It was night in Ponyville, but it certainly wasn’t peaceful. Thanks to the overzealousness of two young colts hoping to defend their idol’s reputation, a giant bear made of stars stalked the streets, while ponies screamed and fled in panic.

Said young colts weren’t worried, though. “Don’t worry, the Great and Powerful Trixie will vanquish it!” Snips said confidently.

All eyes were on Trixie. Finally she lowered her head. “...I can’t.”

“WHAT?” Snips and Snails cried in unison.

“I can’t!” Trixie said. “I never have! Nopony can vanquish an Ursa Major, I just made the whole story up to make me look better.”

“Made it up?!” Snips and Snails cried in unison, again.

At this point, the bear decided to make its presence known again, as it towered over a building and roared into the sky. Soon, nothing would be left of Ponyville but rubble and broken ponies.

Trixie felt the shame build in her. She looked to the left, to Snips and Snails. They stared at her with unbelieving disappointment. She had let them down. She looked to her right, to Twilight Sparkle, the town’s librarian. Trixie didn’t know what she was thinking, but she was no doubt disappointed in Trixie as well. She had tried to stop her friends from ruining Trixie’s performance only a few hours ago, as though she was still willing to give Trixie the benefit of doubt. Now she saw Trixie for what she was: a fraud and a failure.

Trixie felt something snap inside of her.

“Buck this,” she said, heedless of the fact that children were within earshot. “If I’m going to die, I’m going out fighting! HEY, URSA! DON’T PICK ON TRIXIE’S FANS!”

Trixie’s horn burst into light, manifesting a massive storm cloud above the square. Lightning bolts rained down around the Ursa, shaking the ground; even away from the fight, ponies struggled to remain upright. Twilight had ducked down for cover, and Snips and Snails were cowering behind her. Trixie seemed to remain standing by sheer determination alone.

“Stop dodging, you celestial chump!” she cried. Her horn glowed again, and the nearby rope, which the Ursa had torn apart in her first attempt to hold it, floated into the air and mended itself, glowing with the same pink shade as her magic. The rope shot forth and ensnared the Ursa’s legs; the bear struggled, but this time the rope was reinforced with magic and managed to hold together. Kept in place, the Ursa had no way of escaping as a truly enormous bolt of lightning, the likes of which had only ever been seen in the greatest thunderstorms, came down on the beast’s head. It collapsed, alive but unconscious.

“Th-that won’t keep it down for long,” Twilight muttered at length. She was still surprised by the display of power; she knew that unicorns could sometimes tap into hidden reserves of power when they were in just the right kind of mind – she had done so herself, once – but this was incredible.

“Then Trixie will get rid of it now! Back to the forest with you!” She lashed the prone beast with her magic and, with a mighty grunt, lifted it into the air. Sweat poured from her brow and her horn sparked and oozed magic as she struggled with the immense burden, but the Ursa flew up and away, off toward the Everfree Forest. Finally, sensing that the Ursa had successfully found itself where it belonged again, Trixie let go of her magic and collapsed, nearly passing out from the exertion.

Silence reigned in the square for several moments. Then…

“That was awesome!” Snips cried.

“Yeah! The Great and Powerful Trixie vanquished the Ursa Major!” Snails said. “That was sweet!”

“Actually, that was just…” Twilight began, but was cut off as more ponies came out of hiding to cheer.

“Incredible!”

“Fantastic!”

“I’ve never seen a unicorn call down that much lightning! Hay, I’ve never seen a pegasus call down that much lightning!”

“She just pulled it into the air like it was nothing! How heavy do you think that thing was?”

“An’ here I thought she was all hat an’ no cattle,” a certain farmer’s voice said. “Ah’ll admit, ah was really wrong there.”

Twilight smiled. It seemed that Trixie managed to prove her worth after all. Even better, the ponies actually liked what they saw. Maybe they weren’t as averse to magic as she’d been led to believe.

Trixie, for her part, was struggling to stand, exhausted and seemingly still baffled by her own feats. She looked genuinely surprised that the crowd was cheering for her.

“She saved Ponyville!”

“Trixie is a hero!”

“Aheh,” Trixie laughed with uncharacteristic embarrassment. “Was there… um, ever any doubt?”

“And here I thought Twilight Sparkle would at least help her.”

Wait, what? Twilight thought. She looked around but couldn’t see who was talking.

“Yeah, she just stood there with her mouth open while Trixie did everything!”

