Festival

Chapters

Day 2: Confrontation
Day 3: Reconciling
Day 4: Phobias and Partnerships
Day 5: Outdone
Day 6: Making Things Right
Day 7 (Part one): Origins
Intermission: Canterlot Nights
Day 8 (Part one): The Challenge
Day 8 (Part two): The Duel
Prologue and Day 1: The Festival Has Begun
Day 7 (Part two): Mish-mash and Memories

Day 2: Confrontation

Trixie blinked the sunlight out of her eyes, slowly returning to the waking world. She sat up in bed and rubbed her head, momentarily forgetting where she was. The world came into focus, the familiar sight of the hotel room greeting Trixie as she woke up. She smiled; despite having slept here once before, she still wasn’t used to sleeping somewhere that wasn’t the bed in her caravan or, once right after her Ponyville escapade, out in the wild. She laid back down, nuzzling her head back into the pillow. Just five more minutes… she promised herself. Then Trixie will get up… go get some breakfast, plan tonight’s show, hunt down that cape thief…

Trixie jolted awake. The thief! He could be out and about at this very moment. No time for rest, Trixie must go find that charlatan as soon as she can! The sooner she gets back what’s rightfully hers, the better she can plan her performance. She got out of bed, pausing only a minute to grab her bits pouch from off the table beside her. She left her apartment and headed to the first floor, moving quickly down the stairs. She trotted through the lobby and exited, emerging out on the streets of Canterlot.

Ponies bustled around, inhabiting the entire city now that there wasn’t an event for them to watch. Though most of the festivities happened near the festival area, there were quite a few ponies selling carnival souvenirs or just having a good time overall. Trixie passed by few musical ponies, playing an upbeat tune as they led a group of dancing ponies through the streets. Trixie paid them no mind, instead opting to focus on seeking out the pony that she hoped would still be wearing her outfit.

Trixie patrolled the streets, keeping an eye out for any sign of the mysterious pony. Hours passed, the sun rising up into the sky above her, with no success. Half past noon, Trixie decided the search could wait just a moment, taking a detour into the nearest café.

Trixie took her place in line behind a few ponies, browsing the menu as the line slowly surged forward. Moments later her turn came, and Trixie strode up to the yellow-coated teenage colt running the counter. She ordered a muffin and tea, dropping her bits pouch on the counter as the colt went to retrieve her order. She counted out the payment, noticing that her money supply was starting to get low.

This could be a bit troublesome, she realized. Trixie’s going to have to cut back on a few meals… or, Celestia forbid… get a day job. With a shudder, Trixie reattached the pouch to her side as the colt returned, carrying a steaming cup of tea and a blueberry muffin. Trixie thanked the cashier and exited the line with her lunch, making her way towards the nearest table and curiously glancing out the café’s front window.

…Wait a moment. Trixie paused, focusing all her attention on what she saw outside. From the left side of the window walked a pony, the hat on its head blocking its face. “MY hat,” Trixie breathed, breaking into a run. She realized too late that ponies weren’t made to run on just two legs as she tripped over her own feet, clumsily landed flat on her stomach. Her muffin fell to the floor right in front of the exit, getting splashed by the tea that fell right after it. Trixie groaned and quickly rose to her feet, determined not to let the thief escape her. She stepped forward, only to bump into the cashier colt.

“Let me help you with that miss,” he offered. He bent low to wipe up the spill, blocking Trixie’s path.

“Er… thanks, but could you possibly move out of Trixie’s way?” The unicorn asked, worriedly glancing out the window and seeing the cloaked pony exiting from view.

The colt didn’t budge. “A little patience mam, I’ll get this cleaned up and we can see about getting you a replacement…”

“Oh no, there’s no need, Trixie just wants to leave. Could you… hey, are you listening?” The colt continued to block the door. This foal’s wasting time! Trixie thought, considering her options. Deciding a some rudeness was warranted, she let a short burst of magic flare out of her horn, shoving the colt out of the way.

“Hey!” He protested, sliding a short ways across the room. Trixie ignored him, barging out the exit and back into the streets. She looked around, the shady pony nowhere to be seen. Blast! she cursed, quickly pondering what to do next. She began dodging through the throng of pedestrians and carnival celebrators, heading in the direction she saw the thief going. She ran, realizing only right before she got there where she was heading to.

Trixie glanced up, inspecting the sign hanging from a couple lampposts. She groaned, realizing it was the one place she was hoping she could have avoided during these two weeks. Determined to keep up the hunt, Trixie ran under the sign, leaving it behind to declare it’s message to anypony passing by:

Welcome to the Celestial Carnival fairgrounds!

Trixie was immediately overtaken by how different the heart of the holiday was from its outskirts. While ponies were prone to reveling everywhere in Canterlot, the fairgrounds itself was filled to the brim with ponies having a good time. Ponies surrounded her on all sides; some were getting into lines for rides or food stands, some were offering their wares or going about their business, but everypony was having fun. The downside to that, of course, was that Trixie could barely see ahead of her with the massive crowd surging around her.

Trixie passed through the crowd, shouldering her way through protesting ponies. She found a break in the group, stepping out into the middle of the street. Catching her breath from the run, she enjoyed the lack of ponies as she eyed her surroundings. Up ahead stood a tall building, adorned with shiny yellow and gold fabric. Trixie’s eyes narrowed as she saw something enter the building; a fleeting glimpse of purple. With a grin, Trixie resumed her run and charged into the structure. I’ve got you now, you…

…you… oh my. Trixie blinked, a reflection of herself responding in kind. She stepped forward, a thumping sound resounding around the room as she walked straight into a wall. She rubbed her nose and felt in front of her, inspecting what she’d run into. The reflection in front of her repeated her motions, its face falling as its owner came to a realization.

A hall of mirrors. Trixie looked around, and dozens of copies of her looked back. It can never be easy, she moaned. She began weaving her way forward, occasionally bumping into a reflection of herself. Minutes passed by, with Trixie beginning to get dizzy from all the circles she’d managed to walk in. Suddenly, a flash of purple shot across the mirror she was looking at.

“You there! Stop!” She commanded, changing her path and running towards where she saw the scrap of purple.

Slam!

Trixie bounced off the mirror, dazed. She peeked up, noting that a purple caped-pony was glancing around curiously. Trixie watched as the pony’s reflection shrugged and began walking away… into the sunlight of the exit.

“No!” Trixie cried out, quickly getting back on her feet. She began working her way through the maze again, taking caution to not have another embarrassing run in with herself. Moments later, a glow began to grow in front of her. Trixie walked to it, emerging back out onto the fairgrounds. Trixie smiled, glad to be free of the confusing building. The smile fell, however, when she realized the pony was gone once again.

Cursing under her breath, Trixie decided she’d had enough of this. “You! With the purple hat and cape! Show yourself!” She looked back and forth, glaring in all directions. Ponies began shooting her nervous looks as she eyed them up and down, a few ponies quickening their pace to get away from the shouting unicorn. A flash of purple walked a little too close to Trixie and she lashed out, turning to face the intruder.

“You!” She accused. The random blue stallion backed away slowly, his purple wristband glinting in the sunlight.

“I…I don’t want any trouble, m-miss,” the pony blathered before turning and breaking into a run. Trixie just then noticed the nervous and curious looks being shot her way, a warm blush rising to her face as she calmed herself down. Deciding to walk away with what little dignity she had left, she snuck into the crowd, headed back in the direction of her apartment.

Okay, you win this round, thief, Trixie mused. But it’s not over yet. If you were looking for me at the show yesterday, surely you’ll be looking for me tonight as well. And Trixie will be waiting for you, oh yes…

Trixie peered out from backstage, scanning the crowd. It took her a bit, but eventually her eyes settled on the all too-familiar figure of the cloaked pony seated near the front of the stage. Trixie maneuvered herself around, trying to get into a position where the stage lights weren’t blocking the pony’s appearance from view. With a sigh, she gave up, deciding to watch the show onstage. It was a few acts before it would be her turn to go, and she ran her plan through her head again as she watched a few acting ponies perform a relatively good rendition of Shakestallion for their performance.

Trixie thinks she can recall the spell… after all, she did do it successfully back in Ponyville. But what really matters is what the spell is supposed to deliver… She took her hat off her head, the same hat as last night, and checked to make sure what she needed was still within. Inside sat a scrap of paper, with ‘201E, Pegasus Plaza’ scribbled onto it. Trixie smirked, planting the hat back on her head.

Trixie watched the next few acts go by. She’d finished planning her act early, and had decided to head to the stage right afterwards. Trixie watched from the wings as act after act went by; a musical interlude from a white unicorn DJ got the crowd dancing, followed by a group of dressed-up mares performing a dancing routine. Finally, the jester from yesterday put on another show, deciding to use the fire again to hit targets placed around the stage. The show ended when the performer got a direct hit on a target way in the back of the stadium, and the audience went wild. The jester took his leave, and Trixie took a deep breath.

Here goes nothing, she thought. Grabbing a cluster of smoke bombs and aiming carefully, Trixie let loose with a barrage of the little black pellets. They spread out over the stage, bursting and clouding the stage in a dark mist. Trixie snuck through, depositing props around the stage as the smoke took its time dissipating. Trixie dropped off the last prop and took her place in the middle of the stage as the smoke finally cleared.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” She began, starting her usual tirade. “Gaze in awe at the stupefying magic of the Great and Powerful TRIXIE!” Trixie peeked out of the corner of her eye at the props she’d grabbed: a plethora of fireworks, some rope, and the piece de resistance, a small, mobile cannon she’d found backstage. She grinned gleefully. Oh yes, this will be quite the show.

Trixie stood tall on her hind legs, basking in the applause. “Thank you, thank you!” She called out, bowing low. She quickly scanned the crowd with her eyes, noting the mysterious pony was still in the crowd. Here goes nothing… Trixie stood up and took her hat off her head, raising a hoof over it. She reached inside and let magic course through her horn, focusing intently on the image she wanted to conjure. A few seconds later and Trixie had done it; a small bouquet of bright red roses was now resting inside her hat. Easy, she thought, grabbing the bouquet and the note she’d stashed in one fluid motion.

She dropped her hat back on her head and bowed low, quickly slipping the note deep within the bouquet as she did so. “Thank you, you’ve all been a wonderful audience! Trixie shall see you all again tomorrow!” With that, Trixie released the flowers into the audience, making sure it was directed towards a certain figure.

Trixie began walking offstage, keeping her eyes on the crowd. She smiled brightly and waved at the crowd, watching the bouquet sail away as she did so. A few ponies reached for it, but it eventually fell right into the mystery pony’s hooves. The pony brought the roses close, seemed to smell them, and reached their hoof in when they noticed something odd. They pulled out the note and read it, and Trixie smiled to herself. Success!

She slipped backstage, dropping off her green cape and hat. If things go according to plan, Trixie won’t be needing those shoddy things again, she thought. Trixie shot one last glance out at the crowd, watching it start to disperse, before she exited the stage. She walked out onto the streets of Canterlot, headed back home to prepare for a confrontation with a certain thief.

Trixie watched as her apartment’s door creaked open slowly, a pony in a purple star-adorned hat and cape making its way into the room. The pony glanced around curiously, not noticing when Trixie strode up and swiped the hat off its head. “Now listen here, cretin, Trixie doesn’t know where you get off stealing her things, but…” she blanked out as she saw who she was scolding. A lavender unicorn grinned sheepishly at her.

“Erm… hello to you too, Trixie.”

“…Twilight Sparkle?” Trixie’s confusion turned to anger as her rival stood across from her, wearing the cape she thought had been destroyed. She walked over and swiped the cloak off Twilight’s back, taking care to make sure it was unlatched from around Twilight’s neck first. “First, you have the gall to show up the Great and Powerful Trixie at her own show,” she began,” and then, you steal her prized possessions. I‘d like to say I‘m surprised, but…” Trixie slung the cape onto her back and placed the hat on her head, a sense of calm overtaking her as she reunited with her outfit.

“Excuse me?” Twilight asked, sounding offended. “I dug those out of the ruins of your caravan! I didn’t steal them, I was trying to return them to you! How was I supposed to know they were so special?”

“That’s no excuse.”

Twilight sighed. “Look, I didn’t come here to fight. My friend Pinkie Pie comes here every year with her bosses, Mr. and Mrs. Cake. They usually stay the whole event, and told Pinkie she could bring her friends along. I came to study the event, and… well, I heard that you’d be one of the performers for the festival. I figured it would be the perfect chance to return those to you.” She pointed towards Trixie’s hat and cape.

Trixie thought for a moment. “You… really dug these out of the rubble?”

“Well, it was the least I could do after we treated you like that back at Ponyville. Not that you weren’t asking for it… but, well, we were a little harsh.”

Trixie rubbed her hoof along her cape, the familiar silk a comfort to have back. “Well… thank you, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight smiled. “Also… I had an offer.”

Trixie turned to face the purple unicorn. “Hmmm?”

“Well, I think everypony got off on the wrong hoof. So I was thinking, maybe tomorrow I could take you out to lunch? We could check out the festival grounds, and I could reintroduce you to my friends. What do you say?”

Trixie turned away, pretending to think it over. What does Trixie say, Twilight Sparkle? She says to hay with you and your friends; Trixie’s gotten what she wanted, now you can get out and… her eyes passed over her bit pouch, laid out on the living room table. Its near-emptiness made Trixie rethink the situation. …well, she did offer to take Trixie out to lunch. I’m sure I could put up with that for one day.

Trixie turned back to Twilight. “Well… fine. Trixie accepts.”

Twilight burst into a grin. “Great! How about… hmm… I come get you, tomorrow morning? I know a nice place we can stop at for lunch, and we can see my friends on the way.”

“Yes, sure, fine. Trixie is tired from the show,” Trixie lied, “It’s been lovely getting reacquainted, but Trixie needs her rest. Good night, Twilight Sparkle.”

“Oh, um… okay. Good night, Trixie.” Twilight turned to leave, pausing at the door. “Trixie?”

“Yes?”

“Give my friends a shot; I’m sure they’ll do the same for you.”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Good night, Twilight Sparkle,” she repeated. Her guest bid her goodnight and left with a wave, leaving Trixie alone. Trixie shrugged and turned, heading down the hall to her bedroom.

Trixie laid down in the dark, thinking over the events of the last hour. What has Trixie gotten herself into, she groaned. Trixie’s plan was to get the two weeks over with and get out. Now, she’s having lunch with her foe, and going to chitchat with her enemy’s friends as well. Trixie sighed, nuzzling further into the bed and wrapping her cape around her. It’d been awhile since she’d used the cape for anything more than a stage outfit; she recalled that the last time she’d used the cape as a blanket, she’d been just a filly. But having it back after thinking it was destroyed was a relief, and she found herself snuggling into the silky cover.

Well, Twilight did reunite Trixie with her cape and hat. She shot a glance to her magician’s hat, resting on the dresser across from her. Trixie is grateful for that. And she did offer to pay for lunch, saving Trixie from wasting anymore of her dwindling funds. She flinched as she recalled Twilight’s friends: an orange earth pony, hogtied onstage for all to see. A white unicorn, obviously upset when Trixie did something as little as changing her hair’s color. A rainbow-maned pegasus, dragged around in a rainbow tornado and deposited out in front of the crowd. Trixie can’t say she’s excited about a reunion with them, though.

Trixie shrugged off her thoughts, deciding to just go to bed. She nuzzled into her pillow, wondering if she’d gotten herself in over her head.

Day 3: Reconciling

Knock! Knock knock knock!

Groan… Trixie slowly reentered the waking world, wrapping her cape around her head to block out the persistent pounding noise coming from outside. The noise came again and she grimaced, setting her impromptu blanket aside and glancing out the window. Outside sat a large sundial out in the hotel’s plaza, the shadow on the clock’s face showing that it was eight o’ clock. The knocking came again and Trixie departed from her room, grinding her teeth. Who dares interrupt Trixie’s beauty sleep?

She glanced around the living room, another round of knocks emanating from the entrance door. She walked over and opened it up, flinching back as a purple hoof almost hit her in the face.

“Oops! Good morning, Trixie.” Twilight smiled at the sleepy mare, while Trixie resisted the urge to slam the door in her face.

“It’s eight in the morning, Sparkle,” Trixie hissed. “Why are you here?”

Twilight looked at her in confusion. “Well, I thought we could stop by the fairgrounds a little before lunch… plus, we have to see my friends, too. It’s not too early, is it?”

Trixie calmed herself down. “Ye-…no, it’s fine. Trixie will be out in a minute. Wait here.” Trixie closed the door, muttering under her breath. She rarely got out of bed early, even when she was out on the road traveling. The things Trixie does for a free meal…

After a quick brush of her mane, Trixie met Twilight outside her door. “Well then, Sparkle, where are we going first?”

The two mares took off, Twilight detailing every minute of their plan for the day as they made their way downstairs. “Well, I know where Applejack and Rarity are… you remember them right? But I have no clue where the other three are. So let’s start by heading to Applejack and Rarity, and hope we run into the others along the way, and then…”

Wait… three more? Trixie pondered, the two unicorns exiting into the lobby. Trixie’s seen three of Twilight’s friends already, now there’s two more? And if they have personalities as ’lovely’ as her other friends… oh, Celestia.

“…and after lunch, we should have enough time to visit the fairground again, unless you‘d rather just get ready for your show.” Twilight raised an eye at her companion. “Is that okay?”

Trixie broke out of her thoughts. “Uh… yes, sure. But humor Trixie… where are we going first?”

Twilight opened the hotel’s entrance door open, letting Trixie slip out into the sunlight. Streams of ponies were already trotting around, getting an early start on another festive day. “First, we go see Applejack and Rarity down on Equest Avenue. The fairgrounds are nearby, so we’ll visit there next. And we’ll keep an eye out for my friends while we’re at it.” Twilight trotted ahead, motioning for Trixie to follow after her. “C’mon, Celestia’s sun waits for nopony!”

Trixie shrugged and picked up the pace, matching her companion’s speed. The two made their way through the crowded streets, their day together having only just begun.

Ten minutes later, and Twilight was still trying to get Trixie to have a conversation with her as they walked through town. What scared Trixie most of all was that Twilight was starting to succeed.

“You’ve really never been to Canterlot?” Twilight asked, the two of them walking through a plaza featuring a flowing fountain in its center.

“Well, Trixie has tried, once or twice. Surely the audience here would be of a higher class than the rest.” She sighed. “Though there’s not much room to maneuver a caravan through these streets,,,”

“Then you have to see it! There’s so many wonders to be seen here, not just during the holidays. In fact, I…”

Rrrmmmmble…

The two mares paused, as well as the other ponies crowding the plaza. Everypony glanced around curiously, before another rumble shook the ground. Gasps sounded around the area as the pristine fountain in the center went dry for a moment. Ponies mumbled amongst themselves with concern until one last rumble shook the ground, causing the fountain to reactivate once more. Out of the fountain flowed a strange brown liquid, replacing the water that had previously flown from it.

Curious ponies gathered around, including Twilight and Trixie. Curiosity turned to confusion as ponies first investigated the fountain‘s new water, and then jumped into it with gleeful shouts. Trixie watched in revulsion as Twilight dipped a hoof into the fountain, bringing a sampling of the brown muck to her mouth for a taste. “That’s just disgusting! Do you even know what that is?”

Twilight gave her hoof another lick. “If I had to guess, I’d say that’s… chocolate.”

“Huh?” Trixie bent down low to the fountain, at last noticing the chocolate-aroma of the strange water. “Trixie doesn’t understand. Why-”

“Watch out!”

Trixie was pulled back swiftly as something burst out of the fountain, splashing gooey chocolate globs everywhere. Trixie glanced at Twilight, who was holding the mare back, and then to the creature that had been lurking in the fountain.

“Hi there, Twilight!” A chocolate covered blob stood in the fountain, waving at the two unicorns. A tongue shot out of the blob, swirling around and clearing away all the chocolate from the creature‘s face, revealing a shock of bright pink hair on top of a pink coat. A pink earth pony smiled widely at them, adjusting the snorkel on its face. “Like the changes I’ve made to the fountain? Isn’t it splenderific? Tastytastic? Oooh, how about…”

“Pinkie… what did you do?” Twilight breathed, watching the pink mare stick her head under the chocolate waterfall, emerging completely coated again. “Is this even legal?!”

Pinkie shrugged. “It’s the Celestial Carnival, silly filly! We’re here to have fun, and what’s more fun than a CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN?”

Twilight looked ready to say something, but just let out a sigh before giving a small smile. “You still find new ways to surprise me, Pinkie Pie.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Pinkie Pie? She’s the one you’re staying with?” Trixie glanced down, noting Twilight’s hoof still placed across her chest. “Also, you can let go of Trixie now, thank you.”

Twilight blushed, releasing Trixie. “Yes, this is one of my friends… I don’t think you two have met before. Pinkie Pie, Trixie; Trixie, Pinkie Pie,” she said, introducing the two.

Pinkie Pie extended a hoof, and Trixie politely shook it. Only too late did she remember that the pink pony had just been bathing in chocolate; Trixie glanced down at her hoof, grimacing at the brown clumps sticking to her coat. “Erm… nice to meet you.”

“You too! Trixie, isn’t it? Twilight’s told me all about you! Oh, I couldn‘t wait to meetcha!”

Trixie smirked at Twilight, watching another hot glow warm up the purple mare’s cheeks. She turned back to Pinkie Pie and asked, “What HAS she said about Trixie?”

Pinkie raised her hoof to her chin. “Well, she said that on that one day I was making that special wedding cake with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, some magician pony walked into town, and it was you, and you were mean, but Twilight felt bad when she and the others harassed you onstage, and she found your stuff in a broken wagon-thingy, and she heard you were coming here, so she wanted to return them, and…”

Twilight shoved a hoof over Pinkie Pie’s mouth, silencing the talkative pony. “That’s enough, Pinkie Pie… hehe… ahem.” She let the talkative pony go. “Anyway, do you happen to know where Rainbow and Fluttershy are? They‘re the only ones I‘m not quite sure how to find.”

“Ooo, that’s easy. I saw them flying around together earlier; they were about halfway to the fairground when I saw them. They looked like they were having so much fun, and I forgot to bring my flying machine which means I couldn’t join them, so I walked around for awhile and that’s when I saw this fountain and…”

“Thank you, Pinkie!” Twilight interrupted. “See you at dinner later?”

“Of course, silly!” Pinkie Pie turned to Trixie. “See you later too, friend!”

Trixie blinked. “W-wha? Friend?”

“Of course! Any friend of Twilight’s is a friend of Pinkie Pie!” The pink pony rearranged the snorkel over her face. “Now if you’ll excuse me…” Pinkie leapt backwards, narrowly avoiding a colt playing in the fountain. With a cry of “DIVE, PINKIE, DIVE,” the party pony sank under the pool of chocolate.

…Friend? Trixie repeated in her mind. A hoof tapped her on the shoulder, and she turned to see Twilight motioning towards her.

“See, it wasn’t so bad, was it? Pinkie’s a little eccentric, but she’s one of the friendliest ponies I know. C’mon, let’s get going; maybe we’ll run into Rainbow Dash or Fluttershy on the way to the fairgrounds.”

“But Trixie wanted to hear how Pinkie sabotaged the fountain.”

Twilight smirked and rolled her eyes. “I’ll ask her for you later. C’mon, let’s go!” Twilight walked off into the crowd, Trixie accelerating to match her pace. Twilight tried to start up another chat, but Trixie’s mind was focused elsewhere.

Trixie has… never had a ‘friend’ before…

“Just what are you looking for?”

Twilight took her eyes off the skies and glanced at Trixie, the only other pony on the backstreet they‘d found. “Well, I was… wait one moment.“ She paused, noticing something on top of a stray cloud. “Rainbow?” She called out to it. “Rainbow Dash!”

Trixie glanced up, keeping an eye on the cloud. After a moment, an unfortunately familiar rainbow-maned pony peeked off the edge of the white fluff. Not long after, a yellow pegasus joined her, its pink hair drooping off the cloud’s edge. “Hold on a sec!” The blue pegasus shouted back, stretching out its wings before dropping off the cloud.

The pegasus reached them quickly, skidding to a stop on the ground in front of Twilight. The yellow pegasus was taking its time, slowly hovering down to the ground. The blue one didn’t bother waiting, “What’s up Twilight?” Noticing Trixie for the first time, the Pegasus shot her a look. “And why do you have that hack following you?”

Hack?! Trixie growled, about to rebuke the insult. Twilight butted in quickly before she had the chance, “Rainbow Dash, you remember Trixie, right?”

Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Yeah… not that I want to.”

“Are you looking to go for another spin cycle?” Trixie growled, the pegasus’ comments grating on her temper.

Twilight butted in again, making sure she was in between the two ponies. “Easy now, girls. Rainbow, I’m showing Trixie around the city, and wanted to reintroduce you two.”

Rainbow Dash huffed. “Sounds like a waste of a day to me.” The arrival of the yellow pegasus was all that kept Trixie from speaking her mind.

“Oh good, Fluttershy,” Twilight breathed. “I wanted to introduce you to Trixie.” She pointed to the blue unicorn, who gave a short, slow wave.

“Erm… s-she isn’t going to put me in a tornado… is she?” Fluttershy asked, nervously hiding behind her hair.

“That was just a misunderstanding,” Twilight promised, ignoring Rainbow Dash’s disagreeable huff. “She isn’t going to do anything.”

Fluttershy slowly peeked around her hair, eyeing Trixie up and down. “Oh… sorry about that… it’s nice to meet you,” she murmured.

“Is something wrong?” Trixie asked, curious about Fluttershy’s quiet speech.

“No, I’m fine… I’ve always been softspoken… sorry.”

Rainbow Dash gently nudged Fluttershy in the side. “Don’t we have somewhere to be?”

Fluttershy gave her a confused look. “No, not that I know of…”

“Of course we do!” Rainbow Dash shouted, starting to hover above the ground. “C’mon, let’s go!” She tossed Twilight a goodbye before taking off, leaving Fluttershy to slowly lift off into the air.

“I guess I can’t stick around for now… sorry… see you later, Twilight… ummm, and you too, Trixie.” Fluttershy took off with a flap of her wings, slowly following the trail of cloud that Rainbow Dash had left behind.

“Looks like you and Fluttershy are off on the right hoof,” Twilight pointed out, smiling.

“Trixie guesses that you’re right. But the other one…” She frowned.

Twilight’s smile turned over. “Well… I’m sure she’ll give you a chance, later on.”

“It isn’t giving Trixie much hope for the other two. Especially since Trixie‘s already off to a bad start with them.”

“I’m sure it’s all in the past; c’mon, they’re not too far away.” With that, the two unicorns began making their way farther into the city.

“Y’all are makin’ a big deal outta nothin’! Whoa!”

Twilight and Trixie ducked low as a couple needles sailed over their head, embedding themselves into a wooden food stand to their left. An orange pony glanced over the counter, glaring at the clothing cart across the street from her. “Now yer askin’ for it, miss priss!” The orange pony grabbed a few apples from the selection behind her, tossing them at the other cart. “How do ya like THEM apples?!”

The white unicorn standing inside the other cart motioned to the little dragon standing beside her, asking him to bring her some more things to throw. “Oooh, you cretin!” She shouted at the other pony. ”How dare you filthy up Rarity’s Costumes de Chique! More needles, Spike, quickly!”

“STOP!”

The feuding mares ceased their warfare at the sound of Twilight’s shout. Twilight stepped forward, looking at both of her friend’s embarrassed faces. “This is no way for friends to behave! What happened?”

“Rarity’s makin’ a mountain out of a molehill,” Applejack stated, trying to pry a few needles out of her stand’s front.

“And Applejack has the manners of a stray cat!” Rarity huffed. “I asked her to move her cart back a few inches; it was throwing off the street’s design. But nooo, she said ‘it isn’t a big deal’. All she had to do was move her little ramshackle cart a little, and she can’t even do that.”

“Ramshackle cart? Why I oughta…”

“Girls!” Twilight called out. “Can’t you see you’re disturbing everypony with this silly argument?” Twilight gestured around her, pointing out the crowd that was trying their very best not to get in the middle of the opposing stands. “You’re hurting your business, and your friendship.”

“Well,” Rarity began, “We wouldn’t be having this confrontation if a certain pony would just wheel her wares back a few paces.”

“And maybe we wouldn’t be in this situation if a certain uptight unicorn realized my cart isn’t disturbin’ nopony but you,” Applejack shot back.

Trixie stepped up to Twilight, watching as the two mares began their squabbling again. “Are they usually like this?”

“Not usually. They bicker from time to time, but they always get over it soon. There has to be some way to fix this…”

“If Trixie may, Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie said, motioning her companion to step aside. Trixie stepped forward, letting magic flow through her as she focused on Applejack’s cart. The bickering ceased as everypony watched the cart scoot back just a few inches.

“Was that so difficult?” Rarity said. “Thank you, darling…” she said to Trixie. A look of realization crossed her face as she saw who‘d helped them out. “Oh, my.”

“Is that who ah think it is?” Applejack asked.

Trixie shrunk back a little under their stares. “Er… yes, it is Trixie.”

“Yes,” Twilight interjected, “I wanted to introduce you two to her. Let’s let bygones be bygones?” Applejack and Rarity stared at her. “…Please?”

Rarity glanced down. “Well…” she huffed and looked up, smiling. “A lady never holds grudges, I suppose. And she did get Applejack to move her apple-shack where it should have been in the first place.”

“Don’t you start that up again, sugahcube. And it’s Applejack’s Appletastic Assortment to you,” Applejack scolded. “As fer you…” she looked at Trixie. “…you got Rarity to quiet down, and ah can’t thank ya enough for that. If ya keep the ego down, ah reckon ah can give you a chance.”

“How about you, Spike?” Twilight questioned the baby dragon, who’d been sitting back watching the confrontation from inside Rarity’s cart.

Spike shrugged. “Fine with me.”

“Great! Anything you want to add, Trixie?”

Trixie gave her a blank look. Twilight raised an eyebrow, mouthing ‘apoligize’.

“Oh! Uhm… Trixie is sorry for the tricks she pulled on you back in Ponyville…” the unicorn mumbled.

“Ah can’t hear ya,” Applejack said with a smirk. “Ya need ta speak up a bit.”

Trixie scowled. “Trixie is… sorry, very sorry. Satisfied?”

“Somewhat,” Rarity giggled. “But I don’t believe it sounds like you meant it. Care to try again, darling?”

“Girls…” Twilight scolded. Trixie placed a hoof on her shoulder, silencing her.

“They are right, Twilight.” She let Twilight go, looking at the other two mares in turn. “Trixie is very sorry for the tricks she pulled back in Ponyville… she handled the situation in the wrongest way possible…” she admitted. “But she is not the only one at fault.”

Applejack and Rarity absent-mindedly rubbed their hooves together, clearly uncomfortable. Applejack spoke up first. “Yer right. Ah’m sorry too, fer the hecklin’ and all.”

“Me too,” Rarity agreed. “Though the green mane was a little bit callous… and hideous, I might add.”

Twilight smiled. “I’m glad you three put everything aside.” Twilight glanced upwards towards the sun, seeing that it had started its very slow descent towards nighttime. “Hmm, looks like time's slipping by faster than I anticipated. How about we skip straight to lunch, Trixie?" Twilight watched her companion nod in approval. Satisfied with the answer, she turned back to her friends. "We’ll let you two get back to your stands… Spike, do you want to come along?”

“Nah, I’ll be here helping Rarity if you need me,” he said. “Ooo, but see if you can bring me home a doggy bag of gems, if they have them.”

Twilight giggled. “Right, will do. Come on, Trixie, I know the greatest place just a couple blocks from here…”

Twilight walked off, and Trixie made to follow. A hoof wrapped itself around her back and she froze, turning to see Applejack smirking at her.

“Well, ah never woulda guessed ah’d be friendly with somepony like you.”

“Likewise.”

“Ah’m glad we worked things out, sugahcube. Ah won’t hold ya back any longer. Just treat mah friend right, ya hear?”

“Pardon? What do you mean by that?”

“Erm…” Applejack’s face scrunched up. “Nothin’, didn’t mean nothin’ at all. Looks like Twilight’s gettin’ far ahead, ya better go catch her. Tell her we‘ll see her later tonight.”

“Urm… right.” Applejack let her go, returning to her cart to try and pry out the last few ballistic needles. Trixie shot her a curious look before shrugging and hurrying to catch up with Twilight.

“Alright, now Trixie knows you’re lying.”

“It’s the truth!”

“Trixie could barely believe you when you said you’re Celestia’s personal pupil; there’s no way she would ever believe you recaptured the god of chaos. She still can hardly believe you defeated that Ursa Minor.”

Twilight gulped, swallowing another bite of her daisy sandwich. The little restaurant they’d gone to, The Garden, had been one of Twilight’s favorite places to visit back when she lived in Canterlot as Celestia‘s student. Twilight glanced out the window next to their booth, gathering her thoughts. “In all honesty, it happened a week or two before you came to Ponyville. If you’d come just a little sooner, you might have gotten sucked up in Discord’s insane antics too.”

“Talk all you wish, the Great and Powerful Trixie knows you’re trying far too hard to impress her.” Trixie smirked, taking another bite of her wheat pancakes.

“You mean ‘The Great and Powerful devourer of breakfast for lunch’, right?” Twilight teased. Trixie rolled her eyes, finishing off her meal. Twilight watched for a moment, looking like she was deciding something. “Um… Trixie?”

Trixie looked up, wiping her mouth with a napkin. “Yes?”

“Well, I’ve told you so much about me… I’m curious about your past, too. Like, where did you come from?”

Trixie drew back a little bit. “No offence, but Trixie would rather not go into that.”

“Oh… sorry. Well, one question then…” Twilight said. “…When I came to return your stuff last night, you seemed awfully upset to see me wearing it… why’s that? Is there something special about your hat and cape?”

Trixie gave her a blank stare. “Some things are better left unknown, Sparkle.”

“Oh…” Twilight said, sounding disappointed. “Never mind.” She glanced out the window again. “Ooo… time’s flying today. The sun is already beginning its way down the home stretch. You have to prepare for tonight’s show, right?” Trixie nodded. “I suppose we can skip the fairgrounds,” Twilight sighed. “Shall we head back to your hotel?”

“If you insist. Trixie will lead the way.” The two mares took their leave, paying their bill with Twilight’s bits on the way out. Out in the streets, the two mares slowly started making their way back to Pegasus Plaza.

“Twilight?” Trixie spoke up.

“Hmm?”

“As much as she hates to admit it… Trixie… had fun today.”

Twilight smiled. “I’m happy to hear that.”

“And she still can’t believe you saved the moon princess from herself.”

“Oh, shut it,” Twilight replied with a friendly nudge.

Trixie bowed for the crowd again, the applause making sweet music to her ears. She waved one last time and stepped offstage, her cape swishing from side to side. Trixie is back in action, she mused, removing her hat and setting it aside while she levitated a cup of water to her mouth. She took a sip, recounting her day as she did so.

After the restaurant, Twilight had walked with Trixie back to Pegasus Plaza before bidding goodbye. Trixie had spent a couple hours planning that night’s performance, her cape’s return allowing her thoughts to flow freely. She’d gone to the stage and gotten ready for her show, waiting patiently for her turn to shine. When her turn had come, Trixie had put on an amazing show, the return of her cloak and hat enabling her to give her all during the performance. She’d been so into it, the audience had seemed nothing more than a blur as she performed trick after trick with excellent magical precision. She’d been right in her element, the audience’s resounding clapping proving that.

Now, she sat backstage, wondering what to do next. She set the water aside and donned her hat again, deciding she’d better get tomorrow’s show plans out of the way. She began to head for the exit door, not noticing somepony sneaking up on her. Trixie gave a shout and crumpled to the floor as something tackled her.

