Friendship is Magic: The Seventh Element

by Master Mr B

"When the sixth element is revealed, a special element can appear that is a combination of the other six. It serves as the controller that bounds the power if the six elements together. But nobody, not even the royal sisters, have ever uncovered this...Seventh Element..." Follow my OC as he takes part in the adventures of FiM. And possibly win the heart of Twilight Sparkle...

129. No Second Prances

No Second Prances

Pony's Log Number 606: Funny, not too long ago, I caused problems refusing to forgive a pony or admit to it, now my wife has the same problem...

One morning at the castle, Mario had taken Starlight to special room at the lower levels of the castle.

"Are you sure about this?" Starlight asked nervously.

"Of course," said Mario, "from a combat perspective, you're strengths are your magic attack and defense, but you're going to run into occasions where you might be limited or only able to defeat foes with physical attacks."

"Good point..." said Starlight timidly.

"You've got what it takes..." said Mario, "After all...heh...you did beat me up." Starlight blushed and then sighed sadly.

"But I was fighting out of anger," said Starlight.

"Well, now I'll teach you how to physically get stronger the proper way," said Mario, "by embracing the love and support of your friends. Here, you'll need this. Take great care not to lose or misuse it." Starlight smiled as Mario used his magic to hand Starlight her very own ultra hammer.

"Alright then," said Starlight as she used her magic to make the hammer disappear, "thanks bro."

"Welcome, sis," said Mario as he made his horn glow to summon a turn battle.

"Let'sa go!"

"Bring it on!"

(Cue Turn Battle theme)

Soon the stage was set and Mario made some walking mushroom like enemies appear before them in a group of four. Starlight noticed Mario was standing on his hind legs just swaying to the beat of the turn battle music.

"Does it help to dance?" Starlight asked.

"It does actually," said Mario, "Dancing keeps you lose so you can react and time your attacks better." Starlight smiled as Mario showed her a basic double jump attack. Starlight watched as Mario landed on the mushroom creature, spin about and gave a cheer, and then stomped a second time before somersaulting back to his position.

"Give it try!" Mario called out. Starlight then rushed up and then went for a jump. Spin about and gave a cheer her own and then landed perfectly a second time before flipping over to her battle position.

"That was awesome!" said Starlight.

"Oh! They're about to attack," said Mario, "Jump to avoid them or time it so you counter stomp 'em!" Mario called out as he stood into position on just his hind legs. Starlight did the same, wobbling a bit since standing on two legs was something she wasn't used to, but she was able to keep her balance when the enemy rushed at her and nailed it square on the head for counter damage.

"There ya go!" said Mario. Soon he taught her hammer attacks and even the first two pony attacks. Starlight was quick learner. She only need to do the pony attacks twice before she nailed the movements perfectly. (The first time she didn't listen to Mario's instructions and ended up botching her first attempts.) She mastered hammer attacks and hammer counters on the first try. (After accidentally trying to stomp one of the spiked enemies.) She found it bit weird that each enemy gave hints to who they were attacking and whether it was best to use jumps or hammers to counter or dodge, but she got over it. She had to admit turn battle training was alot of fun. Soon all the fake enemies were defeated and training was over.

(Battle Victory!)

Starlight was still feeling pretty energetic as they headed back to the upper levels of the castle.

"Woo! That was really cool!" said Starlight, "And I'm guessing the more I train, the stronger I'll get?"

"That's right," said Mario, "You did a great job Starlight. I'm proud of you. Now we can do turn battle together!"

"Nice," said Starlight and then she was surprised when Mario pulled her in for a hug.

"I'm really glad you're my friend, Starlight," said Mario, "I love you." Starlight's eyes twinkled as she returned the hug.

"I love you, too," said Starlight. She could remember feeling frazzled the first time Mario told her that and spent an entire day hiding from Twilight. She felt silly afterward when Twilight said that Mario meant it as a friend and as family. Starlight wondered if she was getting a crush on Mario, but when he asked how she felt about kissing him on the lips, the lilac unicorn made a face of disgust and Mario laughed. So that settled that issue and she was relieved. She definitely saw Mario like the brother she always wanted.

"Mario! Starlight!" Twilight called from the dining room. The two ponies pulled away as they headed over to the dining room. As they arrived, they saw that Twilight wasn't there. They did noticed that the dining room was decorated. Mario then remembered why but was more concerned about where his wife was.

"Honey? Where are you?" Mario called out.

"Coming!" Twilight replied as she arrived using her magic to push a serving cart that had various plates and utensils. Twilight came to a stop at one end of the table while Starlight and Mario were standing at the other end of the table.

"First lesson of the day," said Twilight as she grabbed a plate with her mouth and placed it on the table, "we very carefully set the table without using magic, so that-YIKES!" Twilight suddenly ducked as Starlight grabbed all the plates and silverware with her magic and within a few seconds set the table beautifully. Starlight just smiled.

"Did you...?! How? When? What?!" Twilight spluttered.

"What do you think you're doing?" Mario asked Starlight asked in a firm tone.

"What?" Starlight asked

"I said no magic," said Twilight, "You were supposed to do it by hoof so I could work in a friendship lesson."

"Oh, I heard "set the table" and just kinda went for it," Starlight replied and smiled sheepishly.

"Starlight, you gotta learn to listen for all the instructions before you do something," said Mario, "Remember how you got stuck during our turn battle training when you jumped on a spiked enemy instead of using your hammer." Starlight winced.

"Sorry, I got excited," said Starlight as Mario just smiled and rolled his eyes. He knew Starlight could get a bit enthusiastic when she wanted to be good at something.

"Well, if you hadn't used magic," said Twilight as she pointed to each piece of silverware, "you'd have heard me say, uh...this plate represents your head, this spoon is your heart, and the knives...are sharp! Always be careful with knives!" Twilight just smiled as Starlight and Mario just gave her blank looks. Twilight just sighed.

"The metaphors actually make sense when you're actually setting the table," said Twilight.

"I'll take your word for it, dear," said Mario in an uncertain tone.

"Should I...change it back?" Starlight asked.

"She can remove everything and set the table your way," said Mario, "no biggie."

"It's okay. I just want to make sure you're ready for this dinner," said Twilight to the lilac unicorn, "Princess Celestia will be joining us tomorrow night to see how the friendship lessons are going!"

"If it's just you, me, Mario, and Princess Celestia," said Starlight, "why are there five seats?"

"Well, the whole point is for you to bring a new friend," Twilight explained, "That way, the princess will see for herself just how far you've come." Twilight then gave the lilac unicorn a smug smile, "And how good a teacher you have." She gave Starlight a nudge with her fore-knee to emphasize her point. Mario just raised an eyebrow at her.

"I thought the focus of this dinner was Starlight, not you?" Mario asked.

"Oh, like you didn't emphasize yourself when you had the same dinner with you, me, Celestia, and Di!" Twilight retorted.

"Honey, Mom was the new friend I wanted Di to make at that dinner," said Mario, "and once Di was able to open up, she really enjoyed herself. All that praise Mom gave me was nice and all, but it's not what I was..." Mario then noticed that Twilight was just mock mouthing his words. He gave her a glare as Twilight just smiled cutely.

"Stop that," Mario said bluntly as Twilight giggled. Starlight just rolled her eyes at them.

"Well, I can't choose," said Starlight, "I like all your friends and my first choice, my new bro, is already going to be there." Twilight chuckled. She was very happy that Starlight and Mario were now seeing each other as family.

"That's the best part!" said Twilight, "You have to make a new friend!"

"New friends?" said Starlight as she began a dramatic speech, "Hey, maybe I'll just force friendships by magically enslaving the entire population of Ponyville!"

"And I can help you my dear sister," said Mario before adding in dramatic tone, "Together, we shall rule the world! Mwa-hahaha!" The two ponies both made over the top smiles.

"Starlight! Mario!" Twilight scolded and glared at them.

"Kidding!" Starlight said with a sheepish smile

"Even I knew she was joking," said Mario as the two ponies chuckled to each other. Twilight just rolled her eyes.

Maybe they've been spending too much time together Twilight thought to herself.

(Main Theme)

It wasn't long before Starlight headed into town to see about making a new friend. As much as she wanted Mario to come with her, Mario had some train deliveries to do and Twilight asked him to do some grocery shopping for tomorrow night's dinner.

"Let's see," Starlight said to herself, "Make new friends in Ponyville, the friendliest place in Equestria. And as Mario would say: at least the admission is free." Starlight chuckled, but knew she was probably the only pony who would laugh at the joke, "Shouldn't be too hard." It was then Pinkie startled Starlight by popping up from the side out of thin air.

"Need to make a new friend, huh?" Pinkie asked but didn't wait for answer, "I know just the pony for you!" She then grabbed Starlight and zipped away with her. It wasn't long before Starlight found herself inside Sugarcube Corner.

"Miss Starlight Glimmer," said Pinkie, "meet Mrs. Cake!" Then she added in a hushed voice,
"She's also Mario and Twilight's marriage counselor, but you didn't hear that from me!" Starlight gave the baking mare a shy smile, but Pinkie and Starlight noticed that Mrs. Cake was busy decorating a cake and hadn't noticed them. At least until she finished the cake.

"How are you, dearie?" Mrs. Cake asked the lilac unicorn.

"Are you baking?" Starlight asked excitedly as Pinkie smiled behind her, "Can I help?" Starlight then used her magic to gather the tools and ingredients to quickly put together a very large and beautifully done triple tiered cake with purple and light blue icing. Pinkie and Starlight both smiled at the cake as the latter held it in the air with her magic.

"Wow, Mrs. Cake!" said Pinkie, "Look what your new friend made you!" Mrs. Cake chuckled.

"New friend, I like the sound of-" Mrs. Cake then gasped when she saw Starlight's cake.

"Howza-Wowza!" Mrs. Cake exclaimed before she started scolding Starlight, "A-Are you trying to put me out of business with your fancy magical-thingy-whatsit cake?!" Pinkie and Starlight looked sad. It certainly wasn't the reaction Starlight was hoping to get from Mrs. Cake. Starlight released her magic grip on the cake.

SPLAT!

Mrs. Cake yelped as the cake crashed on top of her head.

"Sorry..." said Starlight. Pinkie then zipped up to the fuming Mrs. Cake and licked a huge piece of the cake with her tongue.

"In her defense," said Pinkie to Mrs. Cake, "It is delicious!" Pinkie continued eating the cake as Mrs. Cake gave Pinkie the stink eye. Starlight just smiled apologetically before dismissing herself from the bakery.

Later, Starlight had found Applejack in the orchard. Big Mac was close by bucking some apples from a nearby apple tree. Starlight had filled Applejack in about her situation.

