Magic Wands and Hourglasses: A Time Turner's Adventures Story

by Whammy

Chapters

The Weak and Insignificant Trixie
Dreams of a Musician - Part I
Dreams of a Musician - Part 1.5
Dreams of a Musician - Part 2
Dreams of a Musician - Part 3
Dreams of a Musician - Part 4: Finale
Dreams of a Musician-Epilogue/Coming Soon
The Greatest Show - Part I
The Greatest Show - Part II
The Greatest Show - Part III
The Greatest Show - Part IV
The Greatest Show - End

The Weak and Insignificant Trixie

’The Weak...’

The quietness of the night was broken as the sounds of hooves on a dirt road steadily grew louder and louder.

’...and Insignificant...’

Soon the sound was joined by another one; a soft but consistent sob.

’...Failure’

The sounds were quickly matched with the appearance of a blue mare, her silver-colored mane flowing behind her as she ran. Her face was looking downwards, eyes shut close as if trying to hold back the small trickle of tears that were creating a trail on the dirt road behind her.

For Trixie, tonight had been the worst possible night ever. Earlier she had been the star of the show, the 'Great and Powerful Trixie', performing amazing feats of magic that awed the citizens of Ponyville. But now, now she was the laughingstock, a mere joke compared to the heroism of Twilight Sparkle. She had been able to defeat the Ursa Minor with feats of magic more powerful and amazing than anything Trixie had seen before. As for her own efforts? Flies had probably been more bothersome to the beast than she had been. The most powerful of all her magics, from levitation to even thunder and lightning were thrown against it, and not even a flinch occurred as a result.

Trixie didn’t know why Twilight Sparkle had let Trixie embarrass herself like that. Maybe the purple-maned mare thought it was amusing? Or maybe it was payback for how Trixie had embarrassed her friends earlier that afternoon? Whatever the reason, Trixie had to flee from town soon after she appeared on the scene. Even now she could imagine the mocking laughter of the citizens. But even worse, by tomorrow morning they would all have probably forgotten about her.

Oh sure she was angry for a while, and she had even left town with a confident boast about still being better. But out here alone, with no wagon or even her hat to remind her of her status as the Great and Powerful Trixie, she figured there was no real point in it all. She had come to accept that anything she could do, Twilight could do better. So that left her with absolutely nothing more than her new title, a more fitting title for somepony like her; the Weak and Insignificant Failure. It didn’t even matter where this road she was on was going. All she wanted to do now was just run away, what with that being the only thing she was probably going to be good at now.

Lost in her own thoughts, she didn’t even notice as she ran past another pony on the road. She only heard the sound of someone calling out to her.

“Oh, hello there. Is something the…wait, hold on a moment!”

For a moment Trixie thought about just ignoring the voice, to just keep running and let whoever it was just forget about her too. But the sound of somepony running behind her was enough to get her to slow to a stop and turn around. As she did she tried to wipe off some of the tears to at least look somewhat presentable, leaving behind only a small bit of wet fur and bloodshot eyes as signs of her current mood.

“Tri…I don’t want to be bothered right now so just go away,” she said, looking over her follower. He was a stallion from the looks of it, with light brown fur. His mane was darker than his fur, and rather messy from the looks of it. While it was hard to tell for sure in the darkness, from the looks of it his cutie mark was an hourglass. About the only other thing of notice was his saddlebag, which wasn’t an unusual accessory to have on the road.

“Ah, well, I guess I’ll just leave you alone then…except there’s one little problem,” he responded, his hoof pointing down the road behind Trixie, “While I’m not exactly sure where I’m going, I do know that I was heading in that general direction. Since you seem to be going that way as well, you’re going to have to put up with me for a bit.”

As he finished, there was a bit of a grin on his face as if he was happy about the fact he was going to be with her. Trixie just let out a sigh before mumbling out a “Fine”. It wasn’t as if she had a choice outside of just trying to outrun him, but now that she had stopped all the fatigue of running and crying had begun to catch up to her. As long as he was quiet, she could deal with him.

“Excellent. I promise to be absolutely quiet. Oh, almost forgot introductions. I’m Time Turner” he said as the two of them started off again.

“I’m Trixie.”

That was all she said as she started walking again, Time Turner apparently taking a comfortable spot behind her. He seemed to stick to his promise to be quiet, but after a few moments Trixie could hear a soft humming coming from behind. Trixie was annoyed, but she decided to just try and ignore it. After several more minutes passed, however, and with the addition of the mumbling of lyrics, she had enough.

“I thought you said you were going to be quiet!” she said, stopping to turn around and poke him in the muzzle to shut him up before giving him a chance to speak.

“My apologies madam. It’s just that I’ve never really been one for being quiet is all. I'm usually surrounded by other ponies talking, or the tic-toc of my clocks,”

Well, that explained the cutie mark. He was probably a clockmaker or something

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk at all? I’m a great listener and…hold on a second, do I know you?” he finished, head cocking to the side a bit in thought.

Trixie’s eyes widened before stammering out an answer.

“N-no, don’t be silly. How could you possibly recognize me? Just some random pony walking alone…at night.” Yeah, that didn’t sound suspicious at all. She stood there nervously as Time Turner finally straightened out, apparently hit with some kind of revelation as he pointed his hoof at her.

“Oh, I remember now. Trixie, THE Great and Powerful Trixie! The pony from this afternoon with the magic show with the fireworks and all that!”

Great, he recognized her. At least all the way out here he probably didn’t know about the Ursa Minor incident. Still, Trixie winced a little at the mentioning of her title, and considering her actions at that show had been the catalyst of her ruin tonight, he still probably had plenty to berate her about. She stood there waiting for it when…

“I thought it was absolutely brilliant! A little rude to some of the ponies, but overall brilliant! Say, how were you able to do that thing with the rainbow to, oh what was her name, Rainbow Dash? Was it some kind of light manipulation spell, or were you able to actually solidify light into a manipulative…oh, what am I saying. I can’t ask you these kind of questions right? A good magician never reveals the secret of their tricks and all that stuff.”

Wow, he was right about not being able to be quiet. She felt tired just listening to him ramble, but more than that she was surprised. He actually liked her show? Not only that, but he was interested enough to wonder how she pulled off her tricks.

“Y-yeah, that’s right. A magician like Trixie never reveals the secrets of her tricks,”

“Well, that’s a little disappointing but understandable. I just love a good magic show is all, always exciting to see, figuring out how the trick works. Even tried studying magical theory once to...”

Trixie just smiled a little at the stallion, but stopped listening as his rambling was kind of annoying. His enthusiasm was still evident though, an enthusiasm normally reserved to unicorns…like Twilight Sparkle. The small lift in her mood by the contagious effects of her companion’s own cheerfulness was quickly squashed by the reminder of her. Smile gone, Trixie started walking again, Time Turner still rambling as she drifted back into reality.

“…so what are you doing out here anyway? I would have thought you’d be staying in Ponyville for a few more days. Oooooh, are you going to another town for another show? No wait, you’d have your wagon then…say where is your wagon? Or your cape and hat? Did something happen? Did…”

“I left Ponyville for reason’s I don’t want to discuss, and please don’t ask again…but thank you for the praise. It really means a lot to me right now.” It was rare for her to actually thank somepony in a genuine manner, but even though that lift in her mood was brief, it had felt good to hear some praise. At least by now she wasn’t crying, though she still wasn’t feeling all that great and powerful.

“So since you asked me…why are you out here?” she asked, realizing that it was kind of odd for somepony else to be wandering the dirt road at night like this.

“Fair enough. Would you believe me if I said I’m out here on vacation?” he replied, before giving out a slight chuckle.

Trixie just stopped and looked at him in disbelief.

“You’re on…vacation?”

“Yep, vacation.”

Trixie really didn’t know what to say. How was travelling the road in the dark like this a vacation? As if sensing her confusion, Time Turner kept talking.

“You see, I’ve been on this road in the daytime already, but never seen it at night. Too dangerous and all that. But with Princess Luna back I figured the roads would be safe. Plus, there’s always the chance there’s something new and exciting up in the night sky to see. A new constellation, a meteor shower, or maybe some astronomical object no pony has ever dreamed of! Every time I look up there I just get excited about the possibilities. I just hope one day we’ll be able to go up there and see it all up close! Now wouldn’t that be thrilling?”

Trixie just looked at the brown stallion, who was now gazing up at the sky with a smile and a glazed, dreamy look in his eye. Looking up at it herself, she was tempted to laugh at him a little for what he said, but she found that she couldn’t bring herself to. Hearing all that reminded her of her own thoughts on the night sky, thoughts she hadn’t had in a long time.

“You know, you kind of sound a bit crazy, but if that’s the case then I’m a little crazy too.”

“And why would that be, hmm?” he said, slightly turning his head to look at her. There was a slight grin on his face, but Trixie wasn’t sure if it was because he was anticipating an answer or if it was because he was just a little off in the head. Most likely it was a bit of both.

“Well, when I was younger I’d look up at the stars and think to myself about all the other ponies looking up at them with the same kind of awe you have. But I’d also think of all the magic that went into making those stars and thought to myself that I’d like to be just like them,”

“You want to be a giant ball of hot, flaming gas?” he said. And here she was trying to restrain from making fun of his moment of monologue.

“No, Trixie does not want to be that,” she said, giving him a slight glare as he chuckled to himself. He was just messing with her right now, and she wanted to just zap him with a lightning bolt. But that could wait till after she was done talking.

“No, I wanted to be a star, standing on the stage performing feats of magic just as amazing as those stars so that everypony was staring in awe at me. “

“…Wow, that’s a rather narcissistic dream, don’t you think?” Time Turner responded. He wasn’t even looking at her when he said that, his eyes wandering off somewhere else as if that statement was meant to be kept to himself.

Trixie just huffed before stomping off. What did he know? He was just some random pony from some random, unimportant town in Equestria. Sure he talked about the stars and wanting to go to them, but she doubted he did anything to go for it. Yeah, that was right; he was just some loud talking nobody that..that..oh who was she kidding? He was right; it was pure hubris on her part to think that she could rival the stars and their makers the Princesses.

“But then again, just about every great pony had a bit of hubris in them. After all, it takes some arrogance and pride to think yourself wonderful enough to do something nopony has ever done before…so why do you seem like you’ve given up oh Great and Powerful Trixie?” he asked. Trixie could sense a slight tone of concern in his voice below all the cheerfulness.

“Because I’m not great and powerful, and…and I already said I didn’t want to talk about it,” she said, head drooping a little bit to emphasize her request.

She was done talking to this pony now. One moment he was insulting her, the next he was calling her Great and Powerful Trixie. Obviously this stallion was not right in the head or something. Not surprisingly, he was soon right behind her again. But soon he was moving in front of her and stopping her like she had done several times to him. Now it was her turn to be at the mercy of his hoof in her face, a look of grave concern and seriousness that seemed like it should have been completely foreign to his overly cheery face.

“Look, for now I’ll respect you don’t want to talk about it, but I can tell that this mopey little mess here isn’t the real Trixie. So you know what, I was wondering something…how would you like to see Equestria?”

How in the world did those two trains of thought overlap? Since his hoof was still on her mouth, Trixie wiggled a bit to get away before opening her mouth to speak. Before she even got a sound out, however, Time Turner started up again.

“Before you protest or say anything, let me finish. I know you think you’ve seen Equestria from your stage, but trust me when I say there is more to it than you know. I have a feeling there’s more to you than you think Trixie, but if you keep going down this road, and I’m talking metaphorically here and not talking about this road here literally,”

Trixie just stared at him like he was an idiot. She was capable of understanding metaphors after all.

“Right, sorry, guess it’s hypocritical to praise you and then act as if I have to explain a metaphor to you. Anyway, point is, there is more to you than you’re willing to admit, and so I want you to travel with me. Visit new cities, try exotic foods, explore ancient ruins, face terrifying monsters, and see wonders you would never have dreamed of in your life. I can’t promise it’ll always be safe, but I’m sure an explorer of the arcane like you are familiar with what happens when dealing with the abyss of the unknown. But…”

“Okay, just stop it right there,” Trixie yelled. She had enough of whatever it was the brown-maned stallion was saying. Apparently he wasn’t used to being interrupted as his eyes widened in surprise at her voice, but it was her time to talk and rant and pace about in front of him.

“Why in Celestia’s name would I travel with you? I mean really, is this what you do? Just find random ponies on the road and flatter them up, telling them that they’re wonderful and amazing, that there is more to them that they know? You’re a loony, that’s what you are. A brown-maned, hourglass marked lunatic,” she said, punctuating her last line by pointing an accusing hoof at him, chest heaving with heavy breathes after spending all that energy on ranting.

“And tie-wearing., I occasionally wear ties,” he interjected, completely unaffected by Trixie’s frustration.

As for herself, Trixie just stared at him, completely unsure what such a ridiculous comment had to do with anything she just said. All of her frustration was channeled into a gaze aimed right at the smarmy looking stallion.

“Oh, well that changes everything doesn’t it? Look, just go away and don’t bother me again. I’m no longer the Great and Powerful Trixie, I’m just…Trixie. That’s all there is too it now,” she said, her frustration being replaced by melancholy. Berating herself was bringing the tears back, but she just wanted Time Turner gone. The last thing she needed was her stupid, ‘narcissistic’ dream being thrown in her face like this, filling her with some false hope.

“I highly doubt that Trixie. You’ve said it yourself Trixie; you want to be a star. But maybe I was wrong then. Well, it was nice meeting you Trixie. Good luck with the background; hope you’ll be happy there. Goodbye,” he said with a wave before turning his back on her.

And with that he was off, leaving Trixie standing there with fresh new tears on her face. But the frustration was starting to come back in full force, evidenced by the grinding of her teeth as she watched Time Turner walking away as if this entire conversation had never happened.

’He’s a lunatic. A rude, annoying lunatic! He thinks he can just promise me stardom and then just walk off? No one treats Trixie like that, and no one sends Trixie off into the background. Only Trixie can send Trixie into the background. So he thinks Trixie is holding back. Well fine, I’ll show him what happens when Trixie is unleashed.’

Her horn glowed with a faint blue aura as she gathered up the water in the air for the formation of a cloud, but not just any cloud. Oh, no, for this she needed a darker cloud, one that started filling with electricity as it formed. And just as she perfected it, she let it loose, one little bolt of lightning right on that annoying little stallion’s rear. Trixie smiled smugly as she heard a yelp, alongside the form of Time Turner jumping in the air.

“Well, you said I had more in me than I thought. But maybe you bit a little more than you could chew when you decided to mess with…”

She hesitated for a moment, not sure if she was up to using the title. But something felt right about it now, even if it was just for the sake of getting the upper hoof on Time Turner. So it was with great pride and confidence she said.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Time Turner, who was busy inspecting his rump for damage, simply looked up at her with a cheesy grin on his face. He only said one word to her, but that word was all she needed to understand that she had just walked right into exactly what this crazy, brown stallion wanted.

“Fantastic!”

Dreams of a Musician - Part I

Several Days Later

“So this is what you call a grand adventure into the exotic unknown?” Trixie said as she just looked up dully at the towering gate standing before them, the frame of the arch glistening with gold in the afternoon sun.

“Well we didn’t know the road would end up here now did we? So it still counts as traveling towards the unknown,” Time Turner responded defensively. The effect of his defense was weakened, however, by his not even looking at her. He was obviously far more interested in watching the water of the moat cascading down the mountainside into the rivers far below. An exasperated sigh brought his attention back towards her, his face in a sheepish grin as if to apologize.

“You promised that if I came with you we would be doing things that nopony has ever done before and wonders I’ve never would have dreamed of. Instead you,” she said, hoof halfway off the ground to poke him in the chest.

“Move it along you two. You’re disrupting the flow of traffic.”

Before she could finish her sentence, a pegasus dressed in golden armor called out to them from the end of the drawbridge. Not wanting to deal with the Royal Guard, Trixie and Time Turner picked up the pace and made their way to the end of the bridge.

“Sorry about that,” Time Turner said with a polite nod as Trixie simply made her way inside the city.

“No problem. Enjoy your stay in Canterlot,” the guard replied before turning his attention towards the rest of the tourists and merchants following behind them.

Once through the gateway, the two ponies were greeted with the sights and sounds worthy of the capital city of Equestria. The paved stone streets were bustling with ponies of all kinds, from the street vendors hawking their sales to the upper elite chatting as they took their afternoon strolls. Up in the skies, pegasi were busy delivering mail. There was the occasional glimpse of one of the Royal Guards on patrol, their eyes watching the stone-paved streets like hawks. Alongside the streets were shops of every shape and size with just about any product you could buy. And from the look on Time Turner’s face, Trixie could tell he loved every minute of the chaotic scene before him. She bet that if she turned her head for even a second he would run off like a foal in a candy shop. As for herself…

“Here’s the thing Time Turner, I’ve already been to Canterlot! It’s honestly not all that exciting for me,” she said, her lack of enthusiasm being enough to stop Time Turner, who was halfway through taking a step into the crowds like she had expected.

“You’ve been here before? When exactly was that?” he said, bringing himself back towards her. Trixie could see a bit of a grin on his face, and by now she had learned that was never a good sign for her.

“A few years ago. I used to put on shows in some of the nightclubs before I took my show on the road. But I honestly don’t see what that has to do with anything now,” she replied, gaining a confused look as Time Turner chuckled.

“It has everything to do with it! Really Trixie, I expected more imagination from you. What, did you think the city froze while you were gone?” he said, the grin getting larger and her getting more nervous.

“N-no, of course not. Still, it’s not like,” she replied, backing away a little bit under the now-getting-obnoxious grin of Time Turner’s.

“It’s not like what, the city doesn’t change? This is Canterlot my dear, the most fashionable place in all of Equestria. They hardly go a week without changing out wardrobes let alone a few years. I can guarantee you five bits that everything you saw before is probably outdated and unfashionable…well okay there might be a retro club or two. But other than that…”

Trixie just put up a hoof and sighed. It was both a sign of both surrender and a sign to Time Turner to let him know to just be quiet.

“Okay, okay, I get your point. I guess there might be a new club or restaurant something we can go to.”

“Excellent. We can go search one out…right after we go to the Canterlot Center for the Performing Arts,” Time Turner said as he started digging into his saddlebag. Trixie just put her hoof to her face.

“You just went on a spiel about everything in the city being new, and so you decide to go to one of the oldest places here and…you’re not listening to me are you?” Trixie said, watching as Time Turner continued digging in his saddlebag.

“What, did you say something?” he said, voiced muffled from inside the bag, “Just give me a moment, looking for something. Let’s see...trail mix, flashlight, my time sheets…I wondered where those went…, a pocket watch, map of Equestria…ah ha, there they are!”

Trixie watched as Time Turner pulled out a pair of tickets. He handed her one of them, and she looked down. It was a ticket to a concert starring somepony named Octavia set for…this afternoon. So that’s why he was so upbeat about being in Canterlot and…wait a moment.

“Hey, I thought you said you didn’t know where that road went!” she yelled, pointing an accusing hoof at him. Time Turner, who had been busy looking at his ticket, just looked up at her.

“Oh, did I now?…well I didn’t. I did, however, ask directions to Canterlot at that inn we stopped in. Good thing we were on the right track. I’d really hate to waste these tickets after all. I even bought two of them just in case I found someone to go with. How lucky am I to have run into you then?” he said with glee.

Trixie just looked at him for a second before just shaking her head and walking onwards into the crowds, her foal-like companion following right behind.

It had been several days since she met Time Turner and she still couldn’t believe about half the things the brown stallion said. She would go along with his little concert thing for now, but later she would drag him to a location more suitable for herself. As for their destination, the city may have changed, but she still knew where the Performing Arts Centre was. You kind of learned such things after being rejected by them a couple dozen times. And if news travelled as fast as it normally did, she probably wouldn’t even be let in the door at this point. At least they couldn’t reject her as a paying customer. Speaking of which, looking down at the ticket, she didn’t recognize the name of the performer at all.

“So who is this Octavia anyways?” Trixie asked as Time Turner joined beside her.

“A cellist, and a wonderful one at that. She’s one of the few Earth Ponies to ever join the Canterlot Fillyharmonic. Since I do enjoy the occasional classical piece, I figured that a performance by her was something I just had to see.”

“I guess that is kind of…impressive,” Trixie replied, grudgingly admitting the fact.

She knew that non-unicorns had trouble with instruments; magic simply made manipulating them a lot easier. That was a fact, of course, she took full advantage of in her show to humiliate amateur musicians who challenged her to a musical duel. Even with her minimal music experience she could win just by being able to play the music easier while her opponents, distracted by the crowds and her intimidating presence, messed up more. Still, as a fellow performer she had to give credit to this Octavia for getting into such a prestigious group like the Fillyharmonic, handicapped though she was.

Time Turner just looked at her for a moment as if about to say something, but his attention was soon turned towards the building that was looming in the distance. Even with the crowds blocking some of the view, the façade was hard to ignore. Pure white arches, large windows to let in a flood of natural lights, and a large line of ponies waiting to get inside. Just as Trixie was about to join them, she heard Time Turner mumble out a, “This can’t be right…”

“Is something wrong?” she asked, her gaze joining Time Turner’s on the large, framed poster advertising the newest show. Considering their tickets were for Octavia, it was a great surprise that instead the pony on the poster was labeled ‘Mezza Voce.’ For a moment both of them thought they might have just had the wrong day, but a double checking of the ticket confirmed that it was indeed Octavia who was supposed to be performing.

“Meh, it’s not anything to worry about. Performers get replaced all the time. Probably just got sick and couldn’t make it or something,” Trixie said with a shrug. She had been through all that before after all.

“You’re probably right. It’s just I’ve never even heard of this Mezza Voce,” Time Turner said, still glancing between the poster and the ticket as if hoping one of them would change their wording.

“Never heard of Mezza Voce? I say, you two must not be from around here to have never heard of the fastest rising star in all of Canterlot.”

