A Meeting At The Falls

Chapters

A blindingly obvious trap
A short drink
Puppet show of the mind
Laser tag for the maiden's heart

A blindingly obvious trap

Twilight stared out the window of the train as it wound through the mountains.

Princess Twilight Sparkle.

The sky was gray, with shafts of sunlight slipping through. Light rain fell against the windows.

Your presence is required at the Reichenbuck falls.

She was having trouble getting comfortable on her seat. No matter how she moved, her legs didn’t seem to sit under her properly.

Come alone, on the 12th of the first month of winter.

She had been conflicted. Her friends all currently thought she was visiting an aunt. One she had had to visit extremely urgently.

Somepony is going to die without you.

She knew it was trouble.

Frankly, the fact that she was going at all was foolish. Let alone actually going on her own. She knew that she should currently be surrounded by her friends, as well as a complete entourage of royal guards. Whatever the deal was with the letter, it was clearly bad news.

What kind of trustworthy letter arrives with no signature, urging someone of great importance to come to the far end of Equestria, completely alone? It was like mailing a card that said “Season’s greetings! Will you let me assassinate you? Yes/no”. It was so comically slapdash that she ought to have just sent a soldier dressed as her to arrest the writer.

But she had been… frustrated recently.

Her old, comfortable life had been stripped from her piece by piece. After her alicorn ascension, she had spent some degree of effort trying to ignore what it really meant. While she was flattered to be elevated, she didn’t want to abandon any part of the life she had made for herself.

And she had succeeded, sort of. With much urging, most of Ponyville had been able to keep treating her like normal. She had talked Rarity out of calling her “Your highness”, she had continually delayed the organization of her first public court, and she had used the friendship journal to help feel as if she were still writing to Celestia. She was still the same scholar and librarian she had always been, but now with wings!

But her royal position wouldn’t wait, and it had come to her.

She couldn’t help but laugh dryly at how much of a perfect metaphor Tirek had been. A symbol of her growing duty that had destroyed her comfortable shell of humility, and required she take on the full power of her fellow princesses.

She missed her library. She missed the way it smelled when it rained. The way the wood creaked on windy nights. The views from the windows that she had gotten so used to.

It had fit her perfectly. A place for Twilight Sparkle, bookworm and mage.

But her new responsibilities had taken it from her. Those titles she loved felt as if they had been supplanted by ‘princess’.

Sure, she was getting used to the castle with the help of her friends, and she supposed that in time, she would connect with it just as much as she had the library, but it was new. New and cold, with every surface made of polished crystal. No humility to it. She didn’t want a throne, but there it was, grown as if it were natural.

And it meant that the mood had shifted in Ponyville. Now, despite her best urgings, she was treated as capital R royalty. Ponyville was undergoing an identity shift as the quaint small town came to see itself as a royal hegemony. Her realm. Her property.

She hated it. Her friends were understanding, but the normal citizenry wouldn’t stop with the ‘Your majesty’’s. She knew it was something she had to accept and deal with, but she wanted to hide from it. To pretend things were back to being simple and comfortable.

And then there was the map.

She knew, deep down, that the map wasn’t an interloper. It was a part of her broader purpose and destiny.

But right now, she felt so conflicted about it. The idea that her adventures were no longer driven by interaction with her friends or by her scholarly pursuits of the study of magic and friendship, but were now doled out by some mysterious force of harmony… it hurt. She felt as if she was now “The Friendship Map™ presents Princess Twilight Sparkle™”. Going on adventures at the whim of the tree of harmony felt stifling.

So, like a teenage filly running off to a rock concert, she was sneaking out. Just for this one little adventure. One that had come organically in the mail. One with danger to it. An adventure where she could just be herself, and solve the problem with her magic and mind. She was throwing herself into the jaws of peril simply because it was something a princess shouldn’t do.

Everyone would be cross with her for it, but right now, she had a trap to fall into, and on some level, past the nervousness and fear… she couldn’t be more excited.

Reichenbuck falls. Far to the northwest from Ponyville, nestled in the mountains, it was the origin point of the long and winding river that carved through Ghastly Gorge. There wasn’t much in the area, as it had always been felt too much development would sully the view. There was a town a few miles away, but up near the falls, all there was was a rather opulent hotel. It had been a popular destination for honeymoons, but had been shuttered around a year ago after a sordid news story had threatened to bring in the wrong sort of tourist.

The air was quiet as she disembarked from the train. She was the only one getting off at this stop. As it pulled away, she was left alone with the elements. The wind, the gentle rain, and the sun, all of them filtered through the bare branches of the tall forest trees that flanked either side of the road.

She trotted along the path from the station towards the falls, trying to steady her breathing. Yes, she was doing this because it was dangerous and exciting, but it was still dangerous. In her mind, she was running through the flash cards for a whole suite of defensive spells, ranging from short range teleports to personal shields, and more counterspells than one could shake a stick at. Whatever form of assault her would-be assailant had, she’d be ready.

Climbing through the dense forest that surrounded the falls, she passed by the offshoot path that still bore the large and cheerful gilded sign advertising the now defunct hotel, and as she pushed on, the sound of the falls grew louder.

The road gave way to neatly built stone steps. Twilight climbed onward.

Who would it be, she wondered? Was the hostage someone she knew? Was it an innocent? Was it a trick? Was this the start of some grand conspiracy that would take all her wit and logic to unravel? It was exciting to think about. Perhaps it would be more mundane. A woodsman who lived in the area, sick with some rare disease. Twilight could easily write the story in her mind. She could see the stallion’s young daughter, hastily writing a letter to the first important pony she could think of, unaware of how ominous it sounded…

Well, it was easy to write the story, but she doubted it would be anything as innocent as that.

At last, taking a final deep breath and with her mind bristling with prepared spells, Twilight stepped up the final set of stairs and arrived at the top of the falls.

It was a gorgeous view. Celestia’s sunlight lanced through the clouds all through the view of the mountains. The mist from the falls rose delicately through the air, and the grey, green, and white tones made it all look like a painting.

A painting with Trixie in it.

The Great and Powerful Trixie. Traveling magician. It had been quite some time since Twilight had seen her. Both times, Trixie had vanished as quickly as she came.

Twilight supposed she wasn’t one to stick around where she didn’t feel wanted. Her ego was larger than the Canterhorn, and Twilight found her rather hard to take seriously as a result. But here she was. Leaning against the railing and gazing out at the view.

“Trixie? Is that you?”

