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Everypony around her gasped in shock, except for Pinkie, who gasped out of excitement. "Oh my gosh! Twilight, you turned super cute!" she shouted. Spike couldn't contain his laughter, falling onto the ground and exploding in laughter almost immediately.

Trixie stared at the filly Twilight in surprise at first, but then grinned and started to laugh. "Ahahahaha!" she pointed her hoof at Twilight as she continued to laugh at the purple filly, whose anger was starting to rise. "You messed up! You messed up!" she started singing.

"Shut up, Trixie!" Twilight shouted, her face turning red.

"Twixie thought you were smart, but obviously she was wrong if you can't even cast such a simple spell!"

"You couldn't cast it either, y'know!?"

Trixie flinched, and then glared at Twilight, who was glaring back. "W-Well, that was…Shut up!"

"Stuuuupid!" Twilight said, sticking her tongue out at the blue filly.

Trixie rose to her hooves and charged at Twilight. "Say that again! Twixie dares you!" she shouted as she charged. Twilight also rose to her hooves, ready to defend herself, but Trixie was unable to reach her before she was suddenly picked up by Rainbow Dash. "Let Twixie go! Let her go!"

"Whoa, calm down, Trix!" Rainbow Dash said, trying hard to keep a hold on the struggling Unicorn.

"Stuuuupid, stuuuupid!" Twilight sang, only to be stopped Rarity's hoof on her shoulder. She looked up to see a stern look on Rarity's face, and started to panic.

"Now now, Twilight, such petty insults are hardly like you at all," she said, turning to Trixie. "And you, I understand you're a little on edge, but violence is not the answer."

"Shut up!" Trixie shouted, startling Rarity. "You're not Twixie's mommy, old lady! Don't lecture Twixie!"

""O-Old lady!?"" Rarity shouted, her right eye twitching.

Applejack put a hoof on Rarity's shoulder and offered to take over for her. An offer that Rarity was more than happy to accept. "Trixie, listen," she started. "We want to help you, but you're makin' it real hard by actin' like this." Trixie calmed down a little bit, and looked down at the ground. "Now, ya can either calm down, or we can just leave you like this, and ya can grow back the ol' fashioned way."

Trixie looked up at Applejack with a horrified look on her face. "N-No fair!" she shouted, pointing to Twilight. "She started it!"

Twilight looked offended, and pointed a hoof back at Trixie. "No, you did!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did NOT!"

"DID TOO!"

"Ah don't care who started it!" Applejack shouted, taking Trixie from Rainbow Dash and placing her down next to Twilight. "Ah'm finishing it, right now!" The two fillies exchanged death glares, and then turned their heads away from each other. "Now, ya don't have ta get along, but if ya ever wanna turn back ta normal, ye're gonna have ta put up with each other. Y'think ya can do that?"

The two fillies mumbled: "Yeah…" quietly.

"Beg pardon?" Applejack asked, placing a hoof to her ear.

"Yeah," the two fillies repeated, slightly louder this time.

Applejack smiled at the two fillies, and then turned to Twilight. "So, what d'we do now?"

Twilight put a hoof to her chin in thought. "Well, in my current form, I don't think I can cast any spells to turn us back…"

"Hey, what about the Princess?" Spike asked. "Surely she can do something!"

"Good thinkin' there Spike!" Applejack said.

"I'll go write her a letter!" Spike ran off from the group towards the library.

The rest of the group decided to continue their picnic whilst they waited. As the older mares sat down, they heard a scream coming from the direction of the two fillies. They looked back to see Twilight on her hooves, staring at Trixie and shaking.

"Trixie! There's a bee in your mane!" she shouted.

Trixie immediately jumped up and screamed, too. "Whewe!? Get it out, get it out!" she shouted, flailing her hooves above her head.

"Oh, fer Pete's sake," Applejack said, getting up and approaching the two fillies. She heard a yelp come from Trixie, and then saw a wasp leaving Trixie's mane. "Twi, that was a wasp, not a bee," she pointed out.

"Does it matter!?" she asked, still shaken from the whole experience.

"It stung me!" Trixie shouted, holding her right forehoof with her left one, tears rolling down her face. "It huuuurts…"

Fluttershy walked over to Trixie's side, looking down at the crying filly. "Oh, you poor dear," she said gently, taking a hold of Trixie's hoof to examine it. "Rainbow Dash, could you please bring over the ice cooler for me?"

