"We need to have a talk." Those words echoed around the empty streets of Ponyville.
Zephyr Breeze perked up at his own voice echoing around the town, "The Acoustics in this place are-" He began to say only to be interrupted by the Great and Powerful Trixie! Her staff of power levitated beside her, glowing an ominous red.
"Silence!" Trixie yelled at the Pegasus, "The Great and Powerful Trixie has deemed to give you audience! Such a privilege will not be wasted!" She glared at Zephyr, "Now speak!"
"Wow... Okay, using third-person terms, wow, that's... that's not good..." Zephyr shook his head before he focused on Trixie, "We need to talk about us." He said with full seriousness.
"Us?" Trixie's glare disappeared as she stared blankly at the Stallion, her cheeks starting to grow pink.
"Snips, what is going on?" One of the Colts tied to the chariot Trixie sat upon asked.
"I have no clue, Snails, but we should keep quiet. Maybe she'll forget we're here and then let us go." A second Colt said, whispering to his friend.
"Yes, Trixie, Us." Zephyr clarified, "As in, the two of us."
Trixie swallowed the saliva that built up in her mouth before responding, "What is there to talk about?" She said before licking her lips.
"Look," Zephyr began, "Some ponies here told me that the statue thing, that-" Zephyr pointed at her staff, "The thing at the top, is cursed, and is making you all evil and stuff."
"What?!" Trixie shouted, "Are you accusing me of using a cursed artifact to complete my staff?!" She returned to glaring at the Pegasus.
"Wha- No! Of course not!" Zephyr defended himself, "I know that's not true because I know you!"
Trixie's glare hardened, compelling Zephyr to keep talking.
"You worked hard to build that staff, I know you did!" Zephyr continued, slowly stepping closer and closer to the angry Unicorn.
"We traveled into the depths of a jungle just to find the right twig-"
"IT'S A BRANCH!" Trixie yelled, her horn glowing with red energy which quickly transferred into the staff, shooting out a beam of magic that scorched the ground in front of Zephyr, forcing the Pegasus to jump in order to avoid the small explosion of grass and dirt.
"A Branch! Yes, it's a branch, you're correct! You've always been correct!" Zephyr hurriedly nodded along with the Unicorn, "But that's not what I'm here to talk about!"
"So speak! Why have you come here? To waste the time of the Great and Powerful Trixie?!" Trixie shouted at the Stallion.
"No! As I said, I'm here to talk about us, because I understand! I know why you're doing all of this!" Zephyr resumed his slow approach towards the chariot, his eyes never leaving Trixie's own.
"So you finally get it? All the work and time I have put into this moment? Do you finally understand?!" Trixie yelled with a smile, her mind replaying her all the things she went through after her first visit to Ponyville.
From her being unable to play her shows without her cart, to working tirelessly on a rock farm, to returning to Ponyville in order to charge the ponies who ruined her life only to find herself being caught in a literal alien invasion, to finally buying a new cart only to shelf it in a storage unit as she joined the Blueblood Foundation to make more money to buy back all the things she lost, to then fighting for her life in the middle of the sea on a sinking ship, to travelling all over the jungles of south Equestria in search of materials to build her new staff of power, all just for this moment.
He finally understood how much she's been wronged, and how this moment is deserved to the ponies of Ponyville.
"I do~" Zephyr nodded, an apologetic smile spreading across his face, "So here it is~" Zephyr extended his hood, holding a small sack of coins in it.
"..." Trixie stared blankly at the sack.
"It's my rent, for all the time you let me stay in the caravan," Zephyr Breeze closed his eyes and nodded his head, the smile on his face conveying that he thought he just solved the problem.
"...Rent?" Trixie Lulamoon repeated the word, her face blank as her eyes zeroed in on the bag of bits.
"Yeah." Zephyr nodded, "Whenever I brought it up, you always said that I don't pay rent, and then we laughed about it and moved on, you never really brought it up yourself so I assumed we were cool~ But I guess we know what assuming does to a pony. So I'm here to apologize for not paying my rent, and to make sure that we're still cool and all."
"..." Trixie was at a loss for words. On one hoof, she wanted to scream at Zephyr that the rent wasn't the issue, that she never cared about the rent because he helped her the menial tasks and that was enough.
On the other hoof, the Alicorn Amulet on her staff wanted to shoot a beam of magic at the annoying Pegasus, turning him into a living statue for his insolence.
"So like, we're cool right?" Zephyr shook the bag of bits in his hoof, "You're not kicking me out, yeah? Because I actually really enjoy having a roommate and going back to living on my own is going to be a bummer and... And what I mean to say is..." Zephyr took a big breath before focusing on Trixie's eyes, giving her the most charming smile he could manage, "I'm sorry, please forgive me."
"...Rent?" Trixie asked quietly, her eyes looking down at the turquoise Pegasus, "You think I've been doing this because I want your rent money?"
"..." Zephyr looked around to make sure she was talking to him, "To be honest, yeah, kind of. I mean, what other reason would you have to be so angry?"
