Ponyville's Tiny Librarian

by CommanderX5

Ch6 - Boast Busters - Part 2

“You’ve gotta be kidding Trixie! You’re going to send us both to the hospital,” Trixie said while sweating in fear. Her captor smiled at her.

“A bit of risk always keeps the crowd invested,” Twilight said as she lit her horn and grit her teeth, her magic now fighting against the chains with pure force.

Trixie frowned. “You might as well have put a container full of water and sharks under us, release Trixie this instant!”

Twilight ignored the magician as she was focusing on destroying the chains, and as her horn flared lavender light, the chains started to crack up more and more, until finally they shattered to pieces. Not wasting a moment, she used her magic and strength to loosen the rope before she slid from it. She jumped back onto the stage, almost landing on a saw as its blade cut the air a few inches away from her, being supported between two throwing knives like a house of cards.

The rope broke off. Trixie started to fall, her eyes closed and mouth screaming in fear.

After a few seconds of not feeling the impact, Trixie slightly opened her left eye, gulping as a few nails and knives were but a mere inches under her face. To her relief, she was being levitated by Twilight who carefully placed her on the stage.

Trixie was about yell at the tiny mare for her crazy life-risking behaviour, but after a closer inspection she understood that their well-being was never in jeopardy. As an illusionist, she recognized that what appeared to be sharp objects, in reality were small pebbles covered in illusion magic.

The show continued as Twilight performed a few more tricks, like juggling knives with her eyes closed, levitating herself above the stage, casting a mustache on Trixie and herself. In her final act, Twilight tried to copy the spell that Trixie used, shooting her own tiny magical fireworks into the air, and soon both Trixie and Twilight made a half-bow, saying farewells to the cheering and excited crowd.

Under the sound of clapping and clopping hooves, Trixie walked behind the stage, while Twilight trotted right behind her. After taking a slow calming breath, the magician slowly turned around while Twilight bumped into her foreleg and could see anger in her eyes. “What were you trying to do, ruin Trixie’s show? Or maybe steal her spotlight.”

Twilight shook her head. “I was just trying to help and make your show even more interesting… I mean, a stage trap? How original and creative,” she said with sarcasm and roll of her eyes.

Trixie frowned as she was about to defend her wounded pride, but a quick glance at the satisfied crowd behind the curtain calmed her down.

“Trixie has to admit, your weak magical tricks made Trixie’s already great show a little greater.”

“You can cut the act, we’re behind the stage now,” Twilight stated as Trixie looked down at her in confusion.

“Act? What do you mean?”

Twilight giggled. “Isn’t it that obvious?” She jumped onto Trixie’s muzzle and clung to it with her two forelegs while giving her a lecturing glare. “You’re a performer so you act to entertain everypony, that’s why you brag so much and call yourself powerful… also, speaking in the third person is quite original as I never saw any stage-pony do that before.”

“You… you think Trixie was acting?” she asked hesitantly. She was about to point out that it was her personal speaking style, but after a second thought, she couldn’t tell if it was act or not.

“Of course,” Twilight answered. “By the way, can you teach me your tricks, like how to summon magical smoke, or how to draw in the air? Also, a bit of help with your firework spell would be appreciated as I cast it rather poorly for my first try.”

Trixie blinked a few times and frowned. “A great magician never reveals the secrets behind his or her magic,” she remarked as Twilight nodded.

“I understand, then how about an exchange? You teach me some of your tricks and I will teach you some of mine.”

“Whatever you have to offer, The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn’t need any tricks that a tiny unicorn mare like you may know, she is great without them.” She narrowed her eyes. "Now, would you kindly release Trixie's muzzle and leave already? Talking to a tiny pony is weird and Trixie had enough craziness for today."

Twilight giggled, finding her act amusing. “Awww… and here I wanted to teach you how to teleport, or how to summon an illusion clone, or how to transform objects temporarily, or how to make an illusion disguise, but I understand. Since a true magician doesn’t reveal her tricks, I will keep mine to myself,” Twilight remarked as she pushed herself off Trixie’s nose and trotted away.

