Rebirth of Harmony

by WanderingPhysicist

Razzly's Mother

The Elements exit a train at the Crystal Empire station. Alba wastes no time heading out of the station, headed straight for the palace. Trixie catches the filly with her magic.

‘Alba, calm down. We just got here,’ the unicorn scolds.

‘But I have to see Aunt Cadance right away!’ the princess whines. ‘The sooner I can see her, the sooner everything can be sorted out.’

‘What about seeing the town with your friends first? This isn’t all about you.’

Alba sits and crosses her forelegs. ‘Fine,’ she huffs.

Trixie sighs and releases her spell. Alba instantly teleports away. The older pony facehoofs. ‘I really should have seen that coming.’

‘I’ll catch her and make sure she doesn’t cause any trouble,’ Helios says, before teleporting away.

Octavia pats Trixie on the back. ‘Just have fun and meet us at the palace when you’re ready.’

The earth pony pulls her hood up and gallops after the royals. Trixie sighs again and turns to the group.

‘I was hoping that we could take some time to see the city together,’ the unicorn states, ‘but if you want to split up too, I guess it is fine.’

Raindrops pushes a cloud with Rainbow sleeping on it. ‘Thanks. I think I’ll join the others at the palace too. Hopefully, she’ll be up in time for dinner.’

‘We won’t be out too late,’ Apple Pie adds as he and Apple Bloom leave together.

‘Looks like it is just us,’ Trixie says to Razzly and Shaun.

‘I haven’t been to the Crystal Empire in a while,’ Shaun replies. ‘I’m looking forward to seeing it.’

‘How about you, Razzly?’

The filly frowns and kicks the ground a bit. ‘Sure… I guess…’

‘What is wrong?’ the older unicorn asks.

‘It is just…’ She shakes her head. ‘Daddy used to know a really mean pony from the Crystal Empire. I’m worried she might be here.’

Trixie smiles. ‘Don’t worry. It is a large city. It is unlikely that we will run into her. And if you do see her, you have me to protect you.’

Razzly smiles too. ‘I can always trust you, Trixie. Thanks.’

‘And if all else fails, I will use my mighty psychic powers on them!’ Shaun assures.

The ponies laugh as they trot off together.

‘You can at least pretend that was cool!’ Shaun complains, following.

Trixie leads Shaun and Razzly though the marketplace. The filly has calmed down and she is no longer hiding under Trixie. Shaun is snapping photos of everything he sees. Trixie tells the others about the stores and products they are seeing. She carries a small bag of crystal fruits for Razzly to bake with later.

Razzly marvels, seeing the Crystal Empire for the first time. Crystal buildings shimmer. Crystal ponies sparkle in every color of a crystal rainbow as they sell their wares. There are occasional flashes from sky-blue crystal pegasi as they fly overhead on patrol. The filly feels like she is in crystal heaven, until she sees a pony step out of a restaurant down the street.

Razzly frowns, looks away and backs up a step. ‘Can we not go this way?’

Shaun looks back. ‘What was that? Eagle eyes are great, but eagle ears… Do we even have ears?’

‘Are you okay, Razzly?’ Trixie asks.

‘I… I just want to go somewhere else, okay?’

‘Okay. No need to get upset.’ She puts a hoof on Razzly’s back. ‘We’re here for you.’

Razzly smiles and opens her mouth to respond.

‘Razzleberry?!’

The filly scowls and looks down.

A green unicorn mare with a crystal green mane and tail trots towards the group. ‘It is you! What are you doing here? Does your dad know you are here?’

Razzly mutters to herself.

Trixie steps between the new mare and Razzly. ‘Excuse me. How do you know Razzly?’

The new unicorn looks confused. ‘Razzly? Her name is Razzleberry. At least, that was the name her father made me agree to.’ She snorts. ‘Probably the only good decision he ever made.’

‘Daddy made better decisions than you did,’ the filly grumbles.

The green mare gasps. ‘How dare you say that? I see your attitude has worsened since I left. Come on. We’re going home. I’ll set you straight.’ She frowns. ‘Maybe now my lawyers will have enough to get you back where you belong.’

Razzly is gripped in a green aura. Trixie flicks the other mare’s horn, freeing Razzly.

‘Excuse me,’ Trixie interrupts. ‘I don’t know who you are, but Razzly is not going anywhere with you.’

‘I am Jade Emerald,’ Jade states. ‘I am Razzleberry’s mother. She is coming with me whether you like it or not.’

‘You’re not my mother,’ Razzly growls.

Shaun looks confused. ‘Wait. I thought you said your mother was dead.’

Jade snarls at the younger unicorn. ‘What has your father been telling you?’

Razzly glares angrily at the older unicorn. ‘I never said she was dead. Jade did give birth to me, but she was NEVER a mother to me.’

‘You whelp!’ Jade uses her magic to drag Razzly to her. She lifts the filly’s tail and delivers a slap across her rump. ‘I’ll have a lot of work to do to teach you to behave again.’

Trixie growls at the brazen display of abuse.

Razzly kicks free. She backs away a few steps and faces Jade. ‘Who the hell do you think I am? I am not some doll you can manipulate anymore. I am my own pony. You can’t tell me what to do. I am...’ -- she looks around, sees Trixie and smiles -- ‘I am The Clever and Spectacular Razzly! I am the Element of Generosity! If you can’t deal with that, then go buck yourself! Generously too!’

Razzly smiles and nods triumphantly. Trixie laughs to herself. Shaun claps.

Jade growls. ‘You little brat! I’m going to have start all over teaching you the right way to behave.’

