The Legend of Trixie

by Ninjadeadbeard

Day XX, part 2 - The Arc of Time

Trixie tucked Swirly into his hammock that night soon after taking him under my metaphorical wing. I, however, stayed up a while longer. Normally, Trixie makes sure to get her beauty rest, but I was worried. I really thought I'd seen something off in the woods, and I didn't want to take a chance with Swirly by not checking up on it.

After a while, though, I started thinking whatever I saw had only been a trick of the light. But, just to be safe, I let the fire burn itself out before I ended watch. The woods were still dangerous, after all. It was still the freaking Everfree.

No monsters popped out that night. But, I was happy I'd stayed up anyway. Just after the fire burned out, Trixie looked up, and saw the stars. I guess I'd been busy, all this time trapped in the past, or the weather just hadn't ever been agreeable. I had never taken a moment to look up at night, and look at Luna's

She didn't exist yet, I realized, looking up into such a night sky as I've never seen. If Trixie lives to be one hundred years old, she will never forget the sight. It reminded me of once, in Art class, when I was practicing a tricky part of my future magic act. Yes, I know I should have been doing the assignment, but I heard that the Great Cosma could levitate stuff without using her horn, so naturally, Trixie had to figure it out as well.

The only records I could find of a magician named Cosma were a party clown license filed with Canterlot's Bureau of Fun, and an arrest warrant for a unicorn mare wanted in connection to a bank heist committed by a gang of criminal party planner ponies.

I tried getting more out of Pinkie Pie, she being my expert on such things (no, I don't know where my life went so wrong), but all I got was a slap in the face, and something about how "a Pinkie Promise must be held, FOR-E-VER". I have no idea what happened there.

Long story short, Journal, but Trixie might have instead combusted the various paint supplies she had access to. Luckily, nothing burst into flame that time, but it did result in me with a black portrait completely covered in specks of silver, blue, and purple paint. I thought it looked positively Great and Powerful. Professor Melting Clock didn't think so, and gave me a D a Gentlemare's C. Funny thing though, was that he changed it to a B when Princess Celestia came in and wanted to keep the painting.

I know! I mean, it was a very nice thing she did for a silly filly. It probably sat on her fridge door for a week before she tossed it. Saved my grade too. Not that it mattered in the end.

I wonder if you knew that Celestia kept that picture. I asked her about the incident, and she seemed to remember everything. Must've been hard to have fun while her student, am I right? Apparently, Trixie's little painting misadventure reminded the Princess of her long lost sister, since it looked like a starfield. I guess she'd been bored with her own stars for a thousand years by that point, so she kept it.

The painting looked just like those stars. Spots of silver on a black canvas, entwined in gold and blue and purple swirls. A small part of me wanted to twirl my cape a bit, but even the Great and Powerful Trixie had to bow to the night-sky's superior skill. It was beautiful.

But, Trixie hears you asking, Journal, why does all this matter?

Trixie will get to that. In time.

Trixie finished that page with a bunch of doodles of stars in the margins.

---

Day 14, and we were making good time for once!

Ha ha! Trixie was pulling your leg, Journal! Sweet Luna's horn, I'm so lonely.

No, actually. It wasn't a good day at all. It wasn't watch-a-village-burn bad the worst thing, but it certainly wasn't Great or Powerful. No, it was the exact opposite of Great and Powerful. It was downright Sparkle!

Trixie shouldn't say those sorts of things. The Princess hasn't really been a problem for me for a long while now. And she was responsible for me meeting my absolute bestie. How many times am I going to remember that while writing in you before it sticks?

Right, Day 14. Stupid day. Worse night. Very Sparkle stop that

For as cute and adorable as he is, Starswirl is such a complainer. I mean, I'm happy his mood improved, but if he just worked his legs more than his mouth walked more than he talked, maybe Trixie wouldn't have a throbbing headache right now. Then again, that might also be from the concussion.

Trixie will explain.

So, I started off Swirly's apprenticeship in the best way I knew how. It was the way Grey taught me, after all. The key to being a great magician, to be that a legendary Wizard or a stage magician of peerless skill, beauty, poise

"Magic isn't just about making your horn glow and throwing fireballs and laser blasts around," I told him before we broke camp.

The little twerp Swirly was very eager to start his tutelage, and so, interrupted me. "Yes! It's about harnessing the elementary factors of creation, binding them to your will, and changing reality with but a whim!"

I don't know where he gets it.

"Wrong-o!" said the Great and Powerful Me, "Magic is about all kinds of things! And the first, and most important, lesson you can learn is this: A Healthy Body is a Healthy Mind!"

His blank little stare was all I needed to know he didn't have a clue as to what I meant. So, Trixie decided to demonstrate. I went off into the nearby treeline, and quickly found just what I needed. It took me a few minutes, since I needed to find some leverage and a stick, but I was able to lever a small rock out of the ground, and tossed it over to our camp. The darn thing had to weigh fifty pounds or so.

"What is that?" Swirly asked as I got out the rope from my wagon.

"This," I said with a dash of a performance in my voice, "will be your luggage!"

"My luggage?" he asked, still not grasping what I was trying to teach him, "But... that's a rock. A rock that's almost as big as I am!"

I nodded at his finally understanding. "Indeed! And by carrying this rock while we're on the road, you will build the muscle and endurance to survive the life of a traveling magician!"

I actually know what Trixie's doing here! Trixie's teacher, Grey Prancer, must have learned from the same school as my first archaeology professor, Author Challenge Doily! Hauling heavy stones during intense physical training is a staple of Turtle Hermit's martial arts school. Turtle-style is good for building endurance and stamina, so a lot of The Hermit's teachings are used in Royal Guard training, and Rainbow Dash relies on it heavily for training her Wonderbolts. Seriously, I'd be dead a dozen times over if I didn't learn how to hoof it over a mountain while chained to a boulder.

He licked his lips, clearly eager to begin... or so I thought.

"That's crazy!" he shook his head at me, "I can't carry that! How does this help me with magic!?"

Trixie could only roll her eyes at the foalish foal. I couldn't believe how little such a supposedly legendary wizard knew about magic!

"Because, my apprentice," I drew myself up to look even more Great and Powerful than I normally was, "Your magic isn't just in your horn!"

"It isn't?"

Trixie had to pause for a moment at that. It never occurred to me that Starswirl, or anypony, for that matter, wouldn't know about something so elementary to magic. I mean, how could he not know about this stuff?

"Of course not! Magic flows throughout your body! All ponies have little nodes and pools of magic in their bodies, and unique ways for that magic to flow out of them. And the best way to keep those nodes going strong, is to keep your body in shape!"

"But Galen of Piggamon* said..." Swirly started rattling off a bunch of names and philosophies that I don't even care to remember. I like the kid, I really do. But sometimes, he goes full-Twilight when you bring up something even remotely related to magic.

Galen of Pegamon was a unicorn philosopher who was born in Pegamon, a Pegasus city-state. Since mixed heritages were still illegal among the pegasi back then (some 200 years before this point in history), he was exiled to Roam, where he became a leading philosopher and magical-theorist. Of course, literally everything he ever wrote has since been debunked, but by this point in history he was still considered the leading authority on the relationship between the equine body and magic.

The Mana-Chakra System (MCS) taught today was supposed to have been discovered by Starswirl himself, with help from Mistmane. Seems he started his theory by listening to Trixie talk about it.

*Trixie misspelled Pegamon. I chose not to correct her. Because it's funny.

It took an hour to convince him that I wasn't just being weird, and that this was legitimately how he could build his physical endurance. Luckily for me, he's a quick learner. Once he saw it was possible, Swirly fell right into line.

But, I wasn't done yet! While Grey Prancer had taught me the basics of Turtle Style and its endurance training, I'd already surpassed my own master in the mystical arts. For you see, Journal, there was one other thing Swirly needed if he was to be my true magical apprentice!

"Now," I began, once I'd tied the boulder to Swirly's back (he did not look happy with that thing on, but that was the point), "I'm going to show you a spell that will let you reduce the weight of the boulder, but only so long as you concentrate on it."

"What..." he gasped, "What's the point of that?"

"The point is," I said, patient as always, "that Magic is like a muscle. The more you use it, the stronger it gets. And it'll make the boulder manageable. So, there's that."

His eyes bulged out at me, though that could also have been the boulder crushing his little body.

"Wait, why didn't we start with that!? I feel like my hooves are sinking!"

"Do you question your master!?" I shot back. Even if I liked the kid, he needed to know who was boss.

Trixie was boss. Just in case you didn't know that, Journal.

"N-no, Master Trixie!" he panicked a little bit, and reset his stance to hold up the rock a little easier, "Please, teach me!"

Well, he took to my spell like Twilight does to a donut shop--

Rude.

Also, that training style sounds like unicorn Guard training. Technically, Trixie's on the rolls for the Ponyville militia, ever since Starlight sent her off with the Friendship School kids during Chrysalis's attack. Looks like she would have only just finished her first round of training with them when she was sent back.

Speaking of the crazy bug herself, you gotta tell me how that whole rehabilitation thing's going. Discord complains a lot about Cozy Glow whenever he's around, so I bet the other two former-statues have some fun stories to share?

-- and within the hour, we were off!

Too bad the storm caught up with us right after that. We even made some decent distance through the woods, when the wind kicked up and a shower started. A heavy shower, the kind where somepony breaks the head off and the whole wall starts flooding the bathroom. Starlight seriously needs to learn how to turn a pipe without crushing it in her mutant-strong magic grip. I couldn't even see that far once the rain started, like the whole sky and all the clouds were dropping on my head!

My luck, naturally. Well, Trixie wasn't about to let a little rain show her up. I happen to know a few weather spells. Alright, to be honest (I should try that more often), weather magic's always been a tricky thing for Trixie. I've been able to take a couple apart and modify a few others, but real weather magic takes a lot more raw power mana than I could muster up in one go.

But, as I was to teach Swirly soon enough: Power is nothing without being Clever!

So, I whipped up a quick umbrella-spell I knew from traveling the Everfree (before my little adventure started), where random weather just sort of happens. This rain was too thick for a shield spell, so I opted to take out the velocity matrix and thaumic feedback loop from Skydancer's Ballet, and used that to make a little tornado come out of my horn to blow all the rain in front of my face away!

Skydancer was a very strange pony from the 6th century, CE. She was a pegasus, a ballerina, and a close, personal friend to Celestia¹. Yet, despite ostensibly being an artist and an aristocrat, she was fascinated with unicorn magic, and helped her best friend, Lord Tumble Dry, develop some of the first weather spells used for Canterlot's Winter Wrap Up.
1. Very close²
2. Sexy close

Anyway, Trixie is listed in the Grand Spell Registry as having tweaked or modified a couple dozen spells. I didn't realize how seriously unicorn mages took sourcing spells and modifications until I tried looking Trixie up in the registry. Did you know she owns the patent on a spell called Glimglam's Glamorous Hams? Apparently, it used to be a fireball spell, until Trixie figured out she could use its heating properties to burn calories after eating too much. It nearly killed her, but she got the credit for inventing a new spell regardless.

