Satisfied, I looked over my handiwork. I had been in the sun for the entire day and had put the effort in, but it had been worth it. After my small "accident", Mayor Mare had forced me to fix the damage and left the responsibility to me. It was practically my lake, and should something happen to somepony, it would be my responsibility. That I should simply get away with that as the owner of a lake didn't suit Twilight at all. She held a presentation over the safe use of magic, starting in the evening until late into the night, warning that if I ever did something like that again without calculate everything in advance, she would personally put a ring on me. I had to ask Rarity first, and she explained that it was a magical item that was placed around the horn of a unicorn to suppress their magic. She mentioned that it was supposedly unpleasant, depending on how much magic the unicorn had.

As I didn't like that prospect at all, I wanted to keep that in mind for the future. Perhaps I would perform my spells so far from Ponyville that she wouldn't notice. During the lecture, I thought about what I could do with my new lake and had, in my opinion, a brilliant idea. This one I couldn't pull off alone, so I asked Pinkie Pie for help. She was all for it once I told her about my small project. She brought one stone after another to the bank, and I started the work. For the entire day, we remodelled everything that needed a make-over. Now, however, it was finished. I had pushed a part of the lake's ground up with my magic and subsequently bordered it with stones so that this area that ran alongside the street was usable for swimming. Also, anypony could fall into the lake without problems from this side and nothing would happen, killing two birds with one stone.

"What do you think? Is this a good place?" She grinned and nodded wildly. "So, what do we need now?” I grinned back.

"A lake-warming party!" she called excitably and was gone in the next moment. In a flash, she ran towards Ponyville, probably to distribute the invitations. As it was only late afternoon, she would surely succeed. I was putting my trust in that slightly crazy pony. Then again, it was a reason I got along well with her, as I liked to be crazy at times. After all, it had been definitively crazy to invite AJ to a date.

If we really wanted to hold a party today, I would have to prepare a bonfire to provide light. A sunlight spell could have also been a possibility, but I could already hear the concerns of the guests if the magical energy ball that had participated in the explosion was floating above their heads. A fire would be better for the mood anyway, especially at a lake.

I took one of the stones, which was quite a pile thanks to Pinkie's experience of rock farming, and began to build a small fireplace. While one stone after the other sailed through the air and moved to its place, I pondered once more about the purpose of such a farm. I had asked Pinkie but got a "Duh!" as an answer before she pointed to the already collected stones. So they were obviously building materials, but I hadn’t seen a single building made of natural stone. Then again, I had been only in Canterlot, Ponyville, and Fillyburg.

I put the last stone into its position and started collecting loose branches off the ground. These, of course, wouldn't suffice, but I surely could get more from the trees on the farm. It was only a short trot of two minutes away from the farm. The lake was situated - coming from the farm - on the right, not far from the Everfree Forest. It snaked around half of Ponyville, and on the other side was Whitetail Woods, which meant that trees were basically everywhere. I prepared the pieces of wood that only needed a spark to ignite it and went to the farm as planned. Hopefully, Big Mac wouldn’t hold it against me if I took some wood.

Trixie had been preparing for her show for about an hour now. The manager of the small theatre had provided all props she needed, even the fireworks. She actually preferred to create it magically, but since her concentration would be on the spells, the risk of being indoors was too great. She was a professional, plus a fire at her first performance in a long time would not be received well by the press. She had, of course, made sure that the press ponies would be present. A few rumours that one of the heroes who had fought against the changelings, and who was also Princess Luna's student, was doing a performance were enough. For this, she simply went to Donut Joe's shop and had approached - without her costume - one of the present press ponies. That had been the simplest part.

For the third time, she went through her program in her head. The first item would be the greeting and introduction, then a few tales of her heroic deeds. Then it would be time to ask a few volunteers to come up on the stage, or rather those who doubted her. To beat them at their own talent was the biggest attraction and brought her the greatest satisfaction. She had indeed promised Light to be nice to Ponyville's residents, but this wasn't Ponyville and it was part of her show. He couldn't demand for her to leave out one of the best parts. After that, it would be time for her grand finale: the demonstration of her greatest spells. How she had improved in this area, thank Luna.

"The curtain will be opened soon," one of the stage hands who was levitating a clipboard in front of him informed her.

"Don't dare to disturb the concentration of the Great and Powerful Trixie!" she replied with her nose held high. She was simply too much in her element to care about politely dealing with the employee. He simply rolled his eyes and vanished behind the stage decoration. This one wasn't her familiar blue curtain from her old wagon, but was a painted canvas with her cutie mark on Luna's night sky. As part of her fee, she had requested this beauty to call her own. A nice bonus to the three hundred bits she had for sure. If they had a full house, it would be a hundred more. If her talent had not been magic, she would have had to put her negotiation skills to use.