“Ohmygosh you were great!” Pinkie Pie praised, laying on top of Trixie’s back. “Twilight, why didn’t you tell me that would be so fun and sparkly? I could have taken a break that one day to come watch!”

"Err… nice to see you too, Pinkie,” Trixie groaned. “Could you get off?… and Twilight’s here, too?”

Trixie felt the weight leave her back, a purple hoof suddenly entering her field of vision. She grasped it and felt herself being hauled to her feet, coming face to face with Twilight Sparkle. “That was a great show, Trixie! Much better than the last two day‘s performances.”

“Well… thank you, fans. But what are you doing here?”

“We came to see our new friend put on a super show!” Pinkie chimed in.

“Trixie meant what are you two doing backstage? Are the others here?”

“We came to see our new friend after she put on a super show!” Pinkie replied. “And it’s just me and Twilight. The others went back to where we’re staying… their loss!”

“Trixie didn’t even see you two in the audience.” She rubbed her neck. “She was really into the show.”

“No worries,” Twilight assured her. “We didn’t just come to watch the show, though.”

“Huh?” Trixie asked.

“Come to the fair with us tomorrow!” Pinkie shouted, bouncing up and down. “Twilight told me you didn’t have time today, and that’s just not fair! You, me, and her can go tomorrow morning and spend the day there! It’ll be fun! C’mon, say yes, like this!” Pinkie reached forward and grabbed Trixie’s head, bobbing it up and down.

“P-p-please s-s-stop t-t-that,” Trixie stammered. Pinkie let her go, and Trixie raised a hoof to her chin in thought. I figured I’d be done with them after today… I can still say no, go back to the apartment, and just get these two weeks over with. Having made up her mind, Trixie glanced at her two mares. “Yes, Trixie will go.” I managed to make some friends, and Celestia forbid I give up on them so easily.

“Hooray!” Pinkie cheered, wrapping a hoof around both Twilight and Trixie. “We’ll have so much fun tomorrow!”

Twilight grinned, accepting the group hug. “Of course we will, Pinkie.” She glanced at Trixie. “See you at eight again?”

“Ten at the least, or you’ll find Trixie’s door locked and barricaded.”

“Fair enough,” Twilight giggled. “C’mon Pinkie, let’s let the performer have her rest.” Pinkie let them go and the two backstage guests bid Trixie a good night, taking their leave. Trixie picked her hat up from the ground, where it’d fallen when Pinkie jumped her, and placed it back on her head. Ready to go, she exited backstage and out into the streets, the moon‘s glow illuminating her path home.

Trixie laid on the couch, taking a break after spending an hour or so plotting out the next show. She yawned, deciding it was time for her to head to bed. She got up and set her plans aside, the drawings and calculations put away for tomorrow. She turned off the living room light and headed down the hall to her room. As she walked, a thought crept into her mind.

Is Trixie capable of having friends without messing it up?

She shrugged off the thought, closing it off and closing her bedroom door behind her.

Day 4: Phobias and Partnerships

Trixie took a bite from her second muffin, washing it down with some fresh apple juice. In hindsight, stopping at a late night café and buying a meal-to-go on her way home last night was a wise decision, allowing her to stay home and enjoy her breakfast in peace back at her apartment. Trixie yawned; though she could have slept in more than yesterday, she decided it couldn’t hurt to shower and eat before her new friends came to pick her up.

Let’s see… Trixie got up around nine, showered for a good half hour, and took her time with breakfast, she calculated. Should be about time for Trixie to get ready to leave; no doubt they’ll be here any moment. Tossing the remains of her meal in the trash, she stepped out of the kitchen and into her living room.

“Good morning, sleepyhead!”

Trixie let out a shriek, walking right into Pinkie Pie outside her kitchen. “How’d you get in?” she breathed, “Trixie had the door locked!”

“No, it wasn’t,” Pinkie Pie assured. Trixie walked past her and tried the front door, seeing that it definitely was still locked. “ANNNNNYWAAAAAY,” Pinkie said, quickly changing the subject, “How was your morning?”

“Um… until this point, fine. Now, it’s just getting weird.”

“You’re so silly, Trixie! Oh yeah, Twilight’s waiting for us outside. Ready to go to the fairgrounds? Today’s gonna be a blast!”

“Uh…” Trixie decided to let the invasion slide. “Yes, Trixie’s ready. Lead the way.”

“Okie dokie! Let’s go!” Pinkie bounced to the front door, throwing it wide and hopping out into the hallway. Trixie followed, finding a confused Twilight out in the hall.

“How’d you get in there Pinkie?” Twilight questioned, “I turned my back for one second and you were missing. Wasn’t her door locked?”

“Less talkie, more walkie!” Pinkie Pie replied, bouncing towards the stairwell. Twilight and Trixie glanced at each other, shrugging. Trixie closed her door, testing to make sure it was locked firmly, and the two unicorns trotted to catch up with their bubbly friend.

“No fair! You cheated!”

“Did not!” Pinkie Pie countered Trixie’s accusation, picking out a massive blue dog plushie from the top row on the carnival game she’d won.

“Trixie saw you! You were supposed to shoot the target with a water pistol, not douse it with a fire hose!”

“There’s nothing in the rules against it! Isn’t that right, Blooey-wooey?” Pinkie Pie cooed to the stuffed toy she’d been handed. She nuzzled it for a moment before tossing it behind her, the toy landing on top of a wagon filled past capacity with similar stuffed animals.

Twilight giggled. “If you’re going to complain, Trixie, maybe you should stop challenging Pinkie Pie to all these games? Celestia forbid Mount Fluff climbs any higher.”

“Trixie didn’t see you this calm when Pinkie whooped your flank at the balloon popping game,” Trixie retorted.

“Quiet, you! The wind blew my darts away!”

Pinkie laughed at her friend’s antics, grabbing her wagon by its handle. “Who cares, we’re having fun! C’monc’monc’mon, what’re we gonna do next?”

Twilight eyed the sky-high pile of toys again. “Maaaybe we’ve played enough games for today. How about some rides?”

“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie agreed. “You two pick the funnest ride you can find, I’m going to drop these off! Be right back.” With that, Pinkie reached into the mountain of toys, pulling out a train conductor’s cap. Plopping it on her head, she gave out a shrill whistle before charging off into the crowd with her loot. Twilight and Trixie watched as the crowd dived out of the way, bright-eyed fillies and colts snagging any toys that happened to fall off the wagon.

“Quite a friend you have there,” Trixie commented.

Twilight chuckled. “You’re telling me. But she’s funny, she wants to make sure everypony has a smile on their face… and she does throw some of the best parties I’ve ever seen.”

“And how many HAVE you been to, exactly? Besides hers,” Trixie teased.

Twilight’s face went slightly crimson. “Well… I did go to the gala, that one time… and… uh… there was that time I… no, that was just a sleepover… uh, do my birthday parties count?”

Trixie cackled, having a laugh at her friend’s expense. Twilight’s face went a deeper shade of red as she walked past the laughing unicorn. “Moving on! I see some rides over here, let’s go!”

Trixie stopped laughing and nodded, the two of them setting off into the crowd. Trixie looked around her at all the sights; food stands littered her surroundings, peddling all kinds of sugary treats- which Pinkie had made sure to indulge in. They were surrounded by carnival game booths, where ponies young and old performed various fun challenges for prizes. Off in the distance sat some of the rides; the closest was a glimmering red ferris wheel, flanked by white and black carriages adorned with sun and moon patterns, respectively. Off in the distance sat the Speeding Stallion, the carnival’s number one roller coaster. And that was just the beginning, with dozens more rides decorating the city around them.

Trixie had to admit, she wondered why she didn’t have any intention of coming a couple days back. She had expected a bunch of uncouth slobs going wild in the streets, but had instead found a pretty fun place to spend the day… and her new friends were definitely helping that.

“See anything interesting?” Twilight asked, breaking Trixie out of her thoughts. Trixie glanced around, scouting out any rides that appealed to her.

“Hmmm… how about…”

“That!” Trixie paused when Pinkie Pie reappeared, leaping out from between the two unicorns. Twilight and Trixie looked where she was pointing; the ferris wheel Trixie had noted earlier loomed over their heads, the sun branching through its inner workings. “Not only will it be fun, we can see where else to go!”

“Well… why not,” Trixie agreed. “Twilight?” She turned to the mare. “Huh?”

Twilight’s ears were folded down, her eyes wide as she looked up at the towering structure of the ferris wheel. “S-so Pinkie, how’d you get back so fast?” She stammered, clearly trying to change the subject.

“Huh? I walked, silly filly! Duh!” Pinkie replied- though neither pony believed her. “Now what about the ferris wheel? C’mon! They’re so exciting! The way you go up, and you can fall any second, but you don’t, and you can see forever!” Pinkie Pie said, waving her arms around for emphasis.

At the word ‘fall’, Twilight seemed to blank out a little more. “H-how about… um… t-the bumper boats? O-or the haunted b-boutique?”

Pinkie Pie laughed. “Oh, you’re so silly, Twilight! C’mon, let’s go!” Ignoring her protests, the pink pony began bouncing to get into the line for the ferris wheel.

Trixie shot Twilight a look. “Are you okay?”

“F-fine! Never better!” Twilight’s eyes shot around nervously.

“…Okay then. Shall we go? Pinkie‘s saving a spot in line for us.” Trixie pointed out their pink friend, bouncing up and down in line as the ponies near her eyed her curiously.

“S-sure.” Twilight paused and gulped, shaking her head quickly. Taking a deep breath, she walked forward and got into line next to Pinkie. Trixie shrugged and joined the two ponies.

Time passed and the trio got closer and closer to the front, Pinkie never stopping her bouncing back and forth. Meanwhile, Trixie kept an eye on Twilight; the unicorn looked anything but fine as she constantly kept her eyes on the ferris wheel, her body occasionally giving off a nervous twitch.

The three ponies eventually made their way to the front, a teenage mare in a candy-striped vest blocking their path forward as she allowed ponies to go ahead in groups of twos and threes. Pinkie Pie was the first to reach the mare, stepping up to the ride worker.

“How many?” The mare asked, half-mindedly tugging at the band holding her mane together.

“Lemme count…” Pinkie muttered, “One… two… oh, and the pony behind you.”

“Huh?” The ride manager looked over her shoulder curiously, turning back to see that the pink pony in front of her had mysteriously disappeared. “Wha?” She glanced around curiously before shrugging and pushing a few switches, making the next carriage come down. Pinkie Pie peered over the edge of one of the carriages, waving at her friends as she began her ascent in her own personal compartment.

Trixie chuckled at the pink mare‘s antics. She glanced at Twilight when she noticed her companion was being awfully silent; Twilight was backing away slowly, inch by inch.

“Are you sure you want to ride?” Trixie asked. Twilight looked up in surprise, nodding enthusiastically. “REALLY sure?”

“O-of c-course! L-let’s g-go!” Twilight strode forward through the ferris wheel’s turnstile, Trixie following her as the ride manager let them pass. They reached the carriage and Twilight put a hoof in, her leg starting to shake as the carriage rocked from the touch. Trixie sighed and pushed Twilight forward gently, the unicorn stepping up into the compartment. Trixie followed in after her, closing the door behind them.

Each pony took a seat on one side of the carriage, the two-person benches allowing them plenty of elbow room. Trixie idly tapped a hoof on her seat, watching as her companion nervously glanced around. Moments later, their carriage lurched, making Twilight squeak in surprise. Trixie glanced out the window and watched as the ground started to fall away beneath them, the carriage rising higher and higher.

Trixie looked around them, the fairgrounds expanding as far as her eyes could see. The ponies that crowded the streets grew smaller and smaller, as did the rides she noticed. It was almost as if she could reach out and pick up the rides in her hooves. Past the fairgrounds she saw the rooftops of Canterlot’s buildings, and if she squinted really hard, Trixie swore she could see Pegasus Plaza’s towering apartments.

Trixie gave a contended sigh, enjoying the peaceful view. It didn’t last; the serene environment was invaded by some low whimpering. Trixie glanced to Twilight, and she gasped in surprised. “Twilight! What’s wrong?”

“H-huh?” Twilight was glancing down at the floor, holding her arms over her head. She raised her head at the sound of Trixie’s voice, shooting a quick glance out the window. Twilight shrieked, beginning to wave her arms.

“Whoa! Calm down! What’s wrong?!” Trixie shouted.

“H-HEIGHTS!”

“What?”

“D-DEATHLY A-AFRAID OF H-HEIGHTS!”

Trixie blinked, trying to process the information. “You FOAL! Why didn’t you just say so?!”

“I d-don’t know!’ Twilight shouted, clinging tightly to the carriage’s side.

“But that’s impossible! You said you‘ve ridden in a hot air balloon! You’ve been taken across the land on Celestia’s flying chariot! You’ve been to CLOUDSDALE, for Celestia’s sake!” Trixie began to worry as well, as Twilight’s fumbling about made the carriage begin to rock.

“My m-magic kept me s-safe in Cloudsdale! The g-guards that drive the c-chariot are professionals! And the b-balloon…” Twilight shrieked as a haphazard shake of the carriage made her interrupt her sentence.

Trixie groaned; the carriage was beginning to rock more and more as Twilight clung to anything within reach. “Settle down, you’re going to make the carriage unhinge itself!” Trixie groaned and raised a hoof to her face as the statement served only to make Twilight panic even further.

Think, Trixie, think, Trixie ordered herself. And fast! Trixie glanced again at Twilight, and a distant memory stirred within her. An image filled her mind; it was her, as a little filly, laying down on a hill on a starry summer night. She’d had a terrible day; she think she recalled being given some horrible news. As she sniffled and thought, a pony had snuck up behind her. She recalled a blue hoof wrapping itself around her, a comforting- yet weary -smile looking down upon her. Trixie’s bad spirits had lifted, if only temporarily, as she glanced up into the pony’s eyes and whispered, ‘mama?’

Trixie shook her head quickly, destroying the thought. Well, it’s a stretch… Trixie thought. She glanced at her panicking friend once again. …but it’ll have to do.

Twilight continued her hysteria, currently kicking at the floor and clinging to the carriage’s seat. She was too busy panicking to notice her companion leave her seat and took the spot next to her, too afraid to notice the arm wrapping itself around her back, but not afraid enough to feel someone gently take her hoof in their own. Huh?

“Listen carefully, Twilight,” Trixie said, her voice in her ear. “Look at the floor, and nothing but the floor. Trixie’s here. Stay calm. Take deep breaths. I‘ll tell you when to look up.”

Twilight did as she was told, taking in breath after breath as she stared at the floor. Her nerves loosened, her mind refocused, and the fear began to ebb away as Trixie‘s embrace comforted her. Soon enough, the fact that she was up in the air sank away from her mind. She sighed, giving Trixie’s hoof a tight squeeze.

The carriage slowly began to lower itself to the ground. Once they hit the lowest possible point, Trixie cleared her throat. “You can look up now.”

Twilight cautiously peeked up, making sure they were definitely back on the ground. She let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Trixie… I‘m sorry I didn‘t just warn you.”

“It’s fine. But answer Trixie this, how could you be so afraid of heights when you’ve been to so many high places?”

Twilight looked lost in thought. “I’d have to say, I’ve always been a little uneasy around high places… but what really did it was when I came to Ponyville. Not long after moving there, I almost fell to my death off a cliff in the Everfree Forest… and not long after, a Hydra chased me into a fall down a chasm, and I survived through pure luck. Since then… I can’t stand anyplace high that isn’t completely safe. Well…” Twilight tapped her chin. “Except for this one time where we were on a high speed chase through the clouds… I know I was up in the sky… but I wasn’t afraid. I suppose I was too focused on catching a runaway friend to pay attention to the predicament.” She smirked. “And I suppose having Fluttershy around to save me if I fell helped a little, too.”

Trixie sighed. “You’re a foolish, foolish pony for not just letting Trixie or Pinkie know. We could have just waited for Pinkie Pie to finish her ride alone.” As Trixie finished talking, a pink head appeared in the window.

“Helllloooo! Ride’s over, sillies! Time to go!” Pinkie Pie announced. She looked downward and giggled. “Did I miss anything?”

Trixie and Twilight looked down, seeing that their hooves were still locked together tightly. They quickly released their grips, blushing furiously. Pinkie giggled again, opening the door for the pair to exit. Twilight quickly bolted out first, looking relieved to be back on solid ground.

“Sooooo, what was up with that?” Pinkie questioned, grinning.

“It was nothing,” Trixie assured her, another blush rising. “But as a forewarning, Twilight shouldn’t be going on any roller coasters anytime soon.”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Agreed. Dinner time should be soon, and we’re supposed to meet the others in town for that. Maybe we could just play more games until it’s time to go?”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie Pie agreed. The trio stepped out of the ferris wheel area, exiting back out onto the fairgrounds. “Just let me go get my wagon again.”

“…so I gave the unicorn the mask, like he asked for, and he tried to put it on right then and there. Somehow, he managed to impale it on his horn, and asked me ‘how does it look’. I offered to give the poor dear a replacement, but he just said thanks and trotted away. Customers these days…” Rarity chuckled.

Trixie laughed at Rarity’s story, along with the other ponies- and one dragon -that sat at the table with her. The giggling ceased after a moment, and Trixie absent-mindedly twirled a strand of pasta around the fork she was levitating. She brought it to her mouth and ate, enjoying the buttery taste of the restaurant’s wheat spaghetti. She set the fork aside as Applejack spoke up.

“That ain’t nearly as bad as the mare who tried ta get me to let her take a bite outta one of mah apples before she would consider buyin’ something. Ah swear, these Canterlot ponies are crazy.” More laughter. “Speakin’ of apples, where’d ya find this restaurant, Rarity? This fancy apple-dish is tha best! Well, next ta somethin’ Granny Smith would make.”

“Well…” Rarity replied, “It was Twilight who pointed it out, actually. She’s much more familiar with the city than I, more than I’m willing to admit,” she said with a smirk.

“Well, when you live somewhere for awhile, you tend to keep track of the better places to eat.” Twilight took a sip of her drink. “But enough about me,” she said as she turned to Trixie. “It’s about time for your show, what’s the Great and Powerful Trixie going to do to wow us tonight?” Twilight asked, teasingly stressing Trixie’s title.

Trixie rubbed her head. “Actually, Trixie’s been wondering too. She has tonight’s act already planned out, but she wants something to make future performances shine…”

“Ooo! Ooo!” Pinkie cried out, flailing her arms over the table. “Pick me! Pick me!”

“Urm…” Trixie said, “It wasn’t exactly a question, but yes, what is it?”

Pinkie smiled, before lifting an arm and pointing at Twilight. “Let her do the show with you! It’s already great with just you, now imagine it with TWO performers! Two times the sparkles! And not just Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight leaned back, shaking her head furiously. “No, no, I couldn’t possibly…”

“Trixie likes that idea.”

“Huh?” Twilight shot the blue unicorn a curious look.

“It’s not a bad suggestion,” Trixie commented. “It would definitely make the shows even more spectacular, to have an extra hoof onstage.”

“Hold on now," Rainbow Dash protested. “What if it’s just a trick? Trixie could make a foal of you onstage, and pass it off as part of an act!”

“Trixie would never!” Trixie retorted, glaring at the pegasus.

“Well I, for one,” Rarity interrupted, “think it’s a marvelous idea! Twilight gets some stage time, Trixie gets some assistance… and you simply must let me make you an assistant’s outfit, Twilight! My booth would flourish with the advertising I‘d get from ponies seeing your ensemble.”

“But…” Twilight muttered weakly. Applejack spoke up, drowning out her protest.

“Well sugahcube, it’s up ta you, and don’tcha forget it.” Applejack nodded towards Twilight.

Twilight looked back and forth nervously. “But… I… uh… alright.” The ponies all leaned in to hear her decision. “I’ll do it.”

Pinkie cheered, Rarity and Trixie smiling at the unicorn. Applejack nodded approvingly, with Rainbow Dash crossing her arms, and Fluttershy giving the pegasus a concerned look. “Excellent, darling!” Rarity praised. “I’ll get started on the outfit right away!”

Twilight smiled nervously, looking like she hoped she’d made the right choice. Somepony tapped her on the shoulder and she glanced to see who; Trixie looked down on her, smirking.

“Well then, assistant, it’s almost showtime.” Trixie motioned for the unicorn to stand up. “Let’s go; after the performance, I’ll show you around the backstage, and then we can work out how to work you into next night’s show.”

Twilight got to her feet, everypony at the table getting up as well. Their meal finished, they paid their check and made their way outside. The group split up from there; Fluttershy, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Spike headed one way, while the rest made their way in the direction of the stage.

Trixie finished the show off with a bang, sending out a massive barrage of fireworks. They spiraled through the sky before bursting in unison, forming a glowing yellow and white sun. The crowd gasped in awe before the applause came; Trixie thanked them for watching and stepped offstage.

She put away any leftover props before exiting, stepping out back onto the streets of Canterlot. Outside the door, she spotted her friends trotting up to meet her; Twilight was first, Pinkie Pie and Rarity following soon after.

“How was it?” Trixie asked.

“As great as always,” Twilight commented, the other two mares agreeing.

“Well then, assistant,” Trixie teased, emphasizing the ‘assistant’, “Ready for the grand tour?”

Twilight turned to her friends, who nodded to her. “See you later, girls,” Twilight told them. Her friends bid her goodbye, Rarity once again promising to get her stage outfit done, and they took their leave. Trixie strode back to the door and opened it, moving aside to make room for Twilight to enter. Twilight, however, didn’t move forward yet.

“Trixie… are you sure I should be in the show?” She questioned. Trixie thought for a moment, then nodded.

“It’s just the gimmick Trixie needed to make the next show even better than before. Besides, if you’re a flop, then you just make Trixie look that much better.” Trixie smirked.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “You’re a jerk sometimes, you know that?” Trixie chuckled, letting Twilight walk past her into the backstage. She let the door close behind them, and Twilight’s official tour began.

Trixie thought hard, tapping the pencil she was levitating against her paper. “Well, Twilight, after the third fireworks pattern, Trixie thinks you should head stage right and retrieve some extra star powder; that stuff really adds some flair to the tricks.” A gentle snore broke the silence, causing Trixie to take her eyes off her sketches. “Twilight?”

She looked around her hotel room, her eyes settling on the figure on her couch. There Twilight laid, her eyes closed shut, breathing slowly. Trixie chuckled at the sight of the sleeping mare. “Ah, performance planning too exhausting for you?” Trixie teased. Twilight replied by rolling over. “Well… Trixie supposes we’ve planned enough for one day.” She stood up, setting her sketches and pencil aside.

After a quick tour of the backstage, Twilight and Trixie had gone back to Trixie’s hotel. There they’d spent the next several hours, trying their best to create a performance that wouldn’t end with one of them setting the other on fire. They’d made a lot of progress, but Trixie knew they’d have to spend some time finishing tomorrow; a performance starring one pony was easy to plan out, but one starring two took a bit more work.

Trixie started to trot down the hall to her bedroom, when she paused. Shooting a look at the sleeping pony on her couch, she ducked into her room fast, returning quickly with a blanket levitating in front of her.

She draped the blanket over the sleeping unicorn, switching the lights off afterwards. She glanced at Twilight, watching the blanket rise and fall with the mare’s breathing. She looks… cute, Trixie realized, watching Twilight nuzzle deeper into the covers.

Trixie shook her head. Where’d that thought come from? Must be the late hours talking. Making sure the front door was firmly locked one last time, Trixie headed to her bedroom, climbing under the covers of her own bed. Moments later, Trixie was joining Twilight in dream land.

Day 5: Outdone

Trixie yawned, slowly awakening from her dreams. A loud clanging noise came from outside her room, making her groan. Nnng… just five more minutes, please… She pulled her blanket up to her chin, trying to shut out the noise. She began to drift back to sleep, enjoying the warm cover over her body, and the smoky smell wavering underneath her nose.

Trixie’s eye shot open. Wait a minute… smoke? Throwing the covers aside, Trixie leapt out of bed and out into her living room. She saw that the couch was empty, and a vivid orange glow was coming from the kitchen. She ran to it and peered in, just in time to watch a wave of water splash over a massive fire blazing atop the oven. Twilight stood next to the blaze, levitating a wet, empty trash can. Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, setting the trash can aside.

“Twilight,” Trixie spoke softly, startling her guest, “Why was there a fire in Trixie’s kitchen?” Trixie looked at the corner of the kitchen, noting a pile of garbage sitting where her trash can would be. “And why did you dump trash all over the floor?”

Twilight blushed hotly. “I… I woke up early, and you were still asleep. I wanted to thank you for letting me stay, so I wedged a book in the door and left for the general store. I picked up something to make us for breakfast…”

“And the fire?”

“Well… let’s just say I’m not the best chef. Spike usually makes our meals… I had to dump out the trash and use the can to dump water on the flames. I‘m sorry…”

Trixie groaned, rubbing her forehead with both hooves. “It’s okay, Twilight. Just help me clean it up… then we’ll go grab some breakfast and get back to work on the show.”

Twilight nodded and began levitating garbage back into the trashcan. Trixie inspected the oven’s damage. scrubbing away any charred marks. Thankfully, the fire was put out fast enough to keep the smoke alarm from going off; the clean-up was finished swiftly, and the two unicorns inspected their work.

All seemed in order to Trixie. Twilight broke the silence that had fallen over them when the cleaning started, “I really am sorry, Trixie.”

“It’s no big deal, Twilight. Honestly.” Trixie grinned. “It got Trixie out of bed early, anyway.”

“Well… I just wanted to thank you. Not just for letting me stay… but…”

“But what?”

“But for letting us get to know you, too. And vice versa.”

Trixie rolled her eyes and smirked. “Yes, and look where that got Trixie; one of her new friends almost burned her apartment down.”

Twilight blushed again, sputtering more apologies. “Trixie was just kidding,” The unicorn teased. She wrapped an arm around Twilight, leading her towards the door. “Now come on, let’s get something to eat that isn‘t burned to ash on Trixie‘s stove. Then we can get back and finish off the planning.”

Twilight’s frown inched upward into a smile. “That’d be wonderful.”

Knock, knock.

Trixie looked up from her sketches, glancing at the front door. “I’ll get it,” Twilight announced, setting aside a few papers and standing up. She went to the door and unlocked it, nearly being tossed aside when a white unicorn burst into the room.

“Rarity has ARRIVED!” The newcomer announced, dragging a wagon behind her. Atop the wagon sat a draped object, rocking gently back and forth with the wagon’s movement. Rarity wheeled it into the room, looking around her. “Oh my, Trixie, you certainly got your money’s worth on your living arrangements.”

“The room’s free,” Trixie corrected her. Trixie stepped forward and poked the draped object, watching it wobble from the touch.

“Oh, my apologies. Anyways, I’ve got something for Twilight.”

Twilight raised a hoof to her chest, looking surprised. “Me?”

“Yes, you! Where to begin… ah, yes. Nopony saw you come home last night, so we agreed to send somepony to see where you were. I offered to go, not just so I could find you, but also so I could show you this!” With a flourish, Rarity removed the drape from the figure. One of her mannequins was revealed, showing off one of her latest designs. “I told you I’d make you a stage outfit, darling, and a lady keeps her promises.”

Twilight and Trixie gasped at the creation; a red-sequined vest sparkled on the mannequin‘s torso, set just above some sleek black pants studded with bluish gems running up and down each leg. Atop the mannequin’s head sat a light-purple top hat, surrounded by a star patterned purple-silken ribbon. “No need to hold your tongues, ladies,” Rarity chimed, “What do you think?”

“It’s…” Twilight began, “…a little much, to be honest.” Rarity’s face fell for a moment before Twilight went on. “But, you know how much I know about fashion... I love it; thank you, Rarity.”

“Excellent!” Rarity replied, smiling. “And what do you think of your assistant’s attire, Trixie?”

“It has Trixie’s official seal of approval, Trixie guesses. It‘s very lovely.”

Rarity’s smile grew. “I’m glad you both like it! Now don’t tally, Twilight, go try it on!”

“W-wha?” Twilight blurted. “Here? Now? Why?”

“Well, why not, darling?” Rarity began lugging the wagon behind her, nudging Twilight ahead as she did so. Ignoring Twilight’s protests, Rarity managed to find the bathroom, gently pushing the purple unicorn into it. Rarity levitated the mannequin in after her before following it in, closing the door behind her.

Trixie chuckled before flopping onto the couch. She levitated some of their sketches in front of her and inspected them to pass the time; it wasn’t easy organizing a show around a beginner, but they weren’t far from finishing. Trixie got up and walked to the window, looking out into the plaza to read the sun dial there. And still plenty of time before the show, too, Trixie realized. Plenty of time to find something to do. Maybe stop by the festival again, or…

Trixie cut off her thought as the bathroom door creaked open behind her. She turned, seeing that Twilight and Rarity had exited the bathroom. Twilight stepped forward, striking a clumsy pose. “Well? How does it look?” She asked.

Trixie eyed her assistant up and down; she had to admit, Twilight looked great. Twilight always had an adorkable charm about her, but Rarity’s outfit was doing wonders for her. “Trixie never said she wanted to be upstaged.”

Rarity giggled. “That good, huh?” Rarity appeared behind Twilight, pausing to adjust the purple unicorn’s hat. “You look absolutely fabulous, darling, if I do say so myself.”

Twilight blushed. “You‘re exaggerating.”

Rarity laughed again, levitating her mannequin back onto the wagon. “Well, my work here is done. Ta ta, ladies, see you at tonight’s show.” Rarity made her way to the door, pausing at the last moment. “Oh, and Twilight, do be a dear and let somepony know if you ever stay out again… you had some of us worried sick.”

“Oh! Uh…” Twilight stammered. “I’m sorry, Rarity. Tell the girls I’ll see them tonight, okay?”

“Of course, dear. Don’t work too hard, you two. See you tonight- and don‘t forget the outfit!” With that, Rarity left, taking her wagon and mannequin with her. Trixie closed the door after her, turning to grin at her dressed-up companion.

“What?” Twilight asked.

“Oh, nothing,” Trixie replied. “Trixie just never really saw you as a fashionista.”

“Har, har,” Twilight said sarcastically. A glow surrounded her hat as she levitated it off, gently setting it on the coffee table. “Don’t get used to it.”

“Is that any way to speak to the performer, assistant?” Trixie teased.

“Anymore comments like that and you’ll find yourself missing your assistant.”

Trixie laughed, smiling wide. “Okay, okay. You really do look lovely. Now come on, let’s finish planning the show.” Trixie nudged Twilight back into the living room, missing the blush that lit the mare’s face from the comment. “Tonight, we shall shine!”

Trixie tossed a few carefully-selected fireworks over her shoulder, listening to the thump of them landing in her assistant’s arms. After a few more selections, she decided they had enough, and gathered up the rest into her own arms. Carefully carrying them to stage right, the duo dropped off their cache, setting the fireworks next to the rest of their props. Trixie glanced over their collection, mentally listing off what they had, until she finally decided she was satisfied. “We’re ready!”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, tired of having to lug around all the supplies. She sat down, readjusting her top hat for the umpteenth time. “Thank Celestia for that; I never imagined how much went into these performances.”

Trixie sat down as well, rolling a smoke ball around underneath her hoof. They’d finished up their planning relatively early, and both decided they’d stay home until show time. Twilight had investigated the complementary selection of books Trixie had been given, and the blue unicorn herself had allowed herself a nap. When the time had come, they’d made their way to the stage, stopping for a bite to eat along the way. And now here they were… both nervous about performing with somepony else- and one nervous about performing in general.

Trixie glanced at her assistant. “Are you ready for this?” Twilight nodded. “If Trixie gets lit on fire, you do realize there will be no mercy.”

Twilight jokingly punched Trixie’s shoulder. “Keep it up, and any fires won’t be accidental.” Both mares chuckled, watching the act before them finish up. The jester took a bow, his fiery performance once again netting a round of applause. Twilight took a deep breath, staying put while Trixie went onstage.

Trixie glanced over the crowd. “Citizens of Canterlot, the Great and Powerful Trixie brings you a surprise today! Prepare to be dazzled by not just Trixie, but her lovely assistant as well! Trixie presents to you… TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Trixie tossed a smoke bomb she’d hidden in the folds of her cape, watching as it burst next to her. The crowd gasped as the smoke faded, revealing a purple unicorn waving to the audience- and having a mild coughing fit.

“Trixie,” Twilight whispered through some wheezing, “When you said to sneak into the smoke, you never said how hard it was to breathe in it!”

“Dangers of the business, Twilight,” Trixie replied. She took a bow for the audience, smiling as they cheered for the newcomer. All according to plan so far, Trixie thought to herself. She looked to Twilight and raised an eyebrow, receiving a nod in response. Not wasting any time, the two began the main performance, losing themselves in their act.

Trixie breathed hard, bowing for the audience. The show had been harder than normal; making room for her accomplice hadn’t been the easiest thing. But Trixie was fairly sure they’d done well, with only a few minor errors. She glanced out into the crowd, smiling as she watched the applauding ponies. She even noticed some familiar faces in the front row: The rest of their friends applauded even louder than the rest, Spike riding atop Applejack’s head to get a clear view of the show. Trixie smiled, giving them a brief wave, before ushering Twilight and herself offstage.

Twilight immediately burst into a wide grin. “How’d I do?”

“To be honest, Trixie’s not sure. She was so into the performance, honestly.” Trixie winked at her assistant. “But I know how we can find out.”

“How’s that?”

Trixie only smirked. As if on cue, the rumble of ponies running across the backstage area reached their ears. Coming into view were their friends, all looking excited. Pinkie Pie reached them first, bouncing up and down as she excitedly chattered. “Ohmygoshohmygosh that was splenderific, you two! Especially Twilight’s part! She was like WHAZAM!” Pinkie began waving her arms around, as if directing invisible fireworks.

“I agree,” Rarity chimed in. “It was even better than yesterday’s show, and I’m not just saying that since my design was starring in it! Twilight, you added such a powerful touch!”

The rest nodded in agreement, universally agreeing on one thing: The show was good, but Twilight added a special zing to it… without much mention of Trixie herself. B-but… Trixie thought, Trixie never intended to get upstaged… She shook her head, determined to get to the root of this. “What did Twilight do so much better than Trixie?”

Applejack shot her a curious glance. “Sugahcube, we’re not tryin’ ta leave ya out, it’s just… well, Twilight’s spells might not have been as fancy shmancy as yours were, but ah reckon they were so much more powerful. Your tricks went off with a bang, but hers went off with a…”

“BOOM!” Pinkie blurted, grinning ear to ear.

“Er, right. A boom.” Applejack went over and ruffled Twilight’s hair. “Our friend’s got more surprises in her than even we’d know, sometimes.” General approval came from the others.

Trixie’s face fell. …The Great and Powerful Trixie… shown up by her own assistant? It’s… just not possible. Trixie is the greatest! The most stupendous! She’s… a sigh escaped her lips, …been defeated.

Twilight, noticing Trixie’s sudden change of attitude, turned to her. “Is everything all right?”

“Yes, yes…” Trixie lied. “But if it’s all the same to you, Trixie’s going to go home… get some much needed rest…”

Her friend’s faces fell. “Is it about the performance?” Twilight questioned. “It’s not a big deal, you did wonderful!”

Trixie walked through her friends, heading towards the exit. “Trixie just needs some time alone.”

The walk home was quiet and lonely. Trixie’s hat drooped from her head, threatening to fall off if her posture sank any lower. And yet Trixie made no move to fix it… her mind was much, much farther elsewhere.

Trixie works her hooves to the bone perfecting her art, she grumbled. She’s performed in cities from one end of Equestria to the other, she’s put her considerable talents to work amusing these slack-jawed folk, and for what? …To be completely outperformed by a rank amateur. One Trixie thought was her friend…

But that’s not true.

