In his almost fifty years of living Jon Stewart had to overcome many obstacles. As an entertainer one very prominent difficulty he faced early on was having to get up in front of an audience; the fear of having many people focused on you is one that has resonated in mankind for generations.
Fortunately for him this was a fear he learned to conquer through decades of experience. Sure he'd come off as humble by saying he still felt nervous every now and again but deep down he knew the second he was on stage addressing a crowd he was in full control.
Which is why it baffled him that he could stand in the same historic location that Dr. King gave his famous "I have a dream" speech and talk to 215,000 people with no problems, but sitting on his couch with two kids staring at him was more than he could handle.
It was almost dinner time in the Stewart household and Jon was occupying himself by sitting in the adjacent living room couch while reading the day's newspaper; a tradition in itself for last minute conversation starters. He was still only on the second page because, try as he might, he was unable to get much reading done knowing that his kids were glaring at him.
Very delicately he peaked over the right hand fold the paper to see if his they were still watching him. He immediately caught two pair of sad eyes looking at him and swiftly ducked his head back in the news section.
"Pleeeeeeeeeease, Daddy?" Nathan said.
"No." Jon responded.
"Pretty please, Daddy?" Maggie added.
"Double no." He said back.
After a lengthy moment of silence Jon peered over his paper once again on the off chance that the two gave up and went on their way; no such luck. They continued to look at him with the same big puppy eyes which they both knew was his weakness. This back and forth between Jon as his two children had been going one for almost twenty minutes now and they showed no signs of letting up.
He tried to finish the second paragraph of the article he was one when he felt a heavy weight on each of his legs. When he looked over he saw that each of his kids and clamped on to him like a monkey on a tree branch. They were becoming increasingly hard to ignore
"Pleeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaase!?" They said to Jon who ignored their pleading.
The reason why they were literally begging at his feet was due to they're not being allowed to see their beloved nanny Trixie who was locked up in the guest bed room. This was not a form of punishment on their part but rather the other way around; Trixie was the one who was in trouble.
It had been almost a month since Trixie accidentally stranded herself in the human world and in the short amount of time she had surprisingly made herself a valued asset to Jon. She didn't teach him much in the ways of magic and her powers were rarely useful to him, but what she lacked in magic she more than made up for as a caretaker.
Her willingness to help watch over the children made life very easy for Jon, so much so that he was considering keeping her full time; but her presence wasn't without its ups and downs. Aside from being a constant pain in the neck she had also caused Jon some problems on occasion
The most recent of which was when Trixie, blinded by her own hubris, teleported Jon to Cloudsdale, not realizing that only a Pegasus could walk on its terrain. The results were not good.
In the end Jon forgave Trixie and decided not to tell the family what she had done on the assumption that if they ever found out they might turn on her (especially Tracey who didn't like the idea of having magic in the house to begin with). The last thing Jon wanted was for everyone to hate her and cast her out like so many others in her life had done. But at the same time he felt that she deserved some king of punishment.
As much as he didn't like to admit it Jon had accepted Trixie into his life in a way he didn't anticipate and could not explain. For all her faults he was slowly seeing her not as a housemate but as a member of the family; almost as if she too was one of his children.
So to that end he made a compromise to punish her in a manner most fitting; the same way he'd punish his actual son or daughter if they did something wrong...every day till he saw fit Trixie would have a serve a mandatory 30 minute time out in her room. On average a time out would last ten minutes but since she had almost killed him he felt it should be longer.
This of course didn't sit well with Jon's actual kids since it meant they couldn't play with their new best friend, hence their constant begging that he let Trixie out early.
"Please Daddy!?" Maggie said. "Can she come out now!?"
"No, sweety." Jon answered as he lazily shook the leg she was on.
"Why not?" Nathan asked.
"Because she's still in time out." He answered again.
"But why!?" Maggie urged.
"I can't tell you...but let's just say SHE KNOWS WHAT SHE DID!" Jon yelled over his shoulder in a loud but non angry tone.
A voice from upstairs picked up on this and yelled back.
