Marble Magic

Chapters

Prologue: One Night
Chapter One: The Letter
Chapter Two: New Home
Chapter Three: Crazy Friends
Chapter Four: Cat's Eye
Chapter Five: The Pitfall
Chapter Six: Library Hate
Chapter Seven: Study Buddies
Chapter Eight: Hoofington's Dark
Chapter Nine: Tragic Embrace
Chapter Ten: Magic Mare
Chapter Eleven: Kitty Kitty
Chapter Twelve: Last Embrace
Chapter Thirteen: Falling Rain
Chapter Fourteen: The Chase
Chapter Fifteen: Cat's Folly
Epilogue

Prologue: One Night

Marble Magic

Prologue: One Night

Written by TheCrimsonDM

Marigold stood in front of the iron wall inside the old mine. The door was wide open showing her the various items, objects, boxes, books, and even a few potions that lay neatly stacked just inside. The prized gem of this collection of magical artifacts was the black stave, its barbed wooden shaft along with the purple orb held tightly on the top by two grasping talons of wood gave it a menacing appearance. This was the very item that had given them so much trouble, the item that had destroyed several homes, villages and ruins in the course of its capture. Now however it was going to be locked away and never seen again.

“So,” Marigold said as the thick iron door closed shut. “It’s finally locked away.”

An middle aged stallion stood behind her, his golden fur and gray mane made him look quite fetching; or at least she always thought so. He smiled at her, and his horn took on a purple glow. A pair of keys levitated over to the door and locked it. “Yes, it is. I’m a bit saddened to have to lock up such an interesting specimen but the danger is just too great. The poor creature locked away inside that orb did not deserve her fate, I’m sure of it. But that stave was created with dark magic, surely whatever was in there is now so corrupt that she’d cause such great chaos in Equestria that we would end up calling her the second coming of Discord.”

“Discord is nothing but a statue, those old legends are bull. Besides, it’s locked away now, what harm can it do?” Marigold asked.

“Easy, should a creature of magic other than a proper descendent touch it… well you’ve seen what it can do first hoof,” he explained.

“Goldie,” she said. “It’s not that bad… is it?”

“You have three kids, yes?” He asked.

“Yeah, I’m actually looking to have another one…” She said, adding an unspoken question to her words.

He smiled at her. The picture of a golden oak tree was stuck to his flank. Being the resident wizard for Celestia had some interesting perks, one of which just so happened to be that he got to do all kinds of crazy research. Marigold might have been Celestia’s magician, but that was a different job entirely. Actually it was a self imposed title that Celestia just accepted more than anything else, the truth was a bit darker, Marigold was Celestia’s go to pony for all the dark and creepy matters. If it went bump in the night and somepony got hurt, you could bet that Marigold was on the case or at least made aware of it.

“Three kids makes it hard to do this job already, and yet you want another one?” He asked.

She shrugged. “I love kids, and I need somepony to replace me. Somepony to take my place as the royal magician, in all honesty the more kids I have the better chance there is that at least one of them will pick up my magic.”

“So you’re looking for yet another unicorn stallion with good magic to breed with?” He asked.

Marigold looked away. “Well I am in heat…”

“Where are your kids?”

“They’re at home, oldest is watching them, you know little Nix.”

“That was a terrible nickname.”

“Shut up, it’s adorable for a unicorn.”

He sighed. “Well how about I take you home, I wouldn’t want to stay out any longer than ne-“

He didn’t get to finish before Marigold jumped him, and threw him to the ground. She shoved her muzzle against his and hot tongues met. For a moment she pulled away and grinned fiercely down at him. He smiled up at her.

“We’re making a baby now,” She said.

“You always did want to jump my bones, didn’t you?”

“Shut up and get to work, sexy,” She said.

She leaned down to kiss him once more. Things were just about to get real crazy real fast, and she couldn’t be happier.

Chapter One: The Letter

Magic Marble

Chapter One: The Letter

Written by TheCrimsonDM

Living in Ponyville was never easy for Trixie Lulamoon, but with a few good friends things had been made much easier for her. Sadly a few was probably a lot more accurate than she would have liked it to be. Still with trust slowly being rebuilt, and ponies to look after her, things had finally began looking up for good old Trixie.

The two mare’s she was currently sitting with were examples of this. Bonbon sat across the bench from Trixie with Minuette by her side. The park was rather lively today which was always good, it bred a sense of heartwarming joy that always lifted everypony’s spirits. The giggles escaping Minuette were the proof in the pudding.

“So the kitchen was on fire, the living room was trashed, and our bedroom looked like a hurricane had blown through. I stared down Lyra,” Bonbon said, “and you wouldn’t believe what her excuse was.”

“No, what was it?” Trixie asked.

“She said, ‘but I was only trying to help’.”

The trio broke out into a fit of laughter.

Bonbon managed to calm down just enough to finish, “That was the last time I ever asked Lyra to bake a cake. We kinda just go to Sugarcube Corner now.”

Trixie mentally checked her schedule and remembered she would be going there tomorrow. Considering it was Pinkie’s day off, it would be the best chance of her getting to go get some delicious sweets while simultaneously avoiding the pink mare. Minuette stood up from the bench. “Please tell me that Lyra finally figured out how to sit properly.”

“Nope.”

Minuette stretched her legs above her head. “Ugh, I’ve been lying down too long.”

“Trixie must ask how life has been in Canterlot?” Trixie asked.

“Ever since Twilight remembered I existed,” Minuette said. She frowned, “I uh, I didn’t mean that to sound rude or anything. I was just trying to say that it’s weird having a princess as a friend you know?”

Trixie shook her head. “Trixie wishes she could say the same. Trixie and Twilight do not get along as well as she would have hoped.”

“It’s easy, just let her talk about friendship for awhile, nod and smile and then get some free food,” Minuette said. “She likes to talk about friendship.”

Trixie smiled. “Yes, but Trixie has the awful habit of opening her big mouth and saying things that are… not so friendly.”

“Only to ponies that deserve it,” Bonbon defended.

“Not always, Trixie has said hurtful things to… never mind.”

“You apologized, right?” Minuette asked. Trixie nodded which prompted Minuette to finish. “So it’s just fine. You feeling okay, Trixie?”

“Yes, do you need to take a break from Ponyville again?” Bonbon asked.

Trixie shook her head. “Trixie is just a little thoughtful today. Maybe Trixie is a little worried about Saturday’s show?”

“Don’t be,” Minuette said. “Me and Bonbon can run interference if you need us.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Oh?”

Bonbon grinned. “I could have a friendship problem over at Froggy Bottom Bogg. That’ll keep the neighsayers busy for a few hours.”

Trixie grinned. “You two are awesome. Trixie thinks it’ll be okay. Those three haven’t bothered her in months, Trixie thinks they finally realized that they don’t have to go to her show if they don’t like it.”

“Who’s paying you this time?” Minuette asked.

“Same pony as usual. Trixie still doesn’t get why they want her to run magic shows for Ponyville, but it lets her stay at home close to her friends so that’s good.”

“Awww, thanks, Trixie, we like you too,” Minuette said.

“Of course, you might have an ego sometimes but who doesn’t right?” Bonbon asked with a smile.

“Fluttershy doesn’t,” Trixie said sourly.

“No,” Bonbon said. “She’s worse.”

“It was one time,” Minuette said while rolling her eyes.

“Yes, but I can still smell the trash in my mane. It was… horrifying.”

Trixie looked back at the park around them. It was still such a lovely day with the warm sun blanketing the earth. Foals were playing, ponies were picnicking, and life it would seem was quiet and peaceful. Even Twilight Sparkle and her friends were enjoying the sun over by a giant oak tree.

Twilight!

Trixie stood up and quickly looked around. “Trixie fears she needs to go and take care of something. She will see you two later?”

Minuette shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, I have to get back to Canterlot today.”

Bonbon shrugged. “Me and Lyra are up for game night. You inviting those two colts again?”

Fire raced across Trixie’s face as she remembered the disaster from last week. “O-only if they apologize to you first.”

“They destroyed my kitchen…”

Trixie nodded. “Right, so uh, Snips and Snails are grounded from your place?”

“They’re still grounded by the their parents if I understand it right.”

Trixie lowered her head. “Sorry about them, they’re old friends.”

“They’re not… okay so maybe they are bad kids but they can be fun too. I won’t mind having them back but not for awhile,” Bonbon said.

Trixie glanced again over at Twilight’s group and started walking in the opposite direction. “Trixie really has to go, see you two later.”

Bonbon glanced back and noticed for the first time who was sitting only a dozen yards away from them. “Trixie, you don’t have to leave just because-“

Trixie didn’t hear the rest as she was trotting to her escape. The further she could stay away from those six the better. It always hurt a little whenever she had to cut and run from her friends, but it was better to avoid a potential situation than to risk starting another argument. Since her day out was cut short she decided the best course of action would be to go home.

The small house that Trixie owned was located just outside of town with a giant grassy hill guarding its rear. The wood was painted purple with a gold star pattern across the walls, the blue rooftop stood out with swirls of white mist painted across it. There was a large wagon out front that although sharing similar patterns to her old one destroyed by the ursa major, was much better in every possible way save for one; it didn’t transform. The flowerbed outside was in full bloom thanks in large part to Daisy’s help.

Trixie’s purple aura surrounded the door handle as she threw it open and walked in. There were two rooms in the house, the bathroom and everything else. Kitchen, living area and bedroom were all part of the same room. Trixie shut the door behind her and walked straight to her fridge. There wasn’t an awful lot inside it, but she found some leftover ramen from the night before and dragged it out. She tossed it into a pot and began heating it up while taking a seat at her kitchen table.

Resting upon the surface of the table was a letter she’d received from her employer. Once again she took to reading it.

“Dear Trixie Lulamoon

I have come to you seeking aid because I know of few ponies with whom I can trust with such an important task. You’re experiences and brushes against the more dangerous side of this world have given you unique insight and reason to aid me in protecting this land from itself. Also I won’t lie, you were given high praise by somepony I trust very deeply.

On the surface it will look as though I will be paying you to run your magic show in Ponyville. The truth is however that you are to keep an eye out for any dangerous artifacts that might come through and to procure them should they arrive. Once you find one, keep it secure in your home and contact me immediately through Guile. I will send somepony over to obtain the items in question and take them to safety. Your discretion in this matter would be very much appreciated.

Good luck.”

Trixie scoffed at the letter as she set it back down. “How many times has Trixie really needed to find some deadly artifact? Twice? Even then they weren’t that bad.”

A black cat leapt up from the floor and onto the table, it stuck its rear up in the air as it stretched out its front legs. The long tail split into three separate tails at the end, and the golden fluff sticking out of its ears made it look elegant. It gave a golden eyed stare to Trixie that one could only interrupt to be curiosity. After all, it believed itself to be the owner of this place, not this strange unicorn that kept it fed.

“Hiya, Guile,” Trixie greeted the feline. She reached out with a hoof and gingerly pet the creature atop its head.

The cat purred and pushed itself into her leg. “Greetings Miss Trixie. You have returned.”

Trixie frowned. “Yeah, but it’s a little early.”

Guile rolled onto his side and said, “It is never too early to receive pampering.”

Trixie worked on rubbing the cat’s belly. “Any news?”

“Not yet, but with luck we will continue toward our goal. This town is kept safe by us, and yet those ungrateful ponies do not think to offer up tuna. How cruel.”

“I don’t want tuna,” Trixie said.

“Ah, but you see, I do.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Cat familiars, supposed to be very knowledgeable, doesn’t guarantee good results in magic studies.”

“I am very knowledgeable, tis not my fault you are unable to perform even the simplest of spells outside of illusions.”

“I can do evocations and stuff too!” Trixie complained.

“You had to cheat in order to use Transmutation magic.”

Trixie growled and removed her hoof. “Can we please talk about something else.”

“What would we discuss, you have very little in the way of hobbies or a life.”

“I run a weakly magic show, have several friends, and an amazing family.”

Guile rolled onto his back. “You’re sister assaults me with her face whenever she is around.”

For a moment Trixie was sure that was a crack at her sister’s appearance, than it occurred to her that everypony was hideous to a cat spirit. “Are you talking about her allergies? Guile, she is allergic to cats.”

“Assaulting me with those awful noises and disgusting spit.”

“It’s called a sneeze.”

“It is revolting, and my greatest ancestors would not have stood for it, so neither will I.”

Trixie rolled her eyes and saw the pot boiling. “Oh crap!”

Trixie raced to the pot and swiftly removed it from the stove top. It still looked and smelled edible, though she feared she may have just overcooked her noodles. A quiet sigh escape Trixie’s lips as she poured the ramen into a bowl. Ruined or not it was going to have to do.

***

Marble lay on top of one of the large rocks in the backyard with the morning sun warming her back. The surrounding planes of gray earth, rocky outcroppings and weeds were a familiar sight that always brought with it comfort. She’d spent her entire life here after all. It just so happened that Pinkie Pie was here as well, and that was exactly what Marble was waiting for.

Pinkie Pie walked around the corner, she looked around and kept walking with a smile on her lips. Just as she got near Marble’s rock, Marble pushed herself off the rock and leapt down at Pinkie. She landed right next to her causing her sister to jump to the side screaming.

Pinkie Pie landed on her side and rolled over. She took one look at Marble and broke up laughing. “You got me!”

Marble smiled proudly. “Mmhmm!”

“Now if only you could be that brave with other ponies,” Pinkie Pie said. She looked around and frowned. “Are you sure about this? I mean… I get wanting to be brave and to grow up and to get your own life and all, but this is a big move.”

Marble nodded once. Though she didn’t tell Pinkie the real reason for this, her excuse of simply wanting to get out on her own and to conquer her fear of ponies was more than enough for Pinkie Pie. The truth was that she was looking for somepony, somepony special to her.

“Well I’ll be glad to have you. It’s going to be super!” Pinkie Pie said as she bounced up onto her hooves. “You won’t believe what Ponyville is like. I’ll show you all kinds of neat things.”

Marble smiled.

From around the corner walked out her older sisters Maud and Limestone Pie. Despite being twins the pair looked nothing alike, kinda like Marble and Pinkie. Maud blinked at Marble. “You’re really leaving us?”

Marble frowned. “Mmhmm.”

Limestone turned her head sharply. “Whatever, you better come home for the holidays and stuff.”

“Oh we will, I promise,” Pinkie Pie said.

Marble looked at the saddlebags lying next to the rock she was on and quickly put them on. They were going to be riding a train soon, and Pinkie Pie had promised that train rides were fun. Pinkie Pie was already wearing the other saddlebag of Marble’s and it looked like Maud had brought the suitcase with her. All in all it wasn’t a lot of stuff, but these were things that Marble was going to need if she was starting a new life in Ponyville with her twin sister.

“Now remember,” Limestone said. “If anypony gives you any guff you have to stand up for yourself, or get Pinkie Pie to do it for you. Pinkie Pie, if anypony so much as touches our sister you kill them you got it?”

Pinkie Pie saluted. “Sir, yes, sir, ma’am sir.”

“Good job soldier,” Limestone said. “Now move out!”

Pinkie Pie followed her out to the front of the house. Marble had already said goodbye to her parents and her sisters, but it still hurt to look at the beauty of her home knowing how long it would be before she got to see it again. Before Marble could follow the others, Maud stood in her way.

“I know what you’re really doing there,” Maud said.

Marble gulped. How could she know? I haven’t told anypony.

“Just don’t let Pinkie Pie find out, she will ruin everything. Also, you need to get a job,” Maud said. “I think that Twilight needs a servant, and you would do good at that sort of job. You don’t talk, you don’t stand out, and you know how to hide when somepony needs privacy.”

“Mmm?” Marble asked.

“Nopony wants to know their servants are actually there, they just want the work to get done,” Maud explained. “It would be quiet, peaceful, and have almost nopony bother you. It would be perfect.”

Marble nodded.

“Just be weary of Pinkie Pie. We love her, and she loves us, but she is excitable,” Maud said. “Also be careful of her friends. Their… huggy.”

Marble gulped. She did not like touching ponies, at all, ever.

Maud offered her a smile, small as it was. “I love you.”

Marble nodded. “Mmhmm!”

“Good luck, little sister.”

With that, Marble was off to join Pinkie and go on her very first train ride. It sounded like an adventure, like the kinds her sister always got to go on. Hopefully it wouldn’t be as dangerous, but merely interesting and exciting. Deep down inside though, she couldn’t wait to see her old friend again.

***

The sun was just beginning to set in the horizon as Trixie watered the flowers. A gentle spring breeze kept tugging at her mane and tail, and the scent of fresh flowers were making her stomach growl. It was very nearly dinner time, and she had plans for a lovely salad. If it wasn’t for the gray pegasus heading her way she’d already be done.

Unceremoniously the mare dropped like a brick from the sky landing squarely on that large rump of hers. Blond mane fell in front of the mare’s eyes for a moment until she brushed them away with a wing tip and giggled. One of those golden eyes stared off into the distance while the other one focused primarily on Trixie.

“Ditzy?” Trixie asked.

“HI!” Ditzy Doo replied with a wave. She fiddled with her mailbag for a moment. “I have a letter for you, Trixie.”

That was a surprise; most of Trixie’s letters came in the form of Guile the cat and his familiar magic. Getting an honest to goodness letter brought a giddy sensation to Trixie. Who could it be? Why did they send me a letter? Did I win something?

When Ditzy finally found the letter and hoofed it over to Trixie, there was a momentary pause. The gray letter looked plain, uninteresting and dull. Carefully she read the address and she was awfully surprised to learn it had come from one of the places she tried desperately to forget; the Pie Family Rock farm.

The experiences there were not so bad. Sure the work was hard, sometimes too hard for her to keep up with, but the ponies there were so very nice to her. Even Limestone had grown on her after awhile. Since the mess with the alicorn amulet she had returned once, just long enough to apologize and leave. In terms of letters she had received three of them, one from Maud which had been quite possibly the most boring letter she had ever read, and two of them came from Marble.

Trixie sent replies to all three of course, never let it be said that a true magician didn’t appreciate her friends and fans. This letter marked the fourth letter she’d received in the course of the past few years. She gently opened it, trying her best to keep the letter itself intact. The first thing she smelled after opening it was the scent of dirt. The letter smelled like the farm.

She read the letter, quietly to herself and blinked. She had to reread it just be sure she was looking at the correct words. For the longest time she couldn’t fathom what to say, think, or even do in response. The entire time, Ditzy’s eye studied her carefully.

“Dear Trixie

It’s me, Marble Pie. I’m going to be moving in with my twin sister in five days, and I wanted to let you know that when I arrive at Ponyville I would very much appreciate visiting with you. I don’t know if you want to see me again, I wouldn’t blame you really, I’m not that interesting and you’re a famous magician but it would mean a lot to me if you came to visit.

Um, I’m not sure how to end this so I should just say… thanks for being my friend.

Marble Pie.”

Trixie set the letter down and closed her eyes. “She’s coming here?”

“Who’s coming?” Ditzy asked.

Trixie blinked the tears out of her eyes. “An old… friend of mine.”

Ditzy grinned. “That’s great news!”

“Not if,” Trixie looked down at the grass beneath her hooves, “If her sister finds out.”

“Oh… that sounds complicated.”

Trixie nodded. “Very much so. Hey uh, thanks for bringing the letter by.”

Ditzy rubbed the back of her head and laughed nervously. “D-don’t mention it. The letter was totally on time too… okay um, actually it might be a little bit late.”

“How late?”

“It turns out we received this letter five days ago.”

Chapter Two: New Home

Magic Marble

Chapter Two: New Home

Written by TheCrimsonDm

The train jostled down the tracks while plains of green lush grass rolled by. A few other ponies sat in the cabin, quietly discussing things amongst themselves but occasionally glancing toward the two most prominent ponies here. Marble Pie with her galloping heart had successfully managed to wrap all four of her legs around the bench and clung to it for dear life. Pinkie Pie sat next to her bouncing excitedly in place.

“See I told you that trains weren’t that scary,” Pinkie Pie said while patting the top of Marble’s rump.

Marble flinched at the contact and tightened her grip. She was sure that the train would crash any moment now. Moving at super high speeds, with enough force to plow through a town, she just knew that this ride was going to end in her demise. How could something so fearsome as a train not kill everypony aboard, it was absurd to even consider riding these things. Never again, she promised herself, would she ride a train.

When the train began to slow down, she was sure of it. The end had come. It was all over and her entire purpose for moving in with her twin sister was going to die before she could even come close. Never again shall she see her dear old friend.

Then the train stopped and a yelp escaped Marble’s throat as she wondered what they had hit. Perhaps they had collided with a town? Or maybe a heard of buffalo or even worse, the mighty yaks could have come to destroy Equestria. Whatever it was, they were all dead.

Several long seconds passed before the whistles of Tartarus sounded and everypony got up. She looked around, none of the others looked even half as scared as she was. Didn’t they realize what kind of danger they were in?

Pinkie Pie giggled once again and stood up. “We’re here.”

Marble blinked at her and felt very confused. Slowly the gears in her brain began turning once more and she dared a peek out the window. The train had stopped in front of a huge town full of bustling ponies, at least two, no three dozen ponies were all walking about. That was the entire population of the home she’d just come from. Her little rock village was so far away now, back in its safe gray plains with the empty skies and endless expanse of flat earth. This rolling sea of green grass, forests and homes were all so different.

Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Marble, we kinda need to get off the train.”

The cabin was virtually empty now. Once Marble finally let go of the bench she found that her legs were stiff from keeping the constant grip on her safety net. Her sister helped her put the saddlebags on and dragged the suitcase outside where the shining afternoon sun was starting to set. They had been in that train since very early in the morning and now that Marble was finally free she felt an intense sense of relief as her tiny heart lifted.

Until she looked around and realized just how many ponies were all over the place. Worse yet, there were stallions. A lot of stallions. Marble very quickly found a hiding place by Pinkie’s side and cuddled into her sister’s protective warmth. Surely nopony would dare do anything to her with Pinkie Pie around. The mere thought of somepony, anypony that was, talking to her made her want to cry.

“Marble,” Pinkie Pie said as she was shoved a little to the side with Marble’s excessive need for safety. “Let’s get to my place, er I mean our place. We’re twins so it’ll like, be ours now. We’ll share everything, it’ll be just like when we were foals.”

Before you got weird and they sent you away? Marble dared not speak her mind, but she remembered why Pinkie was sent to live with uncle and aunt Cake. She wasn’t rock farm material, and baking or whatever would be better suited for her. Her parents had however forgotten one thing when they were trying to help Pinkie find her place in the world. They had forgotten that Marble relied so heavily upon her twin sister, and that neither Limestone nor Maud could rightly make up for her.

Pinkie Pie patted Marble on the head. “I know you’re scared, it’s a new place and there’s a lot more ponies here than in our home. I bet you’re also interested in all the cute stallions.”

Fire raced across Marble’s face and she bravely defied her sister. “Mm Mmm!”

“No? Oh… well then you’re just scared?”

Marble nodded ever so slightly.

Pinkie Pie grinned. “Dontcha worry little sis, I’ll take good care of you.”

The town itself was full of ponies, there were blue ones, and green ones and even pink ones like her sister. Marble had never seen so many vibrant ponies in person. Compared to her dark, bleak homeland, this place was like a living rainbow exploding across the sky. Kinda like the one that she had always wanted to see, but was sadly inside and missed it by only a few brief seconds. Now that she was here, she couldn’t help but to wonder if perhaps she too could witness a life changing rainbow.

The Sugarcube Corner itself was a giant building built to resemble some kind of bakery treat complete with icing on top. It was such a strange design but it did its job well. One look at this building and one would know exactly what to expect inside. This was a bakery that had all the most delicious sweets, all of them, or so Pinkie Pie explained.

Pinkie Pie pushed her way inside and Marble was given yet another opportunity to see just how many ponies were in this town. Inside this little store, were over a dozen different ponies. Pinkie Pie waved to them and mentioned them all by name, which seemed impossible to Marble, because she couldn’t even remember half of them.

Pinkie Pie made her way to the glass counter where a truly delectable selection of the most mouth watering cakes Marble had ever seen lay. She couldn’t even fathom how most of them might taste.

Cheesecake, does that have real cheese in it? Or carrot cake, is there actually vegetables in that? What’s triple chocolate fudge cake? How can there be that much chocolate in one cake?

Marble was sure she had just died and gone to heaven. Rock cake could go quietly sit in the corner for the rest of her life for all she cared. These cakes were all to be her new best friends. Of course, the question was, which one to start with?

The giant awkward and skinny stallion that was Mr. Cake smiled down at Marble. “You know when we first adopted Pinkie Pie she had the same exact look in her eyes.”

Marble looked up at him and mouthed the word, adopted. She hadn’t heard about that, sure Pinkie was living here and had been ever since she was nine years old, but the idea that they had adopted Pinkie never crossed her mind.

“Yeppers!” Pinkie exclaimed. “And I’ll get to share all of my favorite cakes with my favorite twin!”

“Um, Pinkie,” Mr. Cake said. “You only have one twin.”

“And that’s why she’s my favorite DUH!” Pinkie Pie bounced into the air. When she landed she turned to face Marble she smiled from ear to ear. “Wait right here, I’m going to get something to help you out!” With that said Pinkie Pie darted off toward the stairs and vanished up them.

Marble sat down and felt like a lost puppy. She wasn’t sure what she was supposed to do, or even what she was allowed to do. The sun was nearly gone out of the sky outside and she was beginning to feel fatigued from the trip here. She desperately wished that Pinkie hadn’t run off like that.

“You can wait with me behind the counter if you’re nervous,” Mr. Cake offered.

Marble nodded and took a seat behind the counter staring out at the ponies inside. A few of them got up and left as the seconds turned to minutes. It was beginning to look like Pinkie Pie might never come back down for her. When the little bell attached to the door rung and somepony she hadn’t expected to see just yet walked through the front entrance her heart skipped a beat.

Marble took a timid step out from behind the counter and met the sapphire unicorn’s eyes. Her heart climbed up into her throat and even if she could speak, she didn’t want to. All that she wanted was to be with her again, and now that dream had finally come true. The Great and Powerful Trixie was within hoofs reach.

Trixie stood there at the doorway, staring at Marble. She took a step toward her, her eyes glossed over. “Inkie?”

Marble wanted to gallop into Trixie’s forelegs, but she sensed it before it happened. Pinkie Pie walked down the stairs with a playful grin over her face, looked at Marble and waved while shouting, “I FOUND IT!”

Trixie halted glanced over at Pinkie Pie and then turned. Marble tried to move her legs but they felt like jelly, threatening to buckle under her weight. Pinkie Pie arrived by her side just as Trixie was out the front door. Marble squeaked in defiance but was ignored as her twin sister nodded toward the door with a frown.

“What did she want?” Pinkie Pie asked, her tone was full of disgust.

Marble shook her head and wanted to scream. Trixie was outside, she was sure of it. If only she could reach her. There wasn’t even enough time to work up her courage before Pinkie Pie had wrapped a leg around her neck and began half dragging her toward the stairs.

The unbridled joy had returned to Pinkie’s voice as she spoke, “Oh you’re going to love meeting my friends. I’ll make sure that you get to know all of their names so that when you meet them tomorrow it’s not awkward and I’ll even tell you what they all like. In fact, I think tonight we’re going to study up on them. I have files on all the ponies in Ponyville. Including their work schedules, things they love, things they fear, and even their address. That’s what I was looking for you know, my records, and I found the file I made just for you to review!”

Marble’s ear twitched. Files on everypony, including their address? Maybe she has information on Trixie too!

***

The walk home for Trixie was quiet and with every step she took she grew increasingly anxious. Even if it had been for just a brief moment she had seen her again, she had seen Marble Pie in the flesh. One of the sweetest mares of all time was living with one of her enemies. So many things ran through her mind, questions without answers, half baked schemes, and endless worries.

When she finally arrived at the small place she called home and walked in she felt her heart fully drop. It was obvious that so long as Pinkie Pie was around, she would not be allowed to visit Marble unmolested, it was hard enough to get into Sugarcube Corner alone. Her reputation with the pink mare was not undeserved and that perhaps was the crux of the issue. Just a few weeks ago Trixie was caught red hoofed at the scene of a ruined cake. It was not her fault that she had been assaulted by an imp that decided to possess a cake, how was she supposed to know that would happen?

Trixie dropped her full weight into the couch and buried her face into the cushions. “Ugh, this is not fair. Trixie simply wishes to be with Marble again, is that truly so wrong of her?”

“Perhaps,” Guile said as he jumped onto her back. He walked in a circle before deciding that Trixie’s back was indeed soft enough to bed down on. “Tell me, have you a good reason to seek out this mare?”

Trixie growled. “Of course I do. We were… close. I need to see her again.”

“Then go see her.”

“Marble’s sister is standing in the way.”

“Has this sister proved a problem in the past?”

“It’s Pinkie Pie.”

The cat purred. “Oh my yes, this explains quite a lot. She is the one that nearly attacked you for making the dragon vomit, no?”

“Not my fault that Spike ate a magical book full of dark magic. There were only two ways of retrieving it from him, I think I made the better choice,” Trixie replied. She looked up at her ceiling.

“What do your silly romance novels say about situations such as these?”

“Romance novels?” Trixie asked.

“Is that not what this is?”

Trixie grumbled. “It’s complicated. I just want to talk to her.”

“So, what is your daring and foolish plan?”

Trixie’s horn lit up and the cat was lifted up into the air as she rolled onto her back. She gently set the cat back down over her chest and began gently stroking his back. “I need to see her, and Pinkie is not going to let me without some kind of trouble. I don’t want to embarrass myself in front of Marble so avoiding that confrontation is for the best…”

“Why not see her without the sister’s knowledge then?”

Trixie met Guile’s golden eyes. “Like you mean sneak around behind her back?”

“There is nothing wrong with talking to somepony in private no?”

A wicked grin grew over Trixie’s lips. “Oh you devilish cat you. You’ve just given me a terrible idea.”

“I’m sorry, I was trying to give you a good one.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “I’ll need a grappling hook, black clothing, and my hoofcuffs.”

“Why in Equestria would you need all of that?”

Trixie’s evil grin grew larger. “A true magician never reveals her secrets.”

It was late into the night, and Trixie was well prepared. She wore a black cap, black sweater and even blacker boots. A grappling hook was attached to the saddlebag on her side and even though she moved in near silence through the sleeping town, she was sure that the tools of her trade were all packed away neatly. She had one destination at mind, and as she neared the Sugarcube Corner she could practically taste victory.

She looked up and down the building, trying to size up the best way to scale it. The balcony provided both a suitable railing and easy access to her targets living quarters. It had its own share of risks as well, but it was the middle of the night, who was going to stop her?

A purple aura surrounded the grappling hook and it slowly lifted up into the air. It didn’t even take a full minute before the hook was up on the railing, secured into a strong position. Best of all it never made a sound. She began climbing the rope, it was difficult but she’d had plenty of practice so it wasn’t impossible.

When she was about half way up the rope she heard the sliding door open above her. Her heart climbed up her throat. Looking down she was sure that falling would hurt, a lot, looking up she was also sure she couldn’t make in time to stop somepony from undoing her grappling hook. Hooves clip clopped as they walked across the balcony over to her hook and with each step her heart throbbed.

Marble looked over the edge down at her and blinked a few times in surprise.

Trixie tried to wave, nearly slipped and decided instead on simply smiling. “Hi, I thought I’d come to visit.”

Marble smiled down at her. With her galloping heart calming she was able to finish climbing all the way to the top of the balcony and then over the edge. Once her hooves were safe and secure she gave a reassuring smile to her old friend.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other,” Trixie said.

“Mmhmm.”

Trixie took a step closer to Marble. “And I’ve missed you a lot. Have you missed me?”

“Mmhmm.”

Another step closer and Trixie was very nearly touching Marble. She could feel the mare’s hot breath against her neck defying the cold night air. Very slowly Trixie reached out with a foreleg, taking extra caution to make sure that Marble wasn’t scared, before wrapping it around the mare’s neck and drawing her into a tight embrace. Marble returned the hug.

“I am so sorry I never properly came back to the farm. You have to understand though, that after what I did to your sister I couldn’t face your parents again. How could I?” Trixie asked. She shook her head. “Even Trixie can’t face down all of her demons it looks like.”

Marble nuzzled into Trixie’s neck, a sign that despite her faults she was forgiven. Trixie relished in the simple pleasure of feeling Marble’s soft, but dirty fur. She could still smell the earthy scent of the rock farm in Marble’s mane, and the warm body pressed against her own was like a blanket of love that she had missed so dearly.

“We used to do this a lot.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Midnight rendezvous, holding each other in the dead of night, and knowing that despite how dark the world might seem we still have each other.” Trixie nuzzled into her dearest friend’s neck. “You are my best friend.”

“Mmhmm.”

“Should we do this again? Meet up tomorrow night at the same time that is?” Trixie asked.

“Mmhmm!” Marble hummed excitedly.

“Great I’ll come ba-“

“Mm mmm,” Marble refused with a shake of her head.

“Then… where should we meet?”

Marble lifted up a hoof and gently padded Trixie’s chest. For a moment Trixie stared down at it, and then covered it with her own. “My house? Do you even know where I live?”

“Mmhmm.”

Trixie wasn’t sure how the mare figured out where she lived at, but at least she could be sure that Marble would keep her word. If there was one thing that Trixie had learned about Marble over the years, it was that excelled at two things; billiards and sneaking out of the house. Besides Marble was an adult, she could make her own decisions.

“Alright, I’ll be expecting you at midnight tomorrow my place. Bring your cute little face and I’ll make us some hot chocolate,” Trixie said with a wink.

Marble’s face went pink and she looked down at the floor shyly. The way that she looked right then made Trixie’s own cheeks grow warm. Trixie leaned against the wall and padded for Marble to take a seat next to her. Once the mare did Trixie leaned her head against Marble’s shoulder and together they watched the stars twinkling in the night sky.

This was the best night that Trixie had experienced in a very, very long time.

After awhile, and despite how much it pained her heart, she separated herself from Marble and climbed back down the rope. Once retrieving her grappling hook and waving farewell to her dear friend, she was on her way back home Trixie with a bounce in her step. She couldn’t help but to whistle a joyous tune to herself. If she had been a pony with slightly less self control she may have even broken into song with how happy she was. On second thought, why not break into song?

