Midnight was sitting down on a nice soft patch of grass in Ponyville Park, watching everypony go about their daily business. He smiled at the little colts and fillies playing in the public playground, their moms, dads, or big brothers or sisters watching over them, and noticed other ponies hanging out.
Since that night he and Rainbow made up, things had smoothed out between them. Rainbow had even volunteered to help out around the farm a few times. But at the moment, Midnight was wondering.
Here I am, living every brony’s dream and… he thought to himself. I’m still unsatisfied!
Granted, Midnight was happy to be in Equestria, and he was steadily becoming a better mage under Twilight’s tutelage, not to mention the constant workout he was getting helping the Apple Family around the farm (seriously, Applejack had even said it wouldn’t be long before he could give Big Mac a run for his money in hoof-wrasstling).
But right now, he was wondering what he wanted to do, where he should go from here, and at the same time felt a little bad for wanting more. He was an Element of Harmony, he’d found a new family in his friends, he had a roof over his head, food in his belly… But still, he couldn’t help but feel as though he was in a slump.
Maybe I should step out and get my own place…
Despite the room and board he was given, Applejack and Big Mac had been giving Midnight a steady pay of bits for the work he did. Midnight had been reluctant to accept payment but they wouldn’t hear of it. So far, he’d accumulated quite a lot, having spent only a little for snacks at Sugarcube Corner. He didn’t particularly need to buy anything, as most of what he needed was provided by the Apple Family. If he wanted something to read, he went to check something out from Twilight’s library.
Maybe I should look into the local real estate.
But before he could contemplate further, he heard a commotion, and looked to see several ponies making their way towards the center of town. Curious, he decided to investigate.
Midnight found a crowd of ponies gathering in town square, right in front of town hall as a matter of fact. They all stood facing a stage that must have been set up recently. Midnight wove his way through the crowd to get a better look. When he was close enough, he asked the pony next to him, “What’s going on here?”
“We’re about to witness the Great and Powerful Trixie!” the pony explained, sounding excited.
Uh-oh! Midnight thought went a voice announced, “Come one, come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie!!”
The stage opened up, props popping out, and in a puff of purple smoke did appear a blue unicorn mare, wearing a star-dazzled wizard hat over her icy blue mane, and a matching cape fastened with a jeweled broach, several ponies cheering from the crowd.
“Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trrrixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by pony eyes!”
She punctuated her vows with a flurry of magical fireworks, earning oohs and ah's from the crowd.
Midnight’s eyes furrowed, remembering the ego of this particular pony, so full of herself she spoke in the third person. Looking around, he saw Twilight, Rainbow, Thunderlane, Big Mac, Spike, Rarity, and Applejack, and made his way over to them. Just looking at them he knew they shared his thoughts about Trixie, that she thought she was better than everypony else.
“My-my-my! Such boasting,” Rarity commented.
“Oh please, nopony can hold a candle to my teacher,” Midnight scoffed, giving a smile to Twilight, who blushed in response.
But she suddenly looked troubled and asked, “There’s nothing wrong with being talented, is there?”
“Nothin’ at all,” Applejack replied but glared at Trixie as she conjured a bouquet of flowers. “`Cept when someone goes around showin’ it off like a school filly with fancy new ribbons.”
“Eeyup,” Big Mac agreed with a lower tone than normal.
“Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us,” Rarity agreed.
“It’s just pathetic,” Thunderlane commented.
“Especially when you got me around being better than the rest of us,” Rainbow added with a laugh but stopped when she noticed the looks her friends were giving her, especially the stink-eye Thunderlane and Applejack gave her.
“Uh, I mean… magic-shmagic. Boo!”
“Well-well-well! It appears we have some neigh-sayers amongst the audience!” Trixie called out, letting them know she’d heard them.
“Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Do they not know they are in the presence of the most magical unicorn in all of Equestria?”
“Just who does she think she is?” Rarity made no attempt to hide her attitude.