“Wasn’t she supposed to be the princess’ student who defeated Nightmare Moon or something?”

“Pfft, as if. I bet she only made that up!”

“But… but…” Twilight stammered.

That had been two weeks ago. Things had not improved, and Twilight had taken to hiding in her library. Whenever she stepped out, the mocking began again.

“How’s the princess today, Sparkle?”

“Defeated any evil ponies lately?”

“That moustache spell must be so useful!”

“Dear, stop pacing,” Rarity said. She and the rest of the girls had decided to visit and try to coax Twilight out of seclusion, but it hadn’t worked too well. “And stop repeating those dreadful things. It’s not healthy to brood. This will all pass eventually, I’m sure.”

“Yeah!” Rainbow Dash said. “They’ll remember how great you are in no time, just like with me! It’s not like anypony calls me Rain… bow C-crash…” The pegasus suddenly looked mortified and slunk down. Fluttershy sighed and tried to hug her back into shape.

“Why does she have to show off every day?” Twilight said. She dashed over to the window and peered out suspiciously. “Why does she even have to be here? She’s a traveling performer, shouldn’t she be traveling?”

“Kinda hard fer her ta do that when her wagon got crushed,” Applejack said. “She’s gotta live somewhere.”

“The mayor gave her a house!” Twilight growled.

“It’s really more of an apartment,” Rarity said. “Besides, she’s a showpony. You’re the personal student of Princess Celestia. Surely you can’t be jealous?”

“Yeah, you’re way more powerful than Trixie, no matter what all those ponies say,” Spike reassured her. “I bet you could have defeated that Ursa Major if Trixie hadn’t done it first.”

“It was just an Ursa Minor!” Twilight screamed. “A baby cub! There’s no way Trixie could’ve dealt with an actual Ursa MAJOR! It’s so immense, you… you don’t even want to know!”

“There, there,” Fluttershy said, having successfully calmed down Rainbow Dash from her flight camp-induced trauma. She patted Twilight reassuringly. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“Yeah!” Pinkie Pie said exuberantly. “I mean, we were there when you defeated Black Snooty! Sure, it was a team effort, but you got us all together and did all the planning and you talked to her like you weren’t even afraid of her or anything!”

“You’re right, Pinkie!” Twilight grinned. “I’m way greater than Trixie, and I’m going to prove it! All I need is something big…”

On cue, Spike burped up a scroll. “Letter from the princess,” he said. Twilight snatched it from him and read it. Her grin widened.

“Oh, this is good,” she said. “This is absolutely perfect. There’s a dragon sleeping in the mountains, and his snoring is spreading smoke all over Equestria!”

“Beg yer pardon,” Applejack said skeptically, “but how in tarnation is this good news? That sounds like a reg’lar disaster!”

“Oh, it is!” Twilight said gleefully. “I’ll defeat the dragon, and everypony will see that I’m the great one, not Trixie!” She started bouncing cheerfully around the room, little cries of “Yes, yes, yes,” following her.

Applejack sighed. “Pack yer bags, girls. This is gonna end badly.”

“All right, I think I’ve found the safest route,” Twilight said. She lowered the map and looked at her friends levelly. “Now, you all know the plan, right?”

“Um, I could, maybe, try to talk with him?” Fluttershy said. “I mean, even if it’s a big, scary dragon. Your plan sounds, um, violent…”

“No, no, no!” Twilight protested loudly. “I have to do it! It’s the only way!”

“What’s the only way?” a voice said from behind them. They turned.

Trixie was strolling down the path, looking to be in a chipper mood. She was followed by Snips and Snails, eager as always. “Hello, Twilight, girls. Lovely day, isn’t it?”

“Trixie!” Twilight spat. “What are you doing here?”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie vanquished a dragon!” Snails said.

“WHAT?!” Twilight and her friends screamed in chorus. Jaws were dropped.

“It’s true!” Snips said. “She just walked up to it and wham! Bam! Made it leave!”

“But… but…” Twilight stammered.

“Oh, it wasn’t nearly as dramatic as that,” Trixie said with a humble tone that made Twilight’s teeth quiver. “Trixie merely established who he was dealing with. After that he promised to find more convenient nesting grounds.”

A large shadow passed overhead, and the ponies looked up to see the red dragon depart at high speed. Trixie waved before turning back to the group. “It’s lovely to see you girls, but Trixie needs to return home now. Snips, Snails, let’s go.” She started to walk off, but stopped and turned to Twilight. “Twilight Sparkle, Trixie hasn’t seen you at her show lately. I’d love to hear your opinion on my acts, as a fellow magic aficionado.” Flashing a smile, she strode off with her little entourage in tow.