"Uh, sure," Rainbow Dash replied, lifting up the cooler and brining it over to Fluttershy. She noticed Trixie bravely holding back her tears, and felt kind of bad for her. "Um, hey, come on now, kid. It'll be alright."

"T-Twixie's not a c-child," Trixie said, scratching the sore hoof.

Fluttershy moved Trixie's other hoof away. "No, Trixie, you shouldn't scratch it. You'll make it worse," she said. Fluttershy took out her yellow hoofkerchief with a pink butterfly pattern, similar to her Cutie Mark, and wrapped it around some ice from the cooler. She applied the icepack to the stung area, after checking to make sure that the stinger wasn't left behind.

"Ok, now just leave this on for about ten minutes," she said, patting Trixie's head. She lifted a cookie from the tray and gave it to Trixie. "Feel better now?"

Trixie's grabbed the cookie and started to nibble at it. She nodded her head, her tears slowing to a stop. "Hey, no fair!" Twilight complained. "Why does she get a cookie just 'cause she got hurt?"

"'Cause Twixie is better than you," Trixie replied.

Fluttershy took another cookie from the tray and gave it to Twilight. "Here you go, Twilight."

Twilight happily took the cookie, and stuck her tongue out at Trixie. "See? They like me better than you."

"Nuh-huh!" Trixie responded.

"Yuh-huh! That's why my cookie's bigger!" Twilight held her cookie up triumphantly.

"Is not!" Trixie said, holding her own up to compare them. When she saw that Twilight's was in fact bigger, Trixie frowned and lowered her head. "Well, obviously they like you better…They've known you longer…"

Pinkie Pie appeared suddenly from behind Trixie, startling both her and Twilight. "Then why don't you tell us about yourself?" she suggested. "If we know more about you, we'll be even closer as friends!"

"Um, just to be clear, I don't pick favourites between ponies," Fluttershy said, though she wasn't sure if anypony actually heard her.

"You wanna know about Twixie?" Trixie asked. Pinkie Pie nodded enthusiastically, and Rainbow Dash and Applejack, although not quite as enthusiastic as Pinkie Pie, also nodded. "Well, you should've just said so!" she said, suddenly a lot more cheerful. "Now, where to begin?"

"Well, how about your job?" Rarity suggested. "Have you always been a travelling performer, or did you do anything different before then?"

"Hm…" Trixie put a hoof to her chin, and then turned to Rarity. "Twixie did work as an awtist at one point, when she was a filly."

Rainbow Dash found it hard not to comment on that. Rarity saw this, and cut in before Rainbow Dash could say anything. "Really? What kind of artist? A painter? Musician?"

Trixie picked up a nearby stick with a levitation spell, and drew a picture on the ground. "Twixie had to dwaw this stallion, many times over," Trixie explained.

The group leaned in to examine the drawing. "Isn't that Prince Blueblood?" Twilight asked.

"Indeed it is…Strange, I feel like I've seen this drawing bef-" A gasp escaped Rarity's mouth as she reached into her bag and pulled out a 50 bit note. She compared the picture of Blueblood on the note to the one on the ground, and saw that they were identical. "T-Trixie, darling, why exactly did you draw Prince Blueblood so many times?"

Trixie shrugged. "Dunno. They just paid Twixie ta dwaw, so she did. And then, when Twixie was nine, she bwought her first magic set."

"Bought," Twilight corrected. "Not brought. That means moving something from one place to another."

"Trixie did," she said. "She moved it from the shop to her twailer."

"That's not the same thing!"

"Is too! Don't attack Twixie's ponyese! It's pewfect!"

"Now, now, girls," Rarity said, putting the note away. "Remember, we've got to get along if we're going to make this situation tolerable." She turned to Trixie after the two fillies huffed and turned their backs to each other. "Trixie, do you remember who asked you to draw those pictures?"

"Not weally. It was a long time ago. Like, a million years ago!" Trixie said, emphasising her point by waving her arms in an arch shape.

"That's not even possible," Twilight said.

"Don't take everything so literally, bookworm!"

"I'm not a bookworm! I'm well-read!"

"Girls!" Fluttershy shouted, startling the two ponies. "This is your last warning. Stop bickering, or I'm going to have to put you both in time out."

Trixie and Twilight both glared at Fluttershy. "We're not children! You can't do that!" Trixie shouted.