"I think I have just the pony for you, Starlight," said Applejack, "Meet Big Mac!" The red stallion turned to introduce himself.

"Eeyup!" said Big Mac to both girls. Starlight just looked skeptical.

"He's not much of a talker," said Applejack, "Unless it's Mario. Still don't know how he does it through."

"Nnope," said Big Mac, but he rolled his eyes indignantly over the Mario remark.

"Oh, that's too bad," said Starlight, "I love a good conversation." Applejack gave her a curious look when Starlight smiled and got an idea. She then fired a magic wisp that flowed right into Big Mac's mouth. Big Mac's eyes bulged out as the magic entered his mouth and then he shook his head rapidly. Applejack just had a "what the hay" look on her face as Starlight smirked.

"Eeyup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup-yup," Big Mac said quickly, "Y-y-y-y-you did something! Whoa! What's happening? I feel really weird! I'm talkin' so much! And I'm so articulate! Enunciating with such precise pronunciation!" Big Mac then shoved a fore-hoof inside his mouth. Then a few seconds later he removed it.

"Annie Apple awoke and accidentally ate an auburn azalea!" Big Mac exclaimed, "WAAAAAAAAAAA! MAKE IT STOP!" Big Mac then ran for the hills and disappeared. Applejack just watched the scene unfold.

"Grrrr..." Applejack growled.

"I can't be friends with somepony who doesn't talk," said Starlight.

"Grrrr," Applejack growled again.

"..and I guess my first instinct shouldn't be to magically command ponies to act the way I want them to?" Starlight added.

"Grrrr," Applejack growled a third time, getting into the lilac unicorn's face.

"Alright, I'll change him back!" Starlight retorted irritably as she want to go find Big Mac. Applejack glared and watched her walk off.

"Honestly," said a familiar voice, who was shunting some freight cars for a delivery, "I thought Starlight did Big Bro a favor." Applejack turned to see Mario, who had seen everything, and glared at him.

"GRRR!" Applejack growled at him.

"Give it rest!" Mario remarked as he coupled himself to his train, "I'm not afraid of you!" He then felt a his train getting bumped and saw Applejack had doubled his freight cars.

"Now git!" Applejack snapped. Mario glared and pulled his now long train away.

"Bossy buffers!" Mario remarked as he chugged away.

Once Starlight had fixed Big Mac, she headed over to the Carousel Boutique and had just finished discussing her situation with Rarity, who was working and also wearing her work glasses.

"The trick to finding a new friend," Rarity explained as she grabbed a soft pink fabric and wrapped it around her neck like a scarf, "is to render yourself radiant. First impressions count a great deal, you know." Starlight just stood on a platform before a large vanity mirror.

"I'm glad you all got past my first impression," said Starlight with a timid smile.

"Well, everypony deserves a second chance," said Rarity as she quickly did some measurements on Starlight and then wrapped two sets of different colored fabrics around her, "Ooh! I have a top-notch idea. I'm thinking pastel silk here and here with a crinoline underneath."

"You really think a new outfit will help me meet ponies?" Starlight asked hopefully.

"Oh, with the right outfit," said Rarity as she walked behind a dressing screen and did one of her famous quick changes. She was now wearing a dress with a fuzzy light pink top and sleeves with a darker pink skirt and floral headpiece.

"When will it be ready?" Starlight asked.

"Three weeks," said Rarity plainly and Starlight looked rather disappointed.

"Dinner's tomorrow," said Starlight in a dejected tone.

"Well then, how about a hat from the..." Rarity then cleared her throat before continuing her suggestion, "...clearance bin?" Rarity pointed to a very, very small box filled with some various hats. Starlight grabbed an elastic band style headpiece with some feathers on it. She struggled to put the elastic fabric around her head and ended up piercing the fabric with her horn.

"Ugh! Maybe not," said Starlight as Rarity just rolled her eyes and said nothing. Afterward, Starlight headed back into the outskirts of town and ran into Rainbow. The blue Pegasus was soon laughing when Starlight told her about Rarity's advice.

"Nopony's gonna make friends with you because of your outfit," Rainbow told her, "The only thing you want a new friend draped in is coolness." Rainbow hovered smoothly from one side of the lilac unicorn to the other.

"Like you?" Starlight replied.

"Yeah, but you already know me, so..." Rainbow answered and then gasped when she got an idea, "Spitfire!" Rainbow then got into her face as she said the yellow-orange Pegasus's name. And also spit on Starlight's face.

"Heh. Sorry," said Rainbow.

"Who's that?" Starlight asked.

"Only the Wonderbolt-iest pony in the Wonderbolts," said Rainbow, "And she and Mario are best friends that go way back! In fact, Twilight was even jealous of her at one point."

"I'm assuming because Spitfire was there for him when Twilight wasn't?" Starlight guessed.

"Pretty much," said Rainbow, "Come on! I'll introduce you!" Rainbow then took off so fast that she caused a regular sonic boom, which made Starlight flinch. Rainbow then came back.

"You coming or what?" Rainbow asked since she knew Starlight knew how to use her magic to fly.

"I guess my first question would be," said Starlight slowly, "What's a Wonderbolt?" Rainbow then gasped dramatically.

"You've never heard of the Wonderbolts?!" said Rainbow, "Where have you been?!"

"Enslaving villages, I guess..." Starlight answered nervously.

"Right," said Rainbow bluntly as she made a landing. In the end, Rainbow didn't bother introducing Starlight to Spitfire after all and the lilac unicorn was eventually at a picnic with Fluttershy, Shenran, and some of their animal friends. Starlight had no problem connecting with the animals. And unlike other situations, Starlight didn't bother using magic to try to communicate with them or make them talk like a pony. She was just enjoying herself as she gave Angel a belly rub. Angel giggled in reply.

"You're adorable," said Starlight as she stopped the belly tickling, "but probably not what Twilight had in mind." Starlight then walked away despite the fact that Angel was looking lovesick over the lilac unicorn. Harry just waved goodbye as Fluttershy arrived with a plate of carrots and Shenran arrived with some cookies. Fluttershy was the first to notice that Starlight had left and sighed as Harry looked at her sadly. Shenran then saw Starlight disappearing over a small hill and quickly went to catch up with her.

"Starlight, where are you going?" Shenran asked, "the picnic was about to start. Did you make some new animal friends?"

"I did," said Starlight, "it's just that I think Twilight wanted me to make a new pony friend."

"Ah, I see," said Shenran as he landed, "I certainly know how hard it can be to make new friends. I was super shy when I first came to Ponyville."

"It's not really shyness that's the problem for me," Starlight explained, "It's more of ponies knowing my past..."

"Hmm...Mario could probably relate to that," said Shenran.

"Everypony tells me that, even Mario, but...when was Mario ever evil?" Starlight asked.

"It's not exactly that Mario was evil," said Shenran, "Tell me Starlight, have you ever heard of the "Flying Unicorn"?"

"Yeah...I have..." said Starlight, "I heard he was this snide, arrogant teenage racer who got his just desserts when somepony made him crash and..." Starlight then froze, "wait...that was Mario?" Shenran looked at her seriously and nodded.

"The same pony," said Shenran, "To this day, even after Mario redeemed himself at the last Equestria Games, he deeply regrets his behavior. He even used to justify all the bullying as his punishment for being so mean and cruel to others."

"Wow...I never knew..." said Starlight, "...He might not have done anything evil, but I'm guessing he hurt alot of ponies with his behavior."

"Indeed," Shenran replied, "Alot of ponies here knew about his behavior and, aside from our inner group, making friends outside that group proved intimidating for Mario. In the end, alot of ponies here are very forgiving and were grateful that Mario wasn't conceited at all."

"He is very down to earth," said Starlight.

"Might I suggest talking to Mario about your concerns," said Shenran.

"I'll...see if I run into him," said Starlight, "I still have a new friend to make before tomorrow night." Starlight then walked off as Shenran just watched her disappear with a concerned look before he headed back to his wife and the other animals.

Soon, Starlight was walking alone in the middle of the park as other ponies were enjoying themselves. Starlight just groaned.

"What's going on?" said Starlight in frustration, "This is Ponyville! If I can't make a friend here, there's gotta be something wrong with me!" Starlight just sighed as she looked at her reflection in the water fountain and sighed to herself.

"Okay, calm down," said Starlight, "Nobody makes friends with a stress-case." She then looked to one side and saw some ponies walking down a path and flying kites. Despite loving kites herself, she didn't feel the courage to speak to the ponies flying them.

"Stop stressing..." Starlight told herself as she began to panic and looked to see some ponies and a filly sharing flower crowns with each other.

"STOP STRESSING!" Starlight shouted aloud, making all the nearby ponies looked at her. Starlight just smiled, looking embarrassed, before she zipped away to get away from being the center of attention. She eventually slowed down and started feeling sorry for herself.

"Having a tough time making a new friend, Sis?" said a voice. Starlight looked up see Mario nearly with a train of empty freight cars.

"Shenran said you would understand," said Starlight before asking, "How you think I feel right now?" Mario pondered.

"You're putting too much pressure on yourself trying to impress others," said Mario, "You even try showing off your talents to impress them but somehow things always go wrong. You can't help but feel like you're under a cloud every time you try to introduce yourself. You feel like every pony is watching you, saying harsh things behind your back and making you feel like you'll never belong." Starlight just listened and was soon in deep shock and was eventually in the verge of tears.

"Either your really good at showing empathy," Starlight croaked, "Or you truly do understand how I feel...mostly since being the Flying Unicorn didn't make you utterly evil..." Starlight sniffled as Mario handed her a spare handkerchief to wipe her eyes.

"Well, I still made some bad choices and did some terrible things," said Mario, "I let my anger and bitterness get the best of me. Just like when Twilight was trying to reason with you, I didn't want to listen to those who tried to reason with me. All I cared about was..."

"Getting exactly what I wanted and making sure nopony stopped me!" Starlight and Mario said at once before they blinked and looked at each other. Starlight then started to cry as Mario unhooked himself from the harness and held the lilac unicorn so she had a shoulder to cry on.

"I'm sorry," Starlight sobbed, "I just feel like nopony will want to be my friend."

"Don't sell yourself short, Starlight," said Mario, "I'm sure you'll find a new friend. I heard about your situation with Mrs. Cake and Big Mac. Mrs. Cake apologizes for overreacting and I thought you did Big Mac a favor, even if Applejack says otherwise." Starlight just sighed.

"The best advice I can give is not to try so hard," said Mario, "sometimes the pony who will become your friend will come to you. That's how I befriended our group. I was just minding my own business, then they struck up a conversation with me...and soon we were friends."

