//------------------------------// // Bonding Time // Story: Hello Big Brother // by Michael_Ravencroft //------------------------------// Trixie awoke with a start, looking around her room as if somehow expecting to find Princess Luna in her room. She then smacked her forehead remembering that their meeting was in a dream world. Despite how Trixie felt yesterday, today she felt…better. Of course, not all the problems were sorted out, but Trixie did feel a little better having talked it out with Princess Luna. “Ugh. But that nightmare was a bit extreme, even for me.” Trixie then got out of her bed and used her magic to make it. “Princess Luna did have a point, Twilight banishing me to the sun and Celestia backing her up was a bit farfetched. Definitely should’ve alerted me that it was a nightmare…but, it felt so real…” Trixie just shrugged, thinking it just a product of her overstressed mind and the drama that was going to be growing from her stay here. Once the bed was made, and noticing that it was still pretty early, Trixie decided to head to the kitchen, both to get something to eat and to avoid Shining Armor till he apologized. When Trixie left the room, the wall nearest her bed began to grow black and dark. A small wisp of black smoke winded and coiled as a low chuckle reverberated through the room. “Fear…” Shining Armor paced back and forth, trying to figure out a way to apologize to Trixie, and the notion of doing so didn’t sit well with him, despite knowing that he didn’t mean it as an insult…or maybe he did and it came out unbidden of his conscious mind. Either way, it annoyed him. It was then that he heard knocking at the front door of his and Cadance’s room. “It’s me, Twilight, can I come in,” she asked. Shining Armor used his magic to open the door for his little sister. Twilight walked inside, her expression from yesterday wasn’t as harsh, but she seemed to have cooled down a bit, thankfully. “Hey, Shiny.” “Hey, Twily.” Twilight saw that her big brother was still uncertain about how to apologize to Trixie. “Still thinking, huh?” “Yes…Seriously, I didn’t mean for it to come out like that Twily. Guess I’m just a little…worked up about this whole thing. It’s not easy finding out Dad cheated on Mom…” Twilight visibly winced when Shining brought up that fact. Yes it was obvious but it wasn’t like she had fully grasped that notion. It was hard to hear and think about, even if it was just a brief fling. The fact that their father stuck around to take care of them, instead of running off with Trixie’s mother must mean he wasn’t all that bad. Although, when you consider the fact that he abandoned Trixie and her mother to live a life of poverty and pretended that Trixie didn’t exist for the last twenty-two years, it’s hard to say one way or the other. Shining Armor stared at Twilight, for some reason she was lost in thought. He walked up to the purple alicorn and waved a hoof in front of her face. “Twily, you there Twi – Twilight,” shouted Shining Armor. Twilight snapped out of revere and looked upon her brother with a sheepish smile. “Sorry, deep in thought about something…Anyway, I thought you might be having trouble so I’ve come to propose a way for you to apologize and also spend some quality time together.” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. “Okay…shoot.” “Well, Trixie’s been learning magic from me for almost a year now. She does pretty well, but her magic’s not exactly…Oh what’s the word…” Twilight waved her right hoof about as if she was trying to extract the right word out of the air. “Up to par, I guess…?” “‘Up to par’?” “Trixie’s magic is…Oh…it’s weak, Shiny. She can’t perform many complex spells, at least nothing beyond illumination, levitation, some small degree of weather manipulation, and fireworks displays. Which really surprises me since her special talent appears to be magic, at least some form of magic.” Shining Armor pondered this. “Maybe that’s all her magic is good for, stage stuff. I mean, no offense Twily, but not everypony has a special talent like yours.” Twilight smiled smugly at that, “Yes, I know. But, I just can’t help but feel she’s not reaching her full potential. I mean, she’s our sister. You’re strong in barrier spells, so strong that you protected all of Canterlot! And me…well…” Twilight fluttered her wings, which pretty much said it all. “So what’re you getting at…?” Twilight sat on her haunches while twiddling her hooves nervously, “I was just thinking…That maybe you two could spend some actual bonding time, over some…magical…training?” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow at that. Was she really being serious about this? “Twilight, you want me to train her in magic? If there’s anypony who can train her, who’s qualified to do so, it’d be you.” “I know, and I have, I just think that learning from a different source is good once in a while. I was taught most of what I know from Princess Celestia, but every so often she would have me go to one of the teachers at the School for Gifted Unicorns. Celestia thought it was good to learn from different sources. And since there aren’t that many other unicorns in Ponyville that I can ask – or who want – to help teach her, I thought maybe you could…?” Shining Armor thought hard about this. On the one hoof: It would give the two of them a chance to actually spend some time together, and give him a chance to apologize and get to know the mare. On the other hoof: did he really want to train his supposed “half-sister”, the very one who tried twice to show up Twilight, his little sister, and nearly ruined her life. And did he want to train said pony in the same magical skills he learned during his time as a Captain of the Royal Guard? It was quite the quagmire, and both had pros and cons. But then he thought about suffering the wrath of his little sister and his lovely wife should he not venture to try and bond with Trixie. Trixie may disappear into the wind should she so choose, but he was stuck with both Twilight and Cadance for the rest of his life, better to appease the powers that be. “I’ll…I’ll do it,” said Shining Armor, reluctantly. Twilight’s face brightened immediately as she rushed to embrace her big brother. “Thank you, Shining Armor! This will make Trixie so happy! I promise, you’ll like her, she can be a bit stubborn and hard headed, but she really is a good learner! I gotta go tell her!” Before Twilight could fully zoom out the front door, Shining Armor grabbed her by the tail using his magic to hold her in place. The purple alicorn turned to her sibling in confusion. “Hold on Twily, there’s some things we need to go over before we start doing that.” Twilight had a look of concern upon her face; the tone in her brother’s voice did not exactly inspire confidence. “Like what…?” “Journal Entry #255, Subject: Star Staff Experiment. After several tries I finally created a working way to give the citizens of the Crystal Empire a way to focus and control their inner magic.” Trixie was sitting on the couch in Sabio the Wise’s study. A crystal shined brightly on the table across from her as it created a holographic image of the pony who would one day become Sombra. From what Trixie could tell the recording had taken place in this very room, the crystal unicorn stallion’s horn glowed as he levitated something towards him. It looked like a wand with a five pointed star at the tip. Trixie looked at her flank and saw how the wand was somewhat similar to her cutie mark. “Huh, weird coincidence,” she said to herself. “This is a Star Staff. It takes the form of a wand when not active, however…” Sabio seemed to infuse the wand with his own magical energy and immediately the wand extended to a length of seven feet, and the star crystal shined with a great intensity. “When you concentrate and focus your inner magical energy into it, it activates the staff’s latent abilities. This will allow non-magic crystal ponies to wield magic as I and the other Seven Pillars can. Given that our magic can only be truly expressed through the Crystal Heart, I found that we needed a way to match our brethren ponies in the other regions of Equestria –” “There you are.” Trixie jumped at the sudden new voice, having been totally focused on what the Sabio simulacrum was saying. She somehow jumped up high enough for her to make it over the couch and land with a somewhat painful thud. The azure mare groaned as she slowly rose up, rubbing the back of her head as it throbbed. Trixie turned her gaze to the doorway and saw that Princess Cadance was standing there, a small smile and chuckle escaping her as at what she had seen. “P-Princess Cadance! I was just…I’m sorry for coming in here without permission I –!” “Trixie, calm down, I’m not angry at you.” Cadance spoke in a kind and caring voice. “I was just looking for you and couldn’t find you anywhere.” Trixie walked from behind the couch and sighed as she sat back down. “I wanted to be alone for a while…I figured Sabio’s study would be the last place Twilight, and you too apparently, would look for me,” answered Trixie. Cadance walked into the room and was now staring at the frozen image of Sabio holding the Star Staff. “Well, you were right about that.” She then turned to Trixie and gave her a false stern look. “And what did I tell you about using my royal title when it came to family?” Trixie winced, “Sorry, Prin – Cadance! Sorry Cadance.” Cadance then smiled again, “Better. So, what have you found here?” Trixie tapped the crystal on the table and the image of Sabio quickly retreated back into the jewel. Trixie then levitated it to Cadance so that she could get a closer look at it. “I was getting bored avoi – I mean, just staring at the stuff in here. So I decided to see what lied in wait here. I examined the contents of the top shelves and found a large cabinet with many of these crystals, apparently all numbered. They appear to be some sort of magical journal that Sabio used to keep track of his findings.” Cadance inspected the small crystal, impressed that the crystal ponies had such advances in magical application and enchantment a thousand years ago. She was secretly berating herself for never fully exploring this room now, wondering what else the ancient scholar had within. And no doubt Twilight would go into a research frenzy if she knew about this. “Have you looked