Trixie and Time Turner turned to face the new addition to their conversation. They found themselves facing two unicorns, a couple from the looks of it. The voice had belonged to the stallion, white coated with a slicked back blue mane and matching little mustache. Joining alongside him was a mare, also white coated but with a luxurious light-pink mane. From the looks of the two, the stallion in a black vest and sporting a monocle and the mare looking very well groomed, the two were probably near the top of the elite.

“The name is Fancy Pants, and this here is my wife Fleur de Lis,” Fancy Pants said, pointing to the mare that was currently hanging on him like an accessory and not really paying any attention to them. At the mention of her name, however, she faced them.

“Charmed to meet you my dears,” she added before fixing her glance on Time Turner with a smile, “Especially you…”

“Time Turner. It’s Time Turner my lady. And it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance Fleur, Fancy Pants,” he said, giving a polite bow to the two of them before gesturing towards her, “And this here is my companion…”

“I am capable of introducing myself,” Trixie said, causing Time Turner to back off just a little as she shot him a sideways glare.

“Anyway, I am Trixie,” she finished, ignoring the temptation to add in the ‘Great and Powerful’ to herself. Even after her little burst at Time Turner the night they met, she still didn’t believe herself qualified enough to introduce herself as such. Still, Fancy Pants seemed pleased enough with their introductions, although Fleur was busy giggling to herself for some unknown reason.

“You seem to have quite a bit of spunk in you Trixie, a very useful trait to have. Isn’t that right dear?”

Fleur stopped her little giggle to herself.

“Oh of course it is darling. Always useful when there’s a bit of gossip going around about you,” she said before seemingly getting lost in her own thoughts again.

Trixie simply rolled her eyes. She had seen these kind of mares before in her own time in Canterlot, the space between their ears being mostly air yet attractive enough to catch the fancy of a stallion like, well, Fancy Pants. Ah well, nothing she could do about it…at least nothing she could do without Time Turner probably lecturing her afterwards.

“Now then, may I suggest we keep moving? It seems the crowd is moving forward, and it would be terrible to be late. Would you two care to join us in our private box? It’s almost right above the stage, and away from all the noise of the floor seats of course” Fancy Pants asked as he moved past them towards the entrance, Fleur following behind like a puppy.

“P-private box?” Trixie asked, surprised at the offer. Normally the only way she’d be able to get close to the stage at all was by being on it. And of course she never got to be in a private box, with all the comforts and prestige of one. Her previous dislike of the two disappeared rather quickly when presented with the option.

“Why of course, it’s the only way to truly appreciate the magnificence of Mezza Voce to its fullest extent.” Fancy Pants said, obviously proud of his box.

“And you get such a lovely view of the stage too. Fancy Pants and I just love it, getting comfortable together and enjoying the show. It is such a snug little box,” Fleur said, Fancy Pants blushing a little in response.

“Now, now dear, no need to discuss some of our more…intimate moments with our new friends,” he replied as he calmed down, “So then, shall we?” he said as he gestured towards the stairs.

Trixie of course was fully willing to go. Even if she wasn’t sure about performing again in the future, she knew the advantage of knowing ponies in high places. That advantage was worth it, even if she would have to deal with watching Fleur being all lovey-dovey with Fancy Pants. Time Turner, however, seemed a little more reluctant for some reason, a reason that soon became apparently stupid to her.

“While I appreciate the offer, I really was looking forward to using these tickets and…wait a moment,” Time Turner said, alarmed as his body had the light faint glow of magic around him… the same color as Trixie’s horn.

“Trixie! Put me down right this instance,” he added, flailing a bit as Trixie lifted him up with her telekinesis, dragging him along in the air behind her as she stomped off. She ignored the looks of Fancy Pants, Fleur, and pretty much every other pony in the line as she headed up towards the boxes. There wasn’t even a need to look back in order to guess the look of confusion on Fancy Pants’ face as she heard him say, “Well…I take it that is her way of saying yes for the both of them then.”

Several minutes later, they were all seated rather comfortably in Fancy Pants’ private box. Fancy Pants and Fleur were sitting quite close to each other, with Fleur leaning in rather comfortably on him. Meanwhile, Trixie and Time Turner were busy whispering to themselves in a rather heated argument. About the only part of themselves that was anywhere near the other was their muzzles, if only for the sake of keeping the conversation between the two of them.

“All I’m saying is there was no need to magically drag me here,” Time Turner said, waving the tickets in Trixie’s face, “Besides, I had two perfectly valid tickets for this show.”

“We’re in a private box. That’s way better than some cheap back row…”

“They’re mid-row seats thank you very much,” Time Turner interjected, looking insulted at Trixie’s suggestion he was cheap.

“Mid-row, whatever.” Trixie said, putting a hoof to her head. Whenever Time Turner got like this she got a headache; he could be so aggravating at times. Before she continued on, however, she was interrupted by the sound of applause as the lights dimmed and the curtain opened. At this point there was no reason to keep on about it; the show was on and they couldn’t change seats now.

“And there he is, Canterlot’s newest star,” Fancy Pants said, pointing towards a stallion who was making his way to the center of the stage.

Leaning forward to get a better look, Trixie looked over this supposed wonder. He was a unicorn, much to Time Turner’s disappointment from the slight frown she noticed on his face. His coat was blue, but barely. It was like it was a blue almost on the verge of turning gray, giving it a bit of a silvery look. His mane was a darkened gray, almost kind of like smoke, and every last part of it was slicked back down his neck. Like Fancy Pants, he was wearing a black dress vest with coats, a white puffy shirt underneath it. Levitating behind him was a cello case, so at least Time Turner would get his cello pieces.

“He’s at least dressed the part,” Trixie said, leaning back into her chair. Time Turner was still looking him over, probably still upset he didn’t get his Octavia show. His personality seemed more befitting a foal than a grown pony sometimes.

“Oh he’s more than dressed the part, he’s probably the best cellist in Canterlot right now. No one is really sure where he came from though. He’s kind of secretive about that, but there are theories that,” Fancy Pants said as the applause started to die down.

“Means he probably came from some town in the middle of nowhere or something. But mysterious past sells better so he doesn’t say,” Trixie interrupted. There was a smug smile on her face as she did so; she still enjoyed the chance to knock someone else down a bit. And revealing some of the ‘magic’ behind a performer was one of the best ways to do so.

“Yes, well…the point is that he’s had a very impressive rise to the top. Every pony I’ve heard has had nothing but good things to say about him and…oh look, it seems the show is about to start.”

The sounds of a cello playing were soon filling the air as the audience quieted down. Time Turner had finally sat back down in his seat, his curiosity apparently satisfied. He still seemed a little tense at first, but as the music waxed and waned he seemed to calm down and relax, and even a bit of a smile appeared. The same could be said for Fancy Pants and Fleur, who were cuddling up against each other.

But Trixie just couldn’t help but feel as if there was something just a little bit off about the music. It sounded okay to her, though she wasn’t much of a judge on quality music, but there just seemed something not quite right with this scene. While the music was soft and quiet, almost like a lullaby, there was a slight tingle to the air that she normally only felt when in the middle of an exciting fireworks show or a particularly powerful magical stunt. Poking Time Turner in the side, she whispered over to him.

“Hey, are you feeling anything odd right now?”

Time Turner, who seemed almost half asleep, stumbled back into the realm of the awake,

“Hmmmmm, nope, nothing. But I say, this music is absolutely wonderful don’t you think? It’s so easy to get lost in. Are you enjoying yourself?”

Looking him in the eyes, Trixie saw he seemed a little lost in a daze, which wasn’t exactly abnormal for him. Glancing over at Fancy Pants and Fleur, however, she saw the same dazed look, which she figured was not quite so normal. Still feeling a little unsure about it, Trixie figured to keep quiet for the time being and just enjoy the show. It may have just been her own nerves messing with her or something.

“Yeah, sure. I-It’s quite good,” she said, a nervous smile apparently enough for Time Turner to nod and just drift back into a pleasant state of relaxation. Leaning back in her own seat, she simply looked down at this Mezzo Voce, who continued to play on, that suspicious tingle lingering in the air all the while.

Dreams of a Musician - Part 1.5

Several Hours Later

With no surprise to Trixie, Mezza Voce was given a standing ovation, which was only making the now pounding headache she had even worse. All throughout the show she had sensed that slight tingle in the air, the tingle of magic. Yet, it seemed no one else but her had noticed it. Or if someone else had they weren’t saying anything about it. Such a prolonged exposure to it was now giving her a splitting headache she had only experienced after a really tough practice session for her show. Relief finally came as the show ended, the tingle disappearing about the time Mezza had stopped playing, and the crowds finally died down.

“What a splendid show that was. I cannot wait till his next concert,” Fancy Pants said as he started to stand, “Hopefully it will be rather soo-wooooah.”

As he tried to stand, Fancy Pants found his legs buckling a little before gaining balance. Time Turner and Fleur found themselves in similar positions, though Trixie found herself having no problem outside of her headache.

“I say, I’m feeling rather light headed right now. Ah well, these things happen when one sits down for a prolonged period of time, right?” Time Turner said, his energetic habit of a running mouth returning rather quickly considering he had been in a dazed state. Of course, Trixie figured he probably talked like that in his sleep as well.

“Indeed,” Fancy Pants said as everyone stabilized, Fleur soon taking her usual spot right next to him.

“Oh dear, it seems Trixie got the worse of it. Are you all right deary?” Fleur asked. Trixie simply nodded a yes as she held a hoof to her head.

“I’m fine. I-It’s just a bit of a headache is all,” she replied, seeming to satisfy Fleur’s brief moment of concern before her attention was turned elsewhere.

“Are you sure you’re alright Trixie?” Time Turner asked, placing a comforting hoof on her back before she shook it off. While she appreciated his concern, she just wanted to get out of that concert hall for the time being. All the noise of the audience leaving the hall, while diminishing, still bothered her. Besides, she wanted to get away from there just in case that tingle came back again.

“Yes, I’m fine. I just need to get some fresh air for a bit is all,” Trixie said as she started to make her way out of the box and down the stairs.

“Well, if that’s the case, why don’t the two of you join us at our mansion? We can have dinner in the garden, maybe listen to a few records…” Fancy Pants responded as everyone else started down after her.

“NO!” Trixie yelled before cringing at her own voice as she stopped, “I mean…no thank you. I-I had somewhere else I wanted to go tonight. Remember Time Turner?” she asked, hoping the easily distracted stallion could have listened to her long enough earlier that day to actually catch something about herself.

“Somewhere you wanted to go? I don’t remember…OHHHH, right, the nightclubs,” Time Turner said, Trixie giving a slight smile. So he wasn’t completely useless after all.

“Nightclubs?” Fleur said, head tilting a little in confusion.

“R-right. I used to put on shows in some of the clubs and,” Trixie said before being interrupted by Fleur.

“You put on shows? I didn’t know you were a performer! Oh honey, we must go and see Trixie’s show…whatever it is you do. What kind of show do you put on anyway?”

“I used to put on magic shows, but not anymore,” Trixie replied.

Fleur’s face turned rather disappointed before giving out a sad little, “Oh, that’s too bad.”

“Yes, that is quite the disappointment. I’m sure you would have put on an excellent show, since you were able to get a stage here in Canterlot. I guess you want to visit some of your hold haunts then for nostalgia’s sake?” Fancy Pants asked as the group started moving again. Trixie had to give him some credit; he was cleverer than he looked.

“Yeah, that’s exactly right.”

“Wonderful idea Trixie! Wished you had told me about it a little sooner, but wonderful all the same,” Time Turner responded as they reached the outside of the hall.

It was still daylight out, but sunset would be coming soon enough. The fresh air was helping Trixie out a little bit; at least the throbbing pain was dulled enough she could really think about what was going on. While she would have normally enjoyed the offer of going to eat at a mansion, she needed to get her and Time Turner away from these two so she could discuss the issue of that tingle. Something was going on in there, something with magic that was affecting pony’s minds and gave her an excruciating headache. At the very least she wanted to give Mezza a good buck to the face for the latter problem.

“Well, I’m sorry you’re not accepting the invitation, but I won’t stand in the way of fond memories. Please, feel free to call on us anytime you two like,” Fancy Pants responded as he and Fleur started to part ways with them.

“Thank you for the hospitality. Have a nice evening you two,” Time Turner said, waving them goodbye before turning his attention to Trixie.

“Such a lovely couple those two. Very friendly too," Time Turner said cheerfully before turning to Trixie.

"Now then, why exactly do you have such a bad headache and why couldn’t you tell me in front of those two?” he said, his forelegs firmly planted on her shoulders as he locked eyes with her. His face was missing the normal smile, with the glare and slight frown of a pony in serious thought replacing it.

Trixie simply sighed; she should have known that Time Turner suspected something was going on with her.

“…do you mind if maybe have a drink first?”

Backstage of the Concert Hall

“Oh you were absolutely brilliant sir. The audience loved you, they ate all right up!” said a young, eager colt with a star cutie mark.

“Of course they were. Everpony enjoys the music of the magnificent Mezza Voce,” replied the smoky blue cellist.

The two of them were walking backstage, packing everything up after yet another successful show. Mezza was already finding himself annoyed with this new assistant’s eagerness, but kept him around for the praise. Oh dear Celestia did he love the praise, but should he not? After all, he was the great upcoming star of Canterlot, beloved by all the noble ponies. And yet, he still wanted more.

“But tell me, was she there? Was she as enamored with me as the rest of them?” Mezza asked, packing away his cello in its case.

“Enamored? Sir, she never took her eyes off you for one second during the entire performance!” the colt said, “Not even her companion could steal her attention from you!”

“Excellent, then things are going just the way I want them to,” he said before gazing at a photo that was taped to top of the inside of his cello case. While his assistant finished packing up the rest of the stuff, Mezza Voce muttered to himself.

“Soon we’ll be together again my love. Everypony will know my name, and I will be famous, my music filling every home in Canterlot. And when that day comes, you won’t be able to say no to me ever again. You and I shall dance to the music…forever.”

Dreams of a Musician - Part 2

In a small nightclub in Canterlot

Trixie let out a relieved sigh as she finished off the last bit of her apple cider, the slightly tart taste of the beverage still on her tongue. After getting a chance to sit down and rest in the still relatively empty club, the nighttime crowd thankfully still not exactly out and about, her headache was just about gone.

“Alright now, you’ve had your drink. Please, tell me what is wrong,” Time Turner said as he shifted in his cushioned seat, the small space between the back of the booth and the table looking a little tight for him from where Trixie was sitting. She just giggled a little, face slightly blushing as some of the…other properties of the cider kicked in.

“I never noticed how pudgy you are Time Turner. Maybe you shouldn’t have ordered those hay fries after all,” she said, pointing a hoof at the brown stallion’s stomach, grinning the whole time.

“Wha-Bu-I do a lot of run-I’m not that fat am I? No, wait, don’t answer that, not the time to worry about that matter,” he said, although the glance down at his stomach told Trixie that her companion was apparently a little more concerned than he let on.

“Fine, fine,” Trixie said, putting down her mug before setting her head on her hoofs in thought.

“It all started when we were at the Mezza Voce show. Soon after it began I sensed this slight tingle in the air. I asked you about it actually but, well, you didn’t seem to notice it at all. I think that tingle had to have been…” she said before Time Turner hit the table with his hoof, sitting completely straight up with a grin.

“MAGIC! He was using some kind of magic during the show wasn’t he? Well, magic other than the magic needed to play the instruments but that wouldn’t have caused a magic-induced headache or a tingle in the air. No, it had to be something bigger, a spell filling the whole theatre. But why didn’t I…”

“Sorry to interrupt, but you two wouldn’t happen to be talking about the Mezza Voche concert from this afternoon would you?” a new voice added in, the accent sounding posh and definitely from Canterlot.

Time Turner and Trixie turned their heads to see the newcomer. She had a gray-coat, well kempt and cleaned. Her mane was of the same care and management but black in color, stretching down almost all the way to her flank before curling a little. Her violet eyes were looking at them, although from the slight red look and wideness of them she had been drinking. Most relevant to the conversation, however, was the pink treble cleft cutie mark on her flank and the pink bowtie. Trixie had a guess as to who this pony probably was, but found the coincidence hard to believe.

“Yes, we are. And you would be?” Trixie asked, wanting to test her guess. Before the gray-mare could answer, however, Time Turner decided to be a fancolt and started to shake her hoof with glee.

“You’re Octavia! Earth Pony, cellist for the Canterlot Fillyharmonic, a rare combination indeed. Oh you’re an inspiration you are. I’m Time Turner and this is my companion Trixie. Love your work, and the bowtie might I add. Maybe I should start wearing one…”

“Maybe you should stop trying to rip her arm off first,” Trixie said, rolling her eye at Time Turner as he sheepishly let go and apologized as he returned to his seat.

“I-It was no problem at all. I am always glad to make the acquaintance of a fan, especially ones so enthusiastic. Unfortunately you might be the only fan left since Mezza Voce arrived…but you said you felt something odd at the concert?” Octavia questioned.

“Yes, my companion here apparently sensed magic being used but didn’t say what exactly,” Time Turner replied.

“Because I was interrupted,” Trixie grumbled before speaking loud enough for the others to hear, “I’m still not exactly sure exactly what was happening, but it looked like some form of hypnotism from the dazed looks you all had.”

Octavia’s face turned rather sour, a frown appearing as she looked down at the floor.

“That’s what I was worried about. You see, my friend and I had attended the concert as well. My memory of it is rather fuzzy, but she seemed to have a similar experience as yours. Tingle in the air, headache, dazed looks on all the ponies around her. Vinyl, would you be a dear and come over here?”

Octavia’s attention was turned towards the stage, where a mass of wires and speakers were slowly being put together by a white unicorn with an electric blue mane. At the mention of her name, the unicorn looked up from whatever it was she was doing, although her eyes were hidden by a giant pair of violet-lensed shades.

“Huh? Oh yeah, be right over. Just gotta plug in this…”

The rest of her sentence was cut off by a giant screech, causing all the club’s patrons’ ears to flick back, everypony wincing in pain for several seconds as Vinyl searched out the plug to pull out. Silent once more came, and Trixie, Time Turner, and Octavia just looked back at the pile of electronics, Vinyl just smiling back at them.

“Okay, plugged in the wrong thing. No problem though,” she said, dropping some wire onto the mess of wires behind her as she started walking towards the group. As she arrived, she gave the rest of the group a wave before focusing on Octavia.

“So hey, what’s going on Octy? And who are your new friends?” she said.

Octavia simply sighed at the nickname before replying.

“Apparently you were right about Mezza Voce using magic. According to…Trixie was it?” she pointed a hoof at Trixie, who simply nodded in confirmation.

“Trixie says she was able to feel magic being used as well, and her friend acted the same way that…well, you remember,” she finished, apparently slightly ashamed at being affected by hypnotism like she had been. Vinyl’s face, which had been all smiles up to that point, suddenly took on a more angered look.

“I TOLD you something fishy was going on with that guy. These ears don’t lie; I knew the moment he started that music was way off. So then, when do we go and rough him up a bit?” Vinyl said, acting out some boxing to emphasize the point.

“Vinyl! We are not going to resort to physical violence to resolve this problem and…”

Trixie just stopped paying attention as the two of them started discussing about what were the appropriate measures to deal with Mezza Voce, who Vinly was currently describing in ways not meant for polite company. Glancing over at Time Turner, she caught him looking rather hard at Vinyl’s flank. Even he had a bit of a perverted side it seemed.

“Enjoying the show there T.T.?” She said, resorting to a nickname just for the heck of it, inspired by Vinyl’s use of one to annoy her friend. Time Turner snapped back to attention.

“T.T.? Is that the best nickname you have for me? Anyway, I was not ‘enjoying the show’ as you said, but I wanted to see her cutie mark.”

The arguing stopped for a moment as Vinyl looked over at Time Turner, the hint of red eyes peeking over her shades.

“Hey,it’s cool. There’s no shame in admitting you like what you see, right?”

Trixie noticed Vinyl’s eyes shifted over to Octavia for a moment, who was currently burying her face in her hooves in a manner Trixie was very familiar with after her short time with Time Turner. Speaking of the brown-coated stallion, Trixie had to laugh a little as he shifted around in his seat again as he tried to get away from Vinyl. There was even a slight blush breaking through his coat.

“Uh, yes, well, attractiveness of your rear aside, I was trying to figure out why exactly you and Trixie were immune to whatever it was Mezza was doing. I noticed you had a musical note for a cutie mark, but so does Octavia and Trixie doesn’t so musical affinity isn’t necessarily the key. So!”

With that, Time Turner ducked under the table, reappearing outside the booth a second later as he started pacing the floor.

“What I guess is that, like Trixie said, Mezza was using some kind of hypnotism in order to make everypony enjoy his music more. Now, that explains why Trixie could resist; her talent is in illusions and magic so basic hypnotism probably wouldn’t affect her, correct?” he said, stopping and looking at her.

“Yeah, I know some hypnotism but,” Trixie started before being interrupted.

“Exactly, but that doesn’t explain Vinyl’s resistance. She has magic of course, but so did Fancy Pants and Fleur and they were still affected,” Time Turner said as he continued his pacing.

“Did you say Fancy Pants and Fleur?” Octavia interrupted.

“Yes, we joined them at the concert. Is there something important about that?” Time Turner asked, looking intently at Octavia. She shrunk back from the look a little before letting out a, “No, I guess not.” Time Turner didn’t look convinced, but he kept going.

“Right then, so we know it’s not exactly magic that protects you, it’s magic related to whatever he is doing to hypnotize ponies. With that in mind then, I had to see what Vinyl’s cutie mark was, and it’s a musical note! Combine it with what she said about being able to hear that the music was way off mark, it’s obvious her talent relates to music, correct?”

“Buck yeah, I’m Vinyl Scratch! Best DJ in all of Equestria!” Vinyl said with a nod, very proud of her self-proclaimed position.

