Wow, what a gorgeous day, I thought as I walked out among the countryside outside of Ponyville. I whistled along with the tunes I was playing from my iPhone to the Bluetooth headset situated snuggly on my head. It had been five days since the incident with Rarity. Zecora wasn't able to walk with me to town today due to her experimenting with a time-sensitive potion, so I'd walked to town on my own that day.

My first meeting with Cadance had already taken place three days ago. As promised, it wasn't really a therapy session, more of a meeting between two potential friends. We'd had more tea in my old house and had discussed our week. Nothing major had happened to me aside from the preparations for moving my house to Ponyville and the incident with the girls at the boutique.

In return, she'd told me about her first date with Shining Armor, who I learned was actually Twilight's older brother. It had apparently been magical, in every sense of the word. It might have been cliché (her words, not mine), but she hadn't cared since she'd thoroughly enjoyed herself, even if the first half was awkward for the two. She thanked me for my advice and hoped to introduce the two of us at some point.

As the song I was listening to faded out, I thought I heard the familiar CLOP CLOP CLOP sound I now associated with Ponies approaching from a turn in the road. Not only that, but I heard what sounded like wheels on the road. I reached up, hit the pause button on my headset, and waited to see what would turn the corner.

A light blue Pony with pale azure hair came into view. She had her nose buried in a book which was surrounded by a purple glow. Okay, so she's probably a Unicorn, I thought. She was wearing, of all things, a purple wizard hat with blue and orange stars sewn onto it. The cape she wore was of an identical design and held in place by a light blue jewel. But what caught my attention was the cart this Pony was hitched to. My jaw dropped. I never knew Ponies did that.

She was walking a bit fast, and I noticed that she was too distracted to see the sudden turn in the road ahead of her. "You might wanna look out!" I shouted.

The Pony, startled, looked up. When she saw me, her purple eyes widened and she reared up. This, unfortunately, caused the cart she was on to lose balance. It flipped onto its side, pulling the now helpless Pony along for the ride and causing her to drop the book. "Not again!"

I rushed over. "Are you alright?" I asked as I began undoing the harness she wore.

The mare looked at me again, this time with great suspicion. It reminded me of the looks I got from many of the Ponies in town at first. "Stay away!" she demanded with a glare mixed with fear.

I continued undoing her harness. "How else am I gonna help you get your cart back up?" I asked calmly, trying to reassure her. "Besides, it's my fault this happened."

Once she was free of the harness, she jumped up and backed away from me to a safe distance. "What are you?" she asked. I saw her tremble a bit slightly.

I made my way to the fallen side of the cart and began trying to lift it up. "My name's Jethro Bethridge. I'm a human from…very far away."

The Pony watched me with a careful glance as I did my best to push the cart back upright. After a while, her horn began glowing purple. The cart was surrounded by the same magical energy and in a few seconds, the cart was standing back up again. With one difference. "Ah, damn it! That wheel was just fixed!" the Pony swore.

This caused my eyebrows to shoot up. I'd never heard a Pony swear like that before. "What happened?" I asked, moving to get a good look where she was looking. "Oh…I see."

One of the wheels had come completely off and was lying on its side. The pale blue Unicorn lifted the wheel up with her magic and looked it over. She must have been oblivious to my presence as I walked up to the cart and examined the side where the wheel had been. I looked around the ground for anything else that might have come loose. Finding nothing in the immediate vicinity, I got on my hands and knees to look under the cart itself. I didn't see anything wrong with the axel either, at first. Not until getting a closer look. "Here's the problem," I said, pointing to the edge where axel was meant to run through the wheel. "The edge of the axel snapped clean off."

The Pony came up and looked at the spot where I was pointing. She glowered and threw the now useless wheel aside. "Substandard workshop! They promised the wheels wouldn't break! There's a hundred bits down the drain!"

I walked up to the discarded wheel and looked at it carefully. The broken piece of axel was still stuck through the center. Pulling it out, I brought it back to the cart and put it back. Since it wasn't moving, it stabilized the cart for the moment. "You know, I'm sure there's someone in town who can fix this."

The Unicorn frowned. "I can't afford to fix this!"

"It's on me today," I said, reaching into my pocket and retrieving my new money pouch. Twirling it around, I tossed it into the air and caught it with a bit of flair before putting it back in my pocket. "Besides, it's kinda my fault this happened. If I hadn't startled you, that wheel would probably still be okay."

