Raven speaks up. "I believe that's enough of that! As entertaining this has been I say it's time we get back to my memory!"

"Now just one minute I still have questions for you!" Said Smolder.

Raven sigh. "I don't want to answer any more of your questions, right now! I'm done wasting time with your questions! Whatever it is you want to ask can wait until later." Raven said, she then turned around facing her memory screen and lit her horn, preparing too unpaused it.

Smolder cross her arms as she stood defiant. "Fine! I don't need you to answer my question when I could just ask someone else." Hearing that gave Raven paused, as she stops trying to resume the memory. Smolder notice this and smirk smugly as she was able to get one over the smart-ass mare, even if it was a little but one could wonder what would happen if the orange dragon pushed further.

Smolder haven't forgotten what Celestia said when she mentioned that Raven had been distancing herself from Discord, which could only mean the two know each other and were close in some way but what was their relationship? Theirs was only one other pony who knew the answer to that question.

"Princess Celestia!" Smolder call out to the mare still sitting next to her.

"Yes!" Celestia replied.

"Earlier you mentioned that Raven been distancing herself from Discord, so I asked you, what was their relationship?" Asked Smolder.

"Well, you see Raven and Discord use to be-"

"I would rather you keep personal business that are not your own to yourself, Celestia." Raven interrupted. Her back was still facing those behind her, not bothering to look them in the eye as she speaks. "There's no reason to bring up such trivial things and I'm not in the mood to answer any more questions at the moment, so drop it!"

"But Raven-" Celestia didn't even get to finish as Raven quickly turned around and stared at her old friend with hate filled eyes and screamed.

"I SAID DROP IT!" Raven yelled in anger. Once again shocking everyone with her rage and causing everyone to recoil from the sudden outburst.

Raven let out a few deep breaths to calm herself before speaking. "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to resume the memory so we can get on with this debate and I'm not going to pause the memory again for any reason from here on out, so whatever questions you have can wait till the end." Raven gave a stern glare at Fluttershy's group. "Do I make myself clear!"

The just group nodded, not wanting to make her angrier.

Raven adjusted her glasses. "Good! Now let us continue!" Raven turned back around and lit her horn as she ready to start the memory back up.

"How did Fluttershy get pass the dome without alerting Trixie?" Raven asked.

That question gave Celestia paused as she tried to search her memories for an answer. "Huh! I don't know! Twilight never said how Fluttershy got back inside the dome, only that she wrote down her plan on paper, gave it to her, and she left......maybe she got back in the same way she got out!?"

"That would be suspicious as well as weird! Why would the beavers want to bring a log back into town? Sell it at the market?" Raven questioned. "Trixie may be corrupted by the amulet but that doesn't mean she's stupid."

"Well, I don't know what to tell you Raven, maybe you should ask Fluttershy the next time you see her!"

"Ok, I will!..... Whenever that will be. It's not like I'm so desperate to know, that I would go to her house and ask.” Raven shrugs. “So, anyway let's get back to the story. Earlier you said that Twilight was able to defeat Trixie with hardly any trouble.... How did she do it? Give me details!”

“Oh, right! When Twilight and Trixie first dueled. Twilight didn't pay much attention to the amulet Trixie was wearing. Thus, believing Trixie was doing advance spells on her own... After she was banish from Ponyville, Twilight seeks help from Zecora. Who trained Twilight in the art of magic. Later that same day, Fluttershy arrived and told Twilight about the alicorn amulet. Now knowing exactly what she was up against. My faithful student knew her magic wasn't anywhere near powerful enough to take on Trixie. She will definitely lose if she tries to take her on, but Zecora said these words of wisdom to Twilight.

Zecora: Twilight Sparkle, 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.

Which Twilight figured out that she doesn't need magic spells to defeat Trixie, all she needed was the magic of friendship. Meaning she just needed her friends help. So, she came up with a plan to trick Trixie into taking off the amulet, and instead of explaining how she did it, I’ll show you.” Celestia’s closed her eyes to concentrate on casting her spell. Not long after a magic screen appeared between the two.

“How did you do that? It can't be the memory spell, you’ll need somepony who was there and has seen the events for that to work. Sure, you can use your own memories, but you were away in Saddle Arabia.”

“Indeed, I was. Sometime after her performance was done. Twilight told me what happened the day before. Wanting to see it for myself, Twilight allowed me to use the memory spell on her and you know once you cast that spell on someone or they cast on themselves and you watch their memories-”

“It basically becomes a part of your own memories, and you can bring it up again when ever want.” Celestia nodded. “I can't believe I forgot that.” Said Raven. “Anyway, start the memory. I want to see how Twilight beat Trixie.”

With that said. Celestia’s used her magic to start the memory.

When the memory finished. Celestia made the screen disappear. “And there you have it. Thanks to the help of her friends. Twilight was able to defeat Trixie and free Ponyville.”

Raven just sat in her chair, silent and unmoving.

“Raven!?” Celestia said a little worried. “Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah I’m fine, it's just....” Raven shook her head. “Before I give my final thoughts, I would like to see Twilight’s training with Zecora, as well as when she first came up with her plan.... If you have the memories of course?”

Celestia nodded. “I do!” With the light of her horn Celestia made two new screens appear. “There we go! The first shows the training, but the second one shows more than what you ask for. As it is a combination of memories from those mainly involved, that includes Trixie. As you know the memory spell isn't something you can control and pinpoint direct accuracy on the exact memory you want, you can only take what it gives you.”

