A Show Full of Surprises

Chapters

An Unlikely Trio
Your Friend Is In Another Castle
Dancing With Myself
Afterparty Blues
Back in the Game
Mirror Image
A New Surprise
The Road Looks Less Lonely
Everypony Has One Bad Show

An Unlikely Trio

Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria...

Wait, we’re not doing that again.

It had been several years since the blooming of a friendship between a certain brash, yet proud unicorn and a cheerful, yet silly pegasus. At first, they were just a showpony and assistant act. Now, they were more than that. As the years passed, their friendship grew stronger and stronger. They were best friends at this point, and no thing, nor creature, could get in the way of that.

In all those years, they have been practicing and performing for crowds of ponies, and even other creatures, everywhere. Sometimes they would be successful, sometimes decent, and other times, not so good. It was a balance.

They were currently making their way to Ponyville where they would rest for the coming evening. The walk there was rather silent, so the white pegasus, dubbed Surprise, decided to make small talk.

“Sooo... last night’s show was great, wasn’t it?” Surprise asked as she leaned her head toward her companion.

“It was decent enough,” the unicorn, named Trixie, responded. “At least they paid us this time. You have to make sure they pay us to view our shows so we can make a living. Especially for you since, you know, you didn’t even have a living before you became the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Great and Powerful assistant.”

Surprise was no ordinary pegasus. In reality, she was a clone of Pinkie Pie made into a pegasus using an apparently powerful spell. But that was old news.

“It’s a good thing I’m with you then, huh, Trixie?” Surprise showed her a gentle smile, to which she reacted with a soft smile of her own.

“Of course! We’re quite a duo if I do say so myself.”

The next thirty minutes or so were filled with either silence or more chatter. Trixie put a hoof to her forehead to block the sun as she looked ahead. She spotted their destination, and pointed ahead with her hoof.

“There it is ahead, Ponyville. That’s where we’ll be staying tonight.”

Surprise stopped in her tracks. “P-Ponyville? I don’t know... what if the ponies figure out I’m actually a Pinkie clone? They’ll send me back to the Mirror Pool for sure!”

Surprise looked worried, but Trixie had a reassuring smirk and put a hoof over Surprise’s shoulders. “Don’t worry. That’s why I changed you in the first place. None of those ponies will recognize you. At least, Twilight Sparkle won’t. If I remember correctly, she was the one that sent all the other Pinkie clones to the Mirror Pool, right?”

Surprise nodded her head.

“Well, you’re no ordinary Pinkie clone now. You’re Surprise! You’ve made a life for yourself that’s different from that hyperactive mare. Just be yourself and everything will be smooth sailing.”

That made the white mare smile. “Yeah, you’re right as always. Thank you, Trixie.”

Trixie raised her chin up proudly. “No need to thank Trixie. It is her honor to give encouraging words to her bestie/assistant. Now let’s stop here. Also, I just remembered, we haven’t cleaned up the interior of the wagon yet, but today has been a tiring day for Trixie.”

“If you’re tired, then that just leaves me to clean up the wagon.”

“Perfect! You clean up while I...” Trixie gestured toward the town. “Head into town. I’ll be back in a bit.”

“But--” Before Surprise could utter another word, Trixie was already on her way. She looked back at the wagon and shrugged. “I wonder what she’s going into town for. Oh well. Time to get this thing into tip-top shape for when she comes back. Then we’ll have time to relax.”

*****

That moment couldn’t have come sooner for Trixie. Even though she looked all high and mighty in Surprise’s eyes, her hooves felt sore, her back could use some time off, and she wanted to sleep for a long time. There was only one place in Ponyville to fix all that.

She recognized Ponyville’s spa anywhere, but this was actually the first time she stepped hoof inside. Just taking a few steps made her hooves feel like they were on fire. Oh, did she ever need this.

Just simply seeing the lobby was already making her feel relaxed. There were maybe one or two other ponies in there, sitting on the couches to go inside. From the looks of it, they were waiting for someone. That didn’t matter one bit to Trixie. No, that would be the complete lack of a line to the pink pony at the counter.

“Oh, hello, Miss Trixie,” she greeted Trixie with a thick accent. Of course she knew who the Great and Powerful Trixie was. Everypony should. “You’ve had several days of long and difficult travel, haven’t you?”

“How did you know that?” Trixie balked.

“You seem to be having trouble walking in a straight line, and you’re not putting your full weight on your legs,” she pointed out. “Don’t worry. We have just the thing.” She pulled out a brochure full of options, and there were several packages available. She was just about to dig out a pencil to circle one of them in particular.

“Nonsense. I’ll take the full package. It’s what someone as wonderful as Trixie deserves.” Trixie went ahead and threw a surprisingly sizable bag of bits on the counter.

Aloe picked up the bag with a hoof, as if to determine how many bits it contained by its weight. She was sure it was enough, and put the bag away. “Very well. Come this way.”

What happened over the next few minutes were a complete blur to Trixie’s senses, in the best possible way. She got the most wonderful back massage of her life, acupuncture that didn’t want to make her scream in agony, and a hoof pedicure. It made her feel like a huge weight was taken off her back. Who knows, maybe that Aloe or whatever her name was, she was onto something.

When she laid down on the long chair, her face covered in face cream, she didn’t think she could ever feel more relaxed. The kiwis on her eyes just sealed the deal. Usually, when her mane was covered in a towel, she would feel a massive weight on her head. Not this time. How could anyone live without feeling like this? Surprise probably needed something like this soon.

Still, she could hear something break her concentration behind her. Somepony was in the chair right behind her. She was not about to open her eyes and see what was going on, but the sound couldn’t get out of her ears. This sounded like somepony in need.

“Hard day, too?” she went ahead and asked.

“You could say that,” the pony sighed. “I’ve spent the whole day trying to make friends, and it hasn’t really worked out.”

Trixie couldn’t help but laugh a little. “Trying? I don’t know who gave you that idea, but you don’t try to make friends. It just happens. I have a friend that’s...” She stopped herself before she could spill the beans. “...well, we just became friends over time. She recognized my greatness, I recognized that she could be a great help and friend.”

“Wow. The way you make that sound, it’s almost so effortless.” She turned to get a better look at Trixie. “Don’t I know you from somewhere?”

Trixie sighed and pulled the kiwis from her eyes. When she saw the other spa customer, she was a lilac unicorn with a slightly frazzled mane. The first thing that stood out to her was just how exhausted and anxious she looked.

“You should. I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all.”

“Oh yeah. The one that woke up that Ursa Minor and challenged Twilight to a duel?”

“Oh, so Twilight Sparkle has told you about me. But that was a long time ago. We don’t talk about it anymore.”

“Right. So how do you do it? Make new friends and hang out with each other? Is it really that simple?”

Trixie blinked her eyes a few times. “You really don’t know how to do that yourself? Have you ever had any friends until now?”

“A few times. The first friend I ever had, it... didn’t end well.” She nudged her front hooves together. “The second time, I... brainwashed all of them and made them follow my manifesto.”

The blue unicorn couldn’t stop staring at this stranger. “You sound like my kind of pony. What’s your name?”

“Starlight Glimmer. Nice to meet you. And it’s true, I don’t know what I’m doing. It sounds like you’ve made some of the same mistakes as me...”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie... has had some bad days. Some ponies judge me for them. But that doesn’t change who I am. Not to fret, my wonderful assistant has stayed with me through thick and thin. That’s what a great friend does.”

“She does sound amazing. Maybe I could meet her? Learn some things from both of you?”

Trixie hummed, and noticed the cutie mark on Starlight’s flank. “What’s your special talent in? Is that another magical cutie mark Trixie sees?”

“Oh, that? Yeah, it’s for magic. I almost beat Twilight at her own game, too. Can you believe it?”

That got Trixie’s attention, real fast. “You’re great at magic, nearly defeated my arch rival at magic, and you want to be friends?”

“Arch rival?”

Trixie rolled her eyes. “It’s a long story...”

“Well, when you put it that way, I think so.”

“Great! You know, I think the two of us are going to get along just fine. Surprise is going to love you, too.”

“That’s what your friend goes by? I’d be happy to meet her, if you want. It would be... nice to have some friends again.” Starlight nudged her hooves a second time.

“Why not. But we’re not stopping this package. Trixie paid a lot for it. There’s still three more things left for me to do. I need this badly, and from the looks of it, so do you.”

“How long is this going to take?”

“Just a measly two hours.”

Starlight looked quite surprised. “That’s a pretty long time!”

“Eeyup.”

*****

Cleaning out a whole wagon was hard work. So much scrubbing and re-scrubbing. Surprise probably didn’t need to do it a third time, but she wanted Trixie to be happy with the result when she was back. Besides, it didn’t take that long to do. After all her best friend did for her, this was the least she could do in return.

While Surprise got the last of the wagon scrubbed off, her eyes caught the sight of Ponyville out in the distance. Wide open fields surrounding it, lots of grass even in the town, and the friendliest ponies in Equestria in the streets. No wonder Pinkie moved over here.

It took everything in her hooves not to go into town. After what felt like hours--it was really just minutes--she heard someone trot over to the wagon. She fixed up her mane and got herself looking at her best. She leaned over the wagon with a smile, hoping it was literally sparkling from all the hard work she put in. Only thing is, there wasn’t just one pony coming to see her. There were two.

Trixie was there, of course. She was talking mindlessly with the other pony. “...and then we did our first show together, and she was the perfect assistant!” Trixie boasted. “Oh, there she is right now. Starlight, I’d like you to meet my wonderful assistant in crime, Surprise!”

“In crime?” Starlight asked with a puzzled expression.

“It’s a figure of speech, not to be taken literally.”

The lilac unicorn looked to see who this assistant was. “So you’re Surprise? Nice to meet you. I’m Starlight Glimmer. I’ve heard a lot of good things about you.”

Surprise couldn’t help herself and started to sweat. She had no idea who this pony really was, or why she was here. “You have? Oh yeah. Trixie and I’ve been working together for a while now. Trixie, are you happy with the wagon?”

Trixie went over and checked the wagon out for herself. She hummed and tilted her head, making sure she got every inch of it with her eyes. “I can almost see my reflection in the wood! Nice job, Surprise. I knew you’d do it well.”

Even with all the compliments, the pegasus couldn’t stop staring at Starlight. Maybe it was just to be nice. Maybe she was nervous about why this unicorn was here. It could have been something else. She didn’t really know.

“Are you okay?” Starlight asked. “You look a little nervous.”

“Nervous? Me?” The amount of sweat on Surprise’s face betrayed her. She sighed and kicked the dirt. “A little bit. Trixie never brings friends to the wagon with her, other than me.”

“Really?” Starlight seemed legitimately surprised, for the lack of a better word. “It sounds like Trixie has fans all over the world.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie has a lot of fans that admire her!” Trixie shouted. “Just that... how to put it... there has only been one pony Trixie has met that’s worthy of being her assistant until now, and that’s Surprise.”

Surprise felt a lot better after hearing that. “So what are you doing here, Starlight? Come to see the next show? Go someplace nice? Something like that?”

Starlight shook her head. “Trixie asked if I could travel with you guys for a little bit, get to know how you do things. It sounds like you two are wonderful together.”

“What?” Surprise could feel the pupils in her eyes shrink to the size of peas. “Travel... with us? Why would you want to do that?”

“Well,” Starlight began, “I’m actually the headmare of the School of Friendship, and since the students are out for the Summer, I’m taking a break as well. So, this is an opportunity to do something fun!”

“Isn’t that exciting?” Trixie butted in, shoving her head between Surprise and Starlight. “Not to mention she’s good at magic, just like me! Imagine what we could do!”

The sweat kept pouring down Surprise’s face. “Yeah, together...”

“Yup, together!” Trixie and Starlight said in unison before they looked at each other. “Jinx!” Then they laughed together.

Trixie looked back at Surprise with glee. “Isn’t she a riot? Trixie couldn’t ask for somepony better to run into during her sp--ah, walk in town! Yes, that is what Trixie did while you were cleaning the wagon.”

Starlight lifted an eyebrow. “But we went to--”

Trixie cut her off by putting a hoof to her lips while whispering to her. “I don’t want her to feel bad that she didn’t come to the spa with me, you know?” Starlight nodded as Trixie removed her hoof. At the same time, Surprise was giving them a puzzled expression, but didn’t say anything.

All three of them kept talking until the sun started to set across the horizon. “Well, would you look at that,” Starlight said as the sky started to darken. “It’s about time we hit the hay.”

Trixie looked back at the wagon. “Unfortunately, the wagon is too small for all of us to sleep in. Trixie would generously offer you a place to sleep if there were enough space, but there isn’t.”

“Oh... well, that’s ok!” Starlight waved a hoof. “I could just go back to the castle in Ponyville. I’m sure Twilight wouldn’t mind me bringing over a few new friends.”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to pass. I just find my wagon to be personally cozy. I don’t want to leave it. But... maybe Surprise wouldn’t mind joining you? It would be great if she got to know you better.”

Surprise was somewhat unsure about having to go along to the home of somepony she just met, even if it was Trixie’s idea. For almost her whole life, she stood by Trixie’s side. This would be the first time since meeting Trixie that Surprise would be seperated from her best friend, if even for a little while.

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow, then,” Starlight nodded. “You coming, Surprise? The castle’s not too far from here. You can’t miss it.”

Surprise was still wrapping her mind around leaving Trixie, when she had been so used to having the unicorn within eyesight recently. Still, this Starlight was being nice to her. It was only fair to be nice right back. “Sure. Will you be here tomorrow, Trixie?”

“Certainly. This wagon has the only bed comfortable enough for Trixie to get the beauty sleep she deserves. She won’t be going anywhere.”

That was enough to settle Surprise’s nerves for now. “Ok. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She joined Starlight on the road, and the unicorn led the way. What should I say to Starlight? Say hello? Ask about her life? This is harder than I thought...

“So, anything you wanna do when we get over there?” Starlight asked. “There’s a lot of empty rooms in the castle, so we have all the space we need.”

“Huh. I didn’t think about that. I like playing games, hanging out, and generally having a good time. You know, friend stuff.”

Starlight laughed. “Reminds me of somepony I met.”

Oh no, this isn’t good! I can’t let her know what I am... “Nevermind! We should do what you like.”

“Hmm...” Starlight was a little edgy when she made herself admit it, but what the hay. “Do you like to fly kites?”

“That does sound pretty fun.” Maybe this won’t be so bad, I hope...

Your Friend Is In Another Castle

Luna’s moon had just risen above the sky, setting off the beautiful night. Shops started to close, and ponies were heading for their homes. Surprise and Starlight eventually arrived at the castle, with the former gasping at the sight. “So this is the Castle of Friendship, isn’t it?” the white pegasus inquired.