Trixie blinked. Did Trixie really just think that? But she couldn’t deny it; deep down, she realized… she was in the wrong. Yes, Trixie wasn’t the star of the show… for once… but she was the one who asked Twilight to be her assistant in the first place. Not only that, they hadn’t just complemented Twilight… and even then, Twilight didn’t showboat at all; Trixie isn’t sure she would have been able to do the same.

Trixie groaned, the conflicting thoughts bringing on a headache. Trixie is the star, Trixie should get the praise she deserves… but Trixie has spent so long without friends, acting like this definitely won’t help her keep them… Trixie just… just… Trixie sighed. Trixie just needs to apologize.

Turning around completely, Trixie held her head high and straight. She made her way back to the stage, weaving swiftly through the moonlit streets of Canterlot.

Trixie gently nudged open the door, peeking into the backstage. “Girls?” She entered the room, being greeted by nothing but an ominous silence. She’d always been back here when the place had at least a few ponies wandering about, but when the lights were out and the lack of noise became noticeable, it was easy to see just how empty the place was.

“Twilight? Pinkie Pie?” Trixie looked around, calling out names. “Applejack? Rarity? Fluttershy?” She thought it over for a moment before uttering the last name. “Rainbow Dash?”

Nopony answered her calls. She was too late. Her friends had gone before she’d gotten the chance to make amends, and she had no idea where she’d be able to find them. With a heavy heart, Trixie exited once more, half-heartedly dragging herself back to the Pegasus Plaza.

Trixie let herself into her room, switching the lights on. The living room looked the same as it ever did; and yet, something was just plain… off. Then it hit her; with Twilight having spent the entire day there, it felt a little odd to see her home missing the purple unicorn’s presence. The thought only made her regret her actions more.

Calm yourself Trixie, she told herself. It’s not like Trixie flipped out on all her friends… she merely had a little tantrum. But how can she fix this…? An apology is… warranted, Trixie supposes, especially to Twilight. But how is Trixie going to find her? She walked over to the living room window, placing a hoof against it. She glanced out over the city, her eyes settling on a certain street halfway across Canterlot. That’s where Applejack and Rarity set up their stands, she remembered. Suddenly, a thought hit Trixie. Wait one moment. That’s it!

Trixie smiled as she realized what she could do. Tomorrow, Trixie should be able to find those two by their stands, and she can get directions to Twilight from there! Trixie’s smile fell a little. But is Trixie really able to say she’s sorry?

Well… Trixie will have to find out tomorrow. Taking one last glance out the window, Trixie sighed and turned off the lights with a flick of her magic. She began walking to her room, stumbling when her hoof hit something. With a grumble, she levitated it up; the blanket she’d draped over her friend yesterday hung in front of her. Ignoring another odd jab at her heart, she folded it up, draping it over her couch. Satisfied, she went to her room and climbed in bed.

Trixie couldn’t sleep for the longest time. Thoughts kept running through her head… Will everything be okay? Did Trixie screw up? Did Trixie overreact? The thoughts followed her as she fell into a troubled sleep.

Trixie glanced up at the towering building in front of her. The sign out front proudly declared the establishment’s name: The Academy for Gifted Young Unicorns. Trixie glanced down, kicking at a pebble with her noticeably shorter legs. Something fell off her head; she inspected it, a star-patterned purple hat sat on the ground in front of her. Now she remembered; the hat went along with the silky cape draped over her back, the two articles of clothing the only thing she had brought with her.

Somepony reached past her, picking the hat up and depositing it back on her head. She glanced behind her, seeing a tired-looking stallion, who rested a yellow hoof on her shoulder in a comforting gesture. “Well, what do you think, Trixie?” He asked.

Trixie glanced at the building again, its wooden door more than ten times her small size. She shook her head. “Trixie dun like it, Daddy. What if nopony likes her?”

The stallion sighed, rubbing his orange mane. “They’ll like you, dear, but you won’t get anywhere when you keep referring to yourself like that. And you’ll have to learn to like it here… this is your new home for awhile.”

Trixie sidled up to the stallion, holding onto his forelegs tightly. “But why can’t Trixie just come with you?”

The stallion leaned down, embracing her. “Daddy’s going away for awhile, I told you this.” He let her go, ushering her towards the front door. Trixie stepped up to the large wooden door, watching as it was opened by an old, pink mare. The mare smiled, stepping aside to let Trixie in, bidding her welcome. Trixie glanced back, watching as her father stared back at her. Without warning, she ran back to him, clinging to his legs again.

“But Trixie doesn‘t wanna,” she moaned.

Her father patted her head, gently peeling her off his leg. “We’ll meet again, before you even know it. Just remember that I always love you… and promise me you’ll always strive to be the best… because you ARE the best.”

Trixie sniffled, letting go. She turned, heading back to where the pink mare was patiently waiting. She walked inside, the mare closing the door behind her. As it closed, Trixie looked past it, getting one last glance at her father. The look on his face worried her; it was one of pure sadness. Her father turned to go, and the door closed shut.

Day 6: Making Things Right

“Yaaaaaaagh!”

Trixie woke up, breathing heavily. She pressed a hoof to her forehead, wiping away a sheen of sweat. The world came back into focus; sunlight streamed in through the window, bathing her face in its glow. She sighed, having already forgotten what had haunted her dreams.

“Just a nightmare, Trixie, just a nightmare…” She let her pulse slow down, glancing out her bedroom window. The sundial’s shadow showed that it was fast approaching noon, the streets already filled to the brim with busy revelers. Trixie groaned. How anypony could sleep so late through a nightmare is beyond Trixie…

She swung her legs off the bed, climbing down. She stepped into the living room, She contemplated grabbing her bit pouch, eventually deciding otherwise. No time for a breakfast stop; the longer Trixie waits, the worse it’s going to be. Trixie must hurry… let’s see… she walked to her window and looked out, scanning the city once more. Spotting her destination, a certain street close to the festival itself, she marked it in her mind and headed out the door.

She descended to the first floor, walking through the pony-filled lobby. A bellhop bid her good morning, Trixie giving a brief response as she made her way out the front door.

Bwaaaaaaaaamp!

“Oof!” Trixie covered her ears as a blue stallion raised a hoof to his mouth, the tuba wrapped around his waist quieting down after its loud cry right next to her head.

“My apologies, miss!” He reached forward to help, but Trixie shrugged him off. Giving him a curt wave, she stepped into the crowded streets.

Now what in Celestia’s name was up with that, she grumbled. These yokels are getting more rowdy as the holiday runs on, to the point where…

…where… uh-oh. Trixie found herself moving against her will as the crowd surged around her, ponies following behind a performer juggling numerous objects in an attempt to get a closer look. The only problem was, the crowd was dragging Trixie in the wrong direction. She struggled against the flow, almost catching a glancing blow in the face as she wormed her way out of the mini-parade. Barbarians!

Not wanting to stick around for any more interruptions, Trixie made her way into the streets once more. Time was wasting, and the rowdy crowd wasn’t making her mission any easier. But Trixie was determined; she had to make things right..

Trixie glowered around her. All she wanted to do was get to Rarity and Applejack so she could get directions, but the celebrating civilians weren’t making it easy. She’d been swept into many crowds, tossed around way too much for her comfort, and if a vendor tried to peddle their wares to her one more time, she was going to scream.

“Well howdy there, you’re lookin’ like ya could use a pick-me-up. How about ya try one of our new apple tarts? They’re tasty, cheap, made with love, and…”

Trixie shot the vendor a look that would freeze anypony in their tracks. “Well shoot, if ya didn’t want anythin’, ya coulda said n-… wait, Trixie? Is that you?”

Applejack shielded her eyes, getting a closer look at Trixie from behind her cart. Trixie looked around, breathing a sigh of relief; it hadn’t been very fun, but the crowd had eventually managed to drag her to where she needed to go. Applejack eyed her up and down, drumming her hoof on her stand. “Yer lookin’ down, sugahcube. What’s botherin’ ya? Where’d ya head off to yesterday?”

Trixie nervously nibbled on her lip. “Trixie… wanted to apologize for storming out last night, first of all. Trixie overreacted, it’s true, and she’s sorry. And she… needs directions.”

Applejack smirked. “That’s what’s botherin’ ya? Don’t worry yerself, it wasn’t a big deal. Now, where do ya need ta go?”

“Well… would you know where Twilight is?”

“Course ah do, but ah think Rarity could help you out more with that.” Applejack raised a hoof to her lips and blew, a shrill whistle sounding around the area. “Hey, Rarity! Ya awake over there?”

“There’s no need to shout,” A voice responded. Trixie turned, spotting Rarity manning her own booth on the other side of the street. The white unicorn’s eyes settled on Trixie, a smile spreading. “Ah, she’s back! How are you, darling?”

“She’s just lookin’ to apologize fer yesterday,” Applejack stated, saving Trixie the trouble. “She needs directions ta Twilight, if ya’d be so kind.”

Rarity tapped her chin with her hoof, pondering how best to help. Seemingly coming up with an idea, Rarity ducked behind the counter, her purple mane the only thing still in view. After some rummaging around, she reappeared, levitating a small square of pink fabric and a needle. Trixie ducked down a little, remembering what had happened last time she’d seen Rarity sporting a sharp object, only to stand up again when Rarity looped some thread into the needle and began sewing something into the pink material.

Trixie watched with curiosity as Rarity sewed away, wondering why the unicorn would rather make a dress than give Trixie simple directions. Moments later, Rarity looked closely at the cloth, inspecting her work. Satisfied, she levitated it over to Trixie, holding it up in front of her. “Will this suffice, dear?”

Laid out in front of her was a rough overhead map of Canterlot, a series of dotted lines weaving their way through the city’s lanes. At the end of the lines sat a shiny yellow X, glimmering as it marked out a certain spot. Written to the side were tiny stitched instructions, marking out certain landmarks to watch for. Trixie had to admit, she was impressed. “This is just what Trixie needed, and more! Thank you, Rarity.”

“Oh, think nothing of it. You did allow Rarity to show off her work onstage; why just this morning alone, my usual customer queue has doubled! Spreading the word around did wonders.”

“Still… thank you.” Trixie glanced over the counter curiously, noting that someone was out of place. “Where’s the little dragon that helps you out? Spike, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, he’s taking the day off to spend time with Twilight back where we’re staying. At a friend of the Cakes, if you’re wondering; somepony they know heads out of town to see their family every Celestial Carnival, so they rent out their home to the Cakes for the duration. That’s where the map should lead you; speaking of which, do me a favor and give Twilight and Spike a hello from me, hmm?”

“As you wish. But why is Twilight at home, not out and about?”

Rarity shrugged. “Your guess is as good as mine, darling. All I know is she decided she’d rather stay back at the house; nopony decided to pry. But I digress... give her my regards, if you would.”

“Oh, and if yer doin’ favors,” Applejack piped up, drawing Trixie’s attention, “Would ya mind delivering this to Twilight?” Applejack reached behind the counter, pulling out a brown baggie. “We don’t want Twilight starvin’ on her day off. I threw together somethin’ for her to eat; mind droppin’ it off?”

Trixie nodded, glancing at the two ponies. “Thank you both for the assistance.” Applejack and Rarity gave her their goodbyes, turning back to their work. Trixie grabbed the bag off the counter, gripping it in her mouth, before levitating the map in front of her. Following the first instructions on the chart, the unicorn set off, making her way through the streets once again.

Trixie glanced at the map, comparing its directions with the building in front of her. When you see the yellow-walled house with a blue-tiled roof, you’ve arrived, Trixie read off. Lowering the cloth, she glanced at the building, noting the yellow paneling set below its blue roof. It matches up. Well, here goes nothing… Trixie stepped forward, fixing her grip on the doggy bag in her mouth, and knocked her hoof against the front door. She waited a minute, then two, hearing no response. She tried the door, finding it unlocked. She gingerly nudged it open, the sounds of ponies outside draining away as she closed the door behind her.

The smell of baked goods immediately wafted under Trixie’s noise, reminding the unicorn of her decision to skip breakfast. Her stomach growled, prompting her to glance into the kitchen on her right. She huffed as she saw it was completely empty, the smell of baking being little more than a natural scent. How much do they cook to keep that delicious aroma hanging around? she wondered.

Ignoring her rumbling stomach, she searched throughout the first floor. Finding nothing aside from a few empty rooms, a living room, and a set of stairs, Trixie headed up to the second floor, the steps creaking as she moved. She made her way up and glanced around; she was in a hallway, a couple doors to her right, and a couple doors to her left. With no indication as to what room lead where, Trixie randomly decided and started her second floor exploration with the closest door on the right.

She peeked in, finding an unkempt bedroom. Luggage and bed sheets were strewn around, hanging off the two beds inside. One bed even had a coil of rope looped around its post, while the other one was surrounded by a couple Wonderbolt posters. Eugh… a pig sty. She closed the door and moved onto the first room on the left, finding another bedroom inside. Much neater in comparison, the two beds were properly made; however, one of the beds seemed completely surrounded by luggage. What pony needs this much stuff, let alone carries it? She glanced at the second bed, eyeing the little white rabbit curled up atop it. Aside from the bunny… no one here, either. Leaving the room behind, Trixie backed out and headed to the farthest right room. She nudged it open, stepping inside.

Fwooooooooosh!

Trixie yelped, dropping the paper baggie from her mouth as a burst of green flames lit the room. The bag fell to the floor with a thud, Trixie paying it no attention as she looked at the dragon staring at her curiously. “What?” Spike asked, wiping his hands together. “Just sending a letter.”

“Trixie?” Twilight appeared from out of Trixie’s field of vision, levitating the bag Trixie had just dropped. Twilight set it aside, giving Trixie a concerned look. “I didn’t expect to see you here. Feeling better?”

“Somewhat. Oh, and the bag is for you… lunch from Applejack.”

A low glow surrounded the sacked lunch, Twilight opening it to inspect its contents. “Well, I already snacked a little earlier… want to share?”

Trixie’s stomach cheered at the prospect of food, the mare smiling brightly. “Gladly.”

Twilight walked over to one of the beds in the room, a single-person mattress completely covered in books, quills, and scraps of paper. Twilight brushed aside a few tomes, sitting down and patting the spot next to her. Taking the cue, Trixie walked over and climbed up, watching as Spike clambered onto the bed next to Twilight as well. They divided the lunch up amongst the three of them: a very tasty apple pie, thankfully already cut into slices. The three enjoyed their lunch; Twilight and Spike chatted as they ate, while Trixie nibbled on her slice of pie in silence, gathering her thoughts.

Twilight paused the conversation, noticing her friend’s quietness. “I forgot to ask, Trixie, what brings you here? Applejack‘s cooking is delicious, but I doubt you stopped by just for some pie.”

Trixie shuffled her hooves around on the bed, making herself comfortable. “You’d be right about that. Trixie came over because… well…”

“Yes?”

“…Trixie wanted to apologize for yesterday. Walking out on you all was uncalled for; you performed well… especially for a beginner.”

Twilight looked confused for a moment before giggling. “That’s what was wrong?”

Trixie felt a little heat rise to her face as her friend chuckled. “Yes, Trixie was just the tiniest bit upset about being shown up.”

Trixie blushed more as Twilight giggled again. Twilight reached over and grabbed her hoof, gently squeezing. “The tiniest bit?” Another giggle. She glanced down and let out a sigh, looking up with a smile. “I’m sorry for laughing, Trixie, but I’m just relieved that we hadn’t somehow offended you terribly. I’m glad you’re okay. There’s not that much to apologize for.” Her smile grew a little larger. “Did I really do that well?”

“N-…mayb-…” Trixie sighed. “Yes.”

Twilight let her hoof go. “Thanks. It means a lot, coming from the Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Saying Trixie’s title without sarcasm? That’s new.”

“Don’t get used to it. More pie?”

Trixie and Spike nodded, Twilight shoveling what was left from her plate onto theirs. Trixie ate quickly, finishing off lunch as a question came to her. “Twilight?”

“Hmm?”

“That letter you were sending… who was it for?”

“Oh, um…” Twilight blushed, looking as if she was deciding something. “I was just sending a letter to Princess Celestia.”

“Again with this ‘student of Celestia’ shtick,” The blue unicorn scoffed. “Didn‘t Trixie tell you already that she doesn‘t believe your tall tale?”

Twilight rolled her eyes and levitated a scroll up, opening it wide for Trixie to see. It was blank, but one things stood out; the royal golden seal of the Canterlot Royalty gleamed from the bottom right corner of the page.

Trixie’s eyes widened. “You mean that story you told Trixie was TRUE?”

“Every word.”

Trixie blinked, seeing last night‘s situation in an entirely different way. No wonder she could outdo Trixie yesterday, if she has the princess herself as a tutor. A smile spread across her face. It wouldn’t hurt if Trixie knew more… “Truly?” She began, “What’s it like? How‘d it begin? Do tell, Trixie is curious.”

“Oh! Well…” Twilight stroked her chin, arranging her thoughts. “It began years ago, when I was just a filly…” Twilight stood up, starting to pace around the room. “The Celestial Carnival had just begun that year, and I managed to convince my parents to let us spend a few days there. I was there for the rising of the sun ceremony…” A smile danced across her face as she remembered a pleasant thought. “…and when I saw Celestia’s powerful magic, I knew that I wanted to try and be just like her.

“So after we got back from the event, I began studying. For months, I worked hard, taking in as much magical knowledge as I could. Soon enough, my parents arranged for me to sign up for one of Canterlot’s prestigious academies for young unicorns. I went to the entrance exam, and nearly botched the whole thing… until a friend of mine gave me just the push I needed to pass.”

Trixie‘s ear twitched as Twilight mentioned academies; she wasn‘t sure why. “A friend?” Trixie questioned. “Who?”

“That’s a story for another day. Anyway… Celestia herself happened to be touring the grounds that day… she saw my display, and took interest. It’s all just technical details from there… I moved to Canterlot and studied under her, trying my best to make my parents proud.” Twilight stopped pacing. “Not the most exciting story, is it?”

“But it is,” Trixie responded. “Quite fascinating, actually. But Trixie has one more question… what did you write to the princess?”

A hot blush lit up Twilight’s face. “N-nothing at all. Just… some notes, nothing more.” She stretched out a hoof, pointing at Trixie to emphasize her statement.

Fwoooooosh!

The two mares blinked as Spike belched a wall of flame, a message appearing within it. It fell, falling directly into Twilight’s outstretched hoof. Twilight’s blush rose higher as she wrapped her hoof around it, pulling it towards her. “One moment, please.”

Twilight scrambled to the far end of the bed, unraveling the scroll and reading it. Curious, Trixie tried to peek around her to see the paper’s contents, to no avail. Moments later, Twilight rolled the scroll up and stood, climbing off the bed and over to a nearby dresser. She opened the top drawer and slid the parchment in, closing the compartment firmly afterwards.

“What was that?” Trixie questioned, watching Twilight sit back down next to her.

“N-nothing! Don’t worry about it.” Twilight’s suspicious behavior and red face only served to make Trixie even more curious.

She’s hiding something, Trixie mused, something she doesn’t want Trixie to know. But how would Trixie go about getting access to the scroll without her knowledge? Trixie idly tapped her hoof on the bed, an idea forming. Aha!

“Twilight,” Trixie began, “As much fun as Trixie’s been having, she has to go prepare for tonight’s act.” Twilight’s face fell, making a small pout. “But… Trixie has a proposition.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What would that be?”

“Trixie let you stay over at her house, two days back… so now, Trixie wants you to return the favor. Let Trixie stay over for the night, we could have a…” Trixie paused, hoping she wasn’t about to do something she’d regret. “…sleepover.”

Twilight’s eyes brightened up, a grin spreading over her face. “Sleepover? Of course!” Glancing around quickly, Twilight levitated a book off the ground seemingly at random. She held it open in front of her, and Trixie scanned the title: Slumber 101. Oh, Celestia…

“With this guide, we’ll make sure my second sleepover ever is the best one yet!” Twilight said, excitedly flipping through the pages. Trixie groaned, easing herself off the bed.

“Well, Trixie must go prepare… meet you after the show?” Twilight nodded, hurridly scanning a page. Trixie bid her and Spike goodbye, the dragon smirking as if he knew exactly what Trixie had gotten herself into. Trixie turned and headed towards the door, casting a quick glance towards Twilight’s dresser as she made her exit. She left, determined to find out the scroll’s contents, no matter the cost.

…did Trixie say any cost? Trixie flinched as Twilight roughly brushed her hair again, accidentally tugging it sharply. Trixie wishes to retract that statement.

“Finished!” Twilight let Trixie’s hair go, standing up. “Style hair, check… now, let’s see what’s next…”

Trixie’s eye twitched as Twilight sought out that accursed slumber party guide book. This is a bit much, even if Twilight is Trixie’s friend now. Trixie shot a glance at the dresser, its drawers firmly shut. Let’s just hope it’s worth it.

“Here we are!” Trixie flinched as Twilight levitated the book up, the one she‘d first seen before leaving Twilight‘s house. Trixie had put on a good show that night, everypony but Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy attending. Afterwards, she’d followed Twilight back home, and her torment had begun. They’d spent the last few hours following the book to the letter, though Trixie had gotten the chance to meet the Mr. and Mrs. Cake her friends sometimes spoke of.

They seemed nice enough ponies; the blue-coated wife and her yellow husband had stopped by about an hour ago, introducing themselves. They’d told Trixie she was welcome by their stand anytime, and they’d even given the duo a couple mats to sleep on for their little sleepover. Spike had left hours ago, however, trying not to gag as he stated that he’d be staying in Rarity and Fluttershy’s room tonight. And now here they were; Twilight deciding what to do next, and Trixie quickly thinking up a way to get out of it.

Aha! “Twilight?”

The unicorn looked up. “Yes?”

“It’s getting quite late, and Trixie’s feeling a bit tired. We could surely finish up these… ‘wonderful’ activities tomorrow, correct?”

“Well…” Twilight set the book aside, flopping down onto her cushy blue mat. “I suppose you’re right. Maybe Pinkie Pie will be back then, too; she’d definitely make the party more fun.”

“Pinkie rooms with you?”

“Oh, yes.” Twilight chuckled. “It’s definitely hard to get to sleep when she’s around, but that’s actually pretty uncommon. She’s up at least half the night causing mischief and smiles around the city, let alone during the daytime.”

Trixie tried to imagine the bookworm sharing a room with the pink party animal, completely baffled as to how that’d worked out without some sort of explosion resulting. But time truly was drawing on, and the dresser was beckoning to her yet again. “Interesting. Well… good night.”

“Sweet dreams,” Twilight replied, drawing her covers over her and flicking off the light. Trixie drew her own green covers over herself, making herself as comfy as possible. But sleeping isn’t in the plan, Trixie thought with a grin.

Time passed, Trixie patiently waiting until she heard some soft snoring from Twilight. Being cautious, Trixie kept still until at least five minutes had passed. Deciding it was safe, Trixie slowly pulled the covers off and stood up. Taking care not to trip on any spare books, Trixie snuck her way over to the dresser.

At last! She cheered, placing a hoof on the drawer’s handle. With malicious glee, Trixie pulled the compartment out to reveal the completely empty insides of the drawer.

What?! Trixie fumbled around in the drawer, seeing if the scroll had rolled back. Finding it completely empty, she tried the next drawer down… and the next… but ultimately finding nothing. Can nothing be easy?! She snarled, looking around the room for any possible hiding locations. She crept over to the bed and peeked under, gently nudging away various objects as she sought out the mysterious letter.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz…

Trixie jumped, hitting her head on the bed frame. Cursing under her breath, she scolded herself for being startled by something as little as a snore. Trixie glared at her sleeping companion, watching Twilight’s blankets rise and fall with her breaths. Trixie felt her anger melt away, her friend’s cute appearance making her forget the pain for a moment.

Oh Celestia, not again. Trixie shook her head. Alright… the scroll is clearly hidden somewhere else; she must have moved it when Trixie was out preparing for her show. No matter, Trixie shall find out the scroll’s contents sooner or later… though for now, Trixie needs some sleep. She’s thinking weird thoughts again.

Trixie stepped over Twilight, taking care not to disturb her friend’s slumber. Trixie slipped under her covers again, rolling over to face Twilight. Trixie let out a yawn, her eyes slowly closing. Right before her eyes closed, Trixie caught one last glimpse of her friend’s sleeping figure, another gentle snore rising from her it. For some reason, the image brought a smile to Trixie’s face. The smile stayed with her as she drifted off to sleep.

Pssssssssssst…

Trixie’s eye flicked open, nearly letting out a shriek as Twilight appeared right in her face, kneeling over her. The purple unicorn covered her mouth, shushing her. After a moment, Trixie was released, scowling at her friend. “What the hay is wrong with you, Sparkle? What time is it?”

“It’s two.”

“TWO?!” Trixie snarled. She drew her blankets back over her, ready to return to her dreams. She groaned as another psssssst sounded. Trixie sat up and scowled at her friend. “Alright, alright… what is it?”

“I wanted to show you something.” Twilight stood up, motioning for Trixie to do the same.

Trixie reluctantly stood up. “Can’t it wait till morning? Trixie needs her beauty rest…”

She was met with another shush as Twilight crept to the room’s exit, creaking the door open and peeking around it. Starting to get curious, Trixie walked over and did the same. She glanced down the hall, noting that one of the doors was open just a tad. The duo watched for a minute until Trixie’s curiosity got the better of her.

“What is Trixie supposed to be looking for?”

“Hush, I think she’s about to…” Clck. The pair hushed up as another door creaked open, a rainbow-maned pony stepping out from around it. Rainbow Dash looked around cautiously before closing the door and heading towards the stairs. The two unicorns watched as Rainbow Dash descended to the first floor, completely oblivious to their presence.

“C’mon!” Twilight whispered, ducking underneath Trixie to get into the hall. Trixie followed, the two of them heading down to the first floor and out into the deserted streets of a pre-dawn Canterlot.

Trixie glanced around, now sufficiently curious about what Twilight wanted to show her about her pegasus friend. Twilight got her attention, motioning for her to follow. Trixie obeyed, the purple unicorn leading the pair into the dead-end alley next to their house. Aside from several stacks of crates and some litter, the alley was empty.

“What are we doing back here?” Trixie asked.

“Finding a way to the rooftops,” Twilight replied, looking around for something.

“The rooftops? Are you crazy?!” Trixie hissed. Twilight ignored her, finding what she was looking for: A pyramid of wide crates laid against the wall, stacked up all the way to the edge of their house’s roof. Twilight got up on her hind legs, pulling herself onto the first crate. Without pause, she began ascending to the rooftop.

Either she wants to show Trixie something very interesting, or she’s lost it. Trixie watched as Twilight climbed the tower of crates, finally reaching its summit. Twilight glanced down and motioned for the blue unicorn to follow her up. Trixie looked at the first box in front of her before standing up on her hind legs, putting her hooves on top of the crate to pull herself up. Is Trixie really doing this?

Trixie wasn’t the most athletic pony, but she managed to make it up with minor difficulty. She met up with Twilight, the purple unicorn crouched low on top of a wide, wooden crate. Trixie sat beside her, giving her a curious glance. “What are we doing up here?” Trixie whispered “What about your fear of heights?”

“It’s not THAT high up.“ Twilight looked down, shivering a bit from the view before turning back to look across the rooftop. Twilight motioned for her to stay quiet, looking out over the rooftop. She pointed her hoof to the far side of the blue-shingled roof, mouthing one word: ‘look’.

Trixie glanced out over the top of the building, spotting a silhouette on the other side. Though it was only a short walk away, the indiscernible figure was shadowed by the moon’s glow. Trixie squinted, trying to get a good look at what Twilight had thought was worthy of interrupting the Great and Powerful Trixie’s sleep.

It was fuzzy at first, but the dark shape eventually began to take a form. At first she saw colors… blue and yellow… then shapes… two ponies… and then it all became clear; Trixie looked upon Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the former having her wing placed gently around her meek friend as they stared out over Canterlot‘s moonlit streets. They were having a low conversation, mumbling things back and forth that Trixie couldn’t hear. Trixie observed as Rainbow Dash turned to Fluttershy, the yellow Pegasus shyly doing the same. Trixie watched as they stared at each other for what seemed like forever… until Rainbow Dash leant forward and drew Fluttershy into a kiss.

A blush came to Trixie’s face as she watched the two pony’s private moment. Feeling slimy for watching- yet unable to look away -she watched as the two pegasi remained with their lips locks for another moment. Eventually they pulled away, resting their foreheads against each other as they muttered more things between them.

“They don’t think anypony knows about their relationship,” Twilight whispered, snagging Trixie‘s attention. “Nopony knows when it started… but it’s not really that much of a secret. We don’t pry though… if it was something they’d wanted us to know, then they would just tell us.” Twilight sighed. “Though sometimes I wish they’d just admit it… it’s a shame to know they have to sneak around like this.”

Trixie thought that over. “Why are you showing Trixie this? …and isn’t it a bit creepy to be spying on them like this?”

Twilight’s expression turned uneasy. “You’re right… I saw how you and Rainbow Dash weren’t getting along, so I guess I wanted to help you get to know her better… and, well, I guess I thought the scene would be a little…” Twilight cut herself off.

“A little what?”

“Never mind,” Twilight stated, turning away.

“Oh no you don’t,” Trixie whispered. The blue unicorn looped an arm over Twilight’s shoulder, drawing her close. “Finish that sentence.”

Twilight covered her mouth to suppress a giggle. Trixie eyed her friend, a look of surprise crossing her face as Twilight began to lean into her, placing her warm side against Trixie’s. Trixie froze, surprised she hadn‘t flinched or pulled back from the gesture. What is she doing?

“It’s not important,” Twilight whispered softly. The unicorn shot a nervous glance off the edge of the crate tower, quickly averting her gaze back to Trixie. “I… might have been underestimating the height earlier,” She said, changing the subject. “Let’s just stay a moment longer, and then head back inside.”

Trixie nodded, lowering her arm off Twilight‘s back. Their sides still gently pressed together, the duo glanced across the rooftop, watching as the two pegasi chatted and gave each other the occasional peck. Trixie has to admit… it is pretty cute. She covered her mouth, suppressing a yawn; the rush that Twilight’s mysterious exploring had given her was wearing off. Drowsy, Trixie leant her head to the left, feeling it brush against something fluffy. Somepony’s hair, she realized, drawing her head back. “Sorry,” she mumbled.

“Hmm?”

Trixie looked to her right, seeing Twilight with her eyes lazily locked on the couple ahead. But if Twilight’s on Trixie’s right… Trixie calculated. Cautiously, the unicorn turned her head to her left. A pile of pink hair entered her vision, seated atop a pink pony that was glancing ahead through a pair of binoculars.

“Gwuh?!”

Immediately realizing her mistake, Trixie covered her mouth, only to have Twilight and Pinkie Pie cover her face with their hooves as well. “When did you get here?” Trixie hissed to the pink pony through the tangle of hooves.

Creeeeeeeak…

The trio’s gazes faced forward as something rustled ahead of them. They saw the couple ahead glancing around curiously, having heard something suspicious. Rainbow Dash’s gaze passed over them, a sudden look of surprise crossing her face a moment later as something clicked in her mind.

“Tactical retreat!” Pinkie Pie whispered, tossing the binoculars aside and quickly doing a back flip off the crate tower, working her way back down into the alley. Wasting no time, Trixie and Twilight scrambled down the crates, hurrying to meet up with their pink friend. They reached the ground and broke into a run, hearing the flap of wings coming from somewhere up above them.

A pink hoof shot into view from inside a big crate, blocking their path. “In here!” Pinkie Pie whispered, motioning them into the box. The two unicorns ducked inside, finding themselves surrounded by darkness as Pinkie lifted the box’s side back up.

The trio stayed motionless, listening to the sounds of shuffling outside. Moments passed, their hearts racing whenever the footsteps got a little bit too close, until the noises stopped. With another rustle, somepony flapped their wings and took off. Pinkie Pie pushed open the box’s side, letting the others out in time to watch as Rainbow Dash returned to her rooftop rendezvous.

“That was close!” Pinkie breathed. She looked to her friends, who were glaring at her. “What’s wrong? Is there a spider on my face?” Pinkie’s expression turned panicked as she began scrubbing at her face with her hooves. “Get it off!”

“Shhh!” Twilight shushed her. “Pinkie, where did you come from?”

“Ponyville, silly! Duh, you should know that…”

“She means,” Trixie interjected, “Why were you trying to scare Trixie half to death and blow our cover?”

Pinkie Pie waved the question off. “I wasn’t trying to scare you, sillies… I was coming home for the night, after skiing through the streets, of course, when I saw you two sneaking out. Nopony sneaks out this late without planning on doing something sneaky… or to throw a party! Well, I was hoping for a party, but a spy mission is fun too! Why were we sneaking around again?”

“Twilight wished to show the Great and Powerful Trixie something,” Trixie chimed in.

“Oh, you mean Rainbow Dash and Flutters? You mean you didn’t know?” Pinkie Pie looked at Twilight. “She didn’t know?”

Trixie blinked. “Um… no, Trixie didn’t… did she miss a memo…?”

Twilight chuckled. “Alright, enough of that. I think we’ve had enough fun for tonight, girls. C’mon, let’s go hit the hay before Rainbow goes on the prowl again.” Twilight yawned, stretching her legs out.

Nopony could disagree with that. With Twilight leading the way, Pinkie bouncing behind her, and Trixie bringing up the rear, the trio headed around to the front and reentered the house. Taking one last glance at the skies, they shut the front door quietly behind them before making their way back upstairs.

Creeeeeeeeeeak…

Trixie’s eye opened, her ears picking up an ominous noise. She scanned the room; there lay Twilight on her mat, cuddling into her blanket, and there was Pinkie Pie, who’d insisted on scooting her bed into their little mat circle to join in on the sleepover. Finding nothing in that direction, Trixie rolled over, readjusting her blanket around her. She was facing the door… and seeing it opened just a crack.

Trixie may have only been asleep for an hour, but she knows we had the door closed… Trixie prepared herself to get up and close it once more, when she froze. She looked into the door’s opening, and an eye looked back. The eye, surrounded by a rim of blue, scanned the room from side to side. Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus looked back and forth, her eyes settling on Twilight at first, then flicking to Pinkie. Finally, they moved to Trixie, and the unicorn pretended as best she could to be asleep. Her eyes open barely a crack, Trixie watched as Rainbow Dash kept her gaze focused on her. The pegasus’ gaze slowly became a glare, her eye squinting. Trixie gulped.

Rainbow Dash watched for a moment more, before slowly nudging the door shut. Only when the door was fully closed did Trixie allow herself to let out the breath she’d been holding in. She listened as footsteps sounded outside, trotting down the hall and back towards Rainbow Dash’s room. A faint click signaled that the coast was officially clear.

Did she see us? Trixie wondered, the scare making her mind race. Was she just keeping an eye on Trixie? Trixie felt a chill run down her back, imagining that the pegasi was distrustful enough to actually keep an eye on her new ‘friend’. Trixie rolled over, attempting to erase the past few moments from her mind.

She closed her eyes, trying to sleep amidst Twilight’s gentle snoring and Pinkie’s occasional repositioning of herself. But deep down Trixie knew, sleep would not come easily that night.

Day 7 (Part one): Origins

“Get up! Get up!”

Trixie shut out the sound of somepony shouting, grumbling under her breath. “It’s too early… leave Trixie be…” She rolled over, covering her head with her pillow. The unicorn smiled contentedly, starting to drift back off to sleep.

And then she began to rise. Her mat ascended into the air, at an incline. With a shriek, Trixie felt herself roll off the mat and thump onto the floor, entangled in her blanket. She moaned, worming her way out of the covers, only to see Twilight Sparkle levitating her mat right beside her.

“Sorry for the rude awakening, Trixie,” she apologized, “But we don’t have any time! C’mon, get up, we gotta go!”

