//------------------------------//
// Mare in The Moon (Part 2) 
// Story: Home Reversal 
// by cloudedguardian 
//------------------------------//

	“Maybe I shouldn’t have snapped at them like that.” Trixie muttered to herself, as she quietly walked towards City Hall.
She had been walking at this slow, quiet pace for almost an hour, and her temper and irritation had long faded away. Instead, in its place, was the hollow feeling of guilt. She knew with that dark creeping feeling that would settle in one’s gut the day after a failed exam, that she had overreacted. Applejack was probably just trying to be polite in her own, strange, rude, hillbilly way… And I should have taken that into consideration… But, oh for crying out loud, the whole thing was just so ridiculous! Trixie whined to herself. All the same though, she knew whatever she thought of now was nothing but an excuse for her own unladylike behavior. If Celestia had seen her outburst, she would be on the receiving end of a spectacular scolding right now… As well as one of those heartrending disappointed looks that only the Princess could give.

“Well, I may as be useful in my misery.” Trixie muttered, pulling out the checklist once again. “As much as I may dislike it, and disagree with their choice of menu, the food is taken care of.” 
There was simply no way she was going to fire Sweet Apple Acres after throwing such a temper-tantrum. It would be almost hypocritical in her eyes. Perhaps it was a little late at this point, but she would hold her tongue.
“So, next is weather. According to this, there should be a pegasus named Rainbow Dash keeping the skies clear… But apparently she isn’t doing her job.” Trixie grumbled, looking up at the many white clouds dotting the sky. No, keep in mind, she may have other duties, I can’t just keep jumping to conclusions! I have to take other ponies life styles and jobs into consideration… She may have a very good reason why she hasn’t-
*CRASH*
Started yet. Trixie groaned from her new spot in the mud. Another pony had crashed into her, and as they had not yet gotten off, she couldn’t even pick herself up out of the foul stuff quite yet. With a rustle of feathers, the other pony finally slid off with a slightly embarrassed, but hardly apologetic, chuckle.
“Uh, ‘scuse me?”
It’s a little late for that now, don’t you think? Trixie hissed mentally as she started to get to her hooves again.
With another chuckle, the pegasus flew off with a “Here, let me help you…”
“A hoof up would be sufficient…” Trixie grumbled, as she looked about for where the pony had gone off to.
She spotted her a second later, coming back with a slightly darkened cloud. What in Equestria is she doing with a cloud? Trixie wondered with more than a little confusion, as her gaze followed the two until they were directly above her. Then, with a series of quick hop from the pegasus pony, she found out with a rather cold splash that did nothing for her bad mood.
Then what did that "idiotic" pony do, but laugh AGAIN. “Eh heh, I guess I over did it.”
“No! You think?!” Trixie snapped, trying to shake her wet mane out of her eyes.
“Uhmm, I know, how about this?” Before Trixie had a chance to answer, she found herself surrounded by brilliant rainbow and caught in a choking wind. “My very own patented Rain-BLOW-dry!”
As the wind dissolved, the pegasus landed a few feet away sounding far too proud. “No no no, don’t thank me, you’re quite welcome.”
“Trust me, I wasn’t about to thank you.” Trixie snarled under her breath, before giving out a whimper and nearly crying as she looked up at her once perfectly groomed mane and tail, now very frizzy and dusty.
The pegasus before her was also looking at her mane, and crying, but for quite another reason.
“BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!”
Trixie so desperately wanted to smack that cocky blue pegasus’s mouth shut. She with-held herself however, on a dark and creeping suspicion.
“Let me guess.” Trixie sighed darkly. “You’re Rainbow Dash.”
Rainbow Dash quickly regained her composure to stand in perfect and proud posture. “The one and only! Why, ya heard of me?” She asked eagerly, getting a little too much in Trixie’s face. That desire to smack her was returning.
“No.” Trixie said bluntly, and for a second Rainbow wilted. Just as she started to realize that she must have heard of her somehow, Trixie quickly expanded on her statement.