Trixie could see the tiny mare walking towards the scattering crowd, and the moment no pony was watching, she hung her head low in defeat and let out a long sigh. “Trixie always wanted to learn a teleportation spell,” she said in disappointment before walking towards her mobile home.

She murmured to herself, “No pony had ever taught Trixie without payment or labor in return, much less found interest in seeking knowledge from Trixie or exchange spells with her... Maybe Trixie shouldn’t have pushed away this tiny mare’s offer…” She stomped. “No, Trixie is no longer Weak and Pathetic, but Great and Powerful, she no longer needs help, and she won’t accept help from some inferior tiny unicorn.”

Her firm steps slowed down, her resolve slowly faltered and ears drooped. “On the other hoof, Trixie had never performed with assistant. As intrusive as she was, performing together was somewhat amusing…” She shook her head as she stepped into her home and slammed the door behind her. Dust and a few nails fell onto the floor behind her. “Nay, Trixie prefers performing by her lonesome. She needs fans and their adoration, but no company and spotlight thieves.”

She sat on the sofa and massaged her forehead, ignoring the spring which emerged from the damaged part. “Trixie’s going crazy. Stupid tiny unicorn. Alright, first step, take a glass of water.” She drank half-filled glass and released a satisfied breath before wiping her mouth. “Next step, stop talking to yourself.”

Twilight was trotting cheerfully towards her group, when suddenly her friends got in the way. She looked up at the five towering ponies’ worried faces and asked, “Hello girls, did you enjoy the show?”

Before anypony could speak, Pinkie bounced ahead and lowered herself to Twilight’s face. “A lot!” the party mare said as she started to gesture her hooves all over the place. “It was like flash, and then it was like boom! And then–” Pinkie’s mouth was sealed by Applejack’s hoof as the farmer looked down at Twilight.

“Ah’m unsure what to think 'bout it all, sugarcube,” Applejack said firmly before sighing. “First ya hang out with a griffon who was bein’ a big jerk to everypony, and now yer acting like Trixie, boasting 'bout yer magic and even talking weird like her.”

Rainbow Dash walked closer. “Yeah, didn’t you see how she humiliated us? What’s happened to you, Twilight? You used to be awesome.”

Twilight closed her eyes and went silent as her mind started to wage an inner war while her friends continued to speak.

“I must agree with them, darling. It is not like you to act this way, not to mention hanging out with Gilda after she scared Fluttershy,” Rarity said.

Twilight opened her eyes and looked at Fluttershy curiously. “She did?” Noticing a hesitant nod, she looked at her apologetically. “I'm so sorry, Fluttershy, I'll ask her to apologise.”

“Ah must ask, why’re ya doing this? Why are ya hangin’ out with Gilda and even helpin’ Trixie with her performance? Though Ah must say, the scene with Trixie tied up with rope while hanging above sharp objects was darn funny,” Applejack said before laughing a little, Rainbow Dash joined in.

Twilight looked up at her friends and gave them a questioning look. “So you had fun?” Noticing she had everypony’s attention, she coughed, standing up to her hind legs as she lectured, “A performer’s job is to entertain every pony, and from what I saw, everypony had a lot of fun. I just tried to help and improve the show.”

“But she is so boastful, acting as if she is better then everypony else, I thought you hated it when ponies did that,” Rarity said in confusion.

Not wasting a moment, Twilight jumped onto Rarity’s muzzle and spoke, “It was just an act.”

Noticing Rarity and her other friends’ confusion, Twilight face-hoofed, while still hanging onto her muzzle with just one foreleg. “You really thought it was all real?”

Noticing a nod from everypony, Twilight frowned. “Trixie is a professional performer, it's her job to brag and boast, her stories are meant to be entertaining, not truthful and…”

“But she humiliated us!” Rainbow Dash interrupted hastily as Twilight frowned at her.

“Because you asked for it. Wouldn’t you want to show up a pony who was trying to ruin your performance in front of a crowd?” Twilight asked as Rainbow Dash and Applejack hung their heads low in shame. “I must say, I’m disappointed in most of you. I’m trying to do my best to help Gilda get used to other ponies, and I tried to make the show better, while you all are judging everyone too fast and not giving them a second chance.”