And yes. I desperately want to know that spell, and I'm not even a unicorn!

But, Swirly wasn't having it. I don't really blame him all that much. When I learned the technique, it was hard to switch back and forth from straining my muscles to straining my magic. It helped the Great and Powerful Trixie become even Greater and more Powerful, but this was Swirly's first day. While he'd done a fantastic job huffing and puffing away at my side, right then and there, he was just drowning in mud.

After rolling the boulder over, I used the rain and Skydancer's spell to clean the poor colt off, though he protested the whole time. Even that spell, however, wouldn't push the rain aside enough to keep going. And so, with a heavy heart, and a water-logged hat, I pulled us into a small flat area in between a stand of trees, and we retreated into the safety of the wagon.

---

Warm and dry, we tucked into our trail rations with gusto! Firefly, as it turned out, had been a decent cook for these sorts of things. Or knew a decent cook, whatever So, we had a nice bit of honey-soaked bread with a paste I think she made out of beans and raisins. I wanted to stretch out the real food a bit, or else we'd have cooked something in the wagon.

Trixie supposes that, for a first day on the road, things hadn't gone well for poor Swirly. I mean, things hadn't really been going well for a while, but still, I felt bad about how my training had already gone off. So, I came up with an idea.

"Alright," Trixie said, once we'd gotten comfortable, "So, teaching you how to walk was a bust for today..."

"Hey," he interrupted, through a muzzle-full of food.

"Nevertheless!" I said with dramatic flourish, then to appease the irate youth, "But it was only your first day. You shall... grow into it, I guess."

I coughed, and stepped back into Showmare Mode.

"For today, I shall impart unto you, the secrets of... Sleight of Hoof!"

Swirly, being uninitiated into the true mysteries of the Stage Magician, balked at my teachings.

"There's nothing magical about... whatever sleight of hoof is," he pouted, like a child crap, he is a child.

It was at that moment that I produced... The Coin. The simplest, yet most effective, magic trick available to a stagehoof. It was a single silver Bit, the sort that most ponies in the here and now were using instead of gold bits. Crazy, I know. Who makes their money out of worthless silver when Gold is available?

Due to the efforts of Stressed Silver, Celestia's court Archmage from 344 to 420 CE, artificial Silver crashed the market on the once-precious metal. Its use as a reagent for magical research, as well as its aesthetic value, kept it in circulation, much like gemstones, but silver never recovered its old value.

Discord started laughing when I wrote that. Said something about how I should "buy gold", and that "gravity is a lie". Can you ask Starlight to ward my house from him, please? He keeps popping in and out of my annotations.

Y̧͍͍͖͚o̡͙̖͉͖u̧̱̖̝ͅͅ'̧̬̲͇̳͉r̡̝͍e̡͍̟ͅ j̢̱̣͚ụ̡̩̞s̩͉̝͜t̡̩̭̫͇̥ j̢̰̱̮̦ͅȩ̮̞a̢͕̞̟̠l͚̭̱̤̳͜o̫͍̳͜ų͓̟̣s̯̮̩͖͉͢ ţ͔͔̲̬͙h̢̥͔̣̦a̧͈͎t̬̬̳͜ͅ I̪͓̟͚͜ w̧͉̠e̪̪͢ą̟̯̟̳̩r̡̭͕̤ͅ i̢̜̟̤t̢̗̫ b̨̙̖̲͔̙e̱̜̣͢ţ̮̟̤t͓̠͢ͅe̡̙̲̱̙̜r͔͚̰͖͢.̱̟̗̩͢

Yeah, like that.

Swirly didn't seem too impressed, not at first. Which was understandable. Trixie knew from personal experience, the best tricks come in the least conspicuous packages.

"Magic," Trixie began, "is all in how you see things."

I began rolling the coin around the edge of my hoof, my voice, and the sound of metal rolling across keratin, mixing with that of the falling rain. But, though he looked bored, I could tell I still had his attention.

"Magic isn't about making fireballs," I said, "or about moving mountains, making portals to other worlds, or even creating life..."

He was very interested now. It was time for Trixie to lay down some truths.

"Trixie isn't the Great and Powerful because she only uses power to do her magic. Magic is more than power. It's taking the mundane, and making it mysterious. It's about taking the normal, and making it supernormal!"

I left the coin spinning in place at the tip of my hoof, and I think that as much as anything else, fascinated little Swirly. I should probably show him my coin-throwing later Nevermind, stupid idea. Bad Trixie.

Trixie learned a lot about knife and coin throwing from her time in the circus, but she only added it to her magic act after she got private lessons from Limestone Pie (Braytona Six-Time All-National Rock-Throwing Champion). She's currently banned from throwing in her act, by royal decree. Apparently, due to her training under Limestone, her throws "naturally and unerringly, drift into the subjects' heads", according to the Fillydelphia PD report.

On a related note, did you know Luna was in a week-long coma after that show!?

"Magic," Trixie decided to finish her demonstration, "isn't about being powerful. It's about being... Clever!"

And with that, the coin vanished. Of course, not really. Trixie merely flicked it to her other hoof and frogged it, as the sleight of hoof parlance goes. But Swirly didn't know that.

His eyes practically bulged right out of his head! The little colt looked at my horn, and back to my hoof. There was awe in his face, certainly... but also confusion, fascination... and finally, Joy!

"I... how did you do that!?"

"Magic," I said, in reply.

"But," he shook his head, like that would help him think through the trick, "But I didn't see your horn glow! How did you perform magic without your horn?"

"Because, magic isn't about being powerful," I produced the coin again, and this time Swirly focused on it like it was a snake about to bite, "It's about being clever. Here, watch..."

---

The next page or so looks to be lost to water damage and some sort of mold I can only assume to be beanpaste. The lost part can be read, but only in broken fragments.

To the best of my ability, I could decipher that Trixie spent an hour or more teaching 'Swirly' how to do that coin trick, and that once he realized it wasn't actual magic, he got real salty. He got over it, partly because he seemed to like Trixie and figured she was onto something with her 'clever' speech. Plus, she offered to teach him that Skydancer spell.

But, while she was doing that, the sound of thunder seemed to keep getting closer...

"... almost got it!" I said, encouragingly, "Just tilt the axis a little more back."

In hindsight, it was a good thing I tied everything down first. Trixie won't lie, she was surprised at how quickly Swirly picked up her umbrella spell. But, then, he was supposed to be a big deal wizard. Being a child-prodigy was exactly what I should have expected.

Like me, of course!

But there was that sound again. I was starting to think it wasn't thunder at all, but watching Swirly practice his spell, I suppose I got distracted. I was witnessing a young showstallion begin walking the path to fame and glory, and I could tell, even if I didn't know who he was supposed to be, that the kid had talent.

I hope he gets there, this time. I really do.

The sound was like a low rumble, and a hauntingly familiar one. And, now that it was so loud, I started thinking I should take a look. I let Swirly continue practicing while I went to the back door to the wagon, unlatched the lock, and looked out into what I thought was a dark and stormy night day (sorry, habit), but was in fact merely a rainy, foggy day with a slight case of Timberwolves.

There were easily a dozen, no! A hundre

Alright, so, a dozen. Not the worst thing Trixie has ever dealt with, except for the fact that the pack leader was only two feet away and charging the door!

Now, Journal? I promise you, everything that happened just then, was entirely, and completely, in Trixie's control. Recall, if you will, her cat-like reflexes? Trixie let out a mighty war-cry that startled the mighty beast, and she leapt back from its jaws to protect my student.

Then, with expert skill and precision, I Trixie kicked one of the chests over, spilling a whole bundle of fireworks out onto her back.

Swirly, startled though he was, executed my plan perfectly. My training had conditioned him, so that when he saw the Timberwolves, and the fuses to the rockets, he knew precisely what to do! He struck the rocket with his magic, and set the whole bundle, almost twenty rockets, firing into the Timberwolf's open jaws. It careened through the air, and erupted into a shower of fire, smoke, and wooden bits, almost flattening the whole pack in one go!

I'm calling shenanigans. And not just because Starswirl, at some point, wrote the following in the margins:

I don't remember it quite like that. Then again, I was a little under the weather by that point. Sorry, Trixie. Wish I'd told you sooner.

I remember focusing on that weather spell, straining to keep my mana flow consistent, when you started screaming, and screaming, and kicking around in, what I assumed was, a panic. That, in addition to the raging Timberwolves trying to bust down the door, scared me so severely that I, and I do not admit this lightly, had a slight mana leak, that ignited all of your fireworks, the whole bundle of which had fallen atop you in the blind scramble that was going on.

The explosion was just how I remember it, however. Great Ghosts, I'm so glad those explosives had been pointed out a window.

---

Stains heavily obscure the next section

---

I tell you now, Journal, that I have never run so hard from anything. Even that one time I had to slip out of Hope Hollow ahead of the guard, I wasn't running as hard as I was just then. Timberwolves have legs on them.

The explosion bought us, like, a minute, tops. I hitched myself up as quick as I could, and started hauling out of there like there was--

I just realized that there's no metaphor that really gets across how fast I was hauling it, except to say it was like Timberwolves were on my tail. Which they were.

As I've said before though, we were fetlocks deep in thick, cloying mud! But, Trixie had something up her sleeves for this occasion! I quickly cast my very own spell, the Glimglam's Glamorous Hams. Normally, this brilliant bit of arcane acumen was Trixie's super-secret means of keeping a svelte figure. But, it was originally a Fire spell, and so it took almost no time at all for the Great and Powerful Trixie to re-substitute some of the more fiery elements back in, and to target the mud itself.

The patch of mud we were in dried up after just a few seconds and, with a simple tug, I was able to pull us free. Unfortunately, the rest of the forest was still completely rained in, and muddy. So, plan B was going to take yet another clever play on my part.

"Swirly!" I called out, "Dump anything that's not nailed down!"

"Even the bits!?" he called back from the inside of the wagon.

I shouted back, "Don't be crazy!"

Honestly, I should have worded that better. Though I didn't yet know Swirly had started tossing out my money, I knew that losing weight wasn't the only trick to getting us away from those Timberwolves. Well, it was, but in a different way. I started casting the cloud-walking spell again, though this time, I tweaked one of the target vectors so that the spell would work on the wagon itself!

Thank you, Journal. Trixie is a genius.

And so humble, of course.

I actually checked with Zaldia whether or not that was impressive. She seemed to think making a whole wagon weigh nothing using a spell meant to copy pegasus magic was impossible. Par for the course with Trixie, I guess.

We flew through the forest after that! Not literally, don't be silly, Journal. But with the wagon weighing nothing, and with Trixie's peerless athleticism and skill, we were making excellent time racing against those monsters.

