Trixie took a deep breath, exhaled, and let calmness fill her. She looked at the deck of cards resting on the rough table in her wagon. A perfectly ordinary deck with four suites and two jokers, fifty-four cards in total. Freshly bought and unwrapped. Nopony who inspected it would find anything wrong with it; nothing marked or tampered with. Just an ordinary deck of cards.
She picked it up with her magic, cut it neatly, and shuffled it before her, demonstratively looking away with a disinterested look. She then dropped the bundle into her right hoof, holding it up for a moment before shooting the cards in a tight stream and catching them with her left hoof. She magically snatched a card at random as they flew by and held it up before a non-existent audience, demonstratively not looking at it at all, and then shuffled it back into the deck.
Holding the deck in one hoof, she tapped it against her horn three times, then bent the cards outward and sent them merrily flying everywhere. The mess of flying cards then froze in her magic, and she swatted one card out of the air, before letting the others fall to the table. Trixie didn't even have to look at the card to know it was the same one. She dropped it on the table among the others.
Everypony knew that magic was real and existed everywhere in Equestria. But there was magic, and there was… magic. Not every kind of magic flowed from a unicorn's horn.
Trixie had indeed graduated from Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. Top of her class, though admittedly that didn't mean as much as it should have; a lot of unicorns signed up for the prestige of a diploma, or the connections they made with fellow alumni, or to further their academic pursuits in non-magical fields, and would go on to never use their horns for anything more advanced than a light source and an extra handle hold. Ponies who actually used magic beyond the basics and the occasional cutiemark-related trick were few and far between. Ponies like Trixie… and Twilight Sparkle.
On the other hoof, Trixie had also studied the arts of the stage. Sleight-of-hoof. Misdirection. Cold reading. Patter and kayfabe. Stage presence and acting. Specialized tricks like escape artistry and blindfolded knife throwing. Trixie had learned from many teachers, and she had learned much. Though she had no diplomas to show for it, she knew she was a master in many fields.
Trixie was fully aware that her unicorn magic was no match for Twilight Sparkle's raw power. But, as she had said once – one disastrous night, years ago – Twilight could never match her showstopping ability. Unicorn magic and stage magic, all wrapped up in a gorgeous blue pony package. That is what made her Great and Powerful.
She flipped over two of the face-down cards on the table, revealing a lavender princess and a mustard-orange joker.
Life was so complicated sometimes. You think you have everything under control, and then something would happen that throws everything out of order. A spell is miscast, a prop gets knocked over, or a giant bear wrecks your home. Or the last pony you ever expected declares their love for you. Two of them, even.
Still, it was fun to see what they would come up with. Trixie worked so hard to please her audience. This time, she was the one being doted on. It wouldn't last forever, so why not enjoy it while she still could? That was fair, wasn't it? She deserved a little happiness for once; Coco had said so herself.
There was a curious rapping on the door, whoever doing it seeing fit to beat a quick percussive melody against the wood. Trixie had an inkling about who it could be. Quickly making sure she was looking her best, she opened the door.
"Hello, gorgeous!" Cheese Sandwich cheered, throwing confetti into the air and blowing a noisemaker. "How's Manehattan's loveliest pony this splendiferous day?"
"Oh, you charmer," Trixie said with false modesty. "What brings you around, Cheesy Treat?"
"Oh, it's just such a great day, I wanna have a picnic in the park! Won't you join me? Please say yes, it would be such a lark!" A pony-drawn cab was waiting by the side of the street, a stuffed basket sitting by the seats, and a red carpet had been rolled out, leading up to the steps to Trixie's wagon.
"Trixie is feeling rather peckish," Trixie said. "Yes, Trixie will accept your invitation." She shut the door behind her and traipsed along to the cab. She knew that the driver was rolling his eyes at their antics, but she didn't care.
"Yes!" Cheese said. He plucked the rubber chicken from his back and held it up in front of himself. "You hear that, Boneless Two? She said yes!"
