Today was something of an important day for me. As Celestia’s legal advisor, I have quite a few jobs throughout the Equestrian justice system. One of those is taking part in parole board hearings, overseeing high level ones on behalf of the princess. Basically, anypony who’s gone inside for something serious needs to go through me. I was happy to say that today I was signing somepony off for parole; a prisoner I myself had put away. Her name was Beatrix Lulamoon.
The Great and Powerful Trixie needs no introduction.
She’d gone inside for her episode with the alicorn amulet; a rather dodgy dark magic artifact that was now safely under lock and key. Most of what she’d done, she’d not been prosecuted for, due to the amulet’s corrupting influence. However, she had done a minor sentence for the actual possession of the artifact. Today though, she was being released, and I am happy to report that the system appears to have worked.
When I first met her, she was rude, egotistical, and just a touch mad. In particular, she had a rather vindictive vendetta against one Twilight Sparkle, who she views as something of a rival. However, after just over twelve months inside, she had reformed rather well. For one thing, when I met up with her, she was referring to herself in the first person, rather than the third. Trixie this and Trixie that got rather tiring after the first five minutes.
Anyway, as there were clear signs of remorse and attempts at reformation, the board had no hesitation in letting her go free. I couldn’t guarantee how other ponies, particularly those in Ponyville, might react to her, but I was happy that she was no longer a threat to society. So I signed off on her release, asking to see her in my office before she departed from Canterlot.
She followed me into my office. She hadn’t yet picked up her trademark cape and hat, along with her other possessions, but she was still quite the familiar sight. She was a light blue unicorn (personally, I don’t see how magicians work in Equestria, since a third of the population can use actual magic instead of simple illusions), with a silvery mane and tail, and her cutie mark was a magic wand emblazoned over a crescent moon. She still had something of a haughty look about her, but she seemed to be cured of her serious inferiority complex.
Sitting down behind my desk, I invited Trixie (she loathes to be called Beatrix) to take a seat across from me.
“So, first of all, congratulations on your release, Trixie,” I said kindly “I’m glad to see that your brief stay has had an effect on you.” Trixie was unamused by that.
“I think I have enjoyed quite enough of your ‘charming’ hospitality,” she replied. Just because she’s reformed doesn’t mean she might not still hate me for putting her away in the first place. “And I’ll thank you to let me be on my way as soon as possible. I have a train to catch to Vanhoover tomorrow.”
“Oh?” I asked with a raised eyebrow. “What brings you to our most northerly city?” Trixie smiled and puffed out her chest as she explained.
“Trixie...er, that is I,” she said, catching herself. “Am planning to go on an official apology tour of Equestria to make up for my earlier misdeeds. I’m going to Vanhoover to start my tour, and from there travel all around Equestria, from Manhattan, Las Pegasus, and even that backwater berg Ponyville. Trixie shall make a comeback yet!” I had to restrain my laughter, but her goal was nonetheless admirable. In her own way, she was looking to make amends.
“Well then,” I said with a smile. “I might just drop by to see the show. What sort of feats shall you be performing, might I ask?” Again, the unicorn held her head up high.
“Trixie never reveals her act before a show,” she replied. “Suffice it to say that it shall be the greatest show in all Equestria.”
And with that, the showmare threw down a smoke bomb and, with a clatter of hooves and the sound of a door slamming shut, she ‘disappeared’. I meanwhile did my best to find my way to a window and clear out the smoke, which had already made me choke up. Throwing open the window, I did my best to get some air.
“Baby steps, Roger,” I said to myself. “Baby steps.”
Well, at least she no longer seemed to have an unyielding desire for revenge against Twilight or anypony else. If the worse she was going to do was perform a few parlour tricks and clever sleight of hand, or hoof, then who was I to stop her? From what I’d heard, she actually wasn’t half bad. As the smoke cleared, I heard the door open again as Buttercup walked in.
“Er...everything alright, sir?” he asked curiously looking around the still somewhat fogbound room. I turned round to face him.
“All fine and dandy, Buttercup,” I replied. “Just had a meeting with that Trixie gal, and she felt the need to leave with her trademark exit. I just hope it doesn’t set the smoke alarms off.” I glanced warily at the sprinklers that were only just visible in the ceiling.
