Hey everyone! Time for a BONUS CHAPTER! I admit, this one breaks formula a bit, but there wasn't really a way to do this one like the others. Anyway, I hope you enjoy it!

Thanks to ItsfromPeople and Alexwarlorn on DA for helping me with this!

Great and Powerful Pet

Warning! Spoilers for Getting Back On Your Hooves/Trixie's Getting Back On Her Hooves!

"And for her next trick, Trixie requires a volunteer from the audience," Trixie announced, on a miniature stage she'd somehow managed to get into Sugar Cube Corner.

"Oh! Me me me!" yelled Pinkie waving her arms frantically behind the assembled ponies at Rarity's Cuteceañera. "Pick me!"

Trixie gave sly chuckle. "Sorry, Pinkie Pie, Trixie has another a trick in mind you'd be perfect for…Rainbow Dash, how about you?"

Rainbow blinked in surprise. "Me?…Uh, ok…I guess…" Sure, Trixie was her friend and she couldn't say she disliked the idea of being onstage, but she wouldn't put it past Trixie to prank her. Then again, Trixie probably felt the same way.

The blue pegasus flew up and landed onstage, keeping an eye out for a prank. "Alright, Trix, what do you need me to do?"

Trixie did a dramatic gesture and Stage Hoof emerged from behind the curtain, producing a deck of cards from nowhere, spreading them with his telekinesis. "Pick a card, any card."

Rainbow Dash cocked her head. "A card trick? Really?…Ok, I guess." She looked over the cards for any kind of ink or anything suspicious before she finally took a card in her mouth as Trixie turned her head and closed her eyes.

"Now show it to everypony else and put it back in, but don't show Trixie."

Rainbow blinked and showed the Ace of Spades to the partygoers before returning it to the deck.

Trixie nodded as Stage Hoof telekinetically shuffled the deck, then handed them to Trixie's telekinetic grasp and stepped back. "Is this your card?" she asked, pulling out the Queen of Clubs.

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow. "No…"

"This one?" 9 of Diamonds.

"No…" Rainbow noticed there were chuckles coming from the audience, but didn't see anything funny.

"Oh…Sorry…Oh, is that it?"

Rainbow Dash blinked and followed Trixie's hoof up to her forehead where the Ace of Diamonds was somehow stuck to it. "When did…"

Trixie gave a chuckle. "A good magician never reveals her secrets!"

Rainbow gave a small chuckle as Trixie floated the card back to her deck. "Alright alright, yah got me."

"Yes, Trixie did," the azure unicorn stated, with a small chuckle. "But that wasn't the trick."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "Wait…what?"

Trixie pointed up again. Rainbow Dash once more followed her hoof…and saw a curly pink mane in place of her normal rainbow colored one.

Her eyes slowly looked over to see a giggling Pinkie now wearing her own mane. "M-my mane! When did-" There'd been no light from a spell, not that she saw anyway.

Trixie chuckled and her horn glowing, the two's manes returning to normal. "Amazed?"

Raindow waited a few moments trying to figure out when that'd happened before laughing. "Ok, I'll admit it, that was actually a pretty good trick."

The showmare and her assistant gave a theatrical bow. "Thank you, thank you!"

Rainbow Dash returned to her seat and looked to Pinkie. "Did you see how she did that?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nah, but I know one thing."

"What?"

"It didn't involve oatmeal!"

Rainbow could only blink in confusion and stare at the party pony.

"Alright, Trixie," Twilight said, giving a chuckle. "Let's eat, I think we're all getting hungry."

Trixie was about to respond…when her stomach gave a loud growl, resulting in her face turning pink. "…Trixie agrees."

Trixie looked around the group as they ate sugary sweets, laughed, talked, and generally enjoying a party in Rarity's honor. She couldn't help thinking back to not long ago. When she was a big jerk, Stage Hoof was still Helping Hoof and Checker's slave, and well…she didn't have friends…At all. She couldn't help smiling as she thought of how much things had changed.