"Yeah, what she said!" Twilight followed.

"Do you want to try me?" Fluttershy challenged. The two fillies gulped and calmed down, and a smile returned to Fluttershy's face. "Good girls. I know you don't mean to be bad. You just need to stop and think about your actions a bit, that's all."

"Wow, Fluttershy. You didn't even have ta stare 'em," Applejack said, impressed with Fluttershy's ability to control rowdy foals.

"Oh, they're not so bad. They're a lot easier to handle than Angel, that's for sure."

"Angel? Who's that?" Trixie asked.

"He's my pet bunny," Fluttershy explained. "He can be a bit of a hoofful, but he's got a kind heart." Fluttershy removed the ice package from Trixie's hoof, and put it inside the cooler. "Now, let your hoof warm up for about five minutes, and then we'll reapply it."

Trixie looked down at her wound, and then looked back at Fluttershy. "Um…" Trixie began, a slight blush crossing her face. "T-Thank you," she said.

"It's no problem. I'm always happy to help those in need," Fluttershy said with a warm smile.

Twilight noticed the blush on Trixie face, and began to giggle. "Hey Trixie, your face is turning red!" she said. Trixie turned around so that nopony could see her face. "Trixie likes Fluttershy! Trixie likes Fluttershy!"

"N-No I don't!" Trixie shouted, turning to Twilight.

"Yes you do," Twilight teased, grinning at Trixie.

"Shut up, Twilight!" Trixie shouted, rising to her hooves.

"Ooh, scary!" Twilight said, getting up and running away. "Can't catch me!"

"Oh yeah!?" Trixie shouted as she gave chase, although it was slowly due to her wound.

"Girls," Fluttershy began, but a hoof from Applejack on her shoulder stopped her. "Applejack?"

"Don't worry, Fluttershy," she said, smiling as she watched Trixie chasing Twilight, who had slowed down somewhat to make it easier on Trixie's hoof. "They're not fightin' this time. They're just playin' around a bit."

"Man, even though they're really adults, they totally act like fillies," Rainbow Dash said.

"Maybe we should keep them like this!" Pinkie Pie said. "They're so adorable! I almost wanna take 'em home with me!"

"Yeah, but what if another enemy comes along?" Rainbow Dash pointed out. "We can hardly expect Twilight to help us in her current state."

"Sheesh, Rainbow, don't take everything so seriously," Applejack said. "I'm sure she didn't really mean it…Right Pinkie?"

Pinkie didn't say anything, but instead just cheered Trixie on as she chased Twilight around the park.

At around that time, Spike raced towards the group carrying a scroll in his hand. "Hey, guys! I just got a letter back from the Princess!" he shouted, stopping in front of the group in order to catch his breath.

Rarity lifted the scroll with her magic and opened it up.

Spike,

I've looked into the spell that you described to me, and I can assure you that everything will be fine. While missing that one vital ingredient does have the nasty side effect of regressing one's age, it is easily fixed with a simple remedy. Attached to this letter is the remedy in question. I am given to understand that there is a herbalist living close to Ponyville, who is a close friend of you and Twilight. If you ask her, she should be able to prepare the remedy in no time at all. The remedy itself will not happen immediately, but instead should take effect a few hours after applying it.

Please do not hesitate to write back to me should more complications arise. And also, please give my best regard to Twilight Sparkle and her friends.

Yours faithfully.
Princess Celestia

"Well, thankfully the items listed aren't hard to procure," Rarity pointed out, reading through the list of ingredients for the remedy. "We should be able to secure everything rather quickly if we split up."

"Sounds good ta me." Applejack turned to Twilight and Trixie. "Hey! We got the recipe ta cure you guys!" The two fillies either didn't hear Applejack, or were just too caught up in their playing to care. Applejack sighed and turned back to Rarity. "Maybe we should just leave 'em here an' come back later."

"Then, let's go!" Rainbow Dash shouted enthusiastically. The five ponies and one dragon split the items amongst themselves, and went off in separate directions to secure them. They agreed to meet back at the same spot where they left as soon as they got all the items on their list.

Meanwhile, Twilight and Trixie continued to play their game of tag, completely unaware of the other mares leaving them. Twilight stopped when she heard Trixie yelp, and moved over to check on her. "Are you ok?" she asked.

Trixie held her stung hoof tightly. "Twixie's fine," she answered.

