My Little Pony: Nine Elements Book 1

by BlueBioWolf

Chapter 6: Boast Busters (S1:E6)

It had been a week since Gilda came to Ponyville. Things settled down in the interim. On this particular day, Spike was helping Twilight practice with her spells.

"Come on Twilight, you can do it," Spike said. Twilight's horn began to glow, casting its usual light purple glow. Twilight carefully aimed her horn at Spike and fired a beam of magic at it. And then poof, a mustache appeared on Spike's face. “Yes, you did it!” He happily marked off a list on a nearby board. “Twenty five. Twenty five different kinds of tricks and counting. That’s also the fifteenth spell you mastered just this week.” As Spike spoke, Twilight modestly blushed.

"Oh Spike, it's nothing really, I'm sure any unicorn could've pulled off that spell." Twilight said. She really didn't like boasting about how good she was at magic, it made her feel uncomfortable.

"Well maybe, but, how many unicorns could pull off not only that spell, but, several other spells and not break a sweat?" Spike said "I only know one and I'm sure everypony else does, too."

“I don’t know, Spike,” Twilight said. “I don’t really go out of my way to show everyone what I can do.”

“You don’t have to be so humble, Twilight,” Spike said. “I mean, you’re literally the Element of Magic. How many ponies can honestly say that?”

“Considering the fact that the princesses, you, me, and our friends in Ponyville are the only ones who have any intimate knowledge on the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight said, deadpan. “Doing so wouldn’t really mean much.”

“Good point,” Spike said with a sweat drop. “Hey, is this mustache spell temporary? It’s starting to itch.”

Twilight gave a sly grin. “Are you sure you don’t want it around to impress Rarity?”

“I’m sure,” Spike said. “I’m still just getting to know her. It wouldn’t feel right if I talked to her while looking different from how I usually do.” Suddenly, his eyes widened. “Wait, you know about my crush on Rarity?”

"What makes you think I don't?" Twilight asked. "Every time Rarity comes over I notice that you can't help but stare at her. Besides, you offer your help to her more than anypony else."

“Am I that obvious?” the little dragon asked.

“To quote Applejack’s wordsmith of a brother, ‘Eeyup,’” Twilight answered. Spike sighed and looked at the floor. “Hey, what’s wrong?” the unicorn asked.

“Do you want me to be honest?”

“Spike,” Twilight said comfortingly. “You can tell me anything. You know that, don’t you?”

Spike took a deep breath. “Despite my crush, Rarity kind of intimidates me.”

“How do you mean?” asked Twilight.

“Well, I admit she’s quite a looker,” Spike explained. “But, her upper class accent reminds me of the elitist unicorns back in Canterlot. Though, she’s still nicer to me by comparison.”

Twilight could see where Spike was coming from.

“I understand, Spike,” Twilight said. “That’s why you're getting to know her first, just as I am.”

“Plus,” Spike admitted. “I’m not even sure me and Rarity would work. We’re different ages and different species.”

“Never say never, Spike,” Twilight assured him. “I’ll admit the age gap is a bit of a concern, but, I’ve read about ponies breeding with other species like dragons and griffons.”

“Oh, wow,” Spike said, somewhat enamored. He then realized how he sounded. “Uh, maybe I should take it one step at a time.”

“I think that’s a very mature decision, Spike,” Twilight agreed. “How about we get some lunch? My treat.”

“Sounds great,” Spike said, his stomach grumbling. “We have been at this for a bit.”

Spike and her made their way outside only to find that the whole village appeared to be deserted. "Where is everypony?" Twilight asked.

“That’s weird,” Spike said. “Usually on a day like today, ponies would be going about their lives.”

“It can’t be one of Pinkie’s parties,” Twilight reasoned. “Were that the case, we would’ve heard about it.”

“Coming through!” A male voice was heard shouting. Spike and Twilight heard the voice and saw that the voice came from two unicorn colts. One was short and chubby with a grayish blue coat, golden brown mane and tail, and noticeable buck teeth. The other was a mustard yellow coated stallion who was taller and slimmer and had a fluffy looking teal mane and tail. The shorter colt had a pair of scissors as his Cutie Mark while the taller colt had a purple and pink snail as his Cutie Mark. Both saw Spike’s mustache, tripped over a rock, and landed on their faces near Twilight and Spike.

“Take it easy, you two,” Twilight said. “Where’s the fire?”

“Oh, uh, haven’t you heard,” the taller unicorn asked in a somewhat slurry dopey sounding voice as he and the shorter one got up. “There is a new unicorn in town!”

“That’s right, Snails,” said the shorter unicorn with a somewhat shrill, raspy voice. “Yeesh, it feels weird saying that.”

“And that’s why there’s so few ponies in sight?” Spike asked. “I mean, I know this is a mostly earth pony town, but, you’d think they’d seen enough unicorns here that the novelty would’ve worn off by now.”

“Oh, but, we haven’t seen anypony like her,” The smaller unicorn said. “Follow us and find out! Maybe on the way, you can tell us where you got that sweet ‘stache.”