Before she could even open her mouth a light blue mare with rainbow mane walked around the corner of a building. There was a bucket of red paint being held in her mouth and her hooves were stained with the stuff. Trixie had just caught Rainbow Dash red hoofed, though she wasn’t sure what Rainbow had actually done.

They both paused and stared at one another. Finally Rainbow Dash managed to set the paint down and ask, “What are you doing out so late?”

Trixie didn’t like the implication in the mare’s tone. “I was walking my dog.”

“You have a dog?”

“What were you doing out here?”

Rainbow Dash looked at the paint, then at her hooves then at Trixie. “Uh… walking the… paint…”

“You were walking your paint?”

“Shut up!”

Trixie shrugged. “I don’t really care, Trixie has much more important things to do than get wrapped into a conversation with you.”

“You’re walking around with a grappling hook and hoof cuffs, you’re not any better!”

Trixie grinned devilishly. “There you are wrong. At least I am competent.”

Rainbow Dash reared up. “Why you little.”

Trixie’s horn lit up and a cloud of smoke surrounded both her and Rainbow Dash. Just as she heard the mare begin coughing Trixie galloped away. There was never a reason to enter a combat that she knew she couldn’t win. Trixie might be skilled, and sly, and intelligent, and pretty but she was no martial artist. Rainbow Dash was the exact opposite in all those traits.

Once Trixie had gotten at least a half mile away from the mare she turned toward home and started her way there. If Trixie had one wish in this whole world, it would be for Rainbow Dash to never discover her secret friendship with Marble. The only images that came to mind for if such an event occurred included Trixie getting being forced to eat dirt while the rainbow maned bully lorded over her.

“I’ll make that mare eat dirt before I,” Trixie swore to herself. She looked around and realized she was completely alone. “Talking to yourself, Trixie? Now you do look crazy.”

Even with the unwelcomed encounter that night, she still found her spirits to be lifted as she walked home. Seeing Marble again, touching her, smelling her, just being near her presence had set off the fireworks in her heart and gave her cause to celebrate. Perhaps if she were truly lucky, things would work out and they would elope for a wonderful day of play. Of course, now Trixie had to think of a way to get Pinkie Pie out of the way. Out of the many ideas that came to mind, she struggled to find any one plan that could work. She left the thought alone for now, she could think of one later, when she wasn’t so tired.

Chapter Three: Crazy Friends

Marble Magic

Chapter Three: Crazy Friends

Written by TheCrimsonDM

The next day Marble awoke to a cold wet sensation covering her cheek. She sat up straight, shoving Pinkie’s leg off of her as she did and looked around. From Pinkie’s mouth a near constant trail of drool spread through the pillow all the way to her side. She rubbed at her cheek feeling quite disturbed by the prospect of being covered in her sister’s saliva.

Worse things have happened Marble told herself in a vain attempt to feel better.

It took a few moments but she got out of bed and went to the bathroom to clean her face. While she did she recalled her visit from Trixie last night and warm fluttery feelings filled her chest all over again. All she wanted to do was go out and meet with Trixie, to stay near her and to never leave her side. Of course, her sister didn’t seem to like Trixie very much, and Marble couldn’t fault her for that. The two of them had not had the best experiences together.

When she got out of the bathroom she found Pinkie Pie sitting up in a daze and groping the bed. Finally she blinked tiredly at Marble. “It’s six in the morning, come back to bed. I need cuddles.”

Marble shook her head. Six in the morning is a perfectly reasonable time to wake up. You’re just being lazy.

Pinkie Pie groaned, flopped back onto the bed and went right back to sleep. Her snores were fearsome enough to wake a rock golem. Marble went out of the room and down the stairs. Surely she wasn’t the only one to wake up at this hour. While she explored the house she discovered that she wasn’t the only one, and upon seeing Aunt Cake sitting in the first floor with her two cousins she couldn’t help but to grin.

“Good morning, Marble. Aren’t you up a bit early?” Aunt Cake asked.

Marble shook her head.

“I guess you were raised on the farm after all, and Igneous does like his morning hours. Pinkie on the other hoof can’t seem to wake up before eight o clock unless there’s something really big going on.”

Marble nodded and looked around. Her stomach rumbled and betrayed her hunger. Aunt Cake smiled and glanced toward the kitchen. “There are some freshly baked cookies if you’re feeling hungry. Don’t be afraid to ask for food here, you live in a bakery after all.”

Marble smiled, nodded and trotted into the kitchen. The place was full of cooking supplies and smelled of freshly baked goods. The chocolate chip cookies sitting on the table looked mouthwatering delicious. When she actually picked one up and ate it, it was even better. For a brief second she was sure that she had died and gone to chocolate heaven.

There was a loud clanging outside that made Marble’s heart stop. She quickly hid behind the table for a few seconds, praying that whatever might be coming would simply ignore her. There could be a monster, or a demon, or worse yet, a traveling salespony!

When nothing more happened she poked her head out from behind the table and found nothing. She was still scared but curiosity was gnawing at her. What if it wasn’t a monster, what if it was lost rock looking for some help getting back home?

Marble walked to the back door and opened it. She looked outside but didn’t see any rocks. Instead she saw a rather tall pegasus with yellow fur and a long red mane. She wore tattered robes and her thin cheekbones made her look half dead. Marble stared at her in silence for the longest time before noticing the knocked over trash can next to her. There was a bag of discarded bread loafs, it was ripped open and lying at the poor mare’s hooves.

“I… it’s not what it looks like,” The mare said.

Marble frowned at her.

“I was hungry…”

Marble shook her head and went back inside. She quickly scooped up the cookies that she had yet to eat and put them on a paper plate. With the paper plate balanced on her back she walked back outside and set it down on the steps. She nodded for the mare to come and take it.

“You’re giving me free food?” The mare sounded astonished.

Marble smiled at her and nodded.

“But… I was just digging through your trash? Why would you be so nice to me?”

Marble shook her head and took a few steps back. Sure she was kind enough to give her breakfast away, but that didn’t mean she wanted to get too close to anypony. Especially one that looked so troubled.

The mare walked up leaned over gingerly taking a cookie in her mouth. She ate it silence, then another, and yet still one more before finally looking back up. Marble stared into the mare’s orange eyes and saw a certain kind of strength there, courage, the likes of which she knew she could never have.

“I don’t have anything to offer you- wait,” The mare pulled a small purple cloth sack from underneath her robes. “I do have one thing. This is… it’s the last thing I really have left from my travels but for your kindness I want to repay you.” Marble stared at it as the mare set it down on the steps. “Inside are three marbles, when broken they grant the owner with an incredible boost of determination and bravery. These magic marbles are the only thing I can offer, and I really hope you accept them.”

Marble reached out and took the sack. Inside she found three clear marbles, slightly larger than average. Even if they were only normal marbles as far as she could tell, she still loved them. The only reply she could give was a kind smile and a nod.

“You probably won’t see me again, but thank you for aiding me,” the mare said kindly. “Your kindness won’t ever be forgotten.”

Marble smiled and pointed a hoof at the mare.

“Me? Oh, well you can call me Carmine, Carmine Savant. Thank you for your help,” The mare lifted the plate up with her wings and held it carefully. “Good luck, Marble.”

The mare turned and walked away, she rounded the corner and Marble felt good for having aided a mare in trouble. It only took her a few more seconds before she realized that the mare had said her name even though Marble hadn’t introduced herself. Marble took off toward the side of the house, rounded it and looked for the mare. The streets were completely empty with nopony in sight. A few birds sang songs from places she couldn’t see and the sun was rising over the horizon.

Marble shook her head and walked back inside. Just who was that pony, and how could she have known my name?

A few hours later and Marble found herself sitting upstairs in Pinkie’s room while facing one of the most amazing mare’s she had ever personally laid eyes upon. The lavender alicorn with her dark blue mane and the red and purple stripes running through it stood facing Pinkie Pie with a stern expression like that of a proper leader.

“Pinkie Pie, don’t you dare lie to me about this,” Twilight said.

“Okie dokie lokie.”

“You remember the statue of Princess Celestia that is in the town square?”

“Yeppers.”

“Did you paint a red bullseye on her rump?”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “What?”

“Did you, paint a red bullseye, on Princess Celestia’s butt?”

A manic laugh escaped her older sister and the round ball of laughter fell over clutching her sides. “No, but I wish I had! That’s awesome!”

Twilight growled. “It is most certainly not awesome. It especially wasn’t funny that the culprit wrote the words, ‘insert Twilight’s horn here’ next to it.”

A second bout of hideous laughter flew from her sister’s lips. Twilight groaned and lowered her head. “I had to whitewash the whole thing… when I find out who did this I’m going to make them regret ever defiling the Princess… and me!”

“Oh, what are you going to do? Shove your horn up their butt?” Pinkie Pie asked. Even more laughter escaped her.

Twilight let out a sigh and walked toward Marble. Instinctively Marble flinched away upon the tall alicorn’s approach. Twilight sat down not more than five feet away from her. “How are you doing?”

Marble shrugged.

“Do you think this is funny too?”

Marble shook her head.

“Well… at least one of you seems half-way normal. Then again, I haven’t met Limestone yet.”

Marble shrugged. I thought we were all normal… well except for Pinkie Pie.

“So when are the others supposed to arrive?” Twilight asked, she glanced back at Pinkie Pie just as she managed to get her laughter under control.

“Soonish,” Pinkie replied. “You arrived first, which is good because you’re all about friendship even if you’re not very good at making them.”

“Hey, I am the princess of Friendship,” Twilight stated.

“I know right, which is weird because you like have hardly any friends compared to me.”

Twilight shot her a glare. “What are you trying to say?”

“I’m not sure, oh maybe I should be the princess of friendship? That would be neat! Can I be princess, please oh pretty please?”

Twilight growled. “You, are, not, stealing, my, job.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Okay, don’t get your tail in a twist.”

There was a rapping at Pinkie’s bedroom door. Marble watched her sister skip to the door and then throw it open. A yellow pegasus with a bubblegum pink mane stood on the other side next to a white unicorn with a curly purple mane. Only instead of being a mess like Pinkie’s mane was, her curls looked professionally done. Together they were the picture of perfect beauty. Simply looking at them sent shivers down Marble’s back and got her heart racing.

The pair of angles walked in and the white one smiled brightly at Marble, suddenly her mind went blank and for the life of her she could not remember the mare’s name. Charity, Cherry, Marry?

“Hello dear, you must be, Marble,” The white one said.

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Yep, that’s my twin sister. She’s really quiet so don’t mind her if she doesn’t say hi back.”

The yellow one smiled and Marble felt like she remembered her from somewhere. Perhaps she had dreamed of this lovely creature long before ever meeting her. Could it be destiny? What about Trixie? Marble surely couldn’t abandon her quest for the perfect unicorn only to chase after some new pegasus, but she really wanted too.

“Oh, I used to be like that,” the yellow one said in a voice as soft as silk.

“Fluttershy, you’re still like that,” Pinkie Pie said.

Marble’s heart stopped. Fluttershy, as in the Fluttershy? Wait, did we talk about her last night? Oh I wish I hadn’t fallen asleep halfway through our research.

She didn’t hesitate as she galloped to her suitcase and opened it. It took a little bit of digging but she found the framed portrait that she had paid quite a pretty bit at the market just last year. Anytime Marble was at the market she always kept her eyes out for this kind of memorabilia.

The portrait itself had a picture of Fluttershy, her rear faced the camera while she looked back and pouted her lips. The look in her eyes was both innocent, and yet promised naughty things at the same time. In the small corner of the picture she could make out Photo Finish’s trademark. Carefully she slid the photo out of the glass portrait, looked and found both a pink marker and her album with some music sung by the beautiful mare.

Once Marble was done she turned around only to find all four mares staring at her. She clutched the items to her chest and carefully did a three legged walk over to Fluttershy where she set the things down gently and held out the marker for her. She looked to the gorgeous mare with pleading eyes. Fluttershy’s soft lips trembled ever so slightly as she stared at the things before her, and those baby blue eyes glossed over. Marble’s heart was sent a flutter.

“Whoa,” Pinkie Pie said. “I actually forgot that you were like, a huge flutterfile.”

Fluttershy squeaked like an adorable mouse.

Pinkie shrugged. “Do you think you could autograph my sister’s stuff? I think she would really appreciate it.

Fluttershy gulped.

The white mare raised an eyebrow. “That Photo Finish really made you do a lot of things you were not comfortable with didn’t she? Well at least we know that Marble likes you.”

Fluttershy blinked and took a step back. “R-Rarity, I-I don’t, I mean, I wanted to forget about all that.”

Marble blinked at her. Forget all about what? She couldn’t mean how wonderful it was being a celebrity.

Pinkie wrapped a leg around Fluttershy’s neck and drew her in close. “If you sign my sister’s things I’ll give you a free cake.”

“C-carrot cake?”

“Sure.”

Fluttershy let out a sigh and grabbed the marker with her wing. “I need to pick one up for Angle Bunny, he’s getting grumpy and I think he needs to be reminded of how much I love him.” She met Marble’s eyes. “Um… what should I sign it as?”

Marble quickly ran to the nightstand, found a piece of paper and a pencil and scribbled down a quick note. She returned with the note and gave it to Fluttershy. The beautiful mare’s eyes widened as she read it. “Oh, my, a-are you sure?”

Marble nodded, her cheeks grew warm. It was silly to ask, sure, but even she couldn’t blow an opportunity like this, not with her second favorite mare in Equestria.

“Oh, okay.” Fluttershy wrote down on the photo and the album. When she was done she set the marker down and smiled. “I hope you like it.”

Marble stared down at the autograph and her heart drummed in her chest.

“To my cutest fan.

Fluttershy.”

Marble was sure she could die now. Thankfully while she was putting the photo back into its frame and setting the album down gently she listened in to Twilight’s conversation, it proved a useful distraction from her own embarrassment.

“So where’s Applejack and Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked.

“Applejack was busy, but she promised to come by later today and visit,” Rarity said. “As for Rainbow Dash, we haven’t seen her all day.”

Fluttershy let out a quiet sigh. “I saw her yesterday but she was acting really weird and wanted to borrow a can of red paint. Why does she always borrow my stuff when she needs to do something?”

“Because you never say no, darling,” Rarity answered.

“Red, paint?” Twilight asked in a razor sharp voice.

Just then the balcony door opened up and a light blue pegasus flew into the room, brilliant prismatic mane flying through the air. She landed next to Twilight and stood proud, her stance almost distracted Marble from how tall the alicorn princess was, almost.

“Sup, dweebs,” the mare said.

“Rainbow Dash! You’re just in time!” Pinkie Pie said excitedly.

Rainbow Dash looked down at her red stained hooves. “Uh, one second, Pinks. Rarity, how do you wash paint out of your fur?”

“Special shampoo. I have some if you-“

“YOU!” Twilight shouted.

Marble darted under the bed and poked her head out. The princess was enraged, and Marble was terrified that she was about to summon forth a volcano into the room, or perhaps a meteorite, or some other form of mass destruction. Alicorns were all super powerful after all.

“What?” Rainbow Dash asked, she was wearing a sly grin that told everypony she had been up to something.

“You were the one that vandalized Celestia’s statue!” Twilight exclaimed, she didn’t even try to hide the fire in her voice.

“Uh…” Rainbow Dash looked up at the balcony, back at Twilight, then up again. “Yeah, you see about that… Later!” She flew up into the air and out the window so fast that she left a rainbow colored streak behind her.

Twilight Sparkle’s horn flared with pink light and she took off after the mare. “I will show you exactly where my horn goes! Now get back here!”

Marble stayed under the bed for a few long seconds until Pinkie Pie walked over and beamed down at her with a happy smile. “My friends sure are lively today, don’t you think so?”

***

Trixie lay over the couch in the quiet room admiring the silk curtains, the nice pink and blue striped carpet and the rich mahogany table. She lifted a piece of candy out of the dish with her telekinesis and dropped it in her mouth. Sweet, with a little bit of a salty flavor. It was pretty good.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Bonbon said as she entered the room. By her side was the ever faithful Lyra. They nuzzled one another and Trixie felt a pint of jealousy build up. If only she could have such a wonderful mare in her life, but alas the only one she could see herself with was currently rooming with the pink devil herself.

“It’s fine,” Trixie said. “I don’t mind waiting for a few minutes.”

“You’re such a nice mare, it’s really too bad that Twilight and her friends can’t see that,” Bonbon said as she took a seat on the couch next to Trixie. As Lyra climbed up there too Trixie scooted aside to make room.

“They are a bunch of pig headed, arrogant, stuck up, heroes. Of course they would never consider Trixie as being anything other than beneath them,” Trixie said. She flashed a grin. “I will not however stand for this injustice. Bullies are just plain wrong.”

“Uh,” Lyra began, “you probably aren’t the best pony to be saying things like that. Just saying.”

“No, I am the best pony to say such things because I know from first hoof experience just how much damage a mare with so much power can cause. Those elements of harmony,” Trixie said the words as though they were vile disgusting things, “have not learned this lesson yet… well… to be fair Rarity and Fluttershy were not so bad once you get to know them and Twilight is… friendly enough. Starlight is absolutely perfect.”

“That still leaves three ponies,” Lyra said.

“Yes, and those three are terrible monsters. Rainbow Dash thinks herself to be the greatest thing in Equestria, Applejack is stuck up and won’t get rid of her preconceived notions, and the pink one is holding one of Trixie’s dearest friend’s hostage.”

“Wait, what?” Bonbon exclaimed.

“Well, not literally. Pinkie’s sister Marble is such a sweet and kind mare,” Trixie said. “Thanks to Pinkie though, Trixie is not able to hang out with her in the open. Instead we must sneak around so that she does not catch wind of our friendship.”

Bonbon raised an eyebrow. “Friendship, like me and Lyra kind of friends?”

Trixie’s cheeks grew warm. “N-no, well… p-probably not. Trixie is just really close friends with her, right now. If it were possible Trixie would rewrite that part of the story, but such as it is Trixie will be content with simply being friends.”

“Aww, you’re in love aren’t you,” Lyra said. She giggled. “I remember when I first realized that my friendship with Bonbon was a lot more intimate than I thought it was. That was the best day of my life.”

Bonbon let out a sigh. “We had been making out for a week prior to that though, so it was a bit awkward.”

“Oh come on, you told me it was friend-kissing!”

“I said French-kissing!”

“Same diff.”

“No, no it’s really not,” Bonbon said. “Ugh, anyway, Trixie, what are you planning to do about Pinkie if she’s really standing in the way of your friendship with Marble?”

“Sneak around and never get caught?” Trixie answered.

Bonbon shook her head. “You are dealing with Pinkie Pie. She will figure it out eventually, and then… well I don’t want to see your heart broken. Maybe you should offer an olive branch to Pinkie Pie, try to be friends with her?”

Trixie considered this. “How would Trixie do that?”

“Go to her and ask her to be friends with you,” Lyra said. “if that doesn’t work, tell her that she has to be your friend.”

“Trixie can’t simply go up to Pinkie and demand such things; she would surely say something before Trixie could even open her mouth. Then Trixie would react and it would all go downhill from there.”

“Surprise her!” Lyra said while jumping in her seat. “Jump out from behind while shouting, ‘wanna be friends?’ if that doesn’t work than I don’t know what will.”

That idea had a certain appeal to it, and if the pink mare was just as crazy as Trixie suspected she was, it might work. Of course if anypony tried that on Trixie she would turn them down and leave at her earliest convenience but Pinkie seemed to love making friends above all else. In all honesty, Trixie was still confused about how it came to be that Twilight Sparkle became the princess of friendship and not Pinkie Pie.

“Okay, Trixie will consider this plan in greater detail. For now, let us get onto business, it’s time for our lunch date!” Trixie said excitedly.

“Oh, oh, can we go to that one restaurant with the flowers again?” Lyra begged.

Bonbon smiled and pat her lover on the head. “Of course we can.”

Trixie grinned. “This will be the lunch date of the ages!”

Chapter Four: Cat's Eye

Marble Magic

Chapter Four: Cat’s Eye

Written by TheCrimsonDM

This had to have been the worst plan that Trixie ever came up with. Even worse it wasn’t her plan, it was Lyra’s! Twigs scratched against her legs as she crouched inside the bush watching Pinkie Pie while she and Rarity sat at a table enjoying a meal. Pinkie Pie had a giant ice cream sundae sitting in front of her.. Luckily Trixie had just finished her lunch date with her friends so the scent of delicious food didn’t tempt her, too much. The mares were only ten feet away from her and not exactly trying to keep quiet as they spoke.

“Honestly, darling, I can’t fathom why she won’t simply open with us,” Rarity said as she stirred the straw in her drink with her magic. “Would it really be so awful for us to fawn over her marefriend?”

Pinkie Pie shrugged. “I don’t know either. Fluttershy doesn’t think she’s keeping her relationship with Tree Hugger a secret now does she?”

“Even if she did, the question is why?” Rarity asked.

“Maybe she’s just shy?”

“Of course she is shy, but she could at least tell me. I mean, she used to gossip about Rainbow Dash all the time, telling me how much she wished she could only tell her how she really felt. Now that she’s interested in this other mare, I had hoped she would talk to me about it.”

Pinkie Pie took a bite of her ice cream Sunday. “Do you think she just doesn’t want to talk about it?”

“Perhaps, but it’s not fair. I need to hear details, lusty sweat filled details about two writhing bodies on the floor…”

“Ha! You just want to hear smut, no wonder she doesn’t talk to you about it. I bet that Fluttershy would die if she ever heard us talking about her like that,” Pinkie Pie said. Her silly grin seamed infectious as Rarity smiled back.

“Well if I can’t get juicy details from her I just need to find a new pony,” Rarity said. “Do you have any current crushes?”

“Last week I thought I was in love with Twilight.”

“Oh that sounds delicious, what happened?”

“Nothing, it was just gas.”

Rarity blinked, and so did Trixie. Rarity cleared her throat. “H-how does a pony confuse the two?”

Pinkie Pie only smiled, took another bite of her Sunday and then pushed away from the table. “I’ll be right back.”

“You better have a love story for me when you get back,” Rarity said.

Pinkie gave her a wink and walked in the opposite direction of Trixie and into the restaurant. Nearly a minute went by as Trixie wondered just how best to approach this idea. She needed to get into Pinkie’s inner circle, but how? Her mind stopped once she realized that Rarity had taken to picking her nose.

“Is she…” Trixie whispered to herself.

“Yep, she’s picking her nose,” Pinkie Pie said from next to Trixie.

“That’s… disgusting and not at all relevant to Trixie’s mission.”

“What’s your mission?”

“To befriend Pinkie Pie.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “That sounds hard.”

“Well she hate’s Trixie and understandably so, so yes it is… it…” Trixie looked over at the pink mare sitting next to her. “Uh… wanna be friends?”

Pinkie Pie grinned from ear to ear. With one mighty leap out of the bush into the air Pinkie Pie shouted at the top of her lungs, “YES!” Rarity shrieked and fell out of her chair. Once Pinkie Pie landed she stood up, the top of her head poking out from under the bush.

“P-Pinkie! You were spying on me!” Rarity exclaimed.

“Nope,” Pinkie Pie said. She wrapped a leg around Trixie’s neck and dragged her upright. “Trixie was spying on me.”

“But… why?” Rarity asked.

“She wants to be my friend, and I said yes,” Pinkie Pie said. Her expression grew serious. “On one condition.”

Trixie gulped. So much for this being easy.

“No more of this ‘I’m better than you are’ thing. You sound really arrogant and stuff when you do it.”

Trixie pushed away. “I sound arrogant? How about Rainbow Dash, the best flyer in all of Equestria?”

“Well you see, we already have on arrogant mare in our group. Two would just be overkill.”

“Trixie is not changing her personality just because it suits you and your demented ideals,” Trixie defended.

“It’s not demented. If you want to join our group you have to fill a role.”

“Trixie is not going to fill a role, she simply wanted to be your friend.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Pinkie Pie said. “I mean it’s obvious that you’re just trying to get something from me, so if you aren’t willing to play my game, I don’t see why I should play yours.”

Trixie’s jaw dropped. “You… you think I am simply trying to use you?”

“Well duh!”

Trixie growled, and her horn lit up. A purple aura surrounded what was left of Pinkie’s Sundae. The half melted treat floated over to them. Without warning Trixie turned it upside down and dumped the contents into Pinkie’s mane.

Trixie turned tail and marched off. “Trixie will not befriend such a prejudice and mean mare. You have just lost a chance at having the best friend of your life. HMPH!”

She left them in the dust of her wake. Nopony would treat Trixie with such disregard and get away with it. Be it small town earth pony or big time princess, Trixie demanded to be treated with at least some amount of respect. And why shouldn’t she, she was the Great and Powerful Trixie after all.

***

Marble sat on the balcony while sipping at a cup of hot cocoa. Her sister was sitting next to her and Rarity along with Applejack on the other side. Things were quiet up here as they watched all the ponies below going about their daily business. Thoughts of how she cuddled Trixie last night were still fresh in her mind, and she couldn’t wait to do so again later tonight. If only she could speed up the clock.

“I can’t believe that Trixie dumped an ice cream Sundae in my hair!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. Her mane was still damp and smelled of lavender shampoo, with a hint of ice cream. “That was just mean.”

“You did insult her,” Rarity said. “If you had said something like that to me, I might have cried.”

“Yeah, well she deserves it. I mean has she done anything other than try to ruin my fun? I still remember how she put down my family’s rock farm.” Pinkie crossed her forelegs over her chest and huffed.

“Now now, I’ve been to that farm it would be dreadful for a unicorn to live there. I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie, I’m sure you have fond memories of it but it is not a place for unicorns,” Rarity said.

Marble took another sip of her hot cocoa. Trixie didn’t like it at first, but she grew to enjoy the farm after a while. It just wasn’t as fun as a stage though, so she left us… she left me… but I found her again. I can fix whatever happened between us now.

“Y’all ever consider the idea that maybe Trixie is just stuck up? Even if she has her nice moments she isn’t a pony Ah would want to be friends with,” Applejack drawled.

Rarity frowned at her. “She is sophisticated, not stuck up. After our little event in Manehattan I would have thought you would know that, and not to mention how Starlight and her are friends.”

“Yeah, Ah don’t exactly see that as a good thing. Ah’d have t’ get t’ know her better, and she doesn’t exactly talk t’ me.”

“Well that’s because you keep giving her dirty looks, honestly how do you think it would feel if I gave you nothing but dirty looks all day even when you were trying to help me?”

“We got in trouble because of her.”

“And she got us out of it.”

Applejack ignored Rarity and reached out with a hoof. She tapped Marble on the shoulder lightly and suddenly Marble’s world was drowned out in a flash of insight so deep and painful that the balcony vanished. She was in a world where her parents were dead, and that her little sister would never get to have a real mommy. She was the closest thing to it, and no matter what she did, she needed to keep her safe. Anypony that threatened that safety was an instant enemy, not of just her but of her entire clan. Trixie had placed her little sister in danger a few times, and would never be anything more than a hazard to watch out for at best, and a dangerous enemy at worst.

The balcony returned and Marble jumped away from Applejack and into her sister’s side. She fell back and onto the floor before sprawling up and scampering away. Slowly her mind was able to piece together the feelings she just had, the world she was just exposed too. She had bonded with Applejack and now understood her in a way that she never wanted too. Why would she want to know how it felt to lose her parents, to be in charge of a raising a filly, and of seeing her Trixie viewed as a monster?

Despite how hard she tried, she couldn’t hide the tears running down her face.

“What did Ah do?” Applejack asked in a soft voice. “Ah, Ah’m sorry did Ah hurt you?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head. “Marble Sense; she’s an empath and can get glimpses into a pony’s mind and feelings when she makes physical contact. Usually the bad stuff though, like sadness and pain. What were you thinking about when you touched her?”

Applejack shook her head. “Just about how Ah got t’ protect mah kin. Ya know, because it’s just the four of us.”

A sad smile grew over Pinkie’s lips. “So you were thinking about your parents?”

“…ayep.”

“Well, now you got somepony who understands how that feels just as much as you do,” Pinkie Pie said. She turned back and faced Marble. “Are you okay?”

Marble shook her head. “Mm-mmm.”

Pinkie looked at the spilt cup of hot cocoa. “Would you like some more?”

“Mmhmm.”

Pinkie Pie rose to her hooves and shook herself. “Just don’t touch her again please. Right now she’s got to figure out how to deal with the feeling of losing her parents… it might be old pain for you Applejack, but it’s fresh for her.” Then Pinkie Pie spun around and went inside.

“Ah’m sorry,” Applejack apologized. “Ah didn’t know.”

Marble found herself shaking, and it took several long and slow breaths just to stop. She didn’t have a reply for Applejack, she could barely think with how wrecked her heart felt. Sure she knew her parents were alive and just fine, but that didn’t mean she could easily forget what it felt like for Applejack to lose them. It was going to take hours to recover from this.

“So you can’t touch anypony at all without this happening?” Rarity asked.

“Mmhmm… mmm…” Marble carefully looked around until she found her saddlebags and pulled out a notebook and a pen. She wrote down a message and showed it to them.

“If I am very familiar with the pony, I can expect what I’ll feel and it isn’t as bad.

But if I don’t know what to expect it hurts really badly. So I don’t touch anypony beside my sister.”

Marble choose not to add, and Trixie. Trixie being the only other mare that she’d grown used to physical contact with; though that was due to unwelcomed circumstance not perseverance. Marble would never want to get that close to anypony else again. Not even if it killed her.

“So you can’t cuddle? Or kiss? Or even make love?” Rarity asked, her voice full of sorrow. “You poor dear, what will you do if you never find a special somepony?”

I already have one that I want. Marble wouldn’t dare say that to them, but it was true.

“Is that why after Big Mac bumped into you after Hearth’s Warming last year you ran away crying?” Applejack asked

Marble nodded. “Mmhmm.”

“Ah’m sorry t’ hear that. if there’s anything we can do fer ya, just let us know.”

“Wait, will clothing help? It will stop direct contact with a pony right?” Rarity asked.

“Mm-mmm,” Marble said. Clothing never helped, no matter how thick.

“That’s too cruel,” Rarity said. “I’ll think of something, perhaps Twilight will have an idea?”

Marble gave them a gentle smile. The pain she felt in her heart was already beginning to ease and she looked down at all the ponies walking around town. Each and every one of them was a ticking time bomb to her, one single touch could set her off and destroy her. However temporary, it was still a nightmarish prospect. Still, she would brave a thousand bad memories if it meant she could share one lifetime with the only mare she trusted to keep her safe. The only mare she trusted enough to be with. If only she could be with Trixie.

***

It wasn’t until several hours later that Trixie found herself finally relaxed and the event with Pinkie Pie completely forgotten… well almost. She found herself distracted and that was good enough for her. Guile rode on her back as she strode out of town dressed in traditional mage equipment. Hat, cloak, and even a purple stave with a gold star at the end went to make her look rather fashionable.

“So what exactly are we looking for?” Trixie asked.

“Dead things,” Guile replied.

“Guile…”

“Undead things specifically. I sensed the presence of a dark artifact just north of town, and dark artifacts are usually surrounded by two things. Death, and strife. Since the town looks calm, I can only assume that we should be looking for death.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Really now, undead? That’s preposterous. Not only is the practice of necromancy illegal it’s impossible to boot.”

“Now who said that?”

“Every paper on the subject ever released from the Hall of Magic has stated the simple fact that it does not work. The reason for it being illegal is because it’s disgusting and horrible. Desecrating the dead like that, simply morbid.”

“Has it ever occurred to you that if you did not want ponies practicing necromancy you would need but tell them that it was impossible. That you would only have to show them some fancy papers and reports and suddenly the whole of the population would believe you?” Guile said.

Trixie thought about it, and she didn’t like it. He had a point, a darn good one. She reminded herself though that he was a familiar, one of the true fea, and a creature of playfulness. It was entirely possible that he was getting a kick out of making Trixie worried over the impossible.

“Even if it were possible, Trixie would look like a fool if she reported that to her boss.”

He purred. “And that would change what exactly?”

“Shut up.”

They were only a few miles north of Ponyville, and still heading that way. If they kept this up for a day or so they would reach Unicorn Range, and get to admire all the beauty of the multi colored rolling hills. Of course that would be a trip best served for some other time, Trixie had business to attend to at the moment.

The luscious green grass and spring flowers all looked gorgeous and delicious. The light forest surrounding them held little secrets as far as the eyes could see. All in all it was a beautiful day. Something felt a bit off though. Trixie stopped and took a closer look around.

Grass, flowers, trees, and all sorts of plants surrounded them. Nothing else stood out as being odd. Of course if there were only a few bunnies or squirrels out it would complete the picture of perfect nature… but there weren’t. There wasn’t a single bird, butterfly or bee. No wildlife to speak of at all.

A cold chill ran down the length of Trixie’s neck, but it didn’t stop there, she also felt the cold in her horn. A chilling sensation so deep and intimate that it bypassed all physical meaning and touched her very soul. There was dark magic ahoof.

“So you feel it too,” Guile said coolly. He licked at his paws. “Best be on your guard, or else you’ll end up like the curious cat.”

“Trixie will not be felled so easily,” Trixie said in mock confidence. The truth was that dark magic scared her. Ever since her exposure to the amulet she was left with a connection to dark energy so deep that it almost felt good to be around it. She knew better, and it always left her feeling sick to be exposed to it again afterwards, but there was a part of her that craved its dark alluring touch. The sensual flavor of corruption made her body feel things that she couldn’t even begin to describe. Why she was chosen for the task of locating, securing and locking away magical items must have had something to do with this, but that did not mean she liked it.

Carefully Trixie continued forward, the sensation in her horn grew only colder. When her horn began to grow warm again she stopped, changed direction to where it felt coldest and continued on her way. Like a metal detector for dark magic, Trixie’s horn homed in on the source of the magic.

After leaving the road she continued some ways into the woods until she reached a small clearing. The grass was gray and crunched underhoof, the flowers wilted and the silence that filled the clearing was so utterly complete that it felt like she was wearing ear plugs. Even the wind didn’t blow here.

