feelings, and turned her treasured possession into a mockery, and wouldn't change it back." Fluttershy said, hovering in front of Trixie as she scolded her.

"Yeah... well... she called the show that Trixie put a lot of effort into lame, and she called Trixie a no-talent hack." Trixie said defensively.

"While it's true that she did, that still didn't give you the right to do what you did. You're bigger than she is, and you should know better!" Fluttershy said, using the same line she had once used to subdue a rampaging dragon. Trixie backed away from Fluttershy a bit, frightened of the shy pegasus' sudden outburst. Fluttershy stayed right in Trixie's face. "Now, the next time you see Diamond Tiara, I want you to apologize to her, and if you're lucky, she may just apologize to you, too." Fluttershy said. "Ummm... if... if that's okay with you, that is." she finished, slipping back into her shy demeanor.

"Trixie is sorry, Fluttershy. She'll apologize to Diamond Tiara the next time she gets the chance." Trixie said, lowering her head in shame. She had let down her newest friend with her bullying, and felt horrible.

Fluttershy smiled as Trixie agreed to apologize, and patted Trixie softly on the back. "It's okay. You're not a bad pony. You just made a bad decision.' she said, once again using a line from her encounter with the dragon. Trixie raised her head a bit, thankful that Fluttershy was so forgiving. "Other than the way you picked on Diamond Tiara, your show was really good, Trixie. I liked it a lot."

"If'n y'all were ta ask me, Ah think that filly only got what was comin' ta her. Why, ya shoulda saw tha way she was pickin' on poor Apple Bloom a couple a' weeks ago, an' all jus' cause she don' have her cutie mark yet." Applejack said, putting an arm around Apple Bloom defensively. "Nopony treats mah sister that way an' gets away with it." she finished.

"I'd have to agree. Though Diamond Tiara is a very beautiful filly, she has much to learn in the fields of grace and manners. Perhaps this trick of yours might teach her some humility." Rarity said.

"It was just like a prank, Fluttershy. Trixie said the magic would wear off in an hour, so the tiara will be back to normal, so no harm done! Besides, Applejack and Rarity are right, she had it coming to her." Rainbow Dash said.

"I donno, Dashie, Diamond Tiara looked the same way Gilda did at my party for her, except less ragey-ragepants and more saddy-sadpants. I think Trixie might have hurt her feelings, and that's no fun at all." Pinkie said.

"Pinkie's right, you guys. Even if Trixie had meant it as a joke, a joke that hurts another pony's feelings isn't funny at all. However, it was a mistake, and it will soon be corrected since Trixie promised to apologize, so let's change the topic to Trixie's magic show. I thought it was wonderful that you decided to show everypony that you don't need fireworks and a stage to put on a great magic show." Twilight said. Trixie's brain caught on that sequence of three words: it... was... wonderful. This coming from the mare who was even more powerful than her, the one who had gotten the Ursa Minor out of town on that fateful night. Not only that, she was the Princess' most faithful student, according to Fluttershy, and why would Fluttershy lie? "Trixie? Are you okay?" Twilight asked, as Trixie seemed to be spacing out, a dreamy look in her eye.

Trixie quickly shook her head to clear out the thoughts that were invading her mind. "Yes, Twilight, Trixie is fine. Thank you for your compliment." Trixie said, regaining her composure.

Twilight blushed so slightly that Trixie almost missed it. Almost. "It really was great. The way you flourish your cards... that must take a lot of control. I wish I could learn how to control my telekinesis like that." Twilight said.

"Yes... well... Trixie has been practicing her card flourishes since she was a filly. Her mother taught her how to do it." Trixie said, blushing a bit as Twilight once again complimented her.

"You've never talked about your family before. What's your mother like?" Fluttershy asked

Trixie's eyes suddenly turned sad. "Sadly, she is no longer with us." Trixie said, and Fluttershy shied backwards, afraid she had said something wrong. Her fears were defeated when she saw Trixie begin to smile. "But when she was living, Trixie's mother was the greatest unicorn alive. They called her the Great Lapis, and she is where Trixie gets half of her title of Great and Powerful." Trixie said.

"Wait... You're the daughter of the Great Lapis?" Twilight asked, her eyes wide.

"Jus' who is this Great Lapis y'all're talkin' 'bout, Twi?" Applejack asked.

"The Great Lapis, full name Lapis Lazuli, was an amazing showmare! She once escaped from being tied up and put inside a magically-sealed and locked box which was submerged in the ocean, and all without using a single spell!" Twilight said. "She was one of my biggest role models when I was a filly, apart from Princess Celestia, of course. Her autobiography was the first book my mom ever bought for me. I still have it in my collection, a signed first edition even!" Twilight finished, her eyes shimmering.

"If you inherited the Great part of your title from your mother, then, what I wonder is, where did you get the Powerful part of your title?" Rarity asked.

"Her father, the Powerful Pyrite, of course." Twilight said, smiling as if this was common knowledge.

"The Powerful Pyrite? Who's that? Do I know him? Because you're looking at me as if I should know him, Twilight!" Pinkie said, bouncing up and down on all four hooves in front of Twilight.

"Pinkie, did you even read that book I gave you on famous modern unicorns?" Twilight asked, glaring at the energetic pink pony.

"Nope! Well, I read a little bit of it, but after a few pages, I was all, 'Boooooorrrriiiinnng!' and put it away and bounced off to make cupcakes, because making cupcakes is a lot more fun than reading some boring old book!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Twilight facehoofed. She should have known that Pinkie would never sit still for long enough to read a book on famous unicorns of modern times. "The Powerful Pyrite is only the most powerful unicorn in all of Equestria! Everypony who knows anything about the Great Lapis knows that he was her husband. He's fought dozens of dragons all by himself, and won!" Twilight said. "However, since Trixie now holds his title, I'm guessing she's surpassed him in power, so now she's the most powerful unicorn."she finished.

"That's not entirely true, Twilight. While it's true that Trixie did surpass her father, the Powerful Pyrite, Trixie herself has been surpassed in the arena of power." Trixie said.

"What? By who?" Twilight asked, confused.

"By you. You demonstrated more power than Trixie could ever hope to have that night you quelled the Ursa Minor's anger. That is why Trixie now passes on half of her title to you. From now on, she shall only call herself the Great Trixie, and you shall be known as the Powerful Twilight." Trixie said, showing an uncharacteristic amount of modesty by bowing her head towards Twilight.

Twilight blanched, not knowing what to do. "Trixie... while that is an amazingly generous gesture, I could never take your title from you, even only half of it." Twilight said. "While it may be true that my power might surpass yours, it does not change the fact that you are still very powerful. Plus, power is nothing without control, and I'm afraid I don't have much of that." she continued. "Also, the Great Trixie just doesn't sound the same, and the title is Powerful, not Most Powerful, so it doesn't necessarily need to go to the most powerful unicorn, just one who is powerful, which you definitely are." Twilight finished.

It was Trixie's turn to blanch as Twilight refused her offer, until Twilight explained why, after which Trixie blushed deeply. "You are too modest for your own good, Twilight. Very well, Trixie shall keep her title of Great and Powerful, if you wish." Trixie said.

"Wait..." Twilight interrupted suddenly. "I couldn't have more power than you. If I did have more power than you, like you say, and you have more power than your father, that would mean that I could fight dragons with my power." Twilight said. "But if that's so, then why'd I have so much trouble with that dragon that Fluttershy lectured?" she asked

"Maybe cause you were too busy trying to reason with it to actually go in there and kick its flank!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh... right..." Twilight said, blushing as the hole in her logic was pointed out.

"Oh, and let's not forget Rarity's astounding idea of trying to steal its treasure, under the guise of complimenting it. Absolutely bucking brilliant!" Rainbow Dash said, her tone dripping with sarcasm. "'Oh, yeah, you just go out there and show off your beautiful scales! Don't worry, I'll watch over your treasure, and I promise not to do anything absolutely horrid like steal it while your back is turned! Oh, no, I'd never do that!'" she said in a mocking tone. "Seriously, Rarity, rule 1 about dragons: never threaten their hoard!"she finished, practically yelling the last line.

"Yes, yes, we get the point, Rainbow Dash." Rarity said, looking at the bottom of her hoof, pretending to be occupied with her pony pedicure, but Trixie could tell she was doing that so that she didn't have to look at anypony else, lest she see anger or disappointment on somepony's face. "Besides, it's not like your plan was any better. 'All right, time's up, let's do this! LEEEEEEROOOOOOOYYYY WIIIIIINNNNNNGGGGGKIIIIIIINNNNSSS!'" Rarity mocked, screaming these last two words at the top of her lungs, almost knocking Trixie's hat off her head with the force of her shout. Trixie had to readjust it so that it sat properly on top of her head again. "I'm sorry, Dash, but that was just stupid as hay." Rarity said.

"At least I have Scootaloo." Rainbow Dash muttered under her breath as she planned to have a long, probably ego-boosting chat with the little pegasus filly later.

Fluttershy floated over between Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "Please, girls, there's no need to fight, especially in front of our new friend." she said, looking over at Trixie.

"Who, Trixie? She's the enemy, remember?" Rainbow Dash said.

"In case you've forgotten, Dash, she apologized. I'm willing to forgive and forget. After all, she was nice enough when I was on stage, and she was nice to the Crusaders, and you know how annoying they can get." Rarity said.

"Rarity's right, sugarcube. Ah think we should put the past behind us an' try ta play nice too." Applejack added.

Rainbow Dash's jaw dropped as Applejack agreed with Rarity instead of her. She looked over at Trixie, who only smiled back at her. "Well... okay. I'll play nice. But don't think I'm not watching you! Hurt one of my friends, and I'll pull a Sonic Rainboom on your flank!" Rainbow Dash said, glaring at Trixie.

"Aww, come on, Dashie, lighten up! Trixie's actually really nice once you get to know her. Sure, she sometimes makes mistakes when talking in front of crowds, but everypony makes mistakes. Like remember that one time when you all thought my looking for instruments during a parasprite infestation was just one of my random things, but it actually turned out that I was working on a solution to the problem all along?" Pinkie asked, suddenly bouncing over to stand next to Dash.

Rainbow Dash looked at Trixie once again, who was still wearing a friendly smile. "Fine. But like I said, I've still got my eye on you." Dash said.

Trixie only continued to smile. "Don't worry, Dash. Trixie promises not to break your trust, as long as you're willing to give it." she said, extending a hoof toward the rainbow-maned mare.

"Good, then we shouldn't have a problem." Dash said, bumping Trixie's hoof with her own.

"Anyway, getting back to the topic of your magic show, Trixie..." Twilight started. "It must take a lot of control to flourish your cards like that. Do you think you could teach me how to do it?" she asked.

Trixie blushed deeply. Twilight admired her control. Not only that, but she wanted to learn from Trixie. The Princess' most faithful student, the mare who had taken on an Ursa Minor, wanted to learn from Trixie. Why did that make her blush? Trixie didn't quite know. She'd never blushed when other aspiring magicians who saw her shows asked her to teach them how to do a trick. Trixie shook the thoughts clear of her head, and looked at Twilight. "Trixie doesn't know. She's never taught anypony how to flourish before, but she can try." Trixie said.

Trixie was surprised when Twilight suddenly burst forward, hopping around Trixie almost like Pinkie nearly always did. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Twilight exclaimed, almost in time with her bouncing. "Thank you so much, Trixie! I promise to be an attentive student, and do my absolute best!" she said excitedly, standing up on her hind legs as she halted her bouncing, and wrapping her forehooves around Trixie's neck in a hug. Trixie blushed even deeper than she thought possible as Twilight hugged her.

"And Trixie will do her absolute best to be a knowledgeable teacher, Twilight." Trixie said after Twilight let go of her neck.

Later, Twilight and Trixie stood inside Twilight's library tree, Trixie idly shuffling her deck of cards with her magic, and Twilight, with her own newly-bought deck of cards, trying her best to copy Trixie's shuffling technique, which consisted of three things: a cut of the deck, which was almost perfectly in half each time, even though Trixie was dribbling the cards across her magic to cut them; a riffle shuffle, which, again, was almost perfect each time, each half of the deck only releasing one or sometimes two cards at a time; and a sort of bridge that formed afterwards that almost put the deck back together, Trixie having to do just a little bit of squaring off to the deck with her magic before it was perfect again.

Twilight, on the other hoof, usually ended up with a lot more cards on one half or the other of the cut, usually had small clumps of cards falling at a time in her riffle shuffle, and had to square off the deck a lot more than Trixie did after her bridge. Trixie watched her new student's technique. "Don't worry, Twilight, you'll get better with practice." she said, collecting her deck after one last shuffle."Now, let's move on to the basic spring flourish." she said, flourishing the cards in front of her with her magic and catching them on the other side, then flourishing them back. "There are two points where you want to put pressure on the cards: the top corner furthest from you and the bottom corner closest to you." Trixie said, putting just a bit of pressure on the points she'd specified, and bending the cards backwards a bit. "You want to bend the cards back into an arch shape." she said, again demonstrating with her deck. "After that's done, you want to create a sort of sideways box of magic for the cards to fall in on the other side." Trixie said, casting an illusion spell on the box of telekinesis she was catching the cards in, which was just a little bigger than the cards themselves. "Since you're a beginner, you'll want it to be bigger than this, and lower to the ground." Trixie said.

Twilight nodded, having formed the arch shape with her deck, and having formed the box to catch the cards. "Now, carefully release some of the pressure on the cards from the bottom." Trixie said, shooting the cards into her box with a slower kind of flourish, that almost came out in short spurts. Twilight followed suit, and was able to get most of the cards into her box of telekinesis. "Once you've practiced a bit, you'll be able to do it in one swift flourish, like this." Trixie said, grabbing the cards with her telekinesis again and putting pressure on the corners until the cards formed an arch, then releasing them in one fluid motion into the box of telekinesis. Twilight tried this, and was able to get longer spurts of cards and more of them inside the box, but it didn't have the style Trixie showed with her flourishes. "You'll get better with practice, Trixie promises." Trixie said as she saw a disappointed look on Twilight's face. "Just as long as you keep practicing and don't give up, Trixie knows that you can do it." she said, smiling, and Twilight smiled back at her.

Author's Note: And so ends yet another chapter in our little story. Finally getting around to a bit of the twixie, though nothing major yet. It might still be a while before they fess up though.

Chapter 6: Sweet Dreams

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 6

Sweet Dreams

Trixie was lying on Twilight's floor, the copy of her mother's autobiography that Twilight had talked about floating open in front of her as she listened to the sound of Twilight's flourishes. Suddenly, she heard the sound she was listening for, a long, straight flourishing noise. "Ooh, that was a good one. Try it again, just like that." she said, turning towards her new student so she could see. Twilight picked the cards up with her magic again, and applied pressure at the corners, then released it, but the cards once again came out in short spurts.

Twilight slumped to the floor of her library, dejected. "I'm never going to be able to do it right!" she complained. Trixie walked over to Twilight, floating the book behind her, and put a hoof on her back.

"Do you want to know what Trixie does when she starts to lose faith, Twilight?" Trixie asked. Twilight nodded sadly. "She thinks of her mother." Trixie said, floating the autobiography towards Twilight. "The Great Lapis Lazuli could overcome any challenge set before her. When Trixie is lacking in inspiration, she thinks of her mother, and suddenly, Trixie has the power to accomplish anything." Trixie said, smiling down at Twilight. Twilight smiled back, and got to her hooves. She took the cards in her magic once again, a determined look in her eyes, and applied pressure, then released it. The cards shot out in front of her in one long flourish.

"I did it! I did it! Oh, thank you so much, Trixie!" Twilight said, wrapping her forehooves around Trixie once again in a hug.

"T... Trixie did nothing. Thank the Great Lapis." Trixie said, blushing again.

"Nothing, my flank! You had faith in me, even when I didn't have any in myself! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Twilight said, hugging Trixie tighter.

"W... what kind of teacher... would Trixie be if s... she lost faith in her... only student?" Trixie asked while trying to catch her breath, but unable to really do so because Twilight was squeezing her too hard.

Twilight finally realized that she was hugging Trixie too hard, and immediately let go. "Heheh... sorry, Trixie... guess I got a little bit overexcited."

"A little bit? Trixie almost saw her Great and Powerful life flashing before her eyes!" Trixie said, taking a few deep breaths now that she was able to breathe again.

Twilight giggled nervously. "Sorry..." she said, frowning a bit.

Trixie smiled back at Twilight. "It's okay, Trixie forgives you." she said, and Twilight slowly smiled as well. "Now then, it's getting late, and Trixie needs her sleep. She would ask if she could borrow this..." Trixie said, floating the autobiography of the Great Lapis towards Twilight, "...but Trixie knows how much it means to you." Trixie finished.

"Don't be silly, Trixie, of course you can borrow it! She's your mother, after all, and this is a library. Lending ponies books is sort of my job." Twilight said.

"Thank you, Twilight. Trixie shall return it to you tomorrow." Trixie said, smiling as she floated the book back to herself.

"Please, keep it as long as it takes you to finish it." Twilight said.

"As she said before, Trixie shall return it tomorrow." Trixie repeated, confident that she could finish the book in just a day. "Keep practicing your flourishes, student." she added as she walked toward the library door, the book floating behind her.

"And now, the Great Trixie's beautiful assistant, the Powerful Twilight, shall step into the Chamber Of Doom! Watch in awe as the Great Trixie pierces the Chamber Of Doom time and time again with razor-sharp scimitars! Do not worry, fillies and gentlecolts, for the Great Trixie shall now remove the scimitars and open the Chamber Of Doom! As you can see, the Powerful Twilight is completely unharmed! The Great Trixie thanks you, and hopes you have a nice night!"

Trixie awoke from her strange dream with a start. Twilight? As her assistant? Just where had she gotten that from? Sure, when her parents had been younger, her father had served as her mother's assistant in many of her magic shows, but there was a great deal of trust involved between a showmare and her assistant, not to mention synchronization and memorizing the intricacies of every trick. Trixie realized she was over-thinking this. It was just a strange dream, nothing more. She slowly began to fall asleep again.

Trixie was just a filly, barely four years old. She could hear her mother singing to her softly.

"You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are grey.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Trixie felt herself snuggling deeper into the blankets that surrounded her.

"The other night, dear, as I lay sleeping,

I dreamed I held you in my arms.

But when I woke, dear, I was mistaken,

And I hung my head and cried.

You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.

You make me happy when skies are grey.

You'll never know, dear, how much I love you.

Please don't take my sunshine away."

Trixie was barely conscious of her surroundings, she could feel herself on the verge of sleep, but as her mother finished singing, she bent her head over Trixie and kissed her on the forehead. Trixie frowned a bit as she felt her mother's loving presence leave her bedside. She wished her mother could stay there forever, never leaving her. She heard her father's voice at the doorway to her room. "Beautiful." he said, so softly that Trixie could barely hear him, though Trixie couldn't really tell if he meant her, her mother, or her mother's singing, or all three at once. She didn't really care, though, she was caught in the bliss between consciousness and deep, fulfilling sleep.

"I know, isn't she?" Trixie's mother said just as softly, looking back over her shoulder at Trixie.

"Mark Pyrite's words, one day, she's going to grow up to be an amazing showmare, just like her mother." Trixie's father said.

"You flatter me, Pyrite." Trixie's mother said.

"The Powerful Pyrite always aims to please, especially when it comes to pleasing the Great Lapis Lazuli." Pyrite said, smirking at Lapis. Any response she might have made was lost to Trixie as she finally passed the borderline into a deep sleep.

Trixie awoke again, this time from a memory about her parents. She smiled as she remembered the warm feeling of her mother standing by her bedside, singing her to sleep. Her eyes suddenly filled with tears as she realized that she'd never feel that particular warmth again. Through her blurry vision caused by her tears, Trixie's eyes fell upon the book that Twilight had loaned her, her mother's autobiography. Trixie wrapped her magic gently around the book, and flipped it open as she tried to dry her tears with a hoof. She found the bookmark she had placed on the page at which she left off, and began to read.