“And I’m certain that my teacher Twilight-” Midnight tried to say, only for a lavender hoof to cover his mouth.
“Midnight, don’t!” Twilight said desperately. “I don’t want anypony to think of me as a show-off!”
“But Twilight, nopony will-” Midnight tried to say, only for Trixie to cut him off.
“You think this pony here” – she was addressing Midnight but pointing at Twilight – “is more magical than me, the Great and Powerful Trixie?!”
“Oh no, ignore him,” Twilight nervously tried covering up. “He doesn’t know what he’s talking about.”
Midnight sighed, a little disappointed Twilight wouldn’t stand up to Trixie and put an end to her conceit.
“That’s what I thought!” Trixie said haughtily. “For I am the great and Powerful Trixie, who would be so foolish as to challenge the reputation of a unicorn who vanquished a ferocious Ursa Major!”
At once ponies throughout the crowd murmured and gossiped of Trixie’s words.
“An Ursa Major?!”
“No way!”
“That’s incredible!”
“Allow me to elucidate!” Trixie’s horn glowed and above shined illustrations of her story, appearing as neon lights.
“When the ponies of Hoofington were besieged by an Ursa Major, with nopony else to turn to… the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped forth, armed with her awesome magic, and vanquished the beast, sending it back to its cave in the Everfree Forest, and saving the town!”
The last illustration showed a little Trixie chasing off the big bear to a cave.
The crowd was in awe, astounded by such a feat, as two unicorn colts stepped up, one, a tall and gangly orange colt with a green mane and a snail cutie-mark, saying, “Trixie truly is the most magical, the most awesome unicorn in Ponyville!”
“No!” disagreed the shorter and squat blue colt with a pair of scissors for a cutie-mark. “In all of Equestria!”
“How do you know?!” shouted Spike to them, Twilight looking nervous at his outburst. “You didn’t see it! Besides, Twilight here-”
*Ziipp!*
A magical zipper formed and sealed the little dragon’s mouth shut, much to his ire as he glared at the pony he knew to be responsible, but she appeared to have developed an interest in her hooves.
“Don’t believe the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie went on. “Well then, I hereby challenge you, Ponyvillians… anything you can do, I can do better! Any takers? Hmm? Or is Trixie destined to be the greatest equine who ever lived?”
Spike managed to unzip his mouth and was already at Twilight’s feet, practically sobbing.
“Please, Twilight! She’s unbearable! Ya gotta show her, ya just gotta!”
“Come on, Twilight,” Midnight agreed. “Just put her in her place!”
“There’s no way I’m gonna use my magic now, guys!” Twilight silently refused.
“How about you?”
They looked and noticed Trixie pointing her hoof at Twilight, “Well how about it? Is there anything you can do that the Great and Powerful Trixie can’t? Well, little hayseed?”
“Tha’s it!”
They looked to see Applejack as she stepped up.
“Ah cain’t stand no more o’ this!”
“You show her, AJ!” Spike cheered, Twilight silently phewing in relief.
“Let’s see yer magical powers do this!” Applejack challenged and everypony watched as she took her tail and lasso, and showed off some amazing tricks. Twirling the lariat around, she leaped back and forth through it never once loosing balance, when she whipped it towards an apple tree, snaring an apple, and whipping it back where it disappeared with a mighty chomp in Applejack’s mouth.
“Whoo-hoo!”
“Yay!”
“Go AJ”
“Top that, missy!” Applejack huffed with a smirk.
“Oh ye of little talent,” Trixie levitated her hat off, showing her wisteria-glowing horn. “Watch and be amazed by the magic of Trixie!”
Applejack’s rope glowed with life as the end rose up like a snake, swaying back and forth in front of Applejack’s face while the other end grabbed an apple. Suddenly, the end facing Applejack ensnared her legs while the other end stuffed the apple into her mouth, causing the ponies in the crowd to laugh, as Applejack indignantly hopped offstage, Big Mac going over to help his sister.