In the center of the clearing Trixie saw something she had never quite witnessed before. A glass orb of deep purple with green stripes, nearly black stood atop a lone stave stuck into the ground as if left as a warning. Thorns stood out along the shaft of the stave and grew in both size and number nearest the orb. A presence so black and vile ebbed off of the thing that Trixie felt ill.

“Oh, my,” Guile purred as he stood up. “What beauty is this that I behold?”

“It’s disturbing, should we destroy it?” Trixie asked.

“Destroy? Trixie, how dare you even suggest such a despicable act. It should be collected, cataloged and put into a safe place where nopony should ever see it… but me of course.”

“Guile, this thing is downright evil, it’s” She paused to think about it. “Probably the most evil thing I’ve ever felt. Even the Alicorn Amulet didn’t feel like this.”

“You are right of course, that amulet of yours was but a kitten’s play thing compared to this wonderful relic,” he hopped off of her back and began sprinting toward the stave.

Trixie chased after him. “What are you doing?”

“Getting what’s so clearly mine!”

“GUILE!” Trixie screamed.

The cat leapt into the air and landed on top of the orb in perfect balance. He laid down curling into a ball, and Trixie knew she was going to have to throw him off of it. Intense pressure weighed down upon Trixie and she fell to her stomach. It was like an impossible weight had been dropped upon her as she stared up at the orb with fear.

The orb became bright, lavender in color and black flames spilled forth from around it. Guile looked down at the orb and if it was possible he frowned. “Oh dear, I see now that I may have been in error?”

His eyes glowed green and his fur changed to a lavender hue, the fur coming out of his ears turned green as well. He blinked once and a bright pink aura surrounded him, and a black aura surrounded the stave. Slowly the stave lifted into the air and Trixie was left helpless to watch as Guile looked down at her with unfamiliar eyes.

He spoke, but his voice came out feminine, “I am finally free of that eternal prison. Last time I join Dizzy on a quest to save the world.” He looked down at Trixie. “You there, were you the one to bring one of my lineage to this stave? Tell me how many hundreds of years has it been since Baast and her companions were out destroying the dog empire?”

Trixie blinked. “Baast? The hero? As in Guile’s ancestor?” It hit her that this was no longer Guile, some sort of presence had taken over him. “What did you do to my friend?”

“He’s gone, locked away inside his own mind. It is time for me to come back,” he stood up and stretched, looked between his legs and frowned. “Oh… that’s gross. I suppose I should have expected that much though. Simple fix really.” His eyes took on a pink luminance and Trixie watched in amazement as Guile was turned from boy to girl.

The cat smiled. “Oh yes, now that will do. Tell me young horned pony; what do you think of my return?”

“I want my friend back, sure he was a dick but he was still my friend.”

“Well he had a dick,” she said playfully. “Tell the world young pony, tell them that Baast has returned, and will soon continue doing exactly what needs to be done. Mrow it’s time to go.”

Trixie watched as a pink aura surrounded the cat, stave, and air around it. The world grew tense for a second and then it popped. Just like that, Baast and the stave were gone. The pressure instantly vanished and Trixie lay there feeling confused, lost and terrified. Not only did she just lose track of the evil artifact, she just lost her familiar.

Her employer was going to be pissed.

Chapter Five: The Pitfall

Marble Magic

Chapter Five: The Pitfall

Written by TheCrimsonDM

With Guile gone, an evil magical artifact released upon the world, and no idea on how to fix this, Trixie did the only thing she could think of; she went galloping to her employer for help. It wasn’t a long trip, she could gallop really fast when she wanted too, it was a hard learned skill. She knew it was against the rules to contact her employer in the open like this, but she had hit the point where her ability to solve problems ended.

She galloped into the crystalline castle, through the long empty halls and into the map room where as predicted she found Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Friendship studying the map. Twilight didn’t even glance at her as she galloped up to the map, and came to a slide before stopping next to it. Trixie stood on her hind legs threw her hooves onto the map table and attempted to catch her breath.

“Yes Pi-“ Twilight looked up and blinked. “Oh… you’re not who I expected. Usually it’s Pinkie Pie that comes charging in here without warning. Uh… are you looking for Starlight?”

Trixie had planned this, she had mentally practiced her speech about how terrifying the evil stave was, how horrible it was to see her friend’s personality wiped out, and worse of all to know that she was powerless to fix any of it. Trixie sucked in a huge breath.

“Fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it fix it-”

Twilight’s horn lit up with a pink light and Trixie found her mouth still moving but with no words coming out. A small smile grew over Twilight’s lips. “Now, in very slow, calm words, tell me what’s wrong.”

Her horn stopped glowing and Trixie took another giant breath. This time she managed, just barely, to control herself. “Evil magic thing, Guile turned into a girl named Baast, he’s gone, evil thing is gone, I’m scared, now fix it!”

Twilight frowned. “Trixie isn’t it your job to solve issues dealing with cursed items and dark artifacts? Isn’t that what a particular princess pays you for?”

“I can’t, it’s too powerful and Guile is gone! Please, Twilight, I wouldn’t ask you to help me if I could do something, in fact I’d avoid you like the plague if I could, but I, but,” Trixie begged. She lowered her head. hot tears ran down her face. “Guile is gone…”

“Okay, okay, I’m dealing with some problems with dragons and ponies fighting for ownership of a cave, but if you can’t do this on your own... Tell me, in exact detail, what happened and if I can’t deal with it I’ll get my pupil too,” Twilight said. She offered a false smile to Trixie.

Trixie sat down on her rump. “Are you mad at me?”

“Trixie, you’ve dealt with enough dark magic to know when you can’t handle something on your own.” Twilight’s face. “I’m proud of you for coming to me for help when things are overwhelming. Yes I am terribly busy right now, and this was supposed to be your job, but I’ll help. Guile might be a talking cat, but he’s still a citizen of Equestria and it’s my job to keep him safe.”

Trixie sniffled and wiped a hoof at her eyes. “Okay, I… Trixie will tell you the whole story. Thank you, Twilight.”

“Don’t mention it.”

***

Marble lay on her belly with her legs sprawled out over Pinkie’s bed. A pencil in her mouth and a sketch book underneath her. She had taken to one of her favorite past times; drawing saucy ponies. She was already nearly done with the drawing she was working on which had Trixie and Fluttershy in a very compromising position. She had no illusions that the drawing would come to life, it was mostly just fun and the end result was always rewarding… even if she had to either hide or destroy most of her drawings in order to keep them secret.

“I’m sorry, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight said from the floor above her. “I am dealing with too much right now. Between all the usual friendship and princess problems, dragons and ponies fighting over a cave, and a magic cat gone missing, my schedule is full. As soon as I get some free time I will take a look into your sister’s condition.”

“Aw shucks, that’s no fun. My sister was really looking forward to your help too, she wants to touch ponies,” Pinkie Pie said.

“W-what?”

“You know because she can’t.”

“Oh, right, empath. I forgot already, see what I mean. I think I’ll need to send Starlight and Spike out to go and deal with the dragons already,” Twilight said.

“Send Starlight out on her own? To deal with dragons? What if she just decides to kill them all?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Then the dragons are dealt with, honestly that was the entire reason I was going to take her along anyway. I can’t fight a dragon, but Starlight could vaporize one in ten seconds flat.”

“That’s Rainbow’s line.”

“Yeah, well if she’s going to vandalize the town I’m going to steal her catchphrases.”

“Sounds fair.”

“Anyway, I got a magic cat to find. I was still on the fence about her, but if she’s willing to ask for help when she really needs it… maybe she’s really changed.”

“Who?”

“A… friend of mine. She’s never once asked for help from me before, and I trust her judgment when it comes to this kind of stuff… the sad part is I think that cat of hers is one of the only friends she has.”

“Should I make a cake?” Pinkie asked, Marble glanced up and saw the concern on her sister’s face.

“No, that would be… a bad move at the moment,” Twilight said. She turned to the balcony door and stepped out. “Oh and Pinkie, I like your new shampoo. Ice cream Sundae really suits you.”

Pinkie Pie nearly laughed. “Really?”

“Yeah, usually you smell like frosting and that brings some… interesting images to mind, but this scent is brand new, and I like it. Of course if I were to wear it, I would be afraid Celestia might try to eat my mane when I wasn’t looking,” Twilight joked.

“Ha, it’s not as bad as if you were wearing cake scented shampoo!”

“Then I’d be a dead mare.”

Twilight spread her wings and took off into the darkened sky. For a moment Pinkie Pie simply sat there watching her friend leave before spinning around, jumping off the floor above and landing on the bed below. The bed bounced and Marble, along with her pencil and sketchbook went flying.

Pinkie Pie grinned down at her sister. “Oops… sorry.”

Marble glared at her. You did that on purpose.

A few hours later, after Pinkie Pie was fast asleep, Marble snuck out of her sister’s embrace, got her saddlebag packed, including her Confidence Marbles and began her descent down the stairs. Once she was outside she took a deep breath of the late night air, looked around to make sure the coast was clear and trotted over to Trixie’s house. She had the location memorized thanks to Pinkie’s notes, although she hadn’t gotten to read anymore of the file on Trixie past the address, convincing her sister to bring that file out was surprisingly difficult.

The night was Marble’s personal playground. The reason the day time scared her was because of how many ponies were out there, so many ponies with so many feelings. At night though she was virtually alone, free to run and frolic and play to her heart’s content without ever worrying about bumping into somepony. Of course, she always kept an eye out for monsters, because it was at night that they too decided to come out and play.

Ponyville however was completely different than home. There were no monsters, just quiet peaceful bliss. She could get used to living here.

***

It was near midnight, Trixie was exhausted, mentally and emotionally. Everywhere she looked around the house she expected to see Guile leap out at her and make some manner of snarky comment. He didn’t, and it left the place feeling as empty as it was quiet. It was a cold night, so she stoked her fireplace with what little bit of wood she had left after the winter and drank some tea. There was only one upside to this night, she wasn’t going to be alone for long.

When she heard the knocking at the door her heart skipped a beat and she trotted over to it. The door was thrown open with excitement and the gray earth pony staring at her with that one beautiful purple eye made Trixie’s heart soar. Marble smiled.

“Good evening, Marble,” Trixie said.

“Mmhmm,” Marble agreed.

Marble reached out with a foreleg and Trixie quickly stepped away. “No, not tonight. I… I had a really bad day and I don’t want it rubbing off on you.”

Marble gave her a frown and walked into the house, she wrapped a leg around Trixie’s neck and pulled her close. For a moment she held Trixie tight. After Marble shuddered she eased up a little. Trixie hated to give negative feelings to Marble, she knew about the Marble Sense, and she knew that through bad luck the two of them had grown closer than anypony should have any right to be. Marble was literally the only pony that Trixie trusted with everything, and it wasn’t because she had wanted to, it was because when Marble saw Trixie for who she really was, Marble only got closer to her.

Trixie’s horn lit up and the door shut. “I’m sorry to trouble you like this. You came all the way out here just for me, and I can’t even properly host for you.”

Marble shook her head.

“I… can Trixie get you a cup of tea?” Trixie asked, trying to pick herself up off the floor.

Marble nodded.

Trixie went ahead and got to work on the tea while Marble explored the house. It only took a few minutes before Trixie was done and then she set the cup down next to hers on the coffee table before taking a seat on the couch. Marble joined her not soon after. Neither of them spoke with words, instead Marble simply let Trixie lay her head down against her shoulder and wrapped a leg around her. The act spoke more to Trixie’s heart than any amount of words could have.

“Twilight promised me that she would save him.”

“Mmm.”

“She can do it, I trust her to be a better hero than I ever could. I just wish that there was something I could do, trying to be strong, putting on the Trixie persona so that others respect me… it’s all… just so tiring.” Trixie let out a sigh. “You are the only one I can let my guard down around, and you mean so very much to me.”

Marble nuzzled the top of Trixie’s head. “Mmhmm.”

“You feel the same way?”

“Mmhmm.”

“I wish we could just runaway together. Elope and get married and by the time we come back, your sister couldn’t say anything about it,” Trixie said as she nuzzled into Marble’s shoulder. “I tried to make friends with her today, and she was so mean to me. She hurt my feelings.”

“Mmm.”

“You don’t have to apologize for her actions, she’s the one that choose to treat me like dirt, not you. You treat me with love and respect, more so than anypony and that means so very much to me… I would love it if we could be like this in public.”

“Mm-mmm.”

“I know, I know, Pinkie Pie would flip out and ruin everything. Sneaking around like this might be fun, but it also kinda sucks. I just want to spend every waking moment with you. Trixie and Marble, together forever,” Trixie said as she stretched out her forelegs. Her eyes grew steadily heavy and a yawn escaped her lips. “S-sorry, Trixie is tired.”

Marble kissed the top of Trixie’s head.

“Aw, thank you.” Trixie closed her eyes. I just need to shut my eyes for a few minutes.

***

Trixie stood in the middle of nowhere, the small cottage off in the distance was the only building visible for miles. There was some forest behind her, but most of the land was dead and gray, serving only to remind her of how much of a failure her life had become. From great and powerful to lowly rock farmer; there wasn’t anything she could do about it now though.

The pit Trixie stared down into was about seven feet deep and the flat walls only made it look like some kind of trap. There was however a lot of gems dug from this one spot, and Trixie was quite pleased with her work today. Finding such a great resource for the farm had come with its own sort of prestige.

The rumbling dark sky above put a damper over her pride parade. The pitter patter of fresh rain told her it was going to be another one of ‘those’ days. Trixie looked at the three rocks she still had left to take apart and search for gems in, and after that she would have to put the rocks into a wheelbarrow and take it across to the other side of the farm and dump them into a pile. All day was spent pushing rocks from one end of the farm to the other, it was hard and boring work.

Lightning flashed, and not a moment later thunder roared over the farm so loud that it shook her to the bones. It wasn’t just her though. She saw the shy mare dart across the landscape like scared cattle, she had her eye closed and was galloping straight toward Trixie. Trixie looked down at the pit that lay between them.

“Wait, Marble, stop!” Trixie cried.

It was too late as the mare fell headfirst into the pit. Trixie’s horn lit up and she lashed out to grab the mare, she wasn’t strong enough to lift a full grown pony in her telekinesis but she was strong enough to slow the mare’s descent. Gently dropping the mare onto the bottom of the pit.

Trixie looked down and felt sorry for her, the pit was small, and the mare had hardly any room to move around in at all. That bright purple eye stared up at her, wet mane stuck to her gray fur and plastered the rest of her down like a mangy pup, Trixie didn’t look much better. Trixie laid down flat on her belly and reached out with a hoof.

“Trixie can drag you back up if she uses her hooves in conjunction with her magic. Give Trixie your hoof,” Trixie said.

The mare shook her head.

“Come on, Trixie can’t let you rot down there and nopony is here, they won’t be back for a few hours. If your family got caught in this storm they may have very well decided to stay in town until it calms down.”

Marble shook her head once more.

The mud was running underneath Trixie and into the pit below. “Darn it, let Trixie help you.”

The mare looked up with her sad eye before rising on her rear legs. She wasn’t nearly tall enough to reach the rim of the pit, but she could grab Trixie’s outstretched leg. A sudden look of pain covered the mare’s face but Trixie refused to let go. A purple aura surrounded Marble and Trixie began to pull back, slowly the mare was lifted off the ground as her weight was decreased dramatically by Trixie’s spell. For a moment it looked like everything was going just fine.

The ground beneath Trixie slid forward. She went along for the ride. It was one absolutely horrible moment of falling, followed by a flash of pain as Trixie landed head first onto the bottom of the pit. A few more seconds passed by before she realized that the warm body pressed against her was shivering and that half of her was covered in mud. Trixie tried to move, but she was almost entirely unable to move save for a few miserable inches.

Marble was pressed against her tightly, her head was lying between Trixie’s rear legs and her eyes were shut tight. Every few seconds she would jerk and Trixie, who was now using Marble’s flank as a pillow would get an uncomfortable bump to the side of her head. For a while they simply laid like that, letting the rain water wash over them cleaning the mud off and not much else.

“Okay, Trixie is sick of this,” She looked at the soft flank beneath her head and felt a warm feeling stir inside of her. “This is not an appropriate position for a magician of Trixie’s caliber to be in. We need to do something about it.”

Marble whined.

“Trixie doesn’t know what to do… yet, give her time.” Trixie returned to looking at the rump underneath her and tried her very best not to think dirty thoughts. She failed completely but she tried.

Marble whined again, only louder.

“What’s wrong? Are you hurt?” Trixie asked.

“Mm-mmm,” Marble replied.

“Then what is it?” Trixie looked at the mare whose head was stuck between her legs. “Oh… this is an embarrassing situation for you isn’t it?”

“Mmhmm!”

More dirty thoughts. “Trixie apologizes.”

Marble whined, put two hooves against Trixie’s stomach and pushed. The air was knocked out of Trixie as she was pushed back into the wall of the pit, which was not very far. Marble tried to sit up but there still wasn’t enough room to move properly. After a moment she gave up, and whimpered.

“Trixie really is sorry,” Trixie apologized, her thoughts now going from hot and sexy to how she had screwed up yet again. First there was Ponyville where her dream of becoming a real magician was shattered, then there was the fact that her wagon was destroyed along with everything she owned. She remembered trying to go home, but none of her sisters wanted her around, even if her mom did try to bridge peace between them. Trixie couldn’t blame her sisters, Nixie, Pixie and Dixie. Trixie knew that she was a weak and talentless unicorn, who would want that in their home?

Trixie’s lower lip trembled and she felt her heart shattering piece by piece. Her entire life had fallen apart and there was nothing she could do about it. Nothing at all. She had gotten so broke that desperate that she was found starving to death on the borders of Equestria and given a job by one of the most generous stallions she ever met. Now she was lying in a pit because she couldn’t be good enough to save one of his daughters, and worse yet it was the daughter that Trixie thought looked hot and really wanted to kiss… and then some.

“UGH!” Trixie cried as she tried to keep herself together. It wasn’t working, she felt herself breaking down at the seams and nothing could stop it. “Trixie is sorry, so sorry. If only she was good enough she could have saved you.”

A hoof gently padded Trixie’s rump and she nearly jumped at the touch. When Trixie looked down she saw that Marble had managed to her head on top of Trixie’s flank and was staring at her with a sad look in her eye.

“Trixie didn’t mean to be such a failure,” Trixie said.

“Mm-mmm.” Marble smiled softly.

“What do you mean?”

Marble simply closed her eyes and snuggled into Trixie’s flank.

“I don’t know what that means. Are you mad at me?”

“Mm-mmm.”

“So you don’t hold this against Trixie?”

“Mm-mmm.”

“Thank you.”

The rain finally let up and Trixie looked up at the cloudy sky. “We should have just gone in after the rain started…”

“Mmhmm.”

“Well at least we can agree on something.” Trixie remembered something that Limestone had told her earlier, soon after she moved in. “Can Trixie ask you something important?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Can you really read the minds of ponies you touch?”

“Mmhmm…”

“So… like mine?”

“…Mmhmm.”

“H-have you been doing that?”

“…Mmhmm.” There was something apologetic about the tone of her voice.

“Is it something you can control?”

“Mm-mmm.”

“So… while I’ve been trying to keep myself together, you’ve been what, feeling me up?”

“MMM!”

“Like emotionally, knowing what I was thinking and feeling?”

Marble looked at Trixie with that sad eye. “Mmhmm.”

Trixie nuzzled into her soft, squishy pillow which brought a squeak out of Marble. “It’s going to be awhile before anypony comes to save us… do you mind if I… if I just talk to you? You don’t have to say anything, just listen.”

“Mmhmm,” Marble smiled at Trixie, and it set her heart at ease.

“You know, when I got my cutie mark I thought I was going to be the best unicorn ever. I got into the same school as my sisters, and was gifted in illusion magic. It really did seem like everything would be wonderful for me,” Trixie said. “Then one day I met the perfect student, the one that made me feel like I was nothing more than a little fish in a large ocean. I met Twilight Sparkle. You ever meet her?”

“Mm-mmm.” Marble snuggled into Trixie’s flank and relaxed. Suddenly the pit didn’t feel so tight or constrained, it just felt cozy.

Trixie grinned. “Well let Trixie tell you all about little miss ‘I don’t make friends with anypony because magic is so much better than you.’ It all started when I was struggling with a new spell, one that I had to learn in order to pass a test. I thought that maybe she could help me, so I had Minuette introduce me to her and boy was she just the worst tutor ever…”

Chapter Six: Library Hate

Marble Magic

Chapter Six: Library Hate

Written by TheCrimsonDM

The warm body pressed against Trixie’s was like a heavenly abyss that she wanted no escape from. Deeper she sunk into the warm fur, the sweet smell of freshly upturned soil and morning dew filled her nostrils as she inhaled. Something caressed her back, gentle strokes and tender movements. For a brief moment she was sure that Guile was rubbing up against her seeking some much needed affection.

She sat up. Guile’s gone!

Marble lay next to her on the couch, fast asleep, and one of her legs were draped over Trixie’s lap. The sun had yet to fully rise, but the purple sky told her that it wasn’t too far off now. For a few minutes she cuddled up next to the sweetest mare in all of Equestria. Finally she had to wake up her mare. If she didn’t then they would risk being caught.

Trixie started a pot of coffee on the stovetop, and set some bread out on the table. Afterwards she gently rocked Marble’s shoulder back and forth. “Marble, it’s time to wake up.”

Slowly one purple eye opened and stared up at her, for a moment all the quiet mare did was smile. Trixie was stunned into silence by the absolute beauty of the sleeping mare. Never before had she wanted Marble to be hers than in that moment. One day, Trixie swore to herself, one day she will be mine, and I hers.

“Mmm,” Marble hummed in a pleased tone. Her eye grew wide as she sat straight up and looked around.

“It’s okay… I think. It’s still early out and I know that your sister sleeps in late. You can get some coffee and breakfast in you and then leave without being caught,” Trixie said.

A grumbling sound from Marble’s belly. It wasn’t long before they shared a quick breakfast at the table and then drank some coffee. While they did Trixie read a book, not just any book, but one that had many details about many different cursed or evil artifacts.

She stopped when she saw a picture of the black stave in question. “The Stave of Baast,” Trixie read aloud. “Once upon a time there was a group of cats with amazing power, together they defeated many a foe and saved their kingdom over and over again. Eventually they came to believe that the rulers were incompetent, and the leader of the group, and lover to Discord decided to take matters into her own paws. Many evils were wrought after that. Her mentor, the Sun Cat was forced to defeat her and forever seal Baast away into an orb. This orb was then set upon a stave and brought to a far away land where it was left in the hopes that no cat would ever find it.

“Legend holds that one day a descendent of Baast will come upon the stave and free her from her prison.” When Trixie finished reading she had only questions left. Questions that needed to be answered, but of course she could trust that Twilight would help her with that.

“Mmm,” Marble said, she swallowed the last bite of her toast.

“I don’t know, but I really hope that Twilight can stop Baast. I want my friend back,” Trixie let out a sigh, and forcefully picked her spirit back up off the floor. “I will do her best to help Twilight.”

Marble nodded. “Mmhmm!”

“I’m glad to have your support, now you best get going before anypony you know wakes up,” Trixie said.

Marble quickly grabbed her saddlebags and trotted toward the door. She opened it but stopped. Trixie smiled at her, “I’ll see you later, tonight at midnight perhaps? This time your place?”

Marble smiled. “Mmhmm.”

Just like that Marble was gone, the door shut, and Trixie was left all alone in that tiny house. There were many things she could have done. She could have fallen into the couch and sobbed, Celestia knows she wanted too. She could have gone back to sleep, on a proper bed this time. Or she could have gone outside and stalked Marble, making sure she got home safely. None of those things would help her get her friend back, so instead she picked up her list of contacts and began digging through them to find the help she knew she would soon need. It didn’t take long, her list was rather short.

There was after all, only one pony she knew that had all the answers to all the magical secrets. “Looks like I’m paying a visit to my great and powerful friend.”

***

The sun was just barely reaching over the horizon, its orange light created an ocean of purple and pink colors in the sky. Marble marveled at the beauty but not for long. Nearly galloping into town had sped up the process, but she quickly came to a complete stop once she saw a group of ponies standing around and talking. It was supposed to be too early for large groups of ponies to be outside.

There was a wrecked cart, one of the wheels had come off now lay in the dirt. The cart had left tracks in the dirt leading up to a bunch of splintered, broken wooden planks alongside the remainder of some kind of stall. The two groups of ponies were arguing.

Marble’s heart was galloping in her chest as she quickly made a b-line for the nearest building and hid behind it. She listened in to find out what was going on and for any clues as to how to best avoid this situation.

“Your darn cart wrecked my lemonade stand!” A mare protested.

“It’s not our fault, the wheel broke off as we were going by. We need to get these supplies to the Doctor’s immediately,” A stallion retorted.

“Oh no you don’t. You aren’t leaving here until you fix this mess!” The mare was understandably upset.

Marble sunk down to the ground, she waited several minutes as the fight continued on. There didn’t seem to be any way that this argument was ever going to end. Because she was too fearful of being seen, alone in public and possibly talked too or even worse, touched, she just hid like the coward she knew she was. If only she could be brave like Trixie, if only she had that kind of confidence…

That’s it!

Marble dug through her saddlebags until she found the present gifted to her by Carmine Savant; the Confidence Marbles. Carefully she pulled out one of the three marbles and held it gently in her hoof. She loved marbles, and had amassed quite the collection of them back at home. There was no telling what would happen when she used this, but if she was lucky she would allow her to go home without incident.

Marble raised her hoof high above her head and paused. She had no idea if this would even work, these might just be normal marbles, after all Carmine was a vagabond, how would she get her hooves on magical anything? Marble’s grip tightened around the marble. Even if it didn’t work she had to try.

She threw it to the ground. She half expected the marble to bounce up and roll away from her. Instead it exploded into a small cloud of dark smoke and vanished from sight. For a brief moment she sat there, wondering if it had worked at all, she didn’t feel any different.

When she looked back at the two groups of ponies arguing something had changed. She was no longer scared of them, instead she saw them arguing and was a little miffed that they were both wasting their time. Marble picked herself up off the ground trotted around the corner and walked right up to the two groups.

They didn’t even bother to look at her as she stood there glaring at them. When they continued their petty argument she stomped her hooves and whistled, loud. Both groups looked at her and for a moment it would seem like they were about to turn their anger on her. She decided that they should be taught better than that.

Marble pointed a hoof at the cart, and the spilled supplies and then pointed at the ruined lemonade stand. Both groups simply eyed her, they looked a little lost. Marble decided to help them. She pulled out her notebook wrote a few words down and shoved it at the stallion. He read the note and glared down at Marble.

“I am not-“ he said.

No more words came out of his mouth as Marble got behind him, lifted her rear legs and kicked him squarely in the butt. He stumbled forward. After a few awkward steps he stopped, realizing that he was now only a hair's breadth away from the mare he had been arguing with. He gulped as the mare stared up at him.

“Uh… right,” He shook his head as if to clear something off the top of his head. “Look, I’m sorry about the lemonade stand, I can’t stay and fix it now, but how about I come back after my delivery is finished and help you?”

The mare blinked. “That… well I mean I wouldn’t want you to get in trouble I guess…”

“No, no, it’s fine, I’ll come back and help out,” He said. He turned around and gave the notebook back to Marble. “Thanks little filly, I don’t know what came over me. I guess I’m just cranky this early in the morning.”

Marble smiled, took her notebook in her mouth and trotted back home feeling accomplished. Never before had she managed to confront somepony, confront them and help stop an argument. Of course she felt a little bad about kicking him, but she was fully aware that she wasn’t actually strong enough to hurt him, in fact she was surprised that he had stumbled like that in the first place.

Either way she got home just in time to see Mister Cake cooking French toast. The kitchen smelled heavenly and Marble’s mouth watered with excitement for the delicious breakfast. Luckily Pinkie Pie was still asleep, and the Cakes just had a habit of waking up early, but not as early as her.

He smiled and nodded for her to take a seat at the table, which she did gleefully. “Good morning, Marble. Did you go out rock hunting?”

She nodded.

“You and Maud both. Well breakfast is almost ready, I hope you worked up an appitite.”

A few hours later Marble and Pinkie were walking towards the giant tree castle that towered over the town. Marble made extra sure to stay close to her sister, all the confidence from earlier had vanished completely. Everypony they passed by gave her fragile heart a start as she feared accidentally brushing against them. Thankfully Pinkie Pie proved to be a decent distraction.

“So, sis, you’ve been here two days. What do you think about the town?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Marble knew that her sister realized that she wasn’t going to get a decent response to that question. So Marble smiled and nodded.

“Uh… so you like it?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Good,” Pinkie Pie said. “Pretty soon we’ll need to find you a job, can’t have you living off of my wages the whole time.”

Marble gasped.

“Oh you know what I mean. I don’t mind taking care of you, it would just be nice to see you get into something yourself you know?” Pinkie Pie said. “What kind of job would you do though? Would you like to work at Sugarcube Corner with me?”

“Mmhmm.”

“I’m sure you would, though… I don’t think the Cake’s exactly have any need for another employee, and they especially couldn’t afford to pay another one… darn. What if uh… do you like animals?”

“Mm-mmm,” Marble said while shaking her head. Memories of the time her parents got her a pet cat were still vivid enough to cause her to shudder. She would very much like to keep her good eye.

“Right… what about dresses?”

“Mmm…”

“You have no idea what you would do, do you?”

Marble shook her head.

Pinkie Pie offered her a huge grin. “That’s okay, I’m sure that Rarity could teach ya. Um, if that don’t work we could always try apple farming… or actually you’re not that strong… um… oh I know, Princess Twilight has a huge castle and probably needs a servant. You wanna be a servant to Princess Twilight? You could wear a sexy maid outfit.”

Marble’s eyes shot wide. “Mmph.”

“Um… that’s a new sound, does that mean you don’t like sexy maid outfits?”

“Mm-mmm!”

“Okay, no sexy maid outfit, but you could still work in the castle. It’s pretty much empty all the time anyway. I bet you would love working there, cleaning things, organizing books, helping Twilight in her crazy experiments…” Pinkie Pie stuck out her lower lip. “Actually, I kinda want to work at the castle now.”

Marble let out a sigh and tried to ignore the rest of her sister’s rambling. The last thing she wanted to focus on was obtaining a job, especially when the entire purpose of her coming here was to steal back Trixie’s heart. Not to make a new life. Of course if she succeeded at her goal, she would probably need to get a job anyway, Trixie’s house looked… about as poor as her parents’ house did.

They stopped at the foot of the castle and Marble looked up. From the base of the giant crystal tree she couldn’t see the top. This castle was huge! It was so big in fact that it could fit the entirety of Marble’s home along with the nearby village into it. How could any one pony live here without getting lost or feeling scared?

Pinkie Pie led them inside. Marble shivered at the sight. It was too large in here. The blue walls all looked friendly but Marble already felt lost, and she hadn’t even gone more than five feet inside.

Twilight Sparkle was already waiting for them at the base of a staircase that wound up into the ceiling and disappeared from sight. She waved a hoof at them and they quickly trotted over to her. “Hey,” Twilight said. “You’re pretty early, I hope you don’t mind if nothing’s set up yet.”

“That’s okay, I wanted to show off the castle to my sister anyway,” Pinkie Pie replied joyously. “Oh, and I was wondering; do you think you could do me a solid?”

“Uh… maybe? What did you want?”

“My sister needs a job soon and I thought it would be super if she could work here as your servant. Cleaning up the castle and stuff like that. She doesn’t want to wear a sexy maid outfit though, so I hope that’s not a problem,” Pinkie Pie said.

“I… well of course that’s not a problem, but… why would she wear a… never mind. Look, Pinkie, I’m not exactly sure if right now would be the best time for hiring on my first servant,” Twilight explained. She looked around. “Things are pretty busy right now.”

“Can we at least show her the library? If she starts working here she’ll need to be familiar with it after all,” Pinkie Pie said.

Twilight smiled. “Sure, I love showing ponies my private library.” Twilight led them up the stairs. “After the Golden Oaks Public Library was destroyed it took a lot of time, effort, and energy to replace my collection. There were still so many secrets about that library that I never got to fully explore, like who owned it before me? Why did they know so much about magic lore? Where did they go?” Twilight let out a sigh. “Sadly, unless I used Time Travel, which I won’t, I’ll never receive those answers.”

“It was crazy to think that whoever owned it had all these secret books hidden in the walls talking about all kinds of cool magical junk,” Pinkie Pie said.

“It was almost like somepony had spent a lifetime learning about things that they knew were dangerous and then trying to find ways to stop the threats they posed. It was probably a really nice pony,” Twilight said.

It felt like it took forever before they reached the top of the staircase and exited into a large hallway. Twilight continued to lead them through the maze of halls, past many doors that all looked important. Finally she stopped at one door in particular and opened it with her magic. Marble couldn’t help but to gasp at the sight before her.

The library that Twilight spoke of was a large room with the walls lined with books. Thousands of books were in this room. It would take a lifetime to read through all of them. Wonder took over as she stumbled into the room, slowly spinning around as she tried to grasp what all the books could be. She was sure that there had to be a copy of almost every book ever written in here.

“You like it?” Twilight asked.

“Mmhmm!” Marble announced.

“Sadly it’s still only about eighty percent of the collection I had before, and this is only but a fraction of what one would find in Canterlot or the Crystal Empire,” Twilight said. “But although it’s tiny right now, it’s my dream to make it even bigger than the Canterlot Library!”

Marble sat down. Did she just call this place tiny?

There was a loud thud as something fell to the floor. Everypony looked over to the alcove in the corner and spotted a large pile of books and a blue set of hooves holding a book far too large for anypony to rightly be reading. The mare’s face was obscured. On the floor was a knocked over book.

“Darn it,” The mare said, and Marble gulped as she swore she recognized the voice. “Trixie is so clumsy today.”

Twilight took a few steps forward. “Trixie? What are you doing in my library?”

“Researching, is it a crime to read books in the library now?”

“It is when it’s a private one,” Twilight retorted.

Trixie set the book down and glared at Twilight. “You are Ponyville’s only librarian, this is Ponyville’s only library, are you seriously going to tell Trixie that you are hoarding all this knowledge and not sharing it amongst the populace? Did you not gather all these books to replace the ones destroyed in the Golden Oaks fire?”