"In my lifetime, I have performed many feats of magic. Some more noteworthy than others, a few happened to turn out to be downright failures. But I believe that the greatest feat of magic I have performed in my entire life was not accomplished on a stage in front of thousands of ponies. Nor was it completely my doing, for my husband had a hoof in it as well. The absolute greatest magical feat I have performed was creating my daughter.

Some may say that this isn't magic. I say that magic is the only worthy explanation for it. My daughter is absolutely everything that I could ask for. Some days, she is the only thing that gives me strength, but on those days, she is more than enough. There is only one thing more that I wish from her that she hasn't already given me. I hope that one day, she will grow up to be a beautiful and talented mare who will put even me to shame."

Trixie's eyes were filled with tears once again, but these were not tears of sadness over the loss of her mother. Instead, they were tears of joy after finding out that her mother had written such beautiful words about her. Trixie put the bookmark in place and floated the book back to her nightstand, rolling over in her bed and trying to go back to sleep.

In the morning, Trixie was walking towards Twilight's library. The rest of her night had been thankfully peaceful. As she walked through the center of Ponyville, she saw a familiar-looking pink and purple mane with a tiara topping it. "Miss Tiara!" Trixie exclaimed, trying to get the young filly's attention. Diamond Tiara turned around, a smile on her face, but as she spotted the pony who had called her name, her face fell into a frown, and Trixie didn't blame her.

"Oh, it's you. What do you want? Here to turn my tiara into a jester's hat again? Or perhaps a dunce cap? Or maybe a propeller beanie?" Diamond Tiara asked, and Trixie had to fight to keep a straight face.

"No, the Great and Powerful Trixie is here to apologize. The things Trixie said yesterday were horrible, and what she did to your tiara was even more so. Trixie understands if you do not wish to forgive her." Trixie said.

Diamond Tiara couldn't contain her laughter. "You even talk like that off-stage? I thought it was all an act! What, did someone buck you upside the head when you were a foal?" she asked.

Trixie gritted her teeth, and tried to keep in mind what she was here for. If she didn't apologize, if instead, she lashed out at Diamond Tiara, Fluttershy would no doubt be horribly disappointed in her. "Miss Tiara, as she said before, Trixie is here to apologize for the horrible things she said yesterday, and for turning your tiara into a jester's hat. If you do not wish to accept Trixie's apology, just say so, and Trixie will leave." Trixie said.

"No, wait. I'm sorry, Trixie, I don't know why I said that, it just slipped out before I could stop it. Of course I'll forgive you, and I'd like to make an apology of my own. I'm sorry about what I said about your show. It was actually pretty good, I shouldn't have called it lame, or called you a no-talent hack. I guess I was just a little jealous of all the attention you were getting. I hope you can forgive me." Diamond Tiara said.

"Trixie forgives you, Miss Tiara. Now, if you'll excuse her, Trixie must meet with Twilight to see how her practicing is coming along." Trixie said, pointing towards the tree which housed Twilight's library.

"Good luck with that, Trixie." Diamond Tiara said.

"Have a nice day, Miss Tiara." Trixie replied, continuing towards the library.

When Trixie reached the library, she knocked on the door three times. After a loud crash and what sounded like a lot of grumbling, the door in front of her opened, but Trixie didn't see anypony there in front of her. All she saw was a large pile of books and a ladder that had fallen over from one of the bookshelves. That is, until she looked down at her hooves.

"You!" the little purple-and-green-scaled dragon shouted as he realized who Trixie was. "What the hay are you doing here, Trixie?" he asked.

"Now, Spike, that's no way to greet my new teacher. Maybe if you wouldn't have slept in until noon yesterday and the day before, you would have seen Trixie's apology to the town and yesterday's magic show." Twilight said, coming down the stairs from her personal quarters to the main library.

"Wait... Trixie? Apologize? New teacher? You're pulling my leg, right, Twilight?" Spike asked.

"I'm not pulling your leg. Trixie's changed since she was last here, Spike." Twilight said.

"Yeah, right. Did Pinkie and Dash put you up to this? Is this some kind of prank?" Spike asked.

"Trixie has changed, Spike. She has learned that boasting too much can get you into trouble, and also to stay far away from those two fancolts." Trixie said.

"You're serious? Well, whatever. If you need me, Twilight, I'll be back in bed." Spike said.

"Spike, what about your mess?" Twilight asked, looking at the pile of books that had fallen off the bookshelf.

"Too tired. You've got magic, don't you? You clean it up." Spike said, yawning. "It's Trixie's fault anyway, she's the one that scared me when she knocked." he added.

Twilight muttered something under her breath that Trixie could barely catch the tail end of, something about a "Lazy-flanked dragon." She went over to the pile of books and started to sort them with her telekinesis.

"Perhaps Trixie can help?" Trixie asked, taking some of the books in her telekinesis. "It was, after all, Trixie's knock that caused Spike to fall." she said.

"Thank you, Trixie, that would be much appreciated." Twilight said as they both began floating books up to the shelf from which they'd fallen. After Twilight floated the last book up to its place, Trixie took hold of the ladder with her magic and floated it to lean against the bookshelf.

"Now then, it is time for Trixie to check up on the progress of her most faithful student." Trixie said, causing Twilight to blush deeply.

"Ummm... Trixie, I'm your only student." Twilight said as she turned away, trying to hide her blush.

"Details, details. One day, Trixie might have hundreds of students wanting to learn how to be Great and Powerful from her, but you shall still be considered her most faithful as long as you keep making progress at the pace you have been. Now, did you practice any more?" Trixie asked, floating her cards out of their box and shuffling them idly as she looked at Twilight.

"Of course. Would you like to see?" Twilight asked.

"Please, show Trixie how far you've come." Trixie replied. Twilight took her own deck of cards in her magic, and flourished the cards in front of her in one long flourish. She then flourished the cards back to the side of her that they'd started from, again in one straight line. "That is wonderful, Twilight. Trixie is proud to call herself your teacher." Trixie said, causing Twilight to blush once again. Trixie really didn't know why Twilight was blushing at her words, but she did know that she kind of liked the way Twilight looked when she blushed. Not that she'd admit it to anypony. "Anyway, you seem to have gotten quite skilled at the spring flourish, so if you are willing, it is time to move on." Trixie said.

"What did you have in mind, my Great and Powerful teacher?" Twilight asked, and Trixie blushed a bit as the purple mare used her title.

Trixie took her cards in her magic and began to dribble through the deck. "Trixie was thinking she could teach you how to cut a deck with style." Trixie said, swiveling the top half of the deck around by a corner of it, and flipping it twice to land face-down under the bottom half of the deck. She then turned it so that it was flush with the rest of the deck. "This is all in the telekinesis. It's impossible to do this with your hooves, unlike a spring flourish, which technically you could do with your hooves, you'd just need magic or something else to catch the cards." Trixie said, performing the cut again.

"While you're holding onto the bottom of the deck with your magic, push on the top half of the deck to separate it from the bottom, then swivel it around the back right corner. Grab hold of it when it's perpendicular to the bottom half, then flip it over twice quickly so that it lands on the bottom of the deck. Now swivel it around the same corner until it's straight with the other half of the deck again." Trixie said, performing the actions as she described them. Twilight tried the trick, pushing the top half out with her magic, then swiveling it around the back right corner. While she was trying to flip the cards, she lost control of them and almost dropped them, barely catching them in her telekinesis before they hit the floor. "Do not be discouraged, Twilight. It takes a lot of practice to do these flourishes correctly." Trixie said.

Author's note: I'd like to thank Fox-sama for inspiring Trixie's first dream. Sorry about the bit of sad after the second dream. Trust me, it was hard for me to write that part. I had to call my mother and tell her I love her in order to feel better.

Chapter 7: It's Just Begun

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 7

It's Just Begun

Trixie watched as Twilight did the flourish cut without dropping her cards. "Very good, Twilight. The speed at which you learn makes Trixie proud to call you her student." Trixie said, smiling, and causing Twilight to blush once more. "Now, try to do it with one quick motion, like this." Trixie said, completing the cut with a fluid motion of her magic, so that the top half turned, flipped twice and went under the bottom half, then sat flush with the deck again. Twilight tried this, but once again dropped her cards, once more barely catching them before they hit the ground. "Do not be discouraged, Twilight. Just keep practicing. I am sure that you can do it." Trixie said. Suddenly, a knock on the library door surprised Twilight, causing her to drop her cards again "Do you mind if Trixie answers that?" Trixie asked.

"No, go ahead, Trixie." Twilight said, picking her cards up off the ground where they dropped. Trixie trotted over to the door, grabbing the handle with her magic and opening it.

"Hello, Fluttershy." Trixie said, seeing the shy yellow pegasus standing in the entrance.

"Oh... ummm... hello, Trixie." Fluttershy said. "I'm... ummm... not... interrupting anything, am I?" she asked, retreating a bit behind her long pink mane.

"Of course not, Fluttershy. Twilight was just practicing the flourish cut that Trixie taught her."

"Oh. That's... good." Fluttershy said, then fell silent. Trixie knew that if she wanted to keep the conversation with Fluttershy going, she would have to push the shy mare.

"Did you need something, Fluttershy?" Trixie asked.

"Oh, well... yes. I met Diamond Tiara on my way here, and she told me that you apologized to her this morning. I wanted to tell you that I'm very proud of you. That was a very kind thing to do." Fluttershy said.

"Thank you. Speaking of which, Miss Tiara seemed very willing to apologize to Trixie as well. You wouldn't have something to do with that, would you, Fluttershy?" Trixie asked.

"Ummmm... well... yes. It's just that... I don't like to see ponies fighting with each other." Fluttershy said.

"Fluttershy, you have to stop doing that. While I agree that everypony has the capacity for kindness, and it makes me sad to see some ponies choosing to use meanness instead, that's their choice to make, and nopony else's. Forcing somepony to say they're sorry, even if they're sincere when they apologize, isn't the same as when that pony realizes they did something wrong, and apologizes without being told to." Twilight said, cutting her cards again, then suddenly dropping them on the floor as she realized something."Oh, this would make a great friendship report to Princess Celestia! Too bad Spike's asleep so he can't dictate. Oh, well, I'll just write it myself, and tell him to send it when he wakes up." Twilight said, grabbing a quill and blank parchment with her magic as she trotted over to the desk, muttering to herself as she wrote.

"Ummm... I'm sorry... Twilight.... I just... really don't like seeing... anypony arguing... with anypony else." Fluttershy said, letting out a small squeak and trying to retreat behind her mane once again. Trixie only smiled as she watched Twilight writing her letter to the Princess. She had a look of determination on her face that Trixie had only seen there once before, the night that she had put her skills to the test against the Ursa Minor.

"I know, Fluttershy, but you have to realize that forcing other people to apologize isn't being very kind to them, or to the people they're apologizing to. It's okay to help them realize that they made a mistake, but it has to be their choice to apologize." Twilight said, not looking away from her letter. Finally, she ended it with a muttering of "Your Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle." and rolled the letter up, putting a ribbon seal around it and setting it on the desk for when Spike decided to wake up.

"I really... am sorry... Twilight." Fluttershy said.

"It's okay, Fluttershy. You made a mistake. It happens." Twilight said, putting a hoof on Fluttershy's back.

"If you say so. Well, girls... I must get going. Rainbow asked me to watch over Tank, because he's sick." Fluttershy said.

"Tank?" Trixie asked.

"He's Rainbow Dash's tortoise. She even made him a shell-back propeller so that he could fly and keep up with her. He really is the sweetest thing, but he can barely stand on his own legs right now, he's so sick, so I really need to get home and take care of him. Perhaps I'll see you later, Trixie? ...If you want to, that is."

"Of course Trixie wants to. How about you meet her here when you're free, and we'll get lunch." Trixie asked.

"Oh, that would be wonderful, Trixie. Bye, now." Fluttershy said, fluttering out of the library. Trixie watched as Twilight walked back to where she had dropped her cards, picking up all of them with her magic and stacking them back into a deck. She tried to perform the cut another five times, but dropped the cards all five times.

"I can't do it." Twilight said, slumping to the floor.

Trixie stood up on her hind legs, waving her forehooves in the air dramatically. "Don't believe in yourself, Twilight. Believe in her, the Trixie who believes in you! YOUR DECK IS THE DECK THAT WILL PIERCE THE HEAVENS!" Trixie exclaimed, pointing a forehoof up to the ceiling..

"Ummm... what?" Twilight asked, thoroughly confused.

"T... Trixie is not sure where that came from." Trixie said, lowering herself back to the ground, blushing with embarrassment. "She thinks she might have been hanging around Pinkie a bit too much." she finished.

"Oooookay then... Pinkie Pie-style randomness aside..." Twilight said, trying the cut once more. This time she did it in one fluid motion, without dropping her cards. "I did it!" Twilight exclaimed, throwing her hooves around Trixie's neck in another tight hug, causing Trixie to blush deeply again.

"Ummm... Twilight?" Trixie started. "Trixie would like to know why you keep hugging her like this." Trixie said.

"Why? Does it bother you? I can stop, if you want me to." Twilight said, releasing Trixie.

"N... not necessarily. Trixie would just like to know the reason." Trixie said.

"Well... it's cause you're my friend, and my teacher, and you keep having faith in me when I'm short on it myself." Twilight said, though from what Trixie could tell from the purple unicorn's sheepish expression, that wasn't the whole reason.

"Are you sure that's the whole reason behind your hugs, Twilight?" Trixie asked, a doubtful look in her eyes.

"Ummm... well... there's more. Only... I can't really explain it very well... because... well... I've never... ummm... felt this way... about anypony else." Twilight stuttered.

"Twilight, are you... trying to say that you have feelings for Trixie?" Trixie asked, blushing deeper at the thought.

"Ummm... maybe? Like I said, I... ummm... don't really have... anything to compare it to." Twilight said.

"Well, Trixie knows a way we can find out. A test, or an experiment, if you will, that will tell us whether your feelings for Trixie are... well... the same as Trixie's feelings for you." Trixie said, looking away to try to hide her blush as she admitted the last part.

Twilight's ears perked up and her eyes shined as she heard the word "experiment". Then, she suddenly blushed even deeper than Trixie as realization hit her. "Trixie, you have feelings for me?" she asked.

"Well... ummm... Trixie doesn't really have much experience in this area either, but she thinks so. That is part of the reason why Trixie wants to perform this experiment, if you are willing." Trixie said, and Twilight nodded to show that she was willing. At this, Trixie leaned in closer to Twilight, and tilted her head a little bit, her heart pounding in her chest the whole time. Trixie closed her eyes as she drew near to her target, and a fire she had never felt before burned through her as her lips met Twilight's. Twilight's eyes opened widely as Trixie kissed her, but they soon melted closed slowly. Trixie held the kiss for a few dozen seconds that seemed to stretch on into entire minutes, then finally broke the kiss, a little short of breath. She looked at Twilight to gauge her reaction. The purple mare had a broad smile on her face, and her eyes were shining almost as much as when Trixie had first proposed the experiment. "It seems that the results of our experiment have turned out to be positive." Trixie said after she had caught her breath.

Twilight smirked seductively at Trixie. "Anypony who knows anything about experimentation knows that you must perform each experiment at least twice, so that you know that the first experiment wasn't just a fluke." she said, leaning closer to Trixie. She wrapped her forehooves around Trixie's neck and used them to help pull the blue mare into a deeper kiss. Twilight held Trixie against her with her forehooves as she kissed her passionately, until finally she broke the kiss after about a minute, gasping for air. "Yes, I'd say there's a definite chance that the results are overwhelmingly positive." Twilight said once she'd caught her breath, smiling again. Her face fell as another thought hit her. "Wait... does this make us... fillyfoolers?" she asked.

Trixie's own smile faded into a very serious look. "Trixie hates that term. What does it mean? Fooling around with fillies? It disgraces the emotions shared between a mare and another mare, making them seem like no more than a foalish game or joke." Trixie said.

"Trixie I assure you, my feelings for you are more sincere than those toward anypony else. But does this make us..." Twilight racked her brain for another word to use. "Does it make us homosexual?" she asked.

"Only if you want it to, Twilight. Your sexuality is something only you can define. Nopony else can make that choice for you, not even Trixie, with all her Greatness and Powerfulness, can tell you whether you're homosexual or not. That's something you need to decide for yourself. Not even society as a whole can stop a pony from feeling how they want to feel about another pony." Trixie said.

"I think I like the idea of being homosexual, if it means that I get to be with you, Trixie." Twilight said, after thinking about it for a bit.

"Trixie feels the same way." Trixie said, nuzzling her muzzle against Twilight's cheek.

"I'm glad." Twilight said, nuzzling back against Trixie.

"Trixie thinks she may have a more fitting term to describe us, Twilight. Trixie's mother was the one that taught Trixie that the other term was disrespectful. She used to call mares who felt this way for other mares sapphic instead." Trixie said.

"Of course! As pertaining to the ancient griffon poet Sappho! Why didn't I think of that?" Twilight asked.

"Because you were thinking about it too much. Sometimes, the best solution is right in front of our faces. That's why we need to work harder to focus on it, because we're too busy focusing on the bookshelves behind it to realize it's there." Trixie said.

"Thinking too hard about something is a lot better than not thinking enough about it. Besides, entire bookshelves are more likely to contain the information you seek than one book that just happens to be floating in front of your face." Twilight stated matter-of-factually.

"You're such a nerd, Twilight." Trixie said.

"I am not a nerd!" Twilight said defensively.

"Yes, you are, and that's what makes you great. Don't be ashamed of your intelligence. Embrace it. Like this." Trixie said, putting her forehooves around Twilight's neck and pulling her into a warm embrace, kissing her passionately. Twilight's eyes shot open again as she felt Trixie's tongue seeking entrance into her mouth. Twilight opened her mouth in surprise, and Trixie's tongue slid in, playing softly over Twilight's tongue. Trixie felt the tongue beneath her own come to life, sliding past Trixie's tongue. Trixie tried to wrestle Twilight's tongue down with her own, but Twilight seemed determined to force her way into Trixie's mouth. There was a knock on the front door, and without thinking, Twilight opened it with her magic, too caught up in Trixie's embrace and the wrestling match going on in their mouths to think straight.

"Oh... my..." Fluttershy said as she witnessed the two other mares kissing passionately. Trixie immediately broke the kiss.

"Oh! Fluttershy! I'm so sorry you had to see that." Twilight said as she saw the yellow mare in the doorway.

"It's... okay, Twilight. It seems that... this time... I really am interrupting... ummm... something. I'll just... leave you two alone." Fluttershy said, beginning to retreat back out the door.

"Wait! Fluttershy, what about lunch?" Trixie asked.

"If... if you'd rather... ummm... spend it with Twilight... I'd understand." the shy pegasus said.

"No, Trixie made a promise. She is going to lunch with you." Trixie said.

"Well... if you insist, Trixie. I just... don't want to take you away from Twilight." Fluttershy said. As if on cue, the yellow mare was startled by a growl coming from Twilight, or more specifically, from Twilight's belly.

"Ummm... actually, you two wouldn't mind if I joined you, would you?" Twilight said, blushing with embarrassment.

"As long as it's... okay with Trixie, I don't mind." Fluttershy said.

"Of course it's okay with Trixie." Trixie said.

"Then let's get going! I'm starving!" Twilight said, trotting out of the library with the two other mares following close behind.

"I... ummm... don't mean to pry... into your business... but are you two... marefriends now?" Fluttershy asked.

"Trixie guesses you could call us that. We're still new to this whole thing though. Trixie is mostly just winging it." Trixie said.

"That's nice. It's good to know that we're not the only couple in our group of friends." Fluttershy said quietly, but not so quiet that Trixie couldn't hear.

"Oh? Do you have a marefriend too, Fluttershy?" Trixie asked.

"Oh... ummm... did I say that out loud? Well... to answer... ummm... answer your question... well... ummm... yes." Fluttershy stammered.

"Who, if you don't mind Trixie asking?" Trixie asked.

"No, I don't mind. Ummm... well... Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy said, and Trixie's eyes went wide.

"Her? But Dash is so... well... let's just say that Trixie would have never expected you to be marefriends with her." Trixie said, then realized how that could have been taken, and added, "No offense to either of you, of course."