Raven nods in understanding. “I understand Celestia, it might not be a bad thing for the second memory to be longer than intended. I might still learn some valuable information.”

“As long as it helps you!” Celestia said, before lighting her horn and playing the first memory.

When the first memory finished, Celestia made the first screen disappear and immediately started the second.

Once again Celestia made the screen disappear. “Did that help you at all, Raven?”

“Yes, but I need just one more bit of information. I want to see the first duel that Twilight lost. Once I have that, I can give you my full thoughts on all this.”

“Very well! It's a good thing Trixie was willing to share her memories with me.” Celestia made one last screen appear and played the memory.

With the memory done, the screen disappeared. Celestia took a sip of her tea before speaking. “Hmm, it seems Trixie knows how to do the memory spell too. So, Raven, what are your thoughts on Twilight’s victory over Trixie?”

“Well, if I’m being honest. I say it was kinda risky.” Raven answered.

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that. “What do you mean, it was risky?”

“Well, it's just that Twilight’s plan could have easily failed.”

“And how could it have failed? You heard what Twilight said about the magic of friendship.”

Trixie: [upset] But... how did you do those spells? Nopony can do those spells!

Twilight Sparkle: You're right. Not even me. Zecora taught me so much about magic while I was in exile. She even taught me when not to use it. My magic alone wasn't powerful enough to take on the Alicorn Amulet head to head, so I needed to use a different kind of magic – the magic of friendship. I also knew that the only pony who could get the amulet off your neck was you.

Raven cringe in her seat. “Yeah, about that. I don't see how friendship had anything to do with why they were able to beat Trixie. In fact, it had absolutely nothing to do with it.”

Celestia sat their stun at Raven’s accusation and she wasn't the only one.

For there were some who are watching the memory, who were just as shock if not more after hearing what memory Raven said.

”What the hell does she mean friendship had nothing do with defeating Trixie?” Rainbow asked angrily.

“What exactly do you mean, when you said friendship had nothing to do with it?” Asked Celestia. “It was because of the magic of friendship that they were able to defeat Trixie.”

Raven shook her head. “That's where I have to disagree with you Celestia. Just because Twilight came up with a plan involving her friends help, doesn't guarantee that they will win in the end, it all depended on what Trixie choose to do at the end and if she chose differently than what she originally did, Twilight would have lost and all that talk about friendship saving the day wouldn't mean anything.”

“Ok, now I'm confused!”

“Allow me to explain.” Raven takes another sip of her tea, before setting her cup down on the table. “Let's start from beginning. For what we know about Trixie, is that she isn't as great and powerful as she makes herself out to be. She isn't good at casting real spells, which is why she can only perform stage magic and we got to see the extent of Trixie magic compared to Twilight’s when they each took on the Ursor Minor.” Raven lit her horn and made her own memory screen appear. “Now, watch and see just how weak Trixie’s magic truly is.”

Raven made the screen disappear.

“And what are you getting at, by showing that Trixie’s magic is weak?” Celestia asked.

“Because it tells us just how much the Alicorn Amulet, helped her.” Raven adjusts her glasses. “For what I’m able to tell from speculation. The Amulet obviously gives the wearer, mainly a unicorn, a huge increase in their magical potential. The best way to describe it, is that it increases our mana. The more mana a unicorn have, the more capable we are at casting spells. Take Twilight for example, she was born with a large mana pool, so doing something as advance as the teleportation spell is simple for her to pull off multiple times before she gets tired. As for unicorns with an average mana pool can only do it once before tiring themselves out, any higher and they can do it more times but there's always a limit and those with less can't teleport at all.”

“You're correct about all that, after all I teach it at my school, but what does any of this has to do with Trixie and the amulet?”

“Simple, for you see, a unicorn can have a large mana pool but haves no knowledge about advance spells, just as a unicorn can have the knowledge but haves a small mana pool. I remember a colt named Sunburst who went to your school. I was in the same grade as him. He was very smart and knew so much about magic from all the books that he reads, his only problem was that he was incapable of performing them.”

(Three years later at the crystal empire)

(Present day)

“What I’m trying to say is that Trixie, must have an average mana pool, and doesn't haves the knowledge to perform advanced spells, but with the aid of the amulet and what knowledge she does have. She's able cast even the greatest of high-level spells with ease. Basically, the Alicorn Amulet is as Twilight said, a cheat. A cheap way for weak unicorns to become stronger at the cost of their sanity.” Raven shakes her head in disappointment. “Twilight should consider herself lucky that someone like Sunburst wasn't the one with the amulet, he would have been a far greater threat if he had it. It's clear that amulet’s power is only limited by your knowledge of magic or even your imagination, who knows, but what we do know that it is thanks to Trixie lack of knowledge is part of the reason why she lost her duel but before I get to that, we still have a lot more to go over first.

Raven takes another sip of her tea.

“Now, riddle me this? What was Twilight’s back up plan incase Trixie did not try to take the fake amulet? What if Trixie decided to continue the duel instead?”

Celestia just sat there in her seat in silence. She didn't have the foggiest idea what Twilight would have done if Trixie had chosen to continue the duel, and she wasn't the only one.