“I never understood the point of all those magic tricks,” he said, shaking his head. “I mean, a skilled unicorn can do half of what she does with normal magic.” I smiled and walked over to him, stealthily fishing a bit out of my pocket.
“True, Buttercup,” I replied. “But she uses a different kind of magic; one we can’t fully understand. And it’s not just her. I dabble in that sort of thing myself.” The guard snorted.
“You can’t do magic any more than I can, Roger,” he said confidently. I smiled.
“Oh no?” I asked.
Producing the little gold coin, I held it up in his field of vision, before performing a nice, simple vanish trick, closing my hand on the coin and then opening it again to reveal nothing. Buttercup was suitably surprised. I humoured him by opening both my hands and let him check my sleeves, before reproducing the coin that had apparently lodged itself behind his ear. I grinned as I flicked the coin over to him.
“See, not just unicorns that can use a spot of magic.” Buttercup smiled.
“Hey, maybe next time Prince Blueblood gets in one of his moods you can make him disappear!”
“Well, let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
With Trixie’s departure, I found myself returning to what usually consists of about 80% of my day; paperwork. I have cases to file, reports to complete, new judgments that have become case law to read up on, proposed changes to existing laws as well as new ones on the books, and then there’s just managing the steady flow of legal cases that flow through Day Court. I have to timetable everything so I can be on hand for Celestia if needed, as well as liaise with the CPS (that’s the Crown Prosecution Service) and their barristers. All in all, most of my job, contrary to what you might think, is sitting in my office, pouring over paperwork.
I was just reading up on an interesting judgement that had been handed down in Baltimare regarding the use of unicorn magic for entertainment purposes after 2AM, when the door to my office quietly clicked open. I didn’t look up, until I heard the faint clink of horseshoes on the marble tile floor. While all ponies have horseshoes in the true sense of the word, only one to my knowledge had crystal ones.
Glancing up, I beheld a dark blue alicorn, noticeably shorter than Celestia, who, excluding her horn, stood at an impressive six feet, but who was nonetheless a touch intimidating. A dark blue mane that sparkled like stardust and floated on a non-existent breeze, and piercing teal eyes told me that my other boss had come to pay call on me. This was Princess Luna, Celestia’s younger sister and Princess of the Night. Once Celestia set the sun, she raised the moon and ruled over Equestria in the darker hours. She might not be on duty right now, but the obsidian black crown atop her head gave her authority, and I quickly jumped to my feet.
“Princess Luna,” I greeted, offering a shallow bow.
The dark alicorn held my gaze for a moment. She was infamous throughout the castle for her intimidating presence. I had a good eight inches on her, but she still conveyed an aura of somepony it would pay to get along with.
Luckily for me, that is a persona she reserves for court, and when she wants to tease somepony by making them almost move their bowels. A moment later, the hard look vanished, replaced with a calm smile of somepony who is at peace with the world.
“Hello, Roger,” she said kindly, in a voice that I always thought sounded a little like one of Twilight’s friends. “I’m not disturbing you, am I?”
Now, technically yes, she was. But you don’t tell the mare who moves the moon to buzz off and come back in half an hour, now do you? I have no desire to be subjected to the Royal Canterlot Voice.
To be fair, I’m sure if I told her she was busy, she would simply come back in half an hour. But, eh, I’m not going to risk it.
“Not at all, your highness,” I said in a white lie. “How can I be of service?” Luna let out an adorable giggle.
“Really, Roger,” she chided. “You call my sister by a name that only I do, and you are still too frightened to simply call me Luna?” I smiled back.
“Sorry, Luna,” I replied. “Force of habit. What’s up?”
“I was perusing through the court listings, and I happened to notice that young Beatrix Lulamoon has been set at liberty.” I nodded. Luna did always have a more formal way of speaking. At least now she’s no longer using the royal we or speaking in an antiquated dialect.
“The parole board believes that she has reformed from her past mistakes, and I’m inclined to agree with them,” I replied. “Why? Do you think she ought to be detained further?” Luna shook her head.
“Not at all. In fact, I’m glad to see the young mare has turned over a new leaf. I was actually hoping to run into her.”