Twilight remembered what Fluttershy had said earlier. "Maybe we should put the ice back on. It's been more than five minutes already."

"How can you know that?" Trixie asked.

"The position of the sun. I just looked at our shadows and compared them to when you took off the icepack. I can't be exactly sure, but my estimations say it's been around 7-9 minutes since you removed the icepack."

"Twixie's impwessed," Trixie said, causing Twilight to blush. "But don't worry. Twixie will be fine."

"No, Trixie," Twilight said sternly. "When it comes to your health, you can't be too safe. Now come on."

Trixie sighed and followed Twilight back to the picnic area. "Fiiiiine." When they got there, they both noticed that the other mares had gone. "Huh? Where is evewypony?"

"Dunno…Maybe they went to get us ice cream!" Twilight suggested hopefully.

"You think so?" Trixie asked, suddenly excited.

"Anyway, we should wait for them, so they don't have to chase all over Ponyville to find us," Twilight said, opening the ice cooler and levitating the icepack over to Trixie.

"But waiting's bowiiiing," Trixie complained, holding the icepack to her hoof. "Come on! Twixie wants to see Ponyville!"

"But-"

"Come ooooon!" Trixie held the icepack to her hooves with her magic. "It'll be fine!"

"Well…I guess Ponyville's a small town, so it shouldn't cause too much trouble for them," Twilight reasoned. Trixie's face lit up, and she told Twilight to lead the way. "Fine, but just a quick tour, ok?"

Trixie nodded her head enthusiastically, and Twilight led the filly away from the park and into the town.

Twilight began her tour of Ponyville in the town square, where she told Trixie about the history of the town, from when it was formed, up to the current day. While Twilight was having fun giving a history lesson to the blue filly, even using a cardboard box as a podium to make it feel like a classroom, Trixie was visibly quite bored.

Looking around the town, not really listening to Twilight's lecture on the town's history, Trixie spotted several houses and a few shops around her. One shop in particular caught her eye, and she interrupted Twilight's lecture to point it out. "Twilight! It's a sweet shop!"

Twilight frowned at Trixie's interruption. 'Just when I was getting to the best part!' She looked at the shop that Trixie was pointing to. "Oh, that's Bon Bon's store. She sells the best sweets in Equestria!"

"Weally!? Twixie wants to twy some!"

"But…The history lesson-"

"Forget the bowing stuff! Come on!"

Twilight sighed and followed Trixie towards the sweet shop. As they entered, they were greeted by a cheerful Bon Bon, and her assistant for the day, Lyra. They looked down at the two fillies with confused looks.

"Oh? She looks like Twi!" Lyra pointed out, pointing a hoof at Twilight. "Are you her cousin by any chance?" Lyra asked, knowing that Twilight only had a big brother, and no sisters.

"Actually," Twilight began. "I'm Twilight. And this is-"

"You're Twilight!?" Lyra asked in shock. "No way! What happened?"

"Magic, obviously," Bon Bon answered, walking around the counter and kneeling down to look the fillies in the eyes. She slowly extended her forelegs, and then pulled the two fillies into a tight hug. "They're so cute!" she shouted as the two confused fillies struggled to break free. "Lyra, I take it back, magic is AWESOME!"

"Wah! Let Twixie go! Now!" Trixie shouted, flailing her hooves.

Lyra approached Bon Bon and convinced her to release the two fillies. "Sorry about that," Lyra said to Twilight and Trixie. "Bon Bon really likes foals, y'see."

"It's fine, Lyra," Twilight lied, catching her breath. "Anyway, Trixie wanted to see your sweet shop, so-"

"Do you have fwee sample?" Trixie interrupted. "The store Twixie visited as a foal gave out fwee samples! You should do the same!"

"Well, I don't usually give out free stuff," Bon Bon said. "But I suppose I could give you two a few sweets, if you're hungry."

Trixie nodded quickly, but Twilight was quick to decline. "I can't do that. I may look like this, but I'm still a full-grown mare."

Bon Bon smiled down at Twilight. "That's very mature of you, Twilight," she said, making Twilight's face beam with pride. "Well then, I guess I'll just get some for Trixie, then."

Twilight's eyes widened as Bon Bon gathered some sweets in to small paper bag, and handed it to Trixie. "W-What? But…" Twilight watched as Trixie happily levitated sweets from the bag, and dropped them into her mouth. Twilight was started to feel jealous, but didn't want to admit it and lose face. She turned head away and frowned towards the wall.