Or, so I thought. But a glance behind me proved what I'd always feared. Those Timberwolves had come in numbers! There must have actually been a couple dozen of the beasts, and they were nipping at our heels. Several of the quicker ones had caught up to us, and if it weren't for the quick thinking of Swirly zapping them on the snouts with magical blasts that were even weaker than mine just enough to tickle them, they might have stopped the wagon.

As it was, they merely kicked the crap out of it. Sure, Swirly shooed off one or two. But when ten come out of the woods and start throwing themselves into the side of your wagon? We were getting pummeled.

However, fortune found us! A rock, little more than a tiny pebble, got caught under Trixie's wheels, and with the wagon itself weighing so little, the whole thing bounced high up into the air, taking poor Trixie with it! I landed at the wagons' head, falling into the interior as the cord keeping me connected snapped from the violent shake we got.

The wagon sailed through the air, and down the slope of a rocky hill. If it weren't for the fact that we came down perfectly on the remains of some sort of cobblestone road at just the right angle, we might have crashed right then and there!

Instead, we crashed two seconds later, right in the middle of a pile of boulders. I was thrown from the wagon, and landed hard at the foot of one of the rocks. One of the wagon's wheels rolled past me, and disappeared into the jungle around us.

I tell you, my head was swimming. It still kind of is. But, at that moment, I didn't much care.

"Swirly!" I cried, realizing remembering what had just happened. I wasn't sure if I'd been out for a moment, a minute, or longer. The rain had stopped, and the earth beneath us was dry as bone.

The little colt was hanging out the front of the wagon, dazed, and clearly gut-punched by the railing, but once I got up to him, it was obvious he was just winded. Trixie pulled him out of there, and I started assessing the damage.

Not bad, all things considered. The wagon had slammed into some sort of dry pool right in the center of the boulders, losing one wheel, and most of the axle. No worries there. I could fix it in a jiff, assuming we weren't eaten by Timberwolves in the next few minutes.

Oddly, we hadn't been. I know if I was a Timberwolf, I'd be salivating at the chance to eat a pony as obviously Scrumptious and Delicious as Trixie.

I looked around, and found my answer. The wolves had all come to a dead-stop, just beyond the ring of boulders we'd landed in. In fact, if Trixie didn't know any better, which of course Trixie did, I'd guess that they were scared to follow us.

They remained there, at the edge of the circle, for only a few moments, before they retreated back into the depths of the Everfree. I can still feel their eyes on us, even now.

But, right then, I was more worried about Swirly. And I couldn't help but feel weirded-out by the place we'd landed. When I went back to him, Swirly was awake, and staring straight up at the sky above us.

"Swirly?" I asked, "Are you alright?"

He didn't answer.

"Swirly," Trixie huffed, in a dignified and non-pouty manner, "You know it's bad manners to ignore your Master, right?"

Again, he didn't answer me. He just started pointing straight up in the air. I went over to him, but when he refused to do anything else, I shrugged and followed his hoof.

And, well, it takes a lot to impress somepony as Great and Powerful as myself. But that was certainly impressive.

The clouds were parting around the weird boulders. Like, there was a hole in the sky, and all the clouds were going around us.

And that's when it hit me. These weren't boulders, Journal! They were Standing Stones!

I'd just crashed my wagon into Ponehenge!

Again!

I'll come clean on this one: I haven't been able to find out when or how she crashed into Ponehenge before. You and your friends were the first living beings to find it in about a thousand years. Wait, was it doing the cloud-thing when you were there? Curious.

Regardless, Ponehenge is still one of the greatest mysteries in all of academia. Starswirl wrote whole essays and studies on the thing, most all of which were lost to time, and even his latest research that touches on it basically reads like a literary shrug. Was it built by the mysterious, and borderline fictional, Alicorn Tribe? Was it the result of neolithic Grazer-Gatherers dedicating a spot to their ancestral religion? Was Discord bored? Nopony knows!

Trixie didn't realize it was Ponehenge the first time, Journal, but sometimes useful information filters down through one of Twilight's interm intro int really long lectures.

Well, for a moment, at least, Swirly and I could take a long moment, and breathe.

---

And then, scream.

Trixie

I'm not proud of what happened next, Journal. I was just so angry and frustrated. And once I realized that Swirly had tossed out basically everything we'd picked up back in Hyneighria, I was downright furious. We had some of the food left, and a few of the costumes and some rope. But that was basically it.

The fireworks? A smoking crater.

The mirrors? Shattered somewhere down the road.

The trick-chest I'd gotten Firefly to make? Busted.

Besides a few card tricks and some bits and bobs, Trixie's show was down to my and Swirly's costumes.

And all the money was gone.

Well. Except for that last silver bit. So. Yay.

I said some things, Journal. Things I wish I could take back now. I screamed, I yelled, and I hollered. Most of it was at Life, in general, and our circumstances, in particular.

But I know what I said to Swirly. I called him stupid. I said he didn't think before he acted. I said I regretted taking him along with me. I called him a terrible apprentice.

I'm stupid, Journal. Trixie never thinks before she acts. I just do things because it will show up Sparkle

I do stupid things, because I'm stupid. And short-sighted. And prideful, without earning it. No wonder Grey Prancer gave up on me. I'm a terrible pony, and Swirly's life would have been better without me in it.

And I know this, because after I sent him to bed, I got a good look at the wagon. The whole side of it's been torn to shreds by claws and teeth. And if any one of those Timberwolves had gotten closer, bit through any more of the side, I wouldn't be writing in you right now.

I'm going to apologize to him. Tomorrow.

I just hope he can forgive me.

---

Swirly's sick. Can't talk now. Will write soon.

Uh, day 15.

---

Day 16. I made Swirly as comfortable as I could, but the wagon is was really off-kilter with the missing wheel. I knocked out the rest so the wagon would lie flat. Bundled him up in whatever cloth we had, and tried cooking some soup.

Didn't have the right ingredients, so I went out into the woods. Stupid Timberwolves. Almost caught me once, but I know their game now! Can't follow me back into the ruin. One tried, actually. Hit some sort of shimmering barrier and--

Swirly's up. Gotta go.

---

Day Day eig Seven?

Trixie lost count.

Heven't slept. Swirly's still sick. One of the wolves almost took off my tail. It's fine, -ish. I managed to grow most of it back. I'm glad I listened to Zecora whenever I went through Ponyville. There's some good herbs and roots out here for healing, if you know where to look.

Don't know if Swirly would be as good as he is without it.

He still hasn't worken up.

Guess I can take a nap, then.

Zecora gave Trixie lessons in first-aid and medicine when Trixie had to get a first-aid emergency certification for that Firefighter career that went so smoothly. About half of Ponyville’s set up to give the certification, and Zecora wasn’t the first pony Trixie went to. She was just the one who Trixie didn’t drive insane before the mandatory thirty-minute lesson was over.

I got a little anxious, reading that part. If you recall reading Daring Do and the Curse of the Iron Monkey, Caballeron and I were forced to survive a month together in the jungle, bound by the mystical curse of the Iron Monkey Goblet. What I ended up leaving out of the book was the three days I spent nursing him back to health after he caught the Red Fever.

Sure, he was still the Bad Guy back then. But, watching him waste away, listening to him cry for his mom when he was hallucinating, it scared me to death. Add to Trixie’s case that she’s caring for a foal here, and I don’t know how I’d handle it.

---

Trixie really doesn't know where to begin. Trixie needs to talk about what happened. I need to. But there's nopony. Starswirl already knows. Wish that never happened, but then that was kind of the problem

Then, it's you, Journal. But nopony will ever believe me. Heck, I wouldn't. And I'm me! The Lovable and Truthful Trixie!

So. Where to begin? The beginning makes sense.

After Swirly got sick, and I'd spent a couple of days nursing him the best I could, I laid down to nap, before I had to go out again. Timberwolves were chumps, but they were mean chumps. Even Maud takes them seriously, and I once saw her bury a pack of them under a mountain. Still don’t know how she managed to lift that thing.

Pie things, Trixie guesses. None of them are normal.

It was Hyneighria again. I swear, I'd been having that dream ever since the attack, and it never got easier. Everything was on fire, again. And I could hear everypony's screams, again. I’d really forgotten what having nightmares was like, living at the same time as Princess Luna. I can remember calling out to her in that dream, wishing she’d show up, before remembering that she couldn’t. I was all alone in my dreams.

Or, so I thought.

Before, I kept seeing glimpses of the Princesses in my dreams. Memories, I thought. At least, until Luna actually showed up, walking through a wall of fire that had consumed Mayor Sparkleshine’s home. For the first time in a while, I had a familiar face in front of me.

"I wish you were really here, Princess,” I sighed, “I could use your help right about now."

The Dream-Princess looked at me funny. She scrunched up her nose, smiled, and said, "Well. I am here now. Pray, what hath happened that thy dreams would be so tragic? Let me mend thy heart, my little pony."

Took me a whole minute to realize she was talking to me. I barely remember if the flames had stopped burning in the town, or if they were still going. I think they faded away, but who knows? I suppose Trixie should, but I was distracted. Get off my back, Journal!

That was combative. Trixie apologizes.

"Huh," I shrugged, "If you were the real Luna, maybe. But you’re just a figment of my incredible, stupendous, and ingenious imagination."

She smiled, in that frustratingly perfect way Princesses do, "Oh? You speak very strangely. Yet verily, 'tis I. Princess Luna. I have finally retaken my place as the Protector of Dreams, the Dreamwalker. I know thou think’st Dreams and Nightmares be all in thy mind, but I am here to help."

"No, you're not," I sighed, again, "Princess Luna won't even be born for a couple hundred years! Assuming I don’t screw that up too!"

Now, that got her attention. The Dream-Luna's eyes shrank, and her jaw dropped.

"F-forgive Us," she said, in that way you just knew was using the Royal We, "We would have your name? Who... are you?"

Proof, once again, that this was a nightmare. How could anypony not know of the Great and Powerful Trixie? Much less Luna! I know the whole coma thing put a strain on our relationship, but Trixie knew perfectly well that the Princess had visited her dreams many times before. Once Trixie had mastered the Lucid Dreaming spell Starlight taught me, she was almost constantly aware of the Royal’s spying on my dreams.

I’d always been a little comforted by that. Like I had a secret super-fan. And now, having her pretend not to know me, I was sure this was all a nightmare.

As Appleseed might say, “Hoo boy!”

I think she meant Applejack.

Also, my mind is being blown right now.

“Ha!” said Trixie, conjuring her original hat and cape, “Naturally, a nightmare wouldn’t know to whom it was speaking! But you happen to be in luck, for the Great and Powerful Trixie requires a distraction from her temporal sojourn!”

Fireworks went off, the bass band played, I pulled out all the stops.

"Trixie Lulamoon?" Luna asked, wide-eyed, and star-struck, no doubt, "You are... Trixie Lulamoon?"