through anymore?” “A few…” Trixie said sheepishly. “…He was a very talented unicorn, Sabio I mean. He did a lot in service to his fellow crystal ponies, and apparently out of love for that Graza mare...” Trixie then walked towards the portrait of Sabio and Graza, staring up at it forlornly. Cadance noticed this and, after placing the crystal back on the table, walked over to Trixie and looked at her with concern. “How could one so devoted to helping others, who loved somepony that much, throw it all away and become one of the most feared tyrants in Equestrian history…?” “Trixie…” “Was it to impress her…? Was it to show other ponies that he was a strong and powerful mage…? Or…was it that he was like that all along, and the dark magic just gave him an outlet to fully realize his wickedness…?” Trixie flinched when she felt the downy soft wing of Cadance drape over her. With little warning, the alicorn mare brought Trixie closer to her body in a sort of wing embrace. “Don’t let what Shining Armor get to you, Trixie. You’re nothing like that stallion; you’re your own mare, not Sabio or Sombra, just Trixie.” Trixie wanted to shrug off the embrace, but felt that it would be rude to do so to one of the few ponies in the Crystal Empire who seemed to genuinely care about her, aside from Twilight of course. Trixie felt herself melt into the embrace. She never had a foalsitter, and from what Twilight told her about Cadance, the alicorn of love was apparently the best there was. She could see why. Being like this, it like Cadance could shield her from all the troubles and worries in her life. “Feeling a little better,” asked Cadance in a soft tone. “…A little, yes,” answered Trixie, looking a bit embarrassed for taking solace in this little hug as if she were a foal. “Well, I have some news from Shining Armor that I think you’ll like.” Cadance released Trixie from the hug, with the unicorn mare now looking at her with a raised eyebrow. “What?” “He wants you to meet him at the stadium as soon as possible.” “Why?” “Don’t know, but that’s why I came to find you. Twilight was looking for you too. Guess he wants to apologize.” “At the stadium? Does he want to engage in a bout of mortal combat for the right to be a part of the family? Or has he just decided to make my execution public?” Cadance rolled her eyes at the overdramatic reasons for such a request. “Well, I for one will make sure you arrive on time to talk it out with Shiny.” Before Trixie could question it further she was taken up into Cadance’s magical grasp, now floating a few feet off the ground. Trixie protested being dragged to see Shining Armor like this, her fears of being slain still prevalent in her mind. “Would you relax, Trixie? Shining Armor is NOT going to kill you or fight you in the stadium. Besides, why go through the hassle of making it public, when there are plenty of places in the palace where one could do such a thing quietly and out of the public eye.” “LET ME OUT OF HERE!!!” “Kidding, kidding!” Cadance then turned to the mare and flashed a devious grin. “Or am I…?” “SOMEPONY SAVE ME!!!” “Kidding, again, seriously, just kidding!” Trixie pointed an accusatory hoof at Cadance while declaring, “You have a sick sense of humor!” Cadance’s only response was sticking out her tongue and a playful wink. Trixie hadn’t stopped attempting to elude the magical grasp of Cadance during their travel from the palace to the stadium where the Equestria Games would be held. Try as she might, Trixie simply wasn’t strong enough to break free of Cadance’s magic, and really, when she thought about, no normal unicorn – outside of Twilight before her ascension – would even be able to do such a thing. Currently the Princess of Love was flying over the Empire, with Trixie in tow. She was not used to the flying thing; in fact, Trixie was shaking like a leaf staring down at the buildings from such a height, knowing that if Cadacne’s grasp faltered she would end up a messy splat on the unforgiving crystal ground below. Thankfully the two of them arrived with no incident. Cadance casually walked through one of large entryways and headed towards the field. Once at the entrance to the field, Cadance set Trixie a few feet away from where she was and into the open field. The pink alicorn then released her grip on the unicorn, and, just as she thought, Trixie tried to make a break for the nearest exit. Unfortunately for her, Trixie’s hasty exit was met with resistance. And by “resistance” I mean that the poor mare ran into a magical, rose tinted, barrier. Trixie rubbed her nose, which was now in pain having had run muzzle first into the barrier. After taking a moment to examine the barrier, Trixie narrowed her gaze. “Twilight,” she cursed. She then backtracked and made her way back to the original entrance that Cadance used. Only to again find it blocked off, this time by a sky-blue magical barrier. “Et tu Cadance!?” At this point, Trixie was inclined to believe that all the exits were most likely protected with magical barriers. Trixie thought about teleporting out of the stadium, but then she remembered how her first attempt had her upper half sticking out of one end of the