She felt a bag being pressed against her cheek, and turned to see Lyra levitating a small bag of sweets towards Twilight, smiling at the small filly. "Here," she said, dropping the bag into Twilight hooves. "Take 'em. Then come back and buy some more when you turn back to normal, 'kay?"

Twilight looked down at the bag of sweets, and then back up at Lyra, smiling at her. "Thanks," she said, opening the bag and levitating a few sweets from it, placing them into her mouth with a bit more grace than Trixie.

Twilight and Trixie skipped happily through the town of Ponyville, carrying their bags of sweets in their magic and eating as they walked. "Next stop is the school," Twilight said.

"School? But Twixie alweady gwaduated!" Trixie shouted.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "It's just 'cause it's an important landmark in Ponyville. We're not actually going in."

"Oh…Twixie knew that," Trixie said, rolling up her bag as she finished it and throwing it into a nearby bin. It went in, and Trixie shouted: "2 points!"

The two fillies eventually reached the school, and sat down on a nearby bench as Twilight tried to explain more of Ponyville's history to Trixie. However, she was interrupted by a familiar voice. "Oh, Twilight, Trixie."

The two turned around to see a pink-purple pony approaching them. "Cheerilee?" Twilight asked, somewhat disappointed that her lecture was cut off before she could even begin.

"Your friends have been looking for you, you know?" Cheerilee said, stopping in front of the two fillies. "They've been gathering ingredients for your remedy. Where have you been?"

"I've been showing Trixie around," Twilight said. She then turned to Trixie, to introduce her to Cheerilee. "This is Cheerilee," she said, pointing a hoof at the smiling mare. "She's the teacher at the Ponyville school."

Trixie turned to Cheerilee, and bowed her head. "Nice to meet you," she said. Twilight was surprised by Trixie's sudden politeness, but then remembered that, in Canterlot, foals were brought up to have the highest respect for their teachers. "Twixie's alweady gwaduated, so don't give her any homework!" she shouted, pointing her hoof at the teacher.

Twilight sighed and rested her head on one of her forehooves. Apparently, the whole "respect for your teacher" thing only went so far for Trixie.

Cheerilee simply laughed it off. Trixie noticed Cheerilee's Cutie Mark, and raised an eyebrow. "Wait, what subject do you teach…Gawdening? Botanology?"

"Well, I teach all of the subjects at this school," Cheerilee explained, confusing Trixie. "Ponyville's a very small town, so there isn't a need for a lot of teachers. And the school can't really afford more than three teachers, anyway."

"Oh…Then does your Cutie Mark show what you specialise in?"

"No, it shows my passion for teaching young fillies and colts, and my desire to bring them up in a warm, happy environment." She looked down at her Cutie Mark with a smile on her face, and then turned back to Trixie. "Why do you ask?"

"…Just cuwious," Trixie said. "So, you actually like teaching?"

"Well of course. Why else would I do it if I didn't like it?"

Trixie put a hoof to her chin. "Twixie thought that ponies only became teachers to pay the bills, or to satisfy their supewioity complex."

Cheerilee flinched a little at the way the small filly was talking, but reminded herself that Trixie was still mentally an adult…Somewhat. "Well, I don't know how it works in Canterlot," Cheerilee began, gaining Trixie's attention. "But here, teachers are chosen based on not just their academic abilities, but also, their love for children, and desire to nurture them into bright, happy ponies."

Trixie stared at the teacher with a look of wonder. She looked to the ground for a few moments, collecting her thoughts. Through her experience, teachers only cared about foals getting good grades, and convincing the less intelligent foals to drop out, to make the school look better. She had to spend a lot of time of her time after school studying in order to meet the standards that her teachers had set for her.

She wondered how things would have turned out if she were raised in a place like Ponyville. Would she have made more friends? Would her grades have suffered? Or would her grades have been better, because the teachers actually cared for her?

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Cheerilee had to say goodbye to the two fillies. They both waved goodbye to her, and Trixie watched she left, the teacher's kind, gentle voice still echoing in her mind.

"Now, as I was trying to say," Twilight began. She went off talking about the town's history before anypony could interrupt her, and didn't notice that Trixie had gotten up and wandered off on her own. "And so by convincing all of the townsfolk to work together-" Twilight stopped when she realised that the blue filly was missing, and looked around to find her. "Trixie?"