“Not until this morning, anyway. And even then, all I heard was “Rainbow Dash is the pegasus pony that has the responsibility of keeping the sky clear.” Which I see you aren’t doing.”
“Yeah yeah, I’ll get to it. Right after I finish practicing.” Rainbow Dash said breezily, brushing the irritated unicorn off as she lounged on a nearby cloud.
“Practicing? For what?”
“The Wonderbolts!” Rainbow was suddenly, and very obviously, a dreaming fan-girl. “They’re performing at the Celebration tomorrow! And I’m gonna show them my stuff!”
“THE Wonderbolts?”
“Yup!”
“The most talented flyers in all of Equestria?”
‘That’s them!”
“Pfft.” Trixie finally snorted, catching Rainbow Dash off guard as she suddenly burst into laughter. “Oh puh-lease!” Trixie choked out between gasps. “A drop-out like you couldn’t get into the Wonderbolts if you made a deal with the devil.”
That seemed to hit a chord. “HEY! Who are you to say any of that anyway?! Why I bet-“
“I don’t care what you bet. And as for who I am, that would be Princess Celestia’s private student… I was personally sent here to make sure the Celebration doesn’t get ruined by idiots like you.”
“Urk… That may be so, but that has nothing to do with The Wonderbolts so you can just shut your trap!”
“Quite the opposite. I’ve been to countless Wonderbolts shows as a VIP guest. And I’ve seen the clowns do better than this. At least they can keep the sky clear for one measly day.”
“Hey, clearing the sky would be a snap for me! I could do it in ten seconds flat!”
“Prove it.”
Sparks flew between the two mare’s glares. Then determination settled in on Rainbow Dash’s visage, and she launched off the cloud she was sitting on with enough force to dispel it into mist. Despite her dislike of the obnoxious pegasus, Trixie had to admit she did have talent as she shot across the sky in a brilliant blue blur, forcing the very wind to echo her movements out of sheer speed. Sure enough, in exactly ten seconds, Rainbow landed with a hint of pride on the bridge.
“See? Ten. Seconds. Flat.”
“Hmm. So I see. I guess you aren’t completely useless. Perhaps with that deal with the devil you could make it. Now, if you don’t mind, I have my own job to tend to.”
“I do mind! You said a lot of crap and-PPTH” A simple water whip spell cut Rainbow Dash off in mid-retort. Trixie’s horn was still glowing as the left-over water hit the ground.
“Oh please, do keep going. I need to improve on my aim.” She snarled. 
She may not be allowed (or even then, able) to smack Rainbow’s mouth shut physically, but she had yet to meet a pegasus or earth pony willing to tangle with magic under the use of an angered unicorn. This time was no different.
“Tch. You’re not worth it.” Rainbow snapped, before flying off towards City Hall.
Trixie let the strings of magic drop, before turning away and storming off in a huff, her hooves clacking loudly against the cobblestone path. In hindsight, Rainbow probably hadn’t been worth it either.





Once she had managed to cool her head enough to think clearly again, Trixie pulled out her checklist once again. There were only two things left on the list. The decorations at City Hall, where she didn’t want to return to quite yet, and the music.
Perhaps some music would improve my mood. She sighed with a hint of a grimace. She was starting to think that perhaps being buried in books back in Canterlot wouldn’t of been so bad. As it was, she was relatively close-by to where the list said that the “Avian Choir” would be practicing, so at least she wouldn’t have much farther to walk.
When she arrived, she didn’t so much see that she had, but rather heard so. The soft twittering of birds of different pitches and tunes united in the perfect melody of a royal trumpet, but a thousand times more delicate and beautiful… Trixie winced as a single twittering grew louder than the others and threw out the melody that had only begun.
She rounded the corner in time to see that the “Avian Choir” was rather aptly named, as well as to see its quiet conductor in action.
“Oh my. Oh, stop please everyone, um… Excuse me sir, I mean no offense, but, your rhythm is just a teeny tiny bit off.” The bird nodded as if in perfect understanding, and the butter colored pegasus flew back to her original position.