"The one and only!" I said, "Feast your eyes upon my greatness! I am the Greatest Showmare! I conquered the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive, and Time itself! But, I can understand a pathetic nightmare not knowing about me.”

Dream-Luna shook her head, and shouted (yes, she shouted at me!), "I am no mere shade or conjuration of the mind! I am Princess Luna! The Alicorn of the Night! And I have heard of you, villain!"

I rolled my dream-eyes at that. Even in my dreams, it would seem that Trixie is followed by hecklers.

"Yes..." Luna frowned at me, and tilted her head like she was trying to figure out a scam, "I have heard of you. Thou were't a confidence mare..."

"I am pretty confident," I said, now that the dream was back on track, recognizing Trixie's brilliance.

"... Thou were the knave who caused the accident with the Ursa Minor!" she snarled, "Our Sister's student, Twilight Sparkle, had to save the township of Ponyville from your gloating-troubles!"

"First of all!" Trixie declared, getting really tired of this dream by now, "Princess Twilight forgave Trixie for that business a long time ago! Heck, that was even before the stupid Alicorn Amulet thing! Admittedly, not one of my best ideas."

Trixie started marching forward and, right on cue, Luna began to back off.

"And secondly, it was those idiots Snips and Snails who got the Ursa Minor! I was just trying to put on a show, and deal with neighsayers! Why am I even bothering to tell you this!? You're just me in a wig!"

Princess Luna had started backing up from me, right up until she was about to fall back into a burning building. Then, she stopped, and stared at Trixie like she'd never seen me before.

I remember wishing the dream would make up its mind about that.

"The Alicorn Amulet?" she asked, "Princess Twilight...? Trixie, what did thou sayest about... conquering time?"

"Come on, Dream," I sighed, "Stop horsing around!"

Then, pointing a hoof at Luna, I asked it, "What year do you think it is?"

Luna hesitated a moment. "By My Sister's reckoning, it is the one-thousandth-one-hundredth-and-fourth year of Our Dominion."

"No," I explained, "That was when I first came through Ponyville. It’s Eleven-Thirteen!"

"Trixie..." Luna narrowed her eyes at me, "Thou were driven from Ponyville only three months past."

That gave Trixie pause. No nightmare, no matter how insidious and pervasive, would have kept up such a charade this long. And Trixie had taken notes from Starlight before on dream-magic. If this wasn’t Luna, then she was breaking several laws of dreaming to be as convincing as she was.

I was getting worried when the Princess spoke again.

"Trixie, didst thou actually travel back through Time?"

"What do you think I've been saying? I've been hoofing it through the Everfree since Hyneighria with Swirly!"

Luna took a quick look around, and seemed to become more, and more, alarmed as she did so. She didn't say anything for almost a whole minute, which was very rude, if you ask me, but I’m used to rude Princesses by now.

Finally, she whispered, "Hyneighria… 'Tis the same."

"The same what?" I asked, very under-control and not confused or panicking at all.

"As when last Starswirl asked me to mend the nightmares of his... Swirly?"

"Well," I shrugged, "It feels weird calling somepony who only comes up to my belly Starswirl the Bearded, you know?"

Luna's face looked like she'd just watched one of my old high-wire routines. Or if she remembered my Throwing routine, though I was starting to suspect she couldn’t. She paled immediately, and her jaw hung from the rest of her head. I had half a mind to dream up some birds to land in it, like a feeder.

"Trixie..." she seemed like she was about to say more, and confirm what Trixie was already starting to dread...

When the dream ended!

Everything Trixie just said, or implied, is impossible. Like, totally, completely flying in the face of logic, reason, and all modern magical theories of how Time and Dreams work.

I even checked with Luna. And you know what? Do you know what she said?

“Death is Dream’s other kingdom, where Time means naught, and in strange aeons, even Death may die.”

She then gave me the raspberry, knocked my pith-hat off my head, and yelled ‘Spoilers’ while she flew off to somepony else’s dream.

Princess Luna got weirder in retirement.

I know! It was so annoying! Like, everything started shaking, and glowing, and Luna said something about finding me again, and--

Whatever. It's not important. Not yet. Maybe never. No, what was really important, and what I have to write down, is what I met when I woke up.

When I woke up, it was very suddenly. I remember thinking that I might have fallen out of my hammock again, before I realized that I’d fallen asleep on the floor. But, for some reason, I was floating in the air, with a light-green aura holding me up in the middle of the cabin!

I’d seen that shade of green once before, when I cast my disappearing-reappearing spell back in Twilight’s castle.

Swirly was still sleeping in his hammock when I was ripped through the open door, and into the night. And the night was frigid! I landed hard in the wet grass around Ponehenge’s stones, and I could just feel my fur turning into icicles, like that!

When I tried to move, there was this weight atop me. The aura hadn’t gone away, and was now pinning me down. I tried to push back with my own magic, but it was like trying to lift Holder’s Boulder.

“Trixie Lulamoon!” a voice thundered throughout the dark.

I stopped. There, standing in the center of the stones atop the empty pool thingie, was the most amazing creature I’ve ever seen. A completely silver Alicorn, with her mane as ethereal as the Princesses’, wrapped in bronze armor that made her look like a War-goddess. She was beautiful, and terrible, all at once!

Trixie couldn’t move. Not from the aura, but from the fear in me. I’d never seen an Alicorn so tall. Sweet Celestia, even Princess Celestia wouldn’t come up much higher than her chin! And I’m including the horn!

And her fiery blue eyes were burning in my direction.

“Interloper,” she said, “You have wounded Time enough! By my authority, as the Princess Aeva, Alicorn of Time, I sentence you to Oblivion!”

---

Okay, so, I was salivating when I first read this part, and I think you are too, Your Majesty. Princess Aeva!? I have a few findings I’ll bring up later, but in that moment, I was positively screaming.

But then, as I started turning the page, a couple slipped out, and fell to the floor. Once I got them back in order, I realized something: they weren't Trixie's writing! Like before, Starswirl had started writing little notes and observations in the journal sometime long after his adventures with Trixie. It appears as though he had a lot to say this time.

And I told you before, since I have to edit this monster of typos, plot holes, and mixed metaphors, I was going to do it how I wanted. And that means, I've taken the liberty of cutting up Starswirl's account and filtering it in, chronologically, where it would fit.

It fits surprisingly well.

---

I recall that the fever broke in the middle of the night. I awoke, briefly, to see you sleeping nearby. It didn’t take long to realize what you’d been doing for me, for however long I was out. I can remember feeling at peace there, beside you, for the first time since my family was taken.

I dozed off, but only for a short time. Your shrieks, as you were ripped from the wagon, stirred me to wakefulness, and I followed quickly.

Though, I fear to say this, and know not why, for you can never know what went through my mind then, but I was stricken to silence by the sight of that creature. I’d never seen an Alicorn in the flesh, and the sounds you were making when she grabbed you took the heart from me.

I hid beneath the wagon, and spied upon you, for a time.

“What did Trixie do!?” I’m not proud of the way she’d startled me, but anymare can be taken unawares by a sneak attack. I’m sure I would have gotten myself back under control, given enough time.

But this Aeva wouldn’t be doing that.

“As I have said,” she said huffed, “You, Interloper, have meddled with the timestream. You have brought about calamity and chaos wherever you have gone, and you have disrupted the natural order of the world.”

“But, like, specifically!” I said back, “Also, I didn’t mean to do all that! I just…”

“Ignorance is no excuse!” she snapped, and then she began to pace around the clearing, saying, “You have, no doubt, traversed the timeline in order to somehow defeat the terrible monster, Grogar. That, as much as I wish otherwise, cannot be allowed to happen. He has been given Dominion.”

Much of what was said went completely over me at the time, but as you and she talked, the more I began to realize things were not as I had been made aware of them. This talk of Time? And the changing of destiny? Madness, I thought.

Oh, how ignorant I was. I wish I could have been left to imagine you a savior self-sent, the wizard of prophecy to cast down the Ram. But as you and the Princess spoke, the more I realized this was not the case.

“Wait, look!” I tried to get the silver drama queen’s attention, “I didn’t come back here to defeat Grogar, or whoever! It was an accident. And, if you’re the Alicorn of Time, or whatever, then… then you can fix this all anyway, right!?”

The aura let up, and Trixie was able to get back on her hooves. I looked up, hopefully, at the towering silver Princess.

“Of course, I can fix it,” she spoke in a stately voice.

“Well, that’s great! You can take me back to the future, and forget about this whole thing!”

The scowl on her face did not give me much hope once I’d said that.

“I shall fix this calamity,” she said, coolly, “By erasing you from history!”

I was completely shocked by what I’d heard, though not so shocked as you clearly were by her words. I could see your face fall from my angle, and my heart fell with it.

“But, but why!?” you shouted, as much in panic as in anger, “I didn’t mean to do anything wrong!”

“But you did!” Aeva snapped back, still pacing around you in a predatory circle, “Once I became aware of your tricks and your crimes, I tallied a list! Would you care to hear it?”

She leapt up to the top of a nearby stone, as though she weighed nothing at all, and began to speak with the acidity of a lawyer trying a murderer.

“The village of Hyneighria was made aware of the existence of coins from the future,” she began, “The appearance of a Wizard caused Bray to turn to Grogar. And then, Grogar slew the inhabitants and burned the town. This was before you interfered yet again with Starswirl the Bearded!”

“I saved Swirly’s life! How is that meddling or whatever!?”

“Starswirl should have gone on to be Hyneighria’s chief Sorcerer,” Aeva shook her head, and snorted, “It was not his fate to die for another hundred years, at least! And saving him after that fate was changed was yet another alteration to what is becoming a dangerously corrupt timeline!”

I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. It couldn’t be true. Time travel was impossible! Galen of Pegamon said so!

I thought this, until you next spoke.

“Some Time Alicorn you are!” I couldn’t help but snap back, “Swirly’s still around back when I’m from! And he’s the greatest wizard who ever lived!”

“Confuse me NOT with your contemptible lies!” Aeva leapt back into the circle of stones, and her magic began to flare up around us.

“Wait,” I said, “What’s going on!?”

“I have seen the errant strand in the weave of fate,” she said, almost quietly, “And I shall now pluck it loose!”

Instantly, light filled my vision, and the world melted around us. It didn’t last long, barely a moment, but it felt so much longer than that. So many things flitted through my vision that I could hardly separate them all. But more than a few hourglasses passed by me in that short moment of non-time.

When we landed, I had a sudden terrible, terrible sense of déjà vu. I’d crashed down onto a slightly sticky, red-carpeted floor. There were tables all around, where ponies in suits and dresses were happily eating away at passable soups and salads, while laughter filled the halls.

It was a music hall.

“This is Cartnegie Hall,” I whispered to myself, looking up at the fancy columns, and the huge, legendary stage!

