"So she's not an enemy?"
"No, she's just this... flashy."
"Are you sure I shouldn't defeat her a little?"
Twilight sighed.
"No, princess, Trixie just really likes to show off. I doubt she would try to cause eternal darkness, though."
Luna examined her impersonator carefully.
"I am keeping an eye on you!" she warned her finally.
"Don't keep an eye on me! Keep it in it's socket! I'm not an eye-table that you can keep eyes on!" Trixie retorted. The princess was taken aback by her attitude, but the playful smile the showmare wore made her decide she just didn't have the necessary amount of humour.
All of them were situated in the great hall; the same great hall that saw the return of Nightmare Moon. It is just as fitting, that it would see the return of Lulamoon. Long, sturdy tables were set up, with so much food stacked on them it would make their mouths water. Celestia was situated on the seat of honour at the largest table; Luna, however, opted to sit between Twilight & co. and the Apple family (including Trixie). To be specific: to her left, Twilight sat; to her right, Trixie. Said unicorn was looking absent-mindedly at a cupcake she only took a bite of.
"You know, this makes me remember that time when grandma baked me cookies. When I asked her how they are made, she said they are filled with love." She shook her head. "I still don't know whether she said it because that's the truth, or because mine weren't so good. That's it, I'm going to capture a changeling, and put those pastries to the test!"
Twilight rolled her eyes, as did most of her friends, except Rarity. She seemed to be horrified of the idea of love seeping into inanimate objects. Perhaps she scrapped one too many designs for her clothes to pass the test.
Putting down her cupcake, Trixie rose to speak. All eyes at the table looked at her.
"Well, as you might or might not have heard from Mac—which I doubt, by the way, 'cause I saw rocks more talkative sometimes—that we've met a good three months ago. Long story short, we ended up in a chore war, which lasted quite long. But one thing was for certain—I realised how much bored I was with my life; and how much of an insufferable wompknot I was. I'd like to apologise for rubbing stuff in your faces that wasn't chocolate cake." she said, nodding at the sun princess, who still had some crumbs on her muzzle; everypony was too polite to let her know, and Luna didn't notice. Celestia rose a little from her seat, and looked kindly at the present ponies. She coughed softly, catching the attention of those seated at other tables.
"My dearest subjects, I acknowledge the protests about this mare. It is of great importance, however, that even though besmirched with great prejudice throughout these unfortuitous circumstances, she seems genuinely apologetic. Forgiveness should not be scarce, for we are not without flaws. I hereby pardon Trixie Lulamoon, and hope that she can become a good friend to many of you!"
Luna leaned closer to Trixie.
"You know, Trixie Lulamoon," she whispered, "my sister only speaks like this because she knows less understand it this way. And if the majority does not understand, they will nod to everything they say. I believe she got the great '97 tax reforms underway with this method."
Across the room, faces warmed up, and an occassional cheer could be heard. The showmare noticed that most of the ponies stopped glaring. Well, to be precise, one pegasus was glaring at her, but with a look of deep concentration.
"So, Trixie, I actually have a question for you."
"Shoot."
The pegasus pretended to raise something heavy.
"Pow! Seriously though, what does wompknot mean?"
"Well, it is the same as wabblesnarch."
"Wabble-what?"
"I made it up on the spot. As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't exist."
Twilight looked around their table. Rainbow and Trixie were now conversing about the proper way to invent words, Pinkie joining them with the suggestion 'wafflerrific", to indicate something is as good as a waffle. Mac wandered off somewhere. Granny Smith seemed to have nodded off. Applejack was distracted by the Cutie Mark Crusaders, who were discussing ways to scare the living daylights out of Diamond Tiara. Rarity was having a pleasant chat with Celestia about the nobles, and Fluttershy was explaining something intently to Braeburn. Wait, what?
The timid mare was indeed talking to a pony; a pony who was dressed as King Sombra, nonetheless, about... well, sewing apparently. The stallion raised a part of his 'ermine' cloak, pointing out something Twilight didn't quite understand. Well, as long as Fluttershy is not too scared to talk to him, why not? Suddenly, Rarity spoke up.
"Darling, I must know what fabric you used for the mane part of your costume."
"Oh, it's Ursa fur." Trixie stated nonchalantly. Everypony froze up at the table, even the Crusaders, who advanced to the point in their plan where they dangle D.T. out the clock tower in Canterlot.
"Excuse me, but that seems a tiny bit... well, how should I say..."
"Completely unbelieveable?" Trixie finished. "It is true, though. When Mac comes back, I'll tell you the story."
_________________________________________________________________________________
Mac was getting some fresh air. Sure, celebrations are nice 'n all, but everypony was too busy with somepony else to actually chat with him. Well, he could understand that her family wished to talk to other ponies, but neither AJ's friends, nor the princesses seemed to have considered the idea of simply having a conversation with him. He groaned as a piece of hair irritated his nose; this is just getting better and better.