Ah yes, redemption is something very close to Luna’s heart, having overcome her own demons, and her guilt, not so long ago.
“Well, I must confess, I never pegged Trixie for a bad sort; just a young mare who got a little in over her head. I mean, God knows what that amulet thing does to ponies. What should have been just a petty rivalry somehow got turned into a serious criminal offence bordering on treason. But you just missed her I’m afraid. She’s heading down to Ponyville to kick-start her new apology tour.”
“Ah, I’m glad to see her detention has not stifled her love for the show,” Luna said with a smile. “With any luck, I may be able to catch a performance. I just hope that the ponies there will be accepting of her.”
“Well, ponies have always struck me as more forgiving types. After all, they forgave that nutjob, Starlight.” Luna scowled.
“Really Roger,” she said with the tone of a bored mother. “The mare has seen the error of her ways and now labours under the guidance of one of the foremost experts on friendship in all of Equestria. Can you not let bygones be bygones? You seem quite willing to forgive one mare who enslaved an entire town, why not this one?” I frowned to myself.
“Trixie served her time and took her punishment. Starlight got off scot free.”
Seeing that she was about to open a can of worms, Luna opted not to press on any further.
“Well, in any case. I hope young Beatrix does well in her new tour. I always have enjoyed the spectacle of illusion.”
And with that, the night alicorn took her leave, with me offering a brief bow as she departed. Starlight really is a bugbear of mine, undermining the whole justice system. Still, as Luna said, as long as she was with Twilight, she couldn’t get into any serious bother, right?
And so, the next week or so passed by uneventfully. In fact, I didn’t hear a peep about Trixie until a couple weeks later. Before then, my attention was taken up by another geopolitical paradigm shift. It all started when I was out near Whitetail Wood. On my days off, I occasionally like to take something of a constitutional through the woodlands. And while the Everfree is closer, I also have no desire to go in there without something to beat back timberwolves, manticores and whatever other beasties reside in there. I still can’t believe that, a few months down the line, Twilight and her friends would just go on an ad hoc camping trip in there. It’s like saying, I know, let’s go have a picnic in the middle of the Golan Heights. No, I’m sure we won’t need to worry about the landmines.
Anyway, back to the story. I was just coming out of the woods and heading back toward Ponyville. There were a couple of caves not too far away that were chock full of gems, the sort big enough to make Cecil Rhodes do a double take. Honestly, if we ever get back to Earth, I’m taking a bunch with me. I could put De Beers out of business. I knew Rarity would go up there every now and again if she wanted to use gems in her latest fashion line; gem hunting is actually something a talent on her part.
It was as I was making my way home that I saw her positively galloping along the path, just behind Spike, who was also going like a bat out of hell. Well, if a bat could waddle. But that wasn’t what caught my eye. What caught my eye was that he was glowing, literally, he was glowing with a vague white aura, somewhat like when a unicorn uses their magic. Whatever it was seemed to be having quite the effect on him. As he ran, he seemed to keep scratching at himself with his claws, and digging quite a way into his scales too.
Now, normally, you’d be surprised to see a pony chasing a glowing, itchy dragon. But this was Ponyville. All in all, I’d say it ranked somewhere around a four, maybe four and a half on the weirdness scale. I often caught brief moments of the little adventures Twilight and her friends went on, and this looked to be one of them. I just hoped that we didn’t see a repeat of what happened to Spike the last time anything like this happened.
This was before my time, but Bones, my son, told me about it. Apparently after getting a gift for his birthday, his innate dragon hoarding instinct kicked into overdrive, which eventually resulted in a growth spurt and a rip off of King Kong. That last thing I needed was another property damage case on my desk. Getting Rainbow sorted out after she ‘accidentally’ blew up half the weather factory trying stop winter was hard enough.
The two of them scampered past me, with neither of them paying me much mind, apart from Rarity calling out a brief ‘morning, darling’ as she cantered past. I’ve learnt that it’s usually not a good idea to stick your nose in these matters, and I had no doubt as to their destination. Spike would be heading to the castle to get Twilight to sort the problem out. I figured it was some dragon thing and left it at that, heading home for lunch.