It didn’t hit me, just yet, why we were there. I was too enraptured by the sights, the smells! Just up on the stage, the Marks Brothers were finishing up an act I would have killed to see from the start. Music was playing them off, and all the ponies around us were cheering and stamping and—

Right. Aeva.

Cartnegie Hall is the premier musical theater (and for a brief time in the late 1,080’s, a Dinner and a Show) in all of Equestria. The Marks Brothers, in particular, got their start there doing variety acts and comedies. They’re really underrated these days. I never got why the Three Stallions became more popular.

Sorry. But Grouchy Marks’s material is too good to not take a moment and praise, one author to another.

I couldn’t begin to understand what I was looking at. A grand hall, filled with Lords and Ladies feasting. While, on a large stage, some fools danced and joked and played their merry tunes. It was all so confusing.

And then, it became terrifying, as one of the wait-staff stepped through me! It was as though I was a ghost!

I suppose, judging from how you also jumped when that waiter walked through you, that you’d noticed.

“We are as ghosts,” the Princess said, standing impassively in the center of the hall, “They can neither see nor hear us, and only my magic shall prevail while in this place.”

“But, why are we here?” I asked, a knot forming in the pit of my stomach.

I knew the answer before she gave it.

“Your mother is performing tonight, in this…” she looked about, like she was confused, “… Ponies?”

“Well, where else would she perform?” I asked.

Aeva shrugged, and continued, “Your father, if I read this right, shall fall in love seeing her dance, and they shall begin to court.”

Her ancient eyes turned back to me, and all I could do was shiver beneath her gaze.

“You shall be born one year hence, a month after their nuptials. I aim to prevent this, by forcing the young Spectacle to trip, and ruin her performance.”

“But, you can’t!” I cried out.

“I assure you, Trixie, and for the last time,” Aeva began charging her horn, as the piano music started, “I can.”

Journal, I can’t tell you how scared Trixie was at that moment. I knew I couldn’t stop her. I knew she could do whatever she wanted. But when she said she was going to ruin my momma’s show—

I don’t know. I know my heart felt like it was exploding. And, if there was anything I could get from all this, I knew now was the moment. Call it an instinct, but if Dad had done anything for me at all, it was to teach me how to cheat somepony good. How to see their weaknesses and play them for a chump.

It’s just, I wasn’t playing to win. All I wanted was to not lose. And that meant I had to play for Swirly. If I could win for him, then whatever happened next, would be for him.

I was the one who took his family away from him.

But maybe, I could get it back?

“Don’t hurt my mom!” you cried out, and wrapped your forelegs around the Princess’ hindleg in a tight, weeping hug, “Do something to Jackpot! Just don’t hurt Mom!”

I was still out of sight, and covering my mouth to not make a sound. Which would have been impossible if I hadn’t taken action. Watching you cry so, watching a pony I thought was so strong break down into a weeping mess. I don’t know if I could have stopped myself another way.

But I saw Aeva’s eyes. She turned, and looked at you with such surprise. I know you couldn’t see it, pressing your face into her flank as you were, snot and tears running free. I’d like to think she was startled by your sincerity.

“You care not if I prevent your parents’ meeting?” she asked, perplexed as I was.

“My mom,” I wept, “She went through a lot, putting up with him, and with me. She was always sick, and I didn’t help.”

What was there left, but the truth?

“She doesn’t deserve any more pain because of me,” I said, not caring about all the snot and tears getting into Aeva’s fur, “I can’t let you hurt her. Please. I’ll go quietly. But not this way.”

It has taken me years to realize it. But thinking back on that day, I can clearly now see that every time you said the word ‘Mom’, which I took to mean, ‘Mother’, the Alicorn’s face twitched, and her ears hung lower on her head.

I won’t lie, and say that I understand. But, now having two little ones in the other room as I write this, maybe I can see a little of what was going through her head then.

And then, you said, “Will this bring back Swirly’s family?”

Curse me, for a singular moment, my heart flurried to life. A fire burned in my breast, and my whole self became lighter than air.

I hate myself for that. For feeling that way for even a moment. I’m so sorry, Trixie. Sometimes, when the nights are dark, and cold, I think back to that moment, and I wonder if fate saw that, and went on to punish me later for it.

I miss you, Trixie. Oh, so much.

“… Yes,” she said, with hesitation.

Finally, under control, I stepped back and tried to wipe myself off. Since none of the napkins around me were solid, I had to make do with my foreleg.

“Good enough,” I said, “If you spill some of my dad’s wine, or something, he’ll probably leave without waiting. His suit and tie were always more important to him than anything else. Especially me.”

I thought, for a moment, that Aeva’s eyes were looking at me, softly. But it must have been a trick of the light.

“What is this place, Trixie?” she looked around, staring at all the ponies here for a show, “I cannot imagine Grogar would allow his slaves such luxuries.”

“Slaves? In Equestria?” you said. I was amazed. So, this was the Equestria you’d spoken so highly of? Its wealth was obvious, if even regular ponies could afford to eat so, and be entertained while the feasting went on.

“Equestria?” Aeva frowned, “What be that?”

“Equestria,” I said, stating the blindingly obvious, “You know? A thousand years in the future? The land of ponies? Ruled by the Alicorn Princesses?”

Aeva snarled again, “I said not to lie to me!”

“How am I lying!?” I shot back, “You’re the one who can time travel here! I only could because of Starlight.”

“I shall be dealing with the Anathema in my own…” the Princess looked peeved. Like, really upset with something I’d said. She stamped her hooves a few times, and said, “Why should I deign to look upon a future dominated by that fiend, Grogar?”

“Grogar’s dead, you moron!”

For a moment, I thought she’d kill you, right then and right there. The Princess stood still, like a statue. Even though there was music playing, and ponies cheering all around us, it felt like the whole world was holding its breath.

“That…” she said, so slowly that one wondered if an age could fall between one word and the next, “… is impossible. Grogar was meant to rule these lands in perpetuity, after the Betrayal.”

“Yeah,” I raised an eyebrow, “Tell that to Celestia and Luna.”

I really wish I hadn’t said that, Journal. My neck’s still sore from where Aeva’s magic snapped around it like a vice. Once again, I was being hoisted up, into the air, and once again I was staring into some bright, and blazing eyes.

“How do you know those names!?”

I couldn’t take it anymore. I knew there would be consequences, but the shame burning in my gut was too great. I’d dared think

It doesn’t matter. It never did.

“Stop!” I cried out, “Leave her alone!”

Oh, crap. If we both disappear in the next five minutes, tell Trixie I hate her. I know that’s not how time travel works, but it’s how I feel.

“Swirly!?” you choked out. One or the other must have shocked Aeva back to her senses, for her rage cooled quickly, and she let you down.

I’d never wanted a hug from you more, up until that point. And I don’t know this for certain, but I’ve always wondered if, in my dreams, it isn’t you holding me there as well, keeping me safe.

“Oh, Swirly! I…”

I will admit, Journal. Trixie’s brain broke for a second.

“SWIRLY!?”

I knew we’d have to have a talk about everything eventually, but in that one moment, I cared not a wit. You and I were together, and nothing some Time-controlling Alicorn said was going to change that.

And then, the world was light again.

Thankfully, this time, it didn’t end with me crashing into a ghost music hall or something.

Actually, it was worse. Very worse. Like, the worst thing besides being erased, worse.

We were at a coronation.

Her Coronation.

It was like nothing else! Marble halls decorated in gold, armored knights proudly standing before a crowd of thousands, and a small host of Alicorn Princesses upon the dais! It was magnificent!

It was horrible.

“Oh, why did you have to pick this one?” Trixie groused nobly, “You could have at least done the one where Trixie got her medal! That one was nice too!”

Trixie casually referring to the medal ceremony after she helped save Equestria from the Changelings as a coronation. Classy.

I could hear the choirs starting up that ‘Behold’ song. I hated that song. I mean, good for Twilight. Well done. A bit boring, but that’s you.

Trixie realized, however, at that moment, that she should stop talking. One rule of Grey Prancer’s was to ‘always leave them wanting more’. Another was, ‘know when it’s time to shine, and when it’s time to walk away’.

This was the latter.

Aeva looked utterly gobsmacked. I could perfectly understand the slack-jawed, baffled look she was giving the other Princesses, standing up on the dais with Twilight’s friends. Though, in my opinion, that look should have been reserved for the mares marching up the aisle, holding up those purple banners, and singing ‘Behold!’

Like we needed to be reminded.

“Celestia?” the silver Alicorn sounded distraught, vulnerable, “Luna? By the light… what is this?”

She turned back to you, and asked again, “Trixie! Explain this! This cannot be!”

“Of course, it ‘be’,” I said, as evenly as I could, trying not to upset the clearly freaking-out super-magical Alicorn Princess, “This is my home. This is where I came from, give or take a couple years.”

“But it cannot!” she cried again, and swiped at the air with one of her wings, like she could turn some giant page to see something else.

And, well. She did. It was weird. Like, the whole world just slid around us, almost like when I tried learning the tablecloth pull trick. Trixie is grown up enough to admit that, seeing as how neither I nor Swirly shattered into a million pieces, she pulled it off a little better.

She flipped a page, and we were in Ponyville.

It was so strange, to see a place that felt so much like home again, but not. Everything was colored pink and yellow, as though money grew on the trees for these ponies! Astonishing! Was this the Equestria you spoke so longingly about?

Heck, I could have reached out and smacked a passing Bonbon, if I wanted to. But, Princess Aeva didn’t look to be in the mood. She was much more focused on what appeared to be Princesses Luna, Cadance, and Sparkle, flying around and scraping gold and gemstones off of everything in sight.

I have no idea what that was about, Journal, but I really wish I’d been there.

I heard about that! Rarity, of all ponies, got into some sort of dark magic, right? I remember the headlines. Apparently, Ponyville dump had to be reclassified as a dark magic burial site, and had sixteen layers of steel and cement thrown over it.

Aeva seemed really focused on Luna, I noticed.

She flipped the page again, and we were in Manehattan. Winter in Manehattan. Bitter, awful, winter in Manehattan.

And apparently, whatever freaky magic thing Aeva was doing didn’t keep us warm.

It must have been a Pegasus city! Why else would it be so cold? And so tall!? I wish I’d asked to see the blueprints, or to speak with their grand architect. So many questions I would have had!

But, Princess Aeva was only focused on the white and dark-blue Alicorns who were surrounded by stallions and mares-at-hooves, all clamoring for their approval for something I could not even recall now.

Eugh, Journal. I recognized immediately what it was. Celestia and Luna both came up a few years ago to help the city keep warm after the magic power plant broke down, and Cloudsdale refused to bring in warmer weather. I remember because I was stuck in a rinky-dink apartment for four months while they tried to fix it.

It might have been colder in the apartment, but right now I was freezing on the street, while the Princess gawked at the buildings, and at the Princesses, coordinating relief efforts.