Trixie rubbed her eyes, resisting the urge to strangle the purple unicorn. “Go? Go where? Trixie has no idea what you’re going on about.”

“Just a moment…“ Twilight set the mat down and walked away, trotting over to Pinkie Pie’s bed. Pinkie was flopped over the bed sideways, sprawled out with her mouth open. Twilight found the pink pony’s pillow at the end of the bed and reached under it, searching for something. Finding it, she pulled her hoof back, pulling a cake out from behind the pillow. She held it over Pinkie’s head, watching as the pink mare’s nose twitched. Twilight yanked her hoof back as her sleeping friend lunged upward, snapping the cake out of thin air. Pinkie sat up, chewing on her sugary breakfast. “Good morning, everypony!” She called out through a mouthful of pastry. “What’s going on?”

Twilight walked over to Trixie, extending a hoof to help her friend up. “I was enjoying the slumber party so much yesterday, I forgot that there’s a special event today!”

Pinkie’s eyes lit up. “Ooo, tellmetellmetellme! Is it a party? A contest? A marathon?”

“No, no, and no,” Twilight responded. “It’s the official halfway point of the festival, and in honor of that, Celestia holds a special show every year. We have to get to the stage, we’re going to be late!”

Trixie shot her friend an annoyed look. “So be it,” she huffed. “Trixie’s going back to bed…” She walked towards her mat, pausing as a purple glow enveloped it. She stepped forward, and the mat scooted away. Another step, even more distance between them. The tired mare scowled. “You’re trying Trixie’s patience, Sparkle.”

Trixie let her own magic flow, a blue glow surrounding the mat’s current aura. She pulled the mat back, grunting as Twilight moved it away with a surprising amount of force. They went back and forth, both trying to overpower the other, the glow of their magic intermingling as Pinkie watched on, eating from a bucket of popcorn.

“What in tarnation’s goin’ on in here?” All eyes turned to the entrance; Applejack stood there, their other friends walking in behind her. “Yer not ready to go yet?”

Trixie felt her magic dissipate as the mat was yanked hard. She turned to see Twilight, smirking at her with a tongue stuck out. Twilight tossed the mat out of the room, sending it flying over her friend’s heads and out the door.

Trixie rolled her eyes. “Alright, Sparkle, you win… Trixie’s well awake now, anyway.”

“I knew you’d see it my way eventually,” Twilight teased. “To the stage, everypony!”

All the ponies filed out, Pinkie bouncing out at the back of the pack. Trixie ended up walking behind Rainbow Dash, and walked as far behind her as she could, remembering the previous night. They chatted as they headed out, bidding Mr. and Mrs. Cake goodbye as they left; the pastry-baking pair had elected to stay home and cook up some wares, since the crowd would surely be hungry after the event.

They found Spike napping in the living room, dozing on a red plush couch. Deciding against waking him up, Twilight draped a blanket over him, telling the Cakes to send him their way if he got up in time. With everypony ready, the group left, seven ponies heading on their way to the Celestial Carnival’s Solstice Special.

“Ow! Hey, watch it! You’re stepping on my tail!”

Trixie grinned sheepishly, gently raising her hoof to release the silvery tail of an agitated green mare. “Trixie’s mistake, miss.” The magician backed up, bumping into a brown stallion holding two fillies atop his back. She smiled apologetically, the stallion nodding at her as she scooted back forward. She looked around her, ponies surrounding her on every side as they chatted amongst themselves. How could Trixie get lost in a crowd yet again? she groaned. Trixie is starting to remember why she prefers being onstage to being in the audience… She got up on her hind legs, glancing over the heads of hundreds of ponies. Now, where’d they go…

Way up ahead of her stood the stage, its wooden platform surrounded by the bulk of the crowd, all of them eager to watch the special event. Just what’s so interesting anyway, Trixie pondered. If they want wonder, they could just come to Trixie’s show later. Smirking to herself, Trixie scanned the crowd, a crop of pink hair and a brown hat up near the stage grabbing her attention. Aha!

Settling back on all fours, Trixie began working her way up front. Moments later, Trixie found herself right in front of the stage, walking up to the ponies she’d noticed and tapping them on the shoulder. “Trixie’s finally found you guys… where are the others, Applejack? Pinkie…” The two ponies turned around; a light blue stallion with pink hair looked at her curiously, his gray-coated friend doing the same as he scratched his head through his hat.

“Errr… wrong ponies.” The two stallions turned back to the front and Trixie groaned. She felt something poke the back of her neck and she turned to face a pink mare. “Oh no you don’t, Trixie’s not falling for that again.”

“Falling for what?” The mare asked. “My tail’s not twitching; nothing’s falling, silly!”

Trixie smiled sheepishly, the mare‘s voice sounding all too familiar. “Oh… there you are, Pinkie Pie.” She breathed a sigh of relief. “This crowd has been a pain in the flank to get through… where are the others?”

“Right this way!” Pinkie stated, bouncing off into the crowd. Trixie followed after, walking through the path the bouncy pony cut through the crowd. Seconds later, Trixie found herself facing the rest of her friends, the five mares talking amongst themselves. Pinkie bounced to the far left side of them, and Trixie slid into place between Twilight and Rarity.

Twilight saw her arrive and smiled. “Glad you could make it; we were afraid we’d have to delay the show even longer for The Great and Powerful Trixie’s arrival.”

“Hardy har har,” Trixie scoffed. “What’d Trixie miss?”

“The event starts around noon. If my timing is correct…” Twilight began, “The show should begin right…” Trumpets blared out over the crowd. “About…” Everypony fell silent as the crescendo died down. “…Now!”

All eyes focused on the stage as two ponies walked onto it, leisurely pacing to center stage. One was the sleek, white-coated figure of Princess Celestia, the alicorn smiling down upon all her subjects. The second, the dark-colored Princess of the Night, Luna, the alicorn also beaming at her subjects- albeit with a nervous expression.

Trixie watched as the two princesses made their way to center stage, turning to face the crowd. Luna and Celestia closed their eyes and bowed, causing the crowd to erupt into cheers, everypony knowing the show was about to begin. Trixie found herself stomping along with the crowd as well, glancing around to see the other six also clapping their hooves against the ground.

The clapping died down and the princesses righted themselves, Celestia being the first to speak. “Citizens of Equestria, it delights us to no end to see you all here, in celebration of our most festive time of year… the Celestial Carnival!” Joyous cries rang out from the crowd, ponies cheering loudly before quieting down once more. “And as is tradition,” Celestia continued, “We present ourselves before you all, so that we may show you all the tale of how this wonderful celebration came to be.

“As you all know, for years, this presentation has usually been a solo affair…” Celestia lowered her head, eyes closed in contemplation. She raised her face and gazed at her sister, a smile crossing her face. “But thanks to six very special little ponies, who risked their lives to save her right before the beginning of last year’s celebration, I’m proud to announce the official return of my beloved sister… Luna!”

Luna waved at the crowd slowly, a blush rising to her face as the crowd responded with one more round of applause. “We are pleased to have returned,” Luna stated, her voice booming over the crowd. “And even more pleased to see all of your faces once again.” The princesses’ eyes scanned the crowd, falling on Trixie and smiling. Trixie’s expression blanked out, until she realized Luna was actually looking to her right. Trixie glanced at Twilight, watching as the purple unicorn waved at the lunar princess as if they were old friends.

Trixie focused her gaze back onstage as Luna spoke once more. “It has been a long year, reintegrating back into our modern society, and even visiting some of Equestria’s smaller towns on Nightmare Night… but our efforts have paid off…”

“They have indeed,” Celestia agreed, “For Luna will help me with putting on this year’s show for you all!” More applause. “We thank you all for gracing the festival with your cheerful smiles and eagerness… and without further adieu, let the Summer Solstice Special… commence!”

The crowd gasped in awe as powerful glows spouted out of the princesses’ horns, each one concentrating hard with closed eyes. The glow worked its way out of their horns, becoming a glowing mixture of gold and dark light as their magic intertwined. The colors swirled, faster and faster, eventually merging as one. The glows faded, revealing a giant ethereal canvas, being held aloft by the magic of the two princesses. With a flicker, an image burst to life on the canvas; a picture of Equestria appeared, viewed from orbit. Stars dotted the screen, and the moon and sun were in clear view opposite each other. Celestia’s voice boomed out over the crowd, marking the beginning of the retelling of the Celestial Carnival’s history.

“Our story begins many centuries ago, in an Equestria that nopony would recognize today…

The planet was Equestria, that was assured… but it was a twisted, dark version of what it was now. The continents were mishmashed, like one big, twisted jigsaw puzzle. Spots appeared in the oceans on and off, as the liquids that made it up swapped between various substances… one second, plain water, the next, chocolate, the next, oil, and so forth. If one paid attention, you could see the position of lakes, landforms, and even entire continents occasionally shifting location. And yet nopony would be able to see this from space… dark clouds covered the planet, completely blocking out the glow of the sun and the moon.

For centuries the planet existed like this, the moon revolving around it completely untouched by Equestria’s madness. The sun stayed in place, though Equestria sometimes rotated around it, and sometimes just flew straight off course. But the two astral bodies were well aware of the chaos going on… for within the sun and moon laid the two spirits of the massive star and glowing sphere themselves.

These two figures watched the planet grow increasingly worse; the sun spirit gazed down, his fiery alicorn form looking down on the planet with disgust. On the other side of space, the moon’s spirit watched as well; a look of dissapointment crossed the female alicorn’s face, her body shimmering like the sky itself. But one day, Equestria spun out of control even moreso than usual, completely stepping out of the path blocking the moon and sun from each other. For the first time, the two spirits noticed one another, the two alicorns seeing beauty for the first time in many years.

As if by magic, the sun and moon drew close together across the cosmos. Completely unnoticed by the inhabitants of Equestria, a lunar eclipse occurred for the very first time since the universe’s creation. The star and sphere separated soon after, and all returned back to normal as Equestria bounced back between the two astral bodies. But something had happened during that wonderful union between sun and moon, something that would prove to be the catalyst to the biggest change Equestria had ever faced. That change started one day when months after the lunar eclipse, a beam of light shot from the moon, headed straight for the chaotic planet.

The beam maintained course, striking the planet and piercing through its wall of clouds. The spear of light sank towards the ground, surrounded by landmarks on all sides: Numerous cities, where miserable looking ponies, griffons, and numerous other species walked about, their eyes constantly on the lookout for the next random turn of events that might ruin their day… or their lives. At the middle of it all sat a fortress, constructed out of a variety of materials; it was a patchwork of madness, and a figure stood on a balcony made of stone, clouds, and licorice. This creature, the ruler of this planet, watched over the madness of his kingdom, the madness he was proud to have created. This creature… a puzzle composed of various animal parts… grinned wickedly as his twisted mind thought up even crazier things to put into action. His plans cemented in his mind, the creature slowly returned to his domain, heading back into the castle as he passed by a painting. The painting was of this crazed king, and it was signed in haphazard scribbling at the bottom: Discord.

But as Discord returned to his castle, the beam of light falling from the heavens went completely unnoticed. It sliced through the air, crash-landing into a forest relatively far from the monstrous fortress. The ground rocked briefly, causing twisted versions of animals to fly or run away. For a moment, all was quiet, nothing in the forest moving an inch. And then… a cry. Not one cry, TWO of them.

The comet had landed in a glade in the forest, a patch of sanity amidst the chaotic landscape. A trickling stream ran through its grassy terrain, and fruit-laden trees were dotted around the area. And in the center of it all, resting where the comet had landed, sat a sphere. The sphere, a glowing silver ball, slowly began to fade out of existence. As it disappeared, two figures became noticeable within the comet. It faded away, leaving the two figures left alone on the forest floor. They were two little blankets, both silken, both colored silvery, and both having cries coming from within them. The blankets moved and shifted as two figures squirmed out from within; first came a little white pony, her horn and wings noticeable, as well as her mane of shiny, sky-blue hair. The other blanket also shifted, revealing a similar pony; this one, an alicorn with a dark-blue coat and a silky, purple mane.

Their cries silenced as they took in their surroundings. There were walls of plants in the distance, both from the side and from above as well. Up ahead, the hole they’d pierced through the wall of foliage slowly began to patch itself up. One of the two little alicorns, the white one, noticed apples dangling from a tree above her. She strained, a small golden glow coming from her horn. A similar glow surrounded two of the apples, and they were pulled off the tree as if by magic. They levitated to the ground, landing in the hooves of the two little fillies, who attempted to chew on the fruit. Finding the apples too hard to chew through without fully developed teeth, the fillies began to tear up again.

Until something came to their aid. Though the hole above their heads was starting to close, something slipped inside it. Three ponies landed in the clearing; their coats with dark and dotted with white marks, as if made from the very stars themselves. Their eyes glowed with an odd heat, and each was different in their own way; one had a horn, one had wings, and one had neither.

These creatures approached the infants, taking the apples from them. The pony without a wing or horn took all the apples, and began mashing them together. Within moments, a gooey paste was prepared, which the two fillies were more than happy to eat. Their task done, the star-studded ponies laid down on the opposite side of the clearing, resting until they would be needed to care for the fillies yet again.

Somewhere out there, two spirits looked down upon the little alicorns. Two words rang out in the filly’s minds, names given to them by the cosmos themselves… the white one smiled as a word came clear to her: Celestia. The black one let out a giggle as her name came to her as well: Luna. Their stomachs full, their names given, and their life on Equestria just begun, the alicorns yawned sleepily, slowly falling into a pleasant sleep.

“Look out below!”

Luna looked up from where she lay, recoiling as something struck her in the face. She rubbed her nose as she glanced at the apple that had struck her, turning her head to glare up into the branches of the tree behind her. A white alicorn stared back, repressing a grin as she looked down on her agitated sister.

Celestia giggled, laying down to rest on her figure on the tree branch. Luna rolled her eyes; sister or not, how could she have put up with this mare for the past twenty years? For as far back as they could remember, this glade was their home, their world. When they were hungry, they ate fruit from its branches; when they were thirsty, they drank from the crystal clear stream. It was all they could ever ask for… on the condition that they couldn’t leave. Thick foliage blocked them from exiting, even if they took to the air. When they were just fillies, they’d tried to find ways to break loose, whether it be trying to power through the foliage with their magic or flying around in search of an opening. As they grew older, their desire to break free slowly calmed, and they focused more on improving their magical talents. Now here they were… two grown alicorns, locked in an effective paradise they couldn’t leave even if they wanted to. Luna remembered at one point there had been three other creatures here, though they’d disappeared once the alicorns learned to take care of themselves.

“Thou art trying my patience, Celestia.” Luna’s expression turned from annoyed to cocky as she slowly stood up, Celestia not paying attention as her sister roughly kicked the tree she was resting in. With a gasp, Celestia lost her balance, falling off the branch and falling towards the ground. It wasn’t a long fall, and the two alicorns had discovered they could handle some pretty rough damage over the years, but she hit the forest floor with a large thump all the same.

Luna smirked. “Doth thou need my assistance?” She walked over and extended a hoof, bringing Celestia to her feet.

Celestia brushed herself off, straightening out her blue mane. “’Twas just a joke, fair sister. No need to get thine wings all aflutter.”

Rmmmmmmmbleeeeee…

The ground began to shake. The two alicorns gasped as they had trouble keeping their footing, watching as all the foliage that had kept them locked in for years began to glow. The obstructing leaves and branches began to glow a bright, crystalline blue, the glow getting brighter and brighter. The two alicorns covered their eyes, the brilliant lights around them threatening to blind them. They stood there, trying to keep their footing amidst this unnatural phenomenon.

And just as quickly as it began, it was over. The ground stopped quaking, the light dimmed, and all was silent. Celestia and Luna uncovered their eyes, looking around. One thing instantly became apparent… the plants that had barred their way for so many years were gone; they’d just upped and vanished. They were free.

“Luna?” Celestia spoke up. “Art thou seeing what I see?”

“I believe so, sister.” Luna trotted to the edge of the clearing, walking a little bit into the forest that they’d been blocked off from for so long. “We art free?”

Yes.

Luna looked to her sister. “Did thou say something?” Celestia shook her head. “And thou heard it as well?” Celestia nodded. “Then who did?”

That is not important.

The voice didn’t seem to come from anywhere around them, so much as from inside their very heads. “Who’s there?” Celestia questioned. “Show thineself.”

If you insist. Look up.

The two alicorns glanced skywards, seeing that the foliage over their head had also been cleared away. Far above their heads was a vast expanse of clouds, completely blocking out the sky. “Where art thou?” Luna called out. “…WHO art thou?”

We lie beyond the clouds… daughters. We have watched you grow and learn over your twenty years on this planet. We have deemed that you are ready to be released onto this world, for you to judge it as you see fit. What you do from here is entirely up to you… you may stay in this glade forever, if that is your wish… or you may go out into the world, and make things right.

“Daughters?” The two alicorns repeated. In all their years there, they’d never once considered that somewhere out there laid their parents, let alone anything even remotely like them. To be honest, they had come to terms with thinking they were the only two creatures in their little world, aside from the mysteriously disappearing guardians from their childhood. “Even if that be true… what dost thou mean, make things right?”

See for yourself. Fly up.

The two alicorns looked at each other, shrugging. Deciding to comply, they stretched out their wings, taking to the skies. They weren’t used to flying anywhere but within the glade, and the feel of fresh air brought a feeling of exhilaration to them. They rose and rose, until they were right beneath the wall of clouds. They glanced around, taking in the sights of the world beyond their world.

“Oh… oh my…” Luna breathed. In the distance sat something entirely new to them, a bunch of little structures. Some stood upside down, some were floating around, and some looked like they could be knocked over with a breath of air. Little creatures ran around these structures in a panic… creatures that looked surprisingly like the alicorns themselves. They had the same form, though something was missing… some only had horns, some only had wings, and some didn’t have either. “What is this?”

It’s Equestria, daughters. Those creatures you see… they are ponies, like you… like us. For years, they’ve suffered under the reign of a creature named Discord, the one who brings this insanity upon the world. These creatures have done nothing wrong, and yet they risk their lives every day just by existing. If you choose to do so, you can save these creatures. Take them under your wing. Bring them to a brighter future, a brighter future for Equestria.

The sisters looked at each other and nodded. They’d had their first taste of chaos, and they didn’t like it. “What would thou ask of us?” Celestia asked.

Defeat Discord. Defeat the chaos. Bring harmony to this madness. We believe in you, daughters… farewell.

“Wait!” Luna cried out. “How would we go about rescuing this world?”

There was silence for a minute. The alicorns feared they would have to go in with no knowledge, when the voice spoke up for the last time. Its voice crystal clear, it gave its command:

Find the Elements of Harmony.

The two alicorns landed, settling themselves on the rocky plateau of the mountain. In front of them lay a cave, its maw seeming to almost beckon them inside. “Dost thou think this is it?” Celestia asked.

Luna thought that over. For at least a month they’d been searching far and wide, in search of the mysterious elements their parents had spoke of. So far, they’d had no such luck as they explored the world. But the more they searched, the more determined they became as they saw even more of Discord’s twisted realm. Now, their search had led them here, to an ominous cave not all that far from the glade that had previously been their home.

“I hope,” Luna responded. She glanced behind her, looking out over the landscape. She saw rivers flowing upwards, trees dancing on top of mountains, and animals turning into insane versions of themselves. “Let us not tarry; the longer we wait, the worse the madness shalt be.”

Nodding in agreement, Celestia led their way into the cave. The inside consisted of sleek blue walls, eventually leading into darkness. Performing an action that had become second-nature over the month, the two alicorns lit their horns up, illuminating the darkness. Wasting no time, they stepped in, descending into its depths.

They made their way into the depths, walking around stalagmites and pools of cave water. Soon enough, they hit a dead end, entering into the main chamber of the tunnel system. Luna groaned. “Nothing. Just more water, stalagmites, and…” She stopped to count. “…six rocks.”

“Just be glad nothing leapt out at us this time, sister,” Celestia said optimistically. She walked over to the rocks- six circular stones resting in a circle in the chamber’s center -and gave one of them a little kick. “Maybe next time we shalt find the ele-” The rock she’d nudged began to glow. “Oh!”

The circle of stones all took on a similar glow, surrounded by a golden light. The alicorns watched as the stones flew into the air, hanging in place right in front of their faces. A strong fiery glow burst from the stones surfaces, a little dot of fire inching its way around the rocks. Where the light passed, a mark was left in the stone. After a few minutes, the lights faded away, revealing runes etched into the stone’s surfaces. As if their task was done, the stones slowly levitated back down to the floor, landing back in a circle.

Luna nervously pushed one of the stones, watching as it rolled back a little. “More madness?” She guessed.

“No,” Celestia stated. “There’s something different about this magic. It’s not insane… it’s precise. Sister…” Celestia stepped forward, smiling brightly. “…I doth believe we’ve found the Elements of Harmony.”

Luna gripped a few of the stones with her magic, hovering them in front of her. As she looked at them, three words filled her mind: Honesty… generosity… kindness… “I doth think you’re right, Celestia. Quick, there’s no time to waste; these orbs seem to be our only chance. Grab the other three, and let’s make our exit.”

Celestia stepped forward, claiming the remaining three stones for herself. Just like Luna, three words breached her thoughts: Magic, loyalty, and laughter. Levitating their prize with them, the alicorns exited the cave, heading back the way they came. They flapped their wings and took off, heading in the direction of Discord’s domain.

Discord sat on his crimson, gold-trimmed throne, looking out over his dark-marble throne room. He watched as one of his pony servants nervously stepped forward, refilling his goblet with chocolate milk. He sneered as the brown mare backed away slowly, bowing down repeatedly. He raised the cup to his mouth, watching as the goblet itself melted and ran past his lips. With a smirk, he sat the leftover milk on his throne’s arm, flicking it forward and watching as it exploded in front of the servant. The pony shrieked, bolting from the room.

“Har!” He laughed. “Never gets old.” He crossed his legs and rested his head on his hand, cupping his chin in an eagle claw. He snapped the fingers of his other hand, the lion’s paw making a loud crack as a mirror appeared in front of him. He waggled his eyebrows, glancing at his appearance… his legs, goat hoof and dragon paw; his horns, one deer antler and one goat horn; his tail, a long red limb that would remind one of a dragon. He stroked the tuft of hair he called a beard and flapped his wings, smiling. “Hello there, you handsome draconiquis, what chaos shall we stir up today?”

Another snap of his fingers and the mirror was gone. He yawned. “Maybe a nap first… pah, who says we can’t have both? I can cook up some chaos in my sleep!” He glanced out the window by his side, the empire he’d ruled for many wonderful years entering his sight. It hadn’t been hard to take control, when his magic dwarfed that of even the most powerful unicorn. “I think a nice explosion would go well there… a river of liquid leaves should go there, and…hmm… we can never have enough giant-headed squirrels. I’ll write it down for later.”

Slam!

Discord turned, eyeing the entrance to his throne room. Two ponies stood there, glaring at him. “Ah,” he began, “Has supper arrived?”

“No… but a new age hath come instead!” The lighter pony retorted. She stretched out her wings, her horn aglow as she brought forth a bunch of rocks.

Hmmm… wings AND a horn? That’s new… Discord mused. “Oh my,” he called out, sarcasm lacing his voice, “I’m about to be overthrown! And by mutant ponies with rocks, no less! What ever am I going to do?”

The darker pony stepped forward, bringing her rocks forth as well. “You shant have to do anything; just submit, Discord.”

“If it’s all the same to you, ladies, I think I’ll stay put.”

“As thou wishes. Ready, Luna?” The lighter one asked.

“Ready, Celestia!” The alicorns turned to face Discord, staring him down. Time passed, silence filling the room. Discord idly drummed his fingers along his throne’s arm, growing bored as he waited for something to happen.

“Is that it? At the very least you could have brought some food, to make up for the poor show.”

The pony’s faces drew taut with worry as they mumbled amongst themselves. Discord chuckled, deciding he’d had enough. “Ladies?”

The ponies glanced towards him as he held up a fist, a burst of green flame sprouting from it. Their expressions grew panicked as he got up from his throne, cackling. “Run.”

“Duck!”

Heeding her sister’s warning, Luna swerved downward, barely avoiding the green fireball whizzing over her head. She flew back into position next to her sister, glancing back to see their foe gleefully building up another burst of flame. “What shalt we do, sister? He’s gaining!”

Celestia glanced at her fiercely, determination written all over her face. “I doth have a plan. What if the elements didn’t work because they were used in his domain? Quick, lead him towards our glade; don’t worry for me, I shant be far behind.” With that, the white alicorn swerved downward, quickly exiting view. Luna wondered for a moment if Discord would just go after Celestia, until another fireball whizzing by her confirmed that he was still on her tail. Luna picked up speed, changing her course slightly and flying towards the forest where their home resided.

Weaving back and forth between the chaos deity’s attacks, Luna managed to make it to the forest, diving down when she spotted the glade. Going in for a landing, she skidded to a stop in the grassy clearing. She set her elements down in front of her, glancing skyward to see if their trap was working.

Fzzzzzzzzz!

Luna gasped as she was hit head on. She was expecting a painful burst of flame, but instead found herself trapped in a giant blue bubble. Her elements were trapped inside the sphere with her; she strained against the bubble in an attempt to break out. Not even her magic or her horn could break her prison… she was stuck.

Cackling filled the air as Discord came in for a landing right in front of her. She snarled at him as he tapped on the bubble, grinning widely. “You shant win, villain!” Luna declared, once again ramming the bubble in an attempt to break free from her prison.

“Tough talk from the goldfish in the bowl, my dear,” he taunted. “Did you really think you could defeat me? Even if you HAD beaten me, I still win in the end! Over you at least, anyway.”

Luna stopped her struggling, her curiosity beating out her futile attempts at freedom. “What dost thou mean?”

“Is it not obvious?” He asked, feigning shock. “It’s quite simple, really. Judging from your… ‘unique’ appearance… you’re the children of the stars, are you not? Your sister is imbued with power over the sun, correct?”

Luna, surprised at how much his guess made sense, simply nodded. “And you are the daughter of the moon, are you not?” Another nod. “Tell me… if you had beaten me, what would happen then?”

“I have no idea what thou art prattling on about, Discord,” Luna stated.

“Your sister controls the more powerful domain, miss… Luna, was it? Oh yes, even if you two had won, what would happen to you? The creatures of Equestria have never so much as seen the sun or moon before, but oh, I have. What good is the moon? It just sits up there, good for nothing but to sleep through. Now the sun… THAT’S where it’s at! You can do ANYTHING in the light!”

“Y-you’re… you’re lying,” Luna stammered.

“Not at all. Celestia would probably be able to run this show without you MUCH easier than if she had to deal with you, you unnecessary fool. But what does it matter in the end?” He placed an arm over his chest, extending an arm skyward as he burst into laughter. “I’ve won!” His laughter rang around the clearing, loud and victorious. Luna hung her head low, ashamed at being so easily captured.

“Luna, now!”

Discord continued cackling, completely oblivious as Celestia landed far behind him. Luna raised her head, watching in awe as Celestia’s elements slowly began to transform, merging together as one. Together, they became a golden-chain necklace, adorned with three jewels: a crystallized sun, a shining crown, and a small silver pony’s head, its mouth open in a grin.

Glancing at her elements, Luna was surprised to see they were shifting shape as well. Their transformation complete, the result settled on the ground; a necklace similar to Celestia‘s sat there, waiting to be picked up. This one sported jewels consisting of a white moon, a pink heart, and a golden flower. Luna smiled, picking up the trinket with her horn and slipping it around her neck.

Discord stood there, completely unaware of the tables turning. Luna gasped as the bubble around her popped silently, and she slowly began rising into the air. She glanced across the clearing, watching as Celestia rose as well. They wondered what was going on… and then it hit them.

A wave of magic, so powerful it surprised even them, coursed through their bodies. Their minds became linked as one as this new magic flowed freely between them. They focused on Discord in unison, the villain still celebrating his ‘victory’ as their bodies started to glow. A spectrum of colors shined from their figures, their eyes filled with a silver fire. Discord began to notice something was wrong… the glow piercing through his eyelids proved that. But it was too late.

Fwoooooooooooooooooooooom!

Without even getting a chance to react, Discord was struck. A beam of rainbow-colored light shot from each sister, hitting him from both sides as the dazzling magic swirled around him. He didn’t even get the chance to change his position; there the chaos god stood, turned into a statue, looking as if he was laughing at a bad joke. The statue creaked for a minute as it began to tip, slowly falling onto its side.

The sisters settled back on the ground, their glow fading away. They breathed heavily, the powerful attack having drained a lot of their physical and magical energy. They looked at their foe, half-expecting him to jump up at any moment, laughing maniacally as he charged up another fireball. But it wasn’t to be… he was defeated.

All was quiet. And then, Luna let out a cheer. Celestia joined in as well, running to her sister. The alicorns hugged each other tightly, knowing that they’d been victorious. They pulled apart, a gasp escaping their lips as they noticed that their appearances had been changed. Celestia, once sporting a sky-blue mane, now had hair that glowed ethereally in a pattern of colors, a symbol of the sun resting on her flank. Luna had a mark in the same place, a moon surrounded by shadows. She raised a hoof to her mane… her purple hair now looking as if it was made from the night sky itself. The sisters smiled at each other knowingly; they’d been blessed by the Elements of Harmony themselves.

But something wasn‘t right. Feeling something moving beneath their hooves, they looked down, seeing dark muck puddle beneath them. The grime oozed past them, heading towards Discord’s statue. The alicorns watched as the slime oozed onto the statue, being absorbed into the stone itself.

“What’s going on?” Luna asked.

“I think I know. Come, follow me.” Celestia flapped her wings, taking to the skies as Luna followed after her. Up in the air, they glanced around, gasping in awe at the sight that laid before them.

The countryside was slowly returning to normal. The dark ooze began dripping off everything; houses righted themselves, rivers returned to shimmering, pure water, and animals everywhere stretched themselves back into their original forms. Everywhere, ponies were peeking out of hiding places, amazed that for once in their life, everything was… right. From where they hovered, the princesses could hear the cheers of ponies everywhere, and even the joyful cries of some other unseen species as well.

The sisters glanced at each other, smiling. “There’s just one thing left to do,” Celestia stated.

Luna raised an eyebrow. “What’s that?”

“This.” Luna watched as Celestia’s horn took on a glow more powerful than she’d ever seen before. She glanced up, seeing the thick wall of clouds that kept the landscape in perpetual darkness. She gasped as the clouds slowly began to part, revealing the clear night sky. Celestia grunted with effort as something peeked over the horizon; the sun appeared, lighting up Equestria for the first time in many, many years.

The sun settled in the sky, and Celestia let her glow die down. A voice snuck into their thoughts as they slowly sank back towards the ground: You’ve done us proud, daughters. Very, very proud. Rule these people justly… make this planet a sight to behold.

The sisters settled back near the statue. They felt a tugging at their necks as their necklaces slowly rose, slipping off their heads. The necklaces were surrounded in a bright white glow as the elements separated, turning back into rocks once more. They sank to the ground, surrounding the statue. The alicorns watched as the last of the ooze was sucked into Discord, marking the cleansing of the world forevermore.

Or so they thought. The sisters gasped as a burst of dark ooze flew back out of the statue. It spread all around the glade, seeping into the trees and river. They watched in terror as their home was corrupted before their very eyes; trees became twisted, evil skeletons of their former selves, their fruit shriveling and falling. The river began bubbling, turning a sickly shade of purple. The grass turned black, and the sky began to darken.

“Something’s wrong. To the skies, sister!” Celestia commanded. She grabbed a few of the elements with her magic, picking up Discord’s statue as well. Luna retrieved her half of the elements and followed after her sister, both of them ascending once more to the skies.

The burst of chaotic ooze seemed to stop at the borders of the forest, to the alicorn’s relief. And yet, anything it touched as it spread out became twisted. Trees mutated… rivers changed courses… animals either fled for their lives or became twisted into dark versions of themselves. Mere moments later, it was done: The forest was a cesspool of rampant magic and chaos runoff… and the glade they were raised in was nowhere to be seen.

“Our home…” Luna stated, her voice low and sad. She looked at her sister, studying her firm expression.

“No, Luna. THIS is our home now.” Celestia extended a hoof, pointing out all over the countryside. “We’ve only just begun by cleansing the land… now, we must find a way to unite these people as one. Then, we shalt have a land we can be proud of.”

Luna glanced at the forest one last time. “How shalt we begin, sister?”

“First things first.” She pointed downwards at where their home once stood. “From henceforth, this is the Everfree Forest… for it is where we brought eternal freedom to Equestria. And over there,” She said, pointing at a distant mountain, “That is where we found the elements. We shalt make sure Discord’s palace is torn down, and build a new castle on the mountainside where we found this powerful magic. We’ll build a major city beneath the castle, and from there, we shalt extend harmony all over the land.”

“Then let us begin, Celestia.” Luna smiled brightly. “Our work begins forthwith.”

Celestia nodded. She turned and began to fly away, taking Discord’s statue and her elements with her; she knew the first matter of business: officially alert all the ponies to Discord’s defeat. Luna watched as Celestia glided away, when a thought began picking at the back of her mind. What if… Discord was right?

She shook her head. “Don’t fool thineself, Luna.” Taking her own elements with her, Luna followed after her sibling. And yet, every once in awhile, Discord’s words would replay themselves in her mind. Little did she know, the seeds of doubt had been planted.

“…And everypony knows the story from there. Discord’s words had affected Luna more than her or I could have imagined… but for years, all was well. I took control of raising the sun, and Luna, the moon. We united all types of ponies under one banner, and Canterlot Castle was constructed as planned. Canterlot itself came not long after, and the land became prosperous through the efforts of everypony. We opened connections with other species, and the festival you’re all enjoying even now was invented in honor of that day, so many years ago. Of course, it wasn’t the last hardship we faced…” Celestia ceased her speech and glanced at Luna, the ethereal screen switching scenes to match her story accordingly.

“Discord’s words ate away at my poor sister, until one day… she changed. Her mind picked away at by jealousy and loneliness, she became Nightmare Moon… and against my will, I was forced to banish her to the moon for a millennia. Our kingdom continued to grow and prosper… until one day, she made her return, a little more than a year ago. She fought against Canterlot once again, but in the end, she was redeemed, as you can see today.” Celestia smiled at her sister, as Luna glanced around nervously.

“And as some may have heard,” Luna took over, “It was not the last we saw of Discord, either. Not even a month ago, he escaped and tried to usurp the throne, in an attempt to bring back a dark age upon us all. But the same ponies who saved us put a stop to it before his influence could spread, returning the villain back to his stony prison. And there our story ends, citizens… the story of how this event, and our prosperous land, came to be.” The screen’s image froze, stuck on an image of Discord’s prison, the statue standing in a position of pride against a background of somewhere inside Canterlot Castle.

The audience burst into wild applause as the princesses bowed. Trixie ended up applauding as well; she had to admit, the story had enthralled her. She glanced to Twilight to see if she’d liked it. She froze, seeing that Twilight wasn’t applauding at all; the purple unicorn was scrutinizing the magical screen fiercely, not paying attention to anything else.

“Something wrong, Twilight?” Trixie questioned, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder.

Twilight cast her a sideways glance. “It might be nothing, but… something’s not right here.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we defeated Discord, he was frozen in a position that made him look terrified… not one where he’s standing straight and posing. Something’s off, here…”

And you’d be right, Miss Sparkle.

The applause and cheering died down as everypony glanced around, searching out the source of the ominous words that had called out over the crowd. All eyes turned towards the stage as dark laughter burst out around the plaza. The image of Discord on the screen began to move, slowly but surely; the stone encasing him chipped away, slowly revealing the chaotic god’s form underneath. He shook himself, dislodging stray stone chips. He began walking towards the screen, hands behind his back and a wicked smile on his face.

