Antonius Varus was walking down a hallway in Canterlot Castle. In the time that had passed since his last mission, he had tried to find a pony who was able to help with the explosives they needed for the guns and the tank they were building, but he had not been able to find anypony who could handle more than simple firecrackers. Although he had reached a point where he was almost content with this level of expertise, he still hoped to find somepony who was at least proficient in firework rockets or the like.

Antonius stepped onto a balcony and took a deep breath. Really, while it wasn’t Macragge, this world was stunningly beautiful. The mountains in the distance, the lush forests, the great plains, the giant cheese dome covering Ponyville…
Ah, crap.
Antonius turned around and rushed to the throne room.

As he arrived there, he could see that Celestia wasn’t alone. There were half a dozen ponies in the room, talking with her, some of them with notepads or parchments. Celestia still noticed him entering and looked up.

“Hello, Lord Varus,” she said, using the form appellation since there were other ponies present,
“how can we help you? We are just discussing the last details of the welcome of the delegates from Saddle Arabia around noon. We will end the ceremony with a visit to Ponyville, where Twilight will take care of the entertainment!”

“If Ponyville will be available again by then,” Antonius answered.

“What do you mean?” Celestia asked in confusion.

“Somepony put some sort of giant cheese dome over the town.”

“What?”

“You could also call it a giant, upside down goldfish bowl, but no matter how you call it, it seems to isolate Ponyville from its surroundings.”

The princess turned to the ponies around her:

“Please excuse me for a second, my dear ponies.”

Now Antonius and Celestia went to a balcony and had a look at Ponyville and its current state.

“Hmm… that IS unusual, even for Ponyville standards,” Celestia opined,
“there must be some powerful magic at work.”

“Should we go there and have a look?” Antonius asked, eager for a new mission.

To his surprise, Celestia shook her head and said:

“Let’s leave this to Twilight and her friends. They know how to deal with such problems.”

“Another test?” Antonius inquired.

“Antonius, the whole life is a series of tests,” the princess smiled.

“Well, that may be true, but you won’t mind me checking in on them?”

“It wouldn’t help if I did, would it?”

“Not really, no,” Antonius grinned.

“Okay, then go to Ponyville, but please do not intervene unless absolutely necessary.”

“You know me.”

“Yes, I do. That’s why I said it,” Celestia laughed a bit forced,
“and please try to be back when the Saddle Arabians arrive.”

Within a few minutes, Antonius had donned his armor and weapons and had made it to the Land Speeder. He left the hangar and made a beeline for Ponyville. While on his way, he called Al.

“Hello, Antonius,” Al said,
“how can I be of service?”

“Another mission,” Antonius told him,
“record my data and stay alert.”

A small rune lit up in Antonius’ HUD, indicating an active connection.

“Done,” Al informed him,
“I guess the objective is to remove that glass dome from Ponyville?”

“Indeed, but first we will gather intel and give the Element Bearers an opportunity to solve this situation on their own.”

When Antonius arrived at the dome, he stopped and examined it.

“Really seems to be glass,” he noticed.

“A glass dome of this size should collapse under its own weight, since there is no support structure,” Al informed him,
“I suppose there is something unnatural to this dome.”

“Yes. Let’s see if there is a gap somewhere.”

So he travelled around the dome with his speeder, but it sealed Ponyville off perfectly. He increased his height and did it again, trying to see what was going on inside. There were only a few ponies in the streets, looking not happy at all, but no sign of an actual threat you could put a bolt into.

Antonius wondered what was going on, or who could tell him. Well, while the residents of Ponyville were unavailable (fetching some paint and painting his messages on the glass dome seemed a little too flashy), there was somepony else who might be able to help him. He steered the Land Speeder towards the Everfree Forest.

As he arrived at Zecora’s hut, he found it empty.
Had Zecore visited Ponyville when the dome had appeared? Or was she just wandering in the woods?
Well, there was a way to find out. Just as he was about to take his auspex, though, he heard a splash, and decided to examine the source of this noise.

Antonius found Zecora, and also Twilight, who was for some reason sitting in a pond.

“Twilight! Zecora!” he greeted,
“I am glad I have found you. Can you tell me what’s the deal with the giant cheese dome over Ponyville?”