“Fantastic! Just as I was expecting. So then, what do we have in all; magic, illusions, and music. Put that all together and that means…”

Everyone just looked at him, waiting for him to finish his sentence. When he just kept looking at them all, Trixie realized he wanted them to work it all out. That seemed like something he would do. It was completely impossible for him to give a straight answer wasn’t it? Before she could work it all out, however, Octavia spoke first.

“It means Mezza Voce is using a sound based hypnotism skill, sort of like the Pied Piper of Hooflin in that fairytale,” Octavia said, looking down at the ground and sighing.

“Exactly…and I get the feeling you know a thing or two about why he’s doing it don’t you Octavia?” Time Turner said as his excited tone disappeared. He was now looking at her softly, but there was just a slight hint of a glare as well in his eyes. It was as if he was trying to be friendly and comforting while also being an interrogator.

“Yes, I think I do. In fact, I believe I know exactly who Mezza Voce is…”

In Mezza Voce’s Home

“It is quite the honor to have you grace my home this evening,” Mezza Voce said as he started to pour two glasses of wine.

“Oh, please, no need to flatter me Mr. Voce. After you sent me that record of yours with that invitation, I just had to come,” a female voice said.

“I am glad to hear that. I’m quite nervous about this record. It is my first one after all. It was a bit of a gamble sending it to you first, but I am quite glad to see it worked out rather well,” Mezza Voce replied as he turned to face his guests, the two glasses of wine precariously balanced on his back.

“Please, let me help you with that my dear.”

The two glasses were enveloped in a white, slightly pink tinted glow as they were levitated onto the small table that stood between two couches. Mezza Voce made his way onto on, lying down comfortable as he gazed over the form of his companion, a small grin coming to his face as she continued to talk, praising his “genius talent” and “artistic wonderment”. Everything was going just as he dreamed it would.

“It pleases me to no end to receive such praise from such a lovely mare as yourself. If it is no bother, do you mind if I put on the record? I so love to see the reaction of my fans face to face,” he said, getting up again as he took the record over to the record player.

“No need to ask. In fact I..I was going to ask if you wouldn’t mind giving me a private performance. Just a little one?”

While his face was turned away, Mezza could already sense the look of hope and longing in her eyes as she waited for him to play a song. It brought him back to his younger days, back when he was in the Conservatory. He remembered how he would sneak out at night to her home, sitting just below her window with his cello, using his magic to ensure that only she could hear his songs made just for her. But those days were long gone…but if everything worked out right he would have them again.

“It would be no trouble at all, my dear Fleur.”

“I had suspected it before, when I saw the posters, but knowing that he is using some kind of hypnotism confirms it for me,” Octavia started as she sat down in the booth next to Trixie, Vinyl sitting across with Time Turner.

“You see, when I was in the Celestial Conservatory, there was this unicorn in the year below me that the whole school was talking about. His name was Intermedio, or at least that was what he called himself. He was decent enough musician; not exactly a Beethoofen but competent enough. But he had a particular talent for weaving magic through sound waves. Every note he played could be enchanted with illusions or spells, and each piece had its own special effect to it. A soothing song was the perfect lullaby, a fast piece the perfect dance music. But the best was when he would play an epic piece, using his magic to create illusions that made you feel as if the music was dancing in the air in front of you, consuming all your senses at once. It was quite a wonderful experience to behold.”

Time Turner nodded, a slight smile on his face. Trixie imagined that he would probably want to see that in action, although she was slightly less impressed. Such illusions were standard in her own tricks, although to give the stallion some credit she couldn’t do it with sound waves so hers were probably a little off beat. Also, she had to compensate with fireworks to get the epic feeling. Not that it really mattered to the average pony anyway; a good fireworks show was more than enough to create some awe in most ponies.

“But unfortunately he was expelled from the conservatory his first year there,” Octavia continued, “Apparently, he had been caught sneaking out to visit the daughter of one of the patrons of the school.”

“Well, that seems like quite a harsh punishment for some late night romance,” Time Turner replied. Before Octavia could respond, Trixie interrupted.

“Let me guess; turns out Intermedio was from insignificant little town and daddy didn’t want his daughter falling in love with a no-one?” Trixie said rather dryly. She had heard enough gossip in her time in Canterlot to know such things happened quite often in this town.

“No, that just got him barred from ever leaving campus again and everyone finding out he was really named Violino Strings. Turns out he was from some small town on the outskirts of White Tail Woods and his family made strings for instruments. Respectable enough, but not for a Canterlot aristocrat. No, what got him expelled was his attempt to kidnap the mare’s next stallionfriend.”

“Oh now that is a much more serious offense. But tell me, then, who was this stallion?” Time Turner replied, although Trixie could tell from the look of worry on his face that he probably figured it out already. She also had an idea in her mind whom it was, remembering Octavia’s surprise at the mention of two certain ponies.

“…Fancy Pants,” Octavia replied. Time Turner nodded again, and asked one more question.

“And who was the mare that he had fallen in love with?”

“…Fleur di Lis,” Octavia finished.

Everyone got silent for a moment, taking in all the information. Even Trixie was quiet for a moment. She and Time Turner had just met the two earlier that day, and now it seems they have a connection to the hypnotizing musician. But what was the point then of hypnotizing a crowd into liking your music? How did that do anything about a past love?

“Well, there you two go. Octavia got screwed out of her show because somepony couldn’t take no for an answer. And can you believe that he even has a record deal coming up? Someone please tell me why we can’t go and just pound it out of him?” Vinyl replied, throwing her forelegs up in the air in frustration before coming back down across her chest in a huff of annoyance.

“You already almost sent me to jail once Vinyl and I would prefer to not have that experience again,” Octavia replied.

“Wait a moment, say that again. Not the jail stuff but the part about the record deal,” Time Turner added in, a slight grin coming to his face. Trixie raised an eyebrow, wondering why that was an issue when her own mind started thinking over everything again.

“The dude’s getting a record deal, and they all go on sale tonight. Bet you everywhere we go we’ll hear his music. Maybe I should just go and take my turntable and drop some wubs all over town or in his face or something !””

Trixie ignored Vinyl’s continued pleads to just go beat up Mezza, or Violino, or whatever his name was, and kept thinking. He was a pony that could meld magic into sound waves, create illusions and hypnotize ponies, and had a record deal. Just how did all of that fit together….oh, no, that couldn’t be it, could it?

“Trixie, you’re frowning a little. I take it you’ve worked out what’s going on haven’t you?” Time Turner said, his smile absolutely beaming now. Octavia and Vinyl just looked at the two of them, confused.

“Yeah, I think I know what’s going on, and it’s not good. Not good at all,” Trixie replied. Mezza Voce on his own could make a concert hall of ponies like his music, which alone was pretty skillful. But if he had the entire city playing his songs…

“Yeah, it’s horrifying. Brilliant, but horrifying. If every song he plays has a different effect, and his music is being played all over Canterlot then…let’s go.”

Before even finishing his thought Time Turner had jumped onto the table, onto the floor, and was heading out the door. Trixie did the same, leaving Octavia and Vinyl behind for a moment. It didn’t take long before she could hear the sounds of two more ponies running behind her

“Hey, what is going on?” Octavia yelled.

“I have no idea really, but if this entire city is playing Mezza’s records, then in theory he should be able to amplify his hypnotism powers exponentially and be able to do things well beyond simply making his music sound better,” Time Turner explained as he turned a corner. For her poking fun at him for being pudgy, Trixie found that Time Turner seemed to be in pretty decent shape. He didn’t sound out of breath or anything at all.

“Yeah…and what are we going to do…about it,” Trixie said in between pants.

“No idea yet, but I bet it’ll be absolutely fantastic! Now then, off to meet Mezza Voce in person!” Time Turner exclaimed. It didn’t seem to bother Trixie that they actually didn’t know where he lived; she was just enjoying this too much to care right now. Speaking of someone enjoying it…

“All right! I knew you all would see it my way. Now let’s go and show this dude what’s up Vinyl Scratch style!”

Dreams of a Musician - Part 3

“So to make it perfectly clear then, we are completely lost,” Trixie said with a huff. Time Turner simply gave a weak smile as he started looking at their surroundings, Octavia and Vinyl joining in with Trixie at staring at the brown Earth Pony.

“Eh, well, I wouldn’t say we’re necessarily lost. We are simply in-route to our destination and in need of readjustment,” he replied.

“In other words, we are completely lost,” Octavia said, her voice completely deadpan as she sat down on the ground, obviously tired from what was supposed to be a heroic charge to battle.

“Oh fine, if you want to see it in a negative light. Yes, we are completely lost. It’s not my fault I actually don’t know where Mezza Voce lives,” Time Turner replied, his face now looking downward as if there was something really interesting in the ground.

To be fair, Trixie did realize they actually didn’t know that information, but she had continued following after him, figuring that Time Turner might have known more than he let on. After all, he had seemed pretty knowledgeable about the workings of Mezza’s spell, or at least had a plausible theory as to how it worked. To her total lack of amazement, however, it seemed the stallion was in fact as completely scatterbrained and impulsive as she had thought he was, the rare moment of brilliance aside. At least he had succeeded in bringing them to a rather posh looking part of the city. While the various houses were still not up to par with the luxurious mansions of the real social elite, the various gardens and golden decorations showed their residents as being of wealthier status than the average pony. Based on how Octavia had described him, there was a good chance Mezza would probably be living in the area to flaunt his new found wealth and fame to compensate for his less than noble history.

“I say we just start banging on these doors and ask until somepony tells us where he is. Or hey, just give me a few minutes and I can get a whole sound system rigged up and we can just ask everyone at once,” Vinly said, her body unable to seemingly stand still as if she was ready to fight.

“For once Vinyl I believe you might have had a good idea. Not the sound system part as I’m sure that is in violation of several Canterlot ordinances, but asking around might at least give us some kind of lead,” Octavia replied, her tone being a lot calmer than her companion was.

“Right, fantastic idea. So then, let’s split up and cover more ground. Octavia and Vinyl, you go that way, Trixie will go that way, and I will go some other way,” Time Turner said, pointing in what amounted to random directions as far as Trixie was concerned. She was tempted to ask why he was going by himself, but figured she would just leave him alone to his impulsiveness this time. Besides, she needed a break from him; ever since they had met he had been stuck to her like glue. Or maybe it was the other way around…

“Hear that Octy, just gonna be you and me all alone,” Vinyl said as she put a leg around the now blushing Octavia’s back, the comment breaking Trixie out of her thoughts.

“V-Vinyl, you do remember we are in the middle of something. There will be time for that sort of thing later,” Octavia replied as she slid out from Vinyl’s grasp before walking off in the direction Time Turner had assigned them.

“Beh, killjoy,” Vinyl replied, secretly sticking her tongue out at Octavia before following after her.

“If you find anything, use your magic or something to send a signal!” Time Turner yelled out to them, apparently oblivious to what had just occurred before turning his attention to Trixie.

“So, anyway, I’ll see you in a bit. Behave yourself if you can,” Time Turner said with a smile, Trixie just looking him.

“You are telling me to behave? I’m afraid if I left you alone the next thing I’ll see is you being chased by the Royal Guards or something,” Trixie responded. Time Turner’s eyes widened.

“Trixie, I am absolutely shocked you would accuse me of that…besides that only happened once and it was resolved very quickly,” he replied, his voice cracking just a little as if he was lacking the confidence to really guarantee he would behave.

Trixie just rolled her eyes, “Just try to not make any more trouble for me.”

“I would never dream of it Trixie,” Time Turner said, matching Trixie’s smile before turning off in a different direction, “Anyway, musician to find, city to save, and possible mare in trouble. Let’s be off then,” he finished, running off down a street to begin his part of the search. As Trixie watched him run, she couldn’t help but smile, just a little bit. Catching herself, however, she shook her head and just mumbled.

“Right, sure thing…you lunatic.”

Half an hour later

“Ugggggh, everypony here is completely useless!” Trixie said, kicking a random rock in the road in frustration.

So far it seemed absolutely no one knew where Mezza Voce had lived, although they all kept talking about how wonderful he was and how they couldn’t wait to play his new record that was coming out soom. Her attempts to try and convince them to cancel the order fell flat.

She still wasn’t sure why exactly why she was doing all this though. Right now she could easily just run off and let Mezza do whatever it was he wanted to do. She didn’t owe Octavia or Vinyl anything, and she definitely didn’t owe Time Turner anything. Besides, he was a complete annoyance, always having a goofy grin on his face, always spacing out, or wandering off somewhere, his eyes always lighted up and bright as if he was still a foal . Yet here she was still following him, helping him trying to stop some crazy love-struck unicorn who couldn’t take no for an answer. As much as she hated to admit it though, there was something about him that was a little endearing about him, but she wasn’t sure what. She especially didn’t know why she smiled watching him run off into the night, that cheesy old grin plastered over his face. Who exactly was this Time Turner?

“Excuse me madame, but I hear that you’re trying to find the home of a Mezza Voce? I may be of some assistance.”

Trixie’s thoughts were interrupted by the voice of a stallion, the accent sounding Canterlotian but having just a slight bit of the accent she heard when she was in Trottingham once. Turning around, she spotted the stallion standing by a street light, leaning against it as he looked at her with a sly little smile. He had a very finely style blonde mane and tail, his coat a dark blue, and the only clothing a bowtie and collar. But there was two things that caught her attention in particular; the hourglass cutie mark on his flank that reminded her of Time Turner’s, and his amber eyes. They were alive with light, sort of like Time Turner’s, but just looking at them she could tell it was…different. For Time Turner, it was like looking at a sun; warm and inviting and filled with life. This stallion’s eyes, however, were like a raging brushfire; chaotic and destructive, as if he was ready to consume everything in sight if he could. Under his gaze, she couldn’t help but be a little bit fearful.

“U-uh yeah, I needed to talk to him about…about teaming up with him for a show! I’m an entertainer, the-the Great and Powerful Trixie!” she replied, rearing back on her hooves with a smile of fake confidence. She just stood there for a second as the stallion looked over her.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie hmmm? Actually, I believe I have heard of you. You were in Ponyville recently weren’t you? Heard you had quite the performance.”

At that Trixie’s eyes widened, lowering herself back to the ground before taking a few steps back. Apparently word had started getting around about her after all.

“So-so you know about the…” she started to ask, but he interrupted.

“Oh, don’t worry about it; I’m the only one here in Canterlot who knows about the Ursa Minor. After all, who cares about some backwards little place like Ponyville? But enough about that, I guess I should be polite and introduce myself, since you have already done so.”

Rising off the lamppost, the stallion approached Trixie, who was still eyeing him rather nervously as he walked up to her.

“The name is Clock Keeper, Lord Clock Keeper if you don’t mind,” he said, giving a slight bow.

“N-nice to meet you. So, uhm…you said you know where Mezza Voce lives?” Trixie asked, hoping to shift the topic of conversation away from herself.

“Oh, right…well I know the reason you stated is a complete fabrication, but if you were to do a favor for me I might be willing to offer the information. You see, there was some gossip earlier today about a pony like you attending the concert with Fancy Pants and Fleur as well as a brown Earth Pony with an hourglass cutie mark. I would like you to deliver this letter to him,” he said as he pulled a letter out of his collar.

“I’m not a mailmare,” Trixie replied, although her horn glowed with magic as she took the letter.

“And yet you’re taking the letter. I guess you’ve grown quite attached to Time Turner haven’t you?” he said. Even though his expression didn’t change at all, Trixie couldn’t help but feel as if that grin just became more sinister towards her.

“I-I’m just travelling with him for a bit is all. Better than walking around without any money or a wagon,” she yelled at him. All Clockwork did was laugh a little before responding.

“Whatever you say Trixie. As for Mezza Voce, his home is located just down this street. You won’t be able to miss it; has a statue of himself located in the front gardens. Apparently fame has brought with it an ego. It is rather unfortunate that you all are going to deal with him; those records of his are absolutely brilliant pieces of magical technology.”

Before Trixie could say anything, she could hear the sounds of dogs barking in the distance, and the click-clacking of hooves running on stone.

“And that is my cue to leave it seems. I would suggest that if you want to stop Mezza Voce, you better get moving. After all, the clock is ticking.”

“Trixiiiiieeee! Could you please help me with these dogs here!”

Hearing the sound of Time Turner yelling, Trixie’s attention was drawn away for a moment. When she looked back, Clock Keeper was gone. Looking at where he had been standing, her mind felt uneasy, and her stomach felt like it was all knotted up. The sight of Time Turner being chased down the streets, however, was more than enough to get her mind off the strange pony and back into the endless world of annoyance it seemed she had found herself in by being with him.

“I thought I told you to behave,” Trixie said as she conjured up a storm cloud, lightning striking the spot between Time Turner’s rear and the dogs ready to pounce on him. Startled, the dogs ran off, finally giving Time Turner a chance to plop onto the ground and catch his breath.

“Make a note…that I now…and forever…hate dogs,” Time Turner said as he caught his breath.

“Do I even want to know what happened?” Trixie asked, just glad that he wasn’t being chased by Royal Guards like she was half-expecting.

“Some ponies…apparently don’t appreciate….being asked questions by strangers….during dinnertime…and the stranger won’t leave,” he replied as he started to get back onto his hooves.

“So then, I heard you talking to somepony. Did you find out where Mezza lives?”

“Oh, right, yeah I did. He’s just down the street it seems, statue of himself in the yard,” Trixie said as she pointed down the road.

“And the letter?” he asked, his eyes drawn to the still floating in the air letter.

“Oh, uhm, the stallion asked me to give it to you. Said his name was Lord Clock Keeper or something. Kind of had the same cutie mark as you did…” Trixie replied. For a split second Time Turner’s face turned into that serious look he got when he was lecturing ponies, but his happy grin returned. It was only half there though, as if it was being put on just for her sake.

“Oh, well I guess I’ll read it later then. Just put it in the saddlebag and alert the others would you?” he replied, Trixie complying and putting it in the saddlebag before shooting up a single firework to serve as a flare for Octavia and Vinyl to find them.

“Fantastic! Now then I believe it’s time to close the curtain on Mezza Voce’s career,” Time Turner said, his smile seeming a little more genuine after saying the cheesy one-liner. She would normally mock such a line, but just this once she would let him have it.

Dreams of a Musician - Part 4: Finale

In the quiet of the night, the only sounds that could be heard on the Mezza Voce estate was that of the rustling of bushes and the occasional grumble from the four ponies attempting to navigate through them. The loudest of such grumbling, however, came from Trixie, who was in the best position of all to complain as she crouched behind Time Turner as he looked out towards the mansion.

“So this was your master plan then, hiding in some bushes?” Trixie whispered, poking the brown stallion in the back as he moved back into the bushes.

“Well you really didn’t think I was going to just go running in right through the front door now did you?” the Earth Pony said, his head going back out to observe.

“I still don’t get why not? I mean it’s four of us against one dude. We’d be able to beat down that door and take him down no problem with those odds,” Vinyl complained, squished between Trixie on one side and Octavia on the other.

“Vinyl, I’m sure Time Turner here would prefer to not resort to violence as a first resort for dealing with this situation and would prefer something more…diplomatic I presume,” Octavia said, her position being right in the rear, using some of the extra space to try and remain dignified in sitting. Her attempts, however, were quickly put to dust as Time Turner’s return into the bush prompted several branches to whack her in the face.

“Uhm, well, I was more concerned about him possibly hypnotizing you and me and making us battle the two of them, but that’s quite the excellent reason as well my dear,” he replied, Trixie and Octavia shooting him a condescending glare.

“I’m sorry but I’ve already been hit by Trixie’s thunder once and that’s good enough for me thank you very much. Have you ever struck yourself with your lightning before Trixie? Tis a very painful experience,” he replied, Trixie just sighing as she put a hoof to her face in shame.

“Yes, well, that matter aside, just what is it that you have been looking at? Is something going on?” Octavia responded, her attempts to try and push through to see thwarted by the inconvenience of Vinyl and Trixie’s presence.

“Actually, there is something happening, something very worrisome. It seems that Mezza Voce has invited Fleur over for some reason. I can’t hear any music, but there is a record player in the room, and Fleur is looking rather giddy. Could be using some of his music to hypnotize her into being a little more compliant…”

“Or maybe Fleur is acting a little bit naughty hmm? What you’re calling giddy I call being drunk off her flank,” Vinyl said with a small, little laugh as Octavia shoved her a little on the side.

“Vinyl, that’s hardly an appropriate thing to say about one of the most respected socialites in Canterlot.”

“Hey, I’ve DJ-ed quite a number of those fancy garden parties. You’d faint from the shock of seeing how wild some of those prim and proper ponies get. Like this one time when Jet Set and Upper Crust had a couple shots and then dived right into the swimming pool and started…”

“While I’m sure your stories of debauchery are quite thrilling, we do have more important issues at hand,” Octavia replied, Vinyl responding with just sticking her tongue out. Trixie was quite glad to have the whole thing over and done with. Still, sitting in a bush doing ‘recon’ was not what she had expected, and she was finding it very hard to continue to just sit with branches poking her all over for much longer.

“So are we just going to sit here and gossip all night then, or are we actually going to do something about this pony? Cause I don’t plan on sitting in a bush for the rest of the evening thank you very much.”

Time Turner took another look out of the bush before turning to everyone. His serious face was back, although Trixie could sense there was also a slight twinge of a smile in the corner of his mouth; the thrill seeking loony. At the same time, however, she couldn’t help but feel a slight rush of adrenaline herself. Sure it wasn’t the same rush she felt when she got on stage, but she still felt jumpy and ready to go…oh she hoped that Time Turner wasn’t starting to rub off on her. Travelling around Equestria was fine, but she had no desire to start making a habit out of this. Heroics were not her ‘thing’, regardless if she didn’t really have a ‘thing’ now that her stage career was over.

“Well, you have a point there Trixie. So then, I guess our only option then is to politely walk up and knock on the front door then. Who wants the honor?”

Several seconds later

The door to the Mezza Voce mansion was blown straight off its hinges, raising quite the racket as it slammed into the ground. Trixie’s horn, a moment ago glowing with power, started to dull as she walked in, the rest of the group following in right behind her.