"Though Trixie might change her mind if you don't pick up the pace, Cheese," Trixie said teasingly from the cab.
"Right!" Cheese tossed his elastic compadre back to its usual resting place, and jumped into the cab. "To Central Park, driver, and step on it!"
The driver started walking, then stopped and turned to look at the couple behind him. "Excuse me, but… step on what?"
"Try the ground, it's there for a reason!" Cheese said happily. As the cab started to move at a sedate pace, he turned to his date. "So, Trixie…" He sneaked a hoof across her shoulders. "Are you by any chance from Manehattan yourself? You certainly have the manners of a big city girl, if you know what I mean."
"Do I, now?" Trixie asked, giving him a smile and sidling closer. "Trixie is from everywhere. Maybe she's Canterlot-raised from a noble family. Maybe her parents were humble earth ponies eking out a paltry living in the middle of nowhere, pinning all their dreams and hopes on their darling child. Perhaps Trixie is a child of the Broncks, or a Saddle Arabian sultan's daughter. Who knows, Trixie could even be a seapony princess, given legs by a terrible sea-witch so she could find love and prosperity among the land-walkers."
Cheese made a low whistle. "Not bad. Not bad at all."
A lavender head poked over the edge of the roof. "That's Trixie, all right, always keeping her audience guessing." Twilight winked. "Hi, Trixie. You look great today!"
"Hello, Sparkle-Flanks," Trixie said sweetly, looking surprisingly un-surprised by the princess' surprising appearance. "Hitching a ride, now? You're such an outlaw."
"Maybe you inspire me to misbehave," Twilight said with a blush. "I just wanted to know if you'd care to spend this beautiful day with me in the park?" She dangled her own basket in front of them. "We could play games, and talk about magic…"
"Oh, that would have a perfect idea, but Trixie has made her plans already," Cheese said quickly, making not-so-subtle shooing gestures. "Better luck next time, you're heinous."
A grin danced on Trixie's lips. "Oh, but Trixie can always change her plans. Why don't we all go to the park together? The more, the merrier, isn't that what you'd say, Cheese?"
"That's! Well! Of course!" Cheese said, baring his teeth in what could have been mistaken for a grin if you didn't look too closely. "I have absolutely not! Any problems with that! Why, why should I?"
"Excellent!" Trixie exclaimed, clapping her hooves excitedly. "Come, come, Twilight, sit next to Trixie."
"Hey, mister," the driver said. "I'll have to charge ya extra for more passengers, understand?"
Cheese watched as Twilight flew down and landed far too close to his date, and narrowed his eyes. "Oh, fine."
"Wow! That was without doubt the greatest and most awesome battle I've ever seen!" the pink-maned, mint-green earth pony exclaimed from her cell. "I can hardly believe what I saw, and I was right here!"
"I know, right?" Pinkie Pie said, as she snatched the key from the fallen troglodyte warrior and unlocked Minty's cell. Tracking down the errant confectioner had been difficult, but once she had picked up the trail of abandoned socks, she had found her way to the creepy cave in the middle of the Everfree Forest and the troglodyte lair within. After that, she just had to defeat the troglodyte warriors. All of them. "I've learned some sicknasty moves from Rainbow Dash. They're so great, words don't do them justice."
"I'd say," Minty said. "I'd pity anypony who didn't get to see that incredible fight just now." She stepped out of the cell and stretched her legs. "Thanks for getting me out of there, Pinkie. I owe you one. I really thought my cousin Colgate would save me, but apparently she doesn't care about one hundred percent completion. I had to eat the rest of my socks to survive, can you believe it?"
"Oh, those poor socks…" Pinkie lamented. She gasped suddenly. "That's right! I came here because I needed your help! Minty, I need snacks, candy and baked goods for a hugely huge party in Manehattan soonish! Twilight needs to wow the love of her life, and if the party isn't the most awesomest possible, Cheese Sandwich wins!"
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but I won't let you down!" Minty said. "Hail Santa!"