“Antonius!” Twilight exclaimed and rushed to meet him,
“you have no idea how happy I am to see you! The pony responsible for this dome is Trixie.”

“Trixie?”

“Yes. I have first met her some time ago and, well, she blames me for a few bad things that happened to her since then.”

“So, she is looking for revenge?”

“Long story short: yes.”

“I think I should know the long version, too.”

“You really should know all about this dome,” Zecora said,
“but we should better first go to my home.”

A short time later, the three of them were sitting in Zecora’s hut, and Twilight was telling Antonius about her encounters with Trixie.

“So,” Antonius summarized when Twilight was done,
“we have a mediocrely talented stage magician who is somehow very powerful now and out for revenge against you and the whole town. Hmm. That basically means that we have a witch to kill. Not that extraordinary. It still requires a good plan.”

“Yeah,” Twilight replied,
“and an important part of this plan will be not to kill anypony.”

Antonius sighed.

“Twilight, witches downright beg to be killed. It’s because of all the wickedness and evil they do, you know?”

“Antonius, we won’t kill Trixie. There is just something wrong with her. She has always been sorta ‘high and mighty’, but now she’s all ‘mean and nasty’.”

“Corruption. By dark powers. This is actually one more reason to violently put an end to her existence.”

“No. There must be a better way.”

Suddenly, there was a gentle knock on the door. Antonius grabbed his chainsword, his thumb on the activation rune, and opened the door.

“Fluttershy!” they all exclaimed in surprise and Antonius added:
“Come in quickly. Tell us: What is the current situation in Ponyville?”

“And how did you escape?” Twilight added.

“Those questions are valid, but please do not frown,
first we give her a drink and let her settle down,” Zecora said, filling a cup with a steaming beverage and putting it on a table.

When Fluttershy had sat down, she started answering the questions, and also explained what she and her friends had found out.

“I can't believe I didn't recognize the Alicorn Amulet!” Twilight exclaimed.

“The more she uses it, the more it will corrupt her!” Fluttershy explained.

“But how am I supposed to beat that amulet? My magic’s not good enough!”

“So we need to get that amulet off of Trixie’s neck,” Antonius stated.

“I’m afraid that won’t work,” Fluttershy told him,
“it has a magical lock. Trixie is the only pony who can take it off.”

“Well, if we can’t open this lock, we might have to take more drastic measures.”

“Such as?” Twilight asked.

“If we decapitate her, we could take the amulet off of her neck, no matter if it’s locked or not.”

The ponies looked somewhat disturbed now.

“Antonius, really, that is a little too drastic,” Twilight stated.

“If she continues to use the amulet, we might soon have no other chance than to kill her.”

“Then we have to stop her now, but how? I can’t defeat her with my magic, and she certainly won’t just take the amulet off herself.”

“Twilight Sparkle,” Zecora said,
“much work have you done. You learned all of my lessons; all but one. If Trixie’s tricks have you in a fix, you must nix your magic and use the six.”

“Nix your magic, use the six... Nix your magic, use the six! Use the six! That’s it! Zecora, you’re a genius! Now we’ll need to get you back inside Ponyville, Fluttershy,” Twilight grinned, fetching a quill and a sheet of paper.

“Would somepony mind explaining to me what we are going to do?” Antonius asked.

“I’m just about to explain my plan,” Twilight told him,
“now listen…”

Antonius grinned beneath his helmet as they walked back towards Ponyville. He liked the plan Twilight had come up with, as it it involved outsmarting somepony who just relied on brute magical force. That this outsmarting would be done by using tricks of a stage magician was the irony icing on the retaliation cake.
He would not join them for the execution of this plan, though. He had insisted on being used as an emergency backup should the plan fail. Better safe than sorry, after all.

They finally arrived at the dome with nopony in sight.

“So far, so good,” Antonius said,
“what do you think, Twilight, wouldn’t it confirm the powers of your nice little amulet if I knocked to gain Trixie’s attention?”

“Hey, that’s a good idea, but then you must hurry to get out of sight,” Twilight replied.

“No problem,” Antonius smiled and reached back.
“Ready?” he asked.