"I SAID I WAS SORRY!" Trixie yelled from her room, but Jon didn't respond. He went back to reading his paper when at that moment both Nathan and Maggie leapt on the couch taking either side of him.
"She did say she was sorry!" Nathan said.
"Yeah! Come on Daddy it's been like...a hundred minutes!" Maggie said, confident that her estimation was accurate.
Jon was about to tell them that if they kept asking they would share the same fate as Trixie but when he looked over at his daughter he caught her giving an almost cartoonish facial expression, complete with watery eyes and pouting lips. He quickly turned away only to see his son give the exact same look. He had to choice but to cave in.
"Oh, alright," Jon conceded. "She can come downstairs."
"REALLY!?" Both children said in unison, their sad demeanor vanishing without a trace.
"Yeah really." He said getting up to stretch his back. "It's almost dinner time anyway...I don't want PETA thinking I'm starving animals."
"YAAAAY!" Maggie exclaimed as she jumped up and down on the sofa while her brother turned around to face the stairway.
"HEY GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE!" Nathan yelled. "YOU CAN COME DOWN NOW!"
His words echoed throughout the house but nothing happened. Thinking it was because Nathan had said it and not himself Jon decided to give Trixie the official "OK."
"It's alright, Trixie." Jon called out. "You can come down now. I've decided to let--"
Jon was caught off guard by a bright light in the middle of the living room, followed by the sudden appearance of the now free Trixie. Her unexpected entrance caused him to stumble backwards in shock.
"SON OF A--" He said, trying to regain his balance. At the last second however he tripped over the nearby ottoman and landed awkwardly on the sofa.
Regret immediately started to set in but if nothing else at least his kids were now happy, as evident by their swift departure from the sofa in favor of greeting Trixie in a loving embrace. Both were hugging her in such a way that she was now off the ground by a few inches; Nathan eventually released her but Maggie continued to hold onto her like she was an oversized teddy bear but Trixie didn't mind.
"I really wish you wouldn't do that." Jon said as the paper he was trying to previously read landed softly on his head.
"Oh Stewart one would think you'd be used to my magic by now," she said arrogantly while still being held from behind. "I mean really I thought you humans were good at adapting...perhaps you're just a bit slow."
Both of Jon's children began to laugh at Jon's clumsy disposition; though to him it seemed like his kids were laughing with him while Trixie was laughing at him.
"Oh you think that's funny huh?...I'll give you something to laugh about," Jon said as he got up and hunched over with a crooked smile. "I think it's time for a visit from...the...TICKLE MONSTER!"
Trixie was just about to comment on how offish Jon looked but she found it hard to breathe let along say anything with Maggie now holding her with a much tighter force than before.
"NO! NOT THE TICKLE MONSTER!" Nathan yelled with a playful smile.
"QUICK GREAT AND POWERFUL TRIXIE, RUN!" Maggie yelled oblivious to the fact that she was still holding her up.
Just as Jon had predicted the two kids ran off giggling down the hallway carrying Trixie along with them.
"NOT AGAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaain!" Trixie yelled as she eventually disappeared around the corner.
With Trixie and the kids gone Jon was finally alone but it was a hollow victory since he was no longer in the mood to catch up on daily events. With dinner just about done he decided to make himself useful by setting the table.
Slowly making his way to the dining table he caught a view of his wife in the kitchen already putting even portions of food onto separate plates.
"What are we having today?" Jon asked as he laid down some forks and knives.
"Ground beef and cheesy casseroles for us," Tracey answered. "And skinless chicken with asparagus for you."
"Sounds delicious...for you guys," Jon joked as he helped her place the food in the center of the table.
"Yeah well until Dr. Morrow says otherwise it's 'heart healthy' for you." She said, patting him on the chest.
Jon responded only with a tired smile as he followed her back in the kitchen to retrieve the last containers of food. On the way back the silence was broken by Tracey.
"So you and Trixie are still going at it, huh?" She asked getting a nod in return. "You finally going to tell me what she did to get you all worked up?"