"Oh, none taken, Trixie. It's true that Dash can be... well... abrasive at times, but I've known her since we were both just fillies. She's teaching me to be more confident, and I'm teaching her to be a bit gentler with her words. Also... well... ummm..." Fluttershy said before her volume fell below Trixie's hearing capacity.

"What was that last part? Trixie didn't quite catch it, Fluttershy." Trixie said.

"Ummm... well... Dash really knows... ummm... the... uh..." Fluttershy started before letting out a mewling squeak, blushing deeply.

"Please go on, Fluttershy. Dash really knows what?" Trixie asked.

"Well... she really knows the... ummm... sensitive spots... on my wings." Fluttershy whispered just loud enough for Twilight and Trixie to hear, turning even redder as she admitted this.

Trixie blushed almost as deeply upon hearing this. "Trixie is sorry if she made you say something that made you uncomfortable, Fluttershy." she said.

"Oh, not at all, Trixie. Just promise me that you'll keep it a secret." Fluttershy said.

"Trixie's lips are sealed." Trixie said, drawing an imaginary zipper across her mouth with her hoof.

"Mine are too, Fluttershy. We promise not to tell anypony." Twilight said.

"Thank you, girls. Rainbow would be devastated if that got out. Believe it or not, under her cool exterior, she really worries about what other ponies think of her, and... well... let's just say that touching another pegasus' wings is... well... kinda looked down upon." Fluttershy said just barely above a whisper.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, we would never look down on you and Dash for something that you happen to enjoy, and we won't tell anypony, so your secret is safe with us." Trixie said.

"Hey, what do you say to eating here?" Fluttershy asked, pointing a hoof toward a small restaurant that didn't look too expensive.

"That sounds great, let's go!" Twilight said, galloping toward the restaurant, with Trixie and Fluttershy not far behind.

Author's Note: Well, here it is, finally. I had some technical difficulties that resulted in me losing all my progress when I was more than halfway done, but thankfully, I still had the general idea of what I wanted to do when in my head, so it wasn't that hard to retype it.

Flutterdash was the first really good pairing (IMHO) that I came across, which is why I wanted to include some of it in here. In fact, flutterdash is what got me into reading the fanfics in the first place. Fluttershy is my favorite pony, with Twilight being a very close second.

Thanks to Midnight-Specter for giving me the idea of Fluttershy having talked to Diamond Tiara as well.

Chapter 8: Dropping In

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 8

Dropping In

Trixie munched on her daisy sandwich as she sat at the table with Twilight and Fluttershy. She had no idea how she ended up in this situation. Just three days ago, she had nopony she could even call a friend, now she not only had an entire group of friends, but she also had a marefriend in Twilight. She felt almost as if it was too much for her to handle. Almost. She took another bite of her sandwich as she cleared her mind of such thoughts. She was the Great and Powerful Trixie. She could accomplish almost anything if she set her mind to it. So why was she getting so worked up about this? Realization suddenly hit her.

She was scared. This was her first time having a relationship more than friendship. Hell, she'd only even had a few friends before her return to Ponyville. Now she had something that could possibly be much more with Twilight, and she was afraid that she'd do something wrong. What would happen if she did mess up? Would Twilight leave her? She couldn't bear that thought. She shook her head a bit to clear it again. Celestia damn it, she was Trixie. She had beaten her father, the Powerful Pyrite, in the realm of his expertise, and claimed his title as a result. The only pony she knew was more powerful than her was the mare that she had recently discovered had feelings for her.

"Trixie, are you okay?" Twilight asked, snapping Trixie out of her thoughts. "You look like something's bothering you."

"Trixie is fine, Twilight. She guesses she was just over-thinking things a little." Trixie said.

"If you say so. If something is bothering you, you can always tell me, okay?" Twilight said.

"Okay, the next time something is bothering Trixie, she will tell you. And if you ever need to talk about something bothering you, Trixie would be glad to listen." Trixie said.

Fluttershy smiled as she watched Trixie and Twilight. They reminded her so much of when herself and Rainbow Dash had first gotten together. She had been just like Twilight, too inexperienced with social matters to know what to do, and Rainbow Dash had been like Trixie, too concerned with what others thought of her (or in Trixie's case, what she thought of herself) to express herself. Fluttershy unconsciously let a small laugh escape her.

"What is it, Fluttershy?" Trixie asked before finishing the rest of her sandwich.

"Oh, nothing. It's just... you two remind me of Rainbow and myself when we first got together." Fluttershy said.

"Do you mind if Trixie asks how you two became marefriends?" Trixie asked.

"Oh, I don't mind at all, Trixie." Fluttershy said, looking up as she tried to remember. "Let's see... it was the day that Rainbow won the Best Young Flyer competition. You remember that, right, Twilight?"

"Do I ever. Remind me never to try to cast that damned flutterwings spell again. That's way too much magical energy put in for a spell so easily broken." Twilight said.

"Wait, you've cast a flutterwings spell?" Trixie asked.

"Yes, on Rarity, so that she could fly and cheer for Rainbow Dash in Cloudsdale. It nearly drained me, and I barely had enough energy left to cast a cloud-walking spell on Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and myself." Twilight said.

"Wait... you've cast a flutterwings spell, and had energy left over to cast three more spells? Granted, the cloud-walking spell is a simple one, but still... Twilight, your power absolutely amazes Trixie." Trixie said, making Twilight blush.

"Cut it out, Trixie, you're embarrassing me. I'm not that special." Twilight said.

"Not that special? Twilight, you are the most powerful mare Trixie knows. As she said before, you are too modest for your own good. Trixie still thinks she should give you the Powerful part of her title." Trixie said.

"I told you before, Trixie, I could never take your title, even just a part of it." Twilight said.

"Trixie is far from done with this, Twilight. She promises that you will be known as the Powerful Twilight one day. Perhaps not today, perhaps not tomorrow, but one day, your power will be known throughout Equestria." Trixie said.

"Ummm... Fluttershy, weren't you telling us about how you and Dash became marefriends?" Twilight asked, changing the subject.

"Oh... yes. It was the day of the Best Young Flyer competition. Rainbow had just returned from hanging out with the Wonderbolts, and... well... it seems that they had taken her to a bar. She was more than a little drunk, and couldn't even use her wings properly. Thankfully, Cloudsdale, like all pegasi cities, has a law that makes it illegal to buy or sell alcohol within city boundaries, so Rainbow was already on the ground. Anyway, since she couldn't use her wings, she couldn't get home, or even to one of her napping clouds, so she came over to my place and asked if she could stay the night." Fluttershy said.

"Of course, I said yes. I could never turn away one of my friends when they needed my help, especially not Rainbow. Well, while we were reading a book together, Rainbow let it slip that she had a crush on me. I was really surprised to hear that from her. She was always so concerned with everyone calling her a... well... a fillyfooler." Fluttershy said, frowning as she said the last word. Trixie could tell that Fluttershy had just as much dislike for that term as she did. "The bullies at Summer Flight Camp used to call her that all the time. It was one of their favorite taunts, aside from... well... ummm... Rainbow Crash." Fluttershy said, wincing. It was obvious to Trixie that Fluttershy didn't like any of these names that other people had used to make fun of her marefriend.

"Well, anyway, I was shocked to learn that Rainbow had a crush on me. I never would have guessed that anypony could like me like that. I mean, I'm just some overly-shy, easily scared pony who, most of the time, likes being around animals more than she likes being around ponies. Who would want that, right? So when Rainbow told me that she did, I just couldn't believe it. I thought she might be playing one of her pranks that she always pulls with Pinkie or something, or maybe that she was so drunk that she was confusing me for somepony else. So I decided to ask her about it the next morning, but she told me that she was serious, and asked me if I felt the same way. I had never really thought about that before, but I told her that I could try being in a relationship with her, and if I wasn't comfortable, I would tell her that I wanted to stop. Well, I still haven't gotten uncomfortable with our relationship. in fact, I'd say I'm more comfortable than I was before." Fluttershy finished.

"That was a great story, Fluttershy. I'm so happy for you two." Twilight said.

"Trixie is happy for you as well." Trixie said.

"Thank you, girls. I'm happy for you two as well, and I'm sure Rainbow will be too when she finds out." Fluttershy said. "Oh, I can't wait to tell her. Oh, ummm... that is, unless... unless you two want to tell her yourselves, in which case, I won't." she finished.

"If it's all right with Twilight, Trixie doesn't mind if you tell her." Trixie said.

"I have no problems with that. Just as long as you don't go spreading it all across town." Twilight said, glaring at Fluttershy.

"I... ummm... I would never... never do that, Twilight." Fluttershy said, retreating behind her mane from Twilight's glare. Twilight smiled widely, unable to keep up the charade.

"I know you wouldn't, Fluttershy. I was only joking." Twilight said.

"Oh... heheh." Fluttershy giggled nervously. "Seriously though, I know that... well... letting ponies know that you like mares is a very private matter, and even if somepony is just excited for their friend, blabbing about somepony else's sexuality to other ponies will probably only spread rumors and gossip." she said. Suddenly, there was a scream and a loud crash as a rainbow blur collided with the table the three mares were sitting at. When the dust cleared, a very disoriented Rainbow Dash was lying on her back on the now broken table.

"Hey, girls." Dash said as Fluttershy looked at her, concerned..

"Oh, hi, Rainbow! Ummm... are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I was trying to pull a Buccaneer Blaze, but I guess my right wing was just a little bit out of position, because I bailed hard." Dash said, rolling over and getting to her hooves, then making sure her wings weren't hurt in any way by spreading them and then tucking them back at her sides. "So what were you talking about, anyway?" she asked.

"Oh! Well, it turns out that Twilight and Trixie are marefriends now!" Flttershy said excitedly.

"Really? Wow, Twi! I never pegged you for liking mares. That's cool!" Dash said, jumping off the broken remains of the table and hovering near Twilight with her wings.

"Rainbow, that's not being very nice to Trixie. Think about what you just said. How could that be taken? Perhaps that you had judged Trixie as somepony who likes mares?" Fluttershy said, causing the cyan pegasus to blanch as she realized this.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Trixie! It's just that... I don't know enough about you to really peg you as anything." Dash said as she floated over to land near Fluttershy.

"It's all right, Dash. Trixie knows that you didn't mean any harm." Trixie said.

"Anyway, Rainbow, I was just telling them about how we became marefriends." Fluttershy said.

"You told them that story? Oh my gosh, I was so drunk that night. I swear I'm never gonna go out partying with Soarin' and his friend again. Though, I guess more good than I thought came out of it, cause I ended up with you." Dash said, nuzzling Fluttershy's neck.

"Rainbow.... ummm... you know... how shy I get.... when you do stuff like that... ummm... in public." Fluttershy said, blushing madly.

"Yeah, that's why I do it, Fluttershy, to help you get over that shyness." Dash said. Trixie smiled as she watched Dash nuzzling Fluttershy's neck some more. Then the cyan pegasus pressed her muzzle against the edge of Fluttershy's wing.

"Rainbow, stop!" Fluttershy squealed, turning even redder, and Dash pulled her head back from the yellow pegasus. "Please, Rainbow, save it for when we get home." Fluttershy muttered.

"You got it, 'Shy. Really, though, I don't know why you're getting so worked up. It's just us here." Rainbow said.

"What if somepony walks by and sees us doing stuff like that?" Fluttershy asked. Dash had to admit, Fluttershy had a point. "I know you wouldn't like it getting around that we do... well... that kind of stuff."

"Fluttershy, I like doing that kind of stuff with you, and I don't care who knows it. Anypony who has a problem with that can go buck themselves for all I care." Dash said.

"Then it's a good thing that Twilight and Trixie said that they don't have a problem with it, or they'd have to go do that." Fluttershy said, giggling, and making the two unicorns blush.

"Fluttershy, did you just make a dirty joke?" Dash asked, laughing as she fell to the ground.

"Ummm... yes." Fluttershy admitted.

"It looks like I am getting through to you after all, 'Shy." Dash said, laughing more.

"Trixie certainly hopes not. You're a bad influence, Dash." Trixie said, smiling to show she was only joking.

"As if you're one to talk, Miss Magic Pants." Dash said, giggling as she got back to her hooves.

"Hey, I thought that was my name!" Twilight said, giggling with the rest of them.

"Oh, man, you guys are great! You know what? We should go on a double date sometime. That'd be awesome!" Dash said through her giggling.

"Rainbow, that's a great idea! What do you two think?" Fluttershy asked.

"Trixie thinks she would like that." Trixie said.

"I'd like that, too." Twilight said.

"Awesome! Are you guys doing anything tomorrow night? Cause I know this great club, if you want to go." Dash said.

"That sounds wonderful. I'm not doing anything, are you, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"Trixie is not doing anything either." Trixie sad.

"Great, then we'll meet you guys at Twilight's at 7 tomorrow night." Dash said, nuzzling Fluttershy's neck again.

"Well, if you girls don't mind, I think it's time that we went home." Fluttershy said, blushing a bit as Dash continued nuzzling her.

"All right, we'll see you two later." Twilight said.

"Trixie hopes that you have a good day." Trixie said.

"Oh, don't worry, we will." Dash said, pressing her muzzle against Fluttershy's wing again.

"Rainbow!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "If you keep doing that out here, then I'll have to take away your privileges of doing it when we're alone." she muttered. Dash let out a small squeak at the thought, and immediately moved away from Fluttershy's wing.

"Well, see you girls tomorrow." Dash said, waving goodbye to Twilight and Trixie, then taking to the air and flying off towards Fluttershy's cottage.

"Have a good day, girls." Fluttershy said, flying after Dash and trying to catch up.

Trixie watched as Fluttershy flew out of sight. "They make a cute couple." she said.

"I think so too. It's really good to see them together." Twilight said. Just then, the mare serving as their waitress trotted out of the restaurant to see if they needed anything else, and, upon seeing their table broken in half from Dash's failed stunt, gasped loudly.

"What the hay happened?" the waitress asked, looking at the remains of the table in confusion, then at the two unicorns.

"Oh... umm... one of our friends dropped in." Twilight said, and Trixie giggled loudly at her unintentional pun, causing Twilight to think about what she'd just said and start to laugh as well.

"This is no laughing matter! Somepony has to pay for the broken table." the waitress said, a serious look on her face.

"Sorry. Here, this should cover it, right?" Twilight said, floating a sack with 100 bits in it into the mare's waiting hoof.

"Ummm... yes, I believe this is just enough." the waitress said, looking thankful that the matter had been dealt with so quickly.

"Oh, and thank you for a wonderful lunch. What was the bill?" Twilight asked.

"Ummm... 30 bits." the waitress said.

"Here." Twilight said, floating another sack, this one with 40 bits, into the waitress' hoof. "Keep the change. Sorry again about the table. Have a nice day." she said as she began to walk off. Trixie trotted after Twilight as she headed back to the library.

Author's Note: Nothing much to say about this other than, "I seriously love flutterdash."

Chapter 9: Out Of Control

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 9

Out Of Control

Trixie followed Twilight into the library. Twilight closed the door behind them with her magic. Looking around the room at the many books that stocked the shelves, Trixie was suddenly reminded of the book still tucked inside her cloak. "Oh, by the way, Twilight, Trixie had almost forgotten." she said, floating her mother's autobiography out towards the purple mare. "Trixie finished it this morning, so she now returns it to you." she finished.

Twilight's magic wrapped around the familiar book. She pulled it close to her and wrapped her hooves around it, hugging it to her chest. "Thank you so much, Trixie." Twilight said, smiling. She walked over to Trixie and nuzzled her neck as she continued to hug the book to her chest.

"You... you're welcome, Twilight. Trixie thanks you for letting her borrow it." Trixie said, blushing a bit and nuzzling back against Twilight's neck, then planting a small kiss in the same spot. Twilight's ear twitched in response.

"Ummmm... Trixie? Do you think you can tell me more about the Powerful Pyrite? The Great Lapis hardly ever wrote about him in her autobiography." Twilight said. Trixie moved away from Twilight's neck so that she could talk to Twilight face to face.

"Trixie's mother was a very secretive person. She liked to keep her work and her family separate, which is why she stopped using the Powerful Pyrite as an assistant in her performances after one tour. Trixie's father is a kind and caring man. He was absolutely devastated when the Great Lapis passed away. But he has raised Trixie well, and Trixie loves him very much. It was he who inspired Trixie to perform like her mother did, and he is a part of the only group to defeat an Ursa Major. He and eleven of his friends, who were collectively known as the Dominating Dozen, fought for hours on end, until the Ursa Major finally decided that it had taken enough of a beating and retreated back to its cave." Trixie said.

"I remember reading about that. It happened back when I was just a filly." Twilight said.

"Yes. It was when Trixie was just six years old. That is where Trixie got the idea for her Ursa Major story. She used to think that the Powerful Pyrite was the driving force behind the Dominating Dozen, that he didn't really need the rest to help him. So she thought, if the Powerful Pyrite could beat an Ursa Major all by himself, and she was stronger than the Powerful Pyrite, then why couldn't she be able to beat one as well?" Trixie said, frowning. "Trixie now knows that was a very foalish thing to think." she finished.

"It's okay, Trixie. The Ursa Minor wasn't your fault. You had no idea that Snips and Snails would go off to try to find an Ursa after your show." Twilight said, nuzzling against Trixie's cheek. Trixie moved back a little bit, and looked Twilight directly in the eyes again.

"Twilight... Trixie knew there was an Ursa Major living in the Everfree Forest. She had found out about it in Hoofington, and she was planning on going to find it and try defeating it after she left Ponyville. But thanks to that Ursa Minor, she knew that she could never even hope to defeat the Ursa Major by herself." Trixie said, tears in her eyes.

"Trixie, you don't mean..." Twilight started.

"Had that Ursa Minor not come to town, Trixie would have gone into the the Everfree Forest, and found both the Ursa Minor and the Ursa Major in their cave. She probably wouldn't have made it out alive. Ursas are horribly territorial. They will chase anything that dares come into their caves for miles." Trixie said.

"Trixie..." Twilight said, wrapping her forehooves around Trixie and pulling her into a tight embrace. Trixie still had tears streaming down her face and falling against Twilight's shoulder as she embraced the purple mare back, and she could feel Twilight's tears falling against her shoulders as well. The two mares stood there for a while, just holding each other in a tight embrace and crying on each other's shoulders.

"Twilight? Is something wrong?" Spike asked as he came down from upstairs. Twilight immediately seperated herself from Trixie. "I thought I heard you cry..." he said, then stopped mid-word as he saw Twilight with tears in her eyes, with Trixie standing near her, her back to him. "You! You made her cry, didn't you?" Spike asked Trixie, baring his teeth at her. Trixie immediately turned around to see one very angry baby dragon.

"No, wait, Spike!" Twilight finally managed to say in between sobs. She tried to dry her eyes with her hooves, and Trixie tried to do the same, and that's when Spike realized that Trixie had been crying as well.

"Wait... what's happening here?" Spike asked, confused. He would have never in a million years guessed that he would ever see the arrogant blue showmare crying.

"Trixie is sorry, Twilight. She was so foalish during her last visit here." Trixie said.

"It's okay, Trixie. That was then, and you've clearly learned your lesson." Twilight said.

"What lesson?" Spike asked, confused.

"Oh, that reminds me, Spike. There's a report that you need to send. It's on the desk there." Twilight said, pointing a hoof toward the desk that she had left the scroll on earlier that day.

"Okay, Twilight." Spike said, going over to the desk and grabbing the scroll in his claws, then tossing it in the air and breathing an impressive spurt of green fire on it, disintegrating it into a puff of grey smoke that floated out the nearest window.

"Trixie really is sorry. She didn't mean to make you cry." Trixie said.

"I just couldn't bear to think about that, Trixie. I'm sorry for getting so emotional." Twilight said.

"Trixie got emotional first, Twilight." Trixie said.

"Emotional about what? What the hay's going on with you two?" Spike asked.

"Well, umm... Trixie is my marefriend now, Spike." Twilight said, diverging from the true subject they had been talking about. It was just too much to even talk about the possibility of Trixie not being here with her right now, she would probably break out in another fit of crying if she did.