“Once again does the Great and Powerful Trixie prevail!”
“There’s no need to go strutting around and showing off like that!”
Trixie looked to see Rainbow Dash in her face and smugly asked, “Oh?”
“That’s my job!” Rainbow Dash declared and she zoomed off.
Everypony watched as she flew into a windmill, taking it for several spins, and launching up into the sky. She flew holes straight through a series of clouds until she vanished in front of the sun, and suddenly dove back down, going through the holes she’d made in the clouds, bringing along a dense trail of vapor, re-taking the windmill for a spin and launching herself back towards the stage, whereupon she landed, the vapor hitting against her, creating a rainbow above her as the sun refracted through the vapor in the air around her.
“They don’t call me ‘Rainbow’ and ‘Dash’ for nothin’!”
Everypony cheered but Trixie muttered, “When Trixie is through, the only thing they’ll call you is ‘loser’!”
She shot a blast of magic at Rainbow, and the rainbow she created suddenly encircled her and she cried out as she was swept up in a rainbow vortex, sending her spinning through the air above everypony before dropping her onto the ground, her eyes still spinning.
“I think I’m… gonna be sick…”
“Seems like anypony with a dash of good sense would think twice before tussling with the Great and Powerful Trixie!” Trixie mocked as she added injury to insult by conjuring a small storm cloud which struck Rainbow in the rear with lightning, everypony laughing.
Thunderlane and Midnight went over, helping Rainbow up, Thunderlane asking, “You alright, Dash?”
“Ow…” Rainbow rubbed her rump where the lightning had got her, Midnight glaring at Trixie, wishing he knew more spells.
“She’s going too far!” Midnight stated.
“What we need is another unicorn to challenge her!” Spike brought up while elbowing Twilight, “someone with magic of her own!”
“Yeah, a unicorn to show this unicorn who’s boss!” Rainbow seconded
“A real unicorn to unicorn tussle!” added Applejack.
“A unicorn who’s not afraid to stand up for her friends,” Midnight said rather expressively, Twilight looking nervous, as she knew her student was talking to her.
“Enough!”
Rarity stepped up, saying, “Enough, all of you! I take your hint, but Rarity is above such nonsense. Rainbow Dash and Applejack may behave like ruffians, but Rarity conducts herself with beauty and grace.”
Midnight face-hooved, Thunderlane shaking his head.
“Ooh, what’s the matter?” Trixie mocked. “Afraid you’ll get a hair out of place in that rat’s nest you call a mane?”
The boys all inhaled through their teeth as they nervously looked at Rarity, her eyes narrowed.
“Oh… it. Is. On!”
Rarity stepped onstage, saying, “You may think you’re tough with your so-called powers, but there’s more to magic than your brutish ways. A unicorn needs to be more than just muscle.”
Her horn shined as she took the curtain of Trixie’s stage, “A unicorn needs to have style!”
The glowing curtain surrounded her and in a twirling flash of light, everypony oohed and ah’d at Rarity’s creation. She wore a gorgeous blue and yellow dress, her mane piled in a shimmering beehive hairdo but no less beautiful, and she posed confidently whilst saying, “A unicorn is not a unicorn without grace and beauty.”
Trixie smirked wickedly, her horn shining
“Rarity won’t let Trixie get the best of her!” Spike declared to everypony. “She’s strong, beautiful, she’s-”
There was a flash, and everypony gasped at Trixie’s latest trick. She had turned Rarity’s gorgeous hair from its royal purple to a sickly seaweed green.
“Quick! I need a mirror, get me a mirror!” Rarity shrieked as she fretted, “What did she do to my hair?! I just know she did something terrible to my hair!”
“Nothing!” Twilight said with a nervous smile.
“Eeyup!” Big Mac said tensely.
“It’s fine!” Rainbow added.
