//------------------------------//
// 135 - Uncomfortable Truths 
// Story: Putting on a Silver Robe and Wizard Hat 
// by David Silver 
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Trixie sat upon her bed, lost somewhere between angry sniffles and glares at any pony that dared to approach her. She muttered little things, but they were far too quiet and mostly garbled for even Night to pick out the words.

Rough put a hoof behind his head, face tense with worry and fear. "Hon, please..."

Silver put a hoof on his father's shoulder. "I think she needs a moment to relax."

"Trixie is perfectly relaxed!" shrieked Trixie in a most un-relaxed fashion, one brow twitching spastically instead of the smooth rise it was normally capable of. "She simply does not need more technology involved." Suddenly she brought her hooves together in a loud clop. "Of course! She's being so silly! She'll just fix it herself." Her horn began to glow in Silver's sight. "If she--"

Silver quickly grabbed at Trixie's horn with a silvery fist. "No! No... Even if this was a good idea, which it isn't, you're in no mindset for surgery, on anypony, least of all yourself."

This was met with the harshest of glares. "Release me, colt of mine, or you won't be. Now is not the time for jokes. Trixie will fix this and that will be that."

Night adjusted her glasses habitually. "Forgive me, I'm not an exper--"

"No you're not!" Trixie scowled at Night, casting judgements from on high, or at least as high as her bed.

"--expert at magic, but if lifting yourself is complex, I can't imagine internal working would be any easier."

Trixie muffedly thumped the bed. "You're not a unicorn, of course you wouldn't understand." She thrust a hoof at Silver. "Now release me or she'll be forced to make you."

Rough climbed up onto the bed suddenly and sat down beside Trixie. "You know he can't do that."

"He most certainly can!" Her horn flared, throwing back Silver's hand. "He simply forgets we've both been practicing this, and one of us has a lifetime of experience being a unicorn." Even as her magic reached for Silver, it suddenly faded away. She looked up to see Rough Draft.

He had tackled her into a hug, with one of his hooves rubbing her horn, keeping it from easily channeling. "Please, you have to stop this. We're here for your sake, you and the foal. Let us help."

Trixie's mask of fury broke, crumbling into abject sorrow. She curled against Rough Draft, weeping into his brown fur. "Trixie is b-broken! She's made a broken foal. Why can she not do this one performance correctly? There's not even a move to remember and already she's failed!"

The tension in the room was rent asunder as she sobbed, only to be joined suddenly by one, then two small voices. Silver went to calm the foals, leaving Trixie to have her cry. He trotted briskly into the nursery to find them wailing just as loudly, if without the years of practice of an adult. He lifted both up in his silvery magic and brought them close. "It's okay. Grandmother just needed a moment to herself. Everything's going to be alright." He nuzzled between them only to have his snout grabbed in the powerful hooves of Clear Twilight and forced to look at her curiously.

Morning's horn glimmered with power before a broom that was parked in the corner re-appeared, laid across Silver's back, the bristles making for a mismatched mane. The two giggled at their hoofwork as Silver rolled his eyes. "You guys..." He shook off the broom and carried them over to the play area, setting them down gently there. 

The sobbing from the other room turned abruptly into a scream, bringing all three sets of eyes to the door. Clear Twilight charged the side of the play area, bursting through the thin wood as if it wasn't there and charging boldly to the rescue. Not to be entirely outdone, Morning took off at a gallop behind her. Silver was a step behind, barely able to recognize he had been beaten by his foals in his rush to see what was going on.

Night unfolded a wing towards the oncoming trio. "Relax, she just had a labor pang. It's not time yet."

Trixie was being held by Rough up on their bed as she shuddered and sniffled, but the screaming had ended as quickly as it had begun.

Silver shook his head. "Alright, good, but we still have an issue."

Night glanced up at Trixie, her look mostly focused on Silver. "I see that. Is there nopony she trusts. Preferably as somepony experienced? A mentor, a parent? Anypony?"

Silver frowned in thought. He didn't know much about Trixie's relations or friendships outside of the room they were in, but there was one... "She's met Twilight, even faced off against her once, and lost to her twice."

"Princess Twilight Sparkle?" Night tilted her head a little. "Worth a try."

Trixie rolled over, looking down at her two foals and the grandfoals beside them. "What are you two talking about over there?"

Silver considered being quiet, but shook his head at himself. "Mother, you remember Twilight Sparkle, right?"

Trixie's ears pricked upward. "It would be difficult to forget her. What does she have to do with anything? Hmmph, miss magical princess thinks she's so good at magic." Trixie wrinkled her nose. "Trixie bets she hardly even practices now that she's a princess."