But still…she couldn't help feeling like something was missing. She'd had that feeling since she'd come to the party, she just kept feeling left out, but couldn't put her hoof on it…She looked around the group surrounding her.

Twilight letting Owlowiscious sleep on her back.

Rainbow Dash snuck a nuzzle from Tank.

Rarity played with Opal using a fake mouse.

Pinkie Pie was…letting Gummy hang from her ear….

Applejack took a moment to rub Winona's belly, Applebloom accompanying her.

Fluttershy was talking with Angel.

And Spike was feeding Peewee some birdseed.

Trixie looked beside her and saw just a blank spot on the floor.

"Trixie?" asked Twilight, giving a concerned look. "What's wrong?"

Trixie jumped in surprise. "Oh…sorry…it's nothing…"

Twilight gave a more serious look. "Trixie…"

The azure mare sighed. She knew well enough by now that look meant 'if there's a problem, tell me.' "Trixie respects your devotion to your friendships, Twilight…" she gave a small smile, receiving one in return. "…Trixie guesses she's a little…jealous, she guesses…Trixie's father only gave her anything outside the bare necessities unless she earned them, and her psychotic sister had her convinced she was a complete failure in his eyes…So Trixie never thought to ask her father for a pet, even seeing ponies with their pets as a filly. Trixie just knew there was no point in asking for one, even if it looked fun…" she admitted, looking kind of like a little foal admitting she wanted a toy she knew someone didn't want her to have. "Seeing you seven with your pets, having fun, being so happy…I think I want one…"

Before Twilight could reply, a gasp interrupted them. Trixie fell out of her chair with a scream as she realized Fluttershy was somehow directly beside her. "O-oh! Really?!" exclaimed the Pegasus in a completely overjoyed tone. "You really want a pet?! Because I have so many wonderful possibilities at my house!"

The showmare's as widened as the cream-colored pegasus grabbed her by the shoulders and seemed intent on flying her to her house. "W-What's happening?"

"Oh I know you'll just love them! And they'll lov-" Fluttershy suddenly stopped gushing. "O-Oh…sorry…" she set Trixie down. "This is Rarity's party, we can go afterwards…"

Trixie blinked, noticing Rainbow Dash stifling her laughter. "…Seriously, what just happened?"

After Rarity's party was finished, Fluttershy had resumed carrying Trixie to her cottage (which Trixie was both annoyed by, but strangely couldn't help letting the mare's infectious excitement rub off on her), where the mare had seemingly assembled every one of her animals for consideration. "Wait…Fluttershy…you'd just…give Trixie a pet?" the azure unicorn asked, cocking her head. Once the confusion from the whole situation wore off.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes! I love spreading the love of animals! It's so nice! The pony loves them and the animal loves them! And everypony is happy!"

Trixie blinked at Fluttershy's sudden excitement, before giving a warm smile. "Once more you surprise Trixie with your kindness, Fluttershy." She wasn't sure why it shocked her anymore, considering Fluttershy was quite literally kindness personified.

Fluttershy blushed, slowly swinging her front hoof back and forth. "Um…thank you…but it's just what I do…"

Trixie chuckled. "Yes, Trixie knows. Now…does Trixie just pick a pet?" she questioned, giving a look around at all the animals. There were so many. The more she looked at the animals, the more excited she got.

The timid pegasus nodded. "Yep!…Want to sing a song while we do it?"

Trixie shook her head. "No, unfortunately Trixie's throat is sore from her show earlier, her apologies."

"Oh…Ok…" Fluttershy replied, a bit of disappointment in her tone, but she quickly perked up. "Well I've got all kinds of animals! There's so many! Oh I think you'd love them all! But what kind of pet do you want?! It's your pet after all!"

The azure mare put a hoof to her chin and smiled, Fluttershy's excitement mixing with her own and making her feel almost giddy. "Trixie wants something bold! Something exciting! And it most certainly must be eye-catching!"

The cream colored Pegasus gave a thoughtful nod. "Oh! I've got bunnies!"