Satisfied with her program, she started to check the fireworks again. She couldn't trust that these amateurs, obviously students of the Canterlot Academy earning their school money here, wouldn't ruin her show from the curtains erupting in flames. She had to admit that it had happened to her once, at her second or her third performance. Since that day, pyrotechnics had been part of her study plan. However, everything was to her satisfaction today. The last checkpoint on her list was the lighting, as she had to rely on it as well. The fat stallion with the cap on his head didn't inspire her with much confidence. With a thick sandwich in his hooves, he sat on a chair in front of the stage lighting control board, above the seats for the guests.

"Hey Mike!" she called to him.

"How often do I need to tell you, my name is Light Show!" There existed nothing that she cared less about than the name of this lazy bitch.

"Doesn't matter, we’re going to do a last light test. Yellow first." Mike mumbled something that she couldn't understand, and the yellow light above her head came alive. "Okay, now red!"

"You could at least say please and thank you!" he called this time.

"For doing your job?" No counter came to his mind, and the red light illuminated the stage. Satisfied, she nodded. "And lastly, blue."

"I know how to do my job." This time, she rolled her eyes.

"You mean to change the light at my command? I still don’t see any blue." She realized that she wouldn't have it easy here. The light turned blue, and slightly more content, she returned to her room to put on her costume. She didn't want to have her fans to wait more than necessary. She walked the short hallway behind the stage and closed the door behind her. A satisfied grin began to emerge on her lips.

Somewhat surprisingly, it was easier as an earth pony to use the axe with my mouth than with magic. The additional physical power I gained made it so that it took not even half an hour until I had loaded a wagon with wood. I had already related news of the party at the new lake to the farm residents. Unfortunately, the reactions were mixed. Apple Bloom had been obviously excited, as had Braeburn and Caramel. AJ and Big Mac both had concerns. AJ’s was mainly about whether our construction could fail. The stones might have redirected the currents, but what would happen if there was so much heavy rainfall that it couldn't hold together? It was not just about the party but about the construction itself. Big Mac, in the meantime, was against having such a party in the vicinity of the farm. The last thing he wanted to do was evict drunks from their land in the middle of the night. Despite their misgivings, they agreed to attend, in only to ensure that three of their employees avoided getting sloshed.

With the wagon attached to me, I made my way back to the lake to prepare the fire. Halfway back, Pinkie bounced towards me, grinning in satisfaction.

"Hey, Light, I invited everypony," she said cheerily. "Did you tell everypony here?"

"Yep, will surely be a nice evening. Was Twilight still mad?" She shook her head.

"Nah, she was more like this." Pinkie put on a bored expression and pulled her eyes with her hooves into slits. "And then she said that she didn't expect anything else." Interesting.

"May~ay~ay~be I should show her what I'm capable of," I said with my best Ace Ventura imitation. I forwent speaking with my behind, as that would be weird without pants.

"That was funny. Who did you imitate?" Pinkie was still bouncing around me.

"A character from a movie of my world: Ace Ventura, animal detective. He solved criminal cases where innocent animals were involved. Thinking about it, he’s like a mixture of you and Fluttershy." She blinked twice.

"Like a raspberry cupcake with vanilla sauce?" she eventually asked.

"Kind of. I mean, he was always fun and wanted to make everypony laugh and loved animals dearly too. His apartment could compete with Fluttershy's cottage. He had otters living in his bathtub." Apparently this wasn't so surprising for my pink companion.

"Dummy, otters live in rivers, not in bath tubs." We arrived at the lake, and I gave the wagon one kick so that the wood fell out at the back before I detached it.

"The next thing you'll tell Mr. Pepper that penguins don't belong in an apartment." Again the look before blinking twice.

"What are penguins?" Okay, maybe they did not have every animal that lived on earth, or maybe they were never that far north on this planet. Then I realized something I did not know: the name of this planet? I didn't even have basic knowledge, and I wanted to be a resident of this world?

"Those are animals that live on the south pole on my home planet, at temperatures around minus thirty degrees." I began to stack the wood, now once more as unicorn.

"What are minus thirty degrees?" Pinkie asked, pushing something around behind me.