Twilight and Zecora nodded, so he smashed his fist against the dome, making it reverberate like a giant bell, then he dashed along the dome to a few large bushes that were conveniently close to the artificial barrier. There he hid and waited.

It took some time until their enemy appeared, and the over the top pomp and sheer stupidity of that appearance made it clear that this Trixie’s mental health had somewhat suffered under the effects of the Alicorn Amulet: a blue, rather harmless looking unicorn mare sitting on top of a golden contraption - without wheels! - that was pulled by two overstrained unicorn colts.

Just as planned, she started arguing with Twilight and finally raised the dome to let her and Zecora in. Antonius used this opportunity to rush into the town and hide behind a house.
He checked his bolter and sneaked towards the town square.

It did not take him long to find a good sniper position with an excellent overview of the town square. The whole place was defaced by banners depicting the enemy, and a short time later, Twilight, Trixie and some other ponies arrived.
He aimed at the witch, checking the readings of his auto-senses.

“I don’t want to interfere in your mission,” Al suddenly voxed,
“but don’t you think it would be wise to stick to the plan?”

“I am sticking to the plan,” Antonius replied,
“I am just on the watch.”

Damnit, that would be such a nice kill - those giant heads could barely be missed - but he would definitely stick to the plan. He was just there in case things should go south.

Now the duel of Twilight and Trixie started, complete with dramatic thunder and lightning and everything you would expect on this weird planet.
Twilight and her friends really pulled off their tricks flawlessly. Everything was perfectly timed, up to the point that even Antonius needed his auto-senses’ thermal vision to catch a glimpse of what really was going on.
Having no such thing as thermal vision, Trixie was obviously at a loss. She became more and more troubled, until she finally used her magic to steal Twilight’s amulet. Then she took off the Alicorn Amulet, replacing it with the just stolen one.
Perfect.

Antonius noticed that the color of Trixie’s magic changed from red to pink, yet her behavior stayed the same; she was still boasting about being great and powerful and what not.

Now Rainbow Dash sprung into action and seized the Alicorn Amulet from Trixie’s hoof. She had already put some distance between her and the crazed unicorn when Trixie fired magic lightning at her.

Antonius was ready to put an end to Trixie and her despicable deeds, but Rainbow was not harmed - according to her, the attack had just tickled. The pegasus took the Alicorn Amulet to Zecora, who had brought a casket where they put it in.

Now Twilight walked up to Trixie and explained to her what had just happened. The crazed mare finally lost her fighting spirit and looked defeated.
Twilight’s plan had worked, so Antonius slowly lowered his bolter and put the weapon back to his hip. Then he walked towards Twilight.

As Trixie noticed him, her eyes went wide and she froze in fear.

“Oh, that’s just Antonius Varus, Lord Commander of the PDF, and a good friend of mine. No need to worry,” Twilight told her.

“I think I’ll better worry,” the blue unicorn mumbled.

“Twilight,” Antonius greeted, then he turned to Trixie and said in the same matter-of-fact tone:
“Witch.”

Trixie looked like she was about to soil the ground as Twilight said:

“Just Trixie. She is de-witched now.”

Antonius stared at his former enemy and said:

“You better stay that way.”

“Yes,” she answered ruefully.

“Now, shall we put her into prison for the atrocities she has committed?”

“That won’t be necessary,” Twilight said while Trixie was busy shrinking,
“but we could use a little help preparing everything for the ceremony this evening.”

“I’ll help,” Trixie quickly mumbled, not taking her eyes off the blue giant who was still glaring at her.

“Okay. Usually, I would stay and help, but the delegation from Saddle Arabia will arrive soon, and I have to be present when that happens. May I leave you alone?”

“Of course,” Twilight answered,
“if we should need your help, I’ll call you.”

Antonius said goodbye, got his Land Speeder and returned to Canterlot. On his way there, he voxed Al:

“Al, the mission is over. Save the vid-log and grant ‘read’ permission to the princesses and Element Bearers. Antonius, out.”

“Acknowledged,” Al answered.

Once back in Canterlot, Antonius immediately met with Celestia and Luna.

