Chapter Five: Pyx Receives her Perfunctory Introduction to the Remaining Canon Characters

Twilight walked a little unsteadily. The sun was now close to its zenith, and the Spring day was already growing uncomfortably warm. The three...maybe four (five) glasses of wine she'd had that morning were beginning to wear off, and she'd begun to feel that familiar taut-piano-wire sensation taking hold of her body again. However, before she could go home and refresh herself, there was something important she had to take care of.

Behind her, Pyx was strutting confidently down the road, her chest puffed out. She kept glancing around to see if anypony was looking at her new outfit. Spike, still in his teddy bear costume and now sweating profusely in the late morning heat, watched her and rolled his eyes.

"You know she just gave you a bunch of stuff off the bargain rack, right?"

"You're just jealous because you don't look fabulous!" said Pyx, a little snippily, and in fairly good imitation of Rarity's trans-Equestrian accent. "Nipah~~!"

"Yeah, whatever," muttered Spike.

Suddenly, Twilight drew them to an abrupt halt.

"Hey there, Twilight!" came a mysterious, drawling voice from somewhere ahead. Pyx poked her head curiously around Twilight's body.

The speaker was an orange-colored earth pony with a blonde mane, wearing a cowboy hat. Next to her was a sky blue pegasus with a rainbow mane, and on the other side was a pink earth pony whose mane resembled cotton candy.

"Hey, Twi," the pegasus said casually. Then, when she noticed Spike, she burst out laughing. The pink pony also noticed and joined in, the two of them rolling around on the ground in a fit of hysterics.

"Heh, that's a mighty nice outfit ya got there, Spike!" said the orange one. She was doing a better job of restraining herself than her two companions, but she was still clearly amused. Spike ground his teeth and stared at the road. "You, uh, get that at Rarity's?"

"Nope, that's just his Hearth's Warming gift!" Twilight interjected before Spike could say something unpleasant. "He's just been itching for a chance to show it off. Isn't that right, Spike?"

"Itching doesn't even begin to describe it," said Spike. He cleared his throat and dusted his teddy bear paws. "Welp, I think I've had enough public humiliation for one day, so if there's nothing else, I think I'd like to go home and hang myself now."

He began to stomp off down the road in the direction of Twilight's library.

"Don't forget to put dinner on the stove!" called out Twilight.

Meanwhile, the three ponies had gotten most of the laughter out of their systems, although the blue one was still snickering a little.

"Anyway," said Twilight, "I'm glad I bumped into you three. It saves me the trouble of visiting all of you individually. I wanted to introduce you to somepony very important."

She stepped aside and gestured for Pyx to come forward.

"This is my cousin," said Twilight. "Her name is--"

"OOOH!! Don't tell me!!" the pink one blurted excitedly. "Let me guess: umm...Black Snooty? No? How about...um...Night Ranger? Nighthawk? Night Crawler? Dark Magus? Blackjack? Mary Sue?"

She darted back and forth, examining Pyx from all angles. Pyx was a little uncomfortable; it felt like this pony's gaze could somehow penetrate into her innermost being. She also noticed that Twilight was holding her breath for some reason.

"Oh, wait! I've got it!! Your name is Nightmare Moo--"

"Her name is Pyx, and she's my cousin!" cut in Twilight quickly. "She's visiting from Detrot!"

"Your cousin?" the orange pony said skeptically.

"Detrot?" said the blue pony, also skeptically.

"Yep!" said Twilight. "Pyx, why don't you step forward and say hello to my friends. This is Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash."

She extended a hoof, indicating the orange and pink earth ponies and the pegasus in turn.

"Umm, I'm here too," said a soft voice. A yellow pegasus stepped shyly into the foreground.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" said Twilight. "Pyx, this one is called Fluttershy."

"It's nice to meet you all!" said Pyx. "Nipah~~!"

"Apples!" said Applejack.

"20% cooler!" said Rainbow Dash.

"Yay!" said Fluttershy.

"Cupcakes!" said Pinkie Pie.

"And that's all you need to know about any of these ponies!" said Twilight. "Welp, it was nice running into you all, but I'm afraid we need to be getting home now."

"Yeah, I should probably get going myself," said Rainbow Dash. "Technically I shouldn't even be here right now. I need to complete another fifteen hours of community service before I'm legally allowed to be around foals again."

With a mighty flap of her wings, she vanished into the wild blue yonder, leaving a rainbow-colored trail in her wake.

"An' I should probably be gettin' on back to the farm," said Applejack. "Them apples ain't gonna buck themselves. Apples!"

She turned and trotted off down the road.

"For no reason, I also need to leave!" said Pinkie Pie. She began to hop gaily away in a completely random direction, singing nonsensical gibberish to herself.