Twilight sat, blinked and then gulped. “I uh… that um… we have a library by now, surely?”

“Yeah, and we are currently inside it,” Trixie said. She looked down at the book and frowned. “This explains why the door was locked.”

“You picked the lock to my door as well!” Twilight exclaimed.

“You told Trixie you would help, and Trixie is using your library to help!” Trixie defended.

Pinkie Pie took a few steps forward. “Trixie, you should leave. Breaking and entry is illegal and especially if it’s a princess's home. I mean, who even breaks into library’s? That’s like, low, even for you.”

Twilight gave Pinkie a look that Marble couldn’t quite decipher.

Trixie glared daggers at the pink pony. “Trixie does not wish to hear you speak, rude one.”

Marble very quietly, and very quickly backed out the door before anypony noticed her and hid behind the wall while peeking into the room. I hope this doesn’t turn into a fight. Please don’t let it become a fight.

There was a pink unicorn on the other side of the wall, hiding just like Marble was and peering into the room. She had a purple ponytail with a blue stripe running down it. They met each other’s eyes and paused for a moment. The mare finally smiled nervously. “Hi, I’m Starlight Glimmer, Twilight’s pupil… uh… so what’s going on in there?”

Marble hummed an answer.

“Um… maybe you don’t know either.” Starlight looked back into the room. “I thought the library was public too…”

Trixie rose from her table, “Trixie will not be abused like this. Twilight, get a hold of your friend before Trixie does something drastic!”

Pinkie Pie leapt into the air, hooves bearing down and Marble cringed. A pink aura surrounded the pink mare mid flight and Pinkie Pie simply stopped moving. Her sister floated three feet off the ground and only a couple of feet away from Trixie. Pinkie’s snarl could scare a dragon.

“Pinkie Pie!” Twilight called. “Did you just try to attack Trixie? Really? We are supposed to be teaching friendship to ponies not, not, not attacking them!” Twilight gave an apologetic look to Trixie. “I am so sorry for her behavior. You might have made a mistake but she should not have attacked you. Maybe she’s mad about yesterday?”

Trixie shot a dark look at Pinkie. “Trixie was trying to be your friend and you insulted her, now you assaulted her. How dare you call yourself an Element of Harmony. You charlatan.”

Pinkie Pie growled, “At least I’m not looking up dark magic stuff so I can do evil.”

“Trixie is not looking up dark magic stuff so that she can do evil!” Trixie exclaimed. “Did you even think to ask what Trixie was doing?”

“Why should I? We all know that you want to get revenge on us. Me, and Rainbow Dash, and even Applejack know exactly what kind of pony you are,” Pinkie Pie spat on the floor. “You have no right to be here, and I’m surprised that Twilight isn’t locking you away for looking for this stuff again. Didn’t you learn anything from the Alicorn Amulet?”

“Trixie did learn from that!” Trixie snapped. “Trixie learned that dark artifacts only hurt, and not just hurt the pony using them, but also the ponies that they care about the ones they promised never to abandon, the ones they took care of and loved with all your heart. Trixie knows just how much she screwed up and is trying to do good here. Why can’t you see that?”

Marble saw the tears in Trixie’s eyes, and even if she wasn’t making physical contact with the mare, she knew how hurt Trixie must have felt. Pinkie Pie on the other hoof only screamed in frustration and wiggled uselessly in the air. “You are a bad pony! I have tried to give you chances, I swear, but I’m not a pushover like Twilight Sparkle! I can’t just forget how you hurt me, my friends, and talked smack about my family. I won’t ever forget that.”

Trixie closed her eyes and turned around. “You don’t have to forget, go ahead and remember. Just leave Trixie alone and Trixie won’t bother you again.”

“Fine!”

Twilight gently set Pinkie Pie down. “Pinkie, you should leave. If Trixie is here doing research it must be on the project I promised to help her with. I… probably should have been more clear about with her about when and how I was going to help, but this works.”

“Whatever,” Pinkie Pie said, she turned around and stalked out the library door. “I’m going home.” She paused just outside and shot a glare at Starlight. Starlight backed away and looked down at her hooves. Pinkie Pie then walked past Marble. “Come on, sis, we’re going home. Working with Twilight might be a bad idea, if that… witch is allowed here then I don’t want you working here. I’ll find you a better, safer job.”

Marble followed her sister reluctantly. She knew that Pinkie Pie had problems with Trixie, but this just looked horrible. It made her wonder, just how badly did Trixie hurt Pinkie in order to warrant this much hatred. Pinkie wasn’t supposed to hate anypony.

Marble looked back at Starlight and waved goodbye. The mare smiled at her and returned the wave. There was a pony that Marble wanted to know more about, even if it was only because she was the pupil to the Princess of Friendship. Hopefully Pinkie Pie didn’t hate her as well.

Chapter Seven: Study Buddies

Marble Magic

Chapter Seven: Study Buddies

Written by TheCrimsonDM

Trixie stared at the wall, studying the intricate lines in the crystal. Once she was sure that Pinkie Pie was gone she sat down and wiped the tears out of her eyes. She refused to allow that pink monster to see her cry.

“I am so sorry about her behavior,” Twilight said. “Honestly I’ve never seen her so angry before… well not for any long periods of time. It’s almost like you broke a Pinkie Promise.”

Trixie shook her head. “Trixie doesn’t know why Pinkie hates her so much.”

There was an awkward pause.

A purple wing wrapped around Trixie’s shoulder. “You wanna get to work researching Baast?”

Trixie nodded. Once she turned around to face the books again she saw another pink pony enter the room. This one she liked. Starlight offered her a weak smile.

Twilight turned around and frowned. “Did you hear all of that?”

“Yeah… I did. Does anypony want to tell me what that was about?” Starlight asked.

Trixie took a seat at the table. “Pinkie Pie has a problem with me. It’s not fair, and she’s really mean.”

“I got that much, but what I meant was why.”

“I don’t know,” Trixie let out a sigh. She did know and it was wrong to keep it from her best friend. Even with that said she didn’t want to go on at length about why Pinkie hated her so much. So instead she decided to change the subject. “This castle is too big, I got lost trying to find the library.”

“I know, just the other day I caught Starlight teleporting herself outside to use the restroom in the garden because she couldn’t find a bathroom,” Twilight said. She laughed a little. “You were right next to one too.”

“I was looking for one for an hour, it’s not my fault. My house was only two stories tall and had four rooms.”

“Your house was also the nicest in the town.”

“No it wasn’t, it was exactly like everypony else’s house… well except for the new ponies. They got the guest house until a new home could be built for them,” Starlight said. A frown came over her face. “I don’t like to think about it too much, it all started out really good… then I became a monster.”

That got Trixie’s attention. “Again we are a perfect match for each other.”

“Yeah.”

Trixie nodded. “Trixie tried to do some good things in the past, good intentions and all that, and then she slowly became a monster. That’s probably why Pinkie Pie hate’s Trixie so much. Trixie locked everypony up in town for a few days until Twilight challenged Trixie to a second magic duel. Twilight cheated.”

“I didn’t cheat!” Twilight defended.

Trixie’s horn took on a purple glow and a book flew off the shelf and opened up to a certain page. She showed it to Twilight while recalling the words on the page, in more or less accurate order. “A magic duel is between two ponies, no outside help is allowed. This includes but is not limited to, switching ponies out underneath a veil to make it appear as though you had transformed a pony, having a pony perform the magic tricks for you, and-“

“Okay, okay, I get it,” Twilight said. “I did cheat.”

Trixie smiled. “It is alright, Twilight. Trixie was being horrible and your plan was the only way that Trixie could be stopped, but please don’t pretend like that second duel was at all fair.”

“The first one wasn’t very fair,” Twilight said.

“It was in fact well within the rules to use a magical implement to empower one’s self. Trixie never broke the rules, and if she hadn’t used the Alicorn Amulet she never would have won. You do not seem to understand how much more powerful than Trixie you a- er Trixie means you misunderstand the power you have and it can make certain ponies feel bad about themselves,” Trixie said.

“You’re still better at illusions than I am,” Twilight said.

“That’s because Trixie is a better liar than you are,” Trixie said with a wink.

Starlight sat down, “Wait, Twilight cheated? She never cheats, on anything.”

Trixie allowed herself a small smirk. “Well apparently that’s not true.”

“What else has Twilight cheated on?” Starlight asked. She leaned in as if to listen to more.

Twilight huffed. “Why don’t you two get a room?”

Trixie smiled. “Trixie would love to stay the night with such a cute unicorn mare.”

Starlight’s cheeks managed to turn even pinker. “I uh… you’re cute too…”

A cruel laugh escaped Trixie’s lips. “Thank you for saying so, but Trixie is afraid that she is taken. Perhaps you’ll find another unicorn mare, they might even be blue, but you shall never find one that is as great, or as powerful as Trixie.”

“I think I’ll manage somehow,” Starlight said. Under her breath Trixie caught her saying, “I prefer the quiet ones anyway.”

Trixie smiled. “Try Fluttershy than, but stay far away from Pinkie’s sister.”

Starlight looked at her, and seemed to catch what Trixie was implying. “Oh, oh I uh, I see. I’ll go ask Fluttershy out sometime… maybe.”

Twilight was looking rather uncomfortable. “So uh, Starlight, when are you going to go look into that dragon problem?”

Starlight’s eyes shot wide. “Oh crap! I’m supposed to be at the train station.” Her horn began glowing and Trixie had to look away from the bright light. “I’ll be back soon, Twilight. I promise.”

The air seemed to tighten, just before there was an audible pop, and Starlight was gone. Trixie would normally feel jealous of a pony with such power, but when it came to Starlight she was just happy for the mare. Now it was just Trixie and Twilight.

“Hey, Trixie,” Twilight said. “Where do we start in our little project?”

Trixie blinked a few times, and then she nodded over at the copy of A Saddle Arabia History. “Trixie can’t read that one, it’s not in equish.”

Twilight smiled. “That’s because it’s in Catonese. Don’t worry, I’ll read that and when we’re done we can compare notes and see where this leaves us. It’ll be just like our old school days!”

“Yes,” Trixie said. She didn’t have the heart to remind Twilight about how rude the princess used to be during their old school days and how even when she did help study with other ponies her arrogance was dominating. Even Trixie’s personality was crushed under Twilight’s. Of course that was all long before Twilight came to Ponyville, and the mare had been raising a child by herself so… Trixie couldn’t blame Twilight too much. If Celestia had dumped a baby on her lap at the age of eight, a dragon baby no less, than she would have simply buckled under the pressure. Twilight somehow managed to both survive and thrive under it.

It was actually something Trixie admired greatly about the princess.

Several hours of intense research later, Trixie and Twilight sat down to compile notes. Unfortunately all they found was that Baast had worked in a team of six cats to defeat the dog-god Anubis, and several other dangerous threats. Discord had apparently aided the group in their heroic actions, to which Twilight refused to believe, and that after a particular threat Baast found herself alone. Some time seemed to have passed between the final battle and the sealing of Baast, in which Baast was viewed as being evil. The information they found didn’t answer so many questions as it had asked.

“So what do we do now?” Trixie asked. “These books didn’t tell us how to find her.”

“I’m not sure, perhaps I can inquire about some books in Canterlot, but until then I suspect we will be on our own. I’ll send word to Celestia right away.” Twilight looked out the window. “The real problem is with her race. Guile was possibly the last of his kind, the majority of which were killed by Queen Chrysalis a few years ago… I let an entire race of intelligent beings get eaten and murdered because I was too busy arguing with my friends and too nice to destroy Chrysalis when I had the chance.”

“He never told me,” Trixie said as she looked down at the floor. “I knew he was lonely but… not that he was actually alone.”

“Well when Baast figures this out we’re going to have problems,” Twilight said. She rose to her full height and spread her wings out. “If she is as dangerous as history says she is, I may need to drag in the rest of the Elements of Harmony to deal with her.”

“But if you do that, I… I don’t think I’ll be able to help you,” Trixie said. “At least three of your friends hate me.”

“They don’t ha-“

“You saw Pinkie Pie.”

“… yeah… I did. Why did she try to attack you anyway? I mean sure forcing her to watch you eating cupcakes when she had no mouth was certainly mean, but does it really require such… anger?”

Trixie stood up and shook herself. Her legs were numb from sitting down for so long. “I don’t know.”

“Really the only thing I can think of is if you had said something about her sisters,” Twilight pondered.

“Trixie had never once said anything bad about Pinkie’s sisters… at least where Pinkie could hear. Only Minuette, Lyra, and Bonbon know about how Trixie feels about some of Pinkie’s family.”

“Uh… you mean three of the ponies that Pinkie Pie is friends with?” Twilight asked.

“Yes of course… oh… you don’t suppose that any of them may have let said anything, do you?”

“Minuette is really bad at lying, she’s kinda blatantly honest,” Twilight said. “What exactly did you say about them?”

“That Maud is a sociopathic pony that just so happens to hold the title for most boring pony in Equestria, and that Limestone is a bi-“ Trixie said.

“Wow, okay, you don’t need to finish that… yeah if Pinkie Pie ever found out you said those things she would probably hate you forever, she’s sort of obsessed with her sisters.”

“And that’s coming from the mare who had a crush on her older brother,” Trixie replied.

“WHAT?” Twilight’s eyes shot wide open. “I do not, did not, have not, nor shall not. He is my brother, my flesh and blood, and besides he’s married to Cadence.”

“I don’t see what the last one ha-“

“Because even if I had had any sort of emotions toward him I wouldn’t betray my sister in law just to reenact some kind of demented fantasy… not that I have any mind you.”

Trixie smiled evilly. “Oh surely not, especially not of Shining Armor sneaking into your bedroom which is adjacent to Cadence’s one night while you’re sleeping in the Crystal Empire. He walks up to your bed, and climbs in. You’d wake up only enough to see him, smell his scent as he leaned over and just before his lips could meet with your own-“

“TRIXIE!” Twilight shouted, her horn lit up brightly. “I will not tolerate such obscene thoughts in my castle!” the world turned pink. “Come back when you are willing to apologize.”

The cool wind blew over Trixie’s side and she blinked several times to get the pink out of her vision. She found herself standing outside of the castle, and staring at one of the houses in Ponyville, the sky was as clear as ever and Trixie had to sit down. She had just been booted from Twilight’s castle, which meant that she may have gone too far in teasing Twilight about those rumors circling the Canterlot gossip groups.

Too bad Filli Vanilli doesn’t run anymore. They would have a field day with that one… probably for the best though. Trixie pushed herself up and began walking. She made a mental note to apologize to Twilight later, but for now she felt like she couldn’t simply wait around forever. It felt like it was time to visit some of her old friends; they may prove to be a useful distraction.

It was time to visit Snips and Snails.

It only took a few minutes to walk to their house. She had never considered how close they lived to the castle before. If she didn’t resent the idea of meeting with the Mane Six so much, she would actually find this impressive. As it was, she had a hard time not worrying about another encounter with the trio of terror.

She knocked on the door and almost immediately the door was thrown open to reveal a blue unicorn mare with dark purple hair. She looked ragged and exhausted. She took one look at Trixie and smiled. “You’re just in time.”

“Miss Shears,” Trixie nodded.

Miss Shears looked back, her face gained deep lines as she screamed, “BOYS TRIXIE IS HERE TO PLAY!”

There was a loud crash from inside and the mare didn’t even flinch. Seconds later two young colts came galloping down the stairs and up to the door. Trixie had her magic up and ready just as they leapt in the air towards her. She easily diverted them to either side of her and they landed in the dirt. They stood up right and grinned at her.

“What did Trixie tell you two about jumping on her? Trixie doesn’t want her back thrown out again,” Trixie said. “She can’t afford the hospital bills.”

They both smiled wider. Snips fluttered his eyes at her. “Oh Miss Trixie, the Great and Powerful, we didn’t mean it.”

“Yeah,” Snails added. “We just wanted to say hi.”

Miss Shears smiled at Trixie. “You two be good for Trixie, and be home by six or your grounded… again.” She then slammed the door shut and locked it.

Trixie let out a sigh. “Okay, she’s just a little more upset than usual. What did you two do this time?”

“We’re trying to learn carpentry,” Snips said.

“But we couldn’t put the chairs back together,” Snails added.

Sweet merciful Celestia these two are a mess… and I willingly subjected myself to them. Trixie looked over the horizon. “You two want to help me run a magic show?”

“Sounds like fun,” Snips said.

“Yeah, just leave it to your faithful stallions,” Snails added.

“We’ll have an audience before you can blink.”

Trixie smiled at them. “Good, then I’ll be running one in a half hour, and I’ll need you two as my assistants. Miss Direction and Peppers Ghost are still on vacation.”

“Of course oh wonderful Trixie,” Snips said.

“Anything for a mare as beautiful as you,” Snails added.

They might have been walking train wrecks waiting to happen, but they sure were cute. She smiled and nodded for them to be off. Once they were on their way, proudly proclaiming that the Great and Powerful Trixie was about to run another show, she went back home to get her stage wagon. She could set it up in under ten minutes and since she wasn’t going overboard this time she already had everything she would need to run the perfect performance. In fact she had a new spell that she wanted to try out, and those two were the perfect guinea pigs to do so.

***

Marble stood inside of the Carousel Boutique. There were so many fancy dresses around, the likes of which her family could never afford. For a good few minutes she stumbled about the room examining each dress like a new toy. She imagined herself wearing some of them, while Trixie wore the others and how cute they would be together. Perhaps they could even go to some sort of dance together, if the Marble Sense wasn’t a problem she would love to do that.

Rarity walked down the stairs and took one look at Marble and smiled down at her. “Where’s your sister, darling?”

Marble shrugged. Pinkie Pie kinda left me here and told me not to go anywhere until she got back. Marble remembered the note that Pinkie Pie wrote and pointed a hoof to the mirror it was stuck on.

Rarity walked over, read the note and then smiled. “It would seem that your sister is taking care of some work right now. I am to be in charge of you until then, and if you are interested I am to offer you a job… hmm… I don’t exactly know what I would have you do- OH I KNOW!”

Rarity galloped over to a dressing screen and walked back out with several dresses held aloft in her magic aura. “You are just the right size to model for my adolescent line of dress designs. There aren’t many teenagers in Ponyville after all. We have to send them to the next town over for high school. Sooo, will you model for me? I promise that nopony else will ever have to see.”

Marble looked at the dresses, too small for most adult mares and too big for foals. For her though they looked just right. With a single nod, Rarity let out a shriek of pure joy. Marble couldn’t help but to smile at the dresses, they looked cute. She was positive that this was going to be lots of fun.

***

Trixie stood on her stage and watched as the crowd dispersed leaving her with a feeling of accomplishment. Her spirits were raised and both Snips and Snails were packing things up back into the wagon. For a brief moment Trixie felt like nothing could ruin this moment.

The air flashed with Pink light before her, and Twilight Sparkle appeared on her stage. “Trixie, we need to talk.”

A sigh escaped Trixie’s lips and she sat down. Her horn lit up and she conjured forth a bouquet of flowers. They levitated over to Twilight, who grabbed them with a confused look in her eyes. Trixie tried to smile, but felt her recent victory in running a successful show could not wipe out the mistake she had made.

“Twilight, Trixie is so sorry about what she said to you. It was just supposed to be a joke, and Trixie had no intention of hurting you. If words were enough to make up for Trixie’s actions she would say them all, but she knows that she cannot so easily make up for this. What can Trixie do to help you forgive her?” Trixie asked.

“Oh… right you said something about my brother, it slipped my mind already. Um, you're forgiven, honestly Rainbow Dash does worse things to me on a daily basis and when Discord’s around… yeah, at least you don’t mean to be rude… most of the time,” Twilight said with a smile.

“I’m forgiven, just like that?” Trixie asked taken aback.

“Discord turned my mane into snakes once, so yeah, I can forgive you for a few upsetting words.”

“How is Discord still free?”

“Because Fluttershy used to beg me not to turn him to stone… she hasn’t done that in a while.” Twilight looked around. “Was it a good show?”

“Oh yes, Trixie’s performance today was superb and all the foals went home with bellies full of laughter and heart full of cheer.”

“That’s good, because I just found out that Canterlot has no relevant information. Only one scholar had the research we needed on creatures like Baast, and it’s going to be difficult finding any of his notes now.”

Trixie met Twilight’s eyes and saw worry in them. “What do you mean?”

“We’re going to have to find out if there are any more books left by Golden Oak, the previous owner of my old library.”

Chapter Eight: Hoofington's Dark

Marble Magic

Chapter Eight: Hoofington’s Dark

Written by TheCrimsonDM

Rewrite story so that everypony was turned to stone rather than killed. That way they can be saved in the end when Baast reforms.

The cool spring air brushed by Trixie’s side. The afternoon sun was almost gone and Trixie was looking forward to her meeting with Marble. While Twilight did some research to try and find some way of reclaiming Golden Oak’s journals Trixie went home to prepare for her meeting. With grappling hook and all else packed, Trixie was sure that things were going to go smoothly. All she had to do was wait.

Until then she took care of a few things, watered her flowers, skimmed through her notes on Baast yet again, and contemplated what sort of spell she should be learning next for her show. Being a magician was all about constant learning and growth, not just in magic but in all sorts of skills she had never thought important at one point in time. Her mother though taught her the value of being multi-talented. Dancing, singing, comedy, and of course the magic tricks were all part of her show.

Reading through a spell book borrowed from Twilight she found most of the spells well out of her range of capabilities. From enchanting items with magical properties, to summoning forth hailstorms of fire, these spells were almost all too difficult to even safely try by herself let alone actually learning. After enough reading though she finally found one that looked possible.

“Expert Illusion; False Wall,” Trixie read to herself. “I think I could pull this off.” After reading the framework for the spell itself she realized that it was indeed possible but it was the small details that worried her. To pull it off she would have to be able to craft ever crack, every hole, and every mismatched brick that could be in a wall, otherwise it would just look wrong.

It was almost time to go out and meet with Marble. With her saddlebags already packed, she threw on her black sweat shirt, debated over a choice of hats before deciding on a black witch’s hat from last Nightmare Night, and took off. It was time to go out and meet the most wonderful mare in Equestria, and to do so in style.

The town was as quiet and empty as it should have been this late at night. With nopony around to see her she was able to go straight to Sugarcube Corner without being caught, and better yet she saw Marble waving at her from up above. This had worked out better than she could have hoped for.

One grappling hook later and Trixie was up top on the balcony and in Marble’s warm embrace. Yet again they choose to simply stare up at the night sky and watch the stars. It might have been quiet, but it was far from lonely. Trixie snuggled into Marble and the mare returned the favor.

“Marble, have you ever thought about… us?” Trixie asked.

“Mmhmm.”

“I… I like you, like a whole lot. You already know just what I feel about you, don’t you?”

There was a slight delay in Marble’s response. “Mmhmm.”

“Are you mad?”

“Mm-mmm.”

Trixie pulled away and looked down into that soft purple eye. “Do you like me too?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Not just as friends, Marble. As… something more?”

Marble nodded, pawed the floor and opened her mouth as if to speak. No words came out, instead she closed her mouth leaned forward and kissed Trixie on the cheek. Trixie’s face was on fire and her heart galloped so hard she half expected it to jump right out of her chest. She wrapped her legs around Marble’s back and held the mare close.

“Do you think that one day we could live together? Just you and me?”

“Mmhmm!” Marble said excitedly.

Trixie smiled. “I’d like that.”

***

It was past midnight before the train finally stopped at the middle of nowhere and Starlight Glimmer got off. Spike was asleep on her back but that didn’t bother her. He was lightweight, even if he was far too small for a dragon his age. From her experience with them along the border she knew that dragons grew quick, very quick, and they were extremely dangerous.

The little settlement was nothing more than four or five houses and what looked to be a general store alongside a tavern. This place wasn’t even marked on the map. As far as Starlight could tell it had been small for a very long time. There was a single wooden sign that stood out next to the town that read, “Welcome to Hoofington.”

Starlight walked into the town and was assaulted by the smell of fish. The docks not too far off had a few fishing vessels tied up and a lot of dead fish lay in barrels. She nearly gagged at the smell of it. One time she had been treated to a northerner specialty of salted salmon. It may have been good, but it had a smell that she would never forget.

“Okay, Starlight,” She said to herself. “Go to the tavern, request a room and then deal with the dragons in the morning.”

She walked to the tavern and the silence of the town began to gnaw at her. Something was off about this town, something wrong. Even for a small settlement that made her own town look like a city, it shouldn’t have been this quiet. When she saw the shattered glass window of one of the houses she stopped dead in her tracks.

“Spike!” Starlight exclaimed.

The sleepy dragon’s head rose up and he shook himself awake. “We here?”

“Something is really wrong.” Starlight took a closer look at the houses. Shattered glass, holes in the walls or roof, and some scorch marks on the ground. She looked at one house that had its door completely broken off its hinges and lying on the ground. Only darkness existed in the house, so thick that it looked like a wall. “Why are all the buildings like this?”

Spike looked around, and sniffed a few times. “I can’t smell anypony.”

“That doesn’t help.”

“No, Starlight, I can’t smell anypony. Like, I have really good sense of smell and I know what it smells like when ponies live in a place. It smells… distinct. This place smells empty,” Spike sniffed again. “No… not quite. Something stinks, like rotting food.”

“The fish in the barrels over there might be interfering with your sense of smell,” Starlight pointed out.

“What do we do?” His voice was laced with fear.

Starlight walked to the house with the broken door and peered inside. It was too dark to see anything her horn lit up casting light into the house. The floor was covered in a layer of dirt and a puddle of water had pooled up near the front door from a leak in the ceiling. Pictures had been knocked off of shelves along with portraits and vases had been shattered.

Starlight lifted up a portrait and saw somepony she had only heard of before. An orange unicorn with a golden mane wearing a top hat and black cape stood proudly with a devilish grin. There was a title embedded into the portrait frame. “The Magnificent and Marvelous Magic Marigold!”

“Do you know her?” Starlight asked.

“Uh… no. She looks really, really familiar though.”

“This is Magic Marigold, the Magic Marigold. She was a hugely famous magician when I was a filly, she even performed for Princess Celestia and became her court magician. I had heard that she ran off and simply vanished after a while,” Starlight looked around the house and took a few steps in. her horn granting her enough light to see by. “Nopony knew why, it was a big mystery.”

Spike pointed at a shelf with an upright portrait. “Maybe she started a family?”

Starlight looked and saw a picture of a slightly older Marigold holding a light blue unicorn in her hooves, the white and blue striped mane on the unicorn made Starlight’s heart skip a beat. “We’re in Trixie’s home.”

Spike took a second look at the picture. “Yeah… that does look an awful lot like her.”

Starlight picked up another picture, this one had a filly Trixie in it standing in front of the Canterlot Castle looking terrified while her Marigold tried to comfort her. She actually saw a filly Twilight in the background alongside what must have been her parents. Another picture had a teenage Trixie wearing her purple cloak and hat with tears running down her face and the biggest smile Starlight had ever seen her wear. The cake next to her had fifteen candles sitting in it. Several unopened presents were on the table as well.

“This is where Trixie’s mom lives.”

“Doesn’t Trixie have sisters?” Spike asked.

“Uh… yeah, three of them I think. Doesn’t Dixie live in Ponyville?”

“How should I know?”

Once Starlight began digging around she found more photos. One had a family of five mares. Marigold sat in the back, and then Trixie sat at the front as the smallest one. Three other mares were in the picture all of them had Marigold’s mane style but wildly different colors. If not for the manes Starlight would never have recognized them as being family.

“This is kinda weird,” Spike said. “We shouldn’t be in here, right?”

Starlight looked around. “I don’t think anypony is going to stop us.”

She trotted upstairs and heard a tapping sound. Starlight’s horn doubled in strength and the light cast further out. There wasn’t a threat she couldn’t handle, not with her level of power. The sight she saw before her however was something she wasn’t ready to deal with. The limp body of an orange mare stuck halfway out of the bedroom door.

“Sweet Celestia,” Starlight said.

Starlight galloped over to the mare and knelt down beside her. There were burn marks across the mare’s legs, and a particularly nasty one just underneath her right eye. The mare’s chest lifted and fell slowly. Teal light surrounded the mare and slowly the wounds knitted themselves back together. It took almost a minute but the mare took in a deep breath and sat straight up. She blinked and stared at Starlight.

“It’s okay, I’m here to help,” Starlight said. She looked over the freshly closed wounds, there were scars left over and bare patches of fur but the mare was alive. “Now tell me, Miss Marigold, what happened here?”

She blinked a few times and then rubbed at her head. “I… the dragons were arguing with us about who should own the caves. The caves are uh… a good source of iron and we needed the revenue a new iron mine would bring in… then there was this pink flash of light and… everything is kinda blurry. I remember lasers, pink lasers falling from the heavens and how we were all galloping in different direction. Ponies were being turned to stone, the dragons attacked, I tried to hold them back. Then... I was hurt. I teleported back home. I can’t really remember anything past that.”

“It sounds like you were attacked by something magical. You were lucky to get away, but I guess your injuries were too much for you to handle.” Starlight looked around the house. “Your door was broken off its hinges and the glass is broken.”

“I remember there was a huge explosion, just before the pink laser rain fell,” Marigold said. “Maybe it broke the windows… the door was my fault. I think I was overzealous when I teleported in and ripped it off the hinges.”

Starlight nodded. “You really are as powerful as they said you were. You know I always wanted to go and see your show.”

“Thank you, um… what are you doing here, Star?”

Starlight looked down the stairs. “I was supposed to come and help you and the dragons work out a settlement.”

“I suppose it may be too late for that now.” Marigold looked at Spike. “You brought the princess’s stolen child with you?”

“Uh…”

“The dragon egg was stolen,” Marigold said. “Who do you think led the operation to acquire it?”

“You… you stole a dragon’s egg!”Starlight gasped. She couldn’t tell if that was brave or foolish. Probably a bit of both.

“Celestia wanted a dragon egg, we got one, after that I had to quit. Pregnant magicians aren’t very good at stealing eggs and slaying monsters after all,” Marigold said. “First kid, I think it was… ugh Fancy Pants was the father. Second kid, I don’t remember. Third was at a party, I was drunk, and the last one, my little Trixie. I committed adultery to get her in my belly.”

Starlight blinked. “You uh… sleep around a lot?”

“Hey, just because I know how to have a good time doesn’t make me a slut.”

Starlight looked down. “I didn’t mean it like that.”

Marigold smiled. “Actually I was intentionally trying to get pregnant from different stallions. Testing out various gene pools to see who had the most magic. Trixie’s the winner, of course her sisters are jealous. Nixie, Pixie, and Dixie aren’t very good at magic.” Marigold let out a sigh. “Of course the baby well dried up a few years ago, so… Trixie’s it for my legacy.”

“I know her, Trixie, she’s my best friend. We both kinda got ran over by life, and are trying to put ourselves back together one day at a time,” Starlight said.

“I’m glad to hear that she has a good friend. If it wasn’t for me and my great reputation she wouldn’t have had the job she does now. But that’s what parents are for, taking care of their kids. She’s just trying to find her place in the world. Magicians, witches, and wizards all struggle with that at her age. She’ll find it though, and when she does, I’m going to come over and visit every weekend so that I can borrow all the buckloads of cash she’ll be making.”

“What?”

“I’m joking, I don’t need to ask for money.” Marigold gestured around her. “I might live in a small little home, but I have more money than you can imagine in my accounts over in Canterlot. I worked for the Princess directly after all.”

Starlight stood up and followed Marigold as she went down the stairs. “Where are you going?”

“We are heading to the mines. If anypony else is still alive, we need to help them. Also any dragons, I couldn’t let one just die because it’s big and scary. Finally, we need to find out what the hay happened so that we can report to Princess Twilight Sparkle.”

“That’s what she sent me here for.”

“You’re her pupil, and you have her kid on your back.” Marigold paused at the door and winked. “I honestly didn’t know why you were here.”

They walked back outside and quickly checked the rest of the homes. Each one was empty, even the tavern. The storm clouds forming up above looked brooding and dark. After finding no evidence they went straight for the mines outside of the village.

“What’s the date?” Marigold asked.

“The fift- no wait, midnight, so it’s the sixteenth,” Starlight answered.

Marigold frowned. “I remember personally sending that letter out yesterday, on the eleventh,” Marigold replied bitterly. “If five days have passed, and nopony is here… darn it. How come I’m not starving to death?”

“I used a vitality spell on you, it has the special side effect of curing hunger and rejuvenating the target as well,” Starlight said.

“Explains why I feel like a million bits. Too bad that everypony’s… don’t expect to see anything good.”

“Is there anything you can think of that would explain why this happened?” Starlight asked.

Marigold began walking a little faster. “No.”

They continued on for a bit until they hit a forest, through the forest they found a large clearing and Starlight’s breath was stolen away at the sight of the clearing. Three huge statues of dragons lay across the field.

Burn marks were scattered about the clearing, singing the grass black. Spike stared on with a blank expression. When Starlight noticed the smaller statues that littered the grounds her heart sunk. Ponies, mares and stallions all stood or lay across the grass. Marigold galloped over to a small section of forest, Starlight wanted to follow but her legs simply wouldn’t listen to her.

“These are… were all living breathing creatures… weren’t they?” Starlight asked quietly.

“If what Marigold said about ponies becoming statues is true,” Spike answered.

“And… we can’t save them… can we?”

“It took the Elements of Harmony themselves to revive Discord, and that only worked because the Elements of Harmony turned him into stone in the first place.”

Starlight bit her lip. “I… I’ve never seen anything like this.”

“Reminds me of Canterlot,” Spike said dispassionately.

“W-what do you mean?” Starlight asked.

“When the changelings attacked… there was a lot of fallen ponies.” He met Starlight’s eyes. They were darker than she had ever seen them be. “Is this your first time seeing this sort of thing?”

Starlight grimaced. “I… I’ve seen ponies die before. From sickness or… suicide. But this, there’s so many ponies here. This is…”

“It’s still better than watching your friends get eaten by changelings as you’re forced to run away,” Spike said darkly.

What has Twilight exposed you to?

Marigold returned shortly. She looked ready to put her hoof through somepony’s skull. “The town’s gone.”