When the magician heard her, she seemed to jolt out of wherever she had been mentally. Carefully, Trixie took her hooves off the rail and turned to face Twilight.

She looked very composed. Posture straight, gaze sharp. Breathing labored.

She was silent for a long moment. Twilight could feel the mare's eyes climbing over her. There was an odd tension in the air. Not the sort Twilight had been expecting. It felt almost as if Trixie was afraid to-

“So you have come!” Trixie announced, face changing from silent consideration to her trademark arrogant smirk. So much for any tension. “Trixe was starting to think you didn’t have it in you!”

“I assume you’re the one who sent the letter?” Twilight sighed. “It said somepony was going to die. If this is your idea of a joke then I’m not laughing Trixie. That kind of thing is serious.”

“Oh, but Trixie does not joke, Sparkle! The Great and Powerful Trixie challenges you to a magic duel! A proper one this time, without the interference of the Alicorn amulet! True power against true power!”

“What?” Twilight couldn’t hide the fact that she was slightly miffed. This was her special little danger treat? “I was under the impression we had already done that. It didn’t end too well either.” Some part of her almost felt insulted. She always worked to keep her ego in check, but she had spent a lot of time since then improving her magic, and even if Trixie had matched her progress, it would hardly be a fair fight.

Trixie was undeterred, clearly focused on her own thoughts. “Do you know what happened here Sparkle? At these falls?”

Gritting her teeth, Twilight answered all too easily. “Yes, actually. Which is why I think it’s in poor taste to challenge me to a duel here.”

Reichenbuck falls was, to history nerds, noteworthy as the location of the final duel between Starswirl the bearded and his arch-rival, Larmoya, sorceress of grief. The pair had long battled over the position of strongest unicorn in Equestria, each thwarting the others magical endeavors wherever they went.

The fight at Reichenbuck had been their last. With both giving it their all, Larmoya had tragically tumbled to her death, leaving Starswirl the victor. As printed collections of his letters and journals proved, it was a victory that always haunted him, and was rumored to be part of his eventual disappearance.

“Poor taste? This is a matter of honor! There is nowhere better for Trixie to have this moment!”

“What moment? Dredging up something buried and done to satisfy your obnoxious ego?” Twilight felt her temper flare. “If you care about honor, I’d say we were square. You know, after you apologized and we made up after the amulet incident?”

“Oh, forgive me, princess!” Trixie feigned a hurt look. “I suppose you don’t pay any attention to the wake you leave in the world, do you? While you were busy being coronated and building a castle made out of diamonds, Trixie has been starving in the street!”

Twilight’s frustration faltered. “What? But, what about your shows?”

Trixie rolled her eyes and grimaced. “Oh, yes, the shows that Trixie cannot do due to every paper in Equestria eagerly picking up the story about the amazing pupil of Celestia comically using simple stage-magic to pull one over on an insane tyrannical fool! Being painted as King Sombra junior definitely didn’t keep Trixie barred from every inn she found! And Trixie is no buffoon! She would have easily seen through your trick with an unaddled mind! But a stage magician can hardly make a living when seen as too incompetent to do her job! Trixie has been the drinker of a long and loathsome cocktail of hate, fear, and mockery, all of which lies at your hooves! So now, you will allow her to grasp her long-tattered honor, and duel her!” She panted as she finished her pent up rant, staring Twilight down.

Twilight was stunned. “Trixie… I’m sorry. I had no idea what you were going through…”

“What?” Trixie herself now looked confused, and almost annoyed. “No!”

Twilight balked. “What do you mean no?”

“No! Trixie refuses your pity! You’re beyond her, aren’t you?! Admit it! You haven’t wasted a single thought on her since you saw her last!”

Twilight bit her lip. It was uncomfortable to realize but… she hadn’t. Since Trixie had vanished into the night, Twilight had been too busy with so much that she hadn’t considered what the showmare might have been up to. She hadn’t considered the fallout of their duel beyond herself.

“I… er… well…”

“I knew it!” While trying to keep its bravado, Trixie’s voice sounded hoarse. “Admit it! Your life is perfect!”

Twilight tried to speak up, but it died in her throat. Something was wrong. Trixie’s eyes looked wild. The showmare was backing away from her, voice raising louder and louder.

“You have everything a pony could ever dream of! You have friends! You have a palace! You have a crown! You have a natural talent for magic itself! You have a diploma! You have family that will speak to you! You have the princess! You have a lover somewhere, who’s counting the moments until you come home! You have more than a shabby caravan or a cardboard box!”

Twilight had no idea what to possibly say. Dozens of disparate friendship lessons were fighting in her mind, any of them trying to apply themselves to this situation. Was she above others? Had she always been? All of her anxiety about her position was going to flood her brain, and still, Trixie was glaring.

“But do you know what you don’t have, Sparkle?!” Trixie had pulled herself up onto the railing. She took a deep breath, and the fury in her face subsided. There was only the sound of the water as she stared placidly down at twilight.

“You have no Larmoya. Goodbye Twilight. It’s been horrible.”

Twilight’s eyes went wide.

Trixie jumped.

Twilight’s heart raced as her wings snapped outward. She still wasn’t used to using them in a situation like this. Rainbow Dash could do things like this. Go from free to fall to flying. Catch a falling target as heavy as herself. Do so at the right angle to lift back up again.

Twilight couldn’t. Not easily. But her wings were moving far faster than her brain ever could. It had taken a second or two to fully process what had happened, and when she had, she had thrown herself forward with such force she thought she might accidentally leave her torso behind.

That sight would be with her for a long time. The shuddering railing. The hat suspended in midair. The lash of the light blue tail vanishing out of sight over the edge.

She couldn’t let it happen. Even if the showmare was an obnoxious braggart who Twilight couldn’t stand, some things weren’t right. And a pony killing themselves in front of Twilight was pretty damn not right. But it wasn’t just that. After everything she had heard, she couldn’t let it end this way.

Wings bent as she tried to fall faster. Her horn glowed as she tried to get a grip on the falling shape beneath her. In all the mist from the waterfall, it was so slippery. So difficult to wrap her magic around something she couldn’t see.
But she had to.

Twilight closed her eyes, and reached for a desperate measure. If she could teleport, it would allow her to catch up. But in this mist she couldn’t see where she was teleporting to. It was a gamble…
Feeling a surge of power, she vanished and reappeared, and right as she did, she felt herself impact with something. Opening her eyes back up, she saw Trixie.

The pair were now wrapped around each other. She had caught her!

“I’ve got you! Hold on!” she sputtered the first thing that came to mind.