“Well, that saves us some work, right girls?” Applejack said. She smiled nervously.

Twilight gritted her teeth. “That hat looked new,” she groused.

“B-but, well, she…” Rarity began.

“I hate you all!” Twilight cried and ran off, vanishing in a burst of magic.

“But she hired me…” Rarity stammered. “It’s my job, don’t you see...?”

“Thank you again for your help, Zecora,” Trixie said.

“Think nothing of it, my magician friend,” the Zebra said happily. “In aid, a hoof I will happily lend.”

“You planned this,” Twilight muttered from the bath. She glared at her floppy horn for a moment before continuing to glare at Trixie.

Trixie just shook her head. “You really need to be more trusting, Twilight. Zecora tried to warn you about the Poison Joke.”

“It’s true, you know, I only wish you well,” Zecora agreed in her rhyming speech. “Your friends, on such dark thoughts, do not dwell.”

“Yeah, ah think we’ve all learned a lesson about acceptance today,” Applejack said hopefully.

“Shut up,” Twilight muttered and sank into the water.

“Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie vanquishes the prodigious parasprite swarm with music!”

Twilight stared in disbelief as the cutesy vermin exited town in an orderly lane. She’d had the perfect plan to stop them, only for this… this! To happen. To say nothing of who was responsible for it, too.

“Pinkie! Why are you helping her?!” Twilight yelled.

“Hey, she’s the only pony who listened to me,” Pinkie Pie protested. “You kept running off, what was I supposed to do?”

“Well, it certainly seems to work,” Princess Celestia said. “Excellent work, Trixie.”

“Think nothing of it, your Highness,” Trixie said humbly.

“Arrgh!” Twilight yelled.

The dart flew across the bedroom and landed solidly in Trixie’s big dumb fat flank. It was quickly joined by three more.

Pity it wasn’t the real Trixie, but just a large picture of her. Still, for venting frustration, it worked pretty well. Or at least it used to.

“Stupid showoff,” Twilight groused. “Big dummy. Fat ugly friend-stealing meanie.” She walked over to the target and retrieved the darts, glaring at the picture’s smiling face. “You think you’re so hot, just because you happened to have a magic surge and defeated a baby bear? I defeated Nightmare Moon! I had an incredible surge when I was a filly! Yeah!”

She stared at the face of her rival, the pony who had ruined her life and stolen her friends and claimed all her fame. Then she very quickly planted a kiss on the picture. “Why do you have to be so sexy? No, you’re not, you’re stupid and ugly. Probably a huge tramp too. There’s no way you’d ever have a chance with somepony like me.” She giggled and kissed the picture again. “But maybe once I’ve put you in your place, I might let you have a go. Maybe. Once. Hee hee.”

The doorbell rang. Panicking, Twilight teleported the incriminating portrait to its secure hiding place under her bed, before collecting herself and walking downstairs. “Welcome to the library, how can I… you.”

“Hello, Twilight,” Trixie said cheerfully, doffing her new spring hat and coat. “Recovered from the Wrap-Up?”

“Yes,” Twilight muttered, surreptitiously trying to kill Trixie by staring daggers at her stupid, ugly cutie mark. What sort of unicorn would use a wand to do magic, anyway? Trixie was so dumb.

“It wasn’t easy to do it without magic, but we persevered,” Trixie said. “It’s was really nice of you to figure out how to organize everything while Trixie kept everypony’s morale up.”

“Nopony cared,” Twilight muttered. Trixie had started doing stupid tricks instead of actual work while Twilight had figured out how to overhaul the whole Wrap-Up to do it more efficiently. Guess who everypony had cheered for?

“Too bad you had to leave early,” Trixie said conversationally. “The Mayor wanted to talk to you. Anyway, Trixie came here to find a few books on magic.”

“We don’t have any,” Twilight said tersely, without a shred of honesty.

“Really?” Trixie said, surprised. “Trixie would have assumed you’d stock all kinds, seeing as how you like magic so much.”

“No, all out,” Twilight said. “Big fire.”

“That’s terrible!” Trixie said. “Still, can’t we order copies from Canterlot? Trixie has a list—”

“Can’t order more books,” Twilight interrupted. “We don’t have the budget for it. Sorry.”