“I thought I said politely knock on the door. It was quite a lovely door too. It didn’t deserve that fate,” Time Turner said with a sigh as he looked down at the door.

“It did cross my mind, but I figured this would get our point across a lot better,” Trixie replied, a smug smile across her face.

“Well I should have expected that I suppose. You are a show pony after all, always got to have the dramatic entrance and what not…” Time Turner replied.

“Unfortunately for you all, that dramatic entrance just happened to be on my property. I should have the Royal Guards come and…ahhhh, Octavia, I should have known you’d be showing up here soon. And you brought some friends.”

At the sound of the voice, everyone’s attention was drawn towards the smoky-blue stallion and the whitened mare hanging onto him. Not surprisingly, Mezza had quite the scowl on his face, with Fleur just looking at them rather confused for a second before gasping and smiling as if she had received a pleasant surprise.

“Oh hello there Time Turner, Trixie. It is so nice to see you again. Did you invite them over dear? Oh they are such lovely company those two.”

“Ah yes, hello again Fleur. Looking lovely as usual,” Time Turner replied, giving her a little wave before the collective tension of the moment forced him to back down. Trixie couldn’t believe how even in a moment like this his first reaction was so casual and relaxed. Right now she was standing on edge, her horn slightly glowing with magic as if she was ready to cast a spell this instant. For a brief moment there was a standstill, interrupted only as Octavia stepped forward with a scowl on her face matched only by Mezza’s.

“Enough games Mezza. We know who you are and…”

Octavia’s speech was interrupted as she winced before bringing a hoof to her head. It was a motion soon followed by Time Turner, and Trixie was beginning to feel an ache in her head as well. The sound of the cello was faint but present; if they wanted to deal with Mezza they were going to need to deal with him before the music took full effect. Mezza simply stood there with a smile, moving only to point towards the stairs for a brief second.

“Is that so? Fleur dear, would you mind going upstairs for a bit as I entertain my guests for a moment. There is a record player upstairs if you want to listen to another record.”

“I’ll have to take you up on that offer then. It was a pleasure seeing you two again,” Fleur said, curtsying to Time Turner and Trixie before starting up the stairs. Trixie began casting a spell to block her, but her own magic was interrupted by Mezza’s as Fleur faded into the hallway. Soon the sound of a second record player could be faintly heard from upstairs. Remembering what Time Turner had theorized about multiple record players serving as a tool to amplify his power, Trixie figured that this whole scene just became a lot more dangerous.

“Now now, it would be rude to keep Miss Fleur from enjoying herself now wouldn’t it. Come, the parlor is a little more respectable for hosting guests than the hallway,” Mezza responded as he headed towards the room they had been able to see from the outside. Octavia and Time Turner soon started to follow, but Trixie and Vinyl blocked the path.

“Come on, you gotta resist this two-bit talentless hack,” Vinyl whispered to Octavia.

“Yes, I know, but I can’t help it. It’s like the music is burrowing inside my head. No matter how much I try to block it out, it just owwwwww,” Octavia hissed as she put her hoof to her head again, this time almost collapsing but saved by Vinyl.

Meanwhile, Trixie was focusing on Time Turner, who didn’t seem to be in a much better position. While he wasn’t almost collapsing, his closed eyes and gritting teeth was enough to let Trixie know that he was under just as much pressure as Octavia was right now.

“Vinyl, Trixie, each record player he plays amplifies the power of the other ones. Since we’re actively trying to resist, we could handle one, but two gahhhh,” Time Turner cried out in pain as Trixie grabbed ahold of him to prop him up, but she was pushed back by him.

“Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. As long as you and Vinyl are finnsssssss,” he hissed.

“Y-yeah, we’re both fine. I can feel the magic pressing on my mind, and I’m getting a really killer headache, but I think I can focus on getting the record player in the parlor destroyed,” Trixie responded before being joined by Vinyl.

“It’s just like doing some DJ-ing in the middle of a hangover. Just leave it to me you three,” Vinyl responded. She sounded confident, but Trixie could see from Vinyl’s wincing at her own speech that her head was in terrible pain as well.

“Oh come on now my guests, it is rude to keep your host waiting,” Mezza’s voice called out. As if obeying a master, Octavia and Time Turner made steps forward.. With no real choice now, Trixie and Vinyl followed. Stepping into the parlor, Trixie had to step back as her jaw dropped and heart started pounding faster and faster in fear.

“No, that’s…that’s just not fair.”

Vinyl, coming in right behind her, responded in her more usual manner.

“Oh for Celestia’s sake!”

Sitting on the sofa was Mezza, eyes closed a devilish smile on his face as his hoofs swung in the air to the beat of the music playing. Surrounding him, however?

“Aww, I see you noticed my small collection of record players. Fortunately this isn’t all of them, but I do believe that having about five of them gives you the feeling as if you were in the concert hall, a full orchestra playing.”

Trixie started to power up her horn, ready to blow them all away with a blast of lightning, but the sound of “Tsk tsk” and magic coming from Mezza’s horn, centered right on the needles of all the players, caused her to freeze.

“Now now, you already broke my door, do you really want to add in damaging my antique record players to your lists of crimes today? Why don’t you just relax a little, enjoy some more music. I’ll just turn it up a little more and…”

A third record player was now starting, and even Trixie was finding it hard to keep her conscious thoughts running as the magic drilled into her brain. Glancing over at Time Turner and Octavia, she looked in horror as the two of them collapsed onto the ground. It was obvious that their fight against the music was lost. As Time Turner went down, he was able to say one last thing.

“I’m sorry Trixie, I’m so sorry…”

“D-don’t worry about it you complete loony,” Trixie said towards the now sleeping body of the Earth Pony. Glancing towards Mezza, who was giggling to himself in joy at the scene, Trixie felt several emotions. She was scared for her life; she simply wanted to run away and leave this whole mess behind. Alongside that fear, however, was anger, anger at the pony who was hurting her…acquaintance, and of course hurting her. Her glancing turned into glaring, and the glaring was soon joined by the glowing of her horn as her head started to feel as if a herd of buffalo was migrating through it. Beside her she could sense Vinyl’s magic joining her own. If Mezza wanted a fight, he was going to get…

“Oh, are you two trying some spells again. You do realize I have about another, oh, three record players to turn on?”

The instant the needles fell onto the records, Trixie’s mind broke as if a boulder had come smashing down onto it. Her spell disappeared instantly, and even what little magic she could perform was being used to try and purge her mind of his spell. So far all that could do was barely keep her conscious. Beside her she see Vinyl collapsing after a few seconds of continuing to struggle. That left only her, the Weak and Powerless Trixie, on the floor and the mercy of this stallion, to beat him. With every last bit of her willpower dedicated to keeping conscious against the ever increasing crescendo of the records, all she could do was look as Mezza’s hooves filled her vision.

“Hmm, still conscious are you? I do have to say that I am very impressed by the willpower to accomplish such a feat. In fact, I’m going to be a little merciful. After all, I do have a few questions to ask…,”

Trixie’s mind soon felt slightly relieved as one of the records stopped, but she winced in pain Mezza using his magic to levitate her head up so she could face him.

“So let’s get started, shall we? Why don’t you tell me what it is that you all had hoped to accomplish coming here?”

“We…we were going to stop you from releasing your record…” Trixie replied, Mezza raising an eyebrow.

“Oh, was that all? You were going to stop a professional businessman from releasing a product? Oooh how blueclass worker that is,” he said with a laugh, causing a shot of pain in Trixie’s head.

“G-give it up Violino. We know you are planning on hypnotizing the city of Canterlot, how you were kicked out of the conservatory when you were younger for a fling with Fleur and…”

Mezza’s giddy mood quickly turned sour as his grin turned into a frown. His magic disappeared, causing Trixie’s head to smash into the ground. In her current state, she might as well have just fell out of Cloudsdale; it felt about what she thought such a feat would feel like.

“So what, you believe then that all of this is a plan to get back at the world for that injustice? That I plan on hypnotizing all the elites of Canterlot into loving me and my music and to worship me in order to get revenge for those dark days of my life?”

Trixie gave a slight nod.

“Hmm, fair enough. I had actually thought of that plan, but what would be the point of the fame if I still didn’t have the one thing I truly wanted?”

Trixie opened an eye and looked up at Mezza Voce, who was glancing over at the stairs.

“Let me guess, Fleur?”

Mezza’s grin returned.

“Exactly.”

“But she’s married to Fancy Pants,” Trixie responded, causing Mezza’s mood to turn sour again.

“A minor inconvenience, but one that will be rectified soon enough. For you see, and I bet you’ve figured this out already, each record dramatically increases the ability of my hypnotic songs. When a pony is willing to do something, one player is all that is needed for your everyday behaviors.”

At this Mezza turned his back on Trixie, walking over to the record players as he continued to talk.

“That is why concert crowds are so easy to manipulate into liking my music. They are there to enjoy music and relax, and so they willingly succumb to the music and afterwards feel as if I’m absolutely brilliant.”

Trixie glanced around, trying to figure out what to do, what she could work with. Glancing over at Time Turner, she found herself wishing he was awake. That crazy mind of his would have been useful in thinking outside the box right now…hold on a moment.

“But when faced with a suggestion that they disagree with, ponies become resistant, and such resistance simply gives them a headache. It takes more magic and music to get them to either comply or simply faint from the pain like your friends, but I can only play so many instruments at once you know.”

Trixie’s eyes were focused on Time Turner’s saddlebag, him falling just the right way that she could slip something out of it. Focusing on it, and her mind feeling as if it was splitting open, she began to dig through. There were those stupid play tickets again, the flashlight…and his time sheets. Well, hopefully he had already submitted those because they were going to a more noble cause now. Slipping one of them out, she kept an eye on Mezza as he kept talking.

“So I delved into research on enchantment, and eventually found a way to place my hypnotic spell into the vinyl so that any music recorded on it could be used to place ponies under my spell.”

With the time sheet free, Trixie began to burn a message onto the paper with pure magical energy, slightly annoyed about the lack of pens in his bag. He could carry around time sheets and pocket-watches, but Celestia forbid he has something as useful as a pen. Moving as careful as she could with the greatest headache of all time, trying to avoid tipping off Mezza with the smell of burning paper, Trixie began to write “Please come down.”

“With that power at my hooves, I wondered just how far could it go? So I began to make records and purchasing record players, to see just what I could make ponies do. Oh the laughs I had as I used the records to make the elite of Canterlot do the silliest of things. But the concept proven, I moved onto the next challenge,” Mezza continued as he moved to look out the window, “Filling every home with my records, hundreds of them playing nonstop around the city.”

With the message just about burnt, Trixie could sense Vinyl stirring beside her. The smell of the burning paper had been drifting into her nose, which was recoiling at the smell. For a brief moment mare’s eyes opened, but were closed again as the pain returned.

“Vinyl, come on, try and use your magic to help me levitate this note upstairs,” Trixie whispered. With Vinyl helping, it would put less strain on her mind. By herself, Trixie doubted that she could get the message even halfway up the stairs.

“But my heeeeeeaaaadddd,” Vinyl whined.

“Can you even imagine what possibilities exist if an entire city played my music? Well, I could, I could so very easily. No pony would be able to resist it; I would have the power of a god over them. And with it I could do more than make them love my music, I could make them love me! So tomorrow, with all the city playing my songs, Fleur shall be…”

Trixie froze as she heard Mezza become silent, and watched in despair as he turned around and glanced down at her and the awakened Vinyl…and the paper.

“Oh, trying and send a message for help. Here, let me…oops,” he said with a mocking laugh as he burnt the paper with magic.

“I’m sorry you two, but there isn’t any hope for you all. Your friends are knocked out, Fleur is acting like a giddy schoolfilly upstairs, and I am a simple kick in your face away from knocking you out. So what gives you any hope of winning?”

“Because I can help them.”

Mezza, Trixie, and Vinyl shifted their heads, the latter two barely, towards the sound of Fleur, who was standing at the bottom of the stairs. Her horn was blazing with magical energy even as her long, thin legs wobbled beneath her.

“F-Fleur my dear, I thought I told you to wait upstairs while I entertained the guests.” Mezza replied, nervously backing up towards the records.

“I was getting tired of waiting and wished to come down and join in the company when I saw....this happening.”

“I-I was simply dealing with these intruders. Come now, relax, enjoy some wine while I have the Royal Guards…”

“What did you mean about my marriage to Fancy Pants being an inconvenience?” Fleur said, taking a weak step forward. She was suffering from the same battle with the music that Trixie and Vinyl were, but something was keeping her moving forward. Whatever it was, Trixie was just glad that somepony was finally making Mezza back off long enough to give her a slight respite to get her mind together.

“N-nothing at all Fleur, it’s nothing you should be worried about. Just relax and enjoy your evening tonight, and tomorrow we’ll…” Mezza replied as he tried to put another record on. His magic was intercepted, however, by the white-colored power of Fleur’s as it snapped the record in half.

“And what, Violino, were you going to do tomorrow?,” Fleur said, taking another step forward as Mezza, whose face was starting to look a little bit pale, bumped into one of the record players.

“A-absolutely nothing. I was just…”

“Were you going to try and force me to love you Violino? Do you honestly believe that your magic could overwhelm love itself?”

“N-no, but that shouldn’t be a problem! After all you don’t really love Fancy Pants, it’s me you love! Remember those nights! Remember…”

Mezza quickly found his mouth shut tight by the force of Fleur’s magic, which was now forcefully breaking down the record players one by one. As the pressure faded from her mind, Trixie found her headache dulling, even if it was still a feeling that could only be described as waking up after drinking an entire barrel of Sweet Apple Acres Cider…Trixie still shuddered at the thought of that particular challenge. Vinyl was starting to find her legs as well, though Trixie was still concerned that Octavia and Time Turner were still out.

“It’s true, at some point I was rather fond of you, and after my father forced us apart I felt like my world was destroyed. Even with Fancy Pants entering my life I felt a fondness for you, but as time went on I began to see how kind and loving Fancy Pants was towards not just the elite like me but everypony. You always had a problem with ‘mingling with the commoners’, but I always brushed it off as just overcompensating for your background. But after we were separated, when you tried to use your magic to break us apart, to kidnap him and make him disappear, I knew that you were nothing more than a selfish, uncaring brute”

Mezza’s horn glowed as he removed the spell keeping him silent. His eyes glared at Fleur, his eyes burning with anger as he yelled.

“All lies! You love me! You will love me! I command you to love me!”

As he finished, his horn glowed with a massive burst of energy. The records had stopped, but the burst of magic was aimed right at Fleur, who was taken aback at the sudden surge of power from Mezza. Mind clearing, Trixie took a stand and added her own magic to the mix with a classic bit; a small, little cloud right behind Mezza…

“If music won’t work, I’ll just take you over directly. It might take every last bit of energy I have, but I don’t care. You will love me even if….ow!”

A small lightning bolt struck Mezza on the flank, and the temporary distraction was enough for Fleur’s magic to finally overpower him. He was sent stumbling into the record players, smashing them all onto the ground as he collapsed down onto the ground.

“I’m sorry Violino, but you can’t command love as if it was something that belonged to you and you alone. Love can only be given to you willingly, and I have given all of mine to Fancy Pants,” Fleur responded, her magic fading as she finally found herself collapsing onto the ground tired.

As Fleur talked, Trixie watched as Vinyl started making her way towards the still conscious Violino, whose legs were all caught up in the shattered remains of his beloved records. It didn’t take a genius to realize what the electric-blue haired pony was planning.

“But-but I was…”

“Look, we don’t care. Goodnight,” Vinyl said as she whacked the stallion right in his smoky-blue face, finally putting him to rest.

“See, I told you all we needed to do was give him a good beating,” Vinyl said, giving an exhausted grin as Fleur and Trixie just laughed.

Dreams of a Musician-Epilogue/Coming Soon

A Half-Hour Later

“Fleur! Fleur! My dear Fleur, are you alright? Did Violino hurt you in anyway?” Fancy Pants yelled as he ran towards his beloved Fleur, who was had been talking to the Royal Guard but immediately ran to embrace him.

“My darling Fancy Pants!” she cried as she began to gently nuzzle him as he put his forelegs around her neck, “I’m so sorry, but I couldn’t help but come over once I heard his music, and it made me so happy to hear him play, but then I heard what he wanted to do and I just…”

“Don’t worry my dear, it’s all over and you’re safe. I thank Celestia that all that happened to you was that you got a little giddy.”

The two continued to embrace as the barely conscious Violino was being dragged away to be taken to the dungeons to await trial. As he was brought past them, Fancy Pants looked up, anger in his eyes for a as he stopped the guards and turned his attention to Violino.

“You sir threatened my wife, attacked my newest acquaintances, and have insulted the good name of music by using unfair hypnotic means to improve yourself. It is fully in my right at this moment to give you a good smacking, though I have been told that the blue-haired mare has already done so.”

Violino, conscious enough to recognize who it was that was speaking, glared for a moment before just breaking down again and decided to just look down at the ground. Fancy Pants looked at him with a scowl for a moment longer before it began to soften up into a smile.

“However, instead, I figure that a pony in your position is more in need of something else, and so with that in mind I would like to say that you sir are…forgiven.”

At that second Violino’s head shot up faster than lightning, confusion plastered all over his face as he mumbled out a series of “Why?”s. Fleur, walking up beside Fancy Pants, spoke up in his place.

“It’d be easy to be mad at you, and for a while we will probably remain mad. But we truly hope that having some time to reflect on your actions will make you a better pony, and maybe someday you can put your hatred of Fancy Pants aside and we can all be friends.”

Before Violino could say anything, his mouth dropped down in a stunned silence, the Royal Guards began to drag him away.

Over by one of the fountains, Trixie and Time Turner simply watched the scene unfold. Trixie’s headache had dulled quite well, in no small part due to the assistance of some of the nurse-unicorns that had come to the scene. When she got the chance she needed to learn some of their healing spells; they could be very useful out on the road. For now, however, she simply watched with confusion as Fleur and Fancy Pants declared their forgiveness of Violino.

“Why in the world would they do that? He wanted to break them apart and steal her away, if not outright hurt them if he didn’t get his way,” Trixie said, sitting down on the grass as Time Turner continued standing.

“Because there’s no point in remaining mad at him. He’s beaten now and he can’t hurt them so what is there to gain by hating him? The only thing that would happen is that they would waste their time and effort on something that, in the end, is only going to hurt them, eat them up inside until they, well, become like him.”

Trixie looked up at her companion for a moment, not really sure what to make of what he had said.

“Do you really believe that? Do you not hate anything?”

“Well, I have a particular dislike of pears, always get upset when they lose my luggage at the train station, and other small things that we tend to use the phrase ‘I hate’ to describe. But there is a big difference between that and truly hating something. Of the latter of the two I have to say that yes, there are some things that I hate. Cruelty, despair, unrequited love, but most of all, the thing that I hate most of all…wasted potential,” he replied with a smile as he looked over at Trixie.

In that moment her mind went to all the things that she figured she hated, or at least she believed she did. Those who mocked her, those who laughed at her, those who believed she was nothing, and then, the biggest of them all, Twilight Sparkle. But listening to Time Turner talk, she wondered just what it was that she was really hating when she thought of those things, and she thought back to the night she met Time Turner. She had already given up hating them all by then, and instead she had begun to hate…had she begun to instead hate herself?

“Is something the matter Trixie? You’ve started crying a little?” Time Turner said as he sat down beside her.

“N-no, I’m fine. My head still just hurts a little is all. See? Owwww,” Trixie said as she faked some pain and putting her hoof to her head. Glancing over at Time Turner, it seemed that he didn’t buy it, but before he could say anything Octavia and Vinyl were walking over to them.

“Thank you two for helping to put Mezza Voce, or should I say Violino Strings, away. I’ve received word from Fancy Pants that I have been rebooked to play at the concert hall again next week, free to anyone who had tickets for me originally. Although he has said that you two are always welcome to join him in his private box if you would prefer.” Octavia said.

“Ooooor, you can come on down to the club right now and get some celebration party started!” Vinyl added, punching the air with her hoof in excitement.

“How you are able to even think of DJ-ing after the immense headache we just suffered I simply do not understand…and don’t say you’ve played after hangovers before because we both know this was a completely different situation,” Octavia replied, interrupting Vinyl as she tried to say something else.

“Anyway, you two are always welcome to come to either of our professional venues, free of charge. And it would be our pleasure to host you two should you ever need a place to stay in Canterlot…although I would highly recommend you stay at my home as Vinyl has issues with keeping her place clean.”

“Hey, I threw out that blue mold this weekend thank you miss prim and proper.”

“My point proven; fridges are not supposed to have blue mold at any point of their lifetime.”

Before the two of them could get started on a fight of some sort about this ‘mold incident’, Time Turner coughed and interrupted.

“Thank you two for the generous offers. If you don’t mind, could we take you up on it right now? I had originally planned to be back on the road earlier today but, well, seems that Trixie and I will have to instead depart in the morning.”

“Depart to where? I thought we were going to be in Canterlot for a few days,” Trixie replied, pointing an accusatory hoof at Time Turner.

“Well I just wanted to come for the concert and then head off to the next destination….whatever that may be. Hadn’t really planned it yet.”

Trixie just looked at him with a glare for a few seconds before Octavia and Vinyl mentioned that they heard their laundry calling and that they would meet up with them in a few moments to show them the way to Octavia’s house. For a moment Trixie just kept looking at Time Turner, who smiled weakly at her. When she finally spoke, it was rather monotone.

“So you just planned on coming to Canterlot, see a show, and then leave with no plans at all.”

“I-I like to make things up as I go. It’s more fun that way.”

Trixie’s face softened up for a moment, her thoughts drifting back to her earlier question about whether she hated everypony or hated herself. If Time Turner had no plans, then maybe she could try and solve that problem, and she knew exactly the place to go, and it wasn’t Ponyville. That was just the last of a long line of symptoms; she needed to go back to the source, back to where it all started for her.