"Angry?" Trixie whispered, her glowing horn brightening as the ominous red magic of the Alicorn Amulet that connected the staff to Trixie began to shine more than before.
"Snips, I'm scared." Snails whispered to his best friend.
"Me too, Snails. I didn't expect Trixie to be so angry." Snips replied to his best friend.
"You think this is Angry?" Trixie raised her voice as she glared at Zephyr Breeze, "You think all of this?!" She waved the staff around herself as if she was using it to point at all the changes she has caused in the small town, "Is because I was angry that you-" She pointed the staff at Zephyr as if it was a spear, "-Didn't pay me your rent?!"
"...When you say it like that, It really does make you seem like you're overreacting, but you always overreact to things so I just assumed-" Zephyr was interrupted as Trixie let out a loud yell.
"YOU IDIOT!" Trixie screamed, the staff levitating high above her head, "YOU STUPID MORON!" Red magic coalesced at the head of the staff, forming the shape of a large gavel, "YOU STUPID IDIOTIC UNTHINKING MORON!!!"
Trixie let out a scream of rage as she magically swung the staff down, like the gavel of a judge asking for order in a courtroom.
Zephyr Breeze let out a yelp as he dropped the bag of bits and flapped his wings, jumping backward to avoid the slamming gavel.
Behind a nearby tree, Dinky Doo held her hooves over her mouth as her eyes widened in horror, only for them to widen even more at what came next.
Snips and Snails felt their mouths open, a dumbfounded look spread over their faces as they watched the events transpiring in front of their very eyes.
Even Trixie couldn't help but widen her eyes at what was happening.
The magical red gavel slammed into the ground, an explosion of red magic following as the gavel shattered into motes of ominous red light, its unstable form breaking at the first sign on physical resistance, in which case meant it broke upon hitting the ground.
Yet, despite the gavel itself shattering apart, the staff kept the momentum of the swing, and with no hammer-head to cushion the fall, it slammed into the ground at full force, the crystal tree branch that made up its body breaking in two as if it were a regular stick.
The Alicorn Amulet, now with the staff that held it broken, ceased to empower Trixie. The small statue's eyes dimmed down as it no longer had a user, before it fell from the broken tip of the staff and landed on the ground.
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The dome of glass that surrounded Ponyville disappeared with a popping sound, as the magic that created it no longer kept it up.
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Pinkie Pie gasped as she climbed out of the pile of books she was lying under, her eyes brimming with tears of joy as her mouth and nose were once more on her face, allowing her to open her mouth and scream out how happy she was.
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Rarity, Applejack, and Spike, all collectively stared dumbfounded at the glass dome disappearing, watching a wave of magic fly through the streets of Ponyville and fix all the things that Trixie had done, returning the town back to the way it was before.
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Rainbow Dash felt colors on the tip of her tongue as she stared up at the angelic Pegasus that held her in her hooves as if she was a child, the sky around her changing through all the colors of the rainbow in hypnotic patterns, trying to lull the Element of Loyalty to her sleep.
Rainbow Dash shook her head, refusing to let the hypnotic sky claim her soul and drag her to the depths of Limbo.
"You won't charm me, You Angelic freak! I'm the fastest pony there is!"
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Fluttershy smiled calmly as she watched Rainbow Dash mumble to herself, her wings attempting to flap yet refusing to do little more than wiggle weakly as Fluttershy continued trying to guide her best friend through the worst trip she had in a long time.
Maybe even the worst trip ever, Fluttershy wasn't sure. She stopped doing pot after graduation, and she was pretty sure Rainbow Dash did too. So maybe this was indeed the worst trip her friend was on.
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Putting a bushel of apples down on the ground next to a cart, Big Mac let out a small smile as he watched the dome that surrounded Ponyville disappear, the gray sky that was caught within moving out and making way for a bright sunny sky with fluffy white clouds.
He didn't know who managed to fix it, but he had a gut feeling it had something to do with the two ponies that were with him earlier.
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Trixie looked around herself, a look of remorse crossing her face as she felt the corruption of the Alicorn Amulet wash away with the breaking of the staff.
"Ahh!" She yelped as the chariot she stood on disappeared in a puff of magic, dropping the mare onto the ground.
"Trixie!"
"Trixie, are you alright?!"
Trixie looked to the two voices that called out to her, her eyes widening at the sight of two colts, her two biggest fans, looking at her with worry.
"I'm sorry you two." Trixie told them, her body still lying down on the ground, "I didn't mean to make you do this, you're just children."
"It's cool-" The colts began to tell her, only for all three of those ponies to turn to look at the Stallion, who bent down and picked up the discarded amulet from the ground.
"Is this really cursed?" Zephyr Breeze tossed the Alicorn Amulet up and down a few times, testing its weight, "How does this even work?"
"Zephyr! No!" Trixie yelled, her lugs fumbling underneath her as she quickly tried to stand up and stop the Pegasus.
"No! Mister Zephyr! Don't put the Amulet on?!" Dinky Doo yelled as she jumped from behind the tree she was hiding at.