Twilight’s group approached with Overwatch ahead who spoke, “Umm… Twilight, not that I disagree with what you said, but by trying to improve Trixie’s show, you ended up stealing the spotlight. How was that better than what Applejack and Dash did?”

“Awww,” Twilight said in disappointment and drooped ears. “I was just trying to help so everypony would have fun, stealing fame wasn't what I was trying to do.” She rubbed back of her neck while still maintaining her position with just one hoof. “Maybe I went a little overboard, my bad… I'll make it up to her when I'll get the chance.” Noticing the rest of friendly faces, she climbed up on Rarity’s head and next slid down her back before walking towards her team. “Hey, Gilda!”

Everypony turned around, only to see the griffon right behind them whose attention was on their tiny friend.

“Great show, Twilight, you really make me laugh.”

Twilight smiled. “Glad to hear that. By the way, can I ask you a favour?”

“Shoot.”

Twilight jumped onto Gilda’s beak and pointed her foreleg towards Fluttershy, who was now hiding behind her friends. Rainbow Dash took a defensive position. “Would you apologise to Fluttershy? I heard that you scared her badly.”

Gilda raised her eyebrow and glared upon the timid pegasus. “Oh, her? So she’s your friend?”

“Not just mine, but Dash’s too. Apologising would really be a good thing to do,” Twilight advised, only now noticing that she rhymed accidently. Gilda sighed.

“Only for you, Twilight. I usually don’t apologise to cowards,” Gilda remarked as she walked towards the still hiding Fluttershy while her little friend climbed onto her head. Ignoring Rainbow Dash who was ready to stop her, she spoke softly, “Hey, yellow one, Flutters, was it?”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight corrected from her soft nest.

“Yeah, Fluttershy, I want, um… I want to... apologise,” Gilda said hesitantly as she scratched her back.

“Apologise?” Fluttershy said as she emerged from behind Rainbow Dash’s defense line and walked towards the griffon. Her being half-lion and half-eagle meant she was an animal from Fluttershy’s perspective, making her less intimidating.

“Yeah, sorry, I had no idea you were Dash’s friend. I shouldn’t have screamed at you like that.”

Fluttershy gave Gilda an angry glare. “You shouldn’t scream like that at any pony, Rainbow Dash’s friend or not, it’s just mean.”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Gilda said before feeling Twilight stomp on her head and receiving an angry glare from Rainbow Dash. She sighed. “Listen, I am new at this ‘being a nice neighbour’ thingy, give me some slack.”

“But, you’re trying to be kinder… more friendly?” Fluttershy asked calmly.

“Are you really?” Dash asked suspiciously.

“She is,” Twilight stated as she gave Rainbow Dash an encouraging smile. “I’m trying to help her with her attitude problem.”

“Yeah, she is,” Gilda added as she raised her talons towards Dash. “So, would you give me a second chance? I would hate to lose a cool friend just because of one of my mess ups.”

Rainbow Dash smiled and shook it. “Sure, and I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have given up on you so fast.”

For the next few minutes they talked with each other, and though Gilda still showed a bit of an attitude problem, especially whenever a certain pink pony started to annoy her, she was trying to stay calm as Twilight and Dash did their best to encourage her efforts. And even if there was still a long way to go, Gilda made a good first step.

After lowering the sun and raising the moon alongside her sister, Celestia walked towards her bed, shaking a bit. She knew that a rough night was awaiting her. As every night, Luna wished her best of luck. Despite being the one who will put this punishment on her, Celestia could see that her sister actually cheered for her in fighting against the nightmares. Even if she would barely remember any of it the next day.

The sun princess sighed as she lay on her pillow and hugged it tightly, as if searching for comfort before closing her eyes. If she wanted to, she could’ve easily blocked Luna’s influence with a few mental barriers, or she could ask her to end this punishment anytime. But with every struggle she endured, her dear sister was closer to forgiving her. After every nightmare, Luna was more open and her voice was warmer. I swore to do everything in my power to earn her forgiveness, and if it means facing her punishments and trials, so be it, Celestia thought as she slowly drifted into the world of Dreams.