“It’s amazing, isn’t it?” Starlight asked as Surprise silently nodded. “Believe it or not, it used to be a library made out of a tree. Now, it’s a large castle made out of crystal!”

“And you live in it, too? Are you a princess or something?”

Starlight laughed a little and shook her head. “No. I was actually taken under Twilight’s wing after... well, I had an episode. But, it’s a story for another time. Let’s head inside.”

Starlight used her magic to open the large doors so the two ponies could enter the castle’s entrance. No sooner than a few seconds after entering had they spotted a small figure carrying a set of books.

“This is Spike,” the unicorn said as she gestured to the small purple dragon. “Hi, Spike.”

Spike leaned his head to the side to look at the two ponies standing in front of him. “Oh, hey Starlight. Who’s your friend?”

Starlight gestured toward the pegasus with her hoof. “Spike, this is Surprise. Surprise, Spike.”

Starlight suddenly saw Surprise standing behind her. “T-That’s a dragon, isn’t it? It doesn’t b-bite, does it?”

Starlight and Spike looked at each other for a brief moment and laughed. “Of course I don’t bite. I’m just about the friendliest dragon in Equestria! I’d shake your hoof, but I’m busy carrying these books.”

“It’s fine, er, Spike. Starlight and I were just wondering if I could stay the night here at the castle.”

“Of course you can,” said a mystery voice coming from behind Spike. Surprise could’ve sworn she’d heard this voice before. She tensed up when Spike stepped out of the way to reveal the lavender alicorn, Princess Twilight Sparkle. Yet, she was confused at the same time. The last time she saw Twilight, she was a unicorn. How she became an alicorn was beyond her.

“I couldn’t help but overhear this conversation. Surprise, was it? I can see Starlight has made a new friend,” she remarked with a pleasant smile; that was, until she saw Surprise’s appearance. “And coincidentally enough, you look just like a friend I know, Pinkie Pie, except you have a different color scheme, and you’re a pegasus. Isn’t that a... surprise!” Twilight couldn’t help giggling.

Starlight rolled her eyes from the bad pun. Surprise merely did a feign laugh. “Y-Yeah, quite a surprising coincidence...” Her voice trailed off.

“Hey, are you okay?” Starlight asked with concern.

“I’m fine. I’m just tired, is all.”

“Then let’s get to sleeping, and tomorrow, we can have fun flying kites and doing whatever else we want!” Starlight beamed.

It took a moment, but Surprise managed to calm down. It sure helped that Twilight wasn’t pressing into her true nature like she feared. “I should probably make a list or something, but I’m getting tired. Where are we sleeping, anyway?”

“I got just the room. You’ll love it.” Starlight brought her down a corridor, and Surprise noticed there were more doors that way than all of Ponyville had buildings. At least, it felt that way to her. The unicorn opened the doors with her magic, and Surprise took a peek inside.

Nothing was ever going to replace Trixie’s wagon in Surprise’s heart. As cramped as it was, it felt cozy and comfortable. This guest room, however, could be a good second place. It was roomy, vast, with a few tables and a large bed to boot. Not only that, but there was a balcony to the side. If Surprise wanted to, she could see all of Ponyville from there. Maybe, she could even see Trixie’s wagon from there.

Surprise trotted in and looked over the room. “I really like it,” she smiled. “Um, should I sleep on the floor? There’s only one bed, and I don’t want to make you feel cramped.”

The idea had Starlight puzzled. “You’ve seen how big it is, right?” It was large enough to make at least three ponies feel comfortable, let alone two. “But I wasn’t thinking about that at all. Here, there’s this spell I learned when I was a filly, and it’s perfect for tonight.”

Her horn glowed once again, and a few sparks of electricity went around the tip. Surprise was curious what it would lead to, especially when she could feel the power Starlight carried, even though she knew little to nothing about magic that Trixie didn’t show her. She took a step back when the floor gave her a fuzzy feeling, guessing that whatever Starlight would do, it involved the floor.

Just as quickly as Starlight started on the spell, she let it go. All of a sudden, there were blankets, pillows, and all sorts of things on the floor. It was well organized, too, and didn’t come across as messy at all.

“Oooooh, that’s amazing!” Surprise gleamed. “So we’re sleeping on the floor?” She flopped into the nearest blanket, and her face was treated to a faceful of pillows.

“If you want to,” Starlight replied. “You could sleep on the bed if you want. I don’t mind, just as long as we’re having fun.”

The pegasus was already starting to feel tired, the day’s events having caught up to her. “Why are you doing all this for me? We just met. You barely even know me.”

“That’s true, but I can tell you’re a nice pony at heart.” Starlight dropped to a pile of blankets next to Surprise. “And... I’m still learning to be a good friend, too. I need all the practice I can get.”

“Then you should talk to Trixie, too. We’re really good friends!” The smile on Surprise’s face was without a single trace of irony or sarcasm. “It would be nice to have two friends...” Her eyelids felt heavy out of nowhere, and it was tempting to close them.

“Wow, you had a really long day. That’s okay. We’ll have all day tomorrow to hang out. Do you have a preference on kites? You like it simple, or something like a large fort--”

Surprise’s snores filled the room. Her face was smothered into a pillow, and she was fast asleep in no time at all. “Zzzzz... zzzzz...”

The unicorn chuckled and tucked herself and Surprise in. “Yeah, I need some sleep, too.” As she curled her hindlegs in, her eyes went up to the ceiling. “It would be nice to have two friends, too...”

*****

The day couldn’t have been more perfect for kite flying if one asked for it. There were some clouds but not enough to blot out the sun, a steady breeze was in the air, and it was warm to boot. Anypony that knew how to fly a kite would be out there.

Sure enough, there were two kites on a hill right by Twilight’s castle. One of them was a classical diamond shaped kite, sparkling with magic. A few ribbons flapped around in the wind, and it was steady as it went.

Starlight was doing her best to hold on with her magic, and her grip on the handle never wavered. She felt completely at peace, watching it drift away in the currents. “I had no idea you’d be into kites, Surprise.”

She turned to see a... very Surprise scene. The pegasus didn’t use her hooves to grab onto the kite. Instead, her mane had a good grip on the handle, and she showed a gift for it that blew Starlight away.

Not only that, but the kite itself was crazy. It was a hexagon shaped kite, and there were so many ribbons that Rarity would be asking to borrow a few. Surprise didn’t waiver on her hold, even if she had a drop of sweat roll down her face.

“Me either. This is pretty fun!” Surprise tilted her head, and the kite zoomed around in the daytime sky. “Why didn’t I ever think about this before?”

“I don’t know. A lot of mares don’t fly kites at our ages. They’re missing out if you ask me.” Starlight couldn’t figure out the secret to Surprise’s mane, but she wasn’t about to interrupt right now. Instead, she just focused on having a good time.

“I feel bad for them. They don’t know how funeriffic kites are!” Seeing all those ribbons give the air some color delighted Surprise, and she showed it with her grin.

While she had a good time, Starlight took a step closer. “So how did you and Trixie become friends? She seems like a nice pony.”

“Oh, that’s easy. I...” Surprise stopped in her tracks. Starlight was nice, but there was no way somepony that lived with Twilight Sparkle could know the truth about her. “...I was looking for a job! That’s it. It took a lot of work, but Trixie hired me as her assistant. She was kind to me when I needed the help the most.”

“That makes sense.” Starlight picked up on Surprise’s nerves, but she had no idea why. Then, all of a sudden, she saw something catch her eye. “LOOK OUT!” She tugged at both kites with her magic so hard that Surprise’s handle came out of her mane.

“Huh? Is something wrong?” Surprise wondered what was up, then she felt a rush of wind that didn’t feel right. As it turned out, a certain grey furred, cross eyed pegasus dashed in the area, right where the kites would be. “Oh Celestia! If she hit our kites, I don’t know what I’d do!”

“It’s okay.” Starlight levitated Surprise’s kite back to her. “I almost didn’t see it myself. Good thing I caught it in time, right?”

The pegasus smiled and picked up the handle with her mane. “Yeah. You know, Starlight, you seem like a really kind pony, too.”

For the first time Surprise could remember, she saw the unicorn look unhappy, parting her eyes away. “I wasn’t always like that. I could be pretty cruel to others when I felt like it.”

“You? Cruel? But you’re so happy and friendly!”

“I am now. That’s probably why Trixie and I hit it off, we’ve made a lot of the same mistakes,” Starlight sighed. “I’m better now, at least.”

Surprise nodded, and she was tempted to give the poor unicorn a hug, but she saw somepony come up on the hill. It didn’t take long to recognize Trixie, and it made Surprise happy to see her again. Trixie had a smirk on her face from the kites, looking up and down at them.

“Kites? I can see Surprise being into them, but I didn’t think you would like them, Starlight,” Trixie observed. “They’re not my thing, but who cares? You two are having fun.”

“Yes, indeedy!” Surprise noted.

“So what if kites are a thing for fillies? I can still do this.” Starlight covered her entire body in a magical aura, and she cast a spell over herself. Her hooves lifted off the ground, and she was levitating over the hill. Just as quickly as she cast it, she dropped back down to solid ground. “What do you think about that?”

Trixie’s jaw was practically on the ground. “Teach me how to do that spell. Now.”

“Alright, but we should probably go somewhere private for this.” Starlight glanced over at Surprise. “What are you wanting to do?”

Surprise fidgeted from the thought. “I don’t know. I want to come, but isn’t that something only unicorns can do?” She extended her wings out.

“That’s a good point, and you know what? You haven’t gotten to go to the spa yet.” Trixie tossed a bag of bits in Surprise’s way. “That’s something you could do while Starlight teaches The Great and Powerful Trixie another trick in her reportore. Be sure to ask for the full package. Their mud bath is the best.” She leaned right in Surprise’s face. “The. Best.”

Surprise gulped, and she put on her best fake smile. “Sure! You’ll be back afterwards, right? Heh heh…”

“Of course. We still have a magic show for later, and Trixie needs her trusty assistant for it.” She patted Surprise’s mane and went on her way.

Starlight came over and gave Surprise the other kite handle. “The mud bath really is that good. We’ll see you later!” She trotted over to Trixie, and soon, it was like neither one of them were ever there.

Once they left, Surprise gazed down at the bag of bits. It would be nice to get a wonderful spa massage, but something felt wrong. Her heart was like it had a hole in the middle. What was that all about?

Then it came to her. She felt terrible about not going with them, even if she might have just been a third wheel for the whole thing. At least she could have watched and cheered them on. But then it really dawned on her.

Since the first time they met, it was the first time she hadn’t been somewhere with Trixie. That shouldn’t have gotten to her as much as it did, but it did. “Come on, it’s just for an hour or two! She’ll be back! With her new friend... that knows more about magic then I ever will...”

Her mane deflated a little bit, but she forced herself to smile. “I should just go to the spa. I’ll feel better then!” Despite that, her hooves were heavy as she trotted down to the spa. Hopefully, the feeling would go away.

*****

It didn’t take long for Surprise to find the Ponyville Day Spa. She wasted no time in stepping inside, immediately walking up to the pink pony behind the counter.

“Ahh, a new customer arrives!” Aloe said in her thick accent. She pulled out a brochure filled with many options and presented it to Surprise. “How may we service you today?”

Surprise pulled out the bag of bits that Trixie gave her and dropped it on the counter. “A full package, please.”

Aloe’s mouth dropped open momentarily. “T-That’s the second time this week!”

As she picked up the bag of bits, another bag of bits levitated onto the counter from behind Surprise. She turned around to find a white unicorn mare with a fancy purple mane trot toward them. “Third time this week.”

“Rarity!” Aloe exclaimed. “I believe this is the first time you came for the full package.”

“Well, business has been booming lately, and I have more bits than I know what to do with,” Rarity laughed.

“That’s very good to hear. Now then, head right this way, and have a relaxing time!” Aloe gestured toward the doorway, where Rarity walked with Surprise.

There were so many things on the full package thing, yet they started with hooficures. There were many chairs with some other ponies getting the same thing. As Surprise and Rarity were taking their seats, two other spa ponies came over and started working on their hooves.

“I believe we haven’t properly introduced ourselves,” the unicorn started. “My name is Rarity.”

“Mine’s Surprise. Yeah I know, it’s a weird name.” She nudged her front hooves together nervously.

“Not at all, darling! I like how, uh, simple it sounds. Surprise!” She waved her front hooves in a jazz hooves-like motion. Surprise didn’t react at all, which caused a momentary awkward silence. Rarity broke the silence by making a fake cough. “So, Surprise, tell me what brings you here?”

For obvious reasons, Surprise couldn’t actually tell her the whole story. She knew Rarity as one of Twilight’s friends, and if she squealed, that would mean a one way trip to the Mirror Pool. Surprise was on edge, but she tried not to let it show. She gave Rarity the bare minimum from recent events, and the unicorn listened in, reacting accordingly to every detail.

“So, from what I’m hearing, you’re afraid of losing your friend to another pony?” Surprise didn’t have to say anything, for Rarity could read it on the pegasus’ face. “It’s not a bad idea to make new friends, you know.”

Hmm... maybe I could try a little harder to become friends with Starlight, but what if Trixie prefers her over me? Surprise thought. I don’t want to lose the only friend I’ve had!

Rarity could tell she was deep in thought, and turned her head away from the pegasus. “Just think about it.”

That is what she did for the rest of the spa visit, up until it was over, and she exited the building. Trixie was definitely right about the mud bath. Surprise enjoyed it the most. Yet, despite feeling the most relaxed she had felt in a while, there was still an empty feeling inside of her, and she couldn’t figure out what it was, that is, until her stomach started growling.

“Oh, guess that means I’m hungry,” she giggled. “I feel like I could eat a dozen cupcakes.”

There’s only one place in Ponyville that anypony could get such a confection: Sugarcube Corner. It was the perfect place to drown out sadness in delectable sweets. However, when she got there, something had just occurred to her.

“Wait... I spent all the bits she gave me on the spa visit.”

“Not a problem!”

Oh no. Surprise could recognize that voice anywhere...

Dancing With Myself

Most of the time, Surprise’s legs were full of life and energy. That wasn’t happening this time. Instead, her limbs were nearly ready to give out on her, and she forced herself to smile. “H-Hello, stranger...”

A familiar pink pony with the same mane style as her was standing nearby, curious and happy to see Surprise. “Hello to you, too! Anypony ever told you that you have a nice mane? Or that you look happy?” She took Surprise’s cheeks with her hooves and stretched them out. “You even have nice teeth!”

Surprise wanted nothing more than to fly away, and she couldn’t get out of there soon enough. But Pinkie might wonder what was going on. “Umm... uhh...”

“Oh, I’m just being rude! Hi, I’m Pinkie Pie! Are you new to Ponyville? I’ve never seen you before.” She extended a front leg out for Surprise, just as cheerful as ever.