"Okay, if you say so," said Starlight doubtfully as she wiped her eyes. Mario could tell Starlight still looked a little stressed when he pulled out a small sack and filled it with some bits.

"Take this," said Mario as he used his magic to hand her the sack of bits.

"Um...what good does..." Starlight was cut off when Mario put a fore-hoof to her lips and smiled.

"You'll find out soon enough," said Mario, "Now that I've finished my deliveries, I gotta go pick up the groceries for tomorrow's dinner. You gonna be okay or do you need my help?" Starlight just looked at the bits and took a deep breath.

"I wanna keep trying on my own," said Starlight, "But I'll keep your advice in mind." Mario smiled, hooked himself to his empty freight cars, and with a TOOT-TOOT of his horn, he puffed away. Starlight then continued walking a bit before she saw a bridge leading to the Ponyville Spa. Bulk Biceps was just waving goodbye to a customer and closed the door. She then walked up to the building and then looked at the sack of bits. She soon figured out what the bits were for and smiled.

"Mario, I like the way you think," Starlight said to herself and chuckled as she headed inside. It wasn't long before she had on a green facial mask with cucumber slices over her eyes as Lotus Blossom and another Spa patron pony were giving her hooves a nice message.

"This is just what I needed," said Starlight with a content sigh.

"Tell me about it," said a cerulean pony wearing a pink facial mask that was sitting behind the lilac unicorn.

"You ever have one of those days?" Starlight asked the cerulean pony.

"For me, they're all one of those days," the cerulean pony remarked. Starlight giggled.

"I'm gonna start coming here every time I visit Ponyville," said the cerulean pony.

"I'm not from here either," Starlight replied, "I've been trying to make friends, but it's not easy. They're not saying it, but I think everypony knows about my past. I may have been a tiny bit...completely and utterly evil?"

"Ponies judge me on my past too," said the cerulean pony.

"Finally, a pony I can relate to," said Starlight as he removed her cucumber slices and smiled, "Well, other than Mario I suppose..." The cerulean pony raised an eyebrow.

"Mario?" she said curiously, "You know Mario?"

"Yeah," said Starlight, "We had some...differences, but Mario was able to forgive me and now we're good friends. Have you met him?" The cerulean pony was quiet for a moment.

"You...could say that," the cerulean pony replied in a rather quiet tone. Starlight just smiled, unaware of the discomfort the cerulean pony was feeling at the moment. The cerulean pony was soon grateful when the subject changed and soon the two ponies were chatting away.

The next day at the castle, Twilight was busy resetting the table. It should also be noticed that she was only using plates that had her cutie mark on them and plates with Mario's cutie mark were nowhere in sight.

"Soup spoon, salad fork, pasta spoon, strawberry pick," Twilight said aloud, "I'm beginning to think that after friendship, the greatest magic of all is proper silverware placement!" Twilight then giggled to herself.

"Twilight, guess what?" said Starlight as she ran inside the dining room, and then noticed somepony was missing, "Hey...where's Mario? I thought he'd be helping you set the table?"

"Oh, he's in the kitchen working on the menu for tomorrow's dinner," Twilight replied, "What's up?"

"I made a few friend!" Starlight announced.

"That's fantastic news!" Twilight replied.

"She's great!" said Starlight.

"Great!" Twilight replied.

"She's powerful!" said Starlight.

"Powerful?" Twilight replied rather skeptically.

"She's-" Starlight began to say when a certain cerulean pony wearing her purple cape and magician's hat appeared.

"Hello...princess!" said the pony with a smug look on her face. Twilight gasped silently.

"Trixie?!" Twilight exclaimed in shock as Starlight just smiled. It wasn't long before Twilight and Trixie were staring each other down and Starlight stood halfway between them.

"You know each other?" Starlight asked.

"You could say that," said Twilight in a bitter tone as she slightly looked away.

"We've had our differences," said Trixie as she walked up to the purple pony, "What matters is Twilight gave me a second chance, and I appreciate it." Trixie smiled as Twilight returned it, but one could feel that there was a lot of tension still present between the two. It was then Mario walked into the room.

"Honey, I've just about got the dinner courses all set up, I just need you to..." Mario then froze when he saw the cerulean pony standing near his wife, "Trixie?! Is that you?"

"Oh...hello...prince," said Trixie smugly as Twilight just glared at her. Mario just walked up to Trixie.

"It's good to see you again," Mario said kindly. Trixie was taken aback by his warm tone.

"R-r-really?" said Trixie in surprise.

"Yeah," said Mario, "it's been a long time since you last came to Ponyville. I know we've settled things and all, but...I guess I've just been wondering if you were doing okay. When I asked if we could be friends, you said you needed to take care of some things first. How's that coming along?" Trixie just blinked, even Starlight was rather surprised.

"Wait, what things needed to be settled?" Starlight asked. Trixie groaned and rolled her eyes wearily.

"It was just a misunderstanding, Starlight," said Mario simply, "Water under the bridge now and behind us."

"Yeah, you keep telling yourself that," Twilight muttered bitterly under her breath.

"The point is that we've settled the issue and that is that," Mario continued, "Trixie just wasn't ready to be friends the last time she was here. I guess I wanted to know if you've considered my offer or not." Trixie blinked. Unlike Twilight, Mario was being very nice to her. She wasn't expecting it at all and was now speechless, trying to find her words. It didn't help that Mario just had a cute smile on his face. There was no bitterness, disgust, or even distaste about her presence whatsoever.

"I...uh...I...umm..." Trixie stuttered, "I mean...s-s-sure. We...we could be friends." Mario clapped excitedly.

"Awesome!" said Mario, "That means alot to me, Trixie. And welcome to the Castle of Friendship. I hope you enjoy your visit. Just...stick with either Twilight or Starlight until you learn where the rooms are. It's really easy to get lost."

"He's right about that," said Starlight, "I haven't mastered where everything is around here, but I know my way around to at least get to my bedroom, the bathroom, and the more important rooms in the castle."

"Don't forget the game room," said Mario.

"Oh of course," said Starlight, "where I beat you at Monopoly every time."

"Sez you!" Mario remarked as they both chuckled and Trixie just smiled. Twilight just glared at the two before speaking up again.

"So, um, what brings you to Ponyville?" Twilight asked as Trixie headed over to the dining table and started examining the silverware.

"The Grrrreat and Powerful Trrrrixie has come to perform a new stage show of grand illusion!" Trixie explained, "I am calling it "The Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestrian Apology Tour"!" Starlight and Mario quickly rushed up to her.

"That's kind of a mouthful," they told Trixie together in a hushed tone.

"It's a working title," said Trixie in the same tone as she gave them both a wink.

"Gotcha," Mario replied as Starlight smiled.

"Starlight? Mario? A moment? Over here?" Twilight called out in a firm tone.

"Could you excuse us for a sec, Trixie?" Mario asked as Starlight just smiled apologetically, "Well be right...hey!" Twilight then used her magic to drag both Starlight and Mario over to her. Mario gave her a death glare once he was released.

"You know I don't like it when you do that!" Mario remarked irritably.

"Shh!" Twilight said sternly before speaking to Starlight in a hushed tone, "I know I said make friends with anypony, but, well, uh, Trixie's past, and your past, I'm not sure she's the best...first friend." Mario was taken aback before they turned to see Trixie at the dining table. Trixie smiled and gave a wave.

"But whatever she did, you've forgiven her, right?" Starlight asked, giving the pony a glare.

"I know I have," Mario replied quietly, "Why else do you think I offered her my friendship? And are treating her like a regular houseguest...unlike somepony I married?" Mario gave Twilight a glare.

"Of course, it's just..." Twilight spluttered, "She wasn't the nicest pony."

"Well, you did say anypony," said Starlight, "and I just assumed that you'd trust me to make my own friends the way Princess Celestia trusted you. Mario doesn't have any issues trusting Di to make her own friends!"

"She's right about that, honey," said Mario, "I'm not seeing why you're being so apprehensive with Trixie. So she still has her ego. Rainbow's ego is just as bad and we befriended her without any problems!"

"Honey, Trixie is the reason you feel worthless!" Twilight said angrily. Starlight was taken aback as Mario just looked away and sighed.

"You're seriously gonna pin the blame on Trixie for that?" Starlight explained, now upset.

"I have to agree dear," said Mario with a glare, "that's pretty low."

"Mario, Trixie has been nothing but a bully to you ever since you were a foal!" said Twilight, "She spent years trashing you and saying those hurtful words to you until they were stuck in your craw!" Starlight looked at Mario, who was just staring at the floor and being quiet.

"Is Twilight telling the truth?" Starlight asked in a firm tone.

"Yes, Trixie did do all those things," said Mario before adding firmly as he got into his wife's face, "but she knows that I was never trying to upstage her or make her look bad. Most importantly, she said she was sorry and I forgave her!"

"See? If Mario is willing to move on from her mistakes, then I don't see a problem here," said Starlight, "Don't you trust me?" Twilight just sighed.

"You're right, I trust you," said Twilight.

"Would you feel better if I went with Starlight to hang out with her?" said Mario, "The menu and prep is already complete."

"I don't need a chaperone!" Starlight said indignantly.

"Duh," Mario replied with an eye roll, "I want to come along and hang out with you girls. Let Trixie know that she can trust me and such. After all, I wouldn't be surprised if the reason she didn't accept my friendship before was for reasons similar to yours." Starlight made an O with her mouth and nodded in understand.

"I get it," said Starlight, "yeah, you should come along. Trixie needs to know that you've got her back just like you have mine." Twilight just smiled. But inside, she was hoping Mario would reveal the truth behind Trixie's intentions for befriending Starlight.

"I think it's a good idea," said Twilight, "Just be back in time for the dinner. Mario is going to be cooking the-hey!" Twilight then realized that both ponies were no longer in front of her and at the exit of the dining room.

"Thanks," said Starlight and waved goodbye to the purple pony, "You won't regret it!"

"See you later, honey," said Mario. Trixie was the last to walk out as she gave Twilight a devious smirk and waved goodbye. Twilight just stared with a concerned look on her face.

"I hope not," said Twilight. She then turned to see that Trixie had bent some of the silverware and a napkin into a little doll version of herself. Twilight groaned, rolled her eyes, and got to work disassembling it.

Outside, Trixie was hard at work using her magic to get her show stage ready. Trixie was a little skeptical about Mario helping her out at first, but once she found that Mario had managed to take care of two hours of set up in under five minutes, she was more than happy for the extra help.

"This magic show's gonna be the greatest thing Ponyville's ever seen!" said Trixie.