Twilight and her friends who are watching Raven’s memory were just as speechless. Mainly Twilight for the thought about Trixie making a different choice didn't once occur to her

“Just as I thought, she didn't have one. Like I said earlier, just because her friends help, doesn't mean she was automatically going to win. So that (and pardon my language) bullshit lesson Zecora tried to throw in at the last second just to make herself feel important in some way doesn't mean anything.” Raven scoff. “Twilight Sparkle, 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. Oh please, Zecora didn't even know about the amulet until Fluttershy showed up. Unless you're saying that the whole time, she been training Twilight. She somehow already knew and wasted all that time with pointless training, when all she had to do was tell Twilight to use her friends to help her trick Trixie.” Raven rolled her eyes. “Yeah right, I bet she really was trying to help Twilight increase her magic, but when Fluttershy came and told them about the amulet. Of course, there was no way Twilight could ever match its power, plus only the wearer can take it off, so just so she doesn't feel useless, she immediately thought of plan and hid it behind some wisdom from the wise lesson and Twilight was too dense to see it.”

“Remember the whole point to Twilight’s plan was to make Trixie believe that the alicorn amulet wasn't as powerful as she thought it was and hope that Trixie would be stupid enough to fall for it.”

”WHAT!!!!” yelled Trixie. She turned her attention to Twilight, who notice her glare and sheepishly tried to avoid eye contact, which only made Trixie angry. She sure had a lot she wanted to talk to the purple alicorn about.

“And boy was she ever.” Said Raven. “I mean how could she not notice that she was being trick? If she was just a bit smarter, she would have saw the obvious clues that Twilight was playing her from the start.”

“And how would she, exactly?” Celestia asked.

Raven lit her horn and made an image appear. “First would be how Twilight goaded Trixie into a second duel.

“She had no reason to challenge Twilight again, but her love for magic is what got her to agree in the first place.” Raven adjusts her glasses. “Now if Trixie was smart enough to realize that Twilight was obviously and not very subtly, playing her. She wouldn't had agreed to the duel and just went back to ruling Ponyville and Twilight’s plan would have failed before it could even start.”

“Well, I can't argue with that!” Said Celestia. “If Trixie chose not to give Twilight a rematch. Then there's nothing else she could do.”

“Well, there is one thing she could do but will get to that later. Now let's continue on, shall we.” Raven lit her horn and the image change. “Now let's talk about the statue that AJ and Rarity just happen to be standing in front of.”

“Unfortunately, we don't know what happened between when Trixie agreed to the second duel and its start, but no doubt Twilight was secretly told, showed, or led to the statue where,” Raven changes the image. “The others were already hiding behind.”

“Which would indicate that Twilight was the one chose the location of the duel and Trixie followed. Now this situation could have gone any number of ways. Like what if Trixie chose the location? What if she decided to have the duel right then and there where she agreed to the rematch and since this is Trixie we’re talking about, of course she would want an audience, show she would either A: Teleport everypony in town to hers and Twilight’s location or B: Broadcast their rematch around town.” Image change.

“We saw Trixie use the memory spell, and there does exist other types of video’s spell, like the recording spell, where you can use your magic to record things like a movie camera and play them back on a magic screen.

(Two years later.)

(Present day)
“So, of course there exist a live broadcast version of the spell. So, if Trixie decided to do either one of those two things,”

Celestia continues “Then once again, Twilight’s plan fails before it could even have the chance to begin.” Celestia change the image.

“They were out on an open field, outside of Ponyville. If Trixie had decided to have the duel right, then and there, then Twilight couldn't do her aging spell trick at all, she could only do the duplicate and instrument one.”

“And that's not all!” Said Raven.

”SWEET MERCIFUL FAUST THERE'S MORE!!!!!” Rainbow yelled in frustration.

“If Trixie did choose the location, and Twilight tries to change it, then that would only raise suspicion.” Raven takes another sip of her tea. “I know Trixie may not be the brightest, but she isn't that stupid. It wouldn't matter where the duel was happening, but if Twilight was pushing to have it take place in a certain location, I have no doubt that Trixie would start to get suspicious. Which lead to our next bit, the first round of the second duel.”

Raven uses her magic to grab the teapot and quickly refilled her cup before setting it down.

“Now, it's without a doubt, that Twilight expected Trixie to start the duel with the ageing spell, which was exactly what she needed for her plan to work, but what if Trixie started the duel with another high-level spell that Twilight couldn't do? It was never said or mentioned that was the only advance spell she knew, so once again Twilight’s plan instantly falls apart before she could do anything, since she has to be able to do the same spell, Trixie did.”

Raven continues “Now for the next part and this one important. What if Trixie saw through Twilight’s tricks?” Sips her tea.

Celestia sips her tea. “Let me guess! You're saying since everything Twilight did was basically stage magic, aka not real magic! Trixie, who is a stage magician, probably could have seen passed Twilight’s simple tricks.”

Raven nodded. “Exactly,” Raven chuckled. “Wow I just realized, just how big of a hypocrite both Twilight and Zecora are.”

“What do you mean?”

“Twilight said that Zecora taught her so much about magic. She even taught her when NOT to use it. And yet Twilight did use magic throughout that entire duel. A simple smokescreen spell still counts as using magic and Twilight wasn't supposed to do any magic. Kinda defeats the purpose of the lesson, huh!” Takes a sip of her tea.

“I see what you mean Raven, but Twilight needed to cover her friends so they can do their parts without being seen.” Celestia counters.