Surprise, however, could feel her mane trying to deflate. She looked down at the pink hoof in front of her, and she had no idea if she should shake it or not. If she did, it might give away that her voice was similar to Pinkie’s, and then Twilight would find out and--

Her hoof was shaking Pinkie’s without realizing it. “Surprise... heh heh, I’m new around here...”

“Really?” Pinkie glimmered. “That’s amazing! I should show you around town and throw you your very own Welcome to Ponyville Party! There’s so much you’ll love here. Sugarcube Corner, the sunny air, we even have our own princess! Princess Twilight is the best friend you could make.”

Even if Surprise just met Twilight, she didn’t want to take the risk. “Maybe we could just have a party! You know, that thing where you have fun and invite people and…” She gulped and tried to keep it together. It wasn’t working out.

“Exactly!” Pinkie shouted. “Now where to begin…” She pulled out a roll of paper from her mane, because that was something she could do, and she read it over. “We’ll need five cakes, four bowls of fruit punch, and a lot of other things! What kind of cake do you like--”

Pinkie lifted her head up and found that Surprise was missing. The pegasus panicked and flew as far away from the spot as she could. Pinkie might have been a nice pony, friendly even, but she couldn’t take any chances. If Twilight couldn’t put two and two together, maybe the pony she was cloned from would figure it out.

She flew for a good minute away from the street, feeling bad because Pinkie was being nice to her. Then she saw that she didn’t actually know where she was going. Fair enough, there was no way Pinkie could catch up to her. She lowered herself down to the ground and rested by a tree.

“Are you okay?” Pinkie asked right next to her. Surprise jumped up like a cat and clung to the branch above her head. “You seem really jumpy.”

“Ahhhh!” Surprise sprung ahead with her wings and raced on the other side of the town. She came to a complete skid in front of Ponyville’s school, and she thought she was finally safe... until she saw Pinkie ringing the school bell. “How did you get there so fast?”

“It’s one of my side jobs,” Pinkie pointed out. “I’m sorry about the cakes. We can just do one if you want--”

And then Surprise was gone in a flash. Her wings strained from the pressure she put on them, but she wasn’t going to stop if she could help it. Instead, her wings started to give out on her. “No no no…”

Sure enough, Pinkie was standing right where Surprise was heading. The pegasus whined from the sight, but her wings had enough for once. She ended up being forced to touch down, and she face planted in front of the pink pony. “It’s all over...”

Pinkie tilted her head. “What’s over? We haven’t even started the party yet!” She took out a balloon and inflated it with her breath, and it only took a moment to get it filled with air.

Now that wasn’t something Surprise expected. She lifted her head up at the Earth Pony. “Wait, you’re not mad at me? You don’t know who I am?”

“I just met you, silly.” Pinkie patted her mane and placed a party hat on her head. “You said your name was Surprise?”

The more Surprise thought about it, the more she was stunned. Pinkie should have been able to recognize her own mane when she saw it. There wasn’t a hint that she knew the truth about the pegasus, however. Maybe she could make it work...

“Uhh, well, yes.” Surprise made herself stand up. “I just thought that you’d--”

“That I’d want?” Pinkie remained stumped by her newest friend’s actions.

“Nevermind. Did you say you’d want to throw a party for me, even though we just met?”

“Why wouldn’t I?” Pinkie asked, as if that was common sense. “You’re new to Ponyville. That’s enough for me!”

“That does sound...” The bounce returned to Surprise’s mane. “Pretty fun! Can I invite some guests? There’s two ponies I know that should be there. They’re right by Twilight’s castle.”

“Ooooh, so you do know about the castle!” Pinkie bounced. “Sure, we can get them. This party’s all for you, after all!”

The thought warmed Surprise’s heart. Maybe this way, she could bring in Trixie again. They’d stay friends. And maybe she would be friends with Starlight.

Surprise had never seen anypony other than maybe herself work that fast. Pinkie turned the Sugarcube Corner from a typical bakery into a party palace in just three minutes. No matter how much she wanted to help, Pinkie was already three steps ahead of her. Still, the banners, cake, and other decorations were all welcome to see.

“Wow. When you go out, you really go out,” Surprise noted.

“Of course I’d go all out! Don’t worry, I sent the invitations. You’re going to love it here!”

“Wait, invitations? How did you even do that?” Surprise questioned. “You never left the Corner.”

“That’s easy.” Pinkie went to the nearest wall and pulled away a brick. “I have letter delivery places stored all over Ponyville! In case of letter delivery emergencies, or when Derpy sends the letters to the wrong place.” She stuffed a letter into the hole, and it went down a plastic tube to somewhere.

“Oh, that makes sense. I think.” The next thing Surprise knew, she saw two familiar unicorns walk through the door, and she gleamed from the sight. “Trixie! Starlight! You’re already here!”

Trixie glanced around the room and chuckled. “A party worthy of the Great and Powerful Trixie, let alone her trusty assistant.” She stopped, however, after seeing Pinkie there. “You.”

“Hello to you, too!” Pinkie chuckled. “Hey, are you both friends with Surprise?”

“I just met her, but we could be friends,” Starlight noted, and looked Trixie’s way. “Uhh, why are you looking at her that way, Trixie?”

“Let’s just say... we’ve met before.”

“Ooooh, I just realized something about your friends, Surprise!” Pinkie pulled the pegasus in and pointed at the unicorns. “Trixie used to be a big meanie and even took my mouth away!”

Trixie scoffed. “Trixie will have you know she has changed! It’s a long story, but you can thank Surprise for that.” Surprise smiled warmly at the compliment.

“Also,” Pinkie continued. “There was a time where Starlight was a big meanie when she tried to use a time spell to change everything, but now she’s changed and a really good friend, too!”

Still, both unicorns weren’t exactly comfortable with what they heard about what they’ve done in the past. Trixie hid her face in her hat and Starlight glanced off to the side. “But that’s okay!” Surprise butted in. “You’re good friends now, right? That’s all that matters. Trixie has been a really good boss and eventual friend to me, and Starlight... well, she has been really nice to me.”

With that in mind, Trixie brought the hat out of her face and grinned. “Just the kind of praise Trixie deserves. And Starlight’s turned out to be a wonderful magician that could, one day, be as good as me.”

Starlight chuckled and went up to see Surprise. “Still, this party’s all about you. Trust me, nobody throws a Welcome to Ponyville party quite like Pinkie. Go ahead and have some fun.”

“Fun? FUN?” Surprise shook around like someone hooked up caffeine in her veins. “We can have as much fun as we want?”

“Of course! It’s your party!” Pinkie pointed out.

“Then let’s have some FUUUUUUN!” Surprise practically exploded and bounced off the walls, not even needing any wings to fly around. All of a sudden, the party took on a whole new meaning to her. The cake, the decorations, she was even blindfolding herself to play Pin The Tail On The Donkey, even though nobody suggested it to her.

“Hold on, I’m coming!” Pinkie rushed in on the scene after the pegasus, and soon enough, it turned into one big blur. Surprise would stuff her face into a plate full of cake, right when Pinkie was about to do the same. Loud party music would be blaring, and Starlight and Trixie would know this wouldn’t be for them. They took a seat at a table on the edge of the party.

“Why is she always on edge?” Starlight asked.

“You’ve met Pinkie before, right? She’s like a ball of energy that took on a pony form and chose to live among us,” Trixie commented.

“No, I meant Surprise. I talked to her earlier and she was really upset. Is something wrong?”

“Oh.” Trixie fidgeted her hooves. “She had a bit of a rough patch right before she became my assistant. Kind of lost, kind of not knowing what she should do, even with her own cutie mark. She seems happier now.”

Sure enough, Surprise was dancing by bouncing off her tail like it was made of rubber. Pinkie was delighted and even giggled from the sight. Trixie gestured over to the pegasus. “See what I mean?”

“I do. Maybe she just needs more friends.” Starlight thought, only to see Trixie irked from the thought. “I’m not saying you’re a bad friend, but I just came from a rough time in my life, too. Having a few friends helped me out.”

“Hmm, Trixie could see that. We’ll see how it goes.”

As they kept talking, more ponies started to show up to the party. It started out with a few ponies, which expanded quickly. Pinkie’s other friends even started to show up later on.

The first of Pinkie’s best friends sped her way in like a blur. “Aww yeah, another Pinkie Pie party!” Rainbow Dash looked around in awe. “Come on in, guys!”

Following her was the timid pegasus, Fluttershy, who let out a simple “yay”.

Next to her was the pony with a southern accent, Applejack, who chuckled as she entered. “Nothing like one o’ Pinkie’s parties!”

“I wonder what the occasion is this time,” the fashionista Rarity followed.

Finally, the princess herself, Twilight, entered last. “If I had to take a guess, it’s probably a party thrown for a new face in town.”

However, it didn’t end there. When the door to the Corner opened, a certain yellow-coated, yellow-and-red maned unicorn walked in the area, seeing all that was going on and smiling. She checked around the place and noticed Pinkie dancing with a pony she wasn’t familiar with.

“Of course this is what I see when I come in here,” she chuckled. “Pinkie throwing another party for a pony she just met.”

Pinkie stopped her dancing and got back on all four limbs. “Oh, I didn’t know you were going to be here! Surprise, this is a really special pony, Sunset Shimmer. She’s from another world where everyone walks on two legs.”

“Oh?” Surprise stopped bouncing on her tail just long enough to settle down. “That’s really cool. I’m a surprise! I mean... I’m Surprise!” She laughed at her own little joke.

Amused, Sunset came over to see the new pony. “Nice to meet you.” She noticed that Surprise’s mane was similar to Pinkie’s, but didn’t think anything of it. “And I’m not surprised, pardon the pun, that Pinkie threw a party for a pony she just met.” She extended a hoof out for Surprise to shake.

“Hehe! Oh, and I’m Trixie’s--the Great and Powerful Trixie’s assistant!” Trixie herself was pleased with the correction, and Surprise took Sunset’s hoof and shook it.

The whole time they were shaking, however, something happened in Sunset’s mind. Her eyes didn’t see the pegasus in front of her, but rather, a whole film reel’s worth of memories. All she could see was the Mirror Pool, another Pinkie running away for dear life, and Trixie finding her. Then she caught wind of the change from being another Pinkie clone to Surprise, and her mind was left boggled.

“Are you okay?” Surprise inquired. “You don’t look so good.”

The moment the highlight reel broke off, Sunset immediately shot a look at Trixie. It wasn’t a hateful one, but she didn’t exactly hide how confused and blown away she was. Starlight was a little on edge from the sight, and so was the blue unicorn.

“Uh... uh... I just need to use the little filly’s room for a bit,” Sunset mentioned. “My lunch isn’t agreeing with me. I’ll be right back!”

She rushed to the nearest restroom, leaving the rest of the party confused and a little worried. She would shut the door and lock it, and she had to make sure she was alone. Yeah, she was the only one there.

Wow. That’s something I didn’t expect to see. That explains a lot about her. She’s literally a clone of Pinkie but with wings. Just imagine Pinkie with wings... nevermind. What should I do about it? Should I even do anything about this?

Does Twilight know about her?

Afterparty Blues

Sunset still couldn’t believe there was an actual Pinkie Pie clone in Sugarcube Corner. And she was in a full-blown pony disguise hidden right in front of everypony. Her first thought was to go straight to Twilight and tell her what she just discovered. Then again, doing so in the middle of a party might not be the best idea.

She peeked her head back out the door. The party remained normal enough, at least for a party thrown by Pinkie. Of course, the first ponies she saw were the two ponies she saw in her vision, Trixie and ‘Surprise’. They looked like they were having a good time. At least, Surprise was.

Surprise kept bouncing off her tail like it was made out of rubber. Sometimes, she would bounce off the walls, and she had a giant smile on her face the whole time. However, Trixie was unmoved. Oh sure, she was smiling as well, but she wasn’t joining in on the festivities. She remained in her seat with Starlight.

Noting that, Surprise landed perfectly on her hooves in front of them. “What’s wrong, Trixie? Are you bored? Unhappy? We could do something else. Would that make you happy?”

The whole time, Sunset sat back and observed the pegasus. She still felt like an idiot for not seeing it earlier. Surprise had the exact same mane and tail style as Pinkie, and she also defied the laws of physics, just because. They even had the same voice. How is it that Twilight looked right at Surprise and didn’t get it earlier?

“Oh no, Trixie is never upset or unhappy,” Trixie responded. “She just doesn’t do dancing. All those moves, ugh, it’s like I was born with four left hooves!”

“Oh.” Surprise’s mane deflated a little bit. “Hmm... maybe there’s something else we can do.” She scanned the area with her eyes, and she spotted rows and rows of cakes nearby. “We could eat cake together! Does that sound fun?”

“Ooooh, that I can do!” Pinkie rushed in and picked up a cake of her own, one covered with maybe a little too much vanilla frosting. Without further adieu, she dropped it off at their table. “Go ahead and eat up!” There were already plates and silverware on the table, as if she knew this was going to happen today.

“You know what, you go ahead,” Starlight noted. Despite that, she cut up a couple of pieces for Trixie and Surprise and handed them off to her friends. “I had a big dinner.” The whole time, she noticed Sunset standing nearby, not saying much. “You okay? You left in a hurry.”

Sunset gulped; she didn’t want to be put on the spot like this. Not when she knew what she just learned, at least. “Yeah, I’m okay. Just some stomach issues. You girls mind if I leave for now? I don’t wanna drag things down like that. See you guys around?”

“Not at all! It was nice meeting you!” Surprise dug her face into the slice of cake, and it was uncanny how she even ate like Pinkie, something that really stood out to Sunset.

“See ya.” Sunset would close the door behind her as she left, and she was going to have a lot to think about.

Meanwhile, Surprise kept mindlessly eating at her cake, and she was so quick, Pinkie was debating if she needed to make more cakes soon. In comparison, Trixie was slow and careful with her bites, almost reminding her of a proper Canterlot mare. Although, it would stand out to the pegasus how Starlight was merely staring at the cake.

“It’s okay if you wanna eat some, too,” Surprise pointed out. “There’s enough for all three of us, and friends share, right?”

Starlight blinked. “You want to be my friend even though we just met?” She laughed from the thought. “Are you sure you and Pinkie aren’t long lost sisters? You’d be more like her than, you know, her actual sisters.”

The thought made Surprise stop in the middle of her bite. In fact, she came close to choking it out. “Heh heh heh, maybe! That would be a silly thought...” Her eyes drifted along to Pinkie, and the pink mare was already baking another cake. Please tell me she doesn’t know...

“By the way, Trixie, what did you think of that Fire Trail spell they had going on?” Starlight inquired. “You said it could come in handy for your shows.”

“It’s astounding. It’s beyond brilliant! Trixie must have it for her next show! I just have to figure out how to use it without burning my assistant to a crisp. I plan to keep her around, after all.”