"Hmm?" Zephyr turned to the filly he spent the day with, only for his body to freeze as the Alicorn Amulet wrapped itself around his neck, the red eyes of the cursed relic glowing with ominous magic once more.
"Oh..." Zephyr Breeze whispered as his wings spread open, "So this is how it feels like..." With a glow of red magic in his eyes, he flapped his wings once and shot into the air, a trail of misty red magic following after the Stallion as he flew high above the town of Ponyville.
"Oh no..." Trixie watched with eyes filled with horror as Zephyr Breeze laughed to himself, the power of the Amulet empowering his Pegasus magic.
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"Hahahaha!!!" Zephyr Breeze laughed to himself, "With this Alicorn Amulet, I can finally achieve all my dreams! I can- I can- I..."
Zephyr Breeze calmed himself down as he slowly made his way back to the ground, landing where he stood previously.
"I don't really want this, actually." Zephyr Breeze said simply as he grabbed the Alicorn Amulet around his neck and pulled it off before tossing it behind him, where it proceeded to land on a low hanging branch of a tree.
"..." Trixie Lulamoon, Dinky Doo, Snips, and Snails, all stared blankly at the Turquoise Pegasus.
They watched as a crow swooped down from a nearby tree and picked the Amulet from the branch, flying with it up to a higher tree where it proceeded to shove the new shiny object it found into its nest.
"...Yeah, I'm going back to Doc's place." Zephyr told Trixie, "Hey Dinks, let's go help Doc make dinner. Your mom can join us too."
"Okay!" Dinky Doo said with a smile as she hopped after the Stallion and climbed up onto his back before he started slowly flying away.
"...What now?" Snails turned to ask his shorter friend.
"I don't know." Snips told him before the duo turned to the last pony who remained with them, "Miss Trixie, what do we do now?"
"..." Trixie let out a tired sigh as she finally stood back on her hooves, "Go home you two, and... I don't know... Tell your parents you love them or something~" Trixie waved them off before she started walking after Zephyr and Dinky.
"...Hey, Snips?" Snailsquirm asked his shorter friend.
"Yeah, Snails?" Snipsy Snap asked his taller friend.
"Do you wanna see if we can grab the Amulet from that crow's nest?" Snails asked.
"Not really," Snips told him, "I just want to go home."
"Wanna go to my place?"
"Sure!"
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Twilight Sparkle let out a breath she held in as she stepped back the town of Ponyville, ready to challenge Trixie.
"Oh hey Twilight!" Only to pause as Spike walked up to her.
The next hour was spent with Spike explaining to his Sister how the problem was already solved, and how Fluttershy's brother got Trixie to apologize to everyone, and how everything's fine now.
"Oh... Okay." Twilight said simply as she sat inside her Library, ignoring her friend guiding her other friend through a drug trip in the corner of the room.
"Stop yelling! The sky is falling!" Rainbow Dash said quietly from the corner of the room, Fluttershy bringing him a glass of water to replenish all the sweat dripping from her body.
"...Wait!" Twilight exclaimed as she suddenly remembered something important.
"Hm? What's the matter dear?" Rarity asked as she organized the books on the ground by color, occasionally glaring at Applejack, who was organizing the books on the other half of the library by width.
"I still need to get the Entertainment for Princess Celestia's visit ready! With everything that happened, I totally forgot about it!" Twilight started to hyperventilate as she began to imagine the worst.
"We still have like three hours before Princess Celestia and the Saddle Arabian Delegates arrive, we have time," Spike told her, patting her back reassuringly.
"But we need Fluttershy to get the animals together, with her busy taking care of Rainbow Dash, there's nothing I can do!" Twilight cried.
"Umm, I might have an idea..." Fluttershy said as she turned to give Twilight a weak smile.
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"Don't worry your cute little head Fluttershy~ I'll make sure Rainbow Dash doesn't fly out of her own body here~" Zephyr Breeze said as he watched his sister and her friends leave the library in order to get ready for some event later this evening, he wasn't really sure, he stopped listening halfway through.
"Yeah!" Dinky Doo jumped beside him, the young filly sticking by the stallion as if he was some wise sage who would impart his ancient knowledge upon her if she spent more time next to him.
"Thanks a lot for doing this, Zephyr," Fluttershy said to her brother, "I'll be back once Twilight's preparations are done, okay?"
"Sure thing, I can take it from here~" Zephyr waved goodbye to his sister before he turned to the second Pegasus in the room, "Now, Dash Dash Dash, what do we have here?" Zephyr shook his head as he looked at the semi-conscious Pegasus, "I told you not to eat so many brownies, now look what you've done."
Zephyr stretched his shoulders before he turned to the Unicorn filly, "Now, I'll be teaching you how to deal with a pony who is under a pot-induced drug trip~ Don't tell your mother, by the way."
Dinky Doo did a zipping motion over her mouth before she grabbed a seat to watch the master do his craft.
After all, maybe this will let her earn her Cutie Mark.