"Wait... this morning she was your teacher... now she's your marefriend? You're kidding, right? This is just way too weird to not be a joke." Spike said.

"It's not a joke, Spike." Twilight said, staring at Spike with serious eyes.

"Wait... you're really serious about this. You two are... together or something?" Spike asked, and Twilight nodded her head. "Wow. I didn't even know that you were into mares, Twilight. I mean, I know that we don't talk much about stuff like this, but still..." Spike said.

"Spike, you talk about Rarity almost non-stop sometimes!" Twilight said, and Trixie giggled.

"What's so funny? Spike growled at Trixie.

"It's just... Trixie never thought a dragon could have a crush on a pony." Trixie said.

"True love cares not about race." Spike sighed, his eyes sparkling and little hearts somehow manifesting in the air around him.

"Who said anything about true love? Trixie said a crush." Trixie said.

"You doubt that my love for Rarity is true?" Spike asked, snarling at Trixie

"Spike!" Twilight exclaimed, causing Spike to immediately stop. "Quit treating Trixie like an enemy! She hasn't done anything wrong that she's not already apologized for." she said.

"Whatever." Spike said in a sarcastic tone, causing Twilight to sigh in frustration.

Trixie glanced out the window. The sun was already setting. Just how long had Twilight and herself been talking, and how long had they been crying on each other's shoulders? "Twilight, it is getting late, and Trixie must be going now. She will see you tomorrow." Trixie said.

"All right, Trixie. See you tomorrow. Have a nice night." Twilight said, leaning close to Trixie and giving her a soft good night kiss.

"You too, Twilight." Trixie said, kissing Twilight back just as softly before walking out of the library and heading towards her home.

Twilight and Trixie had spent most of the next day talking together while snuggled against one another, occasionally sharing a passionate kiss or two. Now it was almost time for their double date with Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Suddenly, there was a loud knock on the library door. Twilight reluctantly got up from her position snuggled against Trixie's side, and opened the door with her magic. "Hello, Rainbow Dash. Hello, Fluttershy." she said to the two pegasi currently occupying the space outside the door.

"Hey! Are you girls ready to dance? You'd better be, cause DJ Pon3's playing tonight! She is so bucking awesome!" Dash said, ending her last sentence with a squeal of joy.

"We're ready, Dash." Twilight said.

"Yes, please, lead on. Trixie has heard many good things about this DJ Pon3." Trixie said, getting to her hooves.

"Here we are." Dash said, standing outside the building marked Club Hooflympus. The building had huge pillars, obviously inspired by griffon architecture, and Trixie could feel the thumping of the bass in the music playing even from out here. A bouncer pony, a blue unicorn stallion with a green mane styled into a mohawk and a matching tail, with a cutie mark of a silver shield, stepped in front of the four mares.

"Cutie marks, please." he said in a gruff voice. Trixie lifted the back of her cape with her magic, showing off her cutie mark by turning her side toward him. The other three simply turned their flanks toward the bouncer. "Right. Have a good time, ladies." he said, detaching the metal chain hanging in front of the doorway with his magic and pointing inside the club with a hoof. Rainbow Dash was the first inside, followed closely by Fluttershy, Trixie, and lastly Twilight, who seemed to be entranced by the building's pillars.

As Trixie climbed the last stair into the club itself, a new song that Trixie had heard before started playing. "Oh, my gosh! I love this song!" Dash exclaimed, and grabbed Fluttershy's hoof with her own, pulling the shy mare towards the dance floor. Trixie, interested in the music and the club itself, and also kind of wanting to get a look at DJ Pon3, followed, then looked behind her to see Twilight glued to the spot just inside the entrance to the club.

"Come on, Twilight! Trixie wants to dance with you!" Trixie called, snapping the nerdy unicorn out of her apparent trance.

"Oh! Sorry!" Twilight said, trotting to catch up with Trixie. Trixie reared up on her hind hooves, a practice that she had almost perfected during her shows, and Twilight started to do the same, but then she began waving her front hooves awkwardly through the air in front of her, her tongue hanging out a bit as if she was concentrating. Trixie had to giggle at Twilight's display.

"Twilight, that is the nerdiest dance Trixie has ever seen." Trixie said, and Twilight blushed. "Not that there's anything wrong with being nerdy, but some ponies might start to pick on you for it. Try dancing like this." Trixie said, moving her hooves to the beat as the first chorus started.

"The lights that move sideways, and up and down."

Trixie moved her front hooves from side to side, then pointed them both to the ceiling, then to the floor.

"The beat takes you over and spins you round."

Trixie spun a bit to the left, then to the right, then spun around to the left on her back right hoof, stopping just as she faced Twilight again.

"Our hearts steady beating, the sweat turns to cold."

Trixie placed her right hoof against the left side of her chest, then crossed over it with her left hoof against the right side of her chest.

"We're slaves to the DJ and out of control."

Trixie twitched first left, then right, as if trying to escape from a pair of hoofcuffs, then rolled her hooves down to their original positions.

Twilight tried her best to copy Trixie's dance moves, but couldn't keep up, mainly because she'd never heard this song before. She decided to just watch Trixie as she danced to the next verse.

"I watch her hooves move, her flanks, they sway."

Trixie stomped her back hooves one at a time, then swayed her flanks from side to side.

"Does a mane fling, then starts to say,"

Trixie flipped her head backward, making sure to hold onto her hat with her telekinesis as her mane followed her head's movements, then flung her head forward again.

"'Oh, my gosh, it's my favorite song!'"

Trixie mouthed the words as she danced, her hips swaying again.

"I pull her close and she sings along."

Trixie reached out towards Twilight, who gladly moved closer to allow Trixie to pull her close to herself in a warm embrace.

"We can't slow down, even if we try.

If the record keeps spinning, then so will I.

She likes industrial, and she tastes like a tear.

Tells me 'Don't stop dancing!' and she's pulling me near."

Trixie lead Twilight around in a circle,both of them swaying to the beat as they danced, before Trixie let go of Twilight and begun dancing to the next chorus, Twilight doing a better job of dancing with her since she already knew the moves. As the middle eight started, Trixie pulled Twilight into a warm embrace once again, kissing her deeply through the entire section as they swayed back and forth to the music. As the last choruses started, Trixie broke the kiss and the embrace, and they both danced the way Trixie had taught Twilight again until the song ended.

As another song that Trixie couldn't identify started, Trixie and Twilight walked off the dance floor to give other ponies some room to dance. Trixie took this time to observe the club around her. The floor was in a checkered tile pattern, and there was almost no lighting at all, save at the tables and the bar, and the spotlights that changed color and shape as they drew intricate paths around the dance floor, which was littered with ponies dancing in all different styles. Some were drawing graceful lines through the air in front of them with their front hooves, others were stomping around brutishly and almost throwing themselves heavily into other brutish ponies, though they seemed to be holding back so as not to actually hurt anypony, but most fell somewhere in the middle of these two extremes. More than a few had glowsticks tied to their front hooves, which made interesting patterns as they danced.

Trixie looked towards the DJ booth set up on the stage above the crowd, and saw a unicorn mare with white fur and a blue mane and tail, each with electric blue streaks through them. Her cutie mark was a double eighth note, and she wore purple glasses over her eyes and a large set of headphones. Her head bobbed to the beat, and she had a wide smile on her face. "So that's DJ Pon3?" Trixie muttered to herself.

"Yep!" Dash said, floating next to Trixie, making her jump a bit at the sudden appearance of the cyan pegasus. "Isn't she great? I told you this'd be awesome!"Dash exclaimed, raising her hoof toward Trixie. When Trixie just stared at Dash, she said, "Come on, don't leave me hanging!" Finally understanding what Dash wanted, Trixie bumped her hoof against the pegasus'. "Aw, yeah!" Dash exclaimed.

Author's Note: For those who might not know, the song I linked is actually a cover of this song, which I have only one thing to say about it: "Oh my god, it's my favorite song!"

I actually finished this one relatively quickly, because I pretty much knew exactly where I wanted to go with it, though it took me a bit to get there.

Chapter 10: Magic Dance

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 10

Magic Dance

Trixie and Twilight had claimed a spot on the dance floor right near Dash and Fluttershy, who alternated between using their wings to keep their balance on two hooves and hovering in the air a couple hooves above the dance floor. Trixie lost herself in the music, dancing with Twilight, her forehooves flowing through the air as if gliding through water. Suddenly, Trixie got an idea. A warm blue glow of magic emanated from under her hat, and a similar aura formed around her hooves, trailing them as they moved through the air, and leaving a ghostly blue trail which left ripples in its wake. Twilight's eyes went wide as she saw Trixie's spell. She thought she had read about a spell similar to it, and cast the one she was thinking of, her hooves now leaving a magenta-colored trail through the air.

"How did you get your spell to ripple like that?" Twilight asked, noticing that the spell she had cast wasn't leaving the ripples in the air that Trixie's spell did.

"Silly Twilight. Illusion magic is Trixie's area of expertise. It would be embarrassing if she couldn't even cast a simple optical illusion spell." Trixie said, smirking.

"Could you teach me, Trixie?" Twilight asked, making puppy-dog eyes at Trixie.

"If that is what you wish, Trixie supposes she can comply." Trixie said, still dancing. "Remember that the secret behind most illusion magic is imagination, with only a few thoughts to bring the illusion out of your mind and into the space around you. Close your eyes and imagine the air in front of you is the surface of a lake. Don't imagine the water inside the lake, below the surface, just imagine the surface itself. Imagine the way the surface ripples as you draw your hooves across it. Now think these words to yourself: 'Fantasies are made visible.'" Twilight did as she was told, and when she opened her eyes, her hooves were leaving long ripple trails behind them as they moved through the air. "Excellent work, Twilight. Trixie thinks that you'd be a natural at illusion magic." Trixie said.

Suddenly, there was a loud thump to Trixie's right as one of the brutish ponies Trixie had spotted earlier threw himself into Dash, knocking her out of the air. "Oh, hey, look, it's Rainbow Crash!" the pony exclaimed as Dash hit the floor. He was a pegasus with dark brown fur and a grey mane and tail, with a set of weights as his cutie mark. Dash sighed as she recognized the voice.

"Oh, come on, not you again." she said, just loud enough for Trixie to hear over the music.

"Hey, who's your fillyfooler friend, Rainbow Crash?" the pegasus colt asked, floating over to Fluttershy. "Well, if it isn't Clutzershy! So you're a fillyfooler now, too?" he asked. Fluttershy shrank away from him, retreating behind her pink mane.

Trixie growled under her breath. "Trixie would appreciate it if you stopped using that horribly offensive word. She doesn't know who you are, but you seem to be bullying her friends, and she kindly asks you to stop." she said, closing the distance between the colt and herself.

"What the buck is this?" the colt yelled as he looked Trixie over, then looked to her dancing partner Twilight. "Since when did this place become a breeding ground for bucking fillyfoolers?" The music suddenly stopped, and the entire club's attention was drawn to DJ Pon3, who had lifted the needle from the record she was playing. She leaned over her deck to reach her microphone, and glared at the pegasus colt over her glasses.

"Sir, if you have some sort of a problem with mares liking mares, then I suggest that you remove yourself from my club immediately. If you don't, I can't be held responsible for what happens." DJ Pon3 said, levitating a barrage of records from her stacks around her, all aimed directly toward the colt, who seemed to realize just how much trouble he was really in, and flew for the door as fast as his wings would carry him. "Buckhead." DJ Pon3 said as she watched him leave, floating her records back to their stacks.. "Sorry for the interruption, everypony. Let's get back to the bucking beat!" she screamed into the microphone, starting the record again and dropping the needle on it, resuming the music where it left off.

Trixie and Twilight had been dancing most of the night, and Twilight had been learning a lot more dance moves from Trixie and from observing others around her. The song they were dancing to came to an end, and DJ Pon3 leaned over her deck to speak into her mic again. "Sorry, everypony, but that's the end of my set. Next up, we have DJ Oct3, a sort of apprentice of mine. She's still learning the ropes, so go easy on her, okay?" DJ Pon3 said, taking off her headphones as a grey earth pony mare with a darker grey mane and tail and a treble clef cutie mark stepped behind the deck. She wore a white collar with a pink bowtie around her neck.

DJ Pon3 stepped out from behind the deck to give her apprentice some space, and walked off of the stage into the crowd. DJ Oct3 slipped the headphones DJ Pon3 had left behind over her ears and grabbed a record case in her mouth, flipping it so that the record inside flew into the air, but before it could come back down, the apprentice DJ caught it so that the label landed on her right hoof, then she flipped it over and dropped it onto the turntable, taking another record out and putting it on the other turntable in the same way. She put both needles into position, fiddled with the mixer between the two turntables a bit, then slammed a forehoof down on each play button and started the music, mixing the two pieces of the track seamlessly.

The crowd of dancing ponies seemed to part in front of DJ Pon3 as she made her way through it. She stopped in front of Trixie's group of friends. "Sorry if that buckhead from earlier was bothering you. I just wanted to let you ladies know that I don't allow that kind of hatred in my club, and I hope that incident doesn't stop you from wanting to come back here." she said.

"It's quite all right, DJ Pon3. He was obviously the exception to the rule, and we've been enjoying ourselves since. The Great and Powerful Trixie likes it here, and will definitely come back sometime." Trixie said.

"Please, call me Vinyl." the DJ mare said, extending her hoof toward Trixie.

"And The Great and Powerful Trixie would like you to call her Trixie." Trixie said, shaking Vinyl's hoof. "And this is her marefriend, Twilight Sparkle, and her friends, Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash." she said, pointing to each of her friends as she named them.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshohmygosh! You are so bucking awesome!" Dash said as she floated over to Vinyl, letting out a fanfillyish squeal.

"Heh... Yeah, I am pretty cool, aren't I?" Vinyl asked, a wide smile on her face.

"Pretty cool? You're like, the epitome of epicness!"Dash exclaimed.

"Maybe." Vinyl said.

"Definitely." Dash said. "And I'm not just talking about your DJing. The way you told that guy off was amazing! He's been on my case since I was a filly, and I've never gotten him to back down like that. Believe me, I've tried." she said.

"Well, I've learned that, when it comes to dealing with morons like that guy, it helps to have a set of these babies." Vinyl said, lifting up her glasses and revealing her eyes. Trixie let out a small gasp. She never knew that irises could be a deep ruby red color like Vinyl's were. "It also helps if you have lots of dangerous objects to throw." Vinyl said, smiling.

The club suddenly fell silent, and everypony looked up at DJ Oct3, who seemed lost in her own world and hadn't noticed that the track had ended. "Yo! Octy!" Vinyl screamed up at her, which seemed to snap her out of her trance. "Octy" looked down at Vinyl, who made a circular motion with her right hoof, as if to say, "Start the next song already!" She then looked at the rest of the crowd, who stared up at her in anticipation.

DJ Oct3 leaned over the deck to get to the mic, and muttered, "S-sorry, everypony." She lifted the two records off the turntables and slid them back into their cases, then took two more out and put them on the turntables with the same flair she'd used before. She slid the mixer to the left, prepped the needles and mashed play on the left turntable, and music once again filled the club.

"She does that sometimes." Vinyl said, a smile forming on her face. "Especially when she's playing remixes of classical. I gotta admit, it's kind of cute." she said. "So are you girls just gonna stand there all night, or do you wanna dance?" she asked, smiling wider. Dash answered her question by grabbing Fluttershy and pulling her into the air, spinning her around as the familiar Habanera aria started to play. Trixie grabbed Twilight's hoof, and they began to dance together as well. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Vinyl said, smiling, though not joining in on the dancing.

Trixie noticed this, and asked, "Is something wrong, Vinyl?" as she danced with Twilight.

"It's just... well... I wish Octavia wasn't busy." Vinyl said.

"Octavia?" Trixie asked, confused.

"DJ Oct3. It's always either me or her running the deck, so we never get a chance to dance together." Vinyl said, and Trixie could hear the sadness in her voice.

"Forgive Trixie if she is wrong, but... is Octavia your marefriend?" Trixie asked.

"Yeah. We've been together for months, and still haven't gotten to dance with each other in our own club. How lame is that?" Vinyl said.

"That is a tragedy if Trixie has ever seen one. Why do you not ask her to put on a long piece that doesn't require mixing, so that you have time to dance together and she can still be back onstage to prepare the next track?" Trixie asked.

"You know what? That's a great idea. Yo, Octy!" Vinyl called up to Octavia again. Octavia lifted her headphones with a hoof so she could hear. "After this, put on Sandstorm and get your flank down here!" Vinyl yelled. Octavia gave her a hooves up to show that she understood, then lowered her headphones again, sliding the mixer to the left and taking the right record off as soon as she didn't need it anymore, putting it away and grabbing another record case with her mouth, flipping it so that the record soared out of it, and catching the record with her hoof, then dropping it onto the empty turntable and setting the needle into position. As the song drew to a close, she mashed the right play button and slid the mixer slowly to the right, blending the two songs together before reaching all the way to the right. She took the left record off and put it away, then took her headphones off, jumped off the stage and hurried through the crowd toward Vinyl. "Well, it's about damn time!" Vinyl teased, smiling as she wrapped her forehooves around her marefriend and embraced her.

"You know me, OCD as the moon." Octavia joked before kissing Vinyl deeply as they swayed back and forth to the beat. Trixie smiled as she watched them dance, then directed her focus back towards herself and Twilight. Twilight had cast a spell to create an illusory sphere and was rolling it around between her hooves in time with the music, sending little flashes of light out of it with her magic. Trixie smiled as she watched her marefriend dancing. To think that when the night begun, the only way Twilight had known how to dance was awkwardly, and now, she could be mistaken for a full-fledged raverpony. Trixie decided to cast a simple set of illusory glowsticks that wrapped around her forehooves, and danced with Twilight, losing herself in the music once more.

Meanwhile, Vinyl had separated herself from Octavia and was now dancing like Twilight and Trixie, while Octavia looked at her questioningly. "Come on, Octy, don't just stand there! Let the music control you! It has to flow through your body, commanding your every movement! That's what raving is all about!" Vinyl exclaimed. Octavia eyed her with a worried look, so Vinyl took pressed her forehooves against the grey mare's. "You've gotta let yourself go, just feel the beat take you over, possessing your entire body and soul. Try to keep your hooves with mine, okay?" Vinyl said as she began moving her hooves to the music. Octavia followed Vinyl's hooves with her own. After a while, she smiled, drawing her own path through the air with her hooves, and Vinyl smiled. "That's it, babe! But you better get back up to the deck, the song's gonna end soon." she said.

Octavia frowned. Just as she was starting to have fun, duty called. She made her way back through the crowd and onto the stage, picking another record case up with her mouth and putting the record inside it on the empty turntable with the same flair she'd used before. She put the needle in position, and pressed the play button as Sandstorm drew to a close, mixing the end of it with the beginning of the next song.

Trixie pulled Twilight into her embrace and they danced together, leaning into one another as their bodies moved to the beat. Trixie closed her eyes and imagined that the rest of the club melted away. There was only herself, Twilight, and the music that flowed through and around them. Nothing else mattered to her at the moment. She could imagine the music's path around and through them both, and followed it with her magic, tracing its weaving trail with deep blue illusory light that lit up the club, which, in Trixie's mind, was empty except for the two of them. As the song drew to a close, Trixie opened her eyes to see Vinyl staring at her and Twilight, her mouth wide open. "Vinyl, keeping your mouth open like that is a good way to catch flies." Trixie said, smiling. Vinyl finally snapped her mouth shut

"Wow... just... wow! That light show thing you did was amazing! Seriously... wow!" Vinyl said.

"Oh, was Trixie actually casting that spell? She is sorry. It's sometimes hard to separate something Trixie only imagines from something she makes into an illusion." Trixie said.

"Don't be sorry. It was... beautiful." Vinyl said, smiling.

Author's Note: First off: Holy moonrocks, 15,000+ total views for this story? How the buck did that happen? You guys are amazing! It still baffles me that so many of you read this.

All right, now to the actual chapter. Sorry if this is just assaulting everypony with song after song after song... I won't do it again if you don't like it, so feel free to tell me what you think. The first two were the result of thinking to myself, "If Octavia were a DJ like Vinyl, what might she play?", the answer of course being a mix between techno and classical. Also, for anypony who's forgotten or never heard Sandstorm, here's a link.