Despite the niceties Trixie was offering her, Surprise felt her mane deflate a little more. The way Trixie and Starlight talked to each other so casually, it made her wonder things. “What do you mean?”

“Well, it’s a spell that leaves trails of fire everywhere,” said Starlight. “It was originally meant for self defense, but some magicians have used it for shows recently.”

“And since the Great and Powerful Trixie is the greatest magician of them all, she must use it!” Trixie exclaimed, and then she snarfed down another slice of cake.

Off to the kitchen, Pinkie could spot it all the way from there. “Hey, Surprise, can you help me with the cake? I wanna get your thoughts about what kind of icing to use.”

“Okay.” With a weight to her step, Surprise used her wings to hover over to the kitchen. She heard Trixie and Starlight chat away behind her shoulder, deflating her mane even more.

Once she got to the kitchen, it came as no surprise that it was just as massive as every other room in Sugarcube Corner. Down there, Pinkie had a freshly baked lemon cake, along with two vials of lemon and vanilla frosting. She was staring at the cake like it was a work of art, and just as deserving of attention as one. Yet, that wasn’t her main focus once Surprise came in. “You’re afraid that Trixie doesn’t really want to be your friend, even though you really want her to be your friend?”

Surprise blinked. “How did you know?”

“Er, Pinkie Sense or something like that.” Pinkie grabbed two spoons, gave one spoon vanilla frosting and the other lemon, and handed them over to Surprise for testing. “Don’t worry about it. She loves you!”

Surprise sighed and tested out both flavors. “Lemon’s better. I’m just scared that Starlight is going to take Trixie away from me. I know that’s selfish, but Trixie means so much to me!”

Pinkie nodded and started to frost the cake with lemon icing. “Let me guess. Is she so close to you as a friend, it’s like having a sister?”

“Exactly! She helped me in a really rough spot, and I love doing those shows with her. I just want things to stay the way they are between us. But, I don’t know. She’s doing so well with Starlight...”

Pinkie shifted around to use her mane to grab the frosting and set it over the cake, and she patted Surprise on the back. “Starlight likes you, too. And didn’t you say you wanted to make new friends?”

“Yeah. I just hope Trixie’s still my friend.”

“I think she will. Just give it a chance! And everypony usually has two or more friends. Ooooh, what if all three of you are friends?”

“Then that would be like...” Surprise somehow counted things on her front hooves. “Like nine friendship possibilities. Because that means Trixie has two friends in me and Starlight, I’m friends with Starlight and Trixie, and Starlight has friends in me and Trixie! Whew, talk about tough math.”

Pinkie giggled and patted Surprise on the back. “It comes with time.” She picked up the cake and rested it on her back. “Come on, there’s still a party to look forward to!”

Surprise sighed a bit. “Yeah. And I do wanna have fun with my friends...”

*****

As soon as the coast was clear, Sunset made a beeline over to Twilight’s castle. Her mind was racing with thoughts, namely, what to do about all of this. Should she say anything? Was it best to simply let it be? No. Something was at work here, and she had to do something about it.

It wouldn’t take long for her to arrive at Twilight’s castle. She checked around the rooms to figure out where the library was. With how rarely she came over here, she had a hard time figuring out which room led to what around here. No matter. She was still going to try.

However, she bumped into the purple alicorn herself. Twilight had a few books at her disposal, of course, along with a cup of coffee. “Sunset? What are you doing here?”

Sunset flinched. “I could ask the same about you. I thought you were at the party.”

“Yeah, but I just remembered I had some stuff to rearrange back here, and I was getting a little tired, so I left early. In fact, I was just about to start a study session. If you like, you can join, too.”

Sunset was astonished by the amount of books, but she shook her head. “That’s fine. I was actually looking for the central library around here. Do you know where it is from here?”

“The central library? I suppose it would be hard to find from here. Just take the first door on the left, then the second door on the right, and you’ll see it up front.” Twilight sipped at her mug. “Which book are you looking for?”

Sunset was hesitant to show her hoof so quickly, when she didn’t even know all the facts herself. “Just browsing. I know you have a massive library.” She went on her way, but she stopped and turned to Twilight. “What do you know about Surprise?”

“Is that what this is about? Well, I just met her. I know she works for Trixie and they’re friends. Somehow, she reminds me a lot about Pinkie. You know, high energy, bounces around, things like that. Why do you ask?”

“Just wanted to make sure.” Sunset knew Twilight would be a little weirded out, but she still went on her way. She remembered Twilight’s instructions and went down the halls of Twilight’s castle. Surely, she would have something resembling answers up ahead.

Soon enough, she ended up in Twilight’s library. Just as she remembered, it was a massive library with hundreds, likely thousands of books. She had no idea where to start, but she knew what she was looking for. She just needed to dig her hooves in and get to work. So she began to flip through all the books about magical artifacts and such. It would take her a while before she felt like she was even remotely close to her goal. There were just so many books to flip through. At least she had magic on her side, making it easy to search them all.

However, one book stood out to her. She wasn’t sure if it was what she was looking for, so she sat down with it and searched it over. Then she came to one passage, and she knew this was it. It had to be.

Now lost to history, the Mirror Pool was notorious in the early days of Luna’s banishment. It was said that a pony could stare at it and cite a poem, and out would come a clone of the pony from the lake. The clone would resemble the original in several ways.

Over time, it was discovered that the clone had its own traits. Rather than be an identical clone of the original, it would have only the base traits of the original’s personality. Say, if a pony was violent but also showed restraint when needed, the clone would mercilessly attack anypony nearby.

As a result, it was decreed that the Mirror Pool would be sealed off from the rest of the world. It is still believed to exist near the land that would later become Ponyville, but nopony knows its exact location. Given the lack of reports on it, and no signs of its existence in centuries, some believe it might have just been a myth…

“So that’s what’s going on. Surprise really is a clone of Pinkie... but she doesn’t seem to be a ‘base’ version of her, either,” Sunset noted. “But Twilight and the others don’t know, and of course Trixie wouldn’t tell them.”

And yet, she was left speechless after her own little notes. What was she supposed to do about this? Tell Twilight? Send Surprise back to the Mirror Pool?

She had no idea. This was going to take some time to figure out.

Back in the Game

After what felt like hours, but was more like forty-five minutes, the party was finally over. Surprise walked out of Sugarcube Corner, still with a spring in her step, and she felt a little relieved. Meanwhile, Starlight and Trixie had a much harder time getting out of there. Trixie might have even been a little sick.

“I might have had five too many slices of cake...” she groaned.

“Only five? I know I went way past that,” Starlight noted. “At least she’s happy about it, though.”

Sure enough, Surprise almost seemed invigorated by the cake she had, and she even carried one to go. Before she went too far, she heard somepony over her shoulder. “Don’t forget to come back next time your belly’s rumbling for some treats!” Pinkie said to her. “The door’s always open for you.”

“Gee, thank you!” Surprise smiled. “It is nice to meet friendly ponies.” She tucked the cake away into a plastic container and tied it to her back, waving Pinkie farewell as she went back inside the store. “Oh, wait a second! Aren’t we supposed to do something?” Surprise pulled out a list, and she looked over it. “I knew I forgot something. We have a show.”

Trixie blinked her eyes. “And this is why you’re Trixie’s assistant. It completely slipped my mind. Can you believe that? Something slipped my mind?” She snorted from the thought.

“I can believe it,” Starlight whispered. Still, she kept up her appearances. “So where are we having it? At the park? Sweet Apple Acres?”

The thought left Surprise perplexed. “What do you mean?”

And then she saw Trixie facehoof herself. “Drat, I forgot something again! I forgot to tell you, tonight is a special performance, one unlike anything Ponyville hasn’t seen. For there won’t be just one magnificent magician at play today, but two!”

Knowing Surprise wasn’t going to take it well, Starlight weakly waved a front hoof to the pegasus. Surprise could almost literally feel the wind get knocked out of her sails. “You, Starlight? But, am I still part of the show? As your assistant?”

“Of course you are,” Trixie replied, patting Surprise on the mane. “A show this brilliant needs a helping hoof, after all. I know, Starlight’s helping out. But don’t worry, there is still time for a rehearsal and all that stuff you’re supposed to do. What do you say?”

Surprise turned to Starlight, and the unicorn still had a nervous smile going on. Please don’t be upset, Surprise. She just called you a helping hoof. That’s a compliment, right?

Even after seeing that it was a compliment, Surprise felt a little agitated and anxious. The thighs on her hindlegs felt tense, to the point where she swore she was about to have a cramp. Still, Trixie was waiting for an answer.

If I do really good tonight, that will convince Trixie to keep me around? Why did I say that? She wants to keep me around! Keep it together, Surprise!

“O-Of course! Where are we practicing?”

A mischievous, yet warming grin spread across Trixie’s face. “Don’t worry. Between the three of us, even the Princess will be jealous of our work. When we hold our show tonight, nopony will question our greatness.”

*****

Celestia’s sun finally set, and Luna’s moon took its place in the nighttime sky. After a while, a stage was pitched up right in the town square of Ponyville(after some convincing and perhaps a little bribing). Everypony recognized the stage as belonging to Trixie, but given her reformation and the presence of two newer ponies on the posters to the show, they were curious.

In fact, Surprise was blown away by the size of the crowd. She peeked her head from the curtain, and her jaw dropped. “We might have a thousand ponies out there!” she pointed out.

“Word spreads fast when you’re magnificent, no?” Trixie snorted. She used her magic to tie her cape around her neck, and Starlight adjusted it as well. “Go ahead and move into position for the first stunt. We’re beginning with the cannonball stunt.”

“Already?” Surprise balked. “Don’t you usually save that for the finale?”

“Mostly, but I feel like a brand new mare tonight. After all, this will be our first three pony show. Therefore, we must make a grand entrance, wouldn’t you say?”

Starlight gave Surprise a warm nod, and it was enough to convince the pegasus. “I can do that. Just show me where the cannon is.”

“Right this way, my trusty assistant.” Trixie used a cloaking spell to change the colors of her robe to pure black, and her fur a darker shade of blue, so nopony would recognize her as she went through the crowd.

Before Surprise could follow suit, Starlight pulled her to the side. “Look, I know you’re having a hard time with me around. I get it. It’s obvious you’re really close to Trixie, and she means a lot to you.”

“Hard time? With you around?” As much as it was true, Surprise thought it sounded horrible in her mind. “Why? You’ve been nice to me, and I should probably make new friends, too. Just like Pinkie said.”

“I understand that. I just don’t want to get in the way between you and Trixie. If you’re worried about that, just talk to her about it. She will listen, trust me.”

It didn’t completely settle Surprise’s nerves down, but there was a small weight off her chest, too. “Thanks, Starlight. That’s probably what I needed to hear.”

“Surprise? Surrrrprrrrrise? Where are you?” Trixie called out from the edge of the stage. “Are you there?”

“Oh yeah. I probably need to go out there with her. Thanks for the help!” Surprise went on her way out of the stage, joining Trixie out there.

“No problem. Go break a leg!” Then Starlight was facehoofing herself. “Not literally! Why did that even become a saying...”

Surprise giggled from the thought, but she was quick to follow Trixie out there. “There you are,” Trixie replied. “Now then, where were we...”

Still blown away from the massive size of the crowd, Surprise followed the cloaked unicorn along the sides of the street. Every now and then, she heard the ponies waiting on the show, excited and curious what laid in store for them. “I wonder what’s the deal with that white pegasus... this is a magic show, isn’t it?”

She did her best not to let it get to her. It sure helped that Trixie seemed more comfortable with her around, and they went on their way. It would take some time, but Trixie led them back to the park. There, the only thing that would be waiting for them would be an old fashioned cannon, with a barrel big enough for one pony.

“Oooooh, I see what you’re doing now,” Surprise noted. “So I point the cannon so it’s aiming at the stage, and you land on it. And the reason Starlight’s still on the stage is so she can help catch you?”

“Why, yes,” Trixie gleamed. “Isn’t it a magnificent start to the show? Of course, that’s just the beginning. You do have a crucial part in this act, however. Be sure to get the angle just right.”

“Alright. I can do that.” Surprise hung around the backside of the cannon, and she noticed a box full of matches waiting for her. Seeing the massive fuse on the side, she understood her role perfectly.

Trixie would twitch and groan as she climbed up into the cannon. “Isn’t this big enough for a pillow? It’s so uncomfortable...” Still, she got past the muzzle and landed on the base of the cannon. “Alright, Surprise, you know what to do.”

“Aye aye, Captain!” Eager to prove herself, Surprise grabbed a match, mostly with her mane, and lit it up. There was a small sense of glee to her senses as she lit the fuse, and it started its countdown to the cannon. “It’s all lit up!”

With that in mind, Trixie braced herself for the big entrance, and she took a deep breath. The whole time, Surprise grabbed the sides of the cannon and tilted it up. She had to get the angle just right, after all. Thank Celestia and Luna, she could see the stage from there.

However, something started to happen when she got to work. The whole time, her mind was filled with anxious thoughts. What if I mess this up? Will Trixie still want to work with me? I can do this, right? What if I’m off by a single degree? No no, please don’t do this to yourself. She trusts you for a reason.

Trixie either had no idea what was going on or completely trusted Surprise, as her eyes remained closed. From the distance, she could hear the crowd erupt as Starlight came onto the stage.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, let me introduce to you, the greatest magician you will ever see, the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Starlight began, pointing up in the direction of the cannon.

Something about that unnerved Surprise, and she almost screamed when her hooves slipped. The cannon went a few degrees higher in the air than it was supposed to, right when it went off. “NOOOOO!”

Trixie couldn’t hear it at all. The roar of the cannon filled her ears, and she flew up into the air. Her front hooves extended out as her cape flapped in the air. The crowd was marveled; it looked like the unicorn was flying with the ease of a pegasus.

The whole time, Surprise was screaming on the inside. She took off after Trixie, determined to catch the unicorn. With the angle she left Trixie with, there was no way she was going to make the stage.

Starlight had no idea about it at first, and she cast a spell near and around Trixie. Soon enough, Trixie’s body was leaving behind a fire trail, just like the spell they learned. That left the crowd applauding from the sight, but it was the worst case scenario for Surprise. “No, no, no, I can’t chase after her without catching fire...”

Seeing Trixie’s body dip, threatening to crash into the crowd, was even worse. Even with the spell, Surprise panicked and chased after her anyway, determined to save her. It was the right thing to do.

However, Starlight spotted Surprise chasing after Trixie. “I wonder why she’s doing that?” Then she saw Trixie threaten to crash, and she understood it perfectly. “Oh no...” Right away, she cast another spell at the blue unicorn, trying to catch her with a levitation spell. It worked: She had a good grip on Trixie in no time, and she guided her friend to the stage.