“True, but it still doesn't change the fact that she still used magic.” Raven counters back. “It doesn't matter how small and simple the spell was, it's still counts as using magic and Zecora’s final lesson clearly stated that she shouldn't do ANY magic, which means Twilight had to fight that duel without lighting her horn once.”

”AND WHY IN TARNATION WOULD TWI DO THAT? IT WAS A MAGIC DUEL!” Yelled Applejack.

“Raven, you do remember it was a magic duel, right?” Celestia asked.

Raven nodded. “Oh, I’m very much aware of that obvious fact.” She said while swirling her teacup around with her magic. “The question is, were both Twilight and Zecora aware of it when they thought of this ingenious plan of theirs to fight in a magic duel and not use magic at all? Not only that but everything Twilight along with the help of her friends, still counts as using magic.”

“But it was stage magic!”

“But magic none the less. There's were no rules stating in that duel, that you had to use actual real magic, just as it wasn't said that you couldn't use something or someone to aid you. Trixie had the alicorn amulet and Twilight had her friends.” Raven takes a sip of her tea. “It may have been a duel between real/enhance magic against stage/fake magic, but it was still magic, just different forms of it, just as the magic of friendship have different forms as well. One is when everyone works together in harmony and the other shoots a giant rainbow laser.”

Celestia sighed, knowing she had no way counter Raven’s logic. “Ok, fine, you win! Let's just get back to what you were talking about Trixie seeing through Twilight’s tricks.”

“Very well! As I was saying before. Twilight’s plans would have failed if Trixie was smart enough to notice the many flaws to her supposed spells and with the mistake, she made while performing her fake age spell could have easily tip Trixie off.”

“And what was Twilight’s mistake?”

“Doing the age spell more than once. In both duels Trixie performed the same spell once per duel.” Raven lit her horn and made an image appear. “The first time she did it she turned Snips into an infant and Snails old.

Image change.

“And in the second she turned them both into infants.”

Image change.

Raven continues. “Now as for Twilight she supposedly turned both AJ and Rarity into fillies.”

“And that was enough. She only had to do the spell once and only once, but instead she decided to get cocky and show off, by doing the age spell more than once, which wasn't necessary at all and flat out put her whole plan at risk. Now I'm not saying that Trixie had to be a super genius but if she was just a bit smarter and had a keen eye, she would have noticed the major flaw to Twilight’s age spell and the gender-swap spell she did only add to the pile.”

“And what exactly is this flaw?” Celestia asked curiously.

”YEAH! You bucking smart ass! Tell us exactly what was wrong with Twilight’s age spell plan.” Yelled Rainbow.

“How many different forms did both AJ and Rarity go through?” Raven asked.

Celestia took a moment to think before answering. “Excluding their normal forms. Applejack had three forms and Rarity had one.”

Raven nodded. Exactly, and do you see the problem with that?”

Celestia’s eyes widen in shock as she realized what Raven was talking about. “Applejack was turned to filly, an old mare, and later a stallion. While Rarity was turned into a filly, twice.”

Raven nodded then lit her horn to make another image appear.

“We saw earlier that Twilight turned both AJ and Rarity into fillies, and after turning them back to normal, turned Rarity back into a filly again but kept AJ normal.”

Image change.

Raven continues. “Then she turned AJ old and then Rarity back to normal, before eventually turning AJ back to normal again.” Image disappears. “And let's not forget that the whole standing on the other back thing was also a stupid move. For the age spell changes a pony age, not their position. So, by doing that adds another reason how their trick could have been exposed. You didn't see Snips and Snails doing circus tricks when their ages were change,” Raven shakes her head. “Nope! Both times the spell was cast on them they remained in the exact same spot they were standing after being transformed and you may think that the position change doesn't matter because of how small of an issue it is, but even the smallest detail can make a world of difference, and Twilight changing her friend's position like that while casting an age spell is very concerning, and another thing.

I still can't wrap my head around, as to why Trixie thought that Twilight casting the age spell, multiple times in a row, like that was impossible. Just how the hell is that impossible? All Twilight did was cast the same spell again and again. No doubt Trixie could do it to if she actually tried.” Raven rubs her head in frustration. “And that's not even the worst of it.”

“And what is?” Celestia asked.

“The fact that Trixie was actually impressed by it. She literally said with absolute surprise, that what Twilight did was impossible. It is not impossible for somepony to cast a spell like that, multiple times in a row.”

(4 years later)

(present day)

“I mean seriously, it's literally the real reason why Trixie was fooled so easily. Impressing her is like impressing an infant.” Raven levitates her teacup. “Sure, levitating something might not be enough to amused someone like Trixie, but what if I did this!” Raven preceded to move her teacup around through the air. Up, down, left, right. She even made it orbit around her head a few times, before stopping. “And for more final trick. Watch as I The Amazing Inkwell, turn this full cup of tea upside down and NOT spill a single drop of it, behold!” Putting a little extra magic into her levitation spell. Raven slowly turned the cup upside down and as she said, not a single drop was spilled. “Ta da!”

Celestia couldn't help but laugh at Raven antics. “Oh, come now Raven, you're just levitating the liquid along with your cup to keep it inside, any unicorn can do that.”

Raven turns her cup right side up and place back on the table. “True, but if Trixie never seen nor done such a simple trick, no doubt it would wow her, because she's just so easy to impress.”