“So then, you wouldn’t mind if I made the suggestion for our next location.”

“No, I guess I wouldn’t. Tell me Trixie, where would you like to go?” he replied, his nervous smile turning into one twitching with excitement. She couldn’t help but catch it as well, her own scowl getting a slight little smile to it, but the nervous flittering in her stomach warned her what she was about to ask could possibly be the most daring task she had ever taken on herself.

“I want to go to home”

==========

Next Time On Magic Wands and Hourglasses
*The scene opens on a hill, panning outwards as a giant circus tent and wagons fill the valley below*
Time Turner
“So you grew up in the circus?”

Trixie
“For all practical purposes, yes.”

*Scene changes to a filly Trixie standing on a stage, horn glowing as she struggles to lift a ball, a middle-aged white stallion in a top hat and tuxedo coat standing in the background*

“It’s where I learned my magic.”

*Scene changes to filly Trixie playing with several other foals*

“It’s where I made my first friends.”

*Scene changes to a slightly older Trixie standing on stage, cards spilled all over the ground and rabbits escaping from hats as ponies laugh at her*

“It’s where I first felt the stinging bitterness of being mocked.”

*The scene rapidly shifts to the face of an angry Trixie stomping off as the incoherent yellings of the older stallion are heard in the distance*

“But the most important thing is…”

*Scene shifts again to Trixie standing on stage, dressed in a purple-and-star studded cape and hat, and it’s dark. Trixie has a spellbook on the ground and is concentrating hard as her horn glows brilliantly*

“That this is the place that I suffered…”

*The flashback Trixie gasps in awe as fireworks shoot out of her horn, but her joy quickly turns to horror as she loses control and the fireworks begin to light the stage on fire*

“The worst night of my entire life.”

*Scene shows Trixie and Time Turner standing in a trailer filled with magic supplies, the middle-aged stallion from the flashbacks is there but older, a gentle smile on his face as Trixie slowly walks up to him again*

Sleight O’Hooves*
“My dear Trixie, it is good to see you again.”

*Trixie looks up at him, tears forming in her eyes

Trixie
“I-I’ve missed you…and I’m sorry.”

”Sleight O’Hooves
“And I’m sorry too…but you need to leave now.”

*Scene changes to Time Turner peeking through a door as a green glow suddenly flashes, Time Turner’s eyes grow wide in fear*

Time Turner
“Oh, now that cannot be good!”

*Scene returns to Trixie, Time Turner, and Sleight O’Hooves*

Trixie
“Bu-but why?”

Sleight O’Hooves
“Because…”

*Scene changes to the middle of the circus tent, an Earth Pony with a black tophat, golden vest, and red coat stands tall, shouting out at the adoring crowds of ponies as the spotlight falls on him*

Big Top
“Mares and Gentlecolts, welcome one and all to the greatest show in Equestria! Remember, your happiness is our happiness, so please stomp your hooves together as loudly as you can.”

*the scene zooms in on Big Top’s golden eyes as he finishes speaking, which start to turn light blue and become more insect-like as the screen darkens.”

Sleight O’Hooves
“…This place isn’t your home anymore”

Magic Wands and Hourglasses
The Greatest Show

==========

Midnight In Canterlot

As Trixie slept on the bed on the other side of the room, Time Turner pulled out the envelope his companion had handed him earlier in that evening from his saddlebag. His heart felt like it was stopped as he dragged the simple white envelope from its resting place. This was the moment he had dreaded the entire night; facing down Mezza Voce was easy compared to reading this simple note. Well, of course it was kind of an easy comparison to make. After all, he had been knocked out for most of the fight, and he would find some way to make it up to Trixie for his failure. If she wanted to go home, he would make sure she got to no matter what happened to him. Gulping, he flipped over the letter, his eyes glued to it with the focus and intent he only gave towards the most serious crimes against his morality.

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock, Tick Tock Goes The Clock
I heard that you found yourself a new companion my dear Time Turner, and she’s quite the interesting one too. Oh I bet you’ll both have a lot of fun, but at some point the clock will strike midnight and the fairytale will end. I’ll be sure to meet you then.
-CK

Crumbling up the note, Time Turner threw it to the ground in anger. Every time it seemed, every time he finally found someone to share his adventures with he had to get involved. Why couldn’t the lunatic just let him be? The past was the past, why hadn’t he learned to get over what had happened and move on?

Looking over at the sleeping figure of Trixie, his eyes softened but still filled with frustration, Time Turner was tempted to sneak out and leave her…but he couldn’t do it. He just. Couldn’t. Do it. She needed him; she needed someone who believed in her and her wonderful and brilliant magic. And, while he would probably never admit it, he needed her. If left alone, Time Turner feared that he would become like Clock Keeper, like Violino, or like any of the other ponies he had met that lived lives filled with anger and despair. If this was all to end once and for all, he was going to have to have her by his side, and all he could do was hope that she would forgive him…

The Greatest Show - Part I

Several Years Earlier

“Next up is…Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie, would you please come in?”

From the waiting room Trixie could hear the sounds of a rather bored-sounding mare calling for her from the next room. Normally she would have been a bit more concerned about it, but right now her little-filly heart was pounding with excitement as she leaped off her chair and galloped towards the door. Never in her life did she think she would have actually gotten a chance to take the entrance exam for Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. Smile beaming, she stood in the center of the room, staring up at the older ponies assembled to judge her. Over by the side of the room she could see her parents watching her, smiling and waving at her in encouragement.

Not that she felt like she needed it of course. After all, she was Trixie; a silly little exam wasn’t going to stop her from proving she was the most magical unicorn that ever lived…or at least that she was going to become that unicorn.

One of the stallions, dressed in a green plaid shirt and sporting a black bow tie, looked up from his clipboard at her. Her stomach felt like there were a hundred butterflies fluttering inside, but she felt like she could take on anything that they could throw at her.

“Alright now Trixie, are you ready to start?” said the yellow mare with a poofy purple mane. Trixie gave a confident nod in response.

A moment later another stallion entered the room with a cart that had an egg of some sort nested in it. Tilting her head, she looked back up at the judges. She wanted to ask just what exactly did they want her to do with this egg, but the look of boredom on their faces was starting to scare her. Was this something she was already supposed to know what to do? Glancing back at the egg, she saw that there was a little sign on the cart; it had two arrows on it with the egg broken in half and a dragon drawn. So what, they wanted her to hatch a dragon egg? Was that even possible?

Still, Trixie was not going to let these judges, who were already looked as if they would rather be elsewhere, get the best of her. Taking a deep breath, she concentrated all she could on the egg. Based on that picture, she figured she needed to wiggle it or something to make it hatch. With all her effort she strained to get her magic out, but yet it felt like there was something blocking it. She could feel her magic flowing in her, and her horn even sparked a few times, but it just wasn’t working.

Taking a break, she looked at the egg again and found it hadn’t even moved an inch. Fearfully, she looked back up at the judges, who seemed more interested in the clocks than anything else. Looking at the egg again, Trixie tried to think what had gone wrong. She was concentrating on her target, she was imagining the egg wiggling, and she was drawing forth the magic from inside her. Maybe she just wasn’t working on hard enough? Or maybe dragon eggs blocked magic? No, that couldn’t be it; why make a filly show off their magic on something that could have magic used on it?

For the next minute or so Trixie did everything she could to get the egg to move even an inch, jumping around every which way she could in hopes that maybe it was just an angle issue or something. There had to be something that worked!

“Trixie?”

Trixie ignored the voice of a stallion and kept at the egg, trying to get something, anything to work.

“Trixie”

Again she ignored the stallion’s voice eyes closed as she started to cry. Why wasn’t her magic working? Why couldn’t she make the stupid egg move?

“Trixie!”

The Present Day

“Please, just give me one more minute! I can do this!” Trixie said with a pleading whimper as she felt somepony shaking her gently, the oh so familiar to her sounds of a creaking, wooden cart in the background. Brought back to reality from her dream, Trixie slowly opened her eyes to find herself looking at the concerned face of Time Turner.

“Are you alright? You sounded like you were having a nightmare,” he asked as he took his hooves off of her. Trixie, her eyes still partially closed from the adjustment to the sunlight and mind still groggy from sleep, pushed him back.

“Don’t worry I’m fine. It was just a dream after all,” she replied curtly as she sat up. At this moment she didn’t feel like telling him it was more than just a dream; it was a memory. It had been years since she had thought about that day when she failed the exam for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. For a young filly who dreamed of magic, such a blow was absolutely devastating. She had thought that she had gotten over that failure, but the events of the last few days had gotten her thinking about how she got to where she was now. Speaking of wondering where she was…

“So where in Equestria are we now Time Turner? You better have not decided to make a detour while I was napping again,” she asked.

“Ohhh, come on now, you know you loved Neighagra Falls,” Time Turner said with a grin as he laid down on the bottom of the cart. Relaxed and carefree as ever it seemed.

“I so enjoyed having to stop you from trying to ride down the falls in a barrel,” Trixie replied with a roll of her eyes, “But really, are we still heading…”

“Towards The Big Top Circus, formerly known as the Harness and Hay-Bale Circus until the duo was replaced due to investor concerns after a mysterious fire partially destroyed the circus?” Time Turner asked, head nodding a way that just reeked of smugness, “Why of course we are. After all, you said you wanted to go there. Although I do wonder why you want to go so badly. I thought you wanted to go home?”

“Because…”

“And we have arrived at your destination,” the stallion pulling the cart said, interrupting Trixie, as the cart jolted to a stop.

Turning around, Trixie was met with the sprawling site of the circus in the valley below. Wagons and carts of every shape, size, and color were all over the area, with a small cluster of them signifying the living area for the performers. The rest of the wagons were surrounded by ponies, all probably watching whatever acts were being performed. There were also plenty of stalls around the area, filled with carnival food and games. The big draw of the scene, of course, was the giant red and white circus tent right in the center of things; the big top. And of course there was the sound of the fairground organ very quickly digging itself into her mind; she always found that peppy little tune a little annoying*. Her lack of amusement at the thought was soon doubled as she heard Time Turner humming it behind her until a polite cough from her got him to stop.

“Well, I can see why you wanted to come here so badly. This seems like quite the top-notch circus. I feel like I’m having fun just looking at it,” Time Turner said as he began to disembark from the cart.

“Yeah, this place was always considered one of the best,” Trixie said as she followed suit, remembering to levitate some bits towards the driver to pay for the ride while Time Turner took in the sights.

“But I’m guessing you wanted to come here for more than candied apples and clowns, right?”

“It’s just like I said; I wanted to come home and, well…”

Trixie stayed silent for a moment as she let the implication run through Time Turner’s mind. Seeing the look of confusion to the sudden burst of understanding, and the slight “Oooooooh,” sound gave her a satisfied grin.

“So you grew up in the circus?” Time Turner asked, apparently amazed that the fun and games behind him had been her childhood home…sort of.

“For all practical purposes, yes,” she said as she started walking down hill towards the circus.

“I mean I grew up in a normal home when I was really little, but then I came here. It’s where I learned my magic, made my first friends, and…”

Trixie got quiet for a moment, remembering some of the other events that had happened to her when she lived here, the events that led to her having to leave. While she knew she would probably tell Time Turner about it someday, right now she didn’t feel like talking to him about it. First, she had to sort out her own feelings.

“And you know, other parts of growing up and what not,” she said with a smile, hoping to diffuse any suspicion that Time Turner had about her hiding something. It probably didn’t work, seeing as he was still kind of looking at her oddly, but as he didn’t say anything she figured he was ignoring it for now and moving on.

“So you grew up in a circus eh? But why, of all places, would you come here to learn magic? Surely someone of your talent would have gotten into Celestia’s…”

Trixie just glared at Time Turner, who once again got that face of realization before shutting up. She already had that memory drudged up once; she didn’t feel like revisiting it again…but her glare broke and she gave out a heavy sigh. Even if she couldn’t tell him everything, he deserved to hear part of it.

“Yes, I failed to get into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns. But after I failed…”

Several Years Earlier

Trixie sat in the chair at the little café, the fur around her eyes wet with tears after having to be dragged out of the exam room after her failure. As it had gotten late and the ride home would be long, her parents had decided to stop by and get something to eat first. They said she could have anything she wanted to try and cheer her up, but right now she didn’t want anything to eat at all. All she wanted to do was sit in that chairs of her and pout, to be left alone by everypony else. She didn’t deserve to get special treated or anything anyways; she failed her exam. She was just a loser, and losers weren’t supposed to get special treats.

Her depressed state aside, however, she still appreciated that her parents had brought her to this little café. Apparently there was a magician performing tonight, and while right now she felt like she hated the word magic, at the same time she felt oddly comforted by the idea of watching someone else. Just for this one moment she could be the judge, not the pony being judged. Yeah, that’s what she could do; she could just point out all the things this magician did wrong and make him fail an exam to. Was it petty? Probably, but she didn’t care right now. She just wanted to be mean to somepony else and make her feel a little better about herself.

At that moment the lights went down to signify the start of the show. Trixie asked if she could sit up front. Her parents, still treading lightly around her, said yes.She made her way to the front of the crowd and sat down right in front of the stage. Getting comfortable, she got ready to start booing at the mare or stallion when all of a sudden there was this giant flash of light that almost blinded her poor filly eyes. Once she was able to see again, her jaw dropped in awe as she watched the show in front of her. The giant flash of light had broken into dozens of streams of light, twisting and turning in the air in every color of the rainbow she could think of. It was if she was watching a fireworks show and a ballet all at once. All the whizzing about of the light started to get faster and faster, and the lights closer and closer, until finally they became another flash of light.

“Good evening mares and gentlecoats. Tonight you are all about to go on a journey into realms you never dreamed of, to see feats never before seen by pony eyes, and to experience the unknown. And for all of this I, Sleigh O’Hooves, shall be your guide. So welcome to the show.”

The light dissipated, and in its place stood a stallion, dressed in a black tuxedo with two long coattails and a matching black top hat. He had a brilliant white coat that contrasted rather nicely with his attire. On his flank was his cutie mark; a simple black-stick and white tip magic wand imposed over playing cards.

By this point any sense of wanting to boo or tell off the stallion was gone, replaced instead with sheer wonderment at the performance. She had read all the magic books, and while she didn’t quite grasp or remember everything, she knew the mechanics well enough. Not once in those books did she even think that she could ever do something like this stallion had just done. While the streams of light might have been gone from the stage, she felt as if they were still there, twirling around in her mind’s eye as her actual eyes began sparkling.

“For my first trick, I am going to need an assistant,” he said, hooves everywhere going up but none more rapid than Trixie’s. As if sensing her enthusiasm, the stallion’s attention landed directly on her.

“How about you my dear? Would you like to come onstage and help me with some tricks?” he said with a smile that made her instantly forget about the bored, dreary face of the exam proctors.

“Oh yes yes yes yes yes!” Trixie said as she ran around to the stairs and onto the stage

The Present

“And so what happened next?” Time Turner asked, so enthralled in the story that the apparently didn’t realize they had made their way into the circus.

“I ended up assisting him throughout the entire night. Turns out my parents had asked him about it before the show, thinking that maybe getting to help him out might cheer me up,” Trixie replied, smiling rather sincerely as her mind lingered on the good memory from that night.

“Well it sounds like they had the right idea alright, what with you ending up running around saying yes a million times over. You sounded like an absolutely adorable filly,” Time Turner said with a laugh.

“Oh shut up,” Trixie said, blushing a little at the comment in embarrassment, “But yeah, I was pretty excited that night. But if you think I was adorable then, you should have seen me at the end of the show with my brand new cutie mark,” Trixie said, giving her own small laugh at the idea. Her poor parents weren’t able to get a wink of sleep the entire ride home that night as she kept them up with all her talk about becoming a show pony and going to Las Pegasus and becoming a famous magician.

“So how exactly did you end up living at the circus then?” Time Turner asked. It was fair enough; her story really hadn’t answered that question yet.

“Well, it turned out that Sleight O’Hooves was part of the Harness and Hay-Bale Circus; he was just performing that night to make some extra money during the off season. I guess my enthusiasm made an impression on him because a few days later he visited my house and offered to take me on as an apprentice,” Trixie replied.

“I take it your parents didn’t really have the choice of saying no now did they?” Time Turner said with a sly smile on his face.

“Why of course not; I wasn’t going to let something as silly as parental permission stop me from taking that kind of opportunity, especially if Celestia’s School didn’t want me. So they really had no choice but to let me go, at least during the touring season,” Trixie responded, her chest puffed out and a smug smile on her face showing she had pride in forcing her parents to obey her whims.

“So then, since we’re here then, why don’t we stop by and visit your old master then? “ Time Turner asked, stopping in his path as he pointed at a sign advertising ‘The Magnificent Sleight O’Hooves.’ Based on the times on the board, he wasn’t in show right now and was probably in his trailer.

“I-I don’t know if that’s the best idea right now. I mean, he’s probably busy and…” Trixie said, glancing around for something else to point out and distract Time Turner. It had been ages since she had seen him, and she still felt shame for having run away from him and everything else at the circus that night. But maybe after all this time she could finally face him, the mentor she had let down…

“Nonsense Trixie. I bet it’s been years since you’ve seen him, and I can also bet you everything in my bag that he’ll put aside anything to see you again after all this time,” Time Turner said, pointing a hoof at her to emphasis his point. Trixie saw that he had his serious face on, staring at her in one of those ‘you got to do this right now’ kind of looks. There was no point arguing with him when he was in this state, so she was forced to relent. Besides, Sleight may be the only pony in the world right now she felt would be able to help her clear her mind of all its trouble. After all, he had helped her gain her cutie mark, and as her mentor he had been the closest thing to a true friend she had in her entire life.

“Fine, we’ll go and say hi.”

Several Minutes Later

“Hello, Mr. O’Hooves? You have a visitor,” Time Turner said as he knocked on the door to the trailer. Trixie had found she was too nervous to do so, and he gladly took up the task himself. After a moment of silence the sound of a lock being undone was heard. Taking a deep breath, Trixie watched as the door opened and the face of her master, wrinkled a little but still the one she remembered, appeared.

“Yes, who is…..Trixie?!” he said, eyes widened in surprise as his voice started to break upon saying her name. There was an awkward second between her looking at him starting to tear up a little and her actually responding.

“H-hello Sleight…” she said. Time Turner, she was surprised to find, was quiet during this entire moment between her and her former master. Apparently he did have a bit more tact than she gave him credit for. As the silence continued, however, he finally spoke up.

“So then Mr. O’Hooves, do you mind if we come in? The name is Time Turner by the way, friend of Trixie’s.”

Trixie watched as O’Hooves looked over at him and then back at her. She was scared for a moment as it seemed as if he was debating the subject. Was it possible that after all this time he did not wish to see her? Her fears were not completely removed when he finally agreed, but upon taking up the stairs and into his trailer, nostalgic memories soon replaced the fear.

Everywhere she looked she saw his props and tools, and she could remember helping him and learning how each and every one of them worked. The box for sawing ponies in half, cards spilled all over the place, metal rings, a couple of smoke bombs on the desk, fireworks. While she had been unsure about it before now, she was starting to accept the idea that Time Turner was right about coming to see Sleight O’Hooves again.

“My dear Trixie, it is good to see you again,” he said, bringing her attention back to him, a smile on his face that quivered a little as if he was troubled. But that was okay, right? He might have just been nervous after talking with his pupil after all these years, especially one who had run away one night and never returned.
She started to walk up towards him, still not completely sure of how to proceed. But her heart was pounding with adrenaline, and surrounded by all these memories, she wanted to simply just run to him and give him a hug and just get everything over with.

“I-I’ve missed you…and I’m sorry,” she replied, tears starting to form as she started lifting a hoof to hug him. Even if Time Turner was standing behind her with a smile on his face, meaning this was going to be a major embarrassment for her, she was ready to talk with O’Hooves about why she had left that night. Before she could say anything, however…

“And I’m sorry too...”

Wait, what did he have to be sorry for? He hadn’t done anything wrong; she was the one at fault.

“But you need to leave now,” he said, the warm smile gone and instead replaced with a cold glare. She backed off, still holding back tears but feeling like her heart had just stopped.

“Bu-but why?” she asked, hoping that maybe she was mistaking his reaction; maybe he had to get ready for a show. He had always been rather serious about no one interrupting him when he was getting ready for a show. That had to be it, not after all this time. He wouldn’t just…

“Because this place isn’t your home anymore,” he said as coldly as his last statement, “You have no reason to be here so get out.”
Her mouth opened for a moment as if to say something, but then she decided not to. If he wanted her to leave, then that was fine with her. So what if she had looked up to him as a mentor, or that watching his show had inspired her cutie mark in magic? He was just some two-bit magic act in a cheap circus. She could move on, no problem. She already did it once so why couldn’t she just do it again?

“F-fine, if that’s the way you feel then I…then I…goodbye!”

With that Trixie ran out of the trailer, ignoring the cry of Time Turner to come back. His obnoxious goofiness wasn’t going to help her right now. She had hoped that seeing Sleight would give her a chance to sort things out, to finally deal with her past like she should have done. But instead he had rejected her, rejected her like everypony else once they saw how weak she was. All she had right now in her mind were these thoughts, whether true or not didn’t matter to her. It fit what she was feeling right now, the same feeling she had on the roads of Ponyville and on the night she ran away from home; despair.

The Greatest Show - Part II

Time Turner stood and watched as the events unfolded in front of him. In his mind it all seemed like a perfectly dandy idea; bring Trixie and her old mentor together for a touching reunion, help her remind her why she got into performing in the first place and all that. If that didn’t lift her spirits and help her realize her potential, why, he couldn’t think of anything else that would do the trick. It took some pushing on his part to convince Trixie (oh she was always so stubborn) to do so. But when Sleight O’Hooves opened the door, surprised and a slight break in his voice that Time Turner thought was a good sign, things seemed to go perfectly to plan. The fact that everything was going so smoothly should have been a warning to him as he stood in the back corner and watched.

“My dear Trixie, it is good to see you again,” Sleight said.