The moment Surprise caught it as well, she felt massively relieved. Trixie glided up into the air again, only to be guided down to the stage like this was the plan all along. The whole time, Trixie had no idea about all of it. In fact, she turned around and posed for the crowd to a parade of fireworks at her back. With her infectious grin, it was obvious she had no clue what just happened.

Still, Surprise was nearly about to pass out from the massive anxiety she just put herself through. She flew over to the sides of the crowd like she was always there, and she did her best to join backstage for the rest of the other acts. Starlight would glance over her shoulder to see if Surprise was okay, right when Trixie introduced herself.

“Citizens of Ponyville, the Great and Powerful Trixie has graced your town with her presence again! As you can already see, things have changed. Not only does she have a new magician joining her today, Starlight Glimmer...” There was a spotlight set right on Starlight, and she nervously waved to the crowd. “She also has her trusty new assistant with her, Surprise!”

Another spotlight went over to shine on Surprise. She was still coming down from her panic attack, but hearing all the audience applaud her and Starlight was a welcome touch. Just like Starlight did before her, she waved nervously to their patrons. This wasn’t about her and it shouldn’t be, but this was nice.

“And now, on with the show!” Trixie proclaimed. With what just happened, Surprise almost forgot that the cannonball act was just the entrance. This was going to be a long show. Hopefully, in all the good ways.

Surprise immediately got into position for the next part of the show. She wheeled out the boxes for the classic cut-a-pony-in-half act, and she opened the set for Trixie to jump into. “Behold, as Trixie is cut in half!” The unicorn plopped right into the set, used her own magic to close it off, and waited for the pegasus to do her part.

The whole time, Starlight kept a close eye on Surprise as she brought out the saw. Surprise was more than eager to make up for the mistake earlier, and she got to work. She cut through the cube along Trixie’s waist, all while the magician closed her eyes and pretended like this was just a normal day for her, being “cut in half”.

The act went as usual, but Starlight nearly panicked and halted Surprise’s saw before she could continue. Surprise wondered what was up with that until she actually looked. Had she come just a few inches lower, she would have cut Trixie for real. That was way too close. Keep it together, Surprise...

Still, Surprise was able to pull the blocks apart to make it look like Trixie was split down the middle. With the magic of illusion, Trixie’s hindlegs kicked around like they were still okay. “Ta da!” Surprise would put the blocks back together and help the completely fine Trixie out of the set, but inside, she was sweaty and maybe a little panicked.

While Trixie went up on stage to boast about how she was about to do it (without actually saying how; a magician would never give up that part of the show), Starlight came to Surprise’s aid. “You’re the one that stopped me with the saw?” Surprise asked.

“Yeah, it was me,” Starlight whispered. “Do you need a moment to sit back? I can explain it to Trixie after the show.”

“No, I can still do this. Just give me one more chance. I screw up anything else, then I’ll go backstage. I need to make it work…”

Then it really dawned on Starlight how much this meant to Surprise. “Alright. Then let’s make the best of this.”

With that settled, the two of them went back to work on Trixie’s show. To her credit, Surprise did much better after that point. She followed her cues and positions to a tee for every other act, be it a see saw daredevil act, pretending that Trixie transformed her into a fearsome tiger, all of those things. Starlight would pitch in as well, acting as if she was in a magic duel with Trixie. Trixie won, of course, but she gave Starlight some shine (sometimes literally) along the way.

The whole time, they had no idea that there was a telescope from the balcony on Twilight’s castle. It stayed fixed mostly on Surprise, occasionally acknowledging the other unicorns on stage with her. The pony on the other side sighed and rubbed at her forehead here and there.

“What should I do about you?” Sunset asked from the balcony. “You seem like you’re in a good spot, and you’re not like the other clones. But still, it’s better that she knows…”

“That I know what?” another voice asked.

Sunset jumped back and nearly dropped the telescope from the jolt. Using her magic, she steadied it up as she turned around, finding Twilight standing there with her. “Oh, it’s nothing. Just found a wonderful constellation in the sky. Ursa Major or something like that.”

“Ursa Major?” Twilight’s bookhorse side kicked in, and she pulled out a miniature telescope of her own to look for the bear in the sky. “So it is that time of the year... nice work, Sunset. I had no idea you were into constellations. Which one’s your favorite?”

“I have no idea.” Sunset gazed back at the show down in Ponyville, still trying her best to glimpse at the pegasus. “There’s a lot of things I’m learning about for the first time, apparently.” I’m going to sleep on this before I decide what I’m going to do about her.

As for the show itself, it went off without another hitch. The only other mistake Surprise made was forgetting to light a few fuses for the fireworks finale, and Starlight was willing to pick up the slack. For whatever it was worth, the crowd adored it and applauded the trio before they went behind the curtain for the final time that night.

“The pony that said that three’s a crowd is full of horsefeathers!” Trixie shouted. “If anything, having our first ever three-pony show was dynamic, wonderful, and with nothing lacking!” She finally took off the cape and hat for the time being. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

Surprise wasn’t sure how she did it, but she did a good job hiding how sweaty and clammy she was. “Y-Yeah! It was perfect. You were a great showpony, Starlight did a great job, too, and... I hope I was good, too.”

“I didn’t say what kind of job you did because it’s obvious.”

The pegasus blinked a few times. “What do you mean?”

“It’s obvious you were wonderful. Getting that cannon aligned just right, the fireworks, everything!”

Surprise winced, and Starlight felt awful for her, watching the whole thing. “Yeah...”

“Oh, you still haven’t been to the spa yet, have you?” Trixie realized. She dropped another bag of bits on Surprise’s back. “Go ask for the package I asked for. If it’s good enough for somepony as magnificent as me, it’s good enough for you.”

Surprise was about to open her mouth, but she nodded and went on her way. Before she could leave, however, Starlight gave her a quick hug. “You really were good tonight. We’ll see you back here, right?”

“Right.” The pegasus left the set, her head a little heavy, and she made sure the door was shut. She would go to the spa on her own, a little heavy hearted, but a little relieved that Trixie seemed to be happy about it.

However, things changed after she left. “What was wrong with her?” Trixie inquired Starlight. She checked out the window to ensure Surprise couldn’t hear them. “She never acted that way before.”

“So you did know?” Starlight pointed out. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“What? We all get stressed out. Why did you think I told her to go to the spa?” Trixie sat her haunches down on the floor and downed a bottle of water. “I just don’t get why she’s stressed. Anypony would be thrilled to be part of a three pony show.”

“I’m afraid it has something to do with me,” said Starlight. “From the sounds of it, she didn’t really have friends until she met you. I remember when I only had one friend in the world, and it was scary to think I could lose him.”

Trixie stopped, stared at Starlight, and snorted in laughter. “That’s rich! Like she has reasons to be afraid of THAT! It takes specific talents and charisma to be my friend, just like you. She won’t lose me.”

“Then maybe you should convince her of that.” Starlight would get started on tearing down the stage, bringing in parts here and there, and keeping the curtains tied around the set. She would occasionally check again, see if Surprise was there yet.

The thought left Trixie startled. She kept sipping away at her water, and she thought about it for herself. Surprise did seem more clingy ever since Starlight showed up, now that she thought about it. And she did go out of her way to rope the Great and Powerful Trixie into the party games...

“Starlight, I think you might be right.”

Mirror Image

“How could you?” Trixie growled, pounding the floor with a hoof. “What was she doing wrong? All she was doing was helping the Great and Powerful Trixie and Starlight with a show, and then YOU come in and do that!” She pointed right at Twilight.

“I didn’t think she was going to run away like that!” Twilight admitted. “I had no idea she was still afraid she was going to go back to the Mirror Pool after all this time.”

“But what were you going to do after you told her?” mentioned Starlight. “Were you going to send her back? From what it sounds like, you did send the other clones back, even though Surprise acted nothing like them.”

Twilight opened her mouth, but she wasn’t sure what to say right away. She glanced over at Pinkie, who was a little deflated, and Sunset. “I don’t know, if I’m honest. I never thought about what to do. I don’t think I would have sent her back, though.”

“No matter what, the truth had to come out, sooner or later.” Sunset stepped up to face the music with Twilight. “How long did you know she was a clone, Trixie?”

Trixie snorted and turned her head away. “Since the beginning. What does it matter? Was she hurting you? Was she going around, screaming ‘FUN!’ like the others? No, she was trying to help me. You just couldn’t accept that I made a friend you never did, could you, Twilight?”

“Hey, we don’t need to turn it into that,” Starlight cut in. “We can’t fight right now. We have to do something about Surprise, right now. For all we know, she’s halfway across Equestria by now.”

In the meantime, Pinkie rubbed one of her forelegs and sighed. “I feel bad for her. We talked in Sugar Cube Corner, and she was like, a sister I didn’t know I had. Now I find out that I was kinda, sorta, being friends with myself. It was...weird, but I like her.”

Now it was Twilight sighing, and she rubbed her mane. “I should have handled it better, I’ll admit that. And Starlight’s right. We need to find her. I’m scared about what she might do to herself.”

“I can help, too.” Sunset came up to Trixie and Starlight directly. “Look, I just figured Twilight had a right to know that Surprise was a clone. Nothing more. And I’ll help you find her.”

“Me too,” Pinkie chipped in. “Anypony that’s nice and friendly like her deserves to have friends, not be scared they’re going back to the pool. Even if most pools are huge and awesome with slippy slides, the Mirror Pool isn’t that kind of pool…”

Twilight gave her a pat on the back. “We’ll find her. I promise. It’s the least I can do after freaking her out. And I also promise I won’t send her back. She really isn’t like the other clones.”

“I know. She’s better.” Even at a moment like this, Trixie just couldn’t help herself.

Usually, Twilight would roll her eyes at a comment like that, but she didn’t. Instead, she looked around the room. “Then maybe you should go searching for her with Starlight, Trixie. Sunset and I will do the same.” She turned over to Pinkie. “You can come if you want, too.”

“Why wouldn’t I? She needs a friend to look after her.” After a dirty glare from Trixie, she straightened up her posture. “Not that you’re a bad friend, but it doesn’t help to have even more friends looking out for her.”

“That’s more like it. Now, time to find a Surprise,” Trixie proclaimed.

Surprise had no idea how long she had been flying. Was it minutes? Hours? She lost track a long time ago. This might have been the time of day when she usually went to bed, but she was wide awake. As far as she was concerned, she had to be. They were going to catch her if she didn’t slow down. After all, Twilight was an alicorn now. She had wings to fly, too.

She flew so far out, she was a long ways away from any sign of civilization. There was nothing but forests and fields below her, and there wasn’t even a trace of a pony nearby. It was what she needed. All the while, though, she felt a twinge of pain in her frame. She knew why. It pained her so much to separate from Trixie and Starlight like that.

Eventually, she had no choice but to land on something. Her wings were finally tired after all that flying and fleeing. The feathers on them were straining from all the damage she put on them. She glanced to see what all she could rest on.

There was a cloud ahead of her, just big enough for her to rest her weary head on. That’s all she needed. She descended down to land on it. The moment she could finally stop, all the strength left her body. All the anxiety and stress finally caught up to her.

She grumbled and cried at the same time on that cloud. Her face was buried hard into the pillowy surface of the cloud, and she couldn’t get up even if she tried. “This is all my fault for running away…”

As far as she thought she flew, she realized it wasn’t that far away. Up ahead, she could see the cloud sculptures she made that morning. A lot of them were shaped just like Trixie and Starlight, two ponies she didn’t want to leave if she could help it. And yet, here she was.

“Trixie should just hire Pinkie as her assistant,” she thought. “She’s the original, after all. I bet she’s in trouble with Twilight right now for trying to hide me away…”

Another tear rolled down her face, and she sniffled from it all. This was too much. She had a headache more intense than anything she felt before, and she wasn’t sure what to do next. And then she thought about something in particular. It was a terrible idea, the last thing she wanted to do.

“I have to do it. It’s the only way Trixie stops being in trouble. I...just hope she remembers me.”

The sun rose over the sleepy town of Ponyville. The search efforts were still underway, and Starlight found herself with Sunset Shimmer. Despite all the efforts they were putting in, she was still finding herself staring at the yellow unicorn.

They were on the main street, hanging up posters of the white pegasus for anypony to figure out if they had just seen them. Anytime they get a tip, the most they’d get is “I saw her at Trixie’s show last week”. That wasn’t going to cut it here.

Still, Sunset noted how close Starlight was to her at all times. Most of the time, she was fine with it. Her world’s version of Twilight could be like that, and her version of Pinkie was always like that. But she had a feeling it wasn’t for good reasons.

“Look, if you’re ticked off at me, just go ahead and say it,” said Sunset. “I can take it, and I probably deserve it.”

“Yeah. I am upset at you,” Starlight admitted. “She was a good friend, you know? A little insecure, but now that I know what she really is, I don’t blame her.”

Sunset took a deep breath and lifted her head up to the clouds. “I didn’t know any of this would happen, but I wasn’t sure how to handle it when I found out. It’s not everyday you find out somepony’s a clone of another pony like that. Then again, this is Equestria. One time, I stole Twilight’s crown just to gain power.”

“That was you?” Starlight balked. “Must have been one hay of a crown if you did that. And that can’t compare to what I did. You know, enslaving an entire town just to get over fillyhood trauma. And then there’s Trixie.”

“Cheated to beat Twilight in a magic duel, ruled over Ponyville with an iron hoof, and Twilight had to cheat right back to win?”

“Yeah. Something like that.”

That got Sunset to blink a few times. “Are you starting to think that Surprise might be the least weird pony among us? Despite, you know, her nature?”

“Sunset, I thought that a long time ago. Still, we’re no closer to finding her. Do you have any ideas, any clues that I’m missing? This is like, as Applejack would say, finding a needle in a haystack.”

“Let me think about it.” Sunset paused in the middle of her tracks, right after putting up another poster, and gave it some thought. Her mind went back to the vision she saw when she touched Surprise, from all the memories, good times, and fears she went through.

One thing that stood out to her was much of Surprise’s mind thought about the Mirror Pool. How she came out of it, the fear of going back, watching the other clones get sent back. It took her a long time to come to the conclusion, but once she did, she gasped.

“That’s not a good sign,” Starlight thought. “How bad are we talking?”

“Let’s just say I’m wrong. You got paper and a quill?”

Starlight pulled out said paper and a quill from her back. “Ever since I became Twilight’s pupil, I pretty much have to have these on me, 24/7. I’m guessing we’re sending a letter to her?”

“Yeah. We have to move quickly.”

The Mirror Pool. For all of its mystical qualities, the power it contained that was like nothing else, it had a certain calmness to it. On the surface level, it looked like any old lake. It reflected just like water should do, and it even seemed to be the perfect swimming hole.

And yet, it was the last place Surprise wanted to be. When she went into the cave that contained it, her heart was beating through the roof. Her body was screaming at her to leave, get away, do anything else. She should not be here. And then her mind took that last sentence to another extreme.