Trixie stared at the screen with great disdain as memory Raven made fun of her. “Trixie, is NOT that easily impress!”

”Could of fooled me!” Raven scoff. “Oh, wait it didn't, because I can actually use my brain.”

Trixie glared at Raven angrily. Obviously mad at the glasses wearing mare for insulting her intelligence. She wanted to say something in retort, but Starlight stops her by placing a hoof on her blue friend shoulder, calming her down. For now!

“Now, back to what I was saying.” Said Memory Raven. “Trixie being so amazed by Twilight doing the age spell in rapid succession, was just stupid. There was literally no reason to be amazed by something like that and as I said earlier, Trixie could no doubt do it if she actually tried. The Alicorn Amulet is clearly capable of doing something so simple and not only that. Twilight casting the same spell like that repeatedly isn't going to earn her any bonus points. We already saw Trixie do it twice, so what the heck does doing it multiple times actually gives her?”

Celestia sighed. “Absolutely nothing. Twilight only did what she did to amaze Trixie, it was understandable that she was surprised to see Twilight perform the age spell the first time, but it really made no sense why Trixie was so mind blown by Twilight doing the same spell repeatedly. It's not like turning AJ and Rarity into two separate ages was anything new, since that was exactly what she did when she first used the age spell on those two colts.”

Raven nodded in agreement. “Now, I know that the age spell bit alone isn't enough to call Twilight out, but it's still something to keep in mind as the duel continued.” Raven smirk. “So, Trixie watch as Twilight did her duplication spell on Rainbow, made Pinkie play six instruments at once, and turned AJ into a stallion.”

“Wait, don't you mean ten instruments?” Celestia asked. “Twilight clearly said ten!”

“And Pinkie only played six in total!” Raven exclaimed. She then lit her horn and a new image appeared.

“Just count them yourself if you think I'm wrong. But you can clearly see there’s only six. The tuba, the drum, the tambourine, the accordion, the cymbals, and the banjo.”

Celestia counted the instruments Pinkie held and came to the conclusion that Raven was right. There were only six, not ten. “Then why did Twilight say ten if Pinkie could only play six?”

Raven shrugs. “Heck if I know! She was probably just throwing out a random number, it's not like Pinkie had a chance to tell her just how many instruments she was going to play before the duel."

"True!" Said Celestia.

Raven adjusts her glasses. "Now remember earlier when I said if Trixie was just a bit smarter and had a keen eye, she would have noticed the major flaw to Twilight’s age spell and gender swap spell?"

Celestia nodded.

"Now there's obviously no way Trixie would be able to figure out how Pinkie can play SIX instruments at once, but that doesn't mean she couldn't figure out the duplication spell, thus giving her two out of three ways to expose Twilight tricks and it's all thanks to one little mistake."

"And what would that be?" Celestia asked.

"Surely you notice that Twilight only cast her spells on her friends, right?"

"Of course, I did!"

"Can you name each one of them for me please?"

"Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow and Pinkie Pie!"

Raven nodded. "Exactly, and that's how Trixie could have easily figure out the duplication spell and here's why."

Raven changes the image.

"Now, Twilight cast spells on each of her friends."

Raven continues.

"The age spell on AJ and Rarity."

Image change.

"The duplication spell on Rainbow."

Image change.

"Making Pinkie Pie play six instruments."

Image change.

"And finally, The Gender swap spell on Applejack."

Raven makes the magical screen disappear. "Four! Twilight cast spells on four of her friends, and when you think about it, the gender swap spell could have been casted on the fifth, and yet she was nowhere to be seen." Raven smirk. "If Trixie was just a bit more observant, she would notice that a certain pink maned, yellow pegasus was missing and it's not like she didn't see her."

Raven changes the image.

"She was watching the duel along with the others."

Image change.

"She steps up along with her friends to defend Twilight."

Image change.

"And even chase after Twilight along with the others, when Trixie kick her out of Ponyville."

Raven makes the magic screen disappear. Clearing the air once again. "And Trixie clearly saw her during the events of the first duel. So, it should be strange that one of Twilight's friends wasn't there to watch the second duel and give her support and as I said earlier, since Twilight casted spells on each of her friends, wouldn't it have made sense that the spell that turned AJ into a stallion, was instead used on this mysterious mare." Takes a sip of her tea. "And this mare being missing, creates yet another plot hole in Twilight's plan. That being the duplication spell itself. Since Trixie knows that the missing mare is a pegasus, and she was nowhere to be seen during the whole duel, and Twilight supposedly created a clone of Rainbow, who is also a pegasus, not to mention that disguises are a thing," Raven shrugs. "I mean seriously, it's not much of a riddle, since the answer is so obvious, and I figured with a riddle, the obvious answer is rarely the right one."

"For Faust sakes, Raven, I get what you're trying to say." Celestia said as she rubs her forehead. "You're saying that if Trixie had notice that Fluttershy was missing, she would have guessed that the second Rainbow Dash was just her in disguise. Which will help deduce that Twilight's age spell wasn't real. Pinkie is the only one she can't figure out, but she does have two out of three, and that's more than enough for her to come to the conclusion that the mane 6 were trying to trick her."

"Indeed," said Raven. "Twilight's plan was so full of holes, that I still can't believe it worked in the end." Takes a sip of her tea. "But you wanna know what bothers me more than that?"

"What!?" Asked Celestia.

Raven lights her horn, making another image appear.

