Mine, mine and again mine!
The great and powerful Trixie had done many things in her life she was not proud of. She bailed out of Celestia´s school for gifted unicorns, when it was getting to hard. When it got to delicate to maintain the lie around her mother, she went on tour with an circus act. She lied her way into performances and tricked ponies into believing and trusting her.
She was rather good at it, had never lied herself into a corner were she could not escape. Taking advantage of ponies was her forte and she became good enough of a stage magician to earn on living.
The way she acted it was just a matter of time till she was caught red handed. When she had come to Ponyville she stumbled into her downfall. Over the years she had lied herself up a huge reputation. Ponies actually believed her when she claimed to be able to defeat an ursa mayor. But when she was confronted with a baby version of it, a freaking house size baby, she could not do anything.
The message of her web of lies coming down has traveled to every town she had been to before and was spreading faster then she could travel herself. She could no longer get any permissions from any vendor halls for her acts.
It has taking a long time and literally pushing herself into a special performance for Princess Celestia that was done by another unicorn to even get slightly back on track. From that day forward Trixie's life improved again, especially once she met a very special pony. A unicorn named Starlight Glimmer were she could be open with her feelings, that she could trust and were she felt safe to just be herself. Together with her she has safed Equestria and got honored with the Equestrian Pink Hearts of Courage.
Ponies trusted her again and her performances were greatly appreciated. How could life get any better for her from here?
"Hello Lazybones."
Cold sweat was surfacing on Trixie´s face as she saw right into a pair of angry light green eyes. Face to face with a grey earthpony, that she recognized far to well from back then when times were dire. She could feel her every breath. What was going on she was just here to meet up with Starlight. Trixie could here another voice, a very calm monotone voice that was sending shivers down her spine at every word it spoke.
"Starlight is my best friend now. Limestone is here to take you back to the rock farm."
Fright befell Trixie as she saw the second Pie sister. An earthpony of grey fur and purple mane. One would not fear her on your first meeting, but once you get to know her, one will start to avoid her at any cost. She was terrifyingly strong and her expression was always stone cold. Trixie was not even sure if this mare knew what a smile was.
The older sister, Limestone, started to push Trixe down the road. From experience the blue unicorn knew that it was futile to resist on her own.
"I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Twilight had me...", a pink unicorn troted around the corner watching the scene that played out in front of her.
"Starlight, help!" shouted Trixie as soon as she just heard her friends voice.
Starlight horn lit up in anger fueled magic, the blue aura turned red as Maud lifted her hoof to stop her from assaulting Limestone.
"My sister just reclaims our property."
"Property?! exclaimed Starlight.
Maud pulled out a piece of paper out of her frock as she stated in her monotone emotionless voice: "We got a bill of sale right here, that says she belongs to us." Starlight stared at the piece of paper in the grey mares hoof.
"You... you can´t buy a pony! That´s slavery!"
Limestone looked away from Trixie for a short moment: "Read the contract. It´s not pony trafficking, if they sell themself."
"This can't be legal!" Said Starlight looking at written down treaty. "So much... Trixie. What did you need so much money..." Then Starlight remembered the story of the Alicorn Amulett she was told from both, Trixie and Twilight. About how Trixie bought a magical artifact for her revenge on Starlight's mentor.
Limestone stares down at Trixie. "She owes me a lifetime of workload at my mine for all that money."
"Wait!" shouted Starlight as Limestone tried to deport Trixie, "We will repay you! Trixie how big are your savings?"
The grey mare stopped this train of thought right at the start: "Your money won't get my mine any deeper, will it?"
***
"I can't believe you are doing that for Trixie." said Trixie tearing up.
"Me, neither." admitted Starlight as she kept slamming the pickaxe into the cracks of the stone wall. The third mare kept her mouth closed as all three were working next to each other. "I am really sorry that I put you through this, Maud."
"I don´t mind mining with friends." she said as her hoof cracked open the wall with every hit. The unicorns floated the rubble into the mine carts standing by. From time to time one of the other Pie family members showed up to move the carts. Starlight could not hide her admiration for Maud´s strength at first, but it faded the longer they were working down in the mine.
The next day Maud was not in the mine with them instead they were accompanied by a different pony. It was an, also grey, young mare that was very quiet and nervous pony. For the whole day they worked she did not said a single word. Only muffled sounds were passing her muzzle and everytime Limestone Pie entered the tunnel to check on Trixie she almost threw her own work aside.
It was the third day when things became terrifying, the day Limestone herself joined their workforce. She screamed and ordered them around and their whole bodies start aching. Starlight and Trixie were force to were rings around their horns that hamstringed their magic and the unicorns had to work like earthponies for the first time. They had reached a lode of special rocks that were valuable, but also extremely vulnerable to magic.
The question about what kind of rocks they were and their purpose was kept a secret from them, only the necessary information for their extraction was shared. Thus they worked with Limestone for the next five days. Every evening the two unicorns were aching before Starlight teleported them back home to Ponyville.
They thought it could not get any worse then not being able to use their magic, but they found out that using it was also not all what it's cracked up to be once the lode was empty. By that day Limestone brought in a pack of Diamond Dogs and even with their magic they could not keep up with the debris they produced. They exhausted their magic to the point that they had to stay overnight at the Pie household.
"The room is too small for two ponies!" complained Starlight about the questroom. On what limestone replied:
"I had to share it with all of my sisters. It'll be enough for you two."
It was not till the end of the second week that they got a visit from a different pony. A lavander pony with wings and horn had traveled all the way to the Pie Family Rock Farm to demand the release of Starlight Glimmer: "Miss Pie. I want my student back! You got no right to..."
"She can go when ever she wants. I only have a contract with Trixie." said Limestone Pie, boldly interrupting the speech of the alicorn princess.
"About that how long do they still have to work off Trixie's dept?" asked Twilight.
"Fiftythree weeks."
"That´s not right! Trixie got help from Starlight! It should be Fiftyone by now!" shouted Trixie at Limestone, but Limestone dismissed her claim. The blue unicorn almost crumbled under Limestone darkened gaze.
"I don´t care how many ponies help you! YOU owe us money. YOU owe us workhours! And YOU will own up to YOUR dept." Twilight wanted to argue on behalf of Trixie, but Limestone cut her off before she could even started. "Don't you say a single word Princess Twilight Sparkle. I know exactly what she did with my money. She bought the the Alicorn Amulet. She enslaved an entire village. She fought you. AND SHE STOLE PINKIE'S SMILE!"
"Trixie is sorry.!" whimpered Trixie on the ground before her.
"Do you think I trust YOUR word. I got one year to make you feel sorry! And I gonna use it!" shouted Limestone.
Starlight yelled out: "You should not be in charge of her!"
Twilight agreed full heartedly: "There has to be another way to settle this."
"No legal way! She has a contract with me."- screamed Limestone Pie - "A contract is a written promise. And nopony is breaking a promise they gave me!" Twilight looked at Limestone baffled, unlike with Maud, she actually could see some resemblance with Pinkie Pie in her.
"What do you want from Trixie?"
Limestone stared at the blue unicorn: "I want her to own up to her words!"