Simple enough of a statement but a good way to start the conversation Time Turner thought, noticing the slight quiver on the smile but silently hoping it was just a passing twitch.

“I-I’ve missed you…and I’m sorry,” Trixie continued the conversation.

It was always interesting to him to was watch Trixie in one of her rare moments of being vulnerable; he hadn’t seen her so shaken up since the night he met her. As proud and arrogant as she acted, and as much snark she threw at him on at a rate about once a minute, she was just as wanting of the same things all ponies wanted; love, attention, and acceptance.

His mind briefly wondered about what it was that she could be sorry for, but he soon buried it for later. Whatever the reason, it was probably something private between Trixie and her mentor. There would be plenty of times for questions later after all this was…

“And I’m sorry too…but you need to leave now.”

Time Turner’s thoughts were interrupted by the sudden reversal of Sleight O’Hooves demeanor, and he found himself frozen with eyes wide as he watched Trixie begin to breakdown again. What in the name of Celestia and all that was sunny was going on here?! Too shocked to really say anything, he watched as Trixie expressed the same confusion and anger that he was starting to feel. How dare he treat Trixie like that!

“Bu-but why?”

“Because this place isn’t your home anymore. You have no reason to be here so get out.”

What in all of Equestria did that mean? Even if Trixie didn’t live here anymore that didn’t mean she shouldn’t come by and say hi. Just what was it that Sleight O’Hooves was trying to play here. Before he could start getting suspicious, however, Time Turner was now having to face a panicking and crying Trixie backing up towards the door. Oh no, she wasn’t about to..

“F-fine, if that’s the way you feel then I…then I…goodbye!”

“Trixie wait a moment!” Time Turner yelled out as Trixie bolted out of the door. Even with the brief glimpse he got of her he could tell that she had started crying. Glancing at the door, he was about to step out when he glanced back at Sleight, he had turned his back towards his desk as if nothing had happened at all. Head going back and forth between the outside and Sleight, Time Turner was split on what to do. Trixie was obviously devastated, but Sleight’s behavior was suspicious; something was going on here and he had to figure out what, for Trixie’s sake. But still, would it really be a good idea to leave Trixie alone in a state like she was.

Taking a deep breath, Time Turner figured he would let her be on her own for a bit. There was probably nothing he could do to help her right now anyway. Besides, she was a lot stronger than she gave herself credit; she would pull through eventually. So for right now, he had to give this unicorn a piece of his mind.

“You there, Mr. O’Hooves. How DARE you go and treat Trixie, your former apprentice like that,” Time Turner yelled as he stomped towards the magician.

“Oh, Mr. Turner was it? You’re still here. I thought I told you to get out,” Sleight replied, not even bothering to turn his head towards him.

“I am NOT going to leave Mr. O’Hooves. You and I need to talk. Now.”

Teeth grinding, Time Turner was about to pull on the pony’s jacket when he felt something wrap around his leg. Looking down, he spotted some tied-together hoovekerchiefs making its way across the floor. Before he could react, he found them jumping straight at him and tied around his mouth.

“You really need to learn to be quiet Mr. Turner, and to leave when a pony asks you to leave,” Sleight replied as he turned around.

Time Turner glared at him for a second before opening his mouth wide open, getting just enough space that the hoovekerchiefs loosened up and began fell comfortably into his mouth like a bit.

“Unfortunately for you, if there is one thing that I am good at it is talking,” Time Turner replied, a slightly smug smile only partially ruined by the brightly rainbow pieces of cloth around his head.

“Now then, I want you to explain to me what just happened right now and why you treated my dear friend, YOUR apprentice, like trash.”

“I already told you Mr. Turner, she has no place here and it best for her to leave. I would suggest the same to you before…”

Sleight’s statement was interrupted by the sudden opening of the door, and the arrival of a new pony onto the scene. Time Turner, turning his head slightly to see, found himself looking at a rather disturbing looking pony. The basic shape of the pony looked like any other pony, but the facial features all just seemed perfectly…average. It was as if he was looking at a simple clone. Now, on its own that wouldn’t have been so creepy, except that the average look was buried underneath white face paint, the mouth emphasized with red paint, and the eyes surrounded by black. Outfit wise the pony wasn’t much better, wearing a silvery suit with darker-silver diamonds and a white ruffle around the neck. And topping it all off was a silver pointed cap on top of the slicked, black mane. In short, it was a clown, and while he never really disliked clowns, seeing this one gave him a good impression on why so many ponies did.

“Are you having a problem Sleight O’Hooves?” the clown pony said, head tilting while looking at Time Turner, “Would you like me to escort this stallion out of your trailer?”

Time Turner turned towards Sleight, who looked visibly nervous but was doing his best to hold his reserve. So then, whatever was going on here involved these clowns. Well, that was a good place to start as any. Before Sleight could respond, Time Turner did.

“Actually, I was about to leave, if Mr. O’Hooves will kindly remove these hoovekerchiefs.”

“Oh, yes, very well then,” Sleight responded as his horn glowed, the cloth finally free from Time Turner’s mouth. And not a moment too soon; he was starting to fear all he would be able to taste was that cloth for the rest of the day.

“I hope you have a fun time here at the Big Top Circus sir. If you excuse me, I need to talk with O’Hooves so please go, have fun,” the clown said, gesturing towards the door with one hoof while watching Time Turner the entire time as he headed out. Any attempt to try and eavesdrop was defeated as the clown didn’t even shut the door until Time Turner was out of earshot. The slight, greenish glow on the trailer was also enough to let Time Turner know that most likely there was some kind of sound-proofing spell now on the trailer.

“Well, I guess that just leaves one thing to do then…sit and wait. Dear Celestia I hate waiting…” Time Turner said, mumbling the last bit, as he found himself a location he believed not visible from the door or window of the trailer to begin his stakeout.

“Come on little miss, come try your hand at whack-a-mole! With that horn of yours I guarantee you’ll win big.”

“Deep fried oatmeal, come and get your deep fried oatmeal. Fresh oats deeply fried.”

“Hey mommy, look at that pegasus! Her eyes are looking two different ways! Can we watch her?!”

“Hey, I am not an attraction…”

Trixie walked through the carnival, taking in all the sounds but not really paying attention to her surroundings. Normally she loved the sound of carnival barkers trying to bring in players for their games, food vendors selling their most likely completely unhealthy to eat junk, and the sound of excited little foals wanting to see the sideshow attractions. Right now, however, she just wanted to crawl up somewhere and just stay there, alone. Her mentor had completely abandoned her. No, he didn’t just abandon her, he gave her a brief glimmer of hope that everything was going to be all right, and then he smashed it all to pieces and threw her out in the cold.

So here she was, head looking at the ground and absolutely nothing else, the fur around her eyes darkened with moisture as she finished sniffling. In her lack of attention to her surroundings, she found herself bumping into a cream-colored Earth Pony dressed in a yellow vest, red coat, and sporting a black top hat.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” she mumbled as she tried to walk past him. The sudden appearance of a bushy black moustache in her face, however, forced her to back up. Based on the look and dress, this must have been the ringmaster Big Top. Great, the person most invested in her being happy just had to show up.

“Why so blue miss? No one should be looking so unhappy here at Big Top’s Circus, or should I say my circus! Come on, show me a smile!”

“I’m not in the mood right now. I had a really bad day,” she said, almost as if she was on the verge of spitting acid on him. Unfortunately, it seemed he was completely un-phased.

“But that’s what my circus is for! We’re here to brighten up your day! We like to see you smile, smile, smile!”

Trixie responded simply by looking at him with her red, bleary eyes and the uncompromising frown. The ringmaster’s expression went from the so fake smile to a frown, but then it seemed that something hit him as he had an expression of revelation before a much more real, but creepier, smile came on his face.

“You wouldn’t have happened to have been the unicorn that ran out of Mr. O’Hooves trailer a little while ago would you?”

Oh great, did her mentor call for security on her too? Was he going to have her thrown out of not just his trailer and the circus? Well, it probably was the least she deserved, though she wasn’t going to go down without some kind of fight if to at least spite him a bit. One Earth Pony? She could probably take him.

“Let me guess, you’re looking for a pony named Trixie, blue unicorn with magic dust and a wand for a cutie mark, and you’re going to throw her out. Well, you found her, and right now I would like nothing more than to cause some trouble for that stallion so if you want to try anything then…”

“Oh no no no no no, you mistake my intentions! We know all about you Trixie. Mr. O’Hooves always talked about you and how good of a magician you were!”

Trixie’s eyes widened in surprised and confusion. She was wondering how exactly that was the case after his earlier behavior. Sensing her confusion, the clown continued.

“I guess you didn’t have a good talk with him? It really isn’t surprising. Your leaving him hit him really hard. And on top of that, after you ran away the circus almost closed, and he never really was happy my running of the circus. It’s always the kind of trouble you have when there’s a new change in management. He started off decently enough, but now he just broods in his trailer all day, and he barely puts on a smile when on stage anymore,” Big Top replied, taking off his hat, “It really is a sad thing to see a class act like him fall so far…”

Trixie looked at Big Top, not really sure how to respond. All her anger at Sleight O’Hooves was still there, but she couldn’t help but feel guilty about it as well. It never really occurred to her how her running away that night would have affected him like this, and considering how much he had loved Harness and Hay-Bale, working for somepony else really must have messed him up.

“We’d honestly would love to let him go, but he is still our best act, and we just can’t afford to let him go without a replacement,” Big Top responded, looking expectantly at her.

“Wait, are you talking about,” Trixie responded, startled by this sudden turn of events.

“Yes, I am. Look, I don’t know what O’Hooves might have said to you, but I can honestly say that he probably didn’t mean it. He’s just a tired, old bitter pony. Following in his hoofsteps and letting him finally get some rest would probably mean the world to him,” Big Top responded, giving a soft smile to the still unsure Trixie.

“But I really can’t, I just…” Trixie responded, thinking it over. The last time she had ever done a show for this place, it ended in a disaster that still haunted her to this day. But things had changed, right? She had gotten better, more powerful; she was the Great and Powerful Trixie. Then again her actions lead to that town being partially destroyed by an Ursa Minor while she failed to a thing to it. But that really wasn’t her fault now was it?

She thought for a moment about what Time Turner would have to say on the subject. It would probably be something like, “Trixie, you really need to stop letting one mistake weight you down. You have great potential, and you need to stop wearing whatever it was that happened around your neck like some big, heavy, weight thing.”

While concerned about how easy it was for her to think of what he would say, Trixie thought imaginary Time Turner had a point. More importantly, if taking over for Sleight O’Hooves could start helping him over his own bitterness, then maybe it would all be worth it…

“Okay, fine, you have the services of the Great and Powerful Trixie at your disposal.”

Big Top grinned rather large as he extended a hoof to her.

“Welcome to the crew Trixie, and let’s make this the greatest show in Equestria.”

Trixie slowly raised her own hoof up to shake his, but the shake itself was rather firm.

“Is there any doubt it will be?”

“My word, how on earth can the Royal Guards ever survive such a dreadful and boring thing as a stakeout,” Time Turner muttered as he continued to watch the trailer from the safety of his hiding spot.

It had been so very long since he started, and without being able to hear a thing he had found himself very bored. There was a brief moment of excitement when another clown came and went, but he had been forced to hide as he had went right past him when leaving. By the time the coast was clear, that other clown was lost. So all that was left was to wait for the other clown, and that had gotten very boring very quickly. Counting the panels on the trailer side was not a thrilling past time, and he was about to start on counting blades of grass when the other clown exited the trailer. As this one was going in a completely different direction, Time Turner felt it was safe to start stalking him.

Twisting and turning through crowds, trailers, and stands, eventually the clown made its way to a tent very far away and out of the site of the visitors. First glance would suggest that it might have been for storing animals or something that would not fit in a trailer, but then why would a clown need to go in? Glancing around to make sure nopony else was around, Time Turner made his way to the opening flap soon after the clown had entered it. All he was going to need to do was get a sneak peek of whatever was inside there; it just screamed to him suspicion. Gently opening the flap just a peep, he found his face illuminated by a large, green glow as the clown before him morphed into something…else.

The clown pony was gone, instead replaced by a blackened pony-like being. At first glance it seemed like a pony, but the holes in the legs, the insect-like and torn-looking wings, and the glowing blue eyes only meant one thing; Changelings. And from the looks of all the clowns in the circus and the ones in here, there was a lot of them.

“Oh, now that cannot be good!” he said, eyes growing wide in fear before realizing he just spoke out loud. All of a sudden there was a very large number of glowing, blue eyes looking at him, and they did not look that friendly.

“Silly old me, these aren’t the bathrooms. Uhm…bye!”

With that Time Turner ran, even though he didn’t hear a sound coming from behind. As he ran, he passed Sleight O’Hooves, and after sliding to a stop and turning around, he ran back.

“Sleight! Oh thank goodness. I need to talk to you. The clowns, they’re…”

At that moment a large group of the clowns arrived. Time Turner stood glaring at them defiantly. Thinking about it, Sleight probably already knew the situation, and that probably explained his behavior earlier. Time Turner would probably be rude and trying to scare ponies away if he knew staying meant they were in danger like this.

“Oh O’Hooves, perfect timing it seems. This stallion here has proven quite troublesome, and he might go and try and spill our little secret,” one of the clowns said.

“Well of course I am; you’re endangering everypony who comes to this circus, and I’ll bet my horsehoes that the performers here aren’t here under their free will either. Let me take a guess at what you’re doing. Feeding off the love and affection the crowd gives off during a great performance?” Time Turner replied.

“And it seems our little troublemaker is a smart one too. We’ll have to be extra careful in dealing with him, but you are wrong on one point. The performers are free to leave at any point if they choose as long as they find a replacement. And today it seems that O’Hooves has finally found one…”

“A replacement? But who could replace….no,” Time Turner looked over at Sleight, who was refusing to look back at him, “Please tell me you didn’t…but you tried to make us leave…”

“At first I did, but then they offered to let me go. I refused at first, but you must understand, I’m just so tired. Every day I perform, and every day they drain what little joy I can get from being on stage. Every cheer was becoming more and more meaningless, every smile just a sick joke. I simply couldn’t go on much longer so I grabbed my chance to leave…”

“And throw Trixie right into Tartarus itself,” Time Turner said, his defiance turned towards the stage magician instead of the Changeling, clown, things, “I could forgive the Changelings for what they’re doing; it’s their instinct. But you, oh you, you threw your own apprentice, who looked up to you as the ideal of everything she wanted to be, you threw her away for your own selfishness.”

“So that makes him the real monster and blah blah blah,” one of the clowns interrupted, “Look, the point is, Trixie is ours now, and you are going to need to take a little nap till we can properly take care of you after the show. If you would please O’Hooves?”

Without a word, O’Hooves levitated a bag out of his vest. Surrounded, Time Turner simply stood defiantly staring at this traitor of a mentor as he sprinkled dust into his eyes. It didn’t take much thought to realize what it was; sleeping powder. Yawning, but still fighting the urge to close his eyes, Time Turner was able to get out one last statement as he fell asleep.

“Enjoy your freedom O’Hooves…”

The Greatest Show - Part III

“Will there be anything else you require Trixie?”

“No, this is all. Thank you,” Trixie said as she fiddled around with getting her hat on just perfectly. The clown pony nodded. She was amazed that she was able to find another cape and hat set among her mentor’s stuff, although not exactly the same as her old ones. The cape was a royal purple with a gold trim, and so was the hat. This would do for now , but in time she would get an order out and get an exact replica of her old costume soon enough. The more simplistic look, while her mentor’s preference, had never held enough razzle-dazzle for her own attention grabbing needs.

“Very well then, I shall leave you to your preparations,” he said before taking his leave, making her now the sole occupant of O’Hooves former trailer. She shivered a little bit; those clowns just made her feel…off. The less time with them the better. Right now, however, she had a show to get ready for, and as she started digging through the stuff to see what she had to work with, her mind began wandering about.

The shock of the offer had worn down, and now that she was alone she could really think about it. When she was younger she had dreamed of possibly taking over for her former mentor, but after the night she ran away she doubted that would ever be the case. She had taken to the roads in hopes of being able to make some kind of living being a performer and still make him proud, but even in that she had gone too far. Oh sure, she had suppressed the memory of the events of that night, but that hadn’t been right. All that rage and anxiety, that need to validate herself constantly that she was competent. It didn’t help that she had a self-admitted natural level of arrogance and a large ego, and being by herself left no one to deflate her when she got too big. Combining all of that, it was no wonder she had turned into such a, to use the polite phrase, jerk.

But none of that mattered now. She was here now, taking the place of her mentor, about to show everypony just what it was that she could do. And hopefully now O’Hooves could…

Knock knock knock

“Grr, I thought I told those clown I didn’t need anything else…” Trixie mumbled as she opened the door. Before she got the chance to yell, however, she found herself looking at O’Hooves, his eyes filled with surprise before he hung his head down as if he was ashamed of something.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you to be here already. Uhm…can I come in and get a few things? And I guess say goodbye?” he said.

“O-of course. Come on in…” she said, confused. Leaving? Was he not going to stay for the show? A frown appeared on her face as he passed by her, but when he turned to look at her she put on a smile to try and reassure him.

“So I guess you’ve started settling in then?”

“Yeah, just about. Didn’t really have much stuff with me. I had a cart at some point but it got…damaged,” she replied.

“Sorry to hear that,” he said, his voice low as he turned back to his stuff. Several seconds went by before she spoke up again to break the awkwardness up.

“Are you going to go to the show? I have my first performance this evening and…”

“No, sorry, I won’t be able to make it. It’s a long walk to the train station and I already got a ticket,” he replied, still not really looking at her.

“Oh…okay then,” she responded, obviously disappointed by his choice. She had hoped that he would be there to be able to see her re-debut on stage after all that had happened, but she guessed getting out of here was more important than her. A slight twitch at the corner of her eye signaled her almost turning her disappointment into a glare, but she remembered back to what Big Top had said. If he really was as tired of all of this life as Big Top had said, then maybe it was for the best he leave…as long as she could get him to promise to see her at least once in the near future.

“Just remember to come back and see me sometime. I know it’s been years, but I’ve really learned a lot since then, and made a few mistakes she mentally added, “and I was wanting you to watch.”

She heard him just huff a little bit before speaking, “You don’t need me to be there. My opinion isn’t worth anything…”

“It means everything to me!” Trixie yelled, slightly angered. She just didn’t get it; this was not the mentor she remembered. Instead of the happy and magnificent stallion she remembered, this pony before her was like an empty shell. She mentally cringed at the thought that his may have been her fault, that her running away might have broken him somehow. But this was getting ridiculous; she was trying to make it up to him now!

Her outburst seemed to have startled O’Hooves, who had stopped moving but still refused to look at her, “Why is my opinion so important to you? I’m just a bitter, old magician who can’t even treat his apprentice right,” he replied, his own voice rising out of anger. The only problem was Trixie couldn’t tell if his anger was aimed at her or at himself.

“It matters because you’re my mentor! You’re the one who made me realize how wonderful being on stage is! You’re the one who helped me get my cutie mark in magic! And most importantly…”

At this she went and walked up to him, turning him around so she could get right up to his face. Both of her forelegs were on his shoulders.

“I need you to you to forgive me!” she said before her anger dissipated and her grabbing of his shoulders turned into a hug, though it was not returned by the now very tensed up stallion. She was tempted to start crying, but Trixie figured if she started then there was a good chance she couldn’t stop…or get what she had to say out of the way.

“Look, I’m sorry about everything, about running away and leaving you here. I’ve made a lot of stupid choices, and I’ve been acting stupid too. If you’re ever in Ponyville, just ask about an Ursa Minor if you don’t believe me,” she said, a slight laugh escaping her. It felt good to just laugh it off, even if she was still heavily embarrassed about it.

“But I’m here now, and it was absolutely devastating when you pushed me out earlier. I was probably going to do something stupid too I was so mad, but then I talked with Big Top and,” she stopped for a moment as she felt O’Hooves cringe again, “and talked about how bitter you’ve been these last few years so…so I took his offer to perform. I wanted to show you that it’s not your fault, no matter what stupid things I’ve done, and that you’ve been a good mentor.”

Finally done, she freed O’Hooves from her grasp, waiting for some sort of response. She watched as he just stood there, head still down to the ground in shame. But there was something different about this; his whole body looked as if it was quivering a little, like he was about to do…something. Yet at the same time it was like he was frozen, stuck in a state of not knowing what to do. Eventually she finally heard him mumble something

“…I can’t do this..”

“Can’t do what?” Trixie asked, straining to hear what he had said. Her talking startled him into finally looking up, the look of shame still present but joined with a slight smile at the corners of his mouth that looked almost…hopeful.

“Trixie, I never blamed you at all for what happened, but I haven’t been a good mentor at all, not after what I’ve done…but I’m going to make that up right now.”

Before she could respond to anything, O’Hooves had run out the door, leaving it slamming on its hinges as she stood there confused.

Ooooooh, what in Celestia’s name just happened…and what am I floating in? Time Turner thought as he began to regain consciousness. His eyes were still closed, a little droopy still from the sleeping powder, but he could still tell a few things. He was floating in some kind of fluid, he was upside down, and that whatever was going on was probably not good.

Opening his eyes, he found himself suspended on the ceiling of the tent in some kind of greenish, fluid filled sack. He wasn’t really sure what it was that this stuff was made out of, and he had the feeling that he would have preferred to not know. Huh, that was an interesting feeling, not wanting to know something. It felt…icky. Or was that just the fluid? Meh, no time to worry about that sort of thing. It was time to get out of there and save Trixie, defeat the Changelings, and probably give O’Hooves a punch or two. Just another day in his life really.

Now exactly how was he to do such a thing? With a little bit of effort he was able to make it to the part of the sack that seemed to have been made transparent for viewing. Well, he’d give the Changelings credit for having a built in window, although what exactly that was for (or what this entire thing was for really) he would just leave to his imagination for now. What was important, however, was that he might be able to have some success in kicking through it, which was not an easy task to do upside down.