"Minty, are you still part of that cult?" Pinkie asked skeptically.
Minty drew herself up. "It's not a cult! On the coldest night, He Who Is Garbed In Red will descend from the Frozen North to bestow gifts upon the worthy! He sees all, He knows all…" Pinkie slapped her. "Sorry, I got a little carried away. So, Manehattan? Standard procedure, then?"
"Anything you think we'll need, put it on the Pinkie Tab," Pinkie said. "Knock yourself out. I mean, don't actually knock yourself out, though, because that's silly. I'm pretty sure I need you conscious for this."
"Right!" Minty flicked a candy in the air, snapped it up, and bounded away into the tunnels. "Manehattan, here I come!"
"Aaand confections, check," Pinkie said, marking off the point on the check list. "All right! Let's get this party started!"
"...But Trixie tore the cutlass from the Zebrican pirate captain's grip and laid it against his neck and said, 'No, it is you who will die, indeed, if you do not spare Trixie's crew and leave the ship with speed,'" Trixie said. "And so all the pirates trembled in fear and leapt into the sea rather than face the Terrible Trixie, and the day was saved, again."
"Fantastibulous!" Cheese cheered. "Oh, oh, did you swing down from the yardarm when you charged him? Because that's always impressive."
"But of course," Trixie said. "How could Trixie not? Some things just have to be done, after all. It was either that or rappelling down by slicing through the sail with Trixie's own cutlass, and you generally don't do that if you plan on keeping the ship."
On the way over, the topic of Trixie's life and adventures had somehow come up, and the tale had continued even as they proceeded into the park. Contrary to Coco's remark about Trixie's reticence at talking about her past, she was quite enthusiastic about it today.
"So was this before or after you enrolled at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns?" Twilight asked. "And when did you end up in a yak monastery?"
A little too enthusiastic, maybe. So far, she had enumerated enough adventures to cover her life so far three times over. Most of it was probably made up… probably.
"Before, of course," Trixie said flippantly. "And Trixie was carried off into the Frozen North by a rogue tornado during her summer vacation of her second year at school."
"I suppose that lines up correctly…" Twilight said uncertainly.
"Of course it does," Cheese said. "Trixie's the most adventurous mare I've ever dated, and I used to go out with a calligraphy enthusiast! To think, a pirate captain at age five… wow!"
"You're not suggesting that Trixie is being untruthful, are you, Twi-Twi?" Trixie said, a disappointed look on her face. "After all, you go on adventures and save the world all the time, and nopony accuses you of lying about it, do they?" Trixie implored. She chewed on her lip, and Twilight suddenly found herself with a lump in her throat.
"Of course not," Twilight said. "I mean, just because a few… just…" Argh! Why couldn't it just be the two of us, in the grass… why do you have to put me on the spot, Trixie? "I love you, Trixie, and I think your stories are amazing! Hey, this looks like a perfect place for a picnic!" She skipped over to a nice spot next to the trees and took the blanket from her basket to spread it over the ground. "Ta-daa!"
"Yeah, that's a pretty nice spot," Cheese agreed. "But you know what would be even better? The one just next to it!" With a snap of his back, he bumped the basket into the air, where it disgorged its contents. The blanket settled on the ground next to Twilight's, followed by plates, glasses, cutlery and food neatly arranging themselves without a single spill.
"Show-off," Twilight muttered under her breath as she levitated her own food out. Trixie, meanwhile, sat down right on the edge between the two. "Care for a drink, Trixie?" Twilight said, holding up a glass and bottle. "Sweet Apple Acres' vintage cider, aged to perfection… for the perfect pony." She tried to wink seductively.
"Oh… Twilight, sweet Twilight…" Trixie sighed, looking a little sad. "Apologies, but Trixie would never touch alcohol. Not anymore. It impairs your judgement and makes you lose control. And last time Trixie lost control of herself, well…" She gestured to her neck wordlessly.
"Oh?" Twilight asked. Her eyes widened as she realized what Trixie implied. "Oh! Oh! I'm so sorry, Trixie, I wasn't… I didn't mean to remind you of that."