A couple hours later, and I was in the kitchen, making a pot of tea. That’s the one thing I will say that’s annoying about living in Ponyville; you can’t get halfway decent tea leaves for toffee here. Luckily, there’s a nice place up in Canterlot that sells the stuff. But what I wouldn’t give for one more cup of PG Tips.
My wife was sitting down at the table, reading the paper that had arrived this morning. I’d already taken a gander at the politics section just to see if there was anything serious liable to spring up. There’s always some scandal or other going, I just make sure that the princesses don’t get pulled into it. Not that any newspaper would be stupid enough to try that. But my wife much prefers the more general topics, particularly those feel good, slow news day stories that tend to run on page twelve.
After letting the tea brew for four minutes, I fished it out of the pot and tossed it in the rubbish. Adding a dash of milk, I stirred it all together and took a cautious sip. Delicious, as always.
“Anything interesting?” I asked Margaret as I sat back down at the table and set down her own brew, along with the closest thing the ponies have to hobnobs. My wife looked up.
“Not too much,” she replied half-interestedly as she continued to browse through the lifestyle section. “I saw that piece on Speakeasy you were telling me about.”
Ah yes, Equestria’s answer to Al Capone. One of my pet projects has been to bring down the organisation that calls itself Cosa Nostra, and a few months back, I come pretty close to succeeding. I managed to turn one of their guys informant, and the local law had more than a few good raids, nabbing a lot of high profile bad guys. Now the boss and bosses was stewing in a cell awaiting trial. I have to admit, I’m rather proud of that.
“It’s certainly some good news,” I said with a smile. “But I’ll hold off celebrating until the jury comes back with a guilty verdict.”
“And to think you used to be a solicitor,” she replied with a grin.
“Hey, c’mon,” I said. “I only ever dealt with low level idiots that stole TV’s threw them over fences, and were then surprised when they smashed into a million pieces on the floor. I never defended any mobsters.”
“You’ve got to admit though,” she said, getting up to wash out her own mug.” That you took to this job like a duck to water.”
“Well, you always said I was selling myself short back at the firm with David and Brij,” I answered. To be honest, looking back on it, I sort of was. I might have been the senior partner, but the building we were based in was borderline condemned, and the two of them were both idiots who wouldn’t know good money management if it bit them in the arse. I much prefer solo practice.
“How have things been up in the castle anyway? Your best friend screw with anypony he isn’t supposed to.” I laughed as I got up to join her.
“No, Discord’s being a good boy. I honestly think he actually listens to Celestia from time to time.”
Our little conversation was suddenly interrupted when a flash of light in the sky caught my attention. Looking out of the kitchen window, I caught sight of a two ponies flying through the air at low altitude. It took me a moment to realise that the pair were alicorns; it was Celestia and Luna. The light was Celestia’s regalia reflecting the sunlight. I was surprised to see them stretching their wings like that. Usually the both of them had their own chariots to go about in. Whatever had brought them here must have been urgent for them to fly themselves. My thoughts turned back to Rarity and Spike. I’d told Margaret about the odd little incident, but this brought it back to mind.
“Hey, speaking of the old girl, there she goes now,” I said, gesturing out of the window as the pair flew overhead. My wife leaned down slightly to get a better view.
“Huh, I wonder what they’re here for.” I frowned to myself.
“I think I’ll go find out.”
Unfortunately, when you get to be in your mid-fifties, you find yourself no longer the spry young lad you once were. It took me about ten or fifteen minutes to cross the town to Twilight’s castle. Celestia and Luna probably took that long to fly all the way down from Canterlot. As a result, by the time I’d gotten there, the young alicorn, along with Spike had already departed, leaving Celestia and Luna in the castle’s main hall.
The front door was open, a fact my son has repeatedly warned Twilight about, much to her chagrin and I found the two princesses curiously regarding the castle’s signature feature; the map.
The large round table has a miniature three dimensional map of Equestria on it, showing the location of Twilight and her friends, as well as showing where the next friendship problem is cropping up. It’s a fascinating, but enigmatic piece of kit that I believe is very much alive. But we can get to that later.
Knocking on the door as I stepped in, the two princesses looked up and saw me.
“Hello there, Roger,” Celestia said kindly. “Are you looking for Twilight?”