“Hello, Antonius. I see that the dome is gone,” Celestia greeted,
“has Twilight been successful or did she require your help?”

“She was successful,” Antonius told her,
“I was just there as an emergency backup.”

“Told you,” the princess smiled.

“Better save than sorry.”

“Oh, now that you mention that: Please let me remind you to be as non-threatening as possible when the delegates arrive. We want to ask them for their silversteel, so we can’t afford to treat them badly in any way.”

“Should I feel the urge to gruesomely kill somepony, I’ll try to suppress it,” Antonius answered flatly.

“Don’t worry, sister,” Luna laughed,
“that is just his way of agreeing to something you already asked him a dozen times.”

They went to the landing platforms where a guard of honor was at the ready and waited for the delegates to arrive, Celestia and Luna in the front, Antonius behind them. It just took a few minutes until the chariots came into view.

“Hey, Tony, take off your helmet,” Luna whispered,
“I think the perpetual frown and the glowing eyes might make them uncomfortable.”

“Then my helmet is doing its job,” Antonius grinned, but he took it off as requested.

The chariots landed and half a dozen horse-like creatures got off.
Well, that was interesting. Somehow, Antonius had expected the Saddle Arabians to be ponies like the ones he knew, but they were taller, almost as tall as Celestia, and lacked a cutie-mark.

They walked up the the princesses, two of them in front, the others following. They all bowed - as did Celestia, Luna and Antonius - and one of the Saddle Arabia ‘followers’ announced:

“Prince Haakim of Saddle Arabia, and Princess Amira of Saddle Arabia.”

Both of them bowed again, then Celestia said:

“In the name of Equestria, I welcome you here in Canterlot. I am Princess Celestia. This is Princess Luna, my sister. And this…”
she waved her hoof at Antonius
“… is Antonius Varus, Ultramarines 2nd company, and Lord Commander of the equestrian PDF.”

“Thank you for your invitation and the warm welcome,” Prince Haakim replied,
“it is always a pleasure being here in your wonderful country.”

“Indeed,” Princess Amira added,
“all of our meeting have always been very nice and fruitful. And this time, it is a special honor to meet Princess Luna and Lord Commander Varus.”

“Thank you,” Luna said,
“we certainly are excited to get to know the both of you.”

“For that purpose,” Celestia added,
“may I suggest that we have a joint lunch now?”

“A truly marvelous idea, Princess,” Prince Haakim smiled and they went into the palace.

During lunch, the Saddle Arabians told them about their country and recent events there, basically innocuous small talk, but Antonius learned that Saddle Arabia was mainly consisting of a desert with a few very fertile oases and a mountain range where their mines were located.

It took a while until the delegates asked Antonius about his home, but then he told them about Macragge; about its high mountains and lush forests.

“So,” Prince Haakim asked,
“it’s a lot like Equestria, isn’t it?”

“There are similarities, yes,” Antonius replied.

“Despite out very different origins, we have found quite a lot of similarities,” Luna told the guests,
“it is truly marvelous that even such incredible distances seem to carry next to no weight. Even more wonderful is the friendship that has grown between ponies and humans.”

“It really is nice hearing you talk about friendship,” Prince Haakim said friendlily, right before Princess Amira nudged him.

“I’m sorry, Princess Luna,” he immediately added,
“I did not want to insult you.”

“You have not, Prince Haakim. It would be nice of you to tell me why you were surprised, though.”

“You see, Princess, there is an old folk tale in Saddle Arabia, and those tales describe you as a little, well, coldhearted.”

“Why would somepony tell such a tale?” Luna asked perplexedly.

“The tale is about you rejecting a prince from Saddle Arabia,” Princess Amira told them.

Luna looked less than delighted now.

“Just because we did not want to get married does not mean that we are coldhearted!” she stated.

“We know, Princess Luna,” Prince Haakim quickly assured her,
“but I guess this story has taken a life of its own over the centuries.”

“Well, we hope that you will correct that,” Luna said, obviously a little miffed,
“there may have been a time - between the times of this story and the present - where we were not very amicable, but I expect you to tell everypony that the Princess of the Night is a VERY FRIENDLY PONY NOW!”