Spike wore a deadpan expression. “The mustache is from helping Twilight practice magic. Anyway, last time we followed you two, I got my head stuck in a paint bucket.”

“We should at least try to make the effort, Spike,” Twilight said. “We should at least follow Snips and Snails, then we’ll see who this new unicorn is and what she’s like.”

“She’s the most magical unicorn in Equestria,” the shorter unicorn, whose name was Snips, declared.

“You’re pulling our legs, Snips,” Spike said. “That honor goes to Twilight. She’s the student of Princess Celestia herself. They don’t give such an honor to just anypony.”

“Oh, yeah~?” Snips said in an obnoxious tone. “Well, you’ll be eating your words once you see this unicorn!”

Spike sighed. “Okay, let’s get this over with.”

So, the four met up with the other ponies standing in a crowd. They were looking at an intricately colored cart that was parked in front of Town Hall. Twilight felt something very familiar about it. Hmm, she thought to herself. I feel as though I’ve seen that cart somewhere before. Spike, however, wasn’t impressed.

"You brought us all the way out here to see this?" he asked. Suddenly, the ponies and Spike heard an unfamiliar voice.

"Welcome, citizens of Ponyville! Consider yourselves lucky, for today you shall witness some of the most spectacular acts of magic ever performed!" the voice called out.

That voice, Twilight thought. It sounds like a voice I heard back at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.

The ponies and Spike looked around, looking for the source of the unknown voice. To Twilight, however, it was one she knew. "You must all be wondering, who has decided to grace your humble town?" the voice said "It is none other than The Grrrrrrrrrreat and Powerful Trrrrrrrrixie!" A cloud of smoke appeared onstage. When it had vanished, there standing before the crowd was a light blue unicorn, decked out in a light purple hat and cloak, with stars and moons stitched all over it. Her mane was an even lighter blue than her coat, but, her cutie mark was obscured by her cloak, although that didn't mean she didn't have one. Most of the ponies gasped in amazement.

Twilight looked at the new unicorn and could hardly believe her eyes. Trixie Lulamoon! She gasped to herself. I haven’t seen her in years!

A few ponies, namely younger ones like Snips and Snails, were impressed by what little they had seen. Most of the other ponies didn't think much of her. Trixie quickly set to work trying to win them over. However, she noticed Twilight. “What’s this?” she asked. “A familiar figure in this town to Trixie?”

Twilight gave an awkward nod. "Uh… yes. I saw you around in classes at Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns… Until you got expelled for showboating."

Spike, having heard this, started to giggle to himself. Trixie was less than amused. “Trixie’s talents were simply too great for that school’s curriculum to keep track of,” she said.

Twilight wasn’t convinced. “Your report cards said that Performing Magic was the only magic subject you had any proficiency in.”

“Performance magic,” Spike asked curiously after calming down from his giggling fit. Snips and Snails shared this curiosity.

“There’s several different branches of magic taught at the School for Gifted Unicorns,” Twilight explained. “Performance Magic is considered the least practical of the magic disciplines. It’s mostly smoke and mirrors.”

“That would explain Trixie’s showiness,” Spike said.

Trixie was used to neighsayers during her shows, but, she had a great respect for performing magic. She wouldn’t tolerate it being spoken about that way. “Trixie may not have continued her tenure at the School for Gifted Unicorns, but, she was still able to conquer an Ursa Major!”

Snips and Snails gasped in amazement when they heard this.

“How did you do that, Great and Powerful Trixie,” Snails asked, amazed.

“Yeah,” Snips said. “Tell us all about it.”

Trixie gave a satisfied grin as she began telling the tale, using fireworks to illustrate.

"It all began when the city of Hoofington came under attack. But, not from any ordinary creature, no. The city was attacked by an Ursa Major. Most ponies would be terrified, but, the Great and Powerful Trixie knew no such fear as she boldly took on the Ursa Major alone and with one powerful blast of magic from her horn channeled through a wand, the Ursa Major was vanquished."

Several ponies could be heard calling the story a “load of manure.” Another few went on to say, “That was the biggest load of horse apples I've ever heard!"

Trixie, however, maintained her temper. "The Great and Powerful Trixie shall let you draw your own conclusions, but, she hopes that at the least she has captured your attention." she said "The real show starts now!"

Twilight and Spike made their way over to join their friends, who, not surprisingly, were already talking about Trixie.

“I say she’s nothing but a stuck-up filly who loves to hear herself talk,” Rainbow Dash said. “She thinks she’s better than anypony else.”

Applejack rolled her eyes. “Yer one ta talk. Just yesterday, ya said, n’ ah quote,” Applejack began doing an uncanny imitation of Rainbow’s voice. “‘An earthly-bound pony like you could never keep up with a speedy pegasus like me.’”

Rainbow heard this and sweat dropped. “Okay, so, I do tend to boast myself… but, the point is, I am better than everypony else.”

"Rainbow Dash! Although there is nothing wrong with a little healthy pride, bragging and boasting all the time is not polite and, to be perfectly honest, it's something that I've grown tired of," Rarity said. "You might be better at certain things like racing and flying. But, I know for a fact that you couldn't sew to save your life and yet you never hear me bragging about how good I am at making dresses."