“What do you mean?” Starlight asked.

“The dragons knew where the village was so we hid the children…” Marigold said. She started off toward the cave. “Let’s check up on the cave.”

Starlight followed. “What do you mean? If there are kids here we should go help them.”

“Starlight, the town is gone,” Marigold said. There was a finality in her voice. “I’m just glad all my babies are living somewhere else.”

A hard lump formed in Starlight’s throat as she processed this. Statues, the entire town was turned into statues. There really wasn’t anyway she could fix this. There wasn’t a spell to turn things back from stone, not unless you could identify what it was that caused it, and even then… it was nearly impossible. She blinked a few tears out of the way. “Oh, okay… why do we need to check on the cave.”

“I think somepony was screwing around in there, and not the fun kind of screwing…” Marigold joked, even though her tone was dark.

They reached the entrance to the cave and walked in without question. Hard rock walls and wooden support beams framed the place. A little further inside Starlight saw an iron door, at least two inches thick lying on the ground, it was full of holes as if something hot burned through them. Three dragons, just a little larger than ponies lay against the wall, they too were stone.

An iron wall, missing the door, stood strong. Just inside it was full of crates, books, and magical implements the likes of which Starlight had never seen. Powerful magic radiated out of the room. On a pedestal in the middle of the room lay an amulet vaguely shaped like an alicorn with a red gem in the center. Starlight could feel the evil coming from this room. Cold energy washed over her and sent chills down her spine.

Marigold walked in, looked around and then turned to face Starlight. “Okay, it’s time to talk to Twilight. We’re in trouble and I need to give her all the information that I can quickly.”

“What is this place?” Starlight asked.

“The real reason we kept this place hidden from the dragons. Welcome to the Hoofington Safe, a room full of hazardous magical supplies, tools, and knowledge. Celestia set this up because it was in the middle of nowhere and unlikely to be targeted for its dangerous secrets. Besides this place smells like fish, that’s a powerful deterrent for most ponies… dragons not so much.”

“So what happened here?”

“Those three dragons broke into the room, without disabling the wards. They set them off, probably got knocked down in the process and unleashed the most unholy relic we had. The Stave of Baast. If I don’t get to Twilight and soon, she will be in great danger, in fact all of Ponyville may be,” Marigold said.

Starlight swallowed. “Oh… that’s bad.”

Chapter Nine: Tragic Embrace

Marble Magic

Chapter Nine: Tragic Embrace

Written by TheCrimsonDM

It was late, and Trixie sat on the balcony of the Sugarcube Corner all alone. Since Marble had just gone in for the night, this left Trixie wondering about her next move. She was a little tired, but dreaded the idea of going home to sleep alone. Still she had to get off of the balcony before anypony had the chance to notice.

She was about halfway down the rope before her hoof got tangled and she was forced to spend a minute trying to work herself out of it. Just as she managed to get her hoof out she heard a fearsome battle cry that chilled her heart. Just over the horizon, flying a few feet above some houses and coming in fast was a rainbow colored streak. It could only be one thing; Rainbow Dash.

Trixie faced the oncoming mare and bravely set herself. It was only a moment before the mare was on her, and Trixie was sure that they would collide mid air. The mare came to a complete halt not but inches away from Trixie’s face and stared at her. A cold shiver ran down Trixie’s spine as she stared into those feral eyes.

“What, are, you, doing?” Rainbow Dash asked, venom dripped from each word.

“…nothing.” Trixie looked up at the balcony and down at the ground at least twenty feet below her. Falling from this height she knew would be bad, and would probably result in broken legs.

Rainbow Dash put a hoof on Trixie’s chest and pushed gently. The rocking motion made Trixie’s hooves slip just a little and she yelped in terror. Rainbow Dash grinned. “What, you don’t like heights?”

“If Trixie falls from here she’ll break her legs!” Trixie snapped.

“And I should care because…”

Trixie growled at the pegasus. It looked like she was about to get hurt, badly, and all because this bully had to show up then and there. If that was indeed the case, Trixie wouldn’t go down without a fight. Gathering up her courage Trixie did the only thing she could, she leapt onto Rainbow Dash, locking her legs around the mare’s neck as they both struggled in the air. Rainbow Dash pushed at Trixie, but Trixie opened her mouth and latched onto the mare’s neck with her teeth. They jerked and twisted, each time getting closer to the ground.

Trixie hit the ground and rolled a few times. Rainbow Dash was clutching her neck and cursing. There wasn’t any time to lose, Trixie pulled the hoof cuffs from her saddlebags and once again pounced upon the Rainbow pony. They rolled into the earth for a moment before Rainbow Dash got her rear legs against Trixie’s chest and pushed with all her might. Trixie flew off of her. Trixie hit the ground a second later but grinned at her success.

Rainbow Dash’s left foreleg was cuffed to her left wing. The mare looked pathetic as she struggled to pull it off, she fell over and rolled on the ground while screaming in frustration. This gave Trixie plenty of time to retrieve her grappling hook and gallop away. Rainbow Dash couldn’t stop her now. Though after she found the release button on the cuffs the mare was likely to give chase. Returning home wasn’t the best idea at the moment.

So where else does one Trixie go when she can’t return home after midnight? To the only pony nopony would expect her to go to; the oh so generous Twilight Sparkle of course. Trixie began her trot to the castle straight away.

When she arrived at the castle she found herself to be in luck, not only was Twilight awake, she was standing outside her castle talking to Starlight. It looked like she wouldn’t have to risk raising the princess’s ire by breaking into her castle this time. Upon Trixie’s approach however she felt something change in the atmosphere. It occurred to her that Starlight and Spike should have been gone, they were dealing dragons after all.

“This is a giant mess, I’m going to have to pull her out of this. I won’t risk her,” Twilight said.

“Once she realizes that it was her home, do you really think she’ll let you? Besides she deserves to be part of this,” Starlight said.

“I’ll just ask her mom, that’ll solve that,” Twilight said. She looked over at Trixie and blinked a few times. “Oh… well crap.”

“What are you two talking about?” Trixie asked.

“Nothing,” Twilight said too quickly to be honest.

“It doesn’t sound like nothing,” Trixie said. She looked at Starlight and noticed something off about the way she stood and the look in her eyes. She looked a little lost, frightened perhaps. “Are you okay?”

Starlight sat down. “I’m not supposed to say anything… I’m so sorry.”

“Why? If Twilight’s making you keep secrets then you can’t really do anything about it. Oh,” Trixie looked at Twilight. “Rainbow Dash might be very upset with Trixie right now, uh… could you calm her down instead of letting her beat up Trixie?”

“Did she threaten to hurt you?” Twilight asked in disbelief.

“She almost dropped me from two stories,” Trixie replied hotly. She forced herself to calm down. “Trixie could have been seriously injured.”

“I’ll talk to her… why is she mad at you?” Twilight asked.

Trixie opened her mouth to smart off, but stopped just short. She would need a good lie in order to sell this. Luckily she had just the lie ready. “Trixie is afraid that Pinkie’s got some magical artifact, a dark one. So she was investigating around Pinkie’s home. Why else would she attack Trixie out of the blue like she did earlier unless she was being corrupted?”

Twilight frowned. “I… I’d already considered that possibility. She’s clean, I checked out her house earlier.”

“You did?” Trixie asked.

“I checked out all of my friends, just to make sure they weren’t in trouble. After what Rarity did to the whole town, she nearly killed several ponies, I just can’t risk my friends being in or causing trouble.”

Trixie nodded. “Yes, and then Spike ate the darn book which meant Trixie had to retrieve it.”

Twilight looked away. “Y-yeah… I don’t think I ever thanked you for that. So, uh, thanks.”

Trixie nodded. “Don’t mention it. Trixie is here to help. She is the best at helping after all.”

The door behind Twilight opened up, and an amber light filled the room beyond her. Trixie recognized the light, and where it came from. When Trixie saw the orange mare with golden mane walk out, Trixie was sure that she had just died. For a moment she couldn’t be happier, until she saw the scars littering the mare’s body.

“M-Mommy?” Trixie asked.

Marigold stopped dead in her tracks and looked down at her with such soft eyes. “Baby, it’s okay. I’m just fine. Me and Twilight are just working on something.”

“What… why are you here? Shouldn’t you be protecting Hoofington?” Trixie asked.

A pained look crossed into her eyes. “Trixie… it’s gone. Hoofington is gone.”

“What?” Trixie exclaimed. “But, but what about Peppers Ghost and Miss Direction?”

“They’re in Tall Tale, so their okay.”

“Mr. Lumber? His son Woodsly? What about our neighbor’s granddaughter?” Trixie asked.

Darkness covered her mother’s eyes, and her face hardened. “Trixie, it’s gone. It’s all gone. Don’t you fret though baby, all your sisters are okay, and I am going to fix this.”

Trixie wasn’t sure what she should be feeling. Everything just felt numb, and no matter how hard she tried to wrap her mind around the idea that her home was simply gone, she couldn’t. It was impossible for an entire town to just up and vanish. Then she began putting the pieces together.

“It was dragons wasn’t it?” Trixie asked.

“No, they all… their gone too,” Starlight said. “It was something worse than…”

Marigold gave a dark look to Starlight. “She doesn’t need to hear details right now.” She looked back at Trixie. “Come inside, Spike’s making us some hot chocolate and I’m sure he wouldn’t mind making some for you too.”

Trixie took a few steps toward her mom, and stumbled. The amber colored aura that surrounded her was followed by an invisible force that gently wrapped it’s warmth around her and helped her steady herself. Trixie blinked, and hot tears ran down her cheeks. “Th-thank you.”

“You’re my baby, and I’ll always be here for you, not even an ancient kitty can stop me,” Marigold promised.

There was something about that sentence that Trixie knew she should have picked up on, that was important. She just couldn’t stop thinking about all the friends she’d left behind at Hoofington. The promises she made to become a world famous magician just like her mom, and how that goal had been utterly destroyed. She broke her promises and now she couldn’t even apologize for it. She’d never get to say sorry for breaking Long Grass’s fence, or to learn how to bake triple chocolate chip cookies with Sweet Sugar. They were gone.

The shouting off in the distance was muddled and barely touched Trixie’s ears. She glanced behind her to see an awkwardly cantering Rainbow Dash. Her wing and leg still cuffed together and the look of rage upon her face was hot enough to melt iron. Somehow that rage didn’t touch Trixie, she just felt numb. Even the fact that Pinkie Pie was right beside Rainbow Dash and looking just as angry, if not more so, didn’t affect Trixie.

They could beat her up for all she cared. The world might as well have just ended for Trixie.

“Twilight, you better keep those monsters away from my baby,” Marigold warned. “Because I am not nearly as kind as you are.”

Twilight nodded. “I got it, I’ll just explain to them that it was my fault and she was only acting under my orders. Mistakes were made but they can be forgiven.”

Marigold led Trixie inside and shut the doors behind them just as the two enraged mares arrived. “I’ll keep you safe. I promise baby.”

***

“I’ll be right back, I promise,” Pinkie Pie said.

Marble stared up at her with longing eyes. She had just barely gotten back to bed when she heard the commotion outside and when she and Pinkie saw Rainbow Dash hopping around like a wounded puppy a decision was made. Unfortunately Pinkie Pie had seen Trixie running away and automatically assumed the worst.

“I have to help Rainbow Dash teach that meanie pants a lesson,” Pinkie Pie said as she trotted to the bedroom door. “Just try and get some sleep okay?”

Marble nodded.

“Good, see ya when I return!” with that said, Pinkie Pie was out the door and gone before Marble was even sure what to do.

Since Pinkie Pie was finally gone there were a few things that Marble hadn’t been able to do ever since she arrived. Out of all the possibilities the one that that stood out in her mind involved a bottle of lotion, a picture of Fluttershy, and lots of privacy. Marble went straight to the bathroom where she knew the lotion was kept. It was dark in here so she ended up bumping up against the staircase on her way.

There was a clicking sound, followed by something moving and for a brief moment Marble kept her breath held. It occurred to her that she might have just hit the wrong thing by mistake. The floor opened up and she fell through with a gasp.

The slide went down an impossible ways and in awkward angles. When she finally landed in a pile of pillows at the bottom she looked around and found herself in Pinkie’s secret file room. There was an obscene amount of pillows in here with a note attached to one of them.

“Please rearrange the pillows when you’re done, these are for the slumber party I’m planning.

Love your big sister, Pinkie.”

Marble smiled down at the note. It was so kind of her to leave little messages like this behind. Although she was a bit worried about the fact that Pinkie Pie somehow knew that she was going to come down here at some point. Instead of trying to figure out how her sister would know that she took a look around and discovered something better still. The file cabinets.

Marble raced to them and began looking for the T’s. When she found them she threw open the drawer and searched for the one pony she wanted to know more about than anything. She found Trixie’s file right away. When she pulled it out it had been stamped with a red circle with an x in the middle of it. It didn’t look very friendly.

Marble sat down at the table, brushed the confetti aside and opened the file. She was determined to learn more about her mare and if she was lucky, she’d learn why Pinkie Pie hated her so much.

“Name: Trixie Lulamoon
Occupation: Magician
Likes: Herself
Hates: Everything that’s not her.
Fears: Failure, Wheels, and Trust

Summery: I have tried on multiple occasions to befriend this mare and each time she has reacted worse and worse. The first time was just after the incident with the ursa minor attacking Ponyville. I wanted to see how she was doing and help her, she verbally attacked me once I mentioned Twilight Sparkle. Later on she had gotten close to my family while living on my family’s rock farm. Maud convinced me to take her out on a PSSD and so I did. We spent the day in Tall Tale, and all day was spent with her insulting me, my family and the farm. Just as soon as it was looking like she might have finally realized what she was doing and actually apologized for it, we gave our gifts. I got her a grappling hook, and she got me… a book entitled, ‘Diet for Dummies.’

Obviously that was a big mistake and we ended up arguing about whether she thought I was fat or not. I work at a bakery, of course I won’t be some petite small thing like Marble, but that doesn’t mean you can pick on me for it!

That day went poorly.

Later on she came to Ponyville and hurt me and all of my friends. Not only did she take my mouth away, she forced to watch her as she slowly ate cupcakes. Licking the delicious frosting off before eating the rest… slowly. She got half way through them before throwing the rest away! She threw cupcakes away! How dare she!?

Anyways, I gave her one last attempt at redemption after that. I left her alone when she moved to Ponyville, hoping that maybe, just maybe she would come to her senses. What she did was go to one of my best friends and start bad mouthing my sisters. She said awful things about Maud and Limestone, and she’s just lucky she didn’t mention Marble or else I’d have to hurt her.

That was the last straw, after that I have put her down as being a bully that can’t be cured. Other things she has done includes forcing Rainbow Dash to save her from a pack of diamond dogs, and getting half of my best friends in trouble with the law in Manehattan. Even when she means well all she can do is get my friends hurt or in trouble and I won’t stand for it anymore.

She’s on the no friend list.

Amendment: She just recently tried to befriend me, which is weird. I’m sure she’s up to something nefarious and wanted to use me. But when I told her so, she dumped ice cream in my mane! How rude can she really be? Still on the no friend list.”

Marble sat back and stared at the report. Well… that explains a lot.

***

An hour went by with Trixie and Marigold sitting in a small room with hot cups of cocoa. Spike was in the room as well but he was already asleep lying on the couch. The door was cracked open and they could both hear the argument that had been going on for the past hour. It mostly involved Twilight being yelled at for spying on ponies and for giving Trixie the right to break into homes snooping for evidence. Twilight tried to defend herself but was doing a progressively worse job at it.

Finally Starlight broke the argument by shouting, “Shut up! You two have been attacking Twilight and Trixie for the past hour and I am sick of it. Trixie’s entire village was just turned to stone, everypony she grew up with, everypony she knew is gone now. Mares, stallions, and even foals are all gone and you two have the audacity to keep bad mouthing her. If I hear one more word tonight about how Trixie is a bad pony and is up to no good and needs to be punished, I will take your cutiemarks and shove them so far up your butt that they will never see the light of day again!”

There was silence for a moment.

“Do you understand me?” Starlight asked.

Trixie heard the two mares mumble their agreements. The door swung open and Starlight walked in. she shut it behind and went straight to Trixie. Before Trixie could even be sure what was happening Starlight took a seat next to her and wrapped a leg over Trixie’s back.

“We’ll take care of you, okay?” Starlight offered.

Trixie nodded. “I… just can’t believe this.”

“You don’t have too,” Starlight said carefully. “Right now you just need to get some rest, and plenty of love. When you want to confront this, you can. And I promise you that I’ll be there to help you through this. If there is one thing I’ve learned since becoming Twilight’s pupil it would be that sometimes I need to grow a pair and take care of ponies that really need it. Because we both know how blind Twilight can be.”

“She’s also terrible at standing up for herself when her friends are involved,” Trixie said.

“Yeah, it’s not just her. These mares are crazy and even if the group is totally wrong they will usually go with the group rather than stand up for themselves. Honestly I feel like they are a living breathing lesson on peer pressure.”

Trixie smiled at that. “It’s too bad too. If they could only figure that much out we’d have a decent group of heroes.”

“They are decent, but they’re not great. Not yet,” Starlight said.

Trixie laid her head down. “Me and Twilight can’t even find out more information on Baast, because only Golden Oak knew anything and he’s dead and his library was destroyed. How are we going to find my friend, let alone what I’m supposed to do about my home…”

“You’re helping Twilight look for Baast?” Marigold asked. She reached out and grabbed Trixie’s hoof gently. “I used to work with him. He had a secret depository in the old ruined castle not too far from here. Built it himself, it contains all sorts of forbidden knowledge.”

Trixie looked up into her mom’s eyes. “You mean that we can learn more about Baast? That we can actually save Guile?”

Marigold smiled down at her. “Of course, baby. But don’t mistake my kindness for stupidity. You are forbidden to engage Baast in any form of conflict.”

“I-I know. I don’t want too, she’s scary, but I can do research, I’m good at that,” Trixie said.

The door opened up and Twilight Sparkle walked in. She shut it behind her and slumped against it. With sluggish movements she wiped a hoof at her eyes and sniffled. “How are you all feeling?”

“Twilight,” Trixie said cautiously. “I think I have something to cheer you up with.”

“Oh yeah?” she replied.

“Mom here knows about a secret hideout of Golden Oak’s and thinks that he might have what we’re looking for in it. Are you up for an adventure to the Castle of the Two Sisters?” Trixie asked.

“Can we all get some rest first?” Twilight asked.

Trixie looked up at her mom.

Marigold didn’t even blink. “That would be wise. May we stay here tonight, Princess Twilight?”

“Y-yeah, sure,” Twilight replied. “I have a lot of guest rooms you could stay in… we’ll all go tomorrow.”

Starlight stood up. “You two want me to stay with you tonight? Keep an eye out and all that?”

Marigold shook her head. “There’s no need for that, but thank you. Me and Trixie will get some sleep and I advise you do the same. The Everfree Forest is slightly dangerous.”

“Slightly?” Twilight asked.

“For a professional magician such as myself? The place is practically safe enough for a picnic,” Marigold said proudly. “I’ll keep you three safe tomorrow.”

Twilight managed a small smile. “I think I can see the similarities between you and your daughter.”

“Trixie learned from the best after all.”

Chapter Ten: Magic Mare

Marble Magic
Chapter Ten: Magic Mare
Written by TheCrimsonDM

It was an early morning over at Fluttershy’s cottage, and Marble couldn’t be feeling any worse. There were so many animals here that she could feel herself breaking out in a nervous rash. It would only be made worse if there were ponies, especially stallions. Yet again Pinkie Pie had ditched Marble off on one of her friends and since the town was full of ponies moving about their daily lives Marble was stuck here.

Fluttershy was babying a few rabbits and Marble tried not to show her disdain for being on an animal farm. She could handle rocks, and plants, but she never got along with animals. A cat walked by, it’s orange and black spotted fur made it almost look friendly. Marble may have known better but she dared to try and pet it anyway. The cat hissed, swiped a claw at her and jumped three feet back so quickly that Marble could barely keep up with what happened. Thankfully it didn’t actually hurt her.

“Are you okay?” Fluttershy asked.

Marble shook her head.

“What’s wrong? You know you can always talk to me, I’m a good listener,” Fluttershy said kindly.

Marble dug out her notebook and scribbled down a message.

“I do not get along with animals. My sister shouldn’t have left me here.”

“Oh, I’m sure that they just don’t know you yet.” Fluttershy beckoned toward the bunnies with her wing. They took one look at Marble, made a honking sound and bounded away with their noses in the air. “Oh… that was quite unexpected.”

“Mmm?”

“They don’t seem to like you, they think you feel weird,” Fluttershy frowned. “They’ve only ever said that about Pinkie Pie before, and it was so hard to get them to trust her.”

Marble didn’t know why they didn’t like her, but she suspected it had something to do with the reason she didn’t like going out very much; her Marble Sense. Of course there was no proof of that, it was just the only thing that Marble had in common with her sister that was weird.

“Okay, well um, Pinkie Pie wanted me to give you some work if I had any… You worked for Rarity yesterday if I understand it correctly?”

Marble wrote some more in her notebook.

“She had me try out teenage dresses but she ran out of them. It was fun while it lasted, and I got/ paid."

Fluttershy smiled after reading it. “That sounds wonderful. Are you any good at house cleaning?”

Marble nodded. Of course she was good at house cleaning, all the pies were.

“Good, because I could use a helping hoof around the house today, and maybe if we’re good enough we can tackle the shed,” Fluttershy said. She quickly frowned. “Um, but we won’t actually tackle it. We’re just going to clean out the shed if we have any extra time…”

Marble nodded and smiled.

“Good, let’s get cleaning, if you’re up for it that is.”

***

Trixie stared into the cup of coffee, the cream swirled around like a storm cloud. This only reminded her of the turmoil in her heart. It might have been years since she was last close to anypony from home, and since then she only visited maybe once or twice a year. She didn’t have a real reason too until now. Of course she’d never get the chance to make up for her lost time.

Trixie’s sisters were alive, still not talking to her, but alive. Her mom was alive and going to stay with her for a while. Better yet, her two closest friends from home were okay as well. Both Miss Direction and Peppers Ghost were out on a vacation. Marigold already had a letter prepared for them and was having Twilight send it.

The crystal floors had a particular sound to them as hooves clip-clopped along them. Trixie looked up to see Twilight enter the kitchen. A cup of coffee was held aloft in her purple aura beside her.

“Good morning, Trixie,” Twilight said cheerfully.

Trixie stared back into her coffee. “Morning.”

“You ready to go adventuring today?” Twilight asked.

Trixie looked around, and then she settled on staring at Twilight. “Twilight, you have to save Guile, even if it means killing Baast. Especially if it means killing Baast.”

“What? Why?” Twilight asked shocked.

“She took away everypony that I know. My entire home town was wiped out by her. Do I really have to explain this to you?”

Twilight took a seat at the table. “Do you want to hear something?”

“Not unless if involves stopping that monster.”

“I’ve had ponies die on me before.” Trixie looked up and saw the distant look in Twilight’s eyes. Twilight continued, “When the changelings attacked Canterlot there were casualties. There was this painter I knew growing up. He was so nice to me even though I treated him like I did everypony else, beneath me. Apparently he got caught defending a group of foals and… he didn’t stop fighting. I never got to apologize for how I treated him, I never got to be real friends with him. He’s just gone, and… I sort of focused on my life in Ponyville after that. It was an escape, one that ended up hurting the friends I had left in Canterlot.”

“That’s horrible,” Trixie said.

“Then there was Tirek,” Twilight said. “Do you know how much death, destruction and chaos were spread through the empire because of him? I’m just glad that because of Starlight’s equality cult, she didn’t have her magic absorbed by him too.”

“There was a… a lot of death when Tirek showed up. Mostly just in the big cities,” Trixie lowered her head. “I’m just lucky he didn’t go after small towns.”

“Remember that filly that always set things on fire by accident when performing spells?” Twilight asked.

“Oh yeah, uh Matchsticks right?” Trixie asked.

“At least you remembered her name… she was killed by him too.”

Hearing that news tightened the grip on Trixie’s heart. “She’s gone too?”

“Minuette told me.” Twilight let out a sigh, took a sip of her coffee and looked back at the table. “What do you know about our adventures?”

“I read some of those books you wrote,” Trixie said. “You know the ones where after each adventure you or your friends learned a lesson.”

“You mean the books I wrote for foals?” Twilight asked. “You do realize I had to cut a lot of stuff out of those.”

Trixie frowned. “I was wondering why the swears were all wrong.”

“Heh, well you got the base idea of what happened anyway. Just leaving out all the small details that were not so friendly.”

Trixie took a sip of her coffee. “I want to help stop Baast.”

“You can’t face her with us,” Twilight said.

“I’ll just get in the way?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, but I can still help with finding out information and stuff right?” Trixie asked.

Twilight nodded. “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

Trixie grinned and pushed herself upright. Sure she couldn’t defeat the pain she was feeling, but she could push it away. “The Great and Powerful Trixie will get all the information you could possibly need.”

That’s when Marigold walked in. She had a generous smile and wore saddlebags. A pair of saddlebags were held aloft next to her by an amber aura. One of them was dark purple the other dark blue. “Okay fillies, if you’re done gossiping let’s get hiking. It’s going to be one heck of a trip before we get to the castle… where’s Star?”

Twilight nodded toward the door. “She’s already waiting for us outside.”

“And Spike?”

“I’m not taking him this time. He is going to Rarity’s to help out. Really she’s just babysitting him for me. Just in case something happens to us, he’s our backup,” Twilight said.

“How can he be both mature enough to be our backup, and young enough to need a babysitter?” Marigold asked.

“Oh the babysitting thing is to make sure he doesn’t get into any trouble or sneak after us.” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “I uh… he’s old enough to spend several months by his lonesome like when I went out to stop an evil cult leader though… dragons are confusing.”

“You sure he’s not supposed to be a bit taller?” Marigold asked. “Dragon puberty hits pretty hard from what I’ve seen. Lots of fighting to make a horde. Then there’s the breeding… lots of breeding.”

“You know about dragons?” Twilight asked.

“Honey, I was the one to steal his egg in the first place, in order to pull that off I had to study them. Golden Oak used to keep our notes in… well in the very place we’re going too. Maybe you can use them, to write a book, or to take care of your kid, either way they could be useful,” Marigold said. “Just don’t let him breed recklessly. We don’t need a mass of mares discovering all of a sudden that they can lay eggs.”

“Lay eggs?”

Marigold flashed a grin. “What? Did you think that whatever pony he knocks up was going to give birth to a pony? Nope, pony-dragon hybrids and lots of mutation. It’s a brilliant, disgusting, kinda awesome, and dangerous mess. Isn’t nature beautiful?”

Twilight shivered. “Fluttershy only says that when something’s being torn apart by an animal.”

“Sounds like my kind of mare,” Marigold said. “I’ll have to meet her for tea.”

“Please don’t corrupt my friends,” Twilight begged.

“Oh don’t worry, their already corrupt, all I do is help them break out of their shells a little.”

“What do you mean corrupt?” Trixie asked.

“You’re mom has some… ideas about friendship that I’d rather not look into,” Twilight explained.

“Oh my yes,” Marigold said. “They should all try having intercourse. The amount of information you could gain from studying the effects of sexual activities shared between friends could-“

Twilight covered her ears with her hooves, and started singing, loudly, “Nananananana Batmare!”

Marigold burst out laughing and Trixie couldn’t help but giggle as well. Trixie gave her mom a dirty look. “You just enjoy teasing the innocent princess don’t you?”

“Celestia did this to me when I was Twilight’s age, I figured I might as well return the favor.”

***

With a spotless house and a few more bits in her wallet, Marble not only felt accomplished she felt like doing something special. Exactly what, she wasn’t sure. All she knew was that Pinkie Pie had dropped her off at Fluttershy’s, and despite how much cleaning they did, including the shed, she couldn’t help but to remember exactly how attractive Fluttershy was. It was odd to see her in this normal state, and to think back to how she looked glamour up and posing for the camera.

It was actually getting a little awkward. So Marble did the only thing she could, and she used her notebook to ask where Pinkie Pie was. She didn’t have to write it down, it was something she’d had to ask so many times now that she just opened up to the page that had the note and showed it off.

“Oh she’s working right now, she does a lot of deliveries for the Cakes. Um, but you are welcomed to stay until she comes back. I know how scary a new place can be after all,” Fluttershy said.

Marble frowned. I don’t want to be here anymore. I can’t stop staring at you… and you’re the wrong pony to be doing that too.

“Is it weird?” Fluttershy asked.

“Mmhmm…”

“I was worried it might be a bit weird. I mean I signed those… things for you, and you’re wearing a Fluttershy brand saddlebag,” Fluttershy looked down at the floor. “Are you nervous to be around me?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Is it because you… you know?”

Marble tilted her head to the side to show her confusion.

“You… uh… you like… me…”

Marble’s eyes went wide. “Mmhmm…” She quickly wrote something down and showed it to Fluttershy.

“It’s wrong for me to be here like this."

“But... why? I mean, is it because you don’t want to be in my house yet or…” Fluttershy’s eyes slowly grew wide. “Are you already seeing somepony?”

“Oh my, is it true, darling?” Rarity asked from beside them.

They both looked at the open window and saw Rarity sticking her head in. She smiled at them. “So sorry to drop by like this but I have Spike cleaning my basement and I needed to ask you something. You know, before ‘he’ shows up.”

Fluttershy blinked. “Oh… oh… OH! Oh no.” She looked down at Marble. “I am so sorry but you need to go with Rarity, anywhere but here. Discord is going to be stopping by for tea soon and I’m afraid he won’t respect you’re need for distance.”

The name sent a wave of terror through Marble. The spirit of chaos himself was going to arrive here, at Fluttershy’s cottage. That was the last thing she wanted to deal with.

“The last time I had guests over when Discord arrived he sent us back through time,” Fluttershy said. “We almost all were eaten by Rainbow Dash the t-rex.”

“That… makes no sense,” Rarity said.

“Does it ever make sense when Discord’s involved,” Fluttershy answered. “A-anyway, could you please take care of Marble and take her somewhere nice and quiet?”

Rarity smiled. “Of course I can. Marble, are you ready to go?”

Marble nodded, grabbed her saddlebags and trotted to the door. She didn’t hesitate in opening it and walking out to meet Rarity. Fluttershy followed albeit not as quickly. Rarity looked back at Fluttershy and asked, “Could you do me a favor?”

“Um… not with Discord around.”

“That’s okay. I just need somepony to draw me one of those neighponese cartoon characters. Sweetie Belle discovered something called Sailor Pony Moon. She wants me to get her a picture of her and her friends drawn as the characters,” Rarity said. “I remembered you were good at drawing so I thought I would ask you.”

Fluttershy beamed. “I would love too! Oh and I have some Sailor Pony Moon stuff I could give her… not out of my collection, but um… other stuff that I don’t need anymore or that I have too much of…”

“You like the comic?” Rarity asked. “It’s nothing but fighting, flirtation, and weird… stuff.”

Fluttershy pawed at the floor with a hoof. “I… um… might have read a book or two… and their called manga, not comics.”

“Their black and white and you read them backwards,” Rarity said. “They give me a headache… but if you like it maybe Sweetie Belle can talk to you about it instead of me? I tried to get into it but I simply can’t.”

“I’d love to! I haven’t had a good manga reading buddy in a very long time,” Fluttershy said.

“Good.” Rarity started walking and Marble followed. “I’ll send her down sometime and you two can nerd out.”

They walked together for awhile, keeping to the outskirts of town where there were fewer ponies. This made Marble happy. Rarity however looked like she had a plan brewing and that started to worry her. Marble didn’t like it when plans were made without her consent. After all, Pinkie’s been doing it for three days now.

“Marble,” Rarity said. “You got some money for working from Fluttershy, no?”

Marble nodded.

“Oh that’s good. Would you like to stop by one of the stores?” Rarity asked.

Marble looked up at her and blinked.

“We could go to Bonbon’s and get some candy, or we could go shopping for accessories, or even look at the antique store!” Rarity giggled. “Or if you’re anything like your sister you’ll want to check out the toy store.”

Marble shook her head.

“You don’t want to spend it at all?” Rarity asked.

Marble opened her mouth, and stopped. There were some things she wanted to buy, if she could find them. She had to stop, forcing Rarity to wait for her as she checked her wallet. She then wrote down on her journal.

“Are you familiar with the Great and Powerful Trixie?
My sister doesn’t know this, but I think she sells merchandise here in Ponyville.
Can we go look at it? I like magic."

Marble could only hope that the excuse of liking magic was enough to make Rarity take her without question.

Rarity frowned. “You like magic? Like magic shows?”

“Mmhmm.”

“So magicians?”

“Mmhmm.”

Rarity let out a sigh. “She’s not always the nicest person, I mean, she’s not a bad pony but sometimes she… is not pleasant to be around. Your sister has a problem with her as well, and I wouldn’t want to get myself into trouble.”

Marble let out a sigh. She couldn’t blame Rarity for not taking her if she could get in trouble. Of course Pinkie Pie would make this hard for her too.

“But if you swear to never tell your sister, I can take you to the two colts that sell posters and such of her,” Rarity said. “Just… their very friendly so if you don’t want them to hug you you’ll need to stay back.”

Marble beamed up at her. “MMHMM!”

“Then it’s settled, let’s get you a poster to celebrate your love of magicians,” Rarity exclaimed.

Marble’s heart stopped dead in its tracks. Just behind Rarity stood four ponies. Princess Twilight Sparkle, her apprentice, and another unicorn she didn’t recognize. Then there was the one unicorn stood out amongst the others. Trixie Lulamoon, the greatest magician of all time.

“Now if we head straight down this ro-“ Rarity began.

She was cut off as Marble galloped past her and straight for Trixie. Only a few feet away did Trixie seem to notice her presence and the mare’s horn glowed purple. Marble was stopped mid step.

“Marble! You can’t,” Trixie said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

Marble blinked at her. What, but why?

“I just… something really bad just happened to me okay. I can’t give you that sort of pain. Not yet,” Trixie explained.

Marble frowned at her. I don’t care! I swore that I would come back for you, and that I would always stay by your side. Your pain is my pain!