Fluttershy, for her part, seemed to have melted into the scenery at some point, and there was no further sign of her. It was just Pyx and Twilight alone on the road now.

"Well, Pyx," said Twilight cheerfully. "I think that went pretty well! Nopony even had a clue about who you really are!"

"Uh...who am I really again?" asked Pyx.

"You are Pyx Trebuchet! And don't ever let anypony tell you different!"

"Oh, okay. Is there some reason we need to keep that a secret?"

"Nope, not at all! You just go on being yourself! But don't forget, you also have to keep wearing your vest and glasses at all times from now on! And if anypony asks, tell them you're my cousin!"

"Oh...........okay. Nipah~~!"

"Nipah, indeed! Now let's you and me go home and get Mommy some happy juice!"

And the two of them headed off down the road.

Time passed. Days became weeks, Spring journeyed onward towards Summer, and soon the town of Ponyville had grown accustomed to occasionally seeing a mysterious bespectacled filly peeking out of the window at Twilight's library. Local buzz had it that the filly was actually Twilight's cousin, and that she had come to Ponyville to study and help out at the library. However, library patrons seemed to find it passing strange that this mystery cousin was always out of sight when they came by, and whispers began to circulate amongst the townsponies regarding the filly's unexplained absence from school.

As the rumors piled up they became weirder and weirder, and soon Twilight realized that she could not keep little Pyx locked up inside the library forever. Also, the ever-curious filly was beginning to ask her some uncomfortable questions, such as: "Why do I always have to wear these glasses, Mommy?" and "Why do I always have to hide in the basement, Mommy?" and "Why do I have to say I'm your cousin but also call you Mommy, Mommy?" and of course: "Why are you always pacing around and muttering to yourself about somepony named 'Nightmare Moon', Mommy?"

And so it came about that on a warm, sunny morning, Twilight Sparkle and her enigmatic cousin or daughter or whatever finally ventured forth from the confines of their arboresque abode.

"Don't worry, Pyx!" said Twilight to the filly as they walked. "Everypony at Cheerilee's school is going to just love you! You have nothing to be nervous about!"

"I'm not nervous!" chirped Pyx. "I'm just happy I don't have to stay locked up in the basement anymore! Tutturu~~!"

"Tutturu~~!" replied Twilight. She hiccuped. "Whoops, better not let Miss Cheerilee smell Mommy's breath! Anyway, here we are!"

They had arrived at the front of a cheerful red and white schoolhouse, decorated all over with hearts. The bell had just begun to ring, and all the little colts and fillies gathered in the schoolyard were marching inside.

A maroon-colored earth pony took notice of the duo's approach, and walked out to meet them.

"Hello, Twilight," she said. "Is this the cousin I've heard so much about?"

Pyx regarded her curiously. She had a light pink striped mane, and her cutie mark was a bunch of smiling flowers. She seemed friendly enough.

"Yep!" said Twilight. "This is Pyx Trebuchet, my cousin from Detrot!"

The mare looked at Pyx and smiled brightly.

"Why, hello there, Pyx Trebuchet! It's nice to meet you! My name is Miss Cheerilee, and I'm going to be your teacher from now on!"

"Good morning, Miss Cheerilee!" said Pyx, responding as Twilight had instructed her. "It's nice to meet you, too! Tutturu~~!"

Miss Cheerilee looked back at Twilight with a puzzled expression.

"Toot-a-roo?" she asked.

Twilight shrugged.

"I'm sorry, it's just something she does."

"Oh, I see." Cheerilee leaned in closer and whispered: "She's not...er...'special', is she?"

"What? Oh, no, no!" Twilight assured her. "It's just...well...how much do you know about the Detrot public school system?"

"Oh. Oh, I see," said Miss Cheerilee. "Well, I suppose that means I've got my work cut out for me..."

She examined the filly, taking note of her gaudy, shabby-looking vest and hand-me-down glasses.

"No, no, there's no need to worry," Twilight said. "I've been tutoring her! Yessirree, that, and only that, is the reason that nopony in town has seen her for the last month and a half!"

"Oh, well, that changes things, then!" said Cheerilee. "Thank you, Twilight, for that succinct explanation of Pyx's whereabouts up until now, and thank you for enrolling her in school in a somewhat timely fashion. I always hate dealing with Equestrian Social Services. You've saved me a looooot of paperwork~~!"

"Noooooo problem~~!"

The two candy-colored ponies beamed at each other.

"Anyway, thanks for seeing her to school," said Cheerilee. "She should be home shortly after lunchtime!"

"Sounds super!"

"Oh, and Twilight?" Cheerilee leaned forward and whispered again: "You might want to...er...pop a breath mint."

"Nooooo problem~~!" said Twilight again. And with that, she wheeled around and trotted back to the library.