I was about to lose it, Journal! But then, she flipped the page again. And now we were in some Podunk backwater. Yes, worse than Ponyville! It might have been Appleloosa, even, but I didn’t care! The heat was phenomenal!

The heat was the worst. Or, perhaps not entirely the worst. Unlike before, with this shift in the world, I could feel a terrific pounding begin somewhere behind my eyes. I’m sure I startled you terribly when we shifted again, and the pain grew too great.

The page flipped, and we were in somewhere. I was just about fed up with this Alicorn, time-erasure or no! The only reason I didn’t haul her down to my level and give her Trixie’s Patented Put-Down was because there was a thump on the ground next to Trixie, and my blood ran cold.

“Swirly!” I tried to wake the colt up, “Swirly, speak to me!”

He muttered something; I couldn’t hear what. I tried checking his pulse, his eyes, even pulled down his tongue to check. All I could tell was he was in a lot of pain.

It only took a quick first-aid spell to figure out what was really wrong with him.

“It’s this time-travel,” I realized. He was burning up, even though we were in a cool, autumn forest, of all places. And his head was clearly pounding with the pressure of all this magic. He couldn’t survive it! Heck, I wouldn’t either!

I told that to the Alicorn, but Aeva couldn’t see or hear anything now.

“No,” she just kept saying to herself, tears streaming down her face, “No, no, no, no!”

She flipped the world again, and we were at Mount Rushmare. Then the Leaning Tower of Pinto. Hamsterdam. Burrlin. That awesome Burger Princess right down the street from

We were going everywhere, is my point. And my head was throbbing too, by now. The stress of jumping through time like that was going to tear us apart.

I screamed as much at the crazy Princess.

She couldn’t hear me. All she did was jump around the universe, always zooming in on fancy buildings, cities, and even occasionally parties and celebrations. But it always came back to the Princesses.

Why was she crying? I asked myself. Why was she crying over Celestia and Luna?

I didn’t get an answer then, as the headaches grew, and darkness claimed me.

(You can probably tell I didn’t die, Journal, but that was too cool of a transition to miss!)

---

An Alicorn of Time. A Princess. And one that was fascinated by Celestia and Luna? I’ll give you three guesses as to what’s up, and the first two don’t count.

I finally came to in a fog. Well, a haze. A mental

Right, enough. I woke up with a throbbing headache, and a layer of cold mist on my coat. So, it was Maredi Gras all over again. Only this time, I was wet, cold, trapped outside with a crying mare

Okay, so it was Maredi Gras.

I managed to pull myself up to a standing position before I even opened my eyes. I’m not sure if time had moved at all from the moment Aeva’d shown up, to whenever now was. It was still night/early-morning, and we were still stuck at Ponehenge.

Swirly was lying just a few feet away from me. He was completely out of it, but I wasn’t looking to wake him. Not yet.

No, Trixie had some business with the silver Alicorn bent over, weeping, into the shallow pool at the center of the standing stones. And by business, Trixie I mean that I was ready to put the Great and Powerful hurt on that mare.

Well, I was. Really, Journal. I had had it up to here with getting yelled at and almost erased by that blowhard, and she couldn’t even keep her cool during whatever that had been.

Though, Trixie was no fool. So, I started looking for a decent sized rock. I could be sneaky, and quiet. And working on the Rock Farm had given me some well-deserved tone and strength. At least, enough to bash an Alicorn over the head with said rock.

I’m a little worried about how quickly Trixie’s mind shifts to violence as an answer. Might want to remand her for some sensitivity training or something. Then again, I’m never more violent than when I’m stuck in an anger-management class.

Records show that she worked on the Pie Family Rock Farm for several months, during which time she was apparently a favorite of the family, a hard worker, and even got to be Maud’s Best Mare and Calcifier (Crystaller-equivalent, I looked it up) for Petrification Dendrite Pie (Petra, for short).) If it weren’t for her psychotic desire to one-up you, she’d probably still be there, being the best-loved rock farmer in Equestria, apparently.

Eventually though, Tri I realized something was wrong. The weeping thing seemed out of character, for one. Secondly, or

Aeva wasn’t wearing her armor anymore. I could even see her Cutie Mark, an emerald hourglass. It looked nice. Regal, even. I put down the rock I was going to use, and tried to get a better look at the Princess.

She was definitely crying. Which was infuriating. How was I supposed to get mad enough to bop somepony if they’re crying? I couldn’t, that’s how! Plus, she was doing that fake dainty-crying. You know? The one from those movies? The one’s without all the snot and gob and such?

Note to Trixie: remember to go see a movie when you get back home. There was a new Arrow Flint flick coming out just before I left, and I was going to take Starlight.

That would most likely be Arrow Flint’s last turn as Hooded Robber, the thief who stole from the rich and gave to the poor. Hooded Robber vs Daring Do was a box office flop, due in no small part to the fact that the effects were awful, early-days stuff, and I never signed off on the script. My old publishers decided to make a quick buck and called it ‘licensing’ or something stupid. Either way, Dash’s boycott finished it.

Apparently, it’s still a cult classic. The Wonderbolts play it every year at their training camp. The action scenes used Historical Pegasi Martial Arts (HPMA) or something. You’d have to ask Dash. Yes, she liked it, despite leading the opposition for my honor.

That mare cracks me up!

I remember thinking, was I still going to be erased?

I asked her about that. Oh, I was polite about it, but I still asked.

She shook her head, but didn’t say anything else at first. I was starting to wonder if I should have invited her to breakfast, when Aeva looked back up at me.

I hate puppy-dog eyes. I use those on other ponies like Starlight. But having them used against me, the Great and Lovable Trixie? Just unfair, is what it is! And hers were good at it.

Fine! I admit, I felt bad for her.

“We have wronged you… all of you,” she said. She was almost whimpering. “When the Betrayal occurred, the Alicorns were beyond furious. After what happened…”

“Uh, not to put too fine a point on it, Your Highness,” I may have said, with a touch too much sass on that last part, “But, what exactly happened?”

I really wish I never asked that, Journal. Because she told me. Trixie still gets queasy, thinking about it. And I’m not about to put it down here. I need to ask Starlight to erase it from my memory once I get back. If I get back.

Seriously, I might need to go ask Grogar about what happened at this point. Tired of getting the runaround.

“After the Betrayal,” she continued, “We Alicorns swore an oath to leave the other tribes to their fate. It was a binding oath, of which only Amore refused to make.”

Aeva turned her head, and Trixie thought she looked very sadly off towards what I assumed was north, “She gave up much to follow her heart, to defend what ponies she could.”

Princess Amore Cadenza, of the Crystal Empire. Up until now, she was considered semi-mythical. She was said to have created the Crystal Heart and ruled over the Crystal Empire for many years, before Sombra stole the throne from her, though the details are lost to time. I bet Trixie has something to do with it, of course.

Always wanted to ask: If your old foalsitter became an Alicorn, but Alicorns seem to have Alicorn kids, then what’s up with the first Cadance not founding a line of Alicorns to lead up to the current Cadance?

Smells like a plot hole to me, but this is real life, not fantasy.

“And that’s important to this apology of yours…?”

She sighed, and looked back towards me, “Grogar tricked your ancestors into committing his dark deeds for him, to spite and anger us. And we were angry. We did not consider the consequences of leaving you to his mercies. We abandoned you… and we were wrong.”

Something about what she said caught my ear sounded odd.

“Wait, but you can see and move through time, right?”

“Indeed,” she nodded, “that is one of my…”

“So, how’d he trick you?”

“… I beg your pardon?”

I shrugged, more to avoid biting down on my own tongue. Trixie had seen that look in Aeva’s eyes. It was not a good look. It was the look of somepony just realizing that they’d been had.

“When the… Betrayal,” I gagged, “happened, why didn’t you look around and prove he tricked the other ponies to do… that thing to your friend?”

“Well… I was angry, as I said,” she said admitted, “We were incensed, and not in the right state of mind.”

I clucked my tongue. I knew where this was going, and I hated it.

“So… when you figured out that I was a time-traveler… you attacked me because…?”

“You… were going to change time,” I was very upset to see that silver Alicorn blush as she said that, “And… our pronouncement was that Grogar would… have Dominion…”

I couldn’t help snorting in her face. I really couldn’t. But, once done, I figured the worst thing she could do was erase me again. So, I might have snapped a little.

“Are. You. KIDDING me right now!?”

“I can see why you’d be upset,” she said, while holding her head down, bringing it closer to my eye level, “But I was just doing my duty! As the Princess…”

“You were going to erase me!” I decided then that holding it in wouldn’t feel nearly as good as letting it out, “You can time travel and you didn’t think to check if I was doing something wrong!?”

“I didn’t realize you’d made a closed loop, or are a closed…!”

“Ignorance is no excuse!!!”

I felt like a bad-flank, tossing that gem back at her. She even flinched.

“You are right,” she sighed, and stood up, “We erred, thinking ill of our pony kin based on… on the words of a serpent.”

“But Grogar’s a ram,” I added, helpfully, “Not a snake.”

Aeva said nothing for an extended moment. Probably just too embarrassed to have missed that.

I can feel Princess Aeva’s eye-roll from here.

Then, I kid you not. She bowed. Journal, I’m not making that up!

“Trixie Lulamoon,” she said, in a formal tone of voice, “We apologize for Our intrusion, and for the pain and embarrassment We may have caused thee, as well as for the pain and suffering of all ponykind We have caused...”

“Thee?” I said, without thinking. If there’s one thing I could never stand, back in CSGU’s drama classes, it was directors and actors who kept slipping in and out of the old Ponish accents.

Either be consistent, or skip it!

Trixie was in that class for about a week before she was kicked. Apparently, Haylet, Princess of Dammark, does not have an hour-long death scene. With an extended musical number.

I actually want to see that now.

Don’t think she heard me, because she kept on talking.

“You were right. We have been in error, and must make amends. I cannot directly aide you, not with the oath that I swore…”

“Figures,” I shook my head and wondered if something was going to go right for once.

“… However,” Aeva started blinking rapidly. I still don’t know if I saw what I saw, but it looked like I saw tears in her eyes.

She continued, her voice dropping a bit, “When the threat of Grogar has passed, the ponies of… Equestria, shall need a unifying voice. An Alicorn will be necessary. Or perhaps… two.”

You’ll be proud to know, Journal, that I kept my mouth shut this time. I could tell that something was up, and Princess Aeva needed a moment to get it out.

Finally, she said, “I shall return… once Grogar is no more… and I shall entrust unto you two… two fillies…

“My fillies.”

Trixie is the reason Celestia and Luna were around to be raised by Starswirl. Trixie is the reason Equestria has Princesses. Trixie is the reason why we have Alicorns. That is fascinating. This is amazing.

I’m going to go scream into a pillow for a few days. Then, I’ll get back to annotating.

Alright. I’m back.

“How is that an apology?” I asked, “You almost erase me over a clerical error and your own screw-up… and then you want me to take care… of your…”

You’ll be prouder that I realized what I was about to say, and stopped.

