Starlight: "Trixie… no. Both you AND Maud put in a commendable effort and deserve recognition for it… even if it was a bit of a disaster…"

Trixie: "Trixie does not recall discriminating against an entire species when SHE was applying for vice headmare! …Seriously though, what's with you and dragons, Maud?"

Maud: "During my travels while studying for my rocktorate, I came across several dragons wanting to stake claim on the gems I was studying. My history with them has been… less than pleasant, and I apologize if my past experiences influenced my interactions with them."

Starlight: "It's not like your conversation with Grampa Gruff was much better, Trixie."

Trixie: "Hey, Trixie HELPED one of the students! She lifted the spirits of… that… guy… the blue guy… the griffon kid! How many students did YOU change the lives of, Maud?"

Maud: "I think my field trip left a pretty big impression on Yona…"

Starlight: "Would you two just stop?"

——-

Welcome, students! Take a seat, pour yourselves some empathy cocoa, and let's settle into today's session of the Season 9 Retirement Party! This week's comic is based on A Horse Shoe-In, aka: "Trixie is the Greatest and Most Powerful Vice Headmare Ever, What are You Talking About: the Episode". This episode was a blast, as are most episodes involving Trixie. We get to really see Starlight's end of the whole power-transfer thing that was alluded to in the season premiere, with a ton of significant scenes for a couple of significant background ponies, which is always exciting, and of course, Trixie being Trixie. This is probably the last big hurrah for Team Starlight in the show, and it was definitely a good one.

With how much Starlight kept talking about wanting to be able to work with a friend, I'm surprised Maud WASN'T one of the applicants! The obvious answer is she was probably just busy with her rocks and her boyfriend and stuff, and didn't want this school to get in the way of that too much, but it did mean that a key member of Team Starlight was left out of this probable conclusion. Needless to say, if Maud actually did apply for the job, she probably would've been much better at it than I'm implying in this comic.

Hope you all find your roles in life and are able to support your friends however you can! Looking forward to the next episode!