Trixie’s lip quivered. “Marble… just… wait a few hours okay. Can you do that for me? Just a few hours and I’ll be stable enough okay.”

Rarity joined Marble’s side. “You two know each other?”

Trixie looked at her and her eyes popped out of her head. “She’s… we worked on the same farm. She’s my biggest fan.”

Rarity nodded. “I forget that you know Pinkie’s family. Though I can’t tell if you’re threatening her or respecting her Marble Sense.”

“Of Course Trixie would respect her-“ Trixie cut herself off. Marble could see the pain etched across the mare’s features. Those eyes had never before looked so hurt. All Marble wanted to do was make her better.

“I’m glad to hear that,” Rarity said. “We were just going to buy some merchandise from Snips and Snails. Merchandise of you. It makes me feel a lot better about going behind Pinkie’s back like this when I know that you are friendly to her.”

Trixie grinned, but it didn’t hide the pain from Marble. “Oh, well you tell those two they better give you the Fan Service Discount. If they don’t Trixie won’t let them help out in the next show.” Trixie met Marble’s eyes. “Trixie is going to the Everfree Forest and will return later tonight. Trixie is going to be home, all night long, so if anypony should happen by her house, say at a usual time perhaps, Trixie shall be awaiting them with open legs.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Are you propositioning me?”

Trixie didn’t miss a beat. “Are you saying no?”

“Trixie, I’m straight,” Rarity said flatly. “… go ask… uh… Starlight are you, you know?”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “I was a cult leader. I had sex with pretty much everypony in that town. I don’t think sexual alignments apply to me anymore.”

Rarity’s mouth hit the ground. Marble stared at the mare in complete disbelief and the orange unicorn broke out into a fit of hideous laughter.

“Oh I do like this one,” the orange mare said. “Cant I keep her, Twilight?”

Twilight groaned, “Be my guest.”

Chapter Eleven: Kitty Kitty

Marble Magic

Chapter Eleven: Kitty Kitty

Written by TheCrimsonDM

The room was dark as Baast opened her eyes. She slowly looked down at the ceiling and for a half second she panicked. Then she looked around at the upside down floor where the large bed was firmly rooted as if to say, ‘take that gravity, I make my own rules!’ A sweet smile grew over Baast’s lips.

“It has been thousands of years since I’ve done that,” she purred.

The large serpent stirred next to her and coiled around her like a circle of warmth. “Oh yes, I’ve forgotten how lovely it is to spend a few days doing nothing but creating such beautiful chaos.”

Baast rolled over and met the giant yellow eyes with their red irises and licked the tip of that horse-like muzzle. “Love, darling, love is such a chaotic thing.”

“We could be fighting one minute,” Discord said.

“Or making love the next,” She purred.

“I do oh so love playing with my kitty,” His tongue whipped out and washed across her body leaving a pleasurable tingling sensation.

“Oh shush, you just like licking pussycat,” She said playfully.

“Oh, yes, I, do.”

She gave a sharp cry of pleasure as his tongue found somewhere sensitive to lick. “Again? You naughty boy.”

“What day is it?” He asked.

“How should I know, we’ve been in this room for… ever since I was freed from that stupid orb. Those cretins think that just because I am in love with the spirit of chaos that I am some sort of evil monster.”

“We did get caught having sex in the public drinking fountain.”

“That wasn’t evil… it was sexy.”

“It was pure chaos of the best kind, the best part was when the ponies drank the water they started having an orgy right there,” Discord said with a large grin. “That was some beautiful disorder.”

“Can we do it again?”

“As a professional chaos spirit I would be remiss if we did the same thing twice, but we could try a few other things that have come to mind since you’re arrival. I was thinking of showing up in Twilight’s bathroom while she was in the middle of her morning routine.”

“That sounds like fun.”

“Oh it will be.”

He pulled his head away. “It’s Wednesday.”

“Oh really? Why does that matter?”

“I have tea with Fluttershy today. I allow her to choose the day, and I choose the hour, so long as it doesn’t disrupt her sleep. I wouldn’t want her to be any more angry with me than she usually is,” Discord said.

“You’re terrible,” Baast cried. “Leaving your kitty behind to go flirt with some, some, some floozy of a pony!”

“I am not flirting with her. She’s my friend…” Discord looked down at the ceiling. “She saved me from a dark place, and it’s been a struggle trying to not go there again. Some days I feel as though the only thing I can do is hurt things, and all I want to do is hurt them more. Other days I realize that chaos doesn’t have to hurt anypony, it can wonderful, creative, and full of life. The later days exist only because Fluttershy tries so hard to heal me.”

“You were broken when I left, weren’t you?” Baast asked. She pawed the side of his body.

“You’re back now, and I feel for the first time that true chaos sits within my grasp. We could create all manner of things together, what do you say,” He met her eyes. “Will you spend an eternity making chaos with me?”

“Oh, Dizzy, I thought you’d never ask. Of course I will!” she licked his muzzle again.

“Good, because I have some grand news for you and that body you are borrowing,” Discord said.

“Oh, you noticed that?”

“The cat inside of you is sleeping, but if he ever knew the things we did together he might just have a heart attack,” Discord joked. “So I want you to get your own body, it’s relatively easy. That orb holds some of your DNA, and old Goldielocks was doing research on how to create clones. He actually succeeded at it, but it requires some special spell.”

“Where is he now? I can get that spell from him in no time,” Baast said.

“Not quite so fast love,” Discord said. “He’s dead. You’ll need to go to his secret library and research lab located in the heart of the Everfree Forest. It’s somewhere inside an old ruined castle, one that’s chalk full of dark magic and ancient secrets.”

“Sounds like a party.”

“Promise me something.” His eyes turned deadly serious. “Don’t kill anyone.”

“Discord, I’m chaotic, not evil.”

“Baast, that’s not an answer.”

Baast growled. “You don’t trust me anymore?”

“I am the spirit of chaos, I don’t even trust myself.”

“Fine,” She stuck her nose up in the air. “I promise I won’t kill anypony. I haven’t purrsonally killed anypony since I got back and I don’t plan on doing so now. Mroew. Good enough fur you?”

He smiled. “Oh I will do such crazy things to you later that you’ll be driven sane.”

“That better be a promise, Mister.”

“I’m Discord, I don’t make promises.”

***

The forest had been dark, dank, and dreary. Trixie hated every single second of walking through it, and by the time she finally arrived at the old ruins she was ready to pack up and go home. Mud clung to her fur and tail and every single noise caused her to jump. She was told to expect monsters, anything form giant spiders to a manticore. Somehow though, the fact that nothing had attacked them during the entire trip was even worse.

The desolate ruins didn’t look any better with sunlight on them then they would have if it was the dead of night. Old stone walls lay half crumbled, what had once been pristine marble floors were so covered with dirt and plant life that Trixie could hardly tell there had ever been a floor. Spider webs covered the corners of the castle and various critters scurried away on their approach.

A small stone table sat with various candy wrappers and empty cans of soda on top of it. Starlight approached the table and took a seat. “Come on everypony, might as well take a break since we came all this way.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Starlight, have you been coming here often?”

“Every chance I get, it’s quiet, peaceful, and has a lot of magical secrets.”

“Well,” Twilight said as she nodded toward the castle. “I’m going to take a peek inside, you three can stay here if you want.”

Just as Twilight started walking off, Starlight followed after her. “I’ll come too.”

The two of them quickly vanished into the ruins leaving Trixie alone with her mom. Trixie found a dry place to sit and looked up at the sky. The clouds up above were quickly darkening. The air here was tense, and Trixie could already feel the weather changing. Nopony controlled the Everfree’s weather, so that meant that it could rain any time without any reason.

“You okay?” Marigold asked as she took a seat next to Trixie.

“I guess,” Trixie said lamely.

“If I had wings I’d wrap you up and hold you close,” Marigold said. She wrapped a leg over Trixie’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Guess we’ll have to do with normal hugs.”

“It’s going to rain,” Trixie said bitterly.

“Yeah, we need to find the secret lab before it does. I do not want to get caught out here in a storm,” Marigold said.

“Yeah.”

“So, your attempts at getting that unicorn’s attention kinda failed,” Marigold said. “You want any help in learning how to flirt?”

Trixie’s face heated up. “What? No, I don’t even… that was just to get her off my case. It’s… easier to let them assume that I did something wrong sometimes than to tell them the truth.”

Marigold nodded. “You were actually eyeing up that gray filly.”

“She’s not a filly! She’s older than me,” Trixie argued.

“You’re good friends with the gray one I take it.”

“Yeah, we are… I uh… I am pretty sure her sister would kill me if she found out that we were though,” Trixie said.

“Friends? Or because you have a crush on her?” Marigold asked.

“Er… both.”

“Her sister sounds awful, who wouldn’t want you in their family?”

Trixie coughed. “Marble’s sister.”

“Is there anything you can do to fix that?”

“I tried, I really did, but she’s just so mean to me… she hates me. I guess I can’t blame her, I’ve always got her friends wrapped up into all sorts of crazy trouble. I wouldn’t trust myself much either… and then I keep trying to defend myself and go overboard. I dumped ice cream in Pinkie’s hair last time.”

Marigold laughed. “That sounds awful, but I bet she deserved it.”

“Completely, but that doesn’t make it right.”

“Maybe I could help?”

“No,” Trixie snapped. Her heart raced at the idea of what her mom would do if Pinkie even said something rude. “Please don’t. I can handle this myself, I promise.”

“If you’re sure.”

Twilight and Starlight appeared from the edge of the ruins. “We found it!”

“The book or the library?” Marigold asked.

“Both!”

Trixie pushed herself up and brushed the dirt off her rump. “It’s about time, Trixie was getting bored sitting out here.”

“You could have come with us,” Twilight said.

“And leave Trixie’s mother alone?” Trixie said. “For shame, Twilight. Trixie’s mom needs protection too.”

“Ugh, there’s no winning with you,” Twilight said.

Trixie grinned. “Oh there’s winning, Trixie wins all the time.”

Starlight laughed a little. “Well, guess she just showed you up.”

Twilight frowned. “Come on.”

The four of them, led by Twilight entered the ruins. Despite the age and destruction that this castle had suffered, a large section of it was still standing and in fairly decent shape. Slowly they made their way into one of the halls and walked for awhile until they reached a wall that had knocked down, black scorch marks lined the edges of the gaping hole.

“What happened here?” Trixie asked.

Starlight shrugged. “You ever see a powerful unicorn sneeze? It was a long time ago.”

They walked inside and stopped at the sight of a doorway. A bookshelf was attached to the wall and had been drug outward like a door. Trixie frowned. “Really, a secret entrance behind a bookshelf. Isn’t that a little… classic?”

“Golden Oak did like doing things the old fashioned way, well… most things,” Marigold said.

“It’s just in here,” Twilight said with a skip in her step.

They followed her through the doorway and down a staircase. Once at the bottom they found a room lit by various crystals each shining their own colored light. Orange, blue, green, purple, and even yellow lights all filled the room. It was a venerable rainbow of light. A dozen shelves lined the walls, each filled with books. Several stone tables stood in the middle of the room with all sorts of objects on it.

“What is this?” Trixie asked as she walked in.

“It’s an old wizard’s laboratory!” Twilight exclaimed with a bounce. She quickly trotted over to one of the tables and picked up a round orb. “This here is called a memory orb! Ponies can put memories in it and other ponies can view the memories. It’s fantastic!”

“Uh-huh… that sounds sort of scary,” Trixie said. she looked down at a long string with various sized beads attached to it. The beads were ordered from smallest to largest. The last one about half the size of her hoof. They also smelled funny. Trixie picked it up and dangled it from her hooves. “Um… this is magic too?”

A wicked grin spread over Marigold’s lips. “Oh it sure is. I can get all the way to the last one.”

“Um… what?”

“Their anal beads,” Marigold answered without shame.

Trixie dropped it and shrieked.

Twilight stepped forward. “No their not! Those are telekinetic training beads. You can move them up and down the string with your magic and their supposed to help you get better control over your telekinesis…”

Marigold gave her a knowing smile.

“You already knew that didn’t you?” Twilight asked.

“Of course, but how could I avoid seeing that look on Trixie’s face?” Marigold said.

Trixie growled. “That was not nice. Trixie is not pleased.”

“Oh go right on into third person, you know it doesn’t actually infuriate me, you’re just telegraphing how upset you are,” Marigold said. “It’s cute.”

“Trixie is not cu- er Trixie is not trying to be cute!”

Twilight rolled her eyes and took a look at some of the books on the wall. It took a few minutes before she stopped skimming through them and found the one she wanted. She picked it up with her magic and began reading it. “Aha, you see here, this is what I wanted. Ancient heroes of the Sunlands. We have all sorts of cats here, including Baast.”

She flipped through several pages until she reached one and stopped to read it aloud. “It would seem that Saddle Arabia had not always been the place of diverse culture, equality and freedom that we know it as today. Once upon a time it was actually the largest slave empire in the whole of Equestria. During this time there was a group of six heroes, all working in tandem with Discord to destroy the evil empire. We all tend to forget that Discord is a spirit of chaos, a working cog in the machine that is our world. When evil rules over us all he will fight for good and vice versa.

“Now these six heroes were of particular interest to me. I have yet to find out any information on who most of them were but I do know their leader is. Baast, often viewed now as the goddess of protection, she was originally the holder of the virtue of war. She along with her friends toppled the evil empire. What really interest me is that she is also the only known creature to ever fall in love with Discord and keep a working relationship with him.

“That however was her downfall. She and Discord had gotten up to many hijinks that although humorous and often times in good nature, they ended up breeding hatred towards the two of them. When Discord vanished one day, I believe this is when he went south to the badlands and the demon empire, the citizens along with the Arch Wizard choose this time to get revenge on Baast.

“They branded her a traitor, and criminalized her for all time. Her punishment was to be locked away into a sphere which was set atop a stave. They sealed her spirit away and until this day she remains locked in that eternal prison. Should a creature of magic, unicorn, dragon, umbrum or wisp ever try to use her stave it will set off a chain reaction of destruction. It is a defense mechanism of the stave itself, to keep Baast locked away.

“Why did they put this devastating enchantment on it? Because simply put she can still break free. The fear is that if any of her bloodline should touch the stave then she could be freed. She might not have been evil before, but she was certainly full of dark magic. She used dark magic to destroy the evil in her lands and its possible that she’s been corrupted by it. Should she ever be freed we will have the equivalent of a demi-god in cat form running around and likely trying to solve problems.

“It is my belief that we should lock her away in the Hoofington Safe. My partner Marigold should be able to adequately keep it safe. Until such a time as I can find some other information and make a better decision, I will not risk any experiments with the stave.”

Twilight shut the book and shook her head. “So she’s a demigod?”

“Sounds like it,” Starlight said. “Does that mean I need to fight her?”

“I sure hope not,” Twilight said. “Maybe Discord can help us… become friends with her?”

“You don’t sound too sure of that,” Starlight said.

“That’s because it’s Discord and I just can’t trust him… but if there is even a chance that she’s not evil, just misguided, then we can help her,” Twilight said. She looked at Starlight. “You know exactly what I mean.”

Starlight looked down at the floor. “Yeah… we should try.”

Trixie reared up and slammed her hooves down on the table. “Are you forgetting that she killed my village? That she took my friend’s body?”

“Trixie,” Marigold said. “The stave did that to us, not Baast. Baast was still sealed away when you discovered her correct?”

“Yes, until Guile jumped on top of the shiny orb because he wanted to keep it,” Trixie said.

“Then why blame her for the destruction of our home?”

Trixie growled. “Then we destroy the stave!”

“I can get behind that,” Marigold said.

“First we need to try and help Baast though,” Twilight said. “I don’t want to risk endangering her by destroying the stave too early. Perhaps we can get her a new body?”

“Really?” Trixie said. “You’d help that body thieving murderer?”

“I’d help a town enslaving madmare,” Twilight retorted.

Trixie looked down at the table. “Fine! It’s not like I’m allowed to be a part of this anyway!” Trixie dropped to all fours and turned around. Every step of the stairs were stomped on with extra oomph to show those ponies below just how upset she was. By the time she got to the top of the stairs her hooves were a little sore and she was beginning to calm down.

What if Baast isn’t really evil?

The thought was stuck with her as she walked into the hallway. The sounds of ponies following her was but a brief distraction as she tried to wrap her mind around the question. There was no telling what the cat really wanted, but after a thousand years of being locked away, Trixie was sure there were a few things that she would want to do. Getting laid would probably up at the top of the list right next to eating chocolate.

A thought struck her. “Girls, I know where Baast is! She’s with Discord!”

Trixie turned around and was about to repeat herself when she saw her friends standing at the entrance to the knocked over all. Between Trixie and the others was a purple cat sitting proudly atop the wicked stave. A chill filled the hallway as the cat looked over her shoulder back at Trixie and smiled evilly.

“Oh, I was, but I’m here meow.”

Chapter Twelve: Last Embrace

Magic Marble

Chapter Twelve: Last Embrace

Written by TheCrimsonDM

“Baast!” Trixie cried as she back peddled.

Baast licked her lips. “Oh, I recognize your smell. You’re the pony who made this body of mine stink so badly. Do you know how hard it is to get the smell of pony out of your fur?”

Twilight stepped forward. “Baast, leave her be. She’s just a unicorn.”

Baast turned back toward Twilight and her ears folded back. “What are you?”

“I’m an alicorn,” Twilight said proudly.

“Not your race, I meant what kind of magic is in you… you’re so… familiar,” Baast hissed. The stave hovered closer to Twilight’s group. “Dizzy warned me that this might happen. Reincarnation is a terrible idea and makes almost no sense when you’re a spirit of chaos like meowself.”

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Never you mind youngling, I am here for knowledge.”

“I can help you, I mean depending on what it is that you want.”

“I want my body back.”

Starlight gave a sour look to Twilight. “We don’t even know if she’s evil or not yet. You can’t just offer to help her.”

A cold laugh escaped Baast’s lips. “Concepts like good and evil are lies. There are only actions and consequences. If there is anything my Dizzy has taught me over the years it’s that you mortals have such a high value on weak minded concepts that it’s insulting.”

“But… what about friendship, and harmony?” Twilight asked.

“I learned that both of those concepts are garbage the moment my friends began dying. Trust me youngling, when you start watching your group die off one by one leaving you all alone, you’ll learn the true meaning of friendship.” Baast flicked her tail and moved the stave flew forward a few feet. “Now be dear and let me pass.”

A teal aura surrounded Starlight’s horn. “Not until we know if you’re going to use this ‘new body’ for evil. Besides we still have the issue of you stealing someone’s body.”

“Oh this?” Baast rubbed a paw across her chest. “I’ll give it back and turn him into his old self as soon as I have my own form.”

“Not good enough,” Starlight said. “What are you going to do with that new body of yours?”

“Whatever I please,” Baast replied. A pink light surrounded the cat and the room grew colder. “Now move.”

Trixie looked into her mom’s eyes. “Please do what she says.”

Marigold glanced at the others. “Baast is threatening us, Princess Twilight, Starlight Glimmer, should we not consider her actions as a reflection of who she really is?”

Twilight frowned. “Maybe she’s just scared. Trixie gets that way when she’s scared.”

Starlight growled and pawed at the floor. “Yeah, but Trixie doesn’t have this kind of power. Can’t you feel it? Baast could level this entire castle.”

“So could you,” Twilight said.

“Yeah,” Starlight flashed a grin, “I could.”

The pink light grew in intensity. “I am a fan of the rule of three. So I offer you one final chance to get out of my way and leave me be. Or else.”

“Or else what?” Starlight asked.

“Or else this!” Baast’s aura grew dark, almost red and Trixie felt the ground beneath her vanish. She was lifted up into the air by an invisible force, and the pink light surrounding her squeezed at her. Trixie’s own horn lit up as she tried to fight off the magic holding her, but it was like coming across a brick wall. There was nothing she could do to it.

“Put my baby down!” Marigold cried. Both her and Twilight’s horns lit up.

Trixie saw three very powerful magical ponies standing off against one demigod of unknown strength and knew that she was the very center of the conflict. She couldn’t even move, it was like her entire body had been stuck in concrete. This was the last situation in Equestria that she wanted to be in.

“Baast, just talk to us, we can work this out,” Twilight pleaded.

“No, I don’t think so. The last time I tried to work things out I was trapped inside of an orb for a few thousand years. Now it’s time that you either give up and leave with your friend, or you find out what the consequence of your actions will be.”

“But it would be your actions doing this, not ours,” Twilight said. “We’re only standing here because you won’t trust us.”

“Trust is for the weak who can’t stand up on their own!” Baast cried.

The world rushed by Trixie as she was thrown through the air. Her body hurtled toward the group and she let out an ear piercing scream. Both an amber colored glow and a teal colored glow surrounded her and she was stopped mid air. Baast flew past Trixie. The cat was surrounded by a pink bubble. Trixie watched in helpless horror. The pink bubble crashed into Twilight’s head! The bubble didn’t even slow down as it continued into the room and down the stairs. Twilight hit the ground.

Trixie dropped and landed on her hooves. There was blood running down the side of Twilight’s head. Twilight wasn’t moving and her eyes were closed. Trixie’s heart was racing with fear.

Starlight looked down at Twilight and snarled. “I’m going to skin that cat alive!”

Marigold trotted to the princess’s side and covered Twilight in her amber aura. Twilight rolled over. “Crap, this looks bad. Starlight, we need to get her to a doctor.”

“But what about Baast?” Starlight asked.

“Let her make a new body, we can always stop her later. Right now we have wounded to tend too,” Marigold stated.

“You’re right.” Starlight’s horn lit up and she grimaced. A second layer of magic covered her horn, and then a third. “This is going to suck.”

Trixie blinked, and the world flashed white. She blinked again, and Trixie saw herself in the emergency room of the hospital. The others were here as well. Starlight shook her head, sat down, and looked sick. Marigold wasted no time in getting a few nurses together to help Twilight.

Starlight cringed. “Oh I hate that spell. I’m, I, ah” she stood up galloped to the nearest waste bin and shoved her muzzle into it. Trixie tried not to listen to Starlight retching, she was already feeling ill herself and didn’t want to follow in the mare’s hoofsteps.

After Twilight was taken away Marigold walked over to Trixie’s side and took a seat. “Well this became a bloody mess.”

“Will she be okay?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah, she will. Maybe she’ll have a concussion and a hard time using magic for a few days but she’ll be okay.” Marigold looked up at the ceiling tiles. “The better question is; with Twilight out of commission, what do we do?”

“Get the mane six together?” Trixie suggested.

“No,” Starlight said. She pulled her muzzle out of the bin. “Without Twilight around to lead them, they are a bunch of fumbling ponies. We keep an eye on the situation and hope that it doesn’t get any worse. If it starts looking bad enough Twilight has a list of ponies to contact who can actually help with dangerous situations. It does include some of the mane six, but not all of them.”

“I guess the elements of harmony don’t really work unless all six of them are working together anyway right?” Trixie asked.

“Well if we had a replacement for Twilight it would work just fine, but Sunset kinda lives in another world,” Starlight said. “And Twilight didn’t exactly put any other replacement ponies down for her on the list.”

“There’s a list of replacement ponies?” Trixie asked.

Starlight looked at Trixie and her frown deepened. “Yeah… for example, if Rainbow Dash is out of commission, we can use Spike. If Fluttershy is out, Minuette. Etc.”

“There has to be somepony,” Trixie said.

“Trixie, Twilight isn’t even sure what the element of magic is, okay. It clearly is not about magical aptitude, because that’s got nothing to do with harmony. Finding a replacement for her is like finding a needle in the sea.”

“Um… that’s not how the saying goes.”

“It’s more relevant,” Starlight said.

Trixie looked out the window. The storm clouds hovering over the Everfree Forest were growing thick and dark. Luckily it wasn’t affecting the town yet, but it was looking like a real storm. She couldn’t be sure that it wasn’t related to Baast.

***

Marble shied away under the intense glare of Pinkie Pie. Ever since Pinkie returned home to find Marble and Rarity she had done nothing but glare at them in silence. Pinkie sat in her pink reclining chair, holding a cup of chocolate milk and staring bitterly at the pair.

Marble was wearing a shirt that had a picture of Trixie on it with the message, “You can be Great and Powerful too!” Next to her was a signed photo of Trixie’s face with her winking for the camera. Finally there were two more posters on the wall, these ones both detailed Trixie in very different lights. One had Trixie standing up on stage looking majestic, the other had Trixie laying on a bed and looking sensual.

Pinkie Pie took a sip of her milk. “Okay. I’m just going to ask this once. What the hay is up with all the Trixie crap?”

“Pinkie Pie!” Rarity said. “This is not crap, it’s part of Marble’s celebrity collection. She asked me specifically to get her Trixie stuff, and you know what happened?”

“You came home with junk?”

“Trixie herself gave your sister a discount because she was really nice.” Rarity looked away. “She also tried to seduce me and was broken hearted to find out that I’m straight… but that’s not exactly relevant.”

“So she gave you both a bunch of stuff so she could sleep with Rarity?” Pinkie Pie rolled her eyes. “Why am I not surprised?”

“Pinkie Pie, it didn’t happen like that,” Rarity defended. “I know you have your problems with the mare, but that doesn’t make her evil.”

“Yes, it does.”

“Pinkie Pie, she’s just… I think she’s scared of you, darling,” Rarity said.

Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow. “So she humiliates me in public?”

“If she felt threatened and scared, yes.” Rarity smiled. “Us herbivores have a nasty habit of attacking perceived threats before we get eaten. I mean, maybe she heard about the cupcake thing?”

“Look I heard the rumors too, but I swear that I don’t bake my enemies into cupcakes and give them out to foals,” Pinkie Pie said. “That was a joke.”

Marble’s eyes widened. Who could believe such a thing?

“What if Trixie believes that you are actually dangerous? Wouldn’t it make sense for her to try and be the bigger dog so that you don’t hurt her?” Rarity asked.

“I’m not dangerous, I have never once showed her or anypony any reason to think otherwise,” Pinkie Pie defended.

Marble stamped a hoof, pulled out her notebook and wrote out exactly what happened at Twilight’s castle. She then showed it to Rarity.

Rarity gasped. “You tried to attack her at Twilight’s Castle?”

“She was getting on my nerves and was up to no good again.”

“Pinkie Pie, if your sister Maud ever found out about this she might just ground you for life,” Rarity said. “Don’t you think you should apologize for assaulting her?”

“No!”

“But-“

“No!”

“Really come o-“

“I said NO!” Pinkie Pie scream sent a shockwave out that blew back Rarity’s mane.

For a long moment Rarity sat there staring blankly and said nothing. Finally she blinked and seemed to collect herself. Since half of her mane was stuck awkwardly back she had to smooth it back into place. “Okay, Pinkie Pie, have it your way. Just promise me and Marble that you will not ruin her fandom. She likes Trixie’s stage persona, and I imagine that a lot of shy ponies do. I mean, how could such a shy mare not love the brave audacious courage that somepony like Rainbow Dash or Trixie has?”

“Easy, they don’t love it.”

“Pinkie, don’t ruin this for your sister.”

“Ruin what?” Pinkie Pie said as she turned her head.

“It might just be a phase.”

“Whatever.”

“Pinkie Pie…”

“Whatever!”

Rarity looked at Marble. “I am so sorry that she’s acting like this. Honestly I didn’t know she would do this, please believe me. I know that if my sister came home and she was suddenly enamored with some new pop singer or famous actress, even if I didn’t like them I would accept my sister for it.”

“What if she came home with a Blue Blood t-shirt?” Pinkie Pie asked.

Rarity cringed. “I’d look the other way.”

“So you wouldn’t lecture her, or ground her, or, or, or burn the darn shirt in a fire!”

Rarity’s mouth dropped, along with Marble’s. There was a hint of fear in Rarity’s voice as she spoke, “Pinkie Pie, I would never do that to my sister just because she likes somepony that I personally hate. I mean she’s friends with Discord and although I would rather stab out his eyes than let him near her, I don’t. I don’t put her down for it, I don’t punish her for it, I don’t do any of that. Unless Discord proves himself to be a menace to my sister, which he hasn’t, than I will not do anything to hurt him.”

Pinkie Pie blinked. “Oh… really?”

“Of course.”

“So are you trying to tell me that I’m pulling a Twilight Sparkle here? You know with the way she was acting super creepy around her brother during the wedding?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“If only I had a mirror, I believe you would find yourself looking quite like an alicorn princess right now,” Rarity said.

“Darn it… I didn’t mean to come off as a creep.” Pinkie Pie let out a sigh and looked at Marble. “I’m sorry that I’m being a giant butt over here. I’m just a grumpy butt today.”

Rarity smiled, and then she looked thoughtful for a moment. “You don’t happen to actually have a creepy relationship with your sister do you?”

“What? Of course not!”

“Okay, that’s fine. I mean if you did you could tell me and I’d help you out in any way I could, but if not that’s just fine,” Rarity said.

“It’s almost like you want me to practice incest.”

“Of course not, I just… think you two could be… er, n-nevermind. I’m reading too many of my terrible romance novels.” A nervous smile came over Rarity’s lips as she waved a hoof dismissively. “Just forget that I said anything, and I’m sorry.”

Pinkie Pie nodded. “Already forgotten and forgiven.”

Marble walked over to her wall and took a seat. She pointed a hoof at it and made a whining sound.

Pinkie Pie let out a sigh. “Yes you can keep your Trixie stuff… I won’t punish you for it. Just remember that she’s not a nice pony, and to keep your guard up. She’s always looking for a way to cause trouble and hurt me or my friends.”

Marble shook her head, but smiled. Looking at her new Trixie collection she felt like she had won a difficult battle. It also left her with an odd feeling that everything would be okay. She actually felt confident in herself. If only just by a little.

Pinkie Pie then picked up a bag off the table and shook it. “So now that that’s over. I actually have something to talk to you about. Why do you have magical items in this bag?”

Marble opened her mouth, and a tiny squeak escaped.

“Trixie told me she was looking for magical artifacts last night,” Pinkie Pie said. “She was snooping around my room and I thought that she was just being evil again. Then I found this, this morning. Marble, what are these?”

Marble gulped and wrote down what she knew about them. She gave the notebook to Pinkie Pie. Pinkie took one look at the book, smiled and gave it back. “Confidence Marbles eh? Sounds like the perfect magical item for you. Too perfect perhaps?”

Marble shook her head.

“If Trixie is right, then these might be dangerous. I want you to be extra careful,” Pinkie Pie said. She gave the bag back to Marble.

Marble nodded.

“Good, now I’m hungry and I’m sick and tired of being angry. I want to be happy again. So can we all go downstairs and get some delicious cake to eat?”

Everypony agreed on that.

***

“It’s my fault,” Trixie said as she lay on her couch.

Marigold was busy looking through each one of the cabinets. “No it’s not.” She stopped when she found the right cupboard. “Okay, glasses, good.”

“Every time I go around those six I just cause trouble. I’m a curse to them,” Trixie said.

“That’s preposterous. This was unavoidable, and you should know that. Baast is at fault not you.” Marigold looked around and for the seventh time since arriving at Trixie’s house said, “Sweet heavens this place is tiny. Do you really live here? It’s not even fit to rent.”

“Mom!” Trixie exclaimed. “I’m worried about Twilight and all you can do is complain about my crappy home. It was the best I could afford okay.”

“I’m sorry, maybe I can help you get a better job?” Marigold suggested.

“No… I like my job. I just wish I could be more popular,” Trixie said.

Marigold put a hoof to her chin. “I could probably help you with that.”

A loud whistle filled the house and Marigold quickly filled the two glasses with hot water. She dropped a teabag in each along with some honey and sugar before returning to the couch and setting the glasses down. Trixie stared at her glass and the steam rising form it.

“Now don’t drink it yet, it’s burning hot,” Marigold said softly.

“I know that mom,” Trixie said. She let out a sigh and leaned back into the couch. “I hate feeling like I failed everypony. I was too weak to help out.”

“That’s why Twilight didn’t want you facing Baast.”

“See, it was my fault.”

“No it wasn’t, baby. We had no idea that Baast would show up. It was a terrible situation for all of us, and nopony is to blame. I promise you that Twilight will be okay, and then we can all get together and have some cake and tea or something.”

Trixie looked up at her mom. “Really?”

“Of course!” Marigold offered her a kind smile. “Now it’s getting pretty late and I think you must be tired after such a long day.”

“Will you hold me?”

“I’ll cuddle you to sleep, I promise.” Marigold looked at the series of books lying on the table. Somehow Marigold had managed to grab these before everything went to Tartarus and it was practically all they had to work with. “I’ll continue my research later. It was going to be a long night anyway.”

A yawn fought its way out of Trixie’s mouth. “Thank you, mommy.”

Marigold sniffled. “Don’t mention it. I love you, baby.”

“I love you too.”

***

It was a half hour to midnight and Pinkie Pie was fast asleep. Marble snuck out of the bed, and stopped dead in her tracks as Pinkie Pie rolled over. She reached out with a hoof while mumbling, “Pour frosting all over it… yes, mmm just like that. Frosting.” Pinkie’s entire body shuddered as she let out a very sensual moaned.

Marble did the sane thing and backed away, slowly. Never would she question her sister about what kinds of dreams she had. Instead she tried very hard to put that memory into a little safe in the back of her mind, lock it away, bury the key, and then build a house on top of the key.

Marble got all the way down the stairs and up to the front door before she stopped to check her saddlebags. Everything she could need was in them. Now satisfied that she was good she reached out for the handle and paused. A silhouette walked past the door, illuminated by the orange lantern light from just behind it.

Rainbow Dash’s voice came through the door muffled but clear enough to hear. “We’re here so that Trixie doesn’t try breaking in again. You know that Pinkie Pie has private records on the entire town plus some in there. Even secrets about celebrities.”

“I know that,” Rarity argued back. “I just don’t think that she should have such things in the first place. It is quite rude… and I read my file. She should not know that much about me.”

“At least she isn’t calling you a broken mess that can’t handle commitment,” Rainbow Dash said.

“She said broken home, Rainbow Dash. She did not outright call you broken.”

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes. “Whatever, still rude.”

“Quite.”