“Twilight, what’s going on?” Trixie questioned. “Is this part of the show?”

“I hope so…” Twilight replied, her expression slowly growing more nervous.

The princesses had noticed the audience’s unease, and had begun trying to shut off their magic, sensing something had gone wrong. They succeeded, but all too late; Discord stepped off the screen as it blinked out of existence behind him, hovering in place far above the stage.

“It’s greeeat to be back, everypony!” He called out, laughing. “Has anyone missed me?” He shot a glance towards the princesses. “And may I add, that was actually quite a touching story… sure, it had some ‘personal touches’ here and there, but I’m sure it pleased the crowd.”

“Discord!” Celestia called out, a mixture of surprise and anger on her face. “How did you escape?! We saw to it you were placed within the castle, where nopony could ever accidentally free you again!”

“A nice forethought, my dear. But you forgot to take into account one itsy-bitsy, teeny-tiny detail…”

“And what would that be?” Luna chimed in.

“…I was never turned back to stone.”

For once, the princesses looked completely at a loss, their faces betraying their confusion. Trixie glanced around her, seeing a similar expression from all of her friends. “Twilight,” she hissed, “You claim to have defeated this cretin once before… well, if that was true, can’t you do it again?”

“It’s not that simple…” Twilight replied. “We need the Elements of Harmony to capture Discord… and we don’t have them with us. They’re locked away in the castle; there’s no chance of us retrieving them before Discord causes some damage. Just believe in the princesses… they‘ll protect us.” Twilight quieted down as the princesses resumed speaking.

“But you were hit with the Elements themselves, and the six ponies who defeated you can confirm it!” Celestia accused.

“Come now, Celestia, don’t you think I’m smarter than that? Have they told you how I didn’t even try to avoid their attack? Doesn’t that seem a tad bit suspicious?” Discord smirked, zooming towards the stage and appearing right in Celestia’s face.

The Solar Princess glanced around nervously. “Y-yes, but…”

“And there you have it,” Discord declared, snapping his fingers. A party hat appeared on his head as he spun around a couple noisemakers. “Give the mare a prize, gentlecolts! She’s figured it out!” He tossed the props aside as he turned back to her. “I’m the GOD OF CHAOS, Celestia, I can bend reality to my very whims! Wouldn’t you think it isn’t beneath me to make it APPEAR that I’d been sent back to that horrid, stony prison? Ah, but now for the million bit question…” Discord turned to the audience, resting his chin on his hand. “…why do you think I did it?”

A stallion way in the back tentatively raised up a hoof, Discord quickly appearing at his side. He held a microphone up to the pony, looking expectant as all eyes turned to him. “What say you?”

“Uhm…” The red stallion looked back and forth nervously. “…Because you wanted to try and sneak attack those six ponies?”

“Ooooh, so close…” Discord sighed. “But no cigar.” With a snap of the fingers, a bucket of slime rained down on the stallion. With a short laugh, Discord disappeared from the audience and poofed back onstage. “Let me cut to the chase… I learned from our last encounter, princesses. Discord may be a bit insane in the membrane,” he stated, tapping his head, “but he’s no fool. You were clearly planning on using the elements again, so why not have a backup plan in case you succeeded in rounding them up? All it took was a simple trick, and here I am!”

Fzzzzzzzt!

Discord ducked to the side as a dark beam of light flew past him, disappearing as it traveled past its target. Luna stood onstage, her horn aglow, looking positively furious. “How DARE you show your head once more, monster, after what you did to us?” With another zap, she sent one more laser at him, gasping as he disappeared and reappeared standing on her back.

“Now, now, Luna, is that any way to treat your guest?” Discord leapt off her, rising into the air above the stage. “If you want me gone so badly, then by all means, I won’t stick around. Oh, but let me leave you with a parting gift… let’s just hope it’s not too much of a ‘flip-flop’.”

Red light blazed from each of Discord’s hands. He brought the two lights together, merging them into one. Discord held the glowing ball over his head, cackling as it glew brightly and exploded with a loud bang. A flash of light blinded everypony in the crowd, screams of terror and confusion filling the air. The blinding light faded moments later, and everypony glanced around to see everything was… exactly the same.

Or was it? The audience glanced onstage, noting that Celestia was nowhere to be seen. And Luna…well…

“Look, everypony!” Luna sat in the center of stage, a pile of muffins slowly growing around her. “Infinite muffins! Oh, this is the best day ever!”

Trixie raised her eyebrow, turning to her right. “Twilight, what’s going…” Her voice caught as she saw she was talking not to Twilight, but Rainbow Dash. “…on?” Wait one moment, Trixie thought. Twilight was on Trixie’s right, and Rainbow Dash was on Twilight’s right. If that pegasus is here, then where’s Twilight? Trixie glanced to her left. “Rarity, did Twilight lea-”

Trixie’s jaw dropped. Standing to her left wasn’t the white unicorn she was expecting; instead… she was looking at herself. “Huh… but… what…” She glanced down, stretching her hooves out to see if she was dreaming. She looked at her legs… her PURPLE legs. “…Oh, Celestia.”

Her body turned to her, hearing her comment. “Did you say something, Rainbow Da-” The blue unicorn quickly glanced down, looking at her legs. She patted her head, feeling how her hair had suddenly changed styles. She clenched her hooves around her hair, tugging it slightly. “Oh no oh no what’s going on…”

“Twilight?” Trixie breathed.

Her body nodded its head up and down. “Trixie?” Twilight asked.

Trixie nodded. “…Twilight… what’s going on?!”

Intermission: Canterlot Nights

“Applejack? Are you still awake?”

Twilight watched as her friend blinked an eye open, leaning on a foreleg as she sat up. She yawned, scratching at her bedhead. “Wha? What time is it? What’s wrong, sugahcube?”

Twilight shushed her, pointing past her to the rainbow-maned mare occupying the second bed. “Can you meet me downstairs? Five minutes?” Twilight glanced around nervously, stopping to look at Applejack again. “Please?”

The earth pony seemed to think it over, sneaking a peek towards the comfortable pillow beckoning to her. “Yeah, sure, ah’ll be down in a sec.”

“Thank you!” Twilight said, raising a hoof to her mouth at the outburst. “I mean… thank you. Meet you downstairs, alright?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Applejack yawned, watching her friend slip away from the bed and out the door. “Wonder what’s gotten into her,” she mumbled, claiming her hat from its spot on the end table beside her.

Applejack got up, taking care to sneak quietly to the door. Checking to make sure her roommate hadn’t moved, she closed the door behind her and headed downstairs. Poking her head into the living room, she spotted Twilight resting on the couch in the dark, dropping something onto the coffee table.

Twilight looked up, smiling as she watched her friend approach. “Er… sorry for waking you up. I got some cider from your reserves while I waited. Thought you might want some.”

Just like Twilight said, two mugs sat on the table beside her. Applejack took one and sat down, taking a quick swig to help her focus. “Yep, that’s the good stuff. Anyway, don’t you worry none about waking me up. Ah’m sure ya had good enough reason to, what with all that insanity today. Especially when you put everypony back where they belong.”

Twilight nodded, rubbing her arm. She was right, the spell had taken a lot out of her. “Definitely, it was pretty taxing. That just makes it all the more annoying that I can’t sleep.”

Applejack took another sip, picking Twilight‘s mug off the table and handing it over. “Mmmmhm. So, what’s got yer mane in a knot, hon?”

“Well,” Twi began, “a couple things, honestly. Today’s madness, obviously, and… well, you remember what we talked about a couple weeks ago?”

“Hmmm.” Applejack sat her mug down, rubbing her chin. “About how you were wondering if Big Mac had some doll of yours for some reason?”

A blush crossed Twi’s face. “N-no, not that.”

“Well then, do ya mean when ya needed to borrow some apples for some sorta transmogrification spell?”

“No, no… but thanks again for that, anyway. I was talking about something else.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Well, spit it out, sugahcube!”

“Alright, alright. It’s, uh…” Twilight mumbled, averting her gaze and holding her cup to her mouth. “Mmblemmble.”

Applejack scratched at her ear. “Beg yer pardon?”

Twilight sighed, lowering the cup. “Trixie.”

“Ooooh, right. Don’t suppose this has anythin’ ta do with you sneakin’ away from the group earlier, now does it?”

Twilight fumbled her hooves together awkwardly. “That obvious, huh? At least I came right back…”

“Chickened out, huh?” Applejack sighed, placing a hoof on her friend’s shoulder. “Saw her runnin’ away when we were comin’ for ya, that got anythin’ ta do with it?”

“Yeah,” Twilight sighed. She dropped her mug back on the table, nervously rubbing her neck. “Well, to be perfectly blunt, what would you do if your…” Twilight froze. “What would you do if somepony you knew thought you knew a secret of theirs, even if you didn’t? What if they were mad at you? None of my books can answer that.”

Applejack chuckled. “Listen here, Twi. Ah’ll admit, books are a gateway to a whole buncha worlds. When harvest season’s over and done with, ah don’t mind crackin’ open some Hucklemarey Finn myself. But be that as it may, books can’t tell ya everythin’. And the number one thing that proves that rule is…”

“It doesn’t teach interstellar physics?” Twilight intoned.

“No!” Applejack paused at her outburst, clearing her throat. “No, hon. Books aren’t gonna teach ya ‘bout the matters of the heart. That’s just somethin’ you have to discover for yerself.”

“But…” Twilight started, “I’ve already screwed up once, and I didn’t even do anything! What if I just make everything worse?”

Applejack shook her head. “Twi, look at me. C’mon, now.” The earth pony watched as her friend slowly turned towards her. “Good. Now listen here, and answer me this: Where’s tha mare that charged a hydra head on? The mare that defeated an Ursa Minor like it was nothin’? And let’s not forget, the mare who walked straight up ta me not long after our first encounter with Trixie and told me you were feelin’ oddly, somethin’ your books couldn’t explain neither then nor now. Ya trusted me to keep that a secret from everypony else, and ya trusted me ta give ya advice. Well, now yer gonna have ta trust me again.”

Applejack watched her friend’s face, smiling as the unicorn returned the grin and nodded. “And one more thing. Whether this works out or not, you two can still be friends, right?” Another nod. “And no matter what, yer always gonna have us by yer side. Just remember that.”

Applejack removed her hoof from her friend‘s shoulder, stretching. “Tell ya what, ah’m about ready to hit the hay right here and now if ah don’t get back at bed soon. Ah know Trixie’s got ya upset, but let’s get back up to bed and get some much-needed rest, ’kay? We can talk more in tha morning.”

Twilight nodded, wrapping her arms around her friend. “Thanks, Applejack. I needed that. Sorry for waking you up.”

“Not a problem, sugahcube,” Applejack said as she returned the gesture. “C’mon, the night’s slippin’ away.” The earth pony released her friend and yawned, hopping up off the couch. “Catch me before I go to the stands tomorrow, I got an offer for ya.”

“An offer?”

“Yep; ain’t nothin’ special, but it might help keep yer mind busy ’till we can find Trixie again.”

Twilight nodded, standing up. “Sounds good to me. See ya tomorrow?”

Applejack started walking to the stairs, making sure her friend was following. “See ya tomorrow.”

The two mares headed upstairs, bidding each other sweet dreams. The scrambling of a blue pegasus fleeing back to her room, stuffing her blanket with pillows, and escaping out the window went completely unnoticed.

Tap. Tap tap.

At first, nothing stirred on the other side of the window. Then, ever so slowly, a pegasus stepped into view. The mare crept forward, raising a hoof to unlock the window. Rubbing sleep out of her eyes, the pony smiled. “Dashie? Is it time yet?”

Rainbow Dash shushed the pony. “First thing’s first, Flutters. Rarity’s sawing logs?”

Fluttershy nodded, pointing to her side. Dash perched on the windowsill and looked inside, spotting her fashionista friend donning her favorite eye mask and mumbling into her bed’s pillow. “Perfect.” Rainbow Dash turned back to her friend, frowning. “I don’t think I can meet up with you tonight, Fluttershy. Sorry.”

Fluttershy’s smile fell, her head leaning downwards. Rainbow Dash waved her forelegs around, waving off her response. “Hold on now, I have a reason!” she hissed. “Look, I’ll make it up to you tomorrow, okay?”

The yellow pegasus lifted her head back up, a smile back on her lips. “It’s okay, Dashie. Please don‘t worry about me.” She smiled a little wider. “Oh, well… if it isn’t too much trouble, of course, I wouldn’t mind trying a few attractions I saw…”

Rainbow Dash looked into Fluttershy’s eyes, recognizing the little sparkle that always appeared when the pegasus was happy; it was the spark that Dash always wanted to see. “You know it. We’ll get up bright and early, ‘kay?”

“Okay.”

“Good,” Rainbow Dash whispered. She extended her arms, letting Fluttershy step into them and return the hug. They stayed that way for a moment, unwilling to break apart. Still, nighttime was flying by, and Rainbow Dash had places to be. She pulled back, gently stroking Fluttershy’s hair. “See ya tomorrow?”

In response, Fluttershy shot forward and planted a kiss on Rainbow’s forehead. “Of course.”

“Time to get going, then.” Rainbow released the pegasus, leaning back on the windowsill to prepare to take off. A mischievous grin lit her face as she quickly changed direction, pecking Fluttershy on the lips. Just as she expected, she was rewarded with one of her trademark blushes. “Catch ya later, Flutters.” And with that, Rainbow let herself fall out the window, extending her wings to catch the night’s breeze under them.

Turning back just long enough to spot her red-faced friend waving goodbye and shutting the window, Rainbow Dash flew upwards. Soon enough, the city lay sprawled out in front of her, nearly devoid of anypony out and about at this hour. “Now, where is it,” she mumbled to herself. “Twilight said something once about it being one of the tallest buildings in… aha!”

Out in the distance, Rainbow Dash spotted the smooth marble surface of a lit-up hotel. All it took was a glance at the winged pony statues adorning its sides in order to recognize it. Changing her course, Rainbow burst in flight, smirking. “Pegasus Plaza, here I come!”

“C’mon, Rainbow Dash, somepony must have mentioned it at some point. Think, think, think… 201A? B? C? Maybe D? No, E! That‘s it.”

Rainbow Dash came to a stop in the middle of the hallway, turning to the door beside her. “Yep, that’s the place.” Stepping forward, the pegasus gave a few quick knocks on the door.

Moments passed, but nopony came to answer. Frowning, Rainbow Dash knocked again, harder this time. Yet again, her knocking went unnoticed. Starting to get peeved, she began rapping on the door fiercely. “C’mon, you Great and Powerful snob, open up!” She muttered to herself.

Nopony answered. Rainbow Dash sighed, rubbing a hoof down her face. Celestia help me, the one time I actually want to talk to this blowhard and she’s blowing me off, she thought. I may have snuck out too late to hear everything that AJ and Twi were chattin’ about, but I heard enough to know Twi and Trix are fighting or something. Trixie may be a pain in the flank, but I’d be the last pony to let my friend be upset. Lowering her hoof, she glared at the door again. Trixie’s not going to make this easy, though, is she? Can’t believe I blew off a date with Flutters for this…

Not ready to give in yet, Rainbow beat her hoof against the door. “Trixie!” She called out. “Open up!”

Rainbow felt something poking at her shoulder. She wheeled around, coming face to face with a frizzy-haired pink unicorn. “Some ponies would like to get some sleep,” she hissed, glaring at the noisy pegasus. “Mind keeping it down, hmm?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her mane awkwardly. “Uh… sorry ‘bout that.” Not waiting to hear the response, she trotted down the hall, entering the stairwell and beginning her descent to the lobby.

Alright, slow down, Dash, she told herself as she reached the lobby. Maybe Trixie’s just out somewhere. Of course, it can’t hurt to check, right? Crossing through the main area of the hotel, Rainbow Dash took the exit and found herself back outside. Picking up the pace a little, she ran forward and flapped her wings, taking to the skies again.

She rose, making sure to stay in the vicinity of Pegasus Plaza. Taking a lap around the building, she rose until she was about even with the floor she’d just been on. She scanned the windows, watching for a certain room to pop into view. Eventually, she found what she hoped was her destination.

She peeked inside, noting first of all that the lights were on. “Hmmph. That’s not boding well.” She rubbed her chin, sweeping her eyes over the room. “She is getting a lot of bang for her buck though, I’ll give her that.”

Continuing her investigation, she flew along the window until she came across another one. She peeked inside, smiling at her success as she spotted a familiar blue unicorn laying in bed with her head buried underneath a pillow.

Rainbow Dash blinked. Is she really trying to block me out? she wondered, eyeing Trixie. Dash raised a hoof up, reaching to tap on the glass.

And stopped. “You know what?” she said aloud, “to hay with this. If she wants to ignore me, so be it. Nopony can say I didn’t try.” She dropped her hoof down, sighing. “I’ll find some way to make things up to Twi too, I guess.”

Rainbow Dash shot Trixie one last hard look. With a huff, she turned herself around, heading back to the house she’d come from. She left Pegasus Plaza behind as she flew back over Canterlot, heading home for some much-needed sleep.

“C’mon Dash, time to get sneaky. You got this, it’s all you!”

Rainbow Dash looked back in her bedroom window, eyeing the orange pony sound asleep in the second bed. Her eyes drifted farther to the right and settled on her goal: the incredibly comfy (though not as comfy as a cloud) blue-covered bed that’d been provided for her. Flying over Canterlot may have sped up the trip considerably, but the big city still required a long flight, and Dash was exhausted. Now, all she had to do was get back inside without waking anypony.

Taking a deep breath, Rainbow Dash leaned forward and lifted the window up. Making sure to take her time, she raised it up until it was just big enough to let her squeeze through. Once inside, she gently shut the window, turning to tiptoe over to her bed.

Squeak!

The pegasus flinched, glancing down to spot the body of a rubber chicken poking out from under her bed. So that’s where the chicken Pinkie said she lost went, Dash realized. …How’d it get down the-

Rainbow Dash ducked behind her bed as Applejack raised a hoof up. Peeking over the edge, Rainbow watched as her friend scratched at her ear. Remaining absolutely still, the pegasus let out a sigh of relief as her friend dropped her hoof back down. Taking the opportunity, Rainbow Dash stood back up and slipped into bed, shoving her makeshift pillow dummy aside. Aw yea, I’ve got the skills! she praised herself, shutting her eyes tight for a well-deserved rest.

“Where ya been, sugahcube?”

The pegasus let out a string of unintelligible words, flopping clumsily out of bed and onto the floor. She squirmed, struggling to break free of the blanket she’d managed to take down with her, until she managed to poke her head out. A smirking Applejack greeted her. “Well howdy to you too,” Applejack teased.

“Uh… ‘sup, AJ?” Rainbow Dash replied, standing back up. “What’re you doing up?”

Applejack yawned. “Prolly wasn’t mah best idea to grab some cider; it’s definitely the good stuff, but it keeps me awake somethin’ fierce.” She raised an eyebrow. “Now, if ya’d kindly not bother trying to change the subject?”

“Er…” Rainbow Dash gulped, glancing back and forth shiftily. “I just went out to get some air, let the wings breathe. Is that a crime, now?”

“No, but lying to your friend certainly is.” Applejack chuckled, watching her roommate’s face flush with color. “Now, now, don’t worry yerself none, what you do isn’t none a’ my business.”

Rainbow Dash blinked. “Really?” She shook her her head quickly. “I mean, yeah, really! So, can we go to bed now?”

“Not quite.”

Rainbow groaned, faceplanting into her bed. “Whai nawt?” she asked, the covers muffling her speech.

“It won’t take long, ah promise. Ah just need your help with somethin’,” Applejack assured her.

Rainbow Dash eyed her curiously, pulling her head up and resting it on her hoof. “Yeah? And what’s that?”

Applejack beckoned for her to lean in closer, lowering her voice in order to respond. “Twi’s in a bit of a jam with Trix, iffin’ ya didn’t know already. With yer help, maybe we could help them work things out.”

Rainbow Dash cross her arms, thinking. Well, it would be a good way to make it up to Twi. She gazed downwards. But is it worth putting up with Trixie again? Eyeing Applejack again, Rainbow Dash shrugged. “I’ll think about it. In the meantime, what’s the plan?”

Applejack smiled. “It isn’t fancy; in fact, all ya gotta do is tell a certain somepony where to go. Now listen closely, cause you and I both know we’re achin’ for some sleep.”

The pegasus nodded, leaning in close to listen as her friend began whispering. Rainbow Dash paid attention, nodding as Applejack gave her details.

Day 8 (Part one): The Challenge

“Focus, Twilight, focus…”

For a moment, Twilight’s thoughts were clouded again. The words on the scroll in front of her danced around in her vision, her mind occupied with other thoughts. “Come on, the letter’s almost finished,” she mumbled, “I just need to add-”

“Your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle?”

Twilight turned, giving her assistant a grateful smile. “That’s what I was looking for. Thanks, Spike!”

“No need for thanks,” he assured. “But, and don’t take this the wrong way, you’re a bit…” The dragon paused, drumming his fingers on the couch’s armrest in thought. “…’Off’ today. What’s up?”

Twilight turned away, settling her quill on the paper to finish off her letter. “It’s nothing, Spike. Thanks for asking, though.” With a flourish, she finished scribbling her signature. “Ready, number one assistant?”

Spike nodded. “You know it.”

“Get ready, then.” Standing up and gripping the scroll in her magic, Twilight tossed it towards Spike. She trotted to the window and opened it, just in time to watch her assistant bathe the letter in green flames. A wisp of smoke hovered where the scroll one was, slowly coiling its way towards the unicorn. It did a loop and flew outside, leaving Twilight to close the window behind it. “Nice shot,” she praised.

Spike rubbed his knuckle against his chest, eyeing them. “What’d ya expect?”

The sound of somepony clearing their throat drifted into the living room. “A dragon that doesn’t ham it up, by chance?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Spike said, watching as Applejack walked into the room. “While you’re here, is it about time to go?”

“Weeeellll…” Applejack began, “Rarity’s in the restroom gussyin’ herself up. For who, ah dunno. Ah’d reckon we got about, oh, a half hour ‘til we can go down to the stands.”

Spike nodded. “Sounds good to me.” Noticing something, Spike leaned forward, squinting. “Have a rough night, AJ? Lookin’ a bit tired.”

Applejack shook her head, frowning. “Don’t worry ‘bout me, ah’m fine. Had a bit o’ trouble sleepin’, but that isn’t gonna keep me down.” Applejack raised a hoof to her mouth, yawning. “Anyway, what are y’all up to down here?”

“Contacting Celestia,” Twilight replied.

“About?”

“Well…” Twilight began. She paused, watching as a green burst lit the room. A letter fell to the floor, having just been deposited by Spike’s flames. The unicorn trotted over, levitating the scroll up to her. “Pardon me, Applejack, this’ll only take a moment. Spike, you can go. This should be the last letter for now, thanks again for all the help.”

“No problem.” Spike stood up, waving goodbye to everypony as he left the room. Applejack watched him go, turning back to see her friend vigorously reading the new letter.

“You were sayin’, sugarcube?”

Twilight sighed, setting the letter aside. “I just don’t get it. With everything that happened yesterday, you’d think the festival would have been shut down, or at least postponed.” The unicorn shook her head, pointing to the scroll. “I’ve been trying to converse with the princess, and maybe get some answers. So far, all I’m getting back is pretty much ‘the show must go on’, ‘Discord hasn’t been active so far’, so on and so forth. I can see why she’d want everypony to relax after all that, but I’m still not completely sure if it was the best idea.”

“Ah can see yer point,” Applejack agreed. “But speakin’ of relaxation, ah got an offer for ya.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Hmm?” She blinked, giving an embarrassed smile. “Oh, right. I’d completely forgotten about you wanting to see me this morning.”

“Yep, and ah gotta say, you’ve been goin’ through a lot lately.” Applejack raised her hoof up, waving it subconsciously as she counted off activities. “Yesterday’s insanity, putting everypony back in their bodies, studying ‘til the wee hours… and let’s not forget, yer current issues with you-know-who.”

Twilight looked downward, heat rising to her face. “Can we skip to the offer?”

“Sure, sure,” Applejack assured. “Ah personally think ya could do with a day of just relaxin’ with yer friends, and something to keep yer mind busy couldn’t hurt either. So, and you’re free to say no, but how ‘bout you come down and help out with the stall today?”

“Wait, really?” Twilight asked. “But I’ve never sold anything to anypony before… I‘ve only purchased things.”

Applejack chuckled, walking forward and wrapping a foreleg around her friend‘s neck. “Don’tcha worry none, hon, ah’ll be there ta keep ya from goin’ off track. And, worst case scenario, keepin’ ya from finding a way to burn the stall down.” Applejack chuckled to herself at her joke, finishing it off with a sigh. “So, ya interested?”

Unsure at first, Twilight’s gaze turned everywhere but towards her friend. Coming to a decision, she turned to Applejack and nodded. “I’d be delighted.”

“Good choice,” Applejack praised, releasing her friend. “We’ve got maybe twenty-five more minutes ‘til Rarity stops abusing the bathroom.” The earth pony started to walk off, heading towards the kitchen. “C’mon, let’s make us some lunch fer later on.”

Twilight just looked at her in confusion. “We’re running a food stand, aren’t we? Why not just eat the apples?”

Her friend just laughed, turning to beckon her friend over. “Sounds like ya really haven’t sold anythin’. C’mon, ah’ll explain while we toast up some daisy tarts.”

Watching her friend go, Twilight simply shrugged and moved to follow. Applejack was right, she definitely could use something to keep her mind busy. This’d be just the thing she needed.

“No, no… focus, Trixie, focus.”

Trixie shifted around on her couch, trying in vain to find a comfortable position. Unable to make herself comfy, she instead set her mind on the barely-worked on papers levitating in front of her face. For just a moment, she had clear concentration as her eyes scanned the pages, only for it to fade away into more images of a certain purple unicorn.

“Confound it!” Trixie tossed the papers away with a frustrated sigh, flopping back onto the couch. She watched as the sheets drifted side to side, lazily descending until they settled on the ground. She gripped the papers with her magic, deciding to at least have the decency to deposit her show plans on the table. Trixie changed her mind at the last moment, leaving them to return to the floor. It could be done later… when she could get these thoughts out of her head.

She absent-mindedly ran a hoof through her mane, finally deciding to give in. The thoughts had been bothering her ever since she’d woken up- thoughts of her past, thoughts of the present… and thoughts of Twilight Sparkle. Somehow, the bookworm had worked her way into Trixie’s mind more than anything else.

Last night’s scene kept running through her mind. Trixie finding out how Twilight felt... and realizing that, deep down, she kind of liked it. Feeling Twilight's arms wrap around her in an embrace... and yet, running away upon realizing that Twilight knew her secret.

Trixie shuddered. She remembered Twilight’s arms wrapped around her as she congratulated her… still holding on as Trixie revealed that she knew about how her friend truly felt… squeezing her tighter just before Twilight had blabbed about her newfound information… up until that point, it’d felt so right. Trixie wondered if she would’ve acted on the situation if Twilight had just remained silent.

Of course, there was the matter that Twilight knew about Trixie’s past now. Trixie had worked so hard to repress it, only for it to be revealed anyway. She couldn’t handle being reminded, nor could she take knowing that somepony else knew about it… the only option she could see had been to flee. Now, here she was, reduced to feeling alone, upset, and unable to keep her mind on her work.

With a sigh, Trixie got up off her couch. Clearly, no work is going to be done today, she thought to herself. Picking her bits pouch off the table and securing it to her side, she stepped over the papers littering the floor and walked to the exit. The fans won’t mind a redo of a previous show; it is the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all. Trixie shall spend the day on the town, and try to collect her thoughts.

Stepping outside and closing the door behind her, she began walking to the staircase, another thought pecking at her mind. The walk will give Trixie time to decide on whether to go through with the plan she thought up. If Twilight doesn’t show her head, it won’t matter… but knowing that bookworm, she will.

Reaching the stairs, Trixie descended to the lobby and out into Canterlot’s streets. As usual, the crowd was thick and the revelers were wild, despite yesterday’s antics. Trixie rolled her eyes and prepared herself, marching forward to join in the crowd. The sounds of joyful revelers blocked out all her thoughts as she entered, allowing only one last question to herself: Is the plan worth it?

Her venture into the crowd seemed to be working a little too well. The sounds of everypony around her blocked out most of her thoughts, but Trixie could feel a small headache coming on. To make matters worse, she had no idea whatsoever how far the crowd had dragged her from the hotel. And frankly, the revelers were starting to get on her nerves.

Trixie flinched back as a couple foals raced by in front of her, causing her to bump into somepony. She ignored the annoyed pony behind her, grumbling under her breath as she resumed moving forward. She was a showpony; she wasn’t meant to move amongst the crowd, she was meant to rise above it. The bumps and bruises she got from her walk amongst the revelers only seemed to prove that.

It didn’t help that she hadn’t found a break in the crowd for far too long, nor did it help that it felt like somepony was tugging at her tail. Trixie twirled around, glaring daggers. “Unhand Trixie you ruffian, before…”

The unicorn turned to find herself looking at a familiar face. A yellow pegasus stood there, quickly dropping Trixie’s tail and dropping her head low. What’s her name again? Trixie asked herself. Flutter…something, wasn’t it? I don’t think we ever talked much. But if she’s here, then… Trixie’ face fell. Sparkle isn’t far behind.

Trixie turned to go, beginning to trot deeper into the crowd. Before she could move a step, she felt another tug at her tail. Turning back to Fluttershy, Trixie sighed. She clearly wasn‘t going anywhere. “What do you want?”

The pegasus let go of her again, scuffing her hoof along the ground. “C-could you help me? If that’s okay…”

Trixie raised an eyebrow, taking a small step to the side to let the crowd surge around them. “With?”

Fluttershy muttered something. Trixie leaned in, trying to catch the quiet words amongst everypony elses shouts and chatter. “Pardon?” Trying again, the pegasus mumbled some more. Trixie raced a hoof to her face, groaning. “If you refuse to speak up, then come with Trixie. She’ll find a quieter space.”

Trixie watched Fluttershy nod and cast her gaze downward. With a shrug, Trixie turned, waiting for the pegasus to grab hold once more. When the tug came, Trixie set off, integrating herself and the meek pegasus back into the crowd.

The duo worked their way through the crowd, seeking an exit. They managed to spot an opening a few times, only for the revelers to shift direction and close off their escape. The ponies seemed to close in around them, and the grip on Trixie's tail tightened. Trixie wondered how much more of the noisy crowd and tail-pulling she could take, until a gap opened up in front of them. Wasting no time, Trixie ran out into the opening, dragging Fluttershy with her.

Feeling the tension on her tail slacken, Trixie turned back to see the gap they’d exited from quickly fill itself in. Fluttershy stood just behind her, breathing a sigh of relief. “Now then, what do you want?” Trixie asked.

“Oh! Um…” Fluttershy bowed her head. “I was going to ask if you could possibly help me get out of the crowd. Angel- one of my animal friends -needed more food, but the crowd swept me away.” She bowed even lower. “T-thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie blinked. “Well, the Great and Powerful Trixie never denies praise. Couldn’t you have, you know, flown away?” Trixie said, pointing to the pegasus’ wings.

“Oh, no, I could never just take off in the middle of the street. And besides, I got separated from somepony in the crowd.” Fluttershy’s mouth fell, her eyes widening. “I left them back in the crowd! Oh no, no…”

Trixie reached forward, clamping a hoof over Fluttershy’s muzzle. “Easy now. Trixie is sure that whoever is looking for you will find you in no time. In the meantime,” she said, dropping her hoof back down and glancing around. “Where are we?”

Looking around, Trixie spotted a wooden archway right where they’d been let out at. The sign attached to the gate next to it declared their location: The Canterlot Gardens. Stepping forward and peeking through the gate, the unicorn let out a low whistle. Rows upon rows of various flowers bloomed all around the park, with dirt paths interwoven between them. Ponies trotted all around (though not in the clusters found outside the park), most of them having stopped to relax on the shore of the pond at the park’s center.

“Oh, my.” Fluttershy stepped forward as well, her gaze being drawn to the small animals dotting the landscape. “It’s so… so…”

“Colorful?” Trixie offered.

“Beautiful.” Fluttershy let out a content sigh. “And it’s where we were supposed to be going anyway.”

“Ah, yes,” Trixie said. “That somepony you were walking around with. Who was it? Trixie has places to be, things to do…” Trixie cleared her throat, subconsciously averting her gaze. “But if she runs into them, she’ll be sure to pass the word along.”

“Oh, you’ve already done so much, I couldn’t possibly…”

“Flutters!”

A blue blur flew in for a landing, making Trixie leap back. She watched as Rainbow Dash stepped forward, draping a leg over Fluttershy. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! Where’d ya go?”

“Well… after the crowd separated us, I found somepony we know to guide me out of it. She even took me to the park, too.” Fluttershy waved towards the unicorn. “You remember Trixie, right?”

Rainbow Dash quickly dropped her leg down and turned, eyeing Trixie. Without a word, she turned and began trotting towards the park, guiding Fluttershy along with her. “C’mon, we’ve been waiting long enough. Didja ever manage to get Angel those treats?”

Trixie blinked, processing the reaction. Ignored? Trixie thought, her expression slowly turning into a scowl. She stood there, huffing at the insult.

Fluttershy shot Trixie a worried glance, turning back to look at Rainbow Dash. “What’s wrong? Did Trixie do something? But all she did was help me get where I needed to go…”

The blue pegasus froze, letting out a sigh. She scratched at her head while her companion just watched with concern. With another frustrated sigh, Rainbow Dash looked over her shoulder, locking eyes with Trixie. “You look a bit hungry. You should head over to Applejack's stand; maybe she'll feel a bout of charity and spare you something."

“Huh?” Trixie watched in confusion as Rainbow Dash turned back, continuing her trot into the park. Fluttershy followed after her, shooting Trixie a sympathetic look. Trixie watched the two pegasi for a moment, finally turning to think about what Rainbow Dash had said

Applejack might be able to spare something? Trixie repeated. Trixie reached back to her bit pouch, gently nudging it. A few spare coins jangled within, no doubt unworthy to pay for anything but the smallest meal. “Well, Trixie supposes it couldn’t hurt,” she muttered. Deciding to take the advice, Trixie turned, reluctantly stepping back into the crowd. Throughout her days here, Trixie was slowly starting to keep track of the layout, and she was sure she could get to the stand relatively quickly. That was, of course, provided that the crowd had any mercy on her.

“Gonna need a refill on the tarts, Twi!”

“On their way!” The unicorn called back, moving past Applejack to where the extra treats were kept. Levitating a tray of tarts out of one of the boxes they’d carted over with them, Twilight hurried back to the stand and dropped them off on the counter. She found herself gazing down the line for Applejack’s stand, seeing that the number of customers just kept increasing.

“Woooo-eeee, they’re comin’ in faster than we can send ‘em off,” Applejack shouted as she handed away a couple of plain apples. “Can ya see Rarity’s stand, Twi? How‘s she farin‘?”

Twilight looked through the crowd, unable to see anything but the very top of her other friend’s booth. “Can’t tell, Applejack,” she responded. “The crowd’s too thick. Looks like everypony’s working extra hard to make up for the day that Discord cost them.”

“C’mon, sugahcube, yer not supposed to be thinkin’ about stuff like that.” Applejack stepped away from the counter, turning back long enough to promise her newest customer that they’d get assistance in no time. “Think it’s about time we switched off, anyway. G’luck, Twi!”

Twilight nodded, taking over where her partner left off. Soon, it all became a rhythm to her; a customer ordered something, Twilight repeated it, either she handed it over right away or got Applejack to retrieve some, and then she accepted the pay. Quick, easy, and it didn’t leave much room for thinking. Just what Twilight needed.