Cheerilee turned her attention to the foal.

"Now then, Pyx. Are you ready to come inside and learn?"

Pyx gave her brightest little smile.

"Tutturu~~!" she said.

"Let's all take our seats, everypony," said Cheerilee as she strode to the front of the classroom. The bustle and chatter in the room gradually died out as the foals sat down and turned their attention to the teacher.

When the room was finally quiet, Cheerilee gestured to Pyx, who had been standing in the corner, uncertain of what to do.

"Now class, we have somepony new joining us today," said Cheerilee. "I'd like you all to give a warm Ponyville Elementary welcome to our newest student, Pyx! Pyx, would you like to come up here and introduce yourself?"

Pyx trotted to the front of the classroom. Everypony's eyes were on her, and it made her a little uncomfortable, but the teacher gave her a reassuring nod. She put on her biggest, brightest smile and began to speak:

"Uh, hi everypony," she began, and waved. "My name is Pyx Trebuchet! Tutturu~~!"

Dead silence.

"Trebuchet?" whispered somepony.

"Tutturu?" whispered somepony else.

Pyx swallowed and looked at Miss Cheerilee. The teacher gave her a reassuring smile.

"Would you like to tell us a little more about yourself?" she asked.

"Um, well..." Pyx took a deep breath and smiled bigly again.

"Well, like I said, my name is Pyx Trebuchet, but you can just call me Pyx because everypony else does! I'm Twilight Sparkle's cousin from Detrot, only she makes me call her Mommy for some reason. Also, I don't remember anything about ever living in Detrot and I don't know why, so please don't ask me about it because it stresses me out!

"I've been living in Ponyville for a month and a half, but this is the first time I've ever been let outside the library! Usually, I have to stay inside with Spike and the owl, and I think there might be another bird in there named Peewee, but I don't remember where he came from or why he's there.

"Whenever anypony comes to the library to check out a book or something, Mommy Twilight tells me I need to hide in the basement. She says it's because baaaaad ponies might try to take me away from her! After that, she usually hugs me a lot and cries, and then she drinks lots and lots of happy-juice until she falls asleep! One time, I was locked in the basement for a whoooole day, because Mommy forgot to let me out. It was okay though, because she has a freezer full of Otto-Pops down there, and she didn't even get mad that I ate a bunch of them! Also, I wasn't supposed to tell you any of that, so please forget I said all of it! Tutturu~~!"

The dead silence somehow became even deadder. Somepony coughed. Miss Cheerilee's smile was looking a bit strained.

"Was.........there anything else, dear?" she asked.

Pyx thought about the question seriously for a moment. Then she nodded and smiled.

"Yes! I'm supposed to tell you that this fabulous vest and headband combination I'm wearing was purchased at Rarity's Carousel Boutique, located in the heart of Downtown Ponyville in the garment district! Come on down for hot new styles at unbeatable prices!! Nipaaaaah~~!"

Silence.

"..........Um, all right then!" said Miss Cheerilee. "Thank you dear; your vest is quite lovely. Now then......did......anypony have any questions for Pyx?"

Absolute silence.

".......Well......okay then! Pyx, why don't you take a seat over there next to Diamond Tiara."

She indicated an empty seat in the back row.

"Now then, class," she continued as Pyx trotted down the aisle, "If you would all get your books out, we can continue from yesterday's lesson. Now, I'm sure we all remember that in Celestial Year One Hundred and Nine, a bloody civil war broke out between the earth ponies and the pegasi, in which untold thousands of ponies were killed. The origin of the conflict was a cryptic message written on a cupcake, which Grand Pegasus Chancellor Fluffy Dumpling interpreted as a grievous insult. She responded with force, ordering the immediate massacre of over nine thousand earth ponies..."

Pyx found her seat and sat down. The pony to her right was staring at her. Pyx stared back. She was pretty. Pyx immediately liked her. Her coat was a light pink, and her mane was white with purple stripes. She wore a silver tiara on her head, identical to the cutie mark of a tiara on her flank. Pyx smiled brightly at her. The other foal simply continued to stare.

Twilight's words from breakfast that morning suddenly echoed in Pyx's mind:

"Don't forget, Pyx, you're not just in school to learn. You're there to make friends!"

"Is making friends really that important?" Pyx had asked.

"Oh, yes!" Twilight had assured her. "Making friends is the best thing ever!"

Pyx continued to smile pleasantly. The foal continued to stare back. Pyx decided to try an ice breaker.

"I like your tiara!" she said, pointing to the headgear in question. "Hey, if you take that off, does your cutie mark disappear?"

The filly continued to stare at her for several seconds longer. Then, she began to lean slowly forward, until eventually their noses were almost touching.

"Everypony already hates you!" she whispered.