Marble walked away and sat down at the base of the stairs. There were ponies guarding the house tonight. This presented a huge problem for her and no easy solutions presented themselves. Marble let out a sigh and looked down at the wooden floorboards.

How can I escape now?

Marble did some reconnaissance from inside the house and discovered that both Rarity and Rainbow Dash were patrolling around the house in a circular pattern. She even timed their loops to being about two minutes long with random breaks in between that lasted for random intervals. Her mind worked to figure out the best way to get out and get gone. She’d have to leave just as they finished a loop and hide behind the nearest building.

That however required risking being seen. The mere thought of being seen by anypony this late at night was enough to get her heart going. Being caught by the ponies guarding the house only made her want to scream. They were loyal to Pinkie Pie first, and that meant they would surly tell Pinkie Pie about this. As she listened in, she also heard them mention the idea that Pinkie Pie was worried that Marble might try to go out for a midnight stroll like she did at the farm. They were there to stop her as well.

That proved it, this was a terrible situation. She was going to be late for her meeting as it was, and Trixie needed hugs. Trixie needed Marble’s hugs. Even with that thought it still wasn’t enough motivation to make her risk being caught. Marble let out a breathless sigh. She was too much of a coward to even help her magician.

Wait, the Confidence Marbles!

Marble took one out and without hesitation shattered it on the floor. A boost of energy came over her and she realized that she was one of the sneakiest ponies out there. Even Pinkie Pie couldn’t find her when she really tried. Now full of determination to save her marefriend’s broken heart, she stalked to the backdoor and waited for the loop to finish.

Just as the two passed by, Marble snuck out into the darkly lit night. The door shut silently behind her and she quickly slunk away into the night. Nopony would stop her this time. The night was dark, and full of wonder. She made her way through the town, then out of it and along the road to Trixie’s house as quickly as she could. The moment she got to the door she may have been out of breath but that didn’t stop her from knocking.

There was some movement visible from behind the lit curtains and it took a moment longer to open the door than Marble wanted it too. When it did open she found herself staring at the orange unicorn from earlier and Marble’s heart stopped.

“What are you doing here so late little one?” The mare asked.

Marble’s mouth twitched. What is she doing here? Who is she anyway? She looks old, like really old. Oh no, is Trixie into older ponies? That’s not fair!

“Little one?” the mare asked again.

Marble pulled out her notebook scribbled down a sloppy note and showed it to the mare.

“I’m here to visit Trixie.

What are you doing here?”

“Oh ho, jealous are we?” the mare said. “Don’t you worry none. Trixie’s just letting her dear old mother stay with her for a few days.” She glanced at the bed. “After the big day she’s had she crashed hard. Was she expecting you?”

“Mmhmm!” Marble said.

The mare smiled. “Did you think that I was a rival? Perhaps here to steal Trixie away from you?”

Marble looked from side to side. “Mmm….”

“You don’t speak much do you?”

“Mm-mmm.”

The mare stepped aside. “Come on in. It’s going to rain soon.”

Marble walked into the house and no sooner than she did, did the first few drops of rain fall from the sky. It only took a few seconds for the few drops to turn into a wicked downpour. Marble had only experienced such weather during flood season before and the idea of walking home during the storm did not appeal to her. at the very least it would make sure that Rarity and Rainbow Dash were not in the way during her return trip home.

“I guess you’re staying the night,” The mare said as she shut the door. “If you decide to have sex with Trixie, please do so in the bathroom, or at least cover up. I really don’t want to see my daughter making it.”

Marble sat down, and all of her earlier confidence vanished in an instant. A squeak escaped her lips as her eyes budged out of her head. Marigold started laughing.

“You two haven’t had sex yet?” Marigold asked.

“Mm-mmm!”

“Have you ever had sex?”

“Mm-mmm!”

Marigold grinned slyly. “Well, you’re cute enough. If you want some… lessons, I would be willing to teach.”

Marble took a few steps back and her rear bumped into something hard. She leapt forward and spun around to see the bed and the sleeping form of the mare she cared so much for. All of Marble’s fears were washed away as she saw that sleeping face. Slowly she walked over to the side of the bed and placed a hoof gently on the side next to Trixie’s head.

For a moment Trixie cringed and then she opened her eyes. “Mommy, why are you waking up already?” Trixie saw Marble and her eyes opened all the way. A wide grin spread over her face. “Marble! You’re here!”

Marble leaned forward but Trixie pulled away. Marble stopped moving.

“I had a really, really bad day. Bad things happened today and I don’t want you to be bothered by them,” Trixie said. “But…” She bit her lower lip and closed her eyes tightly. “But I just want you so bad.”

Marble jumped up onto the bed and on top of Trixie. She wrapped her forelegs around Trixie and pulled her close. As the pain, the sorrow, and the self doubt slammed into Marble she tightened her grip and told herself that it was all for Trixie’s sake. That Trixie needed somepony to do this, not just anypony, but her specifically.

For several long minutes they stayed like that, Trixie and Marble embracing one another tightly. When Marble finally relaxed her grip, and looked into Trixie’s eyes she saw the tears running down her face. With a hoof, Marble gently wiped at Trixie’s wet cheeks. “Shhh.”

“I’m so sorry,” Trixie said.

“Shhh,” Marble said as she put a hoof over Trixie’s lips.

Once Trixie had calmed down enough, Marble leaned forward and stared into Trixie’s eyes. Trixie gulped. “I… I think I love you.”

Marble smiled knowingly. “Mmhmm.”

“You already knew that didn’t you?”

“Mmhmm.”

“D-do you… feel the same way about me?” Trixie asked.

“Mmhmm.”

“I’ll never ask you to say the words, I know you don’t like speaking. Just promise you won’t ever leave me,” Trixie asked.

“Mmhmm.” Marble said as she leaned over and gently pressed her lips against Trixie’s.

It was as if an eternity passed by in a single moment. The warm touch of Trixie’s lips, the over whelming love she felt from Trixie, and the warm body underneath her own. It all added together to make a head spinning sensation that Marble had never felt before. Part of her mind asked if this was what true love felt like, and in that moment she knew the awnser; yes it was. There was nothing that would ever keep her from loving this beautiful unicorn.

The front door was kicked open!

Three ponies jumped into the room. Pinkie Pie stared at Marble and Trixie, and Marble couldn’t pull away fast enough to stop her sister from seeing the kiss. The scream that exploded from Pinkie’s lungs was just loud enough to leave ringing in Marble’s ears.

A pair of pink hooves grabbed Marble and yanked her away from Trixie. Marble was thrown over Pinkie’s back. “I don’t ever want you to come within a hundred yards of my sister ever again! If you do I-I-I'll kill you! Do you understand that?”

"Whoa, that's intense, even for you," Rainbow Dash said.

"She's abusing my sister! What am I supposed to do? Nopony's stopped her yet. This is the last straw. She's taken all the straws and crushed them, there are no more straws, Rainbow!"

Tears were running down Trixie’s face again, and she dragged herself back to the headboard of her bed. “B-but Trixie loves Marble.”

“Screw you!” Pinkie said. She turned around and marched toward the door. “You’re just trying to hurt my family some more you evil witch! You kissed her! Her first kiss, gone to a thing like you! So shut it!”

Marble reached out toward Trixie but lost sight of her as Pinkie Pie headed out into the storm. Rainbow Dash followed behind them, but Rarity stayed.

“Aren’t you coming?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Rarity looked at Marble. “I would like to stay for a moment.” She looked at Marble, there was a guilty look in her eyes.

Pinkie Pie didn’t stop marching through the rain. “I don’t ever want to see you near that harlot again. If I do I’m killing her. I have diplomatic immunity too, I can simply claim that she was doing something super evil and I had no choice. I won’t let her corrupt and use you, not my twin sister.”

That was it. Trixie had been taken away, her dreams crushed. Marble had never seen her sister this angry before. So there was no way that Marble could see herself getting back to Trixie. Not without hurting Trixie. It was all over. The one mare in Equestria that Marble could love and it was all over. She closed her eyes and already got to work mentally packing her bags.

If Marble couldn’t have Trixie, she might as well go back home.

Chapter Thirteen: Falling Rain

Marble Magic

Chapter thirteen: Falling Rain

Written by TheCrimsonDM

The sun wasn’t shining today, and Trixie hated it. After losing Marble the night before the least the universe could have granted her was a sunny day. Still she found a new friend, and better yet, one who was offering the impossible on a silver plate for her.

Rarity sat at the table, the plate of steamed vegetables sitting in front of her had hardly been touched. “So I heard from Rainbow Dash that this storm is originating from the Everfree Forest, and if maps are to be believed at all, it’s centered over the old castle.”

Lyra took a sip of her milkshake. “You sure? I’ve only heard of storms coming out of the Everfree once or twice. Usually when something really bad is going on.”

Bonbon ignored her sandwich completely and grabbed Lyra’s hoof in her own. “It’s fine, I used to be a monster hunter remember? Before the uh… you know.”

“You know when you’re identity was revealed to the town I was really impressed,” Rarity said.

“Monster Hunter Celestials,” Trixie said. “My mom helped found the group after she killed the ursa major of Hoofington.”

“Didn’t you used to claim that?” Rarity said.

Trixie stared down at her piece of chocolate cake. “Yeah, I was stupid and foalish.”

Rarity frowned. “We are going to get you and Marble back together, I promise.”

“Why bother? I’m the villain of the story after all,” Trixie said.

“No you are not. You are a victim of Pinkie’s… bigotry. I saw the way Marble was touching you, she doesn’t touch anypony and for good reason. If she was willing to go as far as to kiss you, then you two have a bond so deep that I couldn’t bear it if you two were separated for any good amount of time,” Rarity said.

“But what can you do?” Trixie asked. “If I go near her, Pinkie Pie will kill me… and I don’t think she’s over exaggerating.”

“Me neither,” Rarity said. “But that’s only if she has time to catch you.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “We already tried the secret relationship status, we got caught and now we’re both being watched like a hawk. You told us yourself that Pinkie has you keeping an eye out on me to keep me away.”

“That’s what she thinks,” Rarity said with a wink. “But I was wracking my brain all night to come up with a plan, and then it hit me. A little old story about a unicorn wizard who fell in love with an earth pony princess. They came from different worlds and their love was forbidden by their families, so they came up with a plan for eternal happiness. I won’t go as far as they did, mostly because it ended in tragedy, but I will set you guys off on the right track.”

“If Pinkie Pie finds out what you’re doing,” Bonbon said.

“Then she will be furious, but we are close friends. I am sure she won’t do anything drastic to me.”

Bonbon looked at Lyra and then back at Rarity. “What can we do to help?”

Rarity clapped her hooves together. “Be my witnesses.”

“What are you planning?” Trixie asked.

“It is better that you don’t know the details,” Rarity said. “The devil lives there, and only I’m qualified to deal with him.”

“Uh…”

“It was a play on an old saying, I do not actually cohort with most demons or devils,” Rarity said.

Trixie smiled. “That’s good, for a moment you had me worried.”

***

“Oh come on,” Pinkie Pie said. “You don’t have to hide from me. I’m only helping you.”

Marble hid up in the rafters of the loft, just out of sight. When Pinkie Pie had her head turned around she dropped the severed head of a stuffed donkey in Pinkie’s blindspot. When Pinkie turned around and saw the decapitated donkey head with a note stuck to its forehead she frowned.

“I am not letting you go back to her!” Pinkie Pie said. “If you keep this up I will ground you… I promise! I know how to do that! I think… um… no comic books for a week.” Pinkie sounded less than confident about that.

Marble stayed hidden. There were still plenty of hostages up here with her, and she wasn’t playing around anymore. Pinkie had the doors guarded, and refused to leave her room until Marble gave up. Marble would fight for her lover, even if she couldn’t go meet her now. Pinkie Pie had the strongest deterrent just outside of her room, she had the entire town of Ponyville, awake and moving about their daily business waiting like a barbed wire electric fence. Marble couldn’t leave the house with so many ponies outside, it was too scary. Plus Pinkie had hidden the last of the Confidence Marbles which meant that Marble really was stuck in this little room.

“Marble, please, you have to believe me. Trixie is evil and she’s just using you. I don’t know what kind of magic she’s worked on you, but trust me on this she is not a good pony,” Pinkie Pie said.

Marble dropped the body of the donkey next.

“Darn it!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed after seeing the body. “Fine, be that way. I’m leaving, and when you feel more like listening to me you can apologize for destroying my friends.”

Pinkie Pie picked up the donkey’s body and head before walking out the door. Marble quickly grabbed a rock and threw it at her sister but the door closed just in time to halt the rock’s advance. Pinkie Pie screamed from the other side of the door, “That’s not an apology, that’s a rock!”

Marble rolled over and sobbed silently. She could see Rainbow Dash circling outside the room. This room was a prison, and there was no escape. Sure Pinkie might have thought she was trying to protect Marble, and Marble really believed that, but Pinkie was in the wrong. If only Marble could somehow convince Pinkie Pie that either Marble really did love Trixie, or that Trixie was actually a good pony.

Slowly Marble’s eyelids closed and she drifted off to a nightmare filled world where all she could see was Trixie. Trixie was always just out of hoof’s reach and no matter how much Marble fought, galloped, or tried, she could not reach her. In the end, Marble was forced to see Trixie from a distance, but never to hold her again.

When Marble heard the door shut, she opened her eyes and realized that she couldn’t even see Trixie again. Rarity was standing beneath her looking around quite confused.

“Um, Marble, are you here? I’d like to talk to you if we can. Trixie wanted me to give you a message, she said she loves you and will get you back,” Rarity said.

Marble rolled off her perch and dropped to the floor silently. She stood just behind Rarity, and when Rarity turned and saw Marble, she nearly jumped out of her skin. Marble waved at her, but didn’t smile.

“Okay, listen here and do not tell a soul. I have a plan to get the two of you back together, but you need to follow my instructions okay?” Rarity said.

Marble pointed a hoof to outside where Rainbow Dash was currently sitting on the balcony and drinking from a water bottle.

Rarity grinned. “I can take care of her. You in?”

Marble nodded. Anything to get my love back.

“Good,” Rarity leaned in and began whispering. “Okay, so here’s the plan…”

***

Trixie walked down the street with her mother by her side. For the first time in a long time she felt the eyes of judgment upon her as she walked. Ponies were giving her mean and disgusted looks. All it took was angering Pinkie Pie to gain the hatred of the entire town. Marigold on the other hoof shot looks right back at them, and on a couple of occasions she even spat curses at them and watched as they turned fearfully away.

“These ponies don’t know what their losing,” Marigold said. “By turning their backs on you they are losing the greatest friend they ever could have.”

Trixie may have agreed, but it was just so hard to keep her spirits up when she thought about how Marble was so cruelly taken away from her the night before. “It’s horrible. I… I just want my Marble back. She belongs to me, not some… evil pink headed freak.”

“Good, let your anger out, you need to express yourself,” Marigold said. “I could call in some help from my contacts. I bet Celestia would have a word or two to say about this.”

“You can’t do that,” Trixie said. “You’d have to spend one of your favors.”

“It would be worth it to help my baby girl get the love of her life back,” Marigold said. “I let the love of my life slip through my hooves once thanks to indigestion and I have never once been able to find true love again.”

“Indigestion?”

“Suffice to say, don’t eat at Sergeant Tomato’s Salad Bar.”

Trixie decided that she lucked out with such a vague answer. “Rarity will get my Marble back.”

“We shall see her plan first, and hope that it plays out well.” Marigold looked up at the castle as they steadily approached it. “We also need to worry about those storm clouds and Baast. She could be casting some sort of magic spell to keep ponies away while she works on creating a new body.”

“Is that really important?” Trixie asked.

“It might be, we don’t know what she plans to do afterwards,” Marigold said. “If she really is evil we will have to stop her, if she is good then we can use her… if she’s neutral we keep an eye on her.”

“I don’t care about her anymore,” Trixie said.

“You should, Baast stole your friend’s body.”

“She promised to return it when she was done,” Trixie said.

“I’ve seen many a body snatcher promise the very same. Only a hoof full have kept their word.”

They reached the castle doors and opened them. After stepping inside and closing them once more they continued into the castle. They were heading straight for the map room. Marigold smiled for Trixie and said, “This is a nice castle. Looks horrible in Ponyville, but its large and the shape is interesting. Just needs some servants.”

“If I remember correctly there are well over thirty bedrooms and twice that in bathrooms. How Twilight keeps this place so utterly empty is beyond me,” Trixie said. She thought about Twilight lying in a hospital bed. “But without here, it’s going to remain that way for awhile…”

They reached the doors and found them already open. Starlight was inside, hunched over the Ponyville map. Trixie saw it, but she could hardly believe what was on the map. Hovering just over the Everfree Forest was a cutiemark, not at all unlike Twilight Sparkles. Only it was darker, and didn’t have the excess white stars around it.

“Okay,” Starlight said. “What the hay do you make of this?”

Spike stuck his head up over the map. He had to stand on his tip toes to see over the table. “Uh… maybe it wants a Twilight rip off to go there?”

Trixie looked at the map. “I don’t think so. Didn’t Baast say something about reincarnation?”

“Um… m-may I make an observation?” Fluttershy’s voice rang out above them.

Everypony looked up and watched as the mare descended next to Starlight. She was wearing a scarf of brown, red, and green with white trim at the edges. “You see, Discord took me back in time once. We actually met Baast back when she was… good.”

Trixie blinked. “You did what now?”

Starlight grinned. “Time travel, not bad, considering your distinct lack of any horn.”

“A-anyway, she was traveling with a group of other cats and um… they all looked and acted… very similar to our own group…” Fluttershy said.

Marigold stamped a hoof and smiled widely. “Oh I got it! Is Twilight the reincarnation of Baast?”

“Shouldn’t Baast have died for that to work?” Starlight asked.

“All immortals have to die before they become such. Besides that we already know that her body died when her soul was removed and placed into that orb. Twilight is clearly not a perfect reincarnation but she just may be the reincarnation in question,” Marigold said.

Starlight frowned. “That’s… crazy.” She looked back at the map. “And… plausible.”

Fluttershy raised her hoof. “I read this series once where a girl went back in time and met the person she used to be before she was reincarnated thanks to the girl being brought back from the dead with a magical crystal shard.”

“So we’re looking at undead screwing up the entirety of reincarnation?” Starlight asked.

Marigold frowned. “Don’t get me started on undead things. They make the very concept of life, death, souls, reincarnation, heaven, and hell all sorts of confused.”

“Undead are not real,” Trixie said.

“Of course not, baby,” Marigold said patronizingly.

Fluttershy frowned. “But we were fighting wraiths just last wee-“

“If Trixie is scared of undead, then they are not real, simple as that,” Marigold said.

Trixie bit her lower lip. “They’re real aren’t they?”

“Not if you don’t want them to be.”

Trixie gave her mom a sour look. “I know my feelings are crushed right now, but don’t pamper me. Are undead real or not?”

Marigold looked away. “Yes… yes they are.”

Trixie let out a sigh. “Well when I get Guile back that’s an apology from me.”

“How long before the rain st-“ Starlight began.

She was interrupted by the sound of crashing thunder.

“About that long,” Marigold said.

The doors behind them opened up and everypony looked at them in shock. Twilight Sparkle marched into the room, her mane was soaking wet, and there was a bandage covering her head. She continued on until she reached the table. Starlight’s horn lit up and a towel appeared next to her, it levitated over to Twilight who grabbed it with her hooves and began drying her face. When she was through her fur stuck out in odd angles.

“You okay?” Starlight asked.

Spike ran up and wrapped his arms around one of her forelegs. “Twilight!”

A warm smile grew over Twilight’s lips. “Yeah, I am. I’ll be going to sleep soon, medication is pretty hitting me hard.”

“Um… what?” Trixie asked.

“You know what I mean.” Twilight looked at Starlight. “Fill me in on what I missed.”

They did, though they left out the details about Marble and Trixie. No need to give Twilight more to worry about. Twilight looked down at her cutie mark by the time it was over and then at the map. “Well my butt’s not glowing so it’s not trying to call me.”

“Then it is telling us there is a reincarnation of you sitting in the old castle ruins and mucking the weather up?” Starlight said.

“I suppose so. I don’t claim to know a lot about life, death or all the above. Just that my head hurts and I need some sleep.” Twilight smiled gently. “Okay, I’m going to go sleep on the problem. They wouldn’t let me sleep all night long, fear of a coma or whatever. I’m taking Spike for the cuddles, if you need me or if the storm persists after twenty four hours let me know.”

Everypony nodded.

Twilight stood up and pushed Spike toward the door. He got the message and began walking. She smiled down at him. “Thank you, Spike. I hurt, really bad, and this means a lot.”

“Don’t mention it,” Spike said. “You took care of me when I had that flu so it’s my turn.”

Once they were out the door everypony relaxed a little and tried to come up with a plan. When nopony could, they all decided it might be time to disperse. Yet again the door was thrown open only this time Rainbow Dash jumped in.

“We have a serious problem!” Rainbow Dash said. Her entire body was soaked to the bone.

Starlight walked up to her. “Weren’t you supposed to be guarding Pinkie Pie or something dumb today?”

“I was guarding Marble, from her!” Rainbow Dash said while thrusting a wing at Trixie. “We thought you might have eloped with Marble, but since you’re here that means the note was true.”

“What note?” Trixie asked. Her heart jumped into her throat.

“Like you would care,” Rainbow Dash said. “Anyway, Starlight we need your help with the search party. Marble ran away because Pinkie won’t let her and Trixie date or whatever.”

Starlight frowned. “Well… this is just great. We need to get going, where is she?”

A worried look came into Rainbow Dash’s eyes as she answered, “The Everfree Forest.”

Chapter Fourteen: The Chase

Marble Magic

Chapter Fourteen: The Chase

Written by TheCrimsonDM

“The Everfree Forest!” The group all cried in unison.

Rainbow Dash frowned. “Why do ponies always have to shout the name at the same time? It’s not like we haven’t been there a dozen times before. I mean even Trixie’s been in there a few times.”

Trixie gave Rainbow Dash a dirty look. “Isn’t that where you tried to break my nose?”

Per usual Rainbow Dash completely ignored her. “Anyway, I got to catch up with Pinkie Pie, Starlight you bring Spike or whatever and look too. The more search parties we have the better right?”

Starlight nodded. “That’s right, we’ll do our part.”

Rainbow Dash turned around and flew out the way she came. “Just hurry, that storm is getting worse.”

For several moments after the mare left nopony spoke. They all sat in silence and stared at the map. Trixie couldn’t tell what the others were thinking, but if she had to guess they were all coming to the same conclusion that she had. If Marble was in the Everfree Forest, the only shelter from the storm would be the castle… where Baast was.

“We have to hurry,” Trixie said as she pushed herself up.

Starlight nodded. “I’ll go with you. Marigold, can you go fill in Twilight and gather the rest of the mane six?”

“I can do one of those things,” Marigold said. “And I can get Rarity, after that I can’t promise much. We’ll meet up at the castle then?”

Starlight nodded. “I’ll use a detect life spell in the forest on the way. If she’s in there, we will find her.”

“If Baast has her,” Trixie said quietly.

“Then we will kick Baast to the curb and take her back!” Starlight said. “Nopony hurts my friends. We’re going to get Marble back.”

Trixie nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”

“No it sounds like suicide, but Twilight always says that friendship will prevail in the end, let’s put that to the test shall we?”

“Be careful you two, I don’t know if either of you have noticed it but there’s a lot of dark magic going around here,” Marigold said.

Now that her mother mentioned it, Trixie could feel the dark magic. It was like a cold whisper at the back of her head, it was reminding her of the loss of her home and how useless she was to defend against it. Dark magic brought with it all the negative emotions and made those already present stronger. Trixie thought back to Guile’s words on the subject. “Dark magic breads strife.”

“Anypony notice an increase in violence, fighting, or hatred?”

Starlight frowned. “Pinkie Pie has been acting a little… aggressive.”

“If she’s being affected by it, than you might need to be extra careful. From what I’ve seen, she’s close to the edge. She’s about to go gray, and I think she’s bringing Rainbow Dash down with her. Be extra careful around those two, dark magic can be an ugly thing to deal with, especially in friends or family,” Marigold explained.

Starlight nodded. “We will. I’m sure that if I just talk to her I can help. It’s Pinkie Pie, she might be a little off right now, but I’m sure that I can help her.”

“I hope that’s true.”

Starlight led Trixie out of the map room and into the hallway. They paused briefly and Starlight grabbed a heavy cloak for the two of them. After putting it on and dawning her hood they walked out into the rain. The weather out here was complete crap. Rain was coming down in buckets and within seconds Trixie felt like she had picked up fifty pounds of extra weight. That didn’t stop her or even slow her down. It was just a minor annoyance to deal with before she could save her marefriend.

The pair went straight for the Everfree Forest, there were at least five other search parties there. Trixie had to stop when she saw two ponies that she knew. Trixie approached the couple and said, “Lyra, Bonbon, what are you two doing here?”

Lyra grinned. “We heard that you’re marefriend was lost in the woods. So of course we would come to help.”

“They aren’t marefriends yet,” Bonbon said. Trixie looked down at the muddy earth. “Or are they?”

“We were, and then Pinkie Pie took her away.” Trixie let out a sigh. “That’s why she ran away, she just wanted to be with me and Pinkie Pie wouldn’t let her.”

Bonbon looked a little ashamed. “Rarity told us she had a plan, and that all we had to do was… nevermind. It looks like Rarity might have told her to run away.”

The image of shoving a hoof down Rarity’s throat appeared in Trixie’s mind. “That cur! How dare she do that. Rarity had to know that Marble wouldn’t be able to handle the forest!”

“I don’t know, I don’t even know if she really did that,” Bonbon said. “It just seems likely… I’m so sorry, all we did was tell Pinkie Pie we saw a gray mare going into the forest… is Marble gray?”

“Yes she’s gray! She is gray and perfect!”

“Then I think that Rarity helped, you better hurry and go on ahead. We’re still trying to sort out a search plan, and Amethyst is late. You go on ahead and we’ll come after you. Just beat Pinkie Pie to her,” Bonbon said.

“Why?”

“Because when you get her, I think the two of you may want to elope together. Just don’t forget to stop by and say goodbye to us,” Bonbon said.

“Yeah, get your filly, run away, and get married,” Lyra said. “We believe in you.”

Trixie smiled. “Trixie is not running away with her… but it’s nice to know you care.”

Starlight walked past her. “Come on.”

Trixie followed. “Thanks for the help, fillies.”

“No problem,” Bonbon said.

“Good luck,” Lyra added.

Just like that, Trixie and Starlight entered the Everfree Forest and what little light they did have was almost immediately cut off. Thankfully both Trixie and Starlight used their magic to create orbs of light, Trixie’s shined purple-white light on everything around her, and Starlight’s teal. Using the light they easily navigated the woods. Determined to do their utmost to find and rescue Marble before anything bad could happen. Or if need be, to fight a cat demigod and take back Marble by force.

There were no paths in the forest, and all they could do was head straight. Trixie had no idea where they were going, everything was dark, murky, and terrifying. Things continuously moved just out of sight, shadows scurried out of sight whenever Trixie tried to look at them. Starlight moved with confidence, which helped. At least Trixie was sure that the mare knew where they were going.

At some point Starlight stumbled over a rock but caught herself just in time. She turned around and looked at the rock. Trixie followed her gaze. The ground here wasn’t just mud, there was cobbled stone scattered about the ground and the trees were less thick in two directions.

Starlight smiled. “This is the old road leading to the castle. You should have seen it a thousand years ago. The forest wasn’t as thick nor as dangerous. Ponies would travel up and down it all day and night, including earth ponies, pegasi, unicorn, and even bat ponies. Ponies of all shapes and sizes, of various wealth, and even a few other races like dragons would come to pay homage to the two sisters. I even saw Starswirl here once.”

“You… what?” Trixie asked.

“Don’t tell Twilight,” Starlight said. “She would be upset if she found out I was messing around with time out here. Mostly I just view different time periods and don’t actually visit them… then I saw Starswirl.”

“You actually met him?” Trixie asked.

“Yeah, and he was fantastic! He was so worried about the empire after Luna’s fall, but I explained to him about the legendary heroes who took the mantle of the Elements of Harmony, and boy did that cheer him up,” Starlight said.

“So you just stay out here messing around with the time stream all day?”

“Uh… I told you I practiced spells out here, right?” Starlight said. “So it’s not like I lied or anything.”

Trixie shook her head. “Okay, well, that explains why you know this forest so well. Now find me Marble.”

“You won’t tell?”

“Why would I?”

“Thank you, Trixie,” Starlight said. “When this is over I’ll take you two out here and show you the glorious empire sometime.”

“I’m going to hold you to that.”

Starlight faced one direction and took off. Trixie followed behind closely. Since it was less dense on the old road they were able to move much more swiftly and freely. It was good that Starlight was here, she knew the forest better than Twilight ever could because she had seen the old world and watched it develop. The idea was absolutely insane, but if Starlight was capable of that, then fighting Baast should be nothing.

Thunder crackled overhead, but the lightning flashes hardly reached the forest. The darkness here was unnatural. Trixie could feel the coldness in this forest, a deep chill that started at her horn and went all the way down the length of her spine. There were things in here, dark magic things.

Starlight stopped, and Trixie nearly bumped into her. Starlight’s eyes darted around wildly. “Something is wrong.”

“What?”

“Shh…” Starlight looked very carefully around them.

So did Trixie, but there was nothing around them but plants, mud, rocks, road, and bones. Trixie’s heart skipped a beat when she saw the bone pile. They weren’t pony bones, too small for that. It was some sort of small creature, but what kind of creature was beyond her imagining. Gray goop seeped out of the mud and Trixie took a few steps back with a shriek.

Starlight did the same. “What is that?”

The goo covered the bones and pulled them into its mass. Slowly the goop pulled itself up and took the shape of something vaguely cat like. Standing on all fours it looked at them with a large grin. “Mrow?”

Trixie blinked. “Do you speak cat?”

“Do I look like Fluttershy?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Trixie said.

The slime-cat took a shambling step forward, it nearly collapsed. It’s body jiggled like horrific jello with each step, threatening to complete fall apart but never once doing so. Trixie gulped as Starlight’s horn lit up and a blast of teal energy smote the creature where it stood. The goop splattered on the ground and the bones fell lifelessly to the ground.

“Darn it,” Starlight said. “That’s more than normal slime monsters. I think it’s undead.”

“What?”Trixie asked. Guile’s words ran through the back of her mind. “Dark artifacts are usually surrounded by two things. Death, and strife.”

Trixie growled. “Great, now Trixie really owes him. The stave must be close by if it’s causing undead to rise.”

“Yeah… but why would she just raise some undead cats…” Starlight looked up just as lightning flashed. Trixie saw the castle in the distance. They were close.

“It looks like we’re going in the right direction,” Trixie said.

“I bet that even Pinkie and Rainbow aren’t this far yet,” Starlight said. “Since they didn’t know about the roads it took them nearly six hours to find the castle the first time.”

“Well let’s get going, Trixie is saving Marble first!” Trixie exclaimed.

They took off in a full gallop toward the castle. The road got less and less dense until finally they broke out into a hillside. Just ahead of them was an old wooden bridge, the one used to cross over to the castle. They jumped on it and dashed across. They reached the ruins and quickly got out of the rain and under the protection of the cracked roof. Rain dripped from every direction and although an improvement from the outside, it was still wet. Trixie and Starlight kept their cloaks’ hoods drawn.

Trixie turned around and her face bleached. Two other ponies raced across the bridge behind them. Both Starlight turned to face them as well. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash stopped just short of them, both of them wore rain coats.

Starlight took her hood off and Trixie followed in her example. Starlight waved. “Hey, looks like you’re finally here.”

“YOU!” Pinkie Pie shouted while thrusting a hoof at the two. “You’re working together?”

“Uh, duh,” Trixie said. “Trixie and Starlight make the perfect team.”

“Yeah,” Starlight agreed. “A pair of unicorns like us and can do whatever we want.”

Pinkie Pie threw her head back. Her mane was flat, long and straight. Her fur had lost most of the vibrant color it once held and was much closer to gray. There was a fiery rage in her eyes that Trixie had never seen from the mare before. She spat to the side. “I can’t believe you would do this. Starlight we were friends, or at least I thought we were… working with Trixie to fillynap my sister, that’s low, even for you.”

“What?” Starlight asked dumbly.

“Don’t be rude, you’ve already taken my family,” Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash landed on all fours and took her hood off. The rainbow mane was less than colorful. “Are you sure that’s what’s going on?”

“Honestly, Rainbow Dash, you know how similar these two are. Are you telling me that it’s impossible for them to fall back to their old ways? Become evil again and hurt us worse than ever before? This storm, those undead cat things, and my sister’s disappearance are all linked together and it’s because of them!” Pinkie Pie explained.

Rainbow Dash looked back at the two. Her fur darkened before Trixie’s very eyes.“She makes a good point. It’s kinda odd that you two would be here at the center of the storm, just as everything is going wrong… I’m going to have to ask you to surrender and give yourselves in. If you’re innocent then we’ll sort it out, but right now I can’t trust you.”

“Are you serious?” Starlight asked.

“Yes,” Rainbow Dash said, she pawed the earth and lowered her head. A fierce grin spread over her lips. “I still have a score to settle with both of you, so just go ahead and make my day.”

“You two are nuts!” Starlight said. Her horn lit up teal and she lowered her head. “Besides you have no chance against us.”

Pinkie Pie frowned. “You’re right.” She opened up her saddlebags and pulled out a present wrapped in pink wrapping. “Can we pay you for my sister’s return?” she tossed the present over to Starlight. The mare caught it in her telekinetic grasp. “I know I can’t win in a fight, but she really means a lot to me. Go ahead and be evil but let me take my sister back, please.”

Starlight looked at the gift. “Uh… I’m not holding her hostage.” She began unwrapping in. “So thanks for the present, I guess, but I’m not-“

The present exploded in cloud of powder. Trixie rolled over to the side and covered her face just in time to avoid most of it. However Starlight stood still, covered in white powder and staring distantly like she wasn’t there. When she fell over completely limp, Trixie’s heart stopped.

“You’re gift is a good nap,” Pinkie Pie said excitedly. “With that much powder you’re going to be out for twenty four hours at least.”