“Of course,” Prince Haakim answered, clearly intimidated.

Celestia just wanted to say something, but Antonius was faster then her:

“Truly, I have never met a non-human even remotely as friendly as her. She was the first pony to befriend me, and it is a friendship I rate highly.”

“Then you were the first pony to successfully befriend a creature from another world?” Princess Amira asked in awe.

“I was,” Luna confirmed proudly and now calm again.

Having settled this little dissonance, they all continued eating.

When they were done, they had a sightseeing tour of Canterlot. According to Celestia’s plan, the first day of the Saddle Arabians’ visit would just be used to strengthen the bond and friendship between the two countries, the negotiations would start the next day. Antonius just went along with that. Who knew, perhaps it would have a positive effect on the negotiations.

It was almost time to travel to Ponyville when Antonius turned to the others and said:

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to travel to Ponyville and make sure that everything is ready there.”

“Of course,” Celestia nodded and Antonius went to his Land Speeder and left Canterlot.

Once in Ponyville, he found out that everything had been properly prepared. Multiple stands had been constructed and in the middle of them, there was a platform.

“I see everything is ready for the delegates,” Antonius said as he approached Twilight, who was going through her checklist.

“Yes. I have already checked my list two times,” Twilight told him,
“now, a third time to be sure and the delegates can come.”

“How did Trixie behave?”

“Oh, she did not cause any problems. She really was helpful… I have to admit that I lost sight of her some time ago, though.”

“Hmm… I don’t see how that could cause any problems,” Antonius deadpanned.

“Relax,” Twilight smiled,
“she isn’t a threat anymore.”

It took the princesses and Saddle Arabians some time to arrive. When they had finally left the chariots, Celestia lowered the sun and the celebration started. Twilight used her magic to levitate small animals and move them in an infinity pattern. The Saddle Arabians obviously enjoyed the performance. Antonius smiled. If they really were impressed by telekinesis, negotiating with the ponies who controlled the sun and the moon would certainly be fun.

Now, fireworks exploded in the sky, impressing them even more. Antonius attention was caught, too: somewhere here in Ponyville had to be a pony who knew how to work with explosives! He had to ask Twilight who had set up the fireworks.
Seeing her surprised face, however, Antonius realized that those fireworks had not been a part of the performance.
Intriguing. Who was responsible for them?

He got the answer as he saw Trixie approach Twilight, her horn glowing. Unfortunately, he was too far away and the ponies were too noisy for him to understand what they were talking about, but since the fireworks ended just when Trixie’s horn stopped glowing it was probably her who had done this.
Perhaps he had found the demolitions expert he had been looking for?
If he could trust her…

The blue unicorn seemed to say goodbye - or something like that - reared up and galloped away. Then she faceplanted, picked herself up again and continued to run.
If he could trust her and if she wasn’t too clumsy to work with ‘real’ explosives.
Well, he would have to find out.

So, after a few words with Luna, Celestia and the delegates, he excused himself and went to the Land Speeder. While they were returning to Canterlot, he still had something to do tonight.

Guided by his auspex and his knowledge of the terrain, he cut Trixie off within minutes.

“AAAHH! What do you want? Twilight forgave me! Ask her!” she screamed.

Antonius jumped out of the Speeder and looked at the terrified mare.

“Nice fireworks,” he stated.

Trixie looked dumbfounded for a second, then she seemed to gain confidence:

“So, you are a fan of the Great and Powerful Trixie?”

“Not really, no,” Antonius told her and watched her deflate again.

“So… umm… what can the humble and completely non-threatening Trixie do for you?” she finally asked with a forced grin.

“You know how to work with gunpowder?”

“Gunpowder?”

“For the fireworks. The propellant and explosive.”

“Oh, you mean black powder. Yes, I know how to handle it.”

“You said you were sorry for what you have done in Ponyville?”

“Umm… yes, I am. Really!” Trixie assured him, a little confused by this apparent change of subjects.

“Do you want to prove it?” Antonius asked.

“Huh? How could I prove that?”

“Come with me. Maybe I have a task for you.”

Antonius went to the Land Speeder and fetched a standard-sized harness. Good thing he always had one of them ready in case Twilight or her friends needed or wanted to use the Speeder.
He held it out to Trixie and said:

“Put it on.”