Her reflection greeted her as she hovered her head above the pool. As much as she saw her own face as unique to Pinkie’s, with its yellow mane and white coat, all she saw was a photocopy of Pinkie Pie. That was fitting. She pretty much was just a photocopy at heart.

Her left front hoof lifted up, almost about to touch the water, but she pulled back at the last second. Even if she thought she had to do it, she was terrified by the idea. In fact, she sat down on her hindlegs and took a deep, labored breath.

“I can do this. I can do this. Trixie needs me to do this. It will be fine. I’ll just be...back into…” She didn’t even want to finish that thought. She knew exactly what would happen when she jumped in. That’s why it was so terrifying to her.

“I have to do this! Everypony’s upset at Trixie for hiding me, and I should have been zapped in the first place. Come on Surprise, you can do this!” She stood back up, and she lifted her hoof again. This time, the hoof drew closer to the pool than the first time. It was tempting to just jump in, get this over with, but something else happened. Something that startled her to the core.

“And just what do you think you’re doing?” Trixie called out behind her.

“Ahhhh!” Surprise fell on her flank away from the pool, and she jumped around to see what was behind her. Sure enough, Trixie stood in front of her, both concerned and irritated in equal measures. “How...how did you…”

“Sunset had a feeling you would be here. What are you trying to do here?” Trixie came up and cut the distance between them, and despite her arrogant demeanor, a little bit of a tear formed around her eyes. “Don’t you know I need you for my next show?”

“But...I got you into trouble. I should have told them who I am a long time ago. I just want you to be okay.” Surprise twisted her head to stare at her reflection along the lake again. “I should have done this a long time ago.”

“NO!” Trixie used a spell to wrap Surprise in a magical aura, and she dragged the pegasus away from the pool towards her. “I mean...I really do need you. You can’t just go away like that. It’s not right.”

Surprise was taken aback from the amount of sentiment in Trixie’s tone, and she saw the blue unicorn do something she never saw her do before. A single tear went down Trixie’s face, and it dawned on her what was happening. “You do?”

“Y-Yeah. Come on, we both know I can’t do this alone.” Trixie did her best confident smile, but she didn’t hide the tear, either. “After all, who’s a more glorious friend than you?”

“But...didn’t I get you into trouble?” Surprise trembled, and she could see the Mirror Pool in the corner of her eye. “I just made a big mess of everything…”

“No, she didn’t.” Among the shadows, Twilight came out of them and stood along with Trixie and Surprise. Soon after, Starlight, Sunset, and Pinkie came out with her. “I did. I had no idea what you were going through, and it’s my own fault for not handling it better.”

Surprise was still, well, surprised by the whole thing, and she glanced over to Pinkie. “But I made a mess of things for you! I remember when there were all those clones. We ruined almost everything in Ponyville.”

“You didn’t,” Pinkie corrected her. “In fact, you were really fun to be around! I don't know how you’re a pegasus now, but that’s another story for another day. You’re not like the other clones at all. You actually say things other than ‘fun’!”

While Sunset looked on nervously from the background, Starlight came to the forefront. “And it’s obvious you really care about Trixie. Doesn’t that count for something?”

“It does if I can help it,” Trixie chirped, holding onto Surprise like a prized possession.

Still, as much as all that helped her mood, Surprise drifted her eyes over to Twilight. “Does that mean I’m still in trouble? I did lie about being a clo--”

“No, Surprise. You’re not in trouble,” Twilight cut her off. “Pinkie, do you want to tell her the good news?”

Pinkie grinned from cheek to cheek from the offer. She came up to Surprise and braced herself for the reaction she was about to get. “Surprise, you can stay here with us. You don’t have to go back to the Mirror Pool at all!”

At that moment, something changed within the pegasus. The pupils in her eyes shrunk to almost nothing, and she went completely still. Trixie waved a leg in front of her, but she didn’t get any reaction at all. “Is something wrong?”

“You might want to take a few steps back,” Pinkie warned her. Right after that warning, everypony but Trixie moved back.

“Am I missing something? Is this some weird Pinkie thing she’s about to do?”

Right after she finished, Surprise shot up to the ceiling and cheered from the top of her lungs. “I GET TO STAY! I GET TO STAY!” She flew around the ceiling, doing loop de loops and all that stuff, and she almost created her own fireworks. “I can’t believe it! Oh Celestia, I’m so happy right now!” She dove in right after Trixie after that.

“Oh...that Pinkie thing…” The next thing Trixie knew, she was wrapped in a hug that almost choked the air out of her lungs. Her eyes bulged from the hug, but she wasn’t going to stop it. In fact, she tried to pat Surprise on the head. And then Pinkie joined in on it. Of course she would.

Before long, Surprise noted Starlight standing there with them, smiling gracefully. “Come on, it wouldn’t be a group hug without all my friends!” Surprise shouted.

“Well, of course I’m in.” Starlight came in and joined the group hug, even if she saw Trixie’s cheeks turn red. “You might want to give Trixie some air.”

In the midst of all the hugging and cheering and good news, Sunset watched on from the sidelines. She knew Twilight would be thrilled with the whole sight, but she didn’t feel the same way. “Is it okay if I say something to her, princess?”

Twilight tilted her head over to Sunset. “Sure. I don’t think she’s mad at you, if you’re worried about it.”

“She’s not. I still feel like I should do this.” She went up to the little party developing in front of them, and she took a deep breath. “Hey, Surprise.”

From that little greeting, Surprise finally broke off from the group hug and saw the yellow unicorn. “Hey, Sunset. Are you okay? Pinkie’s already thinking about a You Get To Stay party, if you wanna come.”

“I might. It’s just...I’m sorry.”

And then it was Surprise tilting her head. “For what?”

“For telling Twilight all about you. If I didn’t say anything, none of this would have happened. It’s kinda my fault.” That made Twilight wince, but she had a feeling Surprise would know just what to say.

“It’s okay, Sunset. Now that I’m thinking about it, I should have said something, too. It was really bad to keep that a secret for so long. I just didn’t say anything because I thought I’d get sent back without a chance. And now I know I’m wrong.” A weight came off Twilight’s chest from that little thought.

“Thank Celestia,” sighed Sunset. “I just figured I should tell you. Didn’t you say something about a You Get To Stay party?”

“Indeed. But this time, I’m helping organize it,” Trixie chirped. “After all, it is the party for a great and powerful assistant.”

“Hey, I can throw a good party for my friend!” yelled Pinkie.

“Settle down, you two. I know we can make it fun,” Starlight smiled. “You coming, Sunset?”

“You know I’m in.” Sunset went with them out of the cave. “By the way, you ever had lemon pie?”

As they all left, Twilight smiled from the whole sight...noticing that Trixie was staring at the Mirror Pool with interest...and decided immediately to seal the cave off for good after this. No good could come out of multiple Trixies. Well, unless someone like Surprise came out of there.

Still, when she left, she was immediately fetching her parchment and quill. “I know you said I don’t have to do these anymore, Celestia,” she said to herself. “But after what I just saw, I get the feeling that you’ll want to hear about this one.”

A New Surprise

The next day came like the ones before. As much as Surprise wanted to stay with her new friends, she knew it was time to go. Still, they didn’t have to leave right away. She was going to take full advantage of it, the only way she knew how, right outside Twilight’s castle.

“That tickles!” she giggled. Her mane was tossed and turned in a magical aura, from being straightened out, to being even curlier than it normally was. “What are you trying to do?”

“I’m hoping to find out if I can completely straighten out your hair,” Starlight hummed. She kept at it for a little while, but anytime she got close to straightening it out, the mane would poof out and go back to being curly.

“That’s what you wanna study your magic in?” Surprise tilted her head and wondered.

“Come on, not every spell has to change the world overnight. Just some of them.” Starlight finally got Surprise’s mane completely straight for once, but again, it poofed out to being curly. “I give up. I guess that’s one thing you’re like Pinkie in.”

“It could be like her mane. I hadn’t really thought about it.” Still, after sitting down for a moment, Surprise came over and hugged Starlight. “Are you sure you don’t want to come with us?”

“I really can’t. There’s always some mystical threat trying to tear down Equestria, I need to continue my friendship studies with Twilight, all that jazz. But don’t worry. I’ll meet up with you girls down the road. It won’t be long. Are you going to be okay?”

“I think so.” While she was hanging out, Trixie was hard at work on the wagon, fine tuning it for the road ahead. She was struggling to get the spells right, but the wagon was almost ready to go. It just needed a few tweaks here and there.

Starlight smiled from the sight and came over to Trixie’s side. “You’re not going to get into trouble while I’m gone, are you? I know how tempting it is to take power again…”

“Trixie already has all the power she needs,” the great and powerful unicorn smirked. “But thank you for your concern.” She reached a hoof around Surprise and brought her in. “And with my wonderful assistant, nothing can stop us...except wheels...” She noticed the wheels on her wagon. “...that aren’t on my ride.”

Starlight laughed from the thought, and she noticed a certain other unicorn coming along to greet them. Sunset was far less anxious than before, but she had trouble making eye contact with Surprise in particular. “So this is it? You’re leaving?”

“For now,” noted Surprise. “But we’ll be back. The show always comes back to Ponyville sooner or later, after all.”

“That’s good. Really good.” Twilight would be watching from the door of the castle, but she was noting how Sunset acted. “Are you sure you’re not mad at me?”

“Why would I be mad at you?” Surprise thought.

“Because...well...I told Twilight about what you are…”

“Oh…” As tempting as it was to get saddened by the thought, Surprise kept her head up. “You were right about one thing. We probably should have told you guys about me a long time ago. It’s okay, though.” She reached up and hugged Sunset as well. “I’m not mad at you.”

Sunset was taken aback from the hug, but she returned the favor. “Thank you. I just wanted to say that before you go.”

“Hey, don’t forget it’s Surprise and Trixie leaving!” said Trixie. “This is a terrible day, one where you no longer…bask in my...greatness…heh heh…”

She dropped the act right when Twilight came into the scene with a raised eyebrow. “You are going to stay out of trouble, right? No more Alicorn Amulets? No plans to take over the world?”

“Of course she won’t!” Surprise cheered. “She’s got wonderful friends to help her out, just like she helped me out.”

“Right. Right.” Trixie wrapped an arm around Surprise’s forelegs and grinned. “Nothing will be able to stop us any longer! We’ll be the greatest show in Equestria! Trixie and Surprise, partners in cri--” She stopped herself when Twilight raised an eyebrow even further. “...in the magic show!”

Twilight merely smiled and nodded her head. “And you’re both welcome to come back anytime you like.”

“Yeah, it’s gonna feel weird without having you around,” Starlight agreed.

“Just take it easy out there, Surprise? There’s a lot of the world you haven’t seen yet, and it’s amazing,” noted Sunset.

“I will. Thank you all!” In the tradition of her kinda-sorta-sister, Surprise was somehow able to grab them all into a group hug. Like before, Trixie would be gasping for air, wonderful how in the world this pegasus was so strong.

“WAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIT!” a voice shouted from the horizon. They all looked up, and Pinkie was there with literally a whole cart of cakes, candy, and other stuff. “I’m not too late!” She ran up to the spot, desperate to keep all those treats in store.

“What’s this?” Even if Surprise already had a pretty big breakfast, her stomach growled from the sight of the treats. “Is this another party?”

“No, it’s a care package on your trip!” Pinkie panted from the weight of all the snacks, but she still brought the cart forward. It was so heavy, the wheels were actually digging into the ground. And Trixie wondered why ponies questioned her distrust of wheels.

“A care package? For us?” Trixie checked the contents of the cart. As much as she wanted to eat them all, she knew who they were really meant for. “Of course, Trixie is watching her diet...why don’t you have them, Surprise?”

Surprise couldn’t believe her eyes, and she sniffled as she turned to Pinkie. “Next time I come to Ponyville, we really gotta hang out. You really are like a sister.”

“Ooooh, so you feel it too?” thought Pinkie. “It’s okay. We’ll have a lot of time when you get back. I just wanted to bake you a lot of stuff before you left.” The next thing they knew, Trixie was levitating a lot of the baked goods into the wagon. “You’ll be back, right?”

“Of course.” Surprise sniffled again as she turned around to all the ponies there. “Is this what it feels like to have a lot of friends?”

“It is,” Twilight agreed. “It might sound cheesy when I say friendship is magic, but you’re starting to see why I believe it.”

“Yeah…” Surprise had the biggest smile on her face as she looked to all her new friends. “I do…”

Eventually, though, it was time. Before she knew it, she and Trixie were waving to the four ponies they just befriended, and the wagon was back on the road. Surprise pulled it along at first, and Trixie would trot by her side.

It was another sunny day in Equestria, but this one felt different to the white pegasus. It felt...more open. More free. Like anything could happen. That’s what happens when a massive weight is off your chest and you’re not having to keep secrets anymore, she thought.

It wouldn’t take long for Trixie to note how carefree Surprise was acting, and she had a smirked smile going on from it. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?”

“That Trixie would make your day better just by existing.”

Surprise giggled and nodded. “You were already doing that. I just wonder what’s next for us.”

“Why, we travel around Equestria and show them what we got! Or, we could travel outside Equestria and bring our show to new places. I hear Griffonstone doesn’t have magic like we do, could you imagine their faces when they see things they’ve never seen before?”

“No. I mean you and me.”

Trixie stopped and blinked. “Oh. Well, I’m not sure. You have been a wonderful assistant, Trixie never lied about that. I want you to stay on board as long as I’m doing these shows.”

“It’s not just that.” Surprise took a deep breath. “Pinkie isn’t the first pony I’ve met that felt like a sister to me.”

That caught Trixie off guard, and her jaw was almost lowered. “Me? A sister? Why?”

“Well, you took me in when I was hiding, you helped me in a really bad spot, and you defended me when they found out who I really was. That’s something a sister would do, right?”

“I...uh….” Trixie didn’t know what to say at first, and it was obvious to Surprise. “I guess that’s what good sisters should do. I just didn’t expect you to see me that way.”

“Why not?” Surprise tilted her head, as if this was a common fact.

“...I see your point. For what it’s worth, you would be a pretty good sister...a great and powerful one! After all, you’re the Great and Powerful Trixie’s sister--”

She was cut off when Surprise hugged her even tighter than the group hugs that came before. “Is this what it feels like to have a family?”

Despite the force of the hug, Trixie felt her eyes swell up, not enough to cry, but enough to feel them water up. “Yes, Surprise. It is…”

“Then I really like it.”

The Road Looks Less Lonely

After a night of heavy sleep, the sunlight crept through the window of the wagon. The moment it hit Surprise’s eyes, she cracked them wide open. No matter how much she went through last night, that trip to the spa was just what she needed. Her wings felt lighter than they had in, well, her entire life outside of the Mirror Pool. Her hooves felt great when she reached them out, and she flopped down onto the floor.