"Rarity's got a point there." Applejack said in her regular southern drawl. "Ta me, ah don't think Trixie's half bad, although ah do wish she'd stop talkin’ all the time. She's like the thing that won't shut up."

“Looks like Trixie’s rubbing you girls the wrong way, too,” Spike said. The five mares noticed Spike’s mustache.

“Spike, are you growing up?” Fluttershy asked.

It took one second for Spike to realize what she meant. “Oh, this,” Spike explained. “I was helping Twilight with spell practice and this mustache is the result of the most recent spell she cast.”

“I like that,” Pinkie said. “It makes me think of one of the fake mustaches in my stash stash.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Should I even bother asking why you have such a thing?”

“No,” the five mares answered at once.

“Didn’t think so,” Spike said.

“I must admit,” Rarity chimed in. “I didn’t think it was possible for dragons to grow any kind of hair. But, then again, we don’t know a lot about dragons in general, so, there’s that.”

Spike couldn’t help but blush. “I was kind of hoping the spell wouldn’t last long,” he admitted. “This thing’s itchy and the hairs keep getting in my mouth.”

As if on cue, the mustache poofed away. Spike looked to Twilight. “I suggest that next time we try a new spell, we see how long its time limit is if it has one,” the unicorn said.

“Noted,” Spike said plainly.

“We heard Trixie say that you were familiar to her,” Fluttershy said. “Is that true?”

“It is true,” Twilight said. “While I didn’t really get to know her in Magic School, I do remember seeing her around.”

“You mentioned she was expelled for showboating,” Pinkie said.

“Well,” Twilight confessed. “I wasn’t actually there, but, I heard that during transfigurations class, she was supposed to practice turning a beetle into a button, but, ended up getting another student’s head stuck in one of the potions class’ beakers.”

Twilight’s friends couldn’t help but chuckle at the sound of the incident. Rarity found her voice first. “Where exactly were you when you heard?”

“I heard at the end of the school day,” Twilight explained. “Trixie and I didn’t always go to the same classes.”

"Hey you, all seven of you!" Trixie said "Do you have something you wish to say to Trixie?"

Rainbow Dash was about to speak up, but, Applejack stopped her "Not at all," the farm mare said.

“Trixie thought so,” she said. “So, please, be quiet. If you don’t like the show, you’re welcome to leave.”

No one did however and the show resumed. Twilight whispered to her friends, “If you don’t like her bragging so much, why are you staying?”

“Because there’s nothing else to do today,” Rainbow whispered. "The instant that wagon arrived, everypony raced right over here, everywhere else was deserted."

"Now for her next act, the Great and Powerful Trixie will need a volunteer from the audience." Trixie said. She scanned the crowd pretending to consider a few ponies. She already knew who she wanted to pick. "You," Trixie said, pointing to Applejack. "Please step forward."

Applejack rolled her eyes and got onto the stage. “Ya know,” she said. “If yer tryin’ ta out-magic an earth pony, ya ain’t too bright.”

“Oh, you’re in for something special~” Trixie said. “Tell the Great and Powerful Trixie your name.”

“Applejack,” the farm mare said before muttering under her breath. “Ya great big windbag.”

“So, Applejack~” Trixie said. “What is it that you can do?”

“Well, ah’m purty good at applebuckin’,” she answered.

“Trixie assumes you mean ‘applebumping,’” Trixie said. “Where ponies make apples fall from trees by hitting them with their heads.”

Applejack felt insulted. “That ain’t what ah can do. Just wait n’ see!”

“Why don’t you show everypony right now,” Trixie goaded. “Or are you scared?”

“Ah ain’t scared!” Applejack said. “Just watch!” Applejack started off performing moves, but, before long she started doing moves that were so complicated even Trixie was having a hard time observing.

“Anypony else feel that Applejack’s kind of stooping to Trixie’s level?” Spike whispered to Twilight and the rest of her friends.

“I feel it, too,” Twilight whispered. “It honestly kind of defeats the point she’s trying to make.”

After Applejack finished her “dancing,” she went over to a nearby wild tree that had apples growing on it and bucked them down with her hind legs. She ate one in a single bite for good measure. “How do ya like them apples?”

The crowd of ponies, minus Twilight, Spike, and their group of friends applauded.

"You are good, Trixie will give you that." Trixie said. "But, now, Trixie thinks it's time she showed you a trick that you've never heard of." Her hat began to glow light blue and was lifted off her head to reveal her horn. She focused magic on the rope, which began to slither like a snake. Applejack seemed almost hypnotized from the movements of the rope.

Suddenly, the rope began to coil around Applejack until her legs were completely hogtied. Trixie then stuck an apple into Applejack's mouth. The audience burst into laughter as Applejack began to hop offstage, although, her friends certainly weren't laughing.

“Hmm, that’s what Trixie calls a Worm-filled Apple,” Trixie said with a snooty chuckle.

“Are you okay?” Spike said as he removed the apple. Applejack’s expression was less than pleased.

“That was lower n’ a snake’s belly button!” Applejack declared.