wall in library, and her rear dangling out on the outside for all to see. With a heavy sigh, Trixie, reluctantly, went in search of her older half-sibling. It didn’t take long before she spotted the white unicorn stallion, sitting in the middle of the grassy field. She noticed how miserable he looked, it was starting to look like Twilight and Cadance had forced the two of them into the same space, thinking that he too was probably dragged here by Twilight. She noted that that must’ve been particularly embarrassing, which probably hurt his pride as a stallion a little. I can at least relate to the part of our wounded prides. Trixie took in a deep breath and then exhaled it before making her way to Shining Armor. Along the way she made note that there didn’t seem to be anypony else in the stadium, and there were no weapons on the ground so that ruled out combat and an execution. Although, given his Royal Guard training, I doubt he needs any of that to take out a pony…probably could do it with his bare hooves. Shining Armor seemed to notice Trixie walking towards him. He then put on a weak smile as he waved to the approaching mare. Trixie gave him a half-smile in return, still nervous and afraid in his presence. The azure unicorn mare then stopped about ten feet from him and rubbed one of her forelegs nervously. “H-Hi, Shining Armor…” “Hey, Trixie…” The tension in the air was thick. Both the mare and stallion tried several times to look at the other directly, but at the last minute would shift their gaze to an interesting blade of grass. Meanwhile, far from the eyes of the unicorn mare and stallion below, Twilight sat in one of the private skyboxes for the nobles, watching the two ponies below through a pair of binoculars. She was starting to get just a little peeved that neither of them said more than “hey” and a “hi”. It was then that she started to hear the clicking of the door and turned to see who was entering. Once Twilight saw the familiar coat and mane color she quickly turned her attention back to her big brother and half-sister. “Have they done anything,” asked Cadance. “No, it’s been at least two minutes and all they’ve done is greet each other!” “It’s a start.” Cadance made her way next to Twilight, sporting a pair of binoculars of her own. “You said this was Shiny’s idea, to meet her in the stadium?” “Yes, which makes sense considering that they’re going to practice magic, less collateral damage, but with such an open space, it makes it harder for the two of them to feel as if they have to talk. Which they do!” Cadance tapped her sister-in-law on the shoulder and gave her a placating smile. “Twilight, we can’t rush this. You can’t expect Shining Armor to just so openly accept her as you have.” “…The truth is, Cadance, I didn’t really accept her…not at first.” Cadance raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean?” Twilight released a heavy sigh before speaking, “At first, when Trixie and I first talked about it, I was so sad…so hurt by what had happened to her, and knowing that I was the cause of it however indirectly that was…I invited her to live with me in Ponyville and…I soon started to doubt that we were related…I mean, the way I found out was completely by happenstance, so there was a chance I was wrong, but…” “But what?” “My notions changed when Trixie showed me the proof, something that she had been holding onto for a long time in hopes of my…our Father would come and take her away from everything she had to go through…” Now Cadance was intrigued, “Was it some kind of paternity test?” “Oh, no, nothing like that. I actually had a DNA test done at the hospital in Ponyville to confirm if we were biologically related. And, of course, that only drove the fact that she is my sister further home.” What could it have been, thought Cadance. The two alicorns continued to watch Shining Armor and Trixie; the silence was becoming irritating to Twilight as neither of her siblings said a word to each other. Cadance would glance at Twilight every so often, watching her irritation grow with each passing minute and was worried that she’d give away their position having eventually caved into her frustrations. That’s when the Princess of Love decided to mess with her sister-in-law’s head. “So, I guess you’re over the little crush you had on Trixie then?” The sound of metal and glass breaking echoed in the skybox. Twilight’s binoculars were crushed thinner than a piece of paper; her left eye was noticeably twitching as a fierce blush permeated her face. “W-W-W-What did you say!?” “You heard me.” “I do NOT have a crush on Trixie! She’s my sister for Celestia’s sake!” “Yes, but I do recall in one letter – that you sent to me personally – that, despite Trixie’s faults, you found her to be an interesting and rather attractive mare. Imagine my surprise to find out that my sister-in-law not only likes stallions, but also mares as well. I’m guessing that time living with Trixie must’ve been awkward as Tartarus.” Twilight didn’t seem to know how to react to that. It was, unfortunately, true. She did have a crush on Trixie after she showed some semblance of humility back at Ponyville, and had secretly