"Uh, Big Mac?" a voice suddenly called out. He turned, only to see a mint-colored unicorn smile at him shyly.
"Howdy..." What was her name again? "Lyra?" he risked. The mare grinned.
"Right on the nail's head, as my father would say. So... I really like your costume. Centaur Tirek, huh? Half horse, half... human." She emphasised the last part intently.
Mac scratched his chin.
"Thanks fer' the compliment, but what is a human?" If Lyra could have brightened up more, it could only have been possible if she was set on fire.
"That's a mythical beast, thought to have been extinct long ago! It's—" She suddenly stopped, smiling slyly at the stallion. "Ohohoho! No, I'm not going to talk about my hobbies before first date."
"F-first date?" Mac asked nervously.
"Yep! How about next Tuesday? From two o'clock, at the Ponyville Park?"
"Uh, um... sounds good?"
"Great! See you on Tuesday! I'm looking forward to it, but I gotta go now. I promised the kids some scary stories, and I intend to keep it! Bye!"
Fluttershy would have been jealous (after apologising twice for it) of the low voice he produced in reply. He watched as she practically bounced off, albeit less flashy than Pinkie. He heard a polite cough.
"Am I interrupting?"
He turned and noticed a familiar white-maned, normally blue, but now black unicorn. He ran up to her, and shook her vigorously.
"What tah do? She invited me on a date! A date! Ah never been to a date that wasn't arranged by some crazy family membah'! What should Ah wear? What should Ah say? How fancy should Ah be?!"
"F-f-f-first y-y-you c-c-c-could s-s-stop s-s-shakin m-m-m-meeeeee!"
Mac let go, his cheeks reddening to unusual heights.
"Sorry, Ah just... kinda freaked out."
"Geez, Mac relax! It's a date! Not a wedding! You go there, spend some time with her, and that's it! No strings attached! It's not like you'll have to ask for her hoof in marriage just because she spent a day with you! Or..." she flashed a devious grin. "Are you interested in her?"
Mac went redder than a bleeding tomato in lava.
"No! Yes! No! Maybe! Ah mean..." he paused, collecting himself. "Ah don't know. Ah've met her a few times, but Ah don't really know her."
"Well, that's kinda what dates are for. You spend time together, try to enjoy it, and learn more about each other! Simple!"
"But Ah ain't something fancy! What if she laughs at my villageness? Ah heard she's from Canterlot!"
"Okay, first, 'villageness' is not a word. Second, if she was an uptight Canterlot snob, she wouldn't have asked you out. Third, and most important, you should always be yourself. If you can't impress her with who you are, it'd never work out, believe me. So, are you ready to come inside? The others are waiting for you, so I can start explaining how I placed my hooves on Ursa fur."
Mac sighed.
"Okay, Ah'll think about it la—URSA FUR?!"
Trixie giggled.
"C'mon, Romeo, you'll understand everything if I finally explain it."
________________________________________________________________________________
Arriving back, Trixie instantly noticed the 'subtle' change in the seating. Where Mac sat, Celestia herself towered regally, while munching slices of cake in a speed and manner that was anything but regal. The showmare's place has been taken by Ditzy, who was chatting with princess Luna. Trixie leaned closer curiously to hear what the grey pegasus had to say.
"So as my mother used to say: 'When life gives you lemons, your esteemed number of sour fruits just went up.'" She motioned a hoof towards the sky. "Speaking of which, I never really liked lemons. Nasty little flammable things."
Twilight noticed the two of them returning, and waved to Trixie.
"Hey! Are you ready to tell your story? Princess Celestia even freed up her place for you to be at the center."
Trixie nodded, and stepped to the seat of honor. Suddenly, the chatter got a lot quieter, most ponies affixing their gazes on her.
"Well, well, well. This won't do." she thought.
"So, fillies and gentlecolts, let me present you the tale of how I, the Great and Often Misunderstood Trixie, acquired Ursa fur. I braved the filthy stench of the great cave, with only my newly-forged dragonscale scissors in tow—"
"SAY WHAT?" Rainbow burst out. Trixie smiled apologetically.
"Oh. My mistake. About the scissor: I was standing before the most hideous dragon I've ever seen, with only the backpack I've got from the Diamond Dogs—"
"DIAMOND DOGS?!" This time, many more shouted, even those staying to themselves in the farthest corner. The showmare looked around. With the two outbursts, she has managed to gain the undivided attention of the whole hall. She smiled inwardly.
"Perfect" She took a deep breath.
"Forgive me, o citizens of Ponyville. I merely wished to skip the parts that were not relevant. Seem like that for your perfect understanding, I'll have to indulge some details before that incident. It all started in the quiet smithing town of Anvilmare..."