“It’s perfect!” Thunerlane assured her.
“It’s… stunning!” Midnight said haltingly.
“It’s gorgeous!” Applejack stated.
“It’s green…” Spike blurted out without thinking, and they all gave him the stink-eye. “What?”
“NO…!!!” Rarity cried as she jumped off stage and bawled away. “Not green hair! Such an awful, awful color!”
“Alright, that’s enough!” Midnight shouted, stepping forward. He didn’t care if he wasn’t experienced enough. He could no longer stand by and just watch Trixie trample over his friends.
“Another dares to challenge the Great and Powerful Trixie?” Trixie looked at Midnight, saying, “You again? Ha, and no cutie-mark? What does a talentless loser like you think he can do against the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
But Trixie gave him a look-over and actually liked what she saw. Hopping down from stag, she gave him a seductive look, saying, “However, you’re quite a looker! Perhaps the Great and Powerful Trixie could deign to be your tutor…”
“I already have a teacher, thank you very much,” Midnight scoffed.
“Oh? And who is supposedly so great a teacher you would turn down the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice with the Great and Powerful Trixie?”
“I am!” Twilight stepped forward at last, everypony looking at her.
“You? Oh please, once I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, trounces you into the ground, perhaps he’ll see who his teacher should be…”
“Not until you defeat the student,” Midnight insisted, his horn shining harshly.
“So be it!” Trixie sneered as her horn glowed. For a moment nothing seemed to happen, when everypony gasped as Trixie was risen by a pillar of stone, stretching high into the air before stopping about fifty feet, Trixie looking down on them all as if she were a god.
“Hhmp!” Midnight shot up into the air, Twilight yelling, “Midnight, no!”
But Midnight ignored her, as he continued to levitate until he was eye-level with Trixie. But before she could react, Midnight had waved his hoof as though he was waving a sword, and she felt her pedestal topple beneath her. Thinking quickly, Trixie focused on the rock she stood on and forced it to float, carrying her. She looked to see Midnight had telekinetically slit her pillar of rock clean.
Growling, she focused on the pillar, breaking off a piece and launching it at Midnight. Midnight teleported in a flash, reappearing behind her but she didn’t see him, instead seeing the rock she’d launched at him come to an abrupt halt in mid-air. It suddenly reverted its velocity and went pummeling down, destroying Trixie’s stage.
Trixie gasped and growled, “Why, you little-!”
She concentrated, conjuring another thundercloud only bigger. It rumbled and darkened before unleashing a lightning bolt at Midnight. The blue unicorn dodged but gasped as he realized the bolt was headed towards his friends, No!
He quickly teleported to them and with Twilight’s help, they conjured a barrier, shimmering between magenta and turquoise, the lightning striking it and collecting when it could not overcome it, both unicorns wincing from the assault.
“Midnight!” groaned Twilight, “We have to force the lightning upwards!”
“Got it, I’m ready!” he groaned back.
Concentrating, teacher and student narrowed the barrier in such a way before launching twin telekinetic pulses from inside to the interior above, causing the lightning energy to launch skyward like a reverse lightning bolt, looking like a pillar of light that could be seen from miles around.
Finally it died down, and the two unicorns lowered the barrier. The whole crowd had gone silent as they gaped at Twilight and Midnight, even Trixie was looking stupefied. For a horrid moment, Twilight was afraid.
Oh no, now they think I’m just like Trixie…!
“Whoo!”
“Amazing!”
“Go Twilight, go Midnight!”
Everypony was cheering for them, much to Twilight’s surprise.
“Did you expect any less?”
She looked at Midnight, whose brow was raised at her, before he gave a bow.
Trixie walked up, looking flabbergasted.
“Wha- Bu- Where did you learn that?!”
“Well, it took a while to master,” Twilight admitted, “but Princess Celestia helped me.”
“The Princess?!” Trixie gasped.