“Um, snakes don’t have belly buttons,” Fluttershy timidly corrected.

“Exactly!” Applejack ranted. “She used magic ta publicly humiliate me at somethin’ ah’m good at! That ain’t fair!”

Spike wore a deadpan expression before untying the rope. “Well, you weren’t exactly the pinnacle of modesty up there, yourself,” he commented. “You were pretty much stooping to her level, which ultimately defeated the point you were trying to make.”

Hearing this, Applejack wore a look of shame. She took off her hat sullenly. “Ah hope y’all can forgive me. Ah didn’t mean ta get carried away as ah did, but… ah’m powerful sorry.”

“Of course we–” Pinkie began before suddenly changing the topic. “Rainbow’s been awfully quiet these past few seconds.” The five mares and Spike saw that Rainbow was absent.

“You don’t think she’s going to-” Twilight began, until Rainbow’s voice caught their attention.

“You want a REAL challenge?!” the brash pegasus shouted.

“She is,” Spike said flatly.

“And you are?” Trixie asked.

"I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash and the instant you decided to make fun of my friend, Applejack, you sealed your fate!" Rainbow said.

“Oh, really?” Trixie asked. She hadn’t planned on facing off against Rainbow Dash or anypony else for that matter. But, she knew she could find a way to make it work in her favor.

“Yeah!” Rainbow said. “You think you’re so awesome?!”

“Maybe Trixie does, maybe she doesn’t,” Trixie said with a smirk. “Trixie assumes you’re willing to show what you’re best at.”

“You got that right!” Rainbow declared. "I'd like to see how good your magic is against my awesome flying skills!" With that, Rainbow Dash took off into the skies. She pulled off a series of impressive aerial stunts and ended with a miniature rainbow appearing over her wings when she landed. "See Trixie?!" Rainbow Dash said "They don't call me Rainbow and Dash for nothing! Good luck trying to top that!"

Spike could only facepalm. “3… 2… 1…”

“Trixie does not need luck,” Trixie said before zapping the miniature rainbow, materializing into a magical smear that wraps itself around Rainbow. Before long, it had created a mini rainbow tornado which lifted her off the ground, sent her flying through the air a little, and then brought her back down to the stage, the audience erupted with laughter, minus her friends. Rainbow Dash was dazed, but, unharmed.

“I think,” Rainbow said dizzily. “I’m going to be sick.”

"Trixie would like to call that 'Rainbow Crash,' but, Trixie feels like she'd be touching a nerve." Trixie said as she helped Rainbow Dash to her hooves. "You'll be okay. Trixie does not believe in violence."

“Says the pony who literally just turned a rainbow into a tornado that could’ve torn me to pieces!” Rainbow complained as she exited the stage. “I can’t believe she beat me!” she said to her friends.

“I can,” Spike said bluntly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?!” Rainbow demanded.

“You made the same mistake Applejack did,” Spike explained. “You went up to Trixie and stooped to her level, resulting in both a public humiliation and the defeat of any point you were trying to make.”

Rainbow was stunned. “Wow,” she said. “When you put it like that, I sound like kind of a hypocrite.”

“Does anypony else wish to volunteer?” Trixie called out.

Rarity was about to step up, but, Spike stopped her. “Uh, maybe not,” he said. “I’m sensing a pattern here and it’s not a good one.”

Rarity heeded Spike’s words, so, she decided to step back. “Thank you, Spike,” she said softly. “Had I gone up there, she might’ve turned my mane green.” She saw Spike pointing to a few ponies with green manes near her, prompting her to correct herself. “Not that there’s anything wrong with that…”

Pinkie and Fluttershy resisted Trixie’s challenge. So, Trixie turned her attention to Twilight. “Trixie heard that Twilight Sparkle managed to get reasonably good grades in all subjects at the School for Gifted Unicorns with the only ones she struggled with being Care For Magical Creatures and Herbology,” the showmare challenged. “Let’s see just how skilled you are.”

“Uh, no, thank you,” Twilight said. “I think the audience would already know who would win and that wouldn't be very exciting.”

“That’s the first half-way sensible thing Trixie heard since the show started,” Trixie said. “How smart of you to refuse my challenge, especially since you know you can’t win. Now, are there any other takers to my offer?” This time, nopony said anything or stepped forward. "Well then, seeing as there are no more volunteers, Trixie will now move on to the grand finale. Hope you all like fireworks." And with that, Trixie's cart started to shoot fireworks into the sky from the various tubes on the sides. After a while the fireworks stopped and the show ended. Everything went back to normal for the time being.

“As much as I hate to admit it,” Rainbow said. “Trixie has style.”

“She’s basically what would happen if Twilight was more smug,” Spike said.

“Yeah, but, she wouldn’t be Twilight, then,” Applejack said. “She smart enough ta not let Trixie get her goat like me n’ Rainbow did. And that’s all on her own. Besides, that excuse she came up with was technically true."

“Yeah, Twilight’s the literal ELEMENT of Magic,” Pinkie said. “Not many ponies can honestly say that.”