Trixie stared up at them. “You drugged her!”

Pinkie Pie grinned. “She’s got enough power to defeat Celestia and Luna at the same time if she wanted too, of course I drugged her. How else could I win?”

Trixie stood up. “She trusted you, you ugly, fat, hideous, annoying, loud mouthed, foul breathed, monster!”

Pinkie’s smile widened. “Those were exactly the words I was looking to hear. Rainbow Dash, be a dear and capture her would you. I got something I want to do to her, that require a rope, a feather, and a two liter of soda.”

“Uh… what?” Rainbow Dash asked.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. “Just catch her.”

“Fine.”

Trixie did the only thing she could at that point, she turned around and bravely ran the most opposite direction, deeper into the castle. There was no way she could get far, or for long, but she could try. Pinkie Pie was absolutely insane, and Rainbow Dash was violent. Trixie vowed to come back for Starlight as soon as she found Marble and rescued her. For now though, being caught would ruin the only chance she had to save her marefriend. So she galloped for her life.

Her heart beat hard, and her legs burned. She continued going, and when she heard the dreadful sound of wings flapping behind her she knew her time was up. So with a last ditch effort her horn began to glow and the walls all closed in around Trixie. She heard Rainbow Dash let out a curse and looked back just long enough to watch the walls fully close behind her, blocking off Rainbow’s path.

Trixie didn’t stop running. It would only take the pegasus a few moments to realize it was all an illusion and the walls hadn’t actually closed up. So she galloped into the nearest opened room and hid. She made the doorway disappear only to be replaced by more wall. For all intents and purposes the room she was in didn’t exist.

A few seconds later did she hear Rainbow Dash screaming, “You cheater! That wall wasn’t real! I’m going to so get you for this.” She heard the air whoosh as the mare flew by at impossible speeds. Trixie stayed hidden and didn’t once move or breathe. The last thing she wanted to do was reveal her hiding stop. So long as she stayed hidden, Rainbow Dash couldn’t hurt her, and Pinkie Pie wouldn’t torture her.

Still, this left the issue of Starlight Glimmer and what she could possibly do about it. The mare was literally the best if not only weapon they had against Baast and now she was down and out for the count. That meant Trixie was on her own in a dangerous castle, being chased by two extremely dangerous and crazed mares, and left to face the powerful demigod that held her lover and her friend captive all alone.

This situation really couldn’t get any worse.

***

Marble was in the dark, she couldn’t see, and it was nearly impossible to hear anything over the sound of the rain and thunder. It would all be okay, that’s what Rarity promised. She and Trixie would be together soon, as soon as Pinkie Pie learned her lesson. The blanket covering her head was lifted up by a light blue aura and Rarity stared down at her.

“Good news,” Rarity said. “She bought it.”

Marble smiled.

“Bad news is that Trixie bought it as well.” Rarity averted her eyes. “So Trixie is in the castle right now.”

“Also,” Marigold said as she walked into Rarity’s bedroom. “This means we’re the only ones left to save them. My daughter, your sister, and their friends. I know you’re scared, but do you think you can help us?”

Marble was shaking. The mere thought of not only Trixie, but Pinkie Pie being in trouble all because she tried to get back at her sister was painful. Despite her fear of going out there, facing those ponies, and even worse the forest full of monsters. Marble knew she was responsible and had to make up for it.

Marble nodded. “Mmhmm.”

Chapter Fifteen: Cat's Folly

Marble Magic

Chapter Fifteen: Cat’s Folly

Written by TheCrimsonDM

Marble stared up at Marigold with big round eyes. It was her fault that Trixie was in that scary forest, and in the middle of a storm no less. Marble just couldn’t believe that she had sent Trixie out into danger. The note was supposed to make Pinkie Pie scared, not whole town. There was no apology for her actions, and worse yet, ponies were in danger because of it. One thing was for certain, after this it wouldn’t matter if Pinkie Pie allowed her to be with Trixie, because Trixie was sure to leave her for this.

“Tell me exactly what is going on here,” Marigold said.

Rarity puffed out her cheeks. “We didn’t do anything wrong, we’re just trying to get Pinkie to see the error of her ways.”

“That’s bull and you know it, the whole town’s involved in this mess. Now tell me exactly what is going on.” Marigold had a fire in her eyes that scared Marble.

“Well you see,” Rarity began. “Um… I thought that if Marble pretended to runaway that Pinkie Pie would realize just how much Marble cared for Trixie. I was trying to get them back together, not hurt anypony. We were going to let Pinkie Pie sweat it out for a few hours and then tell her.”

“You… ugh,” Marigold rubbed at her eyes. “My oldest, Nixie, she did this to me once. I had royal guards out looking for her, and it turns out she was just hiding underneath our house until I decided to let her date a stallion that was clearly not a good match for her. I did learn my lesson but only after I grounded her for two months. By the time she was done with her grounding the stallion had already started dating two other mares. She was heartbroken and I was right. Nopony won.”

“Yes, that may be true but Trixie is not a bad pony. We both know how much they love each other,” Rarity said. “What else could I have done?”

“Talk to Pinkie Pie?”

“But… she was acting crazy.”

“Then wait and talk to her. They might have been hurt for a few days but after we’ve stopped Baast and cleared the town of dark magic, I’m sure that Pinkie would have seen reason, especially if Twilight went down to talk to her,” Marigold said. “This plan of yours was just… foolish.”

“And now they’re out in the rain, getting soaking wet and cold, and it’s all because I intervened?” Rarity asked.

“Pretty much, yeah.” Marigold looked out of the window. “The worst part is that they’re in danger. There is a powerful creature inside the castle right now, Baast is her name, and they went straight to the castle to find Marble. They were afraid that she might have been caught or hurt by Baast.”

Rarity gasped. “Then we must go save them!”

“You two ready to make up for this blunder?” Marigold asked.

“Of course,” Rarity said.

“Mmhmm!” Marble agreed.

“Then let’s go.”

They put on their raincoats and stepped out of the boutique. The rain was letting up a little at least, and the wind wasn’t as harsh as it had been but minutes before. That said there was something strange about the sky. Marble couldn’t quite place what it was but she could feel it in her bones. It was cold out here, dreadfully cold.

A ball of gray goo fell from the sky and landed with a wet smack against the muddy earth. The trio stared in silence for a moment, and watched as the goop pushed itself up and shaped itself like a cat. It cocked its head to the side and began shambling toward them with a body that jiggled like a bowl of jello.

“What in Equestria is that?” Marigold asked as her horn lit up. Amber light covered the creature and it lifted up into the air. Its body jiggled and moved in disturbing ways. “Let’s see, it seems to be made of goo, it’s shaped kinda like a cat, and it’s got a touching problem. If I didn’t know any better I’d say we just stepped into someponies sexual fantasy mixed with a foals nightmare.”

“That’s… quite specific,” Rarity said.

“What can I say?” Marigold said as the amber aura surrounding the beast tightened and the thing popped like a zit. “I’m an artist.”

There were shrieks coming from a few ponies not too far away. Marble turned and watched as a pink mare with a green colored mane galloped by with two of the things stuck to her. One of them was on her flank the other on her back. Marigold wasted no time in picking them off as the mare tripped and fell into the mud. They each had pink colored stomachs. They popped as easily as the first.

Where they had been stuck on the mare, there were gray patches of fur. The mare looked down at her own flank, even her cutiemark was grayed out on one side. A terrible scream escaped her lips, followed by a terrified voice that whispered, “The horror, the horror.”

“That is quite disturbing,” Marigold said. “You, get inside and stay safe. We’ll send somepony over to help you get your… color back after this is over.”

The mare nodded and picked herself up. She galloped away without another word. Marigold turned to face them and her eyes went wide. “RUN!”

Marble looked behind her and saw six of the goopy cats sitting on the roof of the boutique. All of them smiled down at her, and half of them had various colored stains mixed into their bodies. They had fed. Rarity galloped before anything else could be said. Marble’s legs went numb and her mind blanked. The cats all jumped.

Marble looked for an escape, she wasn’t fast enough to get away from them before they landed on her. When she noticed the broom lying in a wet puddle just within hooves reach, and an idea came to mind. The only thing she could do now was try to keep them off of her, and she had to do it fast.

She picked up the broom in her mouth, tasted the mud that it had been lying in. They came within hooves reach, falling through the air like vampires in the night. Marble closed her eyes and swung the broom back and forth as fast and as hard as she could. For several seconds she stood there, feeling the weight of the goopy cats as she swatted them out of the air.

Just like that it was over and Marble looked around to see five puddles of goo surrounding her. There were bones sticking out of the puddles. Marble didn’t drop the broom for one instant but she turned around to face Marigold and saw the mare grinning down at her.

“I might just have to adopt you,” Marigold said.

Marble looked around, shocked that the cats were all dead.

Rarity blinked. “She… with a broom?”

“Yep, with a broom,” Marigold stated. “Alright, keep that broom handy, and let’s get going already.”

Marigold took off toward the forest, and toward the center of the storm. The other two followed. Marble kept the broom close to her just in case. If anymore cats tried to jump at them, they would be swiftly dealt with. Then when they got to Trixie, Marble would use the broom, and the last of her marbles to rescue her.

***

The halls had grown quiet, and if not for the sound of rain dripping through the small room and the occasional thunder strike it would have felt muted. Trixie listened intently for any warning sounds of Rainbow Dash or Pinkie Pie. She didn’t hear anything that would give them away. So after much deliberation she finally decided to disable the illusion over the doorway and step out into the hall.

It was empty, that was a good sign. Trixie made her way through the halls, not back to the entrance but rather lazily toward the secret lab of Golden Oaks. She moved through the desolate halls and kept both eyes and ears looking for any sign of any danger whatsoever. Her heart was pounding so hard that she was sure it would break right out of her chest at any moment, and the further along she went the worse it got. Several times she heard something, and stopped dead in her tracks for several long moments listening intently.

Eventually she found the room, and after some quick investigation she found it empty of all life. Several books were missing along with instruments and components. She only wished that she had asked more questions, instead of letting her mom play that mean joke on her. Then maybe she would have been able to figure out what to do next or where to go. About the time she reached to top of the stairs she heard a new sound.

A low bass sound thumped through the castle so loud that it knocked books off of shelves, caused dust to fall from the ceiling and made Trixie’s ears and head hurt. Whatever it was came from deeper inside the castle, and Trixie was sure that it was exactly where Baast was. Baast and Marble.

Cautiously she made her way in the direction the noise came from. It took several minutes, and lots of twists, turns, and even some climbing over rubble and up into the second story, but she did it. She arrived at the second story window overlooking an internal courtyard.

In the courtyard Trixie saw Baast standing, tall and proud. There was a pool of gray liquid next to her, along with a dozen gray cat like slime monsters. Across from the pool sat a cage where Trixie could make out Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash and Starlight Glimmer. Starlight was still knocked out. On the ground next to Pinkie Pie lay a black cat with a three pronged tail.

Guile! He’s alive, I can’t believe he’s alive and okay… I guess that means that Baast got herself a new body.

She looked back at the goo cats and shivered. Are those failures, mistakes, or just monsters?

Baast looked back the cage and smiled wickedly. “Okay every… pony, I have my body back, you three out of my way and I even returned my descendent back to his original self. Now that I have an army of slime kitties I will pull off the most chaotic move that you prideful mares have ever seen! I am making everything gray!”

Pinkie Pie blew a raspberry. “Uh, Discord already did that.”

Baast’s head twitched. “W-what?”

“That was like the first prank he pulled on us.”

“Oh… well… then I guess I’ll just have to take over Equestria with hugs then… not quite as fun but my loving darlings will do just fine,” Baast said. “And I’m still turning you all gray, because I can.”

“Can you?”

“Can I? Can I? Of course I can.”

Pinkie Pie giggled. “Can you do the cancan, or can you can apples, or can yo-“

“Shut up!” Baast hissed. “You’re jokes are more annoying then Discord on a Monday.”

“Uh… is that like a saying, or are you talking about the person, or what?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“Shut up,” Baast said.

“Sure thing kitty Twilight.”

“I am not Twilight, she is my reincarnation, and a poor one at that.”

“I think it’s pretty spot on. Dark magic aside.”

“First I capture you, and then when you find out that I don’t have your sister you starting turning pink, and now you’re annoying me.”

“Yeppers, sounds like me.”

“Please be quiet.”

“Well since you asked nicely,” Pinkie Pie said. She beamed at Baast and remained silent. Trixie noted that some of Pinkie’s color had returned.

Baast looked at her cat army and said, “Alright you kitties, go look fur intruders and if you find any hug them into submission. I will build more cages.”

Trixie pulled her head back in and laid down to better conceal herself. This situation had gone from bad to worse, with the very ponies she was trying to stay away from captured as well she fully knew that there was no chance at winning this. Though she was glad to see Guile alive and well. Thankfully Marble wasn’t here, which meant that she probably hadn’t hid in the castle.

A terrible thought crossed her mind; what if Marble went home the second it began to rain and we have just been wasting our time out here?

Trixie cursed herself for being foalish enough to go straight into danger without looking in the most obvious place first. If only she was back home, she could get together a small army, check up on Marble, and then take the castle in order to save her bullies. Sure they deserved to be captured but Trixie couldn’t leave them to the paws of this monstrous cat. Rainbow Dash saved her once before from a kingdom of dog breathed dog faced, diamond dogs, even though Rainbow Dash had no reason too. It was time for Trixie to repay the favor.

“Okay,” Trixie whispered to herself. “Game plan; I go invisible, even if the spell only lasts about a minute that’s enough time to get to the lock and pick it. Once that’s done I get Pinkie and Rainbow Dash to come with me, Rainbow will have to carry Starlight because she’s the strongest one. Of course I’ll need a distraction… oh I know, I can cast an illusion of Twilight Sparkle and have Baast chase her deep into the castle thus getting lost. Okay, it’s game time.”

Trixie stood up and was face to face with a floating purple cat.

Baast smiled down at Trixie. “It’s so nice to see you again. Did you come here with the others?”

“I’m with the sleeping one,” Trixie said. “The two bullies aren’t with me.”

“Well, that’s about to change. Because I think there’s room in my cage for one more pony,” Baast replied.

Trixie gulped. Well crap.

***

Marble stared at the castle from underneath her hood. It wasn’t raining here, but the storm clouds up above were still thick and dark. Marigold had led them through the forest using the path that had been shown to her by Starlight. The forest itself was dark, and dank, but not as scary as she had thought it would be. Then again, right now all she had to compare it too was a town full of scary slime cats and scared ponies.

“Okay everypony,” Marigold said. “This is it. We go in, get our family and friends and leave. There is no reason we should have to fight Baast. If it comes to that leave the fighting to me and focus on getting the others out.”

Rarity stepped forward. “Are you strong enough to contend with a demigod?”

“I can hold my own long enough to save them,” Marigold said darkly. “Marble, stay close to Rarity and if any of the goo cats come at you use the broom.”

Marble clenched her teeth down around the broom handle and nodded.

“Good, all set? Alright let’s go,” Marigold said as she began trotting into the old ruins.

The trio moved into the old ruins and Marigold led them. It was cold here, very, very cold. It was almost like the air was freezing her very soul. A deep sense of wrongness filled her. Neither Marigold nor Rarity looked like they liked it either. Rarity was practically shivering.

“You feel it too?” Marigold said.

“My horn is so cold… why is it so cold?”

“This place is strong with dark magic. Whatever Baast has been doing here, it’s bad. We should hurry,” Marigold said.

They picked up the pace to a brisk trot as they made their way through the ruined hallways, stepping over and around puddles and trying their best to be quiet while still moving swiftly. They rounded one corner after another and the place just felt empty and alone.

They rounded yet another corner and were met face to face with a half dozen of the slime cats. Before any words could be uttered, both Marigold and Rarity began unleashing bolts of magic into the group. The cats exploded when struck, their goo going everywhere.

it was sickening to watch so she turned her head, only to come face to face with a dozen more goo cats behind them. For a half second she paused, her heart stopped and she felt like there was no way she could possibly escape. Then she pulled out the last Confidence Marble with a shaky hoof and smashed it against the floor. She guessed that she might only have a few minutes worth of courage, but that would be more than enough to get rid of these slimy monsters.

Marble let out a muffled battle cry as she charged, hot blood pumping through her veins. She swung her broom, hit one and watched it splatter against the wall. Hit another, and it left a goopy mess on the opposite wall. Marble kept up the one mare assault. One by one the goo cats were squashed, splattered, and squished. When it was over Marble stood there, the lone victor surrounded by a sea of white goop.

Behind her both Rarity and Marigold had finished and gave her an approving look. Marble smiled. Yet again Marigold took the charge and they made their way to an inner courtyard where Marigold stopped. A cage sat at the edge of the courtyard, inside of it lay Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Starlight Glimmer, and Trixie. There was also a kitty cat, a real kitty cat lying in the cage wrapped up in Trixie’s legs.

Marigold looked back. “Remember the plan.”

They nodded.

Marigold charged into the courtyard and both Rarity and Marble followed. They got a few yards in before Marigold’s horn lit up and an orange wall of light appeared beside them. It was translucent enough for Marble to see the beams of pink energy flying against it, slamming into the wall. Each time a beam would strike the wall, the wall would flash brightly and a crack would appear in it.

Rarity and Marble continued running to the cages. Six shadows appeared around them, and Marble looked up just in time to see six of the slime cats leaping through the air. Marble stopped dead in her tracks, which was the only reason she escaped. Rarity ran right into them as they pounced on her. They quickly held onto her legs and melded into giant masses of slimy goop and Rarity let out a scream as she fell to the floor.

Behind her Marigold’s shield exploded! A stray bolt of pink energy struck her in the side and sent the unicorn flying into the wall behind her. Marble tried to scream as Marigold sunk to the ground. Then she looked around and realized she was still a good thirty feet away from the cage, it was locked, and there was no cover between her and the magical attacker.

Marble saw it. She saw the barbed black stave, cradling the purple orb like grasping claws. The purple cat that sat atop it gave her a cruel stare as the stave hovered towards her.

“My, my, my, what do we have here?” Baast asked. “More interlopers?”

Marble gulped. Her confidence vanished in that instance and she wanted nothing more than to hide in a corner and cry.

“Let’s see, two horned ponies, and one… uh… dirt pony,” Baast said.

Marble dropped the broom and back peddled.

“Oh, are you scared? Poor little pony, now you don’t need to be scared, and you shouldn’t feel too bad about what my cats did to your poor fur. In good time all ponies will be just as gray as you are,” She said with a smile. “Now just walk into the cage willingly and I’ll be nice to you.”

Baast tilted the stave forward, but somehow the orb rolled back allowing the cat to stay seated. She was only mere inches away from Marble’s face.

“Leave her alone you stupid mean ugly cat!” Trixie cried.

“I already shut the pink one up, now you wish to get on my nerves as well?” Baast asked.

Marble glanced over and saw that Pinkie Pie had duck tape over her mouth. Her hooves were free to take it off, but she didn’t. Probably because it was going to hurt a lot. Tape stuck to fur like crazy.

“Now come here little pony,” Baast said. She raised a paw and reached out with it.

“MM-MMM!” Marble protested, but she was frozen. She couldn’t move. Cold fear gripped her heart and numbed her legs.

Baast pet the top of Marble’s head saying, “There, there, you’ll make a fine pet. Good pony.”

In that instant Marble saw what it was like. Being immortal, watching as the only five friends she had died off, one by one, and finally all she was left with was your husband. Her chaotic insane draconequus husband. Sure they got up to some good, even great fun. The sex was also fantastic. All that aside, he could never replace her friends. The shy one that always cared about everykitty, the pink one that made her laugh, the blue one that was awesome, the orange one that never once abandoned her friends or family and always told the truth, finally the white one that had the biggest heart. They were all gone, and there was no one left to give her the hugs she needed and to tell her it would be alright.

Nopony that was, until now.

Marble reached out and wrapped her legs around Baast and cooed her. At first Baast tried to fight back, but she began stroking the back of the cat’s fur and Marble whispered ever so gently, “It’s all going to be alright.”

“What? What are you talking about? You… no, no it won’t,” Baast argued. “I am the last of my kind, all of my friends are dead and my husband is an insane jerk. How will it be alright?”

“Shhh,” Marble said. She kissed the top of Baast’s nose.

“You… stupid… ugly… sweet thing you,” Baast said. Tears welled up at the corners of her eyes and the stave dropped to the ground. Baast fell against Marble’s chest and Marble held her gently.

“It will be alright,” Marble repeated.

“Are you sure?” Baast asked in such a fragile voice that Marble was afraid she would shatter.

“Mmhmm,” Marble replied.

“Y-you don’t hate me? For what I did? You don’t think I’m evil?”

“Mm-mmm.”

Rain began to fall, lightly at first, then it grew more heavy. By the time that Baast looked up into Marble’s eyes the rain had soaked her face and ran down like tears. “I don’t want to be immortal and lonely anymore. I don’t want to be locked up in a stupid orb. I don’t want everyone to just think I’m evil. I… I just want to be okay and have fun. I miss dancing with my friends. I know I suck at it, but it always made me so happy.”

Marble smiled down at her and squeezed gently.

“It’s so hard, to know that no matter who I befriend that I will have to watch them die and then I’ll be alone all over again. To make matters worse, my husband isn’t very supportive of my emotions, he’s more or less just there for fun. I… I just want friendship again. Thousands of years I spent in that stupid staff, knowing that everyone judged me, hated me, and thought I was evil because of my love for Discord.” Baast sniffled. “But there wasn’t anyone else who was going to live as long as me. What was I supposed to do?”

Marble shook her head.

Baast looked at the goop covering Rarity. Pink light surrounded Baast for a moment. The goop melted off of Rarity. Rarity looked down at the goo covering her legs and grimaced. “This… this is worse than any… oh Sweet Celestia, it’s like a dozen stallions just… all over my legs!”

Marigold walked with a limp over to her. “Oh don’t fret over that so much. I’m sure it’s just another Saturday night for you.”

“Miss Marigold!” Rarity snapped. “I am covered in ick, now is not the time for your jokes.”

“I’ll open the cages now,” Marigold said. “If that’s okay with you, Baast.”

Baast buried her head into Marble’s chest. “I don’t care anymore.”

“Thank you,” Marigold said as she walked over to the cages.

Baast looked up at Marble and frowned. “I… did I mess up? Did this joke go too far? Nopony’s dead, that’s all I promised not to do. I’m not… I’m not in trouble am I?”

Marble shrugged.

“I don’t want to be in trouble again.”

“It will be alright,” Marble repeated one last time.

“You won’t let them lock me away again, will you?” Baast asked.

Marble shook her head.

“Thank you… thank you so much,” Baast snuggled into Marble’s fur. “I… I don’t know if this counts but… but are we, friends?”

“Mmhmm!” Marble said excitedly. She never had a cat for a friend before, in fact most animals hated her. Now that she was holding Baast and petting her, Marble wished she could have a cat of her own.

“You know what,” Baast said. “I’ll try and make up for this. How’s that reincarnation of mine doing?”

“Twilight has a nasty head wound but she’s alright,” Rarity said.

Baast shivered. “I never meant to hurt her.”

Marigold was still fussing with the lock. Marble looked over and saw duck tape lying on the ground with pink fur stuck to it. Pinkie stood there, her mouth free, of both tape and fur. Pinkie Pie waved. “Hi, Marble. That’s for the rescue!”

Marble nodded, and looked down at Baast. Baast looked back up at her and asked, “Did she just rip the tape off? I could have removed it without taking off any fur.”

Marble rolled her eyes.

“She’s kinda impatient I take it?”

“Mmhmm.”

Baast sighed. “I’m sorry about all of this. I wasn’t really going to keep Equestria. I was just going to take it over just to prove that I could. I mean… what do I want with a country full of magical talking horses anyway?”

Marble shrugged.

“Anyway, I should probably get back to my husband. He’s probably bored out of his mind with loneliness.” Baast pulled away and flew into the air. “Marble, right?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Mind if I come back to visit you sometime?”

“Mm-mmm.”

“Good, I’ll see you later then, my pony friend.”

“Hey, Baast,” Marigold said. “If you’re going to make amends for all of this, could you fix what the stave did to my village. It turned everypony, and dragon into stone.”

“I suppose I could. Though to be fair that one isn’t my fault.” With that said, Baast flew into the air and vanished in a flash of pink light.

Marigold was still fussing with the lock when she looked back and said, “Hey, Marble, you have to pick up that stave and put it in that well. Nopony else is allowed to touch it or we all die. Especially not with magic.”

Marble gulped.

“It’s okay. Once she does, Rarity, I want you to collapse the well. Remember, do, not, touch, the stave. Not with your hooves or your magic. You can throw stuff at it all day, so long as it’s not a magical creature,” Marigold said.

Rarity blinked. “But why?”

“On site disposal. We get rid of it now before there is even a chance that what happened to Hoofington happens again.”

Marble picked it up at the mention of Hoofington. She still felt heart ache for all the ponies lost there, even though she didn’t personally know any of them. It was good news that Baast was going to fix them.

She quietly made her way to the well and dropped it in. Rarity followed and collapsed the walls of the well in after it. With several hundred pounds of rubble now covering the stave along with all that rainwater there was no way anypony would find it again, not without significant work.

The storm up above began to clear up and almost like the world was pleased with the disposing of the stave, the sunlight came out and shined down upon the courtyard. Warm, beautiful sunlight. Marble smiled.

Once she made her way to the cages she saw Trixie holding the black cat. Trixie said, “I’m so glad that you’re okay, Guile. I missed you so much!”

“I don’t even remember it, so um… could you stop with all the touching. My beautiful fur is being ruffled,” the cat replied. “But thank you for your concern. It would hurt to lose such a prize as me, wouldn’t it?”

Trixie put Guile down, and then looked at her mother. “Mom, you’re doing that wrong.”

“I am not,” Marigold said.

Trixie walked over to the lock, her horn flashed purple for but a second and the lock fell from the bars. “Oh, really?”

“I loosened it up for you,” Marigold said.

The door slid open and Trixie walked out. She started toward Marble and then Pinkie jumped up and shoved her aside. Pinkie Pie looked over at Trixie and growled. “No way, even if you didn’t fillynap my sister I am not letting you touch her.”

Marble had had enough of this. She grabbed her sister by the shoulder spun her around and glared into her eyes. Pinkie Pie only stared at her in dumb awareness. Her fur was still a bit faded and her mane was still down.

Marble inhaled deeply before unleashing a lecture the likes of which could decimate the heavens themselves. “Pinkie Pie, I am over eighteen, I am able to make my own deacons and I love Trixie. She has only ever done good things to me, and I could never be as close to somepony as I am her. I have seen the very depths of her soul, the regrets the fears and the self loathing. I have also seen her dreams, her aspirations, and the little things that make her life worthwhile.”

Marble pointed a hoof at Trixie’s saddlebags, and at the grappling hook. “That is the grabbling hook you got her for the PSSD, isn’t it?”

Pinkie Pie nodded.

“Do you know what that means? It means that she values what you got her, she could have gotten another grabbling hook easily, but she kept the one you got her special. Because even if you have been nothing but a bully to her, she still wanted to be your friend.” Marble took in a deep breath, it was exhausting to talk so much. “You don’t have to like her, you don’t have to be her friend, but you do have to respect my choices. One day I am going to marry her and we will have little earth pony unicorn babies and they will be beautiful.”

“Uh, ponies don’t work that way,” Pinkie Pie said.

“Did I give you permission to speak?”

Pinkie Pie shook her head.

“Then be quiet until I am done.” Marble walked over to Trixie and inspected her for any damages. She looked as perfect and attractive as ever. That wet mane only made her look more alluring, even with the mud on her hooves. “I love you, Trixie. With all my heart and soul I love you.”

“I love you too,” Trixie said. She sniffled and reached out to hug her.

Marble pushed Trixie’s leg away, and for a moment Trixie looked hurt. Marble then leaned in and kissed Trixie on the lips, and held herself against her lover for as long as she could. Fire raced across her face, and her tiny heart galloped with joy. Nothing in the world could have stopped her from being in love with Trixie. Not even Pinkie Pie.

When Marble pulled away she looked back at Pinkie Pie. “If you ever try to come between me and my lover again, I will leave your house and move in with Trixie, forever! Also I will tell Maud that you tried to keep me prisoner.”

Pinkie Pie gasped. “Don’t do that, please don’t. I won’t do it again, I promise. Please don’t tell Maud.”

Marble flicked her tail and stuck her nose up for good measure. “I’m a good sister, so I will forgive you.”

Trixie sat down. “You sound so beautiful.”

Marble stared at her. Sound… oh crap!

A tiny squeak escaped Marble’s voice as she wrapped her legs around Trixie and buried her head into her neck. I was talking! I was talking a lot! Oh no. Oh, and I said some awful things. Just now, didn’t I?

Trixie wrapped a leg around Marble and pulled her close. “Even if I don’t ever get to hear that lovely voice again, I will always love you.” Trixie then looked at Pinkie Pie. “Trixie is sorry about how harsh Marble was on you… Trixie knows that you have hurt her a lot, and Trixie has hurt you. Do you think that now we can try and be friends? Or at least be friendly towards each other?”

Pinkie Pie lowered her head. “I don’t like it.”

“Neither does Trixie, but she wants to be friends with Marble’s twin sister. Trixie would hate to come between you two.”

“You already- grrr, fine. I’ll try and be friends with you.” Pinkie Pie stood up. “In fact, I’m going to be a better friend to you then you can be to me! I’ll give you free cake, and hugs and presents! You can’t top that and then I’ll be the better friend!” Pinkie Pie turned around and marched off. She grabbed Rainbow Dash by the leg and dragged her with her. “I am going home to make a ‘New Best Friend Party’ and you can’t stop me!”

Trixie blinked. “If she wants to be friends with Trixie, then why does she sound so angry about it?”

Rarity shrugged. “Pinkie is Pinkie. The good news is, she will become your new best friend now, whether you like it or not.”

A shiver ran through Trixie’s body and Marble felt the fear mixed with joy that Trixie was feeling. Trixie looked at Rarity. “Okay, do we all go home now?”

Marigold nodded. “Of course. Just let me use a spell to wake up Starlight over there. She’s still covered in sleeping powder.”

Marble tightened her grip around Trixie. Trixie offered her the same before whispering, “You wanna go back to my place?”

“Mmhmm.”

“I love you.”

Marble leaned up to Trixie’s ear and whispered, “I love you too.”

Epilogue

Marble Magic

Epilogue

Written by TheCrimsonDM

Total word count: 56,661

A week had passed ever since the defeat of Baast at Marble’s hooves, and Trixie couldn’t be more happy. Over that course of time, Trixie had gotten close to Pinkie Pie as well, awkwardly close. The worst part was when Pinkie Pie would appear in her house at random intervals during the day to give Trixie her daily surprise hug. At first that scared the crap out of Trixie, but soon enough the hugs became something she would look forward too.

More so than that, it was just nice being able to be open about her relationship with Marble. Hiding it had been a strange mixture of exciting, scary, and painful. Now that they were completely open about it though, they were able to share their love for each other without hiding. Dating had been particularly interesting, mostly because Marble still had a terrible fear of being around other ponies.

Pinkie Pie and Rarity both showed more love and tolerance in this field then anypony would have expected. The pair got together and set up wild dates for both mares, not too wild perhaps, but always new and exciting. Trixie was actually thoroughly enjoying this new part of her life. For once things looked bright as could be with no darkness in sight.

Trixie also went home to visit the revived population of Hoofington, which now surprisingly included a few dragons. It would seem that the shared experience of being turned to stone brought ponies and dragons together. Hoofington was going to become a huge stepping stone in pony dragon relations.

The stave had been hidden well, and various enchantments, seals, and even guardians had been posted around the well. Should anypony go messing with it, they would receive quite a shock. Of course since nopony really went to the castle, other than the ones that knew about the stave, there was little chance that any danger would happen any time soon. Hiding it in a forgotten ruin, meant that the stave too would be forgotten.

Trixie found herself sitting at Sugarcube Corner enjoying a chocolate milkshake and watching Marble from across her table. Marble smiled as she ate her carrot cake, apparently she had never had it before and fell right in love when she tried it.

“So,” Trixie said. “How are things at the castle. Do you like being a princess’s servant?”

“Mmhmm.”

“Twilight isn’t over working you is she?”

“Mm-mmm.”

Trixie smiled. “That’s good. If she ever gives you any problems just come to me. I’m not afraid to set her right.”

The front door opened and two mares Trixie had never expected to see again walked through. Limestone and Maud Pie. They went straight for Trixie’s table and sat down. Limestone glared daggers at Trixie. Maud just stared blankly. Trixie heavily suspected that Maud was never fully here.

“Okay,” Limestone said. “I read the letter and I don’t like it. You’re dating my sister and that means that I have to give you the warning. Ever hurt her, even once, and I will hunt you down and smash you with a boulder.”

Trixie gulped. “T-Trixie would never hurt her. Marble means everything to Trixie.”

“Ugh, why the third person crap?” Limestone asked.

Maud put a hoof on her angry sister’s shoulder. “Because she’s not comfortable around us. She doesn’t talk that way to Marble.”

“Well… whatever,” Limestone turned to face Marble. “Is Pinkie Pie driving you nuts yet? Do you want to come home?”

Marble shook her head.

“Well that’s good…”

Trixie cleared her throat. “The reason why Pinkie Pie hasn’t driven her insane yet is because Marble is now a permanent resident of Castle Twilight. Trixie is more proud of Marble for getting her own place than you could imagine, plus she looks adorable in her little maid outfit.”

Maud blinked. “Trixie’s dressing you up already?”

“What, no?” Trixie said. “She’s the princess’s servant, she has a uniform. It looks cute on her is all.”

“Oh…” Maud sounded disappointed.

Marble covered her face with her hooves. Trixie rolled her eyes. Limestone laughed. All in all it was looking like a great day. With all four pie sisters in the house, it almost felt like Trixie was back on the farm, doing work that although difficult was fulfilling. She could smell the cooked earth, and the sand. For a brief moment she was reminded of Hoofington.

She looked around the table and smiled. She had a family. Not only that, she had a shy, but confident and strong willed lover that would challenge the world or at least a demigod just for her.

Trixie’s life had become perfect.