Rearing back as best as he could do in his state, Time Turner began to punch at the window. Several attempts at doing so were making little success; if only he could actually buck at the thing he would have been out of here. Still, all he could do was punch through a thick fluid of some sort at a solid sack window thing with his slightly weaker forelegs instead of rear legs and…well this was not his best day now was it.

Best day or not, I need to get out of here and warn Trixie!

As punching was making no success, he started to think of some other kind of plans when all of a sudden there was a white glow surrounding the sack. Looking down from where he was, he was intrigued at the site of O’Hooves below. Time Turner was hoping maybe something good was happening, but his dislike of the magician made him cautious enough to reserve judgment till he got some explanation. And freedom; that was nice too.

“Just be careful okay, I’m upside down and…”

Before the statement was finished, the window was broken and he soon joined the fluids in flooding out of the sack and towards the ground. He braced himself to fall on his head (not the first time that would have happened but still), but was relieved when the white glow of O’Hooves magic levitated him a moment before flipping him right-side up. In this one moment Time Turner felt like he would never love solid ground more than he ever could.

“Thank you for that. Now then…what are you doing here?” he said, glaring at the magician, not even caring that he was still covered in that fluid stuff.

“Look, I know you don’t like me right now but…”

“Oh trust me, I absolutely loathe you,” Time Turner interrupted.

“And you’re right to do so; I’ve been loathing myself for years. But that ends now. I know nothing I do will probably make you forgive me, and you are free to tell Trixie what I did, but I can’t let this happen, not anymore,” O’Hooves said. Time Turner noticed that as the magician spoke his words became less choppy and shameful and more proud. Still, Time Turner raised an eyebrow at the old stallion, still not sure what to think.

“Oh, and why exactly is that?”

“…because I have to at least attempt to be the mentor Trixie believed I was. When I talked with her, when I looked her in the eye as she told me how much I meant to her, I just…I just couldn’t let her down anymore,” O’Hooves stammered, looking proud and ashamed at the same time.

Time Turner sighed at the response. He looked down at the ground in thought for a moment before starting to say something. With the reason behind O’Hooves sudden change of heart given, he made a decision on how to proceed from here.

“Well, if that’s the case then,” Time Turner said solemnly before looking up at O’Hooves with a smile, “I think that I’m willing to be forgiving. For Trixie’s sake.”

His statement seemed to have shocked the old stallion, eyes widened and teary, mouth slightly opened as if to say something, only to finally just squeak out a “Why?”

“Simple really. You sir seem to have a conscience, and a strong one at that. I’m not going to reject anypony who is trying to make up for the bad things they’ve done…and no thanks are necessary before you start getting on about that. Friend to save, no time to waste.”

With that Time Turner started to gallop out of the tent, O’Hooves following behind him. Both of them knew where to go next without hesitation. Trixie needed to be filled in, and it had to be sooner rather than later.

Trixie had finally gotten an act planned together when all of a sudden her door was opened with a slam. Not even startled by this point from all the door abuse, she turned around to face who it was to only be met with the panting figure of O’Hooves and the less panting but still tired Time Turner.

“So you two finally came back…and just what exactly are you covered in?” she said, finally noticing that Time Turner seemed to be drenched in some kind of fluid. Her question was met with a roll of his eyes.

“No time for that, we got to save you and the carnival,” Time Turner said as his breath started to even out. In the past Trixie would have dismissed this kind of thing, but with travelling with Time Turner she had learned to listen to him about these sort of things.

“So what’s going on? Monster rampaging through the carnival? Ponies hypnotized by carnival fare? Overly priced food carts?” she responded. Yes she was taking his claim seriously, but she still had to get some snark in.

“No, it’s much bigger than that I’m afraid…and I’ve been involved in it,” O’Hooves responded. Trixie’s stomach felt like it had just fallen out of Cloudsdale at that.

“I-involved in what?” she asked. Her mentor was starting to become a real headache with all these constant mood changes.

“The carnival has been run by Changelings ever since you left,” O’Hooves said. Trixie was confused.

“And Changelings are what now?”

“Changelings are an insect and pony-like species that feeds off of emotional attachments, particularly positive emotions such as love and friendship,” Time Turner chimed in. Trixie took the thought in for a moment, processed it, and then glared at O’Hooves.

“And you’ve been helping them all this time?..And you were going to let ME work for them instead?” she said, voice raised as she felt the anger swell inside her, nostrils at a flare. Every nerve in her body told her that the appropriate reaction might be to send him flying back through that door, and take it with him. Time Turner stepping in between her and O’Hooves, however, made her more wary than ready to fight.

“Trixie, now is not the time to get upset. Your mentor here admits that he made a terrible mistake but is trying to make it right. Now I can’t say I know everything that has gone on between the two of you, but I can take a guess that you both have some other mistakes in your pasts,” Time Turner said, looking at both O’Hooves and at her, “And both of you are trying to make up for it now, and that’s all that matters.”

She backed away a little, her temper calming down a little as she remembered her own mistakes and how she had basically demanded O’Hooves forgive her and let her have a chance to make up for it. The least she could do then was to let him have the same chance.

“Fine, we can worry about it all after we’ve dealt with the Changelings,” Trixie responded, sitting down on the floor, “Which, by the way, I have yet to been informed on what we’re actually going to do. Or are we playing it by ear like normal?” she asked her companion. She instantly regretted the question when his response started off with him gaining that smarmy little grin on his face and an almost impish wink.

“Oh, I got a plan, and it’s going to be a real showstopper.”

The Greatest Show - Part IV

Two stallions were ducked behind some crates, listening as a pair of disguised Changelings walked by, breaths held so as to not make a sound. Once it seemed the coast was clear, the two swung around the corner and made a dash for the storage tent that lay across the way. Hearing no sounds of alarm, they two took a deep sigh of relief as they trotted over to their targets; a large pile of crates simply labeled “Fireworks.”

“I think we should be safe for now. They’ll be preparing for the show so they won’t be coming here till near the end.” O’Hooves said as he started to levitate lids off the crates.

“Excellent, we should be ready by then,” Time Turner said, a slight struggle in his voice as he forced open one of the larger, more secured crates.

“I still think you’re asking way too much of Trixie,” O’Hooves said as he started to levitate the various fireworks around to prepare to set them up later. “She was never good at dealing with ponies mocking her, even as a foal, and she has a lot of pride in her magic skills. Having her fail on purpose might…”

“Look, I know it’s a lot, but I believe Trixie can handle it. I may not know have known her as long as you have, and there’s still a lot about her I don’t know, but I know Trixie has what it takes to really be a great and powerful unicorn someday,” Time Turner said as he turned around and hunched down. Quick as a whip, his back legs smashed open one of the crates, the contents spilling out all around him.

“There, much faster,” Time Turner said with a smile. O’Hooves rolled his eyes.

“And much more likely to get us blown to pieces,” he replied as Time Turner sheepishly grinned, remembering the contents of these crates.

“Anyway, I truly do hope that you’re right. The last thing either of us wants is for Trixie to have another breakdown…” O’Hooves said, his voice filled with concern.

“Speaking of which…” Time Turner said as he opened another crate, more gently this time of course. “I’ve got a sense something happened between you and Trixie. You both kept mentioning ‘that night she ran away’. It may be a little rude of me to not get the story from her but, well…” he said, trailing off as they both knew fully well that Trixie would probably be very hesitant to talk about any failures of her.

“No, no, it’s fine. I guess you ought to know now that you’re mixed up in all of this. It all started the night she asked me if she could perform by herself…”

Several Years Earlier

“Trixie is too ready to perform on her own!” a younger Trixie yelled. She was clothed in a familiar star-studded hat and cape assemble, and O’Hooves knew that her eyes were glaring at him as he hunched over a box he normally used for the sawing-a-pony in half trick. All he could do in response to her was sigh as he talked to her with the “I already told you” tone of his that always bugged her but he couldn’t help but use in these moments.

“You’re not ready to perform alone Trixie and that’s final. Once you’ve learned everything I can teach you, then you can. Till then, just keep practicing your routines and…”

“But my routines are absolutely PERFECT! You said so yourself; nopony can use levitation magic as well as the Mighty and Majestic Trixie can!” Trixie shouted back, stomping her hoof in frustration. She apparently had yet to learn his reasoning, and he was starting to doubt she ever would. He turned around, a slight glare in his eye as he responded with a slightly raised voice.

“I thought I told you to not call yourself that off stage. In fact, I should have stopped you when you started talking in the third person but I thought it harmless. But nope, instead it seems it let you’re ego swell faster than one of the clowns’ balloon animals.”

“And why shouldn’t it? Trixie is going to be the best magician in all of Equestria someday; she simply wishes to let everypony know that,” she replied, proudly raising her head and puffing out her barrel. He could already bet that in her mind right now she was chalking up his reluctance to jealousy or something like it.

But that wasn’t the case; he was afraid that with an ego this large she wouldn’t be able to handle a bad show. It was always important that a showpony knew how to be graceful when making mistakes; after all, everypony has a bad night. Trixie, however, was such a perfectionist that she seemed to have convinced herself she could never have one. So if she did, well, he was afraid of what might happen. At this rate though it seemed one bad night was something she was going to need…

“It’s that cockiness of yours that’s keeping you off stage…but you know what, fine. I’ll let you have a show tonight. Here’s a list of a pretty basic routine; I want you to do every trick to the audience’s perfection. Pull it off, I’ll see about getting you a show. If you fail…”

“Which Trixie won’t of course,” she interrupted with a smug little grin on her face that said ‘I can do anything you throw at me’

“Right. As unlikely as that prospect may be, if you fail you will stop nagging me about it and get back to practicing like I’ve been telling you. Deal?” he said.

Trixie was suspicious of the slight twinkle in his eye, but she nodded her head and replied with a, “Yes,” as he floated over to her a list of acts to perform…

The Present

“That sounds about right for Trixie, at least the way she was when I first saw her in Ponyville. And even since then she’s had a bit of a mouth,” Time Turner replied, laughing a little as he repositioned a firework. He mentally did a quick calculation in his head while waiting for O’Hooves to finish whatever it was he was doing; these things had to be positioned just right to work the way he wanted them too.

“Even when she was a foal she had a bit of a snarky streak in her, but by that point she was a full on narcissist. I gave her one of my more advanced routines in hopes that maybe a good bombing on stage would deflate her ego,” O’Hooves replied, using his magic to do the same thing as Time Turner in positioning the fireworks. A quick glance outside the flap showed them that the other half of the plan seemed to be working; ponies were slowly starting to leave the main circus tent with a look of disgust on their faces.

“I’m going to take it that she did more than ‘bomb’ on stage if she ran away afterwards,” Time Turner responded.

“Oh no, she didn’t run away for screwing up on stage. She actually did well enough, but it fell apart around the time she was supposed to begin the illusions and fireworks. As hard as she tried, the best she could do was some basic whizzing and firecrackers. That broke her confidence enough that she even started messing up the simplest of tricks. Being booed off stage is tough for any showpony, but Trixie didn’t really take it the way I had hoped…”

Several Years Earlier

“YOU SABOTAGED ME!” Trixie shouted as she slammed her hooves on the door to the trailer. O’Hooves, however, was refusing to answer the door. He did, however, make sure to put on some extra-strength magical enchantments. When Trixie was furious like this, she had a tendency to blow up doors.

“There was absolutely NO WAY that Trixie could have failed those tricks! You did something to the equipment or were blocking Trixie’s magic or…,” she continued yelling. As her paranoid delusions were starting to get out of hoof, and would probably bring some of the circus security after her, O’Hooves finally relented and opened the door to find himself with a very angry pony breathing in his face.

“I did absolutely nothing to the equipment, and I wasn’t casting any magic. You failed because you weren’t ready, just like I said. That’s why I gave you an advanced list of tricks to show you that,”

“So you DID sabotage Trixie by giving her spells she couldn’t do!” Trixie replied, shoving a hoof right into his chest.

“I though the Mighty and Majestic Trixie could do anything?” he said, his face now showing a smug smile as Trixie stepped back with widened eyes before blabbering incoherently. She always did that when somepony had beaten her but she refused to admit it.

“F-Fine, you’re right. But Trixie is going to learn to do those tricks right now and prove to you Trixie could have done the show!”

Before he could say anything about the ridiculousness of the comment, Trixie was already galloping off towards the big top. He was about to go after her when he suddenly decided against it. She would just need some time to cool off, and she did that best by burning off magic and doing some tricks. After an hour or two she would do her whole routine and then come back and they could talk. He wondered if her parents had this much trouble with her when she wasn’t working at the circus…

After an hour passed, O’Hooves was comfortably reading through a newspaper, hoping to at least get in some relaxation before confronting Trixie. As he flipped over the news section, however, he noticed an odd glow coming out from the window. Getting up off his bed, he walked over and pushed back the blinds. His eyes widened as he spotted the circus tent was now ablaze, but the peculiar thing was that the fire was a rainbow of colors that sputtered off every few seconds and exploded…like fireworks.

“Trixie…” O’Hooves said as he put the pieces together. Without even a second thought he rushed out the trailer with a slam. Galloping off towards the circus, he spotted many of the other ponies running towards it as well with whatever they could to try and put it out. But a magical fire like this? Water wasn’t going to do it; they’d need magic like his. But that could wait; he needed to find Trixie first and, if need be, rescue her. Angry at her or not, she was still his apprentice and it was his task to look out for her.

Unfortunately nopony else had spotted her in the chaos, or they were too busy trying to contain the fire that they couldn’t even talk to him. His own search was bringing nothing, and he was just about to dive right into the inferno itself to find her when he heard sobbing coming from behind one of the crates. With hope pushing him forward, O’Hooves made his way towards the sound, finding himself faced with a Trixie laid out on the ground with her head buried in her hooves. For all she bragged about being powerful, for being grown-up and being ‘mighty and majestic’, she was still a filly at heart. He started to reach out to her, wanting to let her know he was still there for her.

“Trixie, thank goodness you’re…”

His voice caused her to jump up and turn around. The widened eyes and jittery legs told him that she was scared, and she had a right to be; he had been rather harsh. But as he tried to reach out to her, she backed away. It was slow at first, but eventually it was faster and faster until she finally started to turn around.

“Wait, Trixie, hold a moment! You don’t need to…”

“I-I’m sorry but I have to…”

She didn’t even finish her sentence before she started galloping away. O’Hooves tried to go after her, but his panic running earlier and his age started to catch up to him. He soon found the distance between him and her getting larger and larger, and his yelling was doing nothing. If he had the time to do so, he would have kept running all night, but the sound of cracking wood and cries of scared ponies forced his attention elsewhere as the big top began to collapse. Glancing at the disappearing figure of Trixie, O’Hooves muttered out one last “Good luck…”before turning to help put out the fire.

“I sent out letters to some of my contacts, hoping to hear anything about her after that. But she just disappeared, gone. It wasn’t until a few years later that her name started to show up again as ‘The Great and Powerful Trixie!’. By then she had her own cart, was doing her own shows, and it seemed as if she had moved on. I figured it best if I stayed out of her life, and once the Changelings were in full control I simply didn’t have the motivation.

Time Turner took all the information in as he positioned one last firework. Looking out at the flap and the ever increasing amount of ponies flooding out of the big top, he figured it was almost time for the main event for the evening. Still, there was a little time to wrap up this conversation.

“As much as we would like it to be, unfortunately those sort of things just don’t go away. You can hide them, maybe even trick yourself into thinking you got over it, but eventually you’ll have to confront them,” he replied. For a brief second his thoughts turned to his own life and Clock Keeper, but he pushed it aside. That would be something he would need to deal with at his own pace…but after a sentiment like he just said that would have to be rather soon. Didn’t want to be a hypocrite after all.

“But anyway, enough about that because it seems we have guests! Hello there creepy Changeling clown things!” Time Turner said as he gave a little wave to the recently arrived party crashers.

“We should have known you two were involved. Trixie’s performance this evening has been rather…subpar. But luckily Big Top is offering to let it slide due to her being under the orders of some ‘bad seeds’. All we ask is for you two to surrender quietly so we can remove you…properly this time,” the lead one said as he glanced over with a look of annoyance at the smiling Time Turner.

“No! I have had enough of you lot and I will not go quietly! I will stand here and,” O’Hooves said as he defiantly stood forward, head lowered and horn blazing with magic.

“Surrender nice and quiet like,” Time Turner said as he bopped the magician on the head hard enough to send the horn towards the ground and hit some powder that had spilled on the ground when they were moving stuff. O’Hooves woozily raised his head as he watched Time Turner slowly walk towards the exit flap.

“Yep, you got us and our evil little hideout. There is absolutely nothing that we can do now. The jig is up, game over, and all that jazz. Come along O’Hooves,” Time Turner said with a smile as the clowns looked on in confusion. O’Hooves wanted to protest, but the look in Time Turner’s eye was telling him ‘Trust me’. That, and the sound of a trail of powder burning. Joining Time Turner in the smile, O’Hooves walked towards the exit.

“Yes, I do say we are done here Time Turner. Oh, and you there,” O’Hooves said as he pointed to the lead clown,”May we make a suggestion?”

“Prisoners do not get to make suggestions.”

“Oh you’ll really love this one,” Time Turner said as he stopped. About a second later the fizzing sound of the powder was over. What followed next was the very definition of chaos as the entire pile of fireworks began to go off, instantly tearing apart the tent as blazing trails of every color shot off into the sky.

“Run.”

The Greatest Show - End

Several Years Earlier

“What does he know anyway? He trained me, he knows what Trixie can do. Probably just scared Trixie will be so amazing that they’ll replace all of his shows with her own,” Trixie said as fidgeted with the blue broach that was serving as a clasp for her navy blue cloak.

Even though he had finally agreed to let her do a show, the whole fight still bothered. As far as she was concerned, her reason was probably the correct one. Why else would her mentor be so hesitant to actually let her perform on her own? If her routines were perfect, if she was the best that he had ever seen or taught, then that had to be the only reasonable explanation for his objections. Well, she would show him a thing or two. That list of tricks he gave her? She’d nail every single one, and when he started making up a schedule for her shows, she’d argue for his spot. Only the best times would do for the…

Present Day

“Mares and gentlecolts, but your hooves together for Big Top Circus’s newest magician, The Great and Powerful Trixie!” the announcer shouted as Trixie was woken from her little flashback.

Taking a moment to get her bearings, Trixie made sure she was wearing the brand new hat and cloak she had gotten. It was an almost perfect match for her old set; it was still purple, but it was filled with fewer stars, and they were more of the six-pointed than five pointed stars. As everything looked good, Trixie took a deep breath before walking forward as the curtain rose. The stomping of hooves in applause was a long missed feeling for her, as was the mixture of warming pride in her chest and the flittering nervousness in her stomach. It was a pity that she was going to have to bomb her comeback performance, thanks to Time Turner’s little plan.

Okay, remember Trixie, just go out there and mess up so everypony will leave so they can’t power the Changelings with their adoration. That’s all you need to do, that’s all you need to do… she thought to herself as she did an introductory bow.

“Greetings everypony, and welcome to the show! Prepare to be amazed by astounding feats of magic never before seen by pony eyes!” she said, starting off with a little grandstanding but not actually doing anything. She was greatly resisting the urge to pull out some fireworks illusions and using some auditory illusions to create a musical fanfare for herself.

“Now then, how about I start things off with something simple, hmm?” she said as she paced around on the stage. Even now she could see that ponies were starting to get a little agitated. They were probably expecting her to do something big and fancy, and it was so hard to resist the urge. But instead, she simply pulled out a deck of cards.

“You there,” she said, pointing at small, purplish-unicorn foal. Trixie levitated a series of playing cards in front of her. It didn’t take even a moment for some of the crowd to groan at what was about to happen, but they obviously said nothing because a foal was involved.

“Alright sweetie, now pick a card, any card, and the Great and Powerful Trixie will use her amazing powers to pull it from the deck, no matter where it is.”

Even with such a simple trick, the foal seemed really impressed, giving a big grin to the pegasus mare with very odd eyes beside her that Trixie assumed to be the mother. After a moment of intense thought on the foal’s part, a card was chosen, and Trixie swept in right into the deck. Now, normally she would have made preparations on this; picking out a key card as a reference point, cutting the deck a certain way, or one of the million other things one could do this trick. Instead, she stuffed it right back in and shuffled with wild abandon. After taking a moment, with all the drama she could muster, she pulled a card and showed it to the girl.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie believes that this is your card,” she said, eyes closed and looking as confident as ever while mentally prepping herself for the sting that would soon follow. It was going to hurt her pride so very much having to mess up such a basic trick.

After a moment of quiet, the foal looked at the mother again, who nodded something, and then spoke up.

“Yep, that’s it exactly!”

Trixie’s eyes shot open with surprise, but then closed again as she put on a cocky-little grin.

“Why of course, did you think the Great and Powerful Trixie would be wrong?” she replied. Well, so much for losing the audience’s trust on the most simplest of tricks. The one time luck was on her side was the one time she didn’t want it.

Everything after that point, however, started to go according to plan. The next few card tricks did mess up, and the continued use of them was soon driving ponies to boredom. When she finally started getting into the bigger displays of magic, interest rose, but then fell even lower as she made to trip over herself, have her magic sputter out while doing big illusions, and ‘accidentally’ nicking a pony while attempting to saw them in half. In short, it was an absolute disaster of a show, and the audience had begun to leave in droves.

Oh sure though, she had problems. As the act went on, and she started to mess up bigger and bigger, ponies started to heckle her, calling her names or sometimes even just saying she “sucked”. At times she wanted to just stop all the pretending and just shut them up with some huge display that would have put even that Twilight Sparkle’s display against the Ursa Minor to shame. But she just had to grin and bear it, her teeth having to grind as she just continued to try and ‘convince’ the ponies to keep watching.