“Considering the Elements of Harmony aren’t public knowledge,” Twilight said. “It wouldn’t really mean anything if I DID go around telling others that.”

“Believe me,” Spike said. “She said the same thing to me earlier today.”

“Besides, I wouldn’t want the fame to get around,” admitted Fluttershy quietly.

Twilight then remembered why she and Spike went outside in the first place. “Say, girls, how about we go discuss this over lunch?”

“Ooh, that sounds great,” Pinkie said excitedly. “I like having lunch. Though, I won’t say no to any other meals, either.”

“I think it was my turn to pick the place this time,” Rainbow said.

“We never established such a system, Rainbow,” Twilight said.

“Sure,” Rainbow said, “But, we have to start somewhere, right?”

Twilight considered. “Fair enough,” she conceded. “How about we work on it after lunch?”

The others agreed to this. Rainbow led them to the restaurant she had in mind. Little did the friends suspect that in a few hours time, the peace they were enjoying would be disrupted.

In a different part of Ponyville, Trixie had put her stage cart into sleeper mode and she was resting after her show. She was pleasantly surprised at how many ponies wished to meet her once her show was over. She had never had many fans before. I usually just get one or two and usually all they ever do is ask me how I performed a certain spell. I'm not doing this for a living, but, surely a little appreciation isn't too much to ask for, right? she thought to herself. Just then, Snips and Snails arrived to visit Trixie. They were also joined by a third unicorn colt. The third colt was taller and skinnier than Snips, but, shorter and chubbier than Snails. He had a pale red coat, a brown mane and tail, and a Cutie Mark depicting a puppy. This colt was less than amused.

“This had better be important, you two,” the third colt said. “I have chores to do.”

“It sure is important,” Snips said with an eager smile.

“We wanted you to meet,” began Snails, before the two said colts said together

“The Great and Powerful Trixie~!” Snips and Snails said in unison.

The third colt looked less than impressed. “You pulled me away from my chores just to see a cut-rate showmare?”

“Cut-rate showmare?!” Snips snapped indignantly. “She’s the most powerful unicorn in all of Ponyville! Maybe in all of Equestria!”

“Yeah,” Snails said. “She vanquished an Ursa Major. That’s not cut-rate, is it, Puppy Dog Tails?”

The red colt wore a flat expression and face-hoofed. “I can’t believe this,” he groaned. “You two need to stop taking everything you hear at face value.”

“And you need to stop being so serious, Tails,” Snips said.

“Uh, Trixie would hate to interrupt your…” the mare paused. “What are you? Brothers?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” answered Tails.

“Yes, well,” Trixie continued. “Trixie would hate to interrupt your brotherly bickering, but, Trixie has had a long day and she would like to get some rest.”

“Can you at least teach us magic?” Snails asked. Tails wore a shocked expression.

“Wait, what?” Tails gasped. “You want to learn magic… from her?!”

Trixie was equally surprised. “Surely, there must be other unicorns here to teach you,” she said. “Why not try that Twilight Sparkle?”

“Because if we do,” Snails said. “Twilight will talk to our parents and then they will insist that they and they alone should teach us.”

“And we should respect their wishes,” Tails scolded. “You two are on thin ice as it is!”

“So,” Trixie said. “You two are asking Trixie to teach you magic against the wishes of your parents?”

“They do NOT speak for me,” Tails insisted.

“Come on, Tails,” Snips said. “Doesn’t it bug you that we’re in first grade and we still can’t use basic magic?”

“I’ll admit it’s an irritating hoofticap,” Tails admitted. “But, our parents will teach us in due course. We have to be patient.”

“Indeed, you must,” Trixie said. “Now, why don’t you three get on home while Trixie gets her rest.”

“Okay, that third-pony thing is grating on my nerves,” Tails said. “Come on, you two. We’re going home.”

“You’re not dad,” Snips protested.

“The way I have to put up with you two, I might as well be,” Tails snapped.

“But,” Trixie said. “You can come visit Trixie tomorrow. She can teach you magic somewhere nopony else will see.”

“Can you?!” Snips and Snails said excitedly. “Okay!”

Tails could see that his brothers weren’t going to listen to him and decided to just remove himself from the situation. “Fine, but, when you two get in trouble for the sixth or seventh time this week, don’t blame me. I’ll just say, ‘I told you so.’”

Some time later, Snips and Snails were making their way home. Unfortunately, they didn’t fully know their way home from where Trixie was and they both got themselves hopelessly lost.

“Think we should’ve stuck to Tails?” Snails asked.

“Pfft!” Snips scoffed. “He’s just a know-it-all. We’ll find our way home in no time.”

“I’m pretty sure we passed that tree four times already,” Snails looked at a tree with spindly branches.

“Well, this is just great,” Snips said in annoyance.

“Maybe we should just wait out the night in that cave,” Snails suggested.

“That’s…” Snips began. “That’s actually a great idea. It’ll be dark, but, we’ll at least be safe from the elements outside.”

The two colts entered the cave, which turned out darker than outside.

“Oof!” Snips said. “I can hardly see my hoof in front of my face.”

“Why would you want to look at your own hoof,” Snails asked curiously.