“Where am I?” Celestia asked while looking around in confusion. She had expected ending up in a horror-filled dream or facing a powerful beast, but not this. Step by step, she walked by a group of fillies and colts who seemed to ignore her as if she wasn’t even there. Her surroundings seemed to be some kind of playground, but more dirty and old than the public ones. She could see this area being surrounded by many large buildings, but it seemed more of a background typical for a dream rather than a part of scenery. “Luna, can you hear me?”

“We do, sister.”

Celestia turned to the source of voice, quickly noticing an alicorn sitting next to a swing. With slow steps, the sun princess approached and asked, “What is this dream? Surely you are not going to turn those fillies and colts into monsters?”

“No, sister. We decided that today’s punishment will be different. Think of it as a short break after your last nightmare,” Luna responded with a weak smile.

“Is something wrong?” Celestia asked, easy noticing the distress in her sister’s voice.

The night princess shook her head. “We are… just thinking about something. Tis nothing for thou to be concerned about.” She pointed towards a specific blue unicorn filly who seemed more colorful and lacked a cutie mark. “As Princess of the Night and Guardian of Dreams, tis our sworn duty to protect and help ponies to overcome their fears and nightmares. We merely thought thou wouldst understand us better if…”

Celestia didn’t need to wait for her sister to finish. She nodded as she spoke warmly, “Say no more, I understand.” She looked towards the previously pointed at unicorn who seemed to be talking with some colts and asked, “It must be her nightmare. What is this filly’s name?”

Luna scowled. “Forgive us if after recently returning from a thousand-year long banishment, we know not the name of every one of our subjects,” she said.

Celestia didn’t respond and instead walked towards the filly with straightened ears as she listened to the conversation.

“Give me back my candy!” the unicorn said as she stood on her rear hooves, forelegs reaching for the bag of sweets held above colt’s head. The earth pony placed his hoof on unicorn’s horn and pushed it slightly, tipping her over.

“How about you make me?” he asked with a mocking tone.

The unicorn lit her horn as blue aura enveloped the candy bag, she struggled to pull it away, but the earth pony proved to be stronger. The moment the filly started to breath from exhaustion, he spoke, “That’s it, is this the best you can do? Poor weak little Trixie.”

He pointed at his cutie mark, which resembled a hoof and broken plank. “See this cutie mark, it shows that I’m stronger,” then he pointed at Trixie, “and a blank flank with weak magic like you has to do what I say. I can take your sweets, and there’s nothing you can do about it.”

Trixie grit her teeth as she heard laughter from behind. “I’m not weak!” she shouted and tackled the colt, but was quickly overwhelmed and pressed against the ground, two hooves on her back.

“Weakling.”

“Failure.”

The bullies kept saying hurtful words as Trixie looked at other fillies in search for help. “Help… please!” She struggled to free herself, but she was no match for the colt’s strength. “Somepony, please!”

“Yes, help a little failure,” the colt challenged as he looked at the crowd that slowly started to scatter, one pony at a time.

Trixie looked at the last remaining pony, a grey unicorn colt with question mark and scroll as a cutie mark who looked to the side. “Mystery… help me… Mystery?”

“Yes, help your friend. Shouldn’t friends stick up for each other?” the bully asked as he raised his foreleg with an inviting gesture. After a few seconds, he added, “Thought so. How about this then. If you kick Trixie, I won’t bother you for a month.”

Celestia’s wings and ears drooped at the sight of violence, especially when a friend turned against a friend out of fear. She looked around once more and added the facts. “I assume this dream takes place in an orphanage, and a poor one at that, considering the dust and poor shape of the building. I will need to look into the status of orphans in big cities… most likely the ones in Manehattan.”

“A wise decision indeed,” Luna interjected as she approached her sister.

”Is there anything I can do to ease this nightmare about her past?”

Luna shook her head. “Not yet. Thou shouldst first learn more about the filly by watching her dream before deciding the best course of action.”