“Sparkle!? What are you doing!?”

Struggling with the weight, Twilight used her magic to lift herself, wings beating, and only her earth-pony stamina allowing her to breathe through it all. She couldn’t see the ground. She had no idea how far down the falls she was, only that she had achieved step one…

Well, now step two was ‘survive’. That would be harder. Wings spread, she flew forward, lost in the mist. Everything was wet. Her mane clung to her head in the damp, her fur felt ice-cold… but she had to keep moving.

Blasting out of the waterfall-spray, she had managed to stabilize for a moment. She could see she was only a little bit above the ground. A few more moments of falling and they would have both been in trouble.

But now her stabilization was losing itself again. If only she had taken Dash up more frequently on those flying lessons! One wing lost kilter, and she went into a spin, colliding with the ground. Wrapped around Trixie, the two of them skipped across the rocky shore of the river, stones digging into them as they finally crashed to a stop.

Then, silence. Only the roar of the waterfall. Her own haggard breathing. Trixie’s heaving gasps.

She did it. She actually did it.

Fuck did it hurt. Her wings were burning. Her lungs felt like they had exploded. Her horn was numb. Her whole body was cut and bruised from their landing.

Underneath her, Trixie had blacked out, and Twilight could feel she wasn’t far behind her. But adrenaline was a hell of a drug. The surging chemicals in Twilight’s brain were too active to let her go, and she knew she couldn’t risk letting Trixie get away from her. Not after that.

They needed somewhere to rest, heal, and talk. And Twilight knew just the abandoned hotel for the job.

A short drink

Twilight was awake, but she wasn’t in any hurry to get out of bed.

It was quite a few things. The way the wind whistled, and the great frame of the hotel creaking against its force reminded Twilight of the Golden Oaks library. Lying and listening to it all, to the sound of the windows shifting, to the leafless trees slicing the wind apart… it was comfortable.

There was also the pain. She had pushed her body far harder during the rescue than she typically did. Her wings stung when she moved them, and her horn was slightly sore. Her mouth had the slight taste of tin that indicated she had channeled magic too fast and too roughly, and none of that compared to the bruises, scrapes, and other lumps she had sustained during her crash landing. She wasn’t looking forward to checking herself for broken bones.

And finally, there was Trixie. Or rather, the lack of her.

Twilight had used the last of her adrenaline to fly Trixie back up to the hotel, kick in the boarded doors, and collapse the pair of them onto one of the luxurious (if slightly dusty) beds. But now, when she had awoken, she found that the bed contained only her. Evidently, Trixie had awoken before her and taken the opportunity to flee.
Twilight wanted to be more upset, but all she could feel was a certain degree of resignation. Saving someone from a fate they had tried to impose on themselves wasn’t exactly the kind of thing one got thanked for. It showed a lack of confidence in others' choices, which was considered disrespectful. How well those social graces held up in this scenario was up for debate, but Twilight was sure Trixie was long gone.

It wasn’t like she could keep her here, she supposed. She sighed, rolling over in bed and trying to get comfortable. Might as well take the opportunity to relax before heading home.

Whatever became of Trixie was… out of her hooves.

She hated that thought.

“Are you awake yet? Or is the Great and Powerful Trixie going to have to drink both of these herself? Because she can.”

Twilight’s eyes widened and she shot upwards, gaze locking to the entrance to the bedroom. Standing in the entrance to the rest of the suite was Trixie. She still looked slightly haggard, but she cocked an eyebrow performatively, levitating two highball glasses with her magic.

Twilight grunted, unsure of what to say. Trixie trotted into the room and set one drink down on the bedside next to Twilight. The other, she levitated to her lips, taking a short sip.

Twilight’s horn was sore, but it flared to life easily and lifted the glass. Before daring to drink any of it, she turned it around experimentally, stirring it a little and giving it a sniff.

“It’s something the Great and Powerful Trixie whips up for post-show comfort. Zebrican rum, milk, pancake syrup, and crushed daisies.”

Twilight was rather confused. “Where did you find milk in an abandoned hotel?”

“Trixie substituted it with rum.”

“What about the syrup?”

“Also substituted with rum.”

Twilight took a pull from the drink. Frankly, she was surprised it even contained ice.

“Is this a typical breakfast for you?” Twilight quipped, resting back against the bed’s headboard. Trixie gave her a dirty look.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie drinks only when there is something to be celebrated. Or when she is in great pain. This is the latter of those.” She took her own sip and then sprawled herself across the deep red loveseat. Her gaze clashed right into Twilight’s own, and both of them were sent staring elsewhere. Mostly into their drinks.

The pair sat in silence for what felt like an eternity.

Trixie was the first one to say something. “Why?”

“I could ask you the same question.”

Trixie gritted her teeth. “I asked first.”

Twilight sighed. “Because I couldn’t just stand there and watch you die.”

Trixie let out a haughty snort at that, but it was clearly slightly forced.

“I mean it, Trixie.”

“Yes, of course! Without the Great and Powerful Trixie, who else would you live to humiliate?”

“I’m sorry.”

“You heard me correctly!”

“No, not “I’m sorry?”. I’m sorry. That was a genuine apology, Trixie. I had no idea what had happened to you after our duel. I didn’t… I didn’t know.”

The showmare silently flicked her tail.

“I don’t… pay attention to the newspaper. It’s something I learned to ignore back when I was first starting out as Celestia’s student. I’m so used to any reports about myself being frivolous or stupid, and… I admit I hadn’t thought about how the public opinion would affect you. I accepted your apology, but that doesn’t mean anything in the wider world. I didn’t think. About what you might be going through or where you were… and I’m sorry for that.”

Trixie let out her own low sigh. “No. Trixie… understands. She drinks deep of her hatred for you upon hearing that, but she understands. It’s not like she was anypony important. But you shouldn’t have saved her.”

“I had to!”
“No you didn’t! But it fits the story, doesn’t it? The noble and shiny princess saves the pathetic waif from her own horrible self.” She sank back into the couch further, taking a deep pull of her drink. “Trixie imagines it’s done enough for your ego already, so don’t expect a thank you.”

Twilight’s ears drooped. “Don’t call me that. Please.”

Trixie looked rather surprised. “What, shiny?”

“No. Princess. I’m still getting used to it.”

“How on Equus could it be a problem? Trixie was under the assumption that every filly dreams of being an alicorn princess from the first time they see Celestia in their picture books.”