She looked at me incredulously. "Are you being serious right now?"

I pointed towards Ponyville. "Very serious. Like I said, it's my fault anyway, so this is my way for making it up to you."

Her incredulous look remained on her face, but she looked back at the wheel, then at the town, then back at me. "Fine. Don't let it be said that the Great and Powerful Trixie can't be gracious and accept help. Trixie has a show in that town anyway."

As she walked back to the harness to hook herself back up, I stared at her. Wait, Trixie? That's her name? I immediately thought of my own Trixie. I took a deep breath, trying to keep my own thoughts and emotions in check. No, this isn't my Trixie. This is a Pony with the same name. Hell, they don't even sound or act alike, I told myself as I pushed the wheel back in place deeper.

"Trixie wants to know where this shop is," the light blue mare demanded after she picked up her book and put it back in the cart.

"There's a shop on Stirrup Street called Hay's Hardware," I replied as I put my hand on the side of the cart to keep it steady. "They've got a little workshop in the back that'll fix you right up."

"Then what are we waiting for? The Great and Powerful Trixie can't disappoint her fans. Lead the way," Trixie said, beginning to pull the cart.

Boy, this Trixie's nothing like mine, I thought with a small smirk as the two of us continued carefully heading down the road. As we walked, I got a closer look at her cart. It seemed simple enough, having bright yellow wooden siding with a window on each side, both decorated with purple hearts, a red tiled roof, a symbol of the crescent moon on the front, and simple wooden wheels. I wasn't sure what to make of this Trixie, so I decided to ask. "So…are you some kind of traveling stage magician?" I asked.

She turned to face me, a look of pride on her face. "The Great and Powerful Trixie is no mere stage magician!" she said in a clearly boastful tone. "You, my strange human, are in the presence of the most magical Unicorn in all of Equestria!"

Ah, now she's in her element. "Really, now? Do tell. I'm all ears."

Her chest seemed to puff up more at that, and I listened in amusement as she began to regale me with a tale. "When the Ponies of Hoofington had nopony to turn to, the Great and Powerful Trixie stepped up and with her amazing feats of magic, sent the dreaded Ursa Major back to its cave in the Everfree Forest!"

"Oh? Pardon me for asking, but what the hell is an Ursa Major?"

"A fearsome beast that lives within the Everfree Forest!" Trixie said with a tone meant to instill fear into an audience. "A bearlike creature made of nighttime sky and stars! It towered over Trixie, but she vanquished the foe posthaste!"

Oooo…kay…I'll just ask Zecora later. Or Twilight if I see her first. I simply nodded. "Remind me never to go looking for one," I said. There was something about her story, though, that didn't ring true. Oh, maybe ALL OF IT! Lack of details, for one. Such a short story, but I decided to keep my thoughts to myself about it.

"So, Trixie is curious as to what kind of creature you are," she turned to look at me briefly. "She has never seen a human before."

"Well, it's hard to explain, but I'll try," I said. "I already said I came from far away, really far away. So far away, in fact, that magic doesn't exist."

"You're from a land with no magic?!" Trixie exclaimed incredulously.

"Pretty much," I said.

Her incredulity turned into a glimmer. "Perhaps the Great and Powerful Trixie can perform there! She will wow other humans!"

"Well, it's more like it's a place where magic doesn't work," I corrected. "So you'd probably not be able to perform unfortunately. And…it's nearly impossible to get to at the moment."

"Oh…well damn," she said. "Well, no matter. The Great and Powerful Trixie can find other places for her show!"

"I'm sure you can," I said. "Oh look, we're almost back into town," I added as I pointed ahead.

"Trixie isn't blind," the pale blue mare said. "Now, where's this workshop?"

"Once again, Trixie thanks you for your help," the sky-blue mare said as she pulled her cart out of the workshop. The brand-new spoke replacement hadn't been the only thing upgraded. The owner of the hardware shop, a dark green stallion named Iron Craft also replaced the other spoke as well as all four wheels. I'd even paid to have her cart washed, which is where I learned that Trixie's cart could expand and turn into a stage. Once the washing was finished, it was getting to be late evening and the sun was just beginning to set. "Now her cart is sure look spectacular for her performance later today!"

"Today? Isn't it a bit late for that?" I asked, pointing at the setting sun. "Wouldn't tomorrow be a better time to do it? I mean, all the Ponies are going home to get dinner and sleep."