Aeva leaned in, and gingerly wrapped a wing around me. It was surreal. Well, this whole night had been surreal, but this was still pretty weird even considering all that.

“This is a sacrifice I make… for all who follow you. I am hoping,” she swallowed, then said, “that my Sun and Moon will be well-cared for, and that their reign shall make amends for Our long absence and abandonment.

“Promise me, Trixie,” I could hear her voice cracking, “Promise me, you’ll do this. I owe you a debt, and a debt paid in blood is a serious thing among the Alicorns.”

I didn’t know quite what to say. How could I? I know I’m Great and Powerful, but that’s all for the show, but this was incredible. This was historic. I’m not even going to spoil this by telling Sparkle to suck eggs.

And I was scared. Trixie has done many, many things. But none of them were like this. Raising kids? Alicorn kids? I’m not an idiot, Journal. I could read between the lines. Even I could figure out

Naturally, I knew what was being asked of me. The Great and Powerful Trixie that I am.

“I don’t do diapers,” I said, “Just so you know.”

She was quiet, for a moment.

“Perhaps I shall wait until Starswirl is older,” she whispered, though with my Great and Powerful senses, I could hear her just fine.

“I guess this means you’re not gonna let me go home just yet?”

“No, Trixie,” she said, while stepping back and away from me, “You are part of events that must play out, for good and ill. I fear much ill will befall you, in particular.”

“Gee, thanks,” I sighed, “That makes me feel better about this.”

“It should,” I swear, I caught a twinkle in her eye, “You’re strong enough to handle what comes next, I feel. And with Swirly by your side, and your wagon…”

“Joke’s on you,” I grumbled, and turned around, “The wagon’s…”

That’s right, Journal. Ellipses. Shock, and confusion.

Because, just beyond where Swirly lay asleep, Trixie’s wagon stood, as good as the day I’d gotten it! The wheels were back on, and the axle was fixed. Even the scratches and gouges in the side were gone!

It was miraculous! It was amazing!

“Did you have anything to do with this, Princess?” I stammered, in shock.

And I got no response. None at all.

I turned around, and Aeva was gone, leaving behind only the soft glow of sunrise as it began to filter through the trees.

“That’s not impressive!” I called out to the ether, “I can do that too!”

I waited a few more minutes, just in case a ‘ta-da’ was forthcoming. But, when it didn’t happen, I made a calculated, calm, and considerate sprint run at the wagon, during which I did not giggle like a filly.

Inside, everything was as it should have been. Sure, the fireworks and the money were still gone. But the mirrors were unbroken. The clothes and capes were back in storage, untorn and unblemished.

It was almost perfect.

Almost.

“Trixie?”

I turned, and spotted Swirly at the wagon’s door. He looked like he’d been sick for days, and then nearly killed through temporal overpressure. It was a very specific look.

I could see it in his eyes.

“Yes, Swirly?”

“We need to talk.”

---

Twilight re-read the last page again. It was her eighth time doing so, and she had gotten exceedingly good at it.

Trixie Lulamoon had revealed her time-traveling status to a twelve-year-old Starswirl the Bearded. She had been nearly erased from the Time-Space Continuum. And then, upon pointing out how the Alicorn of Time had blindly followed her tribe’s rules without thinking about them, set up the basis for Starswirl to, assuming history remained on track, adopt and raise Princesses Celestia and Luna.

The Princess of Friendship lay back down on her bed, and began to scream into one of her pillows. There were several hours left until sundown was due to occur. That gave her almost enough time to vent one-one-hundredth of the physical and existential pain gripping her soul, just then.

Around hour two, however, there was a sudden, frantic knocking at her door. She only heard it because she’d just taken a breath a moment before.

Deciding that she would have eternity to wail over Trixie’s cannonball-like nosedive through the timestream, Twilight collected herself, and calmly called out, “The door is open!”

The door, indeed, opened. Hard enough, in this case, to definitely crack the wall next to it.

In rushed Twilight’s most faithful of companions, the bulwark of friendship that was Spike, the Brave and Glorious, Advisor and Friendship Ambassador, as well as Sparkle Sibling Supreme.

But at that moment, he did not exude his usual air of knowledgeable confidence. Spike’s eyes were red, and wet, and, from the way he shook with every breath, it looked like he’d come bearing dark tidings, at a dead sprint.

“It’s Trixie,” he said, holding out a scroll that made Twilight’s heart sink like lead.

“She’s at Ponyville General…”

Author's Note:

Deleted Scene:

The world settled, and Trixie could see it was still Canterlot Palace, though all the decorations were for Nightmare Night.

I wonder, at times, what is going to happen in my near future that so terrorizes Celestia that chickens of all creatures would scare her to her wit’s end.

“Lunaaa!” the Princess of the Sun cried, literally cried, as she galloped through the halls, and right through us, “Sto-o-o-op it!!!”

She was being chased by her sister, the majestic Princess Luna, Alicorn of the Moon.

In a chicken outfit.

Comments

[FanOfMostEverything]

I have questions about the Bureau of Fun, and I'm not sure if I actually want them answered.

Hauling heavy stones during intense physical training is a staple of Turtle Hermit's martial arts school.

Roshi's legacy echoes throughout the multiverse.

“Death is Dream’s other kingdom, where Time means naught, and in strange aeons, even Death may die.”
She then gave me the raspberry, knocked my pith-hat off my head, and yelled ‘Spoilers’ while she flew off to somepony else’s dream.
Princess Luna got weirder in retirement.

I love everything about this.

Trixie's purpose in life seems to be speaking truth to power. Specifically pointing out when power is being, not to put too fine a point on it, a butt.

Fascinating glimpses of the ancient history of Equestria on top of the continuing bootstrap shenanigans. Though the chapter certainly ended on a grim note...

[TCC56]

Did you know she owns the patent on a spell called Glimglam's Glamorous Hams?

This was amazing.

I’m going to go scream into a pillow for a few days.

This was even better.

[The Sleepless Beholder]

I love this on so many levels. This is why I tell you constantly that you're worth waiting for the next chapter no matter how much it takes.

[SolarisLunaris]

“She’s at Ponyville General…”

That.....That does not sound good

[Eden]

Me trying to follow your fanfics:

i.guim.co.uk/img/media/596f80ed52713302bfba078113594ca419e520a4/0_0_1024_614/master/1024.jpg?width=1200&height=900&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&s=560d2864482c3d45851728d446339efc

Also, please... I hope is all okay

[Ninjadeadbeard]

10325717

I have questions about the Bureau of Fun, and I'm not sure if I actually want them answered.

Every single member of the Bureau disappeared one day. The home office building was abandoned, with only an unplugged confetti-mixer left behind to prove something other than an old warehouse had ever been. All the employees' tax records were destroyed, and somepony had scrawled 'Quis custodiet ipsos partium?' across Canterlot Palace's outer walls.

10325788
10325932
Aw! Thanks, guys. It warms this long dead heart of mine to hear you liked it.

10326035
I mean... she could theoretically be there to put on a show for all the little foals, but...

10326207
If there's anything I can do to make that process easier, just let me know... unless you want it to be that way.

Also, please... I hope is all okay

Okay? With me, or Trixie? Because that pic, combined with that comment...

[Twilight_Shimmer]

damnit! I dun wanna wait for an update! *pouts* Stupid cliff hangers, you better update soon! lol in all seriousness, this is amazing, i look forward to more!

[FanficReader920]

Wait.... so if Starswirl knew Trixie was from the future, why didn’t he recognize her once he got to that point in time.

Before this there was the excuse that Starswirl never found out Trixie was a time traveler in the first place, but now... I’m confused.

Also, Starswirl’s section reflecting on the past and his love for Trixie is so beautiful and wholesome.

I love that Trixie’s incompetence made Aeva decide that Trixie shouldn’t care for Celestia and Luna and then decided to just have Starswirl do it when he’s older. Trixie almost became Celestia and Luna’s adopted MOM. Just... what?!

I love how you managed to have Aeva leave an impact and still humanize her all in one chapter. The fact that she gave up her two children so that the rest of Equestria can make up for the Alicorn Tribe abandoning them is... so tragic. I really hope Celestia and Luna read this since I don’t really know how much they know of their biological mother.

Also, Trixie at Ponyville General. I knew something was up at the Gala, but gee. This ain’t good.

[prism heart]

Great story so far, I hope things in the MLP present go well for Trixie. She's gone through enough manure already.

[Eden]

10326267

No, I love be tripped with theories XD

And, well for Trixie... but sure I want it's all okay also for you

[MuggedForCarrots]

I love your Trixie stories :)

Reading through, I've got got some theories that I can't wait to see if they play out...

Trixie behaves the way she does to hide exactly how great and powerful she is, making most ponies thing it's all bluster, but as Daring Do's research is finding out there is actually some greatness and power there.

Also some ideas why Twilight and Trixie have never really got on. Twilight's approach to magic is highly academical while Trixie's is more that of the Brotherherd of the Road and the two different schools just rub each other up the wrong way.
I also suspect that despite Trixie's earlier complaint that most ponies can't cast Twilight and Starlight's spells due to the massive amount of power required, other unicorns have a similar complaint about Trixie's spells in that you need the constitution of a minotaur to cast her spells. Twilight or Starlight would probably explode if they cast GlimGlams Glamourous Hams

[ForSpite]

I guess Ponyhenge messes up time, it's my only guess at Luna's appearance. If dreams were that prone to to breaking the space-time continuum, Luna would have been less confused.

I love the writing in this.

Hah, now Twilight is the one freaking out over her rival's important accomplishments!

[RainbowDoubleDash]

A Healthy Body is a Healthy Mind!

I can 100% believe that Trixie is in excellent physical shape. She does lug around a wagon cross-country and her telekinesis isn’t strong enough to allow her to just power it on that the whole time.

Turtle Hermit's martial arts school.

Gohan: “But won’t that cause my muscles to develop wrong - “
Piccolo: “NEEERRRRRRRD!”

Crane School FTW.

Trixie misspelled Pegamon.

I’m choosing to believe that she spelled it as it was pronounced, which is how Old English more-or-less worked, and since if I recall correctly everyone here is speaking Old Ponish…

Anyway point being that Ponish maybe hasn’t undergone a Great Vowel Shift.

Speaking of the crazy bug herself, you gotta tell me how that whole rehabilitation thing's going.

Good. And I’ll limit my commentary to that.

Was it built by the mysterious, and borderline fictional, Alicorn Tribe? Was it the result of neolithic Grazer-Gatherers dedicating a spot to their ancestral religion? Was Discord bored? Nopony knows!

Clearly it was aliens.

Princess Luna got weirder in retirement.

Not sure if it’s much of a retirement if she’s still dream-walking and battling nightmares, but hey, I ain’t complaining. Personally I’ve tied time and causality to Celestia rather than Luna since I sort of associate Luna with space and therefore Celestia with time, but that’s me.