“Oh.” Trixie sighed. “Trixie will have to find another way, then. Thank you anyway, Twilight. Say, would you like to go out for hay smoothies?”

“I’m busy,” Twilight said.

“Idea!” Rarity said. “I’ll make gala dresses for all of you, and we can have a fashion show!”

“That’s a great idea!” Applejack said. “Dontcha think so, Twilight? A pretty dress is sure ta cheer ya up!”

“Yeah… a gala dress…” Twilight mumbled. She blinked and shone up. “Oh yeah, the gala! Yes, I’m going to need a perfect dress for that! He he, we’re going to the gala… and she’s not…”

Trixie stepped into the boutique. “Did somepony say ‘gala dress’? Trixie is in dire need of appropriate accoutrements, and she can only trust you to provide, Rarity.”

“You’re going to the gala?!” Twilight asked, horrified.

“Princess Celestia enlisted Trixie to provide entertainment for the event,” Trixie explained. “When she’s not performing, she’ll be attending, so dressing properly is essential, naturally.”

“That’s wonderful,” Rarity said uncertainly. She glanced at Twilight, who seemed to be on the verge of catching fire. “Don’t you think so too, girls?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rainbow Dash said. “I’m… sure it’ll be just, uh, awesome…”

“Magnificent, Tricksie,” Photo Finish crooned. She snapped some more pictures. “Yoo and Flootershy, yoo are like fire and ice, light and shadow, yin and yang. Yoor bold stage presence compliments her shyness like hoof in sock!”

“Was there ever any doubt?” Trixie asked, drawing herself up boldly and providing cover for the hiding Fluttershy. “Watch in awe!”

“Yees, I’m watching, I’m watching!” Photo Finish said. The camera went wild.

“Just look at that!” Twilight complained from her vantage point by the door. “She’s terrifying Fluttershy!”

“Don’t be silly, Twilight,” Rarity said. “She’s doing everything she can to keep Finish’s attention off of Fluttershy so she won’t get too scared.”

“She’s just hogging all the attention with that shameless dress of hers,” Twilight groused. “Why can’t she let Fluttershy get a little spotlight?”

“Because it’d frighten the pony feathers off of her?” Spike suggested.

“Also, I made that ‘shameless’ dress,” Rarity said icily. “Do you have a problem with it, darling?”

“But it… it… it’s showing off her entire…” Twilight said, still staring.

“You don’t have to look if you don’t want to,” Rarity said.

Night descended on Ponyville, and all the little ponies were indoors and tucked into their beds. Except for one.

“Ruin my reputation, will she?” Twilight muttered as she sneaked down the road out of Ponyville and toward the Everfree Forest. “Steal my friends, will she? Get invited to the Grand Galloping Gala, will she? I’ll show that flashy, trampy, stupid show-off who’s the real pony with power around here! And then everypony will love me and everypony will say how great and powerful I am and Trixie will have to admit she’s a huge fraud and everypony will laugh at her and she’ll have to kiss my—” She gasped and dodged behind a tree. “Whew. Thought I heard something.” She continued into the woods. “Oh, this is going to be so great, Trixie is going to get it!”

Locating the Ursa cave was easy. She had spent a few hours magically triangulating the location from the safety of her home. Circumnavigating the wildlife was a bit tougher, but she and her friends had plumbed the depths of the Everfree several times already, and she knew the threats. In particular, she took a wide berth around any blue flowers.

Stupid Trixie. Not being able to do magic was no fun at all.

She felt a bit apprehensive about entering at first, but then she remembered that Snips and Snails had walked in just fine several months earlier. In fact, they had just blundered in without any preparation. How stupid were those colts? Not counting the fact that they kept sticking to Trixie’s flank like two extra cutie marks, which was pretty stupid to begin with. Obviously, a smart and well-prepared pony like Twilight had nothing to worry about. She lit up her horn and entered, searching for her quarry.

There was hardly any searching necessary. She just had to find the sound of snoring. And there it was, the huge, blue-furred form of the Ursa Minor. Twilight smirked to herself. Too easy. That wasn’t what she had come for. No, she was interested in the creature holding the Ursa Minor.

The books had been rather terse and unspecific regarding the appearance of the Ursa Major, but had Twilight been in a more sensible state of mind, she would have found it terrifying. Huge and towering, with fangs the size of trees and claws that looked sharp enough to rend stone. The Ursa Minor, imposing as it had been, looked almost cute, nestled as it were in its paws.