Trixie walked through the streets of Ponyville with a lot less energy than she had earlier. She kept her head low, frowning at the ground as she walked through the town. Ever since her talk with Cheerilee, she kept thinking about how everypony in Ponyville seemed so friendly, and for some reason, it made her uneasy.

She sat down on a bench just in front of the town hall, and sighed deeply. She didn't understand why thinking about Twilight's friends made her feel so depressed. It just did.

"Wow, sounds like you've got some worries running through your mind," said a voice next to Trixie. She turned her head to see a white Unicorn with blue hair and purple shades covering her eyes, looking down at her. "You're still young. You shouldn't waste your time worrying 'bout things."

"…Who'we you?" Trixie asked.

"Name's Vinyl Scratch, resident DJ of Ponyville," she said proudly, pointing down at her musical note Cutie Mark. "How 'bout you?"

"Twixie Lulamoon," Trixie answered. "The Gweat and Powewful Twixie, at your sewvice."

"Trixie? Whoa, so the rumours are true," she said, looking down incredulously at the blue filly. "So, what's on your mind?"

Trixie remained silent at first, not wanting to share her problems with Vinyl Scratch. However, her filly mind started to kick in, and she was soon unable to hold it in any longer. "Twixie…Wealised today that her life…May not have been to her liking."

Vinyl grinned and nodded, letting out a sigh that suggested she knew exactly where Trixie was coming from. "Yeah, I've been there," she said. Trixie looked up at Vinyl with curious eyes. "I think everypony feels like that sometimes…Well, maybe not everypony, but it's not uncommon, that's for sure."

"Twixie had never thought about it much before. She just convinced hewself that her life was pewfect. That she didn't need anything else." A tear rolled down Trixie's cheek, and she felt a gentle hoof against her head. "But the twuth is that Twixie was feeling incwedibly lonely. She would twavel fwom town to town on her own, and shwugged off anypony that got close to her. Why? Why did Twixie deny what she desiwed for so long?"

"Maybe you were too proud?" Vinyl suggested, stroking her hoof through Trixie's mane to calm her down. "Or maybe you were afraid. You'd been alone for so long, that you probably lost faith in the whole idea of making friends. You didn't want to risk getting your hopes up, just to have them crushed, and end up even lonelier than before."

Trixie sniffed, and looked up at Vinyl Scratch. "You sound as if you've expewienced something similar."

Vinyl laughed and turned her head up to face the sky. "Yeah…My first love…I had to make a difficult decision. Her, or my music." Trixie's crying had slowed down, and she was now listening intently to Vinyl's story. "I couldn't follow my dream in Canterlot, but at the same time, I couldn't see her again if I left to pursue my dream. It was unreasonable to ask her to wait for me. She would defiantly find somepony while I was away. It was a difficult decision, and it nearly drove me crazy."

"What did you do?" Trixie asked.

"…Maybe I made the wrong choice," Vinyl said, lifting her shades to reveal her big, violet eyes. "I chose to pursue the dream that I had had since foalhood. I spent so much time yelling at my choice, convinced that I made the wrong choice. But, it was too late. I had already set my path, and there are no do-overs in life."

"So you just gave up?"

"Nothing else I could do. My life was set. Better to just roll with things, and face every day with a smile, than spend each day regretting my decision." Vinyl lowered her shades, and looked back at Trixie. "Anyways, that's just what I think. I wouldn't exactly put too much stock into it."

"So…Twixie should just feel content with her past, and not let it affect her future…"

"Pretty much," Vinyl said, shrugging. "Well, in the end, it's your life, your decision." Vinyl rose to her hooves and began to walk off down the streets of Ponyville. She stopped for a moment to turn back to Trixie, and shouted: "Cheer up, eh!? Life can be cruel, don't give it the pleasure of watching you squirm!"

Trixie watched Vinyl Scratch walk away, and thought about her words. A smile managed to creep across her face, but was interrupted by somepony calling out to her. "Trixie!"

Trixie looked up to see Twilight glaring into her eyes, a look of annoyance on her face. "Twilight?"

"Why did you wander off like that? I was trying to teach you some of Ponyville's grand history!"