Trixie sniffed as she massaged her belly after being hit in the stomach by her own friend. The colt smirked at her, “So much for friendship. In the end, you can count only on yourself. I hope you understand your place now, Trixie.”

As the bully walked away, the filly unicorn wiped her watered eyes and shouted, “I am not a weakling, Trixie is not a weakling!”

Celestia looked at her sister in confusion. “Is this really what happened?”

“Tis how she remembers it, and that makes it real enough for her."

In a blink of an eye, the location changed as both princesses were now in some sort of house. All details were blurry; even the unicorn’s face and cutie mark were unrecognizable.

“Have you finished your chores?” a stallion asked the young unicorn mare in an apron and with rubber and bucket of water in her levitation. After a closer look, Trixie had a half-moon and wand as cutie mark.

“Trixie did. Under Trixie’s watchful eye, your house is so clean, that Trixie can see her own reflection in the floor.”

The stallion nodded. “It seems like it, and you also got rid of all the trash and cleaned the dishes?” Noticing a firm nod, the stallion levitated over a small bag of bits as it opened, but the mare interrupted.

“Trixie doesn’t want any bits, Trixie wants to know how to cast that illusion spell. Trixie tried to learn how to do it from books in a library, but it seems she needs guidance.”

The stallion rubbed his chin. “Learning this spell may be too difficult...” he started and looked at Trixie’s cutie mark. “On the other hoof, you may have talent to learn it; but it won’t be easy.”

“Trixie will do whatever she can to learn how to cast this spell.”

The stallion smirked. “Advanced education is not cheap, young lady, and teaching you will cost much of my time. How about you will keep my house clean everyday in exchange for a one hour teaching session after my work?”

“Deal.”

Celestia observed the events unfold as more very short events were shown to her, one at a time, at least until Luna asked, “What hast thou learned about this pony so far?”

The sun princess turned towards her sister and responded steadily, with a firm but also sad tone, “Trixie grew up in an orphanage where she learned that she could count only on herself. She never attended public education and had no pony to teach or care for her,” she pointed at Trixie who performed some sort of show and received hundreds of applauses before being showered in bits, “so instead, she was trying to learn magic and earn bits for survival.”

Luna blinked in confusion. “Is this… who we think it is?” she asked while pointing at a tiny purple rat with a horn.

Celestia stepped forward and took a closer look. “It is my student, I have no doubt about it.”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie is superior to you in every way. Why would Trixie want to learn any spells from you when she can create even more spectacular spells?” Trixie responded before teleporting from place to place in a blink of an eye. Her beams turned random objects into statues of herself and several more Trixies appeared from thin air. All of the copies said in union, “Teleportation, transformation, illusions. Whatever you can do, Trixie can do better.” With a stomp of her hoof, she scared the lavender rat who scampered into a mouse hole, leaving Trixie with a smug smirk on her face.

Celestia raised her eyebrow. “And it seems she has quite the superiority complex.” She rubbed her chin again before giving her sister a questioning glance. “Since I learned more about Trixie, should I cheer her up, educate her about the importance of friendship and trust, or warn her about the downfall of arrogance?”

The night princess nodded. “Tis a good start.” Suddenly, a knocking sound echoed through the dream as the earth trembled under their hooves. Before either of the princesses could even speak, everything became black, and both alicorns reappeared in the middle of endless stars-filled space. One particular door turned into a star the size of a hoof which now floated next to them.

Noticing the confusion on her sister’s face, Luna raised her foreleg and explained, “It seems that something has awakened Trixie. We shall help her another time.”

Celestia rubbed her foreleg as she looked around. How long it has been since she was in the Ethereal Plane. “I know this place. I once visited it after your… banishment... with the hope of finding you during your sleep, as fruitless as it was. My powers in this realm are nothing when compared to yours.” She looked to the side, her voice suddenly uncertain. “What now, Luna? Will you make me face a nightmare of your creation as before?”

“We shall postpone thine punishment,” Luna responded before a weak smile appeared on her face. “What wouldst thou say to a small stroll with us through the Ethereal Plane?”

The sun princess was speechless for a few seconds before a warm smile grew across her face. “I would love to.”