So how would a pony get that thing awake and to the place she wanted it? The easiest way would be to poke it with a stick. Of course, she didn’t have a stick nearly big enough, but she did have magic. Way more magic than Trixie. Of course.

Finding a secure place to stand, she fired a blast of magic. Nothing dangerous, just a little stingy. It hit the big Ursa on the paw… with no effect.

Of course, Ursas were far tougher and had much higher pain thresholds, she realized. Trixie had fired lightning bolts at the Ursa Minor with no result besides minor charring, even though those would’ve meant serious harm to a pony. Twilight would have to step up the game.

Twilight didn’t know how to make lightning (not that she had any reason to, because that was Trixie’s stupid trick), but she had plenty of other options. Some more magic blasts, at higher power. No, it only made it turn and twist a little. Setting fire to its fur seemed to make it awaken a little, but it just rolled over and snuffed it out, taking care to keep the baby away.

Finally Twilight went for the big act and launched at shot at a stalactite in the cave ceiling. It struck precisely, and the rock fell right on the Ursa Major’s head.

That got its attention, sure enough. With a loud roar, it stumbled awake and started looking for its aggressor. The baby Ursa awoke from its sleep as well, and the two star bears started looking around the cave for something to take out their anger on.

For a moment, Twilight wondered if she might have gone too far. But then she remembered the plan. There was nothing for it; this was what she had to do. And she knew just how to handle this. She powered up the spell she had prepared and stepped out in the open. The two bears saw her and reared up to attack… when suddenly hearts appeared in their eyes.

“‘Want It, Need It’ spell,” Twilight chuckled. “Works every time.” She galloped towards the cave entrance, and the two bears lumbered after her.

Several minutes later, Twilight ran into town, slightly winded. Those bears were fast. She quickly dismissed the spell she had cast on herself; at the moment, she did not need to have anypony start desiring her. Except maybe… no, no, not now.

Just as planned, the Ursas came out of their stupor and, realizing that they were in an unfamiliar place and separated from each other, started rampaging. Predictably, ponies woke up from the commotion and panicked all over the place.

And here came the key player. The guest of honor. The Weak and Pathetic Trixie. “Twilight, what’s going on?” She asked. “Is that…”

“That is what an Ursa Major looks like, Trixie!” Twilight cried with glee. “Go ahead, vanquish it like you said you could! I’m watching!”

“What?” Trixie said. “What in the name of Luna’s starry tail are you talking about, Twilight?”

“That!” Twilight yelled. “Ursa! Major! You said you could, quote, vanquish it! Well, get to it then! Or are you saying you can’t, oh Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Of course Trixie can’t vanquish that!” Trixie yelled. Had Twilight gone insane, after all? “Nopony has ever done such a thing in living memory! Trixie said so the first time we met!”

“Ha!” Twilight laughed. “So you admit it! You’re a fraud, Trixie!”

“Uh, how does that make her a fraud, sugarcube?” Twilight realized that Applejack had turned up. As well as her other ‘friends’. “Jest because she can’t do sumthin’ that’s pretty darn impossible?”

“But she said she could do it!” Twilight protested. “That’s lying! You don’t like lying, do you, Applejack?”

“Silly Twilight!” Pinkie Pie said, sounding inappropriately cheerful given the situation. “Trixie always makes stuff up, it’s part of her act! You’d know that if you ever came to her shows!”

“Yeah, like the bit where she said she once stole Canterlot and hid it in her pocket, and then made a magic show about it,” Rainbow Dash said. “That’s was pretty cool.”

“Oh,” Twilight said. Suddenly the air went out of her. Her great victory had suddenly turned to ashes. Of course there was no shame in not being able to defeat an Ursa Major. It was standard for all but the most exceptional pony.

And she had released an unstoppable, furious beast and its cub on Ponyville.

This part, Twilight realized, she had not planned for.

She sank to her haunches. “No, no, no…”

Trixie looked at the downcast pony for a moment, then turned to the others. “Girls, could you help evacuate the ponies and maybe, I don’t know, try to distract the bears so they don’t cause too much damage? Try to lead them out of town or something. Trixie needs to talk to Twilight for a moment.”

“On it, Trix,” Rainbow Dash said. “Come on, AJ. You take the small one, I take the big one.”

“Sure thang,” Applejack said, galloping off. “Just don’t let it clip ya…”

Once they were alone, Trixie turned to her ‘rival’. “Okay, Twilight. Why did you do this?”

“Because you ruined my life,” Twilight mumbled.