“Very funny,” Snips said, rolling his eyes. “I saw you reading from Tails’ spell books. Did you read the illumination spell?”

“Oh, yeah,” Snails said. “Let me see if I can try it.” He tried channeling his magic into his horn, struggling to the point of sounding like a car engine struggling to turn over. With one last effort, he was able to make a decent sized light with his magic aura, glowing with a bright yellow-orange glow. “I… did it…” he gasped in relief.

“That was great, Snails,” Snips said excitedly. The two started cheering.

However, the celebration was short-lived. What the two failed to realize was that the cave was occupied. A loud growl echoed in the cave. The two colts turned to see where the growl came from. There before their eyes was a large slightly transparent blue bear with a star motif. Snips and Snails, seeing what they think is an Ursa Major, scream in terror before running out.

"How did we manage to wake up an Ursa Major?!" Snips asked.

“I don’t know,” Snails said. “But, we have to get out of here!”

On the edge of the forest, Tails is making a disgruntled trek to find his brothers. “I swear,” he complained. “I can’t leave those two alone for five minutes.”

His search didn’t take too long, as his brothers literally zoomed past him. “What in Tartarus is going on?!” the red colt asked.

“Can’t talk now,” Snips called back while running.

“Got a major problem,” Snails called back while running.

Tails looked back and saw the creature following them. “Normally, I would be terrified that such a creature was following them,” Tails said to himself. “But, since my brothers are involved, I’m more annoyed than scared.” The creature landed a paw near Tails with a claw extended. That claw scratched Tails’ leg. “Okay, terror’s back.” He then ran after his brothers. “WHAT DID YOU DO THIS TIME?!”

“We don’t know!” Snips shouted as he ran. “We were making our way home, then, we got lost and we found this cave!”

“Then, I remembered one of the spells in your spellbook,” Snails said. “And I tried to light up my horn.”

“WHY DID YOU THINK IT WAS A GOOD IDEA TO GO INTO A CAVE IN THE EVERFREE FOREST AT NIGHT?!”

“We thought it was a safe place to spend the night,” Snails said.

“We got lost, okay?!” Snips snapped.

“Just wait until mom and dad hear about this!” Tails said.

“They’re not going to if we don’t make it out alive!” Snails wailed.

Snips realized something. “Wait, Trixie vanquished an Ursa Major, right?”

“We’re running for our lives and the first thing that comes to mind is a tall tale?!” Tails snapped. “And you wonder why our parents are so hard on you!”

“What I mean is,” Snips explained. “If Trixie vanquished one before, she has the skills to do it again!”

“If we make it out of this alive,” Tails declared. “I’m going to smack you up the back of the head.”

“Only mom and dad can do that and they’re not home right now,” Snips countered.

“WELL, SOMEPONY HAS TO!!!” Tails shouted.

Soon, they arrived at Trixie’s wagon. Snips and Snails pounded on Trixie’s door frantically, while Tails hid to the side of it where he could catch his breath. “You idiots!” Tails said while catching his breath. “You seriously think a showmare will help with this?!”

Trixie answered her door and Snips and Snails gave her some space as they pant. “What do you two want?” the mare demanded.

“We know we said to wait until tomorrow,” Snips panted. “But, we need your help!”

“What you two need is a clue!” Tails said. “I’m getting Twilight!” He galloped off.

“What could be so important that it couldn’t wait until morning,” Trixie asked, clearly vexed about being woken up. A monstrous roar answered her question. “Is that what Trixie thinks it is?” She meekly asked.

“Majorly,” the colts answered.

Meanwhile, Tails reached the Golden Oak Library and pounded the door. “Twilight!”

Twilight answered the door to see the distressed unicorn colt.

“Puppy Dog Tails, are you alright?” Twilight asked. “What’s wrong?”

“My brothers have gotten in WAY over their heads this time!”

“It’s okay to be nervous,” Twilight said. “But, what exactly is the trouble?”

“See for yourself,” the colt said, pointing towards the distance.

Twilight looked and saw the Ursa approaching Ponyville. “Sweet Celestia!” she shouted. “How did they manage this?!”

“Never mind that! Ponyville needs your help!”

Twilight looked on, and she gave an understanding nod to Tails. “Spike,” she called inside. “Come here, please. I’m going out and I don’t want you to be home alone.”

The baby dragon approached her, clearly grumpy about being woken up. “Can’t it wait until morning?”

“I’m sorry, Spike,” Twilight said. “But, I felt you shouldn’t be alone right now.” She levitated him onto her back.

“Besides, if Twilight waits now,” Tails added. “Ponyville won’t be here in the morning!”

That foreboding warning from Tails changed Spike’s perspective. “Well,” he hastily said. “What are we waiting for?!”

The two unicorns galloped off with Spike in tow.

By now, all of Ponyville was awake. They were shocked and horrified by the Ursa that was in town. Trixie was hiding in a corner. Snips and Snails saw this and walked up to her.

“What are you doing there, Trixie?” Snails asked, confused.

“Why aren’t you vanquishing that Ursa Major?” Snips questioned.

Trixie was beginning to regret telling that story to such gullible colts.

