For the first time in over a month, Trixie didn't wake feeling sore and exhausted. The room that Starlight had offered her was simple, a bed and some dusty boxes, but it was ideal. Tucked away towards the south end of the house, it stood next to Starlight's own room, with easy access to the rest of the floor. Thistle looked very similar to her mother as it turned out, sharing the same coat, but with a vibrant spiky mane of purple. Where her name had come from wasn't too hard to guess with that in mind.

Another important feature that the room had, for that matter, that Vanhoover architecture in general had, was soundproofing as an extra benefit of the heat insulation. Thistle's waking in the early morning could only be heard as a faint muffle. And her not so early morning pondering was kept private. Some things she didn't want to burden other ponies with just yet, or at all.

Now that it wasn't dark outside, Trixie had the opportunity to take a good look at what would hopefully become her lodgings for her time in Vanhoover. The walls were a mellow cream plaster, in places bearing the signs of a younger presence in the house. The floor itself was polished pine, like the beams that ran up the walls. It wasn't Canterlot brick, or Ponyville straw, but it definitely had a unique appeal to it.

She descended the stairs from there, making her way into the kitchen. It too had a polished floor, though the sheen had been worn down through activity. Starlight herself was preparing Thistle's breakfast. Mushy carrots from the look of it. "I do apologize if I came down later than preferred. There was a need to think about, things, before I got up." Starlight only smiled in response as she carried Thistle to her special chair.

"It is quite alright dear. For a pony in your position, I would be worried if there wasn't any confusion to be settled." Trixie watched for a moment as Starlight carefully fed her little filly. The bond they had was so close, it practically made her whole body melt just to watch. There was no need for words, or sounds even. Still, she didn't think it would look appropriate if she continued to stare. Wandering around the kitchen seemed to be the best option to bide her time.

There were several notes and leaflets open, all of which seemed to indicate there was an upcoming celebration of some sort. That was good timing for her. A celebration would surely mean fireworks! Luck definitely did seem to be turning in her favour for once. But rather than give the impression she had been snooping, she remained silent for now. She could pass off her interest as something discussed the night before.

"Is there anything I can do to help? Fleethoof mentioned that there was a town celebration coming up. I'll admit that my cooking isn't anything spectacular, but perhaps, I can contribute in some other way?" Starlight would have responded sooner, had Thistle not clamped her mouth around the spoon at that moment. It was rather adorable to watch. And it gave Trixie time to think of ways in which she could actually help.

"Sure, I could always use another helping hoof, or horn in your case. We haven't had a pony who knows the ins and outs of fireworks for quite a few years now. That's a speciality of your's, isn't it? And in the meantime, I'll show you the ropes of the markets. Thistle's quite a hoof-full, so it would give me more time to care for her." That seemed quite reasonable. Admittedly running a market stall wasn't something Trixie had done before, but it couldn't be that hard.

---

Hard proved to be exactly what it was. Between spilling a whole potato sack across the ground, mixing up the prices of the tomatoes and carrots, and accidentally setting fire to the stall itself, even Starlight had to admit that Trixie didn't have the best organization skills. Trixie herself was rather disheartened by her inability to run a simple stall. It didn't seem that different from planning out several tricks, and pulling everything together into a performance.

"Well uh, it was a very good try. You just need to try and relax for starters." Starlight was desperate to find something that Trixie could do which wouldn't end with a singed sign, and potatoes everywhere. "How about we leave running the stall for another time. The main stage is in the park, they finished assembling it just yesterday. Everypony will be preparing their own parts for the day, just tell Stage Fright that I sent you to take care of the fireworks."

Trixie was already on her way there. Her little incident with the fire had drawn the attention of other ponies in the marketplace, and not in the good way. A few recognized her, she wasn't making a good second impression. "Just maintain your composure Trixie. This isn't too different from any other performance. The idea is to do your best, and ensure that you don't linger on any mistakes, right?"

Keeping that attitude allowed her to calm down enough to get a good look at Vanhoover itself. Like she had seen the night before, most of the town's paths were laid out in cobble. Good drainage would be very important in a town which had a high frequency of rainfall. Vanhoover itself was centred around the Main Hall, with a decent amount of space between it and the businesses. The markets were positioned in that space, providing a very rich experience when one walked around in the circular path left.