The customers keep coming and the food kept flying off the shelves, until it got to a pace where even the unicorn’s magic couldn’t keep up. Thankfully, it started to dim down, to the point where it seemed like the two salesponies could switch off effectively. A few more couldn’t hurt, though… Twilight told herself.

First up was a young foal, whom Twilight sent off with a slice of apple cake. Smiling, she turned back to see who was next. “Hello, how may I help…”

“…you.” Twilight’s eyes widened, mirroring the blue unicorn across the counter. “Um… hello, Trixie.”

The mare nodded towards her, almost unnoticeably. “Is Applejack here? Trixie just needs a moment of her time.”

Twilight’s face fell. She wanted to say something, anything, but the words just wouldn’t come. Giving up, just waved her hoof over in Applejack’s direction. “Over there.”

Trixie nodded again, stepping out of line and behind the counter. Twilight watched her walk up to her friend, turning away as the two ponies started chatting. “Coward,” she mumbled to herself, turning to serve the next customer.

A few satisfied ponies later, Twilight felt a tap on our shoulder. Looking behind her, she spotted Applejack waving towards the storage boxes. “Reckon it’s about time we switch off, sugahcube. Ah promised Trixie ah’d get her some good ol’ Apple family cooking, though. Do me a favor and grab her somethin’, would ya?”

Applejack scooted into place behind the counter, complementing Twilight on her effort as the unicorn stepped towards the storage boxes. Trixie was waiting for her, focusing her gaze on pretty much everything but the approaching unicorn. Twilight stepped past her, flipping open a few boxes with her magic. “Anything in particular you want?” She asked.

Trixie shrugged. “Trixie is fine with anything.”

“Well, that narrows it down.” Peeking into the boxes, Twilight hunted for something that might work. “Tarts”? Trixie shrugged. “Slice of pie?” Another shrug. “Muffin?” Shrug. Twilight felt her eye twitch. “For the love of Celestia, would you help me out here?!”

She covered her mouth, watching as Trixie turned to face her with surprise in her eyes. Twilight smiled awkwardly, already feeling the heat rise to her face. “S-sorry. It’s been pretty stressful the past couple days.”

Not waiting to see Trixie’s reaction, Twilight ducked her head into the crate, searching for anything that would get the unicorn out of there. A thought crossed her mind as her eyes scanned the selection: I’ve already screwed up. How could it possibly get any worse?

“Trixie?” she called out.

“Present.”

“I think this will do,” Twilight stated, picking an extra-tasty looking slice of apple cake from within the crate. “I’ll get you a plate in a moment… but there’s something I have to say, first.

“Look,” she began, “I’m sorry for more than just the outburst. Apparently I did something to upset you, and frankly, I can see how. What you found out yesterday… look, let’s just forget it, okay?” Twilight turned to Trixie, looking her straight in the eye. “If you think I saw some secret of yours… I didn’t; it was just far too repressed to reach. I don’t expect you to believe me, but if nothing else… we could always be friends. And I’d appreciate if you considered that.”

Trixie stood there, wide-eyed. Her gaze flickered back and forth, as if trying to choose between one option or another. Finally, she turned back to the unicorn. “Twi?”

Twilight felt her hopes rising. “Yes?”

The cake slice left Twilight’s grip as Trixie took it in her own magic. “Don’t worry about the plate; Trixie will do without. You have her thanks, though.”

The showpony turned to trot away. Twilight watched, dropping her gaze as the hope quickly blew away. Pausing, Trixie halted mistep and looked back towards her. “Twilight, meet Trixie backstage tonight. Your friends are welcome to join the audience, if they wish.”

“Huh?” Ignoring Twilight’s confusion, Trixie walked off, taking her lunch with her. Twilight’s gazed followed her, her mind trying to wrap itself around Trixie’s request.

“We’re gonna need some more pastries, hon.” Applejack’s voice broke Twilight out of her thoughts as the earth pony stepped into view, her gaze following Trixie. “Anything better between you two?”

Twilight frowned, shaking her head. “I have no idea.”

The rest of the afternoon went relatively smoothly, despite Trixie’s request constantly nagging at the back of Twilight’s mind. Hungry ponies came and went, finally slowing down as the sun started falling. Eager to get something to eat, the two salesponies met up with Rarity and Spike across the street, who’d also met with decent success. Together, they met up with the others, and sat down to a relaxing dinner at a small restaurant.

Afterwards, aside from Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, everypony had agreed to come see Trixie’s show. Once the bill was paid, the two groups split up, and Twilight led her group to the stage.

Once there, Twilight had dropped her friends off in the audience, telling them she’d be right back as she slipped away to the backstage entrance. A little nervous about what may happen behind, Twilight gingerly stepped up to the door and let herself in.

The place seemed the same as it always did the last couple times she’d been back there. Actors flitted about, reciting lines or rehearsing acts. And far back in her usual corner by the stage attire, Trixie sat in front of a mirror, preening herself for that night’s show. Taking a deep breath, Twilight set off, weaving her way through the crowd of performers until she reached the blue unicorn in the back.

Trixie saw her coming, eyeing her in the mirror’s reflection. “Trixie almost didn’t think you’d show up, Sparkle.”

“Well, I did,” she responded. “And… to be trutful, I’ve been more than a little curious why you called me back here.”

“Trixie was getting to that.” Though she already had her cape on, Trixie grabbed her trademark hat off the nearby table and spun to face Twilight, putting the hat on as she turned. “Why do you think Trixie called you back here?”

Twilight scratched her head. “How should I know?”

“Well, Trixie will tell you.” Trixie leaned in close, narrowing her expression into an aggressive smirk. “Trixie requested your presence to declare a challenge.”

“…A what now?”

Trixie laughed. “It means, Trixie challenges you to a duel!”

“…What?! No! I refuse!” Twilight glared at the unicorn, shaking her head. “It’s offensive that you’d even suggest that!”

“Easy now, Twilight,” Trixie soothed. “Trixie has her reasons. Surely you’d consider…”

“No! And I thought you were changing.” Twilight sighed, averting her gaze. “I guess I was wrong.”

Trixie’s expression softened. “Hold on a second, Twilight, just hear Trixie out.”

“Why should I? I apologized to you-”

“Twilight!” Trixie shouted, catching the mare off guard. The showpony cleared her throat. “Now then. Trixie knows from our confrontation in Ponyville that you’re not fond of challenges. Trixie knows this, and she wishes she could provide you with a good enough reason… but she can’t. Just know that this is something Trixie has to do.”

Twilight’s gaze softened, if just for a moment. Trixie let her own scowl fall as well. “Please… it’s just something Trixie must do.”

Twilight groaned. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me why?” The showpony shook her head. “I…you… fine.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Really.”

A smile crossed Trixie’s face as she stepped forward, wrapping a leg around her competition for the night. “Excellent! Then Trixie shall explain the stakes.”

“Stakes?” Twilight repeated. “I didn’t agree to tha-”

“There will be three categories,” Trixie interrupted. “Creativity, talent, and power. The winner of all but the last round is determined through the audience’s applause. Everything we need for the event can be found back here,” Trixie said, motioning around the backstage area.

“As for the stakes,” she continued, “they go as follows: If Trixie wins, then you relinquish the letter you hid that one day.”

Twilight looked at her in confusion. “What letter?” Realization flitted across her eyes. “Ooooh. Trixie, that letter isn-”

“Let Trixie finished,” Trixie scolded. “Now then, if you win…” Trixie let go of Twilight, moving to her front. She cast her gaze around, looking like a decision was being tossed back and forth. "Well, Trixie isn't sure whether to believe you when you say you didn't see her memories, but whether you did or not.."

Twilight reached out, patting Trixie on the shoulder. “It’s fine, Trixie, we don’t need to wager anything. It’s bad enough I agreed to this.”

Trixie looked directly into her eyes. “No, no, it almost must done. If you win,” Trixie stated, “Trixie shall tell you of her past herself.”

Day 8 (Part two): The Duel

Twilight dug through the outfit rack, gently pushing aside various items of clothing as she searched for something. “No… no… hmm, that looks nice… but no.” She kept looking, nearing the end of the rack. With a smile, she spotted what she was searching for and levitated it off the end of the cart.

The outfit she’d worn days ago looked just as it did when she’d first tried it on. The purple top hat, the red-sequined vest, the black, gem-lined pants… all just as Rarity had left them, as a donation to the performers- which, of course, paved the way for more advertising. A smile crossed the unicorn’s face as the outfit brought up memories of her last stage appearance. Her smirk shrank down as she remembered that her next appearance onstage would be less than peaceful. She found herself looking towards the prop storage section, shooting a glare towards the pony that had put her into such an uncomfortable situation.

Trixie was shuffling through the props, setting aside anything that might be useful for that night. She was oblivious to the daggers in Twilight’s eyes, to the point where Twilight was suspecting the mare was trying her very hardest not to look towards her competition.

Fine then, Twilight thought, be that way. She looked back to her outfit, deciding now was as good a time as any to get changed. She dropped the hat on her head and draped the vest over her back, turning her mind to the situation at hand as she suited up.

Right after the challenge, the two competitors had split up to prepare. Twilight had been the first to have a go at the props, and she‘d piled up all her supplies by the stage entrance. She’d passed by Trixie on her way to the costume section, though the unicorn had made sure to keep her distance. Twilight had caught something in her eyes, though. Worry? Regret? Who knew. In fact, it didn’t seem like Trixie had her heart in it when she’d given the challenge.

And, if she could be perfectly honest, her own heart wasn’t completely in it either. She hated herself for giving in to Trixie’s challenge, but what was she to do? She thought she’d already scared away Trixie once, and when Trixie had said she’d needed this contest, she’d sounded oddly sincere.

No time to dwell on that, Twilight told herself as she finished getting dressed. She glanced herself over, making sure she looked presentable. It’s about time for the show to begin. Her gaze passed over to the prop area again, where Trixie was still gathering up what she needed. And if she wants a challenge, by Celestia, she’s going to get one. No holding back.

Trixie stood just offstage, watching as the act before hers ran its course. Her props were ready, her trademark outfit was on, and she was ready to dominate the competition.

So why, deep down, did she feel like something was wrong?

Everything was going as planned. Twilight had accepted the challenge, providing both a great show for tonight as well as a way of finding out who truly was the greatest. Trixie didn’t regret the challenge one bit, and yet… seeing how it’d upset Twilight, something just didn’t click right for her.

But those thoughts could wait until after Trixie won. The jester on stage had just finished, wowing the crowd with an impressive set of fiery stunts. He bowed and took his leave, making way for the next act. Trixie paid him no mind as he passed by, instead scanning the crowd of stray performers for her competitor.

She spotted her, heading towards Trixie with a few last-minute props. She’d dressed up for the occasion, getting into her outfit from her last time onstage. The thought stung a little; Trixie’s reaction that day was still fresh in her mind. Trixie set the thought aside, forcing a smirk onto her face as her opponent cantered up.

“The audience is waiting, assistant,” she teased. Twilight rolled her eyes, dropping her props off in the small pile she’d already formed. Her eyes darted over her supplies, making sure everything was accounted for. Satisfied, she turned, holding a hoof out in Trixie’s direction.

The unicorn stared at it blankly. “Yes? Why are you pointing at Trixie?”

Twilight groaned, extending her hoof further. “I may not agree with this contest,” she began, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t have fun, right? May the best mare win.”

That odd, stinging feeling rose in Trixie’s chest again. She fought it down, forcing her hoof to reach out and grasp her friend’s. “Yes, Trixie will win.” Twilight shot her a look. “Trixie kids, sheesh. May the best mare win.”

They shook on it. Not wanting to keep the audience waiting any longer, Trixie motioned for Twilight to stay put before heading onstage to greet the masses.

Trixie claimed center-stage, beginning her introduction. “Fillies and gentlecolts, prepare yourselves! The Great and Powerful Trixie brings with her a special event for all of you! But before we get into that, Trixie presents to you the return of her lovely assistant, Twilight Sparkle!”

As if on cue, a smoke cloud materialized to Trixie’s left. Her gaze swept the crowd as she waited for Twilight to get into place; she spotted their friends seated up near the front, the expressions on their faces ranging from surprise to, in Pinkie’s case, delight. The smog faded, revealing a slightly red-faced Twilight. The audience stomped the ground, filling the air with applause as Twilight gave a nervous wave.

“Yes,” Trixie continued, “she’s returned to help Trixie entertain and amaze you all! But this isn’t just any show, no, because tonight, you’ll be more than just spectators.” Curious chatter rose up around the crowd. “You see, my assistant and I shall be dueling to see who’s the true showstopper, and it’ll be up to you all to decide who reigns the stage supreme!”

The chatter shifted from curious to excited. Trixie spotted their friends again as she waited for it to die down; while Pinkie and Spike looked excited, Applejack and Rarity shared a look of mild discomfort. She cleared her throat, forcing herself to turn her attention back to the crowd. “Yes, we present for you all a quick, three-round duel! Using nothing but our own talents, we shall dazzle you in the hopes of dominating three categories: Creativity, talent, and power! And once all is said and done, it shall be you who determines who wins, for whoever gets the most applause wins the round.

“And now, without further ado, we’ll see who‘s most creative! We shall return in just a moment to kick things off, so get yourselves ready for the Great and Powerful duel!” With that, Trixie started nudging Twilight offstage, leaving the exacted crowd behind.

Backstage, Trixie immediately began gathering various things from her prop pile. “Only take what you need for this round,” she cautioned. When a response didn’t reach her, she turned to eye her opponent. “What’s gotten into you?”

Twilight, still red in the face, simply smiled as she kept digging through her own stash. “I think I could get used to being called ‘lovely assistant’,” she said with a giggle.

Against her wishes, Trixie could feel the heat rising to her face as well. “Oh, shut it.” She finished digging through her supplies, hiding what she felt necessary within the lining of her hat and cape. “Ready?”

Twilight looked up, picking up her supplies in a purple glow. “More or less.”

“Close enough.” Trixie trotted off towards the stage, motioning for her friend to follow. “Come on, the Great and Powerful Trixie is ready to blow the crowd away!”

The two mares found themselves sharing center-stage, standing just far enough away from each other to avoid getting in their competitor’s way. The crowd lay out in front of them, awaiting in eager silence for the beginning of the creativity challenge.

The event was simple: Trixie and Twilight would each be performing the same routine, a fireworks-filled spectacle designed to show off the performer’s mastery of theatrical magic. Each competitor would be rated based on how gracefully and artfully they could pull off the show, with the audience serving as the judge. Whoever performed best, won.

Trixie played out the event in her mind, making sure she had every aspect planned out perfectly. Satisfied, she looked towards Twilight, getting a nod in response. With both mares ready, Trixie swept a hoof over the crowd, shouting in her loudest possible voice. “Is everypony ready for the spectacle of a lifetime?” The crowd’s agreement was unanimous. “Then let the first round begin!”

On the last word, both mares rose to their hind legs, letting loose a shower of multi-colored sparks. Calling upon their magic, Twilight and Trixie gathered as many stray sparks as they could, corralling them into a ring around their bodies. The glimmering lights swirled around them, their speed increasing until they were almost a prismatic blur, until the competitors fired the ring of light straight up into the air.

Here come’s the first part where our talents diverge, Trixie told herself. She looked above her, keeping her eye on the glowing ring as she began concentrating. Slowly, a small orb began growing between the sparks, filling the void in the circle. Trixie focused, making sure she’d prepped the following spell combination to achieve the correct result. The time to release the enchantment came just as she finished carving the inner magical properties of the sphere. Raising again to her hind legs, Trixie raised her arms in the air as the circle of lights exploded.

The sparks and the ball merged, exploding out into another shower of sparkles. This time, the sparks formed a pattern, one Trixie had tailor-made herself. A glowing image of lit-up festival attractions floated up ahead; a little ferris wheel spun lazily next to a working roller coaster. If one looked closely enough, a crowd of ponies moved underneath the rides, walking beneath the glowing sun set between the two ethereal attractions.

Trixie felt a smirk rise to her face as the audience gasped, completely enthralled by the picture floating above the stage. A sharp crack reached Trixie’s ears as she heard her opponent put up her own image, and the unicorn peeked at it out of the corner of her eye.

She shoved a hoof against her mouth to keep herself from laughing. It wasn’t enough. She snickered as she glanced at Twilight’s picture- if you could even call it that. While it wasn’t exactly stick figures, the seven mares and the little dragon floating in the air weren’t much better. Oh, this is in the bag! Trixie thought. What is that, anyway? That might be Spike… then that means the rest must be our friends, as well as her and…

…Trixie. Her giggling died down as she looked closer. It may have looked like it was drawn by a preschool foal, but there was no doubt that the blue mare standing right by Twilight’s side was the Great and Powerful magician herself. Trixie caught herself staring, quickly acting as if she hadn’t been ogling her opponent’s work. Soon enough, a faint fizzle could be heard, signaling that it was time for the next step.

Quickly seizing a few fireworks from within her cape, Trixie imbued her magic into them and let them loose. Aiming them with as much pinpoint accuracy as she could muster, they flew into the sky, their colorful explosions mingling amongst the fading images up above.

Trixie kept her focus, making sure her pyrotechnics went off with as big a bang as possible. Twilight’s fireworks could be heard in the background; they definitely went off with a much bigger ‘oomph’, but the precision was far off. Trixie directed her rockets carefully, grimacing as she heard some of Twilight’s fireworks slipping into her own airspace. Twilight definitely wasn’t earning points, but her sloppy aim was dragging Trixie down with her.

Thankfully, the fireworks session ended quickly. The final step had arrived. “You ready?” Trixie heard amongst the crowds cheers. Trixie turned, nodding to her assistant.

“Trixie is always ready!” she replied, lighting up her horn. She played it carefully; she needed a little extra power for this, but using too much would definitely weaken her for the next two rounds. Trixie let the energy build up, molding its shape delicately.

Soon enough, it was complete. The result of her efforts sank to the ground with a ‘clank’; a beach ball-sized sphere glimmered in front of her, giving off a blue glow. Satisfied, Trixie checked how Twilight was doing. Her competitor seemed ready, having her own sphere in a shade of purple. “Here it comes!” Trixie shouted, getting into position behind the globe. With a grunt, she lifted her back legs and kicked it.

The ball rolled away, heading straight towards Twilight. The mare responded by kicking her own sphere, putting the orbs on a collision course with each other. They collided like marbles, bouncing off of each other. Just as quickly as they’d reflected off one another, they froze, not moving an inch.

Slowly, the spheres began to roll, smoothly maneuvering around each other. They picked up speed, leaving behind a similarly colored light trail in their wake as they became a whirlwind of motion. Both competitor’s horns lit up, and the orbs began to rise into the air.

They spun faster and faster, forming a tornado of blue and purple as they rose. While it was completely harmless, Trixie could hear the audience’s gasps of surprise and delight. Soon, the orbs went as high as they could go, still spinning around in a vortex of colors.

And then they exploded. The tornado shook as the spheres lit up, releasing a final burst of light. Rays shone over the crowd, bathing it in a multitude of colors. The audience burst into applause as the tornado faded away, leaving only the impromptu disco balls.

But it was time for the act to end. With a pop, Twilight’s sphere burst, leaving only Trixie’s. But Trixie isn’t finished yet, she thought.

Trixie shrouded the remaining orb in her magic, yanking it towards herself. The crowd gasped as it collided with her, exploding on contact.

For a moment, there was only light where Trixie had stood. With a crack, the light shot upward, revealing the mare underneath. Her horn glowing brightly, she rose up on her hind legs and stretched her forelegs wide as the light erupted over her head. Joyful shouts filled the plaza as Trixie let the light fade away, revealing her own name in blue sparkles.

Breathing heavily, Trixie dropped down, letting the lights finally fade away. It may have taken some extra effort, but she hoped the extra finale would help her out. The round was over. All that remained now was the judging.

“C’mon, everypony!” Trixie shouted. “Tell us how we did! First, let’s hear it for Twilight Sparkle!”

The crowd roared its approval. Trixie took mental note of the volume, giving the audience just a moment to continue their applause. “And now, let’s hear for the Great, the Powerful, the one and only Trixie!”

The response was deafening. Against her will, Trixie felt her face fill up with a big, goofy smile. Trixie won, she realized, grinning like a lunatic. Trixie won!

Trixie bowed low, soaking in the applause. She spotted Twilight out of the corner of her eye, also applauding loudly. Trixie realized she probably should feel guilty for not clapping during Twilight’s evaluation, but she was too giddy to care. She’d won!

Well, the first round anyway. Trixie composed herself, easing out of her bow and walking offstage. “We’ll be right back for round two, everypony!” she announced, motioning for Twilight to follow along.

They left the stage behind them as they let themselves relax, giving themselves a few moments rest before the next challenge. Twilight spoke first, magically waving her hat to fan herself. “I’m not sure if that last move was legitimate, but you did good. Congrats!”

Trixie felt herself grinning again, and she busied herself with restocking on supplies to hide it. “Thanks. You weren’t so bad yourself.”

She caught Twilight smiling out of the corner of her eye. “I have to admit, that was more fun than I thought it‘d be. Anyway, ready for round two?”

Trixie nodded, readjusting her hat. “Definitely. Let’s go,” she replied. She let Twilight go first, snickering to herself behind the mare’s back. Trixie’s got this in the bag.

“Annnnnnd… we’re back, everypony!”

Trixie waved towards the crowd, basking in the applause. She motioned for silence, clearing her throat as she waited.

“The current score is one to zero, in Trixie’s favor. Now, we move onto the next round: Talent! While last round covered how well we handled our magic, this round shows how far our limits can go. How will we show who has the better grasp on their abilities? You’ll find out for yourselves right now.”

Trixie claimed center stage, watching as Twilight moved offstage for the time being. “First up is none other than Trixie herself!” Trixie rose up on her legs, sweeping a foreleg over the crowd. “Prepare yourselves, everypony, she isn’t holding back!”

Trixie dropped her legs down, hunkering down as she let her magic build up. The usual glow enshrouded her horn, glowing brightly. Trixie knew that expending too much energy would severely cripple her during the power round, but if she played her cards right, she could end things here and now. Who was she kidding, she was the Great and Powerful Trixie! She could do this. She turned the power up a notch.

Trixie rose once more to her hind legs when the charge was ready, letting her cape fan out behind her as fireworks flew out from within it. They shot towards the crowd from every angle, only to pause right at the edge of the stage. There they hovered, coming together piece by piece, until something was formed. Trixie mixed together a couple spells; a little voice modification here, some sound throwing there, and she was good to go. With her audience enthralled by the weaving line of fireworks, Trixie began muttering phrases under her breath.

The phrases transformed into a roar as the line of pyrotechnics suddenly began moving. It was a thick row, two fireworks per section, with what appeared to be a head up near the front. The head opened up its mouth, giving a powerful bellow as the artificial creature rose up, looping around in a circle over its back. Trixie smiled, knowing her illusion was working. She had the audience in the flat of her hooves as she maneuvered her firework creature around, the sparkling snake occasionally pausing to let out a roar whenever Trixie said something.

She only had a few minutes to impress the crowd before it was Twilight’s turn. Moving quickly, Trixie sent the snake trailing straight up into the air, letting it curve down in a wide arc. It coiled around itself, its orange glow forming a perfect circle in the sky. Any leftover fireworks formed a rim around the circle, creating a colorful replica of the sun. It glows brightened up the area, shining down on the plaza.

Trixie made the fireworks break apart back into its previous form, having her fireworks zigzag across the stage. They went in a row, looping back around periodically in order to form a curtain. Sparks danced across the stage as Trixie focused once again, mentally changing the sparks themselves.

Soon, a rainbow of colors was cascading down on the stage as the shiny dots began pulsing different colors. The audience shrieked in delight as Trixie pulled the fireworks out of their curtain, preparing for her final step. Once again looping the fireworks around and sending them skyward, Trixie let out a sharp burst of magic, splitting the line down the middle. The two halves branched off, looping around and meeting each other for the briefest of moments before heading in opposite directions. The rows began twirling around, leaving a little whirlwind of sparks behind in their wake.

Finally, Trixie let her magic go. The two halves of the fiery creature exploded at last, setting off two clouds of sparks and smoke. Trixie let herself drop down, panting. She wiped her brow, sighing with relief as the plaza erupted into applause.

“Trixie may have laid it on a bit thick,” she breathed. But who cares? she thought, smiling brightly. There’s no possible way to lose with a reaction like this!

After a quick bow, Trixie headed offstage, making room for her opponent to take her turn. Twilight approached her, momentarily pausing her trip to center stage. “Great show, Trixie! That’ll be tough to beat.”

Trixie nodded, tossing her competitor a wink. “It’d be a disappointment if Trixie didn’t do her best. The same goes for you too, Sparkle.” Trixie smirked, patting her friend on the back. “Don’t let Trixie win too easily, understood?”

Twilight gave her an annoyed look. “This isn’t over yet,” she reminded her. Trixie stepped aside, letting Twilight head past her for her turn. The magician caught her opponent smiling out of the corner of her eye. “That was a nice show, though. Especially that part at the end. I could have sworn your firework formation looked just like a heart.”

“Thanks,” Trixie said, leaving her opponent behind as she headed backstage. She’d just exited stage right when she froze in place, sputtering. A heart?!

Twilight willed her legs to stop shaking. It wasn’t enough to be noticeable, but she knew her nervousness would affect her performance if she let it continue.

Being onstage was no problem when she had somepony performing by her side. But now that she held the entire stage all to herself, she could feel the crowd’s gaze piercing her. She’d already lost the last round, and if she couldn’t get it together, she’d be losing the entire contest.

Calm down, Twi, she told herself. Come on, you can do this. I can’t look weak… not in front of her.

Twilight closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. This isn’t the first time you’ve been the center of everypony’s attention. Remember back when you were applying to the Canterlot Academy? Not only did you do spectacular, but you were chosen as Celestia’s very own pupil!

She reopened her eyes, feeling her stage fright ebb away. And if I lose this little contest, so what? I don’t lose much. And at the very least, I can say I had fun. Twilight smiled, letting her horn fill up with a purple glow. “Alright, I’m ready.”

Twilight reached out, searching for the pile of props she’d placed just offstage. Finding it, she grasped it in a magical aura, floating its contents out onto the stage. Curious murmurs swam through the plaza as Twilight pulled her props onstage; a procession of plain white plates floated into view, splitting into multiple groups. They surrounded Twilight from all sides, floating at various heights.

The crowd stayed silent, eyeing the spectacle curiously. Twilight let the last of the plates file out, scanning the crowd as they fell into place. Guess I’ve got everypony’s attention, Twilight noted. She expanded her magic, reaching for the surprise she’d been hiding behind the plates. Here goes nothing…

With a sharp pull, Twilight listened as a series of pops and cracks filled the air. The firecrackers she’d placed against the back of the plates went off, spinning in circles and leaving a spiral of sparks in their wake. Quickly moving on, Twilight shifted her magic, watching as the plates and pyrotechnics started moving in unison.

The plates began swirling around in midair, being juggled amongst a cloud of sparks. Twilight let the light show distract the crowd as she stepped forward, taking her hat off and hovering it in front of her. “Now, everypony,” she began, “watch as…urm… watch as the Amazing and… no… Magical and… oh, to hay with it, watch as I pull something from my hat!”

Twilight waved a hoof over her top hat, chanting gibberish under her breath. While she was hoping to get the audience to think the trick was more complicated than it really was, in reality she was conjuring up a rather advanced teleportation incantation. When the spell was finished, she reached into her hat, stopping just long enough to address her audience. “Watch, everypony, as I reach into my hat and pull out…”

“…A bunny?” Twilight blinked in confusion, hovering a kicking Angel at a safe distance. “Oh, no, that’s not right. I hope Fluttershy isn’t upset… hold still, I’m sending you back.” Narrowly avoiding a rabbit foot in her eye, Twilight breathed a sigh of relief as Angel fell back into the top hat and disappeared. Twilight coughed nervously, feeling the heat rise to her face as the audience had a good laugh at her expense.

“Alright, moving on then,” Twilight called out. She waved her hoof over the hat again, making sure she had the enchantment right this time. “This time for sure, I present to you all… a dragon!”

Twilight reached into the hat and pulled, smiling as a familiar purple dragon popped out. “Hello there, number one assistant.”

“What the?” Spike leapt to the floor as Twilight let him go. He surveyed the crowd, scratching his head. “But I was just over there…”

“The keyword being was,” Twilight joked. She patted her assistant on the head, gently nudging him towards the audience. “Thanks for being my impromptu guest, Spike. Do me a favor and tell the girls to meet us backstage when we’re done, alright?”

Spike nodded, scampering off towards the stage’s edge. “No problem, Twi. Oh, and you’re doing great so far! Keep it up!” He flashed her a thumbs up before hopping down. With the audience’s applause dying down and Twilight’s act almost ready to come to a close, the unicorn decided it was time to forge ahead to the finale.

Twilight closed her eyes, channeling her magic. A familiar warm sensation spread through her body as she wrapped her magic around her, the essence draping her like a sparkling white shroud. She let it enshroud her, opening her eyes. She could feel the magic in them, threatening to burst outward. Giving it just one more moment to charge, Twilight braced herself as she let the magic loose.

Crashes and pops filled the air as she hit her target. The sound of plate shards tinkling as they hit the ground was accompanied by the awed gasps of the crowd, enjoying the firecrackers that were being propelled over their heads. Twilight let herself look up, admiring the sparkling trails the pyrotechnics weaved through the sky before burning out.

Firecrackers launched, check. Plates destroyed… Twilight checked behind her, noting the piles of shards littering the stage. Check. Hope the suppliers won’t mind that, though. Finally, the finisher.

Removing her hat and waving a hoof over it again, Twilight performed a few minor conjuration spells. She flipped the hat upside down, dumping its contents out and levitating them in midair. A few bouquets made up of various flowers hovered in front of her, just begging to be given away.

“One for you!” Twilight called, tossing the flowers to the audience. “And you! And you!” Twilight spotted her friends in the audience, seeing their amusement plain on their faces. Hoping they got her message, Twilight made sure she sent some flowers their way. Finally, she looked offstage, where her opponent lurked in the wings.

“I didn’t forget about you,” Twilight called out, tossing Trixie the last bouquet. The plaza filled with laughter as the magician caught it, quickly levitating the flowers out of view and shielding the place on her face. Satisfied, Twilight turned to the crowd, bowing low. “I hope everypony enjoyed. Thanks for watching!”

After the audience had finished stomping the ground, Trixie walked onstage, stepping up to her competitor. “Not bad, Sparkle, but let’s see what everypony thinks.” Twilight stepped aside as the mare strode forward, calling out to the audience.

“You know what time it is, everypony! Your applause decides the victor of this round! To start, let’s hear it for the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Shouts and applause filled the air as the audience gave their opinion. Twilight let out a low whistle; she knew Trixie’s act would be hard to beat, but with this kind of approval, she could see the scales tipping towards either competitor.

The screaming died down. Trixie called out again, her tone bearing an air of confidence. “Now, give it up for Trixie’s worthy opponent, Twilight Sparkle!”

The audience went wild. Despite herself, Twilight could feel a cheery smile spread over her face. Twilight stepped forward, taking the spot besides Trixie. “Does this mean I won?” Twilight whispered.

Trixie didn’t look towards the unicorn. She nodded, keeping her eyes on the crowd. Twilight tried to catch a glimpse at her opponent’s face, but found herself unable to read Trixie’s expression. Twilight took her eyes away for just a moment, giving the audience an appreciative wave and bow.

But when she looked back to her friend, Trixie had disappeared.

Cheating, no good…

Trixie huffed, pausing her thoughts as she gave the prop ahead of her another magical shove. The test-your-strength machine groaned as it slowly scraped along the ground, until it finally touched the edge of the stage. Trixie revved up her magic once more, preparing to give it another push.

Blasted Twilight Sparkle, Trixie cursed as she prepared to tackle the prop again. There’s no way she could have won that legitimately. The audience must’ve decided to root for the underdog… Trixie grunted, nudging the prop almost completely onstage. If Twilight had just lost, Trixie wouldn’t have to conserve her magic for the last round by shoving this thing!

“Trixie? Trixie, the audience is waiting.” The mare flinched as her opponent stepped into view, peering around the machine. “Oh, need some help with this?”

Before Trixie could protest, the glow of Twilight’s magic enveloped the machine. Trixie resisted the urge to grind her teeth together as Twilight lifted the heavy prop straight upwards, carrying it towards center stage without breaking a sweat. Show off, Trixie hissed.

Trixie shook her head. Why was she so irritable all of a sudden? Twilight had somehow won round two; a fluke, no doubt. There was still one round to go, and Trixie was determined to win. She’d gotten herself into this, and she knew she had what it took to prove that she could defeat Twilight.

Or at least, she hoped she did.

Trixie took a deep breath and forced herself to walk, cantering back onstage to greet the anxiously awaiting audience. She mentally scolded herself; while she’d kept herself from chuckling when Twilight had frozen earlier, now Trixie herself felt the uncomfortable embrace of nervousness biting into her. Keeping Twilight out of her vision, Trixie turned to address the audience.

“Have you been enjoying the show so far, everypony?” she called out. When she was met with resounding approval, Trixie continued. “Trixie had no doubt that you all did! But it’s not over yet…”

She turned, pointing to the test-your-strength machine. “To settle this tie, the applause rating is being neglected for now. For the strength category, only one thing matters: Showing off your magical might. In brief, whichever mare sends the bell higher wins.”

Trixie extended her magic’s grip offstage, pulling a mallet into view. “The Great and Powerful Trixie shall be going first. Watch closely, everypony…”

Trixie narrowed her eyes, focusing on the little wooden target on the ground in front of her. She held the mallet up high, aiming carefully. It all came down to this; once Trixie took her turn, it was out of her control whether she won the tiebreaker or not.

She closed her eyes, channeling all the power she had left. It surged, causing the mallet to glow brighter and brighter. She kept her eyes closed as she forced every remaining ounce of her energy in this one, final strike. Trixie refuses to lose, she hissed.

Trixie…

The mallet raised up.

Refuses…

It fell.

To…

It struck the target dead on.

Lose!

The puck rose. In less than a second, it reached the top, slamming into the bell with surprising force. It didn’t stop there. The puck kept going, knocking the bell off the machine. The bell flew off, flying off towards the audience. The crowd diverged with a shriek as it landed, thudding into the stands. The puck came down a moment later, crashing into the stage with a thunk.

Silence filled the air. Trixie set the mallet down gently, trying to control her ragged breathing. She turned, looking expectantly up towards the audience.

And they burst into applause. The part of the crowd that almost got struck by a skyward bell was a bit stingy with it, but the air filled with pounding hooves and joyous shouts. Trixie sighed with relief, bowing low. She groaned, immediately regretting using up so much energy on just one spell. But so long as Trixie wins this, it‘ll have been worth it, she told herself.

She left the broken prop behind, seeking out her opponent just offstage. Twilight was clapping as well, smiling brightly. Trixie nodded appreciatively, motioning towards the prop section. “Be a dear and find another one of those machines for your turn. Trixie’s just going to sit here and rest for a moment…”

“No problem,” Twilight assured, trotting off towards the props. Trixie watched her go, taking off her hat and setting it down beside her.

She sat down gently, watching as Twilight scrounged around for another machine. The backstage had emptied itself by this point, with all the other actors having either joined the audience or gone home. Soon enough, Twilight crossed the empty area levitating another one of the machines ahead of her.

Trixie caught herself smiling. As exhausted as she was, her good performance had brightened up her mood considerably. She tossed Twilight a wave, watching her pass by. “Good luck, Sparkle.”

Twilight flashed her a smile. “Thank you,” she replied, trotting onstage. Trixie watched her drop off the prop center stage, afterwards turning to the audience to deliver her own introduction.