"I'm looking forward to it," said Mario as he worked on getting the curtains set up, "Considering how long it's been since your last visit, I bet you've had lots of time to learn plenty of new tricks and illusions." Trixie winced but then chuckled to herself.

"You...could say that," said Trixie in a discreet but sheepish tone. Remember Trixie, Mario is just being nice. He's not trying to mock you. Trixie just took a deep breath to clear her mind. Starlight was just smiling nearby and listening to the conversation when she saw Cherry Berry and Goldengrape were whispering to each other.

"...did you see...?" the two ponies said before they whispered to each other. Trixie then noticed Caramel, Shoeshine, and Sunshower Raindrops were also talking amongst each other.

"...did you hear...?" the three ponies said to each other. Trixie looked a bit upset at all the gossip. Mario took notice.

"Alright, alright, that's enough everypony," said Mario to the five gossiping ponies, "If you not here to say hello to my new friend, then I suggest you leave."

"...new friend...?" said the five ponies as the continued to chatter before walking away. Mario just snorted since he could hear some of the conversations and turned around to get back to work. Trixie stood in his way.

"Why'd you defend me?" Trixie asked in surprise.

"'Cause that's what friends do," said Mario with a smile and then headed back to work. Trixie was stunned but then sighed to herself.

"I don't deserve your friendship," Trixie mumbled.

"Huh?" Starlight asked.

"Nothing!" Trixie said quickly before settling down, "It's just...everypony says they'll give you a second chance, but deep down, they never forget."

"That's what I'm worried about," said Starlight as Trixie went back to doing some final touches on the stage as Mario adjusted the curtains in the background. Trixie just sighed sadly to herself.

"What is it?" Starlight asked.

"Something wrong?" Mario asked as he landed next to the lilac unicorn.

"I heard what Twilight said about me," said Trixie, "and she's right. I wasn't very nice. So I understand if you didn't want to be friends."

"Are you kidding?" Starlight replied, "You're the first pony besides Mario that I've met who has any idea how I feel!"

"Wait...since when was Mario mean?" Trixie asked.

"Trixie, remember when I used to be a big shot racer?" said Mario, "You were there for several races back in the day."

"Oh...right..." said Trixie, "I was also there when you had your big accident. Then you..." Trixie then paused, "Actually, tell me, Mario. Did you actually quit racing after your accident?"

"No," said Mario, "They quit on me. It's kind of why it took until last Equestria Games to even redeem myself."

"So, you really got your back legs broken so bad that the doctors said you'd never race again?" Trixie asked.

"They said I'd never walk again," said Mario, "Things felt really bleak during those days. And it took me a long time to forgive myself for how I acted when I was a big shot. I certainly felt like I was under a cloud once I was able to walk again and trying to repair my friendships, or just making new friends for that matter. You can't help but feel a little torn up inside when you bump into ponies who never want you to forget who you used to be." Starlight gave a sympathetic nod in agreement.

"I see..." Trixie replied, looking away slightly, "Um...Mario, some of these floor boards look a little loose. Can you make sure their nailed down so I don't risk getting smacked in the face or...fall through."

"Sure," said Mario as he pulled a regular hammer out from his magic saddle bags and flew away. Trixie made sure Mario was a good distance away before she looked around to see if anypony else was there.

"Can you keep a secret?" Trixie asked.

"What are friends for?" Starlight replied, rather uneasily since she didn't know what Trixie was going to reveal.

"The things I've done? I did them because I was jealous of Twilight and Mario," Trixie revealed in a hushed tone, "They're both just so good at everything, and I wanted to beat them at something!" Trixie then lowered her head sadly.

"And then I found out that, from Mario at least, that he was never trying to make me jealous," Trixie continued sadly, "He only showed off his magic to impress me and because he wanted to be my friend. Now I feel completely stupid! I could've had a friend, but instead I misunderstood him, didn't listen to his side of the story, and...said some really hurtful things to him...for years on end. I'd rather not say what they were..."

"Would "you're worthless" or "you should've never been born", be some of those words?" Starlight asked as Trixie's lips quivered before she gave Starlight a stern glare.

"I said I'd rather not discuss that," said Trixie defensively before turning away feeling ashamed.

"Sorry, I only brought it up because I said those hurtful words to him too," said Starlight.

"What?!" Trixie said in shock.

"In fact, I even beat him unconscious," Starlight admitted as she walked up to her. Trixie blinked and then whispered.

"You got further than I did," said Trixie, "The best I got was maybe a couple of direct hits with my magic." Trixie sighed, "the point is that I can't help but feel so...unworthy of his friendship. I've done everything to make him not want to be my friend. I heard what Twilight said about Mario actually believing those harsh words I used to tell him and that he really thinks he's worthless. Yet there he is being so nice, kind, and considerate to me! It's...it's..."

"Overwhelming?" Starlight replied as Trixie just nodded sadly.

"Please don't tell him I feel this way," Trixie pleaded, "I've already hurt him so much already..." Trixie just sighed to herself.

"Well, I know Mario does forgive you," said Starlight, "but don't worry, your secret is safe with me."

"Thanks," said Trixie softly. It was then Mario returned.

"Okay, so I've checked and replaced some floorboards that seemed a little worn," said Mario, "Everything should be okay for when you get on stage."

"Thanks," said Trixie again, "want to help me unpack my wagon?" Both Starlight and Mario smiled to the idea.

It wasn't long before the three friends were making their way into town.

"I spend alot of time on the road with my wagon," said Trixie, "so it might be a tad messy."

"Maybe I can help," said Starlight, "I'm pretty good at organizing stuff. Magic props, brainwashed crowds..."

"...stolen cutie marks," Mario added with a smirk.

"You had to there didn't you?" Starlight remarked as she and Mario blew raspberries at each other. Then all three friends just laughed.

"Pssssssst! Pssst!" said a voice from nearby. Starlight and Mario stopped walking as Trixie continued moving forward.

"I sense something," said Mario, "a very familiar presence."

"Should I even guess who it is?" Starlight asked rather irritably.

"What I wanna know is why she is being so secretive!" Mario remarked, feeling rather annoyed himself. He then lead the lilac unicorn where the sound was coming from.

"Psssssst!" the voice went again as a bush shook before them. Then Twilight finally made her presence known.

"Shhhhhh!" Twilight said before giving them a smile. Starlight winced as Mario just rolled his eyes.

"Uh, We'll catch up," said Starlight, "I think there's something in my hoof and Mario's gonna try and help me pry it out!"

"Sure," said Trixie as she headed toward a house, "The wagon's right around the corner."

"We'll be there as soon as Starlight's hoof is clear!" Mario called out. Trixie then headed behind a house and disappeared. Starlight and Mario both gave Twilight a stern glare.

"So, how's it going with your new friend?" Twilight asked innocently.

"Great," said Starlight and then added sarcastically, "Thanks for asking in a completely not creepy way."

"Do you really need to be hiding behind a bush to ask us such a simple question?" Mario asked indignantly.

"Keep it down!" said Twilight as she put a fore-hoof to his mouth, "now tell me what you've learned about Trixie! Tell me everything!" Twilight gave him an over the top smile. Mario turned to Starlight, giving her a "can you believe this?!" look. Starlight just gave him a blunt look and said nothing. Mario turned back to see Twilight was still beaming at him.

"She's...excited about her show," said Mario slowly, "And she's hoping that Ponyville will give her a second chance despite a few ponies making some rather non-discreet comments behind her back." Twilight's smile dropped instantly.

"That's it?" said Twilight bluntly.

"We're you expecting some huge conspiracy where she insults us all or a plot to take over the entire town?" Mario remarked sarcastically.

"I expected you to find more about Trixie's true intentions!" Twilight retorted.

"He just said she's looking for redemption, just like I am," said Starlight sternly, "You always told me Mario isn't a liar!" The two ponies glared at Twilight, who looked a little uneasy.

"Oh...g-g-great," said Twilight, "glad you two and Trixie are getting along. Because if you know, Starlight, if it isn't working out for any reason, I could introduce you to my friend over here." Twilight then gestured toward a bush.

"Nice to meet you," said Starlight in a deadpan tone.

"You're looking a little green," Mario added in the same, "Maybe you should go see a doctor." Starlight couldn't help but snort and snicker as Mario's little joke.

"Good one," Starlight whispered to him.

"No, no!" Twilight retorted, slightly annoyed, "You can come out now!" It was then a familiar DJ-playing unicorn appeared wearing her headphones and just bopping to her dubstep.

"You like music, right?" said Twilight, "DJ Pon-3'd be the perfect friend for tonight's incredibly important dinner with Celestia. You know, if you decide to make a last-minute change. Heh." Starlight and Mario's glares deepened. DJ Pon-3 just kept bopping, but Mario already knew that the dubstep-loving unicorn probably wasn't even hearing a word of the conversation, especially with her headphones on.

"So back at your castle when you said, "I trust you"," said Starlight, now angry, "you meant "I don't trust you"!"

"Didn't I warn you that this dinner was about Starlight, and not about making yourself look good in front of Mom!" Mario added angrily.

"Who can really say who said what?" said Twilight nervously, clearly not wanting to answer any of their questions, "I know I can't!" It was then DJ-pon3 simply walked off, still bopping and listening to her music.

"Yeah," Mario remarked bitterly, "Because despite your promise to me, my words still go through one ear and out the-MMMMPH?!" Mario was cut off when Twilight shoved a small shrub inside Mario's mouth.

"Be quiet," Twilight said quickly before addressing the lilac unicorn, "Starlight, I'm just trying to look out for you." Twilight put a fore-hoof on her shoulder.

"I appreciate it," said Starlight with a sigh as she shrugged Twilight's fore-hoof off, "but you're wrong about Trixie. She's just like me. We have a real connection."

"That's kind of what I'm afraid of," Twilight admitted and then saw Muffins flying overhead, "Oh! What about her?" It was then Muffins noticed them, tried to wave hello...

THUMP

She smacked into a shop sign and crashed landed. Mario cringed as he spat out the shrub and wiped his tongue of any sap.

"Keeping talking to her while I make sure Muffins is okay," Mario whispered to Starlight. Starlight nodded as Mario went to check on the teal Pegasus.

"Please, Twilight!" Starlight pleaded rather irritably, "I know you're trying to help, but I need to make friends on my own if I'm going to be a better pony. As much as you wanted Mario to give you intel, he actually trusts me and is trying to be her friend too!"

"But do you really think Trixie's the one to help you with that?" Twilight asked honestly as she scooted up to Starlight with her bush, but Starlight took offense as Mario came back to the two ponies.