Trixie blinked as a group of bunnies hopped up around the pegasus and stared at her adorably. "Uh…yes, Trixie suppose Trixie could pull them out of a hat, but Trixie was hoping for something a little more exciting…"

"Oh! Ok! How about a monarch butterfly?!" asked Fluttershy, a butterfly landing on her head.

Trixie stared at it. It's wings made her feel a bit strange looking at them. "…Better…What else?"

"What about toucans? Or peacocks? Or parakeets? Or foxes? Oh! I've got so many animals!"

Trixie stared at the aforementioned animals as the first three perched on Fluttershy's extended forelegs and the little fox peaked out rather shyly from behind the pegasus. Trixie continued looking around the area and the numerous animals, all of which came up behind Fluttershy to look her over. There were so many choices…The more she looked, the more she looked, and felt, like a foal in a candy shop. "Any of these animals?"

Fluttershy gave a wide smile and nodded gleefully. "Yes! Any of them!"

Trixie took a moment to look around at all the possibilities, imagining them next to her on the stage or playing with her, or…well, pet things. She wasn't sure what they were but she knew it would be fun!

"Trixie doesn't know where to start! There are so many! But this is Trixie's first time picking a pet! She's not sure what to do!"

"Rainbow Dash held a competition to find her pet, maybe you should as well?"

Trixie blinked, then tapped her chin. "Trixie believes she has an idea."

"Twilight, I have a question."

"Yes, Rainbow?"

"How did Trixie get a miniature stage in Fluttershy's backyard?" Rainbow asked, looking up at the stage on which Trixie was getting ready to have her potential pets try out on. She held up a quick hoof to stop clumsy Tank from crashing into her head.

Twilight blinked. "I…don't know…Come to think about, how did she get it into Sugar Cube Corner?"

"Hoo?" Owlowiscious asked, shrugging, then giving a yawn.

"Probably the same place Pinkie keeps pulling these theatre seats from," Rarity commented, as Opal climbed up the theatre seat to get a look at the situation. "Or Rainbow Dash got the equipment for her test." She questioned, getting the pegasus to rub her head with a chuckle.

Pinkie just giggled, picking up Gummy and putting him on her head to watch.

Rarity looked over at the animals all ready for the performance. "Well, this seems like a win-win, we get to see another show, Trixie gets a pet, sounds lovely."

"Yeah, just hope Trixie's ready," Applejack replied, looking at the azure mare, who had an energy about her that reminded her of when Trixie had gotten turned into a filly and was playing with the Crusaders. A look over to the three fillies watching with rapt attention reminded her how excitable a filly could be. "She looks like a filly gettin' her first pet."

Twilight gave a slow nod. Trixie had grown so much since they'd met, but it was easy to forget that she'd not really had a foalhood like the rest of them. Her father had forced her to act more like a working mare than a little filly. And Checker Monarch…Twilight shuddered, remembering the (now officially diagnosed) sociopathic mare who'd controlled Trixie like a puppet almost her entire life. Between the two of them, Trixie hadn't been able to really have a foalhood period. Things like asking her father for a pet or even having that first pet that taught you to take care of one. Those were things that seemed so normal, but to Trixie, they were new things she'd never gotten to experience. Twilight could see why Trixie was so excited to finally be looking for her first pet.

Trixie looked from pet to pet. Some had been volunteers, she'd picked a few, and a few Fluttershy had chosen. Among them, a blue peacock and scarlet macaw were catching her eyes. But still, this was her first pet, why rush?

Stage Hoof couldn't help but chuckle a little at Trixie's excitement. "Having a good time, Trixie?"

Trixie gave a nod. "Quite, Stage Hoof. Trixie didn't think the possibility of getting a pet would make her so giddy!"

Stage Hoof nodded. "Well, Fluttershy certainly seems to get excited whenever someone asks her for a pet, so there must be something to it that gets ponies excited." Stage Hoof gave a warm smile. "I hope you enjoy it, Trixie, you deserve it."

Trixie smiled lightly, giving a small blush. "Thank you, Stage Hoof…" She then cleared her throat and turned back to the potential pets.