"Of course you didn't, precious," Trixie teased. "But still. Besides, I'd never drink before a performance anyway. I need to be at my very best."
"But you're not performing today," Twilight protested.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Trixie put on her grandest smirk. "All life is a performance!"
"And all of Equestria is the stage for the greatest showpony!" Cheese Sandwich announced, taking Trixie's hooves into his and pulling her close. "So many good performers had their career cut short when the fruit of the vine crippled their abilities. How could we stand to let the sauce claim this bright star? Not to be confused with actual sauce, of course!" He held up a plate with a pizza slice slathered in thick sauce. "Wanna try my special jalapeño and coleslaw pizza with extra-spicy barbecue sauce, Bundle o' Trix?"
"Mmm… the Bold and Adventurous Trixie will try anything once," Trixie said, licking her lips hungrily. "Bring it on!" She leaned forward and allowed Cheese to feed her, munching with appreciation. A moment later her eyes doubled in size, and her cheeks turned red. "Aah! Hot!" She coughed out a flame that would have impressed Spike.
"You'll need something cold to wash that down with," Twilight chimed in. "Good thing I also brought some nice, cool, sparkling mineral water." Silently, she thanked Rarity for her foresight when they packed the basket as she poured a glass. "You won't say no to that, would you, love?"
"Hot, hot!" Trixie panted. She grabbed the glass and chugged it down. "Aah. Tasty, but maybe too spicy. Hooh." She sighed with relief. "Thank you, sweetheart."
Sensing an opportunity to change the topic, Twilight leaned in against Trixie. "So, I've been thinking about that rope trick you did earlier, and I think I've worked out how you did it. You pretended to still be levitating the flute while you played it, but you really held it with your hooves while you shifted your magic to the rope. Right?"
"What an interesting hypothesis," Trixie said coyly, not objecting to Twilight's sudden intimacy. "But wouldn't the audience have seen if the rope was subjected to magic?"
"Yes, but…" Twilight mused. "What if you were disguising it with an illusion of a normal rope? Or perhaps you had tied the end of it to a thin thread we couldn't see, slung it over a support beam, and pulled on that instead?"
"Tsk, tsk," Cheese Sandwich tsk'ed. "You do know you're not supposed to figure out how the tricks work, right? It cheapens the wonder and makes it mundane, and where's the fun in that?"
"Mmm, yes, Cheesy, you do understand what showponyship is all about, like nopony other," Trixie said, giving the party pony an approving smile. She blew him a kiss, causing him to giggle while Twilight fumed. "But you have to understand, Wily Twily is just so brainy, she can't help thinking about things. Completely wrong, of course, but still. And that's a good idea, too. Trixie will have to steal it for later." She ruffled Twilight's mane playfully.
"Eheheh," Twilight giggled. It was hard enough for her to stay cool-headed around Trixie under most circumstances, but when she touched her so affectionately… Focus, Twilight. There will be time for playing around once she's mine. "On the other hoof, that illusory display was a marvel of spell ingenuity. Eight animated displays simultaneously? I take it you were using some adaptation of Dusty Quill's multifold mana matrix, possibly that of Smokescreen or Flashbang?"
"What?" Trixie asked in surprise. "Twilight, please. Those hacks were an insult to the art of illusion, imagery, misdirection, and magic in general. Overworked, unwieldy theorems that drain power unnecessarily because they couldn't figure out how to be efficient, so they just pretended that their spells were that difficult by default and made their students work harder."
Twilight jerked upright. "Hey, they were accredited professors at Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns!" she protested, her hackles rising. "Their legacy and contributions to the field of magic have shaped unicorns for generations!"
"And the average unicorn today can't use their horn for much more than carrying their groceries," Trixie said glibly. She levitated a slice of apple pie from Twilight's spread and started eating it leisurely with a small spoon. "But that's what you get when Dusty Quill is required first-year reading."