"Do you take us as a pair of gullible fools or something?" Mario retorted, "if Trixie is really such bad news, don't you think we even be trying so hard to be her friend?" Starlight glared and gave a firm nod in agreement. Twilight was really feeling put on the spot now.

"Uhh...what was the question again?" Twilight asked in an innocent tone.

"Wow. Trixie was right," Starlight said sternly as Mario glared, "You're not really giving her a second chance. I wonder what that says about how you feel about me." Starlight then ran off. Twilight then began to feel a guilty.

"Starlight wait!" said Mario as he quickly overtook her. It was then Twilight noticed Cranky sitting alone at a bench near some birds. Then one bird flew off with his toupee.

"Oh, now he'd be perfect," said Twilight with a smile. Starlight and Mario both groaned loudly.

"Just go hang out with Trixie and I'll deal with my wife," said Mario as Starlight nodded and ran off. Mario then walked up to Twilight with a very stern look on his face. Twilight just looked at him cluelessly.

"What?" Twilight remarked. Mario just pulled out a scroll and began writing something on it.

"What are you writing?" Twilight asked suspiciously.

"A message to Mom that tonight's dinner has been cancelled," said Mario plainly.

"NO!" Twilight screamed as she pounced him onto his back and knocked the scroll from his magic grip, "You will not cancel this dinner! You will not do this to me! I've worked far too hard on this dinner! I will not let you ruin this for me! You will not take this away from me!"

"Are you listening to yourself?!" Mario retorted angrily, "This is Not. About. YOU!"

"You're not canceling this dinner!" Twilight repeated, getting into his face.

"Well, you clearly don't trust Starlight with Trixie and you're trying to chose her friends for her," said Mario.

"Do you really want your Mom seeing Trixie at the dinner tonight?" Twilight snapped.

"Mom knows that I forgave her, despite that whole alicorn amulet incident," said Mario, "And she knows that I don't blame Trixie for my gloominess! But all you care about is not looking like a fool in front of Mom!"

"That is not true!" Twilight yelled back.

"Then let Starlight bring Trixie to the dinner," said Mario, his tone very firm and blunt, "That is who Starlight chose as her new friend. And I, personally, would like Trixie to be there. Okay?" Twilight just glared back and then saw Muffins bonk headfirst into the side of another building.

"Hey, Muffins, would you-HEY!" Mario then dragged Twilight back toward him with his magic and got into her face.

"That does it, Twilight Sparkle," Mario snapped, "I'm canceling this dinner! End of story!"

"No!" Twilight retorted as she tackled him into a dust cloud. By the time Mario had broken free, he found that Twilight had pulled off his saddle bag and held it shut so he couldn't write or send off another scroll.

"Give me back my saddle bag NOW!" Mario yelled angrily.

"NO!"

"I said give it to me!"

"NO!"

"Fine, I'll just buy myself some more quill pens and parchment then!" Mario yelled back then Twilight teleported in front of him. He then did a one eighty, when Twilight appeared in front of him again. He then smirked and tried using his Double Gem Amulet to get around her, but was surprised to see that she had grabbed that as well and had it around her neck. Mario growled before he tried teleporting himself, only for Twilight to reappear in front of him. He then tried to fake her out and run for it.

GO!

Twilight used his amulet to cut him off and seal him inside of her magic grip so he couldn't move. Mario growled in rage before just sighing in defeat.

"Fine, I won't cancel the dinner," said Mario as Twilight smirked and let him go...five feet in the air so he landed hard on his stomach. Twilight started to walk away when Mario stood in front of her sternly.

"But you'll host it alone," said Mario as he finally got his magic saddle bags back, "I'm not gonna watch you make a fool of yourself." Mario then tried to walk away when Twilight teleported before him.

"You better show up tonight, or else," Twilight warned.

"Is that a threat?" Mario challenged.

"Just be there!" Twilight yelled before stomping away, taking his saddle bag away again. Mario watched as she approached Muffins and Cranky with her over the top smile. He then snorted indignantly.

"Don't bet in it," Mario muttered to himself as he went to catch up with Starlight and Trixie. It was few seconds later her realized that Twilight had kept his saddle bag and Double Gem Amulet. Mario growled angrily before muttering about how annoying his wife was and to remember to get his stuff back later. Back at Trixie's wagon, Starlight was dragging and placing some blue chests on the grass outside. Starlight then decided to peek inside one of the chest as Trixie dragged another blue chest across the fore-ground.

"I was thinking," said Starlight, "You said Twilight and Mario are better than you at everything, but that's not true. You're better at magic."

"Only when I'm wearing a soul-sucking evil amulet," Trixie answered bluntly, "so I don't think that counts." Starlight looked a little dejected.

"Funny story. Don't need to get into it," Trixie added quickly.

"I meant stage magic," said Starlight, "I've never seen Mario do anything like that."

"Well, of course," Trixie replied as she pulled out some magic cards, metal rings that were linked together, and some colored handkerchiefs "Great? Yes. Powerful? Obviously. But I'm not the best."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll be soon enough," said a voice. Starlight and Trixie turned to see Mario had arrived.

"How'd go with Twilight?" Starlight asked in curious and annoyed tone, "and where's your amulet and saddle bags?"

"Pfft! Like talking to a wall and Twilight took my stuff just to show how mature she is," Mario remarked with an eye roll, "anyway, what's this about not being the best, Trixie?"

"As great and powerful as I am, there's one trick I've never been able to do," Trixie explained, "the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive!" It was then a flashback was seen silent picture style with 1920s style piano music.

"Only one magician has ever pulled it off," Trixie narrated as a stallion tied in place by each fore-hoof managed to break free and escape easily, "my hero, Hoofdini! You're supposed to blast yourself into the open mouth of a hungry manticore!" It was then Hoofdini, now wearing a helmet. Fired himself out of a cannon and right into the manticore's mouth.

"After the manticore chew you up and swallows you," Trixie continued, "you magically step out of a box on the other side of the stage!" It was the Hoofdini appeared from a box that had been wrapped up in chains. The audience cheered and the film reel ran out and brought everything back to the present.

"Completely unharmed!" Trixie finished excitedly. Starlight and Mario were speechless.

"That sounds very..." Starlight began.

"Dangerous?" Trixie suggested.

"I was gonna say cool!" said Starlight.

"It be amazing to see you pull off that kind of magic trick, Trixie," said Mario, even if he did feel a little worried. Trixie couldn't help but smile.

"I knew I liked you for a reason," said Trixie, "and that goes for you too, Mario." Then the three ponies shared a hoof-bump together.

"I don't know how he did it!" said Trixie, "If I tried it, I'd get chewed up and swallowed by that manticore." Mario pondered and then smiled as he got an idea and whispered it to Starlight, who then smiled at the idea as well.

"Not if you could use real magic," Starlight suggested.

"Obviously," Trixie remarked with an eye roll, "Way to rub it in." She gave Starlight and Mario a bitter look.

"No, I mean," said Starlight, "I mean either Mario or I could help! You could start the trick, and right before you got chewed up, I could use magic to save you..." Starlight then lifted Trixie into the air with her magic and then made her disappear.

"...and make you appear in the black box!" Starlight finished as Trixie reappeared inside a magic box, looking rather surprised.

"I guess that would work..." said Trixie, "But if you made one mistake, I'd be a goner."

"Hah, when it comes to magic," said Starlight confidently, "I don't make mistakes."

"Except when magically making a cake better than the shopkeeper or turning my big brother into a chatter box," Mario remarked.

"Oh hush you!" Starlight retorted and smacked the back of his head, "I meant in risky situations."

"I know, I know, just teasing, Starlight," Mario remarked and gave her a side hug. Starlight just chuckled and hugged Mario back, "But if it helps you feel better, Starlight could use my Double Gem Amulet to slow down time that way she has more time to teleport you to safety. I'm sure I can get it back from my wife..." Trixie blinked.

"You made an Amulet that slows down time?" Trixie said in shock.

"It gives a pony great speed and power boosts," Starlight replied, "but only for a few seconds. But to answer Mario's question. I don't think I'll be needing it."

"Alright," said Mario, "I trust you, Starlight. I was just thinking of Trixie. I care about her safety after all."

"I don't deserve to be cared about," Trixie mumbled as she looked away.

"Say something, Trixie," Mario asked.

"N-n-nothing," said Trixie, "Getting back on topic here. I wouldn't mind the extra help with my trick."

"Great," said Starlight, "Maybe I could be your...magic show helper pony!"

"We call it "assistant" in the magician biz," said Trixie, "And...nopony's ever offered to help before."

"Well, I'd be honored," said Starlight.

"Same here, Trixie," said Mario, "With Starlight handling the trick, I can do some special effects to make the trick more intense and exciting." Trixie smiled excitedly.

"You two may have just made my great and powerful magic show even better!" Trixie said excitedly as she headed over to her wagon and showed Starlight and Mario a very professional style advertisement poster for her show.

"Nice poster!" said Mario.

"Thanks," said Trixie, "I was already excited, but now I'm even more excited, which I didn't think was possible! We're gonna blow them away tonight!"

"Tonight?!" Mario exclaimed in shock. Starlight groaned.

"I can't," said Starlight, "Tonight's this incredibly important dinner with Twilight."

"Which neither of us are looking forward to," Mario added.

"Oh," said Trixie as she rolled up the poster and put it away.

"Can I vent for a minute?" Starlight asked.

"Sure," said Mario.

"What are friends for?" Trixie replied.

"Even after Twilight says she trusts me," Starlight said in an irritable tone, "she clearly doesn't trust me enough to choose my own friends." Starlight sighed to herself, "I guess you were right. No second chances." Starlight just lowered her head sadly.

"Hey, I'm giving you and Trixie a second chance," said Mario, "The problem here is that Twilight is putting too much emphasis on trying to impress Mom. This dinner isn't even about your progress at all! She just wants her moment to say: "Look Princess Celestia, I can be a good teacher too! Whee"!" Mario made an exaggerated smile as he mimicked his wife and soon replaced it with a long face. Trixie gave Mario a funny look and Mario noticed.

"Find it weird I call Princess Celestia Mom?" Mario asked. Trixie just nodded.

"N-no offense," said Trixie.

"None taken," said Mario, "There are alot of ponies who think I don't deserve that honor. It's kind of why they make fun of me."

"Or their too stupid to see sense and blame you for their issues," Trixie remarked as she looked away.

"That too," said Mario, "Even my wife thinks she can blame you for my insecurities. And that isn't right! I once felt so bitter that I even blamed Starlight for my hurt feelings. In the end, yes, you both said some hurtful words to me, but you're both sorry, I forgave both of you, and you're both my friends now. It's not your fault I took those hurtful words to heart." Mario sighed sadly as Starlight gave him a supportive side hug.