“What?” Trixie said. “What are you talking about?”

“Don’t try to play innocent!” Twilight spat. “Prancing into town and showing off! Making me look stupid and incompetent! And my friends love you and want to be with you instead of me, and all the ponies here love you and your stupid show, even Princess Celestia invites you to the Gala!”

Trixie facehoofed. “Why must the cute ones be so incredibly dense? Twilight, your friends haven’t abandoned you. They’ve been trying to drag you out of that library for weeks now, but you keep ignoring them. And we managed to get the ponies to stop talking behind your back long ago. And the Mayor appointed you official All-Team Organizer for the Winter Wrap-Up and wants you to come by to pick up your official vest. All of which you’d know if you’d stop hiding!”

“But… but…” Twilight stammered. “Really?”

“Yes, Twilight,” Trixie said. She smiled. “Everypony loves you, even if you’ve been very stupid. Everypony.”

Twilight felt happy for a moment, but her old mood quickly returned. “This still wouldn’t have happened if you hadn’t come here,” she said.

“Trixie only came here because of you,” Trixie said simply.

Twilight suddenly felt as though someone had poured ice down her neck. “What?”

“Trixie had heard that an exceptional pony lived in Ponyville,” Trixie explained. “Princess Celestia’s own student, who defeated Nightmare Moon and was a genius prodigy in magic.”

“You… wanted to see me?” Twilight asked. Somehow her throat seemed to have locked up, and making the words come out properly was a struggle.

“Trixie wanted to see you, meet you, learn magic with you,” Trixie said. “And then you were so nice when you tried to stop your friends from ruining my show, and you were even prettier than Trixie had been told. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more perfect, wonderful pony.”

“I… you… but… you think so?” Twilight managed to say. The world swam before her eyes and seemed to have been filled up completely by a blue unicorn who said beautiful things.

“Yes,” Trixie said without the slightest hint of shame or apprehension. “You were the reason why I could defeat the Ursa Minor, you know?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight said. She thought back to that event, months ago. She hadn’t done anything. She had been mocked for not doing anything, actually. She had just been standing there, slack-jawed like a little filly while Trixie did amazing magic. “What did I do?”

“You were there,” Trixie said simply. “You stood by Trixie’s side even when she thought we were doomed. Trixie knew… that with the greatest pony in the world by her side, she could do anything.”

“And that caused you to tap into your full power,” Twilight said. It was true. When a unicorn was in just the right kind of mind…

“And you’ve inspired Trixie to improve her magic ever since,” Trixie said. “To help everypony when it’s needed. Because it’s what you would do, Twilight.”

“And all this time…” Twilight’s mind reeled. Then suddenly it caught on to something specific it had picked up in all the strange words and realizations that brought the world into sharp focus. “Wait. You think I’m pretty?”

“Yes! You only now figured that out?” Trixie said, exasperated. “Why do you think Trixie has kept trying to see you and get you to Trixie’s show and ask you out on dates?”

“Oh, so that’s what you wanted,” Twilight said. She nodded. “Kiss me.”

“Huh?” Trixie said.

“Kiss me before I kiss you,” Twilight said. “And I’ve never kissed another pony before, so it probably won’t be very good.”

“Oh.” Trixie shrugged and kissed her.

Twilight wasn’t sure how a kiss was supposed to play out in terms of who was the kisser and who was the kissee – she had a suspicion that it was a mutual interaction thing – but it certainly felt better than anything she had ever done with any other pony, ever, in her entire life. Assuming they didn’t end up getting crushed by a giant bear made of stars, Twilight would have to get rid of the embarrassing picture under her bed. The original was far more enjoyable, after all.

It wasn’t just the taste, which she couldn’t describe as anything other than simply ‘Trixie’, or possibly ‘the tastiest thing she had ever had the fortune to experience’. It wasn’t just the sensation of Trixie’s soft, giving lips, or the heat of her breath against Twilight’s face, or the warmth of her body as they pressed together and groped with their hooves against each other in a desperate attempt to hold the other pony as close as possible and feel the softness of their giving curves. It was possibly everything thrown together into one infinite moment of bliss.

Several eternities later, they separated. “That was pretty good for a first time,” Trixie admitted.

Twilight nodded in agreement. Her heart was trying to set a new record in beats, or possibly start a career as a drummer. “Wanna go for a second?”

“Trixie thinks we should stop the Ursas first.” She grinned. “Then we’ll have all the time in the world.”

