崔克茜从前窗探出头，轻轻敲了敲旋转木马精品屋的门。这次可不能再冲进里边要求这要求那了。甚至——崔克茜必须表现得诚心悔过。她那发光蹄子的炫目光芒消失后，崔克茜就只好依靠她的旧计划了。

「有马在吗？」崔克茜咬着嘴唇，满怀希望地扬起眉毛，「在——吗？」

门被推开，露出了一脸憔悴的瑞瑞。她肯定已经工作了一整夜。在她身后，崔克茜看到那件漂亮的舞会礼服已经修补好。这意味着瑞瑞已经完工，终于可以缝制她的斗篷了！

「瑞瑞！」崔克茜眼神一亮，「你今天看起来美极了！」

「如果你又是来问斗篷的事，」——瑞瑞摇了摇头——「我非常抱歉，但是——」

「不，不，不！」崔克茜撒了谎。她看着地板、耷拉肩膀，以增加戏剧效果（耷拉肩膀总能奏效）。「我是来为自己的冒失道歉的！为表歉意，我想我们两个可以一起去拉蹄达水疗中心享受美好的一天。」她无辜地笑了笑。

瑞瑞确实相当疲惫，她回头看了看补好的裙子——也许让崔克茜远离这条裙子会是个好主意……以防万一。

「我想放松一下也不错。」

前台接待她们的是一匹长着粉鬃毛的蓝色水疗小马芙蓉。「崔克茜女士，欢迎光临！」她微笑着说。「您要求的一切都已准备就绪。女士们，这边请。」她们跟在芙蓉身后小跑，薰衣草和黄瓜的香味扑鼻而来。小马示意她们看向两张堆满蓬松白色毛巾和浴袍的休闲椅。

瑞瑞坐到她熟悉的位置上，瞥了一眼崔克茜。她不禁觉得崔克茜的动机不单纯。这匹小马在耍阴谋方面没有良好的记录，但瑞瑞还是打消了这个念头。每匹小马都值得再给一次机会。

「那么，崔克茜，」瑞瑞靠在椅背上。一匹名叫芦荟的水疗小马把瑞瑞的鬃毛盘起包入毛巾，并在她的眼皮上敷了几片黄瓜。瑞瑞在脑海中搜索着闲聊的话题。「你……你帮助所有小马从幻形灵的占领中解救出来后，都在忙些什么？」

「那真是太疯狂了，对吧？！」一个熟悉的尖锐声音补充道。欢快的粉色小马蹦蹦跳跳过来。萍琪派红紫的鬃毛用毛巾扎了起来，但毛茸茸的小鬃毛还是试图从边缘逃出来。她正开心地啃着黄瓜片，「你最近在忙什么？还是去了哪里？还是到处跑？」

「只是在我的巡演中环游小马国。」崔克茜不感兴趣地耸肩说道。这样的谈话让她厌烦。她想进入正题——瑞瑞同意再给她做一次斗篷。别瞎扯这些没用的。

「哦！我知道是哪个了！」萍琪派笑容依旧灿烂，「『诚心悔过崔克茜的全国致歉巡演』？」

「那是个暂定名。」崔克茜疲惫地叹了口气，向准备给她做按摩和修蹄的水疗小马伸出了蹄子。

「哦！那现在叫什么？」萍琪派在啃黄瓜片的间隙惊呼道，「『轻松自在崔克茜的拉蹄达水疗巡演』？」萍琪左蹄起跳，「还是『黄瓜眼浴袍崔克茜的神奇蹄子巡演』？」

瑞瑞忍住了一声轻笑。

「都不是！」崔克茜回击。「现在，萍琪派，你能不能让我们单独待着，好让我们好好放松一下？」

「好咧好咧——好咧！」萍琪派笑着开始蹦回桑拿房。

「等等——她刚才说我的蹄子怎么了？」崔克茜猛地前倾，黄瓜从她的眼睛上滑落。

萍琪不慌不忙地在走廊上喊：「它看起来闪闪发光，怪怪的！」

「是吗？」崔克茜把蹄子举到鼻口，发现它正闪烁着微弱的光芒！这怎么可能呢？她的目光迅速转向芙蓉泡过她蹄子的那碗温水。突然，那刻的记忆涌上心头：当时就是在舞台的雾帘中，蹄子第一次变得有魔力……

「哈！」崔克茜胜利般大叫了一声，跃起湿漉漉的蹄子站起。是水！她的眼里充满了狂野，「我的魔法蹄子又回来了，我知道该怎么留住它了！现在谁也无法阻止我进入星鬃魔术师协会了！」她把毛巾从淡蓝色的鬃毛上扯下扔到一边，接着施放一团烟雾，消失在月夜之下。

「瑞瑞！」星光熠熠冲了进来。她一路从无尽之森跑来，气喘吁吁。「你看见崔克茜了吗？！我们必须赶在她不小心毁掉整个小马镇前阻止她！」

瑞瑞把蹄子放在额头上，叹了口气。「难道一位淑女就不能享受一下小小的、微不足道的水疗时光，而不发生什么史诗级的大剧吗？」

星光慌乱地看着她，「看来不能？」

「说得对，亲爱的。」瑞瑞站起，把一些金币丢给芦荟和芙蓉，接着对星光点了点头。「现在让我们去帮助那匹狂热的小马吧！」

原文：

Trixie peeked inside the front window and knocked gently on the door of the Carousel Boutique. There would be no bursting into rooms and demanding things this time. No—Trixie had to appear humble and penitent. With the razzle-dazzle of her glowing hoof gone, Trixie had to fall back on her old plan of action.