"Alright, animals! You all wish to be Trixie's pet, correct?" announced the show mare in her typical dramatic fashion. Several animals gave a roar or call of some sort in response. Trixie swore the peacock gave a smug smirk as it nodded. Looked quite confident, Trixie liked that.

"Well Trixie is a showmare! So if you desire to be her pet, we shall see if you have what it takes to join her on stage!" Trixie then gave a tiny giggle. "Oh this is going to be so much fun!"

"Welcome one and all!" announced Trixie dramatically, appearing on stage in an explosion of fireworks. "You're here to watch Trixie pick her pet, so let us begin the show! Stage Hoof, will you please send in the first contestant!"

Trixie blinked, watching Stage Hoof put a fox on stage. It took one look at the crowd, whimpered and rushed off before she could even start. "Um…let me try a different one," the stallion stated, giving another look at the little fox as it kept watching from behind a fence.

A few seconds later the Monarch Butterfly was released to fly over to the stage, a note being floated over in Stage Hoof's magic that Trixie looked over quickly. "Hypnosis? That is rather interesting…Alright, let us see what…you…can…" Trixie said, staring at its wings and feeling dizzy for some reason. "Let's see what…What you can…"

Stage Hoof blinked. "Um…I think we need to move on to the next one…" he stated as Trixie seemed hypnotized by the butterfly. "And besides, a butterfly may be a little too fragile for a magic act anyway…"

"Um…Fluttershy…Trixie takes it this was one of yours?"

"Um…yes…she was sorry about that one time and she wanted to make it up to you…"

Trixie looked somewhat cautiously at the skunk in front of her, which looked back at her with a rather pleasant look. Thinking about it, a skunk was a big attention grabber. Even to someone who somehow didn't know what one was, the bold white stripes did draw the eye. Quite useful for a stage magician.

"Alright, we can give it a shot. You're named Sally, aren't you?" The skunk nodded. "Ok…let us see what you can do…" 'Other than spray Trixie in the face.'

Sally nodded , raising her tail lightly to show off the white stripes proudly and nodded, looking ready to go.

Trixie looked at the note Stage Hoof floated her. "Hmm, general assistant? Sounds promising…" While Stage Hoof was her assistant, he sometimes did some of the tricks while the eyes were on her, having another assistant meant more tricks they could do.

Trixie took off her hat and set it down on a table she teleported in. Sally climbed her way up to the top of the table and waited patiently.

"Alright, this hat is completely empty," Trixie explained, Sally helpfully directing attention to the hat with her claw. "And as you can see, Trixie's horn is not hidden in any way shape or form," she stated, the little skunk pointing to Trixie's horn with her tail.

Trixie motioned for the skunk to hold up the hat for her, which she did. She reached in, keeping her horn in plain sight. She pulled her head out…holding Applejack's hat.

Applejack blinked, reaching to her head and finding it gone. "What in tarnation?! How did you do that?!"

Trixie chuckled, floating the hat back to the orange mare. "Hehe. A magician never reveals her tricks!"

Trixie smiled, this was going well. "Alright, next trick! Behold!" she announced, setting off a fireworks style explosion next to her…

"Trixie! Look out!" Stage Hoof yelled.

Trixie turned and noticed Sally jumping in surprise and her tail shooting up.

The mare quickly teleported as the skunk sprayed the box she just teleported in. "Alright…we should probably move on and…clean the stage…" the showmare stated, putting a hoof over her nose along with everypony else. She frowned, noticing the skunk's disappointed look.

Trixie looked at the macaw with a smile, this one should be fun. "Impressions, that should be good. Show Trixie?"

"Show Trixie!" the macaw replied in a fairly good copy of her tone.

Trixie chuckled. This might be useful for comedy performances. "Who else can you do?"

"I'm Fluttershy…"

Trixie chuckled while the timid pegasus blushed. "That's actually pretty good. Next?"

"Trixie is a jerk!" it said in a voice similar to Rainbow Dash's.

Trixie blinked. "What?"

"Trixie's a big, pompous jerk!"