“Because… everypony now sees me as Princess Twilight instead of Twilight Sparkle. Almost everypony except my friends has gone crazy ever since the castle appeared. It feels isolating. Like ponies see me as separate from them.”

Trixie glowered. “You are! You are one of four currently known manifestations of true divinity!”

“But why does that mean I stop being me?!” Twilight fumed, gesturing a little too much with her glass and spilling a few drops on the bed.

“Well forgive Trixie if she can’t feel the pea under the mattress. It must be so difficult for you.”

“Oh shut up, you self centered-” Twilight put a hoof over her mouth. Maybe she had had more rum than she thought. She typically tried very hard not to be that blunt, and she definitely didn’t use language like what almost came out.

She glanced over at Trixie to find that the cerulean unicorn was maintaining a humorlessly rictus grin.

“Yes, Trixie is self centered, isn’t she? Not another pony ever crosses her mind. Almost as if she couldn’t care for anything less.”

Twilight’s eyes softened. “Trixie… I’ve been meaning to ask about some of the things you said. Before. Were you really out on the streets?”

Trixie huffed. “Why is this about trixie now?”

“I thought you’d like to be the topic of the conversation, since my problems weren’t cutting it.” Twilight offered dryly. “But I am… genuinely curious about what you’ve been through.”

“And why are Trixie’s problems your business?”

“Because it feels like I might factor into them.” Trixie winced at that, averting her gaze.

“Yes. Trixie was on the streets. Debasing herself by performing on corners with her hat in front of her, and sleeping under newspapers.”

“And I was living in a palace. Sun above.” Twilight massaged her temples with her hooves. “No wonder you hate me so much.”

Trixie laughed. It wasn’t humorless though. It held an edge of true mirth. “Oh Twilight, Trixie hates you more than you can understand.”

The showmare rose to her hooves, swaying a little. She set the empty glass down, magic winking out, and stretched herself.

“Allow the Great and Powerful Trixie to punish you for rescuing her, with an awe-inspiring history of how detestably better than her you are!” She trilled gleefully, horn firing off a few holographic paisleys and spirals. Twilight groaned.

It was going to be a tiring experience, but she was full of rum. And deep inside her brain, there was a small part of her eager to take notes. There was something Trixie wasn't saying, and Twilight was prepared to see the truth revealed…

Puppet show of the mind

Trixie hopped onto the bed, and her horn lit up brilliantly, white light pouring off as the room around the piece of furniture began to swim, becoming more and more indistinct.

Soon, the room was a shifting haze of different colors, lazily melding into one another. The natural pattern of unfocused illusion constructs.

Twilight was a little surprised. She had always assumed Trixie was magically rather weak, but an illusion large enough to cover the room like this was rather impressive.

“The great and powerful Trixie is thrilled to invite you to ride along on this magical flying bed, as we dive deep into the mysteries of the universe!” Trixie proclaimed in her most bombastic show voice. The illusion began to swirl, as if the bed were flying forward.

“We shall begin our examination of your hateability at the very beginning.” The image swirled, and formed into a stage, much like the one that Trixie had performed on in her first visit to Ponyville, but this one was far more robust and spruced up. A full facade lay in front of the bed, with the two of them where the audience would be.

On the stage, the blue curtain raised, and revealed two different fillies, as if presented in splitscreen.

On the left, the lavender filly grinned and spoke first. “My name is Twilight Sparkle! I love books!”

On the right, the light blue filly also grinned. “My name is Trixie Lulamoon! I love attention!”

On the right side of the stage, filly Twilight was now attended by a pair of rather dopey looking effigies, one in a vest and pipe, and the other bizarrely clad in both overalls and a tutu. “We do so love you, beloved precious pony daughter!” Burbled one of them in a squeaky voice.

“We shall provide you with all of the books you could ever hope to eat!” Nodded the other. To punctuate that, a large heap of green rectangles each marked ‘BOOK’, landed on top of filly Twilight with a loud thump.

“Yaaaaaay!” Both maquettes bobbed up and down crudely. “Truly we, Twinkly Poo and Dumpson Stardust are the bestest parents!”

Twilight stared at Trixie. Trixie coughed. “Well, The great and powerful Trixie must admit she doesn’t know much about your parents. Forgive her improvisation.”

On the other side of the stage, however, filly Trixie was attended only by one figure. A real one rather than another dummy. The orange unicorn brushed aside her blonde mane and gave Trixie a fond nuzzle.

Twilight could tell that the real Trixie next to her seemed a bit pensive.

The sunflower-marked unicorn spoke rather plummily. “Now Trixie, know that just because mama loves you very much, doesn’t mean you don’t occasionally remind her of the yawning void in her life that comes from not knowing who your father is! Remember that if you ever do something stupid like drop out of school, and she stops speaking to you, then you’ll have left her with no family to talk to except your aunt Poinsettia who will try to talk her into betting on Ban’ei races again!”

Twilight winced. The showmare’s raw emotions were clearly getting in the way of any kind of subtlety.

The curtain closed and reopened, now revealing the two of them as teenagers.

The illusion of Twilight illuminated, just as she was scooped up by an image of Princess Celestia. Not celestia as she truly appeared, but instead with the flowing details and graceful shape that twilight recognized from the famous portrait of the princess one could buy on every tourist tchotchke in canterlot.

“Come, Twilight Sparkle! Let us embark on your journey of incredible magical education! And ice cream afterwards!”

“Wow, thanks princess! How much magic do you think I can learn?”

“All of it, Twilight! It’s your special talent after all!”

The pair trotted off stage, twilight being carried under Celestia’s foreleg like a sleeping bag. The light illuminated Trixie’s side.

“Miss Lulamoon…” a voice labored with disappointment spoke as a beleaguered looking teacher stepped into view. “I don’t want to fail you, but your understanding of magical theory is… well… the drawings of yourself in a cowpony hat are more promising as far as answers go.” She sighed, brandishing a paper simply marked “DUMB TEST”.

Teenage Trixie fumed. “None of it makes sense! Is it the great and powerful Trixie’s fault that the one thing she excels at is withheld from her? If this was an illusion class, she would be passing with flying colors!”

“Your grades in illusion are very impressive, yes, but you need to be able to understand the broader magical spectrum. Natural talent is all well and good, but it’s no replacement for actually understanding what you’re doing. If you just applied yourself, then-“

“Trixie understands one thing well enough! She’s dropping out! She will find her fortune with the only magic that matters! The magic of the stage!”

As the curtain shuffled shut again, Twilight couldn’t hold herself from speaking. “That was Professor Misty Morning. You went to Celestia’s school?”