“Well,” Twilight began, “it looks like we’ve made it to the final part, everypony. We both hope you’ve all enjoyed the show. I’m not going to keep you waiting any longer… here we go!”

The mare’s magic surrounded the mallet laying nearby, lifting it up in a purple aura. Twilight turned and focused on the target, holding the mallet close to her. Trixie watched as her opponent lifted the mallet over her head, preparing to strike. Twilight turned her head, looking towards Trixie. For a moment, Trixie could see Twilight looking indecisive.

And then, quickly turning back towards her target, Twilight lifted the mallet even higher and swung.

Clang!

The puck and bell went airborne. Trixie felt her jaw drop as the puck quickly flew up in an arc, falling to smash down into the stage. The bell never stopped; after it broke off, it rose until it was out of view. Trixie watched it fly upwards, her mind desperately trying to shove away the only words buzzing in her head.

Trixie… lost.

She stood up, glancing down at her hat. The purple, star-spattered fabric seemed to mock her as her eyes narrowed into a glare. Trixie raised her leg up to kick it away, freezing herself at the last moment. She sighed, turning away from Twilight and the cheering audience. Trixie ducked backstage, leaving everypony behind.

Trixie isn’t worthy of wearing that hat…

There it was.

Trixie stood still, staring at the door that led out of the backstage. The door’s gray metal seemed to taunt her, tempting her to open it and dash out into the night. Trixie couldn’t deny it, she’d lost fair and square. But if she disappeared again, this time for good, there would be no consequences. To hay with Sparkle and everypony else, she could still escape with what little dignity she had left. Strengthening her reserve, Trixie reached out, pushing on the door.

Really, Trixie? Running away again? What is this, the third or fourth time?

Trixie froze, leaving the door open just a bit. You lost fair and square, and you want to escape rather than face up to it. Face it, you’re just a coward.

Trixie gritted her teeth, searching for something to convince herself that this wasn’t true. She couldn’t find anything.

Is this really what you want to be known as? You know you’re strong deep down; even if Twilight Sparkle beat you, you didn’t go down without a fight. Walking away is just going to erase that.

Trixie sighed, dropping her hoof down. Her own mind was kicking her flank, and the worst part was, she couldn’t deny any of this. Trixie lost, and backing out on her side of the wager would make her no better than a simpering foal. And if she did walk away, she’d really miss…

…Your friends. Let’s not forget about them. They obviously don’t care how weak or strong you are if they can get over your first meeting with them. You would miss every last one of them, especially…

“Trixie?”

Trixie turned around with a jolt, finding herself eye to eye with Twilight Sparkle. The mare was holding Trixie’s hat to the side, eyeing her friend curiously. “Are you okay, Trixie? You weren’t about to leave, were you?”

Trixie froze. Slowly, she shook her head. “N-no, don’t be ridiculous. Trixie was just letting some air in.”

“If you say so,” Twilight stated. Twilight looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. “Urm… you’re not upset about losing, are you?”

Is Trixie upset? the magician found herself wondering. She’d been shown up and embarrassed, but…

“No, Trixie is not upset. A little downcast, but, well… Trixie can always work on improving, can’t she?”

Twilight smiled. “I’m glad to hear it. And despite what I said earlier, that was pretty enjoyable.” She let out a little gasp, drawing pulling Trixie’s hat in front of her. “Oh! I think you dropped this.”

The hat hovered between them, the purple glow matching the hat itself. Trixie eyed it, unmoving. Slowly, she gripped it in her own magic, gently dropping it back on her own head. “Thank you.”

Twilight nodded. “And one more thing…” She extended a hoof towards Trixie. “The audience wants an encore. Feel up to it?”

Trixie stared at the hoof. With a smirk, she gripped it, allowing Twilight to start pulling them back towards the stage. “Always. Let’s give them a show they’ll never forget.”

Prologue and Day 1: The Festival Has Begun

“It’s just not fair! Nopony deserves this… especially not the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Trixie navigated her way through the thick foliage of the Everfree Forest, a detour she’d made in an attempt to speed up her journey to the nearest city. She’d taken a shortcut into the forest, promising herself that she'd stay close to its edges. The unicorn had immediately regretted that decision; the forest had closed off any way of escaping right after she deviated from wandering along it, its trees blocking off both sunlight and freedom. Now, she was stuck with dodging all kinds of muck and obstructions as she desperately looked for a new way out of the labyrinth-like woods.

Speaking of muck, Trixie groaned as she found her path blocked by yet another patch of mud. She backed up, judging the distance, before charging and leaping. She sailed over the pit, barely clearing the mud, and landed on the opposite side with a satisfied smirk.

Crrrmble.

“No!” Trixie cried out, the ground beneath her falling away. She’d landed a little too roughly, causing the floor to crumble and send her sliding down a muddy embankment. She rolled, trying her best to cover her head, until she landed in a heap back on the forest floor. She moaned and lifted her head, dazedly surveying where she’d ended up. Right next to her sat a little pond, completely undisturbed except for a scrap of paper floating along its surface. Across the pond sat another line of trees, and peeking out from in between the trees…

…sunlight! Aha! Of course Trixie meant to do that. Freedom at last! Free… She got up and looked into the pool; a grimy unicorn stared back at her, shame written all over its face. …at last. She dipped a hoof into the pool, unwilling to believe the raggedy looking mare in the pool could possibly be the Great and Powerful Trixie. Her hoof touched the pond and ripples spread out, making her image bounce around. The image’s ruffled hair and muddy coat remained, reflecting a truth that Trixie didn’t want to accept. There was no mistake… she’d fallen on hard times.

She sighed, flopping to the ground and resting her head in her arms. This is all that blasted Twilight Sparkle’s fault, Trixie grumbled. Just two days ago, Trixie was on top of it all… her own caravan, another awed audience, and she’d just gotten new supplies, too. Now look at her… filthy, her caravan destroyed, left with nothing but the small pouch of bits she’d had on her, starving away as she wanders in search of a new town to perform in… An image floated through her mind: a silky purple hat and cape, torn to shreds and lying under the destroyed remains of her caravan. …and missing something very important to her.

She shook her head, quickly getting rid of that thought. Glancing back into the pool, she tried to brush her mane into something that would pass for acceptable. Trixie has to look decent if she wants to have a great show… after she finds some old-fashioned one pony town, of course. She scooped up some water and washed her face, the dirt stubbornly refusing to come off. She reached for the pool again, pausing when she saw that the paper she’d seen floating around the pond had passed over into her side of the pool, blocking the spot where her reflection had been.

“Hmph. Litterers… how crass.” Trixie reached into the pond, retrieving the soaking wet parchment from the surface. Curious as to what kind of litter could have found its way into the Everfree Forest, Trixie gently put the paper on the ground to dry as she read it over.

The Celestial Carnival!

That time of year has come again, fillies and gentlecolts. The two-week event, celebrating the first time Celestia raised the sun, has finally arrived! Held in the city district of Canterlot, ponies of all ages are invited to partake in fun rides, delicious food, and a wide variety of attractions for as long as their hearts desire.

Trixie rubbed her head. In all the craziness of the last couple days, she’d completely forgotten about the upcoming holiday. Held every year, starting a week before the summer solstice and ending a week after it’d passed, ponies from all around Equestria were invited to Canterlot’s city district to join in one big festival to honor the first time the sun was raised. Ponies could come and go at will; some never came, some stayed at the festival for awhile, and some ponies would even stay for the entire event. Meanwhile, Celestia herself toured to numerous cities and made speeches, whenever her schedule allowed it. In short, it was one big party. Trixie has never been to such an event before, the unicorn pondered, and if she can help it, she never will. Trixie skimmed over the rest, half-mindedly reading a list of attractions and scheduled events. An ad at the bottom caught her eye, drawing Trixie‘s interest.

Attention:

The Celestial Carnival is looking for staff for the following categories:

-Ride Maintenance
-Performers
-Attraction Advertising

All who apply must be willing to stay the full two weeks, performing their task every day. Should you agree to this, the following are provided:

-Free lodgings at the Pegasus Plaza hotel (Home to the finest view of any hotel in Canterlot)
-Props/tools necessary for maintenance, performing, and advertising will be provided.
-Food will NOT be provided; feel free to bring your own bits and sample some of the many wonderful Canterlot restaurants, and of course, festival fare.
-Once the two weeks are up, all who applied will receive a generous payment in exchange for their services, in the sum of…

Trixie’s eyes bulged out at the VERY generous number. This… this could pay for a new caravan, new supplies, everything! The hat and cape floated through her mind again. …well, almost everything… but no matter. Trixie just has to dazzle the crowd for a couple weeks, and she’ll walk away back on her hooves! She’d be a foal to pass this up. Now, when does this ragtag event start…? Her eyes darted around the page, seeking out where she could apply and how much time she had to do so. The event begins in three days, so… two days for Trixie to get to Canterlot… hmm, yes… well, Trixie might be a little lost right now, but she can easily find another town and fill up her stomach, as well as finding a map. Trixie will have to do without a bath, but hopefully she’ll be able to have one once she’s lounging in her free lodgings. The thought of a hot bath made her feel warm inside; she loved when things were going her way.

Noticing that the advertisement had dried up, she folded it and delicately stored it in her bits pouch. Taking a quick moment to fix her appearance as best she could, she rose to her feet and exited the forest. The sunlight fell over her, illuminating the first smile the unicorn had had in days.

“Next!”

Trixie remained planted in her seat as the earth pony next to her stood up. He was a brown stallion wearing a brightly colored hard hat; she quickly guessed he was here for a maintenance position. The worker crossed the room and entered the door leading into the office, where ponies officially applied for work. Trixie drew her eyes away from the door and lazily surveyed the waiting room again.

It'd been two days since Trixie's tromp through the Everfree Forest. After escaping from the woods, she'd stumbled upon a small town not far from where she wandered out. Using some of the bits she had left, she'd managed to find a cheap place to stay for the night. She'd rested, eaten her fill, and found a map as well. Once the afternoon had come, Trixie had set off in the direction of Canterlot, only stopping in another town once the sun started to set. The next morning, she'd set out extra early, managing to make it to Canterlot with time to spare. After she'd found the staff recruitment center, she'd entered and taken her place in the waiting room... though she wasn't very pleased with the present company.

Hmmph. If not for her current state, Trixie would never be seen near such riffraff as this. Trixie leaned to the side again as the chatty mare next to her, once again, waved her forelegs in Trixie’s personal space. Resisting the urge to shout at the intrusive pony, Trixie huffed and took a magazine off the table in front of her. She idly flipped through a bunch of articles on how to show off your cutie mark, trying to tune out all the other applicants in line.

The office door opened, letting out the stallion just as quickly as he had entered. He smiled and trotted out of the waiting room, no doubt heading out to find his free living arrangements.

“Next!”

Hearing her cue, Trixie set the magazine down and got up, leaving her eccentric neighbor behind. She entered the office, finding herself opposite a desk and a swivel chair. Occupying the chair was a light-red unicorn, sporting a suit and glasses that matched with her blonde mane bun. The pony motioned for Trixie to take a seat, so Trixie took the chair in front of the desk.

The red pony cleared her throat, extending a hoof. “I’m Easel, spokesperson for the festival management,” she explained, nodding politely as Trixie shook her hoof. “Let’s keep this brief… what position are you applying for?”

“Performing.”

“Experience?”

“Public shows in cities such as Hoofington, Maretle Beach, and…” Trixie stuttered for a moment. “…Ponyville.”

“Style?”

“Magic shows.”

Easel scribbled a few notes onto a sheet of paper. “Alright then, you’re good to go. Your room is 201E at the Pegasus Plaza, you’re to perform one show every night, and you’ll be the last performer to go on.”

Trixie’s eyes blanked out. “What do you mean, ‘last performer‘? Trixie is never last place!”

“You were the last performer to sign up, and unless another one comes along, you’ll be the finishing act every night. It‘s nothing personal. Now, kindly make your way to the Pegasus Plaza, where the front desk will give you your room key. Your first performance will be tomorrow night, and once every night thereafter. Thank you for joining in on the festival, and have a nice day.”

Choosing to let the last act decision slide, Trixie took her leave. Retrieving a map of Canterlot she’d taken at the same time as the map she’d used to get here, she hovered it in front of her as she took note of where to go. This drab little building’s on the western side, and the hotel’s on the east… Trixie shouldn’t have to walk this far. With a sigh, she replaced the map in her bit pouch and finished her walk across the waiting room. She opened the exit door and departed, starting her trek through the streets of Canterlot.

The door to the apartment creaked open slowly, Trixie making her way inside. It’d taken awhile for her to find her way along Canterlot’s streets, though she did get a chance to see some of the rides that were being put up. Eventually she’d made her way to Pegasus Plaza, a rather tall hotel built with glossy white marble and adorned with statues of noteworthy pegasi. She’d made it there as the sun was setting, claiming her room key from the front desk and climbing her way up to the fifth floor. Now, she was in her new temporary residence, ready to flick the light switch to gaze upon where she’d be staying for the next two weeks.

After fumbling around on the wall for a minute, she found the switch and flipped it. Light spread out over the room, casting a glow over the living area. Trixie let out a low whistle; they sure liked to make sure their staff was well cared for. She was looking at a green-carpeted living room, complete with a coffee table, two sofas, and a cozy looking fireplace across from them. A bookcase filled with random titles sat next to a desk, which stood next to a doorway leading into the kitchen. Trixie stepped into the blue and white tiled room, inspecting the (notably empty) fridge, cooking necessities, and dining table.

Finishing off the tour, Trixie walked down a hallway connecting to the living room. She passed by a bathroom, finally reaching a bedroom at the end of the hall. Inside was a queen-sized bed, alongside a dresser and a closet. Trixie crossed to the window and opened it, letting in the cool night’s breeze. With a content sigh, Trixie flopped down onto the bed, making herself at home.

Well, it is Trixie’s home, she mused, at least until she gets her work done and gets out of here. She rolled over, nuzzling into the warm, soft pillow. Good thing Trixie stopped for a bite on her way here. This is the first time she’s been in a good bed for months… and any bed at all, really, for the past couple days. Trixie will hit the hay, after she puts away her hat and ca-…

Trixie flinched, swatting the thought away. On second thought, Trixie will just skip straight to going to bed. Tomorrow, I’ll start planning my first performance… check out the stage… and… The exhausted unicorn’s soft breathing filled the room as she fell into a deep sleep. The night’s wind washed over her, gently caressing her as she dreamed.

The unicorn felt herself being drawn back into the waking world. Trixie sat up and stretched, a yawn escaping her as she glanced around. It took her a moment to remember that she was in her all-expenses-paid apartment, instead of her caravan's interior. For a minute, Trixie missed that cramped- yet cozy -little cart she'd called home for so long. The homesickness faded as she remembered something her carriage had never provided: working plumbing.

Soon, Trixie was straightening her mane, having just finished taking a relaxing shower. She’d needed it more than she realized, and the sight of the lovely mare staring back at her from the mirror brought a smile to her face. Satisfied, she exited the bathroom, snatching up her bits pouch from the living room table. She latched it to her hip before leaving the apartment, heading out in search of breakfast.

Moments later, she found herself out in the streets. Celestia’s sun hadn’t quite risen yet, which Trixie assumed was the reason the streets were so empty. Her stomach growled and she quickened her pace, finally finding an early hours café. She stepped inside, the building’s window brightly advertising the café: Breezy Sky’s Snack Shack.

The place was deserted, aside from a pegasus lazily tapping his hoof on the counter in tune with some unheard melody. Trixie stepped forward and read the menu, deciding on a pastry with tea to start off her morning. “Excuse me, clerk, Trixie would like a crepè and your finest cup of warm tea.”

The yellow-coated pegasus glanced around the store curiously before raising an eyebrow at her. “Well, my name ain’t Trixie, and there’s nopony else here. Where’s your friend?”

“I am Trixie.”

“Oh. My apologies, miss… one moment.” The pegasus got to work warming up some tea and fetching a pastry, muttering under his breath about crazy ponies referring to themselves in the third person. He brought the crepè back and began pouring her drink. “Ya know, I didn’t think we’d get any customers this early,” he wondered aloud. “I figured everypony would be watching Celestia’s carnival starting ceremony.”

“Ceremony? What ceremony?”

The pegasus slid her purchases over the counter, explaining as Trixie dug through her bit pouch. “You from outta the country? Ya know, the ceremony Celestia performs every year that kicks off the partying. Everypony crowds around, she raises the sun in view of everypony, ya know?”

Tossing the bits onto the counter, Trixie feigned knowledge of the subject. “Yes… right. Trixie’s heard of it.”

“Fair enough. Actually, I was about to close up and head to the event myself. Hope ya don’t mind me showing you the way out, miss; enjoy your breakfast.”

Taking her meal with her, Trixie exited the store, watching as the pegasus closed up shop and took off in the direction of Canterlot Castle. Trixie found a bench nearby and ate quietly, not a single pony passing by while she enjoyed a quiet breakfast.

The longer she ate, the more curiosity ate away at her. By the time she’d finished her meal, Trixie had decided she’d go and see the opening event for herself before she got to work planning that night’s performance. Tossing her plate and cup into a nearby trash bin, Trixie set off towards Canterlot Castle, jutting out from the horizon. Well now, she thought, Trixie shall see what all the excitement is about.

Trixie nudged her way through the crowd, ignoring protests from the ponies she disturbed. After a moment, she found an acceptable spot near the front of the group. A giant wooden stage loomed over her, erected specifically for the carnival so that performers had a place to put on their shows, as well as giving the princesses somewhere to perform the occasional special event.

On that note, the crowd began to settle down as trumpeting filled the air. Up on stage, a procession of guards had arrived, filling the air with the cry of trumpets. From in between them, a large white alicorn stepped into view, smiling brightly upon all her subjects. The crowd went wild; their Princess of the Sun had arrived.

The guards and the crowd quieted down as Celestia stood, tall and proud. Once the crowd had quieted, a powerful glow began to surround Celestia’s horn. Without a word, she took to the sky, slowly drifting up into the air. She rose higher and higher, and Trixie noticed the sun peeking out over the horizon, following the princess as she reached the top of her ascent. With a powerful burst of magic, the sun settled in the sky, a bright glow flowing out over the crowd from Celestia’s body. A rainbow of colors danced across everypony's faces, eliciting awed reactions from the audience. The glow died down after a moment, showing Celestia once more. The crowd gasped in awe at the spectacle, the sight of such a powerful type of magic being shown to them never dull in their eyes. Every pony in the crowd began cheering and stomping their hooves, celebrating the fact that one of the most wonderful events of the year had finally arrived. Trixie even found herself applauding along with them, albeit quietly, as Celestia’s voice boomed over the crowd.

“Let the Celestial Carnival begin!”

After the event started, the crowd had dispersed to head out and begin the celebration in the best way the ponies decided on. Trixie, however, had immediately went back to her hotel room and gotten to work planning that night’s performance. It hadn’t taken long, and she’d spent most of the afternoon just lounging around her hotel room while she waited for night to fall. Once Luna’s moon had started to rise, Trixie went out and headed to the stage, stopping for a quick bite to eat on her way there.

Now, she found herself right outside the area she’d have to visit every day for the next couple of weeks. Trixie stepped through the door ahead of her, finding herself in the backstage area of the stage she’d been at earlier. Numerous performers flitted past her, chatting with their fellow ponies and rehearsing their acts. Trixie paid them no mind, instead inspecting a list a helpful maintenance worker had put up on the wall. The list detailed which ponies would perform first, down to the ones who would perform last. Trixie’s eyes traveled down the page until she found her own name at the very bottom.

But… Trixie is never last! She will have none of this! Trixie fumed. The thought of a hefty pouch full of bits drifted through her mind, however, and she made herself cool down. Two weeks, that’s all Trixie has to put up with. Now then, let’s go see what the Great and Powerful Trixie has to work with.

Trixie worked her way to the props area, pleasantly surprised at the amount of supplies she found lying around. She found just what she needed for that night’s show; some fireworks here, a couple of smoke balls there. Trixie took everything she planned on putting to use in her performance. Once she’d rounded up a little hoard of supplies, she trotted to the costume area to pick out an outfit for that night’s show.

Finding a clothes rack, she began shuffling through it. Dress… no. Tutu… hay no. Tiara… who even wears that onstage? Cape… A jolt pounded Trixie’s heart as the green cape in front of her reminded her of a certain missing outfit. Tentatively, she removed the cape from its hanger and rubbed it between her hooves. It was a silky green cape, shorter than her old one, and without a pattern. She slung it over her back and tied it around her neck, then cantered around a little to see how it felt. It’s… just not the same, Trixie sighed, but it will have to do. Grabbing a matching hat to go with it, Trixie took her supplies and moved them to the stage right area.

After setting her supplies down, Trixie noticed the performer onstage was the one that was on the list just above her. He was a yellow unicorn, dressed up in a red and maroon patterned jester’s outfit, his hat jingling as he moved about the stage. The jester stallion grabbed a few jars and began juggling them, leaving the crowd relatively unimpressed. With a quick motion, he smashed the jars between his hooves as he juggled them, causing the audience to gasp in awe as the jars let forth a burst of fire.

Dragonfire, Trixie realized. A difficult commodity to acquire, let alone master. The suppliers really went all out. Trixie watched as the stallion’s jar juggling act became a fire juggling act, the flames not even scorching him as he skillfully twirled them around with his forelegs. Stepping it up a notch, he got on all fours and began kicking the balls of flame between his front and back hooves, the crowd applauding as he barely avoided dropping one of the flames. As a finale, the stallion rose to his hind legs again and grinned as the flames all fell into his outstretched hooves. He watched as the fires all gathered together, before he drew them to his face and blew.

FWOOOOOOOOOSH!

A jet of fire rocketed from his mouth, extending above the heads of the front of the audience. The audience burst into applause as the fire dispersed, the jester bowing and taking his leave. Hmmph. Trixie could do much better than that, she grumbled. The stallion passed by her and Trixie gathered up her supplies, heading onstage as the applause died down. Trixie waited for the audience to direct their full attention at her before she began.

“Ponies, prepare to be dazzled! Tonight, you have the honor of being performed for by the great… the powerful… the one and only Trixie!” The audience applauded as she set off fireworks behind her, spelling out her name in sparkling blue and white lights. She wasted no time, quickly grabbing a smoke ball with her magic. She juggled it around, tossing it every which way, before she smashed it on the ground in front of her. A plume of black smoke burst from it, giving her the perfect cover to sneak across the stage with. She burst from the cloud on the other side, the smoke blocking her from the audience’s view. Grabbing a few more fireworks, she charged back through the cloud and burst out of it, startling the crowd. Opting for a bigger bang, Trixie channeled her magic into her fireworks and set them loose.

But something was off. The fireworks burst as planned, to a round of applause from the audience, but they refused to go where Trixie wanted them to. To make matters worse, they refused to produce the bang she was hoping for. Her magic was barely affecting them. Not understanding why, she quickly glanced around the stage to see if anyone had interfered. Her eyes settled back on her impromptu cape choice, and she realized why she just couldn‘t get the fireworks to give off the bang she wanted.

Without Trixie’s special attire… her heart just isn’t into it. Trixie couldn’t deny it, without that familiar purple and star-patterned cape and matching hat, she just wasn’t feeling the show. But the show must go on, she commanded herself. Retrieving another round of fireworks, she lit them, mixing her magic into them as best as she could as she glanced over the crowd.

…Wait one moment, Trixie thought. Out in the crowd, near the front and to the side, sat a pony. Its appearance was shrouded under the bright lights of the theater, its hat covering up its face. Trixie felt an odd mixture of relief and anger burst through her as a realization struck her. Those are Trixie's hat and cape, she thought furiously, she could recognize them anywhere!

Trixie’s sudden burst of anger mingled with her magic, giving her the strength she needed to give the fireworks an extra boost. They exploded into a pattern of glowing stars and sparks, which sank down towards the ground before fizzling out. Trixie continued with her show, determined to finish up so she could hurry out and confront the cretin who had the nerve to steal her outfit from the ruins of her caravan. She flung fireworks, performed tricks, and shouted at the audience the whole time. As a finale, she made a staircase of fireworks, pointing them over the heads of the audience. Climbing up each of them one by one, she set them off as she walked over them, letting them fly over the crowd and burst into various figures and patterns. As she stepped off the last firework, she grabbed onto the stage’s curtain and slid down, landing on the platform before leaping forward and letting off one last barrage of fireworks into the sky. The audience applauded. Trixie took a couple of polite bows before hurrying offstage. She had a thieving pony to deal with.

Trixie departed backstage and ran around to the front, determined to get to the crowd before the pony disappeared. As she arrived, the crowd was dispersing, ponies chatting excitedly as they went to enjoy some nighttime attractions. Trixie darted between them, searching through the crowd for the familiar purple of her missing cape. She inspected every pony she passed, though none of them were wearing what she was searching for. Eventually, most of the crowd had left, and Trixie could clearly see that the mysterious pony she’d been looking for was no longer in the crowd.

Trixie will not give in! she thought, running back around the stage. She reentered the backstage area, startling a few performers who stubbornly refused to leave until they’d finished their chats. Trixie spotted a white mare putting away a few props into a saddlebag, preparing to leave. Trixie approached the lone mare, determined to use all possible sources.

“You there!” She called out, grabbing the mare’s attention. “Have you seen somepony around? Purple cape, purple hat, star patterns?”

The mare tapped her chin. “Well, there was one pony that met that description. They walked around backstage lookin’ for somepony for a few minutes before one of the performers told them whoever they were lookin’ for had already gone. After that, they just upped and left.”

“Did they leave any names?”

“Didn’t say who they were, but they did say they were looking for a Trixie. That you?”

“Unfortunately,” Trixie sighed. “Thanks for your time.” Trixie exited, leaving the white mare to finish packing up. Defeated, Trixie stepped outside and let the cool breeze wash over her, the unicorn heading back towards her apartment.

Trixie flopped onto her bed, pulling the covers over her. She’d come straight home and tried to plan the next day’s show, but her mind kept going back to her barely missing the chance to reunite with her cape and hat. Eventually, she’d sighed and resigned to just going to bed.

She rolled over, closing her eyes and letting her thoughts unravel. Trixie should be glad that her outfit is safe, she pondered. But how is Trixie going to get it back from this… this unscrupulous foal. Trixie smiled as an idea came to her. The pony wouldn’t come in costume if they weren’t planning on staying for awhile, let alone not planning on showing it off. All Trixie has to do is go out searching through Canterlot’s streets tomorrow, and she’ll find that thief in no time! Content with her plan for tomorrow, Trixie let sleep overtake her, allowing herself one last thought before she fell into a dream.

Trixie will be getting her possessions back, one way or another.

Day 7 (Part two): Mish-mash and Memories

Discord’s laughter broke through the two unicorn’s panic. Twilight and Trixie turned to see the draconiquis rolling around in midair, clenching his gut. “Oh, this is going better than I had hoped!” He wiped a tear from his eyes, sighing. “But truly, I must be going… this bit of chaos has been fun, but I have places to see, ponies to meet, things to get done… you understand.” He got up, turning to the crowd. “But before I go… the last part of my ‘gift’…” He cleared his throat, beginning to recite something.

I’ve left you with a parting gift,
Your bodies, minds, and souls have switched.
The spell shall last, I’ll have my fun…
…until you all unite, as one.

Discord made half circles using fingers from each hand, bringing them both together in order to emphasize his point. He separated his hands and snapped his fingers, making a couple suitcases appear by his sides. He picked them up, waving at the crowd. “Enjoy the festival, everypony! I know I have…” One last snap of the fingers, and he was gone, his laughter lingering for a few more seconds.

There was nothing but stunned silence. And then, a scream. The crowd began to run about as they realized they’d been thrown into somepony else’s body. Worried shouts and yells were heard as confused ponies scrambled about. Things might have gotten out of hoof, if not for a command being shouted loudly over the plaza: “SILENCE!”

All eyes turned to the stage; a light purple mare strode into view, dragging something behind her. Everypony gasped as they saw what she was carrying… Princess Celestia was being dragged onstage by her tail, spouting random words and weakly straining against her captor. The mare pulling her let her go, sighing and running a hoof through her mulberry mane. She quickly ran backstage, returning with a microphone stand in her mouth a minute later. She set it in place center stage, shooting Celestia a glance to make sure she was still there.

“We must stay calm, everypony,” the mare began. “If we let Discord’s trickery cause us to panic, then he wins. If it’s not apparent… I am Celestia. And I seem to have switched with…” Celestia turned towards her body. “Excuse me, you are?”

“Berr*hic*y Punch.”

“Right.” She turned back to the microphone. “Apparently, I’ve switched with somepony who favors the salts just a little too much. I found her over by the Salt Shaker, guzzling the stuff… but I digress…” Celestia glanced around, looking for something. “Has anypony seen Luna?” She shot a glance to the Lunar Princesses’ body, which was currently trying to build a fort out of muffins. “Not this one, I mean.”

“Over here, sister!” Celestia stepped aside as a gray Pegasus flew in and landed beside her, its eyes spaced apart in a peculiar fashion. Luna turned to her body, watching as it conjured another batch of pastries. “You, cut that out!”

Her body glanced at her curiously. “Hey, I was just supposed to deliver festival supplies today… and now I can create all the muffins I want out of thin air? This is the best day of my life!”

Luna groaned, raising a gray hoof to her forehead. “We’ve seen this mare before; this is Derpy Hooves, one of Equestria’s finest postmares.” Derpy waved to the crowd, her mouth full of her favorite baked good.

Celestia cleared her throat. “Well, now that that’s out of the way… let’s cover some basics, everypony.” Shooting one last glance towards Berry, Celestia began to recite information. “As you all know, we’ve switched bodies with one another. This is no reason to panic; the key thing to Discord’s magic, is that there’s always a way to reverse it. We’ll have our top scholars get right to work finding a solution to this predicament, and once everypony’s back to normal, we’ll immediately send our most rigorously-trained guard platoon out in search of the fiend. Until then, first thing’s first… everypony search the crowd, and find your body. Once you’ve taken care of that, STICK TOGETHER. Go about your day as normal, and keep an ear open for an announcement when we’ve discovered a solution. Just make sure to treat your temporary bodies as if they were your own… hop to it, everypony! Luna and I shall stay here and recite a list of names; if your name is called, head onstage immediately… your efforts will be required as we search for a fix to this.”

Mumbling rose up around the plaza as Celestia began to list off the names of various knowledgeable ponies. Confused civilians began to scatter, in search of their bodies and the ponies that were now controlling them. Trixie and Twilight stood where they were, still a little shocked at the development.

Trixie cleared her throat. “First things first, Sparkle,” she warned, “Do anything with Trixie’s hair, and she will maim you.”

Despite the situation, Twilight giggled. “I‘m pretty sure that can wait.” Twilight sighed, looking around. “Let’s check on our friends, first.”

Trixie looked around, noticing her ‘friends’ were looking around in confusion. “Right, right… Trixie will check Pinkie Pie and Applejack, you check the other three.”

With a nod from both unicorns, the two split up, heading to the friends they‘d chosen. Right off the bat, Trixie knew something was up when Pinkie Pie was standing completely still for once in her life, while Applejack just looked completely confused. Deciding to try the pink pony first, Trixie stepped forward and tapped her on the shoulder.

Pinkie turned to her, her eyes shining with realization. “Twilight? Is that you?”

Trixie smiled, glad that somepony she knew had taken residence in her friend’s body. “No, it’s Trixie. She was hit with the same spell you were… but do tell, who are you?”

“It’s Mrs. Cake, dearie.” She looked down at her hooves, admiring her change in appearance. “Do you have any idea what’s going on…? One moment, me and the husband are finishing up on restocking the wares… the next, I‘m out in this crowd, and… did I see Discord?”

Trixie scratched her head. Apparently the spell didn‘t just hit the crowd… it must have enveloped all of Canterlot as well. “Afraid so… Trixie will explain later.” Trixie turned to her farmpony friend, raising an eyebrow. “Assuming you’ve been listening in… who are you?”

The orange mare was rubbing her back, feeling for something that wasn’t there. Dropping her hoof, her expression turned downcast. “I’m… well, WAS Winter Wish… a souvenir salespegasi.”

Trixie’s never seen her before, she realized. “Mrs. Cake,” she said, drawing the pink pony’s attention. “Trixie will round up Twilight and the others, and we’ll see to it you get back home… no doubt Pinkie’s there with your body. As for you…” Trixie turned to Winter Wish. “We’ll need to find your body first; quickly, what did you look like?”

Winter Wish lifted an orange hoof to her face, scratching her cheek. “Well… I had a white coat… a light-blue mane… my cutie mark was a snowflake, and… uh… I looked sort of like that.” She pointed skyward towards a pegasus matching her description, who was whooping and hollering as she did tricks above everypony’s heads.

“Applejack?” Trixie cried out. “Applejack! Is that you?” The cheery pegasus up above broke out of a loop-de-loop, cocking her head downwards as she heard her name being called. Spotting her friends- and her body -on the ground, the pegasi swooped in for a landing.

“There ya are!” The pegasi said, folding its wings up. “Hay, it sure is easy ta find ponies in a crowd with these beauts!” The pony, her accent clearly giving away her identity as Applejack, gave a few quick flaps of her feathery wings. “Now ah can see why pegasi always have their heads in the clouds.” Applejack noticed Winter Wish shooting her a look. She bowed her head, blushing. “My apologies, miss.”

Trixie stepped between the two mares, clearing her throat. “Applejack, this is Winter Wish; Winter Wish, Applejack. Now that that’s out of the way, let’s find…”

“Twilight Sparkle, please make your way to the stage,” Celestia called out. “Next up, Violet Lily…”

Trixie felt a tap at her shoulder, turning to look into her own face. “Oh, there you are, Twilight. How’d things go with the others?”

“Not so well,” Twilight sighed, rubbing her forehead. “Rainbow Dash is an earth pony… she’s not taking losing her wings once again very well… and both Fluttershy and Rarity got switched with stallions. Fluttershy keeps tripping over her own hooves in her new body, and Rarity is… not very overjoyed with suddenly becoming a male.”

Trixie peeked over her friend’s shoulder, glancing into the crowd behind her. Two stallions lay on the ground amidst a small group; an orange one unsteadily tried to stand back up, and a green one shivered as it disbelievingly fiddled with its blue tail. A green earth pony had a sad look on her face, even as she tried to help the orange stallion get back on his hooves. The rest of Trixie’s friends- or at least, the ponies controlling their bodies -were surrounding the green stallion, trying to coax him to his feet. “Trixie sees what you mean.”

“They should be fine though… as you can see, we’ve reunited the others with their bodies… speaking of which, have you found Pinkie and Applejack?”

“Well…” Trixie began, “Yes and no. Applejack’s right here…” She pointed to the pegasus, who was busy admiring her wings. “But Pinkie ended up switching with Mrs. Cake.”

“Oh dear…” Twilight glanced to the pink mare. “The spell spread that far? Mrs. Cake’s probably horribly confused. Well… if you didn’t hear, I’m being called up to help find a solution to this insanity… Trixie, could you take Mrs. Cake back to our house? And hope Pinkie’s still there, while you’re at it…”

“As you wish.”

Twilight glanced up to the stage, noticing the group of ponies onstage increasing in number. “Can’t keep them waiting any longer…” She glanced at Trixie. “Treat my body as well as I’ll treat yours… okay?”

“Urm… okay.” Trixie smirked, sticking a tongue out. “Trixie makes no promises.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, teasingly poking Trixie with her hoof. “Just see to it that Mrs. Cake gets back home safely… and while you‘re at it, check on Spike as well, please.”

Twilight shot Trixie a thankful smile before darting into the crowd. She was quickly lost in the group of ponies, heading in the direction of the stage. Trixie watched her go for a moment before turning to Mrs. Cake. “Applejack and Winter Wish should be fine alone… come, Trixie shall get you home.”