Rainbow Dash rubbed her head nervously. "Yeah…remember when I used to hate you? Well…I kind of taught him to say that back then…my bad…Sorry…"

Trixie gave a deadpan expression. "Next…"

"Alright, Toucan…" said Twilight, looking at the bird. "Description…background scenery…sorry, that'd attract to much attention, next."

Stage Hoof watched the fox try to get back on stage…then chicken out again and run to hide behind the fence again. "Alright…Next…" He couldn't help feeling a bit sorry for the little thing.

"Ow! Stop it! Ouch! Bad chicken!"

Spike blinked. "Fluttershy, is that the same chicken that beat her up before?"

"Yes…I wanted to see if they could make up…"

Trixie sighed, holding an ice pack to her pecked head. "Alright, this has not been going well, but Trixie has a feeling that she'll like this one…"

The blue peacock came on stage and spread his tail feathers wide and gave a bow to the audience. "Alright, note says 'star.' Well, co-star would be nice."

"Alright, the first trick will be-"

The Peacock cut her off by opening his tail up right in front of her and seeming to start doing some kind of dance.

Trixie teleported aside. "The first trick will be-"

Again, the peacock opened his tail in front of her to cut her off and kept up his performance.

Trixie teleported again, giving a snarl. "Ok, let's try this again. The first trick is-"

Third time ended the same as the first two, with Trixie receiving a peacock tail to the face and the peacock continuing his act. As did the fourth. And the fifth. And the sixth…

"ENOUGH!" yelled Trixie, teleporting aside. "Trixie has had enough of this! You prideful, attention seeking bird!" she screamed, causing the peacock to actually look scared. "Stop acting like…well…exactly like Trixie used to…"

Trixie suddenly went from rage, to a bit of sorrow and guilt. "Sorry…" she muttered to the bird. "You just reminded Trixie a little too much of herself…the self she used to be…it upset her…and she was frustrated from today…"

The Peacock blinked, looking a bit surprised and gave a slow nod. Fluttershy landed next to it and gave it a stern look. "That wasn't very nice, you know. If Trixie wanted you to help her with her show and be her friend, you shouldn't try to take over and make it all about yourself."

The peacock gave a guilty look and squawked an apology before being nuzzled by his caretaker.

Trixie then pinned her ears and looked down sadly. "This…this isn't what I thought it would be…Why is this so hard? I…I just wanted a pet…this wasn't supposed to be hard," Trixie set down, pinning her ears.

Fluttershy let the peacock think about what he'd done and fluttered over and put a hoof on her shoulder. "…Trixie, not all of those animals would be impossible to train for your show…Having a pet is a lot of responsibility, but it can be worth it…"

Stage Hoof came to her side and gave her a thoughtful look. "…Trixie, haven't we been putting a lot of effort into our acts? An animal would take practice and training, but I think we could make it work. Especially if the pet wants it too…"

"Yeah!" called Applebloom, climbing up onstage with the rest of the CMC. "Teachin' a pet tah do tricks ain't as easy as tellin' 'em tah sit! Yah gotta have patience!" Applebloom blinked as the older mares gave her looks. "What?"

Trixie sighed, giving thought to what she was being told. "…I…I guess I was a bit immature to expect it to be easy, wasn't I?"

"Sugarcube, yah didn't have much of a foalhood, so Ah think if anypony deserves her moments, its you," Applejack said, joining her on stage with the rest of the girls.

Trixie looked down. "…Maybe Trixie has been looking at this the wrong way…"

"So did I really," said Rainbow, letting Tank land on her back. "I wanted a fast pet, look what I ended up finding. I got him as a friend, it was only after that that I figured out a way for him to fly with me. You gotta stop looking for a prop, look for a friend first, then work on getting them able to tricks with you."

Trixie looked at Tank flying around with his little machine. She got a look of guilt on her face. "Trixie thinks she understands…perhaps Trixie needs to try this again…With a more open mind."

Twilight nodded. "Good idea, at least some of those animals might be able to be trained to work, and a few of them actually seemed like you."