"And now you're mocking Dusty Quill?" Twilight sputtered. "Who is only the codifier of standard spellcasting, and one of the most renowned names since Starswirl the Bearded?"
"Dross and garbage," Trixie said dismissively as she slowly licked her spoon clean. Twilight seemed to go into a paroxysm from the mixture of sensual imagery and blasphemous words. "His methods are clumsy, cludgy, and hedged in crutches that any unicorn with some sense will end up un-learning within a few years if they want to accomplish anything of note without suffering cerebral hernia in the process. They give the impression of being good for beginner's training, but nothing they teach will be useful for the world outside of school. You can't possibly pretend that you're not employing your own workarounds… even if you are a total brickhorn." She winked teasingly.
"I am not a brickhorn!" Twilight screamed. "You take that back!"
"What's a brickhorn?" Cheese asked, intrigued.
"A unicorn who's strong but clumsy with magic," Twilight fumed. She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "All right, Trixie. If you're so much smarter than all those famous, accredited scholars, why don't you tell me how you do it?"
Trixie smirked. "I thought you'd never ask, Princess Purplesmart. In this particular case, Trixie employs the theories of False Vision, structuring a streamlined matrix built for—"
"Wait, wasn't she the infamous seductress who used illusions to charm and marry several wealthy stallions and steal their riches?" Twilight asked. "That's rather unethical."
"Well of course it's unethical!" Trixie spat. "Criminal, too. That doesn't change the fact that her spells work. And work reliably and efficiently, because she was using them in the field, so to speak, instead of under comfortable laboratory conditions. But since she used them for 'bad' purposes…" She wiggled her hooves meaningfully around the word. "…and wasn't a big well-connected name, the academics are quick to dismiss her work. Even you, Twilight."
"But…" Twilight began.
"No, really," Trixie interrupted. She started to sound annoyed for real. "I said 'False Vision' and you immediately said, 'oh, the schemy seductress'. Do you have any idea how many times I've heard that, Twilight? Do you have any idea how many times I've heard those exact words? I had to do some dull historical study for my thesis because none of my professors accepted a disposition that was actually interesting."
"Trixie…" Twilight began. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean… I just…"
"Ah, who cares what those dusty old brains in their ivory towers think?" Cheese said cheerfully. He took Trixie's hoof in his and nuzzled it fondly. "Now you're out in the real world and get to do magic for real and have fun, fun, fun! What does it matter what anypony else thinks?"
"It matters to me," Trixie muttered. She stared at the ground, not meeting the other two ponies' gaze.
"Um… oh. Okay," Cheese said, looking taken aback for a moment as he still held her hoof. "Of course it does."
Trixie absentmindedly played with a spoon. "I wanted to make a contribution, too. I felt I owed it to all forgotten magicians who never got the recognition they deserved. And… I don't want to be forgotten either."
"That is so true," Twilight said, draping a wing over Trixie's shoulder and leaning in close to her, blushing a little at her own daring. "You're not just an excellent showmare and a stage magician, but a proper academic too. And I love you even more for that."
"Oh, please," Cheese scoffed, pulling Trixie towards himself and away from Twilight. "You don't even take her ideas seriously. You like her because she's a little bookish, but it's not like the Princess of Magic is going to change her mindset overnight!"
"Like you ever take anything seriously?" Twilight said, yanking Trixie back into her embrace. She didn't notice that Trixie was starting to fume. "I'm definitely going to consider her ideas, and we're going to have long, exciting evenings of discussion and debate on the subject of magic, and… and what does me being a princess have to do with anything?"
"Oh, you know what I'm talking about," Cheese spat.
"Hey…" Trixie began.
Twilight looked horrified. "That's baseless slander!" she cried. "I don't… I've never… just because I'm a princess doesn't mean I'm any better than anypony else! I'd never lord my position over anypony else, certainly not Trixie, that's just… no!" She shook her head furiously.
"Hey," Trixie said again.
"Says the girl who chased her across half of Equestria and can't take no for an answer," Cheese hissed, leaning in and glaring at Twilight.