Jade pulls Razzly back to her. She raises the filly’s tail again and lines up another slap. A silver bolt of magic hits Jade in the chest, sending her back several meters and freeing Razzly. The filly rushes to Trixie’s side.

‘One hit is already one to many,’ Trixie seethes, excess magic diffusing from her horn.

Jade picks herself up. ‘Who are you to tell me how to discipline my problem child? Razzleberry has always needed somepony to put her in her place and make sure she behaved. Her father obviously failed since I left him.’

‘He kicked you out!’ Razzly shouts. ‘You treated us like crap! Getting rid of you was the best thing he ever did!’

‘Razzleberry! Shut up!’

Trixie laughs and steps forward. ‘Who am I, you ask?’ She draws a wind under her cape and stands on her hindlegs. ‘I am The Great and Powerful Grand Duchess Trixie Lunamoon. I am the personal magic instructor for Princess Alba, and Razzly’s father appointed me her protector while we travel the world together.’

‘That is the stupidest title I have ever heard,’ Jade snorts. ‘Razzleberry is MY child! I will take care of her how I see fit!’

‘How you see fit should put you behind bars.’

Jade growls. She tries magically gripping Razzly again, but her spell is blocked by a silver shield. ‘Get out of my way!’

‘Stop trying to harm Razzly, and we will.’

‘You like her so much? Take her from me! I challenge you to a magic duel. Winner gets to be her mother.’

‘I can take you in my sleep. Care to go first or shall I?’

‘This will be too easy. I’ll let you have the first shot. Might be the only one you get.’

Trixie smirks. ‘Learned this one from my friend the late Twilight Sparkle.’

Trixie casts a spell. A mustache appears on Jade’s face. Jade rolls her eyes and magically cuts it off.

‘Here is a specialty from the restaurant,’ Jade retorts.

The unicorn summons a spray of whipped cream. Trixie yawns and uses a shield spell to redirect it to top various fruits and pastries in the other shops.

‘Is that it?’ Trixie taunts. ‘Razzly, if you don’t mind...’

Trixie takes a crystal fruit from her bag. She splits it and plants the pieces in the ground. She focuses a spell on the planted fruit and small sprouts pop from the ground.

‘Growth spell. Impressive,’ Jade comments. She blasts the sprouts with a bolt of magic. ‘But pointless.’ She closes her eyes and focuses. ‘Just got to build up for...’

Ponies scream and gallop past the arguing mares. Razzly yelps and cowers behind Trixie. Shaun’s lower beak drops as he takes pictures as fast as he can.

‘Good to know some ponies respect real power,’ Jade mumbles.

‘Oh, they aren’t running from you,’ Trixie says. ‘They are running from that.’

Jade turns around and pales. A several-meter-tall bear with a translucent, starry hide climbs over a building and roars. It sees Jade and lumbers over to her.

‘An ursa major!’ Jade screams. ‘What is one doing here!’

‘Actually, that is an ursa minor,’ Trixie calmly replies. ‘The majors are much bigger.’

‘Bigger!?’

The ursa minor roars again and slashes. Jade screams and falls back as she tries to flee. The claw goes straight through her. She backs straight into somepony. Trixie glares down at the other mare.

‘That is a simple illusion from my act,’ Trixie states. ‘I would have thought somepony like you would be able to see through an act. I mean, you fake a brave front so well.’

‘An-an illusion?’

Trixie frowns. ‘A pity it was so easy to defeat you.’

‘Y-you didn’t...’

Trixie stomps beside Jades head and leans down. ‘I. Won. That means Razzly is mine to watch over.’ She leans close and whispers, ‘And if I ever catch you near her again, I will use all my influence with the royal family to make sure nopony ever finds your body.’

Jade nods, scrambles to her hooves and gallops back to her restaurant. Trixie snorts and trots back to her friends. Razzly gallops to her idol and gives her a big hug. Shaun takes a picture of the happy moment.

‘Mom! You’re my mom now!’ Razzly cheers.

Trixie laughs. ‘Magic duels aren’t exactly legal contracts… In fact, I will have a lot of explaining to do when I see Regent Sombra later...’

Razzly nuzzles Trixie’s chest. ‘I don’t care. You’ve been more of a mother than she ever was. You actually care about me. You fought to protect me, not to control me. I love you, Trixie.’

The older unicorn smiles and kisses Razzly’s forehead. ‘I love you too, Razzly.’ She gives the filly one last squeeze before letting go. ‘We should get to the palace. I am sure Alba will want to hear all about this.’

‘Ooo! Can I tell her?’ Shaun asks. ‘It will be so funny when I bust out the pictures and you back me up.’

Trixie smiles and trots away. ‘We’ll see. Come on. Let’s get going.’

Razzly nods and catches up. ‘Right with you, mom.’

Trixie laughs and ruffles Razzly’s mane as they trot away together. Shaun takes one last look back before flying after them.

Author's Note:

RoH Timeline: Trixie and Jade Emerald duel for the future of Razzly. Razzly adopts Trixie as her mother.

SCS Connection: In SCS, Razzly is Trixie's biological daughter with Strawberry Souffle aka Stormy. Earlier in TWP, Stormy and Jade Emerald were assigned to act as a family for a school project. I wonder what would have happened in that universe if Jade had to act as Razzly's mother for a time...

Comments

[Booster Spice]

Something to be careful of. The confusion between responsibility and ownership, and between illusion and sheer overwealming power.

[ShadowStar0]

It really is surprising just how different some ponies are between universes. The TWP/SCS Jade was so nice, and probably would have made a good mother to Razzly, while this one is... just such a b!

[WanderingPhysicist]

8095729 Now I'm even more scared to finish the SCS chapter I've been stuck on for too long.