Hopefully, the next chapter will go up for Christmas. It might be delayed though, if I get stuck.

Chapter 12: Drinking Pony Is Best Pony

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 12

Drinking Pony Is Best Pony

Trixie and Twilight finished off their drinks a little bit slower than everypony else, but before everypony got a chance to complain, Trixie was calling over the waitress to order another round. A few minutes later, everypony had full drinks in front of them again. Vinyl and Octavia almost immediately threw their heads back and swallowed their shots, and Pinkie and Dash were having an official race of who could finish their drink fastest, while Fluttershy, Twilight, and Trixie just sipped their drinks slowly, savoring the flavor as they watched Dash slam her glass to the table just seconds before Pinkie did the same. "Way to go, Rainbow!" Fluttershy cheered, then gave her marefriend a peck on the cheek, causing Dash to blush.

"Wait!" Pinkie exclaimed, shooting up from the task of licking the sugar from the rim of her glass again. "You two are marefriends?" Pinkie asked.

"Ummm... how'd you know, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked, moving slightly away from Dash just in case Pinkie was uncomfortable with mares liking mares.

"Ummm... Pinkie Sense! Yeah, that's it. Pinkie Sense." Pinkie said. Trixie's Trixie Sense told her that Pinkie was hiding something, but she didn't press, because of the fact that the usual outcome when she did press Pinkie for information was being more confused than when she started, and an enormous headache.

"Well, ummm... yes, we are. I hope that doesn't bother you at all, Pinkie." Fluttershy said.

"Of course not, Fluttershy! I might even be into mares myself, I really don't know though, because I haven't found someone who I want to party that way with yet. Well, I mean, Dashie's awesome, but I guess she's taken now, isn't she?" Pinkie said, giggling.

"Yes, she is." Fluttershy said, nuzzling up against Dash's neck. "I mean, don't get me wrong, Pinkie. You're one of my absolute best friends, but now that I have Rainbow, I'm not letting her go, not even for you." she said.

"Don't worry, Fluttershy, I promise I wouldn't dream of taking her from you." Pinkie said. Her eyes widened suddenly, as a thought hit her. "Hey! You know what we should do? We should throw a party celebrating the two of you getting together!" Pinkie exclaimed.

"Naw, we've been together for weeks. There's two people here that just got together yesterday though." Dash said, smiling.

"Oh, no way! Who?" Pinkie asked, looking frantically around the bar. Trixie giggled at this. The pink pony was almost too good at seeing through some things, but horrible at seeing through others.

"She is talking about Trixie and Twilight, Pinkie." Trixie said, smiling.

"Oh! You two are together, too? That's great! I'll have to gather supplies tomorrow! Let's see, I'll need streamers, and balloons, and confetti, and a big banner, and..." Pinkie started, and Trixie slowly tuned her out as she felt a headache starting to grow.

"Pinkie, do you think that you can make your list after you get home? Trixie is starting to get a headache again." Trixie said.

"Sorry, Trixie, I'm just so super-duper-excited for you and Twilight!" Pinkie said. "Hey! We should invite everypony in Ponyville!" she exclaimed.

"Pinkie, that would be a very bad idea. Not everypony is going to share your excitement. In fact, there are some ponies that think that mare-on-mare relationships are unnatural or wrong for some reason." Twilight said.

"Twilight's right, Pinkie. Plus, telling everypony in Ponyville that they're invited to a party to celebrate Trixie and Twilight's budding relationship would be effectively outing them to a lot of ponies who don't know they have a relationship, and that's something that should be done slowly and at the time of Trixie and Twilight's choosing. Coming out is a very personal thing, Pinkie." Fluttershy said.

"I'm sorry, guys. I didn't know all that stuff. Trixie and Twilight can choose who comes to the party." Pinkie said. Trixie got the feeling that the party-loving mare was doing something she'd never done before, relinquishing the guest list to them.

"Of course, we'll have to invite Rarity and Applejack, though we should probably go and talk to them beforehoof to tell them in person." Trixie said.

"That sounds like a good idea, because I'm not sure how they'd take it if it wasn't coming directly from us." Twilight said. "To be honest, I'm not sure how they'll take it if it was coming directly from us, either. I'm kind of nervous, are you sure we should tell them now?" Twilight asked, turning to Trixie.

"We don't have to right now if you don't want to, but likely, the longer we wait, the worse the reaction will be if it is a bad one, and if it's a good one, they'll wonder why we didn't tell them sooner." Trixie said.

"No, we'll tell them tomorrow. I just have to have faith in us, and in our friends." Twilight said, smiling as her eyes twinkled with determination. "And of course, Vinyl and Octavia are invited, if you want to come." she said, looking across the table at them.

"We'd love to come, wouldn't we, dear?" Octavia asked, turning to Vinyl.

"You know it! I've always heard about Pinkie's parties, but never got the chance to actually go to one. Something tells me this'll be beyond awesome!" Vinyl said.

Pinkie bounced on all four hooves "Yay! DJ Pon3 is coming to one of my parties! Trust me, it'll be super fun! Did you want me to try and find some Jura for tomorrow, Octavia?" Pinkie asked.

"If you can, that would be great, Pinkie, but if you cannot, then I can do without." Octavia said.

"Kay! I'll look around and see if I can find a bottle."Pinkie said. "What time should the party be, girls? Three? And should it be at Sugarcube Corner?" she asked.

"That sounds good, Pinkie." Trixie said.

"Ummm... I don't mean to push or anything, but.... ummm... are we invited?" Fluttershy asked.

"Well, duh, Fluttershy! Of course you're invited! It was Dashie who gave me the idea, after all." Pinkie said.

"Trixie wouldn't even think of excluding you two, Fluttershy." Trixie said. Fluttershy smiled at Trixie.

"I'm so happy to have such great friends." Fluttershy said.

"And we're happy to have you for our friend as well, Fluttershy." Trixie said, taking a last sip from her Bacolti and carrot cola. Twilight and Fluttershy were just about finished with their drinks as well, so Trixie called for the waitress to order another round.

"No more for me, please. I've gotta fly myself and Rainbow home tonight." Fluttershy said.

"Come on, 'Shy, don't be a party pooper! We can walk home." Dash said.

"But Rainbow, we can't walk to your house." Fluttershy objected.

"But we can walk to yours." Dash said, winking.

"Okay, you've convinced me, Rainbow. I'll have another round." Fluttershy said, smiling as she unfolded her right wing and laid it across Dash's back as the waitress walked away. In return, Dash nuzzled up against Fluttershy's neck.

"Awwwww, you two look so cute together!" Pinkie said, giggling. Fluttershy blushed a bit at this, but pulled Dash closer to herself with her wing. Dash reached up with her muzzle and nuzzled just under Fluttershy's ear, making it twitch.

"They most certainly do, Pinkie." Octavia said, smiling.

"Kinda makes you wish we were that sweet, huh, babe?" Vinyl asked.

"Vinyl, that kind of cuteness requires a knowledge of how to be romantic, and let's face it, you wouldn't know romance if it hit you over the head with a bouquet of flowers." Octavia said, smirking.

Pfffff, you obviously don't know me at all, Octy. When I was in Fillydelphia, I was, like, the most romantic mare there." Vinyl said, grinning back at Octavia.

"Yeah? Prove it! Say something that will make me want to kiss you in front of all these ponies I'll bet you the tab that you cannot. If you do, I'll pay, but if you don't, you pay." Octavia said.

"You're so on, babe." Vinyl said, spitting on her hoof and extending it towards Octavia. Octavia simply looked at Vinyl's saliva-covered hoof in disgust.

"Dear, that is the opposite of romantic. You have precisely ten seconds to woo me, or you lose." Octavia said.

Vinyl only smirked more, then leaned towards Octavia and said, "You know, I've always loved how you play your cello. It really shows how much skill you have that you're able to play using only hooves." Octavia's eyes went wide as if she never expected to hear such things from her marefriend, then leaned toward Vinyl and kissed her deeply. Vinyl only smiled when she finally broke the kiss.

"I told you, babe." Vinyl said, smiling wider.

"I must admit, I never expected to lose that bet, but I am pleasantly surprised that I did." Octavia said.

"Well, anytime you need to be pleasantly surprised, all you need to do is ask." Vinyl said. "After all, it's practically my job to break through the barriers that society builds up by making assumptions."

"Vinyl, your job is to be a DJ." Octavia stated.

"Yes, one of the very few DJ ponies in all of Equestria. The type of music with the most demand is classical, and, no offense, hun, but that's pretty much dominated by rich bastards who only ever step foot out of their mansions in order to put on concerts. Most of them, present company excluded, of course, do it only for the money. They don't know the artistry that goes into playing with your whole entire soul, and they wouldn't know good music if it smashed a guitar over their pompous heads. You and me, babe, we're a part of a revolution! Techno will smash the music world to pieces and leave it begging for more! It's gonna turn classical music into its kinky slave!" Vinyl exclaimed, standing up on her hind hooves and slamming her forehooves against the table, making it shake.

"Please, Vinyl, you're scaring the sane ponies." Octavia said, nudging her marefriend with a forehoof.

"Octy, there's a fine line between genius and insanity. Most ponies trot on one side or the other. I, on the other hoof, canter merrily back and forth over it." Vinyl said, smiling again.

"No, dear, I believe that you are most definitely planted firmly on the insane side."

"Shows what you know. If I were insane, could I do this?" Vinyl asked, moving closer to Octavia and licking a long path from the bottom of her neck to just below her ear., making Octavia blush heavily.

"Yes. Yes, you could. In fact, it's practically a requirement to do that in public." Octavia stated flatly, looking around to see all of the bar patrons she didn't know looking at herself and Vinyl.

"Yeah? Well, they can just buck off, cause I'm not embarrassed to express my love for you, babe." Vinyl said after following Octavia's eyes.

"Vinyl, that is one of the sweetest things I have heard you say, on par with what you said about my cello playing." Octavia said, leaning over and nuzzling herself against Vinyl's neck.

"I told you, didn't I? I can be romantic when I want to be, I just don't like to show it off." Vinyl said.

"You not being a show-off? That's a first." Octavia said. The waitress finally returned with the next round, floating the drinks to rest in front of everypony.

"Sorry about the wait, we had to find another bottle of Jura. It's not every day that we get requests for something so rare." the waitress said.

"Don't worry about it. Sorry if I'm troubling you." Octavia said.

"Oh, it's no trouble at all. I'm just glad somepony's actually ordering it, we don't keep it in stock for nothing, but a lot of ponies just go for a beer or something." the waitress said, her face showing an expression of disgust.

"I know, right? I really don't understand how anypony can drink that swill." Octavia said, turning up her nose.

"Babe, if you're done flirting with your new marefriend, we've got shots to bomb." Vinyl said, nudging Octavia.

"Vinyl, sometimes you can be so rude, it's infuriating. I was not flirting, and you know it." Octavia said, glaring at Vinyl.

"Yeah, yeah. You can't toss your drink back when you're flapping your mouth like that, Octy." Vinyl said. Octavia sighed and scooted her shot glass onto her forehoof. She and Vinyl again tossed back their drinks in perfect synchronization, slamming the glasses down on the table at the exact same time.

Pinkie and Dash were having yet another race to see who could finish their drink first, and Fluttershy was cheering Dash on with a series of quiet "Yay!" sounds. Dash slammed her empty glass down on the table just seconds before Pinkie did the same.

"Yes! I'm 2 for nothing, baby!" Dash said, moving her forelegs in a robotic fashion.

"Actually, Rainbow, not to be rude or anything, but that's 2 for 1." Fluttershy corrected.

"That first drink doesn't count, cause it wasn't official. It was like an exhibition match." Dash argued.

"What do you think, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.

"Dashie's right. That wasn't a real race, it was more like practice." Pinkie said.

"Well, okay, if you say so." Fluttershy said as she tried what Dash had taught her, tipping her glass as far back as possible without spilling any of her margarita.

Trixie and Twilight were downing their drinks faster as well, and were leaning up against each other for support as their balance was a little bit off. Trixie was pretty sure that everypony was just about as buzzed as she was. Not wanting to get so drunk that she was acting like a complete fool, she spoke up after finishing her drink. "Well, Trixie doesn't know about everypony else, but she feels she's had enough to drink. On top of that, she's extremely tired." she said, her words slurring together just enough to be noticeable.

"Yeah, I agree, Trixie. We should probably call it a night." Twilight said.

"It was very nice meeting you, Vinyl and Octavia. Trixie will see you at the party tomorrow?" Trixie asked.

"We'll be there. Sugarcube Corner at 3, right?" Vinyl asked.

"Yep! I can't wait to see you guys there! You'll get to meet Rarity and Applejack too!" Pinkie said, somehow bouncing faster than usual. Trixie suspected that it might have something to do with all the sugar she'd licked off the rim of her drinks.

Octavia called over the waitress to take care of the tab as the rest of the table stretched from having stood still for so long. Trixie and Twilight said their goodbyes to the others, then walked back towards Twilight's library tree together. After giving her marefriend a goodnight kiss at her front door, Trixie headed back to her own house.

Author's Notes: Not much to say about this one, except I need to limit Pinkie's fourth wall privileges after what happened at the beginning.

Hope everypony has a happy New Year's Eve tomorrow.

Chapter 13: Scary Mothers and Nice Fillies

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 13

Scary Mothers and Nice Fillies

Trixie showed up at Twilight's library the next morning, a bit of a headache left over from her fun last night, but ready to have a talk with Rarity and Applejack, two ponies who she hadn't seen since her magic show. She honestly didn't know how those two would take the news that Trixie and Twilight were together, and from what she'd said last night, neither did Twilight. She knocked on the library door, hoping she wasn't so loud as to startle Spike again, but also not wanting to knock so quietly that she wasn't heard. After a few seconds, Twilight opened the door with her magic. "Oh, good morning, Trixie." Twilight said, leaning in to give Trixie a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you ready to go talk with Rarity and Applejack today? Or would you like to save it until later perhaps?" Trixie asked.

"Well, to be honest, I'm still really nervous about this, but I've been doing a lot of research on mare-to-mare relationships, and I've found out that while you shouldn't feel rushed to tell your friends, it's also a good idea not to wait too long to tell them either. So I really think that we should do it today, because if we can make up an excuse not to do it today, then what's to stop us from using the same excuse tomorrow, and the day after, and before we know it, it'll have been weeks, and it'll be far too late for them to have any response other than a negative one. So let's do this." Twilight said.

"Trixie is glad to hear you say that. Let's go talk to Rarity. Trixie isn't sure what her reaction will be, or Applejack's, for that matter, but whatever reactions they have, we'll face them together." Trixie said.

Twilight leaned in to give Trixie a soft kiss. "You're right, Trixie. I don't know what their reactions will be either, but I trust my friends to be rational about this, and even if their reaction is a negative one at first, I doubt they'll let such a thing get in the way of our friendship for long." Twilight said as she led the way to Rarity's shop, the Carousel Boutique. Once they had reached the shop, Twilight knocked on the door.

"Just a moment, please!" Rarity's voice called from somewhere inside. After a bit, Rarity opened the door with her magic. "Ah! Twilight! How good it is to see you! And Trixie as well! Welcome to the Carousel Boutique, the premiere dress shop here in Ponyville." the white unicorn said.

"We have something we need to talk to you about. Ummm... is Sweetie Belle around?" Twilight asked, looking around the shop for signs of Rarity's sister.

"Oh, goodness no! I just cannot get anything done with Sweetie under my hooves, and I had an order to fill for Hoity Toity, which I just had to finish by last night, so I sent her to spend the night at Applejack's with Apple Bloom. Thankfully, the order's already done and sent on its way to Canterlot." Rarity said.

"That's good. So, the thing we wanted to talk to you about... well... I don't really know how you'll react to this, but... well, Trixie and I are marefriends." Twilight said.

"Wait, so you're both into mares? I had no idea! I'm so happy that you two were able to find somepony you care for." Rarity said, smiling at them.

"Well, to be honest, I had no idea either, until after Trixie's show the other day. And even then, I didn't really know what my feelings meant." Twilight said.

"Well, I may not be the most experienced pony when it comes to relationships such as yours, but I do know a lot about romance in general. Should either of you ever need advice, my door is always open, dears." Rarity said.

"Thank you, Rarity. You're a great friend. I don't know why I was so nervous about talking with you about this. I guess I just thought that because you're so concerned with class and reputation, you might react badly." Twilight said.

"Please, Twilight. I know some ponies who consider themselves a part of the upper class might act rashly when confronted with a mare-on-mare relationship, but I personally believe that class has less to do with how rich or popular you are than it does with how you treat those around you. A pony can have absolutely nothing to her name and have absolutely no popularity, and still be of a higher caliber of class than the richest of mares. In my opinion, anypony who thinks that having a different sexual preference than the standard is somehow wrong wouldn't know class if it ran them over with Princess Celestia's private carriage." Rarity said.

"Oh, that reminds me. I should probably write a letter to Princess Celestia about this after I get home. But it can wait until after I talk to Applejack." Twilight said.

"Oh, she doesn't know yet?" Rarity asked.

"Well, I haven't gotten the chance to tell her yet. We wanted to tell you and her today, because as soon as Pinkie found out... well... you can probably guess what she wanted to do." Twilight said.

"Oh, wonderful! I do love Pinkie's parties, even if they can be... a bit much at times." Rarity said.

"Well, anyway, thanks for your support, Rarity. We're off to talk to Applejack." Twilight said.

"Oh dear. Twilight?" Rarity said.

"Yes?" Twilight asked.

"You'll be sure to break it to her easily, won't you? Don't get me wrong, it's nothing against Applejack, it's just that, sometimes, she has trouble relating to anything that wouldn't happen within the Apple family." Rarity said.

"No need to worry, Rarity. I'll try to be as delicate as possible." Twilight said.

"Hmmm... May I ask why you're being so quiet, Trixie?" Rarity asked.

"Oh, Trixie is mostly just letting Twilight handle this, since she's the one that knows you best." Trixie said. "Plus, she seems to have been doing some research. Trixie feels kind of out of her element here, because she hasn't really had many friends before, let alone had to tell them something as big as this, so she trusts Twilight to know how to handle this situation." Trixie said.

"I see. Well, if you'd like to stop by for lunch after you talk with Applejack, I'd love to have a one-on-one chat with you, to get to know you better, as long as you don't have anything planned with Twilight. After all, I hardly know anything about you." Rarity said.

"That sounds wonderful, Rarity. Trixie will see you then." Trixie said.

"Oh, and Twilight? Could you send Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle here when you get to Sweet Apple Acres? I'm sure you'd want to talk to Applejack without distractions, and I'll need to speak with Sweetie about this before she hears it from anypony else. You never know who might have shown an... aversion to a mare-on-mare couple, and, well, you know little fillies, they tend to emulate those around them." Rarity said.

"Okay, Rarity, I'll send them here." Twilight said.

"All right. I hope everything goes all right, dears." Rarity said.

"Thank you, Rarity. Trixie will be back for lunch." Trixie said.

"I look forward to it, Trixie." Rarity said. With that, Twilight led Trixie back across town toward Sweet Apple Acres.

When they finally arrived at the farm, they found Applejack outside, bucking the last of the leaves off of her apple trees as Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle watched . The orange earth pony looked up as she heard hoofsteps approaching, and smiled when she saw who it was. "Well, howdy, Twi! Howdy, Trixie! What brings y'all all the way out here?" Applejack asked.

"First, Rarity told us to send Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle back to the Carousel Boutique, if that's all right with you." Twilight said.

"A' course it's all right. Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, y'all heard her, get goin' now, y'all don' wanna keep Rarity waiting." Applejack said.

"Okay, sis! See ya later!" Apple Bloom said.

"Yeah, later, Applejack! Bye, Twilight! Bye, Miss Trixie!" Sweetie Belle said as she and Apple Bloom galloped off back toward town.

"Y'all have somethin' else y'all need from me, don' ya?" Applejack asked.

"As a matter of fact, we need to talk with you about something." Twilight said.