Trixie's ears flattened a bit and a frown creased her face. "Well…I suppose you're right. One more day won't harm anypony."

"Hey, monkey-man!"

Turning, I saw a familiar pink and green drake running up to me, a wide grin on his face. And a handlebar mustache on his lips. "Spike? Where'd you get that?" I asked, holding out my fist.

"Twilight cast a spell on me that let me have this mustache!" he beamed as our fists connected. "What do you think?"

I grinned. "I think that your caretaker needs to get out more," I joked as I ruffled Spike's head. "But you look good, dragon-boy."

"Whoa, what are you?" Trixie asked, looking at Spike from where she was standing a few feet away from me.

Spike took notice of Trixie for the first time. "Oh, my name's Spike, and I'm a Dragon."

When I saw Trixie blanch a bit, I quickly added, "No need to worry about him. He's a youngling by Dragon's standards, and he's really nice once you get to know him. Spike, this is, ahem, the Great and Powerful Trrrrixie!" I rolled my R's just like she normally did. "She's a traveling magician."

"Really?" Spike looked at her, intrigued.

Trixie, looking more emboldened, grinned and stood up prouder. "Feast your eyes on the greatest wielder of magic in all of Equestria, the Great and Powerful Trrrixie!" She stood on her hind legs and made a pose.

Spike made a face. "Hmph, yeah right," he muttered. "Nopony's as good as-"

"Hey, Jethro!" A familiar voice called out, interrupting Spike.

I turned and saw a familiar teal colored Unicorn trotting up towards me, a kindly smile on her face. Beside her, I saw an Earth Pony with a beige coat, a curly blue mane and tail, both with pink streaks through it and light cerulean eyes. "Oh! Lyra! How's it going?"

"It's going great!" she said. "This is Bon Bon, my best friend."

"It's nice to meet you, Mr. Bethridge," Bon Bon said.

"Call me Jethro, please," I said.

Lyra grinned, then turned to Trixie. "Oh? A new Pony in town? Hello there, welcome to Ponyville."

Trixie, who looked a bit miffed at having been temporarily ignored, nodded a bit dismissively at her. "Thanks," she said a bit disingenuously.

"Ladies, this is Trixie," I said as means of introduction. "She's a traveling magician who'll be performing for the town tomorrow."

"Oooh! That sounds like fun!" Lyra said. "What time and where? I'd love to watch this."

"Me too," Bon Bon said.

"Trixie will perform her show at ten in the morning sharp," Trixie, once more looking prideful, puffed out her chest proudly.

"We'll be there!" Lyra said happily. "See you all tomorrow?"

"Sure," I said, waving to the happy pair as they headed off.

Trixie stretched just then, yawning. "Well, Trixie is tired, so she's going to find a place to set up camp for the night." With that, she started trotting off towards the edge of town. "Be sure to come see Trixie's show tomorrow!"

Spike and I watched her go, me with a wry smile and Spike with crossed arms and a frown on his face. "Something about her rubs me the wrong way," Spike said.

"She's a showwoman, Spike. Being boastful to entertain the crowd is her job," I replied. "But I do see your point. She's a bit too prideful. And pride cometh before a fall. No one likes a blowhard."

"Yeah…" Spike replied. He shrugged then turned back to me. "Well, enough about that! There's a new bowling place that just opened up. Twilight and I were gonna go visit it. Wanna come with us?"

"Wait, you have bowling here?" I grinned. "Count me in! Lead on!"

A large crowd had already gathered in Ponyville square by the time I arrived back in town the next day. Trixie's cart was sitting in front of Town Hall, all closed up and waiting for the performance to start. I heard murmurs and whispered conversations from the Ponies standing or flying around. I received a few nods and waves from some Ponies as I made my way to the front of the crowd.

Among the Ponies gathered, I saw a familiar Stetson hat among the crowd. "That you, Applejack?" I called out as I made my way to the farmgirl.

The blonde maned freckled mare turned and smiled when she saw me. "Howdy there, sugarcube. Yer just in time. Ya ever seen this cart before?"

"Yesterday, actually," I said as I sat on the ground. "I ran into the owner and accidentally caused her to crash it."

"Who crashed?" The familiar, boyish voice of Rainbow Dash asked from above me.