“Okay follow me please, a one, a two, a one two three~”
Trixie knew she had to double-check on the preparations, but she wasn’t quite willing to interrupt and scare the birds, or startle the soft-spoken conductor… At least not yet. She wanted to hear this little sneak peek.
So she stayed where she was, eyes closed and enjoying the soft music that began to unfold under the gentle guidance of the pegasus before her. She had the voice of an angel, and it was no wonder that the birds listened to her perfectly. Finally, it seemed that things could go right for Trixie… And then some idiotic rabbit that was hanging around for some unknown reason decided that he didn’t like her standing there, and bit her rather hard on the back of her hoof.
“YEOUCH! WHY YOU IMPUDENT LITTLE-“ Trixie bit her tongue deliberately as she caught the terrified look on the conductor’s face.
Trixie’s gaze slid from the frightened blue eyes before her up to the empty tree ahead. “Oh dear. I am so sorry, I didn’t mean to frighten your birds, or you! I didn’t mean to shout at all really… But then this thing came along and bit me, and-“
“Angel, come here please.” Trixie was more than a little surprised when the white rabbit glaring at her immediately darted forward to stand behind the mare’s forelegs.
“Oh, it’s yours?” She asked bluntly, trying to keep her voice friendly despite her growing irritation and the throbbing pain in her back hoof.
She was expecting an apology of some sort for the rabbit’s behavior, but none came. Only a dead silence hung in the air as she got darting glances from Fluttershy and a continual glare from Angel. She could feel her temper starting to rise again as it became quite apparent that there was going to be no apology what-so-ever.
“Ahem.” Trixie cleared her throat, determined to just mull through this as formally as possible and then move on. “My name is Trixie. I was sent here to check on preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and so I came here to check on the music. May I have your name please?”
“Oh. Uh… I’m Fluttershy.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t quite catch that. Can you speak up please?”
“Uhm. My name is Fluttershy.”
“A little louder, if you don’t mind.” Her irritation was probably beginning to bleed through at this point.
“imfluttershy.”
“You know what, forget it, I’ll get it from the city records. Your birds are back so I’ll let you finish.” Trixie grumbled as she turned to leave… Just in time to have an acorn somewhat painfully bounce off the back of her head.
“OW! Could you at least control your animals?!” Trixie snapped, turning to glare at the offending white rabbit.
“A-angel’s just being-“
“I don’t care what he’s being! Don’t tell me you don’t even have enough of a spine to stand up to a rabbit?” She snarled, and Fluttershy staggered back, her eyes quickly filling up with tears.
“Oh. So that’s it exactly huh? Lovely.” Trixie’s voice was pure ice, and the glare she directed at Angel was almost murderous. He, most likely wisely at that point, decided to leave his attacks at a dark glare that lasted until she was far out of sight.





Today just doesn’t want to go well, does it? Trixie grumbled, her ears folded back against her head as she sulkily walked back to City Hall to get the last thing on her list done and over with so she could just go to the library in which she would be staying in until tomorrow. Once she had everything done, she could just climb into bed and hide away from the world with a comic book until Celestia came. Then, she could snuggle safe and sound away from all worries under her mentors wing. The thought was comforting, and lifted her spirits a little.
Alright. City Hall decorations. Let’s get it over with. Trixie pushed open the door and stepped inside, expecting the same run of the mill decorations she seen every year. They were always beautiful, with images of the sun and summer flowers, but that was not what she seen this year.
City Hall was gorgeously decorated with banners that echoed stain glass in their vibrancy and simple stories, streamers in the soft pale blues and pinks in Celestia’s mane, and flowers as golden as the sun. As Trixie walked under them, her jaw slid open an inch in amazement as the sheer skill of the decorator became more and more apparent.
“Positively stunning.” Trixie said aloud, as she admired the silk banners that adorned each balcony, with a large silken cream rose embellishing each banner upon it’s centre point.
“I’m very glad you like it.” A posh voice replied with a proud chuckle.