“Anypony there?” Trixie bit her lip and raised her eyebrows hopefully.

“Helloooooo?”

The door swung open, revealing a haggard-looking Rarity. She’d definitely been working all night. Behind her, Trixie could see that the beautiful ball gown had been repaired successfully. That meant Rarity was finished and would have time to sew her cloak!

“Rarity!” Trixie brightened. “You’re looking marvelous today!”

“If you’ve come to ask about the cloak again”—Rarity shook her mane —“I’m terribly sorry, but—”

“No, no, no!” Trixie lied. She looked at the floor and slumped her shoulders for an extra dramatic effect (shoulder slumps always sealed the deal). “I’m here to apologize for being such a klutz! As a peace offering, I thought that the two of us might enjoy a nice day at the La Ti Da Spa together.” She smiled innocently.

Rarity looked back over her shoulder at the finished dress. She did feel quite exhausted. And keeping Trixie away from the dress was probably a good idea… just in case.

“I suppose it would be nice to unwind for just a bit.”

Lotus Blossom, a blue spa pony with a pink mane, greeted them at the front desk. “Welcome, Miss Trixie!” she said with a smile. “I have everything you requested all ready to go. Right this way, mares.” The fragrance of lavender and cucumber hit their muzzles as they trotted behind Lotus. The pony gestured to two cushy chairs piled with fluffy white towels and robes.

As Rarity settled into her familiar spot, she eyed Trixie. She couldn’t help but feel that there was more to Trixie’s motives. The pony didn’t have a great track record when it came to scheming, but Rarity pushed aside the thought. Everypony deserved another chance.

“So, Trixie,” Rarity said, leaning back into her chair. A spa pony named Aloe twisted her mane up into a towel and placed some cucumber slices over her eyelids. She searched her mind for a casual topic of conversation. “What… what have you been up to since you helped rescue everypony from the changeling takeover?”

“That was so crazy, right?!” a familiar high-pitched voice added. A jubilant pink pony bounced over. Pinkie Pie’s fuchsia mane was tied up in a towel, but little frizzy pieces of it tried to escape around the edges. She was munching happily on cucumber slices. “What have you been up to? Or down to? Or all around to?!”

“Just traveling around Equestria on my tour,” Trixie said with an uninterested shrug. This conversation was boring her. She wanted to get to the good stuff—the part where Rarity would agree to make her cloak again. None of this chitter-chatter.

“Oh! I know which one!” Pinkie Pie kept her wide smile. “‘The Humble and Penitent Trixie’s Great Equestrian Apology Tour’?”

“That was a working title.” Trixie sighed in exhaustion and held out her hoof to the spa pony who was preparing to give her a massage and hooficure.

“Oooh! What’s it called now?!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed between chomps of cucumber slices. “‘The Relaxed and Unperturbed Trixie’s La Ti Da Spa Tour’?” Pinkie jumped on her left hooves. “Or ‘The Cucumber-Eyed and Bathrobed Trixie’s Magical Hoof Tour’?”

Rarity stifled a giggle.

“Neither!” Trixie shot back. “Now, Pinkie Pie, would you kindly leave us alone so we can get to the relaxing part?”

“Okeydokey-lokey!” Pinkie Pie laughed and began to bounce back toward the steam room.

“Wait—what did she say about my hoof?” Trixie lurched forward and the cucumbers slid off her eyes.

Without missing a beat, Pinkie yelled from down the hallway, “It looks all sparkly and weird!”

“It does?” Trixie held her hoof up to her muzzle and noticed that it was glittering with a subtle light! How was this possible? Her eyes darted to the bowl of warm water in which Lotus Blossom had soaked Trixie’s hoof. Suddenly, the moment came rushing back to her. She’d been onstage in a curtain of mist when her hoof had become magical in the first place…

“Ha!” Trixie shouted in triumph as she sprang to her wet hooves. It was water. Her eyes looked wild. “My magical hoof is back and I know how to keep it! There’s no stopping me from getting into the Starmane Society of Magicians now!” Trixie tore the towel from her pale-blue mane and tossed it aside. Then she cast a cloud of smoke and disappeared to Luna knew where.

“Rarity!” Starlight Glimmer burst into the room. She was out of breath, having galloped all the way from the Everfree Forest. “Have you seen Trixie?! We have to stop her before she ruins all of Ponyville by accident!”

Rarity put her hoof to her head and sighed. “Can’t a mare have one little, teensy spa hour without some epic drama?”

Starlight looked at her frantically. “Guess not?”

“Fair enough, darling.” Rarity stood up, tossed some bits to Aloe and Lotus Blossom, and nodded at Starlight. “Now let’s go help that crazy pony!”