“Trixie, uh,” she stammered. “Trixie was catching her breath from the running. But, now, I’m ready.” She faced the creature and put on a brave face despite her own fears. So, she used a similar rope trick to the one she did on Applejack earlier that day. Sadly, it only tied two of the creature’s paw digits. The Ursa effortlessly broke the rope by spreading the paw digits. Trixie then conjured a stormcloud. A bolt of lightning zaps the Ursa in the rump, but, instead of driving it away, it only served to anger the creature.

“Quit fooling around and vanquish it, eh?!” Snails said.

At that moment, Twilight, Spike, and Tails met up with Snips and Snails.

“You still believe her story?” Tails scolded.

“Well, if they do believe,” Trixie finally said. “They shouldn’t…” She swallowed her pride. “I made it up.”

“Made it up?!” Snips and Snails shouted in shock. Tails responded by using his forehooves to hit the tops of their heads.

“OF COURSE SHE MADE IT UP!” he shouted. “SHE’S A TRAVELING PERFORMER! IT’S WHAT SHE DOES! SHE TELLS FANTASTICAL STORIES TO LURE AUDIENCES IN!”

“Tails, I understand the frustrations,” Twilight said. “But, is yelling and hitting your brothers going to solve this problem?”

“No, but, if you lived in the same house as them,” Tails said. “You’d understand why I need some catharsis! I’m supposed to be the responsible brother, but, every time these two get in trouble, I look bad for not keeping a better watch on them!”

Twilight gave Tails a comforting hug. “It’s okay,” Twilight said calmly. She then faced the Ursa and focused her magic. With her magic, she conjured a powerful gust of wind. Some cattails by a nearby lake snapped, creating a whistling sound with the wind. The sound reached the Ursa’s ears and the creature was immediately calmed down.

“Ooh, #16, the windy spell,” Spike commented.

Twilight focused with her magic and the wind died down. She then levitated a nearby water tower, opened its top, and dumped its contents into a nearby lake. She then levitated it through a barn full of cows. When the tower came out, it was full of milk. The white liquid was instantly pasteurized and warmed up thanks to the heat from the sheer amount of magical energy being put into lifting its container.

“That’s new,” Spike noted.

The large creature grew steadily more lethargic. He started to lose his balance, nearly landing on a bystanding Trixie. She braced for impact, but, saw that the bear was engulfed in Twilight’s magical aura. The lavender unicorn in question was straining from the effort as her horn glowed as brightly as the sun. She levitated the bear and floated the milk filled water tower towards him. The bear sleepily took it and started to suckle on the water tower as if it was a baby bottle. With all of Twilight’s effort, she gently levitated the bear back into his cave home in the Everfree Forest. Once she was certain that the bear was outside of Ponyville, she stopped using her magic and caught her breath. Her horn was red and smoking, a sign of the effort she put into the spells. Spike and the citizens of Ponyville applauded Twilight’s efforts and cheered for her.

Trixie was amazed. "How did you manage to tame that Ursa Major?!" she asked.

“Well, as you can tell from my overheated horn,” Twilight said. “It wasn’t easy. Also, that wasn’t an Ursa Major. It was a baby. An Ursa Minor.”

“That was a baby?!” Trixie asked as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.

“That’s right, a baby,” Twilight said. “I did some reading on Ursa Majors and Ursa Minors after we got home from lunch, so, I figured out what to do from there.” She then turned her attention to Spike. “Spike, could you show them the book I’ve been reading since this afternoon? I’d do it myself, but, with my horn overheated, that wouldn’t be a good idea.”

“Yeah, no problem, Twilight,” Spike said. He quickly ran back to the Golden Oaks Library and grabbed the book that Twilight was reading before. He soon returned and showed them the book, which was entitled, “Mystical Creatures of Equestria.” It was open on a page detailing the visual differences between Ursa Majors and Ursa Minors. This surprised not only Snips and Snails, but, even Trixie as well. The Ursa Major completely dwarfed the depiction of the Ursa Minor.

“Whoa!” Trixie gasped. “An actual Ursa Major rampage would have been worse!”

“The Ursa Minor wasn’t rampaging,” Twilight said. “He was just cranky for being woken up.”

Snips and Snails looked ashamed and embarrassed at themselves. Tails chose that moment to direct some of the shame to Trixie. “Maybe if somepony hadn’t gone around shooting her mouth off about doing something she didn’t, they wouldn’t have had the ‘brilliant’ idea of luring that thing into town in the first place.”

“Trixie…” Trixie began, before clearing her throat. “I mean, I have come to understand my mistakes. It was wrong of me to put all of you in danger with my wild exaggerations. So, I know this won’t fix the damage I’ve done, but, I want to apologize to all of you for all of the trouble I’ve caused. I’ll personally take care of the collateral damage. I’ll work all night if I have to.”

The other ponies and Spike were glad to hear a genuine heartfelt apology from Trixie. Other ponies volunteered to help Trixie so that she wouldn’t have to work alone and possibly exhaust herself. “Say, Trixie,” Twilight said. “Do you have a place to stay while you’re here?”