Trixie turned towards its source, to spot a white unicorn mare fussing over a large bouquet of hanging flowers. “So you’re our talented decorator for the Summer Sun Celebration? Rarity, is it?” She asked carefully, taking another look at her checklist as she asked.
“Yes, that would be me.” The mare chuckled, sounding rather flattered. “I’ll be right with you, just let me finish- Aha! Perfect!” With a last flourish of magic each flower held a soft glow as they bloomed from the perfect spot that they had been assigned in the bouquet.
“So how can I help you-wa-ha-ha- Oh my stars, Darling, what ever happened to your coiffure?”
It had been a while since Trixie had last heard French, so it took her a moment to recognize the word. “Oh, my mane? A certain pegasus named Rainbow Dash.”
“Ah. I wish I could say I was surprised, but I’m not.” Rarity sighed. “Well, I can’t leave your beautiful silver mane like that.”
Even without the note of finality in Rarity’s voice, or the fact that she was already pushing Trixie out the door and towards her boutique, Trixie would have happily gone along for the makeover ahead of her.

~~~	

“So do go on dear! You were telling me where you’re from.” Rarity said cheerfully as she fixed the ribbons on the black corset vest that she found for Trixie after throwing out at least ten other outfits.
“Easy on the lacing there, I do need to breathe.” Trixie chuckled, having worn similar (but not nearly as gorgeous) pieces before, and Rarity muttered an apology as she eased on the pulling. 
“I’m from Canterlot, Princess Celestia sent me to-“
“Canterlot?” Rarity had only waited to run around to be face to face with Trixie to interrupt her with a dreamy and wondrous look in her eyes. “Oh I am so envious! The glamour, the sophistication! I have always dreamed of living there! I can’t wait to hear all about it! 
“We are going to be the best of friends you and I!” Rarity added dreamily, running up to stand beside Trixie.
There was that word again. This time, however, Trixie didn’t mind it so much. Her mane was back to its normal beauty, and she had just spent the last half-hour talking about fashion to a talented designer who was simply giving her this beautiful vest, and therefore she was in a very good mood.
“Rubies?” Rarity was giving the outfit an appraising look again, before shaking her head at herself. “What was I thinking. Let me get you some diamonds!”
As Rarity ran off to get the supplies she needed to perfect her design, Trixie gave herself another look in the mirror. Friends, huh? I don’t know about that… But, I’m certainly used to playing along nicely with ladies like her, and at least she’d be somewhat interesting to talk to… “Friends” could work… I could even say I completed my special “assignment” then. I bet Celestia would be happy to hear that.
“Here we are! The perfect addition!” Rarity said proudly as she held up a diamond identical in cut and size to the ruby already in the collar of the vest, before using her magic to switch out the two.
“It looks spectacular, Rarity. Thank you. You wouldn’t believe the day I’ve had.” Trixie sighed, looking in the mirror again with a honest smile.
“Nothing like shopping to lift one’s spirits, hmm?”
Trixie laughed. “Absolutely nothing.”





Trixie spent the whole afternoon having tea with Rarity and talking about Canterlot and her studies and acquaintances back home. Rarity really did want to hear “all” about it, no matter what rabbit trail Trixie ended up going off on, she listened and chatted along eagerly.
So now as she walked back to the library, a gorgeous sunset lighting her path ahead, and the pleasantly cool evening wind playing in her mane, Trixie was finally feeling content and satisfied with today’s work. She had ensured everything was going to be perfect for the Celebration, and had enough time to read one of her favourite graphic novels before catching up on sleep before the festival.
Read a couple chapters, have a seven hour snooze, Trixie gave a bit of a yawn as she thought of the warm bed waiting for her, and then up before dawn to help Celestia with the last few things for the Summer Sun Celebration. Maybe afterwards I’ll introduce Rarity to her. That should make both of them positively ecstatic. Yes, things are finally going right. Trixie decided with a happy and tired smile, as she stepped into the dark library.

Then, before she even had a chance to look for the lights, they flipped on with a deafening shout.
“SURPRISE!”
“…Oh, pony feathers.”