"Hey Rainbow," I said as she landed on the other side of me. "The owner of this cart was coming into town yesterday and crashed when I tried to warn her she was going the wrong way. Guess I scared her."

"The cart looks alright to me," Rainbow Dash said, looking over it.

"Well, yeah. I paid for the repairs. It was my fault, after all."

"Hey," Twilight said, walking up to the three of us. Beside her I saw Spike and Rarity. "What's everypony doing here?"

"We're waiting to see what the Pony who owns this cart has in store for all of you," I answered. "Good morning to you three, by the way. Hope you slept well."

"Like a little foal, darling," Rarity said with a warm smile. "What about you?"

"After getting my ass handed to me last night by Twilight and Spike? I slept like a rock."

Twilight looked at me disapprovingly. "Please don't use language like that in front of Spike."

"Or me fer that matter," a frowning Applejack added.

"Right, I'll try," I replied, feeling a bit sheepish. I heard a noise from the cart. "Oh! I think Trixie's starting!" I whispered to them.

They had no time to react to that name before Trixie's voice was heard emanating from the cart. "Come on! Come all! Come and witness the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trrrixie!" As she said this, the cart began to expand, just like I'd seen it done before. A large cloud of smoke exploded from the revealed stage, and there she stood, grinning with a confident expression.

All around me, I heard the Ponies gasping in awe at the sudden appearance of the sky-blue mare. Trixie continued. "Watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie performs the most spectacular feats of magic ever witnessed by Pony eyes!" She finished with a flourish, standing on her hind legs while small fireworks and green flames shot out from the stage.

"My, my, my. What boasting," Rarity said, clear disdain in her voice.

"Come on," Spike added, "Nopony's as magical as Twi…" I watched in amusement as Spike finally noticed Rarity was standing next to him. "Uh…uh…Hey, um…mustache!" With that, he ran off, leaving a bewildered Unicorn watching him go.

Twilight walked up, a clear look of worry on her face. "There's nothing wrong with being talented, is there?"

"Talented? Not at all," I replied, "there's just no reason to toot your own horn about it. Hell, I'd like to think I'm pretty good with numbers and figures, but you don't hear me boasting and saying 'I can calculate the gross sum product of the Canterlot Treasury in my sleep'."

"Like you can fix an entire castle in your sleep?" Rainbow Dash chuckled.

I groaned. "I was trying not to make that kind of joke…Now hush. It's just entertainment. Let's watch, shall we?"

And so we did. Trixie performed a few tricks, such as making a bouquet of flowers appear out of thin air, pulling a rabbit out of a clearly normal top hat, and more. The more I watched, the more I realized she was indeed a show-off, but I did still applaud politely.

"Ah'm not sure ah can stomach much more of this," Applejack said, gritting her teeth. "Now, there ain't nothin wrong with bein' good at magic, but when somepony goes around showin' it off like a schoolfilly with fancy new ribbons, that's when ah get a headache."

"I think I'm going to be ill," Rarity added, simply glaring at the stage. "Just because one has the ability to perform lots of magic does not make one better than the rest of us," she concluded. I didn't fail to notice Twilight's ears drooping at that statement.

"Deep breaths," I whispered, reaching up to rub Rarity's back gently. "If you want to go, you two can."

"How are you not angry about this?" Rainbow Dash asked incredulously. "She's such a showy brat!"

"Is it because of her name?" a familiar shy Pegasus asked. Huh, wonder when Fluttershy got here?

That made the others go silent for a bit. I shook my head. "No," I replied quietly. "My Trixie was nothing like this. Besides, I'm not that broken that I'll go gaga for someone who shares her name. And you just gotta remember that this is meant for entertainment. She lives for the applause, applause, applause." I smirked at the reference.

"Well I just can't stand that she's claiming to be something she's not," Spike said with righteous indignation.

"Well, well, well," Trixie said, "it seems we have some naaaaysayers in the audience," Trixie said with a huff. "Who is so ignorant as to challenge the magical ability of the Great and Powerful Trixie?! Do they not know that they're in the presence of the most magical Unicorn in all of Equestria?!"

I heard Rarity blow a raspberry from beside me. "Pfff, just who does she think she is?"

"A stage performer," I replied automatically, "but I do feel your pain, ladies."

"Like she's any better than Twilight here-" Spike began, before Twilight hushed the drake, pushing her away.