"What is it, Twi? From the looks on y'all's faces, must be pretty darn serious."

"Well, the thing is, it's something that some ponies might have a bad reaction to, and I'm not really sure how you'll take it." Twilight said.

"Ah can handle jus' about anythin', Twilight." Applejack said.

"I know you can, Applejack, it's just that, well, this just might fall into the small category of things that you can't handle." Twilight said.

"Twi, listen ta me. Whatever it is, ah swear not ta let it ruin our friendship. Honest." Applejack said, looking Twilight straight in the eye.

"Well, ummm... Trixie and I are... well... marefriends now." Twilight said.

"Marefriends? Do y'all mean to say that y'all are fillyfoo..." Applejack started before she saw Trixie flinch at the term she was about to use. Applejack caught herself, then racked her brain for another way to word it. " Sorry about that... that y'all like mares the way most mares like stallions?" Applejack said.

"Well... yes. I really hope that doesn't bother you." Twilight said.

"It don' bother me none, Twi, an' like ah done said, ah ain't gonna let it come between us, it's just that, well, ah ain't never had a friend who liked mares before, let alone two friends who liked each other like that, so ah don' rightly know what ta think." Applejack said.

"Don't worry, Applejack, I'm kind of new to all of this as well. I only found out that I had feelings for Trixie a few days ago, and I still wasn't sure what those feelings meant." Twilight said.

"Well, Ah'm jus' glad y'all are happy. Ah couldn't see mahself likin' another mare, but that don' mean that Ah'm against other mares likin' em. After all, as long as two mares make each other happy, what right does anypony have ta complain?" Applejack asked. Trixie smiled at this statement.

"That sounds a lot like something Trixie's mother used to say." Trixie said, her smile widening as she remembered. "She used to tell Trixie, 'Just because somepony is different from you doesn't mean that you have the right to hate them.'" Trixie quoted, still smiling.

"Anyways, Twi, is that all y'all wanted to talk to me about?" Applejack asked.

"Yeah, that's all. Pinkie Pie will be by later with an invitation to a party she wants to throw for us. We wanted to let you know beforehoof in person." Twilight answered.

"Well, that's mighty kind of ya, Twi. Ah'll see y'all at the party then." Applejack said.

"Have a nice day, Applejack." Twilight said as she and Trixie began walking away from the farm.

"Y'all have a nice day, too." Applejack replied, waving goodbye to them.

As Trixie walked, she suddenly felt Twilight pressing up against her. "I'm so glad that's over. You have no idea how nervous I was about this, but thankfully, all that worry was over nothing." Twilight said as she snuggled against Trixie's neck.

"You were right to have trust in our friends, Twilight. Not everypony could be so accepting of our relationship." Trixie said, snuggling into Twilight's side. As if the fates had conspired to demonstrate this point, a little filly walked by with her mother.

"Mommy, why are those mares snuggling like you snuggle Daddy?" the little filly asked. The mare covered her daughter's eyes with a hoof.

"Don't look at them, Honey. That's just unnatural." the mare said as she passed Twilight and Trixie. Trixie growled and turned around.

"You'll have to excuse Trixie, but what exactly did you mean by that?" Trixie asked, glaring at the mare.

"No, excuse me, Miss... Trixie, is it? You really should keep such deviancy in private, where little fillies can't be influenced by it." the mare said, glaring back.

"So first, you call Trixie unnatural, and now you're saying she's a deviant?" Trixie asked, shooting daggers at the mare with her eyes.

"Why yes. That is exactly what I'm saying. What did you expect, when you're showing off your fillyfooler tendencies in public like that?" the mare said. Trixie's glare deepened in intensity as that word was brought up once again.

"Trixie has no idea who you are, but you have already proved yourself deserving of her ire. Well done, miss. You have been upgraded to Neighsayer rank, and Trixie isn't even putting on one of her famous magic shows." Trixie said.

"Wait!" the filly exclaimed, moving her mother's hoof out from in front of her eyes. "You're the Great and Powerful Trixie?" she asked, her eyes shining.

"Indeed, Trixie is. And what would your name be, little filly?" Trixie asked, leaning down.

"Oh, no! I'm not letting you corrupt my daughter!" the mare said, standing between Trixie and the filly.

"Ma'am, Trixie is not trying to push her preferences on anypony. Perhaps you could learn a thing or two from her." Trixie said, glaring at the mare. Behind the mare, the little filly peeked around her mother.

"My name's Honey Dew!" the filly said excitedly, bouncing on her hooves. "I saw your last magic show, it was wonderful!" Honey Dew exclaimed. Trixie looked closer at the filly. She was an earth pony. Her coat was a honey yellow, with a sea green mane and tail. She looked old enough to have a cutie mark, but her flank was blank.

"Well, Honey Dew, the next time Trixie puts on a show, show this card to the ticket taker, and not only will you get free tickets for you and a friend, but you will also be guaranteed front row seats." Trixie said, floating the ace of diamonds out of an extra deck of cards she had recently bought. She floated out a quill as well, and signed it with a "G&PT," then presented the card to Honey Dew

"Oh my gosh! Thank you so much, Great and Powerful Trixie!" Honey Dew exclaimed, grasping the card offered to her

"Wait just a minute, young lady! You are not going to that show without my permission!" Honey Dew's mother said.

"But Mooooooommmmmy!" Honey Dew complained, making puppy dog eyes at her mother.

"No! Absolutely not! You are not going anywhere with that... fillyfooler!" the mare said, putting every ounce of hatred that was possible into the last word. Honey Dew didn't say anything, but her eyes glistened with tears as she began to sniffle. "Fine!" Honey Dew's mother finally caved in, then turned to Trixie, glaring daggers at her. "But if my filly comes back anywhere near as corrupt as you are, I swear I'll run you out of town!" she said.

"In such an event, Trixie will give you her best pitchfork and torch. Do not worry, ma'am. Unlike some ponies, Trixie does not try to convert others to emulate her preferences." Trixie said.

"Well, then, this chat has been ever so delightful..." the mare said, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "...but Honey Dew and I have errands to run." she finished, pulling Honey Dew close to her as she began to walk off.

"Ugh... Trixie seriously dislikes ponies like that." Trixie said. Twilight stayed silent, but snuggled Trixie's neck a bit. "Why didn't you stand up for yourself, Twilight? That mare was insulting you as well, you know." Trixie said.

"I didn't want to cause anypony any trouble." Twilight said.

"Twilight, ponies with that type of mindset deserve all the trouble you can give them." Trixie said.

Author's Note: Sorry this one is so late, everypony. I'd been stuck on one part in the middle of their conversation with Applejack for a week and a half, and couldn't think of anywhere to go with it. I finally decided to delete the part, writing it off as a dead end, and take it in another direction. Thankfully, I was able to finish it pretty quickly after that.

Also, I may have been a little bit busy playing a certain game involving a dragon-blooded hero making their way across the northern reaches of a fantasy world.

Chapter 14: Memories and Melodies

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 14

Memories and Melodies

Trixie had said goodbye to Twilight once they had reached the library again. She had then trotted off to the Carousel Boutique for lunch with Rarity, as she had promised. Trixie smiled when she learned that not only had Rarity prepared daisy and sunflower sandwiches, but also apple strudels from the freshest ingredients Sweet Apple Acres had to offer, and the finest lemon tea imported straight from Canterlot. "You see, dear, only the highest-quality lunch is good enough for my friends." Rarity said, her eyes shining as she watched Trixie's impressed expression.

"Thank you very much, Rarity, but... you didn't have to do all this for Trixie." Trixie said, a little embarrassed that Rarity had gone to such lengths just for her.

"Didn't I, Trixie? A Great and Powerful mare deserves a Great and Powerful lunch, after all." Rarity said.

"Perhaps you are right." Trixie said, picking up her sandwich and taking a bite.

"Of course, dear. Now then, I feel like I hardly know you. If you don't mind telling me more about yourself, that would be wonderful." Rarity said as she sipped on her tea.

"Ummm... until she came back to Ponyville earlier this week, Trixie had been mostly traveling around from place to place, never really spending much time in a single town. Before she lost her stage in the Ursa Minor attack, it was more of the same, except much easier since Trixie was always guaranteed a warm bed at night." Trixie said, taking another bite from the delicious sandwich.

"That's not really what I meant. I want to know more about you as a pony. For instance, when did you realize that you liked mares?" Rarity asked.

"Well, Trixie wasn't completely sure until after her last magic show, when Twilight was being a lot more affectionate than Trixie had experienced before, and she didn't really mind it until Twilight hugged Trixie so tight that she couldn't breathe." Trixie said as she continued eating her lunch.

"You mean that you've never had a crush on anypony before?" Rarity asked.

"Well, Trixie isn't really sure it counts as a crush, but she used to idolize her teacher a lot when she was a filly. She is one of the few friends Trixie had before coming to Ponyville." Trixie replied. It had been a long time since she had just sat and talked about her past with anypony one on one. She had talked with Twilight about the Powerful Pyrite and the rest of the Dominating Dozen, but that story hadn't involved herself.

"What's her name, if you don't mind me asking?" Rarity asked.

"Trixie doesn't mind. Her name is Melody. She was Trixie's homeroom teacher, and also taught choir. She's practically the only reason Trixie joined choir. Trixie wasn't very good at singing, though, so she didn't take it the next year." Trixie said.

"You were in choir?" Rarity asked.

"Yes, but like Trixie said, she was only in it for a year, she wasn't very good, and the only reason she joined was because it was taught by Melody." Trixie said.

"So you must have really liked this Melody, if you joined a class you weren't good at just for her." Rarity said.

"Trixie idolized her. The only ponies Trixie idolized more were her own parents." Trixie said.

"But it wasn't a crush?" Rarity asked.

"Trixie doesn't really know. She doesn't think she was old enough to really have a crush back then.." Trixie said.

"How old were you the year you joined choir?" Rarity asked.

"Trixie was 8 years old. She remembers because the Great Lapis died the year after, when Trixie was 9." Trixie said.

"8 years old, huh? That was when I experienced my first crush. He was so handsome. Of course, he was also 14 years older than me, and probably wouldn't have given me the time of day." Rarity said.

"What was this mystery stallion's name, if you don't mind Trixie asking?" Trixie inquired.

"Well... you'll probably laugh." Rarity said, lowering her head a bit in embarrassment.

"Trixie promises she won't." Trixie said, miming the motions for a Pinkie Pie Swear.

"It was... this is so embarrassing... Center Stage." Rarity admitted.

"You mean the star of that traveling theater group... what were they called?" Trixie asked, trying to remember.

"The Trottingham Ten, yes. Center Stage was just so handsome, so rugged... or at least I thought so back then. The first time my father took me to see Cinderella, and Center Stage was dressed as Prince Charming... well, I was just so awestruck that I had to struggle to keep my focus when it came to anything else but him." Rarity said.

"Trixie thinks she knows what you mean. It was the same way with her mind when it came to Melody. The only exception was when it was something the Great Lapis or the Powerful Pyrite wanted Trixie to do, then that took precedence over thoughts of Melody. So perhaps Trixie did have a crush on her." Trixie said.

"I told you, did I not? When it comes to romance, nopony can hide their feelings from Rarity." Rarity said, toying with the twirls of her mane with a hoof.

"Trixie really wasn't trying to hide anything from you, Rarity, she seriously thought that her crush on Melody was just idolizing." Trixie said.

"Oh, I know. Sometimes, a pony can be a lot better at hiding things from herself than she is at hiding them from others." Rarity said. "But yes, Center Stage was my first crush... that is, until I met him face to face and actually found out what an absolute jerk he really was." she finished, glaring at thin air as she remembered.

"You sound as if he wronged you horribly. What happened?" Trixie asked.

"I got to go backstage after a show when I was 10. He... he made fun of my mane. Said I put too much effort into it. He said that the fact that I had to work to maintain it meant that it was inferior." Rarity said, her glare deepening.

"He was dead wrong." Trixie said, glaring in the same direction as Rarity, at the imaginary actor there.

"I know, right? Just because somepony has to work to be beautiful doesn't mean that they're inferior to somepony with natural beauty." Rarity said.

"You earned your beauty, Rarity. Don't let the opinion of one stuck-up stallion get to you. He wouldn't know hard work if it plowed into him with Applejack's plow."Trixie said. Rarity giggled a bit at she imagined this.

"Ever since then, my mane has been... well... a bit of a touchy subject for me. I'm getting better about it, but when somepony threatens my mane, I tend to be a bit melodramatic." Rarity said.

"Trixie did not know that. She is sorry for what happened on the day of the Ursa Minor attack." Trixie said.

"Dear, please. There's no need to apologize for that twice. I've already forgiven you, and besides, there's no way you could have known." Rarity replied.

"Trixie still shouldn't have been that horrid to you. She knows if somepony transformed her hat or cloak, she would have flipped out, too." Trixie said

"Oh, I can totally understand that. After all, they are a very fashionable choice on your part, dear." Rarity said.

"Actually, it was on the Great Lapis' part. She gave them to Trixie when she got her cutie mark during Trixie's first magic act in the school's talent show." Trixie said.

"She sounds like she was a wonderful mare." Rarity said.

"She was." Trixie said, feeling tears rolling down her cheeks.

"If you don't want to talk about this, you don't have to, darling." Rarity said, not wanting to push Trixie into talking about anything she wasn't comfortable with sharing.

"No, Trixie wants to talk about it. It's been ages since she talked to anypony about this kind of stuff." Trixie said. "The Great Lapis was Trixie's biggest inspiration. When Trixie lost her in that carriage accident, she was devastated." she finished. Tears were still streaming down Trixie's face, but she was glad that she finally had somepony to talk to about this.

"So it was a carriage accident? Those are extremely rare, because there are so few ponies with carriages." Rarity said. There were times that she wished she had a carriage, but she could worry about that once her fashions were more famous. For now, she would do without.

"If Trixie remembers right, one of the pegasi pulling the other carriage was half-drunk, and was having trouble flying because of it. But it would be wrong of Trixie to put the blame of her mother's death on him." Trixie said.

"Not a lot of ponies could be that mature, Trixie." Rarity said, surprised that Trixie didn't blame the half-drunk pegasus. If the same thing had happened to her mother, she didn't know if she could stop herself from blaming him.

"Trixie knows, believe her. When word got out that the Great Lapis had been killed in a carriage accident, and about that pegasus' state at the time, the media had a field day with it, filling the airwaves with every ounce of hatred they could muster. But Trixie knew that it wasn't that stallion's fault. It was still just an accident, whether or not anypony happened to be drunk at the time." Trixie said, wiping away her tears with her hoof. "Trixie is sorry if all this talk about her mother's death is a little morbid." Trixie added.

"Not at all, darling. These things need to be talked about every now and then. If we keep it all bottled up inside, then the pressure only grows as more things like this are added, until it gets to be so much that we can no longer stop it from exploding out of us. And I personally don't like to see ponies exploding in such a manner." Rarity said.

"Speaking of ponies exploding, you should have seen this mare Trixie and Twilight ran into on our way back from Sweet Apple Acres. Trixie swears that she was somehow convinced that we were some sort of moonspawn sent to Equestria with the specific intent to corrupt her daughter, just because we happened to be snuggling a bit as she walked by." Trixie said.

"Oh, that is absolutely horrid, darling. I can't stand ponies who think like that." Rarity said.

"Trixie can't either, but the mare's daughter was really nice, and happened to be a fan of Trixie's, so Trixie gave her a signed card that will get her two free front row seats at Trixie's next performance." Trixie said.

"How sweet! I'm sure the filly will be eternally grateful. Never forget your fans, Trixie. They are what make or break you as an entertainer. It's not your looks or your tricks, these things only help you to make fans, who are your true carriage to stardom." Rarity said.

"Thank you, Rarity. Sometimes Trixie needs to be reminded of that. She admits that she can get a bigger head than necessary at times." Trixie said.

"Oh, believe me, I do too sometimes. Thankfully, whenever my head gets too big, my friends are always there to talk some sense into me." Rarity said.

"Trixie is just thankful that she has friends who will help her with that now." Trixie said.

As Trixie walked back towards Twilight's library to spend some time with her marefriend before her party, she noticed a cream-colored earth pony mare with a curly blue and pink mane who was heading in the same direction. As Trixie neared the tree in which the library was housed, she noticed that the cream-colored mare was in fact heading directly towards the tree. Trixie opened the door for the mare, and stepped inside herself. The floor of the Ponyville Library had been converted into a veritable labyrinth of books that Trixie and the earth pony mare had to navigate carefully.

"Twilight?" Trixie called out as she stepped carefully over a small stack of books in her way. Twilight poked her head out of the side of another stack of books that looked like it was purposefully built around the purple mare.

"Hey, Trixie, you've gotta build a book fort with me! They're just the best! Do you know how awesome it feels to be safe and secure in your own little fortress of knowledge?" Twilight asked, smiling broadly.

"No, Trixie doesn't, but she is afraid that will have to wait. You seem to have a customer." Trixie said, pointing a hoof towards the cream-colored mare, who waved at Twilight in her book fort.

"Oh! Bon-Bon! I'm so sorry about the mess. What can I help you with?" Twilight asked as she stepped out of her fort and began to float the maze of books back to their shelves, though Trixie noticed that she left the book fort as it was.

"Well, Pinkie told me she was hosting a party this afternoon, but it's just the strangest thing! She wouldn't tell me what the party was for. She told me that if I really wanted to know, I should ask you, but she said you might not tell me because it's very personal. But I decided to try my luck anyway." Bon-Bon said.

"Oh, my Celestia! I'm so sorry, Bon-Bon! I didn't even think of inviting you and Lyra! That was absolutely moronic of me!" Twilight said, facehoofing.

"Ummm... invite us to what?" Bon-Bon asked.

"To the coming out party Pinkie's throwing for Trixie and I. If you're not doing anything at 3 this afternoon, did you want to come?" Twilight asked, hoping that Bon-Bon would forgive her for not thinking of her and Lyra until now.

"I'm not doing anything, and if I remember right, Lyra's not either, so of course we'll be there! I'm so happy for you, Twilight!" Bon-Bon said, rushing over to give Twilight a friendly hug. Trixie fought back a short stint of jealousy as she watched Bon-Bon hugging her marefriend. "I've gotta go tell Lyra now! Bye, Twilight!" Bon-Bon said.

"Bye, Bon-Bon! The party's at Sugarcube Corner!" Twilight called as Bon-Bon rushed past Trixie towards the door.

"We'll be there! Congratulations to you too, Trixie!" Bon-Bon called as she exited the library.

"Thank you." Trixie called after the cream-colored mare. Trixie turned back to Twilight. "So who was that?" she asked.

"That was Bon-Bon. Almost everypony in Ponyville knows that she and Lyra are marefriends. I feel just awful that I didn't think to invite them to our party until just now. I even used to go to school with Lyra, before I moved here. Apparently, she graduated at around the same time, and moved in with Bon-Bon after that."Twilight explained.

"Trixie sees. Now about these book forts you were talking about..." Trixie began.

"I thought you'd never ask." Twilight said, floating enough books down from the shelves to make a book fort identical to the one she had made before.

Author's Note: Rarity seems to have bad luck with her crushes. First, Center Stage, and later, Prince Blueblood? Perhaps she should stop looking at stallions and start looking at certain baby dragons I could name.

Chapter 15: Party Time

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 15

Party Time

Trixie had enjoyed helping Twilight build another book fort. They had named Twilight's fort Forte and Trixie's Fort B, and Trixie had enjoyed a good round of imaginary fortress defense with Twilight, where each tried to invade the other's fort with book "soldiers" while simultaneously defending their fort from the other mare's "soldiers", but before long, it was time to venture forth from their respective fortresses of knowledge and go to Pinkie Pie's party. So Twilight and Trixie started to trot across Ponyville's town square to Sugarcube Corner. Trixie was thankful it was mostly going to be only the friends she'd already made there. She didn't want to have to deal with too many ponies that didn't know her, Bon-Bon and her marefriend were all right, but Trixie had already experienced a run-in with a hateful pony once today, and she really didn't want a repeat of that anytime soon.