Trixie looked at the young filly's pouting face, and managed to complete the smile that she had started just moments ago. "That's 'cause it was bowing!" she shouted, jumping off the bench and tapping Twilight on the nose. "Tag! You'we it!"

Trixie ran off, leaving a dumbfounded Twilight staring at her in confusion. Twilight soon snapped out of it, and began chasing after Trixie. "That was a dirty trick, Trixie!" she shouted, chasing Trixie through an alleyway.

She stopped when she saw Trixie standing still, and staring off into the distance. Twilight walked up to the filly's side, and looked into the same direction that Trixie was facing. In front of her was nothing at first, but then, slowly but surely, a big, blue rectangular box appeared seemingly out of thin air.

"W-What's that?" Trixie asked, startled by the sudden appearance of the strange box.

Twilight shook her head, equally startled by the blue box's sudden appearance, and even more so when it began to open up.

"Now, you two just wait in there," said a voice from inside the box. "I'll take a look outside and see where we are." A rather old, pale Earth Pony emerged from the box, wearing a black cape on his back that just barely covered his hourglass Cutie Mark. His mane and tail were white as snow, and held a cane in his right forehoof as he walked out of the box. He turned to the two fillies, who were staring at him with curious looks on their faces. "Well, it seems we've landed in the right world, but…"

The old stallion examined the scenery around him, and moved over to a nearby box lying at the side of the alley. "Hey! Doctor!" shouted another voice from inside the box. The two fillies were startled once again as another two ponies emerged from the box, which seemed way too small to hold three ponies in.

They were both Pegasi. One was pink, with blue hair, and two blue lightning bolts as her Cutie Mark. She reminded Twilight of Rainbow Dash, not just in terms of manestyle, but also, the sure, confident expression that she wore on her face.

The other Pegasus was white, with blonde hair, and four red balloons as her Cutie Mark. She was hopping up and down excitedly next to her pink companion. "So? Are we home?" the pink Pegasus asked.

"Patience, my dear Firefly, is a virtue you would do well to have," the Earth Pony "Doctor" said. "I told you to wait inside the ship. Anyway, we're on the right planet…But it seems we've landed in the wrong time."

Firefly rolled her eyes at Doctor, and leaned against her white friend. "So, what, a couple of years off? That's no biggie."

"No, more like a couple of millennia off, my dear," Doctor answered, causing Firefly to stare at him with wide eyes. "At least according to this newspaper I've found," he said, holding up said newspaper for the two Pegasi to see.

"Well that won't do!" the white Pegasus exclaimed. "Now we're defiantly late for Megan's surprise party!"

Firefly facehooved, and turned to her friend. "I think that's the least of our concerns, Surprise!"

Surprise put a hoof to her chin, and then raised it into the air, somehow making a snapping noise with it that confused her two companions. "Oh yeah, that's right! We can just use Doctor's machine to go back to before the part even started!" she shouted, knocking her hoof against her head.

Firefly sighed, and then turned to the two fillies in the alleyway, who were still staring at the three ponies. "You got a problem? It's impolite to stare, y'know?"

The two fillies flinched, and backed away slightly, but then Twilight suggested they apologize and introduce themselves. "S-Sorry, we were just…Kinda startled," she said, bowing politely. "My name is Twilight Sparkle. It's nice to meet you."

Twilight nudged Trixie to make her bow, too. "Twixie Lulamoon," she said.

Doctor let out a gasp, and then double-checked the date on the newspaper. "Twilight…Trixie…The same Twilight and Trixie who saved Equestria from…" He put a hoof to his chin and started mumbling to himself. "But wait, they shouldn't be fillies right now, and they shouldn't meet until they're fully grown mares…Oh dear, this is troubling, most troubling…"

"Uh…Excuse me?" Twilight asked, confused at Doctor's rambling. "Oh, if you're wondering why we're like this, it's because-"

"'Cause Twilight messed up!" Trixie interrupted, grinning wickedly at Twilight. "She was supposed to fix Twixie, and now we're both like this."

Twilight frowned at Trixie, and then glared at her. "Well maybe if somepony hadn't messed up such a simple spell in the first place, we wouldn't be in this mess."

Trixie returned Twilight's glare with equal ferocity. "That was 'cause Twixie's book lied to her! You'we just…Stupid!"

Twilight gasped in shock, and then increased her glare's intensity. "I'm stupid!? If I'm stupid, then you must be…A moron!"