"I love Twilight, but sometimes she can be so stubborn and difficult to reason with," continued Mario, "which is funny since she claims to be a pony of science and reasoning." Starlight gave an eye roll in agreement.

"Hmph," Trixie huffed, "I wish I could say I was surprised. Well, lucky for Princess Twilight," Trixie rolled her eyes to emphasize her point, "I have my magic show tonight. If you two have to go to the dinner, I completely understand." She then walked past the two ponies.

"I just hope I find a way to survive the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive without my new assistants," Trixie said dramatically. Starlight looked worried and was starting panic. Mario remained calm and sighed loudly.

"No need to go drama queen on us," said Mario, "Honestly, I'd rather see your magic show then Twilight make a monkey out of herself trying to impress Mom."

"Same here," said Starlight.

"Well, there is a way you could come," said Trixie slyly. Starlight and Mario looked at each other before giving the cerulean unicorn some devious smiles of their own.

Later that night, the food had been set up and an ice sculpture was placed in the middle of the table. Celestia had arrived and taken her seat at the table. Mario and Starlight had come back to the castle earlier in a casual manner as Twilight told the latter to get ready for dinner and the former to start cooking. Both ponies said nothing before secretly sharing a hoof bump with each other as they headed out of the room and then teleported out of the castle and sneaked away.

By now, the ice sculpture was starting to melt, and Celestia was looking most annoyed. She knew something was up when Twilight went to go check on the food and had taken a long time coming back with each plate. This was probably because Mario hadn't bothered to cook anything before he left. Twilight was fuming to herself over it, but always masked it with an over the top smile when she came into the dining room. Eventually Twilight had sat down beside Celestia, but nothing had been served since Mario and Starlight hadn't shown up.

"Starlight Glimmer should be here, heh, any minute, heh," Twilight stuttered nervously, "Any minute now...and my husband will be out once he's done the final touches on dessert," Twilight then muttered under her breath, "which I had to bake myself that good for nothing..." She then saw Celestia glaring at her. Twilight chuckled sheepishly as Celestia took a fork and examined it.

"Nevermind," Twilight remarked, "How about I introduce everyone?" Twilight then pointed to Muffins, Dj-pon3, and Cranky, who were sitting at the opposite end of the table. Muffins waved and said hello as she ate one of the dinner muffins.

"Our friendship lessons are going so well," Twilight continued in an over the top tone, "She made three new friends! And Mario didn't help her at all."

"Isn't that because you..." Muffins nearly told Celestia about Twilight and Mario's fight until the purple alicorn shoved another muffin in her mouth.

"You love the muffins, why thank you!" said Twilight, "Starlight has great taste in friends. I don't know where she would've learned that!" Twilight gave another nervous laugh. Celestia just looked very bored and annoyed. It was obvious Celestia didn't believe anything Twilight was saying.

"Starlight Glimmer?" said Cranky, "I thought you said "nosehair trimmers". What's going on? I'm hungry! And my nose is too hairy." He then snorted and banged a fore-hoof on the table. Celestia just rolled her eyes as Twilight bit her lip to hide the fact she was panicking.

"Ha-ha, Cranky Doodle," said Twilight, "You're so funny! If you'll excuse me, I'm gonna check the kitchen. Maybe she and Mario got lost amongst the, uh... artichokes!" She then chuckled nervously once more and ran out of the room. She had barely entered the hallway and closed the door before she growled angrily.

"Mario Star, when I find you, you're gonna get it!" Twilight said angrily before heading out of the castle. It didn't take long before Twilight was walking about town in search of her husband and her pupil.

"Starlight? Mario?" Twilight called out, "Has anyone seen Starlight Glimmer? Or my husband for that matter? I'm looking for them." Twilight then rushed off when there was no reply. She then came to a stop when she saw Trixie's stage all set up at the bottom of a hill and several ponies were gathering at the stage.

"Trixie!" Twilight said bitterly. At the bottom of the hill, Applejack and Pinkie had come to see the show.

"So this is the Humble and Penitent Trixie's Equestria Apology Tour?" said Pinkie as she looked at the stage.

"Ain't that a mouthful of molasses," Applejack remarked.

"It's a working title!" Trixie retorted as she stuck her head out of the curtain and then retreated. Backstage, Starlight and Mario were with her.

"The special effects are all set to go," said Mario. Trixie smiled excitedly.

"Oh, this is gonna be the greatest night of my life!" said Trixie before remembering Starlight and Mario were with her, "Excuse me. Our lives." Starlight just sighed.

"I'm so glad we're not at that boring dinner," said Starlight.

"It's probably not that boring if you wanna watch my wife make a monkey out of herself," Mario remarked then added with a British accent, "by jove, I forget to leave behind some bananas!" Starlight giggled.

"You should've," said Trixie, "Twilight could've given Princess Celestia the slip."

"That wouldn't be very a-peel-ing," said Mario. The three ponies then laughed.

"Ahem?" said a voice as Starlight and Mario winced to see that Twilight had found them and was looking very angry.

"Oh, we are so busted," said Mario as Starlight just looked worried. Trixie was the only pony who didn't look worried.

"You just decided to skip our dinner without telling me?" Twilight said sternly to Starlight specifically, "Are you aware that, at this very moment, Princess Celestia is waiting for you at table with exquisite silverware placement?" Twilight stuck her nose into Starlight's face.

"Will you stop talking to Starlight like she's a little filly!" Mario retorted sternly, "You're still making this dinner about you!"

"I'll deal with you later!" Twilight yelled at Mario before speaking to Starlight, "Well?"

"Yes, but-" Starlight tried to explain.

"This is exactly why I didn't want you to make friends with Trixie!" Twilight scolded angrily.

"A-ha!" Trixie interjected as she got into Twilight's nose. Starlight and Mario just stood at the right of the cerulean unicorn, "You still don't trust me! But guess what, Princess? It doesn't matter if you want to give me a second chance or not! Starlight and Mario had to choose between you and me, and they chose me! Your pupil and your husband chose me! So, HA! I win!" Mario and Starlight were stunned.

"You win?" Starlight and Mario said together, looking puzzled.

"That sounds like you just made friends with us to beat Twilight," Starlight pointed out.

"Exactly!" Trixie gloated. Mario and Starlight were devastated and they both looked deeply hurt. Trixie soon realized her mistake as she saw both ponies were fighting back tears.

"Wait! I mean, no!" Trixie replied, trying to do damage control, "I got caught up in the moment. I like you. Both of you. Beating Twilight was just a bonus." Trixie then gasped and face-hoofed herself. Twilight gave her a glare from the background, "Saying that didn't help, did it?" Mario was the first to look at Trixie with a teary eyes.

"Ever since I first saw you get your cutie mark in magic, all I ever wanted was to be your friend," said Mario angrily, "Despite everything you did to tear me apart, I forgave you! I gave you a second chance! I defended you when my wife was willing to blame for you my problems! And this is the thanks I get?! You using me and Starlight to bloat your stupid ego?!"

"No, Mario!" Trixie retorted sadly as Mario started to cry, "I didn't mean..."

"Yes you did, Trixie!" Starlight snapped and started to cry as well, "I should've known. Nopony else in Ponyville wanted to be my friend! Why would you?" Starlight and Mario both started sobbing as they ran out of the backstage area and into the background.

"Wait, it's not like that!" Trixie called out, "I am your friend!" It was no good. Mario and Starlight had both disappeared. Trixie just groaned sadly when Twilight came out.

"Well, you won," said Twilight sternly from the background, "I hope you're happy!"

"Looks like the Great and Powerful Trixie is back to a solo show," Trixie sighed and put a fore-hoof to her forehead. Twilight then noticed just how sad and upset the cerulean unicorn looked.

"Trixie?" Twilight called out with concern.

"...Which is exactly the way she likes it!" Trixie retorted angrily, "Thank you, Princess Twilight, for getting rid of those annoying ponies who wanted to be my first friends! I am not sad at all! I definitely don't feel as if my heart is breaking into a million pieces." Despite her efforts to play off her hurt feelings, poor Trixie was crying as she finished speaking and slammed the door to the backstage area. Trixie quickly wiped her eyes and snorted.

"It was for the best Trixie," she told herself, "you hurt Mario so much and you probably would've hurt Starlight too. You don't deserve friends. Why else did you drive Mario away all those years ago? And now you've done it again...it's not your fault Mario believed you and thinks he's worthless...and who's to say you won't make Starlight feel the same way..." It was at that moment all the guilt and shame bubbled over and Trixie couldn't contain it anymore.

"GAH!" Trixie cried out as she buried her face into the floor and wept. Little did she know that Twilight was leaning against the door and had heard everything. Twilight felt ashamed. She knew she was to blame for this mess.

"I did exactly what Mario did to Starlight not too long ago," Twilight said sadly to herself, "and now I've just ruined a friendship for three ponies instead of two..."

Not too far away, Starlight was just sitting on a patch of grass as she continued to cry. Mario didn't waste any time putting a supportive fore-hoof on her shoulder. Starlight looked up at him with tear-filled eyes.

"I'm so sorry Starlight," Mario croaked, his own eyes full of tears. Starlight was taken aback.

"What?! Why?!" Starlight interjected, "You're not the one who pretended to be my friend just so they could one-up Twilight!"

"But I still encouraged you to be friends with her," said Mario, and was soon crying as well, "I really believed that Trixie had changed and that she really wanted a second chance. I honestly believed that she could help you, maybe even more than me because she knows what it's like to fall down a path far darker than anything I've had to deal with. I know how hard it is to mess up so badly that you just want to show that those mistakes don't define who you really are. Even I went out of my way to show that I believed in her. I usually pretty good at judging character and knowing whether a pony can be trusted or if something is off. Guess this just proves I'm not as good at that as I thought. She made a fool out of the both of us and I let you down." Starlight looked at Mario sympathetically.

"You didn't let me down Mario," said Starlight, "I honestly thought what the three of us had was real friendship. I was so sure of it, but now..." Starlight's tears began anew as Mario pulled her close as he began to cry as well.

"She hurt you too didn't she?" Starlight replied.

"Don't worry about it," Mario sobbed, "This is about you, not me. Twilight's been selfish enough for the two us lately!"

"Hey, don't go writing yourself off like that," Starlight said firmly, "Yes, I'm upset and yes, I need a real friend right now, but you're feelings matter too. I wasn't the only pony Trixie hurt tonight. I know you thought there was real friendship between you and her too. After all, she hurt you just like I did, she told me she said sorry for it, and you forgave her and offered to be her friend. From what I see, you did everything right."