“Sort of,” I replied with a shrug of my shoulders. “Margaret and I just saw the pair of you arrive. I figured I might pop my head in to see what’s going on. I figured that anything that brings the both of you down from Canterlot must be important.”
“It was young Spike who needed our aid,” Luna explained, still curiously regarding the map table, poking at it with a hoof. My mind went back to the odd scene from earlier.
“Oh yeah,” I replied. “I thought something might be up. What was with all that glowing anyway?”
“He has been summoned by the Dragon Lord,” Celestia said gravely. That made me sit up straight.
I’d never met, or even seen the Dragon Lord. And nor did I want to; not for all the bits in Equestria. The undisputed ruler of the dragons was someone even Celestia treated with caution. Living in the distant Dragon Lands, far from Equestria, the Dragon Lord, Torch, had kept a fragile peace, keeping his people from straying too far into Equestria. He didn’t just summon a baby dragon for no reason. Celestia explained.
“Torch has apparently decided that now is the time to step down,” she went on. “He’s summoned all dragons to take part in the Gauntlet of Fire. Whoever wins will become the next dragon lord.”
“Oh merde,” I muttered.
“In a word,” Celestia agreed. “It all depends on who claims the title. We may see another few centuries of peace, or we may be in for some trying times.”
“But why send Spike?” I asked. “The poor lad’s only a baby. His wings haven’t even grown in yet. He doesn’t have a hope in hell.”
“A summons from the Dragon Lord is not a choice, Roger,” Luna replied. “Twilight Sparkle has accompanied him to ensure his safety. At least we shall have some notion of which way the wind is blowing by the time they return.”
See, this is the thing about living in Equestria, and not being Twilight or one of her gal pals. This had the potential to seriously ruin my life for the next while, and there was sod all I could do about it.
“So what now then, Tia?” I asked. The alicorn shrugged in a very un-princess-like way.
“We wait,” she replied.
Of course, as I’m sure you all know, we didn’t end up at loggerheads with the dragons. And quite in contrary to my expectations, Spike actually acquitted himself quite well. Despite being something of a fish out of water with his own kind (dragons don’t exactly value friendship in the same way ponies do, or even humans for that matter) he was actually able to succeed. For about thirty seconds, Spike actually reigned as the undisputed Dragon Lord.
I actually ran into him a few days afterwards. Of course, I’d heard a condensed version from Celestia who had received her report from Twilight. The good news was we had a new, moderate Dragon Lord, who was actually rather open to the idea of embracing friendship and forming an actual alliance with Equestria. But it wasn’t Spike. He told me about the whole thing when our paths crossed at Sugarcube Corner. I was there to grab some stacks for the weekend, and he was stocking up for his Guys Night when he gets to spend some time with Big Mac; Applejack’s brother. As he walked in, I gave him a joking bow.
“Well, if it isn’t Spike,” I said with a grin. “Not only the saviour of the Crystal Empire, but a one-time lord of all dragons. What beings you here?”
“Hey, Roger,” the little dragon said. And I do mean little. Ponies on average are only about four to four and a half feet tall; he barely cracked three. “Just picking up some stacks for my OnO game with Big Mac tomorrow night.”
Ah yes, that was Equestria’s version of Dungeons and Dragons. Spike is a bit of a nerd. Like Shining, Twilight’s brother, he loves his comic books and fantasy games. And also like Shining, when the occasion calls for it, he can be quite the badass.
“So, I take it you heard about what happened in the Dragon Lands,” he said as we both waited for Pinkie Pie to complete our orders.
“Celestia told me about it,” I replied. “This Ember sounds like a nice girl. She’ll no doubt make a fine leader from what I’ve heard. I’m just glad that Garble character didn’t end up in charge.” Spike let out a laugh.
“Yeah, you and me both. I just wish I had a photo of the moment he admitted that I was the Dragon Lord. But I think Ember will be a better leader in the long run. Besides, if I was Dragon Lord, I’d have to leave Ponyville and all my friends.”
“Still, you’ve had a major impact on them,” I said. “You helping Ember realise the value of friendship and cooperation may finally put an end to their Hobbesian state of existence.” Spike looked puzzled.
“Er, their what?” he asked.