“I did,” Trixie said as she gestured to the smashed remains of her cart.

“Well,” Twilight said. “The Golden Oak Library does have a spare bedroom to it. You’re welcome to use that so that you have some place to rest should you need it.”

“Thanks anyway,” Trixie said. “But, I couldn’t possibly afford the rent. I barely make any bits as it is.”

“I couldn’t ask you to pay rent,” Twilight said insistently. “You would be our guest.”

“It’s a very generous offer,” Trixie said. “But, I’m rarely in one town for longer than a day or two.”

“Alright,” Twilight conceded. “If you insist.”

The next morning, Trixie had finished fixing the last damaged building in Ponyville. She was visibly exhausted and her hooves had cracks in them, clear signs that she hadn’t used her magic to help in the work. Twilight, Spike, and their friends walked up to her.

“You okay, Trixie?” Rainbow asked. “You look like you’ve been working all night.”

“I have,” Trixie admitted.

“Ya really put in a lot of effort to fix things up ‘round here,” Applejack said. “But, since yer done, why don’t ya get somethin’ in yer belly?”

“Do you have any peanut butter crackers?” Trixie asked. “I had a large supply in my cart, but…”

“Ya mean,” Applejack said with a smile. She then went back and grabbed the newly repaired caravan. “This cart?”

Trixie’s jaw dropped. “You fixed my cart?!”

“Since you learned your lesson,” Twilight explained. “We felt you shouldn’t leave town without having a roof over your head. Besides, you put in the effort to fix the damage to our town, so, why not return the favor?”

“Nopony’s ever done that for me before,” Trixie said as tears welled up in her eyes.

“It’s what we do,” Pinkie says with a good-natured smile. “It’s also stocked with snacks from Sugarcube Corner. Or, at least, my personal stash.”

Trixie looked into the cart and found various baked goods. “This is more than I usually get in a week!”

“We couldn’t let you venture on with an empty stomach,” Rarity said. “We figured you’d been through enough hardship.”

“One thing bugs me, though,” Rainbow said. “Yesterday, you kept doing that whole third-pony thing. What’s that about?”

“That’s my stage persona,” Trixie admitted after helping herself to some bread. “I come from a long line of performers. My father is a parlor magician in Las Pegasus and my mother is a stage actress. One thing they taught me about show business is that if you want to get anywhere, you need something that reels ponies in. A gimmick, if you will.”

“I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow said.

“My father taught me everything I know about Performance Magic,” Trixie continued. “He even took me to magic shows when I was a filly.” She sighed nostalgically. “I knew at once that was what I wanted to be.”

“That’s wonderful,” Fluttersy said.

“You must make a good living with your shows,” Pinkie said.

Trixie winced. “Well, actually… I don’t.”

“Wait,” Rarity said suddenly. “You mean to say that you don’t charge admission for your performances?”

Trixie shook her head. “Any bits I make are courtesy donations,” she admitted. “I just perform because I love doing it.” She then muttered under her breath, “Though, a little appreciation now and then would be nice.”

“What was that?” Applejack asked.

Trixie quickly corrected herself. “Nothing. I better get going now.”

The ponies and Spike wished Trixie well on her journey. Trixie and Twilight even agreed that the next time Trixie came to town, they’d test how much their magic improved by then. Though, Twilight had some concerns.

“Does anypony else feel that Trixie’s hiding something?” the lavender unicorn asked her friends.

“Ah sure felt that,” Applejack replied. “Ah wonder what.”

“Eh, that’s a chapter for another day,” Pinkie said.

This remark left the others confused, but, they decided to shrug it off. Spike then turned to Twilight.

“Hey, Twilight,” Spike said. “Do you think you have a lesson for Princess Celestia ready?”

Twilight nodded. “Let’s head back to the library.”

It wasn’t long before the two returned to Golden Oaks Library. Once there, Spike got out a quill and a piece of paper to roll into a scroll. Twilight spoke the words for him to write.

“Dear Princess Celestia,
Today I learned that it’s important to have confidence in yourself. Without confidence, even the most talented ponies is nothing. Of course, it's important that you recognize the difference between confidence and boasting. No one likes a bragger and actions speak louder than words. Perhaps the most important thing a pony should do is remember what you say and do describes how others view you. But, it’s never too late to change who you are on the inside as long as you’re willing to take the first step.
Your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.”

Spike breathed his emerald flames on the scroll and sent it on its way. “Off it goes,” he said. “You know, I heard Snips and Snails are doing community service.”

“I see,” Twilight said. “I wonder how Puppy Dog Tails is doing.”

“Didn’t you hear?” Spike asked. “He’s supervising them to make sure they don’t do anything stupid.” He chuckled. “He’s got his work cut out for him.”

“For a colt with a puppy for his Cutie Mark,” Twilight remarked. “He is acting like a real tough dog.”

Meanwhile, Snips and Snails were picking up litter with Tails watching them. “I’m not taking my eyes off you for a second.”

“He’s taking this way too seriously,” Snips said as he picked up a piece of trash.

“Yeah,” Snails said. “He really is our brother.”

End of chapter.