The park itself was bordered on two of it's three sides by the streams running through Vanhoover towards the sea. Several willow trees on the sides on the park side of the stream all merged together like a leafy curtain. A lone brick bridge provided a path into the park itself, over which Trixie crossed. Once there, the view of the park itself was opened up. Several ponies were already setting up banners and gazebos and chairs around a clear space in front of the stage.

Stage Fright, as it became quickly obvious, was hardly shy about managing the arrangements. The tan pony with a grey mane had a megaphone harness on to project his voice across the field. "Do be careful with the food pavilion! We don't want to have a large crowd of hungry ponies now do we?" Trixie was careful to make her way around the edge of the establishment. Before finally making her way onto the stage where a few fireworks boxes were waiting, she adjusted her hat and cape to ensure nothing looked out of place.

"You there! What are you doing?" The way Stage approached had a very intimidating motion to it. Had she done something wrong simply by looking at the fireworks? "I may not be an expert in pyrotechnics, but that is hardly a reason for random ponies to take it upon themselves to begin tinkering with my attempt!" Rather than approach her directly, he got up onto a barrel in order to project his voice better, even with the megaphone still on.

Trixie was of course rather intimidated by his very up front and superior personality. It reminded her a lot of her former self. "I uh... Was sent by Starlight to organize the fireworks. They are a speciality of mine after all." She took the chance to examine his 'attempt' while explaining herself. It was alright, nothing that would go horribly wrong or be a big disappointment. Yet it still had an amateur feel.

"For starters, you have too many large shapes grouped together. What you should do is organize these shapes into their own sections, and use the smaller spheres as support instead. That way you won't have too many conflicting rockets." Stage Fright got down from the barrel at that moment. At the very least, he seemed intrigued by her suggestion. How he was taking it however was difficult to tell.

"You know, I can't quite believe I didn't consider that myself. And Starlight did send you, as you say." He hummed in the moment of silence to think. "Very well, you seem to have a firm grasp on fireworks. I was hoping to revive the display this year, rather good fortune that you have arrived. By the way, you are Miss Trixie, aren't you?" Trixie had already set about the task of rearranging the fireworks nearest her.

"Yes, it's Trixie. Now I just need a little bit of time to work this out." To avoid any accidental launches, she had resorted to pulling the rockets out manually. The last shaped one scraped on the edge by accident as she pulled it free. While the resulting spark was small, it did manage to set the fuse line alight. "Ohh no!" It had spread to too many of the rockets to stop now. She needed a plan very quickly. "Uh, how about a demonstration of what I have in mind?"

Trixie used the few remaining seconds to push the box out into the clear. Stage Fright was about to inquire about her behaviour when the rockets began to fire up. Red, green, blue and yellow balls began to flare around the outline of a pine tree. Rather appropriate, and it definitely impressed Stage Fright.

"Well, that certainly was far better than I could have possibly expected! Would you be able to plan out a full show in time? I am quite sure that it will be a huge success." Trixie chuckled nervously to herself. A huge success. For a moment, she wasn't entirely sure that she wanted to be a huge success. It seemed like a throwback to her past that she didn't want. But at the same time, she couldn't disappoint the town by not providing fireworks.

She had to make the decision, and quickly. "Well, I really don't know if it would be that great. I just want to make a contribution to something that is important to the whole town." Other ponies had begun to approach the stage at that point, all from the park itself. Stage Fright obviously wasn't the only pony to have taken notice of her 'accidental' display. A pegasus with a vacuum cleaner mark got up to meet her personally.

"Hey, aren't you Trixie the Magician? That was a really great display just now, it's been so long since we've had real fireworks like that. Are there going to be more?" Trixie glanced at the floor again. Maybe this was the chance she had been looking for. To show her skills without making herself the centre of attention. It took a few moments for her to work out a proper response.

"Just Trixie is fine. I'm only here to try and bring back the fireworks to this wonderful celebration. Nothing to get overly excited about, right?"