“Hobbes was a philosopher, Spike,” Pinkie replied, appearing seemingly out of thin air in front of us. I swear, she secretly must have the ability to teleport. That or I didn’t find all of her unlawfully constructed, and unmarked, tunnels running under Ponyville.
“He said that before humans developed civilised society, they lived in a state of nature where life was 'nasty, brutish, and short’. So to replace it, they created the social contract which governs human behaviour. They occasionally sacrifice their self-interest for the good of the group, so that others will do the same when they need help, allowing everypony and every human to live long, happy lives. Here’s your cupcakes, Roger.”
And with that, she disappeared again, leaving both of us stunned. Even after all this time. I’m still not used to Pinkie Pie’s antics.
“Er...what she said,” I added to the still perplexed Spike. “You’ve helped the dragons gain a better understanding of ponies, and helped them discover the whole magic of friendship deal, instead of just being jerks to each other all the time and hoarding everything.”
“So more like ponies then?” Spike asked, with a small undertone of annoyance in his voice.
“C’mon, lad” I said. “That’s not what I meant and you know it. After all, I’d say you’re a far more nobler dragon than any of them. You’re the model they ought to follow, not the other way around.” Spike now relaxed a little as we both made for the door with our bags of goodies.
“Sorry,” he said, as we stepped out into the warm afternoon sun. “It’s just that meeting other dragons is always a bit hard for me, because of how different I am from them. I’ve always had this idea of what a dragon should be, and every time I go to the Dragon Lands, I see just how wrong I was.”
“Why shouldn’t the dragons be a little more friendly to each other though?” I asked. “Being so isn’t going to make them turn into ponies. Cooperation is vital to the survival of most species in the world. A change like this could do them a world of good. And you were the dragon that set things in motion. Who knows, maybe one day, history will remember Spike the Dragon as the drake who first started the reforms that transformed dragon society.”
“You think so?” Spike asked. I nodded my head.
“Sure, anything’s possible, Spike. All it takes is one person to make a difference.”
With that, the pair of us parted ways. I still can’t believe that a dragon who’s barely a quarter my age has earned more titles that I have in whole life. Ponies do really underestimate him sometimes.
After Spike’s little adventure, things were quiet for a few weeks. Court kept me busy enough and I had a few interesting cases to deal with. As promised, Celestia had indeed put my idea of a designated survivor on the list, but with how backed up court was, the new throne room would probably be done before it got looked at.
One thing I did take notice of though, was Trixie. The newly freed unicorn was making tracks with her apology tour, having performed in Manehattan, Fillydelphia, and Baltimare. The reviews in the papers were more than glowing. For all her bluster, Trixie can back up her sometimes grandiose claims. As a magician, she is quite the gifted showmare, and I was glad to see that she was getting her life back on track. After all, the first few weeks after release are the hardest for most ex-cons.
However, her show was now coming to Ponyville, the scene of her unfortunate misdemeanour. Ponies, as we’ve seen with Starlight, can be remarkably forgiving. However, the opposite can also be true at times. Apparently, enslaving a whole village and screwing with ponies minds is something that can be treated like water under the bridge, but acting irrationally due to a dark magic amulet that actually drains your soul out is utterly beyond redemption. Sometimes ponies are more like humans than they care to admit.
To be fair though, Trixie didn’t have too much trouble when she and her new wagon arrived in Ponyville. Rather than being greeted with a volley of stones and horseshoes, the townsfolk, for the most part, just gave her the cold shoulder. Now, that might bother some ponies, but not one with as overinflated an ego as Trixie. She was determined to do her show, earn what bits she could and go on with her tour. I have to give her credit; it took guts to come back to the scene of the crime as it were.
In the end, there was so little reaction from the townsfolk, that I didn’t actually realise that she was in town until the posters started going up. Trixie appeared almost as if by magic, if you’ll excise the expression. I didn’t see her arrive, or where she’d set up her wagon. What I did know however, was that she’d made a friend. A friend who, if you ask me, was more than likely to land her back inside in ten seconds flat.
You see, Twilight has been working on her little psychotic pet project for the last few months now, trying to get her to embrace the magic of friendship, rather than just trying to fix everything with her horn. The two of them are actually remarkably alike, based on what my son told me about Twilight when she first arrived in Ponyville. But where Twilight was more of a bookworm who just enjoyed studying on her own and used magic to make her life easier, Starlight used her magic to fix every problem, regardless of the moral or statute laws that doing so violated. So, you can see why I might be a bit worried when she and Trixie crossed paths.