As if on cue, who should walk by the two unicorn mares but Honey Dew and her mother. Honey Dew waved excitedly to Trixie, who gladly waved back, but Honey Dew's mother only let out a huff of air and turned up her nose at the two. Trixie took some time to study Honey Dew's mother closer, so that she might avoid future run-ins with her. She was a grass green-colored earth pony, with a dark green mane and tail, almost the color of pine needles, tied back with hair ties. Suddenly, Trixie got an idea. "Say, Honey Dew! How would you like to go to a Pinkie party?" Trixie asked the filly.

"You mean a real live party thrown by the one and only Pinkie Pie? Oh, I've always, always, always wanted to go to one of her parties! Can I, Mommy? Please, please, please, pleeeeeaaaaaasssseeee?" Honey Dew asked, drawing out the last word as long as she could before needing to take a breath.

"Absolutely not! I won't let you go anywhere with that fillyfooler! You're already going to her next show, that's enough time around something so unnatural." Honey Dew's mother said.

"Ma'am, I would appreciate it if you'd stop using the F word to describe my marefriend and I." Twilight spoke up, glaring at the mare. "We are grown mares, not little fillies, and we are not just fooling around with each other, our love is as serious as any other." Twilight finished. Trixie smiled as she heard her marefriend standing up to Honey Dew's mother.

"Whatever. You are still not going to that party, young lady." the mare said to her daughter. Honey Dew let out a whimper, and her eyes teared up. "No! absolutely not! That won't work this time, Honey Dew!" the mare said, steeling herself against Honey Dew's protests. Honey Dew sniffled and pouted as tears streamed down her face. "Crying won't get you anywhere, little filly, so you best stop right now!" her mother said, but Trixie could tell she was beginning to weaken.Just one last push from the filly ought to do it.

Honey Dew looked up at her mother with big, tear-filled eyes, and said one word between her sniffling. "Please?" she asked.

The mare gave a sigh as she finally caved in. "All right. But what I said earlier still stands! If my filly comes back anywhere near as corrupt as you are, Miss... Roxy, was it?" the mare asked, directing her glare towards Trixie.

"Mommy! It's not Roxy, it's the Great and Powerful Trixie!" Honey Dew complained, horrified that her mother had gotten her idol's name wrong.

"Right, then. Miss Trixie. I swear I will personally chase you into the Everfree Forest in such an event!" Honey Dew's mother said.

"Trixie has told you before, ma'am, she doesn't aim to convert others to her way of thinking." Trixie said.

"Trixie, if we don't hurry, we're going to be late for the party." Twilight interrupted.

"The party!" Trixie exclaimed as she remembered. "Trixie is sorry, ma'am, she would love to stay and argue with you all day, but she cannot be late for her own party." Trixie said.

"I want you home by 6:00, Honey Dew!" the mare said, nuzzling her daughter before giving her a reluctant push towards Sugarcube Corner.

"Okay, mommy! Thank you!" Honey Dew exclaimed before trotting alongside Trixie and Twilight. "Please don't hate my mommy, Great and Powerful Trixie. She's mean to some ponies, but that's just cause she's afraid." Honey Dew said as she turned to watch her mother trotting off.

"Trixie doesn't hate her. She doesn't like the way your mother speaks to Trixie and Twilight, but she doesn't hate anypony." Trixie said.

"Lots of ponies fear what they don't understand. It's natural to be afraid of what you don't know. I like to explore the unknown though, make it so that I do know it. And when I get scared, I use the method Pinkie taught us. I laugh in the face of that fear, and it goes away. Like Pinkie said, you've gotta giggle at the ghostie." Twilight said. Trixie could hear her humming some tune to herself. Trixie smiled as they neared Sugarcube Corner.

"Hey, Trixie! Twilight! You're here! Good! Now the only ponies missing are Vinyl and Octavia!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around the three newcomers excitedly as they entered the sweets shop. Suddenly, Pinkie stopped in midair and, as if suddenly remembering the laws of gravity, she came down on all four hooves. "Hey! I know you!" Pinkie said to Honey Dew.

"You do?" Honey Dew asked, confused because, though she had heard of the pink mare in front of her and how awesome her parties were, she had never actually met her.

"Yeah! You're Pine Needle's little filly, Honey Dew, right?" Pinkie asked, though it was obvious that she didn't really need confirmation of that fact.

"You know my mommy?" Honey Dew asked.

"Sure! I buy a Hearth's Warming tree from her every year. They're like, the best trees in Ponyville!" Pinkie said. "So what are you doing here? I thought your mom was, like, really opposed to stuff like mares loving mares."

"She is. I'm a huge fan of the Great and Powerful Trixie's though, so I convinced her to let me come. Plus, I've always wanted to come to one of your parties, Pinkie!" Honey Dew said.

"So everypony's here but Vinyl and Octavia? Have Lyra and Bon-Bon showed up?" Twilight asked.

"Ummm.... nope! I didn't know they were invited. I mean, I talked to Bon-Bon, but I didn't tell her anything but to ask you about it, and I didn't know you invited her and Lyra. Well, the more, the merrier! But I'd better go grab some more cups for the punch. It was nice meeting you, Honey Dew!" Pinkie said, bouncing back into the shop's kitchen. As Trixie, Twilight and Honey Dew walked into the room where all of Pinkie's parties here took place, they were greeted with warm hellos from the others.

"Everypony, this is Honey Dew. She's a fan of the Great and Powerful Trixie's. Honey Dew, these are Trixie's friends, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack." Trixie said.

"It's a pleasure to meet all of you." Honey Dew said, smiling. Trixie had this many friends who supported her being with Twilight, plus four more on the way. This was further proof that Honey Dew's mother really didn't know what she was talking about when it came to mares who loved mares.

"Just a little filly, and already so polite! I daresay, one day you will grow up to be a fine lady of grace." Rarity said.

"So you finally found yourself a fanfilly, eh, Trixie? Aren't they so awesome? Whenever you need an ego boost, just find a fanfilly, and they'll be sure to pick you right up!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Rainbow! Honey Dew looks up to Trixie, like Scootaloo looks up to you. You should never break the trust between fan and idol, especially not for something like a temporary ego boost." Fluttershy scolded.

"Yeah, yeah, 'Shy. Don't worry, it's not like I use Scoots just for that. Sometimes we just hang out and talk about stuff too, like the Wonderbolts and how awesome it'll be when I finally get to fly with them." Dash said.

"Yer Pine Needle's little filly, aintcha? Ya can't really decorate apple trees for Hearth's Warming so well, so the Apple family buys one a' her firs every year. A couple years ago, I was thinkin' a' plantin' the tree that year on tha farm somewheres, but Granny Smith argued that 'It's called Sweet Apple Acres, not Sweet Pine Acres, dagnabit!'" Applejack said.

"Hey, girls! Lyra and Bon-Bon just got here!" Pinkie said, coming into the party room with a tray balanced on her head, followed closely by Bon-Bon and an aquamarine unicorn who Trixie assumed was Lyra.

"Welcome to the party, girls! I'm glad you could make it on such short notice. I'm sorry that I didn't let you know sooner." Twilight said.

"That's okay, Twilight, we're just glad you invited us to your coming out party. We both know how big of a deal this is, and we're happy that you thought us worthy of being among the first ponies to know." Lyra said, smiling.

"Ummm, Trixie, what does everypony mean by 'coming out?'" Honey Dew asked. At this question, Twilight teleported a pair of cat-eye glasses from somewhere and balanced them on her nose, using her magic to tie her hair into a bun behind her.

"Well, Honey Dew, 'coming out of the closet', or coming out for short, is when a pony who has a different idea of love than most ponies decides that she's tired of hiding that idea from the ponies around her, so she tells her friends and family about her idea and what it means to her. It's a very subjective thing, which means that everypony who does it has a different way of coming out. Some ponies tell their family before their friends, others tell their friends before their family, some ponies don't come out for months or even years after they discover what their idea of love is, others come out just a couple of days after. It all depends on when the pony is ready, and what she wants to do." Twilight said. Trixie giggled at the nerdy way Twilight chose to answer Honey Dew's question.

"Is coming out hard to do?" Honey Dew asked.

"It's scary. Trixie was afraid that some of her friends might not want to be her friends anymore, but thankfully, Trixie has the best friends she could ask for, who didn't look down on her for her preferences." Trixie said.

Suddenly, there was a loud shout from the entrance to the sweets shop. "DJ Pon3 is in the house! The party can now begin!" Vinyl yelled.

"Shhhhh! Vinyl! You are so uncivilized!" Octavia scolded her.

Pinkie poked her head out into the main room, and exclaimed, "Hey, girls! Glad you could make it! We're in here!"

"Yo, Pinks! I brought my deck, in case you want some bucking awesome music!" Vinyl said, pointing with her muzzle to the three pieces of equipment on her back.

"Why in Equestria she chose to lug that heavy thing over here, I'll never know." Octavia said as she followed Vinyl into the party room.

"Well, duh! A bucking awesome party needs to have music to match! And all of my parties need to be bucking awesome!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Vinyl used her magic to pull her deck off her back and onto the floor, and began to hook everything together. She pulled a record case from the cabinet below one of the turntables, and used her magic to pull the record out and set it on the left turntable. "I made this last night. It's got a lot of my favorite mixes on one record, so no one has to man the deck." she said, pulling the mixer's slider to the left and hitting the play button. Music floated out of the built-in speakers on the front of Vinyl's deck.

"Oh my Celestia! I love this song! Neigh Doubt rocks so much!" Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing to the beat.

Octavia wandered over to Trixie and Twilight. "Hey, girls, I just wanted to say congratulations on finding somepony you're happy with. Vinyl and I are so happy for you, and..." Octavia's train of thought was interrupted when she spotted Honey Dew. "Oh, my, who's the little filly?" she asked.

"Oh, this is Honey Dew. She's a fan of Trixie's, so Trixie thought she might enjoy it here." Trixie said.

"Why hello, Honey Dew. I am Octavia, cellist extraordinaire and apprentice DJ." Octavia said, bending down to the filly's level.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss Octavia." Honey Dew said.

"Awww, she's so cute, and polite as well. I have to say I'm jealous. I wish my fans were half as polite as yours. Instead, they all seem to merely put on a mask of politeness, but once you actually get to know them, they're rude as hay." Octavia said.

"You're jealous of Trixie's fans? Allow Trixie to tell you the story of two of the fans she made on her previous visit to Ponyville." Trixie said, and began to tell Octavia the story of what happened the day she lost her stage, ending her story with, "And all because two of Trixie's fancolts decided that they wanted to see some more magic."

"Oh, dear. Remind me never to complain about my fans again. They may be horrid snobs, but no one has ever brought a humungous monster in from the forest after being inspired by one of my concerts." Octavia said.

"Hey! Why aren't you girls dancing? This is a party, now get your flanks on the dance floor, ladies!" Pinkie exclaimed, popping out from behind Octavia and making all four of the ponies she was talking to jump.

Author's notes: I am extremely sorry about the lateness of this one... I just couldn't figure out where to go and wasn't even halfway done with the chapter. Plus, I may have been preoccupied by my updated technology. *pets her new XBox 360, which came with a free download of Halo: Reach*

Again, I'm really sorry for the lateness of this chapter, I was coming up short on inspiration at every turn, and was racking my brain so hard, I was starting to get a headache.

Chapter 16: Pines and Needles

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 16

Pines and Needles

Trixie enjoyed Pinkie's party very much, but before she knew it, it was nearing six, and she didn't want Honey Dew to have to walk home alone, so she offered to walk with her. Twilight wanted to come with, but she had too many things to do at the library, so she headed over there after giving Trixie a kiss good night. Trixie was sad that Twilight couldn't join her, but she was also kind of glad as well, as she wanted to have a one-on-one talk with Pine Needle, Honey Dew's mother, and having Twilight around wasn't one-on-one. Plus, if what Honey Dew said about Pine Needle were true, she was just scared, and being outnumbered would only make her more scared.

Honey Dew chattered excitedly about how fun the party had been as they walked, and Trixie threw in a halfhearted "Uh-huh." or "Yep." every now and then, her mind obviously somewhere else. "Miss Trixie, are you ignoring me?" Honey Dew asked when she noticed.

"Uh-huh." Trixie said without thinking about it, or even noticing that the filly had addressed her directly.

"Really?" Honey Dew asked, her eyes beginning to fill with tears.

"Yep." Trixie said, again without really having heard the question. Honey Dew began to sob, and that finally pulled Trixie out of her stupor. "Hey! Honey Dew, what's wrong?" she asked, trying to console the upset filly.

"You... y-you said... you.... were ignoring.... me!" Honey Dew cried between sobs.

"Trixie did? She is sorry, Honey Dew, she wasn't ignoring you, she just wasn't paying attention when she should have been. Trixie was caught up in thinking how she can get your mother to learn that there is nothing to fear from Trixie. She is sorry for spacing out like that, and making you think she was ignoring you purposefully." Trixie said. Trixie put a hoof under the young filly's chin, lifting it up so she could look Honey Dew directly in the eye. "As far as Trixie is concerned, you are her number two fan, right after Twilight, and Trixie always values what you have to say, and would never ignore you. If you see Trixie acting like that again, just yell her name, and she'll snap out of it."

"O-okay, Miss Trixie." Honey Dew said, still sniffling a little, but drying her eyes with a hoof and smiling up at her idol.

Honey Dew continued walking home, and Trixie followed. Before Trixie knew it, Honey Dew said, "This is my house." It was a large, two-story building with a fence surrounding the huge yard on which it was centered. The yard was dotted with hundreds of pine trees. Honey Dew opened the door and walked inside, yelling out, "Mommy! I'm home!" Trixie stayed just outside the door.

"Ah, Honey Dew, welcome home! Dinner is almost ready, and..." Pine Needle started as she walked into the room, before spotting Trixie by the door. "What the hay are you doing here?" Pine Needle asked, glaring daggers at Trixie.

"Miss... Pine Needle, is Trixie correct?" Trixie asked, wanting to confirm the name her friends had given her for the mare. Pine Needle nodded, not taking her eyes off of Trixie. "Trixie would like to have a one-on-one chat with you."

"Okay..." Pine Needle said, unsure of what Trixie was getting at. "Honey Dew, why don't you go play in your room. Mommy's going to have a talk with Trixie." she said.

"Okay, Mommy! I'll see you later, Miss Trixie." Honey Dew said.

"Have fun, Honey Dew." Trixie said as Honey Dew climbed the stairs to her room

As soon as Pine Needle knew Honey Dew was out of hearing range, she asked, "Now then, what's this about, Trixie?"

"Do you mind if Trixie comes in? This might take a while." Trixie said.

"Please, by all means, come in, have a seat, make yourself right the buck at home." Pine Needle said, a dangerous sharpness to her voice. Trixie hesitantly put a hoof over the doorframe and in the house, but when Pine Needle showed no signs of getting any madder, Trixie relaxed and stepped inside, closing the door. Pine Needle led the way out of the foyer, which included many seats for customers and a service desk with a register, and into the living room, sighing as she flopped into a recliner. Trixie took a seat on the couch opposite her, looking around herself. Pine Needle had a rather spacious living room, with a fireplace to one side of the room and a large bookshelf opposite it. There was a half-wall separating the living room from the kitchen, which was behind Pine Needle's recliner. Positioned between the seats the two mares now occupied was a long coffee table. "Now, what's this about? What, turning my daughter into a coatlicker didn't work, so now you're gonna try turning me into one?" Pine needle asked, and Trixie flinched at the heavily-offensive word Pine Needle had used for mares like her.

"Please, Pine Needle, you must understand that Trixie has no intention of turning anypony towards her way of thinking. Trixie already has a marefriend, she does not need any more. She merely wishes to assure you that you have nothing to fear from Trixie and Twilight." Trixie said.

Pine Needle blanched at this. "Fear?" she asked, giving out a laugh that didn't hide her fright very well. "Who said I was afraid of you?" she asked nervously.

"Honey Dew did, and Trixie knows that she is a sweet filly who would never lie about something like that." Trixie said. "That is how Trixie knows that you can't be as hateful as you make yourself look to be." she finished.

"All right, so I'm afraid. Who wouldn't be? Some strange showmare with a history of being involved in trouble comes strolling into town, and all of the sudden, not even a week later, I see the last pony I ever thought would like anypony like that, let alone another mare, snuggling her up out in public, and in broad daylight no less." Pine Needle said. "I'm scared, all right? Scared that you might do to my filly whatever you've done to Twilight. I mean, what's next from you two? Exhibitionism?" Pine Needle asked.

"Trixie has done nothing to Twilight. Twilight came to discover her attraction towards Trixie without Trixie's help. And you make our innocent snuggling sound like some horridly obscene act. Also, Trixie refuses to even dignify that last comment with a response. For your information, Trixie is still a virgin, and would never even consider doing such a thing in public." Trixie said.

"But I thought that all of you marelovers were supposed to be be whorses who would do anything to get some coat." Pine Needle said, confused.

"All right, Trixie is going to pretend that you didn't just basically call her a whorse. Ignore everything you think you know about sapphic mares. All that stuff that the upper class says in order to spread hate? Put it all out of your mind. Does Trixie look like the kind of pony who would do that in public?" Trixie asked.

Trixie had to give Pine Needle credit, she looked like she was really trying to complete the task Trixie had given her and look at her without thinking about all the prejudice against mares who loved other mares. Trixie could almost hear the gears turning in Pine Needle's head. "No, Trixie, you don't look like that kind of pony." Pine Needle answered.

"Good, then we are making progress. Now, continuing along those lines, does Trixie look like the kind of pony who wants to trick little fillies into being exactly like her?" Trixie asked. She watched closely as Pine Needle thought this answer over as well.

"Well, no, but... let's be honest, child molesters rarely advertise themselves as such. A mother can never be too careful." Pine Needle said.

"You have a point, but let's think about this logically. Let's say, hypothetically, that there was a traveling stage magician who was also a child molester. Why would she choose to stop in one specific town and continue her horrid practices? Doesn't it make more sense for this hypothetical mare to stay on the road, where the law will have a harder time tracking her down?" Trixie asked.

Pine Needle was once again thinking hard before answering the question. "I suppose that makes sense. Maybe you're right. Perhaps I'm being far too paranoid when it comes to you and Twilight." Pine Needle said.

Trixie smiled as Pine Needle said this. Was she finally seeing that Trixie wasn't some horrible monster? Was she realizing that being sapphic did not make you some sort of creature sent from the moon to corrupt everypony in town? Trixie certainly hoped so. She didn't like hatred. Sure, she had grown used to it over the years, all the neighsayers at her shows clearly either hated her or were jealous of her powers. She still preferred to think it was the latter though. Everypony knew what happened when you hated somepony. The story of what happened the last time enough hatred had amassed in one place was told each Hearth's Warming Eve in theaters across Equestria. She couldn't even manage to fight off an Ursa Minor. There was no question how she would fare against a trio of Wendigos, creatures that even Star Swirl the Bearded's most powerful student, Clover the Clever, couldn't fight without the help of her new friends.

Pine Needle looked at Trixie, who was smiling, but seemed to be lost in thought. She cleared her throat loudly, and Trixie's thoughts were pulled back into the present. "I suppose apologies are in order from me. I'm sorry I was so hurtful towards you and your marefriend, Trixie. Can you ever forgive me?" Pine Needle asked.

"Do not worry, Pine Needle. Trixie already has forgiven you. She understands that you were only saying such things out of fear, and you were trying to protect your little filly and yourself from what you thought was a threat. Trixie only asks that you promise her one thing." Trixie said.

"Yes?" Pine Needle asked. Trixie could tell there was a bit of fear in her voice, but it was much subdued.

"The next time you meet somepony who seems horrid, take another look, while trying to put all the prejudices high society tries to force on us out of your mind. If they still seem horrid, by all means, protect yourself. But if they don't still seem horrid, reach out to them. Try to get to know them and make friends with them. Because chances are, they don't have many friends." Trixie said.

"I promise. But that doesn't mean that we'll be instant best friends. It just means that I'll give them a chance to prove themselves as a good pony. Just like I'm giving you that chance now." Pine Needle said, smiling a little.