“That’s an Ursa Major, Trixie,” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “And an Ursa Minor just for fun. You can’t seriously believe that you can get another power surge just by… just by having me standing by!”

Trixie shrugged. “Maybe not… but Trixie didn’t back down then and she will definitely not back down now. Besides...” She winked at Twilight. “Maybe if you actually do something this time, we could succeed.”

Twilight stared for a moment at her rival-turned-lover, then drew herself up. “Fine. Let’s do the impossible.”

Applejack darted between the baby space-bear’s legs, keeping its attention on her, although she was perfectly aware it was getting increasingly angry. Still, she had managed to lure it into the Ponyville outskirts without any pony casualties and only a few damaged buildings. Insurance premiums would skyrocket if Ponyville wasn’t already rated the highest in Equestria. Taking a brief moment to look away, she saw that Rainbow Dash had succeeded in doing the same with the momma bear. She’d definitely brag about this later on. There was really no other reason why she had volunteered to take the big one, was there?

There was a burst of displaced air, and Twilight and Trixie appeared nearby. The latter was covered in soot.

“Ow,” Trixie said, glaring at Twilight.

“Sorry,” Twilight said. “I have no idea why that happens when I bring others along. Applejack, how’s it going?”

“Ah’ve got Junior under control fer now,” Applejack said, not taking her attention off the bear. “Ah’d appreciate if you’d come up with a permanent solution, though.”

“Right,” Twilight said. “Baby bear, baby bear. How do we stop a huge baby bear? It probably wants its mommy.”

“She’s over there, but Ponyville is in the way,” Trixie said. “Lead him around?”

“Ah can hardly keep him still, much less lead him anywhere particular!” Applejack commented.

“We could lift him,” Twilight suggested. “But he’ll struggle too much, unless… wait! Idea!”

“This ain’t the time ta brush up on yer Rarity impersonations!” Applejack yelled.

“I got it!” Twilight said. Her horn flared. Nearby, a row of river reeds broke off at different heights and the wind started to play across them, drawing out a haunting melody.

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “A lullaby? Good thinking. Definitely a nicer option than Trixie’s method.” The Ursa Minor was already stopping in its tracks, eyelids drooping as it suddenly started to feel very tired. Applejack quickly pulled back to observe the spectacle.

“Take over the spell, Trixie, I’m going to try something else.” Trixie quickly touched her horn against Twilight’s, continuing the lullaby on her own. Twilight wrapped her magic around the nearby water tower and emptied it out. It soared off into a nearby barn and emerged on the other side, brimming with milk.

Applejack stared at the makeshift giant milk bottle, and then at the barn, which was making offended mooing noises. “Ah’m gonna have to deal with that, aren’t I?”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight said. “I’m so sorry.” She finally placed the milk bottle in the paws of the Ursa Minor, who started suckling it with an expression of sheer bliss.

“Perfect,” Trixie said. “So, Twilight, do you want to take the front or the back of the bear?”

“Neither,” Twilight said. She looked like she had a very clever idea. “I’ve read a while back that two unicorns can join their magic together and get far greater lifting strength than just both of them added up. I’ve never tried it, though.”

“Interesting,” Trixie said. “They’d have to be nearly perfectly in sync, though.”

“Right now, I think we’re good,” Twilight said with a smirk. “Let’s do this.”

Applejack had seen unicorns lift things plenty of times before. Hay, except for a few of them – like the two before her – most of them only ever used their magic for anything but hauling things around instead of using their hooves. So she was used to the sight of colorful auras sneaking around things and lifting them in the air.

What Twilight and Trixie were trying looked different, and yet somehow very similar in ways she couldn’t quite describe. Twilight’s raspberry red and Trixie’s pink seemed to interlace and weave itself together around the sleeping beast, mixing together so finely her eyes couldn’t tell where one aura began and the other ended.

And the blissful looks on their faces, as though they were so darn happy. Applejack didn’t want to draw any hasty conclusions, in case this was just the unicorn equivalent of holding hooves, but they sure seemed to enjoy themselves.

The Ursa Minor floated into the air with only the slightest of grunts from the unicorns. They didn’t even break a sweat. Then it floated away, rounding Ponyville on its way towards the Ursa Major, with two unicorns following it in perfect lockstep.

Rainbow Dash was at the end of her strength, but she’d be plucked before she ever admitted it to anypony. The Ursa Major was fast, strong and immensely dangerous, and it had come very close to catching her a few times before she started to take it really seriously.