Trixie nodded slowly. "…Though perhaps Trixie needs a bit of training herself…" she admitted, swinging her hoof sheepishly. She'd stopped being afraid to ask for help, but it still didn't come easy to the proud unicorn.

Fluttershy then gave a cute grin. "Oh! I'd love to help! Oh, it will be so fun!"

Stage Hoof chuckled, giving a smile. "I'll help you too, Trixie. What are friends for?" The others nodded in agreement.

Trixie gave a wide smile to her friends. "Well…Trixie would appreciate that, thank you all." Trixie looked back at the animals she'd passed over, giving it thought. She teleported over quickly. "…Trixie would just like to say…sorry for treating you like props instead of potential friends…" she said, looking down sadly. The animals seemed to accept it fairly well. "Thank you…now, let's try this again…" she said, and gave it some thought.

The Peacock had been the one she'd had the highest hope for…but he'd ended up being a complete jerk, even if . And the insane ninja chicken ninja chicken was definitely out…it was still glaring at her menacingly…

But what about the others?

She looked over the rest of them one at a time. Giving each thought. They each gave her happy smile. It was hard to pick.

Trixie finally smiled. "Trixie thinks she's made her pick…" she said, trotting over and petting Sally. "She did go through the trouble of trying to make it up to Trixie for spraying her once, so Trixie knows she'll be a good friend…and even if it takes effort to condition her to the fireworks, I'm sure it'll be worth the effort…"

Sally gave some happy chatter and nuzzled her hoof, which was about as high as she could reach. To Trixie's relief, the other animals seemed to congratulate the skunk…including the little fox, though Trixie noted the timid little vixen looked disappointed. Trixie turned looked over to Fluttershy. "So, when can Trixie begin learning about her new pet?" she asked as her new pet skunk cuddled up to her. True, a skunk would take a bit of time and effort, but Sally had still shown good potential and seemed to want to be her assistant. Since she wanted to be an assistant, Sally would probably put effort in it as well. "And perhaps some help conditioning her to deal with the fireworks."

"Oh! As soon as you can! I've got all kinds of tips and advice!"

Stage Hoof smiled as he watched this…then looked down at the little vixen slinking off disappointed. He couldn't help giving a sympathetic look to the poor thing. The stallion trotted over to Fluttershy. "Fluttershy…That little fox over there…"

Fluttershy looked a little sad. "Oh yes, she's a little sweetheart, always gotten along well with me, but...well…she's really shy…I know she wants a home, but she always has trouble making a good impression…"

Stage Hoof looked over at the little fox and gave a nostalgic look. "…I can relate…"

Dear Princess Celestia

Today I learned a valuable lesson about friendship. Friendship, rather with a pony or a pet, isn't a one way street. You can't expect it to work unless you put effort of your own into it. Expecting the other one to do all the work is unrealistic and foalish. If you want to be a good friend, or a good pet owner, you've got to be willing to put in the work to go along with it.

Your subject, Trixie Lulamoon Midsummer.

Trixie smiled as she gave Sally her food and began to brush her coat carefully, making sure not to hurt the skunk in the process. She looked over at the cabinet of tomato juice she had accumulated, then to the various changes to the room she'd made to make it safer for the pet, such as keeping anything that Sally might get hurt by out of her reach. The skunk now had a pink collar around her neck with proper identification.

"Trixie hopes she's doing well, what do you think, Stage Hoof?"

Stage Hoof smiled and nodded. "Fabulously," he replied before looking back at the little fox riding on his back. "Don't you think so, Violet?"

The little fox gave a simple little nod and grin.

Trixie smiled lightly, looking at a clock. "Oh, we're late for the Pony Pet Playdate, shall we?" she asked, getting a leash for Sally.

Stage Hoof chuckled, opening the door. "Wouldn't miss it for the world."

There you go! Hope you enjoyed it!

Trivia bit: This was supposed to end with Trixie getting Violet, but as I wrote it, it felt more like she should get the skunk and Stage Hoof should get Violet.