To his surprise, Trixie went crimson and stammered:

“Oh… well… Mr… Varus, right? While I have to admit that I’m a little bit curious I don’t think that this is a ‘task’ I want to do.”

Now Antonius was quite confused.

“This harness is to prevent you from falling out of my Land Speeder when I take you to Canterlot. Why would anypony not want to not fall out of a vehicle traveling at high velocity?”

“Oh! That’s what the harness is for!” Trixie exclaimed with relief,
“I’m sorry, I thought you had something different in mind.”

“What the hell did you think it was for?” Antonius inquired, still in confusion, then it dawned upon him:
“Emperor have mercy! What kind of dirty mind do you have?”

“Hey, you are the one who ambushes lonesome mares in the wilderness and wants them to put on harnesses!” Trixie pointed out.

“For transportation! Have you ever heard of seatbelts?”

“How should I have known?”

“Enough of this! Do you wish to make up for your atrocities or not?”

“Well, yes,” Tixie said and finally put on the harness.

Antonius put her into the Speeder, buckled her up and they traveled back to Canterlot.

Once in the hangar and out of the harness, Trixie looked around in wonder.

“This… is a very unusual basement.”

“It’s an ancient base, constructed by my people about ten millennia ago,” Antonius corrected her.

“Ten millennia… and this infernal machine that brought us here?”

“Is NOT an infernal machine, but a Land Speeder; sacred human technology.”

“Oh… umm… sorry. But now please tell me why you brought me here.”

“Have you heard of Chaos and the fate of Hope?”

“Hope?” Trixie asked,
“the town that got almost destroyed by some crazy creature?”

“Yes,” Antonius answered,
“here, we are working on means to defend ponykind. We have metallurgists and engineers, but unfortunately we are lacking a demolitions expert. Or aren’t we?”

Trixie stared at him for a second, then she said:

“Huh? A demolitions expert? Me?”

“I have seen your fireworks. It may not be the same, but it’s at least somewhat related. If you’re up to the task, you could help save your species.”

“Well, that is an intriguing offer… do I have a choice at all?”

“Of course. You will be working with explosives, after all. Either you do that voluntarily, or not at all.”

“Hmm… a chance to be generous, selfless and heroic… I can’t let this pass. Soon, everypony will know how valuable the Great and Powerful Trixie is!” Trixie exclaimed.

“We do not do this for glory,” Antonius reprimanded her,
“but for the safety of your species. I will still give you a chance to contribute. We’ll need artillery and shotgun shells. We have the construction plans and materials at your disposal.”

“Okay, I’ll see what I can do. Just one question: What are ‘artillery’ and ‘shotgun shells’?”

Antonius sighed and said:

“Artillery shells will be used for the main weapon of the tank - the armored combat vehicle - we’re building, the shotgun shells… follow me.”

He walked into the armorium and up to a workstation where he picked up a shotgun prototype that had already been built.

“This is a shotgun. It uses gunpowder to fire a bunch of small bullets at your enemy.”

“Oh… this sounds dangerous.”

“Yes, that is the meaning of this thing. The important part is that it’s only dangerous to your enemy. You probably have some reservations regarding the use of lethal force, but I can tell you that Chaos will not share those reservations.”

“Well… okay,” Trixie sighed,
“I must get used to this thought first, but I will do my best. But… Mr. Varus… could we perhaps start tomorrow? I think I should be well rested before I work with potentially lethal explosives.”

“Yes, that makes sense. Let’s go to Princess Celestia or Princess Luna and ask for a room.”

“P..princess Celestia?!” Trixie asked in shock.

“Of course. I can’t just commandeer a room of her castle… well, perhaps I could, but it would be impolite. What’s wrong? Usually ponies are thrilled to see the princess.”

“Nothing’s wrong! I’m just… excited?” Trixie insisted with a forced grin.

There definitely was something wrong, but Antonius did not deem it necessary to find out about that just now. It would certainly be revealed in a few minutes when they met Celestia.

“Well… okay. First, we should see if the princess’s available,” he said, then he went to a nearby cogitator and asked
“Al?”