"Trixie appreciates that you are giving her that chance. Not many ponies that start out hating Trixie would do that for her." Trixie said, smiling back at Pine Needle. Trixie hoped that she could prove her worth to Pine Needle and earn her friendship.

Trixie walked over to Twilight's library, wanting to spend at least a little more time with her marefriend, and tell her how well her talk with Pine Needle had gone. The lights were still on inside, meaning that Twilight was either still awake, or had fallen asleep while researching something, probably the first, since it was still only a couple hours after sunset, and Twilight was used to pulling long nights. Trixie gently knocked on the door, as Twilight would most likely be in the main room where she could hear it, and if Spike was sleeping, she didn't want to wake him up.

"Coming!" Twilight called softly from the other side of the door, before it was wrapped in a magenta telekinesis field and swung open. "Oh, hello, Trixie!" the purple mare said, greeting Trixie with a deep kiss. "How did things go with Pine Needle?" she asked.

"A lot better than Trixie expected. She doesn't fear Trixie anymore, and has decided to give her a chance to prove herself worthy of friendship. Trixie only hopes that she doesn't screw it up." Trixie said.

"How would you screw it up, sweetie?" Twilight asked, and Trixie's ears twitched in delight as she realized the purple mare had used the word "sweetie" for her.

"Trixie knows that she can be more abrasive than Rainbow Dash at times. Like the day of the Ursa attack, or at Trixie's announcement to the town, when she was calling your friends horrible things, or with Diamond Tiara." Trixie said, hanging her head low. Twilight put a hoof under Trixie's chin and gently guided Trixie's face up so that the blue mare's gaze met her own.

"I'm sure that you'll do fine, Trixie, and before you know it, Pine Needle will consider you one of her best friends. You know how I know?" Twilight asked, and Trixie shook her head softly. "Because you are a truly Great and Powerful mare, one who is worthy of everypony's friendship." Twilight said.

"Thank you, Twilight. Sorry if Trixie was getting a little bit depressed, that happens to her sometimes." Trixie said.

"Don't be sorry, Trixie. Everypony gets depressed sometimes. I'm just glad I could help you out of it. After all, what are marefriends for?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, Trixie doesn't know, perhaps they're for this." Trixie said, wrapping her forehooves around the back of Twilight's neck and pulling her into a deep kiss. Twilight sank into Trixie's warm embrace and kissed her back just as deeply. When they finally parted, Twilight took the opportunity to nuzzle up against Trixie's cheek. Trixie smiled widely as she nuzzled Twilight back, then brought her head up to lick softly on the tip of the nerdy unicorn's ear. The purple mare let out a gasp, and then a soft moan as Trixie began nibbling on her ear.

"Mmmmmmm, Trixie..." Twilight said, nickering softly

"Yes, Twilight?" Trixie asked, a wide smirk on her face.

"W-would the Great and P-powerful Trixie be s-so kind as to g-grace me with her p-presence tonight?" the bookish mare asked, stuttering as her mind was assaulted by the feeling of having Trixie nibbling on her ear continuously.

Trixie grinned as she heard Twilight's request, and gave a few more nibbles before whispering in Twilight's ear. "It would be Trixie's pleasure." she said.

Author's Notes: I'm so sorry this one took me so long, I don't know why I was procrastinating so much. I got stuck so often in this one, it was giving me a lot of trouble. So we have Pine Needle not being so much of a scaredypony anymore, which is good.

Also, for those who haven't seen it, I'm also working on a different story, a Dr. Adorable fanfic, which you can find here.

Chapter 11: Where Everypony Knows Your Name

Major Problems

By Asmaria Moon

Chapter 11

Where Everypony Knows Your Name

Vinyl smiled as Octavia finished up her set. "Hey, were you girls gonna do anything else tonight? Cause Octy and I were gonna go get a drink, and I was wondering if you wanted to come with us." Vinyl said.

"Seriously? That'd be awesome! Me and 'Shy are totally in, right?" Dash said, nudging Fluttershy with a forehoof.

"That sounds like it would be fun... as long as we wouldn't be in the way, Vinyl." Fluttershy said.

"Oh, no way! The more, the merrier! How about you, Trixie? Wanna come?" Vinyl asked.

"Trixie would love to go, as long as Twilight wants to go as well." Trixie said.

"Yeah, it sounds fun! We'd love to go, Vinyl." Twilight said.

"Awesome! Yo, Octy, we've got some company for our trip to the bar." Vinyl said as Octavia approached the group.

"Vinyl, your habit of roping strangers into coming with us to drink is something I should be used to by now, but I still would like it if you stopped." Octavia said.

"Oh, come on, babe, they're totally not strangers! They're awesome! This is Trixie and Twilight, and Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy." Vinyl said, pointing a hoof as she named them off.

"Oh, then I guess it's all right. At least you know their names, unlike last time." Octavia said.

"Come on, last time was awesome!" Vinyl said.

"Vinyl, that colt ended up hitting on the both of us, even though we'd made it clear that his advances were unwanted. He also wrecked half the bar, and got us thrown out on our flanks. We had to find another bar that actually sells Jura. Do you know how hard it is to find good liquor?" Octavia asked.

"Yeah, but it was still awesome! I've never seen anypony smash furniture as good as that guy did." Vinyl said.

"Vinyl, you are incorrigible." Octavia sighed.

"Yeah? Well, you're the one who encourages me." Vinyl said, smiling at her wordplay.

Octavia facehoofed, then turned to Trixie. "So you are Trixie? I'm Octavia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Octavia. Trixie promises that we will not cause trouble." Trixie said.

"Oh, an illeism? That's very interesting." Octavia said.

"What the buck's an... ummm... illy-ism?" Vinyl asked.

"Illeism, dear. It's when somepony refers to themselves in the third pony." Octavia said.

"What's the point of all these fancy words? Why not just say, 'Oh, she talks in the third pony!'" Vinyl said.

""Because, Vinyl, illeism is four syllables, whereas 'She talks in the third pony.' is seven." Octavia said.

"Oh, so the lazy, snooty, rich bastards like you who use words like that decided they'd make themselves look even lazier and snootier?" Vinyl asked.

"I am not lazy!" Octavia said.

"But you're snooty?" Vinyl said, smiling broadly.

"Curse you, Vinyl Scratch." Octavia said.

"You know you love it, Octy." Vinyl said.

"Oh, yes, Vinyl. I so love it when you call me degrading names." Octavia said sarcastically.

"See, you admitted it!" Vinyl said, smiling wider.

Octavia facehoofed again. "One of these days, Vinyl, I am going to request that Princess Celestia lend me her moon cannon." she said.

"Sweet! I've always wondered what Princess Luna did up there for a thousand years! I'll get to find out first-hand!" Vinyl joked.

"Ugh... let's just go get something to drink. Lord knows I need it to be able to stand your horrible jokes." Octavia said.

"Hey! My jokes are not horrible. They're absolutely dreadful. You should know better than to insult people who tell horrible jokes like that." Vinyl said. "You girls ready to roll?" she asked.

"Trixie is ready." Trixie said.

"Yeah, we're totally ready! This is gonna be so cool!" Dash said.

Later, Trixie and the rest stood outside a bar called Boerperd T's. It had a pair of wooden saloon doors, and looked like it belonged on the frontier, someplace like Appleloosa. Trixie looked into the bar through the space above the neck-high doors, almost expecting a group of cowponies getting into a tussle over a dodgy hand in a poker game or something, or perhaps hooting and hollering at some saloon filly in a showy dress. Thankfully, or perhaps as Vinyl would see it, sadly, there was none of this. Just a hoofful of stallions and mares enjoying a good drink to help wind down the night.

"So? You gonna stand there all night, Trixie, or are we gonna get this party started?" Vinyl said.

"Did somepony say party?" Pinkie Pie asked, suddenly popping her head out of the space over the doors, surprising all members of the group.

"Gah!" Trixie exclaimed, trying to catch her breath and slow her heart rate. "Pinkie! What has Trixie told you about surprising her like that?" she asked, glaring at the pink mare

"That I was gonna give you a 'Great and Powerful heart attack,' right? Hey, why do they call it a heart attack anyway? It's not like your heart comes out of your chest with a spear or a mace or something and starts mauling ponies." Pinkie said, and Trixie groaned as she felt the beginnings of a headache welling up just underneath her horn.

"Please, Pinkie... headaches are still a problem for Trixie." Trixie said, then turned to Vinyl and Octavia. "Vinyl, Octavia, this is Pinkie Pie, Trixie's friend. Pinkie, this is Vinyl, AKA DJ Pon3, and Octavia, AKA DJ Oct3."

"Oh, hey! I know you! You helped us out by DJing during Rarity's fashion show." Pinkie said to Vinyl. as she moved aside so the others could enter the bar, which they quickly did and found a table.

"Oh, yeah, I knew I'd seen most of you somewhere before. I just didn't make the connection without those horrible dresses. Also, if I remember right, somepony was wearing galoshes too." Vinyl said, snickering as she remembered.

"Yeah, that was Applejack." Dash said, snickering as well

"Wait... horrible dresses? Trixie is confused. Doesn't Rarity usually make beautiful fashions?" Trixie asked. She remembered because on the day that she had lost her stage, Rarity had made such a fashion out of her stage's curtains.

"Yeah, well... ummm... she had offered to make our dresses for the Grand Galloping Gala, but... ummm... well... we kept requesting changes to her designs. It wasn't until we were all on stage at her fashion show that we realized... well... perhaps our requests were horribly misguided, and we should have stuck with Rarity's original designs, especially because of the fact that she was making our dresses as a gift to us." Fluttershy said.

"Trixie sees. Anyway, Pinkie, what in Equestria are you doing here?" Trixie asked.

"Oh, that's easy! My Pinkie Sense told me you were going to be here! First, my back arched, then my front hooves stomped, then my cheeks puffed. That combo means that a bunch of my best friends in the whole wide world are going out for a drink! So I decided to join you."

"Wait... how did all that tell you that we were going out for a drink?" Trixie asked.

"When it comes to Pinkie Sense, don't ask. Just accept it. Trust me, even I couldn't figure it out." Twilight said. That fact scared Trixie. That Twilight of all ponies couldn't figure something out was surely a sign of a coming apocalypse of some sort. Perhaps one that devastated Equestrian soil with spells of mass destruction and forced ponies to hide away in underground shelters for a couple hundred years to avoid the fallout of said spells. "Plus, it hurts a lot less if you just accept it." Twilight finished.

"Hurts? Trixie is so confused." Trixie said.

"She's talking about my twitchy tail. When my tail twitches, it means something's going to fall. On the day that Twilight was trying to figure my Pinkie Sense out, all of my tail twitches and nose itches and combos somehow applied to her." Pinkie said.

"My favorite part was when Derpy dropped a piano on her head." Dash said, laughing like mad.

"Rainbow! That's a horrible name to call poor Ditzy Doo." Fluttershy said.

"But 'Shy, I asked her if it was all right to call her Derpy. She said it was fine, as long as I wasn't using it in a mean way, which I'm not." Dash said.

"Well, okay, as long as she's okay with it." Fluttershy said.

"Ummm... Ditzy Doo?" Trixie asked.

"One of Ponyville's mailmares. She's a grey pegasus with a blonde mane and seven bubbles for a cutie mark. Sometimes her eyes cross, so some ponies call her Derpy. She's fine with it, as long as they aren't using it to make fun of her." Twilight said.

"Did you ladies want anything?" the waitress asked as she approached their table, hovering a quill and notepad in front of her with her unicorn magic.

"Trixie would like a Bacolti and carrot cola." Trixie said, and the waitress scribbled her order down.

"I'll have a White Rushin', please." Twilight said.

"A screwdriver for me, heavy on the vodka." Dash said.

"Ummm... I'll just have an apple martini, please." Fluttershy said.

"You have Jura whiskey, right? I'll have a shot of that." Octavia said.

"Make mine a straight shot of vodka. Smarenoff if you have it." Vinyl said.

"Ooh! Gimme a Strawberry Daiquiri, with lots of sugar on the rim!" Pinkie said. The waitress quickly scribbled down the group's orders as fast as they came, then left to give the orders to the barmare.

"So you were saying this Ditzy's cutie mark is seven bubbles?" Trixie asked, turning back to Twilight.

"Yes, why?" Twilight asked.

"On the day that Trixie apologized to the town, when Trixie arrived at her new home, she found a package with no return address. Only Trixie's new address, and seven circles, which Trixie believes could have been bubbles. Inside was Trixie's cloak and hat. If Ditzy made the delivery, perhaps she knows who was responsible for returning Trixie's items to her." Trixie said.

"Oh... ummm... eep!" came a small squeak from the other side of the table, and Fluttershy retreated behind her mane, looking like she wanted to duck under the table.

"Fluttershy? Do you know anything about who returned Trixie's cloak and hat?" Trixie asked, staring at the shy pegasus.

"Ummm... well... that is... ummm... after the Ursa Minor trashed your stage and you ran off, Twilight said that you would learn your lesson and be back... ummm... and I saw that your cloak and hat had been ripped up pretty badly in the wreckage, so, I thought that if you were returning soon... well... that you wouldn't want to come back and find them like that, so I... ummm... took them and repaired them. Then, when you came back... ummm... and apologized to everypony, I put them in a box and asked Ditzy to deliver them to your new home. I'm... ummm... sorry I couldn't sign the note properly, I was... well... I was way too shy. I hope you're not mad at me." Fluttershy said.

"Of course Trixie is not mad at you, Fluttershy! Thank you so much for returning Trixie's cloak and hat to her. They mean so much to her. She couldn't be more grateful." Trixie said, smiling. Fluttershy smiled back.

"Oh, I'm so relieved. I'd never want to make you mad at me, Trixie." Fluttershy said.

"So why do your cloak and hat mean so much to you, Trixie?" Twilight asked.

"They were a gift from the Great Lapis. Trixie has been having them magically enlarged every time they get a little too small for her, because she doesn't wish to part with them."Trixie said.

"Oh, wow! I had no idea they were from your mother. If I had something like that, I'd be attached to it, too."Twilight said. Both Vinyl's and Octavia's jaws hit the table in front of them.

"Wait... The Great Lapis was... Trixie's mother?" Vinyl asked.

"Dear Celestia! Is that true? I had no idea!" Octavia said.

"It's true. Trixie's mother was the Great Lapis, and her father is the Powerful Pyrite. That is where she gets her Great and Powerful title from."Trixie said.

"Now that you mention it, I do see the resemblance, particularly in the coloration, except the Great Lapis was a deeper blue, I believe." Vinyl said.

"And her hair had no silver in it. That probably came from the Powerful Pyrite." Octavia said.

"Is that how differently-colored manes work? I'm not really sure myself." Vinyl said.

"Vinyl, you have a differently-colored mane, and you don't know how they work?" Octavia asked.

"Well, yeah... cause... ummm... it's magically-altered." Vinyl said, sounding a bit like Fluttershy. Trixie had to laugh at how she sounded. "Hey, come on, don't laugh, Trixie."

"Oh, no, Vinyl, Trixie wasn't laughing at that. She was laughing at how Octavia cornered you, and how you almost sounded like Fluttershy there." Trixie said. After realizing this, Vinyl laughed herself.

"Yeah, I did, didn't I? Damn, that's funny!" she said, giggling more, and the rest of the table laughed with her. The waitress returned to the table, floating a tray loaded with drinks in front of her, and floated the drinks to land in front of their owners as she named them.

"I have: one Bacolti and carrot cola; one White Rushin'; one screwdriver, heavy on the vodka; one apple martini; one shot of Jura whiskey; one shot of Smarenoff vodka; and one Strawberry Daiquiri, extra sugar. Just tell me when you ladies want another round." she said.

Vinyl scooted her shot glass onto her forehoof, then turned to Octavia and asked, "You ready, babe?"

Octavia had followed suit almost immediately after Vinyl, and her shot glass was now resting on her forehoof as well. "Whenever you are, dear."

"One, two, three, shoot!" Vinyl yelled the last word and both mares brought the glasses to their mouths, then tossed back their heads at the same time and chugged the shots of alcohol, then slammed their empty glasses down on the table. "Whoo! Damn, that's a buck in the throat!" Vinyl said after she swallowed.

"Mmmmm, I do love a good drink." Octavia said, licking her lips.

"Woohoo! Let's party, girls!" Pinkie said, smiling as she ran her tongue around the rim of her glass to get some of the sugar there, then grabbed the glass in her mouth and tossed her head back, taking a long pull from it.

"Yeah! Let's rock!" Dash said, grabbing her own glass in her mouth, and tossing her own head back, not one to be outdone.

"Oh... my... well, bottoms up." Fluttershy said, grabbing her own glass in her mouth and taking quite a few sips from it.

"Fluttershy, when you say 'Bottoms up,' you're supposed to tilt your glass until the bottom of it is facing up." Dash said after setting her drink, which was about half-finished, down. She looked over at Pinkie's glass, which was now completely empty, save for a bit of sugar on the rim, which Pinkie was having fun licking off. "Damnit, Pinkie!" Dash exclaimed, tossing her drink back again and finishing it.

"Sorry, Dashie, it was just so sweet, I couldn't stop!" Pinkie said.

Twilight and Trixie were both hovering their glasses in front of them and sipping on their drinks slowly as they watched the scene in front of them. Dash was teaching Fluttershy to tilt her head back as far as she could without spilling any of her martini. Vinyl and Octavia were smiling at each other as they watched the pegasus pair. And Pinkie was running her tongue around the rim of her glass, making sure that she had gotten all of the sugar off. She giggled as she heard the musical note that her tongue made as it traveled around the rim, and began to move it faster around the glass, giggling more as the musical note was reproduced.

Author's Note: Sorry this wasn't up yesterday, I had a case of writer's block, and apparently, it took Pinkie's demolishing skills to bust through it. She's just as good at breaking writer's block as she is at breaking the fourth wall, it seems. I have to start using her more. She's just so much fun to write.

Also, the name of the bar is a combination of a bar near my mom's house (Bufford T's, named after Buford Tannen [misspellings ahoy!], the outlaw in Back to the Future Part III) and a play on a common name for the Boer Pony. Anyway, proofreading done, time to go back to sleep.

Chapter CENSORED: CENSORED Is CENSORED

[CENSORED] Problems

By Asmaria [CENSORED]

Chapter [CENSORED]

[CENSORED] is [CENSORED]

[CENSORED] was on her way to [CENSORED], to prepare for one of her patented [CENSORED] parties. [CENSORED] and [CENSORED] had just told her that they were [CENSORED] last night while they were out [CENSORED] at [CENSORED], and she was so super-duper [CENSORED] that she just had to throw them a [CENSORED]. As she [CENSORED] across [CENSORED]'s town square in a very [CENSORED] fashion, her head looking this way and that at all the [CENSORED] stuff going on around her, and thus wasn't [CENSORED] where she was going when she [CENSORED] straight into the back of [CENSORED]. [CENSORED] groaned in [CENSORED], as this had happened to her one too many times while the [CENSORED] mare was [CENSORED] across town. "Oh, I'm so super sorry, [CENSORED]! I totally didn't mean to [CENSORED] into you like that! I was just so super-[CENSORED] for the [CENSORED] I'm throwing today!" [CENSORED] said as she helped the [CENSORED]-colored mare with the [CENSORED] and [CENSORED] mane up.

[CENSORED] groaned again, but her [CENSORED] perked up when she heard [CENSORED] mention a [CENSORED]. "A [CENSORED]? For what?" she asked, knowing it could be for just about [CENSORED]. [CENSORED] would use any [CENSORED] she could think of to throw a [CENSORED].

"Oh, ummmm... well, see, I'm not really [CENSORED] to say, but if you really want to [CENSORED], ask [CENSORED]. Just know that she might not [CENSORED] to tell you about it, cause it's pretty [CENSORED]." [CENSORED] said.

[CENSORED] Note: Just a little something I decided to throw together in protest of the SOPA/PIPA acts. Extra credit: come up with your own story by playing Mad Libs with the censored words. Some of you might be able to guess what's going on here. Hint: the two characters are [CENSORED] and {CENSORED]... ummm I mean... pink party pony and cream-colored lesbian pony whose marefriend is greenish lesbian pony.