Trixie grimaced. “Why yes, Trixie did. And instead of seeing herself through any kind of effective education, she ran away when things got hard, leaving her with no diploma, a mother who wouldn’t speak to her, and a repertoire of parlor tricks she had convinced herself were unimpeachable.”

“How come we never met?”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “You never talked to anypony except the princess and your direct classmates. Nopony knew anything about you. You were always the princess’s mysterious pupil who never left her tower.”

Twilight cast her gaze down at her hooves. She… had been rather isolated during her schooling. Moondancer and the other ponies in her study group were the only ones she had really interacted with. It was a rather lonely way to live, and she was glad to have escaped it.

“But why drop out? Was it really just because you felt you didn’t have anything to learn?”

Trixie seemed uncomfortable at the question. As she opened her mouth to answer, the image on stage shifted mercurially. The haughty teenage Trixie and the disappointed professor were no longer facing away from one another, but professor Misty was now sat down and had her foreleg over a Trixie who was crying into her forelegs. Twilight could overhear only a few words clearly; “-even know why I’m here! I’m useless at-” and then the image vanished, as quickly as it came.

Trixie glared at the stage. “Forgive Trixie. An illusion this size is difficult to keep control of. If she loses her concentration it can show just about anything.”

Twilight knew that was a load of bunkum. An out of control illusion didn’t show random things, it showed the thoughts of the caster.

But she bit her tongue. She could bring that up after she had more information.

The curtain drew back one more time.

Twilight’s side was illuminated once more to reveal her as a unicorn, emerging from a facade of the library. She trotted along in place happily.
“Gosh, it sure is gorgeous out today! I bet all my friends who care about my well-being are out and about, and would be willing to lend me money for food if I were to ever ask them for whatever reason!”

Once again, the lack of subtlety made Twilight wince. “I get it, Trixie. Is there a point to keeping this going?”

Trixie stared daggers back at her. “So you accept it? The fact that while the Great and Powerful Trixie has suffered, you have never wanted for anything?”

While the pair of them talked, the Twilight on the stage trotted forward and somehow, through a rather mind bending route, arrived in front of the stage without actually stepping off of it.

“Look, I want to be understanding, but… what am I supposed to do here? It’s not my fault that you’ve been dealt a bad set of cards.”

The illusory room was changing. Interior theater trappings becoming the vivid outdoors of a sunny summer day. The audience was now packed with ponies, Twilight among them. A duplicate of Trixie had taken the stage.

“Apologize! Vindicate! Admit that you're not better than Trixie!” The other mare on the bed growled, clearly not paying attention to her own illusion at all.

“Oh my sun, it’s Twilight Sparkle! What do I do?!”

Both Twilight and Trixie were snapped out of quibbling and stared at the illusion stage. It was Trixie’s show in Ponyville. The real Trixie gasped and tried to change the image… but found she couldn’t.

Twilight gave her a meaningful look. Her horn was now glowing too. In an illusion this size, it wasn’t hard to keep pumping magic into it to keep it running. “I’m sorry, but your reaction tells me I might need to see this.”

The illusory Trixie paced, talking to herself in a stage whisper. “Think Trixie, think! Did you ever talk to her at school? Even once? How do you impress her?!”

“Impress me?” Twilight was surprised.
She felt Trixie shove her side. “This isn’t for you to see! Stop it!”

“Everypony likes a chance to show off. And everypony knows who she is. It should be simple to ask if she has any tricks she’d like to show-“

“Stop letting this play! These are Trixie’s private thoughts!” She growled, now escalating the shoving as she thumped at Twilight with one of her hooves.

Twilight grunted, trying to get the other mare off of her as she kicked. Both were rather pathetic fighters, resulting in the two descending into a slap fight. “Ow! Trixie, stop it!”

The Trixie on stage sighed. “It doesn’t matter. How do you say that? “Hi, you don’t know me, but I know you and I tried to kill myself the other night and do you think we could be friends?”

Twilight’s surprise was enough that she lost focus, and Trixie successfully ground the illusion to a halt. Twilight stared up at Trixie, now standing over her on the bed and panting angrily from the exertion.

“You tried to kill yourself?”

“Yes!” Trixie drew herself up, and averted her gaze. “You saw it, back at the falls!”

“That flashback was to your first performance in Ponyville, Trixie.”

Trixie was clearly boiling internally. She was shaking slightly, and her muscles were clenched. “It is none of your business how many times Trixie has failed to take her own life! While she is sure you would love to enumerate yet another one of her failures, she-“

“Please tell me it’s only the twice.” Twilight looked rather pleading.

Trixie’s fury faltered when she saw the genuine concern in the princesses eyes. “I… well… yes.” The rage was clearly letting out of her, and she seemed to deflate slightly. “Once before I met you, and once at the falls.”

Morbid curiosity presented a question.

“Why only those times?”

The illusory Trixie became unpaused again, much to real Trixie’s chagrin. The illusion was placid now. Sat and staring at the stars. The stage and crowd were all gone, leaving only the dark night that Trixie had fled into after the Ursa attack.

She spoke very calmly, with a joy that resonated from somewhere deep. A single tear of joy ran down her cheek.

“Twilight Sparkle… I hate you.”

The real Trixie buried her head in her hooves.

The entire illusion collapsed, like a cloud that had looked at Rainbow Dash funny. They were back in the hotel.

Twilight was a little perplexed. “I don’t understand.”

“You saved me.”

“Huh?” It had been muffled by Trixie’s face being pushed into the bed. Twilight hadn’t heard it straight.

“You saved her.” Trixie repeated. “After you showed Trixie up, after you left her with nothing… you saved her life. Because she had hatred.”

This was… not something Twilight could process.

“She hated you so much, it was better than anything. Every night that went by on the cold road, she was warmed by thinking about how much she loathed you. Thinking of your face was enough to help her sleep anywhere. Whenever she had to push through something, work a demeaning job, ignore giggling hecklers… all she had to do was think about you, Sparkle. Think about your laugh and your smile and your detestably perfect life. No matter what, it allowed her to push forward.”

“Trixie… are you sure that’s hatred? It sounds a little… uh…” Twilight was blushing. She had no idea how to process the idea that someone hated her so deeply. All she had ever done was be nice to ponies! Do her best to understand them! When she had made mistakes or acted rashly, she apologized! How could somepony be so deeply obsessed with somepony else?

“Like what?” Trixie snapped.

Twilight wanted to answer, but found it impossible to spit out what she had meant to say.