"So did you," said Mario. Starlight felt her tears increase.

"Then why do I feel like I'll never truly find another friend who will love and accept me?" Starlight croaked before she gave into her tears. Mario just held her close, kissed the side of her head, and cried with her until neither pony had any tears left to shed.

Once Trixie had managed to calm down, she used her magic to activate the spotlight. With Mario gone, she didn't know how to activate those special effects Mario had set up. She didn't care to figure out it. In fact, she didn't even care about her show and it showed as she appeared on stage wearing her hat and cape with a very blunt look on her face.

"Come one, come all," Trixie announced with no enthusiasm in her voice, "Come and see the Pathetic and Friendless Trixie's "Way-To-Go-Dum-Dum-You-Really-Messed-It-Up-This-Time Repentance Tour"." The crowd just looked confused.

"It's a working title!" Trixie snapped before going back to her unenthusiastic tone, "Behold, your fears come true. A pony-eating manticore." It was then a chained manticore was presented and it roared at the crowd. Fluttershy, who was with Applejack, Pinkie, and her husband Shenran, grabbed Applejack and trembled nervously. Shenran quickly pulled his wife close.

"You're okay, sweetie," he said soothingly, "I'll protect you." Fluttershy just whimpered in reply.

"For tonight, the Great and Powerful Trixie will be performing the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive," Trixie told the crowd. Everypony gasped and Fluttershy used a fore-leg to cover her eyes.

"Now, now, save your gasps for when I defy the beast's jaws of doom and appear inside this black box," Trixie explained before adding dramatically, "I was supposed to perform this trick with my great and powerful assistant, who was also my great and powerful friend! I even had a familiar face going to help out as well, who was also a great and powerful friend!" And I lost them all to my stupid ego. Trixie didn't say that last part as the crowd divided to let the cerulean unicorn make her way toward the cannon. It was then revealed that Starlight and Mario had ran just above the hill where Trixie's show had taken place. Both of them were looking upset as Starlight wiped her cheek since they were still sticky from all her tears. Mario had just sniffled again when Twilight appeared and walked up to them.

"Don't say it, Twilight," said Mario sadly, knowing she was behind them and before the purple pony could speak, "You were right all along about Trixie." Twilight just looked at them sympathetically.

"Actually, I owe you both an apology," said Twilight.

"Mario, you we're right," said Twilight, "I wasn't giving Trixie a second chance. I was treating her the same way you treated Starlight when you didn't want to give her a second chance. I was more worried about impressing Celestia that I wasn't even trusting my own student. I broke my promise to listen to you more. I know now that you were only trying to help me when you said to cancel the dinner. I'm actually kind of glad you weren't there. I did make a monkey out of myself and I think Celestia knows it too." Mario sighed.

"I'm sorry too," said Mario, "I only skipped the dinner because..." Twilight then kissed him to make the alicorn prince stop talking and smiled.

"I know," said Twilight, "Can you forgive me for ignoring you...again?" Twilight gave him puppy dog eyes. Mario just smirked and rolled his eyes.

"You're lucky you're so cute, Twilight Sparkle," said Mario, "but yes I can." Twilight giggled as they shared a nose nuzzle. She then went to speak to Starlight, who was still looking glum. Mario sat beside the lilac unicorn and put a fore-leg around her shoulder.

"Starlight, when Mario and I first came to Ponyville," Twilight told her, "Princess Celestia gave us room to make our own decisions and our own friends. Just like my husband does for Di and you, I need to give you the same freedom. I shouldn't have tried to pick and choose your friends for you. Just like us, you have to make your own decisions and your own friends." Mario nodded in agreement. At the bottom of the hill, Trixie was inside the cannon. She had removed her regular hat and was replacing it with a cone-shaped helmet. Then the cannon raised into position for the precise trajectory.

"But...what if Trixie really was using me and Mario just to one-up you?" said Starlight. Even Mario gave her a concerned look.

"From what I've seen," said Twilight, "she's the real thing."

"You sure about that honey?" Mario asked as Trixie lit the fuse with her magic, "I thought I knew when a pony was being sincere or not, but...I'm not feeling so sure anymore."

"Mario, as I recall," said Twilight, "We've all said things we didn't mean. And we've dealt with ponies who's egos have gotten the best of them. That doesn't make them a bad pony. But it's not my place to judge. It's up to you. Both of you." Starlight and Mario just shared unsure looks with each other. Back at the bottom of the hill, the manticore roared and the cannon's fuse was growing shorter and shorter.

"Starlight? Mario?" Trixie called out sadly, "If you're both out there and you still want to be friends, let's be great and powerful together." She then crawled deeper inside the cannon before adding in a timid, but pleading tone, "Please?" It was then the cannon fired and Trixie went flying into the air. The manticore hungrily opened his mouth.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Trixie screamed as she covered her eyes and embraced the inevitable. Within seconds...

GULP!

BURP!

Trixie flew right into the manticore's mouth. He quickly swallowed her and gave a loud burp. The crowd gasped. Fluttershy chose that moment to look and she fainted in Shenran's fore-legs. The audience began chattering with each other before there was a magic zap and the box fell apart and there was Trixie, her cloak and mane looking rather tattered, alive and in shell-shock.

"Behold, the Peat and Growerful Triskie...!" she said woozily before falling over to the side. There was a brief pause before the crowds cheered, including Fluttershy, who had recovered. It was then a familiar lilac unicorn appeared and helped Trixie to her hooves. That was when Trixie saw her and was surprised. Starlight just smiled and gave her a wink, which Trixie had a grateful smile on her face.

"And now, I'm proud to introduce one of my great and powerful assistants!" said Trixie before saying quietly, "And best friend," Then went back to her louder voice, "Starlight Glimmer!" The crowd cheered.

"And remember folks," said Mario as he descended from above with a rope, "All of Trixie's tricks were done with her safety in mind," He then landed and whispered, "and also because we care about her," Trixie smiled as Mario spoke loudly, "So please, do not try this at home!" Trixie chuckled.

"And this is my second great and powerful assistant and stage director," said Trixie before saying normally, "and also my friend," Before speaking loudly again, "Prince Mario Star!" The crowd then cheered loudly once more as all three ponies took a bow, including the manticore, before the curtain closed before the three ponies. Trixie and Starlight shared a hug with each other, but all Trixie could do for Mario was look away awkwardly.

"Trixie, I thought we were friends too," said Mario, "You don't have to hug me, but...why do you look so uncomfortable?"

"It's not that I'm uncomfortable, Mario," said Trixie, "I just...I just..." Trixie could feel her emotions overwhelming her when Twilight walked into the backstage area.

"Trixie!" Twilight called out.

"What do you want?" Trixie asked defensively with an eye roll.

"I was wrong. I'm sorry," said Twilight and walked up to the cerulean unicorn, "And I have to hand it to you. I could've never pulled off a trick like that." Starlight and Mario smiled.

"Thank you," said Trixie as she removed her hat and bowed her head, "Princess." Starlight, Trixie, and Mario peeked out of the curtain. Mario used his magic to spell out Trixie's name using some mini-neon lights and Trixie launched some fireworks into the air. Then the three shared a hoof bump together.

"So, now that the shows over," said Mario, "what were you going to say earlier?" Trixie winced before looking nervously at Twilight, giving the impression she didn't want Twilight there. Twilight sighed.

"Trixie, you can tell him the truth," said Twilight gently.

"What truth?" Trixie asked skeptically.

"I heard what you said after you closed the door," said Twilight, "I haven't told anypony about it. I'm hoping you'll tell him yourself." Trixie's body trembled as she bit her lip.

"Trixie, if there's anypony you can open up to, it's Mario," said Starlight, "He's already made it clear that he can relate to you to some extent. And he won't think you're weak if you need to cry or scream or vent either. I think I can figure out why you're always acting rather awkward around him. But only you can confirm or deny it."

"I don't deserve his friendship! I just DON'T!" Trixie bellowed before she lowered her head and started to cry, "I hurt him too much...I'm a bad pony..." Mario looked at her with a stern look on his face.

"Trixie Lunamoon," said Mario in a firm tone, which surprised Starlight and Trixie, the former because she had never known Trixie had a last name and the latter because Mario had said her full name, "I'm going to ask you a question and I want you to be completely honest with me." Trixie looked at Mario fearfully with eyes filled with falling tears.

"You told us earlier today that you didn't know how to do the Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive in your own," said Mario as Trixie cringed, "Did you somehow manage to figure out the trick? Or did you just act out of faith that either Starlight or myself would save you in time?" Now Twilight was giving Trixie a concerned look. Even Starlight had a firm expression on her face.

"Nopony wants me here," Trixie sobbed, "Twilight didn't want me here or to be your friends. I drove you both away. I felt like I had nothing to lose if I just went for it. Either I figure out the trick on the fly or...or...I accept my fate..."

"Trixie..." said Twilight, feeling more guilty and ashamed as Trixie cried harder. Mario wasted no time pulling her into a hug. He was now crying as well.

"Listen Trixie," said Mario, trying to keep his composure as he spoke and shed his own tears, "If Starlight and I are going to be your friends, please...don't do that again." Mario's voice cracked as he finished his sentence, even Starlight was tearing up.

"Yes, Trixie," said Starlight, "I know it's hard to move on from the past, especially when it feels like other ponies won't let you forget. But you don't have to give up. I'll be your best friend and we can do great and powerful things together and Mario can be like a big brother, who will be there for you and listen when you need to talk."

"She's right, Trixie," said Mario, "You don't have to be a soloist anymore. You've got two ponies who would be more than happy to be your friends."

"Make that three," said Twilight as Trixie looked at her in surprise.

"But...but...but..." Trixie stuttered.

"Listen, I was never trying to upstage you," said Trixie, "I only wanted to protect my friends. The first time was from the Ursa Minor Snips and Snails brought to town. The second time was so we could get you to remove the Alicorn Amulet. It was never about being better than you."

"I...know...that now," said Trixie sadly, "But you and Mario are still better than me. After all, you both are the Princess and Prince of Friendship. I'm just a struggling magician who can't be taken seriously..."

"Oh, I'm sure you gain alot of respect for that last trick, Trixie," said Twilight as she put a fore-hoof on the cerulean unicorn's back.

"You think so?" Trixie asked timidly.

"We know so," said Mario and Starlight together. Trixie just sniffled and was now feeling better as the two ponies gave her a group hug. Twilight just smiled. Then Starlight's and Mario's stomachs began to growl loudly. Trixie and Twilight just stared as the two ponies blushed as they pulled away from Trixie.