As it turned out, Twilight wasn’t too pleased either, and actually tried to forcibly separate the pair and get Starlight to pick someone else. Trixie, despite her reformation, still had a fierce rivalry with Twilight, and neither much liked the other. The pair ended up getting in a sort of tug of war over Starlight, which ended up with Starlight actually spurning them both.
Now, I believe that the last thing Starlight needs is isolation from others. That was how her...unusual ideas, first manifested after all, when Sunburst went off to Canterlot to study magic. Conversely, Trixie had just gotten out of jail for misuse of a dangerous magical artifact. You can see why I was rather glad when they fell out, as bad as that seems in hindsight.
As it turned out though, as I saw at Trixie’s magic show, the rocky road only strengthened their friendship with one another, united in the desire to rebel against Twilight Sparkle. In the end, Twilight decided Starlight having a friend that she didn’t much care for was better than having no friends at all. She apologised and what not for holding Starlight back and...well, you know where this is all going by now, surely.
I actually got to see Trixie’s performance at the second showing in Ponyville. I missed the first one as I was up in Canterlot. Apparently it nearly went a bit pair shaped for the young magician. She was performing one of the more dangerous feats of wonder, a trick created by Hoofdini himself. And yes, you read that name right. I swear, everything in Equestria is just something from back home with a vaguely pony related pun name.
Anyway, it was actually quite impressive. Trixie was shot from a cannon, flew over the audience and into the waiting maw of a vicious manticore; a creature that I’m happy to stay far away from, thank you very much. The beast then closed it’s jaws and seemed to swallow the unicorn whole, only for her to appear a moment later, none the worse for wear. Now, I could tell that it was just Starlight using her magic to teleport Trixie to safety, but the crowd was nonetheless impressed.
After the show, I sought Trixie out. She now had quite the few fans on her hooves; a far cry from the pariah she was but a few days before. Eventually, I managed to get to speak to her and Starlight, now christened as Trixie’s assistant.
“Well, very impressive, Trixie, I must say,” I said as I walked over to her caravan. “You certainly didn’t disappoint on your promise.” Trixie smiled at me.
“Trixie never disappoints an audience, Mr. Owen,” she replied cockily. “Her feats of magical might are always sufficient to wow even the most doubtful audience.”
“With a little help I see,” I replied, turning to Twilight’s pupil. “Hello, Starlight.” The pink unicorn wilted a little as I called her name.
“Oh...erm...hello, Mr. Owen,” she replied with a touch of meekness.
“Good to see that you’ve found a useful outlet for your magical talent,” I offered with a nod. “From what I understand teleporting yourself is tricky enough, teleporting somepony else even more so.”
“Oh, thank you,” she said, brightening up.
“Just don’t either of you go digging up any more magical artifacts alright?” I offered, in an effort to nice while still leaving a gentle reminder.
The two mares laughed with a little awkwardness as I took my leave. Trixie would be alright, and as long she didn’t cause Starlight to grow an ego as big as hers, so would her assistant. But as I’ve said before, I’ll be keeping a close eye on the pink unicorn for a good while yet.
And so, with the show a rousing success, Trixie eventually departed to continue her tour around Equestria. She was also planning to go and visit the Pie’s rock farm to make amends with Equestria’s version of the Amish. She and Starlight agreed to keep in touch by letter as pen pals until Trixie’s travels brought her back Ponyville way. Twilight too was relatively pleased with the way things had gone. While Starlight’s friend might not be what she had in mind, she had still made her first friend.
Her introduction to Celestia however, didn’t go so well. Tia told me about the fiasco a few days later over lunch. Twilight was meant to introduce Starlight’s new friend to her to show just how far Starlight had come from the the insane equality obsessed madmare that had screwed with time and space to get revenge on Twilight. But as all three of them had been pulled away from the castle for Trixie’s show, poor Celestia had been left alone with Cranky Doodle, the most bitter, miserable old git in all Equestria.
She still hasn’t told me how she gets her mane to float like that either.