Right when she was about to go get ready for the day, Trixie’s snores filled her ears. The unicorn was still fast asleep, mumbling something in her sleep. Surprise decided to let her sleep uninterrupted for now. After all, Trixie would be thrilled to have everything ready for the road when she woke up. That would make her happy for sure.

The pegasus got the wagon ready, from the wheels to the gears and all that other complicated stuff. She only paused for a quick little snack, a leftover slice of cake from yesterday, and it wouldn’t take that long to get ready.

The sounds of her work slowly brought Trixie back to the real world. She mumbled something under her breath again, and she could feel something wrong with her hammock. It wasn’t as stiff as it usually was. “Wait a minute! The wagon’s not parked!” She jolted out of her little bed and ran out of the wagon, prepared to stop it at any cost.

“Oh. So that’s what happened.” She spotted Surprise getting the reins of the wagon ready for traveling, and she even washed them over with a washcloth. “Thinking ten steps ahead is Trixie’s job. She needs to stop slacking off like that.”

“Hi, Trixie!” Surprise gleamed. “You looked like you were having a great dream, so I went ahead and got the wagon ready for you.”

“It was a great dream,” Trixie purred. “Still, nice work. We’ll be ready to leave for Canterlot after I’m done brushing my teeth. We’ve got to wait for Starlight, too. She’ll be here soon. I told her to meet us here, after all.”

“Wait, she’s coming to Canterlot, too?” The news left Surprise perplexed, befuddled, and a tad bit anxious. “Is something wrong?”

“No. Why would there be? We drew more bits last night to our show than we’ve had in months, so I asked if she could come to our Canterlot shows. You’ve got to read the room, Surprise. They adore one magician, so what’s wrong with two?” Despite her boastfulness, she cringed on the inside from her own little line. “And they’ll love you, too.”

It wasn’t just her cringing on the inside. Surprise went back and dwelled on all the little mistakes she made the previous night. “Thanks, Trixie. It’s just a lot to take in. I didn’t think we’d ever do a three pony show, that’s all.”

“Not all change is bad.” Trixie adjusted the reins on her little wagon, and she checked around the place for a certain other unicorn. “Especially when you’re still an important part of the show, Surprise. Don’t forget that.” That’s bound to cheer her up, shouldn’t it?

It worked a little bit, and Surprise’s smile was just that little bit more sincere. “Thanks, Trixie. I promise to do my part.” She kept scrubbing along the wagon, and it was so clean, they could almost see their faces on it. Including the parts made out of wood.

Trixie smirked, and she was thrilled that it seemed to work for the time being. The two of them would finish preparing the wagon for the road, brushing their teeth, and other morning routine things. It wouldn’t be much longer until Starlight came over to see them, still yawning from her own beauty sleep.

“Wow, that wagon looks gorgeous,” she thought. “How did you girls sleep last night?”

“Like a filly,” Surprise noted. She felt a little uneasy with Starlight around, but she kept a good poker face to hide it.

“Like a princess that hasn’t discovered how truly magnificent she is!” Trixie boasted. “Thanks for coming for these next few shows, Starlight. We could always use the company.”

“No problem. Just don’t forget that I’ll be back in Ponyville after that,” Starlight pointed out. “Headmare of the School of Friendship and all that.”

It left Surprise with a few mixed thoughts, but she was keeping it close to the vest. “It’s no biggie. We can leave when you want, we got the wagon all ready to go!”

“Then what are we waiting for? To Canterlot we go!” Starlight cheered. Surprise went ahead and fastened the reins of the wagon on her back, and they were off to Canterlot.

The whole time, however, there was a certain telescope still glued to them. As much as Sunset didn’t want to be a creep about it, she still felt the need to observe them. So they were leaving Ponyville for now. How that impacted her plans, she had no idea. All she knew is what she was going to do when it came to a certain princess...

In the meantime, the wagon was already high on the road to Canterlot. Surprise did her best to put on a cheerful face. On the plus side, today was going to be wonderful for the weather. The pegasi in Cloudsdale arranged for sunny skies and no wind whatsoever, and it was going to be a picturesque day from the look of it. Perfect for traveling and other such things.

The wagon was no big deal for Surprise, either. She wasn’t built to be a pony that literally carried their weight around like an Earth Pony was, but she was full of energy. In fact, Starlight and Trixie had a hard time keeping pace with her.

“Maybe slow down a bit?” Starlight asked. “And I thought I was fast. And here I am, unable to keep up with a pony with a wagon tied to their back.”

“Sorry about that!” Surprise blushed and cut down on the pace by two thirds. It finally helped the unicorns catch up to her, and Trixie felt the life come back to her limbs.

“Much better.” Trixie brushed her mane aside, and she glanced around the fields they were in. It would take some time before they came to the mountain that Canterlot rested on. As a result, they were pretty much in a forest for the time being. “I know something we can do to kill the time.”

“Oh no, this isn’t going to be one of your mind games again, is it?” Starlight smirked. “Usually, when you have an idea, it’s to prove you’re still the greatest and most powerful unicorn ever.” Surprise laughed in the background, knowing how true that was.

“Trixie was getting to that!” Trixie scanned the forest with her eyes, and she came across a bush on the ground. Grinning from her own little idea, she shot a spell at it. The bush shrunk down to half its size, and she stuck her tongue out at Starlight. “Beat that.”

“I just knew you’d do a magic duel.” Starlight rubbed her front hooves together, braced herself, and shot another spell at the same bush. Not only did it return to its original size, but several oranges grew from the branches. A squirrel came over to see what happened, saw the oranges on the bushes, and threw its hands up in the air and chittered. If Fluttershy was there, she would say the squirrel was complaining about the very nature of existence being broken from this display.

“Oh? You dare to challenge me in a magic duel? You’re not accepting that I’m the better magician?” Trixie boasted, her mane flapping in the wind.

“We’ll see about that.” Starlight stomped the ground with a smile, and she braced herself for the duel about to come.

“Uh, guys, shouldn’t we be on the road?” Surprise pointed out. As much as she was concerned about it, she felt terrible for another reason. “I can’t really join you guys in a duel.”

“It’s just something silly we can do to kill some time along the way--” Starlight had to duck when a huge apple pie was thrown into her face, levitated by a certain blue pony. “It is on!”

“As if! This duel was won the moment I threw my hat into the ring!” Speaking of hats, Trixie grabbed her hat and tossed it into the air. She shot it with a spell, and it spun around with authority and grace. With a magical aura around it, it spun its way right at Starlight.

Starlight was quick to defend herself, and she brought out a magical hand to... well, just grab the hat. Trixie was distraught as the hand tossed the hat right into her face, and she nearly flew back a few dozen feet from the impact. “You used my own hat against me!” She levitated the hat back to her head. “How dare you?”

“You’re the one that tried to use it as a weapon, not me!” Starlight went charging into battle, and it would turn into a fierce magic duel. As much as Starlight noticeably had the stronger magic, Trixie would keep in the fight with a few tricks up her sleeve. As they would soon find out, learning how to do sleight of hand was, in fact, very handy in a magic duel.

Not that Surprise would know. She sighed and pulled the wagon up ahead like things were normal. Still, her head was down as she kept going, even if one spell hit the wagon and shrunk it to the size of a pea. She could barely acknowledge it as Trixie immediately cast a spell to return it to its original size.

Even as snow fell on her head from yet another spell, and an explosion literally made out of cheese cut the wind in front of her, Surprise was absent minded as she kept pulling the wagon. “I really wish I could do this stuff with you...” She rubbed her face with a hoof and kept going.

After a while, in the midst of battle, Trixie finally stopped what she was doing and watched Surprise. Even as a massive water balloon smacked her in the face and sprayed her with water, she was noticing how distraught the pegasus had become.

“That means I win! Were you even trying to block that one?” Trixie asked around. She was about to boast, but then she saw the state of Surprise, too. Both of them stopped the duel and came over to see the pegasus.

“No, don’t let me be the party pooper today,” Surprise told them. “I just wish I could be in a duel like you guys.”

Trixie and Starlight stared at each other, and Surprise nudged her on. Trixie wasn’t sure what to make of it, and then she remembered how things went last night. She pondered how to handle a request like that, and a light bulb went off in her head.

To her... well, surprise, Surprise felt the reins of the wagon get pulled off her back, and Trixie was the one pulling her weight this time around. “It wasn’t my kind of thing, anyway. Where’s the excitement around here? The kind of fun and games only a pegasus can provide?”

A light bulb went off in Surprise’s head, too, and she glanced at Starlight. “Yeah, we really need something lively to brighten up the mood,” Starlight agreed. “I like a magic duel like anypony else, but I get tired when it’s over.”

“Well, let me take care of that!” Surprise spread out her wings and took off into the skies like a ball of lightning. She scanned the sky for any clouds she could use, and she sped off as soon as she found some to use. This was going to be her canvas, and she was the artist.

Right away, she gathered a few clouds into her hooves and flew around them. With every time she passed over them, her wings and hooves crafted the clouds into something new and wonderful. Starlight and Trixie stood by and watched her go to work, curious what this could lead to.

After a while, Surprise was done crafting her first masterpiece. It was a full body cast of Trixie, even including the hat and cape. Seeing Starlight down on the ground, Surprise went ahead and grabbed a whole new bushel of clouds on top of that, too. In no time at all, a cast of Starlight was joining her, and Surprise even managed to make it look like her horn was casting a spell.

“She really likes you, doesn’t she?” Starlight noted to Trixie. “Even making something like that for you.”

“Even I’m stunned by it,” Trixie admitted. “You might have been right last night.”

“Might have been?” She nudged Trixie on the side playfully. “I think it was more than a little bit. Be sure to tell her how much you love it. This obviously means a lot to her.”

“Right, right.”

While they were talking, Surprise was still crafting stuff using the clouds she could find. From explosions to musical notes to even a miniature version of Ponyville, she was having a ball and her face showed it. It was the most genuine smile she had in awhile, and she finally landed down on the ground.

“What do you guys think?” She gestured to the clouds above them, and it really did look more like a canvas than a sky at that point. She must have made 30 cloud sculptures in no time at all.

“It’s wonderful,” Trixie gleamed. “Absolutely marvelous. Just one little thing.”

“Oh no, I got your nose wrong, didn’t I? I’m sorry, I can fix it right now!”

She was about to take off, but Trixie grabbed her by the tail with her magic and pulled her down. “Nothing like that. You got her nose as well as anypony would. Just relax. Everypony’s happy to have you here. Isn’t that right, Starlight?”

“Without a doubt.” Starlight stretched out a front leg, getting some tension out of it. “Hmm, is my horn really that big?”

Surprise was about to go up there to go fix it, only to get a stern shake of the head from Trixie. “We just need to focus on our little show in Canterlot tonight. You can even sleep in the wagon if you want. Is that okay with you?”

“Yes, ma’am! I’m just going to hang out with you guys for now.” Surprise trotted alongside them, and she seemed perfectly at ease by that point.

Relieved, Starlight sighed and leaned over into Trixie’s ear. “Told you it would work. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Come on, it’s the three of us we’re talking about. Something’s going to pop up sooner or later.”

Sure enough, Twilight Sparkle was waiting in her study room, sitting by the table in the center of the room. She waited impatiently for whatever was supposed to happen, and she checked the clock on the wall. “I wonder what’s up? I have a meeting with the Gryphon Kingdom in two hours…”

After what felt like an eternity, the entrance door opened up. Sunset came over to the table, and she was both agitated and saddened. “I’m sorry about the wait, Princess. I just wanted to make sure this was the right thing to do. Pinkie’s in the next room, right?”

“She is. I’m just curious what it is you wanted to talk to me about,” Twilight inquired. “It sounded pretty urgent.”

“It is. Twilight Sparkle, I discovered something about the pegasus, Surprise, that you might want to know about. It’s something I believe Trixie knows about, but not Starlight. Are you ready for this?”

Twilight fidgeted her front hooves together. “You’re really building this up. Go ahead.”

“After talking and speaking with her, I have reason to believe that Surprise is actually a Mirror Pool clone of Pinkie Pie.”

Even though Pinkie was in the next room over, she somehow heard the whole thing. She burst through the doors and exploded right into the table, almost face planting into it. “WHAAAAT? How could that be? We got all the clones, and I’m the real Pinkie Pie! Right? Right?” The silence in the room wasn’t helping her mood. “Riiiiiiight?”

Twilight’s jaw was flat on the ground, but she shook her head and came back to her senses. “How? Why? Actually, what makes you say that?”

“You know how I have that ability to touch others, and I can see their thoughts?” Sunset stepped over and touched Pinkie on the chest, and her eyes lit up. When she pulled her hoof away, she shivered and almost felt unclean. “Like how Pinkie thinks the sun is actually a lemon gummi?”

“It’s true... I used to think that when I was a filly,” Pinkie blushed. “Come on, tell me you wouldn’t eat it.”

“I remember,” Twilight noted. “Wait, did you touch Surprise and find out that she was a clone that way?”

“That’s exactly what happened. I found out all about her history. She changed her form just so nopony would know she was a clone, and Trixie’s in on it. She’s pretty scared about getting caught, actually.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something else, but then she gave it some actual thought. She glanced over at Pinkie and thought about their appearances. “The same tail style, the same mane style, they do a lot of similar things…” She slapped her face with the brunt of her hoof. “Of course! Why didn’t I see it before?”

“I’m surprised I didn’t see it before. Oh wait, I did a pun,” Pinkie giggled. “Anyway, this is so weird! I thought we got all the Mirror Pool clones.”

“So did we,” said Twilight. “This is not a good sign. Do you have any idea what we should do, Sunset?”

“I don’t know,” the yellow unicorn admitted. “I figured you should know about it, at least.”

“Wait, let’s think about this!” Pinkie cut in. “She’s a white and yellow pegasus, and she’s not like those annoying clones that scream FUN, FUN, FUN like that parrot you just can’t get rid of! In fact, she seems kinda sweet and low key!”

“She does have a point,” agreed Twilight. “But it’s still not good that they hid the truth like that.”

“Then again, she was scared you were going to send her back to the Mirror Pool,” Sunset pointed out. “I don’t blame her, I’d do the same thing if I was her.”

“Still, we need to figure something out,” Twilight thought. “We can’t just sit back and do nothing, I feel.”

“Yeah.” The mane on Pinkie’s head started to deflate. “I just hope it’s something nice...”

Everypony Has One Bad Show

After all the drama that followed the three ponies on the trail, the rest of the way was surprisingly quiet. Trixie and Starlight would occasionally resume their Magic Duel, but Surprise took full advantage of the clouds to make more sculptures along the way. Oh sure, it might leave another pegasus wondering why the hay there were so many clouds resuming a blue unicorn, but that was the last thing to be worried about on a day like this.