"Very cold," I merely said and turned around. I was amazed, as now there was a table with lots of pastries, drinks, and even a record player. I only hoped that it would be a different piece than in the series. Pony polka. Just thinking about it made me shiver, even if the whole day had been hot.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, may I introduce to you… the Great and Powerful Trixie!" With that, the stage hand and announcer moved to the side and made room for her jump through the curtain. At first, she glanced at the room. It may not have been full, but it was also not empty. For her first performance after a long time, she was satisfied, as the empty seats were difficult to spot. If everything went as planned, her next performance would be sold out.

"Welcome, dear audience. Marvel at the magic of the Great Trixie!" The firework didn't start exactly on her signal but still in time. The fire columns shot one meter into the air, and she immediately formed images from the smoke. "Trixie has already fought against an Ursa!" Nopony needed to know the fact that it was just a minor and she had lost as well. The smoke above her had now taken the shape of a large bear and a small pony. As her audience consisted mostly of unicorns, they knew how difficult it was to fight against one of those creatures and that it was delicate work to form with magic these shapes, evidence of her skills.

The small pony figure shot a smoke beam at the bear, which dissolved afterwards. "In addition, Trixie has fought against the changeling army, and she stands victorious in front of you!" The smoke reformed itself once more, and now many small figures stood in front of the pony figure. "One after the other I felled with the help of magic taught to Trixie by Princess Luna herself!" Many small smoke beams shot from the smoke pony, and one changeling after the other dispersed. Once more, applause filled the hall. "However, Trixie is here to bring entertainment today."

The curtain opened and out came the masterpiece of a stage setting into sight. "But maybe there are some disbelievers among you who say that Trixie isn't as great and powerful as she claims. Trixie can do everything what you can do, only better!" This time, there was no applause, only a whisper that filled the room. She looked down to some young unicorns, who were surely easy victims, but nopony from the audience came forward. She had never experienced this before. Until now, there was always somepony. "What is it? Has nopony the courage to challenge Trixie?" A young pegasus raised his hoof and she grinned. "You! Come on the stage!" But the pegasus shook his head.

"Sorry, but isn't it dangerous to compete against somepony who was trained for combat and experienced? Plus you’re the Princess Luna’s student." The audience agreed with the pegasus, nodding. That was the time she was speechless in front of an audience. She had to think of something fast.

"That is only for your entertainment. Never would Trixie hurt anypony, for she is too cautious." She didn't like the direction in which this event was going.

"What’s the purpose of competing against you if you don’t give everything?" replied a unicorn mare from the first row. It was getting out of control, but as a professional, she had to continue.

"Nopony? As there is no doubt about Trixie's greatness and power, Trixie continues with the performance." She had to burn some time with her magical tricks. The performance was supposed to take an hour, and the challenges were thirty percent of the time. She still had to fill forty minutes and hoped that she would come up with ideas and that her magic reserve would suffice. "Be amazed as Trixie works wonders which no unicorn should be able to do, only pegasi!" A cloud formed in the air above the stage, and she slowly let the cloud drift over the heads of the audience. Some younger unicorns looked impressed while some older ones eyed the cloud disapprovingly. "But Trixie doesn't even create clouds, for which only the Rainbow Factory in Cloudsdale is capable of, but she can also handle them as well." With that, some lightning shot forth and illuminated the room.

"Why should a unicorn want to be able to do that? Pegasi are responsible for the weather and not us." Again the audience nodded and agreed with the heckler. This Canterlot audience wasn't easy to impress. She moved the cloud over the troublemaker and released a small shower, waiting for the audience’s laughter. And waited and waited, but none came. She looked again into the audience and realized that nopony agreed with this gesture.

"That serves those right who doubt the Great and Powerful Trixie." Normally, at this time, there were at least some who agreed with her, but today everypony remained quiet.

"I will send you the bill for the cleaning!" With that, her victim stood up from his chair and left the room, together with some others. An idea was needed fast.

"I will now use magic that many believed to be forgotten, taught to Trixie by the Princess of the Night herself!" Actually, that should have been her big finale, but the situation required it. The circle formed on the floor and astonished Oohs and Ahs resounded through the hall. She had won her audience back.

“Large hunter in the firmament, heaven’s tent…" The circle glowed brighter, and Mike switched off the light completely as arranged, so only her spell illuminated the hall. "Come down from up high." The circle slowly floated up, and again the audience marvelled. "Guide my way in the darkness so that nothing stands against me in the night." The circle tightened slowly above her head. "I, Trixie, summon you, Ursa—"

"STOP NOW!" A loud voice resounded through the hall, and she lost her concentration. The energy of the spell moved out of the focus, and several magical lightning bolts streaked across the stage, burning everything in their path, including the decoration. Startled, she looked up to the entrance of the hall, where Princess Luna was standing with two guards. One of them was Night Hawk. The light came back on. "We didn't teach you this magic to provide entertainment for the people, but for their defence." The ponies in the hall looked towards the princess and bowed deeply as their ruler trotted slowly to the stage. "This performance is over. Everypony, please leave the hall! What will follow isn't meant for your ears." Trixie had to watch as the last of the audience evacuated the hall and left her alone with the princess.