"Twilight writes her whole plan down on paper and no doubt she recited back to both Fluttershy and Zecora, maybe even spoke with Fluttershy to confirm some things. So anyway, my problem is, why didn't those two pointed out the plot holes in Twilight's plan? And it's not just them, the same applies to everyone else who helped with the plan." Raven rubs her forehead in frustration. "You can't honestly be telling me that everyone involved, was told what the plan is, and each and every single one of them didn't see the obvious plot holes? No one questioned about the what ifs and maybes?" Raven just shook her head in disbelief. "So, you're telling me that everyone, heard Twilight's plan and was like; yeah, this plan 100% perfect. I don't see a single flaw that could easily turn the tables against us in a way that would completely ruin everything. We'll totally defeat Trixie, straight up without anything going wrong."

"Well, that is exactly what happ-"

"Don't give me that crap!" Raven interrupted. She then made the image disappear. "Yes, it's true that Twilight's plan succeeded in the end, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't have failed. Remember, the reason Twilight and the others believed that they won was because they work together, in other words, because they used the magic of friendship. Sorry but that's complete,

The reality of the situation, the true reason they won, was because Trixie didn't see passed Twilight's tricks, plain and simple. As I said many times before, if she was just a bit smarter, she would have saw through her schemes and just as Twilight could have thought of a better plan that would give her a more guaranteed chance of winning without the risk, hell there actually is a way she could of easily beat Trixie without doing her stage magic plan."

"And what might that be?"

"Force Trixie to take her amulet off." Raven shrugs. "It's that simple."

"And how perse could Twilight do that?" Celestia asked. "Only the wearer can remove the amulet."

Raven put on a confident smirk. "Remember earlier, when we first started this conversation? Remember what I said after you showed me the memory of Twilight's rematch with Trixie?"

When the memory finished. Celestia made the screen disappear. “And there you have it. Thanks to the help of her friends. Twilight was able to defeat Trixie and free Ponyville.”

Raven just sat in her chair, silent and unmoving.

“Raven!?” Celestia said a little worried. “Are you ok?”

“Y-yeah I’m fine, it's just....” Raven shook her head. “Before I give my final thoughts, I would like to see Twilight’s training with Zecora, as well as when she first came up with her plan.... If you have the memories of course?”

Celestia nodded. “I do!” With the light of her horn Celestia made two new screens appear. “There we go! The first shows the training, but the second one shows more than what you ask for. As it is a combination of memories from those mainly involved, that includes Trixie. As you know the memory spell isn't something you can control and pinpoint direct accuracy on the exact memory you want, you can only take what it gives you.”

Raven nods in understanding. “I understand Celestia, it might not be a bad thing for the second memory to be longer than intended. I might still learn some valuable information.”

“As long as it helps you!” Celestia said, before lighting her horn and playing the first memory.

"And help me it did! Cause I remember one important detail about the amulet that Spike read out."

"You can't just take the Alicorn Amulet off her neck; it has a magical lock! Trixie's the only pony who can take it off!"

"Only the wearer can take it off, due to the magical lock and considering how easily Trixie took the amulet off, tells me that it is in fact possible to force her to remove it." Raven takes off her glasses with her hoof. "It's no different than if you made me take off my glasses by hoof." Puts glasses back on, then adjusted them. "And I doubt the lock needs the wearers consent first before they can take it off, I remember this spy book I read once. The spy needed to get inside this one room, but the door was lock and can only be opened via hoof scanner, so he found somepony he could use, knock them out, and place their hoof on the scanner to open the door, simple."

Raven takes a sip of her tea. "So, basically all Twilight had to do, was grabbed one of Trixie's forehooves in her magic and made Trixie take the amulet off before she had a chance to react. It still counts as the wearer taking it off, since all Twilight is doing is making said wearer take it off, with their hoof. Twilight could have ended things back when she proposed a rematch. Catching Trixie with her guard down and thus she defeats her without any additional help from her friends, thus making her fake spells plan completely useless. But if you still want Zecora's teachings to be actually worth a damn. Then Twilight's friends could have done the same thing. They do have Rarity!"

Celestia sighed. "I can't argue with that." She said before taking another sip of her tea. "It probably was that simple for Twilight to beat Trixie, just as it was as easy for Trixie to beat Twilight." A thought pop in Celestia's head. "Which reminds me! Earlier you mentioned that despite her plans failing, there was still something Twilight could do to beat Trixie."

"Indeed, I did!"

"Then tell me! What is it that Twilight could have done to stop Trixie after her plan has immediately failed?"

"Wait for you to show up." Raven answered.

It was at that moment, Celestia remembered one important detail. "The Saddle Arabians visit." She sighed. "I asked Twilight to be the entertainment for them. The show was being held in Ponyville, so of course, I was going to be there and see the trouble Trixie's was causing."

Raven nodded. "And no doubt, somepony like you could have figured out a way to stop her and have her take off the amulet." Raven shrugs. "Who knows, you probably would have simply made her take it off, like how I explained."

"Maybe," Said Celestia. "I guess will never know, and besides, I'm glad things went the way they did. If it didn't, things would have ended differently. It's because of how things went, that Trixie learned a valuable lesson. If things did went differently, then she probably wouldn't had learned anything."

Raven raised an eyebrow at that. "What do you mean? How exactly did things end? What happened to Trixie after she was defeated? Wasn't she arrested for her crimes?"