"Oh, I hope Twilight's okay," Fluttershy said nervously, watching the Unicorn as she pushed Spike away from the crowd.

"I don't know," I replied. "Lemme go check."

Standing, I quickly made my way over to Twilight and Spike, only to catch the back end of a conversation. Twilight was saying, "…reacted to Trixie? I don't want anypony thinking I'm a showoff."

"Showoff? You?" My interruption startled both Twilight and Spike. "Twilight, Twilight, Twilight…you're kinda underestimating your friends, aren't you? You're not a show-off. No one's gonna think less of you."

"Are you sure?" the nervous Unicorn asked.

"Sure, I'm sure. You Ponies make friends faster than humans do, and amazing friendships at that. Heck, your friendship is so strong it creates a rainbow beam capable of defeating your enemies in a snap." I snapped my fingers for emphasis. "I don't know much about the Elements of Harmony, but I'm sure false friends wouldn't be able to do what you did with Nightmare Moon."

"Why, only the Great and Powerful Trixie has magic strong enough to vanquish…the dreaded Ursa Major!" I heard Trixie proclaim. The three of us turned and I saw Rainbow Dash hovering near the stage in front of Trixie.

"Ooof course Rainbow Dash would do that," I sighed. "Why do I have a feeling this is gonna end badly?"

Forget ending badly, I thought angrily. She practically humiliated them.

It had been a metaphorical slaughter. Trixie'd taunted the six mares, goading them into coming up onto stage and engaging them in some kind of battle of talents and magic.

Applejack had been the first victim. She'd shown some pretty amazing talents with that lasso of hers, grabbing a nearby apple with a single swing and pulling it back so it landed directly in her mouth. Trixie, in response, had made Applejack's rope behave like a charmed snake, before grabbing another apple and hogtying the poor orange mare and putting the apple straight in her mouth.

While I was undoing the ropes binding Applejack's legs together, Rainbow Dash had been the next to fall for Trixie's trap. She'd flown towards a windmill, spinning around it and launching herself through some nearby clouds. After posing in the air, she flew back down, making the bits of cloud release their rain which followed her back along the path she'd taken. When she landed on stage, the now horizontally falling rain hit her back, causing a rainbow to form directly over her head. I almost snorted at the one liner she snuck in.

Trixie, not one to be outdone, hit the rainbow with her magic. It enveloped the startled Pegasus and spun her around a bit too fast. Once the spinning stopped, and because I was done untying Applejack, I rushed over to hold Rainbow's forehead and rub her back as she did indeed hurl her breakfast into a nearby bush like she said.

Last, poor Rarity got involved after being goaded by Trixie. As entertained as I had been before, I was starting to get pissed as well. The white unicorn used her own magic to fashion a fabulous white and gold dress, while simultaneously creating a new hairstyle that wowed the audience.

Of course, Trixie had to ruin it by turning Rarity's hair green. The poor Unicorn rushed off in tears back towards her house.

I watched as Twilight, who must have still been worried about her friends thinking less of her if she were to show her abilities, tried to deny her magical prowess. Then she gave the worst excuse to leave ever (Ponies are naked! They normally don't do laundry for anything!) then dashed off.

After the crowd dispersed, I decided to stick around and have a private word with the so-called Great and Powerful Trixie.

As she was closing down her stage and the crowd quickly dispersing, I approached her, arms crossed. "You know, stage acting or not, I think you went a little too far, dontcha think?"

Startled, Trixie jumped and turned. "Oh, it's you," she said in a somewhat dismissive tone.

"You really should have at least asked them before completely humiliating them," I continued. "You had the majority of the crowd going anyway."

"The Great and Powerful Trixie doesn't need any help running her show from the likes of a magicless monkey," Trixie scoffed.

"You can't use that word. Only Spike can use that word," I scowled at her.

"Ugh, Trixie has no time for this," she replied, rolling her eyes. "Trixie's exhausted from performing feats of magic beyond your pitiful comprehension!"

I groaned and rolled my eyes. Turning, I began walking away to go check on the others. "Someday, all of this is gonna come back and bite you in the ass," I called back, "and when it does, God help you."

"At least my ass is worth biting!" Trixie shouted back at me. "Not that you'll ever know!"

…Seriously, what the fuck!? That mare is just…fucking weird. I rubbed my forehead. As I walked to go and check on the three Ponies Trixie had humiliated, I had a gut feeling something was about to go wrong…