Pinkie Pie must have misunderstood me when I talked about a party. This was not a simple party; this was a second Wacken. The whole, not half, but the whole town was here and celebrated wildly in the still-warm water and on the bank. The usual suspects could be found easily. Berry Punch had made herself cosy on a stool next to table with the drinks. Vinyl showed up with her equipment and a magical battery and sent the turntables, without further ado, into the lake. Lyra and some other unicorns from the village brought garlands from the spring festival, attaching them at the tree along the beach so that not only just the fire was illuminating the lake.

AJ had seized the opportunity and, when the snacks became scarce, moved her booth. Judging from her face, she had made the fortune of her life. All concerns seemed to have been forgotten due to this. I saw that Braeburn was busy trying to woo some mares, while Big Mac and Caramel were sitting comfortably in the grass and drinking cider. Pinkie Pie, for who else could it be, was on the dance floor and did what might be called the funky chicken. Spike and the Cutie Mark Crusaders played with a beach ball in the shallow water, together with Fluttershy. They were a bit away from the thick crowd, where it was a bit quieter, probably to the relief of the yellow pegasus.

"Well, darling, I have to say that this has turned into a really divine spot. When I saw that ugly hole, I’d never have thought that it could become something beautiful." Rarity and I stood at the edge of the dance floor, simply a trampled area next to the lake, and moved our heads to rhythm of Vinyl's music. Again, it was not to my taste, but you had to take what you could get.

"I’ve got to say that the additional decoration isn’t half-bad." I pointed to the garlands which surrounded the area.

"I have to agree with Miss Rarity, your Majesty. I too would have never thought that you would create something so lovely out of this accident." Mayor Mare had snuck up on the two of us. "May I ask what you plan to do with the lake?"

"I'm still thinking about it. But doesn't this belong to the town?" The mayor shook her head.

"When I gave you the responsibility for the lake, it became your property as well. It would be exceedingly unfair if you had to bear the responsibility for a piece of land, or lake in this case, which doesn't even belong to you." Okay, I had a piece of land. Where were the red hotels? "Furthermore, this isn't Ponyville anymore. The boundary lays a few hundred meters in that direction." She pointed to the road to the town.

"Well, thank you. I will take care of it well." Satisfied, Mayor Mare trotted past me and vanished in the dancing crowd.

"Oh, just imagine if I held a fashion show here," Rarity said dreamily, and I decided to leave her to her thoughts. I went to Berry Bunch, got some of her special cider, and joined Big Mac and Caramel.

"..And then she just left me standing there," the beige stallion finished his sentence. I sat down on the ground next to the two others, whereas both nodded towards me. "I must say, Light, great party."

"Thanks, Caramel, but without Pinkie and the rest of Ponyville, this would be a lot duller." I indulged a first sip and instantly sensed the salt on my tongue. "So, Big Mac, still worried about this?"

"Eeeyup." What other answer could I have expected? But then I had a fitting idea with which I could solve two problems at once, again.

"We can quickly sort this out, my friend," I said and put a hoof around the big red one. He looked at me warily but didn't say anything for now. "How would you like it if this fine piece of land belonged to Sweet Apple Acres? You could rent this place for events, and you wouldn't have to worry that strangers would celebrate here, as it would be trespassing." That there has to be such a law I had learned on my first day in Equestria. If AJ had not towed me to Twilight at first, I might have ended up in a cell. Big Mac pondered for a bit.

"Where’s the rub?" he asked cautiously.

"There’s none, except that maybe you should be a bit nicer to me. I mean, you don't get such a present every day." We still had little lost love between us, but what did you expect if you were together with his little sister?

"Deal," he said, and we settled it with a hoof shake. I quickly emptied my mug and wiped my mouth clean of the foam.

"Good, as this is now your land, have fun with cleaning it tomorrow." I started running before I finished and didn't dare to look behind me.

Author's Notes:

As it was predicted. Good lord, I hate being predictable. Yes, I read the comments.

Also, the good Mayor tricked Light. The Land with the Lake belonged to the crown. She could't order him to fix "his" own property. And after that, she gifted it to him. Never trust a politician. They wouldn't be were they are if they weren't clever.

Thanks to Verequus for translating this chapter.
Special thanks to JBL for proofreading and editing.

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