Celestia let out a small giggle before shaking her head. "No, Raven! Trixie wasn't arrested nor given any form of punishment whatsoever."

Raven eyes instantly grew wide as she screamed. "WHAT!!!!! What do you mean she wasn't arrested? After everything she's done! She banishes Twilight out of town and enslaved its citizens. Sure, it was extremely short rule and doesn't seem as though she didn't actually hurt anypony." Raven let out a deep sigh. "I understand why Trixie did all the things she did. Despite the mean things I said about her during my theories. I don't think any less of her. She was going through a really bad time, thanks to the rumors spread about her, so I get that she was angry, and she had every right to be. But the things she did was still wrong. So, how exactly did she get away with it."

"Forgiveness!"

"Forgiveness?!"

Celestia nodded. "Here, I'll show you." With the light of her horn, Celestia made another memory screen appear. This one being a bit easier since she was actually there during this scenario. With everything ready, Celestia played the memory.

Celestia made the magic screen disappear, the second the memory ended.

"Now I know what you're going to say, Raven. Just because Twilight forgave her, doesn't mean that all of Ponyville did. After all, they were the ones who suffered under Trixie's tyranny. Well, let me tell you what happened after Trixie left." Celestia clears her throat. "After the festivities, Twilight told me everything that happened and gave me the Alicorn Amulet to hide and lock away. I'm proud of Twilight being able to forgive Trixie, but what happened with to her was small time compared to what the citizens of Ponyville had suffered." She sighs. "I did originally plan to go after Trixie and arrest her."

Trixie gulp at that.

"But instead, I decided to give Ponyville a choice on if they wanted Trixie punish or not."

"And let me guess, they all chose to forgive her?" Raven asked nonchalantly.

"Well, not everypony, there were a few who wanted Trixie to pay for her crime, but the grand majority voted to forgive her."

"Voted?!"

"Yes, voted. Its a little something I came up with at the time. For you see I would simply create a bunch of magical screens the size and width of a sheet paper, for every single pony in Ponyville. On the screen you have two choices,"

"Once a pony made their choice, the screen instantly disappear and whatever they have voted gets added to a magic pie chart, I kept hidden behind some curtains. After everyone has voted, I would raise the curtain to reveal the verdict." Celestia made an image of the pie chart appear. "Red forgive, blue for punish, and as I said, the grand majority forgave Trixie. Thus, I did not pursue her."

Raven just stared at the chart, with a blank expression on her face. She really didn't know how to process what she was seeing. "H-how is it that so many ponies were able to forgive her, just like that?"

Celestia made the image disappear before speaking. "You can thank, Twilight for that! Truth be told, the whole town wanted Trixie to be punished. I remember everypony, screaming for it. But Twilight stood up in Trixie defense and was able convince majority of the town to give the showmare a second chance..... She knows they all been through a lot, but Trixie didn't really do anything all that bad."

Raven raised an eyebrow as she makes an image appear.

"She forces the two colts that worship her, to pull her around without the help of wheels!" Image disappears.

"And those same two colts, forgave her." Celestia countered. "They overheard Trixie when she spoke about the awful things that happened after her first visit to Ponyville and they felt responsible, since they were the ones who brought the ursor minor into town and Twilight told the citizens the same story..... Does it excuse what Trixie did to them... No, but it allowed them to understand why she did what she did and feel sympathy for her."

Raven sighed. "I guess you got me there! Still amazes me how so many ponies forgave her though."

"Then tell me Raven, what would you have chosen? Would you forgive Trixie or have her punish?"

Smolder snorted. "Let me guess, you rather see her pun-

"I would forgive her, no contest."

"WHAT!!!!"

Present, Raven smiled. She couldn't help but chuckle at Smolder's reaction. "Thought you me all figured out, did you." She thought.

"You would?" Celestia asked surprised.

"Of course, I would! Sure, I still be mad at Trixie for taking her anger and frustration out on an innocent town, but after learning what she's been through beforehoof, I'm more than willing to give her second chance."

"Hmm, I'll be honest with you, Raven. I really expected you, to be on team punish."

Raven sighed. "I know, and I understand why you think that, my attitude the past 30 minutes, doesn't do me any favors, but know that team forgive is and has always been more my style."

Smolder's jaw drop. She couldn't believe what memory Raven just said.

"Oh, and why is that?" Celestia asked.

"It's a long story, maybe I'll tell you about it someday, but I'll at least tell you this. Rose Flower played a big part in why i'm such a huge believer when it comes to forgiveness. I still remember everything she thought me about it, back when we were fillies."

"Rose Flower!? That's Raven ex-girlfriend who broke up with her, five years ago." Smolder thought. She remembered Celestia mentioning her during their telepathic conversation and after hearing what memory Raven just said, smolder needed to talk with Celestia again.

"Sounds, interesting. I'll hold you to that promise. I would love to hear more stories about you two love birds." Celestia said with a smile.

Raven smiled back. "Don't worry, I will."

The two mares sat in silence for a few moments, enjoying their tea. The silence was broken when Raven let out a little laugh.

"What's so funny?" Celestia asked.

"I just realized something hilarious. After all those theories about how Trixie could have won against Twilight, I remembered another event that happened four months ago that share the same similarity."

"And what are these similarities?"

Raven chuckled. "Do you remember that letter, Applejack sent you, last cider season?"