“Oh whatever. It doesn’t matter what you think of Trixie.” Something had changed in the showmare. Now that these words were spoken she looked… broken. Her radiant pride was gone.

“Twilight… Your greatest privilege is the fact that you don’t know how it feels to not matter.

Imagine you don’t matter. Imagine that you’re Trixie. A moron who ran away from school and her home to become a traveling magician. Imagine it made sense. After all, your cutie mark is on stage magic and illusion. It was clearly where you were meant to be. You were so naturally talented, you had no need of the fiddly academic learning to do what you did best.

And then over the next couple years, it sinks in that your life is now as big as the tiny cart you live in, and that you’ve ruined your life. And despite spending years living as a traveling performer, your tricks have hit a wall because you don’t understand the magical theory to make better ones.

And then you don’t even have your art anymore. The only thing that was still bringing you worth in your own eyes is gone.

So you try to kill yourself, but get rescued by somepony who believes your story that you were trying out a new rope trick. And then you're back on the road, with nothing inside you.

You are nothing. So you fill that nothing with what looks like something. You take every ounce of showmareship you have and try to put it where your soul should be. You build your fake ego bigger and bigger in the hopes that it can possibly feel real.

The Great and Powerful Trixie is the weakest, most pathetic pony to ever live, and yet she’s able to always see through your own lies. No matter what audience you wow with that big ego, it never works on yourself.

And then you see her.

Beautiful, radiant Twilight Sparkle. The princess’s protege, in some random backwater town. You nearly seize up. She has such obvious and perfect value. You want nothing more than to be close to her.

You’ve always dealt in stories. Stories and narratives are the way you view life. And at that moment, when every story about yourself is dead, you see a pony with a brilliant, shining story. A story where she rescues princesses and makes true friends.

Your mind starts whirling, writing stories where you have some kind of worth through proximity to her. But it doesn’t come.

There are hecklers, same as any show. You deal with them, give the audience some laughs, and then, awkwardly, try to invite that radiant mare up to show off herself. But it’s too muddled. The showing up and the invitation get mixed. She runs.

You’re crushed. You plan to leave. No sense sticking around. There are always rope tricks to practice.

Then, there’s all the stupid stuff you know about. The idiot children, the Ursa Minor, Trixie’s attempt to deal with it… and Twilight Sparkle. She saves your life.

And you feel the flare of hatred. For so long, you’ve felt nothing but hatred for yourself, but for the first time, your false ego feels real. You’ve been shown up. Humiliated in front of everypony. That fire finally feels real.

Imagine that. Twilight Sparkle has given you a reason to live, because you hate her. And the story now spins neatly in your mind. She’s a hero. She’s beloved by all and pure of heart.

The story will be beautiful. Trixie has zero worth in her own life. She has no story. But Trixie can be great and powerful in Twilight’s story! Everypony always remembers the villain! The rival! Now, You have a reason to live! To learn more magic!

Do you understand, Twilight?!”

Trixie stood up, eyes manic. Twilight recognized this tone of voice, and a shiver went down her spine. Last time she had heard this insane impassioned tone, it had ended with Trixie jumping off the falls.

“Larmoya is dead, but she is remembered forever as a part of Starswirl! The period where Trixie saw herself as your rival was the happiest she has ever been!” Trixie was now openly weeping. Tears trailed down her cheeks to land on the bedspread. “Trixie needed to be part of your story! She bought the Alicorn amulet because the story of her seeking revenge was a perfect narrative to escalate the rivalry! But then you- you forgave her! You didn’t swear vengeance or tell her she was beneath you, driving forward the screw of rivalry! You spurned her! You forgave her!

You broke my heart, Twilight! It hurt to know that you couldn’t hate me the way I hated you! The way I needed you! And then you went and became a fucking Princess!”

The force of that word was enough to nearly knock Twilight over.

“When I saw that newspaper, it broke me. Your story had become so much bigger than I could ever imagine. Your duel with Trixie was no longer an important and thrilling chapter in your life, it was now a comedic scrap with a poor deluded bum. A unicorn too stupid to see she never had a chance to be your rival. You were a goddess! You were now peers with the sun and the moon! Useless, stupid, tiny Trixie could never hope to be an important part of a story that now lasted until the stars explode!

THAT is why I tried to kill myself, Twilight. I called you out here in the hope that you could grant a dead idiot's last wish, and let her be thrown over the falls in a duel she could pretend was the kind of climax her terrible story would never see! To pretend in my last moments that I was your Larmoya, and that my death would forever linger as part of your story. That I could be worth something!

And you couldn’t even give me that. Now Trixie has nothing. No story, no rival, no hatred, and no death. Just a perfect plastic princess who doesn’t care that she exists, but can’t even be indifferent enough to let her horrible life end.”

By the end, every word had stabbed Twilight like a knife. The true depth of the despair was like nothing she had ever seen before.

She looked at the shuddering form of Trixie, now scrunched into the tightest heap possible, wracked with sobs. Deep, ugly sobs of the sort that show there’s nothing left inside to let out.

Twilight felt a ping of instinct. It was a terrible idea. Awful. But maybe it was right.

Twilight scooched close, running a hoof down Trixie’s withers. Trixie, sobbing a little less, lifted her head slightly to look at her.

As it raised, Twilight gave it the lightest magic nudge to send it higher.

And then Twilight kissed her.

Laser tag for the maiden's heart

The kiss hung in the air for several seconds, until both of them jerked apart.

Twilight smiled. Trixie’s mouth hung open for a moment. Her expression was of shock. The tears in her eyes were slowing, but still leaving leaving their streaks in the fur on her cheeks.

Twilight smiled sheepishly. “Uh… sorry, I probably should have asked before I-“

“Is this some kind of sick joke?” Trixie wheezed, clearly speaking before she had thought to inhale.

“What? No!” Twilight’s smile faltered. “No, not at all!”

“Is Trixie a game to you? You ignore her and ignore her, and now that you feel sorry for her you decide to play with her?!” The tears were welling again, her strained voice unable to reach the level of dramatic anger she had presented before.

“I just thought that-“

“Save it! Trixie isn’t a problem for you to solve! Especially not that way!” Trixie rolled over, bedclothes wrapping around her as she tried to tumble off the side of the bed. She only succeeded in wrapping herself up and getting stuck in place.

“No, Trixie! I- listen!”

The Trixie burrito went quiet, now facing away from Twilight.

Twilight scooched closer.

“Trixie… It was what you said. About… well, it was a lot of things. But about Starswirl and Larmoya.