“What do you mean by ‘Al’? Who or what is ‘Al’?” Trixie inquired.

Now Al appeared on the cogitator’s screen.

“That would be me,” he stated.

Trixie screamed and scurried backwards.

“What is that?” she shouted.

“That’s Al,” Antonius grinned,
“an artificial lifeform created by mankind about 16 millennia ago.”

“Arti… that’s… a bit much,” Trixie stammered.

“Don’t worry, you will get used to it. Now, Al, are the delegates from Saddle Arabia still with the princesses?”

“No, they have already retired. Princess Celestia is in her quarters. Princess Luna just left for a patrol,” Al told him.

“Okay, then we will go to meet Princess Celestia,” Antonius said, then he turned to Trixie:
“Follow me.”

A few minutes later, they were standing in front of Celestia’s quarters. Antonius turned to the visibly uneasy Trixie and said:

“Wait here. I’ll call you.”

“Oh, take your time,” Trixie replied as Antonius knocked.

“Come in,” Celestia said and Antonius entered her room.

“Good evening,” he greeted friendlily.

“Good evening, Antonius,” Celestia smiled,
“have you finished your business in Ponyville?”

“Yes. Or, to be exact, I brought it along to Canterlot. Now I need a room for a mare to stay in.”

Celestia tilted her head a little:

“Your ‘business’ is a mare?”

“She’s the demolitions expert I’ve been looking for,” Antonius explained, then he turned around and called:
“Trixie, come in now.”

It took a few seconds, but just as Antonius wanted to see what was going on, the door opened and Trixie trotted into the room, looking anything but confident.

“Princess Celestia,” she greeted awkwardly.

Celestia looked at her in surprise, then she exclaimed:

“Trixie Lulamoon! It’s been quite some time, hasn’t it?”

“You two know each other?” Antonius asked in surprise.

“Yes,” Celestia told him,
“she was a student at my School for Gifted Unicorns, but she dropped out to pursue a different career. How are you doing, Trixie?”

“Umm… fine,” Trixie mumbled.

Hearing nothing else from her, Celestia continued:

“That’s good. What brought you to Ponyville, if I may ask?”

This time Trixie’s mumbling was unintelligible, so Antonius answered:

“Remember the giant cheese dome over Ponyville? That was her doing. Now she’s here to make up for it.”

Trixie cringed, but Celestia said without missing a beat:

“Well, that’s good, too. Everypony makes mistakes from time to time, but the good ponies do their best to make up for them. I’m happy to see that you are such a good pony, Trixie.”

Hearing Celestia’s uplifting little speech, Trixie started smiling a little.

“I promise that I will do my best,” she said.

“I know you will,” Celestia smiled,
“and now I will see to it that you’ll get a room. While we are waiting, you can tell me about your adventures since you left Canterlot all those years ago.”

It turned out that ‘all those years’ were actually just ‘some years’, but Trixie still told Celestia and Antonius about her life. She was a traveling magician who had toured around Equestria with - according to her - great success. As soon as she started talking about her first visit to Ponyville, she suddenly became quite taciturn, and the story of her life from that point on was downright telegraphese.

Soon after Trixie had finished her story, her room was ready, so they all said good night and Antonius escorted Trixie to her quarters.

“I really thought meeting Princess Celestia again would be much worse than it actually turned out to be,” she said.

“I really have problems understanding why most of you ponies are so terrified of Celestia,” Antonius replied,
“I mean, she is a really kind creature.”

“With absolute power over Equestria and the SUN. Even a slight possibility of disappointing her or - even worse - angering her is something to be terrified of.”

“And what about Princess Luna?”

“Well, I have never even seen her, but I heard that she may not be as powerful as her sister, but is easier to anger. So I think I might be even more afraid of her.”

“What about me?” Antonius inquired.

“You?” Trixie asked in surprise,
“to be honest, I think you are one of the most terrifying creatures I have ever heard of. On the other hoof, you seem to be quite friendly. I can’t even begin to form an opinion about you.”

“Good,” Antonius grinned.

Now they arrived at the door to Trixie’s room and said goodnight. The next day would be a busy one - for both of them.