Still, they had a destination to reach. After a little over an hour later, the gates of Canterlot were waiting for them. As much as Trixie didn’t want to toot her horn about simply stepping hoof into this city, she still marveled at the gates. “Finally, a city worthy of Trixie’s exploits.”

“It never gets old, does it?” Starlight said, awestruck. “I just wonder what it was like for Twilight to live here. Do you think it ever gets boring, living in a place like Canterlot?”

“I don’t think so. I fly all the time and that never gets old. There’s always something different about it,” noted Surprise. “Do you think they’ll still like our show?”

“Certainly.” Trixie stepped forward and faced the gates, manned by two unicorn guards. “We demand entrance into the city at once! The Great and Powerful Trixie demands it!”

The guards looked at each other, wondering what kind of authority she had. Spotting it, Surprise came ahead and waved to the guards. “Do you think it’s okay if we go in, please? We’re just here for a show.”

Now that was more like it. The guards used their magic to open the gates right away, and the path was open for all three of them. “What mind trick did you use on them?” Trixie puzzled. “I must know your secret at once.”

“I think it was ‘please’,” Starlight laughed, sticking her tongue out at Trixie. The blue unicorn merely rolled her eyes, and the three of them went into the marvelous city of Canterlot.

Just as much as Surprise remembered, Canterlot was gorgeous, and she could just feel the history radiating from every pore of the place. With the time of the day, it was swarming with ponies, mostly unicorns, all around the streets. She couldn’t help but smile from it all, almost sniffing the air. Somehow, she could smell the magic in the air. It smelled like cotton candy to her.

Since she was the one handling the wagon, Trixie made sure she was never too far away, but she felt Starlight pull her back. “She does seem a lot happier,” Trixie admitted. “You were right. I just had no idea she was that upset.”

“That’s because you think everypony’s as great as you,” Starlight said, booping Trixie on the nose. “It’s okay, though. I used to be the same way. You know, making sure everypony had the same fake cutie mark as me, enslaving a village just so I’d have some friends…”

Trixie blinked her eyes. “Can I take a few notes?”

“Absolutely not. We’re not doing that again. Nope.” Starlight shook her head to get the point even further across Trixie’s head. “Still, we have a show tonight. If you really want to make her day, you could make her the co-star tonight.”

“And what about you? Don’t you want to be under the spotlight, literally? Be the star of the show? It is quite nice under the stars, after all.”

“Me? Nah, I’m fine not being the star every night. Just go ahead and ask her. See how she takes it.”

“Fine.” Trixie rubbed her chin a few times. “Let’s see how it goes.”

While she debated on how to handle it, Surprise was still in the midst of enjoying the sights and sounds around her. All of this waiting for her on the other side of the Mirror Pool, and she had no idea how she lived life before she went to the other side. Well, she knew, but this was so much better.

As much as she didn’t want to think about it, however, she did spot Trixie and Starlight talking to each other. They were so casual, so easy to get along with. That’s what true friendship was like, it had to be. And yet, she realized more and more that she was different from the blue unicorn. Was that a good thing? Bad? She didn’t feel like it was a bad thing like she thought six hours ago, but she still wasn’t sure.

Still, when Trixie came to her, she stood at attention and steadied the wagon’s reins on her back. “Sorry, I got distracted. Where’s a good place for the wagon, you think? I’m sure there’s plenty of totally not creepy alleys to hide this bad boy if we need to.” She noticed how quiet Trixie was. “That’s not like you to stay quiet. Is something wrong?”

“No, Trixie was just thinking of tonight’s show. You weren’t happy with the show in Ponyville, were you?”

Surprise felt her eyes widen. “Who told you?” When she saw Starlight blush and waive nervously, she felt her mane deflate a tiny bit. “Oh. Yeah...”

“Then I know just the thing to fix it, a little change if you will. Tonight won’t be the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Show of Wonders, but the Great and Powerful Trixie’s Show of Wonders, co-starring the marvelous pegasus, Surprise!”

When the thought dawned on her mind, Surprise felt her heart nearly explode. She pulled the reins off her back, took a few steps forward, and fell flat on her belly. Her hindleg twitched around in the air, and her pupils were rolling around in her eye sockets. “M-Me, the co-star? This is real...”

“Uhh, is she okay?” Starlight poked. She was legitimately wondering about preparing a revival spell on the poor pegasus.

“Of course she is,” Trixie boasted. “This is common when Trixie signs an autograph for her most loyal fans. You have nothing to worry about.” She patted Starlight on the head and pulled the wagon’s reins on her back. “She’ll be fine.”

“C-Co-star...” Surprise’s legs were still twitching around in the air.

“If that’s how your fans react to an autograph, they’re a bunch of weirdos,” thought Starlight.

*****

The night finally fell over the city, and the three of them managed to find themselves a nice little corner of Canterlot to set up the show in. Like in Ponyville, they pretty much set up down inside a park area, and there was a nice little crowd as well. Perhaps not as big as Ponyville, given that these ponies were surrounded by magicians and sorcerers, but it would be enough for a big house, either way.

The biggest change to the show, however, might have been the posters themselves. Trixie was front and center on them, as one would expect, but standing behind her was a certain white and yellow pegasus. Starlight was asked if she wanted to be on there, too, but she turned that down.

Either way, Surprise took the moment before showtime to stare at her own face on the posters. It was so thrilling, yet so humbling to be the featured co-star on a show like this. Even if she was pretty much the co-star as Trixie’s assistant, to see this kind of promotion for herself? She couldn’t believe it. Her jaw was even on the floor.

“Never been in the spotlight like this before, have you?” Starlight chimed in.

“Well, I was always Trixie’s assistant after she brought me in, but...” Surprise nearly had to re-attach her jaw to her face. “It’s almost beyond words, you know? I can’t believe it. I just...” She sniffled as she smiled from the sight.

Starlight gave her a pat on the shoulder. “I’m just glad it worked out. You remember what you have to do first, right? I’ll fire Trixie out of the cannon, you grab the net and put it into place. Don’t worry about a miss, I got the right angle for it.”

The instructions reminded Surprise that there was even a show happening in the first place. “Oh right! I’m catching her to start! I gotta get into position!” She was about to run out, but she stopped in her tracks and turned to Starlight. “I heard you could have been the other co-star if you wanted to. Why didn’t you?”

A sigh escaped Starlight’s lips. “Before I met you and Trixie, before Twilight got my head out of my flanks, I used to be the ruler of my own town. Everypony followed me and did everything I told them. And I liked that power for a while. It was great. My own little corner of the world... but it was never enough. When you focus just on having power and attention, there’s no real stopping point. You always want more. And now that I’m just a regular unicorn, one that almost destroyed all of time and space, it’s nice to actually have friends around me because they like me, not because I ordered them to. I think I can afford to stay out of the spotlight if that’s what it means.”

Once she was done, Surprise gave her a quick hug. “And I was afraid you were going to take Trixie away from me. I was so stupid! Pinkie told me that it’s actually possible to have more than one friend, and... she’s right. So now, I’m going to live my life--”

“Hellooooo? Anypony out there?” a voice asked from a distance. As it turned out, a cannon was already set up at the hill overlooking the show. With that voice, there was only one guess as to who it was.

“I almost forgot,” Starlight facehoofed. “We need to get into position. The show’s supposed to start any moment. Break a leg, Surprise.”

“Not literally.” Then Surprise got it. “Oh. Why is that supposed to mean good luck? Isn’t it a bad thing to break your leg?”

“I never got it, either. How about, good luck?”

Surprise smiled and shook hooves with Starlight. “That’s much better. Good luck to you, too! Let’s put on a show they’ll never forget!”

With that out of the way, the two ponies went to their respective spots. Surprise had her instructions, and she knew what to do. Out of the blue, the spotlights lit the stage in a bright light, one that grabbed the attention of the whole audience. Surprise stepped onto the stage, and she knew the reason the audience didn’t question her appearance was from all the posters with her face on it.

Little did she know, however, that there were two other ponies studying her from a balcony nearby, watching and observing her every movement. The purple alicorn watched Surprise carefully, not sure what to make of it. The yellow unicorn, on the other hoof, was a bit anxious. She wouldn’t be sure for a long while if she was doing the right thing.

“Long ago, there was a sorcerer, Starswirl the Bearded,” Surprise began. “He disappeared one day, and since that day, no magician has ever come close to his talents... until now!” Deep down, that certain purple alicorn was about to snap and have the most epic nerd breakdown of all time.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, I introduce to you, The Great and Powerful Trixie!” Right on that cue, an explosion went off behind the crowd’s back. They all turned around to see what it was, and they were blown away by the sight of a blue unicorn sailing through the sky above them. Her cape flapped gracefully in the winds, and a trail of blue magic followed her.

Surprise was quick to do her part of the job. Taking advantage of the crowd looking away from the stage, she set up a net right in the middle of it. It was a large net to boot as well, covering a lot of the set just to be safe. Before she knew it, Trixie bounced right in the middle of the net with grace, bouncing off of it a few times before she set all four hooves down on solid ground.

Trixie stood tall before everypony, lifting her front hooves up as fireworks went off behind her back. Somehow, Surprise was able to pull the net away and set the fireworks off at the same time. What could she say, she was a quick filly these days.

Still, she loved the sights and sounds of everypony applauding Trixie, enjoying it as she soaked it in. “Thank you, thank you! Of course, this glorious entrance wouldn’t have been possible without the help of my wonderful assistant, tonight’s co-star, Surprise!”

For once, Trixie adjusted the spotlight so it landed right on the pegasus. Surprise meeped from the spotlight literally being put on her, and she nervously waved. There was some applause from her, though not as thunderous as it was for Trixie. That was okay with her. Trixie was the true star tonight.

While it was happening, Twilight kept the telescope on Surprise. She pulled the lens away from her eye and gave it over to Sunset. “I don’t know, Sunset. Pinkie’s right, she’s not acting like any of the other Mirror Pool clones. In fact, she’s doing a pretty good job out there.”

“I know, I just figured you should know the truth, that’s all,” Sunset pointed out. “It sounded like you had no idea what was going on.”

“True. And I don’t think it’s a good thing that they kept it a secret.”

While they were debating with each other, the show went on as scheduled. Surprise came out and brought out two boxes onto the stage, opening them up for Trixie to get into. Seeing that trick again, Starlight immediately dashed to the backstage and waited to see if things would go awry like they did last time.

Instead, Surprise was poised as Trixie climbed on board. The pegasus closed the boxes together and brought out a saw. The saw went through the middle of the boxes, seemingly cutting Trixie in half, but this time, Surprise only brought the saw as far as it needed to go. Starlight took a deep breath of relief as the act went as scheduled, with Surprise “showing” Trixie cut down the middle.

The rest of the show was, mercifully, uneventful in terms of potential botches. They did the whole routine as scheduled, from illusion magic to make it look like there were five Trixies, to fireworks, to Surprise being “transformed” into a full blown tiger. A few ponies in the Canterlot crowd mumbled about it, having seen a lot of it, but most were entertained from beginning to end. It sure helped that this was the kind of crowd that adored Trixie’s showmanship.

The whole time, Surprise and Starlight would exchange glances at each other. The whole time, Surprise was so relieved, and it showed all over her face. Starlight was delighted by it, and encouraged Surprise to focus on the performance for the time being. To say that a huge weight came off their shoulders was rather fitting.

Finally, the show came to an end. One last show of fireworks lit up the stage, and Trixie and Surprise alike bowed before the audience. A shower of roses and (most importantly) bits fell down to the stage, and the performance was all done. Starlight did the honors of bringing the curtain down, and Surprise clasped on the floor right away.

“Are you okay?” Trixie poked in. “You didn’t faint from exhaustion, did you?”

“Not... at... all...” Surprise trailed off. “I’m just so happy right now. That was my favorite performance, ever! Tell me it was good. It wasn’t just me, was it?”

“No, it’s not just you,” said Starlight. “I loved it, too. I think we should all celebrate at one of those fancy restaurants in town. I don’t know if I’ve ever been to one.”

“Trixie has, and they’re all marvelous,” Trixie noted. “However, first things first. Well done, Surprise. Not a single flaw all night. What changed, Trixie wonders?” She saw Surprise open her mouth to explain it, only to stick a hoof in her muzzle. “That was rhetorical. We all know the answer.”

“We do?” Starlight and Surprise asked at the same time.

“Of course. Trixie shined her light on both of you, and now you’re both friends to her. That makes all the difference in the world.”

Starlight rolled her eyes, and Surprise just merely laughed. “That sounds right to me.” Right then, she heard a knock on the door. “I wonder who that could be?” She went up and opened the door.

On the other side, Twilight and Sunset were waiting for her. “Hey, guys.” Twilight started.

“Oh? You’ve come to see us?” Trixie smirked as their guests came backstage. “Have you come to tell us all how great that show was? Greater than anything you’ve ever seen?” She got up in Twilight’s face, to the point where their snouts were pressed together.

“It was a good show, but there’s another reason why we’re here. There’s something we found out that we figure you should know about,” Sunset began. She checked with Twilight, making sure they were on the same page about actually going through with this.

“I don’t understand,” thought Starlight. “What’s going on? You’re about to say something really serious, aren’t you?”

Twilight and Sunset both sighed, and they stepped aside. Surprise was curious what was going to happen, and she was taken off guard when Pinkie walked through the door as well. Pinkie looked deflated, both figuratively and literally with her mane. It was almost as if she saw a ghost.

“We know the truth about you, Surprise,” said Sunset. “We know you came from the Mirror Pool, and you’re a clone of Pinkie Pie.”

“I had no idea,” Pinkie admitted. “I thought they were all gone. But you... I would have never thought. You’re not like the rest at all...”

Even with all the niceties and such, the pupils in Surprise’s eyes shrunk to the size of peas. She remembered Twilight gathering all the clones together just to zap them away if they weren’t the real thing. And now here she was again, revealing that she knew Surprise was a clone.

“I... I... I CAN’T GO BACK!” Her wings spread as wide as they would go, and she crashed through the door. The door almost fell from its hinges as she flew off, not slowing down for anything and everything.

“Surprise, no, wait!” Starlight shouted.

“Stop at once! They’re not going to banish you!” Trixie added on.

Even then, they were already becoming whispers in Surprise’s head. She couldn’t slow down, they’d just banish her back to the Mirror Pool if she did. Within mere seconds, the city of Canterlot shrunk down at her back. Where she was going, she didn’t know. All she knew is that she couldn’t be there anymore.

Trixie, Starlight, her new life as an assistant to the greatest magic show in the world, it was all going to be ripped away from her. She didn’t know how fast she was going, but it wasn’t fast enough. Her eyelids rippled from the intense winds in her eyes, but that wouldn’t slow her down.

She had to hide away from the world, right now. The sooner, the better. She only wished she could stay with Trixie and Starlight, but...

It wouldn’t be long until she was just a speck in the skies, and Trixie and Starlight stared at her.