Celestia took a moment to search through her memories. It didn't take long for the Sun Princess to remember. "Ohhh, yes I do remember! That letter appeared in the middle of our tea session that day. I also remember us wondering what Applejack was talking about, but I don't really remember exactly what the letter said."

"I do, and I'll never forget it. It said and I quote-

Dear Princess Celestia,
I wanted to share my thoughts with you. [clears throat] I didn't learn anythin'! Ha! I was right all along! If you take your time to do things the right way, your work will speak for itself. Sure I could tell you I learned something about how my friends are always there to help me, and I can count on them no matter what, but truth is, I knew that already too.

"-End quote." Raven began to snicker, before bursting out in fool blown laughter. She was laughing so hard, she had to hug herself, just to keep still, and not fall from her chair. Eventually, Raven calmed down from her laughing fit to speak. "Oh, sweet merciful Faust, that gets me every time I think about it."

"And why is that?" Celestia asked. "It's a very good moral about doing things the right way, instead of the easy way."

"True, but given what happened that Cider Season. The entire moral falls flat on its ass and doesn't mean jack shit, given the details situation."

"Then why would Applejack write me a letter, regarding that moral?"

"Because......" Raven stop herself, after realizing what Celestia just said. She stared at her confused, with a raised eyebrow before speaking. "Wait, don't you know what happened that day? About the Flim Flam brothers and their Super Speedy Cider Squeezy 6000?"

Now it was Celestia turn to be confused. "The who and the what now?"

"Wait, so Twilight never told you about it? I assumed she did when she came to visit you in Canterlot, three days after that event."

"Chances are we probably was to distracted, by whatever it was she came to Canterlot for, or something urgent came up and I had to cut our meeting short." Celestia shrugged. "Whatever the reason, I'm certain Twilight never shared that particular story with me, but how did you come to learn about it?"

"It was my day off that day, and I ran into, Twilight at Joe's Doughnuts." Raven answered. "She said she just came from the castle and was about to head back to Ponyville, but stop at Joe's for a quick snack. When we met, we decided to sit and chat, I remembered AJ's letter to you and I asked, Twilight what was the story behind it, and she told and showed me everything." Raven adjusts her glasses. "Basically, the meaning behind AJ's letter come from, making Apple family cider the right way, which is why it taste so good. Long story short, the Flim Flam brothers challenged the Apples to a can make the most barrels of cider competition, for the exclusive right to sell cider in Ponyville in other words, the Apples could lose their farm if they don't win.

But even with the rest of the mane 6 help, they still lost, but the reason they still have their farm was because the brothers Cider tasted awful and nopony wants to buy it. All because the machine they built to make it was making Cider too fast."

"Ahhh, I see, now the letter makes sense." Said Celestia. "These Flim Flam brothers tried cutting corners, to make Cider faster, while Apples did not. They wanted to do things the easy way, while the Apples do things the right way. They may have won the competition, but at the cost of making quality cider, and since nopony would want to buy their product, they have no reason to stay in Ponyville." Celestia takes a moment to remember Aj's words from her letter. "It would seem AJ was right about not learning anything, and she should be proud of herself for sticking to do what's right and not what's easy, a very good lesson to learn."

And Applejack was indeed proud. Hearing that come from the Celestia herself, filled the farm mare with great pride.

But the moment was instantly ruined when memory Raven spoke.

"Applejack doesn't have a single thing to be proud about."

"Say what now!?"

"What do you mean, Raven?" Celestia asked.

"Remember what I just said earlier? Everything about the moral and lesson AJ was trying to teach was complete

Nothing about the reality of what happened during those two days, supports her claim. Why if it wasn't for the fact that she actually sent you that damn letter, showcasing that she actually believes in her own bucking words. I believe she was just lying to everypony about the real reason why she and her family can never make enough cider for everyone." Raven shakes her head disappointedly. "Sorry, but the truth is that Flim and Flam's cider was actually just as good if not better than the Apple family, those two just made one stupid ass mistake that cost them. So, if they were smart to realize it before it was made, then Applejack's moral and pride would be completely shattered into pieces and Sweet Apple Acres would rightfully belong to them."

"WHAT!!!!!!" Applejack bellowed in anger. "There's no way that those two ciders was anywhere near as good as Apple family cider, let alone being better. Everpony who tasted it, hated it and said it was terrible."

Raven couldn't help but smile wickedly at that comment.

Celestia sighed. She almost forgotten who she's dealing with here. Raven wouldn't have brought up this tale if there wasn't a problem with it. Afterall, she doesn't know the whole story and no doubt, her assistant is more than happy to tell her and share her thoughts. "Alright, Raven, I'll bite. It's clear that there's more to this story than meets the eye, and crucial details I need know and since I never heard the full story, would you enlighten me?"

Raven put on a kind smile. "Why it would be my pleasure, Celestia, and don't worry, there won't be any what if theories only straight up facts this time and by the end you will see that their is only one truth from Applejack's letter."

"And what truth is that?"

Raven smiled wickedly. "That she really didn't learn anything." Raven chuckled. "Thus making her an even bigger idiot than both, Trixie and The FlimFlam brothers combined."

Applejack did not take Raven's words kindly.

To be continued.

Now I know what you all are thinking, what the hay does any of this have to do with Discord?

All I can say is that Raven does have her reasons and it will all come full circle eventually.

Until next time.