At least she was keeping her cool this time, even if barely. Not like the last time she performed this badly. Of course, that last time she wasn’t trying to do so on purpose…

Several Years Earlier

A younger Trixie was barely standing as her body shook with a mixture of anger and the effort of holding back tears. Her hat had flopped straight into her face, soaking wet after an attempt at turning milk into water had somehow ended up with her drenching herself completely with the pitcher. The failure seemed to have caused a massive breakout in laughter among the audience.

“S-shut u!” Trixie yelled as she levitated the hat back up, only for it to flop back down into her face. She then just levitated it off her completely. Some of the laughter had started to die down, but it was still more than she could handle.

“I am the Mighty and Majestic Trixie, the greatest magician ever! You will all stop laughing now!” she said as she started to charge up her magic. Her goal was to try out that lightning cloud spell she had learned recently to scare the crowd back into submission, but instead she found herself sprouting a flower out of her horn instead. She didn’t even remember having that spell, but it started off another whole round of laughter.

One pony in the front row seemed particularly loud; it was a grey-colored Earth Pony stallion, older looking one from the looks of it, and he was just howling it right up. With no one else to focus on, and him being close, she got right up into his face.

“So, you dare to mock the Mighty and Majestic Trixie?” she snarled

“Mighty and Majestic? You look more Dripping and Drenched to me,” he said with a smirk, “Get off the stage kid. You clearly aren’t ready.”

“Am too! I-I just…”

“Look, I’ve been to a lot of magic shows; yours is one of the worst I’ve ever seen. Those fireworks from your illusion spell didn’t even get an inch away from your horn before fizzling out. My foals can do better, and they’re earth ponies! I’m out of here…” he said as he got up and started to walk away.

“Come back here and witness the magical abilities of the Mighty and Majestic Trixie!” she yelled. At that point the laughter had ended, and instead ponies had decided to join the stallion and leaving. She started to yell at all of them too to come back, but instead all she got in return were jeers and boos. By the time everyone was gone, she had been reduced to babbling on stage in fury before eventually storming off to confront O’Hooves.

Present Day

But today, her storming off stage due to a particularly nasty pony in the audience, but instead the arrival of a most likely even nastier ring-master Changeling arriving on the scene.

“What in Equestria are you doing Trixie!” Big Top said in a whispered shout from the side of the stage. Since at this point just about everypony was gone anyway, Trixie dismissed the rest with a bow before walking on over to Big Top.

“Just finishing off my show,” she said nonchalantly. This seemed to annoy him, but she was surprised he wasn’t trying to kill her right now.

“Finishing your show? Trixie, now I’ll admit I’m not much a magician, but even I can tell that was a horrible performance you just put on. You scared the entire crowd away!...You’re up to something, aren’t you?” he said, furrowing his eyebrows in suspicion.

“Me being up to something? What could ever give you that impression?” she said, faking innocence. The plan was about to be set into motion any minute now, so she felt like she could tease the Changeling a bit first.

“Don’t play the fool with me. I can already tell you probably talked with your friend and O’Hooves already so there’s no point in hiding anything is there?”

Trixie pondered for a moment, “Hmmm, nah, can’t think of any reason.”

“Very well then,” Big Top said with a sigh as a green glow engulfed him, the ring-master uniform and pony shape soon replaced with the insect-pony mix that was a Changeling’s body.

“So what’ the situation then? Now that you know that we’re Changelings you don’t want to work with us? Think that we’re all some sort of monsters that must be gotten rid of? Is that it?”

Trixie shook her head, “Honestly, I barely know anything about Changelings. Heard about them once or twice on the road, but that’s about it. My friend, the Earth Pony stallion, he seemed to have heard about you’re kind before though. And he’s not very happy about what you’re doing here…”

The Changeling sneered. “Typical pony reaction; see’s Changelings, wants to get rid of them.”

“And why shouldn’t you be chased out of Equestria?! You’ve been using your performers to trick your audiences into feeding you, you’ve been holding them against their will. but worse of all you kidnapped my friends and tried to get rid of them when they found out!” Trixie said, getting a little angry. The Changeling seemed unphased.

“We are simply trying to feed ourselves; your emotions are our food. Are you wishing us to starve?”

“N-no, but the way you’re going about it isn’t right at all.” Trixie said, trying to reassert her position.

She could empathize on the need to try and survive; travelling around Equestria in a wagon meant she wasn’t always the most secure financially. And she could even understand having to do some shady things every once in a while to eke out a living; illusion magic made her great at conning ponies at card games. Still, this whole circus thing just felt wrong! And she simply couldn’t look away at how they lied to her and tried to hurt her friend and mentor.

Before the conversation could continue, however, a ball of fire whizzed right past them before exploding and setting the curtain on fire. Well, that was a little more dangerous than she thought Time Turner’s plan would be. With the fire distracting him, Trixie took the moment to make a run away from Big Top and outside. Ponies were running amok trying to get away from the explosions that were shooting every which way but up it seemed. Great, that was going to make finding Time Turner a lot…

“Aww, there you are Trixie! Come on, let’s get out of here!”

Well, that was easy enough. Trixie turned to find Time Turner and O’Hooves running towards her, Changeling clowns following right behind but being hampered by the need to dodge the fireworks. Her friends had no such difficulty as O’Hooves was surrounding them in a shield. Trixie soon jumped in, keeping pace with the two stallions quite nicely. As they turned a corner, however, they found themselves faced with another group of clowns, and one really mad Changeling .

“Ahhh, was wondering when we’d be seeing you again. Big Top, correct?” Time Turner replied. Trixie couldn’t help but notice that even in the midst of all this chaos he still had that goofy grin on his face. His eyes, however, no longer seemed to be staring into vacant space, but had the focus of a mischievous little foal planning some kind of trick.

“Why are you doing this? Why could you not let us simply feed in peace pony?” the lead Changeling said with enough rage that Trixie swore a little spit hit the shield.

“Because all the lies, all the deception you’re doing to do so is wrong. There has to be a better way for you to feed that doesn’t force you to leech off of unsuspecting ponies or drain all the energy for life out of those who are willing to help you.” Time Turner said, the corners of his mouth dropping all pretenses of being a grin as he turned into that serious lecturer again.

With a buzz of his wings, the Changeling flew towards the shield, staring down Time Turner with complete fury.

“You are a naïve little pony! We Changelings must what we can to live! You ponies would never understand! Instead you simply wish to be rid of us like parasitesssss!”

The last word the Changeling said had a hiss to it, as if it was trying to scare them, but between O’Hooves shield protecting them and Time Turner’s steadfast resolve (or craziness, but Trixie sensed that was interchangeable with him) it didn’t do anything. Instead, he just looked the Changeling right back in the eye as he responded.

“If you don’t think we understand, than try and make us understand. But you’ll never do that if you keep this up. Us ponies are quite empathetic, but first trust is needed; lying and deceiving is only going to hurt you in the long run.”

The Changelings obviously did not like the response as they soon quickly reverted back to their normal forms. A glance at O’Hooves face told Trixie he was worried as the horns’ of the Changelings soon started glowing green.

“I think they’re about to attack Time Turner. I don’t think my shield can hold off that many at once for long….”

Time Turner just grinned again. “I don’t think there’s anything to be concerned. Remember, Changelings feed off of emotions like love and adoration. But if the only emotions around are fear, panic, and confusion…”

A giant blast of energy hit the shield, which started to crack under the sheer magical force of the attack. Trixie did her best to help prop it up with her own magic, but shields were not her strong suit, and it soon began to buckle again.

“Time Turner, we need to get going!” Trixie said, voice strained under the pressure.

“Just give it one more moment…”

The energy soon started to weaken, and within a moment it had become a trickle before stopping completely. A few bursts of energy crackling around the horns later, and the Changeling magic was done for as they collapsed on the ground exhausted. O’Hooves and Trixie breathed a sigh of relief before looking back up at Time Turner.

“What just happened?” Trixie asked.

“Simple; they just used up all of their reserves of energy to try and blast us. The shield blocked them from feeding off of us, and with the fireworks and your dreadful magic show, all the guests are only offering fear and panic. Not the most nutritious option to a starving Changeling.” Time Turner said with a grin, “So now then, drop the shield.”

“But you just said it’s keeping them from feeding off of us!” O’Hooves protested.

“Yes, it is, but as much as the Changelings have done wrong, they also have a point. They were just trying to feed themselves, and we have to show them there’s a better way than all of this.”

O’Hooves looked towards Trixie, looking with a pleading look in his eye. But Trixie sighed as she walked over by Time Turner.

“Look, he’s right. They were just trying to live, but they made a mistake and now we need to try and forgive them, just like I’ve forgiven you and you’ve forgiven me for all those years ago, right?”

Outvoted, and out moralized, O’Hooves gave in. The shield dropped, and Time Turner ran over to the defeated Big Top and the other Changelings. Trixie soon followed, watching as they began to stand up, their energy renewed by the bonds between her and her friend and mentor.

Now that she knew about the Changeling’s feeding, and no longer distracted by her earlier concerns, she noticed that she approached them there was a slight tug at her heart. It wasn’t painful at all; if she had to compare it to anything, it would be like a foal tugging at her cape after a show wanting an autograph. Gentle, but noticeable if you’re paying attention.

She watched as Time Turner stuck out a hoof towards the leader of the Changelings, offering to help him get back on his feet and friendship.

“Now come on, take my hoof. No one has noticed you all yet, and the whole thing can still be passed off as a freak fireworks accident. We can leave now and help you all find someplace where you can feed and not put ponies in danger. If you’re willing to trust me, I’m willing to trust you, and all of this can be put behind us.”

The Changeling just looked at the hoof as if he was looking at a badly burnt leaf and hay sandwich. Time Turner just kept going.

“But you got to hurry; the fireworks finished about a minute ago, and ponies are starting to calm down. By dropping the shield we gave you all enough energy to shift back into shape so you can leave without being seen, but it has to be now if you don’t want to expose yourself to all of Equestria. So what’ll it be?”

Some of the Changelings looked around nervously before shifting back into the clowns. The lead Changeling seemed rather stunned by what was happening, looking around at all of the ones that shifted as they walked towards Time Turner.

“What are you all doing?! He is lying! He will turn you all in the moment he gets back to town! You can’t trust the ponies!”

Trixie was amazed at this point by how many of the Changelings had apparently decided to take up Time Turner’s offer; by now it was a slim majority. She really hoped he knew what he was doing; she couldn’t think of any way that just the two of them would be able to find homes for them. By this point though many of the ponies that had been panicking had started calming down, and a few of them seemed to be glancing towards them.

“It’s now or never Big Top. Either come with me and we can get you a new home, or you can just keep on with what you’re doing.”

Big Top, looking defeated, shifted into the pony form of Big Top. The rest of the Changelings did as well. Time Turner smiled, but Trixie noticed that the Big Top was now a pegasus instead of the earth pony form he had been taking. Why would he be doing…

“Duck!” Trixie shouted towards Time Turner, who quickly reacted as Big Top and the rest of the clowns flew straight at him and up into the air. They didn’t even turn around to say one last comment or gloat or anything, instead simply flying away as Time Turner stood back up and dusted himself off. His expression was one of disappointment, but it was tempered by a slight smile that was showing on the edge of his mouth.

“Well, didn’t get all of them, but at least most of them are willing to give us ponies a chance right?” Time Turner said, his disappointment turning into a real smile as he looked around.

“But I have absolutely no idea what we’re going to do with them.”

Several Hours Later

After the fires were put out and everypony had started to calm down, the Royal Guards had finally arrived onto the scene. Many questions were asked, interrogations were done, and Trixie and her friends had a few things to discuss with them. On Time Turner’s advice, and much to O’Hooves annoyance, they decided to not tell the guards about the Changelings. Instead, the three of them pulled off a rather convincing lie that Big Top had set off the fireworks on purpose in order to try and salvage some insurance money off of the circus before retiring. Their actions had stopped things from getting worse, but they were unable to stop him and some of the performers who were looking at getting a share of the loot from running off.

“Thank you all for your statements. We will put guards on high alert for Big Top and any of those clowns. Have a nice day,” the guard said with a nod before walking off.

“Yes, have a lovely day officer,” Time Turner replied, cheerfully sending him off before turning around to face the group once the guard was out of sight, “Well, that story should satisfy them for now.”

“I still think you should have said something about Changelings; who knows what kind of havoc they’ll be bring running around Equestria,” O’Hooves responded.

“Normally I would agree, but exposing Big Top would have meant exposing those guys as well,” Time Turner replied, gesturing towards the clowns.

Trixie had watched them during the questioning; they had been entertaining the foals while the adults talked with officers. It was touching to see all the foals smiling and laughing, and it seemed as if the Changelings were enjoying themselves as well without Big Top hovering around. Taking her eyes of them, she looked over at Time Turner with a raised eyebrow.

“I still don’t get why you’re fine with them still staying clowns. Wasn’t the point supposed to be they weren’t stealing emotion from ponies?”

Time Turner started to rub the back of his head with his hoof, giving off an embarrassed grin that she figured only meant he was stalling for an answer.

“Well, you see, as much as I hate to admit it, as I thought more about it, Big Top had a point about ponies not being able to understand Changelings, not yet anyways. But his solution to it was all wrong, and he still had that whole ‘criminal boss’ vibe going with him. Right or wrong, he needed to go.”

Trixie watched as Time Turner looked back over at the foals and Changeling clowns playing, “With him gone, the Changelings will be free to interact with ponies without Big Top ranting at them about the evil ponies. And maybe in time they’ll learn we’re not all that bad, and maybe then we can make some progress on this…..or this all horribly blows up in my face and we have to burn the circus down again!”

Trixie just looked at him with a deadpan-glare, “Well that was a rather morbid thought coming from you Time Turner.”

He just shrugged.

“Meh, just putting out the possibility, but I doubt that’ll happen, right O’Hooves?” he said, playfully poking into the old stallions side as he gave out a sigh.

“I don’t think this place could survive another one; I’m not even sure it’ll survive this one even if we got the performers to keep it running.”

Before Time Turner could say anything, Trixie butted in with her own opinion on the matter.

“I don’t think it will be that hard. Sure, lost all the fireworks, and some of the tents burnt down, but most of the games and food stands are still running, most of the experienced performers are still here…and you’ll have the Great and Powerful Trixie being the star of the show.”

Simultaneously, Time Turner and O’Hooves replied with a surprised yelp of, “What?!” Trixie just had to laugh at the them both standing there wide-eyed.

“I’m sorry Time Turner, but as much fun as it’s been travelling with you, The Great and Powerful Trixie thinks this is where she needs to be right now. Even after all this time, and leaving this place on the worst conditions, I still love this place and I would hate to see it go under. Besides, I think Trixie can still learn a couple of tricks or two from the great Sleight O’Hooves,” Trixie said as she turned to face her mentor, some tears pooling up at the corner of her eyes as he kept on looking with some surprise.

Trixie was confused, however, as O’Hooves looked down at the ground, a solemn look on his face as he dug at the ground with his hoof a little.

“There’s nothing else I can teach you Trixie, and if anything, I still don’t think I should be your mentor anymore. I was horrible to you that night you left and…”

“Oh just stop it already, I was the horrible one. You were right about my ego, and even after that show I didn’t learn my lesson. I met this loony after running away from Ponyville because some foals drug an Ursa Minor to town because I bragged about defeating one,” she said, gesturing at Time Turner without really caring she hadn’t told him about that.

“Really, that’s why you were running away? Huh, I would have thought it was those foals that would have gotten in trouble...” Time Turner commented. Trixie just ignored him, instead focusing on O’Hooves’s reaction instead. When he didn’t say anything, she kept going.

“That was probably the worst night of my life, and I was angry for a long time after that. But eventually I got over it, moved on, thinking I could just get over it and just be The Great and Powerful Trixie. After all, the best revenge is to out succeed your doubters right? But even after all my travelling, all my shows, I still….”

“I was that Earth Pony who heckled you Trixie,” O’Hooves responded. Trixie stopped midsentence as O’Hooves looked her right in the eye.

“When you accused me of sabotaging you that night, well, I lied when I said I didn’t. I went into the audience disguised as an Earth Pony using some illusion magic, and then used my own magic to counter yours. You got so caught up in your act you didn’t even notice the slight glow that surrounded me. Instead of being a mentor, I went and bullied you. I thought if I just gave you one bad night you’d be humbled enough to just listen to me. Instead, I just drove you even further into your ego and, well…”

Trixie just shook her head, “No, it was my fault for being such a narcissist in the first place. If I wasn’t, you wouldn’t have needed to do that.”

“But if I had been a better mentor I could have figured out a way to reach out to you that didn’t involve me bullying you.”

“Well, if I hadn’t….”

“Oh dear Celestia can we not get into this!” Time Turner responded, stepping in between them and knocking them off their game.

“Look, normally I wouldn’t suggest this as a solution since it tends to ignore all the complexities of a situation, but in this I may make the suggestion that mistakes were made on all sides and that you should just kind of move on? After all, there’s a whole circus that needs running, and I can’t think of any other ponies who could run it better than you two,” he said, smiling at the two of them during a pause before staring off into space again, “Although Fancy Pants could probably do a good job as well….doesn’t he owe us a favor?”

Trixie and O’Hooves looked up at each other, making a special note to ignore Time Turner’s random thought at the end.

“So, uhm, want to try that?” Trixie suggested shyly. And in the first time since she got here, she saw O’Hooves smile.

“Yes, I think that would be a wonderful idea...Mighty and Magnificent Trixie.”

“It’s Great and Powerful Trixie now, okay?” Trixie said as she ran over to hug her long lost mentor.

“Awww, now wasn’t that a peachy little scene,” Time Turner said with a smile, teasing the blushing Trixie as the two of them walked around the circus.

“Just shut up. It was a very emotional moment for me. Besides, isn’t that what you wanted in the first place?”

“Oh of course; reuniting lost apprentices and mentors is all in a day’s work for the likes of me,” Time Turner replied. After saying that, however, he couldn’t help but think that the phrase “day’s work” had some kind of extra meaning right now. It was almost as if he had forgotten something…

“TIME TURNER!” a very cheerful voice shouted from behind him. Before he could even turn around fully, he found himself charged into by a grey-colored and blonde-maned pegasus, a small unicorn foal following behind her. Said charge ended up with him being squeezed tightly in a hug, barely able to look down his captor.

“We were so worried about you! You were supposed to be back from vacation two weeks ago! Minuette was convinced something terrible had happened to you!”

“No, no, I’m just fine. I just…sort of….kind of….lost track of time” Time Turner said with an embarrassed blush as he saw Trixie looking over at him, head tilted in confusion to his situation.

He was finally freed from the spine-crushing hug, but the angry glare in those eyes (as off-centered as they were) made him wish he was back in it.

“Again! Time Turner, we were worried sick about you! What could you have been doing these last few weeks that made you forget about us!”

“Uhm, well, her,” Time Turner said, sheepishly pointing at Trixie. The pegasus flew over the silver-maned unicorn, who was still completely lost as to what was happening. She began to fly around her, causing obvious discomfort on Trixie’s part.

“Time Turner, who is she and why is she staring at me?” Trixie replied. That seemed to only annoy the pegasus even more.

“Wait, you’ve been running around Equestria with this mare all this time and didn’t even tell her about us? How very rude of you Turny,” the pegasus said.

“Yeah, very rude of you Mr. Turner,” the foal added, though in a more polite tone than her more annoyed mother.

“I-it just didn’t come up is all. Really, there’s no need to get upset at me Derpy. I was about to start heading back, I promise!”

Derpy just looked at him in disbelief. While she didn’t say anything, Time Turner would have rather just had her verbally express the obvious look of “Yeah right” she was giving him right. All this time working with her and he still found a glare from her one of the most soul-killing things ever. Had to be the eyes, and not just because of the whole ‘each one going a different direction’ thing.

“A-anyway, Trixie, this is Derpy Hooves and her foal Dinky. Derpy is one of Ponyville’s mailmare’s and a friend of mine. Derpy, this is…”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is glad to meet you” Trixie responded, offering a hoof to Derpy. That instantly cheered up her mood, and she gladly responded to Trixie’s gesture.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Say, you were the magician who was on earlier weren’t you?” Derpy asked.

Trixie cringed a little.

“Yeah…but I’m normally not that bad. It’s a long story though. I’m sure…Turny was it?” Trixie said, giving a sly smile to Time Turner, who groaned in response to somepony else using that nickname now, “I’m sure he’ll tell you about it later.”

“Oh, I’m sure he’ll have plenty of time to tell Dinky and me about it when he comes with me back to Ponyville. It’s been a mess since he left. A terrible storm, parasprites, dragons…”

“Wait, I missed a dragon? I would have loved to meet a dragon….” Time Turner said, a slight whine in his voice. Did he really miss a dragon while he was gone? He really needed to stop travelling with random ponies he met; all the best stuff happened when he wasn’t in Ponyville.

“Yep, a dragon slept right outside of Ponyville and Celestia had a team of ponies had to go deal with it. The Mayor would have asked for you to go along, but that was about a week ago and you weren’t back. That’ll teach you to overextend your vacation,” Derpy said in a very lecturing tone, even flying towards him to just poke him in the chest.

“You know I would have shown up soon enough…” Time Turner mumbled. Derpy just rolled her eyes.

“Was he like this the entire time with you?” she asked Trixie, causing Time Turner’s eyes to shoot open in fear. Nothing was scarier than his Ponyville friends asking his travelling friends questions.

“Oooooh, you have no idea. There was that time we were at Neighagra Falls when….”

“OKAY IT’S TIME TO LEAVE NOW,” Time Turner said as he started to run off…before turning around and coming back to hug Trixie.

“Once you get everything settled here, if you ever need me or just want to say hi, you’re always welcomed back in Ponyville as far as I’m concerned. Just keep on being fantastic, okay?” he, letting her go with one last smile before trotting over to where Dinky and Derpy were standing.

“And you just keep being a complete loony,” Trixie yelled back playfully. Time Turner’s response, however, got co-opted by Derpy.

“Oh, trust me, I don’t think he’s going to stop being that anytime soon.”