Yes, Larmoya is one of the more notable parts of his history, but… I’m sure you know how much she weighed on him.”

Trixie was silent.

“The things he wrote about her were clearly as an enemy, but it’s also equally clear that… he had feelings for her, and her him. He never married, up until his eventual disappearance. That was how much she meant to him.

I became a princess by completing a spell he began. One that attempted to understand the nature of fate. But it was incomplete, because while he was an amazing magician… he didn’t truly understand connection. Friendship. Love.”

Tentatively, breathing a little too deeply, Twilight wrapped herself around Trixie’s cocoon, hugging her tightly.

“But I do. So… if you want to be my Larmoya…”

Twilight’s heart was hammering. She had never dabbled in romance. This was as exciting and terrifying as when she had first begun to study friendship. She felt giddy and nervous all at the same time.

“Then consider your application accepted. But know that I do things better than Starswirl did.”

The round and bundled Trixie shuffled out of Twilight’s grip, and turned over. Twilight felt a chill run down her spine at the look in those eyes.

It was many things all at once. An expression of confusion. Of hatred. Of detached befuddlement. Of deep longing.

At last, Trixie spoke. It was a flat, even tone. Perfectly level, with a hoarseness that matched the tears still flowing down Trixie’s cheeks.

“Twilight Sparkle, if you do not mean every single word of this, Trixie will be incalculably upset with you. Do you understand what you’re saying?”

Twilight nodded. “I do.”

With a rustling of sheets, Trixie stood up, freeing herself from her cocoon and rising to all four hooves. She cast her gaze down at Twilight.

“Then you will prove it.”

The pair of them were stood in the atrium of the hotel. Far above them, the skylight patterned with rain, casting strange shadows over the large room.
Doubtlessly, when the hotel was in operation, this space had seen weddings, dances, and conventions. Now however, it was merely a dramatically open space.

Twilight flicked her tail. “This isn’t going to be a magic duel again, is it?”

Trixie laughed humorlessly. “What would be the point in that? The great and powerful Trixie doubts there is little you cannot beat in a comparison of raw power. No, this will be something else. I presume you remember Magic Missile tag?”

MMT. It was a favorite among students of the school for gifted unicorns. Twilight had only played it once or twice, and never to any degree of competency.

It used a special low strength magic missile. A single, non-homing shot rather than the typical three-prong spell. And… each player could take three hits before they were considered out. That was it.

The simplicity of it added to its trademark chaos. There was no limit on when an opponent could be tagged, nor from what range, nor with any time limit. It was easy to tell what students had entered into a particularly devious game, by seeing who was hiding behind things and getting twitchy as they turned corners. In a place where everypony knew the lay of the land, as well as magic, games could easily become a madhouse of chases, tricks, and spellslinging. So long as you didn’t get hit, you were safe.

Twilight nodded. “I… do. I also, somehow, still remember the spells for it.”

Trixie’s horn began to glow, and soon Twilight’s followed. Around each of them, a set of three small lights appeared, rotating idly around each casters horn.

“For the purposes of not getting wet, Trixie would like to request the game be restricted to inside the hotel.”

“What exactly are we playing for?”

There always had to be a bet. It was why Twilight had avoided the game. Losers tended to get stuck doing homework, drinking experimental potions, or in one memorable occasion, attending every class for a week as “pretty pretty princess celestia” (complete with cardboard wings, dyed coat, and cheap wig).

Trixie smiled. “Simple, Sparkle. We play to see how this story ends.

If you defeat your hated rival, then you will rescue the beautiful damsel. The waifish and pitiable Trixie will be yours to do with as you please.

If however, you are laid low by your great and powerful adversary, you will leave. And you will banish all thought of Trixie from your mind.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “What? Why? How does that benefit you?”

“It doesn’t! But this isn’t about Trixie. This is about you, Twilight. Within this story, you seek to save Trixie from herself, and thus Trixie is both your antagonist and your prize. If you mean what you said by kissing her, then you will fight and win. If you do not… then the story is over.”

“I… don’t know about this. And I particularly don’t know about that “do as I please” bit. Can’t we just talk abou-“ as Twilight was talking, a white bolt of magic fired from Trixie’s horn and thumped into her, sending her backwards a foot or two. Along with its electric sting, one of the three lights orbiting her horn dissipated.

“No! You said you meant it, so now you’ll prove it! For heroes, there are trials! For saints, there are temptations! For you…” another bolt fired from her horn. This time, Twilight saw it coming and dodged to the side. It burst into a puff of light on the ground behind where she had stood.

“There is the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie roared, lost vigor flowing through her. She was a disheveled tear-stained mess, but for the first time since her arrival at the falls, Twilight could see the same energy inside her that she remembered from the stage.

Trixie fired another bolt, and Twilight dodged again, this time firing a bolt of her own. Trixie ducked under it and cackled. “Excellent! Now, catch Trixie if you can!”

Twilight prepared to dodge another missile, but instead, Trixie turned and ran, vanishing into one of the many hallways branching off of the atrium. Twilight groaned.

Into the labyrinth it was then.

Twilight gave chase, each hoof impact disturbing the layer of dust that covered the carpet. The hallways were spacious, but wove back and forth in a way that was just confusing enough if one didn’t have time to pay close attention to the numbers. Twilight was carefully noting them as she went however. No sense not using her particular skills for an advantage.

Trixie’s hoofprints were easy to follow… up until they weren’t. Twilight sighed. This was the same hallway they had come through to enter the atrium, and the paths all crossed each other, making it hard to tell which way Trixie had actually gone.

So, she’d just have to pick a set and follow them. Trixie hadn’t said anything about banning find-pony spells, but Twilight was a little distracted by her own thoughts.

Did she want to win this?

She trotted along, instinctually lifting every ornate planter filled with dead ferns in order to check behind them. Was winning this worth it? The way Trixie had framed victory made her feel uncomfortable. As if the showmare saw a happy ending to the story as one in which she ceded control of herself. In which she was merely a plot point in Twilight’s story.

As Twilight turned a corner, her senses prickled, and she threw herself to the floor in time to dodge a bolt of light. As it burst on the wall behind her, she fired her own down the hall where it had come from. Trixie was nowhere to be seen.

The showmare’s voice, however, echoed around her. It had a cruel and villainous lilt. “Missed! So sorry Sparkle! The Great and Powerful Trixie isn’t going to be that easy to find. Not that you truly care.”

Twilight grimaced. “Of course I care! I’m playing into your game, aren’t I?”