"I guess with all the excitement, we skipped dinner," said Starlight sheepishly as Trixie chuckled. Twilight giggled but then gave a strained squeak.

"Dinner...dinner. Dinner!" Twilight said in a panic, "Princess Celestia and the dinner!"

"Wait!" said Mario, "Are you saying that Mom is still at the castle?!" Starlight, Trixie, and Mario just looked at Twilight, who was now just smiled and sweating nervously.

Back at the castle, the ice sculpture was now half melted, and Celestia was feeling very bored and agitated.

"How do you get your hair to do that all the time?" Cranky asked. Celestia's only reply was a long sigh and an eye roll. By the time Twilight, Mario, Starlight, and Trixie arrived at the castle, Celestia was just sitting alone, looking very cranky. Mario was the first to walk into the dining room and saw that the sun princess was alone. He figured that she had sent the others Twilight had invited home. Twilight gulped nervously, but then Mario went into the dining room before her.

"Mom?" Mario asked gently. He flinched when he saw the irritated look on Celestia's face.

"So...you finally decided to show up?" Celestia asked in a slow but furious tone.

"I'm...I'm sorry, Mom," said Mario timidly, "You see..."

"It's my fault, your majesty," said Trixie as she removed her hat, "I was the one who convinced Starlight and Mario not to show up tonight."

"You don't say?" Celestia said in a very blunt tone. Trixie looked really nervous as Twilight stood beside her.

"If you're willing to stay a little longer," said Twilight, "My husband can make us some fresh food to eat and I'll explain everything. No more cover ups. No more fake new friends. Just the truth." The four ponies held their breath as Celestia just looked at them bluntly. There was a long silence as they waited for the sun princess to give her answer. Celestia gave a long sigh.

"Very well," said Celestia, "Since it appears the lesson here is how important is it to give a pony a second chance." The four ponies all smiled nervously at each other. In time, Mario had gotten new dishes ready and everypony was enjoying themselves. Celestia was definitely in lighter spirits once Twilight had told her everything that had happened. Initially, Trixie tried to take the blame, but Celestia wouldn't let her and told the cerulean unicorn that she could address the sun princess informally, which Trixie reluctantly agreed to. Then Celestia, as punishment in her words, told Trixie and Starlight about the time Twilight went crazy trying to find a friendship problem. Starlight and Trixie laughed.

"Who knew miss perfect would go crazy just because she didn't want to be tardy with her work," Trixie teased, "the world isn't going to explode if you miss an assignment."

"Oh hush up," Twilight retorted with bright pink cheeks as she shoved some food in her mouth. It was then Mario returned with the main course.

"How's everypony enjoying the food?" Mario asked.

"Delicious as always, Mario," said Starlight.

"Indeed," said Trixie, "and this is coming from a pony whose traveled all over Equestria and tasted all sorts of good eats. I never knew you were such a good cook."

"Guess all those culinary classes paid off," said Mario as he went to take a seat beside his wife, "I hope Mom wasn't too harsh with you."

"Not...really..." said Twilight sheepishly, "Just a lecture about not showing off being a teacher, trusting my pupil, and that I need to listen to you more..."

"That last one definitely needs alot of work," Mario remarked.

"Mario..." Twilight warned as the alicorn prince chuckled.

"Kidding dear," said Mario as he began eating his share of the food and faced the others, "So...anything happen while I was...WAH?!" Mario noticed Celestia was holding a familiar album with her magic and showing Trixie the pictures inside of it. Apparently, during Mario's birthday, Celestia had shown Starlight the pictures, but the lilac unicorn was enjoying seeing them again.

"MOM! Must you bring that thing every time we hang out?!"Mario spluttered.

"Every time?" Starlight asked.

"During the last summit," said Twilight, "Celestia showed some of the dignitaries his baby pictures." Trixie and Starlight snickered as Mario groaned.

"Why must you embarrass me in front my new friends?" Mario asked Celestia.

"Better you than me," said Twilight as Mario gave her a glare.

"In all due respect, Mario," said Trixie, "You are a very cute baby. You must have had fun playing in the hedge maze when you lost your diaper..." Trixie and Starlight laughed as Mario just groaned.

"I better go check on the cake," said Mario bluntly as he left the dining room. Trixie saw Mario walk off and stopped laughing. Starlight soon did the same and the others noticed how glum Trixie looked.

"Trixie, what's wrong?" Starlight asked.

"I didn't mean to hurt Mario's feelings," said Trixie sadly, "I just found that story funny. I hope he doesn't hate me for laughing."

"He won't," said Celestia, "He just gets annoyed because I like to tell the story over and over again. He was quite mischievous when he had his magic fluctuations as a baby." Starlight and Twilight giggled. Trixie just smiled bravely.

"Oh...ok..." said Trixie, but still looked worried.

"Trixie, please remember that the past is behind us all," said Celestia, "My son has forgiven you and I have as well. I don't see the same pony who used to bully and hurt my son as a colt, but a pony who had gone through tough trails on her life and is now trying to be a better pony. I know things didn't go well for you in Magic School, but I am glad to see that you didn't let that stop you from living your dream. I believe you're the pony Starlight needs for a friend." Trixie felt her eyes tear up as she gave Celestia a smile.

"Thank you...Celestia," said Trixie, "That means alot to me. But I still can't help but feel so guilty. Starlight told me that Mario's been feeling gloomy because of those hurtful things I said to him. I wish I could undo the damage..." Trixie let a single tear fall down her cheek as Mario re-entered the room with a serving cart that had a rather large chocolate fudge cake on it.

"There is a way you can help me heal," said Mario as he placed the cake on the table.

"Please tell me," Trixie pleaded.

"Answer me this question, Trixie," said Mario, "Do you think I'm special?"

"Yes, of course," said Trixie, "you've been so sweet and kind to me since I arrived. You are a great friend and, at the risk of getting Twilight jealous, you are really cute." Mario blushed as Starlight, Celestia, and Twilight giggled.

"Thanks..." said Mario, feeling slightly embarassed and quickly recomposed himself, "and...everypony tells me that I can trust my friends to help me get past feeling so...worthless. Can I trust you to help me too? Not because you want to make things up to me, but because you care?" Trixie smiled.

"I do care about you," said Trixie, "And yes, you can trust me to help you feel better. If you don't mind somepony like me for a sister?" Trixie smiled sheepishly.

"Then, mind if I say, welcome to the family, Trixie?" Mario offered as Trixie put a fore-hoof on her heart, smiled, and they shared a heartfelt hug together. Twilight and Starlight both awed.

"I guess Mario needed a new friend just as much as you, Starlight," Twilight said to the lilac unicorn.

"True," said Starlight, "but now I have two friends who understand how I feel and can help me get past my own doubts, fears, and insecurities."

"And we know you'll help us with ours," said Trixie as she, Mario, and Starlight shared another group hug together. Twilight smiled, feeling very pleased that despite her own mistakes, everything had turned out alright and both Starlight and Mario made a new friend. She then turned to smile at Celestia, but found the sun princess was missing.

"Hey, where's..." Twilight then turned and gasped as her jaw hit the floor. Starlight, Trixie, and Mario pulled away and saw that Celestia was just standing next to the cake and eating it right on the spot without even cutting a slice.

"Mom!" Mario interjected, making Celestia raised her head and her cheeks were smothered in chocolate fudge frosting.

"What?" Celestia asked innocently, "you know how much I love chocolate fudge cake." Celestia then went back to eating it as Mario just smirked.

"You know all that chocolate is going straight to your hips right?" Mario asked casually.

SPLAT!

Celestia's reply was throwing a large chunk of chocolate at Mario's face. Twilight, Starlight, and Trixie laughed. Then Celestia surprised everypony by throwing some chocolate at Twilight, which made Mario join the laughter. Then Twilight tried chuckling some chocolate at Trixie, which the cerulean unicorn shrieked and grabbed Mario to used him for a shield.

"Aw come on!" Mario groaned, "Why do I have to be the shield?" It was then some chocolate headed toward Starlight. Starlight yelped as she grabbed Mario so he took the hit as well.

"Why me?" Mario whined.

"Because you're a gentlecolt and sweetheart who protect us ladies," Trixie replied as Starlight and Trixie giggled and shared a high hoof. Mario rolled his eyes and then smirked as he used his magic to grab some chocolate of his own..

"Oh, ladies," said Mario sweetly when...

SPLAT!

Mario threw chocolate at both their faces.

"CAKE FIGHT!" Celestia called out and soon the five ponies were laughing and tossing chocolate cake at each other until the dining room was completed coated in it. That was when Celestia revealed the cake fight was a trap...for Twilight.

As if being told about an embarassing moment in front of Trixie and Starlight wasn't punishment enough, Twilight had to clean up the dining room all alone! Mario did offer to help, but it only took Celestia giving Mario her own version of "The Stare" to make him change his mind.

Once Celestia had returned home late that night, Mario offered Trixie one of the guest bedrooms for the night, which she accepted since it wasn't often she got to sleep in a regular bed. Once she had washed the chocolate off herself, she curled up into the guest bed and closed her eyes. She spent those late night minutes thinking about her best friend Starlight and her new brother Mario. Then she fell happily asleep, snuggled cozily in the guest bed blankets.

For Mario and Starlight had given Trixie more than just friendship, forgiveness, and a second chance...

They had given Trixie hope.

And for the first time in years, Trixie felt true happiness.

A bit more dramatic version of this episode, but after everything but Mario and Trixie had to go through. It was time to they finally made peace with each other and become friends. Of course, like the show, Trixie will still bond more with Starlight, but I'm sure in the future she'll have moments of confiding with Mario like everypony else. I definitely want to find a moment where Trixie can interact with Diamond Tiara.

I hope you all enjoyed the alternate opening to this chapter. The opening was meant to show just how much Mario's bond with Starlight has grown and its pretty much as strong as it is with the rest of his "brothers and sisters".

As for the ending, I'm sure there were plenty of others who wanted to know what happened to that dinner Celestia got left behind at. And did Celestia ever retaliate with Twilight for lying to her or wasting her time? We all know Celestia was not happy being there...

And I'm sure alot of fans were wondering if Trixie knew Starlight would save her from the Manticore or if she truly felt so ashamed that she felt her only choice was to let herself get eaten. I still needed to keep the scenario family appropriate, but I hope I was able to answer that question for everypony.

Next Time; Rainbow finally joins the Wonderbolts, but it's not exactly a great first impression. Can Mario help Rainbow open up about a certain issue or at least help Spitfire understand why Rainbow's acting..."off character"?

Peace Pony Fans!