"Hey!" Trixie exclaimed.
"Says the guy who invaded her stage and interrupted her act as a joke!" Twilight yelled, meeting his gaze.
Trixie suddenly pushed both of them apart. "Shut up! Shut up, both of you!" She glared at them furiously. "Stop it! You're acting like this is some kind of game!"
"Uh, well…" Cheese said uncertainly, looking flabbergasted at this turn of events. "It's a competition, isn't it?"
"No it isn't!" Trixie yelled. "I mean… it's not… argh! That's not the point!" She looked away and wiped away a tear before anypony could see it. "I just wanted… I…"
"Oh, my dear, precious Trixie," Twilight said sweetly, wrapping her wing around the blue unicorn in a hug, and again blushing over it. "I'm sorry we ruined your fun with a fight. Would you like to see something nice? Look!" She pointed her hoof to the sky. Slightly dazed, Trixie followed with her gaze.
A few minutes ago…
Rainbow Dash rocketed across the Manehattan skyline, a cloud held tight in her hooves. She had a task to do, and she was going to do it, or her name wasn't Rainbow 'Danger' Dash, Element of Loyalty, and awesome pony in general.
She stopped and thought for a moment. Am I still the Element of Loyalty after we put 'em back on the tree? Hmm… yeah, loyalty's still my gig, I don't need some doohickey to prove it. She grabbed the cloud and flew off again towards her destination. Still looked real sweet, though. Twilight better crack open that box soon and see what we traded in for. I'm gonna be real pissed if it isn't at least as awesome as our old stuff. Maybe something with rainbows, that's always cool.
One of the problems of doing weather work in other cities is that you need certain permits from the local Weather Center. One of the advantages of being friends with a princess is that it really speeds up the bureaucratic process. Though Twilight hates it when we name-drop. But once she had explained what she was going to do – and paid the appropriate fees – they had been happy to let her do what she wanted. It helped that she'd have to use up a ton of stray clouds from all over the sky, thus saving the local weather ponies a day of work.
And there it was. Her little artistic project du jour. (That was prench for 'of the day'. Or possibly 'with soup'. Rainbow Dash wasn't certain, but the term did appear on lunch menus a lot.) A great mass of grade-A cloud, in the rough shape of a certain boastful magician's face.
It would be a blatant lie to say that Rainbow Dash wasn't a pony of many talents. Excellent flier, valiant fighter, consummate reader of fine literature, skilled turtle keeper, dedicated surrogate sister, Wonderbolt cadet, Iron Pony (whatever Applejack said), and certainly not least of all, artistic genius. She had sculpted her home with her own two wings, and Rarity had talked at length about the attention to detail and the historical propriety of the stylings in the design of pre-Warming Pegapolis, at which point Rainbow had kind of tuned her friend out. But it meant good, and that was enough.
"Yeah, this is definitely gonna win Trixie over," Rainbow Dash said to herself, grinning smugly. "Her face in the clouds, how awesome is that? I mean, seriously, Rarity. Trixie's not complicated. Once she sees this, she'll be all over Twilight." And Twilight's gonna owe me big time for this little romantic adventure. I'm betting Raindrops and the rest of the team have messed up all Ponyville.
After scrutinizing the massive cloud sculpture like a master, she gave the cloud a push towards a missing spot on Trixie's forehead. She was hoping she could shape it into that weird curled forelock Trixie had.
Instead, it was obliterated halfway.
"Oh man, you should see the look on your face, Dash!" a familiar voice said. Instead of the cloud she had dragged all over Manehattan, a pony was now flying in front of her, still trailing her very recognizable cloud and lightning contrail.
"Lightning Dust?" Rainbow said in stunned surprise. "What are you doing here?" She frowned. "Hey, why did you have to smash that cloud? I was using it!"