For a brief moment Jon thought back to the last time he was in Equestria and how he was almost met with a terrible fate. He grimaced at the thought and placed his hand over the very heart his wife fought so hard to protect. He didn't like keeping secrets from her but at the same time he didn't want her to worry over something that was a genuine accident.
"It's nothing really." Jon said. "Don't worry about it." He made sure to briefly look in the opposite direction to avoid eye contact since she was an expert in reading his face.
"I see...well whatever happened I'm sure you're overreacting." Tracey added. "She does seem sorry so try to go easy on her?"
"Well listen to you," he said with a half smile. "Weren't you the one hellbent on kicking her out of the house the second you got the chance...now you're defending her?"
What Jon said was true; he wasn't the only one who came to appreciate her services. Tracey herself wasn't keen on the idea of having the young unicorn in her own house; if it wasn't for Trixie's expertise in child care she probably would have insisted she go back to Equestria a long time ago. She still was iffy on the concept of having a mythical creature with other worldly powers so close to her kids but even she had to admit she served a pretty good purpose.
"Eh what can I say, she's good with the kids." Tracey said with a shrug. "You know how hard it is to find a full time baby sitter."
With the table almost ready the last thing that was needed was to set down the food filled plates in the right areas. Tracey stepped into the kitchen and grabbed the four sets of plates waitress style, a trick she learned when she was younger. After putting them in the desired locations on the table she spun around and entered the kitchen once again to retrieve Trixie's eating bowl.
Letting Trixie stay with them wasn't without its conditions. For one Trixie was required to wear a cork on her horn when in the company of the children (to avoid any eye to horn contact) and she couldn't use her magic directly on them.
But another term of her living arrangements was she was not allowed to eat at the dinner table. It was simple rule that she had grown up on as a kid: no animals at the dinner table. So instead of dinning with them she had to eat in the corner or upstairs in her room, hence the bowl. Trixie thought it was a bit demeaning though she never made any complaints about it; mostly because it was Tracey's decision and not Jon's.
Tracey was about to reach out and grab the bowl when a thought crossed her mind. At first she brushed it aside and continued her business, but then she looked back at the table. Even though it was now complete, except for anyone sitting down, she couldn't help but feel that it was somehow lacking.
She looked at the bowl that was now in her hands and back at the table. After a quick deliberation she made a snap decision.
"Honey," she called out. "Could you call everyone over please?" Jon obliged and hollered for everyone to gather for dinner.
Soon both Maggie and Nathan found their way to the dining table with Trixie following close by.
"Come on boys and girls this food aint gonna say warm all night." Jon said before sitting down at one of the end of the table.
"Calm yourself, Stewart," Trixie insisted. "Somepony your...age should really learn the virtue of patience less they acquire extra grey in their mane."
The two children sat in their usual spots and Trixie walked over to the corner where she normally ate. She was somewhat confused to find that her corner of the room was completely devoid of dinner. She wondered if Tracey had forgotten to serve her food but before her brain could process any more possible explanations her attention was drawn away by someone calling out her name.
"Trixie, dear?" Tracey said from nearby. "I was thinking that perhaps you'd like to...join us for dinner."
Trixie turned around and saw Tracey pulling up a chair in between Nathan and Maggie. In front of it was a plate with an assortment of food already laid out and a glass of water next to it.
"Great and Powerful Trixie can eat with us this time!?" Nathan asked, his eyes wide with astonishment.
"She sure can," Tracey answered as she patted the seat with her palm. "If she would like to that is?"
Trixie was at a loss for words. It may have been a small gesture but to her it meant so much more.
She knew that her being there had caused the two parents some hardships and that Tracey especially wasn't particularity fond of her from the beginning. So for her to openly invite Trixie to the dinner table made the blue Unicorn feel wanted. It was a feeling she wasn't used to.
She looked over at Jon who gave her a wink and motioned for her to sit down.
Her mouth hung open as she tried to think of a snarky answer; something that conveyed that she would accept her offer but that she ultimately didn't care. Such a comeback couldn't be found...because it didn't exist.
"T-t-thank you," Trixie said with an earnest smile. "I'd...love to."