“Oh, my…”

Trixie nodded, continuing her explanation. “And once the spell had been cast, Discord took his leave… after delivering an odd riddle, of course.”

Mrs. Cake shook her head. “Maybe I should have gone to the show… things would at least make a lot more sense, then.”

“Trixie was there, and she’s still a little dazed… but speaking of staying home…” Trixie stopped in front of the yellow building her friends occupied, glad that she remembered the way back correctly. “Here we are!”

“Thank Celestia…” Mrs. Cake breathed, walking towards the front door. “I’m going to make a nice, warm cup of tea, and then settle down for a nap with Mr. Cake…” She grasped the door knob in her hoof, suddenly freezing. “Oh no! My husband! If the spell could reach me, then that means… oh dear…” Quickly throwing open the door, Mrs. Cake bolted inside, leaving Trixie to run in after her.

They ran in, finding the kitchen at their right. They entered, watching as Mrs. Cake’s energetic body tossed baking ingredients around in the air and noting a terrified Mr. Cake huddling in the corner. Mrs. Cake rushed to him, helping him up. “Oh, my dear… erm… I mean, you poor thing, what’s wrong?”

The stallion shivered. “Momma told me not to sneak away from her at the festival… I didn’t listen, and then I ended up in a strange house, next to a scary, shouting mare…”

Trixie stifled a laugh; the thought of a full grown stallion swapping bodies with a foal was too comical for her to ignore. Mrs. Cake shot her a look, making Trixie clear her throat nervously. Seeking a distraction, she focused on Pinkie Pie, watching as the mare used Mrs. Cake’s body to throw a dozen cakes into the oven at once as she sang. “Pinkie Pie, why ARE you in such a good mood? Aren’t you the least bit upset by any of this?”

Pinkie Pie hummed under her breath, kicking a couple bags of flour onto the counter. “No way, José! One second I’m watching that meanie pull out some strange lights… well, not always a meanie, his chocolate rain clouds were pretty fun… but anyway, the next thing I knew I was back home… in my role model’s body!” A smile stretched across the mare’s face as Pinkie withdrew a tray from the fridge, some cooled-off cookies resting upon it. “I just had to make a bunch of treats to celebrate! Yippie!”

“Well, dear, I’m flattered…” Mrs. Cake said, smirking. “But… could you tone it down a bit? You’re scaring the poor kid…”

“Okie Dokie! Here, maybe this will help…” Pinkie Pie took a cookie off the tray. Mrs. Cake reached out for it, flinching as Pinkie flipped it into the air and chomped it down. She took a different cookie off the tray and handed it over. “Try this one! It’s choooocoooolaaate…”

Mrs. Cake thanked her, holding out the treat to the scared foal. She looked uncomfortable trying to calm down her own husband, body swap or not… but the kid took the treat, his shivering calming down ever so slightly. Mrs. Cake eyed Trixie, remembering the unicorn was still there. “Thanks for the assistance, dear, and the explanation as well… but I can take things from here. I’ll take the kid around town later to find his body… and my husband, for that matter.”

Trixie nodded, bidding her good luck. She turned around, flinching when she almost walked right into Pinkie. “Got one here for you, too!” She stated, handing Trixie her own cookie. She gasped, remembering something. “Oh, and one for Spike too… I’m surprised that sleepyhead can nap through all this!”

Trixie took a bite from her treat, savoring the warm, chocolaty taste melting in her mouth. Tossing Pinkie a thanks, she levitated a second one with her, trotting across the hall to the living room. Just as she expected, she found Spike’s small figure curled up on the couch, fast asleep.

Hmmm… Trixie wondered, who’s he going to be? She gently nudged the baby dragon with her hoof, watching as he stirred out of his dreams.

Spike blinked lazily, eyeing Trixie up and down before closing his eyes once more. “C’mon, just five more minutes, Twilight…”

Twilight? So it’s somepony we know… Trixie held the cookie up to Spike’s noise, watching as he inhaled its scent. “Well, this delicious cookie from Pinkie Pie can wait, if you insist…”

Spike‘s eyes opened. “Who said anything about sleep? Nope, not me.” Spike grabbed the treat, popping it into his mouth. It wasn’t a gemstone, but treats from Pinkie Pie would always be at the top of his favorite snacks.

Trixie chuckled. “Well then, now that you’re awake… who are you?”

Spike wiped the crumbs off his face, giving Trixie a curious expression. “Uh… Spike? Your number one assistant? C’mon Twilight, there’s no way you could forget this guy!” The dragon flicked his thumbs at himself, giving a teasing grin.

“Er… yes, right, it was just a joke.” So Spike didn’t swap, huh? Trixie calculated. The spell had enough distance if it could hit the Cakes, clearly… maybe it just didn’t work on dragons? Well, less work for Trixie to match bodies back up…

“Something the matter, Twilight?” Spike asked. “You’re looking pretty thoughtful. Well… more thoughtful than usual.” The baby dragon smirked at his own joke.

And he thinks Trixie is Twilight, too. Trixie chuckled, patting the dragon on the head “Nothing’s wrong at all, just…” Trixie froze midsentence. An image floated through her mind, one of the scroll that had somehow managed to avoid her yesterday… the one Twilight was trying to hide from her. A smile spread across Trixie’s face, an idea forming in her head. “Actually, yes, there is one problem…”

Spike stood up, stretching. “Your number one assistant is at your service! Especially if we can grab another cookie in the meantime.”

“No problem at all, Spike… but you see, do you remember that scroll from yesterday? Well, do you remember where it is?”

Spike raised an eyebrow, eyeing Trixie up and down suspiciously. “Yeah, and you don’t? You never forget where you keep things, ESPECIALLY letters from Celestia.”

“Well, urm… it’s been a long day, Spike, and the whereabouts of the note must have just slipped Trixie’s mind.”

“Well… okay then.” Spike hopped off the couch, beginning to lead the way out of the living room. He suddenly froze, something clicking in his head as he whirled around. “Wait a sec… ‘Trixie’s’ mind? Wasn‘t she the pony you were trying to hide it from in the first place?”

Trixie gulped, cursing her third person speech for blowing her cover. “Well, uh, you see… um… hey, would you like another cookie?”

“I knew something was suspicious… Trixie!” Spike accused. He smirked as Trixie’s face fell, knowing he was right from the expression on her face.

“Um…well… pah, fine, you’ve won.” Trixie scowled. “It’s Trixie, happy?”

Spike strode forward, walking by her side. “Yep! Nothing slides by the old Spikester!” He paused, rubbing his chin. “But, uh… what’s with the Twilight disguise?” He poked her in the ribs, watching intently. “Illusion spell? Cloning spell? Costume?”

“No, no, and no.” Knowing full well that her cover was blown, Trixie explained to Spike what he’d missed during his nap. He tapped his foot, contemplating the new info.

“Huh… guess the spell exempted me. Probably didn’t affect dragons, huh?”

“That’s what Trixie believes.” Trixie sighed. “Sorry for the ruse…” Trixie glanced at Spike, a hopeful smile crossing her face. “But there’s no need to go telling Twilight about this, is there?”

“None at all,” Spike assured. A grin slowly spread over his face. “So long as you lead me to where I can get more of these cookies… and do a couple of my chores… oh, and take me on the Speeding Stallion roller coaster with ya! I haven‘t even gotten the chance to see it, yet…”

Trixie groaned; not only had her plan failed, she’d somehow found herself the victim of blackmailing… by a creature that hadn’t even broken out of infancy yet, no less. “Fine, fine… is that it?”

“Yeah. I’m trying not to be too greedy after a certain… ‘incident’ a couple months back. Hold up your end of the deal, and your secret is safe with me.” Spike walked to Trixie’s side, tapping her on the back. “C‘mon, time‘s a wastin‘!”

Trixie rolled her eyes, bending over to allow the dragon to climb onto her back. After he’d settled in, Trixie set off towards the kitchen in order to fulfill her first part of the agreement.

“Slow down, Spike! It isn’t helping anypony if you get lost!”

Trixie watched as the dragon skidded to a stop up ahead, stopping to wait for her right in front of the entrance to the Speeding Stallion. She glanced around the fairground, realizing her command didn’t have much to back it up; while some ponies still dotted the area here and there, the fairgrounds was- for the most part -empty. Most victims of the spell were either trying to find who they’d swapped with, waiting out the chaos back at their homes, or sticking close to their friends. In fact, most of the rides and attractions were closed down. Trixie walked past an abandoned wares cart, its pinwheels and sparklers locked behind a steel grate, as she made her way to Spike.

Spike knew how to take advantage of the situation, however. “Look, Trixie!” He pointed, excitement lacing his voice. “No lines!”

Trixie smirked. She had to admire the dragon’s enthusiasm, even if he’d forced her to bring him here. She’d gotten him to Pinkie Pie for a cookie restock while she did a few of his chores, eventually reaching the final objective on her list: a ride on the Speeding Stallion, the festival’s tallest and fastest roller coaster.

Not wasting anymore time, the duo began weaving their ways up to the ride’s entrance, walking through the miniature maze of small steel gates that came with most big rides. Moments later, they were near the ride‘s entrance, with only a few ponies in line ahead of them.

When their turn came, Spike happily stepped forward to be measured, eager to see if he was tall enough to ride. A pegasus, who’d been running the ride with aid from the pony she’d swapped with, let the dragon step up next to a measuring pole. Spike stood as tall as he could, smiling when the ride-runner announced that he just barely passed the requirements. Telling them to enjoy the ride, the pegasus let Trixie and Spike pass her into the ride’s entrance.

They found themselves in an open room, a large rail cutting through its center. On one side of the room stood a few ponies, eager to get on the ride, while the other side held ponies that had just gotten off. Seeing that the very first seats of the coaster were open, the duo stepped into the row for it. The gates blocking their path to the coaster opened up, letting the two of them pass. Not long after, they were seated up front in a bright red compartment, a burly brown stallion stepping forward to help them strap in to the ride.

Trixie felt the restraining bar fall over her head, gripping it. She noticed Spike was having trouble with his seat belt, and she magically clicked it in place for him. Let’s get this over with, she thought. Who knows… maybe it’ll even be a bit fun.

Bzzzzzzt. Trixie listened as speakers around the room sparked to life, beginning to recite basic safety protocol. Trixie half-mindedly listened, letting out a small gasp as the roller coaster lurched forward. They exited out of the ride’s entrance area, Celestia’s sun greeting them as they moved out from under the overhang.

Trixie glanced downwards off the coaster, watching as the ground fell away underneath them when they hit an incline. She looked upwards, watching as they climbed a long stretch of track up into the sky. She peeked at Spike out of the corner of her eye, smirking at the look of pure excitement crossing his face. And then, they were at the top. The coaster stopped for just one moment, the suspense rising as it slowly edged forward. Then, it fell.

The wind whipped past Trixie’s face as the coaster zoomed downhill, the screams of other excited riders reaching her ears. She found herself shouting along, enjoying the rush as the ride coasted downhill and back into a level position. Oh, my… this IS fun, she realized.

The coaster, using the speed it gained from its decline, began weaving through a maze of tracks. Joyful ponies shouted as it whirled in circles, rising into the air. Everypony quieted down as they reached another incline, rising back into the sky for one last drop. Trixie looked downwards again, wondering how much of the carnival she could see from here.

Her body froze. The ground beneath her seemed to be swimming before her eyes; she felt as if she could fall towards it any second. And yet, as much as she willed herself to return to the ground, the coaster just kept taking her higher and higher. Against her will, her mouth opened, letting out a terrified yelp.

“Trixie?” Spike said, his eyes moving away from the track to watch her. “Trixie, are you okay?”

Nonononotokaynotokayhelpmegottagettoground. Trixie began squirming in her seat, fighting against the seatbelt holding her back. It was a futile effort, and Trixie let out a shriek as she realized the ground beneath her had fallen away; the coaster had reached the top of its ascent, and was zooming down towards the finish line.

The other riders screamed along as well, not realizing that Trixie’s shrieks were of terror, not joy. Spike kept trying to calm her as they went downhill, slowly sliding back into the station. Trixie began to relax, fiercely squeezing the safety bar in front of her. She felt the bar rise as the ride officially ended, and she leapt to the safety of the exit platform.

She stood there, breathing heavily, as Spike approached. “Is everything okay? Are you afraid of heights? I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”

Trixie panted, her fear changing into a new one… a scary realization. B-but… Trixie isn’t a-afraid of heights…

Spike opened the door to the familiar yellow house, moving aside to let Trixie step in. She entered, her nose being greeted by the smell of various pastries. She glanced into the kitchen, seeing that Pinkie was still making treats. “We’re home,” the unicorn called out.

“Oo, oo, just in time!” Pinkie replied, setting a large pink cake on the kitchen table. “You have to try this! I was saving this cake recipe for a special occasion, and what’s more special than getting to be your role model for a day? Not much!”

Pinkie cut a couple pieces out of the cake, handing them to Spike and Trixie. Trixie eyed the slice, realizing that deep down, she wasn’t very hungry… the roller coaster ordeal had definitely helped with that. “Thanks, Pinkie, but Trixie thinks she’s going to go home… maybe nap for awhile.”

“No, no, no, there’s no need, silly! Just use my bed, it’s all yours! Well, for now; it wouldn’t be very nice if you took it with you when you left… but anyway, you can try out the cake when you wake up!”

Trixie smirked, sliding the pastry across the table towards Spike. “If you insist. Feel free to wake Trixie if there’s an update on this Discord fiasc-”

Fwoooooooooosh!

A jet of green flame burst from Spike’s mouth, interrupting Trixie. A scroll appeared in the fire, and the three of them watched as the letter settled on the table. Trixie reached forward to claim it, flinching as Spike grabbed it first. “Sorry, Trixie, but it might be for Twilight.” Spike unraveled the scroll, eyeing it up and down. Satisfied, he rolled it back up, handing it to Trixie. “Nope, it’s for you.”

A letter? For Trixie? Yesterday’s scroll passed through her mind again, the image seeming to taunt her. She shook it off and unraveled the letter on the table, bending over it to read. It was from her bookworm friend, and she scanned the scroll curiously:

Dear Trixie,

Bad news on the body switch business… we considered using the Elements of Harmony to just reverse the spell, but as it turns out, they’ll only work if the pony who controls them is in their own body. I tried to wield my own element… but, nothing. The princesses aren’t worried though… well, Luna’s a little irked about the mountain of muffins she found stacked in her bedroom… but, they believe the solution to this problem can be found in Discord’s riddle. Something about ‘uniting as one…’ I think we’re onto something, so keep an ear open for any announcements. If you’re with any of the others, please pass this info on.

Also, a curious discovery you should be warned about… it seems that some of the researchers here are taking on personality traits- and sometimes, even memories -of the pony they swapped with. One of the stallions working with us seemed perfectly fine with drinking some herbal tea, only to end up spitting it out in disgust not long after… turns out, the mare he swapped with hates tea. Once again, pass on to anypony you’re hanging around with.

I assume you got Mrs. Cake home okay, and thank you for that. If possible, could you send me an update on Spike? I’m a little worried about him… it’d ease my mind to know he’s all right. Thanks in advance, Trixie… and just so you know, your body’s just the same as you left it.

Sincerely,
Twilight Sparkle

Finished with the letter, Trixie rolled it back up. Pinkie and Spike glanced at her curiously, eager to know if the contents were something to be shared. Trixie levitated the scroll across the table, dropping it in front of them. “There’s some info in here Pinkie’s free to read, and to pass on if anypony comes back home. Spike, feel free to write Twilight a letter to show you’re okay.” Trixie yawned, turning to go. “Trixie’s going to take that nap now…”

Trixie headed upstairs, listening as her friends bid her a good rest. She walked down the hall to the room her pink and purple friends shared, her thoughts following along with her. Shared personality traits… she mused, could that explain the episode back on that roller coaster?

She shook her head. While it was almost certainly true, she was too tired to think about it. Her panic attack on the coaster had taken it out of her, and she was already a little tired to begin with. She nudged open the door to her friends room, spotting Pinkie’s bed still seated in its center. Letting magic course through her, she lifted the bed up and moved it back to its original spot.

She glanced out the window, sneaking a peek at the sun. Judging from the position… it’s about three. With another yawn, Trixie trotted to Pinkie’s bed and got in. Pulling the covers over herself, Trixie settled in, nuzzling into the pillow.

Finding the pillow lumpy, Trixie lifted it up to fluff it. She stifled a laugh as she saw the cause; underneath the pillow sat at least five small cakes, among numerous other pastries. Wondering how her friend could ever sleep with so much sugar under her pillow, let alone in her veins, Trixie hovered the treats over to the dresser.

With nothing else to bother her, Trixie laid down and closed her eyes. Moments later, she was breathing gently, a dream already running through her head.

Trixie rolled over, groaning as she bumped into something. She opened an eye, finding herself staring at a coat of blue fur. She leapt back out of bed, finding herself looking at Pinkie, the mare staring at the ceiling and humming. “Pinkie! What are you doing?”

Pinkie looked over at her. “You’re awake, goodie!” She sat up and bounced out of bed, smiling at her unicorn friend. “You were sleeping so soundly, and I was thinking it’d be kinda rude to just wake you up, so I just sat there for awhile and waited for you to wake up, and I got a little bored, so I started humming, and then you woke up, and…”

“Trixie gets the picture.” Trixie rubbed her eyes, blinking away sleep. “But why wake her up?”

“That’s easy! Spike just got a letter from Twilight… they’ve found a solution! Everypony’s supposed to head back to the plaza outside the stage, ASA-now!”

Trixie’s eye twitched. “They found a way to switch us all back, and you waited until I woke up?!”

Pinkie nodded. “Duh, silly filly!”

Trixie groaned, rubbing her forehead. Trixie is starting to think Pinkie has cake where a normal pony would have a brain… A small smile lit her face. Well, she did let Trixie get some rest. She can’t complain. “Alright… give Trixie a minute to get ready, and she’ll be good to go.”

“Okie dokie!” Pinkie shot her a smile before bouncing out the door, closing it behind her. Left alone, Trixie walked to the window and glanced out. The sun was heading towards the horizon; Trixie wagered it was around six or so. She crossed the room to the dresser, looking at herself in the mirror seated atop it. She ran her hooves through her mane… Well, technically Twilight’s mane, she corrected herself. She leaned in close, making sure she looked presentable; for some reason, she found herself wanting to make sure her friend looked fine for her return to her body.

But then, a short flash of pain rushed through her head. She leaned on the dresser, cupping her head in her hooves. What was tha-… she began, flinching as another stab of pain arced through her mind. A cloud fell over her thoughts, and she felt the pain slowly ease away as images began to flow freely and clearly through her mind‘s eye. She closed her eyes, finding herself able to see through Twilight’s eyes… into her very memories.

Twilight stood before the ferris wheel, her knees buckling under her. Can’t do this, can’t do this, can’t do this nono… she thought, thinking of just running away. A hoof laid itself gently on her shoulder, and she turned to see the blue unicorn looking at her with concern. That familiar pang in her chest returned, and she found herself with an odd sense of bravery she’d never felt before. I’ve gotta be strong… I can’t look weak, not in front of her…

The scene changed to a rooftop, the moon’s glow illuminating Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy at the opposite end of the roof. She looked to her side to see Trixie sitting there, glancing at her curiously. Trixie asked her why she’d brought them up here. “I saw how you and Rainbow Dash weren’t getting along, so I guess I wanted to help you get to know her better… and, well, I guess I thought the scene would be a little…” Twilight replied, cutting herself off at the end. She just couldn’t bring herself to say the last word… ‘romantic‘.

Another scene change, this time showing Twilight in a town all-too-familiar to Trixie… Ponyville. The purple unicorn was standing over the remains of Trixie’s carriage, magically moving debris around. She moved a heavy beam, gasping as she saw something buried underneath it. She held the beam aloft as she pulled the items out, inspecting them. She held a purple cape and hat in her hooves, stars patterned along both of them. She sighed, wishing she knew some way to get them back to who they truly belonged… and maybe even get a chance to see the mare who’d made her feel so mysteriously over the past few days.

One last change of scenery, this time to the very room Trixie had been in before the wave of memories. Twilight sat on her bed, reciting information to Spike. She was writing a letter to Celestia, asking the princess a very important question. “Dear Princess Celestia,” Twilight began, “I hope this letter finds you well, and not overburdened with festival activities. I know I said I was planning on sending a summary of what I’d learned at the end of the event, but, well… something’s come up. You see, princess, I’ve found somepony I’ve been in search of for awhile, and… well… I’ve come to ask if maybe, just maybe, you could tell me what you know about…”

The memories ended as quickly as they began. Trixie cursed under her breath, not able to believe she’d been kept from the letter’s knowledge yet again. But the other stuff she’d discovered… she just couldn’t believe them. And yet, she knew, they were true.

Twilight had always been friendly to Trixie since their reunion, putting up with behavior that would probably irritate others. Twilight had gone out of her way to do things that had either terrified her, or used up time and resources. And for what?

“Trixie knows what…” The unicorn breathed, holding a hoof to her chest. Somewhere deep within her sat an odd sensation, a heat that was desperate to mingle with another pony’s, a spark that only appeared when a pony thought of somepony special to them. Trixie couldn‘t tell if the feeling was Twilight‘s… or if it was hers. She glanced into the mirror, staring intently as Twilight‘s eyes looked back. “…she did it because she loves Trixie.”

Trixie followed behind Pinkie, letting the bouncing mare lead her towards the stage. The unicorn glanced behind her, making sure Spike was still on her back, and that Mister and Missus Cake were still following. Mrs. Cake was holding a foal on her back; Trixie reminded herself that this foal was, hopefully for not much longer, Mr. Cake. The foal itself was occupying Mr. Cake’s body, and the yellow pony was glancing around nervously.

Trixie set her gaze forward again, letting her thoughts wander as she saw the stage appear in the distance. On their entire walk to the stage, Trixie’s mind had been focused on one thing… her fear of seeing her bookworm friend again. Trixie sighed. The Great and Powerful Trixie, nervous about seeing a friend. This is what she’s been reduced to? She bit her lip as the word friend crossed her mind. IS she just a friend? Or…

“We’re here everypony!” Pinkie called out, breaching Trixie’s thoughts. Trixie peeked around her friend, noting the large crowd that stood in front of the stage. Somepony had drawn a large chalk circle in the plaza, and ponies were all standing within it. Oddly enough, unicorns were staying outside the line. Trixie flinched as a familiar voice reached her ears, a voice she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear or not.

“Pinkie! Trixie! The Cakes! Thank Celestia, I was starting to get worried…” Twilight ran up to them, stopping short. “There’s no time to waste; everypony’s just about been rounded up… Pinkie and the Cakes, get inside the circle, and we’ll get this spell reversed. And Trixie, you’re due onstage!”

Trixie blinked. “Wait, what? Onstage? Why?”

Twilight shrugged. “The princesses asked for you, specifically. Well… they asked for whoever has my body, to be precise. But nonetheless… go, go, they’re waiting on you!”

Deciding not to question further, Trixie let Spike down and stepped forward to go to the stage. She walked by Twilight, freezing as the unicorn placed a hoof on her shoulder. “And Trixie… when this is all over… could… could I speak with you?”

Trixie thought for a moment. Deciding on what she wanted, she nodded. “Yes. Find me after we’re back to normal.”

Twilight smiled softly. “Good luck up there.”

Trixie nodded, moving forward as Twilight let her go. She moved her way around the big crowd, heading into the backstage area. She passed through it, noting its emptiness, as she went onstage.

Four ponies awaited her; the two princesses stood there, barking orders from inside their temporary bodies. Derpy and Berry Punch sat behind them, chatting quietly amongst themselves. Unsure on what to do, Trixie went and stood next to the two civilians, feeling a tad bit uncomfortable being so close to royalty.

Celestia turned, noticing the new arrival. “Ah, so you’ve arrived. Trixie, I presume?” Trixie nodded. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. But we don’t have time for many pleasantries… we need this spell reversed as soon as possible.”

“Sister is right,” Luna agreed. “Let us explain to you how we’ll fix this…”

Derpy sighed. “But we were having fun with our new muffin powers…”

“We’ll have you sent a shipment of our finest pastries for your help,” Celestia stated. She turned to her own body. “We hope you don’t mind accepting nothing, Berry, but we believe that you draining out all the salt in the royal kitchen more than makes up for whatever we could give you.”

Berry Punch groaned, and Trixie found herself snickering. “Moving on…” Celestia said. “We analyzed Discord’s riddle for the cure to this ailment. He talked of everypony uniting as one, and that’s how we figured it out…” Celestia pointed a hoof over the crowd, pointing out the ponies clustered both within and outside the circle. “The Elements of Harmony are one of the strongest magical forces in the land, it’s magic almost unparalleled… but we can achieve a power close enough to reverse Discord’s trickery if we get everypony working together.

“Surely you’ve noticed the earth ponies and pegasi corralled in the center. Since they can’t channel their inner magic, the unicorns that surround them shall try and draw out this inner power. The unicorns have been instructed on how to do so, and they’ve been instructed to channel this magic to you three. Which is where you all come in…” Celestia’s expression hardened. “It’s up to you to set things right.”

Trixie’s eyes widened. “How are we three going to solve this?”

“Because, as of now, you three are the most powerful ponies in Canterlot,” Luna stated. “Since you’re in our bodies… and Trixie’s in Twilight Sparkle’s, a rather powerful student of ours… you three are the only ones that can handle all the magic that will be channeled. You’re to gather up all this raw power, and use it to swap everypony back to normal.”

Derpy raised a hoof, waving it wildly. “Yes, Derpy?” Celestia called.

“But how are we going to flip everypony back to normal, your highness?”

“I was getting to that. When the unicorns channel everypony’s magic to you, you’ll be able to see all these streams of magical essence. While we could have you manually put everything back to normal, we feel it’d be easier if you just put Twilight, my sister, and I back into our bodies. We’ll take over from there, making sure all is put back to normal.”

The three ponies nodded, the princesses smiling as they understood their directions. “We’ll show you how to handle this energy, and how to get us back into our bodies…” Luna began. “And then, we can get this show on the road.”

Quiet filled the air as all eyes focused on the stage. There the two princesses stood- with Derpy, Berry, and Trixie behind them -looking out over the crowd. Celestia raised a hoof, asking a question in a booming voice: “Is everypony ready?!”

The crowd cheered in response. Satisfied with the answer, the two princesses jumped off the stage and into the circle of ponies. “Then let’s begin!”

Trixie watched as the princesses blended into the crowd, listening as a silence fell over everypony. All the ponies in the circle closed their eyes, focusing. Trixie looked on in awe as the ring of unicorns surrounding them began to form a collective glow, gathering the magic of all the citizens of Canterlot. Trixie spotted a certain unicorn bookworm near the back of the crowd, her blue coat shining with the glow of magic. Trixie sighed, wondering exactly how things would go down after all was returned to normal. She still wasn’t even sure how she felt…

She felt a wing wrap around her, and she looked to see Derpy holding her in a comforting gesture. “Is everything okay? It’s almost time for us to go on… are ya hungry? Want a muffin?”

Trixie shook her head. “Thanks, but no. It’s just…” She looked out over the crowd, once again finding her eyes settled on the pony inhabiting her body.

“Someone you care for, eh?” Derpy said.

Trixie flinched. “Erm… kind of… well… ”

“Well what?”

“Trixie… just doesn’t know. Trixie doesn‘t know how to feel…”

Derpy smiled. “We don’t know you, and you don’t know us, but let us tell you this… if you found out this pony cares for you, and you’re open to that, then what’s stopping you from returning the favor?”

Trixie blinked, pondering what the mare had just said. “That… makes a lot of sense.”

Derpy pulled her wing back, patting Trixie on the head. “Glad we could help. Now come…” Trixie gasped as she found herself getting lifted into the air, the other two mares rising as well. “Let’s get this over with.”

The three ponies rose into the sky, moving out over the crowd. They were high in the air, slowly gliding until they reached the center of the circle. All was silent for a moment as they hovered in place. And then, a burst of light hit them, enveloping them in a white glow.

Trixie opened her eyes. All around her was white, the glow interrupted in various places by streams of multicolored light. She looked to her sides, seeing Derpy and Berry floating alongside with her. Derpy winked at her. “Come on, we have a job to do.”

Derpy hovered towards the streams of lines, seeking a certain one. Soon enough, she found it: a long, glowing black line, floating horizontally in space. Derpy grasped it gently, pulling it back towards the others. She passed them, seeking out another line. Finding what she was looking for, she removed a gray line from its place and replaced it with the black one. She passed by the two others once more, whispering a message to Trixie: “Good luck.” Derpy replaced the gray line where the black one once was, and she was gone. A ball of light wrapped around her; a moment later, Luna‘s body hovered where the ball was, its occupant now the correct pony. Luna checked herself over, smiling happily.

“Ah, we are happy to be back where we belong,” Luna cooed. Spotting the other two mares, she waved. “That’s one down, my little ponies… come, come, let’s get my sister put back next.”

Luna joined Berry, the two mares picking out a golden line and replacing it with a dark-pink one. “I’m going to *hic* miss the free salts…” Berry sighed. And with that, she was gone; a glow surrounded her, depositing Celestia herself as it left.

Celestia spread out her wings, smiling. “It’s good to be back… now then.” She eyed Trixie. “Let’s get you settled, and then Twilight, Luna, and I shall work hard to fix everything. But first…”

“Huh? What’s first?” Trixie asked. The princesses said nothing as they hovered towards her. Trixie gasped as they placed their hooves on her head, a cloud falling over her mind. “What… are you doing…”

“We just wish to see something, and this orb around us allows us to,” Celestia stated. She rubbed her chin. “Ah, sister, it seems she knows about Twilight.”

Luna nodded. “Yes, Celestia, she does. But the question is, how does she feel herself?”

“What…” Trixie began… “What are… you talking about…”

“Nothing, my little pony,” Celestia assured. With that, the princesses let her go. “Come, let’s get you back into your rightful body.” Celestia turned to her sister, whispering something that sounded vaguely like ‘we’ll have to discuss this later’.

Dazed from whatever mind-reading trick the princesses had pulled, Trixie could only watch as the two alicorns each took hold of a light stream; Celestia held a glowing purple one, and Luna held a blue one. The princesses passed each other, the two lines bumping as they crossed. Trixie felt a jolt run through her as the lines bumped together, that strange longing in her chest returning. The princesses put the lines in the other’s location, and with that, Trixie felt her mind exiting the glowing bubble.

Trixie blinked. She looked down, eyeing her hooves… her BLUE hooves. A smile lit her face as she sighed contentedly; she was back in the right body.

She was also on the edge of the crowd. She looked up, seeing a glowing white ball hanging high over the heads of everypony. Within it sat the two princesses… and Twilight. Trixie felt that sensation in her chest again… and was surprised to realize that she still felt it, even in her normal body.

Before she could dwell on it, the glowing ball dissipated. What had taken minutes in the ball had taken mere milliseconds out in the real world, and the three ponies had already completed their task. The crowd made way for the three ponies to land as they slowly hovered back to the ground. They stood silent for a moment, smiling as their eyes opened up. The crowd went wild.

Ponies all around were stomping the ground, hugging their friends, and were overall glad to be back to normal. Trixie found herself applauding as well, watching as a familiar purple face leapt out of the crowd. Trixie gasped as Twilight ran to her, wrapping her arms around her in a fierce hug.

“You did amazing, Trixie,” Twilight praised, leaning back with a smile. Trixie looked at her face and bit her lip, that feeling dredging itself up from inside her body again.

“Thank you. And… you wished to speak to Trixie?”

A blush rose over Twilight’s face. “Oh… yes… well, I wanted to say…”

“Trixie saw how you felt.”

Twilight’s blush rose higher. “O-oh… u-uh… w-well…”

“Shush,” Trixie commanded, placing a hoof against her friend’s mouth. She leaned forward, until their noses were touching. “Trixie still isn’t sure how to feel about all this… but… she isn’t exactly opposed to what she saw.”

If it were possible, Twilight was blushing even harder. “I… well… really?”

“Really. Trixie must have been blind to not see how you felt, and she had to look into your very memories to realize it.” She looked deep into Twilight’s eyes, that feeling inside her stronger than ever. “Can you forgive her?”

“There’s nothing to forgive,” Twilight said, smiling. “I… should have been a little more open. Especially after what happened to you so long ago… I can see why you’d be a little less able to see what I was saying…”

“I suppose you’re ri- wait, what?” Trixie pulled back, breaking out of Twilight’s grasp. “What do you mean, ‘what happened to Trixie so long ago’?”

Twilight waved her hooves in front of her, motioning for her friend to calm down. “I-I meant that, well, seeing as you saw my memories, logic would state that I’d see a few of yours as well. Except, well, I didn’t-”

Trixie placed her head in her hooves, blocking out her friends chatter. Nonono nopony’s supposed to know… not even I think about it anymore… no… gotta go… “You had no right, Twilight, no right…” Trixie stood up, bolting away in the direction of Pegasus Plaza.

Twilight held a hoof out, pointing towards her friend. “No, wait, Trixie! Don’t go! I didn’t…”

“…see anything.” Twilight sighed as Trixie either ignored or didn’t hear her, bounding out of sight. But Trixie… I didn’t see your memories… only felt them. You’ve repressed them so hard, all I could see was how badly they’d affected you…

Twilight lowered her head, shutting her eyes. She sat there, wondering what to do next as she half-heartedly listened to snippets of Celestia speaking in the background… ’Tonight’s performances cancelled‘… ’Best guards we have are being sent out as we speak‘… ’Festival shall continue as scheduled‘… Twilight felt a hoof rest on her shoulder, turning to look into Applejack’s face.

“Howdy there, Twilight. Ya did a good job of gettin’ us back to normal.” Applejack gestured over her shoulder, pointing towards the rest of her friends. “Say, why the long face? What’s botherin’ ya? If anypony should be sad, it should be me…” Applejack joked, chuckling. “Ah already miss those wings.” Applejack leaned forward, whispering in Twilight’s ears: “Did Trixie do anything to ya?”

Twilight shook her head, watching as her friends surrounded her. “No, no, I’m fine…” Twilight wiped her nose with an arm. “Perfectly fine.”

“We truly wish we could believe you, darling,” Rarity said, “But you look far from okay. You can tell us, we won‘t judge.”

“Well… I had an argument with Trixie… somewhat.”

Pinkie Pie wrapped an arm around her. “That’s no reason to be all frowny, Twilight! Remember when she was a moody mare after that one show? She cheered up the next day; she’ll come around by tomorrow, at the latest!”

“Or not,” Rainbow Dash interjected. She grunted as Applejack roughly elbowed her in the side.

“Come on, Twilight, let’s get you home,” Pinkie stated. “I made so many treats today, and you’re all welcome to have some! Nothing like a perfect pastry and a glass of juice to cheer ya up! And if ya want, we can go see Trixie tomorrow.”

Twilight bit her lip, glancing back and forth. But… I can’t just let Trixie go off all upset like that… “You’re right, Pinkie. But before that… I have to make a stop.”

“Whatever you want, silly filly! C’mon, girls!” Pinkie let Twilight go and bounced away towards their house, the rest of Twilight’s friends following after her. Twilight waited until they were out of sight, before running off in the direction of Pegasus Plaza.

Trixie held the pillow over her head, blocking out all outside noise as she dealt with her innermost thoughts. Her feelings, romantic or not, for Twilight… having to be reminded of her past, and knowing that somepony else knew it now, too… and of course, snippets of her past itself were floating in her mind, thoughts she’d cut off very, very long ago.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts, her ears covered by the pillow, she didn’t hear somepony knock at her door. Didn’t hear the shouting as somepony called for her to let them in. Didn’t hear the miserable sigh as the pony gave up and left, heading back home for the night.