hoped to meet her again to explore her feelings. But once she found out that Trixie was her half-sister she suddenly felt the need to shower and scrub vigorously for seventy-two hours straight. “Ahem. Yes, it was…awkward…a little. But it was nothing. A-A-And besides…there are many psychology books that say that ponies raised together like Shining Armor and me are far more likely to develop sibling bonds between us. Whereas the case with me and Trixie, the two of us never having formerly met or raised together, would feel some sort of bond that would and could be mistaken for a romantic and physical attraction towards each other rather than that of two sisters. But now that we’ve solidly established what our relationship is it isn’t a problem for me anymore.” Cadance smirked at that answer; Twilight had explained that so scientifically that it just begged the question. “You still have the occasional awkward dreams about her, don’t you?” Twilight’s expression became deadpan as she wrenched Cadance’s binoculars from her grasp and used them as her own. “There’s not enough hot water in Equestria.” “Oh relax Twilight. I know you don’t have those feelings anymore. Besides, I know exactly who the pony is who holds a special place in your heart.” Twilight had to stop herself from accidentally crushing the second pair of binoculars. She was about ask how she knew, but then Twilight remembered the whole “Princess of Love” thing. “…You promise not tell her…right?” “Of course I won’t Twilight, that’s a matter for you and you alone. Just know that you’ll have my support when you do. And on that note, let’s watch and see how this goes!” The silence was starting to become unbearable for the two of them. Shining Armor had arranged where they would meet, and Twilight suggested what they would do to try and get along. But none of this was going to work if neither one of them said anything. C’mon Armor, you’re already out here and she’s here too. This is your chance to show her that you’re not a total and complete jerk. Get it together Lulamoon! One of us has to say something, I doubt Twilight or Cadance will let out if we don’t. “Shining Armor look I –!” “Trixie I’m –!” Both ponies stopped and stared at each other, having apparently started to talk at the same time. “Ahem, y-you can go first.” Trixie offered. “Okay…” Shining Armor took in a deep breath. “I’m sorry, Trixie. I really am. I didn’t mean to make it sound like that, it’s just…I can get a little overprotective of Twilight sometimes and well…I went too far.” Trixie was taken aback by what Shining Armor said. She had thought the proud stallion wouldn’t be so quick to offer an apology, at first she thought he was apologizing just to apologize, but it seemed that he was genuinely sorry. Trixie regained her composure, her cheeks tinting with pink. “Um…thank you, Shining Armor. I accept your apology.” “Well, good, now that the hard part’s over, how about I show you my real apology.” “‘Real apology’,” Trixie repeated in confusion, “what are you talking about.” “I’m talking about this.” Shining Armor’s horn lit up. From behind a mat, near the pole-vault area, appeared five shot-puts. He then laid all five in a circle around himself. The unicorn stallion noted the confusion in Trixie’s stare. “Twily told me about how you’re having a little trouble in the magic department.” Trixie groaned loudly, but managed to put on a smile, albeit strained. “Really, what else did she say?!” “That you need to learn how to tap into your inner strength a little more, so I thought I’d help…” Shining Armor noticed the hesitation in Trixie’s demeanor. “Look, I know Twilight’s more of the teaching type when it comes to magic, but the Guard has good trainers when comes to magic too. Especially for those who didn’t have good control with their magic. They make okay unicorns great and great unicorns, well, better. It’s completely your choice Trixie.” The azure unicorn mare looked from the shot-puts and then to Shining Armor. It had been a while since Trixie trained at all in magic, and, to be honest, being trained by Shining Armor did sound like fun. The fact that he was actually willing to take the time to teach her at all was something to give reward. “Alright, Shining Armor, let’s give this a try, I guess.” “Good, well first off…” Three hours had passed and Trixie was sweating heavily. Trixie followed Shining Armor’s instructions to the letter. And if Twilight could offer an observation, better than she did her instructions, Trixie didn’t give Shining Armor any lip, much to her annoyance seeing that a lot of what she got from the mare was lip. But let us digress. The five shout-puts laid in a circle around Trixie, with small holes that showed that they had been lifted and dropped multiple times to create small craters. Shining Armor had showed to be a tough, if not somewhat understanding teacher. Twilight had informed him of her difficulties, but believed that he was the stallion for the job. “You can do it Trixie, try just one more time,” encouraged Shining Armor. “I’ve…tried…it…five…times…already,” said Trixie in between pants. “I know you have, and each time you’re getting them higher and