“Only because you see Trixie as a problem to be solved!” Two more bolts. Twilight took off running, dodging them both as she tried to follow their source. “You just want her to shut up so you can feel good about fixing her!”

That stung worse than any of the bolts could have. “Is that really how you see my friendship?” She couldn’t hide the hurt tone.

“Then why did you kiss Trixie?!”

Twilight couldn’t answer. Even in the moment, when she had said all that stuff about Larmoya… she didn’t quite know what was pushing her to say it. It had just felt right. All of the emotion that was driving Trixie had sparked something inside her. Something that she now struggled to put to words.

“Because… “ Twilight stood still, trying to figure it out. “Because being a princess is driving me crazy. When you were talking about rivalries and stories and me being what I am now… I just… I needed you to see me as me again.”

“What?” That voice sounded very close. Twilight lept around the corner and fired, but there was nothing there. She did, however, hear Trixie yelp in surprise. That was odd.

She continued however, as she advanced down the hall cautiously. “I’ll admit, things work out for me. More than they should. But recently, it’s become too much. Nopony will treat me like me anymore. The only ones who treat me like I’m Twilight are my friends. And hearing all of that stuff you said, about stories… I’m still coming to terms with my own. I don’t know who I am at the moment, or who I’ll become in the future. And that scares me.”

Trixie was silent.

“After all the parties were over, after the coronation… The first night home alone was awful. I was up too late and started thinking about the fact that I was now an alicorn, and all of the things that meant for my future.” Twilight could feel her eyes watering now.

“I don’t want it.” Her voice cracked. “I want to go back to being a librarian. I want to live comfortably in a little house full of books. I want to get old along with my friends. Along with everypony I know.”

Now it was her turn to cry. She had had these thoughts, but she hadn’t vocalized them. Feeling them rise up her throat was like coughing up saltwater.
“I’m scared. Scared Celestia will do something stupid like hand me the throne. And then I’ll do something stupid that leads to Equestria collapsing. I keep telling myself I’ll cope with it. That I’ll grow into the role, and I know I will… but right now I’m scared and upset and I just want to be myself again.”

The air in front of her shimmered, and Trixie revealed herself, the illusion that had been cloaking her falling away. The pale blue unicorn gave Twilight a conflicted look. “Trixie… had no idea.”

“No, everything you said makes sense. From where you’re standing, I have everything. It’s pathetic of me to complain about things being too wonderful. I’m sorry you’ve had to go through everything you have, and I’m sorry I let you down when you needed me.” Twilight sank to the ground.

Trixie shuffled her hooves a bit, sitting down next to Twilight. “Trixie is sorry too.”

“But yeah. That’s… that’s why I kissed you. When I heard how much me being a princess broke you… I understood it completely. And along with all the larmoya stuff, I just… I wanted to tell you it would be ok. That you could be who you wanted to be.”

“Because that’s what you tell yourself, and you could see Trixie needed it.”

The two sat. As Twilight worked her way through her tears, Trixie nestled against her side, and her tail flicked to the side, laying across Twilight’s.

“Trixie admits defeat, Sparkle. She is yours.”

Twilight laughed, the sound hitching on her tears a little. “Trixie, we each took one shot. We’ve hit a draw.”

“Well, Trixie concedes!”

“No. I don’t want you as some thing that I have as part of my successes.” Twilight nestled her head into Trixie’s shoulder, and one of her wings spread out across the showmare’s withers. “I want you to be another pony who knows how I feel.” she took a deep breath. “Do you know what Starswirl wrote about Larmoya in one of his last known journal entries?”

Trixie managed to coax a smile across her face. With a practiced drama to her read, she stared off into space and recited from memory;

“Even all these years later, on this anniversary I think of my greatest foe. Wicked in temper, vain in manner, and cunning in her pursuits, Equestria is safer without her. And I am lonelier, for the only unicorn to ever see me as I am is gone. I am Starswirl, master of magicks, archmage to the thrones of Equestria, and hero of history… But never again will I have the chance to be “You dumb scruffy jerk”, “Meddling nitwit”... “

“or “Swirlie”.” The pair of them finished in tandem.

“Trixie sees what you mean. But… is that really something you think she can provide?”

Twilight chuckled softly, closing her eyes and feeling her ear flick in the crook of the other mares neck. “I sure hope so. I like to think being a rival will let you see past all the princess glitz and see me for who I am.”

“Hm. Using Trixie’s copious hatred as a method for love. Very clever, Sparkle.” Trixie smirked.

“Speaking of clever, I didn’t properly compliment you for turning yourself invisible. That’s a pretty complex illusion.”

Trixie chickled. “You want to see impressive? Behold, the true ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Her horn glowed, and the hallway around them melted away. Twilight failed to stifle a gasp as the open air of the atrium revealed itself around her.

“I knew the numbers on the doors were repeating themselves! We never left the atrium, did we?!” Her eyes lit up with glee. “Trixie, that’s incredible! I’ve never seen an illusion that complicated!”

Trixie attempted a cocky grin, but it melted into an embarrassed blush. “Trixie didn’t get any real use out of it. She had been planning on tormenting you with increasingly strange visuals, all to keep you turned around and confused while she processed her emotions.”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t impressive! And I’m sure you can show me your bizarre nightmare world some other time. After all, I imagine the Great and Powerful Trixie will have plenty of battles with Princess Twilight Sparkle, won’t she~?” She intoned flirtatiously, swishing her tail back and forth as she cast a glance over her shoulder.

Trixie’s blush deepened and she smiled back. “You will learn to fear the true power of magic, Sparkle! For the Stupendous and Terrible Trixie will be an ever-present thorn in your side!”

Twilight laughed. “You’re stupendous and terrible now?”

“Do you have any idea how repetitive ‘Great and Powerful’ gets? I’m not going to use it all the time.”

“Well, if the position of the sun is right, then I think the stupendous and terrible Trixie is going to miss the train back to Ponyville with me if she doesn’t start moving now!” Twilight took off, giggling to herself. Trixie took a moment to be stunned, before rearing up and dashing after the suddenly mischievous unicorn.

“Wait! Twilight, that’s not fair! I’m tired from that illusion!”

“Catch me and you can kiss me again!”

“Ooooooh! Get back here!”

The hotel was not alive, but the groan and creak of its timber seemed to possess a happy edge to it as the two mares chased each other out of its front doors.

It always did like a romantic ending.

Author's Note

This is the first story I've written that I've managed to finish. Hopefully it isn't too embarrassing! Thank you for reading.