"Ah, c'mon, it was just a prank, you know?" Lightning Dust said with her usual carefree grin. "Plenty of clouds in the sky, what's one more or less, am I right?" Her eyes suddenly set upon the massive Trixie sculpture, and she whistled. "Oh, that is perfect. You're not using that, are you? I need it for something." She took off towards the cloud and started pulling on it.
"Like hay I'm not using that!" Rainbow protested, attempting to salvage her work. "You're ruining it! Get your own cloud!"
"Hey, don't be greedy! Look, you've pretty much taken every cloud in range, and let me tell you, the weather ponies around here do not like when you bring in your own," Lightning said. She tried to tear a chunk off, but Rainbow held on to it. "C'mon, I need this. Some guy with a rubber chicken paid me to do some cloud sculpting for his girl, and this thing is just the right size!" She let go, and instead flew straight into the cloud, trailing bolts as she burrowed through it.
"Well, I'm doing this for Twilight Sparkle, and that girl is hers!" Rainbow Dash circled around to intercept Lightning Dust on the other side, trailing a sharp rainbow cutting into the cloud surface. "So butt out!"
"Oh, is that a challenge, Dash?" Lightning's eyes gleamed. "We'll just have to fight for it, then!"
Rainbow snorted. "Oh, it is on!"
Down in the park, three ponies stared at the sky with looks of shock, awe and surprise.
A great big cloud hung over Manehattan's business district. A cloud warped into the rough but recognizable shape of Trixie's face, sneering evilly as it rained lightning on the city below. Two barely visible specks of color could be seen flying around the monstrosity, trailing lightning and rainbows that only fed the monstrosity with more power.
"...Wow," Twilight said, for want of a more a more appropriate thing to say.
"Yeah," Cheese said. "That's… ouch." They both tore their eyes away from the spectacle with some effort. "Hey, Trixie?" he asked.
Trixie stood with her back turned to them, her hat pulled down over her head. She seemed to be shaking.
"Trixie, I think…" Twilight began.
"I hate you," Trixie said quietly.
"Trixie…" Twilight said. She suddenly felt very nervous.
Trixie turned around. She was furious, her eyes brimming with tears of anger. "I hate you!" she cried loudly. "I hate both of you! Is this some joke? A laugh at my expense? I'll be blamed for this too! It'll be just like that time all over!"
"No, no, no, it'll be okay, we'll fix it!" Cheese said hurriedly.
"Yes, yes!" Twilight agreed. "Trixie, please! I, we just wanted to impress you! I mean, at least it was something grand, right? Even if… um… it turned out all wrong? It was a good idea, right?"
"Yeah!" Cheese agreed. "A great and powerful display, deserving of the Great and Powerful Trixie! Right?"
"You…" Trixie stammered. As though a switch had been flipped, the fury died out… and was replaced with more tears. "You don't get it. You just… you think… I want…"
"Please, Trixie," Twilight pleaded. "I love you. Please don't be sad. We could do something else…"
"You don't get it." Trixie sniffed and tried to wipe away her tears. "Nopony gets it… I hoped, I… I've had it. This is just a game to you two, and I'm sick of playing. We're through."
Twilight felt a sudden chill run through her body. "No… no, please…"
Trixie straightened up and adjusted her hat. "No. We're through. Trixie… Trixie wants nothing to do with either of you anymore. I…" Her eyes teared up again. "I'm sorry!" she cried as she turned and fled.
For a moment, all was silence between the remaining two ponies. Finally, Cheese Sandwich cleared his throat. "Well. We messed up bad. And our magician ran off again. She always runs, you've noticed that, Miss Twilight? Like she can never stick around anywhere long enough. Of course, I can sympathize, since I'm a lot like that myself, but…"
Twilight burst into tears. "No, no, no, no, no…" she cried, running off.
"And you do it too, it seems," Cheese observed. "Fancy that. And I'm left here, talking to myself. And you, Boneless Two." He flipped his trusty sidekick up on his back. "Yeah, you're right. I guess we'll have to help clear up this mess after all. Shall we?" He gave the rubber chicken a quick nod and ran off as well.