higher. Show me that you have what it takes, Trixie Lulamoon!” Trixie furrowed her brow, she had learned the focusing techniques, learned how to feel the weight of an object and adjust the mana energy accordingly, it helped that they weighed the same. Trixie had been able to lift the metal spheres to her horn level, and then to Shining Armor’s horn height. But the trick was getting the five spheres to float above the both of them and orbit for at least thirty seconds. Trixie had to admit, the fact that she could lift these heavy objects was a feat in and of itself. At first she wanted to do it because she wanted Shining Armor to be impressed by her, now, she just wanted to show that she could! Trixie took in calm breathes once more, centering herself before she tried for her sixth, and probably, final time. The mare’s horn began to glow with magenta light, all five spheres were enveloped in her aura and now started to rise. “That’s it Trixie, you got this.” “Shut…up!” Trixie gritted her teeth as the spheres rose higher, now at her chest level. Far in the skybox, Cadance and Twilight were watching with anticipation and excitement as they watched Trixie raise the spheres higher, also noticing that Shining Armor was becoming just as much enthralled with Trixie’s levitation. Now the balls had reached a few inches higher than Shining Armor and there they stayed. Trixie knew that now came the hard part, she had to rotate them in an orbit for at least thirty seconds. The azure mare started think “rotation” within her mind. The shot-puts started to move in a clockwise circular path, slowly, but surely they were moving. Shining Armor was, surprisingly, starting to feel a sense of pride at seeing his half-sister perform such a task, it reminded him of when Twilight was a filly and just learning how to control her magic. That confidence and pride was starting to falter as Shining Armor watched the spheres start to waver. The azure mare scrunched her eyes shut as she tried to focus more of her magical power to maintain their orbit. “Trixie, concentrate a little more, you just need to hold on for another fifteen seconds!” “Can’t…hold it…!” “Yes you can, Trixie! Just ten more seconds!” “No…I…can’t!” “YOU CAN!” “NO…I…CAN’T!!!” At that moment Trixie’s eyes flashed white as a surge of magical energy shot through her body. The five metal spheres spun so fast that they turned into a blur of magenta. Shining Armor took a few steps back as he watched Trixie’s magic surge, watching the spectacle with a combination of shock and awe. The power was overwhelming, too overwhelming, it scared Trixie; she had never felt this kind of magical power before! She quickly let go of the power and at that moment all five spheres were released from her magical grasp and sent flying in five different directions. Shining Armor hit the dirt and watched as the five shot-puts sailed away, each one smashing into the walls of the stadium and leaving a medium sized crater where they impacted. Trixie swayed back and forth for a moment before gravity took hold and started to bring her down. Shining Armor saw this and quickly rushed to Trixie, catching her with his foreleg before she hit the ground. “Trixie are you alright!?” Shining Armor asked in a panic. Trixie groaned and moaned as she slowly opened her eyes, “Oh…uh…wha-what happened…?” “You…well…I don’t really know. Gotta say though, that was a strong magical surge. At least you didn’t turn me into a potted plant.” Trixie would’ve loved to ask what that meant, but right now she was feeling like her mana reserves were almost tapped out and that she herself was about to pass out. “Don’t think I can walk…you can just leave me here,” said Trixie in a drowsy state. Shining Armor looked around and, after swallowing his pride, which he didn’t seem to mind right now. The unicorn stallion used his telekinesis to left the tired mare onto his back. Trixie seemed to be coherent enough to realize what Shining Armor was doing, her face burned with embarrassment at the fact that she was being carried on Shining Armor’s back. “S-S-Shining Armor, what are you doing!?” “I’m giving you a ride back to the palace, what’s it look like.” “Y-You don’t have to do that! I-I can just –!” “Just rest up, you’ve earned it.” Shining watched as Trixie was about to protest again. “And don’t give me no lip about it.” Trixie finally gave up, both too tired and too weak to even do anything about it. Taking her sigh as a sign of resignation, Shining Armor made his way to the nearest exit. Trixie was about to warn him about the barrier that his wife and sister erected to keep them both inside, but when he stepped a hoof beyond the point where Trixie last slammed face first into the barriers, which were miraculously not there anymore. We’re going to have serious word, Twilight…serious…words… Trixie then drifted off to sleep, feeling the full fatigue of the training and magic surge hit her at once. Shining Armor couldn’t help but notice, and he would deny it if Twilight or Cadance ever asked, but Trixie looked kind of cute sleeping like that. He then turned his attention back to the task at hoof and continued to trot out of the stadium.