"What did you call Twixie!?"

"You heard me! A MORON!"

"You'we just jealous that Twixie is supewior to you in evewyway!"

"Superior in being stupid, yes!"

"ARGH! TWIXIE HA-"

"Stop!" shouted Surprise, interrupting the two fillies as she suddenly appeared in between them. "I don't know what's happened between you two, but you'd better think carefully before you finish that sentence," Surprise said, looking down on a confused Trixie. "Because once those words leave your mouth, there's no taking them back."

Trixie turned from Surprise to Twilight, and then towards the ground. Surprise sighed, and lowered a hoof onto each filly's head, patting them gently. "We all mess up sometimes, and we all feel like we need some time away from our friends to cool down when things get a little…Stressful.

"But in the end, it's our friends who are always there for us when we feel down. And once you say something hurtful, it's not easy to mend that friend's broken heart." The two fillies turned to face each other, guilty looks on their faces. "Don't take your friends for granted. 'Cause you never know when you might never see them again. And when that time comes, you want to make sure there are no regrets, and that you can send them off with a smile, right?"

Tears were starting to roll down the faces of the two fillies, as well as down Surprise's face. Firefly walked up to Surprised and wrapped a wing around her, enveloping her into a warm hug. "She's right, girls," Firefly started. "Friendship doesn't last forever. Make the most of it while you still can."

Twilight and Trixie jumped towards each other, pulling each other into a tight hug, and began crying into each other's shoulders. Firefly and Surprise decided to give the two fillies some space to reconcile their differences, and moved towards Doctor's machine.

"Indeed," Doctor said. "You never know when a day with your friend may be your last. It could be something as simple as walking through a park together, or just a casual day, where nothing special happens…And then they're gone."

Firefly looked at Doctor with a sympathetic look. "You sound like it's happened a lot to you…"

"Indeed…900 years, and it never gets any easier…" Doctor flipped a page in the newspaper he was reading, and gasped suddenly. "Oh dear, this is rather concerning…It's a good thing we haven't ventured too far…"

"Hm? What's up?" Firefly asked, leaning over to read whatever had Doctor so flustered. She saw a picture of a brown Earth Pony stallion, with an identical Cutie Mark to Doctor's. "Who's he? Your son?"

Doctor shook his head, and then placed the newspaper back where had found it. "That was me…Or rather, a future version of me."

"Future?" Firefly asked. "But he's so…Young."

"Regeneration…" Doctor whispered. "Oh my, that's most disheartening…In any case, we can't stay here. There's too much risk that we'll run into him."

"And that's bad?" Surprise asked. "I think two Doctors would be fun! We could totally have a party, and there would be two guests of honour!"

"No!" Doctor shouted, startling Firefly and Surprise. "Absolutely not! Under no circumstances must two forms of the same pony ever be allowed to meet!"

"That would cause a…What was it? Pandabox?" Firefly asked, trying to remember the word that Doctor had taught her on a previous journey.

"Paradox, my dear," Doctor corrected opening the blue box up and signalling for the other two to get in. "And yes, that's why we must leave. Immediately."

Firefly walked in without too much fuss. Although she was curious how much the world had changed over the course of thousands of years, she was more interested in finding her way home, and reuniting with her friends.

Surprise walked in a bit more reluctantly, and with a frown on her face. She paused to take one last look at the two fillies, who were still holding each other, but were now also throwing apologies at each other. "Cherish your friendships! They're what make life worth living!"

Once the three ponies had entered the strange blue box, it began to fade out slowly, until eventually, it disappeared entirely.

Twilight and Trixie didn't pay much attention to it, instead pulling apart from each other and wiping their tears away as they finally started to calm down. "Twixie's sowwy, Twilight. She knows…It wasn't youw fault. You wewe just twying to help…"

"I'm sorry too, Trixie," Twilight sniffed, and wiped away the last of the tears from her face. "You're not stupid, and I should've been more careful. If I had taken some more time to consider the spell I had cast, I would've seen that it wouldn't work…"

Trixie turned her head towards the ground, not sure what to say at this point. Twilight decided to say something, since she was sure that Trixie was at a complete loss for words right now. Twilight extended a hoof forward, and in a gentle voice, asked: "Friends?"

Trixie turned her head back towards Twilight, sniffed a few more times, and then extended her own hoof, smiling at the purple filly as their hooves connected. "Friends."