Rough nuzzled one of Trixie's cheeks. "If it wasn't for her, my OC wouldn't have ended up the way he had, and then he wouldn't have run into you, which means I wouldn't have, and where would we be?"

Trixie raised a brow lightly. "Less pregnant?"

Night smirked at that reply. "Can't argue that." She put a hoof up on the bed. "But you don't regret being here, do you? You wouldn't consign us all to a life without the Great and Powerful Trixie to guide the way."

Trixie broke into a little smile before she sniffled. "She is proud to be of service." She took a slow breath. "Why do you bring up Twilight? She's not here."

Silver raised a hoof. "She could be. We thought you might appreciate somepony with more magical expertise to confer with, about your condition."

Trixie sat up onto her haunches. "No... no... Trixie was... She was getting ahead of herself. She apologizes for worrying everypony." She smiled a little. "She will make it through this."

Rough sat up with her, smiling with renewed hope. "Does that mean you'll go to the do--"

"No." Trixie frowned at him. "Trixie will deliver this foal the way it wants to come, even if that's sideways. She will finish this trick she has begun and that will be that."

Morning Glory suddenly popped between her forelegs and nuzzled one of them. Trixie smiled at the small presence and settled to nuzzle at the little foal. Clear Twilight frowned up at her cheating brother before claiming Night for her own, nestling in warmly with her mother.

Silver let out a breath, in some ways, relieved, and in others, worried. There was peace, which counted for a lot.

"Now then, let us continue our lessons." Trixie's magic pulled the book of telekinesis over to the bed. "Now that this news has run its course, there's no reason for us to get lazy about this."

Night tilted her head. "Nopony would fault you for taking a day off, Trixie."

Trixie lifted her snout with disdain. "Trixie will not forgive herself if she does not continue. Besides, she knows Silver is constantly practicing, and she will not be shown up by him."

That wasn't entirely true. He had practiced with her mostly, besides idle experiments while he was moving from place to place. He hopped up, joining Trixie, Rough, and Morning. "If you're sure you're up for it."

"Stop treating Trixie as if she were made of glass." Trixie snorted softly. "She is fine, and ready to proceed."

Pointedly ignoring anything that may be wrong inside the blue mare, they continued with the book. Silver hovered awkwardly a scant inch in the air. He was held up largely by Trixie's magic while he focused on his own spell to balance himself and get a proper feel for every part of his body in relation to every other part while surrounded in his own magic.

Trixie raised a brow at him as she focused. "Have you been eating more doughnuts of late?"

Silver snorted at that. "Even if I had, I burn it off as quickly as I shovel it in." He reached with his hooves for the ground and landed. "Your turn." He gently lifted her up in a cloud of silver magic and she began to sway one way and the other as she practiced her magic. She got herself evened out fairly quickly and looked proud of herself. He clopped his hooves with congratulations. "You're picking up on this quickly."

"Trixie has spent her entire life practicing magic." She reached for the ground and was soon seated beside Silver. "She thinks we are both ready for the main course."

Night perked up from the book she was reading. "Ah, that means I get involved now, right?"

Trixie nodded at Night. "We're new at flying. Like foal pegasi, we may go off course, and having somepony more experienced at this task around to keep us from crashing into things would be a good idea." She raised a hoof. "Not that she predicts she will have much issue, but for Silver..."

Night smirked a little. "Of course, but I'll be there for both of you, promise."

Rough gathered up both of the foals. "I'll sit this one out and keep them safe and secure while I do it. You two be careful, alright?"

Soon they had relocated to the roof where there was plenty of air to practice in. Trixie stretched herself out before her horn began to glow and she lifted into the air before a secondary spell wove with the first, evening out her initially wobbling stance. "There, see, Trixie is already flying!"

Not to be outdone entirely, Silver's horn glowed with power as gravity released its merciless grip on him. He swayed dangerously before he wove the second spell quickly and was able to start stabilizing. It wasn't exactly like when he had wings, but it was a heady feeling. "We really are flying."

Night shook her head. "Just floating in mid-air hardly counts as flying." She brought down her large wings in a powerful flap, rising up into the air. "Follow me and I'll give you some practice."

She led them through the air. Despite the confidence of the unicorns, it was slow going at first. Turns could become wild spins in the air before stabilization was refound and it took considerable effort to make it anything approaching a natural movement. Night was patient with them, seemingly amused to be better at the both of them at something quite soundly. She only had to rescue them from outright crashing a few times, a fact she commended them on when they eventually came down to land.