“Yup,” Midnight said as he put an arm around Twilight proudly, “My teacher, Twilight Sparkle, is the personal protégé of Princess Celestia!”
“You were taught by the princess?!” Trixie’s mouth all but dropped.
“Oh, did I forget to mention that?” Twilight couldn’t help but be a little smug from the look Trixie gave them.
Trixie looked down and began walking away. She knew she’d been bested and wasn’t gonna stir the hornet’s nest further. She’d lost, it was a feeling so foreign and she didn’t like it. But before she could leave, she felt a hoof on her shoulder and looked to see Midnight.
“It’s okay to be proud of your talents,” he said to her, “but it’s wrong to rub them in other’s faces in the ways you were doing. Instead of showing off your talents, use them to help others. Once you realize how wonderful it is to lend a helping hoof, others will see it too, and then they’ll start calling you the Great and Powerful Trixie for the right reasons. Oh, and… sorry about your wagon.”
Trixie couldn’t help but shed tears, surprised that this pony she had mocked, whose teacher she had mocked, would show her such kindness. She wiped her tears and gave him a respectful bow, Midnight bowing in return.
With a small smile, a humbled Trixie left Ponyville to rediscover herself.
Everypony cheered as they crowded around Midnight, his friends coming over too, Twilight running over and giving Midnight a hug.
“I’m so proud of you for doing that.”
“Well, I felt I should give her something to think about,” Midnight replied, “and maybe next time we see her, she’ll be a whole new pony!”
“I can’t believe you guys did that!”
They looked to see Thunderlane as he, and everypony else, were still in awe of the magical mastery the two unicorns had displayed.
“And Ah’m glad ya fed Trixie her slice o’ humble pie, Midnight,” Applejack congratulated, Big Mac saying, “Eeyup! Good job, there haystack.”
“I knew you were good at magic, Twilight,” Rainbow cut in, “But that was awesome!!!”
“Well, she is the faithful student of Princess Celestia,” Midnight reminded them.
“But why didn’t you do something sooner?!” Dash asked, everypony had the same question in their mind.
“Well, when I saw the way you were all reacting to Trixie…” Twilight admitted, “I didn’t want any of you to think I was showing off like she was.”
“Twilight,” Midnight spoke up, giving his teacher an understanding smile. “There is a difference between showing off your talents and using them to stand up for your friends.”
“We could never think badly of you for doing that,” Thunderlane agreed.
“Hay, we put up with’ Rainbow Dash on a reg’lar basis,” Applejack added.
“Oh yeah?!” Rainbow challenged, getting into the farmer’s face, “Well I oughta-”
But she stopped herself and cooled it.
“Y’know what? She’s right. I mean, Trixie was being a loudmouth!”
“A real hussy!” Thunderlane added.
“All hat and no cattle,” Applejack nodded.
“So you don’t mind my magic tricks?” Twilight asked.
“Your magic is part’a who ya are, sugarcube,” Applejack said kindly, “and we like ya fer who ya are, an’ especially proud to have a couple powerful and talented unicorns as our friends!”
“Eeyup!” Big Mac agreed.
“Thanks everypony,” Twilight said and the moment just called for group hug.
Later on Twilight was finishing her friendship report.
Dear Princess Celestia,
I have learned a very valuable lesson about friendship: I was so afraid of being thought of as a showoff that I was hiding a part of who I am. My friends helped me realize that it's okay to be proud of your talents, and there are times when it's appropriate to show them off... Especially when you're standing up for your friends, something Midnight made abundantly clear to meYour faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Midnight smiled proudly, as he watched the shimmering vapor fly out of Twilight’s window and zip off towards Canterlot.
Well, maybe this didn’t happen as it originally did but the lesson was still learned.
“AAAAAUUUGGGGHH!!!!”
He looked ahead and saw several ponies run past him, screaming, “Dragon! Two of them!!!”
“Dragons?!” Midnight echoed in confusion and sure enough he heard two loud roars