On the other hoof, she was having the time of her life. When she said that ‘Danger’ was her middle name, she wasn’t joking. (And she had the birth certificate to prove it. Best parents ever!) Besides, leading what was likely to be the largest land animal in Equestria away from a populated town counted towards her daily quota of awesome heroics, so it was all good. She was glad she had called dibs on the big one. As if she’d let Applejack show her up...

“What. The. Hay.” The sight that suddenly greeted her nearly made her stop dead in her tracks. Luckily she didn’t, or she might’ve also stopped dead in a more literal way.

A snoozing Ursa Minor came floating through the air, gently sucking on what appeared to be the southern water tower. Below it, and apparently lifting the bear with roughly all the effort of carrying a sack lunch, were Twilight and Trixie, trotting to the same beat and smiling in a very creepy fashion. Beside was Applejack, wearing her best and finest ‘Don’t ask me, I don’t know either’ expression.

The Ursa Major’s attention immediately shifted from the colorful annoyance to her precious cub, and she lurched towards him. She wasn’t entirely certain why he was floating in the air, but he seemed to be unhurt and sleeping, and he had found something to eat along the way. She tried to take him in her paws, but he floated further away. She didn’t know why, since he wasn’t supposed to be able to do so, so she responded by taking another step and make another grab. He floated away again. So she did the same thing again.

Rainbow Dash alighted next to Applejack and joined her friend in watching the performance. Slowly, the Ursas vanished into the forest. After a long while, the two unicorns opened their eyes and smiled at each other.

“That was incredible,” Trixie said, panting a little. “Do you think we’ll ever be able to do it again?”

“Maybe,” Twilight said. “I have no idea.”

“Okay, danger’s over,” Rainbow Dash said. “Now you’ve got some explaining to do, Twilight.”

Twilight just ignored her and pounced on Trixie, showering her with kisses.

“Or you could do that and we’ll save the explanations for later,” Rainbow amended, blushing a deep red. “Good grief.”

It was later when seven ponies and one dragon had gathered in the library. There were explanations. There were apologies. There were declarations of undying friendship. There were mugs of hot chocolate, because few things calm the nerves after a night of near-death danger and months of misled ill feelings like a soothing hot chocolatey beverage. Particularly if there were marshmallows.

Two ponies were wrapped around each other as though neither wanted to let go, ever. No points for guessing who.

“So what have we learned?” Spike asked.

“Never to lead angry giant bears into Ponyville?” Twilight suggested.

“And?” Spike said.

“Never lose faith in my friends?” Twilight continued.

“And?” Spike said.

“Never start hating somepony just because you think they might be better, or smarter, or stronger, or more powerful than you, because they might just be somepony you want to have as a friend.” She kissed Trixie gently on the cheek. “Or more than a friend.”

“Well, that about does it,” Applejack said. “Anypony else?”

“What about ‘Trixie looks absolutely drop dead sexy in anything Rarity has designed’?” Trixie suggested.

“Oh please.” She kissed Trixie again. For some reason, it didn’t seem to ever stop being interesting. “I learned that long ago.”

“Oh, so you were checking out Trixie after all,” Trixie said. “Trixie was glad she commissioned those high-cut dresses that showed off her entire—”

“Anyway, I think you owe the Mayor an explanation as well, but that can be saved until the morning,” Rarity interjected. She deftly wiped away a few more tears from Fluttershy’s face; the sensitive pegasus couldn’t quite stop crying. “So what happens now?”

“No idea,” Twilight said.

“Are you going to continue being a meany mopey-pants?” Pinkie asked.

“No, of course not,” Twilight laughed.

“Are you going to start taking care of your appearance again?” Rarity asked. “Because seriously, you were a dreadful mess half the time.”

“Now that I have somepony to look good for, yes,” Twilight said.

“Will you finally go to Trixie’s shows?” Trixie asked.

“Every time,” Twilight said. She grinned. “Do I get to go on stage?”

“Maybe,” Trixie said. “If Trixie can find a sparkly leotard for you.”

“That can be arranged,” Rarity said quickly.

“For heaven’s sake, Rares,” Applejack muttered. “So, does this mean we’re all good now?”

Twilight looked around the room at the faces looking back at her with love and friendship. “I have the best friends in the world, the best number one assistant ever, and a pony I think I’m madly in love with,” she said. “I think we’re good.”

Author's Notes:

Nine hours. Not too shabby. I hope.