And there is something wonderfully Lovecraftian about tying death, dreams, and time together.

I never got why the Three Stallions became more popular.

I’m an Abbot and Costello fan myself. No comedy routine will ever be better than “Who’s on First.”

the Princess looked peeved.

Seriously! If you’re gonna have language like that in this story then you’ll need to up the rating!

Apparently, Haylet, Princess of Dammark, does not have an hour-long death scene. With an extended musical number.

Dammit now I want to see that too.

Trixie is the reason Celestia and Luna were around to be raised by Starswirl. Trixie is the reason Equestria has Princesses. Trixie is the reason why we have Alicorns. That is fascinating. This is amazing.

Whelp.

Trixie wins. The whole Twilight v. Trixie thing. Trixie wins.

[Eris Dis Harmonia]

Oh, Trixie. Whatever shall we do with all that you have done?

[Ninjadeadbeard]

10326554
I'll try to have the next one out soon.

10326568
She'll inevitably settle down with Wares Waller, and have many, many unseen children.

10326803
10327030
See now, I love reading comments where you all try to guess the next twist. Because with every one of them, I get to wonder if you end up cheering for Trixie, or screaming like Twilight.

10327046
They are also ludicrously dangerous. I ended up dropping the idea, but there was a draft where Trixie used magic on a banana and some nuts to cause a heating spell so she could keep the place warm, only for Daring to realize Trixie was irradiating herself (apparently, bananas and nuts are slightly radioactive). Dropped for various reasons, not least of which was the difficulty in making a Geiger Counter pony name funny.

10327093

I’m an Abbot and Costello fan myself. No comedy routine will ever be better than “Who’s on First.”

Haybbot and Costallion. Duster Steedton. Harness Fairflanks. Merry Pitchfork. So many great talents of that era, nay?

10327400
Legit one of my favorite jokes thus far.

10327463

Eh, it's a phase. Like teething. Or being a teenager. In fact... exactly like being a teenager.

[MuggedForCarrots]

10327637
Ah yes, although my understanding is it's not a dangerous amount. You'd get a higher dose from living in an area with a large amount of granite than you would by thaumaturgically charging a banana (can't believe that I just typed that...), and even then it's still not a hazardous amount. I would imagine that it would give a similar effect to running mains electricity through a gherkin (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quCULyHLMoo (about 2.40))

Now the amount of cyanide in nuts would be cause for concern, speaking as someone who managed to give themselves food poisoning eating half a kilo of fresh walnuts...

[FanficReader920]

10327637
Sometimes, it's both!

[ZanyZapper]

10327637
Might I suggest Roentgen Ray - a Manehatten researcher who's brilliant career was cut short after being caught spying on unsuspecting mares in compromising situations, earning him the nickname "Xxx Ray". The local paper even read a little poem about him:

X-actly So!

Oh Roentgen Ray, Oh Roentgen Ray,
What is this craze?
The town's ablaze
With the new phase
Of Xxx-Ray's ways.

I'm full of daze,
Shock and amaze;
For nowadays
I hear they'll gaze
Thro' cloak and gown -- and even stays,
This naughty, naughty Roentgen Ray.

(That was an actual poem (slightly tweaked here) that ran in a magazine soon after the announcement of the discovery of x-rays and their ability to see through things. The immediate thought of many was to use them to look at naked women. People never change!)

[Iron Comet]

If Doctor Whooves doesnt show up at some point I will be very disappointed.

[duckmagee]

10326035
money on n the end she ascend, not only did she found equestria, teach starswirl, guarantee princess being raised by swirly and now twilight stuck with her forever the worse possible outcome for twilight many years of screaming into pillows to come

[SolarisLunaris]

10330638
I hope she ascends but I have a bad feeling she is going to die, with Spike´s reaction when he came in and the fact that Starswirl in his commentary to the story says that he misses Trixie I fear Trixie Ascending isnt in the cards

[duckmagee]

10330647
well Aeva could play a role maybe take trixie to the future, that way the miss her comments would work

[MuggedForCarrots]

10330647
I think it's a time travel thing - I read the bit about Starswirl missing Trixie as being added to Trixie's journal by Starswirl after he thought she'd been killed by Grogar but before they met up again in the future. I hope I'm right and I hope she ascends too :)

[justheretoreadstories]

This story keeps getting better and better.

[fanreader999999]

Weird

[Ninjadeadbeard]

10334587
Thanks for saying so! Anything in particular make you say something so nice?

10334865
Oh? How so?

[justheretoreadstories]

10334890
Good world building.

[Scyphi]

...and helped her best friend, Lord Tumble Dry...

Now that's a great pony name.

Discord started laughing when I wrote that. Said something about how I should "buy gold", and that "gravity is a lie".

Also, my mind is being blown right now.

Ditto! I'm not even totally sure what's what right this moment, but I can still tell it's pretty darn significant!

...and Time itself!

Well...semi-accidentally, but a victory's still a victory, I suppose.

Princess Luna got weirder in retirement.

I suspect she'd been waiting a very long time to finally stop having to act so serious and princessly-proper all the time...and that's with consideration she had a lengthy sabbatical what with the whole Nightmare Moon deal--imagine how Celesia must have been feeling by retirement!

“Celestia?” the silver Alicorn sounded distraught, vulnerable, “Luna? By the light… what is this?”

An alternate timeline, dear Aeva. One way better than the one you were expecting, by the sound of it. And, somehow, still overlapping with the one you were expecting...like both timelines are still competing for dominance somehow behind the scenes...

...either that or Ponehenge is like some sort of super nexus of timelines where they all start bleeding onto one another, that spot where the metaphorical ball of wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff all ties together into one singular knot...it would explain how an equally time-displaced Luna could be dreamwalking in Trixie's dreams literally just moments before an alicorn of time itself apparently more familiar with a completely different timeline waltzes onto the scene...

Trixie is grown up enough to admit that, seeing as how neither I nor Swirly shattered into a million pieces, she pulled it off a little better.

But the flowers were still standing, right?

Smells like a plot hole to me, but this is real life, not fantasy.

Hey, now that's enough of that fourth wall breaking there, AK.

Trixie is the reason Celestia and Luna were around to be raised by Starswirl. Trixie is the reason Equestria has Princesses. Trixie is the reason why we have Alicorns. That is fascinating. This is amazing.

I’m going to go scream into a pillow for a few days. Then, I’ll get back to annotating.

The Princess of Friendship lay back down on her bed, and began to scream into one of her pillows.

I can't blame them. All of that really is very fascinating and amazing...until you realize it was all because of Trixie. Trixie is the reason the whole world as you know it even exists. On accident, no less.

Yeah, I'd want to scream into a pillow for a few days too.

Sure, the fireworks and the money were still gone.

Now the fireworks I can understand, because they were key part in the chain of events involving the timberwolves. But why exclude specifically the money when apparently restoring everything else was no problem? To make some sort of point to Trixie, I surmise?

You know, I first went into this story thinking it'd be all about Trixie just going around trying to fake it until she makes it, and while there is still a bit of that along the edges, I'm starting to see that, instead, Trixie actually does know something about both what she's doing and what she's talking about from time to time...not so much to actually make her an expert at it, not by any stretch, so there's still need for her to...exaggerate...her skill sets a bit, but enough to see that she's actual more competent at what she does than most are willing to give her credit for.

All said, this is actually a very flattering tale for Trixie.

10327046
Maybe Trixie's like Darkwing Duck in that way--part of her secret is that she's just virtually indestructible.

[Ninjadeadbeard]

10343848

You know, I first went into this story thinking it'd be all about Trixie just going around trying to fake it until she makes it, and while there is still a bit of that along the edges, I'm starting to see that, instead, Trixie actually does know something about both what she's doing and what she's talking about from time to time...not so much to actually make her an expert at it, not by any stretch, so there's still need for her to...exaggerate...her skill sets a bit, but enough to see that she's actual more competent at what she does than most are willing to give her credit for.

All said, this is actually a very flattering tale for Trixie.

"Well, I am a very flattering mare..."

If nothing else, I'd like people reading this to take away one thing: Everypony is the hero of their own story.

That, and feed me comments. The attention, good or bad, makes me warm and snuggly.

[Christinewho]

In fact, I bet Starswirl wrote that time travel spell because of Trixie after all. Except for a shorter time since the map didn't exist yet.

[Yoshifan30]

"And secondly, it was those idiots Snips and Snails who got the Ursa Minor! I was just trying to put on a show, and deal with neighsayers! Why am I even bothering to tell you this!? You're just me in a wig!"

What technicality she's right it was not really her fault yes she was arrogant but it was those two kids who did this because they didn't start that this would be a huge problem

[Yoshifan30]

“You shall be born one year hence, a month after their nuptials. I aim to prevent this, by forcing the young Spectacle to trip, and ruin her performance.”

Oh my God she's going to mess with Trixie's timeline and changing so Trixie was never born that's awful please don't do it!!!! 😭

[Yoshifan30]

“You were going to erase me!” I decided then that holding it in wouldn’t feel nearly as good as letting it out, “You can time travel and you didn’t think to check if I was doing something wrong !?”

I don't blame her to be angry because that's just a bunch of baloney sandwich what the princess tried to pull

[Yoshifan30]

Trixie is the reason Celestia and Luna were around to be raised by Starswirl. Trixie is the reason Equestria has Princesses. Trixie is the reason why we have Alicorns. That is fascinating. This is amazing.

Whoa ok my mind has officially been blown because if it wasn't for Trixie none of this would happen wow lol nice job Trixie

[Yoshifan30]

“It’s Trixie,” he said, holding out a scroll that made Twilight’s heart sink like lead.

“She’s at Ponyville General…”

Oh no what happen to Trixie????? 😢😢

[Yoshifan30]

Holy mackerel a lot of information just happened so Trixie was teaching Star Swirl about her tricks what year was pretty nice of her to do that everything turned out pretty well but except for they being chased by Timberwolves then afterwards her wagon is broken and busted most of the stuff are gone because Star Swirl through them out because they had to go faster but things didn't get better when she was starting yelling him and then he got sick Trixie do everything she can to make Star Swirl better but unfortunately they have an unexpected guest apparently there was a princess of time and she was Furious that Trixie mess up the timeline and when she was going to erase her from existence but swirly stopped her from doing that it was pretty sweet that he did that for her the princess of time was confused about what is happening especially scene Princess Luna and Celestia and apparently she got really emotional when she saw them after returning to where they left she told Trixie that everything happened because of grogar but of course Trixie wasn't happy what you was trying to do to her by the princess of time apologize to her for that and she even told her should be able to take care of two ponies which I'm assuming that's Celestia and Luna but she wanted to wait until Star Swirl is a little bit older and with that she was gone leaving her that she has to explain what is happening to Star Swirl but something happened to Trixie what happened?